Chess - with Leonard Barden

Daily chess challenges from the Evening Standard (solutions at bottom of page)...

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 24, 9594

Reuben Fine (US) v Sir George Thomas (England), Hastings 1935-36. Everybody in international chess now fears the Russians and other ex-Soviets, but in the 1930s it was the Americans who were kings. They were especially strong in crushing slightly weaker opponents. Thomas had tied for first at the previous year's Hastings and was the reigning British champion, but he was aged 54 and fatigued by a simultaneous tour. Fine's queen and knights took control of the board and White's next turn was so strong that Thomas resigned immediately. Can you spot White's winner?

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 23, 9593

Boris Ivkov v Judit Polgar, Veterans v Women, Monaco 1994. Polgar, the best female chessplayer of all time, induces a state of psychological tension in some high calibre male grandmasters against whom she has big plus scores. Today's puzzle is hardly out of the opening and Ivkov, a former world title candidate, is probing with his outpost bishop and knight. Polgar (Black) now made a natural move which gave White a choice of two obvious replies. One alternative kept the game level, but the other, which Ivkov played, was a blunder. Can you spot Judit's trap?

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 22, 9592

Sir George Thomas v Richard Reti, Baden-Baden 1925. Thomas was an aristocrat who only took up chess seriously after a career in outdoor sport where he became the world's best badminton player. His chess reputation has suffered accordingly and he has been widely portrayed as just a talented amateur. Yet at Hastings 1934-35 Thomas shared first prize in a star-studded field and became the only player ever to defeat the great champions Jose Capablanca and Mikhail Botvinnik on successive days. His finish as White (to play) here was also impressive. Black threatens some wicked rook and queen checks, but Thomas found the subtle only move to win, based on a clever and subtle tactic. Can you score as White?

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 21, 9591

White mates in three moves at latest, against any defence (by G Ernst). This miniature puzzle is one of the cleverest of its kind ever composed, and deserves to be better known. Its creator is so obscure that I have been unable to discover his first name. At first sight the position looks disarmingly simple. The black king is trapped on the edge of the board without a single legal move, and the black bishop seems an irrelevant spectator while White's two rooks and knight close in for the kill. When I first saw the diagram I thought it would take just a few minutes to solve, but one hour later I was still discovering hidden defensive resources for Black. Paradoxically, when you do finally hit on the improbable answer you will see that it contains a virtually forced single line. Ernst's classic tests your creativity and imagination. Can you crack it?

MONDAY FEBRUARY 20, 9590

Gregory Kaidanov v Melichet Khachiyan, St Louis 2011. Billionaire Rex Sinquefield is an admirer of Bobby Fischer and hopes to restore American chess to its glory days when the legend defeated Boris Spassky for the world title. Sinquefield has created a centre for the game, open every day, in his home city and is encouraging young US talent with tournaments and matches. He even hired the all-time No1 Garry Kasparov to coach America's current world title contender Hikaru Nakamura. Alas, the pair publicly fell out when Nakamura finished last in Moscow and Kasparov claimed his pupil spent too much time at poker while Nakamura blamed the Russian's demanding personality for sapping his confidence. Nakamura had a point, for in his next two tournaments at London and Wijk aan Zee he did much better. In this St Louis puzzle, White (to play) has a strong game, but Black's last move e6-e5 threatens Qxg4 or Nxg4+. How did White refute his opponent's idea?

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 17, 9589

Elena Sedina (Italy) v David Arutinian (Georgia), Cappelle 2011. Experienced players looking at today's puzzle will quickly spot two tactical chances. With White to move, 1 Bf4 skewers the black rook against the queen; while Black would like to move away the rook then go Qxg3+ exploiting the fact that the f2 pawn is pinned. Unfortunately neither idea works, White's because it is Black's turn and Black's because the white queen guards g3. Nevertheless there is a winning trick, and Black (to play) found it. Can you do as well?

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 16, 9588

Yaroslav Zherebukh v Nikolay Milchev, Cappelle 2011. Zherebukh may be a hard name to remember or pronounce, but the 18-year-old Ukrainian has become one of the rising stars of European chess after strong performances in the European Championship and the World Cup. Here as White (to play) he took just one move to establish a decisive advantage. Can you spot White's winner?

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 15, 9587

Athanasios Mastrovasilis (Greece) v Andy Marechal (Belgium), Cappelle 2011. Cappelle is a small town in Northern France close to Dunkirk, an unlikely setting for one of the best attended annual congresses in Western Europe. Part of the secret is its informal atmosphere and the very cheap local lodgings and on-site catering. In today's puzzle material is level but it is obvious that Black is in big trouble, with a badly exposed king besieged by White's ideally posted piece army. Can you find White's immediately winning move?

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 14, 9586

Zaven Andriasian v Predrag Plakalovic, European Club Cup 2011. Black (to play) fought well against his much higher ranked grandmaster opponent until they reached today's puzzle diagram. White threatens Rxh7 so Black tried 1,...h5, losing quickly after 2 g4 threatening 3 g5 mate. As often, our coldly calculating friend the computer pointed out the hidden resource which would have secured a draw for Black. Can you find it?

MONDAY FEBRUARY 13, 9585

Richard Vedder v Stewart Haslinger, Unive Open, Netherlands 2011. Haslinger, 30, is among England's strongest yet underestimated grandmasters. He regularly ranks in the national top ten, just below the elite of five or six who are selected for the national team. He achieved his GM title late following several years of ill-health which limited his opportunities, and so he plays mostly in Europe, for a team in the German Bundesliga and in tournaments in the Netherlands. Give him an attacking position and he is deadly. In today's puzzle Haslinger (Black, to move) has just sacrificed a bishop but has the white king in trouble from Black's queen-rook strike force. How did Black win quickly?

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 10, 9584

Evgeny Tomashevsky v Pavel Eljanov, Saratov 2011. The game was following a classical pattern where White strives for a checkmate attack on the black king while conceding his opponent chances on the queen's wing. The psychological pressure on such occasions is usually on Black and so it proved here. A move earlier, Eljanov had erred by allowing White to open up the f1-f8 line for his queen and rook. Black (to play) could still put up a fight in the diagram by 1...Rxc1! but the Ukrainian saw no danger and advanced 1...b2? Why was Black's pawn push a fatal error?

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 9, 9583

Peter Heine Nielsen v Andrei Volokitin, Baden-Baden v Sogar Azerbaijan, European Club Cup 2011. The first world champion Wilhelm Steinitz liked to say that if he could settle a knight in the heart of the opponent's position at d6/e6/d3/e3 he could go to sleep and let the game win itself. So after Black played Nd3 here, attacking White's f4 bishop, grandmaster Volokitin was well satisfied. He got a shock when Nielsen's reply gained an immediately decisive advantage. Can you spot White's winner?

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 8, 9582

Vugar Gashimov v Robert Kempinski, Bremen v Hamburg, Bundesliga 2011. Gashimov is one of the world top 20 grandmasters and his previous move here, 1 Qb5-a6, stunned the large global internet audience. Then came an anti-climax. Kempinski turned down the queen offer by 1...Qc7 when White retreated his queen by 2 Qa4, winning a few moves later. Then a computer program following the game revealed that White should have chosen the mundane 1 Qb5-a4 at once, for in the diagram Black missed the obscure defence 1...Bc3+! 2 bxc3 Ne5! when chances are about equal. But naturally what most interested the offboard spectators was what happens if Black does capture the sacrificed queen. The finish then would have been brilliant, reminiscent of the spectacular finishes of the greats of a century ago. Can you work out what happens after 1...bxa6? Every white move is a check, leading to checkmate in half-a-dozen moves.

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 7, 9581

Harry Golombek v Ludek Pachman, Trencianske Teplice 1949. Golombek was for decades one of the most influential personalities in English chess. He was three times British champion, a referee at world championships, and captain of the national team. He was also a prolific writer, chess correspondent of the Times and author of a Penguin handbook on the game which sold hundreds of thousands of copies. He ranked the game which led to today's puzzle, in which he defeated the Czech No1, as the best of his career. It was the preceding play which had deep strategic ideas, and by the time it reached the diagram White (to play) was a knight ahead and looking for the quickest route to victory. What was White's winner?

MONDAY FEBRUARY 6, 9580

Alexey Vyzhmanavin v Konstantin Lerner, USSR 1988. The old Soviet masters were specially strong in endgames, which makes White's error here the more surprising. White (to play) has to stop Black's h3 pawn from queening, and as the h4 rook keeps out the black king, a move of White's own king is needed, either 1 Kb2 attacking the black rook or 1 Kd2 heading towards the pawn. Which choice is right, and what happened when White chose wrongly? Golders Green hosts another of its popular one-day open-to-all festivals on Saturday. Anyone from expert to novice is welcome, the venue is close to the tube station, there are cash prizes for winners and all entrants play the full six games. You can find full details online.

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 3, 9579

Ivan Bukavshin v Anton Demchenko, Moscow Open 2011. Materially the game is level, with White's three extra pawns balancing Black's bishop. But a glance shows that Black is on top, as all his pieces are active while neither white rook has left base camp. It is less obvious that the white king is in serious danger, but Black spotted the route to a checkmate attack. What was Black's winner?

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 2, 9578

Viktor Korchnoi (Switzerland) v Alex Wohl (Australia), Tradewise Gibraltar Open 2011. Korchnoi played Anatoly Karpov three times for the world title and this living legend is still going strong at age 80. He is the reigning Swiss champion, and had a fine result at the powerful Gibraltar event where he was unbeaten until the final round. The quality of his play is still very high and today's position is a typical case of what happens when a grandmaster meets a master, who in this case is one of Australia's best. White has tripled his rooks and queen on the c file against Black's weak c7 pawn, and the a5 bishop adds to the pressure. Black is just holding on and keeping everything guarded, but his pieces have had to go into passive contortions. The result is that White can make a decisive strike, which caused Black's immediate resignation. What was Korchnoi's winner?

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 1, 9577

From a game on the Internet Chess Club, 2011. Most web chess is played at fast speeds, from one minute to five minutes for the entire game. Your improvement and results are measured by an instant rating system, and you will be awarded a different rating for different speeds so that you can swiftly decide which is best for you and your computer. The Internet Chess Club (ICC) can be found at www.chessclub.com, and you can test it by a free trial. Its facilities include running commentaries on all the top international tournaments and matches. Many web games are decided by basic tactics which one player overlooks but his opponent spots. If you are familiar with a standard tactic, you are likely to spot it instantly during a speed game. Here White (to move) is rook for knight ahead, but Black threatens to get back into the game by Nxe5. Can you spot White's decisive tactic?

TUESDAY JANUARY 31, 9576

Magnus Carlsen v Paco Vallejo Pons, Grand Slam final, Bilbao 2011. Carlsen, 21, is ranked No1 in the world but not everyone is overly impressed by the style in which he wins some of his games. Often he gets only a small or even no advantage from the opening, but he plays faster than most opponents who end up short of time before the critical move 40 control. At that stage, the psychological and technical pressure increases and the opponent may blunder fatally. Today's position is a classic example. Spain's Vallejo Pons was completely equal until he reached the diagram where simply Nxe4 would keep the draw in hand. But Vallejo Pons, worried by his clock, saw what he thought was a good tactic: 1...Rxg2 so that if 2 Nxc5 Rxc2 and Black is a pawn up. It was just what Carlsen had been hoping for. Why was 1...Rxg2 a bad and ultimately fatal error?

MONDAY JANUARY 30, 9575

Hungarian grandmaster Laszlo Szabo, a world title candidate and Hungary's best player for two decades, once won this position as White (to play) by an attacking sequence which takes half-a-dozen moves and looks spectacular. But Szabo said after the game that he had foreseen the winning idea even earlier, because for a strong player it is a routine winning plan and easy to recognise. How did White force victory?

FRIDAY JANUARY 27, 9574

Vishy Anand v Veselin Topalov, Dortmund 2001. So often it is move 40, the last before the two-hour time control, when amateurs and even grandmasters make serious errors. Topalov (Black, to play) here only has level material against the current world champion Anand, but Black's pieces are far more active. With just a few seconds to spare on his clock, Topalov went 1...Qh4 when Anand forced exchange of queens by 2 Qh2 with a drawn position. The right choice for Black in the diagram would have forced White's almost immediate surrender. Can you spot Black's missed chance?

THURSDAY JANUARY 26, 9573

Sergey Karjakin v Viktor Laznicka, Poikovsky 2011. Russia's Karjakin, 21, is one of the world top ten grandmasters but still has to play second fiddle to his Norwegian contemporary Magnus Carlsen. Karjakin likes to win in attacking style while he bids to overhaul his rival, and today's puzzle is a nice example of his best games. On the face of it chances are about level since Black has two rooks and two pawns for White's extra queen. If Karjakin (White, to play) chooses the obvious 1 Bxe7 then Nxe7 followed by exd4 and Black remains in the fight. White found a much better move, so strong that it induced Black's immediate resignation. Can you spot White's winner?

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 25, 9572

Vasily Ivanchuk v Hikaru Nakamura, Grand Slam Final, Bilbao 2011. World champion Vishy Anand and world No1 ranked Magnus Carlsen were expected to dominate the elite event, but both had a string of draws while the Ukrainian veteran Ivanchuk, 42, bounded away with wins and was well clear when the first half of the tournament ended in Sao Paulo, Brazil. But then as Ivanchuk and his wife Oksana got into their taxi for the drive to the airport and the plane to Bilbao they were suddenly accosted by two gun-wielding armed men who took their luggage. Miraculously for Ivanchuk, the robbers failed to spot his case with his laptop and its precious chess analysis wedged between his legs. In Bilbao he spurned a postponenent of his next game, which reached today's puzzle diagram with both players down to their last minute. Ivanchuk chose the obvious 1 Bxg7. Can you find a better move?

TUESDAY JANUARY 24, 9571

Fabiano Caruana v Dmitry Jakovenko, Poikorsky 2011. Italy's Caruana, 19, confirmed his rising star status by holding his own with the Russian elite on their own ground. His win as White (to play) in today's puzzle was impressive since at first glance the game is level on material but with an edge for Black due to White's very passive rook at h2. What actually occurred was a big surprise. Caruana made just two turns and his opponent then resigned realising that Black's game is lost. Can you spot White's winning tactic?

MONDAY JANUARY 23, 9570

Frode Elsness v Matthew Sadler, Oslo Open 2011. Can you find Black's winning two-move tactic? Matthew Sadler was one of England's strongest grandmasters in the late 1990s. He was twice British champion, and set a record of ten consecutive wins as Black playing for the national team. But in 1999 he abandoned serious chess, citing its limited financial rewards and his belief that he could never reach the world's super-elite. He spent a decade away from the game working in information technology, then in 2010 at age 36 decided to try his hand at a Dutch weekend tournament. He won it with 7/7, and followed up in 2011 by winning strong international opens in Barcelona and Oslo. A full-scale return to chess seems unlikely, but it is impressive that he retained most of his former strength after such a long period away from the game. Today's puzzle finish ensured his first prize at Oslo.

FRIDAY JANUARY 20, 9569

Paco Vallejo Pons v Magnus Carlsen, Sao Paulo 2011. Today's puzzle features a huge blunder by Norway's world No1. The position is level if Black plays Bf6 or Bg7, but Carlsen spotted a tactic. He went 1...Qd5, planning 2 Nxe5 Rd2 3 Q moves Rxf2+ and Qg2 mate. What did he overlook?

THURSDAY JANUARY 19, 9568

Levon Aronian v Vasily Ivanchuk, Sao Paulo 2011. It was the Grand Slam final, one of the strongest tournaments of the year including the world top three and a couple of ambitious top tens, yet it produced some horrible blunders. In today's diagram world No3 Aronian in a drawn position has just advanced 1 a2-a4?? hoping that the elementary trap bxa4?? 2 Bc4 will win the queen, or if this is avoided, Black's b5 pawn. Aronian missed a very simple response which immediately gained Ivanchuk a winning position. What happened?

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 18, 9567

Giambattista Lolli was one of the earliest recognised European chess experts. He led the Modena, Italy players who were the elite in the mid-1700s. Lolli was watching a game between two amateurs who reached today's puzzle diagram. White (to move) is a pawn down and threatened with Q or Rxb2 mate, so decided to draw by perpetual check with 1 Qe7+ Kh6 2 Qg5+. "A position for your next book?" asked White. "Yes, especially since you could have won!" retorted Lolli, and the diagram duly appeared in a primer for novices. What was the winning queen checking sequence that White overlooked?

TUESDAY JANUARY 17, 9566

Joseph Bradford v Robert Byrne, US championship 1980. Byrne (Black, to move) was a top American grandmaster and for decades chess editor of the New York Times. His opponent was an aggressive attacker, though lower ranked. Here material is level, but Byrne had spotted a winning tactical idea which I guess regular Standard solvers will also find quickly. Unluckily for the grandmaster, Black has three seemingly equally plausible moves to launch the victory plan. One of them wins, one probably draws, but poor Byrne chose the one which has a hidden flaw, after which Bradford instantly and completely turned the tables. "I had you crushed like a chicken" moaned the shocked Byrne as he resigned. Can you explain?

MONDAY JANUARY 16, 9565

Henrique Mecking v Julio Silva Rocha, Mar del Plata 1964. Mecking was Brazil's 'chess Pele', a prodigy who won today's position at age 12 and went on to become a world title candidate. But then in his prime he was struck down by a rare muscular disorder which prematurely ended his career. Decades later, with his health improved and his ambition returned, he staged a comeback in tournaments and in matches against other grandmasters. Here Mecking is nominally down on material, knight against rook, yet paradoxically he has a crushing material lead where it really counts. The black king's pawn cover is broken, so that the b file is invitingly open for White's attack. How did Mecking (White, to move) force a speedy checkmate?

FRIDAY JANUARY 13, 9564

David Bronstein v Boris Spassky, blitz game, Moscow 1961. Speed chess can be similar to poker when your opponent, in a weaker position, offers a despairing sacrifice which there seems no reason to decline. But if you do turn it down, your rival's game immediately improves. That was Spassky's dilemma in this game between two chess legends. Moreover, they were playing with five minutes each on the clock for all the moves, so Black's decision had to be rapid. Spassky (Black, to play) is a whole rook up, but if he retreats by Kf7 then 2 Qxd4 and White has serious compensation for the lost material. Black can instead can capture another knight by Kxd5, effectively challenging Bronstein to prove that his last turn Qe3+ was more than just a poker-style bluff. Can you make the right decision for Black? Spassky got it wrong.

THURSDAY JANUARY 12, 9563

Boris Gelfand v Vlad Tkachiev, Groningen 1997. When rook and pawn take on knight and bishop in the endgame, the smart money is usually on the former pair because of the rook's ability to sprint long distances round the board. In contrast, the slow-moving knight and the single-colour bishop are often uneasy partners who find it difficult to focus on a single target. But there is one classic exception which today's puzzle illustrates perfectly. When the bishop and knight are not alone but have their own rook buddy to support them, they suddenly become a powerful strike force. Here White (to move) is not just Israel's top grandmaster but the official world title challenger who will meet India's Vishy Anand for the crown in Moscow this spring. How did Gelfand force victory?

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 11, 9562

Ewfim Geller v Eric Knoppert, Berlin 1991. Geller in his prime was just short of world championship class but had a fine one-to-one record against legends like Bobby Fischer and Mikhail Botvinnik. His first sport was basketball, but officials in his home city of Odessa decided that chess would bring more prestige. By the time of today's game Geller was well into his sixties but he still had his sharp tactical eye. White (to move) has only two bishops for Black's two rooks and one Geller bishop is blocked by its own d5 pawn. What to do? The try 1 Qxe4 is countered by Qc3 2 Be3 Qa1+ 3 Kh2 Qe5+ exchanging queens. Geller had a much, much, better idea. Can you find his surprising and winning four-move sequence? Richmond stages another of its popular one-day congresses on Sunday. Anyone from master to novice is welcome, there are cash prizes for winners, and all contestants play the full six games each lasting a maximum one hour. You can find full details online.