Our title is how famed problemist Tommie Wiswell referred to today's puzzler, which he drew from actual play. It's one of those cases in which the win is "obvious" but actually demonstrating how it's done is the real trick.

BLACK

WHITE
White to Play and Win

W:W12,K18,22:B5,13,21.

The Black pieces are all off on the side of the board, while White has good mobility and a king to boot. So the win should be easy, shouldn't it? But Mr. Wiswell notes that in play over the board, the White player missed the winning continuation. Can you do better?

When you've settled on the winning course of action, click on Read More to see the solution.

Solution

18-14 21-25 14-17 25-30 17-21 5-9---A 12-8 9-14 8-3 30-26---B 3-7 26-17 7-10---C White Wins.

A---30-26 loses quickly after 12-8 26-17 21-14 and Black must go down a piece.

B---There is nothing else at this point. Giving up a man with 13-17 would avoid the quick finish that follows, but it's just a matter of prolonging the agony.

C---Black now loses two pieces.