Daily Puzzle Log: Feb 11 | Puzzling My Way to a Solve!
The following is a polished version of a post from back in time. I'll be walking you through my initial thought process when solving: my 'for sure's and my 'maybe's; my rights and my wrongs. I have made modest revisions for enhanced clarity and entertainment.
You're welcome to solve the puzzle along with me, playing a move as you read each step of my commentary. Enjoy this puzzle analysis from the old ages of Sunday, February 12, 2025, as this series continues our journey through the archives!
That was refreshing! It was simple, but, it effectively taught me to be flexible in planning my moves. Don’t just act; also react.
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Table of Contents |
FIRST, I noticed that we had 2 immediate checks that would have been mate (back rank) - Rc1 & Qa1 - if the King were walled in. Unfortunately, he had that escape square on h2, so, I thought it might be a capture puzzle (though, not the queen... it's too far away).
I did notice that my queen had access to the h2 diagonal, so, I decided to deliver the first check with my rook so I could keep my queen available. Unfortunately, I followed up with e5+ because I foresaw g3 (but, was too lazy 🥱 to look further). After I was told that it was wrong, I looked again and saw that g3 actually left a cavity for my queen to menacingly occupy! 
- f3.
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Board Principle: Whenever an opponent makes a move, ask yourself, 'What was that piece doing before?' It could have been
It also could have been helping you - perhaps a pawn was blocking an attacker from protecting a square, allowing you to attack. If you examine the job the piece was previously doing, new opportunities open up! Note: this principle also applies to your own pieces: ask yourself the aforementioned question BEFORE moving your piece. This prevents your pieces from dropping important jobs… like protecting your queen or king. In this example, White entirely forgot why their queen was on that file in the first place and lunged at what appeared to be a blundered knight. You never know when a brilliant sacrifice can lure them away! You want to remember a piece’s responsibility, but, all the merrier if your opponent forgets. If you examine the job your opponent’s piece was previously doing, new opportunities open up! And, asking this question for your own moves will shave down your blunder rate. |
Upon further inspection of Qf4+, I instinctively knew that moving my queen to f3 was correct, and I backed it up by finding Qh1#. However, I failed to notice that Black could stop that by offering a queen trade.
So, maybe this was a queen puzzle after all?... But, there wasn't a lot of ammunition to come out winning. My rook couldn't even help, it's on the 1st rank...
My rook is on the 1st rank! 💡
I didn't need to trade anything! Just a quick double-check that there's no escape and no capture for Black... and, Bingo!
#️⃣
In the end, all it took was reaching over to the opposite rank, blocking the critical square with my queen, and swift execution. So, to me, this puzzle kind of felt like doing isometrics - it gave me some good exercise that wasn't too challenging, but, felt like a good stretch. I hope you all enjoyed it as I did!
"Because every masterpiece deserves a royal review."
Special Thanks to:
Captain Bristow
For leading us on this journey with much patience!
Kevin Smith
Who is anything but an idiot!
NM Clawitter
For blogging to impress and giving me great advice!
Everyone else
For supporting me, guiding me, sharing code, advising me on my thumbnail, and much more. I couldn't have done all this without you!
