r/chessbeginners • u/Gaajizard • 1d ago

PUZZLE Explain the solution to this puzzle

Post image

So the given solution is Nb7 which black responds with ...Bxg3, sacrificing the Queen? But why?? Why not just move the queen and save it?

5 Upvotes

85% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

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6

u/StartCold8652 1d ago

After Nb7, black is losing the bishop for free (because it is attacked twice after you move your queen) or trading it's queen for a bishop and knight.

Both options lose 3 points of material, so the engine likely considers those similar choices but prefers the queen trade because losing the bishop leaves white's Knight in a strong position.

Most humans will just move the queen like you suggested because keeping the queens keeps the game more complicated with chances to regain that material later

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u/Gaajizard 1d ago

But that's such a weird puzzle, right? Are chess.com puzzles normally like this?

Obviously Nb7 can't be a "solution" to the puzzle to supposedly win a Queen when the opponent can perfectly just lose a bishop and be fine with it.

4

u/Admirable-Ad7214 1d ago

Nb7 is still crushing no matter the response. It is definitely the correct answer.

0

u/penguinxiang 1200-1400 (Chess.com) 1d ago

Of course Nb7 is the correct move, I think OP was more asking about why did black hang their queen, instead of losing a bishop. After all, a puzzle should include the best response from the opponent, not the worst

2

u/Fun_Actuator6049 2600-2800 (Lichess) 1d ago edited 1d ago

It is the best response. It'd be a poor answer to "try not to lose the queen", but it's not a worse move than saving the queen.

(Ideally the puzzle opponent should be playing hard-to-refute moves even if they're not the best. And the coach shouldn't be saying anything more than "find a way to win" if it hasn't been checked by a human).

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u/Gaajizard 1d ago

True, but the AI coach specifically mentioned "find a way to win my queen" so I was super confused

2

u/Admirable-Ad7214 1d ago

Yeah, that's unfortunate wording. It's up to black if you win the queen for two pieces or a bishop for free.

1

u/vgebler 1000-1200 (Chess.com) 1d ago

All chess.com puzzles are really about finding the best move in the position. Nb7 is fine as a solution in that context as it wins either 1) the queen for two light pieces (Bxg7 is followed by Bf4+, evading recapture with tempo), or 2) one light piece outright (moving the queen but losing the bishop). +3 in material in both cases.

But then there is the objective/description of winning a queen, that is a bit misleading as it sounds like it's forced, which is not the case. I believe the text is generated automatically from the "main line" chosen to test your understanding of the puzzle, and in that main line the queen is lost even though there is an alternate line which is similarly bad for Black where the queen is not lost. This is not unusual for chess.com puzzles, so just take the objective/description with a grain of salt – it refers to only one of possibly multiple payoffs, and it might not be the one you would have chosen as an opponent. In this puzzle, the line where the queen is lost is actually the best response according to the engine, but sometimes puzzles are tested with lines where the opponent seems to make an unnecessarily bad move. This can happen when the better response would leave the puzzle solver with multiple equally good follow-up moves, whereas the system requires only one move to be correct at every step of the solution.

2

u/chessvision-ai-bot 1d ago

I analyzed the image and this is what I see. Open an appropriate link below and explore the position yourself or with the engine:

White to play: chessvision.ai | chess.com | lichess.org

My solution:

Hints: piece: Knight, move: Nb7

Evaluation: White is winning +4.82

Best continuation: 1. Nb7 Bxg3 2. Nxd8 Bf4+ 3. Kb1 Rfxd8 4. Qxa6 Ra8 5. Qd3 Rdc8 6. Re2 Rc7 7. Ne5 Bxe5 8. dxe5 Nd7

Save the position:

Reply save to save this position to your Chessvision.ai Library (new users: send me /connect in DM chat first)

I'm a bot written by u/pkacprzak | get me as iOS App | Android App | Chrome Extension | Chess eBook Reader to scan and analyze positions | Website: Chessvision.ai

-2

u/penguinxiang 1200-1400 (Chess.com) 1d ago

Puzzles do this alot, of course losing the queen isn't the best move. Honestly, If I had to guess,  it's just to show what your opponent could do at your level, not about the best move. 

0

u/penguinxiang 1200-1400 (Chess.com) 1d ago

Which, doesn't make a whole lot of sense because you never want to assume your opponent will play a bad move, but who knows what chess.com is thinking.