Chess Puzzle #5340

CHESS PUZZLE, FEN r6r/R3p2q/1p1k1p2/Np5b/5Np1/PP4P1/Bn3P1P/4Q1K1 w - -

Added by:	throneseeker
Added on:	21-Jul-08
Description:
Difficulty:	chess puzzle r6r/R3p2q/1p1k1p2/Np5b/5Np1/PP4P1/Bn3P1P/4Q1K1 w - -
Attempts:	2283
Solved:	1897 (83%)


White to move, mate in 2

Comments: (7) » Last

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luke_nl
13-Feb-13, 02:34

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ugly

like the previous one, a very ugly problem. No subtlety, no elegancy, just boom boom (check check) mate

kaupanger
13-Feb-13, 04:15

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Nice enough

Another good one for beginners.

john6227
13-Feb-13, 05:53

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like the previous one.............

phonybenoni
13-Feb-13, 06:07

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I normally solve the easy puzzles almost instantly, but this one gave me a lot of trouble. Not because it's hard, but because I was distracted by an irrelevant factor.

The instant I saw the bishop on a2 and the pawn on b3, the idea of playing b4 at some point to unmask the bishop popped into my head. So I spent several minutes trying to make that work, and was so blinded by the idea that I couldn't see the very easy bang-bang mate.

There are different ways to solve puzzles. My general method is pattern recognition: I recognize a type of position I've seen before, and the correct idea follows quickly. Usually, this works much better than just going through all the possible moves. Today, it let me down because I got stuck on the wrong pattern.

nikirandom
13-Feb-13, 06:53

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Same here,

I tried b4 because it looked at first glance that it should work before realising that only another Q move can cover d4.

Can't say that "boom boom mate" bugs me for an easy puzzle, I found it another good exercise in mental visualisation.

damalfi
13-Feb-13, 07:58

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"Easy" means "easy"

So don't look for difficult, hidden mates.

gru1
13-Feb-13, 18:21

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@ phonybenoni

Thanks for explaining your thinking. As a real novice I find your explanations very useful. I wish more experienced players would follow your lead.

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