White to play and mate in two moves. Composed by Henri Gerard Marie Weenink in The Good Companion (1919). Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Tuesday 9 May. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address and allow six weeks for prize
White to play. Grandelius-Aabling Thomsen, Xtracon Open 2018. White has just one winning move. What did he play? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 1 May. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address and allow six weeks for prize delivery.
White to play and mate in two moves. Composed by Sam Loyd, The Musical World, 1859. Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 24 April. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address and allow six weeks for prize delivery. Last week’s solution 1
White to play. Volokitin-Kallai, Hungarian Team Ch 2018. Volokitin’s next move was a crushing blow. What did he play? Be careful – there are a couple of false trails here. Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 17 April. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include
Black to play. A variation from the game Ding–Nepomniachtchi, shown above. Only one move crowns the attack here. Which move should Black play? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 10 April. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address and allow
White to play and draw. Composed by A. Lifanov, 2002. The pawn on h4 looks unstoppable, but the draw is still within reach with an accurate sequence. What should White’s first move be? Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 3 April. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a
Black to play. Kobalia-Shevchenko, Serbia 2023. How did Black respond strongly to the attack on his queen? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 27 March. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address and allow six weeks for prize delivery. Last
Black to play. Ponomariov-Dragnev, Serbia 2023. Which move allowed Black to seize his chance on the queenside? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 20 March. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address and allow six weeks for prize delivery. Last
White to play. Iskandarov-Babazade, Azerbaijan2003. Which move allowed White to save the draw? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 13 March. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address and allow six weeks for prize delivery. Last week’s solution 1 Ke6!
White to play. Vallejo Pons-Santos Latasa, Leon 2018. The choice is between 1 Ke6 and 1 Rh8+. White calmly played the wrong one and Black resigned immediately! But which move wins the game? Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 6 March. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a
White to play. A variation from Roberson-Adams, Cambridge International Open 2023. Which move allows White to salvage a draw from this desperate situation? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 27 February. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address and allow
Black to play. Yakubboev-Kramnik, Airthings Masters 2023. White’s last move, Re7-e6, was a blunder, allowing Kramnik to land a decisive tactic. What did he play? Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 20 February. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address and allow
White to play and mate in two. This position was published in the Bonus Socius (The Good Companion), a treatise from the 13th century. Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 13 February. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address and
Black to play. Adhiban-Warmerdam, Tata Steel Challengers, 2023. Adhiban’s last move, Nd4-e6, prepared a series of checks, starting with Nxg7+. Warmerdam’s response was a rude awakening. What did he play? Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 6 February. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include
White to play. Bibisara Assaubayeva-Rakshitta Ravi, Delhi 2019. Assaubayeva is down a bishop for two pawns, but she had aimed for this position, foreseeing a knockout blow. Which move did she play? Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 30 January. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat.
White to play. Emory Tate-Alexander Shabalov, Curaçao 2006. With his next move, Tate brought his attack to a crisp conclusion. What did he play? Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 23 January. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address and allow six
White to play. Tartakower–Winter, Hastings, 1935. White’s next move required careful calculation, but William Winter resigned once he had seen it. What did Tartakower play? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 16 January. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address
White to play. Dubov-Sarin, World Rapid Championship, 2022. Dubov’s next move turned the attack up to 11, inducing instant resignation. What did he play? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 9 January. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address and
Black to play. Babula-Kovacevic, Bundesliga 2022. Black faces a fierce attack, but an extraordinary move won him the game. What did he play? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 2 January. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address and allow
White to play and mate in two. Composed by van Beek & Wurzburg, 1909. This is one of the problems solved by Nunn at the 2019 World Solving Championship. Please note that because of the Christmas printing schedule this is not a prize puzzle. Last week’s solution 1 Qxd3 and Black resigned: Qxd3 2 Rf7+
