Category: Analysis
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Rook and Knight vs. Rook
In the Munster Chess Union’s Club League, I witnessed a remarkable game in which two players fought for more than five hours, including nearly 90 minutes in a single rook and knight versus rook endgame, which ultimately concluded in a draw. Most of the players in the room were convinced that the position was theoretically…
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Chess Olympiad Day 6
Liechtenstein – Ireland ½-3½. In the last couple of rounds Ireland faced stronger opponents, and still managed to compete. After the loss in the last round, it was expected to get a relatively easy opponent. Nonetheless, Liechtenstein shall not be underestimated. It is a small country located between Switzerland and Austria, but after their Chess…
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Chess Olympiad Day 5
In Day 5, Team Ireland faced another formidable opponent, Denmark. Team Ireland lost 3-1 in this battle, unfortunately, but the games were very instructive in many ways. In the following columns, I will present an interesting game between Connor E Murphy vs. Jonas Buhl Bjerre. The game started very well for Ireland: Bjerre chose a…
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Chess Olympiad Day 4
This day also brought us a new lesson to learn. Many players believe that the most powerful thing in chess to capture materials, or to find a tactical solution to a problem. That is one of the reasons why we practice daily puzzles, of all sorts. However, in my opinion, threats in chess are most…
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Chess Olympiad Day 3
On Day 3, Team Ireland faced the very strong Team Greece (mean Elo-point difference was -218, 28% chance of winning), but Ireland managed to keep the surprises for a while. On Board 4, Mr. Fitzsimons won a very instructive game in a relatively less known Sicilian Defence variations. He managed to increase the initial advantage…
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Chess Olympiad Day 2
Focusing solely on material advantage in a chess game is a common mistake. This can happen to anyone, at any level, even in the Olympiad. However, there are other crucial factors to consider in a game besides material advantage: the king’s safety, control of space, and the number and quality of active threats. These are…
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Chess Olympiad Day 1
The main festival of chess, the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad, has just begun in Budapest, Hungary. In Day 1, Ireland faced a relatively well-known opponent, Fiji, in the first round of the Open Section. In rugby, it would be a cut-throat game and challenge. However, in chess, Ireland is a considerably better team; the Elo-point…
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Smothered mate
“The smothered mate is a most beautiful kind of mate, produced by the knight. It is made possible by the inability of the opposing king to escape because he is completely surrounded by his own pieces.“(Aaron Nimzowitch, 1925) Smothered mate is one of the oldest checkmate patterns in chess, as shown in the diagram below.…