ArcaMax

A clever mating attack.

I’m taking a game from my latest Openings for Amateurs book—the last in a trilogy. Openings for Amateurs: Theory vs. Practice won Book of the Year (instructional category) from the Chess Journalists of America for 2025. The explanatory notes took almost five pages, so I’m just giving one of the key positions; however, here is the whole ...

This is from a very famous game at New York, 1924, where US Champ Frank Marshall comes up with an attack for the ages. We are giving the whole game because it’s worth playing over. The brilliant moves start earlier than the diagram, so you should look at the previous moves for a real learning experience. Here’s how it started. 1.d4 Nf6 2....

It’s Friday. Are you ready for a long think about an extended attack on your opponent leading to mate?

A bit of a change of pace. We haven’t done a composed mate in three in a while. There are very few pieces on the board, so you have a fighting chance.

When your opponent makes an error in the opening, you have to be alert to punishing that mistake right away. After 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 (A popular choice in recent years, usually combined with follow up moves like Nbd7, Nf6, Be7 and a well-timed c5. Black now shows what not to do.) 4.Nxe4 Bd6 5.Bd3 Ne7 6.Bg5 0–0?? SEE DIAGRAM Normally, ...

Today is a different type of puzzle. The diagram is an actual position between grandmasters after White’s 6th move. Can you figure out what moves were played to get to this position?

Alertness in the middle game is our theme today. After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.Bxc6+ bxc6 6.d4 exd4 7.Qxd4 f6 8.c4 g6 9.Nc3 Nh6 10.0–0 Nf7 11.b3 Bg7 12.Bb2 0–0 13.Rad1 Qe7 14.h3 f5 SEE DIAGRAM and now what should White’s plan be?

Last time out, I showed you a finish to a 5-minute game I played. From the same game, I had an earlier opportunity to play a much better move. After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Nc3 (The Boden-Kieseritsky Gambit)Nxc3 5.dxc3 Bd6 A surprise and not good, but what to do with the clock ticking. I decided to just castle here and then attack, but I...

From a 5-minute game I played yesterday. With a few minutes or seconds left on the clock in any 5-minute game, it becomes important to recognize quickly mating patterns. In this position, the importance of the pin on the f7 pawn is crucial.

Here we have an example of Black playing the first moves well and achieving equality, but then he starts to go astray with the usual result. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 d5 4.Qa4 f6 5.Bb5 Nge7 6.exd5 Qxd5 7.0–0 Bd7 8.d4 e4? (the first mistake-best was 8...exd4 9.cxd4 Ne5) 9.Nfd2 Ng6 10.Bc4 Qa5?? (the second mistake-best was 10...Qh5) 11.Qb3 f5 12....

Chess games are not infrequently decided by one player not paying attention to little details that are actually a big deal. This game is an example of that. It starts out calmly enough. 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.e3 Bf5 5.cxd5 cxd5 6.Nc3 e6 7.Ne5 Nbd7? [But here we have a mistake. Black needed to play 7...Nfd7 8.g4 Bg6 with an equal game, but ...

The particular line Black chose through move ten is still very popular. On move 11, however, he shuts out his bishop to give a square for his queen, and it starts to go downhill.

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Nbd7 6.Nf3 Be7 7.Nxf6+ Nxf6 8.Bd3 b6 9.0–0 Bb7 10.Qe2 0–0 11.Rad1 c6? 12.Ne5 Qc7 13.Qe3 Nd5 (Better was 13...c5 14....

Here are the opening moves of a game that are familiar to most players up to move seven. Then it gets interesting-- 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.Nc3 0–0 6.Bg5 h6 7.h4? hxg5! 8.hxg5 Ng4 9.g6 Nxf2?? (See the diagram) Black falls into the trap. Always look for the freeing move d5 in any 1.e4 e5 game 9...d5 10.Bxd5 Bxf2+ 11.Kf1 Be6 and ...

The Classical French is known as a tough nut to crack, but White does a demolition job on it. The game starts with 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Be7 6.Bxf6 Bxf6 7.Nf3 0–0 8.c3 Nd7 9.Bd3 b6 10.h4 h6 11.Qc2 Bb7 12.0–0–0 Rc8 13.Kb1 Qe7 14.g4 g5? 15.hxg5 hxg5 and now we reach our diagram. How do you continue the attack?

Here’s a Stonewall Attack for your enjoyment. 1.d4 d5 2.e3 e6 3.Bd3 Nf6 4.Nd2 Bd6 5.f4 Nc6 6.c3 Ne7 7.Nh3 0–0 8.0–0 Bd7 9.e4 dxe4 10.Nxe4 Ng6 11.Nxf6+ gxf6 12.f5 exf5 13.Bxf5 Bxf5 14.Rxf5 Kh8 15.Qh5 Rg8 and now our diagram.

This game has barely gotten underway and White is ahead in development, yet the game is essentially over.

This position is from 1841, from a Muzio Gambit, which early in the opening sacrifices a piece for an attack. Here we are in a middle game where White is still a piece down and the queens have been exchanged. Yet there is still a mating attack. Have at it!