"Tactics in the Queen's Gambit" by wtharvey.com
Here are some chess puzzles from the games of Irina Krush.
The color disk on the diagram indicates who moves first.
Solutions are between the brackets under each puzzle.
Drag your cursor from one bracket to the other.
a)
Irina Krush vs Kanwal Bhatia, Warsaw, 1991
r2qk2r/ppp2ppp/2npbn2/2b1p3/2P5/2NPPN2/PP2BPPP/R1BQK2R w - - 0 1
[ d4 Bb4 d5 ]
b)
Irina Krush vs Elena Chorvatova, Bratislava, 1993
2rq2k1/1bR2pp1/1r1p3p/1P1Pp3/4P3/2Q5/5PP1/R4BK1 w - - 0 1
[ Rxc8 Qxc8 Qxc8+ Bxc8 Ra8 ]
c)
Irina Krush vs Lilit Mkrtchian, Cala Galdana, 1996
7r/1R3pk1/2p1q3/3pP1n1/6pN/4P1P1/r4PK1/3Q3R w - - 0 1
[ Qb1 if Ra8 Nf5+ Kg6 Nd4+ ]
d)
Ruth Bohrer vs Irina Krush, Elista, 1998
2rq2k1/1p3pp1/2r1p3/3p1nbp/pP1Pn3/P1PR1RPP/5P2/1NB1QNK1 b - - 0 1
[ ...Bxc1 Qxc1 Ng5 ]
e)
Miles Ardaman vs Irina Krush, Hawaii, 1998
1R6/p3qkbp/3p2p1/2pP1r2/2P5/P2P3Q/3B3P/7K b - - 0 1
[ ...Qe2 if Be3 Rf1+ Bg1 Rxg1+ Kxg1 Bd4+ ]
1b)
Irina Krush vs Elena Chorvatova
Irina Krush Puzzles, Part II.
The color disk on the diagram indicates who moves first.
a)
Ira Pohl vs Irina Krush, Hawaii, 1998
3r2k1/3q1p2/p1R1n2p/1p4p1/1P6/P1R3P1/3p1P1P/3Q2K1 b - - 0 1
[ ...Nd4 if Rc7 Ne2+ Kg2 Nxc3 Rxd7 Rxd7 ]
b)
Keith Arkell vs Irina Krush, Lichfield, 2000
7k/pb5p/8/4p3/rN6/6P1/5P1P/1R4K1 b - - 0 1
[ ...Be4 ]
c)
Black mates in 4.
Dragan Milovanovic vs Irina Krush, Parsippany, 2001
6k1/6pp/1q6/4pp2/P5n1/1P6/1P3BPr/R4QK1 b - - 0 1
[ ...Rh1+ Kxh1 Qh6+ ]
d)
White mates in 4.
Irina Krush vs Julien Estrada Nieto, Oakham, 2001
r4r1k/1bpq1p1n/p1np4/1p1Bb1BQ/P7/6R1/1P3PPP/1N2R1K1 w - - 0 1
[ Bf6+ Bxf6 Be4 ]
e)
Irina Krush vs Hern Ojeda, Buenos Aires, 2003
r1b3k1/pp4bp/3pNn2/2pPnr2/2P1p2q/2N1B3/PP1QBP1P/R4R1K w - - 0 1
[ Bg5 if Qh3 Nf4 ]
2d)
mate in 4
Irina Krush vs Julien Estrada Nieto
Irina Krush Puzzles, Part III.
The color disk on the diagram indicates who moves first.
a)
White mates in 3.
Irina Krush vs Antoaneta Stefanova, Krasnoturinsk, 2004
3kr3/p1r1bR2/4P2p/1Qp5/3p3p/8/PP4PP/6K1 w - - 0 1
[ Qb8+ Rc8 Qd6+ Bxd6 Rd7# ]
b)
Pavel Tregubov vs Irina Krush, Internet, 2004
r2qr1k1/bp1n1ppp/p7/4n3/1B1pP1b1/5NN1/PP2BPPP/2RQR1K1 b - - 0 1
[ ...d3 if Bxd3 Qb6 Be2 Qxb4 ]
c)
Dale Haessel vs Irina Krush, Edmonton, 2012
r3r1k1/4Bpp1/1p2n3/3N3p/1P3PnP/6P1/4R3/4R1K1 b - - 0 1
[ ...Nd4 if Re4 Nf3+ ]
d)
Irina Krush vs Anna Ushenina, Astana, 2013
4qbn1/r5rk/1np2p1p/1p2pP2/1P2P2P/4N1N1/2PBQ1R1/6RK w - - 1 0
[ Nh5 if Rxg2 Qxg2 ]
e)
White mates in 3.
Irina Krush vs Iryna Zenyuk, Saint Louis, 2013
1r2n1B1/2pb4/3p3k/5P2/4pP2/4N2P/6RK/8 w - - 1 0
[ Rg6+ Kh5 Rg5+ ]
3a)
mate in 3
Irina Krush vs Antoaneta Stefanova
Irina Krush Puzzles, Part IV.
The color disk on the diagram indicates who moves first.
a)
White mates in 4.
Irina Krush vs Andy Applebaum, Wheeling, 2013
8/2p1N1bk/2Q4p/P3p1p1/5pP1/3P1P2/1q3P1r/2R2K2 w - - 1 0
[ Qg6+ Kh8 Qe8+ ]
b)
Black mates in 5.
Daniel Van Heirzeele vs Irina Krush, Reykjavik, 2013
2Q5/q1R2p1k/p5pp/P7/1B6/3b2PP/1P1Nrb2/7K b - - 0 1
[ ...Re1+ if Kh2 Bg1+ Kh1 Bh2+ ]
c)
Sarah Chiang vs Irina Krush, Saint Louis, 2013
r3rk2/5pp1/pb1p1q1p/3P4/4BP2/PQ6/1P2RP1P/1R4K1 b - - 0 1
[ ...Rxe4 Rxe4 Qg6+ ]
d)
White mates in 2.
Irina Krush vs Ashritha Eswaran, Saint Louis, 2014
2n5/q1r1k1pp/p3Pp2/2P1p3/4P3/6PP/P2Q3K/3R1B2 w - - 1 0
[ Qd8+ ]
e)
Black mates in 4.
Tanja Tuominen vs Irina Krush, Tromsoe, 2014
r7/5pk1/ppNQ2b1/3P3p/5Rn1/2N3K1/PP4P1/7q b - - 0 1
[ ...h4+ if Kf3 Qf1+ Kxg4 Qxg2+ ]
4c)
Sarah Chiang vs Irina Krush
Irina Krush Puzzles, Part V.
The color disk on the diagram indicates who moves first.
a)
Sergey Fedorchuk vs Irina Krush, Doha, 2014
8/R4pk1/1p1p2p1/1Pq1n1Qp/2P1P3/4N2P/1r6/5B1K b - - 0 1
[ ...Rh2+ Kxh2 Nf3+ ]
b)
White mates in 4.
Irina Krush vs Tatev Abrahamyan, Saint Louis, 2015
5bk1/3N1p1p/4p3/4Q3/4P3/qp3PPK/7P/8 w - - 1 0
[ Nf6+ if Kh8 Qh5 or if Kg7 Qg5+ ]
c)
Irina Krush vs Zhongyi Tan, Huai'an, 2016
2r1n1k1/p5pp/2r1p3/1p1Q1P2/2nP1B2/3q2N1/4R1PP/4R1K1 w - - 1 0
[ Rxe6 ]
d)
Irina Krush vs Zhansaya Abdumalik, Hengshui, 2019
r4r1k/pb1q1pbp/1p3np1/2pP1PB1/2B5/2P3N1/P2Q2PP/2R2RK1 w - - 1 0
[ 1.Bxf6 Bxf6 2.Ne4 Be5 3.f6 Qg4 4.Qh6 if 4...Rg8 5.Ng5 ]
e)
White mates in 5.
Irina Krush vs Leonid Yudasin, New York, 2019
2rr2k1/1b2b2p/pqn1p1p1/1p5Q/4B3/PP2P3/1B3PPP/2R2RK1 w - - 1 0
[ 1.Bxg6 hxg6 2.Qxg6+ Kf8 3.Bg7+ ]
5a)
Sergey Fedorchuk vs Irina Krush
Other US GMs
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