Help with a Reinfeld problem

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Date: 28 Nov 2005 14:28:39
From: Richard
Subject: Help with a Reinfeld problem

I have been working with the Reinfeld 1001 Winning Chess Sacrifices and
Combinations and am having trouble understanding problem #7. It is
supposed to deal with pinning, but I can't see it. Since I can't
display the position here, I've posted it on my site. Please check it
out at [email protected] and let me know what I am
missing.

Thanks,
Richard
www.richardschess.blogspot.com

Date: 29 Nov 2005 09:45:18
From:
Subject: Re: Help with a Reinfeld problem

David Richerby wrote:
> Yes, that's what I was trying to say when I pointed out that it isn't
> really cheating.

Absolutely right, good advice. I think a lot of average players cheat
themselves in this regard, thinking that checking the solution is
somehow cheating. During an actual game, it would be, but not when
you're trying to learn.

> > A book similar to Reinfeld's, but featuring more recent positions, is
> > "The ChessCafe Puzzle Book" by GM Karsten Mueller.
>
> Ah, I might have a look at that. _Fundamental Chess Endings_ (with Frank
> Lamprecht) is excellent.

Yes, Mueller is one of the better chess writers extant, and a real
endgame expert. We almost lost him to a brain tumor a while back;
fortunately he recovered. I've worked with him on several books, and he
is a very nice guy to work with.

Date: 29 Nov 2005 06:06:11
From:
Subject: Re: Help with a Reinfeld problem

Richard wrote:
> Thanks guys. This helps a lot. I don't own the book, but just have the
> postitions I downloaded online. I keep fighting a temptation to buy the
> book, but I am afraid I'll give up too early if I have the solutions
> too readily available.

Resisting that temptation is not too important, according to a FIDE
Master friend of mine. With tactical exercises like those of the
Reinfeld book, pondering indefinitely is not the most effective use of
your time and brain. Instead, he recommends using only a few minutes at
most trying to solve the position, then checking the solution if you're
still stumped. Do the same with one or two dozen exercises at a time.
Then repeat the whole process a few days later, and again a few days
later, etc. Eventually you will see all or almost all the solutions
without checking the answers.
While this might seem to be mere memorization, it is really more a
process of teaching yourself *pattern recognition*, which is perhaps
the most important skill of strong players. You will be learning
tactical motifs which will apply to similar situations in your own
games, and because of the repetitive study you will see them more
quickly and frequently.
For example, let's say in your game you have a position with an open
h-file and a knight able to move to g6 as in the Reinfeld problem. Your
work on that problem will immediately make you think of the potential
mate threat of Ng6 and Rh8. You may not have a queen sacrifice like in
the Reinfeld problem, but you may see some other tactical blow, based
on the mate threat. That is what I mean by pattern recognition.
When you have these patterns stored in your brain, good moves will
just pop into your head. For example, in this position:

B: Kb8, Qe6, Rc8, Rh8, Bd7, Be5, Nd5, a7, b7, f7, g4, h7
W: Kf1, Qb4, Rc1, Rh1, Bb2, Bc4, Nc3, a3, b5, e3, f2, g2, h2

I, playing Black, immediately saw 1...Rxc4! winning, since if 2.Qxc4
Nxe3+ wins the queen. I didn't even have to think about it, it just
came as if by divine inspiration, because I was familiar with
discovered check patterns. This allowed me to beat the state champ.
A word on the thematic headings of the Reinfeld book: the fact that a
given puzzle comes under "pinning" or "discovered check" or whatever,
does not mean that every variation of the solution will feature that
motif. It just means that it figures prominently in at least one of the
main lines. In Reinfeld's #7, pinning is prominent if Black plays
1=2E..KxQg8, but not so much if he plays 1...Ke7.
A book similar to Reinfeld's, but featuring more recent positions, is
"The ChessCafe Puzzle Book" by GM Karsten M=FCller. Its solutions are
more accurate than Fred's (I know, because I edited the book and
checked them by computer), and it presents the puzzles within the
framework of a systematic program of study. I strongly recommend it if
you are serious about learning tactical pattern recognition.

Taylor Kingston

Date: 29 Nov 2005 16:15:25
From: David Richerby
Subject: Re: Help with a Reinfeld problem

<[email protected] > wrote:
> While this might seem to be mere memorization, it is really more a
> process of teaching yourself *pattern recognition*, which is perhaps
> the most important skill of strong players. You will be learning
> tactical motifs which will apply to similar situations in your own
> games, and because of the repetitive study you will see them more
> quickly and frequently.

Yes, that's what I was trying to say when I pointed out that it isn't
really cheating.

> A book similar to Reinfeld's, but featuring more recent positions, is
> "The ChessCafe Puzzle Book" by GM Karsten M=FCller.

Ah, I might have a look at that. _Fundamental Chess Endings_ (with Frank
Lamprecht) is excellent.

Dave.

--
David Richerby Broken Old-Fashioned Apple (TM):
www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~davidr/ it's like a tasty fruit but it's
perfect for your grandparents and it
doesn't work!

Date: 29 Nov 2005 09:58:14
From: David Richerby
Subject: Re: Help with a Reinfeld problem

Richard <[email protected] > wrote:
> Since I can't display the position here, I've posted it on my site.
> Please check it out at [email protected] and let me
> know what I am missing.

YM richardschess.blogspot.com, of course.

You can post positions here by using FEN. Pretty much any chess program
that has a `copy position to clipboard' option will copy it as FEN and you
can paste it into your post and people can paste it into their chess
programs to see it. Google will tell you how to read and write FEN by
hand, if you want to know.

Dave.

--
David Richerby Chocolate Sushi (TM): it's like a raw
www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~davidr/ fish that's made of chocolate!

Date: 28 Nov 2005 15:25:07
From: Richard
Subject: Re: Help with a Reinfeld problem

Thanks guys. This helps a lot. I don't own the book, but just have the
postitions I downloaded online. I keep fighting a temptation to buy the
book, but I am afraid I'll give up too early if I have the solutions
too readily available.

Thanks,
Richard
www.richardschess.blogspot.com

Date: 29 Nov 2005 09:55:21
From: David Richerby
Subject: Re: Help with a Reinfeld problem

Richard <[email protected] > wrote:
> Thanks guys. This helps a lot. I don't own the book, but just have the
> postitions I downloaded online. I keep fighting a temptation to buy the
> book, but I am afraid I'll give up too early if I have the solutions
> too readily available.

To be honest, if you can't solve one of these puzzles after about ten
minutes' thought, you're probably never going to solve it without
help. At that point, it's a good idea to take a look at the solution,
which will teach you something you didn't already know. Make a note of
the puzzles you couldn't do and go back to them, say a couple of weeks
after you first tried. See how many you can do then and don't feel that
this is cheating because it isn't -- it's all helping you become better at
tactics, which is the whole point of the exercise.

Another advantage of having the answers to hand is that you can see how
many of the puzzles you're getting wrong. Quite often, I find that I
think I've solved it by winning the exchange and the answer shows me that
I could have won a whole piece or even a whole rook. Of course, winning
the exchange should still win the game but the win's easier when you're a
whole piece up. Of course, occasionally, you see a position where you
have a better solution than Reinfeld does. There's at least one where
Reinfeld wins a rook instead of checkmating (can't remember which, off the
top of my head, sorry). Note down the positions you got wrong and go back
to those, too.

Dave.

--
David Richerby Permanent Disposable Smokes (TM):
www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~davidr/ it's like a pack of cigarettes but
you never have to clean it and it'll
be there for ever!

Date: 29 Nov 2005 00:03:46
From: =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Claus-J=FCrgen_Heigl?=
Subject: Re: Help with a Reinfeld problem

Date: 29 Nov 2005 08:33:47
From: Jay
Subject: Re: Help with a Reinfeld problem

A stronger defense for Black is: 2...Kd6

> FEN: r1b1rk2/pp3ppQ/1np5/4q3/2B4N/4P3/PP3PP1/2R2K1R w - -
>

Date: 28 Nov 2005 14:54:23
From:
Subject: Re: Help with a Reinfeld problem

Richard wrote:
> I have been working with the Reinfeld 1001 Winning Chess Sacrifices and
> Combinations and am having trouble understanding problem #7. It is
> supposed to deal with pinning, but I can't see it. Since I can't
> display the position here, I've posted it on my site. Please check it
> out at [email protected] and let me know what I am
> missing.

If we're talking about the same position, Reinfeld's solution is
essentially correct, though he does not give the best defense. In my
version of the book, the position is:

B: Kf8, Qe5, Ra8, Re8, Bc8, Nb6, a7, b7, c6, f7, g7
W: Kf1, Qh7, Rc1, Rh1, Bc4, Nh4, a2, b2, e3, f2, g2

The key is 1.Qg8+!!. If then 1...Kxg8 Ng6! and mate by Rh1-h8 is
inevitable. The pin motif is seen in the fact that the black f-pawn is
pinned by the Bc4, so the Ng6 is invulnerable.
So Black's only other move is 1...Ke7, when after 2.Qxf7+ Kd8/Kd6
3.Rd1+ White will win easily, one sample line being 2...Kd8 3.Rd1+ Nd7
4.Ng6 Qf6 5.Rh7 Qxf7 6.Bxf7 Re4 7.Rxg7 Kc7 8.f3 Rb4 9.Be6 etc.
The main line Reinfeld gives, 3.Ng6 Qxb2? (better 3...Qd6) makes it
easy for White, viz. 4.Rd1+ Bd7, and now Fritz8 likes 5.Nf8! much
better than Reinfeld's 5.Qxe8+, though both win handily.