Survival Tools to Sherlock a Position II

We welcome you to the second part of Survival Tools to Sherlock a Position. If you haven’t studied the part 1, please read that first one here. Try to solve the positions before moving forward:

Position 1:

White to play and win!

Position 2:

White has an overwhelming position, but can you find the quickest way to win?

Position 3:

Mikhail Tal finished the game in style! Can you imitate him?

Position 4:

Tal’s astute idea attracted me, so the position deserved a mention. White to play!

Position 5:

This position is from a variation of a game played between Leko and Gelfand. White to play

Position 6:

It seems as if black has neutralized the pressure. What did he overlook? White to play!

Position 7:

Black has an opportunity to win material. Can you make use of it? Black to play

Position 8:

Black played ..Bc4 attacking the white rook. Should the white rook move or does he have something better? White to play

Position 9:

White forced black’s resignation after playing a tactical shot. Spot the move!

Position 10:

White played Rd1 casually, missing black’s tactical idea. Black to play!

In the last article, I shared two tools to aid your calculation.

#1. Analyze all the checks
#2. Analyze all the sacrifices

Note that the moves may involve more than two tools. A check could also be a sacrifice or a capture.

Moving on, what is stronger than execution?
I know it is pretty cliché, but I have a unique association with the quote – “Threat is stronger than execution”. I used this in my book ‘The Lively Library & An Unlikely Romance’
Before you start wondering about what this has got to do with the article, let me share the third tool

#3. Consider the mating threats

When the king is threatened, the side needs to respond by defending against the threat or by a counter-attacking measure. Sometimes, mating threats are used to provoke weaknesses.

Position 1: Solution

There are no good checks and sacrifices. After filtering the moves obtained from the first two tools, you are supposed to consider the mating threat. Here, white’s 1.Qf4 is strong enough to force resignation.

1...h6 is met by 2.Qg4#

Position 2: Solution

Position 3: Solution

The Magical Mikhail Tal came up with a sweet clearance. He threatened checkmate with 1.Bh8!

Now, the mate is threatened on h7. Black is forced to capture the rook 1...Kxf7 and this is followed by checkmate – 2.Qxf6 + Kg8 3.Qg7#

Position 4: Solution

White played 20.Qh5!

Threatening mate on h8 and also attacking the Queen. Black resigned here. 20...Qxh5 is met by 21.Ne7+ Kh7 22.Rxh5#

Let's get going with Tool #4

#4: Attack your opponent’s Queen or any other piece

Can you spot a way to attack black’s Queen?

Position 5: Solution

Ra3! And the Queen has nowhere to go. Consider attacking your opponent's pieces; it could be pawns too.

Position 6: Solution

Position 7: Solution

1...Nh5! Attacking the bishop on b2 and the pawn on f4.

We are approaching the end of the series. Presenting the last tool:

#5 Capture

Always make sure that you consider all the possible captures, even the most unlikely ones. It might take a few seconds for your brain to scan the position and your experience and ability to recognize patterns might help you in filtering the candidates.

Position 8: Solution

1.Qxg6 !

The Queen cannot be captured as it leads to 2.Bxe4 #

Position 9: Solution

1.Rxd5! Rxd5 2.Qxe4 Queen and the bishop skewer across the h1-a8 diagonal. Black loses the rook and the game.

Position 10: Solution

1...cxb2 and 1...Rxd1 are two possible captures. This position is a combination of Tool #5 and Tool #4. 1...cxb2 is met by 2.Rxd8+ followed by Bc2. 1...Rxd1 is the winning move. 2.Bxd1 is met by a thriller – 2...Be2! Attacking two pieces at once, deflecting the bishop from the c2 square. 3.Bxe2 is met by c2 and the knight falls if the bishop moves away.

Summary :

#1. Analyse all the checks
#2. Analyse all the sacrifices
#3. Mating Threats
#4.Attack on Queen or other piece
#5. Capture

1

Tool #1

Analyse all the checks
2

Tool #2

Analyse all the sacrifices
3

Tool #3

Mating Threats
4

Tool #4

Attack on Queen or other piece
5

Tool #5

Capture

I will remain grateful to IM Rajaravisekhar for sharing these tools with me in 2006. I have personally benefited a lot.

Tips:

#1. The tools are tailored according to a priority. Consider checks before anything else and so on..
#2. Keep an eye on enemy’s unsupported pieces
#3. Threats are stronger than execution

I hope the sherlocking tools will benefit you in your games. May you win many tactical battles
My next article will have test positions for you to apply the 5 rules. Till then, take charge!