THE LEPUSCHÜTZ THEME

by Hans Peter Rehm, Germany

II. The Lepuschütz theme as main content of a moremover

Nr.15: Hans Lepuschütz strived to hide the purpose of the foreplan. Show this position to your chess playing friend and let them try to solve it. The diagram gives no hint that White has to fear a pin and therefore it is mysterious what he achieves by 1.Rh4: Rh4:+ 2.Kg1 Rh8. Only after 3.Ra8+ Qa8: 4.Bb6 Qb8 one sees that the surprise pin on the line b8-h2 has been avoided. Type K/R-walk out of later pin. In fact there is also the Dresden theme (1.Bb6? Qc3!).

Nr.16: 1.Rb1? h5 or g5, 1.Rb8 Qg1+ 2.Rb1 Qa7 3.Qh6:. Type R/Q-advance.

Nr.17: 1.Rb8 [2.Qg8:+] Rc3+ 2.Kb4 Rc4+ 3.Ka5 Rc5 4.Rb5 Rc7 5.Qh6:+. Obviously this was developed from previous problem. The logic is better: A Probespiel like 1.Qh6:+? Kh6: 2.Rh3+ is absent in Nr.16 because the rook cannon rich h-line in one move. In addition the threat with another queen sacrifice is improved. For my taste this more than justifies the heavier position and the new publication. Type: R/R-white antiroman. (A move Rb5-b3 - loosing guard of g5 - forced by black, would be of Roman type).

Nr.18: 1.Re7? puts pressure on e2 but is not good enough. Loyd's problem Nr.18a shows that it would be fine to get the weaker piece in front but 1.Qe8? 2.Re7 is here too slow. 1.Ka8! [2.Rh7 3.Rh2:] Rh8+ 2.Qe8!! (now this spectacular sacrifice under check does the job! After 2... Re8:+? 3.Ka7! Black looses the control of g2) 2... Rh2 3.Re7. Black is helpless against 4.Re2:+ Be2: 5.Qe2:#. Type K/R-Loyd-Turton. This famous problem is the first connect of our theme with one of the deeper kinds of Führung, namely the Loyd-Turton move first shown in also famous pioneer which is reproduced here for reader's convenience.

Nr.18a: White wants to capture Pb6 to get Qc5#. But after 1.Bf2? the queen is in the way of the bishop. The most unexpected move of all possible 1.Qg1!! solves the problem. Since 1... Kd5? is countered by 2.Qg2+ 3.Qe2# Black is helpless. After 1... any 2.Bf2 Kd5 3.Bb6: Ke5: we have 4.Qd4# (Switchback). You see Loyd not only invented his Loyd-Turton but composed a first class problem by introducing the flight d5 which makes the key almost unbelievable since there are so many attacks looking much stronger (1.Qb4?, 1.Qe4+?, 1.Qc3+?).
The Loyd-Turton is much more difficult for the composer (and solver!) than the ordinary Turton where White simply clears the line backward for a stronger piece before doubling. Hence it is strange that it needed almost 20 years after Schneider before the ordinary Turton was shown in our theme! (In fact, as far as I know the simple Healey clearence - Bristol - seems to be missing until now!).

Nr.19: Probespiel 1.Bg8? [2.Qe6] Rc2 or Rf2, 1.Kb7 [2.Qa8+ 3.Qa1+ 4.Qc1#] Rh7+ 2.Bf7 Rh2 3.Qe6 Rb2 4.Qa6#. If 2... Rf7:+ 3.Qf7: Kb2 4.Qf2#. 1.Bf7? (Zugzwang) is a try uniqely refuted by 1... Rf2!. It is questionable whether this try is a Probespiel since it does not threaten 2.Qe6. Nevertheless, the Turton tendency of 1.Bf7? is used after 1... Rd,g2 2.Qe6. So a finer argument would say the theme appears here as a combination of choice. Another good try is 1.Qg6? defeated only by 1... Kb2!. The construction of this problem was difficult because I naturally started with the position shifted 1 square down. But then I could not find a correct position with less than 19 pieces. Type K/R-Turton.
Erich Brunner followed a suggestion by Kohtz and Kockelkorn to show the Turton move using the same pieces. This is more subtle because one has to invent a reason for the clearance (In the normal Turton it is often obvious that one needs the stronger piece in front and the idea is not rare even in the game).

Nr.20a: For reader's convenience I cite the first Brunner-Turton.
1.Rh4! Kc5: 2.Rgg4 3.Rc4, Probespiel 1.Rd4? (e.g.) Kc5: 2.Rgg4! Kc6! 3.Rc4+ Kd7.

Nr.20: 1.Rcc5? Ke3: 2.Re5:+ Se4!, 1.Rb5? too slow. 1.Kb7 [2.Re5:+ Ke5: 3.Re7+ Kd6: 4.Sf5#] Rb1+ 2.Rb5 Rf1 3.Rcc5 [4.Re5:#] Sc4: 4.Rc4:#. Type K/R-Brunner-Turton.

Nr.21: If Stefan Schneider showed our theme with the Loyd-clearance, why not attempt the most famous Führung moves, the Indian critical move? I tried for almost a year without success. All schemes I looked at proved hopelessly unsound (the need for stalemate is at odds with a black check and the possibility to capture the critical piece). But finally I was lucky. White wants to capture Rb3 and mate by Rd3. A well known cure for the resulting stalemate after ba3 is the Indian maneuver, here 1.Bc6?! Ra3? 2.Rd5! Rb3 3.K moves Ra,c3 4.ba3,c3. But Black has time to attack Bc6 which refutes this try: 1.Bc6? Rc3!. Strangely, capturing Bc6 is worse than attacking it from c3, as the solution shows: 1.Ke6! [2.Kf5: 3.Kg4: 4.Bf3] Rb6:+ 2.Bc6!! Rb3! (if 2... Rc6:+ 3.Kf5: Rc3 4.bc3) 3.Rd5! Ra,c3 4.ba3,c3 Kf3,e4 5.Rd3. My original position (reproduced in the FIDE-Album) was without Pf5. Then 1.Bc6? is too slow and refuted by both 1... Ra3/Rc3. As a Probespiel it is OK, but not a try in the modern technical sense. So in the book Hans+Peter+Rehm=Schach (Edition feenix Nr.3) I added bPf5 and wPg5. Later J. Kuhlmann's computer found that bPf5 is sufficient. So this is now the authorized position. By the way there is another (unthematical) try refuted only by 1... Ra3, namely 1.Bg2? Rc3? 2.Sd5+ 3.Sc3:+. Type K/R-critical move.

Nr.22: After 1.Sf6? Bh3: White would like to play a Novotny by Rf7-f5, but he has interfered his rook. So an anticritical move is wanted. 1.Rf1..4? is too slow, hence our theme 1.Kb2 [2.Bd7+ 3.Sf6+ 4.Bb5] ba3+ 2.Kb3 [3.Bd7+ 4.Sf6#] Rh3:+ 3.Rf3! Rh5! 4.Sf6 Bh3 5.Rf5. Type K/R-anticritical move.

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