Pandolf test 9 Tutorial



1.
[{B:2b4r/1p1p2k1/4rbpp/pN1Q1p2/P1P5/8/4RPPP/6K1}
{VB:Question 1 of 7. What is White's best move?;
b5d6;Correct. This paralyzes Black. Now 1... Rxe2 is prohibited because of mate at f7. If Black tries to keep it together with 1... Rd8, White guards his Rook (2. Kf1) and then captures on c8, breaking through on d7.:5;
Incorrect.;
e2e3:This is not the best move. Not a bad move, especially since 1... Rxe3 2. fxe3 Re8 still allows White to follow through in the right way -- with the correct move.:2;
e2e6:This is not the best move. With this move White saves his Rook, but in a way that helps out Black. White must be on alert after 1... dxe6, since 2. Qd6? Rd8 3. Qc7+ Rd7 wins for Black. How is White to save his Queen while preventing mate at d1?:1;
g1f1:This is not the best move. Defends the Rook, but Black remains in the game after 1... Rxe2 2. Kxe2 Re8+, when his cornered Rook becomes active.:1; 
b5d4:Incorrect and backwards. That's the wrong direction, even for a Knight. Black breathes on with 1... Rxe2 2. Nxe2 Re8.:0}]

2.
[{B:8/6p1/3b2kp/8/2r4P/5R1P/6K1/1N6 BLACK}
{VB:Question 2 of 7. What is Black's best move?;
c4c2;Correct. This forces a Rook trade, for 2. Kg1 Bc5+ leads to the gain of the Knight.:5;
Incorrect.{JD:4};
c4h4:This is not the best move. Black gains the doubled h-pawn, but with all the pawns on the same wing, White has reasonable chances to draw.{JD:4}:2;
g6h5:This is not the best move. A pesky invasion that forces White to stay on his toes, but Black can do even better than this.{JD:4}:2;
c4c1:Incorrect. Attacks the Knight, but assuming the laws of physics are the same on every chessboard (see Einstein), the Knight can move to safety.{JD:4}:0;
c4b4:Incorrect. White now can activate his Knight and Black gets nowhere. Go back to star's end, square one.{JD:4}:0}]

3.
[{S:f3f2}{D:250}{S:c2f2}{D:250}{S:g2f2}{M:B}
{VB:Question 2 (cont). After.1... Rc2+ 2. Rf2 Rxf2+ 3. Kxf2, how can Black establish control?;
d6b4;Correct. The Bishop corrals the Knight, leaving it without a safe move. Black will now use his superior mobility to force a win, with White's Knight unable to contribute. This example points out that you don't have to win material right away to get a winning hand. In some instances exchanges can be done strategically, so that the game reduces to a situation where one side's remaining pieces are dominant.:5;
Incorrect.}]

4.
[{B:r4rk1/p1p3pp/2p1b3/2qpPp2/5P2/1PNQ3P/1PP3PK/4RR2}
{VB:Question 3 of 7. What is White's best move?;
c3a4;Correct. Black's Queen must surrender the a7-g1 diagonal.:5;
Incorrect.{JD:6};
c3e2:Incorrect. The Knight heads for d4, but by retreating the Queen to e7, Black can follow with the advance of the c-pawn, usurping d4.{JD:6}:0;
f1f3:Incorrect. A Rook lift, planning to transfer the attack over to the g-file, but don't count on its success.{JD:6}:0;
f1g1:Incorrect. White aims to move up the g-pawn to create Kingside attacking chances, but moving the g-pawn is not an immediate threat because of the potential vulnerability of White's f-pawn.{JD:6}:0;
e1e3:Incorrect. True, the fork 1... d4 doesn't work because of 2. Na4, but White isn't going to win the game because of Re1-e3 anyway. Analyze something else.{JD:6}:0}]

5.
[{M:W}{S:c5b5}
{VB:Question 3 (cont). Whether Black's Queen shifts over (1... Qb5) or retreats (1... Qe7) how should White clamp down?;
d3d4;Correct. Black is unable to advance his doubled c-pawn and White's Knight enters on the tasty square c5, supported by her majesty from d4. At c5 the Knight will exert tremendous pressure over Black's game, and Black will be unable to dislodge it. As a strategic rule, Knights tend to get the better of Bishops when they can occupy squares on the fifth rank unassailably.:10;
Incorrect.}]

6.
[{B:2r5/1b2kp2/p4np1/1p1p2Bp/3N3P/4P3/PP3PP1/3R3K}
{VB:Question 4 of 7. What is White's best move?;
h1h2;Correct. White's plan is simple. He's going to march his King up to e5, attacking the pinned Knight for a second time, and leaving Black with a problem. If he repositions his Rook to d8, in order to shift to d6 to relieve the pressure on f6, White's Rook acquires the c-file ( Rd1-c1) and invades (Rc1-c7). This shows the value of maintaining a pin. It ties down the opponent's pieces to defense and general passivity. By keeping a pin you reduce your opponent's options.:15;
Incorrect.;
f2f3:This is not the best move. The point of this move is to advance the King-pawn to e4 and then e5, attacking the pinned Knight. But Black can station his Rook at d8, so that by exchanging on e4 in a timely manner he activates his Rook and obtains enough counterplay to attempt survival.:1;
d1d2:This is not the best move. White guards his second rank, but he has much better options. Instead he can aim to win a piece.:1;
d4b3:This is not the best move. Threatening to infiltrate at a5, annoying the Bishop, but the Bishop is not so easily annoyed, and this is not a winning idea.:1;
g5f6:Incorrect. Why relieve the pressure on Black's position by exchanging pieces? It makes more sense to retain the Bishop to keep Black's Knight pinned. By keeping the pin, White has a chance to win the Knight for free.:0}]

7.
[{B:r4rk1/4bppp/pqbp1n2/1p2pPB1/4P3/1BNQ4/PPP3PP/R4R1K}
{VB:Question 5 of 7. What is White's most strategic continuation?;
g5f6;Correct. White takes the Knight to secure the square d5.:5;
Incorrect.{JD:9};
c3d5:This is not the best move. There are some tricks here, but Black still stands after 1... Bxd5. There's better.{JD:9}:1;
b3d5:This is not the best move. Black does fine with 1... Bxd5, when the interposition 2. Bxf6 fails to 
2... Bc4. Look for another move.{JD:9}:1;
a2a4:This is not the best move. Black has several ways to meet this thrust, including pushing past, 
1... b5-b4. White has a much finer first move. Find it.{JD:9}:1;
g5e3:Incorrect.White hereby attacks the opposing Queen, but this is fighting the wrong fight. The real contest is the battle for the square d5, and the move Bg5-e3 doesn't make it.{JD:9}:0}]

8.
[{M:W}{S:e7f6}
{VB:Question 5 (cont). What is White's continuation after Black takes back, 1... Bxf6?;
b3d5;Correct. By this move White trades off the piece Black is counting on to keep out White's Knight -- namely, the c6-Bishop. After the Bishops are exchanged the c3-Knight occupies d5, and White has a strategically won position.:10;
Incorrect.}]

9.
[{B:2k5/1p6/16/5n2/2B4b/7P/6KR BLACK}
{VB:Question 6 of 7. What is Black's best move? Prepare to play the supportive second move, showing that you understand the concept.;
f4d3;Correct. This traps the opposing King, reducing White to Bishop moves.:10;
Incorrect.{JD:11};
f4e2:This is not the best move. This fork seems to win the Bishop, but after 2. Kf2 Nxc3 3. Rc1 we don't envy Black in this position. Don't be so materialistic, unless you can get away with it.{JD:11}:2;
h3g2:This is not the best move. Black wins back the exchange, but in so doing frees White's pawn for adventure. Don't let the lion out of his den.{JD:11}:1;
f4d5:Incorrect. Why bother to attack the Bishop when you can actually capture it by force? The answer is more subtle than that.{JD:11}:0;
c8d7:Incorrect. Removing his King from the c-file hoping to give a fork at e2, but this isn't going to happen. White merely activates his King to f2 and frees his pieces.{JD:11}:0;
b7b5:Incorrect. The pawn is going nowhere. White now rejuvenates his forces with 2. Kf2, and the Rook is ready for action.{JD:11}:0}]

10.
[{M:B}{S:c3a5}
{VB:Question 6 (cont). After 1. Ba5, how does Black set up the win?;
c8d7;Correct. Not the only move that achieves the goal, but the one most relevant to the winning idea. Black triumphs first by eventually moving his King to e2 and then by maneuvering his Knight to f3. White is helpless to stop this, as in the variation-- 3. Bb6 Ke6 4. Ba5 Kf5 5. Bb6 Ke4 6. Ba5 Kf3 7. Bb4 Ke2 8. Bc3 b6 (or 8... b5), when the Bishop must surrender control of either e1 or e5. Whichever one becomes available is used by the Knight to transfer to f3 for mate.:10;
Incorrect.}]

11.
[{B:32/3k4/8/P2P4/1nbK4 BLACK}
{VB:Question 7 of 7. What is Black's best continuation?;
c1b2;Correct. This temporarily saves the Bishop and threatens to salvage the Knight at a3. Black will then be able to win by picking off White's pawns and forcing an eventual mate.:10;
Incorrect.{JD:-1};
c1d2:This is not the best move. Black acquires the d-pawn, but White obtains one of the minor pieces by 2. Kc2, after which there is no forced way to win.{JD:-1}:2;
c1a3:This is not the best move. Looks good for one move, until White plays 2. Kc2, winning the Knight. Instead, look for something that doesn't look good at all.{JD:-1}:1;
b1d2:Incorrect. This drops the Bishop at once to 2. Kxc1. The game is then drawn because of insufficient mating material.{JD:-1}:0;
d4d3:Incorrect. Don't expect any points for losing a piece (2. Kxc1), especially without a good reason. Forget reason, find a good move.{JD:-1}:0}]

12.
[{M:B}{S:d1c2}
{VB:Question 7 (cont). White must play 2. Kc2. How does Black set up a win?;
b2a3;Correct.:6;
Incorrect.{JD:-1}}]

13.
[{M:B}{S:c2b1}
{VB:Question 7 (cont). White essentially must take the Knight, 3. Kxb1. What is Black's next move?;
d4d3;Correct.:2;
Incorrect.{JD:-1}}]

14.
[{M:B}{S:b1a1}
{VB:Question 7 (cont). White has but one legal move, 4. Ka1. How does Black continue?;
d3c2;Correct. However White moves his d-pawn, either one or two squares, Black then mates with the Bishop going to b2.:2; 
Incorrect.}]
