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May-06-09
 | | patzer2: <derek.mourad: hey what about 16 Nxg7 Kxg7 17 Qf6+ Kg8 18 Bh6 Nf5 19 g4 winning the knight.> Then comes 19...Nxh6 when White has nothing better than a perpetual check with 20. Qg5+ Kh8 21. Qf6+ etc. <derek.mourad: wait 16 Nxg7! Kxg7 17 Bh6!! Kg8 (Kxh6 gets mated)> In this line, 17...Kxh6  actually wins for Black. |
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May-06-09
| | patzer2: <gofer> My initial try at a solution was also the tempting 16. Bh6!? However, I now conclude that Samisch's 16. Qf6! is superior. After 16. Bh6!? Qf5! 17. Bxg7 Qxf3 18. gxf3 Nxd4 = to  , Black gives up the exchange for a messy White pawn structure. Or Black might try to be stubborn and hold on here with 18...Rc8  . White might still win the endgame, but it's unclear and certainly more difficult than in the game continuation. |
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| May-06-09 | | Infinite: Oh, I forgot to add that the reason I choose 16. Bxc6 was so that I could work in Bh6 somehow (i.e. 16. Bxc6 Nxc6 17. Bh6) and also have the choice of Qf6 (16. Bxc6 bxc6 17. Qf6). But if Black responded with 16...Qxc6, I don't think I would have seen 17. Bg5. |
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| May-06-09 | | Peter Nemenyi: The inconsistent difficulty level is making these puzzles less enjoyable recently. I'm grateful to the people who spot interesting positions, but Chessgames shouldn't take their suggestions as to appropriate days on faith. |
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May-06-09
 | | kevin86: I saw 16♘f6+,but I think I can refute it.
16 ♘f6+ gxf6 17 ♕g3+ ♔h8 18 exf6 ♖g8 and black saves his horse. |
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| May-06-09 | | YouRang: Jeez, I saw the N-fork right away and tried to find ways to take advantage of it. The first idea that came to mind was 16.Qf6, as in the game, winning a pawn and messing up black's pawn structure. But I figured this wasn't enough of a "knock out" to be the solution, so I kept going, and tried 16.Qg3, which would (1) threaten Qxg7# and (2) pin the Pg7 enabling Nf6+ forking K+Q. Black conveniently defends against this with 16...Ng6, but but then I have 17.Bh6 putting more attack on Pg7. This, I thought, had more punch since I have a B+N+Q working together against an exposed K and pinned N. Checking with the computer, I see I had a problem: 17.Bh6 left Pd4 unguarded, and black can reply with 17...Nxd4 threatening my LSB. And if I take the queen: 18.Bxd7, black gets it back with 18...Ne2+ forking MY K+Q. :-( I should have left well-enough alone... |
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May-06-09
| | Kasputin: Generally I am not critical of the choice of puzzles. At times in the past, there have been puzzles posted in which some surprising line (not seen by at least one of the players and presumably not noticed by chessgames.com) makes things more complicated then they at first appear. That is chess, and the kibitzers invariably find that wrinkle, and to me anyway the puzzle becoming more interesting because of the discovery of the resources within the position. In this case, I don't get it. In a real otb situation, I probably would play Qf6, and I looked at that here. I also looked at other moves but ended up scratching my head and wondering if I had missed something. |
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| May-06-09 | | Samagonka: Is this supposed to be a puzzle? I'm dumbfounded. |
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| May-06-09 | | solskytz: hmmm.. I actually found this to be quite an elegant Wednesday puzzle. Here's what I came up with: 16. Nf6+ gf 17. Bh6.
On 17...Kh8 I would go Qxf6+ and mate
on 17...Ng6 I would still go to f6 with my Q
on 17... Nf5 I saw 18. Qg4+ pinning the black N to the black Q. Then 18... Kh8 19. Bg7+ Kg8 20. Bf6+ with mate. This last variation I judged as cute. I don't analyze with a computer so there must be something I missed as nobody else seems to have written those variations. No computer here, oh well... let me know what it is then, will you? |
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| May-06-09 | | solskytz: well now I see it. In my last variation, 17... f5 rather than ...Nf5 does it - no more access to f6 for my Queen. I lose 2 pieces for a rook and some K-side disorder which black can probably live with. It was better to go 16. Qxf6, certainly. |
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| May-06-09 | | MaczynskiPratten: Really this seems like a spoiler. With all White's pieces pointing at Black's King, it seems hard to believe that there isn't a way for White to force home his attack rather than go for a queen swap and a win of a pawn. I looked hard at 16 Nf6+ gxf6 17 exf6, or Qxf6, or Bh6, trying for mates on g7, but could never quite find a knockout blow after one of Nf5, or Ng6, or Kh8/Rg8, depending on the line White plays. It still seemed to leave Black pretty tied up and give White some compensation for the piece. Did any of the silicon beasts manage to find anything for White after 16 Nf6+? |
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May-06-09
| | Kasputin: <solskytz> I don't use a computer either (not for these puzzles anyway) and I thought about 17 ...Qe6 (if the white knight checks on f6) and it looks like black will defend fairly well. Also 17 ...Qf5 is also possible and may even be better. |
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May-06-09
| | Kasputin: <solskytz> And your 17 ...f5 also works (from what I can see). Unless I am missing something that is 3 quite reasonable defences to the line that starts with Nf6+ followed by Bh6. |
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May-06-09
| | Kasputin: I have reconsidered (somewhat) my first comment about how I don't think this is a good puzzle to include. Material-wise, white wins "only a pawn" but white also has a very nice position after 16. Qf6 (however black plays) and so really white has more than a mere pawn advantage. I'm not sure where I picked up the idea, but I tend to think any sort of tactical puzzle should result in something like a two-pawn advantage at a minimum (taking into account the other positional advantages in addition to raw material). So arguably, this puzzle does make the +2 grade when the win of the pawn plus the nice white position is taken into account. Still, as a Wednesday puzzle? I don't know about that one... |
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May-06-09
 | | agb2002: <Kasputin: Generally I am not critical of the choice of puzzles. At times in the past, there have been puzzles posted in which some surprising line (not seen by at least one of the players and presumably not noticed by chessgames.com) makes things more complicated then they at first appear. That is chess, and the kibitzers invariably find that wrinkle, and to me anyway the puzzle becoming more interesting because of the discovery of the resources within the position.
>
I fully agree :-) |
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May-06-09
| | doubledrooks: I went with 16. Qf6, as in the game, and, in my analysis, reached the same position as the game after 22. Nc5. However, like others, I searched and searched for something stronger, thinking that these puzzles should lead to more than just the win of a pawn, even if white also has a positional plus. But I couldn't see a knockout continuation. This puzzle was VERY frustrating! |
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| May-06-09 | | mworld: I couldn't see all that much so i thought it was going to be Nf6+, gxf6 exf6 with the idea of getting the queen to h6, but i gave up looking at it since there were a lot of unforcing lines. |
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May-06-09
| | patzer2: <Solskytz> The problem with <16. Nf6+ gf 17. Bh6> is that 17...Qf5!  to gives Black a near decisive advantage. Black is prepared to give up the Rook for two active pieces and equal or better pawn structure. It's not a sure win for Black, but it's most likely a fight for a draw without much better prospects for White. |
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May-06-09
| | patzer2: <Kevin86> <I saw 16. Nf6+,but I think I can refute it. 16 Nf6+ gxf6 17 Qg3+ Kh8 18 exf6 Rg8 and black saves his horse.> Right! Not only does Black save the Knight here, but he also turns the tables and gains a decisive advantage. |
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May-06-09
| | patzer2: <Infinite> Nice find on the win for for 16. Bxc6! Qxc6 17. Bg5! However, as you hinted it's a bit more complicated than in the game continuation. |
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| May-06-09 | | Sabinas: I got stuck on the two star status of the puzzle; I figured it had to be relatively forced and straightforward so I to went with Nf6+ right off the bat. 16. Qf6 is a pretty sweet move worth a "!", and maybe a third star at least! |
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| May-06-09 | | butilikefur: 16. Nxg7 Kxg7 17. Qf6+ Kg8 18. Bh6 (18. Bd3 Qe6 19. Qh4 Ng6) 18...Nf5 19. Bxf8 (19. Bd3 Nxh6 20. Qxh6 f5 21. exf6 Rg8 and White is lost) Rxf8 20. Bd3 Ne7 21. Qh4 and Black is probably a little better. I don't see any clear winning move. |
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| May-06-09 | | Moonwalker: I, for one, am glad to see CG throw in an unorthodox puzzle every now and then... Keeps you on your toes, doesn't it! I remember, quite recently, in fact, there was a puzzle with no solution, black simply resigned! The moral of this one, I think, is that regardless of how many pieces you got aimed at the enemy monarch and all the “flashy” possibilities that present themselves, a simple approach is sometimes best or safest or both! |
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| May-07-09 | | TheBish: Samisch vs F Krautheim, 1946 White to play (16.?) "Medium/Easy" (2 stars)
Material is even.
Candidate moves: Nf6+, Nxg7, Qg3, Bh6
It's easy to see that 16. Nf6+ gxf6 fails, as Black can easily defend. Also, 16. Nxg7 Kxg7 17. Qf6+ Kg8 18. Bh6 fails to 18...Nf5, when White should settle for a draw with 19. Qg5+. 16. Qg3 at first seems to accomplish nothing after 16...Ng6 (but not 16...Nf5? 17. Nf6+ Kh8 18. Nxd7 Nxg3 19. fxg3, winning a piece), but on further investigation, 17. Bh6! wins at least a pawn, since the bishop cannot be captured. 16. Bh6!? seems good as well, but is unclear after 16...Qf5! 17. Bxg7 Qxf3 18. gxf3 Rfd8, when White's d-pawn is attacked, and his extra pawn is the doubled f-pawn. Best seems to be 16. Qf6!, winning a healthy pawn after 16...gxf6 17. Nxf6+ and 18. Nxd7. After 16...Nf5 17. Bd3! forces the issue: 17...gxf6 18. Nxf6+ Kg7 19. Nxd7 Nxe3 20. fxe3 Rfd8 21. Rf3 and White has a winning advantage. |
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May-07-09
| | Kasputin: <Moonwalker: ...quite recently, in fact, there was a puzzle with no solution, black simply resigned!> Huh? Do you mean: DeFirmian vs R Byrne, 1994 There was still a solution - why do think black resigned? |
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