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Only human

Only human

Only Chess

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A thread devoted to obscure moves missed by some of the best players in the game. But it's hard to blame them. They are only human.


White to move and win

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looks like Bd5 wins the queen - or maybe it just loses the bishop when the king takes it... oh well, I tried.

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looks like Rc6 wins , king has two squares, d7 then Rd6 wins the bishop, or Kf7 which leads to Bg6 and mate (did in my head, probably wrong but its good exercise


oops just saw the bishop is attacked on b4, oh well, im bust as well

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Originally posted by robbie carrobie
[b][hidden]looks like Rc6 wins , king has two squares, d7 then Rd6 wins the bishop, or Kf7 which leads to Bg6 and mate (did in my head, probably wrong but its good exercise[/hidden]

oops just saw the bishop is attacked on b4, oh well, im bust as well[/b]
Perhaps
Bh7

The king must move and (I think) can be chased into mate or a Queen fork.

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I like wolf's answer too. It looks to be a nice threat and it makes the hanging bishop seem like no problem. 😕

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Originally posted by wolfgang59
Perhaps [hidden]Bh7[/hidden]
The king must move and (I think) can be chased into mate or a Queen fork.
This was my thinking, after blundering a bit. I had to work on it CC style, as I did not trust my OTB style calculations with such an open board. The best part (to me) is that your idea means that black must move his king or queen in response, which does aid calculation. Technically, I think you are eschewing the fork in favor of the skewer.

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It is indeed 1.Bh7! not only with the skewer threat but the opening of the e-file, which results in mate if black tries to save the Q.



Or, if black takes the N on move 4:



Of course, black can give up the Q to avoid mate in some of the lines below. But, assuming he doesn't:








Ok, blah blah blah, all those variations. The bottom line is black's K is much more danger than is first apparent. The opening of the e-file is that little extra something that pushes things over the tipping point.

In the game, Spassky managed to beat Geller with 1.Rc6+ but it obviously took longer.

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This one is more famous, but I can't resist showing it.


Black to move ... he resigned! Was it the right decision?

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Bishop to g1 Threatens mate and attacks the queen.

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Originally posted by Matt2015z
Bishop to g1 Threatens mate and attacks the queen.
Yeah - it's a great shot that turns the tables. And knowing of this position once got me a nice blitz win against a master - with the same ...Bg1! move.

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White to move

A crucial position. White chose the meek 1.Rd1? and lost. What did he miss?

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Originally posted by SwissGambit
[fen]r5k1/pb4p1/1pq2nQp/8/2Pp1P1R/3Br3/PB4PP/5RK1 w - - 0 1[/fen]
White to move

A crucial position. White chose the meek 1.Rd1? and lost. What did he miss?
Bxd4

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...Rh3 looks good to me for black.

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Originally posted by SwissGambit
[fen]r5k1/pb4p1/1pq2nQp/8/2Pp1P1R/3Br3/PB4PP/5RK1 w - - 0 1[/fen]
White to move

A crucial position. White chose the meek 1.Rd1? and lost. What did he miss?
Rg4 ? Can white force a mate after NxR..Qh7+

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There is this lovely line tucked away in there but don't money on how sound it is.
You would lose.