November's Blitz 'n' Memes
Welcome Everybody, to another blunder filled 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 pillaged from the unknown crevices of the InterWebs...
This month's offerings are a good mix of easy and hard tactics...with a super hard bonus tactic added in for fun.
Good luck solving all SIX on the first-go-round.
So, without further ado, let's get to the Blitz 'n' Memes.
Pushed to the Edge
Our first tactic is from the 2nd round, Zucci, Playing Black, is able to pinpoint the fatal flaw in White's position.
White's king just needs to be given a little push.
Smashing Through
Another beauty from Zucci, this time playing White, in the fourth round.
The White pawn on h6 gives Black few options.]
Using the Pins
Zucci is on the wrong end of this tactic, up against IM rnanjo, playing White, in the sixth round.
Black's light squares are quite weak, but how to exploit that?
The Battle for e6
And now it's IM rnanjo on the wrong side of a tactic, JamMasterInsane, playing White, is able to dominate in this battle for central control.
It turns out that whoever controls the e6 square wins the game.
A Royal Hunt
In the final round, Zucci, playing White, puts together a winning combination.
It's a king hunt, but where to begin?
And that was it, that was November Blitz 'n' Memes...
Congratulations to IM rnanjo, who won with a 6/7 scoreline. And special congratulations to anyone who managed to finish with a 5/5 scoreline....
But wait...there is more...
Bonus
the top rated player in Japan IM Thanh Tu Tran represented Japan in the 2025 Chess World Cup held in Goa, India. In the first round he was faced with GM A.R. Saleh Salem of the United Arab Emirates. After losing the first game of the match, IM Tran was in a must win situation, despite fighting a sharp battle and holding winning positions throughout the initial course of the game, GM Salem was able to pull-off an incredible comeback to win the match.
This game was awarded "Game of the Day", it will take something special to answer correctly on the first attempt. Good Luck!!
As always thanks for reading, and feel free to share this puzzles with your friends and even your enemies down at the local bar or library.
Cheers, SheldonOfOsaka.
P.S.
Invite the Click Button to a game of chess, but smear all his pieces with glue before the game starts...
