MARCH 2020 CLINIC: LOCKDOWN GAMES

With terrestrial chess events on hold most of the chess community has switched to internet chess. It's harder to take internet games seriously because there's always another one waiting if you lose, so why suffer and try to defend a difficult position? But it's a reasonable way to stay in practice.

Until things get back to normal the clinics will be devoted to internet games. Here's a sharp moment from one of them in which K. A. was playing Black and White had just played 29.Nd2 (see diagram below).

Black to play.

This gave Black a chance to decide the game immediately, which he did with 29...Rxc3!. The point is that however White captures on c3, 30...Bxd4 will win the queen. After a few further moves Black won.

Nigel Davies