Solution presented as correct to puzzle #cK9aU is wrong, illogical....stupid even... I want my points back, check it out... it’s a matter of principle..
winning a free knight is... illogical?
free knight if opponent responds like an idiot, my point is it says find the best move. those are not the best moves.
Try going back and analyzing the position with stockfish.... you'll see why the computer is right and you're wrong.
If you disable the "Jump to next puzzle immediately" you can turn on the local analysis....then go back a few moves and find out why. This is the only way to learn from puzzles IMHO..
If you disable the "Jump to next puzzle immediately" you can turn on the local analysis....then go back a few moves and find out why. This is the only way to learn from puzzles IMHO..
If I had a nickel every time someone wrongly claimed that a puzzle solution was wrong, I'd be rich.
Yes, that is the best move. If Black tries to save the knight with something like Nc4, White has a long series of checks and/or mate threats starting with Qh6, causing the Black king to walk around exposed and eventually resulting in the gain of more than just the knight. Is White expected to see the final outcome? Not necessarily; there are many possible lines, all bad for Black. But it's enough to see that eventually the Queen and both Rooks will be involved in the attack, and to know the rule of thumb that three pieces in a coordinated attack against the King is usually sufficient to force mate.
Furthermore, it's clear what White's plan is, and it's also clear that in order to advance that plan, he must start with a double-threat. Anything else for White just allows Black a tempo to improve his king safety, and then Black is just up a pawn and White has nothing.
Yes, that is the best move. If Black tries to save the knight with something like Nc4, White has a long series of checks and/or mate threats starting with Qh6, causing the Black king to walk around exposed and eventually resulting in the gain of more than just the knight. Is White expected to see the final outcome? Not necessarily; there are many possible lines, all bad for Black. But it's enough to see that eventually the Queen and both Rooks will be involved in the attack, and to know the rule of thumb that three pieces in a coordinated attack against the King is usually sufficient to force mate.
Furthermore, it's clear what White's plan is, and it's also clear that in order to advance that plan, he must start with a double-threat. Anything else for White just allows Black a tempo to improve his king safety, and then Black is just up a pawn and White has nothing.
As I've said, being Head Puzzle Corrector around here is like being the Maytag Repairman... :)
The problem with the puzzle is black responds like a computer not like a human.
Qd2 Nc4 Qh6 Re8 Nc5 Qc8 Qxh7+ Kf8 Rf3 Ne5, this is just but 1 variation, white is winning but it is not up material, if black tries to hang on to the knight it takes many more moves to capture it, which is what most humans would do. In fact if black tries to hang on to the knight he can end up in a position where he is down a pawn but with an exposed king, which is far preferable to being down a knight when facing a human.
Qd2 Nc4 Qh6 Re8 Nc5 Qc8 Qxh7+ Kf8 Rf3 Ne5, this is just but 1 variation, white is winning but it is not up material, if black tries to hang on to the knight it takes many more moves to capture it, which is what most humans would do. In fact if black tries to hang on to the knight he can end up in a position where he is down a pawn but with an exposed king, which is far preferable to being down a knight when facing a human.
I think the V2 puzzles are of better quality on average, and thus more interesting to play than their predecessors. The new categories are also a wonderful feature. But if you still come across the odd one that’s not interesting for a human to play for whatever reason, just thumb it down. As for an answer being “wrong,” I doubt that’s possible, since they are generated using Stockfish.
Yesterday I struggled for a while with the solution to this one, *after* successfully solving it: lichess.org/training/Ha3xM My question was: Why didn’t my opponent take with the knight on move 30? After 30. Nxc1 Nxd5 31. Qe8+ Kh7 32. Qxc8, material would have been even. As it was, he ended up down a minor piece. 🤨 (So it was his move, rather than mine, which I struggled to understand. It hadn’t been what I expected to see.)
But after spending more time on this question than I had on the actual puzzle 😅, I finally figured out the answer: After 30. Nxc1 Nxd5 31. Qe8+, Black has Qf8, blocking that check and defending the bishop. So he’s going to be up a piece, regardless. Plus if White trades queens at that point, Black’s king gains a tempo in the endgame (by being one square closer to the center).
I submit to you that most puzzles you think make no sense, really actually make perfect sense. The fault lies with you, not the puzzle. 😉 But it’s always something little like that, which will be obvious once you figure it out. So I suggest spending more time with the puzzle in question, until that “wrong” answer looks right to you. (Sometimes it helps to just bookmark it, then look at it again later with fresh eyes.) If you want to learn & improve, these little things are worth understanding. Chances are the more befuddling the puzzle, the greater its benefit to you, since it clearly has something to show you that you didn’t know.
Yesterday I struggled for a while with the solution to this one, *after* successfully solving it: lichess.org/training/Ha3xM My question was: Why didn’t my opponent take with the knight on move 30? After 30. Nxc1 Nxd5 31. Qe8+ Kh7 32. Qxc8, material would have been even. As it was, he ended up down a minor piece. 🤨 (So it was his move, rather than mine, which I struggled to understand. It hadn’t been what I expected to see.)
But after spending more time on this question than I had on the actual puzzle 😅, I finally figured out the answer: After 30. Nxc1 Nxd5 31. Qe8+, Black has Qf8, blocking that check and defending the bishop. So he’s going to be up a piece, regardless. Plus if White trades queens at that point, Black’s king gains a tempo in the endgame (by being one square closer to the center).
I submit to you that most puzzles you think make no sense, really actually make perfect sense. The fault lies with you, not the puzzle. 😉 But it’s always something little like that, which will be obvious once you figure it out. So I suggest spending more time with the puzzle in question, until that “wrong” answer looks right to you. (Sometimes it helps to just bookmark it, then look at it again later with fresh eyes.) If you want to learn & improve, these little things are worth understanding. Chances are the more befuddling the puzzle, the greater its benefit to you, since it clearly has something to show you that you didn’t know.
#7 I disagree. In all lines where Black moves the knight, White is able to use his checks and mate threats to win MORE than just the knight. Black cannot keep it, and a 2100 human (the puzzle's approximate rating) would see that the forced king march eventually puts it on the same line as the king... in addition to white picking at least a pawn.
In any case, ALL other moves for White result in absolutely no gain, and he's stuck down a pawn with two isolani. The solution was pretty obvious to me, and not really computer-like at all.
In any case, ALL other moves for White result in absolutely no gain, and he's stuck down a pawn with two isolani. The solution was pretty obvious to me, and not really computer-like at all.
@phoenixshade Follow the game, see how a NM managed to mess up before winning the knight after black plays the much more challenging Nc4.
Here is the line white has to follow to be winning.
Qd2 Nc4 Qh6 Re8 Nc5 Qc8 Qxh7 Kf8 Rf3 Ne4 Qh8 Kd7 Qf6 Kd6 Ne4 Sacrificing the knight dxe4 Rd1 Nd3 Qf4 and only now it is apparent that white is winning, but white still about 4 or 5 more moves to be up material. If you wanna claim that anyone playing Qd2 saw that it was obvious white is gonna end up in an endgame where they are not up material but have a crushing advantage due to black having a weak king and a trapped rook go ahead.
Here is the line white has to follow to be winning.
Qd2 Nc4 Qh6 Re8 Nc5 Qc8 Qxh7 Kf8 Rf3 Ne4 Qh8 Kd7 Qf6 Kd6 Ne4 Sacrificing the knight dxe4 Rd1 Nd3 Qf4 and only now it is apparent that white is winning, but white still about 4 or 5 more moves to be up material. If you wanna claim that anyone playing Qd2 saw that it was obvious white is gonna end up in an endgame where they are not up material but have a crushing advantage due to black having a weak king and a trapped rook go ahead.
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