Mayankk has kibitzed 888 times to chessgames   [more...]

Jun-12-25 I Smirnov vs V Vetoshko, 2007    Mayankk: 25 Rxf6+ Kxf6 26 e5+ is not too hard to spot. White has pried open the King's defences, and will soon grab the Black Bishop at b7 to also end up materially superior. Not often do you get to do that simultaneously. It then gets a bit murky, as you would expect from a Thu puzzle. ...      Jun-11-25 A Alexeev vs I Smirnov, 2007    Mayankk: Infra dig. Plebeian. Humdrum. Take your pick. 35 Qf7+ ticks all the boxes. The double Knight sac starting with 35 Nxf5+ is, on the other hand, poetry in motion. Just kidding. Some of the hardest moves to spot are the silent ones staring right at you.      Jun-10-25 N Riumin vs Alfeevsky, 1928   Mayankk: Thanks guys for the feedback. Yes of course 22 Bxh7 is nowhere as strong as 22 Qh4. I was just curious if it still wins as the position after 22 Bxh7 Qf6 23 Rh3 Bd7 24 Bd3+ looks abysmal for Black even if there are no tactical fireworks available for White. Same goes for 22 Bxh7 ...      Jun-09-25 A Sherzer vs N Petrov, 1988    Mayankk: The royal fork Nd6+ isn't immediately available. So we distract the defender of d6 square by Rd8+ and then we have it. 21 Rd8+ Bxd8 22 Nd6+ Ke7/Kf8 23 Nxc8      Jun-05-25 N Grandelius vs J Lampert, 2016    Mayankk: A very intuitive sac. All Black pieces except for the Knight seem distracted from defensive duties. So we distract the lone defender as well and bring the Black King in the open. 37 Be4+ Nxe4 38 Qg8+ Kg6. Position looks terrible for Black. White has two options to continue and both      Jun-02-25 Norway Chess (2025)    Mayankk: Hi <metatron2>, Thanks for correcting me. Yes, it was either an overdose of optimism or frustration at seeing his win slip away. Likely a combination of both. Carlsen is normally beyond these frailties. But funny things happen when stakes are high.      May-22-25 R Palliser vs A Young, 2013    Mayankk: The first idea which came to mind was the pretty 17 Bh7+ Kf8 ( 17... Kh8 18 Bxh6 gxh6 19 Rxh6 looks terrible) 18 Rxh6 gxh6 19 Bxh6#. Or course 18... gxh6 wasn't forced. But anything else and we have more tactics at our disposal like 19 Bg6, 20 Qxg6, 21 Rh8+ etc. So while the ending ...      May-12-25 M Shahade vs E Butler, 1992    Mayankk: Black Rook is overloaded and it is time to relieve it of the heavy burden. 29 Rxc6 Rxc6 30 Rxd7+. It doesn't seem much in terms of material superiority though. But then we notice that Black e4 pawn is about to fall and once White King grabs the centre, White's Queenside pawn ...      Apr-29-25 D Flores vs A Riazantsev, 2004    Mayankk: White seems to be ganging up against the e6 pawn, Black against the f2 pawn. But that is a mere illusion. 34... Nf3+ is a ruthlessly efficient and simple way to dismantle the White King's pawn cover. The only reply is 35 gxf3 to avoid a royal fork. And then 35... Rg6+ 36 Kh1 Qxf3+ ...      Apr-28-25 E Atalik vs Kupreichik, 2000    Mayankk: Beautiful ending. And a pleasure to solve it. Knight is a beautiful blocker if on the queening square in front. And an awful liability if on the adjacent square. Reminds me of an Anand game with a similar ending. Was it against Kramnik, I wonder.

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