It's a mathematical fact that the king moves over 41.4% faster when moving diagonally.

I honestly keep being floored and utterly stunned at just how ridiculously deep chess is. It's just beyond words. Which is why I love this channel, a beginner/intermediate like me would probably never see these amazing studies. Stuff like that gives you a whole new appreciation for the game.

There's an episode of Seinfeld where George sees a dime from an extraordinary distance then takes a bit of of an onion like an apple. I figured out 2 and 4 in about 30 seconds each. I could've stared at 1 and 3 all day, but in the end I was always going to eat the onion.

Some fun facts: In first puzzle we have 10736 unique positions which we get summary in 3 plies Second puzzle - Mate in 45 Third puzzle - every move is winning. We have there: 1 mate in 4 (c8=B) 1 mate in 5 (c8=Q) 20 mates in 6 6 mates in 7 1 mate in 8 (c8=N) 1 mate in 13 (Rb2+)

I actually saw Qa5 as the only feasable move, but I thought Bc5 prevented everything, but I didn'T see Qa1! Qa1 is SO GOD DAMN DIRTY!!! I love it.

The last one is from Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual. The concept is the box of the queening pawn. All we need is an extra tempo which we got by attacking the black bishop and then coming inside the box.

As a beginner player (17th week), your diagrams and explanations are the clearest and most instructive. I said it before, but sometimes it's a small comment or aside that has me rewinding, thinking, "what? What did he just say?!" Thank yoi so much!

I've found that in many puzzles, opponent's pieces are more useful than our own pieces, as long as we can force them into preferred locations

Dude, I just wanna say this is easily my favorite chess channel. The way you explain things is perfectly paced so that it's really easy to follow, and your topics are interesting and memorable. You don't use extra words so that my mind wanders, and you don't use too few so I'm confused and wondering what just happened. You also enunciate your words well which is important to me because I have some audio processing issues, and I absolutely LOVE the fact that you don't have a jingle at the beginning of your videos, and the jingle at the end isn't too loud! (Loud jingles are so annoying and unnecessary and grating for me. It's like there's this sensory assault first thing and between each video! Ugh! 😅) The topics you cover are also really helpful at my current level of learning, and you're good at explaining them, so thank you for what you do! :)

I was thinking of Qb5 checkmate threat and immediately realized that it can be blocked, but I would've not believed the first puzzle had that many checkmates.

Wow. This is the first series of puzzles that I couldn’t see the solution to any of them. Brilliant stuff. Thanx!

In the third one, could it be worth mentioning c8=Q b3; Rfc1 b2; Qh3 bxc1=N, with black escaping the mate next move only by the underpromotion?

10:02 you forgot to mention that if white plays rc1 black can promote to a knight

2nd puzzle was the only one I figured out. And while the other ones might have more brilliant solutions, this one is just aesthetically beautiful on a whole other level.

Mind blowing stuff - the chess rabbit hole really doesn’t seem to have an end.

I solved the first three puzzles pretty quickly. Seems like my puzzle skill has really improved a lot over the last year. But I couldn't solve the last one. It was really fascinating

With some assistance from Stockfish, I played the 2nd puzzle and beat it in 52 moves. For the phase of capturing the pawn, I used Stockfish because it's hard, but once it was just my bishop and knight, I stopped using Stockfish. Pushing the king to the side was hard. I got it to the bottom left corner, had a hard time transpositioning the knight to the W maneuver, I finally got the knight on the W and I mated it on the bottom right. Your video on the knight and bishop checkmate helped me. Thanks

Chess is like life so varied and wonderful. So many patterns !!!! Great video NL

That old video with cute joke "win more chess games if you hit the thumbs up button on this video"

More of these please!!

I loved the first one, took the time to solve it. First I was certain that Qf7 was the answer because it threatens mate on both Qa7 and Qc4, I was about to unpause before I realized Kc5 lets black get away. So you have to prevent Kc5. Qa5, black can't defend everything!! There's mate threats with Qb6 too which you didn't cover. Super satisfying to solve, and the other positions were great too, thank you for showing!

Amazing!! Please give us more like this 😀💯👌👌

In positions like the last puzzle (nothing short of amazing btw) it's so hard to find the solution, even if you slowly go through the process of elimination. You would easily discard Kc8 (that's if you consider it at all!) after seeing b5 then Bf5, like how on earth are you stopping the pawn. In a practical game I'd expect few humans to actually find this.

I played the 2nd puzzle again and it really depends on what the computer responds with if I can capture the pawn. Actually Stockfish keeps moving the bishop from g6-a2. I fork the bishop with discovered check then capture it with my knight but after that, it is hard to capture the pawn. The white king is on the opposite side of the board and it's hard to get it past the black king. I have to keep both the knight and bishop on the board and prevent the pawn from queening. I honestly think you should do a video on just that puzzle, the 2nd phase needs to be gone over. Can the black king put up a fight and prevent the pawn from getting captured? If black can't prevent white from capturing the pawn, then it's a quick review on bishop and knight checkmate, which you got a video on.

When I attended the high school state tournament for the first time, (Illinois) there was a little store you could buy things from between games. There was also a guy who set up puzzles with complex solutions that you couldn't just plug into an engine because you had to find the moves. Long story short the first puzzle was one he presented us, between like 20 of us from different teams we solved it in like 10 minutes

On the 2nd one, if black plays pawn F4, white cant take the pawn or loses the bishop, if they take the bisop the pawn challenges the knight with F3, and then I think black grabs a stalemate.

This one was nuts! Great stuff

Fascinating indeed. Keep posting.

I'd like to add some comments about the first position, and explain why it's actually quite easy. Anyone who has some experience with mate problems will immediately recognize the multiple rooks and bishops as being part of an interference situation. Where those pieces are right now, they guard all the mates, but if any of them moves, they will block (interfere with) some other piece. Next, we look at black's position. Does black have any threats? No. this means we can play a waiting move. But black does have an extra pawn, a free move, and this pawn does nothing but give black the opportunity to hold the line. Therefore, the first move we should consider is to move the queen to block that pawn.

I failed at one, then at two. I failed the mate in 4 but was pumped to get the mate in 2 for the 3rd. When i saw it I laughed at how crazy it was. Good stuff !

Yes, _Secrets of Spectacular Chess_ is my favorite chess book, there are loads of marvelous positions in there. I recommend it.

such wonderfull stuff you are giving us, thx alot!

the only problem with the second one is that its a knight and bishop checkmate which is so insanely hard and rare that id say 99% of chess players will fail it

For the first one, I was considering the Qa5 line but I thought I was lost after Bc5. I was so focused on how I wanted to mate instead find alternative ways Second one, I thought I was losing if I immediately chased the bishop. Third one, I knew it was an under promotion but I thought the knight worked because my pawn would stop the escape square Fourth one I had no idea

I really liked the mate-in-two at the beginning. Very nice.

In his Chess Life column, Pal Benko called the "2brrb2" rank "Organ pipes"--makes sense being on the wall in the front of a church. Where Black was in zugswang for the move, he called the key "waiting".

Thank you for showing us the beautiful dimensions of chess. Excellent English!

Great puzzles as always. The 4th was very very tricky 👍👍

The first one is not really Zugzwang because the zugzwang only accelerates the mate. Even if black could skip his move there would be Qb6+ bc5 Qf6+Re5 Qxf6#

Man the last position resembled a similar (but had only kings and pawns instead of the piece) study, but using the same kind of idea. Think, I could be wrong, it was a study from Reti. Thanks for these puzzles! that four move checkmate is a thing of beauty.

I thought the third puzzle was a knight thing but I couldn’t figure it out, thanks for the video :D

3:40 (Nr.1) actually white was simply threatening Qb6 checkmate (the only checkmate if black didn't spot it). So I don't get why you would consider all other moves for black but bishop e5 to try to deny at least that! (or any Rook to the 6-line). The other things you showed make no sense as they don't work towards that denial! Of course that denial will, as you say only allow a new checkmate on the bottom. (and of course the rook moves create a new checkmate somewhere, but the other moves you showcased such as white square bishop doesn't work towards denying Qb6. So it doesn't even matter. Anyways I really like your puzzle videos. PS: For feedback: I would have more described what's going with the black king and it's only place to move if the queen was not covering that path anymore - because the queen was the only piece we could move on turn 1 - (and for instance when she tried another trick) That possible escape field should black make any errors is C5. From that you create the goal of somehow checkmating him while denying C5 escape. From that I easily came to QB6+ mate threat. From that one eventually to QA5 which happened to allow the other checkmate(s) should black deny B6! (QA1#) (or if the rooks moved: Qb4#, Kf5#..) So IMO a tiny little less spectacular than what you made of it. (3 moves not all those incredible many lines you drew :-) Of course still relatively hard to find - considering it's only mate in 2, and 3 ways black could deny the first threat but still having mate in 2 is amazing - so yet certainly an interesting one and still a nice rare thing! Thanks for sharing. Cool stuff!

Really good puzzles and explanations.

For mate-in-4, you can give a check with R-> f2. The only move black has is to capture rook in b1. Then Queening and get it to a1 to mate in next 2 moves.

I initially thought on puzzle 1 that Queen to H8 would be an inevitable mate just have to capture pieces Black would use to block. But the Black King has C5 to escape to. Good puzzle.

Haha Nr2 is also pretty enjoyable. TBH (while I did find the right first moe) I couldn't see that coming at all, of how the bishop couldn't move anywhere but was forced that zigzag line to be the longest surviving line haha. (today I watch parts of the video delayed. I think it's most fun if you try the position yourself on the board or play it out vs AI/hu, to figure these puzzles! Because what's a puzzle worth if you just get the answer. ) PS: I think it's also very good that you give further possibilities to pause/think about follow up moves, incase one didn't find the first move he will have another chance to participate in the puzzle. Edit: Uff how do you find the why for 4, yourself? (without solution) I'm still struggling I want to find it myself before you explain it, - perhaps because it look like it must be so easy to see right?, but it' seems mind boggling indeed. (I will find it) Keep in mind: Before knowing it ;-) Really cool how a position looks that fairly simple and yet has that unexpected depth to it. (Nr.4) edit2 - Just some mind map: Hey what about you give us these puzzles and each day you will reveal one next move of the puzzle and why.. or two moves.. or none but a tip, depending on the puzzle depth, so that in days or rather said 1 week it's through. While also introducing a new puzzle with it (...). Maybe not what you look for for your videos, but I still felt like suggesting it. (Because from my view 1 week to solve and a few tips the next days seems like a nice thing for regular content and keeping in touch with "live"-viewers and more interaction going! On the other hand you have really many amazing videos of content, it's of course not necessary. Some people simply enjoy and prefer browsing a library of videos or other content. )

I started following your game then my game has also improved thanks.

in the second puzzle if you play rf2+ kxb2 only move, then you bring a queen,you check mate in more 2 moves, and its actually a lot easier to see

Hey bro, great video as always. Can you please make a video on draw? How can I draw a game when I'm loosing and when should I offer a draw? And what other things that I should know in draw?

Could you en passant on the first game with the e4 or g4 pawn? Dont know what that would change but it has to be good, right?

Puzzle #3 Mate in 4 with a queen: 1. c8=Q b3 2. Qh3 b2 3. Rfc1 bxc1=Q 4. Qb3# So you can do it with a queen too. I like the bishop idea too.

Incredible stuff!

Found a mate in 8 trying to figure out how to do this with a queen lol You start by promoting the pawn to a queen. Black goes b3, their only move, but then you go Ra1, and the king is forced into b2. Then Qh8, forcing the king right again, into c2. Queen goes to h3, and the king has 2 options. d2, offering an immediate checkmate with Rf2, or b2 again. Rightmost rook goes from f1-b1, and again, the king is forced to c3. Queen to b3, taking one of the pawns, and putting the king in check, and king is forced into d2. The rook goes to d1, and because it’s protected by the queen and the other rook, king has to go to E2, and Ra1->Ra2 is checkmate. Convoluted, and long (with multiple missed checkmate opportunities), but still a checkmate. Did it the wrong way, and still got the answer (in more than 4 moves).

Love that first puzzle

Me in the last puzzle: Aha! Get a knight, and there’s no way the pawn can getaway! I forgot that pawn hadn’t moved yet.

lol, the most interesting thing is that the last puzzle IMMEDIATELY jumped on my head.... the other ones I failed miserably to see.

7:07 black can draw by pushing the pawn, or maybe even win. (I think so)

in the first puzzle I would have gone for queen to H8 check. Which also leads to a guarenteed checkmate. but in 3

I was looking at Qh8+ in 1st example, but that seems to take 3 moves for mate.

I love videos like this, these studies are very interesting to solve

The 2nd puzzle has 3 parts, after the king captures the bishop, capturing the pawn without getting a minor piece captured takes steps, if you successfully capture the pawn, then it's a lesson in checkmating with a bishop and knight which is the hardest possible endgame with no other pieces to mate with. That should be one video. Thinking more on it, if the pawn wasn't there, it would turn into a lesson on bishop and knight checkmate that you may have a video on. With the pawn there, if I was playing as black, I would decoy the knight away with my bishop, most likely B from f7-a2, try to queen the pawn allowing the bishop to capture the queen so I can capture the bishop with my king and 1 knight is insufficient material to mate. Many chess engines don't value a draw over a loss and they're looking for a win trying to hold off queening.

I loved the underpromotion into a bishop, but I think I also found a mate in 4 with a queen! c8=Q b3 Qh8 b2 Rfc1 bxc1=any Qa1# edit (I see it now) if Kb3 instead of taking the rook, I thought Qc3+ would be mate too, but the king can move to a4 ...

in the second puzzle from 4:00, you don't save the Bishop, just go King f2...e3. White Bishop+Knight must run and cannot prevent in the same time from queening in f1.

What about 1st move Queen to h8 chk? if black interposes with the bishop, capture and mate. If black interposes with the rook, capture and mate.

I would like if you could do a Q&A Or if you could solve puzzles that your viewers create

Potential title of the second puzzle: when a bishop becomes ferz

The knight bishop puzzle doesn't work as explained. If, instead of black moving the bishop when attacked by the white king, black instead moves K to f2, white can't take the bishop, or K to e3 eventually wins one of white's pieces, thereby securing a draw, or even a win if black can then successfully advance the pawn. (Or black king can go e1, d2)

The crooked path. Fascinating.

Okay I'm commenting a little bit late, but in the third puzzle there is an other way to win in four moves and it is by playing Rf2+ Kxb1 is the only legal move for black, and after this the king is stuck on the first rank, we can then play c8=D and there is just nothing Black can do to prevent the checkmate in two Not as elegant as the underpromotion you suggested, but it is way easier to calculate Really enjoyed the video as always, keep up the great content. Love

First problem has a defect. After 1 Qa5, Black can play Re7. In that case there are 2 ways to checkmate. 2 Qb6 or 2 Qxb4.

what's the finish for the 2nd puzzle? the pawn can move after the bishop chase and free it for a stalemate.

Last one was actually the easiest for me, saw it immediately, don't know why, was funny. Same with number 2, just chasing the bishop around. Funny, because my end game sux. These exercises are great for just positional awareness.

For the 3rd puzzle, realistically, you trade 2 rooms with 2 pawns and you're still a queen up lol

im proud of myself I saw the first one almost immediately. I saw that there were no good immediate checks. I saw Qa1 check since it looked interesting. Then I realized it was zuzwang

In the last puzzle the trick was to make black to lose 2 moves in other pieces than the pawn and either win or draw

I got the right intuition for the first, and second, ooh, the third... I'm not good at 4 move check mates, especially in end game. I once got a mate in 6 in middle game when I had a mate in 4 available from the same position but I couldn't see it (and I didn't pay for a solution). I'm expecting an... underpromotion to bishop? Queen in end game is usually bad when you have rooks since it can result in stalemate if you reinforce them by accident. Ok, ok, how about the fourth? White to play and draw... I've never even attempted a draw. Let's see... I'm expecting... king gets behind the black pawn to capture it from check or chase? Idk, it will probably not result in a stalemate, unless it's between the kings. Ok, I probably wouldn't have come up with the crooked path unless I stood to think a bit. Hm. Hm. And I'm ELO 600, started playing seriously yesterday and watching chess videos for 2 days before.

Hello Chess Vibes I love ur channel

Hi, just a casual player here but in the second one: How do you solve bishop to g6 in the "final" position? Bishop will be protected by the pawn on f5 so after the discovered check you can not take the bishop with the knight as you will be stuck King and bishop vs king which is a draw.

With the third puzzle I believe you can also go rook f2, black has to take your other rook, then you promote to a queen and black can choose to either keep moving his king on the backrank or he takes 2 moves to promote to a queen but it won't be in time, you can checkmate then

For the last puzzle, I was thinking the white king might instead move to d6. The black bishop would be forced to f5, allowing the white king to close in on the black pawn via c5 and then b6. But then I realized black bishop could simply move to c8, defend the black pawn from the back row until the black king would approach and force the white king out of the way. Damn, these puzzles are great!

The second puzzle seems to have one more solution from my perspective. You can promote to Queen than after pawn to C3 (only possible move for black) rook to A1 check which forses king to B2 than Rook from F1 to C1 which leaves black with only move pavn A3 to A2 and than queen H8 mate. Corect me if I am vrong. Btw love channel.

The first problem, mate in two, is based on a famous problem by Sam Lloyd called "organ pipes."

I know it's over a year, but... 5:42 I still don't get it. Sure, you've discovered check, king moves, knight takes Bishop. but doesn't the pawn just take the knight then, resulting in a draw?

Dang I actually solved it this time. It’s a waiting move. One of the best puzzles I’ve seen.

Utterly Outstanding Chess Channel

@7:36 My casual 4 move solution is different; 1. Rf2+ ....Kxb1 (forced capture) 2. c8Q ...whatever piece you like 3. Qh3 ...whatever piece you like 4. Qh1++ Did I miss something?

I love these weird situations. Thanks

Great video!

In 2nd game, after Bh7, white should play Nf4+, then corner the bishop with the king. If simply Kg7, black will f4, and white would have a hard time stopping the pawn

I think the 2nd puzzle was a draw because after king to b8 black could play king to f2 now if the king takes the black king will fork the bisharp and knight in e3 and you can not win with only a knight or a bisharp .Can you?

For the third one you could mate in 3 by moving the bishop behind the pawn and then having a discovered check on your third move by moving the pawn.

whats the point of the 3rd problem? you cant tell me that a 4 move mate saves time when you have to make precise calculations like the one he showed in order to do it also its just generally much safer to promote to a queen

4:42 So the solution for black would be just to ignore its bishop and go for a queen with his pawn? I mean it isnt clear what direction black is playing to, but i would assume up.

@14:37 instead of black pawn B5 to B4 what if black checks king with bishop (h7 to f5) white losses.

The first one got me, but in retrospect it seems unnaturally contrived. The last one I guess was ok, but I wasn't blown away as much as he was.

So glad I found the first one!

First one took me 2 minutes Qa5 threatening mate by Qb6, 3 ways to stop it, If Bc5 Qa1#, if Rd6 Qxb4#, if Re6 Nf5#

For the first one, queen h8 would work too right? It checkmates in 3 but works

In the second puzzle with the bishop on h7, what if f4? If the bishop is taken, then f3 -- is white still winning? Is it worth commenting on?

Qd5, Rd5 and Nf5#