SPOT ON CHESS PUZZLES for MONDAY, April 10th of 2023

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It's been a long time since I played competitive chess, organized events, ran and rated chess tournaments... Indeed I feel like I am getting back to the place where I used to be as a chess coach now after a very long time and a forced layoff from competitive chess. My thanks to Pranav for keeping this old coach on the "Chess Life Support" system! Good people and good energy always made organizing or coaching chess the very best damn thing in life for me.

Today I have put together a lesson with a better selection of chess puzzles... 4 puzzles for your viewing pleasure. This after a "Chess Movie" of game one from the current World Chess Championship that has seen the now former World Champion Magnus Carlsen abdicate in favor of Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren - the current two aspirants contesting the top honor for title of World Chess Champion. Both of whom are climbing their way to the top... While Magnus now has people wondering if he is beginning to fade as the leading chess luminary on planet Earth. The same sort of thing - or rather, what I suspect is happening to Carlsen now - happened to Garry Kasparov. As he got older and began to be more involved in Politics on behalf of Western backed Russian Oligarchs in Russia Kasparov found his appetite for the top honors of chess to be waning. He began to trim back his time investments for chess by giving up the study of the King's Indian Defense for example - an opening he fine tuned into a formidable weapon. Creating real works of chess art... He kept up on his Najdorf Sicilian though but stopped his total commitment to preparation by letting his other weapons fade. Has Carlsen's commitment to top level chess faded or is it in the process of fading? Perhaps he needed a short break to stoke back up his competitive fire - only time will tell. And you will get to watch history as it happens if you pay attention to top level chess. Carlsen is, still at this time, at the top of the chess talent pyramid. However other indicators have been that he has lost more games just in the first third of this year than he has in the last several years. Will the pack catch up and pass him by?

I provide the round one World Championship "chess movie" at the beginning of the lesson. With light commentary. So if that isn't your thing you can fast forward to the puzzle section that follows. I hope you enjoy today's lesson/posting. I feel like it is the first one that I am really genuinely feeling particularly "Happy" with... of course when I wake up tomorrow I will have to try harder to be better than today and most definitely yesterday!

GAME GIVEN BELOW!

Thanks for tuning in - wishing you all the best in your chess and your real life endeavors. ~ Chess Coach Sean Tobin.

FIDE WEBSITE: https://worldchampionship.fide.com
The Week In Chess: https://theweekinchess.com

GAME #1 of the 2023 World Chess Championship (Spoiler Alert):

[Event "FIDE World Championship 2023"]
[Site "Astana, Kazakhstan"]
[Date "2023.04.09"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "Liren, Ding"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]
[WhiteClock "00:42:23"]
[BlackClock "00:25:54"]
[WhiteFideId "4168119"]
[BlackFideId "8603677"]
[WhiteElo "2795"]
[BlackElo "2788"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. Re1 Nd7 8. d4 exd4 9. Qxd4 O-O 10. Bf4 Nc5 11. Qe3 Bg4 12. Nd4 Qd7 13. Nc3 Rad8 14. Nf5 Ne6 15. Nxe7+ Qxe7 16. Bg3 Bh5 17. f3 f6 18. h3 h6 19. Kh2 Bf7 20. Rad1 b6 21. a3 a5 22. Ne2 Rxd1 23. Rxd1 Rd8 24. Rd3 c5 25. Qd2 c6 26. Rxd8+ Nxd8 27. Qf4 b5 28. Qb8 Kh7 29. Bd6 Qd7 30. Ng3 Ne6 31. f4 h5 32. c3 c4 33. h4 Qd8 34. Qb7 Be8 35. Nf5 Qd7 36. Qb8 Qd8 37. Qxd8 Nxd8 38. Nd4 Nb7 39. e5 Kg8 40. Kg3 Bd7 41. Bc7 Nc5 42. Bxa5 Kf7 43. Bb4 Nd3 44. e6+ Bxe6 45. Nxc6 Bd7 46. Nd4 Nxb2 47. Kf3 Nd3 48. g3 Nc1 49. Ke3 1/2-1/2
~ fini ~