Blindfold Chess Podcast

We are looking at a very color member of chess history - someone who had a 50 year chess playing career, someone who traveled from Europe to Australia to Cuba playing matches, simuls, and blindfold events, someone who put future World Champions through windows, been fined for assaulting people, arrested for being a French spy, and nicked named “The Black Death” - Joseph Blackburne.
-------
1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Bc4 d6 5.Nxc3 Nc6 6.Nf3 Ne5 7.Nxe5 dxe5 8.Bxf7+ Ke7 9.Bg5+ Nf6 10.Qh5 c6 11.Rd1 Qa5 12.f4 Qc5 13.fxe5 Qxe5 14.O-O h6 15.Be8 Be6 16.Rxf6 gxf6  17.Rd7+ Bxd7 18.Qf7+ Kd6 19.Qxd7+ Kc5 20.Be3+ Kb4 21.Qxb7+ Ka5 22.b4+ Bxb4 23.Bb6+ axb6 24.Qxa8# 1-0
—
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1028829 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Henry_Blackburne 
http://cassidynoble.com/ 

1876 match: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?tid=79940

This week, we are looking at the highest rated Azerbaijani chess player, the 6th highest rated chess player in history, a 3 time-Candidate, 2 time world Junior champion, and a World Rapid Champion - Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. 
------
1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 d5 4. exd5 Nxd5 5. Bg2 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bd6 7. Ne2 O-O 8. O-O Nc6 9. Rb1 Re8 10. d4 h6 11. Be3 Qf6 12. Qd3 a6 13. d5 Bf5 14. Be4 Bxe4 15. Qxe4 Na5 16. c4 b6 17. c5 bxc5 18. Qa4 Qf3 19. Rfe1 f5 20. Qxa5 f4 21. Bxc5 Qg4 22. Bxd6 cxd6 23. Qa4 Qf5 24. Nxf4 1-0
------
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1971545#google_vignette 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakhriyar_Mamedyarov 
http://cassidynoble.com/
 -----
“Did he just play G4!?” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4pgWWjME2s

This week, we are looking at a popular influencer, commentator, Olympiad Gold Medal winner, national champion, International Master, and someone who has been in the Top 100 rated women in the world for the past 20 years - Tania Sachdev.
-----
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. c4 Nf6 6. Nc3 Bb4 7. f3 Qc7 8. a3 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 d6 10. Be3 Nbd7 11. Rb1 O-O 12. Nb3 d5 13. exd5 exd5 14. c5 Re8 15. Kf2 Ne5 16. Bd4 Bf5 17. Ra1 Re6 18. Nc1 Rae8 19. Be2 Ned7 20. g4 Bg6 21. h4 Qf4 22. Kg1 Qg3+ 23. Kf1 Rxe2 0-1
-----
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1665976 
https://www.redbull.com/us-en/tania-sachdev-master-of-her-domain 
https://www.presidentofindia.gov.in/smt-pratibha-devisingh-patil/press_releases/president-congratulates-tania-sachdev-winning-asian#:~:text=Rashtrapati%20Bhavan%20%3A%2018.09.-,2007,adopt%20sports%20as%20a%20career. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tania_Sachdev 
http://cassidynoble.com/

This week, we are looking at the “Father of Italian Chess”, someone who catalogued and organized so many chess games, rules, ideas, openings, endings, and constructs as well as traveled the world as the first professional chess player - Gioachino Greco. 
--
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4 Qh4+ 4.Kf1 d6 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.d4 Qh6 7.g3 Qh3+ 8.Kf2 fxg3+ 9.hxg3 Bxf3 10.Bxf7+ Kd8 11.Qxf3 Qd7 12.Rxh7 Rxh7 13.Bxg8 Rh2+ 14.Kg1 Rxc2 15.Qxf8+ Qe8 16.Bg5+ Kd7 17.Be6+ Qxe6 18.Qd8+ Kc6 19.d5+ Qxd5 20.exd5+ Kxd5 21.Nc3+ Ke5 22.Qe8+ Kd4 23.Qe4+ Kc5 24.Be3# 1-0
—
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1272515 
https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_RicCAAAAYAAJ/page/n129/mode/1up 
https://archive.org/details/TheRoyallGameOfChessePlay/page/n34/mode/1up 
https://billwallchess.blogspot.com/2020/11/gioacchino-greco-1600-1634.html 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gioachino_Greco 
http://cassidynoble.com/

Hi everyone, welcome back! It is puzzle time this week! 

These are some of my favorite  episodes. 

I am going to give you 3 different puzzles this episode ranging from easy to hard. I will be giving you the piece location of every piece on the board and it will be your job to figure out the correct sequence of moves to complete the puzzle. 

Without further ado, let’s dive into Puzzle number 1. It is white to move and you are playing white. 

Puzzle 1:
White has a rook on a5. 
White has a bishop on b8.
White has a King on e2.
Black has their king on b2. 
Black has a queen on g7. 
—
[FEN: 1B6/6q1/8/R7/8/8/1k2K3/8 w - - 0 1] 
—
Puzzle 2:
White has a King on f4. 
White has a pawn on h2. 
Black has a King on f6. 
Black has a pawn on g6. 
Black has a pawn on h5. 
—
[FEN: 8/8/5kp1/7p/5K2/8/7P/8 w - - 0 1]
—
Puzzles 3:
White has a pawn on a3. 
White has a pawn on d4. 
White has a pawn on f4. 
White has a pawn on g4. 
White has a pawn on h6. 
White has a rook on b3. 
White has a rook on g5. 
White has a king on e3. 

Black has a pawn on b5. 
Black has a pawn on d5. 
Black has a pawn on e4. 
Black has a rook on both c4 and a rook on c1. 
Black has a king on c6. 
—
[FEN: 8/8/2k4P/1p1p2R1/2rPpPP1/PR2K3/8/2r5 b - - 1 2]
—
http://cassidynoble.com/