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’.
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Diagram No. 291 (black to move)
Black pieces are in the centre, white are trying to surround! Whose plan is better?
1… FG5!! (the best move) 2.DC3 DE5! 3.FG3 ED4! (It is possible to play 3… GH4 4.BC5 HF2 5.GG3 HF4 6.CB6 CD6 7.BC7 FG3! Draw.) 4.CE5 FD6 5.GH4 GF4 6.BC5 DB4 7.AC7 FE7! 8.GF2 EF6! 9.CB4 CD6 10.BA5 DE5! 11.AB6 FE3 12.FD4 EC3 13.BC7 BD6 14.AB8 DC5 15.HG5! HF4 16.BG3 CB2 17.GF2 CB4. Draw. |
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Diagram No. 292
White have to defend the piece on E5.
1.BA3!! HG5! (the best move) 2.GF4 GE3 3.FB6 AC5 4.ED2 FE7 5.ED6! (the best move) EF6 6.DB4 AE1 7.GF2 EG3 8.HF4 GH6 9.AB4! Draw. |
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Diagram No. 293 (black to move)
White have a very strong central position, so black have to make a draw!
1… BC5 2.DB6 AC7 3.GF3 ED6! (the best move) 4.ED4 GF6 5.EG7 HF8 6.DC3! CB6!! 7.BA3! BC7!! (the best move) 8.DE5 (If 8.CB4, BA5 9.BC5 DB4 10.AC5 CD6 11.CE7 FD6 12.DE5 AB4! 13.EC7 BC3! Draw. If 8.FE3, BA5 9.AB4 CB6 10.DE5 BC5 11.EC7 CA3 12.CB8 AB4! 13.CA5 AB2, draw) 8… FG7! 9.FE3 BA5! 10.ED4 HG3! 11.FH2 DF4 12.DC5 FE3 13.CB6 EF2 14.BD8 FG1, draw. |
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Diagram No. 294
White pieces are in the centre, but they have to think, how to make a draw!
1.FE5!! (It is possible to play 1.GF2 HG5 2.ED6!! (the best move) CE7 3.AB4 ED6 4.DE5 DD2 5.CE1 AC3 6.ED2! Draw.) 1… FD4 2.CE5 HG5 3.GF2 GE7 4.CD4 ED6 5.HG3 AB4 6.GF4 BC3 7.DB2 BA5 8.BC3 DE7 9.CD4 CB4 10.AC5 DB4 11.DE5 BA3 12.EF6! Draw. |
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Diagram No. 295 (black to move)
In a bad position black have found a good draw!
1… CD4!! (the best move) 2.FG5 DB2 3.AC1 DE7 4.BC5 DB4 5.AC3 AB6 6.CD4!! (the best move) EC3 7.GH4 BC5 8.GF6 EG5 9.HF6 CD6! 10.FG7 BA7!! (the only move) 11.GH8 CD2 12.CE3 CD6. Draw.
If 11.GF8, then CB4 12.FA3 CB2, draw.
If 11.FG3, then DE5, draw. |
