Jebotto

Oh Rc8+, discovered check from the black Q and it's gg. That's one of my favorite tactics that I've only seen over the board a very few times. Defend with a discovered check!

I struggled with this one for about 90 seconds, then reminded myself "forcing moves!" and solved it very shortly after that. Solve time 2:30, average solve time is 3:58 (with 51% accuracy).

Nice tactic today on ChessTempo, hint in the comment below. #chesspunks

Oh yeah! That works also. I played Nde2, which has the same effect. Didn’t notice f5 was an option also.

Yes, but it has to be the right one!

Classic pattern, Rh8+ Kxh8 Qh5+ Kg8 Qh7+ Kf8 Qh8++

Re4 then Nd3++

Puzzle-rush type tactic that settled my rapid game today. #chesspunks

That when I sign into Lichess anonymously and play random people. And no need to care about the rating.

I do standard-easy puzzles, so I get about 75% right. Minimum 5 a day, frequently more when I have time. Average about 4 minutes per puzzle. Have seen benefits in my play, especially slower time controls like the 45/45 league.

Nice one. Kf6 followed by h5++

Maybe old dogs CAN learn new tricks. In my mid-60's, this is my tactics results on Chesstempo for the last year - the blue line is the 30 day moving average, which IMO is better to focus on than the day-to-day fluctuation. 80+ point increase in a year is pretty good, I think. #chesspunks

Discovered attack!

Amen

I've seen people say that 5 hard puzzles a day, and 1 rapid game followed by analysis, is a good floor.

gxf5 Qh6 seems really bad. Threatening Qxh7+ followed by Qxh8+, or taking the B on e6 if you move the N to allow the R to protect h7. If you start moving the K f8-e8 then Bh5 attacking the pinned R on f7 might not be fun. Didn't fully calculate all the lines but that pawn looks like poison.

Rh1+ Nxh1 Bh2+ Kxh2 Rh8+ Kg3 Nf6+ Kf4 (or Kf3) Rh4++

Forcing moves, people, forcing moves! Best chess lesson I ever had. Highly rated puzzle, but just followed the forcing moves first and it led me to the solution. With that hint this one shouldn't be too difficult. #chesspunks @lionchess.bsky.social

This chesstempo puzzle has an average solve time of 9:18! - longest avg solve time I remember seeing - with a 49% success rate. Took me 11:44 to solve, and even then it was more of a "this is the only thing I see" than a slam-dunk ok I figured this one out. #chesspunks

That looks right, except after Rh8+ Ke7 I think Bxc5+ Kd7 Rxd8. I actually didn't get that far in my calculation, good job!

Knowing about forcing lines, and to calculate them to the end even if they don't seem promising, sure does make puzzle solving easier and faster. This was a good example, I kept wanting to quit on the most forcing line, as it looked like a dead end. But pushed through to solution. #chesspunks

Wow, that's great! Keep it up!

OMG that's totally crazy. And very tempting...

It's not uncommon for postings to occur an hour or more before the next round, or for the next day. I've been able to do a little research a few times to at least see what my opponent might play.

A number of the kids in our club play there, and have titles like ACM, AFM, I think one is even higher than that. The big drawback for me is I think your future OTB opponents can see your games online and prep against you.

Good write up!

Set a new high standard puzzle rating on Chesstempo (1900), and high FIDE estimate (1833, it's based on puzzle rating and average time to solve). Both are improved - especially the average time to solve - since a calculation lesson with @lionchess.bsky.social a couple of months ago. #chesspunks.

Seems really easy. Of course I've been looking at forcing moves a lot more since that 2nd lesson with you!

Yes, some of my "cleanest" games have come in the Caro Kann, especially if there are a lot of early trades (so the position is not that complicated). It's all I play against e4, so I play it against lower rated players, but I can frequently win even endgames against them.

Forgot to tag this with #chesspunks #chess