Magnus Carlsen is all smiles as he leads the tournament. Photo: Chess.com / Maria Emelianova
Magnus Carlsen is currently in clear 1st at the Isle of Man Open with 5.5 out of 6. Meanwhile, four Americans are tied for 3rd place with a large group, trailing by a point with 3 rounds to go.
One of those players is four-time U.S. Women's Champion Anna Zatonskih, who is having a spectacular tournament so far with a 2600+ performance rating and a victory over GM Boris Gelfand.
Photo: Chess.com / Maria Emelianova
Can you find the tactic Zatonskih used to defeat the former World Championship Challenger?
Puzzle #1
Boris Gelfand vs. Anna Zatonskih
Black to move.
[pgn][Event "Isle of Man Open"] [Site "Douglas ENG"] [Date "2017.09.28"] [Round "6.19"] [White "Boris Gelfand"] [Black "Anna Zatonskih"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D35"] [WhiteElo "2737"] [BlackElo "2424"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "3r4/6kp/1p3q2/pN1r1pn1/2QP4/P5P1/1P3R1P/3R3K b - - 0 35"] [PlyCount "5"] [EventDate "2017.09.23"]35... Rc5 $1 {By clearing the h1-a8 diagonal with tempo, Zatonskih prepares a double attack on the white king and knight} 36. Qe2 Qc6+ 37. Rg2 Rxb5 0-1[/pgn]
Hikaru Nakamura vs. Aleksandr Lenderman. They ultimately drew. Photo: Chess.com / Maria Emelianova
Both Hikaru Nakamura and Aleksandr Lenderman are also tied for 3rd with 4.5 points.
Puzzle #2
Neelotpal Das vs. Hikaru Nakamura
Nakamura has sacrificed two pawns to obtain this double-edged attacking position where both queens are threatened. How did he win the game?Black to move.
[pgn][Event "Isle of Man Open"] [Site "Douglas ENG"] [Date "2017.09.23"] [Round "1.4"] [White "Neelotpal Das"] [Black "Hikaru Nakamura"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B32"] [WhiteElo "2448"] [BlackElo "2781"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "8/5pk1/5np1/1p1P3p/1P1RB2P/2P3PK/r3QP2/1q6 b - - 0 64"] [PlyCount "3"] [EventDate "2017.09.23"]64... Qg1 $1 {Material is nothing in the face of checkmate.} 65. Qxa2 Nxe4 { threatening both 66...Qh1# and 66...Nxf2+. White resigned.} 0-1[/pgn]
Puzzle #3
Aleksandr Lenderman vs. Francisco Vallejo Pons
Are you familiar with your rook + bishop vs. rook endings? Lenderman continues his streak from the World Cup by demonstrating how to play for the win in this very tricky endgame. Black has made a mistake, allowing Lenderman a mating combination. Can you find it?White to move.
Hint: Threaten a checkmate with every move.
[pgn][Event "Isle of Man Open"] [Site "?"] [Round "?"] [White "Lenderman, Aleksandr"] [Black "Vallejo Pons, Francisco "] [Result "1-0"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "3k4/2R5/4K3/4B3/8/8/8/5r2 w - - 0 70"] [PlyCount "5"]70. Rc2 Re1 ({White is threatening checkmate in 2 (or a win of the Black rook). For example,} 70... Rg1 $2 71. Bf6+ Ke8 72. Rc8#) 71. Rg2 Kc8 72. Rb2 {and Rb8# cannot be stopped unless Black gives up his rook. Black resigned.} 1-0[/pgn]
Fabiano Caruana vs. Jeffery Xiong. Photo: John Sanders
Fabiano Caruana, who tied for 1st last year, is undefeated, winning all of his games with white and drawing all of his games with black.
Puzzle #4
Fabiano Caruana vs. Jeffery Xiong
How did the current U.S. #1 gain a material advantage over the top American prodigy?White to move.
[pgn][Event "Isle of Man Open"] [Site "Douglas ENG"] [Date "2017.09.27"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Fabiano Caruana"] [Black "Jeffery Xiong"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D41"] [WhiteElo "2799"] [BlackElo "2633"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "3r2k1/p2P2p1/1p2p2p/2n1Nr2/q7/6P1/P3QP1P/3RR1K1 w - - 0 23"] [PlyCount "19"] [EventDate "2017.09.23"]23. Rd6 Rxe5 ({Caruana's threat, Nc6, is very difficult to prevent. For example,} 23... Kh7 24. Red1 Ne4 25. R6d4 Nc3 26. Qf1 Qxa2 27. R1d2 Qb1 28. Nc6 ) 24. Qxe5 {and the game soon finished with:} Rxd7 25. Rxd7 Qxd7 26. Qe2 Qd4 27. Rd1 Qf6 28. h4 Kh8 29. h5 Qg5 30. Qf3 Kh7 31. Rd4 Qe5 32. Rd8 1-0[/pgn]
Standings (after round 6)
top 20
Round 7 Pairings
top 10 boards
The Isle of Man Masters runs from Saturday, September 23, to Sunday, October 1st, with rounds every day, starting at 8:30 a.m. EST. Watch live games and commentary on Chess.com TV and the Official Website.About the Author
Vanessa West is a regular writer and digital assistant for US Chess News. She won the 2017 Chess Journalist of the Year award. Follow her on Twitter: @Vanessa__WestCategories
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