Bobby Fischer Lost 2 Bets Trying to Solve this Puzzle (Mate in 3)

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Benko also published the problem on other occasions, e.g. on page 233 of the April 1977 Chess Life & Review.

In an article dated 22 August 2005 on pages 38-39 of his dire book This Crazy World of Chess (New York, 2007) Larry Evans put the black king on e5 (a change which, curiously, does not affect the key move) and wrote:

‘Bobby Fischer once bet he could solve it in a half hour and lost. … Bobby then bet Benko he could find a second solution (called a cook) if he could study it overnight. He lost again. There is one and only one key move.’

No source or other information was given, the word ‘once’ being deemed sufficient. The same diagram and text appeared on pages 41-42 of the ‘new edition’ (Las Vegas, 2009).
On pages 581-582 of Pal Benko My Life, Games and Compositions by P. Benko and J. Silman (Los Angeles, 2003) Benko wrote that it was …

‘… the last problem I composed as a teenager. It was published many times because its original setup appealed to problem-solvers and tournament players alike.

During the Lugano Olympiad, which Bobby Fischer attended as a spectator, I made a bet with him that he couldn’t solve it in 30 minutes. As time ran out, he became irritated and demanded to see the answer. When I showed it to him, he insisted that other solutions had to exist. Naturally, this led to another bet. After more time passed, he was forced to settle both wagers. The teenage Pal Benko never would have guessed how much mileage he was going to get out of that little problem.’

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500 Comments

  1. try first move queen d6 second move bishop h3 and then king f2 i think this method can be true even though their is no threat on the king directly but it has to as their is no way it don't if you can share with the viewers with all respect ahmad

  2. "Oh shit… I forgot to tell you the rules of the puzzle before giving the solutions."

  3. I almost got one of the outcomes without pausing the video (and I barely know any strategies). Luckily guessed bishop to c4 and after king to e5 queen to c5. Didn’t look into it after that and didn’t realize mate was a move away

  4. Black to move and mate in 3 (no pieces)

  5. Well lads ill see you in 3 years when i crack this.

  6. when you explain it like this it seems so obvious and I feel like I would easily find it. but I definitely wouldnt I guess ^^

  7. Another possibility can be :
    1) Qg4+ , kd5.
    2) Bc4+ , Ke5
    3) Qf4#

  8. I saw mate in 3 in seconds that was really easy, i dont believe bobby couldnt solve that… would of been nice to know mate in 3 was what i was trying to do mate. 🙂

  9. Bobby spent the night trying to solve it because he thought he was black

  10. I only found mate in 5 against Stockfish 8. And It's been 2 weeks already and I'm getting fed up with it.

  11. Im 500elo and I found 2 of the possible solutions in just 5 mins, im proud 👍

  12. This is a deceptively difficult mate in three. With so few pieces, you would think it would be easy. By the way, I love the fact that all white's remaining pieces are on their original squares. This must be the easiest puzzle in history to remember and set up in the future.

  13. I have an extremely hard time believing Fischer couldn’t figure this out within 30 minutes

  14. I found it right away.thanks. I'm sure Bobby found it. Of course after his death they make him look bad

  15. Should have lead with mate with three
    It was sad seeing the solution before knowing the question

  16. Pal Benko is famous for chess puzzles and carrying bags of gold.

  17. Bobby Fischer what is the greatest failure of your career?
    Bobby: You know, I hate chess, I really do. But, hmm. There was this puzzle by a guy named Pill… I mean Pal.. amazing puzzle really. I failed that puzzle, but, you know, I don't think there was a solution!

    This conversation happened in a parallel universe.

  18. I posted a comment 2 days ago meaning that this was lie and anti Fischer propaganda nobody could believe in. It disappeared !?

  19. Paul Morphy would have solved this puzzle in 1 minute and 50 seconds. And Mikhail Tal in 2 mins flat.

  20. 7:39 queen to d6 is check? I did not know Queens can check like knight

  21. Wait so i solved it in 20 minutes

  22. Did anyone else think queen d3 for the first move lol

  23. For those of you who want to skip over all the bullshit, it’s right click to 3:14

  24. Bishop pair from hell does it work here 😚

  25. Okay, when the white movies b-c4, why should we the black king should move only at k- f5, what if we movie at k-e5….?

  26. Agadmator: pause the video to find the solution.
    5 minutes later: oh, by the way the point is to find mate in 3

  27. I was trying to solve the position as black, to try stalemate

    I didn't know it was white to move

  28. "Those who are may be lazy to clink on the link"🤣 i'm one of them.THANKS🙏

  29. If you play black… Play benko gambit… It's a good gambit…

  30. I found the solution. I think bishop c4 is a move everyone should've thought. As It should cover diagonal parallel to diagonals of black bishop and queen to trap the king. On d3 it would block his own queen.

  31. maybe they trolled bobby and said white is losing

  32. I'm no Bobby Fisher, but saw the 1st move B-QB4 (sorry I stick to old nomenclature, I'm old too- but I will take your King)

  33. I always have a bag of gold on me in case of bet 🙂

  34. While Bc4 is the only solution for mate in 3, and there are 11 ways mate in 4. The direct approach of Qd3+ needs 5 moves to mate.

  35. Queen to D6 jake do not exist

  36. Puzzle? What puzzle? All I see are chess pieces and I have no idea what the goal is.

  37. You idiot you didn’t say who plays first, and are there any number of moves or unlimited. It is obvious that white wins. I don’t believe the story about Bobbie fisher.

  38. Impossible that Boby Fisher ven't found!.

  39. You can do it in two moves Q-D6 K-F3 Q-D4 mate

  40. The very same mate pattern but on reversed colors. This is what makes this problem beautiful (and hard to solve).

  41. Wtf, I can't believe it that I was able to find the solution in a matter of seconds, I just spotted it immediately. Wtf, following this through headphones, shouting like mad at home after Antonio presented it, lost the track and just woke up the entire family scared. Crazy 🤣. Ps: Im just a chess amateur.

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