Huynh, Arthur

GM  Vajda, Levente

Sydney Open, Austrália, just the other day.  Position after 18 moves.  Black had just played 18…Bd7, connecting his Rooks and almost completing his mobilization.  Unfortunately, his sense of danger was not yet connected ….

WHITE TO PLAY AND WIN!

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WGM  Hoang, Thi Bao Tram

WGM Sukandar, Irine Kharisma

Asian Continental (w)  in the UAE just the other day.  Position after Black’s 16th move (16…Qc6) threatening mate in one move.  Unfortunately for Black, White has designs of his own.

WHITE TO PLAY AND WIN!

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WIM  Yuvarajan, Prathiba

Mujumdar, Sameer

From the recently concluded 8th Philadelphia Open   (2014.4.19).  Position before Black’s 28th move.  Black has a crushing attack on the Kingside while White can do nothing to resist.  In the game continuation Black played the reasonable  28…e3!?  and after  29.Qe2 (29.Qf3! is lost in anycase, but lasts longer) 29… Bxg3! 30.hxg3 Qxg3+ 31.Kh1 Rf2 0-1

HOWEVER, for the sake of accuracy and as a challenge for my readers, there is BETTER for Black in the above position!  It is your task to find it!

WHAT IS BLACK’S BEST LINE?

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Ostrovskiy, Aleksandr

Li, Ethan

From the Philly Open.  Position before Black’s 28th move.  White stands better, Black having little coordination and even a pawn less!  Black must do something quick, for otherwise White will simply advance his Kingside pawns and win the game.

Note that the immediate 28…b3?! 29.a3 stops Black’s Queenside play cold.  A better practical try would be 28…c3!?, but after 29.BxN! NxB (29…b3? 30.Bxd5+! wins) 30.Qc2 followed by Qb3 Black still has problems to solve.

Therefore, Black decided to play psychologically and try to shock White, playing a tricky but inferior move (inferior to 28…c3, that is):

28…Nc5!?

Threatening the immediate …Nb3+ winning the Queen.

Psychology is important in chess because , as humans,  our logical thinking processes can  sometimes be derailed by emotions and fears, resulting in our playing (or our opponent for that matter) a confused and lower level of chess.  Most mistakes, for example, can be explained by psychology.  HERE White should have played 29.Kb1! (getting his King out of harm’s way) and after 29…Nd3  30.RxN! PxR 31.Bxf6! and 32.g5 with excellent winning chances.

INSTEAD, White simply walked into Black’s trap:

29.dc?  b3!  30.Qb1 forced 30…c3!

WINNING!

0-1

It is not clear what White had  overlooked, but he is dead lost.  Black threatens mate starting with 31…Pxb2+, and if 31.Bxf6  c2!! wins the house, and I love the picturesque 31.Bc1  c2! mating the White Queen!

Turn-around is fair play!

Solutions:

Sydney Open 2014  2014.4.23   Vajda, Levente–Huynh, Arthur:  19.Nh2! 1-0  Retreating moves are always the hardest to see, for some reason.  White’s 19th move escaped Black’s attention.  He would now lose the Queen after 19…Qh5 20.Be2; and if instead 19…Qf5 then 20.g4 does the same thing. So resigning is fully understandable…

Asian Continental ,Sharjah UAE, 2014.4.23 Sukandar, Irine Kharisma–Hoang, Thi Bao Tram:17.Nxf6+ Bxf6 18.Be4!  The first key to understanding the position.  18… Qc5 19.Bxh7+! The final point. 19… Kxh7?!  Better 19…Kh8, but White is still winning after 20.Bxf6  The game concluded with a mating attack:  20.Qh5+ Kg8 21.Rh4 1-0

8th Philadelphia Open   2014.4.19;  Mujumdar, Sameer–Yuvarajan, Prathiba:    The best is 28…Be3!!  with the theme of Rf1+.  After  29.Qxe3 Rf1+ is forced mate in 6, while  29.Rxe3 Rxf2 30.Kxf2 Rf8+ 31.Ke2 Bg4+ and mate is inevitable

Other posts by GM Kevin Spraggett:
Saturday's 5-second Tactics
Saturday's 5-second Tactics
GM Ernst Gruenfeld's Chess Tactics
5-second Chess Tactics
5-second Chess Tactics
Monday Tactics: Oldies
5-second Tactics from London Chess Classic
Tactics from World Chess Team Championship
5-second tactics from St. Louis
GM Bacrot vs. GM Aronian: a Remarkable Turnaround
Today's 5-seconds Tactics
Winning tactics
5-second tactics
Joauquim Durao: Portuguese Chess Legend
Chigorin Memorial 5-second tactics
Play it again, Sam
Time controls, Frank Marshal and Nuremberg 1906
World Junior Concludes
Capablanca's Final Advice
Chess Thriller: GM Moskalenko vs. GM Vallejo Pons
5-second tactics
Friday 5-second tactics
Happy 70th birthday to GM Kavalek
Today's Insight into Chess
Tactical workout-2
Tactical workout
Knight-mares
6-time Portuguese Chess Champion Rui Damaso's Chess Brilliancies
Ode to the Kings's Gambit
Good news for old chess players
Lothar Schmid
Chess un-plugged!
Deceptively simple chess
Erich Eliskases
Robert Byrne

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