Fianchetto fiasco

by Oliver Reeh
9/18/2026 – It's hard to believe, but after 23...Bg7 in the diagram position the game lasted only two (!) moves. White received a big checkmate gift - and you can unwrap it!
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Oliver Reeh has been working for ChessBase for many years as a translator and presenter of the internet show TV ChessBase, and he also looks after the tactics column in ChessBase Magazine, for which he has also been responsible as editor-in-chief since 2019. The International Master has contributed to the CB "MasterClass" series and is the author of the DVDs "Strike like the World Champions" and "Master Class Tactics - Train your combination skills!" Volumes 1 & 2. Oliver Reeh lives in Hamburg.
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oxygenes oxygenes 5 hours ago
@Frits Fritschy
Here no need to be brilliant, removing main defender can be found by any plowman logic.
25.Rxg7 was my first idea and i was curious, why it is not good accourding to checker. I started web site engine within diagram frame and it shows mate 7 at default settings, I changed nothing. So my reaction was natural, why such "dual solution" was not noticed, if main move lead to mate 7 too. Result was probably influenced by such site like gstatic.com, which i have disabled in my browser, because i was not able do next moves after Rxg7.
Frits Fritschy Frits Fritschy 9/18/2026 11:39
Oxygenes,
With the online analysis, after 25.Rxg7 I found a long variation where white is supposed to win the endgame after 37... bxa2, even against the three free pawns on the queens wing. For once, I believed the engine (because it's not to me to prove anything). Maybe your engine found a clearer win (or maybe you are brilliant), but please enlighten us.
A dual solution in over-the-board chess shouldn't take at least ten more moves, in my opinion.
oxygenes oxygenes 9/18/2026 05:06
I took 25.Rxg7, which lead to mate too and this simpleton checker did not accepted it. You could add some notice for 25.Rxg7 as dual solution at minimum.
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