Tactics

Shredder/Chess Tutor Daily Chess Puzzle (IFRAME)

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A Queen sacrifice

Submitted by DrDave on

I played an extremely boring last-round game at Torquay, choosing the English Defence, which is usually good for a scrap at my level.

Archer-Lock,C - Regis,D Torbay Open Riviera (5), 20.11.2011

1.d4 e6 2.c4 b6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e4 Bb7 5.Bd3 f5 6.Qh5+ g6

The Queen check is supposed to weaken the black King's-side, but it also has some benefits for Black; f5 is strengthened and the g7 square can be a bolt-hole for the black Queen.

7.Qe2 Nf6 8.Bg5 fxe4 9.Bxe4 Bxe4 10.Bxf6 Qxf6 11.Qxe4 Nc6 12.Nf3 0-0 ½-½

Making Tactics Work

Submitted by DrDave on

1. A chess tactic is an unstoppable threat.  Often you can Avoid, Block, Capture or Defend your way out of a threat, but if you can't, you're probably on the receiving end of a tactic.

2. Tactical themes include:

  • jumps, mates, forks, nets, pins & ties

A fuller list of tactical themes might be:

Strategy and Tactics

Two or three things prompted this session:
  • There was a long-running argument on the UseNet rec.games.chess newsgroups earlier this year, basically around the idea that "chess is tactics, and club players should study nothing but tactics" (or 90% tactics).
  • More recently I got a video by Nigel Davies called Dirty Tricks which offered a complete repertoire for a club player. In every line, there was at least one huge smelly pit for the opponent to fall into, or some other hope of

Upon the pin

Pins are one of the first attacking ideas you learn about. Here's some colourful examples you might not have seen before. Try and find good examples of forks, skewers, discoveries and so on.

The pin

from Lombardy, 19??

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f4 Qc7 7. Bd3 Nc6 8. Nf3 g6 9. O-O Bg7 10. Qe1 e6 11. Kh1 O-O 12. Qh4 b5 13. f5 Qe7 14. Bg5

 

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