Chess London: Find the winning move

Sharpen your tactics

In the following diagrams you are able to move the pieces, retract moves and try alternate lines. There is a new feature: when you play a move the embedded engine will reply for the other side, after around three seconds. So you can play through the line you think will lead to success — and see it refuted if you have started with the wrong move. Note that there are twice as many puzzles in CHESS Magazine — 24 as opposed to our selection of twelve.

Warm-up puzzles

Intermediate Puzzles for the Club Player

Test: Harder puzzles in the ChessBase player

The last four positions are fairly difficult to solve, so we give you an opportunity to work things out with a stronger engine to support you. In our game replayer you can move pieces around, and start an engine by clicking the 'fan' button. You can maximize the replayer, auto-play, flip the board, etc. Hovering the mouse over any button will show you its function. The little tab to the bottom right of the board tells you which side to move. 

And here's a position from the July Studies Competition. We urge you to try to find the solution yourself. It is quite delightful.

The above article was reproduced from Chess Magazine September 2021, with kind permission. The solutions to the puzzles are given at the bottom of this page. Don't peek if you can resist.

CHESS Magazine was established in 1935 by B.H. Wood who ran it for over fifty years. It is published each month by the London Chess Centre and is edited by IM Richard Palliser and Matt Read. The Executive Editor is Malcolm Pein, who organises the London Chess Classic. CHESS is mailed to subscribers in over 50 countries. You can subscribe from Europe and Asia at a specially discounted rate for first timers, or subscribe from North America.

Solutions