June Blitz 'n' Memes
I was very focused on becoming the best, not the best woman.
-Judit Polgar
Welcome everybody, to a special "Oh, my God! I met Judit Polgar!!" edition of Blitz 'n' Memes.
If you're a fan of puzzles taken from amateur online blitz tournaments, then you have come to the right place, because that is what I do.
As always, the tactics have been selected from the Japan Chess Federation'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 consists of seven rounds of blitz, with a time control of 3+2; and is open to all JCF club members.
The Memes on the other hand were found in the low and dark realms of the InterWebs...
This month's tactics are quite even in their difficulty, a great chance to get all 5 correct on the first attempt.
So, without further ado, lets get to the Blitz 'n' Memes.
Standing in Front of the Target
Our first tactic is from the 3rd round, IM rnanjo, playing White, demonstrates the error of having one's Queen stand in front of the King.
Black should have moved his Queen before making the last move, how can this move be punished?
Defending with a Vengeance
In the 5th round, Hoshimi-san, playing Black, turned defense into offense.
White is threatening a deadly discovery, but ignore it, and go on the attack.
Stuck in the Middle with You
In the 3rd round, drsljones, playing Black, takes advantage of Whites misplaced pieces to win material.
White's knight needed to remain on f3 for the time being, can you see why?
Hopping Out of Trouble
In the 6th round, Hoshimi-san, playing White, shows that the best thing to do when in a slightly worse position, it to simply play the best move...and wait and see.
White is slightly worse, so an accurate move and a little luck is needed.
An Old-Fashioned Hunt
Our final tactic comes from the final round, Hoshimi-san, playing Black, goes on an old-fashioned hunt.
You'll need precise calculation to find your way to the end. Good Luck.
And that was it, that was June Blitz 'n' Memes.
Congratulations to Hoshimi-san for winning with a perfect 7/7 score. And more importantly, congrats to you puzzle GMs who got all 5 tactics correct on the first attempt, you are the real champs.
Oh, and before I go...
Grandmaster Judit Polgar
Judit Polgar the strongest female player in the history of chess, visited the Expo2025, which is being held in Osaka, Japan. She played a 16 player simul and give a talk on her life and chess career.
In the simul, she showed no mercy and obliterated her opponents, +16=0-0, a flawless victory. Yet, she gave special credit to two participants: Toma, readers of the Osaka Papers may recognize the name, he is the little monster who keeps beating me at the tournaments here in Japan, and a young lady named Misaki, who is a member of the Abeno Chess Club, they both gave Judit an incredible battle.
At the end of the talk there was a Q&A period, and I was lucky enough to ask the very last question.
Me: My question pertains to mental health. There is a long history of mental health problems in the chess community...
So... does chess drive sane people crazy, or does it keep crazy people sane??
**General Laughter Ensued**
Judit: There are plenty of crazy people outside of chess. If one does not become obsessed, chess is positive force. It can be a force for discipline, learning and confidence. Overall, chess is 98% good, maybe 2% bad.
And there you have it, that was my meeting with the Legendary Judit Polgar.
From the bottom of my heart, thank Judit Polgar for visiting us, I don't think she realizes how much it means to a small chess nation like Japan to have someone of her magnitude bless us with her presence.
As always, thanks for reading and feel free to share these puzzles with your friends down at the library or bar.
Cheers, SheldonOfOsaka.
P.S. I have a bunch of chess merchandise available at my online shop, if that is of interest to you invite the "Click Button" to a friendly game of chess, but when they show up, pre-move all of your moves.
