Problems worth solving
The first chess book I went through was the Soviet Chess Primer by Ilya Maizelis, which made me love the game.
Even if it was hard at times, it had a sense of humour based on the studies of Sam Loyd, and other funny positions.
https://lichess.org/study/Pz2NCuaY/rB5dAWBN
The answer starts with 1.Bb6! I’ll let you figure out the rest.
There were hilarious dialogues between two imaginary players, Loyd fooling his friends, and positions that made you think,
how is this even possible?
Sam Loyd with an awesome moustache
https://lichess.org/study/Pz2NCuaY/4rgPhY96
The task for this problem – or at least the first part of the wording – was announced rather indistinctly in noisy surroundings by the famous problemist Sam Loyd. It was possible to catch the words ” … to play” (now his voice grew stronger!) “and mate in four moves.” The listeners racked their brains for a long time, but their efforts to mate the black king within four moves came to nothing. “White cannot give mate in four moves here,” they finally decided. “What do you mean, White?” Loyd asked in feigned astonishment, pleased to have had his listeners on. “I said quite clearly, it’s Black to play and mate in four moves.” Sure enough, the black pawn solves the problem easily and amusingly.
Dialogues like these stick in my mind 20+ years later, which made me think, don’t we all learn better with humour?
The best parts of Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual (for me) were the Tragicomedies, such as this one:
https://lichess.org/study/Pz2NCuaY/zFhCxo89
White snatches defeat from the jaws of a draw, and there was always some Schadenfreude involved which made the examples more memorable.
This made me think of other examples which were instructive while being entertaining.
Here are a few that came to mind:
https://lichess.org/study/Pz2NCuaY/nVr1Wwpd#87
In this position, Reuben Fine who had just written his “Basic Chess Endgames” book turned to his opponent Najdorf and offered a draw.
He claimed this draw was clearly illustrated in his book, and he would bet a $1000 that this is a draw, big money for that time!
Najdorf said this was too much money and offered $200, to which Fine replied, “I don’t want to steal your money! Let’s just play it out if it makes you happy…”
Najdorf went on to win, and Reuben had to change the verdict on this endgame in his book!
Peculiar positions
Not only endgames can be funny and instructive, here are some funny middlegames that will leave you thinking, how is this possible?
For starters, how many moves do you think is the shortest stalemate in chess?
https://lichess.org/study/Pz2NCuaY/mm6FOoId
If you guessed 10 moves, you’re onto something! Just don’t expect many of these moves to be logical.
Can a chess puzzle be a history lesson? Absolutely, as the Russian Master Petrov made clear in 1824, explaining Napoleonic battles with this masterpiece:
https://lichess.org/study/Pz2NCuaY/aN4bIwlM
Tournament games can also leave you shocked and laughing.
For example, there’s this masterpiece:
https://lichess.org/study/Pz2NCuaY/eK1ldkeB#131
What ended up happening was Ljubojevic offered a draw from a slightly better position which Cheparinov refused, and when Cheparinov offered a draw at which point Ljubojevic refused stubbornly. Stubbornness knows no limit and these players did not want to offer any more draws, even though both knew that the position demanded it, and playing on would be disastrous. So they kept on repeating moves from move 68 to 84, and might have still be repeating moves to this day, if the arbiter didn’t interfere! The referee had to persuade them to draw the game in private conversation, they must have really been enjoying the game 🙂
Grandmaster copycats
Ever wondered what happens if two players sitting next to each other follow the same moves? There is a long history of team matches being debates on certain opening positions, with all players going for the same opening line. But the most comical case of “copycatting” was at the 2019 Isle of Man tournament, where two 2700+ games were fully identical until move 20! The arbiter had to step in and take matters into his own hands, separating the players into different rooms. At that point the games quickly went their own way. Was the copying intentional? See for yourself!
https://lichess.org/study/Pz2NCuaY/ainhwiFA
https://lichess.org/study/Pz2NCuaY/9PQfn8Fo
19 moves of a sharp Sicilian, the start of modern opening theory!
Funny stories from tournaments
Back in 2016, I was playing in a holiday tournament in Oieras, Portugal, which boasted beautiful beaches with daily 30+ degree weather. Me and my friend Michael were both doing well in the tourney, and got paired together, to our chagrin. We didn’t want to play each other, as someone would likely be sad and bitter the next day, with their tournament goals decimated. We realized that this being a vacation tourney specially catered towards tourists, it would be a shame if we didn’t use the opportunity to visit the capital city of Lisbon. Unfortunately it was a 2 hour trip both ways and we wouldn’t be able to play the round and see the city.
We noticed that two other players staying together didn’t come for the previous round, declaring a draw between themselves. With such a precedent, we decided to do the same! We emailed the organizers that we had agreed to a draw in the next round, and told our third Canadian friend to remind them when the round started the next day.
We had a great time in Lisbon, seeing all the sights and feasting on their famous custard tarts. We had no data or access to internet that day, until at 7 PM we finally found free wifi. A message from our third friend was waiting “the organizers said you cannot draw without showing up 🙂 ” That smily emoji threw us off completely, as we were fairly convinced that he was kidding.
We still ran back to the tournament site, just to find the organizers waiting to tell us that we had been double-forfeited. I understand now that this was completely consistent with Fide rules and we were in the wrong, but the two Canadian tourists were not so polite when pleading their cases that day…
When we brought up the same type of draw that had happened a round earlier, we were told that the door of players’ Airbnb was broken and they couldn’t come to the game because of it! Too bad the same excuse didn’t work for us 🙁 despite the double forfeit, I tied for third in Oieras and we both reached our titles shortly after!
Minas Tirith, Lisbon edition
In the 1959 Candidates Tournament, GM Olafsson from Iceland was due to face Petrosian in the first round. Before the game, he and his coach wanted to visit the local sights, especially the famous island on Lake Bled. According to an old legend, any wish made in the church of this island would be granted (No points for guessing what he wished!). Olafsson and his coach started to make their way to the island on a boat, but as they made their way, another boat was going back to the mainland. Even from far away, Olafsson could make out the smiling face of Petrosian on that boat. “Oh no, we’re doomed! He beat me to it, now there’s no hope!” said the desperate Grandmaster. As you can imagine, this attitude did not lead to victory the following day. Careful what you wish for, and when you wish for it!
The church on Bled Island.
