White to play. This is from Pacher-Radnai, Budapest 2016. How did White exploit a tactical opportunity to make a decisive material gain? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 10 May or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk or by fax on 020 7681 3773. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer
World champion Magnus Carlsen takes much inspiration from the games of the former champion Emanuel Lasker. Lasker and Carlsen share the ability to manoeuvre at length in approximately level positions, without letting the situation dry up and become devoid of winning prospects. Such a style does not always lead to attractive games, and some of
White to play. This is a position from Bjornsson-Sigurdsson, Iceland Team Championship 2016. How did White make the most of his passed pawn on f7? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 3 May or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk or by fax on 020 7681 3773. There is a prize of £20 for the
It is often asked how chess became so popular in the USSR. My answer is that most areas of creative thought were closely supervised by the state; literature, art and even music, as Shostokovich and Prokofiev found, were subject to government control. Shostokovich’s opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District was severely criticised by the Communist
White to play. This position is from Vallejo-Wynn, Bangkok 2016. White has sacrificed a rook and a bishop. He now has only one accurate move — a quiet move which generates an overwhelming attack. Can you see it? Answers by Tuesday 26 April via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk. There is a prize of £20 for the
The year 2016 is the anniversary of a number of significant events in the chess world. In 1946 Alexander Alekhine died in possession of the title, the only champion so to do. The following position is taken from Alekhine: Move by Move by Steve Giddins (Everyman Chess). Alekhine-Prat: Paris Simultaneous 1913 Alekhine concludes with a
Black to play. This is a position from Carbone–Slipak, Mar del Plata 2016. How can Black conclude? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 19 April or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk or by fax on 020 7681 3773. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please
Sergey Karjakin, who in 2002 became the world’s youngest-ever grandmaster at the age of 12 years and seven months, has won the Moscow Candidates tournament and has earned the right to challenge Magnus Carlsen for his world title later this year. It was thought the match would take place in New York, but given Karjakin’s
White to play. This is a variation from Aronian-Svidler, Moscow 2016. In this game Aronian misplayed his attack and Svidler ended up winning. The puzzle shows a possible conclusion if Svidler had defended inaccurately. How can White win? Answers via email to victoria@-spectator.co.uk by Tuesday 12 April. There is a prize of £20 for the
The internecine but friendly annual rivalry between the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, generously hosted last month by the Chess Circle of the Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall, resulted in an overwhelming 6-2 victory for the light blues. Cambridge now leads the longest-running chess series in the world with 59 wins. Oxford has 53 wins,
Black to play. This is from Pichot-Khismatullin, Moscow 2016. What was Black’s killing blow? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 5 April or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk or by fax on 020 7681 3773. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal
With the proliferation of modern opening theory and advances in knowledge of the game, I wonder sometimes if the kind of coruscating brilliance and originality that Mikhail Tal possessed will ever be seen again. Tal, the ‘Wizard of Riga’, was able to summon up lightning attacks from the most unpromising-looking positions. Last week we saw
White to play. This is from Karjakin-Nakamura, Fidé Candidates, Moscow 2016. Hikaru -Nakamura has just implemented an ingenious combination to win material, but he has not foreseen White’s counterattack. What has he missed? Answers via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk, by Tuesday 29 March. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of
The Candidates tournament to determine the challenger later this year to world champion Magnus Carlsen is now well underway in Moscow. Early indications favoured the former champion Viswanathan Anand, the new young talent Sergei Karjakin, and Lev Aronian, Olympiad gold medallist, all of whom scored in the opening rounds. The main victim of their initial
White to play. This position is a variation from Anand-Topalov, Fidé Candidates, Moscow 2016. White can capture the black bishop, but how can he do better? Answers by Monday 21 March via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address
The tournament at Bunratty is Ireland’s premier chess competition and has been for several years. This year’s event, to which I was invited as a guest to deliver the closing speech, attracted a powerful field including the former world title challenger Nigel Short and the former British champion Gawain Jones as well as grandmasters Peter
Black to play. This position is from Skulte-Pein, Bunratty 2016. Black’s queen is attacked. His next move didn’t force immediate capitulation but did set up a winning attack. What was it? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 15 March or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk. There is a prize of £20 for the first
On Saturday 5 March the 134th Varsity Match between the teams from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge takes place at the Royal Automobile Club, Pall Mall. As has become traditional, the annual clash between our premier academic institutions is supported by Henry Mutkin, the doyen of the RAC chess circle. The scores so far are
Black to play. This position is from Scibior-Chiu, Varsity Match 2013. Black now powered through into the white position. What was the key move? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 8 March or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk or by fax on 020 7681 3773. There is a prize of £20 for the first
Zurich has been the scene for the latest clash between the titans of chess. Over a mere four days in February, six elite grandmasters contested no fewer than three fast-time-limit all-play-all tournaments, with combined results leading to an overall victory for Hikaru Nakamura, fresh from his triumph in Gibraltar. Zurich was what might be termed
