This puzzle is created by my long time friend GM Pal Benko. It is the second one of the Holiday series. I will post one per day for the next 5 days 🙂
How do you reach this position in 4.5 moves? (5 white moves , 4 Black moves) Enjoy!
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
The key to these puzzles is always to free yourself from thinking that the moves have to be at all good.
1. d4 Nf6
2. d5 Nd5
3. Nf3 Nc3
4. Nd2 Nb1
5. Nb1
One thing to keep in mind about these problems is the “knight-switching” trick. Black can’t get his knight from g8 to b8 in 4 moves, so all his moves were with his g8 knight. However, White could certainly switch his knights in 5 moves. So one arrives at the solution:
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. Nd4 Ne4 3. Nb5 Nxd2 4. N5c3 Nxb1 5. Nxb1.
Q.E.D.
I can do it in 5.5 moves.
1. d4 nc6 2. nf3 nxd4 3. ne5 nh6 4. nc6 nxc6 5. bxh6 nb8 6. bc1
1. Nh3, Nf6 2. Nf4, Ne4 3. Nd5, Nxd2 4. Nc3, Nxb1 5. Nxb1
Took me 15 minutes, until I understood then it was all clear.
after seeing yesterdays…this ones too easy. D4 Nf6 d5 n#d5 Qd4 Ne3 (OR C3….doesn’t matter) Qd3 Nd1 Q#d1
1. d4 Nf6 2. d5 Nxd5 3. Nf3 Nc3 4. Nfd2 Nxc1 5. Nxc1
Ani Ganar el Pal Benko!! Yooo weeee!!!
1. d4 Nf6
2. d5 Nxd5
3. Nf3 Nc3
4. Nf-d2!! Nxb1
5. Nxb1
Q.E.D.
2 puntos ella EiBi Wailer.
0 puntos el Professor Pal Benko.
1. d4 Nf6
2. d5 Nxd5
3. Nf3 Nc3
4. Nfd2 Nxb1
5. Nxb1
I got it:
1 Nf3 Nf6
2 Nd4 Ne4
3 Nb5 Nxd2
4 Nb5-c3 Nxb1
5 Nxb1
Btw, I accidentally first set up the wrong final position with the e-pawn missing instead of the d-pawn. For that, the shortest I found was:
1 e4 Nf6
2 Nc3 Nxe4
3 Ng1-e2 Nxc3
4 Nxc3 Nc6
5 Nb1 Nb8
1. d4 Nf6
2. d5 Nd5
3. Nf3 Nc3
4. Nd2 Nb1
5. Nb1
White lost a pawn. The opening cannot be recommended.
1. d4 Nf6
2. d5 Nxd5
3. Nf3 Nc3
4. Nfd2 Nxb1
5. Nxb1
1 d4 Nf6
2 d5 Nd5
3 Nf3 Nc3
4 Nd2 Nb1
5 Nb1
Seems easy:
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.Ne5 Ne4 3.Nc4 Nxd2 4.Na3 Nxb1 5.Nxb1
This is too hard.
1. d4 Nf6 2. d5 Nxd5 3. Nf3 Nc3 4. Nfd2 Nxb1 5. Nxb1
Greetngs from Italy 🙂
That’s a cute one too.
What you have to figure out is that black needs to capture ONE of the white knights, but not necessarily the one you might think of at first.
1- d4; nf6
2- d5; nxd5
3- nf3; nc3
4- nd2;nxb1
5- nxb1
1.d4 Nf6 2. d5 Nxd5 3. Nc3 Nxc3 4. Nf3 Nb1 5. Nxb1
1.d4 Nf6
2.d5 Nxd5
3.Nf3 Nc3
4.Nfd2 Nxb1
5.Nxb1
Easy!
1. d4 Nf6 2. d5 Nxd5 3. Nf3 Nc3 4. Nfd2 Nxb1 5. Nxb1 *
I already posted solution a while ago, I don’t know why it didn’t get through.
1. d4 Nf6 2. d5 Nxd5 3. Nf3 Nc3 4. Nfd2 Nxc1 5. Nxc1
Ok, I didn’t notice that Susan has to allow comments to be visible first, my bad.
I recall another, probably harder puzzle I saw somewhere: game begins with 1. e4 and ends with NxR mate on move 5.
This is slightly more difficult than the previous puzzle.
It gets easy as soon as you realise, that it takes 4 moves for the knight f6 to get to b1 and 5 for the knight f3 to do the same. With the requirement for black to capture on d2, the paths are unique.
A very neat analytical puzzle. Thanks for sharing.
1. Nf3 Nf6
2. Ne5 Ne4
3. Nc4 Nxd2
4. Na3 Nxb1
5. Nxb1
Think I have it: 1.Nf3, Nf6 2.Nd4, Ne4 3.Nb5, Nxd2 4.Nb5-c3, Nxb1 5.Nxb1
1. d4 Nf6
2. d5 Nxd5
3. Nf3 Nc3
4. Nf3-d2 Nxb1
5. Nxb1
Merry Christmas from Norway
1.Nf3 Nf6
2 Nd4 Ne4
3 Nb5 Nxd2
4.Nc3 Nxb1
5.Nxb1
Nh3 Nf6
Nf4 Ne4
Nd5 Nd2
Nc3 Nb1
Nb1
Clever… but I don’t have resolved the puzzle.
My brain is full of rust.
OT
Very interesting the paintings of Sofia.
Sweet greetings, Susan.
Stef