Tactics Time! - Answers

Judit Polgar is a Hungarian grandmaster and by far the strongest female player in chess history. She is the only woman to surpass the 2700 Elo rating barrier. She is known for her fighting spirit, ambitious nature and determination. Last week we presented some interesting combinations from Judit's games for our readers to solve. Today we provide the answers.

It's not by easy means that you can walk on the path of chess improvement. You have to work hard for it. 

If you have not solved these chess combinations yet, we recommend our readers to go through the previous article before looking upon the answers. 

• Yes, I want to solve - go to the previous article.
• I have already solved - verify your solution with the answers given below!

1. Valery Salov - Polgar Judit
Madrid 1997

Black to play

Bishop and two pawns might be good enough for a Rook, but at this particular moment Judit found an amazing continuation which helped her to get more than just a draw. 
Black played 1... Rc6! with the idea of 2... Rb5+ 3.Ka4 Rcc5 4.bxc5 Rb1! and after 5. Ka5 Ra1+ 6.Kb6 Rxa8 7.c6 Kd4, the resulting endgame is winning for Black.

White is is zugzwang. Any pawn move on kingside will be answered by 2... Rb5+ as stated above. 
Also Rook is immobile as any move on the eighth rank will be answered by 2...Rb5+ 3.Ka4 Ra6#
2. Ra7 loses to Rxc5+ So the only option for White is to play the Bishop.

2. Bf8 any other Bishop move loses the b4 pawn. 
2.. Rb5+ 3. Ka4 Rb8!! 0-1 'Attacking' both Rook & Bishop as taking the Rook with 4. Rxb8 is answered by Ra6 mate.



2. Anand V - Polgar Judit
Cap d'Agde rapid, 2003.

Black to play

Black is much ahead in the attacking prospects than the White's activity on the king side. Judit took full advantage of this fact and played 1... Bxd4! 2. Bxd4 Bxa2+! The Bishops show their true potential and sacrifice themselves at the right moment. 

3. Kc1 3. Kxa2 is answered by Qa5+ 4. Kb1 (4.Kb3? Nb6 5. Bxb6 Rc3!!+) b3! With the double idea of Qa2+ and Qxd2.

3... Bb3 -+

3. Polgar Judit - Anatoly Karpov
Hoogeveen Essent Crown 2003

White to play

White has a huge attack on the king side, thanks to the Bishop pair. Judit played 1. Bxh7+! Kxh7 2. Qh5+ Kg8 3. Bxg7!! The typical double Bishop sacrifice, the idea which was made highly popular by the former World champion Emanuel Lasker. 3... Kxg7 whenever this double Bishop sacrifice is played, it is necessary to keep in mind the defensive idea of the f-pawn move. But it does not help this time as 3...f5 4. Qg6 +- and 3... f6 is answered by simply 4.Bxf6! 4. Rg3+ Kf6 5. Qg5# In the game Black resigned after Qh5+

4. Tisdall Jonathan - Polgar Judit

Reykjavik op 1988

Black to play

The material is even, but Black can take advantage of the fact that White's king is unsafe.

Judit starts with 1... Nxf3 2.Qxf3 R1h3! Attacking the Queen 3. Qe2 Quite forced or else the Rook on e4 won't be guarded.

3... Qa4+!! White resigned. After 4.Rxa4 Rxa4+ 5. Kb1 Rh1+ followed by mate. A beautiful example that illustrates the exploitation of back rank weakness.

  

5. Guerrero A - Polgar Judit 
41st Olympiad Open, 2014.

Black to play

A very recent game from the Olympiad which was held in Tromso. On the previous move White just played g3 with the view that he had defended the position. 

Black proved him wrong with 1.. Rxh2+!! 2. Kxh2 Qd2+ and White resigned in the view of Qh6+ next move. 

About the Author

Born in 1994, Rucha Pujari is one of the best writers in India. She has been writing regularly for a very famous newspaper in India: The Maharashtra Times and has written over 35 articles in it. Apart from that she is a very proficient chess player with an Elo of 2154 and a WFM title. She also maintains her personal blog.

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