CHRISTMAS PUZZLE 3-4 This position  was in a friendly match, but this puzzle, I think, is what appeared on the board. Now I know what you maybe thinking: white hasn't play strategically well here and neither has black. Ho Ho Ho Ho, but this is our Christmas puzzle as it is now about to get interesting. Now it is White to move and cause all sorts of complications!! What is the most daring and intuitive move on the board for white? What is white's plan to follow and !!!tactical!!! ideas that overwhelm black's position? Interestingly enough I don't think computers appreciate this move as they believe that black is winning only later to show that white is...ho ho ho? White to play and win in a beautiful way!! p.s computers will be out of its horizon here and will not find the right ideas; so they will not be able to calculate the answer.     PUZZLE 3-5  I am playing against a very strong grandmaster  from America...a famous grandmaster who has been the American Champion many times. He is playing 20 players in a simultaneous display on ICC and somehow I managed to beat the demand. The grandmaster is also playing against the clock 60 minutes plus 60 increment per move. How did I manage to beat my opponent? Black to play and crush him. Can you see the patterns?       PUZZLE 3-6 TO DRAW OR NOT TO DRAW? (02/10/06) Take a good look at this position. It is a game between two Eccles Players during a friendly match so no names will be mentioned.....however it contains some interesting ideas. For this puzzle I want you to decided who you think is in the better position and then to decide if taking the rook is your best option? Answer is on the answers page.       PUZZLE 3-7   BLACK TO PLAY I have sacrificed a pawn to reach this position! It is obvious that black has the better position with the open file and nasty looking beasts. How did I cash in?     PUZZLE 3-8   Black to Play Black to Play and win, big time! Look hard can you spot the continuations and white's best replies? There is a prize of selfsatisfaction..mmm, or is that ego? After Black's first move there is a computer like move that is difficult for a human player to spot psychologically, in fact it does not stop black winning but what is this move?         PUZZLE 3-9  Pawn Down but White To Play I have played really well here, and indeed I beat my opponent. What is the nice positional move that I played to beat my strong opponent? What is it? Can you Spot it?       PUZZLE 3-10  What are the next two moves that Really Tie Him Up? Why not just take back the exchange? Black to Play and create tactical problems for white!!       PUZZLE 3-11  Has white refuted black's idea of sacrificing the knight? On the previous move black played the shocking Ng4, threatening to sac his knight on h2 to shatter white's kingside. Does white refute black's idea with Rg1? Threatening, after the sac, Rg3! patching up the kingside weaknesses?

ANSWERS FOR PUZZLES 3-4 TO 3-11

 PUZZLE 3-4
Christmas Puzzle: Hint (calculate the possibility of Ng5!!?) P.s This move alone is great but there are others to follow so have a good go at solving it. 
 
 
 PUZZLE 3-5
Did you find this? 
 .......QxBf4!! He he he he......a shocking tactic. 
 The game continued: 
 2. Rxf4 Re1+! 3. Qf1 (absolutely not Kh2?? when we see the power of the dark square bishop with Rh1#) .....h2+! 
 Forcing 4. kxh2 RxQ (tar) and now because of the mate threat white had to play 5. b4. The game continued with : g3 6. Rg4 Be5 7. Ka3 Kf6 8. Ka4 Kf5  
 Then my opponent resigned with a message: are you using a computer? 
 
 
 
  PUZZLE 3-6
TO DRAW OR NOT TO DRAW?
 This is an extremely complicated position and it looks a fairly straight forward position at first glance. 
 The truth here is that black is doing better, much better in fact! The white king is never going to find safety as his side of the board is full of air and the pawn center favors black as he will find it easier to push his than white will.  
 So if you decided that black had the better position you are not wrong and he has many threats to slowly improve his position like Qf8 etc etc etc.  
 So white thought ha ha...what I'll do here is take the rook. 
 1. KxRf5 so now it is obvious that white thinks he's about the draw the game..okay. 
........ Qxh3+ 
 2. Kg5 Okay, white thinks we just go back and forth with checks and the position is drawn..... 
...... Qg4+ 
 Now there are two lines that need to be looked at Kh5 and Kf5...let's take a look at Kh5 first 
 (3. Kh5 Kh7 threatening g6# and unfortunately this is impossible to meet) 
 So. 4. Kf5 Okay I can't go to the h file but I can come here and we repeat moves right? 
 mmmmm...well a Grandmaster once said, "if you are unsure about going inside your opponents position because you can only see a draw but fear that your opponent may have a win remember that one check inside a perpetual from a piece could simply be deadly! 
 .......Rf8+! And here it is...white isn't trying to draw at all...his Rd8 wasn't hoping for a perpetual but was simply a tactical device to reorganize his pieces for an eventually improvement in position. 
 5. Ke6 So white is in the depths of blacks position but still feels that he can simply move around the queen side without being mated, however... 
.....Qg6+!  
 The queen forces the king to take the pawn since if Kd7 or Ke7 will be answered by Rf7+ and white gets mated. 
 6. Kxd5 Rd8+ Nasty a skewer of the king and queen so black is winning the exchange, right?  
 7. Kc5 The best move but Kb6+! Forcing the king onto c4. 
 8. Kc4 RxQd2 9. RxRd2 and here it all ends in a skewer.....Qa6+ 
 10 Kd4 QxRf1 Black skewers white twice to win big material. 
 Still it's not over 11. Kxd4 and there is a winning position for black but a rook and a pawn and not many targets make it a technical tricky endgame, that was won. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  PUZZLE 3-7
 Well, Black has sacrificed a whole pawn to reach a domination on the King side. Round of applause if you spotted this one: 
 1..... Rxf3+! Another positional piece sacrifice. This time to destroy white's king side and then dominate it with threats.  
2. gxRf3 Acceptance is forced e5! Multi-purpose move, to close the Bishops diagonal; to open up an attack on the h3 square and hence destroy the king side and to secure the f4 square for the knights.  
 It is hard to suggest a good move f4 was played, in the spirit of the line, I would mention that 3. Kg2 and 3. Kh2 lead to mate after Nhf4 with a check or without and threatening to take the pawn. If white does play 3. Kh2 then Nhf4 wins after the only escaping plan from white 4. Rh1 but Qxh3 and Qg2# To follow, the same threat would be faster after 3. Kg2. 
 So 3. f4! Nice try but doesn't work...Ngxf4 Yes, if you seen this I'll pat you on the back if i could. The h5 Knight is destined to come to g3! 
4. f3 Qxh3 Destroying the king side and threatening mate! 
5. Rf2 Ng3! A waiting move that threatens mate on h1. 
6. Rh2 Attacking the Queen but....Nfe2+ 
7. RxNe2 NxRe2+ 8. Kf2 Nf4 now the other knight comes to f4. Black is material up with nagging threats to the white king, white is lost. 
 
 
  PUZZLE 3-8

Rxe3!! White is lost. 
 I won't go through all the complications but here is a few. 
 If he doesn't take the rook. 
 40. RxB Re1+ 41.Kg2 NxR The knight uncovers an attack on the g6 square for a decisive check. Notice also how the Knight defends the b6 square? If 42 RxN Qg6+ 43. Kf3 Qe4+ 44. Kg3 Rg1+ 45. Kh2 Qg2# 
 Fritz 8 gives 40. Qa5 and a huge + score for black But Qa5 prevents the immediate tactics by defending from the rook check. 
 But of course taking the rook is the move that leads to mate. 
 (40) PxR? But what else. Qg3 The purpose of the sacrifice is to gain this square. Everything leads to forced mate now.  
 If 41. Kh1 to try for a perpetual then Qxh3+ 42. Kg1 Qg3+ 43. Kh1 Qe1+ and now because....44 Kh2 is answered by Qf2+ followed by Ng4 and mate to soon follow 44 Kg2 Bh3! Another dazzler that white must accept if Kh2 the after Qf2+ white is getting mated. 45 KxB Qh1+ 46. Kg2 Ne4+  
 DIAGRAM BELOW: it is well known that a Queen and knight are tremendous attacking pieces; here they are stronger than that of a queen and two rooks. 47. Kf4 Qh4+ 48. Kf3 Qg4 49 Ke2 Qg2+ and white mates next move. 
 That would have made my day but he played: 
 (41) Kf1 Ne4 threatening mate on f2. (42) Rf2 Bxh3+ (43) Ke2 Qf2+ (44) Kd3 Bf1+ (45) Re2 QxRe2#
 
 
  PUZZLE 3-9
  Okay, I admit it, I lied about the move being positional the move is tactical and pretty. 
 1Qxg7+!! Brilliant bit of razzle dazzle, sacrificing a whole queen to bring black's king into the open, now watch the queen side powerless to the attack. 
..... Kxg7 
2. Rfg1+! Kh6 not Kh8 when Be5 is killing. 
3. Bf4+ Bringing the king further into white's jaws........ Kh5 
4. Nf6+ Kh4 5. Bg5+ Kh3 6. Rg3# Very nice, I suppose black could have tried Qg2 on his second move just to starve of mate. 
 In the game however I saced the Queen and played 2. Rhg1+ which leads to mate in ten. Still great stuff. 
 I would say the lesson here is don't leave you're king alone against five pieces. 
 
 
  PUZZLE 3-10
 1...... Qg4! Remembering that the rook is pinned, this forces 
 2. Rg1 Now the pieces are drifting away from my Queen side and being nailed down....h5! A pleasant find, as Kasparov has said, pawns are pieces too, this pawn just threatens to march down the board and remove the rook on g2 and then the queen moves to h3 threatening mate. 
 3. Qf7 Funny enough white is attempting to swap of my queen.... Bf6 putting a stopper to that plan. 
 4. Qxc7 h4 5. Qb7 Desperate....Rg8. 
 And now because of the h3 threat and then a queen move to threaten mate, white sees nothing better but to play the cheap: 
 6. Qxg7 hoping that I take with the king when he will play h6 but...Bxg7 forces resignation. 
 
 
 
  PUZZLE 3-11
Absolutely not. If white played the best move Rg1! Which is the best defense he would have been able to see the tactical consequences. 
 1 Rg1! Nxh2! 2. Rg3! attempting to patch up the king side and ask black serious questions if black had taken the knight then Bf1! is nasty business...Nxf3 
 3. Rxf3 Bg4 4. Kg2 Rf8 5.Rxf8 Kxf8 6.f3 and now....Qh3+ is winning. White can't move to f2 because the dark squared bishop comes to h4 and moving to g1 is terminal because of Bxf3 with obvious dangers of a mate threat and when then king moves a check by the dark square bishop. White is dead.