Friday’s 5-second tactics!
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
Solutions later tonight! Good luck!!
Train your tactical skills so that when opportunity knocks…
…you instinctively react with deadly accuracy!
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1.
HERNANDO RODRIGO
ESPINOZA, P
An easy one to start off with! From the Catalan Team Championship this season. White is obviously well on his way to victory…but prove it elegantly!
WHITE TO PLAY AND WIN!
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2.
OBON TEMPRANO
VILA GAZQUEZ
Catalan Team Championship. White has outplayed his opponent with skill and cunning. Position after 32 moves. Now White has an opportunity to cut short his opponent’s resistance…
WHAT IS WHITE’S BEST CONTINUATION?
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3.
PEREZ MANAS
IGLESIAS,J
Catalan Team Championship! Black is clearly better positionally, but White has just played 29.Rc5, threatening Nd5+, amongst other things. If Black now plays 29…Rd3+ (or …Rf3+), then 30.g3 allows stiff resistance and keeps White in the game.
BLACK TO PLAY AND WIN!
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4.
GUTIERREZ CLARES
RIVAS GARCIA
Catalan Team Championship. A sharp Sicilian where Black has foregone castling to try to take the initiative. This strategy has netted him a pawn, but the Black King must stay in the centre. For the moment his majesty seems well guarded….
WHITE TO PLAY AND WIN!
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5.
gm IPATOV (world junior champion)
im JEREZ PEREZ
From the Catalan Team Championship last month. The World Junior Champion has a positional advantage, but his opponent is hoping that the presence of opposite colour Bishops will offer drawing chances. However, his last move (30.Re5) was a mistake…
HOW CAN BLACK DECISIVELY INCREASE HIS ADVANTAGE ?
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6.
im RAUZER,V
im DUS CHOTIMIRSKY
Soviet Championship, 1927. A razor sharp position! Black had just played 18…Bxg2, threatening many things. Should White take the Bishop then 19…Qxe3+ wins the Rook on c1, with a decisive advantage.
WHITE TO PLAY AND WIN!
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7.
im ILYIN ZHENEVSKY
im RAUZER,V
From the 1937 Soviet Championship. Black is clearly on top, especially with White’s King stuck in the centre. However, Rauzer is defending as well as possible and seems to have everything under control for the moment…
BLACK TO PLAY AND WIN!
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Alexander Fyodorovich Ilyin ( November 28, 1894 – September 3, 1941), known with the party name Zhenevsky, “the Genevan” because he joined the Bolshevik group of Russian émigrés while exiled in that city, was a Soviet chess master and organizer, one of founders of the Soviet chess school, an Old-Guard Bolshevik cadre, a writer, a military organizer, a historian and a diplomat. He was born in St.Petersburg and was the younger brother of Red Navy leader Fedor Raskolnikov.
Ilyin-Zhenevsky promoted the usage of chess as an instrument for developing tactical and strategical comprehension during military training and he was the main responsible for the spreading of chess as a way to teach the basics of scientific and rational thought. The first Soviet Championship in 1920 and the 1933 match Mikhail Botvinnik – Salo Flohr were organized by him.
He was three times chess champion of Leningrad (now again Saint Petersburg) in 1925 (jointly), 1926, and 1929. In 1925, he won one game against José Raúl Capablanc, making him one of a handful of players to have an even score (+1 =0 −1) against Capablanca.
A variation of the Dutch Defence, characterized by the moves 1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 e6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.0-0 d6 7.Nc3 Qe8, is named after him.
Being personally associated with many oppositionists since Civil War times, he suffered persecution in the Joseph Stalin era. According to Botvinnik and official sources he died in a Nazi air raid on Lake Ladoga on a ship during the siege of Leningrad, but it is believed by some that he fell victim to the Great Purge along with the majority of the Old Guard of revolutionists.
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8.
SMORODSKY
VILNER
Soviet Championship 1927. A sharp position with opposite side castling. Such struggles are characterized by ”races” where one side tries to mate the other before he is mated! How fast are you?
WHITE TO PLAY AND WIN!
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SOLUTIONS:
Espinoza Palomino, W.–Hernando Rodrigo, JM: White brought the game to a brutal end with 24.Qxa6! 1-0 Besides being a bank-vault of material down, it is mate in one if Black takes the Queen.
Vila Gazquez, X.–Obon Temprano, S: 33.Rxf7!! e4+ Black is lost in any case. Taking the Rook with the King loses quickly to 34.Bd5+ and 35.Bc5; clearly, taking the Rook with the Queen loses the Queen. 34.Qd7! 1-0
Iglesias, J.–Perez Mañas, B.: The game ended suddenly with 29…Rxg2!! With mate threats. Now if 30.Nd5+ is answered decisively with 30…Kd6; or 30.Rxg2 goes off to 30…Rd3+. The game continued one more move: 30.Re1+ Kf8 0-1 It is mate in 5 moves atmost.
Jerez Perez, A.–Black “Ipatov, A.: Alexander played the strong 30… Bxg2+!! Robbing a clean pawn and leaving White’s King position shattered. Taking the Bishop is met by a Queen check on a1, picking up the Rook on e5. The game continued 31.Kh2 Bb7 32.Rxg6 hxg6 33.Rxe8+ Qxe8 34.Qf4 f6 35.h4 Kh7 36.Kg3 Qe6 37.f3 Qd7 38.Bd2 Qa4 39.Bc3 Qxc2 40.Bxf6 Qd1 41.Qe3 Bxf3 42.Qe7 0-1
Dus Chotimirsky,F–Rauzer,V: The game ended suddenly with the brilliant shot 19.Rc8!! 1-0 White’s threat is a mate on the backrank, which would also pick up the Queen (20.Be7+). Black’s intended 19…Bf3+ 20.Kf2 Qg2+ 21.Ke1 Qg1+ (what else?) 22.Kd2 and Black must finally deal with the back rank problem. White will simply take the Bishop on f3 if there is nothing better…Black rightfully threw in the towel when he did!
Rauzer,V–Ilyin Zhenevsky,A: Black broke White’s resistance with 17…d4! 18.Bxd4 Re2+! 0-1 Taking the Rook would see 19…Ne4+ bagging the Queen.
Vilner,Y–Smorodsky,A: White crashed thru the h-file with 18.Rxh7!! Bxh7 19.Rh1! Bg6 (if 19…c5 then 20.Kb1 and then 21.Qh4) 20.Qh4 f6 21.gxf6 gxf6 22.exf6 Qf5 23.Qh8+ 1-0