Impress Your Friends With This Tricky Puzzle

[@jianchristian1367]

what if I have no friends

[@mahirushiina2159]

You can play with your imaginary friend

[@jianchristian1367]

@@mahirushiina2159 and study bongcloud opening theory

[@adiossenior1280]

Lol

[@junyong0716]

Impress yourself

[@MarcRich3]

Lol

[@derludditus2758]

This is the kind of exhaustive, comprehensive, full analysis I like, and it's rare outside this channel!

[@peterspa2252]

First time I watched a chess KZbin video. Very impressive how many possibilities you presented, you must run so many scenarios as a chess player!

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

Yes indeed!

[@richielavey1565]

And that’s with only four pieces on the board!

[@guybarazani1590]

@@richielavey1565 5

[@romananasrin5009]

@@richielavey1565 gggggx

[@joelarmando9187]

@@guybarazani1590 2

[@daevydjae]

Learned something very important during the K+P vs K endgame - putting your King in front of your pawn to force your opponent to make a move then block their movement to get in front of your pawn.

[@maurice3937]

This is again a really fascinating puzzle! Thank you for this Video! :)

[@daboffey]

What's wrong with 1. Kd2 Kf2 2. Kd3 Kf3 3. Kd4 Kf4, followed with a b-pawn v. e-pawn race, given that white would promote with check, so black doesn't make it in time?

[@lutimstrickshots9253]

I found Kc2, but didn't pause for so long that I calculated all the way to after the queen trade and the KP vs K ending. Nice puzzle! Thanks for the video :)

[@codetaku]

lmao I did the exact same thing, I thought for far too long than I should've needed to realize that Kc2 was the *only* way to make a queen with the required tempo, but I didn't wanna think about how to actually win after that

[@amyli9289]

I’m not good enough at chess to figure it out

[@jacopoye5111]

@@amyli9289 You just need to look for all the possible moves, then remove one by one those bad moves, then what remains must be the best move

[@ddandymann]

Same here, against f2 I'd have won but g2 I'd have drawn.

[@djsans3]

I found the niggardly skinned people in my basement

[@borisgo172]

This puzzle only contains 2 against 1 pawn, still, it's a long puzzle with unique moves.

[@demolition4654]

Wait, when you have a pawn next to the king and queen in the corner, you can just block the check by moving queen next to the king. Because if opponents queen takes your queen, you can just take it with king and then promote your remaining pawn. EASY.

[@44Hd22]

8:50 queen to h1

[@toshironikko]

Just looking at the layout if white moves the king to block the pawn in the middle I don't see how black can do anything

[@mikklan1376]

The black king can just mirror the white kings moves stopping the king from blocking the pawn

[@garyewart9185]

Maaan! You are the best explainer of complicated positions!! Thanks so much..

[@ChessVibesOfficial]

No problem!

[@xenaguy01]

6:50 Actually, you *CAN* still get the Queen trade. The difference is, it takes place on g3 instead of f1, so now the hPawn is within reach of the Black King, making it a draw. 7:55 How is it that Qd8 does not force the Q trade here, when it does at 8:20 (same position)?

[@nikiyen6]

Yeah I was expecting him to briefly mention this

[@TheAntonio6579]

Nevermind there really is only one move to avoid a draw of both of them play perfectly

[@ugottalovechess]

Great puzzle! One question, in the kg2 variation after white makes a queen and black makes a queen isn’t there qc3+ trading of the queens

[@MrZerodaim]

7:55 instead of Qg7, what about Qb2? The black queen can't attack from the a row, and if your king is put in check, you can just move him up, resulting in either a discovered check or a pin - both forcing a trade. Any other move, you can push the pawn which is secured by the queen.

[@sandrols7]

I was thinking the same thing! I can't immediately see what will go wrong there. In fact, the trade will happen much sooner and the pawn will still be secured by the king.

[@anuragpoojary]

What if opponents check you until repetition

[@MrZerodaim]

@@anuragpoojary How would they? After Qb2, black can only check with Qe2, Qf2 or Qe4. Either way, Kc3 and either forces a queen trade (Qe2/Qf2) or creates a discovered check (Qe4). Queen trade is winning, and from a quick look at stockfish, discovered check also wins.

[@zanti4132]

​@@MrZerodaim Qb2 is only good for a draw, as is confirmed by checking a tablebase. In this queen endgame, Black doesn't have to rely on checks to draw if the queen can blockade the pawn while it is still a long way from promoting. In a K+R+P vs K+R endgame, having the Black king a long way away from the pawn would be fatal - if the Black rook tries to blockade the pawn, the king just chases it away. However, in a K+Q+P vs K+Q ending, if the Black queen is blockading the pawn, the king can't chase it away. That's not to say this ending is always drawn, but if the pawn is a long way from promoting it's usually a draw. Having the Black king nowhere near the pawn shouldn't matter; in fact, it can even be advantageous, as it can make a maneuver by White to force a queen trade less likely. By the way, even Qb2 Qf2+ Kc3 is a draw, as Black can play ...Kh1!!

[@sergeyalexandrovich8443]

Even if you have only a King left against the opponent's King + Queen, never give up! There is a high probability that your opponent happily relaxes and moves themselves into a stalemate draw 🤣

[@johnnyw4life]

I would consider that poor sportsmanship if you didn’t resign in such a position.

[@Debbiebabe69]

@@invalleria Im pretty sure most masters/grandmasters could force a stale mate against most non-elo players (ie 99% of chess players) in a K vs KQ situation.......

[@a-train69420]

@@Debbiebabe69 Nope. I’m 1700 and know how to not stalemate in KQ v K endgames. Magnus Carlsen himself couldn’t force a stalemate against me in such a game

[@Debbiebabe69]

@@a-train69420 im not talking about 1700 elo players, im talking about non-elo players, who make up 99%+ of chess players.

[@kotarotennouji5238]

@@Debbiebabe69 I'm pretty sure it takes a single queen checkmate tutorial to guarantee a win in KQ end games. Most players will checkmate even grandmasters

[@sahildas.]

3:10 in this position white can skewer with the queen defended by the extra pawn, and then white can win with king and queen checkmate

[@a.jz19]

But it's black to play though

[@charlotte_brown]

Its black turn

[@ilikecarrotz9094]

Its blacks turn genius

[@sahildas.]

@@a.jz19 ok ok i got it

[@iivari6205]

You didn't cover why Kb2 is not the right move but I guess it's because the king will need to protect the queen when forcing the queen trades in the h pawn promotion variations

[@rizka7945]

Unlike 1.Kc2, 1.Kb2? doesn't prevent the response 1...e5. Thus you have essentially wasted a tempo in the pawn race and won't win.

[@TheRealNiktWazny]

@@rizka7945 what if you go there as a king when you get checked

[@rizka7945]

@@TheRealNiktWazny Give actual moves instead of gibberish, please.

[@TheRealNiktWazny]

@@rizka7945 Kb2

[@rizka7945]

@@TheRealNiktWazny I already told that 1.Kb2 is met by 1...e5. Then what?

[@pandum7648]

4:44 what if black promotes to knight with a check

[@thetaomegatheta]

Black just loses faster

[@lightning77125]

@@thetaomegatheta N vs Q is a win for Q

[@joynalmiah549]

At 2:15 doesn't Kb2 then Ka3 then Ka2 followed by Qb2 solve all black queen checks?

[@123TheMpoMan321]

I thought this too and it took me a bit to figure out, but Qa5 checks. And the queen can keep jumping back and forthcoming between a5 and d2 to keep checking.

[@joynalmiah549]

@@123TheMpoMan321 yeah I realised that after it took me some time 😅

[@malcolmdavis-zl4xy]

Excellent! A clear explanation. Thank you.

[@themartian178]

hey quick q.. what happens if black play kg2 in the very starting mirroring the distance with white kind.. now qg3 can be captured by queen which if pawn captures king can take.. while any other check (eg qa8,qg8) allows king to capture our pawn...

[@fishydids]

The video actually details the correct response to kg2 after the part on kf2. The start of it is to promote the h pawn instead of the b pawn, however there was also a lot of additional moves required to force a queen trade and safely promote the b pawn after

[@fishydids]

(it starts at 5:49)

[@TheBinaryWolf]

Your videos are always informative and enjoyable. I also appreciate that you are concise (so many teachers tend to start be verbose).

[@daniellawlor6210]

There is still a move if you do the queen to g8 not a chess player its in the 7:00 mark just check the b king and the b queen protects the b king then take the queen and w queen is protected by the pawn

[@Graknorke]

the black king on g2 is just as vulnerable to Qg3, isn't it? the white queen is still defended by the pawn so the black king can't take it, if the black queen takes white then pawn takes for a trade, and if the king hides away then white just takes black's queen

[@KenYung]

Exactly, this was bugging me so much. I feel like he overlook this exact move

[@mehsupermeh8674]

I don't get how white wins in the scenario you just described. If the black king is on g2 and the white queen goes to g3, then the black queen takes it. The white pawn can then take the black queen, but there is literally nothing that stops the black king from just taking the white pawn. This just leaves 2 kings, which is a stalemate.

[@ddeboy002]

simple king to the right and advance pawn...get queen move king to edge of board and pinch it.

[@TottenvilleMiddleSchool]

Awesome puzzle! Love the variations!

[@WriteWordsMakeMagic]

Pushing the h pawn works in both cases because of Qh4+ right?

[@anitrogamer]

2:40 you could block IT with Queen if Queen takes you take with king then make the pawn a queen

[@alyvav.trauma2440]

8:06 Why not H3 and 8:37 why not G4?

[@krl97a]

I also had the idea of d2, luring the mirroring king to f4, then doing the pawn race. Though you have to spend a move to escape pawn check the promotions leave black's king in check, not yours. But I didn't spend long on it or calculate if it'd be a draw or winnable position afterwards.

[@ianpedder9721]

Yes I found that f4 too and just assumed that as I am now a move ahead I can perpetually check and manoeuvre for a queen exchange.

[@CravoneYT]

I would have played Kd2, but Kc2 would work. My idea would be to go after the black pawn, black would have to mirror, but once black's king is on f4, I would start pushing the b pawn, and then my promotion would end up being check. But, following through it seems that ends in a draw.

[@joeldick6871]

My thought process exactly.

[@himatlalsanghvi5503]

Same

[@WriteWordsMakeMagic]

The problem with this is one of black’s pawn pushes comes with check, causing white to lose a tempo

[@synka5922]

4:30 black would play kg2, and you'd race with the h pawn. because if black goes f2, you then get the queen on h8 check with qd4+ and no matter where black moves it will either pin or skewer blacks queen. same Black has to race or will just lose instantly, due to having only the pawn vs a queen either way also how is qd4+ hard to see?? its clear that with that check you fork the queen next turn no matter where black goes

[@hansmaverickpahayo4372]

At 6:41 could the same thing happend check trade and then push pawn then win

[@sankang9425]

Woah, this was more helpful than I thought.

[@My1xT]

That's what we call skewering the royal couple

[@kevinh3238]

What if you force the king to f4 and then start the left pawn race and check first because the black king is allready on the diagonal line?

[@ommahesh8366]

If the white king ends up at d4 then it will get checked as the black pawn is moving forward, forcing the white king to move and causing white to lose its advantage. I had the same idea but it unfortunately doesn’t work :(

[@jim43]

@@ommahesh8366 black pawn would promote first in that scenario but that queen wouldn't be immediately attacking anything. The white pawn promotes next and is immediately attacking the black King. Is that not an advantage enough position to win?

[@ggggrant350]

If he forms the pawn and king then once he kills pawn are queen takes queen 1:50

[@wynlewis5357]

Really good puzzle and you explain things clearly. Keep em' coming ! I wonder how many G.M.s would figure all this out at first glance ?

[@gJonii]

I'm 1100 ranked(last played 20 years ago) and saw the entire winning sequence in under a minute(tho, I had video playing, so I got hint of why my initial idea why d2 failed from the video, so c2 was the obvious fix to that idea)

[@TSpoEr]

what about doing the first tactic until both kings are on the 4th rank and then start the pawn race with the b pawn. You would end up with the first check, right?

[@venkateshas1381]

Very good puzzle Nelsi.

[@wittyjoker4631]

King could have hid behind pawn in second iteration of pawn race at 211... just move up and towars the edge rather than straight up...

[@christian-fg5sc]

8:02 what happens if the black king goes to f1?

[@uncleocean2832]

I found a different way you move the king to the point where he would get checked to prevent the pawn from promoting and allowing us to move the queen towards the pawn forcing a trade then our 2nd pass pawn becomes a queen

[@JasonLourenco]

The first scenario, You moved twice before black moved once. You started with moving the king and then moved the pawn before black advanced the pawn? Am I missing something?

[@Jujuscool]

8:05 what if king goes F1?

[@MoonersX]

the same thing

[@FuturePast2019]

@@MoonersX No, never moves to G3 (Chessmaster)

[@TheOliwierr]

11:11 how you winning. King can move to a6

[@mntdorby6120]

what wbsite do you use to set up the board

[@gdyt9478]

Nelson really is a bot forgetting about king h3 lol

[@luispalou217]

Nice, thank you

[@guash6453]

10:54 why is it a draw ? The black can't move. For me it's a white win. Can you explain me why would I be wrong ?

[@Subscriber9192]

If black has no legal moves and is not currently in check its considered a draw. A "stalemate"

[@SteveIsHavingMC]

cant white just rush to the black pawn until there is Kd4 Kf4, at which point the white pawn on b file can get a queen with check on black?

[@desuvult8463]

you can but after the b pawn promotes enemy king goes f5 and things get messy

[@randyohm3445]

My answer from looking at the thumbnail was king to d2, then to d3 and d4, to force the black king to f4. Then the pawn race, and when white's b pawn queens it will do so with check. If black moves his king to prevent this, the resulting tempo will be enough to check him anyway. The issue is black's pawn checks the king, forcing a king move from white, but I think it still works. Of course, after this there may not be a clever winning queen-trade check, so that's probably why this doesn't work. Still though, I think that was a possible solution.

[@vladimirkirillov1130]

Theres actually another solution, you put the king on the square where if black mirrors where you went, when yoy get a queen first, it happens with check then you force queen sac for the pawn and push your h pawn

[@evanalton2244]

what if you forced the mirror until blacks king was on f4 and then did the pawn race so you promote with check?

[@samuelelliott8453]

Why can't you do kd2 and make the black king go up to f4, and then start the pawn race? Yeah you'll have to move your king out of check from the black pawn, but if black just pushes the pawn, you'll get your queen right after him but with check. If black moves the king off of f4, you'll have 1 free move with your queen since black won't have your king in check. Is there something I'm missing?

[@devandeilkes3015]

Why wouldn’t you hide the king behind the pawn in the left rank then move the queen over protecting the pawn and the king

[@tnix80]

I'm not good at seeing moves ahead but intuitively I thought "just move in front of it"

[@MrRFPinhas]

First video where I found everything

[@ElephantThePotato]

6:34 Isn't g2 a fork? I am an idiot in chess so please correct me.

[@happyfuckingtimes3973]

no because king takes the pawn after exchange

[@laligogiashvili4894]

He said "kb2" nah it's "kc1"

[@z.kramer6027]

couldn't black respond to c2 w g2 instead of f2?

[@i.g.l.z.9215]

A good one, thank you!

[@ASKI999]

Brilliant setup!

[@stevieie2837]

What happens if black promotes to a Knight to check the king on E2

[@otterman_3950]

what if you chose knight instead, that would put the king in check

[@jamonbread544]

Simple answer: Queen > knight. If black makes a knight instead of a queen just to give a check, it won't work because white's king can simply move away and black can't really stop white's b pawn from getting queened with just a knight plus white already made a queen with their h pawn while black only made a knight so its just losing for black.

[@haukesievers7909]

Thank You!

[@janbilek367]

Master Nelson Lopez really chooses delicacies for his videos! In his beautiful demonstrations, it is as if we remember Siegbert Tarrasch (quote): "Chess, like music and love, has the power to make a man happy." In my opinion, this is perhaps the best chess site to be found on KZbin! Still, I wonder. Is this practical pawn ending a study, did it occur in practice or was it invented by the author himself? I found it in my database of studies...

[@Rocky64]

Endgame studies are by definition composed by someone and not from an actual game. Open the video details for the source of this study, including its composer.

[@janbilek367]

@@Rocky64 Of course, I know what compositional chess and therefore study means. But these can be divided into practical and theoretical. The former was used by one of the best coaches in the world, Mark Izrailevich Dvoretsky. If you open any sub-chapter book of pawn endings, there are alternating examples of games as well as studies or even conclusions of studies. Unless you know the author's names of the opponents, you can never tell the difference! After all, I actually saw Réti's famous 1921 study 'Hunt for 2 Hares' 7K/8/k1P5/7p/8/8/8 w - - 0 1 in practice myself!

[@stalkeer1514]

If you push the king to d4 and black mirrors when promoting the on b3 pawn to Queen black will be in check

[@nothindu..kattarhindu8848]

Thanks for explanation 👍. It happened for few times getting result of stalemate and 2 draws.

[@drziggyabdelmalak1439]

Brilliant! Complex.

[@avonacolyte]

Next time I am at the bar or the library and the chessboard comes out, my friends will be very impressed by this.

[@andyclark8991]

Love video cas it’s cool like all yours

[@shreyjain3197]

good puzzle, but unfortunately forcing the queen trade is something which requires high levels of precision and i dont think anybody below IM or GM level will be able to find it

[@bruh-dj2sl]

as a 600 elo player i actually guessed the winning move haha

[@sambenmoser1240]

You subconsciously calculated it, dont limit yourself

[@bruh-dj2sl]

@@sambenmoser1240 ok

[@gabrielbarros493]

Well i can sucessfuly predict a coin flip about 50% of the times

[@bruh-dj2sl]

@@gabrielbarros493 but the limit is 2, of course you can predict it 50% of the time.

[@bruh-dj2sl]

@@gabrielbarros493 You can only guess this winning move with a chance of 20 or 30%

[@AbouTaim-Lille]

Your puzzles are very tricky . I don't know how you get them. Is there a simple application that gives puzzles like these ones ?

[@falconimation1]

In the first scenario u can use ur other pawn to be a queen and use the same diagonal, should still work

[@himatlalsanghvi5503]

They queen with check and it's perpetual check

[@honkbrother8000]

Alright hopefully the video doesn't answer this question cus I got frustrated wanting to know why this wouldn't be viable. In the original problem the king matches us going to the pawn. Why not get them to match up to f4 and then go for pawn race. This makes it to where upon getting queen the king is automatically checked. If they go up to avoid the check our pawn is a turn ahead and can simply threaten their pawn now and we win. If they don't go all the way then we just take their pawn. It seems like a win win win to me no????

[@lol_getnoobhello6827]

hi. here are easy puzzle what stockfish is WRONG!!!!!!! Pawn white: g7 Bishop and knight white: Bg8 and Nh8 King white: Ka8 Pawns black: b4, b3, b2, c3, c2, d4, d3, e4, e3, f3, g4, g3, h4 Bishops and knights black: Ba3, Bc1, Bd2, Be2, Be1, Bf1, Nb1, Nd1, Nf2 Rooks black: Rg2, Rh2, Rh3 Queens black: Qg1, Qh1 White's play and wins! (stockfish not solve) its my first puzzle :)

[@borisgo172]

Be your own friend, if you don't have any

[@shambhav9534]

Finally a puzzle to which I found the solution to.

[@Wow68373]

What if Black promotes to a Knight?

[@suryanshtokas6337]

No perpetual check then I guess.

[@ugottalovechess]

Never mind I thought the king was as somewhere else

[@mrwess1927]

Can a king ever kill a queen?

[@gbs5009]

Sure, why not? It would require the queen to obligingly move next to it (or maybe it could be a pawn promotion), but it's certainly not impossible.

[@Clash_Royale_Shorts]

Awesome puzzle

[@FuturePast2019]

At 8:06 BK F1 not H2 and never move to G3 (Chessmaster)

[@thetaomegatheta]

Still a loss for black

[@FuturePast2019]

@@thetaomegatheta The only time I managed to trap the king and get a queen trade, the black king was in front of the pawn. No go.

[@thetaomegatheta]

@@FuturePast2019 You can run this through an engine.

[@deanmarquis4325]

What can I do with 2 of my own pawns on the same file, one in front of the other.

[@eliasgomez9794]

in 1:49 you can take blacks queen with your own queen

[@diogenes_of_sinope]

Indeed a very nice endgame study!

[@tykemorris]

My wrong answer was W Kd2... B Kf2... W Kd3... B Kf3... W Kd4... BKf4... W Pb4... B Pe5 check... W Kc4... B Pawn advances 4 squares to queen first... W Pawn on b file advances 4 steps to queen second but with check (unless black used a move to prevent that but queened second). Although white has the advantage of being their turn with an open board to check the king repeatedly, to force a queen trade without losing the remaining pawn looks impossible. Nelson's solution is far better as it both prevents the white king from check and forces the Black King to a square (f2) where a queen skewer is perfectly placed but it also protects the remaining pawn.

[@sambainbridge301]

At first glance, I thought it looked simple, but it was too complex for me to figgure out

[@BeenYT]

what about kd2 kf2 kd3 kf3 kd4 kf4 and now when the white pawn gets to b8 it is with a check wouldnt you win from that?

[@arnejoppien]

After 1.Kd2 Kf2 2.Kd3 Kf3 3.Kd4 Kf4 4.b4 Black simply plays 4...e5+ 5.Kd3 Kf3, and wins a tempo. But the position remains drawn.

[@JohnSmith-rk3td]

Stockfish says it's only +1.85 in the beginning lol

[@Alphanaxx]

What if black makes a knight instead of a queen making it a check, do they just lose?

[@handlesucks509]

I anticipated until Kc2 Kg2 h4 but calculating even more, such as trading queen and forcing winning pawn endgame, is literally ridiculous.

[@januszkorwin-mikke7277]

It winning, I think; U dont have to force the exchange of QQ

[@geveryging]

what if they go to g2 instead of f2 tho

[@dont_kknow6307]

I feel like you where over thinking this one

[@STR4nG3boy]

Wouldn't King to b2 accomplish the same thing? So Kb2 is also winning I think

[@desuvult8463]

kb2 pe5 kc3 kf2 kd3 kf3 black pawn is now further forwards and white cant block or capture it, they promote first and can capture both white pawns now, white loses

[@miraclemarch6030]

This helps alot I’m improving 😊😊

[@pepedinGD2.2]

3:19 You said h4, b2, Kd2; But actually is h4, b4, Kd2