Chess

Pastimes

William Hartston
Friday 27 October 1995 21:02 EDT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

When I first saw this position (from Spassky-Averkin, USSR Championship 1973) I noticed something very unusual about it. It is a "White to play and win" position in which finding the answer is not made any easier by having the words "White to play and win" printed beneath it.

Whenever one sees that magic phrase, one looks for sacrifices, startling moves and heavy threats. In this case, the moves 1.Rxg7+, 1.Nd5, 1.Be5, 1.Qe5 and 1.Bh6 are queuing up to be analysed. If there is a forced win in the position (and we know that there is), it has to be something based on the c-file, the back rank and an attack on g7. And since the answer is bound to be something flashy, or the question would not have been posed in the first place, it really ought to be 1.Rxg7+ or something to do with Nd5 - after a preliminary b4, perhaps.

When I saw Spassky's next move - which was none of those yet mentioned - I resolved to start a collection of positions in which it may be easier to find a winning combination if you are not told one is there.

Twenty-two years later, I still have only this one position. So, rather than wait any longer, I resolved to display my entire collection today.

And in case you still haven't spotted the answer, I can divulge that Spassky played 1.Bc7! Rxc7 2.Qe5 simply winning rook for bishop.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in