Chess Puzzle - 40

 
White to move. What is the best way for White to proceed?

Chess Puzzle - 39

Black to move. How should black proceed?

Short games in Chess - The King Hunt - 1

Checkmate in 10 moves

White to move and mate in 10.

Chess Puzzle - 38

White to move. How should white proceed?

Chess Puzzle - 37

White to move. How should White proceed?

Chess Puzzle - 36

White to move and win.

Bangkok Open Standings after 8 rounds

Leaders after 8 rounds

Rk.		Name	Rtg	FED	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB4	Rp
1	GM	Short Nigel D	2697	ENG	7.5	43.5	40.75	34.0	0.0	2856
2	IM	Nguyen Duc Hoa	2453	VIE	6.5	40.0	31.00	30.5	0.0	2609
3	IM	Nguyen Van Huy	2485	VIE	6.5	36.5	28.50	28.0	0.0	2463
4	GM	Amonatov Farrukh	2604	TJK	6.0	43.5	30.25	32.0	0.0	2561
5	IM	Venkatesh M R	2509	IND	6.0	42.5	28.50	31.0	0.0	2604
6	GM	Sriram Jha	2406	IND	6.0	39.0	28.00	29.0	0.0	2462
7	GM	Xiu Deshun	2492	CHN	6.0	38.5	28.50	29.5	0.0	2465
8		Liu Chang	2262	CHN	6.0	37.5	24.25	27.5	0.0	2461
9	IM	Saptarshi Roy	2384	IND	6.0	36.5	27.75	27.0	0.0	2438
10	GM	Neelotpal Das	2462	IND	6.0	36.0	26.50	27.5	0.0	2397
11	IM	Liu Qingnan	2461	CHN	5.5	45.5	28.50	33.5	0.0	2517
12	GM	Hou Yifan	2639	CHN	5.5	43.5	27.25	32.5	0.0	2520
13		Wan Yunguo	2441	CHN	5.5	41.5	27.50	31.0	0.0	2424
14	GM	Gustafsson Jan	2642	GER	5.5	41.0	26.50	32.0	0.0	2460
15	FM	Voigt Martin	2364	GER	5.5	39.0	23.25	28.0	0.0	2435
16	FM	Teerapabpaisit Wisuwat	2278	THA	5.5	38.5	24.00	28.5	0.0	2316
17		Severino Sander	2344	PHI	5.5	38.5	23.75	27.5	0.0	2462
18	GM	Schebler Gerhard	2449	GER	5.5	37.5	25.50	28.0	0.0	2375
19	IM	Contin Daniel	2331	ITA	5.5	37.5	23.25	28.0	0.0	2411
20		Stany G A	2376	IND	5.5	37.0	23.25	27.5	0.0	2425
21	GM	Rantanen Yrjo A	2383	FIN	5.5	36.5	24.75	27.0	0.0	2363
22	IM	Lammers Markus	2384	GER	5.5	34.5	22.75	26.5	0.0	2318

Full results here: http://chess-results.com/tnr70858.aspx

Bangkok Open - Round 8 results

Round 8 results

Bo.		Name	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Name	Rtg
1	GM	Short Nigel D	2697	6½	1 - 0	6	GM	Amonatov Farrukh	2604
2	GM	Sriram Jha	2406	5½	½ - ½	6	IM	Nguyen Duc Hoa	2453
3	IM	Nguyen Van Huy	2485	5½	1 - 0	5½	IM	Liu Qingnan	2461
4	IM	Venkatesh M R	2509	5	1 - 0	5½		Wan Yunguo	2441
5		Stany G A	2376	5	½ - ½	5	GM	Gustafsson Jan	2642
6	GM	Hou Yifan	2639	5	½ - ½	5	GM	Rantanen Yrjo A	2383
7	IM	Mohota Nisha	2312	5	0 - 1	5	GM	Xiu Deshun	2492
8		Xiao Yiyi	2103	5	0 - 1	5	GM	Neelotpal Das	2462
9	GM	Schebler Gerhard	2449	5	½ - ½	5	FM	Voigt Martin	2364
10	IM	Saptarshi Roy	2384	5	1 - 0	5	GM	Ghane Shojaat	2339
11	IM	Wynn Zaw Htun	2414	4½	0 - 1	5		Liu Chang	2262

Full results here: http://chess-results.com/tnr70858.aspx

Chess Puzzle - 35

Black to move. How should Black proceed?

Bangkok Open Standings after 7 rounds

 
England Grandmaster Nigel Short D holds his #1 position in the Bangkok Open after finishing 7 rounds, scoring 6.5 points.

Leaders after 7 rounds

Rk.

Name

Rtg

FED

1.Rd

2.Rd

3.Rd

4.Rd

5.Rd

6.Rd

7.Rd

8.Rd

Pts.

1

GM

Short Nigel D

2697

ENG

61b1

17w1

24b½

11w1

4b1

9b1

8w1

2w

6.5

2

GM

Amonatov Farrukh

2604

TJK

20w1

42b1

10w1

4b½

6w½

14b1

16w1

1b

6.0

3

IM

Nguyen Duc Hoa

2453

VIE

88w1

82b1

63w1

8b½

7w½

22b1

9w1

6b

6.0

4

IM

Liu Qingnan

2461

CHN

34b1

36w1

23b1

2w½

1w0

25b1

10w1

7b

5.5

5

Wan Yunguo

2441

CHN

60w½

39b1

43w1

27b1

8w½

36b1

7w½

9b

5.5

6

GM

Sriram Jha

2406

IND

85b1

97w½

53b1

41w1

2b½

17w½

31b1

3w

5.5

7

IM

Nguyen Van Huy

2485

VIE

59b½

113w1

45b1

97w1

3b½

23w1

5b½

4w

5.5

8

GM

Hou Yifan

2639

CHN

99b1

32w1

16b1

3w½

5b½

11w1

1b0

21w

5.0

9

IM

Venkatesh M R

2509

IND

56b1

47w1

44b1

29w1

12b1

1w0

3b0

5w

5.0

10

IM

Mohota Nisha

2312

IND

102b1

40w1

2b0

38w1

61b1

15w1

4b0

13w

5.0

11

FM

Voigt Martin

2364

GER

84w1

73b1

28w1

1b0

37w1

8b0

58w1

19b

5.0

12

GM

Gustafsson Jan

2642

GER

104w1

26b1

25w½

24b1

9w0

43b1

18w½

14b

5.0

13

GM

Xiu Deshun

2492

CHN

71w1

22b½

64w1

25b1

14w½

16b0

36w1

10b

5.0

14

Stany G A

2376

IND

77b1

38w1

41b½

59w1

13b½

2w0

40b1

12w

5.0

15

GM

Neelotpal Das

2462

IND

79w1

43b½

22w½

50b1

32w1

10b0

37w1

20b

5.0

16

GM

Ghane Shojaat

2339

IRI

103w1

65b1

8w0

66b1

54w1

13w1

2b0

18b

5.0

17

Liu Chang

2262

CHN

109w1

1b0

98w1

48b1

49w1

6b½

19w½

29b

5.0

18

IM

Saptarshi Roy

2384

IND

57b1

53w½

59b0

74w1

45b1

30w1

12b½

16w

5.0

19

GM

Schebler Gerhard

2449

GER

48b1

45w½

62b½

73w1

31b½

24w1

17b½

11w

5.0

20

Xiao Yiyi

2103

CHN

2b0

92w1

116b1

44w1

23b0

42w1

47b1

15w

5.0

21

GM

Rantanen Yrjo A

2383

FIN

112w1

37b½

66w½

65b½

68w1

26b½

50w1

8b

5.0

Full standings: http://chess-results.com/tnr70858.aspx?art=4&lan=1&turdet=YES&flag=30

Chess Puzzle - 34

White to move. How should white proceed?

Bangkok Open Standings after 6 rounds

Leaders after 6 rounds

Rk.		Name	RtgI	Pts.	TB1	TB2	TB3	TB4	Rp
1	GM	Short Nigel D	2697	5.5	24.5	22.75	16.5	0.0	2743
2	GM	Hou Yifan	2639	5.0	25.5	20.50	18.0	0.0	2599
3	GM	Amonatov Farrukh	2604	5.0	24.5	20.00	17.0	0.0	2591
4	IM	Venkatesh M R	2509	5.0	24.0	18.50	15.5	0.0	2672
5	IM	Nguyen Duc Hoa	2453	5.0	23.0	18.00	15.5	0.0	2598
6		Wan Yunguo	2441	5.0	22.5	18.75	15.0	0.0	2484
7	IM	Mohota Nisha	2312	5.0	21.5	16.50	14.5	0.0	2511
8	GM	Ghane Shojaat	2339	5.0	20.5	15.50	13.0	0.0	2521
9	IM	Nguyen Van Huy	2485	5.0	19.0	15.00	12.5	0.0	2405
10	IM	Liu Qingnan	2461	4.5	26.0	18.00	17.0	0.0	2562
11	GM	Gustafsson Jan	2642	4.5	22.0	15.25	14.5	0.0	2491
12	GM	Sriram Jha	2406	4.5	21.0	15.00	13.5	0.0	2434
13		Liu Chang	2262	4.5	20.5	12.75	13.0	0.0	2406
14	GM	Schebler Gerhard	2449	4.5	19.5	14.00	12.5	0.0	2401
15	IM	Saptarshi Roy	2384	4.5	18.5	14.00	12.0	0.0	2356
	FM	Pitirotjirathon Jirapak	2252	4.5	18.5	14.00	12.0	0.0	2336

Full standings: http://chess-results.com/tnr70820.aspx?lan=1

Very difficult Chess Puzzle

Ryabinin 1999

White to move and win. This is another very difficult puzzle and it is over 10 moves long. Please no computer analysis.

Icelandinc Championship Results ( Round 1-3 )

Round 1 on 2012/04/13 at 16:00
Bo.	Rtg			Name	Result		Name		Rtg
1	2346			Gislason Gudmundur	0 - 1	IM	Thorfinnsson Bjorn		2416
2	2504		GM	Danielsen Henrik	½ - ½	GM	Kristjansson Stefan		2500
3	2245			Jensson Einar Hjalti	½ - ½	IM	Thorfinnsson Bragi		2421
4	2305		FM	Kjartansson David	½ - ½	GM	Stefansson Hannes		2531
5	2398		GM	Thorhallsson Throstur	½ - ½	IM	Arngrimsson Dagur		2361
6	2393		FM	Bjornsson Sigurbjorn	1 - 0	IM	Kjartansson Gudmundur		2357

Round 2 on 2012/04/14 at 16:00
Bo.	Rtg			Name	Result		Name		Rtg
1	2416		IM	Thorfinnsson Bjorn	½ - ½	IM	Kjartansson Gudmundur		2357
2	2361		IM	Arngrimsson Dagur	0 - 1	FM	Bjornsson Sigurbjorn		2393
3	2531		GM	Stefansson Hannes	0 - 1	GM	Thorhallsson Throstur		2398
4	2421		IM	Thorfinnsson Bragi	1 - 0	FM	Kjartansson David		2305
5	2500		GM	Kristjansson Stefan	1 - 0		Jensson Einar Hjalti		2245
6	2346			Gislason Gudmundur	0 - 1	GM	Danielsen Henrik		2504

Round 3 on 2012/04/15 at 16:00
Bo.	Rtg			Name	Result		Name		Rtg
1	2504		GM	Danielsen Henrik	1 - 0	IM	Thorfinnsson Bjorn		2416
2	2245			Jensson Einar Hjalti	0 - 1		Gislason Gudmundur		2346
3	2305		FM	Kjartansson David	1 - 0	GM	Kristjansson Stefan		2500
4	2398		GM	Thorhallsson Throstur	½ - ½	IM	Thorfinnsson Bragi		2421
5	2393		FM	Bjornsson Sigurbjorn	0 - 1	GM	Stefansson Hannes		2531
6	2357		IM	Kjartansson Gudmundur	1 - 0	IM	Arngrimsson Dagur		2361

Full results: http://chess-results.com/tnr70156.aspx

Chess Puzzle - 33

White to move. How should white proceed?

Endgame : Checkmate with knight pair

Two Knights

Checkmate with a king and two knights is one of the rare possibilities in the game of chess. Sometimes checkmate is possible with two knights against one pawn as the pawn removes the stalemate defense. Sometimes two knights and a king can force a checkmate against a pawn and the king. The tactics is to block the opponent's pawn with the knight and push the king to the stalemate position. The knight however plays the checkmate.

Endgame : Checkmate with bishop and knight

Bishop & Knight:
In this case checkmate is a difficult possibility. The two pieces cannot form a linear barrier to the opponent's king and thus the checkmate only occurs in the corner controlled by the bishop. We get two checkmate positions with these two pieces. The first position is a checkmate by the bishop, the king being in the corner. The second position is created by the knight, the king being in a side square next to the corner. The bishop and king moving on the side, the checkmate can occur at the end of 33 moves from the starting position.

Endgame : Checkmate with bishop pair

Checkmate with bishop pair


There can be two checkmate positions with the two bishops on board that can occur at any corner of the board. There can be a checkmate in the corner. The second checkmate can occur at the side square, just next to the corner square. With the bishops moving freely on the side, the checkmate can occur in nineteen moves. Two bishops can result in a checkmate with the help of two kings. The bishops are the most useful when they are at the center of the board. The king has to be used frequently with the bishops.

1. Ke2 Ke4 (Black tries to keep his king near the center)
2. Be3 Ke5 (forcing the king back, which is done often)
3. Kd3 Kd5
4. Bd4 Ke6
5. Ke4 Kd6 (Black tries a different approach to stay near the center)
6. Bc4 (White has a fine position. The bishops are centralized and the king is active.)
6... Kc6 (Black avoids going toward the side)
7. Ke5 Kd7 (Black is trying to avoid the a8 corner)
8. Bd5 (keeping the black king off c6)
8... Kc7
9. Bc5 Kd7
10. Bd6! (an important move that forces the king to the edge of the board)
10... Ke8 (Black is still avoiding the corner)
11. Ke6 (now the black king cannot get off the edge of the board)
11... Kd8
12. Bc6 (forcing the king toward the corner)
12... Kc8 (Black's king is confined to c8 and d8. The white king must cover a7 and b7)
13. Kd5 (13. Ke7? is stalemate)
13...Kd8
14. Kc5 Kc8
15. Kb6 Kd8 (Now White must allow the king to move into the corner)
16. Bc5 Kc8
17. Be7! (an important move that forces the king toward the corner)
17... Kb8
18. Bd7! (the same principle as the previous move)
18... Ka8
19. Bd8 (White must make a move that gives up a tempo. This move is such a move, along with Bc5, Bf8, Be6, or Ka6.)
19... Kb8
20. Bc7+ Ka8
21. Bc6#

Chess Puzzle - 32

Black to move. How should black proceed?

Chess Puzzle - 31

White to move. What is the best continuation for White?

St.Louis Chess Tournament

Final standings

Rk	Name	Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Score
1	GM Moradiabadi, Elshan	2542	x	½	½	½	1	½	1	0	1	1	6.0
2	IM Arnold, Marc T	2502	½	x	½	½	½	½	1	½	1	1	6.0
3	IM Yang, Darwin	2448	½	½	x	1	½	½	1	1	1	0	6.0
4	GM Margvelashvili, Giorgi	2547	½	½	0	x	½	½	1	1	½	1	5.5
5	IM Molner, Mackenzie	2465	0	½	½	½	x	1	1	½	½	1	5.5
6	IM Sevillano, Enrico	2502	½	½	½	½	0	x	0	1	1	1	5.0
7	GM Finegold, Benjamin	2505	0	0	0	0	0	1	x	½	1	1	3.5
8	IM Gerzhoy, Leonid	2489	1	½	0	0	½	0	½	x	½	0	3.0
9	IM Brooks, Michael A	2456	0	0	0	½	½	0	0	½	x	1	2.5
10	IM Young, Angelo	2321	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	x	2.0

Official website: http://saintlouischessclub.org/2012-saint-louis-invitational

Rook and pawn endgame

This is an actual game from round 8 in St. Louis. It is white to move. Is this a win or draw for white?

Chess Puzzle - Drawn by stalemate

Chess Puzzle - 30

White to move. Can you find the winning plan? This is a very good pattern to know.