Chess Tactics Server and more

I haven't blogged in quite a long time. I plan to make a few more blog posts in this up coming year about chess. On another note I hadn't played darts in a long time but threw a few sets on successive days and actually hit a 180...

anyways lately I am back into playing chess... I have been doing tactical puzzles at Chess Tactics Server. I really like the interface and the emphasis on speed. This is about pattern recognition... not as much about getting it correct... but rather getting it correct quickly. Recognizing tactical patterns quickly is the key to creating and avoiding tactical fireworks I believe.

Anyways with all the problems I have done in the past I thought the ending of this game was interesting...

White to move


I made the move Ne6 which according to Fritz happens to be the best move. The best move after that is for black to play to move one of the rooks and then allow the exchange sacrifice and queen trade and attempt to get his pawn majority going. White must attempt to move his king into activity (after dealing with the pesky pawn on the 2nd rank) and create mating threats.

But my opponent played Qe7??


Which allowed me to play Ng7# with a near smothered mate. The game overall was very sloppy but it was fun... That's the nature of blitz... at least at my level.

pgn/NearsmotheredMate.pgn