Tactics Time Chess Newsletter: Postcard from the Beach!

Published: Thu, 06/20/13

Day at the Beach
Hey there, -- I am currently in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, spending a week at the beach w my family. It is a pretty big group here with my mom, my sister, her husband, their three kids, his mom and dad, and my girlfriend and her daughter!  We are here for a week, and having a good time!

I brought along a chess set, which I gave to my sister's kids.  I won it in the last round of the National Open, the previous weekend in Las Vegas.  They have a nice tradition there where the person who wins the 6th round game gets to keep the board and set.  Since I already have a set, I brought it along with me to give to them.  I also attempted to teach them how to play.

Novotny Tactic - White to Move
Notviny
I learned a new chess term this week while reading the book 1001 Chess Exercises for Beginners. 

New in Chess sent me a copy of this book, and I really like it.  The paper back version of my  Tactics Time 1001 book is going to have a similar design to it. 

Many of the problems I had seen before in other tactics collections, but it was a nice book to read at the beach. 

The position the the left is an example of a Novotny.  It is problem #136 in the book.

From Wikipedia:

The Novotny (also often spelled as Nowotny, even in non-German sources) is a device found in chess problems named after its discoverer Antonín Novotný.

A white piece is sacrificed on a square where it could be taken by two different black pieces - whichever black piece makes the capture, it interferes with the other.

This pattern can arise as part of a combination in an actual game, but it is extremely rare. Most chess players would not use the term "Novotny" to describe such a move, since that term is almost exclusively used in the context of chess problems.
My girlfriend Mia, on the left, was teaching some Yoga on the beach to her daughter Milena (second from the left), my niece Abby (third from the left) and me. - I think I should stick to chess - my "tree pose" looks more like a "Captain Morgan" pose!
Study Endgames?
Image
I have been getting some good feedback about a blog post/rant that I wrote last week about the study of tactics vs the study of endgames for chess improvement.

Tim Hanke had written a blog post called "Study Endgames", and this blog post was a response to that. 

Check it out, and let me know what you think in the comments section!
Summer Solstice Tournament
Friday is officially the first day of summer.  Randy Reynolds is holding a new tournament this weekend called the 1st Annual Summer Solstice Showdown, June 22 - 23, 2013 in Loveland CO, for those of you in Colorado.  Randy always puts on a good show and is a great TD, and I highly recommend his events.  I will be traveling back from the beach that day, otherwise I would be there!
Answer
1. d4!! the Novotny theme: either capture on d4 will obstruct the action of the other black piece. 1...hxg6 [ 1...Rxd4 2. Ne5#; 1...Bxd4 2. Nd2#] 2. Nd2# (study by Troitsky).