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Sunday, September 12, 2010

Chess Puzzle: Can you find the magic move


Hello Everyone,

Did you have a 'chessy weekend'? Here is a nice puzzle to wrap off the Sunday chess cheer. Enjoy!

In the given position Black can easily win by simply taking the Rook on e6. But he wanted too much (possibly) and decided to go for a checkmate threat. So, he played Qc3 threatening to take the Rook on a1 and finish off the game.

Now, White resigned!

Now, look at the position after Qc3 and tell us did White actually need to resign or he could turn the tables and actually win. This is from an actual game played in Berlin in the mid-twentieth century but we couldn't find more details.

You can run the moves in the flashplayer if you cannot find the 'magic move'.


From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
Also see her personal blog at

6 comments:

  1. hahaha! good lesson for those who resign too early...
    And it would have been a good lesson for black if white would have played Rxb6. Sometimes when you're almost winning you can fail to think your opponent can't hurt you. Although we all now this kind of thought is a mistake, sometimes we make this mistake.

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  2. Saira Fernando, MadridSeptember 13, 2010 at 5:24 AM

    wow... I didn't see it at all. Damn. That's what I do on the chessboard. Any suggestions Chess Queen?

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  3. did this come from an actual game?

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  4. Yes, as updated in the blog entry, this did come from a game in Berlin and was played sometime around the 1950s. We couldn't find more details. Yet, couldn't resist sharing it. :)

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  5. Now that was a Magick Move, and you are a Sorceress!
    LOL BB.

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  6. Marc P. Johnson, DetroitSeptember 13, 2010 at 12:19 PM

    Chess Queen and Magic Moves - Life is made! I love you Chess Queen.

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