In my pantheon of heroes a particular place of honour is occupied by the hypermodern grandmaster Richard Réti, the first to adopt the double fianchetto since the days of Howard Staunton. Réti-Yates: New York 1924; Réti Opening (See diagram 1) 12 Rc2 This manoeuvre connected with this rook move must have struck onlookers as nothing
White to play. This position is from Van Foreest-Bortnyk, St Louis 2019. How did White break through on the kingside with a fine blow? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 1 October or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please
White to play. This is from Nguyen-Alekseenko, Khanty-Mansiysk 2019. White’s queen and rook are both attacked. How does he maintain material parity? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 24 September or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a
I am often asked which players I admire most and which grandmasters, writers and champions exerted the most influence on my own chess development. In general I was most impressed by the strategists and writers such as Richard Réti, whose games were brilliantly elucidated in an anthology by grandmaster emeritus Harry Golombek OBE, and Aron
The Hungarian/American grandmaster Pal Benko has died at the age of 91. Among his numerous distinguished achievements was his double qualification for the World Championship Candidates tournaments of 1959 and 1962, eight victories in the US Open, his invention of the Benko Gambit (1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 d5 b5) and his prowess as
White to play. This position is from Benko-Jeney, Budapest 1950. Benko has just sacrificed rook for knight. What is his idea? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 17 September or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal
Ding Liren, the Chinese grandmaster, has scored a career best in the Classical time limit section of the Grand Tour in St Louis which concluded late last month. Ding tied for first prize with world champion Magnus Carlsen in the main tournament, and then went on to crush the champion in the quickplay tie-break.
Black to play. This is from Carlsen-Ding, St Louis 2019. The black pieces are converging on the white king but he must deal with the threat of Qf8 mate. How did he do this while bringing his own attack to a conclusion? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 10 September or via email
Black to play. This is from Nepomniachtchi-Anand, St Louis 2019. How did Anand exploit his opponent’s lapse? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 3 September or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address and allow six
The classical section of the elite Grand Tour event in St Louis, which ended earlier this week, resembled a peace conference rather than a chess tournament. Well past the halfway stage, less than 10 per cent of the games had been decisive. Something must be done about this tendency and there are various solutions.
At St Louis, world champion Magnus Carlsen met with unexpected setbacks in both the rapid and blitz sections. In both cases his play was unusually lacklustre and his self-assurance seemed to crumble. I can’t imagine Capablanca, Alekhine, Botvinnik or Kasparov ever uttered such words about their own play as Carlsen did when he said: ‘Everything’s
White to play. This is from Aronian-Mamedyarov, St Louis 2019. We are only just out of the opening but White has a killing blow. What is it? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 27 August or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of
The German expression zugzwang means ‘compulsion to move’ and is most often seen in the endgame. Consider the following position on Diagram 1. It is Black to move. If Black were not obliged to move he could draw by waiting for White to play 1 c7+ Kc8 2 Kc6 with a draw by stalemate. Instead
White to play. This position is from Alekhine-Nimzowitsch, San Remo 1930. Can you spot the quiet move that puts black in zugzwang? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 20 August or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a
Mickey Adams won the British Championship, which finished last week in Torquay, for the seventh time. Leading scores (out of nine) were as follows: 1. Adams 7½; 2. Howell 7; 3= Haria and Palliser 6½; 5= Gordon, Tan and Houska 6. Jovanka Houska has now won the British Women’s Championship a record nine times.
White to play. This position is a variation from Adams-Pigott, Torquay 2019. How can White crash through to gain a winning position? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 13 August or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a
What distinguishes the expert from the amateur in chess is partly tactical fluency, but also the ability to map out long-term patterns, in other words to visualise a distant goal. Some champions were distinguished by their talent for rough-and-tumble tactics; among such illuminati one could mention Alekhine, Tal and Kasparov. Others, such as Capablanca, Reti, Nimzowitsch,
White to play. This position is from Capablanca-Lasker, Havana 1921. Capablanca was another great champion famed for his ability to plan. How did he finish off here? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 6 August or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of
White to play. This is from Giri-Mamedyarov, Croatia 2019. White is a piece down and needs a dramatic continuation. What did he play? Answers to me at The Spectator by Tuesday 30 July or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a
There are comparisons to be made between tennis and chess. Player X (aka White) serves. Player Y (Black) responds. The advantage of playing White in chess and serving in tennis are similar. Losing your serve is nearly as bad for a tennis player as losing with White is for a chess player. But some champions have