Can you see the brilliant win for white?

[@petersiegfriedkrug]

This is a famous chess study (White: Kf2, Qg1, Be2, Nd3, d7 Black: Kf7, Qf8, Na7, Bc6 White to move and win 1.Qg5! Ke6+ 2.Kg1 Kxd7 3.Nc5+ Kc8 4.Ba6+ Kb8 5.Qg3+ Ka8 6.Bb7+ Bxb7 7.Nd7 Qd8 8.Qb8+ and 9.Nb6#) by Alexander Seletzki, which G. Kasparov and Hikaru Nakamura also knew about long ago. As I have more than 30,000 chess studies in my memory since 2015, this one is also familiar to me. This chess study by Seletzki was published in 1933 and got first prize. At that time (ca. 2012-2015) I had the Harold van der Heiden database. But I haven't had it for a long time and so I can no longer use the best database for chess studies.

[@kurzackd]

2:00 -- why not try a *CHECK with our Queen* on the *8th rank* in this position?? O_o .

[@Badbentham]

Very valid question! 👍- I assume Black responds with ... Nc8, threatening perpetual, where Q:c8+ Ka7 is not good enough for White.

[@AndrewB847]

It's a fair question... after 2.Qg8+ Nc8, 3.Qxc8+ Ka7 White's attack isn't going anywhere.

[@Blocksetter63]

This should have been covered in the solution as it's an important try. 1.Ne6 Qf3 2.Qb8+ Nc8 3.Qxc8+ Kh7 and White can't make any further progress.

[@rgregoryful]

King and knight versus king.....unwinnable. King and knight versus queen, bishop, knight.....checkmate. Makes me chuckle at the illogical, logical beauty of this "simple" game. Thank you.

[@ceejay0137]

Very beautiful solution, and for once I managed to find the entire line! Woohoo!! 👍👍👍

[@RamKumar-gy9nb]

Excellent end game tactics, thank you very much.

[@SmileyMikey]

Smothered mates are the most poetic for me. :-)

[@reubenmanzo2054]

After Ne6, Qf3, what's wrong with Qg8+?

[@braddevon1283]

GotA admit a check mate with one nice is SOOO BEAUTIFUL 😂

[@akdevendraswamy141]

1)Bb7 ch --- BxB; 2) Nd7 followed by Qb8 ch & Nb6 ch mate

[@giovannicorno1247]

Beatiful mate in the last variation!

[@mehrdadrahaaei3068]

The final move was incredibly beautiful.

[@gibbousmoon35]

Wow, I actually solved this one!

[@andreasnystrom1998]

Brilliant! 🙂

[@brettmccann3403]

I blew another one. Mr. von Bargen, you may as well be posting geography trivia videos, because I know as much about geography as I do about chess strategy.

[@nabazf8891]

Masterpiece!

[@petersiegfriedkrug]

I´ve found that: "Unfortunately, there is only very sparse biographical information about this Soviet Russian author in the literature. The statements in Sakmatnaja kompozicija v Gor'kom by Yevgeny Fomitschow 1) reveal at best fragments of a biography: "A. Seletzki, who lived in Gorky, was one of the most talented Soviet study composers in the 1930s. Chess problems were his starting point, and so published Between 1930 and 1938 he completed around 150 endgame studies, for the best of which he received first prizes in renowned tournaments." (p. 75) "According to eyewitness reports, Alexander Seletzki was an enthusiastic person. He constantly demonstrated his positions and offered them to solve, so it seems logical that Seletzki built far more than he ultimately published. This indicates the high demands to his own work, and it is not surprising that great success quickly followed." (p. 16) Seletzki's chess biographical trail is lost in 1938. His exact life dates could not be verified in any source that I know of."

[@CliffordGate-uo2gk]

Proud to solve it. Thanks to you

[@MartyHirsch]

Good one!

[@petervanvelzen1950]

I found the solution by realizing that a smothered mate requires the black bishop to be at b7

[@tykemorris]

I didn't solve it but this was an absolutely beautiful puzzle.

[@valeckseimu3132]

Find it! Rip Elephant 😅

[@stephengee4182]

A6-B7ch

[@rkclinite]

This one made me smile.