Blogs
Four Straight Sacrifices and a Wild Ending

Four Straight Sacrifices and a Wild Ending

CoachJKane
| 1

Today I played a wild blitz game against a slightly higher rated opponent. In an even ending he sacrificed a piece to gain some powerful passed pawns, which led to the position below.

I had White and didn't want to passively try to block the queenside pawns. Instead, I managed to make sacrifices on four consecutive moves and still not change the evaluation of equality! What would you play for White?

The game is still even, but now Black must find a difficult defense to stay in the game. He started well, but couldn't find his way through the complications in time pressure. Best defense allows White to promote to a second queen, but Black can make a perpetual check. I did make one mistake as my clock ran down and Black could have escaped, but didn't quite find it. Finally, I was able to deliver mate with one second on my clock. 

Here's my favorite position from the time scramble. It's Black's move, but White can force mate in four.

Finally, here's the full ending, with time pressure mistakes from both sides. Black's successful defensive options are also included in the notes.

I'll leave you with one more promotion tactic. This one is based off a training game with a student. White to play and draw. Leave your answer in the comments if you're interested.

CoachJKane
NM Jeremy Kane

Jeremy Kane is a National Master and three-time Wisconsin state champion. He is the Director of Training Content for Chess.com. He has been teaching chess in person and online for over 15 years and has designed hundreds of lessons, available on chess.com/lessons. He is the author of Starting Out The Trompowsky on Chessable and The Next To Last Mistake, a book on defensive ideas in chess.

He is the developer of the Caro-Kane Variation of the Caro-Kann Defense.

email: [email protected]

Twitter/X: @chessmensch