White to play and win
Doesn't this look too silly for Reinfeld to have invented it?
Since intellectual property theft would be a bad thing, I'll stop the quiz with the tenth example (and 10 divided by 1001 is less than 1%, isn't it?). Please let me know how you did: too hard? Too easy? (If you scored 10 out of 10, feel free to brag!)
Now that I'm getting my blogging fingers warmed up, look for Chicago chess content in future posts.
5 comments:
Setting up double checks is a good thing, so 1.Qxg8+ Kxg8 2.Nf6 double check and mate. If instead 1...Ke7, White wins easily: if nothing flashier is available, there's simply 2.Rxa8 intending 3.Rxg7+.
The song lyrics "basically, it's as easy as pie" come to mind. I solved all the problems with stunning alacrity, then busted one of them, along with the claim that it was based on a real game. I would suggest that you have a better mix of easy and hard problems, as other sites like chessgames.com and Susan Polgar's blog do.
But you're a master, Fred!
What is easy to you is not easy to the rest of the world. It's a question of audience.
But excellent catch on #247; Reinfeld missed it, too.
I realize that I am surely stronger than your average reader. But that's the point: a popular chess blog (which you presumably aspire to be) will have readers with a wide range of abilities, so you want to try to have something for everyone.
My peak USCF rating is 2170, and my current rating is 2040-ish. This certainly makes me stronger than 90% or so of all tournament players. (According to FIDE, I'm in the top 30,000 in the world: whoopee.)
But I'm also quite conscious of how many players in the remaining 10% have a much deeper understanding of the game than I do. I am flattered that one of them is here keeping me honest.
So I'm a little uncomfortable aiming this blog at a level above my capabilities.
Chess is hard, and every so often a "simple" position will turn out to be incredibly complex.
Also, I think many strong players have an interest in sharing their knowledge with beginners & experienced amateurs.
Let the market decide....
Post a Comment