ArcaMax

Maia Chiburdanidze, women’s world champion for 13 years, won this gem against GM Bent Larsen in 1993.

A relatively easy start this Monday morning. Remember Rule #1

Composition miniatures are often quite challenging, even if it’s just a mate in two.

Here’s an attacking position coming out of the Vienna Game. How would you proceed?

Here’s an attacking position coming out of the Vienna Game. How would you proceed?

An old favorite of mine, composed by Adolph Anderssen, the winner of the first great international tournament of 1851.

Nothing quite like bringing all your pieces into play.

So, what do you do when you’re all lined up to attack on the queenside, but your opponent’s king isn’t over there?

Rook and pawn endings don’t usually end this way, but Black wraps it up quickly.

Lots of major piece acrobatics in this one.

This little fracas is from Pollock-Lee, 1897. Black seems well-positioned for defense, but…

White is down in material, so it’s time to come up with a plan of action.

There is more than one way to mate in three in this position. Find one!

A Sam Loyd mate in three.

There’s only one first move that wins. It’s one of the most important K+P endgames you can study.

Another rollicking King’s Gambit from the old days. Both sides get their hacks in. White has one move to successfully continue the attack and one move that loses. Choose wisely. (this is a test run as we are having some technical difficulties.)

Our second summer school puzzle on king and pawn endings. White’s task here is to take great care about leaving the “queening square” for Black, the four corners of which are d4-d1-f1-f4. If the white king is outside that “square” then the black pawn on d4 will queen, so you better have a good plan to win.

As the school year is ending, we often do a summer school of basic yet often challenging lessons on endgames as we have found that endgames are the weakest part of most chess players’ learning. Today’s position is from an actual game from over a hundred years ago. Beware the stalemate threat. White should win this.

A brilliant finish by Cukierman at Paris in 1931. His opponent was GM Savielly Tartakower. Hint: bishops move backwards.

William Napier was a fine player of the late 19th and early 20th century. His opponent, Mortimer, was known for his passive defensive play.