Archive for October, 2012

Solving checkmates in two all the time is one of the the best things you could do to your chess all through the year. We’ve got a nice difficult position from our award-winning podcast database Chess Killer Tips. White plays and mates in 2 moves. The chess podcast presented by guest star Almira Skripchenko.
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Here is a nice position from Leningrad, 1973. Black has just played the 39th move of Kf6. Does White have a forced win here? Switch on your chess antennae and start thinking. You can later see the full game in the super chess applet Chess King. The chess puzzle is quite simple really. All you need is a little foresight and the lesson is to remember those checkmate patterns.

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We have a nice position here from a game Leonhardt Paul S (GER) – Mieses Jacques (GER) dated 1905, London. It’s not a great idea to give up when you are up against the wall and “totally lost” without trying absolutely every single idea – including desperate sacrifices. It’s lost any way… so, why give up without trying? Such was the position with White having played 21.Qxd8. Can you think of how the game progressed? A cool game to watch that ends in a draw.
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Black has managed to avert the g-7 checkmate by moving 30. …Qf8. However, Fischer has his killer move ready. Can you think like Bobby Fischer? White to play and Win.
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Chess King is ready with an endgame lesson for you. There is a very useful technique called Enfilade. This position was taken from a 1737 chess book. Can you quickly spot how White plays and wins? Check your answer with the award-winning podcast series hosted by Chess Queen™ Alexandra Kosteniuk.
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World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen beat current world champion Viswanathan Anand in the ninth round of the Bilbao Chess Masters Final on Friday. Carlsen went for a pawn sac for which compensation was evident in the long-term. (Full report on Chess Blog.) In the position on the left, Black resigns after 30.a4. Can you understand why? Here is the game with the Chess King applet:
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[New: see Alexandra’s Blog Post!] The most closely watched game in this month’s women’s chess took place today in the first round of the European Club Cup in Eilat, Israel. It confronted the 12th women’s world chess champion Chess Queen™ Alexandra Kosteniuk to the 13th women’s world chess champion Hou Yifan. You recall that Alexandra beat Hou Yifan in 2008 to become the 12th women’s world chess champion (see video), but since 2010 Hou gained the upper hand, became world champion, and had been playing great chess, beating in a spectacular match Judit Polgar in Gibraltar, and boasting a rating of 2605 right now. So everyone was looking at this game very closely. Read the rest of this entry »

Thursday is time for a quick chess refresher. Spot the winning combinations in these three positions for White. Simple enough. Don’t forget to continue your chess tactics training with the super Chess King software! (Answers in comments’ section)
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A quick puzzle to check your tactical skills. White to play and win. Spot the tactical shot. Check your answer with Chess King in the applet in the extended post.
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Here’s a puzzle that will make you feel really good because it’s way too simple to miss if you have just gone past the beginner-level. But, it’s one of those powerful ideas that we need when diluting from a middlegame to endgame. The White knight seems to be in control of the Black a pawns. Black to play and win!
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A nice winning chess combination from the game Capablanca-Graham, Newcastle, 1919. White to play and win. Black has just played 24. …Re6. We have two hints to set you on the right path: How can White exploit the control he has on the h1-a8 diagonal and the pin on the Knight at c6? Or, better still, is there a way White can win the Black Queen. Happy solving. Check the answer with the Chess King applet in the extended post.
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World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen has begun the Bilbao half of the Sao Paulo-Chess Masters final with a win over leader Fabiano Caruana. The game lasted more than four hours. The Norwegian held his own in the French defense game and entered the middle game with a slight advantage, which after a simplification of some pieces, ended up in a hard-fought but equal endgame. But, Caruana committed inaccuracies. (The round report is available at Chess Blog.) Run the Chess King applet to enjoy the game.
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A very beautiful 1924 chess study by Troitsky. In the position, do you know how White should play even though Black has an extra Bishop. Find the winning strategy for White and learn how to solve this study with our super #1 chess-learning videos from www.chesskillertips.com.

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This position came up way back in the 1927 World Chess Championship between the greats Alexander Alekhine and Jose Raul Capablanca. Alekhine has pinned down the Black Rook on c3 against the Black Queen on g7. Surely there has to be a win there. What is the way Alekhine won this? You can see the full game in the Chess King applet below.
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Simple chess tactics go a long way in building your chess strength. Don’t ignore tactics – easy or difficult. The patterns and ideas come in handy – you never know when! No stress in the puzzle on the left. Have an easy chess-y weekend. Find the magic winning move for White – One move does it 😉

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Chess King is in a lazy mood so you get a lazy chess puzzle for Sunday. Should White play for a win or a draw? Actually don’t be all that lazy. Find a beautiful win – checkmate in four to be precise. You can find the answer in the super Chess King applet below.

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Time for a Chess King tactics weekend refresher with some checkmates in three. Sit back, get that mug of coffee and switch off the cellphone. Here we go… White to play and checkmate in three in all the puzzles! (You will find the answers at the comments to the post.)
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This position is from Graf-Kunte, Calcutta, 1996. Black has gone down the first rank and has a Rook+Queen battery threatening checkmate on h1. It is White to play. Should White resign?
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Heard of the Semi-Slav Moscow variation in chess? (1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 e6 5.Bg5 h6) That’s the one that was employed in the Boris Gelfand-Rustam Kasimdzhanov game in the last round of the London Chess Grand Prix on Wednesday. (Full report on Chess Blog.) Black sacrificed a pawn with 12. …c5, but couldn’t regain the compensation. White also sacrificed an exchange to build connected passer-pawns down the b- and c-file. We pick up the game with the position on the left. Black has just taken the pawn 40….Nxc7! Of course, it’s all won for White. Understanding that the players were tired, Boris Gelfand played 41.Nxc7 and eventually won the game a few moves down. But, can you spot a real fun way/much stronger move to win the position at the 41st move for White?
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The position on the left is a won endgame by White from Hikaru Nakamura-Anish Giri at the London Chess Grand Prix Round 10 (Report on Chess Blog). However, this endgame comes with some great ideas going back all the way to 37.h3. See the position below.
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