100-199 Flashcards
Black to move
46…Ng5+ forks the King and Rook
Black to move
48…Ra1+ 49.Kd2 Rd3+ skewers the King and Rook on d1.
Black to move
43…Rg2+ leads to mate. If 44.Kf1 Qe2#. If 44.Kh1 Qe1+ 45.Rf1 Qxf1+ 46.Qg1 Qxg1#.
White to move
22.Bxd5 wins a valuable pawn, and attacks the Black rook on c4 and the pinned e6 pawn.
White to move
30.Re1 Skewers the Queen and the backward pawn on e6. If the Black Queen moves, for example, 30…Qd3 31.Rxe6+ and Black is in big trouble, 31…Kf8 32.Qxd7 and White is easily winning.
White to move
39.Rf7# is a midfield version of the “hook mate” with all three minor pieces working nicely together.
Black to move
22…Qg5# is another example of the Queen and Knight working nicely together to deliver mate. Sometimes longer range Queen checks are hard to see.
Black to move
32…Bh3 adds a second attacker to the pinned Bishop on f1. White can defend against mate, but will have to give up their material advantage to do so.
White to move
12.Bc7 seals in the Black King, and prevents him from castling Queenside, and threatens 13.Qh5# on the next move. Black is in a lot of trouble because of all the weak squares around him. If 12…h5 13.Qg3 threatening 14.Qg6#.
Black to move
16…Qf4+ double attacks the White King and the Bishop on c4, which is now attacked twice, and only defended once. Black wins a piece.
White to move
30.Bd6+ Ke8 31.Qc6+ forking the Rook and King.
Black to move
7…Qxh3 takes a piece that is hanging.
Black to move
17…a6 removes the defender of the Bishop on d4, so Black can play 18…Qg4+ on the next move, forking the King and Bishop on d4.
White to move
13.Nd6+ has many forks.
Black to move
8…d5 attacks the White Bishop 9.Bb3 d4 forks the White Bishop and Knight. This is a good trick to know, and comes up often. White does not have time to retreat the bishop and prevent the pawn forks.
White to move
19.Nf6+ Not 19.Nc7+, which is a more common forking square, but in this case wins less material thanforking the King and Queen. When you see a good move, look for a better one!
White to move
13.Qh5!! Sets up a Blackburne mate pattern.
If 13…gxh5 14.Bxh7#. If 13…h6 14.Bxg6 Qxg5 15.Bxf7+ Kh7 16.Qxg5 hxg5 17.Bxe8 winning the Black Rook, which is what happened in the game.
White to move
41. Rb2!! Forces a stalemate. The Black Rook is pinned, and White has no moves.
Black to move
34…Qxd3!! wins a piece. Black cannot recapture because of 35.Rxd3 a1=Q+
White to move
14.Ne5 is a discovered attack on the Queen on h5 and adds a second attacker to the pinned Knight on d7. Black cannot meet both threats.
Black to move
11…Nd3# This type of smothered mate is very common in the Budapest Gambit, and is known as the Kieninger Trap.
White to move
36.Qxh4!! Black cannot recapture because of 36…gxh4 37.Rxg8 and Black cannot stop 38.R1g7#
Black to move
10…Qxe4 forks the White Rook on h1 and Knight on d5. Rooks in the corners can be vulnerable to attacks by the Queen, when the fianchetto pawn is pushed, but the Bishop hasn’t been developed yet.
Black to move
28…Rxd3+ forks the King and Queen, and puts the Queen on the same file as the King for the follow up move 29.Qxd3 Nf2+ forking the White King and Queen.
White to move
28.Bc4 adds a second attacker to the backward e6 pawn. There is no way for Black to add a second defender, so the pawn will fall.
Black to move
52…Qb2+ Forks the King and Bishop on c2, winning a piece.
Black to move
6…Qh4+ punishes White right out of the opening. After 7.g3 (only way to get out of check) Black mates with either 7…Qxg3 8.hxg3 Bxg3# or 7…Bxg3 8.hxg3 Qxg3#. Be really careful when playing opening that include an early push of the f pawn like The Bird, Kings Gambit, Stonewall Attack, Dutch Defense, etc.
White to move
7.Qb3 creates multiple threats at the same time (the key to many successful tactics). It attacks the weak b7 pawn, adds a second attacker to the knight on g8 threatening 8.Bxg8, and threatens 8.Bf7+ Ke7 (…Kd7) 9.Qe6#. Black cannot meet all these threats at the same time.
Black to move
12…Bxh3+ keeps it simple, and picks up a hanging piece with check, and will mate after 13.Kg1 Ne4+ 14.Be3 Qxe3#.
White to move
16.Bb6 discovers an attack on the hanging Knight on e4. Black cannot save his Queen and the Knight both, so will lose material.
Black to move
33…f5 is the first move of a two move combo. After the Knight moves, Black can play 34…e4 doing a discovered attack on the White Knight on f3 and the Rook on b2 at the same time. Such pawn wave attacks can be hard to see in advance.
White to move
19.Qxh7# is a common checkmate using the powerful battery of light square Bishop and Queen, with the White Knight helping cover the f7 escape square.
White to move
16.Ne7+ and Black has to give up their Queen to avoid an Anastasia’s mate. The game continued 16…Kh8 17.Qxh7+!! Kxh7 18.Rh3+ [18…Qh4 19.Rxh4#].
White to move
10.Bxh6 removes one of the defenders of the f7 pawn, and clears the way for the battery of Queen and Rook on the f file. Black cannot replace this defender, and recapture at the same time, and is in big trouble.
Black to move
23…Qb2 attacks both the Rook on c1 and the Bishop on e2. If 24.Re1 Nc3 adds two more attackers to the Bishop on e2, and White cannot meet all the threats.
White to move
14.Qh5+ and mate after 14…Kd7 (only move) 15.Qf7+ Qe7 16.Qxe7#.
Black to move
13…Nb6 is a discovered attack on both Bishops. White cannot save both.
Life Master Brian Wall pointed out a cute variation which does NOT win a piece: 13…Bh6 14.Ng5 f6 15.Bf7#.
Black to move
22…Kg7 holds down the fort, preventing moves such as Rf6, which would be devastating. Black is up a piece, but needs to survive first.
White to move
15.Nxf6+ checks the King, and discovers an attack on the h7 square. After either 15…Qxf6, 15…gxf6 or 15…Kh8 White plays 16.Qxh7#
Black to move
11…Nxe5 wins a dangerous piece that is under defended. 12.Bxg4 Nxg4 13.Qxg4 Bxc3 14.bxc3 Qxb1+
or
12.Bxe5 Bxe2 13.Qxe2 Bxe5
11…Bxe2 looks logical, but then White has 12.Qxd7+
Black to move
10…e5 is a pawn fork of Bishop and Knight
White to move
9.Bxc6+ removes the defender of the Queen on d4 with check.
Black to move
24…Qxa1 The Black Queen is trapped, so goes out with a bang taking two Rooks with her.
Black to move
29…Nf4 is a clever move that helps cover escape squares for the White King, and adds additional mate threats. White has two ways to capture this Knight, but both fail. If 30.gxf4 Qxf3 (the g pawn is pinned). If 30.Qxf4 Qh1#. Black is threatening to play 30…Qh2+ 31.Kf1 Qh1+ 32.Qxh1 Rxh1# and also has the threat 30…Ne2+ 31.Qxe2 only move 31…Qh1#.
White to move
7.Bxf7+ discovers an attack on the hanging Black Queen on d4.
White to move
18.Bxf7+ Kh8 19.Bxe8 wins the rook. Black cannot capture on f7 because of 18…Kxf7 19.Qd5#.
Black to move
17…Qe4 leads to a forced mate. On the previous move, White played g3, which left horrible holes on their King’s protection. White can only delay the mate with some spite checks. 18.Bxd6+ cxd6 19.Qxd6+ Bxd6 20.f3 Qe2 21.Rf2 Qxf2+ 22.Kh1 Qxh2#.
Black to move
10…Bxf2+ is a variation on Legal’s Mate. 11.Ke2 Nd4# This is a really good tactical pattern to know. Black actually played an unsound version of it, but got away with it.
White to move
19.Qxe6+ an easy mate in two with 19…Kf8 Qf7#.
White to move
10.Qxb8+!! is a brilliant Queen sacrifice Nxb8 11.Nxc7#.
White to move
32.Rxg7+ removes the defender of the Queen on f6 32…Kxg7 (32…Bxg7) 33.Qxe6.
White to move
35.Bxg7+ deflects the King from the f8 square 35…Kxg7 36.f8=Q+ and mates soon after. In the game White grabbed a pawn with 35.Bxb6, and is still winning, but trading down, and Queening the pawn is the much shorter route to victory.
White to move
25.Nxh7 if 25…Kxh7 26.Qxh5+ wins back the Knight with interest (the g6 pawn is now pinned to the Black King).
White to move
53.h7 pushes the pawn one step closer to becoming a Queen, giving up the less important Bishop as collateral damage.
White to move
27.a5 The wall of doubled pawns on the c file, and the Black King being so far away, prevents Black from being able to stop the a pawn from Queening.
Black to move
37…Rg8 traps the White Queen
White to move
41.Rxa8 deflects the Rook on e8 from the Queening square. 41…Rxa8 42.Nf7+ Kg8 43.Nd8 and White will Queen their pawn.
White to move
40.Qf8# is a nice checkmate.
White to move
20.Bxf4 picks up a hanging piece
White to move
34.Rxg6+ leads to a forced mate 34…fxg6 35.Qxg6+ Kf8 36.Rf3+ Ke7 37.Rf7+ Kd8 38.Qf6+ Ke8 39.Qe7#.
Black to move
24…Nh4 threatens 25…Qxg2#, and the family fork 25…Nf3+
White to move
11.Nd6+ Black was hoping to play a double discovered check with Nxc2+ but gets mated after 11…Kf8 12.Qxf7#.
White to move
5.Bxh5#
White to move
46.Rf6+ Offers Black a Rook for a Knight so they can simplify into a winning endgame. If Black declines this offer, and plays 46…Kh5, White picks up another pawn with 47.Rh6+. If 46…Kg7 47.Rd6+ discovered check wins the Knight.
White to move
32.Re7+ forks the King and Queen.
White to move
44.Qg8+ Kh6 45.Qh8#.
Black to move
29…Rg1 forces the Rook on f1 away from blocking the f pawn.
Black to move
18…Rg8 gets the Rook out of danger, and sets up a bone crushing discovered check on the next move.
White to move
53.Rd2+ forces Black to give up defense of the Rook on c6 or trade Rooks, allowing White to easily Queen their a pawn after 53…Rd6 54.Rxd6 Kxd6 55.a7.
Black to move
27…Nd6 The White Queen is forced away from her defense of the Knight on d7 after 28.Qa4 b5.
Black to move
30…Nc4 The White Queen gets trapped after 31.Qa6 Qe8 (or …Qb8) and 32.Ra7
White to move
9.Bf4 forces the awkwardly placed Queen to a bad square or into a lower value trade. After 9…Qe6 10.Nc7+ is a family fork.
White to move
23.Qxg7+ wins a piece and leads to mate after either
23…Kxe8 24.Qxg8+ Kd7 25.Qxf7+ Kd8 26.Bg5+ Qe7 27.Qxe7#
or
23…Ke7 24.Bg5+ Kd7 25.Qxf7 Ne7 26.Qxe7#
White to move
13.Nf6+!! leads to mate after 13…Bxf6 (13…gxf6 or 13…Kh8) 14. Qh7#
Black to move
16…Bh3+ leads to mate after 17.Kg1 Nxf3#
White to move
22.Bxe5 wins a piece because the d6 pawn is pinned. If 22…dxe5 23.Rxd8#.
White to move
32.g3 traps the dark square Bishop who went after a poison pawn.
Black to move
30…Nf4 traps the White Queen, who has no save escape squares.
Black to move
19…g3 threatening 20…Qxh2# if 20.h3 Bxh3 21.gxh3 Qxh3 and White will have to give up material to avoid being mated.
White to move
6.Nfd5+ is a fun checkmate from a Chess 960 game.
White to move
21.Nxg7+ forces the Black King away from defending the f8 Rook from the White Queen on a3.
Black to move
13…Qh4+ leads to mate, exploitin the weak squares around the White King 14.g3 Qxg3#. Be careful with early f pawn pushes in the opening, as they can leave you vulnerable to attacks like this.
Black to move
34…Nf3+ discovered attack, winning the Queen on e6.
White to move
23.e5 attacks the Black queen and creates a discovered attack on the rook on a8 from the Bishop on g2.
White to move
7.Bg5 puts the Black Queen in an awkward position – if the Queen moves 7…Qf7, White has 8.Qd8#
7…Qg6, then 8.Qd8+ Kf7 9.Nxe5#.
Black to move
29…Rxf5 wins a piece, as the e pawn is pinned to the Queen.
Black to move
15…Qxd2+!! 16.Kxd2 Nxe4+ discovers an attack on the White Queen on g7 from the Black Bishop on a1, and gets out of the mate threat on e7.
This move would have turned things around for Black, who instead played 15…Qb5+ and was mated two moves later after 16.c4 Rg8 17.Qe7#.
White to move
29.Rxd4 Qxd4 30.Rd2 skewers the Queen and Knight on d6.
White to move
13.Nxe4!! if 13…Qxd4 14.Nf6+ double check 14…Kd8 15.Re8#.
White to move
27.Qxe7+ would have been a brilliant Queen sacrifice leading to mate with the Boden’s Mate pattern 27…Kxe7 28.Bg5#.
Black to move
36…Qb7+ 37.Qg2 Rf2 38.Qxb7 Rh2# is a pretty Queen sacrifice and checkmate.
Black to move
25…Qf5+ Black’s Bishops are powerful and the White King has no defenders. 26.Ke1 Qf2# or 26.Kg2 Qf2+ 27.Kh1 Qg1#
White to move
13.Nf6# is a neat checkmate taking advantage of the pinned g pawn.
White to move
29.Bd3 pins the Black queen to the king.
White to move
62.g7 and Black cannot stop White from creating a Queen. For example 62…e2+ 63.Kxe2 c2 64.g8=Q c1=Q 65.Qd5+ Kc3 66.Qc5#
Black to move
41…f2 another runaway pawn that cannot be stopped.
White to move
35.Rg7 threatens mate with 36.Rh7# If 35…Rxg7 36.Qxg7#. Black can put off mate with 35…Nf6 or 35…Ng5, but these just delay the inevitable.
White to move
Rh8+ Kg6 only move 47.Nd6! attacks the Black Rook on b7 and threatens mate with 48.Bf5# Black cannot meet both of these threats, and will lose a piece.
White to move
27.Qf6 sets up a mating net of 28.Qh6+ Kg8 29.Qh8#. Black can thrown in some checks, but can’t stop mate.
White to move
17.Bf4+ ignoring the attack on the Whie Queen and mate after 17…Ne5 18.Bxe5 Qc7 19.Qxc7#.
