1) It's time for
White to be snuffed.
BLACK TO MOVE
Turner-Van
Der Hoorn, New Zealand 2003. 1...Qxe4! (Even
1.f3 2.Bxf3 Qxe4 3.Bxe4 Rxe4 wins for
Black, but it's not nearly as good
as the immediate 1.Qxe4.) 2.Bxe4
Rxe4 (Black has an overwhelming
attack.) 3.Rc1 (3.gxf4 Rexf4
is a forced mate: 4.Qd1 Rg7+ 5.Kh1
Bg2+ 6.Kg1 Bf3+ 7.Kf1 Bxd1 mate.) 3...f3
4.c5 f2+ 5.Kh1 e2, 0-1. As horrible
a sight as you are ever likely to see!
2) Things look complex, but White quickly shows
who the boss is.
WHITE
TO MOVE
This
game was between two 1600 rated players. 1.Bxf5! (More
accurate than 1.Be7 Qc3 2.Qxc3 Bxc3
when the Bishop on e4 is undefended.
Trading the light-squared Bishops ahead
of time makes all the upcoming tactics
far better for White.) 1.exf5
2.Be7! Ra8 (Now
2.Qc3 fails to 3.Qxc3 Bxc3 4.Rac1 when
Black will suffer heavy material losses.) 3.Rab1
Qe5 4.Bxf6 Qxf6 5.Rxb7 h6 6.Rd6 Qa1+
7.Kg2 Kh7 8.Qxf7 Rhf8 9.Qg6+ Kh8 10.Rdd7
Rg8 11.Qxh6+ gxh6 12.Rh7 mate.
3) White wins a
pawn by force.
WHITE
WINS A PAWN
1.fxe5! (Simple but effective.) 1.Bxf3 (Even
worse is 1.dxe5 2.Bxf7+! Kxf7 3.Nxe5+.) 2.Qxf3
dxe5 3.Qg3 (A double attack against
both e5 and g7.) 3.0-0 4.Qxe5 Bd6
5.Qf5 and White is a pawn up for
nothing.
4) White can win in a couple ways. Which
one would you choose?
WHAT IS WHITE'S MOST RUTHLESS
MOVE?
White was 2100, Black was a computer. 1.c6! (A
piece could have been won by 1.b5, but
then 1.d5 2.Be2 bxc5 3.bxa6 c4 allows
Black to put up a fight, though he's
still quite lost. The text is far more
ruthless, and creates a classic position
where Black's Knights are completely
dominated.) 1.d5 2.Bb5 (White
has no interest in actually winning a
Knight because that might allow the other
Black pieces to get into play. But playing
in this fashion [2.Bb5], White entombs
BOTH Black Knights AND the Black Rook
on a8! The finish was calm but surgical.
Notice how Black is virtually three pieces
down.) 2.O-O 3.Bf4 Kh8 4.Be5 Kg8 5.g4
h6 6.h4 Re8 7.g5 hxg5 8.hxg5 Kh7 9.Kg2
Kg8 10.Rh1 Rd8 11.Rh2 Rc8 12.Rah1 Kf8
13.Rh8 mate.
5) Black has more than you might think.
BLACK TO MOVE
In Serpik-Blatny, U.S. Open 2003 Black
demonstrated a forced mate in five: 1...Bd4+!
2.cxd4 Qe3+ 3.Kh1 Qe1+ 4.Nf1 Rxf1+ 5.Qxf1
Qxf1 mate.
6)
Black has just captured White's g-pawn
via 1.Bc6xg2. What's wrong with 2.Rxg2?
CAN'T WHITE TAKE THE BISHOP?
Morrison-Capablanca, London 1922. In
the game White played 2.Rxb8 (2.Qg3 was
best) and eventually got outclassed,
but taking on g2 was forbidden! After 2.Rxg2?? Black
forces mate by 2.Qb1+! 3.Rxb1 Rxb1+
4.Qe1 Rxe1 mate.
7) How should Black handle this situation?
BLACK TO MOVE
Black wins a pawn by making use of the
unprotected state of the White Knight
on a4: 1.Nxe5! 2.fxe5 Qh4+ 3.Bf2 Qxa4.
8) It's Black to move, but who is better?
BLACK TO MOVE
Volokitin-Vescovi,
Bermuda 2003. Black wins by force: 1...c3! (this
turns the a4-pawn into a monster) 2.bxc3 (and
not 2.Rxc3 Ne2+) 2.a3 3.c4 a2 4.Ra3
d5 5.Ra4 Rb4 6.Rxa2 Nxa2 and Black
eventually won.
9) Has Black overlooked something?
WHITE TO MOVE
Motylev-Gershon,
Bermuda 2003. A quick opening blunder
allowed White to make us of an old
trick: 1.Nxb5! (Creating a double
attack against b4 and c7. Suddenly
Black is lost!) 1.Bxd2 2.Nxc7 Bxe3
3.Nxa8 Ne8 (Trying to keep the
White Knight trapped on a8, but it
easily makes its way to freedom.) 4.Nd4
Bb7 5.Nb6 Nc7 6.Nc4, 1-0.
10) White's
a pawn up in the endgame (though he really
SHOULD take Black's Queen!). How good
are White's winning chances?
WHITE TO MOVE
From Yates-Nimzowitsch,
Carlsbad 1929. 1.Rxd4! (Far
better than 1.cxd4 when a Black Rook
on the c-file will eventually create
serious pressure against White's weakened
pawns. Taking on d4 with the Rook puts
immediate pressure against d5 and sets
up a nice tactic that will clarify
the central situation.) 1.Rf7 2.c4
Rdf8 (The main point is seen after
2...Bxc4 3.Bxe4!.) 3.cxd5 Rxf2 4.Bxe4 and
White won in a few more moves.
