‘This is why you don’t do puzzles, kids,’ drawled Magnus Carlsen, after a lucky escape in a recent blitz game played on Chess.com. ‘Because if this is a puzzle you see it immediately. But in puzzles, you’re trained to see puzzles, while in games, you’re not.’
No doubt Carlsen has done his fair share of puzzles over the years, but he had a point. He was talking about the position below, in which he had just played 33…Kf8-g7.
His opponent, David Anton Guijarro is Spain’s strongest grandmaster, and if the position were presented to him as a puzzle, he would certainly spot the strongest move in a couple of seconds. White can win with 34 Qxe5+!! with a beautiful finish after 34…dxe5 35 R1xf7+ Kh8 36 Rh7+ Rxh7 37 Rxh7 mate.
David Anton Guijarro-Magnus Carlsen
Titled Tuesday, Chess.com, Jan 2026
Instead, after 36 seconds of thought, Anton played 34 Qd2? which threatens Qd2-g5+. Carlsen breathed a sigh of relief, and coolly captured 34…Qxd3, seeing that 35 Rbxf7+ can be met with Kh8. White resigned.
On rare occasions, you get a tip-off from the opponent. Some players, on realising they have blundered, will blush, or pause unnaturally, or their breathing will change. Spectators, too, should be careful. In team events, I have sometimes noticed an ‘accident waiting to happen’ and realised that the longer I stare at my teammate’s plight, the more likely it will come to pass.
Denis Lazavik admitted getting a little hint from the crowd during a game at the Speed Chess Championship, sponsored by chess.com and held in London last weekend.
The players played on screens, but in the same location. In theory, noise-cancelling headphones were supposed to isolate the players from the crowd, who could see the computer evaluation and hear the commentary. But at this moment the hubbub was enough to alert Lazavik to a beautiful finish. I suspect he was being modest, as he had just sacrificed a rook and clearly sensed that there was ‘something’ in the position.
Denis Lazavik-Magnus Carlsen
Speed Chess Championship, London, Feb 2026
Capturing the rook on e7 leaves White a piece down, but there is something far stronger: 28 Rxe5!! fxe5 29 Qg5 A quiet follow-up, threatening Qg5-f6 mate. Carlsen has but one defence: Nh5 30 Qxe5! One more move, threatening Qe5-h8 mate. Carlsen resigned with a smile, obviously impressed by the finish. Nevertheless, he won this semi-final match against Lazavik, before defeating Alireza Firouzja in the final.
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