Jayden's Chess Journal Edition #14

Joke of the Week

A man just finished a game and wasn’t feeling too well, he then asks his friend:S

Should I call 911 cause of my constant chess pains?

💡Puzzle #

Should White take the Knight, or is there a better move?

✅Solution

White should not get greedy and take the Knight. The solution is the clever Ra8+ notice Black’s King it’s directly in line with White’s meaning it has no escape if a check is delivered. Black can try and stall with Nc8, but after Rxc8# the game is over.

♟️Tip of the Week

It is best not always to be greedy and immediately capture material at first glance. Better moves may be present.

🪶Chess History

Since we are in the midst of the World Chess Championship, let’s go over the reigning Champion, Ding Liren. Ding is a prolific player with many accolades, including being ranked second in the world in classical chess, having the highest blitz rating, and having the highest rapid rating. He dramatically won the 2023 World Championship in the last game of tiebreaks. Let’s take a look at a position from the World Champion!

Here, Ding plays the cutting Nf7 move, creating a pin on the Black king. At this point, Black will lose its rook due to the discovered check on the King. This game was played against Nihal Sarin, a 2700 Grandmaster in the Speed Chess Championship.

 That wraps up this edition of Jayden’s Chess Journal

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did, and if you know anyone looking for more chess knowledge, send them this link so they can access this awesome newsletter.

Thank you so much for reading this edition, until next time!