tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65289838579380594652024-03-14T02:48:12.129-07:00 Crazyhouse Chessokeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6528983857938059465.post-71833322393420855692021-12-24T10:11:00.006-08:002021-12-27T04:36:20.492-08:002021 Crazyhouse World Championships Final<p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjXDQgKU-6GW_wuS7zeAnIq0mI0XQ48-BODF4oqBmTTTtrHaFHarmPq8IH4mlKAqBd9CkTXgOi5rSgMTruSGWPfp-oH5TZGKlih-3jVxee_yN3S04CppzDJVwFpRyE3lmLBMrSfF8YSPXXlZdYkD-ET0J0JMeaUoTF4N_hXhSeVktZSSdf_tFhXSgPsSw=s880" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="550" data-original-width="880" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjXDQgKU-6GW_wuS7zeAnIq0mI0XQ48-BODF4oqBmTTTtrHaFHarmPq8IH4mlKAqBd9CkTXgOi5rSgMTruSGWPfp-oH5TZGKlih-3jVxee_yN3S04CppzDJVwFpRyE3lmLBMrSfF8YSPXXlZdYkD-ET0J0JMeaUoTF4N_hXhSeVktZSSdf_tFhXSgPsSw=w640-h400" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The 2021 Crazyhouse World Championship (CWC) reached its apex with the Grand Final between Champion </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/Jasugi99" style="font-family: arial;">Jasugi99</a><span style="font-family: arial;">, NM Janak Awatramani from Canada formerly known as TwelveTeen, and the Challenger </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/catask" style="font-family: arial;">catask</a><span style="font-family: arial;">, whom most considered the favourite from the stunning form he has shown in the last couple of years. Despite only starting to play the game in 2018, </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/catask" style="font-family: arial;">catask</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> won the Crazyhouse Arena Kings and a series against GM Yasser Seirawan in 2019, and emerged in 2021 from a field of over 256 contestants, with an 88% win rate against his fellow Candidates to earn his place in the Final.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><p></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 28.8px;"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The full results of the Candidates can be seen here:</span></div><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://tinyurl.com/CWCCandidates2021" style="font-family: arial;">https://tinyurl.com/CWCCandidates2021</a></div></span><p></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 28.8px;"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Every single match in the Candidates was covered so you can rewatch the action here:</span></div><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://tinyurl.com/CWCVideos2021" style="font-family: arial;">https://tinyurl.com/CWCVideos2021</a><br /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-family: arial;"><br />The 60-game Final of 3+2 crazyhouse on lichess.org was split across three days on December 17th, 19th & 21st at 18:00UTC. The match was live-streamed by </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/JannLee" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-family: arial;"><span class="s2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(54, 146, 231); font-kerning: none;">LM JannLee</span></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-family: arial;"> at </span><a href="http://www.twitch.tv/jannleecrazyhouse" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-family: arial;"><span class="s2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(54, 146, 231); font-kerning: none;">http://www.twitch.tv/jannleecrazyhouse</span></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-family: arial;"> joined by </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/yasser-seirawan" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-family: arial;"><span class="s2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(54, 146, 231); font-kerning: none;">GM Yasser Seirawan</span></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-family: arial;">, </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/Mugwort" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-family: arial;"><span class="s2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(54, 146, 231); font-kerning: none;">Mugwort</span></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-family: arial;">, </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/Kleerkast" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-family: arial;"><span class="s2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(54, 146, 231); font-kerning: none;">Kleerkast</span></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-family: arial;">, </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/zyxon" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-family: arial;"><span class="s2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(54, 146, 231); font-kerning: none;">FM zyxon</span></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-family: arial;"> and </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/OldHas-Been" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-family: arial;"><span class="s2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(54, 146, 231); font-kerning: none;">OldHas-Been</span></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-family: arial;"> also known as </span><a href="http://www.twitch.tv/therealgnejs" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-family: arial;"><span class="s2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(54, 146, 231); font-kerning: none;">therealgnejs</span></a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-family: arial;"> on Twitch who streamed most of the Candidates matches.</span></div></span><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 28.8px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br />If you want to re-live the action, then read no further and watch the streams!</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 28.8px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/42Sm9iszrGM" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 28.8px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CQxKD5R5tbo" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 28.8px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/epXF7rxpwr0" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 28.8px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In the run-up to the Final, </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/catask" style="font-family: arial;">catask</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> was hotly favoured with a 200-point rating advantage (2965 to 2763) on lichess, five Candidate adoptions (vs four for </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/Jasugi99" style="font-family: arial;">Jasugi99</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> in 2020), an 88% Candidate win rate (vs 85% for </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/Jasugi99" style="font-family: arial;">Jasugi99</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> in 2020) and the match fitness of the Challenger on his side, having had his mettle tested by the best in the game and emerging undefeated and practically unscathed.</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 28.8px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial;">His narrowest margin of victory was 7-3 against JannLee, opperwezen & zyxon, the latter coming closest to unsettling him with a strategy of creating chaos on the board and hoping </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/catask" style="font-family: arial;">catask</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> would make mistakes in the resulting complications. <a href="https://lichess.org/@/zyxon" target="_blank">Zyxon</a> missed a <a href="https://lichess.org/xzVVyu1T#49" target="_blank">mate in 19: Qxh2!!</a> and a <a href="https://lichess.org/Z3v3X5a8/black#38" target="_blank">mate in 11: N@c6+!!</a> as well as having good chances in other games. However, when </span></span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/catask" style="font-family: arial;">catask</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> is in his comfort zone, he is impossible to contend with. He steadily improves his position, making useful moves, keeping his king extremely safe before unleashing on his opponent and exploiting their weaknesses. So any opponent who adopted a chess-like approach tended to get demolished. <a href="https://lichess.org/@/Jasugi99" target="_blank">Jasugi99</a>, the master of attack, would certainly be the one opponent who could take him down.</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 28.8px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Both </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/Jasugi99" style="font-family: arial;">Jasugi99</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> & </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/catask" style="font-family: arial;">catask</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> claimed they had little time to prepare for this match, and certainly </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/Jasugi99" style="font-family: arial;">Jasugi99</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> played in a style to try to avoid any prep </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/catask" style="font-family: arial;">catask</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> might have had in store.</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 28.8px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">On day 1, </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/Jasugi99" style="font-family: arial;">Jasugi99</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> won the first and last game, but </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/catask" style="font-family: arial;">catask</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> proved too strong, winning by the same ratio of 7 to 3 as he had against JannLee, opperwezen & zyxon in the Candidates. So day 1 ended with </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/catask" style="font-family: arial;">catask</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> already with a formidable 14-6 lead. Game 20 won by Jasugi99 was a <a href="https://lichess.org/xYAlqSav" target="_blank">monumental struggle lasting 151 moves</a>, a new record for the Crazyhouse World Championship, surpassing the <a href="https://lichess.org/g2DX2DDt/black" target="_blank">94-move game</a> between <a href="https://lichess.org/@/blitzbullet" target="_blank">blitzbullet</a> & <a href="https://lichess.org/@/mariorton" target="_blank">mariorton</a> in the 2021 Candidates, this itself surpassing the 2018 marathon <a href="https://lichess.org/AQz82Olh" target="_blank">93-move game</a> between <a href="https://lichess.org/@/ciw" target="_blank">ciw</a> & <a href="https://lichess.org/@/crosky" target="_blank">crosky</a>.</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 28.8px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/@/Jasugi99" style="font-family: arial;">Jasugi99</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> started day 2 brightly winning the first two games, bringing the deficit down to just 6, but it was one-way traffic after that. </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/Jasugi99" style="font-family: arial;">Jasugi99</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> suffered a painful missed mate in <a href="https://lichess.org/AexIVboL#88" target="_blank">game 11 after dropping a knight on h6</a> where he missed it could be taken by a backward-moving bishop instead of on f6 and this ended up being the third in a streak of 12 games </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/catask" style="font-family: arial;">catask</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> won to conclude day 2. This would be the <a href="https://lichess.org/study/ZofB0C1h" target="_blank">sixth adoption streak</a> for </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/catask" style="font-family: arial;">catask</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> in the 2021 Crazyhouse World Championships. Having lost only 4 games on day 2, this left </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/catask" style="font-family: arial;">catask</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> on the brink of victory with a 30-10 lead going into the final 20 games.</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 28.8px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/@/Jasugi99" style="font-family: arial;">Jasugi99</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> would have had to win every game on day 3 just to force a tiebreak, so to keep the match interesting, JannLee augmented the $2000 prize fund with an extra $100 with $5 on offer for every game won on day 3. When </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/catask" style="font-family: arial;">catask</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> took the first two games to extend his winning streak to 14 games unanswered, he confirmed his title as the 2021 Champion, but then came the </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/Jasugi99" style="font-family: arial;">Jasugi99</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> fight-back taking the next five games. A massive tournament on lichess disrupted the servers momentarily in <a href="https://lichess.org/Etk4TfgM" target="_blank">game 10</a>, but fortuitously the position had already petered out into a forced draw, the first ever in CWC Final history. At that stage, </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/Jasugi99" style="font-family: arial;">Jasugi99</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> actually led 6.5-3.5 on day 3, but a streak of 5 for </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/catask" style="font-family: arial;">catask</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> in the final stretch put him back on top for the day 10.5-9.5. The total score across the 60 games was a dominant 40.5-19.5 in favour of </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/catask" style="font-family: arial;">catask</a><span style="font-family: arial;">.</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 28.8px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">With the two best players of the game fighting it out for the title, and six top players in the commentary stream led by <a href="https://lichess.org/@/JannLee">JannLee</a> & <a href="https://lichess.org/@/yasser-seirawan">GM Yasser Seirawan</a>, it was an awesome spectacle and we have a formidable Champion. Here is a roster of Champions past & present:</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 28.8px;"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">2017: </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/JannLee" style="font-family: arial;">JannLee</a></span></div><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">2018: </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/wateenellende" style="font-family: arial;">opperwezen</a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">2019 1+0: <a href="https://lichess.org/@/wateenellende">opperwezen</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">2020: <a href="https://lichess.org/@/Jasugi99">Jasugi99</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">2021: <a href="https://lichess.org/@/catask">catask</a></div></span></span><p></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 28.8px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Massive Congratulations to <a href="https://lichess.org/@/catask" target="_blank">catask</a>!</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 28.8px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">You can keep up to date with any future crazyhouse events in the calendar in the sidebar of <a href="https://zhchess.blogspot.com/"><span class="s2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(54, 146, 231); font-kerning: none;">https://zhchess.blogspot.com</span></a>.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 28.8px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">If you are interested in following or participating in this event in 2022, please join the <a href="https://lichess.org/team/crazyhouse-world-championship"><span class="s2" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(54, 146, 231); font-kerning: none;">Crazyhouse World Championship team</span></a> on lichess.</span></span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 28.8px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">In the meantime, do join<span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;"> the </span><a href="https://dscrd.me/housechessvariants" rel="noopener" style="background-color: white; color: #2288bb; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">House: Chess Variants Discord Server</a> to follow the latest happenings in the Bughouse World Championship. And finally we would also like to extend congratulations to <a href="https://lichess.org/@/fast-tsunami" target="_blank">fast-tsunami</a> from Brazil for taking the crown in the <a href="https://chronatog.com/2021/09/the-2021-atomic-world-championship/">2021 Atomic World Championship</a> (AWC) which has taken place every year since 2016. </span></span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 28.8px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Have a very Merry Christmas and wishing you all the best in the New Year!</span></span></p><p class="p4" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(186, 186, 186); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 28.8px; text-align: justify;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">—okei</span></span></p>okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6528983857938059465.post-14075981255669566002021-08-25T02:08:00.002-07:002021-08-25T02:24:02.480-07:00Introducing the Candidates<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Over the weekend, JannLee & daughter Bella made the draw for pairings in the 2021 Crazyhouse Candidates and together with Zaraza, IgorBugMate and MarlonC streamed the following introduction video to the Candidates:<br /><br />
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/i8On0XcDiGs?ecver=1&iv_load_policy=3&rel=0&yt:stretch=16:9&autohide=1&color=red&width=560&width=560" width="560"><div><a rel="" id="xGfSiJk1" href="https://downloadyou.tube/">here is how to download a YouTube video</a></div><div><a rel="" id="xGfSiJk1" href="https://downloadyou.tube/">DLYouTube</a></div><script type="text/javascript">function execute_YTvideo(){return youtube.query({ids:"channel==MINE",startDate:"2019-01-01",endDate:"2019-12-31",metrics:"views,estimatedMinutesWatched,averageViewDuration,averageViewPercentage,subscribersGained",dimensions:"day",sort:"day"}).then(function(e){},function(e){console.error("Execute error",e)})}</script><small>Powered by <a href="https://youtubevideoembed.com/ ">Embed YouTube Video</a></small></iframe><br /><br />
</span><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span>The following are the descriptions of the Candidates in their own words followed by creative descriptions by Zaraza in English and Russian (translated thanks to MarlonC):<br />
<iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="1.3323485967503692" data-auto-height="true" frameborder="0" height="600" id="doc_32633" scrolling="no" src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/521623309/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-UtPr7hvFM8PIgWEXB6O8" title="Crazyhouse World Championship 2021" width="100%"></iframe></span><script type="text/javascript">(function() { var scribd = document.createElement("script"); scribd.type = "text/javascript"; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = "https://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })();</script></span></div>
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br />You can see the latest standings for the 2021 Candidates <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12OGB0qqNXa8BuCq8FymCKKKGutcW5K7zDnSayWNtj3A/edit?usp=drivesdk" target="_blank">here</a>.</span>okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6528983857938059465.post-87299970679640214482021-08-09T20:06:00.003-07:002021-08-09T20:17:37.054-07:00Introduction to Crazyhouse 960<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>Season 9.60</b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgqu4MBbEPw2-kr8FVMUwnOrhoWi4oJ_kfzncEe8V2soiiM7VNFn3gfDUOzoF1nG-5uUIr2cKjo4Xy7OLprqkDnf8pBoKOBpqYsPVgzC29dUJiq_fDncc_qoZ32mgo4eFYfP6yd9GTrdnP/s1684/Screenshot+2021-08-09+at+22.37.54.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="1684" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgqu4MBbEPw2-kr8FVMUwnOrhoWi4oJ_kfzncEe8V2soiiM7VNFn3gfDUOzoF1nG-5uUIr2cKjo4Xy7OLprqkDnf8pBoKOBpqYsPVgzC29dUJiq_fDncc_qoZ32mgo4eFYfP6yd9GTrdnP/s16000/Screenshot+2021-08-09+at+22.37.54.png" width="590" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The first three weeks of July saw four teams of seven as well as back-up alternates battle it out in the second ever full crazyhouse 960 league. The winning team was Red Button made up of Fumitoks on board 1, terra87 on board 2, grogers, IgorBugMate, Zaraza, the_Crocodile_Hunter & Zher0. The team went unbeaten in the league with an impressive 69.0% game win rate. Second & third were the unimaginatively named Team 2 & Team 3 led by LegionDestroyer & Kleerkast respectively, while Dirty Diagonals despite great team spirit came in fourth. Special mention goes to Fumitoks & terra87 who both went through the league undefeated with 6 wins out of 6. We take this opportunity to introduce crazyhouse 960 through highlights from this recently completed league.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">How to Play</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Go to <a href="https://www.pychess.org">https://www.pychess.org</a>, click login on the top right, then authenticate and it will automatically recognise your lichess username (if it doesn't work, repeat in incognito browser). Like lichess, you might also wish to press the settings button right of your username, then Background: Dark to get the familiar dark background that’s easier on the eyes. You can create challenges in the lobby or train with Fairy-Stockfish, building up from Level 1 to Level 8. Currently, there is a 30 second delay on move 1 before the game times out. During this time, you can assess the unfamiliar position and decide your first move.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">To castle, like in 960, you need to drag king over rook at a time when the king hasn’t moved, is not in check, and none of the squares it passes through are in check. Just like crazyhouse, the game is super-powered chess, rich in tactical combinations and requiring good understanding of short-term positional weaknesses. Basic chess principles apply. Let’s start with beginner principles and increase in difficulty to master this game! Along the way, we present 50 puzzles and one outstanding highlight game of the league.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">1. Activate Pieces</span></b></p><p class="p2" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">This means activating the pieces on the first rank at the start of the game, but also activating the pieces in hand to maximise their contribution. Since your opponent also wants to activate their pieces, it also means trying to restrict the scope of your opponent’s pieces.</span></b></p><p class="p2" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Bishops can begin to develop by simply opening the lines. Knights however need to be moved. Pushing a central rook pawn, or a pawn that develops both a bishop and the queen, or a pawn that opens a long diagonal are good candidate first moves, or also a knight in the corner.</span></b></p><p class="p2" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">A knight in the corner has only one square to move to, so it is usually wise to develop it quickly and not put a pawn or another knight there.</span></b></p><p class="p2" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Make sure not to leave your most powerful piece, the queen, buried in its starting position for the whole game. But equally, when you do develop the queen, make sure to develop it with threats which cannot be ignored and cannot be parried with a counter-threat on the queen. It must have “places to go, things to do!” Do not be afraid to sac it.</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixh2VGnh4AhDSpLkGdBKdIFpmK9hpFTbeLPou1Hk5X3uAU-QhKUKfwu5lZ__3_5KXw2oCOE99Ly0nZe3VytPJj7BJfASg3GtLx-ImswdsQ1zLtGla6thfZsjzSFagADc4I5fUJ85vUTKjz/s1293/Screenshot_20210809_214606.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1293" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixh2VGnh4AhDSpLkGdBKdIFpmK9hpFTbeLPou1Hk5X3uAU-QhKUKfwu5lZ__3_5KXw2oCOE99Ly0nZe3VytPJj7BJfASg3GtLx-ImswdsQ1zLtGla6thfZsjzSFagADc4I5fUJ85vUTKjz/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_214606.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNwX2SGno2im5QQxxoQyHFLFStncJ7I8IcenCe2LYjefferFBAJGoWjQUrWivlYZNNqiHvMrtZQheXLkeg0M4sCSx5R1xx44JZ_q4p5G1PWN2BXsQHG7QAWx-6gF5nY3CGyCqMkWvOFc-m/s1287/Screenshot_20210809_214624.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1287" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNwX2SGno2im5QQxxoQyHFLFStncJ7I8IcenCe2LYjefferFBAJGoWjQUrWivlYZNNqiHvMrtZQheXLkeg0M4sCSx5R1xx44JZ_q4p5G1PWN2BXsQHG7QAWx-6gF5nY3CGyCqMkWvOFc-m/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_214624.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWjlrSJ2o7mkyUhVYV3z6JfbuG4djt6UMtvDzl6nOwRa_soCMkO29fxlfxmfv46hiXFpG_5fZXkNTm-9hZS2TjX-BfRqNLZy15rSCaDw9CHSbV9FTi71CYii10cjiFlDxf6R21pqdhnLTa/s1291/Screenshot_20210809_214640.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1291" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWjlrSJ2o7mkyUhVYV3z6JfbuG4djt6UMtvDzl6nOwRa_soCMkO29fxlfxmfv46hiXFpG_5fZXkNTm-9hZS2TjX-BfRqNLZy15rSCaDw9CHSbV9FTi71CYii10cjiFlDxf6R21pqdhnLTa/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_214640.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwe2BmsOziQ_O6n7wQt9pd0L9fUvoZ76fUjkMkui2n6-Yf9M_f6U08Eh1ZHUo33bRG-AxgNXLsf33raJQzCCdUVpKHnAfSa7yQqfukugYaBBKp48abys6ML5c7v2EvFke4LGPUkjlcLRWH/s1294/Screenshot_20210809_214700.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1294" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwe2BmsOziQ_O6n7wQt9pd0L9fUvoZ76fUjkMkui2n6-Yf9M_f6U08Eh1ZHUo33bRG-AxgNXLsf33raJQzCCdUVpKHnAfSa7yQqfukugYaBBKp48abys6ML5c7v2EvFke4LGPUkjlcLRWH/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_214700.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /><b><br /></b></span><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">2. Don’t Hang Mate in 1</span></b></p><p class="p2" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">One of the biggest differences as players get stronger is that they do not give up, even if completely losing. they make it hard for the opponent to find the mating sequence, and in particular they do not hang mate in 1. They prolong the game for another move and another move and in crazyhouse comebacks can and do happen! Conversely, if the opponent does hang mate, make sure you deliver it!</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 15px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigwkGLNNhBGkFLMHmL5tn5a1Y0XqnZJqQFN7wozgh312PkuPMWVbfSzJaILac3VSgC_drQBe-bA9Ihlokq50_eGNjhkfPbe3X18bu-3FTwRy0F6pcaSliuCfkbeGCVe_Qjp8XcnXdg4LC1/s1292/Screenshot_20210809_214839.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1292" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigwkGLNNhBGkFLMHmL5tn5a1Y0XqnZJqQFN7wozgh312PkuPMWVbfSzJaILac3VSgC_drQBe-bA9Ihlokq50_eGNjhkfPbe3X18bu-3FTwRy0F6pcaSliuCfkbeGCVe_Qjp8XcnXdg4LC1/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_214839.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 15px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 15px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 15px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia5RCUCmv5lJ9fXBHs7ur2m-xLENbkIGQeHj1O2kwhpq8vhTFcXZUe_K5o37Rris8O0RD5KZauVTgorH64X89_B-swuTGIqnFQ1CW3IwAxERSEQgqDUrSajSWV_LaW4yazZLnDEozYUxK9/s1286/Screenshot_20210809_214902.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1286" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia5RCUCmv5lJ9fXBHs7ur2m-xLENbkIGQeHj1O2kwhpq8vhTFcXZUe_K5o37Rris8O0RD5KZauVTgorH64X89_B-swuTGIqnFQ1CW3IwAxERSEQgqDUrSajSWV_LaW4yazZLnDEozYUxK9/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_214902.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 15px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 15px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 15px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjpl-1NkOKDqi-GOblyAdWlnbNjVXy1dp4uqg7u2hJK4uAi0hKecyMersISjQ_OVdDaJsXE3L70XcnuEdi16-jTj0f5OjF2nr3cQKg8n-hdz-zFlDxVQpPdQfilOVQ_aEO-7GbG4T_AmKK/s1286/Screenshot_20210809_214919.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1286" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjpl-1NkOKDqi-GOblyAdWlnbNjVXy1dp4uqg7u2hJK4uAi0hKecyMersISjQ_OVdDaJsXE3L70XcnuEdi16-jTj0f5OjF2nr3cQKg8n-hdz-zFlDxVQpPdQfilOVQ_aEO-7GbG4T_AmKK/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_214919.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 15px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 15px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 15px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQlOqj-YVFMra8AfIbq63IvCw3xEwmH6n7f1jzKmFFRJtlHJ-s5l8w143gFdoJxTazGA40a5tR_nvscVqiEHvW-D761e5bheRqC4vbRrcnye_QpbR4_b1Rq-Aq_mIkByAlIwoajGqY361N/s1298/Screenshot_20210809_214937.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1298" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQlOqj-YVFMra8AfIbq63IvCw3xEwmH6n7f1jzKmFFRJtlHJ-s5l8w143gFdoJxTazGA40a5tR_nvscVqiEHvW-D761e5bheRqC4vbRrcnye_QpbR4_b1Rq-Aq_mIkByAlIwoajGqY361N/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_214937.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">3. Spot Hanging Material</span></b></p><p class="p2" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">This is simple enough. Unless there is a very good reason not to, take free material! Conversely, don’t leave material hanging. Every pawn you lose, not only are you a pawn less, but your opponent has a pawn more in hand to use back at you later in the game.</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZVItkuiUlWPeaByqRln__ubxYR8qcbAtbhC1MOPyXuxJ6pyLD4gx6IJEXWNkXMfccLrGPZBNMZh5f1sGtuyuBF7yDfoSYcTXoq0U8EyEk1lQpAHUKgf5VxJyzccUGOlnhkCb6WWphu_i6/s1306/Screenshot_20210809_215112.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1306" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZVItkuiUlWPeaByqRln__ubxYR8qcbAtbhC1MOPyXuxJ6pyLD4gx6IJEXWNkXMfccLrGPZBNMZh5f1sGtuyuBF7yDfoSYcTXoq0U8EyEk1lQpAHUKgf5VxJyzccUGOlnhkCb6WWphu_i6/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_215112.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1-HxvMX_5x9GTjTLvKQYhzzvC37MH_akI5ETVjaHFgkOmN8oljB219tf_mqZTpwKe7i4DBhaj6Dc-Uphfyc0egTILXSx7T89pIqGNEgly4WMhA62f2s0edTERPZNXJqY6Tna4fLWDOVIa/s1286/Screenshot_20210809_215131.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1286" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1-HxvMX_5x9GTjTLvKQYhzzvC37MH_akI5ETVjaHFgkOmN8oljB219tf_mqZTpwKe7i4DBhaj6Dc-Uphfyc0egTILXSx7T89pIqGNEgly4WMhA62f2s0edTERPZNXJqY6Tna4fLWDOVIa/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_215131.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKPxSVzuUz3Xwkqt8B9CizZQVvzIOKr7HUHZ6BvcUXSA7_xDO11ew8f1CZR3Hl52hIJrfJW735KIGZqp81-f9FcSmY3DVS5rvqSGNqqNFWo8vg8zmH_Txv38Uu75WUvsFunzOc4dTyM3Qv/s1288/Screenshot_20210809_215152.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1288" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKPxSVzuUz3Xwkqt8B9CizZQVvzIOKr7HUHZ6BvcUXSA7_xDO11ew8f1CZR3Hl52hIJrfJW735KIGZqp81-f9FcSmY3DVS5rvqSGNqqNFWo8vg8zmH_Txv38Uu75WUvsFunzOc4dTyM3Qv/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_215152.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmiVg60jjfSTXds1Yi35ruxcEwr2lRna-IxHY3JcmtqSZmdvG5T6aB8bSnsQHTHeT2pwwvmKDx7-2_bC7FYDW92C8hHjB2cF-4bJ26LRjUBYDU8W-StFm_on2kkmJ_DNTHPsNTzeLuSv7g/s1329/Screenshot_20210809_215029.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1329" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmiVg60jjfSTXds1Yi35ruxcEwr2lRna-IxHY3JcmtqSZmdvG5T6aB8bSnsQHTHeT2pwwvmKDx7-2_bC7FYDW92C8hHjB2cF-4bJ26LRjUBYDU8W-StFm_on2kkmJ_DNTHPsNTzeLuSv7g/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_215029.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">4. Piece Values & Piece Sacs</span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p class="p2" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Like in crazyhouse, knights, bishops & rooks are similar in value. This is because unlike chess, there is no endgame and it is in the endgame in standard chess when rooks begin to dominate because knights have short range and bishops are restricted forever to one colour complex.</span></b></p><p class="p2" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Knights have most value in delivering checks that can’t be blocked so they can initiate fast attacks opening up the opponent king.</span></b></p><p class="p2" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">The greatest value of Bishops is that they can attack & defend at the same time. They can also take and defend backwards!</span></b></p><p class="p2" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Rooks can sometimes be used on a file to both attack & defend, or sometimes to purely attack on the opponent’s back rank, and sometimes to purely defend on one’s own back rank.</span></b></p><p class="p2" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">All minor pieces are worth approximately two pawns. The greater value of pawns compared to standard chess is because after all, pawns can be dropped on the sixth or seventh rank where they threaten the opponent king or even threaten to promote to a Queen or Knight. Note that a promoted piece once captured reverts to being a pawn in the hand of your opponent so it is especially easy to sac it for material & initiative.</span></b></p><p class="p2" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Pawns are invaluable in defence, but often you should keep your last pawn in hand for your attack. A single pawn in hand is sometimes enough to spark a mating attack on the opponent’s king.</span></b></p><p class="p2" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Queens are worth two minor pieces in crazyhouse. They are of course the strongest piece, but for precisely this reason they are also a liability. A lot of time and initiative can be lost if our opponent develops and drops pieces attacking our Queen, so we must sometimes be willing to sac it.</span></b></p><p class="p2" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Two thematic piece sacs are the sac that demolishes the opponent centre and the sac that demolishes the opponent’s king. If this picks up two pawns for a minor piece, then given the above piece values one could argue that it isn’t a sac at all.</span></b></p><p class="p2" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Piece sacs are especially powerful on what JoannaTries has termed “tender pawns” which are pawns defended only by the opponent’s king. In standard crazyhouse, f2 & f7 are tender squares defended only by the king, while c2 & c7 are potentially weak squares if the pawns are moves as they are defended only by the Queen.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b></p><p class="p2" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Given a fresh 960 position, it is instructive to consider what are the tender squares corresponding to f2/f7 in this fresh position. If the king is castled, then as in standard crazyhouse, g2/g7 are often tender pawns.</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb4-xqNoqvLrN7wW7VEWjfO-el9GwtmKxHNoyTKAnu1tOW9AIpeHyHywo5dOkjgZTwzWenxbll-UoG5pw1ZP-lgl9nmbXb8vgPno9KRK0E6LhCv1kI-OlPRmbwkaL3vsQzTiBePT2syNkF/s1289/Screenshot_20210809_215303.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1289" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb4-xqNoqvLrN7wW7VEWjfO-el9GwtmKxHNoyTKAnu1tOW9AIpeHyHywo5dOkjgZTwzWenxbll-UoG5pw1ZP-lgl9nmbXb8vgPno9KRK0E6LhCv1kI-OlPRmbwkaL3vsQzTiBePT2syNkF/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_215303.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKrqNt9lz3JHem9SCGcGLCzilwJ8X_rNUXScUpERHlaROQa6NtKsxJm7oZIFkvUrLQeRw32vvD4pVdJO0bg9AhjDx0sh4hyKP1N5DWcWfdPVoiGEU1dvOBVynCsMClWxJqBm8fblY6JxRQ/s1335/Screenshot_20210809_215326.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1335" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKrqNt9lz3JHem9SCGcGLCzilwJ8X_rNUXScUpERHlaROQa6NtKsxJm7oZIFkvUrLQeRw32vvD4pVdJO0bg9AhjDx0sh4hyKP1N5DWcWfdPVoiGEU1dvOBVynCsMClWxJqBm8fblY6JxRQ/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_215326.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3u9CEd57IACMfakkr-QtHw91UzcYpxUjiE0rKydf__0kyeCxbXRIJe3CfrVFM6NSee1h5RTPyWW0Av6N02VCOqTH1TePkSEfI-sILN3msLctsw80v58NyN1UMWqX6vX1G8QdUsfclLWgN/s1288/Screenshot_20210809_215349.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1288" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3u9CEd57IACMfakkr-QtHw91UzcYpxUjiE0rKydf__0kyeCxbXRIJe3CfrVFM6NSee1h5RTPyWW0Av6N02VCOqTH1TePkSEfI-sILN3msLctsw80v58NyN1UMWqX6vX1G8QdUsfclLWgN/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_215349.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGyT8X2PLxmuOUTO-21qNpn7UmwWLS98_xq_lZULy5u9CgQet7oUe6eqxuOQnGXyACG35nsuvFPy-yf-t5887g0ked6J7QgA20hzF1EhKjWcW5U1sg27p-YoUkTP1WShxbYPkqxH5hzBd_/s1290/Screenshot_20210809_215405.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1290" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGyT8X2PLxmuOUTO-21qNpn7UmwWLS98_xq_lZULy5u9CgQet7oUe6eqxuOQnGXyACG35nsuvFPy-yf-t5887g0ked6J7QgA20hzF1EhKjWcW5U1sg27p-YoUkTP1WShxbYPkqxH5hzBd_/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_215405.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">5. Colour Complexes</span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p2" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">As expounded in mastertan’s classic guide on <a href="https://www.chess.com/blog/mastertanCrazyhouse/light-dark-a-visual-guide-to-crazyhouse" target="_blank">light & dark squares in crazyhouse</a>, one has to be aware of the colour of squares on which it is most profitable to attack and conversely how best to defend. The piece sacs from the previous chapter often help initiate an attack on a colour complex. But sometimes, a beginning player unwittingly opens up a colour complex without provocation and allows one to take advantage of the resulting weak squares.</span></b></p></div><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNb7lSKArppJjxQWOqc-Dj4z1jhG0V6AjwwBezwOrljpE2WBQHZmag5n-F3EMVF9wraOzK0i6LPx9BGI0rDwfuqJUrMGTdyWs-u3EBpyYHMZepUSeBRTYSa_E1731KS3HllT48dpdhIPOX/s1337/Screenshot_20210809_215514.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1337" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNb7lSKArppJjxQWOqc-Dj4z1jhG0V6AjwwBezwOrljpE2WBQHZmag5n-F3EMVF9wraOzK0i6LPx9BGI0rDwfuqJUrMGTdyWs-u3EBpyYHMZepUSeBRTYSa_E1731KS3HllT48dpdhIPOX/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_215514.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">6. Basic Mating Patterns</span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p2" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>If we can deliver mate, it is important to find it and not to let the game slip away in complications. Players often have an intuition there might be a mate, and if you get this feeling it is often worth spend some extra time calculating to find it, or to find what piece you need for it. In slow crazyhouse, it is worthwhile playing obvious moves relatively quickly and leaving at least a couple of minutes of your time for critical positions to find the fatal blow.</b></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>6.1 Back-Rank Mate</b></span></p></div><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b>Along with 6.2 Smothered Mate, back-rank mate is one of the most important mating themes for the beginning crazyhouse player to be acquainted with. You can find a <a href="http://zhchess.blogspot.com/2019/10/back-rank-mate.html" target="_blank">full introduction</a> to back-rank mates in crazyhouse with both lichess <a href="https://lichess.org/study/JPgWzcW4" target="_blank">practice study</a>, <a href="https://lichess.org/study/oBYnLqDK" target="_blank">solution study</a> as well as embedded <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_FZYsfu1Fs" target="_blank">video</a> on this <a href="http://zhchess.blogspot.com/2019/10/back-rank-mate.html" target="_blank">blog</a>, as well as a follow-up <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgyF-R9Z4Y0" target="_blank">second video</a> & <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqazdvR0ZWazBURFlXS0pqaHdZc2hPX01VRWt5UXxBQ3Jtc0tuOUNXOUxkRTRRVnlEMjlLWFlMbUsxaGkzZDJ2MTc1VU5JaklKRV9hNVNvVE5oaTh0Q0JxU2c4bE8zSlY3RldLMC02dWFHOTEwQ2JXTXNuaGF5YWlNbVZkZWNXbzJIQlJBUE8ydHBRM1oxZkVmNUM0dw&q=https%3A%2F%2Flichess.org%2Fstudy%2FWiuxQu8D" target="_blank">second </a></b><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqazdvR0ZWazBURFlXS0pqaHdZc2hPX01VRWt5UXxBQ3Jtc0tuOUNXOUxkRTRRVnlEMjlLWFlMbUsxaGkzZDJ2MTc1VU5JaklKRV9hNVNvVE5oaTh0Q0JxU2c4bE8zSlY3RldLMC02dWFHOTEwQ2JXTXNuaGF5YWlNbVZkZWNXbzJIQlJBUE8ydHBRM1oxZkVmNUM0dw&q=https%3A%2F%2Flichess.org%2Fstudy%2FWiuxQu8D" target="_blank">study</a> made subsequently. </b><b>The main idea is that diagonals and especially pawns on the 7th rank can be the catalyst for a back-rank attack because with a single rook and enough pawns the opponent's back rank rooks can be recycled into one's own pocket and dropped again, clearing them all away!</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-FaQZ46MGGF86O4gJWecH0WqlkDYE9rUsKmHJDZoh2anXNGER1CWMuPtdta6_SZ3uBxOcGBv-Lj43QZfK-YoZSFgOSm4JPgiwMCCUjNZLCtAdS74VHK6l0EYXU3GwGkO7KrkLb66hKAS9/s1409/Screenshot_20210809_215744.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1409" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-FaQZ46MGGF86O4gJWecH0WqlkDYE9rUsKmHJDZoh2anXNGER1CWMuPtdta6_SZ3uBxOcGBv-Lj43QZfK-YoZSFgOSm4JPgiwMCCUjNZLCtAdS74VHK6l0EYXU3GwGkO7KrkLb66hKAS9/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_215744.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">6.2 Smothered Mate</b></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; text-align: justify;"><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; text-align: justify;"><br /></b></span></div>In crazyhouse 960, one must be especially aware of undefended pawns, or pawns defended with only one piece so if that piece is moved, this pawn or square becomes undefended. This can give rise to smothered mates & smother tactics (about which more in the next section). There are also the classic smothered mate patterns as in standard crazyhouse.<br /></b></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDyg_UDVKoOGAqXLLB8iMnTNJtj65cn71iHgkN_Go8lfmqfHX6fx3B0tM4K5SY5GJxj5HKwMrP2aGgGr3Bw8hp79MHWiGAaX0SsmvR30S7V5ThbjEOJ8wloynMYMeXBuoNH5tWbFSv1-JS/s1289/Screenshot_20210809_215837.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1289" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDyg_UDVKoOGAqXLLB8iMnTNJtj65cn71iHgkN_Go8lfmqfHX6fx3B0tM4K5SY5GJxj5HKwMrP2aGgGr3Bw8hp79MHWiGAaX0SsmvR30S7V5ThbjEOJ8wloynMYMeXBuoNH5tWbFSv1-JS/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_215837.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdhTccZwWoNsyWa4tTWw6lJNPzigKs7IHoQ2qXjITQOKEICzmPsvt8VbXafiSYCQZbgnQOYOjkrgcMOpLXZHv8Bqlwj7WzKrotWV9KjqjBzvkQ8xZFDYrBsyCAmp3duWyM9whqHAYjBXOv/s1290/Screenshot_20210809_215824.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1290" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdhTccZwWoNsyWa4tTWw6lJNPzigKs7IHoQ2qXjITQOKEICzmPsvt8VbXafiSYCQZbgnQOYOjkrgcMOpLXZHv8Bqlwj7WzKrotWV9KjqjBzvkQ8xZFDYrBsyCAmp3duWyM9whqHAYjBXOv/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_215824.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">6.3 Magnet Mate</b></div><span><div style="font-family: arial;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><b>The idea of a magnet mate is to drop a checking piece adjacent to the king which acts as a magnet forcing the king to take and in so doing drawing the king to an unsafe square where it can be checked & mated more easily, sometimes because it allows us to pick up more material with check.</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMmST6g9w0MmGBvjfblQgRoG9jBNQGg7zpyhnf19pbQ-seLqnDpCDrW5UvstMuFgkFfop0j9NLkGgb-uvPs386Ena5By9JiIEdbWI3iBOrX5RO9jXDJ95wtavktH5S6TK3Rn63dO3fthgJ/s1335/Screenshot_20210809_215937.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1335" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMmST6g9w0MmGBvjfblQgRoG9jBNQGg7zpyhnf19pbQ-seLqnDpCDrW5UvstMuFgkFfop0j9NLkGgb-uvPs386Ena5By9JiIEdbWI3iBOrX5RO9jXDJ95wtavktH5S6TK3Rn63dO3fthgJ/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_215937.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij5kPlrjnGlXyoK3Qc13TqLRyLWBKMIA1A8cseG0Sey0nX4kRtR6MLblcaBq8a1kfAAiAYXn9OudOjFDDQkNoITSnjWfAthTuJxI5AbsyBRz2fTK25CaDJGs4qE_h1gHl4zAXkmQEHFjv5/s1290/Screenshot_20210809_220008.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1290" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij5kPlrjnGlXyoK3Qc13TqLRyLWBKMIA1A8cseG0Sey0nX4kRtR6MLblcaBq8a1kfAAiAYXn9OudOjFDDQkNoITSnjWfAthTuJxI5AbsyBRz2fTK25CaDJGs4qE_h1gHl4zAXkmQEHFjv5/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_220008.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">6.4 Double-Take Mate</b></div><span><div style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><b>Sometimes the checking square is defended so at first glance the opponent king is safe. But if we look deeper, we notice that we can re-capture the defending piece with check! This provides the opportunity for a double-take mate!</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhviWxNJ1QZw18rVD2CfFDI943CGpiZccIGrjScnEdtChcQK03hSQ_Kt0HfoCO5N4C-cW4GareCMrrvRoP_fEkJKrrl5iOoHrgYVMmOavGQFf4cd9jNbWyNlN48ijACc98XPsxUZTjdkcoK/s1289/Screenshot_20210809_220052.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1289" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhviWxNJ1QZw18rVD2CfFDI943CGpiZccIGrjScnEdtChcQK03hSQ_Kt0HfoCO5N4C-cW4GareCMrrvRoP_fEkJKrrl5iOoHrgYVMmOavGQFf4cd9jNbWyNlN48ijACc98XPsxUZTjdkcoK/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_220052.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN-c1Fl1RWp1NXhZ7twmMtyJ2-p0vj8fHTIBWwZQejKs6vVL_aVx4n3FcThyU52Z19HlqUR3ANUsR6xDhXjHDXqANpyIneJk9xc0V70Hs423wGn39mJo_pLHZWfQUrQfcee6FbowuUyaQT/s1289/Screenshot_20210809_220130.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1289" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN-c1Fl1RWp1NXhZ7twmMtyJ2-p0vj8fHTIBWwZQejKs6vVL_aVx4n3FcThyU52Z19HlqUR3ANUsR6xDhXjHDXqANpyIneJk9xc0V70Hs423wGn39mJo_pLHZWfQUrQfcee6FbowuUyaQT/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_220130.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghF1kDWLgnseVWeFMnMtvxaNvsHaGAkd91vXD2l6VWOQRDT2FdrlYbgFVtToYMi_tdx5lTjaBFxFZZOrggEW90-Yus_CjUCgq9XLLiOMP32vdxsr6uA1nebm9R6jSeb1GFfY_-TMZMKWmK/s1285/Screenshot_20210809_220158.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1285" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghF1kDWLgnseVWeFMnMtvxaNvsHaGAkd91vXD2l6VWOQRDT2FdrlYbgFVtToYMi_tdx5lTjaBFxFZZOrggEW90-Yus_CjUCgq9XLLiOMP32vdxsr6uA1nebm9R6jSeb1GFfY_-TMZMKWmK/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_220158.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">6.5 Knight Drop Mates</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><b>Knights are the one piece whose checks </b></span></span><b style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; text-align: left;">can’t be blocked, so sometimes they can be used to draw the king out of safety. See if you can calculate these positions all the way to mate.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; text-align: justify;"><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3OQo_G20tF2ZWROf_fPcUFLgnckQTW8knYNKoEUh3r_cW9cvsgNlEfdbhHU_tFoJ0RChB-vKvgIUVlubUV8jHPhYHmr1FTKMckg_FCTnokkErZgYiZ_HNVSEYxUPaIv201GLKP8auGq6F/s1279/Screenshot_20210809_220229.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1279" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3OQo_G20tF2ZWROf_fPcUFLgnckQTW8knYNKoEUh3r_cW9cvsgNlEfdbhHU_tFoJ0RChB-vKvgIUVlubUV8jHPhYHmr1FTKMckg_FCTnokkErZgYiZ_HNVSEYxUPaIv201GLKP8auGq6F/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_220229.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFAvWsTH2_4OWH9asgHbXX8gLuLNhWvbyg4AbgE-oAAY0h1s-Mm3oov82mhSlLBvTzaM2wXeJBjC-oxs_rn-5ojovfByPuxr99sJHLLaJGBDo7AawNpjPHdy2XdY4t0GpVqTqwNcGdxu4e/s1284/Screenshot_20210809_220245.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1284" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFAvWsTH2_4OWH9asgHbXX8gLuLNhWvbyg4AbgE-oAAY0h1s-Mm3oov82mhSlLBvTzaM2wXeJBjC-oxs_rn-5ojovfByPuxr99sJHLLaJGBDo7AawNpjPHdy2XdY4t0GpVqTqwNcGdxu4e/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_220245.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">6.6 Cover Escape Mates</b></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><b>A useful mating technique is to examine the path the king might run to safety and delivering checks which also block this path! This keeps the king in a box and mating much easier.</b></span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXEw_4NH-I_mWACTq5QnqEZpptjekWZ1TcurB4CGgJikrTbTcqxPvwwqrIu72NbIHIFrMqZTGhboBuHoW9wKvT7KirKvKwxZ7fZmQetQrmsoMjEothL9FqXbUUuKyCHosO4S9o2TBLlL8Y/s1291/Screenshot_20210809_220326.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1291" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXEw_4NH-I_mWACTq5QnqEZpptjekWZ1TcurB4CGgJikrTbTcqxPvwwqrIu72NbIHIFrMqZTGhboBuHoW9wKvT7KirKvKwxZ7fZmQetQrmsoMjEothL9FqXbUUuKyCHosO4S9o2TBLlL8Y/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_220326.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">7. Smother Tactics</span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p2" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">The threat of smothers can lead to some interesting tactics in the opening. This is the only position in this blog not taken from a league game, but from my first ever game of crazyhouse 960 four years ago with <a href="https://lichess.org/@/andreijl" target="_blank">andreijl</a> in a lichess study, and we both missed it!</span></b></p></div><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimFxdbNdS_2Zk-a5PusD3VdjH-avXLiTxZ4GNbH_RV-wPcynHlL-G6WT1cYwlAW_Zv1Er6regJz3xkksop1LgB3r0_l8BX7EOrxhbjA6h4kKI22t7nEDofStBzvq84voT16nsa0PVZgd0S/s1287/Screenshot_20210809_220429.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1287" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimFxdbNdS_2Zk-a5PusD3VdjH-avXLiTxZ4GNbH_RV-wPcynHlL-G6WT1cYwlAW_Zv1Er6regJz3xkksop1LgB3r0_l8BX7EOrxhbjA6h4kKI22t7nEDofStBzvq84voT16nsa0PVZgd0S/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_220429.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">8. King Safety</span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p2" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">The possibility of castling can sometimes rapidly evacuate the king from an approaching attack.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b></p><p class="p2" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Usually, the best way of keeping the king safe is by moving and dropping one’s pieces around it, defending the checking squares. If in check, it is often best to try to run the king to squares where it cannot be checked again.</span></b></p><p class="p2" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">In rare cases, the best approach is to create luft for the king so it has safe passage to run.</span></b></p></div><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivFdBXL_SS0EJMPqUjHO41ciqRjwY5cw6FkR6MFcyuasl_OEe4t0BHmTB5vHFUEoAzV2P25K-QHDwkZM-f3o6pR52KfgnPH9oRU2M12rJyl-qXxtnxSaGDo0lt9a1hqREja3TuDhH4Yncu/s1281/Screenshot_20210809_220538.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1281" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivFdBXL_SS0EJMPqUjHO41ciqRjwY5cw6FkR6MFcyuasl_OEe4t0BHmTB5vHFUEoAzV2P25K-QHDwkZM-f3o6pR52KfgnPH9oRU2M12rJyl-qXxtnxSaGDo0lt9a1hqREja3TuDhH4Yncu/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_220538.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2fscwVlFvl2b_-U05b0a7QHVmahhRnRdH0ql0lXN3eI3TbCZTXrE3AJz7wMhNlECKPYZkcOwdzTX6eiITn6it0BOqFV4rxCyolkXh1ubpf2AP4420gKIezzQYgU9RcY597kkTQfpiZGUd/s1283/Screenshot_20210809_220555.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1283" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2fscwVlFvl2b_-U05b0a7QHVmahhRnRdH0ql0lXN3eI3TbCZTXrE3AJz7wMhNlECKPYZkcOwdzTX6eiITn6it0BOqFV4rxCyolkXh1ubpf2AP4420gKIezzQYgU9RcY597kkTQfpiZGUd/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_220555.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">9. Drop Attacks</span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">9.1 <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Pawn Drops on the 6th</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">The most common drop attacks are pawn drops on the 6th corresponding to @h3/@h6 in standard crazyhouse. A single pawn in hand can be the spark that triggers a bonfire on the opponent’s king.</span></b></p></div><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiegOpmG9jVaJVZrGaKILfQVmh65krhtGrd-vFzAkuSJI4ircXPzRlJRSvDiq-gj767FJn_PwZn0dQkUIjv2WJkkz7KR7-xDyJZf0ij5LAcIiZtPZJqBBfo7qcbWElvub4051kV1S7SMAu6/s1289/Screenshot_20210809_220703.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1289" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiegOpmG9jVaJVZrGaKILfQVmh65krhtGrd-vFzAkuSJI4ircXPzRlJRSvDiq-gj767FJn_PwZn0dQkUIjv2WJkkz7KR7-xDyJZf0ij5LAcIiZtPZJqBBfo7qcbWElvub4051kV1S7SMAu6/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_220703.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghlSmkf4C51nX7T393DFxvBxdx3YI02QhBK4qC7WxOqHAxavZO8dZbC_9AIAojeRVB86cHdRAH41txPoXaSOl50fIN8-cj_wfIYK1M-FSv1UruRrs0u6ENTe9DwuTmrxIfcWXgaEcItMMv/s1287/Screenshot_20210809_220732.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1287" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghlSmkf4C51nX7T393DFxvBxdx3YI02QhBK4qC7WxOqHAxavZO8dZbC_9AIAojeRVB86cHdRAH41txPoXaSOl50fIN8-cj_wfIYK1M-FSv1UruRrs0u6ENTe9DwuTmrxIfcWXgaEcItMMv/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_220732.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrOCDeIOKOCkxECTx5wK7C-CpUMDUS7k5ZM9GW16WArVoutf39KAWXQvs0UJofQkXeWUGpFS68vHL3oK-w95On7N0n-Hvmiq1zrRDWk8n0oz5q_qWnftpLnL9dtFrE8x4qhnRmwXVuq-0t/s1288/Screenshot_20210809_220745.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1288" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrOCDeIOKOCkxECTx5wK7C-CpUMDUS7k5ZM9GW16WArVoutf39KAWXQvs0UJofQkXeWUGpFS68vHL3oK-w95On7N0n-Hvmiq1zrRDWk8n0oz5q_qWnftpLnL9dtFrE8x4qhnRmwXVuq-0t/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_220745.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">9.2 <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Pawn Drops on the 7th</span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Another common attack in crazyhouse are pawn drops on the 7th, either threatening to promote or as we saw already in 6.(i) to put a major on the back rank and launch a back rank attack.</span></b></p></div><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnpGk0eJ1T4JD-n97eb-e8su4EhHGd0TViihQKquBA54bhK1UtnwOGcjYt7fjRA9TmdBuePeimYDLTdWps3NusCXGY64L7t3_BQi7ohUbE4h2yhGYfvp7ZBh4LzaYEMiMgeoP7mv9JItar/s1296/Screenshot_20210809_220823.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnpGk0eJ1T4JD-n97eb-e8su4EhHGd0TViihQKquBA54bhK1UtnwOGcjYt7fjRA9TmdBuePeimYDLTdWps3NusCXGY64L7t3_BQi7ohUbE4h2yhGYfvp7ZBh4LzaYEMiMgeoP7mv9JItar/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_220823.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></div><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">9.3 More Advanced Drop Attacks</span></b></div></b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;">Sometimes piece & pawn drops can come with more complex clearance ideas which lead to unstoppable mating attacks.</span></b></p></div><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgthWzpFGKe9FIlRk_ki0IQsoDKqNftILlhhQFO65HSIhzpaE9r8BsrZvpVYtl4jon58_6QXDCDlJ11aQMsrtX1kvp5TSfwAiTyizd2nupaM21f_axx0CJ5AtGdOowSetYRbOHaviu7fmRb/s1291/Screenshot_20210809_220927+%25281%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1291" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgthWzpFGKe9FIlRk_ki0IQsoDKqNftILlhhQFO65HSIhzpaE9r8BsrZvpVYtl4jon58_6QXDCDlJ11aQMsrtX1kvp5TSfwAiTyizd2nupaM21f_axx0CJ5AtGdOowSetYRbOHaviu7fmRb/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_220927+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_B1YNAllRFYscHgiYWX4cTE7PbZCrSWio-_N_h2pGcxhItWPO3YPQcDswqxgiiEVSuC5xP2zM54ITas8s_oNYnbKSeDGwGzOyV4FDotc3Yp1y9km5GlS8T9rvjSYcCAexoLt1kaL4V2FV/s1291/Screenshot_20210809_221015+%25281%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1291" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_B1YNAllRFYscHgiYWX4cTE7PbZCrSWio-_N_h2pGcxhItWPO3YPQcDswqxgiiEVSuC5xP2zM54ITas8s_oNYnbKSeDGwGzOyV4FDotc3Yp1y9km5GlS8T9rvjSYcCAexoLt1kaL4V2FV/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_221015+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">10. Pawn Forks</span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b style="font-family: Helvetica; text-align: justify;"><br /></b></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b>Often in crazyhouse 960, knights develop to squares two apart and are prone to pawn forks so one must keep an eye out for this.</b></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: Helvetica;">One must also be wary of pawn drop attacks on the 7th winning material.</b></p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCehUjiwv9mGDqsENUr2Xh5KD5Zrka6QGlD5NiW3atP956kuJ92NU1-H5tea4dhzkgNrLkJ26lXJJ3O1AZxOEVN8JzD9Vi0AA7fJp1gP-t6ZrolTC_g6aaUtahvUGMrKwWVo08JUXKwcAG/s1336/Screenshot_20210809_221151.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1336" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCehUjiwv9mGDqsENUr2Xh5KD5Zrka6QGlD5NiW3atP956kuJ92NU1-H5tea4dhzkgNrLkJ26lXJJ3O1AZxOEVN8JzD9Vi0AA7fJp1gP-t6ZrolTC_g6aaUtahvUGMrKwWVo08JUXKwcAG/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_221151.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpnbPx-fsG4eisDrlVNyzmbJsqdtTW-T82msO4LdTfYWMP4QAKqitZWbeBJhOQglbKdNRvm77Orl4V4iG6hdFUQfGwSEHX6dTbFZPr01ua0xTGwjQzKsXpfrn_lGC54Ij6ZefYWdwpba0i/s1331/Screenshot_20210809_221335.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1331" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpnbPx-fsG4eisDrlVNyzmbJsqdtTW-T82msO4LdTfYWMP4QAKqitZWbeBJhOQglbKdNRvm77Orl4V4iG6hdFUQfGwSEHX6dTbFZPr01ua0xTGwjQzKsXpfrn_lGC54Ij6ZefYWdwpba0i/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_221335.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWL-wKbRi1simAxb4_nC9e9Lgx2T2S7Or77F_bejvNEDkUB-irWWehfpyILrQyvTVxzdRKaNDi9lyiT8WpbEORzN_CNXmlPD7M7WNnSZfa0yflDdRULDurKeVddoz6MWMJKLQcH6J0ByLj/s1290/Screenshot_20210809_221407.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1290" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWL-wKbRi1simAxb4_nC9e9Lgx2T2S7Or77F_bejvNEDkUB-irWWehfpyILrQyvTVxzdRKaNDi9lyiT8WpbEORzN_CNXmlPD7M7WNnSZfa0yflDdRULDurKeVddoz6MWMJKLQcH6J0ByLj/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_221407.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqJY5brMvc6ZULFtZPYqlHmlUiEkXX1p7AsADUrCVnauILJ-q76bXPXXxsWkkA0UlWTusKkklT18gO8A4GraFMcj4ElckbghRvai0xLksLgzwndS6U4ycNzA3vuyYzv31tn8VCEIwfZJMm/s1297/Screenshot_20210809_221425.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1297" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqJY5brMvc6ZULFtZPYqlHmlUiEkXX1p7AsADUrCVnauILJ-q76bXPXXxsWkkA0UlWTusKkklT18gO8A4GraFMcj4ElckbghRvai0xLksLgzwndS6U4ycNzA3vuyYzv31tn8VCEIwfZJMm/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_221425.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><p></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">11. Dangerous Diagonals</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="371" src="https://lichess.org/study/embed/zk5ErdYx/35JRLhpy#0" width="600"></iframe></span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">12. Advanced Mating Technique</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">12.1 Clearance Mates</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Clearance mates involve clearing away opponent pieces to open squares or lines.</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><p class="p1" style="font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCfJKei7TLZjKzFnfzHVJjUddynAObRWPmF1fidWIcisfalgF5EPhcrBDLM_giCuWfKsGYvEPTXOJC52AlNhOa2J3O35tx-L-TXmRJuuCFLcc_VaN5ZQTnl6YL4DnRO5YmpeOpvgXjlg2H/s1291/Screenshot_20210809_222107.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1291" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCfJKei7TLZjKzFnfzHVJjUddynAObRWPmF1fidWIcisfalgF5EPhcrBDLM_giCuWfKsGYvEPTXOJC52AlNhOa2J3O35tx-L-TXmRJuuCFLcc_VaN5ZQTnl6YL4DnRO5YmpeOpvgXjlg2H/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_222107.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS7mlvNUwIJhPSEYsTz8ZFGOZFGVBMoSmv3IDrlcFlHBcgKOX-hff0-B3mxqjQFD2ohexa7MeeHclE1LJsBM5z3X6iYkZ8e9k_cEJeUMGMrL2_F_5bG4zMhBFLMZvcOdbwKShZ0a1blDp0/s1290/Screenshot_20210809_220945+%25281%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1290" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS7mlvNUwIJhPSEYsTz8ZFGOZFGVBMoSmv3IDrlcFlHBcgKOX-hff0-B3mxqjQFD2ohexa7MeeHclE1LJsBM5z3X6iYkZ8e9k_cEJeUMGMrL2_F_5bG4zMhBFLMZvcOdbwKShZ0a1blDp0/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_220945+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7-vhKkOZ1dY0tVblQfT3wrpnWc5o0Cb1f_bVdgTErk0xW5phWvC5yM_bYXxNuwelC1MK7vB1LA7ftCyoYYwoFTSwwHNoBLdXnsgyk5AbAPDh5Q-Eo5obWuAxmvhTrXT5-CPPyFOU-0PT3/s1288/Screenshot_20210809_221037+%25281%2529.jpg" style="font-family: Times; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1288" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7-vhKkOZ1dY0tVblQfT3wrpnWc5o0Cb1f_bVdgTErk0xW5phWvC5yM_bYXxNuwelC1MK7vB1LA7ftCyoYYwoFTSwwHNoBLdXnsgyk5AbAPDh5Q-Eo5obWuAxmvhTrXT5-CPPyFOU-0PT3/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_221037+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">12.2 Castaway Mates</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><b>Castaway mates involve discarding one’s own pieces to open up squares to deliver mate.</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-QcLCj484nYR8A5hLb266wQHAe91eRZ1a-LnTdDfdHC0m8Ztnx_n4Zouy_2e1TRJFkQ8lbRsC9UHDoqh4dcVVi1r578qYMapTPpVtWYhhzyzK7hCT-sIco6hOqO3rYoOuICzGtbfXOcqp/s1286/Screenshot_20210809_222124.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1286" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-QcLCj484nYR8A5hLb266wQHAe91eRZ1a-LnTdDfdHC0m8Ztnx_n4Zouy_2e1TRJFkQ8lbRsC9UHDoqh4dcVVi1r578qYMapTPpVtWYhhzyzK7hCT-sIco6hOqO3rYoOuICzGtbfXOcqp/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_222124.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG9e4pGkpsPlhPmTM-glJyUsthgWzVs0lW6TsLrD0-h_NeUJBjmqZX43Go8k5w3ZfyPkkc5XtlpxVh6eUFH0b3rFyq9_Hyxewt9SW2P7nb3t9o2ZuYO6sHw5xhiKnyUnNizOohU4WPDFse/s1279/Screenshot_20210809_222135.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1279" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG9e4pGkpsPlhPmTM-glJyUsthgWzVs0lW6TsLrD0-h_NeUJBjmqZX43Go8k5w3ZfyPkkc5XtlpxVh6eUFH0b3rFyq9_Hyxewt9SW2P7nb3t9o2ZuYO6sHw5xhiKnyUnNizOohU4WPDFse/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_222135.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj141Jil7oyt9w-o5FfPaqs0vHwgE3KxZaAFC-GbFm5u85V55Jzmh1SoyarWr5xvEfuQalxLQkPIe-QgV3c9ARreN2Hy0QaQLPSL_xtF9BX4A-7knBkhSKklcWw1VCyT784QeS2ZviwuBEO/s1290/Screenshot_20210809_222150.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1290" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj141Jil7oyt9w-o5FfPaqs0vHwgE3KxZaAFC-GbFm5u85V55Jzmh1SoyarWr5xvEfuQalxLQkPIe-QgV3c9ARreN2Hy0QaQLPSL_xtF9BX4A-7knBkhSKklcWw1VCyT784QeS2ZviwuBEO/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_222150.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><i>How to defend and why?</i></b></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhvSSgPdHJIniZ5hHzjfretgOKGbQSV9RxkaBdiah1J7enKO43eLB9hklxoZpNH57To0YbltRfJPp-gzmkPzf4ENledzxA-YpWUNea9LS0nqzr7uV-cTIf2Ql-S8w1iaSbw-I01iKtU3eK/s1291/Screenshot_20210809_222203.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1291" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhvSSgPdHJIniZ5hHzjfretgOKGbQSV9RxkaBdiah1J7enKO43eLB9hklxoZpNH57To0YbltRfJPp-gzmkPzf4ENledzxA-YpWUNea9LS0nqzr7uV-cTIf2Ql-S8w1iaSbw-I01iKtU3eK/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_222203.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><p class="p1" style="font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">12.3 Interference Mates</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhru5C41HVR5n4Yn1BkVJXar9sf4Ibi37owNqVtlq7IteeER1F-oI9qWRz4YzpA153lOw_zYpzP4J3SDUtKfa1X9_wzDvBjrcNPqC7zeZBg2j64CBhcuFR3_p_Ht7bOde9iyuUZ7MuLDGJs/s1287/Screenshot_20210809_222224.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1287" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhru5C41HVR5n4Yn1BkVJXar9sf4Ibi37owNqVtlq7IteeER1F-oI9qWRz4YzpA153lOw_zYpzP4J3SDUtKfa1X9_wzDvBjrcNPqC7zeZBg2j64CBhcuFR3_p_Ht7bOde9iyuUZ7MuLDGJs/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_222224.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><i><b>How to interfere with the defence of the rook on b1?</b></i></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">12.4 Block-Escape Mates</span></b></div></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><br /></b></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA1J29xtoYG-VjbOdgGAb3w3Va2W4EEuTVzK-Ln3NUNTiPFNWRhrDSkuQtO0qkeBGI1W8PTnmY1YquRhm6kj2e1gFxUo27Hm4un2YtkAKJfjV7gtE3MwvMF6_PmWKMk-EdBai05n4H-5ah/s1271/Screenshot_20210809_222314.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1271" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA1J29xtoYG-VjbOdgGAb3w3Va2W4EEuTVzK-Ln3NUNTiPFNWRhrDSkuQtO0qkeBGI1W8PTnmY1YquRhm6kj2e1gFxUo27Hm4un2YtkAKJfjV7gtE3MwvMF6_PmWKMk-EdBai05n4H-5ah/s16000/Screenshot_20210809_222314.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><i>Q@h4!! What is Black’s follow-up after Kxh4?</i></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><br /></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Solution Key</span></b></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: start;"><b></b><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">1. Activate Pieces</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>b6!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>developing the Queen and threatening the undefended g2 pawn</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>g5!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>defending & developing with a double counter-attack</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Na3!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>keeping the bishop diagonal open</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>B@g3!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>limiting the scope of the opponent’s Queen. Black’s best move is Qxg3.</b></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: center;"><b></b><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">2. Don’t Hang Mate in 1</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>B@d2, N@c6, R@b6, R@e1</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">3. Spot Hanging Material</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Bxe4</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Qxb7</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Bxb3<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>threatening N@f2+ forking king & queen</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>e1=Q!!</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>double-check & mate, which is much better than taking free material! </b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>(Trick Question)</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">4. Piece Values & Piece Sacs</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Nxd5! cxd5 Qxd5</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>White has two pawns for the piece & has demolished Black’s centre. Black’s king is next!</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Nxb7! Nxb7 @a6!</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>with two more pawns in hand, another will soon be landing on b7</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Nxg2! Kxg2?? Nf4+!</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>With another knight in hand, White would soon be mated.</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Nxc7! Kxc7 Qa5+!!</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Not only is Black’s king safety wrecked but White wins back the lost knight after Qxa7</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; clear: both; color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"></div><p></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Times; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">5. Colour Complexes</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>N@f3! Ke2 Nxg1! Ke1 Nf3 Ke2 Nxh2</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">6.1 Back-Rank Mates</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>@f7 Kh8 R@g8 Rxg8 fxg8=Q Kxg8 B@f7 Qxf7 (Kf8/Kh8 R@g8#) Qxf7 Kxf7</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Notice how we recycled Black’s rook and queen back into our own pocket with initiative, so we can drop them back first! </b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>The finish is now simple — t</b><b>here are mates one move faster, but we like:</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>N@e5 Kf6 Q@f7 Kg5 Qf4 Kh5 Qh4#</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">6.2 Smothered Mates</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>N@e7</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Oops! Have to watch for this is crazyhouse 960!</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>N@h6 Kh8 (gxh6 Q@h8#) Q@g8 Rxg8 Nxf7#</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>The classic pattern!</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">6.3 Magnet Mates</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>R@g8 Kxg8 B@f7 Kxf7 (Kxf8 Q@e8#) Q@e6 Kxf8 R@g8#</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>There were other mates e.g. starting with Nxg6, but this way was fastest.</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>R@a1 Kxa1 NxQc2 Kb1 Na3! Ka1 Q@b1! Rxb1 Nc2 </b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Combining the magnet and smothered mating themes!</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>After Kb1, there is also Q@a1 Kc2 Qxb2 Kxd3 Qd4 and if Kc2, B@d3 Kc1 @b2#, so: </b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Ke2 B@d3/@d3+ Ke1 and the key move </b><b>Qe3!! (exploiting the pin) followed by Qxe2#</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">6.4 Double-Take Mates</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>R@f8 Qxf8 Rxf8 Kxf8 Q@f7#/Q@g8#</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Q@g8 Rxg8 Qxg8#</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Bxh7 Kh8 N@g6 fxg6 Nxg6#</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">6.5 Knight-Drop Mates</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>N@a3 bxa3 N@c3 Kb2 Bxa3 Kxa3 @b4 Kb2 @a3</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>N@a3 Nxa3 (bxa3 Qxa1#) N@d2 Bxd2 Qxb2#</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Notice that the order matters, as N@d2 Bxd2 first gives the King luft on c1.</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">6.6 Cover-Escape Mates</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>@c6! (blocking d7) Kc8 @d7! (blocking e8) Kd8/Kb8 @c7#</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>A mating square of pawns on the 6th & 7th ranks!</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>7. Smother Tactics</b></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px;">Bxf6 gxf6 (exf6?? N@e7#) N@h6 Kg7 Nf5 Kg8/Kg6 Nxe7 Kg7 NxQc8</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px;"><br /></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>8. King Safety</b></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>0-0!</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Qa2!!</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>This both provides luft for the King on b1 and threatens mate with:</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Qg8 Kg6 N@h8 Kh6 N@f7 Kh5 Qh7 R@h6 (else Qg6#) QxRh6 gxh6 R@h4#</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Qg8 Kh6 is no better e.g. @g5 Kxg5 Qxg7 R@g6 N@h7 Kh5 N@f6 Rxf6 Nxf6#</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">9.1 Pawn Drops on the 6th</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>@f3!</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>@a6!</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Nxf3 Nxf3 @h3 gxh3 Bxh3 @g2 Bxg2 Kxg2 @h3!!</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Black has enough pawns in hand to not need to prepare with @g4</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">9.2 Pawn Drops on the 7th</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>@d2 Kd1 @e2 Kxe2 Qxd3 Kf2 (Kd1 @e2#) N@h1#</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">9.3 More Advanced Drop Attacks</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://lichess.org/study/zk5ErdYx/eVw1RRG2#1" target="_blank">B@g6!!</a></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>This is the best but not the only move and it is crushing!</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>There are too many lines to go into them all. Click through to the study!</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://lichess.org/study/zk5ErdYx/PVpMd0Ju#44" target="_blank">N@h3</a> gxh3 B@f3 @g2 BxNe2</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Material is unchanged but the White knight on e2 is replaced by a Black bishop.</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">10. Pawn Forks</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>@d4!</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>@e7!</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>@d7!</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://lichess.org/study/zk5ErdYx/jLCUDGAi#31" target="_blank">B@e4!</a></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Trick Question! Not @e7, else<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Qxg2 Kxg2 N@h4 Kg3 N@f5 Kh2 Nf3 Kh1 @g2 Kxg2 N5h4 Kf1 B@g2 Ke2 Nd4++#</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>@h7 Kxh7 B@e4 is not better as the Black king is actually safer on h7</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">12.1 Clearance Mates</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Nxc3 bxc3 Q@b3#</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://lichess.org/study/zk5ErdYx/PQ0wg5Ca#43" target="_blank">@e6!!</a> fxe6 QxNe8!! Rxe8 N@d6 Kf6 (Kf8 N@d7 Kg8 @f7) e5 Kg6 @h5 Kh6 Nf7#</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>or if after Qxe8 Kxe8 N@d6!! exd6 R@e7 Kd8 Rad7 Kc8 N@a7 Kb8 Nxc6 Ka8 @b7#</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>@e3!! NxRg2 (dxe3?? R@g1# no blockers!) R@g1 R@f1 Rxf1 Kxf1 R@h1 R@g1 @e2 Ke1 Rxg1#</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>@e3 whether taken or not covers the d2 square restricting the White king to the back rank</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">12.2 Castaway Mates</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Qxf1 Nxf1 then Nf2!! @g4 & R@h5 before, between or after is mate!</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Qxf6!! gxf6 Nf5 Kd7 B@c6</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://lichess.org/study/zk5ErdYx/i8kLdJR5#57" target="_blank">Nxe2!!</a></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>If instead Kd1 Rxd2 Ke1 Re2 Kd1 Re1!! Kxe1 @d2 Kxd2 B@c3 Kd1 Bxf3 @e2 B1xe2#)</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://lichess.org/study/zk5ErdYx/i8kLdJR5#61" target="_blank">Nxe2</a> second-time round doesn’t work because of:</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>@d2 Kxd2 @c3 Nxc3 Bxc3 Kxc3 N@b5 Kb4 (Kb2 B@c3 Kb1 Na3#; Kd2 B@c3 Kd1 @e2#) B@c5 Ka4 Nc3#</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b style="text-align: start;"><a href="https://lichess.org/study/zk5ErdYx/J34361dh#45" target="_blank">Q@f5</a> N@g5 h4!! opening the h-file & mate cannot be stopped</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">12.3 Interference Mates</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Q@c6!! R@b6 B@b7 Ka7 (Ka5 R@a4#) R@a6 Rxa6 Qxa6 Kb8 Qxa8#</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>The key is to interfere with the Black rook’s defence of b7.</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">12.4 Block-Escape Mates</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b>Q@a4!! Kxa4 Bc2!! (block-escape!) Kb4 (b3 b5 Kb4 Bd6! blocking escape again! @c5 a5#) Bd6! @c5 (Kxc4 b5#) Nd5! Kxc4 b5 cxb6 Nxb6#</b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lichess.org/study/zk5ErdYx" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Solution Study</b></span></a></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><b>Thanks to NM visualdennis for helping me to collect some of these highlight positions.</b></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><b>You can also review most of the <a href="https://lichess.org/study/VqxPPyed" target="_blank">full games played in Season 9.60 here</a>.</b></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><b><br /></b></p></div><p></p></div>okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6528983857938059465.post-38830313800702659822021-08-07T11:59:00.004-07:002021-08-09T19:59:05.751-07:002021 Crazyhouse Update!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRb4g9hjfpbOHWGugb-uzXaEfwqTucAhSJPbJ08_YotEZ4rmLLuYUtmeGp3slqT2cwFvFyzMxpqLqp6eoPWPVdwkc0YjVNK4MOAbq175UVpEyNr6l0lWlN-9PijJgxd7mdSZQA8l9yE9yW/s2048/chess.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1448" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRb4g9hjfpbOHWGugb-uzXaEfwqTucAhSJPbJ08_YotEZ4rmLLuYUtmeGp3slqT2cwFvFyzMxpqLqp6eoPWPVdwkc0YjVNK4MOAbq175UVpEyNr6l0lWlN-9PijJgxd7mdSZQA8l9yE9yW/w283-h400/chess.jpg" width="283" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/@/Jasugi99" target="_blank">Jasugi99</a> ended 2020 winning both the </span><a href="https://zhchess.blogspot.com/2021/01/jasugi99-is-2020-crazyhouse-world.html" style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;" target="_blank">Crazyhouse World Championship</a><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> as well as teaming up with chickencrossroad to win the </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRyjH8DPuzTBzLV0qqaZuNL3-TNL7LyDV" style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;" target="_blank">Bughouse World Championship</a><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">February 2021 saw the conclusion of <a href="https://zhchess.blogspot.com/2021/02/season-9-of-zh-league.html" target="_blank">Season 9 of the ZH League</a> of slow team crazyhouse, as well as the kick-off for the <a href="https://lichess.org/forum/team-crazyhouse-world-championship/crazyhouse-world-championship-2021-tournament-schedule" target="_blank">2021 Crazyhouse World Championship</a> with 267 participants reduced to 256 and 256 reduced to 12 over the past six months through a <a href="https://challonge.com/cwc2021" target="_blank">double-elimination process</a>. As in previous years, a lot of these matches were live-streamed and you can catch up from the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRyjH8DPuzTAiVe4mzzI7YDKflVu3dkjG" target="_blank">2021 CWC playlist</a>.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">You can see a <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-ULuw3bLDXDj9LIlocJjzD3qs431UVnVQbHgY1_DamU/edit#gid=0" target="_blank">truncated version</a> of this double-elimination <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-ULuw3bLDXDj9LIlocJjzD3qs431UVnVQbHgY1_DamU/edit#gid=0" target="_blank">here</a> thanks to LegionDestroyer.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The final 12 along with 2020 runner-up IM opperwezen will now play a round-robin over the coming months (one match a week of 10 games of 3+2). The player with the most game wins will then face 2020 CWC Champion in the 2021 Grand Final, with the loser qualifying to the Candidates at the next cycle.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The final 13 are:</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/@/opperwezen" target="_blank">IM opperwezen</a></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/@/catask" target="_blank">catask</a></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/@/doganswer" target="_blank">doganswer</a></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/@/VariantsOnly" target="_blank">IM VariantsOnly</a></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/@/Bugzilla" target="_blank">IM Bugzilla</a></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/@/JannLee" target="_blank">LM JannLee</a></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/@/mariorton" target="_blank">mariorton</a></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/@/TheFinnisher" target="_blank">TheFinnisher</a></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/@/zyxon" target="_blank">FM zyxon</a></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/@/burpcow" target="_blank">burpcow</a></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/@/blitzbullet" target="_blank">NM blitzbullet</a></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/@/two64brocc" target="_blank">FM two64brocc</a></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/@/Kleerkast" target="_blank">Kleerkast</a></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">To keep up to date with future Crazyhouse World Championship action, keep an eye on the <a href="https://lichess.org/forum/team-crazyhouse-world-championship" target="_blank">CWC lichess team</a>.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/forum/team-crazyhouse-curator/elite-crazyhouse-arena" target="_blank">Elite Crazyhouse Arenas</a> organised by TheFinnisher have continued Friday or Saturday evenings for players rated 2100+ on <a href="http://lichess.org" target="_blank">lichess.org</a>.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">There have also been hotly contested ZH Nations League Arenas organised by OFBC_Nigeria every Sunday afternoon dominated by <a href="https://lichess.org/team/red-machine" target="_blank">Russia</a>, <a href="https://lichess.org/team/team-nigeria-zh" target="_blank">Nigeria</a> & <a href="https://lichess.org/team/crazyhouse-germany" target="_blank">Germany</a>. </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/team/crazyhouse-finland" target="_blank">Finland</a> has also proved to be a force thanks to the singular indomitable contributions of TheFinnisher each week. For the less nationalistic and smaller countries of Europe such as the UK & Switzerland, there is also the <a href="https://lichess.org/team/outer-europe-crazyhouse-team">Outer-Europe</a> Crazyhouse Team, and for the smaller countries of East-Asia the <a href="https://lichess.org/team/east-asian-crazyhouse" target="_blank">East Asian</a> Crazyhouse Team. Powerhouses the Netherland, Australia & Canada have yet to participate fully, but we expect these arenas to continue to grow and more nations to join.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Another endeavour has been to replace the usual hourly crazyhouse arenas on lichess with <a href="https://iwantzh.github.io/list.html" target="_blank">underground arenas</a> organised by blunderman1. To see these arenas in your upcoming tournaments, join the <a href="https://lichess.org/team/underground-crazyhouse-hourly-arenas" target="_blank">Underground Crazyhouse</a> team.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">TheFinnisher also set up a <a href="https://lichess.org/team/crazyhouse-curator" target="_blank">Crazyhouse Curator</a> team to notify members about all future crazyhouse events each week. Another good way to stay up to date is to join the <a href="https://discord.gg/RhWgzcC" target="_blank">House Variants discord server</a>, which has been extending its success in variants to standard chess with victories in the <a href="https://rochadeeuropa.de/lichess-2021/" target="_blank">online Bundesliga</a> (14 wins in 2020, 10 so far in 2021) which was set up in response to the pandemic.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">With the race to the CWC Candidates getting clearer, July 2021 also saw a Crazyhouse 960 team league (<a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1KZx0dZiNFppfyzMZuQvzc-h-zkZ-sbtvS76Aj7y4oUU/edit#gid=116088840" target="_blank">Season 9.60</a>) as an intermezzo between Seasons 9 and Season 10 expected towards the end of 2021. If you wish to be notified of future slow crazyhouse initiatives, please join the <a href="https://lichess.org/team/crazyhouse-league-team" target="_blank">Crazyhouse League Team</a> on lichess.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">This second successful </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1KZx0dZiNFppfyzMZuQvzc-h-zkZ-sbtvS76Aj7y4oUU/edit#gid=116088840" style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;" target="_blank">zh960 league</a><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> was played on the lichess sister site </span><a href="https://www.pychess.org" style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">https://www.pychess.org</a><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> which allows for zh960 and zh from position as well as a host of other variants. The Russian-dominated Red Button won the league with a team headed by Fumitoks on board 1 and terra87 on board 2, both of whom were undefeated with 6 wins out of 6.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The league was concluded with a prize arena and the following week the inaugural zh960 shield with over 100 participants won by zyxon from Sweden (firefly on FICS).</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The shields in standard crazyhouse meanwhile have been dominated by TheFinnisher & BughouseKnight, but also wins from Fumitoks in May, and Kleerkast in July up against stiff opposition from both TheFinnisher & zyxon.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">For an introduction to crazyhouse 960: from Beginners to Mastery, check out these <a href="https://lichess.org/study/zk5ErdYx" target="_blank">highlight positions</a> chosen & commentated on by myself and NM visualdennis from games played in Season 9.60 of the team zh960 league.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Enjoy the upcoming Candidates matches and the rest of what should be a great year of crazyhouse!</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">—okei</span></p>okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6528983857938059465.post-26894376146123296352021-05-19T01:53:00.004-07:002021-05-19T01:53:47.414-07:00A Dictionary of the Crazyhouse Ecosystem<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>The following dictionary of the crazyhouse ecosystem, describing the styles of different players, was written by Guest Editor <a href="https://lichess.org/@/zaraza" target="_blank">Zaráza</a>, except for the description about herself which was written by <a href="https://lichess.org/@/the_crocodile_hunter" target="_blank">The_Crocodile_Hunter</a> as it is not easy to see one’s own style.</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/@/alduto" target="_blank"><b>Alduto</b></a>’s style of play is the moonwalk of Michael Jackson. He plays by rearranging pieces and pawns, often moving them to adjacent squares, as if moving to the beat of music. Step forward, two steps forward, U-turn, long diagonal.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4KuWTvEToL63Avszq6NIUkxhhvaL5ER-4WzNDpNON5VfPDSPT5qZakB7DBINZNygWmC9TqX9GtOUJOtdaXKe8gg-dn5KvsTVtqjQWYGRsP2pOpou-e6COxiPWd_EuJ3oc5j5vzDGK4TMP/s700/Alduto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="463" data-original-width="700" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4KuWTvEToL63Avszq6NIUkxhhvaL5ER-4WzNDpNON5VfPDSPT5qZakB7DBINZNygWmC9TqX9GtOUJOtdaXKe8gg-dn5KvsTVtqjQWYGRsP2pOpou-e6COxiPWd_EuJ3oc5j5vzDGK4TMP/w640-h424/Alduto.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/@/bananajo" target="_blank"><b>BananaJo</b></a> is like gum on the sole of your shoe. He has a smooth playing style, dancing around the victim like a spider tangles its web, until he delivers the fatal blow.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbexawZnlz5Pu8CRgSCdb5dlzEn6RvzKZ2SWy38nxhoWDFlgzWRwIhm3lrKrHErwVzAw7g2Bh75eW3vEtEIpZkbKP9XnYI-CIwNx94ipwNge8ddesOPwfzQdrD1c5VWFmVrM9jzL3NTUas/s1054/IMG_20210114_203757.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="593" data-original-width="1054" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbexawZnlz5Pu8CRgSCdb5dlzEn6RvzKZ2SWy38nxhoWDFlgzWRwIhm3lrKrHErwVzAw7g2Bh75eW3vEtEIpZkbKP9XnYI-CIwNx94ipwNge8ddesOPwfzQdrD1c5VWFmVrM9jzL3NTUas/w640-h360/IMG_20210114_203757.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://lichess.org/@/googa" target="_blank">googa</a></b> plays like the flight of Rimsky-Korsakov's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8kt7iXUpvM" target="_blank">Bumblebee</a>. Fast, laborious, not aggressive. Burdened with pollen, there's no time to rest. Likes to play bishops, stings from all sides, exhausts the opponent to the point of saying “Leave me alone, I can't cope.”</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWFJfPQ6UdmNETGcJ6bDgon_1QOB1m0NDpo0CBbjOFJaj2skRdGCuA2EIF7D3weFbx2r_V1UYlrj7xX0IMqA8_BGyyEPOYimVBnN0fF_x9E8FXnkYutstowsN2lG-7zkdblzsespe0nf9u/s800/EDVHT_9VUAA2tfw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="532" data-original-width="800" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWFJfPQ6UdmNETGcJ6bDgon_1QOB1m0NDpo0CBbjOFJaj2skRdGCuA2EIF7D3weFbx2r_V1UYlrj7xX0IMqA8_BGyyEPOYimVBnN0fF_x9E8FXnkYutstowsN2lG-7zkdblzsespe0nf9u/w640-h424/EDVHT_9VUAA2tfw.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://lichess.org/@/joannatries" target="_blank">JoannaTries</a></b> is bold and risky, like the blue-footed booby bird that dives headfirst to a depth of 25 metres seeking her victim. Her game style is chaotic and ragged, sometimes meaninglessly giving up pieces to stupify her opponent.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj5eocRdyOgb5D-x8p1-s90rqhkp5l1UL1a93joVMm1SnvgSWpaD1RuBD7g7NV1Yxjp0sIQOfmmXAhkDo7_Py-9p51EbOA1ql5C5xdhttEvxYD0B83JzYp1xoj14U0CCC3IDDOCPAxydLv/s757/IMG_20210114_211508.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="593" data-original-width="757" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj5eocRdyOgb5D-x8p1-s90rqhkp5l1UL1a93joVMm1SnvgSWpaD1RuBD7g7NV1Yxjp0sIQOfmmXAhkDo7_Py-9p51EbOA1ql5C5xdhttEvxYD0B83JzYp1xoj14U0CCC3IDDOCPAxydLv/w640-h502/IMG_20210114_211508.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://lichess.org/@/kleerkast" target="_blank">Kleerkast</a></b> is a smart, calculating player who sees the chessboard perfectly. He doesn't really keep track of his time, but even if he has 20 seconds left, he'll get you as ruthlessly as a female praying mantis.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKBNx4lCbRjnOO78X0VVYH6Jw13GUMn6XV81pBBHBdOItv7lvCOYFIXP42WuS94XWgCtvZXx0SpltuEWLPwd6ajZdtREQcZivMjpKL_XVj2vPED8yzQE2Yid1532U6ditMaREy16o7lQRx/s697/IMG_20210114_203028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="697" height="578" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKBNx4lCbRjnOO78X0VVYH6Jw13GUMn6XV81pBBHBdOItv7lvCOYFIXP42WuS94XWgCtvZXx0SpltuEWLPwd6ajZdtREQcZivMjpKL_XVj2vPED8yzQE2Yid1532U6ditMaREy16o7lQRx/w640-h578/IMG_20210114_203028.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://lichess.org/@/marlonc" target="_blank">MarlonC</a></b> plays with grace and precision, thinking through every movement like a surgeon working with a scalpel on the patient's body.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIWJL0PofR3TVtj6SssaTwxY7iSRQg7-5NxYTgZL7XQS6an-XA-CwE2Cki19mQVFD1hXN2pNHuJnfSbRBRqhYWXlZEyrWxK0l-5Q8ANqrtEb0uo3CDkqmjEXKaE9ggKzTS3rt9ghjRl3Jy/s890/IMG_20210114_210322.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="593" data-original-width="890" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIWJL0PofR3TVtj6SssaTwxY7iSRQg7-5NxYTgZL7XQS6an-XA-CwE2Cki19mQVFD1hXN2pNHuJnfSbRBRqhYWXlZEyrWxK0l-5Q8ANqrtEb0uo3CDkqmjEXKaE9ggKzTS3rt9ghjRl3Jy/w640-h426/IMG_20210114_210322.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://lichess.org/@/metin48" target="_blank">metin48</a></b> is a tank. He rushes in a straight line, as long as the game goes according to plan. As soon as the opponent makes unusual moves for him, he begins to get lost and makes one mistake after another. If you want to beat him, surprise him and be surprised yourself.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW_G3qAaCrc8rqmt8avsGABh1zvAJBd1UvULzede9UBpAVRqreD3kxZepJXf9wv2m3RCLX1BlXgw6PjQHCQ2xxnlcbEhUi2OyrmlIwTQ1MVf9UPUvJ31OSVLyfcVpd_tKra_vbqrf5Qest/s890/IMG_20210114_205914.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="593" data-original-width="890" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW_G3qAaCrc8rqmt8avsGABh1zvAJBd1UvULzede9UBpAVRqreD3kxZepJXf9wv2m3RCLX1BlXgw6PjQHCQ2xxnlcbEhUi2OyrmlIwTQ1MVf9UPUvJ31OSVLyfcVpd_tKra_vbqrf5Qest/w640-h426/IMG_20210114_205914.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/@/opperwezen" target="_blank"><b>opperwezen</b></a> is a Mimic Octopus. His style of play is very similar to the smartest octopus in the world. The mimic octopus can make a split-second decision based on the appearance of a predator, choosing which marine animal it should impersonate to instil fear in its enemy. Likewise, opperwezen adapts which appearance he takes, transforming quickly depending on the circumstances. He has a lot of openings and defences and his game depends on his mood. One moment he is a small octopus wolfi, reliably on the defence, protecting his king, the next he is a Kraken, lightning-fast in attack, throwing all his collected forced into a lethal attack, instilling panic in the enemy, so that he freezes with fear.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGTDStPX1_qImRJkmtIHAlyJ_S74KM_FCJ5koXW2ZUmhvgkacuXjr4_WqmEtoUPId_N9EsFVkc7XDD6fq7YswGKQHqRAhuQN8TFBvmIR9NoR3dNL8dboTWRZkqcuQBKIALiN2Cl1y3qmvb/s700/mimic-octopus-samij-umnij-osminog-4-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="700" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGTDStPX1_qImRJkmtIHAlyJ_S74KM_FCJ5koXW2ZUmhvgkacuXjr4_WqmEtoUPId_N9EsFVkc7XDD6fq7YswGKQHqRAhuQN8TFBvmIR9NoR3dNL8dboTWRZkqcuQBKIALiN2Cl1y3qmvb/w640-h428/mimic-octopus-samij-umnij-osminog-4-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://lichess.org/@/pepsingaming" target="_blank">PepsiNGaming</a></b> is a Minesweeper. His style of play is very similar to this puzzle game. He meticulously collects pieces and pawns on the board in a pile, forcing the opponent to do the same. Then he walks through the minefield, towards the enemy king, trying not to explode. And he does it perfectly!</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-C2A2wqtutYYjDfC8A0eIahiPuNJJlrX6-3-CG1Iqt86lsqu7lRQHbFBkIOyhM6-8WGXPxnnllGlVmkQ_xAgWzvE9knuK-mPic7Om_UTu9t0-mdLyYeGu-7op-GYfP0lexhOOixewwx8/s500/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="500" height="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-C2A2wqtutYYjDfC8A0eIahiPuNJJlrX6-3-CG1Iqt86lsqu7lRQHbFBkIOyhM6-8WGXPxnnllGlVmkQ_xAgWzvE9knuK-mPic7Om_UTu9t0-mdLyYeGu-7op-GYfP0lexhOOixewwx8/w640-h620/maxresdefault.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/@/pkr5025" target="_blank"><b>pkr5025</b></a> is a bear. Big, strong, confident. He loves his lair and makes sure that no one offends his king, so he creates additional protection in case of invasion. If he needs berries, he will go to the queen's flank and collect a handful of pieces in his paw. After that, he will go straight into the bee hive for the enemy king, and he does not care that his snout will be all bitten by bees.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgrcZ_32wmljjDe2Zw4XxMZVHYWW_V0qpWoDVdUrS68C0t-ZEBv7fxrjeauNeXw46hvuhiQMtosvDtgWfjpBtihnH-JJFNMjh5-ceSXq1ShAJmJyIvQwvTdu7zYkltzouTumR-ltFH5Zwy/s745/Wildlife%252BPictures%252B4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="532" data-original-width="745" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgrcZ_32wmljjDe2Zw4XxMZVHYWW_V0qpWoDVdUrS68C0t-ZEBv7fxrjeauNeXw46hvuhiQMtosvDtgWfjpBtihnH-JJFNMjh5-ceSXq1ShAJmJyIvQwvTdu7zYkltzouTumR-ltFH5Zwy/w640-h458/Wildlife%252BPictures%252B4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://lichess.org/@/the_crocodile_hunter" target="_blank">The_Crocodile_Hunter</a></b> is a small hedgehog who makes his way through the thorns of a madhouse, sharpens his needles, screams in pain and turns into an armadillo.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLrIYXw5yE_zMUylNvwcagWJyGg1wOqdUSso_UHhl6lon45GrC_glKOO8AaVN5CypKiBGWeTA2MvH6QD4IYzO70yOXCTxyyIsO13NRLUk2k1URmVKwgHlHBcZYuhQrRNtmhAxBFY3FWd57/s888/IMG_20210114_211035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="593" data-original-width="888" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLrIYXw5yE_zMUylNvwcagWJyGg1wOqdUSso_UHhl6lon45GrC_glKOO8AaVN5CypKiBGWeTA2MvH6QD4IYzO70yOXCTxyyIsO13NRLUk2k1URmVKwgHlHBcZYuhQrRNtmhAxBFY3FWd57/w640-h428/IMG_20210114_211035.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/@/thefinnisher" target="_blank"><b>TheFinnisher</b></a> is a charming magician. With a deft movement of his hand, he juggles the pieces on the board, as if performing card tricks. He is a professional in his field. While you are racking your brains trying to figure out the trick, he pulls the spare pieces out of his sleeve, switches your attention, and wins the game.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw4imCW2ZhamrO2SERDFVgrmeTIdW_StU3a1fOo2TUbXFvGYJUSednNLzccjewQmqK9MO6mrnXkrF7KNGdDWIvmEuIaSnoD9o84jmcXp_Jy5DxFTFPzjRkVDAczLtNbmvEfchd_6YdrD7I/s600/the.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="599" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw4imCW2ZhamrO2SERDFVgrmeTIdW_StU3a1fOo2TUbXFvGYJUSednNLzccjewQmqK9MO6mrnXkrF7KNGdDWIvmEuIaSnoD9o84jmcXp_Jy5DxFTFPzjRkVDAczLtNbmvEfchd_6YdrD7I/w638-h640/the.jpg" width="638" /></a></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/@/the-lone-wolf" target="_blank"><b>The-Lone-Wolf</b></a>, despite his moniker, plays like a black panther. He hunts smaller and larger prey alike. Carefully, carefully places the pieces, sneaking up on the victim before pouncing. If the victim runs away, the sad and hungry beast will return to the bushes and wait for the next one.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh91zOLQH4jhN2wV2jOXqfSsUzWj7oBN56KSUlJxf7FU1WJ2b2CxhBwI63fd8xr56HeL1BIbnBVnNg8WiArI8MzxXBQrAssgwbPvnTMiP1NrJOYaMpn9Yh_kxLGkjQP4_gpb4JOzo88OSLV/s609/pantera.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="609" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh91zOLQH4jhN2wV2jOXqfSsUzWj7oBN56KSUlJxf7FU1WJ2b2CxhBwI63fd8xr56HeL1BIbnBVnNg8WiArI8MzxXBQrAssgwbPvnTMiP1NrJOYaMpn9Yh_kxLGkjQP4_gpb4JOzo88OSLV/w630-h640/pantera.jpg" width="630" /></a></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/@/variantbunny" target="_blank"><b>variantbunny</b></a> is a mountain goat. Her game is characterized by vertical constructions of pieces and pawns, which she skilfully connects with each other. Jumping from figure to figure, he jumps to the top of the cliff in the hope of checkmating the king.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTi1TXw0vJMep_RElEVYaMZBgLSCtXmkKV8hiQSXigTbL6zlz5goRYTFHA33DN3WCpyqbVPratDrcXTl9Ww4zhVmEFVkPJ74LmpHN_x4syWc6_QJglxkq4vru2j37zTZ5r5UjlNT0vZFjO/s600/i.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="396" data-original-width="600" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTi1TXw0vJMep_RElEVYaMZBgLSCtXmkKV8hiQSXigTbL6zlz5goRYTFHA33DN3WCpyqbVPratDrcXTl9Ww4zhVmEFVkPJ74LmpHN_x4syWc6_QJglxkq4vru2j37zTZ5r5UjlNT0vZFjO/w640-h422/i.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/@/variantsonly" target="_blank"><b>VariantsOnly</b></a> is a sloth. Representatives of this family are distinguished by an energy-saving way of movement, as well as slowness and good nature. He is too lazy to move all the pieces during the game, he is content mainly with those that he got from the exchange with the enemy, playing them all the game. And, like a miracle, if you resist for a long time, he will open his sleepy eyes in surprise and go with the remaining pieces in a frontal attack.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxA4bpsW5etKDokYI97WvQ_mhk1DnOBG7sXK1vcl_s6G5y8DzSip6ODtLnS_OY4uU7qHdtdeDzuZKIU8uAtow6sF9d4duYdvV4EcLGn8v_jzzaUgIn6zKGaPVISZmkFeFOtvntc6uG2pq6/s700/SlothDWA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="467" data-original-width="700" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxA4bpsW5etKDokYI97WvQ_mhk1DnOBG7sXK1vcl_s6G5y8DzSip6ODtLnS_OY4uU7qHdtdeDzuZKIU8uAtow6sF9d4duYdvV4EcLGn8v_jzzaUgIn6zKGaPVISZmkFeFOtvntc6uG2pq6/w640-h428/SlothDWA.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/@/zaraza" target="_blank"><b>Zaraza</b></a> translates from the Russian as something synonymous with a virus or infection. It is an apt name, as when playing her one awaits her incursion through the pawn structure (just like ingesting a virus, which spreads). She pushes her bishops, releases her queen, attacks the weak points and grabs territory, preparing to bring the pain. An opponent with a strong immune system has nothing to fear, but said immunity has to be really strong, and with positive mentality, otherwise even players with a 2500 rating will be in real trouble. The analogy with the famous coronavirus is overall applicable! The mask as her profile picture ought to warn you to be on your guard and tread carefully! [Written by The_Crocodile_Hunter]</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTfNtHjpw8xXHhMPrD-bnlVF6oGOyP_TJHoIwKtwjaRQlsfR6meU8s798l8cC9fmN-tpWR7jgGS7DoXNEa_aH2aw-5hGyg3LIlQTU52lcz5XdgoylSYIiIoVwlqZ8txkvBRERx46fEIRoe/s610/test_1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="610" data-original-width="549" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTfNtHjpw8xXHhMPrD-bnlVF6oGOyP_TJHoIwKtwjaRQlsfR6meU8s798l8cC9fmN-tpWR7jgGS7DoXNEa_aH2aw-5hGyg3LIlQTU52lcz5XdgoylSYIiIoVwlqZ8txkvBRERx46fEIRoe/s320/test_1.png" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">—</span><i style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">Zaraza</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6528983857938059465.post-67039729763129550082021-05-19T01:17:00.002-07:002021-05-19T01:19:03.257-07:00Spot the Move! #3<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Another year of the Crazyhouse World Championship, the pinnacle of the game, and another player marked on <a href="http://lichess.org">lichess.org</a> for presumed engine use in a match against littleplotkin (in 2018 it was HighContrast, in 2020 BughouseMaster). But in the spirit of taking the good from the bad, here is a sequence of ten puzzles from the 2021 CWC campaign of luvlyx, now marked on lichess.org.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Note, that while some of these moves might have been suspiciously good discoveries, there is no suggestion that it was these positions or on this particular evidence that Lichess reached their verdict. On that, no-one will ever know. Lichess has its own methods for reaching its conclusions and this evidence is kept private to prevent cheats using it to avoid detection in future.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The purpose is rather so that we can learn and become better players ourselves. After the puzzles is a video review of the games from which they came. In each of the following positions, it’s the pieces on your side of the board to play and you are tasked with finding the best next move! A solution key is at the bottom of the blog.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXtaU0HKeFMyT_Jf49oSB7Ha_Qj6HwjZX0JN7UqbQZPDhjCApLpldiIiEI6NfeD83aeyRGjtQ0HjpLgVNjBygHenduZSsCe8qygqoDQinzfs0NnnKR8YykFxf9jXk8hRi6UMq7JZsQt265/s2835/luvlyx.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2835" data-original-width="945" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXtaU0HKeFMyT_Jf49oSB7Ha_Qj6HwjZX0JN7UqbQZPDhjCApLpldiIiEI6NfeD83aeyRGjtQ0HjpLgVNjBygHenduZSsCe8qygqoDQinzfs0NnnKR8YykFxf9jXk8hRi6UMq7JZsQt265/s16000/luvlyx.jpg" width="560" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Video Review of the games</b></span></div><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PSrBGEP01eE" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Solution Key:</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div></b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">1. Kg7 2. Ke7</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"> 3. Qxe7 4. Qh5</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"> 5. N@d4 6. B@g4</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"> 7. B@g5 8. N@h4</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"> 9. N@f5 10. N@d2</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">—<span style="font-family: arial;"><i>okei</i></span></span></div>okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6528983857938059465.post-8622500759551832102021-02-18T03:31:00.007-08:002021-02-18T03:51:47.351-08:00Season 9 of the ZH League<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Season 9 of the zh team league was a shorter three-week season in anticipation of the upcoming 2021 Crazyhouse World Championship. But there were still four powerhouses in TheFinnisher, zyxon, blitzbullet & Kleerkast leading the four teams. As in previous editions of the league, board 1 played 2 games of 5+5, board 2 played 6+6 all the way down to board 7 playing 2 games of 11+11 zh. So there were 28 players in all as well as three alts who also got a match. For the second time in zh league history, we had an unbeaten team winning every game. The other three teams (Pocket Play, Okei Boomer & Zatramp) each secured one match win, separated only by tiebreaks (number of games won by each). </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Congratulations to Zhumbawamba for winning the Grand Slam in Season 9 with 6/6 match points and 30/42 game points (an impressive 71.4%). </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The winning team was made up of TheFinnisher, terra87, Bleichkind and jrpadhi on boards 1 to 4, Marlonc & abunickabhi sharing board 5, Zaraza & fgalla sharing board 6 & adande1 with his now legendary mate-dodging on board 7 (how is it that his opponents can never finish him off?). Congratulations to the Season 9 Champions! </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Individual shout-outs go to TheFinnisher top board 1 with 5/6, terra87 & LegionDestroyer equal-top board 2 with 5/6, Bleichkind top board 3 with 5/6, okei & pepellou sharing top board 4 with 4/6, Andrey2888, new to the league, was top board 5 with 5/6, no_seigen, also new, was top board 6 with 4/6, and last but not least adande1 was top board 7 with 5/6. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">As for season-wide statistics, Black won only 44% of games with the disadvantage for Black most pronounced on boards 6 & 7. On board 2, however, Black upset the odds with a 2-1 win ratio, and even on board 1, it was a tie. Crazyhouse is still not too one-sided a game, even at the highest levels, and even in slow time controls.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Full results may be found both in this <a href="https://tinyurl.com/y7b5p3yt" target="_blank">Season 9 Google Sheet</a> as well as on the <a href="https://zh.lakin.ca/zhteam/season/9/summary/" target="_blank">zh league website</a>. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Thanks to all the participants who helped self-organise the league this Season despite some technical difficulties on the website, and to all the spectators who watched and commentated on the games live in lichess chat.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc61MxZsi88e7Kru12xbuL8JngZnuAa1wAKmS-Q_3yGqXYm0epeDxkQrHpH35AIg-Lgh6RfBkmWOf1KIdjydqy1IJJasFTkjiXyhfiwTwFTNmzL40BaqFxUDSqS5pR9UN3YoTEocZQ06UW/s1664/Screenshot+2021-02-17+at+22.35.33.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1664" data-original-width="984" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc61MxZsi88e7Kru12xbuL8JngZnuAa1wAKmS-Q_3yGqXYm0epeDxkQrHpH35AIg-Lgh6RfBkmWOf1KIdjydqy1IJJasFTkjiXyhfiwTwFTNmzL40BaqFxUDSqS5pR9UN3YoTEocZQ06UW/s16000/Screenshot+2021-02-17+at+22.35.33.png" width="550" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">Puzzles based on the games in Season 9 will follow as usual on this </span><a href="http://zhchess.blogspot.com" style="font-size: x-large;" target="_blank">blog</a><span style="font-size: x-large;">.<br /></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br />Keep playing crazyhouse, and keep your eyes on the calendar in the right sidebar for upcoming matches once the 2021 Crazyhouse World Championships get underway!<br /><br />—okei</span></div></span></div>okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6528983857938059465.post-71520183548355654132020-12-31T09:13:00.010-08:002021-01-01T16:06:23.996-08:00Jasugi99 is the 2020 Crazyhouse World Champion!<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/@/Jasugi99" target="_blank"></a></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWIPqvFmXv1OrczxCclZSznRZHaWrno1i9RIhOku500SKYqaVOrGqPuVOwdAJH7tWziI1IOpPfDsBJCW5zqzS-07IzL3uuyCjIAxlYKutUh3WqtdI11ENpa1lVM0rP12BcQqrYVZXnOtAm/s1004/jasugi99.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1004" data-original-width="784" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWIPqvFmXv1OrczxCclZSznRZHaWrno1i9RIhOku500SKYqaVOrGqPuVOwdAJH7tWziI1IOpPfDsBJCW5zqzS-07IzL3uuyCjIAxlYKutUh3WqtdI11ENpa1lVM0rP12BcQqrYVZXnOtAm/s320/jasugi99.jpg" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://lichess.org/@/Jasugi99" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">Jasugi99</a> <span style="font-family: arial;">(real name NM Janak Awatramani from Canada) followed up his win earlier in December partnering chickencrossroad in the inaugural online bughouse world championship (BWC) with a win also in the 2020 Crazyhouse World Championship to become the new Crazyhouse World Champion! He becomes the third ever Champion following <a href="https://lichess.org/@/JannLee" target="_blank">JannLee</a> in 2017 (to whom he was runner-up under his old handle TwelveTeen) and <a href="https://lichess.org/@/opperwezen" target="_blank">IM opperwezen</a> in 2018 whom he defeated in the 2020 Grand Final. The 2020 CWC trophy will go up on </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/Jasugi99" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">Jasugi99’s lichess profile</a> <span style="font-family: arial;">in a couple of weeks once lichess is updated. </span></div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">As noticed by <a href="https://lichess.org/@/ijh" target="_blank">ijh</a>, this creates a triangle of Crazyhouse Champions, JannLee defeating TwelveTeen in 2017, opperwezen defeating JannLee in 2018 and now TwelveTeen defeating opperwezen in 2020. This replicates the very same triangle in 2019 in which opperwezen defeated JannLee to win the bullet zh World Championship (100 games played over three days), Jasugi99 then defeated opperwezen in a 100 game 1+0 zh People’s Championship match (played over 2 days) before JannLee defeated Jasugi99 in a marathon of 110 games of 1+0 zh played in a single sitting. <br /><br />The 2020 Grand Final, as in 2018, was 60 games of 3+2 zh played over three days. Jasugi99 got off to a blistering start taking the first seven games, coming back from the dead in some of them. This ability to survive seemingly lost positions took its toll on the defending champion. IM opperwezen did manage to fight back to only trail 8-12 on the first day. The second day he did narrow the gap to 12-15 but his lead on the day was momentary and he went down 9-11, leaving Jasugi99 23-17 ahead, a margin of 6 going into the final day of 20 games. On day 3, Jasugi99 was again in commanding form and won it 12-8, an overall score of 35-25 in favour of the new champion.<br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br />You can watch the 7½ hours of live action across three days on </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/JannLeeCrazyhouseChannel/videos" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">JannLee’s YouTube</span></a><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">, accompanied by no less than GM Yasser Seirawan, famous player, commentator and co-creator of S-chess, and also accompanying </span><a href="https://www.twitch.tv/jannleecrazyhouse" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">JannLee</span></a><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> in the commentary booth were top crazyhouse players </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNMhNQybeLGJHWJv5qT1liQ" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Mugwort</span></a><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> and </span><a href="https://www.twitch.tv/kleerkast_chess" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Kleerkast</span></a><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">, both streamers in their own right. If you don’t already, go follow all three! Here are the three live-streams. On average there were about 350 people watching live throughout the three days, but many hundreds and thousands more will watch these amazing games over the coming months and years.<br /><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Day 1</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uyEGnH6bIUU" width="560"></iframe></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Day 2<br /><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iLk72l3kgRg" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Day 3<br /><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/z6I7jyGma7Q" width="560"></iframe></div></span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">You can play through the 60 games in the following <a href="https://lichess.org/study/iBbKsSc1" target="_blank">lichess study</a>. <br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br />Here is also a “practice-against-computer” <a href="https://lichess.org/study/C3ySnxjY" target="_blank">puzzle study</a> based on the games of the Grand Final.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Wishing you all a Good 2021!</b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Keep playing crazyhouse!</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">—okei</span></p><div><br /></div>okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6528983857938059465.post-71950239718804509742020-12-20T10:14:00.008-08:002020-12-30T08:49:48.311-08:002020 Crazyhouse World Championship Grand Final<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A lot has happened on the crazyhouse scene in the past year. Following IM <a href="https://lichess.org/@/opperwezen" target="_blank">opperwezen</a>’s victory against <a href="https://lichess.org/@/JannLee" target="_blank">JannLee</a> in the 2019 bullet zh championship organised by <a href="https://lichess.org/@/littleplotkin" target="_blank">littleplotkin</a> (opperwezen won 54-46), there were a couple of exhibition matches with prizes in December 2019: 100 games of 1+0 zh between <a href="https://lichess.org/@/Jasugi99" target="_blank">Jasugi99</a> and <a href="https://lichess.org/@/opperwezen" target="_blank">opperwezen</a> (Jasugi99 won 58-42) and 110 games between <a href="https://lichess.org/@/opperwezen" target="_blank">Jasugi99</a> and <a href="https://lichess.org/@/JannLee" target="_blank">JannLee</a> (JannLee won 57-53). Jasugi99 from Canada was the runner-up to JannLee in the 2017 Crazyhouse World Championship under his former handle TwelveTeen and well known in the bughouse community as cheesybread on FICS, so it was good to see him back in action on his new account after a break away from the game. All of these matches were live-streamed with commentary by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNMhNQybeLGJHWJv5qT1liQ" target="_blank">Mugwort</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/c/okeizh" target="_blank">myself</a> and others.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">As well as three more editions of the slower time control crazyhouse league on <a href="https://www.lichess.org" target="_blank">lichess</a> and also a fantastic zh960 league played on <a href="https://www.pychess.org" target="_blank">pychess</a> (all of which we have <a href="https://zhchess.blogspot.com/search/label/lichess%20league" target="_blank">blogged about copiously)</a>, 2020 kicked off in style with JannLee’s announcement that he would both organise and guarantee a $2000 prize fund for the 2020 World Championship. JannLee decided unfortunately that because of fathering duties, he would not play himself. JannLee had won the 2017 World Championship organised by FischyVishy, beating TwelveTeen 31.5-28.5 in the Grand Final (60 games of 3+0 zh) but he had lost to current champion IM opperwezen in 2018 after 60 games of 3+2 zh, the final score 32.5-27.5 in favour of the new champion. The time control in 2020 would again be 3+2 to ensure quality crazyhouse would not descend into flagging battles.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">There were 142 participants in the 2020 Crazyhouse World Championship (CWC), seeded according to the average of their current and peak rating. Probably the only absence was <a href="https://lichess.org/@/catask" target="_blank">catask</a>, the breakout player of 2019 who sadly couldn’t make it. These 142 were whittled down to 128 after 14 knock-out matches. Then the 128 participated in a double-elimination knockout https://challonge.com/noxtc1kv. <a href="https://lichess.org/@/Jasugi99" target="_blank">Jasugi99</a>, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/chickencrossroad" target="_blank">chickencrossroad</a>, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/xuanet" target="_blank">xuanet</a> and <a href="https://lichess.org/@/Kingswitcher" target="_blank">Kingswitcher</a> progressed undefeated (<a href="https://lichess.org/@/JKtheBullfrog" target="_blank">JKtheBullfrog</a> unfortunately withdrawing). IM <a href="https://lichess.org/@/gsvc" target="_blank">gsvc</a>, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/Mugwort">Mugwort</a>, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/TheFinnisher" target="_blank">TheFinnisher</a> & <a href="https://lichess.org/@/VariantsOnly" target="_blank">VariantsOnly</a> progressed automatically having only lost in the fifth round. Meanwhile, the final four candidates were IM <a href="https://lichess.org/@/Bugzilla" target="_blank">Bugzilla</a> who fought off <a href="https://lichess.org/@/Kleerkast" target="_blank">Kleerkast </a>in a very tight encounter, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/penguingim1" target="_blank">penguingim1</a> who beat <a href="https://lichess.org/@/the-lone-wolf" target="_blank">the-lone-wolf</a>, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/ArtOfDeception">ArtOfDeception</a> who narrowly beat <a href="https://lichess.org/@/LegionDestroyer" target="_blank">LegionDestroyer</a> and <a href="https://lichess.org/@/mastertan" target="_blank">mastertan</a> who beat <a href="https://lichess.org/@/unjournakamura" target="_blank">unjournakamura</a>.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">These final 12 were <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyufeP8AJLs" target="_blank">announced</a> by JannLee to be the Candidates for the 2020 CWC.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The Crazyhouse Candidates was a <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10MPghGlSfbgkWN3McgIKIFlrAedPmFA0B2RC9ftKncA" target="_blank">round-robin</a>, so every Candidate needed to play every other Candidate in a 10-game match of 3+2 zh with the greatest game scorer going on to be the Challenger to IM opperwezen for the 2020 CWC crown. After several gruelling months, Jasugi99 emerged as the unrivalled Challenger defeating everyone else by a score of 7-3 or greater, including three 10-0 clean sweeps (sometimes termed “adoptions”) against three legends of the game: VariantsOnly, xuanet & mastertan. Jasugi99 scored 93.5 game points out of a maximum possible of 110, an incredible win percentage of exactly 85%! So Jasugi99 will face IM opperwezen in the 2020 Grand Final for the World Championship Title!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>When will the Grand Final be?</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Jasugi99 and opperwezen will play 60 games of 3+2 crazyhouse over three days (20 games per day):</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>Tuesday 22nd December at 20:00UTC</i></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>Monday 28th December at 20:00UTC</i></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>Wednesday 30th December at 20:00UTC</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>How can I watch?</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">GM Yasser Seirawan, co-inventor of S-chess and a crazyhouse aficionado, will be joining streamers Mugwort, Kleerkast and host and organiser JannLee on <a href="https://twitch.tv/jannleecrazyhouse">https://twitch.tv/jannleecrazyhouse</a> to commentate live on the games. Be sure to drop a follow and turn on notifications so you don’t miss <a href="https://twitch.tv/jannleecrazyhouse" target="_blank">JannLee</a>’s streams. Of course you should also be following <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/mugwortcrazyhouse" target="_blank">Mugwort</a> & <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/kleerkast_chess" target="_blank">Kleerkast</a>. In case you miss it, the VOD will also be available afterwards on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbo8-5AEH7u3lE-yOGeNW1Q" target="_blank">YouTube</a>.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">You can also watch live on lichess, as hundreds will be, from the perspective of either <a href="https://lichess.org/@/opperwezen/tv" target="_blank">opperwezen</a> or <a href="https://lichess.org/@/Jasugi99/tv" target="_blank">Jasugi99</a> and follow the lichess game chat.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>How can I support the event?</b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The best way you can support is by playing crazyhouse, growing the community, <a href="https://twitch.tv/jannleecrazyhouse" target="_blank">tuning into the Finals</a> and keeping an eye on the <a href="https://teamup.com/ks3ozaeaopfk1v98bf" target="_blank">crazyhouse calendar</a>. If you do wish to donate to JannLee’s <a href="https://streamlabs.com/jannleecrazyhouse/tip" target="_blank">fund</a> for the Final and for future events, here is the <a href="https://streamlabs.com/jannleecrazyhouse/tip">link</a>.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>In anticipation of this end of year finale, here is a plethora of crazyhouse puzzles from this year’s Championships.</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Have you got what it takes to be Crazyhouse Champion? </b></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Score 8/10 or more on a set to qualify to the next round of the Double Elimination. In case you don’t succeed, there is also a second-chance set of puzzles. If you qualify, there will another set of puzzles taken from this year's Candidates. Can you go all the way?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDvYwFOcC1vExZ661hFiHU5KvaIfH9Jt-rXW4cUnK9dkn98_24S31jmJnjRmrfSaKWXKZnjYpoV_bcX6d7OaRchB21uKxNWzwH-Woy6NVrNzkKUIW8E5cEZGzbixVS6XZNszs46hSRBqB1/s2835/1600.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2835" data-original-width="945" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDvYwFOcC1vExZ661hFiHU5KvaIfH9Jt-rXW4cUnK9dkn98_24S31jmJnjRmrfSaKWXKZnjYpoV_bcX6d7OaRchB21uKxNWzwH-Woy6NVrNzkKUIW8E5cEZGzbixVS6XZNszs46hSRBqB1/s16000/1600.jpg" width="590" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Qualifiers: </b>Score 8/10 to qualify to Round 1!</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoeLOMK35fTAsWxbb_et9x4Y5L46T0QWxUZa0b7Fzzf14yr6NSaUIQVQdP3OaoJdFE2BNNMbso5M19xbRp7N7L_TXt79HrVJd98QwKSZ_MOTXfQ8Y36ZErZmM3RAjZ4fxXeSCxysCSrbxZ/s2835/1800.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2835" data-original-width="945" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoeLOMK35fTAsWxbb_et9x4Y5L46T0QWxUZa0b7Fzzf14yr6NSaUIQVQdP3OaoJdFE2BNNMbso5M19xbRp7N7L_TXt79HrVJd98QwKSZ_MOTXfQ8Y36ZErZmM3RAjZ4fxXeSCxysCSrbxZ/s16000/1800.jpg" title="Round 1" width="590" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Round 1:</span></b><b style="font-size: large;"> </b><span style="font-size: large;">Score 8/10 to qualify to Round 2!</span></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdwRy2hZJCXJMVG15DGzEJcSan2IClp5dM7eqjqDb_ysfVCPYFLEhrYh84bHtLNoODeTOzahOLQE5-qGwazVM2pA21NbIXy4QgHZ0Z6HVQr_X9pbJRT3BUDwsXK309-qI0vLSUAaUyU3Zr/s2835/2000A.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2835" data-original-width="945" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdwRy2hZJCXJMVG15DGzEJcSan2IClp5dM7eqjqDb_ysfVCPYFLEhrYh84bHtLNoODeTOzahOLQE5-qGwazVM2pA21NbIXy4QgHZ0Z6HVQr_X9pbJRT3BUDwsXK309-qI0vLSUAaUyU3Zr/s16000/2000A.jpg" width="590" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Round 2:</span></b><b style="font-size: large;"> </b><span style="font-size: large;">Score 8/10 to qualify to Round 3!</span></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCxmzdlQHJeG4TywyLPXcNTzdwi5nRW8ibtT8SEq0OCeYwRIR3x_TVUDW2I3hAkkefzmgOA-hjyWn3nQJ1y0QFCMHbCrBY6ZTYae_2aAGIooEZldVasiukiOxDZyc6Puu5vFd7zX_F48lW/s2835/2000B.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2835" data-original-width="945" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCxmzdlQHJeG4TywyLPXcNTzdwi5nRW8ibtT8SEq0OCeYwRIR3x_TVUDW2I3hAkkefzmgOA-hjyWn3nQJ1y0QFCMHbCrBY6ZTYae_2aAGIooEZldVasiukiOxDZyc6Puu5vFd7zX_F48lW/s16000/2000B.jpg" width="590" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Round 3:</span></b><b style="font-size: large;"> </b><span style="font-size: large;">Score 8/10 to qualify to Round 4!</span></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHy0IRVbSdmp-N25CL6kU7eHtbCfbMKEpjCQ2vtQRHEh8hsXuXBOkiB6gm2NX7pLI_DQJodBbAsVsg1Xkomi5GsyOmrFb1slN6lYX5rU2PZdrNSMjQ0Q5SdYLScVn6TCYmhHY5xP-XKZJM/s2835/2200.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2835" data-original-width="945" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHy0IRVbSdmp-N25CL6kU7eHtbCfbMKEpjCQ2vtQRHEh8hsXuXBOkiB6gm2NX7pLI_DQJodBbAsVsg1Xkomi5GsyOmrFb1slN6lYX5rU2PZdrNSMjQ0Q5SdYLScVn6TCYmhHY5xP-XKZJM/s16000/2200.jpg" width="590" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Round 4:</span></b><b style="font-size: large;"> </b><span style="font-size: large;">Score 8/10 to qualify to Round 5!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpd_QUAU2xQ-VUtCNcOwpnceKRSlTJFVuJXqIpobxDfPYVpGTA3aK3LqJmqKSd5nkYJFvBVtGSoYGYAOw_ZXVErryJfCX54Sba8QU1hua7PVAKHF5gR-23CHgYeg1kvc0gOMXmgs-k1fdF/s2835/2400.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2835" data-original-width="945" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpd_QUAU2xQ-VUtCNcOwpnceKRSlTJFVuJXqIpobxDfPYVpGTA3aK3LqJmqKSd5nkYJFvBVtGSoYGYAOw_ZXVErryJfCX54Sba8QU1hua7PVAKHF5gR-23CHgYeg1kvc0gOMXmgs-k1fdF/s16000/2400.jpg" width="590" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Round 5:</span></b><b style="font-size: large;"> </b><span style="font-size: large;">You are a Candidate! Score 8/10 to qualify unbeaten!</span></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8U_G_xi0G_A6JSdmQ1IZRAFvGs384uzjfazmqPoBaWHKWacyig8IboYhiIdTgpFp_EIVOvDBtTSxlHf_32yV9VhcOKvB4TS5t9qJ6gS48E5VEz3hYRWGTVHwINOmZCaMBw8g4Abri6MRf/s2835/Kleerkast.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2835" data-original-width="945" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8U_G_xi0G_A6JSdmQ1IZRAFvGs384uzjfazmqPoBaWHKWacyig8IboYhiIdTgpFp_EIVOvDBtTSxlHf_32yV9VhcOKvB4TS5t9qJ6gS48E5VEz3hYRWGTVHwINOmZCaMBw8g4Abri6MRf/s16000/Kleerkast.jpg" width="590" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Second Chance!</span></b><b style="font-size: large;"> </b><span style="font-size: large;">Score 8/10 to get into the Candidates!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span><i>Did you make it? </i></span><i>Even more puzzles are in store taken from the games in this year’s Candidates!</i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: large;"><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQkovRtuXx71a68H4flBsX7hqUiXUVzIEGjDfLNJhFyuphN5oL6Zf4qFre5F80O8mmZ6OsM1Tgs2Nb94cUBwE3r-P3aIg2Z_qsANKd6tMVvUG0Ci-Nwo6R-RqHOhSTnQS5pMa2r2XbOhkb/s2835/1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2835" data-original-width="945" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQkovRtuXx71a68H4flBsX7hqUiXUVzIEGjDfLNJhFyuphN5oL6Zf4qFre5F80O8mmZ6OsM1Tgs2Nb94cUBwE3r-P3aIg2Z_qsANKd6tMVvUG0Ci-Nwo6R-RqHOhSTnQS5pMa2r2XbOhkb/s16000/1.jpg" width="590" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Too easy? It’s time to really shine!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu893ZnEQyKGUokwBHCynW1pqALj5hWmwH6lft9XOustEIBp5MkDlVBHazsXjHL8e0eaynUC4iZWh0UREJL-DbfOznc7AaXwWnMYwiz6Zk4CSanze1ZUVvQheh_zV0mRjmqV1y0p4MpM_z/s2835/2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2835" data-original-width="945" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu893ZnEQyKGUokwBHCynW1pqALj5hWmwH6lft9XOustEIBp5MkDlVBHazsXjHL8e0eaynUC4iZWh0UREJL-DbfOznc7AaXwWnMYwiz6Zk4CSanze1ZUVvQheh_zV0mRjmqV1y0p4MpM_z/s16000/2.jpg" width="590" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">You’re good, really good! But can you be World Champion?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-0Te6EZFQIs7VwaxbyKprQppIh1whPGO7ppUOT9NnafiHxnkARsR0v6jlIkeSFRGCkJq-v51eajtbI7WQgVUU2Cv1CbT7is6f-MlB1eKVOi8UNWLRN98mDV_grupjwKTrJaauzNdjQqkD/s2835/3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2835" data-original-width="945" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-0Te6EZFQIs7VwaxbyKprQppIh1whPGO7ppUOT9NnafiHxnkARsR0v6jlIkeSFRGCkJq-v51eajtbI7WQgVUU2Cv1CbT7is6f-MlB1eKVOi8UNWLRN98mDV_grupjwKTrJaauzNdjQqkD/s16000/3.jpg" width="590" /></a></div><br /><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Thanks to LegionDestroyer & Kleerkast for helping to collect so many of these puzzles. You can alternatively play out these puzzles in the interactive studies created by Kleerkast: </span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/study/KRSHKkvT" target="_blank">Rounds 1-5</a></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/study/aH1Jh5Xs" target="_blank">Second Chance</a></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Here is the solution key!</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Solution Key</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">(a solution counts as correct if it includes all moves marked in bold)</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;"><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Qualifiers:</b> 1. <b>Q@g8#</b> 2. <b>N@f1 Nf2#</b> (<b>N@e2 Nf2 @g3</b> also works) 3. <b>R@f2 R@f1#</b> 4. <b>R@e8</b> Kxe8 <b>N@g7</b> Kf8 <b>R@e8#</b> 5. <b>N@h6 R@g8#</b> 6. <b>Qxf2 Qxf2 N@f3#</b> 7. <b>Q@f1 @g2#</b> 8. <b>Q@d2 Q@e2</b> is mating, but so is <b>Q@e3!!</b> as Jasugi99 played 9. <b>@e7 Qxc7#</b> 10. <b>Qa6 Qa3 Qc3#</b></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Round 1: </b>11. <b>Q@g2 Nf3#</b> 12. <b>Q@h3 </b>Kg1 <b>N@e2</b> Bxe2 <b>Qg1/Qh1# </b>13. <b>Bf6 R@h8/Qxg7#</b> 14. <b>R@h6</b> Kg8 <b>Nxe7</b> Kg7 <b>@f6</b> Qxf6 gxf6 Kxh6 Q@g7 15. <b>R@h1!</b> N@g1 <b>B@e2</b> Kxe2 <b>Q@d2</b> Kf3 <b>Qxf2#</b> 16. <b>Qxe6</b> Nxe6 <b>B@e8 </b>Kd8 <b>N@f7# </b>17. <b>Q@f7</b> Kd8 <b>N@e6! </b>dxe6 <b>Nxc6#</b> 18. <b>@e2</b> & <b>R@h1</b> in some order e.g. @e2 Ke1 Q@f1 Kd2 e1=Q# or R@h1 N@g1 @e2 Nxe2 <b>Q@d1</b> N@e1 <b>Qxe2#</b> 19. <b>Nf2</b> Kg1 <b>Nxh3</b> Kh1 (Kf1 R@f2#) <b>R@g1</b> Rxg1 <b>Nf2#</b> 20. <b>@f3</b> Ke1 (Nxf3 Qxf3#) <b>Qxg1</b> Bf1 (no blockers!) <b>Qxf1#</b></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Round 2: </b>21. <b>N@b3 </b>cxb3 (axb3 N@a2#) <b>Qc3</b> B@c2 <b>N@d3!#</b> 22. <b>Q@e8</b> Rxe8 (Kc7 Q@c5 @c6 B@d8 Kb8 @c7) <b>Nf7</b> Kc7 <b>Q@d6#</b> 23. <b>Qxf5</b> exf5 <b>N@h1</b> Rxh1 <b>gxh1=N</b> Kg1 <b>@f2</b> Kxh1 R@g1# 24. <b>Bxc7</b> Bxc7 <b>@e7</b> Kd7 (Nxe7 Qxe7#) <b>e8=Q#</b> (double-check mate) 25. <b>R@e8</b> Kd6 <b>Bf8</b> Kxd5 <b>c4</b> Kd4 <b>fxe3</b> Kxe3 <b>Qe2 </b>Kf4 Qe4# 26. <b>R@h7 </b>Kg8 <b>N@h6/N@f6</b> in either order 27. <b>Rxf7</b> Kxf7 <b>Qxd7</b> B@e7 <b>Bxe6# </b>28. <b>N@g6</b> Kh7 (Kg8 Q@h8 Kf7 Qxf8#) <b>Nxf8</b> Kg8 and drop diagonal on f7/h7 Kxf8 R@e8# or even R@h8 Kxh8 Q@h7# 29. <b>B@g4!! </b>Kg2 (Kxg4 Q@f5#) <b>@h3!</b> Rxh3 Bxh3 Kxh3 (Kf3 Bg4 Ke3 Q@f4 Kd3 R@d4) Q@f3 @g3 R@h4# 30. <b>B@c6</b> Kb8 <b>R@b7</b> Kc8 <b>N@e7</b> Qxe7 Nxe7 Kd8 Q@d7#</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Round 3: </b>31. <b>Qxd7!! </b>32. <b>Qxe7</b> Bxe7 <b>N@e6</b> Kg8 <b>Nxe7# </b>33.<b> Q@h4!!</b> Kxh4 <b>N@f5!</b> Kg5 h6 Kf4 g5 Kg4 R@h4# 34. Qxg3 Kxg3 Qxe3 and diagonal checks lead to mate e.g. Kh2 B@f4 Kh1 @g2 Kxg2 Qf3 Kg1 @h2# or Kg2 Qf3 Kg1 B@f2 Kh2 Qg3 Kh1 @g2# 35. <b>Qxe5 N@c2 Rxf1 Rxf2# </b>36. <b>Qxh7</b> Kxh7 <b>Nf5</b> Kg6 (Kg8 @h7 Kh8 @g7) <b>B@h7</b> or <b>Rh6 B@f4 </b>rapidly mate 37. <b>Qxh2!! </b>Rxh2 <b>N@g3 </b>Ke1 <b>@f2# </b>38.<b> Qe1!</b> Rxe1 (N@d1! Qxc1 delays the mate a bit) <b>@d2! </b>and a smother on the back rank 39. <b>Qxd3!! </b>cxd3 <b>N@c2</b> Ke2 <b>N@f4#</b> 40. <b>Qxg7!</b> Kxg7 <b>B@h6! </b>Kxh6 @g5 Kxg5 B@f4 Kg4 f3 Kh4 (Kh5 R@h6#) R@h3#</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Round 4: </b>41. <b>Nc3</b> bxc3 <b>R@c1 </b>Ka2 Rxa1 Kxa1 B@b2 Ka2 (Kxb2 Bxc3 Kb3 Bxa4 Kxa4 R@a3#) R@a1 Kb3 Bxa4 Kc4 Bb5 (preventing escape to d3) Kb3 @a4/@c4 Bxc3# 42. <b>N@h3</b> gxh3 Q@g2!! (Bxf2 also works) Kxg2 Rxf2 Kh1 Q@g2# 43. <b>b5/@b5</b> Kb3 R@a3!! (Qxd3 also works) Kxb4 (bxa3 Qxd3 Kxb4 Qc3#) Ra4 Kc5 Rc4 dxc4 Qxc4# 44. <b>Bxf7!</b> Rxf7 (Kh8 N@g6! hxg6 Qxh6 gxh6 R@h7#) <b>Qxf7 </b>Kh8 R@f8 (other rook drops on the back rank work also) Qxf8 & Nf7# 45. <b>Qxf1! </b>Bxf1 <b>heavy drop on g1 or h2 Nxf3 </b>Kg2 Q@h1! (second queen sac, other moves work also) Kxh1 R@g1# 46. <b>N@e3 </b>Kg1 (Ke2 Nxd4 Kxd2 Nc4 Kc1 Q@d2 Kb1 Qxc2#) N@e2 Kh2 Rxh3 Kxh3 (gxh3 Q@g2#) Q@g4 Kh2 Qxg2# 47. <b>R@h6</b> Kxh6 (gxh6 Q@g7 mating) Rxg6 (double-check!) Kxg6 Q@g5 Kh7 Qxg7# 48. <b>Qb6 </b>and take blockers Qxb4 cxb4 Qxb4# 49. <b>@g7 @f6 Qxf6 & Q@e5# </b>but there are other mates e.g. <b>Qxf8 R@h7 Nxg5 </b>B@e5 & Q@h7# or even <b>Qxf8 </b>Rxf8 <b>@g7 @f6 </b>Bxf6<b> Q@h6 </b>Kg8<b> R@h8 </b>Bxh8 <b>@h7# </b>50. <b>Q@d6 </b>R@e8/R@a8<b> </b>Na6 mating</p><p class="p2" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Round 5: </b>51. <b>N@b6! </b>cxb6 <b>Nxb6 </b>axb6 (Kc7 Nxa8 Kb8 R@c8 Kxc8 @d7 Kxd7 Q@d6 Ke8 @d7#; Bxb6 @d7 Kxd7 Q@d6 Ke8 Q@d7#) <b>Q@d7!!</b> (otherwise king can run to a7) Kxd7 (Kb8 Q@c8 Ka7 Qxb7#) Q@d6 & @d7# 52.<b> R@c1 </b>Kb2 (Kxc1 Q@a1 & @b2#) <b>Q@a1 & Qb6 in some order </b>e.g. Q@a1 Kb3 Qb6 B@b4 Qxc3 Kxc3 N@e4 Kb2 (Kd3 @c4 Kxc4 Nxd2 Bxd2 R@d4 Kc3 Nxd5#; Nxe4 Nxe4 Kd3 N@b2 Kxe4 f5#) Rb1 Kxb1 Nxd2 Kc1 R@b1 Kxd2 Qxd1 Kc3 Qd4# 53. <b>Be4! </b>Kc3 (Kxe4 <b>B@f5/B@c2</b>) N@b5 Kc4 B@d3 Kb3 Bc2 K2d4c4 Bed3 Kc5 Bf8! taking pawn or knight blocker to mate with. 54. <b>Q@f7 </b>Kh6 (Kh8 <b>Qxd8</b> & R@g8#) <b>Qh5!!/B@g7 </b>e.g. Qh5!! gxh5 Rxf6 or if Kxh5 Qxh7 soon mates; B@g7 Qxg7 Rf7 B@g7 mating 55. N@d7 Ke7 (Rxd7 Q@d8#; Kxf7 N@g5 soon mates)<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>N@d5 Kxd7 (Kd6 Q@e7 Kxd5 Qxe6#; Kxf7 Ne5 Kg8 Nf6 gxf6 Q@f7#) <b>Bxe6</b> Kxe6 <b>Nf4</b> Kd6 (Ke5 Q@e6 Kxf4 Qe4#) Q@d5 Ke7 Qe6 Kf8 Nxg6# 56. <b>N@h6</b> gxh6 (Bxh6 exf8=Q Kxf8 Q@d8 R@e8 B@e7 Kf7 R@f8 [or N@e5 if the bishop on g6 blocked on e8 earlier] Rxf8 Qxf8#) <b>Q@h8!!</b> Kxh8 exf8=Q &@g7# 57. <b>Q@h6! </b>58. <b>R@h8!! </b>Bxh8 (Kxh8 Bxg7 Kh7 N@f6 soon mates but even quicker are N@g5! and Queen drop or even sweeter N@f8! Rxf8 N@f6 Kg7 R@h7#) N@e7 Kh7 N@g5 hxg5 R@h6 Kxh6 Bxg5 Kxg5 Q@h4# 59. <b>Bxf3!! </b>Nxf3 <b>Qxg4</b> Kh1 (N@g3 Qxf3 Kh3 @g4 Kh4 Qf6 & Qg5#) Qxg1 (@g2 also works but less elegant) Nxg1 @g2# 60. <b>N@d6</b> (trying to force a rook e.g. Rf8 Bxf8 Bxf8 [Qxf8 R@h8 Kxh8 @g7 soon mates] R@h8 Kxh8 Nxf7 Kg8 and take the queen or even better Qxh7!! Kxh7 @g6 Kg8 @h7#) Qb6! <b>Qxh7!! </b></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 35.6px; text-indent: 0.5px;">Qb6! sets a trap. If Nxe8?? Qxf2!! is an unstoppable mate!</p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 35.6px; text-indent: 0.5px;">Qxf2!! If Kh1 R@f1 Rxf1 Qxf1 N@g1 (R@g1 R@h2 Kxh2 B@g3 Kh1 Qxg1 Kxg1 @f2 Kf1 R@e1 Qxe1 fxe1=Q#) Qxg1 Kxg1 @f2 Kxf2 (Kf1 N@g3 & R@f1) Bc5 hoping to pick up a pawn blocker after which B@e3 and pawn on the second rank mate,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 35.6px; text-indent: 0.5px;">so if blocking instead with knight: N@d4 Bxd4 cxd4 Be3 Ke1 N@f3!!! gxf3 (Qxf3 N@d3 Kd1 R@d2#) N@g2 followed by R@g1/R@c1 & Re1#<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 35.6px; text-indent: 0.5px;">or if not blocking at all: Ke1 N@d3 Qxd3 B@f2 Kd1 R@e1 Kd2 (Kc2 cxd3 Kb3 Q@c2 Ka2 Rxa4 and Rxa3#) Bce3 Qxe3 (if Kc2 even better than taking the queen, Rc1#) fxe3 Kc2 Q@b1#]</p><p class="p3" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 35.6px; text-indent: 0.5px;">If after Qxf2!! Kxf2, Bc5 to pick up a blocker and then B@e3 is again mating e.g. Bc5 @d4 Bxd4 cxd4 B@e3 Kf1 R@g1 Ke2 Rxg2 Qxg2 @d3 Kf3 @g4 hxg4 @e3 Kxe4 Rxe8 & either Kf3 @e4 or take all blockers ending with Rxe5 dxe5 N@g5#</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">But after Qxh7!! Kxh7 @g6 & N@g5 in some order is mating e.g. @g6 fxg6 N@g5 fxg5 hxg6 Kxg6 N@e5 Kh5 @g4 Bxg4 hxg4 Kh4 Nf5#</p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: large; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b>Second Chance:</b> These puzzles come from an <a href="https://lichess.org/study/aH1Jh5Xs" target="_blank">interactive study</a> made by Kleerkast, and you can <a href="https://lichess.org/study/aH1Jh5Xs" target="_blank">play out your solutions here</a> in ch. 12-20. The final puzzle is from ch. 4 in this study and the answer is Kxg5!! after which it is impossible for Black to gain control over the dark squares.</p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Candidates: You Show Up! </b>1. R@g4# 2. Qxh7# 3. <b>N@h3</b> Kf1 <b>Bxg2</b> Kxg2 (Ke2 Q@c2 B@d2 Nf4 Ke3 Nd5 Ke2 @f3#) <b>Q@g4 </b>Q@g3 @f3 Kh1 @g2 Qxg2 Qxg2# 4. Two solutions: Ne4+ Rxe4 Q@f4+ Rxf4 (Kc2 Q@d2 Kb3 Qxb2#) Q@e2#. Or slower but more natural: Q@c2 Kxc2 Nb4 cxb4 Q@d3 Kc1 @d2 Kd1 @c2# 5. <b>Nxf2! </b>Kxf2 Bc5 @e3 N@g4decent attack! 6. <b>g5! </b>undermining the defender 7. <b>e5!</b> developing with tempo 8. <b>N@d3!</b> interference Bxd3 (cxd3 N@c2/Qxc3) <b>Qxc3</b></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Candidates: You Show Off! </b>1. <b>N@d6 </b>cxd6 (Kf8 @e7 Kxf7 N@f5 & N@d5) <b>N@c7</b> Kf8 <b>@e7 </b>Kxe7 <b>N@d5 </b>2. <b>@e6!! </b>(the immediate @d7 does nothing) 3. <b>B@h6! </b>deflecting defence from f6 4. <b>Be3!</b> 5. <b>Bxh3!</b> Kh1 (Kxh3 Qxh4 Kg2 @h3 Kf1 @g2 Rxg2 hxg2 Kxg2 R@h2 Bxh2 Qxh2 Kf1 B@g2) R@h2 Bxh2 @g2 Rxg2 Bxg2 Kxg2 Nxh4 Kg1 (Kh3 @g4 Kg3 R@g2#) R@h1 Kxh1 @g2 Kg1 R@h1# 6. <b>Kd1!</b> (Kxf2?? @e3 Ke1 @d2 Bxd2 exd2 Kf1 [Kxd2 @e3 Kc3 B@d2 Kb3 Q@b4#)] Ne3 Kf2 B@e1 Rxe1 dxe1=Q Kxe1 Nxg2 Kf1 Q@e1 Kxg2 R@f2 Kg3 @h4#; while if Kf1 fxg1=Q Rxg1 (Kxg1 @f2 drawing the king to f2) Ne3 Ke1 @f2 after which knight and queen will mate, and if Kd2?? Q@e3 Kd1 fxg1=Q Rxg1 Qxg1 and White only has Queen blockers so is soon mated 7.<b> gxf1=Q</b> Kxf1 (Rxf1 Qxg3+ with check! Unlike Qxg3 in the starting position which hung mate starting with R@h7. After Qxg3 R@g2 N@e2 trying to deflect the bishop Kh1 hxg2 with check Bxg2 R@h2#) N@h2 Ke1 R@f1 Ke2 N@f4 gxf4 N@g3 Bxg3 N@g1# 8. <b>@c4! </b>blocking Bb5 and instigating a queen exchange when White’s king is unsafe</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 14px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Candidates: You Show Opper!</b> 1. <b>Qxg7</b> Kxg7 <b>B@h6</b> Kh8 <b>@g7#</b> 2. <b>Q@d2</b> Kf3 (Kf1 Nxe3/@e2 both mate) <b>Ne5 </b>(moving either knight on the board) Bxe5 Nxe5 Kg3 several mates, but prettiest is @f4!! exf4 N@e2 Kxh3 Nxf4 (Kxf4 N@e2 Kxe5 [Kg5 Qd8 mating] f6 Ke4 B@d5) Kg3 @h4 Kxh4 Qxf2 N@g3 @g5 Kxg5 B@f6#) Kg3 @h4 Kxh4 Qxf2 N@g3 @g5 Kxg5 B@f6# 3. <b>gxf3!! </b>controlling the e4 square since the f6 knight is pinned, and the King can run to the Queenside. Running immediately gets White mated. 4. <b>Bxd2 </b>Nxd7 <b>Qh4! </b>mate threat on h2 saving the queen with tempo B@g3 Bxg3 fxg3 Qxh2 Kxh2 N@g4 Kh1 Bxd1 </span><span style="font-size: medium;">5.<b> B@h8!!</b> Kxh6 (Kg6 R@g3 & Bxf6 next; Kf8 R@g8 Ke7 Bxf6) <b>Ng8</b> Kg6 <b>R@h6</b> taking the queen with check next move & mate follows soon after. 6. <b>N@a6!! </b>“opper would be proud of me” (gsvc said of his move) Bxc5 Qxb8 Kd7 Qxc7 Ke8 Nf6# 7. <b>R@a3</b> Kxc2 <b>B@d1</b> Kc1 (Kb1 Ra1 Kxa1 Qxd4 & Qxb2#) <b>Rc3</b> Kb1 <b>Bc2</b> Kc1 <b>Bb3</b> Kb1 <b>Nd2</b> Kb2 <b>Rc2</b> Ka3 <b>Ra2</b> Kb4<b> Qxd4 </b>Kb5 Qc4 Kb6 a5# 8. <b>R@c6!!</b> Kxc6 Nxe7 Kb7 N@a5 Kb6 Nxd5 Kc5 B@b6 Kd6 Q@c5#</span></p></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large; font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Keep playing crazyhouse!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Happy Christmas!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">—okei</span></div></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span><p></p>okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6528983857938059465.post-18231198417336414592020-09-03T12:08:00.004-07:002020-09-12T05:30:20.501-07:00Season 8 of the ZH League<p class="p1" style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Season 8 of the crazyhouse team league played on <a href="http://lichess.org">lichess.org</a> was the toughest ever with former and current world champions <a href="https://lichess.org/@/JannLee" target="_blank">JannLee</a> and <a href="https://lichess.org/@/opperwezen" target="_blank">IM opperwezen</a> both playing as well as <a href="https://lichess.org/@/Jasugi99" target="_blank">Jasugi99</a>, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/gsvc" target="_blank">IM gsvc</a>, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/TheFinnisher" target="_blank">TheFinnisher</a>, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/Kleerkast" target="_blank">Kleerkast</a> & <a href="https://lichess.org/@/VariantsOnly" target="_blank">VariantsOnly</a>. There were six teams of six players as well as 15 alts playing over five weeks, concluding in the first week of August with victory for ZHit Happens after five hard fought rounds. The winning team was made up of gsvc on board 1, pkr5025 on board 2, team captain pepellou on board 3, jamesog on board 4, earlpurple replacing JoannaTries for the last three rounds on board 5 and kostasvl with colwem subbing in for one round on board 6. ZHit Happens won the season thanks to four 7-5 team wins and was one match away from another 7-5 win in round 5 but denied by my own 2-0 victory against pepellou which clinched instead a 7-5 win for The Glass Bead Gamers against the Season 8 champions, and second place for our team headed up by Kleerkast. Coming in third place in the league was VariantOnly’s team Radical Posture captained by Marlonc.</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 38px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">IM gsvc was top board 1, LegionDestroyer top board 2, Bleichkind top board 3, SRTOBIAUDI top board 4, the_crocodile_hunter top board 5 (although earlpurple with an impressive 2000+ performance over fewer games) and adande1 top board 6 (although kostasvl with the slightly better performance).</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Below are two sets of puzzles, one medium and one hard, based from positions in Season 8 of the League. I hope you enjoy them! If you prefer to try them <a href="https://lichess.org/study/7CPcHu0M" target="_blank">directly</a> in a lichess study, here is a <a href="https://lichess.org/study/7CPcHu0M" target="_blank">practice with computer study</a>. There is also a solution study with full variations as well as a highlights of Season 8 study with full games at the end of the blog.</span></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNLprPZGgX5WwH5RrlfTOVecIRzZ7hHWFYXdrFdZMeOZYtw-rvUSF3BsMobjSn4AV74-_z43RGnfM5FeFd7PfYpCZ77r1soteIK9Cqha7an2rlxnokN93sxMpNqfaTtJkfs4e17MrhOJJw/s2835/level1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2835" data-original-width="945" height="1898" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNLprPZGgX5WwH5RrlfTOVecIRzZ7hHWFYXdrFdZMeOZYtw-rvUSF3BsMobjSn4AV74-_z43RGnfM5FeFd7PfYpCZ77r1soteIK9Cqha7an2rlxnokN93sxMpNqfaTtJkfs4e17MrhOJJw/w616-h1898/level1.jpg" width="616" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Too easy? Try your hand at these instead!</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQpDSAJWkGC5KgL2ln1grviiYJ-DDBpnLdnK0YW_uy-tqckru6ht98PGig8gNPfdCrNdaUcCtBvel8lg1FNkfYRhulh28WI0liB5THiYZ4MUAicqOVauUeD967185bEinNsck6GjmN3ox5/s2835/level2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2835" data-original-width="945" height="1904" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQpDSAJWkGC5KgL2ln1grviiYJ-DDBpnLdnK0YW_uy-tqckru6ht98PGig8gNPfdCrNdaUcCtBvel8lg1FNkfYRhulh28WI0liB5THiYZ4MUAicqOVauUeD967185bEinNsck6GjmN3ox5/w619-h1904/level2.jpg" width="619" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p class="p1" style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/study/7CPcHu0M" target="_blank">Practice with Computer Study</a></span></b></p><p class="p1" style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 38px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/study/mEQynvxG" target="_blank">Solution Study</a></span></b></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 38px; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://lichess.org/study/LPOPwKpo" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Full Highlights Study</span></a></b></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 38px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">(includes full games & positions too complicated for puzzles)</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 38px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 38px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The 2020 Candidates are well underway and you can see upcoming matches in the calendar to the right of this blog!</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 38px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 38px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Keep playing and enjoying crazyhouse!</span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 38px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="p2" style="font-family: helvetica; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 38px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">—okei</span></p>okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6528983857938059465.post-87612249275438046412020-07-30T10:12:00.000-07:002020-07-30T10:30:30.679-07:00Crazyhouse 960 Team League (Season 7.960)<div class="p1" style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As an intermezzo between Season 7 at the end of 2019 and Season 8 in July, 2020, we had a more informal crazyhouse 960 league in which matches against opponents on other teams could be played at any time and match times, game and results were recorded on a <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XD17F_-KLgpKf2BBlXD9xCiKHhiCTpsKRUl4bUg4Rk0/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">zh960 calendar sheet</a>.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Matches could be played either on ProgramFox’s </span><a href="http://chessvariants.training/" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;">http://chessvariants.training</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">or on the newer site just created this year by gbtami </span><a href="https://www.pychess.org/" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;">https://www.pychess.org</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">since lichess does not implement 960 functionality for variant play (although lichess is still useful for post-match analysis). In practice, </span><a href="https://www.pychess.org/" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Pychess</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> proved overwhelmingly popular.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There were six teams of five headed up by Mugwort, JKtheBullfrog, littleplotkin, firefly (aka zyxon), 12teen and Fumitoks. The time control as usual for the league was (4+<i>b</i>)+(4+<i>b</i>) on board <i>b</i>, so 5+5 on board 1, 6+6 on board 2, 7+7 on board 3, 8+8 on board 4 and 9+9 on board 5. <br /><br />Unlike the standard crazyhouse team league, players could agree to play more than two games and the score they received was the proportion of games they won. Some matches were therefore 4 games instead of the standard 2 and a 3-1 match win would score 0.75 for the winner and 0.25 for the loser. There was also a cutoff point for the season of March 21st after which a match scored <i>d</i> days late would result in a <i>d </i>* 0.01 penalty to the winner and if the resulting winner’s score <i>w</i> were less than 0.5, then a (0.5 - <i>w</i>) penalty for the loser as well, with of course any negative scores rounded up to zero. In practice, no matches were played in this period of slow decay from March 21st till the end of June for two reasons: first, the worldwide outbreak of a pandemic meant some players had more important priorities than crazyhouse 960, and secondly once the 2020 Crazyhouse World Championship kicked off, organised in 2020 by JannLee, all eyes were on the double elimination event. The latter has now run its course and whittled down the more than 128 contestants to 12 Candidates who will do battle over the coming months in “10 games of 3+2” round-robin matches, the winner playing IM opperwezen in a Grand Final at the end of the year for the 2020 Crazyhouse World Championship trophy. To see all upcoming matches both in the CWC and in the league, check out the zh calendar in the right-hand column of this blog.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In Season 7.960, unfortunately 17 of the 75 matches went unplayed, with board 1s especially lackadaisical in arranging their matches (only 7 of the 15 board 1 matches were actually played while there was also 1 missed match on board 2, 3 missed matches on board 3, 4 missed matches on board 4, and 2 missed matches on board 5). However, since this was an informal league, there were no penalties and no forfeits for failure to play, although both players would suffer in contributing zero points to their team from the missed match. These unplayed matches were fairly unformly distributed among the teams, with each team missing 5-7 matches, so no team benefitted especially. After all there were 58 matches which did get played and over 128 games of crazyhouse 960 recorded in the following two studies on lichess:</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://lichess.org/study/Kf6BcYcf"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">https://lichess.org/study/Kf6BcYcf</span></a></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://lichess.org/study/2idev6ot"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">https://lichess.org/study/2idev6ot</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Fumitoks was top board 1, Isachess hero of so many former editions of the league was top board 4 fgalla was top board 5, but the top board 2 <b><span style="color: #274e13;">the-lone-wolf</span></b> and top board 3 <b><span style="color: #274e13;">pkr5025</span></b> carried their teammates <b><span style="color: #274e13;">Mugwort</span></b>, <b><span style="color: #274e13;">krxou</span></b> & <b><span style="color: #274e13;">colwem</span></b> to a team Mugwort win in Season 7.960 by the narrowest of margins, a quarter of a single match point! Team plotkin came second, and team FumiLegion a further half match point behind came third. If some of the remaining matches had been played the results could easily have been different. But this to take nothing away from a fantastic win from team Mugwort and a great celebration of crazyhouse 960 on the newly created <a href="https://www.pychess.org/"></a><a href="https://www.pychess.org/" style="text-align: center;">https://www.pychess.org</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here are 50 puzzles from positions in the zh960 season. You can alternatively practice them directly against computer <a href="https://lichess.org/study/kuN5fECV" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Level 1.1</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKj4InACp-5bOhZISqQ2SeHPfW1ZzfrRs-aBKIGYIzsxA_dG372DSHgDBn2Zw9yG95xhBRJBjb68Wdq1h8TGMQoTDhyQQsFYaC8vNHN_dDFVR7eZpwEjlYQdLuZVUX5cONnHYfN357Azw4/s1600/1.1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="534" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKj4InACp-5bOhZISqQ2SeHPfW1ZzfrRs-aBKIGYIzsxA_dG372DSHgDBn2Zw9yG95xhBRJBjb68Wdq1h8TGMQoTDhyQQsFYaC8vNHN_dDFVR7eZpwEjlYQdLuZVUX5cONnHYfN357Azw4/s1600/1.1.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Level 1.2</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgElJzxJOk4z07KRUwumbpmTqERnXGtbAVI57SpUabjKwbexzD8KC4ER_wiiP986kyW4f4LoMSgqd-uGdKuEg0SkaFY2m1J1Dfvu8CSzHtZLKg6IdZsrL0TQc5HcoKrv1gL0Zzy3DG7zfhR/s1600/1.2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="534" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgElJzxJOk4z07KRUwumbpmTqERnXGtbAVI57SpUabjKwbexzD8KC4ER_wiiP986kyW4f4LoMSgqd-uGdKuEg0SkaFY2m1J1Dfvu8CSzHtZLKg6IdZsrL0TQc5HcoKrv1gL0Zzy3DG7zfhR/s1600/1.2.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Level 2.1</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ok8pIZb2dBsDbr8l2YrLraCuQqBNymZp2iRP8uFZNKaC4WBMwNyA8qqrxUkOeIBBHHfqOG-Rm5mf43BpUsCQyMrBM1KLZTo-65Gcm2D6gV2ymbV_9qnWC9IZp7l5oDEBeGIQRHtsfKUo/s1600/2.1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="534" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6ok8pIZb2dBsDbr8l2YrLraCuQqBNymZp2iRP8uFZNKaC4WBMwNyA8qqrxUkOeIBBHHfqOG-Rm5mf43BpUsCQyMrBM1KLZTo-65Gcm2D6gV2ymbV_9qnWC9IZp7l5oDEBeGIQRHtsfKUo/s1600/2.1.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Level 2.2</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6zEbPJJBz3kD8ygzOwxhpxgbcN6F4re3TsnGsub_3Hei11r_jzbke_JuFFiySbt-jHLb_nJ9H7CHb0HW479TkO9_LOnM7GiwZaFFKcLkU6LKDE88C12cVFDcDk4CMmemhJ6m9iihDdlr6/s1600/2.2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="534" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6zEbPJJBz3kD8ygzOwxhpxgbcN6F4re3TsnGsub_3Hei11r_jzbke_JuFFiySbt-jHLb_nJ9H7CHb0HW479TkO9_LOnM7GiwZaFFKcLkU6LKDE88C12cVFDcDk4CMmemhJ6m9iihDdlr6/s1600/2.2.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Level 3</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4J3RqEAY6DLn8AKCTQkM21EPH8q9C5cw6K-R8KUtcWtx1jvYQz5VTbR__6yhp00wPymgGQdp-GqG_9smZcbc5FJQzt-mpgJzzU18j-0qYak3qRB-NU_VDMcxgFLIqrtMrOYyufS_0bVV2/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="534" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4J3RqEAY6DLn8AKCTQkM21EPH8q9C5cw6K-R8KUtcWtx1jvYQz5VTbR__6yhp00wPymgGQdp-GqG_9smZcbc5FJQzt-mpgJzzU18j-0qYak3qRB-NU_VDMcxgFLIqrtMrOYyufS_0bVV2/s1600/3.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">You can see the solutions in this <a href="https://lichess.org/study/Um2ycr6I" target="_blank">Highlights from Season 7.960 study</a>, along with annotations of some of the games, or else <a href="https://lichess.org/study/kuN5fECV" target="_blank">practice these puzzles</a> for yourself against the computer <a href="https://lichess.org/study/kuN5fECV" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Enjoy the CWC 2020 Candidates which are about to get underway, have a great summer & keep playing crazyhouse!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">—okei</span></div>
okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6528983857938059465.post-72673605989271245382020-04-01T12:22:00.001-07:002020-04-02T08:30:58.236-07:00Seasons 6 & 7 of the ZH League<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Congratulations to Schaker ZHulu for winning Season 6 of the crazyhouse team league! The members of the winning team were <a href="https://lichess.org/@/RapidVariants" target="_blank">RapidVariants</a>, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/AmelyPlaying" target="_blank">AmelyPlaying</a>, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/d4rkn3ss23" target="_blank">d4rkn3ss23</a>, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/Marlonc" target="_blank">MarlonC</a>, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/Isachess" target="_blank">Isachess</a>, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/adande1" target="_blank">adande1</a> & <a href="https://lichess.org/@/Zher0" target="_blank">Zher0</a>. You can find a summary of the season here:</span><br />
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<a href="https://zh.lakin.ca/zhteam/season/6/summary/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">https://zh.lakin.ca/zhteam/season/6/summary/ </span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Player of the season was <a href="https://lichess.org/@/Isachess" target="_blank">Isachess</a> with 9/10. This is also the second win in a row for both RapidVariants and Isachess who were in the winning team in Season 5 also. Loch Zhess Monsters came second and TwelveTeam third. Well done to everyone for making an exciting and competitive season. 4th 5th and 6th all came essentially equal with only tiebreaks separating them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As well as doing several recap videos of the season, I also hosted a first ever <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUwj5EzwaGM" target="_blank">crazyhouse puzzle battle</a> setting two big-hitters <a href="https://lichess.org/@/LegionDestroyer" target="_blank">LegionDestroyer</a> & <a href="https://lichess.org/@/CrazyHome" target="_blank">CrazyHome</a> up against each other (and the clock) to solve puzzles based on this Season. Enjoy the puzzles below and watch how the puzzle battle unfolded to see some of the solutions. You can also practice the studies below in the following practice against computer studies:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Practice Against Computer Studies</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/study/xVvc7QdZ" target="_blank">ZH League Season 6 (Levels 1-7)</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/study/3poqZOKN" target="_blank">ZH League Season 6 (Levels 8-10)</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I will also post links to the solutions at the end of the blog.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><b>Level 2: (1800)</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjQzbDxzI6gBe_2sUUtR-IcC8yeIqN40qH62vHxJdTADEvgIW7IiXIVxiUddjwQ1dxwI09SxeeWgOHcN95wa-XWWtc44Jl8URuLXrPrLHIxWWTDeiOw0RaA5d8ikxWmHFAxf_TZ88lgZze/s1600/1800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="677" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjQzbDxzI6gBe_2sUUtR-IcC8yeIqN40qH62vHxJdTADEvgIW7IiXIVxiUddjwQ1dxwI09SxeeWgOHcN95wa-XWWtc44Jl8URuLXrPrLHIxWWTDeiOw0RaA5d8ikxWmHFAxf_TZ88lgZze/s1600/1800.jpg" width="580" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><b>Level 3: (1900)</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAhLxirKiVOUOBkBBCa5ELtI33IY8EiDeK9P6bwPsZgJ0KuSgCNmhVooDXjpAYeuFGPsgaM3G2B1K-enQfnAIBL-lMqMTBN1MX0ukkm4TgKj6EnIyLoCm2vm8924D0vakvDlZDscmiNXSX/s1600/1900.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="658" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAhLxirKiVOUOBkBBCa5ELtI33IY8EiDeK9P6bwPsZgJ0KuSgCNmhVooDXjpAYeuFGPsgaM3G2B1K-enQfnAIBL-lMqMTBN1MX0ukkm4TgKj6EnIyLoCm2vm8924D0vakvDlZDscmiNXSX/s1600/1900.jpeg" width="580" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><b>Level 4: (2000)</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiArfsB6RsedPfDnVaMKzMUdFkaF46i-589U5CW5PAuZ2vHxby06xRcWyUPFJSDBLGfmi4Vf6VFnJ0jWZsPNvdnyWVb6boxUWY1uca-DNialLfoIVAFSuQN_deIejNoDo6C9TYXI9336E_z/s1600/2000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="674" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiArfsB6RsedPfDnVaMKzMUdFkaF46i-589U5CW5PAuZ2vHxby06xRcWyUPFJSDBLGfmi4Vf6VFnJ0jWZsPNvdnyWVb6boxUWY1uca-DNialLfoIVAFSuQN_deIejNoDo6C9TYXI9336E_z/s1600/2000.jpg" width="580" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><b>Level 5: (2100)</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAHYOa7mPINMSi6WAyojR41XTsiNhHXRHPG8mBv-GjaFX2PlORvME71avS4nKhIKmPqxWtsIt1gbfgfSb3FOsy-1q02LiKEdEWQrXXQ9OjlIrjFunB2MRyvRvZCiKy8qDbbu7uv5OBf_jS/s1600/2100.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="681" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAHYOa7mPINMSi6WAyojR41XTsiNhHXRHPG8mBv-GjaFX2PlORvME71avS4nKhIKmPqxWtsIt1gbfgfSb3FOsy-1q02LiKEdEWQrXXQ9OjlIrjFunB2MRyvRvZCiKy8qDbbu7uv5OBf_jS/s1600/2100.jpeg" width="580" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><b>Level 6: (2200)</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXepc1KIbcW5XUeN5-KhxO7t8_8nM4NAfe_jHzSFxseeyHvP9PirYFAQ2ohtbiACmtSpb4hIXe0nmD41fKBjTCxvLoMUGHhAJOfjqHj-2XLV_Hu64kAYfHTdzQDdAP1W-QC-FbJ2XWGZYJ/s1600/2200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="685" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXepc1KIbcW5XUeN5-KhxO7t8_8nM4NAfe_jHzSFxseeyHvP9PirYFAQ2ohtbiACmtSpb4hIXe0nmD41fKBjTCxvLoMUGHhAJOfjqHj-2XLV_Hu64kAYfHTdzQDdAP1W-QC-FbJ2XWGZYJ/s1600/2200.jpg" width="580" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><b>Level 7: (2300)</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLCtehCBl1PzwKefBYNhrUQaSdUDBGDhBCldOxrBDnGMwCUbHKt0_H5lxbSpeHg4SHLo37Lkuu9ElVxAyA2RdVVc3NCTwkAnhk_3jopP1tosnTe38oMUrxTXWRxK5VUOi3Hc3aHhfwsFCS/s1600/2300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="671" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLCtehCBl1PzwKefBYNhrUQaSdUDBGDhBCldOxrBDnGMwCUbHKt0_H5lxbSpeHg4SHLo37Lkuu9ElVxAyA2RdVVc3NCTwkAnhk_3jopP1tosnTe38oMUrxTXWRxK5VUOi3Hc3aHhfwsFCS/s1600/2300.jpg" width="580" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><b>Level 8: (2400)</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgendTwQLCXQx9-tNFd0xOcWufCCPjF_thyYtQX6N9d3Ptep6fBCPwSEFjFkInPwnLxsJ1UgCKK77-jVPXlsS6fEcCi12eCYxBDbd4Kq8ev5R1c3acjkV6CMOaPs2y8khryoUWA3eyI13MX/s1600/2400.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="661" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgendTwQLCXQx9-tNFd0xOcWufCCPjF_thyYtQX6N9d3Ptep6fBCPwSEFjFkInPwnLxsJ1UgCKK77-jVPXlsS6fEcCi12eCYxBDbd4Kq8ev5R1c3acjkV6CMOaPs2y8khryoUWA3eyI13MX/s1600/2400.jpeg" width="580" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><b>Level 9: (2500)</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5V4KuLnTvv2EcpLU2t9n_2s4n3Mg05ihfz-BtopMXjIBr-weKLaFen29rpwnJy2_TSjaD-2ebAgzMgLXoTWZmDuJB4-G3BMs1uzToA0Me0eyDqq43EOLjFWqUb9f6sgu_oCBAD2W9afKN/s1600/2500.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="656" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5V4KuLnTvv2EcpLU2t9n_2s4n3Mg05ihfz-BtopMXjIBr-weKLaFen29rpwnJy2_TSjaD-2ebAgzMgLXoTWZmDuJB4-G3BMs1uzToA0Me0eyDqq43EOLjFWqUb9f6sgu_oCBAD2W9afKN/s1600/2500.jpeg" width="580" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><b>Level 10: (2600)</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiRyYtG29pqqeoYlLx-OsrQY54GI2piufqTY99KEOJ8M2ZjDKrAf1O0wXUNRT7x9eTUFSIZo6sd3Bp42kx8bXC7yPXUsesZVrBTUG_O8CgokND_U0Lah0QDAZmP-aHLb__mRXjJBZ3TR0c/s1600/2600.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="888" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiRyYtG29pqqeoYlLx-OsrQY54GI2piufqTY99KEOJ8M2ZjDKrAf1O0wXUNRT7x9eTUFSIZo6sd3Bp42kx8bXC7yPXUsesZVrBTUG_O8CgokND_U0Lah0QDAZmP-aHLb__mRXjJBZ3TR0c/s1600/2600.jpeg" width="580" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Once you have had a go for yourselves, you might enjoy the puzzle battle </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">between LegionDestroyer & CrazyHome </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">played on April 1st, 2020 on Levels 1-7.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/study/xVvc7QdZ" target="_blank">ZH League Season 6 (Levels 1-7)</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/study/QXm9zeCw" target="_blank">Levels 1-7</a><br /><a href="https://lichess.org/study/s6b4kqFV" target="_blank">Levels 8-10</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Season 7 of the crazyhouse league finished on Christmas Day 2019 and had six teams with six players on each team and at least one alt on each board in a 5-week round-robin. The teams were one board smaller than in Seasons 5 and 6 but still showcased some of the best players of the game on board 1: JKtheBullfrog, Mugwort and gsvc took turns for Kneel Before Zhod, while the other teams were headed up by TheFinnisher, RapidVariants, LegionDestroyer, vectorveld and CrazyHome.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The champions of Season 7 after a hard-fought race were the undefeated Recovering Buggers (2 wins and 3 draws) who won on tiebreaks from Rook & Rollers (3 wins and 1 draw). Both scored 7 match points out of a maximum of 10, but Recovering Buggers’ game score of 35/60 outmatched Rook & Rollers on 32/60. Meanwhile, Kneel Before Zhod recovered from 2 match losses to surge into third place after hammering their last two opponents racking up an impressive 35 game points (equal with the leaders, although with one fewer match victory). </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Congratulations to the MVPs of Season 7: Chronatog and fgalla who both won 9/10. We expect them both to play a board higher in future. But even bigger congratulations to the winning team for an amazing combined effort: Recovering Buggers LegionDestroyer d4rkn3ss23 (7/8) Chronatog (9/10) Isachess (8/10) UpGoerFive & adande1 (7/10).</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0000ee; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-decoration-line: underline;">https://zh.lakin.ca/zhteam/season/7/summary/ </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Player of 2019 goes to (drumroll) Isachess for winning three successive team seasons of the zh league, and one game short of being MVP for a third successive season. Each season he plays a board higher. He is an inspiration to so many that we can keep improving! Finally thanks to the mods colwem, kostasvl, Zher0 and okei for keeping the show on the road. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Before we embark on Season 8 of the zh league, we have been enjoying the beginning of 2020 with a special Season 7.960 of 960 crazyhouse on <a href="http://www.pychess.org/">http://www.pychess.org</a>. This is drawing to a close but the Crazyhouse World Championship 2020 is up and away. See the calendar on the right for upcoming matches and some of them will also be streamed live by myself, Mugwort, Kleerkast, JannLee and others. I hope you enjoy them!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">—okei</span></div>
okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6528983857938059465.post-73520509543026992112020-03-29T16:27:00.001-07:002020-03-30T03:38:51.328-07:00Mating Nets<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Crazyhouse might not improve your chess in the short-term. If you play crazyhouse, you might find yourself considering sacking your queen to go for a huge attack or doubling your pawns for better central control and end up suffering as your opponent trades down pieces into an endgame. It will however improve your mind and your vision of mating nets and in the long-term you cannot help but improve your tactical vision. Extra pieces means extra potential.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here are some standard chess puzzles that crazyhouse players will enjoy, all from a recent series of 157 bullet games played over the course of four hours after midnight Norwegian time under coronavirus lockdown between Andrew Tang (penguingim1) and the World Champion of classical chess, Magnus Carlsen (DrNykterstein). The Iranian teenager Alireza Firouzja (alireza2003) had just hit 3200 bullet on lichess last week, after a couple of impressive wins over Carlsen in Lichess Titled Arenas. Magnus played a long series with Penguin, probably hoping to overtake the young Iranian, and despite winning the series 100½</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">-56</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">½</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">, Penguin was too good and 3200 remained out of reach. Penguin at 3100 now still holds the all-time peak rating of 3256.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Write down your solutions. Highlight the line below each set to read the solutions. How many did you get out of 12?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Solutions: Rh8; Qg1; e7 Ke8 Bc6; Qxh6 Bxh6 Rxh6; f4 Ke4 Re6; g6 Kh8 (Kh6 Qh3 Bh4 Qxh4) Nf7 Kg8 Nh6 Kh8 (Kf8 Qf7) Qg8 Rxg8 Nf7; Bc5! (the final combo to conclude the series, deflecting the defender Nxc5 Rh2 Qg3 is mating, while Ke1 Qe3 only delays mate a few moves)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Solutions: Qa8; g6 Kh6 Rd8 Kh5 Rh8; f4 Nxf4 Bxf4 Kxf4 Qd2! Kxg3 Qh2; Rd8 Rxd8 Rxd8 Ka7 Bb8 Kb6 (Ka8 Bf4 Ka7 Bxe3) Rd6 Ka5 b4 Kb5 (or Black loses the queen) a4; Kg2! Qc7 Nxf6 with a clear advantage, but Kxh4 or gxh4 both lead to mate: Kxh4 Qg4 while gxh4 Qg4 Kh2 Qg1 Kh3 Qh1 Rh2 Qf1 Rg2 Qxg2</span></span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In crazyhouse news, the 2020 Crazyhouse World Championship has started and we hope to keep you updated in future blogs!</span><br>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">—okei</span></div>
okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6528983857938059465.post-55083018983938949272019-10-30T11:10:00.004-07:002019-10-30T11:11:11.639-07:002019 1+0 Candidates Recap & Announcing the Final<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The 2019 Bullet Crazyhouse World Championship Candidates are completed after a summer hiatus and the Grand Final between <a href="https://lichess.org/@/opperwezen" target="_blank">IM opperwezen</a> (Vincent Rothuis from Holland) and <a href="https://lichess.org/@/JannLee" target="_blank">JannLee</a> (Justin Tan from Australia) is now underway. The first session of the Final happened last Saturday at 1200UTC with 30 games of 1+0. The second and third sessions will be on the 2nd and 9th November 1200UTC with a further 30 and 40 games respectively to complete the 100 game match. All games will be played on lichess.org and can be watched on the Lichess TV channels of the respective players as well as being streamed by <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/jannleecrazyhouse/" target="_blank">JannLee</a> (without commentary), <a href="https://twitch.tv/mugwortcrazyhouse/" target="_blank">Mugwort</a> and <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/okeizh" target="_blank">okei</a> on Twitch. After the first session opperwezen leads 18-12 with 50.5 being the target for victory. This post is to report how we got here since our <a href="https://zhchess.blogspot.com/2019/05/10-crazyhouse-world-championship.html">announcement of the eight Candidates</a> back in the spring.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The first match of the <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cN2nUwc5cJcdayxPPyamxbv1i6ZjDMHfr9H-GUMlqxs/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Candidates</a> was on 21st May between the reigning 2018 World Champion in 3+2 crazyhouse IM opperwezen and the tournament organiser and 2018 CWC Candidate <a href="https://lichess.org/@/littleplotkin" target="_blank">FM littleplotkin</a> (Mark Plotkin from Canada). Opperwezen proved too strong and went on to win six out of his seven matches over the subsequent 31 days, again the first to complete all his matches as in 2018. He only lost to JannLee 14-16. In total he racked up 145 game wins out of 210 games (69% win rate) all but guaranteeing himself a spot in the Final which could only have been denied if two other players scored a greater total of game wins. Despite most matches being completed within 7 weeks as planned, OTB tournaments and the birth of Jann's second child put a stop to the action for a couple of months and the last few matches were not completed till October. With the final match of the Candidates, JannLee overtook opperwezen's game total by one game, scoring 146 game wins, along the way also scoring the biggest demolition of the round robin with 26-4 against VariantsOnly. We are in store for a great Final! Moreover, the winner of the Final will play an exhibition match with a separate prize fund with Jasugi99 (Janak Awatramani from Canada, formerly known as TwelveTeen aka cheesybread on FICS, 12teen on chess.com).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In third place on 116.5 game wins was chickencrossroad (who famously withdrew from the 2017 Candidates making way for opperwezen to take his place after an intensive qualifying tournament against all-comers). Apart from JannLee and opperwezen, chickencrossroad beat everyone else. In fourth place was penguingim1 on 109 game wins who beat everyone apart from Jann, opper and chicken, and in fifth was mastertan on 96 game wins who beat everyone apart from Jann, opper, chicken and penguin. In 6th was blitzbullet beating littleplotkin in 7th who in turn beat VariantsOnly in 8th, but VariantsOnly saw off blitzbullet in his final game, so the bottom three all won one match. Below is the full table of results and on the second page of the <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cN2nUwc5cJcdayxPPyamxbv1i6ZjDMHfr9H-GUMlqxs/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Candidates spreadsheet</a> you can also find all the game links and streams. Thanks to TheFinnisher and LegionDestroyer for helping keep this updated!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">See you on coming Saturdays at 1200UTC to watch the Final. To whet your appetite, here are a selection of 40 puzzles of various difficulties which you can either solve in your head, or if you prefer play out against the engine in a <a href="https://lichess.org/study/f96SlAqk" target="_blank">Practice with Computer Puzzle Study</a> on lichess. There is also a <a href="https://lichess.org/study/KNvxad1q" target="_blank">solutions study</a>. For a video recap of the Candidates (don’t look if you want to enjoy the puzzles below), check out <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5FEztuoIVk&list=PLRyjH8DPuzTDbGsGfuAWcxFMMcdTK7eyE&index=37" target="_blank">part 1</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvySsJNKdCk&list=PLRyjH8DPuzTDbGsGfuAWcxFMMcdTK7eyE&index=36&t=0s" target="_blank">part 2</a> of the Highlights video. Coverage of all the 2019 CWC 1+0 matches (including my own coverage of week 1 of the Finals) may be found in the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRyjH8DPuzTDbGsGfuAWcxFMMcdTK7eyE" target="_blank">2019 CWC 1+0 playlist</a> with 39 videos to date.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Level 1 (1800): Improver</b></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Level 2 (2000): Intermediate</b></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Level 3 (2200): Expert</b></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjON66haR6agwkzkCzyJM-c-WhnDGjLZKO-ztoXAlLBIdISXNGkQ2H_w-qXyTi7dJcwDxQBdd5e14ieDZLoIlan82BFYSAXgvIX7JTPy7jVeoKPVgCr4h_UGkeGcTSku1jwBCPkni7clM7D/s1600/Level+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="555" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjON66haR6agwkzkCzyJM-c-WhnDGjLZKO-ztoXAlLBIdISXNGkQ2H_w-qXyTi7dJcwDxQBdd5e14ieDZLoIlan82BFYSAXgvIX7JTPy7jVeoKPVgCr4h_UGkeGcTSku1jwBCPkni7clM7D/s1600/Level+4.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Level 4 (2400+): Potential Candidate</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://lichess.org/study/f96SlAqk" target="_blank">Practice with Computer Study</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Instead of solving these in your head, you could also try to play out your solutions against an engine.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://lichess.org/study/KNvxad1q" target="_blank">Solutions Study</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Check out the variations here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We leave you with Jann's own recap of the Candidates and looking forward to the Final:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VN0RWKY8lXw" width="640"></iframe></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />Keep playing crazyhouse and supporting the community!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">—okei</span></div>
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okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6528983857938059465.post-35564090122751159402019-10-03T09:52:00.001-07:002019-10-03T10:03:03.852-07:00Back-Rank Mate<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of the most important mating motifs in crazyhouse (as in chess) is the back-rank mate. Unlike in chess, checks can be blocked in crazyhouse using pieces in hand, so getting the back-rank mate to work is a little more intricate. The final checkmate must either</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">be delivered by a rook or queen <b>adjacent</b> to the king,</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">smother the opponent king e.g. with a pawn on the 7th rank, or</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">exhaust the opponent’s pieces in hand.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">These three can be illustrated in the following gif showing three possible continuations in a winning endgame between catask and CrazyAraFish (the actual game followed the second variation).</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0etzOnzw3MNrfzWE65ooyslBOVo7QpzidJGXS404EowTk-CiZ6uIXGunwiq508zJm3L43FcWPj6vBwdkBeZwwGIMYe-kcwszv_HWCGhMHrFNVxQ-3C4r5UujV_kVbS_g6To6Upqvo8-Qp/s1600/back-rank.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0etzOnzw3MNrfzWE65ooyslBOVo7QpzidJGXS404EowTk-CiZ6uIXGunwiq508zJm3L43FcWPj6vBwdkBeZwwGIMYe-kcwszv_HWCGhMHrFNVxQ-3C4r5UujV_kVbS_g6To6Upqvo8-Qp/s1600/back-rank.gif" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The best way to learn crazyhouse is through practice. So the following is a study of 31 back-rank puzzles carefully chosen to train different back-rank mating patterns, and getting progressively more difficult so despite being designed with beginners in mind, hopefully even advanced players can enjoy it. Play against the computer and see if you can deliver mate!</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Practice: <a href="https://lichess.org/study/JPgWzcW4">https://lichess.org/study/JPgWzcW4</a></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Understanding this mating theme will also help when you are on the defending side and need to recognise if you are susceptible to a back-rank mate yourself.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: start;">If you are ready to see the solutions, they can be found in the following solution study:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Solutions: <a href="https://lichess.org/study/oBYnLqDK">https://lichess.org/study/oBYnLqDK</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: start;">If you prefer to sit back and watch someone else solve these puzzles live, then here was the live stream with the-lone-wolf where we explain the puzzles and the-lone-wolf solved them live on stream as well as contributing the final puzzle:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: start;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/b_FZYsfu1Fs" width="560"></iframe></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">—okei</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Acknowledgments:</i> Many thanks to lishadowapps for having created the <a href="https://pgneditor.herokuapp.com/">PGN Editor</a> with which the gifs were made in this and my previous blog. Many thanks to the-lone-wolf also for helping to create the instructive video.</span></div>
okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6528983857938059465.post-37291228684558967322019-08-06T11:03:00.000-07:002019-08-08T13:57:41.034-07:00Season 5 of the ZH League<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Season 5 of the ZH League was the second Team Crazyhouse League building on the success of Season 4 and inspired by the ZH Summer League of 2017 organised by FischyVishy. While Season 4 was more of a trial with 4 teams of five players, Season 5 had 6 teams of seven players, led by TheFinnisher, xuanet, RapidVariants, VariantsOnly, Gene_Simmons and LegionDestroyer as the board 1 of each team. Team selection was done as in <a href="https://zhchess.blogspot.com/2019/04/season-4-of-zh-ero-league-was-team.html">Season 4</a>. Each week, players arranged two games of slow time control crazyhouse against the corresponding board of the opposing team. The time control played on board 1 was 5+5, on board 2 6+6, all the way up to board 7 playing 11+11. We have found this progression of times is favourable because weaker players appreciate the slower time controls (and we even saw some flags on board 7) while stronger players tend to be bored by anything slower. After three weeks of Swiss pairings, we discovered that there were two triangles of teams who needed to play each other, and since it isn’t possible to decompose the six edges of two triangles into two matchings, we needed an extra week so in each of the last three weeks of the season, two teams sat out and took a bye.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH1W88UYfv3E3RgUFi4zLp1UJLe7QH7JRD7VjdoHSXTjDpBk6Ml6-st9kizi1ycZ-g6r-fT_F8p0iKROfG6zQQ6nB1cb7R7YH6ZY0YAN9vVksTnwJ8r7-iZjrTlzAWWdcSfl1qFYaFK7x0/s1600/Screenshot+2019-08-06+at+18.13.31.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH1W88UYfv3E3RgUFi4zLp1UJLe7QH7JRD7VjdoHSXTjDpBk6Ml6-st9kizi1ycZ-g6r-fT_F8p0iKROfG6zQQ6nB1cb7R7YH6ZY0YAN9vVksTnwJ8r7-iZjrTlzAWWdcSfl1qFYaFK7x0/s1600/Screenshot+2019-08-06+at+18.13.31.png" width="600" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Team ZHorro were the champions with a commanding performance winning all of their five matches. Congratulations! Their team was made up of RapidVariants, CrazyHome, grogers, pkr5025, GodBless111, Isachess and darubaru (with Zher0 substituting in as alt for one round). TheIngloriousForkers led by TheFinnisher finished second with 3.5/5, while Cirque du So-Cray came third with 3/5. Top individual performers in the league were TheFinnisher from Finland living up to his number one seeding with 6/10, while CrazyHome from India was top board 2 with 8/10, pepellou the famous lichess streamer from Galicia in Spain was top board 3 with 7/10, pkr5025 was top board 4 with 8/10 and the biggest improver during the course of the league finishing the Season with a zh rating above 2100, charliehorse55 from Canada was top board 5 with 8/10, Isachess was top board 6 with a perfect 10/10, and jwwells42 was top board 7 also with 10/10. Special congratulations to Isachess and jwwells42 for being the players of the league in Season 5. For sure they will both be chosen on higher boards next season!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Huge thanks to colwem especially for keeping the programming of the <a href="https://zh.lakin.ca/zhteam/season/5/standings/" target="_blank">zh league website</a> working (although this site will go down once it is fully integrated into <a href="http://lichess4545.com/">lichess4545.com</a>) as well as to the other crazyhouse mods (FischyVishy, kostasvl & Zher0).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In total 184 games were played, and there are too many highlights to be able to share in a blog post (though these will certainly made into puzzle studies). So I will restrict myself here to a single </span><a href="https://lichess.org/nBeWoL5x" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">game</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> from Round 1 played on the 25th May, 2019 between RapidVariants and xuanet. I will share six positions from this game and under each image is one of the best variations:</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Position 1</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm8EtVINbyjZ0Efm7C4xrR3pf-YUo4APiQt5HugnKP1ndug3Qo3ufbcWcqZjfCGEPGuMw-X9V2aMndnkujsgOGq8OfW1OrYOrFHOaqtt0Xmef5V0OJmcd9dVYmSNvNJ9Gse8DjykKK9594/s1600/Screenshot_20190806_143352.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1258" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm8EtVINbyjZ0Efm7C4xrR3pf-YUo4APiQt5HugnKP1ndug3Qo3ufbcWcqZjfCGEPGuMw-X9V2aMndnkujsgOGq8OfW1OrYOrFHOaqtt0Xmef5V0OJmcd9dVYmSNvNJ9Gse8DjykKK9594/s1600/Screenshot_20190806_143352.jpg" width="500" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">White to play!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">RapidVariants found the move! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSaS55BX8euIU-HlSf_OYYgUSbKl6iOW_HdQvreFixhzbjpcBhaMYD8ggPLGIKv50rWGjPFdDqpZhoMhfqGgjSkux9TVSnjejSaDbdLQn3lP8oEnbdxWhObjeE_3YPIIdhyfJOglOg1DSZ/s1600/RV-xuanet+1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="702" data-original-width="561" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSaS55BX8euIU-HlSf_OYYgUSbKl6iOW_HdQvreFixhzbjpcBhaMYD8ggPLGIKv50rWGjPFdDqpZhoMhfqGgjSkux9TVSnjejSaDbdLQn3lP8oEnbdxWhObjeE_3YPIIdhyfJOglOg1DSZ/s640/RV-xuanet+1.gif" width="508" /></a></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Position 2</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU5Fu-ML3Q2TC5PRsh3ET69jFFo-y61zFZ1mr0CPqUlTx039Mt8laTL3ETnAUHXvvB-uDZYjSZjDp5I_EGsbfzpSxgqeljcXhbJ6y4HGdIHlM3cxGmYXdRPu99BJ-ZjUDWappV1Tbs8pWE/s1600/Screenshot_20190806_143917.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1258" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU5Fu-ML3Q2TC5PRsh3ET69jFFo-y61zFZ1mr0CPqUlTx039Mt8laTL3ETnAUHXvvB-uDZYjSZjDp5I_EGsbfzpSxgqeljcXhbJ6y4HGdIHlM3cxGmYXdRPu99BJ-ZjUDWappV1Tbs8pWE/s1600/Screenshot_20190806_143917.jpg" width="500" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Black to play!</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIGxI-rARKyABD4zNc9cAwwEFe0RzxgD6eJyVjyTYajYyPlMN7DWWck5Py6WMeb4ZuEwJxu-V6xbTDGeiPRiQvuM63IPSlss7xF9aSsj42EUWYxd3bpbOTez0wP-WzYbHhjGXKh9ZsonUo/s1600/RV-xuanet+2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="721" data-original-width="576" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIGxI-rARKyABD4zNc9cAwwEFe0RzxgD6eJyVjyTYajYyPlMN7DWWck5Py6WMeb4ZuEwJxu-V6xbTDGeiPRiQvuM63IPSlss7xF9aSsj42EUWYxd3bpbOTez0wP-WzYbHhjGXKh9ZsonUo/s640/RV-xuanet+2.gif" width="510" /></span></a><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Position 3</span></b></div>
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Black to play!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinO2XTsxSr8th-QdPFYgZDynz_LfqUkeYKZ-ADJw7gs4dT52eYu6Z5ZwAS8Fvz0xYfVHgtqRcyDvuA6KKrSJGUQUFTnL8-RgzaXgvF5bDeDY8jce610W4U1CeONfUNkbIf83gGTmBF2M7h/s1600/RV-xuanet+3.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="672" data-original-width="537" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinO2XTsxSr8th-QdPFYgZDynz_LfqUkeYKZ-ADJw7gs4dT52eYu6Z5ZwAS8Fvz0xYfVHgtqRcyDvuA6KKrSJGUQUFTnL8-RgzaXgvF5bDeDY8jce610W4U1CeONfUNkbIf83gGTmBF2M7h/s640/RV-xuanet+3.gif" width="510" /></a></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Position 4</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Black to play!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Also, what should White have played instead of @g3?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGdsuKt23cze-SWPqYHKcsgl28tNSRa3wcrhmuQuNH4ooCmwmmHlJ-9ryw3Z1eQi6y7n3SyDRKCt0s3whyFbi9SP7LM1PDJ2RxqlMw49jS3r0nUtzs4D73aqEuJB58sT37F4SjNF41aldH/s1600/RV-xuanet+4.gif" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="743" data-original-width="594" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGdsuKt23cze-SWPqYHKcsgl28tNSRa3wcrhmuQuNH4ooCmwmmHlJ-9ryw3Z1eQi6y7n3SyDRKCt0s3whyFbi9SP7LM1PDJ2RxqlMw49jS3r0nUtzs4D73aqEuJB58sT37F4SjNF41aldH/s640/RV-xuanet+4.gif" width="510" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Position 5</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA5XOpyBS33kPwvi1zo18u-6zUGv2pr5Cy3NkiDAmN0rSJt7HCY8WHzwuxnpCjQf72gzW_lJLn9drE50RUJCXomM2ZK-vklofIORC22dENLSzCL3c-R0DdCTN40yErY2RWLBtO27wsyvWN/s1600/Screenshot_20190806_133111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1344" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA5XOpyBS33kPwvi1zo18u-6zUGv2pr5Cy3NkiDAmN0rSJt7HCY8WHzwuxnpCjQf72gzW_lJLn9drE50RUJCXomM2ZK-vklofIORC22dENLSzCL3c-R0DdCTN40yErY2RWLBtO27wsyvWN/s1600/Screenshot_20190806_133111.jpg" width="500" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Black to play!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6-Qn3QTCEIPvfjOblvwyVwW_6XbdNabF0iMn7OdMRUosIG4AXIXD1faApqLcAJxa2v2bNWnY562aJaXFtEv8Rc59_ug9qWGeFwn3s6YmcHZfDlwBgY0QzuJuZs8K4tOQlTHDRitvNuw4I/s1600/RV-xuanet+5.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="743" data-original-width="594" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6-Qn3QTCEIPvfjOblvwyVwW_6XbdNabF0iMn7OdMRUosIG4AXIXD1faApqLcAJxa2v2bNWnY562aJaXFtEv8Rc59_ug9qWGeFwn3s6YmcHZfDlwBgY0QzuJuZs8K4tOQlTHDRitvNuw4I/s640/RV-xuanet+5.gif" width="510" /></span></a><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Position 6</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUnUTQvJXPRTrRj8-0cYgOFjQJ8Qg9DO9PFW96Zk1_fo-xBFDIr5V41rRS1twOc3RamdrNMh8pYVY1lB6xJHVEA0P5sBheAdaTG4Q7Vqt-Kizrsq1_WDrc7UnLRyaMf84GzzKZChWB9G79/s1600/Screenshot_20190806_133148.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1343" data-original-width="1080" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUnUTQvJXPRTrRj8-0cYgOFjQJ8Qg9DO9PFW96Zk1_fo-xBFDIr5V41rRS1twOc3RamdrNMh8pYVY1lB6xJHVEA0P5sBheAdaTG4Q7Vqt-Kizrsq1_WDrc7UnLRyaMf84GzzKZChWB9G79/s1600/Screenshot_20190806_133148.jpg" width="500" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">White to play!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In position 6, the immediate N@f7 can in fact be made to work a move quicker, but it is not intuitively easy and also less aesthetically pleasing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">If you would like to practice 80 puzzles based on the games of Season 5, then check out the following links (puzzles 13027-13106), and keep adding one to the puzzle number to see the next puzzle:</span></div>
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<a href="https://chessvariants.training/Puzzle/13027"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">https://chessvariants.training/Puzzle/13027</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">...</span></div>
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<a href="https://chessvariants.training/Puzzle/13106"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">https://chessvariants.training/Puzzle/13106</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There is a progression of difficulties and all puzzles are also tagged by theme. We will write about the definitions of these crazyhouse themes in a future blog, with the purpose being to help new players especially with their pattern recognition.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">You can also watch these 80 puzzles live-streamed in a crazyhouse puzzle competition in this 2-part video series (the second video ending with a brief survey of three games from the league).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The big news in the past month is that JannLee’s daughter Bella has a baby brother and the JannLee plan is to form a team for the next generation of Australian bughouse. Congratulations to all the family! In the meantim</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">e, </span></span><a href="https://www.twitch.tv/kleerkast_chess/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Kleerkast</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> ha</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">s been taking up the reins of elite crazyhouse streaming. So everyone should follow his </span></span><a href="https://www.twitch.tv/kleerkast_chess/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Twitch</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> to get notified when he streams, and subscribe to his </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIQLIbwJBeFQjSTZmRODmqg" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">YouTube</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">!</span></div>
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okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6528983857938059465.post-74324017985627162572019-05-23T20:35:00.000-07:002019-06-22T13:08:29.708-07:001+0 Crazyhouse World Championship: Candidates & Puzzles<style type="text/css">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The inaugural 1+0 Crazyhouse World Championship organised by <a href="https://lichess.org/@/littleplotkin">littleplotkin</a> got underway in April 2019. After<a href="https://challonge.com/24bdsh40"> three knockout rounds</a> (each match best of 20 games), the eight survivors are now playing an all-versus-all round-robin <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cN2nUwc5cJcdayxPPyamxbv1i6ZjDMHfr9H-GUMlqxs/edit?usp=sharing">Candidates tournament</a> (each match a full 30 games). The two players with the greatest aggregate game points will face off in a 100-game Final to be scheduled over three or four sessions.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">All updates, scheduling & results are being reported in the <a href="https://lichess.org/forum/team-crazyhouse-world-championship/10-cwc">1+0 CWC thread</a> on lichess, but you can also see match times in the <a href="https://teamup.com/ks3ozaeaopfk1v98bf?view=agenda">Crazyhouse Calendar</a> embedded in the right-hand column of this blog, and many of the matches are being streamed by <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/jannleecrazyhouse">JannLee</a>, <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/kleerkast_chess">Kleerkast</a>, <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/zhbruhs">Fumitoks</a> and others, and you can catch up on the recordings on their respective Twitch channels or on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRyjH8DPuzTDbGsGfuAWcxFMMcdTK7eyE">2019 1+0 CWC</a> playlist on YouTube. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Most of the early matches were quite one-sided as the stronger seeds easily prevailed. A big round one upset was KyleLegion succumbing to SwiftDevil 13-7 after losing the first ten games before getting his crazyhouse shoes back on and taking 7 of the next 10. I hit a new peak rating above 2250 in losing my own match to LeProfessionnel 13.5-6.5. Round 2 saw a few more closer matches with Fumitoks beating emrty 12.5-7.5 after emrty came back from 0-9 down, penguingim1 beating TCubesAK 13-7, retardedplatypus123 beating chewythechewer 12-8, Kingswitcher getting past B0N0B0 on tiebreaks winning the last four games to win 12-10 and closest of all garnek123 beating mathace 11-9. In round 3, the three most exciting matches were mastertan with some powerful play to see off a challenge from retardedplatypus123 12-10 on tiebreaks, VariantsOnly edging ahead of xuanet 11-9 to create the upset of the round and littleplotkin surviving through the time scrambles to beat garnek123 11-9. The two dominant performances were from JannLee beating pknm 18-2 and opperwezen beating JohnStuckey by the same score. Meanwhile, penguingim beat Kingswitcher 11-8 over two sessions, blitzbullet pulled ahead of Kleerkast 11-6 with aggression and speed winning the day, and chickencrossroad sent a warning to the big two with a 15-5 demolition of Fumitoks who just the previous week had berserk-beaten JannLee in a 3+2 Elite Arena.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So the eight Candidates who will do battle for the 1+0 CWC crown are <a href="https://lichess.org/@/JannLee">JannLee</a>, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/opperwezen">opperwezen</a>, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/chickencrossroad">chickencrossroad</a>, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/littleplotkin">littleplotkin</a>, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/blitzbullet">blitzbullet</a>, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/mastertan">mastertan</a>, the grandmaster <a href="https://lichess.org/@/penguingim1">penguingim1</a> and the hopefully soon-to-be-grandmaster <a href="https://lichess.org/@/VariantsOnly">VariantsOnly</a>. The match times will be posted up on the <a href="https://lichess.org/forum/team-crazyhouse-world-championship/10-cwc">1+0 CWC thread</a>, updated in the <a href="https://teamup.com/ks3ozaeaopfk1v98bf?view=agenda">Calendar</a> and you can watch the games live either on the lichess tv of the respective players, or on the live streams from <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/jannleecrazyhouse">JannLee</a> and others. Results will be updated in the <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cN2nUwc5cJcdayxPPyamxbv1i6ZjDMHfr9H-GUMlqxs/edit?usp=sharing">Candidates cross-table</a>. Jann is also crowd-funding <a href="https://streamlabs.com/jannleecrazyhouse">prize money for the eight Candidates</a> to supplement the $500 prize </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">for the two Finalists</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> (split 3-2), half of which was set aside by littleplotkin and matched by the Crazyhouse Fund managed by JannLee from prize money returned by 2018 winners and donations for the benefit of future events.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Below are sixty puzzles taken from positions played so far in the competition. They are grouped loosely by theme. Check out the associated <a href="https://lichess.org/study/ESL1ZwAV">solution study</a> to see the matches they came from, the full variations and the themes they represent. Or you may prefer to watch them solved live on my stream in this instructive video on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSFnbvUj6jw">Basic Crazyhouse Ideas: Puzzles from the 2019 1+0 CWC</a> <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">(video embedded at the end of this blog).</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-size: large;"><b>Back Rank</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig0TfZhYXKtQHbiore5nX9gl5H9s7PmDL9rtsi1BKmq2HjQQIlviO9r-q812pMJazo8eHn8BgP5IFfEZJSkoitWzYeN9rVLcheUw_SljolKl3biLQugJ_qYgwlJRICVeYFMAgnojj2DcXs/s1600/20190524_014316.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig0TfZhYXKtQHbiore5nX9gl5H9s7PmDL9rtsi1BKmq2HjQQIlviO9r-q812pMJazo8eHn8BgP5IFfEZJSkoitWzYeN9rVLcheUw_SljolKl3biLQugJ_qYgwlJRICVeYFMAgnojj2DcXs/s1600/20190524_014316.jpg" width="550" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Smothered Mate</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp6a6YcXGF_uY3BssepaSW62w0nuajxqAUTRx8ccwEpfbXHGCEK8yHz7E2cKds99SpRqaa-NHLFHdWx8nS0mythJHcbpMUrBWqqLUK-DxFeMURMrpxBHA4GI9vMq33TnToo5pdkBo0evWp/s1600/20190524_014446.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp6a6YcXGF_uY3BssepaSW62w0nuajxqAUTRx8ccwEpfbXHGCEK8yHz7E2cKds99SpRqaa-NHLFHdWx8nS0mythJHcbpMUrBWqqLUK-DxFeMURMrpxBHA4GI9vMq33TnToo5pdkBo0evWp/s1600/20190524_014446.jpg" width="550" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Picking Up the Queen with Check</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAtvOIVYcMnF_L2r3WC1OZOvNvIe6B7XQrxDG4vNUaTLMuYeTLD_tEMjpJM-wGBOEMrQ9fTWaRTTq3Jt0A5N3hImPI8IPiXeZrdZ1QxjF6mFDqugRyL-cWG1AsrQvWp4qwCteXqZ7K1q4E/s1600/20190524_014905.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAtvOIVYcMnF_L2r3WC1OZOvNvIe6B7XQrxDG4vNUaTLMuYeTLD_tEMjpJM-wGBOEMrQ9fTWaRTTq3Jt0A5N3hImPI8IPiXeZrdZ1QxjF6mFDqugRyL-cWG1AsrQvWp4qwCteXqZ7K1q4E/s1600/20190524_014905.jpg" width="550" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Mating Patterns with the Queen</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKxnyh-HvzUn7wZqcOvZJxfYtokfIc7P3uRhy4Wx_K-_TURPhFfDRvWOVA_pcwA7Oo9FZ933RjUPjBa6q54gLh-wRYdiNLmeQSgcuF64uhKAcT_Dr3o_GNbBYQd9pJsVhVyViJReNj6dRo/s1600/20190524_015837.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKxnyh-HvzUn7wZqcOvZJxfYtokfIc7P3uRhy4Wx_K-_TURPhFfDRvWOVA_pcwA7Oo9FZ933RjUPjBa6q54gLh-wRYdiNLmeQSgcuF64uhKAcT_Dr3o_GNbBYQd9pJsVhVyViJReNj6dRo/s1600/20190524_015837.jpg" width="550" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Queen & Knight Calculation</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT6fPapb9b10HfxnbmCeW5VC5Zgm9AgxB9ETp3PVNSJeu63BKXYSSupAw4a8Xjf6slX8nqGIgdC9gDHO25Y7NwVp5MfynqZClkmdLpAdoqRIcmcFckeNmO69avgP4en5c-fIMnSZ_GVEBu/s1600/20190524_020325.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT6fPapb9b10HfxnbmCeW5VC5Zgm9AgxB9ETp3PVNSJeu63BKXYSSupAw4a8Xjf6slX8nqGIgdC9gDHO25Y7NwVp5MfynqZClkmdLpAdoqRIcmcFckeNmO69avgP4en5c-fIMnSZ_GVEBu/s1600/20190524_020325.jpg" width="550" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Mating Patterns with Rooks or Knights</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy9FbNiRZKuNo8cxv0t_rMwCJDlMbH1GtdVKq3b1CQswRcFSK4YovcppLcaiWxLTNxndHQrkFDQjEuoTJH7pY_Uu_FAs-hr9o9hBajzOUcL-l0i6DwzLbwtF0tCrEGjtk3MzwI6KGw5y8V/s1600/20190524_020352.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy9FbNiRZKuNo8cxv0t_rMwCJDlMbH1GtdVKq3b1CQswRcFSK4YovcppLcaiWxLTNxndHQrkFDQjEuoTJH7pY_Uu_FAs-hr9o9hBajzOUcL-l0i6DwzLbwtF0tCrEGjtk3MzwI6KGw5y8V/s1600/20190524_020352.jpg" width="550" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Diagonal Mates & Double-Take Mates</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkDRosuSrytj_aCzAv2eZ3oKTQpfeEgIxmTSes5WKWmRmM-OwlPiv6ljG7rufaGknPN0DQVsKpyLQbbuOubrp2G4c7ZmQ8Vc8CXOPH5Cb0BlfBi0_TfjQqbk4qXNJ54jl8btcF78uvEcwe/s1600/20190524_020534.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkDRosuSrytj_aCzAv2eZ3oKTQpfeEgIxmTSes5WKWmRmM-OwlPiv6ljG7rufaGknPN0DQVsKpyLQbbuOubrp2G4c7ZmQ8Vc8CXOPH5Cb0BlfBi0_TfjQqbk4qXNJ54jl8btcF78uvEcwe/s1600/20190524_020534.jpg" width="550" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Mating Patterns with Minors</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1QcZO9gZYyLejWYb_6h0wWUES9tOAOu4uaTJ8_6X4qw4IUOnjFSbVXfPhn4Hs0D1VXdZeQ_L0q4yIWX3WE1q7roLji1A5__JV7ieEe_CBhyphenhyphenCNY9ph7gipWfhO9V8dAxEcv3wCkf3Wd5Gi/s1600/20190524_020551.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1QcZO9gZYyLejWYb_6h0wWUES9tOAOu4uaTJ8_6X4qw4IUOnjFSbVXfPhn4Hs0D1VXdZeQ_L0q4yIWX3WE1q7roLji1A5__JV7ieEe_CBhyphenhyphenCNY9ph7gipWfhO9V8dAxEcv3wCkf3Wd5Gi/s1600/20190524_020551.jpg" width="550" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Exploiting Pins & Potential Forks</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtUuhBuN5mhZBGUsUJfZlWgqF3GbDAtnxDCWu1Qdx_gBNpIbQXSM8WzjURFq5BSL5WrYhM8ZiOTlV7Ct_xy6OZC7AzJ2gcXGo09Psctpum-C6hT4mceVPOnBjTQWUTqM7YXTsuv5iltmM6/s1600/20190524_020649.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtUuhBuN5mhZBGUsUJfZlWgqF3GbDAtnxDCWu1Qdx_gBNpIbQXSM8WzjURFq5BSL5WrYhM8ZiOTlV7Ct_xy6OZC7AzJ2gcXGo09Psctpum-C6hT4mceVPOnBjTQWUTqM7YXTsuv5iltmM6/s1600/20190524_020649.jpg" width="550" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Deflect the Defender</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMtAqNaTVa-JNAqQWnPahI7HyhmH3FDaMUP1JR-0_xMmeCL1O36AKhyphenhyphen_-QG1b05Pr57S8Jnnnxtd1bPCZ426ugmwR1lq4NnUNC0-8fwh89Hud88FJVhD8JJ1YTL3hu1_ilWk1BK65Zv1_Q/s1600/20190524_020814.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMtAqNaTVa-JNAqQWnPahI7HyhmH3FDaMUP1JR-0_xMmeCL1O36AKhyphenhyphen_-QG1b05Pr57S8Jnnnxtd1bPCZ426ugmwR1lq4NnUNC0-8fwh89Hud88FJVhD8JJ1YTL3hu1_ilWk1BK65Zv1_Q/s1600/20190524_020814.jpg" width="550" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Deflect the Defender 2</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3z9X-sWI7baX1vY8HiFVG3M3NSSvvttyLz0AqZ9swC4AId_psoN2V95iBzCQNN4Rs47Db7wHce2Rb5hu8RolY1Nw_euAmUykbFK3WBn6evnQu0YNmdOorwOzJ13oc_GIbQIsXf314eDLa/s1600/20190524_021453.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3z9X-sWI7baX1vY8HiFVG3M3NSSvvttyLz0AqZ9swC4AId_psoN2V95iBzCQNN4Rs47Db7wHce2Rb5hu8RolY1Nw_euAmUykbFK3WBn6evnQu0YNmdOorwOzJ13oc_GIbQIsXf314eDLa/s1600/20190524_021453.jpg" width="550" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Clearance Mates</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Magnet Mates</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Combining Defence & Attack</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Correct Defence</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I hope you enjoyed these puzzles. Here again is the <a href="https://lichess.org/study/ESL1ZwAV">solution study</a> with the games these positions came from, the themes they represent and the full variations so you can check your solutions. And here is the instructive video where I solved all these puzzles live on stream:</span></div>
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PSFnbvUj6jw" width="560"></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Do join us to watch the live action in the Candidates </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">& come to the <a href="https://dscrd.me/housechessvariants">House Variants Discord</a> to chat with other players and spectators.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> See the <a href="https://teamup.com/ks3ozaeaopfk1v98bf?view=agenda">calendar</a> for upcoming matches, and</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">check out the </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cN2nUwc5cJcdayxPPyamxbv1i6ZjDMHfr9H-GUMlqxs/edit?usp=sharing" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">results</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> in the Candidates cross-table.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">May crazyhouse flourish!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">—okei</span></div>
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okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6528983857938059465.post-26341976559063983882019-04-25T07:06:00.000-07:002019-04-25T07:11:53.446-07:00Season 4 of the ZH-ero League was Team Crazyhouse!<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The crazyhouse spin-off of the Lichess4545 league completed its 4th season a couple of weeks ago and we have 48 players already <a href="https://zh.lakin.ca/zhteam/register/" target="_blank">signed up</a> for the 5th season which is will start soon. Like Lichess4545 on whose Slack the league operates, the ZH-ero league encourages the play of online chess at a slower time control. So while the zh standard is 3+2, with elite players often relishing 1+0, the league games are 5+5 or slower. The first three seasons were all individual leagues, but Season 4 trialled a new format with a team league (4 teams of 5 players) played over three weeks with players facing off against their opponent on the corresponding board each week. Each match comprised two games of (4+<i>b</i>) + (4+<i>b</i>) crazyhouse on board <i>b</i>, which meant board 1s played 5+5 while board 5s played 9+9. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Four top players of the game were recruited in to be the board 1s of each team in JKtheBullfrog, TheFinnisher, Mugwort & RapidVariants, and among other invites were the Dutch International Master VariantsOnly who proved to be a strong board 2, and the popular streamer pepellou from Spain, a recent crazyhouse enthusiast who would go on to stream all his matches on board 3. Team selection was done by board 1 players choosing their board 2s in reverse order of strength, then board 2s selecting their board 3s in the reverse order in which they were selected and so on. As well as the league founder, Zher0, kostasvl, colwem, FischyVishy & I (okei) were introduced as crazyhouse mods to help run the league. We are particularly grateful to colwem who has spent hours programming the <a href="https://zh.lakin.ca/zhteam/" target="_blank">crazyhouse team league website</a> to do clever things like recognise when participants schedule or start a game and automatically post up the schedule, the game link and the result on the website. It is not yet perfect, but we are confident enough to roll out Season 5 to as many people as want to <a href="https://zh.lakin.ca/zhteam/register/" target="_blank">join</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now, for the rest of the blog, we will recap what happened in Season 4 and share a plethora of puzzles for your enjoyment. Here were the rosters of the 4 teams, with PawnInTraining and fgalla also subbing in as alts on boards 2 and 3 respectively:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT4M5OykjRaiLX9W_hR1sNGVFIxIP7CFRnp8VipRjBYkofd_S_G_vMft0Cxzxcb3ZJvD9HGWuboDE8c7fVlwiYVGtcWfZqE7nJz54vmFUWahWD367CS4TSq7h6L3dGIiaO9wcH4K5GmEBq/s1600/Screenshot+2019-04-25+at+14.03.50.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="217" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT4M5OykjRaiLX9W_hR1sNGVFIxIP7CFRnp8VipRjBYkofd_S_G_vMft0Cxzxcb3ZJvD9HGWuboDE8c7fVlwiYVGtcWfZqE7nJz54vmFUWahWD367CS4TSq7h6L3dGIiaO9wcH4K5GmEBq/s1600/Screenshot+2019-04-25+at+14.03.50.png" width="650" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHm_3qVGptBrQ8STlg4AfanGRLmVPPz1XFqv930ceNQVtFXaD01Vxj-92DUCTVlyKwSJ-TcO7J3QGSolrcbfyJ_f154QgpDLvqVm8MxlFb8-cQ1WXekDHjCN-FaMw3-uNkHJsGem5g4lH7/s1600/Screenshot+2019-04-25+at+14.11.20.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="658" data-original-width="1152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHm_3qVGptBrQ8STlg4AfanGRLmVPPz1XFqv930ceNQVtFXaD01Vxj-92DUCTVlyKwSJ-TcO7J3QGSolrcbfyJ_f154QgpDLvqVm8MxlFb8-cQ1WXekDHjCN-FaMw3-uNkHJsGem5g4lH7/s1600/Screenshot+2019-04-25+at+14.11.20.png" width="250" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the end, FinnishThem, led by TheFinnisher came home victorious, but only on tiebreaks thanks to game points won. So every game mattered! TheFinnisher was equal top-scoring board 1 with 4/6, okei scored 2/6 on board 2, ErinYu and colwem both scored 3/6, and asian42, learning crazyhouse for the first time, was top scoring board 5 on 4/6. Congratulations to everyone for such a well-fought season.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiloVCG-NjR51gKrnymoLNSl-PIfIWpRvPKflD0Aomo3Rw6uJW-Zw74vjtUfJhKwCR1kdfi9wcMyEW3Aw3irSTwdwko6GhvMUqyIS5C_vAc8-AaKz6bDQyQntGOkWPK8HUXD6-YPI0O9ZJu/s1600/Screenshot+2019-04-25+at+14.03.10.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="328" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiloVCG-NjR51gKrnymoLNSl-PIfIWpRvPKflD0Aomo3Rw6uJW-Zw74vjtUfJhKwCR1kdfi9wcMyEW3Aw3irSTwdwko6GhvMUqyIS5C_vAc8-AaKz6bDQyQntGOkWPK8HUXD6-YPI0O9ZJu/s1600/Screenshot+2019-04-25+at+14.03.10.png" width="650" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRuGIOKZ60dR4PWIVd3X-IlY8ixPsyvOo1xDyRNzDSB-fEp5yqwuRemJ3Ns2ZiONqxkDQ8Xiqf42SYbZ34At41WzSyXmFzwpCF3HSKLYD8eehLn436c-_wexaw9BZhJdAr5qoMQ-hWZ5fL/s1600/Screenshot+2019-04-25+at+14.19.23.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="798" data-original-width="840" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRuGIOKZ60dR4PWIVd3X-IlY8ixPsyvOo1xDyRNzDSB-fEp5yqwuRemJ3Ns2ZiONqxkDQ8Xiqf42SYbZ34At41WzSyXmFzwpCF3HSKLYD8eehLn436c-_wexaw9BZhJdAr5qoMQ-hWZ5fL/s1600/Screenshot+2019-04-25+at+14.19.23.png" width="250" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Special congratulations to IM VariantsOnly for being the <a href="https://zh.lakin.ca/zhteam/season/4/player/VariantsOnly/" target="_blank">man of the season</a> with a perfect score, winning 6/6 on board 2 with a performance rating of 2994 — echoes of IM lovlas who in Lichess4545 once scored 8/8.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He will be joining TheFinnisher, RapidVariants, Gene_Simmons and the attacking legend xuanet among others as board 1s in Season 5.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As a curious statistic, Black won 58% of the games on board 1 and the White advantage in crazyhouse (+1.9 according to Stockfish) which forces us to play 2-game matches was in fact most pronounced on board 5.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For a recap of the games and positions in Season 4, check out the end of season recap stream, embedded at the end of the blog. You may also be interested to check out the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRyjH8DPuzTCZYGXs-mvtuwXoOErj7xWt" target="_blank">playlist</a> of previous recap videos as well as live streams of zh league matches. In the video, I discuss a couple of the games and I spoil most of the puzzles below. To practice them yourself against the computer, click <a href="https://lichess.org/study/1RE8oU0y" target="_blank">here</a>, or to see the solutions with full variations click <a href="https://lichess.org/study/FgjzrN7b" target="_blank">here</a>. At the end of the blog you can find hints to these puzzles and the video recap.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Level 2 (1800 zh)</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmsyfwTrfZqStg_7FLXGN0bS8tygTd8V-QS7Qa0YZ7KYD6_IDJU_G_wesf6b0gF2GEzAp9DmXHPg3Tl_tkZNRB6Nh015nkPe6x8ytwOg2VNrma3k2AYzJZXIOqw4ukHPHemRHWNT6uWBZb/s1600/20190425_122938.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmsyfwTrfZqStg_7FLXGN0bS8tygTd8V-QS7Qa0YZ7KYD6_IDJU_G_wesf6b0gF2GEzAp9DmXHPg3Tl_tkZNRB6Nh015nkPe6x8ytwOg2VNrma3k2AYzJZXIOqw4ukHPHemRHWNT6uWBZb/s1600/20190425_122938.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Level 3 (2000 zh)</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT716DcIzKrePhA9F_whw-p0gJtxnpWOu4M5tm73zP_pDv_AWYoBcFs5UA5Uzd0uAnL_-LfN4Vpt1BqG9l6W3jRH0kKWW9LEnKj9cGimfZ1anD5qUl03CKSDq_vsAIu0B4ymLbd4z_4n5E/s1600/20190425_123042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT716DcIzKrePhA9F_whw-p0gJtxnpWOu4M5tm73zP_pDv_AWYoBcFs5UA5Uzd0uAnL_-LfN4Vpt1BqG9l6W3jRH0kKWW9LEnKj9cGimfZ1anD5qUl03CKSDq_vsAIu0B4ymLbd4z_4n5E/s1600/20190425_123042.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Level 4 (2200 zh)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Level 5 (2400 zh)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Level 6 (2600 zh)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Non-Mating Puzzles 1 (2000 zh)</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk62dXreDXxq9gGU6lHZLiERSNL1s4a5gAKDwZEVjifU8pbY8UAcyTEsODQx99RcXmqGm4JmIRpI4x8CAMHAoKiZCUJfu8QG-yFz3EGT9KIcnLfPN4pODra8VBKqoSmtg-9tXzupwtal-p/s1600/20190425_125855.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk62dXreDXxq9gGU6lHZLiERSNL1s4a5gAKDwZEVjifU8pbY8UAcyTEsODQx99RcXmqGm4JmIRpI4x8CAMHAoKiZCUJfu8QG-yFz3EGT9KIcnLfPN4pODra8VBKqoSmtg-9tXzupwtal-p/s1600/20190425_125855.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Non-Mating Puzzles 2 (2600 zh)</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjROUWfsS6aZGESgUZeneVPUz2b-hC67uuqDyvnoOMZAw-betaNCOqK4GN9QugwjxOkpkZCU9GzzyH8JItXmFqIuqBQVe3AepwhnTYKIGnFO3sLe0jiC4DXvhyphenhyphensw1emRCAMIEge_mRPMNsh/s1600/20190425_125809.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjROUWfsS6aZGESgUZeneVPUz2b-hC67uuqDyvnoOMZAw-betaNCOqK4GN9QugwjxOkpkZCU9GzzyH8JItXmFqIuqBQVe3AepwhnTYKIGnFO3sLe0jiC4DXvhyphenhyphensw1emRCAMIEge_mRPMNsh/s1600/20190425_125809.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Hints</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Level 1: The king is in a mating net. Seal the mate!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Level 2: Tighten the mating net!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Level 3: Create the mating net! If necessary, draw the king to the mating square.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Level 4: Deflect defenders & calculate.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Level 5: Calculate deeper.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Level 6: Sacrifices, intermezzo moves & discovery ideas.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Non-Mating Puzzles 1: be aware of forks!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Non-Mating Puzzles 2: the bishop is the most dangerous attacker!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Solutions</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You can practice these puzzles yourself against the computer <a href="https://lichess.org/study/1RE8oU0y" target="_blank">here</a> or see the solutions with full variations <a href="https://lichess.org/study/FgjzrN7b" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jdYVru9UKmQ" width="560"></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Keep playing crazyhouse!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">—okei</span></div>
okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6528983857938059465.post-63651991998419323542019-04-17T01:03:00.001-07:002019-04-30T02:55:03.997-07:00Introducing the 1+0 Crazyhouse World Championship<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The 1+0 Crazyhouse World Championship is underway organised by littleplotkin! There were 67 entrants who made the registration deadline of April 13th. Three had to be excluded for having played insufficient games of crazyhouse, leaving <a href="https://challonge.com/24bdsh40">64 participants in a single elimination knockout</a>. Once the field is reduced to 8, there will be a round robin Candidates phase, the top two then facing off to become the 1+0 Crazyhouse World Champion. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">At the elimination stage, participants have a week to get in touch with their assigned opponents and play the best of 20 games, so the first to 10.5 wins. If the match isn't played and no contact is made by either player with the organiser littleplotkin explaining why, then it will result in a double forfeit. In case of a tie, the match continues a further couple of games and again until the tie is broken. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Scheduling and results should be posted in the </span><a href="https://lichess.org/forum/team-crazyhouse-world-championship/10-cwc" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Championship thread on lichess</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. The Candidates phase will be 30 games exactly with every game counting towards the tally of each player. Therefore, number of matches won and head-to-head only count as tiebreakers. The Final will be 100 games scheduled over three or four different dates.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">There will be prizes for Candidates, Finalists and for the Champion. The exact prize structure is yet to be determined but thanks to JannLee, opperwezen and to other members of the crazyhouse community who have already stepped in to offer money towards the prize fund.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first round has a deadline of 28th April. Participants should message their opponents as soon as possible and contact </span><a href="https://lichess.org/@/littleplotkin" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">littleplotkin</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> in case of any difficulties in scheduling. Each match of best to 20 is likely to last at most 40 minutes. Here is the full draw: </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://challonge.com/24bdsh40" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>https://challonge.com/24bdsh40</b></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thanks to CrazyHome, somethingpretentious and theLAZYmd for helping draw up the list of entrants and order them by average of current and peak crazyhouse rating with some nifty coding to create the seeding.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />Have a great tournament! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />—okei </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />P.S. For those looking forward to the official 3+2 Crazyhouse World Championship, this is forecast to start at the end of May.</span></div>
okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6528983857938059465.post-54915754535015202792019-03-01T11:09:00.000-08:002019-03-01T11:09:20.001-08:00Season 3 of the ZH-ero 10+10 Lichess League<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Season 3 of the ZH-ero league (organised by Zher0 as an offshoot of the Lichess4545 classical league) concluded in February 2019. For the third season in a row, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/okei" target="_blank">okei</a> (that's me!) finished in first place, and clear first as in season 2, but for the first time with 7/7. In Season 1, I had scored 6/7 tying for first with <a href="https://lichess.org/@/FischyVishy" target="_blank">FischyVishy</a>, despite losing 2-0 in our head-to-head, while in Season 2, I had scored 1-1 draws against both <a href="https://lichess.org/@/Antic" target="_blank">Antic</a> and <a href="https://lichess.org/@/yago666" target="_blank">yago666</a> to finish a half-point ahead of the former on 6/7. Again in Season 3, yago666 proved to be stiff competition, a mate in 3 away from tying our head-to-head (see game below), but he missed a couple of chances and then missed the final two rounds of the season, so it was <a href="https://lichess.org/@/FiveKnights" target="_blank">FiveKnights</a> on 5/7 who was the runner-up and <a href="https://lichess.org/@/colwem" target="_blank">colwem</a> on 4/7 who came in third.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In March 2019, the crazyhouse league will be entering a new era, trialing a team format and with a special website on which it will be organised created by colwem. Again, all communications will take place over the Lichess4545 Slack and players must abide by the Slack’s rules. In particular, players under the age of 16 are unfortunately not entitled to participate, and all player alts will be vetted by Lichess mods to make sure they have an impeccable record of fair play. We will also have some big names signing up including <a href="https://lichess.org/@/JKtheBullfrog" target="_blank">JKtheBullfrog</a>, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/TheFinnisher" target="_blank">TheFinnisher</a> and <a href="https://lichess.org/@/VariantsOnly" target="_blank">VariantsOnly</a>. The time control will also be changing to meet the preferences of the participants, so players on board 1 will likely play 5+5 while players on lower boards may still play 10+10 as in previous seasons.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As a review of season 3, here is the decisive game between myself and yago666 with detailed annotation, followed by a series of 15 crazyhouse puzzles taken from this season’s games. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="371" src="https://lichess.org/study/embed/mLWPduSo/vJfzPwWf#0" width="600"></iframe><br /></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This series of puzzles is aimed more at the beginning crazyhouse player, unlike some of the tougher puzzles we have shared previously on this website. However, we still hope it will prove enough of a challenge that even an elite player might struggle to get a perfect score. It is followed by hints, first moves, and links to a study where full variations may be found.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Basic Crazyhouse Puzzles</span></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcejYY7IO4yUbQGQcLsVJNr1va4HCD-XGwcihm0F0GHFdM0WJ_OYRjYLLS0yMUwiyqQ0IGQP4Pk56_GI1abqpsDSdeDAU804J2umL-Q0kcmm-iiyMF7eCfu-m80bEzRlnkGKr4yyqhT1ta/s1600/Screenshot_20190301-000040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1440" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcejYY7IO4yUbQGQcLsVJNr1va4HCD-XGwcihm0F0GHFdM0WJ_OYRjYLLS0yMUwiyqQ0IGQP4Pk56_GI1abqpsDSdeDAU804J2umL-Q0kcmm-iiyMF7eCfu-m80bEzRlnkGKr4yyqhT1ta/s320/Screenshot_20190301-000040.jpg" width="311" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Puzzle 1: </b>White to play (kostasvl - Forhavu)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDd3PcaLtmR2k7LKsQoBWf0mfEzUitN2LZJQn4LRCT2YVMW28eqeRqJ1cDf0mrC-LH1ambwX5c6nCoFcjd5dZv-LetRPnuziCVkUZHh9vW_r487Cs7FkQxb1-iD2ATaXsVVumT8YSjAnrX/s1600/Screenshot_20190301-122355.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1343" data-original-width="1440" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDd3PcaLtmR2k7LKsQoBWf0mfEzUitN2LZJQn4LRCT2YVMW28eqeRqJ1cDf0mrC-LH1ambwX5c6nCoFcjd5dZv-LetRPnuziCVkUZHh9vW_r487Cs7FkQxb1-iD2ATaXsVVumT8YSjAnrX/s320/Screenshot_20190301-122355.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Puzzle 2: </b>Black to play (UpGoerFive - colwem)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc0B5wkPT-A1Y3EPBgbumqt9-SUTywN2Km6y2SqCcgkFTUAaEd97RVWTYVzBny2H_OObdNZuRtkgn4V5n0F52OZdcl24Y8t7vukmlnKwb0-lgDxeu31fvqmGzKVpXo6LNbWxbJOzwpW4al/s1600/Screenshot_20190301-000137.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1326" data-original-width="1434" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc0B5wkPT-A1Y3EPBgbumqt9-SUTywN2Km6y2SqCcgkFTUAaEd97RVWTYVzBny2H_OObdNZuRtkgn4V5n0F52OZdcl24Y8t7vukmlnKwb0-lgDxeu31fvqmGzKVpXo6LNbWxbJOzwpW4al/s320/Screenshot_20190301-000137.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Puzzle 3: </b>White to play (yago666 - kostasvl)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG3mdl1yj6or5wZdmwqAW1K-WCKDB9FtBj774MjkYxnpSSAANknph6GbxLXWusFnEs621saVF0VLp_iFCYNoFVUeR_HLjuvrZw8XoH5lqej_yVEDA8-0qmfuslS_sNj2plAqvS_Tqv6x76/s1600/Screenshot_20190301-000425.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1332" data-original-width="1433" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG3mdl1yj6or5wZdmwqAW1K-WCKDB9FtBj774MjkYxnpSSAANknph6GbxLXWusFnEs621saVF0VLp_iFCYNoFVUeR_HLjuvrZw8XoH5lqej_yVEDA8-0qmfuslS_sNj2plAqvS_Tqv6x76/s320/Screenshot_20190301-000425.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Puzzle 4: </b>White to play (halloway - HighonPotnUse)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyCOt1jyVr7RUoyePpqEr6CobxXZcYkBNFHW3IxAkqyPFd7YSMyuAcrsfAhc8laLpnF0ipq0DbLOqHdzIbiSlKgRY0q6z3V-XhX-7Zlz1keceu0ATZMXZxYKtZbyfV0K8ivE5NGWzpwvt6/s1600/Screenshot_20190301-002902.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1336" data-original-width="1440" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyCOt1jyVr7RUoyePpqEr6CobxXZcYkBNFHW3IxAkqyPFd7YSMyuAcrsfAhc8laLpnF0ipq0DbLOqHdzIbiSlKgRY0q6z3V-XhX-7Zlz1keceu0ATZMXZxYKtZbyfV0K8ivE5NGWzpwvt6/s320/Screenshot_20190301-002902.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Puzzle 5: </b>Black to play (Forhavu - colwem)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRD0lHhPqUfSKv5B7_gs7mXwPWO5Mt7oa2O1OzXVrPuN31PMo08sS4K2tty9X1k8cTlnhDOwjTWfasVYzDDM8NsVYO9AMP0LT1l-bJrtesx0ul7BRq6dN8b0Csn9ZGTyzoAuXOskirOJnD/s1600/Screenshot_20190301-003119.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1327" data-original-width="1440" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRD0lHhPqUfSKv5B7_gs7mXwPWO5Mt7oa2O1OzXVrPuN31PMo08sS4K2tty9X1k8cTlnhDOwjTWfasVYzDDM8NsVYO9AMP0LT1l-bJrtesx0ul7BRq6dN8b0Csn9ZGTyzoAuXOskirOJnD/s320/Screenshot_20190301-003119.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Puzzle 6: </b>Black to play (GardenPlant - FiveKnights)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-PAdWCjKkYvILwnI5SZldo3wJt9bxzyH5lw_7jw2yjwxraPzptK7lZYbeVVJxe_0SpC5VetvAbtqrv3b1u7emFD82tRgZ3AcuEPpkeq7wjnl-WMfrRwofWobuUKeZ9-uhv23GdlX7_STV/s1600/Screenshot_20190301-003053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1336" data-original-width="1418" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-PAdWCjKkYvILwnI5SZldo3wJt9bxzyH5lw_7jw2yjwxraPzptK7lZYbeVVJxe_0SpC5VetvAbtqrv3b1u7emFD82tRgZ3AcuEPpkeq7wjnl-WMfrRwofWobuUKeZ9-uhv23GdlX7_STV/s320/Screenshot_20190301-003053.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Puzzle 7: </b>White to play (kostasvl - UpGoerFive)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW7uwfMkNb-88TswrOxrbr0Vbn2Q8dYo192sfhKuf7xttlr49_5Kx2y8YkXX_znN2QSuuCDLepqcDdhMmvmgNqS5_iOjtqDPqVp7O1zz5FlQ_IEnbOXimnsSDTilwvsFhFhDgKBcm-wO6w/s1600/Screenshot_20190301-003322.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1329" data-original-width="1439" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW7uwfMkNb-88TswrOxrbr0Vbn2Q8dYo192sfhKuf7xttlr49_5Kx2y8YkXX_znN2QSuuCDLepqcDdhMmvmgNqS5_iOjtqDPqVp7O1zz5FlQ_IEnbOXimnsSDTilwvsFhFhDgKBcm-wO6w/s320/Screenshot_20190301-003322.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Puzzle 8: </b>White to play (halloway - okei)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeJt4eIQzXWuNO9jc0-blJqCJjB1zU1otSJtGYPZHB0v0UpuQlzzTuLfb_RWvBbWfJHw0itgJ__SRIhcjneQ2ke6x-ylOvJpkZ2ltmbVL59Yt_cDB0PRFCPkwGasDW5831kZKVT3K-V1ah/s1600/Screenshot_20190301-003405.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1328" data-original-width="1438" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeJt4eIQzXWuNO9jc0-blJqCJjB1zU1otSJtGYPZHB0v0UpuQlzzTuLfb_RWvBbWfJHw0itgJ__SRIhcjneQ2ke6x-ylOvJpkZ2ltmbVL59Yt_cDB0PRFCPkwGasDW5831kZKVT3K-V1ah/s320/Screenshot_20190301-003405.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Puzzle 9: </b>White to play (colwem - yago666)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1HpKowQGrtQ8rBSS0uG2OJn8tCdBKCUPF31gl58Hb9iiGIJIWm0HXLMdm9OzlX17Art5VBVhhp5Y3677xFlpiQwc3wR59uBvoxKbxXj0ed3rSqnCbqozjPT26nbtAUkSzVJeNeqOORIZ-/s1600/Screenshot_20190301-003747.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1328" data-original-width="1440" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1HpKowQGrtQ8rBSS0uG2OJn8tCdBKCUPF31gl58Hb9iiGIJIWm0HXLMdm9OzlX17Art5VBVhhp5Y3677xFlpiQwc3wR59uBvoxKbxXj0ed3rSqnCbqozjPT26nbtAUkSzVJeNeqOORIZ-/s320/Screenshot_20190301-003747.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Puzzle 10: </b>White to play (Zher0 - yago666)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyEjpKNNyyWg6enD7A0up_SZyMmbugz5YB1lrP2V9YHDU6c6hgxftq9dPcMbAs7-HvG8MHTPKj82VaTWbeZAzU_8dwc32BKZQSKmKVDL71k0MCjp_HXj8s6Smfmq6G3RZX0-T1oKJKrs9a/s1600/Screenshot_20190301-003825.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1337" data-original-width="1440" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyEjpKNNyyWg6enD7A0up_SZyMmbugz5YB1lrP2V9YHDU6c6hgxftq9dPcMbAs7-HvG8MHTPKj82VaTWbeZAzU_8dwc32BKZQSKmKVDL71k0MCjp_HXj8s6Smfmq6G3RZX0-T1oKJKrs9a/s320/Screenshot_20190301-003825.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Puzzle 11: </b>Black to play (okei - Zher0)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjoQGsrN-wNNj4OgtQU9GARNFIjqi1VLLN-Zn1RAvdBGC6LhrL2wN5FQBSpa0XKVw2t6I3OuWuXD1VGjTstjygeNv3tj_Yp8OXWRwIWrw9gujP9FgnGFXtkUWOdpmLZTacRlSR24-T5DCm/s1600/Screenshot_20190301-122617.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1345" data-original-width="1439" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjoQGsrN-wNNj4OgtQU9GARNFIjqi1VLLN-Zn1RAvdBGC6LhrL2wN5FQBSpa0XKVw2t6I3OuWuXD1VGjTstjygeNv3tj_Yp8OXWRwIWrw9gujP9FgnGFXtkUWOdpmLZTacRlSR24-T5DCm/s320/Screenshot_20190301-122617.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Puzzle 12: </b>White to play (kostasvl - colwem)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEippi8mqTFBvL6iuBYF302CFHq9eo89MA7Ffeft-fwogeXq1B96czbqJ3EEC2Ha1q15v3lofI3eWjHI1jEdxd11HzC9NXua-yEfUJhPmknwvYFYKWAzK8Us464N25p98KJq5yFWI4gRUPKo/s1600/Screenshot_20190301-122750.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1326" data-original-width="1440" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEippi8mqTFBvL6iuBYF302CFHq9eo89MA7Ffeft-fwogeXq1B96czbqJ3EEC2Ha1q15v3lofI3eWjHI1jEdxd11HzC9NXua-yEfUJhPmknwvYFYKWAzK8Us464N25p98KJq5yFWI4gRUPKo/s320/Screenshot_20190301-122750.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Puzzle 13: </b>White to play (okei - halloway)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-sR41uqwXwvvHnyV3mKV6Z7kT0UVMLnd22S_KVByMq5ypVZRBTqHA_7cIf3FqVi4nSYmUgzMkAPeJHon0v4KkoLZyU77CYv3bws8etdonfBARrrrIxoan1uL6UKS5AFE8nUp6BUHJgcqA/s1600/Screenshot_20190301-122838.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1345" data-original-width="1437" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-sR41uqwXwvvHnyV3mKV6Z7kT0UVMLnd22S_KVByMq5ypVZRBTqHA_7cIf3FqVi4nSYmUgzMkAPeJHon0v4KkoLZyU77CYv3bws8etdonfBARrrrIxoan1uL6UKS5AFE8nUp6BUHJgcqA/s320/Screenshot_20190301-122838.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Puzzle 14: </b>White to play (colwem - kostasvl)</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHmJ096hRpr0gCIt3esInBQFXm50VveJ9o4-gKFiPBdnAWnZwmAA9ve_Z8qo6A4UHUj0u_S980iJAObRC4lrlAvxEmorSe4Pr1oG-0yA9pv4sLDWc1HN7XdU8EzBLjj4jkxDuZEplknoOy/s1600/Screenshot_20190301-123256.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1343" data-original-width="1440" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHmJ096hRpr0gCIt3esInBQFXm50VveJ9o4-gKFiPBdnAWnZwmAA9ve_Z8qo6A4UHUj0u_S980iJAObRC4lrlAvxEmorSe4Pr1oG-0yA9pv4sLDWc1HN7XdU8EzBLjj4jkxDuZEplknoOy/s320/Screenshot_20190301-123256.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Puzzle 15: </b>Black to play (gokuba - GardenPlant)</span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Hints</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">1. Magnet Mate (disturb the king to a checking square)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">2. Smothered mate</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">3. Take pieces with check</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">4. Queen & Knight mate</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">5. Block the King’s escape route</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">6. Queen Invasion</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">7. Activate pieces followed by Diagonal Mate</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">8. Create Weaknesses</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">9. Is there any threat to White’s king via d2?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">10. Defend with tempo</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">11. Counter-Attack</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">12. Deflect Defender</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">13. Keep Initiative</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">14. Attack on a Colour Complex</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">15. Treble Knight Smother</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">First Moves</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">1. R@h8 followed by R@h7 or N@f7 followed by second rook@h8.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">2. N@h3 followed by Q@g1 and Nf2 smothered mate, found by colwem.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">3. Bxf7 (taking the rook later whenever the king takes on g5) and N@h8 (distract the defender of f7) both mate. The former mate was executed by yago666.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">4. N@b8+</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">5. B@g3+!!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">6. Qh4 (Ke2 R@g2 followed by Qf2) Kg2 Qg3 Kf1 Qg1 Ke2 R@f2</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">7. Qe4+!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">8. e6!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">9. RxR. d2 is exposed, but there is no imminent threat.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">10. B@a4+ defending c2 with tempo. If @d7, exNf6 exf6 Bxd7 Qxd7 QxRa8+ B@d8 R@e2+! again defending c2 with tempo.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">11. There are many decent moves attacking directly the White King: N@h4, N@g5, B@h5, B@g4, R@g6, each with an imminent threat. For example, N@h4 BxQf7 B@f3 wins back the White Queen with an unclear position because if gxf3 N@h3 followed by R@g1 leads to a smothered mate. However, any Queen move for Black is bad because it loses initiative. Even QxBe5 allows dxe5 and White has initiative.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">12. N@f3 (threatening Q@h2 mate) gxf3 Q@h3 mate. The g2 pawn is overloaded.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">13. Qxd5! Unlike in puzzle 11, there is not enough material in hand to counter-attack and the pawn on e5 will be recaptured.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">14. B@f6 and B@h6 are both strong. Black’s knight has guard duty on g7, so B@f6 hitting the queen is probably a smidgeon better.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">15. N@f3 and N@h3 both mate in 6. If N@f3 Kh1, there is the beautiful treble knight mate with N@g3 fxg3 (hxg3 R@h2 is mate) R@g1 Rxg1 N@f2 mate with the third knight. So N@f3 forces gxf3 and the king is exposed. There follows: N@h3 Kh1 @g2 Kxg2 Nf4 Kg3 (Kg1 or Kh1 are no safer) Qxg5 @g4 @h4 mate, found by gokuba.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here is a <a href="https://lichess.org/study/mLWPduSo" target="_blank">lichess study</a> of highlights of the 3rd crazyhouse ZH-ero league, including all the above puzzles, mostly with full variations, some to practice with the computer. If you prefer to look at these highlights in video form, here is the video recap of season 3:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Phm_JffSqPc" width="560"></iframe></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We look forward to great things in season 4. You can <a href="https://zh.lakin.ca/zhteam/register" target="_blank">register here</a> by inserting your lichess username and then clicking on the link again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">—okei</span></div>
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okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6528983857938059465.post-51902935530696560362018-12-27T11:11:00.001-08:002018-12-27T12:09:14.573-08:00Recap of the 2018 Candidates & Crazyhouse Motifs<style type="text/css">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is a long overdue recap of the Candidates, completing the earlier <a href="http://zhchess.blogspot.com/2018/10/half-time-recap-of-2018-cwc-candidates.html" target="_blank">half-time recap</a>. A</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">ll the </span><span class="s1" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">highlights can be found in studies linked at the bottom of the blog, but one way of enjoying them might be to try solving the puzzles in <a href="https://lichess.org/study/EdzuYJu3">part 2</a> of the <a href="https://lichess.org/study/EdzuYJu3">Candidates Practice against Computer study</a> and I share a hopefully instructive <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Yv4dMRCnKs" target="_blank">video</a> with a selection from this study to illustrate 19 important crazyhouse motifs. </span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The <a href="https://lichess.org/study/wxMvJCs4">first part</a> of this practice s</span></span><span class="s3" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">tudy was linked already in the <a href="http://zhchess.blogspot.com/2018/10/half-time-recap-of-2018-cwc-candidates.html">half-time recap</a>.</span></div>
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<span class="s4" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As expected, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/opperwezen">opperwezen</a> closed out his campaign in style to secure his place as the Challenger, although conceding a draw to <a href="https://lichess.org/@/sexy_and_I_know_it" target="_blank">sexy_and_I_know_it</a> to reach a final score of 9.5/10 with <a href="https://lichess.org/@/gsvc" target="_blank">gsvc</a> in 2nd on 8.5/10 and <a href="https://lichess.org/@/TwelveTeen" target="_blank">TwelveTeen</a> on 8/10 who has sadly retired from the game at least temporarily. <a href="https://lichess.org/@/littleplotkin" target="_blank">littleplotkin</a> & <a href="https://lichess.org/@/JKtheBullfrog" target="_blank">JKtheBullfrog</a> completed the top half, coming 4th equal on 5.5/10. <a href="http://zhchess.blogspot.com/2018/11/im-opperwezen-is-2018-crazyhouse.html" target="_blank">IM opperwezen would indeed go on to become the 2018 Champion</a> after a fantastic Final against <a href="https://lichess.org/@/JannLee" target="_blank">JannLee</a> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">spanning three weeks in November.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBrrsQnetHC0jkpyNMUoaWgH3URXG2ff2V5ejIw5egXk_yGLo7ob4s1p3GywsRn9DSj1Py0rHgKbGzyfdU1dKPYrT7Q1eTgKE67YAmWs541jKH8KAClj1aGzIt5iOUXUr27ucEgiRv2zpG/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-12-27+at+18.27.06.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="1059" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBrrsQnetHC0jkpyNMUoaWgH3URXG2ff2V5ejIw5egXk_yGLo7ob4s1p3GywsRn9DSj1Py0rHgKbGzyfdU1dKPYrT7Q1eTgKE67YAmWs541jKH8KAClj1aGzIt5iOUXUr27ucEgiRv2zpG/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-12-27+at+18.27.06.png" width="650" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxPSfQucnV098VvKevmrfxFmCRYavBtW_IyBgChEc4X3JexSLtiwplrSRgYc8stW4yjMMRy99m7osxjmbeEviALBIJpaCDL7ukck5UIPllE0bN7N6MHBUa7YdQHkRAHB0CUAV9Wsmv5PH2/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-12-27+at+18.27.06.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span></a><br />
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<b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here is the full index of Candidates Matches:</span></b></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">21st August 19:30 opperwezen - littleplotkin 8-2, <a href="https://lichess.org/xFGkRMNs"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1uEjEgiVN8"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (opperwezen)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">23rd August 19:00 xuanet - JKtheBullfrog 5-5, <a href="https://lichess.org/Tw1Qb4HH"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6BPdeHPj_A"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (opper)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">24th August 17:00 opperwezen - xuanet 7-3, <a href="https://lichess.org/bLrF8HvY"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jr89g1s1FE0"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (opper)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">26th August 19:00 TwelveTeen - opperwezen 4-6, <a href="https://lichess.org/z7E9eZbK"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fSPg4RoerI&list=PLRyjH8DPuzTCbEV0J2hi4Y0jXpSXqBvh3&index=33&t=2374s"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (opper) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFDwHrrtv6Q"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (JannLee)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">31 August 14:00 littleplotkin - gsvc 4-6, <a href="https://lichess.org/CHbL8QtP"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlYZOt0MXwA"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (JannLee & GM Yasser Seirawan)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">31 August 19:00 gsvc - opperwezen 2-8, <a href="https://lichess.org/IxOgMfMK"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-rl1a6hnuM"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (opperwezen) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqqJkZ4axG8&list=PLRyjH8DPuzTCbEV0J2hi4Y0jXpSXqBvh3&index=29&t=0s"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (JannLee & Yasser)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">1st September 20:00 TwelveTeen - Kleerkast 6-4, <a href="https://lichess.org/JZq1Siqm"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toxTNL4Oexs"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (JannLee & Yasser)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">2nd September 15:00 gsvc - Kleerkast 6-4, <a href="https://lichess.org/ZG79JvkF"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gm3iYWvtkkc"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (okei)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">2nd September 18:00 TwelveTeen - sexy_and_i_know_it 8-2, <a href="https://lichess.org/rkoOUfoO"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8uWoiuYqek&list=PLRyjH8DPuzTCbEV0J2hi4Y0jXpSXqBvh3&index=26&t=0s"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (JannLee & Yasser)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">3rd September 19:00 gsvc - TwelveTeen 5-5, <a href="https://lichess.org/mHqZ2IOx"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsHIyYy59-k"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (okei)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">5th September 03:00 TwelveTeen - littleplotkin 6-4, <a href="https://lichess.org/9fSFXLfY"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9ebS9VSahE"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (okei)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">7th September 19:00 opperwezen - Kleerkast 7-3, <a href="https://lichess.org/Gnm4N2ZN"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMnBc5dC0a4"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (opper) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_MzfDkSs-A"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (JannLee & Yasser)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">8th September 14:00 gsvc - sexy_and_i_know_it 6-4, <a href="https://lichess.org/loRBtT4x"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUUQGiSH77w"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (JannLee)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">8th September 19:00 blitzbullet - TwelveTeen 1-9, <a href="https://lichess.org/Rom7biE3"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibYMW4NJfNc"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (okei)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">9th September 13:00 sexy_and_i_know_it - Kleerkast 7-3: <a href="https://lichess.org/gJcxUVmD"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4c_YT8rMOs"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (okei)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">9th September 15:00 JKtheBullfrog - gsvc 2-8, <a href="https://lichess.org/wYxQxszJ"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wHQW4Spsmc"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (okei)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">13th September 17:00 JKtheBullfrog - opperwezen 4-6, <a href="https://lichess.org/Xn6tSDSJ"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VDgWwY-iQg"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (okei)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">14th September 16:00 xuanet - gsvc 4-6, <a href="https://lichess.org/F1NMYzKY"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6hPazbIUDM"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (okei)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">15th September 12:00 mastertan - sexy_and_i_know_it 4-6, <a href="https://lichess.org/i78f4dqB"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlOHNKhKAC0"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (JannLee)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">15th September 22:00 xuanet - TwelveTeen 2-8, <a href="https://lichess.org/zd0ai7sa"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6-f7HRzqb0"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (zhbruhs)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">16th September 00:00 gsvc - mastertan 6-4, <a href="https://lichess.org/iWQn7pnS"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig2E3HAWqqg"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (zhbruhs)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">16th September 14:00 blitzbullet - gsvc, <a href="https://lichess.org/HKKyLBgF"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir2JTLrRvCg"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (crptone)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">23rd September 12:00 opperwezen - mastertan 8-2, <a href="https://lichess.org/sxoFsNzN"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jweqAy_jVVs"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (okei) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlgwPPRCbGc"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (opper)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">23rd September 22:00 TwelveTeen - mastertan 7-3, <a href="https://lichess.org/E8WakZpW"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, video deleted by Twitch (zhbruhs)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">28th September 09:00 mastertan - xuanet 4-6, <a href="https://lichess.org/POsGxsMl"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hikUnT1U_hg"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (okei) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlPSMdGHvGQ"><span class="s2">analysis</span></a> (okei)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">30th September 10:00 Kleerkast - mastertan 6-4, <a href="https://lichess.org/MzOCb0oG"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy9iccC_p-Q"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (JannLee)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">4th October 04:30 TwelveTeen - JKtheBullfrog 5-5, <a href="https://lichess.org/oCdNKL1g"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O_EowF7TvY"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (okei)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">5th October 16:30 xuanet - sexy_and_i_know_it 6-4, <a href="https://lichess.org/pjepuRsM"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfHJ2YDv_9Q"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (crosky)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">7th October 14:00 blitzbullet - Kleerkast 3-7, <a href="https://lichess.org/s3WQIYdM"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YASYL_tE5HI"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (okei)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">9th October 12:00 littleplotkin - sexy_and_i_know_it 7-3, <a href="https://lichess.org/m9y3ujEC/black"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpQ_Fj86YbA"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (okei)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">13th October 13:00 sexy_and_i_know_it - blitzbullet 4-6, <a href="https://lichess.org/Ypdx9I9p/black"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGpjLa5AsVI"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (JannLee)</span></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">13th October 15:00 xuanet - blitzbullet 5-5, <a href="https://lichess.org/CyOmVHI3"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFKj-hhP9j4"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (okei)</span></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">13th October 19:00 Fumitoks - opperwezen 4-6, <a href="https://lichess.org/lZ62FaBc"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DigvY0_2fnU"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (JannLee)</span></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">14th October 12:00 littleplotkin - Kleerkast 7.5-2.5, <a href="https://lichess.org/paFhBpHV"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bQndGY_Oi8"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (okei)</span></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">14th October 16:00 Fumitoks - xuanet 7-3, <a href="https://lichess.org/Sz19JCpk"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB-uNqEjv0g"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (JannLee)</span></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">18th October 14:00 sexy_and_I_know_it - opperwezen 5-5, <a href="https://lichess.org/W9NOEz37"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayfo6FnX-YE"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (JannLee)</span></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">20th October 13:00 Fumitoks - mastertan 5-5, <a href="https://lichess.org/3DwYQWOR"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrBDh6C-sow"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (okei)</span></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">21st October 14:00 Fumitoks - Kleerkast 6-4, <a href="https://lichess.org/4T5xfgEN/"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNaHxQ9Rmyw"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (JannLee)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">21st October 16:00 Fumitoks - sexy_and_i_know_it 7-3, <a href="https://lichess.org/V8KQhUMg"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGximmKHISQ"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (okei)</span></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">22nd October 16:00 xuanet - littleplotkin 4-6, <a href="https://lichess.org/4eVzFDjo"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYBAdygd8Aw"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (okei) </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">23rd October 02:00 littleplotkin - mastertan 5-5, <a href="https://lichess.org/X0hRp3r6/"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyfASATQnmg"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (okei)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">23rd October 23:00 Fumitoks - littleplotkin 8-2, <a href="https://lichess.org/zaedamsh"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tumgjIs_ASI"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (crosky)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">25th October 13:00 Kleerkast - JKtheBullfrog 2-8, <a href="https://lichess.org/JIB0wZIJ"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUhnX_OwJnI"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (JannLee)</span></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">25th October 15:00 JKtheBullfrog - littleplotkin 7-3, <a href="https://lichess.org/TwbeYoef"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xYY5vQB6Ng"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (JannLee & Yasser Seirawan)</span></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">25th October 17:30 Kleerkast - xuanet 4-6, <a href="https://lichess.org/rJVL0KMi"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quyHJKCYn7I"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (JannLee)</span></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">27th October 12:00 littleplotkin - blitzbullet 5.5-4.5, <a href="https://lichess.org/E8wHmjIc"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTdomlV0gII"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (JannLee)</span></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">28th October 13:00 opperwezen - blitzbullet 7-3, <a href="https://lichess.org/Ba3ZmaUx/"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxBPB6NYRCw"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (JannLee) </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">28th October 16:00 Fumitoks - gsvc 2-8, <a href="https://lichess.org/kHfg6tvH"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq_TZaaYa4M"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (okei)</span></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">1st November 23:15 Fumitoks - JKtheBullfrog 4-6, <a href="https://lichess.org/R1NtEYlC"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrOd0bctdXg"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (okei)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">4th November 14:30 sexy_and_I_know_it - JKtheBullfrog 3-7, <a href="https://lichess.org/DIHwfCun"><span class="s2">first game</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">4th November 18:00 TwelveTeen - Fumitoks, <a href="https://lichess.org/rJVL0KMi"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkzDNj0wwMk"><span class="s2">video</span></a> (Jann)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">9th November 02:00 mastertan - JKtheBullfrog, <a href="https://lichess.org/a9HNnPTw"><span class="s2">first game</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">12th November 00:30 Fumitoks - blitzbullet, <a href="https://lichess.org/ZkIiNNcX"><span class="s2">first game</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">12th November 00:30 blitzbullet - mastertan, <a href="https://lichess.org/ddaJ8dKb"><span class="s2">first game</span></a>, match cut short at 1-6 & forfeited</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">12th November 02:00 JKtheBullfrog - blitzbullet, match never happened</span></span></div>
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</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Final</span></b></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">10th, 17th & 24th November 18:00 opperwezen - Jann Lee</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span class="s3"><a href="https://lichess.org/study/t5uWy2vf"><span style="font-size: small;">Final Study (60 games)</span></a></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">JannLee live-stream of the Final without commentary</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="s3"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWkqJwOTBDo">Day 1</a></span><span class="s4"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s3"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUjlbpo_YrY"><span style="font-size: small;">Day 2</span></a></span></div>
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<span class="s3"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gji03NU1dmw"><span style="font-size: small;">Day 3</span></a></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">opperwezen live-stream of the Final without commentary</span></span></div>
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<span class="s3"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGl7BDQ4Nqw"><span style="font-size: small;">Day 1</span></a></span></div>
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<span class="s3"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqmDof2PUuQ"><span style="font-size: small;">Day 2</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="s3"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j468qw0o00">Day 3</a></span><span class="s4"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-size: small;">Commentary of the Final</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9i6xFaymqY">Day 1</a></span><span class="s1"> Flourish & Antic</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B5duu0exrQ">Day 2</a></span><span class="s1"> Flourish & Antic</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="s2"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOqteke9ZzI">Day 3</a></span><span class="s1"> okei, MMichael, Flourish, Fumitoks, and others from the <a href="https://dscrd.me/housechessvariants"><span class="s2">House Discord</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="s3"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo0iVOEv4CM">Final Highlights video</a></span><span class="s4"> (okei feat. opper)</span></span></div>
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<span class="s4"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRyjH8DPuzTB8SMF32aV5lVkDPjwykT86"><span class="s2">Full 2017 CWC Video Playlist</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span class="s3"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRyjH8DPuzTCbEV0J2hi4Y0jXpSXqBvh3"><span style="font-size: small;">Full 2018 CWC Video Playlist</span></a></span></div>
<span class="s4" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="s4" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have chosen a selection of puzzles from the second half of the 2018 Candidates to present in the following <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Yv4dMRCnKs" target="_blank">instructional video to highlight 19 important crazyhouse motifs</a>. I do not move the pieces in these puzzles to try to encourage viewers to pause and try to calculate the lines. </span><span class="s5" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">For advanced crazyhouse players who just want to see the puzzles without commentary, see the last 5 minutes and pause for as long as you need to solve each one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s4"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span class="s4" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9Yv4dMRCnKs" width="560"></iframe></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s4"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span class="s4" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The motifs illustrated are:</span></div>
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<span class="s4" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">1) Back Rank</span></div>
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<span class="s4" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">2) Queen Invasion</span></div>
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<span class="s4" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">3) Drawing the King Out<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s4" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">4) The Yoyo Mate (drawing out with pawns & pushing back)</span></div>
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<span class="s4" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">5) Deflecting Defenders</span></div>
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<span class="s4" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">6) The Magnet Mate (displacing the king to better mate it)</span></div>
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<span class="s4" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">7) Discovered Attacks</span></div>
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<span class="s4" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">8) Exploiting a Pin</span></div>
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<span class="s4" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">9) Interference</span></div>
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<span class="s4" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">10) Minor Piece Mates</span></div>
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<span class="s4" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">11) Double Mate Threats</span></div>
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<span class="s4" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">12) Assessing Whose Mate is Faster</span></div>
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<span class="s4" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">13) Queen Factory</span></div>
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<span class="s4" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">14) Corner Rook Drops</span></div>
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<span class="s4" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">15) Smothered Mates (with knights)</span></div>
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<span class="s4" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">16) Smothered Mates (with pawn or queen)</span></div>
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<span class="s4" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">17) Clearance</span></div>
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<span class="s4" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">18) Turning Defence into Attack</span></div>
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<span class="s4" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">19) Drawing Motif: Perpetual Knight Checks</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s4"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span class="s4" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We hope to delve deeper into each of these and many more crazyhouse motifs in future instructive videos in the coming year. You can practice these puzzles and many others against the computer, or you can see the full lines and variations in the following studies:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s4"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span class="s6" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/study/sNfJA3zo" target="_blank">Candidates Study Part 1</a></span></div>
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<span class="s6" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/study/P45Cugx5" target="_blank">Candidates Study Part 2</a></span></div>
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<span class="s4" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/study/IgLrYZZl" target="_blank">Candidates Study Part 3</a></span></div>
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<span class="s4" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/study/i4uLb0OD" target="_blank">Candidates Study Part 4</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="s4"><a href="https://lichess.org/study/wxMvJCs4" target="_blank">Candidates Practice against Computer Study Part 1</a></span></span><br />
<a href="https://lichess.org/study/EdzuYJu3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;" target="_blank">Candidates Practice against Computer Study Part 2</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Wishing everyone a good New Year!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">—okei</span></div>
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okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6528983857938059465.post-41661934880112777462018-12-25T14:18:00.003-08:002018-12-26T11:41:00.853-08:00CrazyAra plays JannLee for Christmas<style type="text/css">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6_vUW0Gy0sonAnvjx79FNRIMnRnGIMLVu_b6x6UDt5hq6lmnVNX5rWQ_KA2wkuWSQ7WHLtEFfUxDQXQCD4hvqyWCCsu-E2_fWsg6II_gfPbio1jgr4DmyiXNxlPpPDEr1hYMdoFJTR0EP/s1600/CrazyAra_Logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1550" data-original-width="1550" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6_vUW0Gy0sonAnvjx79FNRIMnRnGIMLVu_b6x6UDt5hq6lmnVNX5rWQ_KA2wkuWSQ7WHLtEFfUxDQXQCD4hvqyWCCsu-E2_fWsg6II_gfPbio1jgr4DmyiXNxlPpPDEr1hYMdoFJTR0EP/s320/CrazyAra_Logo.png" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We had an equinoctial matchup at 18:00GMT on 21st December (midwinter in the Northern hemisphere and midsummer in Australia) between the neural-network based <a href="https://lichess.org/@/CrazyAra" target="_blank">CrazyAra</a> and the 2017 Crazyhouse World Champion JannLee. CrazyAra was created as part of a university project at the Technische Universität Darmstadt by Johannes Czech (<a href="https://lichess.org/@/IQ_QI" target="_blank">IQ_QI</a>), Moritz Willig (<a href="https://lichess.org/@/RiseOfLight" target="_blank">RiseOfLight</a>) & Alena Beyer inspired by the methods of AlphaZero which they were being taught as part of a masters’ course "Deep Learning: Architectures & Methods" held by Prof. Kristian Kersting and Prof. Johannes Fürnkranz in summer 2018.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Since, in crazyhouse, you can drop any piece in hand (up to 5 choices) on any unoccupied square (at least 32 choices), the number of possible moves and move sequences is several orders of magnitude higher than in regular chess. Nevertheless, it is still several orders of magnitude less than the square of the number of squares on a chessboard, so it was not too difficult to encode all these possibilities. Still, most of these possible moves are clearly not even worth considering. But how to build a program that has this intuition so that it does not waste precious time and electricity on obviously futile moves? This is where the CrazyAra neural network comes in which attempts to predict most-likely moves based on a period of training on over half a million crazyhouse games played on Lichess over a two-and-a-half year period (January 2016 – June 2018) between players both rated over 2000 in the variant. This training data featured over 25 000 games by <a href="https://lichess.org/@/mathace" target="_blank">mathace</a>, as well as over 10 000 games played by <a href="https://lichess.org/@/ciw" target="_blank">ciw</a>, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/retardedplatypus123" target="_blank">retardedplatypus123</a>, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/xuanet" target="_blank">xuanet</a>, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/dovijanic" target="_blank">dovijanic</a>, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/KyleLegion" target="_blank">KyleLegion</a>, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/JannLee" target="_blank">JannLee</a>, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/crosky" target="_blank">crosky</a>, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/mariorton" target="_blank">mariorton</a>, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/opperwezen" target="_blank">opperwezen</a>, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/saturos" target="_blank">saturos</a> & <a href="https://lichess.org/@/mastertan" target="_blank">mastertan</a>, all well-known strong regulars in the crazyhouse community. But as well as this store of learned intuition, the program also needed to be able to follow through concrete lines. For this, it uses a Monte-Carlo tree search (MCTS in the jargon) to search through all possible moves evaluating likely outcomes. While at depth 1 (one half-move deep) all possible moves are considered, the deeper it analyses, the more it draws on the neural network of intuition built up from half a million games of training data.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-converted-space">To delve deeper into the technicalities, check out the <a href="https://github.com/QueensGambit/CrazyAra" target="_blank">github</a> and <a href="https://github.com/QueensGambit/CrazyAra/wiki" target="_blank">wiki</a> pages, but we hope to explain the basic idea here. For every board position, CrazyAra compares to the neural net built up from its training on the games data to assess firstly the probabilities or <i>p</i>-values of every possible move in this position. If a move is more likely, then CrazyAra will explore that branch of the tree to a greater depth. Secondly, the neural net will try to fit the given position to the neural net produced from all the positions on which it has trained to give it a <i>q</i>-value indicating the likelihood of a win or loss (ranging from -1 for a loss to +1 for a win) from the given start position. This network <i>q</i>-value will change of course as the Monte-Carlo search tree is run depending on the <i>q</i>-values of the children nodes reached by following the most likely lines of continuation. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-converted-space">The name CrazyAra is based on a genus of South-American parrot (<i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ara_(genus)" target="_blank">ara</a></i>), the etymology of which presumably derives from the sound they make “arara...”. Parrots are intelligent animals which are able to learn from and mimic human behaviour. In the case of CrazyAra, the neural network tries to replicate human play and predict the outcome of games. In fact, the name DeepLee was originally considered as a combination of DeepMind (the British company bought up by Google which created AlphaZero) and JannLee, the World Champion who was a major inspiration for starting the project and how the second author (IQ_QI) and his collaborators were introduced to the crazyhouse variant. Crazyhouse seemed like an interesting hybrid between chess and shogi (both of which AlphaZero had learned to play) which had not been tackled before by any neural network engine. But the name DeepLee was already taken, so CrazyAra it was. Nevertheless, it was a great privilege that JannLee was willing to play it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">CrazyAra first came online on Lichess three months ago to test its mettle against members of the crazyhouse community such as <a href="https://lichess.org/@/okei">okei</a>, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/Andrey2888" target="_blank">Andrey2888</a>, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/Flourish" target="_blank">Flourish</a> and <a href="https://lichess.org/@/gsvc" target="_blank">gsvc</a>. Version 0.1 impressed with its attacking flair and opening innovations, but it was still very beatable. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy5BeLcSOfwouKOzcvzxAZ2VtxjNdVprn73w2WMup6dprldY7fLMzgTUpbzkFjQwqy8PL_FkHrq8zatl4Ni07MCi80pLdMaqf4Scn6WE4LQjOVC-h0Y9O6v1vjzYBxnT0DaJXp2sC_swOO/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-12-25+at+21.24.55.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy5BeLcSOfwouKOzcvzxAZ2VtxjNdVprn73w2WMup6dprldY7fLMzgTUpbzkFjQwqy8PL_FkHrq8zatl4Ni07MCi80pLdMaqf4Scn6WE4LQjOVC-h0Y9O6v1vjzYBxnT0DaJXp2sC_swOO/s400/Screen+Shot+2018-12-25+at+21.24.55.png" width="340" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The first author (okei) was disappointed to win only </span><a href="https://lichess.org/qfgMiARK" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;" target="_blank">one game</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> out of ten, letting slip many promising positions. In </span><a href="https://lichess.org/study/uAJmnF3w/gmTZU22x#95" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;" target="_blank">one surprising game with gsvc</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">, CrazyAra was doing very well against the Paraguayan IM who is in the top 5 in the world, but then CrazyAra help-mated herself in one and gsvc duly gave the smothered mate. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Version 0.3 came online for just 24 hours three weeks ago and was a much tougher proposition. <a href="https://lichess.org/@/TheFinnisher" target="_blank">TheFinnisher</a> was beaten 10 times before finally being the first to beat it. The programmers had completely re-written the Monte-Carlo search tree algorithm in Version 0.2 as well as completely re-training the neural network using a new <a href="https://github.com/QueensGambit/CrazyAra/wiki/Model-architecture">deeper architecture</a> (19 layers instead of 7, as well as squeeze-and-excitation modules) which not only gave better predictions but also took less time to train. Originally, it hadn't been planned to continue the project further. But the developers were surprised by the interest shown as well as the supportive attitude from the main stockfish developers for crazyhouse, <a href="https://github.com/ianfab">Fabian Fichter</a>, <a href="https://github.com/ddugovic">Daniel Dugovic</a> and well known chess-engine programmers such as <a href="https://github.com/gbtami">gbtami</a>. Version 0.3 included faster profiling, evaluating 250 nodes of the search tree per second (up from 70) and better time management thanks to feedback from gsvc, so that more obvious moves would be played more quickly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Some further tweaks were made in Version 0.3.1 which was the version that played JannLee three days ago. For example, a position already analysed previously in the Monte-Carlo tree search would not be analysed afresh if it occurred again, and the speed was upped to 300 nodes per second.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here is the live stream of the five games that CrazyAra played with JannLee. Following the video are annotated studies of each of the five games, looking from CrazyAra’s perspective.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">JannLee came into game 1 thinking, “If I'm going to have any chance against the engine, it's going to be a strategic motif, not open tactical warfare.” And so he began to probe the engine’s positional understanding but CrazyAra proved herself no slouch at strategy, gradually improving her position and grinding the game out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">Both JannLee and CrazyAra missed 22. N@f6+ with a forced mate in 3! But the actual finish was much more spectacular. Game 2 will always be remembered for the stunning tactical motif with which JannLee unclasped CrazyAra’s defences: 30. N@g6!! followed by 32. Q@d6! (although as you can see in the study, 32. Q@f6!! with the further idea of attacking g7 was even stronger).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">Game 3 was a masterclass from the engine.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">In game 4, Jann spotted a mating idea with Q@f7 followed by Qxe7+ but not being able to see the full continuation he did not follow through on his plan, and let slip what would have been a good win.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">In the given position in game 5, CrazyAra had a mate in 4! But she missed it and proceeded to let slip a dominant position as JannLee defended like only JannLee can. But just as JannLee was regaining command, he sacked a queen (which although objectively the best move it gave CrazyAra a lifeline) and then missed the critical 57. ... Q@g4+! mopping up CrazyAra’s attack. He instantly regretted it, and even more so when the discovered check on move 64 that he had calculated not to be dangerous came with a back rank threat that he had not foreseen. CrazyAra had won with a very human-like swindle.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">Check out this <a href="https://lichess.org/study/uAJmnF3w" target="_blank">CrazyAra study</a> if you would like to explore these lines and variations further or for some of the other games CrazyAra has played in training or on its two other outings to Lichess (3 weeks and 3 months ago).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As we saw, CrazyAra 0.3.1 still misses mates (not delivering a mate in 4 on its turn in game 5 as well as hanging a mate in 3 in game 2). To try to alleviate this flaw, a “blunder check” will be incorporated in future versions, running the MCTS from the opposite perspective to CrazyAra so that having chosen a candidate move to play, the program checks (as a human would do) to make sure that there is not some forcing line that loses. Also, CrazyAra has yet to undergo any self-play training, or training by playing against Stockfish or watching Stockfish play, so we imagine this will be the next big step. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">Some further ideas for improvement are (1) to adjust the probability distribution (the <i>p</i>-values) so as to expect the unexpected, paying a little more attention to seemingly less likely moves, (2) a test database of critical positions (where there is one clearly best move), so with each new improved version of CrazyAra, the developers can test if the time taken to solve the critical positions does indeed decrease on average, (3) a deeper analysis of forcing variations (especially checks & captures), to avoid the engine missing mates or winning lines, (4) in the Monte-Carlo tree search, stopping ideally at child nodes which are peaceful positions (positions with many possibly equally good moves) at which the network’s <i>q</i>-values assessing the position are likely to be more accurate and finally (5) the introduction of a free move counter. In a given position, if I do a null move, then does my opponent have forced mate? If so, I have 0 free moves as I must defend the mate in some way. If not, then can I do two null moves without being force-mated? In this case I would have 1 free move. Turning the board round, if I have more free moves than my opponent does after my move, then this gives me a license to attack. Informally speaking, if both players ignore and try to mate each other, then the player with the greater number of free moves in a given position is likely to win, especially if this number is small. This kind of counter might better hone CrazyAra’s strategic sense for when to defend and when to attack which would complement its tactical and positional strengths.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">Wishing everyone in the crazyhouse community a very merry Christmas!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">—okei & IQ_QI</span>okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6528983857938059465.post-53781420006281247882018-12-03T13:57:00.000-08:002018-12-03T14:21:12.419-08:002nd Season of the 10+10 ZH-er0 League<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As a spin-off of the Lichess4545 League organised over Slack, there is also a 10+10 crazyhouse league organised by <a href="https://lichess.org/@/Zher0" target="_blank">Zher0</a>. Each week, players play two games of 10+10 crazyhouse, one Black and one White, against their assigned opponent. Both 1.5-0.5 and 2-0 count as a win, while 1-1 is scored as a draw. The second season was recently completed, and this time I was the outright winner with 6/7, with a <a href="https://youtu.be/4w34VxkF5Sc" target="_blank">draw against Antic in second place</a> (which I live streamed at the time) as well as against <a href="https://lichess.org/@/yago666" target="_blank">yago666</a> in third. The third season is just beginning this week, but if anyone would like to join with a first-week bye, then they are welcome to sign up by contacting <a href="https://lichess.org/@/Zher0" target="_blank">Zher0</a> on the Lichess4545 Slack.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Final Standings </b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(compiled by Zher0 & Highonpotnuse)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />We enclose in this blog a study with <a href="https://lichess.org/study/fnFvWqgz" target="_blank">16 mating puzzles</a> which you can practice against the computer, as well as a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej38Dk1Rozs" target="_blank">video in which I share the puzzles on stream</a>. There is also a solutions study with shortest variations which I will share at the end of the blog. I reproduce images of the <a href="https://lichess.org/study/fnFvWqgz" target="_blank">study puzzles</a> here:</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsZgQ8-P1gsg5kPZJhAem9Y2HEk-0oqd7rLFbluwgVSURByayfbKIwunZNMc8WM5E2tbu3hcXR5c_BnidMeE3nbXF84GpRpzucWi-zi0QbTa5pZIASsWbOxh1B5mmkzVOOlDjd8tPnmTqk/s1600/Puzzle+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1088" data-original-width="1598" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsZgQ8-P1gsg5kPZJhAem9Y2HEk-0oqd7rLFbluwgVSURByayfbKIwunZNMc8WM5E2tbu3hcXR5c_BnidMeE3nbXF84GpRpzucWi-zi0QbTa5pZIASsWbOxh1B5mmkzVOOlDjd8tPnmTqk/s640/Puzzle+1.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Puzzle 1: yago666 - okei White to move</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIuVLnnkMSmQG7eZPpKj1wvkSsFqZD-7w4Q70qQx1hQgK3mRfiTreKupBdeYDW9uv6XVCw7IYBU2zww3Z9_xRWOrjzZzfdwFpM4CxE7d4t33mre2g2bFcJ_JYoNwMZv_36oR44Nel9qfxi/s1600/Puzzle+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1042" data-original-width="1600" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIuVLnnkMSmQG7eZPpKj1wvkSsFqZD-7w4Q70qQx1hQgK3mRfiTreKupBdeYDW9uv6XVCw7IYBU2zww3Z9_xRWOrjzZzfdwFpM4CxE7d4t33mre2g2bFcJ_JYoNwMZv_36oR44Nel9qfxi/s640/Puzzle+2.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Puzzle 2: Isachess - Seb32 Black to move</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWEWsKQqPTg_9zTRZT9w-7Nhyzj8LeAzVmydgM8zD41hs60iF-87MSaRPtlrF_otIBsA3nDiuJK0ry835zJm2eLEhSD8VgMrjzETTpliSimjGBNafxoOcUwNm5npjgMUtHUJMEcqOTmQSH/s1600/Puzzle+3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1060" data-original-width="1596" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWEWsKQqPTg_9zTRZT9w-7Nhyzj8LeAzVmydgM8zD41hs60iF-87MSaRPtlrF_otIBsA3nDiuJK0ry835zJm2eLEhSD8VgMrjzETTpliSimjGBNafxoOcUwNm5npjgMUtHUJMEcqOTmQSH/s640/Puzzle+3.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Puzzle 3: Isachess - Seb32 Black to move</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigWSbO7cXAO9WK3x4zROSG6wdnaz5HxMdXIforCp1W4H67vgDhMU1kGr__8ey_GoS4FycdXgeTD8gsqd7wO57FGGOWaCGlaDJ5q6dAneMHl4iIj4p4-lHBu1ohRcA-gGbYuC8diyGPiFsS/s1600/Puzzle+4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1064" data-original-width="1592" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigWSbO7cXAO9WK3x4zROSG6wdnaz5HxMdXIforCp1W4H67vgDhMU1kGr__8ey_GoS4FycdXgeTD8gsqd7wO57FGGOWaCGlaDJ5q6dAneMHl4iIj4p4-lHBu1ohRcA-gGbYuC8diyGPiFsS/s640/Puzzle+4.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Puzzle 4: FiveKnights - Zher0 White to move </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1031" data-original-width="1600" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuoElv0d_NDhxxSSFQusOsY7s8gE-NWmPVxHzvvUsZJrl1VFKa3uKOgG4fh5kCi7mYpPAHAM-lSx3Z5tfkpq2hQ5GAVpw-TDMOlFDYJI8WiTLvYYqDrJqzlsR_u7OeoB4EEtP19dnpsWxb/s640/Puzzle+6.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Puzzle 5: okei - yago666 White to move</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV9R2ttUC5l-OBSHmh_j3Ej4m-IySz_jw6aD4Mz32HRbK9zcX9hVPTe1jIIHF2ZqYt9azLtRQ2QWHXrLS84OxBgdHFE3WyLOxUFpWl7Daykahz2ltx6c8e4zPZJ1vHDMEXQ8OXBGri34il/s1600/Puzzle+5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1054" data-original-width="1600" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV9R2ttUC5l-OBSHmh_j3Ej4m-IySz_jw6aD4Mz32HRbK9zcX9hVPTe1jIIHF2ZqYt9azLtRQ2QWHXrLS84OxBgdHFE3WyLOxUFpWl7Daykahz2ltx6c8e4zPZJ1vHDMEXQ8OXBGri34il/s640/Puzzle+5.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Puzzle 6: yago666 - colwem Black to move</span></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuoElv0d_NDhxxSSFQusOsY7s8gE-NWmPVxHzvvUsZJrl1VFKa3uKOgG4fh5kCi7mYpPAHAM-lSx3Z5tfkpq2hQ5GAVpw-TDMOlFDYJI8WiTLvYYqDrJqzlsR_u7OeoB4EEtP19dnpsWxb/s1600/Puzzle+6.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil1vEqZcVOm78SQE3zpj-Yn3aiF6ipxUnbP7iqQMqg-tIElzvDp0fi8_dSfiJXfBYpoZOlJK3voKQoOk0FSpy59RGl1uJPdAHUUpAmowZPBq6o6ZDk5jsalladMW-DM_mwZyZBJtxMSTh8/s1600/Puzzle+7.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1014" data-original-width="1600" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil1vEqZcVOm78SQE3zpj-Yn3aiF6ipxUnbP7iqQMqg-tIElzvDp0fi8_dSfiJXfBYpoZOlJK3voKQoOk0FSpy59RGl1uJPdAHUUpAmowZPBq6o6ZDk5jsalladMW-DM_mwZyZBJtxMSTh8/s640/Puzzle+7.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Puzzle 7: Zher0 - gokuba White to move</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyJS6PrdT37Ki0r9YNb9SOPYuvzydyZuXvCnXeg7XgzAoF4sbpDmuF4Rs7WRBt1BqebcCiYzWTBI8FwnX0vo1EQ_WpS81oLjCSXHijl41zRETI9rxdJAd9MnIWVJMDXtOQokuY-an6zdqz/s1600/Puzzle+8.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1048" data-original-width="1600" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyJS6PrdT37Ki0r9YNb9SOPYuvzydyZuXvCnXeg7XgzAoF4sbpDmuF4Rs7WRBt1BqebcCiYzWTBI8FwnX0vo1EQ_WpS81oLjCSXHijl41zRETI9rxdJAd9MnIWVJMDXtOQokuY-an6zdqz/s640/Puzzle+8.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Puzzle 8: Antic - yago666 variation Black to move</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_KDodZcDsLQLsEEAdmseTehyphenhyphenrV69YQ5I7lQAt6tAhQ3lNPIeVuiLe-pc3SylySgDs3jNm8N5yDOOJlR7lDetrAdRhn0k34zMk0yQ7MhDW-hK32nJFFrK57KbRJBVmS5sAyVZY7li33yxq/s1600/Puzzle+9.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1076" data-original-width="1592" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_KDodZcDsLQLsEEAdmseTehyphenhyphenrV69YQ5I7lQAt6tAhQ3lNPIeVuiLe-pc3SylySgDs3jNm8N5yDOOJlR7lDetrAdRhn0k34zMk0yQ7MhDW-hK32nJFFrK57KbRJBVmS5sAyVZY7li33yxq/s640/Puzzle+9.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Puzzle 9: Antic - okei White to move</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVbXUkWzSOQOp6WnAttGwqDitxHsJBy8NensDz-CPljLkRzYr3goDVH6aOFxSPxywGq2Zkd1_uDvjgkftZxZ3sXcpmLg_BPBlHrYRgcXDuWTzoFvtzzyFNyWewLyt0O7DdTOwbOpQJ9woN/s1600/Puzzle+10.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1070" data-original-width="1600" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVbXUkWzSOQOp6WnAttGwqDitxHsJBy8NensDz-CPljLkRzYr3goDVH6aOFxSPxywGq2Zkd1_uDvjgkftZxZ3sXcpmLg_BPBlHrYRgcXDuWTzoFvtzzyFNyWewLyt0O7DdTOwbOpQJ9woN/s640/Puzzle+10.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Puzzle 10: FiveKnights - Isachess White to move, but finish the mate for Black</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDC4v1nMdCSUSuHLZhXACMPsNuzbWkaLbQsVpJd-GrJCq-2PF6h5ejDWSoooKNY43MNdH1ECma-f93BBuR5dU2-maH8gxXyPzNCgj-DVv_5mPcJ57_gcBbQ8Do6w2OHuIrlbQsT1VwKeOR/s1600/Puzzle+11.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="1600" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDC4v1nMdCSUSuHLZhXACMPsNuzbWkaLbQsVpJd-GrJCq-2PF6h5ejDWSoooKNY43MNdH1ECma-f93BBuR5dU2-maH8gxXyPzNCgj-DVv_5mPcJ57_gcBbQ8Do6w2OHuIrlbQsT1VwKeOR/s640/Puzzle+11.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Puzzle 11: Zher0 - okei variation Black to move, but finish the mate for White</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP8yAe4QQx0csx_GCjlzV3RF6Sp8nB0EM9HFDGmIx72JBJZF5F1nsL5wsZibb7u2spMtHQZF4CZMvYFDzaQVy-vzWUKli5bTufRuHFNn6Q62vZqsSXJl10kH9TC0boz2JaD-w_1bK1lPuu/s1600/Puzzle+12.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1054" data-original-width="1588" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP8yAe4QQx0csx_GCjlzV3RF6Sp8nB0EM9HFDGmIx72JBJZF5F1nsL5wsZibb7u2spMtHQZF4CZMvYFDzaQVy-vzWUKli5bTufRuHFNn6Q62vZqsSXJl10kH9TC0boz2JaD-w_1bK1lPuu/s640/Puzzle+12.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Puzzle 12: okei - Antic White to move</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A <a href="https://lichess.org/study/3sTbwYIC" target="_blank">solution study</a> with full variations included may be found <a href="https://lichess.org/study/3sTbwYIC" target="_blank">here</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">—okei</span>okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6528983857938059465.post-82050901725183942142018-11-28T16:58:00.002-08:002018-11-28T17:01:15.736-08:00IM opperwezen is the 2018 Crazyhouse World Champion!<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The CWC Final capping off the year-long Crazyhouse World Championship was won by the Challenger! While Carlsen-Caruana saw 12 draws of classical chess between them, <a href="https://lichess.org/@/opperwezen" target="_blank">opperwezen</a> and <a href="https://lichess.org/@/JannLee" target="_blank">JannLee</a> played 60 games of 3+2 spanning 3 weeks with only one draw. At the end of week 1, JannLee led 11-9. opperwezen pulled into the lead on week 2 taking it 12-8, so 2 ahead 21-19 going into week 3. Needing 9½/20 on the final day, he secured a draw to almost guarantee a decisive result and left Jann needing a streak of six to hold his title. Jann won the first two, but in the end the opper proved too strong taking the series 32½-27½ overall. Below are highlights of some of the best games, and we were joined by the man himself for the last forty minutes:</span></div>
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Oo0iVOEv4CM" width="560"></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">To re-live the action live, you can watch the live streams:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">JannLee (without commentary)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWkqJwOTBDo" target="_blank">Day 1</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUjlbpo_YrY" target="_blank">Day 2</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gji03NU1dmw" target="_blank">Day 3</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">opperwezen: (silent)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGl7BDQ4Nqw" target="_blank">Day 1</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqmDof2PUuQ" target="_blank">Day 2</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j468qw0o00" target="_blank">Day 3</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9i6xFaymqY" target="_blank">Day 1</a> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Flourish & Antic (live commentary)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/l9i6xFaymqY" width="560"></iframe><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B5duu0exrQ" target="_blank">Day 2</a> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Flourish & Antic (live commentary)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3B5duu0exrQ" width="560"></iframe><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOqteke9ZzI" target="_blank">Day 3</a> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">okei, MMichael, Flourish, Fumitoks, and others from the <a href="https://dscrd.me/housechessvariants" target="_blank">House Discord</a></span><br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nOqteke9ZzI" width="560"></iframe><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Finally, if you missed anything from the 2018 CWC, check out this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRyjH8DPuzTCbEV0J2hi4Y0jXpSXqBvh3" target="_blank">CWC 2018 playlist</a> of over 90 streams of commentary and analysis. Follow the streamers you like on YouTube. And check out all the <a href="https://zhchess.blogspot.com/p/crazyhouse-world-championship.html" target="_blank">recaps of each round</a> posted earlier on this blog with embedded puzzles and annotated games.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">—okei</span></div>
okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6528983857938059465.post-78519648962344493962018-11-24T05:26:00.002-08:002018-12-03T14:23:16.858-08:00Spot the Move! #2 Opper to Move!<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Today (Saturday 24th November) is the final day of the 2018 <a href="https://lichess.org/forum/team-crazyhouse-world-championship" target="_blank">Crazyhouse World Championship</a> and Day 3 of the <a href="https://zhchess.blogspot.com/2018/11/announcing-2018-cwc-final.html" target="_blank">Final</a> between <a href="https://lichess.org/@/opperwezen" target="_blank">opperwezen</a> and <a href="https://lichess.org/@/JannLee" target="_blank">JannLee</a> is at 1800GMT. It will be followed by an <a href="https://lichess.org/tournament/ovpJtPJw" target="_blank">Elite Arena</a> (>2100 zh on lichess) at 2100GMT and opperwezen has expressed interest to team up with Jann for some hand-and-brain crazyhouse this weekend or over the coming few days. This is also the crazyhouse week of the <a href="https://lichess.org/forum/team-fv-variants-world-cup" target="_blank">FischyVishy variant tournaments</a> on Lichess. See the crazyhouse calendar in the right sidebar for timings. But who will be crowned the Crazyhouse Champion in less than 8 hours?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://lichess.org/study/t5uWy2vf/pwM7RQca#0" target="_blank">Day 1</a> saw JannLee edge ahead 11-9 in the first 20 games. On <a href="https://lichess.org/study/t5uWy2vf/fIqCLDqO#0" target="_blank">Day 2</a>, opperwezen bounced back winning 12-8. The score therefore stands at 21-19 in favour of opper with 20 games to play. If scores are tied at 30-30 tonight, then two more games are played and again until the deadlock is broken and someone is ahead. The event will be live-streamed by <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/jannleecrazyhouse" target="_blank">JannLee</a> (with 3-minute delay and without commentary), by <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/flourish_zhouse" target="_blank">flourish_zhouse</a> with Antic, and also by myself (<a href="https://www.twitch.tv/okeizh" target="_blank">okeizh</a> on Twitch) with <a href="https://lichess.org/@/MMichael" target="_blank">MMichael</a> aka <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQBE4Mpfo-w" target="_blank">TheFinnisher</a> from the House Discord. It can also be watched directly with in-game chat on Lichess by clicking on either <a href="https://lichess.org/@/JannLee/tv" target="_blank">JannLee TV</a> or <a href="https://lichess.org/@/opperwezen/tv" target="_blank">opperwezen TV</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">For an in-depth analysis of <a href="https://lichess.org/study/t5uWy2vf/pwM7RQca#0" target="_blank">game 1 of 60</a> of the CWC Final, check out the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv_IYlrWHBQ" target="_blank">video</a> on my <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMDpi0r8-iHIchpUsBaVqDw" target="_blank">YouTube</a> and do subscribe! Also, following day 1 of the Final a fortnight ago, there was a re-enactment for the CWC of the leaked video prep of Caruana in the World Championship in this very instructive 90-minute long video sharing <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILA8Cw19D0A" target="_blank">opening ideas on how to attack weak squares</a> in crazyhouse from beginning ideas to advance. Along the way, at <a href="https://youtu.be/ILA8Cw19D0A?t=3805" target="_blank">1:03:25 - 1:09:10</a> the camera pans to a study of CWC novelties and games, specially created by opperwezen and myself for the purpose of this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILA8Cw19D0A" target="_blank">video</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As a prelude to the action on Day 3, I would like to share with you some puzzles from opperwezen’s games with JannLee, followed by hints, solutions and a link to a lichess study at the bottom with full variations. These are not necessarily mating studies, but critical positions in which opper either did or did not find the critical move (sometimes under time pressure), and we challenge you to do better! Before we begin the puzzles proper, let me share two examples where by contrast it was Jann to move against opper, with solutions included. These two are embedded on lichess so you can move the pieces, but the puzzles you will have to calculate in your head.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">White (opperwezen) has just promoted on d8 and it is Black (JannLee) to move. This was from a game back in 2016, but opper still remembers it. Jann did find the critical move! It both stops mate, as well as carrying an imminent mate threat of its own which indeed came to pass. The second example is from a recent game, and perhaps the players were unaware, but there was a critical winning move which Jann missed:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Now, in all the following positions, you are opper at the board and it is your move. You are up against the World Champion JannLee. What do you play? Write down the first move. Hints, solutions and a study with full variations follow.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbO2xDRq369qE3BHagJ-u0CWyQpO9UeGVxUmyQnOASyEz-Ok-gBlgSM54b1-W-5jD0hjdnmBt282WoPIevA8Ji0sN2shuoidoRU0E0Bmvh-KcjksHByIsLzHMgQz6tJYCgZ_swY1h7_sng/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-11-24+at+11.16.57.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1072" data-original-width="1586" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbO2xDRq369qE3BHagJ-u0CWyQpO9UeGVxUmyQnOASyEz-Ok-gBlgSM54b1-W-5jD0hjdnmBt282WoPIevA8Ji0sN2shuoidoRU0E0Bmvh-KcjksHByIsLzHMgQz6tJYCgZ_swY1h7_sng/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-11-24+at+11.16.57.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Puzzle 1</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMjwkddHBTUbx3ZN1FxjKXGMLoUXAa2TGYzgRugUbaTov4K-Yo7G4Vlgpm_Bl1oX8EeHmnAeWBSrdtlTPXTkVzgUlq1VgByQUPIGNT6ZJTGvkh5bDJa3tnK2pNis9CEwSNXgcpvPv7dvi8/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-11-24+at+11.11.25.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1074" data-original-width="1584" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMjwkddHBTUbx3ZN1FxjKXGMLoUXAa2TGYzgRugUbaTov4K-Yo7G4Vlgpm_Bl1oX8EeHmnAeWBSrdtlTPXTkVzgUlq1VgByQUPIGNT6ZJTGvkh5bDJa3tnK2pNis9CEwSNXgcpvPv7dvi8/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-11-24+at+11.11.25.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Puzzle 2</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1zXtrMGjFpqqXyte_XRKH85EcmsjqEGNMPg6iRs-9qNmIIWMtJbWgKJJDyVvtRE7MfvxNIL0btFgDu41qF09Qw0LQ7ldCdvJ8hNnHfbPimDuqjiYZS2htRVB-_V-OYj4eit2V_aREioFv/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-11-24+at+11.17.23.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1072" data-original-width="1580" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1zXtrMGjFpqqXyte_XRKH85EcmsjqEGNMPg6iRs-9qNmIIWMtJbWgKJJDyVvtRE7MfvxNIL0btFgDu41qF09Qw0LQ7ldCdvJ8hNnHfbPimDuqjiYZS2htRVB-_V-OYj4eit2V_aREioFv/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-11-24+at+11.17.23.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Puzzle 3</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1070" data-original-width="1582" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEbdogrPRd4XVodC6x8yIOBJCv-tnrL3iD2lQ3V_IfX8xr2SIe5rGTOF3DwtP2x-7I927e_eY6ioyUczTqD5JS93a8MYl4AJiS14atZ1UZMFAlot7GZKl2De9cqevI8guzTDJ4uE8HROVU/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-11-24+at+11.19.09.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Puzzle 4</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisSGEAKrePn0q84QYVp4W9mH19yafD1M9SBvrmhhjiHAq4suRTI89AIz1PUiZ_k8V5v2ckV3PSBmZIOHIiOs62Nu_yN0aj88UvafOqZ8NfZ4fjWq4d2awHrgv-Ef3M_52K7ZCzlY8gi5bN/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-11-24+at+11.23.26.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1072" data-original-width="1580" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisSGEAKrePn0q84QYVp4W9mH19yafD1M9SBvrmhhjiHAq4suRTI89AIz1PUiZ_k8V5v2ckV3PSBmZIOHIiOs62Nu_yN0aj88UvafOqZ8NfZ4fjWq4d2awHrgv-Ef3M_52K7ZCzlY8gi5bN/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-11-24+at+11.23.26.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Puzzle 5</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1596" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSXKRk8ktQQNI5HrYCCNnsFFlpUKv7eYg3OW5BJCy9H22JA59oSNpeJlwIHKnU4_gTvWmj_xC2hGEMXIysyaouIMh8umy1NAfaqnIw0HCbxkfidR6HEIfwc8H_sKGgBclDSuO9dQRcJM0N/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-11-24+at+11.23.43.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Puzzle 6</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXiUS4DkcMdBLyguSd-Dot8SqtrUMMWhy5jCJTbhqTEsfvXaGFYNYvGiptxgWqTtKkeOVwpjNclif81mCroCq_4cr1WRrEcJxx1M0FIUiHVciwAnsLtv1x753HhwVonp57aZTXSRkuEMSc/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-11-24+at+11.23.58.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1075" data-original-width="1600" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXiUS4DkcMdBLyguSd-Dot8SqtrUMMWhy5jCJTbhqTEsfvXaGFYNYvGiptxgWqTtKkeOVwpjNclif81mCroCq_4cr1WRrEcJxx1M0FIUiHVciwAnsLtv1x753HhwVonp57aZTXSRkuEMSc/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-11-24+at+11.23.58.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Puzzle 7</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGW0G0eP_VnkiVsyY43WAgYjQoWoSJm7Wn3mlG97n-mgPcvSwipI4Tc-Y-LIIuiJROmE37iyp42Pan7RWXP3t1MkFQH-NIBshh1RwJAd0cpkX8PtCfhkH1-z8m_W1TR8KmMZEklTWwHLfX/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-11-24+at+11.24.17.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1074" data-original-width="1580" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGW0G0eP_VnkiVsyY43WAgYjQoWoSJm7Wn3mlG97n-mgPcvSwipI4Tc-Y-LIIuiJROmE37iyp42Pan7RWXP3t1MkFQH-NIBshh1RwJAd0cpkX8PtCfhkH1-z8m_W1TR8KmMZEklTWwHLfX/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-11-24+at+11.24.17.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Puzzle 8</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwSnUPH8YtUJ4kDJ4oTmhP0QLdx0ot9FsBimiW8UnS2nTxBG4E1By0M8SSKpRurU3-YxCdvQ-BHmnDAJEnMJfKbkERLxl66MMGBnEwEFYgtKXmknCu7aDjIQ4TkEgo4dwBtvPPplcXgjt3/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-11-24+at+11.24.33.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1072" data-original-width="1598" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwSnUPH8YtUJ4kDJ4oTmhP0QLdx0ot9FsBimiW8UnS2nTxBG4E1By0M8SSKpRurU3-YxCdvQ-BHmnDAJEnMJfKbkERLxl66MMGBnEwEFYgtKXmknCu7aDjIQ4TkEgo4dwBtvPPplcXgjt3/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-11-24+at+11.24.33.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Puzzle 9</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaLJVpHM7EKkQfwvPowKc1Wfpa35eIkBZzh2olkO4WJUvV3zm9y_BWn-1zuU60U2RYk7R7XJCblKcVYwWGLlDSoKQMD1RZX1BNmlI6dSwOGM0OmrI8vBU_Zj-liB2JyoqWqR9BWKb-DUer/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-11-24+at+11.25.09.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1584" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaLJVpHM7EKkQfwvPowKc1Wfpa35eIkBZzh2olkO4WJUvV3zm9y_BWn-1zuU60U2RYk7R7XJCblKcVYwWGLlDSoKQMD1RZX1BNmlI6dSwOGM0OmrI8vBU_Zj-liB2JyoqWqR9BWKb-DUer/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-11-24+at+11.25.09.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Puzzle 10</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKv9vwah5LB3bIPvvMF37y2q4nJ30JxcjSI7LfbrPq1C-0rPDrkRj-_HOrVWVeBsC5fxi_8Q6F1UwIs8O-8MMRo3WkvyQ-IN9E5azOiyNS42jenZUXCuxQg1dPfIzEu31Sw3MBUFTE1tYW/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-11-24+at+11.25.20.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1078" data-original-width="1584" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKv9vwah5LB3bIPvvMF37y2q4nJ30JxcjSI7LfbrPq1C-0rPDrkRj-_HOrVWVeBsC5fxi_8Q6F1UwIs8O-8MMRo3WkvyQ-IN9E5azOiyNS42jenZUXCuxQg1dPfIzEu31Sw3MBUFTE1tYW/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-11-24+at+11.25.20.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Puzzle 11</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Puzzle 12</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Hints</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Puzzle 1: </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Don’t give up the centre!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Puzzle 2: </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Develop with tempo!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Puzzle 3: </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The threat is sometimes stronger than the execution!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Puzzle 4: </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Defend with a counter-attack!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Puzzle 5: </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Take advantage of the opponent’s lack of development!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Puzzle 6: </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Maintain initiative!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Puzzle 7: </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sacrifice to make a breakthrough!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Puzzle 8: </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Pawns are the matches to ignite a mating attack!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Puzzle 9: </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Distract the defender!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Puzzle 10: </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Attack the back rank!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Puzzle 11: </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Create weaknesses!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Puzzle 12: </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Know your mating patterns!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Solutions</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Puzzle 1: d4! opper found the move twice in 2017, but subsequently missed it once in 2018. 8. Bxd4+ is the sharpest continuation for Black, followed by Qh4+, although this has never been played yet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Puzzle 2: Bd6! opper missed the move! Nxd3 Bxd3 @b7 0-0 bxa8=Q is the sharpest continuation for White, but then Black has QxBa4!! QxQa4 B@b5 with multiple threats and Black is better.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Puzzle 3: NxNe5! followed by N@f7 recycling the threat. NxQd8 may also be equally good, so let’s count that as correct also. But opper missed the move, taking the rook which is certainly worse.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Puzzle 4: N@e2+! followed by @f3! attacking the White squares on which the White king must hide, dxQe7 can be met with fxg2+ Kxg2 @f3+ Kh1 BxPe7. White may have a queen on the board and a queen in hand, but RxNe2 is practically forced after which @g2 Kg1 fxRe2 and Black has three pawns on the second rank with a rook in hand and a fourth pawn threatening cxb2. opper missed the move.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Puzzle 5: Nd5! Black’s only defence of c7 is Kd8, after which Nxc7! anyway. Kxc7 falls to a mate in 11! There is a sharper defence in the <a href="https://lichess.org/study/bbt0D9tP/kQkMziKG#18" target="_blank">study</a>, but it still loses the Black queen. opper found the move!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Puzzle 6: Qxg5! Bxg5? falls to a beautiful knight mate. Can you spot it? opper found the move!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Puzzle 7: N@c5! dxc5 allows a stunning queen sacrifice Qxc7+!! followed by Nb5 which is mating. Ke8! is the best response from Black, but after Q@d7+ Kf8 QxNc6, White is clearly better. opper missed the move.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Puzzle 8: @f3+! Qxf3 or Kxf3! are both met by dxe4! and the former is worse because the threat is N@g1!! opper missed the move.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Puzzle 9: Q@h4! Taking the queen lets go of defence of f7, but not taking leads to a queen trade and the potential Q@g8+! followed by a double-take smother on f7. opper found the move!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Puzzle 10: Q@e7! BxQd1 falls to QxRf8 followed by R@h8+, R@e8+ Nxh7+ and @e7#, or even better R@h8+!! Kxh8 QxRf8 followed by Nxf7 with the smother. opper found the move!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Puzzle 11: N@h6+! is crushing for White, creating a weakness on g7. White may later even sacrifice his queen on g7 and finish with a minor piece mate. opper missed the move.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Puzzle 12: N@h3! White’s sharpest defence to stop R@g1# is B@g1, but then Black has NxBf4 and an inevitably mating attack via h3 and g2 although it could take over 20 more moves with best defence. This final puzzle was taken from a 97-move 3+2 game in April 2018. opper missed the move and Jann ultimately clinched the game.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In conclusion, opper hit a home run on 4 of these 12 critical positions. Bear in mind, a lot of these games were 1+0 zh and the opper of today would no doubt score much higher. How many did you manage? Check out the <a href="https://lichess.org/study/bbt0D9tP" target="_blank">Opper to Move! Puzzle Study</a> to play through any variations you might have been curious to delve deeper into. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">—okei</span></div>
okeihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14977365975861176505noreply@blogger.com0