Beast Mode: Tactics Time e-mail newsletter sample

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This is a sample of one of my free chess tactics e-mail newsletters.

The newsletters come out every other day, and contain a fun tactics problem for you to solve.

You can sign up using the box on the right hand side of the page. I have gotten a lot of nice complements from chess players about them.

Randy Reynolds, former editor of the Colorado Chess Informant said,

“Tactics time is a well-written newsletter with a good tactical position to solve every few days. It will definitely help improve anyone’s chess game.”

The newsletters are not for everyone, and some questions might help decide if they would be a good fit for you.

Do you enjoy playing chess?
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If you said yes to most or all of the following questions I think you would enjoy the newsletters, and should give it a try.

There is an unsubscribe link included with every e-mail, so there is no risk or obligation if you decide it is not your cup of tea.

Here is a sample, with a fun tactic from a GM Nakamura blitz game

Newsletter Issue #97

Tactics Time

Beast Mode

quote Beast Mode: Tactics Time e mail newsletter sample There is no point in taking draws. – GM Hikaru Nakamura

Today we are going to do something a little different. Instead of finding the correct move, I want you to find all the mates in one black has.

In the position on the right it is Black to move.

Answer below.

This position comes from a real game, played on the Internet Chess Club between Hikaru Nakamura (Smallville) against a computer known as Beast with a rating at the time of 3709! The time control was 3 minutes with a 1 second increment.

I first learned of this game from Life Master Joel Johnson’s book, Formation Attacks.

This game went an incredible 155 moves, and Nakamura humiliated the computer by underpromoting 5 pawns into knights!

Nakamura used a textbook “anti-computer” strategy of keeping the board closed, and shuffling his pieces around slowly.

Some interesting facts about Nakamura from Wikipedia:

born in Hirakata, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, to a Japanese father and an American mother. At the age of two, he moved with his parents to the United States.
began playing chess prior to the age of five and was coached by his Sri Lankan stepfather, FIDE Master and chess author Sunil Weeramantry.
At age 10 years and 79 days, Nakamura achieved the title of chess master from the United States Chess Federation (USCF), becoming the youngest American ever to earn the title at the time.
first supertournament victory came at Wijk aan Zee 2011, finishing clear first ahead of the four top-rated players in the world in a performance described by Kasparov as better than any tournament by Bobby Fischer, and the best by an American in more than 100 years.
He has been ranked among the top six players in the world
has been described as having an uncommon enthusiasm for chess and as being much more approachable than other players of his ability. For instance, just after winning his first U.S. Championship in 2005, he played numerous 1-minute games with all comers in the lobby of the hotel where the competition had taken place.

Here is the complete game:

[Event "ICC 3 1"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2005.06.08"]
[White "Beast"]
[Black "Smallville = Nakamura"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "3709"]
[BlackElo "3348"]
[PlyCount "310"]
[TimeControl "180+1"]

1. Nc3 g6 2. e4 Bg7 3. Bc4 e6 4. Nf3 Ne7 5. O-O d6 6. d4 O-O 7. Bg5 h6 8. Be3
b6 9. Qd2 Kh7 10. d5 e5 11. Ne1 f5 12. f3 f4 13. Bf2 g5 14. Nd3 h5 15. Rae1 Ng6
16. Re2 Bh6 17. Ne1 g4 18. Qd3 a6 19. a4 Nd7 20. Kh1 Nf6 21. b4 Rf7 22. Rg1 g3
23. hxg3 fxg3 24. Bxg3 h4 25. Bxh4 Nxh4 26. g3 Ng6 27. Rh2 Kg7 28. Kg2 Rf8 29.
Nd1 Rh8 30. Rgh1 Bg5 31. Rxh8 Nxh8 32. Nf2 Ng6 33. c3 Qe8 34. b5 a5 35. Nc2 Ne7
36. Nh3 Bxh3+ 37. Rxh3 Qg6 38. Kf2 Rh8 39. Rxh8 Kxh8 40. Ba2 Nd7 41. Ne1 Nc5
42. Qc2 Qh6 43. Ng2 Ng6 44. Bc4 Qh2 45. Bf1 Kg7 46. Qa2 Nf8 47. Bc4 Nh7 48. Kf1
Qh1+ 49. Kf2 Qc1 50. Be2 Nf6 51. Qc4 Bd2 52. g4 Qxc3 53. Qxc3 Bxc3 54. Bd1 Bd2
55. Nh4 Ng8 56. Ke2 Bg5 57. Nf5+ Kf7 58. Bc2 Ne7 59. Ng3 Nd7 60. Kd3 Ng6 61.
Nf5 Kf6 62. Kc3 Nh4 63. Nxh4 Bxh4 64. Kd2 Kg5 65. Bd1 Kf4 66. Ke2 Nf6 67. Kf1
Nh7 68. Kg2 Be1 69. Kf1 Bg3 70. Be2 Ng5 71. Kg1 Nxf3+ 72. Kg2 Ne1+ 73. Kf1 Nc2
74. Kg2 Ne3+ 75. Kh3 Be1 76. g5 Kxg5 77. Kh2 Kf4 78. Bd3 Ng4+ 79. Kg2 Nf2 80.
Bc2 Nxe4 81. Bb3 Nc5 82. Kf1 Nxb3 83. Kxe1 Nc5 84. Ke2 Nxa4 85. Ke1 Nc5 86. Kf2
Ke4 87. Kg2 Kxd5 88. Kg3 Kc4 89. Kg4 Kxb5 90. Kg3 a4 91. Kf3 a3 92. Ke3 a2 93.
Kf2 a1=N 94. Ke3 Kc6 95. Kf3 Nab3 96. Kg4 Nd4 97. Kg5 Nde6+ 98. Kf5 Kd7 99. Kg4
b5 100. Kf3 b4 101. Kg3 b3 102. Kf3 b2 103. Kg4 b1=N 104. Kf5 Na3 105. Kg4 Nb7
106. Kf5 Nf8 107. Ke4 Nd8 108. Kd3 Nb5 109. Kc4 Na7 110. Kd3 Nc8 111. Ke4 Ke6
112. Ke3 d5 113. Kd2 c5 114. Kd1 e4 115. Kc2 d4 116. Kb2 Kd5 117. Kc1 c4 118.
Kd2 e3+ 119. Ke1 Ke4 120. Kf1 d3 121. Ke1 c3 122. Kd1 c2+ 123. Kc1 e2 124. Kd2
Kd4 125. Ke1 c1=N 126. Kd2 Nb3+ 127. Ke1 Kc3 128. Kf2 Nc5 129. Ke1 Nce6 130.
Kf2 Nc7 131. Kf3 e1=N+ 132. Kf2 Nc2 133. Kf1 Ne8 134. Kg2 Nfe6 135. Kf2 Nf6
136. Kf3 Nd6 137. Kg3 Nc6 138. Kg2 N2d4 139. Kh3 N4f5 140. Kg2 Nfe7 141. Kf2
Ng6 142. Ke1 Kc2 143. Kf2 d2 144. Kg2 d1=N 145. Kf1 Nc3 146. Kf2 Ncd5 147. Kg2
Nce5 148. Kg1 Nde4 149. Kg2 Nd4 150. Kg1 Ngf4 151. Kh1 Nfg4 152. Kg1 Nde3 153.
Kh1 Ndf5 154. Kg1 Nf3+ 155. Kh1 Nfg3# 0-1