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Chad Lieberman

Whenever two of the best chess players in the world sit down across the board from one another, history is destined to be made.

In mid September of this year, the first ever Clash of the Titans event took place in Lindsborg, Kansas. For several years now, world class GM Anatoly Karpov has been directing his Karpov International School of Chess from "Little Sweden, USA."

This year he invited Women's World Chess Champion, Susan Polgar, to battle him in a six game match that seemed more for publicity than for any real title. These six games were played under three different formats: rapid chess, Fischer random chess, and blitz chess.

Though the impetus for the event may have been to draw attention to Karpov's school of chess, the match was a positive result for chess as a whole. The final result was a 3-3 draw proving that there is no gender advantage over the chessboard.

Beyond the politics and the publicity stunts, above all, this match provided an opportunity for children in and around Lindsborg, Kansas to meet two of the very best chess players in the world. The second game of the match is printed below. Happy Holidays!

White to mate in two moves.
Link to solution at the bottom.