Don't give up as white. You win this!

[@billcook4768]

This is the problem with chess puzzles. You tell me it’s a puzzle and white has a winning move. I find it somewhat easily. But in a game I’d never see it.

[@eduardoroman2691]

Speak for yourself. YOU are the one who will never see it. A good chess player with hundreds of games in his record could easily find the winning move just by being aware of the terrible position of the black king.

[@billcook4768]

@ That’s what I said. But I do appreciate the comment.

[@Mnil52]

@@eduardoroman2691harsh

[@jonshive5482]

@@eduardoroman2691 Depends on how you define "good." Theoretically better than 95% of all players and played literally thousands of games OTB or blitz/rapid plus solved thousands of puzzles over decades but only saw the first move. Missed the second skewer, doggonit. (Just an old lion these days, but as Nimzovitch said "If you put your head in my mouth I'll bite it off.")

[@lessen37]

​@@jonshive5482 A normal 1900 rapid online will see the first move in a few seconds, the next move in a minute at most

[@sarkedev]

0:32 "Without any further delay... pause the video"

[@Chess-strategy]

Ha ha, did I really say that!? That is hilarious and totally unplanned 🙂🙂

[@michaelkay7436]

I love that a puzzle from 1849 is still just as valid today.

[@jeromehenen8256]

what happens if black queen does not take the rook offered?

[@alanclarke4646]

I immediately resigned.

[@guyfurman2463]

I offered a draw

[@walrtbstudios5430]

Me too. I would never have seen that if I lived to be 150…

[@sillypuppy5940]

One of the most important things about the endgame is (if you can't get a checkmate that move) keeping your opponent busy, either by checking their king or else forcing their other pieces into a bad position. There's not much else useful the black queen can do other than take the white rook, and after that the game's over.

[@captaingabi]

Brilliant! Black has 2 simultaneous threats: check mate with Qa1 and taking the rock with Kf4. White with the Ra4 move negates both threat, and in itself creates another 2 threat towards black: taking the queen with Ra8 and checkmate with Rh3. Thats why it is such a brilliant move: with one move you negate 2 threats and create another 2 threats yourself. This puzzle should be named "double edged sword" and the reason: having the 2 kings opposite of each other is actually good and bad for both sides at the same time...

[@rolandomartinez9076]

I didn't see that. Good puzzle.

[@jonshive5482]

Don't feel bad. Chess tactics may be "the foundation of everything else" (as per GM Nicolas Huschenbeth) but probably 95% of all rated players won't see it. You gotta have an intuitive grasp for such unique powers of pieces and pawns. As the saying goes, "Chess is easy to learn, but difficult to master."

[@MaskOfCinder]

I didn’t see it either but the second he moved the Rook I instantly understood why it was winning. I should have considered the rook sacrifice better.

[@twopolaar599]

@@MaskOfCindersame, the move struck me but I didnt look past the take

[@sk-sm9sh]

some people aren't made for chess you prob should try other hobies if you cant see this after some weeks of training

[@jonshive5482]

@ A bit late for this woodpusher. Spent decades on this fascinating yet often frustrating game.

[@kurtwpg]

I do like chess problems, but I often have to ask "How did black's queen get there?"

[@Markuth777]

Just promoted

[@hansvonmannschaft9062]

@@Markuth777 B.. but... that's square 8. Means Black began on that side. Black pawn couldn't have gone backwards to promote itself! 😂🤣 And wait, I know, maybe it's 8 just for displaying purposes, fine. The question gets turned around, how did the *White King* get down there!🤔😂

[@Markuth777]

@hansvonmannschaft9062 or captured a promotion

[@hansvonmannschaft9062]

@@Markuth777 Ow that's true, could've had to do that. In any case, I was just joking, surely there're tons of reasons why pieces could end up in "crazy" squares. And also, puzzles tend to come with these particular detail a-plenty. Have a great day! 🙂

[@Jotari]

She just captured White's Queen in a complex 5 move chain of captures.

[@comrade_marshal]

White King: I defeated Black King having his Queen threatening me with a checkmate in one move with just my two Rooks, though sacrificing one. They called me a madman

[@malcolmabram2957]

Very interesting puzzle. In a club game representing my town, I ended up in an endgame where I, white, had a King and Queen against a King and rook. My opponent was skilled in his defence, and although it is a text-book win for white, I just could not do it.

[@francis-dt2hl]

thanks for the reassuring message: I been white for 79 years and sometimes i just feel like giving up!

[@fltwwq]

1.Ra4!,Qxa4 (to prevent 2.Rh3#) 2.Rh3+,Kf4 3.Rh4+ and 5.Rxa4

[@mikehigbee2320]

It's nice to go from, "I can't win," to, "I can't lose!"

[@KevinBrown-v4j]

Thanks for posting. That was a fun puzzle.

[@donc9836]

i found it too!! nice puzzle! 😊

[@brnmcc01]

Well, this is why if you add up the value of all the pieces remaining, two rooks is worth 1 pawn more than a queen. Position has a lot to do with white's advantage, but in general a king and queen versus a king and two rooks has a slight advantage in general.

[@MrSmileyPeople]

It shows the depth of resources available in chess positions that are mostly not seen and therefore not played.

[@TottenvilleMiddleSchool]

My ELO rating is only 1200, but I saw the solution from the thumbnail. The winning move is Ra4! If Black captures that white rook with Qxa4, then White uses the other rook to skewer the black king and queen with Rh3+! followed by Rh4+!! If the black queen tries to cover the h3 square with Qc8, then White plays Rh3+!, anyway, and after Black plays Qxh3, White plays Ra3+! to skewer the black king and queen, and White will go on to win with a winning king and rook versus bare king endgame. This is probably the only puzzle on this channel that I solved by myself.

[@badfragments]

No way you saw that from thumbnail, it was impossible.

[@Ark-i5s]

Interesting! Let's start the procedure.

[@doodeedah6409]

@@badfragments ​​⁠ ​​Not really. The immediate thing I saw was that the 2 kings were already locked into a mating position against each other. Naturally all my thinking revolved around that, and there aren’t really many moves available before you inevitably stumble into the solution. I knew had to move the F rook somewhere, ideally along the 4th rank to maintain my checkmate threat, and the first place I looked was to attack the Queen (because it’s a puzzle, so every move has to be a forcing move). But then queen takes and eliminates my checkmate threat: now black king can move backward. And voila, my next and only check is a skewer.

[@ryanv7535]

Did you just mark yourself a brilliant move 😂😂

[@ChristianFung-wm3sh]

Solved it from the thumbnail. Of course, if I spent every move believing I had a brilliant tactic, the game would be over before the middlegame! Also of course-if I have five minutes left in the game and believed I was about to be checkmated with no escape, I would probably sacrifice a bit more time on my clock. Thanks, Josef Kling! Chess problems from the past are always much more satisfying than computer-generated problems.

[@tom-kz9pb]

I saw the Ra4 after a minute or two, but didn't notice the need for a follow-up, to solve also the Qc8 response, needing the same kind of skewer in the reverse direction. Yeah, simply knowing that a chess problem IS a chess problem, with a solution, gives you a big advantage compared to over-the-board play. In tournament chess, you could try to treat EVERY move as a "chess puzzle", but then you would probably lose on time. However, if you work enough chess puzzles, you gain ability to recognize certain patterns and themes, which should improve your play.

[@RobertJ-vo4bk]

I have yet to see any of these puzzles appear in any actual game. They're just like movies. Plot armor.

[@nurabsal0x018c]

If I was as good at actually playing chess as I am at looking at videos about chess I’d be unstoppable

[@bluesbr0ther588]

The most puzzling part of this puzzle, is why black moved his king to e3 on the last move instead of moving the queen.

[@Crossfire9911]

Never resign. And never surrender. Would not beleive the amount of times i have come back from a seemingly impossible position. Just one move can change everything. They are the best wins too! You will never know the joy of it if you never stay fighting till the end.

[@hk-4886]

Yeah even if you can’t win there’s always the chance your opponent runs out of time and loses this way.

[@douglasskaalrud6865]

More often than not it comes down to the universal truth that if you really want something you must leave something behind.

[@dgerdi]

Chess is truly the game of kings. So refined, so brilliant in all its simplicity.

[@Simonious_Monk]

Also tetherball. Can't beat tetherball.

[@jsikes4435]

Just from the the thumbnail I thought white had the advantage, but really it came down to whose move it was.

[@RamKumar-gy9nb]

Excellent puzzle, the beauty lies in finding the right variations. Just brilliant. Thank you very much and God bless you.

[@droal.]

Levy sacrifing the rook with this one🗣️🔥

[@user-25352]

I did look at Ra4 but saw queen and king not being on same rank/file afterwards (meaning no easy skewer), and did not see I could push the king to that rank. Seeing 3 moves ahead surely brings more opportunities than just 2 moves ahead :)

[@hanswust6972]

Brilliant! Thanks for the puzzle.

[@joshmoxey.]

Great puzzle. These are very useful to my beginner mind. Thanks for sharing

[@JulianFernandez]

Really nice. Thanks!

[@WlmaAlexender-zl6nx]

What happens if the black queen goes directly above the black king for a revealed attack?

[@BrooksMoses]

Oh, interesting. Qe8 loses because Rg3 is simply mate, but Qe4 allows the king to escape by Kf4, revealing the check. The problem there is that the rook on a4 can simply take the queen, addressing the check, and then we're back to the king vs. king-and-rook end game.

[@WlmaAlexender-zl6nx]

@BrooksMoses thanks for responding to the noob :)

[@ASMRcigarlounge1865]

Hello Mikael 🖐😊 Greetings from St Louis 🇺🇸 I just found your channel. Thank you for making these videos. I'm 60 years old and am only an intermediate level player, but am trying to learn better strategies so I can become a stronger player. I just play for my hobby and have never played in tournaments. But I do play every day. I should be better than I am since I've been playing for over 40 years. Your channel is very helpful. I have subscribed. 👊RESPECT👊 Mark

[@MiSt_04]

I was able to see it beforehand, which makes me happy.

[@Budda523]

After Ra4, you have the next puzzle, how to win as black. I think, don't take the bait and move Qc8 so you don't get checkmate by the second rook. And from there the game is far from over I think... Unless I missed something, which is highly likely xD. Next move from white is probably Re2 check. Black: Kd3 white: Rd2 check Black: Kc3 white: Kd1. And now the Queen is able to move again, or King to B3 seems also like a good option. ... It's late I will have to try tomorrow to safe black.

[@BenD68]

I've got a book, 'How not to play chess', that's why I always lose.

[@FronskZen]

Idk but I feel this kind of puzzles are easier for me than "regular puzzles"

[@johnkilgallon207]

Easy peasy. Solved before playing the video. R to A4. Where ever black queen goes is either mate in one or black has to sacrifice queen.

[@MichaelHarrisIreland]

"Not the hardest but beautiful" just as you said.

[@redrosewick]

I rule i made for myself while playing chess is to never resign endgames where I'm up in material unless checkmate is guaranteed for opponent The typical example being two rooks (10 points) vs queen (9 points)

[@AOzzyR2000]

It makes sense not to give up if you’re white in this situation because Queen = Rook + Bishop - which means two Rooks are stronger than one Queen. As long as you make the right moves you’re alright.

[@hk-4886]

A queen is 9 points, a rook 5, a bishop 3. So a queen is better than rook + bishop but worse than 2 rooks

[@AOzzyR2000]

I meant the way the Queen moves. It can move like Bishop and also like Rook.

[@itsxela9617]

Damn, i found Ra4 Qc8 and then somehow didn't find the second obvious skewer

[@nickmorton9938]

Same here

[@rogergeyer9851]

I found the second one much easier to find, having the idea once I found the first one, which took a couple minutes of head scratching.

[@jonathanpfeffer2464]

I found this one ! Cool puzzle. One of my favorites

[@Ebobster]

Looking at the puzzle seems white can win through a temporary rook sacrifice due to the vulnerable position of Black’s king by.. 1.Ra4!, QxR 2. Rh3+, King must go to 4th rank then 3. Ra4 (skewering K & Q), K moves anywhere 4. RxQ. Good puzzle!

[@KALKAL_ISYU]

that is if q takes rook.. what if Qc1..

[@Ebobster]

@@KALKAL_ISYUThen black gets skewered the other way or mated.. ie Rh3+!, if QxR then Ra3+ wins the Queen. If king instead retreats to second rank then Rook on a file check, forces Qc2 to prevent mate, but then Rh2+, forces king back up to third rank and White wins the Q for free.

[@Ebobster]

Actually just noticed black’s King can’t go to second rank thus in line above Rh3 forces QxRh3 to prevent mate & Ra3 skewers King & Q, winning the Queen.

[@bobagorof]

I love this solution. I don't think this particular scenario will come up very often though.

[@taleladar]

A classic example of, "I'm not locked in here with you. You're locked in here with me!"

[@jordanrex4730]

Ra4! After Qxa4, Rh3+ followed by most likely Kf4 and Rh4+ and after the king moves white takes the black queen

[@LearnMusclescom]

Great puzzle!

[@markpeller1384]

It took me only a few seconds to realize the themes of this puzzle. Yes, easy, but pretty.

[@bbbbbzzzzzzzzzz5431]

It took me a just few milliseconds 😉 what a nice puzzle

[@Merk2]

What if the rook on the right immediately moves to h3 without the sacrifice?

[@bokogonk]

Then black king takes on f4 and you still have the queen to worry about.

[@SamCastaneda87]

(posting before solution is reveled) I think we move Rook to a4.. Opponent captures with Queen then other Rook to h3 (check), King has to move up so we then we Rook to h4 (check) and capture the Queen. After that it's King + Rook vs King so we just win.. Sorry for the shaky notation it's been a while since I was on Chess circles... I'd probably wouldn't see it in an actual game though. (after watching soluton) - I was right on the initial move, I didn't consider the case where the Queen didn't capture and instead protected against my following checkmate and that there could be another Rook sacrifice play to win.

[@morefiction3264]

That's a good one. I solved it from the thumbnail and plugged it into a computer to verify.

[@thechessplayer8328]

simply Ra4. If takes then check and win with skewer. if no takes then I mate on h3. If Qc1 to protect h3, simply Rh3 anyways then win queen with skewer on next move.

[@Simonious_Monk]

Why there no horsies?

[@abhijiths5237]

found first move easily but took a minute for the 2nd one

[@ryans8081]

Saw it pretty quick, Rook Fa4, threatening Rook H3 Checkmate, if queen takes on A4, Rook H3 Check, King has to move to the 4th rank, then H4 Check Skewers the Queen and you win. And if they do Queen C8 to Cover H3, Check on H3 anyways and Skewer with the other Rook on A3.

[@eduardoroman2691]

Actually after black's Qc8, the move is Rh3+!, followed by Ra3+ and Rxh3

[@senbatifanola]

Notation is not Rook Fa4 but just Rook a4 since only one rook can go to a4 (in 1 move).

[@ryans8081]

@@eduardoroman2691 Sorry, I made a typo, I meant to say "check on H3 anyways" and skewer the queen with the other rook on A3.

[@eduardoroman2691]

@@ryans8081 There is nothing I must apologize to you, we all make mistakes.👍

[@endoflevelboss]

Edited post. You lose.

[@mikeelder6298]

When did chess notation change? When I learned it was different.

[@LemonCh1ffon]

King e2 mate in one 😎

[@glennwright9747]

As I follow these presentations I realize what a rank amateur I am

[@STR4nG3boy]

Saw the thumbnail and actually figured it out!! U made me watch your ads to confirm I was right 😂

[@johnfrancis4401]

So improbable but absolutely brilliant

[@steelers6titles]

Took awhile, but I found it. Think sacrifice.

[@benjaminkuch2558]

You don't sacrifice the rook. You sacrifice THE ROOOOOOOOOOOOOK!

[@JohnFromAccounting]

I did see that line, actually.

[@tau93]

I knew that the rooks wouldn't be able to fork, but I totally forgot about a skewer!

[@seyproductions]

Took me about 30-40s to find it

[@lancersharpe]

Ra4, if Qxa4, Rh3+ and skewers the Q next move. Qh1+ simply hangs the Q.

[@brettmccann3403]

After capturing the queen, Mr. Von Bargen said that he believes we are all capable of winning as white from that point. I beg to differ. I reasoned that capturing the queen via skewer was the way to go, yet still couldn't accomplish it, and doubt if I would have found the correct first move in 1000 years. Could I have won with only rook vs king? I seriously doubt it. : (

[@giovannicorno1247]

Let me encourage you to practise and learn this mate, it is not difficult and it is useful also in real games.

[@brettmccann3403]

@@giovannicorno1247 I shall keep at it. Thanks.

[@dark_rit]

The trick to checkmating with rook and king vs. a lone king is to get the opposing king to one of the 4 edges of the board by moving the king and rook in tandem then cutting off the opposing king's escape by placing your rook on the 7th rank, 7th column, 2nd column, or 2nd rank so the opposing king cannot get out. From there you move your own king to get it to the 6th rank, 6th column, 3rd rank, or 3rd column. Once the opposing king moves to a square that is 2 straight lines away from your king you move the rook to deliver checkmate if it is far enough away and cannot be captured by the opposing king. One thing to note in this process is that you do not only move your king, you can also move your rook to put the opponent in zugzwang, which is a term in chess that means a player MUST make a move, but all of their moves are bad.

[@bhgtree]

@brettmccann3403 May I suggest using any free chess engine and free gui to set up these kind of checkmates, (and as you progress more advanced positions), play against the chess engine as practice.

[@wengemurphy]

Yes he said that because for certain mates like rook vs lone king, or queen vs king, there are just simple algorithms you follow - a set procedure with only a few rules and you can do it every time. Just read articles about those two mates.

[@OmneAurumNon]

It took me a minute, but that's really nice. Good puzzle!

[@kennywen3041]

1. Ra4+ Qc8 2. Rh3+ Qxh3 3. Ra3+, and either 3 of the king moves, then 4. Rxh3 and white should easily win here

[@stagna1959]

That was relatively easy . Black king is in horrible position and it means to avoid immediate mate black will lose his queen For example 1.Ra4 Qc7 to avoid mate , but white is going to play Rh3+ anyway 2. Rh3+ Qxh3 3. Ra3+ Kf4 4 . Rxh3 If 1.Ra4 Qxa4 2. Rh3+ Kd4 3.Rh4+ Ke5 4.Rxa4

[@theitalianalien8477]

found it like after 30 minutes... fuck me

[@banjodeano2202]

amazing thanks

[@nimbus3218]

Virtually all those moves would end up in draws. It’s nearly impossible to get a checkmate with just a rook and king in the 21 move stalemate limit.

[@moohro]

Found in 1 second

[@CST1992]

I think the issue here is that the black queen is too far away. The puzzle is nice (I didn't see the magic move), but is it likely to come up in a real game? I'd say maybe there was some piece in the corner that Black took in the previous move and that's the only reason the queen is in that spot. In an actual game, against two rooks the player would want to keep his queen close.

[@jusuftheeagle6772]

I would have resigned as white, good puzzle.

[@andreasnystrom1998]

Sweet! 👍👍

[@stoatystoat174]

Great puzzle

[@chonamallari4080]

😅rook sacrifice then check the queen will capture

[@Silks]

Never give up. Win through attrition

[@alanclarke4646]

I gave up.

[@adammichna5175]

You make me feel smart! I got it easily!

[@milankotevski1663]

I saw Ra4 almost immediately.

[@steelers6titles]

This is a composition, but it looks like it could have been from an actual game, where the Rook pair beats the opposing Queen, which is standard.

[@E4tSh1t-s8u]

You move rook to a4, I would move queen to f3. Or even queen to c8 would block the first rook check (arguably useful after that).

[@BrooksMoses]

Queen to f3 is countered by rook to a3, requiring the king to move out of the way and then the rook can capture the queen. Queen to c8 is described in the video.

[@stigcc]

@@BrooksMosesThank you, I was looking at Qh3 too

[@michaelwill7811]

Saw the 1st move in about 15s of looking at the thumbnail. 1. Ra4 which threatens Rh3 mate and black can resign because: 1...Qc8 2.Rh3+! Qxh3 3.Ra3+ K-any 4.Rxh3 1...Qxa4 2.Ra3+ K-any 3.Rh4+ K-any 4.Rxa4

[@_weebzee]

I can't believe i found it in 2 sec. I'm rated only 1800

[@JonathanBailey-p5c]

The problem here is you would never see this position with it being White's turn unless Black moved the King from d3 to e3 which would be a major blunder. Even a very low rated player would play a Queen move. There are more than one that lead to an easy rook capture and easy win for Black.

[@johnmayhew9769]

Retract two half moves. Say black queen on e8, white pawn on a7. White plays 1 a8 = Q. Black has no better response than 1 … Q x a8. How did this position arise? Good question: it’s plausible but unlikely. Composed chess problems are routinely but not invariably ‘unlikely’. If you don’t see the point of contrived positions, fair enough. They’re not for everyone.

[@Kurbisa]

As a white, I will never give up!

[@MobileGuy-hg3yh]

Would have had more of an interest if the title was "Don't give up as black".

[@shekharchowdhary]

As a Black will never capture that Ra4 Rook. Rather I go to Qc8.

[@hanscarlsson6583]

Nice!

[@isprobablyjobhunting]

That was a fun one.

[@wyattbiker]

How did king end up threatening the rook? Trying to reverse it, unless white made a blunder. Black King could not have been on 2nd rank.

[@timseddon1757]

No expert...but, what about Qe8 after Ra4 (covers h3, and still has checkmate threat)? EDIT-- Nevermind....should have read down further...more skewers.

[@robertpesevski1641]

Very sweet problem, I solved that!

[@shawnpavlik3756]

Ra4!! After QxR, Rh3+, K moves to 4th row. Rh4+, winning the queen and the game. Didn't watch the video.

[@DrewWest-c9q]

The intro pic is so painful😖, how the heck do you let a pawn go by???