[Event "1.p Chess Artistry Competition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "022 - Sergiy Didukh"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5r2/p1k5/P7/b7/1p3PR1/1Pp2PB1/6P1/5BKn w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "17"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,17,298,180,185,194,205,255,259,268,270,276,307,327,323,323,328,402,
707,779] Judge's comments: The most original study in the tourney is a worthy
winner of First Prize. In the try and the main line Black attempts to
incarcerate a piece to reach stalemate, once on a8 and once on a5. There is a
striking parallel between the lateral and diagonal manoeuvres in these two
variations. In the main line White defeats the stalemate attempt by the
anti-critical move Bb5, which gives the black king a square. The lateral
stalemate is well-known, perhaps most famously in a study by Zepler (80398),
although there are earlier examples, but the combination of two analogous
manoeuvres in one study is remarkable. The thematic try is cleanly
incorporated, since it’s not at all obvious why White cannot take the knight
immediately. Despite the relatively heavy material, the initial position is
very game-like.} 1. Bh2 $1 ({Thematic try} 1. Kxh1 $2 Rh8+ {with two lines: A)}
2. Kg1 ({B)} 2. Bh2 c2 3. f5+ Rxh2+ $1 (3... Kb6 $2 4. Rc4 Rxh2+ 5. Kg1 $1 Rh1+
6. Kf2 Rxf1+ 7. Kxf1 c1=Q+ 8. Rxc1 {not stalemate.}) 4. Kxh2 c1=Q 5. Rc4+ Kb6
$1 6. Rxc1 {stalemate.}) 2... Bb6+ 3. Bf2 Bxf2+ 4. Kxf2 c2 5. f5 Ra8 $1 (5...
Rc8 $2 6. Bd3) 6. Rc4+ Kb8 7. f6 c1=Q 8. Rxc1 {stalemate.}) 1... Ng3 $1 (1...
Rf5 2. Bd3) 2. Bxg3 {The white king stays on g1 to invite the black bishop to
b6.} Bb6+ 3. Kh1 $1 Rh8+ 4. Bh2 c2 5. f5+ Rxh2+ 6. Kxh2 Ba5 $1 {Now White has
an extra tempo comparing to the try to prevent stalemate by the anticritical
move} 7. Bb5 $1 (7. Rc4+ $2 Kb6 8. f6 c1=Q 9. Rxc1 {stalemate.}) 7... c1=Q 8.
Rc4+ Kb6 9. Rxc1 {not stalemate.} 1-0

[Event "2.p Chess Artistry Competition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "017 - Yuri Bazlov"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1qk5/2p1P3/2R1Kn2/3P4/8/8/5N2/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "15"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,15,0,346,349,364,342,383,386,386,1002,1022,1032,1032,29969,29972,
29973,29974] Judge's comments: A short but spectacular study. Much depends on
originality, but neither Harold nor I could find any anticipation, even of the
rook promotion. The obvious move is 4 Rd8?, but this allows Black to escape
with a rather complicated perpetual check . Instead, the astounding 4 Kf7!! is
very hard to see and is followed by an immediate Phoenix rook promotion to
defeat Black’s cunning stalemate defence.} 1. Ne4 $1 Ne8 (1... Nxe4 2. e8=Q+
Kb7 3. Qxb8+ Kxb8 4. Kd7 $18) 2. Nd6+ $1 ({And now, as in the false trail,} 2.
Kf7 $2 {missed the victory.} Qb1 {- a move that led to defeat in a false trail.
For example,} ({With the only difference that now} 2... Qb5 {(b3)} 3. Kxe8 Qxd5
4. Nd6+ $1 Kb8 5. Kd7 {while only gave a draw}) 3. Nd6+ Nxd6+ 4. Rxd6 Qf5+ {
(h7). Interestingly, with both knight positions - on e4 and g4- after 1...Ne8,
2. Kf7 equally lost both 2...Qb4 and 2...Qb2:3.Nf6! Nxf6 4. Rxf6! This would
not have happened if the queen was on b3 (b5) or on b1. Funny chess geometry.})
2... Nxd6 3. Rxd6 Kb7 $1 (3... cxd6 4. e8=Q+ Kc7 5. Qxb8+ Kxb8 6. Kxd6 {
and the pawn endgame is hopeless for Black.}) 4. Kf7 $3 ({It is not easy to
understand this, because after the obvious} 4. Rd8 $6 Qa7 5. e8=Q {white got a
huge advantage in the rook. However, is this enough to win?} Qe3+ $1 ({(after} 
5... Qa6+ $2 6. Qc6+ {black should give up.}) 6. Kd7 Qh3+ $1 7. Qe6 {It seems
that by activating the queen, White has saved his king from annoying
persecution. persecution. But} Qh7+ 8. Qe7 $1 Qf5+ $1 (8... Qh3+) 9. Qe6 Qh7+
10. Ke8 $1 Qh8+ $1 (10... Qh5+ $2 11. Ke7 $1 Qh7+ 12. Qf7 $1 Qh4+ 13. Qf6 $1)
11. Ke7 Qg7+ $1 12. Qf7 Qe5+ $1 13. Kf8 Qh8+ 14. Qg8 Qf6+ $1 (14... Qh6+ $2 15.
Qg7 $1 Qf4+ 16. Kg8) 15. Ke8 Qe5+ $1 16. Qe6 Qh8+ $1 17. Ke7 Qg7+ 18. Qf7 Qe5+
19. Kd7 Qd6+ $1 20. Ke8 Qe5+ 21. Qe6 Qh8+ {and everything starts all
overvagain. A perpetual check, which the white queen is unable to prevent.})
4... cxd6 (4... Qh8 5. e8=Q Qh7+ 6. Kf8 $1 Qh8+ (6... Qf5+ 7. Qf7 $1) 7. Ke7 $1
Qh4+ 8. Rf6 {and everything starts all over again. A perpetual check, which
the white queen is unable to prevent.}) 5. e8=R $3 (5. e8=Q Qc7+ $1 6. Qe7 Ka8
$1 7. Qxc7 {stalemate.}) 5... Qc7+ 6. Re7 Qxe7+ (6... Ka8 $2 7. Rxc7 {and
there is no stalemate, because the b8 field is available for the king.}) 7.
Kxe7 Kc7 8. Ke6 {wins.} 1-0

[Event "3.p Chess Artistry Competition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "032 - Aran Kohler and"]
[Black "Yochanan Afek"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2k5/7K/P1P5/8/8/4rB2/6P1/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "33"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,33,160,159,116,172,148,110,176,193,188,168,215,193,193,310,310,369,
410,362,362,450,450,475,501,515,717,647,662,825,825,835,992,992,992,1002]
Judge's comments: An excellent miniature. To win, White must undertake the
double switchback Bf3-g4-d7-g4-f3, but that’s not the end. By playing the
subtle 11 Be4, and only then 12 Bd5, Black’s rook is drawn into an inferior
position and the whole study is wrapped up with a neat underpromotion.
There’s an amazing amount of content for such limited material. It’s
slightly reminiscent of a famous study by Kivi (69866), which also extracts a
great deal of play from similar material.} 1. Bg4+ Kd8 $1 (1... Kc7 2. Bd7 Rg3
3. a7 Ra3 4. g4 Rxa7 5. g5 Ra1 6. g6 Kd6 7. g7 $18) 2. Bd7 Rg3 (2... Ra3 3. g4
$1 Rxa6 4. g5 {transposes}) 3. a7 Ra3 4. g4 $1 Rxa7 5. g5 Ke7 ({Main line} 5...
Ra5 6. Kh6 $1 (6. g6 $2 Rh5+ 7. Kg7 Ke7 $11) 6... Ke7 7. g6 Ra1 8. Bg4 $1 (8.
Kg5 $2 Rc1 $11) 8... Rh1+ 9. Kg5 Rc1 10. g7 Kf7 11. Kh6 Rh1+ (11... Rxc6+ 12.
Kh7 $18) 12. Bh5+ Kg8 13. c7 Rc1 14. Bf3 $1 Rxc7 15. Bd5+ Rf7 16. Bxf7+ Kxf7
17. Kh7 $18) 6. g6 Ra1 7. Bg4 $3 {Switch back!} Rh1+ 8. Kg8 $1 (8. Kg7 $2 Rc1
9. Kh7 Rc4 $1 $11) 8... Kd6 (8... Rg1 9. c7 $18) (8... Rc1 9. g7 $1 Rc4 10. c7
(10. Bf5) 10... Rxc7 11. Kh8 $18) 9. g7 Rg1 10. Bf3 {Switch back!
Bf3-g4-d7-g4-f3. Rundlauf ("Round trip").} Rg3 11. Be4 $1 (11. Bd5 $2 Ke7 $1
$11) 11... Rg4 12. Bd5 $3 {With 2 variations rounding up the excelsior with 2
different promotions. b)} Ke7 ({a)} 12... Kxd5 13. c7 Rc4 14. Kf8 Rxc7 15.
g8=Q+ $18) 13. Kh7 Rh4+ 14. Kg6 Rg4+ 15. Kh6 Kf6 16. g8=N+ $1 Ke5 17. c7 {
Winning. Themes: Excelsior; Rundlauf.} 1-0

[Event "4.p Chess Artistry Competition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "040 - Ben Smolkin and"]
[Black "Marjan Kovacevic"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/3p1k2/8/5PP1/1N6/5K2/1p4PR/1b6 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "45"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,45,186,135,140,135,62,126,126,43,43,32,29,207,143,252,252,270,353,370,
370,354,354,354,354,354,353,370,363,368,396,396,396,414,382,382,382,382,1002,
1002,1012,1022,29991,29992,29997,29998,29999,-30000] Judge's comments: A long
study with several phases. White allows Black to take his rook and continues
the battle with just a knight and three pawns against Black’s queen and pawn.
In the end the study reduces to a king and pawn ending in which both sides
promote. White finishes off with a knight promotion which has been seen
several times in previous studies dating back to the early 1980s (for example,
38539 by Kalandadze or 16275 by Topko).} 1. g6+ Kg8 2. f6 Be4+ (2... Bxg6 3.
Rh1) 3. Kxe4 ({Logical try:} 3. Kg3 {!?} Bxg6 $11 (3... b1=Q 4. f7+ Kg7 5. Rh8
$1 Qe1+ 6. Kh2 $1 Qxb4 7. Rg8+ $18) 4. Rh1 b1=Q 5. Rxb1 Bxb1 6. Kf4 Kf7 7. Kg5
Be4 8. g3 d6 9. g4 Bf3) 3... b1=Q+ 4. Nd3 d5+ ({Perpetual or not?} 4... Qb7+ 5.
Kf4 Qc7+ 6. Ne5 ({Logical try:} 6. Kf5 $2 Qxh2 $1 {Pd7 guards e6}) 6... Qc1+ 7.
Kg4 $1 {Pd7 prevents perpetual check on c8-h3 diagonal} Qd1+ 8. Nf3 $18) 5. Kf4
$1 (5. Ke5 $2 Qxd3 $1 (5... Qb8+ $2 6. Kf5 $1) 6. f7+ Kg7 7. Rh7+ Kxg6 8. f8=N+
Kg5 9. Ne6+ Kg4 10. Rg7+ Kh4 $11) 5... Qb8+ (5... Qxd3 6. f7+ Kg7 7. Rh7+ Kxg6
8. f8=N+ $1 Kf6 9. Nd7+ Kg6 10. Ne5+ Kxh7 11. Nxd3 $18) 6. Kf5 $1 ({Logical
try:} 6. Ne5 $2 Qb4+ 7. Kf5 Qb1+ 8. Kg5 Qc1+ 9. Kg4 Qc8+ $1 {Removal of Pd7
allows perpetual check.}) 6... Qxh2 7. Nf4 {! Removal of Pd7 allows attack} Qh6
8. g4 $1 ({With wP still on g2 White may try Pawn ending:} 8. f7+ Kf8 9. Ne6+
Ke7 10. f8=Q+ Qxf8+ 11. Nxf8 Kxf8 12. Ke5 Kg7 13. Kxd5 Kxg6 14. Ke4 Kg5 15. Kf3
Kf5 $1 $11) 8... d4 9. Ne6 $1 (9. g5 $2 Qh8 $1 10. Ne6 Qh3+ $11) 9... d3 10.
f7+ Kh8 11. g5 $1 Qg7 (11... Qh3+ 12. Kf6 $1 Qf3+ 13. Ke5 $1 Qe2+ 14. Kd6) 12.
Nxg7 Kxg7 13. Ke6 d2 14. Ke7 d1=Q 15. f8=Q+ Kxg6 16. Qh6+ Kf5 17. Qf6+ Kg4 18.
g6 Kh5 {!? Playing for stalemate} 19. g7 Qg4 20. Qf7+ Kh6 21. g8=N+ $1 Kg5 22.
Qf6+ Kh5 23. Qh6# {Double Excelsior with different roles of Pawns on starting
rank. Two S promotions with Phoenix effects.} 1-0

[Event "5.p Chess Artistry Competition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "015 - Emil Vlasak"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r3k1KR/7p/4P3/1p6/2p2p2/1pP1B3/2P5/8 w q - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "35"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,35,188,150,143,140,140,110,102,112,112,100,88,88,61,51,0,0,0,0,430,
492,636,652,666,681,753,992,1015,1015,1015,1022,1032,23439,29945,29958,29957,
29962]} {Judge's comments: The foresight theme is now very familiar, but this
is an unusually good example. Already on the first move White must decide
between 1 Kg7+ and 1 Kxh7+. The difference only appears several moves later,
since Kxh7, Rb6, Rh6 and Kg6 leaves the king on the g-file, while Kg7, Rb7,
Kf8 and Rxh7 consumes the same number of tempi but leaves the king on the
f-file (the rook must play to the h-file in any case, to meet ...Kd2 by Rh2+).
Then the king is one step closer to the black pawns after White gives up his
rook. The minor duals in the king march near the end are unimportant.} 1. Kg7+
$1 (1. Bc5 $2 O-O-O+ $1 2. Kxh7 (2. Kg7 Rxh8 3. Bf8 bxc2 4. e7 Kd7 5. Kf7 Rxf8+
6. exf8=Q c1=Q) 2... Rxh8+ 3. Kxh8 bxc2 4. Ba3 f3 5. Kg7 f2) (1. Kxh7+ $2 {
No time to beat this pawn. It is future job for white rook.} Ke7 2. Bc5+ (2.
Rxa8 fxe3 3. cxb3 e2 4. Ra1 cxb3 5. Re1 Kxe6 6. Rxe2+ Kd5 7. Rb2 Kc4) 2... Kxe6
3. Rxa8 b2 4. Re8+ Kd5 5. Re1 Kxc5 6. Rb1 b4 7. Rxb2 bxc3 8. Rb1 (8. Rb8 Kd4 9.
Kg6 Ke3 10. Kf5 f3 11. Ke5 Kd2) 8... Kd4 9. Kg6 Ke3 10. Rd1 f3 11. Kf5 Ke2 12.
Ra1 f2 13. Ke4 Kd2 $1 14. Kd4 Kxc2 15. Kxc4 Kd2 16. Kb3 c2 17. Kb2 Ke2) 1...
Ke7 2. Bc5+ $1 (2. Rxa8 fxe3 3. Ra1 Kxe6 4. Re1 bxc2 5. Rxe3+ Kd5 6. Re1 Kc5 7.
Rc1 b4 8. Rxc2 bxc3 9. Rxc3 Kd4 10. Rc1 c3) 2... Kxe6 3. Rxa8 b2 $5 (3... Kd5
4. cxb3 cxb3 5. Ba3 Kc4 (5... Ke4 6. Kxh7 f3 7. Rf8 Ke3 8. Rf5 f2 9. Bc5+ Ke2
10. Rxf2+ Kd3 11. Ba3) 6. Rf8 Kxc3 7. Rxf4 b2 8. Bxb2+) (3... bxc2 4. Ba3 Kf5
5. Rd8 f3 6. Rd2 Ke4 7. Rxc2) 4. Re8+ Kd5 5. Re1 Kxc5 6. Rb1 b4 $1 7. Rxb2 bxc3
8. Rb7 $1 Kd4 9. Kf8 $3 {The point.} h5 (9... f3 10. Rxh7 Ke3 11. Ke7 f2 12.
Rf7 {as in main}) 10. Rh7 f3 11. Rxh5 Ke3 12. Ke7 f2 13. Rf5 Ke2 14. Kd6 f1=Q
15. Rxf1 Kxf1 16. Kd5 Ke2 17. Kxc4 Kd2 18. Kb3 1-0

[Event "6.p Chess Artistry Competition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "014 - Jan Timman"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/2bR4/1q2p3/2p4p/2P1R3/pp5p/1P2N2k/5K2 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "43"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,43,-311,-367,-386,-289,-53,-72,0,-86,-82,0,229,305,323,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,
0,0,0,0,0,428,29971,29972,29973,29974,29975,29976,29977,29978,29979,29988,
29989,29990,29995,29996,29997,29998,29999,-30000] Judge's comments: The
construction which arises in the bottom-right corner is a familiar one, and
many studies have been based on it (for example, 30821 by Benko and 39330 by
Gurgenidze and Mitrofanov). However, there are several original elements in
this study. Firstly, the play leading to the creation of h1-corner cage is
very elegant, with 5 Rg2! being the highlight. Secondly, there is a lot of
play to come even after Black has been partially immobilised by the mating
threat on g1. This includes a knight sacrifice on d4, an excelsior by the
white b-pawn and the neat move 18 Rb2! which lifts the stalemate at exactly
the right moment.} 1. Ng1 $1 (1. Rd2 Qb7 $1 2. Ng1+ (2. Nf4+ Kg3 3. Nd5 Bf4 ({
or} 3... Qb8 $11)) 2... Kh1 3. Re3 Qg2+ $1 $11) 1... Qb8 $1 (1... Qc6 2. Rd2+
Kh1 3. Nxh3 Bg3 4. Rd3 $1 Qxe4 5. Nf2+ $18) (1... Qb7 2. Nf3+ Kg3 3. Ng5 $18 (
3. Nd2 $18)) (1... axb2 2. Nf3+ Kg3 3. Ne1 $1 (3. Ke2 Be5 $1 4. Nxe5 b1=Q 5.
Rg7+ Kh2 6. Nf3+ Kh1 7. Rh4 Qc2+ $11) 3... b1=Q 4. Rg7+ Kh2 5. Re2+ Kh1 6. Rg1#
) 2. Rd2+ Kh1 3. Nf3 Bh2 $1 (3... Bg3 4. Rd1 h2 5. Re2 Qf4 6. Rxh2+ $1 Bxh2 7.
Kf2+ $18) 4. Re1 Bg1 $1 5. Rg2 $3 (5. Nxg1 Qf4+ 6. Rf2 Qxc4+ $11) (5. Rh2+ Qxh2
6. Nxh2 Kxh2 7. bxa3 Bd4 $11) 5... hxg2+ 6. Ke2 Qh2 7. bxa3 b2 8. a4 e5 9. Kd3
h4 10. a5 h3 11. a6 e4+ 12. Kxe4 Qe5+ 13. Kxe5 h2 14. Nd4 $1 cxd4 15. a7 d3 16.
a8=Q {Excelsior} b1=Q (16... d2 17. Re2 $18) 17. Rxb1 d2 18. Rb2 $1 Bd4+ 19.
Kf4 $1 Bxb2 20. Kg3 Be5+ 21. Kh3 d1=Q 22. Qxg2# 1-0

[Event "7.p Chess Artistry Competition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "003 - Steffen Nielsen and"]
[Black "Martin Minski"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1K6/3b4/7P/k1B5/8/3p4/8/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "19"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,19,74,74,962,962,1002,1002,1032,1032,20430,20940,23235,29956,29957,
29958,29993,29994,29997,29998,29999,-30000]} {Judge's comments: A delightful
miniature, including several quiet moves by White in the Q+B vs Q+B ending. A
preliminary manoeuvre is required to draw Black’s bishop from d7 to b5,
blocking the checks along the b-file, and this is followed by the spectacular
bishop sacrifice on b6, similar to the game Dubov-Svane, European Team Ch,
Batumi 2019. It’s quite surprising that Black is so helpless after 7 Bd4.} 1.
h7 (1. Be3 $2 Bf5 $11) 1... d2 2. h8=Q d1=Q 3. Qc3+ (3. Qb2 $2 Qe1 {/Qg4=})
3... Ka6 {position X with bBd7} (3... Kb5 4. Qb4+ $18) 4. Qb2 $1 {(threatens 5.
Qb6#)} Bb5 5. Qf6+ Ka5 6. Qc3+ Ka6 {position X with bBb5} 7. Bd4 $1 {
(threatens 8.Qc5)} (7. Bb6 $2 Qd6+ 8. Bc7 Qf8+ $11) 7... Qb1 (7... Bd3 8. Qc6+
Ka5 9. Bc3# {model mirror mate}) (7... Qd3 8. Qa1+ Ba4 9. Qxa4#) 8. Bb6 $3 {
Dubov's move} Kxb6 (8... Qa2 9. Qc8+ Kxb6 10. Qc7+ Ka6 11. Qa7#) (8... Qh7 9.
Qa5#) 9. Qc7+ Ka6 10. Qa7# 1-0

[Event "1.hm Chess Artistry Competition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "025 - Albaina Álvaro Ignacio"]
[Black "and Luis Miguel González"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/3N4/6K1/4N2R/8/1pp5/3n1n2/1k6 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "11"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,11,-418,-280,-259,-312,-352,-377,-466,-231,-3,-4,0,0] Judge's
comments: White sacrifices both his knights in the introductory play, and the
key position is reached after Black’s 4th move. The reasons why the
astonishing 5 Kh7! is the only drawing move are rather opaque and diverse, but
in the end it all comes down to avoiding a future knight check. What is
amazing is that the white king is already distant from the enemy knights, and
to move it even further away hardly seems necessary. Nevertheless, if you
follow the variations through you will see that the agile knights can
decisively check the king if it moves to a different square.} 1. Nc5 $1 (1. Nf3
$2 Nxf3 $1 ({but not} 1... b2 $2 2. Nb6 $1 Nxf3 3. Na4 $1 c2 4. Rc5 c1=Q 5.
Nc3+ Qxc3 6. Rxc3 Ka2 7. Rc2 $11) 2. Nc5 Nd2 3. Nxb3 $1 Nxb3 4. Rh8 Nc5 5. Rh4
Nce4 $1 6. Rh7 Nd3 7. Rc7 Nec5 8. Rh7 c2 9. Rh1+ Nc1 10. Kf5 Na4 $1 11. Rh2 Ne2
$19) 1... c2 $1 (1... b2 2. Na4 $1 c2 (2... Kc2 3. Nxb2 cxb2 4. Nc4 $1 Nxc4 5.
Rb5 $11) 3. Nc3+ Kc1 (3... Ka1 4. Nd3 $1 Nc4 5. Rh8 $11) 4. Rh1+ $1 Nf1 5.
Rxf1+ Kd2 6. Rxf2+ Kxc3 7. Rxc2+ Kxc2 8. Nc4 b1=Q 9. Na3+ $11) 2. Nxb3 $1 Nxb3
3. Nd3 $1 Nxd3 4. Rh1+ Ndc1 $1 (4... Nbc1 5. Kf5 Nb2 6. Rh7 $1 Nc4 7. Rc7 $11)
5. Kh7 $3 (5. Kh6 $2 Nd2 $1 {A} (5... Nd4 6. Rh5 Ndb3 7. Rh1 Nd2 {loss of time}
) 6. Re1 Kb2 $1 $19) (5. Kg7 $2 Nd4 $1 {B} 6. Rh8 Ne6+ $1 7. Kf6 Nc5 8. Kf5 Ne2
$1 $19) (5. Rh8 $2 Nc5 $1 {C} 6. Rh4 Ne4 $1 7. Rxe4 Nd3 8. Rc4 Ne5+ $19) 5...
Nd2 {A} ({main} 5... Nd4 {B} 6. Rh5 $1 $11) ({main} 5... Nc5 {C} 6. Rh4 $1 $11)
6. Rh6 $1 $11 1/2-1/2

[Event "2.hm Chess Artistry Competition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "002 - Amatzia Avni and"]
[Black "Martin Minski"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "7q/5kp1/2R5/2r2PP1/8/1pB5/2R5/K7 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "17"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,17,25,620,616,689,820,820,815,811,1012,1022,1022,1032,1032,1569,1015,
29952,29953,29960] Judge's comments: This study should appeal to
over-the-board players since it contains a wealth of interesting tactics
including switchback, Novotny interference and stalemate avoidance. The main
flaw, unfortunately a significant one, is that at move 5 the correct
continuation is far more natural and obvious than the thematic tries.} 1. g6+
Kf8 $1 {the best defence} (1... Ke8 2. Re2+ Kd7 3. Rxc5 $18) (1... Kg8 2. Rxc5
Qh1+ 3. Kb2 bxc2 4. Rc8#) 2. Rc8+ $1 (2. Rxc5 $2 Qh1+ 3. Kb2 bxc2 $11) 2...
Rxc8 3. Bb4+ Rc5 $1 {A black switchback Rc5-c8-c5 and Nowotny} 4. Rxc5 {battery
} b2+ $1 {play for stalemate} (4... Qh1+ 5. Rc1+ Kg8 6. Rxh1 b2+ 7. Ka2 $1
b1=Q+ 8. Rxb1 $18 {no stalemate}) 5. Kxb2 ({logical try:} 5. Ka2 $2 b1=Q+ $1 6.
Kxb1 Qh1+ 7. Rc1+ (7. Kb2 Ke8 $11) 7... Kg8 $1 8. Rxh1 {stalemate} (8. Re1 Qc6
{/Qa8=})) ({logical try:} 5. Kb1 $2 Qh1+ 6. Rc1+ (6. Kxb2 Ke8 $11) 6... Kg8 $1
7. Rxh1 {stalemate}) 5... Qh2+ 6. Rc2+ {A white switch back Rc2-c5-c2} Kg8 $1
7. Bd6 $3 {the point} (7. Rxh2 $2 {stalemate}) 7... Qxd6 8. Rc8+ Qf8 9. Rxf8+
$18 {WK is in time to protect f5, winning the ending} 1-0

[Event "3.hm Chess Artistry Competition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "038 - Evgeny Kopylov and"]
[Black "Oleg Pervakov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5Q2/8/P2Nk3/P7/2p4q/2p4P/b1K3P1/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "19"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,19,146,23,0,0,0,376,362,306,306,326,319,344,607,751,809,863,904,919,
948,949] Judge's comments: Another multi-phase study. The first phase of the
study features a wheel of white queen sacrifices. This idea is far from
original, see for example Herbstmann (75822), which shows eight consecutive
sacrifices. However, this study is enhanced by the tempting tries and later
subtle play involving a surprising domination of the black bishop.} 1. g3 $1 (
1. a7 $2 Bb3+ 2. Kxc3 Qe1+ 3. Kb2 Qd2+ 4. Ka3 Qxa5+ $11) 1... Bb3+ $1 2. Kc1 $1
({Thematic try-1:} 2. Kb1 $2 Qxg3 $1 ({but not} 2... c2+ $2 3. Kc1 Qxg3 4. Qf6+
$1 Kd5 5. Qd4+ $1 Kc6 6. Qc5+ $1 Kxc5 7. Ne4+ Kb5 8. Nxg3 Kxa6 9. Ne4 Kxa5 10.
Nc3 $1 $18 {Domination}) 3. Qf6+ Kd5 $1 4. Qd4+ Kc6 $1 5. Qc5+ Kxc5 6. Ne4+ Kb5
7. Nxg3 Kxa6 $11) (2. Kxc3 $2 Qxg3+ 3. Kb4 Qe1+ 4. Kb5 Qe5+ 5. Kb6 Qd4+ 6. Kc7
Qc5+ $1 7. Kb8 Qb4+ 8. Kc8 Qc5+ $11 {Perpetual check}) 2... Qxg3 (2... Qg5+ 3.
Qf4 Qxa5 4. Qf5+ $1) 3. Qf6+ $1 $18 ({Thematic try-2:} 3. Qe7+ $2 Kd5 $1 4.
Qb7+ Ke6 $1 (4... Ke5 $2 5. Nxc4+ $1 Kd4 6. Qxb3 $18) 5. Qc8+ Kd5 $1 (5... Ke5
$2 6. Qh8+ $1 Ke6 7. Qf6+ $1 $18) 6. Qc5+ Ke6 $1 7. Qc8+ Kd5 8. Qb7+ Ke6 9.
Qe7+ Kd5 $11 {Positional draw}) 3... Kd5 $1 (3... Kd7 4. Qe7+ $1 Kc6 5. Qb7+
Kxd6 6. Qb8+ {Skewer}) (3... Kxf6 4. Ne4+) 4. Qd4+ $1 Kc6 $1 (4... Ke6 5. Qg4+)
(4... Kxd4 5. Nf5+) 5. Qc5+ $1 (5. Qb6+ $2 Kd7 $1 6. Qb5+ Ke6 $1 7. Qe8+ Kd5
$11) 5... Kxc5 (5... Kd7 6. Qc8+ $1 Kxd6 7. Qb8+ {Skewer}) 6. Ne4+ Kb5 7. Nxg3
Kxa6 8. Ne4 $1 (8. h4 $2 Ba4 $1 9. h5 Be8 10. h6 Bg6 $11) 8... Kxa5 (8... Ba4
9. Nc5+) 9. h4 $1 (9. Nxc3 $2 {Domination? But} Kb4 $1 {Reti} 10. Kb2 Kc5 $11)
(9. Nc5 $2 {Domination? But} c2 $1 (9... Ba2 $2 10. Ne4 $1 c2 11. Nc3 $18) 10.
h4 Ba2 $1 11. h5 c3 12. h6 Bg8 13. Ne4 Bh7 $11) 9... Ba4 10. Nf6 $1 {Real
domination with excelsior of h-pawn 1-0 (10) 038 - Evgeny Kopylov and-Oleg
Pervakov 3.hm Chess Artistry Competition 2021 [John]} (10. Nd6 $2 Bd7 11. h5
Be6 12. h6 Bg8 $11) 1-0

[Event "4.hm Chess Artistry Competition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "042 - Branislav Djurasevic"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/1K6/3k4/8/1P5p/8/7N w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "19"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,19,633,112,163,171,168,168,185,185,246,381,381,854,642,642,642,686,
721,1279,1299,26837] Judge's comments: The logic here is rather subtle. After
White erects a barrier to the black king with Nf2, Black has two ways round
the barrier, by ...Kd4-c3-d2-e2 or by ...Ke6-f5-f4-f3, both taking four moves
to attack the knight. The best answer to the first plan is to push the b-pawn
as fast as possible, while the best answer to the second plan is to bring the
white king to the kingside to defend the knight. Thus 1 b4? and 1 Kb5? are
both wrong, because both commit White to one plan before Black has decided on
his king route. Instead, White must play 1 Nf2 first, when Black must choose
either 1...Ke6 or 1...Kd4; based on this choice White can select the correct
counterplan. The key point is that 1 Nf2 h2 2 Kb5 Kd4, which is ‘correct’
according to the above logic, fails to 3 Kb4 and the black king cannot
approach the knight at all. Looked at like this, the motivation for the moves
becomes clear, and the position is a fine discovery with such limited material.
} 1. Nf2 $1 {Variation A:} ({Thematic try:} 1. b4 $2 h2 $1 2. Nf2 (2. b5 Ke4 $1
3. Kc5 Kf3 4. b6 Kg2 5. b7 Kxh1 $11) 2... Ke6 $3 3. Kc5 Kf5 4. b5 Kf4 5. b6 Kf3
6. Nh1 Kg2 7. b7 Kxh1 $11) ({Thematic try:} 1. Kb5 $2 Kd4 $1 2. Nf2 (2. Kb4 Ke3
$1 $11 (2... h2 $2 3. Nf2 $1 $18)) 2... Kc3 $3 (2... h2 $2 3. Kb4 $1 $18) 3. b4
h2 4. Kc5 Kd2 5. b5 Ke2 6. Nh1 Kf3 7. b6 Kg2 8. b7 Kxh1 $11) 1... h2 ({
Variation B:} 1... Kd4 2. b4 $1 h2 3. b5 $1 Kc3 4. Kc5 $1 Kd2 5. b6 Ke2 6. Nh1
Kf3 7. b7 Kg2 8. b8=Q Kxh1 9. Kd4 $1 Kg2 (9... Kg1 10. Qg3+ $18) 10. Qb2+ Kg1
11. Ke3 $1 h1=Q 12. Qf2#) 2. Kb5 $1 Ke6 (2... Kd4 3. Kb4 $1 $18) 3. Kc4 $1 Kf5
4. Kd3 Kf4 5. Ke2 $1 $18 (5. Kd2 $2 Kf3 6. Ke1 Ke3 $1 $11) 5... Ke5 6. Ke3 {
6. Ke1 is good as well.} Kf5 (6... Kd5 7. Kd3 Kc5 8. Kc3 Kb5 9. b4 $18) 7. b4 {
or 7. Kf3, moves inversion} Ke5 8. Kf3 Kd4 9. Kg2 $1 Kc4 10. Nd3 {Unexpected
key move, exposing knight to be attacked by black king. Duel of the kings with
four mutual trajectories (marches): white's Kb6-b5-c4-d3-e2 in variation A and
Kb6-c5-d4-e3 in variation B as well as black's ones: Kd5-e6-f5-f4-f3 and
Kd5-Kd4-c3-d2-e2. Two thematic tries and two equal variations show Banny theme:
1.b4? (A) h2!(a); 1.Kb5? (B) Kd4! (b), 1.Sf2! h2 (a), Kd4 (b) 2.Kb5! (B), b4! 
(A). Benko favourite material, please see his Album FIDE study: https://www.
yacpdb.org/#274761} 1-0

[Event "5.hm Chess Artistry Competition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "027 - Itay Richardson"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3q4/3p3Q/1Pp5/2k4n/PR6/r1PK1b2/8/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "23"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,23,0,18,25,177,177,174,123,107,313,465,1086,1242,1305,1408,2034,28424,
2068,29972,29973,29974,29997,29998,29999,-30000] Judge's comments: There are
several sacrifices by both sides, ending with White offering his queen for an
immediate Phoenix promotion. It’s all entertaining, but despite the
fireworks the study lacks a unifying concept.} 1. b7 (1. Qf5+ $2 Bd5 2. Qf2+
Kd6 3. b7 Ra2 4. Qa7 (4. Qh4 Qb8 $10) 4... Nf4+ $1 5. Rxf4 Rb2 6. Rb4 Rxb4 7.
cxb4 Bc4+ $1 (7... Be4+ $2 8. Ke2 $1 (8. Kxe4 Qe8+ $10) 8... Bf3+ 9. Kf1 $1 (9.
Kxf3 $2 Qf6+ $10) 9... Bg2+ 10. Kg1 $1 $18 (10. Kxg2 $2 Qg5+ $10)) 8. Kc2 (8.
Kxc4 Qg8+ $10) 8... Bb3+ 9. Kb1 (9. Kb2 Qh8+ $10) 9... Ba2+ 10. Kxa2 Qg8+ $10)
1... Be2+ $1 (1... Qe8 2. Qf5+ d5 3. Rb5+ $1 cxb5 4. Qc8+ Qxc8 5. bxc8=Q+ Kd6
6. Qf8+ $18) (1... d5 2. Qf5 Rb3 $1 3. Qe5 (3. Rxb3 $2 Be4+ $17) 3... Rxb4 4.
cxb4+ Kxb4 5. b8=Q+ $18) 2. Kxe2 (2. Kc2 $4 Qf6 3. b8=Q Qxc3+ 4. Kb1 Ra1#) 2...
Qe8+ (2... Ng3+ 3. Kd3 Qe8 {/f8} 4. Rc4+ Kd6 (4... Kb6 5. b8=Q+ Qxb8 6. Rb4+
$18) 5. b8=Q+ $1 Qxb8 6. Rd4+ Kc5 7. Qe7+ d6 8. Qg5+ Kb6 (8... d5 9. Qe7+ Kb6
10. Rb4+ $18) 9. Rb4+ $18) 3. Kd3 Nf4+ $1 4. Rxf4 Rxc3+ $1 (4... Rb3 5. Rc4+
Kb6 6. Kc2 Ra3 7. b8=Q+ Qxb8 8. Rb4+ $18) 5. Kxc3 Qe5+ (5... Qe3+ 6. Qd3 Qxf4
7. b8=Q $1 Qxb8 8. Qd4#) (5... Qe1+ 6. Kd3 Qg3+ 7. Ke4 $18) 6. Kd3 Qxf4 7. Qe7+
(7. Qxd7 $2 Qg3+ $10) 7... Kb6 (7... Kd5 8. Qxd7+ Kc5 9. Qe7+ Kd5 10. b8=Q Qxb8
11. Qe4+ Kc5 (11... Kd6 12. Qf4+ $18) 12. Qd4#) 8. Qb4+ $1 Qxb4 9. b8=Q+ Kc5 (
9... Ka5 10. Qa7#) 10. Qf8+ d6 11. Qf2+ Kd5 12. Qf5# 1-0

[Event "6.hm Chess Artistry Competition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "024 - Sergey Osintsev"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1q6/6k1/1P1p4/8/8/8/8/3Q3K w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "19"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,19,118,143,166,169,129,130,136,238,241,254,263,277,277,282,282,292,
1022,29966,29969,29970] Judge's comments: This lightweight study extracts a
great of deal of content from its six men. An accurate series of queen checks
is followed by a zigzag king march. It all finishes with a simple but
attractive queen sacrifice.} {For a draw, the black King must approach the
white pawn or the black Queen must give a perpetual check.} 1. Qa1+ $3 {
prevents the black King from moving to the f-file} ({White must play very
carefully, simple centralization of the Queen is not good} 1. Qg4+ $2 Kf6 $1
$11) (1. Qd4+ $2 Kf7 $1 $11) 1... Kg6 (1... Kf7 $2 2. Qa7+ $18 {The eighth
rank is also inaccessible to the black King}) (1... Kg8 2. Qa6 $1 (2. Qa2+ $2
Kf8 $1 $11) 2... Kf8 3. b7 Ke7 4. Qa8 $18) 2. Qb1+ $1 Kf6 $1 ({Easier for
whites} 2... Kf7 $2 3. Qh7+ Ke6 4. b7 $18) ({or} 2... Kg7 3. b7 Kf6 4. Kg2 Ke6
5. Qh7 $1 d5 6. Qh3+ Kf6 7. Qc8 $18) 3. b7 Ke7 (3... Qh8+ 4. Kg2 Qg8+ 5. Kf2
Qb8 6. Kf3 Ke7 7. Qh7+ $18) 4. Qh7+ $1 Kd8 {The first part of the plan is
completed, the white Queen has defended the pawn along the seventh rank.But
the white Queen cannot cope alone, the King's help is needed.} 5. Kg2 d5 6. Kf3
d4 7. Ke2 $3 {A move to check the Queen and pawn! The obvious routes of the
white King} (7. Ke4 $2 d3 $1 8. Kd5 d2 9. Ke6 {are refuted by the sacrifice of
the black Queen} Qd6+ $1 (9... d1=Q $4 10. Qe7#) 10. Kxd6 d1=Q+ $11) ({Vagy:} 
7. Kg4 $2 d3 $1 8. Kf5 d2 9. Ke6) 7... Qe5+ ({Additional line with a pawn check
} 7... d3+ 8. Kd1 $1 d2 9. Qg7 $1 (9. Qf7 $2 Qe5 $1 10. Qf8+ Kd7 11. Qc8+ Ke7
12. Kxd2 $11) 9... Qc7 10. Qd4+ $1 Ke7 11. Kxd2 Qxb7 12. Qg7+ $18 {Skewer on
the adjacent horizontal! The white Queen has visited three corners of the
board in the solution and in the additional line!}) 8. Kd1 $1 d3 {It seems
that the danger is behind, the black Queen is threatening to checkmate, but...}
9. Qh8+ $3 Qxh8 10. b8=Q+ $18 {Skewer!} 1-0

[Event "7.hm Chess Artistry Competition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "010 - Michael Prusikin"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2k5/4b1pp/8/6P1/1p3K1P/1P3N2/8/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "25"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,25,21,27,6,41,29,32,162,177,180,178,192,216,252,249,261,269,273,273,
274,274,274,274,273,277,277,277] Judge's comments: The first surprise here is
the knight sacrifice on move 3. Black counters by offering his bishop, but the
unexpected 8 Nb7! foils his defence. The study finishes with a neat knight
tour c5-e4-g5-e6-c5, which enables White to take the g-pawn with his knight
and return to save his own pawn.} 1. Kf5 Kd7 2. Ne5+ (2. h5 Kd6 3. g6 h6 4. Ne5
Bf6 5. Nf7+ Ke7 6. Ne5 Kd6 7. Nd3 Bc3 $11) 2... Kd6 (2... Ke8 3. h5 Bc5 4. Nd3
Be7 5. Nf4 Bd6 6. Nd5 Kf7 7. g6+ hxg6+ 8. hxg6+ Ke8 9. Ke6 $18) 3. Ng6 $1 (3.
h5 Kd5 $11) 3... Bd8 (3... hxg6+ 4. Kxg6 Ke5 5. Kxg7 Kf5 6. Kf7 $18) (3... Kd7
4. Nxe7 $18) 4. Nf8 h6 (4... g6+ 5. Nxg6 hxg6+ 6. Kxg6 $18) 5. Ne6 hxg5 6. Nxd8
gxh4 7. Kg4 Ke7 (7... g5 8. Nf7+ Kd5 9. Nxg5 Kd4 10. Ne6+ Kc3 11. Nc5 $18) 8.
Nb7 $3 (8. Nc6+ Kd6 9. Nxb4 $2 Kc5 10. Nc2 g5 $11) 8... g5 9. Nc5 Kd6 10. Ne4+
Ke5 11. Nxg5 Kd4 12. Ne6+ Kc3 13. Nc5 $11 1-0

[Event "1.c Chess Artistry Competition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "035 - Vladislav Tarasiuk"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6r1/K1P2pN1/2kP4/p7/1P6/1B1q4/R7/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "18"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,18,-92,-105,-77,-196,-321,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} {Judge's
comments: White’s king is trapped in the corner, and is in serious danger of
being mated, but White manages to turn the tables and force stalemate instead.
The consecutive sacrifices which finish this study are an attractive feature,
but it’s all rather forcing.} 1. b5+ $1 ({The trap for White is already set
in the diagram position of the endgame study: the tempting} 1. Ba4+ $2 Kxd6 2.
Ne8+ Rxe8 3. Bxe8 Qd4+ {and White loses.}) 1... Kxd6 2. Bxf7 (2. b6 $2 Ra8+ $1
3. Kxa8 Qa6+ 4. Kb8 Qxb6+ 5. Ka8 Qc6+ 6. Ka7 Qxc7+ 7. Ka6 Qc6+ 8. Kxa5 Qc3+ 9.
Ka4 Qxg7 $19) 2... Ra8+ $1 {Black's chance to win is to use the precarious
position of the White king, who is standing on the edge of the board, far away
from his forces.} (2... Kxc7 3. Ne6+ $1 (3. Ne8+ $2 Rxe8 $1 4. b6+ Kc8 $1 5.
b7+ Kc7 $19) 3... Kc8 4. Bxg8 Qd7+ 5. Kb6 Qb7+ 6. Kc5 $11) (2... Rc8 3. Ne8+
Ke7 4. Bh5 $1 Qd4+ (4... Qxb5 5. Re2+ $11) 5. b6 Qe4 6. b7 Qd4+ 7. Ka6 $11) 3.
Kxa8 Kxc7 4. b6+ $1 (4. Ka7 $2 Qe3+ {(d4+)} 5. Ka6 Qb6#) 4... Kxb6 5. Rb2+ Ka6
6. Ne8 $1 {The best defense.} (6. Ne6 $2 {is a losing move} Qc3 $1 7. Be8 a4 8.
Rb7 Qc8+ 9. Rb8 Qxe6 $19) 6... Qc3 $1 7. Bc4+ $1 (7. Rb7 $2 Qc8+ 8. Rb8 Qc6+ 9.
Rb7 Qxb7#) 7... Qxc4 8. Nc7+ $1 Qxc7 9. Rb6+ $1 Qxb6 {- stalemate. Black used
the white king in the corner (2... Ra8+!) for mate, but White for stalemate.
To do this, White responds with sacrifices of a pawn, Khight, Bishop and Rook!}
1/2-1/2

[Event "2.c Chess Artistry Competition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "033 - Dmitry Zilberstein"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2b5/5n2/3P4/8/3Bk1pR/5pKp/3b1P2/5B2 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "19"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,19,-251,-373,-361,-138,-118,-104,-103,-103,-48,-48,-44,-42,-37,-38,
-31,-27,-27,-24,0,0] Judge's comments: The preliminary sacrifice on the first
move to clear a6 for the bishop is already a plus point, and the stalemate
line after 4...gxh3 adds to the value of the study.} 1. d7 $1 (1. Be3 $2 Bxe3
2. fxe3 Nxd6 $1 3. Kf2 h2 $3 4. Rxh2 Nf5 $19 5. Rh8 g3+ 6. Kg1 Bd7 7. Bg2 Kxe3
$19 (7... Nxe3 $19 8. Bh1 Kf4) (7... fxg2 $4 8. Kxg2 Kxe3 9. Rf8 $1 $11)) 1...
Bxd7 2. Be3 Bxe3 (2... Bb4 3. Kh2 $11 (3. Bf4 $11)) 3. fxe3 Kxe3 (3... Nd6 $5 {
Very important alternative - equally important as the Main Line} 4. Kf2 h2 $5 (
4... Kf5 $5 5. Bxh3 $1 (5. Bd3+ $2 Kg5 6. Rh8 Bf5 $1 $19) 5... Ne4+ (5... Kg5
6. Bxg4 Bxg4 7. Rh8 Ne4+ 8. Kg1 {Transposition}) 6. Kg1 Kg5 7. Bxg4 Bxg4 8. Rh8
$1 {This is a 7-piece Tablebase draw. In human terms, White is able to hold
the fortress with the rook on the 8th Rank such as f8/g8/d8 and White King on
h2, g3, f2. If f3 pawn goes to f2 as long as there's no winning check on h3
then Kg2 and White will always threaten with active defense to sacrifice the
Rook for Knight and pawn} ({NOTE:} 8. Rh7 $2 Be6 $1 $19) 8... Be6 9. Rf8 Kg4
10. Kh2 Bf5 11. Rd8 f2 12. Kg2 Kh4 13. Rh8+ Kg5 14. Rg8+ Bg6 15. Rf8) (4... Ke5
$5 5. Rh5+ (5. Bd3 $5 $11 Bf5 (5... Ne4+ 6. Bxe4 $11 Kxe4 7. Rh8) 6. Rh5 {
transposes to 5. Rh5}) 5... Bf5 6. Bd3 h2 (6... Kf6 7. Bxf5 Nxf5 8. Rxh3) (6...
Ne4+ 7. Bxe4 $11 Kxe4 8. Rh8) 7. Bb1 $5 $11 (7. Bxf5 Nxf5 8. Rh8 $11 (8. Rxh2
Ke4 9. Rh8 g3+ 10. Ke1 $11))) 5. Ba6 $3 {This shows why the pawn sacrifice on
d7 on the first move was necessary - to free up the a6 square for the White
bishop compared to 1. Be3 line} Ke5 (5... Nf5 6. Bb7+ $1 $11 Kd3 7. Rxh2) 6.
Rxh2 (6. Bd3 Bf5 7. Bxf5 Nxf5 8. Rxh2 Ke4 9. Rh8 $11 {dual in 'second main
line'.}) 6... Ne4+ 7. Kg1 g3 8. Rh5+ $1 $11 Kf6 (8... Bf5 9. Bc8 Nd6 10. Rg5) (
8... Kd6 9. Bb7 Bg4 10. Rh6+ Ke5 11. Bxe4 Kxe4 12. Rh4 Kf5 13. e4+ (13. Rh8))
9. Rh4 Ng5 (9... Bf5 10. Rf4 Ng5 11. Rxf3) 10. Rf4+ Ke5 11. Rxf3) 4. Bxh3 $3
Ng5 $1 (4... gxh3 5. Rf4 Ng5 6. Rxf3+ $1 $11 {This is either a stalemate or
Black cannot make any progress to White's active defense - for example:} Ke2 7.
Rf4 Be6 8. Rh4 Kf1 9. Rh6 Bc8 10. Rh8) (4... Nd6 $6 5. Bxg4 {As in 4...Ng5 Line
} (5. Rxg4 $5 $11)) 5. Bxg4 (5. Rxg4 Nxh3 6. Rg7 Be6 $1 $19) 5... Ne4+ (5... f2
6. Rh1 $11) 6. Kh2 f2 7. Rh3+ $1 (7. Be2 $2 Nd2 $1 8. Ba6 Nf3+ 9. Kg3 Nxh4 $19
10. Kxh4 Kf4) (7. Kg2 $2 Bc6 $1 $19) 7... Kd2 8. Rd3+ $1 Kxd3 9. Bxd7 f1=Q 10.
Bb5+ {draw.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "3.c Chess Artistry Competition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "009 - Evgeny Egorov"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/2p5/2n5/6P1/8/8/8/2k1K3 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "29"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,29,-69,-53,-49,-49,-136,-136,-125,-123,-129,-125,-125,-125,-119,-131,
-125,-131,-128,-131,-131,-131,-124,-115,-114,-121,-116,-121,-114,-114,-88,-84]
Judge's comments: The same material as in 042, but somewhat less interesting.
There’s a reciprocal zugzwang with thematic try, but the marches of the king
up and down the e-file are too straightforward to be truly exciting. The final
knight promotion is a nice touch.} 1. Ke2 (1. Kf2 $2 Kd2 $19) 1... Kc2 2. Ke3
Kc3 3. Ke4 $1 (3. g6 $2 Ne7 4. g7 Nf5+ 5. Ke4 Nxg7 $19) 3... Kc4 (3... Ne7 4.
Ke5 Kc4 (4... Kb4 5. Kf6 $11) (4... Ng6+ 5. Kd5 $11) 5. Kf6 Nd5+ 6. Ke5 Kc5 7.
g6 $11 {See main option}) 4. g6 Kc5 5. g7 Ne7 6. Ke5 Ng8 (6... Kc6 7. Ke6 Ng8
8. Kf7 Nh6+ 9. Kg6 Ng8 10. Kf7 $11) 7. Ke6 Nh6 $1 8. Ke5 $3 {zz} ({Logical try
} 8. Kd7 $2 Kb6 $1 9. Ke6 Kc6 $1 $19 {zz}) (8. Kf6 $2 Kd6 9. Kg6 Ng8 10. Kf7
Ne7 $19) 8... Kc6 (8... Kb6 9. Kf6 $11) 9. Ke6 $1 {zz} Kc5 10. Ke5 c6 11. Ke6
Kd4 12. Kf6 Ke4 13. Kg6 Nf5 $1 14. g8=N $1 c5 15. Nf6+ $11 1/2-1/2

[Event "4.c Chess Artistry Competition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "021- Peter Krug, Michal Hlink"]
[Black "and Mario Garcia"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rr2k3/R3p3/4PqP1/8/7p/4Q3/1p4K1/6R1 w q - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "23"]
[EventDate "2020.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,23,0,0,0,0,110,36,24,24,24,294,545,577,580,637,630,651,651,663,661,
683,29997,29998,29999,-30000]} {Judge's comments: I wasn’t too keen on the
brutal introductory play, but the anti-castling move 9 Rc1! lifts this study
into the award. Themes: Queens and Rooks Final- Elimination of the threat of
Draw by castling, in black's counterplay -Culmination in mate} 1. g7 $1 Qxg7+
2. Kh3 $1 (2. Kh2 $2 b1=Q $11) 2... b1=Q (2... Qf8 3. Qe4 $1 Rb3+ 4. Kh2 Qf2+
5. Rg2 $1 $18) 3. Rxb1 Qf6 (3... Qg6 4. Qe5 Qd3+ (4... Qg3+ 5. Qxg3 $18 {
see solution in (1)}) 5. Kxh4 $18) 4. Qe4 $1 (4. Ra5 $2 Kf8 $1 $11) 4... Qg5 ({
main} 4... Qc3+ 5. Kxh4 Qh8+ 6. Kg5 Qf6+ 7. Kh5 Qh8+ 8. Kg6 Qg8+ 9. Kh6 Qf8+ (
9... Qh8+ 10. Qh7 Qf8+ 11. Qg7 $18) 10. Kh7 $1 $18) 5. Qf3 Qg3+ ({main :} 5...
Qf6 6. Qc6+ Kf8 7. Rxa8 Qf5+ 8. Kh2 $1 Qe5+ (8... Qxb1 9. Qf3+ Kg7 10. Qg4+ {
/f7} Kh8 11. Qxh4+ Kg8 12. Qg3+ Kh7 13. Rxb8 $1 $18) 9. Kh1 $1 $18) 6. Qxg3 {
(1)} hxg3 7. Ra3 $1 g2 ({main :} 7... Kf8 8. Rf1+ Kg7 9. Rxg3+ Kh6 10. Rh1 Rb2
(10... Rb4 11. Kg2+ Rh4 12. Rxh4#) 11. Kg4+ Kg6 12. Kf4+ Kf6 13. Rh6#) 8. Kxg2
Rc8 9. Rc1 $3 ({Try:} 9. Rg3 $2 Rc2+ $1 10. Kg1 O-O-O $3 $11) 9... Kf8 10. Rf1+
Kg7 11. Rg3+ Kh6 12. Rh1# 1-0

[Event "5.c Chess Artistry Competition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "001 - Michal Hlinka and"]
[Black "Lubos Kekely"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1n1K4/1r6/3P3P/6k1/b7/8/2R5/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "17"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,17,-122,-424,-333,-333,-327,-284,-282,-332,-267,-239,-236,-236,0,0,0,
0,0,0] Judge's comments: A workmanlike study in which White twice offers his
rook to push through one of his pawns.} 1. Rc4 $1 (1. Kc8 $2 Rb4 $1 $19) (1.
Rc5+ $2 Kxh6 $19) 1... Bb5 2. Rc5+ $1 Kf4 {main A} (2... Kxh6 {main B} 3. Kc8
Rb6 (3... Ba6 4. d7 Rb5+ 5. Kc7 Rxc5+ 6. Kxb8 Rd5 7. Kc7 $11) 4. Kc7 Nd7 5.
Rxb5 $1 Rxb5 6. Kxd7 Kg7 7. Kc6 $1 Rb1 8. d7 Rd1 9. Kc7 {draw}) 3. Rc7 $1 (3.
h7 $2 Nc6+ 4. Kc8 Rxh7 $19) 3... Nc6+ 4. Ke8 $1 (4. Kd7 $2 Rb8 5. Ke6 Rh8 6. h7
Ne5 7. Kf6 Bd3 8. d7 Bf5 $19) 4... Rb8+ (4... Ne5+ 5. Ke7 $11) 5. Kf7 Ke5 (5...
Kg5 6. Kg7 Nd4 7. Rc5+ Nf5+ 8. Rxf5+ $1 Kxf5 9. h7 Rb7+ 10. Kh6 $11) 6. h7 (6.
d7 $2 Kd6 7. Rc8 Rb7 $19) 6... Kxd6 (6... Nd8+ 7. Ke7 Ne6 8. Rc1 $1 $11) 7.
Rxc6+ $1 Bxc6 8. Kg7 Rb7+ 9. Kh6 $11 1/2-1/2

[Event "6.c Chess Artistry Competition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "045- Martin van Essen"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4K3/6p1/2P1RP1k/8/4b3/2Brr3/2P5/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "11"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,11,191,116,116,108,108,108,886,962,962,982,982,992]} {Judge's
comments: The multiple pins are an entertaining feature, slightly reminiscent
of a well-known Troitzky study (87199). However, it’s the surprising
refutation of 2 Be5? which earns this study its place in the award. White is a
rook down, but a Black rook is en prise and White has dangerous promotion
threats.} 1. f7+ (1. cxd3 $2) (1. fxg7+ $2 {However, attempts such as 1.cxd3?
and 1.fxg7+? are defused by a bishop check on c6 or g6 followed by Rxe6.}) 1...
Bg6 {A move full of effect. It blocks a discovered check and in one strike it
creates three pins on the board: A pin of the f7 pawn, a counter-pin and a
counter-counterpin. Instead, any king move would now have been soundly
defeated by 2.cxd3. Now, a very important attempt by White is to break the
counter-counter-pin by 2.Be5. At first sight, this seems to work well after
2… Rxe5 3.Rxe5 and within a few moves, Black is forced to give up his bishop
for White’s f7 pawn after which the ensuing rook endgame is won for White.}
2. Bd2 $3 {A counter-counter-counter-pin: The f7 pawn is pinned by the Bg6,
which itself is pinned by the Re6, which in turn is pinned by the Re3, which
in turn is pinned by the Bd2.} (2. Be5 $2 Rd6 $3 (2... Rxe5 $2 3. Rxe5 Rf3 (
3... Rc3 4. Re6 $1) 4. Re7 Ra3 5. Rd7 $1 $18 (5. c7 $2 Ra8+ 6. Kd7 Bf5+ $1 $11)
) 3. Bf4+ (3. Rxg6+ $2 Kxg6 4. f8=Q Rxe5+ $19) (3. Rxd6 Rxe5+ {with a split:}
4. Kf8 (4. Kd8 Rf5 5. c7 Rxf7 6. c8=Q Rf8+ 7. Kd7 Rxc8 8. Kxc8 Kg5 9. c4 Be4 $1
10. c5 Kf5 {planning g7-g5, drawing.} ({But not} 10... Kf4 $4 11. Rd4 $18))
4... Rf5 5. Rd7 Rc5 6. c7 Rxc2 7. Ke8 {(allows arecapture at f7 with the rook;
compare 7.Ke7 Bxf7 =)} Bxf7+ {(Black must not wait for White to play Kd8)} 8.
Rxf7 g5 $1 {(Black is just in time)} 9. Kd7 {(threatening Rf6+ followed by Rc6)
and now indeed after} Kh5 $2 (9... Kg6 $11) 10. c8=Q {! White wins.}) 3... Kh5
$1 ({Incidentally, this shows why} 3... Kh7 $2 {would fail: White then has 6.
Rh4+ in this variation.}) 4. Rxe3 Bxf7+ 5. Kxf7 Rxc6 {with the double threat
of 6… Rxc2 and 6… Rf6+, drawing.}) 2... Rxd2 3. Rxe3 Rf2 {This leads
perhaps to the most thematic play.} ({Other defenses:} 3... Bxf7+ {This forces
a series of unique, but rather easy moves in an elementary rook endgame:} 4.
Kxf7 Rxc2 5. Re6+ Kg5 6. Kxg7 Kf5 7. Kf7 Rh2 8. Ke7 Rh7+ 9. Kd6 $18) (3... Rxc2
{would be the most resilient in practice.} 4. Re6 (4. Rh3+ {is good too, but
is one move slower}) 4... Kg5 5. Rxg6+ Kxg6 6. f8=Q Rxc6 {and now Black would
love to get in Rf6 and Kh7 to set up a fortress, but White won’t let him
have both. The tablebases indicate} 7. Qe7 Rf6 8. Qe4+ $1 {as the fastest way
to proceed.}) 4. Rh3+ Kg5 {Black had managed to survive the lateral attack on
his bishop (see second diagram), but he falls to a frontal attack.} 5. Rg3+ Kh5
6. Rxg6 {wins.} 1-0

