Black to move. Can you find the best move in 5 seconds or less?
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Lightning tactic
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Black to move. Can you find the best move in 5 seconds or less?
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1.) … Qxh1
2.) Qxh1 Nc2#
Yes… A classic example of “removing the defender!”
Dr. O
…except the defender is not removed! The queen is under no obligation to capture on h1.
Winning the exchange is good enough.
Was there a good reason to move Rb2.
Somehow I can’t see why white would play Rb2 unless to capture a piece.
Qxh1
Qween can’t take qween because of smothered mate Nc2#
Yes !!!!!!!
Xargon, the true one…
More like 20 seconds for me. I was trying for a few seconds to find something with Nc2+ or Nb3+ and then queen over to a5. Alas, the queen can take the knight in either case. I eventually got it, but my “muscle memory” pattern recognition skills are not up to snuff…
Brad Hoehne
lol
i needed 5 secs at least to see that there are two queens on the board, then five to ten seconds to count the pawns, at a first glance – 20 – 30 seconds have dropped by – yet, i realize 4 rooks – a white rook on a very unusual square … hmmm … there are also two knights on the board – the black one is under attack – dammned – i’m white, i’m sitting on the white side of the chess table … time passes and seconds are dropping…
what the hell did me make to misplace the knight on h4? if this knight would stand on h5 – white would surely win ^^ but with the knight on h4? what a lousy position – and the only not misplaced piece, the rook on h1 is hanging – with a knight on h5 the hanging rook would be a nice trap…
1…qxh1
2.qxd4 … with mate or loss of the damned black queen … at least two or three minutes are over – and it is still black to move – now black is moving – of course – he takes my rook on h1… let’s call it a day…
NO, I DID NOT MANAGE TO SOLVE THE PUZZLE within 5 secs or even less… i’m an old man and sometimes i think silly things, even while playing chess…
greetings
Nope. Couldn’t find it within 5 seconds.
It’s a whole new ball game if the White knoght was on h5, then Black has a slight edge with qxh5.
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Given the challenge to find the best move in 5 seconds or less, it only took about 1 second to see that QxR is a potentially strong tactic and two more seconds to check against obvious defenses.
BUT, if I had not been told there was a quick-find tactic, I would have spent at least 30 seconds just trying to figure out what was going on…
Nicely said, vohaul. Fortunatey we’ve got more time to think in a normal chess game. 🙂
I didn’t found it in the proposed 5 seconds but the hint that there was an easy solution helped to find it very quick.
The realisation, of course, if that ‘solution’ was really a winning move (or if black had ressources I hadn’t seen) needed some more time.
I really like positions with ‘obvious solutions’ that aren’t solutions because of unforseen counterplay and perhaps the white knight should really be placed on h5. You can learn many things from positions like that mainly to rethink moves like this…
Perhaps in addition to putting the Knight to h5 the field e6 could be backed by black, so that after 1.-, Qxh1 2. Qxd4 (with the threat of mate on g7) black could defend (?) with 2.-e5! and 3.-,f6.
I think the learning effect would be much greater because than we have to think instead of just “seeing” – I have a book with uncountable numbers of problems, the first ones in every chapter are very easy and I can look at it, find the solution, take the next one and so on – that can be real fun but I don’t think I learn something.
By the way it is very interesting to see what meanings small changes of the position can have….
Greetings,
Jochen