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       #Post#: 426--------------------------------------------------
       A Queen Trap in Capablanca's Chess
       By: GothicChessInventor Date: February 7, 2018, 2:00 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       I managed to set a Queen Trap against someone online at
       Jocly.com while playing Capablanca's Chess in real-time.
       1. d3
       I still insist it is White to move and Win in Capablanca's
       Chess, and this is the winning move. Why d3 and not d4? On d3,
       the pawn blocks any moves that would otherwise deliver flank
       checks to the king, and, of course, there is an immediate attack
       against the unprotected i-pawn. Trying to hold the pawn and/or
       defend against the double attacks that occur later in the game
       as a result of this setup defect is what always allows White to
       win.
       1...Nh6
       2. e4 d6
       3. Nh3 Cg6
       A little too ambitious. Developing a Chancellor in front of a
       "wall of pawns" cannot be recommended.
       4. Bh5
       Of course!
       4...Cf6
       Not the best, nor the worst move. But 4...Ch4 5. Bj3 doesn't
       solve the issue of the misplaced Chancellor, and the Bishop on
       j3 still x-rays through to the black Queen.
       White has a few options to defend the Bishop which lunged
       forward to h5.
       5. Ae2! Qb5?!
       The most aggressive continuation and the most aggressive attempt
       at rebuttal. White baited this move by Black to make it "look
       like" the Queen's double attack on h5 and b2 were in need of
       equal consideration, but this is not the case. Recall the
       "Poison Pawn" variations of the Sicilian Defense where ...Qxb2
       is invited because the Queen is repulsed with tempo. The same
       sort of motif applies here, with the added attraction of
       dangling another pawn to completely entomb the Queen.
       6. Cg3!!
       Better than retreating with Bj3 and the failed Ac3 which would
       not work out.
       6...Qxb2?
       Falling for it.
       7. Ac3
       Attacking the Queen and Chancellor simultaneously.
       7...Qb6
       8. Axf6 exf6
       And now White must add the next layer of deception. Not Nc3
       immediately, or Black won't try and grab more pawns with the
       Knight's canopy exhausting some flight squares for the Queen.
       The doubled pawn on f6-f7 keeps the Black Bishop on g8 from
       holding the c4 square, which White is able to exploit.
       9. f4! Qb2?
       Still trying to be the aggressor, Black is soon hopelessly
       entangled.
       10. Nc3 Qxc2?
       11. Ce3!
       Attacking the Queen and able to play Cc4 to cement the tomb.
       11...Qb2
       12. Cc4 Qc2
       13. Cb4
       The Queen is trapped.
       [img]
  HTML https://imgur.com/Q5gdewB[/img]
       #Post#: 622--------------------------------------------------
       Re: A Queen Trap in Capablanca's Chess
       By: HGMuller Date: March 21, 2018, 1:30 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Nice, but it seems to me black just tries to hang on to the
       Queen way too long. After 7. Ac3 Qxc3 8. Nxc3 the Pawn he
       grabbed should be enough compensation for the Q-A difference,
       with the Chancellors still in play. The half-open file is not
       that profitable, and in addition leaves white with a rather weak
       isolated edge Pawn.
       Of course his Chancellor remains poorly placed. Blocking your
       center Pawns this way is almost a capital crime... Especially as
       there is no fianchetto in Capablanca Chess.
       #Post#: 637--------------------------------------------------
       Re: A Queen Trap in Capablanca's Chess
       By: GothicChessInventor Date: March 25, 2018, 8:50 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote author=HGMuller link=topic=64.msg622#msg622
       date=1521657044]
       Nice, but it seems to me black just tries to hang on to the
       Queen way too long. After 7. Ac3 Qxc3 8. Nxc3 the Pawn he
       grabbed should be enough compensation for the Q-A difference,
       with the Chancellors still in play.
       [/quote]
       After 7. Ac3 Qxc3 8. Nxc3 it is black to move and lose. If you
       want to take over as black and play a few moves, I can
       demonstrate this.
       #Post#: 646--------------------------------------------------
       Re: A Queen Trap in Capablanca's Chess
       By: HGMuller Date: March 26, 2018, 3:16 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       It could very well be that black is already lost in this
       position because of the awful placement of his Chancellor. But
       that doesn't mean he has to make things worse by giving away his
       Queen on top of it.
       Playing out the game between us would do very little to prove
       the value of the position, because if you win, it could simply
       be that this is because you are a much stronger player, who
       would be able to beat me from an inferior position. It would be
       more revealing to continue the game from that position in
       computer self-play, where we know both sides are played by an
       equally strong player, and then see how it ends. Preferably the
       win/draw/loss statistics from a couple of hundred games.
       #Post#: 649--------------------------------------------------
       Re: A Queen Trap in Capablanca's Chess
       By: GothicChessInventor Date: March 26, 2018, 9:15 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote author=HGMuller link=topic=64.msg646#msg646
       date=1522052178]
       It could very well be that black is already lost in this
       position because of the awful placement of his Chancellor. But
       that doesn't mean he has to make things worse by giving away his
       Queen on top of it.
       Playing out the game between us would do very little to prove
       the value of the position, because if you win, it could simply
       be that this is because you are a much stronger player, who
       would be able to beat me from an inferior position. It would be
       more revealing to continue the game from that position in
       computer self-play, where we know both sides are played by an
       equally strong player, and then see how it ends. Preferably the
       win/draw/loss statistics from a couple of hundred games.
       [/quote]
       Yes, but if you take the side I say is winning, and you beat me
       defending the losing side, what would that say?
       :)
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