Gauri chess puzzles - (2)

by ChessBase

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8/27/2023 – There are chess puzzles, which are not just clever. They can be very entertaining. An expert in such positions is Gauri Shankar, a chess trainer from Chicago, who has a great talent for finding pretty examples, and for explaining the results in instructive style. Today we how you three new positions, which you can try to solve. You can let Gauri explain them, if you fail to find out everything yourself.

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In the following positions you can move the pieces on the diagram boards and try to work out the wins for White. You can click on the fan button to start an engine to assist in your analysis. If you cannot find the solution you can watch the video links given at the bottom.

So let's get started:

This position is all about generating zugzwang. Zugzwang is a German term that refers to a situation in chess where a player is forced to move, but any move will worsen their position. This can be a very powerful tactic, as it can force an opponent to make a bad move or even lose the game. You have to find ways of inflicting it on Black.

Here you must start with a subtle move to initiate a very nice win, one that involves multiple sacrifices – if Black mounts a stubborn defence. If he takes the sacs you get to see a very nice checkmate sequence.

In this position White played 1.a3, after which Black castled long. How should Black proceed? Hint: there is a very nice cross mate available – if you are brave enough to undertake some dramatic sacrifices.

Here are the solutions, very nicely explained by Gauri:

About the author

Gauri Shankar is a FIDE Master, originally from India, who moved to the United States when he was ten years old. He has eight International Master norms, and is seeking to cross the 2400 Elo mark to get his title. He works as a chess trainer in Chicago, where he currently resides.

Gauri's decade long experience teaching chess to thousands of children has helped him become a popular online chess content creator, making entertaining and educational videos on Twitch, Youtube, Instagram and Tiktok.