7

In yesterday's Tata Steel tournament in this game between Dubov and Artemiev this position was reached:

[title "Dubov - Artemiev Tata Steel 2020"]
[fen "r1r5/1p1q1pk1/2n1p1p1/2RpP2p/p2P3P/P1Q3P1/1P3P2/2R1N1K1 w - - 0 1"]

The position is one square/piece away from being a "reverse checkers" position with every piece for one player on one colour and every piece for the other player being on the other colour. Black's king would need to be on a white square (g8 or h7) to be a full "reverse checkers" position.

In an endgame with just a few pieces this would be an everyday occurrence but in positions where both sides have at least 12 pieces, as here, has a full "reverse checkers" position ever been achieved in a FIDE rated standard time control game between two grandmasters?

Rewan Demontay
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Brian Towers
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    I guess the likely maximum would be 28 pieces, because opposite colour bishops would need to disappear, and they are unlikely to be traded for one another. I remember a reverse checkers diagram appears at one point in Neil Gaiman’s Sandman saga but I can’t recall the episode – Laska Jan 20 '20 at 13:14
  • @BrianTowers excellent question and I highly recommend to address it to StackOverflow, where I think it'd be interesting: ask there how to find, within _one_ PGN, the "reverse checkers" position if one exists in that game. Coming up with an efficient algorithm for that is something they can probably help with there. Once we have the code to find it within one PGN we (on Chess StackExchange) can iterate it over our databases and find some positions for you – Mobeus Zoom Apr 14 '21 at 18:05
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    @MobeusZoom Such a question, asked on Stack Overflow, would likely be closed. https://meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/284236/why-is-can-someone-help-me-not-an-actual-question – Brian McCutchon Jan 04 '22 at 05:45

1 Answers1

6

Plenty! I ran this CQL query against Mega Database 2022:

// Chess Q 28034
// reverse checkers position with each side having 12+ pieces

cql()

(dark A == A and light a == a) or // white on dark squares; black on white
(light A == A and dark a == a)    // ^ vice versa
A >= 12 and a >= 12 // each side has at least 12 pieces

94 games were returned. Filtering those that happened between GMs:

  1. Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar vs. Zelcic, Robert at the 4th European Championship on Istanbul (2003):

    [FEN ""]
[Event "EU-ch 4th"]
[Site "Istanbul"]
[Date "2003.06.08"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"]
[Black "Zelcic, Robert"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D00"]
[WhiteElo "2607"]
[BlackElo "2540"]
[PlyCount "175"]
[StartPly "54"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 d5 3. Bxf6 exf6 4. e3 Bd6 5. c4 dxc4 6. Bxc4 O-O 7. Nc3 a6
8. Nf3 f5 9. O-O Nd7 10. a4 Nf6 11. Qb3 Qe7 12. Rfe1 c6 13.
a5 Ne4 14. Rec1 Bc7 15. Qc2 Bd7 16. Bd3 Rae8 17. g3 g6 18. Bxe4 fxe4 19. Nd2
Bf5 20. Nd5 cxd5 21. Qxc7 Qb4 22. Qc3 Qb5 23. Qb3 Qd7 24. Rc5 Be6 25. Qb6 Rc8
26. b4 Bh3 27. Rac1 Rfe8 28. f3 exf3 29. Kf2 Rxc5 30. bxc5 Bg4 31. Qb1
Bf5 32. Qb3 Bg4 33. Qb1 Bh5 34. Rc3 Re7 35. Qf1 Qa4 36. h3 Qxa5 37. Qc1 f5
38. Nxf3 Bxf3 39. Kxf3 Qb5 40. Kf2 Qc6 41. Rb3 Qd7 42. Qh1 Kg7 43. Rb6 Re6
44. Qb1 Rxb6 45. Qxb6 Kf7 46. h4 Ke7 47. Qa7 Qc8 48. Qb6 Qc6 49. Qa7 Kd7
50. Qa8 Kc7
51. Qf8 Qe6 52. Ke2 Kc6 53. Kd2 h5 54. Qb8 Qe7 55. Qg8 Kb5 56. Qxg6 Qe4 57.
Qxh5 a5 58. Qe2+ Kc6 59. Kc3 Qb1 60. Qd3 Qe1+ 61. Kb3 Qxg3 62. Ka4 Qxh4 63.
Qb5+ Kc7 64. Qb6+ Kc8 65. Qe6+ Kb8 66. Qxd5 Qf2 67. Qd8+ Ka7 68. Qxa5+ Kb8
69. Qd8+ Ka7 70. Qb6+ Ka8 71. Qb3 f4 72. exf4 Qxd4+ 73. Qb4 Qa1+ 74. Qa3 Qd1+
75. Kb5+ Kb8 76. Qe3 Kc7 77. Kc4 Qa4+ 78. Kd5 Qd7+ 79. Kc4 Qa4+ 80. Kd3 Qd1+
81. Ke4 Qh1+ 82. Kd4 Qa1+ 83. Kd5 Qa2+ 84. Ke5 Qa1+ 85. Kd5 Qa2+ 86. Ke5 Qb2+
87. Ke4 Qg2+ 88. Kf5 1/2-1/2

  2. Gyimesi, Zoltan vs. Kovacevic, Blazimir at the Slovenian National League 2008:

    [FEN ""]
[Event "SLO-chT 18th"]
[Site "Murska Sobota"]
[Date "2008.12.06"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Gyimesi, Zoltan"]
[Black "Kovacevic, Blazimir"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A90"]
[WhiteElo "2592"]
[BlackElo "2472"]
[PlyCount "102"]
[StartPly "75"]

1. d4 e6 2. c4 Bb4+ 3. Bd2 Bxd2+ 4. Qxd2 f5 5. g3 Nf6 6.
Bg2 O-O 7. Nc3 d6 8. f4 Qe7 9. O-O-O Nbd7 10. Nf3 Ne4 11. Qe1 Ndf6 12. e3 Bd7
13. Kb1 Rab8 14. Nxe4 Nxe4 15. Nd2 Bc6 16. Nxe4 Bxe4+ 17. Bxe4 fxe4
18. Qa5 a6 19. Rd2 c6 20. Rc1 Rbd8 21. c5 d5 22. Rc3 g5 23. Rc1 Kh8
24. Rg1 Rf7 25. Rf2 Rdf8 26. a3 Qf6 27. Ka2 Qh6 28. Qe1 Qh5 29. Kb3 Qg6
30. h4 g4 31. Qa5 Kg7 32. Ka2 Kf6 33. Rc1 Rc8 34. Rc3 Qg8 35. Rb3 Qe8
36. Rb6 h5 37. Kb1 Kf5 38. Kc1 Ra8 39. b3 Qc8 40. Rb2 Ra7
41. Qc3 a5 42. Qd2 Qa8 43. Qe2 Rc7 44. Kb1 Rc8 45. Ra2 Ra6 46. Rxa6 Qxa6
47. Qxa6 bxa6 48. Kc2 Rb8 49. Kc3 Rb5 50. Rb2 Kf6 51. b4 a4 1/2-1/2

  3. Paragua, Mark vs. Andreikin, Dmitry at the 4th Alushta Autumn (2004):

    [FEN ""]
[Event "Alushta Autumn 4th"]
[Site "Alushta"]
[Date "2004.10"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Paragua, Mark"]
[Black "Andreikin, Dmitry"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A48"]
[WhiteElo "2534"]
[BlackElo "2449"]
[PlyCount "110"]
[StartPly "86"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bg5 Bg7 4. Nbd2 O-O 5. e4 d6 6. c3
Qe8 7. Be2 e5 8. dxe5 dxe5 9. O-O Nbd7 10. Qc2 h6 11. Bh4 Nh5 12. Rfe1 Nf4 13.
Bf1 Nb6 14. Rad1 Be6 15. b3 g5 16. Bg3 Ng6 17. Be2 f6 18. Nf1 Rd8 19. Rxd8 Qxd8
20. Ne3 Rf7 21. c4 c5 22. Nd5 Ne7 23. b4 Nc6 24. a3 Bf8 25. Qb1 Bd6 26. Rd1 Qf8
27. Qd3 Be7 28. b5 Nd4 29. Nd2 Nc8 30. h3 Rh7 31. Bh5 Nd6 32. Nf1 Bxd5 33. exd5
e4 34. Qb1 f5 35. Be5 Bf6 36. Bxd4 Bxd4 37. Ng3 Qf6 38. Qc2 Re7 39. Ne2 Be5 40.
f3 e3 41. Rf1 b6 42. Kh1 Kg7 43. a4 f4 44. Bg4 Qg6 45. Qb3 h5 46.
Be6 Ne8 47. Rd1 Nc7 48. Bc8 Ne8 49. Kg1 Nd6 50. Be6 Qf6 51. Rf1 Re8 52. Qa2 Bc3
53. Qc2 Be5 54. Qa2 Bc3 55. Qb3 Be5 1/2-1/2

  4. Beshukov, Sergei vs. Kryschilovskij Andrej at the 7th Chigorin memorial (1999):

    [FEN ""]
[Event "Chigorin Memorial 07th"]
[Site "St Petersburg"]
[Date "1999.11.06"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Beshukov, Sergei"]
[Black "Kryschilovskij, Andrej"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B20"]
[WhiteElo "2506"]
[BlackElo "2343"]
[PlyCount "109"]
[StartPly "90"]

1. e4 c5 2. d3 Nc6 3. f4 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. g3 e6 6. Bg2
Nge7 7. O-O O-O 8. c3 b6 9. a4 Rb8 10. Na3 d5 11. e5 a6 12. Nc2 d4 13. Ng5 f5
14. exf6 Bxf6 15. Ne4 Bg7 16. c4 h6 17. Qe2 Kh7 18. Rb1 a5 19. Bd2 Bd7 20. g4
Ng8 21. h3 Qe7 22. Ng3 Rbe8 23. Na3 Qh4 24. Be1 Qd8 25. Nb5 Qb8 26. Bd2 Nge7
27. Be4 Bf6 28. Qg2 Kg7 29. Rf3 Bh4 30. Rbf1 Kh7 31. Kh1 Nb4 32. Bc1 Na2 33.
Bd2 Nb4 34. b3 Nc2 35. Bc1 Ne3 36. Bxe3 dxe3 37. Ne2 Bxb5 38. axb5 Bf2 39. h4
Kh8 40. Qh3 Qd6 41. Kg2 e5 42. h5 g5 43. fxg5 hxg5 44. Rh1 Qh6 45. Bg6 Rd8
46. Qh2 Nxg6 47. hxg6 Qxh2+ 48. Rxh2+ Kg7 49. Rfh3 Kxg6 50. Rh6+ Kg7 51. Rh7+
Kg8 52. Rh8+ Kg7 53. R8h7+ Kg8 54. Rh8+ Kg7 55. R8h7+ 1/2-1/2

  5. Kovacevic, Blazimir vs. Kristovic, Marijan at the 2nd Velica Gorica op (2002):

    [FEN ""]
[Event "Velika Gorica op 2nd"]
[Site "Velika Gorica"]
[Date "2002.06.28"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Kovacevic, Blazimir"]
[Black "Kristovic, Marijan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D03"]
[WhiteElo "2461"]
[BlackElo "2328"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[StartPly "81"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 d5 3. e3 Nbd7 4. Nf3 e6 5. Bd3 Be7 6. c4
dxc4 7. Bxc4 a6 8. a4 b6 9. Nc3 Bb7 10. Qe2 Nd5 11. Bxd5 exd5 12. Bxe7 Qxe7 13.
a5 O-O 14. O-O f5 15. Qc2 Rac8 16. Qb3 Kh8 17. Rfe1 g5 18. Rad1 b5 19. Ne2 Rg8
20. Nd2 Rg7 21. f4 c5 22. Ng3 Rf8 23. Nf3 g4 24. Ne5 c4 25. Qc2 Qe6 26. Qc3 Kg8
27. Qb4 Nf6 28. Ne2 h5 29. Nc3 Rc8 30. Kf2 h4 31. g3 Rcc7 32. Rh1 Nh5 33. Rdg1
Qf6 34. Ke1 h3 35. Kf2 Qe6 36. Rc1 Nf6 37. Rhd1 Rc8 38. Ke2 Nd7 39. Nxd7 Rxd7
40. Kd2 Kf7 41. Re1 Re7 42. Re2 Bc6 43. Kc2 Rb7 44. Kd2 Rcc7 45. Ke1 Qe7
46. Na2 Qe4 47. Nc3 Qe7 48. Na2 Qe4 49. Nc3 1/2-1/2

  6. Naumkin, Igor vs. Budisavljevic, Luka at the 155th Novi Sad TS Mix (2020):

    [FEN ""]
[Event "Novi Sad TS Mix 155th"]
[Site "Novi Sad"]
[Date "2020.11.27"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Naumkin, Igor"]
[Black "Budisavljevic, Luka"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E10"]
[WhiteElo "2329"]
[BlackElo "2492"]
[PlyCount "168"]
[StartPly "119"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 b5 5. Bg5 b4 6. Nbd2
Be7 7. Bxf6 Bxf6 8. Qc2 O-O 9. h4 exd5 10. cxd5 d6 11. e3 a5 12. Bd3 h6 13. Rd1
Bg4 14. Bh7+ Kh8 15. Bf5 Bxf5 16. Qxf5 g6 17. Qf4 Bg7 18. g4 Qe7 19. Nc4 Ra6
20. h5 g5 21. Qf5 Qd7 22. Nfd2 Qxf5 23. gxf5 Re8 24. f3 Nd7 25. Ke2 Nf6 26. Nf1
a4 27. Rd3 Kg8 28. Nfd2 Kf8 29. e4 Ng8 30. Kd1 Ne7 31. Kc1 Nc8 32. Rf1 Bf6 33.
Kc2 Na7 34. Ne3 Nb5 35. Ng4 Kg7 36. Nc4 Bd4 37. Kc1 f6 38. Rh1 Rea8 39. Rh2 a3
40. b3 Bb2+ 41. Kb1 Bc3 42. Kc2 Rc8 43. Rg2 Ra7 44. Rh2 Rcc7 45. Rg2 Ra8 46.
Rh2 Be5 47. Rg2 Kf8 48. Rf2 Ke7 49. Rg2 Rh8 50. Rf2 Kd8 51. Rg2 Ke7 52. Rf2 Ra7
53. Rg2 Ra6 54. Rf2 Nc7 55. Kd1 Ne8 56. Rf1 Bg3 57. Rg1 Bh4 58. Rh1 Ng7 59.
Nce3 Rb6 60. Nc4 Rbb8 61. Nge3 Nxh5 62. Ng2 Rbg8 63. Rh3 Ng7 64.
Nxh4 gxh4 65. Rxh4 Ne8 66. Rd2 Rg1+ 67. Kc2 Nc7 68. f4 Nb5 69. e5 Nd4+ 70. Kd3
Nf3 71. Rdh2 Nxh4 72. Rxh4 fxe5 73. fxe5 dxe5 74. d6+ Kf6 75. Ne3 h5 76. Ke4
Kg5 77. Rh2 h4 78. Kxe5 Re8+ 79. Kd5 Rxe3 80. Rd2 Kf6 81. Kc6 Re8 82. d7 Rd8
83. Kc7 Rgg8 84. Rh2 Rh8 0-1

Reference:

  • A denotes any white piece, a any black piece.
  • dark and light are used to find the count of white/black pieces that are on dark/light squares respectively.
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