Black to play. This position is from Shirov-Nakamura, Zurich 2016. Black is winning easily but now finished with a fine geometrical concept. What was the key move? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 1 March or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk or by fax on 020 7681 3773. There is a prize of £20
The 14th Tradewise tournament at Gibraltar ended in a triumph for the American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura. Naka, as he is affectionately known, tied on points with the leading French representative, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, but in the obligatory playoff, the American nosed ahead to take the £20,000 first prize. Gibraltar, under the auspices of chess-loving hotelier Brian
White to play. This position is from Anna Muzychuk-Salem, Gibraltar Masters 2016. How did White conjure up a decisive material gain? Answers to The Spectator by Tuesday 23 February 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
The world champion is back on form. After winning the overall laurels in last year’s Grand Tour, and taking first prizes on tie break at both London and Qatar in December, Carlsen secured a convincing and outright triumph at the Tata Steel elite tournament in Wijk aan Zee, Holland, last month. His margin of victory
White to play. This position is from Van Wely-Carlsen, Wijk aan Zee 2016. Carlsen had a lucky escape in this game as White could have forced this position. How can he now finish off? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 16 February or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk. There is a prize of £20
White to play. This position is from Alekhine-Flohr, Bled 1931. White has a positional advantage but can you spot the crushing tactical blow? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 9 February 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
Alexander Alekhine was one of the immortals of the chessboard — world champion from 1927, when in an epic war of attrition at Buenos Aires 1927 he had wrested the championship from Capablanca, until 1935, and again from 1937 until his death in 1946. His victories at the tournaments of San Remo 1930 and Bled
This week I conclude my homage to the great Estonian grandmaster Paul Keres, who was born a century ago this month. The game I have selected to round off my tribute is an incendiary victory against the red czar of Soviet chess, Mikhail Botvinnik. In their earlier clashes Botvinnik reeled off a series of wins,
White to play. This is from Keres-Mardle, Hastings 1964. How did Keres ignite his attack? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 2 February 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
The news that the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia has issued a fatwa against the game of chess should come as no surprise. There has always been a chequered history of relations between Islamic clerics and practitioners of the world’s most popular board game. Abdul-Aziz ibn Abdullah Al ash-Sheikh is the most powerful Sunni religious figure
Paul Keres, the Estonian grandmaster and many times world championship contender, was born a hundred years ago this month. His record against world champions was very impressive: he defeated all nine in sequence from Capablanca to Bobby Fischer. Keres was probably the strongest player, pace Nimzowitsch, Rubinstein and Korchnoi, never to have won the world
White to play. This position is from Keres-Spassky, Gothenburg 1955. Can you spot White’s crushing blow? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 26 January 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
An excellent recent article by Dominic Lawson in Standpoint magazine reminded me of the greatness of Paul Keres. The Estonian grandmaster,whose centenary falls this month, was silver medallist in no fewer than four world championship Candidates tournaments. (I will be writing about him next week.) Another illustrious player (one with the same first name) is
White to play. This is from Fischer-Benko, US Championship, New York 1963. The obvious 1 e5 is successfully parried by 1 … f5. What did Fischer do instead? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 19 January or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk or by fax on 020 7681 3773. There is a prize of £20 for
The London Classic, the end of the million-dollar Grand Tour, was something of a damp squib. A surfeit of draws meant the event largely boiled down to who was most effectively able to despatch the cellar dwellers Anand and Topalov. Top scores out of nine were as follows: Carlsen, Giri and Vachier-Lagrave 51/2 each, Aronian
Black to play. This is a variation from Carlsen-Grischuk, London Classic 2015. Carlsen won but this week’s puzzle shows how he could have gone wrong. Black has two ways to win immediately. Can you find both key moves? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 12 January or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk. There is
As the new year begins, I pay a final tribute to the city financier Jim Slater, who did so much to support British chess and who was instrumental, with Henry Kissinger, in rescuing Bobby Fischer’s challenge against Boris Spassky from Reykjavik 1972. Slater offered £50,000 to increase the World Championship prize fund, created awards and prizes
Black to play. This position is from Wright-Keene, Slater Tournament, Southend 1968. Black’s next move destroyed the white kingside and led to a quick win. What did he play? We regret that because of the Christmas printing schedule, this is not a prize puzzle. Last week’s solution 1 Qxh7+
By the time this article appears, the London Classic at Olympia and the newly created brainchild of the indefatigable Malcolm Pein, the introduction of the British Knockout Championship, will have been underway for some time. The prize fund in the Classic is $300,000, this being part of the new global Grand Chess Tour which has
White to play. This position is from Fernandez-Jackson, Aberystwyth 2014. White brilliantly exploited the draughty position of the black king with a fine combination. Can you spot the key move? We regret that because of the Christmas printing schedule, this is not a prize puzzle. Last week’s solution The Queen sacrifice 1 Qxh7+ is the key