A case of chess-blindness?

[MJMcCready]

Hi all, does anyone know which move is being referred to here and what the consequences of Karpov's mistake were?

April 30th 1982-crop.jpg

The game referred to can be found below.

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1068238

[Mike Truran]

The move referred to is 40. Nf1. Karpov should have played 40. Ne2. The consequence of Karpov's mistake was the loss of the game.

[MJMcCready]

Ah okay I thought that was the move in question. So Karpov didn't actually move the knight incorrectly or anything like that, he just blundered? I wasn't sure what was meant by 'wrong square'.

[Barry Sandercock]

Interesting. I remember playing Tom Sweby, back in the 60's.

[MJMcCready]

Aha, may I pm you about that?

[Roger de Coverly]

I wasn't sure what was meant by 'wrong square'.

The Knight (on g3) had just been hit by .. h4, so there was an apparent choice of the h1 or f1 squares. However on his previous move Korchnoi had responded to a hit on his queen by retreating it to d5, whereupon Karpov could have played Ne2, which though en prise to a passed pawn on d3 was also pinned to the undefended queen on d5.

So wrong square in the sense of forced move but blunder. You might use the same expression in a number of analytical circumstances.

[Barry Sandercock]

MJMcCready wrote:
Aha, may I pm you about that?

i would prefer it, if you put it on here. I have great difficulty finding the pm's. I am 84 and this modern technology soon gets the better of me.

[MJMcCready]

MJMcCready wrote:
Aha, may I pm you about that?

i would prefer it, if you put it on here. I have great difficulty finding the pm's. I am 84 and this modern technology soon gets the better of me.

Okay, well in my cheekiness which in truth was more of an attempt to stop the thread going off topic, I sent the pm without your permission, however, I was wondering if you could remember much of the aforementioned game, for example, when, where, and result. At present I am writing a post which incorporates much of Tom Sweby's writings, in fact when I returned home recently I spent about 20 hours with the microfilm on which his old chess column is kept but I have almost no info on his activities in the fifties. I have some info of his political movements within the SCCU and BCF but in terms of his games and play, I have nothing. Being located abroad, I do not have access to things like rating lists, so I don't yet have a rating for him and have to make do with estimations from past friends and opponents. I was hoping to locate one or two of his games but again this is proving to be very difficult indeed.

[MJMcCready]

I wasn't sure what was meant by 'wrong square'.

The Knight (on g3) had just been hit by .. h4, so there was an apparent choice of the h1 or f1 squares. However on his previous move Korchnoi had responded to a hit on his queen by retreating it to d5, whereupon Karpov could have played Ne2, which though en prise to a passed pawn on d3 was also pinned to the undefended queen on d5.

So wrong square in the sense of forced move but blunder. You might use the same expression in a number of analytical circumstances.

I had visions that Karpov had moved the knight diagonally or something but this was perhaps influenced by a tale in The Complete Chess Addict where Korchnoi once asked an arbiter if he could castle whilst his rook was under attack.

[Gordon Cadden]

Known as Amaurosis Scacchistica. Frank Marshall was material down against Capablanca in the endgame, but missed a Queen skewer on the long diagonal.

[Mike Truran]

A phrase that I believe is one of Dr Tarrasch's?

[John Townsend]

Amaurosis seems to be a degenerative disease. Since chess blindness is usually only temporary, perhaps caecitas scacchistica is a more accurate description of the condition.

[Reg Clucas]

chess blindness is usually only temporary

Not for some of us!

[Clive Blackburn]

Out of interest, I wonder how unsighted chess players refer to the phenomenon of chess blindness? Do they have a different expression for it?

[MJMcCready]

Out of interest, I wonder how unsighted chess players refer to the phenomenon of chess blindness? Do they have a different expression for it?

Good point.