399 Super Easy Chess Tactics - Anthea Carson & Tim Brennan

399
Super Easy Chess Tactics for Kids and

Beginners:
Chess Problems and Tactics for Kids and
Beginners
By the authors of the bestselling chess book Tactics Time
Anthea Carson and Tim Brennan
http://tacticstime.com
One-Move Capture Problems and Checkmates

This book is dedicated to YOU,

the chess player seeking improvement in your game,
wanting to win more games, and take your chess game to the next level!
Intro
This is a chess puzzle book that shows simple one-move captures for kids and
beginners. Usually a beginner can see the capture if you show nothing else on
the board but the piece to be captured and the piece that can capture it. A
beginner might even say, “I already know how to capture pieces.” But if you
watch kids and beginners in real games they are missing undefended pieces all
the time. These puzzles can help beginners to see these undefended pieces in
real games.
This book of tactics is simple for beginners. Most kids and beginners
consistently miss undefended pieces. These are sometimes referred to as
“hanging pieces.” If a beginner just learns to capture undefended pieces his or
her chess ability will increase.
The ability to see and capture hanging pieces is something that the average chess
player takes for granted. That may be why there aren’t a lot of books with these
kinds of puzzles. These kinds of puzzles shouldn’t even be called tactics puzzles,
since tactics mean skewers, forks, discoveries etc, and involve more than one
move. However, being able to capture loose or undefended pieces is really far
more important to a beginner than complex tactics. Without that ability even
simple tactics wouldn’t make sense.
As a chess coach, it is frustrating to stand back and watch kids miss opportunity
after opportunity to capture a piece. I also see kids leave their pieces
undefended. It is as if the kids are just moving their pieces around the board with
no goals or purpose. In games like this, the kid who can notice and capture
undefended pieces will be king of the hill.
Buy this book for your young chess beginner, and have him or her solve one
or two puzzles per day. That might be enough to get him excited about the
game of kings, as it is fun for kids to solve these kinds of puzzles and spot the
hanging piece and how to capture it.
While there will be explanations provided for some of the answers, this book
assumes that the reader knows the basic rules of chess and how to read chess
notation. If you need help with that, go to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_notation

(1) White to move
11.Qxb4 The queen captures the bishop on b4.
Click here to see the whole game: Lenaire Azure vs Arjun Choudhry
(2) White to move
11.dxc5 The pawn on d4 takes the bishop on c5.
Jerome Weikel vs Dan Wermers

(3) White to move
53.Rxa2 The rook takes the pawn on a2. Since the pawn is black, you know that
it started on the a7 square, which means it is about to become a queen if you
don’t capture it. So not only does this move win a pawn, but it prevents a queen!
R. Arteaga vs G. Kirste
(4) White to move
16.Qxd8# The queen takes the queen with checkmate. The queen is guarded by
the bishop on g5.
Will Grevlos vs Graham Leonard

(5) Black to move
7...Bxf2# The bishop takes the pawn on f2 with checkmate. The bishop is
guarded by the knight on g4.
Click here to see the game!

(6) White to move
12.Qxh8+ The queen takes the rook on h8 with check. (The plus sign means
check). It is not checkmate yet, but the only way out is to block first with the
knight (Ng8) and then with the bishop (Bc8) but the queen can capture both
pieces, and once it captures the bishop, it will be checkmate.
Click here for the whole game!

(7) Black to move
18...Nxb3 The knight takes the knight on b3. White played 18. Qe2?? on the
previous move, missing this simple capture. Even strong players sometimes
miss moves like this.
Click here to see the whole game!

(8) Black to move
25...Rxf3 The rook takes the bishop on f3.

(9) White to move
41.Qxd4+ The queen captures the undefended bishop on d4 with check. The plus
sign means check.

(10) Black to move

2...Qh4+ The queen moves to h4 with check. The next move will be checkmate,
because the only way to block the check is to offer a free pawn by playing g3
where it will be unguarded.

(11) White to move
27.exd7 The pawn on e6 takes the rook on d7.

(12) White to move
21.Bxa5 The bishop takes the knight on a5. On the previous move Black
played 20…Bd5, missing this one move threat.

(13) White to move
51.Bxd5+ The bishop takes the queen on d5 with check. The pawn will capture
the bishop, but the queen is worth 9 pawns and the bishop is only worth 3, so it
is a great trade for white.

(14) White to move
19.Nxg5 The knight takes the queen on g5.

(15) White to move
20.Qxe3 The queen takes the bishop on e3.

(16) White to move
20.Nxa8 The knight takes the rook on a8.

(17) Black to move
28...cxb5 The pawn on c6 takes the pawn on b5.

(18) White to move
13.Nxd6 The knight takes the bishop on d6.

(19) Black to move
23...Bxf3 The Bishop take the Queen on f3.

(20) Black to move
12...Qxf1# The queen takes the rook with checkmate!-

(21) Black to move
34...Qxc5 The Queen takes the bishop on c5.

(22) White to move
40.Rxe5 The Rook takes the queen on e5

(23) Black to move
25...Nxf3+ The knight takes the pawn on f3. The pawn on g2 can’t recapture
because it is pinned by the rook. It is illegal to move the pawn because it would
be moving into check.

(24) Black to move
17...Qxe2 The Queen takes the knight on e2.. The knight was attacked twice, but
only defended once. Black wins a piece.

(25) White to move
27.Nxb6 The Knight takes the queen on b6.

(26) White to move
10.Qxf3 The queen takes the bishop on f3. The pawn can also capture it, but
that would weaken white’s kingside pawns and his ability to castle.

(27) White to move

45.Kxb5 The king takes the unprotected bishop on b5 and gets out of check.

(28) Black to move
36...Qxf3+ The queen takes the pawn on f3 with check.

(29) White to move
8.Qd5 Move the queen to d5. If the queen stays on d4 it will be captured by the
pawn on c6. On d5 the queen is forking the rook on a8 and the checkmate on f7.

(30) Black to move
13...Qxc7 The queen takes the knight on c7

(31) Black to move
17...Bxc3 The bishop takes the queen on c3

(32) Black to move
13...Nxc3 The knight takes the pawn on c3

(33) Black to move
15...Qe2# The queen checkmates on e2, guarded by the knight.

(34) Black to move
43...Kxb1 The king takes the rook on b1.

(35) White to move
13.Nxc7# The knight takes the pawn on c7 with checkmate. This kind of
checkmate is called a “Smothered Mate” because the king is in check, can’t
capture the knight and his own pieces are blocking his escape.

(36) White to move
16.exf6 The pawn on e5 takes the knight on f6

(37) White to move
13.Nxe5 The knight takes the pawn on e5. The knight can’t recapture because it
is pinned by the queen.

(38) White to move
23.Nxg6+ The knight captures the pawn on g6 with check.

(39) White to move
33.Nxf4 The knight takes the knight on f4

(41) Black to move
11...exd4 The pawn takes the free knight on d4, forking the queen and bishop.

(42) White to move
19.Qxf7+ The queen takes the pawn on f7 with check. The f7 square is guarded
by the rook on f1.

(43) White to move
36.Rxc6 The rook captures the pawn on c6. The rook would be captured by the
king on g7 if the knight were to capture the rook on f8. By capturing the
unprotected pawn on c6 he also frees up his knight on d7 to move.

(44) Black to move
4...Qxd3 The queen takes the bishop on d3.

(45) Black to move
7...Qf2# The queen goes to f2 with checkmate.

(46) White to move
25.Qd8# The queen moves to d8 with checkmate. The bishop cuts off the only
escape square for black’s king.

(47) White to move
15.Bxd7+ The bishop takes the queen on d7.

(48) White to move
39.Rxf8 The rook takes the rook on f8. The rook on h8 can recapture, but
white’s queen will recapture the rook.

(49) White to move
17.Rxh8 The rook captures the rook on h8. The pawn can capture the bishop,
but the rook is worth more than the bishop. The pawn is then close to queening
so don’t let the pawn stay there too long.

(50) White to move
44.f8=Q The pawn on f7 moves to f8 and promotes to a queen. If you get your
pawn to the other side you can get any piece except a pawn or a king..

(51) White to move
23.Bxc8 The bishop takes the rook on c8.

(52) White to move
30.Qxc7+ The queen takes the queen on c7.

(53) White to move
18.Qxe2 The queen takes the bishop on e2.

(54) Black to move
17...Qxg2# The queen takes the pawn on g2 with checkmate.

(55) White to move
28.R1h6# The rook on h1 moves to h6 with checkmate.

(56) White to move
21.Bxc6 The bishop takes the knight on c6.

(57) White to move
20.Re8# The rook moves to e8 with checkmate.

(58) White to move
29.Qf4 The queen moves to f4. Although it looks like the knight on b5 can
take the pawn on d6, it isn’t actually safe. After Bishop takes knight on c4 the
queen can’t recapture without losing the bishop on c1. Always make sure it is
safe before capturing.

(59) White to move
13.Qxe7# The queen takes the pawn on e7 with checkmate.

(60) White to move
9.Qf7# The queen moves to f7 with checkmate.

(61) White to move
27.Rxa5 The rook takes the pawn on a5.

(62) White to move
24.Qh7# The queen goes to h7 with checkmate.

(63) White to move
21.Qg3 The queen moves to g3. It moves away to avoid being captured by the
knight on h3. It is important also to avoid being captured. Sometimes there is no
piece for you to capture, you just need to notice that one of your pieces is going
to be captured. Also, if the queen moves not just anywhere, but to g3, it makes it
so the knight has no where to go, and so next move you will be able to win it.

(64) White to move
14.Nxc6 The knight captures the undefended knight on c6. After the capture, the
knight will also be aiming at the queen.

(65) Black to move
6...Qxb2 The queen captures the pawn on b2. The queen could also capture the
pawn on c5. It is better to capture on b2 here, because then the queen will also be
able to win the rook on a1. This is called thinking ahead.

(66) White to move
12.exf6 The pawn on e5 takes the knight on f6.

(67) Black to move
28...Qxd6 The queen captures the undefended bishop on d6 which was aiming at
the rook on e7.

(68) Black to move
27...Nxf3+ The knight takes the bishop on f3 with check. The knight will also
be aiming at the rook on d1. This is a knight-fork.
(69) White to move
20.Qxd5+ The queen takes the pawn on d5 with check

(70) White to move
20.Qxf7+ The queen takes the rook on f7 with check.

(71) Black to move
13...Rxh1+ The rook takes the rook on h1. After the king moves out of check,
the other rook can be captured too.

(72) White to move
9.Nxd5 The knight takes the pawn on d5.

(73) Black to move
21...Bxc3 The bishop takes the knight on c3.

http://www.viewchess.com/cbreader/2013/2/28/Game27948811.html
(74) White to move
44.hxg6 The pawn on h5 captures the piece on g6.

(75) White to move
28.Rxd7+ The rook takes the knight with check.

(76) Black to move
33...Rxc2+ The rook trades for the queen. Queen is worth 9 pawns, rook is only
worth 5.
(77) White to move
9.Qxh7# The queen captures h7 with checkmate.
(78) White to move
9.Qxh6 The queen takes the pawn on h6.

(79) Black to move
26...Bxa4 The bishop takes the pawn on a4.

(80) Black to move
29...Qxg3+ The queen takes the pawn on g3 with check. The g3 square is
guarded by the rook on g8.

(81) White to move
51.Bxg6 The bishop takes the pawn on g6.

(82) White to move
53.bxa6 The pawn on b5 captures the pawn on a6.

(83) Black to move
25...Rxf3 The rook takes the bishop on f3.

(84) White to move
8.Nxg7+ The knight captures the undefended pawn on g7, putting the king in
check.
(85) White to move
13.Nxd6 The knight on b5 takes the bishop on d6.

(86) White to move
25.Rxg7+ The rook takes the bishop on g7 with check.

(87) Black to move
23...Bxf3 The bishop takes the queen on f3.

(88) Black to move
38...Rxf7 If the queen recaptures, the king can capture the queen.

(89) Black to move
10...Qxc4 The queen takes the bishop on c4.

(90) Black to move
12...Qxf1# The queen takes the rook on f1 with checkmate.

(91) Black to move
29...Qxd6 The queen takes the knight on d6.
From the game SmookieP (1190) – Aanatol (1492) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(92) Black to move
28...Rxd8 You could also capture with the queen. Capturing with the rook
activates the rook.
From the game gothcharles (1638) – hedonist (1692) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(93) Black to move
34...Qxc5 The queen takes the bishop on c5.
From the game gothcharles (1638) – hedonist (1692) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(94) White to move
17.Qxh5 The queen takes the knight on h5.
From the game rabnes 1475 – Peter Cobb 1454 ½ - ½ 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(95) Black to move
17...Qxe2 The queen can be captured, but it is really just a queen trade after the
rook recaptures again on e2. At the end of the exchange, black will have won a
knight.
From the game mennodepenno 1299 – rabnes (1475) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(96) Black to move
20...Nxe4 The rook could also capture. By capturing with the knight you bring
your knight to more active square where it makes two more threats; one is to
capture on f2 and if the queen doesn’t move, you can check by playing knight to
g3, with a discovery attack from the rook on the queen.
From the game mennodepenno (1299) – Morbius (1654) 2012 Championship

February 1, 2012

(97) White to move
27.Nxb6 The knight will be recaptured, but the queen is worth 9 pawns and the
knight is only worth 3, so it’s a great deal for white.
From the game mennodepenno (1299) – Dieter Sievert (1191) 1-0 2012
Championship February 1, 2012

(98) White to move
5.Bxc5 The bishop takes the bishop on c5.
From the game mennodepenno (1299) – Peter Cobb 1454 1-0 2012

(99) White to move
24.Bxh6 The pawn on g7 cannot recapture because it’s pinned by the rook on g3
because it is illegal to move into check.
From the game Morbius (1654) – rabnes (1475) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(100) White to move
36.Rxf5 The rook takes the knight on f5.
From the game Morbius (1654) – rabnes (1475) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(101) White to move
11.bxc3 The pawn on b3 takes the bishop on c3.
From the game Morbius (1654) – mennodepenno (1299) 1-0 2012


(102) Black to move
27...Qe1# The queen moves to e1 with checkmate.
From the game Dieter Sievert (1191) – Nietzsche 1844 (1369) 0-1 2012

(103) Black to move
17...Rxc5+ The rook takes the pawn on c5 with check. If it wasn’t for the check,
it would be a mistake because it would allow the rook on d1 to capture black’s
queen.
From the game Dieter Sievert (1191) – petaar (1521) 0-1 2-12 Championship
February 1, 2012

(104) Black to move
20...bxc4 The pawn on b5 captures the knight on c4.
From the game Dieter Sievert (1191) – petaar (1521) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(105) Black to move

22...Qxd2# The queen captures the pawn on d2 with checkmate.
(106) Black to move
19...Rxd2 The rook takes the knight on d2.
From the game Dieter Sievert (1191) – Peter Cobb (1454) 0-1 2012

(107) Black to move
18...Bxa1 The bishop takes the rook on a1.
From the game Dieter Sievert (1191) – hedonist (1692) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(108) Black to move
8...Nxf3 The knight takes the queen on f3.
From the game Peter Cobb (1454) – Petaar (1521) 1-0 2012 February 1, 2012

(109) White to move
31.Rxc6 The rook takes the knight on c6.
From the game Peter Cobb (1454) – mennodepenno (1299) 1-0 2012

(110) Black to move
19...Nxd5 The knight takes the queen on d5.
From the game Peter Cobb (1454) – Morbius (1654) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(111) Black to move
29...Qxg3+ The queen takes the pawn on g3, guarded by the rook on g8.
From the game Neitzsche1844 (1369) – Morbius (1654) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(112) White to move
19.Qxg4 The queen takes the knight on g4.
From the game hedonist (1692) – rabnes (1475) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(113) White to move
37.Qxf5+ The queen takes the pawn on f5.
From the game

(114) White to move
14.Nxd6 The knight takes the bishop on d6.
From the game hedonist (1692) – Dieter Sievert (1191) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(115) White to move
19.Qg4+ The queen moves to g4 with check, and checkmate next move via Qg7
is inevitable.
From the game hedonist (1692) – Peter Cobb (1454) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(116) White to move
20.Qxg7# The queen takes the pawn on g7 with checkmate. If you noticed that
the king can take the rook on f2, great, but when you see a good move, always
look for a better move.
From the game hedonist (1692) – Heatonite (1598 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(117) Black to move
8...Nxd3 The knight takes the bishop on d3.

(118) White to move
5.exd6 The pawn on e5 takes the bishop on d6.
From the game Red House (1631) schlammblut (1272) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(119) White to move
16.Bxc8 The bishop takes the bishop on c8.
From the game Red House (1631) – friis76 (1349) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(120) Black to move
30...Rxe4 The rook takes the queen on e4.
From the game Red House (1631) – friis76 (1339) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(121) Black to move
26...Rxd1+ The rook takes the rook on d1. The rook is guarded once and
attacked twice. It is guarded by the rook on a1, but it is being attacked by the
rook on d3 and by the rook on d8.
From the game Inspector5251 (1321) – Red House (1631) 0-1 2012

(122) Black to move
25...Qxf2+ The queen takes the pawn on f2 with check. The queen is protected
by the rook on d2, so the king can’t take it.
From the game Inspector5251 (1321) – jecidi (1661) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(123) White to move
19.Bxb2 The bishop takes the knight on b2.
From the game Inspector5251 (1321) – friis76 (1349) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(124) White to move
23.Bxe5 The bishop takes the rook on e5. The rook on d5 will recapture the
bishop, but the rook is worth more than the bishop, so it is a good trade for
white.
From the game Inspector5251 – friis (1349) 1-0 2012 Championship February 1,
2012

(125) Black to move
46...gxf4+ The pawn on g5 takes the rook on f4.
From the game Inspector5251 (1321) – friis (1349) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(126) Black to move
18...Ba6 The bishop moves to a6. The bishop is being threatened by the knight
on c1. Although it is true that there are two pieces aiming at the pawn on b7, and
only one guarding it, it might not be wise for white to capture that pawn. If he
captures with the bishop, the bishop is then pinned by the rook, and if it moves,
white loses his queen. Of course he would not want to take with his queen, since
the queen is worth far more than a pawn. By moving the bishop to a6, black
keeps a safe retreat square for his knight on d2. A6 is the only safe square for the
bishop that is on the diagonal that includes c4. This is thinking far ahead, but it’s
a good idea to try to see ahead in chess.
From the game porygon (1958) – Red House (1631) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(127) Black to move
From the game porygon (1958) – Inspector5251 (1321) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(128) Black to move
19...Qxd7 The queen takes the knight on d7.
From the game porygon (1958) – scrappie (1747) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(129) White to move
12.axb4 The pawn on a3 takes the bishop on b4.
From the game porygon (1958) – schlammblut (1272) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(130) White to move
24.Ra8+ The rook moves to a8 with check, and it will be mate in one move. The
only way out of check is for the knight to move to b8 and block it. The knight on
c5 is guarding the only escape square on d7.
From the guard porygon (1958) – schlammblut (1272) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(131) White to move
15.Bxa8 The bishop on g2 takes the rook on a8.
From the game porygon (1958) – friis76 (1349) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(132) White to move
31.Qxe5+ The queen takes the bishop on e5 with check.
From the game scrappie (1747) – porygon (1958) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(133) White to move
29.Qxd5+ The queen takes the pawn on d5 with check.
From the game scrappie (1747) – porygon (1958) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(134) White to move
12.Rxd8 The rook takes the Queen on d8.
From the game petethesweep (2031) – Inspector5251 (1321) 1-0 2012


(135) Black to move
29...Qxg3+ The queen takes the pawn on g3 with check.
From the game petethesweep (2031) – Arnoud (2343) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(136) White to move
19.Bxc4 The bishop takes the rook on c4.
From the game petethesweep (2031) – friis76 (1349) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(137) White to move
36.Qxe6+ The queen takes the pawn on e6 with check.
From the game Arnoud (2343) – ChessFM (2139) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(138) White to move
30.Qxd8 The queen takes the hanging rook on d8.

(139) White to move
From the game hedonist (1692) – rabnes (1475) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(140) White to move
54.Bxd6 The bishop takes the queen on d6.
From the game jecidi (1661) – Red House (1631) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(141) White to move
17.Rxc6 Two pieces are worth more than a rook.
From the game jecidi (1661) – Inspector5251 (1321) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(142) White to move
48.Qxc2 The queen takes the rook on c2.
From the game jecidi (1661) schlammblut (1272) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(143) White to move
8.Qxg7 The queen takes the pawn on g7.
From the game jecidi (1661) – friis76 (1349) 1-0 2012 Championship February
1, 2012

(144) White to move
20.Nxb2 The knight takes the bishop on b2.
From the game schlammblut (1272) – Red House (1631) 0-1 2012

(145) Black to move
25...Qxe2 The queen takes the knight on e2.
From the game schlammlut (1272) – Red House (1631) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(146) Black to move
9...Nxd4 The knight takes the knight on d4.
From the game schlammblut (1272) – ChessFM (2139) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012
You can download the PGN here:

(147) Black to move
11...Bxg5 The bishop takes the knight on g5.
From the game friis76 (1349) – Inspector5251 (1321) 2012 Championship

February 1, 2012

(148) Black to move
34...Nf3+ The knight moves to f3 with check. The only way to stop the check is
to capture the knight with the queen, and then the black’s queen recaptures and
wins the queen.
From the game friis76 (1349 – Inspector5251 (1321) 2012 Championship

February 1, 2012

(149) Black to move
18...Qxg2# The queen takes the pawn on g2 with checkmate.
From the game friis76 (1349) – scrappie (1747) 2012 Championship February 1,
2012

(150) Black to move
8...Nxc3 The knight takes the knight on c3.
From the game Brucechapman (1109) – Timmybx (1708) 0-1

(151) White to move
37.Rxh5 The rook takes the pawn on h5.
From the game ChessFM (2139) – Red House (1631) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(152) White to move
51.Nxf7 The knight takes the rook on f7.
From the game ChessFM (2139) – scrappie (1747) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(153) Black to move
16...Rxe2 The rook captures the bishop on e2.
(154) White to move
17.Bxe6+ The bishop takes the bishop on e6 with check. The rook can’t
recapture the bishop because the king is in check from the queen. When the
bishop moved, it uncovered an attack from the queen. This is called a discovered
check.
From the game invigorate (1103) – Radon (1299) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(155) Black to move
7...Nxd3+ The knight takes the bishop on d3.

(156) Black to move
21...Rxe2+ The rook takes the knight on e2. The queen can recapture, but then
the bishop will take the queen. It will end up being a queen for a rook and a
bishop. The rook and the bishop together are worth 8 and the queen is worth 9.
From the game c antunes (1911) – jcozec (1974) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(157) Black to move
From the game invigorate (1103) – spats (1631) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(158) White to move
6.Qxd4 The queen takes the knight on d4.
From the game invigorate (1103) – Ibthree (1603) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(159) Black to move
15...Bxb5 The bishop takes the knight on b5.
From the game invigorate (1103) – Ibthree (1603) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(160) White to move
22.Bxd7 The bishop takes the queen on d7.
From the game invigorate (1103) – coquette (1542) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(161) White to move
10.Nxd4 The knight takes the knight on d4. The black bishop will recapture,
then white’s bishop will recapture again, and the queen can’t take back because
it is guarded by the queen on d1.
From the game invigorate (1103) – Leellen (1221) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(162) White to move
27.Rxg7+ The rook takes the pawn on g7 with check.
From the game invigorate (1103) – Leellen (1221) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(163) White to move
7.cxd5 The pawn on c4 takes the queen on d5.
From the game spats (1631) – invigorate (1103) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(164) White to move
12.Bxc8 The bishop takes the bishop on c8. After black’s queen recaptures
bishop, white’s queen can capture the knight on e7.
From the game spats (1631) – Radon (1299) 1-0 2012 Championship February
1, 2012

(165) White to move
39.gxf7+ The pawn on g6 takes the rook on f7 with check.
From the game spat (1631) – Radon (1299) 1-0 2012 Championship February 1,
2012

(166) Black to move
From the game Dieter (1191) – Peter Cobb (1454) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(167) White to move
17.Qxg6 The Queen takes the knight on g6. The pawn can’t recapture because it
is pinned by the bishop on c4. If the pawn on f7 moved it would put the king in
check and it’s illegal to move into check.
From the game spats (1631) – Ibthree (1603) 1-0 2012 Championship February
1, 2012

(168) Black to move
30...Rc2 The rook moves to c2 to stop the pawn from becoming a queen. If you
take the bishop, white gets a queen by moving the pawn from c7 to c8.
From the game spats (1631) – MrVarnell (1112) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(169) White to move
35.Bxd2 The bishop takes the rook on d2 and gets the king out of check.
From the game spats (1631) – MrVarnell (1112) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(170) Black to move
12...cxd4 The pawn on c5 takes the pawn on d4. To find out if you are winning
material, count the number of attackers versus the number of defenders of a
square.
From the game spats (1631) – Leellen (1221) 1-0 2012 Championship February
1, 2012

(171) White to move
27.Raa7 The rook on a1 moves to a7. To avoid losing the rook on a1, you need
to move the rook. A7 was the most aggressive square on which to place it,
because it threatens g7. Two attackers, one defender.
From the game spats (1631) – Leellen (1221) 1-0 2012 Championship February
1, 2012

(172) Black to move
8...Bxa3 The bishop takes the knight on a3. Count the number of attackers
versus the number of defenders.
From the game Radon (1299) – Green Paladin (1929) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(173) Black to move
23...Qxe2 The queen takes the pawn on e2.
From the game Radon (1299) – Green Paladin (1929) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(174) Black to move
29...bxa4 The pawn on b5 takes the pawn on a4.
From the game Ibthree (1603) – invigorate (1103) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(175) Black to move
31...Rb1# The rook moves to b1 with checkmate.
From the game Ibthree (1603) – invigorate (1103) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(176) Black to move
28...gxh5 The pawn on g6 takes the queen on h5.
From the game Grano,G (824) – Butthead (965) 0-1 November 2007 Long Haul
Banded November 30, 2012

(177) White to move
From the game Ibthree (1603) – Radon (1299) 1-0 2012 Championship February
1, 2012

(178) White to move
11.Nxe4 The knight takes the knight on e4. Here it looks like a trade, but after
the knight moves, an attack on the queen is uncovered. So the queen needs to
move since it is more valuable, and then the knight can move again, so it won’t
get recaptured. So it’s not a trade, white is winning a piece.
From the game Ibthree (1603) – MrVarnell (1112) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(179) White to move
14.Rxe5+ The rook takes the queen on e5. Here you can also capture the bishop
for free, and the rook is actually trading for the queen. However, once the rook is
recaptured, you can still win the bishop.
February 1, 2012

(180) White to move
18.Qxh7+ The queen takes the pawn on h7 with check. You can also win the
bishop on b7 here, however, when you capture the pawn on h7 it is with check,
so the king has to move out of check. Then you can still win the bishop.
February 1, 2012

(181) White to move
24.Nd8+ The knight moves to d8 with check. Not winning a piece, just avoiding
losing one.
February 1, 2012

(182) Black to move

17...Bxe2 The bishop takes the queen on e2.
From the game Ibthree (1603) – Green Paladin (1929) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(183) Black to move
19...Qxd2 The queen takes the knight on d2. There are two pieces attacking the
knight, and only one defending.

From the game Ibthree (1603) – Green Paladin (1929) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012


(184) Black to move
19...Bxf3 The bishop takes the knight on f3. Here you are not winning material,
it is just a trade. However, white’s kingside is ripped open and now the king is
vulnerable. This doubles the pawns as well, making them easier to capture in the
endgame.
From the game Ibthree (1603) – Leellen (1221) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(185) White to move
28.Qxf3 The queen takes the knight on f3.
From the game Ibthree (1603) – Leellen (1221) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(186) Black to move
15...Qh4+ The queen moves to h4 with check. Not winning material or
checkmating immediately, but the king is trapped.
From the game coquette (1542) – invigorate (1103) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(187) Black to move
18...Nxf2+ The knight takes the pawn on of2 with check. Check is from the
queen. This is called a discovered check.
From the game coquette (1542) – invigorate (1103) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(188) White to move
20.Nxb5 The knight takes the pawn on b5.
From the game coquette (1542) – Radon (1299) ½ - ½ 2012 Championship

February 1, 2012

(189) White to move
22.Bxd5 The bishop takes the pawn on d5. There are more attackers than
defenders, so you can safely take the piece.
From the game coquette (1542) – MrVarnell (1112) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(190) White to move
24.Rd8+ The rook moves to d8 with check. After the rook blocks, it will be
checkmate with Rxe8#.
From the game coquette (1542) – MrVarnell (1112) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(191) White to move
12.Nxd4 The Knight takes the knight on d4. The queen on c2 was “en prise”
which means at risk of being captured. You could also have moved the queen to
d1 to guard the f3 square so that black doesn’t rip the kingside apart, but it
undevelops a piece and is too passive. Undeveloping pieces means moving them
back to their original squares. Sometimes you have to do this, but in the opening
the goal is to develop your pieces, so it’s usually not a good idea.
From the game coquette (1542) – Leellen (1221) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(192) White to move
9.exf5 The pawn on e4 takes the bishop on f5.
From the game MrVarnell (1112) – invigorate (1103) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(193) Black to move
18...Nxd4+ The knight takes the pawn on d4 with check.
From the game MrVarnell (1112) – Radon (1299) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(194) Black to move
30...Qxe5 The queen takes the queen on e5.
From the game Grano,G (824) – Buttheadjw (965) 0-1 November 2007 Long
Haul Banded November 30, 2007

(195) Black to move
16...Qxd4+ The queen takes the pawn on d4 with check.
From the game MrVarnell (1112) – Ibthree (1603) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(196) Black to move
29...Qf4+ The queen goes to f4 with check. If the king moves to the 1 rank nextst
move, the queen will still be able to capture the rook, but it will be with check,
which allows black to keep the initiative. If the king moves to h3, it will be
checkmate by Qg3#.
From the game MrVarnell (1112) – Ibthree (1603) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(197) Black to move
12...Bxh4 The bishop takes the bishop on h4.
From the game MrVarnell (1112) – coquette (1542) 0-1 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012

(198) Black to move
19...Qxe1+ The queen takes the rook on e1 with check. You can take either
rook, but if you take the one on e1 first, you can take with check, which means
you get both rooks, because he will have to move out of check, instead of
moving his rook.
From the game MrVarnell (1112) – Green Paladin (1929) 0-1 2012

(199) White to move
24.Qa8+ The queen moves to a8 with check. It’s checkmate after the queen
blocks the check.
From the game Jerung (1663) – invigorate (1103) 1-0 2012 Championship
February 1, 2012


(200) Black to move

25...exd5 The pawn on e6 takes the knight on d5.
From the game Jerung (1663) – Radon (1299) 0-1 2012 Championship February
1, 2012

(201) Black to move

From the game Jerung (1663) – Radon (1299) 0-1 2012 Championship February
1, 2012

(202) White to move
23.Qxg7# The queen takes the pawn on g7 with checkmate.

(203) White to move

34.Qxc5 The queen takes the queen on c5.

(204) White to move

14.Qxh7# The queen takes the pawn on h7 with checkmate.

(205) White to move

20.Nxe6 The knight takes the pawn on e6, forking the queen and rook.
Green Paladin vs Spats

(206) White to move

26.Bxh5 The bishop takes the free knight on h5.
Green Paladin vs spats

(207) White to move

31.Re8# The rook moves to e8 with checkmate.

(208) White to move

30.cxd5 The pawn on c4 takes the knight on d5.
Green Paladin vs Jerung

(209) White to move

42.Bxa5 The bishop takes the knight on a5.

(210) White to move

Leellen vs invigorate
(211) White to move

22.Re8# The rook goes to e8 with checkmate.

(212) Black to move

12...Qxb2 The queen takes the pawn on b2, and will be able to capture the rook
on a1 as well, next move.

(213) Black to move

50...Kxc7 The king takes the rook on c7.
Click here to see the game.

(214) White to move
12.hxg4 The pawn on h3 takes the bishop on g4.
Leellen vs Ibthree
(215) White to move


(216) Black to move

11...Nxd4 The knight takes the pawn on d4.
Leellen vs MrVarnell
(217) Black to move

20...Rxa2 The rook takes the pawn on a2. The queen could also take the pawn,
but by having the rook take instead, you now have two attackers on the pawn on
f2.

(218) White to move
9.Rxe5+ The rook takes the pawn on e5 with check, forking the king and the
knight on d5.
Haufpunk vs Ibthree
(219) White to move

22.Rxa2 white will not get back rank mated because the rook is covering the
only square the queen can get to. However, if you noticed the threat of the back
rank mate, and were hesitant to capture the rook, good on you!
Haufpunk vs Leellen
(220) Black to move
26...Bxc3 The bishop takes the pawn on c3. The bishop on b2 can’t recapture
because it is pinned by the rook. Moving the bishop would put the king in check.
It is illegal to move into check.
Leellen vs Haufpunk
(221) Black to move

17...Qxd4+ The queen takes the pawn on d4 with check.
MrVarnell vs Ibthree

(222) Black to move
24...Rxe5+ The rook takes the pawn on e5. The queen can take the bishop, and
the bishop is worth more than the pawn, and it is also en pris. But when you
capture the pawn with the rook, you capture with check, so you can still win the
bishop next move.
MrVarnell vs Radon
(223) Black to move
10...exd6 The pawn on e7 captures the knight on d6, getting out of check by
capturing the piece that is aiming at the king.
Caissa100 vs grigorfb
(224) Black to move
32...Bxd2 The bishop takes the queen on d2.
Caissa100 vs grigorfb

(225) Black to move

10...Nf3# The knight moves to f3 with checkmate. This is called a “smothered
mate.” The bishop can’t recapture because it is pinned by the queen. The king
can’t move out of check from the knight because he is trapped in by his own
pieces.
Caissa100 vs Avrelii
(226) White to move
24.exf4 The pawn on e3 takes the rook on f4.
LKIERA vs Garykuk
(227) Black to move

45...Rxf2+ The rook takes the pawn on f2 with check. If you count the number
of attackers, and the number of defenders you will see that the attackers
outnumber the defenders, so it’s safe to take the pawn.
LKIERA vs Gattanella
(228) Black to move

14...Qd7 The queen moves to d7. The king is in check from the queen and the
knight on b4 is aiming at the queen. If it weren’t for the check, the queen could
take the rook on h1. But because of the check, the queen has to block the check
or else be captured by the knight.
LKIERA vs GregWilliams
(229) Black to move

11...Qxg5 The queen takes the bishop on g5. The pawn on h6 could also take the
bishop.
Garykuk vs Gattanella
(230) Black to move

14...Bxe5 The bishop takes the knight on e5.
Garykuk vs Greg Williams

(231) Black to move
15...Nxc6 The knight takes the bishop on c6, getting the king out of check.
Garykuk vs grigorfb
(232) White to move
36.Ke1 The king moves to e1 to get out of check and guard the rook!
Garykuk vs grigorfb
(233) Black to move
39...Rxd3+ The rook takes the queen on d3.
Garykuk vs grigorfb
(234) Black to move
18...fxe4 The pawn on f5 takes the pawn on e4. Pins on both the knight and the
pawn on f3
Garykuk vs Avrelii
(235) White to move
10.Qh5+ The queen moves to h5 with check. common theme in the 4 move
checkmate, the queen checks, the pawn on g7 blocks by moving to g6, then the
queen captures on e5 with check, winning the rook
Garykuk vs herrero
(236) White to move
13.Qf7+ The queen moves to f7 with check. Just like in the 4 move checkmate,
the bishop guards the square on f7. After the king moves to d8, the bishop on c2
can come to g5 with check. The bishop blocks, and then the queen can take on
d7 with checkmate.
Garykuk vs herrero
(237) White to move
27.Qxf6+ The queen takes the knight on f6.
Gattanella vs caissa100
(238) White to move
26.Nc6 The knight moves to c6. Sometimes it’s not a good idea to capture a
piece or a pawn. Here we would put the queen in a pin if we captured d4. It’s
better to leave that poison pawn alone and go for the “Knight Fork.” A fork is
when one piece is aiming at two pieces. Notice that the knight on c6 aims at both
the queen and the rook?
Gattanella vs LKIERA
(239) Black to move
Gattanella vs LKIERA
(240) Black to move
27...Kxd7 The king takes the rook on d7.
Gattanella vs Garykuk
(241) Black to move
29...Nxc2+ The knight takes the queen on c2.
Gatanella vs Garykuk
(242) White to move
33.Nxb5+ The knight takes the pawn on b5 with check.
(243) Black to move
35...Kxb5 The king captures the unprotected knight on b5.
(244) White to move
29.Rxg7 The rook takes the pawn on g7. The queen and the king both guard g7,
however, the queen is worth more than the rook and knight that guards g7
combined, so it is a good trade for white. After the rook captures the pawn, the
queen can capture the rook, then the knight on f5 can capture the queen, then the
king can capture the knight and land on g7 at the end of the trade.
Gattanella vs grigorfb
(245) Black to move
48...Rxd5 The rook captures the unguarded pawn on d5.
Gattanella vs Avrelii
(246) Black to move
51...Kxd6 The king captures the unguarded pawn on d6.
(247) Black to move
25...hxg5 The pawn on h6 captures the knight on g5.
(248) White to move
22.Qxe3 The queen takes the knight on e3.
Greg Williams vs Garykuk

(249) White to move
28.Rxe6+ The rook takes the rook on e6. The pawn will recapture. It’s a rook
trade, but at the end you win a pawn.
Greg Williams vs Garykuk

(250) Black to move
13...dxc3 The pawn on d4 captures the knight on c3.
Greg Williams vs Gattanella

(251) Black to move
29...Qxc1+ The queen takes the rook on c1 with check.
Greg Williams vs Gattanella

(252) Black to move
29...bxc4 The pawn on b5 captures the rook on c4.
Greg Williams vs grigorfb

(253) Black to move
14...exf4 The pawn on e5 captures the bishop on f4. The pawn could also capture
the knight on d4. This is called a pawn fork. Taking the bishop here keeps white
from having the two bishops, which is a slight advantage.
Grigorfb vs LKIERA
(254) Black to move
29...Bxf3+ The bishop takes the pawn on f3 with check.
Grigorfb vs Gattanella
(255) Black to move
25...exf4 The pawn on e5 captures the piece on f4.
Paul Anderson vs Jeff Fox

(256) Black to move
Herrero vs Gattanella
(257) Black to move
Herrero vs MargaritaA
(258) White to move
Dinc168 vs WeAreDan
(259) White to move
31.Rxf6 The rook takes the pawn on f6. The pawn is pinned by the rook on g3 so
it can’t recapture.
Dinc168 vs rickw66
(260) Black to move
40...Qxg3 The queen takes the rook on g3.
WeAreDan vs dinc168
(261) Black to move
47...Rf2# The rook moves to f2 with checkmate.
WeAreDan vs dinc168
(262) Black to move
WeAreDan vs countKappie
(263) Black to move
38...Kxf5 The king takes the pawn on f5.
WeAreDan vs countKappie
(264) Black to move
19...Rxg2+ The rook takes the pawn on g2.
Orphelins vs chimp5
(265) White to move
35.Qxd8+ The queen takes the rook on d8 with check.
Orphelins vs aravor
(266) Black to move
27...Bxc1 The bishop takes the rook on c1.
Orphelins vs countKappie
(267) White to move
6.Nxe5 The knight takes the knight on e5.
Geezerbloke vs WeAreDan
(268) White to move
16.Bxh6 The bishop takes the knight on h6.
Geezerbloke vs chimp5
(269) White to move
13.Qxg4+ The queen takes the knight on g4. It’s easy to see that the knight is
hanging. What’s not easy to see here is which piece you should take it with. If
you take with the knight, that’s fine, it’s not a bad move. But if you take with the
queen it’s a better move because after the king moves, it’s checkmate in one
move with d4# after the black king takes the knight.
Chimp5 vs WeAreDan
(270) Black to move
29...Qxh3# The queen takes the pawn on h3 with checkmate. The pawn is
guarding the only escape square for the king.
Chimp5 vs aravor
(271) White to move
25.Rxg7+ The rook takes the knight with check.
Chimp5 vs ben drix

(272) White to move
44.gxh4 The pawn on g3 takes the pawn on h4. If not captured, that pawn could
become a queen.
Chimp5 vs countKappie
(273) White to move
26.Qxa4 The queen takes the bishop on a4.
Aravor vs ben drix

(274) Black to move
28...Kxh6 The king takes the bishop on h6.
Aravor vs ben drix

(275) White to move
27.Rxf7+ The rook takes the pawn on f7 with check. If it weren’t for the check,
white would lose his queen to the rook on e8, but since there is a check it is safe
to take the pawn.
Ben drix vs orphelins

(276) White to move
38.Qxg6 The queen takes the rook on g6.

(277) White to move
41.Qxh5+ The queen takes the pawn on h5 with checkmate.

(278) White to move

11.Bxe4
(279) Black to move

42...Kxa3
(280) Black to move

35...Rh1#
(281) Black to move

25...Rxg3
(282) White to move
16.Qxh6 The queen takes the pawn on h6.
Talem16 vs Dfthd
(283) Black to move
22...Nxh4 The knight takes the knight on h4.
Dfthd vs kiadvent
(284) White to move
47.Bxh8 The bishop takes the rook on h8.
Dfthd vs kiadvent
(285) White to move
15.bxc6 The pawn takes the knight on c6.
Dfthd vs Olson
(286) Black to move
26...Qxa1+ The queen takes the rook on a1.
Dima903 vs Dfthd
(287) White to move
9.Qxf7# The queen takes the pawn on f7 with checkmate.
Dima903 vs larssw
(289) White to move
14.Nxe6 The knight takes the pawn on e6. You can take with the bishop or the
knight, or the rook. The knight forks the queen and the pawn on g7.
Benda vs Dfthd
(290) White to move
15.Bxe6# The bishop takes the pawn on e6 with checkmate.
Benda vs Dfthd
(291) Black to move
25...Bxf2+
(292) Black to move
14...Qxg2#
(293) White to move

24.Qxh6
(294) Black to move

5...Nxe4
(295) Black to move
40...Rxc5
(296) Black to move

28...Bxg4
(297) Black to move

30...Qf2#
(298) White to move

15.Nxe6+
(299) White to move
37.b8Q

(300) White to move
24.Qxa3+ The queen captures the unguarded queen on a3.
Click here to see the whole game

(301) White to move
29.Qxb4+ The queen captures the piece on b4 with check.
Click here to see the whole game.

(302) White to move

34.Qxg7# The queen takes the pawn on g7 with checkmate.

(303) Black to move
29...fxg4 The pawn on f5 captures the queen on g4.

(304) White to move
15.Qxe6+ The queen captures the free bishop on e6 with check.

(305) Black to move
24...Qxg2# The # sign means checkmate. You must take on g2 with the queen
because if you take with the knight it’s not checkmate.

(306) Black to move
31...cxd3+ The pawn on c4 captures the queen with check

(307) Black to move
36...Bxe1 The bishop captures the queen on e1.

(308) White to move
14.Qxc5 The queen captures the bishop on c5.

(309) Black to move
11...Bxg4 The bishop captures the bishop on g4. The queen cannot recapture
because it will be captured by the knight on f6.

(310) White to move
27.Kg1 King to g1, moving out of check. It is the only legal move.
Click here to see the only legal move.

(311) White to move

16.Qxd2 The queen takes the knight on d2.

(312) Black to move
62...Nxb7 The knight takes the pawn on b7, stopping it from becoming a queen.

(313) White to move
18.Rxf8+ The rook captures the bishop with check.

(314) White to move
11.Bxe4 The bishop on d3 takes the knight on e4. The bishop could also capture
the rook, but then it would be recaptured. If the knight were not available to be
captured, then capturing the rook would be the best move. If the rook were
undefended, then capturing the rook would be better. The rook is worth 5 pawns,
the bishop and knight are both worth 3. If you trade the bishop for the rook, you
gain 2 pawns worth of material. If you capture the knight outright, you gain 3.
So capturing the knight here is better.

(315) Black to move
9...Bxe2 The bishop captures the unprotected knight on e2.

(316) White to move
(Hint: Black’s last move was pawn on c7 to c5)

13.dxc6 The pawn captures the pawn on c5 by playing to c6. This move is
called en passent. You can only do it right after your opponent has passed the
capturing square with his pawn.

(317) White to move
14.Nxd6+ The knight captures the pawn on d6 with check, forking the queen
and king.

(318) Black to move
8...Nxe5 The knight takes the knight and gets out of check. The knight also
covers the bishop from e5.

(319) Black to move
12...Bxh4 The bishop captures the queen on h4.

(320) Black to move
12...cxb5 The pawn on c6 takes the knight on b5.

(321) Black to move
6...Bxh3 The bishop takes the queen on h3. The bishop will be recaptured, but
the queen is worth 9 pawns, and the bishop is only worth 3, so it is a good trade
for black.

(322) Black to move
14...Qxf2# The queen takes the pawn on f2 with checkmate. The queen is
guarded by the knight.

(323) White to move
6. gxf3 The pawn on g2 captures the queen on f3.

(324) White to move
17.Bxg5 The bishop takes the queen and gets the king out of check.

(325) White to move
30.Nxd6 The knight trades for the rook on d6. The rook is worth 5 pawns, the
knight is worth 3, so it’s a good trade for white.

(326) White to move
24.Rd8# The rook moves to d8 with checkmate. The rook is guarded by the
bishop.

(327) Black to move
20...Rg6# The rook moves to g6 with checkmate.

(328) White to move
22.Qxe7+ The queen captures the knight with check. The king cannot capture
the queen because she is guarded by the knight. You could also capture with the
knight.

(329) White to move
31.Qc8+ The queen checks the king from c8. The king cannot move out of check
because of the knight guarding the two escape squares, and his own pawn
blocking the other one. The only way out of check for black is to sacrifice his
queen, but even then he doesn’t avoid checkmate, because the queen can just
capture the queen with checkmate.

(330) White to move
36.Qxf7# The queen captures the queen with checkmate. The white queen is
guarded by the knight.

(331) White to move
16.Qxh5+ The queen captures the pawn on h5 with check. After the king
moves, it will be mate in one with Qf7#.

(332) White to move
22.Qxe7# The queen captures the bishop with checkmate. The knight will guard
the queen on e7.

(333) Black to move
6...Rf8 The only way to protect the rook and stop the checkmate on f7 via
Qxf7#.

(334) Black to move
7...Nxc4 The knight captures the hanging bishop on c4.

(335) Black to move
17...Qxe3+ The queen captures the pawn on e3. The king can’t recapture
because of the rook on e8.

(336) White to move
3.Qxe5+ The queen captures the unguarded pawn on e5, with check and a fork
on the rook in the corner.

Click here to see the exact same position in another game.
(337) Black to move
8...Qxe5 The queen captures the unprotected knight on e5. The knight should not
be the one to capture because white can play a pawn fork on him via pawn to d4.

(338) White to move
10.Nxe5 The knight takes the piece on e5.

(339) White to move
5.Nxe4 The knight captures the knight on e4, and is then aiming at the bishop on
c5.

(340) Black to move
23...Kxf6 The king takes the rook and gets out of check.
Click to see the game.

(341) White to move
22.Bxh6 The bishop captures the free bishop on h6.

(342) White to move
8.Nxf7+ The knight captures the pawn on f7, forking the queen, king and rook.

(343) White to move
10.Qf7# The queen goes to f7 with checkmate. The queen is guarded by the
bishop so the king can’t capture.

(344) White to move
9.hxg5 The pawn on h4 takes the knight on g5.

(345) Black to move
10...Qxf2+ The queen takes the pawn on f2. The king can’t recapture the queen
because she is guarded by the knight on e4.

(346) Black to move
3...Nxh5 The knight captures the queen on h5.

(347) Black to move
38...Qxg3# The queen captures the pawn on g3 with checkmate.

(348) Black to move
21...hxg4 The pawn on h5 captures the knight on g4.

(349) White to move
20.Re8# The rook checkmates the king on e8. This is called a back-rank mate.

(350) White to move
15.Nxh2 The knight on f3 takes the bishop on h2. If the black knight recaptures,
the king can recapture it.

(351) Black to move
15...Rxe5 The rook captures the knight on e5.

(352) Black to move
10...Qxh2# The queen checkmates on h2.

(353) White to move
11.Qxa8+ The queen captures the rook on a8 with check.

(354) White to move
21.Nxe5 The knight takes the knight on e5. On e5 the knight will be guarded by
the queen.

(355) White to move
22.Qxe5+ The queen captures the bishop on e5 with check.

(356) White to move
27.Qxe5 The queen captures the pawn on e5. The rook on e1 could also capture
the knight on e2. Capturing this way allows you to still get to capture the knight,
and also get the extra pawn because the rook is threatened by the queen next
move, and the rook is pinned, and the queen is aiming at that knight on e2 as
well.

(357) White to move
25.Qxg4 The queen takes the unprotected bishop on g4.

(358) White to move
35.Nxa6 The knight takes the rook on a6.

(359) White to move
20.Bxe6+ The bishop takes the pawn on e6 with check. Also, the king can’t
move to the h file because of the queen, so he will have to block with the rook.

(360) White to move

14.Qxf7# The queen captures the pawn on f7 with checkmate.

(361) White to move
14.exf6 The pawn on e5 takes the knight on f6.

(362) Black to move
14...Qxh3 The queen takes the pawn on h3.

(363) White to move
34.Qxa8+ The queen captures the rook on a8 with check.

(364) White to move
33.Qd3 The queen guards the knight on d2. If White captures the the hanging
bishop on b6, and allows black to capture the knight on e2 with check, he will
also lose the bishop on c2.

(365) Black to move
17...Rxe2 The rook takes the unguarded bishop on e2.

(366) White to move
14.Bxg5+ The bishop takes the knight on g5 with check.

(367) Black to move
4...Qxf2# The queen captures the pawn on f2 with checkmate.

(368) White to move
6.Qxh8 The queen captures the rook on h8.

(369) Black to move
28...Bxh1 The bishop takes the rook on h1.

(370) Black to move
35...a1Q The pawn moves to a1 and becomes a queen, pinning the bishop. (The
bishop can’t move because of check.

(371) Black to move
23...Nxb1 The knight captures the rook on b1. The knight could also capture the
bishop on e2 but the rook is worth more.

(372) White to move
12.exd4+ The pawn on e3 captures the pawn on d4, uncovering a check on the
king from the rook on e1.

(373) White to move

7.Qxf2 The queen can capture the bishop on f2. If the black queen recaptures,
the king will capture the queen. It would be a queen trade, but white is still
winning the bishop in the exchange.

(374) Black to move
10...Qxa4 The queen takes the unprotected knight on a4.

(375) White to move
5.Qxf7# The queen takes the pawn on f7 with checkmate. The queen is guarded
by the bishop.

(376) White to move
25.Rg8# The king can’t capture the rook because it is guarded.

(377) Black to move
10...Qxf5 The queen takes the free knight on f5.

(378) White to move
34.Rc8# The rook moves to c8 with checkmate. Notice the knight is aiming at
d7, the only escape square for the black king.

(379) White to move
18.Nxh4 The knight takes the queen on h4.

(380) White to move
13.Qxg4 The queen takes the free knight on g4.

(381) Black to move
32...Rxd8 captures the White Bishop, which is unprotected.

(382) White to move

(383) Black to move

24...Qxc3+ The queen takes the pawn on c3 with check. Notice the queen is also
aiming at the rook on a1. This is called a fork.

(384) White to move
9.Bxc6+ The bishop captures the queen. It will get recaptured by the pawn on
b7, but the queen is worth far more than the bishop, so it’s a great trade for
white.

(385) White to move
3.Bxd7+ The bishop takes the queen on d7. The bishop will be recaptured by
the king, but the queen is worth more than the bishop, so white wins the
exchange.

(386) Black to move
15...Qxh2# The queen takes the knight on h2 with checkmate. The knight
guards the queen.

(387) White to move
15.Nxd5 The knight takes the free pawn on d5.

(388) White to move
6.Bxb7 The bishop takes the free bishop on b7.

(389) Black to move
19...Qd1# The queen moves to d1 with checkmate. The queen is guarded by the
rook on d8.

(390) White to move
10.Rxa8 The first letter of the piece and the number means that piece moved to
that square. So here it means rook takes the piece on a8.

(391) Black to move
35...Bxf3 The bishop takes the rook on f3. The bishop can be recaptured, but the
rook is worth more than the bishop.

(392) White to move

4.Qxf7# The queen captures the pawn on f7 with checkmate.

Click here to see another game where the same thing happened.
(393) Black to move

24...Qg2# The queen checkmates on g2.

(394) White to move
12.cxd5 The pawn on c4 takes the knight on d5.

(395) Black to move
5...Qxd5 The queen takes the free knight on d5.

(396) White to move
17.Nxd8 Both the Black Queen and Bishop are hanging. Taking the Queen is
the better choice.

(397) White to move
10.Qxg5+ The queen takes the free pawn on g5 with check.

(398) White to move
13.gxf3 The pawn takes the knight on f3 and gets out of check.

(399) Black to move
15...Nxf2 The knight takes the pawn on f2, guarded by the bishop. The king
can’t recapture because it’s illegal, and if the queen captures the knight, the
bishop will recapture. The king can then recapture the bishop at the end but the
bishop and the knight together are not worth as much as the queen.

Tim Brennan is the creator of Tactics Time, which started off as a column in
the quarterly Colorado Chess Informant Magazine. Tactics Time has grown into
a blog, free e-mail newsletter, and now a series of Kindle eBooks! The focus has
always been on real tactics from real player games, which Tim believes are the
most instructive and useful types of tactics to study.
http://twitter.com/tacticstime
http://facebook.com/tacticstime
Tim@tacticstime.com
Anthea Carson is an active USCF tournament chess player, author, blogger,

chess teacher, and mom. She is co-author of the children’s chess book “How to
Play Chess like an Animal”, and various thrillers, such as “The Dark Lake”.
http://twitter.com/chessanimal
https://www.facebook.com/AntheaJaneCarson
nth_carson@yahoo.com
Questions Or Comments?
We would love to hear your thoughts. If any of the problems were confusing we
would be happy to help explain the answer. Email Anthea at
nth_carson@yahoo.com and Tim at tim@tacticstime.com.
Acknowledgements
We could not have done a project like this without all of the people who take the
time to enter their games into the computer, post their games on the internet, and
have sent us their game collections to use.
These include:
 Paul Anderson,

 Pete Short

 Francisco Baltier

 Fred Spell

 Jerry Maier

 Bill Chandler

 Anthea Carson

 Shannon Fox

 Dean Brown

 Chris Peterson

 Brian Wall

 Richard "Buck" Buchanan

 Joel Johnson

 Andy Pineda

 Bob Crume

 Robert Rountree

 Carl Hamre

 Ed Stoddard

 William Parker

 Eric King

 Geoff Chandler

 Rob Hartelt

 Jeff Baffo

 Johnny Mac

 Kenzie Moore

 Edson Cortiano

 Tomasz Pintel

 William Parker

 Aravind Suresh

 Priyav Chandna
 Randy Reynolds
Many other people sent me games as well, and I am very thankful!
Entering games by hand from score sheets into a PGN format can be a painful
job, and I am fortunate that there are a lot of people who spent hours doing this.
Thank you to readers who helped me edit, and catch errors, and provided good
ideas and feedback, including
 Joey Guitian
 Peter Horecky
 Fred Jarmuz
 Art Cunningham
 Joel Johnson
 Geoff Chandler
 Stephen Dann
 Chris Kim
 Edson Cortiano
 Jon Wooldridge
 José de Anchieta
 Jeff Davis
 Rodolfo Pardi
 Nano Daemon
 Ken Brown
I am also grateful to the following websites that helped to provide me with

games:
http://www.coloradochess.com
http://www.renochess.org
http://www.redhotpawn.com
http://www.nwchess.com
http://www.metrowestchess.org
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/UnorthodoxChessOpenings/
http://wyomingchess.com/
http://www.taom.com/pipermail/brianwall-chesslist/
http://cschess.webs.com/
http://eagleandking.webs.com/
http://www.angelfire.com/co/cscc/
http://www.chessclub.com
http://www.timmybx.com
http://www.denverchess.com
http://columbiachess.com/
http://kansaschess.org
http://georgiachess.org
http://www.scchess.org/
http://www.pscfchess.org
http://www.sdchess.org/
http://www.lincolnchessfoundation.org
http://nsca.nechess.com/
http://www.burlingamechessclub.com
http://www.westmichiganchess.com
http://ficsgames.com/
http://www.reddit.com/r/chess/
http://www.chess.com
Loan this Book to a Friend
You can loan this book to a chess friend! Kindle books can be loaned to another
reader for a period of 14 days. The borrower does not need to own a Kindle --
Kindle books can also be read using Amazon’s free Kindle reading applications
for PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android devices.
You can get directions on how to loan a Kindle book here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200549320

Don’t Forget
To get more fun chess tactics from real player games, along with tips and tricks
to help improve your chess game, click the link below to subscribe to the award
winning “Tactics Time Chess Improvement E-Mail Newsletter”…
http://tacticstime.com/newsletter

One Last Thing…
When you turn the page, Kindle will give you the opportunity to rate the book
and share your thoughts on Facebook and Twitter. If you believe the book is
worth sharing, would you take a few seconds to let your writer friends know
about it? If it turns out to make a difference in their chess game, they’ll be
forever grateful to you. As will we.
Other Books by Tim and Anthea: If you enjoyed this book, be sure to check out
the first book in the series, Tactics Time!1001 Chess Tactics from the Games of
Everyday Players http://www.amazon.com/Tactics-Chess-Everyday-Players-
ebook/dp/B009TBYA7U

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399

Super Easy Chess Tactics for Kids and

One-Move Capture Problems and Checkmates

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Will Grevlos vs Graham Leonard

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