Mark C Donlan

ChessEdu.org Step by Step Mark C Donlan

Step by Step: Mate is designed to improve your checkmate pattern and visualization skills. The premise is simple, try to solve the mate in three position in the first diagram. If you are unable to solve for mate in three, refer to the following diagrams in which you can solve Step-by-Step for mate-in-one, mate-in-two, and then mate-in-three. You can also utilize the puzzles as exercises or lessons in a classroom setting in conjunction with the ChessEdu.org curriculum. Spaces are provided for answers to be written. The answers are given at the end of the book, along with the complete game scores. Game examples are taken from the golden age of chess play from as far back as 1830 right up to the present day. While there are some classic brilliancies of chess play, including examples from world champions Anand, Karpov, and Kasparov, there are also many examples from regional competitions in the North East area of the United States featuring local international masters. Beyond over-the-board play, correspondence play is represented among the puzzles as well. In a few examples, the checkmate is based on a missed opportunity that was overlooked during the game. In all, forty-three opening systems are featured in the 150 complete games. Readers are encouraged to play through the entire game to see how the final positions came about. Beyond solving for a winning attack, try to find an improvement for the defender as well! An index for reading algebraic notation is provided, as well as indices of players and openings. Nearly everyone can find a mate-in-one move, but visualizing three moves ahead is exponentially harder to a surprising degree. Working through these examples will help you memorize common mating patterns and sharpen your intuition as to when a mating attack is warranted by the position, even when it involves sacrificing material. You will learn to combine multiple tactical themes to create crushing mating attacks. There are a total of 150 exercises, with 600 diagrams, and 450 puzzle challenges. Here's wishing you the best in chess!