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In the following diagrams you are able to move the pieces, retract moves and try alternate lines. At the bottom of the page you find the solutions, presented on our ChessBase replay board, where you can analyse with engine support (mainly to understand why alternatives do not work). Note that there are twice as many puzzles in CHESS Magazine — 24 as opposed to our selection of 12.
The Chess Player's Mating Guide Vol. 1: The King in the Centre
One of the first lessons you learn in chess is to bring your king into safety by castling – be it on the kingside or the queenside - after having developed your minor pieces. By ignoring this rule of thumb, not only may your king end up in trouble, but your other pieces and in particular, your rooks, may never end up playing much of a role, and before you know it, things are looking grim. Even at the highest level, the consequences of neglecting this basic element of opening theory has been frequently underestimated. In this first volume of the new Mating Guide series, the emphasis will be on how to exploit a vulnerably placed king in the centre. A must-have for ambitious chess players who want to improve their own attacking skills.
The last four positions are fairly difficult to solve, so we give you an opportunity to work things out with engine support. On our JavaScript board 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.
The above article was reproduced from Chess Magazine October/2017, 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.
Reti: A Repertoire for White
Victor Bologan; PC-DVD, running time: 5 hours
RRP £25.99 SUBSCRIBERS £23.39
1 Nf3 followed by 2 c4 is, of course, by no means a new development, but it has been quite topical of late and might just surprise many opponents at club level. The Symmetrical English lines after 1 Nf3 c5 2 c4 Nf6 3 Nc3 can become quite theoretical, but here and with 1 Nf3 d5 2 c4 c6 3 g3 there should be sufficient coverage for most viewers. Bologan admits that he has not covered every black defence, which is honest and shouldn’t be too big a deterent to getting the viewer up and running with 1 Nf3, but quite possibly not all will want to meet the King’s Indian, 1...Nf6 2 c4 g6, with 3 b4!?.
Order online from
The London Chess Centre or Chess4Less (USA)
Rocket Repertoire: The Four Knights
Simon Williams; PC-DVD, running time: 5 hours
RRP £25.99 SUBSCRIBERS £23.39
The popular English Grandmaster isn’t a man one associates with dull positions, so that he considers 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Nc3 N f6 to be quite a viable position as White makes one sit up and take notice. Williams covers both 4 Bb5 and 4 d4 exd4 5 Nxd4, two sensible options where he does his best to avoid excessive theory and to inject an attacking bent where possible. Unsurprisingly, though, some of the recommendations are still quite positional, something which one couldn’t describe the concluding Belgrade Gambit (4 d4 exd4 5 Nd5!?) coverage as.
Order online from
The London Chess Centre or Chess4Less (USA)
The Chess Player’s Mating Guide
Vol. 1: The King in the Centre -
Vol. 2: Weakened Kingside
Robert Ris, PC-DVD, running time 5 hours
RRP £26.99 + £26.99
One of the first lessons you learn in chess is to bring your king into safety by castling – be it on the kingside or the queenside - after having developed your minor pieces. By ignoring this rule of thumb, not only may your king end up in trouble, but your other pieces and in particular, your rooks, may never end up playing much of a role, and before you know it, things are looking grim.
Order online from
The London Chess Centre or Chess4Less (USA)
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You probably know that you can move pieces on the replay boards to analyse, and even start an engine to help you. You can maximize the replayer, auto-play, flip the board and even change the piece style in the bar below the board. At the bottom of the notation window on the right there are buttons for editing (delete, promote, cut lines, unannotate, undo, redo) save, play out the position against Fritz and even embed our JavaScript replayer on your web site or blog!
Hovering the mouse over any button will show you its function
