| Sharpen up your mental reflexes
with these basic yet juicy tactical tests.
1) Material
is even and Black, who just played …g7-g6,
is threatening White’s Knight. Who stands
better?
WHITE TO
MOVE
White wins by force by 1.Rxe8!
Rxe8 2.Nd6+ Kc6 3.Nxe8 with
an extra piece in the endgame.
2) Black
is a pawn up, his Bishop is attacking White’s
Queen, and he appears to have a solid position.
Is White in trouble?
WHITE TO
MOVE
White mates in three by 1.Ne7+
Kh8 2.Qxh7+! Kxh7 3.Rh5 mate.
3) Black’s
a pawn up but his King is still in the center
and White enjoys a lead in development. Can
White capitalize on these dynamic advantages,
or will Black eventually consolidate his position?
WHITE TO
MOVE
Black threatens to consolidate
his position by …0-0 or even …Nc6-e7-d5.
The too the point 1.Bb5 doesn’t get anywhere
due to 1…Bd7, but White can end Black’s
dreams by 1.Rxc6!
Qxc6 2.Bb5, pinning
and winning the Queen.
4) White’s
Knights make a nice impression. Can he make
use of them?
WHITE TO
MOVE
White wins immediately with 1.Qxb6! (A “deflection” sacrifice
that pulls Black’s Queen away from the
defense of the e7-square.) 1…Qxb6? (Better
is 1…Qd7 2.Qxa5, though White would be
up a Knight and a pawn with a very easy win.) 2.Ne7+
Kh8 3.Nxf7 mate.
5) Who
is winning? Black’s King seems vulnerable,
but White’s King is also under pressure.
WHITE TO
MOVE
Even though it’s White’s
move, Black is on the verge of winning thanks
to his mating threats along the a1-h8 diagonal.
In fact, Black wins in every line but one,
but that one exception is enough to give White
the victory: 1.Qxg7+! (Not
1.Ra7+?? Qxa7+ when Black has taken the Rook
with CHECK! Trying to hold off the long diagonal
mate by 1.c3?? also leads to disaster after
1…Qd2+ 2.Kb1 Qd1+ 3.Kb2 Bxc3+ 4.Ka2 Qc2
mate) 1...Qxg7
2.Ra7+ Kd6 3.Rxg7 and
White’s extra Rook in the endgame guarantees
victory.
6) Another
endgame, another dose of pain for Black!
WHITE TO
MOVE
White wins a pawn by the
simple 1.axb5! since
the obvious reply is worse than bad: 1…axb5
2.Rxa8 (pulling Black’s Rook away from
the defense of d5) 2…Rxa8 3.Bxd5 when
White’s Bishop turns out to be a one
man wrecking crew.
7) This
is a well-known opening position. Can White
get any advantage?
WHITE TO
MOVE
Actually, White wins on the
spot by 2.Qa4! since
2…Bd7 3.Nxd6 is mate while 2…Qd7
3.Nxd6+ (3.Nc7+ is also good, but 3.Nxd6+ is
even stronger) 3…Kd8 4.Nxf7+ Ke8 5.Qxd7+
Bxd7 6.Nxh8 leaves White with an overwhelming
material plus.
8) Black
appears to have some serious threats (…Bf4
or …Bxg3 with a discovered attack on
White’s Queen by the d8-Rook). He can
also trade off White’s dangerous b2-Bishop
by …Be5. What can White do?
WHITE TO
MOVE
White mates by force: 1.Qxh5!!
gxh5 2.Bh7 mate.
9) Just
to throw you off balance, I decided to toss
in a “Black to move” problem! The
game seems fairly even, though White does threaten
to double Black’s pawns by Bxf6. Is anything
going on here?
BLACK TO
MOVE
Black wins a piece by 1…Ne4, with
a decisive fork against White’s Queen
and the g5-Bishop. Hopefully this example will
teach you that leaving advanced pieces unprotected
(did you notice that the g5-Bishop was unprotected?)
can be dangerous for your position’s
health!
10) White
can force the win of material.
WHITE TO
MOVE
Because of the unprotected
state of the a8-Rook, White initiates a little
combination: 1.Nxd5!
Qxd5 (Or 1…Bb7
2.Nxe7+ Qxe7 3.Bxc4 with two extra pawns.) 2.Bf3 when
Black’s Rook dies.
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