September Blitz and Memes

Chess does not drive people mad, it keeps mad people sane.

-Bill Hartston

Hello, my fellow speed lovers, and welcome to another edition of Blitz & 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 corralled from the far corners of the InterWebs...

Good luck trying to solve all five puzzles on the first attempt, there is at least one that I would never find in a real game.

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

A Textbook Case

Our first tactic is brought to us by Zucci, playing Black. In this fourth round encounter we see a textbook case of loose pieces dropping off.

Can you see why White's last move was a blunder?

The Quook in Action

Another tactic featuring the enigmatic Zucci. Here playing White in the seventh round, he is able to use his queen and rook to devastating effect.

Can you use the "Quook" to find mate?

The Weak Side of Things

One more from Blitz and Memes all time leading participant, Zucci. This one comes from the sixth round, where Zucci, playing White, is able to take advantage of Black's weakened king side...or "weak side", if you will...O_o...

Can you find the holes in Black's position?

I.M. Opening

Perennial TGIF Blitz champion IM rnanjo, playing White demonstrates IM level opening theory. In this fifth round top of the table clash, he plays a precise move in order to consolidate his advantage.

Can you find the best move in the position?

The Shortest Distance Between

We end at the beginning, this first round tactic featuring Out_of_the_Zoo, playing White, illustrates the Euclidean distance (you'll probably need to look that up).

Can you find this simple yet complex concept?

And that was it, that was September Blitz and Memes.

Congrats to IM rnanjo who won TGIF Blitz September with a 6.5/7 score. And of course, more importantly, congratulations to you few tactic grandmasters who were able to get all 5 puzzles correct on the first try, you are the real champions here. 

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

Cheers, SheldonOfOsaka.