FIVE EXTRA PAWNS

Five extra pawns did not save Black

Recently, I had a fascinating correspondence chess game on the Chesstempo. Finally, my opponent had five extra pawns, but I had better development, and my opponent's knight was pinned. Then, my opponent had five extra pawns against my extra piece. The opponent had almost finished developing, while weakening their pawn structure. I was not sure whether I could win or even make a draw. A computer analysis says I had a better position. However, suddenly, my opponent made a blunder...

For the analysis, see below.

THE ONLY FUNCTION OF THE QUEEN

During White's successful king attack, White's queen was absolutely passive

The game EintaluJ - Yustaff_Kirchhoff, Lichess 2025:

Analysis:

WHO CHECKMATES FIRST?

Sometimes, with the opponent's help, a real 19-th century chessgame can be created. 

For the analysis, see below. 

A POISONED PAWN: WHITE TO MOVE

In a rapid game Satyananda - EintaluJ (Lichess, 2025), both players had less than 3 minutes time remaining. Black blundered and grabbed the poisoned pawn b2 with the move 27...Bf6xb2?? White missed the opportunity and the game ended with a draw.

Can you see the combination?

White to move

The FEN of the positon: 

6k1/pq3p1p/1p2p3/8/6N1/6P1/Pb3P1P/3Q2K1 w - - 0 28 

You can check your solution below:

13 MOVES AND 2 TRAPS

In open games, traps are everywhere.

The rapid game Mikromeister - Mikhael1963 was particularly short.

BLACK LOST IN CARO-KANN IN 20 MOVES

The rapid game Mikromeister - Blitzenemy (CHESSCom 2024) lasted only 20 moves.

The notation of the game is below:

[Event "Live Chess"]

[Site "Chess.com"]

[Date "2024.12.02"]

[White "Mikromeister"]

[Black "Blitzenemy"]

[Result "1-0"]

[TimeControl "900+10"]

[WhiteELO "2184"]

[BlackELO "2232"]

[ECO "B10"]

     1.      e4            c6      

     2.     Nc3            d5      

     3.     Nf3          dxe4      

     4.    Nxe4           Nf6      

     5.     Qe2          Nxe4      

     6.    Qxe4           Nd7      

     7.     Bc4           Nf6      

     8.     Ne5            e6      

     9.     Qe2            b5      

    10.     Bd3           Qc7      

    11.      b3           Bd6      

    12.     Bb2           O-O      

    13.     O-O            a6

    14.      f4            c5

    15.      a4            b4

    16.     Nc4          Bxf4 

    17.    Bxf6          gxf6      

    18.     Qg4+          Bg5      

    19.    Rxf6           Kh8      

    20.     Qh5 

   

            1-0

BE CAREFUL

A position from the rapid game Mikromeister - Thanzler, CHESSCom 2024.

White to move.

MY WRONG COMBINATION WAS SUCCESSFUL

In the rapid game aromeoallepuz - Mikromeister, in the Steinitz Defence Deferred, I made a false combination. 

In a fascinating tactical battle, my opponent failed. I was lucky.

For the analysis, see below.

SICILIAN c3 IS DANGEROUS FOR BLACK

The Alapin variation, 2 c3, in the Sicilian Defence, is pretty dangerous for Black if one does not know precisely what one is doing in the opening.

The rapid game Mikormeister - Bahamapapa was short:

Here is my analysis of the game:

IT IS BETTER TO CASTLE AWAY FROM

Often, it is better to castle in the open positions, even if it costs some material.

In the rapid game played on CHESSCom, my opponent was too late to castle.

Mikromeister - Axumzs, CHESSCom 2024

Below is the analysis of the game

I SHALL STOP SOLVING CHESSCOM PUZZLES

OK. I have received a puzzle rating above 3400. One day, it was 3448. 

I shall stop solving CHESSCom puzzles from now on.

The reason is the poor quality of the puzzles with higher ratings. The rating points and the target times are also not well-tuned.

Yesterday, I got Kubbel's endgame study as a "tactics puzzle" to solve with the target time of 30 seconds.

Today, I got several messy positions as "tactics puzzles".

The last "puzzle" was not convincing at all. It looked somewhat like an attack with several options to continue that attack at several points.

It is evident that no human being has ever checked these positions and their solutions; there is too much trust in computer algorithms.

The themes of the puzzles are too often highly misleading, too.

By the way, other chess platforms have similar features.

CHESSCom puzzle rating 3448

WHITE TO MOVE

White to move and win

FEN:

8/8/1p1K4/Pp6/2k1p3/8/1P6/8 w - - 0 2

I am sharing here the CHESSCom puzzle (#59358) that I failed to solve. Its pass rate is below 20%.

The puzzle itself is excellent.

However, I am dissatisfied with the so-called "target time," which is below 1 minute in the present case.

If you are not well-trained in the queens' endgames and/or not acquainted with the rare theme included in that puzzle, then hardly you can solve that puzzle in 10 minutes.

Please note that I keep in mind that you have to see the solution from beginning to end before moving any pieces! You do not "solve" the puzzle; if you are making naturally looking moves, the computer replies, and you arrive at the crucial position to start calculating the difficult move.

Thus, it is not a tactics puzzle at all. Rather, it is an endgame etude, problem.

The other obstacle is that the CHESSCom puzzles, even those with a high rating, are usually standard. 

Nevertheless, solving any such puzzle gives only 5 points, independent of its difficulty. 

I have obtained a rating above 3400 in puzzles on CHESSCom. Unfortunately, I do not believe I could progress further because, at that high level, the puzzles are less tested due to the fewer solvers. There are already too many invalid puzzles like that one, which demands that you be a Carlsen and solve in a few minutes what others are solving in one hour.

PS

Indeed, one commenter on CHESSCom writes:

"It is a study by Kubbel, BTW."

A TRAP

My opponent in the ChessDotCom rapid game fell into a trap 39...Nc3-e2...

White to move

A TACTICAL TRAP IN THE TWO KNIGHTS DEFENCE

There are so many tactical traps in the Two Knights Defence. 

Here, again. 

I had black pieces in the rapid game flippy2222 - Mikromeister on the ChessDotCom.

TACTICS: TWO KNIGHTS DEFENCE, 4 d3

With black pieces, I had an interesting rapid game on ChessDOTCom:

juradolebron - Mikreomeister 2024

BLACK TO MOVE

Find the only winning move for Black.

Black to move and win

From the Chesstempo rapid game Paldrick - Nanomaster, I had black pieces.

PAUL KERES DID NOT MAKE IT

In the 1962 game Keres—Benko, Benko made a grave mistake 30...Bb8xg3??, and the following position was on the board (see below). Then, Keres also blundered, and Benko again made a mistake. Finally, Keres still won the game.

Can you win the position after 30...Bxg3??

Keres - Benko 1962. White to move.

If you are not a grandmaster, you may expect that if you do not move the pieces on the board and if you try to spend only 10 minutes on the solution, you will fail somewhere. 

Thus, relax and take it as a correspondence chess position: PUZZLE.

On Chesstempo's tactics section, this puzzle has the number 143468. 

A HINT: After the obvious 31 Qxg3! consider the replies 31...Qd5 and 31...Qe4.

In the present post, the Apronus chess software was used.

STUPID TACTICS TRAINING

I found such a solution from the Chessbase's Playchess, Tactics Training: 1...Rg3+!!

White to move

Playchess's Tactics Training (similar to Chess24's, for example)—I seriously dislike such a fever.

They are trying to train you to be a superficial robot. 

Some stupid psychologists probably invented such a system.

Instead, I recommend using, for example, Chesstempo's tactics training. It trains you to calculate difficult, complicated positions and see nuances. 

On Chesstempo, you have to start by understanding the material balance of the position and its structure. It is important to know if you are a pawn down, etc., because the rightness of the solution depends on the final material balance.

I have received a rating above 2400 on such training systems. True, I often had to waste 30 minutes to find the right solution.

Let's return to Playchess's system. My tactics rating there is below 1800, and I will probably not use that system anymore.

Often, they give only 30 seconds to "solve" the problem.

Often, I have made the "right move" without having time to understand whether the final position's material balance and structure are good enough. After the "successful" solution, a new problem is immediately presented, while your brain is dissatisfied and still wondering whether the "right" solution was indeed right.

Often, I have lost time because I am still counting the dissipated pawns and exchanges.

Obviously, they are training you to be a blitz-idiot.

In a real game, the player remembers how many pawns and exchanges one has sacrificed!

BREAKTHROUGH

On the platform Chess Mail, where the chess engines are prohibited, I had white pieces against Telemaque in correspondence chess. I thought I had a winning position but could not break through. The opposite-coloured bishops were on the board, and my opponent had built a fortress. 

Making the move 1 Ra5-a1, I gave up my hopes of breaking through on the queenside by making some sacrifices.

I was ready to offer a draw if my opponent plays 1...Kf5-e6.

Suddenly, my opponent made a grave mistake 1...Kf5-g4??

It is White to move and win. 

And do not say you will win if you make the second-best move in that position. Whatever the chess engines are telling you.

White to move and win

In the present post, the Apronus chess software was used.

YOUR STRONGEST POINT MIGHT BE WEAK

Black to Move

My opponent on Playchess did not do it.

Check your solution on Apronus: