| Jan-08-09 | | shr0pshire: This game caught my eye because of the tactical fireworks in the middle game. What I didn't know was that according to Naum 3.1 black is beat straight out of the opening. By move 21, black is losing by more than 3 points. It is rare to see 2700+ players lose in the opening this quickly, but I think it is even more unseen to see them lose to players 150 points less than them that quickly. Black's ultra-aggressive approach of snapping up pawns, while keep his king in the center of the board probably cost him the game. I also found it interesting that white sacrificed two pawns for position in the opening, and that a super grandmaster such as black could have taken them. Pretty interesting stuff. |
|
| Apr-20-18 | | Marmot PFL: 30 Nb5+ saw fairly quickly due to vulnerable king and clearing away pc6. 30...Kc8 31 Nd6+
30...Kb8 31 Rd8+ Bxd8 32 Rxf7
30...cb5 31 Qc5+ Kb8 32 Rd8+ Bxd8 33 Rxf7 Bxf7 34 Qf8 |
|
Apr-20-18
 | | Penguincw: Since I was able to come close to solving the Wednesday puzzle, I decided to try the Thursday puzzle. And since I came close to solving the Thursday puzzle, I will try the Friday puzzle. And well, I came close to solving it, again. Sucks that the rook is pinned. Gotta make the bishop move. So, 30.Nb5+ cxb5 31.Qc5+ Kb8 32.Rd8+ Bxd8 33.Rxf7 Bxf7. At this point, it's a queen vs. rook, 2 bishops and pawn. I stopped here because I kinda thought it was over, and couldn't visualize that far. I'll give myself half credit. Add yesterday's half credit, and it's 4/5 week. I guess I'll have to return tomorrow. I didn't calculate for 30...Kb8 or 30...Kc8, but e8 says white would be at a larger advantage if black played those moves. |
|
| Apr-20-18 | | ChessHigherCat: First I had to decide whether the objective is a stalemate or win. I think it's probably a win with 30. Qd2, getting out of the pin and threatening 31. Qd5+ and if Kb6 37. Nd5+ has to be veryvery bad for black (and hence veryvery good for white). If 30...Rd8? 31. Qxd8 Bxd8 32.Rxf7+ Bxf7 and white has many a pawn upon the board. Last and least, if 31. Bxf4+ gxf4, undoubling and connecting three ambitious pawns. Well I've now reached my 15-minute limit, so it's time to check |
|
| Apr-20-18 | | ChessHigherCat: Drat I missed this one. |
|
| Apr-20-18 | | patzer2: Found 30. Nb5+! cxb5 31. Qc5+ Kb8 32. Rd8+ Bxd8 33. Rxf7 Bxf7 easy enough for today's Friday puzzle solution. Didn't need to give it much thought until White's fifth move of the combination, but even then 34. Qf8 +- (+6.37 @ 27 ply, Stockfish 8) is obviously the only clear winning follow-up. P.S.: Black's decisive mistake was 19...Bc5?, allowing 20. Rhf1 +- (+3.76 @ 27 ply, Stocfkish 8) when the dual threats of 21. Nb3 +- and 21. Rxf4 +- give White a clearly won position. Necessary instead was 19...Bxa3!? with Black giving up the piece for four pawns after 20. bxa3 fxg3 21. Nb3 Qf4+ 22. Kb2 ⩲ (+0.44 @ 32 ply, Stockfish 8). Earlier, Black could have held it fully level by replacing 16...Bg4 17. Rde1 = to ⩲ (+0.22 @ 28 ply, Stockfish 8) with 16...gxf4 = to ⩱ (-0.16 @ 28 ply, Stockfish 8). |
|
| Apr-20-18 | | patzer2: Also, instead of 17...gxf4? allowing 18. e4! ± (+0.84 @ 30 ply, Stockfish 8), Black would have been better off getting the King to safety and preparing a solid defense with 17...0-0-0 18. e4 Bc7 19. e5 Qg7 20. Bf5+ Bxf5 21. Qxf5+ Kb8 = (+0.14 @ 32 ply, Stockfish 8). |
|
| Apr-20-18 | | Cheapo by the Dozen: Quite simple for a Friday. White easily "wins" the queen by a forced sequence. When the first dust clears, Black has plenty of material compensation. But the position is wide open and his pieces can't defend each, so of course White quickly establishes a winning advantage. This is fitting, given that Black's fatal error was 19 ... Bc5, trapping his own queen and hence requiring him to rip open center lines himself to (at least temporarily) save her. |
|
| Apr-20-18 | | agb2002: White has a rook and a knight for the bishop pair. Black threatens Bxf4.
Black's dark square bishop averts Rxf7. This suggests 30.Nb5+: A) 30... cxb5 31.Qc5+ Kb8 32.Rd8+ Bxd8 33.Rxf7
A.1) 33... Bxf7 34.Qf8
A.1.a) 34... Kc8 35.Qxf7 + - [Q vs r+b] (35... Bg5+ 36.Kc2 b6 37.e6, etc.). A.1.b) 34... Kc7 35.Qxf7+ Kb8 (35... Kc8 36.Qe6+ and 37.Qxh6; 35... Kc6 36.Qe6+ and 37.Qxh6) 36.Qf8 Kc7(8) 37.Qxh6 + - [Q+P vs r+b]. A.1.c) 34... Be6 35.Qxd8+ Bc8 36.Qd6#.
A.2) 33... Bg5+ 34.Kd1 Bxf7 35.Qf8+ Kc7 36.Qxa8 + - [Q vs 2b]. B) 30... Kb8 31.Rd8+ Bxd8 32.Rxf7 looks similar to A. C) 30... Kc8 31.Nd6+ wins the queen. |
|
Apr-20-18
 | | al wazir: <patzer2: Found 30. Nb5+! cxb5 31. Qc5+ Kb8 32. Rd8+ Bxd8 33. Rxf7 Bxf7 easy enough for today's Friday puzzle solution. Didn't need to give it much thought until White's fifth move of the combination.> Same here. |
|
| Apr-20-18 | | gofer: So the first few moves a simple due to their forced nature... <30 Nb5+ cxb5>
<31 Qc5+ Kb8>
<32 Rd8+ Bxd8>
<33 Rxf7 Bxf7>
<34 Qf8 ...>
So we are 5 moves into the combination <on a Friday> and its all
pretty straight forward. We know we are entering into an Q v R+B
end game where black is losing. There only seems to be one way
to release Ra8 and that is by playing a5, but the first question
is which bishop to keep?!
Keeping the BSD seems a bad idea...
34 ... Kc8
35 Qxf7 Bg5+
36 Kc2 a5
37 e6 Ra6
38 e7 +-
But keeping the LSB doesn't seem much better...
34 ... a5?
35 Qxd8 Ka7
36 Qxa5+ Kb8
37 Qd8+ Ka7
38 Qd4+ Ka6/Kb8
39 e6 +-
In either variation, taking the e pawn loses a bishop and the game.
Not taking it loses the rook or the game...
~~~
Yep everyone found it easy today... ...except <CHC>...
which is makes this <Friday> doubly unusual. |
|
| Apr-20-18 | | groog: So, it seems Vladimir had the last laugh.
Fairly straight forward for a Friday |
|
| Apr-20-18 | | saturn2: I came quickly as far as it is Q vs R+B |
|
| Apr-20-18 | | malt: Have 30.Nb5+ cb5
[30...Kc8 31.Nd6+ ]
(30...Kb8 31.Rd8+ B:d8 32.R:f7 B:f7 33.Q:f7 cb5 34.Qf8 Kc7 35.Qd6+ ) 31.Qc5+ Kb8 32.Rd8+ B:d8 33.R:f7 B:f7 34.Qf8 Kc7 35.Q:f7+ Kb6 36.e6 |
|
| Apr-20-18 | | mel gibson: I saw those first few moves immediately.
Stockfish 8 says:
30. Nb5+
(30. Nb5+ (♘c3-b5+
c6xb5 ♕f2-c5+ ♔c7-b8 ♖d1-d8+ ♗g5xd8 ♖f4xf7 ♗g6xf7 ♕c5-f8 ♔b8-c7 ♕f8xf7+
♔c7-b6 e5-e6 ♖a8-c8 e6-e7 ♗d8xe7 ♕f7xe7 ♖c8-c6 ♕e7-e3+ ♔b6-a6 ♔c1-c2 ♖c6-g6
g3-g4 ♖g6-b6 ♔c2-c3 ♖b6-c6 ♕e3-e7 ♔a6-b6 ♕e7-d8+ ♖c6-c7 ♕d8-d4+ ♔b6-a6
♕d4-e5 ♖c7-c6 ♔c3-b4 b7-b6 ♔b4-c3 ♖c6-g6 ♕e5-e8 ♖g6-g7 ♔c3-b4 ♔a6-b7
♕e8-e4+ ♔b7-b8 ♕e4-e5+ ♖g7-c7 ♔b4xb5 ♔b8-b7 ♕e5-d5+ ♔b7-b8 ♔b5-b4 c4-c3
b2xc3 a7-a5+ ♔b4-b3) +6.72/38 117)
score for White +6.72 depth 38 |
|
| Apr-20-18 | | stacase: Well, so far this week has been a "Check all the moves and see what they do week" Aren't all weeks that way? Not for me, I don't always see what that first move does. I parted company at 34.Qf8 and would have said check instead. |
|
| Apr-20-18 | | wtpy: Much easier than yesterday's problem. |
|
| Apr-20-18 | | ChessHigherCat: <gofer: Yep everyone found it easy today... ...except <CHC>... which makes this <Friday> doubly unusual.> Can't a feller screw up from time to time? I admit I should have looked for something more forcing but I just saw Qd2 Rd8 Qxd8 Bxd8 RxQ BxR and I thought, aha, that's the trick, but it doesn't even win material, so I should have known better. Anyway, I'll look harder next time now that everybody has indulged in a "ho, hum, how terribly easy this one was, I only had time to pare one of my toenails before finding all the variations..." |
|
Apr-20-18
 | | Breunor: Don't worry CHC I missed it also and got yesterday's. I looked at Nb5 but messed up the follow-up. |
|
| Apr-20-18 | | gars: I am a very weak player who solved this POTD in less then ten minutes, so this MUST be a misplaced problem, hard enough for a Tuesday or a Wednesday, not worth of a Friday. |
|
Apr-20-18
 | | offramp: I didn't get this one at all. I believe this is called a wish-fulfilment problem. White wants to get rid of the pin on his rook and keeps looking until he finds a way to do it. |
|
| Apr-20-18 | | swclark25: Agree with <gars>. I'm also a weak player, and I felt pretty good to get this one...at least thru move 34. Seems like that was the trickiest part. |
|
| Apr-20-18 | | landshark: I got this one but missed yesterday's by going for the R check before the N move, which loses - got today's thru move 34 but then (more casually) after that strayed from the game continuation. Which I found to be quite wonderful - I hope someday to be able to see that far but that would require me to evolve, which, being a shark, is impossible for me. Alas... |
|
Kibitzing
sac: 30.Nb5+
