English Chess Forum

Can a lecture also be considered an event?

Yes.

Michael Farthing wrote:

soheil_hooshdaran wrote:

Michael Farthing wrote:In this position the bishop would be more powerful than the rook.

Really?

There are some in this and other threads that are clearly irritated by your questions and are making unkind comments. I am not one of them and think it quite reasonable for you to ask for help on a chess forum about translating sentences from chess books. However, it would help if you would be clearer about you questions.

When you ask "Really?" do you mean:

"Surely the bishop is not more powerful than the rook"
or "Does powerful really mean the same as superiority"
or something else?

I wasn't able to open the attachment so my comment was simply an attempt to express the author's sentence in a different way, not a comment on the actual position. Whenever we try to use different words to say the same thing the meaning is going to change slightly. What I was seeking to do was to give you a feel for the ideas the author was trying to express.

Sorry to hear that my posts are irritating. I never meant to irritate anyone.

The position:
W:Kh1, Qd2, Re1, Ra1, Bf2, Ne5, h3, g2, f4, d4, c3, b2, a2
B:Kg8, Qc6, Rf8, Ra8, Be7, Nd7, h7, g7, f5, d5, c4, b7, a7

By 'really', I meant that my chess knowledge says that Bishops are not normally counterparts for Rooks unless there is a good reason. The center is not even wide open as you can see.

Let's draw up the static Balance after the Rook retreats:
a) King's positions are almost equally disturbed (although White's seems a bit more disturbed-by having pushed the h-pawn, There is no way for Black to utilize it anytime soon.
b)The material imbalance is almost equal (save for the Bishops)
c) The Black Bishop is the good bishop white the White is 'bad' (That is not related to the Rook at all as you see); So Black Should have a better endgame should the Queens be exchanged.
d)Pawn structures are almost equal.

It's great that IM Martin is on this forum. He can make quite helpful remarks.

It's great that IM Martin is on this forum. He can make quite helpful remarks

OK Andrew this has gone on long enough

Reveal yourself

Hi.
What is the difference between a center that is 'locked up with pawns' and a closed center? I have learned in the trainers' class that we have only five types of centers...........

Thanks in advance

soheil_hooshdaran wrote: After 1...Nxe5 2.Rxe5 Bd6 or 2...Bf6 , the White Rook would have to retreat and, the Black Bishop Would enjoy his superiority.

r4rk1/pp1nb1pp/2q5/3pNp2/2pP1P2/2P4P/PP1Q1BP1/R3R2K b

r4rk1/pp4pp/2qb4/3pRp2/2pP1P2/2P4P/PP1Q1BP1/R6K b

In the context of the position, it means that the Bishop on d6 is better placed than the Bishop on f2. I wouldn't share the author's optimism that this gives Black much of an advantage. It isn't anything to do with exchange sacrifices as whilst the passive sacrifice of a Rook on e5 looks possible, you would need a pawn as well to justify it.

White's Ne5 was a good move as the position is at its most dangerous for White if he reaches an ending of Knight v Bishop with him having the Bishop because of all the pawns stuck on dark squares.

No difference. The former is merely a more colourful version of the latter.

Roger de Coverly wrote:In the context of the position, it means that the Bishop on d6 is better placed than the Bishop on f2. I wouldn't share the author's optimism that this gives Black much of an advantage.

Sounds like more empty verbiage from some half-witted annotator. A conscientious annotator would give some sample variations to demonstrate why the bishop on d6 is better placed than the one on f2. I don't see anything concrete and with decent play by both sides the game will probably peter out in a draw.

Arshad Ali wrote: I don't see anything concrete and with decent play by both sides the game will probably peter out in a draw.

Trading Rooks down the e file looks likely after which I don't think Black can make much progress and White can just sit inside his pawn shelter using the Bishop as added support against attempts to break in with g7-g5 or b7-b5-b4

OK, here's something more concrete: after 2...Bd6 3.Re2 (chosen to give white the opportunity of doubling rooks on the file easily) Qc7, black's extracting a mini-concession: 3.Be3 allows black to get a rook to e4, 3.Bg3 means white always has to worry about ...g5, and 3.g3 slightly weakens the kingside. It's still probably not enough to win, but it's the sort of position where black can probe and white will find it hard to keep everything under control.

IM Jack Rudd wrote:OK, here's something more concrete: after 2...Rd6 3.Re2 (chosen to give white the opportunity of doubling rooks on the file easily) Qc7, black's extracting a mini-concession: 3.Be3 allows black to get a rook to e4, 3.Bg3 means white always has to worry about ...g5, and 3.g3 slightly weakens the kingside. It's still probably not enough to win, but it's the sort of position where black can probe and white will find it hard to keep everything under control.

Fair enough -- but that's what the annotator should be saying explicitly.

Not really The pawn structure makes it entirely obvious that the bishop on d6 is better than the one on f2.
(Actually having lots of pawns on the same colour of a bishop is pretty well the definition of a bad bishop. Far from always true in practice.).

If you're talking overall positions, well the bishop gives white a few issues with space/activity in a middlegame and more importantly some ways to potentially end up in some rather annoying endings. Nothing terminal/concrete of course but still.

IM Jack Rudd wrote: It's still probably not enough to win, but it's the sort of position where black can probe and white will find it hard to keep everything under control.

I would have thought just g3. I think White will be mostly out of danger once the Rooks are off, as the "bad" Bishop along with the pawns will retain control over dark squares and the Queen and King can hold the White squares, or those within the pawn envelope anyway. You wouldn't want to try to defend that type of position if you can avoid it with a Knight on the board, but that's being exchanged.

Roger de Coverly wrote:

IM Jack Rudd wrote: It's still probably not enough to win, but it's the sort of position where black can probe and white will find it hard to keep everything under control.

I would have thought just g3. I think White will be mostly out of danger once the Rooks are off, as the "bad" Bishop along with the pawns will retain control over dark squares and the Queen and King can hold the White squares, or those within the pawn envelope anyway. You wouldn't want to try to defend that type of position if you can avoid it with a Knight on the board, but that's being exchanged.

It's the kind of position Informant would give as =/+: Black has a minute edge, can probe a little bit, but as long as White doesn't go astray, an amicable draw should be the result.

Roger de Coverly wrote:

IM Jack Rudd wrote: It's still probably not enough to win, but it's the sort of position where black can probe and white will find it hard to keep everything under control.

I would have thought just g3. I think White will be mostly out of danger once the Rooks are off, as the "bad" Bishop along with the pawns will retain control over dark squares and the Queen and King can hold the White squares, or those within the pawn envelope anyway. You wouldn't want to try to defend that type of position if you can avoid it with a Knight on the board, but that's being exchanged.

True. That's why as black I wouldn't be in a hurry to swap the rooks off. White can put some rooks on the e-file if he likes, and I'll stare at them and work towards ...b5-b4.