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Here are some chess puzzles from the games of Ilia Smirin.
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)
Ilia Smirin vs A Sedrakian, Minsk, 1986
7k/4p2p/1p1p1rpP/2r3N1/3RP3/nPP2P2/4K3/6R1 w - - 0 1
[ Ra4 if Ra5 Rxa5 bxa5 Ra1 ]

b)
Ilia Smirin vs Janis Klovans, Kuldiga, 1987
3rr1k1/q1p2ppp/2bp4/p1nNP3/2P5/2Q4P/P1B2PP1/1R2R1K1 w - - 0 1
[ Nf6+ gxf6 Qg3+ Kf8 exf6 Re5 Rxe5 dxe5 Qg7+ mates ]

c)
Ilia Smirin vs Lars Hjelmaas, Gausdal, 1990
4k3/2R2p2/P3p3/3p4/2n5/8/3B2r1/3K4 w - - 0 1
[ Rxc4 if Kd7 a7 Rg8 Rb4 or if Rg1+ Be1 ]

d)
Ilia Smirin vs Yochanan Afek, Ramat-Gan, 1992
r1bqkbnr/1p1ppppp/p7/1B1N3Q/3pP3/8/PPPP1PPP/R1B1K2R w KQkq - 0 1
[ Qe5 ]

e)
Ilia Smirin vs Veselin Topalov, Biel, 1993
1r1br1k1/2qb1pp1/p2p1n1p/n1pPp3/P1P1P3/2BQ1NN1/2B2PPP/1R2R1K1 w - - 0 1
[ Bxa5 ]

1a)
Ilia Smirin vs A Sedrakian

Ilia Smirin Puzzles, Part II.
The color disk on the diagram indicates who moves first.
a)
Ilia Smirin vs Vladimir Dimitrov, Burgas, 1993
8/2q2pp1/k6p/p2QR2P/8/2r5/2P2P2/5K2 w - - 0 1
[ Qa8+ Kb6 Qxa5+ if Kb7 Rb5+ or if Kc6 Qb5+ mates ]

b)
Ilia Smirin vs Mark Tseitlin, Haifa, 1993
5rk1/5ppp/p1q2b2/1pp1rN2/4PQ1P/2P5/PPB2PP1/R5K1 w - - 0 1
[ Qxe5 if Bxe5 Ne7+ ]

c)
Ilia Smirin vs David Garcia Ilundain, Las Palmas, 1993
2rr2k1/p2nbpp1/3pbn1p/1P2p3/1P2P3/q1N2N1P/3B1PP1/1R1QRBK1 w - - 0 1
[ Re3 if Re8 Na4 Qa2 Rb2 ]

d)
White mates in 4.
Ilia Smirin vs Gert-Jan De Boer, Wijk aan Zee, 1993
2q2r1k/5Qp1/4p1P1/3p4/r6b/7R/5BPP/5RK1 w - - 0 1
[ Bxh4 if Rxf7 Be7+ ]

e)
Ilia Smirin vs Alexey Vyzmanavin, Burgas, 1994
8/4kpp1/p3p2p/1p2P2P/2n1Q3/5N2/PP3PPK/2q5 w - - 0 1
[ Qb7+ Ke8 Qc6+ Ke7 b3 ]

2d)
mate in 4
Ilia Smirin vs Gert-Jan De Boer

Ilia Smirin Puzzles, Part III.
The color disk on the diagram indicates who moves first.
a)
White mates in 4.
Ilia Smirin vs Sahbaz Nurkic, Bratto, 1997
4kr2/3rn2p/1P4p1/2p5/Q1B2P2/8/P2q2PP/4R1K1 w - - 0 1
[ Qa8+ Rd8 Rxe7+ Kxe7 Qe4+ ]

b)
Ilia Smirin vs Nelson Gamboa, New York, 1998
r4rk1/pb1pq1pp/n1p1pn2/2P1Np2/1b6/1QN3P1/PP2PPBP/R1B2RK1 w - - 0 1
[ Nd3 ]

c)
White mates in 6.
Ilia Smirin vs Sergei Rublevsky, Bastia, 1999
8/pp3pPk/3prBp1/3q3p/5Q2/3P1R2/PP2r1PP/5R1K w - - 0 1
[ Qh6+ Kxh6 g8/Q Rxf6 Qh8+ Kg5 Rg3+ ]

d)
White mates in 6.
Ilia Smirin vs Mikhail Ulibin, Pula, 2000
2R5/1p3p1p/r3pB1k/pb2P1p1/3r3P/5P2/PP4P1/4R1K1 w - - = 1
[ g4 gxh4 Rg8 Rxg4+ fxg4 w/Bxg5# ]

e)
White mates in 5.
Ilia Smirin vs Karsten Rasmussen, Saint Vincent, 2000
b1r2bk1/p4R1p/1p6/4Q3/2PP3q/8/P5PP/5RK1 w - - 0 1
[ Rg7+ Bxg7 Qe6+ ]

3c)
mate in 6
Ilia Smirin vs Sergei Rublevsky

Ilia Smirin Puzzles, Part IV.
The color disk on the diagram indicates who moves first.
a)
Ilia Smirin vs Thomas Luther, Moscow, 2001
4r1k1/6bp/1p1Bp3/4P2R/p2N1P2/6R1/1P4PK/1br5 w - - 0 1
[ f5 if Rc4 Rhg5 ]

b)
White mates in 9.
Ilia Smirin vs Jaan Ehlvest, Moscow, 2001
1r5k/1p3Qp1/p2pB2p/3Pq2P/8/5RP1/1PPb4/7K w - - 0 1
[ Qf8+ if Rxf8 Rxf8+ Kh7 Bg8+ ]

c)
White mates in 6.
Ilia Smirin vs Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant, Port Erin, 2004
5Rnk/1p2p2p/p2pNr2/3P1p2/1P3P1q/2Q4P/P5P1/7K w - - 0 1
[ Rxg8+ Kxg8 Qc8+ ]

d)
Ilia Smirin vs Goran Dizdar, Sibenik, 2005
5rk1/5pp1/3r4/2Qp1n1p/8/1N5P/q4PP1/3RR1K1 w - - 0 1
[ Nd4 if Rf6 Ra1 Qb2 Qxf8+ ]

e)
White mates in 4.
Ilia Smirin vs Dizdar, Sibenik, 2005
4rk1r/p2b1pp1/1q5p/3pR1n1/3N1p2/1P1Q1P2/PBP3PK/4R3 w - - 0 1
[ Rxe8+ Bxe8 Ba3+ ]

4c)
mate in 6
Ilia Smirin vs Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant

Ilia Smirin Puzzles, Part V.
The color disk on the diagram indicates who moves first.
a)
Ilia Smirin vs Andrei Volokitin, Fuegen, 2006
3rr2k/pp2b2p/8/n1pqNp1p/P2P1B2/2P3QP/6P1/R3R1K1 w - - 0 1
[ Ng6+ hxg6 Qxg6 if Nc6 Re6 ]

b)
Ilia Smirin vs N Abasov, Moscow, 2008
r1b2r2/1p1q1pk1/p5p1/3N3p/8/5P1P/PP3P2/R2QR1K1 w - - 0 1
[ Qd4+ Kh6 Qf4+ Kg7 Nb6 ]

c)
Ilia Smirin vs Michael Roiz, Natanya, 2009
7r/Qnk3p1/1pp2p2/4pPP1/8/P7/1PP2qB1/1K1R4 w - - 0 1
[ Rd7+ Kxd7 Qxb7 Kd8 Qb8+ ]

d)
Ilia Smirin vs Marat Makarov, Rijeka, 2010
3Rbk2/5p2/4rNpp/p2Nb3/2P3P1/5P2/1P6/2K5 w - - 0 1
[ Nd7+ Kg7 Nc5 ]

e)
Black mates in 3.
Mackenzie Molner vs Ilia Smirin, Philadelphia, 2011
7r/1N1k1pq1/p2pp3/1p2P2Q/4NP2/3P2rP/PP3bP1/R1B4K b - - 0 1
[ ...Rxh3+ ]

5b)
Ilia Smirin vs N Abasov

Ilia Smirin Puzzles, Part VI.
The color disk on the diagram indicates who moves first.
a)
G N Gopal vs Ilia Smirin, New Delhi, 2012
r4r1k/2p2P2/p1qpN1b1/8/7P/2b1Q1B1/PnB2R2/2K1R3 b - - 0 1
[ ...Nd3+ ]

b)
Ilia Smirin vs Eduard Kanter, Baku, 2013
r4r2/pb3pbk/1p5p/5Np1/4qpN1/1BP4Q/PP3PPP/R5K1 w - - 1 0
[ Nf6+ Bxf6 Qxh6+ Kg8 Qg6+ mates ]

c)
Rinat Dzhumabayev vs Ilia Smirin, Skopje, 2013
r3b1k1/1p2b3/4q2p/1P1p2pn/3BpP2/1Q4PN/5PKP/2R2B2 b - - 0 1
[ ...Ra3 Qb2 Qxh3+ if Kxh3 Nxf4+ Kg4 Bd7# ]

d)
White mates in 3.
Ilia Smirin vs Namhai Battulga, Tromsoe, 2014
6qk/1p2N2p/r2p4/p3bQ1R/2Pnp3/1P2B3/P5PP/6K1 w - - 1 0
[ Rxh7+ Qxh7 Qf8+ ]

e)
Ilia Smirin vs Husein Aziz Nezad, St. Petersburg, 2014
4r1k1/p4pp1/8/3pBn1R/1q1n2N1/2rQ4/5PPP/3R2K1 w - - 1 0
[ Nf6+ if gxf6 Bxf6 or if Kf8 Rh8+ Ke7 Rxe8# ]

6c)
Rinat Dzhumabayev vs Ilia Smirin

Ilia Smirin Puzzles, Part VII.
The color disk on the diagram indicates who moves first.
a)
White mates in 3.
Ilia Smirin vs Alan Merry, Riga, 2018
4R2r/p4k2/8/1P1N2p1/3B1p2/1P3Pq1/P5p1/4R1K1 w - - 1 0
[ R1e7+ Kg6 Rg7+ Kf5 Re5# ]

b)
Ilia Smirin vs Jegor Lashkin, Chisinau, 2019
3r2k1/5pnp/3pr1p1/1p1N4/7P/1P3qP1/2PQRP2/4R1K1 w - - 1 0
[ 1.Re3 if 1...Qf5 2.Rxe6 fxe6 3.Ne7+ or if 1...Qh5 2.Rxe6 fxe6 3.Nf6+ ]

c)
Ilia Smirin vs Marian Jurcik, Skopje, 2019
6k1/r1b3p1/2p2p2/p1P1p2p/4P2P/q5P1/3B1PK1/1R1Q4 w - - 1 0
[ 1.Qc2 w/2.Bc1 ]

d)
Ilia Smirin vs Vasily Usmanov, Riga, 2019
4rrk1/p5pp/1p6/2qpNb2/2n5/1B2RP1P/PP4P1/3QR2K w - - 1 0
[ 1.Nxc4 dxc4 2.Rxe8 if 2...cxb3 3.Qxb3+ or if 2...Rxe8 3.Rxe8+ Kf7 4.Ba4 b5 5.Qe1 ]

7a)
mate in 3
Ilia Smirin vs Alan Merry


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