ArcaMax

A wild game from 1926.

Here’s a dandy position as both sides are attacking the other person’s king. For White, it’s great as he has the move.

This is one of the most well-known attacking formations in chess. If you don’t know it, you should. It’s been around since the 1880s when Lasker defeated Bauer. Tarrasch later defeated Nimzovitch with this same set up. Of course, you have to see all the alternative moves Black would play and how you would meet them.

Here’s a nice attack from 1900, won by Ward over Downey in a South vs. North match in the UK. You might guess at the first move, but can you see it all the way through as White did?

Seeing that it is a day after a holiday for many, here are two hints: The placement of the white king should tell you what all of white's moves have to be. The black king eventually gets mated on the other side of the board!

Nona Gaprindashvilli beat the U.S.’s own Max Dlugy in 1987 by a decisive move here. What was it?

I felt like this should be a David Bronstein day. It’s a typical position in many of his brilliancies. He’s a piece down, and his queen and two rooks are all under attack. Naturally, he blows the guy off the board. Be Bronstein!!

This is another attack that requires some thought.

We have a bit of a chess lesson today and a whole game. What Shirov does against his opponent is very instructive. First, we see the way Black is now sneaking into the Philidor--through the Pirc Defense. Secondly, we see Shirov initiate an attack by gambiting a pawn. Then we reach the diagram for the final lesson. [Shirov-Klinova, Gibralter, ...

This is a composed study by K.A.L. Kubbel in 1936. White to Play and Win. White has black’s king on the rim and takes advantage of it.

C.J.S. Purdy, in Chess World magazine years ago, gave this diagram from an actual game. White went on to grab the pawn and mate with bishop and knight and king vs. king; however, for those of you a little rusty in that skill, you’ll be happy to know there’s a mate here!

We're going to finish our endgame studies with a composition by Grigoriev that looks about as real as you can get. One move wins here, while other just draw. This is why king and pawn endings are so important. Imagine how bad you would feel if you reached this position, drew the game and then found out you could have won! There are quite a few ...

So, which pawn do you push here?

This is an endgame that Grandmaster Lev Alburt showed a group of us decades ago. He needed to give us a few hints. You’re on your own here!

This is an endgame that shows how one move makes a difference. Try White first, then do Black. White first wins. Black first draws.

Although this looks like the last puzzle, it’s shifted over a bit, and that makes a difference! One bad move and White can blow a win here.

One of the truly elemental endgame positions of chess. With White to Play, it was composed as a study. With Black to Play, it was an actual game played in the Italian women’s championship in 1996. In both cases, White wins, but you have to know how!

This is a study by Krejcik from the early 20th century. I am very happy that my 14 year-old student, Amelie Chan, solved it instantly. I hope you adults can do the same!

Anand beat Lautier in 1997 with this gem of a move.

Time for a little concrete thinking. We won’t tell you what the result should be. Just know it’s white’s move. What would you do?