SquareSenseChess

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[SquareSenseChess @SqSenseChess]

@Carl_Portman Levitsky vs Marshall, Breslau 1912: 23...Qg3, the gold coins move. Every capture loses: 24.hxg3 Ne2# and 24.fxg3 Ne2+ 25.Kh1 Rxf1#. 24.Qxg3 Ne2+ 25.Kh1 Nxg3+ 26.Kg1 Nxf1 leaves Black a piece up, and nearly everything else gets mated on h2.

[SquareSenseChess @SqSenseChess]

One early pawn push and the opening turns into a trap. Would you have walked into it? Full line on YouTube https://t.co/FY7wnwLMkv #chess #ChessTrap

[SquareSenseChess @SqSenseChess]

@TheChessWhy 1...Qxg2+ 2.Rxg2 (the king can't take, the g7 rook covers g2) Rxb1+ 3.Rg1 Rbxg1#. The queen sac drags the rook off g1, taking the knight comes with check, and the doubled rooks finish on g1. White's threats on h7 never get a turn.

[SquareSenseChess @SqSenseChess]

@HaussernotC Nice one. The trick is that Black has almost no moves: the king is boxed in by g7 and every pawn is blocked. 1.Qb1 gives the a2 pawn its only legal move, 1...axb1=Q (any promotion), and that opens the a-file for 2.Ra8#. Careful, 1.Qg1 or 1.Qg3 is stalemate.

[SquareSenseChess @SqSenseChess]

@kibitzingpatzer Why 1.Be5+ isn't mate: Qg7 blocks with check. But that queen is now pinned to h8, so it can only go to f6 or e5. 2.Kh4 is the only king move that keeps the mate: 2...Qxe5 3.f8=Q# or 2...Qf6+ 3.Bxf6#. 2.Bg6 fails to 2...Qxe5+.

[SquareSenseChess @SqSenseChess]

@davidllada 1.Qxg5+ is a deflection sacrifice. After 1...fxg5 the f6 pawn is gone and the long a1-h8 diagonal opens. 2.Nh6+ Kh8 is forced, since the knights cover f7 and g7, then 3.Bb2+ Rf6 4.Bxf6# is mate. 1...Kh8 2.Qg7# and 1...Kf7 2.Qg7+ Ke8 3.Qe7# end it faster.

[SquareSenseChess @SqSenseChess]

Rc8. The rook steps to c8 with no check. If Black takes, Qe5 then Qg3 mates. If the rook goes to b8 instead, Qb4 then Qe1 mates. Warton and Warton, 1945.

Watch: https://t.co/saCusEXTZc

[SquareSenseChess @SqSenseChess]

White to play and mate in three.

Warton and Warton, The Problemist 1945. A quiet rook move wins. Can you find the first move? Answer and a short lesson tomorrow.

#chess #ChessPuzzle

[SquareSenseChess @SqSenseChess]

@xxChessMaster 1.Bh3 is a quiet zugzwang. Right now Black's only moves are ...h3 and ...gxf5. On h3 the bishop is safe and blocks the h-pawn, the king is boxed in by Kf6, and the bishop and rook are buried. So the g6 pawn must move, and 1...g5 or 1...gxh5 opens the diagonal for 2.Bf5#.

[SquareSenseChess @SqSenseChess]

White to play and mate in two. One quiet bishop move sets it up. Can you find it before the answer? https://t.co/6b3ZqXVovx #chess #ChessPuzzle

[SquareSenseChess @SqSenseChess]

Three moves in, Black leaves the e5 pawn hanging. Grabbing it is exactly what Black wants. Can you see why? Full line on YouTube, search SquareSenseChess. https://t.co/gdPLMMW56z #chess #ChessTrap

[SquareSenseChess @SqSenseChess]

@xxChessMaster 1.Rhg7 is the quiet key. Checking first fails, because 1.Ra8+ Nc8 or 1.Rh8+ Ne8 lets the knight block. After 1.Rhg7 the knight can only cover one side: 1...Ke8 or 1...Nc8 2.Rg8#, and 1...Kc8 or 1...Ne8 2.Ra8#.

[SquareSenseChess @SqSenseChess]

@ImShahinyan 1.Qb5 is a quiet key with no threat at all. Black is simply in zugzwang, and every move loosens something:
1...Qa4 2.Nb1#
1...Qb4 2.Qxb4#
1...Qb1+ 2.Nxb1#
1...Nb3+ 2.Qxb3#
1...Ne2 2.Qb3#
Lovely that the key even allows two checks.

[SquareSenseChess @SqSenseChess]

@chess_xray Lovely zugzwang. 1...Kf4 takes g5 away, so the king on h5 has no squares (g6 and h6 are covered by the black pawns) and only 2.g5 is legal. 2...Kf5 and White must push again: 3.g6 hxg6#. Black never needs to promote.

[SquareSenseChess @SqSenseChess]

@_PBankz Black mates with 1...Qg2+. The king can't take, since both knights guard g2, so 2.Ke1 is forced, then 2...Nf3#. The f4 knight covers e2, the new knight covers d2, and the queen holds f1. 1...Qh3+ also mates in 2 with the same finish.

[SquareSenseChess @SqSenseChess]

Black to play ♟️ The bishop can take the queen. Is that safe, or is it Legal's Mate? https://t.co/tcaDcXzdiY #chess #ChessTrap

[SquareSenseChess @SqSenseChess]

@NativePotential @Running18834415 True — without something to halt that a-pawn, White has to time the breakthrough carefully.

[SquareSenseChess @SqSenseChess]

White to play and win ♟️ Endgame. The kings are close and the pawns are racing. How does White clear the path? Can you find the first move? Puzzle by @Running18834415 https://t.co/DS8SnrJrrt #chess #ChessPuzzle

[SquareSenseChess @SqSenseChess]

@_azucarrr @chess_xray Yes — after 2.Qg8+ Nxg8 3.Nf7#, the king is boxed in by its own knight on g8 and its own pawns on g7 and h7, and nothing can capture the knight on f7. That's a smothered mate.

[SquareSenseChess @SqSenseChess]

@ChessKala64 Bc7, threatening Qf4#

The bishop has to clear f4, but every other square blocks a mate. Bxg3 fails to Rgf1, Be5 to Nf6, Bd6 to Rbf1, Bb8 to Bf7. From c7 it is out of the way: Rgf1 Nxg3#, Nf6 Re5#, Rbf1 Qb4#, Bf7 Qa8#. A lovely Franz Pachl problem.