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Great Tactics From A Bad Game

Great Tactics From A Bad Game

CoachJKane
| 9

Hey Chess Friends,

I recently played a bullet game that wasn't terribly high quality but featured some wild tactics near the end. See if you can work your way through some of the key tactical moments.

I probably should have just won a quick win after catching an opponent in an opening trap. Can you spot how White should win material here?

In a bullet game, the slightly exposed white king keeps the game just a bit complicated, so my opponent played on and after several mistakes on both sides we ended up in this wild position. White is up material, but the pin on e2 looks dangerous. The next move earned a !! from the Chess.com analysis.

If Black had captured on h6 I would have had to find another tricky move. What's the only win for White?
Back to the real game. Black met h6 with a capture on g3 and entered a long, forcing sequence.

At the end of the last puzzle, after Black's forced recapture, h8=Q+ would have been the simplest win. My choice, Kf3+ got the job done after Black's Kh8.

One nice moment could have occurred if the black king had gone to f7 instead of h8. There are several wins, but see if you can find the engine-approved, best move for White.

In case you're interested, here's the full game. Remember, it's just a bullet game so the overall quality isn't great. 
Rashid Nezhmetdinov once said that "He who analyses blitz is stupid." On the other hand, we don't know what he thought about analyzing bullet.

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