This is a study that impressed me a lot as a young lad when Afek presented it in an evening lecture as a chess tournament. There are simply not enough exclamation marks for Bb5+!!. But I consider the capture Rxb5+ a serious flaw. Moreover, the motivation of the sacrifice Bb5+ is rather simple. The study is, of course, wonderful for solving, but as an artwork, I would place it between 2,5 and 3 points. The first move spoils a lot. It should not be too difficult to find a better version.
Bad first move 🙂
This is a study that impressed me a lot as a young lad when Afek presented it in an evening lecture as a chess tournament. There are simply not enough exclamation marks for Bb5+!!. But I consider the capture Rxb5+ a serious flaw. Moreover, the motivation of the sacrifice Bb5+ is rather simple. The study is, of course, wonderful for solving, but as an artwork, I would place it between 2,5 and 3 points. The first move spoils a lot. It should not be too difficult to find a better version.
For comparison, this study of mine was given a HM by Pervakov at the 2021 World Cup. https://eg.org.ua/chessgame/sprengerj-0034-21d7b8/
I still believe that Oleg underrated the study since 5. Nd7+!! is similarly stunning as Afek’s Bb5+!!, and it is technically clean.