We’re going to do something for the next week that we’ve done once before: go through an entire game in stages. With puzzles you only get a snapshot of the end of the game. With this weeklong game you get to solve the decisions that had to be made to get to the final puzzle and concluding mating attack. Here were the first nine moves that arrived at our position-- 1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e6 4.Nf3 d5 5.e3 c6 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.0–0 0–0 8.Ne2 Nbd7 9.Ng5. What should Black’s move be here?

The first decision should have been an easy one. Just win a pawn. White refused the bishop after 9…Bxh2+ because he didn’t want to experience 10.Kxh2 Ng4+ 11.Kg1 Qxg5 where Black would seem to get easy access to the white king. Next time out we’ll see what Black had in mind to pursue the attack.

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