In most chess games featuring exemplary attacking tactics, like those we have discussed for games by Tal and Alekhine, you will notice one player hogging the limelight by virtue of his attacking display. A game where both players are trying to attack, giving back as much as he gets, is relatively rare and holds great interest for learning chess tactics and also for enjoying the game. Here is a gem in this category.
When you consider that White as a player had the highest Elo rating ever achieved while Black reached the next highest spot, you might expect the game to be a close tussle and a long, slow process till one pips the other at the final post. You will therefore wonder at White’s attacking force that made the Black King run all over the chessboard to seek final futile shelter in White King’s domain! It is therefore no wonder that the game ranks as one of the greatest display of attacking chess tactics.
You must have experienced that a steam-rolling attack generates more spectator interest than a equally effective but subtle positional maneuvers to gain advantages. This may be the reason that beginners’ games often become hammer and tongs all the way. No harm if you want to make attack your preferred style, but you should know how to prevail upon your opponent with your attack lest it ends up in a whimper! Here are some points for you to consider to launch an effective attack.
In "part 9" of different chess tactics, we showed how deflection is used to force a key defender away so that the opponent became vulnerable to attack and had to face significant loss of material or even checkmate. One reader requested for some more examples beyond those used as illustration in that article. You know it needs quite some effort to collect examples from different sources, but that is why we are here, aren’t we? So, we are giving below ten positions with deflection as the motif from games spread over nearly a century of chess.