Thursday, February 28, 2013

What the heck?!

After thinking for 20 minutes I failed this problem which, given it's simple solution, should be rated about 1300 or so.


Black to move.
How is it possible to overlook such simple manoeuver for 20 minutes and still not see it?
What kind of training is needed to see these things?
You can find the solution here.

7 comments:

  1. Rook shift training

    The maneuver Ra1-a3-kingside(most of the times g3) or Re1-e3-kingside(most of the times g3) are common.

    Positional chess and tactics are related.

    You are missing a rook at 3 rank view ?

    An something else: we are trained to move forward and not back

    You where miss "guided" here.

    I did find it ~quick because i had a "rookshift- blunder" 2 or 3 days ago.

    What is to see? ( My standard aftermath question; answers may differ acording to personal experience )

    1) Its about mate ( no unprotected pieces...)
    ->consequence: activate more pieces direction king

    2) The knight is pinned
    -> consequence unpinning would activate the knight

    3) The rook at e3 is "doing nothing"
    ... voila : Re3-g6

    ( no rocket science either but maybe it helps? ;)

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  2. I didnt find it, but I didnt try hard. After a minute or so I saw aox first line "maneuver Ra1-a3-kingside" and understood it without further reading.

    What caused this puzzle to be so difficult?

    a) the Re3 isnt doing "nothing" like aox says. if the f3-pawn is deflected (with Rh4-g4, white takes f3xRg4) then the rook on e3 could give a check on g3. Unfortunately there is still a pawn on h2 that guards the g3 square.
    Anyway, this is what makes it difficult: a misleading pattern.
    The Re3 could sac himself against f3, but we cant see anything that can be gained from that.
    If that Re3 rook was attacked, the puzzle would become much simpler.
    Or if that Re3 rook was sitting on e8 it wasnt a backward move.
    Re3 is also a quiet move. It takes nothing, it doesnt give check, and on e6 it is (temporarily) standing worse. All you have is a check with Rg6, but even that is no plain clear a winning move, since white's king can escape to with Kg1-f2.
    But that leave the h2 pawn undefended. It needs some more calculation, but once we notice this detail we will know that we have the fish on the hook and probably everybody who saw that after Rg6+ Kf2 the h-pawn is hanging was able to solve that very puzzle.

    I could imagine that (as strange as this might be) this tactic isnt so hard to find OTB.
    Aox points out: improving our pieces with positional moves is the solution here. We improve the rook on e3. We would do that anyway, h2-pawn hanging at the end or not.
    Re6 doesnt lose material, so we would find that move, while we wouldnt risk any sac like we do when we know it is a CT puzzle and try to find s.th. decisive...

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  3. P.S. I noticed after my post: taking the h2 pawn is not the solution! But it is helping me to find the manoever Re6-Rg6-Rg2xQc2.

    I am going to create my own tag "rook to 3rd/6th_rank to kingside attack manover".

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  4. I wouldn't have got it, all my concentration was spent on getting closer to the king, not moving 'backwards' despite that lovely inviting g-file...

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  5. Try the fairly new book: Invisible Chess Moves. It is filled with 'backward' and 'sideways' ideas in such positions.

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