Nikolai Grigoriev
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- This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.
Nikalai (Nikolay) Dmitrievich Grigoriev was a Russian chess player and a composer of endgame studies. He was born on 14 August 1895 in Moscow, and he died there in 1938.
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[edit] Playing career
Grigoriev was Moscow Champion four times: in 1921, 1922, 1923–24 and 1929. His playing career spanned from 1910 to 1929. He lost games to Alexander Alekhine (1915 and 1919) and Mikhail Botvinnik (1927); both would later become chess world champions.[1]
[edit] Composing career
Grigoriev composed more than 300 endgame studies.[2] He is especially noted for his prolific output of pawn endgames with only kings and pawns on the board, where he had no equal. In 1935, the French magazine La Stratégie organized a tourney for endgame studies with two pawns against one, and Grigoriev ran away with ten of the twelve awards.[3]
[edit] Example study 1
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In Diagram 1, White wins as follows:
- 1.d4 Kg5
- 2.Kf7 Kf5
- 3.d5 Ke5
- 4.e4
Now Black can choose which of his three pawns he wishes to promote to a queen, but he loses no matter what.
- 4...a5
- 5.Ke7 a4
- 6.d6 a3
- 7.d7 a2
- 8.d8=Q a1=Q
- 9.Qh8+ wins the queen by a skewer.
If Black queens the b-pawn instead, the queen on b1 is captured after 9.Qd6+ Kxe4 10.Qg6+. If Black tries to get a queen on h1, it's gone after 9.Qd6+ Kxe4 10.Qc6+.[4]
[edit] Example study 2
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In Diagram 2, White wins a pawn race through a beautiful repetitive maneuver:
- 1.f4
Threatens to queen on move 5 with check, after which the queen can stop Black's pawn if it advances to d2. Black's best defense is to try to chase the White pawn with his king.
- 1...Kb4
- 2.h4
The Black king cannot catch the h-pawn, so now Black must counterattack by advancing his d-pawn. Now if White plays 3.h5, Black will queen on d1 with check. So...
- 3.f5 Kc5
- 4.h5 d4
And the pattern repeats itself again:
- 5.f6 Kd6
- 6.h6 d3
- 7.f7 Ke7
- 8.h7 d2
Now, finally, White provides the coup de grace:
- 9. f8=Q+ Kxf8
- 10. h8=Q+ Ke7
- 11. Qd4 and White wins.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ Nikolai Grigoriev at ChessGames.com
- ^ Article by Harold van der Heijden in EG (magazine). [1]
- ^ "Endgame Explorations 9: Grigoriev." Article by Noam Elkies, originally published in Chess Horizons. [2]
- ^ ChessCafe.com Endgame study 364. [3]
- ^ Irving Chernev. Practical Chess Endings, p. 80. New York: Dover, 1961. ISBN: 486-22208-X.
[edit] External links
- Another problem by Grigoriev on ChessCafe.com: [4]
- Studies by N.Grigoriev at SilverPawn.com
