White to move. Which side is better? How should White proceed?
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Unusual puzzle
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White to move. Which side is better? How should White proceed?
Bishop to d6 loses the queen
1. Bd6 Qd6 2. Qd3 +-
It is an old Petrosian trick!
Petrosian vs Pachman 1958
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1104948
Notation by Fischer
I see, NICE! So (like Petrosian) you play Bd6 and if Qxd6 then the black queen is lost after Qd3+ and then a skewer.
All other moves are mate in one on d3.
Wait… except Ke3. I don’t really see the lines here other than Qh3+ and then taking e6 with surely a much better game than black. Maybe someone else can figure that line out.
-mm
I really wish people would stuff there ego up their rear end and stop using the computer and then putting up the answer.
These problems are suppose to be fun to work on. They get ruined when people put up some clever posting like the first post.
Now we all know what a smart #ss the first poster is and he does not have to prove it again.
Keep your hands off the keyboard.
Lets have some fun with the puzzles. Not everyone has seen all of them before. If you are so great on puzzles then you do not belong here. This is for people trying to learn how to play chess not for smart #sses who want to show off.
Sorry I am so angry. but this is 2 good puzzles ruined in a row by the first one to post. Hopefully only polite people will come here.
I really doubt that this one was so easy as to find the move Bd6 immediately. if it was obviously then go play at some international tournaments and leave us to learn chess.
I hope tomorrow is better. I hope everyone flushes his ego down the toilet before posting.
I just think it would have been fun trying to find that move. I dont think I would have found it after hours of work. But maybe I would have found it after a lot of work. That is the way we learn. If you know it all already or use a computer then please do not take the learning opportunity and the fun away from others.
Maybe I should just give up chess.
By the way Susan.
this is a great puzzle. Too bad all the fun was taken out of it.
anonymouseseseses… first of all, get a name, I mean, you probably already have one but if not it’s never too late to pick one out.
second, you don’t need to read the answer before trying to solve the problem. If I just wanted dry problems by themselves, I’d consult a book. The best part about having problems posted here is that we get to discuss the sollutions. This is a valuable part of learning. Well thought out posts can give us some insight to the problem. And historical references are, like it or not, are a major common feature of chess analysis.
Granted, my screen resolution is only 1600×1200, and my browser window is only 90% of my screen, but really I don’t see the problem. If you can’t control where your eyes go, and are viewing on some wall size screen with all the comments visible without scrolling, you’ve only yourself to blame. Perhaps just shrink the browser window size before clicking on the posts with problems in them. See, instead of getting angry and arrogant, there was an easy sollution you could implement on your own!!
And thanks to the posters. I only looked at it for a minute, but I didn’t see it. The pattern isn’t one I’m used to. Hopefully that is no longer the case. 😉
Anon at 10:50pm. I hear what you’re saying and pretty much agree but don’t think you need to get so freaked out. I also enjoy the puzzles very much.
When posts are short with just moves and no comments I barely look at them. On this particular puzzle I tried on my own and saw absolutly nothing! Then played through the Petrosian game which was very nice and allowed me to see the key move but didn’t really solve the puzzle.
Anyway, if you don’t like the smart ?#@ anonymous posts then don’t read them or at least wait until you’ve tried the puzzle on your own for awhile.
I do have more fun when others work out the variations online, but so what. I still learn the ideas or “tricks” either way.
I do agree though, we could all benefit from everyone checking their egos at the front desk.
Thanks for your post.
-mm
“I really doubt that this one was so easy as to find the move Bd6 immediately. if it was obviously then go play at some international tournaments and leave us to learn chess.”
Well, I saw it in under a minute, without using a computer and I’m no where near master strength let alone ready for an international tournament.
“this is 2 good puzzles ruined in a row by the first one to post”
How exactly are they “ruined”?
1) Because it tells you the answer and you don’t have a chance to find it on your own? Simple solution — don’t click on “comments” until you’ve spent as long as you like trying to solve it yourself.
2) Because you want to “solve” it on your own but want to read some hints or unsuccessful tries first? Well, that’s not really “solving” it, is it?
3) Because a quick response embarrasses you, in that someone found the solution much more quickly than you did? (And is that why you want to assume that those who solve it quickly used a computer, so you can save face?) Get used to it. Until your rating *exceeds* 2650 or 2700, there are always going to be people who can figure things out better /faster than you can. Try to make their presence a motivation to get better yourself, rather than an irritant that discourages you from participating at all.
Get pleasure from figuring the puzzles out yourself, without help, and knowing that you’re improving your skill. Not from being the first to post the correct answer. Concentrate on yourself rather than trying to denigrate others by calling them “spoilers” or assuming that they must have used a computer. Remember, some day YOU may be the one who figures the puzzle out first — would you like the same reaction from others??
Bob
Hi Susan,
It’s one of the positions in chess that requires a pure IQ for success.
Also, it’s one of the positions, after which you just say: “Wow!”
I believe that even some GM’s may not succeed in solving it (of course, without knowing Petrosian’s trick).
yevlev: it’s certainly a cool position, but there’s one thing about it that makes it very easy to solve: It’s presented as a puzzle, so your brain immediately goes into “puzzle solving mode”. You know there’s something there, and therefore you will find it.
At the risk of being accused of blowing my own horn: I saw it immediately, and I’m far from GM strength. (To be fair, I’ve played chess for 25 years, so very few tactical patterns are new to me.)
“Wait… except Ke3. I don’t really see the lines here other than Qh3+ and then taking e6 with surely a much better game than black. Maybe someone else can figure that line out.”
Rather than taking on e6, I think White can probably set up a mating net or else win the queen. For example,
1. Bd6 Ke3
2. Qh3+ Kf2 (… Kd4 or … Ke4 3. Qd3 mate)
3. Bg3+ Kf3 (… Kg1 4. Qh2+ Kf1 Qf2 mate or … Ke2 4. Qg2+ Ke3 5. Qf2+ Ke4 5. Qf4 mate)
4. Bc7+ winning the Queen
1. Bd6 Ke3
2. Qh3+ Ke2
3. Bf4 Kf2
4. Qg3+ Kf1 (… Ke2 5. Qg2+ Ke1 6. Bd2 mate)
5. Qf3+ Kg1 (… Ke1 6. Bd2 mate)
6. Bg3 and mates soon.
Probably some faster lines in there — didn’t bother checking my analysis with a computer — but seems pretty clearcut. Mostly forcing moves by White and Black has no quick check of the White king.
Bob
After blacks Ke3 I’d play Qd3+ Kf2 Qg3+ (and so on) to finish the black king’s life; I think (hope!) that should be as good as Qh3+….
By the way, to the discussion above:
I have to support the anonym one, I also found that move immediately, without having master strength or using a computer – like he says, when you know that there is something going on, you can find it at once!
In a normal game I’d probably not found it, because I wuoldn’t have look for it – or…. ?
So please, stop arguing, that’s what really takes away fun.
Greetings,
Jochen