Luke McShane is chess columnist for The Spectator.
Black to play. Erwin l’Ami–Luke McShane, Batumi, 2019. The pawn on e6 looks powerful, but White’s king is more vulnerable than it looks. What blow did I land? Answers should be sent to ‘Chess’ at The Spectator by Tuesday 12 November or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk. There is a prize of £20 for the first
‘If the ball came loose from the back of the scrum, which it won’t of course…,’ said Boris, about his prospects of becoming prime minister. Disingenuous or not, it’s surely not a job won by determination alone. One needs a little help from events. Despite a strong start, Wang Hao, from China, downplayed his
White to play. Dahl-Kolbus; Isle of Man, 2019. In this game between two Manx players, White had promoted a pawn earlier but finishing off the game is not easy. Here, Dahl found an elegant winning move. Can you do as well? Answers to ‘Chess’ at The Spectator by Tuesday 5 November or via email to
Impelled by his engineer’s mindset, the former world champion Mikhail Botvinnik wrote a short essay to answer a simple question: ‘What is a combination?’ I like his succinct conclusion, which certainly captures the essence: ‘A combination is a forced variation with a sacrifice.’ Like the fizz in champagne, the sacrificial element is the sine
Black to play. From Stepanov–Romanovsky, Lenin-grad 1926. Stepanov resigned two moves earlier, seeing that he would soon lose his queen. Romanovsky has just one winning move. Which one? Answers to ‘Chess’ at The Spectator by Tuesday 29 October or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out
White to play, Black to win. Shirov-Caruana from the Isle of Man. Caruana threatens 53… d1=Q 54.Qxd1 Qxb2 mate. Shirov resigned, rather than try 53.Bf7-b3 to block the b-file. What finishing touch had he foreseen for Caruana? Difficulty: Moderate. Answers via email to victoria@spectator.-co.uk by Tuesday 22 October. There is a prize of £20 for
‘Poor indoor air quality hampers cognitive performance significantly’, concluded a recent study in the IZA (Institute of Labour Economics). Of course, ‘fresh air is good for you’ fits squarely in the category of things you knew already, but the research was specifically about chess: ‘An increase in the indoor concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5)
White to play. The final game of the match between Radjabov and Ding. White’s safer king confers a huge advantage, but Radjabov finished with a flourish. What did he play? Difficulty: easy. Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 15 September or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk. There is a prize of £20 for the
‘Chess is a constant struggle between my desire not to lose and my desire not to think.’ I’m fond of that wry insight, neatly expressed by German grandmaster Jan Gustafsson. For a select few, such as the late, irrepressible Viktor Korchnoi, the desire not to lose burns through life like the Olympic flame. For the
Black to play. Here is my own tragedy, from Yuffa-McShane, Khanty-Mansiysk 2019. Needing a win, I tried 81 … Kg7-f7 to corral the knight, but it soon escaped. What should I have played instead? Difficulty: easy, but not for me! Answers via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk by Tuesday 8 October. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct
‘Visky,’ said the man driving the taxi. ‘Risky?’ ‘Visky.’ ‘Ah… whisky! Or vodka.’ I grinned as I got out. ‘Maybe see you last year,’ I ventured in bungled Russian. There was no bottle to hand, but my wounded ego was soothed by the prescription. I’d been freshly eliminated from the World