White to play. This is from Sadler-Speelman, 4NCL 2017. White is two pawns down in this endgame but all Black’s pieces are stuck on the back rank. White needs one accurate move to finish the game. Can you see it? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 15 May or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk.
The Grenke Chess Classic, played in Karlsruhe and Baden Baden, has been won by Fabiano Caruana, who also won the World Championship Candidates tournament in Berlin (see Chess, 21 April). In his most recent success Caruana finished ahead of the world champion, Magnus Carlsen, by a clear point. Although Carlsen must remain the favourite for
White to play. This is a possible variation from Meier-Carlsen, Grenke 2018. Meier could have forced a win in this game but missed his chance. What is White’s most accurate winning move? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 8 May or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk. There is a prize of £20 for the
The Vienna variation of the Queen’s Gambit is notable for a line in which the pieces conduct an elaborate dance around respective captures on opposite sides of the board. The variation has come into prominence as a result of a game from the recently concluded Berlin Candidates tournament. On the whole, in spite of the
Black to play. This position is from Bluebaum-Vitiugov, Grenke 2018. Can you spot Black’s amazing winning move? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 1 May or 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 and allow six
The Berlin qualifying tournament to determine the challenger to world champion Magnus Carlsen has ended in victory for the American grandmaster and Olympiad gold medallist Fabiano Caruana. Caruana will be the first homegrown American contender since the days of Bobby Fischer in 1972. The world championship match will take place in November in London. This
White to play. This position is from Karjakin-Caruana, Berlin 2018. This game was Caruana’s only reverse in Berlin. Karjakin now simplified down to a winning endgame. What was the key move? Answers via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk by Tuesday 24 April. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat.
The annual Hamilton-Russell competition for London Clubs has been won by the Royal Automobile Club, with the Marylebone Cricket Club in close contention. On Tuesday 17 April, the awards ceremony will take place in the Mountbatten Room of the Royal Automobile Club, Pall Mall, combined with the annual dinner for notables of the contesting teams. It
White to play. This is from Bluebaum-Anand, Grenke 2018. Anand has been having a rough time in the elite Grenke tournament. What was the subtle move that allowed his opponent to create intolerable pressure in this endgame? Answers via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk by Tuesday 17 April. There is a prize of £20 for the first
No, not the type of space travel allegedly enjoyed by the World Chess Federation president, Kirsan Ilumzinov, during his self-confessed encounters with aliens — rather, the control of space conferred by certain types of chess opening as explained in Opening Repertoire 1 e4 by Cyrus Lakdawala (Everyman Chess). The industrious and prolific Lakdawala presents a
White to play. This position is from Jones-Deac, European Team Championship, Batumi 2018. Can you spot White’s crushing breakthrough? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 10 April or 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 and allow
A match which has attracted less attention than it deserves was Luke McShane’s victory over David Howell in the final of the UK Knockout championship, which coincided with the London Classic last December. En route to the final, Luke eliminated both the reigning British champion Gawain Jones and England’s most celebrated grandmaster, Nigel Short.
White to play. This position is from a later game in the match, McShane-Howell, London 2017. How did White conclude his kingside attack? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 3 April or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include
Every so often a game is played which is worthy of joining the immortals in the pantheon of chessboard masterpieces. Anderssen v. Kieseritsky, London 1851, Zukertort v. Blackburne, London 1883, Botvinnik v. Capablanca, AVRO 1938; these are the jewels to which every chess player aspires. As Marcel Duchamp once observed: ‘not all artists are chess
Black to play. This position is a variation from today’s game Aronian-Kramnik, Berlin 2018. How can Black briskly conclude his kingside attack? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 27 February or 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
The three most important events in the World Chess Federation calendar are the World Championship match, the Olympiad and the Candidates tournament, all of them biennial. The last of these is now in progress in Berlin and the winner will go on to challenge Magnus Carlsen for the supreme title in London later this year. The first
White to play. This position is from Kramnik-Andreikin, Tal Memorial 2018. White now finished off quickly. What did he play? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 20 March or 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
This weekend the Candidates tournament commences in Berlin to decide the challenger who will face Magnus Carlsen for the world title in London later this year. The favourite is Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, with a rating of 2814, and this week’s puzzle shows a sample of his trenchant style. Although he is not the highest-rated, my money
White to play. This position is from Mamedyarov-Savchenko, Moscow 2015. White’s forthcoming tactic led to a decisive material gain. What did he play? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 13 March or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include
This year’s tournament at Bunratty in Ireland was the celebratory 25th in the series and I was invited to deliver the closing peroration. The competition was particularly stiff on this occasion, with British champion Gawain Jones sharing first prize with grandmaster Sergey Tiviakov, ahead of Nigel Short, Jon Speelman, Luke McShane and a host of other
