Check and Compare Your Moves: Wijk Test Solutions

Hi everyone! As promised earlier here are the solutions to the puzzles, with some thoughts on how we miss opportunities and make wrong decisions.

Please feel free to leave some feedback on the positions and their solutions (e.g. level of difficulty, method of showing solutions- same post as the tests or a different one) because I'd like to make "blog-solving" easier and more helpful for you all :). 

Test 3

47.Qd3!

( the tempting 47.Rxc5?

Diagram #3

Allows Black to recover with 47... Rbxb7! ( it wins IF Black plays 47... dxc5 48.Bxe5+ Kg8 ( Qxe5 49.Qf8+ Kh7 50.Rf7+) 49.Bxb8 Rxb7 50.Bd6 +- ) 48.Rd5 ( 48.Rb5 Rf7 = )48... Rf7 = )

47... Qc6 48.Rfb1 Bc7 49.Qd5 Qxd5 50.exd5 g5 51.g4 h4 52.Kg2 Kg6 53.Kf3 Kf7 54.Ke4 Kf6 55.Bd2 Kg6 56.Be3 Bd8 leads to Test position 1.

Test 1

Diagram #4

57.Bxc5! the best way to break through Black's wall

57... dxc5 58.Kxe5 Ra6 ( Kf7 59.d6 Bf6+ 60.Kd5 Bd4 61.Kc6 Black can only watch W improve his position or takes more material.)

59.Rxc5 Bf6+ 60.Ke4 Rc8 is next 60... Re8+ 61.Kd3 and White is winning in many ways.

Test 5

Diagram #6

25.a4! an idea most probably missed by White in his analysis, which explains why he didn't go for this line during the game. 25... Bxd3 (25... Bxa4 (25... Bd7 26.Nb6 Rb8 27.Qxc5 +/- wins a pawn for nothing) 26.Nb6 wins the exchange) 26.Rb7 e6 27.Nc7 Re7 28.Rxc5 with a huge advantage due to White's more active pieces and targets on Black's position a6P and weak squares around the Black king.)

Test 4

Diagram #7

43... Bxf3+! 44.Kxf3 e4+ 45.Bxe4 Qa3+ 46.Bd3 Rh3+ 47.Ke2 Rh2+ 48.Kd1 ( 48.Kf3 Qd6! 49.Ke4 Qe5+ 50.Kf3 Qf4#) 48... Rh1+ 49.Kd2 Qa5+ 50.Ke2 Rh2+ 51.Kf1 ( 51. Kf3 leads to Test 2.) Qd2 with mate next move. 

In the game Black shies away from sacrificing on f3 as he may have missed some finishing tactical ideas in his analysis and played 43... Bf7. The game was subsequently drawn.

Test 2

51... Qa8+! (51... Qd2 52.Ke4) 52.Be4 Qb8 followed by an inevitable mate on f4.

Test 6

65.Qd5 Rg1+ 66.Kh2 Qb8+

67.Kxg1 ( 67.Rd6??

is a typical reply from those who panick and easily gets "scared of ghosts"67... Rc1 -+ ( they're probably hoping for 67... Bxd6+ 68.Kxg1= ))

67... Qg3+ 68.Kh1 ( 68.Bg2 Qxf2+ 69.Kh2 ( 69.Kh1 Qg1#)69... Qg1+ 70.Kg3 Qe1+ 71.Kh2 ( 71.Kf3 Qe3#)71... Bg1+ 72.Kh1 Bf2+ 73.Kh2 Bg3#)

68... Qxh3+ 69.Kg1 Qg3+ 70.Bg2 Qxf2+ 71.Kh2 Qh4+ ( Qg1+ 72.Kh3 the point: without the h3P, White's king has an escape square!72... Qe3+ 73.Qf3)

72.Bh3 White is down to only moves, which may feel terrifying sometimes but it's okay because there's no mate and White's simply a rook up for nothing.

72... Qf2+ 73.Qg2 Qf4+ ( what happened in the game Reinderman 2593- Yu 2677 is Qf6 74.Qg3 Bf2 75.Qd3 Bc5 76.Bg2 Qf4+ 77.Kh3 Qe5 78.Rd5 Qe1 79.Qg3 Qb4 80.Qe5+ f6 81.Rd7+ Kh6 82.Qxf6 Bd4 83.Rxd4 Qb8 84.Qd8)

74.Qg3 and Black runs out of checks in a losing game.

Test 7 

Diagram #12

22... Nc8! Black is only a little worse and has chances to equalize due to W's weak d-pawn. I'm sure Black considered this move but may have thought it's too passive. However, sometimes being passive is the best way minimize damage or the only way to keep fighting chances!

In the game Black went for the "active" but careless 22... Rxd4?

23.Qc3  Rfd8 24.Nf3 +/- 24... c5 25.Rd1 Qf6 26.Nxd4 cxd4 27.Qd3 (Black doesn't have enough compensation for the exchange) Rd7 28.b3 a6 29.f5 g5 30.h4 g4 31.Rf4 Qxh4 32.f6+ Kh6 33.Rxd4 Rc7 34.Rd8 g3 35.Qe3+ Kh7 36.Rh8+ Kxh8 37.Qh6+ Kg8 38.Qg7#.

Test 8

Diagram #15

29... Re8! with the idea of preparing the Qh2 invasion

(29... Qh2 right away is premature due to 30.Rc8+ Kh7 31.Rf8 Qh1+ 32.Kf2 and Black didn't achieve anything as W is covering important squares around his king.)

30.Qxb4 ( 30.Kg1 ( 30.Rxb4!? taking as many pawns and setting up a R+pawns fortress may be the most stubborn defence30... Qh2 31.Rxd4 Rf8+ 32.Qf2 Rxf2+ 33.Kxf2 Qc7 but Black should still win this.)30... Qg3 31.Kf1 only way to prevent Re131... Qh2! 32.Rxd4 ( 32.Rc5 Rf8+ same drill)32... Rf8+ 33.Ke1 Qg1+ 34.Ke2 Rf2+ -+ )

30... Qf4+ 31.Kg1 Re2 Black's major piece attack is decisive

32.Rc8+ Kh7 33.Rf8 Qg3 34.Qb7 Re1+ 35.Rf1 Qe3+ 0-1

Test 9

26.Nxd5! Rxe3 ( cxd5 27.Qxa5 Rxa5 28.Rxb3 +- )

27.Qxa5 Rxa5 28.Nxe3 +/- White wins a pawn, and has targets to attack in the ending.