American chess art : 250 portraits of endgame study [Rev. reprint. ed.] 9780875682716, 0875682715

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AMERICAN CHESS ART

Sets forth for players at all levels a marvelous aspect of chess; artistic composition, specihcally the composition of the endgame study. Long popular in Western Europe, the USSR and South America, chess art has for the past century been unjustly ignored in the United States, although there have been a number of very gifted American composers, Walter Korn sets the record straight and opens up a whole new area of enjoyment for chess enthusiasts.

A fascinating intellectual challetge, " a good endgame study is a all the connotations of beauty, surprise, ingenuity and

work of art, with

technique that that term implies."

(The Encyclopaedia of Chess. New York. 1q70)

Unlike a conventional chess problem, which requires mate in a definite number of moves, the endgame study stipulates a given ourcome (to win or to draw) without a stated number of moves. In this it is more like an actual chess game. Since its composition requires knowledge not only of basic, but of complex endgame theory, it provides a vital link with practical chess play. The endgame study is generally based on a planned idea, or combination of ideas, involving elements of strategy, difficulty, and beauty. There is only one solution, and the solver must discover it.

In a historical prologue, Walter Korn outlines the eadiest beginnings of the study, describing the careers of such great composers as E.B. Cook (1830-1915), known as the "The Sage of Hoboken," who allegedly gave his nilme to the tefln "cooked" (with reference to a study that is invalid because it has more than one solution, or no solution at all), and Sanruel t oyd (1841-1911), "The Puzzle King," whose style Korn desoibes as humorous, spectacular, and deceitfully unexpected. Two hundred and fifty "portraits," skillfully annotated, cover the whole range of endgame study. The reader is introduced to such fascinat-

ing

strategies

as

"corkscrews," "star-flights," "ferris wheels," and

"SteepleChases," and tO "leapfrOg knightS," "serpentine themeS," and "the

chameleon echo."

Footnotes transcribing each study into figurative, algebraic notation make the volume distinctively international. The book as a whole represents a major cultural and historical contribution to chess literature both here and abroad.

WALTER K

I

ABOUT THEAUTHOR Walter

KOrn ranks among the elders of chess in all its applications. He is FIDE International Judge for Chess Composition, and has been responsible for Modern Chess Openings for the past 50 years. For decades he has been the endgame columnist for a number

of

internationally known chess periodicals and is the author of the essay on chess in the thoroughly revised Encyclopaedia Britannica III ', ( 19 7 4) ', .

::i

WALTER KORN

AN4ERNCAN in dl is

sprs

and

lmher 5[ t cseey m .(1974) ".

CHESS

A]RT 250 PORTRAITS OF ENDGAME STUDY

$\wr Elgrrt,

InrurprrutsD

Copyright@ 1975 and 1995 Walter Korn, San Mateo, CA.

All rights reserved under Pan American and International Copyright conventions.

Table of Co

ISBN: 0-87568-271-5 No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval System, or transmitted in any form, or by any means: electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tapes, mechanical photocopYing, recording, or otherwise without prior and current permission from the author.

This is a revised reprint of W. Korn, American Chess Art-250 Portraits of Ertdgame Study, originally published rn 1975. It is reprinted through an ilrangement with the rights holder. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication

AMERICAN cHEss ARr -

250 PORTRAITS OF ENDGAME STUDY.

Oulircsdq Explowry .lh Compaint Emrv Btmuul Tra Fxrcnr, the Whitcr)

Tm Z:cryrlr Llpom1 Yrrrl S:rn-s

ll

Author: Walter Korn

TYPEs,

Cover: Elaine Smith Final Prooft Ken Smith

Corranmeqt "ORIGD{Ar.S-, I[

Publisher: Chess Digest, Inc.@ 1601 Tantor (P.O. Box 59029) Dallas, Texas 75229 Send the pubtisher $3.00 for the 136 page New Chess Guide that catalogs every chess book for general sale in the United States. You are given publishers, page counts, notation and critical reviews. Also included is a free Chess Improvement course for beginners up through Master level players. Theriare approximately 1300 rrcw titles and 300 out-of-print books reviewed in this catalog.

Cotrtpwrml

rr

Ixgcrrs ugro[ Triumphs

d

fhs makiEo Trre CTNAHAN

t

Colmwrmrlr Pnoorcnc

Fl

BibliogrqhY Register

of frlr,

Index of

Cuq

Table of Contents Page

sGd in a re-

emic,

Outline and Scope

or oth-

Explanatory Notes Comparutiue Chort of Chess Notation

tu

N.-zsp

f b ruFinted

Emrv BscNNtNcs Tsr ExpLoRING PtoNrsRs (Cook, Loyd, Reichhelm,

vii ix x 1 1

the Whites) GSS

ART-

TttY ZvozwANG

26

LlppsRs, Wnlts lNp OrHBn SrnucrllREs

45

Tvrrs, Srvrss

a,No CrassIFIcATIoN

or ENpceur Srupv

192

CovrnrupoRARY Conapostuow

"ORtcINALs", IMpRovEMENT vERsus

5qP9)

Dallas,

tlw

catalogs Yu an given irchdcd is a

toger

lcvel

AD ou+f-print

CotvrposITloN

164

Axuclpmou

m Fonull, E>cncsr

INsrcnrs INTo urr CouposnR's Womsnop Triumphs and disappointments

218 271

298

The making of an endgame studY TuB ClNaornN Csrss CraN

327

CoupounoN IN kecrtcer, Pr,eY

353

PnocNosrrc Eprrocus

373

Bibliography

375

Register of Terms

377

Index of Composers and Diagrams

381

Outline and Scope

idea.

vll

AMERICAN CHESS ART

I an truly indebted to Professor Wm. M. Spackman, former editor of The Chess Correspondent, for providing the final polish to much of the phrasing; and to Professor Orrin Frink-

a noted composer-for methodically

combing the some very make to able descriptive notation and thus being iPt. manuscnPr. my i m luable contributions to the analyses valuable of each line main page, the In a footnote to each completed designed-to notation, solution is given also in figurine algebraic transform ttris volume lnto an internationally acceptable

himself

presentation. A special vote of thanks is due

-

Explanatory

The soluimo ret norc to each dhCF figurative eE*l*

q

to the Editorial Board and managerial staff of Pitman Publishing for their wholehearted

East-Euopca

support of a chess topic of documentary value.

* win#bt intbd

The

gencraltyr

: draw#5| inful +

mate

o

stalemE

!

mm(il check, in t chect, hq discoverG4 i goodffi-

?

a

@

t ch dis.

x s

any

qucsCid

i C "takes- Ld afterthc otherwb fr "takes-

a comlxE I ingful pcril

ffinaq

former ntling the final f Orrin FrinkD combing the ftc sorle very

E"pltnatory

Notes

LruscripL

tstr tine of each

fha' designed to Fflly aeptable i.'.

fEit Board and ti rfrol€heartd E

The note figur

full descriptive notation. In a footain lines aie repeated in abbreviated

n, in a version blending West- and

East-European usage. The generally accepted symbols in both notations are:

*

win-next to the diagram: White to move and win. in the notes:

After White's (Black's) White (Black) wins.

:

draw-next to the diagram: White to move and draw. in the notes:

After White's (Black's) move: White (Black) draws.

+ O

mate

@

any move (W.hite's or Black's)

t

check, in algebraic notation

ch

check, in descriptive notation

dis.

discovered, in front of check sign

stalemate

I

good move-or best choice among several alternatives

?

a questionable move

x

"takes" in descriptive notation "takes" in algebraic notation

s

after the composer's name denotes a non-American author, otherwise the by-line assumes that the composition is by a composer claiming American nationality over a meaningful period

lllliilll,tir,l

Comparative Chart of Chess Notations

For the benefit of those not familiar with the English (descriptive) notation, we give a diagram of the board with a comparison of the English and algebraic definition of the squares, and a table of international equivalents for the English symbols for the chessmen.

In the English notation, the symbol before the hyphen indicates which piece is being moved, the symbol following the hyphen the square to which it is moved. On the board below, the notation in brackets indicates Black's moves, with the board seen from Black's point of view.

gKKK gaDD ERvT ABSL ANsJP tPG)G I

These are also usrd I 2 These are also Dr,d n 3 N for Knight in @d sometimcs *c S u

AMERICAN CHESS ART

Comparative Tabulation of Symbols FiS. hs.

I Notations

ft FnElish (descripf,uitr a comparison E& squares, and a qdhh rymbols for i

Hore the hyphen

EDbol following the h Oe board below, fE$, sith the board

Czech Dut. Fr.

Hung. Ger-r lt.z Pol- Roum.

€KKKRKKRKRnpK gaDDDvDDHDoD trRvrrBTTwrJIT ABSLFFLAGNCS 6NsJPcHscscKN P (P) (P) (P) (e) (B) (P) (P) ( -) t

Russ. FIDE

(r)

1 These are also used in the Scandinavian and Yugoslav notations. 2 These are also used in the PortugUese and Spanish notations. 3 N for Knight in modern usage, replacing the archaic symbol Kt. Problemists sometimes use S, taken from the German "Springer".

Early Beginnings

distance which separated America from Europe. These pages *itl tett much of that heritage and continued

activity. The Exploring Pioneers

AMERICAN CHESS ART

however, that the term may be attributed to Kling and Horwitz's notice in The Chess Player, in 1851, that they were going to "cook", i.e. to comment on, endgame studies as time went by.* One of the truly massive monuments to Cook's place in the chess arena is his anthology American Chess-Nuls (Kingston, New York, 1868, now out of print) which consolidates all the best compositions of its time in the northwestern hemisphere. Diagrams 11,30, 33,51,59 and 60 are taken from that representative compilation. Our first four diagrams show Cook's earlier attempts at endgame study composition. In fact, they were posthumously published by H. Keidanz. Cook himself might have considered them mere sketches waiting in his portfolio for the opportunity to be worked into a more ambitious spectrum; they disclose the making of an artist. E. B. Cook, known as the "Sage of Hoboken", quickly realized the difference between the realms of the problem and of endgame study. In this f,eld he did some fine work and several of his endgames are of permanent merit. They are interesting and instructive, especially for the practical player, and a few have been included among these selections. Samuel Loyd (1841-l9ll), born in Philadelphia, was one of the world's most versatile and imaginative chess artists. He composed the bulk of his chess output before the age of twenty and then made still wider use of his phenomenal ability in the sphere of other, most intricate formal exercises which earned him the epithet of "Puzzle King". His chess style was characterized by the humorous, the spectacular, and the deceitfully unexpected. Like many other chess composers, he also was a strong player, who created quite a few brilliant games, for instance at the Paris International Master Tournament of 1867. Loyd was primafily a problemist, who dealt only marginally with endgame studies. His endings accordingly show a close affinity with problems, but fit criteria of endgame construction as well. As many endgame studies have developed from problems with a thematic orientation, Loyd's work can fit either description (for example diagrams 17,19 and others).

* Lasker's Chess Magazine (1905, p.219) touches on both interpretations, but does not favor either, as being too farfetched, preferring linguistic folklore and the colloquial meaning of "to cook", namely to tamper with, to alter; or to garble, to spoil, to ruin-a view shared by Webster's Dictionary, independent of chess usage. 2

250 PORTR-.iIIS

Anolher

L,t':

Reiclih;.'-: I !ii Snxlvst- rx::er weeklv chest c;

to i!-u-I. a Reichheln-s '

1861

pla)' co,:plC t and horr rl^s f of his srlLzei quotod-

As is o:':an : special ;heme. what ID\-lIToiof i aspec6 of "-ure of thero S,-..;3Lr Yet he al-ca indir idu.al d,,u-profounC Alain C,atrt generous Petri collector of ch 1936 fi.nanued

,

Series". nnurC'l

world.

Some of the: or The Goi.ia' JOlm G/,iJ:r*t rivalled th.is m Public Librarr periodicals e.cr donadon '.rith

increas.e the I c

grouine. Unfortunett contain -{am over 10.C[O ctr' problernLis- I among a mx-i.tr assemblC sinr

250 PORTRAITS

fE

Another born and bred Philadelphian, Gustauus Charles

and Hon*'itz's

h,y were

_eoing to lee ufone went by.t ffi's place in ine r.ll'ryi.y r{Kineston, I am,soLrCates all rlfts*;tern hemiO ere n':ken from

Reichhelru

io 1870, and from Reichhelm' play coupled inci how- this

s

involving exact temPo

of who had the move reversed. The meaning

of his stylized settings will emerge clearly from the examples quoted. As is often the case with researchers who concentrate on a special theme, Reichhelm's comp_ositions may apPear soTg-

amempts at :rG p,CSthumOUSly t hare considered r frc oppornrnity

6+

as a PlaYer,

onducted a ulletin from lphiaTimes-

1861

ft

E

(1839-1905),

analyst, writer and co weekly chess column in

wfrat monotonous, but they methodically exhaust many possible aspects of "thematic studies" which he treated in depth-some

dlsclose the

ofthem so-called "maximummers" with scores of moves. Yet he also composed many straight positional studies of individuat flair and his influence, if unobtrusive, was steady and

btokem", quickly prcblem and of b-mrk and several r

qt

are foceresting Ptlr=Er. and a few

htfu.,

r*.as one

of

i.{$ amisls. He :ft rye of rn'enty mI abiliw in the rr q nich earned tL **r

d fu rr, b Ent

world. Some of these volumes, e.g. Sam Loyd and his Chess Problems endgame studies as well. or The 8), an earlier namesake, John

Gotde Gris rivalled this

characterdeceitrully atrso was a gemes, for

rEpmeu[ of

ft to the cleveland (ohio) of manuscripts, bgol.:, collection his extensive of Library, Public periodicals and other materials on chess. He augmented his ionation with a trust fund, which has enabled the Library to increase the volumes steadily to more than 115,000, and to keep

1867.

t m.h naarginally $y sho*' a close

Fc

oonstruction rcdfrcm problems fr efuher descrip-

t

irpreradonl I

assembled since.

but does and the cOllo!o gzrbtrc, to spoil,

Elo'rc

;G

ar++SS

rrsagp-

rtrtril[nlWfrmII(nni|[nnnnnntrn|llll|llllilnllIlt,I|llIIlll!,i],

lllllllllll!llllliriill!ri

-r i

rr;irlr

nrr!

250 PORTRAITS

AMERICAN CHESS ART

DIAGRAM

1

E. B. COOK

E. B. COOX

From: H. Keidanz,

From: H. Keidotz, i

THE CHESS COMPOSITIONS OF E. B. COOK I\EW YORK, 1927

THE CHESS CON) OF E. B. COOK

6

Ehfa I

%%%

Although skeletal and sketchy, the construction contains a thematic idea, called "cross-pinning".

I P-B6! BxP! 2 B-Q7 !! K-N3 / 3 QxB ch QxQ ch

4 BxQ KxB s P-R4 K-Q3 6 N-N3 wins

NEW YORX,

I]W

Another "crossfln' key move; but abo very carefully.

I R-Q7 RxR

2 QxQ ch Kx,

The position is what is called a theoretical or "book" win, and solution and proof need not be carried further. The date, 1927, is that of Keidanz's publication, but Cook's individual efforts reach back to 1860-1900.

The catch. If 3 R-QN4T), R{

I

7 K-Q4, K-K3 l0 K-R7, R-R.s

3R{

Wrongis3... R4 P-R5

K+i

7 P-R7

R-!{

5 P-N5 K-It 6 P-R6 RxP

Just by one tsmp( 12 P x R(Q.

In

4

argebraic

notatio''

I

.ff;,#f;r? #-i'gffii:'drP*c6t,

B

:

c6t ;

250 PORTRAITS

DL{GRAM

DIAGRAM 2

1

E. B. COOK

% % % % t % %%

From: H. Keidanz,

THE CHESS COMPOSITIONS OT E. B. COOK NEW YORK,

,% %

"rru.-

1927

cr.lntains a

%

%'%

%w

%

Eh

.,,ru

%

Another "crosspin". An expert would quickly discover the key move; but also he would have to ponder the consequences very carefully.

i,xB

I R-Q7 RxR

l{3 =

Itook- uin, and

fin-

3 P-N6!

2 QxQ ch KxQ

bur Cook's

The catch. If 3 P-R5, R-Qa; a P-R6 (if 4 P-N6?, R-QN4T), R-Q8 ch; 5 K-B2, R-QR8; 6 K-K}K-B,Z;

7 K-Q4, K-K3; 8 K-B5, K-Q2; 9 K-N6, K-Bl; l0 K-R7, R-R5; 1l P-N6, R x P; 12 P-N7 ch, K-B2- .

3

R-QN2

Wrong is 3 . ..

R-Q5; 4 P-N5, RxP;

4 P-R5 K-B2 5 P-N5 K-K2 6 P-R6 R x P 7 P-R7 R-N3 ch Just by one tempo. t2 P x R(Q).

I

S:c6+, B:c6t;

F3+.

If l0

5

P-N7+.

8 K-B2 R-NI 9 P-N6 K-Q2

l0 P-N7

K-B2;

wins

11 P-R8(Q),

RxQ;

Alg.: 1 Ed7, fl :d7; 2 B:g8t, €.g8; 3 b6, Eb7; 4_a5,@f7; 5b5, €e7; - 6 a6, H,:b6;7 az, gfot; 8 €l , Eg8;9 b6, Bdz; 10 b7+.

250 PORTRAITS

AMERICAN CHESS ART

DIAGRAM 3

E. B. COOK

vrffi,

,Ll,

From: H. Keidanz,

'mt

%

THE CHESS COMPOSITIONS OF E. B. COOK

%

NEW YORK, tg27

t

taiTi

,-i

;t

"ffift fl, -I

%A

t

One of those long-distance, corner-to-corner double-chases, which are often employed in problems. But mostly they are not flexible enough to allow for draws. White perpetually threatens mate, while Black in turn keeps preventing it.

I Q-QRI Q-N8 QxN Q-Nl

2

3 Q-Rr Q-N8

In view of Black's preponderance in material, he might try other means of winning. He has two "tries" but neither of them works.

I. 1... Q-N6; 2 QxN, RxP ch; 3 NxR, RxN ch; 4 KxR, P-K7 dis. ch;5 K-R2, Q-N6 ch;6 KxQ, P-K8 (a) ch; 7 K-R2, N-Kl; 8 Q-N2, Q-N8; 9 Q-R3 ch, K-Nl; 10 Q-R8 ch, KxN; ll Q-86 ch, K-Ql

E. B. COOI

A poignant conoefl are very forcing" G date of inception-

I Q-QN2! Q2 Q-R8 ch q 3 Q-Rs ch KThe black bishop

r

it the study wor:Hb with a win after sq In diagram 5, a years later with rm

with a perpetual check.

II. I ... N-K5;2 QxP ch, K-N2;3 Q-Q5 ch, K-Bl; 4

QxN-.

Alg.: I $a1, Bbl;

2

$:h8, Bb8; 3 $a1,

Bbt:

AIs.: I Eb2,Bf{;2t €c7; 6 $:fB*

250 PORTRAITS

DT{GRAM 3

H W%T X W:z'H W Wfr",ru wtrfr*ftvf,

I Yrt MAffi Trufr

orDer

doubtre