Ruy Lopez C60-69: 516 Characteristic Chess Puzzles



Here are some chess puzzles from the Ruy Lopez, Bird's Defense (ECO C61).



1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nd4



Solutions are between the brackets under each puzzle.
Drag your cursor from one bracket to the other.
The color disk on the diagram indicates who moves first.

a)
Berul vs Vasily Skotorenko, corr., 1979
r1b1qr1k/pp5p/1bp2ppQ/3p1P2/2BpP1P1/3P1N2/PPP5/R4RK1 w - - 0 1
[ Ng5 if Qe7 Nxh7 or if fxg5 fxg6 ]

b)
Black mates in 9.
A Odebrecht vs J Carra, corr., 1985
r3k2r/ppp2ppp/8/2bpPRq1/6P1/1B1p2P1/PPPP2P1/RNBQ3K b - - 0 1
[ ...h5 gxh5 Qxf5 g4 Qf2 g3 Qxg3 Qf1 Qh4+ ]

c)
Adrian Rodriguez vs L Estevez Rodriguez, Uruguay, 1986
r4rk1/pp1q1ppp/2pbb3/3n4/2BQ4/2NP4/PPP2PPP/R1B1R1K1 b - - 0 1
[ ...Nb4 ]

d)
Henk Schouten vs Frank Denys, Huy, 1992
r2qk2r/ppp1b1pp/5p2/3np3/2Bn4/5N1P/PPP2PP1/R1BQR1K1 w - - 0 1
[ Nxd4 if exd4 Qh5+ or if Nb6 Bb5 ]

e)
White mates in 4.
Herman Van Riemsdijk vs Gaston Trombetta, Mar del Plata, 1992
rk3q1r/pbp4p/1p3P2/2p1N3/3p2Q1/3P4/PPP3PP/R3R1K1 w - - 0 1
[ Nd7+ Kc8 Nxf8+ Kb8 Re8+ ]

1e)
mate in 4
Herman Van Riemsdijk vs Gaston Trombetta

C61 Puzzles, Part II.
The color disk on the diagram indicates who moves first.
a)
Gustavo Mella vs Paul Delano, Santiago, 1992
r2qr1k1/1pb1n1pp/2pp4/p3Pp2/1PNp1P1B/P2P4/2P1Q1PP/R4RK1 w - - 0 1
[ exd6 if Bxd6 Qe6+ ]

b)
White mates in 3.
A Ynigo vs David Levine, Philadelphia, 1995
r5rk/pp2qb1p/2p2pn1/2bp4/3pP1Q1/1B1P1N1R/PPP3PP/R1B3K1 w - - 0 1
[ Rxh7+ ]

c)
White mates in 5.
Slavisa Marinkovic vs Dusan Lekic, Nis, 1995
3r1q1r/pp2k1p1/1b1p4/5P1p/1p3P2/1B1Qp2P/P1P3P1/R4R1K w - - 0 1
[ Qe4+ Kd7 Qxb7+ Bc7 Ba4+ ]

d)
White mates in 2.
Nicolai Descovich vs H Mattl, Vienna, 1996
r1b2b1k/pp3r1N/6RQ/3p4/B2p1q2/3P4/PPP3PP/R5K1 w - - 0 1
[ Nf6+ ]

e)
Tamas Horvath vs Panu Kilpela, Berlin, 1997
4rr2/pp2Rbkp/2pq2p1/5p2/5P1Q/2pP1N2/P1P3PP/4R1K1 w - - 0 1
[ Rxf7+ if Kxf7 Ng5+ ]

2c)
mate in 5
Slavisa Marinkovic vs Dusan Lekic

C61 Puzzles, Part III.
The color disk on the diagram indicates who moves first.
a)
Ralf Chadt-Rausch vs Vitali Petreian, Dortmund, 1998
r2qk1nr/p1p3pp/2b2p2/2b1p3/p3P3/2N2N2/PPP1QPPP/R1B2RK1 w kq - 0 1
[ Qc4 if Qe7 Be3 or if Qd6 Rd1 Bd4 Nxd4 exd4 Rxd4 ]

b)
Wilfried Hoellrigl vs Walter Halser, Graz, 1998
2krr3/pp3p1p/2p2b2/3q2p1/3p4/3P1NBb/PPPQ1PPP/R3R1K1 w - - 0 1
[ gxh3 if Qxf3 Qa5 ]

c)
Tatiana Herrera vs Polina Malysheva Oropesa, 2000
4r1k1/p2qr1pp/2p1bp2/1p6/1n1p4/1B1P2QP/PPPN1PP1/R3R1K1 w - - 0 1
[ Ne4 if Kh8 Nc5 Qc8 Rxe6 ]

d)
Olga Makarova vs Leolko, Orsk, 2000
r1bq1rk1/p3bppp/1np5/1p1pPP2/3P4/2P5/P1BNQ1PP/R1B2RK1 w - - 0 1
[ f6 if gxf6 exf6 Bxf6 Qh5 mates ]

e)
White mates in 5.
Mohsine El Farihi vs Nicolas Forissier, Montigny le Bretonneux, 2005
2q1kr2/1p2b2p/5pr1/p1pQ4/3pRB2/3P2P1/PPP2P1P/R5K1 w - - 0 1
[ Rxe7+ ]

3e)
White mates in 5.
Mohsine El Farihi vs Nicolas Forissier

C61 Puzzles, Part IV.
The color disk on the diagram indicates who moves first.
a)
Senan Alpay vs Nisan Ulusoy, Antalya, 2006
r1b1k2r/pp1p1ppp/2p2n2/2b5/3qP3/P1NP4/1P2BPPP/R1BQ1RK1 w kq - 0 1
[ Be3 if Qd6 d4 Bb6 e5 ]

b)
Kevin Spraggett vs Gonzalo Yanez Acin, Tarragona, 2006
r2qrnk1/3b1ppp/3p4/pp1N1Pb1/3PP3/4B2P/1PB3P1/R2Q1RK1 w - - 0 1
[ Bxg5 if Qxg5 Nc7 ]

c)
White mates in 3.
Ivan Balzano vs Carlos Reynoso, Buenos Aires, 2006
r1bq1r1k/pp4pp/2pp4/2b2p2/4PN2/1BPP1Q2/PP3PPP/R4RK1 w - - 0 1
[ Ng6+ ]

d)
Torkil Nielsen vs Herborg Hansen, Oyri, 2008
r2qk1nr/pp1bbppp/8/1B1p4/3p4/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQR1K1 w kq - 0 1
[ Qg4 ]

e)
Yorick Ten Hagen vs Andras Zoltan, Budapest, 2009
r4rk1/ppnq2pp/2p1bp2/7Q/2Bp1B2/3P4/PPP2PPP/R3R1K1 w - - 0 1
[ Qf5 if Nd5 Rxe6 ]

4a)
Senan Alpay vs Nisan Ulusoy

C61 Puzzles, Part V.
The color disk on the diagram indicates who moves first.
a)
Dominik Will vs Wolf Machowitsch, Frankfurt, 2009
r3r1k1/pp3ppp/1bp5/3pPP2/3P2qn/B1P5/P1QN2PP/R4R1K w - - 0 1
[ g3 ]

b)
Tereza Olsarova vs Fiona Steil-Antoni, Puerto Madryn, 2009
r1bqk2r/pp4pp/2pp4/2b5/3pPP2/1B6/PPP1Q1Pn/RNB2R1K w kq - 0 1
[ Qh5+ (if Kxh2 Qh4+ Kg1 d3+ wins) ]

c)
White mates in 3.
Mihaly Ujhazi vs Milovan Peric, Senta, 2010
3r1r2/ppb1qBpk/2pp1R1p/7Q/4P3/2PP2P1/PP4KP/5R2 w - - 0 1
[ Rxh6+ gxh6 Qg6+ ]

d)
Sebastien Sobry vs Francois-Xavier Debevere, Lille, 2010
r4rk1/1b1pqpbp/p5pn/1pp2P2/3pP3/1B1P1N2/PPP3PP/R1BQ1R1K w - - 0 1
[ Bg5 if Qd6 f6 Bxf6 Bxh6 ]

5c)
White mates in 3.
Mihaly Ujhazi vs Milovan Peric

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