Mayankk has kibitzed 892 times to chessgames   [more...]

Jun-26-25 R Praggnanandhaa vs Rapport, 2025    Mayankk: White tried to shuffle his Bishop far too often : Bc4-Bb3-Bc4. The difference between the first and second Bc4 is the Rook at h5 and the open long diagonal after e4 and exf3. It allowed the tactics 23 Bc4 Bc2! 24 Qxc2 Qxb5! 25 Bxb5 Rxc2. And now the b5 Bishop can't be saved due to ...      Jun-19-25 C Yoo vs Niemann, 2020    Mayankk: 20... Rxh2 21 Kxh2 Qg4 seems like a beautiful combination with Black threatening Qxg3+ and if the Knight moves then Qxg2#. 21 Qe5 f6 doesn't work as the White Queen has to leave the defending diagonal. Other alternatives to 21 Kxh2 do not look palatable either for White. For example      Jun-17-25 I Smirnov vs A Ipatov, 2007    Mayankk: White has nestled his king nicely between his minor and major pieces and probably feels confident enough to withstand Black assault. However it is a house of cards as demonstrated by 25... Rxb4. Blakc threatens 26... Qxb1+ or 26... Rxb1+, necessitating 26 cxb4. And then 26 Qb2+ is ...      Jun-16-25 V Kahn vs O Bernstein, 1926    Mayankk: Such a cute puzzle. After wasting a minute on random checks and sacrificial ideas, I stumbled on 24... Qe2 almost in frustration. Mondays were supposed to be obvious. And then it was indeed obvious. Black is threatening 25... Rf1+ 25... Qxe1+ and 25... Rxg2+. And White can only ...      Jun-12-25 I Smirnov vs V Vetoshko, 2007    Mayankk: 25 Rxf6+ Kxf6 26 e5+ is not too hard to spot. White has pried open the King's defences, and will soon grab the Black Bishop at b7 to also end up materially superior. Not often do you get to do that simultaneously. It then gets a bit murky, as you would expect from a Thu puzzle. ...      Jun-11-25 A Alexeev vs I Smirnov, 2007    Mayankk: Infra dig. Plebeian. Humdrum. Take your pick. 35 Qf7+ ticks all the boxes. The double Knight sac starting with 35 Nxf5+ is, on the other hand, poetry in motion. Just kidding. Some of the hardest moves to spot are the silent ones staring right at you.      Jun-10-25 N Riumin vs Alfeevsky, 1928   Mayankk: Thanks guys for the feedback. Yes of course 22 Bxh7 is nowhere as strong as 22 Qh4. I was just curious if it still wins as the position after 22 Bxh7 Qf6 23 Rh3 Bd7 24 Bd3+ looks abysmal for Black even if there are no tactical fireworks available for White. Same goes for 22 Bxh7 ...      Jun-09-25 A Sherzer vs N Petrov, 1988    Mayankk: The royal fork Nd6+ isn't immediately available. So we distract the defender of d6 square by Rd8+ and then we have it. 21 Rd8+ Bxd8 22 Nd6+ Ke7/Kf8 23 Nxc8      Jun-05-25 N Grandelius vs J Lampert, 2016    Mayankk: A very intuitive sac. All Black pieces except for the Knight seem distracted from defensive duties. So we distract the lone defender as well and bring the Black King in the open. 37 Be4+ Nxe4 38 Qg8+ Kg6. Position looks terrible for Black. White has two options to continue and both      Jun-02-25 Norway Chess (2025)    Mayankk: Hi <metatron2>, Thanks for correcting me. Yes, it was either an overdose of optimism or frustration at seeing his win slip away. Likely a combination of both. Carlsen is normally beyond these frailties. But funny things happen when stakes are high.

indicates a reply to the comment.

You are not logged in to chessgames.com. If you need an account, register now; it's quick, anonymous, and free! If you already have an account, click here to sign-in.