What’s The Best Move?

Surprising Twists
By GM Larry Evans

The tipping point 1. White moves 2. White moves

Pilots quip that flying consists of
hours and hours of boredom punc- r+lq
rk+ + +l+ +
tuated by moments of sheer terror pp+ +pp pq+ p k
—reminiscent of chess games that lp+ n p p pP+
R
reach a tipping point. Each one of
these positions features a surprising
+ + + + +P+P+ K
twist where White failed to find the + + L + +rp + +
right move at the critical moment. +NP +QP + + + +
Can you? PP + PLP P+ + +Q+
Solutions to this month’s quiz
positions are on page 71.
R + +RK + + + +
(a) Rad1 (b) Rfd1 (c) Be5 (a) Kf5+ (b) Rh8 (c) Qe4

3. White moves 4. White moves

+ +r+k+ r+l+k+
r
+ +

Rppp pp+ppplp
p Q + + +n+ np+
pq+ +r+ q + + +
+ + + + +LNP+ +
+P+ p P + N L +
P+ +PPKP PPP+ PPP
+ +R+ +
R +QK +R
(a) Rxe8+ (b) a4 (c) Qxb6 (a) Nb3 (b) Qd2 (c) 0-0

46 Chess Life — February 2010 uschess.org