Welcome to “Tricky Tactics to Tickle Your Brain”! If you’re a chess aficionado, you’ll know that tactics are the exciting, brain-crunching moves that can make or break your game. At Forward Chess, we’ve delved into our vast collection of chess books to bring you a selection of puzzles that promise to both challenge and entertain.
- The Importance of Tactics in Chess
- Beginner’s Delight – Easy Puzzles
- Intermediate Intrigue – Medium Difficulty Puzzles
- Master’s Challenge – Difficult Puzzles
- Benefits of Regular Tactical Training
- Solutions
The Importance of Tactics in Chess
Every chess player, whether a beginner or a grandmaster, knows that tactics are the heartbeat of the game. They’re those moments when you spot an opportunity, lay a trap, or unveil a hidden attack. Understanding and mastering tactics not only sharpens your skills but also boosts your confidence on the board.
Beginner’s Delight
Easy Puzzles: For those just starting out or needing a warm-up, we begin with some delightful, yet simpler tactical challenges.
Puzzle 1
In this first puzzle, there are two major things to take note of; firstly, the position of the black king who is stuck in the corner, with only one escape square (g8) because of our menacing dark-squared bishop. Secondly, there is a lot of tension on the board – the queens are facing off and the black queen is pinned and cannot move off of the a1-h8 diagonal. How can White take advantage of this?
Puzzle 2
Black must calculate if the knight on e2 can be captured. Remember, it takes two to tango in chess – you always need to consider your opponent’s (best) responses. In this case, what will happen if White responds by capturing our “freebie” bishop?
Puzzle 3
Let’s understand this position a little better: White is a pawn down but has much better piece activity. In fact, Black’s pieces are all pretty much passive except for the lone queen doing her own thing on the second rank. Sometimes having an opponent’s queen impose on our position like this can be a little scary, but let’s flip the script: Is the queen a dangerous threat or is she actually surrounded by our pieces and in danger of being trapped?
White to play and find the move that immobilizes the black queen by taking all of her escape squares away.
Puzzle 4
Removing the Defender is a tactical theme that comes up in a lot of chess puzzles. Step 1: Look at what you are attacking and what you want to achieve. Step 2: Look at how your opponent is defending this piece or threat. Step 3: Remove the defender! (using a little force if necessary)
Intermediate Intrigue
Medium Difficulty Puzzles: Stepping up the ladder, we have puzzles that require a tad more foresight and deeper calculations.
Puzzle 5
There is chaos on the board! Take note of the hanging black queen and the white forces that are aimed at the black king.
Puzzle 6
A key idea to remember when solving tactics is that sometimes there is a necessity to open up lines (ranks, files, diagonals) and more often than not, this is done explosively!
Puzzle 7
This might be a tiny explosion…
Puzzle 8
The power of a queen and bishop pair should not be underestimated!
Puzzle 9
It looks like White is a million pawns up, but Black’s e3-pawn is a force to be reckoned with. White only has one way to save this position and maintain equality.
Master’s Challenge
Difficult Puzzles: For the audacious among you, we present puzzles of a higher pedigree. These are the ones that have stumped many a seasoned player and require intricate combinations and deep insights. Are you up for the challenge?
Puzzle 10
The first move might seem obvious to tactical aficionados, but it is what comes next (and what Alekhine missed) that is the real beauty.
Puzzle 11
What does your instinct tell you?
Puzzle 12
At first glance, this might seem like there should be an easy solution here – the black king is alienated on the kingside after all. However, things are not as simple as Black will always look for counterattacking chances. White has one insane idea for the advantage – warning: this requires some mega-brain thinking.
Puzzle 13
This final one is quite a tricky one. Black is ready to go for the white king, but White is ready to retaliate and has the advantage of open lines. What can you do about that?
Benefits of Regular Tactical Training
Consistent tactical training doesn’t just make you better at solving puzzles—it shapes your intuition, helps you spot patterns quickly in real games, and can even improve your concentration and patience. As the saying goes, “Tactics is knowing what to do when there is something to do; strategy is knowing what to do when there is nothing to do.”
We hope these puzzles have tickled your brain and stirred your passion for the beautiful game of chess. Remember, as with anything, practice makes perfect. Dive into the vast collection of books at Forward Chess to continue sharpening your tactical mind. Happy puzzling!
Solutions
Puzzle 1
The Power of Tactics Vol 1 (Exercise 1.1)
Puzzle 2
The Power of Tactics Vol 1 (Exercise 134)
Puzzle 3
The Power of Tactics Vol 1 (Exercise 2.6)
Puzzle 4
1001 Chess Exercises for Club Players (1)
Puzzle 5
1001 Chess Exercises for Club Players (850)
Puzzle 6
The Woodpecker Method (451)
Puzzle 7
The Woodpecker Method (230)
Puzzle 8
Puzzle 9
Puzzle 10
The Woodpecker Method (1004)
Puzzle 11
The Woodpecker Method (985)
Puzzle 12
Chess Tests (Tasty Tactics 1)
Puzzle 13
Chess Tests (Attack 1)
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Arun J