Puzzles, Positions, and...

[Sashie VII]

White to move..and win.

Spoiler :

1. Nc6 Kxc6 2. Bf6 Kd5 3. d3 a2 4. c4+ dxc3 5. Bxc3

(4. ... K5 5. Kb7!)

 

[Sashie VII]

White to move.

Spoiler :

1. exf8=N+ Kh8
2. Bxg7+ Kxg7
3. Re7+ Kf6
4. Qf7+ Kg5
5. Nh7+ Kg4
6. Rxf4#

 

[DaveShack]

White to move.

Spoiler :

After the first couple of minutes it was clear this must be an under-promotion puzzle, as any other check by white is easily deflected. exf8=N+

 

[Tomoyo]

Here's a position that occurred in a recent online 15 0 game of mine. It's not particularly hard but I thought it was very aesthetically pleasing.

Black has a very pretty position (at least, to me it's pretty, being a KID player) here but White has just made the move 20. Qe3-g5 and is threatening to capture on e5. Defending the pawn would be incredibly passive and give away most of the advantage Black has. What can Black do to cash in on his superior position?

Spoiler Entire game :

[Event "rated standard game"]
[Site "Free Internet Chess Server"]
[Date "2009.09.02"]
[Round "-"]
[White "hahahehe"]
[Black "Kentredenite"]
[WhiteElo "1579"]
[BlackElo "1830"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Time "19:47:53"]
[TimeControl "900+0"]
[Mode "ICS"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. Nf3 O-O 5. e3 d6 6. Be2 Nbd7 7. O-O c6 8. Bd3
e5 9. Qc2 Qc7 10. dxe5 dxe5 11. e4 Nc5 12. Be3 Nxd3 13. Qxd3 Bg4 14. Bc5 Rfd8
15. Qe3 b6 16. Ba3 Rd7 17. h3 Be6 18. b3 Rad8 19. Bb2 Rd3 20. Qg5 Rxc3 21. Bxc3
Nxe4 22. Qe3 Nxc3 23. Qxc3 e4 0-1

Spoiler Answer :

20. ...Rxc3! 21. Bxc3 Nxe4 22. Qe3 Nxc3 23. Qxc3 e4 and my opponent resigned.

 

[Tomoyo]

Here's a funny-looking tactic from a recent game of mine:

White has just played Nc3-e2, moving it out of harm's way and at the same time threatening to trade off all the rooks and relieve Black's pressure. Ne2 also reinforces the Nd4 which was the potential target of discoveries by the Bg7. However, Black has a weird-looking resource...



Well, I'm not actually 100% sure it works, but I can't see why it wouldn't.

 

[Narz]

Spoiler :

Looks like the knight is lost after e5

 

[Tomoyo]

Spoiler :

Yep, and it's funny how a knight can get trapped on d4!

 

[Narz]

Tough puzzle but satisfying, took me about 15 minutes to see the idea & then two more to double check.

 

[Narz]

Here's one that former world Champion Anatoly Karpov managed to misplay. The right move here would have won quickly for black.

 

[Jouzou]

To Narz's last problem:

Spoiler :

That's a tough one. My intuition tells me it's 1. ...g5, but when I analyze it more carefully, it doesn't seem that great.

Edit: My intuition is full of crap. That's a horrible move! 1. ...Bh4, on the other hand, looks promising.

Here's one for you. The guys from my local chess club showed this to me today and I for one think it's brilliant.

White to move and mate in two. Note: Black does have the right to castle.



Here's a hint, if you need one:

Spoiler :

What was black's last move?

 

[Narz]

Argh!! I hadn't even considered the hint, after that I got it instantly.

BTW.

Spoiler :

Solution is 1. ... Ne4, after 1...Bh4 2.Bf2+!

Anatoly Karpov (who played the black pieces in this position) actually made the move Kg2 and went on to lose the game.

 

[Blue Emu]

Re: Narz's puzzle.

Spoiler :

If 1. ...Bh4, on the other hand, looks promising

If 1. ... Bh4, then 2. Bf2+

How about 1. ... Ne4 instead, threatening the Bishop, stopping Bf2+, and intending Bh4 under improved circumstances?

 

[Narz]

BlueEmu, got it.

 

[Blue Emu]

The earlier Narz puzzle:

Spoiler :

1. Qh8+, Kg5; 2. Qf8, h4; 3. Qf4+, Kh5; 4. Qxh4 mate (or 4. g4 mate)?

 

[Narz]

Two for two emu.

Spoiler :

For some reason that one took me an incredibly long time, I just wasn't considering Qf8 on move two. Little tactics like that will hopefully really help my OTB endgame queen play (when I generally don't have the luxury of 17 minutes on my clock).

 

[Narz]

Not too tricky but took me awhile the 1st time I saw it. Black to play, white's last move was Rxf7.

 

[Blue Emu]

Spoiler :

Black checks at h5 before taking the Rook, forcing White's King to the g-file... so that he can pin White's Queen against the King, in response to a White check at g3.

 

[Narz]

Yup, I figured you'd get that one piece of cake.

 

[Yeekim]

Anatoly Karpov (who played the black pieces in this position) actually made the move Kg2 and went on to lose the game.

Do you have a link? How did the black manage to lose even after Kg2?

 

[Narz]

I don't have one handy sorry, nor do I remember the name of his opponent. The tactics puzzle is pretty deeply buried in my history now. If I find it I'll post it. Maybe it was a rapid game.