| Dec-11-10 | | engineerX: This is a wonderful combination and should be in GM Leitao's notable games. |
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| May-05-15 | | whiteshark: <engineerX: This is a wonderful combination and should be in GM Leitao's notable games.> Absolutely!! GM Rafael Leitão video-annotated his brilliancy here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMab... Enjoy! |
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Mar-17-16
 | | Penguincw: Happy St. Patrick's Day. Hoping I can get lucky today. Looked at the game, a lot of possible moves. There's 23.Bg3, with hopes of 23...Qxg3 24.e5+. There's also 23.Rxf6+, hoping black plays 23...Qxf6, which would drop the queen. I ended up going with the latter, and followed with 24.Bxg5+ in hopes of 24...Kxg5, which isn't forced or anything. Hope... |
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Mar-17-16
 | | al wazir: My move was 23. Bg3. I'm pretty sure it wins after the discovered check in all variations. Here's one: 23...Qxg3 24. e5+ Kg7 25. exf6+ Kh8 26. f7 Rf8 27. e7. |
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| Mar-17-16 | | King Sacrificer: <al wazir: My move was 23. Bg3. I'm pretty sure it wins after the discovered check in all variations. Here's one: 23...Qxg3 24. e5+ Kg7 25. exf6+ Kh8 26. f7 Rf8 27. e7> What about <23. Bg3 Qxe4> ? I was stuck after many attempts to make <23. Rxf6 Kxf6 24. Rf1+> work. I never thought of moving the queen, let alone the e8 rook's defensive vulnarability. |
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Mar-17-16
 | | An Englishman: Good Evening: Solved it, but how impressive is that 18th move? A Sunday 18. White to Move would probably prove unsolvable. |
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| Mar-17-16 | | WDenayer: I don't get it. Why not 25.Qf7+ and it's mate in a couple of moves - Nf5 coming? |
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| Mar-17-16 | | diagonalley: well... 23.RxB+ was the clear prime candidate to press home the attack, but i didn't find the exquisite follow-up 24.Q-B2+ ... lovely puzzle |
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| Mar-17-16 | | Once: <WDenayer:I don't get it. Why not 25.Qf7+ and it's mate in a couple of moves - Nf5 coming?> I wondered the same thing. Fritzie says that 25. Qf7+ also wins, but we do have to see that a later Rxb7 is also needed. The point is that after 25. Qf7+ Kh8, we get to here: 
click for larger viewBlack is hanging on grimly. We need to find a way of continuing the attack. By far the best continuation from here is 26. Rxb7 setting up threats of Qxh7#. Having seen that, white decided to play 25. Rxb7+ first as he gets to play it with check. But frankly there is not much to choose between 25. Rxb7+ or 25. Qf7+. Fritzie rates them as +9.96 and +9.4 respectively. |
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| Mar-17-16 | | gofer: Today's POTD is quite easy. The first three moves play themselves. <23 Rxf6+ ...>
23 ... Qxf6
24 e5+ 
<23 ... Kxf6>
<24 Qf2+ ...>
24 ... Qf4
25 Qxf4+
24 ... Kd7
25 Qf7+ Kd6 ( Kd8 26 Nxc6+ bxc6 (Nxc6 27 Qd7#) 27 Rxb8+ Rxb8/Qxb8 28 Qd7# )
26 Bg3! Qxg3
27 Nf5+
24 ... Kg6
25 Qf7+ Kh6
26 Nf5+
<24 ... Kg7>
<25 Qf7+ ...>
25 ... Kh6
26 Nf5+
<25 ... Kh8>
<26 Rxb7! ...>
click for larger viewWhite forces black to make a decision, because Qxh7# is threatened and if the
queen moves off the a1-h8 diagonal then Qg7# is threatened. So black must choose
between blocking the 7th rank with its knight and taking the rook and taking the
rook is not a good idea...
26 ... Bxb7
27 Qxe8+ Kg7
28 Qf7+ Kh6
29 Nf5+
<26 ... Nd7!>
<27 exd7 ...>
27 ... Rf8
28 d8=Q mating
27 ... Bxd7
28 Rxd7 mating
<27 ... Bxb7>
<28 dxe8=Q+ Rxe8> (Qxe8 30 Qf6+ Kg8 31 Nf5! ) <29 Bxg5! Qxg5>
<30 Qxe8+ Qg8> (Kg7 Ne6+ ) <31 Qe5+ Qg7>
<32 Qb8+ Qg8>
~~~
Doh! I made a meal out of that! White's play was far more elegant, but I think black had to play <25 ... Nd7!> at which point I think everything transposes... 
click for larger view |
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| Mar-17-16 | | agb2002: White has two pawns for a bishop.
Black threatens 23... gxh4 and 23... B(Q)xe4.
The first idea that comes to mind is 24.Rxf6+:
A) 24... Kxf6 25.Qf2+
A.1) 25... Ke7 26.Qf7+
A.1.a) 26... Kd8 27.Nxc6+ bxc6 (27... Nxc6 28.Qd7#; 27... Kc8 28.Qxb7#) 28.Rxb8+ Q(R)xb8 29.Qd7#. A.1.b) 26... Kd6 27.Bg3 Qxg3 28.Nf5+ and 29.Nxg3 + - [Q+2P vs R+B] and an overwhelming position. A.2) 25... Kg6 26.Qf7+ Kh6 27.Nf5+ Qxf5 28.exf5 gxh4 (due to the threat 29.Qf6+ Kh5 30.Qxg5#) 29.Rb4 and mate soon. A.3) 25... Kg7 26.Qf7+ Kh8 (26... Kh6 transposes to A.2) 27. A.4) 25... Qf4 26.Qxf4+ wins.
B) 24... Qxf6 25.e5+ Kh6 (25... Kg7 26.exf6+ Kxf6 27.Rf1+ followed by 28.Bxg5 + - [Q+2P vs R]) 26.exf6 gxh4 27.f7 (or 27.Nxc6 Nxc6 28.Rxb7) + - [Q+2P vs R+B]. C) 24... Kg7 25.Rf5
C.1) 25... Qxe4 26.Rxg5+
C.1.a) 26... Kh6 27.Nf5+ Qxf5 28.Qxf5 wins.
C.1.b) 26... Kf6 27.Rg4+ wins.
C.1.c) 26... Kf8 27.Qf2+ Ke7 28.Rg4+ wins.
C.1.d) 26... Kh8 27.Rg4 Qe5 (27... Qxc2 28.Bf6#) 28.Re1 wins. C.2) 25... Bxe4 26.Rxe5 Bxc2 27.Nxc2 + - [2B+2P vs N]. C.3) 25... Qd6 26.Rxg4+ + - [3P].
D) 24... Kh5 25.Qe2+ and 26.Qg4#. |
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| Mar-17-16 | | agb2002: For some reason I got distracted or forgot to complete my line A.3 (27.Rxb7 etc.). |
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| Mar-17-16 | | Lambda: 23. Rxf6+ Kxf6 (if black can't take, it was clearly a good idea, if queen takes, e5+ wins the queen) 24. Qf2+ and... 1) 24... Kg6/g7 25. Qf7+ Kh6 26. Nf5+ Qxf5 27. exf5 gxh4 28. Qf6+ Kh5 29. Rb4 2) 24... Ke7 25. Qf7+ Kd8 (25... Kd6 26. Bg3 Qxg3 27. Nf5+) 26. Nxc6+ Nxc6 27. Rd1+ Kc8 28. Qxe8+ and if nothing better, 29. Qe7+ and 30. Qxg5 3) 24... Kg7 25. Qf7+ Kh8 26. Rxb7 Nd7 (26... Bxb7 27. Qxe8+ Kg7 28. Qf7+ Kh6 [28... Kh8 29. Qf8#] 29. Nf5+ Qxf5 30. exf5 and if 30... gxh4 just 31. Qxb7 is enough) 27. exd7 Bxb7 28. dxe8=Q/R+ Qxe8 (28... Rxe8 29. Bxg5) 29. Qf6+ Kg8 30. Nf5 with twin threats of Qg7# and Nh6# wins That's certainly enough to gain winning positions in all lines, anyway. There are probably improvements, since we're attacking the king so much. |
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| Mar-17-16 | | morfishine: <23.Rxf6+> is an internal explosion that causes a fatal implosion of Black's position, one move and one piece at a time Lovely
***** |
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Mar-17-16
 | | PawnSac: < whiteshark: <engineerX: This is a wonderful combination and should be in GM Leitao's notable games.> Absolutely!!
GM Rafael Leitão video-annotated his brilliancy here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMab... Enjoy! > Good find on that video whiteshark. He does a decent job covering the important theoretical aspects of this interesting line. |
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| Mar-17-16 | | patzer2: Lately it looks like Thursday is the new Sunday for me when it comes to solving chessgames.com puzzles. My failed try for today's puzzle was 23. Nxc6? which favors Black after 23...Nxc6 24. Rf5 Qxe6 [also good for black here is 24... Qxc3 25. Rxg5+ (not 25. Rxf6+?? Qxf6 26. e5+ Qf5  ) 25... Kh6 26. Qxc3 Bxc3 27. Rxb7 Rab8 28. Rxb8 Nxb8 29. g4 Nc6  (-1.31 @ 24 depth, Deep Fritz 15)] 25. Rbf1 Bd8 26. e5 Kg7 27. Bxg5 Nxe5 28. Be3 Bb6 29. Bd4 Kg8 30. Kh1
Bxd4 31. cxd4 Ng6 32. d5 Qd7 to (-1.73 @ 18 depth, Deep Fritz 15). Correct is the game continuation with the winning exchange sacrifice <23. ♖xf6+!> (+12.13 @ 36 depth, Stockfish 5 SE) <23... ♔xf6>
Not 23... Qxf6?? 24. e5+ (#10, Deep Fritz 15 @ 21 depth). <24. ♕f2+ ♔g7>
If 24... Ke7, then White wins after 25. Nxc6+ bxc6 26. Qf7+ Kd6 (26... Kd8 27. Rxb8+ Rxb8 28. Qd7#) 27. Qxe8 gxh4 28. Qf8+ Kxe6 29. Qe8+ Kd6 (29... Kf6 30. Rf1+ Qf4 31. Rxf4+ Kg5 32. Rf5+ Kh6 33. Qf8+ Kg6 34. Qf6#) 30. Rd1+ Qd5 31. exd5 (#7 Deep Fritz 15 @ 27 depth) If 24... Kg6, then White mates following 25. Qf7+ Kh6 26. Nf5+ Qxf5 27. Qxf5 gxh4 28. Qf6+ Kh5 29. Rf1 Bxe4 30. Rf4 a5 31. Rxh4# <25. ♖xb7+>
Just as good, and perhaps easier for those who are not experts or masters, is <WDenayer> suggestion 25. Qf7+! Kh8 when play might continue 26. Rxb7! Nd7 (26... Bxb7 27. Qxe8+ ) 27. exd7 Bxd7 28. Rxd7 Re7 29. Rxe7 Qxe7 30. Qxe7 Rb8 31. Nf5 Rb1+ 32. Kh2 Rh1+
33. Kxh1 gxh4 34. Qg7#.
<25... ♔h8 26. ♗g3 1-0> Black resigns in lieu of the dual mate threats 26... Qxe4 27. Qf6+ Kg8 28. Qg7# and 26... Bxb7 27. Bxe5+ Kg8 28. Qf7#. P.S.: So where did Black go wrong? According to the computer, Black's clearly decisive mistake was <17... ♗f6?> allowing 18. Bxf7+! Kxf7 19. Qb3+ (+2.83 @ 32 depth, Stockfish 5SE). Instead, 17...Bxf4 18. Qf2  (+1.22 @ 21 depth, Deep Fritz 15) puts up more resistance to keep Black in the fight longer. One move before, instead of <16...♖e8?> which allowed 17. f4 to (+2.16 @ 28 depth, Komodo 9.2), Black could have kept it about level with 16...a6 17. Rfd1 Re8 = (0.03 @ 22 depth, Deep Rybka 3 x 64) or 16...e6 17. Rfd1 b6 = (0.22 @ 21 depth, Deep Fritz 15). |
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| Mar-17-16 | | saturn2: Blacks queen side is underdeveloped, its king is developed well, so white develops the opponents king further: 23 RxB KxR (forced, otherwise loss of queen) and now decisive attack on the f-file. |
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| Mar-17-16 | | transpose: I seem to be slow this week. I got Rxf6 but did not see the followup Qf2+. For some reason I only saw the followup as Nf3 or Rf1+, and spent too much time trying to work these out. |
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| Mar-17-16 | | kevin86: It looks like the attack coming will be unable to stop. |
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Mar-17-16
| | al wazir: <King Sacrificer: What about <23. Bg3 Qxe4?> Then white still has Rxf6+, etc. |
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| Mar-17-16 | | Tiggler: <al wazir: My move was 23. Bg3. I'm pretty sure it wins after the discovered check in all variations. Here's one: 23...Qxg3 24. e5+ Kg7 25. exf6+ Kh8 26. f7 Rf8 27. e7.> That was my move too. Looked so tasty that I did not look any further. |
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| Mar-17-16 | | morfishine: Nice work <everybody> on <23.Bg3> Same theme earlier, same result, very nice |
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| Mar-17-16 | | stst: Many ways, the obvious being RxB+, others include Bg3 (inviting QxB, e5 dis+ etc) or even Nf3 forcing the Black Q to move, then e5 dis+ etc.
In all cases, once checking starts, Black's K may flee for several moves, but not long... |
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| Mar-18-16 | | CHESSTTCAMPS: White has two pawns for a piece, including an e6 passer that supports a king-side attack. The undeveloped queen-side pieces underscore the black disadvantage. First, I wanted to play 23.Rf5 to separate the BQ from the defense of Bf6, but could not find a clear win after 23... Qxe4 24.Rxf6+ Kxf6 25.Qf2+ Ke7. Next I tried to simplify the solution with an immediate 23.Rxf6+ Kxf6 24.Qf2+ but there was no clear-cut win there either. The best I can find is 23.Bg3! and now:
A.23... Qxg3? 24.e5+ Kh6/g7 (Kh5 25.Qh7#) 25.Nf5+ wins the queen. B.23... Qxe4 24.Rf6+ Kxf6 25.Qf2+ Kg7 (Ke7 26.Qf7+ Kd8 27.Qc7#) 26.Rxb7+! Nd7?! (26... Bxb7? 27.Qf7+ Kh8 28.Qxe8+ Kg7 29.Qf7+ Kh6 30.Nf5+ wins queen) 27.Qf7+ Kh8 28.Nxc6 looks to be winning. All I have time for.... |
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| Mar-18-16 | | CHESSTTCAMPS: I had the right ideas, but imprecise calculation. You can try playing the puzzle position against Crafty using the following link: http://www.chessvideos.tv/endgame-t... |
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Kibitzing
sac: 18.Bxf7+