Chess puzzle: Can you figure out the mating sequence?

Hello Everyone,

Here is a nice puzzle that looks like a classic Queen sac for mate. White is to play. Can you work out the entire mating sequence of moves?

The game was played between Toran and O'Kelly in 1967 in Palma. It's not all that difficult because there are all these forcing moves.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.chessblog.com

Also see her personal blog at

www.chessqueen.com

Chess Puzzle: Should Black resign?

Carl Oscar Ahues

Hello Everyone!

This is from a simul game played in 1926. Black was one of the players against International Master Carl Oscar Ahues. Ahues was born in Germany in 1883. He was Berlin champion in 1910 and German Champion in 1929. His son Herbert Ahues is a famous chess composer. You can read more about him here.

In this position below, Ahues had sacrificed material to gain attack and here played 1. Qxf6 with mating threats. If you run the flash below you will see that Black cannot take Queen with 1. ... gxf6 as mate will follow with 2. Rg3+ Kh8 3. Bxf6 1-0.

So Black resigned! Do you think Black had a way out?

Think about it before looking at the solution in the second flash diagram.

This is the answer but don't run it till you think a bit!

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.chessblog.com

Also see her personal blog at

www.chessqueen.com

Chess endgame: Did you get the key?

Hi Everyone!

Here is the puzzle we put before you some days back. The question was which Black move is better - NxNd4 or Nc5? Which do you think is the best attempt for Black at winning the game?

With 1. ... Nc5 White simply plays 2. Ne2 and Black cannot make any progress!

You can run the flashplayer below to check your answer!

Mainline

------------

Furman-Zhukhovitsky, Leningrad, 1969, 0-1

Variation

----------------

If at move 3. White tries 3. fxg5 then 3. ... Kxg5 4. Kc4 f4 0-1 because Black Queens first and can then handle the White King with checks for a winning endgame.

Hope you enjoyed this endgame study.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.chessblog.com

Also see her personal blog at

www.chessqueen.com

Chess Puzzle: Simple Mate in 3

Hi Everybody!

Here is a simple mate in 3 puzzle for you from way back - the year 1925 actually! The puzzle uses a basic mating pattern that often fails to strike us during a game.

You can run the solution by clicking the forward arrow in the flashplayer below but don't look at the answer till you think for a while.

White to move and Mate in 3

-----------------------------------------

And, here is the answer in text also. Answer: 1.Rb8 Ke7 2.Bc5 Kf7 3.Rf8 1-0

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.chessblog.com

Also see her personal blog at

www.chessqueen.com

Chess Puzzle & Trivia answers

Hello Everyone!

Here are the answers to the chess puzzle and trivia questions of last week.

Four-year-old Capablanca playing chess with his father.

Yes! This is a photo of José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera who was the World Chess Champion from 1921 to 1927. In this photo, Capablanca is playing with his father. This Cuban chess master was known for his fantastic endgame understanding and pace of play. He learned to play chess at the age of four by watching his father play. Once he first pointed out a mistake in his father's game and then beat him in two games straight. Emanuel Lasker once said: "I have known many chess players, but only one chess genius: Capablanca." The annual Capablanca memorial tournament is held in Havana, Cuba. He was nicknamed the 'Human Chess Machine'.

Here was the simple puzzle with Black to move and mate in three.

The answer is: 1. ... Ra8+ 2. Kb7 Ba6+ 3. Kxc7 Nd5 0-1

We had also asked you a different chess puzzle. If Black were to mirror every move of White can White mate in four moves? Here is the answer that we are sure you will enjoy. You can run it in our pgnplayer or watch the flash below.

PGN: 1. c4 c5 2. Qa4 Qa5 3. Qc6 Qc3 4. Qc8 1-0

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.chessblog.com

Also read her personal blog at

www.chessqueen.com

Mirror Chess Puzzle: Can you checkmate in four?

Magician Derren Brown with nine top chess players

Hello Everyone,

Top Grandmasters often play simultaneous games. A simul is not just fun to play but great to watch also. There is always a big crowd at such events.

But do you think someone who's not a Grandmaster can take on nine professionals and beat or draw with them?

Watch this video 'Trick of the mind' by magician Derren Brown and then decide!

However, that is an old video so, now here is a puzzle based on the trick for you.

What if, in a real game, Black were to mirror every move that White made then could White checkmate in four moves?

For example, in the following game Black mirrors every move of White till White gives check with Qxf7 when Black is forced to move the King. So, the mirroring of move ends with 4. ... Ke8.

Take your time and think about this nice chess puzzle. Remember, from the starting position, White has to checkmate in four and Black has to mirror every move that White makes!

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.chessblog.com

Also see her personal blog at

www.chessqueen.com

Chess Puzzle: Would you resign as White?

Can White draw this game?

Hello Everyone,

Here is a nice position from a simultaneous game. Henri Grob played many chess games for several years against the readers of Swiss newspaper Neue Züricher Zeitung. He started playing against the readers in 1941.

In 1956, one of the readers, as White, trusted the Master and resigned Game Number 1889 game against Grob.

You can see in the position above that:

• It seems White cannot stop at least one pawn from Queening
• The White King just does not have the time to walk over to the Black pawn on g file and try to queen his own pawn

Could the reader have drawn as White against Grob?

---- Don't scroll down for the answer before thinking a bit -----

Meanwhile, you can also check out the Grob attack which is a fancy opening as 1. g4! Also, here's a little more about the newspaper. Zürcher Zeitung, edited by Salomon Gessner, from January 12, 1780, was renamed to Neue Zürcher Zeitung in 1821. It was known for its intellectual emphasis in content.

And, back to the puzzle. Yes, White can draw this game. Here are the answers:

• 1. Nc3+ Kb3 2. Kd3 a4. 3. Nb1 a3 4. Nd2+ Ka2 5. Kc2 Ka1 6. Nb3+ =
• 1. Nc3+ Kb3 2. Kd3 a4. 3. Nb1 a3 4. Nd2+ Kb4 5. Kc2 =
• 1. Nc3+ Kb3 2. Kd3 a4. 3. Nb1 Ka2 4. Kc2 a3 5. Nd2 =

The White King and Knight can work together to prevent the Black pawns from Queening on the Queen side. And, if the Black King decides to march off to the g-file then it doesn't work either.

Hope you enjoyed this puzzle.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.chessblog.com

Also see her personal blog at

www.chessqueen.com

Chess Puzzle: Can you think like Fischer?

Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer, Rekjyavik, 1972

Hello Everyone,

Here is a nice position from a World Championship game between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky. Fischer was known to play 1.e4. But when Fischer came to play Game 6 in the World Chess Championship in Rekjyavik, 1972, he shocked not only Spassky but the whole chess world by playing 1.c4 ! Everyone was stunned. Fischer went on to play the Queen's Gambit for the first time in his life.

Here is a position from that game and you have to guess the next best move:

Position after 19. ... fxe6

What would you play if you were Fischer?

• Is it theory to play f4 and fixing Black pawns on the same color as the White bishop
• Black is already in trouble so it's best to handle the pawns right away with e4
• b4 also strikes at the Black pawn structure well and would help control d4 at some stage
• What's the problem in getting a free pawn with Bxa6
• Black's c-pawn is dangerous so better fix it first with b3

Take your time and think. Don't scroll down for the answer till you have spent some time analysing the position.

--------------------- Here is a hint ------------------------------------

Remember that Fischer was an attacking player. So, even if he played 1.c4 it didn't mean that the attacking spirit was gone.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fischer played 20. e4

Bishop taking the a pawn means getting into trouble with Rook swinging on to c6 and since White does not have a Knight there is not much need of outposts either.

Here is the full game that you can play in our pgnplayer or watch it in flash below. You will enjoy the way Fischer finishes off the game.

But Fischer's strangest move was after winning the World Championship. He disappeared from the chess world.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.chessblog.com

Also see her personal blog at

www.chessqueen.com

Test yourself puzzle: Improve at Chess thanks to Hector-Timman

Hello Everyone!

Here is a nice middlegame chess puzzle. When you have nothing to do in middlegame, finding the right plan can be very difficult.

Sometimes, you make a move without being too sure. Certainly, a bad plan is better than no plan at all. But if you practice enough, you will be able to come up with good planning in your middlegame.

Look at the following puzzle and decide which would be the best move for White.

Position after 23. ... Ke8

Make an assessment of the position and see which of the following plans is the best.

• Black's Queenside pawn weakness is compensated by the advantage of double Bishops. There is no way of making real progress but 24. Qf2 looks nice as Black must guard his isolated c-pawn.
• An infiltration on d6 with the Bishop is possible so 24. Bf4 seems most logical. In this way White can get rid of one of Black's Bishops and then focus on the isolated pawns.
• Black is all tied up in protecting his pawns on the Queenside. So, White can run his Knight to a better position in the centre or on the Kingside by 24. Nc3.
• White's advantage is his Queenside pawn majority so he should try and create a passed pawn. The best strategy is to go for 24. a3.
• White has a good Queenside infiltration possible via b6 square so why not begin by Qa5?

------ Think a little before looking at the answer --------

Black does have the two Bishops but the f3 pawn is holding up against any attack on the b7-g2 diagonal. Exchanging one of the Bishops would significantly expose Black's weakness of pawns on the Queenside so, the exchanging of the Bishops seems the best possible option in this situation. This is how the game proceeded.

Hector-Timman, Malmo, 2003

24. Bf4 Bf8

25. h4 Be7

26. h5 f6?!

27. Bd6 e5

28. Nxc5 Bxd6

29. Nxb7 Be7

30. Nd6+ Bxd6

31. Rxd6 Qb7

32. Qa5 Qa7+

33. Qb6 1-0

Hope you enjoyed this nice middlegame study.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.chessblog.com

Also see her personal blog at

www.chessqueen.com

Chess Puzzle: Are you thinking right?

Hello Everyone!

Often in a chess match you reach a middle game where apparently nothing is to be done. Everything is in order and nothing you do could tilt the balance. There are no places to try tactics and the position is what you would call dull. It's in such situations that you have to learn to think right.

Look at the following puzzle and think about what you would do as White.

Position after 23. ... Rfd8

White should have the advantage because of his better Bishop though the Knight on b4 might be a problem. How would you proceed?

• Nb1 - The idea is to force the Black Knight to a bad square with c3 and later activate the White Knight via d2 and f3
• Rfd1 - The Black Knight can be tackled later and though you don't want to leave the f-file it is better to control the open d-file
• Re2 - The Black Knight is not a problem and d-file entry points are actually all covered. No point swapping pieces when you have a space advantage so hope to double on f-file later
• Bc5 - It is best to swap rooks and pieces because White would be left with a good Knight against a bad Bishop and possibly a passed a pawn. Then the endgame would be won.
• Na2 - All said and done one must first exchange bad pieces for good ones so it's better to force this Knight swap.

Take your time thinking about what should be best for White.

Well! good players always hate exchanging Bishops for Knights so some of these options don't work. Although there is a pawn on e5, the dark-squared White Bishop still has plenty of scope. Indeed, after, say, 24.Bc5 Qb7 25.Rxd8+ Rxd8 26. Bxb4 axb4 27. Ne2 Bg5 Black would have plenty of activity. Also, 26. ... Rd4 might be quite powerful.

This game is taken from Karpov-Spassky, Leningrad, 1974 and went as follows:

24. Nb1! Qb7 25. Kh2!

A precautionary move.

25. ... Kg7 26. c3 Na6 27. Re2

Preserving pieces

27. ... Rf8 28. Nd2 Bd8 29. Nf3 f6 30. Rd2 Be7 31. Qe6! Rad8 32. Rxd8 Bxd8 33. Rd1 Nb8 34. Bc5 Rh8

35. Rxd8 1-0 (in view of Be7)

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.Chessblog.com
Also see my personal blog at
www.Chessqueen.com

Chess Puzzle: Are you thinking right?

Hi Everyone!

Look at this very interesting position after 22.gxf3:

Black to Play. What would you do?

• Black seems to win a pawn by force on the h-file. It's a long procedure but Black can take Rook to the h-file with 22. ... Rh6 and park one Rook on h4 also hitting the d pawn.
• All pieces should get moving particularly the King. So, it's better to go 22. ... f5 and get the King into the action. White really cannot do much.
• 22. ...Nc8 would get the Knight active and take him on to a great post at f5
• It's not a good idea to take the Knight to the back rank. Better to activate him via d7 and think about controlling e5 and c5.
• 22. ... h5. Activating the King is still important but better to do it via h7 than f7.

Take your time figuring out the correct answer. None of these answers are all wrong. This position is from a Seger-Sadler, Bundesliga, 2005 game. You will enjoy seeing the way the game continued.

These are five very logical answers. However, leaving the e-file that is well controlled doesn't seem very profitable. It's better to improve one's pieces.

The game proceeded thus: 22. ... Nc8 23. Kf1 Ne7 24. Rc2 Nf5 25. Ne2 Rh6 26. Bg3 Rxh3 27. Rd3 Rh1+ 28. Kg2 Re1 29. Rdd2 h5 30. Kh3 Kh7 31. Kh2 Re6 32. Bb8 Nh4 33, Kg3 R6xe2 0-1

This is because mate would follow with 34. Rxe2 Rg1+ 35. Kh3 Nxf3 and g4 mate follows. Same happens if the King tries to escape to h2!!!

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.chessblog.com

Don't forget to read my personal blog at

www.chessqueen.com

Izvestia Chess Puzzle Contest Winners

Photo courtesy Vladimir Suvorov/"Izvestia"

Hello everybody!

A few posts ago I let you know about the Puzzle Contest in the Russian newspaper "Izvestia". On March 3 the winners of this contest were announced and the solutions for the Puzzles#5 and #6 were posted:

Puzzle #5. A. Kosteniuk, 2009,

White to move and make a draw.

SOLUTION:

1. b8Q h1Q 2.Kd4+! Rс1 3.Qg3+ Kh5 4.Qh3+ Kg5 (4. .. Qh3 stalemate) 5. Qg3+ Kh6 6. Qh3+ Kg7 7. Qd7+ Кf8 8.Qd8+ Kh7 9.Qd7+ Kh6 10.Qh3+ Kg5 11. Qg3+ Kf5 12.Qh3+ Kf4 13.Qh4+ Kf3! 14.Qf4+ Kg2 15.Qg4+ Kf2 16. Qh4+ Ke2 17.Qf2+ Kd1 18.Qd2+ Kd2 stalemate

Puzzle #6, О.Pervakov, 2008,

White to move and win.

SOLUTION:

1.с3!

1.cb? doesn't win in view of Kh6! 2.Rg6+ Qg6 3.Bg6 Kg6 4.b4 Kf6 5.Kd2 Ke7 6.Ke3 Kd7 7.Ke4 Kc7 8.Kf5 Kb6 with a draw

1. ... b2+ 2.Kb2 Kh6! (2. ... Kh8 3.Rg8+!),

Now doesn't win 3.Bd3? in view of Qа4! 4.Rg6+ Kh7 5.Rg4+ e4! 6.Rе4 Qd1!

7.Bc2 Qg1! 8.Rg4+ Kh8! (9. ... Kh6? 10.Rg6+!) 9.Rg1 stalemate

The correct continuation is 3.Bс2!! Qс4! (3. ... Qd5 4.Rg6+ Kh7 5.Rd6+ winning the Queen and the game)

4.Rg6+ Кh7 5.Rg4+ e4! 6.Rе4 Qс7! 7.Re7+ Kh6 8.Rh7+! - winning

I hope you enjoyed solving these puzzles and can assure you that daily solving of different tactical and endgame problems and puzzles will increase you level of chess.

Link to the original Izvestia Chess Puzzle Contest 2010.

Solve many puzzles on my CHESS KILLER TIPS podcast page.

Posted by: Alexandra Kosteniuk

Women's World Chess Champion

www.chessblog.com

Izvestia Chess Puzzle Contest

Photo courtesy: Vladimir Suvorov "Izvestia"

Hello everybody!

I just got back from my St. Valentine's 5k run which I completed in 22:38, taking third place in my age group (26-29) and 7th overall woman.

To celebrate St. Valentine's Day I invite you to solve the following 6 puzzles which are the Puzzle Contest of one of the biggest Russian Daily Newspaper "Izvestia". This competition started on January 12 and consists of 3 rounds of 2 puzzles each. Right now is the final tour so you still have a chance to send the solutions of the two last puzzles till tomorrow to sport@izvestia.ru or by post to Russia, Moscow, 127 994, Tverskaia St., 18-1 mark "Chess Competition" on your envelope, but email will arrive faster for sure :-) For those of you who know Russian, here are the 3 links to the articles of this competition: Round 1, Round 2, Round 3. You will be able to find the solutions to the first 4 puzzles in these articles.

Above 1. Ruhlis, 1968. White to start and checkmate in 2 moves

Above 2. Zepler, 1930 White to move and checkmate in 3 moves

Above 3. Khavel, 1912. White to move and checkmate in 3 moves

Above 4. Vladimirov, 2005. White to move and checkmate in 4.

Above 5. Kosteniuk, 2009. White to move and make a draw.

Above 6. White to move and win.

I hope you will enjoy solving those puzzles. I will post the solutions to all puzzles before the end of February.

Posted by: Alexandra Kosteniuk

Women's World Chess Champion

www.chessblog.com