A fragment from the book by Y. Kirillov ‘Искусство защиты’. Part 48

05.02.2025

It is not always possible to come out of the opening with the best position and at the end to fight for the victory, you also have to defend. Sometimes it seems that the position is already ‘impossible to save’, after a while you will have to give up, but there is the only plan that still leads to a cherished draw.

The art of defense in the draughts game is certainly one of the indicators of the player’s skill. We express our gratitude to Yuri Kirillov for the book of paradoxically drawish positions ‘Искусство защиты’. Perhaps in this book you will find the game that was ‘not saved’.

Diagram No. 241 (black to move)

1… BA7!  2.CD4! AB4!!  3.BA3 DC5  4.DB6 AC5  5.FE5! (the best move)  GF4  6.EG3 BC3  7.GF4 CB4  8.AC5 CB2  9.FE5 BA1  10.ED6 AH8!  11.GH2!! (the only move)  (If 11.DE7, then HG3  12.FH4 HF6! Draw.)  11… HD4  12.DE7 DA7  13.ED8 (If 13.EF8, then 14.HG3!! Draw.) HG5. Draw.

Diagram No. 242 (black to move)

Black have found a good defence.
1… FG7! (the only move)  ED4! (Var 2.FE5! FD4  3.EC5 GF6  4.DC3!! FE5  5.CB4 ED4  6.CE AC5  7.FG3 AB6!  8.AC7 DB6  9.GH4 BA5  10.EF4 CD4  11.HG5 AB4  12.GH6 BC3  13.FG5 EF6!!  14.GE7 DE3  15.HG7 CD2! Draw.)  2… AB6!!  3.AC7 DB6  4.DE3 BA5  5.DC5 AB4  6.CB6 BC3  7.BA7 ED6! (the only move)  8.FG5 FH4  9.AB8 DC5  10.BH2 GF6!!  11.CD2 CG3  12.HH8 HG3!! Draw.

Diagram No. 243 (black to move)

White have found a good defence.
1… DC5!  2.DE3 CD6  3.CB4 BA5  4.DB6 AC3  5.BC7 FG5  6.CE5 BC7!  7.AB4!! CA5  8.EF2 AB4  9.FG3 GH4  10.EF6 HD4  11.FE7 DC3  12.ED8 CD6  13.DA5 DC5  14.FE5 HG5  15.AD8 GF4  16.EG3 BA3  17.GF4 CB2  18.FE5, draw.

Diagram No. 244

White have found a good plan, which makes a draw for black hardly achievable.
 1. HG5!! FH4  2.EF2! HG3!!  3.FH2 (3.FH4 FE7  4.HG7 DE3  5.FD2 EF6  6.GE7 DF4, draw)  3… DE5  4.FG3 DE3  5.GF4 EG3  6.HD2 CD6  7.BA3 DE5. Draw. 

Diagram No. 245 (black to move)

Black have found a good plan, which makes a draw for white hardly achievable.
1…. FE5!  2.DF6 EG5  3.GF2 DE7  4.HG3! CB6  5.CD6! EC5  6.ED2 BA5  7.DE3 AB4  8.GF4. Draw.

 

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