ArcaMax

White’s on the move, and he has lots to think about considering all the attention his king is getting from Black’s major pieces.

Here’s a typical isolated queen pawn middle game position. What would you play here?

A nice little Tal finish once more. He has both his rooks hanging, but it doesn’t faze him.

Mikhail Tal, who arguably was the greatest chess player ever, made it all look easy at times. Here’s a finish against Benko in 1964. OK, be the former world champion!

That White pawn on g7 seems to have wandered too far into the enemy camp. What can White do to help the little guy out?

This is a little longer than usual, but the logic of White’s attack is very attractive. From Neishtadt-Gipslis, Riga, 1955.

If you have been with us a while, this should be a piece of cake. If you don’t get this, then best study its lessons. It occurs not infrequently.

A nice finish by Chigorin in 1874.

Continuing our tactical alertness in the opening series with a game from a young Karpov as Black. He spots a way to win a piece.

Continuing our tactical alertness in the opening series.

Which is more important—an exposed king or an exposed queen in the opening?

The Ruy Lopez is considered more of a strategic than a tactical opening, but here we have some tactics from a tactical era—Mayet-Anderssen, Berlin, 1851. It’s a cavalcade of errors, so enjoy the whole game.

In continuing our adventure into tactical alertness in the opening, what should White do here against Black’s triple threat on c3?

The Two Knights Defense is tricky and dangerous for both sides! Here in Guszev-Vojnikovcs, Moscow, 1950, White is threatening a devasting discovered check, but Black has another idea about how this should end.

White has badly handled this opening coming out of the Two Knights’ Defense, as his pieces lined up from a1 to e1 testify. You might see Black’s next move, but can you see this mate in five all the way to the end?

Since both sides need to complete development, this is late opening, yet early middle game. In order for you to take credit for seeing all this, you should be able to see this attack for at least the first six moves!

We’ve spent a lot of time recently on endgames and middle games, so it’s time to go to opening country to see how alert you are to the nuances of the opening. For example, after these opening moves of the Alekhine Defense, Black has just checked on b4 after 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 e6 4. c4 Bb4+ . How should White meet the check?

Judit Polgar once found herself threatened with a mating attack on g2 during a simultaneous exhibition. What did she play to defend herself?

Judit Polgar, the strongest ever woman player, tells a story from her youth when she sacrificed a lot of material to get to this almost final mating position. However, much to her chagrin, her opponent found a saving move. What was it?

This is a mate in three composition created by a practical player, Aron Nimzovich. As such, he ignores a certain unwritten “first move rule problem” composers have. If you’ve been a reader here for a while, that should be a big hint.