Tuesday 23 September 2008

The Iron Cage of Tamerlane


While solving puzzles should improve your chess ability, sometimes it is more fun just to look directly at the answer. An example of this is the position on the right. It is clearly a win for White (1.Ng5# would do) but where is the charm in that? Instead the composer proposes a longer, but far more satisfying solution. Rather than leave it as an unsolved exercise, I gladly present the answer, with the suggestion that you play through it on a real chessboard.

1.f3+ gxf3 2.exd3+ cxd3 3.Bf5+ exf5 4.Re6+ dxe6 5.Nf6+ gxf6 6.Rd4+ cxd4 7.a8B+ Qd5 8.Bxd5+ exd5 9.Qe5+ fxe5 10.Ng5#

Of course anyone who has read "Play Like a Grandmaster" by Alexander Kotov may already be familiar with the denouement, but problems like these are always worth revisiting.

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