Chess puzzle
No. 672
Black to play. J. Polgar — Gaprindashvili, Novi Sad Olympiad 1990. Gaprindashvili’s next move prompted immediate resignation. What did she…
No. 671
White to play. Gaprindashvili–Servaty, Dortmund 1974. The dark squares around Black’s king are critically weak, and White found an accurate…
Puzzle no. 670
White to play. Harvey–Roberson, Northumbria Masters 2021. Black’s last move, 37…Kf7-e7 looked plausible, but walked into a clever tactic. What…
Puzzle no. 669
White to play. Swiercz–Xiong, Sinquefield Cup 2021. 1 Kxb2 allows a perpetual check. But forcing an exchange of queens would…
No. 668
Black to play. Geller–Sveshnikov, USSR Ch 1978. Geller’s last move, 34 Rb1-e1 looked clever, since Black cannot safely capture the…
No. 667
White to play and draw. The conclusion of an endgame study composed by J. Hašek (1951). Black is preparing a…
No. 666
White to play. Abdusattorov–Durarbayli, Sochi 2021. The endgame looks tricky, but White found a way to force a quick mate.…
No. 665
White to play. Adhiban–Delgado Ramirez, Sochi 2021. White has more than one good move, but Adhiban found a spectacular way…
No. 664
White to play. Greco–NN, 1620. The centre is a dangerous place for the king. Which move does White play to…
No. 663
White to play. A variation from Grandelius – Xiong, Fide World Cup, Sochi 2021. With an accurate queen check,White can…
No. 662
White to play and mate in two. Composed by Sam Loyd, Sunny South, 1885. Nearly all Black’s legal moves can…
No. 661
Black to play. Daggupati–Mishra, Charlotte 2020. 1…Rf1+ 2 Kg2 is a dead end, as White’s queen covers the f2 square.…
No. 660
White to play. So–Vachier-Lagrave, Paris, June 2021. The queen on e7 can be taken, but Black’s last move was …Rd8,…
No. 659
White to play. Gukesh–Yip, Gelfand Challenge, June 2021. White has strong pressure on the f-file, but which move forces a…
No. 658
Mammadzada — M. Muzychuk, May 2021. In this messy position, Black’s next move prompted instant resignation. What did she play?…
No. 657
Black to play. Vodopyanov–Kantsyn, 1974. Two bishops up, White appears to have everything covered. Which move allows Black to force…
No. 656
Black to play. Vocaturo–Gokerkan, May 2021. After a long defence, White’s last move 101 Nf1-e3 was a decisive error. Which…
No. 655
White to play, Kharlov–Ernst, Haninge 1992. Black’s last move, g6-g5 was a decisive mistake. Which move did White play to…
No. 654
White to play. Cochrane–Bonnerjee, 1852. Out of eight discovered checks with the knight on e6, Cochrane found the only one…
No. 653
White to play, Jones–Dominguez, New in Chess Classic, April 2021. Gawain Jones was hoping that his rook and pawn would…
No. 652
White to play and mate in two moves. Composed by Revd Ernest Clement Mortimer, The Problemist, 1942. Answers should be…
No. 651
White to play and mate in two moves. Composed by Henry William Butler. Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by…
No. 650
Black to play. Praggnanandhaa–Salimova, April 2021. White’s last move, Bg2-f3, was a blunder. Which move should Black play to exploit…
No. 649
White to play. Van Wely–Shimanov, March 2021. White has several tempting options here, but one move is much stronger than…
No. 648
Black to play. Livaic-–Oparin, Fide World University Online Championship, March 2021. After 1…Rxc5 2 Rxb4, a draw was soon agreed.…
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