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| Oct-22-07 | | Marmot PFL: Interesting mate pattern and not so simple either as black had to see it (among other mates) when playing 27..Bxg2+ |
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| Oct-22-07 | | Marmot PFL: <MostlyAverageJoe> Strange, computers usually find forced mates instantly. |
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Oct-22-07
 | | ahmadov: I thought it was 29...Qg3, so I missed this very easy puzzle :( |
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Oct-22-07
 | | notyetagm: <kwgurge: 29...Qh2+ 30.Bxh2 Nf2#. Too easy.> Another example of how difficult it is to <DEFEND> squares next to your king. Why is it difficult to <DEFEND> squares next to your king? Because when your defender actually <DEFENDS> the square by capturing the enemy intruder on the square, that square becomes <SELF-BLOCKED> by the presence of the defender, denying that square for use as a <FLIGHT SQUARE> for the king. And a lack of <FLIGHT SQUARES> can mean mate. Position after 30  g1x h2 <self-blocking h2>:
click for larger viewIn the final position above the White h1-king would not be in checkmate if he had the h2-square available to him as a <FLIGHT SQUARE>. But this square is not available to the White h1-king because it is <SELF-BLOCKED> by the White h2-bishop, which occupies this square because it had to capture the Black queen on this square with 30 g1xh2. |
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| Oct-22-07 | | psmith: Nice easy mate. One could go back a move or two for a Wednesday or Thursday puzzle. |
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Oct-22-07
 | | kwgurge: < QuidProQuo: <kwgurge: 29...Qh2+ 30.Bxh2 Nf2#. Too easy.>
How can an monday puzzle be too easy Einstein?> The answer is precisely because it is a Monday puzzle. They have become so predictable involving queen sacs that there really is nothing to solve besides looking to see where the queen can be sac'd. |
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| Oct-22-07 | | newton296: Q sac and mate monday ,
Hopefully there will be some more engame puzzles . anything but sac and mate would be a change . |
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| Oct-22-07 | | znprdx: <Then I noticed it was Black to play. ...BishopofBlunder:> Which reminds me - next time I'm flipping the board. Actually White to play is rather interesting - any luck?
Even though the CG tradition is Queen sac Mondays - I nevertheless was blissfully contemplating Re3...how humiliating...<ahmadov: Qg3> that would have at least given me time to open my eyes and get them connected to my brain:) (I take back anything I may have previously posted about this type of position not being a real puzzle) This game was almost a brilliant self-mate from the moment Black played d5. The fateful h3 - was a sure sign of the end. Upon further reflection this is a classic illustration of an inexplicable phenomenon which occurs quite often in Chess: where the weaker player might actually have winning chances (or at least a draw in hand) and then methodically (and often quite creatively) throws it all away. |
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Oct-22-07
 | | YouRang: Easy enough if you start with the assumption of a queen sac, but if not 29...Qxh2 is quite a startling move. The punchline, 30. Bxh2 Nf2# isn't SO obvious as the knight not only delivers mate but unblocks the rook to seal off the g-file and turning the knight check into a smother mate. |
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Oct-22-07
 | | twin phoenix: Found the combo fairly easily but there were some points about this game that bothered me.
1. what happens if white plays 29.hxg4 it can't be any worse than k-h1 move played in the game... white is horribly exposed but i can't find a denoument.
2. Blacks 14.--,N-d7? why not try to force the trade of whites dark squared bishop by 14--,N-g4.? i can see no obvious refutation (though i'm sure some one else will)and wouldn't this be better than retreating the knight to the meaningless d7 square? i just a patzer but am sure i'd have played this OTB.
<znprdx> your last paragraph is the story of my life! 8( (except that i usually do that to people who are lower rated than myself...)lol |
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Oct-22-07
 | | MostlyAverageJoe: <Marmot PFL: <MostlyAverageJoe> Strange, computers usually find forced mates instantly.> Note that for all practical purposes the solution is still found instantly, it just takes more positions to be examined. In Hiarcs, for example, reducing the ELO to 1250 makes it examine about 40 positions per second, if I recall correctly (compared to >400,000 positions per second at full strength). The monday/tuesday puzzles are frequently solved by Hiarcs after examining perhaps two hundred positions). <TheaN: <MAJ's 6 s position> XD, odd, isn't it?> Well, it is understandable that the preference of the software is to reduce the material deficit first, before attempting a win where the deficit increases, even as temporarily as for one move. I've seen it many times that the longer it takes to recover the sac, the longer software will take to find the sac - even if the solution is obvious for humans. |
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Oct-22-07
 | | kevin86: This problem was a cross between a diversion puzzle and a smothered mate puzzle. The moves are as a smothered mate-queen checks/queen is captured by a piece that blocks a king escape/Nf2#. Here,the rook provides the restraints that "friendly" pieces provide for the opposing king. The white bishop is diverted from the f2 square by the queen sac. All in all,a typical Monday puzzle. |
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| Oct-22-07 | | azchess: <ahmadov> I too had 29 ... Qg3. Perhaps I'm not being imaginitive enough for white, but I don't see any good response. If 30 Nd1 Nf2+ 31 Nxf2 Qg2# (31 Bxf2 Qg2#) |
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| Oct-22-07 | | einuj: I think white will hold if it just took the knight rather than retreating to h1. |
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| Oct-22-07 | | xrt999: <azchess> looks to me that after 29...Qg3, white probably responds with 30.hxg4. Black is way down material and really has no attacks. Qh4+, Rxg4 are easily defended. |
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Oct-22-07
 | | patzer2: Szabo as Black plays 29...Qh2+! to force mate-in-two for today's easy puzzle solution. I suppose White had to try 29. hxg4 Rxg4+ for practical survival chances. |
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Oct-22-07
| | Cactus: It's amusing how many people explain how to solve the puzzle. It's almost as if they think we can't even spwell chesz:P |
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Oct-22-07
| | greensfield: Great Puzzle. Two 2 for 1 moves.
After the sac <29...Qh2+> , which forces <30.Bxh2> and as a consequence <f2> is undefended, the excellent <30...Nf2#> which delivers check and vacates the g-file for the Black rook which amounts to mate. |
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| Oct-22-07 | | Marmot PFL: <twin phoenix> 29.hg4 Rxg4+ 30. Kh1 (or Kf1 Qg3) one way to win is 30...Re3 31.Bxh3 Qg3 and mate follows. Probably I would have played as in the game and missed the queen sac too. 14...Ng4 gives up a pawn to 15.Bxb6 Nxf2 16.Bxc7 Nxd3 17.cd3 Rfc8 18.Bb6 Rab8 but the 2 bishops and open b file are compensation. The pawn sac in the game looks better for black though. In hindsight maybe white should have played 22.Qh3 (instead of Qb3) to give the king more protection. |
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Oct-22-07
 | | OhioChessFan: I was pretty sure I wasn't the only one to play the wrong side, but only BishopofBlunder admitted it. I was pretty distressed when Qxg8 didn't work. |
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| Oct-22-07 | | you vs yourself: I wonder how people who didn't solve this puzzle feel after seeing all the "easy puzzle" posts. I know I wouldn't have solved this puzzle 2-3 years ago. I'd have thought all these guys who solve this puzzle so quickly are geniuses. But to those who didn't, my advice is... read chess books and practice, practice, practice. |
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| Oct-22-07 | | Jim Bartle: 1. It's a puzzle.
2. It's Monday.
So, the rule is: look for the most radical sacrifice available, and most of the time that's it. Wouldn't be so easy during a random moment during a game. |
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| Oct-22-07 | | you vs yourself: <Jim Bartle> If you are solving this regularly, obviously the first thing you look for on monday is a sac. But I'm more thinking about a random beginner player who just discovered this site. But yeah, I was exaggerating a bit with the genius comment;-) |
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| Oct-22-07 | | lopium: It could have been much harder to find it out if it would have started at move 27, black to play. |
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Oct-25-07
| | twin phoenix: tks <marmotPFL> you're analysis is spot on. thanks for taking the time to look at my lines , however. |
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