A Puzzle That Tells YOUR Chess Level

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In this video lesson, GM Igor Smirnov challenges you with a really interesting chess puzzle that will determine your chess rating level.
Feel free to pause the video, take enough time to calculate the variations, and try to solve this puzzle. After that, you can find out your chess rating level. Also, please let us know the variation(s) you calculated and your chess rating level.
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► Chapters
00:00 This Chess Puzzle Determines Your Rating
00:35 Your Rating Level is 800 IF...
01:25 Your Rating Level is 1000 IF...
01:48 Your Rating Level is 1300 IF...
02:39 Your Rating Level is 1600 IF...
03:25 Your Rating Level is 1800 IF...
04:29 Your Rating Level is 2300 IF...
05:13 Your Rating Level is 2600 IF...
06:46 Your Rating Level is 2700 IF...
07:45 Your Rating Level is 2760 IF...
08:10 How to calculate variations in the middlegame?
📗 Free chess courses - chess-teacher.com/rca-freebies/
#IgorNation #ChessPuzzle #ChessTraining #ChessPuzzles

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

💡Want to master middlegame play? Get this crystal-clear guide "Winning the Middlegame" - online.chess-teacher.com/course/winning-the-middlegame/

[@leagueaddict8357]

1800 I completely didn't notice that the rook was hanging so guess I failed my rating level, but at the same time I do very often notice such things in games.

[@georgewarta579]

I saw 1... Bxf3, 2. Qxb4 ... Rg8 3. g3 but rejected 3... Rg4 because of 4. Qxg4, and I can't see an immediate win for black. Instead, I proposed 3... Be4 cutting the queen off from the kingside and threatening 4... Qxh4. If now, 4. f3 then 4... Rxg3, 5. Kf2... Rxf3, 4. Ke2 (4. Ke1 ... Qxh4, 5. Kd2 {5. Ke2 ... Rxf1 followed by 6...Bd3} ... Qh2, 6. Ke1 (6. Kc3 ... Qxc2, 7. Kd4 ...c5) ... Rxf1, 7. Kxf1 ... Qh1. If instead, 4. Kh2 then now 4... Rg4 threatening 5 ... Rxh4. Now 6. Kh3 is not possible due to 6 ...Bg2. This wasn't the solution, but, since I am an average club player, I may have missed other candidate moves for white after 3 ... Be4. Nonetheless it was enjoyable trying to calculate variations in such positions using methods from another RCA course (Calculate til mate). Please provide more videos like this as they help me develop my chess.

[@j7phoneandroid238]

i want learn end game

[@harendrasharma8270]

Bishop should cut the knight

[@centreforchess]

2600 I guess

[@charliecroker7380]

Spotted the 1600 level and that your opponent didn’t have to take back but completely overlooked the castle capture! Which is why I blunder so much.

[@kermitthedog8442]

same

[@williammailes4581]

Me too

[@Matthews_Dintwe]

Same, but the people my level would really just take my bishop with the pawn anyways lol

[@perrygershin3946]

Same for me, I assumed the opponent would recapture the bishop and I could get the checkmate right away. It's strange that I didn't even notice that my rook was vulnerable. I would really like to see more of these puzzles. It looks like a very good way to improve your game.

[@hurmuzi1545]

If you took the knight with the bishop KNOWING YOUR ROOK ID HANGING then ur 1600 however, in your case you had no clue your rook was hanging making you 800 rated as he mentioned before...

[@ElBoutre]

One problem i find with puzzles is, that you just know theres something good in that certain position, so you kind of eliminate all the ''boring'' moves that dont do anything in the first place. In a normal game u might not see the forcing line, because you dont know theres something concrete on the board. I like those kind of videos though, please do more.

[@deathspade42]

That's the issue I had as well. I was immediately able to write off defending my rook, because this puzzle was so, so blatantly forcing Oh No My Rook checkmate variations. It didn't take me very long to find that White has very few defensive options, relying on that powerful b4 defense and check threats to try and slow down your attack. However, I got stuck on g3 rg4, because that was the point where I was unable to find white's best move according to this video and didn't see a checkmate line. Using chess classroom I followed the line further, and white's best move is actually to sacrifice on qxg4, preventing the checkmate threat but leaving a bishop queen vs double rook endgame. Now I'm not claiming I'm some kind of genius, I wasn't able to distinguish whether or not I was on the right track past bxf3 until using stockfish and watching the video, so while I'm happy with the 1600 rating this video would give me, I still find it very funny that stockfish disagrees with RCA about the strongest variation for white.

[@freeman038]

Indeed. However for this particular puzzle, you might eliminate good moves too early like Bxc6， because they looked suspiciously obvious. You would think 2000+ players would make very unusual first moves probably with a huge sacrifice. In real games, Bxc6 will be played out more easily, even most may have never calculated its most tricky variations. On the other hand, solving puzzles can actually make you constantly seek attacking opportunities in real games. You will become much more aggressive and sharp.

[@Guillermo25980]

the whole point of doing puzzles is so you develop your pattern recognition, so that while in a game you go "oh wait, there's gotta be a tactic here". And I mean, you should always try not to make "a move that doesn't do anything in the first place" when you are playing XD

[@gernil6216]

yeah, I somehow calculated Bxf3 2. gxf3 Rg8+ 3. Kh1 Qh4# or Rh4# in some seconds and meanwhile I am a 900 elo player.

[@ganapathidevappa]

Yes, that is always problem with puzzles. I was able to quickly find Rb4 and Qxa4 variation and that white queen will be out of play and without perpetual after Kb7, but I have never reached above 2100.

[@dixonbuttes]

Super accurate actually. I’m 1600ish and got the 1600 rating. I definitely quit calculating and just said, “it’ll work out” after 3 moves

[@Normal_user_coniven]

Haha... I got the 1600 rating on this test. But, I am not even a chess player. I have no rate, and I think my game level is worse than mine while doing puzzles.

[@dixonbuttes]

@@Normal_user_coniven interesting! I’m not sure what that might imply

[@lillie3029]

I am 800 and I saw the 1600 and almost found the 2300

[@DerpityMusicAndMu]

Lol same I was like "there's probably a mate there somehow"

[@Teramir4ik]

I'm 600 and got 1800 raiting xD

[@jonsaboe5372]

So here is what is strange. I actually calculated all the way TO the Qxh4 variation! But I totally missed the fact that my rook was hanging. As it turns out, it didn't matter -- but I'm not sure if my rating is 2700 or 800. 🙂 Very fun and practical puzzle!

[@KKsKrissvs121]

Same

[@JGnjamien]

Same that attack looked to promising 😂

[@RandomGuyOnYoutube601]

How can you calculate the variation where queen literally takes the rook but say that you missed that rook was hanging?

[@lionhead123]

you are looking at only half the board, so 800.

[@JGnjamien]

@@lionhead123 I don’t think you can base rating of this single handedly

[@LanceNYC]

Yes! More "what's my level" challenges. Fun and interesting!

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Alright, I'll prepare some more of those soon

[@TimSchraepen]

I liked it too and I also liked the explanation of how differently rated people think. In a relatively short video. Very well made!

[@johnmartlew]

I learned the chess basics as a young teen and there it ended. At 73 I decided to really try to learn to play chess. I bought a decent wood board and pieces and I have several Chess King tutorials and enjoy the challenge. They say my rating is 1200-1600 ish depending on the package I’m studying. I’m not so sure it’s that good. It’s rather frustrating at times missing such obvious blunders! Here I aimed for the h8 rook Q combination to attack the king, ignoring the Q threat to my other rook. Thank you to you Igor and all those who comment. I learn from all of you!

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

📢 To those who asked for more videos like this, here's the 2ND PART - kzbin.info/www/bejne/pV7Om6qnfLybrsk

[@moky2812]

I enjoyed your analysis :) It’s important to mention that puzzle ratings aren’t so close to ELO. Mine’s 1650 and 2850 so you can see the difference.

[@FireFoxie1345]

Ha 2100 vs 650

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

The puzzle rather evaluates your middlegame skills. If your endgame skills or opening knowledge is lacking, it won't show it. Still, the test makes a lot of sense.

[@Nxrz.]

yea, i solved the 1600 puzzle, but my elo is 1000

[@juliushelander7340]

well i'am 1742 but got the 2300.

[@rafinhajoestarbastos62]

@@GMIgorSmirnov so can you do opening and end game puzzles videos to see my real rating? Haha

[@puzzLEGO]

you should do more of these, but also throw in ones where the best moves are not forcing. in puzzle positions like these you overlook boring moves because you know it’s a puzzle

[@efendigibi]

PuzzLEGO I didn't expect you to be here!!

[@literallysweden]

why did u stop videos

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Thanks for your feedback! It's clear you enjoy puzzles 😉

[@Richard-sc7yq]

More chess puzzles like this one are always appreciated. Chess games at the grandmaster level which did not result in a draw, are always good as a learning tool.

[@vesko219]

I am 600 rated and I found the 1600 level variation which I am really proud of. Keep up the good work❤❤

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

💪

[@kalyanmaybhattacharya5519]

You are one of the best coaches on the internet.Please provide more such content for your viewers. The analysis was very helpful.

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Thanks for your feedback! I will.

[@angerventing2694]

I've only seen a couple of vids, but I have a gut feeling this has the potential to be more useful for higher-rated players than Gotham chess, despite the popularity.

[@kalyanmaybhattacharya5519]

@@angerventing2694 - Can not agree more.

[@IamnotfromUSA]

​@@GMIgorSmirnov I thought best move afterrook g4 was QG4 because it stops the mate atleast for now

[@jarvryan]

Love your content Igor! Entertaining but so educational, explained in a very easy to understand format. Thanks 🙏🏼

[@Dubanx]

Yup, got stuck at the 1800 move. I didn't think of moving the rook up because I thought white would just sacrifice their queen for the rook. That's two rooks for queen, but it also seems to shut down black's attack. Still don't see why white wouldn't/can't just do that. Edit: Looking into it more, stockfish seems to like the queen sac too. Uh, did you make the mistake?

[@shortndeadly9977]

Queen sac is the best move in that position as it doesn't lead directly to a checkmate, but at that point black is just in a winning position. A queen and a bishop vs 2 rooks. The puzzle doesn't use this variation because it would end right at taking the queen. Perhaps he should have mentioned it as the best move for white there, but it doesn't change the moves you make as black.

[@sam2725]

It doesn't matter it's the best move, what matters is that from that point white is obviously winning without any need to calculate further

[@CourtDreams]

This was awesome! I just found this channel yesterday. I usually watch Hikaru but your videos are more like classroom math exercises. I like how organized and concise, while still being thorough, they are. I am around 800 elo, and you’re right that I did hang my rook, but upon noticing I was able to calculate the refutation of bishop takes knight (queen takes rook) and then up to white playing g3 and I thought the attack was over. I didn’t see rook to the fourth rank attacking the queen, and while I did consider sacking on g3, I never considered sacking on h4 or anything else. I will keep improving!

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

👍

[@dennisharrell2236]

Yeah, I would love to see more videos like this. it's a brilliant format

[@instrumentalpersonae]

I'm 800 rated and my first through was the 1600 move, but I legitimately didn't even notice my rook was hanging so...

[@Shootingstarcomics]

Same for me.

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

I hope the puzzle also somewhat shows the way for you to progress further (by adopting more advanced ways of thinking and calculating).

[@peterchadwick1078]

more please - not like 'white to move and mate in two' but like this where you explain how each variation reflects our understanding of the game. I knew the rook was under threat, i saw that whites pawn could step to g3 and i saw that rook to g8 locked that pawn down... but i started my attack with the queen and figured i could work it out from there.... 1400 on a good day lol! Thanks.

[@HRaz100]

I love this type of video - great format. Thank you!

[@Matthew-he3jw]

Thanks for this Igor, can we PLEASE have some more like this, it's a fun way of finding our new potential rating 👍

[@admiralbone9206]

Saw the bishop take, saw the follow up and saw the queen takes. I didn't calculate whites checks with the queen which can sometimes be my downfall. My strength i feel is tactics, weaknesses being moving too fast, not fully calculating, or as you mentioned hoping that an attack works out

[@bradburns491]

Same here. I saw that the pawn was pinned and I could take the pawn with no problem but didn't see the white queens check.

[@joachimfrank4134]

​@@bradburns491 similar for me. I saw the pawn would be pinned after rook h2, so white couldn't take the bishop any more after taking the rook. So the attack would go on even after the queen defends the pawn when taking the rook. But I didn't see the defensive move g3.

[@kaynight64]

Exactly the same thing - I found Rg4 as the move that made Qxh4 viable in the first place and then went "eh, the King can run away behind the queen and rook" (though I was thinking of Qb7 and not Qc3-c5 for White). It is important for us all not to play hope chess, but it gets really easy to when your visualization has to go far and you start feeling doubts. PS: I am a bit under 1700 FIDE.

[@aaronkh8961]

@@kaynight64 I thought of the exact same damn thing xD

[@themadhatters8529]

This is me too right now!

[@Lambert7785]

really helpful, - it confirms my experience in pov as I have played chess over the years...thanks

[@AwareLife]

You are a great teacher Igor. Thank you.

[@xmk-zc9eb]

I also chose bishop takes & totally overlooked the queen threatening the castle. I seem to be hanging in the area of 750-850 in rapid and 1325-1450 for puzzles (hard level). I was taught to play (basics) chess but only now in middle adulthood started to look into chess in a more (I do have an insatiable need to play daily to get my fix) academic sense and seem to have a real addiction to it since moving my first pawn inJanuary 2023. I would love to join some chess club in South East Michigan at some point with aspirations of continual growth & study. Shooting for a 1600 ELO for an initial goal. I ❤ the video.

[@noradseven]

For newer players, try playing slower games and try to calculate 2 moves for every "power" piece. Eventually you start getting a feel for things and just start to see the threat without looking for it which you should just use to read deeper. Pawns I feel are pretty instinctual most of the time for even newer players already, but lots of people miss forks or a surprise take.

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

► Chapters 00:00 This Chess Puzzle Determines Your Rating 00:35 Your Rating Level is 800 IF... 01:25 Your Rating Level is 1000 IF... 01:48 Your Rating Level is 1300 IF... 02:39 Your Rating Level is 1600 IF... 03:25 Your Rating Level is 1800 IF... 04:29 Your Rating Level is 2300 IF... 05:13 Your Rating Level is 2600 IF... 06:46 Your Rating Level is 2700 IF... 07:45 Your Rating Level is 2760 IF... 08:10 How to calculate variations in the middlegame?

[@Cousinsjay]

Extremely instructional. One of my biggest challenges is hone my thought process and get some sense as to the level of analysis necessary to keep improving. This video gave me that perspective. You have a unique talent to clearly communicate these concepts. It gives me more passion to improve my game, even at the age of 72!

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Excellent!

[@scottjasper5424]

I just love these videos. This series is great. It is awesome to see you break down all the different lines of things.

[@xebrax124]

i first thought 1800 level, but after seeing the 2300 move Rg4 (which i have no idea how i missed), i immediately found the 2700 level Qxd4. after seeing the board im ok at calculating but im absolutely horrible at visualizing the board after 3 or so moves since i get easily confused

[@antoinenijhuis450]

Obviously if you don't spot the intermediary steps, you cannot claim the to understand the highest level moves. Because if you blunder before that, you wouldn't reach that position anyway.

[@AP-eb8hd]

Missed Rg4 initially but once you see.. Then qa4 looked easy..

[@lw216316]

I have thought that visualization was very important to become a good chess player. But I don't see much teaching on how to improve visualization. Is it something you are born with and either have or don't have or can it be improved ?

[@AP-eb8hd]

@@lw216316 there are 2 things here.. One is direct visualization based on the position.. It's not that difficult.. But when you start making moves in your head and visualize them, it's different thing all together...

[@lw216316]

@@AP-eb8hd yes, its the 'in your head" the imagination part - is that a quality a person is born with or can improve, is so how do you do that in chess?

[@robertmcqueen5122]

Really interesting learning video! Thank you Igor. This reminds me in a way of Jeremy Silman's book "Reassess your Chess". Please showcase others 🙂

[@Stromatolit]

More of this! Was fun.

[@rodolfojimenez5503]

My self steem has been greatly improved, thank you sir !

[@GoodnotGreat88]

This was very interesting. I am not a very high level player but I did pretty well on this one. I immediately saw the rook was hanging but I saw Bxf3 followed by Rg8 but then didnt consider Rg4 to kick the queen. However as soon as you showed it I was like ohh nice now you have Qxg4 and then was surprised when you played Rxg4 instead.

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

That was well done by you!

[@ishaangupta2185]

I thought the same thing! Except I missed Rg4 attacking the queen... I still think I'm at somewhere around 2300 though. (My actual rating is about 1700.)

[@dca3174]

Wow! Sooooo helpful. Please do more of these kind of videos. Thank you!

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

🙏

[@czechpirc3212]

Really cool vid, I saw everything in a minute or so other than the Q sac at the very end which was nice but im just a weak expert, definitely not 2600 but then again these kinds of attacking/initiative type of positions are my cup of tea, I struggle alot more with quieter positions, thx and will watch more of your vids in the future, thx RCA

[@tehbunnymaster]

I calculated to rook g4, and relied on wishful thinking that the attack would work from there. Neat quiz, thanks!

[@franckplanks]

Great puzzle! I haven’t played chess in 3 years and still found the 1800 move pretty easily. The chess scene has certainly changed a ton, especially with a new champion coming soon. I remember watching agadmator every day after school with my brother.

[@antimono]

GothamChess speaks for himself.

[@NevarKanzaki]

I calculated everything except the king running away which I did a little differently. My general mouth feel of the situation was that the position was such that white didn't have the position and material to make a meaningful threat to the black king or the ability to get to a perpetual with the king and the pawn on c2. As long as he sticks near it, he'll find safety. However, I also thought to myself that I didn't have to calculate that because white isn't in a position where a single move could save him. While I saw that Qxh4 was winning, I figured that after Kd7 instead, white had nothing. His only way into the position was attacking c6. If going for b8, I run to d7 and it is over. If he targets c7, he's too late. If he targets c6, Kd7 shuts it down. What does white do with the extra move if they had it? My ideas were Qd4 and we respond with Qxh4 anyway as we'll mate on h1. Alternately, Kh2 to break the pin in which case that messes up Qxh4 but that's not a big deal because we still have Rxh4+. If gxh4, then Qxh4+, Kg1, Qh1++. If instead Kg1, we still have Rh1++. As all these lines seem winning for black, after Rg4, the most likely response is that white realizes that he's losing, plays Qxg4. We play hxg4 and go into a queen and bishop vs 2 rooks endgame with no meaningful open files which shouldn't be a problem. He can never get behind his passed h pawn as long as the bishop stays on the long diagonal. I decided that while I could have probably won faster by retaking the queen with the bishop instead, after f3 he'd at least be able to get his king active and open up some lines whereas if things remain closed, I can see slow wins for black but no feasible plan for victory for white.

[@randylegamer8725]

We enjoyed it and we love your channel! 🤩

[@ohyeahohyeah1071]

What's interesting is that I've noticed quite a few of the lower to mid level ratings myself, except that I tried to use them all together. First things first, opponent is a pawn up. However, the board is almost full, so no decisive advantage here. Yes, I spotted that the Rook is hanging, and that I should probably defend it or move it back before proceeding to my attack. Now, the first moves I noticed were Rb8, Qb8, and Qe7; but then I realised that Rb6 is even better (I'll come to the why part soon; actually, c5 was also an option, but I didn't think of it. But that won't be great either since white can just play a3 and attack the rook). So, my first move: Rb6 Now that it's not hanging anymore, time to attack after opponent's move. Now, possible options for white are to move their knight or their queen, since their rooks aren't really going to be active anyway, and they will need at least 2 pawn moves to attack the rook; so that's unlikely. As for the knight, Nd4 and Ng5 are the 2 options. Let's consider Nd4 first (which is not really a good move anymore). Well, before coming to Black's reply, let's think of White's longer term plan; after Nd4, where will the knight go next? It will be captured everywhere. (Here's why Rb6 was my first choice; it not only moves the rook back but also defends the pawn at c6. If I had played Rb8, Qb8, or Qe7 instead, Nc6 would have forked the king and rook. But it can't anymore). So basically, Nd4 is now a useless move for black, and gives me an extra move for free. Now, before I move on to quite a solid option Ng5, let's first go through what could possibly be done if white just played random moves (well, any queen moves by white are random now, since all my pieces are defended, and he can't check my king without any captures). My plan would be Rg8, followed by bishop takes knight, taking advantage of the pin; and then queen takes their h pawn (which will work even if they had played g3, again due the pin). With a rook, bishop, and queen; it will be a mate quite quickly; if they try Qd4, then Rg4 is the way to go before capturing on h4 with the queen. However, after watching the video, it's quite clear that Rg8 is unnecessary, and more of a waste of time; bishop takes knight should be played directly, since white capturing the bishop is a forced checkmate. Now coming to the main, and possibly best reply of white; Ng5. I don't really have a completely forcing line here, but my idea is to sacrifice the queen on g5. Once white recaptures with the pawn, we push our h pawn forward. With the pawn defended by the rook, and the bishop being active, a mate is possible in quite a few variations even without promoting. However, I can't find a winning combination in variations where they play f3, attacking the bishop and blocking that diagonal. Example: Rb6 Ng5 Qxg5 gx5 h4 g3 gx3 f3 After this (and another similar variation or 2), it seems I'm stuck; in any case if anyone finds a winning move from here, please let me know. Btw, thanks for reading along upto this point; I was also trying to save the rook along with everything else (irony that I ended up sacrificing a queen instead😅)

[@BLANDYBOYS4U]

Bro was written an essay for exams 💀💀

[@robertpease9834]

I found the solution with RG5, but I feel it is different if I know there is some sort of solution. On my own I probably would not have calculated out so far. Chess puzzles are great for tactical challenges, but it is the attacking theory that you bring that I really love. You teach the way to think.

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

That's a great result anyway! 👍

[@RAFAELSILVA-by6dy]

I'm 1600-1800 and I saw all of that in about 5-10 minutes. Rg4 was hard to find, but I knew I needed to deflect or block the queen. I looked at Qb7, rather than Qc5 for the perpetual. I also looked at King moves as an alternative to g3. Rg4 worked for those as well. I used to play tournament chess at 1800-1900 and that is at the upper limit of things that would be spotted in a game. Knowing that a combination must be there makes a big difference.

[@SGCric]

This is a very good theme which is a variation of "Guess the ELO" . However IMO the ratings are a bit overrated. No way this is anywhere close to 2700. But I suppose to maneuver the pieces to get to that position and spot the opportunity is what differentiates the lesser players vs the best. Also there is another variable:Time taken to spot the variations(How much time does a 2500+ player take to spot those moves in a real game?) . I hope you will keep up this theme as it is very encouraging for beginners and middle ELO levels.

[@irfanyamashita7184]

I think it's just about calculation ability

[@tannerarmstrong1496]

You described me prefectly of seeing up to the 1800 level but not really being able to see how to continue.

[@ns7379]

From the very 1st thought I was looking for Qxh4 but the queen on b4 was preventing that and then after thinking for some time i did find Rg4 and was not even thought about Qc5 at all.

[@BananaDope]

I didn't even consider the moves at 2600 because I saw queen h4.

[@jonidurana489]

I am 1800 elo but I saw the 2760 diagram, I think it isnt all about tactic but also about strategy and knowledge of openings and a lot more

[@jesroe5842]

yeah, this is more like 2700 elo on puzzles

[@zackwalker1789]

I calculated the 1600 variation, and I figured that white's strongest move was probably to take the rook and go on the attack instead of playing defensively, but I wasn't sure what exactly would come after taking the rook

[@krispe2512]

These types of videos are phenomenal!!!!!

[@elicaleb7818]

i got 1600 in like 3 seconds when i saw that puzzle (im 800 rating💀💀)

[@antonioromao4938]

I saw the white defense with G3, but i thought Qh4 was winning. Didn't remember that white queen after taking the rook was defending h4. Seeing the board after g3, the move rook to g4 comes naturally. But see this in advance is really hard. Really nice video !!!

[@kurozawa6]

Same. Lateral queen captures are tough to see sometimes somehow.

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

I'm glad it was helpful!

[@leahpateric5691]

Strangely enough I calculated to 1800 level but I am also an extremely cautious player who doesn't like sacrificing pieces unless I'm entirely sure of success, so I actually opted to defend the rook with the c3 pawn rather than risk an attack I wasn't sure I could continue

[@maks1610]

I like this kind of puzzles snd the video is nice. Keep it up 👏

[@andreabrambilla7693]

Igor I'll be completely honest with you: I went down all the lines and see the idea of Rg4 followed by Qxh4, I also missed Qc5 as white best defense. This I think qualify me as a strong tactical player which I believe I am, I struggle very much in positional type of game, do you have any books or recommendation to improve on that side? Thank you for your work!

[@TheSampi]

I think gamesmanship can hurt puzzles quite a bit. I saw Rg4 and Qxh4 and just assumed it all worked. Otherwise, it wouldn't be a very good puzzle. Lol. I thought briefly that white might have some type of refutation after Rg4 with their Queen but then figured, "It probably works out because it's a puzzle." I suspect most players around the 1800 mark had a similar line of thinking.

[@beng8444]

I’m gonna be 100% honest, I noticed every move except moving rook to g4. I figured it could stay on g1 and still have the same effect of pinning the pawn to the king and giving force mate in 3 with queen to f4. My only problem is getting to this stage in the game.

[@Fricasso79]

So, I calculated everything required for 2300 (and also an additional line if white moves the f1 rook and allows Rxg2+ instead of playing g3). I also saw Qxh4 (in fact I never even considered Rxh4 and my whole reason for playing Rg4 was to enable Qxh4). I didn't look at Qc5, but I did look at Qb8+ after Qxh4. For the record, I haven't played in nearly 20 years and my last rating was the old ECF equivalent of about 1850. But I did just complete 7 cycles of the Woodpecker Method earlier today.

[@Cousinsjay]

Great job. Very very helpful

[@fedspace2969]

In the last variation it should be noted that instead of Queen c3 or Queen c5 threatening to capture on c6 with check, there is a better move to be considered which is Qb7. I saw this, guess I'm grandmaster level now lol.

[@edwardlane1255]

looks to slow down the mate or force a queen trade so not bad

[@tamir8501]

My rating is around 1800 to 1900 in rapid and I've got to say this puzzle was really fun with a lot of hidden insights. I've solved it up to the 2300 range and completely missed Qc5, but I did find Qxh4 after Rg4 (although I did not even consider Rxh4). I'm currently rated around 2990 in puzzles.

[@ralkadde]

Thank you for this well-structured lesson. At 04:54 there is a faster way with Qxh4 and mate in next move, as the queen is pinned.

[@Gabriel-wq4ln]

He literally talks about it later in the video

[@meriabreadsticks]

I saw the pawn pin for queen capture a while back but completely overlooked the f3 check and capture

[@nightfall741]

I am literally 1200 and I have found the 2300 variation, overlooked the checks, but found the pin on the pawn leading to the fastest checkamate at the 2700 level. It is really not that hard, I think that these variations are possible to be calculated by lower rated players aswell

[@theCometPM]

what is your puzzle rating?

[@nightfall741]

@@theCometPM 2300

[@Skorpien.]

Sounds about right ist just hard to spot something like this in a real game. But that how we have to think to actually fin stuff

[@nightfall741]

@@Skorpien. Ye, I can see some of these variations in like 10 min game but in blitz games you don’t really have time to think it thru this well, so i often make calculations mistakes

[@arijshujaathussain2801]

I calculated to a 2700 level, which I find strange seeing as I'm a 1300 rated player. The puzzle was very interesting though so I'm definately subscribing.

[@beersnarkunbleached5660]

I am exactly the same, I think it ends up being whether or not at our level we’ll be confident enough to make the correct moves in an actual game, or if it’s better to just stay simple and defend an attacked piece. It’s definitely a lot easier to do puzzles as opposed to playing the best moves in a real game.

[@narskoleptique]

same i got 2700 except i didnt plan for the attack of the queen on the pawn (i thought him attacking the bishop after taking the rook was better) and i'm 1000 rapid. The fact we know there is a solution help too much i think

[@adixxx3056]

Same here where I am like 1000-1300 online as I haven't played much there and I managed to calculate the whole thing to 2700, definitely knowing there is a win helps to find it although I am 2300 in puzzles

[@duck-headedllama9991]

My first attempt was the 1800 rating, the checkmate with bishop taking knight, then taking bishop, moving rook, check, then queen checkmate. But then again, white isn't forced to recapture the bishop. That was my first answer. But still, the 2300 and 2700 rank solution truly surprised me. Thank you!

[@flatbread4214]

I'm almost 1300 and saw the 1800 tactic but dismissed it as a losing endgame. I thought any attacking plan was thwarted by the queen seeing h4 and saw g3 and thought it was just over with a losing endgame. Ultimately in a game I think I'd probably play the 1000 option of defending the rook because I saw some simpler yet powerful ways to put pressure on white with moves like the capture on f3 delayed, Rg8, etc and think it would be easier to play from the standpoint of not having the queen on b5 but of course not super accurate.

[@TheAstroG]

The quiz is well designed indeed. I am 1518 right now. I exactly thought of the move of 1600.

[@liquidnb591]

im a little 900 noobie and got to the 1800 calculation. Im not convinced.

[@theking-wd9vu]

I thought of the 1600 move and I'm 600. sadly being 1600 takes more than finding a move in this specific situation

[@edvinkarlsson9368]

I thought of 1800 and is 1000 this quiz is not really accurate

[@harbingerofwarx995]

It's probably not accurate for blitz or bullet players. I wish it was though. According to this puzzle, despite only calculating for 30 seconds, I should be 1800. But my blitz and bullet ratings are horrible, under 300. Rapid, I'm like 600 or 700 but haven't played many games.

[@theking-wd9vu]

@@harbingerofwarx995 yeah same, my blitz win rate is so bad I'm scared of getting banned for sandbagging

[@jeremydoody]

I saw all the 2300 level implications after capturing the knight, but I also completely overlooked the hanging rook. That’s why my rating is 500 higher in rapid than in blitz, I guess. 1130 in 15/10, but 650 in 3/2 😢

[@rafimarczak4989]

Same here I'm 2300 rated in rapid but only nearly 1800 in blitz

[@hackmenotplease]

I calculated and found the best line pretty easily but I definitely should’ve considered more of white’s strong moves

[@elindauer]

Fun puzzle, I was happy to find the key move. The book "Chess" by Laszlo Polgar helped me get there, never thought mate-in-two could be so great for teaching calculation, but trust me you will be surprised!

[@haaahaaa1]

Hmmm I think my elo is 3

[@ricosim3785]

Thankyou,because of you my calculating in chess is getting better(i got rated 1,600point at first)

[@gJonii]

I only noticed the rook is hanging when I started to think "what would w do instead of capturing the bishop with pawn"

[@mrblablablabla]

I think I'm around 1200-1400. I did start by taking the knight with the bishop, but I didn't notice the threat to th rook. I should really learn to take my time calculating all possibilities.

[@aymericmartin3053]

Merci beaucoup, super intéressant, un peu complique pour moi mais c'est pas grave ca ouvre des horizons :)

[@ajazguliyev5465]

I found another variation: Black takes knight, white queen takes rook, Black Bishop takes the pawn that didnt strike back from earlier, white takes black bishop, Black rook comes to g8 (giving a check), white king to 1h (there arent any other moves) and the black queen takes pawn at 4h giving checkmate. Now please respond to this cuz I spent much time and I really wanna know my rating (I cant think this clearly during games). 😢

[@drjacovanniekerk]

Awesome video... please, more.

[@dirtygeazer9266]

I saw the strongest variation when we got to that position but i got to 1800 area first

[@inoobboi5438]

and here i was planning on setting up a bunch of piece trades on d4 after playing c5

[@mlsterlous]

seems accurate, i was only able to calculate to 1600 :) which is what i'm usually playing. It became complicated for me after queen takes rook and pawn not taking the bishop but of course i didn't think that it can just go forward to g3 after my Rg8...

[@emmanuelchibisa9132]

Thanks for these puzzles Igor. They're really good. Sadly I correctly calculated all this in less than a minute and according to you I'm 2700+ but my rating is roaming around 2100 in blitz and rapid but I don't know how to improve from there anymore

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Thanks for the question. This is a common one. You can checkout this course online.chess-teacher.com/course/how-to-beat-stronger-opponents/ Which will help you towards becoming a titled player.

[@Zeequals]

While Igor gives you a more helpful answer I'll point out that a minute is a lot more time than you take on a move in blitz and pretend I know what I'm talking about as like a 1000 rated player

[@BrianBradbury]

This is definitely one of my favorites. Easy to understand and gave me better InSite in to calculating. By this, I'm a 1,000. On my way, maybe.

[@acnt8714]

Got the 2700 variation complete quite quickly but with Qb7 instead of Qc5 which is probably a bit stronger

[@msjoanofthearc]

Thank you!

[@baam7112]

I didn't notice the rook was hanging but I saw potential checkmate with bishop takes knight and if pawn takes back rook check then queen check and check.ate

[@arvidwangen8397]

I surprisingly got full marks, however I also calculated the white queens best move was dropping to b7 as compared to c5. As i think that white can force a draw or queen trade if the queen captures the pawn before the king moves to c8

[@lw216316]

Pretty acurate for me. I have questions - 1. I have thought that visualization was very important to become a good chess player. But I don't see much teaching on how to improve visualization. Is it something you are born with and either have or don't have or can it be improved ? 2. This is related to number 1 - when evaluating options I soon forget where I was or what my answer was for a certain option and I have to do it over again. So is there a way to improve memory in this case?

[@Anonymous8547]

I saw bxf3 pretty quick. I saw Qxb4 but it didn't matter to me because after Rg8 the queen cannot defend the attack because e4 and g4 are covered by the pawns and are the only squares the queen can defend. I overlooked g3 as a line and instead saw if the queen doesn't move Rxg2+ Kh1 Rg4+ winning the queen as a line with Qxh4 and mate to follow. Once g3 was played though I quickly saw Rg4 and lines with Qxh4 since the pawn is pinned but I didn't calculate whites queen checks. g3 is hard to see.

[@Yes.-_-]

I found rg8 and after putting it in the engine, after knight blocks you’re -5 so its not a bad move, i also spotted the bishop move but couldn’t find the rook move after the pawn move to g3, however i’m only rated 1300 but i have a puzzle rating of 1800-ish, however after seeing the rook move i did see that the best move would be sacrificing the queen so the white rook can move and get the king out of the way Best line according to lichess analysis : Bxf3 2. Qxb4 Rg8 3. g3 Rg4 4. Qxg4 hxg4 5. Rb1 Kd7 6. Kf1 Qh8 (depth average of 22) -11.8 eval stockfish 11+ HCE

[@richardsmith9615]

I saw up to Rg4, but I missed the critical continuation only considering Qa5 instead, which is a little embarrassing. I did see Qxh4 instead of Rxh4, however. Very cool puzzle too!

[@nelsonx5326]

I saw the bishop move and the attack that could follow. I did pretty good.

[@FrankG-wr6ui]

Nice puzzle .. but I see a flaw in your analysis: after rook to g4 an alternative is that the attacked white queen can capture the rook on g4. White then loses the queen to the bishop but the immediate mating attack is nullified and the position then goes on much longer. Should still be a win for black but tricky and seems to require going to an end game and needing very precise play by black. I ended up setting this up for analysis by rybka with it playing both sides (only running on my laptop though) and it took it's time but eventually found a rather laborious win for black.

[@Dubanx]

Yeah, this is why I got stuck at "1800". Material wise it would be fine (2 rooks for 1 queen) and it completely shut down the attack. I double checked with stockfish to see what I was missing only for stockfish to agree with me.

[@briliantinoprihandikakhari6754]

i even calculated the possible Kh1 & Kh2 line with the windmill attack and the retreating bishop discovery attack

[@TheDbase321]

Calculated up to g3 but thought Rc1 instead would be a trickier line for black to figure out after Rxg2+ and the king runs to the right side of the board. Especially is black is running up against time trouble. g3 is also only the best defense if white sacks the queen on g4 for the rook. So that line showed here is not forced. Either way it’s all still winning for black.

[@primo237]

new sub here. great channel. I was able to calculate until the 2700 variation. I also saw the other variations in between. but I'm nowhere near 2700 in chesscom. stuck at 1800, fluctuates consistently. lol clearly something wrong with me haha

[@kamrunnaharlipi2174]

4.47 the meaningful and best move in my mind is bishop e4,blocking the queen.Then you take h4 with your queen and white cant take back....Also your rook is saved.

[@bagboybrown]

I spotted the variation Rook to G4, white queen takes, Bishop can retake but black's attack is over. I didn't find mate for either side in the next 10 moves so I'm not sure who wins from that position. Sac'ing the Queen is the way out for white though.

[@tylermoseley935]

I was at the 1800 level-ish. I recognized my rook could get taken, but I couldn't think of what to do after.

[@owenposer6720]

3:23 I calculated this line exactly but didn’t see my hanging rook. If I ignore it maybe it still works out though? My actual Eli is somehwere around 540, I lost a ton yesterday lol

[@scientific_paper]

I think there is a line F3 B4 g8 g3 g4 and then queen g4 should be the best move stopping a checkmate threat (but loosing a queen).

[@girardedward]

Got it. Qh4 with the blocking/pinning rook was my move. You waited till the end!! My heart dropped thinking what?!?😂

[@justinstephenson9360]

30 years ago I was rated at 2000, haven't played much since due to work and family commitments. As far as I am concerned this type of position is very easy because it is nothing more than a series of standard tricks and crucially unlike in a real game we know that black probably has a forcing win. I solved it as follows 1.Whilst I noted that the b4 rook was under attack, I first looked at forcing moves - after all black is supposed to be able to force a win here. Bxf3 is obvious, and the first move I looked at, as is the fact that gxf3 will lead to forced mate I barely calculated that. 2 So the only possible forcing line has to be 1...Bxf3, 2 Qxb4 Rg8 3 g3. It should be obvious that black needs to play Qxh4 but that black cannot do so until the Qb4 is either blocked or diverted from protecting h4. 3. I tried all possible pawn moves to divert the white Queen but a5 & c5 run into Qf4 and d4 does do anything likewise moving queen or king does not force white to do anything so the only possible forcing move is Rg4 and at that point I stopped my analysis because it was clear to me that white could never force a perpetual and Qxh4 was only stoppable by white playing Qxg4 which leads to a game of 2 rooks versus Queen and bishop which should be winning (I admit I did not do any calculations to prove it). Personally I think the puzzle is more like an 1900-2100 level puzzle. The really hard puzzles are the ones that in the middle of the combination there is a quiet move that does appear to force anything but 2 moves later is a killer - those are 2500+ level puzzles