Spectacular Studies
Hello and welcome to the longest blog post that you will ever read. Today we are going to look at the some studies that will blow your mind away. My hope for this article is to really bring out the true joy in chess, and to unveil the infinite complexity that can occur within what may seem like a simple position. In a game where countless positions can occur, some of those positions tend to have amazing traits and hidden meanings inside of them. Throughout this blog, you will witness glamorous scenes of sheer complexity, hidden gems, and much much more. I hope you enjoy ten of my hand-picked favorite studies of all time, and without further ado, lets get started!
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#4: The Unbelievable Underpromotion
#2: Stockfish Screws the Solution
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Coming in at number 10 is the most incredible blockade-themed puzzle I have ever seen in my life. This puzzle made it into the top 10 for a number of reasons. Firstly, I was not expecting such brilliancy when there are such few pieces on the board. However, when I uncovered the solution I was absolutely shocked. Let's see if you can solve this study before the answer is unveiled!
In this position black's pawn is one move away from promotion. Now, white has a few problems. First off, if white sits around and does nothing then black will simply promote, get in front of white's pawns, and win the game assuming that black is intelligent enough to accomplish the king and rook checkmate. However, it is white's move. What can white play here that not only prevents black from winning, but amazingly can make white win the game?
This move sets up a fantastic blockade. Now after this move white's win seems pretty straightforward. We just promote and win the game, right? Well, it's not that simple. Black's next move will make things a bit more complicated.
Well, now what do we do? Black is threatening to promote the pawn, we can't check the king, and we can't stop the pawn from promoting. Or can we? The next move will shock you.
Yet another blockade, not with the bishop, but this time with our newly-promoted queen! Black is forced to take our queen, but now with our final remaining pawn, we can push to a7 and win the game. Now why was it necessary to put our previous queen on h1? Well if you can recall back to the earlier position, white had no checks after black played Rd1, and a part of that was because of the pawn on a6. The difference, however in this position is that there is no more pawn on a6. That means that we will promote with check.
Overall, this study displays the sheer power that the tactical idea of blockading can have on your position. Sometimes, one little square can become more valuable than a queen, and must be defended at all costs.
It is white to move and win in what seemingly appears to be a casual bishop vs knight endgame, however white has an extra passed pawn. Now at first glance this position looks dead drawn because if black captures our h-pawn he can simply sac his bishop for our f pawn and the end result will be a draw. However when we look at the position a little more closely we'll see that if we somehow defending our a-pawn, then we will capture black's h-pawn, resulting in an endgame where we have two passed pawns on a5 and f2. This endgame will be a win for white. That is why the first move to this puzzle is so crucial. With all this in mind, see if you can find the winning idea!
Now black is in a bit of trouble. If he doesn't attack the knight with his king, we will play Kxh2 on the next move and transition into a winning endgame for white because it will be impossible for black's bishop to handle two passed pawns since they are so far apart. That means black has to either play Kc5 or Kd5. Let's first look at Kd5.
So now we know that move doesn't work for black. But wait! What if black plays Kc6? If we try to initiate the same strategy, black will simply play Kb6 and win our pawn! So how do we win? Remember how I said that these positions contained hidden gems? Well, this move is one of them. The unexpectedness of this move is why it is featured in this blog. See if you can find it!
This is the biggest, most massive display of piece dominance I have ever seen. If I was the person playing black I would probably quit chess forever. Black literally has no good moves, and Kh1 was the only way to win. Amazing. This study was yet another example of blockading, and shows the true power a knight can possess when placed in the center of the board. Now, onto the next study!
In this position it is white to play and draw. Now although white's pawn is one square away from promotion, black has this bishop over here on h7 that can always check on f5, and skewer the king and queen. "But wait a minute", you may be asking, "what if we play Ke6 and prevent black from playing f5?" Well, now black can respond with either Kf4 or Ke4, and when white promotes black will skewer our king and queen with Bf5+, winning the queen, and the game.
Now we are in a bit of a predicament. If we sit around and do nothing, black will simply push his pawn all the way down to the end of the board, promote, and proceed to checkmate our king. Things look hopeless here, but amazingly, there is a way to save this game. The solution may not make a lot of logical sense at first, but as we analyze further we begin see the incredible strategy behind it.
This seems like a completely illogical backward move. If we want to chase down black's final pawn, why aren't we going forward? Well, kings possess more power than you think. After black begins pushing the pawn down the board, how do we save the game? See if you can find the drawing idea.
Ok, we moved our king to c8 and back to d7, so what the heck did we accomplish by wasting two moves? This sentence perfectly describes what I was thinking when I originally saw this puzzle. When everything plays out, I assure you that white's little maneuver will make perfect sense, but for now try to find white's continuation.
Incredible! Our king has somehow managed to catch up with black's last pawn. By simultaneously attacking the bishop and threatening to promote, the king somehow magically sidestepped its way to catch up to the pawn in a tremendous race. Without this brilliant backwards move, black would have won. But because of white's absolute genius, this game will go on to be a draw. But how did such a maneuver work? Well, it has to do with the way the king moves. Since the king can move to one square in any direction, the king can actually make a side journey while still on its original path. Take a look at the diagram below to see what I mean.
I hope that after you have witnessed this insanity you will no longer take the power of the king's mobility for granted. As you read more of this blog you will begin to appreciate the power and dominance of the king even further. And if you even got this far, I would just like to show my appreciation. 
It is white to move and win in this position. A few things to note in the position is that black is currently up two pieces and has the bishop pair, but white has a pawn that is one step away from promotion. So the most obvious move is to promote it! Am I tricking you? No, that is actually the first move of this study.
Now we just move the king out of the way, and win the game right? Well unfortunately, it's not that simple. You see, in the position above black's rook is lined up with our queen and the only thing preventing the rook from snatching our queen up and getting a draw is the light-squared bishop. That means that if our king moves to any light square on the board, black can simply play a discovered check with his light-squared bishop and take our queen. With this in mind, can you find the next few moves?
So now we have reached the end of the line. Our king is unable to move to anymore dark squares except where it just came from. Is it going to be a draw? Nope. Because our king has come so far, black's bishop has also come back to its starting position, once again further blocking in the rook. This means that we now have the ability to place our king on a light square! There are two light-squared options that our king can move too. See if you can find the right one, and if you are unable to find it, I will explain to you why only one light square works as we go along.
So now our king is on a light square now. This means that black has to start checking our king with his light-squared bishop. Of course, now that only the dark-squared bishop is blocking in the rook from taking our queen, we can only move our king to light squares.
Our king has reached the finish line. There is only one more move to make and white finally is in the clear! See if you can find the winning move.
Wow. The only way to win the game was by moving our king across the board and back. Now we know why white couldn't play Ka4 all those moves ago. Playing Ka4 would have placed white on the wrong diagonal, and would ultimately draw the game since white would be unable to play Kg1. What a way to finish the game!
Again, the king clutches the game for white. If the king did not have this fantastic ability to move in any direction, this would not have been possible. Now we will go from the simplest of pieces being the savior of the game to demonstrating why the most powerful piece isn't always as powerful as it seems.
In this queen endgame, black's pawns are rolling down the board, about to promote. However, it is white to move. Notice how black's king is exposed in the center of the board and lacks sufficient protection, and that white has a knight on c1. How can white use this extra tempo to his advantage? Remember, always look for checks, captures, and threats.
Well, now we have forced white's king to e6. Now what? If we try to play moves like Qe8+ or Qg8+, black will harmlessly move his king out of the way, and there is no counterplay left. Well, if it's not a queen move, it must be a knight move. But what in the world will moving the knight accomplish? Well, let's find out.
Okay, what's the big deal? Black has 24 squares to choose to move his queen to. There is certainly no possible way that this queen can be trapped, right? Think again.
As shocking as it may seem, black's queen is actually trapped. That's right. In the middle of the board with almost no pieces remaining, black's queen has been trapped. If I was playing the black pieces I would permanently quit the game and never come back. It just goes to show that regardless of how much mobility a piece has, when the black king is left unsheltered and when white's pieces work together, the most powerful piece on the board isn't the most powerful piece after all.
Now we are going to dive into some very technical draws. In this position, black is up a queen for two knights. However, white has a passed pawn on the c-file that is just 3 moves away from promotion. The first few moves should be obvious.
Notice how white's pawn is on the c file. Now theoretically this queen and pawn endgame is considered a drawn position because white always place his king in the corner to try for a stalemate trick. However, those rules don't apply here because white has this knight on a3 that can move to c2! That means that white must move his king in front of his pawn if black plays the correct sequence of moves. Let's play a few more moves to see what I mean.
Things aren't looking so great for white. Using this maneuver, black is able to slowly make progress. All white can do now is shuffle his king around and pray for a miracle.
You are probably observing a pattern by now. Black's queen gives a sequence of checks to white's king. Every so often white is forced to place his king in front of his pawn because the stalemate trick is not available. Let's see how the rest of this game plays out.
Now you may be wondering? What was the result? Why did you end the game here? Did white resign? Of course not. Be warned that the next move will leave you unfazed yet shocked at the same time. Want to see what I mean? Watch and see what white plays next.
Wait what? A draw? But how? Well, something called the 50 move rule just occurred. That's it. White can move his king and claim a draw. The game is over. But when did the last pawn push or capture occur? Well, if you can recall all those moves that happened earlier, you will realize that the last pawn move or capture was made on move number 2, when white played 2. f7. Black then spent so much time checking the king and slowly bringing his king up that over time, those moves added up. Although black is about to mate the white king, white can claim a draw here. This profound study demonstrates elaborate exceptions where the 50 move rule can actually prove useful to a particular side, even when the position is in fact completely winning for one side. Now if this position ever happens in your game, you know what to do
#4: The Unbelievable Underpromotion
As we get closer and closer to the end, we now come across one of my personal favorite puzzles themes: underpromotions. In this position, white is down a whole queen. However, white has this pawn on e7 that is one step away from promotion. The rook and bishop are also lined up with the black queen. The discovery, Bh7+ seems pretty straightforward. After all, once the king takes we can take the queen with our rook, right? Unfortunately, black still has that extra bishop and the game will most likely become a draw. So what do we do?
The solution is....
But wait, that's not all. Black still has some fight left in the position. What if he plays Kh8 instead?
Well now we run into a bit of a problem. Wait a minute, you might say. Can't we just take the rook, promote to a queen, and win the game? Well, we can. But black has this nasty defensive strategy that will be unleashed when we decide to become greedy. What is that defense?
Incredibly after Kxh7, white is unable to take the queen, because of stalemate. Furthermore, white doesn't have a single good check in the position, which means that after any move white makes, black will swoop in with his queen, repeatedly checking our incredibly exposed white king. This will go on to be a draw. So, what do we do now? How can we win?
Wow. This time, we had to underpromote to a rook to win the game. The best piece controlled too many squares. However, black still has one last trick up his sleeve. This time, he moves his king to g7. What is the continuation this time?
Now we can take the rook, promote to a queen, and capture black's queen, right? It's not as simple as it seems. Watch what black plays next.
This is absolutely nuts. How can we avoid stalemate this time? Well there is actually only one move in this position that wins. Can you find it?
And we get the absolutely legendary BISHOP underpromotion. What an absolutely insane study. What blew my mind away was the fact that white either had to underpromote to a rook, a knight, or a bishop depending on where the king moved. It just goes to show you how beautiful and complex the game of chess really is. Don't leave yet, because the art and creativity behind the next puzzle will absolutely shock you more than the last one.
We have come down to the final 3. In my opinion, any puzzle with knight is a great puzzle. But this puzzle is far more than that. It demonstrates how valuable knights really are. In this position it is white to play and win. Now let's point out a couple of things before we begin, first off, the black king is almost in checkmate. Notice how the two knights, the king, and the pawn are controlling all of the king's escape squares. If we somehow found a way to check black, it would be checkmate. Next, black's knight all the way on a8 is in pretty bad shape, and we need to keep it that way by playing forcing moves, otherwise black's pawns will promote to queens and we will lose the game. What move do we play to begin the mating sequence on black's king? Remember, always look for checks, captures, and threats.
White starts off with Ne8! This move may look a bit strange at first glance, but notice how white is now threatening to checkmate black's king. If we look even further, we'll see that black only has one way to avoid checkmate, and that move is Ke4. We are beginning to see a pattern. After Ke4, what do we play now?
As you can see, white's minor pieces are absolutely dominating the center of the position. Every time white moves the knight, black is forced to move the king. After Kf5, how does white again threaten to mate black?
Yet again, black must move his king since white is threatening to play Nc3#. Just look at the journey our knight has taken.
What a journey the knight has taken, all to capture one singular pawn. When white plays Nc3+, black is forced to move his king to f5 to avoid yet another mate threat. Can you find another move that threatens checkmate?
Black has no choice but to play along. White is dictating every single move. However, after Kd5, white can no longer check the black king. So what does he play next? Try to find the move white plays next. Again, remember to look for checkmate threats.
This is where the puzzle gets a little tricky. After Nd3, the only way to avoid mate again is by moving the king to c6. Now how do we proceed? Suppose we check the king by playing Nb4+. Black will simply run to c7 and remember, he still has that pawn on h2 that is about to promote and white has no way to stop it from promoting. That means that we have to threaten another checkmate somehow. How do we do it?
White advances his pawn to d5, breaking free from the bishop's chain. Amazing. Surprisingly black only has two options. He can either take the pawn on d5 or play Kc7. Let's first analyze what would happen if black decides to run his king to c7.
As you can see, this study is beautifully composed so that every single piece in this position plays a role. This is ridiculous. But what if black just takes our pawn? Surely the king cannot be mated in the middle of the board, right?
Shockingly, white has checkmate no matter what black plays. Note that this sequence of twelve consecutive moves was all forced from the very beginning of the puzzle.
The true complexity of the knights is insane. But can a puzzle be so complex that even the almighty Stockfish misses the solution? Well, we are about to find out in this next study.
#2: Stockfish Screws the Solution
This is another exhilarating queen trap that I would like to share today because when put into stockfish, the almighty engine actually misses the solution.
In this position, white is down two pieces for a queen. However, black's king and queen are kind of stuck while white's pieces are active. How can white use this to his advantage? Well the first move white plays in this position is the obvious and straightforward Bd2+, threatening the king with check, and forcing black to play b4. Next, we capture on b4 with our bishop, and again black is forced to move his king to b5. And finally, we play another obvious move, Nd6+, forcing black to move his king to b6. Why are these moves obvious? Well, these are the only available forcing moves in the position.
Now this is where the legendary Stockfish fails to see the key move in this position. Even when it runs at depth 30, it still misses the winning idea. In this position, Stockfish suggests the logical-looking move, Bc5+, which makes a lot of sense. After all, you are checking the king and moving your bishop to a better square. But there is still a better move in this position. Stockfish may not be able to solve the position, but you can. Can you find the winning move?
I don't even know what to say at this point. White is down two pieces for a queen and chooses to sacrifice one of those remaining pieces. Now, let's state the obvious. If black takes with the queen, white will play Nc4+, forking the king and queen, and transposing into a winning king and pawn endgame. The only other option is to take with the king. Can you find the follow-up sequence that wins for white?
And the winning move is.....Nc4+. Not so impressed, are you? Well, take a look at the position after black plays Kb5. Suppose that it wasn't our turn. What would black play? Well, the king can't move anywhere, and the queen has limited squares to move too. Both Qb7 and Qc8 are met by Nd6+, forking the king and queen. Black's position is stuck. So what do we play? Well, here is another example of zugzwang. We play a waiting move, but not just any waiting move, or else black will find a way to get his queen loose.
Now you may be wondering, why can't we go anywhere else with the king, why do we have to move the king to that specific square? Well, this odd king move actually plays a huge role in trapping the queen. Let's see the next few moves after black pushes his pawn to f5.
And we have successfully trapped the queen in the center of the board. Shocking. The absolute dominance the knight expresses over the king and the queen perfectly represents me when I am playing chess (obviously a joke).
But jokes aside, we are now moving in what I think is the greatest study of all time. If you are reading this, I would like to congratulate you for making it this far! Your eyes are probably red at this point and your fingers are probably raw from scrolling this far, but I promise you, this last study will be worth it. Now without further ado, I present to you, the greatest study of all time!
Welcome to the finale. You made it. Be prepared to be absolutely amazed at the complexity of what appears to be a simple endgame puzzle. As always, white's pawns are going down the board. Now black has 3 minor pieces trying to hold together the position, and in most cases this should be a win for black. However, white's pawns are so far advanced that it this is in fact a draw with best play. The first move white plays is pretty straightforward, use the process of elimination to find white's only move.
So a7 is the only move that prevents mate. Since the threat of promotion is so great, black has to play Ba6+, forcing us to block with b7.
At first glance it looks like black is doomed. How can he stop all our pawns? Well, notice how our king is in a pretty tight spot. That means that our king is susceptible to mate threats, and that is exactly what black is going to capitalize on. Black now plays Ne4, with the massive threat of Nd6#. Can you find the only move that saves the game?
Ok, we have underpromoted to a knight. How is this going to prevent Nd6#? Well, let's think this through. If black plays Ke6, this gives our king some breathing room to play Kd8, ultimately winning the game. That means the only other option that black has is Ke8, defending the knight and maintaining the threat of Nd6#. Again, white must negate this threat, but what move prevents black from mating us?
Alright. So we have underpromoted to a knight and saced it in a span of two moves. Cool. Unfortunately after Nexf6 black still threatening to play Nd5 followed by Ne7#. How can we stop that? Well, I will leave that question for you to figure out.
This is just mind-boggling. First we underpromoted to a knight, proceeded to sac the knight, then to top it off, we underpromoted to a bishop. But wait, it's not over yet. Black still has a few tricks up his sleeve.
Now black plays the weird-looking move Bf1, taking advantage of the open h3-c8 diagonal. If we are not careful, we will end up being mated.
All of these moves have led up to this moment. What is white going to do next? Well if you remember way back to the start of the position, can you remember what we did? First, we underpromoted to a knight. Then, we underpromoted to a bishop. That means the only logical thing to do is to, well, I'll let you figure that out. But wait, this is the only move that draws? Why?
*Moment of silence from pure shock*
Wow. Just wow. White had 4 pawns that were one step away from promoting, black had three minor pieces, plenty of mate threats, and the only way to save the game was by underpromoting to a knight, placing the knight on a square where both knights could capture it, underpromoting to a bishop, and finally underpromoting to a rook.
And THAT, ladies and gentleman, concludes Spectacular Studies! (Definitely not a GothamChess reference although you should go and check him out.) I hope that you have enjoyed this article on my top ten favorite studies. And if you scrolled all the way to the bottom just to read the comments, I congratulate you too. As always, let me know in the comments if there are any errors so that I can promptly fix those mistakes. I really appreciate everyone who took the time to read this blog, and it really means a lot to me. Until next time,
-ScatteredWealth
Special thanks to Chess Vibes, Chess.com's Study Database, and lichess.org for providing me the studies featured in this article.
