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Fw: "Nabokov's Theme", Chess Life, March 2004, P. 25
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Patrice Summers" <summers@dramadance.ucsb.edu>
To: "D. Barton Johnson" <chtodel@cox.net>
Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2004 12:55 PM
Subject: "Nabokov's Theme", Chess Life, March 2004, P. 25
> VN was cited in the March 2004 issue of "Chess Life", p. 25,in a brief
> article attributed to "KP":
>
> The great American novelist, Vladimir Nabokov, composed chess problems
> which were published in his book, "Poems and Problems". He probably was a
> relatively weak over-the-board player; however, he had enough appreciation
> and chess literacy to write perhaps the best of all novels with chess as
> its center, "The Defense", as it is known in English.
>
> One of his problems is a mate in three. Nabokov explains: "The point of
> this problem...consists in that Black's R clears the way for White's
mating
> piece by capturing an intervening whitey, so that when it (Black's R)
> returns to its initial square, it can be captured with mate. This is the
> so-called 'Nabokov's theme.'"
>
> The key is 1 Kf7:
> 1...Rxh4 2 Kxf6 Rh6+ 3 Qxh6#.
> 1...Kxf5 2 Nxe3+ Kf4 3 Qf2#.
> 1...any 2 Ke6 any 3 Bxe3#.
>
> "Nabokov also gives as the best try: 1Nxe3 Rxh4 2 Qxh4 h5!"
>
> PS: Lack of formatting due to Mulberry e-mail program.
>
>
> Patrice Summers
> Administrative/Financial Asst.
> Dramatic Art/Dance
> University of California, Santa Barbara
> 805/893-5508
From: "Patrice Summers" <summers@dramadance.ucsb.edu>
To: "D. Barton Johnson" <chtodel@cox.net>
Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2004 12:55 PM
Subject: "Nabokov's Theme", Chess Life, March 2004, P. 25
> VN was cited in the March 2004 issue of "Chess Life", p. 25,in a brief
> article attributed to "KP":
>
> The great American novelist, Vladimir Nabokov, composed chess problems
> which were published in his book, "Poems and Problems". He probably was a
> relatively weak over-the-board player; however, he had enough appreciation
> and chess literacy to write perhaps the best of all novels with chess as
> its center, "The Defense", as it is known in English.
>
> One of his problems is a mate in three. Nabokov explains: "The point of
> this problem...consists in that Black's R clears the way for White's
mating
> piece by capturing an intervening whitey, so that when it (Black's R)
> returns to its initial square, it can be captured with mate. This is the
> so-called 'Nabokov's theme.'"
>
> The key is 1 Kf7:
> 1...Rxh4 2 Kxf6 Rh6+ 3 Qxh6#.
> 1...Kxf5 2 Nxe3+ Kf4 3 Qf2#.
> 1...any 2 Ke6 any 3 Bxe3#.
>
> "Nabokov also gives as the best try: 1Nxe3 Rxh4 2 Qxh4 h5!"
>
> PS: Lack of formatting due to Mulberry e-mail program.
>
>
> Patrice Summers
> Administrative/Financial Asst.
> Dramatic Art/Dance
> University of California, Santa Barbara
> 805/893-5508