Keen Observations
Part of good chess play is having the ability to see everything on the board and make sense of it all. Paying attention to detail can save you from making serious mistakes.
The following puzzle is an adaptation of one that was circulating on Facebook. It is a good challenge much like a chess game. Maybe by working this puzzle, it may somehow help you to become more observant when you play chess; and even if it doesn’t help you, it’s a fun challenge.
Trivial HS algebra (Gaussian elimination, aka “n equations, n unknowns”). Takes about 30 seconds or less using pen and paper. Good puzzle, little relevance to chess though. Chess is mostly pattern recognition not grinding through algorithms. I used pattern recognition in solving this – I immediately recognized that it was an algebra problem that I knew how solve and put it to pen and paper. Some people can do Gaussian elimination or even more advanced mathematical procedures such as matrices or calculus in their head, but most of us will get there with old fashioned pen and paper. 😉