You’re right.
I failed to explain this into more detail and realize now that it was not the best of example positions for the purpose of this lesson.
Even though 1.Bd3 is superior to 1.Bc1 since after the latter Nxa3 is attacking the c2 bishop, and after the first Nxa3 can be answered with the confusing 2.h4!?
the move 1…Nxa3 is indeed possible in both cases.
This set of exercises helped me to identify a major flaw in my game. In the first few positions, I followed my usual method of solving these kinds of “puzzles.” Rather than sitting down and calculating variations for each of the candidate moves, especially the opponent’s reply, I did a very superficial examination of moves and relied upon intuition rather than concrete calculation. Even though I almost always selected the correct move, I did so without fully appreciating (or even seeing) some of the variations you demonstrated. Once I realized this, I forced myself to look more closely and thoroughly at the remaining positions and performed better. Thanks!
I don’t get position number 2, after Bishop to d3, knight on c3 can still capture the a3 pawn. I am not seeing something?
Hi Bassam,
You’re right.
I failed to explain this into more detail and realize now that it was not the best of example positions for the purpose of this lesson.
Even though 1.Bd3 is superior to 1.Bc1 since after the latter Nxa3 is attacking the c2 bishop, and after the first Nxa3 can be answered with the confusing 2.h4!?
the move 1…Nxa3 is indeed possible in both cases.
Greetings,
Waldemar
This set of exercises helped me to identify a major flaw in my game. In the first few positions, I followed my usual method of solving these kinds of “puzzles.” Rather than sitting down and calculating variations for each of the candidate moves, especially the opponent’s reply, I did a very superficial examination of moves and relied upon intuition rather than concrete calculation. Even though I almost always selected the correct move, I did so without fully appreciating (or even seeing) some of the variations you demonstrated. Once I realized this, I forced myself to look more closely and thoroughly at the remaining positions and performed better. Thanks!