Activity #1.6. Difficulty 1800+
Sometimes my students might forget that I was once an inexperienced chess player trying to improve. When I was about 16 (I am 25 now) I attended a chess camp in Terre Haute, Indiana. My rating was around 2000 at the time. One of the coaches at the camp, Jan Van De Mortel, a Fide Master from Holland, taught me a lesson that I enjoy sharing with my advanced students today.
This lesson left an impression on me because it showed me how young chess players such as myself like to make a game very exciting when sometimes simplicity is the key to winning. In chess books and classes we are shown so many "brilliant" games with speculative sacrifices that we are conditioned to believe that to win a game we must play this way.
When this chess problem was given to my group (about six people rated over 2000), no one came close to answering the question correctly. I confidently gave the incorrect answer with only a few minutes of thought. When I look back at the puzzle, the answer seems obvious. I have had many coaches who have shown me thousands of positions. This is one of my favorites. Good luck!
In this game Bobby Fischer was White. It is White to move.
Answer the following questions and email the solution of each question to jeffreyashton@gmail.com.
1) Who is better and why? Ask yourself the following questions: Who has more material? Who has a safer King? Who has more active pieces? Who has a better pawn structure?
2) Is this a static (long term) or dynamic (short term) advantage.
3) How can Black get counter-play in a position like this?
4) Find White's best plan.
5) Find White's best move.
This is a two part lesson. In a few days I will show the conclusion of the game and answers to all of the questions.
