ArcaMax

There’s a mate that’s unstoppable.

Mate in 5. You can do it! Remember rule number one.

Chess teachers always recommend tripling on the file to attack, but not what White has done on the h-file; still…

When I realized I had forgotten one of Spassky’s most famous games, I had to include it. It was a dramatic occasion, and he annihilated a top grandmaster before move 20, and Boris had the black pieces no less!

My last Spassky memorial puzzle.

Spassky topples Petrosian in 1967.

A mating attack by a teenage Spassky.

Our second installment of our memoriam for Boris Spassky.

This week and next we will pay homage to former World Champion, Boris Spassky, who passed away some days ago. He is inextricably paired with Bobby Fischer for their two historic matches. Contrary to the movie Pawn Sacrifice, the two were actually friends as well.

This composition is slightly tricky because of the constant threat of mate on c1. Next week, we will start our tribute to the recently deceased former world champion, Boris Spassky.

On of the common themes in chess appears here.

A very instructive king and pawn ending.

Not all mating attacks begin with a check, but the checks do follow.

One of my favorite Richard Reti studies. White can’t promote right away because of the bishop check, so what does White do as the Black pawn intends to run.

For a Mate in Two Monday, we took this from the exceptionally instructive and entertaining classic, The Mammoth Book of Chess by Graham Burgess. Should be on everyone’s bookshelf.

An unknown game with a mating attack.

A famous Fischer position from 1960 against Letelier

An easy mate in four for your day off today.

A good many chess puzzle sites give mating challenges that are of a few moves. I do that, too. However, I also like to throw in one like today’s puzzle. This is what I call a “step back” puzzle. I take what could be a challenging mating attack and then go back some moves before that to challenge you to find how the first steps took place. ...