complexity

White to play

Battle between two strong grandmasters reached a crucial point. Can you find the best continuation for White ?

3 blitz games tactics

In each position below, the goal is to find the best continuation.
Tactics and missed calculations in action...

Position I: What did White play here ?

1. Qxg5 or 1. Rg1

Position II: Black to play , earlier in the same game

Black played 1..Qb6. Does Rybka agree?

Position III: Black to play
I just played Qe4-e5 in the position below, to control b2 and play h5-h6.
Enough to win ?

I was playing White in all three positions:
I was able to win in position I, while I shouldn't have survived the game if my opponent had seen the right move in position II earlier on.
I won with White in the last diagram, but only after my opponent let me back in the game.

Conclusion: Chess is 99% tactics, at least in blitz.

Tactical motifs and kibitzers

The following position appeared with Black to play

Black played 1..Qh4 !?

After this startling move from Black, how would play the position with White ?

a) Yuri, the russian expert, said " Russians always go forward. Therefore 2.Nb5 should be played".

b) Richard, the swiss guy said " Sometimes neutralizing the opponent is called for, therefore I'd play 2.Nf3".

c) Emily from Canada looked at the position and said " Obviously you guys are not practical. The Black queen is en prise, there 2 Bxh4 is the right move".

What would you do ?

Practicing calculation of variations

White to play and win (Bauer-Abergel 2008)


1.?

White has a decisive advantange but there's still room for errors.Here, instead of letting you guess the best move, I will providethe candidate moves and the analytical work consists in going through eachvariation and deciding which one works and which one doesn't.
I identified 4 candidate moves :
A) 1 Qg7+
B) 1 Rh8+
C) 1 Nh7+
D) 1 Nd7+

Analyze each of them in the order you like and determine the validity of each one.Good Luck !


This game was declared the best one of that tournament.

Critical Position / Decision in Chess (Part II)

Another critical position from a recent game.

I White to play

I think I can explain a bit further why I chose this precise position today. As White,
two main candidate moves come to mind. 1 Ra8 or 1 c6. Which one would you play and why ? Please analyze each alternative as far as you can.

May I suggest that these kind of positions remind me of IM Dvorestky famous approach where he lets his (GM) students analyze in depth from a given point ?

Decisions in chess

Choosing between two continuations. Eternal dilemna. Three positions to test your instinct when it comes to avoid or spot tactical tricks...

Position 1: White to play















Choose between:
1Bf7+
or 1.Qe6+ followed by 2.Rf7


Position 2: White to play















Choose between
1.Qe7 or
1 Qf5+

(Krasenkow-Cvitan 1997)
















Choose between
1 h3 or
1 Qb7

(Korchnoi-Spassky 1977)

Tactical Position from Las Vegas 2008

In the game Kamsky-Paragua, played in Las Vegas 2008, the middlegame became sharp and rich in tactical possibilities. Black to play in the position below. White has sacrificed the exchange, and is currently attacking the Rook on a4 and the Queen on c6. Both kings are exposed though. Black has a few promising continuations. Paragua played an interesting move but overlooked a strong reply from Kamsky. Can you guess the strong and unexpected blow he could have dealt instead to Gata Kamsky in the following position with Black ?

Black to play and continue the attack !




Kamsky-Paragua, Las Vegas 2008


Feel free to post your ideas/variations in the comments section.
Good luck !