Improve your chess tactics : 700 practical lessons & exercises [2nd ed.] 9789056913342, 9056913344

Table of contents :
Front Cover......Page 1
Title Page......Page 2
Copyright......Page 3
Table of Contents......Page 4
Concerning Chess Improvement, and This Book......Page 6
The Alpha and Omega of Chess......Page 8
Combinative Themes......Page 14
Deflection......Page 15
Exercises......Page 21
Decoying......Page 30
Exercises......Page 41
Eliminating Defenders......Page 47
Exercises......Page 50
Clearing Squares......Page 52
Clearing Diagonals......Page 53
Clearing Ranks......Page 54
Exercises......Page 56
Pinning and Unpinning......Page 58
Exercises......Page 63
Interference and Shutting-off......Page 66
Exercises......Page 69
Deflection and Decoy......Page 72
Deflection and Pinning......Page 73
Deflection and Interference......Page 74
Deflection and Clearing Squares/Lines......Page 75
Decoying and Pinning......Page 78
Eliminating Defenders and Deflection......Page 79
Eliminating Defenders and Decoying......Page 80
Eliminating Defenders and Interference......Page 81
Decoying, Interference and Clearing Squares......Page 82
Eliminating Defenders, Decoying and Clearing Lines......Page 83
Clearing Squares, Decoying and DefJecting......Page 84
Clearing Lines, Eliminating Defenders, Deflection and Pinning, Decoying......Page 85
Exercises......Page 86
Pawns on the Brink......Page 92
Exercises......Page 98
Miracle Saves......Page 101
Exercises......Page 109
Exercises......Page 113
Solutions to Exercises......Page 174
Deflection (No 35 - 86)......Page 175
Decoying (No 120 -155......Page 189
Eliminating Defenders (No 163 -172)......Page 199
Clearing Squares and Lines (No 183-192......Page 202
Pinning and Unpinning (No 208 -223)......Page 205
Interference (No 232-245)......Page 210
Combining Themes (No 281-310)......Page 215
Pawns on the Brink (No 325-338)......Page 224
Miracle Saves (No 359 -380)......Page 229
Examination (No 381-736)......Page 236
Index of Players......Page 361
Explanation of Symbols......Page 369
Glossary of Terms......Page 370
About the Author......Page 374
Back Cover......Page 375

Citation preview

Yakov Neishtadt

Improve Your Chess Tactics 700 Practical Lessons & Exercises

New In Chess 2011

©

2 0 1 1 New In Chess

Published by New In Chess, Alkmaar, The Netherlands www.newinchess.com All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmilted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior wrilten permission from

IIH' puhlisher. ("over design: Volken Beck Tr.lllsI.lIion: Steve Giddins SlIpt'rvisor: Peter Boel l'J'()of'n\lding: Rene Olthof I'rodllction: Anton Schermer ISBN: 9 7 8-90-56 9 1 -3 3 4- 2

Contents Concerning Chess Improvement, and This B ook..... The Alpha and Omega of Chess

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Combinative Themes

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Exercises ... . .. .

Decoying

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31

Exercises ......... . .................................... 42

Eliminating Defenders ........................................... 49 Exercises ................. . ............................ 52

Clearing Squares and Lines .

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55

Clearing Squares

........ . ............................... 55 Clearing Diagonals........ ............ . ................. 56 Clearing Files............. . ............................. 57 Clearing Ranks.......................................... 57 Exercises .................. . ........................... 59 .

Pinning and Unpinning

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61

Exercises .............................................. 66

Interference and Shutting-off..................................... 69 Exercises

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Combining Themes .

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Deflection and Decoy

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75

............................. ...... 75 Deflection and Line Clearance.................. . .......... 76 Deflection and Pinning................. ... ... .......... 76 Deflection and Interference . ......... ................ ... 7 7 Deflection and Clearing Squares/Lines ................. ...... 78 Decoying and Pinning .................................... 8 1 Decoy and Interference.................................... 82 Eliminating Defenders and Deflection ......................... 82 Eliminating Defenders and Decoying ... ..... ............... 83 ,Eliminating Defenders and Clearing Lines ... ....... ....... .. 84 Eliminating Defenders and Interference .. . .................. 84 Deflection, Decoy and Interference ..... . .......... ... .. 8S Deflection, Eliminating Defenders and Decoying . . ............. 85 Decoying, Interference and Clearing Squares ... .... ..... . .. 8S Eliminating Defenders, Decoying and Clearing Lines ... .......... 86 Eliminating Defenders, Clearing Lines and Deflection ..... .... .. 87 Clearing Squares, Decoying and Deflecting .. .. . . .... .. 8 7 .

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5

I m p rove Your C h ess Tac t i cs Clearing Lines, Eliminating Defenders, Deflection and Pilllling, Decoying .

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89

Exercises ............... . ...... . ....................... 90

Pawns on the Brink

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97

Exercises .... . ........................................ 1 03

Miracle Saves. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0 7 .

Exercises ........................ . . . . . . ............... 1 1 5

ExaID.ination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 9 .

Exercises ........... . ................................. 1 1 9

Solutions to e xercises

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181

Deflection (No 35-86) .................................. 1 83 Decoying (No 1 20- 1 55) ................................. 1 97 Eliminating Defenders (No 1 63- 1 72) ....................... 207 Clearing Squares and Lines (No 183- 1 92) .................... 2 1 0 Pinning and Unpinning (No 208-223) ...................... 2 1 3 Interference (No 232-245) ............................... 2 1 8 Combining Themes (No 28 1 -3 1 0) ......................... 223 Pawns on the Brink (No 325-338) ......................... 232 Miracle Saves (No 359-380) .............................. 237 Examination (No 38 1 -736) ............................... 244

Index of Players

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Explanation of Syntbols Glossary of Terms About the Author

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369 377 379 383

Concerning Chess Improvement, and This Book It is well-known that the best form of training is practical play, and taking part in tournaments. In order to play better, one must play more, and with strong opponents wherever possible. However, this axiomatic advice requires a little amendment. Every game is an examination in itself But it is an examination without precise model answers to the questions that are most important. Did we (and our oppo­ nent) handle the changing situation from move to move correctly? Which moment was the turning point - where was the decisive mistake made, and was it exploited in the best way? 'To know that, we have to analyse the game' , - the reader will doubtlessly tell us. Indeed, but it would be very useful to compare our conclusions with those of a more qualified judge, a player who is Significantly stronger than ourselves. Your analysis, no matter how serious it may be, is limited by the level of your chess understanding. Suppose that you have found the place where, it seems to you, your play departed from the best line, where you committed some inaccuracies and mis­ takes, and now you know how you should have played. But have you found the best moves for sure? How accurate is your tactical vision? Can you be sure you have not missed any combinative possibilities for yourself or your opponent? Finally, no matter how well-developed your feeling for position may be, are your assessments totally objective? In a word, aren't you taking on too much, and setting yourself a task that is unfulfillable? Have you missed a decisive continuation, before you are convinced that the pOSition cannot possibly contain anything out of the ordinary? But even if you have an experience'tl helper on hand, you are unlikely to achieve great successes, if you only study your own games. You also have to study olhers' games, both classical and modern: instructive master games, typical and original combinations and characteristic plans. Added to that is the reqUired basic knowl­ edge of opening and endgame theory. We can find all of this (or, at least, we should be able to find it) in the traditional chess textbooks. When playing over the games given, one remembers what one has seen, and tries in similar situations to implement the knowledge obtained. How­ ever, it is hard to judge how and to what extent the material is mastered, since there is no direct contact between the book's author and its reader. In general, both methods of self-improvement - analysing one's games (not only won games, but losses as well) and working with textbooks, have their pluses and minuses, and complement each other. But isn't it important to bring together knowledge and practical play? In your hands, you have a textbook (a schooling in combinations) and a collec­ tion of exercises (practice) . In short, a self-tutor and a sparring-partner. 7

I m p rove Your Chess Tac t i cs

These positions, taken from the games of masters and grandmasters, as well as lesser players, are given immediately before the decisive moment in the game. You have to find the winning line, or, in the case of difficult positions, the saving re­ source. A few of the positions are compositions, or are taken from compositions, close in style to practical play. In the first part of the book, the positions are grouped by theme, which, of course, makes them easier to solve. In the second part, the themes are not indicated, and so the reader has no extra hints in this 'Finishing School' . However, the basic fact that all of the positions require a combinative solution is itself a sufficient hint for the experienced player to find the correct path. Try at first to solve the questions without moving the pieces, and go over to de­ tailed analysis, only when you are convinced that you cannot solve the exercise in your head. The reader will no doubt notice that far from all of the famous grandmasters are represented here. But the book is not intended as an anthology of combinations by the great, and the examples have not been chosen on the principle of being repre­ sentative, but for their instructional value. The level of the event in which the game was played has also not been used as a factor in the selection. Alongside fragments from the games of the most famous masters, you will meet examples from simulta­ neous displays and quite insignificant competitions. And so, in conclusion: this book, which is aimed at a wide range of chess ama­ teurs, may also be used by an experienced player, a master, or even a grandmaster. Even he will find many positions that are unknown to him, and which he can use to show to his own pupils. The author and the editors have checked all the combinations in this book with the computer. However, the book may still contain flaws. Readers who have found er­ rors are invited to notify us via email: [email protected].

8

The Alpha and Omega of Chess Strategy and tactics. The definition of a combination. Classification.

Right from the very first page of most chess books, in almost every comment we encounter special terminology, without thinking much about their derivation and basic meaning. A chess game is an ideal representation of war, in which the sides (as distinct from a real war) follow clearly-defined rules. The majority of the terms we use in chess are derived from military lexicon. Tactics and strategy. Attack and defence. Counter-attack. Flanks and the rear. Fortress, siege, blockade, breakthrough, pene­ tration, etc. STRATEGY is the most important part of the art of war, devoted to the prepara­ tion and carrying out of military actions, and the planning of operations. TACTICS is the art of conducting a speCific battle. Because the specific battle is part of the overall (strategic) operation, tactics serve strategy, and fulfil its tasks. In this sense, chess strategy should occupy itself with planning, and the selection of the targets at which our play should be directed in the given position. Tactics are the specific concrete actions which we have to carry out to achieve our desired aims. In the words of Max Euwe, the distinction is between ' what to do' and 'how to do it'. In a word, tactics serve strategy and depend on it. Compared with a war situa­ tion, the chess definitions have a slightly different sense. Tactics do not embrace all concrete operations (for example, exchanges) , but only actions of a sharp, combinative character, intended to change Significantly the picture on the board, or to decide the game's outcome. In this sense, it does not matter whether the tactical operation is the logical outcome of events (i.e. whether it fits in with the strategic plan) or whether it is unconnected with the general flow of the game, and arises randomly (for example, because of a blunder by the oppo­ nent in a position that is better for him) . In other words, tactics in chess do not always serve strategy - sometimes they exist of their own accord. Separate manoeuvres, aimed at fulfilling the strategic plan, are not usually regarded as part of tactics. In general, the terms 'tactics' and 'strategy' , and, correspondingly, 'tactical play' and 'strategic play' are used almost as synonyms. When starting out using chess literature, it is worth remembering this change in military (and even political) terminology. And now we turn to the play itself Note: Throughout the book, we will use squares to the left of every diagram to in­

dicate which side is to move. 9

I m p rove Your Chess TaCl ics 3

Manca Braga

Durao Catozzi Dublin, 1 9 5 7

Reggio Emilia, 1 9 9 2 / 9 3

o

The queen was sacrificed 1.'iVc7+!, and the game ended. Black is mated: I . J iJxc7 2 .tDb6+ axb6 3 .nd8#. -

2

Black was mated elegantly: 1.nf4+ '1t>hS 2.nh4+! gxh4 3.g4#

V. Mikhalevski

Cruz Lima A. Hernandez

Neuchatel, 1 9 9 6

Cuba, 1 994

Siegel

4

•

•

White thought his opponent had noth­ ing better than to take the knight. How­ ever, there followed 1.. ..ih4+! 2.'1t>xh4 2 .'1t>f3 'fIif2#. 2..:iYfl+ 3.'1t>gS h6+

Here Black announced mate in five: 1..:i'xh2+! 2.'1t>xh2 tDf4+ 3.'1t>g 3 nh3+4.'1t>g4hS +S.'1t>gS :£5#

-

4.'1t>xh6'ifh4#.

In the following examples, after the sac­ rifice, there follow only checks and forced replies.

10

In the following example, the king is mated after two sacrifices.

The Alpha and Omega of C h ess

Arguments about formulae have no real connection with practical play. But these definitions are the basis for the classifi­ Moscow, I 95 I cation of combinations, and, corre­ spondingly, for the construction of our o account of this important theme. So far, we have deliberately chosen combinations in which every move is a check. Checks are a powerful means of control, of limiting the opponent's choice of replies. Calculating a combi­ nation in which the enemy king is continually chased around with checks (especially if the main line has few, if Jhf8+! WxfS If 1 . . .'i'xf8 2 .i.h7 + any, deviations) is usually quite easy. 1 However, such chances occur relatively 3 . .ig6+ and 4.'i'h7#. 2 'iVhS + wh8 rarely. Other means of control are Wfl threats and captures (exchanges) . De­ cisive threats can also be set up by 'quiet' (i.e. outwardly unremarkable) moves. 5 Geller

Novotelnov

.

Here are a few examples.

6

Spielmann Landau Holland, 1 9 3 2

3..ig6+! Inviting the king into the mating net. 3...Wxg6 3 . . We6 4.'i'c8+ .

'i'd7 s . .ifs + '1t>f7 6 .'i'xd7 + Wf8 7 .'iYd8 + and 8 .e6# does not change things.4.'iVh5# Moves (or series of moves) connected by a general idea and logically con­ nected with one another, are called a variation. When one side forces the other's moves, this is a forcing variation. In all of the examples we have seen, the forcing character of the struggle resulted from a sacrifice. A combination is a forced variation with a sacrifice.

0

The game continued 1.l2:)f6+! gxf6 2.�g4+ WhS . Mate became inevitable after the 'quiet' move 3.Wg2!. 11

Im p rove You r C h ess Tactics

7 Hort

Portisch Madrid, 1 9 7 3

I n the following fragment, the means used to draw the opponent into a forc­ ing variation was an exchange of pieces.

o 9

Kubicek Privara Omava, 1 9 7 6

1 .Iig4+! So as to open the bishop's di­ agonal. 1 ,..fxg4 2.'iYgS+ �h8 3Ji'h6! There is a threat not only of mate on h7 , but also 4.'iYxf8# (hence the check on g 5 ) . Black resigned.

8 Botvinnik

Keres The Hague/Moscow, 1 948

White has brought his rook t o h3 , t o at­ tack the opponent's castled position. To defend against the threat of �d I -h5 , Black has played . . . g7 -g6. How can we continue the assault? An exchange of minor pieces opens the possibility of a decisive sacrifice: 1 .�xe4 Ensuring the rook has access to the square g3 . 1 . ..dxe4 2.ttJxd7 Remov­ ing the knight that could go to f6. 2 ... �xd7 (or 2 . . �xd7) Now the decisive blow: 3 .'iYhS ! , and Black resigned. After 3 . . . gxh5 the game is ended by 4.1:.g 3 + , and otherwise the h7 -square cannot be defended. .

After 1 .Iixg7+ ! �xg7 2.ttJhS.f. �g6 (on 2 . . . �f8 there is 3 .ttJxf6 ttJxf6 4.'iVxf6,) the game was ended with the 'quiet' move 3.'iYe3!.

12

Now we see a combination devoted to material gain. (next page)

The Alp h a and Omeg a

1 0 Rosenblatt

of

Chess

12 Sliwa

Yolk

Stoltz

Bid, 1 9 7 7

Bucharest, 1 9 5 3

o

o

The simple combination I .1:rbS (1 . . ilxb8 2 . .ixe S + ; 1 . . . .ixd4 2 Jhe8 + ) ended the game. .

1 1 Beliavsky

Tavadian

White sacrificed his queen, for the sake of forCing his pawns through: 1 .'iYxc6 bxc6 2.b7 'iYdS 3.bS'iY ildl + Is this the refutation of the combina­ tion? .. 4.l::txd 1 'iYxbS

Yaroslavl, 1 98 2

o

There followed I JheS ! 'iYxeS ( 1 . . .ixe5 2 .Ild8 #) 2JldS + .ixdS 3 .'iYxeS + �d7 4.'iYd4+ with a great material advantage (4 . . . �e6 5 . .ixd8; 4 . . .�e7 5 . .icS + and 6 .'iYxh8) . .

White has only rook and knight for the queen, but his next 'qUiet' move radi­ cally clarifies the situation. S.ttJb7! Black resigned.

Besides mating the enemy king and gaining material, any favourable change in the position can be the object of a combination (for example strengthening an attack, improving piece coordination, transposing into a promising endgame, etc.) , and in a bad position, a combination may be the basis for saving the game (e.g. by setting up perpetual check, stalemate, re-establishing material equality, reaching a theoret­ ically drawn ending, etc.) , obtaining counterplay and even weakening the enemy attack. 13

Imp rove You r Chess Tactics

A combination is the strongest means of achieving the aim. It is an extraordinary way of reaching the goal, a breakthrough that clarifies the situation on the board in cl short time-frame, reveals the truth about the position, and exposes false values. Now let us look at combinations through the eyes of the spectator. Sacrifices and the subsequent extreme follow-ups create a strong emotional effect, whether we are watching the game in the tournament hall, or reading a book in which a game from long ago is presented. Original thoughts (not, in the final analysis, the amount sacrificed) , accurate calculation, 'quiet' intermediate moves, and the final victory of a relatively small force have a striking effect on us. Aesthetic appreciation of a combination depends, of course, on the class of a player. A typical combination, using a hackneyed theme, can be a real revelation to one player, but little more than an element of technique to another. The main point, though, is that the scope for original combinative ideas is almost inexhaustible. This is the nature of chess. Even with respect to typical combinations, all chess po­ sitions are concrete and have their own unique characteristics, and so experience, although it helps, can never insure anyone against mistakes. There are as many combinations as there are chess positions. After the reform of the moves of queen and bishop (in the 1 5 th- 1 6th centuries) , the role of combina­ tions greatly increased. It is precisely in the existence and extent of combinations that other games invented by the human mind are unable to compare with chess. Thus, a combination is a forcing variation with a sacrifice, in pursuit of a positive aim, and leading to a significant change in the situation on the board. Combinations can be classified by intention, and also by other formal attributes: the material which is sacrificed, the pieces taking part in the combination and play­ ing the major role therein, and the object against which the combination is directed. However, the most important of all is the classification of combinations by con­ tent. The MOTIF is the characteristic of the position, on which the player fastens in his search for a combination. This may be the cramped position of the enemy king, or, on the contrary, the distance by which its pieces are cut off from the defence, the weakness of the back rank, or of the squares in the immediate vicinity of the king, or the undefended position of a certain piece, or the lack of coordination between the pieces. The motif is nothing other than the initial signpost which directs the player's attention to the right area in his search for a combination. The THEME of a combination (sometimes called the 'idea') is the answer to the question of what the combination consists of For example, the deflection of the queen from the defence of a key square (the deflection theme) , the breaking of the connection between enemy pieces, the presence of pieces on a single line, etc.

14

Combinative Themes

fmprove You r Chess Tact ics

Deflection In combinations on the theme of deflection, an enemy piece or pawn which is per­ forming an important function is forced (or induced) to leave its position, thereby exposing a key line or square, or leaving another piece undefended. The final aim of the operation can vary. We start with a simple textbook exam­ ple from the endgame.

White is prepared to give his knight for the c-pawn, which leads to a draw after 1 . . c3 2.ttJxc3 ttJxc3 3 .Wg5 ttJe2 4.Wg6 ttJg3 . However, after the deflection 1. ttJb6! he has to resign - the pawn cannot be stopped. .

13

• •

o

I S Abrahams Winter London, 1 946

o The black bishop has to control c 7 , else the white pawn queens. But by continu­ ing 1 .�c3 White deflects the bishop from the key diagonal and after 1...�xc3 2.e7 he wins.

1 4 Popov

Emelyanenko Correspondence game, 1 9 8 4-8 5

•

IJlhS + WxhS 2.'iVxfS+ Wh6 2 . . . Wh4 3 . g 3 #. 3 .'ffxe4 and after 3 . Jhe4 4.d7 Black cannot stop the pawn promoting. As a result of his combination, White turns an apparently complicated positi­ on into a clear one, in which he has a winning advantage. .

Now we will look at some examples where the deflection is followed by . a knight fork. As in the previous examples, the final aim is to secure a material advantage. 16

Deflection

1 6 Alexander

1 8 Panczyk

Cordingley

Schurade

England. 1 947

Zakapane. 1 9 7 8

o

1.bb7 'ifxb7 2.'iVd5! Black resigned, because he loses a piece: 2 . . . �xd5 3 .ttJxe7 + and 4.ttJxd5 ; 2 . . . ttJc6 3 .�xc6!. 1 7 Atlas

Wirthensohn Wahlen. 1 99 3

o

After 1 .�e8+! �xe8 2.ttJf6+ �e7 ( 2 . . . �f8 3 .ttJd7 +) 3 Jte l + �f8 4.ttJd7+ Black loses his queen to a fork. This combination did not actually occur in the game at hand, but was found in analysis.

The simple 1 .ie5 �f7 2 . .ixb8 �xb8 3 .�xe6 or 3 .ttJe5 and ttJe5 -c6 is strong, but the game ended with the re­ markable long move 1 .'iVa8 ! ! . If the queen is taken, there follows 2 .ttJxe7 + and 3 . ttJxc8, remaining with an extra piece. If l ..Jlb 7 , then 2.ttJxe7 + �xe7 3 .'i'xb8. After 1 Jhg6 2 .�xa7 , and also 1 .. . .td8 2 .'i'xa7 ttJc6 3 .ttJe7+ ! ttJxe7 (3 . . . .ixe7 4.'i'xb6) 4.�fd l the realisa­ tion of the extra exchange should not be too difficult. In the last variation, White also wins the exchange after 2 .'i'xb8 (instead of 2.'i'xa7 ) 2 . . . 'i'xb8 3 . .ixb8 l:1b7 , by playing 4.ttJe5 l:lxb8 5 .ttJd7 . .

. .

Now let us acquaint ourselves with some of the many different motifs in­ volving the hidden weakness of the back rank. If the king does not have a bolthole (or he cannot make use of it because the square is attacked) , the deflection of a piece which is defending the back rank can result in catastrophe.

17

Improve Your C h ess Tac t i cs

1 9 Fiister

21 M ikenas

Balogh

Bronstein

Budapest, 1 94 6

Tallinn, 1 9 6 5

•

There followed 1 ..:i'b2! ('mating the rook' ! ) , and White acknowledged de­ feat.

20 Mechkarov

White did not detect any danger: on l .. .�e I + he does not take the queen, but continues 2 .'iffl . However, with the move 1 l:txa3! Black captured an apparently well­ defended pawn, after which White had to resign. .••

Kaikamdzozov Bulgaria, 1 9 69

22 Reshevsky

Fischer

o

Palma de Mallorca, 1 97 0

•

By playing 1 . l:tb 2 , White prepared to exchange rooks. The reply 1 ..:i'O! forced him to resign.

After 1 . . 'ifd4+ 2.�hl 'iff'l ! White re­ signed. On 3 .'i'bS , and also 3 .l:lg 1 , there follows 3 ... l:te 1 . .

18

Deflection

23 Mileika

25 Madsen

Vojtkevics

Napolitano

Riga. 1 9 6 3

Correspondence game. 1 9 5 3

•

o

The key square dS, at which the White queen, supported by the rook, is look­ ing, is defended twice. It would be good to deflect one of the pieces that defend this square, which can be done by means of l .tia7! . After l . ..'*fh6 (it is easy to see that there is no other move) the white rook places itself under a double attack 2.t1h7!. After any cap­ ture, 3 .'i'dS + decides. Black resigned. -

A decisive advantage could be obtained without any fuss by 1 .. tie2 2.Wfl 'i'e6. What instead happened has a direct con­ nection with our theme (as well as with chess aesthetics) : I ... tie I + ! 2.tixe I 'fj'd4+! 3.'fj'xd4 dxe l 'fIi# .

26 Teschner

Portisch Monaco. 1 9 69

24 Lepek

Koonen Correspondence game. 1 9 62

o

l .tic2! 'i'xd4 2.tic4 'i'h6 There is no other reply - otherwise the Sth rank will be undefended. 3.ticS+ tidS 4.'ifbS! (or 4.'i'e3 ! ) . The deflection of the queen decides the game.

Black is not threatening to take the queen, and so White re-established ma­ terial equality by means of l .tixdS. In reply, Portisch could have decided the game with the deflection l . ..'fin!. White can stop the mate on fI and at the same time defend his rook by means of 2.ttJg3, but then 2 ..:i'el + leads to mate. The Hungarian GM played 1 . ..'i'a6. The reply2.ttJg3 allowed White to liquidate the danger and the game was drawn. 19

I mprove You r Chess Tactics It can also happen that a piece is over­ loaded with responsibilities - it has to de­ fend two or even more important objects (pieces, squares or lines) . Deflection of the overloaded piece can result in one of the objects being left undefended.

The move 1 ..:�'a7!, deflecting the queen from the defence of c3 , ended the game. 29 Alexeev

Razuvaev Moscow, 1 9 6 9

2 7 Ragozin

Panov Moscow, 1 940

•

•

The move I ..:�c6! , deflects the queen, and after 2 .'*Ve2 , the exploitation of its overload and need to defend the rook (2 .. Jhd 1 + 3 .'*Vxd 1 'i'xbS) forced White to resign.

The pawn e4 defends against the pow­ erful bishops, so: I ..:i'dS! Or the 'sim­ pIe' 1 . . .'i'd6. 2:�'f3 'fIfdl ! 3.\t>g2 Again the queen cannot be taken because of mate. 3 .. :iYc2+ 4.\t>h3 �xe4 White re­ Signed. 30 Petkevich

C astaneda A few more examples of deflecting sac­ rifices.

Russ ia , 1 994

28 Byvshev

Tolush Leningrad, 1 9 5 4

•

Deflecting the rook from the f-file (or the queen from the defence of g7) ren­ ders mate unavoidable: l .ttdS! ':'xdS If 1 ... �e6 or l . . . �fS , then 2.'iff6+ and 3 .'ifxf8#. And after l . .'i'fl - 2 .'i'xeS + .

20

Defl ecti on

Wg8 3 ..�c4! , and Black is mated on g 7 . 2.'iVf6+ Wg8 3 ..Q.e4+ with mate.

33 Polugaevsky

Szilagyi Moscow, 1 9 6 0

3 1 Hofer

Felmy Hamburg, 1 9 7 S

l .tLJhS ! Deflecting the knight from the defence of h 7 . 1 ... tLJxhS After the new deflection blow 2.tLJdS ! the king is de­ prived of e7 - Black resigned. White could have inverted moves, first playing 2 .'i'h7 + and after 2 . . .Wf8 3 .ttJdS ! , with the same result.

White has the advantage, of course. He could play, say, l .e6 followed by I . . Jhd7 2 Jlg 1 + , and on 2 . . . WhS or 2 . . . Wh6 - 3 .exd7 �d8 4.l:td l . However, Polugaevsky found an origi­ nal mating combination: l .�g l + Wh6 2 ..ifS+ ! Deflecting the rook from the d-file allows the decisive manoeuvre (note that 2 .lifl was also enough to win) . 2 .. .llxfS 3 .l:t.d3 ! , and the mate is unstoppable.

3 2 Zakic

Miljanic

34

Budva, 1 9 96

Mackenzie NN Manchester, 1 8 89

0

1 .�d8+! and Black resigned in view of the following variation : 1 . . . 'i'Vxd8 2 .�xb7+ We7 3 .�aS + 'ltd7 4.�e6+ Wc8 (4 ... We7 5.�xcS+) S .'i'a6+ Wb8 6.'i'b7#.

0

Black will be mated on d8 ! To do so, White needs to open and clear the d-file and deflect the enemy queen and rook. Thus, l .l:t.xeS + ! dxeS 2.'iVxeS+! 'iVxeS 3 .i.e6+ I:txe6 4J�d8#. 21

I mprove Your C hess Tact i cs

Exercises 35

36

37

38

39

40

•

D

22

•

Deflection 41

42

43

44

o

•

•

46

45

o

o

23

I m p rove Your Chess Tacti cs

47

48

•

•

50

49

•

•

51

52

o

24

Deflection 53

54

55

56

•

o

•

57

58

lmprove Your C h ess T a c t i cs

60

S9

•

•

61

62

•

63

o

26

64

Deflec t i on 65

66

67

68

o

o

o

70

69

D

•

27

Improve You r Chess T a c t i cs 71

o

72

•

On 1 .'iVc3 + Black blocked the check with 1 ..:i'd4. Assess this move.

What is your reply to l ..JIc8 ?

73

74

Black's last move was . . . ttJf6-g4. How should it be met?

Black did not want to give up the d-file ( 1 JhdS 2.11xdS cxb3 3 .�d3 or 3 .�d4 with advantage to White) and took the pawn at once 1 . .cxb3. Was he right?

o

..

-

76

7S

o

White defended against mate by means of l .f4. Continue the attack. 28

.

o

Assess the continuation 1 Jbg7 :xg7 2.�xf6.

Vellcd ion

77

78

White played 1 .�d4, deciding that a di­ rect attack on the kingside is not dan­ gerous for him: 1 ...�h3 2.�f3 ];lc6 3.Wh l , and the bishop on h3 must re­ treat. Were his calculations correct?

By putting his queen on c 3 , White threatened mate, and attacked the bishop at the same time. Is Black obliged to return the bishop to f8 ?

79

80

o

•

How should White's last move I J:[d l -d6 be rnet ? 81

o

Can the pawn on c3 be taken? 82

•

By sacrificing a pawn, Black went into the variation 1 ... �xgS 2.�xf7+ �h8 3.�xe8 �xc l 4.�xg6 i.xb2. Assess it.

The black rooks have burst onto the 7th rank. Continue the attack. 29

I m prove You r Chess Tactics

84

83

o

o

Mate is threatened on c 2 , and the bishop on c8 attacked. What should White do?

On 1 .1:th8+ Black plays 1 ...�d7, in or­ der after 2 Jhc8 to reply 2 . . . l:txg 7 , and after 2 Jhfl - 2.. Jhh8. Has he seen everything?

8S

86

o

White has a n extra pawn, but i s well be­ hind in development, and with the move 1 f4 Black went over to the at­ tack. What happens after 2.�xd7 'i'xd7 3.'i'xeS ? Analyse the position. •..

30

White refrained from the move 1 .11a3 with the threat of mate on a8 (first question: why?) and played 1 .I:th3, on which there followed 1 . 'i'gS . Question two: how should the move 2.lia3 be assessed now, the queen hav­ ing been driv�n away? .

.

Decoying In combinations on this theme, an enemy piece is again induced to leave its position, but in this case, it is lured to a specific position. In this position, the piece then turns out to be badly placed, either for itself, or in relation to other pieces. We begin with a textbook position.

Now several examples in which the king is lured into a fork.

87 89 Raitza

o

Casper

•

By continuing l .i.a3+! White either entices the king to a3 and gives mate, or (if the king retreats) wins the queen. 1 . .d4+! After every capture of the pawn, as well as a king retreat, White loses his queen : 2 . 'i'xd4 ttJf5 + ; 2.Wxd4 ttJc6+ ; 2.Wf4 ttJg6+ ; 2.We4 'i'e2 + 3 .Wf4 ttJg6+ or 3 .Wxd4 ttJc6+ . .

8 8 Stanciu

Drimer Bucharest. 1 9 69

•

90

o

With the tempting move 1 ... tLlc6? Black attacked the pinned bishop. However, after 2.l:H8+! he had to resign. The king is lured to f8 , allowing the pinned bishop to land a deadly blow (2 ... Wxf8 3 .i.xg 7 +) .

In this textbook example, Black has queen for rook, but l .1:[f6+! 'i'xf6 2.eS+ saves White (2 ... Wxe5 3 .ttJg4+ or 2 . . . 'i'xe5 3 .ttJf7+) . 31

I m prove Yo u r Chess Tac t i cs

9 1 Prze piorka - Ahues Kecskemet. 1 92 7

•

Byrne forced a transposition into a win­ ning endgame by means of 1. . .t2JfS + 2.xf2 I:tdl + , and mate next move.

Alivirta Helsinki. 1 9 5 7

• In the next two fragments, the king is lured into a double check. 97 S. Anderson

Knutsen Sweden. 1 9 7 4

•

l . .. 'i'd l + ! 3 . . . lid l #.

2.'1t>xd l

.ig4+

and

Black's position is winning, and after the tempting 1 . ..'i'h7 ( 2 .lH3 'i'h2+ 3 . \t>f2 ttJxf3 4. \t>xf3 'i' g 3 + 5 . We 2 nhe8 or 5 ... lih2) , and also 1 . . . 'i'xg4 he would win. Instead, the final combination seen in the game showed two decoy sacrifices: I . ..lihl +! V;i?xhl 'i'h7+ 3.'1t>gl 'iVh2+ 4.�2 ttJf3+ 5.�hl (or 5 .\t> h3 ) Now, when the king no longer has the square g I , there followed 5 ..J1h8#. 33

I m prove You r Chess Tac t i cs

1 00 Nette

1 02 Vidmar

Abente

Euwe

Paraguay, 1 9 8 3

Carlsbad, 1 9 2 9

o

•

Instead of the prosaic 1 . . .�h3 2 .l:re3 :1xe3 3 . fxe3 �xe3 + 4.'iVxe3 :1xe3 with a technically winning endgame, Black preferred mate in six: 1 :1e 1 + 2,li;t>g2 l:Igl +! 3.Wxgl 'iVe 1 + 4.Wg2 'fVfl +! S.\t>xfl �h3+, and mate next move. •..

1 0 1 Heemsoth

Weber Correspondence game, 1 9 7 3 - 7 4

o

White's material advantage is irrelevant, as he is threatened with mate. However, it is Black who gets mated: 1 J:1eS+ i.fS 1 . . cJth7 2 .'i'd3 +. 2.l:IxfS+! The first decoying sacrifice. 2 ... \t>xfS Or 2 . . .cJtg7 3 .ttJeS + cJtg6 4.:1d6+ mating. 3.ttJfS + cJtgS 4.'fVfS+! Only this second decoy­ ing sacrifice leads to victory. After 4.l:tdS + Wh7 5 .11hS+ Black is not obliged to take the rook, and thereby get mated - he can retreat the king to g6. 4 ... cJtxfS S.l:IdS# .

1 03 Levitina

Gaprindashvili Tbilisi, 1 9 7 9

o

The threat is 1 . . . :1xh2 + 2 .cJtxh2 'l'h5 + 3 .cJt g 3 �h4+ and mate. However, it is White's move, and he can give mate more quickly: l .:1g8+ cJta7 1 ...i.cS 2.'iVb6#. 2J�a8+! \t>xa8 2 .. . bS 3.'.c7+. 3.'fVxa6+ and 4.'Ci'xb7#. 34

Black has just played her queen to f3 , to threaten mate. In reply to 1 .'fVc6 (or 1 .'i'xe 5 + i.f6 2 .'i'e4 :1fe8) , Gaprin-

Decoying

dashvili's original calculations had gone 1. .. e4 and after 2.fixe4 the decoy sacri­ fice 2 .. JUeS 3.tlJxeS+ �xeS. But when the white queen appeared on c6, she realised that at the end of this variation, White in her turn can attack the queen with 4.tlJd4

( 4 .. Jhe4 S . tlJxf3 ) , and Gaprindash viIi was forced to abandon her original in­ tention. Instead of 1 . ..e4 she played 1 .. .'iTS and soon lost. However, the new decoy sacri fice 4.. :i'g2+! leads to mate!

one with 4 ... tlJe4#. S.Wh4 �xb3+ 6.�aS tlJxc4# 1 05 Voitsekhovsky

Gabaidullin Kaluga. 2 0 0 3

l .fixh6+ ! The follow-up moves l.A;>xh6 2.1:1h3+ �gS (else mate on h7) 3 .tlJ h7+ �g4 4.�e2 + were not played; Black resigned. 1 06 Rodl

Bliimich Wiesbaden. 1 9 3 4

A special place amongst decoy sacrifices is occupied by those cases where the king is forced to flee towards the enemy camp, and meets his end there. 1 04 Filip

B ajar Czec hoslovakia. I 9 5 7

1 ..Jhe4! 2.�xe4 tlJxcS+ 3.�d4 �dS+ 4.c3 nd3+ It was possible to mate in

The king hunt begins with a queen sac­ rifice. to set up a disc overed check: l .fixf7+! �xf7 2 ..ixdS+ Wg6 2 . . . rJite7 3 .nf1#. 3 ..if7+ �xgS 4..ic1 + �g4 Or 4 . . . rJit h4. S J1£4+ rJitgS S . .. Wh3 6.11d3#. 6.ne4# If Black had retreated his king instead of taking the queen, then after 2..�.g4 his position would have been hopeless (e.g. 2 ... fixeS 3 . .ixd7 fi xgS t 4 ng2) . .

35

I mp rove You r Chess Tactics

1 07 Kasparian

Manvelian Yerevan, 1 9 3 6

There followed: 1. .. tlJxfl! 2.�xfl 'tWc5+ 3.�f3 If 3 .We I , then 3 . . .'i'e3 + 4.Wd I �g4+ S.Wc I nfc8 6.�b2 b4.

o

1 .'tWxc6+ ! 'Come into my parlour! ' 1 ... �xc6 V{Je5+ �c5 3.tLld3+ �d4.

4.�d2! A striking finish to the combi­ nation. There is no defence to S .c3#, so Black resigned. 1 08 S. Farago

Bigaliev Budapest, 1 9 96

3 . . . �g4+! 4.�xg4 When calculating the combination, Black also had to reckon with the retreat of the king. After 4 .�g3 he can set up decisive threats by 4 . . . 'i'e3 + S .tLlf3 ( S .�xg4 h S + and S .Wh4 tLlg6+ ends in mate) S . . . �xf3 , and after 6 .gxf3 , the inclusion of the rook in the attack 6 . . . na6 ! . 4...'i'fl! Cutting off the king's retreat. 5 .g3 Leads to mate. However, there was no way out. If S .�xeS , then 5 . . . hS + 6.WgS (6.fS tLlxg2+) 6 . . .f6 + 7 .i.xf6 (7 .WfS g6#) 7 . . . gxf3 + . and mate after 8 .fs 'i'h4 (9.eS tLld3 !) or 8 .h6 'i'a7. 5 ...h5+ 6.�h4 f6 A triumph for accurate calculation. White resigned. If White had seen what was to follow, he could have declined the knight and, with a heavy heart, have played 2 .tLlc4. In this case, after 2 . . . bxc3 3 .'i'xf2 fs Black would have had an extra pawn and a large advantage.

36

OecoyillS

1 09 Tietz

Romisch

Now we see a position from a more cent game.

r�­

Carlshad, 1 8 9 8

1 1 0 Karj akin

o

By sacrificing rook, queen and bishop (!) , White draws the enemy king from d7 to fs : 1 .1hc6 Wxc6 2.'iVxbS+ WxbS 3 .�a4+! Wc4 3 ... Wxa4 leads to mate in two 4.4Jc3+ Wb3 S .4Jd2#. 4.b3+ Wd3 S .�bS+ We4 6.l:tg4+ WfS 7.4Je3# This striking combination by the well­ known chess organiser, who ran the in­ ternational tournaments in Carlsbad, has been published many times. How­ ever, there was not actually any need to chase the black king all round the board. Firstly, the move 1 .�c2 ! (threatening to take the bishop on c6, and at the same time breaking the pin on the rook) would end the game. Secondly, after 1 .�xc6 Wxc6 instead of the queen sacrifice, it was also possible to play 2 . � c 2 +, in order then to take the rook and remain with an extra knight. Thirdly, Black could also decline the knight, and instead of 2 . . . WxbS ? retreat the king. After 2 ... Wb7 3 .'i'xeS 4Jc7 4.�a4 llxfl S .'iVb3 White has the ad­ vantage, but the game would continue.

Malinin Sudak, 2 0 0 2

With such an undeveloped black queenside, White's first move, breaking into the king's defences, simply begs to be played I .4Jxg7. But what then? Answer: on 1 ... Wxg7 - 2.�h6+! Wxh6. If 2 . . . WgS , then 3 .'i'd2 'i'aS (after 3 ... 'iVh4 there is 4 . .igS �hS S .�xf6) 4 . .ixfS Wxf8 S .'i'h6 + We7 6.l:ta e 1 + 4JeS 7 . f4 'i'cS + S .Wh 1 4Jg4 9.'i'h4+. 3 .'iVd2+ WhS -

4.g4+! It is impossible to believe that such a king can escape mate after 4.c4, isolat­ ing the queen. But Karjakin accurately calculates the variation in the game. By allowing the enemy queen into play, he 37

Improve Your Chess Tactics

includes his rook in the attack, and con­ cludes the game by force. 4 ... ltJxg4 S.fx.g4+ 't'Ixg4+ 6.Whl The queen's presence cannot save the black king. The threat is 7 .Jie2 , which follows after 6 .. .f6 or 6 . . . ltJe5 . Ifinstead 6 . . . 1:I.e8 , then 7 JH6! 'i'g5 8 .�e2 + with mate in a few moves. Also hopeless is 6 . . . fVg5 7 . 1:I.f5 'fVxf5 8 . .ixfS . In the game, there followed 6 ... d6 7.1:I.f6! fVgS 8.Ji..e 2+ Jig4 9.Ji..x g4+. Black is mated.

I I I Bonaziz

I n calculating the combination, Black had to foresee the final decoy sacrifice: S .....Q.xgS+! Despite having two extra rooks, White is mated after 6. xgS f6+ .

Miles Riga, 1 9 7 9

•

Decoy sacrifices can also b e made with a view to blockading. In mating combinations of this type, �ith a decoy sacrifice, an enemy piece is lured to a square on which it block­ ades its king's only escape route. 1 1 2 Polyansky

Gerchikov Arkhangelsk, 1 949

White has an extra exchange, and the c-pawn is one step from promoting. It seems that all approaches to the king are well defended. However, there fol­ lowed: 1 ... 1:I.xh3 ! 2.Wxh3 White thought his opponent's move was j ust a desperation sacrifice, else he would have refused the gift and played 2 .'ii' f I . After 2 . . .1:1g3+ 3 .wfl 1:I.xf 3 + 4.Wxf3 'iYxfI + S .We4 the game would probably have ended in perpetual check. But, after all, why not take the rook? 2 ... �hI + 3 .'fi'h2 'iYxf3 + 4.xh4 .ie7+ 5 .gS 38

o

Black has an extra rook, and after 1 . 'iYh 7 + wf8 2.'i'h8+ We7 3 .'i'xg 7 + Wd8 4.'i¥xf6 + Wc8 or 4.lDfl + tlxfl S .'ii' xfl 'i'xfl 6.exf7 Wd7 he would be ready to realise h is material advan­ tage.

Deco y i ng

The moves 1 .fi'h7+ f8 were played, but now the king's escape route was blocked by 2.e7+! lIxe7 3.'i'hS#.

Instead of 1 .. .lId?? he should have played 1 . . . aS, and if 2 .�eS + , then 2 .. .1:1f6. It sometimes happens that the only de­ fence to a kingside attack is to move a pawn in front of the king. In that case, a blockading sacrifice, preventing the pawn moving, may force mate.

1 1 3 Kwilecki

Reslinski Poznan, 1 9 6 3

o

With kingside castling, it is usually the pawn on f7 (f2) that is blockaded, as happens in the follOWing example. 1 1 4 Fischer

Benko New York, 1 9 6 3 / 64

After l .ne7 , Black, without delving into the subtleties, played 1 . . lId7 and after 2.'i'eS+ was probably very dis­ tressed: 2 . f8 (2 . . . g 8? 3 .lIe8+; 2 . . . Wh6? 3 .�f4+) .

..

On l .'I'hS Black replied 1 . .. 'i'eS, in­ tending 2 . . .f7 -f5 . There followed 2.�xd4 exd4.

3.J::[xd7 �xd7 4.'i'hS+ and S .'i'xh7 leads to a queen ending a pawn down . . . But White has no need t o take the end­ game. With the 'qUiet' move 3.�f6!, putting the rook en prise, he attacks f7. The rook is untouchable, since if it is taken, Black blocks his king's escape and is mated on h 8 . The f7 -square can only be defended by 3 . . . �e8, giving up the queen. He had to resign.

The mate threat 3 .eS is defeated by 3 .. .fS (4.'i'xe8 11axe8 S .exd6 dxc3) . 39

Improve Yo u r Chess Tactics

But Benko had failed to see the striking move 3.1::1f6!, 'freezing' the f-pawn: now 3 . . .�xf6 (3 . . . dxc3) 4.e5 leads to mate. In the game, Black played 3 ... cit>g8 4.eS h6 , and now not 5 Jhd6? because of 5 . . . �xe 5 , after which the game would still continue, but S.tDe2!, which forced Black to resign. If he takes the rook, then 6 .�xh6, whilst in the event of the knight re­ treating, there is 6 .�f5 . After other re­ plies, White simply takes the knight on d6. As Fischer pointed out, instead of 1 . . .�e8 ? Black should have played 1 . . . c5 or 1 . . . tDe6.

7.cit>e l ! If it were not for this 'qUiet' move, the combination would be mistaken (7 .�xe2? 'i'xc2+ , and White is mated) . Now after the only check 7 . . . 'i'a5 + there follows 8 . b4. Black resigned. 1 1 6 Schaffer

Kalinitschew

l iS Ravinsky

Ilivitsky

Miinster, 1 99 0

Riga, 1 9 52

D

Black has an extra rook. On l .e5 the reply 1 . . . f5 deals with all the threats. However, ' freezing' the f7 pawn by 1 . .if6 ! leads to a forced mate after 1 . ..�xf6 2.e S ! tDxd3 3 .exf6 tDf2+ 4.cit>g l tD h3 + S .cit>fl i.c4+ If 5 .. .'tWc4 + , then 6 .h2, and the move 2 ... net left White a rook down. 1 9 7 Bykov Sinoviev

1 99 Dahl Schultz Berlin, 1 9 5 6

Odessa, 1 9 8 3

•

By playing 1 . 1:1c3 ! , Black pinned the rook on c2 along the c-file and the sec­ ond rank. The game ended: 2.nxa2 2.11xc3 lIxe2 . 2 .. Jhet + and 3 .. Jih l # ••

I n all these examples, a pin and attack on the pinned piece led to a decisive material advantage. However, this was achieved without any initial sacrifice. In combinations, the decisive pin and/ or its exploitation is achieved by means of a sacrifice. 62

l .e6! i.xe6 2 ..id4 f6 Or 2 . . . .ig4 3 .h3 c5 4 . .ie5 c4 5 . .id l .

!.

P i n n i n g and U n p i n n i n g

After the introductory moves, a double diagonal pin on the bishop at e6 de­ cides things: 3.�g4! On 3 . . . wfl there follows 4.11fe I . Black resigned. 200 Nirnzowitsch

goal' , i n the cause o f which the pinned piece may move away and expose a more valuable or undefended colleague to attack. 20 1 Alekhine

Rubinstein

Tenner

Berlin, 1 9 2 8

Cologne. 1 9 1 1

o

White played 1 .�g6 ! , leaving the rook attacked, which, moreover, can be taken with check. But Black resigned: the g 7 pawn i s pinned, and s o 2 .�g6xh6# is threatened. If I . . . nxd l +, then 2 .Wg2 , and after 2 . . . 11d2+ the king escapes the checks on h3 . The only possibility of defending the square h6 is to play 2 .. J:tg l + (instead of 2 . . . Ud2+) and then transfer the bishop to e3 with tempo: 3 .Wxg l �c5 + 4. g 8

7 . 'iWe8 + .

6.'iWe7+ c;;t>g S 7.'iWeS+ , and Black re­ The rook holds up the d-pawn, the

signed because of the unavoidable mate

bishop the h-pawn. Nevertheless , Black

(7 . . . c;;t> g 7

wins.

l O .'iVg7#) .

8 . f6 +

c;;t>h 7

9 . 'iVf7 +

and

Improve Your Chess Tunics

Exercises 232

233

234

235

o

o

•

237

236

o

72

I n terference and Shu t t i ng - o ff

238

239

The black king has no cover, but how can we create decisive threats?

The king's pawn cover i s weakened, and all the white pieces are in the attack. All that remains is to finish the job.

240

241

o

o

Continue the attack.

White played l .ttJe5 , after which there followed 1 . 'ifxd4 2.ttJxc6 'iYe4+ 3 ..ie3 bxc6 4.ttJc3 'iYxg2. Black has won two pawns, but is behind in devel­ opment. What happens now? ..

73

Improve Your Chess Tactics

243

242

o

Black played 1. .ttJd3 , threatening mate on h2 and attacking the bishop on b2 at the same time. Assess the consequences of2..�.xh7+.

The g-pawn is ready to queen, and White cannot create a mate threat with l .Wg6 because the pawn promotes with check. What can he do?

244

245

.

o

How should the game end?

•

There are two tempting ways to pursue the attack: 1 'i'c2 and 1 . . i.xc3 . Which would you choose? . . .

7A

.

Combining Themes We have looked so far at examples containing one particular theme, but very often, two or more themes are combined in one siruation. Deflection and Decoy

246 Smejkal

Adorjan Vrnjacka Banja. 1 9 7 2

1 Jle8+ tLJfS 2.tLJh6+ Deflecting the queen opens a path to the square d8. 2 .. :ifxh6 3 JhfS+ Decoying the king to f8 . 3 WxfS 4.'i'd8# Here the ideas of deflection and decoy are realised by separate successive sacri­ fices. It is not hard to see that l .tLJh6+ would have been a mistake because of 1 . . . g6 4.�e7 f6 S .lhe6 llfl Black has three pawns for the piece) . The correct path is the immediate line clearance 1 . Wg2 ! . On l . . . tDxg4 there followed 2.lih l + tDh6 3 .l:Ixh6+! (de­ coy) 3 . . . Wxh6 4.l:Ih 1 #. Mate occurs slightly later after 1 . gS (in­ stead of 1 ... tDxg4) 2.l:Ih l Wg6 3 Jhh6+ wfS 4.�e l Wxg4 s .f3 + WfS 6.Wg3.

264 Madler Uhlmann Aschersleben, 1 9 6 3

•

..

263 M. Gasparian P. Ornstein

By luring the king to h I , Black exploits the diagonal pin: I ..Jle l + 2.Wh2 llhl +! 3.c;t>xhl 'i'h3+, and mate next move.

Yerevan, 1 99 9

o

265 Ragozin Boleslavsky Moscow, 1 94 5

•

After 1 .l::[b 3 the Swedish girl answered 1 . ..exd4, preparing to meet an attack on a7 (2.�a3) with 2 . . . a S . 81

I m p rove You r Chess

Ta l l i es

The pawn can be stopped by 1 . . . �b8 or I . . . w f7 . Om of general considerations, Boleslavsky preferred 1 ...wf7 (the king attacks the pawn and also covers the promotion square, whilst the rook is kept for other, more active tasks) . How­ ever, after 2.eS'i'+! �xeS 3.�a4 he had to resign; he loses a rook to the pin.

2 6 7 Stolberg

Zak Gorky. 1 9 3 8

Decoy and I nterference

266 Koblents

O. Moiseev Riga, 1 9 5 5

•

By cutting the queen off from f7, White crowns his attack: 1 .l:id7! �xd7 After 1 . . g6 2 Jh c 7 gxh S 3 .ttJxf7 ttJe6 (3 ... i.e6 4.ttJxeS) 4.ttJh6+ Wh8 S .ne7 ttJxcS 6.ttJf7 + Wg7 7 .ttJd6 + Wf6 8 .1:[c7 Black's position is hopeless. 2.'iYxf7+ �hS 3.�c4 ttJg6 And now the well-known 'smothered mate' 4.'iVg8+ lixg8 S.ttJf7# .

-

The pawn cannot promote because of the discovered check l:td6-f6, whilst af­ ter a king retreat, the same rook move stops the pawn, and White remains with an extra piece. True, it is possible to play 1 .. Jle3, tak­ ing the bishop, but giving both f-pawns, which leads to a very sharp situation. Moiseev found a striking combinative solution. With 1 ...B + ! he invites the white king onto the f-file (2 .�xfS fI �+) . If 2 .gxf6 , then after 2 .. .f1 � White doesn't have a good discovered check, as the line has been shut off Nor does 2.\tlxh3 (2 .. .f1 �+ 3 .Wh4 'iVe l + 4.i.g3 'ifh 1 +) work, so White re­ signed. 82

Eliminating Defenders and Deflection

268 Zheliandinov

Mikhalchishin Lvov, 1 9 9 5

•

Black has two powerful bishops, the pawn on e3 is weak, and he could in-

Com b i ning T hemes

crease the pressure by playing I . . . �d6 (L.QJ3 �xf3 3 .�xf3 nd3) . However. the outcome o f the game was decided by a tactic: 1 ...�xd2! Eliminat­ ing the defender of the e3 pawn. 2.�xd2 .2.xe3 Deflecting the queen from the defence of g2. White resigned.

Eliminating Defenders and Decoying

2 70 Zarovniatov

Pankratov Correspondence game, 1 9 9 0

269 Lilienthal

Johannessen Oslo. 1 9 7 6

o

So as to give check with the queen from g3 . White eliminates the enemy knight: 1 .1:Ixe4! 'iVxe4 The same combination follows after the capture by the pawn. whilst after l ...�c l + 2 .Wh2 'i'xfl White wins by 3.'iVe3 . 2.'iVg3+ �h8

1 .. .l:ha4! Removing the defender of the bishop on b2. 2.bxa4 After the queen capture. there follows 2 .. .lha2+ 3 .Wxa2 �a8 + 4.�a3 !:[xa 3 + 5 .�b2 tDc4+ 6.�c l lla l #. If 2.'i'xd3 , then 2 . . Jha2+ 3 .Wxa2 'i'a8+ . whilst after 2.tDxd3 simply 2 . . . tDxd3 . 2 ...'iVxb2+! Decoying the king. which is then hunted down. 3 .'�tt xb2 tDc4+ 4.Wb3 4.Wc l �b2#. 4...ttJaS + S.xb4 l::rb 8+ 6.�xaS .2.c3# The final position deserves a diagram:

Now the deflection of the rook from the eighth rank decides: 3 .ttJxf7+ (3 .. .l:hfl 4.�a8+) . Black resigned. 83

I m p rove You r C h ess T a c t i cs Eliminati ng Defenders a nd Clearing Lines

2 7 1 Rubinstein

Hirschbein Lodz, 1 9 2 7

surrendered: 3 ...�xh6 4..fl.xa6 Black's position is lost. Eliminati ng Defenders and I nterference

2 7 3 Bologan

Movsesian Sarajevo, 2 0 0 5

1 Jhd7! Eliminating the defender o f f6 . 1 ...i.xd7 2,tbf6+ \itfS 3.t2JdS ! Clearing the long diagonal, with an attack on the queen. Black resigned.

272 Levenfish

White sacrificed his central pawn: 1 .dS exdS 2.cxdS t2JxdS 3 ..ic4, intending after 3 . . . t2JSf6 or 3 . . .ttJf4 to play 4.ttJg 3 . Black, however, preferred 3 ...t2Jb4,

Freiman Leningrad, 1 9 2 5

o

The queen sacrifice on h6 1eaps to one's eye: 1 .ixh6 gxh6 2.nxh6+ �g7, but what next? Answer: 3 .i.b7! By attacking the queen, the bishop clears the diagonal with tempo. Mate is threatened on g6, so the queen must be •

84

believing he had nothing to fear from the opened diagonal. After 4.'ti'c3 , the reply 4 . . .ttJf6 is solid enough. But what if this defender of the kingside is eliminated? There followed 4Jhd7! 'tYxd7. Understandably, not 4 ... �xd7, since af­ ter S .'tvc3 the game ends. s:�c3 1Wg4

C o m b i n i n g T h em es

Deflection, Eliminati ng Defenders and Decoying

275 Skuja

Rozenberg Riga, 1 9 6 2

o The pawn on fl is fixed because of the pin, but Black believed that his last move was perfectly good. And he would have been right, had it not been for the knight jump, shutting off the queen from the attacked square g 7 : af­ ter 6.t2Jfg5 ! Black had to give up the queen 6 :ihg5 7.t2Jxg5 �f6 8:i'£'3 , and White easily realised his advantage. -

.•

Deflection, Decoy and Interference

274- Karafiath

The bishop on b3 is pinned and at­ tacked. However. it plays a key role. There followed l .'i'xfS+!. Deflection (of the rook at fl) and at the same elimination of the defender of h7. 1 JhfS 2.nxh7+ Decoying. 2 . . \tlxh7 3.l:t.hl + Black resigned. . •

.

Neishtadt Correspondence game, 1 9 6 5 - 6 6

•

Decoying, I nterference and Clea ring Squares

276 Gershon Y. Zilberman Israel, 2 0 0 0

o The game was ended by the tactical blow 1 . . .l::t e 3! which illustrates both deflection and decoying into a fork: 2..�,xe3 lLlf3 + 3 .Wg3 lLlxd4 4.�xd4 'i'd2 ; 2.'iYxe3 lLlfI +, and also interfer­ ence: the rook on c3 is attacked, and af­ ter 2J1d3 the move 2 . . . lLlf3 + wins. 85

A general glance reveals that the posi­ tion is better for White. as confirmed by the tempting 1 .�xhS gxhS 2 . tLl g 3 kd4 3 . �g2 (3 . . . fxe4 4. tLlcxe4; 3 . . . h4 4. tLlxfs kxfS S . exfS llxfs 6 J:te 1 or 6 . tLle2 ) . But the drawing out o f the black king is much more decisive :

1 Jhg6! �xg6 2.�xh5+ �xh5 Forced.

since

2 . . .'�t(h7

3 . i.xf7

and

4.tLlg3 does not need any assessment.

6.'iVh3.

3J:tgl !

Pretty. but not forced. Any of 6 . tLl g 3 + . 6 .tLlf4+ . and 6 .'iVe3 were also possible.

6 .. :tWxh3 7.tbf4+ �h4 8.�e l + 'ifg3 9Jhg3 Black reSigned.

Eliminati ng Defenders, Decoying and Clearing Lines 2 7 7 Rossolirno NN Paris 1 944

White has sacrificed a rook to reach this position. And not for nothing.

One

imagines that he had not calculated ev-

0

ery variation to the end. only looking at the

first

2-3

moves.

For

example.

3 .. J:tg8 4. exfS or 4.'iYd l �xc3 5 . exfS ; 3 . . . �f6

4. exfS ;

3 . . . fxe4

4.'iVxe4

or

4.tLlg3 + .

3 ...�xc3 This also loses.

4.�xc3 There is no satisfactory defence against the threat of 'iV c3 -h3 + .

l ..thfS !

4 ...fxe4 5 .f5 !

Eliminating the defender ofh6.

Interference (after S . . JhfS . 6 . 'iVh3 #)

1 . ..exfS 2.'ifxh6+ !

and at the same time freeing the square

Decoying.

for the knight.

2 ...�xh6

5 ... 'ifh4

If 2 . . . gxh 6 . then 3 . tLlf6+ and 4.llg8#.

Mate also follows after other replies.

3 . .t:th l + �g6

86

C o m b i n i ng T h emes

1 . Uxf3 ! 2.gxf3 ..

Then the d-file is cleared.

2 �xb 3 + •••

Or 2 . . . �e4+ .

3.axb3 With the move 3

•..

'iVc l + ! Black deflects

the rook from the d-file and mates:

4.Uxc l 1.1d2#

But where is the mate? After all, White is a queen down . . .

Clea ri ng Squa res, Decoyi ng and DefJecti ng

4.�f4! Clearing the diagonal for the bishop;

2 79

Kristanov

the threat is S . ..th5 + and 6 . .i.xf7 # .

Nikolov

4... 'iVe6 s J:th8!

Sofia. 1 9 7 9

The final subtlety. After 5 . �hS + �h7 6 .�xf7 + there follows 6 . . . 'iVh6 + . Now there is no defence to mate on h5 , so

o

Black resigned.

Elimi nating Defenders, Clearing Lines and Deflection 2 7 8 Bulach Petrov Moscow, 1 9 5 1

In reply to g4- g 5 Black pinned the queen, expecting to win it for rook and

•

minor piece . However, there followed l .g6+ ! . The combination begins with the clear­ ing of the g S -square for the knight, if Black takes on g6 with the pawn. After other captures. the king is drawn into a mating

net

3 J:th8#) . If

(1. . . �xg6

1 . . . �h6 ,

2 .�e4+

and

then 2 . .t:th8 + and

3 . �e4#.

1 ...fx.g6 2.'iVxb2! The white king is clearly uncomfort­

Deflection. The queen cannot be taken

able, the squares d2 and c 1 being his

- 3 . 4J g 5 + \t>h6 4.1.1h8 # . This means

_-\chilles Heel. First the knight, which is

that White has a decisive material ad­

defending d 2 , is eliminated.

vantage.

87

Clearing Lines, Eliminating Defenders, Deflection and Pinning, Decoying

280 Korchmar

E. Polyak USSR, 1 9 3 8

o

If it were not for the knight on d6, White could win immediately with a rook check on eS, and therefore he played l .ttJb4! Clearing the d-file. 1. axb4 2.'fVxd6! Eliminating a de­ fender. The queen cannot be taken, but it seems that Black can defend against the threats by means of 2 ...'fVd7.

Now 3 .'i'xd7 lhd 7 4J:leS + \tifl fa­ vours Black. However, the combination is not fin­ ished. By using the ideas of deflection and pinning, White again puts his queen en prise: 3.'fVdS ! ! I f it i s taken , then 4Jle S + l:IfS S Jhg7 + and 6 .l:lxfS + . Meanwhile, there is a threat of 4.11xg 7 + . After 3 . . . g6 there follows 4.lige3 and Black is mated. That leaves the move 3 ... �f8, unpin­ ning the rook on fl .

••

4.�xg7! Now another pin decides. After 4 .. Jhg7 the queen is undefended. After 4...'fVxdS there follows S .�g8+! (decoying) S ... �xgS 6.:eS+ IUS 7.�xf8#.

89

I m p rove Yo u r C h ess Ta c t i cs

Exercises 28 1

282

283

284

28S

286

o

o

o

90

•

Clea r i n g L i nes. E l i m i na l i n g Defenders. Defl ect i on a n d P i n n i ng , Deco y i ng

287

288

o

•

289

290

29 1

292

o

o

•

91

I m p rove Yo u r Chess TaC l i cs

293

o

•

92

294

•

295

296

297

298

o

Clearing L i nes, E l i m i n a t i n g Defenders, Deflec t i on and P i n n i n g , Decoy i n g

300

299

o

•

1 Jlc2 was played. Can White take the pawn on d5 ?

White has sacrificed a piece to prevent his opponent from castling. Discovered checks leap to the eye, but which one?

301

302

..

•

•

Finish off the attack.

303

At the end of a complicated variation, White attacks the queen (l:h I -b 1 ) , as­ sessing the position as roughly equal ( l . . .'iYxa3 2..�x b8) . Was he correct?

•

304

o

After 1 ... �e4 with the threat of 2 . . l::t f6-fI + (2..�xe4 l::[ f I +) White replied 2.'iVd l . Assess this move. .

How should the game end? 93

I mprove You r Chess Tac r i cs

30S

306

Is Black's kingside really well-defended?

In the interests of rapid development, White has sacrificed two pawns. Now, by playing l .tLlde4, he puts his bishop en prise. Is this sacrifice correct?

307

308

o

o

White has sacrificed a piece to reach this position. The c2-square is attacked. What should White do?

94

•

Black sacrificed a piece, ready to play a sharp endgame after 1 .. tLlb3 2.li'fl 'i'xfl+ 3.'it>xfl tLlxc l 4.�xc l �xg2. Check this variation. .

C l ea r i ng L i nes, E l i m i n a l i n H Defenders, Deflec t i o n a n d P i n n i ng . Deco y i ng

309

310

•

White has sacrificed a knight to open the h -file, and his pieces are aiming at the kingside. By playing 1 .'iWe4, he threatens to bring the queen to h4. It cannot be taken because of mate on h 8 . How can Black defend?

Black opens the a-file with 1 . lLlb3 + 2.axb3 axb3 and threatens the move 3 . . l::r a 1 +. What can White do? ••

.

95

Pawns on the Brink Thus far, we have looked a t how combinations are found. I n this and the subsequent sections, we will look at examples where the final outcome is the connecting factor. It was allegedly Napoleon who said that 'Every soldier carries a marshal's baton in his knapsack' . Even so, neither in the wars of Napoleon's time nor later ones do sol­ diers get to become marshals. But in the chessboard army, this fairy tale transforma­ tion awaits any humble pawn which manages to reach the other end of the board. When looking at combinations on the theme of deflection and other themes, we have already seen how a sacrifice can open up the possibility of a pawn promoting.

3 1 1 Sokolsky Navrodsky Omsk, 1 944

The move 1 .l::r e 7 was played, and Black decided that his opponenl had over­ looked an elementary fork. There followed 1 ....0.xd7 2JIxd7 tDcS + 3.WfS ! CL'lxd7. Black has achieved his aim, but his joy was short-lived. After 4.e6 �c8 S.e7 he had to resign (from a game between two amateurs, played in Belgium in 1 968).

3 1 3 Kataev Markov Bor, 1 9 7 7

Black has an extra piece, and the bishop on e3 is attacked. But after 1 ...Q.d4 there is no defence to �d4xg 7 + and f7 -f8�. The pawn promotion could also be as­ sured by 1 ._�.g 5 with the unstoppable threat of 2 .§J.e7 + .

•

312

o White threatens to take the pawn on f4, and Black can defend it by playing e.g. 1 . ltJd3 , 1 . . . ltJg6 or 1 . . . i.h6. But in the game, he played l. l::rd l ! , and White reSigned - h e cannot prevent the pawn promoting. .

.

..

97

I mprove Yo u r Chess Tact i cs

3 1 4 Stoltz

31 S Medina Garcia

Nirnzowitsch

Tal

Berl in, 1 9 2 8

Mallorca, 1 9 7 9

•

White has connected passed pawns. Black has not yet created a second passed pawn, bUl he still wins: 1 ... f4 2.gxf4+ After 2 .aS or 2 .b6 - L .\t>d6.

•

With his last move, White offered the exchange of queens. Tal cheerfully ac­ cepted with l ..:�Vxf3+ 2.xf3 , and then played 2 .. .tDel!. The pawn cannot be stopped, and White resigned. 3 1 6 Seipel

Arnegaard Correspondence game, 1 90 2

o

2 ... �d6! Now the king watches securely over the a- and b-pawns, while one of the black pawns reaches the first rank. 3.aS gl 4.a6 �c7 S.We2 dl+ 6.xd3 g2 White resigned.

98

Black's position is very poor - White only has to play 1 .'i'c3 , 1 .'tWd4 or 1 .'tWdS . But a combination is the quick­ est way to win. 1 .'tWe7+! �xe7 2.d7! Do not take, but go past! The pawn will queen, and Black resigned.

P a wns on

3 1 7 Dikchit

the

B ri n k

3 19 Patience

Kaliansundaram

Tilson

I ndia, 1 9 64

England , 1 9 64

o

o

How can the pawn on e7 be given wings? After 1 .�a4 Black replies 1 ... �d6. Instead, White decided things with 1 .�c2+ �gS 2.l:tfS+ ! IhfS 3 .�b3+ ! ' Black resigned. 3 1 S Engels

Maroczy Dresden, 1 9 3 6

o

There followed 1 .'I'xd4+ ! cxd4 2.�g7+ ! Wxg7 2 . . . lixg7 3 JheS + . 3.fhe7+ fIxe7 After 3 . . . f6 4Jhes 'i'c2 + S Sti)g3 or 4 . . . 'I'gS + S .Wf2 'i'd2 + 6.�e2 White gets a new queen, with two extra rooks. 4.hS'I'+ wf7 S.Ith7+ We6 6.'I'cS+ Wf6 6 ... \t>dS 7 .'i'xfS + and S Jhe7 . 7.'I'fS+ Black resigned. 320 Chistiakov

Vakhsberg Moscow, 1 9 3 8

o

White has the advantage. He could play 1 .'I'b4. If 1 . . . �d4 , then 2 .�xeS (2 .. Jk4 3 .'i'e 1 ; 2 . . . �xeS 3 .'i'xb6) , and after 1 . . .tiJa4 - 2.d7 l:IdS 3 .'i'e7 . But there is a more effective com­ binative route. By sacrificing the ex­ change and then the queen, White opens up the path for the pawn to pro­ mote: 1 .l:rxb2! 'fVxb2 2:ihcs+! ttJxcS 3.d7 Black resigned.

White has an extra knight, whilst Black's hopes are pinned on the passed pawn. When playing 1 .ttJe3 , White counted on 1 . ..c3 , when he intended 2.l�[d l . Then 2 . . . 'i'f6 ? loses at once to 3 .'i'xf6. 'If 2 . . . 'i'xd 1 + 3 .ttJxd 1 l:hd 1 + 99

I m p rove Yo u r Ch ess Tac t i cs

4.Wg2: - he thought, ' lhe pawn cannot advance because of the threat S.�c8 + ' . . . The moves 1 . . .c 3 2. . rt d I ? 'tlIxd 1 + 3 .tLJxd l were indeed played, but Vaksberg did not take the knight.

There followed 3 ... c2 ! instead of 3 .. Jhd l + ? 4.tLJe3 c l 'iY+ S .citg2 'iYc8 . Black has not only won back the piece, but remains with an extra ex­ change. 3 2 1 Veltmander

Polugaevsky Sochi, 1 9 5 8

322 Ortueta Esteban

Sam Aguado Madrid, 1 9 3 3

•

The finish to this seemingly simple ending was remarkable. There followed l ..J:rd2 2.tLJa4, and now Black suddenly sacrificed a rook 2 .. Jhh2! ! 3.tLJxh2 d . After 4.tLJd3 there follows 4 ... c4+ s .Wfl cxd3 , win­ ning. If instead of S. \tfl White plays s Jhb6, then S . . . cxd3 6 .Wfl c2 or 6.11c6 d2. But White can change the move-order, taking on b6 at once, and apparently re­ futing the combination: 4Jhb6

-

•

1 . .. tLJg3+! A sacrifice solely for the pur­ pose of exchanging all the pieces and presenting the c-pawn with his mar­ shal's baton. 2.fxg3 'iVf6 + 3.'i¥f2 .l:he l + 4.�xe l 'iYxf2+ S.Wxf2 c2, and White re­ signed. 1 00

Now on 4 . . . axb6 there follows 5 .tLJd3 , when White stops the pawns and wins. What had Black planned? 4 ... c4! ! The pawns prove stronger than a rook and a knight. Now if 5 .tLJxc4, then 5 . . . c 2 , and the pawn promotes. Also

Pa wns on t h e B r i n k

bad for White i s S Jle6 cxb2 6 .t!e 1 c3 . That only leaves sJlb4.

The combination still works. The 'surgical operation' to remove the pawns on e6 and g S , in the popularly-quoted position, can b e explained by the fact that they are superfluous, since they do not take part in the combination and simply clutter the position. In addition , after 1 ...t!d2 V1Ja4 Black could realise his material advantage by playing, say, 2 . eS . If 3 .tZJxb6 (on 3 .Ue? Black wins by 3 . . . 11xb2 4.tZJxb2 c3 S .�xeS cxb2 6 J:te l c4+) , then 3 .. Jhb2 4Jha7 c3. Even more remarkably, as Dutch author Tim Krabbe has found out, the entire combination had been played before! ..

But then S aS ! - a third pawn comes into play, with decisive effect. 6.ttJxc4 6 Jhc4 cxb2. 6... c2 White resigned. ...

One of the most remarkable endgames in the history of chess. This bewitching finish was first pub­ lished in the Wiener Schachzeitllng ( 1 934) , and in Russia, in Shakhmatny Ezhegodnik ( I 9 3 7 ) . With the above po­ sition (the preceding moves were not known) , it appeared in my Chess Practice ( 1 980) . Since then I have found the full score of the game, and it appears that the crucial position requires some amendment. Black had pawns on e6 and g S , whilst the white pawn stood not on h2 , but h 3 .

Tylkowski Wojciechowski Poznan, 1 9 3 1

Black won with the same sequence of moves : 3 0 .. J lxb2 3 1 .tZJxb2 c 3 3 2 . l:lxb6 c 4 3 3 .nb4 as 34.tZJxc4 c2 and with this pawn structure, Tylkowski could play on a little longer: 3 S .tZJxaS c l 'i'+ 3 6.Wh2 'i'cs 3 ? kr.b2 'i'xa5 3 8 .g4 'i'e l 3 9 .g3 hS 40 .gxhS Wh6 and fifteen moves later he resigned, as Krabbe wrote in his book Nieuwe Schaakkuriosa ('New Chess Curiosities') . More often, we see a pawn reach the promotion square in the endgame, 101

I m p rove Yo u r C h ess TaCl i cs

when few pieces remain on the board. It is rarer ill the middlegame, and rarest of all in the opening. 3 2 3 V. Kahn

NN Paris, 1 9 2 9

Play lasted j ust two more moves: 4Jtxa7 llxa7 S.c7 and 'the soldier be­ comes a marshal' . Doubtless the French master's anony­ mous opponent was unaware of the classic game Schlechter-Perlis, Vienna 1 9 1 1 , published in almost all text­ books: l .d4 d5 2 .c4 c6 3 .ttJf3 ttJf6 4.e3 �f5 5 .'i'b3 'i'b6 6.cxd5 'i'xb3 7 .axb3 �xb I ? 8 .dxc6. Perlis slightly belatedly realised his mistake and did not retreat the bishop to e4. instead, he continued 8 . . . ttJxc6 9 Jhb l and remained a pawn down. And finally, a pawn under-promotion to a knight.

In this opening position, play contin­ ued l .cxdS 'iVxb3 2.axb3 . Now, before retaking on d5 , Black exchanged bishop for knight 2 ...�xb 1 . His opponent's reply 3.dxc6 he as­ sumed to be a blunder, and he happily retreated the bishop, so as to defend b7 3 ...�e4.

3 24 Gulko

K. Grigorian Vilnius,

1 97 1

-

o

-

After l .l::r fS + ! �xfS 2.'i'dS + Wh7 Black is mated: 3.exfSttJ+! Wh8 4.ltJeg6#, whereas the Simple-minded 3 .exf8'i'? would allow 3 . . . 'i'g 1 #.

1 11 1

Pawns on the B r i n k

Exercises 32S

o

326

o

327

328

o

•

329

•

3 30

o

1 03

I m p rove You r Chess Tac t i cs

332

331

o

•

All hopes rest on the e-pawn . . .

1 .�b5 ? �f4! Vlt)gl 'iVe3 + was played, and the game ended in a draw. But in the initial position, White could have won. How? 3 34

333

o

•

The pawn on d2 is attacked, and the promotion square is under control. Even so...

Exploiting the pin, White played l .b5, attacking the c6-pawn for a fifth time. Assess the position after the reply 1 . c5 .

3 35

336

..

•

Both 1 . . Jhg 2 + , and 1 . . Jhf3 are threatened. What is your reply? 1 04

Whom does this ending favour?

Pawns

337

o

Analyse the position.

0 11

Ih� Brink

338

•

By attacking the rook, White breathed a sigh of relief The worst is behind him . . . or is it?

1 05

Miracle Saves Imagine we are at the cinema, watching a detective film. The hero is surrounded on all sides by enemies. His situation seems desperate, and a tragic end seems inevita­ ble. But at the very last moment, when no hope seems to remain, our hero makes a miraculous escape and emerges intact from the danger. The author manages to create a scenario in which a most unlikely salvation comes to the hero, so beloved by the viewers, who do not want to believe in his final doom. Such miracle escapes are described as 'like in a novel' or 'like in a film' . Chess players say 'like in an endgame study' to describe similar chessboard miracles. Indeed, we will start with a study. 3 3 9 A. Troitzky 1 89 5

D

2 ... �c6 ! ! Now 3 .b8'i'(J::r ) leads t o stalemate, after 3 .b8ttJ+ there is 3 . . . Wb7 , and a piece is lost, whilst after 3 .b8� Wb7 the bish­ ops have to defend one another; the black king moves between the squares b7 and a8, and the approach of the white king results in stalemate. Many amazing occurrences are bound up with stalemate.

After 1 .axb7 it is not obvious how a new queen can be prevented from ap­ pearing. But the black king can still move, and stalemate cannot be over­ looked . . . There is a way to save himself: 1 .. J:te6+ ! 2.�xe6

340 G. Jones

Asmundsson Internet, 2 0 0 4-

D

One does not usually see such pOSitions played on, since White now queens with l .b8'if. Nonetheless, the game continued: 1 07

Improve You r Chess Tac t i cs

1 ..'cild3 2.�gS+ WhS 3.�xh7+ �g4 White can mate in various ways. e.g. 4.rIc4+ lLlf4 5 .'iVh3#. However. he played 4.nxf6? (defending against mate from the knight at f2 . and threatening S .'tWh3#) .

342 Tornay Gomez Cuero Reid VilOria, 2 0 0 3

o

While decided to fi n ish lhings : l .nd7+ h6 2.h4. but ran into 2 . :*Vh3+!. and .

any capture is stalemate. And now: 4 4'lf2+! sJlxfl .ll xg l + . Af­ ter the rook is laken. il is stalemate. ...

343 Fercec Cvitan 341 Lipok Gnegel

Croatia, 1 9 9 6

Germany, 2 0 0 2 / 0 3

•

o

'Why not take the bishop? After I Jhb7 'i'fl + 2.cii)h4 Black does not get a stale­ mate: although the king has no moves. the bishop does .. . These moves were played. and now 2 ... .ie7+ 3.lIxe7 ( 3 .Wh S ? 'i'h3 #) 3 ... 'i'h3+ 4.WgS 'iYh4+ 5.gxh4 led to stalemate. '

1 08

Of course. Black's position is winning. For example. he could play 1 . . . h4 or 1 . . . eS . But. after looking ahead a couple of moves. Black decided that the sim­ plest thing to do was take the oppo­ nent's last pawn: 1 .. .ixg2. expecting 2 .'i'xg2 'i'd 1 + and 3 . . . 'i'xb3 . . . The stunning reply was 2.l:tg3! and af­ ter 2 ...'i'xg3 3.'i'h6+! WgS (if the queen is taken it is stalemate) 4:�thS+ Wfl 5.'i'eS+ \tlxeS a draw resulted. •

M i r a c l e Saves

Even the strongest players are not im­ mune to stalemate surprises. 344 Hubner

Adorjan Bad Lauterberg. 1 9 8 0

2.fxe3? (correct was 2 .'tWe8 + \�h 7 3 . 'lW d 7 + and only then 4.fxe 3 ) . Wh ite has three extra pawns, but the suicidal black queen forces him to agree a draw: 2 .. :�Hh2+ Or 2 . . . 'lW f2 + , 2 . . . WHh l + , 2 . . . 'lW h 3 + . 3.�f3 �e2+ 4.�g3 �g2+ (S .Wxg2 - stalemate) .

• 346 Greco 1 7 th century

•

Instead of taking the h-pawn by 1 . . .lhh3 with a line such as 2.�dS We6 3 .lld I ( 3. . � g S �g3) 3 .. Jlb3 or 2.rlg6+ WeS 3 .�g7 xh4! he had to agree a draw, because taking the rook leads to stalemate, and otherwise the rook ending is a draw. .

345 Browne

This example is taken book The Royall Game written at the start of the Here there is no mate, draw: 1 ..J;[al + 2JUl kIxfI +

from Greco's of Chesse-play,

1 7th century. but there is a 3.\t>xfI �h3 !

Planinc

Yl- 'A

Wijk aan Zee. 1 9 7 4

And after 4.gxh3 (if White does not take the bishop, Black sacrifices it for the g-pawn anyway) , we reach a theo­ retical ending, in which the king, bishop and rook's pawn cannot win against the lone king, if the bishop (in this case, a light-squared bishop) does not control the queening square of the pawn.

•

Black played 1 . .. �xe3, and Browne, in time-trouble, automatically replied

Stalemate combinations involving the forceful offloading of superfluous pieces are always entertaining. 1 09

I m p rove Yo u r Chess T a c t i cs

347 Stolberg

Pimenov Rostov on Don 1 9 4 1

o

But because he does not, and the f6 pawn is blocked, Black can rid himself of his remaining pieces: 1 ...t2J f4+ ! 2.gxf4 The same result comes from 2 .Wf3 �e2 + 3 .Wxf4 'VHf3 + 4.Wxf3 - stalemate. 2 .. 'fIxf2+ 3.Wh3 �xh2+ 4.Wg4 �h3 + S.Wxh3 stalemate. .

-

349 Reefschlager

Seppeur West Germany 1 9 8 2 / 8 3

Hy J rook s acr i fi ce nlack has stripped away the l'lIl'my k i llg's pawn cover, and m ate seems inevitable. However, White

•

,

found a tactical resource in reply: by sacrificing all his remaining material, he saves himself: l .I:rhS + ! \t>xhS 1 . . Wg6 2 .'fIe6 # . 2.l:rbS+ �h7 3J:thS+ WxhS 4.'fIxg7 + However Black takes the queen, White is stalemated. .

348 Karacsony

Borbely Roumenia, 1 948

After the capture of the bishop on b8 White has an extra (and very powerful) knight. Black's hopes are connected with the exposed position of the enemy king. There followed 1 . .. �c1 + 2.Wg2 'i'c2+ 3.�h3 .

•

White has four extra pawns, the black king is exposed and White threatens 'fib? -d5#. The game would be over, if the black king had a square to move to. 1 10

The rook cannot be taken because of the deadly check on a? But bearing in mind that the black king has no moves,

M i ra c l e Sares

and all five of his pawns are blockaded, it is easy to see the saving comhination. 3 ... tIhl +! 4.11xh l 'fHg2+ S .Wxg2 stalemate.

3 5 1 Rovner

Guldin Leningrad, 1 9 3 9

-

o 350 Gogolev

Varshavsky Aluksne, 1 9 6 7

•

With his last move White, who has an extra knight, offered the exchange of queens, and at the same time attacked the square h7. The variation l .. Jid l + 2.Wh2 'fHgl + 3.Wg3 suits him very well. . .

In this fantastic posmon with four queens on the board, which occurred in a real game, White is an exchange and a pawn down. The queen on e 1 cannot be taken be­ cause of 1 . . . 'i'f5 + and 2 . . . fig4#. But White can save himself by giving away his queens: 1 .'fHg8+! Wxg8 After 1 . . Wh6 2 .'iVf8 + Black would have to return the king to h7 , since it cannot go to g5 because of 3 .'i'h4#. However, the queen could also have been sacrificed - 2 .�f4+ 'i'xf4 3 .fixg6+, which leads to stale­ mate immediately. 2.'fHe8+ Preparing to immolate the other queen. 2 ... Wh7 3 .'iVg8+ Wh6 4.'iVh7+ �gS S.'iVh6+ �xh6 stalemate. The final position deserves a diagram. .

-

White had headed for this position, in the belief that his king is safe. However, there followed 3 .. Jld3 + ! 4.'fHxd3 'tte 3+! S:ii'xe3 stalemate. The un­ blocked pawn on g5 turns out to be pinned. -

I I I

I m p rove Yo u r C h ess Ta c t i cs

No wonder Tartakower described stale­ mate as the tragic-comedy of chess.

3 54 Marshall

NN New York. 1 9 2 3

The following examples show stalemate in a prepared set-up with the help of a quiet move. 3 5 2 Zhdanov

Pigits Riga. 1 9 5 3

o

Black has too many pawns. After 1 .'i'd7 + �g8 2 .'i'e8 + 'it>g7 White can resign. since after the next check 3 .'i'd7 + there follows 3 . . . 'i'f/ + . But with the quiet move l .h4! ! (threat­ ening mate after 2 .'i'g 8 + ; if 1 . . .'i'd4. then 2 .'i'g6+ �h8 3 .'i'h7 +) White saved half a point.

The h7 pawn is lost and White is a rook down. Is it time to resign? But look: if the rook on f6 and the h-pawn are taken from the board. and we play b4-b5 . White will have no moves. Therefore 1 .1lh6 ! �xh6 2.h8'iY + �xh8 3.b5 . Black can only re­ lease the stalemate by playing 3 .. Jld 7 . but after 4.cxd7 White will give the d-pawn on his next move. and it will still be stalemate. whilst after 4 . . . c5 ? (or 4 . . . c6?) White actually wins. There were also other solutions here. e.g. l. .�xf/ �xf/ 2 .b5 . Now we will look at some miracle saves by means of perpetual check.

353 3 5 5 Kratkovsky

Lapsis

•

USSR. 1 9 8 2

o

In this textbook posmon. Black is a rook down. but 1 . .l::t b 8! draws. .

1 12

M i racle S(I V('�

In the previous play, White had lost a bishop. But after a mistaken queen move to b6, he has a happy chance to save himself: l .l:1xf8+ �xf8 2.�gS+! Wxg8 3.tDh6+ WhS 4.tDf7+ with per­ petual check. 3 5 6 Neumann

NN

When playing 1 .'iYh7, White was con­ vinced that he was winning. After 1 . . . gxf6 there comes 2 .'i'h8 + �e7 3 .'i'xf6 + \tlf8 4.'i'h 8 + We7 S .'i'xh4+. But Black found the saving line: 1 ...tDh3+ 2.Wfl .Q.g2+! 3.Wxg2 The bishop must he taken, since if the king retreats, there is 3 . . . 'i'xe S + .

East Germany, 1 9 5 6

White drew by 1 .I:teS + ! tDxeS 2.'fVh7+! Wxh7 3.tDf8+ WhS 4.tDg6+ with perpetual check. A more complicated way was: 1 .'i'h7 + tDxh7 (on 1 ... Wxh7 there is 2 .tDf8+ and 3 .tDg6+) 2 .�e8+ tDf8 3 .l::t xf8 + Wh7 4.�g8+ g6 S . .if!+ and after S ... fS 6 . .idS + Wg6 (6 . . . Wg4? 7.f3 + mating) 7 . .if! + it is again perpetual check.

3 . . .�a2+ 4.�hl The knight is immune - 4.�xh3 ? 'i'c8+ , and if 4.Wf3 ?, then 4 . . . tDgS + . 4. . tDf2+ S .WgI (or S .Wg2) S .. tDh3 + and a draw, since the king cannot come to fI because of 6 . .1::1. £'2 + 7 .We l 'iYxeS+. .

.

.

3 5 8 Brenninkmeijer

Van der Sterren Amsterdam, 1 99 5

3 5 7 Budovich

Kosikov Beitsi, 1 9 7 9

•

White has sacrificed two pawns for the attack, but the threats to his queenside 1 13

I mprove Yo u r Chess Tac t i cs

are more imponant. A logical development of the game was 1 . . . tLJc4. in order after 2 . fxg 7 to reply 2 . . . l:tfdB. with the advantage. For example: 3 .�f3 �d 7 4JH2 d3 or 3..�a I �xa3 4.�f3 �e7 . The attack 2 .�g3 (instead of 2.fxg 7) 2 ... g6 3 .'i'g S would be refuted by 3 . . . WhB 4.�h6 �gB. and after S JH3 (S.cxd4 gS and llgB-g6) Black has s . . lc s . However. Black decided that the simple 1 ... dxc3 promised a safe advantage. and after 2.fxg 7 �fd8 3Jb c 3 3 tDc4. J

•.•

1 14

However. he had overlooked the queen sacrifice 4.�xh7+! xh7 sJlh3+. Af­ ter S ... g6 (or else it is mate) the game ended with a repetition of moves 6J�g3+ hS 7.�h3+ Draw.

-

M i ra c l e Saves

Exercises 359

•

360

•

361

•

362

•

363

•

3 64

•

l IS

I m p rove You r C h ess Tact i cs

366

365

o

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368

367

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369

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1 16

3 70

o

Miracle Saves 371

3 72

o

3 74

373

o

o

376

3 75

o

o

1 17

I m p rove You r Chess Ta c t i cs

377

•

378

•

Black has an overwhelming material ad­ vantage. Should he enter the pawn end­ ing by means of a temporary queen sac­ riflee ( l ..JWxf3+ 2.'iVxf3 �a3) ?

Black cannot fight against the passed pawn, supported by its queen, and at the same time protect his back rank. However, as they say, 'never stop try­ ing' . . .

3 79

3 80

o

After 1 .I[f3 there followed 1 ..J:tc2+ V�f1 .l::t xh2. How should the game end?

118

•

For Black, the exchange of queens is tantamount to resignation. Meanwhile, there are threats of 'i'g6-g8# and hIg4-h4. What should he do?

Examination 'But almost the whole of this book is an examination in tactics' , the reader might object. 'So why is only this section called an examination?' In all sections of the book, when trying to solve the positions presented, YOll know that there is some extraordinary tactical possibility in the position. But in the earlier sections, you have also had another very helpful clue, in the title of the sec­ tion concerned. The previous sections arc therefore more in the nature of a rein ­ forcement of the topics discussed, rather than an examination. In this examination, you will still have the general hint that the solutions are of a tactical character. The reader is offered the opportunity to judge for himself how well he has passed the test. You have before you 3 5 6 test positions. 381

3 82

383

384

o

1 19

Imp rove Yo u r Chess Tac t i cs

386

385

o

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388

387

o

389

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1 20

390

o

E X(l m i n(l I ion

391

392

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393

394

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395

396

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121

I mp rove You r C hess

Tactics

398

397

•

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399

400

40 1

402

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1 22

o

EX(Jlll i n!l l i on

403

404

405

406

o

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407

408

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1 23

I mp rove Yo u r C hess Tac t i cs

409

410

41 1

412

•

o

Find the most forcing win. 41 3

•

124

414

E xa m i na tion 41 5

416

41 7

418

o

o

o

420

419

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1 25

I m prove Yo u r C h ess Tac t i cs

422

42 1

o

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424

423

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426

425

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1 26

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Exa m i n a t i on

42 7

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428

•

429

430

43 1

432

D

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127

Improve Yo u r C h ess Tac t i cs

434

43 3

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436

435

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43 7

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1 28

438

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E x a m i n a l i on 439

440

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441

o

442

o

443

444

1 29

Improve You r Chess

Tac t i cs

446

445

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447

448

449

450

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1 30

E x a m i n o r i on 452

45 1

o

454

45 3

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456

45 5

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131

I m p rove Yo u r Chess Ta c t i cs

45 8

45 7

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460

459

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46 1

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132

462

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ha m i n a l i u n

464

46 3

o

o

466

465

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468

467

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1 33

I m p rove Yo u r Chess Tac t i cs

470

469

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47 1

472

473

474

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1 34

o

E xa m i n a t i on 475

476

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478

477

o

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480

479

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13 5

I mprove Yo u r Chess Ta c t i cs 482

48 1

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484

48 3

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485

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1 36

486

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Exum inutiun 488

48 7

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490

489

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492

49 1

o

137

I m p rove Yo u r Chess Tac t i cs 493

•

494

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495

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496

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49 7

498

o

E x a m i ll tl l i u JI

500

499

•

501

502

503

504

o

o

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1 39

I mprove You r C h ess Tac t i cs 505

506

507

508

509

510

o

o

I III

E x U l l l i ll U l i u lI

S12

Sl 1

o

S13

S14

SIS

S16

o

•

o

141

I m p rove Yo u r Chess Tac t i cs 518

517

o

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520

519

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522

521

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1 42

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E xa m i n a t i o n

523

o

524

o

526

525

o

528

527

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1 43

Im p rove Yo u r Chess Tact i cs 529

530

531

532

533

5 34

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1 44

Exa m i na t i o n 535

536

537

538

o

o

539

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540

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1 45

I m p rove Yo u r Chess Ta C l i cs 541

542

543

544

o

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545

546

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1 46

E x a m i n a t ion 547

548

o

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550

549

o

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55t

o

552

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1 47

I m p rove Yo u r Chess T a c t i cs

554

553

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556

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557

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1 48

558

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Exam i na l ion

559

560

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561

562

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564

563

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1 49

I m p rove Yo u r C h ess T a c t ics

566

565

o

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I SO

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567

568

5 69

5 70

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Exa m i n a t i on

571

•

5 72

•

5 73

5 74

o

5 75

5 76

151

I mprove You r Chess Tal l i es

577

5 78

o

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5 79

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58 1

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l S2

580

582

Exam i n (J l i o n

583

5 84

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585

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5 86

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587

588

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1 53

Imp rove You r Chess Tact i cs

590

589

•

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592

591

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594

593

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1 54

E xa m i n a t i o n

595

596

597

598

599

600

o

o

I SS

I m p rove Yo u r C h ess Tac t i cs 601

602

603

604

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60S

o

1 56

606

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Exa m i na t i o n

607

608

o

609

610

611

612

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1 57

Improve You r Chess Tac t i cs

614

613

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1 58

Exa m i n a t i o n

619

620

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62 1

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1 59

I mprove You r Chess T a c t i cs 626

625

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627

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E xo m i n o l i ull

63 1

632

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6 34

633

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635

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161

Improve Yo u r Chess Ta c t i cs

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1 62

637

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64 1

642

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Exa m i n a t i on 643

644

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645

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1 63

Improve You r Chess T a c t i cs 649

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650

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65 1

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65 3

654

o

How should 1 ... hxg5 be answered?

1 64

l .e5 was played. How would you reply?

Exa m i nd3 tLJc7 . Black de­ flected the enemy queen from the defence of the square f3 : l .. J�xc2! 2.'iVxc2 tLJfJ+ 3.\t>fl If 3 .Wh I . then 3 . . . 'iVg3 with mate on either h2 (if the knight moves) or g I . 3 ...'i'g3+ . After 4.We2 there follows 4 ... tLJed4+. White resigned (Paoli­ Smyslov. Venice I 950). Instead of 2 .'iVxc2 White could have given up the exchange by continuing 2 . �xe 5 . but after 2 . . . 'i'xe5 3 .'i'xc2 �xa l his position is bad. By continuing 1 .l:lxe5 . White can reach a rook ending with an extra pawn: l . . J lbxa6 2 .nxa6 Ilxa6 3 .'lt>xb 3 . However, the move 1 .�d3 ! im­ mediately forced Black to resign. He cannot take the rook because of mate. whilst after 1 .. J�e8. White again deflects the rook from the back rank with the move 2 .�xe5 (Capablanca-Rossolimo. Paris 1 9 3 8 ) .

1 89

Improve You r Chess Tac t i cs 62 l ..Jle2! 2.�xe2 t:[xb3+ 3.�cl If 3 .axb3, then 3 . . . �a l + 4.�c2 �b2 + 5 .Wd3 �c3#. 3 .. :�tc3 + and then 4 . . . n b 1 + mating (Pelaez-De Dovitiis, Havana 1 99 3 ) .

63

64

White wins by deflecting the queen from the de­ fence of the rook at d8: 1 .�a7! �a5 2:�'xa6! �c7 3.�a7! The queen cannot retreat further, so Black resigned (Rovner-Kamishov, Moscow 1 947) . The success of White's tactical operation was founded not only on the weakness of the back rank and the position of his heavy pieces. The bishop on f3 also played its role, by defending the rook on d 1 . If the bishop had been on b 3 , for ex­ ample, the move 1 .�a7 would not have been possible, as Black could reply with the zwischen­ zug 1 .. Jlxd2, and then take the queen. l .ttJe7+! �xe7 On 1 .. Jlxe7 there follows 2 .l:Id8 + lIe8 3 Jlxe8 + (deflecting the queen from the defence of h 7 ) 3 . . . �xe8 4.�xh 7 + Wf8 5 .�c5 +. But with his next move, White achieves his aim all the same: 2.l:1xe6 Black resigned (Pospisil-Keller, correspondence game, 1 9 8 3 -84) .

65 l .t:[e l ! 1:Id8 If l ..Jlc8 , then 2 .�b7 , whilst after l . . JIf8 Black is mated: 2.Uxf8 + and 3 .�b8+ . Now 2:iVb5 ends the game. After 2 ... l:1xg2+ 3.Wh l Black resigned (Wehnert-Leiss, East Ger­ many 1 96 2 ) .

1 90

Sol u t i ons : Deflec t i on ( N o 3 5 - 8 6 )

66 1 .'QHf6 i¥es 2JhaS ! A blow which deflects one of the pieces perform­ ing an extremely valuable defensive funClion: ei­ ther the rook, which guards the 8th rank, or the queen, watching over g 7 . Black resigned (Zavialov-Apartsev, Moscow 1 9 8 5 ) . One should add that White needs t o start Wilh lhe move 1 .'i'f6 , since after the immediate I .Iha S , Black has the reply I . . Jhb2. 67 1 .�xf6 gxf6 2.'iVh6 fs If 2 . . .fxeS , then 3 .�xh7+ Wh8 4.�g6+ mating. 3.ttJg4! Black resigned (Haik -Kiffmeyer, Stockholm I 974) .

68 In the game Hubner-Murey (Sukhumi 1 9 72) White could have won by exploiting his powerful bishops and the open position of the enemy k i n g : l .gS ! �xgS 2.�.d4+ �f6 3.'i.Yb8! Hubner missed the final deflection blow and i n ­ stead played 1 .'iVf7 .

69

Firstly, 1 Jhe8 'i'xe8 2.'f:Ya4! and Blac k cannol lake the queen because of back-rank mate, whilsl the counter-blow 2 . . . nc l + fails to 3 .Wf2. The second method was l .'ifbS L After I . . Jhb8 (or 1 . . .1::1c l + 2 .Wf2 �c2+ 3 .We l �c l + 4Stt d 2) 2.'i'xb8 Wg8 (there is nothing else) 3 .'i'b3 + White wins a rook. Neither of these tactical operations occurred in the game Capablanca-Thomas (Hastings 1 92 9 / 3 0 ) . Upon 1 .'iVa8, Thomas resigned, b u t wrongly! Af­ ter the deflecting counterblow l .. Jha2 ! White would have had to play a heavy-piece ending two pawns down, e.g. : 2 .'iVxa2 1::1x b8 ; 2.nxe8 nxa8! 3 Jhf8+ 1::1x f8 ; 2 .'i'b7 cS 3 .'iVc7 na8 ! . 191

I mp rove Yo u r C h ess Ta c t i cs

70 1 ..JH3 ! ! Neither queen nor rook can be taken because of mate (2.gxf3 'i'h2#; 2.'iYxa2 llxfI #) , whilst there is a threat of 2 .. Jhh3 +. The move 2. Wg 1 does not defend the threat, because of 2 . . . 'i'a7 + 3 .�h 1 .tt x fI + 4.'WxfI 'i'd7 ! S .'Wf6 .�c7, and Black wins a knight because of the back-rank mate threat. v8b7 lixh3 + 3.Wg l . Here the game could have been ended by 3 . . . �h2+ 4.'lt>h l .ieS + S .Wg 1 .Q.d4+ . Black chose 3 . .'i'a7+ 4.nn �g3 , after which White resigned (S .'i'fI .ixf2 + 6.'i'xf2 11h l + and 7 . . . 'i'xf2) . This was the game Pogats-Hever (Hungary 1 9 79). In the initial position, there is also another win­ ning move: 1 ...'i'b3 with the threat of 2 . . . 'i'g 3 ( 2 .'i'e l 'i'g3 ) . .

71 The move 1 . . .'i'd4? was a mistake i n a n equal po­ sition. 2.lId l ! and Black resigned (2 . . . �xc3 3.nxd7 + and 4.bxc3) (Stahlberg-Lundin, Stock­ holm 1 93 7) .

72 After 1 .l:lc8? White could have won by deflect­ ing the queen from the defence of the back rank with 2.na7!. In the game Stephenson-Penrose from the British Championship, Bristol 1 96 8 , White failed to no­ tice this possibility, played 2 .l:lc2 and eventually lost. . .

1 92

Sol u t i o n s : Defl ec t i on ( N o 3 5 - 8 6 ) 73

l .'iYxd 5 + (with the idea 2 .ttJe7 + ) immediately fails, because the black queen takes with check. 1 .�d4! wins. White not only defends against the threat of . . . ttJg4-f2 +, but also threatens the queen, the knight, and to give mate. This ma­ noeuvre (to be more exact : this triple attack) , de­ flecting the queen from the defence of e7 (after 1 . . .�xd4 there follows the discovered attack 2 .ttJe7 + and 3 .l:1xf8#) , leads to material gains. Black's only chance is to give up queen for rook and knight: 1 ..JhfS 2.�xcS �xfl + 3.�g2 1:1£8 4.�xdS + �h8 , which, of course, does not save him from defeat (Jansson-Pytel, Stockholm 1 975).

74

l . . .cxb3 ? was the decisive mistake. After 2.'iVa7! Black had to resign (Minic-Honfi, Yugosla­ via-Hungary match, 1 966) .

7S

1 ..J�d3 ! Deflecting the queen from the defence of g 2 . 2 .ixeS+ dxeS 3.�b2 3 .'i'c2 �xd 1 4.lIxd 1 'i'f3 + . 3 .. :1'0+ (but not 3 .. Jhd l ? because of 4.'i'xe S + %ig7 S .'I'e8 + drawing) , and White is mated (Varjomaa -Lundqvist, Sweden 1 980) . Instead of 1 .f4? White should have continued 1 . .ixe S + dxe5 2 .'i'dS . .

1 93

I m p rove You r Chess T a c t i cs

76 The continuation 1 Jhgn nxg7 2..�xf6 loses af­ ter the deflection counterblow 2 .. :tlt'g2+! 3.nxg2 ne l + mating (Uhlmann-P Dely, Budapest 1 962) .

77 The bishop does not have to retreat. There fol­ lowed 3..Jlg6! 4.gxh3? If White had seen his op­ ponent's reply, he would have surrendered the ex­ change with 4.g3 .ixfI 5 ..ixe4 dxe4 6.lhfI , al­ though this would not have changed the result. 4.. :iVgI + SJhg l CiJxfl# (Balanel-Pytlakowski, Marianske Lazne I 9 5 2 )

78 No. Exploiting the insuffiCiently defended first rank, Black plays I . .. CiJfl+! and after 2.nxfl 2 ... .td4! with decisive material gains (Marciniak-Dobosz, Poland 1 9 7 3 ) .

79 l ..Jhfl! 2.Ihe6 The squares g2 and fI are defended. White con­ sidered that his opponent had sacrificed the bishop for no good reason . . . However, there followed 2. .:ii'e2! , and the game ended (V Kahn-Bernstein, Paris 1 92 6 ) .

1 94

Sol u t i o n s : Defleerion ( N o 3 S - � 6 )

80 No. After l .ttJxc3? there follows 1 . lLJxc3 2Jhc3 nxc3 3.11xc3. Now Black achieves nothing by 3 . . . 'iYb 1 + in view of 4.'iYfl (4 . . . ,ad l ?? 5 .1:[ c 8 + ) . But deflecting the queen from defending the first rank decides the game: 3 ... 'iYb2! 4Jlc2 4.�e 1 'iYxc3 ! . 4 ... 'iHb l +. and White loses a rook (Bernstein-Capablanca. Moscow 1 9 1 4) . • •

81 I n the final position . Black had missed t h e deflect ing sacrifice S.�h4!. f()rcing h i m to res i g l l ( 5 ... .txd4+ 6 .Wh l �g8 7 JHH ) ( bl' rsk y Lelchuk. Smolensk 1 9 50) . In addition. instead of 3 .. 0.xe8 While could h ave continued 3 . .fl.xg5 fNxg 5 (3 . . . �xd4+ 4.��e3) 4 . .txe8 and after 4 ... i.h3 - 5 .�g3 . keeping a de­ cisive material advantage.

82 Black wins by a rook sacrifice. deflecting the queen from the defence of e3 : I .. Jlb l ! 2.�xb l ttJxe3+ 3.lit>gl Or 3 .Wh3 'iYf5 + . 3 ... �xf3 . and mate. This interesting possibility was missed by Botvinnik in his game with Bouwmeester (Wageningen 1 95 8 ) . He played 1 ...d4 2 .exd4 ttJxd4 3 .'iYe3 ttJe6 4J:te5 . and Bouwmeester. hav­ ing an extra pawn. offered a draw. 83 1 .�fS ! The doomed bishop deflects its opposite number from the defence of e8. 1 ...�xfS 2.�c7! Now the queen is deflected from defending e8. 2 ..Jhd l + 3.lit>xd l �xc2+ 4.�c l ! �a4+ Because of the mate threat on the back rank. there is no other reply. S .�xc6 �xc6 6Jle6 �bS 7Jhb6 Wg8 sJlb7 with a technically winning endgame for White (Khalifman-Ehlvest. Lvov 1 98 5 ) .

1 95

rmprove Yo u r C h ess Tac t i cs

84 After 1 Jlh8 + Wd7 Black thought that he was safe. But there followed 2.�c6+ ! ' The bishop, al­ though attacked by three pieces, is immune. If 2 . . . tLJxc6, then the rook on fl takes with check, whilst after 2 .. Jhc6 there follows simply 3 Jh fl . And if l . . . Wxc6, then 3 Jhc8+ ttJxc8 4Jh fl . 2".We6 3.nh6+ nf6 4.�d7+! What a bishop! Black must capture, thereby losing the exchange. After 4".Wxd7 S.nxf6 ne8 6.nxgS ttJg8 7.ng7+ ttJe7 8.Wg3 nh8 9.nff7 ne8 l O.Wg4 White won easily (Simagin-Zagoryansky, Ivanovo 1 944) . 8S After White took on e5 Black replied 3".nrs 4.�e2. On 4.'iYe 1 the reply 4 . . . 'iYg5 creates un­ answerable threats. 4".f3 ! S.gxf3 ne8 6.'iVd l The same mating attack follows after 6 .'iYd3 l::1 g 5 + 7 .\t>h l 'iYh3 . 6"Jigs+ 7.�hl 'fIh3 8.11g1 ne t ! A slightly later mate arises after 8 . . . llxg 1 + 9. �xg 1 �e6. The deflection of the two pieces defending the king, the queen (9.'iYxe 1 'iYxf3 +) and the rook (9.lhe 1 'iYg2#) , ends the game (Dille-Pigits, correspondence game, 1 986). 86 A) The tempting move I . Ita3 loses to 1 . . .�xh2+ 2 .�h l (V itfI 'Jje2#) 2 ... �g3 + 3 .�g l (3 .ttJh3 l:ld l +) 3 . . Jld l + 4.11xd l 'Jjxd l + 5 .ttJxd I l:le 1 #. B) After 1 .�h3 'JjgS 2.'ua3 Black deflects the enemy queen with a sacrifice: 2,..'Wxc 1 + ! 3.'Wxc1 and now 3".�xb2! . The queen cannot be taken because of mate, so Black wins a rook and so achieves a decisive advantage (Sznapik­ Bronstein, Sandomierz 1 97 6 ) .

1 96

Decoying ( No 120-155) 1 20 1 .'iYc4+! 'iYxc4 2.gS'iY+ and 3.'t!#'xc4 (Pihajlic­ Ivanka. Subotica 1 9 7 6 ) .

121 l .l:tdS+ W e 7 I . . .Wxd8 2.ttJxf7 + and 3 .tLJxe S . 2.l:txhS 'iYxgS 3.'iVd2 winning. After 3 . ttJdS there follows 4.c4 (Tal-Benko. Amsterdam 1 9 64) . . .

1 22 1 ..ih7+ Wxh7 2.'fVxe6 . The square f7 is unde­ fended. Black resigned (Kasparov-Browne. Banja Luka 1 9 7 9 ) .

1 97

Improve Yo u r Chess Tac t i cs

123 l ..Jhfl +! 2,xfl �xg2+! White resigned (Van den Berg-Donner, Beverwijk 1 96 3 ) .

1 24 l .'iVhS + ! WxhS 2.ttJg6+ WgS 3 JihS# (Tikhonenkov-Kruchev, Moscow 1 9 7 3 )

1 25 1 .'ifxh7+! b3 there is 4 . . . �c2# (Parma-Bielicki, Basle 1 9 59).

After 1 .tLJgS ! Black resigned (Yates-Reti, New York 1 924) . The knight cannot be taken because of 2 .%IhS+ �xhS 3 .tLJxf7 + and 4.tLJxg5 . Mean­ while, both 2.tLJgxf7 and 3 . .tt h S#, and also 2 .'ii'g 4 followed by 3 .'i'h4 are threatened. l .'i'e3 and 1 .'i'f3 would also win eventually, but the text is the most direct and the most elegant.

1 33 L.bS 2.�d3 After 2.Axb5 both 2 . . . 11abS fol­ lowed by ... a7 -a6, and also 2 ... �xb5 3 .'i'xb5 nabS and then . . . ttJe5 -d3+ win. 2.. :i'b4+! Luring the king into a fork. Whether the queen is taken or the king retreats, ( 3 .'i'xb4 ttJxd 3 + and 4 ... ttJxb4; 3 .�fI 'i'xb3 4.axb3 ttJxd3 ) White ends up a piece down (Naranja-Portisch, 1 9th Olympiad, Siegen 1 9 7 0) .

1 34 A combination leads to favourable simplifications: 1 .gS+! fxgS 2:i'xh7+! 'It>xh7 3.ttJxgS+ and 4.tiJxh3 with two extra pawns in a simple end­ game (Maroczy-Rubinstein, Prague 1 908) .

200

Sol u l i o n s : Deco y i ng (No 1 2 0 - 1 5 5 )

1 3S l .9..xf7+ ! Wxf7 2.rIxc7+! �xc7 With the help of two sacrifices, White has lured the enemy king and queen onto the seventh rank and now gains a decisive material advantage: 3.'*fh7+ We6 4.�xc7 lhd3 5.'i'xa7 Black resigned (Mecking­ Tan, Petropolis 1 974) .

1 36 1 . .. �xf4+! 2.Wxf4 g5+ 3.Wg4 ttJe3 + and 4 ... ttJxc2, remaining with an extra knight (Wittek-Meitner, Vienna 1 8 8 2 ) . Note that i n this classical example, the win could also have been achieved with the quiet move 1 .. .'iYe I ! threatening the same fork, plus mate on g3. For 1 . . 'i' g 1 ! you would also get points. .

1 37 1 .'i'b8+ We7 2..�f6+ ! Wxf6 3.'iVd8+ , and Black resigned, because he is mated: 3 . . . Wg7 4.11g3 + ; 3 . . . Wg6 4 .'iYgS # ; 3 . . . wfS 4.'i'g S + We4 S .'�eS # (R. Bogdanovic-Suetin, Budva 1 967) .

1 38 By sacrificing themselves, the queen and bishop open the path of the g6 pawn to promote: 1 .'i'h8+ ! Wxh8 2.g7+ Wg8 3.�h7+ Wxh7 4.g8'i'# (Piotrowski-Tenenbaum, Lvov 1 9 2 6)

20 1

rmprove Yo u r Chess Ta c t i cs

1 39

1 40

The queen sacrifice led to a forced perpetual check: 1 .'fNxh7 + Wxh7 2.hxg6+ Wxg6 3 .r1h6+ WgS 4.11hS+ (Von Scheve-Rubinstein, Ostend 1 90 7 ) . However, after the preliminary l .g5 'fNe6 the same sacrifice would have mated: 2.'tl!Vxh7+! Wxh7 3.hxg6+ Wxg6 4.l:[h6+ \tlxg5 5.Wf3# This means that instead of 1 . ..'fNe6 Black would have been forced to play 1 . . . 'fNxgS + 2.'fNxgS gxfS , although after 3 .�xg8+ Wxg8 4.f3 (4.\tlh4+ and s.f3 or 4.f4) White's win, with his extra exchange, would have been a matter of technique.

1 .'iVh6 'tl!Vf8 2.'tl!Vxh7+! \tlxh7 3.hxg6+ Wxg6 4.i.e4# (Fischer-Mjagmarsuren, Sou sse 1 9 6 7 ) . Black i s also mated after l .. .c 1 'fN + (instead of 1 . . .'�f8) 2 Jhc l I::1 xc l + 3 .Wh2 .

141

1 42

1 .'tl!Vxf5 + ! A well-known motif: the black king is lured into the enemy camp. 1 ...\tlxfS 2.�e4+ \tlg4 3.h3+ �xg3 Mate results from 3 . . . �xh3 4 . .ifS + �xg3 S .lle3 + �h4 6.llh3 #, and also 3 . . . �hS 4.g4+ �h4 S .ne3 with the unstoppable threat of 6.�e 1 #. 4.ne3 \tlh4 5.�g6! Cutting off the king's escape route and threatening 6 .�d2-e I #. 5 ... 'tl!Vg5 + 6.fxg5 �xe5 7.ne4+ �xh3 8.�f5 + �g3 9.�e l # (Zelinsky­ Skotorenko, correspondence game, 1 9 7 4) . 1 ...nxc4! 2.'fNxc4 'tl!Vxb2+ 3.nxb2 lLla3 + 4.Wal �xb2+ 5.Wxb2 lLlxc4+ 6.Wc3 l:!xe4 and Black has two extra pawns in the endgame (Honfi­ Barczay, Kecskemet 1 97 7 ) . A false trail i s offered b y l .. Jlxe4 (instead of 1 .. Jhc4!) 2 .'tl!Vxe4 'fNxb2+ 3 .�xb2 lLlc3 + 4.Wc I lLlxe4 S Jk 2 with mutual chances.

202

Sol u t i o n s : Decoy in9 ( N o 1 2 0 - 1 5 5 )

1 43 I Jlxg6+! xg6 1 . . .t2Jxg6 2.tbxf5 + . 2.Jlh6+ ! xh6 3.tbxfS+ �g6 4.tbxe7+ f6 S.ttJg8+ and then 6 ..Q.b3 with a material advantage suffi c ient for victory. This variation is from the game Lukin-Fedorov (Leningrad 1 98 3 ) . White did not see the combination and played 1 .llc5 , after which the game later developed in Black's favour.

1 44 After the queen exchange offer 1 .'i'b3 the game Schulten-Horwitz (London 1 846) continued l ..:�Wfl + 2.xfl .id3++ 3.Wel llfl #.

1 45 The queen cannot be taken. But with the help of checks, it is possible to reach a position where the e I -square is defended and then the queen can be taken: 1 .�xg7+! �xg7 Or I . . . Wh8 2 . llg8+ lhg8 3 .'i'c3 + ; 1 . . . �f8 2 . llg8+ Wxg8 and, as in the game, 3 .'i'g3 + . 2.'i'g3+ and 3JhdS (Sandlik­ Rybl, Prague 1 9 3 7) .

1 46 After 1 . tbfe 5 , 1 ...'i'xg2+ ! was played and White resigned, not waiting for 2 .Wxg2 tbf4+ 3 .�g l tbh3 # (Karner-Mikkov, Tallinn 1 9 5 4) .

203

I m p rove Yo u r Chess T a c t i cs

1 47 1 Jhg7+! �xg7 2.'i'6g4 There is no defence to the twin threat of mate and the discovered check 3 .tLJh6+ , winning the queen. After 2 ... 'i'6xfS 3.VWxfS White's victory is only a matter of time (Keres-Gligoric, Yugoslavia 1 9 59).

1 48 On 1 . . �xd3? there follows 2.�g8+ ! , and Black is mated afler 2 . . . �xg8 3 ..�.c6++ and 4 lg8# (Nei-Petrosian, Moscow 1 9 60) . .

J

1 49 No. After l .�xc7? there followed 1 ..:iYh3+!, and White stopped the clocks because mate is un­ avoidable: 2.�xh3 �f] # or 2.�h 1 'iff] + 3 .�g 1 Wixf3 #. This is how the game U. Andersson­ Hanston (Haslings 1 9 7 2 / 7 3 ) ended.

1 50 After 1 ..:�'xh2? White continues 2.l::rb 8+ g8+ l:ixgS 3 .'i'xh6+ gxh6 4.1:lxgS h5 S .I!Sg7+ �hS 6.�7gS e4 7 Jhcs dxc5 8.dxe4 is another, less forceful win. 2...gxh6 L.Wxh6 3 .�h4#. 3JIg7+ WhS 4.�g8! l:[xg8 Or else mate on h 7 . s Jhgs+ �h7 6.n l g7# (Rich­ ter-NN, Germany 1 93 9 ) . ..

209

I m p rove Yo u r Ch ess Ta c t i cs

Clearing Squares and Lines ( No 183-192) 183 After I ...d3 ! White resigned, due to inevitable material loss. If 2.exd 3 , then L . tLJd4 3 .'iYd l l2:Jxd2 (4.'i'xd2 tLJf3 +) or 2 .'i'd 1 (2.'i'xd3 'i'xd3 and 3 . . . tLJxd2) L.dxe2 3 . 'i'xe2 tLJxd2 4.I1fd 1 tLJd4 (Demetriescu-Nagy, correspondence game, 1 93 6) .

1 84 Black i s threatened with mate, but by sacrificing a rook, he opens the queen's path to the key square e3 and mates first: 1 ..JU3+! 2.gxfl If 2 .Cit>g I , then L .'i'e l + 3 .Cit>h2 'i'g3 + 4.Wg I lle l +. 2 ... 'i'e3 + 3.Wg3 �xfl+ with mate (Kmoch­ Rubinstein, Semmering 1 926) .

1 85 l .tLJd5+ ! cxd5 2.�a3+ On L .Wd8 the game is ended by 3 .'i'd6+ Cit>c8 4J:k 1 + (Klavins-V Zhuravlev, Riga 1 9 68).

210

So l u t i o n s : C l ea ri ng Sq u a res a n d L i nes (No 1 8 3 - 1 9 1 )

1 86 The 'quiet' move 1 .�.e6 (in freeing the f-file, the bishop attacks g8) forced Black to resign. He can­ not take the queen because of mate, and after 1 . . . l:rgg8 2.'ti'xd8 and 3 .�xg8 White easily real­ ises his material advantage (Pisarsky-Markushev, Novosibirsk 1 98 3 ) .

187 l .fS ! .Q.xfS 2.'ti'c7! ! , and Black resigned because he loses a rook (Cramling-Martin, Barcelona 1 98 5 ) .

1 88 With the move l .ttJd4! White creates a deadly threat of 2 .'ti'g4+. On l . . . ttJeS , 2 .ttJc6 ! wins (Csonkics-Porubszky, Budapest 1 98 6) .

1 89 After I .fS exfS , by freeing the c4-square for his knight with 2.�xf7+!, White wins the queen: 2 .. Jhf7 3.ttJc4 (Botvinnik-Stepanov, Leningrad 1 93 1 ) .

2l I

Improve You r Chess Tac t i cs

1 90 l .bS ! Clearing the sixth rank allows White to win a rook. l. ..cxbS If 1 . . . llaS , then 2.'iYhS+ wf7 3 .'liVg 7 + We6 4.'iYf6+. 2.'i'hS+ wfl 3.�g7+ We6 4.�f6+ This is why the move l .bS was played - the rook at a6 is undefended. 4 ... Wd7 S.Wxa6 Black resigned (Malich-Bueno, Leipzig 1 977).

191 l .tLJh6+ wfS Now, after moves like 2 .11h4 or 2 .'i'hS + We7 3 .'fHg7 llfS 4.llg3 (4.ne3 , 4.�h4) White keeps the attack. However, the striking 2.tLJfS ! ends the game at once. After 2 . . . exfS (or 2 . . . gxfS) there comes 3 .lIxh7 with inevitable mate (Timman­ Pomar Salamanca, Las Palmas 1 9 7 7) .

1 92 1 . . exd4 L�d 1 Threatening 3 .g4 followed b y a queen sacrifice on h 7 . If 2 . . . ltJxf6 3 .ltJxf6 1:1g7 , then 4.ltJxh7! WgS ( 4. . Jhh7 S .'i'fS#) S .ltJf6+ wfS 6.'i'hS + �e7 7 .ltJdS + . After 2 . . . �e6 the attack breaks through b y 3 .g4 ltJg7 (3 . . . ltJxf6 4.ltJxf6 llg7 s .11h3) 4.fxg7 + �xg7 S .ltJf6 and 6J�h 3 . 2 g S 3.g4 llg6 4.'i'fS+ �gS s.'i'xfl b S 6.ltJe7 �e6 7. 'i'xh7 + \t>xh7 SJ:th3# (Planinc­ Matulovic, Novi Sad 1 96 5 ) . But there was a defence after all! After 2 ... bS ! 3 .g4 ltJg7 the threats are parried, and 4.ltJe7 �e6 S .ltJxgS l:lxgS 6.fxg7 + �xg7 7 .'I'f4 hS leads to a position with roughly equal prospects. .

•..

212

Pinning and Unpinning ( No 208-223 ) 208 1 .'ifg6 wins. After l . . . fxg6 there follows 2 .llxf8+ Wh? 3 .h S , and mate next move. 1 ... f5 2.exf6 .Q.xf6 3.I1xf6 Black resigned (Sajtar-Dietze, Prague 1 94 3 ) .

209 After 1 ...ne2! White had t o resign. After 2 .'iYxcS there follows 2 . . Jlgxg2+ 3 .�h l l1h2+ 4.�g l �eg 2 # (Bannik -Cherepkov, USSR 1 96 1 ) .

210 1 .0-0-0! wins, since after 1 . . .nxe3 White plays 2 . nxd6+ We? (or 2 . . . Wc?) 3 .tbdS + (Pinkas­ Fialkowski, Katowice 1 9 7 7 ) .

213

I m p rove Yo u r Chess Ta c t i cs

21 1

After I ..J:[c2+ 2.11d2 a second attack on the rook decides: 2 ... 'iWd l ! , after which White must lose his queen (3 J:hc2 �xd6) .

212 The rook on h8 is out of play, and White realises this advantage by means of a combinative blow: l .'iWa3+ 'iWe7 1 . . .�g8 2 . .ixh7 +. 2 . .ic6 ! Black resigned (Evans-Bisguier, USA 1 9 5 8/ 5 9) .

213 White has a strong attack, a routine continuation of which would win: 1 . .ixf6+ �xf6 2 . .ixf5 llb6 3 .b3 .ixf5 4.Ihf5 . But White found a shorter way, by exploiting the idea of a pin. l .'iWgS ! dS 2.�g7+ ! .ixg7 3 . .ixg7+ Wg8 4.�f6# (G. Zhuravlev-A. Romanov, Kalinin 1 9 5 2 ) .

214 l ..ixe7 llxe7 1 . . . Wxe7 2 .i.xd 5 . 2Jhe6! A tem­ porary exchange sacrifice, with the aid of which White obtains a winning pawn ending by force: 2 ...11xe6 3.�xdS lle8 4.cxb6 axb6 SJiel lle7 6.11xe6 l:[xe6 7.Wb2 rtJe7 8 ..ixe6 Wxe6 9.Wb3, and White won easily (Belov-Zhelnin, Narva 1 98 6) .

2 14

Sol u t ions: P i nn i n g and Unp i nn i ng ( N o 2 0 8 - 2 2 3 )

215 1 ..Jlxg3 + ! Lt1xg3 l:1g8 ! The triple pin (on the g - file, the third rank and the a7 -g 1 diagonal) forced resignation - White loses his queen (Gendel-Sushkevich, USSR 1 9 5 6) . The quieter 1 . . . tt:Jf6 was also strong.

216 White wins the queen, with the help of a pin: 1 .�c7+ �e8 2.�c8+ . Here Black resigned, since after 2 . . . �e 7 there follows 3 .llxd5 �h 1 + (or 3 . . . � fl +) 4 . rId 1 , attacking the queen and at the same time threatening 5 .'iVd8# (Kieninger-H. Herrmann, Bad Oeynhausen 1 940) .

217 l .�dS ! �xh3 2.�a8+ �d7 3.'iVxa7+ �c6 3 . . . We6 4.tt:Jd4#. 4.tt:Jd4+ WcS sJlb l ttJb3 5 . . . 'ifd8 6JXb5#; 5 . . . �d7 6.'ifc 7 + . 6.'fHa3# (Tsvetkov-Arnaudov, Sofia 1 9 5 6)

218

The rook cannot be taken because of 2 .'fHf8#. The subtle move 1 . .. f5 ! decides the game. Black takes control of g4, after which White is defenceless against the threat of 2 . . . 'ifg3 + ! (unpinning) 3 .�xg3 llh5#. This excellent tactical possibility was missed in Alekhine-Naegeli, Berne 1 9 3 2 . 1 should also point out another winning line, not mentioned by other commentators, starting with the move l . . .�g l , in order after 2JH6 (defend­ ing t he mate on e I ) to continue 2 . . . 'iVe 1 + 3 .fgfl �d 1 ! 4.�f3 (4.�f3 l:1h5 +) 4 .. Jlg I ! . 215

I m p rove You r C h ess Ta c t i cs

219

First Black drove out the enemy king by means of 1 ..Jla l + V�t>h2 'i'gl + 3.Wg3, and then he played 3 .. Jh3+. If 4.Wg4 then 4 'i'h2 wins (5 .'i'f2 f5 + and 6 . . . lhh3 + or immediately 5 . . . 11xh3) . Therefore White blocked the check with 4Jld3 . . . .

We are following the game Bogatyrev­ Zagoryansky, Moscow 1 94 7 . Black missed the chance to win the game, thanks to the pin, with the move 4... 'iYd4! (he played 4 .. la l ? , and the game eventually ended in a draw) . J

220 After 1 .'ffd 3! Black resigned. After 1 . .llXg5 there comes 2 .'iVg6 ! mating (Bagirov-Machulsky, Chelyabinsk 1 9 7 5 ) . .

22 1 No. The tactical operation 1 .ttJxe4? �xe4 2.�e 1 leads to defeat after 2 . .igS+ 3.�d l O-O! , and White loses a piece (De Mey-O'Kelly de Galway, Brussels 1 93 5) . The moves can also b e inverted: 2 . . . 0-0! and if 3.11xe4 .ig5 + . ..

116

Sol lf l i o n � : P i n n i ng and Un p i n n i n g ( No 2 0 8 - 2 1 3 )

222 Only (0 f l . which wins. In the event o f 2.Wf!? lif8 3.lid8 'iHh4+! White loses his queen (Makogonov -Chekhover. Tbilisi 1 9 3 7 ) .

223 No. Afler 1 . . dxc4 2 .Qxe4? Black. exploiting the pins on the hishop on e4 (diagonal and vertical) wins: 2 .. :iWfS! 30lIe t l::tae8 4.Cilc3 l::t xe4! S.tbxe4 �e8 (Yuriev-Tishler. USSR 1 9 27) .

.

217

I m p rove Yo u r Chess Tonics

Interference ( No 232-245)

232 1 Jld4! An interference, allowing the d-pawn to promote. 1 . \i(xd4 2.d7 Black resigned (Varnikov-Vietal, Czechoslovakia 1 9 7 3 ) . .

.

233

l ...Q.e8 'it'fS Defending againsl the mate o n d 7 . 2Jle6 ! By closing the c8 -h3 diagonal, White wins (Augustin-Lane, Bmo 1 9 7 5 ) .

234

There followed 1 ..�c2 , and White stopped the clocks. The bishop shuts off the second rank, threatening 2 . . . .ll xe 1 + and 3 . . . 'i'xg2#. Neither the knight, nor the rook, nor the queen, can take the bishop (Ilyin-Genevsky-A. Kubbel, Leningrad 1 92 5 ) . .

218

Sol u t i ons: I n t e rference ( No 2 3 2 - 2 4 5 )

235 l .h6+ Wh8 2..�e6! Interfering between queen and bishop; White wins. Taking on e6 is impossible because of mate : 2 . . . �xe6 3 .'i'fS + 'WgS 4.'i'f6+. Meanwhile the bishop on e4 is attacked. If 2 . . . d S , then 3 .'i'e S + , and i f the bishop retreats, i t i s mate after 3 .'i'd4+ (Ivanovic-Popovic, Yugoslavia 1 9 7 3 ) .

236 The move 1 ...�h3! is the prelude t o a deeply-cal­ culated combination. The rook cannot be taken because of 2 . . . 'i'e4 3 . f3 'Wxe2 mating, so White replied 2.�a3 , defending against the threats (2 . . . �e4 3 .'Wd3 ) . There followed: 2 ... 1:[c8 ! Driv­ ing off the rook and preparing to shut off the third rank. 3.:Iel 3 Jhcs 'i'b l + . 3 .. Jlc3 ! Inter­ ference. The queen is isolated from the kingside, after which Black realises his original threat. 4.bxc3 'iVe4 S.f3 'iVe3+ 6.�hl 'iVf2 7.1:[ g l 'iVxe2 8.cxd4

Now what? The contact between the queen and the kingside has been re-established . . . 8 ...e4! ! A 'quiet' move, which had to be foreseen when Black sacrificed the rook. The threat is both 9 ... e3 , and 9 ... exf3 followed by ... �h3 -g2+. The e4 pawn cannot be taken because of mate. 9.f4 e3 White resigned (Kitanov-Baurn, Sterlitamak 1 949) . If White had defended with the move 2 .�cS (in­ stead of 2. 'if a3) , there could have followed 2 .. .l::tc S 3 .�c7 'iVe4! 4.'iVc2 (4.f3 'i'e3 +) 4 .. .fS ! . After the exchange o f queens, the pin on the c-file and the advance of the d-pawn decide the out­ come. 2 19

I m prove Yo u r C h ess Tac t i cs

237

l .a6 tth4 I f l . . . ng I . then 2 .a7 tt a I 3 .tta3 (inter­ ference) 3 . . . hxa3 4.aS'fg. 2.l:td8! Shutting off the eighth rank prevents the rook stopping the pawn. 2 ... �xd8 3.a7 Black resigned (from a simulta­ neous game by Alekhine. 1 9 3 3 ) .

238 1 .�,e4+ ! Isolating the black king. after which it i s defence­ less. 1 . ..fxe4 2.'iVdS+ We8 3.VJlie6# (Urzica-Honfi. Bucharest I 9 7 5 ) A similar variation i s 1 .'iVa6+ 'l!ta8. and now the same move 2..ie4+! (2 .. .fxe4 3 .filc6#) . or 1 . 'fgb5 + ttJb6 2 . .tIe 7 + Was 3 . .ie4+.

239 Shutting off the 6th rank with the move I Jh e6! (or indeed 1 .1l7e6) ends the game ( 1 . . . .ixe6 2.'fgxh6) (Suhle-Mayet. Berlin 1 860) . Mate can be avoided by giving up the queen 1 . . 'iYxe6 2 Jhe6 .ixe6. but after 3 .'iYxh6 f6 4.'iYg6+ the result is not changed. White also had another option. forcing mate: l .ttxt/! �xt/ 2Jle8+ l:lrs (2 ... 'iYfS 3 .'iYg6 + llg7 4.'iYxg7#) . and now 3.ne7! followed by 3 . . JIf6 (or 3 .. .11f5 . or 3 . . . l::t f4) 4.'iYeS+ 1:IfS 5 J�g7+ �hS 6Jlf7 + �gS 7 .l:txfS + 'iYxfS 8 .'iYg6 + . and mate. If 3 . . . 'iYf6. then 4 ..ixf6 lhf6 5 .'iYeS + and 6 .'iYg6+.

-

.

220

So l u t i o n s : l n t erfercncc ( No 2 3 2 - 2 4 5 )

240 I J1£5 ! Shutting off the diagonal c8-h3 . 1 . .. WhS 1 . . . gxfS 2 .fggS + and mate. 2.�h6 r,{gS 3.CL) g5 Black resigned (Zinkl-Metger, Berlin 1 8 9 7 ) .

241 White wins by exploiting the idea o f interference. 5.�d5 ! Breaking the connection between the en­ emy queen and the c6-square. 5 ... exd5 6.�xc6+ WdS If 6 . . . We7 , then 7 .tDxd S + . 7.'ifxaS+ Wd7 S.'ifb7+ We6 9.'ifc6+ .id6 1 0.kf4! Black re­ signed. After I O . . . 'I'xh 1 + I I .Wd2 'fHxa I White mates with 1 2 .'I'xd6+ WfS 1 3 .'iVeS + and 1 4. 'I'g S # (Janowski-Schallopp, Nuremberg 1 896). 242 After 1 ...tDd3 2.�xh7 + \t>hS Of course, not 2 . . . b l 3.bxa3 'Wia2#. 3 .. Jb l +! And now, decoying the king to a I , after which mate follows from a geometrical manoeuvre by the queen. 4.\t>xal 'iVaS+ ! S.Wb l 'WIa2# (Wheeler-Hall, England 1 964) . The mating combination could also have been started with the move l ..Jha3+. 296 Were it not for the knight on e4, White could give mate. Therefore, the knight quits its post: l .tLlf6+! Clearing lines, as a result of which the black king gets a square on g 7 . 1 . .. gxf6 2.'i'fS+ ! Decoying, with the help o f which the bolthole is closed. 2 ...c;t>xfS 3 .�h6+ \t>gS 4.�eS# (Richard­ son-Delmar, New York l S 8 7)

297

White is mated in five moves: l . .. t:rhl +! Deflect­ ing the knight. 2.tLlxhl �h2+! Decoying the king. 3.Wxh2 �hS+ 4.Wg3 tLlfS + S.\t>f4 t:rh4# This is how the game Schiffers-Chigorin, St Pe­ tersburg 1 8 9 7 , could have ended. Instead of l . . Jih 1 + Chigorin isolated the enemy queen with l .. .b6, after which there followed 2 .�e3 .Now, too, the combination works. How­ ever, Chigorin continued the attack with 2 . . . tLlf5 , and Schiffers managed to fight off the threats. The game was eventually drawn.

298 1 .�g3+ \t>xh6 Accepting the sacrifice is obliga­ tory, since after l .. .WfS 2 .'i'gS + , a rook is lost. 2.Wh l ! Freeing the square g 1 for the rook. 2 ...'fNdS 2 . ..c2 loses to 3 Jlg 1 with the threat of 4.'i'h4# . 3JIg l 'fNxfS 4.�h4+ 'fNh5 S.'fNf4+ 'fNgS 6JhgS fxgS 7.'fNd6+ Black does not man­ age to play . . . c3 -c2, since the knight is taken ei­ ther with check, or a threat of mate. 7 ...�hS S:tWxd7, and White won (Pillsbury-Tarrasch, Hastings 1 89 5 ) .

227

I mprove Yo u r Chess Ta c t i cs

299 No. On 2.�xdS there follows 2...ne } + ! (ideas: deflection - 3 .thc 1 'if xdS and interference 3 .. �xc 1 'ifb 1 #) . White resigned (Wisznewetzki­ Auerbach, Lvov 1 9 1 2) .

3 00

l .tLle8 + , and Black resigned (Kupreichik­ Tseshkovsky, Moscow 1 9 7 6 ) . After l . ..tLlcS (if l . . .'ifcs , then 2 . '*YxcS + tLlxcS 3 .tId8#) there fol­ lows the deflecting sacrifice 2 .'ifxcS+ '*YxcS and 3 .nd8#. The discovered check has to be made with the move tLld6-c 8 : the interference shuts out the rook on b8.

30} 1. tLlxh2! After 2 .'iVxh2 there follows 2 . . . '*Yxf3 + ! 3 .nxf3 �e l + 4.'*Yg l llexg l + S .Wh2 l::t l g2+ with a great material advantage (Polyak,E. -Kofman, Kiev 1 94 1 ) . •.

302 The opponent's combination turns out to have a fatal hole at the end of the variation: l ..:i'xb l +! 2.tLlxb l �a6! - Black remains with an extra ex­ change (Johansen-Metzing, Berlin 1 9 7 3 ) .

228

Sol u t i on s : Com b i n i n g Themes ( N o

303

28 I

-

3 1 0)

The move 2 .'i'd I ? is mistaken. Black oblains ,1 material advantage by force, by using the ideas of" deflection and pinning. 2... 'tlfxd l + 3Jhd l �fl ! 4.l:ld2 The realisalion of Black's advantage is not made much more diffi­ cult by 4 . .ixe4 Ihd 1 + 5 .�c2 .tIg 1 6.d5 �f7 . 4.. Jhd 1 + S Jhd 1 nfl 6.�xe4 .tIxd 1 + , and Black wins (Timofeev-Lobanov, Chita 1 9 3 5 ) . Instead o f 2 .'i'd I ? White should have played 2 .b3 , 2 .a3 or 2 .Ilc l .

304 Black has to resign after the study-like move 1 .�d6! ' The ideas are interference (the knight cannot take the bishop because the queen on e6 is undefended) and deflection (after 1 . . . nxd6 there follows 2 .'i'b8+ mating - Black has lost control of c8) . In the meantime, the queen on e6 is unde­ fended, and 2 .�f8# is lhreatened (Berthold Lasker-Kagan, Berlin 1 894) . Emanuel Lasker's older brother was also nol a bad chess player. . .

305 No. After 1 .'i'xg6+! 'i'xg6 V1Jxg6 Wxg6 (more tenacious was 2 . . . �f6 3 .tDe5 tDxe5 4.fxe5 + Wxe5 5 .lhc5 ±) 3.g4! Black suffers material losses : 3 .. J:[h2+ 4.Wg3 l:ld2 S.�xfS + Wf6 6.�xd7 (Spielmann-H6nlinger, Vienna 1 93 6)

2 29

Improve Yo u r Chess T a C l i cs

306

The sacrifice I lilde4 is correct. After I ...�xb2 in the game Krantz-Sellberg, played by correspon­ dence ( 1 9 7 5 ) , there followed 2.tilxe6 �xeS 2 . . . tilxe6 3 .'i'xf5 . 3 J1x£5 'i'xe6 Or 3 . . . 'i'e2 4.tilxc7 + l$)e7 5 .'i'a3 + with mate.

4.l:reS ! Black resigned. 307

30S

There is a forced win by means of 1 .'tWxg7+! First decoying the king to g 7 , after which a discovered check follows. t ... Wxg7 LidS+ I$)hS If 2 . . . I$)f7 , then 3 .�h5 # ; 2 ... l$)h6 3 .l:ih3#. 3 .1:[gS+! Deflecting the rook from f8 . 3 .. JhgS 4.�f6+ 1:Ig7 S.�xg7+ I$)gS And now, the last discovered check. White not only regains the sacrificed ma­ terial, but remains with an extra piece: 6 . .ixd4+ rJ;; f7 7 JUt + We7 S.�xb2 Black resigned (Westerinen-Sigurjonsson, New York 1 9 7 8 ) . The ending finished i n a draw. However, with the striking knight rebound 2.tilfS ! (instead of 2 .'i'fl) White could have won.

After 2 ...'iVgS (if L .'i'xg2+ 3 .'i'xg2 �xg2 , then 4.�xg7 + I$)g8 S Jk7 , threatening tilfS -h6#, 5 ... h5 6.Wxg2 - White has an extra piece) 3.'iVxdS+! 'iVxdS 4.IlcS! 'iYxc8 S.�xg7+ I$)gS 6 ..idS+ Black is mated, a chance missed in the game Yudovich-Ragozin, Tbilisi 1 93 7 . 230

Sol u t i on s : Com h i n i n H T h e m es ( N o 2 8 1 - 3 1 0 )

309 On 1 ...tDd6? there followed 2.nhS+ (if 2 .�h4, then 2 . ..t2JhS) 2 ... Wg7 (2 . . . Wxh8 3 .'I'h4 Wg8 4.�.xf6) 3Jlh7+ WgS 4.�h4, and Black resigned (Trockenheim-Wilczynski , Warsaw 1 9 3 9 ) . However, there was a saving line, and the move 1 .�e4 was not the best (the attack would have succeeded after 1 .11h6 ! ) . Instead o f 1 . . . ttJd6 ? Black should have played l ..JWxd2 + ! , returning the sacrificed piece : 2..�.xd2 tLJxe4 3 .tLJxe4 llfd8=. After 2 .Wxd2? tLJxe4+ 3 .tiJxe4 fS ! 4.llh8+ wf7 S .llh7 + We8 the knight has no retreat so White has to go for 6.Ihe7 + Wxe7 7 .tLJg S=t=. 310 3.�a6 ! By closing the a-file for a moment, White invites his opponent to take the bishop with the rook, and create the threat of a deadly check on a 1 . But then, exploiting the fact that the rook has left the seventh rank, he is able to mate his opponent: 3 .. Jha6 4Jhh7 + Wxh7 s .tLJf6#. In the meantime, after 3 . .ia6 White threatens 4.'iYg 3 , and also 4.t2Jf6. In the event of 3 . . . l:1xg7 4.l:Ixg7 .ixa6 the same combination decides things: s .llxh7 + , 6.ttJf6+ and 7 .'fIih7#. After 3 ... 'iYfl White wins by 4.Il7g2 (4 . . . l:1xa6 s Jh f2 l:la l + 6.Wd2 lhg l 7 .l:1fI ) , whilst after 3 . . . 'iYaS , there is 4.Ilxa7 'iVa 1 + S . Wd2 'fIixg 1 6Jlxh7+. In the game there followed 3 ...�xa6, and after 4.�g3! Black resigned (Richter-NN, Germany 1 930). Instead o f the tempting 1 . . .ttJb3 + Black should have played 1 . . . a3 ! with extremely strong threats.

23 1

Improve Yo u r C h ess T a c t ics

Pawns on the Brink ( No 325-338) 325 B y decoying the knight t o f8 , White queens his pawn: I JHs+ ! tL'lxfS 2.e7

326 It may appear that this position has nothing to do with pawn promotion, but this is not so. After 1 .'fifS+ 'figS the move 2.e6! forced Black to resign. After 2 . 'fixfS there follows 3.exd7 and the unavoidable 4.ne8. The pawn reaches the coveted spot (Malysheva-Hjelm, Stockholm 2003 104) . ..

327 I . . . �d4! is a strong positional continuation. But there is also a forcing decision: l . ..'fidl ! 2.tL'lxb6 If 2 . :txd l , then 2 . . . e 2 + and 3 ... exd l +. 2 . JIc 1 ! After 3 .wfI there follows 3 . . .e2+. White resigned (Arnold-Duras, Prague 1 9 20) . .

232

Sol u t i ons: Pawns on t h e Brink (No 3 2S 3 3 8 ) -

328 l .a6 Towards the queening square! I ..Jlh7+ 2.'«¥xh7+ Wxh7 3.a7 �f8 4.Ila2 �a8 The pawn is stopped. but only for a short time. After S.h4 Black is defenceless. The further moves S ...d4 6.exd4 ..t>g6 7.hS e3 8.fxe3 were played. and then Black resigned (Lauberte-Semenova. Moscow 1 945) .

329 1 . .1:rrl + ! 2..�xfl Or 2.'ifxfl exfI 'if+ 3 . .ixfI 'ife4+ 4 . ..t>g 1 'ifxd4+ . winning another rook. 2 ... 'fUe4+! 3.'fUxe4 exfl �# (Ruchieva-Eidelson. Tbilisi 1 9 7 6) 1 . . JH7 2 Jhfl e 1 'if 3 .'ifxe 1 'ti'xe 1 + 4.l:lfI 'fie3 was also winning. but much more cumbersome. .

330

l ..ixf7+! �xf7 2.�xe8+ tDxe8 3.l:rxe8+ :tfS 4.d7 �d6

S.:fl ! Black resigned (Velimirovic-Csom. Am­ sterdam 1 9 74)

233

I mprove You r C hess Tac t i cs

331 1 . e3+ 2.WfI ..

Now after 2 . . . .ic4+? there follows 3 Jhc4+, and White wins. However, the deflecting sacrifice 2 ....Q.g2+! ensures the promotion of the pawn : 3.Wxg2 3 .We2 exf2 . 3 e2, and Black won (Hradeczky-Hardicsay, Hungary 1 980) . ...

332 White wins with 1 .�f3 ! 'iYxf3 2.gxf3 1:[xfI + 3.Wg2 (a variation from the game Zuidema­ Bonne, Zurich 1 962) This is definitely the most elegant solution; 'un­ fortunately' White can also win more simply with 1 .�d8 + , 2 .�d7 and 3 .�fS .

333 Black wins with the move 1 .. .ltJf3! . The king cannot move (2. Wg 2 ltJe 1 + ) , and if 2 .l::1 d 6+, then 2 . . . WgS with the threat of 3 . . . ttJd4. In the event of 2.b4 the Simplest is 2 . . . b6 and then . . . Wh6-gS-f4. However, the immediate 2 . . . WgS (3 .bxcS Wf4 4.�d7 We3 and . . . ttJf3 -d4) also de­ cides things (Sternberg-Pawelczak, Berlin 1 964) .

234

Sul u t i ulls : Pawns on t h e B r i n k ( N u 3 2 5 - 3 3 8 )

3 34 The move l ...c5 is well answered by 2. bxcS bxc5 3 .11xc 5 , but also by 2.dxc5 ! 'iYxe5 Again, 2 . . . bxcS 3 .lIxc 5 . But the text is refuted by a nice combina­ tion: 3.cxb6! nxc3 4.bxa7! .l:f.xc2 SJ�xc2, and the three black pieces are unable to prevent the pawn from queening (a variation from the game Kotov-Ragozin, Moscow 1 949) .

335 l .�eS+ ! llxeS Or 1 . . . i.xe8 2 .c7 + lixf3 3 . cS'i¥/#. 2.11xeS+ .2.xeS 3.c7+ �xf3 4.cS�# (Mieses-Von Bardeleben, Barmen 1 905) The aim can also be achieved by reversing the move-order ( l .c7 + �xf3 2 .'i¥/eS + etc. ) .

336

I n trying t o draw the enemy king away from his pawns, White's own king has strayed too far from his forces and Black wins by a pawn break­ through: 1 .. f4! If 2 .gxf4, then 2 . . . h4, and the h-pawn promotes. After 2 .exf4 there again follows 2 . . . h4 ! (deflect­ ing the g3 pawn) 3 .gxh4 (otherwise 3 . . . hxg3 and e4-e3) 3 . . . g3 4.fxg3 e 3 . Nor does 2.'�(d5 save White, because j ust a s i n the above variations, the fearless h-pawn again throws itself on the barricades: 2 ...h4 3.\¥(xe4 If 3 .gxh4, then 3 . . . g 3 ! ; 3 .exf4 h3 or 3 . . . hxg 3 . .

3 ... f3 ! 4.g:xf3 h 3 , and White had t o resign (Pomar Salamanca-Cuadras, Spain 1 9 74) .

235

I mp rove You r Chess Tac t i cs

337 The position may seem drawn, but by a study-like manoeuvre, White manages to instil some strength into his passed pawns: I .11£6 ! �xd7 The threat was 2.a8'iV+ lha8 3 .1:1f8 + or 2 .llf8+ and then 3 .a8�. If 1 .. .llxa 7 , then 2 .11f8+ Wxd7 3 .llfl + . 2JH8 ! After 2 . . . 1:1xa7 there follows 3 .llfl +. Black reSigned (Bukic- Marovic, Yugosla­ via 1 9 68).

338 White's joy was misplaced. There followed l oo.e2! 2 .Q.xf2. •

2oo.�e 3 ! ! A deflection sacrifice ensures the pro­ motion of the pawn (Voitsekhovsky-Sandler, Riga 1 982) . 2 Jhf4 (instead of 2..�.xf2) 2 . . Jlxf4 3 . .,txg 3 does not save White either. After L .Wc6 4.Af2 Wd5 Black wins.

236

Miracle Saves ( No 359-380) 359 White has a n extra rook. but by putting his queen en prise with l ..:�Wc 1 +! Black draws (Titenko­ Murey. Moscow 1 96 1 ) .

3 60 The black king has no moves and his only pawn is blocked. so by sacrificing the queen he saves the game: 1 . 'lWg4+ 2.Wh6 'lWgS + (after 2st)f6 there would follow 2 . . . 'lWe6+). This was the finish of the game Portisch-Lengyel (Malaga 1 964) . ••

361 The black king has no retreat squares. By sacrific­ ing the rook. and then the queen, Black reaches a stalemate: 1 . . .�f7+ ! V�xf7 If White declines the rook with 2 .We8 , stalemate is reached after 2 . . . 'iYc6+ 3 .�xfl 'l'g6+ 4.We7 'iYfl + 5 . Wd6 �d5 + 6!Jiic 7 �c6+ . 2...�g6+ 3 .�e7 �f7+. and the rest is as in the variation after 2 . . . �e8 (this is a slightly amended position from the game Pribyl-Ornstein, Tallinn 1 9 7 7 ) .

237

Improve You r Chess TaC l i cs

362 l ..Jlxg3+ 2.wfl If 2 .Wxg3 . then 2 . . . �xh4+ . whilst after 2.fxg3 a draw results from 2 . . . �b2 + followed by a queen sacrifice. 2... 'iYa l + 3.We2 ne3+ 4.Wxe3 '{We I + s.wn 'tWe3+ 6.Wxe3 - stalemate (Danielsson-Lange. 1 0th Olympiad. Helsinki 1 9 52)

363

After l ..JWc6+ 2.r.i;)fS Black saved himself by 2 ..tDg7+ ! 3 . .ixg7 'tWg6+!. and any capture leads to stalemate (Pietzsch-Fuchs. Berlin 1 96 3 ) . .

364 1 .. ..ixg4! 2Jhg4 If 2.Wxg4. then 2 . . .f5 + 3 .Wh4 llxf4+ 4.ttJxf4 - stalemate. 2 . ..f5 3 .l::t gS �xf4+ 4.tLlxf4 - stalemate (Luik -Hindre. Tallinn 1 95 5 ) .

365 1 ..id3 ! 'tWxd3 2.'tWeS+ with perpetual check. since after 2 . . . Wh6 4.�f8+ Wh5 5 .'I'f7 + 'i'g6. both 6.�xg6+ and 6.�xh7 + lead to stalemate. If Black does not take the bishop immediately. but first plays 1 .. .nh 1 + 2. Wxh 1 and only now 2 ... �xd 3 . trying to exploit his extra pawn in the queen ending. then 3 .'I'e8 + Wh6 4.'iYf8 + Wh5 5. 'l'f7 + at least draws by a repetition of moves. since 5 . . . 'I'g6 6.'I'xd5 + gives White winning chances. 238

Solu t i on s : M i racle Sa ves (No 3 5 9 - 3 8 0 )

366 All attempts to create acttvHy (for example, 1 . . . �d7 2 ..�.g3) are clearly in White's favour. The draw was forced by I ..Jhh3+ ! 2.Wxh3 'tWe6+ ! 3.�xe6 stalemate (Walter-Nagy, Gyor 1 924) . -

367 1 ...h3+ ! 2.h3 , and then of the knight: S ... ttJf4+ 6.llgxf4 Not 6.\t>h4?? �e7 ! -+ . 6 ... 'fVfl + 7.�g4 �xf4+ 8.�h5 �h4+ (Shernetsky-Noordijk, Belgium 1 95 3) .

243

Im p rove Yo u r C h ess Ttlc l i cs

Examination ( No 381-736 ) 381 After 1 .lld8! White Khamatgaleev. Perm 1 99 7 ) . ..

resigned

(Letov­

382 1 .:td7! was played. and Black resigned because of the loss of the queen (2 .t2jf6+) (Thelen-Chodera. Prague 1 943) .

383 1 .'tWg8+ ( 1 . . Jhg8 2 .CiJf7#) (Unzicker-Sarapu. 1 9th Olympiad. Siegen 1 9 7 0 ) .

244

Sol u t i ons: Exam i n a t i on ( No 3 8 1 - 7 3 6 )

3 84 1 .t:Yh8 + Wxh8 2 .JiJ6 + \t>g8 (Butnorius-Gutman, Riga 1 9 74)

3 .11xe8#

385 1 Jhc6+ bxc6 2 . .ia6# (Karlsson-Rogard, Swe­ den 1 9 78)

386 1 ...dS ! The introduction to a typical combination - the diagonal of the bishop on f8 must he opened. 2 ..ixdS 'iYxc3+ 3.bxc3 �a3# (NN­ Boden, London 1 860)

387 1 ..l:lxe6+! fxe6 2 . .ig6# (Cody-Heaton, USA 1 9 1 4)

245

I m p rove You r Chess Tac t i cs

3 88 After 1 Jld8+ ! Black resigned ( 1 . . j�.xd8 2 .e 7 + ) . (Kochiev-Maric. Kapfenberg 1 9 7 6) .

3 89 The knight interferes with the march o f the e-pawn. therefore it must be deflected: 1 ...t2Jb6+! 2.d4 ttJxc4 3 .\t>xc4 Wd6 White loses the pawn endgame. 2... e3 White resigned (Goldenberg-Hug. Switzerland 1 9 7 6 ) .

390 1 ..ic4! . with the threat 2 .c8�. wins immediately (I. Kan-Chernov. YaroslavI 1 9 5 0) .

391 1 ..Jbd4! On 2 .�xd4 there follows 2 . . J:le l + 3 .Wfl 'l'xd4+ 4JIxd4 �txa 1 . White resigned (Tunik-Veingold. Lvov 1 984) .

246

Sol u t ions: E xa m i n a t i on (No 3 8 1 - 7 3 6 )

392 l .J:[c l ! wins (Shumov-Winawer, Sl Petersburg 1 875).

393 l ..ib2! 'iYxb2 2.l:ld8+ Black resigned (Lerner­ SideifZade, Frunze 1 9 7 9 ) . Black will have rook, knight and pawn for his queen, but White wins easily.

3 94 The game lasted one more move. After 1 . .. ttJe2+! White resigned because he loses the queen (if the knight is taken, 2 . . . �c l + and �fl #) (Costantini-Dziuba, Halkidiki 2000).

.

395 After l .�f6 ! Black resigned (Terpugov-I. Kan, Le­ ningrad 1 9 5 I ) .

247

Improve Yo u r C h ess Ta( t j (�

396 1 .�f6! Black resigned. The queen cannot be taken because of mate ( 1 . . . _Q.xf6 2.exf6 or 2.gxf6 and 3 .lIh8#) . On the other hand, if it is not taken, then there is no de­ fence against the 'X-ray' 2 .l:rh8 + (Szabo-Bakonyi, Hungary 1 9 5 1 ) .

397

By continuing 1 . .tilg4! , Black could have ended the game. The threat is 2 . . . �f2#, and after the sacrifice is accepted 2.hxg4, there follows 2 ... hxg4#. In the game (Z. Nikolic-Miladinovic, Yugoslavia 1 994) Black did not notice this possibility, and played l . . .ttJd5 . .

-

398 The 'long' move l ..:iff1 ! deflects the rook from the defence of the square h 3 . After the 'spite check' 2.ttJxeS+ dxeS , White resigned (K. Stein­ Movsesian, Norilsk 200 1 ) .

399 The move I J�d7 (or 1 .'i'xb7 l::t x b7 2.ttJd6) 1 . . .'i'xc6 2 .ttJe7 + �g7 3 .ttJxc6 l::t e 8 4.I1d5 is sufficient for an advantage, as was played in the game V. Zhuravlev-Semeniuk, Novosibirsk 1 9 76. However, play could have been ended immedi­ ately after 1 .tld8 + ! .

248

So l u t i ons: Exa m i na t ion (No 38 J - 7 3 6 )

400

1 .1le8 + ! , and mate on the next move ( J . . . 'M6'x e8 2.V!Kxf6#; 1 ... .Goxe8 2.�f8#) (Domuls-Skullda, USSR 1 9 7 7 ) .

40 1 After 1 .1ld8! all three of White's pieces are under attack, but not one of them can be taken ( 1 . . . �xc3 Ltlxe8#; 1 . . . 'tWxd8 2.�g 7 # ; 1 . . . llxd8 2 .'i¥xf6 ; 1 . . . 'tWxf5 L�xe8#) (Durka-Jablonicky, Czechoslovakia 1 9 7 7 ) .

402 After 1 .�f8+! Black resigned in view of 1 .. .I:hf8 ( 1 . . .i.xf8 2 .�g8#) 2 .�g8+ klxg8 3 .tDf7 # (Nikolov-Slavchev, correspondence game, 1 9 6 3 ) .

403 1 ...axb4! 2.�xa8 tDb6 , and the white queen is trapped (Castaldi-Reshevsky, 9 th Olympiad, Dubrovnik 1 9 50) .

249

Improve You r Chess TCl c t i cs

404

405

1 .'tWxh7+! Black resigned because of the forced mate: 1 . . . Wxh7 2 .11h3 + l1g7 3 .�h6 + Wh8 4Jif8 + Cilh4 5 .11xh4# (Browne-Bellon Lopez. Las Palmas 1 9 7 7 ) .

The move 1 ..ig8 ! forced Black to surrender (Trifunovic-Aaron. Beverwijk 1 962) . This tactical blow became possible after Black played the move . . . Jlb8-b6 . removing the second defence of the rook on d8.

406 l ..Jkd8! 2.'*Vxc6 '*Vxf2+!. and mate after 3 .t1xfl �xd l + or 3 .Wh l '*Vfl + (Nazarenus-Vologin. Bu­ dapest 1 996).

40 7 The move l ...tt:Jf3 ! wins the exchange. because after any move of the rook on e 1 , there follows 2 . . . 'i'e4! with the threat of . . . tlJf3 -h4+ (or . . . tlJf3-e 1 +) and . . . '*Ve4-g2#. White gritted his teeth and played 2.ttJd2. But his losses are not limited to the exchange - after 2 ... d4 he had to resign: 3 .exd4 ttJxe 1 + , whilst af­ ter 3 .'iVd3 or 3 .'iVb3 there is 3 . . . tlJxe l + 4.lIxe l 'iVd5 + (Amarita-Olariu, Romania 2 000) . 250

So l u t i ons: Exam i n a t i on (No 3 8 1 - 7 3 6 )

408 The calculation of the combination which oc­ curred in the game Beletsky-Khasangatin (Soc hi 2004) is fairly simple: l ..J�.xg3 2.hxg3 2.f4 would have avoided what comes next. 2 .. :iYxg3+ , and after 3 .f1 (or 3 .h 1 ) , 3 ... ttJg4! with mate.

409 The deflection of the rooks from the defence of the first rank by 1 .. Jlxf7! forced White to stop the clocks (Klimov-Evseev, St Petersburg 2004) . After 2 .lhf7 there would follow 2 . . . lId 1 + 3 .l:1fl 'i'xg2 + 4.'i'xg2 l:lxfl # or first 2 ... 'i'xg2 + 3 .'i'xg2 and now 3 . . Jld l + .

410 l .ttJf6+! gxf6 2.exf6 Wh8 O r 2 . ..tfje7 3 .'i'g5 + tLJg6 4.'i'h6. 3.�e4 mating. From a simultaneous display by Garry Kasparov against computers (Hamburg 1 98 5 ) .

41 1 1 .�c4 + ! 'i'xc4 2.'i'e 8 + tLJxe8 (Chigorin-NN, S t Petersburg 1 894) Among other moves, 1 .'i'd2 also wins.

3 .lIf8 #

25 1

I m p rove Yo u r C h ess T a c t ics

412 The black queen has no retreat squares. 1 .,Q.xh7+! The idea of the sacrifice is to remove the defender of the square g6. l oo.Gxh7 1 . . WhS 2 .Gf7 # . 2.tlJg6 Black resigned (Rossolimo­ Zuckerman. Paris 1 9 3 7 ) . .

41 3 l oo.'l�¥Xg3 + ! 2.hxg3 .ll h S with (Shantharam-Murugan. Hyderabad 1 994)

mate

414 1 .'fVg8+ ! �xg8 2.ttJg6. The f7 pawn is pinned. and the mate threat on hS is unstoppable (Abrahams-Thynne. Liverpool 1 9 3 2 ) . The retreat o f the king b y L .We7 avoids the mate. but not the crushing attack after 2 .'fVxf7 + and 3 . .tid l +.

415 White gave mate by means of 1 .'fVg8+ We7 On 1 . . . WxgS there is 2.ltJg6+. 2.ttJg6+ llxg6 Or else mate on dS. 3.'fVe8+ 3 . . . Wd6 4.'fVdS# ; 3 .. sftf6 4.'fVfS#) Black resigned (Dobrev-Boichev. Bul­ garia 2005 ) .

252

Sol u t i ons: Exam i n a t i o n ( N o 3 8 1 - 7 3 6 )

416 After 1 .t2Jg5 ! Black resigned. If the knight is taken. 2.11h3 wins. The move l . ..g6 does not save the game. because the pawn on f7 is pinned (Ivkov­ Dj uric. Yugoslavia 1 98 3 ) .

41 7 The move 1 Jlb4! was played. and Black stopped the clocks. The rook cannot be taken by the queen because of mate on d8. and after 1 . . . 'fIic7 there follows 2 .Ihb7 (Sindik-Cebalo. Zagreb 1 9 7 8 ) .

418 1 .�c5 ! Opening the queen's path t o g7 and a t the same time defending White against the matc. There is a threat of 2 . llxh7 + followed by 3 .'fIig 7 # , so Black resigned (Heemsoth­ Heisenbiittel, West Germany 1 9 5 8 ) .

419 After l ..:iYf3 ! 2.�b l (on 2 . gxf3 there follows 2 . . . t2Jxf3 + 3 .Wfl �h3 #) 2 .. :iVxg2 3.Wd2 'fIixfl Black achieves an overwhelming superiority (Peev-Haik, Bucharest 1 9 79) .

253

I m prove You r C h ess T a c t ics

420 After l .ttJd5 ! Black resigned the game. He cannot take the queen hecause of mate (2.ttJc7#) , after l . . .cxdS the rook sacrifice decides (2 .lha 7 + ! �xa7 3 .�c6+ o r 2 . . . Wxa7 3 .'i'a4+) , whilst after 1 . . .1:1c8 there is 2.�xcS tDxcs 3 .ttJb6 + , 4.t2Jd7 + and S .tDxcs or 2 .�b2 'i'bS 3 .�a3 (Book­ Halfdanarson, Reykjavik 1 9 66) .

42 1 1 .�b3 ! cxb3 If 1 . . . �aS , then 2 .I1b8 + Wd7 3 .�d 1 + and the black king cannot escape the chase. 2.'iYxb4 Black resigned (Klaman-Lisitsin, Leningrad 1 9 3 7 ) .

422 The advantage is realised by combinative means: 1 Jhd5 ! exd5 2.ttJd4+ and Black resigned (2 . . . Wd8 3 .ttJe6 + ; 2 .. J1e7 3 .�xc7) (Kasparov­ Kramnik, Frankfurt am Main 1 999) .

423 l .ttJh5 ! gxh5 2.l:tgl Black resigned (Krutikhin­ Chaplinsky, USSR 1 9 5 0) .

2 54

Sol u t i ons: Exa m i n a t i on (No 3 8 1 - 7 3 6 )

424 After 1 .'tWxe4 Ihe4 2Jl l c6 ! Black resigned (Van Wijgerden-Donner, Leeuwarden 1 9 7 6 ) .

425 1 ..:�hg 3 ! 2.hxg3 Wg7 and White resigned, be­ cause 3 JlhB mate cannot be parried (Alapin­ Schiffers, St Petersburg 1 90 2 ) ..

426 Black wins by means o f the move 1 ..:tWxf2+ ! (2 Wxf2 �d4+ 3 . r!e3 l:txe3) - a tactical possibil­ ity missed in the game I. Farago-Hazai, Budapest 1 9 7 6, where 1 �ceB was played. .

. . .

427 1 .. JhdS ! 2JhdS tLlf3 Mate can be prevented only by giving up the rook. After 3.rlSd2 �xd2 4Jhd2 tLlxd2 S .bS tLlc4 White resigned (Rayner-Kouatly, Groningen 1 9 7 6 / 7 7 ) .

2SS

rmprove You r Chess Tact i cs

428 The rook's entry 1 .. J::t e I! decided the game. If it is taken. then 2 . . . �.g 3#. whilst in the event of 2 . .Qb3 there is 2 .. Jle2 + 3 .Wfl �g3 mating (Bialas-Mross. Berlin 1 9 54) .

429 After l .tLJfS ! Black resigned. After l . . .exf5 there follows 2 . 'i' xc8 + (Khmelnitsky -Kabatianski . USSR 1 989).

430 The attack down the h-file is crowned by 1 .�f6 ! (deflection - 1 . . .�xf6 2 .'i'h7 + and 3 .'i'xf7# plus the X-ray threat 2 .'i'h8+ ) . Black resigned (Rytov-Malevinsky. Leningrad 1 969) . The moves can also be switched round: 1 .'i'h7 + Wf8 and now 2 .�f6 .

43 1

I f the black queen ever gets t o n . the white king will be in serious danger. The motif is clear. but how can Black get rid of the opponent's heavy pieces. and also of his own bishop. which blocks the queen's path to n and e2? The first exchange deflects the rook from fI : 1 .. .Ihb 1 2Jhb I . Then the move 2 ... .ifS ! shuts off the f-file. Now the white queen is unable to come to the help of the king. and the threat is 3 .. .'i'f3 + and 4 . . . 'i'g2#. After 3.�fl the game i s decided by 3 . :iVe2 (V Zhuravlev-Kapanadze. Tbilisi 1 9 7 7) . .

256

Sol u t ions: E xa m i n a t i o n ( N o 3 8 1 - 7 3 6 )

432 1 .'fgas ! tUs Or 1 . " 'le8 . Including the moves 1 . . . �b I + 2. xf8 5 . ttJd7 + and 6.ttJxb6. 4.r1hS+ 'ltixhS S.tLJg6+ and 6.tLlxe7 winning easily (Volkevich -Liskov. Moscow 1 9 5 2) . 490 1 . .. f5 + ! 2.gxf6 If 2 . \t>h4. then 2 . . . 'i'h 1 #. 2..:iYfS + and 3 . . . 'i'h5# (G. Borisenko-Simagin. Moscow 1 9 5 5 ) .

49 1 1 .r1d7! tDxd7 2 .Q.h6! A beautiful move. leading by force to mate. 2 ... f6 2 . . . tDxe5 3 .i.xg7 + and 4.i.xe5+. 3.i.xg7+ WgS 4.i.xf6+ Or 4.'i'xe6+ �fl 5 .i.h6+ Wh8 6 .'i'xfl with the same result. 4... Wf7 5.1:1g7+ WeS 6.11xe7+ WdS 7.lteS+ Wxe8 S.'fiixe6# (Korneev-Basos. Las Palmas 1 999) •

492 After l .tDe7! Black reSigned (I ... i.xe7 2 .'i'h8#; and meanwhile there is a threat of 2.'i'g8#) . (Najdorf-Porat. 1 1 th Olympiad. Amsterdam 1 9 5 4) .

272

Sol u t i ons: Exam i n a t i o n ( N o 3 8 1 - 7 3 6 )

49 3 The move l ...tbf5 ! wins a piece. After 2.nxcl 7 there is L .tLlxe3+ 3 .\tle2 t2Jxc4. If 2 Jte2 , then L .'fHd l + 3 .t2Jxd l (3.Jle l t2Jxe3+) 3 .. Jlxd l + 4.ne l t;�e 3 + 5 .\t:;>e2 l'lxe l + and 6 . . . l2Jxc4 (Nikolaev-Karasik, IsraeI 200 5 ) .

494 There followed l ..Jlf7!, and White resigned. Af­ ter 2 .'iVxfl (and also any other queen move) there follows L .�d4+ and then 3 . . . 'ti'xg2# (Zinn -Sveshnikov, Decin 1 9 7 4) .

495 I n order to give mate, Black needs to play ... \th? -g6 and . . . 'iVd I -h5#. But after 1 . . . \tg6 there follows 2 .'iVxe6+. Therefore 1 .. .if6+! (in­ terference) . After 2.exf6 the move 2 ...Wg6 decides (3 .g4 �e l +) (Buksa-Kovacs, Hungary 1 96 5 ) . •

496 1 .. .ttJg4! wins. After 2.�xg4, 2 . . . 'iVxg 2 + ! de­ cides: 3 .�xg2 l:te l + and 4 .. JhfI #. And 2 .nd2 loses to both 2 . . . 'iVxg2 + and 2 . . . t2Jxh6 (Potze­ Bitalzadeh, Hoogeveen 2 0 0 5 ) .

273

Improve Yo u r Chess Tact i cs

49 7

l .tLJf6+! gxf6 Ll:Ixe8+ On 2 . . . 'iVxe8 3 .�xf6 wins. If 2 . . . �xe8, then 3 .'i'h6 'iVd7 4.'i'xf6 (4.�xf6? 'iVg4) 4 . . . wf8 S Jle l or S .'i'g 7 + We7 6.'i'g S + Wf8 7 .�f6 mating (Tompa-Herrou, Val Thorens 1 9 80) .

498 1 .l:hg7! Wxg7 2.'i'f6+ WfS Or 2 . . . Wg8 3 .'i'xh6 with the threat of 4.Ji.h7 + Wh8 S .�g6+, 6.'i'h 7 + and 7 .'i'xf7#. 3.i.g6 ! Black resigned (Keres-Szabo, Budapest 1 9 5 5 ) .

499 l .tLJh5 ! gxhS 2.ttJe6 fxe6 3.l::lg S+ Wf7 4.�g6# (Bjorkqvist -Tiemann, correspondence game, 1 9 7 1 174)

S OO 1 . eS ! 2.�xeS .te3 ! 3.'i'gl .txeS White resigned (Tregubov-Emelin, Elista 1 994) . ••

274

Sul u t i uns: Exa m i n a t i o n ( N o 3 8 1 - 7 3 6 )

SOl 1 .'i!Hxh7+ ! xh7 2.g6+ h8 3.ngS ! Mate is threatened on h 5 , and after 3 .. .fxg5 the other rook gives mate - 4.hxg5# (V Borisenko­ Nakhimovskaya, Riga 1 968) .

502 1 .l:txh7! If Black takes the rook, a knight sacrifice opens the queen's path to h5 : 1 . . . �xh7 2.lLlg 5 + ! fxg 5 3 .'i'h5 + and 4.'i'xg6+ with mate. Therefore, Black had to reply 1 .. £'5, but this only prolongs resistance (Seirawan-Wiedenkeller, Skien 1 9 7 9 ) . .

503 l .l:tc l + b8 2.'iVb4+ a8 Now that the king is cut off, two deflective sacrifices follow: 3 ..�f3+! Ilxf3 4.'iVe4+! Taking the queen leads to mate ( S Jlc8#) , Black resigned (Duras-NN, Prague 1 9 1 0) .

504 1 .�f4 White liquidates the mate threat, attacks the queen and at the same time closes the f-file, preventing the enemy rook coming to the defence - not bad for one move! After 1 ...'iVd8 the game is decided by 2Jhe7! (deflecting the queen from the back rank) 2 ... 'iVf8 (2 . . . 'i'xe7 3 .'i'c8 +) 3 .'i'xg7+ ! ( 3 . . .'i'xg7 4J�e8 + 'i'g8 5 .i.eS +) (CapablancaSpielmann, San Sebastian 1 9 1 1 ) . 275

Improve Yo u r Chess Tac t i cs

SOS With the move I Jlb6! White obtained a decisive material advantage. Black must surrender the queen, since after l . . .axb6 there is 2 .tIJ e7 + Wh8 3 .�xh7 + and 4 . .tlh5#. Without the shutting off of the sixth rank, the combination would not work, since then after l:le5 -h5 + Black could de­ fend with . . . 'i'a6-h6. 1 .. ..Q.xdS Or 1 ... 'i'xb6 2 .ttJxb6 axb6 3 .�xc4 with the same result. 2Jha6 bxa6 3.11xdS (Ukhimura-Shain, USA 1 980) S 06 1 .eS ! dxeS 1 ... ttJe8 2 .exd6+ ttJxd6 3 .'i'xg7 ttJf5 4.'iVg4+- is more resilient. 2.'tWc S + We8 3Jhf6! After 3 . . . gxf6 4 .ttJe4 decides (4 . . . 'tWe7 5 .'tWxc6 +) . Black resigned (Nezhmetdinov­ Sergievsky, Saratov 1 9 66).

S07 1 .�h8+ ! ttJxh8 2.'tWh7+! Wxh7 3JlhS+ Wg8 4.i.h7# (Chudinovskykh-Muraviov, USSR 1 990)

276

Sol u t i ons: Exam i n a t i on ( N o 3 8 1 - 7 3 6 )

508 I ..J:txeS ! 2.dxeS �f3+ 3.Wh l If 3 .gxf3 , lhen 3 . . . �g 5 + and 4 . . . �h4. 3 ..:iYh4 4.h3 .Q.xh3 S.g3 �hS White resigned (Lee-Ribeiro, 1 9th Olym­ piad, Siegen 1 9 70) .

5 09 With his last move, Black gave check with the bishop, intending to answer 1 .�xd4 with l . . Jh d 5 . However, White played 1 Jhd4! cxd4 Not I .. Jlxd 5 2.�xd5 (2 . . . 'i'xd5 3 .�h6 +) , but 1 . . . WhS !± would have made the win more difficult. 2.�f6+ WfS Taking the knight leads to mate after 3 .'i'h6. 3.'iVxh7 gxf6 4.11e l Black re­ signed (Ouz Khotimirsky-Bannik, Vilnius 1 949) . 510 l .tDhS ! gxhS After 1 . . .i.hS 2 .tDg5 decides. 2.�gS i.xgS 3:iVxgs + Wh7 4:fj'xhS + Wg7 S.'iVgS + After 5 . . . Wh7 6 .1:1 f3 Black is mated (Pinter-Hardicsay, Hungary 1 9 74) .

511 l .tDxg6! tDxg6 After I . . .Wxg6 2 .'i'e4+ �f5 3 Jh h 5 decides. 2J�xhS + Wg8 Or 2 . . . Wg7 3 .i.h6+ WgS 4.i.xfS Wxf8 5 .'i'e4. 3.'iVe4 1:1f6 4.I1dh 1 Threatening 5 J�h8 + ttJxh8 6 . 'i'h7 + . Black resigned (Bebchuk-Tomson, Moscow 1 96 3 ) .

277

rmprove Yo u r Chess Tac t i cs

512

l .cild5 ! exd5 2.'lWxd5 + Now Black noticed that he was being mated (2 . . . Wh8 3 .�xh6+! gxh6 4.g 7 + and 5 .g8�+) . and he resigned. This was the game Cheparinov-Cortes. Spain 2003. However. even if he had seen the end and parted with the exchange. Black would not have lasted long. For example. after 1 . . . 'iYd7 2 .lLJxf6+ �xf6 3 .f5 lLJd8 4. �xb4 or 3 . . .cild4 (instead of 3 . . . ttJd8) 4.u.xd4 llxc4 5 .�xf6 gxf6 6.'iYxh6.

513 l .tLJe7+! flxe7 2.fxe7 'i'xe7 The intermediate capture of the rook does not help Black: 2 .. Jhd2 3 .�xf7 + ! Wg 7 4.'iYa l + . 3Jhf7! Black resigned (Savon-Litvinov. Minsk 1 9 7 5) .

514 By temporarily sacrificing the exchange. White wins queen and pawn for rook and bishop: 1. .l:xf6! gxf6 2.'iYg4+ �hS 3.'iYh4 f5 4.�xf5 ! exfS 5.'iYf6+ WgS 6.lLJd5 'iYdS 7.lLJe7+ 'iYxe7 S:iYxe7. and White converted his advantage (A. Ornstein-L.A. Schneider. Sweden 1 9 7 5 ) .

SIS

Black wins by l .. .'iYe l + 2.'i:fg l llxh2+ ! 3.Wxh2 'iYh4+ . forcing a won pawn ending after 4.Wg2 'iYxg 5+ s .wn 'iYxg 1 + 6.Wxg 1 lLJxd 5 7 .cxd � Wd6 (Ramirez-Miranda. Roque Saenz Pe na 1 99 7 ) .

278

Sol u t i on s : Exa m i n a t i on ( No 3 8 1 - 7 3 6)

516 The opposite-coloured bishops strengthen the white attack. Tempting is I .llfd3 . but White pre­ ferred the decisive l ..2.flL There followed: I ...Wxfl After 1 . . . llxd2 there follows. of course. 2 .�xg6+. And if 1 . . .�xf7 . then 2 Jh d8 . Lttxd8 �xd8 3.�b7+ Wg8 4.�xa6 . and White realised his advantage (Stahlberg-NajdorC Buenos Aires 1 947) .

517 l ...e3! 2.'Wxd3 After 2.f3 . 1 . . J1d2 3 .�c l �g6 wins. This same queen manoeuvre follows after 2 JH 1 . And if 2 .:xe3. then simply 1 . . .�xd 1 + and 3 . . . l:1xb2 . 2 ... exf2+ 3.\t>f1 .2.xg2+ 4.\t>xg2 fxe l tLl+ and S ... tLlxd3 (Picco-Omar Garcia Martinez. Cuba 1 99 7 ) .

518 Black was mated i n three moves: l .IIxdS+! (xdS 2.tLld3+ ! exd3 3.f4# (Opocensky-Hromadka. Kosice 1 9 3 1 ) .

519 l ..J�.d3 ! 2.'iVxb6 The rook cannot be captured ei­ ther by the bishop (because of mate on g2) . nor the queen (because of 1 . . .�h2 + 3. h 1 tDxfl + and 4 . . . tDxd3) . 2 .. .1Ixh3! The rook is immune because of 3 ... �h2 mate. If 3 .'iVxc6. then 3 ... �h2+ 4.�h l tDxfl#. The fl -square can be defended by 3.�d4. Then 3 ... �h2+ 4. h 1 �xe5+ . and White resigned. without waiting for the loss of his queen: 5 .Wg l �h2 + 6.h l �c7 + (Gerasimov-Smyslov. Moscow 1 93 5 ) . 279

Imp rove Yo u r Chess Tac t i cs

520

1 ../ilxb2! 2.Wxb2 'fHal + 1.Wa l Or 3 .�b 1 tDa4 and mate on b2.

l...bl! 4.cxbl tDxdl 5.tDc3 tLlxfl 6.�xfl 'fHb4 White resigned (Mihevc-Agababian, 3 1 st Olym­ piad, Moscow 1 994) .

521 l ..J�c l ! 2.'fHxc l ttJe2+ lJlxe2 'fHxc 1 + 4.Wfl �a6! White does not even get rook and minor piece for his queen. After the forced 5.�dl (S .�c2 �d I !) 5 ... 'fHxa l 6.�xa6 'fHd l the game ended (Horberg-Averbakh, Stockholm 1 95 4) .

522 1 ..:tWxh2+! Vit)xh2 ttJg4+ 1.Wgl ttJhl + 4.Wfl ttJh2# (Emmerich-Moritz, Germany 1 92 2 ) .

280

Sol u t i ons: Exa m i n a t i on ( N o 3 8 1 7 3 6 )

523 1 .�xe4! fxe4 After I . . . _�.xft 2.11xfl the same f()I­ lows as in the game. 2..�.xe4+ Wh8 3.ttJg6+ Wh7 4.ttJxrs+ Wh8 S/i)g6+ �h7 And now what? An­ swer: a change of route: 6/i)eS + ! h8 7/Llf7# (Alekhine-Fletcher, simultaneous display, London 1 928).

5 24 B y sacrificing the knight, then the queen, White liquidates the enemy king's pawn cover and gives mate: 1 .tt:\c6+ ! bxc6 2.�xa7+! Wxa7 3.lla l + �b6 4J:thb l + WcS 5 .�aS# (from a simulta­ neous display by Marco, 1 898)

525

Deflecting the queen from the defence of a7 via the 'diagonal of life' is impossible. But if White's second rook reaches as , Black cannot avoid mate. This aim is achieved by I .lift ! 'i'd4 2 JHS ! . There is no defence to the threat 3 .�xa7 + ! 'i'xa7 4.naS (Capablanca-Raubitschek. New York 1 906) . On 1 . . . �e3 2 .�fS ! also wins, but it needs more work: LJibcS 3 .�xb4! (3 .liaS ? 'i'f4+ with per­ petual check) 3 .. JibS 4.Jlb7 JlbcS S .aS ! d2 6.lib l nb8 7 .l:IfbS ! 'i'f4+ S.\t>h l .

526 l .ttJe7+ J:[xe7 2.�c8+ ttJrs 3.�xrs+ ! �xrs 4.nh8# (Nikonov-Khardin. Kirov 1 9S 1 ) .

28 1

Improve You r C h ess Tac t i cs

527

l ..Jla8! 2J�[xa8 After LI:[c3 lhere follows 2 . . . �e I + and 3 .. .'�a I #, whilst in the event of 2 J la6 there is 2 .. .1:ha6 3 .'iha6 �fl + and, as in the game, 4 . . . c3 +. 2 .. :fVfl + 3.Wh2 c3+ winning the queen (Medina Garcia-Smederevac, Beverwijk 1 965). Black could have inverted the moves, playing first l ..:tWfl + and then 2 ... �a8. Other variations: 2.Wd2 (2 .Wb2 llaS with the threat of . . . llaSxa3 and mate on a I ; on 3 . llxaS there is 3 ... c3 +) 2 .. JiaS ! 3 .11e3 . Now the check with . . .c4-c3 can­ not be given because the queen takes on c3 with check, but decisive is 3 . . . �a l or 3 .. .'i'f2 + 4.}le2 'i'xd4+.

528 The 'quiet' move 1 .'i'c7! forces capitulation. Black has no defence against the smothering sac­ rifice 2 .�bS+ llxbS 3 /iJc7# (Zotov-Glebov, Moscow 1 9 7 5 ) . There was also another, rather crude solution: l .ttJc7 + WbS 2 .ttJb5 .

5 29 l ..J:f.xe7! Eliminating the piece which is control­ ling gS. 2:�xe7 'i'xf3 3.gxf3 llg8+ 4.�fl �a6+ 5Jle2 tbd2+ 6.We l tbxf3 + 7.Wd l .tIg I +, and mate next move (Stahlflinga-Gran, Denmark 1 9 74) .

282

So l u l i on s : Exa m i na ti o n ( N o 3 8 1 - 7 3 6 )

5 30 White mates: l .tbc7+ Wa7 2.�xa6+ ! bxa6 3lilbS+ Was 4.na7# (Munk-NN, Kassel 1 9 1 4)

531 L�b7+ ! ! �xb7 2.t2Jd7! �d8 3.�b8+ �xb8 4.tLJb6# (the final part of a study by A . Seletsky, 1 933)

5 32 After 1 . �g4! White reSigned, since after 2.�xg4 there follows 2 . . . 'i'fI + 3 .Ilg I tLJg3 + ! 4.hxg3 'l'h3 # (Pirrot-Hertneck , West Germany 1 9 8 9/90) . ••

533 The move 1 . tLJe3 ! assures Black a decisive advan­ tage: 2.'i'g3 After the capture of the queen there is 2 . . . tLJf3#, and after 2 .�xe3 'i'xe3 both 3 . . . tLJf3 + and 4 . . . 'i'd2#, and also 3 . . . �xe4 are threatened. 2 ... 'i'xg3 3.tLJxg3 tLJxc2+ 4.�dl tLJxal S.tLJxb7 b3 6.axb3 tLJxb3 7.�c2 tLJcS , and Black realised the extra exchange (Shirov-]. Polgar, Buenos Aires 1 994) . •.

283

I m p rove Yo u r C h ess Tact i cs

5 34 1 ..Q.h7+! By comparison with the majority of similar combinations, here the black pawn stands on h6, not h7. 1 ...Wxh7 If I . . .WhB , then 2.tLJg 5 ! , and Black is defenceless. After 2 . . . hxg5 there fol­ lows 3 .�h 5 . Nor does 2 . . . fVbB save Black be­ cause of 3 .tLJxf7 + d3 ! winning. 3.f6 gxf6 4.hS

This was the finish of Averbakh-Bebchuk, Mos­ cow 1 9 64.

606 l .�e8 + ! ttJxe8 On 1 Jhe8 there follows 2 .11xe8+ tDxe8 3 .�xfl + Wh7 4.�g8 + Wg6 5 .�xe8+ Wg5 (S ... Wf6 6 .'iVfl +; if S . . . Wh7 , then 6.�g8+ Wh8 7 .�fl + and 8 .�g8#) 6.h4+. 2.�xf7+ �h7 3.�f5+ g6 If 3 ... Wh8 , then 4.�f8 + Wh7 S .�g8 + mating. 4.�e7+ tDg7 s :iVf6 Black resigned (Uhlmann-Holzhauer, Kecskemet 1 9 84) . ..

308

S o l u t i o n s : E xa m i n a t i o n ( N o 3 R 1 - 7 3 6 )

607

White has a pawn more. The attacked pawn on h 2 can be defended. But the open h-file proves falal for Black: 1 .1lh7+! xh7 4.�h3+ c;t>g7 S.�g4+ \tJh7 6.Jld3 Black resigned (6 . . . �d2 7 .1::1 h3 + .ih6 8 .�h5 , and mate) (Bruzon-Perea, Cuba 200 3 ) . 61 1 White has a n extra pawn. The following combi­ nation transforms the position into a technically winning ending : 1 .. .tDxfl 2..�xfl .l::[xfl 3.�xfl

3 ...ttJg4! The point. With the forced series of dis­ covered checks, Black wins three pawns and then the rook. 4.�xd4 .ixd4+ S.Whl ttJfl+ 6.\tJgl ttJxd3+ 7.�hl ttJfl+ 8.\tJgl ttJxe4+ 9.�hl ttJfl+ 1 0.\tJgl ttJd3+ 1 1 .�hl ttJxe l 1 2.ttJd2 Or 1 2.ttJc3 ttJc2 1 3 .lIc 1 ttJe3 . 1 2 ...ttJc2 1 3Jk 1 ttJe3 Black realised his material advantage (Schmaltz-Vouldis, Furth 2 0 0 2 ) .

310

Sol u t i on s : E xa m i n a t i on (No 3 8 1 - 7 3 6 )

612 I Jle8+ Decoying the king onto the d-file. 1. ..Wd7 2.ne3! Exploiting the pin. 2 .. :�'(h4

And finally, two decoying sacrifices. 3.Jlxd4+ ! 'iYxd4 4J�d3 'iVxd3 S . .1:JeS+ and 6.tDxd3 , with an extra knight (Kofman-Sacchetti 1 945 - this com­ bination is based on a single journal source and its legitimacy is questioned. It might be a compo­ sition) . 613 L.hS ! 2:ti'xhS After 2 .g4 Black wins a knight and reaches a winning queen ending with 2 . . . hxg4+ 3 .'i'xg4 'i'h 1 + and 4 . . . 'i'e 1 + . In the event of 2 .'i'b7 + Wh6 the threat of . . . g5 -g4+ is deadly (after 3 . ttJf1 Black does not even take the knight, but plays 3 . . . g4+ 4.Wh4 'i'c5) . 2 ... 'fqhl + 3.Wg4 'iVdl + 4.tDf3 'iVd7# (Liutov-Botvinnik, Leningrad 1 9 2 5 ) . This was the finish o f a n offhand game, played by the 1 4-year old Botvinnik. In the same year, the composer S. Kaminer, together with Botvinnik, composed a study based on the final combina­ tion.

White to play and win: l .g4+ Wh4 2.�h6 ! ! 'iVxh6 3.'fVh2 + WgS 4:ti'd2+ By analogy with the game, after the forced 4... tDf4, the check on d8 mates. 311

I m p rove You r C h ess Tac t i cs

614

1 ...Q.dS! exdS If Black defends the square e6 with the move 1 . . .t2JfB ( 1 . . . tLle5 ! ? is another option) , White opens the bishop's diagonal: 2 .11xe6! tLlfxe6 3 Jhe6 tLlxe6 4.�xe6+ wfB 5 .�hB + We7 6.�f6 + WeB 7 .Ci)f5 with unstoppable mat­ ing threats (7 . . . d 5 + B .Wh4) . 2.�xg7+! Wxg7 3.tLlfS+ Wg6 4.11e6+ tLlf6 4 . . . Wxg5 5.h4#. sJhf6+ \txgS 6.�ee6 ! .t:rg2+ Otherwise 7 .h4# . 7.Wxg2 �dS SlLJe7! Black resigned (Rossetto­ Cardoso, Portoroz 1 95 B) .

615 l .�xa4 White clears the c-file with the sole ob­ ject of exchanging rooks. After this, the rook on cB proves to be lacking defence, which allows a standard tactical operation. 1 ...�xa4 2.11xcs llxcs 3.ttJh6+! gxh6 L WhB 4.�xfl tLlf6 5 .�gB + and 6.tLlfl#. 4.�g4+ �hS S.�xcS Black resigned (Balashov-Bronstein, Tbilisi 1 975). .

616 The standard breakthrough o n the queenside with l .a4 bxa4 2 .�xa6 favours Black: 2 . . .�xe5 3 .�xaB+ Wfl 4JHl + llf6 (5.::'xf6+ Wxf6; 5. tLlf5 exf5 ) . But the kings ide i s vulnerable: l .�g6+ ! llxg6 Af­ ter 1 .. . 'It>d7 , declining the sacrifice, 2 . .ixh5 is sufficient, and Black cannot hold for long. 2.�xhS Wf7 3.l:tfl + �f6

4.11xf6+! gxf6 S.�h7+ llg7 6.�xg7+ Wxg7 7.tLlxe6+ Wf7 S.ttJxc7, and White wins (Tanin­ Maximov, Kislovodsk 1 949) .

312

So l u t i ons: E x a m i na t i on (No 3 8 J - 7 1 6 ) 617 l .tLJxeS ! ..Q.xe2 2.tLJd7 + WeS

3.tL'lbS+! Shutting off the eighth rank. 3 .. c6 If 3 . . . �xb5 , 3 . . . �xb5 or 3 . . . \t;f8 , then 4 . .tId8 #. 4.tL'ld6+ WfS S.ciJd7# (Najdorf-NN, Buenos Aires 1 942) . There was also another winning idea - utilising the unfortunate position of the enemy queen by means of l .b4 ( 1 . . .�a3 2.tL'lxe5 ! +- ) . .

61S It i s obvious that the win can only be associated with the move 1 . tL'lhS+ . But it does not lead (() material gains - the rook at g5 turns out to be un­ der attack: Vit;>h4 tL'lxf4 3. WxgS Now the study-like move 3 ... tL'lg2! deprives the white king of a retreat square. ••

There is no defence against the threat of 4 .. .f6#.

313

Improve You r Chess Tac t i cs

619 In a position resulting from the so-called Max Lange Attack (the previous moves being l .e4 es 2 .tDf3 (Lk6 3 .�c4 tDf6 4.d4 exd4 5 .0-0 .�cs 6.es ds 7 .exf6 dxc4 8 . 11e l + Wf8 ? 9.�.gs 'iYd7 ?) , White wins with the elegant move I OJlh6 ! (a form of blockading sacrifice, fixing the h7 -pawn) and after 1 0 ...gxh6 - I I .'tWd2 ! with unstoppable mate (analysis by Chigorin, 1 90 2 ) .

620 l .e 7 + ! �xg4 2.e8�+ �d8 3.'tWe6 + 'tWd7 4.'iVxd7+ xd7 S.tLleS + and 6.tDxg4, with an extra knight (Trulsch-Heidenreich, Germany 1 935).

621 The queen i s attacked, but Black played I ..Jhc 3 ! . The idea i s deflection. After 2. .�xd4 there follows 2 .. J�c l + 3 .'i'fI UxfI + 4. x fI tDxd4, and Black has an extra knight. However, the difficulty of the combination lies in the fact that White has the far-from-obvious reply 2.'iVf1 . Now after the queen retreats, White can take the rook without any problem . . . 2. .Jk8 ! ! 3JIxd4 tLlxd4 When entering the com­ bination, Black had to assess this, at first sight quiet, pOSition and delve into its tactical nuances. There is a threat to decoy the queen into a fork 4 . . . �c l S .'i'xc l tDe2+ . If White tries to prevent this by means of 4. h 1 , Black inverts the moves with 4...tLle2 (or continues 4 . . . tLlb3) and as a re­ sult, emerges with an extra knight (E. Polyak-M. Levin, Kiev 1 949) . 3 14

So l u t i ons: Exa m i n a t i on (No 3 8 1 - 7 3 6 )

622 While males in five moves: l .t2JgS+ Wh6 2.11h8+! �.xhS 3.�gS ! tbd6 Otherwise 4.tLJfl#. 4.WxhS Black is in zugzwang and after any knight move. he is mated on fl (Study by A. Petrov. 1 845) .

623 1 .'fVf8+ �hS If 1 . ..�g 5 . then 2 .'i'f4+ and 3 .'i'h4#. 2.'fVf4! gS After the other defence L .'i'e7 . mate comes from 3 .g4+ \t>h4 4.h3 ! with the threat of 5 .'iYh6#. If 4 . . . g5 or 4 . . . 'i'g5 . then 5 .'iYg3#. whilst i n the event o f 4 . . . 'i'g7 there is 5 . g 5 + 'it>h5 6.'fVg4#. 3.'fVf7+ �h6 3 . . . Wg4 4.'i'f3#. 4.'fVf6+ 'it>hS

And now what? S.g4+! 'it>h4 If 5 . . . Wxg4. then 6.'i'f3 + and 7 .'i'h3#. 6.'fVf3 'tWe4 7.'fVxe4 d l 'fV 8.h3! 'fVd7 9.'fVf3 . and mate is unstoppable (Kartanaite-Kutanaviciene. Vilnius 1 9 8 3 ) .

315

Improve You r C h ess Tac t i cs 6 24 Black has a material advantage. but White is at­ tacking with more pieces. The outcome of the game is decided by a combination: l .tt:Jxf7 ! Elim­ inating a defender and decoying the king. 1. Wxf7 In deciding on the sacrifice. White also had to reckon with 1 . . . tt:Jd4 (if 1 . . . tt:Jf4. then 2 .�e5 ttJg6 3 .'iVc7 ) . In this case. he would have continued 2 .�e 7 . and if 2 . . . �xb5 (after 2 . . . lLJf5 there is 3 .'li'd7 ) . then he has a choice of 3 .ttJh6 + gxh6 4.11c7 or 3 .ttJd8 with forced mate. After the knight capture 2 . . . ttJxb5 White wins by 3 .�e6 'li'd4 4.�xb7 trf8 5 .tre3 . 2.trc6! Shutting off. 2 ...�d8 On 2 . . . �xc6 the game can be ended with 3 .�xe6+ Wf8 4 . .ixc6 . and after 4 . . . lld8 (or 4 . . . �d8 5 .�xa8 and the bishop cannot be taken) - 5 .�e7 + Wg8 6 .�xd 5 + Uxd5 7 .�e8#. It is also possible to save the time spent on 4.�xc6 and create an immediate mate threat with 4.�f5 + Wg8 5 .tre7 .There is no defence (5 . . . �e8 6 .�xe8) . 3.'i'xe6+ Wf8 4.Ud6 After 4 . . . 'i'f6 there follows 5 .�d7 . Black reSigned (Bareev­ Dreev. Azov 1 99 6) . .•

625 The rook o n f3 i s pinned and attacked. But after l .Ug2 ! ! Black had to resign. The threat is 2 .'i'xh7 + Wxh7 3 .]:1h3# and the rook cannot be taken because of 2 . 'i'xf8 # (Soultanbeieff­ Borodin. Brussels 1 94 3 ) .

3 16

Sol u t i on s : E xa m i n a t i o n ( N o 3 8 1 - 7 3 6 )

626 The pawns on d6 and as are undefended, and the move l .�c7 is tempting. But White does not need to bother himself with the calculation of the variations resulting from the reply 1 . . . �.e4. I would point out that the hasty 2 .�xd6? would al­ low Black to draw after 2 . . . tLlxds 3 .cxdS ill. xf3 + 4.Wxf3 �e4+. White demonstrated the virtues of his position by combinative means, with l .tLJcS! Deflecting the knight from the seventh rank allows White to land a deadly blow: 1 . . . tLJxc8 2 . .ihs + ! Wxhs 3 .�xh7 + Wg4 4.�h4#. And if 1 . . .'i'xc8, then 2.�xe 7 , and White should win thanks to the threats 3 . .ihs + and 3 .�xd6. The endgame after 2 . . . �e4 3 .�xe4 fxe4 4.�xe4+ is hopeless for Black. Since the knight on c8 cannot be captured, and the knight on e7 is attacked, there only remains l . .. tLJgS. Then comes 2.tLJxd6, and White wins: 2 ..�f8 3.�d7 �d3 4J�Ve6 (Neibults-E. Kogan, Riga 1 9 5 7 ) .

627 l .tLJxh7 ! �xh7 2.hxg6+ fxg6 The same varia­ tions would follow the king's retreat to g 8 . 3.'I'hS + WgS 4.�xg6 Both s .�g5 and s J:[d3 are threatened. If 4 ... f8 (and also 4 . . . 'I'f6 or 4 ... tiJc4) , then s .�g5 . Black tried to resist with 4 �c6, after which there followed the decisive S.dS ! exdS After 5 . . . �xd5 White has the choice between 6.ill.g 5 , 6 .lId4 and 6.'I'h 7 + �f8 7 .l:id4. 6.l:rd4 fle l + 7.�h2 Black resigned (Galliamova-Peng Zhaoqin, Istanbul 2000) . •..

317

I mp rove You r C h ess Tac t i cs 628

l .b4! Deflecting the queen. 1 ..JWxb4

2.'iYhS ! gxhS 2 . . . h6 3 .'i'xh6. 3.l:lg3+ �g7 4Jhg7+ �f8 4 . . . �h8 5 .ng6#. sJhh7 , and mate is unavoidable (Arkhipkin-Kuznetsov, Kiev 1 9 80).

629 l .g4+ ! fxg3 On 1 . . .Wh4 there follows 2 .Wh2 ! h5 3 Jlh6 mating.

2Jlh4+ ! gxh4 2 . . Wxh4 3 .11xh6#. 3.r!b S + 'iYxbS 4.axbS , and the pawn queens (Mieses-NN, Metz 1 9 3 5 ) . .

630 The pawn o n e5 i s defended, and i t may seem that the king on d4 is safe. But after the sacrifice of rook and bishop by l ".1:heS ! 2.fxeS �xeS +, he finds himself driven from his refuge and meets his death: 3.WxeS 'iYc7+ 4.Wf6 There is no way back - after 4.Wd4 there follows 4 . . . Wig7#; 4.Wxe6 .id7 + . 4".'iYg7+ s.WgS 'iVeS+ , and mate (W Mandel-Kurze, Berlin 1 968).

318

Sol u t i ons : E x a m i n a t i on ( N o 3 8 1 - 7 3 6 ) 63 1 1 ...ttJg3 + ! White resigned . After 2 . hxg 3 there comes L Jla8 ! with the unstoppable threat of 3 .. Jlh8# (Karpov-Taimanov, Leningrad 1 9 7 7 ) .

632 Black's last move was �h3 -g2 , after which there followed l .11hS+ wfl 2.�eS+! ttJxeS 3.WgS ! , and mate i s unavoidable (Bondarevsky-Ufimtsev, Leningrad 1 9 3 6) .

633 White resigned, not seeing a defence against the threat 1 . . Jk 1 +. However, there was a defence, and indeed, by shutting off the d-file with the move 1 .�d6 ! ! , White could even have won. After 1 . . . cxd6 there follows 2.f7 , whilst l ..Jbd6 de­ flects the rook from guarding the back rank: 2.gS'i'+ Wd7 2 . Jid8 3 .'i'xd8+ Wxd8 4.f7 . 3 .'iVf7 + Wc6 4.'iYe S + Wb6 S .'i'e3 ! Wc6 6.'i'xcS+ WxcS 7.fl, and the game ends (this fin­ ish could have occurred in a game of Torre Repetto, played in New York in 1 924) . .

3 19

Imp rove You r C h ess Tac t i cs

6 34

The square f2 is undefended, but White goes over to the attack first: l .'tWeS+ Wh7 2.tLJgS+ ! hxgS 3Jlh3+ Wg6

4.tlh6+ ! The theme of deflection - 4 . . . gxh6 5 .'iYgS#, and decoy - 4 . . . Wxh6 5 .'iYhS+ Wg6 6 .'iYh5# - appear again. This was the finish of the game L. Goltsov-V Moiseev, Kazan 1 9 7 0 . 635 Looking at the piece formation, it i s hard t o be­ lieve that this position arose in a practical game. I have my doubts, but I must draw your attention to the instructive combination, with the help of which White won the opponent's queen: l .tUb6+! �bS Taking the knight leads to mate: 2 .�a2+ WbS 3 . .ie5 + and 4.11aS#. 2Jlh2! Two decoys, after which a knight fork follows. 2 .. :iVxh2 3.�e5 + 'tWxe5 4.tUd7+ WeS S .tUxeS , and because of the threat to promote the pawn, Black had to give up the knight. This is alleged to have occurred in a game Fridman-Thomson, played in Canada in 1 949 .

636 l .b4! Decoying the queen onto the open file. 1 . 'tWxb4 2.llab l 'ti'xe4 3.�e2 'tWc2 The queen cannot leave the c-file because of the deadly check on bS. 4.�d3 'ti'c3 , and sJlbS+ l::te S 6.'iVxc3 ends the game (Hulak-Romanishin, Moscow 1 977). ••

320

Sol u t i on s : Exu m i nu t i o n ( N o 3 8 1 - 7 3 6 )

637

I .tLJf6+! On l . . .gxf6 there follows 2 .Wh 1 + Wf8 3 .'i¥d6+ Ite7 4.i.h6+ and S Jlg8#, therefore he must retreat the ki 1 ...�f8 2.'fid6+ CiJe7

White can now take the exchange. 3. �h 1 � would have been even stronger. The game move 3 ..ih6 ! was more striking. If the bishop is taken, the modest move 4.�h 1 sets up an unavoidable mate on g8. 3 .. JledS But now 3 . . . 'i'c3 � would have made the win more difficult. Now it is the king which retreats: 4.�hl ! If the queen is taken (or nothing is taken) , there follows 5 ..ixg 7 #, whilst if the bishop is taken, there is S J:tg8#. Black re­ signed (Nasonov-Chistiakov, USSR 1 9 7 8 ) . 638

Black's queenside i s paralysed. White realises his advantage by creating direct threats on the king­ side. l ..if6 h6 The threat was 2 .'i'gS . If l . . .gxf6, then 2 .'i'h6� 'iYa4 (2 .. .fxeS 3 .tLlgS) 3 .exf6 'i'g4 4.'i'xf8 + (or 4.tLlgS) mating. 2.'i'f4 'iVxb2 On 2 . . . gxf6 by analogy with the previous variation, 3 .'i'xh6 wins. 3.'i'g4! 'iVxf2+ 3 . . . .ixf2 + 4.Wh 1 g6 S .'i'f4 \t>h7 6 .i.e7 llg8 7 .l:1c7 ! . 4.�hl g6

S.'iVb4! �b6 The threat was 6.'i'xf8 + and 7 .Ild8#. 6.11d2 'fie3 6 . . . aS 7 .'i'b2 or 7 .'i'c4. 7 lc3 as Otherwise the queen is lost. S:iYxf8 + ! After 8 . . . Wxf8 9.11xe3 the rook cannot b e taken because of mate on d8. Black resigned (Sax­ Sveshnikov, Hastings 1 9 7 8 / 79) . J

32 1

Improve Yo u r Chess Tac t i cs

6 39

1 .��.xh7+! Wxh7 2.ttJf6 + .Q.xf6 2 . . gxf6 3 .'i'hS + W g S (3 . . . W g 7 4.gxf6 + .ixf6 S .exf6+ Wxf6 6.�g S + We6 7 . .tIfe 1 + , and mate) 4.gxf6 �xf6 S .exf6 ttJe7 6.fxe7 neS 7 .�h2 with mate, or 4 . . . tDe7 (instead of 4 . . . �xf6) S .Wh2 . 3.'i'hS + Wg8 4.gxf6 8xeS If 4 . . . ttJdS , then S .fxg7 Wxg 7 6 .'lt>h2 . Nor does 4 . . . ttJd4 save Black. Then s Jhd4 and after S . . . cxd4 - 6 .'iYg S g6 7 .'i'h6 'tWg4+ s .Wn , whilst if S . . . 'i'h3 , then 6 . .t1d2 'i'e3 + 7 J Hf2 . Black is defenceless. S.fxeS 'ife6 s . . . lldS 6 . fxg 7 ; S . . . 'I'h3 6 .nf3 . 6 .'i'gS g6 7.'fih6 'iVg4+ 8.�h2 'iVe2+ 9.Wh3 Black re­ signed (Zwaig-Martinez, 1 7th Olympiad, Ha­ vana 1 9 66) . .

640 1 ...ttJxf2! V�ixf2 ttJg4+ 3.WgI ttJxe3 4.'iVd2 ttJxg2 ! The only way! The point of the knight sac­ rifice on f2 (and the attack associated with it) is the weakness of the light squares on the kingside. S.Wxg2

S ... d4! Now the bishop comes into play with de­ cisive effect. 6.ttJxd4 �b7+ 7.'lt>f1 After other king moves, Black either crowns his attack, or makes decisive gains. After 7. Wf2 there follows 7 . . . 'i'd7 with the threat of 7 . . . 'I'h3 (for example: S Jlac l 'i'h3 9 .ttJf3 .ih6 1 0 .'I'd3 .ie3 + 1 1 .'i'xe3 �xe3 1 2 .Wxe3 neS + 1 3 .Wf2 'i'fS ) . Or 7 .Wg l .ixd4+ S .'i'xd4 lie l + ! 9 .Wf2 'i'xd4+ 1 o.ilxd4 nxa I , and Black easily realises his extra exchange. 7 . .'iVd7 ! White resigned because of the following forced variation: S .'i'f2 (S.ttJdbS 'i'h3 + 9 .Wg l .ih6) S . . . 'i'h3 + 9.Wg l lle l + ! 1 o Jhe 1 �xd4 (R. Byrne-Fischer, New York 1 96 3 / 64) . .

322

Sol u t i ons: E xa m i n a t ion (No 3 8 1 - 7 3 6 ) 64 1 l .fS ! Clearing a square. 1 ...�xfS Forced, since af­ ter 1 . . .gxf5 there follows 2 .'i'f4# , whilst the queen exchange is impossible : after 1 . . . 'i'f3 2.'i'xf3 + �xf3 3 . fxg6 the pawns cannot be stopped, and after 1 . . . 'i'd4 White wins by means of 2.'i'xd4+ cxd4 3 .fxg6 fxg6 4.e6 d3 5 .e7 d2 6.e8'i' d I 'i' 7 .'i'e4+ �g5 8 .'iYf4#. After the f-pawn disappears from the board, it seems improbable that the e5 pawn on its own will reach the desired goal.

2.e6 ! ! Blocking. 2 . . . 'iYxe6 or 2 .. .fxe6 take the black king's only escape square and are met by 3 .'i'f4#. Since 3 .e7 is threatened, and on 2 . . . h4 there fol ­ lows 3 .e7 hxg 3 + 4.�xg3 'iYd6 + 5 S!th3 , there is nothing else but 2 . .'ifds . And then 1.exf7 Wf6 The threat was not only 4.�e8 , but also 4.'t't'f3 + . 4.'i'e8 'iVd2+ S.Whl, and White wins ( a varia­ tion from the game Mikhailov-Klovans, Riga 1 9 7 4) . .

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Improve Yo u r C h ess Tac t i cs

642

The king is a strong piece in the endgame. As a rule, he does not face any danger, and he can play an ac­ tive part in the battle. But every rule has its excep­ tions. In this example (and not only this one) , the black king's activity ends in disaster after l .b4!. This move deflects the pawn on c5 from control of the d4-square. 1 . ..cxb4 The threat was b4-b5. 2.f4! ! This striking move takes the square e5 from the king and creates a threat of na I -d I -d4#. Black can­ not take the g3 pawn because of 3 .llxe7#, nor does 2 .. Jih7 help, in view of 3 .llxe7+ ! Ilxe7 4.lld l mating. 2 .. J1c6 The pawn on c4 is attacked. What now? 3 .lld l and after 3..Jhc4 . . .

. . . the stunning 4.1:1c7!. The rook i s deflected from the defence of the critical square d4. Black resigned (Keene-Mortensen, Aarhus 1 98 3 ) .

643

324

I n reply to �f4-e 5 + Black cannot moves his king to g8 due to mate by ttJg4-h6. But he can give up the exchange. A check with the queen on d4 is made impossible by the black queen. White's third attacking idea is to get the queen to a 1 . The problem is solved with the aid of a deflecting sacrifice: 1 JhbS! cxbS 2.�c8! After 2 . . . 'i'xc8 the game ends simply: 3 .'i'd4+ e5 4.'i'xe 5 + Ilxe5 S .�xe S + Wg8 6 .ttJh6#; 2 . . . llxc8 3 .'i'a 1 + eS 4.'i'xe S + etc. However, it is too early to count one's chickens. 2 ...'i'dS !

Sol u t i on s : Exa m i n a t i on ( N o 3 8 1 - 7 3 6 )

Threatening mate on hS , hence Whi le has no time to take the rook on as. The squares d4 and a 1 are both defended, it appears . . . 3.�al + ! The third deflecting sacrifice. The rook cannot leave the back rank: 3 .. .tXxa 1 4.l:hfS + W g 7 S .�h6#. 3 .. eS 4.�xeS+ Now on 4 . . Jhe5 there follows 5 JhaS, but Black has a new possibility of counterplay: 4.. :tWxeS ! .

If now 5 .'ti'xe5+ (5 .ttJxe5 ? tha I ) 5 . . . Irxe5 6JhaS , then 6 . . . �f5 . After 5 .'ti'xaS, there i s S . . . 'i'hS + 6 .Wg I 'i'xg4 7 JhfS + Wg7 S .llgS+ Wh6 9.'i'fS + Wh5 . sJhf8+! A fourth deflection, this time of the rook from the a-file, in order to be able to take the queen 'in comfort'. 5 .. �g7 6JH7+ The decisive deflection (6 . . . Wxfl 7 .ttJxe 5 + ; 6 . . .W g S 7 .ttJh6+ WhS S .'i'xaS+ 'i'eS 9 J U s + ) . Black resigned (Tietz-Judd, Carlsbad I S9S) . 6.l:lg S + ! was also strong. Instead of 2 .11cs the move 2 .'i'fI also wins. If 2 . . . 'i'd3 ?, then 3 .�e5 + . After 2 . . . 11e4 - 3 .11cs (3 .. JhcS 4.'i'a l +; 3 . . . 'i'xcs 4.�e5 + llxe5 5 .'i'f6+) . 2 . . .lIaa2 does not save Black because of 3 .�e5 + llxe5 4.ttJxe5 with irresistible threats. Tietz' opponent in this game was the American consul in Vienna, a strong amateur and a pupil of Steinitz. Even so, the genuineness of this striking combination is open to doubt... .

325

Improve Yo u r C hess Tac t i cs

644

1 Jhd6 tDxc4 I n the event o f I . . . � xfs 2 . � e 2 the black king is open, and the knight on eS is unsta­ ble - White's advantage is indisputable. But what happens atter the text nlove? 2Jhh6+! Wxh6 3.�h8+ WgS If 3 'ifh7 , then 4.'iff6+ WhS S .�h4#. . . .

The mating net is completed with the help of two 'quiet' moves: 4.�e4! Threat S .�h4#. 4.. :iVh7 S.h4+ Wg4 6:�'d8! There is no defence to the threats 7. 'iY d I # and 7. 'ifg S # (Rashkovsky­ Gordeev, USSR 1 9 7 2 ) .

645 1 .�b7 'i'g8 After the capture of the rook there follows 2 .tDd6+ . If 1 . . .'iVf8 , then 2 .tDeS + WcS 3 .tDd7 + . After 1 ... 'iYa8 White wins a s in the main varia­ tion. 2.tDe5+ Wc5 3Jib8 ! �h7 3 .. .'iVxb8 4.tDd7 + . 4.b4+ Wd6 5.�h8! Forcing Black to take the rook after all. 5 ...'i'xh8 6.ttJf7+ winning (study by A. Troitzky, 1 9 1 4) .

326

Sol u t i ons: E xa m i n a t i on (No 3 B 1 - 7 3 6 ) 646 1 ...t2Jg3+ 2.hxg3 'i'g7! After 2 . . . 'i'fl White would simply take the pawn on g4. Now the threat is 3 . . . 'I'h6#. 3.£5

3 .. :ifg6! If the queen is taken. it will be mate. Meanwhile. there is a threat against h5. 4.�f2 �xf2 S.'fi 1

Here 5 . . . �xg 1 was already possible (but not 5 . . . �xg 3 ? in view of 6 .'I'c5 + and 7 .fxg6) : 6.fxg6 �f2 . and also 5 ... 'I'h5 + 6 .'I'h2 'iYxh2+ 7 .Wxh2 d4. But the most precise move is 5 ....ib6! . After 6.fxg6 (6.'I'xb6 'iYh5 + and 7 . . . axb6) 6 ...hxg6+ 7:i'h2 White is mated: 7 .. Jhh2+ 8.�xh2 l:[h8+ Also hopeless is 6.'I'h2 exf5 , whilst after 6JHl the simplest is 6 ... lidf8 . I n the game Becher-Bruckner (West Germany 1 98 6) . the possible finish of which we have been examining. the game ended with the move 3 . . . 'I'g6.

327

Improve You r Chess Tocl i n 647 1 . 'i'xfS+!! The two exclamation marks reflect not the move itself. which is quite obvious. but the whole combinative thought that underlies it. 1 ..:fixfS V1Je7+ �h7 3.1:txfS White wins a piece. but surely the b-pawn queens . . . 3 ... b2 On 3 .. J::r. e 1 White also wins in very striking fash­ ion: 4.�fs ! . and if 4 . . . g6+ . then s .Wes b2 (s . . . Wg7 6.11g8+ �h7 7 . llb8) 6.11xf7 + Wh8 7 .hxg6 �xe4+ 8 .Wf6 ! . And i f 4 . . . llfI + s .Wes b2 . then 6 .ttJg 6 ! . Nor does s . . . llf6 (instead of s . . . b2) save the game. Then 6.ttJds llb6 7 .ttJc3 and White realises his material advantage.

4.tDg6! ! Black reSigned (Miles-Schneider. Phila­ delphia 1 98 0) . 648 Without paying any attention to the a 4 pawn. Black deals with the j umbled-up pieces on the back rank: 1 ...ib5 ! There followed: 2.axb5 tDhgl+ ! Clearing the h-file. 1.tDxgl 3 .hxg3 ttJxg 3 + does not change matters. 3 ...ttJxgl+ 4.hxgl hxg3+ 5.�gl llhl + Decoying the king. 6.�xhl l:lh8+ 7.�g l .ic5 + 8.bxc5 l:rh l + 9.�xhl 'i'h8+ l O.Wgl 'fih2# In several publications. it is claimed that the above combination occurred in a game played in London in 1 948. However. there seems little doubt that the whole of this finish (an excellent textbook example, one must admit) was invented. .

328

Sol u t i ons: Exa m i n a t i on ( N o 3 8 1 - 7 3 6 )

649 l .IleS! ! The pawn on d7 is attacked twice and nol de­ fended at all, and the square c8 is also under Black's control, yet he cannot take on either d7 or c8. However, he has nothing else but to take. l .. ..l:heS On 1 . . . �xd7 there follows 2 .�f8 + (the queen and rook combine with the help of an ' X-ray') . 2.�e7! The conclusion of a study-like idea. Black re­ signed (Alekhine-NN, simultaneous display, Trin­ idad 1 9 3 9 ) .

650 l .ng7+! \t>xh8 2.nh7+ WgS 3.g7! and after any capture of the rook, there is 4.gxf8'iY, whilst if the black rook retreats, 4.lih8+ (a study by S. Kozlowski, 1 9 29) .

329

I m p rove You r C h ess

T a C I ics

651 I Jb6! A combination requiring deep calculation. Twelve moves later, a piece up, Black resigns. 1 .. Jld l + 1 . . . bxa6 2..�.x c6 + . V1Je 1 nxe 1 + 3. �xe 1 .Q.xe4 3 . . JXxe4 leads only to a transposition of moves. 4.nxe4 l:txe4 5 :�Wxe4 bxa6 6 :iVxc6+ �b7 7.'i'eS+ 'i'bS S.�e4+ 'iYb7 Perhaps Black thought the game would end in perpetual check? . . 9.c6 'i'c7 1 O.�eS+ 'i'bS

1 1 .'i'd7 ! The final quiet' move. The black knight i s too far away, and the c-pawn is unstoppable. 1 1 ..:iVb 1 + 1 2,h2 ttJfS 1 3.c7 There are no checks, so Black resigned (Tarrasch-Gunsberg, Frankfurt am Main 1 88 7 ) . ·

652 l .l:tdS+ Wg7 2.h6+ Wf6 And what now? 3Jld6+! 'i'xd6 4.�g5+ We5 5 ..if4+ Wf6 If the queen is taken, it will be stalemate. Instead, 6.e5+! 'i'xeS 7.�gS#! (study by V Kalandadze, 1 966) .

330

Sol u t i ons : E x u m i n u t i on ( N o 3 8 1 - 7 3 6 )

653 Give mate: 2.�xf7+! llxf7 3.tLlg6# (Zhunusov­ Khamraev, Alma Ata 1 994)

654 The move l .c5 is the decisive mistake, because of 1 ...�xf4. The queen cannot be taken because of 2 . . . .id4+ (Alterman-Avrukh, Tel Aviv 1 999) . White should have played l .tLlfl .

655 White loses, because after the spectacular 1 .tLlf7 + l::t.xf7 2.�dS+ Black does not take the queen (2.. JhdS? 3 .l::t. xdS+ �xdS 4.neS+ mating, Borta-Pustovoitov, Moscow 2005) , but defends effectively with the modest move 2 . JUS. .

656 Taking the b7 pawn loses. Black replies 1 . . tLlb4! , simultaneously threatening 2 . . . tLlxa2# and 2...'i'xb7 . This was the finish of the game Foldi­ Florian, Budapest 1 9 5 5 . .

33 1

Improve You r C he s s

657

Tac t i cs

Winning! Afler the deflecting sacrifice l ..Jlh l + ! 2.Wxh l the move 2 ... exfl creates threats of 3 .. .fxe l �+ and 3 .. Jlh8+ (the finish of a simul­ taneous game by Nimzowitsch, Copenhagen 1 925).

658 1 .�f4 tLlxd3? 2.'*ff6! Black resigned (Karstens­ Ullrich, Germany 1 9 3 2 ) .

659 After 2.'*fh6! Black i s mated (Marin-Kiselev, Bu­ charest 1 99 7 ) .

660 The move 1 ...tLle5? , played in the game Miles­ Timman, Amsterdam 1 98 5 , led to defeat after 2.�xe5 fxe5 3.'*fdS + (3 'i'xd5 4.tDxe7 + and 5 .tLlxd5) . . . .

332

Sol u t i ons: Exa m i n a t ion (No 3 8 1 - 7 3 6 ) 66 1 The move 2.'t'Uh6 ! forced Black lO resign (Bednarski-Nouisseri, 1 9th Olympiad, Siegen 1 9 70) .

662 White has not blundered. After l . . 't'Uxf3? it will be mate: 2.'t'Ug7+ WhS 3.'t'Uxg6+ ! hxg6 4.nh8# (Cortlever-Van der Weide, Beverwijk 1 965) .

663 He wins by 1 .l:td7! ( 1 . . .l�txd7 2 .ttxc S + Wh l 3 .tDfS + ; I . . Jies 2 Jhcs llxcs 3 .tDe7 +) (Tal-NN, simultaneous display, Tbilisi 1 9 6 5 ) .

664 N o , h e shouldn't. White wins b y 2.tiJdS ! (2 . . . 'i'xd2 3 .tDxe7+ and 4.tDxd2) (Sikorova­ Modrova, Karlovy Vary 2 004) .

333

l m p rove Yo u r Chess Tac l i cs

665

By giving mate: 1 .. ll.xg5+ ! Vi;xg5 f6+ 3.Wf4 gS# (Khagurov-Volkov, Krasnodar 1 99 8 ) . •.

666 The mate threat can b e met b y l .h4 o r the sacri­ fice of the bishop for three pawns: 1 .�xfl + Wxfl 2 .11xg 5 , then winning the h-pawn. With the move . . . Wg7-g6 Black set a trap. The tempting l .�b 1 does not escape the mate: 1 ... h4+ 2.Wg4

2 ... £5+! Black breaks the pin on the rook in an original way. 3.nxf5 ng2# (Tavernier-Grodner, France 1 9 5 2)

667 No. In the game Maric-Gligoric, Belgrade 1 9 6 2 , after l .lix£5 there followed l ..Jlb3! , and White had to resign.

3 34

Sol u t ions: E x a m i n a t i o n (No 3 8 1 - 7 3 6 )

668 Only on a6, since 1 ...t2Jc6? loses to 2.t2Jxc6 �.xc6 3.b4 �d6

4.�d3 The bishop is attacked. It can be defended by 4.. Jhd8 , but after 5.�c3 ! (this manoeuvre would also have followed a bishop retreat) simul­ taneously attacking g7 and the bishop on c6, leads to material gains (Konstantinopolsky­ Byvshev, Moscow 1 9 5 2) . 669 No. The routine move i n such positions, 1 .t2Jxe5 , leads to the loss of a piece, since, after 1 ... t2Jxe5 2.�xh5 (2 .d4 ! �g4 3 .f3 is better, but no picnic either) 2 ... �g4 the queen has no retreat.

This was the game Busvin-Birnberg, London 1 924. 670 White mated in two: 2.t2Jb5+! The c-file must be opened, to stop the king hiding on c7. 2...cxb5 3.t2Jb7# (Lokasto-Zakrzewski, Augustow 1 9 74)

335

Improve You r C h ess T a c t i cs

671

I Jlxh7+ Wxh7 2.'iYh3+ Wg6 2 . . . Wg7 3 .'i'h6# . 3.'i'h6+ wrs 4.�h7+ l'lg6 The same mate fol­ lows after 4 . . . Wg4. S.'i'h3#, Torre Repetto-Yates, Baden-Baden 1 9 2 5 .

672 The move l .tLJf4 i s wrong because o f l .. .tLJfJ +! 2.gxfJ 'i'gS + 3.tLJg2 h3 4.�xg7+ �xg7 S.�xg7 hxg2, and White ends up a piece down (a varia­ tion from the game Euwe-Romanovsky, Lenin­ grad 1 9 3 4) .

673 No. After l .'i'bS + Black replies 1 . ..'i'd7, and the capture of the pawn 2.'iVxcS? leads to the loss of the queen after 2 ... tLJfS 3.'iVaS b6 (W Adams-G. Kramer, New York 1 94 5 ) . I f l .dxc5 , then 1 . . .tLJec6, immediately regaining the pawn (for example, 2 .'iVg3 or 2 .'i'e3 2 . . . tLJd7 ; 2 .'i'b5 'i'd7 3 .f4 ttJxe 5 ) . -

6 74 2.�h8+ ! Wxh8 3J�txc8+ Uxc8 4.'i'h3+ Wg8 S.'i'xc8+ IU8 6.'iVe6+ Wh8 7.'i'h3+, and mate next move (Benini-Reggio, Rome 1 9 1 1 ) . It is also possible to invert the moves - 2 Jhcs + and then 3 .1�[hS +, whereas the continuation 2 .'i'xe5 leads only to a draw: 2 . . . .ixh3 3 .'i'xd5+ wfS 4.'i'd6+ (4.'i'xa S + ? 'l'eS) 4 . . . WgS 5 .'i'd5 + .

336

So l u t i ons: Exa m i n u l i oll ( N o 3 8 1 - 7 3 6 )

675 Black wrongly agreed a draw. He could have mated by means of 1 ..Jlh3+ 2.Wf4 Ilfl + ! 3.'iYxfl 'iYe5#. This could have been the conclu­ sion of the game Stoltz-Pilnik, Saltsjobaden 1 9 5 2 .

676 The sacrifice is incorrect. After 3".'i'xe4+ White replies 4JWe2 and after 4".'i'xh l (otherwise White has an extra pawn) gives discovered check with S.lLlg6+, obtaining a decisive material ad­ vantage.

677 1 ".�xd5 ! 2.lLlxf6+ rf White had f(m�sl'l'n t h e f( ) I ­ lowing knight jump to c 1 , s h u l l i n g off I hl' fi rst rank, he would probably h aw I r i l'd to put u p some sort of resistance, by plJy i l l g L0. x l ll . I low­ ever, after 2 . . . £l.c4+ 3 .\*.(g I li k l l '1 . \+; 1 ' 1 '+'.fel 7 s .lLld2 lLlg3 + 6.Wg l li ) x h l I . �; x h l .U.d � Black has a clear advallt.l gl'. 2,,:iYxf6! 3.Jlxf6 W h i lt' h .l s .1 1 1 I ' X I I'.1 q u e e n , and he also I h rt'.I l I' l \ s 1 1 1 .1 1 1 ' . n l l l BI.Il'k d l' l i vers mate fi rst : 3...jlr4+ 4.�l'K I I,; \d + ').�+.;fI ti-'Jc l + ! 6.�g l rIc l # ( I �l ' k h.l l'd l '1:1 1 1 ,1,.1 h . N l I rl' l 1 l berg 1 8 88) .

337

fmprove You r C h ess T a c t i cs 678

After examining the natural variation with checks 1 ..Jlg8+ V�tt h6 �xh2+ 3.11hS , Black decided that there was no follow-up to the chase of the white king (and White has an extra rook) , and she took the rook instead: 1 . . . �xfl . In the end, the game was drawn (Ivanka-Lazarevic, Yugosla­ via 1 9 7 2 ) .

-

However, the game could have been decided in the above variation, by an unnoticed deflection sacrifice: 3 ... �d2+! and 4.�xd2 11g6# 679 No. By playing 1 ...�xc2? , Black falls into the trap: after V1Jf6+! he would have to resign. After 2 . . . gxf6 there comes 3 .�e8+ (not 3 .l:lg3 + ? on account of 3 . . . \t>f8) 3 . . . \t>h7 4.l:lg 3 . The same result comes from 3 . . . .if8 4.l:1g 3 + (P DelyLengyel, Hungary 1 9 7 3 ) . Inverting the moves i s also possible: 2 .�e8+ and after 2 . . . Wh7 - 3 .ttJf6+ Wg6 4.'iVg8.

680 The move 1 eS ! includes the second rook in the attack. After 2.fxeS (or 2 .dxeS) Black plays 2 ...�xb2! If 3 Jhb2, then 3 .. Jhb2 + 4.\t>xb2 llb6+, and White is mated. Mate also follows 3 .exf6 .ixc3 + . White resigned (Ostertag-N. Kosintseva, Vladimir 2 002) . It would have been a mistake to sacrifice the bishop first by 1 .. . .ixb2 2 Jhb2 llxb2+ 3 .\t>xb2 , and only now to play 3 . . . e S . After the pawn is taken, the attack is crowned by 4 ... 11b6+ , as in the game, but 4.'iVe l meets the threats (4 .. J:[b6+ S .�a l ) . •••

338

Sol u t i ons: Exa m i na t ion (No 3 8 1 - 7 3 6 )

681 If the rook were not on a8 , Black would be mated. Hence, 1 ..Q.c8 ! ' By shutting off the rook's actions, White threatens both 2.'tWcS -fS#, and 2 .11eS-eS#. After I . . .l:hcs there follows, of course, 2.'tWxc8+ tUxc8 3 .l:te8#. The only chance to defend the back rank is 1 ..:i'd8. But then there follows 2:�Yc3 ! with the threat of 3 .It.eS+ 'tWxe8 4.'tWxf6#. After 2 .. .tLld5 (if 2 . . . �bS , then 3 .Iieg S , and on 2 . . .'tWfS 3 .l:te8) 3Jhd5 'VJife7 4.rIf5 Black resigned (Van Scheltinga-Orbaan, Holland 1 9 S4) .

682 I n an inferior position, White overlooked his op­ ponent's combination. After l .liJc7? there fol­ lowed l ..Jha4! , deflecting the rook from the de­ fence of the back rank, after which White had to resign. After 2 .11xa4 Black wins by 2 . . . �h3 ! 3 .�xh3 'tWxf3 + 4.�g l (4.�g2 'i'd l +) 4. . . �xc3 , attacking the queen and at the same time threat­ ening S . . . �d4# (Lputian-Ivanchuk, Montecatini Terme 2000) .

683 5.liJxg6 hxg6 6.�xf7+ ! �xf7 7.'i'c4+ �f8 8.liJh6! Black resigned (Puiggros-Pedrosa, Bue­ nos Aires 1 9 7 2 ) .

339

I m p rove Yo u r C h ess Tac t i cs 6 84

With the move l .. ..�.fl ! . After 2..�xfI (2.'i¥xfl t2Jg3 +) 2 ... t2Jg3+ White has to give up his queen, to avoid 3 .�g l t2Je2+ 4.�h l ng l # or 3 .�g2 t2Je4+ 4.�h l t2Jfl + : 3.�xg3 �xg3 , and Black realised his material advantage (Barcza-Antoshin, Sochi 1 9 66) .

685 No. After 3.l:[d8+! Black is mated: 3 .. JhdS 4.lixdS+ Wxd8 s:ftfgs+ (Juarez-Sanguinetti, Ar­ gentina 1 9 5 0) .

686 Draw after l . ..�g l + ! 2.�xgl �e2+ 3.�g2 'i'xg2+ 4.Wxg2 �e4+ and S ... �xb7 with a com­ pletely equal ending (Lilienthal-Tolush, Parnu 1 94 7 ) . Another path i s 1 .. .�xg 3 + 2 .'i'xg3 'iVe2 + 3 .Wg 1 'iVd 1 + 4.Wfl 'i'd2 + , also with a draw.

340

So l u t i on s : E xa m i n a t i o n ( No

]R ' - 7 H l)

68 7

choice of retreats is not great - to h 5 , g7 or ( I . . . W f6 ? 2.tbd 5 + ) . The active-loo k i n g 1 ...WhS leads to defeat:

The

h7

2.g4+ Wxh4 3 .Wg2! There is no defence to the threat 4.CiJf5# (Jansson-Ivarsson, Uppsala 1 9 7 3 ) . Correct is the retreat to g7 o r h7. 688

2.dxeS? Correct is 2 .c 5 . 2 . . �.cS + O r 3 .e3 �xe3+ 4 . l:l fl 'i'd8 5 . fxe4 fxe4 with a decisive material advantage. 3 ... ttJxg 3 + , and after 4.hxg3 �h6+ White is mated . This was the finish of the game Griinfeld -Torre Repetto, Baden-Baden 1 9 2 5 . 1 . . tbxeS .

.

3 .Wh l

689

1 .h4! Played without worrying that Black take this pawn. 1 . Jlb4+ 2. WxeS llxh4

will

.

3.f4 Decoying the rook. 3 .. .l:hf4 4.:txg7+ De­ flecting the king. 4... �xg7 S.:txgS + and 6.xf4, winning (Khalomeev-Isakov, Simferopol I 94 7 ) . The same result occurs if White starts with the move I .f4: 1. .. :[b4+ 1 . . . exf4 2.h4. 2.xe5 l:txf4 2 . . J�b 5 + 3 .�d6. 3 Jhg7+ 341

I mp rove You r C h ess Tac t i cs 690

The move 1 ..J1as is wrong. After 2.'i'xb6 tha I 3.llxa l 'fNxb6 4Jhs + ttfs s.ttxfS + 'itt xfS 6lDd7 + and 7.tLJxb6 White has an extra knight (Szollosi-Boguszlavszky, Budapest 1 98 1 ) .

69 1 After I . �xd I Black i s mated: 2.�xg7 + 'itt gS 3.�hS ! ! (Tal-Rantanen, Tallinn 1 9 79) .

.

692 After l .fxg4 it's mate in three: 1 ..:ifxh2+ ! 2.'ittxh2 tbg3+ 3.'ittx g3 3 .'ittg 1 llh 1 #. 3 ... f4# (Kosolapov-Nezhmetdinov, Kazan 1 9 3 6)

342

So l u t i on s : Exa m i na t i o n ( No 3 8 1 - 7 3 6 )

693 I Jhg7+ ! Wxg7 2J:tg l + �h8 After 2 . . . \t>f6 there follows 3 .'liHh4+ wfS 4.�g S + . S .lIe 1 + and 6.'J/Iig3#. whilst in the event of 2 . . . Wh6 there is 3 .'i'h4#.

3.'iYxe5 + ! dxe5 4.�xeS+ f6 5.�xf6+ fIxf6 6Jig8# (Hartlaub-Testa. Bremen 1 9 1 3 ) If in reply to 1. .�xg7 + Black retreats his king. he is also mated: 1 . . . Wh8 2 .�xh7+ Wxh7 3 .'i'h4+ and 4.l:1g 1 + .

694 1 ...'iYxf3 ! 2.gxf3 �dg8+ 3.�g3 �xg3+! 4.hxg3 �xf3 . and mate next move (Johansson-Ekenberg. Sweden 1 9 7 4) .

695 2.'iYxfS+! After 2 . 'iY fl + Ihfl 3 .l:1xfl + 'iYxfl 4 .l:1xfl + Wg 8 S . l:1xb7 l1xhS 6Jha7 Ilh6 7.g7 White still has to realise his advantage in the rook ending. 2 .. JhfS 3JhfS 'iYxfS 4.h6+! Only so. In the event of the naive 4.l:lxf8 Wxf8 the pawn ending is drawn. Black obtains a second passed pawn by means of . . . eS-e4. after which the white king cannot support his g- and h-pawns. Now. however. it is over 4... Wg8 S.h7+ Wg7 6.l:1xfS (Tarrasch-Janowski. Ostend 1 90 7 ) -

343

Imp rove Yo u r C h ess Tact i cs 696

Rather than positional pressure ( 1 . . Jlfg8 or 1 . . .llgfl ) , Black preferred a tactical decision: l .. Jlxf3 ! 2.xg7 3 .'ifh6+ �h8 4JH7 with mate. If the sacrifice is declined by 1 . . . tDfS , then 2 .l:lxfS �xfs 3 .'ifgS , and mate. Or 2 .. Jhb7 (instead of 2 . . . �xfS ) 3 . 'ifc3 ! and Black is defenceless. 2JWg5 .if3+ Taking the queen allows mate on g 7 . 3.'it>gl And Black had to resign (Rautenberg-Schlensker, Bad Nauheim 1 948) . Another choice is l .�g7 + ! 'ittx g7 2 Jhf6. After 2 . . . �xf6 there is mate after 3 .'ifh6+ �fS 4.'ifxh 7 + . In the event of 2 . . . 'itth 8 White wins by 3 .I;Ifl . There is also the move 2 . . . tDfS . Then 3 .'ifgS + h8 4.l:lfl and S .'ifxg4. 346

So l u t i o n s : E xa m i n a t i o n (No 3 8 1 - 7 3 6 )

704 1 ..�.xd7 Aher l .tilxd7 ttJxd7 2.�xd4 {iJf8 Black holds. 1 ...tilxd7 2.tilxhS ! gxhS 3.'iYgS + WfS

4.tLlg6+! fxg6 SJhe6 Vi'cS The threat was both 6 .'iYe7 +, and 6.'i'h6+ . If 5 . . . �xc2 , then 6.11de I ! . 6.�h6+ rj;; f7 7.'iYxg6+ WfS , and now the final 'quiet' move 8.nde 1 ! , after which Black is de­ fenceless (Levenfish-Ravinsky, Leningrad 1 92 8 ) .

70S I n this position, the combination with the bishop sacrifice on h7 and the subsequent transfer of the heavy pieces to the h-file does not work. After 1 .�xh7+ \t;xh7 2.�hS + Wg8 3.�xeS ttJxeS 4.klh4 Black went over to the counter-attack with 4... ttJfl+ S:iYxfl �xgS .

Both rooks are attacked. After the attempt to cre­ ate threats by 6.�g4 �xd2 7.'iVf6 Black replies 7 ... �h6 (or 7 . . . .te3 + and 8 . . . g6) and after 8.�xh6 - 8 .. J:tel + winning: 9 . � f2 'iYxc2+ 1 O.Wxe 1 (or 1 O .ttJd2 �f5 +) 10 . . Jle8 + (Nunn­ Csom, Moscow 1 9 7 7 ) .

347

Imp rove Yo u r C h ess Tac t i cs 706 2.Ith8+ Wg6

3.JIxh6+ ! 3 .'*feS+ (3 . . . �f7 4.�e4+ Wg S) was a false trail. Now, however, White wins the queen. After 3 . . . Wxh6 there follows 4.'I'hS+ Wg6 S .�hS + wf6 6.gS+ and 7 .�xf3 . The same happens after 3 . . . gxh6 4.�gS+ Wf6 S .�fS + . Declining the rook sacrifice is impossible: 3 . . . Wf7 4.�c7 + WgS S .�cS + wf7 (S . . . �fS 6JihS+) 6 .'i'e6+ and 7 J:rhS# or 3 . . . WgS 4.'*feS+ with mate. Black resigned (Bronstein-Kortchnoi, Moscow 1 962) .

707 The weakening of the black kingside allows a forCing operation, beginning with the move 1 .�a6!. 1. �xa6 Or 1 . . . 'i'cS 2.t1Jxc6 'i'xc6 3 .�xb7 'i'xb7 4.'i'h4 Wg7 5 .�h6+ ; 1 . . . t1Ja5 2 . �xb7 t1Jxb7 3 .t1Jc6 'i'c7 4.t1Jxe7+ 'i'xe7 5 .'i'h4. 2.lDxc6 �e8 3.t1Jxe7+ �xe7 4.�h4 Wg7 S.�h6+ White has won the exchange and duly realised his material advantage (Klaman-Smyslov, Leningrad 1 9 7 4) . ..

348

Sol u l i o n s : EXCl rn i n Cl l i o n ( No � R I - n n )

708 After 1 . cxd4 2.cxd4 the t e m p t i ng m o v e 2 .. lLJxd4 (counting on winning the exchange) leads to defeat: 3.lLJxd4 �c3+ • •

.

4.�d2! �xa l 4 ... � x d4 5 . 0.h5 + and 6 . 'tlVxd4. S.c 3 ! Cut off from its remaining forces , the hlack queen is caught and the threat of 6 .0)h3 i s un­ stoppable. White can even play 5.0-0 and catch the queen later (Booth-Fazekas, London 1 940) . .

709 l .rrh4 and after 1 ..:iYa3 2.'li'xg 7 + ! Wxg7 3.h8'iY+ Ihh8 4.IIg4+ �h6 S.�h l # (N. Zhuravlev-V Zhuravlev, Liepeja 1 9 6 1 ) .

710 l ..Jbf4! 2.'iYxf4 nfS 3.'iWg3 �xfl! 4.'tI:Vxfl 4.l::t x f2 'i'e I #; 4.'i'h3 + xa2 'i'xa3+ 1 3 .\t>b l or 1 2 .. Jlxc2+ 1 3 .Wb l . Note that the white queen checked in such a way that after the move .l:tfl -f4 the square e 1 was de­ fended. Thus. in the event of the straightforward 6 . .l:[d3 (instead of 6.'iWh S + and the subsequent checks) 6 .. .1::[ c 3 the move 7 JH4 would have been a mistake. because of the counterattack 7 . . . llb3 + !

S Jhb3 (or 8.cxb3) 8 . . .'iW e 1 + winning. The game Fogel-Klisch (correspondence. 2002) . the finish of which we have been examining. ended after 8 .�d3 - Black reSigned.

35 1

I m p rove Yo u r C h ess Tac t i cs 713

White forces a draw in a most unexpected way: l .b4! Itxb4 1 .. Jhd6? 2 . bxcS . 2.d7 lld4 If 2 .. Jlb8 , then 3 .c;t>c4 and then 4.c;t>xc S . 3.b4! Af­ ter 3 . . . thd7 4.bxcS Black has to give up his rook for the pawn. Draw (Helmertz-Wernbro, Lund 1 973).

714 After l . ..�c I there follows 2 .�f3 . I n this critical situation, Black is saved by the idea of stalemate: 1 .1:1c6! If the rook is taken, then 2 ... �dS+ 3.�xdS (3 .i.xdS) 3 ...b3+, and a draw (Minic-Savic, Yu­ goslavia 1 98 9) . Lifl l:'!xg6 3 .i.xg6 �dS + 4.�xdS b 3 + i s the same motif. If 2. �fl ? , Black, no longer being satisfied with a draw (2 . . . �xe6 3 .�xe6 �dS +) , continues 2 . . . b 3 + ! 3 .i.xb3 (3 .Wxb3 ? �d l +) 3 .. JH6 and 4 .. Jhg6. .•

71S 1 ..ixh7+ �xh7 2.llh4+ WgS 3 .�h3 fxeS 4.l:rhS+ �fl S.�hS+ g6 6J:th7+ If 6.�h 7 + , then 6 . . .wf6 7 .�h4+ gS 8 .1:[h6+ i.g6 , and White's attack, having sacrificed two pieces, misfires. 6 ... �gS But not 6 . . . �f6 ? 7 .�f3 + �g5 8 .h4#. 7 J:thS+ The white queen is also under attack, therefore there is nothing better. After 7 ... rJi/fl the opponents agreed a draw (Tal-Nei, Tallinn 1 9 7 9) . Since White has the initiative i n the initial posi­ tion, we can conclude that there was no need for the sacrifice on h 7 . -

352

Sol u t i ons: Exu m i llo t i oll ( N o 3 8 1 - 7 3 6 )

716 Black's combination i s wrong. There followed 6.t2Jg6+! 7.nxf8+ Wh7

Now the simple capture on b7 wins, but more spectacular is the deadly blow S :iYh6 + ! (8 . . . Wxh6 9 .Ilh8#; 8 . . . gxh6 9 .Ihb7 + mating) (N. Popov-Novopashin, Beltsy 1 9 79) . 717 A deflection of the queen serves as the prelude to the typical double bishop sacrifice combination: I Jha3 ! 'iYxa3 and then 2..�xh7+ Wxh7 3.'iVhS+ WgS 4.�xg7 Wxg7 He has to take the bishop, since after 4 .. .f5 , 5 .'i'g6 wins. S.�gS+ \t>hS 5 . . . Wh7 Ioses at once because of 6 J:re4. 6J:te4

When calculating the combination, White had to take into account the attempt by Black to give up his queen for a rook by means of 6 . �al + 7.Wh2 �b l Now after 8 .�h4+ there follows 8 . . . 'i'h7 , after which White has to content himself with perpet­ ual check (9Jhh7+ Wxh7 I O .'i'h5 +). However, White wins with the preliminary S.�h6+ WgS and only now 9.flh4!' After the only defence 9 ...f6 there follows a king chase: 1 0J�g4+ Wfl 1 1 .1::tg 7+ WeS 1 2.�hS+ WdS 1 3.'iVeS ! �d7 1 4.�xf8+ We7 1 S.�eS + WdS 1 6.l:tgS+ mating (Belyaev-N. Pavlov, Russia 1 992) . ..

353

I m p rove Yo u r C h ess Tac t i cs

718 l .tLJxe6 ! Clearing the gueen's path to a4 and opening the f-file for the rook. 1 ...fxe6 2.�xa4+ �bS Things are not changed significantly by 2 . . . We7 3 .�h4+ We8 4.�g4, and Black cannot defend one of his pawns on e6 or g 7 . 3.�g4 'tWc6 4.�xg7 ll fS sJlxfS+ .�.xfS 6.'lWxh7 nc8 More tenacious is 6 . . . �c5 , but this does not change the result. 7JWg6+ After 7 . . . We7 there follows 8 . .ll d 6 �c4 9 .�h7 + o r 9 .�f6+. Black resigned (Spassky-Darga , 1 5 th Olympiad, Varna 1 96 2 ) .

719 I n a winning posmon (after the methodical 1 .. Jle4 2 .'iVc8 + �f3 3 .�c3 + lle3 4.'iVc6+ ttJe4 the game would end) Black went in for a mis­ taken combination: 1 ...�h3 Expecting after 2.'iVxf4 to decide the outcome of the game by decoying the queen into a fork: 2 ...g2+ 3 .f2 3 .Wg l �e l + . 3 .. Jl£6 After 4 .'iVxf6 there would have followed 4 . . . ttJe4+. However, the surprising move 4.g l ! saved the game (Zagoryansky-Tolush, Moscow 1 945).

354

Sul u t i u m : Exum i n u t i un ( N o 3 8 1 - 7 3 6 )

720 1 .�gS! The bishop cannot be taken with either the pawn ( l . . .llXg S 2 .tLJg6! with mate on h8) , or the queen ( 1 . ..'*fxgS 2 .�xf7 + �h7 3 .'*fg8#) . 1 ..:i'd7 2Jiad l �.d6

3.�xh6 ! Destroying the king's pawn cover. The entry of the rook on e 1 allows White to give mate. 3 ...gxh6 If 3 . . . ttJxb3 , then 4.�xg7 Wxg7 S .ttJfS + . 4.'*fg6+ W f8 S.'i'f6 Wg8 The threat was 6.ttJg6+ \t>g8 7 .'*fh8#. 6Jte3 Or 6.ttJfS . Black resigned (Geller-Portisch, Mos­ cow 1 9 6 3 ) .

72 1 The tempting move 1 �xc3 + loses. After 2.bxc3 'i'xc3 + White continues 3.'i'd2!, and after 3 'i'xa l he replies . . . •..

•..

4.�b l ! The black queen is trapped. There is no defence against the threat of S .i.b2 (Nezhmetdinov­ Konstantinov, Rostov on Don 1 93 6) . 355

Improve You r Chess Tacl i r s 722 White had anticipated his opponent's combina­ tion. After 3.b4 cxb4 he played not 4.tilxg 5 , nor 4.hxg S , but...

4.�xh7+! And mate in the familiar way : 4 ... Wxh7 S.hxgS + �g6 Or S . . .'�tg8. 6'ci'Je7# (Casas-Piazzini, Buenos Aires 1 962) 723 Black cannot take the knight with the bishop, be­ cause of 2 .tiJxf6+ and 3 .tDxd 7 . But with the rook. he can take. After 1 .. Jhc4 2.lLJxf6+ 'it>hS (only so) 3.lLJxd7 he wins with the help of a combina­ tion:

3 .. .tiJf3+ ! 4.gxf3 l:IgS+ S.Wh l �xh2+ 6.�xh2 �h4# (a variation from the game Furman­ Ubilava, USSR 1 97 1 ) Therefore, instead of 3 . tDxd 7 ? White should play 3 .f4. Then there could follow 3 . . . .ie6 4.fxeS �xeS S . .!laS with a complicated, double-edged position.

356

So/ u r i on s : E xa m i n a r i on ( N o 3 8 1 - 7 3 6 )

724 On move 4 White is not obliged lo take the pawn on d6. By sacrificing queen and bishop, he saves the game by virtue of stalemate: 4.�e4+ ! 'tlVxe4 S.'tlVg7+! (Sliwa-Doda, Poland 1 9 67) Maybe Black should not have brought his king to g6, and should instead have played 3 . . . Wg8 ? But then too, White achieves stalemate: 4.'iYe8+ tDf8

S . .idS + 'i'xdS 6.'i'xf8 + ! . The winning idea i n the starting posmon is 1 . . .'i'b2 +! (instead of 1 . . .'i'a2+) 2 .Wld and now 2 . . . 'i'eS ! 3 .'i'e7 + Wg6 4.'i'e8+ Wf6 S .'i'h8+ We7 6.'i'xh6 tDd4 7 .'i'h7 + Wd8 8 . �e4 as and now White can resign.

725 S.l2Jxe6! �xe6

6.'iYdS+ ! tDxdS 7 ..ig4+ The black king is es­ corted by a convoy, into the enemy camp. 7 ... WeS sJUS+ Wd4 8 . . . �e6 9 .exdS#. 9JhdS + �c4 I O.�e2+ �b4 I l .a3# (Shulman-Feldmus, Riga 1 98 6)

357

lmprove You r Chess Tac t i cs

726

The exchange o f queens leads only t o a draw. We therefore examine the attempt to exploit the position of the Black king. by means of 1 .g4+ fxg3 2.'fVxfS .

Black can take the rook: 2 . .'tfHe l + 3 .\t>g2 'fVe2+ 4.�xg3 'i'xa6. but then there follows S .'i'f7 + 'i'g6 6 .'i'f3 + g4 7 .hxg4+ \t>gS 8 .'i'f4#. But what happens if we ignore the rook and go for stalemate? Instead of 4 ... 'i'xa6 we play 4 .. :iVeS +!' This saves the game (Green-Aitken. England 1 9 66) . And there is more. Instead of 2 . . . 'i'e 1 + , it is also possible to play 2 . . . g 2 + 3 .c;t>xg2, and now not 3 . . . 'i'g3 + ? (after which taking the queen leads to stalemate, but 4. \t>fl ! prevents this) , but 3 ... 'i'e2 +!, and a draw. Thus, neither the exchange of queens, nor 1 .g4+ gives White a win. .

358

Sol u t i ons: E x a m i n a t i on ( No 3 8 1 - 7 3 6 )

727 After 1 ...'iWh3 2.'�Vfl �xh2+ 3.�xh2 .tt cg8 White resigned, in view of the deadly threat of 4 . . 11h5 + . This was the finish of the game Samarin-Antoshin, Berdiansk 1 9 8 5 . .

Even so, instead of resigning, White could have won, by defending the threatened mate with the move 4.e6! A shut-off, at the same time clearing the fifth rank and preparing the following rook sacrifice. 4 . �xe6 4 .. Jlh5 + 5 .�h3 . sJhcS ! bxcS 6.,ttx cS Mate has been averted, and White has queen for rook - it is Black who must resign! Consequently, Black should have refrained from the rook sacrifice and played 2 . . .�h5 ! . ..

359

I m p rove You r C h ess Tac t i cs

728

White considered the move 1 . .. ttJxd4 to be im­ possible, because of the variation 2.l:%.c7 tDe2+ 3.�fl tDxc 1 4.l:%.xb7 with two threats - S J� .xc 1 and S .l:%.b8 + .

However, there followed 4... tDxa2 ! , and White realised that he had miscalculated - the passed pawns decide the outcome of the game. He played the 'spite check' S .tlb8+ and after S .. 'it>d7 re­ signed (Barendregt -Portisch, Amsterdam 1 969) . He could have played on a little longer: 6.lixh8 b3 7 .Itd8+ �c7 8 J:td6 b2 9 .�d8 + Wc8 1 O.Itxb6 ttJb4, and the pawn reaches its goal. One small detail. Instead of S .Itb8 + White could have set a ' desperation trap ' , by giving a different check: - S .ne7 + . •

.

Black must step into another check with 5 . . . �d8 , after which 6.l:lxe6+ �c7 , or 6 .�xf7 + Wc8 or 6.11b7 + �c8 give him an easily winning end­ game. But if 5 . �f8 ? 6 .�f6 ! and White wins! .

3 60

.

Sol u t i on s : Exa m i n o l i on (No 3 8 1 - 7 3 6 )

729 In calculating the vanallon , the opponents as­ sessed this position differently. 'If' , thought the black player, 'White takes the bishop, I can immediately re-establish material equality : 7 .Wxfl 'lIHh 1 + 8 .We2 �e4+ and 9 . . . �xe 7. There is nothing else, since mate is threatened and the rook attacked. If he closes the diagonal with the move 7 .1ldS , then the bishop retreats to h3 , and 8 .IihS does not work because of the mate threat on g2 .. . But the move 7 JldS was played, and Black re­ Signed! (Lengyel-Sliwa, Szczawno Zdroj 1 9 66) . There is a threat, missed by Black in his calcula­ tions, of mate by 8 .�xh7+ Wxh7 9.IihS#, which would follow after 7 . . . .ih3 . This means that he loses a bishop. '

361

Improve Yo u r Chess T a c t i cs

730 3.'iYh6 ttJxf6 4.ttJg5 White threatens the manoeuvre nh3 -f3xf6 , for which he needs three tempi. In this time, Black can defend the sq uare f7 and free his rook for lhe manoeuvre .. .l:H8 -g8-g 7 . After this, the knight on f6 is ready to cause White serious trouble, as the queen on f6 will be in danger. Thus, 4 :iUe7 5.1:t.h3 11g8 . In the event of S . . . Wg8 6 .1:1f3 lld8 the threat of a sacrifice on f6 forces 7 .l::[ e e3 (7 . . . bS 8 .11xf6 �xf6 9 .�xh 7 + Wf8 l O Jlf3 ; 7 . ..lL'le4+ 8 Jh e4 f6 9 .11ef4) . 6.nO l:Ig7 The square h7 is defended, and both 7 . . . ttJxg4 and 7 . . . ttJg8 are threatened. But the outcome of the game is decided by two deflecting blows. ..

7Jhf6 ! If it were not for this move, Black would b e win­ ning the game. Now, however, he has to resign. After 7 .. :i'xf6 there follows 8.ltJxh7! , and in or­ der to avoid mate, Black has to surrender his queen: 8 . . . 'i'xf2+ (8 . . . nxh7 9 .'i'f8 #) 9 J:1e2 'i'xh4 1 O.'i'xh4 l::(x h7 , after which further resis­ tance makes no sense (N eishtadt -Szeiler, corre­ spondence game, 1 96 3 /64) .

362

Sol u t i ons: E xa m i na t i o n ( N o 3 8 1 - 7 3 6 )

731 By playing l .d7! White gives up a pawn, but creates a mating net, exploiting the weakness of the dark squares. 1 .. �d8 .

2.'i'f6! If now 2 . . 'i'xd7 , then 3 .�gS ! , first driving the rook from the d-file (so that Black will not have the move . . . 'i'd7 -d4) , and then 4.�h6. But after 2 .. Jlxd7 3.�h6 the move 3 ... 'i'd4 is possible. What then? .

4J:te l ! and after 4 ... .ie4 (4 . . .lld8 S .'i'xd4; 4 ... �e6 S Jhe6! ) SJlxe4. Black resigned (Dobierzin-Bansch, Halle 1 9 7 7 ) . -

363

Improve Yo u r C hess T a c t i cs

732

Black was not afraid of the move S.�.xf7 +. By giving up his queen with S ... \t>xf7 9.�xdS , he gets a new one: 9 ... cxb2+ l O.We2 bxa l 'fH and as a result, establishes a large material advantage.

In this position, Black stopped calculating . . . and found himself being mated: l l .CiJgS + h6 Or l L .Wf6 1 3 .nfl + . 1 3.tLJe6+ This was the finish of the game Tatai-Mariotti, Reggio Emilia 1 967 / 6 8 . Thirty years later, the whole line was repeated in the game V Ivanov­ Bataev, St Petersburg 1 999. Instead of taking the bishop, Black should settle for loss of castling, by playing his king to e 7 . The conclusion from this opening catastrophe is that instead of 5 . . . exd4, Black should follow Nimzowitsch's old advice and play 5 �e6 ! . . . .

733 The paradoxical move 1 .�gS! wins. Mate is threatened on h 7 , so there is no choice l JbgS

-

..

2,