Bobby Rooklift was devastated. His last day of chess games was not very successful. He had only one win for one draw and three losses. Unhappy with his performance, he visited his chess coach, Threefold Reid, to ask him for guideance. As a case for study, Threefold Reid asked Bobby Rooklift to show him his last game. Bobby did, and presented the following position:
«First, replied Threefold, your time management was really poor. Your opponent had only one minute left on the clock while you had five. Which brings me to my second point. You had five minutes to think. Instead of giving up easily, you had ample time to scrutinize the position. You could have done better. » « Better? How? » asked Bobby. «I give you an challenge while I go fill up my bottle of water: try to find a reply for Black so you would not have not lost the game. You have five minutes. Obviously, no outside help is allowed».
And Threefold left before Bobby. Puzzled, and intrigued by his coach's comment, he took the assignment. What could have Bobby Rooklift done better? Was his coach somehow wrong? After all, Threefold was going to leave for Paris tomorrow, maybe he was distracted...
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