The black queen is attacked by the rook on e1. What should black play?
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Chess Puzzle 54: how to demolish white’s kingside
Black to move. What is the best continuation? More than one move needed! See solution…
Chess puzzle #53: just a funny tactic
Chess puzzle #53: King goes astray
White played 35. Kh3?? This was a bad mistake. The game would have been more or less equal after 35. Kf1 or Kh1. Do you see why 35. Kh3 was the losing move?
In other words: how does black finish the game? Solution…
Chess puzzle #52: the bishop can’t do everything
I have to confess that when solving chess puzzles I have the tendency to jump right in. In that way chess becomes a process of trial and error. With quite a lot of errors of course!
I think I can do better. Bit by bit I try to change my bad habits. One of the first things I do now is have a good look at the position. Are there any pieces en prise? What do the pawn formations tell me? Are there any threats? Can I find a motif? Are there any patterns?
If I look in this way generally things get a bit more easy. The motif in the diagram position is clear. White’s pieces are a somewhat “loose”. How can black use this motif to his own advantage? Solution…
What is the best move for black?
This a position after white’s 25th move. It is from one of my own games. At our level we make (too) many mistakes. But it doesn’t mean that there are no interesting moments.
It is clear that black is much better. The white king is not safe and his pawns are weak. Compare both rooks and queens and it becomes clear that black has a winning advantage. But the situation is still a bit tricky and black can go astray very easy. What is the best move for black?
Chess puzzle #51
See diagram. Black to move. He is clearly in a worse position. But after his next move 1. – Rxc7 it is over in a couple of moves. How?
Chess puzzle #50
Black to play and win! Solution…
Source: ChessTempo.com
Chess puzzle 49: neat moves
Last Saturday I played my first game since March last year. I was a bit rusty. Although I solved a lot of tactical puzzles almost every day, I missed a simple (standard) tactic.
Even after missing this chance I still got a good game. And then? Disaster. I thought I could snatch a pawn. It turned out to be a bad miscalcultation and spoiled a promising position. After that things went down hill very fast ad I lost. Do you see what I missed?
It seems I am in need for a lot of training (and probably more active play). Today I received the book ‘Training with Moska’. It is packed with exercies. I seems to be a great book to study and might be of some help to develop my skills. Which, as you’ve seen, are quite poor.
See the second diagram. White to move and gain a wining advantage. Solution…
Chess puzzle #48: Nice finish!
This is a neat one. Maybe not too difficult. Black just played 1. – Rh5 and attacked the white queen.
Do you see the winning move for white? (Solution)
