Tactics Problem - Chess and Board Game Strategy

TexAg06 · 06-08-2012, 06:46 PM

White to move and win. Solution is in the spoiler.

Spoiler:

1.d8=Q+ Kxd8
2.O-O-O!

I came across this problem a while back on chess.com's tactics trainer. I thought about the position for quite a while and couldn't find a win for white. Surely the server is mistaken, I thought. When I gave up and saw the solution, I wanted to punch someone in the face. It's ridiculous (not impossible, but HIGHLY improbable) to think that the game could get to this point without white moving his king or rook. There was no hint with the problem to indicate that white still had the ability to castle, and given the situation on the board I think it's up to them to indicate white has that option.

Sorry, just needed to rant. I hope I tricked some of you like happened to me

plastic · 06-08-2012, 11:43 PM

Spoiler:

I went 0-0-0 and didn't bother thinking any further, derp, but of course ...Rb8 1/2. Really pretty one but for someone who's been tricked often enough doing puzzles, the 0-0-0 jumps out pretty hard at you when the king and rook are like are on their home square and there's no other pieces on the board.

plastic · 06-08-2012, 11:49 PM

Spoiler:

Slightly unrelated; I saw you wrote O-O-O instead of 0-0-0, I went hmmm, I don't think that is correct so I googled it and read this "it is now standard among all chess organizations and most books, .... uses the digit zero (0-0 and 0-0-0), PGN requires the uppercase letter O (O-O and O-O-O)." So both might be ok I guess?

TexAg06 · 06-08-2012, 11:57 PM

Spoiler:

Interesting. I've always used O's instead of zeroes and have never really thought about it. I guess I need to start using zeroes, seems like from what you posted that they're more correct.

KyleJRM82 · 06-09-2012, 12:16 AM

Spoiler:

This discussion just reminds me of the one where 0-0-0 became mindwormed into my brain forever as "triple castles." Once you've seen it, you can never not think of it that way again.

ganstaman · 06-09-2012, 12:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TexAg06

Spoiler:

Interesting. I've always used O's instead of zeroes and have never really thought about it. I guess I need to start using zeroes, seems like from what you posted that they're more correct.

Spoiler:

Actually, what he said was that pgn required Os, not 0s, so I think Os are more correct, at least on the internet where the notation may be copied and pasted into something that parses a pgn.

Do it Right · 06-09-2012, 04:15 AM

Spoiler:

Testing with chessbase 10 it accepts zero-zero and oh-oh. However it does not accept zero-oh or oh-zero. So I'd say anything is fine so long as you're consistent!

Vempele · 06-09-2012, 07:32 AM

Spoiler:

Aquarium accepts all those and even o.O, but I still wouldn't count on anything but O-O to work in every GUI.

**RoundTower** · 06-09-2012, 12:51 PM

Spoiler:

isn't it cooked? d8R should also be a win I think. Maybe it could be fixed by putting a black pawn on g2 or h2.

mangler241 · 06-09-2012, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoundTower

Spoiler:

isn't it cooked? d8R should also be a win I think. Maybe it could be fixed by putting a black pawn on g2 or h2.

Correct, if this is to be an acceptable endgame study.

Spoiler:

That's the most economic fix. One could also place a White pawn on h3 and a Black minor on h2.

This motif must have occurred in some OTB game with a GM, so does anyone here remember one?

**RoundTower** · 06-09-2012, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mangler241

Correct, if this is to be an acceptable endgame study.

Spoiler:

That's the most economic fix. One could also place a White pawn on h3 and a Black minor on h2.

This motif must have occurred in some OTB game with a GM, so does anyone here remember one?

Spoiler:

Black pawn on f3 also does it

Vempele · 06-09-2012, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoundTower

Spoiler:

Black pawn on f3 also does it

Spoiler:

Or a2.

mangler241 · 06-09-2012, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vempele

Spoiler:

Or a2.

Spoiler:

No. With a Black pawn on a2, 1. d8=R also wins for White.

Vempele · 06-09-2012, 04:26 PM

Spoiler:

Oops. Black pawns on a2 and b3 then. Or move the puzzle to the kingside and add a black pawn on a2, b2, c2 or d3. Or a black rook/queen on f8.

**RoundTower** · 06-09-2012, 05:06 PM

think we've had enough spoilers, anyone who gets this far probably has figured out the theme of the problem.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mangler241

This motif must have occurred in some OTB game with a GM, so does anyone here remember one?

Robert Timmer's Startling Castling! (not the only name this book has been published under) has an impressive 21 examples of this theme, including some games played by GMs and one by Max Euwe. The oldest example is Thornton-Boultbee, 1884: