Test Your Tactical/Attacking Skills

IMPORTANT: [At the end of the puzzles, you should click MOVE LIST so you can see my instructive notes and variations. If you are having trouble solving a problem, just click SOLUTION, and then MOVE LIST. Even if you solve everything, DO click MOVE LIST or you might miss an important bit of prose.]

Find The Most Accurate Way To Overrun Black’s Position

Put Maximum Hurt on Black

Show the True Strength of White’s Attack  

When a Mating Attack Isn’t a Mating Attack

LESSONS FROM THESE GAMES

* White's dark-squared Bishop, sitting on the a1-h8 diagonal, has led to countless mating attacks. If such a Bishop is blocked by its own pawn, find a way to push the pawn out of the way and BAM – you've turned an inactive blocked piece into a death-laser of doom! 

* Attacks aren’t just about checking or making threats to the enemy King. More often than not, they are about smacking down pawn and square weaknesses in the enemy camp.

* In our third problem, the attack made use of a myriad of ideas: opening new lines so all of white’s pieces could participate, chasing the enemy pieces to passive posts, undefended black units (the e6-Bishop stands out), a sacrifice against g6, and use of the hole on d5. As you can see, many attacks will only succeed if you’re aware of all the negatives in the enemy position.

* Our fourth problem shows that a kingside attack doesn’t always end in mate. Often the attacker will succeed in winning material or achieve some kind of long-term positional advantage. In the case of problem four, White exchanged Queens and got a huge positional plus which quickly led to material gain and an easy win.

HOW TO PRESENT A GAME FOR CONSIDERATION

If you want me to look over your game, send it to askjeremy@chess.com. I need your name (real or chess.com handle), your OPPONENT’S name (real or chess.com handle), both players’ ratings, where the game was played, and date. If you don’t give me this information, I won’t use your game! BTW: I’ve noticed that many people are reluctant to give me their opponent’s name. This is very strange! Showing the names of both players is the way chess games are presented in databases, books, magazines… everywhere! Permission from the opponent isn’t necessary. If permission was necessary, everyone who ever lost a game wouldn’t allow their name to be on it!