Level
4-Rook
Chess Diagram
[Event "Puzzle #15"][Date "2008.04.10"][Result "0-1"]1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nd4 6.c3 b5 7.Bf1 Nxd5 8.cxd4 Qxg5 9.Bxb5+ Kd8 10.Qf3 Bb7 11.O-O e4 12.Qxe4 Bd6 13.d3
Continuing along the same line of revisiting games of great chess wizards, let's stop this time at the above position! The player handling White at the time (back in 1963) was none other than Bobby Fischer and the game is part of a simultaneous exhibition. It is Black's turn to move after Bobby has just moved very casually 13.d3 ... He thought that it would be an easy outcome to overpower Black given the exposed Kd8. Shockingly he was in for a very unpleasant surprise, as his opponent played the combination of his life. Questions:
a) Black to move and win; after the first 2 moves there are 2 possible lines based on what White decides to do. Each line is 4 moves long in total and it is worth 3 points; a complete answer here will give you 6 points in total
b) Guess the first move of the game for White and Black (1 point value)
c) Guess the opening name (3 points)
Total available points for this puzzle is 10. The answers will be published next week together with puzzle #16.
Puzzle #14 solution:
Mikhail Tal (November 9, 1936 - June 28, 1992) was a Soviet-Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the 8th World Chess Champion. He was often called "Misha", which is a diminutive for Mikhail. He was also called "the magician from Riga"... At the age of eight, Tal learned to play chess while watching his father, a doctor. Shortly thereafter he joined the Riga Palace of Young Pioneers chess club. His play was not exceptional at first but he worked hard to improve..." (source Wikipedia)
Puzzle #14 comes from one of his games: Tal - Feuerstein, simul, Stuttgart 1958. What is this position about? Well, any position from Tal's games is first and foremost about spectacular and unexpected sacrifices; this one is no exception. It all comes down to observe what pieces are under attack and what possible exchange sequence gives White the edge. The g5-pawn can take on "f6" and "g7", followed by a deadly "g8=Q#". That is a huge line, so how do we force Black to fall for it?
See solution:
[Event "Puzzle #14"][Date "2008.04.03"][Result "1-0"]1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 Bd7 9.O-O-O Qa5 10.Kb1 Rc8 11.g4 h6 12.h4 a6 13.Be2 Ne5 14.g5 hxg5 15.hxg5 Rxh1 16.gxf6! Rxd1+ {The key of this combination lies on which piece to take with on "d1". The Queen or Bishop capture do not force Black to do anything it does not want, but Knight takes attacks the unprotected Qa5; that's it!} 17.Nxd1! Qxd2 18.fxg7 Kd8 19.g8=Q+ Kc7 20.Qxc8+ {Black resigned}
Correct solutions:
John D, Jeremy - 7.0 points (5+2)
Matthew - 6.0 points (5+1)
Wilson - 2 points
Algerd, Katerina - 1 point
Standings:
33.0 John D
27.0 Jeremy
20.5 Matthew
20.0 Karl
16.5 Katerina
15.5 Joanne and Frank
11.0 Bryant
6.5 David and Mark
5.5 Wilson and Algerd
3.5 Jakab
3.0 Karen and Trevor
1.5 Nicholas
1.0 Jonah and Hanson
0.5 Alejandro, Vera, Kenneth and West
a) Black to move and win; after the first 2 moves there are 2 possible lines based on what White decides to do. Each line is 4 moves long in total and it is worth 3 points; a complete answer here will give you 6 points in total
b) Guess the first move of the game for White and Black (1 point value)
c) Guess the opening name (3 points)
Total available points for this puzzle is 10. The answers will be published next week together with puzzle #16.
Puzzle #14 solution:
Mikhail Tal (November 9, 1936 - June 28, 1992) was a Soviet-Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the 8th World Chess Champion. He was often called "Misha", which is a diminutive for Mikhail. He was also called "the magician from Riga"... At the age of eight, Tal learned to play chess while watching his father, a doctor. Shortly thereafter he joined the Riga Palace of Young Pioneers chess club. His play was not exceptional at first but he worked hard to improve..." (source Wikipedia)
Puzzle #14 comes from one of his games: Tal - Feuerstein, simul, Stuttgart 1958. What is this position about? Well, any position from Tal's games is first and foremost about spectacular and unexpected sacrifices; this one is no exception. It all comes down to observe what pieces are under attack and what possible exchange sequence gives White the edge. The g5-pawn can take on "f6" and "g7", followed by a deadly "g8=Q#". That is a huge line, so how do we force Black to fall for it?
See solution:
[Event "Puzzle #14"][Date "2008.04.03"][Result "1-0"]1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 Bd7 9.O-O-O Qa5 10.Kb1 Rc8 11.g4 h6 12.h4 a6 13.Be2 Ne5 14.g5 hxg5 15.hxg5 Rxh1 16.gxf6! Rxd1+ {The key of this combination lies on which piece to take with on "d1". The Queen or Bishop capture do not force Black to do anything it does not want, but Knight takes attacks the unprotected Qa5; that's it!} 17.Nxd1! Qxd2 18.fxg7 Kd8 19.g8=Q+ Kc7 20.Qxc8+ {Black resigned}
Correct solutions:
John D, Jeremy - 7.0 points (5+2)
Matthew - 6.0 points (5+1)
Wilson - 2 points
Algerd, Katerina - 1 point
Standings:
33.0 John D
27.0 Jeremy
20.5 Matthew
20.0 Karl
16.5 Katerina
15.5 Joanne and Frank
11.0 Bryant
6.5 David and Mark
5.5 Wilson and Algerd
3.5 Jakab
3.0 Karen and Trevor
1.5 Nicholas
1.0 Jonah and Hanson
0.5 Alejandro, Vera, Kenneth and West
Fried Liver Attack