ArcaMax

This position is from the Candidates tournament in 2016 in Moscow. Anand won from Topalov in this position. How did he do it?

If you have learned the almighty rule that bishops of opposite color endings are drawn, you should be aware that there are quite a few exceptions to that rule. Here’s one.

You may not get this whole attacking line, but after you look at the answer, run it through your head as you look at the diagram. Stop when you can see it all. Good brain exercise!

A very famous position in chess history. Chess genius Paul Morphy played one move here in 1857 and his opponent, Marache, resigned on the spot.

Can you detail a kingside attack here? Write down how you would go about it and then see what Short did against Ravikumar in 1979.

At Ferrara, in 1952, Porreca vs. DelVecchio demonstrated a fine kingside attacking idea.

In Milev-Ivanov, Bulgaria, 1952, Milev took advantage of Black’s minor pieces admiring the queen on d8.

At Gronigen, in 1946, Szabo gave Kotov an unpleasant surprise in this position. What was it?

There are two ways to encourage Black to resign with either move. Find both!

Here’s a real weekend puzzler for you. The very talented and imaginative British GM, Simon Williams, uncorks a magnificent kingside mating attack. Set up a board, spend some time on this and write your notes down. Then compare it with what Williams did. THEN, set it up again and see if you can do the whole attack in your mind. It’s great for...

If you learned the pattern from Monday, that had the necessary elements to solve today’s puzzle.

Every chess coach shows the young chess student this mating pattern. There is a reason for us showing it to you today because of what we will show you on Wednesday. So, remember the pattern!

If you’ve been with us a while, the first move should be an easy guess, but can you see it all the way to the end?

This position, won by Arencibia in Cuba in 2006, will require some thought, but at the same time the first, and winning move, just follows one of the basic rules of thumb of chess.

Sometimes winning is so simple. From Mikhalevski-Wojtkiewicz, Lake George 2005.

This question arose in the game Pilnik-Olafsson, Reykjavik, 1956. Black has several checks and an easy draw. Should 1…Qf4+ be the check he chooses to try for a win? If yes or no, what will happen after that?

If you understood the point of the last puzzle, you should find it easier to deal with this position from an actual game, Colle-Gruenfeld, Carlsbad, 1929.

Just a few men on the board, but do take time to think. White can win.

This is our last bishop and knight mating theme. Hopefully, you should get this one fairly quickly, having learned from the other two.

Our second example of the same theme from Monday