Four Intriguing Chess Puzzles from the 6th Sharjah Masters 2023
The 6th Sharjah Masters, held from 17th to 25th May in the vibrant city of Sharjah, UAE, was nothing short of a historic event. It was the strongest invitational open tournament in history, featuring 78 grandmasters with an average rating of 2617, vying for a substantial $45,000 prize pool. Notably, Chessify also had the opportunity to contribute to this impressive prize fund. We were thrilled to award various Chessify packages to the top 20 Masters section finishers.
Recognizing the significance of this prestigious tournament (see the upcoming tournaments of 2023), we've curated a collection of four interesting puzzles from the Masters section games to give you a chance to refine your tactical skills. Dive in and challenge yourself!
1. Amin Tabatabaei (2677) vs Manuel Petrosyan (2629), 1-0, Round 7
See the solution / White to move
1. Rf5 gxf5 2. Kd3 (An important move to force Rb2. Otherwise, Black would move their king and retreat with the rook to stop the g pawn.) 2...Rb2 3. g6 f4 4. g7 f3 5. Ng3 and the pawn cannot be stopped.
2. Vitaliy Bernadskiy (2592) vs Saleh Salem (2677), 0-1, Round 1
See the solution / Black to move
1... Rd4 (Although the black rook on b5 is under attack, black has a small but crucial tactic.) 2. Rd4 Rb1! 3. Kf2 (if 3. Rc1 then cd and Black is up a pawn with a winning position.) 3... Rb2 4. Ke3 Qg2! (Another great move after which White simply resigned. The game could've continued 30. Qxc5+ Kg7 31. Qc4 Qf2+ 32. Ke4 Re2+ 33. Qxe2 Qxe2+ 34. Re3 Qxh2 and black has too many extra pawns against white's weak king.)
3. Praggnanandhaa (2688) vs Raunak Sadhwani (2627), 1-0, Round 2
See the solution / White to move
1. Qa7 taking advantage of the weak back rank. If Black takes the queen, then Rc8 is a checkmate. Otherwise, Qe7 is coming.
4. Platon Galperin (2528) vs Sanan Sjugirov (2712), 0-1, Round 3
See the solution / Black to move
1... Rc1! followed by Qf4 checkmate. White simply resigned.
The winner of the 2023 Sharjah Masters tournament was Indian GM Arjun Erigaisi, who took clear first after scoring 4.5 points in the last 5 rounds. Big congrats!
If you like to solve more puzzles from real grandmaster games, check out our other blogs as well and continue improving your chess skills.
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