Something simple!?

After a long break from blogging, I have returned. The past week was as hectic as hectic could be, which coupled with my illness (mental or physical i decline to say) left me staggering, unfit for Blog Duty. But of present, my medical leave has thus expired and I will not attempt to go AWOL (absence without leave).

An apology to those who might be reminded about their unpleasant army experiences, but hey, I just had a bad one today. I went with no small degree of anxiety to the NS enlistment centre for my medical checkup, which I had so coincidentally placed on my longest schoolday. I really wasn't that enthusiastic about getting my arm poked by amateur medics who might be in foul moods, as I had gathered from the few sources who had already been "defiled". A further concern was the sighting of that precious red liquid fondly known as blood, as I have unfortunately inherited from my mother the fear of blood, in addition to many other things such as roller coasters and heights.

Well, as it went, I didn't faint! But I was much agonised when the doctor (thank goodness it wasn't some young immature punk) drew 3-4 test tubes of blood from me. Apparently, my mum has got this blood condition and so the doctor was taking an extra 3 tubes of blood as compared to the rest to test for iron deficiency. So, there goes, 2 pokes, and a considerable amount of blood lost. Guess I just have to eat more to make up for eat, right jeslin? So you should treat me to Canadian Pizza!

Anyway, I have decided to demote myself down to a lower Pes in terms of blog entry. Instead of a complicated puzzle like the previous, I shall give something much simpler and easier to solve. Nevertheless, it is really instructive to have such knowledge of pawn/ queen endings and hopefully this would be useful to my readers! Besides, it really isn't that simple, having stumped the entire RI and RJ chess club when Ashot showed it from my cool endgame book. There goes.

White to move and Draw!

Hah this one fritz can solve immediately, so lets give you 5 min to ponder it out! (think carefully: When is the opportune moment to capture that queen!)

Okay don't read on or it wouldn't be fun anymore. Only check your answers! Especially for RJ Chess Club people, just doing a few of these each week can help quite a bit!

Okays, if you're thinking 1. Rxe4 you're quite far off the mark. Any logical play from black will warrant him a win after that, such as 1. ... Kxe4 2. Kf2 Kd3 3. Ke1 Kc2 0-1. As such, the only logical possibility for white here would be to play Kf2. Now if black plays the blunder Qxe3, the game is simply drawn, with the black king unable to support his potential second wife (after the pawn promotes and takes the place as queen).

Therefore, the moves are more or less cut out for us. 1. Kf2 b4 2. Ke2 (do note that if here 2. Rxe4 Kxe4 3. Ke2 black can simply play 3. ... b3 gaining himself back the opposition and the game) 2. ... b3 This is now the crucial position of the puzzle. How does white draw??? Rxe4 is still impossible after Kxe4 Kd2 Kd4, so what is the magical move? Nope, certainly not Kd2, after which Qxe3 Kxe3 b2 just wins. 3. Kd1!! Yes, it might seem easy here but it wasn't so from the inital position, was it? Well, after Kd1 Qxe3 is stalemate and if any other move, white simply takes the queen and collects the lost pawn. (if you were in a game in playchess.com with the position, I would suggest you immediately premove Rxe4!)

I'll talk about something more interest next time, I promise!

Oh and anyway, a quote which i find quite amusing (its by my economics tutor)- "I hope that James Bond is the only Bond you know." when talking about bonds used to manipulate money supply.

Also would like to congratulate the New J1 Exco on a well planned CIP! The first day was a resounding success, with all the bubble tea being sold out within two blocks! Great work, people! Keep up the brilliant performance! =)

Time flies...

Time flies really quickly. It seems only yesterday when I took over the leadership of the Chess Club, and attended the annual CCA Leaders Camp in Bintan. Yet just today I passed over the beacon of leadership down to the J1 batch. Well, not officially yet, but it sure feels that way after the new Exco is announced. There's this weird feeling lingering around. Maybe nostalgia? Well, I sincerely wish all the best to the next Exco- Jeslin, Hanyu, Mark and Suz! Hope they'll be able to bring the club to greater heights! Remember, you can always approach me if you need any help! I'll be there!

Also really want to publicly thank some people who have helped me much in the year: Michelle my vice chair, Siau Rui my sect, and Shuyi and Wai Chuan. Regrettably there was not enough posts for them and after a close fight they were finally eliminated. Nevertheless, don't be too disappointed and strive on!

Anyway, before I get carried away with emo-ness, here are some funny quotes.

"Teacher, teacher, can we have a new tournament?"- Student A at Clementi Pri
"But its almost 6 already!" - Student B (training officially ends at 6pm)
"Nevermind la, end at 6.30 can right, teacher?" - Student A

Heart warming, eh? So enthusiastic..

"I won! Scholars Mate again!" - Cute Student at Clementi Pri (who has invariably used scholars mate to bring about his opponents' downfall despite me trying to educate the rest on how to counter it)
"Ok, thats good, why dont you record your score on the board?" - Me, still engrossed in a super interesting transfer game between Jeslin and was it Tim Chan?
"But I cant!"- Student
"Huh? Why cant you?" - Me, confused.
*He reaches and it becomes evident that he's too short!*

During Chess training today, I got a little bored and decided to practise some probability on the board.

"The mean number of students present for chess training each week is known to be 9. Find the probability that at least 8 students come for training today."

Then, "let x denote the random variable representing the number of students present for chess training today. X - Po(9)"

Therefore, "P(X >= 8) = 1- P(X <= 7) = 0.677"

Then Mr Low (our teacher in charge and also a maths teacher) came in and circled my x, commenting that it should be strictly X instead. So strict, ain't he!

Show me what you've got! Take this puzzle on!

As Jeslin pointed out, this post has been long overdue. I apologise for the delay, having being caught up in a vicious cycle of schoolwork and sickness. (You would indubitably know that they are correlated!) Anyway, on a side note, I borrowed a chess book from the library entitled "Solving in Style", written by the legendary John Nunn. It is also long overdue, apart from the fact that it incurs a much higher cost. Up to date, it must have cost me 5 precious dollars. Nevertheless, I somehow feel that the opportunity cost of returning it is higher. How so, I cannot hope to fathom, as the book has been gathering dust on my study table alongside the other books such as Freakonomics and Yitiantulongji, probably waiting its turn to be picked up 5 minutes before I fall asleep.

However, it must be said that the book is of substantial, extraordinary quality. John Nunn gives the reader an insight into how to solve the extremely complex 2 or 3 mover mates puzzles, which IM Ashot has been showing a marked hinge for, never failing to supply a few for training. It is really enlightening when John Nunn analyses a position and explains the subtleties, eliminating move after move. Maybe I should read more of it and compete with Brandon for the title of "best puzzle solver", which Ashot has most graciously conferred onto him after he solved puzzles that even top grandmasters are at a loss to.

Moving on to the real purpose of this post, I have a puzzle to present. It is taken from Irving Chernev's 200 Brilliant Endgames, which I have currently taken a fancy to. Just a note: do note that it is no amateurish puzzle and I suggest that you do not attempt it unless you have loads of time to spare. Nonetheless, you should look at the solution and see for yourself how powerful the king really is in the endgame! =) Well, here goes.

Chekhover, 1937
White to play and win

Now, this is no fiasco even though white has 15 points on the board as compared to black's 11. It is certainly no easy win for white. Let me do a quick explanation. As you can see, white's pieces are not at liberty to move. Should the queen move anywhere along the h file, Black will simply move his light square bishop and promote his f pawn the following move. Should White's queen leave the h file, the rook will be left hanging and once lost, would be decisive in Black's favour instead. The rook can only move by taking the knight or the g pawn, which obviously leads to an immediate lost. As such, only the king is free to move.

On the other hand, Black is also stuck. His f and g pawns are immobilised by the king and bishop, and any attempt to move the bishop would lead to checkmate on g2. Also, any knight move would just be giving a free piece. As such, his only movable piece is the knight on h8. (if White promotes after Black moves his knight, Black simply sacrifices his knight and follows his plan of moving the light square bishop and promoting.)

So whats the plan! A decent player would then conclude: Move the King! Since Black's knight is only limited to the f7, g6, and h8 trio of squares, just march the king all the way to that corner and capture the knight and end this one- sided battle! But is it that easy? Do remember that White's king must tread carefully. Should it venture to step on the wrong path i.e. any white square, Black will take the opportunity to "fan3 bai4 wei2 sheng4", and snatch a win out of a lost position.

Consider- 1. Kb2 Nf7 2. Kc3 Nh8 3. Kd4 Nf7 4. Kc5 Nh8

(I apologise for the bottom squares being cut off, shall try and solve the problem) Well now if White just takes the direct approach and plays Kd6, Black can stop his advance by playing the precise Ng6! and White's King and advance no further as the dark squares are controlled by the knight and the light squares are taboo. (if 5. Kd6 Nf7+? 6. Ke7 1-0)

So how does White win this, with only a king to manoevre? Or will he be held to a draw by the persistent knight? The answer:

1. Kb2 Nf7 2. Kc3 Nh8 3. Kd4 Nf7 4. Kc5 Nh8 5. Kb6 Nf7 6. Ka7 Nh8 7. Ka8!!

This magical square allows white to win a move, and subsequently the game since black's knight would no longer be in tandem to defend the dark squares when the king marches in. (This is the only white square which does not allow a check from the enemy bishop) The rest is rather easy, though black still creates some problems for white.

7. ... Nf7 8. Kb8 Nh8 9. Kc7 Nf7! (preventing Kd6 and Kd8) 10. Kb6 Nh8 11. Kc5 Ng6 12. Kd4 Nh8 13. Ke5 Nf7+ 14. Kf6 Nh8 15. Kg7 Nf7

The last trap from Black. Now, should White be too hasty and takes the knight, or by sheer unluckiness touches the knight accidentally, Black saves himself with Bc4+and f1Q.

But with accurate play as follows, White wins- 16. h8Q! Nxh8 17. Kxh8 1-0 Black will be forced to move either bishop or knight after which the game is over.

Hope you enjoyed this puzzle- The march of the King! (Fritz couldnt solve it so you must be quite good if you can!)