February Blitz & Memes

Hello, my fellow puzzle fans, and welcome to another edition of Blitz & Memes. If you're a fan of tactics taken from amateur online blitz tournaments, then you have come to the right place, because that is what I do.

As always the puzzles have been pulled from the National Chess Society of Japan's monthly blitz tournament: TGIF Blitz. The tourney takes place on the 3rd Friday of every month, 21:00 JST, right here on chess.com. It is composed of seven rounds of blitz, with a time control of 3+2; and is open to all NCS club members.

The memes, on the other hand, were gleaned from the dark recesses of the InterWebs.

Good luck trying to solve all five tactics on the first try; a Canadian National Master pretty much "adopted" this month's edition, and he played some sublime ones.

So, without further ado, lets get to the Blitz & Memes.

Corner Pocket

In this 7th round match-up, last month's tournament winner, gorlee2013, finds himself on the wrong side of the tactic; nanGM, playing Black, has gone with the Sicilian Najdorf, an opening made for sharp play.

Can you see how Black takes advantage of the position of White's king?

Battery Power

In this first round encounter kanapov2, playing White, is able to form the dreaded rook battery. Black's pieces are overloaded and it looks like they will have to give up a lot of material to avoid mate.

Can you use your battery power in the most accurate fashion?

Surrounded Monarch

The next position is also taken from the first round. NM PoppingCheckmates, playing Black is able to surround the White monarch, but a series of accurate moves are needed to get the job done.

Can you take advantage of White's cramped position?

Uncovering an Assault

A fifth round clash of the titans sees NM PoppingCheckmates, playing White, overthrow last month's champion.

Can you find the best road to Black's king?

Razor's Edge

The last tactic comes from the forth round, NM PoppingCheckmates, playing Black, has to walk...a razor's edge...if you will...to reach a winning position. A truly complex and difficult position, best of luck to you.

Can you walk the razor's edge?

And that was it, that was February Blitz & Memes. Congratulations to NM PoppingCheckmates for winning with a perfect 7/7 score; and of course congrats to any of you who solved all 5 puzzles on the first try, arguably a more distinguished accomplishment.

I'm happy to announce that this was our biggest TGIF Blitz event ever. I'm hoping that even more of you Dear Readers will join next month.

As always, thanks for reading and feel free to share these tactics with your friends down at the Bar or Opera House.

Cheers, SheldonOfOsaka.

Bonus

Shout-out to everyone who instantly recognized the position from the thumbnail.