When FM Jim Maki does game analysis at local youth chess tournaments, as he usually does, he always shows me some interesting puzzle positions. Last Saturday he showed me one that had been shown him by a chess parent, a strong player who was active in the Spokane Chess Club until his daughter was born. Now his daughter is playing chess.
I do not recall the exact placement of the rooks, but the solution for this position matches the one that Maki showed me.
White to move
Can you solve it?
Yesterday as after school chess club, two players reached this position and then asked me whether it was a draw. I said that I would try to beat Stockfish on my phone while they played on. After I failed, I showed the position and the moves of my efforts against Stockfish on the demo board. I took White.
Black to move
The young students saw many stalemate positions as we looked at my efforts together. I then positioned the pawns on the 5th and 6th rank to illustrate the difference it makes. Finally, I removed the Black pawn and placed the bishop on a light square, showing another sort of position where material superiority is of no value.
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