Luke McShane is chess columnist for The Spectator.
Black to play. McShane–Anand, World Rapid Championship 2017. While executing my last move, 51 Qf4-f3, attacking the h5-pawn, I got a horrible sinking feeling, as I saw what was about to hit me. What did Anand play? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 24 August. There is a prize of £20 for the
Does Bear Grylls play chess? If he does, I’m sure he would favour the King’s Gambit. As chess openings go, it is primitive and hazardous. Playing it well demands a kind of reckless, wholehearted optimism that few can muster. Ostensibly, you sacrifice just a pawn (1 e4 e5 2 f4), but really, you’re already in
Black to play. Efimov–Bronstein, Kiev 1941. Normally White seeks glory in the King’s Gambit, but here Bronstein scored a lightning victory for the Black side. Which move did he choose? Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 17 August. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include
‘Cabin crew, ten minutes to landing!’ Are there any more exhilarating words? Soon, for a few precious minutes, one can fix one’s gaze on the approaching landscape. The patchwork fields, the lines of terraced houses and shuffling cars — all woven together in an intricate fractal. From a certain point of view, these simple things
Black to play. Studer–Naiditsch, Biel, July 2020. White intends to meet 1…Bxb5 with 2 Bxe7 Qxe7 3 Qxb5, with an equal position. Which move did Naiditsch play to pinpoint the flaw? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 10 August. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a
I am sure I have posed more questions to the chess engine Stockfish than to any living being. I love the instant gratification: you give it a chess position and it gives you an answer: the best move and an evaluation measured in hundredths of a pawn, like +1 24. Leave it alone, it will
White to play. Stockfish–Leela Chess Zero, TCEC 18, Game 92, July 2020. It looks hard to make progress, despite the far advanced pawns. What was Stockfish’s winning move? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 3 August. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include
‘Had I not become a composer, I would have wanted to be a chess player, but a high-level one, someone competing for the world title.’ So said Ennio Morricone, who died earlier this month at the age of 91. Looking back on a lifetime of work, you don’t doubt that he could have done it.
White to play. Stefano Tatai–Spyridon Skembris, Budva Zonal 1981. Morricone’s teacher found a delightful conclusion to this attack. What was his next move? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 27 July. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address and allow
The position shown in this week’s main diagram is the starter problem for the Winton British Chess Solving Championship, an annual competition. White must force mate in two moves, against any defence. (White moves, then Black moves, then White delivers checkmate.) For entry details, see the final paragraph. Many composed positions have an ugly duckling
White to play and mate in three moves. A problem composed by grandmaster Jonathan Levitt (British Chess Magazine, 1995). One tip: note that there is an ‘obvious’ mate in two which actually falls short. Answers (first move only) should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 20 July. There is a prize of £20 for the
There is no sight so compelling as one that would be hidden. I am fascinated by the Streisand effect, named after Barbra Streisand, whose Malibu house appears in a large online collection of aerial photographs documenting the California coastline. In 2003, she filed a lawsuit to have it removed, which as well as being unsuccessful
White to play. Giri–Nepomniachtchi, Chessable Masters 2020. Giri has sacrificed a knight to lure the black king forward. Which move forced a decisive breakthrough? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 13 July. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address and
Chess has much in common with video games — not least, the eager disdain of uninformed critics. An 1859 article in Scientific American noted the achievements of Paul Morphy ‘vanquishing the most distinguished chess players of Europe’ but concluded sniffily that ‘skill in this game is neither a useful nor graceful accomplishment’. You can’t please
White to play. From the ridiculous to the sublime. According to the ‘Chess Notes’ website, a game won by Edward Gestesi in Paris, 1911. Which move forces a quick checkmate? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 6 July. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat.
‘May the best scoring system win!’ is hardly a sentiment to stoke the passions. In the 2011 referendum, the alternative vote (AV) system was mooted to replace first-past-the-post. The electorate didn’t care for AV, which lost by two votes to one. Indeed, people didn’t much care for the issue at all: the 42 per cent
White to play. Grischuk–Aronian, Clutch Chess 2020. Only one rook move draws here. Which one? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator-.co.uk by Monday 29 June. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address and allow six weeks for prize delivery. Last week’s solution
As statues are scrutinised, the tensions that existed within historical figures are thrown into relief. You can admire Churchill’s leadership and criticise his imperialism. Beyond politics, whether one can or should separate the art from the artist is a well-trodden critical minefield. How to appraise the work of sculptor Eric Gill, whose corporeal forms can
White to play. Tolush–Aronson, Moscow 1957. Strangely, this quick win was once wrongly attributed to Alekhine. How did White exploit the exposed position of the Black queen? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 22 June. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a
Black to play, Ding Liren–Daniil Dubov, Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge, May 2020. Dubov’s rook is under attack, but his next move turned the tables, prompting immediate resignation. What did he play? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 15 June. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a
