Abu Bakr Muhammad bin Yahya as-Suli

Abu Bakr Muhammad bin Yahya as-Suli (also transcribed al-Suli ; Arabic أبو بكر محمد بن يحيى الصولي, DMG Abū Bakr Muḥammad b. Yaḥyā aṣ-Ṣūlī ; * 880 ; † 946 ) was a famous Arab master in Shatranj , the forerunner of modern chess . From the year 900 until the beginning of modern times, he was considered the strongest player of all time.

According to some sources, the oldest Shatranj game that has been handed down in full is a mate victory as- Suli against the caliph al-Muktadir in Baghdad , which was played around the year 920. It begins with the Tabija Ravishing Stream .

Other sources state that the oldest fully recorded game was an encounter between al-Suli and al-Lajlaj .

composition

As-Suli also emerged with profound chess problems , which in Arabic Shatrandsch were called Mansuben . In the following position, White's task is to win.

Abu-Bakr Muhammad ben Yahya as-Suli
10th century

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

White to move wins

The pieces on a1 and c3 are not queens , but their forerunners, heels - a heel can only move one square at an angle. In particular, this weak piece is unable to escape a chasing king if it is not supported by other stones. Furthermore, in Shatrandsch a victory was not only possible by checkmate , but also by depriving the opponent of all his pieces. In the present case, White wins if he can conquer the heel on a1 without Black striking back in return.

Solution:
Immediate 1. Ka2 Kc4 only brings a draw , since both heels fall. White's winning plan consists in maneuvering his own heel on c1 or a3, where it is harder for the black king to reach and easier to shield by his own if he wants to collect the Fa1. But after about 1. Fd2 Ke4! 2. Kc2 Kf3! 3. Fc1 Ke2 4. Kb1 Kd1 or 1. Fb4 Kc6! 2. Fa3 Kb5 3. Ka2 Ka4 Black has again managed the saving counterattack.

The win for White can only be achieved with maneuvers that make use of the important techniques of modern endgames : He has to push the black king away in order to ultimately gain a decisive pace , whereby the opposition and a possible triangular maneuver to achieve a forced position play essential roles play.

as-Suli, who, according to his own statements, had not invented the position, only gave 1. Kb4 Kd6 as the solution . Grandmaster Yuri Averbach , however, expressed his respect for this one move. The Grand Master, who had also dealt with other positions of as-Suli, said that as-Suli could only have declared the position as a victory if he had understood the entire solution with all its subtleties.

Juri Awerbach stated the following main variation in the 1980s: 1. Kb4 Kd6 2. Kc4 Ke6 3. Kd4 Kf6 4. Kd5 Kf7 5. Ke5 Kg7 6. Ke6 Kg8 7. Kf6 Kh8 8. Kg6 Kg8 9. Fd2 !! Kf8 If the black heel tries to escape the corner with 9.… Fb2, it only comes closer to the white king. 10. Fc1 Ke7 11. Kf5 , and the king will conquer black heel and win. Later, with computer help, a more stubborn defense was found that Awerbach suspects as-Suli also knew. 6.… Kf8 7. Kd6 Ke8 8. Kc6 Kd8 9. Kb6 Kc8 10. Kc5 Kd7 11. Kb5 Kc7 12. Kc4 Kd6 13. Kb4 Ke5 14. Ka3 Kd5 15. Kb3 . The starting position with Black to move is now reached. It is a forced pull position. With the previous extended triangle maneuver, White has given up the obligation to move to Black. Black loses after 15.… Kc5, as White now successfully transfers the heel to c1 and the king to b1. Another possibility is 15.… Ke4 16. Ka2 Kd3 17. Fb4 Kc4 18. Fa3 , and White wins because the black king can no longer attack White's heel and black falls on a1.

References and comments

↑ Christian Hesse : Expeditions into the world of chess . Pp. 15-18. Chessgate 2007
↑ The opening moves of Tabija are 1. g3 g6 2. g4 f6 3. e3 e6 4. Ne2 d6 5. Rg1 c6 6. f3 b6 7. f4 a6 8. f5 ; as-Suli mated the game on move 35.
↑ Alfred Diel: The game of kings. Interesting and entertaining facts from the world of chess. Bamberger Schachverlag, 1983, ISBN 3-923113-03-X , p. 27.
↑ Murray quoted the following words as-Sulis in his book History of Chess : This is very old, yet neither al-Adli nor anyone else has said whether it is a draw or can be won. (...) No one on earth has solved it (...) if anyone had solved it, he would either have written down the solution, or have taught it to someone else. This is the word of as-Suli.

personal data
SURNAME	Suli, Abu Bakr Muhammad bin Yahya as-
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Arab master and composer in Shatranj
DATE OF BIRTH	880
DATE OF DEATH	946

[1] Christian Hesse : Expeditions into the world of chess . Pp. 15-18. Chessgate 2007

[2] The opening moves of Tabija are 1. g3 g6 2. g4 f6 3. e3 e6 4. Ne2 d6 5. Rg1 c6 6. f3 b6 7. f4 a6 8. f5 ; as-Suli mated the game on move 35.

[3] Alfred Diel: The game of kings. Interesting and entertaining facts from the world of chess. Bamberger Schachverlag, 1983, ISBN 3-923113-03-X , p. 27.

[4] Murray quoted the following words as-Sulis in his book History of Chess : This is very old, yet neither al-Adli nor anyone else has said whether it is a draw or can be won. (...) No one on earth has solved it (...) if anyone had solved it, he would either have written down the solution, or have taught it to someone else. This is the word of as-Suli.