The Chess Mind

To refresh your memory, I presented the following positions; in each case, it's White to move:







And now, the solutions:

Position 1: 1.c3! - the threat of Bxg5 followed by Qa2+ was fatal in O. Hansen-Beliavsky, Plovdiv 1983, which continued 1...Bxg6 2.Bxg5 hxg5 3.Bxg6 Qf6 4.Rb1! with an irresistible attack that concluded the game in six more moves.

Position 2: 1.g5! fxg5 2.c4! - the threat of Qc3+ (or more generally, a threat of a queen check on the a1-h8 diagonal, e.g. after 2...b4 3.Bd3 and 4.Qb2+) wins the game. (1-0, G. Kuzmin-Averbakh, Moscow 1974)

Position 3: 1.Ne6+ Kg8 2.Qd1! - Black's bishop is in big trouble due to the threat of Qb3, and after 2...Ng6 (2...Nc8 3.Nd8 Qc4 [else the White queen checks on the a2-g8 diagonal] 4.Qd7 wins) 3.Nd8 forced resignation in Kinderman-Tatai, Budapest 1987.

How did you fare? More importantly, did you do better each time? All three puzzles are alike in several important respects: in each case, White has an imposing-looking buildup on the kingside, but the secret to breaching Black's defenses is to move the queen seemingly away from the action, to enable her to seize a crucial long diagonal.

This idea is very easy for us to miss - or at least it was for me. (Note: the puzzles in the Gaprindashvili book are not consecutively placed, nor are they sorted by tactical themes.) If we're attacking the enemy king and have several pieces loaded up at his gates, our natural inclination is to find still more pieces for the pile-up, and that inclination will serve us well most of the time. But not always.

Chess is full of exceptions, but sometimes we can find tools for imposing order on even unfamiliar positions. One idea that might work for puzzles like these is to look at things backwards. What I mean is that instead of looking from White's point of view, we might try to see things from the Black king's perspective. Were we to do so, the importance of the key diagonals becomes much more obvious. (Especially in the first position and in the second after 1.g5 fxg5.) Given White's battle array in all three cases, it's hard to change gears and find moves like 1.c3 (first position), 2.c4 (second position) and 2.Qd1 (third position), but when we think based on the enemy king's point of view, our odds of success increase.

Problem #1:



Problem #2:



Problem #3:



White to move in all three cases; solutions and discussion in a few days. (Reminder: please do not post solutions in comments.)

Chess Today typically offers a little tactical problem in each issue (sometimes more), and in a recent issue they offered up this position, from the game N. Firman-AA Ivanov, Femida Kharkiv (UKR), 2005:



It's White to move (and win), but as White has a significant margin of error here (Fritz finds eight moves (at depth 13) that maintain Firman's decisive advantage), it's less than ideal as a puzzle. Still, one of the solutions is clearly best, and you're welcome to try to find it before clicking below for the solution.

What caught my eye wasn't so much the game itself, as that the solution reminded me of one of the greatest combinations that never happened, from the game Anand-Bareev, Wijk aan Zee 2004.



Black played 27...Kf7 and eventually lost, but when I analyzed the game afterwards, I found 27...Qf4! followed by the incredible continuation you'll see in the link below. (Try to work it out for yourself first; the aesthetic reward will be greater.) On that occasion, the analysis was a little bit of me and a lot of the computer; as it transpired, however, Anand actually saw the entire line over the board! Trust me: you'll be amazed, and if you're not, you're either rated 3000, aren't a chess player, or need to check your pulse.)

Once you're ready, engage your mouse in the appropriate way, here. [Note: I had to merge the games, as I couldn't find any moderately obvious way to publish multiple games using Fritz 9 (as opposed to ChessBase). If any of my readers knows how to do that, please fill me in!]

A few posts ago, I offered this position for your solving pleasure:



It's Black to move, and the readers' task (if they choose to accept it, of course) is to figure out not only what Black should do (not just on this next move, but to provide a variation) but what the proper result should be. When you've got it all worked out, or just want to see the solution, click here.

Black to move: what should he do (a variation, not just a single move) and what ought to happen? The answer will be given in a couple of days. (A note for the new and a reminder for the regulars: for your benefit, don't use a computer as an analytic aid; for the benefit of others, don't post your answer in the comments.)