Chess puzzle
Puzzle no. 606
Tamas Fodor — Michael Adams, Hull 2018. White to play. One from the puzzles section of Smerdon’s book, which I…
Puzzle no. 605
White mates in two moves against any defence (composed by Walter Pulitzer). Steinitz admitted he could not crack this within…
Puzzle no. 604
Aronian–Vidit, Online Nations Cup, May 2020. Vidit has just captured axb3 en passant. Aronian’s next move revealed a powerful concept.…
Puzzle no. 603
Black to play. Ding–Nakamura, Magnus -Carlsen Invitational, April 2020. The position appears sterile, but Nakamura spotted a clever winning move.…
Puzzle no. 602
Nepomniachtchi (lachesisQ)–Andriasian (Zaven_ChessMood), Abu Dhabi Super Blitz, April 2020. White is in danger here. Which move did he play to…
Puzzle No. 601
Black to play. Sjugirov–Carlsen, Chess24 Banter Blitz Semi Final. In this wild position, Carlsen’s next move put the result beyond…
Puzzle no. 600
Black to play. Andrew Stone–Martin Jogstad, 4NCL Online, April 2020. The queen is trapped on f4, so 1…Rxg5 looks worth…
Puzzle no. 599
A position adapted from Vojtech Plat–Ravi Haria, Hull GM tournament, 2019. The d6-pawn is crucial here, but White needs a…
Puzzle no. 598
A variation from the game above. Although White is a pawn down, he can rustle up decisive counterplay with one…
Puzzle no. 597
A puzzle used in the solving championship, composed by Vittorio de Barbieri in 1918. White must give mate in two…
puzzle no. 596
White to play. Shirov–Yuffa, Nutcracker Battle of the Generations, Moscow 2020. The rook on f7 is pinned, and 1 Rxf8+…
puzzle no. 595
Black to play. Tomashevsky–Lomasov, Nutcracker Battle of the Generations, Moscow 2020. A position with a surprising twist. Tomashevsky has just…
puzzle no. 594
Black to play. Puranik–Sjugirov, another spectacular game played at the Aeroflot Open. Puranik was perhaps counting on 1…Rc1 2 Qa3…
no. 593
White to play, a variation from McShane–-Kamsky. In the game above, I was hoping to see 31…Qa5, as I had…
No. 592
Black to play, Kateryna Lagno–Ju Wenjun, February 2020. Material is approximately balanced, but White’s king is in serious danger. What…
no. 591
White to play, Dubov–Artemiev, Wijk aan Zee 2020. White is pressing here, but Black seems to have everything covered. Which…
no. 590
Black to move, Paravyan vs McShane, Isle of Man 2019. Here I intended 49…Bxd1. What had Paravyan planned after that…
no. 589
Black to move. Javakhishvili–Adams, Gibraltar 2020. Adams has a few plausible moves here, including Rf1, Rf3+ and Rxf7, but only…
no. 588
Rowson-Yermolinsky, World Open 2002. This position arose after a tactical skirmish. White has only one good way to meet the…
no. 587
Sanguineti–Najdorf, Mar del Plata 1956. White to move. White played 1 Kd8?, to threaten 2 Qe7#. Black resigned, overlooking 1…Rxg4…
No. 586
Carlsen–Nakamura, December 2019. In the decisive playoff game, Carlsen played 1 Nxf7+ and won quickly. But there was a mate…
No. 585
Black to play. Ilfeld & Vachier-Lagrave–Picot & McShane. Pro-Biz Cup, London 2019. My move. White threatens checkmate with Qc4-g8, so…
no. 584
White to play. Aronian–Carlsen, December 2019. Carlsen won the third-place playoff, but Aronian found a nice finish in this game.…
no. 583
Black to play. This is a variation from McShane–Van Foreest, Bundesliga, November 2019. I avoided this position, and the game…
no. 582
Black to play. Zelcic–Melkumyan, Tournament of Peace, November 2019. Melkumyan enjoys a big endgame advantage, and he found a cute…
