Pandolf test 10 Tutorial



1.
[{B:4r1k1/pp3p1p/6p1/1P1q4/P1pP4/6P1/2Q2P1P/2R3K1 BLACK}
{VB:Question 1 of 7. What is Black's best move?;
e8e4;Correct. Wins the d-pawn with a dash of poison. If White now takes the c-pawn, 2. Qxc4?, he loses his Queen to 2... Re1+, deflecting White's Rook. Here we see the importance of delaying an action. By not taking the d-pawn immediately, Black is able to turn the possible exchange of pawns into the gain of a pawn. Furthermore, he gives his opponent a chance to go wrong.:5;
Incorrect.;
d5d4:This is not the best move. It trades pawns, nothing more. White can now capture the c-pawn, 2. Qxc4, for he can answer the Rook check at e1 by moving his King to g2.:1;
e8c8:This is not the best move. Black protects the c-pawn, and positions his Rook to support its subsequent advance, but there's no win here. White can hold the position by blockading on c3 with his Queen.:1;
h7h5:This is not the best move. A waiting move that also attacks. While White can't safely take the pawn on c4 (2. Qxc4 Re1+), he can save his d-pawn by 2. Qc3. Black is better, but there's no win in sight.:1;
d5f3:This is not the best move. An insidious move, threatening a Rook incursion to e2, but White can capture on c4 and still defend f2 (2. Qxc4 Re2 3. Rf1).:1}]

2.
[{B:2r5/pp2kppp/4p3/8/1P6/P3PP2/3K1P1P/2R5 BLACK}
{VB:Question 2 of 7. What is Black's best move?;
c8c1;Correct.:5;
Incorrect.{JD:4};
c8d8:This is not the best move. Not every check is wise. After White gets out of check (2. Ke2) his Rook remains in control of the c-file. Black has the superior pawn structure but it may not be enough to win, thanks to White's energetic Rook.{JD:4}:1;
e7d7:Incorrect. Too passive. If Black is willing to swap Rooks, why not take the active role and force the trade at once? After 2. Rxc8 Kxc8 White's King can get to the center first, and this usually means something. It certainly does here.{JD:4}:0}]

3.
[{M:B}{S:d2c1}
{VB:Question 2 (cont). Obviously White must take back, 2. Kxc1. How does Black get the advantage after this?;
e7f6;Correct. With this move Black is able to invade decisively, transferring his King to h3, as in the line 3. Kd2 Kg5 4. Ke2 Kh4 5. Kf1 Kh3 6. Kg1. Although White defends his weak pawn, Black can exploit his superior King's position to win. A sample conclusion is 6... e5 7. Kh1 b5 8. Kg1 f5 9. Kh1 g5 10. Kg1 h5 11. Kh1 g4 12. fxg4 fxg4 13. Kg1 e4 14. Kh1 h4 15. Kg1 g3 16. hxg3 hxg3, and however White continues Black can force a win. Sometimes exchanging pieces, even without the immediate gain of material, is the strategic thing to do, especially when it enables one to maintain a positional advantage.:5;
Incorrect.}]

4.
[{B:3B1k2/p6p/1pn3r1/1R6/4Pp2/2PR1P2/5K1P/r7 BLACK}
{VB:Question 3 of 7. What is Black's best move?;
a1g1;Correct. Strategically uniting the Rooks and tactically threatening 2... Rgg2#. Now the only way White can stave off mate is to sacrifice material, as in the variation 2. Rf5+ Ke8 3. Rxf4 Nxd8.:15;
Incorrect.;
g6g1:This is not the best move. The wrong way to double Rooks -- the lack of any immediate threat gives White the time to trim off the f4-pawn, say by 2. Bc7 and 3. Bxf4.:1;
a1a2:This is not the best move. Black wins the h-pawn (2. Kf1 Rxh2), but that's about all. White regains the pawn, anyhow, by 3. Rf5+ Ke8 4. Bc7, and the f-pawn falls.:1;
c6d8:Incorrect. This helps White activate his Rooks (2. Rxd8+ Ke7 3. Rb5). There's got to be another way.:0;
g6h6:Incorrect. The h-pawn is menaced, but White can defend it by 2. h4. Besides, If Black wants to win the h-pawn, why not do it with check, by 1... Ra2+?:0;
f8e8:Incorrect. The Bishop is now threatened, so it moves to a finer square, 2. Bc7, or even 2. Bg5. Black has much better.:0}]

5.
[{B:8/p1p5/1p4k1/5p2/4p1p1/4P3/PPPr1PP1/2R3K1}
{VB:Question 4 of 7. What is White's best continuation?;
g2g3;Correct. The key move. This prevents Black from opening up the seventh rank by g4-g3. White is merely going to move his King over to e1, dislodging Black's Rook and relieving the pressure. The position should be drawn.:15;
Incorrect.;
g1f1:Incorrect. After 1... g3! White's second rank is stripped of impediments and Black's Rook reigns supreme.:0;
a2a4:Incorrect. Interesting, but no cigar. Black plays 1... g3, and after 2. fxg3, the road is cleared for a winning invasion.:0;
b2b3:Incorrect. With 1... g3! White's position starts to crumble. White can't afford to allow his second rank to open, for that increases the power of the enemy Rook.:0}]

6.
[{B:N4brk/1p5p/p2p2rq/3Pp3/4Pp1n/3Q1P1P/PPR4K/4BR2 BLACK}
{VB:Question 5 of 7. What is Black's best move?;
h4g2;Correct. This seems to threaten a fork at e3, but it's much more serious than that. Black actually eyes mate by 2... Qxh3+ 3. Kxh3 Rh6+ 4. Bh4 Rxh4#. The best that White can try is to flee by 2. Kg1, but that falters to 2... Ne3+ 3. Kh2 Qxh3+ 4. Kxh3 Rh6+ 5. Bh4 Rg3+ 6. Kh2 Rxh4#. This final pattern shows a typical mating paradigm, where two Rooks control consecutive files.:15;
Incorrect.;
h6g7:This is not the best move. Tripling on the g-file, after which invasion on g2 is unstoppable. After 2. Bxh4, Black wins with 2... Rg2+ 3. Kh1 (3. Rxg2 Qxg2#) 3... Rg1+ 4. Kh2 (4. Rxg1 Qxg1#) 4... Qg2+! 5. Rxg2 R8xg2#. So White must throw away material to avoid the inevitable. While not the best move, clearly it's a winning one. Dominating a file, by placing two or three major pieces on it, is a typical strategic goal. Once you have such control it's easy to find winning tactics.:10;
g6g2:This is not the best move. After 2. Rxg2 Rxg2+ 3. Kh1, Black is not quite winning. Moreover, White has a threat -- to take the Knight at h4, removing the Rook's protector.:1;
f8e7:This is not the best move. It threatens the Knight at a8, which can then be brought back to play. But Black has a much stronger move at his disposal, and that's the way to go.:1;
h6h5:This is not the best move. Doesn't threaten much because f3 is already guarded twice. There's a better finishing move, so find it.:1;
g6g3:This is not the best move. An ominous invasion that threatens to sacrifice the Rook on h3. The move is not to be sneezed at, and there are lots of ways for White to go wrong, but it's better for Black to start off by going right.:1}]

7.
[{B:1q1r3r/3bkp2/p2p1b1p/1p1Pp1p1/PB5P/1P2NQ2/1P3PP1/2R2RK1}
{VB:Question 6 of 7. What is White's best move?;
c1c6;Correct. This positions the Rook to exploit the open c-file. It also targets the vulnerable d6-pawn, threatening 2. Bxd6+. And if the Rook is captured, 1... Bxc6, then the square d5 (2. d5xc6) opens up for a crushing Knight invasion. Meanwhile, if the Bishop withdraws, say to c8, then White doubles Rooks on the c-file, 2. Rfc1, menacing a check at c7. If Black then tries to stop this by 2... Rd7, White wins with 3. Nf5+ and 4. Rxc8. In constricted positions, it's not unusual to sacrifice the exchange in order to clear lines and squares for the minor pieces. This is an aspect of positional chess and strategic thinking where the aim is to convert one kind of advantage into another that's more relevant.:20;
Incorrect.;
b4d6:While not the best move, this is an ingenious sacrifice. Now if 1... Kxd6, then 2. Qxf6+ forces mate. So Black must continue 1... Qxd6, whereupon White follows with 2. Rc6!, with unclear possibilities. Black actually loses in several variations (such as 2... Bxc6 3. Nf5+), but the reply 2... e4! definitely keeps him in the game. So take your points for 1. Bxd6+, but there's a clearer and better way to go. Find it.:10;
e3f5:This is not the best move. A vexatious intrusion, but Black is able to get rid of this Knight (1... Bxf5), relieving some of the pressure. Hold off on this idea.:2;
e3g4:This is not the best move. Threatens the Bishop at f6, but not for long, for Black saves the day by a simple exchange, 1... Bxg4 2. Qxg4. He then has real chances to survive.:2;
b4a5:This is not the best move. Attacks the Rook, but lessens the pressure on d6. Furthermore, Black can shift his Rook over to the c-file to fight for its control.:2;
a4a5:Incorrect. Prevents Black from opening the b-file by exchange, but it closes the game further and takes away use of the a5-square. There's a much more potent move to be discovered.:0}]

8.
[{B:r4r1k/ppq3pp/3R4/4N1B1/4P3/1Q5/PP2b1PP/2R3K1}
{VB:Question 7 of 7. What is White's best move?;
b3d1;Correct. Before playing 1. Qd1! White is faced with a number of serious threats. Two that stand out in particular are the attack to the d6-Rook and the possibility of capturing on c1 (Qc7xc1+) destroying the guard on f1, which would lead to mate (Rf8-f1#). With this move (1. Qd1!) White holds everything together in a grand way. If Black takes White's Queen, 1... Bxd1, then White captures Black's, 2. Rxc7. Meanwhile the mate at f1 has disappeared. Note that after 1... Qa5, White is succeeding with 2. Qxe2 Qxe5 3. Rd5, saving the Rook and guarding the Bishop. White wins. Strategically, when your pieces are scattered and not working properly, the right idea is to consolidate -- to make moves that coordinate the forces while dealing with the opponent's threats.:20;
Incorrect.;
d6d1:This is not the best move. This saves the Rook but hangs the Knight, with the d1-Rook still under attack. White has better.:3;
c1d1:Incorrect. This fails to the direct 1... Qxd6!, when 2. Rxd6 permits mate at f1. Don't play this move.:0;
d6d7:Incorrect. White saves his d6-Rook, but leaves his Knight hanging while allowing 1... Qxc1+ 2. Bxc1 Rf1#.:0;
b3d5:Incorrect. A centralization, but one that doesn't work because of 1... Qxc1+, when 2. Bxc1 loses to 2... Rf1#.:0}]