| Apr-24-10 | | Eduardo Leon: Black to play. 24...?
click for larger view<24...♔g8>
The technically most correct defense, preventing the next move from being a double check. 24...♖f6 looks impressive, but it fails to 25.gxf6, and, now, any queen move is met with 26.hxg7+. <25.hxg7 ♕xg7>
Otherwise, 26.♖h8#.
<26.♗xg7+ ♔xg7>
Not 26...Rf3 27.Ke2 Rg3 28.Bf6.
<27.♔xf2 ♔xg6 28.♖cg1> 
click for larger viewThe g pawn decides the endgame.
<28...♗d7 29.♖h6+ ♔g7 30.♖g3 ♖f8+ 31.♖f3> 
click for larger viewBlack must accept either the exchange of rooks or the penetration of the second white rook deep inside his territory. ---
It's amazing how much Capablanca could calculate before 19.g5!. |
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Apr-24-10
 | | NM JRousselle: White is NOT better after 20 h5.
Black has e5 or Qf4. Per Fritz, either move would result in Black being better by about a pawn. My first thought was e5, but even the technically weaker Qf4 has the benefit of clearing the board and totally eliminating White's attacking chances. |
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| Nov-26-14 | | gmelfranco: guao maestro que bien que juega usted ok jejejeje- es un modelo a seguir para mi usted capablanca!!! jeje |
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| Nov-06-15 | | yadasampati: I saw the first two moves within 15 seconds. The real puzzle is move 23. Bxe5! |
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| Nov-06-15 | | stacase: 23.Be5 should have been the puzzle start because 21.Bxh7 was rather obvious. |
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| Nov-06-15 | | dfcx: The first two moves are easy to spot.
21.Bxh7+ Kh8 (Kh7? 22.g6+ forks) 22.Bg6
A. 22...Qc7 23.Bxe5 wins a piece
B. 22...Qe7 23.h6 intending to play hxg7+ followed by Rh7+ winning the queen.23...Kg8 24.Bxe5 Rxf2 25.Kxf2 Qf8 26.Ke2 and black can't stop gxf7 (26...gxh6 27.gxh6 is worse). C. 22...Qd7 23.Bxe5! Rxf2 24.h6 Kg8 25.Bh7+ Kf8 26.hxg7+ Qxg7 27.Bxg7+ Kxg7 28.Kxf2 with a full rook ahead. |
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| Nov-06-15 | | agb2002: White has one pawn less.
Black threatens to win another pawn with Bxf4.
The position of the black queen suggests 21.Bxh7+ Kh8 (21... Kxh7 22.g6+ wins the queen) 22.Bg6: A) 22... Qc7 23.Bxe5 Rxf2 (23... Qxe5 24.Qxf8#; 23... Qd8 24.Bf7 Qe7 25.h6 Q(R)xf7 26.hxg7+ Kg8 27.Rh8#) 24.Bxc7 + - [B]. B) 22... Qe7 23.Bxe5 Rxf2 (else drop a piece) 24.h6
B.1) 24... Qxg5 25.hxg7+ Kg8 26.Rh8#.
B.2) 24... Kg8 25.hxg7 Qxg7 (25... Rf6 26.gxf6 and mate in two) 26.Bxg7 B.2.a) 26... Rf3 27.Bf6 Rxf6 (27... Rxe3+ 28.Kd2 and mate in two) 27.gxf6 + - [R]. B.2.b) 26... Kxg7 27.Kxf2 Kxg6 28.Rcg1 + - [R vs B].
B.3) 24... Rf1+ 25.Kxf1 Qf8+ 26.Ke2 just loses more material. C) 22... Qd7 23.Bxe5 as in B. |
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| Nov-06-15 | | morfishine: <21.Bxh7+> forcing 21...Kh8 allowing 22.Bg6 and White wins |
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| Nov-06-15 | | wooden nickel: I think it even works more simple minded:
21.Bxh7+ Kh8 22.Bg6 Qe7 23.h6 Kg8 24.hxg7 Bxg7 25.Qh4
click for larger view |
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| Nov-06-15 | | diagonalley: ah! the great capa.. masterful as ever :-) |
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Nov-06-15
 | | Willber G: <yadasampati: I saw the first two moves within 15 seconds. The real puzzle is move 23. Bxe5!> I agree, and I missed it. :-( |
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| Nov-06-15 | | CopyBlanca: in a 40 board simultaneous this is really amazing. Capablanca, Fischer top two players of all time equal first. |
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| Nov-06-15 | | patzer2: Impressive tactical display by Capablanca in this simultaneous exhibition. For my Friday solution, I got as far as the first two moves 21. Bxh7+! Kh8 22. Bg6  . After 22...Qe7, I missed the stunning 23. Bxe5!! and opted instead for a more mundane win with 23. h6 (diagram below): 
click for larger view From here Deep Fritz 14 indicates play might continue 23...Kg8 24. Bh7+ Kxh7 25. hxg7+ Kg6 26. Qc2+ Kf7 (26... Rf5 27. g8=Q+ Bg7 28. Rh6#; 26... Kxg7 27. Qh7#) 27. gxf8=Q+ Qxf8 28. Bxe5 with mate-in-seven or less. Black's decisive mistake was 20...Be5?? allowing 21. Bxh7+! . Instead, 20... Qxf4! 21. Qxf4 Rxf4 22. exf4 Be3! 23. Rc3 Bxf4 24. g6 Kh8 = (-0.08 @ 24 depth) sacrifices the exchange for a piece and two pawns for dynamic equality. |
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| Nov-06-15 | | patzer2: <CopyBlanca: in a 40 board simultaneous this is really amazing. Capablanca, Fischer top two players of all time equal first.> Capablanca was most certainly an extraordinary simultaneous player, perhaps the best of all time. At http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/... is an article by Edward Winter with some interesting descriptions and photos of some of Capablanca's simultaneous exploits. One particularly impressive mention: <the report on page 154 of the December 1926 American Chess Bulletin:‘World champion Capablanca was in splendid trim when he encountered 25 of the members of the Marshall Chess Club in simultaneous play on the evening of 30 November. Not one of his opponents could defeat him. He won 22 and drew three against Rudolph Smirka, Milton Hanauer and Fred Reinfeld.’> A wiki article about Chess world records at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_... notes: <In 1922, José Raúl Capablanca, the recently crowned World Champion, played 103 opponents simultaneously in Cleveland. He completed the exhibition in seven hours, scoring 102 wins and one draw (99.5%), the best result ever in a simultaneous exhibition on over 75 boards.[97][98]> |
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| Nov-06-15 | | saturn2: I had the first two moves and also would have opened the h file with h6 next. |
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Nov-06-15
| | mjmorri: I think most players would be afraid to open the F file exposing their Queen to a Rook x-ray. |
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| Nov-06-15 | | kevin86: The bishop sac leads to a quick mate, whether accepted or not! |
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| Nov-06-15 | | Marmot PFL: 21 Bxh7+ is too trivial to even be a puzzle, but I missed 23 Bxe5 as 23 h6 seemed like a very easy win. 20...e5 looks like black's last chance as 1. it actually threatens something and 2. allows Bc8 to participate in the game. |
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| Nov-06-15 | | BOSTER: This is the pos black to play 20...
click for larger view
Here black could surprise Capa sacr his queen playing 20...Qxf4.
If 21. Qxf4 Rxf4 22.exf4 Be3 and after rook moved Bxf4 with nice game.
NM JRousselle was right. |
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| Nov-07-15 | | CHESSTTCAMPS: White has a dangerous king-side attack for the inexpensive price of a pawn. Black wants to reduce material with 21... Bxf4. White wants to open king-side files for his rooks. 21.g6 looks like a very logical candidate, but 21.Bxh7+! appears even stronger: 21... Kh8 (Kxh7 22.g6+ wins the Q) 22.Bg6 (to fix g7-pawn with tempo) Qe7 (Qc7 appears similar) 23.Bxe5!! Rxf2 24.h6! Kg8 (otherwise 25.hxg7+ Kg8 26.Rh8#) 25.hxg7 Qxg7 26.Bxg7 Kxg7 (Rg2 27.Bf6 followed by Rh8#) 27.Kxf2 Kxg6 28.Rh8 with a winning endgame. I believe 21.g6 should also win, but a free pawn with tempo makes more sense. Time for review.... |
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| Nov-07-15 | | CHESSTTCAMPS: Did not realize that this was from a simul, though it's quite likely that I have seen this finish before. |
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Nov-07-15
 | | maxi: It is true that Black gets a nice game with 20...Qxf4. Just as good and perhaps even better is 20...e5. To me it is nice to see that these refutations to Capa's attack do exist, otherwise the principles of chess would cease to be operational. Capa pretty much breaks all of them in his attack. I admire him for "smelling" the mate, but he was reckless. |
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Kibitzing
sac: 23.Bxe5