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Later Kibitzing> |
Aug-31-14
 | | An Englishman: Good Evening: I thought this was the correct line, but I thought White was playing for a draw! Half credit only, but 6.5/7 is better than I have done in a long time. |
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Aug-31-14
 | | patzer2: So close yet so far away in solving this Sunday puzzle. Got 29. Bg5! Qxe1+ 30. Rf1 Qxf1 31. Kxf1 Bxg2+, but bombed with 32. Kxg2?? allowing 32...d2!  .Instead 32. Ke1! is the only winning move (all others lose). Ditto for 33. Bxd2! as all others lose. The remaining follow-up is not much easier. Fritz indicates White might have won a bit quicker with 35. Bc3+!, but White's choice of 35. Qa7  to  was sufficient. |
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| Aug-31-14 | | abuzic: 29.Bg5 Qxe1+ 30.Rf1 Nd7 31.Qd4+ e5 32.Qxd7 Qe3+ 33.Bxe3 Rxg2+ 34.Kh1 Ba8 35.Qd8+ Rg8+ 36.Qxa8 Rxa8 37.Rxf7
click for larger view
black can play for a draw in this position. |
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| Aug-31-14 | | yadasampati: Not that difficult, and surely not insane. I am a mediocre player and saw the solution in less than 1 minute. The bishop move prevents the deadly check by blacks rook on g2 and attacks both the black queen and knight. The queens check on e1 is answered by Rf1, again attacking the queen. Bg5 just had to be the move :-) |
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Aug-31-14
 | | al wazir: OK, I found it. But I still can't believe it. How did this position happen? 29. Qf8!! Now to look at the game. |
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Aug-31-14
| | al wazir: 29. Qf8 is NOT the answer??? |
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| Aug-31-14 | | Cheapo by the Dozen: Insane indeed. I'm guessing that best play is:
29 Bg5 Qxe1+
30 Rf1 Rxg5
but I haven't yet found any great outcomes for White after either 31 Rxe1 or 31 Qf8+ |
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| Aug-31-14 | | diagonalley: <al wazir> ...hey ... i got 29.Q-KB8 too, and thought i'd cracked it... does software prove otherwise(?) |
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| Aug-31-14 | | morfishine: <al wazir> I also first looked at <29.Qf8> but found it insufficient after 29.Qf8 Rxf8 30.Bxe4 Nxe4 31.Bd4+ f6 Then I found the simpler and what should've been more obvious <29.Bg5> ***** |
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| Aug-31-14 | | waustad: They actually played my first few moves on a Sunday puzzle! |
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| Aug-31-14 | | Jausch46: Morphishine is a very reliable puzzle-solver, I always like to see at his precise calculations. I thought as well that Qf8 should be the solution, and looked not further, because it equalizes at least. Of course Bg5 is much better. A Trophy for Morphishine! |
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Aug-31-14
 | | agb2002: White has a rook and a bishop for a knight and three pawns. Black threatens mate in three with 29... Rxg2+ 30.Kf1 (30.Rxg2 Qxg2#; 30.Kh1 Rg1+ 31.Kxg1 Qh1#) 30... Rg1+ 31.Kxg1 Qh1#. The first two options that come to mind are 29.Qf8, pinning the rook and trying to unpin the bishop on g2, and 29.Bg5, blocking the rook, menacing mate in two and attacking the black queen. In the first case after 29.Qf8 Rxf8 30.Bxe4 Nxe4 the endgame looks very bad for White (Black has three connected passed paws for the exchange). In the second case 29.Bg5 Qxe1+ 30.Rf1:
A) 30... d2 31.Bxf6+ Rg7 32.Qf8#.
B) 30... Rxg5 31.Qxg5 (31.Rxe1 Rxc5 32.Bxb7 d2 - +) 31... d2 32.Qxf6+ Kg8 33.Qxf7+ Kh8 34.Qf8#. C) 30... Qxf1+ 31.Kxf1 (31.Bxf1 Ne4 32.Qe5+ f6 33.Qxe6 Rxg5+) 31... Ne4 (due to Bxb7 and Bxf6+) 32.Bxe4 Bxe4 33.Bf6+ Rg7 34.Qc(f)8#. D) 30... Ne4 31.Qd4+ e5 32.Qxe5+ f6 33.Bxf6+ Nxf6 34.Qxf6+ Rg7 35.Rxe1 wins. |
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Aug-31-14
 | | Once: Now there's a funny thing. In the starting position white seems to be in all sorts of trouble. Just about everything seems to be pinned against everything else, and something nasty is about to happen on g2. But then play 29. Bg5...
click for larger viewAnd now it seems that black is the one having all the problems. White may not have any pins, but he is threatening just about every black piece with capture in one or two moves. He has brought a pocketful of threats to a pin fight. So black has to grab the offered rook. But after 29...Qxe1+ 30. Rf1 
click for larger view We get a position where the black queen has 14 possible flight squares but can't escape safely. And white threatens Bxf6 Rg7-Qf8# After all these fireworks we get to a position where white has a narrow material advantage. Nul points for me today. I looked at both 29. Qf8 and 29. Bg5, but not with anywhere near enough understanding to make either of them work. If anything, this seemed to be a position where I'd want to gather all my friends - "hey, come and look at this crazy position." I haven't the first clue what I am supposed to do from here. Good insane puzzle. Bad Once, very bad Once. |
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Aug-31-14
| | agb2002: Can't believe I missed 31... Bxg2+. Better luck next Sunday. |
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| Aug-31-14 | | morfishine: <Jausch46> Thank you for your comments! I am only fortunate enough to solve about 25% of Sunday POTD's. Here, I don't feel particularly successful: I spent too much time on 29.Qf8 :) |
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| Aug-31-14 | | Cheapo by the Dozen: Oh, wait. I think a simpler line works:
29 Bg5 Qxe1+
30 Rf1 Rxg5
31 Qxg5
White has substantially the same two threats as a move ago, and Black is out of defenses. I've also ruled out a number of other Black lines in my calculations, but it's time to check to see what I missed ... |
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| Aug-31-14 | | Cheapo by the Dozen: Ahh. I didn't see the Black defensive lines that made hay from the possibility of a g-file pin. So be it. Bg5 is what one has to try over the board in any case. |
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| Aug-31-14 | | goodevans: Pretty easy for a Sunday. It took all of two minutes to work out that Bg5 was the only move that didn't lose instantly (crucial to break the pin on the g-file) and that the threat of Bxf6+ is so strong it wins back the Q in return for the sac'd R. |
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| Aug-31-14 | | Sally Simpson: OOPS!
Sucked in by the fact it was a puzzle (look for the cute shots) and went for 29.Qf8!! = ?? Then the Sunday morning brain simply failed to function and judging what
came next after 29.Qf8 was hazy. 'But it must be right. What else is there?'. I'll sac a Queen on the merest of whims. Giving up Rooks with check and
one treads more carefully. So having seen Qf8 the move Bg5 was not even considered. OTB. I've seen players resign in better positions. Think I would have played 29.Qf8 because it looks snazzy and I'll be thinking. 'I bet he has not seen that.' |
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| Aug-31-14 | | Refused: 29.?
Black has major threats against g2. There's practically only one move that avoids destruction. 29.Bg5 29.Bg5 Rxg5 30.Qf8+
So black has to accept
29.Bg5 Qxe1+ 30.Rf1 Qxf1+ 31.Kxf1 Bxg2+
Thise sequence was pretty much forced 32.Ke1! White keeps the threats alive
(32.Kxg2 h6 and black can hope to fight on.)
32...d2+ a final trap. 33.Bxd2 (33.Kd1? Bf3+! ) |
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| Aug-31-14 | | Bluegrey: What happens after 32...Nd4? |
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Aug-31-14
 | | perfidious: <Ferferi: I feel sorry for Kuzubov. It was his own rook sacrifice that virtually forced the opponent to play brilliantly.> As a former poker coach of mine has written: if you want a man to hang himself, leave some slack in the rope. |
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| Aug-31-14 | | Bluegrey: In my previous post it should read 32...Ne4 |
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Aug-31-14
 | | Jimfromprovidence: Even though he ends up losing, I liked all of the little trapping moves by black, starting with 31...Bxg2+, followed by 32...d2+.
click for larger viewWhite finally has to abandon his Bxf6+, mate next move plan as 33 Kxd2?? leads to 33...Ne4+. 33 Kd1?? leads to 33...Bf3+, below, either winning the queen or mating next move. 
click for larger view |
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| Aug-31-14 | | catlover: <al wazir: 29. Qf8 is NOT the answer???><Sally Simpson> I thought Qf8 was the answer, too. Unfortunately, I maintained my usual losing streak with Sunday POTDs. Stockfish gives the refutation as: 29... Qh4 30. Qxg8+ Kxg8 31. Bxb7 Ng4 32. Bf3 d2 33. Rd1 Nxe3 34. Rdxd2 Qc4 35. Bg2 Qc1+ 36. Bf1 Nxf1. I was counting on 29...Rxf8, but even that looks like a loser: 29...Rxf8 30. Bxe4 Nxe4 31. Bd4+ f6 32. Rxe4 Bxe4 33. Rxf6 Rxf6 34. Bxf6+ Kg8. |
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Kibitzing
+ sac: 29.Bg5