| Jan-11-17 | | newzild: Didn't get this.
Saw the game continuation til the end, but couldn't see that 21...Nh7 fails to 22. Ng5 until I clicked through the game. |
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| Jan-11-17 | | ChemMac: 18...RXc3? just loses the exchange. 18...Bh8 and it's a game. |
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| Jan-11-17 | | ChessHigherCat: I got it but thought it was pretty weird for a Tuesday, which made sense when I saw that it was past midnight and thus Wednesday! BxB, Nxe4, Qxh6 and bye-bye black sheep or KxB, RxR, Nxe4, Qd4+ and the black knight has to retreat into the black night. |
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| Jan-11-17 | | stacase: 28...Bxg7 trades Bishops and wins the Rook. Black doesn't accept the trade and loses the game instead. |
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| Jan-11-17 | | agb2002: White has a pawn for a knight.
Black threatens Rxc1 and Nxe4.
White can take advantage of a sudden mate threat after 19.Bxg7 to win decisive material: A) 19... Rxc1 20.Qh6 Rxf1+ 21.Bxf1 Nh7 22.Ng5 and mate next on h7 or h8. B) 19... Kxg7 20.Qxc3 (or 20.Rxc3 Nxe4 21.Qd4+ Nf6 22.g4 e5 23.dxe6 fxe6 24.g5 e5 25.gxf6+, etc.) + - [R+P vs N]. C) 19... Rxf3 20.Qh6 Nh7 21.Bxf3 + - [R+B+P vs 2N]. Black cannot trap the bishop with 21... f6 22.Qxg6 Be8 (22... Nf8 23.Bxf8+) 23.Qh6 Nb7 24.Bg4 Nd8 25.Bf5 Ng5 26.Qh8+ Kf7 27.Qf8#. D) 19... Nxe4 20.Qh6 f6(5) 21.Qh8+ Kf7 22.Qxb8 Kxg7 (22... Rb7 23.Qf8#) 23.Qxa7, etc. |
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Jan-11-17
 | | al wazir: Got it: 21...Nh7 22. Ng5, and black is dead.
After 19...Rxf3 20. Qh6 Nh7 21. Bxf3 f6, black may be able to win the trapped ♗ but is left with a badly exposed ♔. |
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| Jan-11-17 | | NBZ: Black's c3 rook is hanging: the idea is 19. Rxc3? Nxe4 20. Qe1 Bxc3 21. Qxe4 and Black has won back the pawn and is doing well. But White can play 19. Bxg7! (intermezzo) and now Black is in trouble. If 19. ... Kxg7 20. Qxc3 White is a whole rook up, so Black has to play 19. ... Rxc1 (after Bxg7) 20. Qh6! Rxf1+ 21. Bxf1 Nh7 (the only defence to Qh8#). But now White uncorks 22. Ng5! and mates next move. |
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| Jan-11-17 | | Once: This one needs a little retrograde analysis. White is a piece down but the black rook on c3 is hanging and if 19. Rxc3 black has 19...Nxe4 with a nasty fork. So this suggests that the move before the puzzle position was 18...RxNc3. Black was probably very pleased with this move as it seems to make many threats. It threatens to deflect the white queen from the defence of the Bh6. It puts a piece on c3 where the Bg7 can attack it. It removes a defender of e4 allowing Nxe4. Unfortunately for black, white can crash through with his kingside attack. Instead of recapturing the black Rc3 straight we play the intermezzo 19. Bxg7. 
click for larger viewNow the Rc3 is irrelevant as white threatens Qh6 and Qh8#. Black can interpose with Nh7, but this loses to Ng5 and the mating attack crashes through. So back has to admit that he miscalculated and play 19...Kxg7 20. Qxc3 
click for larger viewThe Black Nf6 can't capture e4 because it's now pinned against the Kg7. Black is the exchange and a pawn down. Worse still, his pieces have no natural developing squares. White now owns the open c file. Black's queenside is stuck on the rim and tripping over each other. The "good" black bishop has no targets. The Nf6 is pinned ... and has nothing to do anyway. All in all, a faulty combination by black which white exploited by the intermezzo of 19...Bxg7. |
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| Jan-11-17 | | mel gibson: Another puzzle requiring a blunder by black. |
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| Jan-11-17 | | dTal: Got it, but took longer than I would have liked.. |
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| Jan-11-17 | | Cheapo by the Dozen: Third straight puzzle this week that I solved in a Tuesday-appropriate length of time. :) If you're fortunate enough to realize that Bxg7/Qh6 is the only plan that could work, it's simple after that. |
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| Jan-11-17 | | YetAnotherAmateur: The first thing to notice, of course, is that 19. Rxc3? Nxe4 wins back the rook. And 19. Qxc3 Bxh6 20. Rmoves Nxe4 wins the exchange kinda, but gives black strong counterplay with options like Rc7. So that means a different plan is in order, and Bxg7 jumps out as an option: A) 19. ... Rxc1 leads to the game line. Black can delay with Rxf1+ and Nh7, but in the end white mates. B) 19. ... Kxg7 allows 20. Qxc3 without compensation for black. |
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| Jan-11-17 | | beenthere240: <mel>
This puzzle does not require a blunder by black. Black already created the puzzle with the blunder of 18...Rxc3?, which looks cute but stinks. By playing 19... Rxc1 instead of ...Kxg7, black loses faster but was this really a blunder? More of a way of getting out a hopeless game faster. The challenge of the puzzle is to find the 19. Bxg7! shot even though it ignores the previous capture of the knight. |
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| Jan-11-17 | | kevin86: White forces mate! |
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| Jan-11-17 | | wtpy: I agree with beenthere240:if black captures on c1, he gets mated, and if he recaptures on g7, he has a grave material deficit that should lead to defeat. Since Bg7 is winning in all variations,that makes this a perfectly acceptable puzzle. |
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| Jan-11-17 | | YouRang: Wednesday 19.?
click for larger view
After failing to find anything particularly clever, I decided to look at the basics: - My Bh6 is guarded by my Q
- I really want to take that Rc3
- Taking with Rxc3 allows ...Nxe4 forking Q+R
- Taking with Qxc3 allows ...Bxh6
So, it made sense first unload the tension on Bh6 with <19.Bxg7>
click for larger view
Black cannot ignore the white bishop in his face because it threatens Qh6 & Qh8# (with ...Nh7 met by Ng5). So, I think black needs <19...Kxg7>, allowing me to take Rc3 with the queen (preventing the Nxe4) <20.Qxc3>
click for larger view
White is up R+P for a N, and still has good attacking chances with e5, while black's pieces are generally horrible. I was actually a little surprised to find that this "back to the basics" approach turned out to be the solution. |
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| Jan-11-17 | | YouRang: Funny: When I first glanced at this puzzle, I saw that black was someone named "Petrosian", and I assumed the great Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian. Only when I saw black play <19...Rxc1?>, allowing the 20.Qh6 mating attack, did I realize that it couldn't have been *that* Petrosian. BTW, today I learned that there were two well-known Tigran Petrosians! The other: Tigran Levonovich Petrosian |
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| Jan-11-17 | | YetAnotherAmateur: <Only when I saw black play <19...Rxc1?>, allowing the 20.Qh6 mating attack, did I realize that it couldn't have been *that* Petrosian.> Not even a 10-year-old Iron Tigran? You catch the greats in either their youth or their doddering old age, and scoring a win is much easier. |
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| Jan-11-17 | | mel gibson: <This puzzle does not require a blunder by black. Black already created the puzzle with the blunder of 18...Rxc3?, which looks cute but stinks. By playing 19... Rxc1 instead of ...Kxg7, black loses faster but was this really a blunder? More of a way of getting out a hopeless game faster. The challenge of the puzzle is to find the 19. Bxg7! shot even though it ignores the previous capture of the knight.> Black was under a mating attack.
Blacks Rook move was a blunder.
I saw it in only seconds & yet I'm
not a high rated player.
Actually the bad move was further back
17 ... R-a7 |
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| Jan-11-17 | | YouRang: <mel gibson> You are quite correct in saying that 19...Rxc1 was a blunder by black. However, it still not correct to say that <this puzzle *required* a blunder by black>. If white finds 19.Bxg7!, then black would be losing even if made no further blunders (such as 19...Rxc1). |
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| Jan-11-17 | | morfishine: I'm not sure about this one, its hard to even categorize it as a "puzzle" Weak all around from a positional point of view, IMHO ***** |
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Jan-11-17
 | | Bubo bubo: Black has captured a knight on c3, expecting to win a pawn after 19.Rxc3 Nxe4 (winning back the exchange thanks to the fork) or to get two minor pieces for his rook after 19.Qxc3 Bxh6. White spoils this plan with the <zwischenzug> 19.Bxg7: Black cannot afford to save his rook, because after 19...Rxc1 20.Qh6 mate is unstoppable: 20...Rxf1+ 21.Bxf1 Nh7 22.Ng5 and mate next move. Therefore Black has to recapture, but after 19....Kxg7 20.Qxc3 the Nf6 is pinned, and White is up the exchange and a pawn. |
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| Jan-11-17 | | Mendrys: <morfishine: I'm not sure about this one, its hard to even categorize it as a "puzzle"> I know what you mean. It's certainly not the most "puzzly" of puzzles. |
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| Jan-11-17 | | ColeTrane: When I look at this I see white up a rook to a knight.... |
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| Mar-04-17 | | ChessHigherCat: Mendrys: <morfishine: I'm not sure about this one, its hard to even categorize it as a "puzzle"> I know what you mean. It's certainly not the most "puzzly" of puzzles. Well, all these criticisms show that it's at least "puzzling" |
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Kibitzing
sac: 19.Bxg7