99% Chance You Will Enjoy This Puzzle

Puzzle FEN:
R5R1/p7/p5K1/8/1k6/8/p7/8 w - - 0 1
Puzzle Details:
Y. Hoch (i.78)
3 Comm., L'ltalia Scacchistica, 1978
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[@prim16]

This is actually genius. It's just a shame that I have trouble visualizing the board after any x+1 moves, it made it too difficult for me to work out this puzzle

[@chrlpolk]

Genius? Obvious, more like it. I figured it out right away, and I suck at chess. This is beginners advice, at best.

[@prim16]

@@chrlpolk I'm sure your mother is very proud of you. Because she's the only one who cares.

[@levistepanian5341]

@@chrlpolk dude, don’t be an asshole just because you’re better.

[@rosomak8244]

@@chrlpolk Nah. Guessing the move is easy. However reassuring that it is a winning move with all the variants to calculate isn't.

[@AmnesiaForever]

@@chrlpolk if you honestly think solving puzzles like this is something to be proud about, maybe chess isn't for you... No offense

[@nwstraith]

4:34 Rook to E5 looks interesting as you can force the king into the H file, but then you can't deliver the coup de grace because the promoted Queen on A1 prevents it. Happy to say I saw the first part, but the last part with the rooks I was way off.

[@shoopi1234]

Excellent point

[@UndefinedFantasticCat]

Title: 99% chance you'll enjoy the puzzle Thumbnail: 1% chance you can solve this... not-so-bright implication of Chess experience

[@chri-k]

he did not say those are correlated

[@TheJacklikesvideos]

@@chri-k that's what the word implication means

[@TimeTraveler-hk5xo]

I found the first bit of the puzzle solution but couldn't figure out what to do if the black king would hide behind the white king. Upon further study after watching the solution, I noticed how it's important to sacrifice your rook on E1 specifically. Saccing it on D1 wouldn't work, because the king would be able to get back in time to defend its pawn. Saccing it on F1 would mean the king would be able to defend the key square H1 in time, preventing the skewer. Fun puzzle!

[@TheNiczal]

I think that the sacrifice is not needed. Just Re5 instead of Re1 should win. Ladermate (Rf8,Rg5,Rh8#) nowhere to run.

[@georgechue9045]

Actually hiding behind the white king doesn't work either as the Rook sacrifice still works with the same solution as in the original solution.

[@25Yasindayim]

@@georgechue9045 Nope it doesn't, after Rf1 Kxf1 Rh8, Black king can just go to g2 and defend h1 square. So you won't be able to scewer anymore. This sacrifice has to happen on square e1. Nothing else works.

[@georgechue9045]

@@25Yasindayim see it now weird solution. Rooks dominate here.

[@serulu3490]

@@TheNiczal nah that's blunder queen takes Rh8

[@BobChess]

Rook endgame is tricky. This is absolutely true and fascinating!

[@m42orion12]

That was incredible and honestly 100% i didn't find it...amazing.

[@leefisher6366]

Got it! I've learned a lot by looking at your channel. The king castles, moving up to G7, as the rook moves down to G5.

[@reubenmanzo2054]

King has to move 2 squares to castle.

[@leefisher6366]

@@reubenmanzo2054 Good point. Unless it's a castle 'en passant', though.

[@leomurry8195]

My chess is rusty, but I’m pretty sure castling works nothing like that. Both the rook and king have to not have been moved already to castle, and they have obviously moved all over the board.

[@reubenmanzo2054]

@@leomurry8195 That is also correct.

[@leefisher6366]

@@leomurry8195 r/wooooosh.

[@wucehanhan7000]

after watch this video, i notice that i am still stupid

[@Drawfill]

I really like your puzzle videos. You always pick fun ones!

[@danielmadden9691]

Thanks, truly fascinating

[@ElKartoffelbreii]

1% chance to solve the puzzle? You definitely featured harder ones on the channel, should have used that thumbnail on one of those, imo.

[@Yggdr4zyl]

Kind of agree. Sure it's a nice puzzle, but it's neither complex nor super original imo. So much exaggeration kind of ruins the hype...

[@GregoriousApartment]

He wanted to make a joke dude. 1% chance, 99% fun. Don't dig deep into the statistics.

[@replikvltyoutube3727]

Ever heard of click bait?

[@johnb6723]

Lol.

[@californiaplant-basedeater2761]

Did he change the title?

[@joshuaadkisson6170]

You should have also talked about how white had to force the king to the F file specifically. Had white moved the rook to the first rank while the black king was on the E file, the king would have been in time to defend the pawn before the second rook could attack it.

[@Amoeby]

4:22 I guess I see the idea and the reason why we needed go exactly here in order this idea to work. We go Re1 and if black takes we have Rh8 which would be a skewer on the next move if black gets a queen or move his king on the second rank. 5. Re1 Kxe1 6. Rh8 a1=Q 7. Rh1+ or 6. ... Kd2 Rh2+. It is fascinating that if we went for this trick earlier black's king would be close enough to defend the pawn and the best we can do is throw perpetual checks and get a draw. At the same time if we threw another check on f8 and tried the same thing then black's king is close enough to the h file to stop our rook from getting to h1 or h2. 4. ... Kf2 5. Rf1+ Kg2 6. Rf1 Kxf1 7. Rh8 Kg2 and white can resign. White probably still can get a draw after 5. Rf1+ because two rooks should be enough to capture the rest of the pawns and protect the king but it would be a missed win.

[@mikedavis1208]

I've actually figured this out by thinking to always give checks to force the the enemy to just move his king then I realized what more I can do after that. I am suprised I actually got that although the thumbnail says it's only 1%. Grandmasters, I am coming for you.

[@brunomaelstrom8823]

If I did not screw it up, you can count me in the 1% ☺️ 1 Rg-b8 + If the black king goes to the a column, then Rxa7, Ka5, then Rxa6+, then Ra8+ and Rxa1 wins The king has to go towards the right side of the board and down the board in order to stop the rook from reaching the first line : … Kc3 Rc8+, Kd2 ( if Kb2, Ra-b8 and Rc1 on next move wins) Rd8+, Ke2 ( if Kc2, Ra-c8+, then Rd1) Re8+, Kf2 Re1 !! (Forcing the black King in the first rank !) …Kxe1 Rh8 !! Wins the game because the rook reaches the first rank or the second rank If a1 = queen, Rh1+ and Rxa1 🥳

[@FustinJields]

Found Re1; pretty common motif in puzzles.

[@ItsJustJek]

First time I’ve truly been astonished at a chess puzzle (Probably because I’m finally okay enough to appreciate it lol)

[@whelmking6497]

First one of your harder puzzles that I saw all the moves. Super fun!

[@Someone-tn8ur]

1% chance you can solve this. Considering that there are 21 legal moves, I know a strategy to almost quintuple my chances of finding that first move...

[@billprovince8759]

I looked for a bit at Re5 (instead of Re1) with the idea of building up a ladder: e.g., a1(Q), Rf8+ Kg[any] Rg5+ Kh[any], and my idea was Rh8?? however, that just fails to Qxh8. White can try some checks along the f file, and then eventually give up (when black plays to h1) and play Rf7 threatening mate at h7, but black should be able to check often enough with the queen to hold the draw.

[@Cybuch87]

It is worth to consider why instead of Re1 making move Re5 loses on the spot :)

[@Lexii.lindsay3569]

I cant believe i mentally solved all of that except the first rank lure idea in like 5 mins, to be clear i had the idea of checking the king to the point of the lure but didnt figure the lure out

[@davidconnelly]

All this time I thought my brain was a Pentium Quad Core. Turns out it's just a Celeron from the early 90s.

[@ValkyRiver]

It’s worth noting that only that square works; if it’s on d1, black can take and head for the pawn; if it’s on f1, black can head for the h-file

[@gaberielpendragon]

King to c file opens up rook to take first of two pawns, them getting queen doesn't really help as you can lock them into check over and over until you force the queen to block and take it, or setup the fork.

[@frankg.39]

Fascinating stuff, thank you

[@dentonyoung4314]

The whole thing hinged on the threat of a skewer. Fabulous ending.

[@undercoveragent9889]

Ah! The old Kebab Gambit.

[@proudzerzurancitizen]

what's stopping a tie between b and c checks?

[@phoenixarian8513]

Damn. Why do I always look at the wrong direction...despite I already know black goes down the idea of pawn takes b8 fooled me.

[@Figgy20000]

Wow, this puzzle was incredible!!

[@chiepah2]

You were right, not clickbait.

[@Stevo935]

Well, the next/first time I ever see three pawns lined up in the same file, I'll be sure to use this one. (Seriously though, how rare is that formation lol)

[@chrlpolk]

Just you wait! One day, you’ll bring something to A3 just to bait that B2 pawn. You may not even remember this vid, it’ll be forever planted in your subconscious!

[@GregoriousApartment]

Incredible puzzle and great explanation.

[@רובימהאנדרואיד]

Your puzzles and explanations are marvelous

[@paulbrennan4163]

I enjoyed 99% of this puzzle. The remaining 1% was spent trying to unboggle my mind.

[@vilasmahindrakar8854]

What a great beauty of chess,no doubt cricket is king of game but chess is king's game

[@costiqueR]

Took me 5 seconds to see all black pawns stuck by the second white tower, so black has free to move just the king and the white have a tower and the king. In absolute all manuals, you learn that a tower and a king win all the time, does no matter how many moves, is inevitable. So, what we are talking about?

[@vytarien]

1000 Blitz/900 Rapid trying to solve here! I'm paused at 0:31. I see this: Rxh7 h1=Q Rg8+ Kf5 Rf7+ Ke6 and beyond that I see no checks.

[@MarciodaGama]

Absolutely DELICIOUS! Very unusually I was able to anticipate the moves… for the first 2 minutes of the Video! From there on, I was driven for a delicious - that is the word, taken by the hand - for a DELICIOUS Ride through the World of Chess. Thank you for all your Chess Videos!

[@markdearlove8634]

Why wait until king is on f? Wouldn't it work moving rook to d1 while king is on e2?

[@DexterHaven]

This shows the deeper level of thinking that a GM has, say. When Magnus looks at the board, he sees more hidden cause & effect relations.

[@interesting3956]

btw at 2:09 white can't take on a7 trying to ladder mate because the black king runs all the way to the g file to find safety behind the opposing king

[@TheChessGenie]

I'm actually surprised that I managed to see the solution to this one from the beginning!

[@tykemorris]

I did solve it but it took a while. At first I forgot the old "always check the king" strategy. Then there is always the second rule: These puzzles usually have a sacrifice. Lol.

[@robertpreisser3547]

Why did you use such a false thumbnail? The odds of my solving this is 100%….AFTER watching your video! 😂

[@irohnick]

But at the end what if the king just moves back where it was after eating the rook? the tempo allows him to

[@Confluence358]

then you move rook to h8 as per usual, and if king moves back to where it was, you skewer the pawn and king on the 2nd rank instead and take the pawn before it can even queen :)

[@wdiddy1]

Man these puzzles just boggle my mind, after seeing the results it seems so simple, that's what boggles my mind. I think it's cause I have a hard time picturing where pieces have moved when trying to calculate moves. I pretty much need a piece of paper to take notes or I screw something up.

[@ShortsBySam.]

play against martin but when you Develop a piece you can only use that piece until it's captured. This rule does not apply to pawns and when you using a piece and you used the piece and got a queen then you can use it if only it is the piece you were using.

[@nickcellino1503]

White must play carefully to win. If 7. Rh1+??, Black can draw. 1. Rgb8+ Kc3 2. Rc8+ Kd2 3. Rd8+ Ke2 4. Re8+ Kf2 5. Re1 Kxe1 6. Rh8 a5! 7. Rh1+?? Kd2 8. Ra1 Kc3 9. Rxa2 Kb4

[@NWRIBronco6]

Love this! Had the first half tactic figured out, but not the second half. Also worth pointing out that the f8 check doesn't work with the same tactic because the king from f1 can reach h1 in two moves, preventing rh8->rh1.

[@ghgg5346]

Why black must go to the 2nd file? Can it just go to the f4 instead of f2 (or f3) ftom e2?

[@JVsMusicalSoundscapes]

I got the e1 sac and afterwards, but not the obvious play if the King went to the a file LOL

[@loganburke3266]

I didn't see roook G8, but I did see rook E1! that made me happy.

[@electricmaster23]

Seal of approval!

[@frankg.39]

Awesome puzzle

[@wayneyadams]

2:00 You shouldn't have to continue the game to the point where you actually put the king in checkmate. Once the queen is captured, the game is over and any competent player knows it and resigns. Unfortunately, there are too many marginal players who will make you chase them around until the inevitable checkmate happens. This was the reason I did not play against the students the two years I sponsored the chess club just before retirement. By the way, I tried moving the King to free up the rook. I missed the skewer which is brilliant. He's right, I love this puzzle for its elegant simple solution that only takes a few moves.

[@themrlace]

There's nothing wrong with playing it out for the chance of getting a draw. A grandmaster or high elo player would definitely mate you of course, so you should resign and stop wasting their time, but unless you're playing on that level, resigning is just plain stupid. In a competitive environment, you should play for a win. And if you can't win, try avoiding a loss. If that's not your mindset, you're wrong in competitive.

[@wayneyadams]

@@themrlace I sponsored the chess club at my school for two years and had students who were badly beaten with no chance to win, exhibit your same attitude, forcing the game to be drawn out until they were eventually mated. There's a difference between having a chance to win and forcing your opponent to chase you all over the board until the inevitable mate happens. That is the way immature players play the game.

[@levistepanian5341]

Re1 is a beautiful sacrifice

[@fantomghost6213]

Didn't get this one. Great puzzle

[@sesagaming7348]

I saw that brilliant move but it was just a random guess

[@francoislechampi2002]

Not only this puzzle is wonderful but useful too

[@chrlpolk]

Because this situation happens all the time?

[@SteveThePster]

Great puzzle! Does it work with the white king anywhere else on the board? I can see f6 or g7 won't work because of a1=Q+. How about King on g5?

[@fLaMePr0oF]

I mean, all of those moves just looked obvious to me and I was thinking 'what am I missing for this amazing move'... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@rudolfgernd8760]

Same. I am bad at chess but the first move is obvious. You have not many options anyway.

[@Exfolia]

Before I watch the video, I'm making a guess, Rxa1, a8=Q, Rb1*, Ka5, Rxa3, KxRa3, Ra1, King moves and takes the queen Edit: it *was* a solution, but not always the best

[@boangherrazvan3977]

all nice and good but to even get close to having 3 pawns in that position is nearly impossible

[@milesgreenwood5036]

Can't believe I saw Rf1 Rh8 instantly

[@jespernorgaard3795]

Sorry but Rf1 Kxf1 Rh8 Kg2 doesn't work 😂

[@MichaelHarrisIreland]

When all else fails, sacrifice your rook.

[@snrao6823]

I am sad as I checked the solution after 5 minutes. I should not have see it forever, resting only after solving all sub-variations.

[@Big_Z_Gaming]

"If you had a chance to look at that" Counter: 5

[@NidusFormicarum]

Why don't I caculate these puzzles to the very end?? I am so frustrated with myself sometimes. There should be no need to pause and look again after another move is played! I mean, this one is not that difficult; I have solved much harder puzzles than this one, but I guees sometimes you get lazy or you assume that it is too difficult since some other puzzles on the channel here have turned out to be too hard for me. Still annoyed at myslef for not taking my time for this one, because this is definitely solvable in perhaps ten minutes or so.

[@parose1457]

I'd bet that the 3 pawns positioned on the A file like that in an end game like that has NEVER happened. The strategies around promotion and skewers was very interesting though. If you take the two pawns and the second rook out of the puzzle, would the same skewer snatch a win?

[@anaryl]

AH I knew the skewer was the key! But I was hoping that Rxa2+ Ka*; then skewer the king through the pawn which could work if not Ka5. Nice problem and nice channel :)

[@lifesnotfair]

Awesome puzzle !!!

[@bipolarminddroppings]

I got every move except the rook sac. I was looking at ways to take the pawn and use the 2 rooks together to mate the king, saw it wouldn't work and was stumped...

[@himatlalsanghvi5503]

You didn't analyze if king moved upward If it did you would just go to the 1st rank but it was still missing from the explanation

[@GGBel1]

does not work if they keep their king in the 3rd row when moving otwards the right side of the board

[@tykemorris]

Yes it does because all that means is that the king can't stop your rook from getting to the first rank. Once black let's that happen your pawn is doomed whether it queens or not.

[@Requiredfields2]

Who created the puzzle and when?

[@maycoral1224]

What happens if black queen keeps moving across on 3 and 4 row instead of moving down to 2nd? They can get behind the white queen?

[@maycoral1224]

Found it,,,, rook just moves down to row 1 and blocks queening square.

[@KaukoSaarinen]

Brilliant!

[@aee220phmunirabad]

Wonderful game

[@la8ball]

Honestly, I've been in that position a few of times and always ended it in a draw.

[@nillinx1234]

What do you call this? You use the checks to reposition your rooks, gaining 'free' moves in this position.

[@НиколайШерстюк-ы7е]

And then he sacrifices THE ROOOOOOOOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@ronvavra]

That is freakin' amazing.

[@pierrefraisse8610]

Right title is: 100% over 99.88% Players wont find it!.

[@willbishop1355]

Why does the black king stay on the 2nd rank as you chase it with the rook rather than moving to the 3rd or 4th rank?

[@frankvandorp2059]

If the king does that, you can just move the rook to the 1st rank without the king taking it, and stop the pawn from promoting.

[@Hydro123s]

finally, a puzzle i could solve

[@Frullock_88]

Finally a puzzle I solved 😅 Thanks for the illusion of being in the 1% ahahahah ... On a serious note what is the definition of "solving the puzzle"? Seeing all the ramifications and how many steps before going to checkmate? Or seeing all the direction it could take?

[@thekurdishtapes8317]

seeing the entire winning line up until the winning position (e.g. white a rook up) from the starting position in all possible variations of potential responses from black and without physically experimenting with variations on the board but calculating everything just in your head.

[@colescalisthenics]

I wouldn’t even know to sacrifice my rook for a skewer later on lol

[@LudosErgoSum]

Rook'n'Roll!🤘🤘

[@dzxy314]

I think R - e5 (instead of e1) will win as well

[@resengor1300]

Mind blowing

[@SamuelPearlman]

4:06 + -- why does the king need to move toward the 1st row? If they stay in the middle of the board there's no skewer on the 1st rank!

[@Debbiebabe69]

because then the white rouk can move to c1/d1/e1, then to a1, then freely eat all the black pawns.

[@SamuelPearlman]

@@Debbiebabe69 Ah, got it, thanks!

[@tammyyaniro5455]

That was awesome!

[@alielchouli2809]

What of black dont take the rock or just goes up instead of staying on the lower lines ( after the first check)

[@samuelfaille-denis8098]

then white can simply go and harass the pawns (black loses)

[@kno6ndg7]

Я так понимаю, что короля на H убрать, а потом с Rb2 и линейный мат ставить.

[@mach1553]

Smooth!

[@ericsbuds]

i normally only show my friends at the bar or the library my chess moves...

[@siddharthgautam900]

I found the first move this puzzle was mind boggling

[@TheJacklikesvideos]

With a title and thumbnail like that, I'm surprised I didn't guess that this was going to be the easiest puzzle I've ever seen. I never get chess puzzles but this one is very forced.

[@yokhojota6792]

I shouldn't let my brain bubbling with that kind of stuff... it's painful... ;)