hardest 1400 puzzle

This is an easy puzzle for a 1400 to "solve" because the other candidate moves are so obviously shitty. However, anyone strong enough to realize the bishop can be sacked for 2 pawns will have trouble if they aren't seriously strong since it looks like a white win after the sack and is super hard to calculate. So to those intermediate players (like me) it looks like nothing works and there is no obvious move. So its kind of the definition of a shitty puzzle where weaker players might do better than intermediate players without really understanding the puzzle.

it's quite easy, just need to feel the position, and see that all you need is just to iunterfere bishop influence by moving a pawn forward , and also to promote, and there isn't much he can do , it's quite seenanble

I also think, that the puzzle is very hard.
@Zinner_Override said in #9:

The concequences of 1...c3 2. Bxc3 bxc3 3. Kxc3 Ka3! is near impossible to calculate
I saw 53.. c3 54. Kc2 Ka3 55. Bxc3 bxc3 which gives the same position - and one of the lines the engine gives (I could not calculate it correctly) results in eating all each other's pawns except on h4 and g4, and black queening on g1 with check on move 67 only one tempo ahead!
But the engine gives even more interesting line: 53.. c3 54. Kc2 Ka3 55. Bd6 - which, for the black to win, requires sacking two pawns on d4 and f4, and you can advance the pawn to g3 with the white pawn on f4 blocking the bishop! But the line does not end there - the bishop can defend, the black promotes to queen on g1 and immediately sacks it. then he wins queening the b4 pawn, and sacking the fourth pawn on c3 on move 61 (with checks, that don't give time for the white bishop to return from g1)!

How is it possible to calculate positions like these? Would be cool if someone higher rated than me makes a study :)

@ArtofDefeat said in #11:

cant say it better.

it is a puzzle where weak players just solve it without noticing the problem. Unfortunately the first and obvious move works.

@Zinner_Override said in #1:

how is this rated 1400??

I can answer this part at least. It's because this puzzle gets "solved" by a lot of people because there's not many candidate moves to consider for Black. Any sensible move for Black other than 53... c3+ is immediately drawish because white bishop will pivot on one of the dark squares on that diagonal (Bd4/Bc3) and prevent any further progress, and since this is a puzzle and there are several moves that make the position drawish, it cannot be a puzzle to find a drawing move. So if there is anything "puzzle worthy" in the position, it must be in the 53... c3+ continuation, so people will just say "f*ck it" and play that. After which, the testing variation should be 54. Bxc3 bxc3+ 55. Kxc3 but the puzzle here goes the simpler variation 54. Kc2 which makes the follow up easy to "solve", just infiltrate with 54... Ka3

Anyone who "solved" the puzzle without calculating at least through 53... c3+ 54. Bxc3 bxc3+ 55. Kxc3 Kb5 56. Kd4 Kb4!! (basically the idea that you need to have opposition with Kb4 ready when White goes Kd4) didn't really solve the puzzle as it should be solved.

And if someone calculated till 53... c3+ 54. Bxc3 bxc3+ 55. Kxc3 Kb5 56. Kd4 Kb4 57. Kxd5 Kc3 58. Ke5 Kd3 59. Kf4 Ke2 60. Kxf5 Kxe3 61. Kg5 Kf3 62. Kxh5 Kxg3, they're pretty strong, lol. It ends with the conclusion that Black will promote one move faster with check than White because their g-pawn is further down the board than White's h-pawn (62... Kxg3 63. Kg5 Kh3 64. h5 g3 65. h6 g2 66. h7 g1=Q+)

If anyone is interested, I made a study page for it: /study/TxIpxDNT/bnbPwZbJ#112 (can't post it as a link today because I somehow exceeded the daily limit for links lol)

i dont know abt rating but i solved it in like less than 10 seconds it opvious than u need to move your pawns and king in the endgame maybe u need to practice more for endgames and pawn structure

I found these claims that 1400s solve that puzzle easily a bit comical.

Maybe it was at 1400 when nobody played it.
24 hours ago it was
Played 181 times.
Rated 2081 (Expert level)

Now I see it at ...
Played 196 times.
Rated 2061 (Expert level)

Easy for Masters and Grandmaster, but should not be easy for players that are not experts.

@lightln2 said in #13:

I also think, that the puzzle is very hard.

I saw 53.. c3 54. Kc2 Ka3 55. Bxc3 bxc3 which gives the same position - and one of the lines the engine gives (I could not calculate it correctly) results in eating all each other's pawns except on h4 and g4, and black queening on g1 with check on move 67 only one tempo ahead!
But the engine gives even more interesting line: 53.. c3 54. Kc2 Ka3 55. Bd6 - which, for the black to win, requires sacking two pawns on d4 and f4, and you can advance the pawn to g3 with the white pawn on f4 blocking the bishop! But the line does not end there - the bishop can defend, the black promotes to queen on g1 and immediately sacks it. then he wins queening the b4 pawn, and sacking the fourth pawn on c3 on move 61 (with checks, that don't give time for the white bishop to return from g1)!

How is it possible to calculate positions like these? Would be cool if someone higher rated than me makes a study :)
It's not Calculating.it's rather seeing and understanding what needs to be Done according to gain Benefits( what Possibilities desirable are seen )