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14Section 3Friday, July 19, 1974THE HERALDShelby Lymaon chessV/X.VV.V.V/ADefensive piny often overlookedThere is a dimension of chess whose existence only gradually impinges on the consciousness of the developing player. The art of defense is often the last skill to be appreciated and developed. Perhaps, this is because virtuosity in defense presents the greatest problems in precision and morale. For the young player, bravado in attack precedes patience in warding off the attack.Yet there are some defensive techniques that are immediately part of every player’s repertoire. An attack on a piece almost inevitably provokes a basic defensive response: protect the piece or move it. Only on singular occasions can a piece not be saved in that manner.It was therefore with great ingenuity that the 22-year-old Brazilian, Eugene Mecking, played a subtle combination against the Russian ace Korchnoi and reached the following position. One wouldDiagram IThink that Mecking has simply miscalculated. Korchnoi's bishop is attacking both white’s rook and knight, which though defended once by white’s bishop is threatened a second time by the black rook. Mecking is a pawn ahead. But how is he to extricate himself from losingmuch more?An at least partial respite is not toohard to find. Mecking can apparently cuthis losses by playing 1. R-R2, wiiich threatens 2. R-R8 check mate, though black, it seems, can still win material by1 . . . RxN (wrhich provides an escape square for the king). (See Diagram 2). Now if Mecking plays 2. BxR, Korchnoi will answerDiagram 22 . . . BxB. With a bishop and knight for a rook and a pawn, Korchnoi will have a slight material advantage.But Mecking, who has chosen an active defense” for himself, has foreseen some curious defensive problems for black. He did not in fact play BxR after RxN. Instead he played 2. R-R3!, a move that will leave wiiite a pawn ahead and justify his preceding play. For the attacked bishop cannot be defended, and the normal response of flight leaves the blackrook undefended.Though this was Mecking’s only win in his 3-1 match loss to Korchnoi, the caliber of play shown in this game speaks of his potential world championship stature.Diagram .3Our last position, a hypothetical situation from a Karpov-Hort game, is another example of a strange lack of defensive responses. Why could Hort (black) have not afforded to reach this position, as he would have by playing B(K3)x BP?% •sibilities may never be underestimated.The answer is too simple. White would ^y ajso may never ^ taken for grant-have played 2. R-QBl, winning a piece.Again there is no direct defense of theed.Address your question in care ofattacked piece. And if it should move c.0jnrnn j0 Paddock Publications,away, a curious pin materializes. Black p 0 Box 28# Arlington H(.ighls IUwill lose a rook after 3. QxR! (Hort ac-tually played N-B4, instead of BxBP.)It is apparent that while defensive pos- (Copyright 1D74 by Shelby Lyman)(Diagram 1) BLACKKORCHNOIMECKINGWHITEWhat is white to do ?(Diagram 2)BLACKKORCHNOIMECKINGWHITENow what?(Diagram 3)BLACKHORTHO NO 90 O X 9X NX HXWhite wins a piece!8QR QN QB Q K KB KN KRKARPOVWHITE
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Des Plaines Herald
Des Plaines, Illinois, US
Fri, Jul 19, 1974
Page 40
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