Greetings to all chessfans. I've been playing regularly at chess.com. The time control is my favorite three minute blitz. In this time control, it's easy to make mistakes and being alert when your opponent makes one wins the game instantly. Solving chess puzzles has honed my sense in spotting tactical motifs. It's fun and satisfying when you win games by tactical means. Here are a few examples of some tactical positions.
In the above diagram, the theme is a "pin". Bd4 wins the Black knight since it's pinned. Moving it away will lose his rook on e8. After f6, f4 wins.
In the next position, White has to give up his queen or get mated on a1.
Qa7 uncovers the rook's attack on White's queen and at the same time threatening mate on a1.
Here's an easy win of a piece.
The bishop on e7 defends the knight on d6. Capturing it with check removes the defender and White wins the knight.
Out of my recent games, the next one is my favorite. I had to find a solution with thirty three second left on my clock. My opponent was threatening to take my bishop and forking my king and queen at the same time.
I found the only move and it's beautiful. It took me around twenty seconds to find Rg2. It gives up the rook but opens an attack on White's knight on d1 with check.
White accepted the rook sacrifice but after the following sequence of forced moves, he lost his queen via tactical theme known as "skewer".
After these games, my rating in chess.com has increased to 1800+.
Playing chess is great for the mind but let's not forget about physical activities. I recently committed to exercise and to keep me motivated, I joined actifit.io
