Chess no. 440

PHILIDOR

Black White

8 men

8 men

J. Fridliius (1st prize, St Petersburg Zeilung, 1898). White to play and mate in three moves; solution next week.

Solution to no. 439 (Shinkman): B - Kt 2!,

threat R - R 8. 1 BXR; 2 Kt - Q 6. A one- variation problem—but a good one; the B must go to Kt 2 to shut off (a) the R on Kt 8; (b) the Q on R 7.

On 3 March the Russian grandmaster Alexander Tolush died at the age of fifty-eight; too erratic and too limited in style to be in the very top class, he was, on his day, one of the best of all attacking players. Here is a very fine game that he won against Alexander Kotov; perhaps there is something in a name—they both had a touch of Alexander Alekhine about them.

White, Tolush. Black, Kotov. Opening, Sicilian. (USSR Championship, 1945.)

I P - K 4 P-QB4 2 Kt-KB3 P - K 3

3 P-Q 4 PxP 4 Kt xP Kt-KB3 5 Kt-QB3 P-Q 3 6 P-KKt3

It is interesting that this essentially positional move directed at controlling Q 5 leads ulti- mately to a powerful king's side attack.

6 . . . Kt - B 3 7 B - Kt 2 B - Q 2

8 K Kt - K 2! . . . Forestalling 8 . . . KtXKI; 9 QXKt, B- B 3.

8 . . . P - Q R 3 9 0 - 0 P-QKt4 10 P-QR 3 Q-B2 11 P-R 3 B-K 2

12 K - R 1 0 - 0 13 P-KKt4 K - R 1 It is not easy to say where Black goes wrong in this game, but I don't like the idea of

K -RlandKt-Kt 1;KR-Q I and Kt - K 1 seems preferable.

14 Kt - Kt 3 P-Kt5 15 PxP Kt x P 16 P- Kt 5 Kt-Kt' 17 P- B 4 B-QB3 This natural move loses a tempo. KR-QI is better.

18 QKt-K2! B - Kt 4 Otherwise Kt - Q 4 is strong.

19 B-Q 2 P-Q 4 Black seems to have equalised—but he hasn't.

20 B-QB3! PxP 21 Kt - R 5 P - B 3

22 Kt x Kt P! B x Kt Neither 22 . K R -

Q I; 23 Kt - Q 4! nor 22 . . . KXKt: 23 Kt - Q 4! offers any better chance of defence in the long run.

23 QxB KxKt 24 BxKP Kt-Q4 25 Q-R 5 KR-Q1 26 R-KKtl! B-B 4 27 PxPd.ch K - B 1 28 R xKtch! KxR

29 BxPch! K -B 1 29 . . . QxB; 30

P - B 7 ch. QXP; 31 Q- R 8 mate.

30 Q - Kt 6 Kt xP(B3) 30 . . . Q - B 2; 31 Q - R 6 ch, K - K 1; 32 13 - Kt 6.

31 Q x Kt ch Q - B 2 3/ . . . K - K I; 32 QXP ch, Q - K 2: 33 Q - B 6 ch, K - B 1; 34 Q-R 6 ch,K-KI; 35 R-Kland wins qttickly.

32 Q-R6ch K- K 2 33 Q-Kt5ch K- Q 2

34 QxB QxB 35 R-Q1ch -K-K 1 36 Q-B6ch K- B 1 37 B-Kt4ch K- Kt 2 38 Q-B7ch K- Kt 3 39 P-B5ch! K- R 3 39 . . PXP; 40 R - Kt I ch, K - R 3; 41

Q - B 4 ch.

40 Q-B4ch K - Kt 2 40 . . . K - R 41 Q-K14ch, K-R 3; 42 Q-R 4 ch,K-K12:

43 R - Kt 1 ch.

41 Q-Kt5ch Resigns 41 . . . K - B 2: 42 Q - K 7 ch, K - Kt 1: 43 R - Kt I ch and mates in two more moves.