3 Beautiful Chess Problems by Johann Berger

[@marcelobrunorodrigues7630]

Johann Berger (1845-1833) was not only a brilliant chess problem composer but also an excellent chess ending theoretician and, above all, a respected chess master in tournaments.

[@come.inside.me.join.now.]

He died before he was born 😭

[@shakyasinghamodak4641]

1845-1833.?????????

[@aidanvannynatten2787]

@@shakyasinghamodak4641 1933, presumably

[@thekurdishtapes8317]

did he live backwards?

[@mehmettosunoglu2372]

What a beautiful puzzles.thanks a lot Mr.Johann Berger

[@amisoka2000]

Johann Berger was an Austrian University professor and the cocreator of the Sonneborn-Berger system, which still is used in tournaments today.

[@3141minecraft]

7:37 what happens if black plays bishop to b1 protecting the pawn? I don't see the win for white

[@dethspud]

Beautiful puzzles. NGL, I couldn't figure out any of them but still, well done Johan.

[@vishalfgm]

Bro i went from 1400s to 2000s within 550 rapid games within 50days A lot thanks to ur content, your videos one of the biggest contribution to my knowledge that helped to sky rocket my elo Hoping to catch u in near future.😅😅😅

[@warrenporter2331]

Johann Berger also created early round robin pairing tables. Pairing tables in rulebooks a few decades ago show he did the small tournaments in his head before he came up with an algorithm for larger ones. An odd number of players are on a "ribbon" (or conveyor belt) and stop at each position on a long table to play a game. The extra person has a bye or meets the player with the highest even number who is on a permanent board.

[@Wise_Cracker]

Great rook-knight puzzles. Great succinct analysis.

[@tottenvillelegend826]

Love these puzzles!! ❤❤

[@JohnDoe-ti2np]

The position at 12:12 is really remarkable. Not only is Black in Zugzwang, but if it were White to move, it would be a draw. White has no waiting move either. So it's a reciprocal Zugzwang!

[@VincentPeer]

At 11:36 you said rook to A2 doesn’t work, but it looks like it does work. Instead of chasing the king, just take his rook after he moves out of the way. Am I wrong, or isn’t that checkmate?

[@kevinhalo27]

Knight rook king underrated trio🔥🔥🔥

[@alex_zetsu]

It is funny how the knight is pinned the whole time and is useful as something other than a blocker.

[@simplyameyazing]

Hey Nelson, loved the puzzles and the concept, as always. I'm in a perpetual loop of Watch Video -> Get Motivated -> Play -> Get Hammered -> Watch Video. But this comment of mine is unrelated to the video. I didn't know how to contact you, so decided to leave it as a comment on the latest video. I got a really ancient chess computer from my uncle. It's from the 80s. So old I'm actually struggling to get any info about it's make on the internet. It's SciSys Express 16K (not Kasparov edition). It's notoriously hard to beat, for me. I'm not even 1K. It's supposed to be rated 1400 to 2000. Given how old it is, thus how little RAM it might have, that would be amazing if true. I know there are multiple ways to evaluate that claim, but I wanted to get your review, before it decides that its time to die. If you want to make a video playing a game against it (after review), I would be happy to oblige. Let me know if you're interested.

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

Shoot me an email! [e-mail]

[@Leberteich]

9:38 Ka3 is not black's only move. There is Rxc3+

[@indrakshikar5988]

Can you send more puzzle island videos please 🙏

[@zzzaphod8507]

Interesting that a piece that is itself pinned can prevent the king from taking a piece that it's defending.

[@omingole7304]

Yeah, I was unaware of it until now...

[@rouslanbugorskiy230]

Yes, it's a kind of loophole in chess rules.

[@frosttoros663]

I can't remember any opening and any advice on middle and late game(even if i study them). So yeah i play half-blinded

[@kianbakker3691]

13:07 can someone explain to me why black cant sacrifice the rook for the knight?

[@wahabmalik6201]

I was thinking the same thing....😅

[@mncdssctn9110]

@@wahabmalik6201Because white can easily stop the pawns with their rook. And rook + king vs king is eventually almost as simple checkmate as queen and king.

[@TheOGDisco]

Ik its weird to ask but could we get more “black to play and win” puzzles? I thought it was nice you changed it up a bit. Wishing you nothing but the best for you and your family Nelson!

[@maximos905]

Just pretend the white is black and the black is white.

[@tottenvillelegend826]

You’re my favorite chess channel 😄

[@iluxa-4000]

I saw the first one in a different order - first rook to A5 then knight to H4

[@Bradman1978]

Has there ever been a white to play and lose puzzle? Just been boring for white to play and win or draw all the time. It's like no one ever thought of a cool puzzle for the guy who goes second to win.

[@warrenporter2331]

Andrew Lockett of New Orleans came up one in the 60s or earlier. 4k3/4p3/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR White to lose in 50 moves or less. Have fun.

[@nathangoodman3280]

In the last one at 12.05 why doesn't black just take the knight and go for the draw if they can see they are going to lose

[@NJDJ1986]

Puzzle 3 - ok how bout rook captures the knight before black gets checkmated so white is left with king & rook!

[@Rorschachxx1985]

The 3rd puzzle only works if the rook doesn’t take the knight. If my kings situation was that bad I would take my chances and capture the knight, yes I’m losing my rook but it would stop the checkmate threat, and with advancement of three pawns you could dtill win.

[@konroh2]

Rook beats 2 pawns and the other P is trapped by the K. White easily wins.

[@tontonbeber4555]

FOr stockfish, initial position is forced checkmate in 17. If you do what you say, it's even shorter. After exchange it's checkmate in 12. But your idea is correct ... best defense for black is by sacrificing the rook to the knight somewhere later ...

[@drewpocernich2540]

the third puzzle was actually the easiest for me.

[@fantomghost6213]

Nice puzzles. Didn't see them all

[@nelsonlopez1228]

Nice!!❤

[@AnjiMitoGGST]

What happens if they trade the rook for the knight in the third puzzle?

[@thekurdishtapes8317]

they will lose

[@tontonbeber4555]

Sorry but for the last puzzle, my version of stockfish finds a forced checkmate in 21 moves from starting position in less than one second, then while refining after about 30 seconds it's finally checkmate in 17. And it's amazing, because the longest path to checkmate for my stockfish, which is equivalent to the "best" defense for black is not what you presented ... it's white rook eliminating everything and finishing by a KR vs K ... 1. Ne2 Rb2 2. Nc3+ Ka3 3. Nd1+ Ka2 4. Nxb2 Kxb2 5. Rxe4 Kc2 6. Re2+ Kc1 7. Kc3 Kd1 8. Kd3 a4 9. Rxe5 Kc1 10. Ra5 Kb2 11. Rxa4 Kb3 12. Re4 Kb2 13. Rb4+ Ka3 14. Kc3 Ka2 15. Ra4+ Kb1 16. Ra5 Kc1 17. Ra1# But they sure are all beautiful puzzles, I'd never find myself :)

[@wesleydeng71]

Sorry, after 4. Nxb2 it is game over. No need to continue. The point is not about how long one can avoid checkmate but all the different checkmates it can produce under the best defense.

[@tontonbeber4555]

@@wesleydeng71 For an human yes. For the computer's perspective it's different. Starting position is already gameover because computer finds a forced checkmate :)) In fact my initial comment was based on the fact that computers do solve the puzzle easily today, but of course it does not mean that computers 'understand' the solution

[@twiduha]

Get well soon, NelsoN

[@farouqbaiti4315]

I solved all of them. They were great.

[@vtgrphy3907]

I solved the first one

[@ianchen7274]

I have one question. How can an absolutely pinned piece still assist in checkmate if it can’t even move?

[@Paragelmen]

It's a chess rules

[@jamesmcintyre-cf5oo]

Good question, but you can't move your king into check.

[@bunpeishiratori5849]

Because the “pinned” piece captures the enemy King one move before his own King gets captured. That’s the way you need to think about it.

[@Wise_Cracker]

The final move, regicide, is respectfully omitted.

[@Aesthetic_purple_Neon]

​@@bunpeishiratori5849if that was the case, it would make sense to put your opponent's king in check when your own king is in check. That's not the point of chess.

[@0638]

berger king🔥

[@Chomta]

Hell nah wtf

[@نورالدينعاصي]

الرجاء ترجمة الفيديوهات للعربية

[@TheEthikos]

Isn't every checkmate a smothered checkmate? 🤔

[@SparkSovereign]

Smothered generally implies they're blocked by pieces, frequently their own, rather than by controlled but unoccupied spaces.

[@thekurdishtapes8317]

@@SparkSovereign not "frequently" but exclusively so it can only be given by a knight

[@0638]

i solved the first puzzle myself:D

[@BigDBrian]

Why did black at no point sacrifice the rook for the knight in the last puzzle? You should've covered that since it's an option at many points.

[@emersonarriety]

The rook will win so easily in that position that it's not worth talking about.

[@Emeri0942]

I'm sorry but Joe Hamburger 😭😭💀

[@Qwentar]

It's a Germanic name, pronounced more like "Yo-Han Bear-ger", not "Joe-Han Bur-ger".

[@alebarojr]

Did you just become a father? Heard a baby screaming in the background. In this case, CONGRATULATIONS!

[@arminulrich2319]

none of them

[@pklath]

You know brother 😕 if I'm winning and there is forced mate in about 10 moves.. Rather than counting and thinking of those lines I'd rather like to flip a coin 😢and win or lose and sleep 😶

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

Fith

[@samirlofty8899]

Nh4##

[@BrawlStarsPearl-Stats]

Stopping Kids from saying First

[@Kotozmih1]

You are legend bro

[@mdanzarrahman1097]

2nd lol😂😂

[@codygabe67]

You're not any different.

[@thatonefrenchguy937]

One day there will be "stopping kids from saying stopping kids from saying first".

[@come.inside.me.join.now.]

And sayin' I liked my own comment aw

[@farouqbaiti4315]

Johann Berger looks like a nerd 🤓🤓🤓🤓🤓🤓🤓🤓