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Sep-23-08
 | | johnlspouge: Tuesday (Easy): D Rombaldoni vs E Iturrizaga, 2008 (26.?) White to play and win.
Material: B for N. The Black Kg8 has 2 legal moves. The Black K-side has a weak dark-square complex, emphasized by Be6 and Rh3 (which attacks Ph6). The White Qd1 can join the K-side attack at g4. The Black Qe4 is mobile, but must protect Nd5, which can fork Qd1 and Rf1 at e3. The White Qd1 and Rf1 are relatively passive. The natural move
26.Rxh6 (threatening 27.Rh8#)
suggests itself. To lift the mate threat, Black has only 27…Nxd5
Removal of Nd5 therefore forces mate.
Candidates (26.): Qxd5
26.Qxd5 Qxd5 [else, drop at least a N]
27.Rxh3 (threatening 28.Rh8#)
Black is cooked. |
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Sep-23-08
 | | agb2002: Too many holes around the black king.
A) 1.Rxh6 Nxf6 and white loses the most important attacking piece. B) 1.Qxd5 Qxd5 2.Rxh6 and mate in two moves.
Let's see.
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Sep-23-08
| | agb2002: <VooDooMoves: <Soinne> 25...h5 does indeed look better but I wonder how black would play after 26. Qg4! This pins the g-pawn threatening 27. Rxh5 and 28. Rh8#. If C) 26...Qc4 27. Rg1 (Rxh5?? Qxf1#!) Nd5 28. Rxh5 Nxf6 29. exf6 Qc2 30. Rh6 Qe2 and black escapes.> How about 30.Rh8+ Kxh8 31.Qh4+ Kg8 32.Qh6 ? |
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| Sep-23-08 | | zb2cr: Found this one quickly. I have nothing to add to the cogent comments by <YouRang>, <zooter>, <dzechiel>, <lost in space>, <patzer2>, <TheaN>. To <VooDooMoves>: "26. Qxd5 Qe2 27. Rd1 h5 28. g4 Qxg4 29. Rdd3 Qe2 30. Rdg3 Qe1+ ... ". I think that in this line Black makes more trouble with 29. ... Qxf4. This still threatens mate. You might consider instead 27. Rg1, with the idea that then g4 is protected. After 27. ... h4; 28. g4 I think it's desperation time for Black, e.g. 28. ... Red8; 29. Rxh5, gxh5; 30. gxh5+, Kf8; 31. Bxd8. Now, several variations: a. 31. ... Rxd8; 32. Qxd8#.
b. 31. ... Ke8; 32. Rg8#.
c. 31. ... f5; 32. Rg8#.
d. 31. ... Qxh5; 32. Qd6+, Ke8; 33. Qe7#.
e. 31. ... Qf3+; 32. Qxf3, Rxd8; 33. Qb7 and Black can do nothing except sac his Rook to delay mate from the advance of White's h-Pawn. |
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Sep-23-08
 | | whiteshark: <26.Qxd5> and if <26...Qe2> then <27.Rg1 h5 28.Rg3> (threat is 29.Rxg6+) |
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Sep-23-08
 | | chrisowen: 25..Nd5, how queasy does it make you feel?
During the knight amble the threat of 23.Ra3 finds the door to the kingside and 24..Qe4 allows handling of the rook lift across the corridor. Soon Nd5 throws the lot whereby black is gutted. |
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| Sep-23-08 | | patzer2: <chrisowen: 25..Nd5, how queasy does it make you feel?> While on the surface 25...Nd5 appears to be a blunder, Black really didn't have a saving move. After the alternative 25... h5, White wins with 26. f5! Nd5 27. Rh4! Nxf6 28. Rxe4 Nxe4 29. fxg6 Rxe5 30. gxf7+ Kf8 31. Qd7 a5 32. Kg1 Rg5
33. Qc6 Rd8 34. Qh6+ Ke7 35. f8=Q+ Rxf8 36. Qxf8+  when mate soon follows. It's difficult to see OTB, but 24...Qe4? was the real blunder, allowing 25. Rh3! (puzzle material). Objectively, 24...Qxd1  was probably Black's best try to hold. |
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Sep-23-08
 | | gawain: A simple but satisfying solution. The key move in chess puzzles isn't very often a capture on a central square, is it? |
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Sep-23-08
 | | stardust762: Nice combination! I am glad I could solve it quickly. Let's see how it works on Wednesday. |
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| Sep-23-08 | | YetAnotherAmateur: I'm going to have to blame 24. ... Qe4 for black's loss. It does worse than nothing: it gives white a wide-open d file, and takes the pressure off of d1 and b2. All that to avoid a queen trade. If instead 24. ... Qxd1 25. Rxd1 Nc6, black obviously doesn't have a great game but at least has decent drawing possibilities. |
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Sep-23-08
 | | Once: <YetAnotherAmateur> Fritz 11 agrees with you. 24. ... Qe4 is evaluated as over +4, but 24. ... Qxd1 is just +0.32. But I think that black's main mistake comes earlier - a passive opening allows white's tactic around moves 17-22 which rams the bishop into f6. |
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| Sep-23-08 | | JG27Pyth: <Aagb2002 <VooDooMoves: <Soinne> 25...h5 does indeed look better but I wonder how black would play after 26. Qg4! This pins the g-pawn threatening 27. Rxh5 and 28. Rh8#. If C) 26...Qc4 27. Rg1 (Rxh5?? Qxf1#!) Nd5 28. Rxh5 Nxf6 29. exf6 Qc2 30. Rh6 Qe2 and black escapes.> How about 30.Rh8+ Kxh8 31.Qh4+ Kg8 32.Qh6 ?>I don't understand 29...Qc2 why not 29...Qe2 and now if 30.Rh8+?? Kxh8 31. Qh4+ Qh5  Which suggests 27.Re1 as a possible improvement (guarding e2) but it fails as it self-pins the e pawn preventing the 29.exf6 recapture. I think this line 25...h5 26 Qg4!? Qc4 27.Rg1 Nd5 28. Rxh5 Nxf6 29.exf6 Qe2 holds for black. |
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Sep-23-08
 | | playground player: The solution to this puzzle illustrates issues raised a few days ago by <dghins> and others, who complained that they weren't learning anything from these puzzles. But I was able to solve this one because I have learned to see certain checkmate patterns. Here, it's obvious that if we can get our h-Rook to h8, the Black King is toast. But first we have to take the Black pawn on h6; and if we try to do that first, Black's Knight takes our Bishop and the checkmate threat evaporates. So the key is the Black Knight, which our Queen can take. And once he's out of the picture, then we can play Rxh6, and there's no way Black can stave off mate. These puzzles do teach: but we have to know how to learn from them. |
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| Sep-23-08 | | charms: Eduardo Patricio Iturrizaga Bonelli - how do you call that guy if you're short on time? |
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Sep-23-08
 | | kevin86: I missed this one due to "piece blindness". I thought that after 26 ♖xh6 ♘xf6 27 exf6-that white would threaten mate-oops,I had a rook and not a queen. I tried a queen sac but it was doomed to failure 26 ♕h5?? gxh7 27 ♖g3+ ♕g6! wins 4 black. I had a bad day today-as Brett Favre did last night. |
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Sep-23-08
| | tatarch: The f6 bishop is just ruthless in these positions. White's whole combination from move 16 to move 22, which puts his dark bishop in that spot, is very instructive. I gave a quick thought to 25...Kh7 for black, but that loses quickly to Rxh6+ followed by Rf3. |
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| Sep-23-08 | | chopbox: <JG27Pyth: I think this line 25...h5 26 Qg4!? Qc4 27.Rg1 Nd5 28. Rxh5 Nxf6 29.exf6 Qe2 holds for black.> Best comment of the day! Thank you. |
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Sep-23-08
| | Kasputin: <whiteshark: <26.Qxd5> and if <26...Qe2> then <27.Rg1 h5 28.Rg3> (threat is 29.Rxg6+)> Another interesting idea involving ...Qe2. I have a feeling that you are right in your assessment of shifting the white rooks around like this. After 28. Rg3 black could try ...Kf8 or ...Rad8. White could well have some very strong replies to either (I haven't tried to calculate it all out), but I still might just play 27. Qf3 in response to 26 ...Qe2. The reason (for me anyway) is that it is just a lot easier to see a safe and easy route to the win. As I posted earlier, this forces the exchange of queens: 27 ...Qxf3. Then I think that I would play 28. Rhxf3. The idea is simply to double the rooks on the d-file, then play Rd8. I think that white can force the trade of all rooks (it is hard to see how black can avoid this without further comprising the position). With the rooks gone, then it is almost autopilot as far as white is concerned. Sure, this takes a lot longer (assuming that black continues to play), but it is a safe alternative way to play. |
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| Sep-23-08 | | bengalcat47: This puzzle reminds me of Blackburne's famous win against Schwarz at Berlin in 1881. In this game you have the same theme, with the White queen and a rook sacrificed to bring about the unavoidable mate at h8. |
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Sep-23-08
 | | TheaN: <Kasputin> I like <26.Qxd5 Qe2 27.Qf3 Qxf3 28.Rfxf3>: 28....Kh7?? 29.Rxh6†Kxh6 30.Rh3‡
28....Rad8? 29.Bxd8
28....h5 29.g4 : White both guards the potential back rank mate and demolishes Black's kingside. I believe this is one of the most solid and crushing continuations are 26....Qe2. |
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Sep-23-08
| | Kasputin: <TheaN> More than one way to skin a cat. My method is to put out some yummy kitty food (containing tranquilizer), wait for puss to gobble that up (maybe have a smoke or a beer in the meantime) and generally take my time. Your method is to put on some oven mitts (i.e., trade queens), then go for kitty with the big steak knife. Very nice. I think I prefer your method actually. |
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Sep-23-08
| | TheaN: I'd like to repost this: <Join the Chess Puzzle League!> Everybody, please look at my profile if you like another challenge of chesspuzzles, weekly! Might be an ad but I'd like to get some people to join in ^^. |
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Sep-23-08
| | TheaN: <Kasputin> o.O... I think that I'm not gonna let my cat near you: but you made your point. |
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Sep-23-08
| | chrisowen: thanks <patzer2> it seems you are right on track. I have to note that 25..h5 26 f5! Nd5 27. Rh4 Qxg2 is not any good either leaving white virtually a piece ahead. In your line 32.Rg5 duffs up the black king by signalling mate. |
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| Sep-23-08 | | stacase: Regarding the "I got this because it's a puzzle" and would "Miss it over the board" idea: I think a decent player would see the move the Rook would like to make and start looking for ways to get rid of the pesky Knight. The "What happens if I blow away the Knight with the Queen?" move would be a consideration. "Hmmmm let's check that one out" would be my response. Then like I said before, "BANG!" |
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Later Kibitzing> |
Kibitzing
sac: 17.Nxd6