R Is For Removal IV

Game Of The Week

A couple years back, I came up with a method to organize chess tactics.  I called it the DROP Method (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2012/03/drop-method.html).  The DROP method is an acronym for the basic kinds of tactics.  It is meant to remind you not to drop your pieces and help you get your opponent to drop theirs.

I said that the DROP Method was a work in progress, and it was.  So, I thought I would revisit each of the four kinds of chess tactics to provide more examples.  The first kind of tactic in the DROP Method is Discovery, which I revisited on March 14th (https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/2015/03/d-is-for-discovery-iii.html).  The second kind of tactic in the DROP Method is Removal.

Removal is a chess move that attacks a support.

The Removal is played when the player stops an opponent's piece from supporting the actual target.  The supporting piece will typically be of an equal or lesser value than the attacking piece.  However, the Removal can give up material, as the protection on the real target is now gone and creates a second attack that cannot be defended.

The target can be the King (Mate threat), a valuable piece (Material threat), or even a square (Mobility threat).

Different types of Removals are referred to by different names, but the idea is the same:  The support of the target is removed.  Here are some names for the different types of Removal:

• Clearance (Removal by passing support)
• Deflection (Removal by forcing support to move)
• Interference (Removal by interposition; Interception)
• Undermining (Removal by capturing support; trade)
• Sacrifice (Removal by capturing support; Exchange; Greek Gift, Desperado)

Here is an example from a game in the April Swiss at the Colorado Springs Chess Club.   Now that I have become a tournament director (TD), I can collect the score sheets and find lots of examples of tactics like this one.

NM Richard "Buck" Buchanan has been an officer of the chess club and a TD since I have been playing rated chess.  He encouraged me to get certified as a club TD.  Perhaps, the reason he wanted me to become a TD was because I would have access to his wins over other people and less likely to publish my victories over him.  Buck has suffered the most from my policy of publishing all my upset wins.

Well, he didn't quite get the win in this game, but he should have.  Here he finds the killer tactic but misses the subtle endgame win.  See if you can get both.

Black to move

The Removal is played by checking the King (43...Bb4+)!  The King has no way to guard the Knight anymore and has to capture the Bishop.  The Black King captures the Knight and is still in position to stop a Passed Pawn on the King-side.  However, the White King is unable to stop a Passed Pawn from Promotion with the 3 to 2 Pawn Majority.

"The passed Pawn is a criminal, who should be kept under lock and key. Mild measures, such as police surveillance, are not sufficient."

Aaron Nimzovich

R Is For Removal IV

[Event "CSCC April Swiss 75"]
[Site "https://cschessnews.blogspot.com/"]
[Date "2015.04.14"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Bozhenov, Aleksand"]
[Black "Buchanan, Richard"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C28"]
[WhiteElo "1877"]
[BlackElo "2000"]
[PlyCount "125"]
[EventDate "2015.04.07"]
[TimeControl "4500+30"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Nc6 4. d3 Be7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. h3 Na5 8. Qe2 Nxc4 9. dxc4 c6 10. b3 Qc7 11. Bb2 Nh5 12. Bc1 Nf6 13. Be3 Be6 14. Ng5 Rad8 15. f4 exf4 16. Bxf4 Qc8 17. Rad1 h6 18. Nxe6 Qxe6 19. e5 dxe5 20. Qxe5 Qxe5 21. Bxe5 Rxd1 22. Rxd1 Rd8 23. Rxd8+ Bxd8 24. c5 Nd7 25. Bd4 f5 26. Kf2 Kf7 27. b4 g6 28. a4 Be7 29. Ke3 Ke6 30. Bg7 h5 31. Kd4 a5 32. bxa5 Nxc5 33. Kc4 Na6 34. Bd4 Nb4 35. Kb3 c5 36. Be3 Ke5 37. Kc4 Na6 38. Kb5 f4 39. Bg1 Bd8 40. Bxc5 Nxc5 41. Kxc5 Bxa5 42. Nb5 g5 43. Nd6 Bb4+ 44. Kxb4 Kxd6 45. Kc4 Ke5 46. Kd3 g4 47. hxg4 hxg4 48. c4 f3 49. gxf3 gxf3 50. Ke3 f2 51. Kxf2 Kd4 52. Ke2 Kxc4 53. Kd2 Kb4 54. Kc2 Kxa4 55. Kb2 Kb4 56. Kc2 Ka3 57. Kc3 b5 58. Kc2 Ka4 59. Kc3 Ka3 60. Kc2 Kb4 61. Kb2 Kc4 62. Kc2 b4 63. Kb2 1/2-1/2

https://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game-replayer.php?id=101282

This Week In Chess

On April 14th, the Colorado Springs Chess Club hosted the April Swiss 75 (4SS, G/75+30, $10 entry).  8 players battled on 4 boards this evening.

Here are the results:

Score, Player

2.0 Rhett Langseth
2.0 Mark McGough
1.5 Richard Buchanan
1.5 Aleksand Bozhenov
1.0 Paul Dou Anderson
1.0 Brian Jo Rountree
1.0 Jordan Myers
0.5 Dean W Brown
0.5 Federico Carreon
0.0 Justice Myers
0.0 Dan Prutz