Monday’s position, featured in Chess Heroes: Puzzles Book 2, comes from the game Lasker – Chigorin (Nuremberg 1896). White’s queen and knight are a potent attacking force, but Black’s extra pawn on a4 looks dangerous.

Lasker played 40. Qd8+ here, winning the game after Chigorin failed to find the best defence.

The correct option was 40. g5!, with two variations.

40… h5 41. Qf6! gives White a winning attack.

40… hxg5 41. Kg2! or Qd8+!, but not the immediate Nxg5 because Qg1+ will give Black a perpetual check.

Here’s the complete game: analysis mostly by Stockfish, but I’ve added some variations from the position above.

As always, click on any move for a pop-up window.

As we approach the publication of the last two Chess Heroes books, here’s another of the more challenging positions from Chess Heroes: Puzzles Book 2.

White to move.

What would you play, and why?

As always, I need a lot more than the first move for full marks.

On Monday I asked you if you would accept Black’s knight sacrifice here. There were some conflicting views in our club’s WhatsApp group.

The answer is that the sacrifice is unsound, so you should certainly accept it. Let’s take a look.

19. fxg4! f3 regains the piece, but after 20. Qe1 fxe2 21. Bxe2 Nf6 22. h3 White is a safe pawn up with plenty of pieces to defend his king. Even better is 20. g5! Bxg5 21. gxf3! Bxd2 22. Rxg7 Rxg7 23. Rxd2 with two minor pieces for a rook.

Black could also try to bring some more pieces into the attack: 19… Nf6 when White’s strongest continuation is 20. Nd4!, which Black can’t take because of the resulting pressure on the long diagonal.

To score full marks you’ll have to see all this.

Of course you want to know what actually happened in the game. This position was taken from a game I played back in 1985 against SJ Morgan in a London League match between Richmond 2 and King’s Head. I declined the sacrifice, playing 19. Qe1, when Nxf2+ would have been about equal.

My opponent was determined to give up his knight, so sacrificed again, playing 19… Nxh2, which was as ridiculous as it looked. This time I took it, and my opponent resigned a few moves later.

If you enjoy puzzles like this you’ll find a lot more in Chess Heroes Puzzles Book 2, which will be published within the next few weeks.

Here’s another position from Chess Heroes Puzzles Book 2 for you to analyse.

White to play. Black has just offered a knight sacrifice. Should you accept it or not?

Monday’s position was taken from Zukertort – Weiss (Vienna 1882).

White, one of the two strongest players, along with Steinitz, of his time, played Rd8 here, eventually losing after erring again later in the game.

He’d have won if he’d preferred 35. Rxc6! Kxc6 36. Rd6+ Kb7 37. c6+ Ka8.

White can regain the rook with advantage by playing the immediate 38. b7+ here, but it’s even better to wait, as Black is effectively in zugzwang, having no moves which don’t weaken his position.

If, for example, 38. Rd1 (with the idea of Bc5) Black might continue 38… Ne4, when after 39. b7+ Rxb7 40. cxb7+ Kxb7, you can now play 41. Rd7+.

Solving this puzzle required both calculation and assessment: were you up to the challenge?

The final two Chess Heroes books will be published soon.

Here’s a position from Chess Heroes Puzzles Book 2.

Zukertort – Weiss (Vienna 1882)

White, to play, has a bunch of passed pawns for a knight. What would you suggest here?

On Monday I offered you a Proof Game puzzle composed by Gianni Donati (Source: Mark Kirtley’s series of Proof Game Shorties articles found on Angela & Otto Janko’s website and originally published in Probleemblad in 2000.)

Ted and Alice correctly worked out that Bob and Carol’s game had started 1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 Bc5 3. Qc1 Bf2 4. Kd1 Be3 5. Ke1 Ke7 6. Qd1 Kd6 7. Bc1. Three of Bob’s pieces had moved and then returned home.

An unusual interpretation of the Nimzo-Larsen Attack. I wouldn’t recommend you play like this in your next Thames Valley League game.

Congratulations to David, who was the first in our Knight School WhatsApp group with the solution. And to you too if you got it right.

Bob and Carol were back at Cambridge Park Bowls Club after the summer holidays, and surprised by what they saw.

“What a lot of new members here! It will be great to get to know them all, wouldn’t it, Carol?”

“A lot of them are women as well. And they’ve just started a new junior group. We’ll have to bring our kids along next week. I’m sure their friends would love it too.”

They soon settled down to play and had reached this position when Ted and Alice arrived. Carol, playing Black, was just about to play her seventh move.

“Interesting position”, exclaimed Ted. “Are you trying out a new opening?”

“Wait a minute!”, added Alice. “I think I’ve worked out what the first moves were.”

Can you do as well as Alice? How did Bob and Carol reach this position after White’s seventh move?

I left you with this simple pawn ending with White to play on Monday.

It looks obvious for White to continue with b4, a4 and b5 here, but, as White discovered in the game, it’s only a draw. You’ll queen your h-pawn first, but the resulting QvP ending will be drawn.

Paradoxically, the only winning move here is a3, which superficially appears to be a move slower, but reaches a winning QvP ending because you promote on h8 when the black king is on b3 rather than b2.

Would you have found this playing on increments?

You can play through the ending here: as always click on any move for a pop-up window.

What could be simpler than this pawn ending?

It’s from Isaac Lam – Rock Yu (Kingston Invitational 2026).

White to play. How would you continue?