| Aug-30-04 |
| Shadout Mapes: I didn't get this one. I actually analyzed 20.Qc2+ but didn't notice the threat on c8. Go figure. But I'm sure everyone else spent a lot of time analyzing 20.Rh3+ just to find white mated in the end. |
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Aug-30-04
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| EXIDE: Simple! I did not see this one because I was looking to mate the king with 20. Rh3+ which does not work. |
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| Aug-30-04 |
| Calculoso: After K gets out of check play goes 21. Rxc8 Rxc8 22. Qxc8 Bxc8 Rxe7 at which point white's rook wins over black's bishop. |
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| Aug-30-04 |
| samikd: Sorry, I don't get it. What is the threat after Qc2 ? |
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Aug-30-04
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| patzer2: White sees a winning combination due to the White Rooks decisive pin on the Black Bishop. So White plays 19. Bxh7+! Kxh7 20. Qc2+ Kg8 21. Rxc8 Rxc8 22. Qxc8+ Bxc8 23. Rxe7  , White is up the exchange (Rook for a Bishop) plus an extra pawn. With this material advantage, it is a clear win for White. |
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| Aug-30-04 |
| weirdoid: With my patzer's instinct, I would have played 9 (or 10) ... dxc3, and grab as much wood as possible, development be damned. Heck, if Black's king has to be slain, let him die like a king - with a full belly, and with as much wealth as possible, even if ill gotten. The king is dead, long life the king! Plus, there are not many more enjoyable things than refuting dubious sacrifices! :( :) |
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| Aug-30-04 |
| peterk007: For a monday this is pretty deceiving. 2 rooks, a queen and a bishop aiming on h7, I thougt this must be mate. But after exchanging nerly everything the exchange and a pwn is enough to mate 20 moves later. |
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| Aug-30-04 |
| simsan: <peterk007> I agree! I was also looking for mate. Before I looked at the solution I was pretty sure that the winning combination had to start with Bxh7 (as that was the only _really_ aggressive move and since this is a monday puzzle), but I still didn't see Qc2. I had only analyzed every conceivable way of stacking my wood in the H-file. |
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| Aug-30-04 |
| greystar69: I really can't understand why black didn't play 10... dxc3 with a threat of discovered check and tying up whites pieces if pawns are exchanged on c3. Is the extra development worth two pawns, especially if black can trade off the queens? |
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Aug-30-04
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| Chessical: <Greystar69> <10...dxc3> is extremely sharp, but it may not be sound. One possibility is: <11.0-0> cxb2 12.Qf3 Be6 13.Rae1 Bb4 14.Nxf7 Bxe1 15.Nxh8 Bb4 (15...Bc3? 16.Bf5 Bxf5 17.Qxf5) 16.Qe2 with advantage. |
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| Aug-30-04 |
| 2ndNature: Not an easy one but definetly solvable... I had to switch to the third gear to get that one, but I got it. The key point, for me, was to look at a position that arises *after* 19.Bxh7+, and rework all the other white pieces. First I saw 20.Qd3+, but a refutation (20... g6) was to obvious, then I recalled that black rook on c8, which I didn't know what to do with before (it does threaten checkmate on the back raw...), so 20.Qc2+ poped in quite naturally. Good on me :)
Nature |
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Aug-30-04
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| notyetagm: Damn, missed a Monday problem. I, too, was carried away with dreams of <mate down the h-file>. |
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| Aug-30-04 |
| bob725: I got this!!! It is quite crafty for a Monday puzzle.
The key to solving this for myself was the realisation that black's bishop could not move freely without giving up his queen. |
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Aug-30-04
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| kevin86: I missed a Monday puzzle-it is going to be a LONG week! |
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Aug-30-04
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| Knight13: Constrasitive! |
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| Aug-30-04 |
| mynameisrandy: What happens if black plays 20... Bf6? |
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Aug-30-04
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| iron maiden: That's not a legal move. Do you mean 20...Bf5? |
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| Aug-30-04 |
| simsan: <mynameisrandy>: Moving the black bishop means loosing both black B and Q:
After 20. ... Bf5 21. Qxf5+ g6 22. Qh3+ Kg7 23. Rxe7 |
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| Aug-30-04 |
| Dick Brain: I got it pretty fast but I'll admit I was looking for mates along the h-file after Bxh7+ for a while until I finally got it through my head that the black bishop controls h3 and white has back rank weakness problems. Then I thought for a minute how to use the f-pawn to storm the kingside (but that was so unlike chessgames.com puzzles). Only then did I realize Qc2+ was decisive after Bxh7+. |
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Aug-30-04
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| midknightblue: I am playing the hawaii state open (in chess) this weekend. Betters beware, I didn't come close to solving this tricky monday puzzle. I was sure there was a mate on the h file. Come visit hawaii and lay down all your money on my opponents. You will leave a rich man. |
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| Aug-30-04 |
| MatrixManNe0: Haha, I'm not alone in missing the monday puzzle! Whoot! |
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| Aug-30-04 |
| ThomYorke: When Black moved Rc8 he was avoiding 19)Bxh7+ Kxh7 20)Qh5+ Kg8 21)Rh3 ... nice try |
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Dec-31-05
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| Timothy Glenn Forney: This is the wackiest anti-sicilian I have ever seen.What's wrong with the fork 10...f6? |
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| Dec-31-05 |
| syracrophy: -<9.Nxd4> was better than <9.Bd3> -<10...Qc7?> is useless. Correct was <10...dxc3> -<14.Bf6? was a big mistake> It's a tentative sacrifice, but it doesn't reaches its proposits. <After 14...gxf6 15.Qh5 Re8 16.Nxc6 bxc6 17.Rfe1 Be6 18.Qxh7+ Rf8 19.b3 Ke7 20.Bf5 Kd8 21.Bxe6 fxe6 and there's no enough compensation for the piece> -After <19.Bxh7+! Kxh7 20.Qc2+ g6 21.Rxc8 Rxc8 22.Qxc8 Qb4 23.Qc3 winning> |
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sac: 19.Bxh7+
