Some of you complained that this wasn’t a real puzzle as White is losing whatever he plays. I quite often choose to post puzzles with a difference.

Here, I wasn’t asking for White’s best move: I was asking how John Burke, in a losing position, set up a swindle.

The solution: John set the trap with 31. Rab1 Rxb1 32. Rxb1, when Black, thinking his opponent had blundered, snatched at the bait, playing 32… Nxc3. John then uncorked the beautiful 33. Qa6!!, which eventually won a piece and the game.

As John said, if something looks too good to be true, it probably is.

A position for David Smerdon, I think.

You can play through the complete game here.

Thanks to John for submitting the game and annotations. If you’ve played any interesting games or moves you’d like featured on our website, please get in touch.