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Feb-15-21
 | | HeMateMe: I immediately looked at N-e8+, just seemed faster and simpler. Black is mated whether he moves his king or takes the knight. If only I could solve the Saturday puzzles... |
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Feb-15-21 | | WorstPlayerEver: Way too difficult for a Monday puzzle. |
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Feb-15-21 | | Brenin: It was not hard to see 24 Rh7+ Kf8 25 Nd7+ etc, but still a little harder than a normal Monday puzzle: perhaps Tuesday or Wednesday standard? I wasted time looking first at 24 Ne8+ Kf8 (Rxe8 25 Qf6+, or Kg8 25 Rh8+, with mate to follow in either case) 25 Rh8+ Ke7 26 Qf6+ Kd7 27 Qxf7+ Kc6 (Kc8 28 Qxc7 mate) 28 Qxc7+ Kb5 29 Qxb7+ Kc5 (Ka5 or Ka4 30 Qb4 mate) 30 Qc7+ Kb4, and wondering whether White had anything better than a draw by perpetual check. |
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Feb-15-21 | | Refused: Relatively difficult for a monday.
The first move is fairly obvious with 24.Rh7+ Kf8
But now you can easily go wrong with 25.Rh8+ trying to make that one work
25...Kg7? 26.Ne8+! would indeed lead to a pretty little mate. However after 25...Ke7! the Black King escapes to the Queen side.25.Nd7+! is a very neat tactical shot. Somehow this monday was way more difficult than most puzzles from the past week. |
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Feb-15-21 | | Honey Blend: Curious series of checks after 24. ♘e8+ ♔f8 25. ♖h8+ ♔e7 26. ♕f6+ ♔d7 27. ♕xf7+ ♔c6 28. ♕xc7+ ♔b5 29. ♕xb7+ ♔c5 30. ♕e7+ ♔b6 31. ♕xe6+ ♔c5 32. ♕e7+ ♔c6 33. ♕c7+ ♔b5 34. ♕b7+ ♔c5 35. ♘d6!! click for larger viewNow if 35. ... ♖xh8 36. ♘e4#, and if 35. ... ♖xd6 36. ♕b4+ ♔c6 37. ♕xd6+ ♔b5 38. ♖a8 +-  click for larger viewThe only hope is for ... ♖d6 to come with check, so probably best is 35. ... ♕a1+ 36. ♔c2 ♕a4+ 37. ♔d2 ♖xd6+ 38. exd6 ♖xh8 39. d7 ♕c6 40. ♕b4+ ♔d5 41. ♕a5+ ♔e6 42. d8=♘+ ♖xd8+ 43. ♕xd8  click for larger viewWhite is on the way to soon sweeping those three loose Black pawns. Not a very Monday puzzle-ish sequence, but still fun to play out nonetheless. |
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Feb-15-21 | | TheaN: <24.Rh7+ Kf8 25.Nd7+!> is the only route to a forced mate. <25....Rxd7 (else Qxf7#) 26.Rh8+ with 27.Qf6#> <HeMateMe: I immediately looked at N-e8+, just seemed faster and simpler. Black is mated whether he moves his king or takes the knight.> Nope. That's why this took me way longer than it should have. Black goes on an incredibly slippery slope, but so does White! 25.Ne8+? Kf8! (Rxe8 26.Qf6+ with Rh8#; Kg8 26.Rh8+! Kxh8 27.Qf6+ with Qg7#) 26.Rh8+ Ke7 (Kg7 27.Qf6#) 27.Qf6+ Kd7 28.Qxf7+ Kc6 (Kc8 29.Qxc7#) 29.Qxc7+ Kb5 (Kd5 30.Nf6#) 30.Qxb7+ Kc5:
 click for larger view
And even though Black has been ransacked it's not over yet: White's dealing with the Qa1-Qd1# issue so everything needs to be forced. Throughout analyzing this my SF10 was hopping between +3, +1.5 and 0, and I think it's because of 31.Qe7+ Kb6 32.Qxe6+ Kc5 and White won't be making any progress unless he intends to sac something. |
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Feb-15-21 | | Damenlaeuferbauer: After long thinking, the very strong British grandmaster Julian Hodgson, who brought the Trompowsky Attack with his many wins back to life, finally found the mate in 4 moves with the nice knight sacrifice 24.Rh7+,Kf8 25.Nd7+!,Rxd7 (25.-,Ke8 26.Qxd7#; 25.-,Kg8 26.Qxd7#) 26.Rh8+,Ke7 (26.-,Kg7 27.Qf6#) 27.Qf6#. |
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Feb-15-21 | | Brenin: I agree with <TheaN>: I started trying 24 Ne8+ and got as far is his displayed position. I couldn't see further progress for White, so I tried 24 Rh7+ Kf8 25 Nd7+ instead and soon found that it worked. |
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Feb-15-21 | | awfulhangover: Got it, but struggled as if it was a wednesday puzzle. |
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Feb-15-21 | | goodevans: <Things that make this puzzle easier:> <A> White needs to keep checking otherwise black will diffuse the attack with ...Qa1+ and ...Qxh1 (or even ...Qd1# once the R has moved). That means there are only three candidates and one of these can be quickly dismissed as leading nowhere. <B> It's pretty obvious that if white can get the Q to f6 with check then that will win provided black can't wriggle away via d7. That strongly suggests a N-sac with check to clear f6. <Things that make this puzzle harder:> <1> Points <A> and <B> suggest, to some of us at least, to start with 24.Ne8+. If black accepts the sac then white mates which, I imagine, will have fooled some into thinking they'd cracked it. Even if you look at 24...Kf8 white can keep checking so it's tempting to think you're on the right track unless, like me, you eventually think "hang on, this is getting too deep for a Monday". <2> Whether you look at 24.Rh7+ first or come to it after dismissing 24.Ne8+, it's still possible to go wrong with 25.Rh8+ as it takes a few moves to run out of checks with that line. All in all, the rabbit holes that you could go down make me think that this would have been on the hard side even for a Tuesday. |
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Feb-15-21
 | | chrisowen: Can rh7+ it warn gad goods axiomed it in i jud affix good pug guv i can gas it warm ran lands vast nar lid quick quosh bet pet jeffrey vous journey jovial lozenge vast mat it dent hents pan flew it in i Qxa2 abattoir auld vat fleece aho quosh too it in i rug kf8 eel gadfly fag hub blubber v har finish Rh7+ ditto: |
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Feb-15-21
 | | agb2002: White has a knight for a rook and a bishop.
Black threatens Qa1+.
Mate in four: 24.Rh7+ Kf8 25.Nd7+ Rxd7 (else 26.Qxf7#) 26.Rh8+ Ke(g)7 27.Qf6#. |
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Feb-15-21 | | TheTamale: Agree that it's tough for a Monday puzzle. Pleased that I got it, because it requires the ability to visualize a few moves ahead, which normally I lack. A helpful, if not appropriate, puzzle. |
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Feb-15-21
 | | chrisowen: On and on brilliant gound feel good rh7 cont no? |
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Feb-15-21 | | King.Arthur.Brazil: I saw the immediate 24.♖h7+ and corresponding check-mate quite easily, as observed in Mondays. This time, I tried to find another alternative too: 24. ♘e8+ ♖xe8 25. ♕f6+ ♔f8 26. ♖h8# or 24. ♘e8+ ♔g8 25. ♖h8+ ♔xh8 26. ♕f6+ ♔g8 27. ♕g7#. However, this fails to give a quick check-mate, due to the sequence: 24... ♔f8 25. ♖h8+ ♔e7 26. ♕f6+ ♔d7 27. ♕xf7+ ♔c6 28. ♕xc7+ (if 28... ♔d5 29. ♘f6#}) 28...♔b5 29. ♕xb7+ (then 29... ♔a5 or ♔a4 30. Qb4#) 29...♔c5 30.♘d6} See diagram. It threats 31.♘e4# 30...♖xd6 31. ♕b4+ ♔c6 32. ♕xd6+ (Again if ♔b7 33. ♖h7+ ♔c8 34. ♕c7#}) 32.♔e4 33. f3+ (if ♔e3 34. ♕d2# }) ♔f4 34. ♕d4+ (if 34...♔xg5 35. ♕g4# or 34...♔f5 35. ♕e4+ ♔xg5 36. ♕g4#)... So it follows 34....♔g3 35. ♖h3+ ♔xg2 36. ♕g4+ ♔f2 37. ♖h2+ ♔e3 38. ♕e4# or 37...♔f1 38. ♕g2+ ♔e1 39. ♕e2# A very long run to find the heart of this traveler ♔. Short, the King doesn't recommend 24.♘e8+... lgs. Diagram:  click for larger view |
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Feb-15-21 | | Brenin: <King.Arthur.Brazil>: In your diagram position, did you consider 30 ... Qa1+? For example 31 Kc2 Qa4+ 32 Kd2 (32 Kb1 Qd1+ is a draw by repetition) Rxd6+ 33 exd6 Rxh8, and Black has R for 2P. |
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Feb-15-21 | | acapo: 1.24. Rh7+ Kf8 25. Nd7+ Rxd7 26. Rh8+ Ke7 27. Qf6#
2.24. Rh7+ Kf8 25. Nd7+ Ke8 26. Qxf7# |
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Feb-15-21
 | | gawain: Embarrassed to have missed the very easy finish starting with 24 Rh7+ I was looking at 24 Ne8+ It would have worked, I guess. |
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Feb-15-21
 | | eternaloptimist: I agree w/ u guys that said this is difficult for a Monday puzzle. I chose 24. ♘e8+ like some of y’all did. It looks like it works but in hindsight there would b a smaller margin for error w/ ♘e8+ than ♖h7+. I think this would’ve been a better puzzle for Wednesday than Monday |
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Feb-15-21 | | Brenin: <gawain>, <eternaloptimist>: Like you, I tried 24 Ne8+ first, but then rejected it as I could't make it work. I'm not convinced that it does work: see my comment on <King.Arthur.Brazil>'s post above. |
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Feb-15-21 | | Pedro Fernandez: By playing 24.rh7+, white avoids contact of black king with the attacking white rook. End of the story. |
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Feb-15-21 | | Pedro Fernandez: No <King.Arthur.Brazil>. 24.Ne8+? Kf8! a black makes the draw! |
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Feb-15-21
 | | eternaloptimist: <Brenin> On 2nd thought it looks like u r right about that |
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Feb-16-21 | | Nullifidian: Trickier than usual for a Monday, IMO.
24. ♖h7+ ♔f8 25. ♘d7+ ♖xd7 (♔e7 26. ♕xf7#) 26. ♖h8+ ♔e7 27. ♕f6# |
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Feb-16-21 | | King.Arthur.Brazil: <Brenin>, thank for your reply. In a general way, I thought as much as the White ♔ is centralized better the help to make a net to check-mate the Black ♔. The line 24. ♘e8+ ♔f8 25. ♖h8+ ♔e7 26. ♕f6+ ♔d7 27. ♕xf7+ ♔c6 28. ♕xc7+ ♔d5 29. ♕xb7+ ♔c5 30. ♘d6 ♕a1+ 31. ♔c2 ♕a4+ 32. ♔d2 ♖xd6+ 33. exd6 ♖xh8 34. ♕c7+ ♔d5 35. d7 ♕a2 36. d8=♕+ ♖xd8 37. ♕xd8+ ♔e4 38. ♕d4+ ♔f5 39. ♕f6+ ♔e4 40. f3+ ♔d5 41. ♕d4+ ♔c6 shows that White win still is not easy to get. That's why, <Pedro Fernandez> (thanks too) the <KING DID NOT RECOMMEND>!!! This Ne8+ is not a good move! |
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