Today’s chess puzzle
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
KASPARIAN 1966
HOW DOES WHITE WIN?
The King trapped on the edge of the board is one of the first motifs one learns in chess. Here in today’s Kasparian study (1966) things seem worse because the Queen is also close by. However, Black has two strong passed pawns and this seems to offer enough counterplay to prevent White from winning.
Your task today is to find the hidden zugzwang idea that enables White to overcome Black’s tenacious defence. Are you up to it? Good luck!
Genrikh Moiseyevich Kasparian
Kasparivan was born in Tiflis in 1910 and died in 1996. He learned chess from his older brother at the age of 13, became a strong master and then devoted his life to the game. But not to over-the-board play but the composition of some of the greatest chess studies ever to be seen.
The depth of Kasparian’s ideas and the artistry of execution has never been surpassed. Of the 400 studies that we have by Kasparian around 300 received prizes and awards. He was a Grandmaster for Study Composition and six-time Champion for study composition in the USSR.
SOLUTION TO TODAY’S STUDY
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS