Hi Dr. Floridaman. Right idea, but after Qa1+ the black king can simply go back to g8, which is why we have to start our "staircase" checking pattern all the way up. Thanks for watching!
Good puzzle, but is it actually a zugzwang? I always thought a zugzwang situation was one where any move makes your position worse. Here white is already threatening mate in one on h7, it's just a case of black being unable stop it unless he sacrifices his queen. No?
Hi Stefano, thanks so much for the comment and for watching. Yes, from a technical standpoint a mate in x moves is not actually the same thing as zugswang, although I guess some people could make a case for it. I brought it up to make the point that putting your opponent in a position where they have no good move or a forced mate in x moves could be considered as a "forcing move", although again I guess some could argue that playing a move that puts your opponent in zugswang is not a forcing move. I would say it is. What do you think?
@chesswithcoachmark I agree with you that a move which puts the opponent in a zugzwang is a forcing move. I guess in the context of using forcing moves to prioritize lines to look at when calculating variations, it would be different to other forcing moves because a zugzwang position is usually not as easy to recognise as a check, capture or mate threat so could be easily missed.
The word comes from German Zug 'move' + Zwang 'compulsion', so that Zugzwang means 'being forced to make a move'. It has been used in German since 1858 and in English since 1905 to mean a position where the player to move would be fine if he were not forced to move, but since he is forced to move he is lost. A mutual zugzwang is also possible; that is a position where it's not yet specified who is to move, and whichever is the player to move, whether it be Black or White, is lost.
Amen David. God is good. In a world full of hate it seems in 2024, comments like these seem to be too far and few between. I am certainly no Grandmaster or International master, but I do truly enjoy helping others the best I can. I'm blessed and honored to be a part of a growing online community where even though I will not see or meet everyone, we can come together, encourage each other, and have fun learning about this wonderful game called chess. Many blessings to you and your family as well David. Early Merry Christmas brother!
I was able to solve this one immediately. The only slow down was I assumed some trick was in play. Once I ruled out any tricks, simply promoting the pawn at A8 wins the game. The queen has to block, and from that point on, the queen isn't on the board, as it has no moves that are not a checkmate or throw away the queen for one more turn of play. The key is understanding that you have to keep the black king in check, until you can keep the Black Queen from moving to E8, so you are checking around the pawn. Then move to D7, taking away E8. All moves are forced on Black, so it's an easy win.
Hi Tottenville! Thanks so much for watching. Just curious, is this account for a chess club at your middle school? I did the Chess Club at my previous high school for 10 years a while back before becoming a full-time chess coach. If so, good luck with it!
somehow doing chess puzzles makes you look way better than your real elo I can solve up to 1400 elo tasks (~1520 peakest) freely in puzzle rush for example but at normal chess i am ~620 (648 my peak) rapid
Hey Jealous, that's great, that means you have good calculation and vision skills. Check out my 2 videos on this channel on tactics recognition, where we talk about 6 conditions that when met, trigger that alarm in your head to treat the position like a puzzle and to start looking for tactics. It will change the way you think about tactics and will help you find tactics when you might miss them otherwise. Good luck and thanks for watching! Tactics Recognition Part 1 th-cam.com/video/S3T18CBrAs8/w-d-xo.html Tactics Recognition Part 2 th-cam.com/video/Z8QRVrT-leU/w-d-xo.html
haha i didnt realize which way white was going, thought white was in check and the puzzle was to get out. I did get the 2nd part of the puzzle correct and was really excited!
Hey Thomas, sweet! Yes, I don't ever think that feeling of satisfaction you get from solving a puzzle will ever go away for me no matter how easy or hard it is to solve. Thanks for watching!
Im a thousand and I solved it pretty quick. Just shows how much I suck strategically. Also, really nice puzzle, the Zukzwang took me off guard for a good half a minute there. Then I was thinking, wait, what if I restrict the queen's moves while threatening mate? So now he has no checks or defending moves with the queen, he can't move the h pawn, and he also can't move the f pawn, otherwise we get to d5 followed by h5. (I didn't watch the video before I solved)
Hey BananaDope. That's awesome man, great thinking. You'll get there. Yeah, I would guess most people would not think of a move that puts your opponent in zugswang as a "forcing move", but I would say it is since you're "forcing" your opponent to play a move they don't want to. Thanks for watching.
Hi swag. I'll post the same thing here for you that I said to Jealous here in the comments. If you're solving puzzles that are 1000 points or so higher than your playing level, that means you have great calculation and vision skills, but perhaps don't actually find them during the game. Check out my 2 videos on this channel on tactics recognition, where we talk about 6 conditions that when met, trigger that alarm in your head to treat the position like a puzzle and to start looking for tactics. It will change the way you think about tactics and will help you find them when you might miss them otherwise. Good luck and thanks for watching! Tactics Recognition Part 1 th-cam.com/video/S3T18CBrAs8/w-d-xo.html Tactics Recognition Part 2 th-cam.com/video/Z8QRVrT-leU/w-d-xo.html
Hey tchaliz, thanks for the question. If after white plays Qd7, if black moves one of their pawns, white will simply play Qh7 checkmate. Good luck with your chess!
Hey everyone! Welcome to puzzle #2 in our new series. Let me know in the comments if you were able to solve it. Good luck!
White to play? Let’s see if my 784 rating can solve this 😂
a8Q+ Qf8, Qa2+ Kgh8, Qa1+ Qg7+, Qaxg7#?
Hi Dr. Floridaman. Right idea, but after Qa1+ the black king can simply go back to g8, which is why we have to start our "staircase" checking pattern all the way up. Thanks for watching!
Good puzzle, but is it actually a zugzwang? I always thought a zugzwang situation was one where any move makes your position worse. Here white is already threatening mate in one on h7, it's just a case of black being unable stop it unless he sacrifices his queen. No?
Right. Black being in zugzwang entails Black would be ok if he didn't have to move. But that is not the case here.
Hi Stefano, thanks so much for the comment and for watching. Yes, from a technical standpoint a mate in x moves is not actually the same thing as zugswang, although I guess some people could make a case for it. I brought it up to make the point that putting your opponent in a position where they have no good move or a forced mate in x moves could be considered as a "forcing move", although again I guess some could argue that playing a move that puts your opponent in zugswang is not a forcing move. I would say it is. What do you think?
@chesswithcoachmark I agree with you that a move which puts the opponent in a zugzwang is a forcing move. I guess in the context of using forcing moves to prioritize lines to look at when calculating variations, it would be different to other forcing moves because a zugzwang position is usually not as easy to recognise as a check, capture or mate threat so could be easily missed.
Exactly, good point.
The word comes from German Zug 'move' + Zwang 'compulsion', so that Zugzwang means 'being forced to make a move'. It has been used in German since 1858 and in English since 1905 to mean a position where the player to move would be fine if he were not forced to move, but since he is forced to move he is lost. A mutual zugzwang is also possible; that is a position where it's not yet specified who is to move, and whichever is the player to move, whether it be Black or White, is lost.
Thank you I have never seen the stepping stairway, then the 7th rank change, thank you. Great job.. May Jesus bless you and your family, great job.
Amen David. God is good. In a world full of hate it seems in 2024, comments like these seem to be too far and few between. I am certainly no Grandmaster or International master, but I do truly enjoy helping others the best I can. I'm blessed and honored to be a part of a growing online community where even though I will not see or meet everyone, we can come together, encourage each other, and have fun learning about this wonderful game called chess. Many blessings to you and your family as well David. Early Merry Christmas brother!
I was able to solve this one immediately. The only slow down was I assumed some trick was in play. Once I ruled out any tricks, simply promoting the pawn at A8 wins the game. The queen has to block, and from that point on, the queen isn't on the board, as it has no moves that are not a checkmate or throw away the queen for one more turn of play.
The key is understanding that you have to keep the black king in check, until you can keep the Black Queen from moving to E8, so you are checking around the pawn. Then move to D7, taking away E8. All moves are forced on Black, so it's an easy win.
Very nice analysis Daniel. Cheers!
Beautiful pronunciation of Zugzwang.
Haha, thanks Peter. Great word, but not easy for an American.
Awesome puzzle, thanks for showing it!
Hi Tottenville! Thanks so much for watching. Just curious, is this account for a chess club at your middle school? I did the Chess Club at my previous high school for 10 years a while back before becoming a full-time chess coach. If so, good luck with it!
I did it, but I am nowhere near 1500 xD
Hi there, that's fantastic and I'm sure a great feeling. Keep pushing!
somehow doing chess puzzles makes you look way better than your real elo
I can solve up to 1400 elo tasks (~1520 peakest) freely in puzzle rush for example but at normal chess i am ~620 (648 my peak) rapid
Same!
Hey Jealous, that's great, that means you have good calculation and vision skills. Check out my 2 videos on this channel on tactics recognition, where we talk about 6 conditions that when met, trigger that alarm in your head to treat the position like a puzzle and to start looking for tactics. It will change the way you think about tactics and will help you find tactics when you might miss them otherwise. Good luck and thanks for watching!
Tactics Recognition Part 1
th-cam.com/video/S3T18CBrAs8/w-d-xo.html
Tactics Recognition Part 2
th-cam.com/video/Z8QRVrT-leU/w-d-xo.html
Yeah this might be more of a 1000… ish
Intresting
Hi, thanks for watching.
haha i didnt realize which way white was going, thought white was in check and the puzzle was to get out. I did get the 2nd part of the puzzle correct and was really excited!
Hey Thomas, sweet! Yes, I don't ever think that feeling of satisfaction you get from solving a puzzle will ever go away for me no matter how easy or hard it is to solve. Thanks for watching!
Im a thousand and I solved it pretty quick.
Just shows how much I suck strategically.
Also, really nice puzzle, the Zukzwang took me off guard for a good half a minute there. Then I was thinking, wait, what if I restrict the queen's moves while threatening mate? So now he has no checks or defending moves with the queen, he can't move the h pawn, and he also can't move the f pawn, otherwise we get to d5 followed by h5.
(I didn't watch the video before I solved)
Hey BananaDope. That's awesome man, great thinking. You'll get there.
Yeah, I would guess most people would not think of a move that puts your opponent in zugswang as a "forcing move", but I would say it is since you're "forcing" your opponent to play a move they don't want to. Thanks for watching.
no way dude. i solved this but i'm not even 600. just started playing.
Hi swag. I'll post the same thing here for you that I said to Jealous here in the comments. If you're solving puzzles that are 1000 points or so higher than your playing level, that means you have great calculation and vision skills, but perhaps don't actually find them during the game.
Check out my 2 videos on this channel on tactics recognition, where we talk about 6 conditions that when met, trigger that alarm in your head to treat the position like a puzzle and to start looking for tactics. It will change the way you think about tactics and will help you find them when you might miss them otherwise. Good luck and thanks for watching!
Tactics Recognition Part 1
th-cam.com/video/S3T18CBrAs8/w-d-xo.html
Tactics Recognition Part 2
th-cam.com/video/Z8QRVrT-leU/w-d-xo.html
@ i appreciate the links dude, I'll check it out. Haven't seen these yet, but sounds like something i need. Thanks dude
No problem man. You're very welcome.
Why didn t the blacks just move the pawn?
Hey tchaliz, thanks for the question. If after white plays Qd7, if black moves one of their pawns, white will simply play Qh7 checkmate. Good luck with your chess!