Daniel King’s Power Play Show: Spassky attacks - Part II

Boris Spassky attacks

Daniel King: "I am continuing to look through Boris Spassky's games and I have been struck by his sharp eye for tactical ideas and swift attacks. Apart from this, I'll be examining two further games with unexpected attacking ideas.

I'll also be tormenting you with more checkmate in 2 problems."

Spassky, the prodigy

Spassky was a classical child prodigy and gained nation-wide attention by beating the Soviet Champion Mikhail Botvinnik in a simultaneous exhibition in 1947, at the age of ten. At 16 he played successfully in a strong international tournament in Bucharest, Romania, and at 18 he won the World Junior Chess Championship in Antwerp, Belgium. The GM title was awarded to him that year, which was a record at the time. In 1956 he qualified for the Candidates Tournament for the first time, in Amsterdam, and finished in the middle of the ten-player world-class field. He was just 19 at the time.

This week

Powerplay 26: Checkmate Challenge — essential knowledge

Checkmate. That's the aim of the game. There are numerous ways to checkmate the enemy king, but there are common patterns that recur over and over again, and having these at our mental fingertips is essential for when we want to finish the game.

Previous shows

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Daniel King is the prolific author of the PowerPlay series which numbers 27 volumes to date.  The King's Gambit is the subject of his most recent DVD.

Here’s a teaser:

Power Play 27: The King's Gambit

Glorious sacrifices, unexpected tactics and checkmating attacks. The King's Gambit is one of the oldest and most romantic openings in the game of chess. This DVD contains all you need to know to tackle your opponent.

Links

• More PowerPlay shows
• All Daniel King video series