Luke McShane is chess columnist for The Spectator.
White to play, Jones–Dominguez, New in Chess Classic, April 2021. Gawain Jones was hoping that his rook and pawn would cordon off Black’s king indefinitely. But here, at move 125, a surprising opportunity arose. What move should White have played? Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 17 May. There is a prize of £20 for
The rule of thumb for weighing up piece exchanges says that pawns are worth one, knights and bishops three, rooks five and queens nine. It is such a useful guideline that one can go a long way without ever questioning it, but strong players have a feeling for the limitations. The first diagram shows a
As round 14 of the Candidates tournament unfolded, I had the feeling of watching an anti-climactic post-exam bender. Ian Nepomniachtchi had already passed with distinction, wrapping up tournament victory with a round to spare. The Russian plays energetic chess, but part of his success in Yekaterinburg was surely attributable to tempering his impulses throughout the
White to play and mate in two moves. Composed by Revd Ernest Clement Mortimer, The Problemist, 1942. Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 10 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. Last
White to play and mate in two moves. Composed by Henry William Butler. Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 3 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. Last week’s solution 1…Ng6! traps
The Candidates tournament resumed on 19 April in Yekaterinburg. Eight players competed for a €500,000 prize fund, but only one prize mattered — first place, and the right to challenge Magnus Carlsen in a world championship match. It was Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi who triumphed — more on that next week. But the clash below, a
Black to play. Praggnanandhaa–Salimova, April 2021. White’s last move, Bg2-f3, was a blunder. Which move should Black play to exploit it? Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 26 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
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, at 15 years old one of India’s most exceptional young players, emerged as the winner of the Polgar Challenge, an online event between 20 of the world’s brightest talents which took place earlier this month. It was the opening event of the $100,000 Julius Bär Challengers Chess Tour, and Praggnanandhaa earned himself a
White to play. Van Wely–Shimanov, March 2021. White has several tempting options here, but one move is much stronger than the rest. Which one? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 19 April. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address and
Since the start of the pandemic, opportunities for serious competition between players ranked outside the world’s top 20 have been scarce. So there was a pent-up appetite for the European Online Club Cup, which took place at the end of March, with more than 500 players registered (including more than 150 grandmasters) across 91 teams.
Black to play. Livaic-–Oparin, Fide World University Online Championship, March 2021. After 1…Rxc5 2 Rxb4, a draw was soon agreed. Which move should Black have preferred? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 12 April. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal
Twenty players were disqualified from the Fide World University Online Championships, out of almost 900. Does that call for moral despair, righteous jubilation, or just a weary shrug? It is no revelation that policing the game has become a major challenge, made all the more urgent by the shift toward playing online. The first obstacle
White to play and mate in two moves. Composed by B.P. Barnes, Skakbladet 1961. Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 5 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…Qf5?
If you wish to unsettle your opponents, first attack them and second, play the moves quickly. It’s far from easy to pull it off, but nobody does it better than Ian Nepomniachtchi. Among the world’s best, ‘Nepo’ stands out for his aggressive play, made all the more dangerous by marshalling an element of bluff. Are
Black to play… and lose! Aronian–Van Foreest, March 2021. Van Foreest’s next move didn’t blunder his queen but was nonetheless a fatal error. Can you see what he played? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 29 March. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please
Have you ever played the Frankenstein-Dracula variation? The Monkey’s Bum? The Nescafé Frappé Attack? These are all real chess openings, and each has some merit. That is more than can be said for the Bongcloud, which begins with the moves 1 e4 e5 2 Ke2. This daft opening exploded in popularity last year when it
Black to play. Kosteniuk–Koneru, Skolkovo Grand Prix, 2019. The obvious 1…Kg3 fails to 2 Rg5+ Kf4 3 Rg4+. Losing the pawn looks inevitable, but Koneru found the only move to save herself. What did she play? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by 22 March. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct
I write this with a sunny feeling. That’s partly because spring is upon us, but mostly because I have just spotted one of those winsome coincidences which lifts the spirits with its serendipity. The first part of this delightful dyad occurred in the preliminary stage of the latest (and ongoing) Magnus Carlsen invitational event. Shakhriyar
White to play and mate in two moves. Composed by Philip Hamilton Williams, Birmingham Post, 1890. Answers should be emailed to chess@-spectator.co.uk by Monday 15 March. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address. Last week’s solution : 1 Qd5! Nc5+ 2 Ka2
In the 21st century, which country has won more international chess Olympiads than any other? Russia? USA? China? None of the above — it’s Armenia, which won gold three times (2006, 2008 and 2012). Despite a population of just 3 million, the country has a healthy number of top flight grandmasters, and Levon Aronian (the