Jun-01-20
 | | Phony Benoni: Active Pieces Drop In: <32. ..Rxf1+ 33.Kxg1 Bd3+ 34.Kg1 Qe1+ 35.Rf1 Qxf1#>, Or, of course, 34.Re2 Qxe2+ 35.Kg1 Qf1#, but I don't have to tell you that, do I? |
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| Jun-01-20 | | Cheapo by the Dozen: Mate in 4, with exactly two possible branches of the tree ... yeah, I guess that's pretty much a Monday puzzle. :) |
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| Jun-01-20 | | agb2002: Black has a rook and a bishop for both knights and two pawns. White threatens Nxe3.
Black can force mate with 32... Rxf1+ 33.Kxf1 Bd3+ 34.Kg1 (34.Re2 Qxe2+ 35.Kg1 Qf1#) 34... Qe1+ 35.Rf1 Qxf1#. |
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| Jun-01-20 | | saturn2: Easier than yesterday
32...Rxf1 leads to mate |
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| Jun-01-20 | | stacase: White's Rook is pinned so 32...Rxf1+ forces 33.Kxf1 and the end is obvious so White resigns. |
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| Jun-01-20 | | Brenin: A good Monday puzzle. Until 28 Qa7?, White's connected passed pawns gave him good compensation for his exchange sacrifice, with the threat of the fork Nd7 preventing Black from doubling up on the f file with Rf8. Now 28 Qa7 Rf8 29 Nd7 would be answered with Qf7, pinning the N. White should have kept pushing those pawns. |
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| Jun-01-20 | | Once: It is a puzzle within a puzzle. It is one of those rare instances where White plays a move and then resigns. And you wonder ... if he could see the mate why did he play 33. Kf1 before resigning? And if he couldn't see the mate why did he hold off from offering the handshake until black had played 33...Bd3+? Did white play 33. Kf1 automatically as it is his only legal move? Maybe there was a time scrabble? Or did Black let loose a weapons grade smirk after 33. Kf1? A knowing glance at his opponent. A shrug perhaps? A whoop and a high five? And did Black leave enough time for white to resign? Did he wait before playing 33...Bd3? Surely he must have seen it when he played 32...Rxf1? They say that chess is an open game with nothing hidden. But that's not true. There is this hidden story. And a very human story it is too - of a slow realisation of defeat and mortality. |
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| Jun-01-20 | | Damenlaeuferbauer: After long pondering, the very strong Czech chess player Sergei Movsesian, whom the sometimes very arrogant and narcistic Garry Kasparov defame 1999 as "chess tourist" and 2000 as "lacking chess culture", finally found the mate in 4 moves with 32.-,Rxf1+! 33.Kxf1,Bd3+ 34.Kg1 (34.Re2,Qxe2+ 35.Kg1,Qf1#) 34.-,Qe1+ 35.Rf1,Qxf1#. Mr. Kasparov, everybody, who dedicated his life to the royal game, belongs to the culture of chess! |
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| Jun-01-20 | | LoveThatJoker: ...RXN+ leads to mate.
LTJ |
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Jun-01-20
 | | alexrawlings: < saturn2: Easier than yesterday> that made me chuckle! |
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| Jun-01-20 | | TheaN: I got this with all its variations, so not much to say on that. <Once: It is a puzzle within a puzzle. It is one of those rare instances where White plays a move and then resigns.> He exclaimed "I'm up a pawn haha!" and then resigned. At least it would bring some humor at the chess board :>. Kind of surprised at White's play in this game. Interestingly, the sac is correct for a draw where Mrva probably thought he'd gain the upper hand after 23.Rxc6?!= bxc6 24.Ne5 Rff8 25.Qxc6 Rac8 26.Qxa6 (0.00) in fact it puts him on a slippery slope. Though it's a drawish position, Black has the current initiative with the exchange advantage. White's slightly better after Rfd8 but then collapses fast because he allows Black to convert the initiative. I don't really know what he was thinking playing 28.Qa7, probably that the king side was defendable but it really isn't. 29....Qg5 30.Rf2? Qe3 #7. |
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Jun-01-20
 | | perfidious: <TheaN....I don't really know what he was thinking playing 28.Qa7, probably that the king side was defendable but it really isn't.> And thereby came to a fate which even many a strong player has after neglecting, or underestimating, his opponent's active possibilities. |
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| Jun-01-20 | | zb2cr: With the Black Queen pinning the White Rook, 32. ... Rxf1+ gives mate in 4, 33. Kxf1, Bd3+. Now White has two ways to lose, neither of them elegant: A. 34. Kg1, Qe1+; 35. Rf1, Qxf1#.
B. 34. Re2, Qxe2+; 35. Kg1, Qf1(e1)#. |
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| Jun-01-20 | | stacase: <Once: It is a puzzle within a puzzle. It is one of those rare instances where White plays a move and then resigns ... ... ... > I'm thinking of those little aphorisms we see upon posting. One says, "No one ever won by resigning" There isn't one that says, "Never question your opponent's resignation" Maybe there should be. That aside, I'm gonna guess that White was up against time and made the forced 33.Kxf1 banged the clock and then saw the game was lost. <alexrawlings: < saturn2: Easier than yesterday> that made me chuckle> Me too (-: |
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| Jun-01-20 | | Predrag3141: 
click for larger viewIf White had done "nothing" on move 28, e.g. 28 h3, the game would have been even because 28 … Rf8? 29 Nd7 is a winning defense. But 28 Qa7? was close to losing because there is no viable defense to 28 … Rf8 (which was played). 29 Nd7 would have lost to 29 … Qf7. The difference is that the knight on d7 is pinned and Black has three (!) threats: ... Bd3-b5xd7, … Rd8xd7 and … Rxf2. White must capture the bishop on e4 and even ditch his d-pawn so the queen protects f2 to stave off all these threats. |
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| Jun-01-20 | | TheTamale: I know this one is easy, but pandemic brain has kept me from solving anything in quite a while, so I am elated that I actually guessed a Monday problem. |
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Jun-01-20
 | | gawain: A nice little puzzle, quite straightforward. Very Monday. |
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| Jun-01-20 | | mel gibson: Pretty easy -
the black Queen is under attack from the white Knight.
The white Queen is out of the picture.
The white King is defenseless against a check from the Rook.
This is a good beginners puzzle. |
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| Jun-01-20 | | pdxjjb: <TheTamale>: exactly. An "easy" puzzle that was actually easy. I needed this. |
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| Jun-02-20 | | Nullifidian: 32... ♖xf1+ 33. ♔xf1 (the rook is pinned) ♗d3+. Now it splits into two different potential solutions: 34. ♔g1 ♕e1+ 35. ♖f1 ♕xf1#
or,
34. ♖e2 ♕xe2+ 35. ♔g1 ♕e1#/f1# |
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Kibitzing
sac: 32...Rxf1+