Retreat!

[garykevinware]

This week's problems and text again come from the book, The Joys of Chess: Heroes, Battles & Brilliancies by Christian Hesse.
"Sometimes, you have to move backward, to get a step forward." Amar Bose
"In order to be victorious in a game of chess, generally speaking, an element of offensive 'up-and-at-'em' is required. But in exceptional situations, the strongest move by far, can be a simple retreat. Good, unforced retreats, by well-placed pieces, are amongst the hardest maneuvers to find, and they are rare. We shall show some examples of retreats that are not only good, but even bordering on the brilliant. Moves with a paradoxical relationship between expression, function and effect. All in all, moves which run counter to the principle of 'form follows function'."
After giving several examples from practical play, the author's first example from composed problems is one that I already presented in my post, Playing Organ Pipes.



Thomas Taverner Dubuque Chess Journal 1889 #2

"The key move 1 Rh1!! is not easy to find for a human being. An extraordinarily surprising retreat into a blind spot, which makes a strong impression on us. Strangely, there is no antidote to this move, because Black very suddenly finds himself in zugzwang. He may have at his disposition a total of 19 possible replies; but White has a mate ready after every one of them. One small step backwards for the rook was the key. A nice piece of chess."



Georg Ernst Neue Leipziger Zeitung 1935 #4



Fritz Giegold Zeit-Magazin 1976 #6

10 points for sending me a complete variation to both problems, at garykevinware@yahoo.com , by next Wednesday.

Here is a related article, Retreat To The First Rank ... And Win! by Bart Gibbons, from Chess Life Online, http://main.uschess.org/content/view/11510/646

[garykevinware]

Here are the answers to last week's problems:
Ernst #4-
"Black is completely paralyzed. Were it his turn, there would be no piece that he could move. This lack of mobility seems to hold out the hope of stalemate as a saving grace for him. For that reason, White cannot take direct action against the black king, but he must start a finely-tuned, backwards-sidewards movement, on a wide front. The solution is 1 Ng2!. This provides Black with a move, and threatens 2 Be3 and then 3 Bf4#. 1...hxg2 2 Rg3! hxg3 3 Bg1! This loads a piece on the square in front of the black pawns, and sets up a zugzwang here, too. So 3...gxh2, and all is brought to an end with the quite prosaic 4 Bxb2#."
Giegold #6-
"As the high point of our chapter, we have a masterpiece of the problem composer's art, which begins with a mysterious-looking, long and thus uncommonly fascinating sequence of backward moves, as White retreats from the object of his desire, Black's king. Apart from his d-pawn, Black is completely walled in. So White has no more than two moves to lift the blockade, in order to prevent stalemate. The winning method consists of leaving the f6 rook unprotected at the appropriate moment, in order to force ...Kxf6, and then deliver mate with the bishop, along the a1-h8 diagonal. But until that happens, the white bishop has no sensible moves. The execution of the plan starts with the perplexing move 1 Rh1!!, and this is just the beginning of a breathtaking series of retreats. 1...d4 2 Ra1!! Even more mysterious. Why this, when the target is the black king? It only later becomes clear why the rook has to go to a1. Black has no choice but to play the only move available to him: 2...d3 The threat of stalemate should be lifted now. This is done by 3 Ra3!. We suddenly understand the whole rook maneuver. White cures Black's paralysis, and opens up the diagonal for his own bishop. 3...bxa3+ 4 Ka1 The king retreats too. 4...a2 The end is nigh: 5 Ba3! Kxf6 and 6 Bb2# The white pieces have all headed back towards their own king, but the object of their desires, and the actual battlefield, are in the opposite corner of the board. A more than worthy way to finish the chapter."