Unity Chess Club
Alexei Vyzmanavin 2605 Sergei Iskusnyh 2430 Russia 1995 Black to move
Usually in such an open position, the player who is attacking with checks wins. After the natural queen promotion 46...e1=Q+ 47.Kh2, Black has no more checks, and White will launch a decisive attack on his next move.
However, Black found a move White had overlooked (instead of his last move 46.a7-a8=Q, White could have won by 46.Kh1-h2!).
However, Black found a move White had overlooked (instead of his last move 46.a7-a8=Q, White could have won by 46.Kh1-h2!).
And White resigned, because after 47.Kh2, there follows 47...Ng4+ 48.hxg4 Rh7+ 49.Kg3 e1=Q+ 50.Kf3 fxg4+ 51.Kxg4 Rh4+, mating.
Unity Chess Club
Training position Konstantin Sakaev White to move
White’s initiative looks very powerful, but Black has a whole extra piece. On 24.Rh8, there follows 24...h5, and there is nothing concrete. But White has available a brilliant tactical resource, involving luring the black queen to the seventh rank, where it can be attacked.
If 25...Qd7 26.Rxd7+ Bxd7, White has many attacking resources, one of which is 27.Bc3 Re8 28.Qd2, with the threats of g2-g4 and Qd2-g5, and a decisive attack on the dark squares.
Unity Chess Club
Lev Polugaevsky Joaquim Durao Lugano ol 1968 White to move
It may appear that Black has chances of a kingside attack, but this is not so. The pawn center d4-e5 solidly protects the squares that Black might want to use to bring up additional resources to the kingside. Even so, White has to hurry, because Black plans to bring his knight via f8 to g6, and then play ...Bd7 and ...Raf8. If he manages this, he will stand very well. But White finds a serious defect in Black’s position, namely the poorly-defended Ng4, and he attacks it:
An open attack on the Ng4. Now, Black is simply lost, because he has to exchange queens.
Or 19...Rg5 20.f4 Nh4+ 21.gxh4 Ne3+ 22.Kf2 Ng4+ 23.Ke1 (23.Kg3+–) 23...Qxh4+ 24.Kd1 Rg6 25.Kc2+–.
23...Nf5 24.Rc2 Nf8 25.Bc1 g5 26.g4 Nh4+ 27.Kg3 Nxf3 28.Nxf3 Rh6 29.Bxg5 Bxg5 30.Nxg5 Rg6 31.f4 Bc6 32.Rh1 a5 33.Bf1 h6 34.Nf3 Kh7? 35.Bd3 1-0
Unity Chess Club
Bent Larsen 2620 Boris Spassky 2630 Tilburg 1978 White to move
If the rook is allowed into e2, Black gets counterplay. But it turns out that White can not only defend but also counterattack: