Mindblowing Tactics

Richard Teichman once said, "Chess is 99% tactics. However, I think Dan Heisman was more on the mark when he stated, "Chess isn't 99% tactics, it's just that tactics takes up 99% of your time" -- The Improving Annotator.

You simply cannot play this game without a knowledge of tactics. What happens if you "run out" of opening knowledge and you are in a position like the positions below?

The positions below are from Zakharov-Litvinov, USSR 1978.

Its White to play. What is the best move?

NOTE: Make sure you do a status examination of the position. In other words, look at the function of each piece and take an overall broad look at the position. You might even want to look for critical squares.



Once again it is White's move. This is taken from an analysed position in the game. Make sure to look at the features of the position carefully.



I hope you got the answers right. If not then you might need to brush up on your tactics. I got one position right, so I still have some work to do on improving.

Cheers

Paul