I missed that the king couldn't escape via h6-instead I went for 38 6xg7-which should win...but of course loses the queen

<Once> upon a time there was a city slicker who decided, on a whim, to buy a farm. The day after his purchase he was eagerly examining his purchase. A large collection of rural farm tools caught his eye.

The usual paraphenalia of an agrarian economy were there - futtocks, crow-billed furblers, a gromit-hook or two and two blood-stained bricks.

He inquired of a straw-munching yokel: "I say, good man, what is the purpose of those bricks?"

"Why, them's castrating bricks, them's iz," slurred the hoary hand son of toil.

"Sounds gruesome. How do they work?"

"Well, zir, it's like zis. You gets behind the beast. All quiet like and sneaky. You takes one of these bricks in each 'and. Take aim at 'is plums. Thens you clap these bricks together with all your strength. Zats it, zir, one castrated bull."

"I say! Doesn't it hurt?"

"Only if you catches your thumbs between the bricks, zir."

Today's Tuesday puzzle gives us two opportunities to go wrong. After 38. Qxh7+ Kxh7, white would throw away the win if he chose 39. Rdxh7

click for larger view

After 39...Kh8 white discovers that there is no mate and he has chucked his queen for naught.

Or after 39. Rgxg7 Kh6 40. Rh7?

click for larger view

And again the black king escapes via g5 and Kxf5.

The game line is the only way to win. Odd that pieces as powerful as doubled rooks should need such precise handling.

I'm often clumsy and imprecise in my handling of rooks. The value of this position appearing as an "Easy" puzzle for me is that I'm forced to find the precise way to make the rooks move, since I know that there is a right way to do it here. OTB, I might have chosen the wrong way to move them. Hopefully, today's POTD will make my future coordination of the rooks a surer thing.

<Once: Today's Tuesday puzzle gives us two opportunities to go wrong. After 38. Qxh7+ Kxh7, white would throw away the win if he chose 39. Rdxh7

After 39...Kh8 white discovers that there is no mate and he has chucked his queen for naught.

Like fillibutter cake the unexpected hits you between the eyes qh3 it suprise!

Two Kan one within a6 one without nb5

Your bull story brought up another to my mind.

A cow farmer was being driven to his wit's end as his bull got too old to service all the cows.

At last the farmer put sentiment aside and bought in a new young bull. The bounder went after the cows with great gusto, energy and speed; one after another, he had work to do and no time to lose.

The farmer who had not retired the old bull due to old times' sake, was appreciative of his new investment, seeing it making a real job of it.

He then noticed that in a corner of the field his old bull was snorting, pissing and pawing the earth furiously, the way bulls do when they feel great, and bellicose.

The farmer scrambled up to him and said in the bulls ear, 'sorry old man you cannot do anything, so why this bull, this histrionics'?

Eetu Prieur vs Ufuk Sezen Arat, Rogaska Slatina, 2011.

click for larger view

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went camping. Sometime late at night, Mr. Holmes awoke and immediately awakened Dr. Watson. "Tell me doctor, what do you see?"
The good doctor thought for a moment and replied with a yawn, "Well Mr. Holmes, geographically I see we are in a valley surrounded by granite mountains carved by an ancient glacier - astronomically I see the Milky Way, Ursa Major and the North Star - theologically I see God's infinite beauty. Why do you ask? What do you see?"

A city slicker was driving through the country and came upon a three legged pig. He stopped and hailed the farmer over to the road to ask why the pig had only three legs.

The farmer said “This is the best pig we’ve ever had. A few months ago the barn door somehow opened and the horses got out. The pig herded the horses back into the barn and closed the door.”

The slicker asked, “That is quite a feat, but why does the pig have only have three legs?”

“Well”, said the farmer, “last month our tractor stalled on the railroad track and the pig ran over and pushed the tractor off the track just before the train came. He’s the best pig we’ve ever had.”

The slicker asked again, “That is a terrific story but why does the pig have only three legs?”

Replied the farmer, “This is an amazing pig. Last week a fire started in the kitchen late one night and the pig came into the house and woke everyone up so they could escape. He’s an incredible animal.”

The city slicker was now pretty irritated and asked curtly, “What happened to the missing leg?!”

<A Canadian airman bailed out of his bomber, but not before receiving severe wounds. After the German medics fixed him up, removing a leg in the process, he pleaded with them to fly the leg over England on the next German bombing mission and drop it on the field where he used to be based so that it could be sent home to his family. The Germans, gentlemanly to wounded airmen, agreed.

Then gangrene set in and his other leg had to be amputated. He asked for it to also be flown over and dropped on England, and again the Germans agreed. Shortly afterward, the wound in his arm became infected and he was told they might have to amputate that, too. When he made his usual request, the medical people were suddenly hustled out of the room and a black-uniformed Gestapo officer stomped in. "We refuse to send your arm to England," he said. The Canadian, astounded, asked why not.

If you would like another simple test then answer the four questions at this link. I hasten to say that I got ALL four wrong...

<Shams> Your 'great escape' plan got me in weird stitches!

Wonderful<srtnm> 'A good thing' has to be eaten!

I'm just getting back into the game after not playing for about 40 years and my biggest weakness seems to be focusing too much on what I'm trying to do and forgetting about my opponent - leads to blunders and missed opportunities. But hey, with sites like this (especially the POTD and Kibitzers) I'm confident I'll get there. I am amazed at the resources available now.