🔸Asian Nations Cup Rapid 2018
🔸Round 7
⚪️Mosadeghpour,Masoud (2375)
⚫️Makhnev,Denis (2449)
🔸½-½

54. Rxf8+??
White returns the favor by missing the powerful 54. Re8!
(54. Re8! Qc7 55. d8=Q Qc1+ 56. Qd1 Qxd1+ 57. Qxd1 Rxe8 58. Qb3 +-)
54... Kxf8 55. Qxb2 Qxb2 56. d8=Q+ Kg7 57. Qf6+ Kg8 58. Qd8+ Kg7 59. Qf6+ Kg8 60. Qd8+ Kg7 61. Qf6+ 1/2-1/2

⚪️#587 (Strategy-White to Move)
🔸Rapport,R
🔸Nikolic,P
🔸Serbian Team Championship, 2014

17.Na2!
QUESTION: What is the logic behind this knight retreat? ANSWER: By moving the knight to a2, White has three objectives. The first is to prevent any possible rook sacrifices on the c3-knight. Secondly, White clears the third rank for defensive purposes by the queen and later a rook on h3. Thirdly, the move also discourages Black from advancing 17...b4 as after 18 axb4 Nxb4 19 Nxb4 Bxb4 the exchange of knights nips any possible black attack in the bud.
17...Qb6 18.Qd3 Kd8 19.Rh3+/-
The rook lift tells Black's king that even on the queenside, he will not be safe as the rook can now swing to b3 or c3.

⚪️#588 (Strategy-White to Move)
🔸Ward,C
🔸Gibbs,G
🔸Port of Spain, 1999

The knight on h5 proves to be a big stumbling block as far as a kingside attack is concerned. 15 g4 would allow the knight to plonk itself on f4 as White is rarely advised to swap off his good bishop for it even if it means winning a pawn. Indeed the pawn in question here would be Black's e-pawn whose presence is currently hindering the King's Indian bishop. Trading off his good bishop for this piece with a Bh6 makes little sense for White anyhow as Black could defend any unlikely attack along the 2nd rank by advancing his f-pawn and using his queen. --- Andy offers the best plan. It isn't so risky advancing the pawns around the white king as Black has no way of exploiting this. His pieces are unable to enter the white position on the kingside and the following encounter demonstrates how White is able to utilize his space advantage:
15.b4!? a5 16.cxd6 cxd6 17.b5 Rfc8 18.Kb2 Qe8 19.a4 b6 20.Rc1 Qe7 21.Nb1 f5 22.Rc6!

⚪️#589 (Strategy-White to Move)
🔸Fischer,R
🔸Spassky,B
🔸Belgrade (9th matchgame), 1992

Unity Chess Multiple Choice 589
public poll

A: a5 – 10
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 83%
@mahyarebrahimi1983, Jonas, Ramesh, Jayden, @SteveWongso, @RichardPeng, Rachel, George, Zhenrui, Matthew

B: Nc1 – 2
👍 17%
@Hh758, @Sophia_Peng

C: Rd2
▫️ 0%

👥 12 people voted so far.

⚫️#590 (Strategy-Black to Move)
🔸Karpov,A
🔸Kasparov,G
🔸Linares, 1993

Unity Chess Multiple Choice 590
public poll

A: b5 – 9
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 82%
Jonas, Ramesh, Jayden, @SteveWongso, @Sophia_Peng, @RichardPeng, Rachel, Zhenrui, Matthew

B: Ne8 – 1
👍 9%
@mahyarebrahimi1983

C: Nfd7 – 1
👍 9%
George

👥 11 people voted so far.

Dutch grandmasters Jan Timman and Genna Sosonko, in conversation at the Hoogovens tournament, Wijk aan Zee, 27th January 1981.

@UnityChess

Bobby Fischer watches his American team mate William Lombardy play against Corvin Radovici at the Leipzig Olympiad in 1960.

@UnityChess

Soviet grandmaster (twice champion of the USSR) Grigory Levenfish (b. 1889, d. 1961), with two pupils.

@UnityChess

"If you have made a mistake or committed an inaccuracy there is no need to become annoyed and to think that everything is lost. You have to reorientate yourself quickly and find a new plan in the new situation."

🔸 David Bronstein

@UnityChess

A possible variation from Lilienthal's magnificent win v. Botvinnik from the 12th USSR-ch (Moscow, 1940). In the position in the 1st diagram he had seen the line 23.Rxa8+ Bxa8 24.Ra1 Rf8 25.Ra4! c5 26.dxc6 Nxc6 and now 27.Bd5+ Kh8 (2nd diagram) 28.Ng6+!, mating.

@UnityChess