ArcaMax

Grandmaster Nick Rossolimo was one of my favorite GMs. His flair for attack was right there with the best of them. I was fortunate to meet him in the late 1960s in his chess studio in Greenwich Village. This game he played against an amateur in 1944 has a gem of a finish. My favorite move was his fourth move, which had to be one of the nastiest ...

One hint: you don’t have to be concerned about any rooks check on a1.

This is a very instructive position I found in Joel Johnson’s book “Formation Attacks”—a real classic of a book. The attack here combines several themes into one assault and well worth playing over.

Considering the nature of White’s threat, you should figure out the first move. Can you see it all the way to the finish?

Viktor Korchnoi was famous for his counter-attacks; however, he could attack brilliantly as well. This is a game from the 50s against Zakharov.

A win by Spassky from the 60s. It’s a mating attack.

I reached this position in a five-minute game. I had about two minutes left, so now so do you. Well, OK, you can have 5 minutes!

In case you celebrated too hard on New Year’s Eve, you can be assured you’re not seeing double. There are two sets of two knights, and it’s a mate in 5!

If it were Black’s move, he would have a decisive position after Qxf2+, but it isn’t. What should White do?