So I was just playing a game of chess and then this happened! 32

White to move and mate in two.

White to move and mate in two.

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#Chess Position Worth Sharing 111

I especially enjoy chess puzzles that are more complicated than they seem at first. Here is a simple looking mate in 2. Not so simple.

White to move and mate in 2.

So I was just playing a game of #chess and then this happened! 31

Not to hard to spot but very satisfying to play. Black to move and and crush white!

Black to move and and crush white!

So I was just playing a game of #chess and then this happened! 30

Black to move and win!

Black to move and win!

#Chess Position Worth Sharing 110

A remarkable position occurred after white played 47. Qxg3 in the game Samuel Sevian vs. Sergey Karjakin, FIDE World Cup 2019. Karjakin has only three legal responses as black and each would directly result in a different outcome (a win, a loss or a draw.)

Black to move and win, lose or draw! (Samuel Sevian – Sergey Karjakin, World Cup, Khanty-Mansiysk RUS, 2019.09.10.)

Shelby Lyman (1936-2019)

On Sunday August 11th, famous chess educator Shelby Lyman passed away. You didn’t have to know Shelby to be impressed by his impact on American chess. Through his students, newspaper columns and television appearances, Shelby Lyman has left us with a deep and enduring legacy.

Shelby Lyman on television in 1972.

Older chess enthusiasts will remember Shelby as the chess teacher who captivated a surprisingly large audience with his televised analysis of the 1972 Fischer-Spassky World Championship. Using the initiative he gained from this newfound fame, Shelby Lyman focused his energy toward authoring a syndicated chess column that was read in newspapers across the nation until his death. “This will be the last set of chess quizzes,” wrote Michele Merrell last week in an email addressed to all the publications that still printed her husband’s column. “It was his great pleasure to be part of your papers for all these years.”

As a chess teacher, I feel a special duty to share the legacy and history of those who came before me. Below are some special homework assignments I created for this purpose from Shelby Lyman’s long running newspaper column. Enjoy and share…

Shelby Lyman homework 1

Shelby Lyman homework 2

So I was just playing a game of #chess and then this happened! 29

Not too difficult but a very realistic test for game winning combinations. Black to move and mate in 5.

Black to move and mate in 5.

So I was just playing a game of #chess and then this happened! 28

Black to move and mate in 5.

Black to move and mate in 5.

So I was just playing a game of #chess and then this happened! 27

Probably my favorite finishing mate of the year! My opponent has just captured my rook on f1 with his bishop. White to move and mate in 2. (Not too hard to spot but very satisfying play!)

White to move and mate in two.

So I was just playing a game of #chess and then this happened! 26

White to move and mate in 6.

White to move and mate in 6.