White to play and win
Carlsen-Dominguez 2007, World Cup (3)
Solution :
1Nd5! Rc1 ( if 1..Rd7 2Nf6+)
2 h4 ! Re1
3hg5 and White has a winning position.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Puzzle #4
Black to play and win
Hint : Morozevich found a nice tactical motif linked to his knight in this position against Ljubojevic. It was in a blindfold game in Monaco. A top grandmaster like Morozevich can find complex combinations without looking at the board, which is very impressive.
Replay solution here : http://www.geocities.com/thechesscorner/dec20074htm.htm
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Tactics #3
White to play and win
From a game played online thechesscorner-N.N 2007
Solution:
1 Nd5! wins.
1..Bd5 is met by 2Rc8! while 1..Qd5 loses because of 2Bf6 with mate on g7. This tactical theme is called overloading.
Monday, December 17, 2007
December 07 : Chess Tactics #2
White to play and win
In this position, the former world champion Mikhail Tal uncorked a magnificent combination.
White has to act fast otherwise Black will complete his development with Bd7-Bc6.
Solution ( Main Line ) :
1 Bh7 + Kh7 2 Rh3+ Kg8 3 Nf5 Qg5 4 Qh5!! Qh5 5 Ne7+ Kh8 5 Rh5#
Replay solution here with board + annotations:
December 07 Chess Quiz #1
White to play and win !
Sutovsky-Smirin 2002
Hint: E. Sutovsky is a top GM with a focus on creativity and attack. He has created many masterpieces at the top level. Here, he concludes the attack with a brilliant sac leading to a forced mate.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Nov '07 : chess tactics position #3
White to play and win
Inarkiev-Galkin 2007
GM Ernesto Inarkiev found a powerful continuation here
Replay Solution here : http://geocities.com/thechesscorner/nov_3.htm
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Puzzle #2 (November 07)
White to play and win
Hint : Black king seems safe but what about Black's queen ?
Replay Solution on a board : http://www.geocities.com/thechesscorner/nov_2.htm
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
November 2007 Puzzle
White to play and win
Hint: A former world chess champion managed to get the upper hand in this game. How did he disrupt Black's position ?
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
October 07 solutions
10 positions were given in October in previous post. Each puzzle presents a combination played
at Grandmaster level.
Here are the solutions, together with explanations.
Play and Calculalte Well !
Puzzle 1:1. g6! Threatening mate in h8. 1..Bh4 2 Rh4 Kf8 3 Qh8+ Ke7 4 Qg7+ Kd8 5 Rh7 gives a winning attack.
at Grandmaster level.
Here are the solutions, together with explanations.
Play and Calculalte Well !
Puzzle 1:1. g6! Threatening mate in h8. 1..Bh4 2 Rh4 Kf8 3 Qh8+ Ke7 4 Qg7+ Kd8 5 Rh7 gives a winning attack.
(Dvoyris-Benkovic, 2003)
Puzzle 2:1. Rbf6! Black can't take the rook because of mate in h7. 1..Bh3 2 Rh6! is the neat finish. (Kolbasin-Borson, 2007)
Puzzle 3:1..Bg2+! 2 Kg2 Kg5+ 3 Kh1 Rg6 wins easily for Black.
(Vidal-Giorgadze 2007)
Puzzle 4:1. Rg3! 1-0. If Black takes the rook, White has the intermediate check 2Qf8+.
(Motylev-Dreev, 2007)
Puzzle 5:1 Nd5! ed5 2 Bc6+ Qc6 3 Bf6! regains the piece with interest. 3..Rg8 4 Be5 Be5 5 Re5+ Kf8 6 b5! wins ( idea is 6..Qb5 7 Rf7+! with mate, or 6..ab5 7 Qb4+ )
(Fillipov-Kasian , 2007)
Puzzle 6:1Nf6! h6 2 Qh6+ gh6 3 Rg8 #. Nice combination (a la capablanca) by the ex-world champion Anatoly Karpov
(Karpov-Stojanovic, 2007)
Puzzle 7:1 c5! ( obstruction: the move prevents the queen from coming back ) Kg8 2 Ne7+ Re7 3 Bf6! with a winning attack.
(Van Wely-Jakovenko, 2007)Puzzle 2:1. Rbf6! Black can't take the rook because of mate in h7. 1..Bh3 2 Rh6! is the neat finish. (Kolbasin-Borson, 2007)
Puzzle 3:1..Bg2+! 2 Kg2 Kg5+ 3 Kh1 Rg6 wins easily for Black.
(Vidal-Giorgadze 2007)
Puzzle 4:1. Rg3! 1-0. If Black takes the rook, White has the intermediate check 2Qf8+.
(Motylev-Dreev, 2007)
Puzzle 5:1 Nd5! ed5 2 Bc6+ Qc6 3 Bf6! regains the piece with interest. 3..Rg8 4 Be5 Be5 5 Re5+ Kf8 6 b5! wins ( idea is 6..Qb5 7 Rf7+! with mate, or 6..ab5 7 Qb4+ )
(Fillipov-Kasian , 2007)
Puzzle 6:1Nf6! h6 2 Qh6+ gh6 3 Rg8 #. Nice combination (a la capablanca) by the ex-world champion Anatoly Karpov
(Karpov-Stojanovic, 2007)
Puzzle 7:1 c5! ( obstruction: the move prevents the queen from coming back ) Kg8 2 Ne7+ Re7 3 Bf6! with a winning attack.
Puzzle 8: 1Bh7+! Kh7 2 Ng5+ Kg8 3 Qe6+ Kh8 4 Qh3!+ and on ..Qh6, White exchanges the queens and plays Ne6 winning the exchange. Classic theme !
(Sokolov,A-Stucki, 2007)
Puzzle 9: 1Nb7 Qb7 2 Na5! Overloading : White gains material on every reply.
(Kveynis-Lapinsky, 2007)Puzzle 10: 1c6! bc6 2 Rb1 Qa3 3 Rb8+ Kd7 4 Nb4! Obstruction : 5.Qd6 is a deadly threat. Nice attack started by opening lines.
(Jobava-Khamrakulov, 2007)Wednesday, October 3, 2007
October 2007 tactical positions (Part III)
October 2007 quiz ( Part III)
9. White to play and win
10. White to play and win
Hints will follow shortly.
Solutions will be given towards the end of the month.
Feel free to post your questions/answers in the comments section below. Play well !
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
October 2007 tactical positions ( Part II)
5.White to play and win
6.White to play and win
7. White to play and win
8. White to play and win
October 2007 tactical positions ( Part I)
October Quiz ( Part I)
1. White to play and win
2. White to play and win
3.Black to play and win
4. White to play and win
Sunday, September 23, 2007
September 2007 solutions
September 07 solutions
Here are the solutions of the 10 puzzles posted during the month of September.
Go back to each post to see the positions and compare your findings with the posted solutions.
Feel free to post a comment if you have a refutation or a question about the combinations.
October 07 will feature 10 new positions to solve, solutions to appear by end of October.
Play and Calculate Well !
1. 1 Rd8!! Bf2+ (1..Rd8 2 Rd5!!) 2 Kf2 Qb5 3 Qd6 Re8 4 a4! Qa4 5Qe7!! and the back row proves to weak for Black to resist.
2. 1..Bd7! ( Deviation) 2 Bd7 Qf3+ 3 Kg1 Rg3+ followed by checkmate.
3. 1Ne4! Re7 2 Nf6+ gf6 3 Qg4+ wins while 2..Kh8 3 Ne7 Qe7 4 Qe4 gives White a winning ending . 1..Ne4 2 Rdd7 or 2 Qe4 wins for White.
4. 1 Rc8! ( Again the back rank is weak ) Qd7 2 Qf8!+ followed by checkmate. 1..Rxc8 is met by the fantastic 2 Qe7!!
5. 1 Bh6! gh6 2 Bh7+ Kh8 3 Qg6 with a devastating attack. 3..Qb2+ 4 Kh1 Nf6 5 Ng5! followed in the game. The initial position comes right after a french defense opening.
6. 1 Nde6 fe6 2 Qh4 Nf8 3 Rf2!! wins : threats are 4 Rf8+ or 4 Ref1 with deadly threats on Qh7-h8 mate following.
7. 1Rg7+! Kg7 2. Rg1+ Kh7 3 Nf7! ( the point, destroying the last defensive move ..f5 ) Bf7 4 Bd3+ wins. Brilliant attack by the genius Alekhine
8. 1..Qg1+ 2 Ka2 Bb2!! ( double attack on e2 and on a1 ). 3 Qe6 4 Qa1+ 5 Kb3 Qa3+ 6 Kc4 Qc3+ 7 Kd5 Qd4 #. The double attack is one of the most frequent themes in tactics. Look for unprotected pieces.
9. 1..Ne6+ (the most precise ) 2 Ke4 Ng5+ 3 Kf4 e5+! 4 Kxg5 Kg7!! and ..h6 giving mate is the threat. The king has been thrown into a checkmate net.
10. 1..Rf3!! 2 Bc6 Raf8 with a strong attack. It followed 3 gf3 Nd2! 4 Qd3 Nf3+ 5 Kg2 Qg5+ 6 Kh1 Qh5 winning for Black. Note that 2 gf3 leads to 2..Nd2 3 Qc2 Nf3+ 4 Kg2 Rf8 with Qg5+ coming next . Nice attack by the topGM Bacrot ( 2700+). You'll find more tactical positions on his new blog http://www.chess22.fr (the site has an english and french version)
Saturday, September 8, 2007
September 2007 , Puzzle Hints & Help
You will find 10 tactical positions to solve for the month of September, in the September 07 posts.
Below are hints for each position. Feel free to post what you think is the answer of each puzzle in the comments section underneath each position.
Solutions will be posted by September 28th 2007.
Good luck and calculate well !
September 2007, Tactical positions hints for each position
1. You got the exploit the back rank weakness right away
2. h1-a8 is the Achille's heel. Try a subtle deviation
3. Alekhine increased the pressure. There is no simple, 2 moves win. Black can try to get an inferior ending, which happened in the game
4. Alekhine ( a true master of attack and genius ahead of his time ) wrapped up the game in 2 moves, thanks to the last rank theme
5. White launched a furious attack in this french defense position
6. White opened the lines to get to the king. Sacrifice one knight somewhere !
7. Alekhine started logically with move 1, but had a surprise on move 3
8. Black can combines threat and sacrifice his bishop at some point
9. Look to give checkmate by bringing the white king into the net
10. Bacrot launched a classic attack and concluded the game brilliantly. Do not hesitate to open lines around the king. Material is not important here
1. You got the exploit the back rank weakness right away
2. h1-a8 is the Achille's heel. Try a subtle deviation
3. Alekhine increased the pressure. There is no simple, 2 moves win. Black can try to get an inferior ending, which happened in the game
4. Alekhine ( a true master of attack and genius ahead of his time ) wrapped up the game in 2 moves, thanks to the last rank theme
5. White launched a furious attack in this french defense position
6. White opened the lines to get to the king. Sacrifice one knight somewhere !
7. Alekhine started logically with move 1, but had a surprise on move 3
8. Black can combines threat and sacrifice his bishop at some point
9. Look to give checkmate by bringing the white king into the net
10. Bacrot launched a classic attack and concluded the game brilliantly. Do not hesitate to open lines around the king. Material is not important here
September 2007, Puzzle 10
Position 10, September 2007
Black to play and win
Koneru-Bacrot 2006
Solutions for all 10 puzzles will be given at the end of the month of September.
Feel free to post your questions/answers to each puzzle. Play and calculate well !
Friday, September 7, 2007
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Monday, September 3, 2007
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Games of the month (September 07), Part I
Topalov-Aronian 2006
The game can be replayed using the arrows above.
For annotations and analysis to the game, please visit the following link:
http://www.geocities.com/thechesscorner/topalovaronian2006.htm
The game is famous for the double exchange sacrifice used by Topalov, the first one being prepared before the actual game with his second Cheparinov. Serious home preparation indeed !
The game can be replayed using the arrows above.
For annotations and analysis to the game, please visit the following link:
http://www.geocities.com/thechesscorner/topalovaronian2006.htm
The game is famous for the double exchange sacrifice used by Topalov, the first one being prepared before the actual game with his second Cheparinov. Serious home preparation indeed !
Monday, August 27, 2007
August 2007 solutions
Chess puzzles Solutions ( August 2007)
Position 1: 1 Bg6! Rh6 2 Bf7! and checkmate on g7 or g8 cannot be prevented. Note that 1..Bg6 2Qg6 followed by the deviation Rd8+ is winning as well.
Position 2: 1 Nh6+! gh6 2 Qh6 Bf6 3 Bf6 wins. 2..Bf8 3 Qg5+ leads to checkmate.
Position 3: 1 Rh7+ Kh7 2 Qh5+ Kg8 3 Ne7+ wins for White. 3..Kg7 4 Nf5+ Kg8 5 Nd6 +-
Position 4: 1..Qh4! and taking on g3 will follow. 2 Kh2 Rgg3 3 fg3 Qg3+ wins for Black.
Position 5: 1..Bf2+ 2 Kf2 ( forced) Qb6+ 3 Kf1 Bc8!! with devastating check from a6.
Position 6: 1..Bb3 ! 2 ab3 Rb3+ 3 Rb3 Qd2!+ wins. Brute force attack !
Position 7: 1..Rh3+! 2 Kg1 f3! wins. If 2 gh3 2..Qe4+ followed by Nf3+ wins the Queen.
Position 8: 1..Nd2! (Black promotes if White takes the knight) 2 a4 b1=Q 3 Rb1 Nb1 4 a5 Rb5
Position 9: 1..Nd7+! 2.Kc7 2..Ra7+ 3 Kc8 Nb6+ 4 Kb8 Rd7! wins for Black. The white King walks into checkmate schemes, with no help from white pieces !
Position 10: 1 Re4! Re4 2 Rb6! wins since the Black's queen is overloaded and White threatens to promote the a-pawn as well as giving check on the last rank.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
August 2007 Hints
Hints ( Aug 07)
Puzzle 1: The Black queen is too far away to defend. Try to open more lines !
Puzzle 2: The bishop in b2 is powerful. How to extend its range ?
Puzzle 3: Morphy sensed that Black's lack of coordination could be exploited. Try to get closer to the king.
Puzzle 4: The rooks are active, but can you bring another piece into the action ?
Puzzle 5: The first 2 moves are logical ( attacking the white king) but the third one is about geometry ( there's an elegant switchback move to be found ).
Puzzle 6: Try to break through the defenses by destroying them.
Puzzle 7: It's time to strike, as all your pieces are centralized. The White Queen is not protected!
Puzzle 8: Tactical motives help strategical goals : here the goal is to promote the b pawn.
Puzzle 9 :Was it safe for White to bring his king so far into the enemy's territory ?
Puzzle 10: Opposite bishops help the attacking side. Try to sacrifice pieces for a larger pay-back.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
July 07 Tactical Puzzles Solutions
July 2007 Solutions
(chess tactics explained)
Position 1 ( Kasparov-Short 1993)
1 Nh6! Nh6 [ 1..Bf6 2 Bf7! 1-0 happened in the game ]
2 Qg5+ Kh7 3 Bc2! Bf6 4 Qf6 [threatening Re7 or Re8] Rg8 5 Re6! and White is winning
Position 2 ( Internet Game 2007 )
1 Re4! Qa5 [ 1..Ne4 2 Qh7+ ] 2 R1e3 Qa1+ 3 Bf1 Bf5 4 Rf4!? Qc1 5 g4! with a winning attack
Position 3 ( Tal-Koblentz, 1976 )
1 f6 !! Re2 2 fg7 Rd2 3 Bd2! Qe2 4 Kc1 1-0
Note that 1..gf6 doesn't save Black since 2 g7 Rg6 3 Rg1! wins for White.
Position 4 ( Adams-Giorgadze, 1997 )
1 Qd2!! Superb move, if Black takes the queen , then Ra8+ leads to checkmate.
1.. Qc6 2 Qh6+ Ke8 3 Qe6 1-0 [ if 3..Kf8 4 Ra7 Qe8 5 Ne7]
Position 5 ( Aleksandrov-Lugovoi 2003)
1 Rd5! 1-0 Black can't take the queen because of checkmate on g7.
Position 6 (Svidler-Nedobora)
1 Qe6! Nf8 2 Nf6! Bf6 3 Qd5!! and Black has no moves. For instance 3..Nd7
4 Bf6 Nf6 5 Rf6 wins easily for White.
Position 7 ( Internet Game )
1..h4! (attacking White's king) 2 Qf8+ Bg7 3 Qd6 Qg4+ 4 Kg2 Qc4 wins a piece for Black.
Position 8 (Huzman-Kasparov 2003)
1 Bd5! ( Bishop can't be taken because of Ne7+ or Qg7 #) Qe8 2 Bc4! 1-0
Position 9 (Internet Game, playchess.com )
1 ..Rd8! ( Wins a piece ) 2 c3 c5! 0-1
Position 10 ( Gelfand-Kasparov 1997)
1..Bf1! Kf1 2.. Ne3+ 3 Ke1 Qh4!+ ( the strongest as the two bishops are lost) 4 Kd3 Nf5 0-1
Note that 1..Be2 2 Kh1 Qh4 is good for Black but not as clear as Kasparov's move.
July07 puzzles Hints
Here are hints if you need a little help to solve July puzzles.
Position 1: You need to focus on attacking the Black king and for that remove something which keeps him safe.
Position 2: The knight in f6 is defending h7. You can introduce a deviation and bring more forces into the attack.
Position 3: Don't hesitate to consider all candidate moves. A radical breaktrough is needed !
Position 4 : The Black Queen will soon be overloaded. Try to think in terms of a double attack.
Position 5 : The Black Queen has lots of things to do. Can you take advantage of that fact ?
Position 6 : You need to increase the pressure and get closer to the King. Sometimes quiet moves introduce strong threats.
Position 7 : The White king is in danger obviously. And the bishop c4 could soon be hanging as well.
Position 8: Overloading again. Can you combine threats against the King and the Queen ?
Position 9: White is defending. In particular, one of his pieces is awkwardly placed. Try to win a piece.
Position 10: Think of all candidate moves, and try to think of a temporary piece sacrifice. Attacking the King will bring you victory!
Position 1: You need to focus on attacking the Black king and for that remove something which keeps him safe.
Position 2: The knight in f6 is defending h7. You can introduce a deviation and bring more forces into the attack.
Position 3: Don't hesitate to consider all candidate moves. A radical breaktrough is needed !
Position 4 : The Black Queen will soon be overloaded. Try to think in terms of a double attack.
Position 5 : The Black Queen has lots of things to do. Can you take advantage of that fact ?
Position 6 : You need to increase the pressure and get closer to the King. Sometimes quiet moves introduce strong threats.
Position 7 : The White king is in danger obviously. And the bishop c4 could soon be hanging as well.
Position 8: Overloading again. Can you combine threats against the King and the Queen ?
Position 9: White is defending. In particular, one of his pieces is awkwardly placed. Try to win a piece.
Position 10: Think of all candidate moves, and try to think of a temporary piece sacrifice. Attacking the King will bring you victory!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Saturday, July 28, 2007
What is the Top 10 Chess blog about ?
Hi everyone,
This blog is aimed at those who want to train and solve chess positions.
Tactic puzzles will be offered on these pages.
It is often said that chess is 99% tactics and we hope to illustrate that here,
following Chess Grandmasters such as Tal, Kasparov, Adams,etc.
We will start with tactical tests but the goal is always to find the best move in any given situation, regardless of the aim ( winning material, checkmate,draw, etc).
Each month will feature 10 positions, hence the name of the blog.
The reader can try to solve each diagram, then compare with the provided solution,
and rate herself/himself from 1 to 10 every month.
Any feedback welcome !
This blog is aimed at those who want to train and solve chess positions.
Tactic puzzles will be offered on these pages.
It is often said that chess is 99% tactics and we hope to illustrate that here,
following Chess Grandmasters such as Tal, Kasparov, Adams,etc.
We will start with tactical tests but the goal is always to find the best move in any given situation, regardless of the aim ( winning material, checkmate,draw, etc).
Each month will feature 10 positions, hence the name of the blog.
The reader can try to solve each diagram, then compare with the provided solution,
and rate herself/himself from 1 to 10 every month.
Any feedback welcome !
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