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| Aug-27-12 | | scormus: Very attractive game and finish. I like the way W immobilises B's new Q |
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| Aug-27-12 | | Abdel Irada: <whiteshark>: The aNNgle worm? |
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| Aug-27-12 | | cocker: Surely this puzzle should have started one move earlier, i.e. on move 12? |
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| Aug-27-12 | | Abdel Irada: <BillTaylor10: NN it means no name, and his opponent is anonymous.> Actually, NN stands for the Latin phrase "nomen nescio": "I don't know the name" (literally, "(the) name not-I-know"). Apropos of "the": It's interesting to note that, unlike its successors, the Romance languages largely based upon it, Latin had no definite article. This, to my mind, lends weight to the argument that the articles entered medieval Europe through Moorish Andalusia. In the Moroccan dialect used there, the definite article was "el," exactly as it is in modern Moroccan Arabic ... and modern Spanish. |
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| Aug-27-12 | | Zatrikion: 13.Qe8+ Rxe8
14.Nf7#
Smothered mate!! I love this! |
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| Aug-27-12 | | QueenMe: Scary moment, to be totally honest: I didn't see the other piece capture of the queen (the knight at f6). Lucky for me it didn't matter. And I agree with <scormus>: the real gem of this game isn't the mate; it's White's making Black's new queen completely useless. |
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| Aug-27-12 | | Dr. Pipit Wagtail: <Abdel Irada>
For more, and a different more on the "the" subject, you might enjoy reading Penny's "A History of the Spanish Language". He favours the Greeks |
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Aug-27-12
 | | agb2002: White has a pawn for a rook.
Black threatens 13... Nxh5 and 13... B(c)xd6.
Pattern recognition finds a smothered mate immediately: 13.Qe8+ N(R)xe8 14.Nf7#. |
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| Aug-27-12 | | zb2cr: 13. Qe8+ is the move. Whether Black takes on e8 with Knight or Rook, White's next is 14. Nf7#--the infamous smothered mate. |
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| Aug-27-12 | | YGraupera: Lots of knowledge in chessgames.com. Today, a history of the Spanish article. Thank you. |
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| Aug-27-12 | | Memethecat: One day, in a galaxy far, far away, I'm gonna be in a position to catch my opponent in one of these instantly recognizable smothered mate's, if for some reason I miss it because of moving too fast or lack of concentration, I reckon it'll be the end of me, I'll give up chess on the spot. <Abdel Irada> You might enjoy "Andalus by Jason Webster", he speaks Arabic and Spanish & his book is a travelogue filled with Andalucian history. He sets out to prove that Moorish culture in Southern Spain is alive & well. He speculates that Hola has its roots in Allah, interesting book if you like the subject/history of the region. |
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| Aug-27-12 | | TheTamale: Most of us will find these supremely easy, due to our foreknowledge of the smothered mate idea, so play over the whole game. It's as cute as a button. It seem the opportunity for an actual OTB smothered mate is often close, but never really there. |
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Aug-27-12
 | | Oxspawn: By the time I got here almost all of you had solved this and most of you were ‘loving Mondays’ or even remarking on how easy it is <aw1988: I saw this instantly>, <TheTamale: Most of us will find these supremely easy>, <Abdel Irada This is easy to solve (even "very easy")> May I differ? This is not easy. It is hard, even very hard. It is of course, simple (one move and the trap is sprung), but that is something quite different. If you want to know how hard a puzzle is, you need to ask someone who did not get it. And in that respect I am your expert. I tried all kinds of desperate ways of killing off my queen, including Qe8, but never saw why it was the key. So can we reclassify this one as “very simple, but almost impossible to spot”? By the way, I am not able to play through the game because the latest Java ‘upgrade’ has rendered the site only partly usable on my system. I have done all the obvious things (reloading it, removing the cookie etc.). Is there something “very simple but almost impossible to spot” I have overlooked? I would welcome some help here. |
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| Aug-27-12 | | justin2seo: Nice I am correct. |
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| Aug-27-12 | | ProLogik: Smothered mates always make me laugh. Does anyone else find it funny how the king can't escape? |
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| Aug-27-12 | | tbentley: Black played Nf6 one move too late. |
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Aug-27-12
 | | kevin86: Smothered Mate! Bird is cagey! |
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| Aug-27-12 | | sevenseaman: <Oxpawn> <By the way, I am not able to play through the game because the latest Java ‘upgrade’ has rendered the site only partly usable on my system. I have done all the obvious things (reloading it, removing the cookie etc.). Is there something “very simple but almost impossible to spot” I have overlooked? I would welcome some help here.> Please visit my forum for possible help on this problem. |
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| Aug-27-12 | | zealouspawn: Oxspawn,
of course you are correct. If you have never seen a smothered mate before, it is far from obvious. The great thing about the human mind, though, is we are great at remembering and recognizing patterns! Get it once and then you'll spot it every time. |
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| Aug-27-12 | | nirvanapirate: Qe8! If the Rook of Knight take, then Nf7# a type of smothered mate |
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| Aug-27-12 | | rapidcitychess: I saw the mate just like everyone else.
It always makes me happy when I see a legitimate smothered mate. |
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| Aug-27-12 | | PhilFeeley: If it's Monday it must be time to sac the queen.
1. Qe8+!
whether the rook or the knight captures, it's bye, bye birdy: 2. Nf7# |
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Aug-27-12
 | | chrisowen: Hooded qe8+ fang you very much which ever method knight or castle recapture smothered mate ensues, 13.Qe8+ Nxe8 14.Nf7#
13...Rxe8 14.Nf7#
Nc6 instead Bird favour nf6 in pick here we go round it the f7 mulberry bush! |
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| Aug-27-12 | | stst: Yes, easy smothered play - Qsac:
13.Qe8+ either NxQ or RxQ (forced)
14.Nf7# K has no escape square. |
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| Aug-27-12 | | stst: <Surely this puzzle should have started one move earlier, i.e. on move 12?>
--
Agreed, but still it's too easy & natural to have this development. |
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Kibitzing
sac: 13.Qe8+