Pandolfini's Class Chess Tournament

Bruce Pandolfini is one of the world's most beloved and recognized coaches, who recently won USCF's Dan Heisman Award for Excellence in Chess.  His students have included Josh Waitzkin ("Searching for Bobby Fischer") and World #2 GM Fabiano Caruana. He was also a special consultant for the Netflix series "The Queen’s Gambit".

 

Professor: Welcome, class. I hope you've all survived the first four rounds of the class tournament.

Zephyr: Wei certainly has.

Lucian: Yeah, he's in first.

Professor: Yes he is, and he's played fairly well.

Thomas: But there still are three rounds left.

Hale: Sure, anything can happen.

Ryan: Just like AVRO 1938.

Zephyr: Is that what it's like? I knew it was like something.

Rachel: What's the plan for today, Professor?

Professor: I thought we'd review some of the highlights.

Zephyr: Highlights? I didn't think there were any.

Lucian: Well, not from you.

Zephyr: So far.

Professor: Anyhow, I thought the key battle of the first round was Idris vs. Wei.

Idris: At one point I thought I was winning.

Rachel: I thought you were, too.

Wei: I think I had the advantage most of the way.

Question 1: How can Black force an immediate win?


Hale: I have question, Idris. How come you resigned so quickly.

Idris: That's easy. I saw the entire line, right down to mate.

 

 

Thomas: It was a pretty nice king hunt. 

Zephyr: Ah, the drawing master likes it.

Rachel: So he drew four games. So what?

Zephyr: So can I see the next position please?

Professor: Sure. It comes from Hale vs. Lucian in the second round.

Lucian: Do you have to show that? I played terribly.

Professor: It was kind of messy. But the conclusion was nice.

Question 2: What is White's quickest winning idea?


Zephyr: How does it feel to be mated, Lucian?

Lucian: Why don't you tell me, especially after we face each other in the last round?

Rachel: When did you get the mating idea, Hale?

Hale: Actually, I had it in mind for quite awhile.

Ryan: It reminded me of a game you had earlier in the year.

Hale: Yeah, it reminded me of that game, too.

Zephyr: Are we done yet?

Professor: No, we're not. Let's take a look at another Lucian game.

Lucian:  I hope not my third round game against Idris.

Professor: That's the one. It had some interesting points.

Lucian: If you say so, Professor.

Question 3: What is White's best move?


Lucian: I had just played queen to f8. 

Idris: You probably expected me to trade queens.

Lucian: Uh huh.

 

Lucian: Can we move to the fourth round, Professor?

Professor: Why not? 

Rachel: What game, Professor?

Professor: I thought we'd examine your game against Wei.

Rachel: Yeah, I lost as Black.

Wei: I had a strong attack.

Rachel: I thought I could hold. I miscalculated.

Wei: You have nothing to be ashamed of.

Zephyr: Do I have to listen to this?

Lucian: I've never known you to listen to anything. Why start now?

Professor: Let's take a look at the last few moves of that game.

Question 4: What is White's quickest winning idea?


Rachel: I missed your winning idea completely.

Wei: I saw it earlier. I thought it might be there. And it was.

Zephyr: How nice for you, to have a prevision like that.

Professor: Zephyr, be nice.

Zephyr: Okay. It's only a movie. I mean, it's only a chess game.

Professor: Whatever you mean, that brings us to our final position.

Ryan: What's that, Professor?

Professor: Idris vs. Ryan, round 4.

Question 5: What is the simplest way for Black to force a draw?


Ryan: Actually, I was exhausted and just happy to come away with the half point.

Idris: I was tired, too. I needed a break.

Professor: I think we can all use a break. We have three more rounds this weekend.

Zephyr: Is that a threat?

Lucian: Oh Zephyr, you wouldn't know a threat if you saw one.

Zephyr: We'll see. Don't forget. We face each other in the last round.

Lucian: I haven't forgotten. I wish I could.

Answers below -- Try to solve NM Pandolfini's puzzles first!

 

Answer 1: Black's king hunt ends in mate after 13 moves!

 

Answer 2: It's over in four moves.

 

Answer 3: White wins with the direct 1. Rxf7!, letting his queen hang.

 

Answer 4: White mates in five moves.

 

Answer 5: Black reduces to a positional draw.

 

Take Note

The standings so far: 

Wei has 3.5 points is in 1st;

Ryan has 3 points and is 2nd;

Hale has 2.5 points and is in 3rd;

Idris and Thomas are 2-2, tied for 4th and 5th;

Rachel has 1.5 points and is 6th;

Lucian has 1 point and is 7th;

Zephyr has a draw and is in last.

 

Here's a look at the tournament crosstable:

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