The Chess Mind

From Round 2; it's White to move:



White has only one winning move here, but after this both sides have reasonable options. Nevertheless, see if you can figure out the right move - and why it's the right move - and then check out the rest of the game here. The finish is beautiful.

at least on this one occasion.

We start from this position, which is favorable for White no matter how you slice it:



White has an abundance of good moves, including the prophylactic 15.a3 and the very direct 15.Bg5. Both moves give White a clear edge, but White had a deep idea in mind. The game continued 15.Nxd6+ (Obvious, but the complication comes on move 16.) 15...Rxd6 16.Qxd6 b4 (The point: the knight is trapped.)



Strong players should try to figure out White's idea from this point. Those wanting a further hint should continue to the next diagram.