How Easy?

I created this exercise four years ago for my students. It is one of what I call "one-move worksheets". I create a single page of four to nine exercises that I am able to photocopy for my chess students. I have made some of these worksheets available to other coaches.* Some have been collected and gathered into two books that I self-published through Amazon. Essential Tactics consists of 150 exercises with ten pieces or fewer. Forcing Checkmate contains 160 exercises leading to checkmate.

This position is number 82 in Essential Tactics. Every time I look at it, I worry that White cannot win, but that it should be drawn. Some of my exercises do lead to draws, but not this one.

White to move

This morning, I played the position out against Stockfish and checkmated the silicon beast in 29 moves. I think that I might have won a couple of moves faster if I had calculated a little better. One imprecise move was immediately obvious to me after I made it in haste.


*Use the contact form to the right if you are a coach with interest in my teaching materials for your use.