Again, we have a practical position. Black has not castled, and all White's pieces but one are raring to go...but where? Remember: this mating attack is in the same theme as Monday's puzzle.

Solution:

Before we get to the solution, it might be useful for the beginners out there to take a look at this position. Do you see how White's pieces are all toward the center of the board and on good squares? Look at how cramped Black is. His not castling allows the one White knight to hang out on f5 because the rook rightly zeroes in on the king even though there is no check; however, the pin on the e6 pawn is just as important. When you look at the mating position, take a look at the mating position from the last problem. Can you see the similarities even though the positions AND the moves AND the pieces involved are not exactly the same? If you do, you’re on your way to becoming a better player, as pattern recognition is one of the signs of a good chess player. Here’s how you finish Black off:

1.Nxg7+ Actually, making way for the queen to go to g6. 1...Bxg7 No choice. 2.Rxe6+ Another piece is sacrificed. It opens up a fatal diagonal. Again, Black has no choice. 2...fxe6 3.Qg6# Black won this game because before the very first move of this position, he saw a kind of "wish" position: he saw that if the f7 pawn were not there, he could mate with the queen on g6. He probably said to himself, "You know, if that knight weren't on f5, I could play Rxe6+ and then go Qg6 mate. Hey, let's get rid of that knight!" And, rather simplistically, that's how many good players think. They see what can be and make it happen. It makes for successful people in real life, too.

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