Unity Chess Club
Robert Byrne Robert Fischer New York ch-USA 1963 Black to move
White has incautiously moved his rook from f1, where it defended the f2-pawn, and put his dark-squared bishop on a3, where it looks active but does not control any central squares. Black brilliantly exploits these circumstances:
Byrne resigned: 22.Qf2 Qh3+ 23.Kg1 Re1+! (a small tactic to finish things off) 24.Rxe1 Bxd4 25.Qxd4 Qg2#.
Unity Chess Club
Mladen Muse 2470 Vigen Mirumian 2505 Berlin 1999 Black to move
The black pieces are directed at the kingside, which is defended only by White’s queen, which in her turn also defends the Ba4. If Black plays some sort of attacking move on the kingside, White will give an intermediate check with the bishop from b3, freeing his queen. Consequently, there followed instead the deflection motif:
The white king is all alone, and his other pieces are unable to come to his aid.
Unity Chess Club
Maxim Matlakov 2682 Pavel Eljanov 2729 St Petersburg 2013 Black to move
The white rooks have not yet taken up the open files, whilst his other pieces are on the queenside, far from his king. These factors gave Black the idea of landing a blow:
The light squares start to creak, and the pieces cannot come to help their king. Black’s attack assumes a decisive character.
Other replies do not help either:
A) 23.f4 Rc2 24.fxe5 Rxg2+ 25.Kh1 Qc2–+;
B) 23.gxh3 Qxh3 24.f4 (24.Be2 Rc6–+) 24...Rc2 25.Rf2 Nf3+–+;
C) 23.Be2 Rc2 24.Bd1 (24.Bh5 Qf5–+; 24.gxh3 Rxe2 25.Bd6 Nf3+ 26.Kh1 d4–+) 24...Rc6 25.f4 Bxg2 26.Rf2 Be4 27.fxe5 Qh3–+.
A) 23.f4 Rc2 24.fxe5 Rxg2+ 25.Kh1 Qc2–+;
B) 23.gxh3 Qxh3 24.f4 (24.Be2 Rc6–+) 24...Rc2 25.Rf2 Nf3+–+;
C) 23.Be2 Rc2 24.Bd1 (24.Bh5 Qf5–+; 24.gxh3 Rxe2 25.Bd6 Nf3+ 26.Kh1 d4–+) 24...Rc6 25.f4 Bxg2 26.Rf2 Be4 27.fxe5 Qh3–+.
23...Nf3+! 24.gxf3 Re4 25.Qxd5 Rxb4 26.Rfd1 Rxb5 27.Qxb5 Rc5 28.Rd8+ Qxd8 29.Qxc5 Qf6!