07 December 2008

Warm-up

Bad day yesterday. I lost two games, a trauma last suffered in OTB play in February 2007. I have two more games today. A little online blitz to get ready produced this position.

Black to move


White has several checkmate threats.
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11 comments:

  1. AnonymousSunday, 07 December, 2008

    Wow, that g3 pawn is murder, isn't it? :)

    -- Hank

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  2. James StripesMonday, 08 December, 2008

    Murder at the Chessboard by Pedro Damião, quite a thriller I'm told.

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  3. Robert PearsonMonday, 08 December, 2008

    One of those instances where you're almost forced to find the right move.

    There is a Sherlock Holmes quote that's applicable: "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

    ReplyDelete
  4. James StripesMonday, 08 December, 2008

    Wahrheit,

    That Holmes quote has passed my lips more often than Warren Buffett's American Express comes out of his wallet. It has long been among my favorites, and it is quite apt in this instance. But, with only a few seconds to think, one must act fast. It helps that I staked most of my game on that murderous pawn.

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  5. From the patzerMonday, 08 December, 2008

    If i am not mistaken this kind of mate is called the Damiano mate. Or is it mate of Damiano?

    1. ... Rh1+ 2. Kxh1 Qh8+ 3. Kg1 Qh2#

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  6. James StripesTuesday, 09 December, 2008

    Yes Chesstiger, it is Pedro Damião's checkmate.

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousTuesday, 09 December, 2008

    I always liked that Sherlock Holmes quote. But isn't it semantically a little fuzzy? Seems to me that "when you have eliminated the impossible" then what remains is the set of all things that are possible (including the probable, the improbable, and the "true" or actual)... Holmes makes it sound like once you eliminate the impossible then you will only have a single remaining "possibility" = "the truth"... Or to put it another way, it implies that "anything that is not true, is impossible" ("nothing else remains")... Basically I wonder if his Venn diagram is missing a region or two?

    I guess it's a philosophical question - is only the "actual" possible? If my phone is not ringing now, is it "impossible" that it "could have been ringing" now? (Is the idea of a counterfactual hypothetical meaningless, because it is not empirically verifiable?)
    Somebody with a more precise logical mind will step in and elucidate the validity of these seeming relations of mutual exclusiveness. Or if they don't, is it because it is impossible for someone to do so? :)

    -- Hank

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  8. James StripesWednesday, 10 December, 2008

    Hank,

    In the world of fiction, where the Great Sherlock Holmes solved crimes, logic and philosophy are often notoriously fuzzy. But the turned phrases are themselves a kind of truth that resonates in the experiences of readers. Holmes' statement works because it sometimes applies to life, even though it does not always apply equally well.

    In the diagram in question, every conceivable defensive move fails, save one: the rook decoy that lets the queen move to the h-file with check. Eliminate the impossible (defensive tries), and what remains is the aggressive, even counter intuitive (down material, give up more) process that wins.

    This once (and perhaps many other singular instances), Holmes advice is on the mark. I like the adage, but it's an inadequate basis for solving every problem.

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  9. Robert PearsonWednesday, 10 December, 2008

    I'm certainly glad I came back to check for follow-up comments. The level of discourse here is stimulating.

    Hank, I think your point is well taken if the quote is applied in a global or universal sense--in that case, that something is not "impossible" (not "eliminated") is necessary but not sufficient for it to exist ("be the truth").

    However, if within a restricted set (suspects, possible moves in a chess position) there is only one "winner" then by eliminating all the losers logically we can pronounce the "winner" without further examination! Most chess positions aren't of this type, but this is the whole point of chess "studies" (White to play and win). Real life mysteries only sometimes fall into this category, but Sherlock Holmes mysteries always do (I think).

    This is truly a thought-provoking blog, thanks James!

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  10. James StripesFriday, 12 December, 2008

    Give yourself some credit, Wahrheit, as you're the one that brought Holmes into the conversation. Thanks for the contributions and the compliments.

    Spread the word! More readers that respond means more fun, and more of value.

    ReplyDelete
  11. chessloversSaturday, 13 December, 2008

    Hello happy know with you again.games like chess and want to learn about the chess game.articles in this blog are very good quality and useful for me, I will save the links on this page blog favorite, and I will visit here again.thanks

    ReplyDelete

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