Angus Dunnington - Can You Be A Positional Chess Genius

can you be a
ca
askett
James P\
EVERYMAN CHESS PUZZLES
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First published in 2002 by Everyman Publishers pic, formerly Cadogan Books
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CONTENTS I
Introduction 5
Test 1 7
Test 2 15
Test 3 23
Test4 31
TestS 39
Test6 47
Test 7 55
Test 8 63
Test9 71
Test 10 79
Test 11 87
Test 1 2 95
Ask a Grandmaster 103

Solutions and Points 1 14
INTRODUCTION I
Chess is 99% tactics.
Anatoly Karpov' s reaction to that truism was 'What rubbish!' . He, of course,
being one of the best tacticians ever, might have underestimated the significance
of his prowess in that particular department of the game. IM William Hartston
even went so far as to state that there is no such thing as a good strategist; the
best players are simply the best tacticians.
Dr John Nunn, on the other hand, is of the opposite opinion- 'Chess is 99% po
sitional play.'
We may indeed have problems defining the precise distinctions between strate
gic and tactical operations. William Osborne suggested to me that there are not
enough words in the English language to accommodate the nuances of the sun
dry types of chess activity, and that it can sometimes be very difficult to catego
rise them.
Certainly the compiler of the 'Quick' crossword in the December 27th 1988 edi
tion of The Daily Mail might have agreed, for one clue was 'Tactics (8 letters)' ,
and the answer was Strategy.
Forks, pins, skewers, deflections, overloading, double attacks, trapping of pieces,

mating nets, stalemate escapes and unguarded guards ... the whole panoply of
tactical weapons will feature in this book. However, the positions are almost all
taken from practical play. Consequently the main requirement for earning points
when working through the puzzles will be concrete calculation of a tree of varia
tions in which accuracy in threading your way through is particularly important.
There will not necessarily be an especially pretty tactical bauble hanging in any
of the branches.
Each set of twelve puzzles is intended to be of approximately similar difficulty

and the total number of points available in each text is 150. As you progress
5
Can You be a Tactical Chess Genius?
through the tests you may see if your totals for the later ones are higher than
those for the earlier positions, and thereby if your tactical strength is developing.
If you become completely stuck on a position you may 'Ask a Grandmaster' to
obtain a hint as to the solution. However, this indulgence will not go unpenalised
and will cost you points.
The puzzles here are of a mathematical type, inasmuch as there is an expected

'correct' answer to each. This will aid the development of precise calculation and
pattern recognition but may play less of a part in helping the student to show
creative flair. Korchnoi once voiced the amazing opinion that the tactical genius
Mikhail Tal was a routine player, lacking in the subtlety and feel for the initiative
exhibited by the truly great attackers such as Spassky and Keres. I would differ
with him there, but if you want to see instances of the intuitive gambit or true
sacrifices, where there is no immediate win by attack nor imminent regain of
material, then you might do well to go through a tranche of Shirov or Speelman
games.
James Plaskett
Hastings
February 2002
6
Test One
Test 1: Puzzle 1
Maximum score: 5 Points
D Blatny
• Likavsky
Ohrid200 1
White to Play
Black has just prepared the fianchetto of his queen's bishop. Why was that
unwise?
See page 103 to Ask A Grandmaster, which will cost you 2 points.
Test 1 : Puzzle 2
D Deep Fritz
• Deep Junior
Cadaques200 1
Black to Play
The white king is right out in the open. How did Black win?
7
Test 1: Puzzle 3
D Nedela
• Schmaltz
Stockerau 1992
Black to Play
Black did not promote his pawn to a queen, but rather the game saw a rare
case of underpromotion as he continued with l...b1l:t, after which he soon
won. What would have happened after the automatic 1...b1"fi?
Test 1: Puzzle 4
D Adorjan
• Spassky
Toluca 1982
Black to Play
White has just advanced his e-pawn, expecting the attacked knight to
move away from f6. He saw that l...tbxd4 2 "fif2 leaves both black
knights under attack, so one of them must be lost. What had he over-
•
looked?
8
Test One
Test 1 : Puzzle 5
D Plaskett
• Asrian
Internet Chess Club200 1
White to Play
White can win a pawn here, but is there anything even stronger?
Test 1 : Puzzle 6
D Rusakov
• Verlinsky
Moscow 1947
Black to Play
White is a piece ahead and aims to capture the b2-pawn next. Is that the
end of the story?
9
Test 1: Puzzle 7
D Plaskett
• Relange
Internet Chess Club200 1
White to Play
Both sides have adopted an attacking stance but it is White's move. Has
he a way of landing a punch?
Test 1: Puzzle 8
D Plaskett
• Velimirovich
Banja Luka 1985
White to Play
As a last, desperate hope, White sacrificed a piece and drove the oppo
nent's king out to the fourth rank. He now saw no further checks and,
faced with mate on e l , chose 1 g4 but resigned after l ...fxg3. Did he have
..
anything better?
10
Test One
Test 1 : Puzzle 9
D Bilek
• Schussler
Finland 1979
White to Play
Black mishandled the opening and White has the advantage of the pair of
bishops. How should White proceed?
Test 1: Puzzle 10
D Plaskett
• Grooten
World Under-26 Teams,
Graz 198 1
White to Play
White is better co-ordinated. What can he do to best exploit this?
11
Test 1: Puzzle 1 1
0 Plaskett
• Miles
Lugano 1986
White to Play
In the game Black resigned after 1 i.b2+ �e6 2 ctJg7+ �e7 3 i.a3+ in
view of 3...c5 4 i.xc5 mate. White has other forced wins but what is the
only other mate in four that the position contains?
Test 1: Puzzle 12
0 Plaskett
• Short
Banja Luka 1985
White to Play
With his extra pawn and active play it is looking very good for White but
what is now the best way forward?
12
Test One
Test 1: Puzzle 13
D Hartston
• Upton
London 1984
White to Play
All is quiet... or is it?
Test 1: Puzzle 14
D Drozhdov
• Gershon
Tel Aviv200 1
Black to Play
Black is under pressure and I...'ifxd7 will not do as a means of relieving it

for after 2 'ife5+! l:Igg7 3 l:Ixd7 .l:.xd7 4 'ife8+ White picks up a rook.
What to do?
13
Test 1: Puzzle 15
0 Plaskett
• Short
Birmingham2000
White to Play
Black had based his defence on having one pawn compensation plus a
solid structure in return for the loss of the exchange after something like 1
..txb7 J:.xb7 2 i..xc3 i..xc3 3 J:.ac l J:.b8. What had he missed?
Scorechart for Test 1
Puzzle Points Puzzle Points
1 10
2 11
3 12
4 13
5 14
6 15
7
8 Total
9
14
Test Two
Test 2: Puzzle 1
D Plaskett
• Miles
Harrogate 1982
White to Play
I played 1 �c5, preserving a winning position. But what was the way to
win a piece?
Test 2: Puzzle 2
D Zhu Chen
• Korchnoi
Munich2000
Black to Play
White is a healthy pawn up with the superior minor piece, but it's Black to
move...
15
Test 2: Puzzle 3
D San Segundo
• Piket
Mondariz 2000
Black to Play
White thought that he was strolling to victory here, as l . l:.a2 is easily

. .
countered by 2 fxe3. Is that the end of the story?
Test 2: Puzzle 4
D J.Bellin
• Moen
Gausdal 1992
White to Play
Although White's queen and bishops are clustered on the queenside they
are actually pointing at the black king. How did White now continue?
16
Test Two
Test 2: Puzzle 5
D Agmaliev
• Maciejewski
Polanica Zdroj2000
Black to Play
Viktor Korchnoi is of the opinion that the King's Indian Defence is simply
bad for Black. This position arose from that opening formation. White is a
piece up. Does that vindicate Korchnoi's opinion?
Test 2: Puzzle 6
D Plaskett
• Short
Plovdiv 1984
White to Play
White had sacrificed a minor piece to flush the black king out into the
open. I now played ll:tf7, which won comfortably, but how could I have
forced mate in five moves?
17
Test 2: Puzzle 7
D Linquist
• Pihlajasalo
Jyvaskyla 1996
White to Play
Black has just made a foolhardy capture on d4 and now White unleashed
the full power of the bishops. How?
Test 2: Puzzle 8
D Plaskett
• Arkell
London 199 1
White to Play
White has increased his attacking potential in this isolated queen's pawn
position by transferring the queen to h4. How did he now make the most
of his chances?
18
Test Two
Test 2: Puzzle 9
D L.Hansen
• Vescovi
Copenhagen 1995
White to Play
White is pointing pieces towards the enemy king, but is he getting any
where?
Test 2: Puzzle 10
D Wilson
• Arkell
Hastings 1996/97
White to Play
Black is attacking the c4-pawn. What to do?
19
Test 2: Puzzle 1 1
Maximum score: 1 5 Points
0 Gdanski
• Arkell
European Team
Championship2000
Black to Play
Black, a pawn down, is struggling here. How can he activate his position
before White can organise the advance of his queenside pawns?
Test 2: Puzzle 12
0 Plaskett
• Baak
The Hague200 1
White to Play
White can capture either a knight or a bishop. How should he continue?
20
Test Two
Test 2: Puzzle 13
D L.Stein
• Portisch
Stockholm 1962
White to Play
White's bishop is en prise. How to proceed?
Test 2: Puzzle 14
D Plaskett
• Murshed
Dhaka 1997
White to Play
Black has hit the d4-knight. White has already sacrificed a pawn ('In Shi
rov style', I remember thinking to myself). How should he now continue?
21
Test 2: Puzzle 15
D Plaskett
• Hawelko
European Junior
Championship 1979
White to Play
A bewildering position where White has many attacking possibilities.

Which is the best?
1 10
2 11
3 12
4 13
5 14
6 15
7
8 Total
9
22
Test Three
Test 3: Puzzle 1
D G.Fiear
• Adams
Hastings 1996/97
White to Play
Mickey Adams lost his first three games in this tournament. In this, the
fourth round, he had been two clear pawns ahead. But then it came down
to the diagram position. A grateful Flear took a draw with 1 .l:td7+ �c8 2
.:.g7 �d8 3 nd7+. What should he have done?
Test 3: Puzzle 2
D Atanu
• Vadasz
Budapest2000
White to Play
Black is trying to ease the pressure by forcing off the queens and/or
rounding up the c-pawn. How did White confound his efforts?
23
Test 3: Puzzle 3
D Fedorov
• Neelakantan
Calcutta 1999
White to Play
White can stay a piece up with 1 �e6+ �xe6 2 dxe6, but he has a far
stronger continuation available.
Test 3: Puzzle 4
D Natapov
• Schuravlov
Moscow 1994
Black to Play
Black resigned because the enemy king is about to infiltrate. Correct deci
sion?
24
Test Three
Test 3: Puzzle 5
D Tal
• A.N.Other
Simultaneous display
White to Play
Black, having just captured on h1, no doubt expected the automatic recap
ture...
Test 3: Puzzle 6
0 Daly
• Rochev
Bunratty 1999
Black to Play
Black played l ...i.h4, skewering the rooks, and White resigned. But what
was a sweeter finish?
25
Test 3: Puzzle 7
D Ardeshi
• Hayrapetian
Fajr200 1
White to Play
Black has a weak kingside and not enough pieces helping out in that sec
tor. How did White break through?
Test 3: Puzzle 8
D Chandler
• Forster
Bermuda 1999
White to Play
White is a pawn up but, rather than attempting a gradual technical exploi

tation of his advantage, he has a spectacular coup.
26
Test Three
Test 3: Puzzle 9
D Brzozka
• Bronstein
Miskolc 1963
Black to Play
White is the exchange down but the position is so blocked that there is no
normal way through for Black.
Test 3: Puzzle 10
D Plaskett
• Tiviakov
Dhaka 1997
White to Play
Black had just taken a pawn on a2, but it would have been better not to as
White now has an opportunity to solve his problems. What is it?
27
Test 3: Puzzle 1 1
D Westerinen
• Abramovich
Moscow 1982
Black to Play
Black's very active pieces and bishop pair grant him good compensation
for his pawn. But would you believe that after his next move White re
signed?
Test 3: Puzzle 12
D Dravnieks
• Beals
Postal Game
White to Play
Here White played the calm 1 h3 and play careered on: l..."i¥£2+ 2 Wh2
i.h4 3 l:tg4 and White won. It was suggested that 2..."i'xg3+!? 3 Wxg3
l:tg7+- as was subsequently played in another postal game- would have
led to a decisive advantage for Black. \Vhftt, then, is White's best move?
28
Test Three
Test 3: Puzzle 13
D Sadler
• Plaskett
Hastings 1997/98
White to Play
White has an extra pawn but Black has a compact game, the bishop pair
and two white pieces are attacked. On top of that, the board is about to
ignite. How did Matthew begin the fireworks?
Test 3: Puzzle 14
D Lalic
• Conquest
Sou�end(Redbus)200 1
White to Play
Wild chess! Bogdan Lalic is a pawn ahead but the a2-pawn is a monster.
How did the game end?
29
Test 3: Puzzle 15
D Flohr
•Geller
Moscow 1949
Black to Play
Efim Geller managed to make something of his outside passed pawn.

How?
1 10
2 11
3 12
4 13
5 14
6 15
7
8 Total
9
30
Test Four
Test 4: Puzzle 1
D Keres
• Petrosian
Candidates Tournament 1959
Black to Play
To reach the diagram position Petrosian has sacrificed a rook (when his
knight was en prise). Now l..."ikbl + is met by 2 "iVg l , so how should
Black continue?
Test 4: Puzzle 2
D Hodgson
• Mestel
Bath 1987
White to Play
Mestel has just blundered horribly. Why?
31
Test 4: Puzzle 3
D Minasian
• Kosashvili
Elista 1998
White to Play
Black is desperately trying to force off the queens, but White was having
none of this. What happened?
Test 4: Puzzle 4
D Miles
• Plachetka
Dubna 1976
White to Play
Miles became England's first GM at this event. Here a little trick won him
a pawn and, shortly after, the game. What was the trick?
32
Test Four
Test 4: Puzzle 5
D Christiansen
• Karpov
Wijk aan Zee 1993
White to Play
It is not every day that Anatoly Karpov loses in twelve moves, but he did
here, resigning after Larry's next. What was the decisive blow?
Test 4: Puzzle 6
D Khalifman
•Yandemirov
Bad Wiessee 1998
White to Play
White is a pawn up, but the pawns on a4 and d7 are under threat. How
should he proceed?
33
Test 4: Puzzle
7
D Kuzmin
•Ovsejevitsch
Donetsk 1998
White to Play
The black king is badly constricted and has no flight squares. White has
various obvious sacrificial tries to force checkmate. How can he make
these work?
Test 4: Puzzle 8
D Frederics
•Altman
New York 196 1
White to Play
Looks like a joke position, but I assure you that it did actually happen.
How ought the party now to draw to a close?
34
Test Four
Test 4: Puzzle 9
D Timman
• Karpov
London 19 84
Black to Play
The reigning world champion scored a devastating victory in this tourna

ment against one of the then major contenders for his crown. How did he
deliver a quick kill?
Test 4: Puzzle 10
D Berg
•de Firmian
Gausdal 1994
Black to Play
Lots of major pieces, lots of possibilities, but Nick de Firmian found the
best one. What was it?
35
Test 4: Puzzle 1 1
D Borge
•V.Georgiev
Verona 200 1
White to Play
A messy position but if you compare the relative positions of the rooks, it
is not surprising that White has a killing breakthrough. How?
Test 4: Puzzle 12
D Yudasin
• Kramnik
Candidates Match, 1994
Black to Play
White, having snatched some pawns, thought himself well placed to give
up an exchange and still have a lot of play, as b7 hangs and his queen and
knight are ready to support the advance of his extra foot soldiers. Why
was he wrong?
36
Test Four
Test 4: Puzzle 13
D Short
• Beliavsky
Groningen 1997
White to Play
The critical moment of a critical game in a big match. Beliavsky had been
relying on the double attack on White's queen and bishop, but Short saw
one move further. What happened?
Test 4: Puzzle 14
D Delgado
• Llorente
Bayamo 2000
White to Play
As with so many of the examples in this book, here we have here a mid
dlegame with opposite sides castling. As Kotov explained in Think Like A
Grandmaster, the character of the middlegame is dictated by the nature of
the opening. White is well ahead in this race. How did it conclude?
37
Test 4: Puzzle 15
D Summerscale
•Gimenez
Andorra 199 1
White to Play
Anything for White here?
1 10
2 11
3 12
4 13
5 14
6 15
7
8 Total
9
38
Test Five
Test 5: Puzzle 1
D Minasian
• Chekhov
Moscow 1992
White to Play
White is a piece down but his remaining forces loom over the black king.
How did he prove that this is the more relevant feature of the position?
Test 5: Puzzle 2
D Friedgood
• Pritchett
Birmingham 1999
White to Play
Black looks to be pushing back White's initiative by attacking the knight

on h4. If it retreats to f3 Black can exchange it with check and then force
the exchange of queens with 2 ."ii' h4. How should White continue?
. .
39
Test 5: Puzzle 3
D H.Oiafsson
• D.Mayers
US Open 200 1
Black to Play
White was a Grandmaster rated 2563. Black was an amateur aged eighty.
How did the veteran now continue?
Test 5: Puzzle 4
D Grunewald
• Lematschko
Swiss Championship 2000
Black to Play
Ms Lematschko is a pawn down. Is that the end of the story?
40
Test Five
Test 5: Puzzle 5
D Grigoriev
• Panikovsky
Kurgan 1972
Black to Play
There is a well known saying in chess that when you see a good move,
you should look for a better one. Well, doesn't recapturing on d4 look
good enough...?
Test 5: Puzzle 6
D Lopez
• Plaskett
Hastings 1988/89
Black to Play
We are barely out of the opening and White seems to be better developed.
However, it is Black who now launches a winning attack. How?
41
Test 5: Puzzle
7
D A.Sokolov
•Yusupov
Candidates Match, Riga 1986
Black to Play
Black has a pleasant game as White has a number of pawn weaknesses

and no real initiative to compensate. How did Black transform this pleas
ant game into something more concrete?
Test 5: Puzzle 8
D Rausis
• Benjamin
World Team Championship,
Lucerne 1993
White to Play
White retreated with 1 i.b3. Did he have better?
42
Test Five
Test 5: Puzzle 9
0 Kotov
• Keres
Budapest 1950
White to Play
White is about to be repulsed and also lose his c4-pawn to an invading

bishop. What to do?
Test 5: Puzzle 10
0 Lutz
• Ftacnik
Germany 200 1
White to Play
White has a great game, but how did he now force mate in five moves?
43
Test 5: Puzzle 1 1
D Lewis
• Plaskett
Birmingham 200 1
White to Play
White has a development lead and an initiative, whilst the black king is
still uncastled. Black has an extra pawn. How should the game continue?
Test 5: Puzzle 12
D J.Porterfield-Rynd
• Lynam
Simultaneous, Dublin 189 1
White to Play
White squeezed a win out of this. Could you?
44
Test Five
Test 5: Puzzle 13
D Plaskett
• Rowson
Scotland 1998
Black to Play
Many pawn endings are played badly. This tends to be because players
relax after the more complex positions that precede a pawn ending, as
suming that once they have seen an idea in a position, then there is noth
ing else to find. But often there are twists. What ought to happen here?
Test 5: Puzzle 14
D Karpov
•Gulko
Oroposa del Mar 1996
White to Play
Queens off. Symmetrical structure. All quiet on the Western front? No

way!
45
Test 5: Puzzle 15
D Korneev
• Banas
Las Palmas 1998
White to Play
White is demonstrating hard on the kingside but Black appears to be se

cure enough... or is he?
1 10
2 11
3 12
4 13
5 14
6 15
7
8 Total
9
46
Test Six
Test 6: Puzzle 1
D Hebden
•Nunn
Hastings 1996/97
White to Play
Black's king has been driven from shelter. How did Hebden exploit this?
Test 6: Puzzle 2
D Ochoa de Echaguen
• D.Garcia
Spanish Championship 199 1
White to Play
Black just blundered. How can he be punished?
47
Test 6: Puzzle 3
D Hodgson
•Agdestein
London, Lloyds Bank 1986
Black to Play
Hodgson had sacrificed a piece to set up what Agdestein judged to be an

inescapable mating net. Faced with mate from a pawn on f4, he saw noth
ing better than to bring it about himself with l...f4+?? 2 gxf4 mate. Was
there anything better?
Test 6: Puzzle 4
D Acs
• Bunzmann
World U-20 Championship 2000
Black to Play
Black would like to play l...'i'xh2 but this is protected. Black would like
to play l...'i'xg4 and 2 ...<�:Jf2+ but the bishop defends f2.
48
Test Six
Test 6: Puzzle 5
D P.Conners
• Chiburdanidze
Lippstadt 2000
White to Play
The computer found a most disrespectful way to treat a lady. What did it
play?
Test 6: Puzzle 6
D Adams
•Gelfand
European Junior Championship,
Arnhem 1988
Black to Play
Michael Adams and Boris Gelfand went on to become players ranked in

the world's top ten. Here Gelfand gets the better of Adams in a junior
tournament. Can you see how?
49
Test 6: Puzzle
7
D Liu Wen Zhe

• Donner
Buenos Aires Olympiad 1978
White to Play
There are a number of strong moves available to White, but he has, in

fact, a forced route to mate. Can you see it?
Test 6: Puzzle 8
D Ehlvest
•Andersson
Belfort 1987
White to Play
Crazy attacks for both sides. Who ought to get there first?
50
Test Six
Test 6: Puzzle 9
D Berg
•Azarov
World Junior Championship 200 1
Black to Play
Black's queen is attacked and it seems that the bishop must be protected.
Is this an insoluble problem?
Test 6: Puzzle 10
D Nunn
• Borriss
Germany 2000
White to Play
Nunn, as ever, is on the attack. He is a piece down, but does he have

enough for it?
51
Test 6: Puzzle 11
D Short
• Ljubojevic
Amsterdam 1988
White to Play
Ljubojevic always has great belief in his formations. He has scored some
fine wins with his Sicilian Defences, but this was not one of them. Oppo
site flank castling has led to a race where Short emphatically demon
strated that Black is well behind. How did White prove this?
Test 6: Puzzle 12
D Hommeles
• Skoblikov
Rotterdam 1992
White to Play
White has sacrificed the exchange for pressure. How should he now con
tinue?
52
Test Six
Test 6: Puzzle 13
D Geller
• Karpov
USSR Championship 1976
White to Play
Geller sacrificed the exchange for an initiative. Karpov seems to have

clung on and is now insisting on a queen exchange. What is White's best
move? For maximum points you will have to produce quite extensive
analysis.
Test 6: Puzzle 14
D Delgado
•Ibanez
Cuba 1998
White to Play
White has a collection of pieces in front of the opponent's king, but his
knight is attacked. Should he retreat?
53
Test 6: Puzzle 15
D Atalik
• Blehm
New York 1999
White to Play
Very complicated. How does White push Black over the edge?
1 10
2 11
3 12
4 13
5 14
6 15
7
8 Total
9
54
Test 7: Puzzle 3
D McNab
• Plaskett
Hastings 1996/97
Black to Play
Black had been sacrificing merrily in the middlegame and invested a rook
for the mighty pawn roller that you see in the diagram position. Now he is
just a piece down but his queen and rook are attacked. How should Black
continue?
Test7: Puzzle 4
D Schmitzer
•Nadenau
Baden Baden 1993
White to Play
How did White pick up a piece?
56
Test Seven
Test 7: Puzzle 1
D Miles
•Andersson
London 1980
White to Play
What was White's knockout punch?
Test 7: Puzzle 2
D Karpov
• Miles
Brussels (S.W.I.F.T) 1987
White to Play
Black had just retreated his knight from g6 to f8. Why was that unwise?
55
Test Seven
Test 7: Puzzle 5
0 Panczyk
• Schurade
Zakopane 1978
White to Play
White has an excellent game and a number of moves maintain his advan
tage. But there is one killer blow here. What is it?
Test 7: Puzzle 6
0 A.N.Other
• Mannheimer
Frankfurt am Main 192 1
Black to Play
Black won with a clever move.
57
Test7: Puzzle 7
D Krasenkow
• Cvitan
Pula 1997
White to Play
Black is an outside passed pawn ahead. Take the queens off the board and
he is winning (with his rook behind the passed pawn in that ending). But
the queens are still in play, and this enabled White to exploit the situation
of the black king. How did he succeed?
Test7: Puzzle 8
D Berezovsky
• Heinrich
German Championship 2000
White to Play
Black pressurises f2. Need White concern himself with its defence?
58
Test Seven
Test7: Puzzle 9
D Rechel
• Bunzmann
Darmstadt 2000
Black to Play
Black has a lot of pieces near the opponent's king. If he retreats with
l..."ii' d7 White can try to patch up his defences with 2 tiJf3.
Test7: Puzzle 10
D Miles
• Jadoul
Brussels (S.W.I.F.T) 1987
White to Play
Material is approximately level but White has a tactic. What is it?
59
Test 7: Puzzle 1 1
D Tisdall
• Lee
London 198 1
White to Play
Black is a piece up and about to force a queen exchange which should end
all of White's fun. But White found the only way to keep the party go-
mg...
Test 7: Puzzle 12
D Hindle
• Mohring
Tel Aviv Olympiad 1964
Black to Play
Opposite coloured bishop endings are notoriously drawish. Here the

automatic 1 . .a2 2 .i.xa2 <;t>xa2 3 <;t>xh6 sees Black unable to preserve his
.
final pawn thanks to the swiftly advancing h-pawn. Is there anything bet
ter?
See page 1 08 to Ask A Grandmaster, which will cost you 6 points.
60
Test Seven
Test 7: Puzzle 13
D Plaskett
• Short
Plovdiv 1984
Black to Play
The e6-pawn is under considerable pressure - is it defensible? What is

going on here?
Test 7: Puzzle 14
D Fischer
•eenko
New York 1963
White to Play
How did the great Bobby unleash a fine attack?
61
Test 7: Puzzle 15
0 Larsen
• Spassky
USSR vs Rest of The World,
Belgrade 1970
Black to Play
This position led to what Larsen was to regard as the worst defeat of his
career. White had advanced in a provocative manner with f2-f4 a few
moves earlier. Boris Spassky instantly set about a refutation.
1 10
2 11
3 12
4 13
5 14
6 15
7
8 Total
9
62
Test Eight
Test 8: Puzzle 1
D Hoi
• Gulko
Thessaloniki 1988
White to Play
Carsten Hoi found a mate in two. Can you?
Test 8: Puzzle 2
D Plaskett
• Krush
Hampstead 200 1
White to Play
I chose 1 ife6+ �c6 2 �d5+ and she resigned, so perhaps I should not be
so hard on myself. But what was the mate in two that we both over
looked?
63
Test 8: Puzzle 3
0 Braga
• Portisch
Mar del Plata 1982
Black to Play
Black is winning comfortably, but Lajos Portisch topped it all off with a
mate in three. What was it?
Test 8: Puzzle 4
0 Fischer
• Smyslov
Belgrade 1959
Black to Play
Fischer has pieces and a nasty f6-pawn in front of Smyslov's lonely king.
How did Vasily show who was boss here?
64
Test Eight
Test 8: Puzzle 5
0 Plaskett
• Crouch
Hampstead 2001
White to Play
Black had innocently taken a pawn on d5. What was wrong with this?
Test 8: Puzzle 6
0 Mason
• Winawer
Vienna 1882
White to Play
Black appears to have organised a successful repulse of the attack, for the
exchange of queens and/or rooks is threatened, and there is the matter of
how White is to deal with his bishop. How did White solve these prob
lems?
65
Test 8: Puzzle 7
D Plaskett
• Vincent
Paris 1983
White to Play
White had sacrificed the exchange for the initiative. Does he have enough
for his investment?
Test 8: Puzzle 8
D Peng Zhaoqin
• Djomina
Women's World
Championship 2000
White to Play
White has an excellent position with a number of strong positional moves

at her disposal. However, she found a tactic that brought an immediate
end to the struggle. What was it?
66
Test Eight
Test 8: Puzzle 9
D Kamsky
• J.Polgar
Buenos Aires 1994
Black to Play
Judit won from here. Can you see how?
Test 8: Puzzle 10
D Larsen
• Ljubojevic
Milan 1975
Black to Play
Black is doing fine here with the natural l .. J ld8 but what was the far
,
from obvious sequence he found that forced mate?
67
Test 8: Puzzle 11
D Plaskett
• Hebden
Macclesfield 1982
Black to Play
Here Hebden chose l ...iig6, after which I returned all material gained to
good effect with 2 i.d3!, the point being that 2.. ifxd3 is decisively met
.
by 3 �xh6. The question is why so gifted a tactician as Hebden passed

over the obvious l ...�xf2 here? What defence had he foreseen?
Test 8: Puzzle 12
D Delchev
• Rey
Val Thorens 1996
White to Play
White gave up a pawn for this initiative. What is his strongest continua
tion?
68
Test Eight
Test 8: Puzzle 13
D Petrosian
• Spassky
World Championship 1966
White to Play
White is two exchanges behind but can regain both by a double capture on
f7. Is there anything better?
Test 8: Puzzle 14
D Madl
• Chiburdanidze
Batumi 2000
Black to Play
Black's queen is attacked and the skewer suggests that White will regain
her exchange and be pawns ahead. What should Black play?
69
Test 8: Puzzle 15
D Karpov
• Korchnoi
White to Play
White has a very good game, but what was the combination he now un
corked to bring it all to a sparkling conclusion?
1 10
2 11
3 12
4 13
5 14
6 15
7
8 Total
9
70
Test Nine
Test 9: Puzzle 1
D Hebden
• Kuligowski
Lewisham 198 1
White to Play
Mark Hebden, as is his wont, is attacking, but his queen is under fire.
How should White continue?
Test 9: Puzzle 2
D Kupreichik
• Levitt
Badenweiler 1990
White to Play
Black has just blundered. How can White demonstrate this?
71
Test 9: Puzzle 3
D Paulsen
• Bier
Germany 1885
Black to Play
Black is way down on material but he did not lose this game. Can you see
why?
Test 9: Puzzle 4
D Sveshnikov
• Timman
Tilburg 1992
White to Play
Sveshnikov won two pieces for a rook here. What was his move?
72
Test Nine
Test 9: Puzzle 5
D Kantsler
• Gershon
Tel Aviv 1997
White to Play
White shattered his opponent's defences here. Can you?
Test 9: Puzzle 6
D Gutman
• Vitolinsh
Riga 1979
Black to Play
After multiple sacrifices it seemed that Gutman was about to win the bril
liancy prize, for how can Black's undeveloped forces hope to defend his
isolated king against a queen, bishop and - soon - a rook?
73
Test 9: Puzzle 7
D Varga
• Hradecsky
Budapest 199 1
White to Play
White found a very strong continuation. Can you?
Test 9: Puzzle 8
D Koltanowski
• Almeda
Belgian Championship 1936
White to Play
What is White's most forceful continuation?
74
Test Nine
Test 9: Puzzle 9
D Karpov
• Kasparov
Black to Play
Kasparov is the exchange for a pawn down and threatened with mate. He
can retreat with l...'ife8, but that's not the way he tried to demonstrate
equality (it is not his style, for one thing). What did he find?
Test 9: Puzzle 10
D H.Oiafsson
• D.Mayers
US Open 200 1
Black to Play
What is Black's best move?
75
Test 9: Puzzle 1 1
D Steinitz
• Chigorin
Havana 1892
White to Play
White's bishops mean that recapturing on d4 with check leaves him in

great shape. But he did not do this. Why not?
Test 9: Puzzle 12
D Gomez
• Alvarez
Cuba 1999
Black to Play
White has sacrificed two pawns for a big initiative and development lead.
The problem is that he is two pawns down. How should he continue?
76
Test Nine
Test 9: Puzzle 13
D Williams
• Plaskett
London 1999
Black to Play
How did Black begin a powerful attack?
Test 9: Puzzle 14
D Plaskett
• Douglas
Hastings 1999
White to Play
White wants to speed up the attack. Can this be done?
77
Test 9: Puzzle 15
D Karolyi
• Romanishin
Russia 1986
Black to Play
In the late 1970s one man was thought of as a serious contender for the
world title, but then he faded. Here we get a glimpse of the creativity of
Oleg Romanishin. White intends d4-d5 and then to castle before rounding
up the lost d3-pawn. Meanwhile b7 hangs. What did Black do?
1 10
2 11
3 12
4 13
5 14
6 15
7
8 Total
9
78
Test Ten
Test 10: Puzzle 1

D Karpov
• Korchnoi
London 1984
White to Play
White is winning, but how did he bring proceedings to an immediate end?
Test 10: Puzzle 2

D Short
• Das
Dhaka 1999
Black to Play
Nigel Short won this tournament, but he lost to the guy who came last.
Short is poised to get an extra queen, but it is Black to move. How did he
cause an upset?
79
Test 10: Puzzle 3

D van Wely
• Seirawan
Wijk aan Zee 1995
Black to Play
How did Yasser get a winning ending here?
Test 10: Puzzle 4

D Tkachiev
• Portisch
Tilburg rapidplay 1994
Black to Play
A cursory glance suggests that Black is simply a pawn down with an un
castled king while the opponent's pieces are threateningly positioned.
However, with one stroke Portisch demonstrated that he is winning. What
was it?
80
Test Ten
Test 10: Puzzle 5

D Filatov
• S.Mayer
Philadelphia 2000
White to Play
White unleashed his power. How?
Test 10: Puzzle 6

D Alekhine
• Flohr
Bled 193 1
White to Play
Alexander Alekhine was one of the most imaginative players in the his
tory of the game. Here he defeated one of the world's strongest Grand
masters. Can you see how?
81
Test 10: Puzzle 7

D Berelovic
• Notkin
Russia 1977
White to Play
Kasparov says that a knight on f5 (or f4) can be worth a pawn in view of
its attacking potential. How did White finish?
Test 10: Puzzle 8

D Per Knudsen
• Plaskett
Esbjerg 1982
Black to Play
White had just proposed an exchange of queens and assumed that he had
solved his problems because the attempt to avoid the trade with l...ife5
sees Black forced back after 2l:te3, as 2...ifal then fails to 3 l:txe7+ Wh8
4 i*'t7 .l:tgl+ 5 Wf2 ifel+ 6 We3 and the cl1ecks run out. Is this accurate?
82
Test Ten
Test 10: Puzzle 9

D Kacheishvili
• Sakaev
Linares Open 200 1
White to Play
Black has a collection of pieces for his queen, while White has an attack.
What should the outcome be?
Test 10: Puzzle 10

D Ward
• Plaskett
Sutton 1993
White to Play
After White runs out of 'spite' checks he will be material down and/or
getting mated. At least that is what I thought... What happened?
83
Test 10: Puzzle 1 1

0 Plaskett
• Arkell
Newcastle 1998
White to Play
White has his pieces well developed and is poised to strike. How?
Test 10: Puzzle 12

0 Plaskett
• Karlsson
Copenhagen 1985
White to Play
Lars Karlsson believed that if I took on f5 he would have a good game

after l ... tbe4 2 'ii'h3 tbxc3 3 'i'xc3 l:.xf4. What is wrong with this assess
ment?
84
Test Ten
Test 10: Puzzle 13

D Timman
• Kramnik
Amsterdam 1996
Black to Play
Timman is attempting to create a diversion against the black king because

his queenside is indefensible. What do you think is Kramnik's best con
tinuation?
Test 10: Puzzle 14

D Karpov
• Topalov
Dos Hermanas 1994
White to Play
Looks placid enough? Don't be so sure...
85
Test 10: Puzzle 15

D Lautier
• Bologan
France 200 1
White to Play
Another IQP middlegame where White is actively placed. However, he

must deal with the threat to his attacked queen. What is the best way?
1 10
2 11
3 12
4 13
5 14
6 15
7
8 Total
9
86
Test Eleven
Test 1 1: Puzzle 1
D Weiss
• Vaculik
Plzen 1998
White to Play
Mate in two. Where?
Test 1 1: Puzzle 2
D Kindermann
• Schmitzer
Germany 1995
White to Play
Stefan Kindermann forced mate in two. How?
87
Test 1 1: Puzzle 3
D Botterill
• Speelman
Hastings 1978/79
Black to Play
Speelman sacrificed a pawn in pursuit of an attack and now opened up the

white king to decisive effect. How did he achieve this?
Test 1 1: Puzzle 4
D Gallagher
• Koerant
Lyon 1993
White to Play
Grandmaster Joe Gallagher is well known for his aggressive style and
keen tactical eye. Here he found a clever way to force a decisive gain of
material. What did he play?
88
Test Eleven
Test 1 1: Puzzle 5
0 van der Sterren

• Hertneck
Munich 1994
White to Play
The d3-pawn had formed the basis of Black's ambitions and Paul van der
Sterren was obviously happy to be given the opportunity to capture it,
which he did. But 1 .i.xd3 is a blunder. What was the response?
Test 1 1: Puzzle 6
0 Plaskett
• Spassky
London 1986
White to Play
My aim when making my previous move, f2-f4, had been to meet this
check with 1 g3 ti:Jxg3 2 hxg3 'i¥xh 1 3 'i¥e3. But then I improvised with 1
<it>d 1. What had I found about my original intention that led me to change
plans?
89
Test 1 1: Puzzle 7
D T.Espig
• Mohring
East Germany 1973
Black to Play
White has sacrificed a piece for an attack and now threatens the black
queen as well as mate in two by capturing with the pawn on either d7 or
f7. Is Black's situation without hope?
Test 1 1: Puzzle 8
D G.Hernandez
• A.Hernandez
Cuba 1977
Black to Play
It looks like White is a pawn up with a sound structure, but Black now
found a devastating move. What was it?
90
Test Eleven
Test 11: Puzzle 9

D 011
• Temirbaev
Kubyshev1986
Black to Play
White is a sound pawn up and his defences appear to be holding. How did
Black prove this assessment to be superficial? I will award full marks only
for a full analysis.
See page 1 1 1 to Ask A Grandmaster, which will cost you 4 points.
Test 1 1: Puzzle 10
D Seirawan
• Wiedenkeller
World Junior Championship,
Skien 1979
White to Play
Whilst Black was pondering his previous move (... g7-g6) Seirawan said to
another player that he hoped that this would be played, as he had seen a
nice continuation. What had he been waiting to unleash?
See page 1 1 1 to Ask A Grandmaster, which will cost you 4 points.
91
Test 1 1: Puzzle 1 1
D de Barberis
• Musso
Torino 1998
White to Play
How best to have fun here?
Test 1 1: Puzzle 12
D Sunye Neto
• Kasparov
World U-26 Team Championship,
Graz 198 1
Black to Play
This is a variation from the above game. Kasparov, with two active rooks
for the queen, has a fine attack. How did he plan to pile through in this
position?
92
Test Eleven
Test 1 1: Puzzle 13
D HUbner
• Hort
Biel1987
Black to Play
White has advanced h2-h4 in anticipation that Black will do something

about the threat of advancing to h5 . However, Black's reply was not what
Hubner expected...
Test 1 1: Puzzle 14
D Miles
• Chandler
Indonesia 1982
White to Play
An odd looking position. White's bishop seems stranded and, perhaps,

about to leave the battle. What to do?
93
Test 1 1: Puzzle 15
D Pihajlic
• Gaprindashvili
Yugoslavia 1997
Black to Play
White has a big threat with 'iff6+. How can Black get in first?
Scorechart for Test 1 1
1 10
2 11
3 12
4 13
5 14
6 15
7
8 Total
9
94
Test Twelve
Test 12: Puzzle 1

D Stein
• Smyslov
Moscow 1972
White to Play
The death of Leonid Stein in 1973 at the age of thirty-eight robbed the
chess world of one of its strongest grandmasters. Here he defeats a former
world champion with an elegant combination.
Test 12: Puzzle 2

D Berkevens
• Mikhalevski
Hoogovens 2000
Black to Play
White had sacrificed a piece, expecting to earn interest on the investment

by picking up the bishop at b5 after the check. Why was he wrong?
95
Test 12: Puzzle 3

D Karpov
• Kasparov
Moscow 1985
Black to Play
Kasparov needed only to draw this game to become world champion. He

played 1 .. Jhb3 and went on to win, although matters are still not com
pletely clear. However, he missed a chance to end proceedings immedi
ately. How could Black have earned the title quicker?
Test 12: Puzzle 4

D Karpov
• Beliavsky
Tilburg 1986
Black to Play
Alexander Beliavsky lost his first two games at this tournament but still
fought back to win it. Here he took a chance against the man who, the
previous year, had been dethroned after ten years as world champion.
What did he play?
96
Test Twelve
Test 12: Puzzle 5

D Mohring
• Kaikamdzozov
Zamardi 1978
White to Play
White has an extra queen but Black is checking ad infinitum. What to do?
Test 12: Puzzle 6

D Bellon
• Garcia
Cienfuegos 1976
Black to Play
Material is about equal but Black can land a knockout blow. How?
97
Test 12: Puzzle 7

D Halkias
• Pribyl
Pardubice 2000
White to Play
White's initiative looks threatening, but is there a way through?
Test 12: Puzzle 8

D Benend
• Wirthensohn
Ladenburg 200 1
White to Play
White played 1 CLJxb6!, which Black had assumed was impossible in view
of l ... .l:txb6 2 'iVxb6 .l:td l+ 3 �h2 'iVxe5. However, at the last minute he
saw the flaw in this thinking. What is wrong with this variation??
98
Test Twelve
Test 12: Puzzle 9

D Dziuba
• oydyshko
Polanica Zdroj 2000
Black to Play
Black stands well, and now he added icing to the cake. How?
Test 12: Puzzle 10

D Beyen
• Filip
Luxembourg 197 1
White to Play
Black's dodgy king and lack of development would almost certainly be

fatal in a middlegame. However, he probably thought that in an endgame
he would be okay. If so, White coming sequence would have swiftly disil
lusioned him. What happened?
99
Test 12: Puzzle 11

D Plaskett
• Turner
Nottingham 1998
White to Play
In the opening White sacrificed a pawn for an initiative. Now his bishop is
attacked and Black is also ready to plant a knight on d4. How should
White play?
Test 12: Puzzle 12

D Kramnik
• Sadvakasov
Astana 2001
White to Play
The new world champion has sacrificed a pawn for an attack, but Black is
about to consolidate with l ... i..g6. How should White continue?
100
Test Twelve
Test 12: Puzzle 13

D Larsen
• Petrosian
Santa Monica 1966
White to Play
Larsen's queen is attacked by the world champion's bishop. How did he

deal with this threat?
Test 12: Puzzle 14

D Pomar
• Larsen
Palma de Mallorca 1969
White to Play
White's queen and bishops point towards the black king, but is anything
really happening? Pomar thought not, and played the meek 1 .tc2. What
wonderful opportunity did this pass by?
101
Test 12: Puzzle 15

0 The Babson Task

Leonid Yarosh 1 983
White to Play and mate in four
Not surprisingly this final position is a composed problem rather than a

game. When it appeared in the April 1 983 edition of Chess in the USSR it
was hailed as 'The chess problem of the century', 'Flawless diamond of
unrivalled purity', 'The eighth wonder of the world', 'L'impossible real
ise', 'De prij s van God' and 'The Holy Grail of chess'...
1 10
2 11
3 12
4 13
5 14
6 15
7
8 Total
9
102
Ask a Grandmaster
ASK A GRANDMASTER I
Ask a Grandmaster: Test 1

1 Su ffocation ! ! !
2 The key here is to deflect the knight.
3 Note the predicament of White ' s king on the board' s edge . . . How might this pro
vide a last hope?
4 Examine all checks and captures. Counter-attack can sometimes be the best form
of defence. How can B lack threaten something of his own here?
5 The king is a strong piece !
6 Losing your queen may not matter so much if you can get yourself another one . . .
7 'Examine all checks and captures ' is a good rule for all players, since these are the
most forcing types of move. The opening variation here was the Sicilian Dragon.
Often in this line White will try to make use of the h-file for attacking purposes, but
here it is Black' s back rank which has been rendered vu lnerable, by the maj or pieces
drifting away as well as the presence of the bishop on h6.
8 There IS one u sefu l check here. The black king is in a mating net but it is by no
means obviou s why !
9 All that glitters is not gold.
10 'Loose pieces drop off , they say. Always look for ways to take advantage of any
of the opposition ' s units being u nprotected. The rook ' s placing on a7 rather than aS
may have slightly weakened Black ' s back rank. Additionally the queen on h2 is out
of the game, and such a factor is often a sign that favourable tactics might be avail
able to the opponent.
11 Look at the checks, look for a mating net, and look for a zigzag !
1 2 We need to send more pieces towards the opponent' s king. A rook or a queen
should be enough, and it may not matter if we lose one such piece in the process . . .
103
1 3 As is so often the case, it is breaking through that is the start of - and the key to -
the attack. The b2-bishop has latent potential and, as Kasparov explained to me , in
such positions the e 5 -pawn is also part of the attack.
14 Desperation is the mother of invention here . Examine all checks and capture s or,
as Dr J.Nunn observed , 'In complicated positions one must examine all possible
move s . '
1 5 Capablanca ' s rule w a s that if attacking pieces outnumber de fenders the attack
should triumph. Here Short ' s piece s have ine luctably gravitated across to the queen
side, leaving his king rather lone ly. Moreover there are no major pieces defend ing
Black ' s back rank. . . When the eat ' s away, the mice will play.

1 ' One should never play positionally when mate is available '- Dr J. Nunn. Too
true .
2 Loose piece s drop off. White ' s queen and rook lack protection, so setting up
threats against both could be decisive .
3 Alw ays be alert t o tricks when the back rank is weak.
4 We need only to remove the knight from f6 for the black king ' s defences to fold .
5 By applying Capablanca' s rule we see that there are three black pieces in the attack
and only the bishop and rook defend ing. Also that white back rank is vulnerable , if
we can get to it. Note lastly the remote placing of the white queen, which also ups
the chance s of there being combinations for the attacker.
6 The key here is an unusual slotting of the queen during the mating sequence .
7 We are looking for a n accurate sequence here , and I want you t o take into account
all possible modes of defence for Black before I award you full points.
8 The queen on h4 is menacingly placed . The key to the win here is to undermine the
foundations of Black' s defence .
9 The number of pieces i n the attack clearly outnumbers those i n the defence, s o let
us look for breakthroughs !
1 0 The white queen and bishop are pointing rather menacingly towards Black ' s
kingside . We need only t o strip aw ay the defending f6-knight t o cause serious prob
lems.
1 1 White has just played lt.Jd2-b3 . Black is a pawn down and searching for chances.
He would like to liquidate the queenside pawns with l . . .c5, but this is not quite ade
quate after 2 lbxc 5 . Instead he set up a perpetual check possibility . . .
1 2 Examine all checks and captures, a s per usual, but this position is an exception.
Neither recapture is necessarily best. Bear in mind that the knight on b3 is loose and
remote , and there are few black pieces nearJhe ir own king.
1 3 1 .1xe6 fxe6 d oe s not offer us much. Note how few piece s Black has near his
king - this is always a sign that there may be an opportunity for fun and games!
104
Ask a Grandmaster
1 4 For his pawn Wh ite already has a development lead and an initiative around the
black king. We came here to attack, didn ' t we? Forget the knight - open him up!
There ' s a lot of calculating to be clone here.
1 5 We may try 1 exf7, but after 1.. .�£8 2 fxg8i¥+ 'it>xg8 Black's king has been
driven to some kind of safety and things are not so clear. Once again, some imagina
tion is required, and do not overestimate the value of your queen.

l You do not need to be a Grandmaster to see what to do here, but you are still pe
nalised two points for asking.
2 The queen and bishop battery (and do not forget the he lpful rook on f3) needs only
a breakthrough to achieve maximum effect.
3 Never play positionally when mate is available; we want a breakthrough. Al
though, nominally, Black is not beh ind in development, his queen could be right out
of the action, and this can be tantamount to the same thing. Thus White might have
the opportunity to exploit a lead in time.
4 Not really. Always look for final tricks in endings where a king can become
squashed on the board' s e dge.
5 When pawns reach the sixth rank magic might be in the air. Beware of the condi
tione d reflex recapture. Black lost th is game because he overlooke d two instance s of
the breaking of that rule.
6 Once more it is too much concern for the queen that leads a player to overlook a
strong possibility.
7 White has a numerical superiority of piece s on the kingside, and the h-file is
opened. Danger for Black!
8 In middlegame s with attacking possibilitie s and bishops of opposite colour Bot
vinnik observed that the defender is often essentially a piece down. Here the black
king has not made it to the safety of a flank, and we need only get at the king with
queen and bishop to win.
9 There is one way through, and I want to see some follow-up analysis.
1 0 The black back rank may be vulnerable, so look for ways to exploit this factor.
1 1 Imagination is called for here. Two successive sacrifices of major pieces can de
stroy White. Remember, too, the latent power of a pair of bishops in an open posi
tion.
1 2 Material is not the key issue - we are concerned with forcing our way in!
1 3 White must go forward as Black threatens to cover his e 8-rook with tempo
(I .. . ..tg6) and then capture on a6. The bishop on d4 has great potential if the diago
nal to the black king opens up.
1 4 Opposite coloure d bishops in the middlegame yield attacking potential, and we
have the pawn' s promotion square we ll protected at the moment. Attack if you can.
1 5 Queen it, whatever the cost!!
105

1 Do not have too much respect for your queen. Mate ends the game, so the impor
tant thing is to deflect White 's.
2 The win here is accompli shed by what might be termed 'barging '- White can
barge the rook away from its protection of the bishop.
3 The black king is under pressure and there are three enemy major pieces lurking
nearby. This spells great danger.
4 The fact that the queens are off the board does not mean that there are no attacking
possibilities against an uncastled king.
5 Loose pieces drop off! And Black has two .. .
6 Both black rooks lack protection, but it will require imagination to see how to set
up a double attack on them.
7 White would like to play 1 l\Vxg7+ rt;xg7 2 l'ih7+ �f8 but then there is no way to
force checkmate. However, White has an ingenious move to engineer a situation in
which mate is possible.
8 It' s been crazy so far, and it ends crazily too! White can - indeed must- weave the
weirdest of mating nets.
9 All of the black pieces are pointing towards the white king, so it is not so surpris
ing that Karpov is able to give up one of them in order to let the others flood in.
10 A break is required, as well as an accurate assessment of the resultant ending.
1 1 We are well into the middlegame but the black king is still stuck in the centre.
White' s combination hinges on the exploitation of this factor.
1 2 Mate ends the game. The only ' friendly' piece in the vicinity of White ' s king is,
in fact, too close. We need only to blast open the h-file . . .
1 3 The soft spot i n Black' s camp is f7. Pursue a forcing line a s far as you can and
you will find the pot of gold at its end.
14 By now you should appreciate the dangers of an exaggerated respect for the pres
ervation of your heavy pieces.
1 5 We want another breakthrough, but only full analysis will win full points.

1 Note that Black ' s major pieces are rather remote, offering little help to the king.
Blow him away! !
2 We cannot retreat successfully so we want to go forward, and we want to break in.
3 The pieces on e3 and d3 may prove surprisingly vulnerable . . .
4 The knight is doing two jobs - defending the queen and also the invasion point at
f2 . Nobody can be in two places at the same t�e.
5 The automatic recapture on d4 is not the best move.
6 One might be excused for playing an automatic Sicilian Taimanov move such as
l.. . .l:!.c8, but there is something very immediate here for Black. Kasparov told me that
106
Ask a Grandmaster
if one can get a knight to f5 or, as Black, to f4, then this might be worth a pawn.
Here White has castled long, so the c4-knight is the equivalent of one on f4.
7 White ' s back rank is the key to Row Black can win a pawn.
8 Indeed he did, and your options are limited, so that ' s all the help I ' m giving you.
Incidentally I once made th is blunder as Black, but manage d to struggle on to draw.
9 If there is no constructive retreat you might as we ll move something forward.
1 0 Queens? Who needs them? Mate ends the game .
1 1 As in so many instances of the commencement of tactical operations, an imagina
tive breakthrough will be necessary. But I want you to pick the correct one .
1 2 This may have been the first demonstrated instance of the Saavedra position.
Keep pushing the analysis as far as you can, and see i f you can reach the quaint win
at its end.
13 Precise calculation is imperative here . White has the advantage of the more active
king, while the black king will have to be carefu l .
1 4 No simple kill here, but a clear superiority arise s from a n accurate tactical se
quence .
1 5 There are three soft spots along Black ' s second rank: b7, e7 and g7 (be lieve me!).
These are the clue s to Wh ite ' s winning exploitation.

1 We need only bring one more piece , the rook, to pressure the king, perhaps gaining
a tempo as we transfer it.
2 We have a way of isolating the e4-rook. Then it will drop off the board.
3 Well, there was certainly noth ing worse! Take a long look!
4 Inh ibit the co-ordination of White ' s defenders and there will be a win.
5 The key is a back rank mate .
6 This game was played the day after the game featured in Position Six of Test Five,
prompting Leonard Barden to remark in The Guardian that it was e ither an uncanny
coincidence or evidence of a Soviet spy at the Hastings congre ss.
7 Examine all checks and captures. And remember not to have too much respect for
the queen!
8 Were it not for the mate threat on b2, 1 fxe 7 would be very strong. Additionally,
we would like , were it possible , to transfer the queen to the g-file . So, can we find a
move that combine s these motives?
9 A counter-attack is possible , based on the one loose white unit. But you must con
sider the totality of White ' s defensive options in order to score full marks.
1 0 Break in and transfer extra attacking units towards the enemy king - these are the
key factors.
1 1 Break in! Sacrifice if you have to, but break in - and then show me why the
breach does the trick.
107
1 2 Black' s flight square is g8 - take this away and the attack is genuine ly dangerous.
1 3 We cannot meekly exchange queens. We must be imaginative! And overcoming
Black ' s best line of defence will call for precision.
14 No. But the way in here calls for a follow-up sacrifice, which you must find for
the top mark.
1 5 Black ' s back rank is so weak that we do not really have to worry about our queen
being en prise.

1 The black knight is pinned, and in chess you can hit a man when he ' s down.
2 The g7-pawn is pinned.
3 The pawns on e4 and e2 are - Kasparov would assure you - also attacking pieces.
And mate ends the game .
4 The bishop on g4 is loose . . .
5 Remember that the queen i s just another piece!
6 By creating an original fork of the white rooks Black can win material .
7 We will have to peel away the king ' s de fences, and Black ' s rook is loose . Combine
these two factors.
8 No. He has long range pieces trained on the enemy king and, consequently, may
counter-attack. Note that Black ' s king has only one defender.
9 The attack down the h-file is paramount. We may not need the services of the
queen to see it triumph.
1 0 Black's troubled king is up against the edge of the board. Search for forcing
moves, and look out for a remarkable exploitation of a double pin!
1 1 We have to force a way in to Black's king . . .
1 2 Very often i n these endings the key to winning i s to have two passed pawns.
13 No - e 6 cannot be bolstere d, so Jet' s think about counter-punches. Note that there
is an open c-file in front of the white king, and a duo of juicy bishops for us to at
tack.
14 We can see 1 i.xd4 exd4 2 e5, clearing the path to h7, but also the cunning ri
poste 2 . . . f5! , which stops us in our tracks. Fischer' s combination contains a powerful
second move that is difficult to categorise yet, once seen, its power is terrific.
1 5 By now you will be familiar with the concept of a breakthrough initiating an at
tack. There are quite a few to tempt you here because Larsen lags behind in devel
opment and has weakened his kingside . But Spassky found the best. Note also that
White ' s king, still uncastled, is rather short of defenders. As we have already ob
served it is often the only consistent policy to follow one sacrifice with further in
vestment of material . And do not forget the magic that may occur once pawns reach
the sixth rank . . .
108
Ask a Grandmaster

1 Do not overly respect your queen!
2 Once again it was too much respec). for high ranking pieces that caused the best
continuation to be missed.
3 Back rank mate , triggered by a queen sacrifice .
4 White ' s back rank is weak, and this is the key to how Black can gain time to trans
fer a key de fender over to protect the king.
5 Examine all checks and captures, and look for those loose pieces. I assure you that
the recapture on d5 is not the be st option!
6 There is no conceivable retreat available . The only hope is to combine threats to
the opponent ' s king and queen by overloading some of the black pieces. Examine all
checks and captures.
7 He has. Figure out how to infiltrate and you will find the most energetic solution.
8 The black queen is de fende d by the c7-knight. Remove th is piece andlt:Jxg5 will
be devastating.
9 l . . .'Yi'xh 1 + 2 '.t>g4 leads nowh ere as the king escape s and the d-pawn promotes.
Better to find a way to lock the king in and simultaneously address White ' s threat to
deliver mate .
1 0 The splendidly centralised bishops are great attacking units. Note that the way
ward knight plays practically no part in the game , thus accentuating the power of
Black ' s pie ces. Notice too that Wh ite ' s back rank is not as secure as it might appear.
1 1 Tim Krabbe coined the term 'unguarded guard' to describe instances where a line
check is met by the succe ssful interpolation of an unprotected piece . Th is is one such
example .
1 2 Concrete calculation is called for here . Every white piece except the king is ag
gressively place d, so we might have an opportunity to force a way in . . .
1 3 The a5-knight does nothing. Black's queen is loose , and b y now you know what
can befall loose pieces. We could call this a case of ' She swoops to conquer. '
1 4 There is a back ranker coming up. But you must take into account the sub
variations to earn full marks.
1 5 There are shade s of the finale of Position Twelve of Test One here! Mate ends the
game , and that fact enable s us to bring a fourth unit into the attack with decisive ef
fect.

1 Keep pre ssing forward!
2 Black ' s queen is unprotected and his king is awkwardly placed. Combine these
two factors.
3 Black' s king is pressed against the edge of the board- a big clue!
4 A loose bishop on b5 might just drop off. . .
109
5 Knock the props out with some sacrifices.

6 1 . . . fxe5 loses to 2 ifb6+ �g8 3 .l:lg 1 + �f/4 l::!. g 7+ �e8 5 'iig 6+ and mate next
move. Bringing the queen across with 1 . . . 'We7 is also inadequate after 2 'iih 6+ �g8
3 !tg 1 + �f/4 'iig 6 mate, or 2 . . . ifh7 3 'Wxf8+ 'i'g8 4 'i'xf6+ �h7 5 ifh4+ �g6 6
.l:lg 1 + etc . But the first principle of defence is the willingness to return any and all
material gained, and Black has more than enough ! We also want to bring pieces over
to aid with our king ' s defence. Think hard!
7 Black is uncastled. White has four pieces in potentially attacking locations. Break
through time ! ?
8 Black's king lacks protection and White has the opportunity t o blast away most of
the enemy pawn cover whilst bringing in his heavy artillery to finish the job. The
theme, once you know it, will soon become familiar.
9 The a7-rook is loose and White ' s back rank could be safer - two important obser
vations . . .
1 0 White thought that h e was pressuring an old man o n the kingside, but M ayers
decided that counter-attack is the best form of defence, thanks to a forcing move
which opened up the game.
1 1 Steinitz, a player more renowned for his dour defensive skills, produced a mate in
seven ! !
1 2 Black's queen is loose - always a clue for action. But the combination also neces
sitates exploiting back rank vulnerability.
1 3 To attack we must get at White ' s king. The queen and bishops are long range
pieces.
14 Isolated queen' s pawn positions can have great attacking potential if your pieces
have hit the appropriate posts. Such situations are less fun when you have to defend
the endings that can result. Here Black has the d4-pawn in his sights. But it is break
through time again, and good calculation is required if you want all the points.
1 5 Of Black's next move Tibor Karolyi commented 'At first I thought he made it in
desperation. '

1 Mate ends the game.
2 Queens? Who needs them? Mate ends the game.
3 There ' s a knight fork coming up . . .
4 A double attack won the game, s o find the only one that the position contains.
5 This theme should, by now, be familiar.
6 The key is to prevent the black pieces from co-ordinating. Alekhine' s first move
took away a key square, while the second was tije knockout blow.
7 The key here is to examine the checks and captures and to keep searc hing for pos
sibilities when it appears that the most forcing line has come to an end. There is one
glaringly loose black piece on d7 . . .
110
Ask a Grandmaster
8 Examine all checks and captures. White had missed something nasty !
9 No time to waste - finish the game !
1 0 Ironically White ' s saving gra� is that there is a severe shortage of decent moves
available !
1 1 There are nuances here, so only precise analysis will earn full marks.
1 2 Blac k ' s central formation is not as solid as it appears. It is possible to undermine
it. . .
1 3 The kingside counter should not b e underestimated. Therefore o n l ..."ifb7 comes
2 g5 hxg5 3 hxg5 il.. e 7, when something like 4 �h 1 �xb3 51Wf4, heading for h4, is
really dangerous. However, Timman' s thrust of the g-pawn has seriously compro
mised his own king ' s security . . .
1 4 Believe i t o r not the loose pieces here are the bishops!
15 Every white piece except the d2-bishop is actively placed. Look hard for the
break-in combos, and detailed analysis will be required.

1 Blow his king open !
2 The queen and bishop battery against a king in a comer is often overwhelming.
3 Botterill thought that he was fine on the kingside thanks to the pinned g6-knight.
Find a way by which the knight can leave g6 with tempo, after which White ' s de
fences collapse.
4 White needs to find a preparatory move to set up a decisive fork.
5 Believe it or not, it is White' s back rank that causes his downfall .
6 Once again i t was too much respect for queens that caused me t o (initially) over
look the refutation.
7 There is a multi-purpose move at Black's disposal.
8 Examine all checks and captures, and look out for back rank problems.
9 The key is a deflection of the white queen. This will start the attack, but try to en
visage as much as you can of how White might put up resistance and, subsequently,
how Black's pieces combine to overcome it.
1 0 Yasser, who once wrote an article entitled ' Gimme your pawns, baby ! ' , won a
pawn here.
1 1 Precise calculation is necessary if you want maximum points.
1 2 The knight on f3 is the key, trapping the white king in the comer. Can you com
bine this piece with a rook to force mate?
1 3 Counter-attack! Never mind the threat to your bishop - threaten White ' s king !
Note that White has few pieces on the queenside, his knights having wandered away.
And remember Capablanc a ' s rule about the number of pieces in attack versus those
in defence. The long-range g6-bishop can play an attacking role here.
Jll
1 4 We must act fast here , and there is absolutely only one way of making White ' s
situation work. However· , a sacrifice i s required, as we ll as considerable imagination.
1 5 Opposite coloured bishops in middlegames often create attacking possibilities.
Here both side s have exposed kings, so imagination and accurate calculation are im
perative .

1 The bishop is pinned, but it is a more powerful pin from Wh ite that will end the
game .
2 Prepare for an unguarded guard . . .
3 The b3-knight i s indeed loose (and we know what happens t o such pieces), but i t i s
better t o loosen a more powerful piece . . .
4 Blow up h i s king!
5 An unguarded guard will serve here .
6 The white king is jammed against the edge . That' s a clue .
7 Break in and deflect!
8 Unguarded guard!
9 This exercise is tactical in the sense that Black triumph s with forcing moves, but it
is e ssentially a case of domination. The black pieces take up superior posts while
simultaneously forcing White ' s force s into passivity.
1 0 John Littlewood once referred to 'the magic that can occur whenever pawns reach
the sixth rank. ' Here White has two such pawns. Once again, we want a break
through .
1 1 Quite often the only way to justify a sacrifice is to keep on sacrificing.
1 2 We must strike now before Black tidies up. Look for a breakthrough and justify it
in your analysis, please .
1 3 Infiltrate! There are four units other than the queen itching to have a go at the
black king.
14 To begin operations we need to blast open the position, although there are fi
nesse s en route and you will need to uncover them for top marks.
1 5 The Babson Task was thrown down as the supreme challenge by the American
composer Babson in 1 9 1 3 . It centres around the theme of multi-promotion, the aim
being to compose a problem where White moves and, in reply, Black promotes a
pawn to a queen, rook, bishop or knight. Wh ite re sponds with the same promotion in
e ach case . Black then move s and make s use of the newly-promoted piece to set up a
stalemate, which White ' s th ird move prevents. Black then moves and Wh ite ' s fourth
move is mate .
The point is that promoting the pawn for his firit move is Black ' s be st line of de
fence , and in each case of promotion White ' s identical response is not some cute
side line : it will be the only way to continue the mate in four.
112
Ask a Grandmaster
For seventy years people tried, but nobody could do it. Then, in 1983, a problemist
with one previous composition to his name produced this. Leonid Yarosh, (only
twenty-six years old) from the fulssian town of Kazan, was a soccer coach by pro
fession, and it may well be that he was unfamiliar with the previous attempts that
had been made. But he had done what was thought impossible - he had solved the
Babson Task.
As your final clue I should state that, in fact, this is an amendment of his original.
That had a pawn on h4 rather than a knight, thus allowing an alternative solution.
113
SOLUTIONS I
Solutions and Points: Test 1

Puzzle 1: 1 lL'lc6 traps the black queen.
Points: Score five points for 1 lL'lc 6. Nothing for other moves.
Puzzle 2: 1 ... .l:.d4+ ! 2 lL'lxd4 'iYxg3 wins. It is important to note that, as both of his
pieces are then attacked, White must go on to suffer further material losses, e.g. 3
lL'lc6+ �d6. Were that not the case then the outcome might yet have remained un
clear.
Points : Five for l . . . .l::r d 4+ ! . l . . .'�Va8+ gives a draw by perpetual check, but I asked
you to find a win, so nothing for that.
Puzzle 3 : 2 �b6+ ! is a draw by stalemate, whether Black takes the rook with his
king or queen.
Points : Five if you noted the stalemate trick. Nothing at all if you did not.
Puzzle 4: l .. lt:J
. xd4 ! 2 'iYf2 lL'lh5 ! 3 'iYxd4 .ic 5 and the queen is trapped. Two un
usual aspects of the trapping are that it occurs very early in the game and with the
queen right in the c entre of the board.
Points: A maximum five points if you found the whole sequence. Note also that after
3 g4 fxg4 White' s position falls apart. No points for other first moves. Although
1 . lt:Jh5 or 1 . . . ii.. xc3 + might leave Black with a viable game, this is no excuse for
. .
passing over a winning opportunity. Spotting blunders is a key part of chess.

Puzzle 5: 1 �e3 ! and Black must lose a knight for insufficient compensation.
Points: Five points for the win of the piece with 1 �e3! . Three if you found nothing
better than capturing the pawn with 1 l:txb7, because that is also an objective win of
material. Several other moves retain a positional advantage for White , but this is a
book of tactical exercise s, so nothing if yot�, selected any of those.
Puzzle 6: l . . .'iYe7 ! guarantees the promotion of the b2-pawn (after 2 fxe 7 ii.. g 7 !).
Points: A maximum 10 points for l .. .'�li e7 2 fxe7 ii.. g 7. I f you intended instead
2 . . . bxa 1 iV, then after 3 e xf8'i!U+ �xf8 Black is certainly on top, although 4 �c2, for
Jl4
Solutions
example, continues the battle. Consequently this is worth only 7 points. Nothing for
l . . .�e7, when White plays 2 'ii'x b2 il.xf6 3 tt::lc 3 and there is still everything to play
for. If you opted for l . . .tt::l e 7 subt,act 4 points from your overall score. White plays 2
�xb2, when Black must move the threatened knight from e7, whereupon the reap
pearance of the white queen on e2 with check will cause the loss of a black piece for
insufficient compensation.
Puzzle 7: 1 .&!.xeS! dxe5 2 tt::l f6+! and White smashes his way through to the oppo
nent ' s back rank with 3 'ii'd 8+, when checkmate will follow on f8. This dec isive tac
tic is somewhat unusual in that it involves an exchange of queens .
Points : 1 .&!.xeS! wins. Award yourself maximum points if you saw the follow-up
with 2 tt::l f6+! and noted that 2 tt::l x e7+ :xe7 3 'ii'd 8+ is not mate in view of 3 . . . 'ii'x d8
4 .&l.xd8+ .&l.e8. However, it is winning for White after 5 .&!.xeS+ r;itf7 6 .&l.h8, so I shal l
allow you 1 0 points there, too (but keep your eyes peeled for mates in future!). No
points if you planned 2 tt::l b 6, 2 tt::lc 7, or 2 tt::l f4. All of those attempts to clear the
queen' s route to d8 with tempo fail to 2 . . . .&l.d4. R emember not to become so focused
on your plans that you forget what the opponent can do. It takes two to tango. Finally
1 f4 is adequately met by 1 . . . ..txd5 , so nothing for that- or any choice other than 1
.l:.xe5! .
Puzzle 8: 1 'ii'x h4+! r;itxh4 2 .l:r.h7+ 'it>g5 3 h4 would have been mate! This is yet an
other instance of too much respect for the queen overriding the search for combina
tional possibilities. In my defence, it was the last move of the time control .
Points: Ten for the mate. Nothing for anything else.
Puzzle 9: White does best to try to make something of his positional edge of the pair
of bishops with 1 tt::l x e7, 1 tt::lc 3 or 1 tt::l f4. If you played the 'brilliant sequenc e ' of 1
tt::l f6+ gxf6 2 il.xf7+ cj;; xf7 3 'ii'x d8 (the game continuation) you fell into a diabol ical
trap. After checking on f6 Istvan Bilek looked around proudly. Harry Schussler cap
tured the knight and offered a draw. 'Of course not!' , said an affronted Bilek, but he
was not long in agreeing to just that result because, after 3 . . .tt::l d 5 , he realised that
there was no way out for his queen, whil e Black is even threatening to win it with a
check on b4. Thus after 4 0-0 the game ended 4 . . . il.g7 5 'ii'd 6 il.f8 6 'ii'd 8 il.g7 etc .
The moral o f the story is that when you have a positional edge you should not play
for tactic s without very good reason. And look before you leap.
Points: Ten points for any of 1 tt::l x e7, 1 tt::lc 3 or 1 tt::l f4. I find 1 tt::l e 3 rather awkward
as it obstructs the c 1 -bishop, so only 8 points for that. Nothing for throwing away
your advantage with 1 tt::l f6+? .
Puzzle 1 0 : 1 tt::l f5! shatters Black's hopes. In reply to I . . .tt::l xf5 White has 2 'ii'x f8+!
�xf8 3 :ds mate, while l . . .tt::lc 8 is met with the same pseudo queen sacrific e. After
l . . .tt::l g 6 the loose a7-rook is Black' s downfall as White can threaten both it and mate
on g7 with 2 'ii'd4 . Finally, on 1 . . .tt::lc 6 - as played - a similar double attack with 2
'ii'c 3 does the job. Grooten tried 2 . . . 'ii'x g2, but 3 .&l.g 1 heralds the end, the game fin
ishing 3 . . . :d7 4 �xg7+ 1 -0. Note that 4 .&l.c 1 also works.
Points: 1 tt::l f5 is by far the strongest move. If you saw the ways of winning against
all three responses with Black' s knight then take a full ten points. Subtract two
1!5
points each for not having calculated how to deal with any of l . .lt'Jc8,
. l . .lt'Jg6
. or
l . .lt'Jc6.
.
Puzzle 1 1 : 1 .iLd6+ �e6 2lt'Jg7+ �d7 3 iL f4+ �e7 4 .iLg5 mate.
Points: Only one solution here, so only one score - the maximum fifteen (and only
one line that earn s it).
Puzzle 1 2 : 1 1\Vc2lt'Jxf6 2 11Vh7 ! proved devastating. Mate is threatened on f7 and the
queen cannot be captured thanks to 3 l:rxf7 mate, so Black chose 2 . . . .l:!.d7, after which
3 l:.xf6 ! 11Vxf6 4 1\Vg8+ decided because 4 . . . �e7 loses to 5 l:.e4+ .
Points: Ten for either 1 11Vc2 or 1 'iVd3 (both lead to the same outcome), providing
that you saw the swoop into h7. Take five more points if you saw the sacrifice on f6
or if you preferred 3 11Vh8+ cJi;e7 4 l:.xf6, or even the more complex 4 'iVxf6+ 'iVxf6 5
.l:!.e4+.
Puzzle 1 3 : 1 lt'Jxe4 dxe4 2 iLc4+ with 3 e6+ and 4 l:.d7 wins. The tougher defence i s
l . . . fxe4, when w e break i n with 2 iLxe4 ! dxe4 3 �c4+ �h8 4 l:.d7 ! o r 3 . . . .l:!.f7 4 e 6
and 5 l:!.d7 etc. In t h e game Tim Upton struggled o n with 2 . . J:tfd 8 , after which Bill
Hartston was quite entitled to simply pull the bishop back. Instead he entertained
everyone with 3 f5 ! and the attack smashed through.
Points: Twelve for the sacrifice 2 iLxe4 ! . Take three more if you also saw the .l:i.d7 !
tricks.
Puzzle 14: l . . . .iLg l + ! is the unlikely way out ! In the game a startled White played 2
�xg l ? and quickly lost after 2 . . . 1\Ve3+ 3 �h l l:.xd7 since 4 l:.xd7 allows mate after
4 . . . 1\Ve 1 + (White was reduced to 4 :g 1 but he resigned anyway after 4 . . . 'iie 4+). Note
that 3 �fl meets with 3 ... :xf4+ ! 4 gxf4 l:.g l mate.
Return ing to l . . . .iLg l +, moving the king to hl fails to 2 . . .'ii' e4+ 3lt'Jg2 :xg3 4 l:.xg l
l:.h3 mate, while 2 �h3 runs into 2 . . . 11Ve3, when 3lt'Je2 1\Ve4 ! 4 l:.xg l 'iie6+ wins for
Black, or 3 l:.xg l 'iix g l 4 1\Ve5+ .l:!.fg7 5 .l:!.xg7 'iih l + 6 �g4 .l:!.xg7+ etc.
The only good response for White is 2 l:.xg l ! , when after 2 ... 'iix d7 3 'iie 5+ .l:!.fg7 4
lt'Jh5 'iid 2+ 5 .l:!.g2 'iic 3 the game bums out into a drawn rook ending: 6 �xc3 bxc3 7
lt'Jxg7 �xg7 8 l:.c2 .l:!.c8 9 �g2 etc .
Points: Nine for the roguish l . . . .iLg I+! and an extra two each for analysing what
happens in the respective cases of 2 �h 1 ?, 2 �h3 ? and 2 .l:i.xg 1 ! .
Puzzle 1 5 : 1 .l:!.xe6 ! demol ishes Black. Play ended l . . . fxe6 2 .iLxe6+ �h8 3 .iLxc3
.l:!.d8 (3 . . . .iLxc3 4 'ii f8 mate) 4 ii f4 1-0. On I . . . ..tf8 White ends with 2 'iix f8+! �xf8
3 .iLh6+ �g8 4 l:.e8 mate, while 2 l:.e8 is also enough. In the event of l . . .l:.c8 White
destroys the enemy defences with 2 .l:!.xg6+ ! hxg6 3 '1Wxg6+, winning against 3 . . Sii' h 8
with a circling manoeuvre such as 4 'iih 5+ , 5 �g4+ and then capturing on d7 (loose
pieces drop off), while 3 . . . �f8 sees the black king travel after 4 iLh6+ �e8 5 �g8+
�e7 6 'iix f7+ �d8 7 �g5+ �c7 8 l:.c 1 + �b8, when 9 iL f4+ is final .
Points : Ten point s if you found 1 l:.xe6, and a� ard yourself a further five for seeing
the key subvariations in the line with l . . J::r c 8 2 Sxg6+. These are critical, for after
l . . .l:.c8 White has no other satisfactory continuation of the attack than to sacrifice
the rook, because d2 , d5 and e6 are all hanging.
116
Solutions

Puzzle 1 : 1 .l:.a8+ would have forced Black to give up a bishop with l . . . ..tc8, as
l . . .�h7 2 .l:.h8+ �g6 3 .l:.h6 is m�e.
Points: Five for 1 .l:.a8+, which wins a piece and, most likely, invites instant resigna
tion. Nothing for any other move.
Puzzle 2: l . . .�f6 ! and there is no way to cope with the dual threats of 2 . . .�xh4 and
2 . . .lbf3+.
Points: Five for l . . .�f6. Nothing else scores.
Puzzle 3: l . . .e2+ 2 �g 1 .l:.a 1 wins. I witnessed this game and, shortly afterwards
(that same evening) received a similar jolt myself from Jeroen Piket when keeping
goal in an impromptu five-a-side soccer match. He blasted a shot at me from close
range and I halted it with my right index finger. A year later I was still receiving os
teopathy on it.
Points: Five for the given solut ion. Nothing else scores (neither did Piket: the ball
went wide).
Puzzle 4: 1 tbg4 and Black' s game collapses. The knight is immune because of 2
'iW11 7 mate, so Black must suffer decisive losses and/or infiltration.
Points: Five for 1 tbg4. One for vague attacking gestures such as 1 .l:.e3, 1 f4 or 1
�d3 .
Puzzle 5 : l . . .�xg2+! 2 ..txg2 fl 'i!V+ ! 3 .ixfl .l:.g 1 mate.
Points: Again, there is only the one road leading to Rome here, so the full ten if you
walked it, and zilch if you did not .
Puzzle 6: 1 lad5+ �f4 2 'i!Vg3+ �e3 3 'i!Ve 1+ ..te2 4 'i!Vg 1+ (the unusual move)
4 . . . �f4 5 'i'c 1 mate. l . . .'i'e5 does not help thanks to 2 �f7+.
Point s : Ten for the whole thing.
Puzzle 7: 1 tbxd4 'i'xd4 2 tbd5 �c5 (thus far has been easy) 3 .ixf6 ! gxf6 (3 . . . .1xf6
4 't�Ve4 wins for White) 4 tbxe7+ "fixe7 5 Wlig4+ �h8 6 �h4 and Black resigned as
the only way to stave off mate is 6 . . . f5 , which loses the queen.
Points: Seven if you found up to 3 .ixf6 ! and planned to meet 3 . . . .1xf6 with 4 'i'e4.
A further three if you took into consideration Black trying to trap the knight on e7
with 4 . . . �h8 and, subsequent ly, that White can then win with 5 tbd5 ! exd5 6 'i'h5 .
Puzzle 8 : 1 ..tg5 wins. Whit e threatens to capture on f6 and then h7. l . . ."fixd4 fails
to 2 tbxc6 and 3 tbxe7+, while l . . . h6 2 .ixf6 .ixf6 3 �e4 g6 4 tbxg6 ! fxg6 5
"ifxg6+ .ig7 6 ..tg6+ �f6 7 tbe4+ does the trick for White. In reply to l . . . g6, as
played, 2 .ia6 ! leads to the immediate collapse of Black' s game. In desperation
Arkell then chose 2 . . . h6, but after the simple 3 ..txh6 he did not last much longer. In
fact there have been Grandmaster games before and since with 2 ..ta6 !, so don 't be
too hard on yourself if you missed it .
Points: Six for 1 ..tg5 and a further two for spotting each of the respective refutations
of l . . .h6 and l . . . g6.
117
Puzzle 9: 1 i.xg6 ! blasts the way in. Play concluded l .. . fxg6 ( l .. .hxg6 2 'ii'h 6) 2
'ii'x e6+ <Jitg7 3 .l:!.xh7+ ! and Black resigned as it will be mate after 3 . . . <Jitxh7 4lt:Jg5+
<Jith8 5 �3+ etc.
Points: Seven for the first sacrifice and a further three if you found .ll x h7+.
Puzzle 1 0 : 1lZ'lcd5 ! breaks in, when l . . .exd5 2lZ'lxd5 leaves Black helpless against
the threats of 3lZ'lxe7+ and 3lZ'lxf6+ and 4 'iih 7 mate. Consequently Arkell tried
1 . . . �e8 but was lost after 2lZ'lxf6+ i.xf6 3 'i¥11 7 + <Jit f8 because Wilson switched di
rection with 4 i.a4 ! , leaving the threatened rook unable to move in view of 5 'iYh8
mate. Play continued 4 . . . i.xc4 5 i.xe8 <Jitxe8 6 b3 and White went on to win.
Points : Eight for breaking through with 1lZ'lcd5 ! and two more for finding the killer
4 i.a4 ! .
Puzzle 1 1 : B lack opted for l . . . g5 ! ! and only after 2 hxg5 did he push with 2 . . . c 5 . If
Gdanski had captured with 3lZ'lxc5 the point of Arkell ' s idea becomes clear:
3 . . . i.xc5 4 'iYxc5 'i:Vd l + 5 �h2 'ii'h 5+ 6 �g2lZ'lf4+ ! 7 gxf4 'ii'g4+ and Black draws
by perpetual check. White preferred 3 <Jitg2 cxb4 4 axb4 and after 4 .. .'�a2 !? 5 i.e 1
i.xb4 6 'ikc8+ <Jitg7 7lZ'ld4 i.c3 8lZ'lxe6+ ! ? fxe6 9 'ikd7+ <Jith8 10 'i:Ve8+ a draw en
sued.
Points: Thirteen for the brilliant 1 . . . g5 ! ! which, although (perhaps) a result of des
peration, is nonetheless a magni ficent conception. Two more for correctly assessing
that the removal of all of the queenside pawns means that in the reduced situation
White - still with a rather bad bishop - has few winning chances.
Puzzle 1 2 : White might expect to profit from the loose knight after 1 'ii'x g5 .ll x d5 2
�e3 , e.g. 2 . ..lt:Ja5 3lZ'lxf7 ! �xf7 4 'iYxe6+ and 5 'ii'x d5 . However, it transpires that it
is White' s back rank that can then be exploited, quite spectacularly, with 2 . . lt:Jxd4 . !3
l:!.xd4 l':.xe5 , when Black wins a pawn and White cannot take twice on e5 in view of
. .. .l:!.c l + and mate. We may explore 3lZ'lxf7 ! ? , which is more of an attempt to damage
Black' s structure than knock him out. After 3 . . . <Jitxf7 4 .ll x d4 perhaps 4 . . . 'ii'd 6 is then
a good move, with White having a very slight edge.
I played 1 'ii'f3 ! ! , hitting f7. Play continued l .. . .l':!.xd5 2 'it'xf7+ <Jith8 3 'ii'x e6, when
White threatens both the rook and mate (by Philidor ' s Legacy). Black had to play
3 . . Jhe5 when 4 :xeS again leaves his bishop and knight under fire, thus forcing
4..lZ'lxd4
. 5 .ll x d4 i.f6 (5 .. .'i'xe5 6 'ii'x c8+). Then after 6 l:!.c4 ! Black is simply an
exchange behind for no compensation since 6 .. Jhc4 runs into 7 'ike8+.
After 1 .. . exd5 2 'iix f7+ <Jith8 White has several good continuations based on vacating
the f7-square, from which the knight can fork the bishop and/or the rook with tempo,
e.g. 3 'ii'f3 .
I n the event o f 1 .. . f5 2 'ii'x b3 .ll x d5 3 lt:J f3 White wins a pawn by attacking both the
bishop and e6. Finally 2. . . exd5 allows White to switch and probe his way to a win
with 3 'ii'h 3 g6 (3 . . . I:!.f8 4lZ'ld7 forks) 4lt:Jf7 ! ! <Jitxf7 5 'i'xh7+ <Jitf8 (5. . . <Jit f6 6 Wie7
mate) 6 'ii'x g6. White has already picked up two pawns and the attack, with the pros
pect of the rook landing on e6, is raging. In fact 6 .l:.e6 is also excellent in this line.
Points: Seven for 1 Wif3 ! ! , and take two more for seeing the game continuation.
Have an additional two if you found that l . . .exd5 is poor due to 2 'ii'x e6+ <Jith8 3 'ii'f3
118
Solutions
(amongst others). Four well deserved points also for anyone who saw that the best
way to meet l . . .f5 is 2 Wixb3 as well as the sacrifice 2 . . . exd5 3 Wih3 g6 4 tLl f7 ! ! . One
for choosing 1 't�Yxg5 .laxd5 2 �e3.lLlxd4 ! 3 lLlxf7 ! ?, for you do emerge with a better
pawn structure. Nothing for 1 'i'xb3 - after 1 . . . .laxd5 Black is doing fine.
Puzzle 13: 1 lLlxg7 ! i .xc4 2 i. f6 left Portisch hopelessly lost. There are many
threats, including 3 lLlf5+ �g8 4 tLlh6 mate. After 2 . . . i.e7 3 Wif3 Black resigned.
Points: Fifteen for 1 lLlxg7 ! i.xc4 2 i. f6 ! . Naturally l . . .'it>xg7 2 i. f6+ wins swiftly.
None for 1 i. d3 because 1 . . . f6 solves Black ' s problems.
Puzzle 1 4 : I played 1 hxg6 ! . Now after l . . .hxg6 2 i.xg7 ci;; x g7 3 'iVh6+ White mates,
while l . . .cxd4 runs into 2 gxh7+ 'it>h8 (2 . . . lLlxh7 and now 3 i.xg7 dxc3 4 bxc3,
amongst others, finishes Black) 3 i.xg7+ �xg7 4 h8�+ .l:.xh8 5 WigS+ and mate on
g8.
Some of the trickier variations arise from the attempt to confuse with l . . . e3 . I
planned 2 gxh7+ �h8 (2 . . . lLlxh7 3 Wid3 dxc3 4 i.xg7 was easier to calculate as
overwhelming for me) 3 i.xg7+ 'it>xg7 4 Wie 1 ! (the queen steps back to reappear on
the kings ide) 4 . . . cxd4 5 lLld5 ! (remember that in these situations it is important to
keep stripping away the king ' s defenders and/or bring another piece into the attack)
5 . . . tLlxd5 6 h8Wi+ ! .laxh8 7 'ilt'g3+ �f6 8 .l:txh8 with a decisive attack. Here 5 . . . Wie5 ,
which is a tougher defence, forces White t o continue imaginatively with 6 Wih4 ! ,
when the mate threat on h 6 means B lack has nothing better than 6 . . . tLlh5 7 'iVxh5
Wixh5 8 .laxh5 tLlc6 9 i.b5, and White is winning as d4 is untenable. In these com
plex variations I note that, had Black declined the knight on d4 with 4 . . . .lah8, then 5
Wih4 ! is very strong, while after 4 . . . 'it>h8 it is time, at last, to move the knight , and a
simple retreat such as 5 tLlb3 leaves White well on top.
After l . . . fxg6 I kept the fire burning with 2 i.c4+ �h8 and the switchback 3 i.g5 ! ! .
I remember thinking that, whatever opening m y opponent thought we were debating,
as far as I was concern ed it was the Yugoslav Attack of the Sicilian Dragon, and I
would be posting my pieces on all of the squares appropriate to that formation ! Play
continued 3 . . . cxd4 4 .laxh7+ ! ! lLlxh7 5 i.xe7 dxc3 6 Wid6 cxb2+ 7 ci;; b 1 tLld7 8 .lah 1
and Murshed resigned. Note that had B lack tried 4 . . . �xh7, then 5 .lah 1 + i.h6 6
i.xh6 is devastating, e.g. 6 . . . lLlh5 7 i.xf8 �xf8 8 lLlxe4 and the attack still rages.
We would be justified in regarding 3 . . . h5 as a terrible concession, and 4 g4 as suffi
cient to win, e.g. 4 . . . cxd4 5 gxh5 i.e6 7 tLld5 ! is decisive. In reply to 3 . . . e3 the famil
iar response of 4 Wie 1 (intending to take on h7) is winning.
Points: Scoring this one is complicated as White had a lot of good attacking possi
bilities at each tum. But I am confident that there were no better moves than mine. If
you chose 1 tLldb5 or 1 tLlb3 I will award you nine points. Even such quiet moves
leave White with a useful attack. The same goes for 1 i.xg7 �xg7 2 hxg6 fxg6 -
there is no immediate crush but White certainly has compensation for the pawn in
the form of initiative and attack.
Eight for 1 hxg6, with one extra for seeing that neither 1 . . . hxg6 nor 1 . . . cxd4 is vi
able. Take three more for seeing that 1 . . . e3 is m et by 2 gxh7+ �h8 3 i.xg7+ �xg7 4
'ilt' e 1 !- that is a difficult line to spot . The final three for seeing that 1 hxg6 ! fxg6 2
119
..tc4+ �h8 3 ..tg5 ! ! is deadly. Take one extra if you intended 3 lt:Jb3 or 3 lt:Jdb5
there, as they are also useful moves.
Puzzle 1 5 : Play continued 1 ..tg5+ f6 2 'iYxe5 l::th 5 3 ..td7 ! ! (the point), when
3 .. Jhg5+ 4 'iYxg5 fxg5 5 l:tf7 is mate and 4 .. .'�xd7 5 'iYxg6 wins for White. Instead
B lack tried 3 . . . l::t a 6 4 l::t a fl ! 'iff8 and here 5 "flc7 l::tx g5+ 6 �h 1 would have been
winning. I played the unnecessary 5 h4 ! ? , which could be described (I suppose) as
preparing 'ifc7 . After 5 . . Jhg5+ 6 hxg5 fxe5 7 l:txf8 lt:J f6 8 gxf6+ �xf8 9 e7+ he
resigned. Note that (after 3 ..td7 ! ! ) 3 . . . 'iVb8 loses to 4 1lVxb8 l:!.xg5+ 5 'iVg3 , or
4 . . . l::tx b8 5 ..t f4.
Points: Take nine points for seeing as far as 3 ..td7 ! ! and three more for noting the
refutations of 3 . . . 'iVb8 and 3 . . . l:!.a6. A further three for finding 4 l:!.afl . I will award
twelve points for 3 lle 1 ! ! , and a further three for noting that there 3 . . Jh6 may be
met by 4 ..txa6 ! .lhg5+ 5 'iYxg5 fxg5 6 l:If7+ �e8 7 ..tb5+ etc. Meanwhile there is
no threat of mate on d6, but White may well be threatening to pull the queen back to
g3 and play ..t f4, eyeing d6. Black still cannot take twice on g5 thanks to the mate
with .l:.f7, and 3 . . . 'iVb8 is well met by 4 'iVxb8 (as in the line with 3 ..t d7 ! ! ). Two only
for the given line with 1 exf7 �f8.

Puzzle 1 : White could have forced mate in three with 1 l:t d7+ �c8 2 l;Ie7 ! . Even
simpler is 1 �b7 ! , when there is no defence against 2 l:!.d7 mate.
Points: Five for either mate. My wife found 1 �b7 ! , but there are a few decisions of
mine that Glenn could dig up. I hope he never does.
Puzzle 2: 1 'it'xf6 ! is the breakthrough. After l . . . gxf6 2 .l::!.g 3+ �h8 3 �xf6 is mate,
and on 2 . . . �f8 White has 3 ..ta3+ �e8 4l':tg8 mate. The c6-pawn has the crucial
significance of taking away an escape square from Black ' s king. Kasparov was al
ways emphasising to me the significance of pawns as attacking units.
Points: Five for the queen sacrifice. A generous one point for 1 'it'a4 or 1 'VWc3, which
hang on to the c6-pawn and, in the second instance, even give White the opportunity
to sacrifice next move (should Black be unwise enough to allow it).
Puzzle 3: 1 lt:J f6+ gxf6 ( l . . .�h8 2 'ili'xf8 mate) 2 'iVxg6+ �h8 3 l:!.g 1 'iVh4+ 4 �d 1
and B lack ' s days are over.
Points : Five for the knight sacrifice.
Puzzle 4 : Black should have played l . . .�c6 2 axb5+ �xb5 3 <;io>d5 �a4 ! , when
White must allow a stalemate after 4 <;io>xc4. Resigning is never the strongest option.
Points: Five if you spotted the stalemate trick. I am afraid that you get none i f it
eluded you.
Puzzle 5 : 1 gxf6 ! l:!.xd 1 + 2 lt:Jxd 1 'VWxd2 3 fxg7 ! and Black resigned
Points : Five for 1 gxf6. A generous two for 1 1:f. xh 1 , after which White still stands
pretty well.
120
Solutions
Puzzle 6 : 1 . . .4:Jg3 + 2 �g l �g2+ ! ! 3 lhg2 4:Jh3 mate was the way to do it. See my
book Coincidences and/or the film Phenomenon if you want more background to this
position.
Points: Ten if you spotted the mate.
Puzzle 7: 1 lhh7 ! �xh7 2 �f7 and Black is helpless against 3 �h 1 +. In the game
Black chose l . . .�xd5 but that failed to 2 �xg7+ ! ctixg7 3 4:J f5+.
Points: Seven for 1 ::l.xh7 and an extra three if you foresaw the game continuation .
Puzzle 8: 1 lhb5 ! provided the entry routes. Then l . . .�xb5 meets with 2 �a3+
�d7 3 'i!Vd6+ �c8 4 'Wic7 mate. Accordingly Forster chose l . . . 'i¥xa2 but after 2 �c3
he resigned in face of dark square checks or the trapping of his queen with 3 l:ta5 .
Points: Eight for 1 l:Ixb5 ! and two more for seeing how to meet l . . .�xa2 .
Puzzle 9: 1 . . Jhb3+ ! is the one and only move that blasts a way in. After 2 axb3 a2
3 ii.xa2 .l:!xa2 the pawns on e3 and g3 will soon fall. Play went 2 �xb3l:.b6+ 3 'iii c 2
�b2+ 4 �c 1 I!.e2 and Black began a harvest of white pawns. He soon had a collec
tion which far outweighed the ineffectual bishop : 5 � d 1 l::!. x e3 6 �g ll::I c 3+ 7 �d2
�xc4 7 ii.c2 d5 (here they come . . . ) 8 l:Ib 1 d4 9 ii.d 1 .l:.c3 1 0 .l:tb3 e3+ 1 1 'iii e 2 lie 1 1 2
.l:.xa3 c4 (on and on . . . ) 1 3:1a7+ �d6 1 41i.a4 .l:.h 1 1 5 .l:!.d7+ �c5 1 6.l::t. c 7+ �b4 1 7
a3+ �c3 ! 1 8 ii.b5 .l:!.h2+ 1 9 �fl d3 20 .l:.xc4+ 'iii b 2 (abandoning the sheltering o f his
babies, which by now have grown quite big enough to take care of themselves) 2 1
�g 1 e2 2 2 �xh2 e 1 � and White resigned.
Points: Seven for l . . .l:.xb3 ! . Award yourself three more if you understood how the
pawn s must swamp White ' s resistance. None if you moan about my mixing of meta
phors.
Puzzle 1 0 : I played 1 tt:Jxe6 !, when l . . .ii.xe3? allows instant mate with 2 !lb8+,
while l . . .�xe6 2 ii.xc5 is fine for me. After l . . Jhd2 I stupidly did not follow up my
intention of 2 �xc5 ! (not 2l:.b8+?, when 2 . . 1i.f8. indeed allows 3 4:Jxf8, threatening
4 4:J e6+ and mate on f8, but Black has 2 . . . � f8 ! ) . Then the threats to Black ' s back
rank compel him to go in for either 2 . . . 'W/xe6 when, after 3 'iVxd2, White has clear
compensation for the pawn in the shape of the passed pawn on e5 and the n ebulous
attacking - and drawing- chances that the opposite coloured bishops generate, or
2 . .1i.b5
. ! ? 3 �xd2 �xe6 4 �e3 with a similar situation.
Instead I cracked and chose 2 ii.xd2??, when 2 . . . 1Ib7 ! cooked my goose. There is no
longer a mate threat so the white queen really does now hang, and after 3 4:Jxc5
l1xb 1 4 ii.e3 d2 I resigned.
Points : Five for 1 4:Jxe6 ! and another five i f you followed up l . . Jhd2 better than I
with 2 ii.xc 5 .
Puzzle 1 1 : l . . .:ixc2 ! ! and 0- 1 . A shocked Heikki saw that 2 'iVxc2 loses t o 2 . . . �h5 3
h3 �xh3 + ! ! 4 gxh3 ii.b7+ and mate. Meanwhile Black has a great game. Beauti ful.
Points: Ten for l . . .l1xc2 ! !, five more for seeing the subsequent queen sacrifice. I am
not giving anything for other moves, because if you don 't take such chances your life
will be dull .
121
Puzzle 1 2 : 1 .l::t g 8+ ! ! , discovered by Nunn, is the breakthrough sacrifice. After

l . . .'it>xg8 2 �xf7+ 'it>xf7 3 �xh7+ the floodgates have been opened and an important
defender taken away. White need only mop up with 3 . . . 'it>f8 4 �h8+ 'it>f7 5 .l:!fl +
'it>g6 6 �e8+ 'it>h6 7 �xe7, and the black king will not survive much longer.
Points: Twelve for 1 :g8+ ! ! and three more for seeing the details.
Puzzle 13: Sadler succeeded with moves which stripped away the cover around my
king, whilst simultaneously activating his own forces: 1l:.xf5 ! exf5 ( l . . . �xa6 2
�xe8+) 2 tt::l x h7 ! ! �xa6 (2 . . J:hh7 3 .l:!.g6+l:.g7 [3 . . . 'it>h8 4 e6+] 4l:.xg7+ 'it>xg7 5
e6+ �f6 6 "ii g 5+ 'it>h7 7 �xf6 wins for White) 3 ti::l f6+ ! �xf6 4 �xeS+ 'it>h7 5 exf6
and Black, with one more move to make, lost on time. However, his cause is hope
less as the attack still rages and White has not even any material deficit.
Shortly after playing such chess and reaching sixteenth position in the world rank
ings Matthew Sadler decided that he preferred dealing with customer complaints for
a Dutch firm . . .
Points: Six for the first sacrifice on f5 , and nine for the follow-up o n h7. S o domi
nant are the white pieces after l .. .exf5 that I will also grant you nine for 2 l:!.f6 ! ?,
when life is still dreadfully uncomfortable for Black, e.g. 2 . . . �xf6 3 exf6 with great
threats, or 3 . . . I;lf8 4 tt::l x h7 ! ! with familiar variations.
Puzzle 1 4 : White played 1 lhg7+ ! and the game ended in a king hunt: 1 . . . l:!.xg7 2
'it'c8+ 'it>h7 (2 . . . 'it>f7 meets with 3 'it'f5+ rJ)e7 [3 . . . 'it>g8 4 .l:!.c8 mate] 4 'it'e5 + ! 'it>d8 5
'it'd6+ and mate on f8 or a killing rook check on c8 will follow) 3 �h3+ 'it>g8 4
lacS+ �f7 5 �f5+ 'it>e7 6 �f8+ and in view of 6 . . . We6 7 f5+ 'it>d7 8 �e8+ 'it>d6 9
�e5 mate, Stuart resigned.
Points: Fifteen for 1 .l::. x g7+ ! .
Puzzle 1 5 : Geller produced the stunning, but wholly logical, 1 . . . 'it>g7 ! ! , when the
pawn must queen! Play continued 2 h5 a3 3 Wxe4 a2 4 hxg6 hxg6 5 l:tg5 a 1 � 6
.l::t x e5 . Despite Flohr's attempts to reach a drawn ending of rook, f- and g-pawns
against queen and g-pawn he cannot, because the white king cannot reach a haven
near his pawns: 6 . . . �c3 7l::t g 5 'it>f6 8 'it>d5 �d3+ 9 'it>c5 'it>f7 10 �c6 �d4 1 1 'it>b5
�c3 12 rJ)b6 �c4 1 3 'it>b7 �e6 14 'it>c7 �f6 15 'it>b7 'i¥d6 16 'it>c8 �c6+ 17 'it>d8
�7 18l:.e5 �6+ 19 'it>c8 �f7 and White resigned because he cannot use the rook
to defend both his pawns and his king.
Points: Ten for 1 . . . 'it>g7 ! ! . Five more for also appreciating that the queen versus rook
ending is won.

Puzzle 1 : l . . .�xf4+! and Keres resigned in view of 2 �xf4 .l::t h 1 mate.
Points: Five for l . . . 'it'xf4+.
Puzzle 2: 1 'it>e 1 and Black resigned, as after 1 . .-l:t.d3 2 We2 the rook must abandon
the bishop.
Points: Five for 1 'it>e 1 .
Puzzle 3 : 1 l:t.h5 + ! gxh5 2 l:!g7+ rJ) h S 3 �h6 mate.
122
Solutions
Points: Five if you spotted it.

Puzzle 4: He played 11i.xc6 ! , when the natural 1 . .1i.xc6. is impossible due to 2
lt:J f6+ ! exf6 3 l:.e 1 + 'it>f8 4 l:.xd8t etc. Black had to play the miserable 1 . . . bxc6, al
lowing 2 l:hd4 with a comfortable win for White in prospect.
Points: Five for finding the tactic.
Puzzle 5 : 1 Wid 1 ! hit d6 and h5 . No way to cover both, so Karpov resigned.
Points: Five for the fork.
Puzzle 6 : 1 l:.xf6+! 'it>xf6 2 ii.d6 and there is no defence to the twin threats of .1Lxb4
and ii.e7+. A very elegant finale.
Points: Ten for the whole thing.
Puzzle 7: 11i.e8 ! ! threatens 2 'ilixg7+ 'it>xg7 3 l:.h7+ 'it>f8 4 l:.xf7 mate. l . .l:.xe8
. runs
into 2 lt:Jd7 mate, so the only move is l . . .g5, to tr y to create a flight square, but then
either 2 g4 ! or 2 f5 ! sets up a mating net, e.g. 2 f5 exf5 3 �xg7+ ci;; x g7 4 l:.h7+ 'it>g6
5 ii.xf7 mate.
Points: A maximum ten points if you found l ii.e8 ! ! , the defensive attempt with
l . . . g5 and, subsequently, the winning response of 2 g4 ! or 2 f5 ! . Six points for 1
ii.e8 ! ! if you overlooked l . . . g5, and nothing for others.
Puzzle 8: l lt:Ja8 ! ! �a6 2lt:Jd8 mate was how it all ended. l . . .�a5 2 lt:Jd8+ is equally
decisive.
Points: Ten for 1 lt:Ja8 ! ! in conjunction with 2 lt:Jd8+ (or mate). All other moves are
party poopers.
Puzzle 9: l . . .l:.xe5 ! ! 2 �xe5 Wif3+ 3 ci;; h 2 �f2+ and Timman ' geeft het op ' because
4 'it>h3 ii.c8+ 5 g4l:.f3+ mates.
Points: Ten for 1 . . . l:.xe5 . Although there may be other moves which preserve a good
game for B lack I am going to be ungenerous here and award nothing for any of
these. l . . .l:.xe5 ! ! simply tears White apart.
Puzzle 10: l . .l:.fx£2
. ! 2 .l:.x£2 l:.b l + 3 Wie l l:.xe 1 + 4 l:.xe 1 Wixa3 and Black is win
ning the ending. Play concluded 5 h3 b5 6 l:.f7 a5 7 l:.ee7 �2 8l:.a7 a4 9 l:.a6 a3 1 0
l:.fa7 b4 1 1 l:.a4 �d2 1 2 �h2 Wif4+ 1 3 'it>g 1 �e3+ 1 4 �h2 'ilie5+ 1 5 'itg 1 b 3 1 6
l:.xa3 b 2 1 7 l:.b3 and White resigned before Black made him give up a rook for the
b-pawn.
Points : Seven for the initial capture on f2. Take three more if, crucially, you saw that
the queen and two outside passed pawns outweigh the rooks.
Puzzle 1 1 : 1 Wixd5 ! ! , and now l . . .exd5 2 ii.xh5+ cJ;; f8 3 l:.e8 is mate. Georgiev
struggled on with l . . .'iVxd5 2l:.xd5 (with immunity for the same reason), when
2 . . . gxf2 3 .l:!.d8+ cJ;; f7 4 l:.fl wins comfortably for White. Instead Black castled, but 3
l:.d8 ! gxf2 4 l:.fl was the end of the fun.
Points: Fifteen for 1 'i+'xd5 ! ! . Other moves may leave White excellently placed but
they' re certainly not as good as winning a piece.
123
Puzzle 1 2 : l . . .'*iVxe3 ! ! and now 2 fxe3 allows mate with 2 . . . lbg3 + ! 3 hxg3 l'::. h 5 . In
stead Yudasin tried 2 lbd6 but the future world champion countered effectively with
2 . . . l'::. e 7 ! 3 lbxf5 gxf5 .
Points: Eleven for the queen sacrifice. Easy, once you 've seen it. Take an extra four
for finding the neat counter to 2 lLJd6 (2 . . . l'::. e 7 ! ) .
Puzzle 1 3 : Play went 1l:.xd7, when i t is straightforward enough that l . . .'*iVxd7 loses
to 2 'i'xe4 exf4 3 i.xe6 'i'xe6 4 'i'xa8 etc. Consequently Beliavsky played l . . .i.xf5
2 l:txb7 exf4. Now on 3 i.xe6 i.xe6 and 3 . . . i.xa2 Black is holding on. Does this
look okay? Not really. Nigel played 3 l'::. x f7 ! ! and Black resigned since after 3 . . . fxe3
4 l'::. x f5 his world collapses. I find it difficult to categorise 3 l!xf7 ! ! , which is almost
a unique tactic.
Points: Three for seeing that 1 l!xd7 �xd7 loses for Black, as given. Twelve if you
found the game continuation.
Puzzle 1 4 : White brought things to a splendid conclusion with 1 i.h6 ! gxh6 2 �h5 ! !
lbxh5 3 lbd7 mate.
Points: Fifteen for the combination. There are other good moves but I am being strict
and awarding no points to anything else.
Puzzle 15: The game ended spectacularly: 1 f5 ! gxf5 2 l:txf5 exf5 3 i.xf5 h6 4 e6 !
i.g5 5 i. f6 ! ! fxe6 6 i.xe6+ l'::. f7 7 i.xg5 hxg5 8 .tlfl l!f8 9 l:l.f6 and Black resigned.
Let us have a closer look: 1 f5 gxf5 ( 1 . . . exf5 2 .l:!.xf5 ! is much the same - lines are
opening) 2 l'::. x f5 ! (threatening to clean up with 3 l!h5) 2 . . . exf5 (2 . . . �g7 3 l'::. h 5 l:th8
and now 4 'i'g4+ �f8 5 l!fl looks enough for White) 3 i.xf5 and White threatens
mate. Then after 3 . . . h6 4 e6 ! Black ' s queen is cut off from the defence of h6 and the
b2-bishop comes to life. 4 . . . i.g5 is forced (to defend h6) and 5 i. f6 ! ! is the real star
move. Note that here 5 . . . l:tae8 6 i.xg5 fxe6 7 i.g6 leaves the g5 bishop still un
touchable and White with a raging initiative. A splendid combination from Aaron
Summerscale.
Points: Seven for 1 f5 ! , and take eight more if you saw the power and significance of
5 i. f6.

Puzzle 1 : 1 l:txf7+ ! �xf7 2 l!fl + and Black resigned as he will soon be mated.
Points: Five for the rook sacrifice.
Puzzle 2: 1 g5 ! hxg5 2 lLJg6 ! and Black can stave off mate only at the cost of his
queen after 2 . . . fxg6 3 fxg6.
Points: Four for 1 g5 ! . Take an extra point if you saw that, should Black respond
with l . . .'i'e7, then White can simply continue the offensive with, for example, 2
i.e3 . But your score is z ero out of five if you then intended 2 gxh6?, as that allows
2 . . .'�xh4.
Puzzle 3: Dan Mayers played 1 .. J�hh3 , picking up either the minor piece on e3 or,
should it move, the one on d3 . Helgi resigned and promptly withdrew from the tour
nament in self-disgust.
124
Solutions
Points: Five for the lateral win of a piece. Five also for l . . . .ii.. x e3 , intending 2 .ii.. x e3
Jahh3, or even l . . . .l:th2+ for, despite being an irrelevance, it spoils nothing because
after 2 Jag2 there is still . . . .l:thh3 .
Puzzle 4 : l . . . .l::i. f2 +! 2 Wh 1 'i¥xe4� ! 3 l:!.xe4 Jafl + 4 Wg2 l:i.g 1 mate.
Points: Four for 1 . . . l:i.f2+ and a further one for seeing that not only is the invasion
decisive in itself but that there is mate at g l . Nothing for l . . .�xd6 2 l2'lxd6 l:i.f2+ 3
�h 1 which is not so clear.
Puzzle 5 : l . . . e3 ! and there follows a winning fork on d4.
Points: Five for l . . .e3 .
Puzzle 6 : The knight is the key. By sacrificing it with l . . .l2'lxb2 ! Black already
launches a decisive attack. After 2 �xb2 .ii.. a3+ ! 3 Wxa3 �xc3+ 4 l2'lb3 ..tc6 ! threat
ens immediate mate. There followed S .ii.. c S aS (reintroducing the threat) and White
resigned. In the event of 3 Wb3 �aS White avoi ds mate only through disastrous ma
terial losses.
Points: Six for the knight sacrifice. Two more for the follow-up sacrifice of the
bishop. One point for spotting each of the two details of 4 . . . .ii.. c 6 ! and, in the other
line, 3 . . . �aS .
Puzzle 7: l . . .lZ:JxeS ! 2 l2'lxeS �c3 ! won a clear pawn and the game.
Points: Ten for the 1 . . . l2'lxeS ! trick. Several other moves leave Black with a good
game but, once again, that ' s no excuse for passing over a win, so nothing for these.
Puzzle 8: 1 exdS exdS 2 lZ:JxdS ! lZ:JxdS 3 l2'lxd4 leaves Black no real compensation
for the pawn. On 3 . . . l2'lb6 4 l:i.e 1 + .ii.. e 7 White might continue S ..tgS f6 6 .ii.. x f6 gxf6
7 'inS+ �d7 8 l2'le6 �e8 9 �g4 with an overwhelming attack. The point of White ' s
play is that after 3 . . . cxd4 4 � S Black is under tremendous pressure after either
4 . . . l2'le7 S �xf7+ �d7 6 l:i.e 1 or 4 . . . .ii.. e 6 S l:i.e 1 (hitting both dS and e6) S . . . il... e 7 6
Ihe6 l2'lf6 7 .l:.xf6 ! gxf6 8 �xf7+.
Points : Six for the 2 l2'lxdS ! trick. Two more for each of White ' s respective reactions
to 3 . . . l2'lb6 and 3 . . . cxd4.
Puzzle 9: 1 l2'lf4 ! and, since l . . .l2'lxf4 allows mate on h7 and l . . . gxh4 2 l2'lxg6 leaves
Black unable to capture the knight in view of the mate in two, B lack' s game fell
apart like a house of cards.
Points: Ten for 1 l2Jf4 ! and absolutely nothing for any other move.
Puzzle 1 0 : 1 �xf6+ ! Wxf6 2 l:!.g6+ ! fxg6 3 .l::i. x g6+ �e7 4 f6+ and Black resigned, as
people often do one move before mate (4 . . . 'it>f8 S �g8 mate).
Points: Only one mate in five, so that ' s the only one that gets the points.
Puzzle 1 1 : Lewis found 1 l2'lcbS ! , which should have led to a deci sive advantage. On
1 ... cxbS 2 l2'lxbS Black' s queen has nowhere to go that prevents 3 il... x b7 and the
threat of a decisive discovery with l2'ld6+. After l . . .�e7 2 l2'lxc6 .ii.. x c6 3 .Jl.xc6+
l:i.xc6 White has (amongst others) 4 l2'ld4, winning an exchange, while 3 . . . �f8 4
�xa6 .l:.xc6 5 l2'lxa7 .l:.c7 6 l2'lbS is one way for White to win. Consequently I chose
1 . . .�8 and was quite lost after 2 l2'lxc 6 ! .Jl.xc6 3 .Jl.xc6+ �e7, when White produced
the cool retreat 4 .Jl.f3 ! . The point is 4 . . . .ii.. x e3 S �xa6 .Jl.xf2 6 l2'lxa7, as there is no
125
way for Black to avoid the loss of an exchange. The game continued 6 . . . J::!. c 7 7 tt'lc6+
J::!. x c6 8 ii.xc6, although I did manage to salvage a draw thirty-two moves later.
Points : Ten for 1 tt'lcb5 ! , two more for seeing how to deal with I . . :�We7 and three
extra if you saw how White won the exchange in the game. Just one extra point if
you intended to meet l . . .'ifb8 with 2 ii.xc6+, for after 2 ... �f8 Black, although his
position is quite unattractive, is hanging on. Nothing for other first moves.
Puzzle 1 2 : I f7 J::!. x e5+ 2 �g4 .l:.e4+ and now, instead of 3 �f5 !:!.e l , which draws
immediately thanks to 4 . . JH1 (+), White plays 3 �f3 ! . But after 3 . . J::!. e l 4 �f2 .l:.e4 !
.
what does White play next? The automatic 5 f8� fails to the fiendish 5 . . . J::!. f4+ ! ! 6
�xf4 stalemate ! Yet the win is still there - 5 f8.l:. ! , the idea being that now there is
no stalemate after a check and capture on f4, so Black must address the threat of
mate on the h-file with 5 . . . J::!.h 4, when White has 6 �g3 , and the new mate threat on
fl means that Black loses his rook.
Points: A well-deserved fifteen if you got the whole thing.
Puzzle 1 3 : Rowson played l . . .g4?, and after 2 fxg4 �g5 3 �f3 e5 4 c4 e4+ 5 �xe4
�xg4 6 b4 �xh5 7 �f5 ! the boxing-in of his king meant that his outside passed
pawn, normally a big plus, was of no value to him. Play continued 7 . . . �h4 8 c5 a6 9
a4 h5 I O b5 axb5 1 1 axb5 �g3 1 2 c6 and Black came second in the race.
Best is I ... �g7 ! 2 c4 �h6 3 c5 �xh5 4 b4 �g6 when, to thwart ... �f6, White must
continue 5 �e5 h5 6 b5 �f7 ! 7 �d6 as 7 c6? loses to 7 . . . bxc6 8 bxc6 �e7 . There
follows 7 . . . g4 8 fxg4 hxg4 9 c6 bxc6 I 0 bxc6 g3 I I c7 g2 I 2 c8"i¥ g I "if and, since
the new black queen happens to be defending a7, the first check in the queen ending
- often a crucial asset - is no use. There is nothing better for White than 1 3 �xe6+,
when it is a clear draw.
Points: Six points for spotting the technique that occurred in the game with 7 �f5 ! .
Nine for calculating correctly the far more difficult variations after the superior
l . . .�g7 . Incidentally, since this is an instructional book, I should say apropos the
much-vaunted training school of Dvoretsky that, effective though his techniques may
have been, do not forget that players such as Speelman, Adams and Short went fur
ther than the likes of Yusupov, Dolmatov, Dreev, Chemin, Zviagintzev et a! - and
the British, I know, have followed no precise programmes at all . Dvoretsky' s ap
proach may have led to his pupils becoming too technical, as they trotted out their
Slav and Petroff defences. Dolmatov, for instance, was a very imaginative player
before he was drilled by Mark, presumably along the lines of a five year plan.
I refer you again to my introductory remarks about the exercises in this book having
right and wrong answers. Flair is a more difficult thing to acquire - perhaps you' ve
either got it or you haven ' t ! ?
Puzzle 1 4 : Karpov struck with I .l:.xd7+ ! �xd7 2 tt'lxb6+ ! ..txb6 3 ..ta4 and the de
fence is very problematic for Black. If he brings the king ' s rook over with 3 . . . �e7 4
ii.xc6 J::!.h c8 , then after 5 ..tb4+ �d8 6 tt'le5 l:i.�7 7 l:i.d l + you see how the white
pieces are still packing terrific punches, e.g. 7 . . . �c7 8 ii.d6+ �d8 9 ii.f8+ �c7 1 0
ii.xg7 tt'lh5 1 1 ii.h6, with two healthy pawns and a better structure for the exchange.
Accordingly Boris Gulko tried 3 . . . �c8 ! ? 4 tt'le5 �b8 5 tt'lxc6+ �b7 6 tt'le5 J::!. a c8 7
ii.c6+ �a 7 8 tt'lxf7 .l:.hf8 9 tt'le5 tt'ld5 I 0 J::!. d I ! .!:!.fd8 1 1 ..ta4 ! tt'le7 1 2 tt'ld7, and
126
Solutions
White has two good pawns, the pair of bishops and a superior structure in return for
the exchange. Karpov went on to win.
Points: Fifteen for appreciating t�at after 1 �xd7+ ! �xd7 2 tLixb6+ ! Black must lose
at least another pawn and is very much on the ropes.
Puzzle 1 5 : 1 l:i.d7 ! ! 4Jxd7 2 i.h6 ! ! is the sparkling point. After 2 . . . 4Jxe5 3 i.xg7+
�g8 4 i.xe5+ i.g5+ 5 .l:rxg5 is mate. If Black plays another first move he will
emerge a bishop down.
Points: Fifteen if you saw the whole thing. Five for 1 h5 , which is also a constructive
attacking move, although not nearly as good as 1 :d7 ! ! .

Puzzle 1 : 1 .lad4 ! �e3+ 2 �h2 and Nunn, seeing that there is nothing to be done
about the rook coming to h4, resigned.
Points: Five for 1 .l:!.d4 ! .
Puzzle 2 : 1 tLie6+ ! and 2 �xe4 wins the exchange. Black actually played l . . . .l:.xe6
but after 2 dxe6 he soon resigned.
Points: Five for 1 t2\e6+ ! .
Puzzle 3 : Black missed 1 . . . i.f3 ! 2 i.xf3 , after which i t i s possible to fight on with
either 2 . . . l:i.af8 3 l:i.xb7 f4+ 4 gxf4+ �xf4 5 i.xc6 4Jb4 with some compensation, or
2 .. J:'!hf8, e.g. 3 !hb7 l:!ab8 or 3 !ldd7 l:i.xt7 4 l:i.xt7 4Jb4, and the band plays on.
Points: Three for finding the only move: 1 . . . i.f3 ! , and one extra point each for the
assessment of 2 . . . .Uaf8 and 2 .. .l:rhf8 as yielding practical chances.
Puzzle 4: 1 . . .4Jf2+ ' throws a spanner' into White' s carefully contrived set-up. After
2 �xf2 comes 2 . . .'�!Vxg4, while 2 i.xf2 allows mate on h2 . The following year Acs
took the title.
Points: Five for spotting the neat overloading tactic. But Black ' s position is domi
nant, so have four for l . . . t2\xc3 , l . . . .l:.f8, l . . . a5 , or most sensible non-forcing moves.
Puzzle 5 : 1 l:i.h8+ ! �xh8 2 g6 mates.
Points : Five for 1 I!h8+ ! but nothing for 1 .laxc3, for after l . . Jha7 Black may force
the exchange of one pair of rooks to leave an ending which is a theoretical draw.
Puzzle 6: 1 . . .4Jxb2 ! destroyed Adams ' defences. As in Position Six of the previous
test, 2 �xb2 is met by 2 . . . i.a3 + ! , when 3 �xa3 �c3+ 4 4Jb3 a4 is final.
Points : Eight for the knight sacrifice and only two for the follow-up this time. You're
rather slow if you failed to find it!
Puzzle 7: 1 �xg6+ ! �xg6 2 i.h5+ �h7 3 i.t7+ i.h6 4 g6+ �g7 5 i.xh6+ and
Black resigned due to the various mates from which White may choose after
5 . . . �h8 . After l . . . �g8 2 �h7+ �t7 3 i.h5 Black is also mated.
Points: Ten for the mating sequence.
Puzzle 8: 1 l:i.g8+ ! leaves White with an extra piece after l . . . �xg8 2 l:!. g l + �h8 3
fxe7+ f6 4 exf8�+, so Andersson played l . . .l:i.xg8 2 fxe7+ .l:.g7 3 .l:!.g l (there are
other winning moves) 3 . . . �xb2+ 4 �d l �b l + 5 i.e ! and then resigned.
127
Points: Ten for 1 l::t g 8+ ! . On 1 bxc3 Black might try l . . .�a3+ 2 'it>d2 �xc3 ! (when
he is okay), so no points for that move.
Puzzle 9: l . . .'iVxg2 ! 2 �xe3 � I + 3 'it>d2 iYxa 1 4 'Llc l , and now Black continued
vigorously and managed to extricate his queen: 4 . . . I:i.f5 5 .l:.e 1 .l:!.£2+ 6 'Lle2 .l:.e8 ! 7
'iVb3 'iYxe 1 + 8 'it>xe 1 l::t e xe2+ 9 'it>d 1 l:!.b2 and White resigned.
Points: Five for l . . .'iVxg2, and award yourself five more if you considered, and suc
cessfully addressed, the matter of the cornered queen after 4 'Llc l .
Puzzle 1 0 : 1 f5 ! threatens to take the bishop and also to advance to f6, creating a
deadly mate threat on g7 . In the game Black played the forced 1 . . . �xf5 , and then
came 2 g6 ! �xg6 3 l::t d g 1 , reintroducing the mate threat on h7. After 3 . . . .l:i.e8 4
'iVxh7+ �f8 5 ..ltc5+ mate on h8 follows. Note how all of the white pieces co-operate
in the final assault.
Points : Five for 1 f5 ! and five more if you saw 2 g6 ! and 3 l::t dg 1 .
Puzzle 1 1 : At the competitive cost of two minor pieces Short dragged Black' s naked
king out into the streets with 1 �xg7 ! ! Wxg7 2 ctJh5+ �g6 3 e5+ ! �xh5 4 'iVf4.
There is a mate threat on g4 and 4 . . . 'Llxe5 is, of course, effectively dealt with by 5
J:!.xe5. Lj ubo made the best of it with 4 . . . ..ltxg5 but the situation is hopeless: 5 "iYxf7+
'it>h4 6 "iYh7+ �g3 7 "iYh5 'it>h2 and by now there are several ways of completing the
business, one being 8 'iYe2+. Short selected 8 "iYxg5 l:!.g8 9 .l:.d2+ �g2 1 0 "iYf4+ .l:.g3
1 1 �e4 �xe4 1 2 'iYxe4, and Black resigned.
Points: Ten for 1 �xg7 ! ! and a further three for seeing the effect of 2 ctJh5+ and 3
e5+ ! . The final two points are for finding that if Black retreats with 2 . . . �h8/g8/f8
then 3 g6, bringing the queen in, is decisive, e.g. 2 . . . 'lt>f8 3 g6 i.f6 4 'Llxf6 'Llxf6 5
g7+ ! c/f;e7 6 'iYg5 , and �fl will win the pinned knight. Note the uselessness of the
black pieces in defending the king or knight.
In the initial position there is no move in the same league as 1 ..ltxg7 ! ! , which wins
outright. But White does have a superiority with a number of slower moves, so take
four for any of 1 'Llh5 , 1 .l:i.fl or 1 h4.
Puzzle 1 2 : 1 i.h7 ! stops the king from running. On l . . . i.d6 White finishes with 2
'iYe8+! 'i!Vxe8 3 �xd6+ etc.
Points: Thirteen for 1 �h7, and the full fifteen if you saw how to defeat l . . .�d6, too.
Take eight points for 1 �xd5 as White will emerge with good play for the exchange.
Puzzle 1 3 : 1 'i!Vxe6 ! ! was Geller's fabulous continuation, which he would have had
to have foreseen long before. Play continued l . . . fxe6 2 'Llfg6+ (the other knight
check also works) 2 .. .'iVxg6 (2 .. .<>t>f7 3 'Llxh8+ �f8 4 'Ll4g6+ forces Black to part
with the queen anyway) 3 'Llxg6+ \te8 5 'Llxh8 .
But this is not the end of the story. They say that Geller thought for a long time be
fore the queen sacrifice as he looked carefully at the details of this ending. Karpov
played 5 . . . �a4 and the game ended 6 l:.d 1 (6 i.e3 leaves the knight stranded)
6 . . . 'Lle7 7 il.xe7 'it>xe7 8 ctJg6+ 'it>f7 9 ctJf4 � ;e5 1 0 dxe5 l:.xf4 1 1 .l:i.c 1 ! �e8 1 2 c6
c/f;d8 1 3 c7+ 'it>c8 14 g3 . Now 14 . . . .l:i.f5 puts up the toughest resistance, the winning
line being 1 5 f4 g5 1 6 a4 ! gxf4 1 7 a5 ! fxg3 1 8 a6 gh2+ 1 9 �h 1 l:!.f2 20 .l:i.a 1 etc .
128
Solutions
Points: Eleven for 1 �xe6! ! , and four further points for following the details of the
technique after 5 . . . l:.a4. If you considered only 5 . . . .l:.xa2 to be Black' s best defensive
try then take no extra points.
To be fair, I cannot regard 9 lt:Jh4 as other than a comfortably winning move after
9 . . . �xe5 1 0 lt:Jf3, so four extra points for that intention, too.
Puzzle 1 4 : 1 l:[e6 ! fxe6 2 �xe6+ �h8 3 l�Vxh6+ ! ! gxh6 4 �e5+ and mate next
move.
Points: Ten for the rook sacrifice and the subsequent one on h6. The concentration of
White' s pieces around the enemy king is so strong by the third move that a duller
finale, such as 3 �e5, will also suffice, e.g. 3 . . . lt:Jf5 4 'iig 6 hxg5 5 'iih 5+ and mate. 1
lt:Je6? ! fxe6, with . . . �e8 coming, is nowhere near as clear - nothing for that.
Puzzle 1 5 : 1 e5 ! knocks out the foundations. Black had nothing better than I . . :ifxa3
2 exf6 .lir.xd8 3 l:Ixd8+ �f8 4 �d4 (threatening mate) 4 . . . h5, but after 5 .l:te 1 ! (bring
ing out the last reserve) 5 . . . �h7 6 l:.e7+! it was time to resign in view of 6 . . . �xe7 7
fxe7, when White threatens mate and the creation of a new queen.
Points: Ten for 1 e5 ! . Three more for appreciating that Black' s last ditch defence is
l . . .¥1ixa3 , and that 4 �d4 is the key to finishing him off. A final two for 5 kre 1 .

Puzzle 1 : 1 lt:Jh5+ won the knight and the game.
Points: Five for 1 lt:Jh5+.
Puzzle 2: 1 lt:Jd5 ! when, because l . . . exd5 2 �xf6 is hopeless for Black, Miles played
l . . .�xb2 2 lt:Jxc7 .l:te7. But, of course, after 3 lt:Jxe6 Karpov had no problem in win
ning the game.
Points: Five for l lt:Jd5 ! , or J lt:Jb5 ! if you planned on then meeting l . . .�e7 with 2
�xf6 "iYxf6 3 lt:Jxd6 ! �xd6 4 e5 etc.
Puzzle 3 : The game ended l . . . 'iix g5 ! 2 "iYxg5 .&txh3+ 3 �g2 .l::!.h 2 mate. A pure mate
- a rare phenomenon in practical play.
Points: Five for l . . ."iYxg5 ! ; nothing for others.
Puzzle 4 : I �xg7 �xg7 2 'ii'd 4+ won the bishop. On l . . . ..ixe2 White had the devas
tating 2 'iix h6.
Points: Five for this sequence.
Puzzle 5: I 'ifa8 ! and Black resigned as his rook and knight are attacked by this rude
intrusion, and there is no defence because l . . Jha8 loses to 2 lt:Jxe7+ and 3 lt:Jxc8.
Meanwhile l ... l:Ib7 fails to 2 lt:Jxe7+ and 3 "iYxb8.
Points: Five for I 'iia 8 ! .
Puzzle 6 : l . . ..l::!. e4 ! ! 2 �xe4 dxe4 and one rook must drop, leaving Black a bishop
ahead. Alternatively, after a capture on e4 by either rook and the subsequent recap
ture 2 . . . dxe4, White' s remaining rook and bishop are under attack, ensuring that
Black wins material.
129
Points: Ten for l . . J�e4 ! ! . Incidentally, note that in the game continuation, were there
no pawn on f5 , then a rook would still be lost even if it were a white pawn on e4.
I mention that because Bent Larsen once told me that the Dutch master Bouwmeester
had had a lifelong dream of forking an opponent' s rooks in such a manner.
One evening during a ' simul ' tour that Bouwmeester was giving in Holland he ap
proached Larsen and related to him, with a child' s glee, how he had at last managed
to do it in a game from that day ' s simul . The following day he came towards Larsen
again, this time with a strange glow in his eyes, and whispered to him with breathless
j oy 'I did it again ! ! '
Puzzle 7: 1 �d3+ Wh8 2 'ifd2 Wh7 2 :lg6 ! ! fxg6 4 'iVd7+ and Black resigned as
4 . . . Wg8 5 'fixeS+ Wg7 6 'it'e7+ Wg8 7 hxg6 introduces a new attacking piece in the
shape of the g6-pawn, which finishes the game. An original tactic.
Points: Ten for the game sequence. Only one point if you were tempted by 1 'ilid7
l:.f8 2 'it'e7 because Black can defend with 2 . . . f5 ! , when the win in the queen ending
after 3 'ifxf8 fxg4 4 'it'xf7+ 'iig 7 5 'iff5+ 'iii h 8 6 'ii'x a5 would be quite problematic.
Puzzle 8 : 1 lbe6+ ! smashes through. After the forced capture a sample finish is 2
�xg6+ Wf8 3 .lth6+ l::f. x h6 4 �xh6+ and mate soon follows.
Points: Ten for the deadly knight fork.
Puzzle 9: l . . ..ltxg2 ! 2 lbxg4 .ltf3 and mate at h 1 is unstoppable. On 2 'i!Vxg2 .l:!.xh2
wins material.
Points: Ten for the mating sequence
Puzzle 1 0 : 1 l::r f5 ! threatens mate and thus forces l . . .lbxf5 . Then 2 gxf5 once again
threatens mate, so 2 . . . Wh7 is forced, in tum allowing the elegant and decisive 3 f6 ! ,
when Black resigned a s 3 . . . exf6 runs into 4 'iix d7.
Points: Ten if you found 1 l:tf5 ! and the relevant points.
Puzzle 1 1 : 1 e6! ! was Jonathan Tisdal l ' s marvellous solution. After l . . .'iix g7 2
exd7+ mate will soon follow, e.g. 2 . . . l2Jxd7 3 .l:!.he 1 + �e5 4 .l::r x e5+ lbxe5 5 .l:td8
mate. l . . . fxe6 allows mate on e7, while l . . .'iix e6 invites White to win with 2 .lth6
'iie 7 3 �he 1 , or the immediate 2 .l:lhe 1 . The game concluded 1 . . . d5 2 l:Ixd5 lbc6 3
e7 ! l2Jxe7 4 Ild8+! and Black resigned.
Points: Fifteen for 1 e6 ! ! and subsequent lines.
Puzzle 1 2 : l . . . .lte3 ! won the game. After 2 fxe3 g4 the bishop is powerless against
the advance of both passed pawns, while 2 Wxh6 runs into 2 . . . g4+ with the same
problem.
Points: Fifteen for l . . . .lte3 .
Puzzle 1 3 : Short startled me with l . . . .ltxb4 ! ! , the point being to gain a tempo to
swing the rook over to c7, thereby regaining the bishop. I managed to salvage a vi
able game with 2 axb4 l::r c 7 3 lbxe6 l::r x c4 4 lDc5 ! , attacking the pinned rook. After
4 . . . b5 5 nd4 Wh8 6 nxc4 bxc4 7 �xc4 a5 Blctck was a pawn down but the white
king exposed, resulting in a very double-edged situation.
Points: Ten for l . . . .ltxb4 ! ! , and a further five for seeing that White' s only defensive
line was the game continuation, 4 lbc5 ! being the crucial trick.
130
Solutions
Puzzle 1 4 : Fischer found 1 .txd4 exd4 2 .l::i. f6 ! ! . The rook happens to attack a knight
but the big idea was to obstruct the f-pawn. White now threatens 3 e5 and there is
nothing Black can do about this deadly advance. Play concluded 2 . . . 'it>g8 3 e5 h6 4
lL'le2 and Benko had seen enough�
Points: Fifteen if you saw as far as 2 .l::i. f6 ! ! and that Black is then busted. There were
other fourth moves that Fischer could have selected.
For sharing second place in the 1 978 British Championship I received a cheque for
£850 and a large replica of it to stick on my wall. Each featured the position after 2
.l::i. f6.
An interesting comparison is with the game Plaskett-Nunn, Borehamwood 1 982.
In this position the move 1 �f6 was played and the game was eventually drawn.
Puzzle 1 5 : Spassky broke in with l . . .h4 ! ! , the game ending 2 hxg4 hxg3 3 lag 1
.l::i. h 1 ! ! 4 .l:txh 1 g2 5 k!.fl ( 5 :rg 1 �h4+ 6 �d 1 'ifh 1 is devastating) 5 . . . 'iV114 + 6 �d 1
gxfl 'ik'+ and White resigned in view of the mate after 7 .txfl .txg4+.
Of course we should also investigate 2 .txg4, when Black may win in similar fash
ion to the game with 2 . . . .txg4 3 hxg4 hxg3 4 l:Ig 1 .l:.h 1 ! ! 5 �xh 1 g2 6 .l::r g 1 'iV114 + 7
�d 1 �xg4+ 8 We 1 'i¥g3+ 9 Wd 1 �f2 etc. Also strong is 4 . . .'iVh4.
Points: Nine for l . . .h4 ! ! and a further six for spotting the . . . .l::r h 1 ! ! sacrifice.
l . . .lt:Jxe3 ! ? 2 dxe3 .txe3 is certainly worth a try. There is nothing immediate for
Black but he has two nice pawns and a healthy initiative - always promising against
an uncastled king - so I ' ll give you eleven for that.
l . . Jhd2 ? ! ? is really wild, leading to a situation after 2 ctJxd2 ctJxe3 3 'iVc3 .l::r d 8
where Black has very real compensation for his rook. However, it cannot be given
such high marks as the clearer l . . .h4 ! ! , so only nine for that choice.
Five for 1 . . . lL'lf6, which is rather modest but Black still has an excellent game.
Nothing for l . . . .txe3 ? for after 2 hxg4 Black must lose yet another piece for insuffi
cient compensation.
131

Puzzle 1 : 1 'iib 7+ ! ! lbxh7 2 l:.g6 mate.
Points : Five for the mate.
Puzzle 2: 1 .l:!.xd6+ ! Wxd6 2 �e6 mate.
Points: Five for finding the mate.
Puzzle 3 : l . . .'i"V g2+! 2 ..txg2 .l:!.d l + 3 i.. fl :;txfl mate.
Points : Five for the mate.
Puzzle 4 : l . . .'i¥f5 ! allowed the queen across to defend. White cannot capture in view
of 1 . . . :b 1 + and a back rank mate, so Bobby was reduced to 2 '.t>g l when, after
2 . . . 'i¥g6, he might as well have instantly resigned.
Points: Five for l . . .�f5 ! .
Puzzle 5 : Play continued 1 .l:!.xe4 ! dxe4 2 'i¥d5+ Wh7 3 lDM ! lbb7 4 �xf5 .l:!.e8 5
lbxg6 'i¥xg6 6 'i¥d7+ '.t>h8 7 f5 ! �g8 8 'i¥xd7 and Black resigned. Note that 3 �xa8
exf3 4 �xf3 is less effective, although still good for White.
Points: Four for 1 l:.xe4 ! and an extra one for 3 lbh4 ! , but only three if you intended
3 'i¥xa8.
Puzzle 6: 1 .l:!.b7+ ! ! does the trick. After l . . . .l:!.xb7 2 �xg8 the loose f6-rook prevents
the capture of the bishop thanks to 3 'i¥g7+, while l . . .Wxb7 2 ..tcS+ ! renders Black's
queen defenceless, and 2 . . . '.t>xc8 3 �xg8+ leads to the same problem with the f6-
rook. Accordingly Black preferred 2 . . . '.t>a8 , but White just took his queen and soon
won.
Points: Eight for 1 .l:!.b7+ ! !, with two more for seeing that after l . . .'it>xb7 2 ..tcS+!
White succeeds due to the vulnerable position of the rook on f6 .
Puzzle 7: 1 i.. d 5+ ! and Black declined to take it since l . . .cxd5 2 �xd5+ lets the
white pieces swarm over his king. However, the selected l . . .'.t>g7 helped little after 2
i.. e 5+, when Black could do nothing more than resign after 2 . . . i.. f6 3 i.. xf6+ <it>xf6 4
�d4+ as 4 . . . Wxg5 allows 5 �4 mate.
Points: Take ten if you appreciated that Black is finished after 1 i.. d 5+. Ten, too, for
1 .l:!.e 1 ! - just introducing the last gun in this manner maintains the threat of ..td5+
and Black has no adequate reply because l . . .i.. x g5 2 i.. x g5 'i¥xd6 loses to either 3
ii.xd8 or 3 .l:!.e8+ ! etc . 1 c5 is powerful and Black probably has to take on d6, leaving
White splendidly placed. But it is not as good as 1 i.. d 5+ or 1 :;te l ! , so only eight for
points available.
Puzzle 8 : 1 lbb5 ! lbxb5 and now we can strike with 2 lbxg5 , when Black must give
up her queen (even after 2 . . . 'i¥g8 3 lbh7+).
Points: Ten for 1 lbb5 ! and the subsequent 2 lbxg5 .
Puzzle 9: l . ..h5 ! ! is a decisive dual-purpose move. It is true that this advance per
mits the creation of a second queen, but after � dS'iV+ Wh7 there is no way for White
to avoid mate, 3 i.. x f3 being met with 3 . . . �fl +.
Points: Ten for l . . . h5 ! ! , but nothing for l . . .�xh l +??.
1 32
Solutions
Puzzle 1 0 : 1 . . . �h4 ! ! threatens mate on h2, and the forced 2 �xeS was met with the
second thunderbolt: 2 . . . �f2 ! ! . Remarkably, Black's initial bishop sacrifice leaves his
remaining pieces en prise, yet there is no escaping mate as 3 l:lg 1 .t/�xg2+ 4 l:lxg2
l:.c 1 5 �e 1 l:lxe 1 mates. Larsen•resigned. A glorious finale !
Points: Ten for the mate. As I said, there are other good moves, but nothing is as
good as a mating sequence.
Puzzle 1 1 : In reply to l . . .l:lxf2 White has 2 .l:!.xh6, when 2 . . . 'i!Vd l + should not be met
with 3 �xg5 , in view of 3 . . . l:.f5+, or 3 �h3 (3 . . .'�11 1 +), but rather the unguarded
guard of 3 .te2 ! . After this surprising counter White threatens mate, and on
3 .. .'�'xe2+ 4 'it>h3 it is the black monarch that is in trouble, a sample finish being
4 . . . Wf8 5 �8+ cJ;; e 7 6 'i!Vc7+ �f8 7 �d8+ cJ;; g 7 8 �h8 mate.
Points: Fifteen for spotting the unguarded guard.
Puzzle 1 2 : Delchev played 1 �xf7+ ! ! 'it>xf7 2 .tc4+ and, as 2 . . . �e8 3 lbxd6+ �xd6
4 .l:!.xd6 is great for White, who has the bishop pair, the superior structure and a con
tinuing initiative, while after 2 . . . e6 3 lbxd6+ Black is splintered, there followed
2 . . . .td5 . Now 3 .txd5+ �e8 is a (lucky ! ) defence, so White played 3 lbxd6+ 'i¥xd6
(3 . . . exd6 4 �xd5+ 'it>f6 5 .l:!.e6+ 'it>f5 6 g4 mate, or 5 . . . �f7 6 l:.xd6+ 'it>e8 7 .l:!.e6
mate) 4 .l:!.xd5 . The impression is that White ' s initiative is overpowering, but 4 . . . 'i¥f6
leaves no winning discovered check available, and after 5 .i.. g 5 Black can slip out of
the line of fire with 5 . . . �f8 ! ! . Then, after 6 �xf6 lbxf6 6 l:l(d)e5 .l::!. d 7, White has a
clear advantage thanks to his superior structure and minor piece, but we certainly
cannot speak of a win.
Points: Nine for 1 'i¥xf7+ ! !, and take two more if you saw that Black must play
2 . . . �d5 . Four extra for finding the defence with 4 . . .'iWf6 and 5 . . . '>t>f8 ! ! . Other con
tinuations are not as good, and no points for 1 .i.. c4 in view of l . . .lbe5 .
Puzzle 1 3 : 1 �xf7+ .l:!.xf7 2 'i¥h8+ ! ! and Spassky resigned as 2 . . . '>t>xh8 3 lbxf7+
leaves White with an extra piece.
Points: Fifteen for finding the elegant swoop 2 'iV11 8 +! ! to set up the subsequent fork.
Puzzle 1 4 : Maia played 1 . . . 'i¥xc3 ! ! with the idea that 2 bxc3 allows mate with
2 . . . .l:!.d I + 3 .l:!.xd 1 .l:!.xd 1 + 4 �b2 .i.e I + 5 '>t>b 1 .i.. a 3 . Consequently Mad! chose 2
�xd8, and then came the next pseudo queen sacrifice, 2 .. .'�'f3 ! ! , leaving d8 and f1
under attack. White was reduced to 3 .i.. c 7+ cJi;xc7 4 �f7+ but after 4 . . .'�Vxf7+ 5
l:lxf7+ .l:!.d7 she found herself a piece down and thus resigned.
Points: Ten for l . . .'i¥xc3 ! ! . Five more for 2 . . . �f3 ! !, further exploiting White ' s vul
nerable back rank.
Puzzle 15: Karpov played 1 .l:!.d7 ! , and the rook is immune due to 2 'i¥xf7+ ! and sub
sequent mate on f7. Meanwhile White threatens to remove the f7-pawn with any of
the pieces that now bear upon it, and 1 . . . l:f.e7 fails to 2 l:.xe7 'it>xe7 3 'i¥f6+ (3 . . . cJi;f8 4
iVd8 mate). Korchnoi tried l . . . .l:!.b8 but Karpov jumped in anyway with 2 lbxf7 !
�xd7 3 lbd8+ ! and Black resigned as '*l¥f8 is mate.
Points: Twelve for 1 l:f.d7 ! , three more for seeing that the line with 2 lbxf7 and 3
lbd8+ is then one of the wins.
133

Puzzle 1 : He smashed his way in with 1 lZ:lxg6 ! , when l . . .hxg6 allows a swift mate
after 2 �8+ 'it>f7 3 '¥Wf6+ �g8 4 !:i.h8 . Kuligowski grovelled with 1 . . . '¥Wc7 but soon
lost.
Points: Five for 1 lZ:lxg6 ! and an extra five if you have any idea what became of
Adam Kuligowski.
Puzzle 2 : Kupreichik, one of the world's most gifted tacticians, produced 1 l:!.xh6 ! in
order to threaten mate and simultaneously discover an attack on the black queen.
Points: Five for 1 .l:!.xh6.
Puzzle 3: l . . .�xg3+ ! and stalemate.
Points: Five for l . . .'ihg3 + ! .
Puzzle 4 : 1 .l:;!xc8+! l:Ixc8 2 .txb5 was winning for White.
Points: Five for the two move sequence.
Puzzle 5 : 1 lhe6 ! 'i¥xe6 2 1hd5+ �xd5 3 lLlf6+ and 4 lZ:lxd5 was how White won,
but 3 '¥Wxd5+ 'it>c7 4 �f3 or 4 'ifb3 will also suffice.
Points: Five points for taking on e6 and d5 .
Puzzle 6: l . . .Si.d3 ! is the only chance. But it wins. After 2 'it>xd3 'Wie7 the position is
very different, for now 3 �6+ is met by 3 . . .'ii' h 7 CHECK! Lev Gutman tried 3 e4
but Vitolinsh still had an extra rook and consolidated with 3 . . . 'i¥g7 . The game ended
4 �h5+ �g8 5 Si.d4 c5 ! 6 Si.xc5 .l:;!c8 7 f4 lZ:la6 ! (not 7 . . . l:!.xc5 8 'i¥e8+ 'iii> h 7 9 'i¥h5+
'¥Wh6 1 0 �f7+ and there is no escaping the checks) 8 .tf2 lLlb4+ 9 'it>e2 lha2 and
White resigned since 1 0 l:Ig 1 fails to 1 O . . . l:Ixb2+ and the rooks flood in. A great
counter-initiative from Vitolinsh.
Points: Eight for l . . .Si.d3 ! , two more for spotting 7 . . . lZ:la6 ! .
Puzzle 7 : H e played 1 .l:;!x£7 ! lZ:lx£7 2 lLlxe6 'iVg6 3 lZ:lxg7+. Now 3 . . . '¥Wxg7 allows 4
e6 ! �xb2 5 �xf7+ and mate, and 4 . . . lZ:le5 5 Si.xe5 is devastating, so Hradecsky tried
3 . . . 'it>d8 , but after 4 'iVxa7 ! 'it>cS 5 e6 he threw in the towel.
Points : Seven for 1 l:Ix£7 ! and three more for seeing the key advance 4 e6. Nothing
for 1 !:i.g3 lZ:lg4. There are a number of useful moves, such as 1 l:Ie 1 , but I am only
awarding points for 1 .U.x£7 ! , as it really does the business.
Puzzle 8: 1 Si.xh7+! �xh7 2 �h5+ �g8 and now the key 3 Si.xg7 ! completes the
double sacrifice (Lasker was the first person to sacrifice both bishops in this man
ner). After 3 . . . 'it>xg7 4 �g5+ �h7 6 l:Id4 White wins. Note that on 3 . . . f6 or 3 . . . f5
White can capture on f8 , when e6 is hanging.
Points: Ten for finding the double bishop sacrifice.
Puzzle 9: Kasparov played l . . .lZ:lf2+ 2 �g 1 lZ:lh3+ and, since capturing the knight
allows . . . 'ifb6+ and . . . �xa7, Karpov was obliged to repeat with 3 �h 1 lLlf2+, and a
draw was agreed.
Points: Ten for finding the perpetual check.
Puzzle 1 0 : Mayers hit back with l . . .h5 ! and a startled Olafsson continued 2 hxg5
hxg4 3 g6, which is probably forced as 3 lLlg 1 loses a piece to 3 . . . .l:!.h 1 , while 3 lZ:ld2
134
Solutions
g3 (threatening . . . g3 -g2) is hopeless for White. These lines remind me of some of the
events in Spassky-Larsen of Test Seven, Position Fifteen. After (3 g6) 3 . . . gxD 4
gxf7 f2+ 5 'it>d2 tt:lh6 6 tt:ld l tt:lxf1 7 tt:lxf2 'it>e7 Black' s development lead and
splendidly placed pieces mean that White' s game is already very difficult, if not lost.
In fact the game continued for j ust six more moves : 8 tt:lg4 tt:ld6 9 �d3 l:Iag8 (com
pleting mobilisation) 10 tt:le3 l:Ig3 1 1 'it>e2, reaching Position Three of Test Five.
After 2 gxh5 g4 3 tt:lgl (3 tt:lh2 g3 and 4 . . . g2) 3 . . . g3 ! the pawn is terribly powerful
and something like 4 �D �xh5 5 �g2 �g4 will lead to the win of the h4-pawn.
Further to my remarks in the introduction, I am unsure whether this was strategy or
tactics from Mayers. But it was certainly excellent chess.
Points : Six for l . . .h5 ! , and two points more for seeing how to deal with 2 hxg5 and 2
gxh5 respectively. One for the meek l . . . h6.
Puzzle 1 1 : 1 :xh7+ ! ! 'it>xh7 2 'ifh 1 + 'it>g7 (2 . . . �h3 would have postponed the end
for one more move) 3 �h6+ ! 'it>f6 4 ifh4+ 'i.t>e5 5 'ifxd4+ 'it>f5 6 'iff4 mate.
Points: Fifteen for the mate. I wonder if the infant Capablanca saw this game being
played?
Puzzle 1 2 : l l:txe6+ ! ! . Now l . . . fxe6 simply loses to 2 �xg6+, so l . . .dxe6 was
forced. Then White finished off with 2 �e4 ! , as 2 .. ."ifxg3 loses to a back rank mate
after 3 �c6+ l::t x c6 4 l::t d 8 mate. Note also that the last resort attempt 2 . . . 'i¥d4 still
leads to mate after 3 �c6+ l:lxc6 4 'i¥b8+.
Points: Ten for l l::tx e6+ ! ! and five more for 2 �e4 ! , exploiting both of Black ' s
weaknesses.
Puzzle 1 3 : l . . . tt:lg4 ! , and play went 2 hxg4 hxg4, renewing the mate threat on h2.
After 3 e5 the key move is 3 . . . f5 ! , holding on to the important g4-pawn and prepar
ing to transfer the queen over to the h-file, so that 4 �g5 �h5 5 'ifd2 'it>fl and . . . 'ifh8
wins for Black. Williams attempted a defence with 4 �xf5 exf5 5 tt:ld5 , but Black
still has powerfully positioned forces and, after 5 . . . 'ifd8 6 g3 I:!h3 7 'it>g2 'it>fl, they
will assuredly triumph. The game continued 8 �e3 'ife7 9 �xeS �ah8 ! 1 0 .l:lg l
'i¥xc5 1 1 .l:.ad 1 b5 ! 1 2 b3 bxc4 1 3 bxc4 �h2+ 1 4 'it>fl �e8 1 5 l:!.g2 l:th 1 + 1 6 .l:lg 1
.l:Ih2 1 7 �g2 .l:lh6 1 8 'it>g 1 �he6 1 9 Z!h2 I:.xe5 20 'i¥d3 .l::i. e 1 + 2 1 l:!.xe 1 �xe 1 + 22 'it>g2
�e5 23 l:th5 �xd5 0- 1 .
Points: Seven for l . . .tt:lg4 . Eight more for appreciating that White is busted after
3 . . . f5 ! .
Puzzle 1 4 : The game ended 1 d5 ! tt:lxd5 2 tt:lxd5 exd5 3 �xd5 tt:lb8 4 �xfl+ ! 'it> f8 5
'ifxh7 and Black resigned. Now let us take a closer look. l . . . exd5 looks like a more
demanding choice. Then after 2 tt:lxd5 Black, faced with the threat of tt:lxf6+ and
'i¥xd7, has the possibility of 2 . . . 'it>h8 ! ? , moving out of range. White must proceed
with vigour and accuracy: 3 'iff5 ! is best, threatening to take on f6 with tempo due to
the mate threat on h7 (thus winning the d7-rook). There is now no entirely adequate
defence against the activity of White' s pieces, e.g. 3 . . . tt:lg8 4 'ifxf7, or 3 . . . tt:lxd5 4
�xd5 , when White threatens not only f7 but also 5 �e4, hitting d7 and h7. In the
event of 4 . . . g6 White wins a good pawn with 5 'ifxf7 because 5 . . . .f:.f8 is most power
fully countered by 6 �xc6 ! , i.e. 6 . . . l:txd l 7 'ifxe7 lhe l + 8 tt:lxe l 'ifxe7 9 �xe7 .l:tfl,
1 35
and the neat 1 0 .if6+ ! ! llxf6 1 1 .ixb7 leaves White with two pieces and a pawn for
a rook with a simple ending. Note that 1 0 i.xb7?? .l:.xe7 means instead that he would
have to have given back a piece due to the double attack.
Returning to 1 d5 ! tZ:lxd5 2 tZ:lxd5 exd5 3 i.xd5, White threatens to take on f7 and
then on d7, hence 3 . . . tZ:lb8 . The alternative 3 . . . lid6 does not counter the threat be
cause White takes on e7, then on f7 and finally on d6, thus winning the exchange.
3 . . . .ixg5 loses to a forcing line: 4 llxe8+ 'it'xe8 5 tZ:lxg5 g6 6 'ifh3 h5 (6 .. Jhd5 7
i¥xh7+ '>t>f8 8 ifb8+) 7 �xd7 ! i¥xd7 8 i.xfl+ 'iix fl 9 tZ:lxfl '>t>xfl 1 0 .t:i:d7+ and
White wins the exchange.
Finally there is (3 . . . tZ:lb8 4 i.xfl+ ! ) 4 .. .'�xf7 (instead of 4 . . . \t>f8), when 5 tZ:le5+ \t>g8
6 tZ:lxd7 .ixg5 7 tZ:lf6+ ! .ixf6 8 �xd8 l:rxd8 9 �xd8 .ixd8 1 0 .lae8+ '>t>fl 1 1 �xd8
tZ:lc6 1 2 :td7+ once again sees White emerge with a material lead.
Black was lost after 1 d5 ! .
Points : Three for 1 d5 ! and six more for finding the strength o f 3 i¥f5 ! after l . .exd5
2 tZ:lxd5 '>t>h8 . Six points for finding the game continuation and the sidelines, each of
them resulting in an ending with White winning the exchange.
Puzzle 1 5 : Romanishin played l . . . b5 ! ! . Now after 2 cxb5 .ixa2 Black acquires a
powerful and well supported outside passed pawn with tempo due to the attack on
the rook. In the event of 2 d5 bxc4 ! ? Black is ready to win a piece himself with . . . c4-
c3 , threatening both the knight and a fork on c2, and on 3 tZ:lxc4 tZ:lxe4 ! ? 4 dxe6 fxe6
B lack has some pawns and play against White ' s uncastled king as well as the imme
diate threats of 5 .. Jhf4 and 5 . . . tZ:lc3 - all for his piece.
The game continued 2 �xbS dS ! ! 3 exdS (Romanishin intended to meet 3 eS with
3 . . . 'iie 8 ! , and after 3 cxdS .ixd5 ! the same . . . i¥e8+ trick awaits to catch the rook,
while both a2 and e4 are en prise) 3 . . . i.xd5 ! . Now the point emerges that after 4
cxdS �e8+ the loose b5-rook falls, and if White takes the proffered two minor
pieces for his rook with 4 .l::( x d5 tZ:lxdS 5 exdS iVxdS Black, who will win either g2 or
a2, stands very well. Finally there is 4 0-0 i.c6 ! 5 l:!cS �xd4, which is good for
Black, whereas 4 . . . i.xc4 5 tZ:lxc4 �xd4 6 tZ:le3 �xf4 7 �xd3 is merely satisfactory.
White ' s 4 .ieS met with 4 . . . .ic6 ! 5 .l:.c5 i.xg2 6 Ilg l .l::t e 8, when White is quite lost.
After 7 l::!. x g2 'iix d4 8 '>t>fl �xeS 9 l:.xeS 'it'xeS 1 0 l:Ig3 l:i.d8 a stunned Karolyi re
signed.
Points: Fifteen if you found any of Romanishin ' s moves, either played or intended.

Puzzle 1 : 1 tZ:lg6+ ! and Korchnoi lost on time, resigned and got mated ( l . . .hxg6 2
�3+ i.h6 3 �xh6 mate) all at the same time.
Points: Five for spotting the mate.
Puzzle 2: l . . .tZ:le3 + ! 2 .ixe3 � 1 + 3 .ic 1 1:.�2 was mate. Had Short played 2 �xe3 ,
then 2 . . . 'iVfl + 3 .l:i.e 1 �f3+ 4 l::!. e 2 iVxe2 would have arrived at the same conclusion.
Points: Five for l . . . tZ:le3 + ! and the follow-ups.
Puzzle 3: He played the decisive l . . .�xd l + ! 2 '>t>xd l tZ:lxt2+ and 3 . . . tZ:lxe4.
1 36
Solutions
Points: Five for l . . .'iVxd l +.

Puzzle 4 : Lajos sprang a nasty surprise with l . . . f5 ! , hitting a rook and a queen. The
game ended 2 �6 fxe4 and, si�e 3 exd6 l:.xfl + 4 �xfl 'ifxd6 is hopeless for
White, Vladislav Tkachiev preferred some pawns and checks for his rook with 3
'it'xe6+, but Black soon consolidated: 3 . . . ii.e7 4 !txf8+ 'it>xf8 5 'iff5+ �g8 6 'i¥g4+
�h8 7 e6+ ii.f6 8 �g5 ii.d4+ etc.
Points: Five for l . . .f5 ! .
Puzzle 5 : 1 ii.xh7+ ! �xh7 2 'i¥h5+ �g8 3 ii.xg7 ! cJ;; x g7 4 'iVg4+ and Black resigned
as 4 .. .'�f6 5 'i'g5 is mate and 4 .. .'it>h8 5 !:tf3 is decisive. Note that White wins after
3 . . . f6/f5 4 �g6 (or perhaps even 4 .l:lf3).
Points: Three for 1 ii.xh7+ ! and a further two for seeing to the end of the line with 5
l:!.f3 .
Puzzle 6: Alekhine played 1 e5 ! and Black has no other way of defending f6 than
1 . . . f5 because 1 . . ..l::t f8 2 exf6 .U.xf6 3 :c8+ wins his queen. In fact Flohr resigned in
stantly after ( l . . . f5) 2 :tc8 ! ! , as it is impossible to avoid disastrous material loss. The
point of 1 e5 ! was to deny Black the use of the d6-square, to which Black' s queen
would otherwise move after �c8.
Points: Six for 1 e5 ! and a further four for 2 !lc8 .
Puzzle 7: 1 lbfh6+ ! �h8 ( l . . . gxh6 2 llxd7) 2 lbf7+ �g8 3 lbgh6+ ! gxh6 4 �g4+
(the final point) and 5 l:r.xd7 will be decisive.
Points: Ten for the whole sequence.
Puzzle 8 : I played l . .. �e5 ! , the point being that 2 .l::t e 3 invites 2 ... !:tg 1 + ! 3 �xg 1
�xg3+ and 4 . . . 1:!.d 1 mate. Therefore in view of the threat of 2 . . Jig 1 +! White had to
allow my maj or pieces to come flooding in. Now 2 f4 loses to 2 . . . �e4+ 3 l:!.f3 Z:t8d2,
when e2 falls, so play continued 2 �f2 Z:th 1 3 f4 'i¥e4 4 :f.f3 .l:.dd l . Then 5 �g2 loses
to 5 . . . .l::t d g l + 6 �f2 Z:tb 1 , threatening both mate and the queen, so my opponent
elected to lose by 5 l::tc 8 l:th2 mate.
Points: Ten for l . . .'iVe5 , providing that you fully appreciated that it is a winning
move. Only seven if you thought it to be only the best move available.
Puzzle 9: Kacheishvili played 1 .l:.xe5 ! ii.xe5 2 �g6+ cJ;; h 8 3 ii.g8 ! and Black re
signed thanks to the coming mate on h7 or h6. Note that throughout the sequence the
captures on f2 with check are always met by �fl .
Points: Six for 1 �xe5 and a further four for seeing that it leads to mate.
Puzzle 1 0 : The game concluded 1 'iVh3+ �xg5 2 �g4+ ! ! �f6 3 'iVe6+ �g5 4
'il.Vg4+ ! ! �xg4 with an amusing stalemate. The alternative 3 . . . �g7 4 'ife7+ does not
help Black as there is no escaping the checks, except by returning to the stalemate
position.
Points: Ten for finding the stalemate, or if you started with 1 'ife6+, which can
transpose.
Puzzle 1 1 : 1 lbxe6 ! fxe6 2 �xe6+ 1:!£7 (2 . . . �h8 3 'il.Vxe7 .l:lae8 4 b4 ! neatly covers e 1
and parries the queen attack) 3 ii.c4 lbd5 4 'iVxd7 ii.b4, and now the ' vulnerability'
of e 1 once more plays a critical role in the tactics. White must proceed with 5 .l::t e 8+
137
i.f8 6 'i!Wxf7+ ! 'it>t7 7 l:l.xa8, with simply too much material for the queen. However,
after 7 . . . 'i!Wb4 8 i.b3 'i!Wxd4 9 i.e3 �xb2 1 0 .l:!.d l my technique was insufficient to
achieve more than a draw !
Points : Seven for I lbxe6 ! , four more for seeing the line with 4 b4 ! and a final four
for the game continuation until 7 .l:!.xa8.
Puzzle 12: I 'i!Wxf5 lbe4 2 ctJxc6 ! ! i.xc6 3 ctJxd5 was how the game went. Then
3 . . . .l:!.xf5 loses to 4 ctJxe7+ and 5 lbxf5 and 3 . . . i.xd5 runs into 4 'i!Wxd5+ and 5 �xe4,
so Karlsson tried 3 . . . 'i!Wb7 . But after 4 'i!Wxe4 he found himself hopelessly lost. Note
also that 2 . . . 'i!Wd6 fails to 3 �xd5+ �xd5 4 ctJxd5 i.xc6 5 lbe7+. In reference to 2
lbxc6 Bent Larsen, in his column in a Danish newspaper, commented ' Plask ! ' - this
means ' splash ! ' in Scandinavian languages, while Plaskett means 'the splash' (in the
past) in Swedish. However, this is not as bad as the meaning of 'plas ' in Dutch . . .
Points: Fifteen for finding 2 lbxc6 ! ! .
Puzzle 1 3 : l . . .ctJxd4 ! was Krarnn i k' s clever solution, when 2 ctJexd4 i.xd4 3 lbxd4
'iix c5 4 ctJf3 'i!Wc2 saw Black take control. He was clearly winning after 5 .l:!.c i
.l:!.xg4+ 6 �h2 (6 \t>h3 i¥f5 ) 6 . . .'iVxb3 .
Points: Fifteen for seeing the game continuation and assessing it as excellent for
Black. Thirteen for 4 . . . .l:!.xg4+ 5 �h3 'i!Wxe3 6 fxe3 .l:!.b4, when Black has full com
pensation for the piece but White is not yet over the edge. Fifteen also for
2 . . .'iVxc5 ! ? , when lots of white pawns will fall however he attempts to repair his
game.
Notice how Krarnn i k sprang the combination at just the right moment, when Tim
man had exposed his own king with the advance of the g-pawn.
Nothing for I . . .'i!Wb8 or l . . .'�b7 as 2 g5 gives White too much play against Black' s
king.
Puzzle 1 4 : 1 ctJf6 ! ! forks queen and rook and therefore forces Black ' s reply:
I . . .\t>xf6 2 i.e5+ ! ! \t>xe5 3 'i!Wxe4+ ! �xe4 and now Anatoly won back a rook and a
bishop with 4 .l:!.e I + and 5 .laxe8 , when Black must also lose one of his bishops.
Points: Fifteen for spotting this elegant and unusual combination which leads to a
won ending.
Puzzle 1 5 : White is not forced to move his attacked queen. Joel took his chance with
1 lbxf7 ! . Now after 1 . . ctJxg4 2 ctJxd8 l:.cxd8 (2 . Jhf2 3 i.xe6+ and 4 ctJxc6)
. .
White ' s best is 3 .l:!.xe6 ! (3 i.xe6+ 'it>h8 4 i.xg4 l:hd4 grants Black counterplay),
when 3 . . . \t>h8 4 l:.xe7 sees White able to deal with any tricks. Play went I . . .l:.xf7 2
�xe6, when Black must address the problem on the a2-g8 diagonal as White is
threatening to take on e7 as well as f7 . After 2 ... i.d5 White has the simple 3 ctJxd5
ctJbxd5 4 l:.e5 , which is similar to the game, and the defence collapses, e.g. 4 . . . .l:.c6 5
.l:!.xd5 ! .l:!.xe6 6 .l;!xd8+ i.xd8 7 i.xe6 and White will emerge two pawns to the good.
In reply to 2 . . . ctJfd5 comes 3 f!.e5 i.d7 4 .l:!.xd5 ! i.xe6 5 .l:!.xd8+ lhd8 6 i.xe6 l:.xd4
7 i.e3 , and this time it will be only one extra pa�n, although White has a clear lead
in the ending. This line is very similar to the game continuation as Black actually
blocked with 2 . . . ctJbd5 , when there followed 3 l:.e5 i.d7 4 .l:!.xd5 ..ll. x e6 5 l:.xd8+
138
Solutions
.l:.xd8 6 �xe6 .l:.xd4 7 i.g5 .l:Ixd I + 8 lt:lxd I �f8 9 i.xf7 'lt>xf7 with a considerable
plus for White, although perhaps not yet decisive.
Points: Ten for 1 lt:lxf7 ! and fi'le more for calculating through to 3 lle5 and the three
superior/winning endings which arise after whichever piece Black uses to blockade
on d5 . Nothing for other moves. Such chances must be grabbed with both hands.
Solutions and Points: Test 1 1

Puzzle 1 : I .l:Ixh7+ ! 'lt>xh7 2 �5 mate.
Points: Five for the mate. 1 fxe5 is a strong move, but it is not mate.
Puzzle 2: 1 �f6+ �h7 2 W/g7 mate.
Points: Five for spotting the mate in two.
Puzzle 3 : I . . .lt:lcxe5 ! 2 .txe5 .ltxg2 and now 3 �xg2 is impossible due to 3 . . . ctJh4+,
so Botterill was quite lost - after 3 f3 f5 he resigned.
Points: Five for l . . .ctJcxe5 ! with the subsequent check on h4 .
Puzzle 4 1 !lxf7+ ! .l:!xf7 2 �xh6+ ! and if 2 . . . �g8 White insists on his tactic with 3
Wih8+ ! , emerging two pawns ahead with an easy win.
Points: Four for I .l::!. x f7+ ! and a further one for the 3 Wih8+ tactic.
Puzzle 5 : l . . .�a7+ and White resigned as he must now give up the queen or . . .'�a l
will checkmate him.
Points: Five for l . . .�a7+.
Puzzle 6: 3 .. .'�xg l ! 4 �xg l ctJf3+ refutes.
Points: Ten for seeing the dummy queen sacrifice.
Puzzle 7: 1 . . .0-0-0 ! ! absolutely turns the tables. On 2 ctJxf7 bxa l � 3 lt:lxd8 lt:lf6
Black wins, as is the case after 3 exd7+ !ixd7 4 I:te8+ '1t>b7 ! 5 'i!Vxd7 �xb 1 . The
game went 2 .txb2 iff5 3 ctJf7 dxe6 4 lt:lxd8 lt:lxd8 5 ctJd2 ctJf6 and Black won eas
ily.
Points: Ten if you castled.
Puzzle 8 : 1 .. .'i¥xf2+ ! 2 .l:!xf2 .l:.xe I+ and Black wins an exchange after either 3 .l::! fl
.l:.exfl + 4 ifxfl i.h2+ ! or 3 �xfl .th2+ ! etc.
Points: Eight for l . . .'�xf2+ ! , and take an extra two for seeing the finesse of
4 ... �h2+ ! in the final line, as this is by no means easy to find.
Puzzle 9: I . . J::i. e 5 ! 2 iff2 (2 �xe5 �xc3+ is final) 2 . . . 'i!Vxc3+ 3 �a2 .:!d5 ! 4 l:!.ed l
(what else?) and now Black finished with vigour: 4 . . . b5 ! 5 lt:lxb5 (5 axb5 a4 6 bxa4
.l:.a8 etc . ) 5 . . . .tb i + ! and White resigned as 6 �xb i 'it'xb3+ 7 �a l �xa4+ spells the
end. Note that 6 �a3 .l:rxd2 ! works for Black, but not the hasty 6 . . . �a l +?, for then 7
.l:.a2 ! refutes.
Points: Five for l . . .l:Id5 ! , and two more for the . . . b7-b5 ! idea. Award yourself up to
.
three more depending on how much of the rest you found.

Puzzle 1 0 : I .l:lxh7 ! ! , and if Black accepts the rook White has 2 ctJg5+ ! , when
2 . . . fxg5 3 �5+ mates next move, and ignoring the knight allows captures on e6 and
139
f8. Wiedenkeller played l...f5 but Seirawan simply returned the rook to h1 and went
on to win. During the game I overheard Seirawan enthuse that this was his third rook
sacrifice in his last four games. He became the 1979 World Junior Champion.
Points: Fifteen for 1 lhh7!!.
Puzzle 11: 1 tt::lxe5!! .i.xd1 2 �xf7+ We7 3 �g5+ �d6 was how it started, but now
taking the queen with 4 i.xd8 loses to 4...tt::lxe5, when White emerges a piece down.
Instead de Barberis turned his attentions to the enemy king: 4 tt::le4+!! Wxe5 5 f4+
�d4 (5...�f5 6 g4 mate) and now we have to be accurate. 6 �d2 threatens mate but
the d1-bishop can still have an influence on proceedings with 6... �xc2!, ripping a
liberating hole in the mating net. Correct is 6l:hd1!!, when White has only one
pawn for the queen yet Black's troubled king is then well and truly caught in the net.
Black tried 6...'�xg5 but White kept both his nerve and his consistency, playing 7
c3+ �e3 8 0-0!!. Black has an extra queen and a knight for a single pawn, but he can
resign. The game ended 8...tt::le5 (8...'�c5 gets mated after 9 tt::lg3!) 9 tt::lxg5 tt::lxf7 10
tt::le6 and mate with .l:.fe1 is coming.
Points: The full fifteen only if you found as far as 6 .l:.xd1!! and saw that Black must
Jose. Indeed after that there may well be other wins than the one White chose. No
other first move scores.
Puzzle 12: l.. . .i.xe3!! is the brilliant start. 2 �xe3 .l:.d I+ is out of the question and
so White plays 2 fxe3 when there follows 2 ... .l:.dxg2!! 3 tt::lxg2 l:.g3! and mate is
forced either on h3 or g1.
Points: Fifteen points for finding this idea. A consolation five if you tried 1...l:.x£2 2
gxf3 .l:.xf3 which is quite strong but White can struggle on with 3 h4.
Puzzle 13: 1...tt::lb4!! is the dazzling key. Black threatens mate on a2 and White can
not capture with 2 axb4 because after 2 ...�a4 Black reintroduces a mate threat, to
which there is no adequate defence. Then after 3 �d3 tt::lxc4! the second knight is
equally immune due to the mate on a l. Meanwhile e3, d2, a1 and b2 are all hit. In
reply to 3 'i'c3 Black brings in another attacker with tempo with 3... �xb4, when
there is no defence, e.g. 4 b3 �a2 5 11ih2 i.a3. Play proceeded 2 b3 but after 2 ...tt::lc2
it is not surprising that such a troublesome visitor caused so much damage. Hubner
tried 3 c5 but Hort had little difficulty in demonstrating a decisive advantage:
3...'i'c6 4 i.d3 tt::lxe3 5 �xe3 tt::ld5 6 �f2 �xd3 7 .l:.xd3 �a6 with a double attack on
d3 and a3 which won a pawn and the game. The alternative 6 'it'd2 runs into
6... �xc5! 7 dxc5 �xeS+ 8 �b2 �xd3 9 l!Vxd3 and the loose g3-knight drops off
after 9 ...�£2+ 10 tt::le2 tt::lf4.
Points: Ten for l...tt::lb4!!. Take two more for seeing that 3...�c6 is the way to con
tinue after 3 c5, and three extra for calculating the details of the 61\V£2 and 6 'Yi'd2
lines. 1...h6 might be playable, but I asked you to beat Robert Hubner- not tickle
him- so nothing for that.
Puzzle 14: 1 l::i.xf5!! 'Yi'xf5 2 .l:.f3 reveals the tq�th of the position- that it is really
Black's game that is unco-ordinated. After 2 ...'i'xc2 3 'i¥xd6 Black's bishop is inde
fensible, while 2 ...'i'xf3 3 gxf3 leaves Black's camp full of holes and White's queen
with access to d6, e4, g4, f5, e6 or h7. Play concluded 2 .. .'iVd7 3 'Yi'e4!, when it be
comes clear that Black cannot prevent an invasion on h7 without parting with his
140
Solutions
bishop, as 3 ...1:i.h8 fails to 4 .i.xg5 with a monstrous attack. Instead there followed
3...�e8 4 l:i.xf6 �d8, and Miles now found another highly unusual and devastating
move in the form of 5 .i.f8!, when 5.. .'Y!ib5 6 i.xd6 l:i.d7 7 'iHxe5 prompted Chan
dler's resignation.
Points: Ten if you found the rook sacrifice and saw as far as 3 iYe4. Take three more
if you assessed the attack at that point as unstoppable. The last two points are avail
able only for finding the cute line with 5 i.f8!.
Puzzle 15: l....i.g4+! sacrifices the rook but gives Black sufficient time to bring in
the mighty queen: 2 �xg2 'i¥d2+ 3 �g3 (3 �f l i.h3+ leads to mate) 3...'iHd3+! and
now 4 �xg4 allows mate with 4...h5 or 4...'iHf3, so White played 4 �g2. However,
after 4...'iHf3 + White resigned because mate follows, e.g. 5 �g l iVg3+ 6 �f l .i.h3+
7 �e2 'iHd3+ 8 'iiif2 'iHf3 + etc.
Points: Seven for l....i.g4+ and eight for 3...'iHd3+ (or 3...'iHc3+).

Puzzle 1: Stein played 1 'iHxc6 l:i.xc6 2 l:i.h8! to introduce a cross pin, a rare phe
nomenon in practical play. After 2 ...l:i.xh8 3 i.xc6 the pinned knight falls, so Smys
lov tried 2 ...1:i.g6 3 fxg6 l:i.xh8, but then 4 .i.c6 won a piece. Beginning with 1 l:Ih8!
would have had the same effect.
Points: Five points for finding either line.
Puzzle 2: l...iYd5! and White is busted as 2 exd5 allows 2 ...l:Ixe1+ 3 'Llf l l:i.xf l
mate.
Points: Five points for l...'iHd5!.
Puzzle 3: l...'Llb4! forces the queen away from the defence of the d6-rook. Back
wards moves, especially of knights or queens, are always difficult to find. Both play
ers were short of time and this retreat was only found a week later by an amateur
player from Kasparov's home town of Baku. Alekhine once observed of a weak
move that he made in time pressure that such a shortage was no more valid an ex
cuse than the criminal's claim that he was drunk when he committed the crime.
Points: Five for l...'Llb4!, two if you saw nothing better than l...lhb3. After all, nei
ther didGarry, and he still won the most important game of his life.
Puzzle 4: 1... 'Llxg2! 2 'it>xg2 h4 regained the piece and destroyed the foundations of
White's kingside. 2 f4 would have been met with 2 ...'Llxe1, attacking the queen.
Points: Five for the pseudo knight sacrifice. Nothing else compares.
Puzzle 5: 1 'iHh3! 'ifxh3+ 2 'it>g5 and there is no stopping the white king from invad
ing with decisive effect. Play continued 2...'iHg3+ 3 �f6 'iHf3 + 4 'it>e7 'iHxb3 5 'iHh5+
'i;g7 6 iYg4+ and Black resigned.
Points: Five for the unguarded guard. I will not award you points if you chose 1 'iitg5
with the argument that the 'iHh3 trick can come later, as such an answer is too
cheeky!
Puzzle 6: l...l:i.g2! and White resigned as there is no defence to 2 ...'Llf4 mate, and 2
'it>xg2 allows the fork on e3.
141
Points: Ten for l....l:.g2. Nothing for others.

Puzzle 7: 1 1Lxf7+! �xf7 2 �h8+! .1Lxh8 3 CLJh6+ forks king and queen.
Points: Ten for the combo. Nothing for 1 'Llh6+? 1Lxh6 2l:!.xh6 because Black then
wins with 2 ...�f4+, picking up the bishop.
Puzzle 8: On 1 'Llxb6l:!.xb6 2 iVxb6 l:Id1+ the refutation is 3 l:l.e1!! l:Ixe1+ 4 �h2,
when White's back rank mate threat can be addressed only at the cost of a queen. In
the game White won quickly after l...l;!c6 2 'Lla4 g5 3 .l:.xg5+ 'it>f8 4 .l:.g7 l:td1+ 5
'it>h2 .1Lxb3 6l:!.b4! etc.
Points: Ten for seeing the nice unguarded guard.
Puzzle 9: l...'Lld2! forced the white queen to a terrible post. 2llxd2 loses to 2.. Jhc l
3 'Llxc1 "iixd2, so 2 "i*'a2 had to be played. Then 2 ....l:.xc1 set Black up for decisive
operations. In the event of 3 .l:Ixc1 there comes 3...b3 4 �a l and, not surprisingly,
White's pieces are so awfully placed that Black can force a win with 4....1Lg5 5 'Llfl
'i!Ve4+ 6 �gl 'i¥xe2 etc. Instead the game continued 3 'Llxc l, concluding 3 ...'�e4+ 4
'it>gl .1Lg5 5 'Llfl, and a piece went after 5...�c2 6l:!.el 'Llxf l 7 'it>xf l .iLxc l. Total
domination.
Points: Ten for l...CLJd2! in conjunction with 2...l:!.xcl. Nothing for 1....1Lg5 because
White has 2 'Llxb4 CLJd2 3 :f.xc8!, fighting on.
Puzzle 10: 1 .1Lxg6! hxg6 2 .:!.e7+!l:!.xe7 3 dxe7+ �xe7 4l:!.d8! and the h-pawn goes
home. Don't be too hard on yourself if you did not find this- the story is that Beyen
had to have the combination whispered to him by a team-mate before he played it!
Points: Six for the first move; two more for the second. Take two for the fourth
move.
Puzzle 11: 1 .1Lxe5!! favourably opens up the position for White. After l...'Llxe5 2
'Llxe5 dxe5 3 f4 White continues a decisive initiative as a second rook comes into
play on the f-file. Note White's considerable development lead and the vulnerable,
uncastled black king. Turner chose 1...dxe5, when 2 CLlg5 threatens mate on f7 and
forces 2...'Lld8 (2...�c7 loses to 3 'i:!Ve6+ "fie7 4 'i'xc6+). I played the rather specula
tive 3 f4!? but, before continuing with the analysis, we should observe that the im
mediate regain of material with 3 l:hd8+!? 'it>xd8 4 CLlf7+ <:J;;e7 5 'Llxh8 might also be
advantageous for White after 5...�e6 6 CLJd5+ 'Llxd5 7 exd5.
In fact play continued (3 f4) 3 ... 'Lld7 4 fxe5 c4 5 �5 .fl..e7 6 e6! .fl..xg5+ 71lt'xg5
'Llxe6 7 'ifu5+ (removing the possibility of the knight anchoring on f6) 7...g6 8 �d5
'Lldc5 9 CLJb5 'it>e7 10 �d6+ 'it>e8 11 'i¥d5 r:tle7 12 �d6+ 'it>e8 13 'it>b1!? !:.g8 14 �e5
'iic6 15 CLJd6+ �d8 16l:!.f7 'Llxe4 17 'Llxe4+ '1t>e8 18 'Lld6+ �xd6 19 l:!.xd6 'it>xf7 20
:i.d7+ 'it>f8 21 'i:!Vd6+ 'it>e8 22 'i'e7 mate. If you found all of this, then you must have
seen the game!
Points: Nine for 1 .fl..xe5!! and a further six for taking either path on the third move.
In the first case you should have seen as far as 7 exd5 and judged White to be on top,
while in the second your intuitive feeling- not thinking- should have been that
White has lots of compensation for the piece. Precise calculation of the thicket of
variations is hardly possible.
142
Solutions
Three points for 1 i..g5 because White will have a bit of play for his pawn due to the
weakness of Black's light squares and the hole on d5.
Puzzle 12: 1 'bxf7! broke in nic�y. After l...'iWxf7 White has the decisive 2 .l:txe5,
so Sadvakasov tried l...l:.xf7. Then came the elegant point 2 'iixf5!!, when 2 ....l:txf5
allows mate in one, 2 ...i..xb2 loses to 3 .l:td7 and unpinning with 2 ...'it'h8 loses to 3
i..xe5. Black tried 2 ...g6 and resigned after 3 i..xe5.
Points: Seven for 1 'bxf7!, and eight more for 2 'iHxf5!!, which is worth remember
mg.
Puzzle 13: The game continued 1 'iHxg6!! CDf4. This leads to positions which are
essentially the same as those arising from l...fxg6 2 i..xe6+. After 2 .l:txf4 fxg6 3
i..e6+ .l:tf7 4 .l:.xf7 Wh8 5 .l:.g5 b5 6 .l:.g3 Black resigned. The alternative try 3...Wh7
4 l::th4+ i..h6 5 i..xh6 does not help Black, e.g. 5...g5 6 .l:txg5 'iWh6+ 7 c5 etc.
Points: Eleven for 1 'i¥xg6!!. However, fabulous though the move is, there are actu
ally few alternatives! For example, 1 �4 f5! is far from clear. Take an extra four
for seeing that after 4 l:.xf7 Petrosian was losing.
Puzzle 14: 1 c5! was the discovery ofGM EduardGufeld. After l...dxc5 comes 2
CDxf5!, and now we have four of our team going at Black's king. 2...exf5 3 i.c4+
brings the bishop to a more effective diagonal with tempo, but after 3...'it>h8 the key
move has to be produced... 4 .l:td6!!, and White again has four pieces involved in the
attack, with the rook going to h7 via h6. Now 4...i.xd6 5 i.xg7+! 'it>xg7 6 'i¥g5+
mates, while 4...i.e7 5 'i¥h6 .l:.g8 6 .l:::lg6 causes the ultimate demise of g7 after
6...i.f8 7 i.xg8, or decisive material gain after 6...i.e5 7 i.xg8 .Sxg8 8 i..xe5.
Points: Four for 1 c5!. Three more for 2 Cbxf5! and the last eight for finding 4 .l:.d6!!
and appreciating that this leaves Black defenceless.
Puzzle 15: 1 l:rxh4! is the key move. Let us look at the variations:
l...cxb 1 'i¥ 2 axb8'i¥ 'ii'xb2 3 'iib3 'ii'c3 4 'i¥xc3 mate.
l...cxb 1.la 2 axb8!i l:rxb2 3 l:rb3 Wxc4 4 �xf4 mate.
l...cxb I i.. 2 axb8i.. i.e4 3 i.xf4 i./any 4 i..e5 or (e3) mate.
1 ...cxb 1 CD 2 axb8CD 'bxd2 3 Cbc6+ 'it>c3 4 .l:.c 1 mate.
Almost unbelievably, in each case not only does the corresponding underpromotion
lead to checkmate in two more moves, but it is the only move to do so. Believe me,
there is no other way to mate in four. The Dutch writer Tim Krabbe said that when
he saw that someone had solved the Babson Task it had the effect on him as if he
had opened a newspaper and seen the headline: 'Purpose of Life Discovered.'
Points: Eleven if you found the key. A further point for figuring out how and why
White responds to each of the four possible promotions. (See The Creative Work
shop of Leonid Yarosh at www.mi.ru/�yarosh/)
Inspired by the wondrous achievement of Yarosh, several other people, including the
Frenchman P.Drumare of France, managed to create their own Babsons. Drumare's
solution is all the more poignant for, in 1982, after twenty-two years of trying- and
that included a period of four consecutive years during which he devoted four hours
of every day to the challenge!- he announced that he was abandoning his attempts
143
and stated that it was impossible to solve this task. By 1987 Yarosh himself had pro
duced three further (perfect) Babsons, and Drumare, drawing yet more inspiration
from him, has since created one. If you ever compose your own Babson, get in touch
with me or Krabbe.
We'll hail you as a true genius!
Here endeth the lesson in tactics. I hope you feel that you have learnt from this book.
144
Test your tactical chess skills with a quiz book with a difference!
Grandmaster James Plaskett , a player of distinguished tactical ability,
has carefully assembled an abundance of chess puzzles to test players
of all levels. At the beginning of each chapter the puzzles are relatively
easy, worth five points for a correct solution. However as you move on
they become more and more difficult, soon becoming worth ten points
and eventually 15. If you get stuck, do not despair as help is at hand!
You can 'ask a grandmaster' to obtain the guidance you need.
However, use this option carefully, as it will cost you some of your
hard-earned points. You can also obtain points for finding the basic
idea of the solution without necessarily working out all the refinements.
Either on your own or with friends, this book will provide hours of
brain-teasing enjoyment.
• Includes puzzles for all levels
• Grandmaster hints to help you through the most taxing problems
• Unique scoring system to monitor your progress through the book
James Plaskett is one of Britain's most talented and imaginative

Grandmasters. A former British Champion , his sharp and .
uncompromising play has won him many admirers over the years.
Plaskett is also an experienced writer; his earlier works include Sicilian
Taimanov and Sicilian Grand Prix Attack (both published by Everyman).
ISBN 1-85744-259-8
EVERYMAN CHESS
www.everymanbooks.com
Published in the UK by Everyman Publishers pic
Distributed in the US by the Globe Pequot Press 9

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can you be a

Copyright © 2002 James Plaskett

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

ISBN 1 85744 259 8

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Ask a Grandmaster 103

Chess is 99% tactics.

Forks, pins, skewers, deflections, overloading, double attacks, trapping of pieces,

Each set of twelve puzzles is intended to be of approximately similar difficulty

The puzzles here are of a mathematical type, inasmuch as there is an expected

White is better co-ordinated. What can he do to best exploit this?

All is quiet... or is it?

Black is under pressure and I...'ifxd7 will not do as a means of relieving it

Scorechart for Test 1

Puzzle Points Puzzle Points

White thought that he was strolling to victory here, as l . l:.a2 is easily

countered by 2 fxe3. Is that the end of the story?

Black is attacking the c4-pawn. What to do?

White can capture either a knight or a bishop. How should he continue?

White's bishop is en prise. How to proceed?

A bewildering position where White has many attacking possibilities.

Scorechart for Test 2

Puzzle Points Puzzle Points

White is a pawn up but, rather than attempting a gradual technical exploi­

Efim Geller managed to make something of his outside passed pawn.

Scorechart for Test 3

Puzzle Points Puzzle Points

Mestel has just blundered horribly. Why?

The reigning world champion scored a devastating victory in this tourna­

Anything for White here?

Scorechart for Test 4

Puzzle Points Puzzle Points

Black looks to be pushing back White's initiative by attacking the knight

Ms Lematschko is a pawn down. Is that the end of the story?

Black has a pleasant game as White has a number of pawn weaknesses

White retreated with 1 i.b3. Did he have better?

White is about to be repulsed and also lose his c4-pawn to an invading

White squeezed a win out of this. Could you?

Queens off. Symmetrical structure. All quiet on the Western front? No

White is demonstrating hard on the kingside but Black appears to be se­

Scorechart for Test 5

Puzzle Points Puzzle Points

Black just blundered. How can he be punished?

Hodgson had sacrificed a piece to set up what Agdestein judged to be an

Michael Adams and Boris Gelfand went on to become players ranked in

D Liu Wen Zhe

There are a number of strong moves available to White, but he has, in

Nunn, as ever, is on the attack. He is a piece down, but does he have

Geller sacrificed the exchange for an initiative. Karpov seems to have

Scorechart for Test 6

Puzzle Points Puzzle Points

How did White pick up a piece?

What was White's knockout punch?

Black won with a clever move.

Material is approximately level but White has a tactic. What is it?

Opposite coloured bishop endings are notoriously drawish. Here the

See page 1 08 to Ask A Grandmaster, which will cost you 6 points.

The e6-pawn is under considerable pressure - is it defensible? What is

How did the great Bobby unleash a fine attack?

Scorechart for Test 7

White is a pawn up but, rather than attempting a gradual technical exploi

The reigning world champion scored a devastating victory in this tourna

White is demonstrating hard on the kingside but Black appears to be se