PogChamps 3 Chess Puzzles: Day 2
The second day of PogChamps 3 presented by GRIP6 was jam-packed with excitement and wild games. All three matches were full of surprises and unbelievable situations—trust me, you have to see it to believe it.
After watching yesterday's broadcast, one thing becomes crystal clear: a single missed tactic can change the entire course of the game.
So, if you don't want to miss golden opportunities like yesterday's players, you better work on your puzzles!
xQc vs. Rubius
The first rollercoaster ride of the evening, the match between xQc and Rubius, came very close to going to tiebreaks. Rubius was close to winning twice (even missing a mate in one), but xQc came back to life and took the win. Maybe xQc's calculation skills were just too good.
Game 1, Puzzle 1 - xQc to play
Game 1, Puzzle 2 - xQc to play
xQc found and pre-moved this winning tactic during the game.
Game 2, Puzzle 1 - Rubius to play
Game 2, Puzzle 2 - Rubius to play
Rubius still had a winning position after missing the tactic above. Admittedly, this one was tough to find.
Logic vs. Tubbo
The second match saw Logic playing on one side, while pure emotion was on the other. Miscalculated tactics, missed checkmates, and unpunished hanging pieces were all packed into this match. Logic eventually emerged victorious after an agonizing endgame in the second game.
Game 1, Puzzle 1 - Logic to play
This is a very common pattern in the opening. Make sure you're always on the lookout for this one!
Game 1, Puzzle 2 - Logic to play
In this position, Logic played a very unfortunate mouse slip.
Game 1, Puzzle 3 - Logic to play
Game 2, Puzzle 1 - Logic to play
Game 2, Puzzle 2 - Logic to play
Here's an instructive moment. If you're ever in a situation where you only need a draw to win the match, it's a good idea to look for ways to force that result.
Game 2, Puzzle 3 - Tubbo to play
Please make sure you know basic checkmates. I beg you. Hint, it's not like this:
Rainn Wilson vs. Michelle Khare
Rainn Wilson seemed like a chess God, but Michelle Khare gave him a tough battle. Maybe Rainn lost a lot of fluids after taking a pee break in between games and was feeling light-headed (something Guayakí could've easily solved). Still, he was able to win the match in the tiebreaks.
Game 1, Puzzle 1 - Rainn to play
Rainn missed something here. Can you spot it?
Game 2, Puzzle 1 - Michelle to play
Game 2 is when everything went South for Rainn. Maybe that wouldn't have happened if he had picked the right coach:
Game 3, Puzzle 1 - Rainn to play
If you want to check out what happened during the second day of PogChamps 3, you can check out the Chess.com report here. For more information on PogChamps, read this article.
Finally, make sure to tune into Chess.com's daily coverage of PogChamps 3 presented by Grip6 on Chess.com/tv.
Could you find the right 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:
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.
