Chess puzzle
Puzzle no. 646
Black to play… and lose! Aronian–Van Foreest, March 2021. Van Foreest’s next move didn’t blunder his queen but was nonetheless…
Puzzle no. 645
Black to play. Kosteniuk–Koneru, Skolkovo Grand Prix, 2019. The obvious 1…Kg3 fails to 2 Rg5+ Kf4 3 Rg4+. Losing the…
Puzzle no. 644
White to play and mate in two moves. Composed by Philip Hamilton Williams, Birmingham Post, 1890. Answers should be emailed…
Puzzle no. 643
White to play. Garcia Ramos–Maurizzi, -Barcelona 2021. Black has just played Kg8-h7, to attack White’s queen by unpinning the knight…
Puzzle No. 642
Black to play. Warakomski-–Korobov, February 2021. White has a pin on the b-file and 1…Bxg2+ 2 Kxg2 Bc5 3 Rb7…
Puzzle no. 641
White to play. Carlsen–Vachier-Lagrave, Opera Euro Rapid 2020. Carlsen played 31 Bd4+ Rxd4 32 cxd4 Bxd4 which should be drawn,…
Puzzle No. 640
White to play and mate in two moves. Composed by Theodore Herlin, Schachzeitung 1852. Answers to be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk…
Puzzle no. 639
White to play. Giri-Wojtaszek, Wijk aan Zee 2021. On his last move, Black waited with 48… Ba1-b2, yielding White a…
Puzzle no. 638
Kokkoris–Kavalek, Athens 1968. Kavalek’s next move initiated a beautiful forced mating sequence. What did he play? Answers should be emailed…
Puzzle no. 637
White to play. Howell — Adams, Caplin Hastings Online 2021. Adams’s last move, 35…Ba4-b3, gave Howell the chance for a…
Puzzle no. 636
Gormally–Turner, Caplin Hastings Online 2021. Black looks safe, but Gormally’s next move forced a win of material. What did he…
Puzzle No. 635
Mastrovasilis–Marechal, Cappelle la Grande 2011. Black is a whole rook up, so his last move 34… Nd5-e7, angling for an…
Puzzle no. 634
White to play and mate in five moves. Composed by Kohtz & Kockelkorn, 1875. Be careful — four moves isn’t…
Four puzzles in one
Four puzzles in one, composed by Werner Speckmann, 1963. In each case, White to play and mate in two. (a)…
Puzzle no. 633
White to play. A position taken from Chess Improvement (perhaps from Luchowski–Gridnew, Moscow 1992.) Black’s menacing pieces make the situation…
Puzzle no. 632
White to play and win. E. Pogosjants, Shakhmaty v SSSR 1976. Promoting the a-pawn allows Black a perpetual check. Which…
Puzzle no. 631
White to play and mate in two moves. Composed by Sam Loyd, 1857. Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by…
Puzzle No. 630
White to play. Mista–Kloza, Poland 1955 (supposedly). Which move does White play to force a quick checkmate? Answers should be…
Puzzle no. 629
White to play and mate in 3. A puzzle featured in The Queen’s Gambit, apparently composed by W. Atkinson in…
Puzzle no. 628
White to play. Wade–Korchnoi, Buenos Aires, 1960. Bob Wade’s next move prepared a surprising and decisive breakthrough. What did he…
Puzzle No. 627
Black to play. Sjugirov–Paravyan, Russian Higher League, October 2020. A piece for a pawn down, Black’s follow up was subtle…
Puzzle no. 626
Rapport–Sprenger, Bundesliga, September 2020. The game continued 1 Bxc4 Rxc4 2 Bxe5+ f6 3 Bf4 Rxe4+ 4 Kf3 and was…
Puzzle no. 625
Black to play. Khodashneli — Willow, European Online Youth Championship U18, September 2020. White has just advanced 40 g3-g4, and…
Puzzle no. 624
White to play. A variation from L’Ami–Caruana, Bundesliga 2020. Caruana avoided this position, where White can force a quick mate.…
Puzzle no. 623
White to play. Areshchenko–Koch, Bundesliga 2020. White has won rook for bishop, but the queen is offside and his Rf2…
