(Solution on page 208)
27. Pin
***
Opl,Klaus
Bodrogi,Mihaly
Budapest 2012 (6)
1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 Qa5 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bd3 d5 6.e5 dxc3 7.Nxc3 d4 8.Bb5+ Bd7 9.Nxd4 Ne4
(Solution on page 208)
28. Passed pawns
***
Potkin,Vladimir
Grischuk,Alexander
Khanty-Mansiysk 2011 (4)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 0-0 6.Bg5 Na6 7.f4 Qe8 8.Nf3 e5 9.fxe5 dxe5 10.d5 Nc5 11.Nd2 Nh5 12.Bxh5 gxh5 13.Qxh5 Nd3+ 14.Ke2 Nf4+ 15.Bxf4 exf4 16.Rhf1 Be5 17.g3 fxg3 18.Nf3 Bg7 19.e5 Bxe5 20.Nxe5 f6 21.Qxe8 Rxe8 22.hxg3 Rxe5+ 23.Kd2 Kf7 24.Rf4 Rf5 25.Raf1 Rxf4 26.Rxf4 Bd7 27.Ne4 f5 28.Nc5 Bc8 29.b4 b6 30.Nd3 Kf6 31.Rh4 Kg7 32.Kc3 Bd7 33.Ne5 Be8 34.Kd4 h5 35.Nd3 Bf7 36.Nf4 Re8 37.Nxh5+ Bxh5 38.Rxh5 Re4+ 39.Kd3 b5
40.c5 Re5
(Solution on page 209)
29. An old mating pattern
***
Rozentalis,Eduardas
Kantsler,Boris
Israel tt 2012 (7)
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.Nc3 a6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Qc7 6.g3 Bb4 7.Ne2 Nf6 8.Bg2 0-0 9.0-0 Be7 10.Nd4 Nc6 11.b3 d6 12.Bb2 Bd7 13.Re1 Rac8 14.Nxc6 Bxc6 15.Qe2 b5 16.a3 Bb7 17.Rad1 Rfd8 18.h3 Nd7 19.f4 Bf6 20.e5 dxe5 21.Bxb7 Qxb7 22.fxe5 Nxe5 23.Ne4 Nf3+ 24.Qxf3 Qb6+ 25.Kf1 Bxb2 26.c3 Rxd1 27.Rxd1 f5 28.Rd7 h6
(Solution on page 210)
30. Hot square
***
Smeets,Jan
Brandenburg,Daan
Netherlands Internet 2011 (2)
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.a3 Nh6 7.b4 cxd4 8.cxd4 Nf5 9.Be3 Bd7 10.Nc3 Rc8 11.Na4 Qd8 12.Bd3 Nxe3 13.fxe3 Be7 14.0-0 0-0 15.e4 Nxd4 16.Nxd4 Bxa4 17.Qxa4 dxe4 18.Nxe6 fxe6 19.Be2 Qd4+ 20.Kh1 Qxe5 21.Qxa7 Bd6 22.g3 Rc2 23.Qe3
(Solution on page 210)
31. Who attacks who?
***
Neiman,Emmanuel
Vega
ICC 2011
1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nc6 3.Bg2 Bc5 4.Nc3 d6 5.e3 a6 6.Nge2 Nge7 7.d4 exd4 8.exd4 Ba7 9.0-0 Bf5 10.a3 Qd7 11.Be3 0-0 12.Rc1 Rfe8 13.Nd5 Nd8 14.Nxe7+ Rxe7 15.Nc3 c6 16.b4 Bh3 17.Qd3 Bxg2 18.Kxg2 Ne6 19.d5 Nf8 20.Bxa7 Rxa7 21.Rfe1 Ra8 22.Rxe7 Qxe7 23.Rd1 Rd8 24.dxc6 bxc6 25.c5 d5 26.Qxa6 d4 27.Qe2
27.Ne2 Qe4+ 28.f3 Qe5±.
(Solution on page 210)
32. Assessing a variation
***
Azarov,Sergei
Glek,Igor
Jurmala 2012 (1)
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.Bc4 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.Re1 a6 8.a4 b6 9.Ne2 Nh5 10.Ng3 Nxg3 11.hxg3 c6 12.Be3 Bb7 13.Bb3 b5 14.Qe2 Bf6 15.Rad1 Qe7 16.g4 g6 17.Bh6 Rfe8 18.c3 exd4 19.cxd4 d5 20.e5 Bg7 21.Qd2 c5 22.Bxg7 Kxg7 23.dxc5 Nxc5 24.Bc2 bxa4 25.Qf4 Bc6 26.g5 Ne6 27.Qh4 Rab8 28.Nd4 Bd7 29.Nxe6+ fxe6 30.Re3 Rxb2 31.Rh3 Rh8 32.Rc1 Be8 33.Bd3 Rb8 34.Qh6+ Kg8 35.Rf3 a3 36.Rc7 Bd7 37.Bxg6
(Solution on page 211)
33. Absence of defence
****
Neiman,Emmanuel
Taddei,Benoit
After a friendly game, 2012
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 h6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.e5 Ne4 6.Bd3 Bb4 7.0-0 Nxc3 8.bxc3 Bxc3 9.Rb1 Nc6 10.Bb5 Bd7 11.Ba4 b6 12.Qd3 Ba5 13.c3 Ne7 14.Bb3 Qc8 15.Ba3 c5 16.Bc2 Ng6 17.Bc1 0-0 18.h4 Re8 19.h5 Nf8
(Solution on page 211)
34. Removing the obstacle
****
Hagesaether,Arne
Marusenko,Petr
Hastings 2011/12 (9)
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4 h6 7.Nf3 Nd7 8.h5 Bh7 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 e6 11.Bf4 Bb4+ 12.Bd2 Bxd2+ 13.Qxd2 Ngf6 14.0-0-0 0-0 15.Nf1 Qb6 16.Ne3 Rfd8 17.Kb1 c5 18.Rh4 Rac8 19.c4 e5 20.d5 e4 21.Nf5 exf3 22.Nxh6+ Kf8 23.Nf5 Ng8 24.d6 f6 25.h6 gxh6 26.Rxh6 Ne5
(Solution on page 212)
35. Move order
****
Li Shilong
Ni Hua
Xinghua Jiangsu ch-CHN 2011 (8)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0-0 5.Nf3 c5 6.dxc5 Na6 7.g3 Nxc5 8.Bg2 Nce4 9.Bd2 Nxd2 10.Nxd2 a6 11.0-0 Be7 12.Rfd1 Qc7 13.Rac1 Rb8 14.Qd3 Rd8 15.Nde4 Ng4 16.Qd4 d6
(Solution on page 212)
36. Obstructions
****
Tarrasch,Siegbert
NN
(Solution on page 212)
37. Around the corners
****
(Solution on page 213)
38. A draw in hand
****
Brady,Stephen
Collins,Sam
Brannigan Cup 2012 (2)
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 c5 3.c4 b6 4.Bg2 Bb7 5.0-0 e6 6.Nc3 Be7 7.b3 0-0 8.Bb2 d5 9.cxd5 exd5 10.d4 Na6 11.Rc1 Re8 12.Qd2 Ne4 13.Qf4 cxd4 14.Nb5 Nac5
15.Nbxd4 Bd6 16.Qh4 Be7 17.Qf4 Bf6 18.Rc2 a5 19.Rd1 a4 20.b4 a3 21.bxc5 axb2 22.c6 Rxa2 23.Rb1 g5 24.Qe3 Ba6 25.Rbxb2 Rxb2 26.Rxb2 Nxg3 27.c7 Qa8 28.Qxe8+ Qxe8 29.Rxb6 Bxd4 30.Nxd4 Nxe2+ 31.Nxe2 Qxe2 32.Rxa6
(Solution on page 214)
39. Coordination
****
Gaprindashvili,Nona
Servaty,Rudolf
Dortmund 1974 (3)
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.c4 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Nc3 Ng4 8.Qxg4 Nxd4 9.Qd1 e5 10.Nb5 0-0 11.Be2 Qh4 12.Nxd4 exd4 13.Bxd4 Qxe4 14.Bxg7 Qxg2
Black should have played 14…Kxg7 when after 15.0-0 White is only slightly better..
(Solution on page 214)
40. Horse jumping
****
Rozentalis,Eduardas
Socko,Bartosz
Austria Bundesliga 2012 (10)
1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 e6 6.a3 Nc6 7.Bd3 Be7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Re1 Rd8 10.Be3 e5 11.c4 Qd6 12.d5 e4 13.Bxe4 Nxe4 14.Qc2 Qg6 15.dxc6 Bh3 16.g3 Qxc6 17.Ne5
(Solution on page 215)
41. Secret weakness
****
Bologan, Viktor
Naiditsch,Arkadij
Chisinau 2012 (3)
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.d3 Qc7 6.e5 Nd5 7.h3 Bf5 8.Nbd2 g5 9.Ne4 h6 10.Qe2 0-0-0 11.Bd2 Qb6 12.0-0-0 Bg7 13.g4 Be6 14.Kb1 Rd7 15.Ng3 Rhd8 16.Nf5 Bxf5 17.gxf5
(Solution on page 216)
42. Net
****
Gurvich,Abram
study 1959
(Solution on page 217)
43. Counterattack
****
Karjakin, Sergey
Aronian,Levon
Wijkaan Zee 2012 (1)
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.a4 b4 9.Nbd2 Bc5 10.h3 d6 11.c3 Rb8 12.Re1 Re8 13.a5 Ba7 14.Nf1 Ne7 15.Ng3 Ng6 16.d4 h6 17.Bc2 c5 18.dxe5 dxe5 19.Bd3 Be6 20.Bxa6 c4 21.Ra4 Qc7 22.cxb4 Bxf2+ 23.Kxf2 Qa7+ 24.Be3 Qxa6 25.Kg1 Red8 26.Qc1 Rd3 27.Rd1 Rb3 28.Qd2 Kh7 29.Kh2 Rb7 30.Qf2 Bd7 31.Ra2 R7xb4
(Solution on page 217)
44. Lack of harmony
*****
Nakamura,Hikaru
Aronian,Levon
Sao Paulo/Bilbao 2011 (8)
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Be7 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bf4 c6 6.e3 Bf5 7.g4 Be6 8.h4 Nd7 9.h5 Nh6 10.Be2 Nb6 11.Nh3 g5 12.hxg6 hxg6 13.Bg3
(Solution on page 217)
45. Pursuit
*****
Sasikiran,Krishnan
Laznicka,Viktor
New Delhi 2011 (3)
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7 6.Bg2 c6 7.Qc2 0-0 8.0-0 Nbd7 9.Rd1 b6 10.b3 Ba6 11.Bf4 Rc8 12.Nc3 Re8 13.e4 dxc4 14.Nd2 b5 15.bxc4 bxc4 16.Bf1 Nb6 17.a4 Bb4 18.a5 Nbd7 19.Bxc4 Bb5 20.Qb3 Bxc3 21.Qxc3 Nd5 22.Qf3 Nxf4 23.Qxf4 Qe7 24.e5 f6 25.Rac1 Red8 26.Qe3 Nf8 27.exf6 Qxf6 28.Ne4 Qe7 29.Bb3 Kh8 30.Ng5 Re8 31.Rc5 h6 32.Nf3 Nd7 33.Ne5 Nxe5 34.Rxe5 Rcd8 35.Qe4 Qf7 36.Re1 Rf8 37.Qe3 Rd6 38.Bxe6 Qc7 39.Rh5 Rf6 40.Bb3 Rd8 41.Bc2 Bc4 42.d5 Qf7 43.Qe4 g5 44.Qd4 Kg7 45.Qxc4 Qxh5 46.Qd3 Qf3 47.Qh7+ Kf8 48.Qh8+ Kf7 49.Qh7+ Kf8 50.Qe7+ Kg8 51.Rf1 Rxd5 52.Bh7+ Kh8 53.Be4 Rd7 54.Qe5 Rd5 55.Qe7 Rd7 56.Qxd7 Qxe4 57.Qxa7 h5 58.Rd1 Rf8 59.QC5 Rf5 60.Qc3+ Kg8 61.Ra1 h4 62.Qe3 Qd5 63.Qe8+ Kg7 64.Re1 h3
(Solution on page 218)
46. Diagonal
*****
Shirov,Alexey
Parligras,Mircea
Porto Carras Ech-tt 2011 (3)
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.g4 Be4 5.f3 Bg6 6.Ne2 e6 7.h4
h5 8.Ng3 Qb6 9.a4 a5 10.c3 c5 11.Na3 cxd4 12.cxd4 Bb4+ 13.Kf2 Nd7 14.Nb5 Rc8 15.Nxh5 Bxh5 16.gxh5 Nxe5 17.Rg1 Kf8 18.Bg5 Nd7 19.Rc1 Rc6 20.f4 Ngf6 21.Bg2 Rxh5 22.Bf3 Rh8 23.h5 Ne4+ 24.Bxe4 dxe4 25.Qg4
(Solution on page 219)
47. Deflection
*****
Sutovsky,Emil
Kozul,Zdenko
Plovdiv Ech 2012 (6)
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd2 a6 8.0-0-0 Bd7 9.f4 b5 10.a3 Rb8 11.e5 dxe5 12.fxe5 Nxe5 13.Bf4 Ng6 14.Bxb8 Qxb8 15.Nb3 Ne5 16.Qd4 Qc7 17.Be2 Be7 18.Rhe1 Nc6 19.Qe3 b4 20.axb4 Nxb4 21.Qg3 Qb6 22.Rf1 Bc6 23.Bf3 0-0 24.Bxc6 Qxc6 25.Nd4 Qb6 26.Kb1 Rb8 27.Na4 Qb7
(Solution on page 219)
48. Attack and Defence
*****
Fridman,Daniel
Harikrishna,Pentala
France tt 2011 (7)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 0-0 6.a3 c5 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.e3 Nc6 9.Qc2 Qa5 10.0-0-0 Be7 11.h4 a6 12.Ng5 dxc4 13.Bxc4 b5 14.Bb3 g6 15.h5 b4 16.axb4 Nxb4 17.Qb1 Nbd5 18.Nxd5 exd5 19.hxg6 hxg6 20.Rxd5 Nxd5 21.Be5
(Solution on page 220)
49. Breathing space
Adhiban,Baskaran
Sadler,Matthew
Wijkaan Zee C 2012 (5)
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 h6 4.Ngf3 Nf6 5.e5 Nfd7 6.c4 dxc4 7.Nxc4 Nb6 8.Bd3 Nc6 9.0-0 Nb4 10.Nxb6 axb6 11.Be4 Be7 12.Re1 Nd5 13.Qd3 Bb4 14.Bd2 Bxd2 15.Qxd2 Bd7 16.Bxd5 exd5 17.a3 0-0 18.Rac1 c6 19.Rc3 Bf5 20.h3 b5 21.Nh2 Kh8 22.Nf1 Qe7 23.b4 Bh7 24.Ng3 Rae8 25.Rce3 Qh4 26.Qd1 Re6 27.Qg4 Qd8 28.f4 f5 29.Qe2 Bg8 30.Kh2 Ree8 31.Nh1 Be6 32.Nf2 Qh4 33.Nd3 b6 34.Qf2 Qe7 35.Rc1 Rc8 36.Rc3 Rc7 37.Re1 Kg8 38.Qf3 Kh8 39.Rec1 Bd7 40.Nf2 Qf7 41.Re3 Be6 42.Rec3 Bd7 43.Qg3 Kh7 44.Qh4 Ra7 45.Re1 c5 46.dxc5 bxc5 47.Nd3 d4 48.Rxc5 Be6 49.Rc6 Rxa3 50.Nc5 Bd5 51.Rd6 Ra2 52.Rg1 Rfa8 53.e6 Bxg2
(Solution on page 220)
50. A spoiler
Przepiorka,Dawid
study 1920
(Solution on page 221)
Solutions to Final Test
Solution 1 (page 183)
29…Rb1!
0-1
SIGNAL: Alignment. The king and the queen are on the same file
THEME: Skewer. First we attract (decoy) the queen to an unprotected square by sacrificing the rook (and thanks to the same alignment, the queen has to take), then the skewer wins the queen. On 30.Qxb1 Qh1+ 31.Ke2 Qxb1 wins.
Back
Solution 2 (page 183)
32.Qxd8+! Rxd8 33.Nc7#
0-1
SIGNAL: King position. Black’s king is surrounded by enemy pieces, but also blocked by its own men.
THEME: Decoy. We also have to foresee the ‘epaulettes mate’. The two rooks are the epaulettes – shoulder-straps – that keep the king from escaping.
Back
Solution 3 (page 183)
42…Rg2+!
0-1
SIGNAL: King position.
THEME: Square clearance – we sacrifice a rook in order to let the queen occupy its square. This is a kind of ‘Damiano’s Mate’. On 43.Kxg2 (43.Kh1 Qh3#) 43…Qf2+ 44.Kh3 (44.Kh1 leads to the same) 44…Qh2#.
Back
Solution 4 (page 184)
27…Rd1+! 28.Kc2
28.Rxd1 leads to mate after 28…Qxe4+.
28…Rxe1
Black is winning, and duly won.
SIGNAL: Crucial defender, King position. The knights take away many squares from the king, which makes the diagonal bl-h7 important.
THEME: Deflection. We try to get rid of the defender rook, which prevents checkmate with …Qxe4.
Back
Solution 5 (page 184)
36.Rf8+!Bxf8 37.Ng5+
1-0
SIGNAL: Overloaded defender, knight fork distance.
THEME: Deflection. The black bishop is unable to cover the double threat of mate on f8 and a fork on g5. After 37…Kg8 38.Nxh3 White is winning.
Back
Solution 6 (page 184)
22…Rxc2! 23.Nxc2
23.Rab1 Rdc8 gives Black a dominating position, with a pawn up.
23…Bc4 24.Bb6
The best defence.
24…Bxf1 25.Bxd8 Qxd8 26.Kxf1 d5
Black has won a pawn, and is much better because White’s pieces lack coordination.
SIGNAL: Trapped piece, overloaded defender. We have to check when a piece has no available squares. Is there a way to attack it?
THEME: Deflection. The knight has to defend c2 and c4, and it cannot do so simultaneously.
Back
Solution 7 (page 185)
27.Rxe6 fxe6 29.Qxb2 Ng4+ 28.Na2 Qxb2 30.Bxg4 Bxb2
1-0
White is a piece up, with a strong passed pawn.
SIGNAL: Crucial defender, Trapped piece. The queen would be trapped if the black bishop on e6 didn’t control c4.
THEME: Elimination of the defender. We take the bishop, and then the queen has no more squares when we attack it.
Back
Solution 8 (page 185)
14.c5! bxc5
14…Bc7 15.Rxe6 Qd8 l6.Rxc6 is a disaster.
15.Rxe6! Qxe6
On 15…Qd8 l6.Rxd6 wins.
16.Bb3
And White won quickly.
SIGNAL: Alignment and Unprotected piece. The weakness on e6 is positional (a weak pawn), so we should be ready to attack it. But the direct capture on e6 attacks two pieces, and opens a diagonal leading to the king. Once we are able to notice this, we can find the preparatory move, and also the follow-up.
THEME: Line clearance (by c4-c5, with a gain of tempo on the bishop), double attack (on the bishop and the queen), pin (on the queen that takes e6).
Back
Solution 9 (page 185)
10.Nxe5!f5
10…Bxd1 11…Nf6+gxf6 12.Bxf7#.
11.Nf6+
1-0
Of course, the position is an easy one if you are able to spot the typical mating pattern, from Sire Kermur de Legal, Philidor’s teacher. ‘When the weather is too cold, or too rainy, I take refuge in the Café de la Régence; there I enjoy looking at the chess games. Paris is the place in the world – and the Café de la Regence is the place in Paris – where chess is best played. It’s at Rey’s10 that are fighting Legal the deep, Philidor the subtle, Mayot the solid. There you can see the most surprising moves, and there you can hear the worst talking. Because if one can be clever-minded and a great chess player, like Legal, one can also be a great chess player, and stupid, like Foubert or Mayot alike’ (from Diderot, Le neveu de Rameau, written between 1762 and 1773, my translation).
SIGNAL: King position, Unprotected piece.
THEME: Legal’s Mate, discovered attack.
Back
Solution 10 (page 186)
38.Nf6+!+− Bxf6 39.Bxf6 Rxe3
39…Re6 was the only chance for survival. After the forced sequence 40.Rg3+ Kf8 41.Rxh5 Rxf6 Black rescues his king, but not the game. White wins easily after 42.Rh8+ Ke7 43.Rxc8.
40.Rxh5
1-0
Checkmate on h8 cannot be avoided.
SIGNAL: Knight fork distance + King position.
THEME: Mate with rook and bishop.
Back
Solution 11 (page 186)
29…Qc5
0-1
30.Qxc5 (30.Rxd4 Qxc2 31.Rxd7 Qc5+ 32.Kf1 Qxf5+ 33.Ke2 Qxd7) 30…Rxd1+ 31.Bf1 Nxc5.
SIGNAL: Unprotected pieces /Alignment.
THEME: Deflection. Discovered attack.
Back
Solution 12 (page 186)
26.Rxd6! exd6 27.Qxc8
1-0
SIGNAL: Knight fork distance. When you see such a diagram, you must imagine a fork on e7.
THEME: Decoy (the queen is lured to the c8-square) + elimination of the defender (sacrifice on d6).
Back
Solution 13 (page 187)
38…Rf3+! 39.Ke2
39.gxf3 loses immediately: 39…Bh3+ 40.Rg2 Qxg2#; or 39.Rf2 Bd3+!.
39…Qxg2+40.Kd1 Qg3
0-1
SIGNAL: Crucial defender (here the g2-pawn is the only defence against …Bh3 chec
kmate).
THEME: Deflection.
40…Qg3 threatens 41…Rd3+. White has no defence against the three black pieces, coordinated against the enemy king: 41.Rd2 Rb3; or 41.Qc4 Rd3+ 42.Rd2 Qf3+ 43.Re2 Qf1+ 44.Re1 Rxd2+45.Kxd2 Qxc4.
Back
Solution 14 (page 187)
19…Rxe3! 20.Qxe3 Bd4 21.Qf4 g5
0-1
SIGNAL: Alignment.
THEME: Skewer, Deflection.
Back
Solution 15 (page 187)
27.Rd8!+− f6
Tune Your Chess Tactics Antenna Page 16