PogChamps 3 Chess Puzzles: Day 1
PogChamps 3 presented by Grip6 is here, and it's already breaking viewership records. I mean, who doesn't enjoy watching their favorite streamers playing chess that we mortals can actually understand?
Besides being a lot of fun, PogChamps can be very educational for new chess players. There is a lot to be learned from watching others make the same types of mistakes that you make in your own games.
On top of that, you have top players like GM Hikaru Nakamura and IM Danny Rensch going over the games. Honestly, one can't ask for much more than that.
Precisely for its educational value, I decided to create this series of articles with puzzles taken from PogChamps 3 games. Can you find the hidden tactics that the PogChamps 3 players missed?
Sardoche vs. Neeko
Sardoche won his match against Neeko on the first day of the tournament. Neeko gave her opponent a hard time and might've even won the first game if she hadn't missed some tactical opportunities.
Game 1, Puzzle 1 - Neeko to play
Game 1, Puzzle 2 - Neeko to play
Game 2, Puzzle 1 - Sardoche to play
Sardoche actually found this beautiful idea during the game.
Daniel Negreanu vs. Pokimane
Daniel Negreanu beat Pokimane in a surprisingly close match, considering their rating discrepancy. Can you find the winning moves both players missed during their match?
Game 1, Puzzle 1 - Pokimane to play
Game 2, Puzzle 1 - Pokimane to play
Game 2, Puzzle 2 - Negreanu to play
Benjyfishy vs. Myth
Benjyfishy emerged victorious in his match against his Fortnite opponent, Myth.
Game 1, Puzzle 1 - Myth to play
Game 1, Puzzle 2 - Myth to play
Game 1, Puzzle 3 - Benjyfishy to play
Benjy found this tactic, but he failed to make the most of it during the game.
Game 1, Puzzle 4 - Benjyfishy to play
Game 2, Puzzle 1 - Myth to play
Probably the toughest tactic to find here:
Game 2, Puzzle 2 - Benjyfishy to play
Benjy found this nice tactic to finish the game.
If you want to check what happened during the day-one matches and games, you can find the Chess.com report here. Make sure to tune into Chess.com's daily coverage of PogChamps 3 presented by Grip6 on Chess.com/tv.
Were you able to find the winning moves in each of these positions? How difficult was it for you to find them? Leave a comment below to let us know!
During PogChamps 3, Chess.com will match up to $100,000 in donations to the participants’ preferred non-profit organizations. Please read this article to see how PogChamps is supporting charities, and how you can help, too!
Other PogChamps 3 puzzles:
- PogChamps 3 Chess Puzzles: Day 2
- PogChamps 3 Chess Puzzles: Day 3
- PogChamps 3 Chess Puzzles: Day 4
- PogChamps 3 Chess Puzzles: Day 5
- PogChamps 3 Chess Puzzles: Day 6
- PogChamps 3 Chess Puzzles: Day 7
- PogChamps 3 Chess Puzzles: Day 8
- PogChamps 3 Chess Puzzles: Day 9
- PogChamps 3 Chess Puzzles: Day 10
- PogChamps 3 Chess Puzzles: Days 11 And 12
Pedro Pinhata is the Writing Lead for Chess.com. He writes articles, feature announcements, event pages, and more. He has been playing chess since 2019 and lives in Brazil.
