Chess Puzzle #22430

CHESS PUZZLE, FEN r1b1k1r1/p1p2p1p/2pp1q1p/2b1p3/1PP1P3/3P1N2/P2Q1PPP/RN3RK1 b q b3

Added by:	leon52k
Added on:	15-Mar-10
Description:
Difficulty:	chess puzzle r1b1k1r1/p1p2p1p/2pp1q1p/2b1p3/1PP1P3/3P1N2/P2Q1PPP/RN3RK1 b q b3
Attempts:	1024
Solved:	789 (77%)


Black to move, mate in 4

Comments: (13) » Last

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phonybenoni
11-Oct-18, 00:27

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I was wondering how White could last four moves. Queen sacrifice, of course.

My first thought was 1...Rxg2+ 2.Kxg2 Bxh3 3.Kxh3 Qf3+ 4.Kh4 -- oops, 4...Be7+ is not availab.e Too bad. Had to settle for the Brute Force method.

lilylangtry
11-Oct-18, 02:59

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Nice Puzzle

Yes only way, just smash your way to victory, good fun!

oldjohn
11-Oct-18, 04:33

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queen sacrifice?

There is no queen sacrifice here. She stays alive until the end.

bookkeeper
11-Oct-18, 04:44

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oldjohn

Queen sacrifice is by Black. It delays the mate by one move.

patzerking
11-Oct-18, 05:08

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By White, you mean.

bookkeeper
11-Oct-18, 06:46

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patzerking

Yes, I should have said by White.

einheitlix
11-Oct-18, 11:16

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@phonybenoni

> My first thought was 1...Rxg2+ 2.Kxg2 Bxh3 3.Kxh3 Qf3+ 4.Kh4

Interesting alternative, even if it doesn't work out in the end!

If I may ask, why do you call the actual solution a "brute force method"? It doesn't sacrifice anything, and it even has a certain elegance to it in my eyes. At the contrary, from my point of view, yours is the method that I would call "brute force", what with the rook sacrifice and the bishop sacrifice and all that.

phonybenoni
11-Oct-18, 14:07

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@einheitlix

Any mating combination from which the victim cannot escape could be labeled "Brute Force". But, to my mind, artistry is involved, but that is a matter of tase that differes in everybody.

Consider this position:

Obviously, White has two ways to mate in four moves here: the familiar Smothered Mate beginning 1.Nf7+, or 1.Qxa8+ followed by capturing anything that gets in the queen's way. Both lines are "brute force", but I would take more pleasure in playing the smothered mate line. Assuming I saw it, of course.

I have fond memories of my first smothered mate, because my opponent had no idea of what was going. on. When I played Qg8+ he stared at the board in shock, then looked at me an said,

"But that's not mate! I can take the queen!"

This would have been a perfect moment for what we Americans call "coffee-housing", screaming "Oh, No!" at the top of my voice while tearing out my hair. This would have had the desirable effect of bringing everyone at the tournament to the table to witness my brilliancy.

But, no, I refrained. I'm a nice guy. More importantly, I don't have enough hair to spare for a stunt like that.

Eventually he shrugged and took the queen and I mated him and as far as I know he is still ssitting there, staring at the board in amazement.

rook2d2
11-Oct-18, 14:32

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Phoney vs Tal method.

Phoney tries everything from the starting point to see if it works,Tal saw the finish and new what he needed to make the mate and sacrificed what was not going to be used to mate.I let you decide which methods best.

patzerking
11-Oct-18, 15:24

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Phoney, lol.

Speaking of Tal's abilities, Spielman once said of Alekhin that he (Spielman) could play combinations as well as Alekhin, but what escaped him was getting to those positions where Alekhin had those combinations. We should be so lucky.

einheitlix
12-Oct-18, 00:29

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@phonybenoni

Haha, great story!

I can only imagine how satisfying it must be to deliver a textbook smothered mate in a real game. Alas, it never happened to me. I've been in situations where I was close to it, but the problem is that it mostly only works if your opponent isn't familiar with it and you can surprise them with it. But when you _are_ familiar with it, you can usually avoid being mated that way.

rook2d2
12-Oct-18, 14:15

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Phony,Sorry.

He enjoys his chess,he tries hard to teach others and I am a little harsh so all best to phoneybenoni.

jayelthefirst
16-Mar-22, 03:38

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Art for Art's Sake

My initial impression was the same as phoneybenoni, how does white survive for 4 moves. QxN is obviously good even if there isn't a mate in prospect and the rest follows. White's sacrifice of the Q to delay mate by one move is required in puzzle conditions simply because it's possible but in a real game I'd be surprised if an opponent did that. Grace in defeat as well as victory. Chess is art. Although, to be honest, some of my games more closely resemble a cartoon :¬)

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