'Characteristic Puzzles in the Opening' series



Here are some chess puzzles from the games of Milan Vidmar, Sr.
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)
White mates in 4.
Milan Vidmar vs Augustin Neumann, Vienna, 1903
r3k2N/1b1pn2p/2qB1bp1/p7/p4Q2/2N5/PPP2PPP/4R1K1 w - - 0 1
[ Rxe7+ if Bxe7 Qf7+ or if Kd8 Nf7+ ]

b)
White mates in 5.
Milan Vidmar vs Arthur Sartori, Barmen, 1905
1r6/3b1krR/p3p1p1/qpBpPpP1/4nP2/P1P1Q3/2P1B1K1/7R w - - 0 1
[ Rxg7+ Kxg7 Qh3 Nxc5 Qh7+ ]

c)
White mates in 5.
Milan Vidmar vs Siegbert Tarrasch, Nuernberg, 1906
r1r5/2Rb2q1/p1N1k3/1p1p1pPQ/1P1PnB2/P7/5P2/4R1K1 w - - 0 1
[ Rxe4+ if dxe4 d5+ Kxd5 Qd1+ or if fxe4 Qh3+ Kf7 Qxd7+ ]

d)
Milan Vidmar vs Georg Martinolich, Vienna, 1907
8/p6p/1p2P1pk/5p2/3R1P2/4Q2P/Pr3qPK/8 w - - 0 1
[ Qxf2 if Rxf2 Re4 fxe4 e7 ]

e)
Milan Vidmar vs Osip Bernstein, San Sebastian, 1911
4r1k1/3R1p2/3R2p1/pp2p1Q1/2r3qP/6P1/1P3P2/6K1 w - - 0 1
[ Rd8 if Rf8 Rxf8+ Kxf8 Rd8+ ]

1d)
Milan Vidmar vs Georg Martinolich

Milan Vidmar Puzzles, Part II.
The color disk on the diagram indicates who moves first.
a)
White mates in 5.
Milan Vidmar vs Amos Burn, San Sebastian, 1911
3R4/r4p1p/3N1kp1/8/p3R3/4P1K1/5P1P/r7 w - - 0 1
[ Ne8+ if Kg5 Rd5+ f5 Rg4+ or if Kf5 Rd5+ ]

b)
White mates in 7.
Milan Vidmar vs Dawid Janowski, San Sebastian, 1911
3R1nk1/3r1p2/p3pQp1/1pp1P2P/4B3/4P3/5PK1/3q4 w - - 0 1
[ Bf3 if Qd2 h6 or if gxh5 Qg5+ ]

c)
White mates in 4.
Milan Vidmar vs Frederick Yates, London, 1922
b3r2k/4r1p1/p4PRp/1p1q2Q1/2p4R/P3P3/1P4PP/6K1 w - - 0 1
[ Rhxh6+ if gxh6 Rxh6+ or if Kg8 Rxg7+ ]

d)
White mates in 3.
Milan Vidmar vs Saviely Tartakower, London, 1922
4R3/1p4rk/6p1/2pQBpP1/p1P1pP2/Pq6/1P6/K7 w - - 0 1
[ Qd7 if Rxd7 Rh8# ]

e)
White mates in 2.
Milan Vidmar vs Max Euwe, Carlsbad, 1929
6k1/5p2/1p5p/p4Np1/5q2/Q6P/PPr5/3R3K w - - 0 1
[ Qf8+ Kxf8 Rd8# ]

2d)
mate in 3
Milan Vidmar vs Saviely Tartakower

Milan Vidmar Puzzles, Part III.
The color disk on the diagram indicates who moves first.
a)
Milan Vidmar vs Bela Toth, Ljubljana, 1938
5rk1/pp4rp/2p5/2Q1N2n/3PRp2/P7/1P3qPP/6RK w - - 0 1
[ Nf3 if Nf6 Qc4+ Kh8 Re2 ]

b)
Milan Vidmar vs Henry Grob, Stuttgart, 1939
r6r/1p2n1k1/p1pNq1bR/4P3/6p1/P5P1/1P3PP1/K1Q4R w - - 0 1
[ Qg5 if Rxh6 Qxh6+ mates or if a5 Qh4 ]

c)
Milan Vidmar vs Vlastimil Stulik, Karlovy Vary, 1948
rn1qkb1r/p1nbp1pp/1p3p2/8/3NPB2/2N2P2/PP4PP/R2QKB1R w KQkq - 0 1
[ Bxc7 Qxc7 Nd5 Qe5 Rc1 Kf7 Nc7 ]

3c)
Milan Vidmar vs Vlastimil Stulik

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