Post your solutions to the other set of problems by this weekend plus any questions that you might have about the positions and the game from the first Lesson.
Here we go with Lesson #2, enjoy!
White to play and win! Watch out for the stalemate Lukas
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White to play and win!
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Now for something entirely different... White to play and Draw!
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..A1 ...........................and light on Right!
Now how about a chess game for your viewing pleasure?
Lesson Number Two will feature a game in which an instructive mistake is made that is commonly seen. This game started off as a Slav Defense:
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 ~
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Now to get into the Slav proper the move 4...dxc4 should be played. But what happens if Black plays another move, lets say the move 4...Bf5? Well let us take a look at the following very instructive game.
Robert Campbell (1902) vs. Alfred Ward (1800)
31st World Open; U2000 Section; Round 7;Board #356; 07/05/2003
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bf5
This is the move Black longs to play. To get the Bishop OUTSIDE of the pawn chain is ideal. On move five, if allowed, Black could then play 5...e6 and have a good position. However there is a problem with the move Bishop f5. It leaves the b7-square weak as well as several of the other light colored squares over on ths Queen-side. Also the Bishop may even become an object of attack...right where it is!
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5.Qb3
This move now or after 5.cxd5 is how White will highlight the Queenside weaknesses in Black's camp.
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...b6
The move 5...b6 is "Ugly" -Graham Burgess in his book "THE SLAV" by GAMBIT PUBLICATIONS. That comment is one page 78 in the last paragraph. He is totally right! This move creates many holes on the queenside and doesn't relieve the pressure on the d5 square, one of the Defensive player's other weak white squares. This will allow Bob Campbell to force through the move e4 should the King's knight recapture on the d5 square.
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6.cxd5
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...Nxd5
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7.e4
And there you have it! 7.e4 has been played and some of you may think that White has just blundered a pawn because of...
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...Nxc3
...the move 7...Nxc3. However White does not recapture this piece, instead he...
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8.exf5
...takes the Bishop on f5. Now the Defensive player losses time in removing his Knight, White is one move away from being castled and that pawn on f5 really cramps Blacks style!
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...Nd5
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9.Bd3
Now the Bishop eyes up a nice diagonal while protecting our f5 pawn and the offensive player can castle. All these wonderful things come of this one move 9.Bd3.
END PART ONE. See Part Two...