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Ilja Sirosh @imiljasirosh.bsky.social · 4h

♟️DAILY CHESS PUZZLE: SOLUTION♟️

White can trap Black's queen with 1.b4! Qxb4 2.a5!(D), threatening Rfb1 next.

Black can escape only with heavy material losses:
- 2...Nb3 3.Qb2! followed by Ra3, winning the b3-knight
- 2...Bh6 3.Bxh6 Qd4+ 4.Kh1 Qxd3 5.Qxd3 Nxd3 6.Bxf8, with an extra exchange

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Ilja Sirosh @imiljasirosh.bsky.social · 18h

♟️DAILY CHESS PUZZLE♟️

Test your tactical skills.

The following position is from Korchnoi-Balashov (1971).

❓What would you play with White here?🤔

Drop your answers in the comments!👇

#chess #chesspunks #Day288

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Ilja Sirosh @imiljasirosh.bsky.social · 1d

♟️DAILY CHESS PUZZLE: SOLUTION♟️

White wins material with 1.Bh3!(D), aiming to exploit the pin on the d-file with Nxe6 next.

Surprisingly, Black has no adequate defense.

For example:
1...Bc6 2.Nxe6! fxe6 3.Bxe6 Kh8 4.Qg4!, hitting both d7 and g7.

Ilja Sirosh @imiljasirosh.bsky.social · 1d

Nice try! But Black can defend after that..

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Ilja Sirosh @imiljasirosh.bsky.social · 1d

♟️DAILY CHESS PUZZLE♟️

Test your understanding of Catalan pawn structures.

The following position is from analysis of Korchnoi-Reshevsky (1968).

❓What would you play with White here?🤔

Drop your answers in the comments!👇

#chess #chesspunks #Day287

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Ilja Sirosh @imiljasirosh.bsky.social · 2d

♟️DAILY CHESS PUZZLE: SOULTION♟️

Black closes the mating net with 1...g5!(D):
- 1.Kxg5 h6+ 2.Kh4 Bg2 followed by Rxh3
- 1.fxg5 Bg2! 2.g6 Rxh3+ 3.Kg5 h6+ 4.Kf4 Bc6!, threatening Rf3#

In both lines, White’s king gets mated.

In the game, Ivic played 1...Bg2?, allowing 2.g5! and White escaped.

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Ilja Sirosh @imiljasirosh.bsky.social · 2d

♟️DAILY CHESS PUZZLE♟️

Test your attacking skills.

The following position is from Boyer-Ivic (2025).

❓What would you play with Black here?🤔

Drop your answers in the comments!👇

#chess #chesspunks #Day286

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Ilja Sirosh @imiljasirosh.bsky.social · 3d

♟️DAILY CHESS PUZZLE: SOLUTION♟️

White wins by invading along the h-file — but which rook to use?

The correct is 1.Rh5! and after 1...Nf6 2.Rh8+ Ng7 3.Qh7!(D) Ke7 4.Re4+ Rxg8, White wins.

Instead, Fedoseev tried 1.Rh4? Nf6! 2.Rh8+ Ng8, but 3.Qh7 Qf4+ 4.Kh3 Qh6! forces a queen trade and Black wins.

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Ilja Sirosh @imiljasirosh.bsky.social · 3d

♟️DAILY CHESS PUZZLE: SOLUTION♟️

White wins by magically regrouping the rook behind the passed pawn:
1.Rf7+! Ke5 2.Re7+!(D), followed by Re4!

For example: 2...Kf5 3.Re4! Rb1 (3...Rxe4 4.fxe4+ with a winning pawn endgame) 4.Ra4, followed by the a-pawn push with a winning position for White.

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Ilja Sirosh @imiljasirosh.bsky.social · 3d

♟️DAILY CHESS PUZZLE♟️

Test your attacking skills.

The following position is from Fedoseev-Bjerre (2025).

❓What would you play with White here?🤔

Drop your answers in the comments!👇

#chess #chesspunks #Day285

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Ilja Sirosh @imiljasirosh.bsky.social · 4d

♟️DAILY CHESS PUZZLE♟️

Test your rook endgame skills.

The following position is from Garifullina-Kavalevskaya (2025).

❓What would you play with White here?🤔

Drop your answers in the comments!👇

#chess #chesspunks #Day284

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Ilja Sirosh @imiljasirosh.bsky.social · 5d

♟️DAILY CHESS PUZZLE: SOLUTION♟️

Black wins with a spectacular 1...Ne4!(D) forking the queen and the bishop.

After 2.fxe4 Bxe4+ 3.Kg1 Rg6+ 4.Ng3 Bd6, followed by ...h5-h4 or ...Qh3, Black's attack is decisive.

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Ilja Sirosh @imiljasirosh.bsky.social · 5d

♟️DAILY CHESS PUZZLE♟️

Test your tactical skills.

The following position is from Akhvlediani-Samunenkov (2025).

❓What would you play with Black here?🤔

Drop your answers in the comments!👇

#chess #chesspunks #Day283

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Ilja Sirosh @imiljasirosh.bsky.social · 6d

♟️DAILY CHESS PUZZLE: SOLUTION♟️

White wins by forcing the pawn endgame:
1.e7+! Ke8 2.Rd8+!(D)

After 2...Rxd8 3.exd8=Q+ Kxd8 4.Kd4, White arrives just in time to capture Black’s pawns and secure the win.

Ilja Sirosh @imiljasirosh.bsky.social · 6d

♟️DAILY CHESS PUZZLE♟️

Test your endgame skills.

The following position is from Nesterov-Vetokhin (2025).

❓What would you play with White here?🤔

Drop your answers in the comments!👇

#chess #chesspunks #Day282

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Ilja Sirosh @imiljasirosh.bsky.social · 7d

♟️DAILY CHESS PUZZLE: SOLUTION♟️

Black wins a pawn with a typical French combination:
1...Nxd4! 2.Nxd4 Nxe5!(D)

The key point is that 3.fxe5 is met by 3...Qh4+ winning the d4-knight.

P.S. 1...Ndxe5 also works with the same ideas.

Ilja Sirosh @imiljasirosh.bsky.social · 7d

♟️DAILY CHESS PUZZLE♟️

Test your tactical skills in French defense.

The following position is from Chigaev-Peng (2025).

❓What would you play with Black here?🤔

Drop your answers in the comments!👇

#chess #chesspunks #Day281

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Ilja Sirosh @imiljasirosh.bsky.social · 8d

♟️DAILY CHESS PUZZLE: SOLUTION♟️

Black could have won on the spot:
1...Nf3+ 2.Kh3 (or 2.Kg2 Nd2 and ...Nxf1) Qe2!(D) with a double threat of ...Qxf1 and ...Ng1+.

In the game, Dubov missed his chance and went on to draw the game.

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Ilja Sirosh @imiljasirosh.bsky.social · 8d

♟️DAILY CHESS PUZZLE♟️

Test your tactical skills.

The following position is from Ponkratov-Dubov (2025).

❓What would you play with Black here?🤔

Drop your answers in the comments!👇

#chess #chesspunks #Day280

Ilja Sirosh @imiljasirosh.bsky.social · 9d

♟️DAILY CHESS PUZZLE: SOLUTION♟️

In the game, Black found a strong plan: 1...f6! 2.Nd2 g5! — freeing squares for the e7-knight and seizing kingside space.

Next, Black plans Ng6 followed by a rook swing via the 7th rank and an eventual ...f5 with good kingside play.

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Ilja Sirosh @imiljasirosh.bsky.social · 9d

♟️DAILY CHESS PUZZLE♟️

Test your understanding of Benoni pawn structures.

The following position is from Zemlyanskii-Uskov (2025).

❓What would you play with Black here?🤔

Drop your answers in the comments!👇

#chess #chesspunks #Day279

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Ilja Sirosh @imiljasirosh.bsky.social · 10d

♟️DAILY CHESS PUZZLE: SOLUTION♟️

The only move to gain an edge is 1.Rc6!(D) — keeping control of the open file and preparing to double on the c-file.

Tactical point:
1...Rxc6 2.dxc6 Qxc6 fails to 3.Qd8+ Bf8 4.Bh6! with Qxf8# to follow.

From here, Karpov went on to win a brilliant game.

Ilja Sirosh @imiljasirosh.bsky.social · 10d

♟️DAILY CHESS PUZZLE♟️

The following position is from Karpov-Kasparov (1990).

❓What would you play with White here?🤔

Drop your answers in the comments!👇

#chess #chesspunks #Day278

Ilja Sirosh @imiljasirosh.bsky.social · 11d

♟DAILY CHESS PUZZLE: SOLUTION♟

A thematic way to counter Black’s queenside play:
1.Rab1! b5 2.b4!(D) — stopping expansion and highlighting Black’s own weaknesses.

For example:
- 2...cxb4 3.Rxb4 with Nd4–c6
- 2...c4 3.Nd4 aiming for Nc6 or f4–e5
In both cases, White keeps a clear advantage.

Ilja Sirosh @imiljasirosh.bsky.social · 11d

♟️DAILY CHESS PUZZLE♟️

Test your understanding of Benoni pawn structures.

The following position is from analysis of Korchnoi-Tal (1962).

❓What would you play with White here?🤔

Drop your answers in the comments!👇

#chess #chesspunks #Day277

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