Chess Puzzle #5327

CHESS PUZZLE #5327

Added by:	guumbarahma
Added on:	20-Jul-08
Description:	Classic Plachutta - Composed by William Schinkman, 1910
Difficulty:	online chess puzzle #5327
Attempts:	1475
Solved:	503 (34%)


White to move, mate in 3

Comments: (36) » Last

From

Comment

luke_nl
14-Dec-12, 01:59

» Report abuse

very nice, but of course it does not belong in the category EASY

iron_flower
14-Dec-12, 02:43

Comment deleted on 14-Dec-12, 03:27.

iron_flower
14-Dec-12, 03:28

» Report abuse

Why not? I think it is rather easy. And it is nice, especially the checkmates with the two different rooks when the pawn is taken by the Queen and by the Bishop.

erimus
14-Dec-12, 03:57

» Report abuse

Very cute.

jmc5400
14-Dec-12, 03:58

» Report abuse

Defining easy is subjective but...

if you consider that the average player is going to look at the two rooks first with all the variation involved then look to see what else may move, the length of time solving the problem may change one's view from being easy to being more complex if not hard. Like this sentence?

squaredancer
14-Dec-12, 05:15

» Report abuse

there"s been some discussion on this page about an intermediate puzzle, perhaps a composition such as this one would fit that criteria. Not too easy, not too hard. Fun puzzle to solve

tonymo
14-Dec-12, 05:33

» Report abuse

Well I gave it two stars, as I solved it quickly, but it wasn't just trivial. My thinking was: ok, the bishop covers a8 and the queen covers g8. Can we make them get in each other's way? Aha, d5 blocks both paths, then whoever takes it is the only one covering both squares so is overloaded.

zol666tan
14-Dec-12, 06:14

» Report abuse

"Defining easy is subjective but" ... my grain of salt.

It is easy to me too.
I also gave 2 stars after +- 10 scattered minutes of reflection/analysis ...
not so much on the position of the board but on the meaning of "classic Plachutta".

Not knowing this chess term I googled it => en.wikipedia.org

... once you know the mechanism involved in the solution, it focuses your analysis.

--IF "guumbarahma" had not given that clue in the title or
--IF Google and chess books had been unavailable to the solver to get the clue
THEN this problem would probably qualify for 3.5 or 4 stars.

Now knowing what a PLACHUTTA is I will add it to my "scan list" for problems and games.

the-kings-knight
14-Dec-12, 06:56

Comment deleted on 14-Dec-12, 06:57.

sicknero
14-Dec-12, 07:07

» Report abuse

Wasn't the move that occurred to me first...

hellofriesen
14-Dec-12, 08:10

» Report abuse

1945 rating says it's too complicated for easy page, 999 rating says it's too easy. Bah ha ha ha

yadasampati
14-Dec-12, 08:57

» Report abuse

Although not too easy ...

... this very nice puzzle fits well in this category,because the possible moves (and therefore strategies) are quite limited.
It takes a little while to figure out that rook moves will not work. We are left with the king and the d4 pawn, whose only move is d5, that immediately gives 2 mate threats. After this it is quite easy to see that blacks pieces can only take away one of these threats.

yadasampati
14-Dec-12, 09:01

» Report abuse

@hellofriesen

zol666tan says the puzzle is "easy", not "too easy"

mrcelada
14-Dec-12, 10:35

» Report abuse

Easy

At first I thought about checks with rooks, but the if the king moves conveniently, there is no mate. After that, you can move the pawn or the king... So, pretty fast you realize that there is obstruction. There is no caos of pieces. That's because it's easy.

zol666tan
14-Dec-12, 10:41

» Report abuse

"zol666tan says" : the PLACHUTTA clue

I think I clearly make my point that :

the puzzle = (IS) easy ONLY (IF AND WHEN one knows what the PLACHUTTA is).

If that prerequisite condition is not met it is not easy.

I would be curious to know from the other and the next commentators (if they care to answer)

1. Did you know what a PLACHUTTA is when reading the puzzle title and before analysing it ?
2. If you did not know, did you Google it to know before analysing ?
3. Did anyone solve it without knowing the definition of PLACHUTTA ?

Thanks for your eventual replies and comments.

scorfman
14-Dec-12, 11:16

» Report abuse

RE: the PLACHUTTA clue

1. I didn't know what PLACHUTTA meant when I read the title puzzle.
2. I didn't research it when solving the puzzle. The first time I looked it up was after reading your comment in this thread after having done the puzzle.
3. I solved it without knowing the definition. It took a few minutes of trying the rook moves first and because of the time it took I rated the puzzle a 3.

The current solve statistics show that there were 875 attempts and it was solved 316 of those times (36%). Even though I got to the solution, I'd say the solve percentage by itself shows that this would probably fit better as intermediate than easy.

luqq
14-Dec-12, 11:29

» Report abuse

^ I wouldn't be surprised if many of those who solved it didn't know what Plachutta is; I know I didn't

On a side note, as usual I'll use the possibility to whine about putting such hints in puzzle descriptions

mrcelada
14-Dec-12, 11:46

» Report abuse

I didn't know that in English you say plachutta what in Spanish we call "obstrucción". But, however it's an easy-intermediate problem. For me not a complex and common mate in 2 or 3 moves, where there are a lot of pieces doing a lot of things.

sicknero
14-Dec-12, 11:50

» Report abuse

I'd never heard of Plachutta before. Wiki has quite a good page on it.

I don't think that made the puzzle itself any harder though, as a good move is always a good move whether or not you know the history of it.

yadasampati
14-Dec-12, 11:55

» Report abuse

@mrcelada

from en.wikipedia.org :

Joseph Plachutta, also Josef Plachutta or Josip Plahuta (born 13 May 1827 in Zadar, Austrian Empire, today's Croatia, died 22 July 1883) was a Slovene descent chess problemist and chess player, known for his famous problem with Plachutta theme.

zol666tan
14-Dec-12, 12:15

» Report abuse

UPDATE Global ( & Local=> sicknero,mrcelada )

Tx for the replies I read so far, they are very instructive ( a case of "talking past each other ?" ).
My "mise au point" now : the info I point to ( URL ) in my 1st comment IS the WIKI page :

--- "The Plachutta is a device found in chess problems:
a white piece sacrifices itself on a square where it could be captured by one of two similarly-moving black pieces (for example, a bishop and a queen moving along a diagonal, or two rooks) moving along a different line; whichever black piece captures, it interferes with the other.
Plachutta theme is named by Joseph Plachutta (1827–1883)." ---

HENCE
- Knowing the "device" does not make the puzzle harder but (much) EASIER => sicknero
-- this is the point made by => luqq ( whines about hint or clue in the title of puzzles ).
- The name originates from Joseph's name , nothing to do with "obstruccion" => mrcelada

Thanks for the feedbacks - I wish I meet one of you sooner or later in a BLITZ.
Cheers

sicknero
14-Dec-12, 12:28

» Report abuse

zol666tan

Sorry, I forgot about your link further up the page, but I wasn't replying especially to you. And, Blitz hahaha. I'm an even worse Blitz player than I am correspondence

zol666tan
14-Dec-12, 12:30

Comment deleted on 14-Dec-12, 12:32.

zol666tan
14-Dec-12, 12:33

» Report abuse

@yadasampti

Tx for the "support".

ik vermoed dat U bezig was met deze kommentaar terwijl ik aan mijn kant ook.

Private msg sent.

zol666tan
14-Dec-12, 12:36

» Report abuse

@sicknero

My surprise.
From the style of your GK profile, I would have thought of you as a a player in quick wits.
I am not too good @blitz but I enjoy it from time to time.

Cheers

yehoota
14-Dec-12, 13:12

» Report abuse

I didn't know the term "plachutta" either. It took me about 2 minutes to solve. I realized that it was necessary to free up only one of the white squares for the rook mate. When I couldn't do it with rook moves, The pawn that could move into both diagonals was an easy find.

I would give it two stars.

mrcelada
14-Dec-12, 13:19

» Report abuse

I neither knew the term plachuta... For me, bishop obstructed or interfered the queen or backwards. That's because I called it obstruction. And obstruction and plachutta have a lot to do with each other.

anarchessism
14-Dec-12, 13:30

» Report abuse

It's really easy when you tell us exactly what the theme of the problem is ahead of time. It might have taken me a few minutes more if I had to find the theme myself, but knowing it was a plachutta I played d5 immediately.

fezzik
14-Dec-12, 13:36

» Report abuse

I LOVED this!!

This is a fantastic puzzle!

Yes, it's very easy to solve. I was shocked to see only 35% got it right.

The **idea** is stunning though!

I give it

2 Stars for difficulty (still easy, but not the easiest)
4.5 Stars for Aesthetics!

This is an excellent puzzle!

fezzik
14-Dec-12, 13:47

» Report abuse

Plachutta and Wiki

For what it's worth, wikipedia considers this a *simple* version of the Plachutta theme. This is a type of interference sacrifice. I wasn't familiar with the term Plachutta before today, but I was familiar with the theme.

yadasampati
14-Dec-12, 13:52

» Report abuse

@zol666tan

I really appreciate how easy you speak about your low rating and your chess skills. For me that spirit makes you worth more than a proud 2000 player.

In the Bhagavad-gita it is said, that real knowledge starts with humility (chapter 13, verse 8): a humble person realizes how small he is and how little he knows, whereas a proud person does the opposite.

Also funny that your current rating (999) is the middle of your name upside down

I replied to your message and i invited you to a game. I would like to chat a little more, because i think you are a very wise person.

mrcelada
14-Dec-12, 16:17

» Report abuse

@ fezzik

Oh man, don't overstate this puzzle. Is just another common one. It's strange to see a so skilled chess player like you saying it is "fantastic"...

vikashkalindi
14-Dec-12, 19:11

» Report abuse

solved 35% , even though it is easy i can say in terms of limited options for white !

fezzik
14-Dec-12, 21:31

Comment deleted on 15-Dec-12, 06:42.

zol666tan
15-Dec-12, 04:15

Comment deleted on 16-Dec-12, 08:47.

fezzik
15-Dec-12, 06:42

» Report abuse

Oops. Yes. I corrected my mistake below.

Gameknot.com!

One of the main reasons I do these easy puzzles is to get ideas for my students.

This is an absolutely clear example of the theme. In that sense, this is a model puzzle and one that I will definitely use with my students in the future.

You may think I'm overstating how good this is. But it's an excellent puzzle for my purposes. You know the saying, in the dictionary, next to the definition, you'll find this picture? This is the picture of the Plachutta tactic. And as I said, while I was unfamiliar with the term before, the theme is worth knowing.

Thank you gameknot.com!

Please log in

chess online

CHESS PUZZLE #5327