My left ear got better at chess

my left ear loves this and my right ear doesn't know what's happening

I finally realize why the audio is only in my left ear, so the information can escape from the right :)

Great puzzles! I got inspired to construct my own first puzzle. A mate in four with a nice tactics from a real game. But the computer found a mate in three...

Amazing puzzles! And Ben explaining them - this is youtube heaven.

To turn this video into stereo: go to "sound output device" (for example, by via the sound symbol on the task bar or by going to the "control panel" options), then rightclick "properties" on the active head phones or speakers and check the box "headphone virtualization". It will also help (i.e. sound better) if you then go to "volume" and "levels" and increase the level for the right output channel until it sounds right. You are welcome!

Great Videos, man. Keep on doing your stuff.

sound editing very suspicious

I love GM Finegold's lectures

According to Logical Chess Move by Move, by Irving Chernev, the "Overworked" puzzle is a game played by Nimzowitsch when he was 12 or 14.

My day just brightens up when I see a new Finegold video.

King and Rook is my favorite endgame, because it's the first one I really learned. Playing against an engine I got to that endgame, could see that it clearly should be winning, but just couldn't figure out how to deliver the checkmate. So I Googled it, and learned a _lot_ about chess endgames that day.

That zugswang puzzle - crazy!

GRANDMASTER BEN FINEGOLD! :D Keep up the good work, you are our hero!

Noam Elkies! I had the privilege to attend a lecture of his on mathematics in music and composition where he took requests for improvisations at the end. Nothing about chess puzzles though! Brilliant fellow.

The last Ben Finegold video on CCSCSL rip in piece sweet prince ;_;7

Normally i don't like people who tell me: I'm the greatest - and you are an idiot! But Finegold does it in a way - i love it! Ben - you ARE the greatest (chess comedian)

Wait, for the puzzle at 32:00 what's wrong with pawn straight up into queen? Nvm I looked it up, it was pinned. Silly me

Best video ever

Mono-Finegold is not as good as Stereo-Finegold, but still good!

Love Ben!

Just being pedantic: A Nowotny theme is (by definition) limited to puzzles where the interfering piece interferes with both a bishop and a rook.

33:20 Were Black to play, he'd be almost in Zugzwang. The only move I can see that stops mate in one is 1.…e5, unpinning Rf6, and if 2.Bb6+, then 2.…R×b6. Therefore let's try 1.Bc6, protecting b6 from Rf6.

wow great stuff

32:27 why not d8=Q?

Thanks Ben Fine-Grained!

About the last puzzle: two additional possibilities: 1 Bc6 exd3 2 e3# and 1 Bc6 e3 2 Nf3# (exploiting the pin of the g4-bishop).

On the mate at min 31, isn't d8=queen mate?

48:11 The White King is on a7 and not, say, on a3, in order to prohibit 2.Qa7# in some variations.

Hooray, more Ben!

Did not get a single puzzle. So hard. Entertaining and enlightening show. I knew chess puzzlers existed but didn't understand the purpose behind these difficult puzzles. They don't help your regular chess so I never do them, but they look kind of fun.

In example 4: Isn't Qxe7+ Kf5; Qf6++ also mate in two?

could you post the moves in the details? thx

Since people complained about audio quality on Ben's channel, he decided to record it bad even here. Very suspicious.

In the puzzle starting at 29:00, can someone explain why pawn d8 to Queen isn’t mate?

I guess I must be missing it, but isn't Bd6 checkmate on the mate in one puzzle at 32:00? Please show me why it isn't. thanks!

You promoted pawn to either a queen or rook.. why not knight? would have been two checks that bishop wouldn't be able to stop? (32:09 roughly)

Well, John Nunn won the Senior World Champion title this year, but the Polish team was too strong (Kacper Piorun and Piotr Murdzia especially), so the UK took only second in the World Chess Solving Championship in Dresden. 40:00 Ben should have showed that 1.Bd6 fails to 1.-e6, and now 2.Qd7 is not mate anymore because the bishop blocks the queen.

what am I missing with pawn to D8 promote to queen for the "hardest mate in 1" puzzle? I can't find a move black can have to get out of it, but then again, I'm an idiot and probably missing something obvious.

29:05 Qa3#, as even after the move, Qe5 is still pinned (by Re1.)

I would love it if Ben would do a chess lecture. He's got some talent.

30:00 can some1 tell me whats wrong with QxQe5? Thank you

Best Ben

23:00 rook to e3 is an alternative!?

The second puzzle was a game played by Nimzovich's dad.

gm ken west can refute any of those puzzles.

Doesn't ng6 work for puzzle 5 (mate in one)?

Last problem, why Bd6 does not work as an alternative solution?

Around 20:00-best.

-Is today's video ready for upload? -Yes. -Incorrect!

In the 3rd puzzle (#6), isn't Rf5 also mate on the last move? (Instead of Re4)

2nd puzzle cant you take the horse with queen and then mate in 2?

Why is the audio panned all the way left

what if you take bishop and promote to knight in the mate in one puzzle

22:36 Nxd4? followed by Q-e6, isn't this also mate in 2?

For the first can't you play c6 bishop check then queen takes e5 mate?

Hi Ben. No new lectures

at least now i know which of my laptop speakers is dead

For puzzle one, what about, what about qf1

20:36 isnt rook f5 just mate?

isnt d8Q also Mate at that proplem he had wrong?

32:16 Isnt bishop b8d6 also mate in 1, also u cannot tell can u eat the queen with the pawn!

at the last puzzle, isn't Bd6 also mate in two? what do i miss xd

For puzzle 1, how about Kd6? threatening Qb2 checkmate.....I will give my thought process here.... Kd6. Kb6 Qb2+. Ka5 Qa3# Did I miss anything?

Pawn to d8=Qd+#as well in the puzzle

"Otherwise you're right, yeah, except for the two legal moves that black has." -- lol, savage

I think its important to note that the fifth puzzle has several FORCED mates but only one mate in one.

at 19:19, wouldn't rook f5 be checkmate?

For the first mate in one puzzle why doesn't D8 = Queen work?

First puzzle: just play qe4-kc7, qc6-kb8, qc8 mate in 3 even though first move was check and because of the first move check black does not have the a5 a6 defense

It's funny that in the last puzzle Bd6 is thwarted by e6 because both those moves look like they don't make any sense

ChessMaster Puzzle by John Nunn, is that you?

20:50 isnt RF5 mate?

Last video of Ben

Why isn't queen C6 check mate Dx 3:41 This happens in EVERY video but I don't see any option for king if queen could get to C6

The puzzle which you said is the hardest mate in one, why isn't promoting the pawn WITHOUT taking the bishop a mate?

@48:00 Bc6 exd3 e3#; the real reason that pawn is there

32:50 What about Nf5?

cant in the first puzzle king tries to capture the bishop?

Audio just left channel?

30:00 isn’t pawn promotes to knight also mate?

19:03 queen takes knight. It stops mate and the game is no longer mate in six moves, right?

what if bishop f4 for the last one?

For the first puzzle, why isn't Kd6 mate in 3?

30.00 rock from h5 to e5 is mate

In just the very first example, wouldn't Queen to e3 also work in three? I mean that's check, but after c6 you can get to c8 after some pawn move? Or just explain why no Checks in puzzles?

7:27 in three moves u would move ur King to d6 too

29:03 saw that on Carlsen's Twitter

At 19:03, why not Qe7???

at 32:14 why isn't Ng3 mate?

"if it wasn't free, I'd still have it, and I wouldn't pay"

queen E5? aint that possible as well? 31:47

30:00 why not bishop g5 Nevermind

at 32:4 why isn't queen takes e4 not chekcmate

For first puzzle, why not queen takes e5, then bishop to c6

Could you not do Queen takes pawn E5 black moves anywhere legal. the queen gets to D6 then C6 mate. it certanly works in my head.... I see no issue there....

audio is mono in this video... poor thing..

And If pawn takes bishop and you promote to a Knight?

and why pawn d8 and made a queen its not mate in one?

Also, can we get the names/authors of the puzzles?