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| Dec-04-07 | | Kleve: This was tough... But wonderfully instructive. The solution was unusually quiet for a Tuesday. I failed utterly... I kept trying to find a way to open up the diagonal for the bishop; didn't think that the pawn could do the same work! |
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| Dec-04-07 | | alan11: There is a great tactical book called "Alekhine's Block" that is a collection of these types of sacrifices on f6, g6, h6 (and there third rank counterparts.) After going through that book, it becomes natural to look for this powerful tactic. I think that's why this seemingly difficult puzzle got Tuesday billing. I'm not a great puzzler on this site typically, but I got this immediately. It's almost a gimme when the queen is on the kingside, or can get to the kingside, and the f7 (or f2) pawn can be blocked. |
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| Dec-04-07 | | watchchess79: Can anyone please give the winning line for white for 30. ..Qe7? |
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| Dec-04-07 | | MaxxLange: <"Alekhine's Block"> a good book. It's mostly just games (sometimes positions) featuring this method. The canonical version happens on f6, especially when a piece is just sacrificed there without even capturing anything, and, like here, it works by preventing the f-pawn from moving. |
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| Dec-04-07 | | CaptGeorge: <dzechiel> Thanks! I'm learning. I sure wish I'd had this kind of "chess" resource back in the 70's...Maybe I would have won more games. Great site! |
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| Dec-04-07 | | YouRang: Very good puzzle (perhaps a tad harder than most Tuesdays)! I found that the moves I wanted to make, such as 31. e5 (threat: Qh8#) and 31. h4 (chasing the bishop defending the g-file), were all effectively countered by 31...f6! Well, my rook wasn't doing anything, why not use it to block black's f-pawn? After all, that pawn on f7 is really black's main problem, keeping the king trapped on the g/h files, apart from his defenders, so it makes sense to keep it there! We surrender the exchange if ...Bxf6, but 32. fxf6 puts a murderous pawn on f6 which is all the queen needs to deliver mate at g7. But if the bishop doesn't take it, well, now black's bishop must flee leaving a Q & R & B bearing down on an unguarded king. One almost need not analyze further. |
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| Dec-04-07 | | zenpharaohs: I accidentally ruined the problem for myself by opening it in Shredder with the analysis turned on. |
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| Dec-04-07 | | Alphastar: I agree that this might have been a harder than usual tuesday puzzle. However, I think if you got the first move you solved it already (which is not too hard). It's either Qxg5+ Kh7 Rh6# next, or Bd2 when the bishop's absence makes e6 a total killer move (also because f7-f6 is blocked). |
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| Dec-04-07 | | Phoenix: In addition to the 19.Rf6!! in Fischer vs Benko, 1963 there is also an identical sac on the same move played by Tal when he was a little squirt: Tal vs Leonov, 1949 |
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| Dec-04-07 | | kevin86: I missed this one:I saw e6,but that is parried by f6. Not a good start for me :( |
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| Dec-04-07 | | znprdx: Rf6 was the icing on the cake. Here Anand's winning combination begins (13 ply earlier) with f5 - where the plan to sac the King Bishop is indefensible. BTW (as I've pointed out a few times) the brilliant move in the Fischer-Benko game was not so much the blocade at f6 - a fairly basic strategy for rook lifts - but the quiet knight retreat. The Tal-Leonov game cited (thanx for the memory<Phoenix:>) is a whole other dimension - it is awesome: he actually withdraws the rook!!
Note: 42-yr-old Bareev (#41/128 players) just upset Grishchuk(#9 rated) at the World Cup in Rd 3 Blitz playoff. |
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| Dec-04-07 | | tatarch: After 30...Qe7, doesn't 31.Rf6 still win it the same way? |
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| Dec-04-07 | | dabearsrock1010: i had e6 but its no good |
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| Dec-04-07 | | dzechiel: <tatarch: After 30...Qe7, doesn't 31.Rf6 still win it the same way?> No, after 31...Bxf6 32 exf6 Qe1# is mate (the point behind 30...Qe7). |
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| Dec-04-07 | | InspiredByMorphy: 28. ...h4?? was terrible. |
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| Dec-04-07 | | Civhai: I knew this problem already, so it wasn't very difficult for me to find the solution.^^
I didn't get it the first time I saw it, but I've become much stronger since then so maybe I'd see it today. |
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| Dec-04-07 | | patzer2: For today's puzzle solution, White initiates a winning obstruction combination with 31. Rf6!  , breaking communications between Queen and Bishop and opening up the weakened castled position for a mating attack. See <Random Visitor>'s post for details.A key turning point in the game is the decoy sham sacrifice 26. Bxf5!, which (as <Maxx Lange> notes) wins back the pawn sacrificed one move earlier (i.e. 25. f5!  ) with advantage. This is because of the threat of a discovered check snagging the Queen after 26...gxf5? 27. Qg3+! Kh8 28. e6+ f6 29. QxQ . Bareev probably might have done better than 28...h5?, allowing 29. Bxh5 to . However, with Anand enjoying a space advantage and a King-side attacking initiative, the task of defending the Black position would not have been pleasant. P.S.: Anyone care to venture where Bareev made his decisive mistake? Can Black hold the position after 26. Bxf5 ? |
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| Dec-04-07 | | TheaN: 2/2
Nice combo here by Anand. Going after the logical idea of wasting the opponent's defending possibilities, White can play 31.Rf6!! to disable Black's only defence. 31....Bxf6 32.exf6 with Qg5+ and Qg7#, if Black gives his Queen for Pf6 the same thing happens with the Bishop. Black can't do nothing as Rf6 disables the defence of the Bishop by interposing the d8-h4 diagonal. 31....Bd2 (any other square COULD be met by a direct capture, but White shouldn't!) 32.e6 with the idea of Qh8+!, Rh6+ with double check and Rh8#. It's this final pattern that's so nice. Take note that 32....Qxf6 doesn't work (a Bishop and a Rook for the Queen, might be playable), as the mate still follows. |
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| Dec-04-07 | | patzer2: <28. ...h4?? was terrible.> Perhaps 28...h5? was even worse. Seriously, though, did Black have a good saving move at 28....? |
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| Dec-04-07 | | newzild: I thought this was very tough for a Tuesday. It took me nearly a minute to spot 31.Rf6, and even now I couldn't give you an exact winning line after 31...Bd2.
I only saw 31.Rf6 after noting the position's resemblance to an old Fischer-Benko game, where Bobby also planted a rook on f6. Good puzzle! Much more fun than the easy ones last week. |
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| Dec-04-07 | | SBGiffy: What was wrong with 22...dxc4 ? Black's given the chance to make his bad bishop into a pretty good bishop and he turns it down....one of those 'grandmaster' moves I don't understand. |
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| Dec-04-07 | | SAINTAMANT: After Rf6 Black has no adequate defense or attack potential. Rf6 BXf6
32. PXf6. Black has no energy to respone to this new problem and threat of checkmate on h7 |
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| Dec-04-07 | | YouRang: <SBGiffy: What was wrong with 22...dxc4 ? Black's given the chance to make his bad bishop into a pretty good bishop and he turns it down....one of those 'grandmaster' moves I don't understand.> Central control. Black's "good bishop" won't last long after 22...dxc4
23. Be4 Bxe4 <or else nasty threats after Ra1> 24. Qxe4 <and now white's queen controls the long diagonal from her a very strong perch at e4, and white still threatens Ra1.> By capturing with 22...bxc4, black's d-pawn maintains controls of the key e4 square. The white bishop must retreat to c2, and Ra1 doesn't have any teeth without support from the bishop or queen. |
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| Dec-04-07 | | lew morski: First, I thought 31. e6 was good enough, but here is the reply: 31...f6 and nothing really happens. Then I reminded myself about 31. Rf6!, thanks to remarkable Bobby Fischer, who did the same against Benko. On a Friday, someone asked 'chessgames' why puzzles are so easy that week. Well, I guess they are not gonna be so easy nomore. Good! |
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| Dec-04-07 | | GannonKnight: So simple and elegant and yet so difficult. I missed it! |
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Kibitzing
sac: 29.Bxh5