February Blitz and Memes
Hello, my fellow tactic lovers, and welcome to another edition of Blitz and Memes. If you're a fan of puzzles taken from amateur online blitz tournaments, then you have come to the right place, because that is what I do.
As always, the tactics have been drawn from the Japan Chess Federation's monthly blitz tournament: TGIF Blitz. The tourney takes place on the 3rd Friday of every month, 21:00 JST, right here on chess.com. It consists of seven rounds of blitz, with a time control of 3+2; and is open to all JCF club members.
The memes on the other hand, were conscripted from the varied ends of the InterWebs...
Good luck trying to solve all five puzzles on the first attempt, the first three are relatively straight forward but that last two will take some special effort.
So, without further ado, lets get to the Blitz and Memes.
To Be Knighted
Our first tactic comes to us from the 5th round. Self-proclaimed memelord and internet troll, SheldonOfOsaka, playing White, has managed to lose a piece and is merely moving his pieces around waiting for the time to run out, when his opponent makes a critical blunder.
Can you take advantage of the King's cramped position?
No Man's Land
In this 7th round encounter chessismylife134, playing White, is able to outwit IM rnanjo, who for some unknown reason decided to bring his king out to the 6th rank on move 10...it turns out this was not the right decision.
The king has entered no man's land, forcing moves seal the advantage.
IM in Danger
Our next tactic comes to us from the 5th round, it is not everyday you see an IM lose a game in 10 moves, yet here we are. Yuutin, playing White, is able to take advantage of an early blunder from IM Shinya_Kojima to win material and the game.
Black's last move loses material on the spot, can you see why?
In the Crosshairs
In this 5th round match-up, chessismylife134, playing White, is able to open up the position in order to activate his bishop pair's true potential.
White's dark bishop has Black's queen in its crosshairs...
Initiate the Initiative
Our final tactic is from the 4th round, chessismylife134, proving that his name is an actual reality, playing Black, he is able to takeover the initiative with a move that seems to come out of nowhere.
A very difficult move to find, as it is not readily apparent what Black has gained...Well, Good Luck.
And that was it, that was February Blitz and Memes.
Congratulations to chessismylife134 for winning TGIF Blitz February 2024 with a 6/7 score.
And arguably more importantly, congrats to you few and proud who were able to solve all 5 puzzles on the first attempt without a single hint, you are a true wizard of tactics.
As always, thanks for reading, and feel free to share these puzzles with your friends down at the bar or in the Shadow Realm.
Cheers, SheldonOfOsaka.
