Chess Puzzle #5083

CHESS PUZZLE #5083

Added by:	kingdawar
Added on:	08-Jul-08
Description:	Alexander Hait - Evgeny Dragomaretzky, Warsaw 1992.
Difficulty:	online chess puzzle #5083
Attempts:	1423
Solved:	1239 (87%)


White to move, mate in 2

Comments: (6) » Last

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phonybenoni
29-Dec-12, 00:24

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I am probably a very easy grader, but I put two stars on this.

To my mind, in a one-star puzzle I see the solution instantly, almost without conscious thought. Just the position of the pieces is enough to reveal the answer. If I have to think at all, even for a few seconds, it's two stars.

Here, the mate is not instantly obvious. The actual mating move is not the first thing that pops into your head. It wasn't until I started looking at all the checks that it became obvious.

It is simple enough to give 1.5 stars, but since I can't do that it's a two in my book.

iron_flower
29-Dec-12, 04:17

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Well, let me give it one star, the averidge(?) will be 1.5

macheide
29-Dec-12, 07:38

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I put three stars on this. But let me tell you why. Let us suppose that we are playing this position in a blitz game with just a few seconds left in our clock. We can see in a fraction of a second that Qd6 wins. It's a good move, but the purpose of this exercises is not to find a good move but the best one. It is obvious, of course, that in the same situation I could have seen the best one: Rf8! So the virtue of this puzzle is that it gives you the opportunity to make the "wrong" move Qd6.

newdocrob57
29-Dec-12, 11:03

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Spelling

"average"

iron_flower
29-Dec-12, 14:28

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@newdocrob57: Thanks!

fezzik
29-Dec-12, 19:11

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Scoring

I'd give it

2 Stars Difficulty. It took just a few seconds to see the mate, which is enough time to find it in a blitz game. However, it's not as obvious as other "easy" puzzles and there are other moves to consider.

2.5 Stars (average) Aesthetics I like real games, and this obviously comes from one. We can tell that even without the game reference (Thanks, Kingdawar). White has several ways to win, but even so, the finale involves a nice example of an uncovering (clearance) sac. In this case, it was clearing a line (b1-h7). The position is the sort that might find its way into a large anthology such as "The Encyclopedia of Chess Combinations".

Btw, it would be wonderful if the sources of these positions were provided. For me, that would be far more useful than the patronymics of the players involved. I've found several positions in "Anthology of Chess Combinations" and other similar collections published by Informant or "Izdatelctvo Astrel".

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CHESS PUZZLE #5083