Jun-30-21 D Howell vs J Turner, 2001 
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| Clodhopper: Rarely have I seen an evaluation change so drastically on one move as on 23 Nb5 (+24 for white before, -3 after). |
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Feb-26-21 E Paoli vs W Martz, 1973
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| Clodhopper: Why 20. ..., Rg4??? What was black trying to accomplish with that move, anyway? |
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Jan-22-17 Fischer vs Taimanov, 1971
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| Clodhopper: 55. Bb3 was the move that caught my attention too - because it is the sort of move I would NEVER play. Being simple-minded, my instinct is for the straightforward 55. Rb6+, after which it is hard to see how white makes much headway, and Fritz calculates a mere +0.47 for white. ... |
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Jan-22-17 Taimanov vs V Mikenas, 1965
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| Clodhopper: I calculated the first 5 moves of this combo and thought, "Well, that can't be it..." |
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Jan-20-17 V Akobian vs R Barcenilla, 2015
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| Clodhopper: The weird thing is that I saw 27. Rxe5, which is superior to the move played in the game. But then after 27 ... Be6, 28. Rg5+ , Qg6, 29. Rg6+, h7xg6 I missed 30 Rxf8+ which wins instantly, and instead went for 30. Rxc8. This leads to a 2B vs 2B ending with white a pawn up. But ... |
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Dec-11-16 K Commons vs P Peev, 1976
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| Clodhopper: Well, I thought I had it solved - without even having seen the pun hint. But black's 23rd was different from either of the moves I considered - and the game went a different direction from there. A valuable lesson - always look for one more reply you hadn't considered before ... |
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Dec-05-16 Fridman vs H Odeev, 1996
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| Clodhopper: Well, it was only hard because I kept looking for a quick mate. Because it's Monday, don't ya know.... |
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Sep-23-16 Jakovenko vs Gelfand, 2015
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| Clodhopper: Wow, I finally "got" a Friday challenge. Only because it is so obvious that Black's goal must be to force stalemate. On most Fridays, I stumble at recognizing the motif: mating attack? material gain? creating an unstoppable passed pawn? Here the situation is so stark that there ... |
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Sep-21-16 Tartakower vs E Steiner, 1921
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| Clodhopper: Felt very smug about having found the best move, 25 Rb8+..... only to check the game and find out it wasn't the best move. Must be Wednesday! |
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Sep-15-16 M Bluemich vs Alekhine, 1941
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| Clodhopper: The hallmark of Thursday puzzles - I can pretty much figure out what the first move has to be, but I can't see the second move! |
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Kibitzing
