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| Oct-22-10 | | dzechiel: White to move (29?). Black is up a pawn. "Difficult." A lot going on. Of course, my first inclination was to play 29 Nxf6, picking up an exchange. Tough to see how that's bad for white. But it's the knight check that I keep trying to make work: 29 Ng6+
Black can capture with the rook or the pawn. Let's consider the pawn first: 29...hxg6 30 Qh4+ Bh6 31 Nxf6
Threatening both 32 Nxg8 and 32 Qxh6+
Or, black can take with the rook:
29...Rxg6 30 Bxg6
and now black is not obligated to take the bishop. He can move his bishop instead, perhaps... 30...Bf8 31 Be4
but in any case, black has lost an exchange. This feels like it should be right, but I gotta figure out why the outright capture of the rook back on move 29 wasn't as good. Time to check. |
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Oct-22-10
 | | OBIT: I needed about 15 minutes to decide on a move for this one. My choice is 29. Bxh7, with the idea being 29. Bxh7 Rxf1+ 30. Rxf1 Kxh7 31. Qd3+ Kh8 32. Ng6+ Kh7 33. Nf8+ Kh8 34. Qh7+. No doubt Black can put up a better defense, but I figure this line at least tactically justifies the move. I see 29. Bxh7 threatens Nxf6, and 29...Kxh7 30. Qd3+ Kh8 32. Ng6+ Rxg6 33. Qxg6 also looks good. That's enough analysis for me to play 29. Bxh7+ OTB. Let me see what my opponent does now... |
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Oct-22-10
| | OBIT: Hmm, not the game move. Well, I'll check this over tomorrow and try to determine if my move is just as good. |
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Oct-22-10
 | | al wazir: I got the first two moves, which are pretty obvious (29. Nxf6 is *too* obvious and doesn't work), but I didn't see 31. Rxe5. The hard part of the puzzle is finding the win after that. Black has 31...hxg6 and 31...dxe5 in addition to 31...Rxg6. And even after 32. Re8+ black still has alternative choices. I question whether Vera visualized all the possibilities ahead of time, let alone any of us poor solvers. |
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Oct-22-10
 | | Jimfromprovidence: I got 29 Ng6+ Rxg6 30 Bxg6 Qd8 31 Be4 Rf8 32 Rxf8+ Qxf8 33 Rd1. 
click for larger viewNow 33... Nc3 34 bxc3 Bxe4 35 Rxd6 follows and white's up an exchange. 
click for larger viewThis looks OK, but it's cumbersome. There should be something more direct that I'm not seeing. |
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Oct-22-10
 | | Once: It's all about entry squares.
Well, just how do you break into a fortified building? If you are Ethan Hunt of Mission Impossible, then the answer will almost certainly involve dangling on a rope after slipping in through a ventilation shaft. And a helicopter. And some skydiving. And floppy hair. Just watch out for those drops of sweat. If you are James Bond (copied by Big Arnie in True Lies), then you might swim through a river and then take off your wetsuit to reveal a perfectly pressed tux or dinner suit underneath. If you are Han Solo and Luke Warmwater trying to rescue Princess Leia from the death star you might try the old "dress up as stormtroopers and walk right through" trick. Which does seem a little low-tech in an age of space travel and technology. If you are Hans Gruber trying to take over the Nakatomi building you just walk up to the security guard on reception and shoot him. Not exactly subtle, but you are a terrorist and that's what people expect you to do. It's all part of the job description. Everybody needs to find a way in, a weakness, an entry square or two. Today's puzzle gives us a choice selection of entry points as white batters his way into the black position. 29. Ng6+ invites black to open the h file so that the white queen can make a devastating entrance with Qh4+. Not surprisingly, black doesn't fancy this line and tries to counterattack with 29....Rxg6 30. Bxg6 Be5 
click for larger viewAt first glance, this seems quite clever defence by black. Black gains time by the attack on the white queen to counterattack the Bg6. Black dreams of playing Rxg6. 31. Rxe5! If this rook is taken, white takes advantage of a new entry square on f7. Horrible would be 31...de 32. Rf7 and white threatens mate on h7 and the black queen on c7. 31...Rxg6 32. Re8+ Another entry square for the white rook, this time on e8. 32...Kg7 33. Qf2 (Rff8 also works, with the threat of Rg8#) 
click for larger viewAnd we have yet another entry square - this time the white queen threatens to come into f8 and deliver mate. 33...Nf6 34. Re6 1-0. The black knight is pinned against the threat of Qf8# and is attacked by no fewer than four white pieces. But black resigns because when the knight falls (as it surely must) black's king is much too open to survive the continued white attack. There are simply too many entry squares. Note to self - if ever I turn into a megalomaniac evil genius, dream up plans of world domination and build myself a fortified headquarters building ... ... speak to the architect and make sure that you get a building without those huge air conditioning ducts that a superspy could crawl through. I'll have one with narrow air conditioning ducts, thank you. Oh, and can we make sure that the skylight ventilation thingies are closed at night? |
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| Oct-22-10 | | White Star: there is a lot going on here: I got as far as Ng6+ Rxg6 Bxg6, but then after Be5, W has the threat Rf7; that is why Rxg6, with his own threat against the Q on g3 and later combining with the black B against g2; therefore much better to leave the N on g4 as protection |
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| Oct-22-10 | | David2009: R Vera vs Sadvakasov, 1999 White 29? White is a pawn down but Black is offering the exchange. Taking it immediately with Nxf6 seems very loosening after Bxf6. Instead,
29 Ng6+ and now (A) hxg6 30 Qh4+ Bh6 forced 31 Qxh6+ Qh7 32 Qxh7+ Kxh7 33 Nxf6+ wins the exchange without giving Black counterplay;
or (B) Rxg6 30 Bxg6 Be4 and either 31 Rxe4 or 31 Nxe4 etc. seems OK for White. I don't have to decide this in advance. After 30...Be4 the WB at g6 will be pinned so giving back the exchange with 31 Rxe4 dxe4 32 Nxd4 may be best. There are other variations but White has no sensible alternative to 29 Ng6+.
Time to check:
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I got some of it, but with flaws in my analysis. I had miscounted the pieces so 31 Nxe4 is NOT OK: Black ends up with two pieces for a Rook. Fortunately 31 Rxe4 works out well. The puzzle positon is: 
click for larger view R Vera vs Sadvakasov, 1999 White 29? Crafty End Game Trainer link: http://www.chessvideos.tv/endgame-t... Crafty EGT varies from the game line with 31...dxe5 32.Nxe5 Rxg6 33.Nxg6+ hxg6 34.Qxc7 Nxc7 (a pleasant surprise- White picks up a piece) 35.Rf7 Bxg2+ 36.Kxg2 Nd5 to reach 
click for larger view
This ending harder than it looks. First time round, I could only draw:
37.Rd7 Nb4 38.a3 Nc6
39.Kg3 Ne5 40.Rd5 Nc4 41.Rxc5 Nxb2 42.Kg4 Nc4 43.a4 Kg7 44.axb5 axb5 45.Rxb5 Kh6 to reach 
click for larger viewThis position is a tablebase draw: the N has an outpost at f5 and can keep the WK at bay. Second time round I fared better (by marching the K up immediately and letting go of the a2 Pawn). Enjoy finding the win against Crafty EGT from the second diagram! Link: http://www.chessvideos.tv/endgame-t... |
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Oct-22-10
 | | agb2002: White has a bishop and a knight for the bishop pair and a pawn. The obvious 29.Nxf6 looks risky after 29... Bxf6 30.Qf2 Bd4 and Black has the initiative and a pawn for the exchange. All white forces aim at Black's king side and the black king cannot move. Therefore, 29.Ng6+: A) 29... hxg6 30.Qh4+ Bh6 31.Qxh6+ Qh7 32.Qxh7+ Kxh7 33.Nxf6+ Nxf6 34.Bb1 A.1) 34... Nh5 35.Rf7+ Rg7 36.Ree7
A.1.a) 36... Ng3+ 37.Kh2 Nf1+ 38.Kg1 (38.Rxf1 Rxe7) + -. A.1.b) 36... Bd5 37.Rxg7+ Nxg7 38.Rd7 + -.
A.2) 34... Nd5 35.Rf7+ Rg7 36.Rxg7+ Kxg7 37.Re6 + - (37... Nf4 38.Re7+; 37... g5 38.Rg6+). B) 29... Rxg6 30.Bxg6
B.1) 30... hxg6 31.Qh4+ Bh6 32.Nxh6 Qh7 33.Rf7 + - (33... Rg7 34.Re8+). B.2) 30... Be5 31.Rxe5 dxe5 (31... Rxg6 32.Re8+ + -) 32.Rf7 Rxg6 33.Rxc7 Nxc7 34.Qxe5+ Kg8 (34... Rg7 35.Rf8#) 35.Qxc7 + -. |
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| Oct-22-10 | | gofer: We are always talking about forcing moves blah blah blah... ...so only one move sticks out
as really forcing as its check mate if black doesn't take it... 29 Ng6+ ...
Option 1
29 ... hxg6
30 Qh4+ Bh6
31 Qxh6+ Qh7 (the more slow 31 Nxh6 is also very good, but not so quick as what follows)
32 Qxh7 Kxh7
33 Be6! Rxe6 (forced!)
34 Rxe6 winning the exchange and Pd6 at the very least game over Option 2
29 ... Rxg6
30 Bxg6 ...
White has won an exchange because the bishop is immune! 30 ... hxg6 31 Qh4+ Bh6 32 Nxg6 and black is
lost as Rf7 is coming next, but black still has lots of choices, but they all seem doomed
(i.e. 30 ... Qd8 31 Bxh7! Kxh7 (Rf8 32 Rxf8+ Bxf8 33 Be4!) 32 Qd3+ Kh8 33 Qg6 Rf8 33 Rxf8+ Bxf8 34 Re8 winning). Time to check... |
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| Oct-22-10 | | gofer: Missed 30... Be5, so only half a point today... |
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| Oct-22-10 | | whiteshark: <gofer: Missed 30... Be5, so only half a point today...> Me, too, but hey, it's Friday!!! |
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| Oct-22-10 | | betboy: @gofer can you explain the 31.Bxh7 move?
What would be the answer after 33 Qg6 Qh4 ? |
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| Oct-22-10 | | Patriot: 29.Ng6+ is definitely a good move to start with, given the complexity in the position. Black only has two responses. A) 29...hxg6 30.Qh4+ Bh6 31.Qxh6# -- Or at least I thought! It must be too early. But, it proves up to this point that white is at least getting a piece back. 31...Qh7 32.Qxh7+ Kxh7 33.Nxf6+ Nxf6 and white seems to be doing fine. B) 29...Rxg6 30.Bxg6 Be5 31.Rxe5 and if 31...Rxg6 white has so far picked up the exchange and probably ok. If 31...dxe5 white has given the exchange back and still doing fine. That's about all my board vision would allow this morning! |
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| Oct-22-10 | | JohnBoy: At least three previous entries (<al wazir>, <agb2002> and <David2009>) turned down 29.Nxf6, but I believe it merits a more serious look. After 29...Bxf6 30.Qxg8+ Kxg8 is there nothing for white? The black king is awfully naked and I am trying to make 31.Be6+ work. Only 31...Kg7 seems playable, and white's pieces crawl around the black king after 32.Nf5+ and a rook lift (heading to g3 or 4). |
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| Oct-22-10 | | howlwolf: Ng6+ was pretty easy to find. this seems more like a wednesday puzzle than a Friday. |
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| Oct-22-10 | | njchess: I got this one pretty quickly because there are really only three candidate moves - 29. Nh6, Nxf6 or Ng6+. Nh6 went nowhere after Rxh6. I also discarded Nxf6 because, although White wins material in the immediate exchange, his attack stalls after Black's Nxf6. Despite Black's pieces being a jumbled mess, his position is actually pretty solid. That left Ng6+ which I liked anyway since it is the most forceful move. 29. Ng6+ Rxg6 (hxg6? 30. Qh4+ Bh6 ▢ 31. Nxf6 Nxf6 32. Be6  ) 30. Bxg6 Be5 31. Rxe5! (Nxe5? ∞) Rxg6 (dxe5 32. Rf7 Rxg6 [Qxf7? 33. Bxf7 ] 33. Rxc7 Nxc7 34. Qxe5+ ) 32. Re8+ Kg7 ▢ 33. Qf2 or 32. Rf8+ Kg7 ▢ 33. Ree8 Pretty much anyway you cook it, Black loses. Time to check. |
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Oct-22-10
 | | kevin86: I found the key move (Ng6+),but I'm not sure I coud have sustained the attack... |
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| Oct-22-10 | | Marmot PFL: 29 Ng6+ was not hard to find with hg6 Qh4+ etc. Did not anticipate 30...Be5 but that looks like desperation anyway. |
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| Oct-22-10 | | MaczynskiPratten: I thought it was 29 Nxg6 but couldn't see a win for White after 31..dxe5. <Once> saw the extra trick; 32 Rf7. Black can try 32...Rxg6 33 Rxc7 Nxc7 - "level material", R+B+P for Q - but then 34 Qxe5+ Rg7 35 Nh6 and Black seems helpless against Nf5. So why does Crafty EGT play 32 Nxe5 instead of 32 Rf7? Who has missed something, the silicon monster or our resident best-selling novelist (and me)? |
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| Oct-22-10 | | David2009: <MaczynskiPratten: I thought it was 29 Nxg6 but couldn't see a win for White after 31..dxe5. <Once> saw the extra trick; 32 Rf7.> As also <agb2002> did. <Black can try 32...Rxg6 33 Rxc7 Nxc7 - "level material", R+B+P for Q - but then 34 Qxe5+ Rg7 35 Nh6 and Black seems helpless against Nf5.
So why does Crafty EGT play 32 Nxe5 instead of 32 Rf7? Who has missed something, the silicon monster or our resident best-selling novelist (and me)?>
Neither. Crafty EGT plays Black, not White. 32 Nxe5 and 32 Rf7 both win (for analysis of 32 Nxe5 see R Vera vs Sadvakasov, 1999 my first post). Your line 35 Nh6 is efficient: Crafty replies 35...Bc8 allowing 36 g4 Be6 37 Nf5 etc. There are some very intriguing variations in both these lines if White plays sub-optimal moves. For another post, perhaps, if time allows. |
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| Oct-22-10 | | wals: Analysis Rybka 4 x 64
depth 18 : 4 min :
Black blunder
(+1.57):26...Qc7.moves to a safe square.
Best, Qf7, -0.28, aids in defence.
depth 16 : 4 min :
Black error
(+2.29):27...Kh8. weakens safety.
Best,Ne7,+1.57, adds to defence.
depth 16 : 3 min :
Black blunder
(+3.67):28...Rg8. hems in the King.
Best, Qf7, +2.29.should have been made at move 26.
depth 26 : 2hours 35 min :
Black blunder
(+9.42):30...Be5.a desperate effort to
create an attack.
Best was Qd8, +4.32, which in itself tells of Black's sorry plight. Black was unable to extricate himself
and resigned move 34. |
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| Oct-22-10 | | M.Hassan: "Difficult". White to play 29.?
Black has a Bishop for a Knight and a pawn.
I looked at this last night and am continuing it today (Friday).I have discontinued a variation of Nxf6 Bxf6 as this exposes White Queen under attack and I could not get sound results out of it.I have tried the following line and think that it is a much better line:29.Qf2 Rf8
30.Qc2 Re8<to open up room for the escape of Rook on g8>
31.Rxe8 Rxe8
32.Bxh7 Be5
33.Ng6+ Kg7 <If 33....Kxh7 34.Nxe5+
Kh8 35.Rf7 Preparing for Qh7# if not, Black Queen will be lost>
34.Nxe5 dxe5 <I chose not Rxe5 and
am not sure if I'm right>
35.Qg6+ Kh8
36.Qxe8+ Kxh7
37.Rf7+ Qxf7
38.Qxf7+ Kh8
Time for black to resign and time for me to see how correct or wrong I have been. ----------Game continued entirely different version!!!! |
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Oct-22-10
 | | LIFE Master AJ: I found 29.Ng6+ almost right away ...
it took me about 25 minutes to work out the rest of the combination ... I was unable to defeat Crafty, until I found the following line, (it took several tries):
29.Ng6+ Rxg6; 30.Bxg6 Be5; 31.Rxe5 Rxg6; [31...dxe5; 32.Rf7 Rxg6; 33.Rxc7 Nxc7; 34.Qxe5+ Rg7; 35.Nh6 Bc8; 36.Nf7+ Kg8; 37.Qxc7 Rxf7; 38.Qxc8+ Kg7; 39.Qxa6, ] 32.Re8+ Kg7; 33.Qf2 Nf6; 34.Re6. 1-0 |
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Oct-23-10
| | patzer2: The combined clearance and decoy sham sacrifice
29. Ng6+!! gives White a winning attack against Black's weak King position, and solves today's Friday puzzle.The immediate question for me was why not the simple 29. Qxf6? My thought was since it's a Friday puzzle, it can't be this easy. It's true 29. Nxf6 Bxf6! (not 29...Nxf6? 30. Bxh7! with an overwhelming attack) allows Black to put up some much more resistance. However, after 29. Nxf6 Bxf6! 30. Qf2! Bd4 31. Qd2!  White has excellent winning chances. Yet the game continuation 29. Ng6+!! turns out to be much stronger because it opens up the position for the decisive attack analyzed by <agb2002> above. The key followup is 31. Rxe5!, which threatens a decisive double attack after 31...dxe5 Rf7! (threatening mate or the Queen). If 31...hxg6, then 32. Re6 Bc8 33. Nf6! Bxe6 34. Qh4+ Kg7 35. Qh7+ Kf8 36. Nxd5+ picks off Knight and Queen with a discovered check. |
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