c/o Collin Holson

This week, we’re changing it up a little. Instead of some incredibly specific and esoteric grandmaster game with fancy brilliancies and accurate moves, this position is taken directly from one of the author’s games. In this endgame position, white has just exchanged rooks, giving black a narrow opportunity to equalize. Can you find the continuation that allows black to draw with precise play? (Black to move)

Last Week’s Solution:

34… Bd3+ 35. Re4 Bf6 36. f4 Bxe4# or Re5# if white plays something else.
Caruana’s king finds itself in a precarious position, surrounded by enemies looking to trap it. After Bd3+, the mating net has been cast on white’s king. If it runs to e5, a discovery check with Bxc5 leads to an immediate mate. If white tries to block the check, as Caruana did, Vachier-Lagrave can calmly prepare for his rook to go to e5 with Bf6, and there was simply nothing Caruana could do, leading to his resignation.

ANNOUNCEMENT: For the next few weeks, we are accepting reader submissions! Submit your most brilliant moves to cholson@wesleyan.edu for a chance to be featured in The Argus’ WesChess puzzle column!

Collin Holson can be reached at cholson@wesleyan.edu.