Tactics in Tournaments: Puzzles from the NC Open

Tactics in Tournaments:  Puzzles from the NC Open  by, Mrs Jessica E Prescott (aka BoundingOwl)

 

Tally ho dears!  So I just got back (mentally) from a big tournament here in Charlotte, North Carolina.  I hadn't played a tournament in over a year so I was pretty nervous.  There were some great players there:  GM Alexander Shabalov, IM Irina Krush, to name two of my favourites.

None of my games were easy but I got 4 out of 5 and tied for 3rd in my section!  I won a little money, too!  In ALL of my games a tactic was the reason for winning or losing.  I thought I would share them with you to see if you could get 3rd (or better, 1st) place too!  They are tricky and...poisonous to opponents!

Round 1.  Themes in order:  forcing move (think check), pin, fork.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Round 2 (variation).  Themes in order:  sacrifice destruction, forcing move, discovered pin, fork.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Round 3 (variation).  Themes:  open king, forcing move, mate in two.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Round 4.  Actually, there are no good tactics.  So Round 3 more tactics! Sadly only fantasy chess as I was analyzing, but still an excellent pattern to recognize! Themes:  decoy sacrifice, mate in two. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Round 5.  Theme: discovered attack.

 

 

 

 

 

Also Round 5, the game winner.  Themes in order: holes around the king, exploiting (taking advantage of) a pin, fork.

 

 

 

 

 

After playing all weekend, I realized I definitely need to study more tactics.  Oh, and I also learned I should ALWAYS CASTLE.  I tell my students to castle all the time, I should follow my own advice!

These tricks and tactics are super important to the game!  The more you practice, the more you will see them in your own games.  Keep watching chess videos so you can improve your game.