ASWERS FOR CHAPTER 1 39

d2 'i xf1 25 lxf+ e8 26 .xf1

and the threat of lxh7 is too much for
Black) 23 .d8 ! ! and Black is busted.
22 lxgS lc7 23 .g7+?
A shame. The ideal conclusion
would have been 23 .h5 ! 1xa2 24
.g7+ re7 25 .f6+ <f8 26 exf7 !
:xn 27 .g7+ e8 28 lxf7 <d8 29
.f6+ and White delivers mate. After
this mistake, Black is still alive.
23 ... e8 2 exf7+ (D)
24 ... rd7?
Black returns the favour. 24 . . . lxf7!
keeps Black in the gae after 25 .h5
'i c5 ! (but not 25 . . . b3? 26 .c3 ! 'i c5
27 lg8+ re7 28 lxf7+ re6 29 lf6+
rd7 30 lg7+ and White mates again)
26 lf3 lc8.
25 .g4+ e7 26 .f6+
Finally White maes his frst back
wad move of the gae!
26 ... 8 27 lg8+ rx7 28 lg7+
<e8 29 .h5+ lf7 30 lxf7 1-0
Puzzle 30
Bagirov - Gufeld
Kirovabad 1973
( 1 d4 g6 2 c4 .g7 3 lc3 d6 4 e4
lf6 5 f 0-0 6 .e3 lc6 7 lge2 lb8
8 'i d2 a6 9 .h6 b5 1 0 h4 e5 1 1 .xg7
xg7 1 2 h5 qh8 1 3 ld5 bxc4 14
hxg6 fxg6 1 5 'i6 lh5 1 6 g4 lxb2
17 gxh5 g5 1 8 lg 1 g4 1 9 0-0-0 lxa2
20 lef4 exf4 21 lxf4 lxf4 22 'i xf4
c3 23 .c4 la3 24 fxg4 lb4 25 b 1 )
Gufeld played an impobable move:
25 ... .e6! !
This uses te motif of line-vacation
to enable the black queen to enter te
attack, and gains an important tempo
by attackng the c4-bishop.
26 .xe6 ld3!
Here' s a second example of line
vacation, with the b-fle being cleaed
for the black queen. I guess it gos
without saying, but here Black has to
be very accurate; 26 . . . ld5? seem
ingly achieves the sae a, but fol
lowing 27 exd5 'ib8+ 28 rc2 'i b2+
29 d3 c2+ the white kng has the
e4-squae at his disposal.
27 'f7
Now 27 lxd3 'ib8+ leads to mate
after 28 c2 'ib2+ 29 d1 la1 +.
27 .. 'ib8+ 28 .b3
O 28 c2 lb4+ 29 b1 ld5+ 30
c2 la2+ 31 <d3 'ib5#.
28 ... lxb3+ 29 rc2 (D)
Now comes the fnal combination
in Gufeld' s ' Imorl Gae' . At fst
40 THE MOST AANG CHESS MOVES OF ALL TIME
it looks as if the white king may be
able to sneak away, but in fact Black
ha a forced checkmate in eight moves.
29 lb4+! ! 30 'xb3
30 c1 delays the inevitable by one
move: 30 . . . lb1 +! 3 1 xb1 ld5+ 32
c2 'b2+ and so on.
30 ld5+ 31 c2 'i b2+ 32 <d3
'ibS+ 0-1
The concluding moves would have
been 33 c2 ' e2+ 34 b3 'b2+ 35
c4 'b5#.
Puzzle 3 1
Glucksberg - Najdorf
Warsaw OL 1935
( 1 d4 f5 2 c4 lf6 3 lc3 e6 4 lf3
d5 5 e3 c6 6 id3 id6 7 0-0 0-0 8 le2
lbd7 9 lg5 ixh2+ 10 h1 lg4 1 1
f4 ' e8 1 2 g3 1h5 1 3 g2 ig1 14
lxg1 1h2+ 1 5 f3)
1S .. e5! !
This is not that difcult to see, but
very nice all the same. By playing
. . . e5, Black unleashes all the potential
in his positon. With the threat of . . . e4+
looming, the pawn must be taken.
16 dxeS ldxeS+ 17 fxeS lxeS+
18 f4 lg6+ 19 <f3
So fa it's been all forced. Now how
does Black proceed?
19 f4!
Of course. Black opens attackng
lines for the f8-rook and c8-bishop.
20 exf4
After 20 ixg6 Black lures the king
onto a fatal squae wit 20 . . . ig4+! 21
xg4 1xg3+ 22 h5 hxg6+ 23 xg6
lf6+ 24 h5 lh6#.
20 ig4+! 21 xg4
There' s no mate after 21 e3 ixd1 ,
but of course Black is clealy winning.
21 . le5+! 22 fxeS hS# (0-1)
Puzzle 32
Alekhine - Prat
Paris simu/ 1913
( 1 d4 d 2 lf3 !c6 3 c4 e6 4 lc3
dxc4 5 e3 lf6 6 ixc4 ib4 7 0-0
ixc3 8 bxc3 0-0 9 1c2 le7 10 ia3
c6 1 1 e4 h6 1 2 lad1 id7 1 3 le5 le8
14 f4 'c7 1 5 f5 lad8 1 6 lxf7 xf
17 e5 leg8 1 8 id6 1c8 1 9 ' e2 b5
20 ib3 a 21 lde1 a4)
Alekhine announced mate in 10
moves:
22 'ihS+! !
Defecting the f6-knight, thus set
ting up a powerful double check.
22 ... ls 23 fxe6++ <g6 2 ic2+
gS 25 lfS+ g6
So fa it has all been forced, but
here Black has two other options, bot
leading to the inevitable mate:
a) 25 . . . g4 26 h3+ g3 27 le3+
h4 28 le4+ lf4 29 lexf4+ g3 30
lg4#.
b) 25 . . . h4 26 le4+ lf4 27
lexf4# .
26 lf6++ gS 27 lg6+ h4
Alternatively, 27 . . . f4 28 le4+
f5 29 leg4#.
28 le4+ lf4 29 :f4+ <hS 30 g3
and 3 1 lh4# follows.
Puzzle 33
Alekhine - Gofmeister
Petrograd (ods game) 1917
1 b6! !
Of course Black' s ' threat' is ig
nored!
1 ... lxd6
This looks obvious enough, but in
fact Black has an exta defensive ty in
the for of 1 . . . axb6 2 cxb6 ' xg2+!
(defecting the c2-rook) 3 lxg2 lxd6
4 b7+ lxb7 5 axb7+ lxb7, which at
ASWERS FOR CHAPTER 1 41
first sight looks drawn. However,
White can exploit the slight weakess
of the black king to win: 6 :a2+ <b8
7 ia7+! <c7 (or 7 . . . <a8 8 :ba3 ! ) 8
d6+ c6 9 :a6+.
2 cxd6! ! :ec7
There ae many other tes for Black,
but nothing works:
a) 2 . . . :xc2 3 b7+ :xb7 4 axb7+
<b8 5 ixa7+! ad White mates in two
more moves.
b) 2 . . . lb8 3 b7+! .
c) 2 . . . axb6 3 :xc8+ qa7 4 dxe7
ixe7 (Alekhine points out that neiter
4 . . . 'i f4+ nor 4 . . . 'i e5+ helps, because
the queen still falls to a discovered
check) 5 ixb6+ xa6 6 :a8+ b7 7
ie3+ and White wins.
d) 2 . . . ic7 ! (the best chance) 3 b7+
b8 4 dxc7+ :exc7 5 :xc7 ! 'i f4+
(or 5 . . . :g8 6 :c2 and Black has no
good way to meet the idea of qh1 and
ih2) 6 <h 1 'xe? 7 ih2 1xh2+ 8
<xh2 and White wins.
3 b7+ b8 4 d7! ! (D)
This position certainly deserves a
diagra. Poor Black! If only he were
allowed to remove either rook from c7
or c8 he would be winning.
4 .. 'g3+ 5 h1! 1-0
Puzzle 34
R. Byrne - Fischer
USA Ch (New York) 196314
( 1 d4 lf6 2 c4 g6 3 g3 c6 4 ig2 d5
5 cxd5 cxd5 6 lc3 ig7 7 e3 0-0 8
lge2 lc6 9 0-0 b6 10 b3 .a6 1 1
ia3 :e8 1 2 'i d2 e5 1 3 dxe5 lxe5 14
:fd1 ld3 15 1c2 lxf 1 6 xf
lg4+ 17 g1 lxe3 1 8 1d2)
Now Fischer stunned his opponent
with:
18 lxg2! !
Byrne was expecting the more ob
vious 1 8 . . . lxd 1 1 9 :xd 1 , but this
would have been fne (and perhaps
even advantageous) for White. The
brilliant idea behind 1 8 . . . lxg2 is to
remove White's light-squae contol
aound his own king. The bishop is a
key defender and now it's gone, leav
ing the white king extemely vulnera
ble.
19 <xg2 d4!
The next stage of the operation is
to clea the lines so that the black bish
ops can rake the boad. Slowly but
surely, Fischer's idea becomes more
obvious.
20 lxd4 ib7+ 21 n
There is no defence for White; for
example:
a) 21 g1 ixd4+ 22 'i xd4 :e1 +!
23 <f 'i xd4+ 24 :xd4 :xa1 and
Black is the exchange up.
b) 21 f 1d7 ! and now:
b1) 22 :ac1 'h3 23 lf3 ih6 24
'i d3 .e3+ 25 'i xe3 :xe3 26 xe3
:e8+ 27 <f 'if5 ! , winning the knight
on f3.
b2) Fischer doesn' t mention 22
lce2, but Black wins easily after
22 . . . 1h3 23 lf3 (or 23 <e1 1xh2 24
'ib2 .a6) 23 . . . ixa1 , when both 24
42 THE MOST AAING CHESS MOVES OF ALL TIME
leg1 tf5 25 lxa1 :adS 26 'ib2
ld3 and 24 lxa1 lad8 25 'c2 1e6
end White' s resistance.
21 ' d7! (D)
0- 1
Just as the watching GMs were pre
dicting a white victory, Byrne sud
denly thew in the towel. Fischer was
"bitterly disappointed" by this resig
nation, which prevented a fashy con
clusion wit 22 'f (or 22 lb5 'h3+
23 g1 ih6 and . . . ie3+) 22 . . . 1h3+
23 g1 le1+! ! 24 lxe1 ixd4, and
mate on g2.
Puzzle 35
Hodgson - Agdestein
Lndon 1986
( 1 g3 d5 2 lf3 lf6 3 ig2 c6 4 d3
h6 5 b3 if5 6 ib2 e6 7 tbd2 ic5 8
e4 dxe4 9 dxe4 lxe4 1 0 lxe4 1 xd 1 +
1 1 lxd1 ixe4 12 ixg7 lh7 13 if6
ie? 14 ixe7 <xe7 15 ld2 la6 1 6
e2 lhh8 17 e3 f5 18 lhd1 lb4
1 9 :d7 + <if6 20 c4 lxa2)
21 le5! !
This entertaining move uses the
kight as a decoy to lure the black king
onto a hazadous squae.
21 . xe5
This is Black's only real option, as
after 21 . . . ixg2 22 f4! lhf8 23 lxb7
White theatens a deadly doubling of
the rooks on the seventh rank, while
also the piece can be recovered by
ld2. Following 23 . . . c5 24 lh7 id5
25 cxd5 lc3 26 la1 lxd5+ 27 <if3,
White's dominating bind cannot be
broken.
22 :r7 .dS?
Under very difcult circumstances,
Black makes a decisive eror. John
Nunn points out that Black can use a
diferent and more successful interfer
ence theme with 22 . . . if3 ! (prevent
ing 23 f4#). After 23 ixf3 lhd8 24
:xb7 Nunn assesses the position as
only slightly better for White.
23 cS!
The point. White need not take the
bishop, but instead covers the d6
fight-squae.
23 f4+
This allows mate in one, but by now
Black is lost in any case. It is too late
for 23 . . . if3. After 24 ixf3 lc3 25
ld6 lhd8 26 ig2 td5+ 27 ixd5
lxd6 28 ic4! Black cannot prevent
mate.
24 gxf4# (1-0)
Puzzle 36
Larsen - Petrosian
Santa Monica 1966
( 1 e4 c5 2 lf3 lc6 3 d4 cxd4 4
lxd4 g6 5 ie3 ig7 6 c4 lf6 7 lc3
lg4 8 ' xg4 lxd4 9 1d 1 le6 10
1d2 d6 1 1 ie2 id7 1 2 0-0 0-0 1 3
lad1 ic6 14 ld5 le8 15 f4 lc7 1 6
f5 la6 17 ig4 lc5 1 8 fxg6 hxg6 1 9
1f :f 20 e5 ixe5 21 'h4 ixd5
22 :xd5 le6 23 lf3 if6 24 1h6
ig7)
ASWERS FOR CHAPTER 1 43
White must be quick since, for ex
aple, the reteat 25 1h4? can b an
swered by 25 . . . f5, after which there is
no clea way to continue the attack. In
stead, Lasen sacrifced his queen:
25 'i xg6! ! f4
Alternatively:
a) 25 . . . c7 allows mate after 26
'i xg7+ xg7 27 lg5+ h6 28 lh3#.
b) 25 . . . fxg6 26 .xe6+ h7 (afer
26 . . . lf7 27 lxf7 we have the game
continuation, at move 28) 27 lh3+
.h6 28 .xh6 lf5 29 lxf5 gxf5 30
if! and there is no defence to the
idea of .f8#.
26 lxf4 fxg6 27 .e6+ lf7
O 27 . . . h7 28 lh4+ .h6 29 .xh6
lf5 (29 . . . g5 30 lxg5 'ib6+ 3 1 c5 !
and White wins) 30 lxf5 gxf5 3 1 .f7
e5 32 lh3 and once again White will
mate with if8+.
28 lxf7 h8
After 28 . . . .e5 29 lf5+ h8 30
lfxe5 White ends up well aead on
material.
29 lg5! b5 30 :g3 1-0
Puzzle 37
Anand - Lautier
Biel l997
( 1 e d5 2 exd5 1xd5 3 c3 1a5 4
d4 f6 5 f3 c6 6 .c4 .f5 7 e5 e6
8 g4 .g6 9 h4 bd7 1 0 xd7 xd7
1 1 h5 .e4 1 2 lh3 .g2 1 3 le3 b6
14 id3 ld5 1 5 f3 ib 1 6 f .xc3
17 bxc3 txc3 18 lb1 1xd4 19 :xb7
ld8 20 h6 gxh6)
21 -g6! !
A fantastic move. This discovered
attack means that bot queens ae at
tacking each other, while the bishop
can also b captured.
21 ... e7
Black has no good defence; e. g. :
a) 21 . . . 1xe3+ 22 .xe3 fxg6 23
.c5 and White wins comfortably.
b) 21 . . . 1f6 22 .xf7+ 'xf 23
lxf7 xe3 24 1xd8+! (24 'e2 1 +
is not so clea) 24 . . . xd8 25 .xe3
ih3 26 :xa7 and the terible position
of Black's bishop makes this an easy
win for White.
c) Afr 2l . . . txdl we see te main
point of White' s 21 st move. Afer 22
lxe6+ f8 23 .xh6+ <g8 24 .xf#
it' s checkmate.
22 1xd4 :xd4 23 ld3!
The easiest win. Black' s trapped
bishop fnally decides the issue.
23 . ld8 2 ld8+ xd8 25 .d3
1-0
Puzzle 38
Alatortsev - Boleslavsk
USSR Ch (Moscow) 1950
( 1 d4 f6 2 c4 d6 3 l3 e5 4 e4
exd4 5 1xd4 c6 6 1d2 g6 7 b3 ig7
8 .b2 0-0 9 .d3 g4 1 0 lf3 ge5
1 1 .e2 lxf3+ 12 .xf3 d4 1 3 .d 1
f5 1 4 exf5 .xf5 1 5 e2 xe2 1 6
.xe2 .xb2 17 1xb2 1 g5 1 8 g3 lae8
1 9 0-0 .h3 20 f4)
Boleslavsk ignored the threat to
the queen and played:
20 .. -x! ! 21 fxg5 le2
Black has rook and bishop for the
queen, plus complete contol of the
light squaes aound the white kng.
This is enough to ensure victory.
22 'i c3 .g2!
The bishop moves to its longest di
agonal . Once it moves again, Black
will be threatening the deadly . . . lg2+.
23 'd3 .f 2 :n
O 24 fl lxh2 25 1d4 c5 26 1c3
(te queen needs to stay protecting al ;
44 THE MOST AANG CHESS MOVES OF ALL TIME
26 1xd6 loses to 26 . . . ic6+ 27 el
le8+ 28 f1 :h1 + 29 f :xa1 )
26 . . . ie2+ forces mate: 27 g1 :f!
or 27 e 1 :f1 + 28 d2 ixc4 29 e3
le2#.
2 :g2+ 25 h1 ic6! 26 :x8+
x8 (D)
The discovered check is lethal.
21 'in + :f+ o- 1
Puzzle 39
NN- Rossolimo
Paris 1957
1 ... :d1 ! !
Black leaves his queen en prise and
moves the rook to a squae where it
can be captured in two diferent ways.
In fact, the rook is bing used on d 1 to
defect both of White's rooks.
2 c4
Alteratively:
a) 2 \xb5 ixf+ 3 h2 :h8#.
b) 2 :bxd1 1xb2 3 :b1 ixf+!
and Black mates.
c) 2 ixb7+ (this is relatively best)
2 . . . b8 ! 3 lbxd1 ' xb2 4 id5 c7
and Black should win comfortably.
2 ... :x! 3 ixb7 + <b8
Black calmly moves the kng, leav
ing White with a totally lost position.
4 'i xb5
4 'xf is answered by 4 . . . 'xb1 ! .
4 :rxn+ 5 h2 :hl# (0-1)
Puzzle 40
Rubinstein - Hromadka
Mahrisch Ostrau 1923
( 1 e4 e5 2 f4 ic5 3 lf3 d6 4 lc3
lf6 5 ic4 lc6 6 d3 ig4 7 h3 ixf3
8 1xf3 ld4 9 ' g3 ' e7 1 0 fxe5 dxe5
1 1 d1 c6 12 a4 :g8 1 3 :f1 h6 14
le2 0-0-0 1 5 lxd4 ixd4 1 6 c3 ib6
17 a ic7 1 8 ie3 b8 1 9 c2 a8
20 :f3 ld5 21 ig1 lf4 22 ' f ib8
23 g3 lxh3 24 :xf7 ' d6)
25 'ib6! !
Theatening 26 'xb7#.
25 . :d7
Capturing the queen with 25 . . . axb6
allows White to win after 26 axb6+
i.a7 27 :xa7+ b8 28 lfxb7+
c8
29 i.a6.
26 i.c5!
Defecting the queen away fom the
defence of d7. Black ha no goo reply.
26 ... lxf7 27 ixd6 lf+ 2 ' xf
lxf 29 i.c5 1-0
Black must lose a piece.
Puzzle 41
Stoltz - H. Steiner
Saltsjobaden IZ 1952
( 1 c4 e5 2 lc3 d6 3 g3 f5 4 i.g2
lf6 5 d4 ie7 6 e3 0-0 7 lge2 h8 8
1c2 1e8 9 b3 c6 1 0 i.a3 exd4 1 1
exd4 f4 1 2 0-0-0 lh5 1 3 ie4 g6 14
ld5 ' d8 1 5 ib2 f3 1 6 lef4 i.g5 17
i.xg6 hxg6 18 'xg6 lg7 1 9 h4
ixf4+ 20 gxf4 if5 21 1h6+ i.h7 22
le3 lf6 23 'g5 lg6)
2 d5! !
White ignores the threat and opens
up the long diagonal for his powerful
ASWERS FOR CHAPTER 1 45
bishop. When Black captures on g5,
the h1 -rook will also enter the attack.
24 .. .xg5 25 hxgS l: e7 26 l:g4
White has only a rook for a queen
and knight, but the threats ae stating
to mount against the black kng.
26 .. 'i c8 27 g6! (D)
The obvious 27 l:f6? allows Black
to escape with 27 . . :i f5 ! 28 lxh7+
' xh7 29 lxh7 xh7, so White inter
feres with Black's ideas of . . . ' f5.
27 'xg4
The other defensive ty is 27 . . . llxg6
28 l:f6, and now:
a) 28 . . . lf 29 ldg1 ! ' f5 30 lxh7
lxh7 3 1 :xg7 and White wins.
b) 28 . . . ' g8 29 lh2 ld8 (29 . . . :f8
loses to 30 llxg8 :xg8 3 1 ldh 1 , and
29 . . . lxf4 to 30 ldh 1 l:f5 3 1 lxh5
lxh5 32 lxh5+) 30 lg1 l:xf4 3 1
lgh 1 and Black is fnished.
28 :m7+ g8 29 lxg7+ f8 3
lf7+ e8
After 30 . . . g8 3 1 lxe7 'xf4+ 32
b1 'h6 33 lg1 White will follow
up with lh7.
31 le1 'i xg6 32 lexe7+ d8 33
.f6 'i xf6 34 lxf6?!
34 ld7 + e8 35 lxf6 <xd7 36
:f7+ e8 37 :xc7 is a cleaner kll .
1-0
Here Black lost on time, but after
34 . . . <xe7 35 :e6+ f7 36 d2 lh8
37 <e3 White is winning the endgae.
Puzzle 42
Ward - Vergara
Port ofSpain 1999
( 1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 l: c3 l:f6 4 cxd5
exd5 5 .g5 .e7 6 e3 b6 7 l:f3 .b7 8
le5 l:fd7 9 .xe7 'xe7 1 0 lf3 a6
1 1 .d3 l:f6 12 le5 llbd7 1 3 f4 c5 14
0-0 c4 1 5 .c2 b5 16 a3 h5 17 ' f3
' d6 1 8 1g3 f8 1 9 'h4 lh6 20 lf3
le8 21 lg3 ldf6 22 lg5 lb8 23
le2 .c8 24 lg3 lb6 25 .f5 'c7 26
.xc8 1xc8 27 l:f5 lh7 28 ' e1 b4
29 axb4 le4 30 lh4 lxg5 31 fxg5
g8 32 g6 fxg6 33 lhxg6 ' d8 34
'f lf6 35 'g3 lh6 36 .a ' d6 37
lf4 ' xb 38 :cs 'xb2 39 h4 l: d6
40 h2 le4 41 :c8+ h7 42 ' h3
1b7 43 ld8 c3 4 l:d7 lf)
45 'e6! !
This suprsing move turns the
game aound completely. 45 . . . lxe6
allows 46 lf8+ g8 47 l8g6+ f
48 lf8#, so Black must fnd another
way to deal with the theat of 1 g8#.
4S . lg4+
45 . . . lxf4 46 'g8+ g6 47 exf4
lg4+ 48 g3 tansposes to te gae.
46 <g3 lxf4 47 'i g8+ g6 48
exf4
White threatens 49 ' e6+ h7 50
lf8+ <ih8 5 1 lg6++ h7 52 lh8#.
48 .. \c6 49 :r8?!
49 1f8 ! is more accurate: 49 . . . 1e6
50 f5+ 1xf5 5 1 ' e8+ and 52 lf8+.
49 .. lh7?
49 . . . 1xd7 is forced .
SO l:eS+ ?!
50 :n! h6 51 lf8 wins.
46 THE MOST AAING CHESS MOVES OF ALL TIME
50 . lxe5 51 dxe5 c2 52 'f7+?
Now Black can draw. White could
still win by 52 f5+! <h6 53 :e8 !
(threatening :e6+) 53 . . . g6 54 ' f8+
lg7 55 le7, forcing mate.
52 .. h6 53 'i f5 "g6+?
The fnal swing of the game. Black
draws by 53 . . . g6 54 1g5+ rg7 55
1e7+ h6 56 ' g5+, as White has
nothing btter than a perpetual check.
54 1xg6+ <xg6 55 f5+ <h6 56
:cs
The endgae is easily winning for
White, despite the pawn defcit, such
is the poor placement of Black's king
and rook.
56 . g6 57 f6 g5 58 e6 1-0
Puzzle 43
Vyzhmanavin - Sorokin
Togliati 1985
( 1 lf3 d5 2 c4 e6 3 b3 lf6 4 g3
ie? 5 ig2 0-0 6 ib2 c5 7 0-0 a6 8
cxd5 lxd5 9 d4 cxd4 10 lxd4 b5 1 1
e4 &b4 1 2 e5 :a 7 1 3 a3 ld5 14 ld2
lc7 1 5 le4 b 1 6 axblxb4 17 1e2
ib7 1 8 lad1 ld7 1 9 f4 ' a8 20 f5
lc5 21 lf6+ gxf6)
22 lc6! !
The knight is put en prise to three
black pieces ! The main point of this
move is that it uncovers the bishop
along the long a1 -h8 diagonal . The
knight gains time by attacking e7 and
b, while it also interferes with Black's
lines of comunication. Apat from
tat, it dos little else!
22 . h8
Black ha many other defensive
tres:
a) 22 . . . lxc6 23 1g4+ <h8 24
exf6 lg8 25 fxe7+ e5 26 ixc6 and
White wins.
b) 22 . . . ixc6 23 ' g4+ h8 24 ex6
:g8 25 fxe7+ with the same result.
c) 22 . . . lxc6 23 ' g4+ h8 24 exf6
lg8 25 fxe7+ e5 26 ' xg8+! ' xg8 27
:d8.
d) 22 . . . fxe5 23 lxe7+ lxe7 24 f6.
e) 22 . . . ex5 23 exf6 id8 (23 . . . ixc6
24 fxe7 le8 25 lxf5 and 23 . . . lxc6
24 lxf5 ae both winning for White)
24 lxf5 <h8 25 :h5 ! le6 26 'xe6!
and again White wins.
f 22 . . . lcd3 ! ? 23 lxe7+ h8 !
(23 . . . lxe7 loses to 24 'i g4+ h8 25
exf6) 24 exf6 lc2 (or 24 . . . ixg2 25
' g4! :g8 26 ' g7+! ! lxg7 27 fxg7#)
25 :d2 ' a7+ (once again 25 . . . ixg2
is met by 26 ' g4! ) 26 h1 ixg2+ 27
xg2 and White should be winning;
for example, 27 . . . 'b7+ 28 <h3 :xd2
29 ' xd2 lxb2 30 'g5 ! .
g) As fa as I can see, the by no
means obvious 22 . . . &xb3 ! is Black' s
best defence:
g1) The point is now that after 23
&xe7+ <h8 ! , 24 exf6? :c2 ! is no
goo for White, wit d2 covered; Black
is also surviving after 24 ixb7 ' xb7
25 ' f3 'xf3 26 lxf lc5.
g2) 23 exf6 ic5+ 24 id4 h8!
25 ixc5 lxc5 26 ' g4 lg8 27 1xb4
ixc6 28 'xc5 is roughly level.
23 exf6 id8 2 lf4!
This is stonger than 24 ' g4 lg8
25 ' g7+ lxg7 26 fxg7+ <g8 27
:xd8+ ' xd8 28 &xd8 ixg2 29 xg2
exf5, which is only slightly better for
White. Wit te txt-move, Whte plas
lh4, followed by a deadly sacrifce on
h7.
2 ... e5
So that Black can defend with
. . . ixf6.
25 :xd8?
ASWERS FOR CHAPTER 1 47
This mistake jeopadizes the win.
White should car y on with 25 lh4! ,
because 25 . . . ixf6 fails in any case af
ter 26 ixe5 ! ixe5 27 ' xe5+ f6 28
' xc7.
25 ... lxd8 26 lh4 ixc6 27 ' hS
ld1+!
This sacrifce should keep Black in
the gae.
28 'i xd1 (D)
28 . . . ixg2?
As fa as I can see, Black can draw
wit 28 . . . d3 ! , as opening up te a7-
gl diagonal is crucial to Black' s coun
terattack. Following 29 1h5 1g8 we
have:
a) 30 lg4? 1f8 31 lg7 1c5+ and
it' s Black who delivers mate.
b) 30 ixc6! lxc6 3 1 :g4 ' f8 32
lg7 ' c5+ 33 <g2 ' f+ 34 h3
f4+! 35 gxf4 jfl + 36 <h4 Wxf4+
37 h3 and the result is a draw by per
petual check.
29 1hs ' g8 30 lg4 ' r 31 lg7
Now Black is forced to give up his
queen. The rest of the gae was quite
eventful, but is outside the scope of the
initial combination. It's enough to say
that White eventually prevailed after a
long endgame stuggle.
Puzzle 4
Paulsen- Morphy
USA Ch (New York) (6) 1857
( 1 e4 e5 2 f3 c6 3 c3 f6 4
ib5 ic5 5 0-0 0-0 6 xe5 le8 7
lxc6 dxc6 8 ic4 b5 9 ie2 xe4 1 0
lxe4 lxe4 1 1 if3 :e6 1 2 c3 'd3 1 3
b4 ib6 14 a4 bxa4 15 jxa4 id7 1 6
la2 :ae8 17 Wa6)
17 ... 'xf3! !
This dazling queen sacrifce opens
up the white king's cover. White has to
accept.
18 gf3 lg6+ 19 hl ih3 20 ldl
20 'i d3 ! , planning to sacrifce back
on g6, is a more stubborn defence.
White is fne after 20 . . . ig2+? 21 gl
ixf3+ 22 jxg6 hxg6 23 d4, hence
Black should block out the queen with
20 . . . f5. Following 21 ldl ixf 22
jfl ixfl 23 :xfl le2 Black is a
pawn ahead, with more active pieces.
20 ig2+ 21 gl ixf3+ 22 n
ig2+ 23 gl ih3+
This does the job, but it's surprising
that Morphy missed the immediately
decisive 23 . . . ie4+! 24 fl if5, when
there is no good answer to 25 . . . ih3#.
24 <hl ixf 25 ' n ixfl 26
:x le2 27 lal :h6 28 d4 ie3! 0- 1
29 ixe3 allows Black to mate by
29 . . . :hxh2+ 30 gl :eg2#.
Puzzle 45
Averbakh - Kotov
Zurich Ct 1953
( 1 d4 lf6 2 c4 d6 3 f3 bd7 4
c3 e5 5 e4 ie? 6 ie2 0-0 7 0-0 c6 8
\c2 le8 9 ldl if8 10 lbl a 1 1 d5
c5 1 2 ie3 jc? 1 3 h3 id7 1 4 lbe l
g6 1 5 ld2 lab8 1 6 b3 xb3 1 7
'xb3 c5 1 8 <h2 h8 1 9 jc2 g8
20 ig4 lh6 21 ixd7 jxd7 22 jd2
48 THE MOST AANG CHESS MOVES OF ALL TIME
lg8 23 g4 f5 24 f3 ie? 25 :g1 lf8
26 lcf1 lf7 27 gxf5 gxf5 28 lg2 f4
29 if lf6 30 le2)
30 ' xh3+! !
This is certainly a radical way to
prevent lg1 ! This move intoduces
what was described by John Nunn in
The Mammoth Book of the World's
Greatest Chess Games as "one of the
most exciting king-hunts of the twen
tieth century".
31 xh3 lh6+ 32 g4 lf6+ 33
f5
White's moves ae forced. 33 g5
allows 33 . . . :h5#.
33 .ld7
This move is good enough, but in
fact Black can win even more quickly
by offering another sacrifce with
33 . . . lg4 ! , threatening 33 . . . lg6! as
well as 33 . . . :f8+ 34 xg4 lg8+ 35
f5 lf6. White can only prevent the
immediate mate with 34 lxf4, but
then Black wins by 34 . . . lg8 ! 35 lh5
lhg6 36 'ig5 ixg5 37 qxg4 if4+
38 h3 :xg2 39 lxf4 exf4.
34 lg5
White has quite a few defensive
tries, but nothing that saves the gae;
for exaple, 34 a3 lf8+ 35 qg4
lg8+ 36 f5 lf6#; or 34 lg7 lf8+
35 <g4 <xg7 36 :gt lg8! 37 f5+
cf 38 lxg8 :h5+ 39 qg4 lf6#.
34 . lf8+ 35 <ig4 lf6+ 36 <f5
tg8+ 37 <g4 tf6+
Kotov was in time-trouble, so he
repeats the position. Again Black can
win more easily by 37 . . . ixg5! , and
now:
a) 38 lg1 lf6+ 39 f5 lg4+ 40
xg4 id8 41 lxf4 lg8+ 42 lg6+
lgxg6+ 43 f5 :h5+ and Black
WinS.
b) 38 'i el lf6+ 39 f5 lg4+ 40
xg4 lg8 41 <f5 id8 42 ih4 ixh4
43 'i xh4 :xh4 and Black wins.
c) 38 xg5 :n 39 ih4 lg7+ 40
<f5 lhg6 41 ig5 lh6+ 42 ixh6
lf7#.
38 <f5 lxd5+
Not wanting to allow a draw by
theefold repetition, Kotov grabs the
d5-pawn. This complicates the task,
but fortunately Black is still winning.
39 g4 lf6+ 40 r5 tg8+ 41
g4 lf6+ 42 <r5 fg8+ 43 g4
ixg5!
Now Kotov had reached the time
control, he could adjou and calcu
late this move out to a win. White' s
pieces ae too fa away fom the action
to b of any use.
44 xg5 :r7
With the threat of 45 . . . lg7+, fol
lowed by 46 . . . &e7#. White' s reply is
forced.
45 ih4 lg6+ 46 <h5 :rg7 47
ig5 :xg5+
Black regains more and more mate
rial without reducing the force of his
attack.
48 <h4 lf6 49 tg3 :xg3 50
' xd6 l3g6 51 ' f8+ :g8 0-1
White's eforts to avoid mate have
been successful, but after he is forced
to give up the queen, it's Black who
has the decisive material advantage.
Puzzle 46
Nunn - P Nikolic
Belgrade 1991
( 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 lc3 ib 4 e5 c5
5 a3 ixc3+ 6 bxc3 le7 7 f3 b6 8
ib5+ id7 9 id3 ia4 1 0 dxc5 bxc5
1 1 0-0 c4 12 ie2 lg6 1 3 &g5 lxe5
14 f4 ld3 1 5 ixd3 cxd3 1 6 f5 e5 17
ASWERS FOR CHAPTER 1 49
'i h5 fe7 1 8 le6 <d7 1 9 .g5 f6 20
.e3 la6 21 cxd3 g6 22 fg4 .c6)
23 ld4! !
Nunn sacrifces what had been the
pride and joy of White's position.
23 .. exd4 24 ixd4!
White's idea is all the more impres
sive because he has nothing really im
mediate, but rather a slow-burning
attack, in which the d4-bishop proves
to be a greater force than both Black' s
minor pieces put together.
24 h5
Or 24 . . . gxf5 25 fxf5+ fe6 26
' xe6+ <xe6 27 :xf6+ d7 28 lf+
<i e8 29 laf1 lg8 30 lxh7, when
White already has three pawns for the
piece, a well as a continuing attack.
25 'ih3 g5 26 :ret 'f
After 26 . . . fg7 27 le6 lh6 28 'i g3
1f8 29 lae1 White has a powerful at
tack.
27 le :h6 2 'e3 :es
28 . . . lc7 allows 29 ic5, followed
by :d6+.
29 :et lc7 30 .c5 'f7
All the vaiations point towad vic
tory for White; e. g. , 30 . . . 1g8 31 lxe8
lxe8 32 'e7+ <c8 33 ixa7 :h7 34
' c5 <d7 35 le6 ib7 36 .b6.
31 ie7! :h7
Alternative I y:
a) 31 . . . \xe6 32 fxe6+ rxe7 33
' c5+.
b) 3l . .. ib5 32 fxa7 <c8 33 id6! .
32 \c5 .b7
3 2 . . . ia8 loses to 3 3 .d6! lxe6 34
fxe6+ :xe6 35 1c7+ <e8 36 fc8#,
while 32 . . . :xe7 33 td6+ e8 34
lxe7+ is also winning for White.
33 ' xa7 <c8
Mate is approaching fast; for ex
aple, 33 . . . lxe6 34 fxe6+ 1xe6 35
' xb7#, or 33 . . . .c6 34 :d6+ c8 35
lb1 .
34 lbl lxe7 35 :xb7! 1-0
It's mate after 35 . . . lxe6 36 'b8+
d7 37 1xc7+ e8 38 'c8#.
Puzzle 47
T. Karolyi - Hodgson
Haringe 1989
( 1 d4 d6 2 lf3 .g4 3 lbd2 lf6 4
c4 lbd7 5 h3 ih5 6 g4 .g6 7 .g2 e5
8 lb4 c6 9 lxg6 hxg6 1 0 e3 d 1 1
0-0 e4 1 2 cxd5 cxd5 1 3 f3 .b4 14 g5
lh7 1 5 h4 lxg5 1 6 hxg5 fxg5 17
:f 0-0-0 1 8 fxe4 :h5 1 9 1b3 :dh8
20 f1 .xd2 21 :xd2 :h 1 + 22 ixh 1
lxh1 + 23 <e2)
23 . lc5! !
This imaginative move crucially
blocks the c-fle and thus prevents the
defence 'c2+. White wins after the
natural 23 . . . dxe4? 24 1c2+ d8 25
' xe4.
2 dxc5 dxe4
Now there is no check and thus
there's no defence to Black' s vaious
mating threats.
25 :dS+
25 1xf allows mate by 25 . . . 'h5+
26 f 1h2#.
25 'i xd8 0- 1
White can do nothing useful to pre
vent 26 . . . lh2+ 27 e1 1h4+ 28 <id1
' g4+ 29 e1 1e2#.
Puzzle 48
Sanakoev - Shaposhnikov
corr 1963
( 1 e4 c5 2 lf3 lc6 3 d4 cxd4 4
lxd4 e6 5 lc3 1c7 6 g3 a6 7 ig2
lf6 8 0-0 ie7 9 .e3 0-0 10 <h1 ld8
1 1 f4 d6 12 .f :b8 1 3 'e2 la 14
g4 b5 1 5 g5 le8 1 6 f5 b 1 7 fxe6 fxe6
50 THE MOST AAING CHESS MOVES OF ALL TIME
1 8 .h5 g6 19 1f &g7 20 'f7+ <h8
21 .xg6 &c4)
White 'copes' as follows:
22 &c6! !
Now all four minor pieces ae en
prise ! Crucially, Black must be pre
vented from playing the consolidating
. . . &e5. Most of the following com
ments ae based on Sanakoev's own
notes in World Champion at the Third
Attempt.
22 . . &eS
As you would expect, Black has
more than one way to ty to defend:
a) 22 . . . &xe3 23 &xe7 &xf1 24
lxf1 .b7 25 1xg7+! cxg7 26 lf+
ch8 27 lxh7#.
b) 22 . . . hxg6 23 lf4 and :h4+ will
win for White.
c) 22 . . . 1xc6 (the most important
alterative) 23 fxe? and now:
c 1) 23 . . J lg8 (ths is not mentioned
by Sanakoev, but it seems to lose in
beautiful style) 24 lf4 hxg6 (24 . . . &e5
25 .xh7 ! ) 25 &d5 ! ! and White is
winning; for example, 25 . . . exd5 26
.d4! &e5 27 lh4+ &h5 28 'f6+
:g7 29 .xe5 ' d7 30 'i f8+ <ih7 31
lxh5+ gxh5 32 g6+! or 25 . . J lb7 26
'if6 le8 27 ' f8+ lxf8 28 lxf8+
h7 29 &f6.
c2) 23 . . . .b7 24 lf7 lg8 (or
24 . . . ' e8 25 ' f6 ' g8 26 .xh7 1xh7
27 g6) 25 .d4 &e5 26 .xh7 &xf7 27
'ixf7 <ixh7 28 g6+ <h6 29 .e3+
<h5 30 1f3+ xg6 31 lg1 + <h7 32
'h3+ &h5 33 \xh5#.
23 &xeS .b7
After 23 . . . dxe5 White wins with 24
ixh 7! ; for exaple, 24 . . . id6 25 ' g6
lb7 26 'i h6 &e8 27 lf8+ ixf 28
1xf8+ <xh7 29 g6+ xg6 30 lg1 +
h7 3 1 1g8#, 24 . . . 1d7 25 'g6 1e8
26 lf .f8 27 'h6 &f5 28 ' h5, or
24 . . . bxc3 25 'ig6 cxb2 26 ' h6.
24 ' xg7+!
White thows in a queen sacrifce
for good measure!
24 . xg7 25 lf7 + ch8
25 . . . <g8 allows mate by 26 ixh7+
h8 27 &g6# .
26 lx7+ g8 27 &g4! 1-0
The fnal moves could be 27 . . . .xg5
28 :xc7 .xe3 29 &f6+ f8 30 lf7#.
Puzzle 49
Kudriashov - I. Ivanov
USSR 1979
The gae concluded with:
1 ... h3! ! 0-1!
Despite the exta queen and a pased
pawn on b7, White is helpless against
the aada of kingside pawns stor
ing down the boad. A brief glimpse at
some vaiations should convince you:
a) 2 'xf8+ .xf8 and now:
a1 ) 3 :b2 :xa1 4 b8' h2+ 5 lxh2
lxf1 +! 6 xf1 gxh2 and the new
queen will prove decisive .
a2) 3 la2 g2 4 lf :xf1 + 5 lxf1
h2+! and the pawns prevail .
b) 2 lb2 id4+ 3 h1 g2+ 4 <h2
.e5+ 5 <xh3 gxf1 '+ with a quick
mate to follow.
c) 2 :a2 g2 3 lf lxf1 + 4 lxf1
h2+! 5 <xh2 gxf1 ' and White loses
his remaining pieces fending of mat
ing threats.
Puzzle 50
Krylenko - Siniavskaya
Leningrad girls 1984
( 1 d4 d5 2 &f3 e6 3 if4 &f6 4 e3
.e? 5 h3 &bd7 6 .d3 0-0 7 0-0 le8 8
&bd2 &f8 9 &e5 &6d7 10 1h5 g6 1 1
'i h6 .f6 12 &xd7 .g7)
ASWERS FOR CHAPTER 1 51
White punished Black's idea with:
13 'i xg7+! !
For the queen White obtains two
mnor pieces and an ir esistible attack
on the black king, which is forced out
into open teritory.
13 rxg7 14 .e5+ <h6 15 6
ld7 16 lg4+ h5 17 .g7!
This is the crucial move, which cuts
of the black king' s reteat to h6, so
that White is able to put the g4-knight
to use.
17 .lg8?
Black can put up fa more resis
tance with 17 . . . g5. Graham Burgess
gives the line 1 8 le5 lxe5 1 9 dxe5 f5
20 exf6 e5, when it seems that White
must play very accurately to win the
gae. After 21 g4+! h4 22 lf3+
xh3 23 lxg5+ xg4 24 lxh7 he
looks at three possible defences:
a) 24 . . . f3 25 .g6 and 26 .h5+
followed by 27 f7.
b) 24 . . . h3 25 f3 ! (25 f?! 'i h4)
25 . . . g3 26 f7 .h3 27 :f 'i e7 28
fxe8'i :xeS 29 :h2 'i xg7 30 h1
and White will emerge material up.
c) 24 . . . :gs 25 <h2 <h5 26 lh 1
e4 27 :ag1 ! .g4 28 <g3+ g6 29
xg4 exd3 30 f4+ f7 3 1 lg5+
and White wins.
18 lf6+!
This forces mate in six moves.
18 lx6
O 1 8 . . . 'i xf6 1 9 g4+! h4 20 g2
lxg7 21 f4 and lf3# cannot b pre
vented.
19 .e2+ g5
Another mate occurs after 1 9 . . . h4
20 ff+ <h5 21 l5+ g5 22 lxf +
h4 23 g3+ xh3 24 lg5#.
20 lf3+ <h5 21 le5+ h4 22
g3+ <xh3 23 .xf6
Alternatively, 23 .f3 followed by
24 .g2#.
23 .2 .g4 (1-0)
Puzzle 51
Petursson - Emms
Gausdl 1996
( 1 c4 c5 2 lf3 lc6 3 lc3 lf6 4
g3 d5 5 cxd5 lxd5 6 .g2 lc7 7 d3
e5 8 ld2 id7 9 0-0 .e7 1 0 lc4 0-0
1 1 a4 b6 1 2 .d2 :bs 1 3 f4 exf4 14
ixf4 :cs 1 5 a5 le6 1 6 id2 :bs 17
axb6 axb6 1 8 ld5 b5 1 9 la5 lxa5
20 .xa5 'i e8 21 .c3 ld4 22 e3 lc6
23 'ih5 b)
Petursson now played a brilliant
move:
24 .f6! !
I had obviously forgotten my clasics
(see Puzzle 5) as I had only considered
24 ixg7. The bishop' s presence on f6
prevents Black playing the critical de
fensive move . . . f6 or . . . f5. Suddenly it
dawned on me that I was totally lost
and all I could do was admie the win
ning vaiations.
2 h6
After 24 . . . gxf6 White mates by 25
ie4 f5 26 lxf5 f6 27 lg5+! fxg5 28
'i xh7#.
25 ie4!
White plays this anyway. Black can
only sit while White builds up a mat
ing attack.
2S . .e6 2 lf4! ld8
26 . . . ixd5 allows 27 'ixh6! ! and
it's mate next move.
27 ixe7 ixdS
Probably I should have been a good
sport and allowed the line 27 . . . lxe7
28 lf6+! gxf6 29 \xh6 lg6 30 lh4
and White mates next move.
28 ixd8 1-0
52 THE MOST AANG CHESS MOVES OF ALL TIME
Puzzle 52
Ftacnik - Cvitan
Bunesliga 199718
( 1 d4 lf6 2 lf3 g6 3 c4 ig7 4
lc3 0-0 5 e4 d6 6 ie2 e5 7 0-0 lc6 8
d5 le7 9 ld2 le8 1 0 b f5 1 1 c5
lf6 1 2 f3 f4 1 3 l4 g5 1 4 a4 lg6 15
ia3 lf7 16 b5 dxc5 17 ixc5 h 1 8
a g4 1 9 b6 g3 20 h1 lh7 21 d6
1h4 22 ig1 ih3 23 bxc7)
White' s last move allows Black a
spcial fnish:
23 .. ixg2+! ! 2 xg2 1h3+! ! 2
xh3 lg5+ 2 g2 lh4+ 0-1
27 h1 is met by the pawn mate
27 . . . g2#.
Puzzle 53
Rotlewi - Rubinstein
Ldz 19718
( 1 d4 d5 2 f3 e6 3 e3 c5 4 c4 l6
5 lc3 f6 6 dxc5 ixc5 7 a3 a6 8 b
id6 9 ib2 0-0 10 1d2 1e7 1 1 id3
dxc4 1 2 ixc4 b5 1 3 id3 :d8 14 1e2
ib7 1 5 0-0 e5 1 6 lxe5 ixe5 17 f4
ic7 1 8 e4 :ac8 1 9 e5 ib6+ 20 h1
lg4 21 ie4 1h4 22 g3)
Rubinstein concluded his ' Imor
t Gae' with a stunning combina
tion:
22 ... lxc3! ! 23 gxh4
Other moves also lose:
a) 23 ixc3 allows 23 . . . ixe4+ 24
1xe4 1xh2#.
b) 23 ixb7 :xg3 24 lf3 lxf3 25
ixf3 f+ 26 g1 e4+ 27 f1
d2+ 28 g2 xf3 29 1xf3 ld2+
and Black wins.
23 ... :d2! 2 'i xd2
Alteratively: 24 1xg4 ixe4+ 25
lf3 lxf and Black mates quickly; 24
ixc3 ixe4+ 25 1xe4 lxh2#; 24
ixb7 lxe2 25 ig2 lh3 and Black
wins.
2 . .. ixe4+ 25 'i g2 lh3! ! 0-1
Everything ends with mate; for ex
ample, 26 lf3 .xf3 27 1xf3 :xh2#
or 26 lf lxh2+ 27 g1 .xf+ 28
1xf lh1#.
Puzzle 54
L. Schmid- Gligoric
Hamurg Echt 1965
( 1 c4 g6 2 lc3 ig7 3 f3 lf6 4
e4 d6 5 d4 0-0 6 ie2 e5 7 0-0 lc6 8
d5 le7 9 le 1 ld7 1 0 ld3 f5 1 1 exf5
lxf5 12 le4 lf6 1 3 f3 l4 14 ie3
c6 15 xf6+ 1xf6 1 6 lf cxd5 17
cxd5 1f7 18 ic4 b5 19 ixd4 exd4
20 ixb5 'xd5 21 1a4 1h5 22 1b3+
h8 23 ic6 ie5 24 f4 ixf4 25 g3
ie3 26 ixa8 ih3 27 'i d5 1e2 28
1xd6)
All the obvious attacking attempts
fail here; for exaple, 28 . . . ixf+? 29
h1 g7? 30 lae1 ! , 28 . . . lxa8?? 29
1e5+! g8 30 'd5+, or 28 . . . lxf?
29 lxf 'xf+ 30 h1 if1 3 1
1e5+! . Instead Gligorc played a calm
move:
28 ... g7! !
Despite having the move, White can
do nothing against the threats.
29 'i xf8+
29 lae1 lxf! and 29 1e5+ h6
30 'i d6 lxf 3 1 lxf 'xf+ 32 h1
if1 ! ae winning for Black.
29 ... xf8 30 ig2 ixg2
30 . . . .f5 ! is the most accurate way
to win.
31 xg2 1xb2 32 a4 'c2 33 h3
. qg7 3 g4 'i c8 35 h4 g5+ 0-1
Z Materi al Gai ns
If delivering checkmate is the ultimate goal, what's the next best thing? The only
answer I can think of is winning material with the most devilish of tcks. After
all, statistics show that at most levels, a tactical trick that wins material is by fa
the most common way to win a game of chess.
Often players forget, but they have a massive aoury of tactical weapons at
their disposal . The list stats with good old- fashioned double attacks, pins and
skewers, before moving on to more complicated ideas such as discovered at
tacks, discovered checks, defections, decoys and interference. It is well kown
that regula sharpening of these tools by tackling puzzles and exercises is an ex
cellent way of keeping your chess mind in good shape.
In this chapter there ae 22 puzzles for you to solve, and once again there is a
varying degree of difculty.
55
w
White's pieces ae well placed and
Black certainly has some weaknesses,
but for the moment he seems to have
just about everything covered. Of
course, if there were no rook on a7,
things would b diferent. . .
56
w
Surely ts one should b quit eay?
If only the e5-rook weren' t pinned,
ten the discovered check would b fa
t. However, kng moves don' t seem
to do the tck, as Black has threats of
. . . 'x6+. What's the solution?
54 THE MOST AAING CHESS MOVES OF ALL TIME
In this extremely complicated posi
tion, Black has just answered the
threat to his own queen by attacking
White' s. Should White capture on b6,
reteat his queen from f4, or is there
something diferent?
58
B
OK, so Black captes on e8, White
takes on c3 and the gae goes on, . . . or
is there something else?
59
w
Both sides sufer from having a
weak back rank, but White's most
pressing concer is his queen, which is
attacked by te f6-bishop. Which in
genious move begins a study-like se
quence ending in a win for White?
60
w
Whte's queen occupies a dominat
ing outpost, but White's knight is at
tacked, and reteats may alow Black
to consolidate hs exta pawn. Is there
anything amaing that White can do
here?
MATERIAL GAINS 55
61
w
63
w
Black is yet to castle and the d6- The obvious 38 g6 fails to 38 . . . la1 +
knight looks a bit loose. The position 39 ixa1 'i a2+ and Black mates. What
is screaing out for a combination, should White play instead?
but it seems that Black is surviving a-
ter the obvious 1 6 lxd6+ 'i xd6 17
ib5+
r
e7. Does White have any-
thing better?
62
w
At frst sight it looks as if White's
attack is stuttering. The crux of the
problem is that the g5-bishop is pinned
against the white queen. Can White
break this pin, or perhaps even use it to
his advantage?
64
w
This positon does not look out of
the ordinay. In a atmpt to atck the
black king, White has swng his rook
over. Black has bolstered hs defence
with te manoeuvre . . . ig4-h5-g6 . . .
or ha he? What can White do to tae
advantage of his well-placed pieces?
56 THE MOST AANG CHESS MOVES OF ALL TIME
65
w
White has already conducted a vio
lent attack to reach this position, but
now comes the crnch. Where is the
knokout blow?
66
B
&

A
& ]&

/



z

R
+
' '
v
This typ of position sometimes o
curs in the opening, and can result in
four queens being on the boad. Black
must now decide, amongst other mat
ters, whether to capture on g7, c 1 or
al . It seems unlikely that Black ha a
winning move here, but he does !
67
B
If White's queen were not attacking
the e4-bishop, then . . . f+ would be de
cisive. How does Black get aound this
problem and secure a winning posi
tion?
68
B
White's appaently natural previ
ous move (recapturing a pawn on g3
with the f-pawn) was actally a ms
tae (24 ixg3 would have kept an ad
vantage, due to the bishop-pair and a
better pawn-stucture). How can Black
exploit this eror?
MATERIAL GAINS 57
69
B
Black's pieces ae nicely bunched
on te kingside, but he must watch out
for threats against both his queen and
rook. How should he continue the at
tack?
70
B
A tactical sequence has just seen
White removing a powerful passed
pawn on c3. Is White just simply a
pawn up, or is there a sting in the tail?
71
B
Can Black take advantage of the
passed pawn on e3, the a7 -gl diagonal
and White's slightly weak back rank,
before Wt releases te pressure with
the theatened xb6? Note that White
also threatens f6+.
72
B
In a gae which has already been
fll of tactical blows, a critical position
has been reached. How does Black
deal with the threats to his queen and
knight?
58 THE MOST AAING CHESS MOVES OF ALL TIME

s
w
In this complex position White
seems to have many attacking options,
but it's a thoroughly unexpected move
that gives him a winning position. Can
you spot the idea?

' &
B

AW

g
@

White's king is stuck in te cente,
but there seems to be no obvious way
for Black to exploit this fact. Does he
have a hidden tick?
We've reached a critical point in the
game. Black has just attacked te e5-
kight with the f-pawn, and the kight
is pinned against the e4-rook. How
does White get aound this problem?

-
B
Everything seems quiet in this posi
tion. Admittedly, White's back rank
look rather weak, but he intends to
meet 24 . . . 1el + wit 25 1fl . Is there
anything else that Black can do?
Answers for Chapter Z
Puzzle 55
Panczyk - Schurade
Zkpane 1978
( 1 d4 f6 2 c4 e6 3 c3 d5 4 ig5
ie? 5 e3 0-0 6 lc1 h6 7 ih4 c6 8
f3 bd7 9 id3 dxc4 10 ixc4 ld5
1 1 ig3 xc3 12 bxc3 c5 1 3 0-0 b6 14
d5 b8 15 5 a6 1 6 dxe6 ixe6 17
ixe6 fxe6 18 1g4 1c8 1 9 1e4 la7
20 lg6 lf6)
White played a delicious move:
21 'i a8! !
This overloads the black rook and
wins at least an exchange. In fact,
Black saw no good reason to continue.
1-0
Puzzle 56
Duras - Spielmann
Ba Pistan 1912
(1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 lc3 f6 4 e5
lfd7 5 lce2 c5 6 f4
t
c6 7 c3 1b6 8
lf3 ie7 9 g3 f6 10 ih3 f5 1 1 0-0 0-0
1 2 g4 g6 1 3 gxf5 gxf5 14 h1 h8 15
lg 1 lf 16 g5 ixg5 17 lxg5 cxd4
1 8 1g1 e7 1 9 xd4 f 20 if1
.d7 21 ie2 fg6 22 1 g3 lg8 23 b3
lc6 24 ie3 xd4 25 ixd4
'
a5 26
a4 a6 27 lg1 1d8 28 h4 1f 29 h5
'
h6 30 if3 lfg7 3 1 1h2 e7 32
.c5 lc6 33
'
h4 lg6 34 l1 g2 ie8
35 b b5 36 axb5 axb5 37 h2 lxg5
38 fxg5
'
g
7 39 1f4 lxe5 40 id4

xf+ 41
W
xf3 e5 42 h6 1e7 43 le2
l
xg5 44 lxe5
'
d6)
Unpinning the rook with 45 h1 ??
fai ls to 45 . . .
W
xh6+, and it' s Black
who wins. Instead Duras played a da
zling move:
45 'ig3! !
White blocks the h2-b8 diagonal
wit the queen, tus releasing the e5-
rook. Imporantly, White also guads
against the forthcoming check.
4S .
'
x6+
45 . . . lxg3 allows 46 lxe8#.
46 'ih3 'i d6
Exchanging queens is no defence.
Following 46 . . . 1xh3+ 47 xh3 lh5+
48 g2 lg5+ 49 f White will win
the e8-bishop.
47 hl!
Now that the queen covers h6, this
move is possible. Black must lose his
bishop.
47 ... g8 48 lxe8+ f7 49 lh8
1-0
Puzzle 57
Kasparov - Kramnik
Novgorod 1994
( 1 e4 c5 2 lc3
t
c6 3 lge2 lf6 4
d4 cxd4 5 lxd4 e5 6 db5 d6 7 ig5
a6 8 la3 b5 9 d5 ie? 10 ixf6
ixf6 1 1 c3 0-0 12 c2 lb8 1 3 h4
le7 14 lxf6+ gxf6 15 1d2 ib7 1 6
id3 d5 17 exd5 1xd5 1 8 0-0-0 e4 1 9
ie2 1xa2 20 'ih6 1e6 21 ld4 'ib6
22 lh3 h8 23 ig4 :g8 24 e6 lg6
25 1f4 :es 26 ld6 ld5)
Kaspaov stunned his opponent by
ignoring the threat to both queens with
a remakable move:
27 hS! !
60 THE MOST AAING CHESS MOVES OF ALL TIME
Watch out for this pawn - it has a
very bright fture!
27 ... xf4
Black has many possible defences,
none of them completely satisfactory.
Ftacnik gives the following vaiations:
a) 27 . . . 'i a 28 hxg6 4 29 lxh7+
cg8 30 gxf7+ xh7 3 1 fxe8'i and
White wins.
b) 27 . . . lg7 28 :b6 lxf4 29 lxg7
and White wins a piece.
c) 27 . . . lxg4 28 'ixg4 lg8 29
'ixg8+ xg8 30 lxb6 lxb6 3 1
:g3+ and again White gains material.
d) 27 . . . fxe6 28 hxg6! lxf4 29
lxh7+ g8 30 lxb6.
e) 27 . . . lxe6 28 hxg6 lxf4 29
lxh7+ g8 30 gxf7+ f8 (30 . . . xh7
31 lxb6 lxb6 32 f8'i ) 31 lh8+ xf
32 ixe6+ lxe6 33 lxb6 with a deci
sive material gain.
0 27 . . . lgg8 (this looks the best
ty) 28 lxd5 ! lxe6 29 ixe6 1xe6 30
ld6 and White should be winning.
28 hxg6 (D)
28 .. ' xd6
Other moves ae no better:
a) 28 . . . l3+ 29 lhxd3 ! exd3 (both
29 . . .'ixf 30 gxf7 and 29 . . . 'i a5 30
gxf 1a1 + 3 1 d2 1xb2+ 32 e1
1c 1 + 33 id1 lf8 34 ldS win for
White) 30 gxf7.
b) 28 . . . lxh3 29 gxf7 ! and again
there ae too many threats for Black to
deal with.
29 lxh7+ g8 30 gx7+ xh7 31
fxe8\
The pawn has fnished its jowney
and for a moment the material count is
actually even. However, White is win
ning due to the weakness of the black
king position.
31 lxe6 32 if5+! g 33 tg6+
f8 3 'x6+ e8 35 ixe 'i f?
1-0
36 id7+ is winning for White.
Puzzle 58
Bogoljubow - Alekhine
Hastings 1922
( 1 d4 f5 2 c4 lf6 3 g3 e6 4 ig2
ib4+ 5 id2 ixd2+ 6 lxd2 lc6 7
lgf3 0-0 8 0-0 d6 9 'b3 h8 1 0 'c3
e5 1 1 e3 a5 1 2 b3 'e8 1 3 a3 1h5 14
h4 lg4 15 lg5 id7 1 6 f3 lf6 17 f4
e4 18 lfd1 h6 1 9 lh3 d 20 lf1 le7
21 a4 lc6 22 ld2 lb 23 ih 1 'i e8
24 lg2 dxc4 25 bxc4 ixa4 26 lf
id7 27 ld2 b5 28 ld1 ld3 29 lxa5
b4 30 lxa8 bxc3 3 1 lxe8)
Alekhine concluded the sequence
beginning with 28 . . . ld3 ! with the
stunning . . .
31 . . . c2! ! 32 lxf8+ <ih7
For a moment, White has the luxury
of being two rooks up, but neverthe
less he is still quite lost. White can do
nothing to prevent Black fom queen
ing next move, and this new queen will
cause havoc aound White's vulnera
ble king.
33 lf c1'+ 34 ln le1 35 lh2
' xc4 36 lb8 ib5 37 lxb5
ASWERS FOR CHAPTER 2 61
37 ld2
\
el ! wins.
37 ' xbS 38 g4 lf3+ 39 ixf3
exf3 40 gxfS 'i e2 41 dS g8 42 hS
h7 43 e4 lxe4 44 lxe4 'i xe4 45
d6 cxd6 46 f6 gf6 47 ld2 (D)
47 . ' e2!
Cleverly exploiting the promotion
theme once more in order to reach a
winning king and pawn ending.
48 lxe2 fxe2 49 f exfl'+ SO
xn g7 51 <f f7 52 <e3 e6
53 e4 dS+ 0-1
Puzzle 59
E. Adams - C. Torre
New Orleans 1920
There have been question maks
over the veracity of this gae between
Calos Tore and his trainer Edwin
Adams, with some believing it to be a
composition rather than a real game.
( 1 e4 e5 2 f3 d6 3 d4 exd4 4 1xd4
lc6 5 ib5 id7 6 ixc6 ixc6 7 c3
lf6 8 0-0 ie7 9 d5 ixd5 10 exd5
0-0 1 1 ig5 c6 1 2 c4 cxd5 13 cxd5
le8 14 lfel a 1 5 le2 lc8 16 lael
'i d7 1 7 ixf6 ixf6)
18 ' g4! !
This is te stat of one of the richest
combinations in chess history; White
offers his queen on six consecutive
moves, and every time Black cannot
accept the offer. Black' s next move is
forced as the e8-rook must be kept
protected.
18 . 1b5 19 ' c4! !
Continuing the theme of haassing
te black queen. Captuing on c4 would
allow mate in two, so . . .
19 .. 1d7 20 ' c7! !
In this combination you could ague
that all six moves ae candidates for
the 'most amazing move' . Once again
White's queen puts herself en prise.
20 .. .'b5 (D)
20 . . . 'd8 would be answered by 21
' xeS ! .
21 a4! !
After the plausible 21 'xb7??
White would be on the receiving end of
back-rank problems after 21 . . . \xe2! .
The combination becomes more im
pressive if one takes into account the
vulnerability of White' s own king.
With best play by White, however,
Black is not able to make use of tis.
21 . . 'i xa4
21 . . . 'xe2 loses to 22 lxe2! , since
neither black rook is allowed to move
of the back rank.
62 THE MOST AANG CHESS MOVES OF ALL TIME
22 le4! !
Now the queen must move, since
White threatens both 23 1xc8 lxc8
24 lxa4 and 23 b3 'ib5 24 'i xb7! .
22 ... 'b5
Here we have a simila position to
two moves ago, with the diference
that White no longer has an a-pawn
and the rook has moved fom e2 to e4.
The second diference is crucial, as
White can now play . . .
23 ' xb7! ! 1-0
Black no longer has the .. :
i
xe2
tick and so his queen has fnally run
out of squaes.
Puzzle 60
Cordes - Miles
Ba Worishofen 1985
( 1 d4 f6 2 c4 e6 3 c3 ib4 4
f3 c5 5 g3 b6 6 ig2 ib7 7 d5 exd5
8 lh4 le4 9 ixe4 ixc3+ 1 0 bxc3
dxe4 1 1 1d6 f6 12 f5 g6)
13 igS! !
White reacts to the attack on te
knight by putting another piece en
prise. Neither piece can b captured:
1 3 . . . fxg5 14 1e5+ cf 1 5 h6+ f
16 1xh8+ and 1 3 . . . gxf5 14 ixf6 ae
both winning for White. Thus Black is
forced to protect the f6-pawn.
13 ... lf8 14 1e5+!
This is extremely ' visual ' ; all of
White's three developed pieces ae
now attacked. Capturing the queen
with 14 . . . fxe5 allows 15 ld6#, so the
king must move.
14 ... ctf7 15 d6+ rg7 16
l
xb7
c6
After 1 6 . . . fxe5 17 ixd8, despite
having two pieces deep in enemy teri
tory, White remains a safe piece up.
17 \dS 'i c7 18 d6 fxgS 19 h4!
Black has regained the piece, but
now White' s queen and knight ae se
curely posted in the cente of the boad,
where they dominate events. White
can generate a rapid and decisive at
tack against the black king.
19 ... e3 20 f3 gxh4 21 lxh4 fd8 22
0-0-0 'e7 23 ldh1 :hs (D)
24 fS+!
The fnal nail in the cofn: Black's
king has no shelter fom White's ma
JOr p1eces.
2 ... g5 2 ' xS hS 2l lS
27 lxhS ' e6 28 lgS+ h8 29 'i f4
' h6 30 lg8+ xg8 31 'i xh6 leS 32
' g6+ 33 ' f6+ <ig8 34 'i gS+
f7 35 ' f4+ rg 36 ' g4+ 1-0
Puzzle 61
Bogoljubow - Rellstab
Krakw 1940
( 1 f3 f6 2 d4 b5 3 ig5 ib7 4
e3 a6 5 bd2 e6 6 a4 b4 7 id3 c5 8
0-0 ie? 9 dxc5 ixc5 10 e4 ie? 1 1
e5 d5 1 2 ixe7 xe7 1 3
l
c4
l
c8
14 le1 d 15 exd6 xd6)
Now there cae . . .
16 ig6! !
This allows the bishop to be taen
in two diferent ways, but crucially
ASWERS FOR CHAPTER 2 63
pins the f7 -pawn and thus threatens
lxe6+.
16 ... hxg6?
1 6 . . . xc4? loses immediately to 17
lxe6+, while after 16 . . . re7 17 xd6
'xd6 1 8 1xd6+ xd6 19 ixf7 id5
20 lad1 White wins a second pawn.
However, the calm 16 . . . 0-0! is Black's
best defence. Now 17 xd6 hxg6 18
xb7 'c7 is not so clea, as Black re
gains the piece on b7. Probably best
for White is 17 ixh7+ xh7 18
l
xd6
id5 1 9 e4 wit a safe exta pawn.
17 lxd6+ e7 18 lxb7 'c7 19
' d5 lh5 20 ' e4 lc6 21 g4! 1-0
The rook cannot stay guading the
c5-squae.
Puzzle 62
C. Torre - Em. Lasker
Moscow 1925
( 1 d4 lf6 2 lf3 e6 3 ig5 c5 4 e3
cxd4 5 exd4 ie? 6 lbd2 d6 7 c3
lbd7 8 id3 b6 9 lc4 ib7 10 ' e2
'c7 1 1 0-0 0-0 1 2 :fe1 lfe8 13 lad1
l
f8 14 ic1
l
d5 1 5
l
g5 b5 1 6
l
a3
b4 17 cxb lxb4 1 8 'h5 ixg5 19
ixg5
l
xd3 20 lxd3 1a 21 b4 ' f5
22 lg3 h6 23 lc4 'd5 24 le3 'b5)
Tore stunned the former World
Chapion with:
25 if6! !
This loses a queen, but sets up te
well-known ' seesaw' efect. This mo
tif comes with deadly force.
2 ... 'i xh5 2 :Xg7+ h8 27 :x+
g8 2 :g7+ h8 29 :xb7+
Black ca do nothing as White re
claims material with interest.
29 cig8 30 :g7+ <h8 31 :g5+
h7 32 :m5 g6
There's a slight sting in the tail, in
that this double attack regains some
material, but White will remain three
pawns up, certainly a winning advan
tage.
33 lh3 <xf6 34 :xh6+ g5 35
:h3 leb8 36 1g3+ f6 37 :r3+
g6 38 a a 39 bxa5 lxa5 40 lc4
ld5 41 1f4 ld7 42 :xe6+ g5 43
g3 1-0
Puzzle 63
Bischof - Nogueiras
Havan 1998
( 1 c4 c6 2 lf3 d5 3 e3 lf6 4 lc3
e6 5 ' c2 lbd7 6 b3 id6 7 ie2 0-0 8
ib2 a6 9 d4 e5 10 0-0-0 e4 1 1 ld2
:e8 12 g4 lf8 1 3 .dg1 ie6 14 h4 b5
15 c5 ic7 1 6 g5 l6d7 1 7 f3 exf3 1 8
lxf3 f5 1 9 <b1 b4 20 ld 1 lg6 21
h5 le7 22 id3 a 23 lf lf8 24
lh3 'b8 25 le5 a4 26 lf4 ab3 27
axb3 ixe5 28 dxe5 ic8 29 e6 lxe6
30 lxe6 ixe6 3 1 ixg7 d4 32 ixd4
la3 33 ic4 ld5 34 h6 lc3+ 35
ixc3 ixc4 36 ib2 ixb3 37 ' xf5
1a7)
White played:
38 'i xh7+! !
Bischof sacrifces his queen in or
der to push the pawns tough. This
move gets exta credit as Black meets
a check with a check of his own and
still loses.
38 ... 'i xh7+
38 . . . <xh7 39 g6+ g8 40 h7+
'xh7 41 gxh7++ rf7 42 :g7+ is
devastating.
39 g6 1-0
Black can still stuggle on with
39 . . . la7 ! 40 gxh7++ <x7, but after
41 lh4 White should win; for exa
ple, 4 1 . . . lxe3 42 lg7+ :xg7 43
hxg7+ <g6 44 :g4+ h7 45 g81+!
ixg8 46 lg7+.
64 THE MOST AAING CHESS MOVES OF ALL TIME
Puzzle 64
Marovic - Tsagan
Krakw student OL 196
( 1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 lc3
l
f6 4 .g5
.e7 5 e3 0-0 6 :c 1
l
bd7 7
l
f3 c6 8
.d3 dxc4 9 .xc4
l
d5 1 0 .xe7
'xe7 1 1 0-0
l
xc3 12 :xc3 e5 1 3
1c2 exd4 1 4 exd4
l
f6 1 5 le1 'd6
1 6
l
g5 .g4 17 lg3 .h5 1 8 lh3
.g6)
White now played a brilliant se
quence:
19 'i xg6! ! hxg6 20 .xf7+! :xr7
21 lh8+! xh8 22
l
xf7+ h7 23
l
xd6
It seems almost unfair that such a
combination leaves White ' only' a
pawn up. However, this exta pawn is
suffcient to give White a winning
endgae.
23 .. ld8 2 :e6
l
d5 25
l
f7 :r
26
l
g5+ h6 21
l
f3 :r4 2s h4 :r
29
l
e5
l
f4 30 :d6 <ih7 31 f3 :es
32 g3
l
e2+ 33 f lxd4 3 f4
l
f5
35 ld7 :e7 36 :ds h6 (D)
37 :h8+!
Black has obviously not leant his
lesson! Once again White wins a pawn
using the same theme, albeit a much
simpler version.
37 ... 8 38 lg6 g8 39 le7+
cf7 40 c8 e6 41 f3 a 42 b6
g6 43 g4 f7 44 c4 a4 45 <e4
l
h6
46
l
e5 cS 47 gS fS 48 lxg6
l
d6+
49 <f3
l
c4 SO hS
l
d2+ 51 e2 1-0
Puzzle 65
s. Popov - Buljovcic
Yugoslavia 1966
( 1 e4 f6 2 e5
l
d5 3 d4 d6 4 f3
.g4 5 h3 .xf3 6 txf3 dxe5 7 dxe5
e6 8 'e4 c6 9 .c4 d7 10 0-0 1c7
1 1 :e1 h6 1 2 a4 a 1 3
l
c3 xc3 14
bxc3 :d8 1 5 f4 g6 16 g4 .c5+ 17
h1 b6 18 f5 gxf5 19 gxf5 exf5 20
1
xf5 xc4 21 e6 .d6 22 exf7+ f
23 tf6 .e5 24 .xh6+ lxh6 25
1xh6+ .g7)
White fnished the gae of in fne
style:
26 :e8+! ! :xeS 27 'i xg7+! xg7
28 fxe8
l
+! 1-0
After 29 xc7 the material swing
in the last tee half-moves has ben a
hefty 1 6 'points' !
Puzzle 66
Xu Jun - lvanchuk
Lucerne Wcht 1993
( 1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3
l
f3 dxc4 4 1a4+
l
d7 5 e4
l
gf6 6 c3 a6 7 .xc4 :b8
8
1
c2 b5 9 .e2 .b7 10 0-0? ! b 1 1
e5 bxc3 1 2 exf6 cxb2 1 3 fxg7)
The position of the white queen al
lows Black to win materal in an un
likely manner:
13 ... bxal ! ! 14 gh8'i
14 gxft+ :xf 15 'i c3 :g8 16
1
xa1 1f6 leaves Black the exchange
to the good.
14 ... xc2
Black has an exta piece. It's te
that White ha some play, but lvanchuk
ASWERS FOR CHAPTER 2 65
proved this to offer insuffcient com
pensation:
15 .g5 .x3! ? 16 .xd8 .xe2 17
.xc7 .b7 18 .d6 .xfl 19 xn
lb6 20 .xf8 lxf8
. . . and Black's rook and two knights
proved stonger than the queen, al
though the game dragged on for some
time:
21 g3 lb4 22 'e5 ld5 23 h4 lg6
24 'g7 h5 25 'i g8+ re7 2 ' c8 lf8
27 a4 ld7 28 a ld6 29 1c4 d8 30
' e2 l7f6 31 1c4 d7 32 'c5 le4
33 ' a3 f5 3 g2 lc6 35 'b2 <c8
36 'e2 lef6 37 'b2 f4 38 gxf4
lxf4+ 39 g3 l6d5 40 'd2 lc3+
41 f3 rc7 42 'b2 lc6 43 Wd2 c8
4 'b2 lc7 45 h2 lc4 46 ' a3 lb4
47 ' cl+ rb7 48 ' d2 c6 49 ' c2+
b5 50 'c5+ <a4 51 1c6+ xa5 52
' c5+ lb5 53 ' a3+ <b6 54 ' d6+
ca7 55 1d7+ :b7 56 1d6 lc7 57
hl a 58 ' a3 <a6 59 'b3 lc6 60
<h2 lb6 61 1e3 lfd5 62 1e2+
lc4 0-1
Puzzle 67
Salwe - Rubinstein
Lodz ( 13) 1907
( 1 e4 e5 2 lf3 lc6 3 .c4 .c5 4
lc3 lf6 5 d3 d6 6 ie3 ib6 7 0-0
.g4 8 ld5

xd5 9 .xd5 0-0 10 h3

.h5 1 1 g4 .g6 12 g2 1e7 13 ' e2
h8 14 a4

d8 15 a .xe3 16 fxe3
c6 17 ib3

e6 1 8 c3

c5 1 9 .c2 d5
20 exd5 cxd5 21

h2 e4 22 d4

d3
23 .b3 lad8 24 ' d2 f5 25 c4 f4! 26
cxd5 f3+ 27 h1 1h4 28 .c4 ' xh3
29 .xd3 exd3 30 lf .e4 3 1 lc 1
lf6 32 'b4 d2 33 :dt 'g3 34 'e7
lc8 35 lfxd2)
Rubinstein played a powerful queen
sacrifce:
35 ... 'el+! !
I should mention that the simple
35 . . . .xd5 also wins easily for Black.
After the more striking text-move,
White has no defence. After 36

fl
lh6+ Black wins against 37 lh2 with
37 . . .'if! , and 37 cg1 with 37 . . . f+
38 lxf lh1#. The gae ended:
36 :xel f+ 37 ' xe4 fxel' + 38
g2 'xd2+ 0-1
This is an even bigger material
swing than Puzzle 65, with 1 8 'points'
in three half-moves.
Puzzle 68
Kasparov - Short
Lndon PCA Wch ( 1 7) 1993
( 1 e4 e5 2

f3

c6 3 d4 exd4 4

xd4 .c5 5

xc6 'f6 6 'd2 dxc6 7

c3 .e6 8

a4 ld8 9 .d3 .d4 10

0-0 a6 1 1 lc3 le7 1 2

e2 .b6 13
'i f4

g6 14 'xf6 gxf6 1 5

g3 h5 1 6
.e2 h4 17 lf5 ixf5 1 8 exf5

e5 1 9
:et <f 20 if4 :d4 21 g3 <g7 22
:ad1 le4 23 <g2 hxg3 24 fxg3)
Short now played:
24 ... if! !
It should be pointed out that against
24 hxg3, Short had planned 24 . . . .xf! ,
winning a pawn in exactly the same
way. The text-move is more excep
tional, however, as sacrifces on empty
squaes ae more difcult to see.
On those rae occurences on which
Kasparov misses a tactic, he is not
known for hiding his emotions, and
this was certainly no exception. After
considerable head-shaking, Kaspaov
resigned himself to losing a pawn.
25 xf lxh2+ 26 n lexe2 27
:xe2 lhl+ 28 f lxdl
Fortunately for White, Black's poor
pawn-structure means that winning
66 THE MOST AAING CHESS MOVES OF ALL TIME
chances ae virtually zero, despite the
exta pawn.
29 b3!
29 .xe5? fxe5 30 lxe5 <f6 gives
Black good chances in the rook and
pawn ending, as f5 is weak.
29 .. ld7 30 :d2! :xd2+ 31 .xd2
c5 32 <e3 c6 33 <e4 c4 34 b4 b5 35
.f4 ld7 36 <d4 <f8 37 .c7 <e7
38 g4 <f8 39 .d6+ rg7 40 .c7 <f8
41 a3 1h-1/2
Puzzle 69
Kvistendahl - Pollock
Lndon 1885
( 1 e4 e5 2 lf3 lc6 3 .c4 .c5 4
b4 lxb 5 c3 lc6 6 d4 exd4 7 0-0 d6
8 cxd4 .b6 9 d5 la5 10 .b2 lxc4
1 1 'a4+ .d7 1 2 'xc4 f6 1 3 a4 le7
14 a5 .c5 1 5 e5 fxe5 1 6 lxe5 0-0 17
ld3 b6 1 8 lxc5 bxc5 19 lc3 lb8 20
labl lb4 21 1e2 lg6 22 .al lg4
23 g3 lf4 24 'i d2 'h4 25 le2 lh3+
26 hl .f5 27 f3)
Black ignored both ' threats' and
played:
27 . .xb1! ! 2 gxh4
28 fxg4 is answered by 28 . . . .e4+
29 lf3 .xf3#.
28 . lxf3! 29 lxf3 lf+! 30 :x
White is temporarily a queen and
knight up, but now Black is able to set
up a deadly battery wit bishop and
rook.
30 ... .e4+ 31 lg2 lxg2 32 lc3?
32 1f4 is a tougher defence, but the
endgame is winning after 32 . . . lg4+
33 ' xe4 lxe4 34 lgl lxh4 35 <g2
:h5 since White' s pawns ae drop
ping of.
32 .. lxd2+ 0-1
33 lxe4 ld 1 + picks up the enemy
bishop.
Puzzle 70
0. Bernstein - Capablanca
Moscow 1914
( 1 d4 d 2 c4 e6 3 lc3 lf6 4 lf3
.e? 5 .g5 0-0 6 e3 lbd7 7 :c 1 b6 8
cxd5 exd5 9 'a4 .b7 1 0 .a6 .xa6
1 1 'xa6 c5 12 .xf6 lxf6 1 3 dxc5
bxc5 14 0-0 'b6 15 'e2 c4 1 6 lfdl
lfd8 17 ld4 .b4 18 b3 lac8 1 9
bxc4 dxc4 20 lc2 .xc3 21 :xc3 ld5
22 lc2 c3 23 :de 1 lc5 24 lb3 lc6
25 ld4 :c7 26 lb5 lc5 27 lxc3
lxc3 28 :xc3 :xc3 29 :xc3)
There is a sting in the tail.
29 . . 1b2! ! 0-1
The vaiations ae quite simple, but
striking noneteless:
a) 30 'xb2 ldl#.
b) 30 lc2 'bl+ 3 1 'f1 1xc2.
c) 30 'el ' xc3 3 1 'xc3 ldl +.
d) 30 ' c2 ' al + 3 1 ' cl ldl +.
Puzzle 71
Arnold - Duras
Prague 1920
1 . . . 1d1! !
White has no defence after this stag
gering move. However, it should be
noted that the more mundane 1 . . . .d4
is equally efective.
2 lxb6
2 le5 loses to 2 . . . e2+ 3 <h 1
. 'xel +! 4 'xel .f.
2 .. lc1 0-1
Black reaches a winning ending af
ter 3
W
xe3
W
xel+ 4 1xel lxel + 5
<if :at .
Puzzle 72
D. Byrne - Fischer
New York 19561
( 1 lf3 lf6 2 c4 g6 3 lc3 .g7 4
d4 0-0 5 .f4 d5 6 1b3 dxc4 7 'xc4
ASWERS FOR CHAPTER 2 67
c6 8 e4
l
bd7 9 :dl
l
b6 10 'i c5 ig4
1 1 ig5
l
a4 12 'a3
l
xc3 1 3 bxc3
l
xe4 14 ixe7 'i b6 15 ic4
l
xc3 16
ic5 lfe8+ 17 fl )
Here Fischer played an astonishing
move:
17 ie6! !
Byrne had certainly overlooked this
ver clever bishop reteat. He had ben
expecting 17 . . .
l
b5?, against which
White can play 1 8 ixf+! , because
1 8 . . .
c
xf7? 1 9 'ib3+ ie6 20 lg5+
wins for White.
18 ixb6
After 1 8 .xe6 Black can carry out
a delightful version of the Philidor
(smothered) mate with 1 8 . . . 'b5+ 19
<gl le2+ 20 fl
l
g3++ 21
gl
'i fl +! 22 lxfl le2#. Black is also
virtually winning after either 1 8 'i xc3
1xc5 ! 1 9 dxc5 ixc3 20 ixe6 lxe6
or 1 8 id3
l
b5 19 'a4 'c7.
18 ixc4+ 19 <g1 le2+ 20 <n
Black can now go on a (discovered)
checking spree, which wins enough
material to outweigh White' s queen
by fa.
20 . . Cxd4+ 21 <ig1
21 ld3 loses to 21 . . . axb6 22 'i c3
l
xf3.
21 . le2+ 22 <n lc3+ 23 g1
axb6 24 'ib4 la4 25 'i xb6 lxd1
Finally the smoke has cleaed, leav
ing Black with rook, two bishops and a
pawn for te white queen. What's more,
White has to waste more time getting
the hi -rook into the game, and Black
can use this to pick up more material.
All in all, Black has an easily winning
position.
26 h3 lxa2 27 <h2 lf 2 lel
lxe1 29 ' d8+ if8 30 lxe1 id5 31
lf3 le4 32 1b8 b5 33 h4 h5 34 le5
<g7 35 <ig1 icS+ 3 lg3+ 37
<e1 .b4+ 38 <d1 ib3+ 39 c1
le2+ 40 b1 lc3+ 41 c1 lc2
(0-1)
Puzzle 73
Gallagher - Campora
Bie/ 1990
( 1 e4 e5 2 f4 exf4 3 lf3 d5 4 exd5
lf6 5 ic4 Cxd5 6 0-0 ie? 7 d4 0-0 8
.xd5 'xd5 9 ixf4 c5 1 0 lc3 'c4
1 1 'i e 1 .f6 1 2 .d6 ixd4+ 1 3 h 1
ld8 14 le4 f5 1 5 'ih4 lc6)
16 le5! !
The staggering move overloads both
the c6-knight and the d4-bishop. Black
has no useful defence.
16 . .xe5
Now White has a discovered attack,
which wins te queen, but 1 6 . . . lxe5
17 'i xd8+ is no better for Black.
17 lf6+ ix6 18 1xc4+ <h8 19
.xc5 le5 20 'e2 .e6 21 lfd1 f4 22
lxd8+ :d8 23 .e7 f3 2 g3 ic4
25 ' xe5 ixe5 26 ixd8 ixb2 27
lb1 id4 2 :b7 idS 29 lb3 ixb3
30 axb3 g8 31 g2 rf7 32 f4 re6
33 <f3 r5 34 ic7 ig1 35 h3 ih2
36 c4 g5 37 .b8 a6 38 b4 gxf4 39 b5
axb5 40 cxb5 e6 41 b6 <d5 42
ixf4 1-0
Amazingly enough, Gallagher had
the fortune to play exactly te sae
move one yea later. On this occasion
his opponent was GM Yu Balashov,
who lasted until move 35.
Puzzle 74
Reggio - Mieses
Monte Carlo 1903
( 1 e4 c5 2 lf3 e6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Cxd4
lf6 5 lc3 Cc6 6 lxc6 bxc6 7 e5
l
d5 8
l
e4
1
c7 9 f4 f5 10 exf6 lxf6
68 THE MOST AANG CHESS MOVES OF ALL TIME
1 1 xf6+ gxf6 1 2
'
5+ <d8 1 3 id2
d5 14 c4 lb8 1 5 'h4 ie7 1 6 ic3
1b6 17 ie2 d7 1 8 cxd5 cxd5 19
:dl lg8 20 'i h3 f5 21 lfl ia6 22
id3)
22 ... lg3! !
This rook can be captured in two
ways, but neither is satisfactory for
White. Black can also win a pawn by
22 . . . lxg2! 23 'ixg2 'i e3+ 24 'i e2
ih4+ 25 lf ixf+ 26 <fl .
23 ' xg3
23 hxg3?? 'i e3+ 24 ie2 'ixe2#.
23 ... ih4!
Overloading the white queen.
24 ixa6
24 'ixh4?? 'i e3+ 25 ie2 'i xe2#.
2 ixg3+ 25 hxg3 1xa6
Black has won material, but there is
still much play lef in te position.
26 lhl lg8?! 27 lxh7+ <c6? 2
lh6?
28 lcl ! gives White the advantage.
2 ... <bS 29 lxdS+? exdS 30 lxa6
<xa6 31 f <tbS 32 b3 cS 33 <f3
d4 34 id2 cdS 35 iel lc8 36 g4
fxg4+ 37 <xg4 lc2 38 g3 d3 39 gS
d2 0-1
Puzzle 75
Euwe - Alekhine
Zurich 1934
( 1 c4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 c3 a6 4 cxd5
exd5 5 if4 f6 6 e3 id6 7 ixd6
lxd6 8 id3 lc6 9 ge2 0-0 10 a3
&e7 1 1 'i c2 b6 1 2 b ib7 1 3 0-0
lfe8 14 g3 g6 15 :tel h4 16
lce2 c6 17 lab1 :e7 1 8 a4 lae8 19
a b5 20 f4 lc7 21 'i c5 'd7 22
lel g6 23 if5 'i d8 24 d3 ic8
25 lbel
&
e7 26 ixc8 lxc8 27 le5
le6 28 e4 xe4 29 xe4 dxe4 30
lxe4 f6)
Euwe cae up with:
31 lf7! ! 1e8
Tang the knight loses: 31 . .
/
xf
32 'h5+ re7 (or 32 . . . g6 33 'xh7+
f8 34 'ih8+ re7 35 lxe6+ <xe6
36 'i xd8) 33 lxe6+
xe6 34 lel +
d6 35 'c5+ rd7 36 'f5+ d6 37
'i e6#.
32 lxe6 ' xe6 33 d8! 'e4 3
xc6
The combination is over and White
has won 'just' a pawn. However, this
is enough to reach a winning position.
34 . . h6 35 dS ' d3 36 h3 1d2 37
g3 h8 38 g2 ' d3 39 lel h7 40
le3 ' d2 41 le8 1d3 42 ' d4 ' c4
43 'i e4+ 'xe4+ 44 lxe4 g8 45
b8 f7 46 lxa6 ld7 47 ld4 e7
48 d6 lfS 49 ldS xd6 SO cS ld8
Sl le4 b7 52 a6!
Anoter fnesse to fnish Black of.
S2 . . e6
52 . . . lxd5 53 axb7 ld8 54 d6+
e6 55 lc8 and the pawn promotes.
53 lxd8 1-0
Puzzle 76
V. Mikenas- Bronstein
USSR Ch (Tallinn) 1965
( 1 d4 lf6 2 c4 d6 3 lc3 c6 4 e4 e5
5 d5 ie7 6 ie2 0-0 7 lf3 la6 8 0-0
id7 9 el 1c8 10 d3 .d8 1 1 f4
cxd5 12 cxd5 lc5 1 3 fxe5 lfxe4 14
xe4 lxe4 15 ie3 .b6 16 .xb6
axb6 17 lf4 lc5 1 8 exd6 lxd3 19
1xd3 'i c5+ 20 rh 1 'ixd6 21 lh4 h6
22 a3 lfe8 23 .f3 'i e5 24 lb4)
Bronstein astonished his opponent
with:
2 lxa3! ! 0- 1
Black wins the queen or mates after
25 'i xa3 'e1 +, 25 bxa3 \xa1 + or 25
lxa3 'i el +.
3 Daring Defence
For every brilliant and successful mating attack there' s an equal and opposite
outcome - when the attack founders upon cool and correct defence. Sometimes
the defence itself can be of amazing value, and this chapter deals with these occa
sions. It could be said that it's actually more difcult to fnd brilliant defensive
moves under pressure than it is to fnd equal ly good attacking ideas. However,
there ae certain players who actually thrive on defending difcult positions, sit
ting tight for many moves and then unleashing a decisive counter-attack at the
slightest chance. Accepting gifts and then fghting like a dog to keep your oppo
nent at bay is one of the most important skills for a chess-player.
See how your defensive skills cope with the 14 examples below.
Black is behind in development,
under some pressure and has problems
mobilizing his forces. For example,
1 1 . . . 0-0-0 drops a pawn to 12 i.xf,
while 1 1 . . . e6 allows the very danger
ous sacrifce 1 2 i.xe6! fxe6 1 3 xe6.
What is Black's solution?
On the plus side, White is a pawn
up, but the d6-pawn is in big danger
and, just a importantly, the rook is
looking woefully out of place on h3.
How can White salvage something
from this position?
70 THE MOST AAING CHESS MOVES OF ALL TIME
79
B
This is a typical Sicilian, with both
sides trying to open up the enemy
king. It seems as if White is winning
the race, as Black's counter on the
queenside has become a little stag
nant. How does Black liven up the pro
ceedings to his advantage?
In this strange-looking position,
Black has an exta piece, but is stug
gling to fnd a defence against the
threats of .e3 and d6. Is there a radi
cal solution to Black's problems?
81
w
White's big tump cad, the passed
pawn on f6, should give him a winning
advantage, but he must play accurately
here. The rook is attacked. Where is
the best place for it?
82
B
Bot sides have gone crazy in their
attempts to checkate the enemy king.
White is two pieces down, but his at
tack appears to be faster. Where is
Black's defensive resource?
DARING DEFENCE 71
83
B
With his last move ( 1 9 e1 -d2)
White threatens to deliver mate in a
few moves. What is Black's inspired
defence?

z
/
Although ahead on material, Black
looks in trouble here. For exaple,
24 . . . lbc8 25 c6 lxc6 26 :xc6 and
White is a pawn up, or 24 . . . id7 25
lxd7 ! 'ixd7 26 ixg7+
c
xg7 27
1xg5+ h8 28 1f6+ g8 29 f5 and
White wins. What should Black do?
85
B
White's previous move (21 d4-
c6) makes use of the pin on the d-fle
to fork queen and rook. How should
Black react to this move?
86
w
For the moment White has the ad
vantage of an exta rook, but his queen
and bishop ae attacked, and it seems
impossible for the queen to stay de
fending te g2-squae. What ca White
come up with?
72 THE MOST AAING CHESS MOVES OF ALL TIME
87
B

After a very stodgy game, the posi

tion is incredibly bloked, but White
has all the winning chances, as he has
good knight vs bad bishop. Dos Black
have a miraculous defensive ty?
88
w
In tis wonderflly random posi
tion it's difcult to say who's attack
ing and who' s defending. A glance at
the material count suggest Black is on
top and the theat to exchange queens
is annoying for White. Any sugges
tions?
89
B
White is a pawn down, but has just
castled and Black is faced with the
dual teat of cxd4 and lxb7. How
can Black deal with tis?
90
B
White's last move was to play his
knight fom d5 to b6, where it attacks
the aS-rook. Should Black move the
rook or go on the counter-attack?
Answers for Chapter 3
Puzzle 77
Porrecca - Bronstein
Belgrade 1954
( 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d 3 c3 dxe4 4 xe4
.f5 5 g3 .g6 6 h4 h6 7 h3 .h7 8
.c4 lf6 9 f4 bd7 10 0-0 'c7 1 1
:e1)
Bronstein came up with an improb
able move:
11 . . . .g8! !
Suddenly nealy all of Black's prob
lems are solved. Not only does the
bishop defend the f -pawn, but it also
gives indirect support to the e-pawn
when it advances to e6. Moving the
bishop from a long open diagonal to a
non-existent one makes a very stiking
impression.
12 d3 e6 13 .f4 .d6 14 .xd6
1xd6 15 fS 1f 16 'f3 0-0-0 17
g3 .h7
The pressure has eased and the
bishop returs to its more active diag
onal . Black has a fully playable game,
and proceeds to outplay his opponent.
18 a4 .xd3 19 .xd3 ' d6 20 a
a6 21 la3 gS! 22 hS ' f4 23 ' e2 qc7
24 c3 lhe8 25 e4?! xe4 26 'xe4
'xe4 27 .xe4 f6
The h5-pawn will b very weak in
the endgame.
28 .f3 g4 29 .d1 :g8 30 :es
ldS! 31 la4 lgS 32 .b3 ldxeS 33
dxeS d7!
Finally Black wins a pawn and for
the rest of the game Bronstein's tech
nique is faultless.
34 .d1 xeS 35 :e4 lxhS 36
.xg4 xg4 37 lxg4 lxaS 38 lg7
:rs 39 g4 :r6 40 g2 d6 41 <g3
eS 42 lg8 <dS 0-1
Puzzle 78
Gligoric - Averbakh
Ttovo Uzice 1966
( 1 d4 f6 2 c4 e6 3 c3 .b4 4 e3
0-0 5 .d3 d5 6 f3 c5 7 0-0 bd7 8
a3 .a5 9 .d2 cxd4 1 0 exd4 dxc4 1 1
.xc4 a6 1 2 a4 b6 1 3 1e2 .b7 14
lfd1 :e8 1 5 e5 .xc3 1 6 .xc3
d5 17 .d2 f8 18 la3 f6 19 g4
g6 20 lg3 <h8 21 .d3 ldf4 22
.xf4 lxf4 23 ' e3 lxd3 24 'xd3
'i d5 25 ' d2 le7 26 le3 ' d8 27
' d3 lc8 28 lh3 f5 29 f3 lec7 30 d5
:c 1 3 1 d6 .d5 32 lxd5 exd5 33
'xd5 lxd1 + 34 ' xd1 lc6)
Gligoric had a trick up his sleeve:
35 lh6! !
This defends the d6-pawn and pre
paes le6. The tactical point is that
35 . . . gxh6 allows 36 'd4+ g8 37
'd5+ regaining the rook, with a win
ning position.
35 .. 1d7
Defending the e6-squae.
36 le6!
Anyway ! Now White' s d6-pawn
comes into play.
36 . ' xe6?!
I think Black has better drawing
chances in the rook ending that aises
after 36 . . . h6! 37 'd5 lc5 38 'a8+
qh7 39 1e8 1xe8 40 lxe8 ld5.
74 THE MOST AANG CHESS MOVES OF ALL TIME
37 d7 ld6 38 d8'+ lxd8 39
\xd8+ 1g8 40 ' xb6
This queen ending is very difcult
for Black, who is a pawn down, with a
less active queen and a weaker king
position.
40 .'c8 41 ' d4 ' cl + 42 <if
' c2+ 43 <g3 h6 4 h3 'ih7 45 <ih2
aS 46 f4 hS 47 'dS 1xa4 48 ' xf5+
g6 49 'f7 + <h6 50 ' f6 h7 51
fe7+ 'g8 52 'i e6+ h7 53 Cg3 'c2
54 1f7 + <h6 55 ' f6 'ih7 56 fe7 +
g8 57 'e6+ <h7 58 'i d7+ <h6 59
fd4 'ih7 60 'i a7+ h6 61 ' xaS
fxb2
The position has simplifed, but
White still has excellent winning pros
pects in this 3 vs 2 ending, if nothing
else because the exta pawn provides
more defence for the white king.
62 WgS+ h7 63 h4 1f+ 64 g3
'd4 65 'e7+ h6 66 1f8+ <h7 67
'f7 + h6 68 'e7 'at 69 ' f8+
<h7 70 'd6 'a 71 'e7+ g8 72
'e8+ h7 73 ' f7+ h6 74 ' g8
'al 75 'd8 'c3 76 'gS+ h7 77
'e7 + <ih6 (D)
78 g4!
Finally White makes the break
through.
78 hxg4 79 hxg4 g5+ 80 fxg5+
<g6 81 \f6+!
This simplifes into a winning king
and pawn ending.
81 .. 1xf6 82 gxf6 <xf6 83 <hS
rg7 84 rgS rb7 85 <f6 <h6 86
g5+ <ih7 87 <f7 1-0
White wins after 87 . . . h8 88 <g6
<ig8 89 h6 <h8 90 g6 <g8 91 g7.
Puzzle 79
Ljubojevic - Larsen
Lndon 1980
( 1 e4 c5 2 lf3 e6 3 d4 cxd4 4 lxd4
lf6 5 lc3 d6 6 g4 ie? 7 g5 lfd7 8
h4 a6 9 ih3 le5 1 0 f4 lec6 1 1 f5
0-0 12 ie3 lxd4 1 3 1xd4 lc6 14
1d2 b5 15 1g2 le8 16 0-0-0 b4 17
la4 lb8 18 b3 if8 1 9 f6 lb5 20
lhf1 ib7 21 h5 le5 22 id4 1c7 23
<b1 g6 24 1e2)
24 .. gxh5! !
Black takes the initiative on the side
where he is meant to be defending.
Such an outageous plan succeeds bril
liantly here, a the black pieces ae ac
tive enough to defend the important
squaes on the kingside.
25 ig2
25 1xh5 ixe4 wins an important
pawn for Black. From e4 the bishop
can be used in both defence and attack.
25 ... lg4 26 'i d2 1a5 27 lhl
Now White hopes for 27 . . . lxg5 28
e5 ! disconnecting the black queen and
rook and hitting both g5 and b7.
27 . h6!
Black car ies on in the same tadi
tion as his 24th move.
28 e5?
28 gxh6 looks like a better chance,
although I still prefer Black's active
pieces after 28 . . . ixh6.
ASWERS FOR CHAPTER 3 75
28 ... dxe5 29 ib6
O 29 .xb7 :d8 ! .
29 ... lxb6 3 lxb6 'i xb6 31 :xhS
ixg2 32 'i xg2 le3 33 'i gl ldS 3
'i xb6 lxb6 35 gxh6 ldS
The two minor pieces fa outweigh
the white rook.
36 :gt + h8 37 :xeS x6 38
:as la8 39 :n .e7 40 e3 bxe3 41
<e2 le8 0-1
Puzzle 80
Sosonko - Rivas
Amsterdam Z 1978
( 1 d4 d5 2 c4 dxc4 3 lf3 lf6 4
lc3 a6 5 e4 b5 6 e5 td5 7 a4 c6 8
axb5 lxc3 9 bxc3 cxb5 10 tg5 f6 1 1
'f3 :a? 12 e6 'b6 1 3 d5 fxg5 14
'f7+ <d8 1 5 ixg5)
Black's position does indeed look
precaious, as the vaiations 15 . . . h6?
1 6 ie3 'b7 1 7 d6 and 1 5 . . . :b7 1 6 d6
show. However, Rivas' s solution to
the threats was a spectacula counter
sacrifce:
1S :d7! ! 16 exd7 txd7 17 ie2?!
John Watson later analysed 17 :d1
as being in White' s favour. However,
the theoretical importance of this is
not so great in any case as ealier 14
ie3 looks very good for White.
17 .. h6 18 ie3 'i f6 19 'xf6 exf6
Black reaches an ending where his
extra pawn and queenside majority
give him sufcient compensation for
the exchange. In fact, Black' s queen
side pawns eventually brought him
victor.
20 .g4 ib7 21 0-0 id6 22 lfdl
:es 23 e es 2 xeS xeS 25
ig4 re7 26 if3 d6 27 n b6
28 lel lxel+ 29 xel aS 30 d2 b4
31 exb4 axb4 32 :a4 ia6 33 ie4
e3+ 34 <e2 ie4 35 g3 eS 36 id3
.xdS 37 :a6 .es 38 :aS+ d4 39
:XdS+ xdS 40 f4 id6 41 ig6 e4
42 if7+ d4 43 ib3 <e3 4 fS hS
45 if7 h4 46 gh4 xh2 47 .a2
id6 48 ibl <i f4 49 b3 g4 50
<e4 xh4 51 e2 gS 52 cdS f8
53 e4 g6 54 fxg6 fS+ 55 <eS ig7+
56 e6 f4 57 qr7 <ih6 0- 1
Puzzle 81
Hollis - Baumbach
corr 1976
( 1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 lf3 lf6 4 tc3
e6 5 ig5 dxc4 6 e4 b5 7 e5 h6 8 h4
g5 9 lxg5 hxg5 10 xg5 lbd7 1 1
exf6 b7 12 g3 1b6 1 3 ig2 0-0-0 14
0-0 te5 15 dxe5 :xd 1 1 6 laxd 1 ic5
17 te4 d4 1 8 td6+ rc7 1 9 if4
:f8 20 .h6 :h8 21 g7 :d8 22
lxf7 ixf+ 23 hl lxd1 24 lxd1
' e3 25 td6 'e2)
26 lal! !
This is the smoothest way to vic
tory. Surrisingly, other rook moves
allow Black some counterchances:
a) The obvious 26 lf1 allows Black
unlikely counterplay after 26 . . . ia8 !
27 te4 (27 f7?? c5 ! wins for Black)
27 . . . c5 28 :xf 'e1 + 29 lft 'e2 30
<g1 xe4 3 1 :n 'd1 + 32 if1 c6
and Black still has drawing chances;
for exaple, 33 f7 1d5 34 ig2 1d1 +
35 :f1 1d4+ 36 h1 xg2+ 37 xg2
'e4+ 38 :r3 'c2+ 39 :f ' e4+,
with a likely perpetua.
b) 26 lb1 is inferior to the text
move, as after 26 . . . 1h5 27 g4 'h7! ,
Black hits the bl -rook. Following 28
:f1 g3 29 h3 xe5 30 f c5 ! 3 1
lxb7 ixg7 32 f81 ixf8 33 lxf8
1b1+ 34 lf1 'i xb2 White is better,
but the result is still in doubt.
76 THE MOST AANG CHESS MOVES OF ALL TIME
c) 26 :c 1 ! also wins after 26 . . . .e3
27 f7 ! .xc 1 28 f1 'i d 1 + 29 'i f1
'xf1 + 30 .xf1 .xb2, although I
would say that the text-move is still
the cleaest route to victory.
26 \h5
26 . . . c5 27 .xb7 and 26 . . . 'i xb2 27
lf1 c3 28 f7 c2 29 .h6 ae both easy
wins for White.
27 g4 'ih7 28 f7 .g3 29 h3 c5 30
xb7 1xg7 31 :n 1f8 32 lxc5 1-0
Puzzle 82
W. Watson - Kuczynski
Bunesliga 199415
( 1 e4 c5 2 lf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 lxd4
f6 5 l3 a6 6 .e3 e5 7 lb3 .e7 8
f3 .e6 9 'i d2 bd7 10 g4 0-0 1 1
0-0-0 9c7 12 h4 b5 1 3 h5 b 14 ld5
.xd5 15 exd5 lb6 1 6 .xb6 'xb6
17 .d3 a 1 8 g5 ld7 1 9 :dg1 a4 20
.xh7+ xh7 21 g6+ g8 22 h6 axb3
23 hxg7)
Black is faced with many threats.
For example, 23 . . . bxa2?? 24 :h8+!
leads to mat afer 24 . . . <xg7 25 'i h6+
<f6 26 'i h4+ qg7 27 lh7+ <g8 28
gxf#. Kuczynski solved the problem
as follows:
23 'i xg1 +! !
This extavagant solution is best, al
though it' s not stctly unique as Black
can also play 23 . . . fxg6! 24 \h6
1xg1 +! (but not 24 . . . bxa2?? 25 'i h7+
f 26 g8+! e8 27 1xe7#) 25
lxg1 bxa2 26 'h8+ <f7 27 'h7
a1 1+ 28 d2, tansposing to the note
to White's 25th move.
24 lxg1 bxa2 25 gxf7 +
Slightly more resilient is 25 'h6!
a1 '+ 26 d2 fxg6 27 'h8+ cf7 28
1h7 e8 29 lxa1 :xa1 30 'i xg6+
d8 3 1 gxf8f+ .xf8, as White gets
a slightly improved version of the end
ing reached in the gae. Nevertheless,
it should still be winning for Black.
25 xf7 2 'i g2 a1'+ 27 <d
'i xg1 28 gxf8'i+ lxf8 29 'i xg1 (D)
B
.

!
4^

^

4^ 4

The three pieces easily overpower

the white queen.
29 . : 3 c4 bxc3+ 31 <c :cS+
32 b4 lxd5 33 <a4 :d4+ 3 aS
ld7 35 b4 d5 3 b5 .d8+ 37 a6
lc5+ 38 9a7 .c7 0-1
Puzzle 83
Gutman - Vitolins
Riga 1979
( 1 d4 lf6 2 c4 e6 3 lc3 .b4 4 e3
0-0 5 le2 b5 6 cxb5 a6 7 lg3 .b7 8
.d2 .xc3 9 .xc3 axb5 1 0 .xb5
.xg2 1 1 :g1 .c6 1 2 lh5 lxh5 1 3
'xh5 .xb5 14 1h6 g6 15 d5 e5 1 6
.xe5 f6 17 lxg6+ hxg6 1 8 \xg6+
h8 1 9 d2)
Things do seem extemely desper
ate for Black; for exaple, 1 9 . . . fxe5
20 'h6+ g8 21 lg1 + f7 22 :g7+
e8 23 1g6+ : 24 1x#, 19 . . . 'e8
20 'h6+ <g8 21 :g1 + f7 22 'g7#
or 1 9 . . . \e7 20 'fh6+ 'ih7 21 'xf8+
'i g8 22 1h6+ 'h7 23 1xf6+ g8 24
lg1+ mating. Vitolins cae up with:
ASWERS FOR CHAPTER 3 77
19 id3! !
What's this? Surely just a fnal
' spite' attack?
20 xd3
20 'xd3 fxe5 21 1g6 lxf+ 22
<c3 lxh2 23 lg1 'f8 wins for Black.
20 . :i 7!
Now we see the point. The white
king has been lured to the fatal d3-
squae, so that 21 'h6+ 'h7+ comes
with a mighty check! White's attack
has been refuted.
21 e4 1g7!
There' s still time to go wrong with
21 . . . fxe5? 22 1h6+.
22 'h5+ g8 23 id4 c5 24 ixc5
lc8 25 f4 ta6 26 if tb4+ 27 <e2
:xa2! 0-1
Black wins after 28 lg1 lxb2+ 29
e3 lb3+ 30 <e2 %c2+ 3 1 f1
lb1+.
Puzzle 84
Zaichik - Psakhis
USSR U-26 Ch (Riga) 1980
( 1 e4 c5 2 tf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 lxd4
lf6 5 lc3 a6 6 ie2 e5 7 lb3 ie7 8
0-0 0-0 9 ig5 ie6 10 f4 exf4 1 1
ixf4 lc6 12 <h1 lc8 1 3 1e1 ld7
14 ld1 lde5 15 ld5 ig5 1 6 ig3
h8 17 c3 b5 18 h3 lb8 1 9 lb4 lxb4
20 ixe5 lc2 21
1
g3 le3 22 lxd6
lxf1 23 ixf1 ie7 24 ld4)
Psakhis played:
24 ... f6! !
This doesn' t look possible, but it
gives Black an equal position at least.
The imporant thing is that a bishop on
f1 hangs in many lines.
25 lxe6
Black is also OK after both 25
lxe6 fxe5 26 lxf8 1xd6 and 25 if4
ixf4 26 'xf4 id7.
25 . fxe5! 26 ie2
26 lxe7 lxfl + 27 <h2 if4 sees
anotht point to Black's 24t move.
Black regains the queen and remains
an exchange to the good.
26 . . 'i d8 27 ' xe5 if4 28 'd5
'h4! (D)
Suddenly the initiative swings to
Black and White starts to feel the
weakness of the dak squaes aound
his own kng.
29 lf3 ' f 30 ' dl :bd8 31 ld4
1g3 32 ' g1 ie3 33 'd1 :n 34 if3
if4 0-1
35 1g1 is answered by the defec
tion 35 . . . :f1 ! .
Puzzle 85
Rogozenko - Gallagher
Bunesliga 1998/9
( 1 d4 tf6 2 c4 g6 3 g3 ig7 4 ig2
0-0 5 lc3 d6 6 lf3 lbd7 7 0-0 e5 8
e4 a6 9 'c2 exd4 10 lxd4 le8 1 1
lde2 lb8 1 2 a4 a 1 3 b3 lc5 14
ia3 b6 15 lad 1 h5 16 ld4 id7 17
lfe1 h4 1 8 e5 lg4 1 9 f4 hxg3 20
hxg3 dxe5 21 lc6)
Gallagher ignored White's teats
and got on with his own game:
21 .. exf4! !
78 THE MOST AMAING CHESS MOVES OF ALL TIME
Sacrifcing a queen in order to be
gin a vicious counter-attack against
the white king.
22 xd8 id4+! 23 h1
23 :xd4 loses to 23 . . . lxe1 + 24
if1 :xf1 + 25 <ixf1 e3+ 26 <g 1
xc2 27 ixc5 xd4.
23 .. :xe1+!
23 . . . lf+? allows Wt to sarifce
back wit 24 'xf ixf 25 :xe8+
ixe8, when White escapes with an
extra piece.
24 lxe1 f+ 25 .xf?
After this move White is in serious
touble. Alternatives include:
a) 25 h2 lg4+ 26 <h1 f+
with a draw by perpetual check.
b) 25 g1 ! ? lfe4+ 26 <ih2 (26
<h1 f+ is another draw) 26 . . . fxg3+
27 h1 lf+ 28 <g1 lfd3+! 29 f1
lxe1 30 xe1 lxd8, when Black' s
rook, three pawns and active pieces
provide very good compensation for
the queen. Gallagher gives the sample
line 3 1 ixc5 bxc5 32 f1 if5 33
' d2 le8 34 le2 if 35 ' c3 le3 36
' xa5 :xb3, when the position remains
very complex.
25 . ixf 26 :n fxg3 27 lc6 :e8
28 ib2?
White' s last chance was with 28
l, although afer 28 ... ixc6 29 lf6+
g7 30 lxe8+ ixe8 Black retains
good winning chances.
28 . td3 29 ia1 le6! 30 lb8
leS
Gallagher gives a quicker win with
30 . . . g5 ! 31 txd7 lh6+ 32 ih3 :xh3+
33 <g2 lf4+ 34 <f3 g2+ 35 xf
lf3+.
31 if3 ih3 32 :d1 (D)
32 ... le1+
32 . . . le1 ! wins imediately.
33 le1 lxe1 3 ie4 g2+ 35 ixg2
ixg2+ 36 <h2 id4 37 g3 ib7 38
td7 fS 39 <f4 <f7 40 eS+ ixeS+
41 xeS lf3+ 42 f4 td2 43 lbS
lxb3 44 ieS c6 45 lc3
45 ld6+ e6 46 xb7 g5+ also
WinS.
4S . . . lcS 46 ib8 ia6 47 ia7
td7 0-1
Puzzle 86
Hodgson - 5. Arkell
Lndon 1988
( 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 c3 ib 4 e5 c5
5 lf3 lc6 6 dxc5 lge7 7 id3 d4 8
a3 ia5 9 b4 lxb4 1 0 axb ixb 1 1
0-0 ixc3 12 :b1 h6 1 3 td2 ixd2 14
ixd2 id7 15 lxb7 ic6 1 6 lb4 ' d5
17 ' g4 :ds 1 8 :e1 g5 1 9 'h3 g4 20
' g3 h5 21 ig5 lf5 22 ixf5 exf5 23
ixd8 f4)
24 c4! !
This is a had move to see, as it's
difcult to visualize two pawns being
removed fom the same rank in one
move.
2 . . . dxc3 25 lxf4 xd8 26 e6?
White stat to go wrong. After 26
lf6! c8 27 :d6 'xc5 28 lc 1 c2 29
1d3, the win is not in doubt.
26 ... fxe6 27 :re4 c2 28 1b8+?
ASWERS FOR CHAPTER 3 79
28 1c3 was stonger. Now Black's
c2-pawn ensures enough counterplay
for a draw.
28 .. d7 29 'xa7+ c8 30 ' a6+
d7 31 ' al ' xe4 32 lxe4 .xe4 33
'd4+ cc7 34 We5+ <d7 35 ' d6+
<c8 36 'i xe6+ b8 37 \e5+ ra7 38
' al + b7 39 f3 :d8 40 'b2+ rc7
41 f ldl 42 1e5+ <c8 If.
1h
43 1e8+ c7 44 'e7+ gives White
peretual check.
It wasn' t too long after this game
that Hodgson was allowed to use a
simila motif to 24 c4, and this time I
was the unfortunate victim:
Emms - Hodgson
British Ch (Plymouth) 1989
1 e4 d6 2 d4 lf6 3 lc3 c6 4 f4 'i a5 5
'i f3 d5 6 e5 le4 7 .d3 la6 8 lge2
lb4 9 .xe4 dxe4 10 ' xe4 (D)
lO ... fS! 11 ex6 .f5!
Black went on to win the gae.
Puzzle 87
A. Petrosian - Hazai
Schilde jr 1970
( 1 c4 g6 2 lc3 .g7 3 d4 lf6 4 e4
d6 5 f3 e5 6 d la6 7 .e3 lh5 8 'i d2
1h4+ 9 .f1e7 10 0-0-0 0-0 l l .e3
f5 1 2 .d3 f4 1 3 .f .f6 1 4 lge2
.h4 15 .g 1 .d7 1 6 <b 1 b6 17 lc 1
lc5 1 8 .c2 a 1 9 .xc5 bxc5 20 .a4
.xa4 21 lxa4 :t8 22 1c2 h8 23
ld3 lb4 24 :a3 1e8 25 ld3 g5 26
h3 lf6 27 :c 1 <g7 28 b3 ld7 29
'd2 lb7 30 ldb2 lb6 3 1 al h5 32
ldl lxa4 33 lxa4 lb 34 lc3 'c8
35 lb5 .g3 36 'e2 f6 37 lbl e7
38 a3 :xa4 39 bxa4 d8 40 lc3 lb8
41 lb5 lxb5 42 axb5 'i a8 43 la4
1a7 44 a2 <c8 45 1b2)
Hazai tied a very cheek move:
45 . \b6! !
This worked a teat after White's
rather caeless reply.
46 lxb6+?
With a little more thought White
might have seen that he should instead
go for the systematic attack on the a
pawn; for example, 46 'i d2
1
a7 47
<b3 b7 48 lb2 <tb6 49 <a4! .h2
50 ld3 and White will follow up with
5 1 lc l and 52 lb3, after which the
pawn is lost and White should win
comfortably.
46 . cxb6
Now Black threatens simply 47 . . . h4,
with an absolute ' shut-out' so . . .
47 h4 gxh4 48 ' d2 h3! 49 gh3 h4
It's clea tat White can make no
progess whatsoever.
50 b3 b7 51 <ia4 qa7 52 ' g2
b7 53 'b2 qa7 54 ' c2 b7 55
' c3 a7 1h-l/2
Puzzle 88
Braga - Tim man
Mar del Plata 1982
( 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d 3 e5 .f5 4 lc3 e6
5 g4 .g6 6 lge2 c5 7 .e3 lc6 8
dxc5 lxe5 9 ld4 lf6 1 0 f4 lexg4
1 1 .b5+ e7 12 .gl 1c7 1 3 c6 b6