There's A Reason This Puzzle Won First Prize

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[thefastmeow]

ever since I found out that theoretically a knight against a bishop could be a win I always wondered how a game could reasonably end like that. this puzzle demonstrated that so well!

[gabby_]

That knight checkmate is one of the most impressive checkmates I've ever seen in my life.

[Neprosveshchennyj]

This is an absolutely incredible composition! What impresses the most is the realism of the starting position and the many small puzzles and beautiful ideas in one big one. And Korolkov achieved all this with a small number of pieces on the board. Absolute chess artist!

[travelwithme]

We appreciate you explaining why the other options aren’t correct

[thomasharris]

This is the best endgame puzzle I’ve yet seen, wow! A very simple, realistic position. Counterintuitive moves that are so uninstinctive. A knight checkmate against a bishop. So many awesome components.

[wertyuiwestia]

my man teaches chess like how that one Indian teaches us math in a 10 minute video

[rosiefay]

Thank you for discussing this study in enough detail to reveal all those subtleties. It well deserved that prize.

[Ggdivhjkjl]

I'm not easily impressed, but that win at the end impressed me.

[julianmedrano]

Because the moves were limited, it was easy to see each individual pause, but seeing all of that beforehand is a feat, so pretty.

[johnmerlino]

The interesting thing is that chess engines, after 1.f7, will play 1...Rg8, only because it pushes checkmate out much farther than the line you presented (mate in 35 instead of mate in 13). In fact, there are many ways that Black can delay checkmate. But your line is by far the most elegant.

[Draqson]

The sad part about this puzzle is, that trading down to King vs. King, knight and bishop is actually more resilient for black.

[mrhuffler]

I am not surprised it won first place. When people talk about 'the beauty of chess', I believe people think, "it's just a board game, what are you talking about"? the above puzzle is a perfect example of that beauty.

[aoyuki]

Thanks i got into this exact position in my 257 elo gameplay so i memorised everything u just said and used it to beat my unsuspecting opponent

[rhpmike]

This is one of those puzzles where when it is broken down into smaller puzzles, all of the moves are relatively easy to find, but it's really hard to see all of these ideas from the opening position.

[Bobster]

Delivering checkmate with knight only is impossible, but I'll do it anyway.

[Beery]

It looks so simple. You think it's not that complex because there aren't many pieces on the board, but it's incredibly complex, and it shows how complex chess is.

[aidanvannynatten]

Just wanted to mention that at 7:30, Kh6 is actually better not just because it’s a showoff move bragging that you don’t even have to keep your king next to your pawn to defend it and get a queen, but also because it’s a faster checkmate, as black has to move the bishop somewhere and the next move f8 (I have no idea how to notate pawn promotions, but queen) checkmate

P.S. Okay, as I was typing this, I saw that Be6 (or h7) - f8 queen and check allows for Bg8, blocking, so it takes an extra move of Qf6 (or Qg7) to deliver mate, so the line Nelson mentioned is mate in the same amount of moves cuz if the bishop moves to e6 (or h7) before f8 queen (Bc8 - f8 queen check - Kh7 - Qg7#, for example), after f8 queen check and the bishop blocks, Qg7 is mate, so… hey, it’s still cooler, can’t deny

[Incepter.]

These are one of the reasons why Chess is so fascinating especially with that knight checkmate that was pretty complex, yet very smart and Chess Vibes showed us why this 1951 chess game got 1st Prize.

[AutPen]

A knight and a king aren't powerful enough to checkmate the other king... Unless that king has a friend.

[rubiks]

I am not a good chess player but I still very much enjoy analyses like this. I actually found each of the right moves (surprised myself). Analyses allow us to share thoughts with each other and that's cool.