This Puzzle Determines Your "Chess Talent" Level

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🔹 A Puzzle That Tells If YOU Have The "Chess Talent" - • A Puzzle That Tells If...
Do you have the chess talent? Do you have what it takes to become a strong chess player? And if so, what is that level of your chess talent compared to other chess players? How can you determine how much "chess talent" you have?
In this video lesson, GM Igor Smirnov helps you figure that out with an interesting chess puzzle that was used by Soviet Union chess coaches. These types of puzzles are known as the "Soviet Test of Chess Talent".
Your task is to maneuver the white knight from b1 to c1 without getting into the line of attack of the black queen standing on d4. Feel free to pause the video and try to visualize the knight maneuver. Also, set a timer to see how much time you take to solve this so that you can determine the level of your chess talent.
▬▬▬▬▬▬
► Chapters
00:00 Do you have the chess talent?
00:11 Puzzle to test your chess talent
01:10 Is this talent test legit?
02:03 Ability to visualize & calculate
02:38 1st solution: The Knight Maneuver
04:38 2nd solution: The Knight Maneuver
05:42 Your talent determined based on time taken
06:20 Improve your chess skills & talent
📗 Free chess courses - chess-teacher.com/rca-freebies/
#GMSmirnov #ChessPuzzle #ChessTraining #ChessPuzzles

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

💡Understand Chess Like a PRO. Get GM's Positional Understanding - online.chess-teacher.com/course/the-grandmasters-positional-understanding/

[@ABWEndon]

The instructor said that the knight cannot land on a square "attacked" by the queen. Also, he didn't say that the queen could not be attacked. The square (d4) is not technically being "attacked" by the queen, because she is on it. Therefore, laterally thinking, the knight could move to d3 as part of its route to c1, attacking the queen on its way. So, I went Na3, Nb5, Nxd4, Ne2, Nc1. Does that count?

[@prabhabisht9680]

Same I thought this same thing, and it happened in 5 moves and within a minute, I thought I'm next magnus ...lol

[@wuyaya7849]

Lol I did it before he even finished telling me what to do :/ tho I did the take queen method

[@Prororo]

That doesn’t count

[@joustmaster_69]

Na3,Nb5,Nxd4, Nb3,Nc1 also works.

[@bardsamok9221]

He assumed people had enough common sense to know the queen isn't a piece you can take. If you could take the queen he'd have said so. The game is about moving the knight. Pedants

[@sharpvidtube]

I did it in under 2 minutes, but in 11 moves, going all around the Queen.

[@infiniteheygtre4580]

Same

[@adriaanadriaan]

Me too, I circled the queen two times, thought it was rather cool

[@Abidos234]

I managed to find the sane solution as yours (most likely!) in about 10 to 15 sec.

[@vlaekershner7305]

@@Abidos234That probably means you have the potential to be a great blitz player.

[@Abidos234]

@@vlaekershner7305 Perhaps, perhaps...

[@westonkramer8800]

28 seconds, but I missed the part where it had to be in 9 moves, so I took a longer path around the queen!

[@SuperGlobalKiller]

Lol, 10 seconds but 11 lol

[@xaron_2513]

@@SuperGlobalKiller same lol

[@borysthecuber7339]

I did it in 3

[@pokepros2733]

@@borysthecuber7339 no you didnt lmao

[@indigochild2.098]

so u didnt do it then

[@philipallen1505]

Darn it! i did it in 5 moves in about 10 seconds and assumed I must be a genius. This is because I attacked and then captured the queen as you said the Knight couldn't go on a square attacked by the queen, but nothing about the square she was on. Now I know the solution so can't try it properly 😭 love you videos though, thanks for the tips !

[@anshthanki4728]

SAME 😭

[@joeytoofly5139]

I did the exact same thing my killer instincts kicked in lol

[@kargs5krun]

Go "round the clock" was first instinct once quickie way was not doable.

[@teambellavsteamalice]

yeah, my instinct was it was some sort of trick question and you had to find a way around the queen. But I moved from the end square (two moves) and around the queen trying to end there. But I forgot or doubted I had the right squares a few time so I kept retracing my steps when they didn't match up right away. I think it took between two and three minutes. 😕

[@chewy560]

Is also possible in 9 moves

[@kargs5krun]

@@chewy560 "round the clock" also in 9 moves.

[@elektron2kim666]

After a lot of games it might be a thing you want to learn better. Finding a path for the knight for 1 square is certainly something. We can also detect a checkmate plan earlier.

[@cmck362]

Got it in 5 moves. I just took the queen then went to c1. Not sure if that's cheating or not. The rules were that the knight can't go to any square controlled by the queen, but the queen doesn't control the square that she's on.

[@drizap8015]

No point finding a loophole in the rules, you know very well you can't just take the queen, the whole puzzle will be pointless then

[@namedperson1436]

The rules did only state that you can't stand where the queen can capture you. But apart from that solution it is nice to find a way to waltz around to the right square in accordance to the strictest interpretation of the rules

[@cmck362]

@@drizap8015 Actually I didn't know I couldn't take the queen. I listened to the rules as they were stated then paused it. Figured out pretty quick that the most direct path involves taking the queen then called it done. I watched the rest of the video and was baffled that both solutions avoided doing that. I actually thought that it was supposed to be simple and the time it took dictated how good you were.

[@kargs5krun]

@@cmck362 You aren't by any chance, related to one, Captain James T. Kirk ??? #startrek

[@rickdesper]

Kobayashi Maru logic.

[@jimkyle8008]

I found the first nine-move solution about two minutes. After that, I found an 11-move solution by starting with a3 and b5 and circling clockwise round the Queen, but didn't look for a quicker solution after these opening moves.

[@virtualDon]

"Your knight can never stand on a square ATTACKED by opponent's queen" Therefor the simplest and quickest solution is Na3, Nb5, Nxd4, Nb3, Nc1 - 5 moves! d4 is OCCUPIED by the queen, not attacked by the queen!

[@octojofoJR]

I did it very quickly, about 20 seconds but I went completely around the queen in a circle, COUNTER-clockwise (in other words starting at the end square) with a little bit of a zig zag in the third quadrant to land on the proper square... 11 moves totally though. I then re-traced it twice forward to double check my work but those times were only about 5-7 seconds each. All of this while just looking at the board, no touching with the mouse.... I felt pretty proud of myself - and surprised, honestly. My visualization has improved greatly in the last year or so... I hadn't realized by how much. 😃

[@octojofoJR]

My notation ability is really lacking, QUITE slow! If I had to write it down it would probably add 5 minutes! lol... Well, at least a couple... 😏

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Awesome! Great hear. Thanks for sharing. I am sure it will be very useful for other chess players.

[@vaclavkolar5892]

Same, but I didn't go around, instead went similar to the first method: B1, A3, C2, E1, F3, G5, F7, H6, F5, G3, E2 and C1. Also the first thing I did was backtracking from C1 to some 4 moves and than went from start, knowing where I need to end up

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

► Chapters 00:00 Do you have the chess talent? 00:11 Puzzle to test your chess talent 01:10 Is this talent test legit? 02:03 Ability to visualize & calculate 02:38 1st solution: The Knight Maneuver 04:38 2nd solution: The Knight Maneuver 05:42 Your talent determined based on time taken 06:20 Improve your chess skills & talent

[@Husky-Builds]

I figured it out! Na3, Nc2, Ne1, Nf3, Nh2, Nf1, Ng3, Ne2, Nc1. I’m so happy I was able to figure it out. Took me a good 6-7 minutes of analyzing the board(kinda bad) but I did do it!

[@patrickfinney2623]

This was great! Is their a book with more of these type of puzzles?

[@nwstraith]

Hmm, I figured it out in about 30 seconds. Started by considering if this was a kind of funky puzzle where the knight has to do some crazy acrobatics around the board to get there. Quickly realized I just needed to look at how to get to the final square and connect the forced first move with one of the entry paths to the final square. Easy after that.

[@bryanvanduck]

I got the knight there in five moves. A3, B5, D4, note that the knight can't be captured by the queen because the queen has been captured. From there, just E2 and C1, and you arrive on the fifth move.

[@jaybingham3711]

Alright Captain Kirk...enough already.

[@capaldi328]

Third solution - 9 moves, found it in under two minutes. (a3) (b5) (c7) (e8) (g7) (h5) (g3) (e2) (c1)

[@voidusername7384]

I had found an 11 move answer in between 15-30 seconds, didn’t even notice the other 9 move versions.

[@edreusser4741]

Knowing how to solve problems in general really helps here. We can tell it's going to be 8 or 9 moves within a few seconds by noticing that the queen splits the screen into quadrants, each of which will have to be visited. At that point, it only takes a few seconds to map the required moves.

[@Bob94390]

Except, of course, that a solution doesn't need to involve all quadrants. Feel free to watch the video. And except of course that we can see immediately that the solution cannot be 8 moves, because in each move you switch colors so therefore in 8 moves the knight will be standing at the same color as it started.

[@georgeritmeester4736]

I see Igor didn't mention the third solution (not involving a queen capture).

[@PhyFlame]

The presentation of the puzzle appears to have a flaw. On my first solution I took the queen on my way, as a piece never attacks the square it is standing on. (1.Na3 2.Nb5 3.Nxd4 4.Ne2 5.Nc1) During my second attempt I solved it in 13.37s (Yes I timed it because of curiosity), but noticed afterwards I stepped on an illegal square. (1.Na3 2.Nb5 3.Nc7 4.Ne6 5.Ng5 6.Nf3 *7.N.g1* 8.Ne2 9.Nc1) On my third try I got it right after 10.13s. (1.Na3 2.Nc2 3.Ne1 4.Nf3 5.Nh2 6.f1 7.Ng3 8.Ne2 9.Nc1) I looked on the position on the board without the red arrows.

[@larsdahl5528]

I may admit I used a little over a minute (finding the first of the later shown solutions), something that did cost more time for me was that I was slow to understand the question, and I got stumped a bit due to I did not feel anything prevented me from using the square the queen was on, only the assumption "that would be too easy" made me look for another solution.

[@Inforza]

the movement with the knight was shorter then in my solution. I went to the upper left corner, where i did that manouver to get on the correct square and then i moved around the queen towards the upper right, bottom right and to the correct square

[@namedperson1436]

Damn. I found a solution in 13 moves in about 2-3 minutes. The idea was to maneuver the knight to where I had most space to maneuver which was north east of the queen.

[@vancebocas7626]

Yeah, I did something similar to his 2nd version, but I went all the way to f8 and then came back to b3.

[@davidquinn9676]

I took about a minute and did a similar maneuver, but in the upper right corner rather than lower right corner. Longer because all the way there and all the way back.

[@baldurorlygsson6193]

It¨s also 9 moves if you move all the way around the queen. 20 sec.

[@TruthSurge]

I have no chess talent but I solved it in 2 tries. You have to jump LEFT at the upper left when you have 2 choices then go around clockwise. Okay, I tried to retrace it and realize that I suck at chess and should move on with my life!

[@michaelsanchez7798]

I am not that great at the game but I did it in less than 3 minutes with 5 moves. I took a more literal interpretation of the rules, "not controlled by the queen." a3, b5, d4(occupied by queen but not controlled by her), e2, c1.

[@Dmitriy_D]

Did it under 1minute. Good puzzle, thank you!

[@pedropiata648]

I did a visualization training who required a similar posicion and now i did 16 seg in the same move count

[@maverick627uk]

Honestly, I don't play much chess and don't have experience of playing regularly, but in my head it took under 2 mins. How does that fare with the average etc? Great channel and very easy to understand. 👍

[@Chesstastic5000]

hmmmm, idk if this problem is a good one for calculation. Because you can just look for the endpoint and solve to get the knight there. Because all you have to see is that the only way to get the knight to c1 is by getting the knight to e2 or a5. The a5 route is probably the most deceptive though. But maybe that is part of calculation. I wouldn't know hehe.

[@mrblablablabla]

I solved it right as you were explaining it and did it in 5 moves.

[@KeithDCanada]

9 moves in 35 seconds: A3, C2, E1, F3, H2, F1, G3, E2, C1 I initially started by going to the target square, C1, and locating the three squares that would allow me to finish there, then worked out a quick route along the bottom of the board that would end me in one of those squares.

[@ywik4925]

It can be done in seven moves as well. A3 , b5 ,a7 , c6 ,a5 , b3 , c1

[@dr.destroy_clash_royale4279]

A7 covered by queen

[@justaegiscertifiedbodyguar8083]

38 seconds, with a3, b5, NxQd4, b3, c1 but I wasn't sure if that was allowed and I wasn't able to get a solution before you showed it

[@jacquesmainguy1]

Cool, I got a little a bit over 1 minute, in 9 moves. I actually simply went around the queen without even trying to backtrack. First obvious thing was that it would have to be an odd number of moves. Without the queen, it would have been 3, in a kind of circle. So I tried a bigger circle.

[@danielwang2405]

b3, c2, e1, f3, g5, h3, g1, e2, C1!!! are there multiple solutions beside the 2 you mentioned?

[@carolinejoybarnhart3717]

Number of moves weren't specified and the first solution I found was roughly 45 seconds dancing around the queen. So less optimal but totally fit the conditions.

[@simonemazza3950]

For me it was 25 seconds, but by taking the queen (which technically cannot be "defended by itself" on d4)

[@mcwolfbeast]

I found an 11-move solution very quickly (20 seconds or so) which I don't know where that lands me in talent? I didn't look for other solutions once I completed the task.

[@MrDac0964]

Got it in 39.56 sec on my iphone and did it exactly as shown by GM Smirnov. 😀 Pretty proud of myself!

[@braddrac]

About a minute in 9 moves, but looping around top of the queen instead of going up and down. I've had a couple drinks though, not sure if that helped or hindered.

[@maxezer5911]

Thanks

[@borysthecuber7339]

Queen only moves if she can capture your knight, you are the knight. Under 1 minute, FOUND THE BEST SOLUTION 3 MOVES 1: Na3, 2: Nb5 OR Nc2, 3: Nxd4#.

[@TurkishKS]

11 moves, just under a minute and a half. After figuring out I needed to do a knight loop, I just went clockwise around the board, looped in the top left corner and kept going clockwise. Didn't even consider doubling back. Ugh.

[@Rmason3156]

solved it in 2 ways first was in 5 moves a3, b5, d4xQ, b3, c1. but i felt like capturing the queen was not part of the real solution, then was b3 , c2, e1, f3, h2, f1, g3, e2, c1

[@apimpnamedslickback5936]

Every time I walk around the queen I find different ways of doing it. Found like 3 or 4

[@MYPSYAI]

I could do this in time only by starting at the end and working backwards in my head

[@jonathanaureliussutanto5478]

I solved it in 16 seconds and found both the solutions that you showed. 🥳🥳

[@TheGoldNinjaPro]

This was pretty simple for me; I did it fairly fast, however it would be much harder visualizing this for me when there are other pieces on the board ):

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

Great stuff!

[@kalistadrake5226]

It took me 15 seconds on the 1st solution. After that, I didn't even look for the 2nd solution. Then I thought "Why not just take the Queen?" ha ha! Seriously, nice puzzle and thanks for sharing. It's nice to know I'm a genius! :) Keep the puzzles coming! They are a lot of fun!

[@flyingmonkey3822]

Haha, a3,b5,kxd4,b3,c1 5 moves

[@kalistadrake5226]

@@flyingmonkey3822 Right!! :)

[@tarickhill3703]

did the c2 variation, solved it in about 35-40 seconds. tried going around the queen at first and that didn't work haha.

[@Logan-ck6ni]

Knight a3 to kb5 to kd4 taking the queen and then going ke2 and finally kc1

[@MrRickkramer]

9 if you go around, 5 if you take the Queen. Not too hard to figure out the path on this one if you know how horse’s hop around…

[@richcline3355]

Nevermind, I lost in 4 moves

[@Want2Laugh2]

I did it in slightly over 24 seconds but I know for a fact I could never reach the GM level, at best after years of dedication id be an IM so idk if this is a good way of determining talent

[@TomBarrister]

I can do it in one move by pretending that the Knight is an Empress.

[@MattrickBT]

I figured it out in about 20 seconds. But my solution had 11 moves, not 9 like the other 2. Since there was no stated stipulation on fewest moves possible or specific number of moves, what does that say? I went: 1.a3, 2.b5, 3.c7, 4.e6, 5.g5, 6.f3, 7.h2, 8.f1, 9.g3, 10. e2, 11. c1

[@tomtoss2463]

I did it in 11 moves: Na3, Nb5, Nc7, Ne6, Ng5, Nf3, Nh2, Nf1, Ng3, Ne2, Nc1. 30-60 seconds.

[@treasurehunt1705]

Took me right around 15 seconds id say after trying to go around the queen i tried again. I'll notate in an edit but thanks for the puzzle. Edit NA3 Nb5 Nc7 Na6 Nb8 Nc6 Na5 Nb3 and finally Nc1

[@eldsflamma8094]

na1, nc2, ne1, nf3, ng5, nf7, nh6, nf5, ne7, nc6, na5, nb3, nc1 about 1 minute

[@shadowsama585]

Puzzle 2 moves - 1. Nb5 , 2.Na3 , 3.Nc2 , 4.Ne1, 5.Nf3, 6.Nh2, 7.Nf1, 8.Ng3, 9.Ne2, 10.Nc1 I did it without seeing and my age is 11years , is it good ?

[@drakkenmensch]

Here's what my smartass brain came up with: Na3, Nb5, Nxc4, Nb3, Nc1. The puzzle rules only stated "the knight cannot be in a line of attack of the queen," *it does not directly forbid capture.*

[@thanos5105]

hey i know you would think i am lying but i think i found the first solution in 13 seconds so now what do i do?

[@Chraan]

Buy some chess books, read them, and become world champion in 2023

[@kalistadrake5226]

I believe you. It took me about that long too.

[@yehiazaglol6170]

Me too it was too easy

[@kalistadrake5226]

@@yehiazaglol6170 For a little bit tougher of a puzzle, try the one with four pawns and a Queen. That one is good too.

[@yehiazaglol6170]

@@kalistadrake5226 thanks I tried it It was a bit harder but I managed to solve it

[@gametheus1306]

Took me about half a minute. A3, C2, E1, F3, H2, F1, G3, E2, C1. Really just did the mental trial and error one move at a time

[@iantimmis651]

I spent like 25 seconds figuring out my solution (didn't even pause video), but it was a bit longer. Went to A3, B5, C7, E6, G5, F3, E1, C2, A3, B1. Had the knight running laps like a race horse

[@stargazer2042]

I found it in 30 seconds, but lost it on retrace, then found it again.

[@mikkohassien2117]

2x 9 moves possibilities, within 35sec both.

[@CurtisCanby]

Got it in ~1 minute! Very cool

[@witheringhs7766]

took less than 30 seconds, i just realized where i'd have to be for the final jump and visualized the line backwards

[@SevenTheJester]

I took the path up and down the left side of the board, and it took me 19 seconds. I really love these puzzles, though.

[@Bob94390]

I found a solution in less than one minute, but then I forgot the solution, so I had to solve it again. And again. So I will not be a good chess player.

[@averagebro413]

I did it in 4-5 minutes, because i started chess late my visualisation skills are not great, but i am still 2200 on lichess and improving a little bit

[@corny-mation9222]

About 40 seconds and I got it in 9 moves, first I quickly worked backwords from the square it was supposed to be in and found out 11 moves to get there and then later in like 12 seconds found out what I was doing wrong with the knight!

[@flinkultur989]

I did it in five moves. You didn't say the knight couldn't take the queen. 😄

[@LackOfBrain]

I did it in 5 moves: a3, b5, xd4, b3, ctook me around 1.30 minutes

[@WeezzyS]

I got it in 20 seconds but I think sometimes it can be luck since it was just the first thing I thought off and it could have been another thought And I found a 3rd option going all the way around Which is probably wrong but I think I found it

[@gamerzmusic7115]

Na1 Nb5 Nc7 Nf5 Ng5 Nf3 Nh2 Nf1 Ng3 Ne2 Nc3 11 move For the Puzzle number 1, That's the solution i found Forgot to count the time😅

[@pablogc2008]

Went all around the board in a different solution to the one you showed: a3-b5-c7-e6-g5-f3-h2-f1-g3-e2-c1. 11 moves. 31 seconds, but I still loose every game

[@Abu_momo]

What about A3, C2, A1, B3, C1 5 Moves and I did in less than 20 sec.

[@petersmythe6462]

My immediate instinct is to just go Na3 Nb5 Nxd4 Nb3 Nc1 but that sounds like it's probably breaking the rules.

[@saimon174666]

Well, 5mins. I never manage to quickly visualize knight moves

[@sharpvidtube]

Same here, I find knight's so tricky. Often lose games to knight maneuvers. Thinking of every square it can land on in a sequence of moves, is tricky. I find it a lot easier to visualise with straight lines

[@GMIgorSmirnov]

You will get better with practice.

[@atharvatripathi9919]

found a solution of 13 moves in 25 seconds also found a way to trap the knight in 1 move by playing Qd3 by black even if its white play only safe move for white will be Na3 you can still trap it with Qd3

[@BigDBrian]

the moment I saw the board I thought the idea was to trap the knight with queen d3 lmao. interesting that the exact same move works if the knight moves first.

[@Soccer_Incredible_Moments]

Ne3, Nb5, Nxd4, Ne2, Nc1 It took me 4 moves! and 18 seconds!

[@di3gostars282]

I took about one minute and the path is Na3 Nc2 Ne1 Nf3 Nh2 Nf1 Ng3 Ne2 and Nc1

[@ColouredKaaht]

you said cannot move the knight onto a square attacked by the queen so initially I thought A3, C2, take queen on D4, E2, C1 lmao

[@marshalmiller1323]

You can go around the queen in 9 moves

[@jacklondon8385]

I did it in 4 seconds. this is cos I got lucky first time just jumping into unprotected squares. Its a good idea but I am sure one would have to do lots off these puzzles and get an average.

[@Sifo_Dyas]

I was between 15-30 seconds but I went completely around the queen and it took 11 moves, so how many seconds penalty do I get? (a3 b5 c7 e6 g5 f3 h2 f1 g3 e2 c1)

[@lukastux3024]

in the worst case, that would count as "not solved", because you didn't check for anything better. 15-30s is very impressive however even for the 11 move solution, so definitely you have got something!

[@Mqn901]

Under 30 seconds in 7 moves rather than 9

[@808JuJu]

took about 35 seconds to find the 9 moves, pretty tricky stuff!

[@borysthecuber7339]

Found the 9 move solution easiest if you backwards calculate it queen ONLY moves if it can take the knight

[@princessanneuyguangco2113]

Solved it in under a minute but in 11 moves instead of 9.

[@sonofsarek]

You have to solve it like a maze. With mazes, you solve from the start and end at the same time. I solved it via your 2nd method by solving backwards.

[@KasperVandenBranden]

I did in like 20 seconds but with another series of moves: Na3, Nb5, Na7, Nc6, Ne7, Nf5, Ng3, Ne2, Nc1. So there are 3 options. I hope you will see this comment.

[@richterxxazula]

I spent about 30 seconds but concluding that there's no way to do that without capturing the queen.

[@freakmusic4009]

started with c2, solved the puzzle in 3,5 minutes. seems vay too long to me :( is it good?

[@joshuasayer5973]

I went all the way around the queen lol, but only took 46 seconds (still only 9 moves too)...there's still hope for me I guess lol

[@MrKeeyt-jm3ji]

So uhmm, I’m different 😂. I’m learning chess, extremely new so my mindset might be off. Nevertheless, in my brain I went a3 first, thought for about 4 seconds and came to the conclusion that the puzzle only says I can’t move where black can’t ATTACK.I need to get to my objective, an I need to do it quickly….So I just took queen and went on my merry way and was BEYOND sure I had the right answer thinking this was a “thinking outside the box” puzzle…..I have much to learn.😂