Luke McShane is chess columnist for The Spectator.
White to play. Sindarov-Sarin, World Team Championship, Jerusalem 2022. Sindarov has an extra pawn and a dominant position. Which move did he play to ensure a quick knockout? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 5 December. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include
The young team from Uzbekistan, who took gold medals at the Olympiad in Chennai, came close to repeating that achievement at the World Team Championship in Jerusalem last month. They cruised through the group stage, quarters and semis, and met China in the final, who got there despite fielding none of their elite players, such as
White to play. Erigaisi-Mamedyarov, MeltwaterChampions Finals 2022. Erigaisi’s next move wrapped up the game in style. What did he play? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 28 November. 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
When Magnus Carlsen renounced his world championship title earlier this year, one of his stated goals was to focus on other events, without bearing the burden of preparation for a regular title match. The Meltwater Champions Tour is an important battleground for the Norwegian, and he showed devastating form at the Tour Finals in San Francisco
Black to play. Schwetlick-Lecroq, 32nd Correspondence World Championship. White’s last move, Qd1-b3, is a blunder that can’t have been endorsed by a computer. What did Black play to force resignation? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 21 November. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat.
‘In fact it is now conceded by all experts that by proper play on both sides the legitimate issue of a game ought to be a draw…’ Those words were written by Wilhelm Steinitz, who became the first world champion after beating Johannes Zukertort in 1886. But their 20-game match saw 75 per cent decisive games,
Black to play. Fedoseev-Carlsen, Fischer RandomWorld Championship, 2022. 1…Qd3, 1…Qc2 and1…Qh2 all create deadly threats, but only one ofthese wins. Carlsen chose wrongly. Which move should he have chosen? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 14 November. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please
The chess lexicon has adopted a useful word from German, fingerfehler, fehler meaning mistake or error. Sometimes, the hand does not obey the brain. Imagine that you are busy contemplating A, followed by B and then C, and engrossed by the consequences of C. Meanwhile, the hand is eager to get involved, and picks up the
Just a fortnight ago, I had the pleasure of introducing a friend to the ‘Immortal Waiting Game’, Michael Basman’s victory over the Swedish grandmaster Ulf Andersson, played at Hastings in 1975. Basman landed in a passive position out of the opening, and began to shuffle back and forth, so that at move 23 his pieces
White to play. Basman-Balshan, Israel 1980. How did Basman decide the game in his favour? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 7 November. 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
Chess players tend to fidget while they think. They crack their knuckles, stir their coffee, and bounce their legs. I have watched Boris Gelfand and Daniil Dubov twiddling a captured pawn in their fingers, with notable dexterity, despite being deep in thought. It’s a common tic, so when Sam Sevian reached out to pick up
White to play. Salov-Horvath, Groningen 1983. In this treacherous rook and pawn endgame, White found the only winning move. What did he play? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 31 October. 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. Mamedyarov-J. Polgar, Fide World Blitz, Dubai 2014. Black is lagging in development, and her last move, 10…Nb8-d7, gifted White a tactical opportunity. Which move won the game for White? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 24 October. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of
‘I can comprehend Alekhine’s combinations well enough; but where he gets his attacking chances from and how he infuses such life into the very opening – that is beyond me. Give me the positions he obtains, and I should seldom falter. Yet I continually get drawn games, even out of the King’s Gambit!’ Those words
White to play and mate in two. Composed by Bruce Leverett, Chess Life, 1968. What is White’s first move? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 17 October. 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
Vishy Anand’s eyes lit up as he described a beautiful variation from his game with Shakriyar Mamedyarov, played at the European Club Cup in Mayrhofen, Austria this month. The first diagram shows a variation which could arise if Mamedyarov had tried 33…Bg5!? 34 Rxc4 Bxe3+. (See left game) 35 Kf1 is tempting, since 35…Bxc4 36
Black to play. Giorgobiani-Sivanandan, Fide Cadets U8 Girls Championship, 2022. Black has a subtle winning move in this position. What is it? (The game continued 32…Rf1 33 Qd5 and Black won after a long fight.) Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 10 October. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct
Judit Polgar, the strongest female player of all time, conducted an enchanting interview in the commentary room during the Chennai Olympiad. Her interviewee was Charvi Anilkumar, an eight-year-old girl from Bangalore. Asked about her dreams and ambitions, she announced confidently, ‘I need to play in men’s section and I need to be a grandmaster, and
The latest flashpoint in the Carlsen-Niemann saga took place in the sixth round of the preliminaries at the Julius Baer Generation Cup, one of the online events in the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. Ten days earlier, 19-year-old Hans Niemann had beaten Magnus Carlsen over the board at the Sinquefield Cup. Carlsen’s shock withdrawal from that
Black to play and win. A variation from the game Aronian-Ivanchuk, Julius Baer Generation Cup, September 2022. Ivanchuk could have reached this position, where he can now win at least a knight by force. What should Black’s next move be? Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 3 October. There is a prize of £20 for