his position comes from the game Kevin Clark (1780) vs Joel Johnson (2218) from Round 1 of the 
116th Annual U. S. Open Chess Championship, played yesterday August 1, 2015.
 

   In the position on the right it is Black to move.

 

   Answer below.

   We got 176 votes in the poll, which I thought was great!

   Here were some of the comments about this design.
 

Classic look. Gears are nice touch for tactics. ~ William Parker

Clean and contemporary-very appealing ~ Alan Spitzer

Best of offerings. Knight represents chess, gears represent mind thinking. ~Jack Holz

Excellent! This one is neat, clean and original. The colors are great. The gears imply a person engaged in problem solving. ~ Michelle Healy

First choice: I like this design the best. The gears are kind of symbolic for thinking and calculation. Emphasis is on the word Zero, setting this book apart from others a bit. Background crumpled paper texture is interesting and indicative of someone having made a mistake or something by allowing a tactic in his game he didn't see. This cover is interesting in several ways. :) ~ Ed Stoddard

The "time" is a crucial element with the clock gear. This one is amazing. ~ Jeff W.

Love it, the cogs must signify my brain trying to work out the damn puzzles! ~ Daniel Booth

   Thanks so much to everyone who voted!  I really appreciate that!  If you would like to see the results, including all of the comments, you can click here:  http://99designs.com/book-cover-design/contests/chess-niche-kindle-ebook-cover-512474/poll/k87wlv/results


   Here is the complete game:

   Answer: 

   38...Ncb4 threatens the Rook on a6, and a back rank checkmate with ...Rc1#.  White can throw in some checks (which they did), but ultimately cannot meet both threats without giving up material.


   Happy Tactics!

 

   Your Friend,