2 Jaw-Dropping Chess Puzzles

Puzzle 1 FEN:
8/1p6/p7/Qp6/PP6/2qp4/8/1k1K2RR w – – 0 1

Puzzle 1 Details:
A. Kakovin (Kadievka)
1st Prize Problem 1966-67

Puzzle 2 FEN:
3b4/3p4/q3pk1P/1pQ3p1/4rpP1/3p1P1K/p1b2rPB/1R6 w – – 0 1

Puzzle 2 Details:
Savo Zlatic (Zagreb)
4th Hon. Men. Problem 1962-65

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85 Comments

  1. Before you make the hole Zig zag there's a mate in one

  2. I have a puzzle I think it is good white to play and escape the checkmate white – Qh1 Rf1 Bb1 Kb3 Kingd4 Ph7 Pf7 Black – Bg8 Kf10 Kd10 Qc7 Kinga10

  3. I don't know why but puzzle one was totally easy to me. Before you even started talking, I was like, "Sac the queen! It's literally the only move that avoids check!" and then I was like, "The rook! No! The rook! Check with the rook!" and then, "NO! Forget the queen! Forget the skewer! Talk about the pawns!", because every time we were moving on to the next part of the process, I was wondering for almost no time before I saw the next move, because there really was only one move, and then the king took the pawn, and before you even started talking about the king's options, I just saw the pawn walking right up with check on every move. I didn't even have to pause to think about it. Second one, not so much, and I only got the first couple of moves. But I did see saccing the bishop at the end.

  4. First puzzle – don’t accept the white queen and move to b3, mate.

  5. Thanks, my jaws really dropped after watching this video.

  6. 2:41 Is that a staircase ? Check, check, check, check, check. Yeah that's a staircase

  7. First puzzle: Why isn't it even worth to mention what happens if black queen doesn't take white queen but checks black from b3? I don't see why black is loosing in that case immediately.

  8. I don't know what source you used, but the Zlatic study has an additional white pawn on d2, so it is correct.

  9. For the second puzzle, couldn't black take the rook on b1 with their pawn instead of blocking the queen promote with bishop to f6? Sure they would have to lose a move with their king thereafter, but they would still be up in material and I'm pretty sure white just runs out of good moves after that.

    Edit: on second thought, that is not viable because rather than promote to a queen for check, white could go qc5 with check, then after kf6 promote to a queen with check, then they are trapped between two queens and are one or two turns away from mate.

  10. Can't believe in that first one, that 2 rooks and 1 queen actually managed to beat 1 queen.

  11. I wish the final puzzle was somehow a knight promotion to checkmate

  12. I am a problemist, so l will find solutions, but this Qc7 problem is too easy, as are others. I also found a cook or two…

  13. You are always use white it a appence but i am playing black only

  14. Black pieces in the second puzzle over here assembling like they're the Power Rangers

  15. at 6:48 when you explain the mistake in the puzzle, white can play bishop to f4 checkmate… so no mistake in the puzzle

  16. 2nd problem in puzzle 2
    Queen E3 but black pawn doing down so black pawn F4 plays C3
    Before the bishop moves

  17. Second puzzle's double flawed, actually. After Qc7+ Black also 'just' has Kd4, given that he's escaping to e3. SF plays this casually and gives Black +30 or something, no mate whatsoever. Bit weird how lines like these were missed back in the day it got composed and judged.

  18. In the second puzzle, after queen c7 check, it doesn't look immediately clear why black can't play king d4 and escape; I'm fairly sure this is winning for black quite easily.

    I analysed the board, computer says king d4 is the best move and black is winning. So am I missing something? The mate would have to be very unintuitive and at a high depth for this to be wrong I feel. White has rook b4 check, but that isn't even a good move according to the computer, because after the forced king e3, black seems totally fine and winning. How does white stop black from promoting, for instance? You're basically all out of checks and forcing moves without sacrificing everything and being even more losing.

  19. 5:47 cant that pawn at F6 just take the queen?
    edit: o yea dint see that srry i am new to chess

  20. First puzzle, what happens if black doesn't want to capture the queen and moves their queen somewhere like b2 instead?

  21. Also the black pawn would just promote after first move

  22. The second puzzle is also flawed regarding black’s last move. Rather than taking the queen, black can move a piece out of the way, such as the rook on the bottom left corner of the formation.

  23. What about at 5:13 When the Queen moved to block the check. If instead the King went to d4, would that still be mate for white?

  24. First puzzle isn’t necessarily checkmate. Qa5/Ra5+/Kb8/Ra8+/Kc7. You still have to work for it

  25. 5:13 You also can move king to d4 instead of moving the queen.

  26. Play alpha zero ai and see how you compare to it. Alpha zero puts Robertobot in the kill zone quickly.

  27. After re4 d4 for the second puzzle couldn't the queen take the bishop causing a mate in 1 threat by taking the rook? Or it could lead to perpetual checks if they try to stop it from the queen.

  28. In second puzzle, after white does h7, black is not forced to move the biship, pawn takes on b1 promotes to queen, black follows up with Kd5 after white promotes, white doesnt have a good follow up. Looks good for back though.

  29. In the second puzzle black has so many opportunities to play something different.
    Instead of Bf6 and Qd6 the king could just move away (Kd5, Kd4) and neither the existing Q nor the possible second Q or any other figure would have a safe spot to deliver a check. Don't know if that's a safe win for black, but white would have to do some serious work.

  30. 0:19 — I immediately notice Black threatens mate in 2 via …Qc2+; Ke1, Qe2#, or better yet immediate mate by …Qc1#. White moving the queen makes little sense to me, it's more likely a rook move. But which rook?? 🤔🤔 Actually, retract that…I can fathom Qc7, Qb3+; Kd2+ (discovered check) and Black may lose his queen (if …Kb2 he gets skewered by Rb1+). I still think the first move is a rook move, though. I'll say 1. Rh2. (Edit: darn it!! Should have went with my first instinct, I thought of 1. Qc7 and turned it down, just completely missed the Qc1 mate. 🤦🏾‍♂🤦🏾‍♂ But what a sequence to the Ra8 mate, White's a-pawn gobbling up enemy pawns, with discovered check every time and rook protection.)

    3:53 — not looking too great for White, material wise down both rooks, a bishop, and 3 pawns plus Black has passed a and d-pawns. On the upside the position is cramped enough where his king has enough safe haven, Black can't go to f3 and check because of White's g2 pawn. Pushing the passed h-pawn seems like a mistake…as for checks on Black's king, I see Qf8+ forking him and the dark square bishop, and Black's king can only go to g6 or e5. The other checks just waste the queen. Hmm. 🤔🤔 I'll go for 1. Qf8+ and see what happens. (Edit: 1 out of 2 ain't bad, got this one. It's too bad the composer overlooked a better defense from Black after Qe3+. 😁😁)

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