I like to use pawn endgames to stretch my students calculation ability. This process makes sense because precision is imperative in pawn endgames and the only way to determine if a candidate move is accurate is to check it through deep calculation.
My readers are aware that I recently discovered the master composer Josef Holumbirek. So it is with pleasure that my interest in Josef Holumbirek lead me to discover another wonderful endgame study to help my students improve their calculation skills! It seems that Holumbirek was a very versatile composer, at times reminiscent of Sam Loyd while today’s position has a certain Grigoriev charm to it. Have fun solving the chess puzzle below and if you are a chess coach, I recommend placing it on your demonstration board for the benefit and enjoyment of your class.
White to move and mate in 6 (Josef Holumbirek, Wiener Schachzeitung 03/1930).
Chris Torres is a nationally renowned scholastic chess coach working in the San Francisco Bay Area. His classes have attracted players of strengths ranging from rank beginners to world champions. A chess professional since 1998, Chris is widely recognized as one of the main driving forces behind the explosion in popularity and sudden rise in quality of scholastic chess in California. Chris Torres served as the President of the Torres Chess and Music Academy from 2005-2020 and currently is recognized as a correspondence chess master with the United States Chess Federation. Since 1998 Chris Torres has taught 6 individual national champions as well as led multiple school teams to win national championship titles. In addition, Chris Torres has directed and taught at 10 different schools which have been California State Champions at chess. In 2011 and 2012, several former and current students of Chris Torres have been selected to represent the United States at the World Youth Chess Championships. Mr. Torres’ hobbies include playing classical guitar and getting his students to appear on the national top 100 chess rating lists.
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