Category Archives: Puzzles

‘Fighting like Kilkenny cats’

Posted on December 23, 2012 by Sean Coffey

An Irish game had the distinction of featuring as one of the ChessBase puzzles this week, with fanciful title to match: the reader had to determine the consequences of 27. … Bxg2 in the diagrammed position. See Oliver Reeh’s article … Continue reading →

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A neat ending

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Sean Coffey

From Kriebel-Collins, Teplice Open 2011: how did Sam Collins (Black, to play) save the game? [Click for solution.] [Click to replay the full game.]

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Equal first in an Irish championship, but never Irish champion

Posted on December 10, 2011 by Sean Coffey

The answer to Thursday’s trivia question, what do William Edward Thrift P.J. McMahon W.J. Allen Oscar Aidan Quigley William Richard Dunphy Alex Montwill Matt O’Leary Tom Clarke have in common, is as in the title: all finished equal first in … Continue reading →

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Trivial pursuit (Irish chess edition)

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Sean Coffey

Here’s a puzzle: what do the following players have in common? William Edward Thrift P.J. McMahon W.J. Allen Oscar Aidan Quigley William Richard Dunphy Alex Montwill Matt O’Leary Tom Clarke Answer in a couple of days. The players all have … Continue reading →

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What if queens could jump as knights do?

Posted on July 28, 2011 by Sean Coffey

“Hey Dad,” said my 9-year-old a couple of days ago, “I’ve figured out why queens don’t move like knights.” Then he showed me the reason he had come up with. And very persuasive it was too! So here’s the puzzle: … Continue reading →

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From the 2011 Irish championship

Posted on July 14, 2011 by Sean Coffey

Administrative note: post reformatted, 20 August 2012.

Keogh-Doyle, Irish Ch 2011The 2011 Irish championship was hugely enjoyable and a credit to the players and organisers. Is it a trick of the imagination, due to the presence of live games and almost instant availability of game scores, or was the chess really more entertaining than usual? Perhaps a mixture of both?

Here is a finish with a timeless appeal:

Black now played 49 … h3. How do you evaluate this move and the resulting position with best play? Was there anything better?

See the solution. Continue reading →

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To take or not to take?

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Sean Coffey

Administrative note: reformatted, 6th August 2012. The previous version had become corrupted, and apart from that was hard to maintain and not compatible with all browsers.

Loughran-O'Leary, Irish championship 2009A puzzle from the 2009 Irish championship:
Black now played 21 … Nxe4!? How do you evaluate this move and the resulting position with best play?

A. Black wins back a pawn with equality;
B. White regains the pawn and simplifies to a better ending;
C. Black’s concept is flawed and White has a quick forced win.

See the solution. Continue reading →

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