Daily Chess Puzzle: best of 2017

To start 2018, I will on most days post positions, moves, or games that have given me pleasure during 2017. I will intersperse these with two further items: (i) problems from the 1972 book “Chess Combination as a Fine Art”, a book based on articles published in the 1950s-1960s by Kurt Richter; (ii) a pot pourri of puzzles taken from my years of newspaper clippings, printouts and other pieces of paper which I have collated over the years. I have piles of the latter, and made a new year’s resolution to go through them, clearing out those which no longer interest me. I hope to find some gems in these old papers.

I have decided to adopt the style of only saying which side is to play: and not giving an idea if the move wins or otherwise. Instead, the problems are posed with the instruction to decide what you would play, as in a game.

White to play: what would you choose?

Bu v Carlsen, FIDE World Cup, Tiblisi 10/9/17

Solution

The game which knocked Magnus out of the World Cup. Bu only needed a draw in this game and found the wonderful move 1 Nd7!! which forced a further simplification.

A good example of Purdy’s maxim “examine all biffs”. I doubt I would even have considered  the move, even though in my studying I know the maxim.

FEN

r2q1rk1/pb3ppp/3bpn2/2p1N3/Q1P5/8/PP2BPPP/R1BR2K1 w – – 0 17