Jun-11-25 A Alexeev vs I Smirnov, 2007 
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| TheaN: I solved this a bit sloppily... yes, <35.Qf7+>. However, I thought that after 35....Kh6 the g-pawn is pinned, so 36.Nxf5+ Kh5 37.Qxh7#. It isn't, though 36....gxf5 37.Qf6+ Kh4 38.Rxf5# is so straightforward I'll count it as a solve. In the main line <35....Kh8> I spotted ... |
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Jun-10-25 N Riumin vs Alfeevsky, 1928
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| TheaN: Hm was this supposed to be 21.? That makes a bit more sense from a puzzle POV. |
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Jun-09-25 A Sherzer vs N Petrov, 1988
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| TheaN: I'm with the majority and the game line, playing <21.Rd8+?!> right away, <21....Bxd8> 21....Qxd8 is probably best given Black loses the queen anyway, after 22.Bxd8 Black has some options, ie 22....Bxe4 23.Bxe7 Nc6 just developing and keeping White pieces in. Capturing on ... |
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Jun-06-25 Wei Yi vs Nakamura, 2025
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| TheaN: It is a bit of a shame Nakamura didn't choose the more flashy perpetual with 35....Kxd5!? 36.c4+! Kxe4 37.Qf3+ Kd4 38.Qc3+ Ke4 39.Qf3+ =. I guess if you're critical you run the risk of running into some missed line (which wasn't there) and repeating d6 d7 was fine. |
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Jun-06-25 M E Granados Diaz vs B Cruz, 2020
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| TheaN: OotD, this line up to 9....Kf8?! (Kd8! ⩲) is in fact the computer's response to the 5....d5 line in the Cunningham Accepted. 10.b3 is a bit cheeky, 10....f6 and Black's actually kind of fine. Still interesting to see Black has more problems than White after 9.Qe2+ despite the ... |
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Jun-05-25 D Gukesh vs Carlsen, 2025
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| TheaN: <perfidious: Last time I watched a game live on chess24 or lichess, after five minutes I had to block all the inane, otiose chat.> I have to be honest I do this more because it's a fanbase fight than related to actual chess. I concur with <Petrosianic> that eval bars ... |
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Jun-05-25 Rapport vs Fressinet, 2015
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| TheaN: I actually compare this to the positional exchange sac in the Tarrasch French though arguably this one is better for White than the French one is for Black: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Bd3 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Ne2 cxd4 8.cxd4 f6! 9.Nf4!? Nxd4! =:
[DIAGRAM]
This loses an exchange ... |
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Jun-05-25 N Grandelius vs J Lampert, 2016
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| TheaN: As others have stated, the beginning is intuitive: <37.Be4+ Nxe4 38.Qg8+ Kg6>:
[DIAGRAM]
You can play this without risk as there's no way White doesn't actually reclaim the lost piece here, destabilizing Black's king in the process. I wanted to make <39.Nf4+> work, ... |
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Jun-03-25 C Harmon vs W J Donaldson, 1983
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| TheaN: A bit embarrassment de richesse here: White's castle is so inviting Black has at least five mating moves: Rxg3 -#4, Qh5 -#6, Rh1+ -#7, Qe6 -#7, Qg5 -#10... credits to the Fish in this case, of course I'm not analyzing five lines in full. The most practical of these five is the game ... |
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Jun-02-25 P Johner vs W M Gattie, 1906
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| TheaN: <43.Qxh7+ Rxh7 44.Rg8#> was a near-instant spot with the knight on f6, especially given move switching is not available (similar patterns see the rook elsewhere on the seventh where Rg8+ is also possible, in this case that'd be mate). <An Englishman: (...) Nice comeback by ... |
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Kibitzing
