Solve This IF You Can - A Wild Problem By Otto Blathy

👕 New Shirts! 👕
Chessvibes.shop
✅ Courses! ✅
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
The Ultimate King's Indian:
chessvibescourses.thinkific.c...
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
1000 - 1500 Strategic Thinking Chess Course:
chessvibescourses.thinkific.c...
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
Patreon tournaments with Nelson:
🔶 / chessvibes 🔶
☑️ Play Chess Here:
chess.com?ref_id=5885046
☑️ Join Our Discord Here:
/ discord
☑️ Support Nelson Here:
paypal.me/ChessVibes

[@detrue4193]

very instructive I always reach this position

[@sheridan5175]

Nice

[@micahwright5901]

Every game I play is an elaborate trap to set up this position. They never see it coming.

[@CrimmzZT]

@@micahwright5901 lmaoo imagine if you pulled that off, I have successfully started the kings gambit 3 times and messed it up 2 of those times by not getting the bishop out this would be hard

[@jiogcyihsugyiocjfdoivhphvw6821]

and im the king of pluto

[@mariofan6100]

Same

[@rainerausdemspring3584]

Blathy was a famous Hungarian engineer and a famous composer of chess problems. He composed many problems with very long solutions. His world record problem is a mate in 257 moves another one (illegal position) requires292 moves.

[@robyrogo1843]

What was the illegal position one?

[@rainerausdemspring3584]

@@robyrogo1843 de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ott%C3%B3_Titusz_Bl%C3%A1thy

[@yikerbones9824]

@@rainerausdemspring3584 i cant really read that language

[@Turalcar]

@@yikerbones9824 English page is in the interwiki but doesn't have the puzzle. The only thing you need to know is D is for queen

[@vindj2391]

Are those 257 all forced moves? That's insane

[@danielskrivan6921]

I once had a friend who's king was completely surrounded by his own pieces, and I managed checkmate with a single knight. I was adjacent to a bishop and diagonal to a rook.

[@iamzsdawgy]

Very nice :) its called a smothered mate

[@PhO3NiX96]

I love the Budapest Gambit for this reason :)

[@Matthew-bu7fg]

Given how often this endgame arises, I'm surprised this is the first video I've seen on this. It's second only to the rook endgame for me.

[@thebeautifulgame2274]

Lol!

[@landsgevaer]

Yep, just a queen-sacrifice, a double rook- and bishop-sacrifice, a knight-sacrifice, and a septuple pawn-sacrifice into the game, then this already is a rather typical position when you happen to blunder a pawn. Which sacrificing player doesn't blunder a pawn now and then? Should be in the tablebases.

[@bastiaan0741]

Imagine this is the endgame you're playing for.

[@meepy2739]

Rookie mistake

[@RhyHello]

Who hasn't been in this position at least a few times

[@dakotathomas2139]

Eric Rosens newest video: playing for the Otto position. Stream length 24 days 8 hours 13 minutes

[@GlobalWarmingSkeptic]

Imagine your opponent blunders every piece with no exchanges, and he beats you with this.

[@LetsPlayCrazy]

Since every move is forced, this was actually quite a bit easier than normal 2 move checkmates. (what I mean by forced is that if you do something else, you immediately either get taken or lose initiative. So I was able to basicially figure this out the first try against lvl 8 Stockfish)

[@aanon4019]

Hardest part is figuring out why taking the bishop is necessary I would say yeah

[@defensivekobra3873]

What i like about this puzzle is how it kinda solves itself, just by trying out what moves you can do you get the sense that the opponent's king is trapped and that you need to prevent it from moving back and fourth to avoid your knight, you try all the ways you can move your king to do that and you eventiually reach your answer, you can tell this puzzle has been well-designed

[@tom_curtis]

I dislike it for exactly the same reason.

[@AdamHoelscher]

Great puzzle. There's one thing that you didn't cover: why it's necessary to take the light bishop. If I'm not mistaken, it's because the delaying line with bf6+, kd8+ could then go to bc8+ and we loose control of d6.

[@nathaniel201]

A little rusty on chess notation so bear with me if this isn't what you meant. Bishop to F6 kicks the king up to E6, knight goes to D8 (since it's trapping the other bishop at the moment), kicking the king to D7. If the other bishop remains in play, then it can move to C8, as I believe you were referencing. However, I don't think we don't lose control of D6 just yet, since the king can still move to C7. However, that allows a knight fork at E6 while being guarded by the bishop, or a bishop fork at E5, at which point white loses both its knight and (in the case of the bishop fork) control of D6.

[@Csocso700]

@@nathaniel201 Bc8+ then Kc7 then Be4 forking the knight and king

[@Kaldrack]

Why is black moving the pawn down at 3:36? If instead the rook b4 would be moved, the king could escape. Edit: nevermind knight d3 would stop that

[@yyyyyk]

Cute puzzle. I like these ouzzles, even when the positions aren't likely to happen in real games (triple and double pawns on three files.. lol), because it teaches us something, and part of that can happen in real games. Thanks, NM Nelson!

[@maximmironov6961]

It's Bl(o)thy... He did mate in 290, longest checkmate in history

[@VuHuyMinh]

290 is not the longest checkmate is 549

[@maximmironov6961]

@@VuHuyMinh wow

[@Alche_mist]

@@VuHuyMinh But that IIRC is not a composed problem, but an output from some endgame tablebase, isn't it?

[@GustavRex]

I LOVE these, and I found the solution all the way through! Please keep them coming, man! :)

[@reisanibal1]

One of those puzzles where the composition is more beautiful than the actual solution.

[@calebklingerman7902]

I’m very proud of myself, I was able to see all the moves ahead of time. Now if I could just trick my opponents into reaching this position…

[@SpiderWaffle]

One thing missing was why you need to take the bishop on a6. It could then come in for another check once the knight has moved out of its way, and then if Kc7 to keep blocking d6, black has Be5 or Ne6+ being covered by bishop, the bishop you need to remove first.

[@christopherheckman7957]

I didn't take the bishop in "my" solution ... after ... Bc8+ 11. Kc7 (still controlling d6) Ne6+ 12. Nxe6 mates ... unless I missed something.

[@strategy2128]

If you have a knight, never resign

[@chikezienestor3394]

Very interesting. The knight can be very powerful in some clustered positions.

[@vincentpeer5188]

Super cool puzzle! I saw most of the moves. But you analysis always shows me things I didn’t see. Thanx!

[@brokenstar4121]

love ur videos man keep posting this kind of interesting chess puzzles

[@enchanteratsuma9519]

I have a chess book that has multiple chess compositions and it very helpful to recognize unorthodox checkmate patterns. Adolf Anderssen's 1846 chess composition is a complex one but is very educational in threatening the position while undergoing a threat against your king as well. Great video btw.

[@iainmcclure416]

I'm going to use this puzzle with the school club I run. Great way to teach the power of the knight in congested positions.

[@radicaljojo8795]

The pawn structure tho

[@Commander-lh6ey]

i think i got it on my own after 20 mins... when I took out my actual chess board to test my theory it was identical to your explanation. thanks for the great video

[@jonaskoelker]

I would love for the presentation to cover the big picture plan, the subgoals, obstacles, false starts, and so on. Well, to be the change I want to see in the world: Obviously we cannot lose the knight or all hope is lost. The queen is a major obstacle, taking it would be great. The black king is trapped in a two-square enclosure-there's probably some mating net where the white king guards one square. Most likely that's the right-most square (d5) since the other square is inaccessible to the white king. So let's try Nf4-e6-c7 and Ke4 threatening Ne6#. But then d5+ Bf6+ Nd8+ guards e6 vs. Ke5-e6-d7, and Kxd8 lets black escape. So probably Ne6 is the wrong mating square. Maybe a6? But Ra4 defends that square and Rcxb4 precludes capture of R@b4. Also Ra4 creates an escape square on b4, so I guess the mating square has to attack b4 and c5 simultaneously, i.e. it's d3. Let's try Nf4-e6-c7-e6-f4 and Ke4. But then d5+ Bf6+ Nd8+ vs. Ke5-e6-d7-c7 guarding d6 followed by Bf5 guarding d3. Oh, so I guess Nf4-e6-c7-a6-c7-e6-f4 and Ke4. Then d5+ Bf6+ Nd8+ vs. Ke5-e6-d7 guarding d6 and black has no defensive resources. Why Ke4 and not Ke6? Because Nd8+ can force the white king away from guarding d5, weakening the threats and probably granting black piece activity too easily. I hope you enjoyed my analysis.

[@andyclark8991]

Love your awesome videos, all of them.

[@shadreckchimba2389]

This is great, Nelson. Thanks.

[@jgig1329]

Super cool puzzle! Another thing to note is that white has another potential escape square on b4 if they move the rook instead of playing c5+, but delivering the check with Nd3# (and taking the pawn we couldn’t take earlier) will block that escape, whereas Ne6+ loses.

[@wanderlustwarrior]

I'm glad I actually solved this one! I didn't see why taking the bishop was necessary though, so there's always room for me to plan further ahead! I'm getting better at these videos after just finding your channel a couple days ago.

[@Naoyoy]

At 3:32 what happens if instead of checking the king, black moves their rook anywhere else? Doesn’t black just win in that case?

[@Turrican]

This particular end game is called 'the dusky flycatcher'. Probably.

[@mpeterll]

There's another puzzle I once saw where white has his entire army but black is threatening mate in one with his sole remaining piece (a bishop). White has to sacrifice most of his pieces to stop the mate but then can only get a draw.

[@DaDitka]

Puzzles like this show the power the knight has if played effectively.

[@syn6109]

I will now remember how to win this one specific position for the rest of my life

[@BennyKleykens]

Why did you go back to F4 with the Knight? The King can go to E4 after the Knight returns from catching the Bishop on A5.

[@wiscorpio72]

I thought I could skip NxBa6 but then I saw that move can't be skipped. If black later plays Nd8+, the bishop escapes and plays Bc3+, if KxBc8 the black king escapes, if Kc7 black plays Ne6+ then if NxNe6+ BxNe6 or Kb7 and the white king no longer traps the black king.

[@adensikes6390]

Something else cool about the position at 5:19 is that if you don't take the bishop earlier in the puzzle then black can play Bc8+!! ruining whites' mating net. It is interesting seeing the purpose of every move in this puzzle!

[@LucianDevine]

It took me a bit to see why taking the bishop was necessary too. If we don't, then after we dodge the bishop check and knight check, when we go Kd7 there is Bc8+. we can do Kc7, keeping control of D6, but then Be5+ forks our King and Knight, losing us the position.

[@NerdyWordyMatt]

Thanks for a fun puzzle.

[@se6369]

Cool video. It would have been nice if you said what way the pawns move before you ask us to pause and try to solve it though. Not everyone remembers who starts on 1/2 and who starts on 7/8 (But I probably still would never solve something like this anyway)

[@Amoeby]

1. Nf4+ Kc5 2. Ne6+ Kd5 3. Nxc7+ Kc5 4. Nxa6+ Kd5 5. Nc7+ Kc5 6. Ne6+ Kd5 7. Nf4+ Kc5 8. Ke4 d5+ 9. Ke5 Bf6+ 10. Ke6 Nd8+ 11. Kd7 [any move] 12. Nxd3# (or Nd3# if 11. ... d2) My first calculation was the same except I didn't take the bishop on a6 after capturing the queen. However, I discovered that if we follow the same idea 6. Kd3 d5+ 7. Ke5 Bf6+ 8. Nd8+ 9. Ke6 there is 9. ... Bc8+!! which saves black.

[@Drawfill]

Nice puzzle! Easy enough to solve the first part, but I was intrigued as to why capturing that pawn was bad.

[@randomguy123playsgames]

First thing I noticed looking at the thumbnail is that to win the best possible move to win is checkmating the king

[@aleccarey5254]

What happens if they move the rook instead of going for a check earlier on

[@yoursleepparalysisdemon1828]

damn i literally got the idea instantly. that was nice.

[@nicomuller1037]

sorry I´m new to this but how do we know that black uses its pawn to go to d5 for the check when there are other potential moves to play? Or is this some kind of force check scenario where the opponent has to go for check whenever there is an opportunity?

[@mateussilva635]

I tried it before watching agains Stockfish and managed to get it with some redos. I know it's better to take your time and find every perfect move but it was also fun seeing the responses black had against my moves.

[@Pixelhurricane]

I don't understand the end steps of this puzzle, at the beginning you say that you have to put black in check every turn or they can move pieces and escape but at 3:30 the King to e5 move leaves black with a turn doesn't it? Right afterward you had black make a pawn to d5 move but if black had made a move with their rook to b2 for instance, that would leave the king with an escape route for the following knight to e6 check right?

[@Nexus_542]

At the end, the example you used for why taking the pawn would've been a bad move, the order was Dd3, Kd4 to get out of check. Why couldnt you instead have gone Ne6 check mate? I understand that taking the pawn would've been a bad move because of the discovered check from the rook, but after the proposed blunder, it should've been mate in 1, right?

[@woodysmith2681]

In the second line, Black Pawn to D3 means that Ne6 checkmates, controlling both squares. It's the threat of check by black on any move that's the key point.

[@MrRogal00]

The knight on d8 is covering e6 in that line.

[@ShoopChill]

I was able to visualize the entire puzzle and almost solve it. The only thing I missed was taking the bishop on a6 and even though you didn’t say why to take the bishop I realized after Nf4+, Kc5, Ne6+, Kd5, Nxc7+, Kc5, Ne6+, Kd5, Nf4+, Kc5, Ke4, d5+, Ke5, Bf6+, Ke6, Nd8+, Kd7, Rb3, Nd3# (which was the line I calculated) if the light squared bishop wasn’t taken earlier in the line, like I had missed, instead of playing Rb3, black could play Bc8+ forcing Kc7 or the black king can escape which than leads into Be5+ which is a fork of the king and knight.

[@UTU49]

I like your videos. This puzzle is the answer to the following challenge. Can you construct a scenario where a Knight and King can win against an entire army? Actually it would be very easy to create lots of one or two move checkmates with just a Knight and King, some of them much more plausible than this one... but this one has such nice interesting wrinkles.

[@BreakTheIce222]

I now know what to do if I ever find myself in this situation

[@aaronscott7467]

What happens if black moved their room from B4 to B2 when we play KE4?

[@gokselkabaroglu2946]

Thanks 👍

[@christopherheckman7957]

I saw the basic idea and the line up to where the Knight takes the bishop (which I didn't do). I don't think it's necessary, because after Kd7, the game could continue with ... Bc8+ 11. Kc7 Ne6+ 12. Nxe6 mate! Unless, of course, I'm missing something ...

[@TehConqueror]

3:27 why would they push a pawn trapping their king instead of going for promotion? At the beginning you said, every move had to put them in check which makes sense cause otherwise the pawn majority can quickly turn into multiple queens.

[@amirkiani8308]

Because then the knight move is just checkmate! Black has to trap his own king to prevent the checkmate for couple of moves

[@Shadow-hm3uq]

@@amirkiani8308 Exactly that, for the majority of this Problem (or even the entirety), black is just checkmate in one, no time for promotions

[@sanderbogaert7601]

@@amirkiani8308 why not move the rook instead? King could have gotten away?

[@amirkiani8308]

@@sanderbogaert7601 that's interesting detail that I missed. But the knight will cover that square, so moving the rook won't help and the knight move is still checkmate.

[@sanderbogaert7601]

@@amirkiani8308 Indeed, I missed that. Thanks for pointing it out!

[@lukeyy6815]

Well I would've loved the see the opening to that game.

[@blakewalker84120]

It's grotesque! Fun, but pretty easy to solve. Unlike many puzzles, there are really no choices so this grotesque can be solved one move at a time rather than trying to figure it all out before making the first move.

[@wiscorpio72]

NxP would let the king escape, also on Ne6+ also ✔️ the square d4, the black knight can simply capture on e6.

[@Ozasuke]

Hi from Oregon! Relatively new to chess here, and I greatly appreciate these videos! Is this faster or am I missing something? 1. Nf4+ Kc5 2. Ne6+ Kd5 3. Nxc7+ Kc5 4. Ne6+ Kd5 5. Nf4+ Kc5 6. Ke6 Nd8+ 7. Kd7 [Ra4 or d5] 8. Nxd3#

[@finlaywards5162]

Not mate with whites king on d7, black still has Kd5. Would work if for some reason black plays 7. d5 but it's not forced

[@Scott100W]

Yeh it's pretty easy once you know which way black's pawns can move.

[@jon0-niel910]

Dude how do I know if black is going up or down the board

[@gp_playz3849]

Me: *READS THE TITLE* Also Me: *Solves the puzzle before he finishes describing the position*

[@SimbyDimby]

Cool puzzle!

[@JetfireQuasar]

3:33 - I'd have moved the rook from B4 at this point after the earlier dance around the cage. Assuming the check play is very detrimental to this problem moving the rook this early would remove the possible checkmate by white.

[@emilianoamendola4284]

I came to say the same, after 3:33 you are not forced to d5, but if you move the rook, Ke3++

[@joecatalan]

Bruh I’ve seen one of ottos puzzles that was forced mate in 290

[@TigerBunny713]

But at 3:37 what if black opens with the left rook to leave an escape route instead of attacking with the pawn? Am I overlooking something?

[@UTU49]

Yes, he explains at 4:30. It accomplishes nothing for black, because the escape square is covered by the checking knight.

[@binitasingh1153]

2:05 why not king E4 then knight E6 or E5?

[@kullen2042]

I has hoped you would say a bit more on why white has to capture black's bishop on a6. I suppose this is also revealed only later in the calculation (e.g. 4:24) where it would be detrimental to allow black another check on white's king.

[@DaaaarK147]

what if at 3:35 black moves bishop, tower or knight instead of pawn?

[@3th0s]

Is there really not a link to the puzzle anywhere?

[@andrewclifton5315]

What if the Rook moves on the bottom left instead of checking the white king with the pawn it spoils everything

[@PhO3NiX96]

For the first time in my life I solved the puzzle from the Thumbnail and I'm pretty proud

[@rebelronin3132]

@3:35 what if instead of moving the pawn and made check, I move rook b4 to b1? Will it create escape route for the black king?

[@UTU49]

No. It accomplishes nothing for Black, because the checking Knight covers the escape square, so it's still checkmate.

[@SoulariceJackson]

a couple of things. one why would he go for check obvious trap is obvious when he could move the rook and open the door for the king to go south to victory

[@accountjr.7347]

What is at 3:35 instead of them moving their pawn down they move their castle down and now he can excape from the bottoms left

[@Debbiebabe69]

At 3:30 why dosnt black simply move his rook to create an escape route rather than trying to attack the king?

[@SuperJJAlexander]

Is the capture of the bishop on A6 necessary?

[@dale117]

(Haven't seen video yet) looking at the layout, mate in 9 with knight f4, d6, c7, a6, c7, d6, f4, king e4, knight f6 for mate. Unless I'm overlooking something. Yes, I was overlooking black's pawn. Lol Almost only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades, though.

[@danne3664]

This is the exact moment Walter became Heisenberg.

[@ChadTanker]

How does the knight move? Checkmate.

[@Nathanaeltvandermen]

But black isn’t forced to check you with the pawn. They could move their rook down to b1 to make an opening for their king.

[@theforge129]

Then Nxd3 is checkmate

[@Nathanaeltvandermen]

@@theforge129 very true lol

[@sharadawachar5895]

What if we don't take bishop on a6, then what's the continuation after, like we retreat with Ne6+ after taking the queen...followed by Nf5+ and Ke6, how black survives this?

[@rajdakshit409]

If you don't take the a6 bishop, let's say white follows the same plan. At the end of the continuation shown by Nelson, when white plays Kd7 to block the black king's escape route, black can play Bc8+ to deflect our king. Then black escapes via d6 since the white king is no longer covering it.

[@johnkesich8696]

There is no reason to take the bishop. Since the bishop poses no threat, playing Ne6+ instead simply shortens the mating sequence by two moves.

[@EbuCallinav]

Same line but at the end Black could respond with BC8+, if the King takes the bishop then the D6 pressure is gone and the King escapes, or if the King moves to C7 to keep pressure then the other bishop can fork with E5+ and take the Knight, then it doesn't matter if the king escapes.

[@ivanscottw]

(before looking at the solution) The black king is in a trap set by its own pawns and other pieces - and the white's king (which totally prohibits exit). I however wonder if there is any possible backtrack (even in co-op mode) that could lead to such an awkward position... But I tried.. can't get the win; Knight It's probably starts with Cf7-Kc5 - you don't want to take the rook at b4 (it would open the exit door).. I stumble ok, will look at the solution now ;)

[@dimiskyr]

It is important to note that White has to take the bishop on a6 before returning to f4 because, otherwise, when White plays Kd7 (so as to keep d6 under cotrol) Black is saved by ...Bc8+!

[@danglyboi474]

I was gonna comment one of my plans to smothered checkmate, but I was also playing black and checkmated white on accident.

[@jonwill]

How do you know which way the pawns are advancing? You defined direction when you solved the puzzle, but how were we to know?

[@lonewolf42923]

You have the ranks noted on the left of the board, black pawns start on 7th rank, and go down to promote on 1st rank.

[@jonwill]

@@lonewolf42923 Thank you; appreciate your help. My oversight.

[@franklinturtle9849]

More 1 (or 2) piece vs entire army puzzles.

[@arlancage5811]

Wha happens is black plays pawn - D2 after King E4?

[@jelugo77]

Why is taking the A6 bishop necessary? Couldn't you just check until back in original position then move king?

[@Shadow-hm3uq]

Then you have the Bc8+ move ruining your matenet.

[@leonpaelinck]

Can you post the fen please?

[@marmik961]

This is why I try to get the knight as soon as possible, they can be so annoying.

[@noumanabbasi9506]

This has now happened to me twice and I wasn't able to figure out what to do here...

[@marklevin3236]

Did the author of this ever played chess ? Are there any records of his games, tournament he participated in etc..m Back in 1978 I participated kn blitz tournament kn Tbilisi. I took a penultimate place, and last was taken by Gia Nadareishvili famous chess study composer.

[@matheusmitsuoka4057]

this is a draw for me, by Threefold Repetition rule black king d5->c5 (1:18) black king c5->d5 (1:51) black king d5->c5 (2:01) black king c5->d5 (2:13) black king d5->c5 (2:24) and the game should be ended right here by a draw and the move of the same piece(black king) has repeated 3 times d5->c5

[@12magner05]

What about captures? That changes the position

[@johnklaus9111]

Ez 3 move check mate assuming white goes next. Facing black. Knight moves next to king below. Check. Black king must move back one space. King moves diagonally forward and up one space. Black moves any piece. Knight takes pawn lead on bottom, check mate.

[@Shadow-hm3uq]

You may have overlooked the fact that when the white King is on e6, black has Qe7 with check, and then your chance is over. Also, i recommend learning chess notation for those kind of situations :)

[@johnklaus9111]

@@Shadow-hm3uq you get that my kmoght is blocking that queen, yeah? so no, im right. you may have my boatd orientation off. sorry i dont know the board numberings.

[@baskoning9896]

Yes. But why does your red piece set has white pawns. And why only 7.

[@vux688]

Couldn't u move king to e 6 I believe it was and when u move the knight it's forced to get into check mate

[@vux688]

Did not watch whole vid sorry idk how to delete comments

[@Elfutbol59]

omg i saw the whole combination from the starting position

[@muxxy52]

The threefold repetition rule states that a player may claim a draw if the same position occurs three times.

[@anonygent]

It's not considered the same position, though, if one side has lost pieces in the meantime.

[@muxxy52]

@@anonygent ahh got ya thanks

[@Grrrrzzz47]

"Final checkmate" YO IS THE WHITE KING THE SHOTGUN KING?