Ding – Saric round 8 Masters

To be fair, Black probably saw this coming, but felt forced to play actively a few moves previously because the position was already desperate.

Ivanchuk – So round 8 Masters

Chucky resigned here. How could the American end the game after the natural looking 27.Be3?

Saric – Vachier-Lagrave round 7 Masters

MVL has sacrificed a piece, and best play would have resulted in a draw by perpetual check. However after Rd2?? a winning combination was executed.

Timman – Dale round 5 Challengers

Dutch legend Jan Timman had a disastrous 2015 tournament, but was victorious in this encounter.

Haast – Shankland round 13 Challengers

Anne Haast, who scored her final WGM norm at Tata Steel 2015, falls victim to a forcing sequence by US standout Sam Shankland.

Potkin – Gunina round 3 Challengers

The Black position is creaking. How did White decide the game?

So – Saric round 11 Masters

There are a lot of pieces hanging. How did White take advantage of the moment?

Wei – Sevian round 6 Challengers

In this battle between rising stars, White’s more centralized pieces and a lightly defended king spell trouble for Black.

Carlsen – Radjabov round 9 Masters

Classic Carlsen: a slow positional buildup followed by decisive action against the king.

Navara – Michiels round 8 Challengers

Black menaces both …gxf4 and …Be4. How did White prove his own threats to be more relevant?

Wei – Haast round 12 Challengers

This is arguably the most beautiful combination of the tournament.

Ivanchuk – Jobava round 1 Masters

The game continued 28.Qxc3. In the post-game interview, Ivanchuk explained the tactical consequences of 23.Bxf6. Is 23.Bxf6 an improvement over the game?

Solution to Exercise 1

Solution to Exercise 2

Solution to Exercise 3

Solution to Exercise 4

Solution to Exercise 5

Solution to Exercise 6

Solution to Exercise 7

Solution to Exercise 8

Solution to Exercise 9

Solution to Exercise 10

Solution to Exercise 11

Solution to Exercise 12