ArcaMax

White finds himself in trouble as Black threatens 1…f4 with a superior game; however, he finds a mating attack to subdue Black.

An instructional attack by Cordel against Schurig at Leipzig in 1870.

After a brief interlude with a composed problem, we will now return to our survey of classical attacks of yesteryear. In this game, the great Steinitz takes it on the chin from Rosenthal at London 1883.

Let’s take a time out from sparkling combinations for a sparkling mate in two composition which won a prize for E. Boswell in 1929.

There is nothing quite like your opponent threatening to mate you to get your own attacking juices flowing. Here, Duras, at Carlsbad in 1911, is being threatened with a mate in one by E. Cohn.

Adolf Anderssen was quite the attacking master. Here he finishes off Mayet even though White seems to be just about to consolidate.

I like to call this the “should have” game as both sides made decisive mistakes. Here’s the whole game so you can appreciate the fun. Our diagrammed position, though, has the position where White did play a brilliant move. What was that, and why?

I pulled an old tome--actually a two volume set--off my bookshelf filled with classic games played no later than 1912. So, we're going to do classic chess for a long time, as I renew my acquaintance with these gems of over a century ago. You will see a lot of these ideas played today, but to see the originators in action is special.

W.A. Shinkman was arguably our best U.S. composer (although Loyd fans might disagree). This pleasing symmetrical problem has asymmetry in its solution. Mate in three.

[Today, you have a full game to study, especially if you're a Nimzo-Indian player from either side. Two top ten in the world at that time go at it.] Our puzzle is more of a positional question than some mate in four. What would you do for move 13?

A hundred seven year old game with a different finish. From Scott-Anspach, London, 1913.

A note to our readers. I messed up the technological format this past week and several puzzles didn’t get in; however, they are now in the archive thanks to our tech guy, Sean. Just click on “Chess Puzzles” above and you can see them. Today’s puzzle is a dynamite finish leading to an Arabian Mate.

A great finish by Colle in 1930.

We will finish our little lesson on interference themes with a dandy double version—appropriately so, because H. Johner beat P. Johner with this mate in three back in 19005.

The genius puzzle composer, Sam Loyd, won this position in an actual game in 1868.

A strategy from puzzle composers comes into play here.

Sam Loyd will complete our week with a formation that becomes famous in puzzle lore: the two adjacent rooks flanked by their two bishops. Problemists would copy this formation to come up with some ingenious mates. We’ll start with an easy mate in two.

From endings to openings. Black gives a demonstration how not to play defense and White shows how to punish that:1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 f5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nc3 exd4 6.Qxd4 Bd7? [Better, but still dismal is 6...Nc6 7.Qe3 fxe4 8.0–0! Bf5 9.Ng5 d5 10.Rd1 d4 11.Qf4 Qd7 12.Nb5 0–0–0 13.Nf7] 7.Ng5 Nc6 8.Bf7+ Ke7

Pop Quiz Monday! Do you remember all those principles from the king and pawn endings early this past summer? Here's a study from Horwitz and Kling from the 19th century.

Here’s another adjudication decision for you to make. Is this a win? If so, for whom? Or is it a draw?