In this game, you had to find the best continuation in a short master game.
Congratulations!
Thank you to everyone who sent in their answers. You received at least 1 point for sending in a solution. If you chose a good move you received two points. If you guessed the best continuation, you received 3 points. This week, the following players received 2 or more points for their solutions:
Natalie Weaver (3)
Hari Chowdhuri (3)
Joshua Doyle (3)
This Week’s Solution
You had to find how white could checkmate in 8 moves after the following:
- e4, e5
- Nf3, Nf6
- Bc4, Nxe4
- Nc3, Nc5
- Nxe5, f6
The solution that we were looking for:
6. Qh5+ was the first move! This easily blockable check might seem inconsequential, but does make your life easier later down the line. After 6… g6, 7. Bf7+ forces the King to abandon the safety of his back rank, with a forced 7… Ke7. Now all white must do is encourage him further away from the safety of his troops.
8. Nd5+, Kd6
9. Nc4+, Kc6
10. Nb4+, Kb5
11. a4+,
Here, due to the placement of the queen, the knight is now pinned and cannot capture the a4 pawn. This leaves the King no other choice than to push onto white’s side of the board.
11… Kxb4
12. c3+, Kb3
13. Qd1++
What To Do Next
Tomorrow you will be able find next week’s puzzle on our blog. The puzzler with the highest score at the end of the block will win a free chess lesson with the teacher of their choice and a solver badge and spot/two solver spots. Our runners up will receive a solver badge or a solver spot if they already have a badge. Consistently sending in your results is key to winning so make sure you subscribe below to get notified about the checkmate puzzles the moment they are published.
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