28 Rf6 forces 28...Bxf6 29 Qxg6+ Kf1 30 Nxf6 and Black's King is very exposed. However this may not win. Instead, 28 Nf6+ wins at least the exchange after Kf7 or f8 29 Nd7+. If 28 Nf6+ Bxf6 29 Qxg6+ Kh8 30 Qxh6+ Kg8 31 Qg6+ Kh6 32 Rf6 should win. Time to check:
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I found the game continuation but did not analyse the best defence 28...Qxf6! after which White is comfortably ahead on material.

Crafty End Game Trainer check: http://www.chessvideos.tv/endgame-t... The EGT puts up its usual tough resistance, following the game line until

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when it improves with 36...Rc3! immediately. White now has interesting problems converting the full point.

I didn't see a quick knock-out at first glance so I checked material (even) and looked at black's threats (...Rxb2).

I proceeded to look at moves, including crazy moves (e.g. Qxg6, Rf7, Ne7+ which isn't that crazy), and thought 28.Rf6 is interesting. After 28...Bxf6 29.Qxg6+ Kf8 30.Nxf6 it isn't so clear how to proceed. So then I turned my attention to 28.Nf6+ and everything started to click.

A) 28...Bxf6 29.Qxg6+ Kh8 (29...Kf8 30.Rxf6+ Qxf6 31.Qxf6+ ) 30.Qxh6+ Kg8 31.Rxf6

B) 28...Kh8 29.Qxg6 Bxf6 30.Qxh6+ Kg8 31.Rxf6 as in (A).

C) 28...Kf8/Kf7 29.Ne8+ followed by 30.Nxd6 is sufficient.

I missed 28...Qxf6, which looks dead lost anyway.

What bothered me is how much time it took to find the first move, which is a check! I'm always suggesting that you should look at checks, captures, and threats (in that order) but what stopped me? I looked at the move but dismissed it as "dropping a piece" early on (a quiescence error).

The answer to help alleviate this problem is "MHM", an acronym NM Dan Heisman likes to use. When looking at forcing moves, don't just stop at the first move because it doesn't look safe. Look at MHM (My move, His move, My move). If the crazy-looking move appears dead in the water after that, it probably is! This simple advice, followed consistently, would have helped me solve today's problem in much less time and should help greatly OTB.

So looking at this problem with this new insight, our logic may go as follows:

"Look at all checks"

A) 28.Qe6+ Qxe6 and it's clear that any check or capture after that is throwing away material.

B) 28.Qe8+ Rxe8 and it's clear there are no more safe checks.

C) 28.Ne7+ Kh7 seems obvious to protect g6. 29.Qxg6 Qxg6 30.Nxg6 -- dead. 29.Nxg6 Qxg6 and I see no way to proceed so this is dead also. 28.Ne7+ Kh7 29.Rf6 looks crazy enough thanks to 29...Qxf6.

D) 28.Nf6+ Bxf6 29.Qxg6+ which so far looks good since the king is seriously under attack and the bishop on f6 is going to be won with initiative.

I missed most everything today :(

<28 Nf6+ ...>

28 ... Kf8/Kf7 29 Ne8+ winning the queen

28 ... Bxf6 29 Qxg6+ Kh8 30 Qxh6+ Kg8 31 Rxf6 winning

28 ... Kh8 29 Qxg6+ Bxf6 30 Qxh6+ Kg8 31 Rxf6 winning

<28 ... Qxf6>
<29 Rxf6 Bxf6>
<30 Qe6+ Kg7>
<31 Qd7+ Kg8>
<32 Qd6 Rf8>
<33 Qxc5 ...>

Now this seems to be winning, okay its not there yet but the black king still isn't 100% safe and so white will have chances to snap up other pawns...

Time to check!

I know that Dan likes to focus on the "examine the most forcing moves" method, but it isn't always the fastest way to solve a puzzle. The alternative way is to think first about what you are trying to achieve, and only then to start examining candidate moves.

In today's POTD, if you think first about what you want to do it doesn't take too long to spot the plan of <block the sixth rank> and then <Qxg6>. It's then just a case of which move to play to block f6 - 28. Rf6 or 28. Nf6+.

I think that's why several folk found this one quite easily. The basic plan is fairly easy to see and there are only two candidate moves to analyse.

But I am always a little wary of diving straight in to analysing every forcing move. It's a little like finding yourself at a party and going up to each eligible girl in turn and saying "will you marry me?" or something a little more adventurous perchance. And if (when!) she says "no", you turn to the next girl and repeat. Carry on until success.

Your suggestion is another approach. But I don't think mine (or Dan's) has to be less efficient. Just as <Life Master AJ> has his famous "checklist" which takes time to become proficient at, I also think one can become proficient at looking at forcing moves in the fashion of "MHM". In theory it should be possible to do this quite fast as a preliminary scan to look for potential candidates. Unless there's a quick checkmate, it's a good idea to be aware of material differences and know what threats are present before doing so.

To help prove my point, here's a question: How many puzzles can you think of that DO NOT start with a check, capture, or threat? Most of the time, they start out with such a move and it continues until it's a clear win. I can think of one such position right off-hand involving zugzwang and they may be the exception to this. Here's what I have in mind (white to play):

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1.Kg7! wins since black must now lose the queen. This move is not a check, nor a capture, nor a threat in itself. This falls in line more with the approach you suggest. The king doesn't attack anything (except squares!) so it isn't a threat, but instead sets up one. It's essentially a queen trap.

Thank you,Patzer. I shall claim half a point for at least getting the vulnerable entry square correct :-)

Sure, in a puzzle the answer is nearly always a forcing move - a check or a capture. But in a real game you normally only get a "puzzle-type" position on a handful of moves. For the rest of the time, you need to find moves that don't involve forcing the pace, and that means having an idea about what you want to do with the position.

Thinking back over this week, this puzzle comes to mind:

Garcia vs Mecking, 1966

Now you could solve this by examining every check and capture, but most of us solved it quite quickly by homing in on the trapped white rook and looking for ways to exploit it. Look through the kibitzing and those who "saw" the answer almost straight away nearly always mentioned the words "trapped rook" rather than "try Ke8 and see what happens".

Rybka 4 x 64

BLUNDER

BLACK: depth : 18 : 6 min :
(+7.71)27...Qd6. Best, Qe8, -0.53.

1. (-0.53): 27...Qe8 28.Qxe8+ Rxe8 29.Nb6 d3 30.Rd1 Bxb2 31.Rxd3[] Re6 32.Rd8+ Kf7 33.Rd7+ Ke8 34.Rb7 Bd4+ 35.Kg2 Re2+ 36.Kh3 Rb2 37.Kg4 Rb3 38.Kf4 Rxa3 39.Ra7 Ra2 40.Rxa4 Rxh2 41.Nd5 Rc2 42.Ra8+ Kf7

WHITE: depth : 19 : 4 min :
(+3.05):29.Rxf6. Best, Qd5+, +7.71.

1. (7.71): 29.Qd5+ Kh7 30.Rxf6[] Bxf6 31.Qd6[] Rxb2 32.Qxf6[] Rb7 33.Qc6[] Rb1+ 34.Kg2 Rb2+ 35.Kh3 g5 36.Qxc5 Rd2 37.Qe7+ Kg6 38.Qe1 g4+ 39.Kxg4 Rb2

BLACK: depth : 18 : 4 min :

(+6.47):36...Re3. Best, Rc3, +4.75. Black has no hope.

38...d3, +12.44,( best, Kg6, (+6.48),

Please keep this famous quote in mind (commonly attributed to Dorothy Parker) as you make your way through tonight's festivities.

I would rather get better at playing chess, of course!

<Sure, in a puzzle the answer is nearly always a forcing move - a check or a capture. But in a real game you normally only get a "puzzle-type" position on a handful of moves. For the rest of the time, you need to find moves that don't involve forcing the pace, and that means having an idea about what you want to do with the position.>

I totally agree.

<Now you could solve this by examining every check and capture, but most of us solved it quite quickly by homing in on the trapped white rook and looking for ways to exploit it. Look through the kibitzing and those who "saw" the answer almost straight away nearly always mentioned the words "trapped rook" rather than "try Ke8 and see what happens".>

Very true. Good point.

<In a real game, with the clock ticking remorselessly, I would rather live by DAUT - don't analyse unnecessary tactics - than by a brute force search of every check and capture.>

During a game you're already familiar with many aspects in the position because you've played the game up to that point. I agree that, for example, it might be a waste of time considering RxN on every move. Even I don't do that. With puzzle positions, we have no idea what the previous move was and so anything is possible. OTB we must rely on visual cues (like "LPDO", exposed king, etc.). In today's position there is a loose piece--the black queen and yes, I eyeballed g6 because it is barely defended. If the rook were defending the queen on d8, 28.Nf6+ would not look promising.

White to play (28.?) "Difficult"