Game of the year
It is traditional that in my first column of the new year I review the previous 12 months and select…
no. 487
Black to play. This position is from Kasparov-Navara, St Louis 2017. How did Navara deal with Kasparov’s check? Answers to…
Grand prix
The London Classic is over and full reports in this column will follow in the new year. Meanwhile, we now know…
no. 486
White to play. This position is from Aronian-Giri, Palma de Mallorca 2017. Aronian now finished off a fine attack with…
Books of the year
The English Chess Federation has awarded its Book of the Year prize to Timman’s Titans: My World Chess Champions by…
Puzzle
White to play. This position is from Timman-Short, Tilburg 1990. Can you spot Timman’s classic finish? We regret that this…
London Classic
The London Classic gets underway this weekend in Olympia. The line-up is formidable, including the world champion Magnus Carlsen, his…
no. 485
White to play. This position is from a variation from Carlsen-Aronian, London Classic 2012. Black had already anticipated what was…
Alekhine’s heir
Garry Kasparov was without a doubt Alekhine’s creative heir. The 1985-2000 world champion said himself that he became entranced at…
no. 484
White to play. This is from Alekhine-Feldt, Blindfold Simultaneous, Tarnopol 1916. White has sacrificed a knight. Can you spot his brilliant…
Alekhine’s anniversaries
Alexander Alekhine was one of the two world champions (the other being his fellow native Russian Mikhail Botvinnik) who won,…
no. 483
White to play. This position is from Alekhine-Supico, Blindfold Simultaneous, Lisbon 1941. Can you spot White’s remarkable finish, which is…
Master class
While researching some early games in the Bf4 version of the Queen’s Pawn openings favoured by world champion Magnus Carlsen,…
no. 482
White to play. This position is from Rasmussen-Nyback, Crete 2017. How can White win at once? Answers to me at…
Chigorin lives
Nigel Short, who challenged Garry Kasparov for the world title in 1993, has made a reputation for employing slightly offbeat…
no. 481
White to play. This position is a variation from Bologan-Short, Crete 2017. How can White now penalise Black for his…
Brief encounter
Books on the world championship matches used to appear regularly, with some having multiple written accounts. In recent years, though,…
no. 480
Black to play. This position is from Arda-Melia, Antalya 2017. How can Black win? Answers to me at The Spectator…
no. 479
Black to play. This is from Sanal-Arnaudov, Antalya 2017. How did Black finish off the horribly exposed white king? Answers…
Father William
The American grandmaster William Lombardy died last week (4 December 1937–13 October 2017). He was an amazing talent in his…
no. 478
White to play. This position is from the above game, Praggnanandhaa-Howell, chess.com Masters. What is the accurate move White needed…
Prodigy
Twelve-year-old Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa scored a sensational result in the recent Isle of Man Masters. At the age of ten years…
Historic
Congratulations to the organisational team of the Isle of Man Masters, which concluded last weekend. They assembled what must have…
no. 477
White to play. This is from Anand-Esserman, Isle of Man 2017. White now killed off the exposed black king. What…
Gamesters of Triskelion
The triskelion, or three-legged emblem, has been on the coat of arms of the Isle of Man since the late…
