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Jul-01-05
 | | Honza Cervenka: Pretty game and lovely finish. Schorn's idea to trap white Queen failed badly. |
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Dec-18-06
 | | An Englishman: Good Evening: When the Chessgames website loads on my computer, you can see only the 8th, 7th and 6th ranks of the Puzzle of the Day. What's weird about today's puzzle is that I found the entire winning combination *before* I scrolled down to see the entire diagram. No kidding. I knew that something had to be covering the c7 square, such as a Knight on d5 or b5 (or a Bishop on the h2-b8 diagonal), and there had to be a Rook somewhere on the e-file with access to e8. I hope this is a good omen for the rest of the week. |
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| Dec-18-06 | | Marados: I'm sort of new to this whole 'playing chess with any skill' thing, but couldn't 20 Ne5 also work? Following up with either: 20 ... Qc4
21 b3
20 ... Ke8
21 Qxc8+ Ke7
22 Ng4
Is there some sort of error in my thought? (sorry, I'm new =) ) |
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| Dec-18-06 | | chessmoron: First I wanted to fancy something up like 20. Re8+ but then I heard a echo "Queen Sac is always on Mondays", then I proceeded to make 20. Qxc8+ the correct move. |
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| Dec-18-06 | | Infohunter: <Marados:><...couldn't 20 Ne5 also work?>
Perhaps, but the real question in these daily puzzles is, what works *best*? You see, when you ask if something will work, you are asking if it will achieve some goal or not. In chess, that goal is to win or, failing that, to avoid loss. If you have a forced mate in two, that obviously achieves the goal of the game right then and there, so why consider anything else? |
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Dec-18-06
 | | cu8sfan: <Marados> Welcome to the site, and don't be sorry that you're new. We all were at some time. Maybe there's nothing wrong with your variation but when you have a way of checkmating the ♔ in two you don't really have to look at anything else. (-: |
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| Dec-18-06 | | Magician of Riga: In chess as in life there is often more than one solution to a problem and yes many of them are worth considering. I find it narrow minded and counter productive to someone's learning experience of you to automatically say that your way is the best and no other way is worth considering. Instead it might be more helpful of you to either refute his lines or affirm that those lines force a win as well. |
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| Dec-18-06 | | Infohunter: <Magician of Riga:><I find it narrow minded and counter productive to someone's learning experience of you to automatically say that your way is the best and no other way is worth considering.>
It isn't *my* way--it's what the position calls for. The idea here is to find an objective value, not a subjective one. We aren't discussing opening variations here--I fully appreciate that these often come down to the subjective issue of personal taste. A forced mate in two does not lend itself to any such vagaries.
<Instead it might be more helpful of you to either refute his lines or affirm that those lines force a win as well.> I frequently get these puzzles wrong, especially as it gets closer to Sunday. When I am right, naturally I am elated, but when I am wrong I like to know it. I then go back and figure out where I went astray or, at times, why I just didn't see it at all. If I found out that I had missed a mate in two, I would be glad to discover the truth, after which my incorrect line would be discarded from my thoughts. To be sure, there is much to be gained from analyzing alternatives in many positions but, in this case, why keep on running after you've caught the bus? |
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| Dec-18-06 | | Magician of Riga: Yes Ne5 works as well if
20 ... Qc4
21 b3
one way or another you're gonna win the rook with a knight fork or discovered check and just trade down to a won endgame better though is 21 Rxd7+ Ke8
22 Nxc4 Kxd7
23 Rd1+ Kc6
24 Qxc8+ Kb5
25 Qxb7+ Kxc4
26 Qd5+ Kb4
27 Rd4#
and if
20 ... Ke8
21 Qxc8+ Ke7
22 Ng4+ Ne5
23 Rxe5+ Qxe5
24 Qd7#
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| Dec-18-06 | | ahmadov: I could not find it :( |
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| Dec-18-06 | | Magician of Riga: there's more than one way to skin a cat. You can choose the mate in 2 or whichever other mate you find more aesthetically pleasing. There's gonna be times that embarassingly in a game you'll miss the mate in 2 and you'll have to win the longer way |
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| Dec-18-06 | | macphearsome: yes, there's two ways to skin a cat.
but if I spend two hours skinning the cat with a set of nail-clippers, and then somebody points out that I could have done it with a "cat-skinner 2000" in five minutes, I would not have the audacity to accuse them of being insensitive to my learning experience.
Nor would I allow anybody to make any such comments on my behalf. |
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| Dec-18-06 | | mrbiggs: The puzzle of the day is about finding combinations. Finding a long combination, while it may work in a game, isn't going to help you increase your skills like finding a short one (when both are present). Therefore, I think it's safe to say that the correct answer to the puzzle, and the one visitors should look for, is the two move mate. |
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| Dec-18-06 | | ahmadov: <Magician of Riga> Thank you for your comment, Misha! Still, it is really embarrasing to miss a Monday puzzle. This happens for the first time with me. |
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| Dec-18-06 | | pogo5: There is no stipulation for this puzzle except "White to play".
Therefore any winning line is solution.
Of course the mate in two is the most elegant and the one experienced players should spot within seconds/minutes.
But as said above by a Tal worshipper "There's gonna be times that embarassingly in a game you'll miss the mate in 2 and you'll have to win the longer way". How true! So no harm to analyse longer wins. |
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| Dec-18-06 | | Fisheremon: <chessmoron: First I wanted to fancy something up like 20. Re8+ but then I heard a echo "Queen Sac is always on Mondays", then I proceeded to make 20. Qxc8+ the correct move.> For those fans (and for fun!) who prefer more sacs: 20. Re8+ Kxe8 21. Re1+ Ne5 22. Qxc8+ Ke7 23. Rxe5+ Qxe5 24. Nxe5 Kf6 25. Qe8 Kf5 26. Qxf7+ Ke4 27. f3+ Kd4 28. Qc4# (and most of variations checkmating Kd4). |
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| Dec-18-06 | | TheBB: My solution was Re8+ Kxe8 Qxc8#... :\ |
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| Dec-18-06 | | PolishPentium: Black's highly speculative 14th move, the desperate (and unsuccessful)attempt to trap the White Q, obviously leads to his demise. What are some more practical alternatives? Is the simple capture 14...Bxd6, a prelude to successful K-side castling, the best sugestion, or should one look elsewhere? Gentlemen, please start your chess engines (which, alas, PP haveth not...) |
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| Dec-18-06 | | Gryznx: <TheBB: My solution was Re8+ Kxe8 Qxc8#... :\> One only problem: it's not mate! |
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| Dec-18-06 | | Eurotrash: <Magician of Riga> Haha, this is exactly why you should never analyze your games with Fritz - its a real joy-killer! You think you've played a great game, then the damn silicon beast finds a ten times better finish in about 0.01 seconds! |
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| Dec-18-06 | | child in time: <TheBB: My solution was Re8+ Kxe8 Qxc8#... :\>
It's not mate because ...Ke7. |
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| Dec-18-06 | | greensfield: The White Queen is en prix. The White Bishop controls h2/b8 diagonal. The White Rook controls the e-file. The black King gards e8. 20. Qxc8+ forces 20...Kxc8 ungarding e8 enabling white to deliver 21. Re8#. Nice puzzle. |
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| Dec-18-06 | | Rajiv Herman Kramer: Simple but Beautiful. Got it in a seconde. |
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| Dec-18-06 | | TheBB: <Gryznx> <child in time> I know. That was the point. |
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| Dec-18-06 | | Sibahi: I tried to solve this the other way round, starting with Re8+ . |
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sac: 20.Qxc8+