The action at the Chess Bundesliga is always worth checking out! A recent Bundesliga game between GM David Navara and GM Luke McShane reached a most remarkable position before concluding. In the position below, black (McShane) has just moved his pawn to b2 on his 34th move. GM David Navara (white) responds to the promotionContinueContinue reading “Puzzle Worthy Position 42”
Tag Archives: chess problems
Puzzle Worthy Position 41
At just 19 years of age, FM Ekaterina Goltseva has made quite a name for herself by twice tying for first place at the European Youth Championships and also winning the silver medal at 2017 Russian Youth Chess Championship. Today’s Puzzle Worthy Position comes from the seventh round victory by Fide Master Ekaterina Goltseva overContinueContinue reading “Puzzle Worthy Position 41”
Winning Chess Moves: Karpov vs. Mickiewicz, 1997
Former World Champion Anatoly Karpov is an incredible chess player who dominated the international chess scene for a decade beginning in the mid-seventies. Anatoly wasn’t the flashiest World Champion but his games are very approachable and I often recommend that fans of Capablanca also study the games of Karpov. For today’s Winning Chess Move puzzle,ContinueContinue reading “Winning Chess Moves: Karpov vs. Mickiewicz, 1997”
Puzzle Worthy Position 40
Today’s puzzle worthy position comes from the 1985 Baden-Baden Chess Tournament. 1985 was a strong edition of this historic tournament featuring many prominent chess players including Susan Polgar, Efim Geller and Ludek Pachman. However, our puzzle worthy tactic comes from a winning combination played by Robb Witt. FM Robb Witt of the Netherlands sadly passedContinueContinue reading “Puzzle Worthy Position 40”
Betcha Can’t Solve This #Chess Puzzle! 69
My Facebook friend Michael Pasman recently became a World Champion. More specifically, Michael won first place and thus the gold medal for the Studies category in the 10th FIDE World Cup in Composing. Michael Pasman is well known in the chess puzzle community for his compositional knowledge, creativity and his high output of outstanding studies.ContinueContinue reading “Betcha Can’t Solve This #Chess Puzzle! 69”
Winning Chess Moves: Zhongyi vs Wagner, FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 2022
Grandmaster Tan Zhongyi of China finished her tenth round game at the 2022 Women’s Grand Prix with a very unique mate in 2. GM Zhongyi, who was the FIDE Women’s World Champion from 2017-2018, was facing WGM Dinara Wagner when Wagner played 43… Kh6 with the black pieces giving Tan a golden opportunity to finishContinueContinue reading “Winning Chess Moves: Zhongyi vs Wagner, FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 2022”
So I was just playing a game of #chess and then this happened! 47
A mate in 7 can seem daunting but they aren’t always difficult to solve. Technically the position below is indeed a mate in 7 for white, but that’s only because black can throw pieces away blocking the first check to extend the game unnecessarily. So, in the actual game, I checkmated in just five moves.ContinueContinue reading “So I was just playing a game of #chess and then this happened! 47”
Chess Position Worth Sharing 148!
When accuracy matters, IM Vaishali Rameshbabu plays with extreme precision. You can test your own accuracy with this position from her sixth round win over IM Elisabeth Pähtz. Black (Pähtz) has just played 59… d1=Q. Having promoted to a queen a half move ahead of her opponent, White (Rameshbabu) has a winning advantage but mustContinueContinue reading “Chess Position Worth Sharing 148!”
Betcha Can’t Solve This #Chess Puzzle! 68
I thoroughly enjoy chess studies that task us with finding a seemingly impossible draw from a position that looks totally lost. Chess puzzles like these push the boundaries of what’s possible on the chessboard and a regular dose of such compositions will help young players stretch their own chess imaginations. So nothing makes this chessContinueContinue reading “Betcha Can’t Solve This #Chess Puzzle! 68”
Puzzle Worthy Position 39
Perhaps you have not heard of the chess player Peter Dely. During his lifetime, Peter was certainly a force to be reckoned at the chessboard and was the Hungarian Champion in 1969. Peter Dely earned the IM title in 1982 and FIDE awarded him the honorary Grandmaster title in 1999. I recently discovered a real-gameContinueContinue reading “Puzzle Worthy Position 39”
Winning Chess Moves: Chiburdanidze vs. Malaniuk, 1990
Grandmaster Maia Chiburdanidze, the Sixth Women’s World Chess Champion, has played many notable games that I regularly use as lesson material. Today’s puzzle comes from her final move against GM Vladimir P Malaniuk played in Round 9 of the 1990 Kusadasi Open in Kusadasi, Turkey. Chiburdanidze (white) plays a crushing move that causes her opponentContinueContinue reading “Winning Chess Moves: Chiburdanidze vs. Malaniuk, 1990”
So I was just playing a game of #chess and then this happened! 46
My student (white) has just played Nbd2. What is the simple yet beautiful game winning response I played as black? What is black’s best move?
Puzzle Worthy Position 38
This puzzle worthy position has long been one of my favorite instructive combinations to use as a part of beginner classes on checkmating. The player with the white pieces is none other than the fifth World Champion Max Euwe but our feature position occurs twelve years before Max famously defeated Alexander Alekhine in a closeContinueContinue reading “Puzzle Worthy Position 38”
Betcha Can’t Solve This #Chess Puzzle! 67
When well composed, mate in 2 chess problems are highly enjoyable which is why I share so many of these gems with the Daily Chess Musings community. Tonight’s puzzle was definitely well composed and although I had never heard of Gyula Andre before, I now have a deep respect for his talent as a composer.ContinueContinue reading “Betcha Can’t Solve This #Chess Puzzle! 67”
Winning Chess Moves: Yates vs Capablanca, Moscow 1925
In today’s feature position, Fred Dewhirst Yates (white) has just played 38. Ka1 leaving Jose Raul Capablanca (black) with a decisive advantage in king safety, material, space and force. Capablanca puts the final nail in the coffin with a brilliant 38th move after which Yates (white) immediately resigns. What is black’s winning move? What isContinueContinue reading “Winning Chess Moves: Yates vs Capablanca, Moscow 1925”
Chess Position Worth Sharing 147!
Spent 27 minutes of my time this evening working out the solution to this beautiful endgame puzzle by Leonid Kubbel. It was time we’ll spent! White to move and win (Leonid Kubbel, 150 Endspielstudien, 1925). For those who are unfamiliar with Kubbel’s work, he composed many of the finest endgame studies of the early partContinueContinue reading “Chess Position Worth Sharing 147!”
Betcha Can’t Solve This #Chess Puzzle! 66
Some of my favorite endgame studies have the reader playing from a disadvantage with the goal being a draw. In tonight’s puzzle, White is down to a single bishop versus Black’s four pawns but still can draw with perfect play. Enjoy… White to play and draw (U. Venäläinen, 1st Prize in Suomen Shakki, 1969.)
Chess Position Worth Sharing 145!
Of all the chess puzzles I’ve ever enjoyed… Many of the finest were composed by Sam Loyd. White to move and mate in 3 (Samuel Loyd, 1887).
Betcha Can’t Solve This #Chess Puzzle! 65
Some mate-in-3 compositions are much trickier than others. This particular chess puzzle by Erich Ernest Zepler is diabolical! White to move and mate in 3 (by Erich Ernest Zepler from the January 1925 Chemnitzer Wochenschach).
Winning Chess Moves: Palatnik vs. Geller, 1980
Ukraine has long been a source of great chess and great chess players. As such, many famous chess games have been an all Ukrainian affair. Tonight’s winning chess move comes from one such game. Ukrainian-American chess Grandmaster Sam Palatnik played a beautiful winning move over fellow Odessa native Grandmaster Efim Geller at the URS TeamContinueContinue reading “Winning Chess Moves: Palatnik vs. Geller, 1980”