Combinations by the Dozen

blog reprint

Below are 12 beautiful combinations from games by various players throughout time. I've incorporated the entire games but displayed them from the point where the combination seems to originate.

Game 1
The first game is between the Kiev champion and future Russian champion (just a few months later) as well as future two-time world championship contender Efim Bogoljubov and the profound Richard Reti who is considered more a strategist than a tactical wizard.  However, this game highlights his deep tactical skill.

Game 2
Samuel or Saloman Lipschütz is considered by most one of the early US champions. Here he loses to the one time British champion, Joseph Blackburne who was no stranger to tactical brilliancies.

Game 3

Theodore Tylor

          Theodore Tylor was a particularly intriguing player.  A lawyer and lecturer of law at Balliol College,  Tylor, legally blind, had captained the Oxford chess team, finished 2nd behind Sultan Khan in the British Championship in 1933, was a 3 time British correspondence champion, often while playing on a tactile board.  His opponent, William Winter was a two-time British champion. Below, Tylor demonstrates the tactical abilities for which he was noted.

Game 4
This next game is from a simul given by Capablanca.  The Cuban champion shows his natural, almost casual, style with threats of combinations around every corner.

Game 5
23 year old Grigory Levenfish would later become a two-time Soviet champion and one of the strongest players in the world.  Alekhine, who was only 19 but already a leading Russian player,  shows the value of time over material.

Game 6
From the following game it's hard to believe that Max Euwe would eventually knock Alekhine from his world champion throne, but at the time of this game, Alekhine was already world champion material and Max Euwe was only 20 years old.

Game 7
The following game between Mikhail Tal and Alexander Tolush is quite famous - rightfully so.

Game 8
The "BCM," May 1891, published Bauer's obituary in which it claimed:
"In his style of play. Bauer was a true disciple of the modern Vienna school, safe rather than brilliant.  His theoretical knowledge was astonishing, and he added to it as 'infinite capacity' for analytical work." 
Lasker managed to break through his shield of safety in the sweet little game.

Game 9
Rashid Nezhmetdinov was one of the greatest attacking players of all time. Although he never gained a grandmaster title, the five-time Russian champion held a plus score against Boris Spassky. Below shows why.

Game 10
Celso Golmayo Zupide lost 2 out of 5 games to Morphy at Knight-odds after which Morphy deemed him too strong for such odds.  Sam Loyd had played and lost one game against Morphy, also at Knight-odds.  Here Loyd beats Golmayo on even terms with a combination worthy of a puzzle.

Game 11
The town of Breslau spawned more than it's share of noted chess players: Adolf Anderssen, Siegbert Tarrasch,  Daniel Harrwitz, (Johannes Zukertort attend the University of Breslau) and Jakob Rosanes.  Rosanes, who would become a highly respected mathematician, was 24 years younger than the legendary Anderssen and only 20 years old when the following game was played. Anderssen, an instructor at the Friedrichs-Gymnasium in Breslau schooled his younger opponent in combinative chess.

Game 12

Luis Roux Cabral, 1939

Luis Lisandro Roux Cabral had been the two-time champion of Uruguay. His play sparkled the board like scattering of precious gems.
 

Wow! Nice collection!

(Well, anything you post is good)

Yes these are great.

I dived into the first game without reading anything and after 1. Nf3 i was like.. what.. isn't this reti opening.. not many people play reti..

And checked who played it.. Richard Reti

*clicks* noice

Superb collection!

Beautiful.👍

Thank you for bringing them up!

Thanks! Great games! Chess is Art!

I really appreciate you and all your work that you put in your games. I am your biggest fan! 

Really enjoy these posts batgirl! thankyou!

cool cool

The last combination/attack was very impressive! In the game Alekhine-Euwe, I think Euwe resigned too soon. Understandably he respected his opponent and there is little doubt that Alekhine would have won, but after 12...c6 or 12...c5 it's still a mess. The computer suggests that 13.b4 after either move is perhaps the only winning move. In any case, white has more than enough compensation, but no immediate win.

Nice collection.  Some very cool endgames.  Nezhmetdinov really overwhelmed Spassky.  Thanks for posting.

Very nice and interesting collection. Thank you Sarah!

Thanks Batgirl for this collection.  Very instructive to review and then review again.