White to move. How should White proceed? Can you solve this puzzle in less than 60 seconds?
Source: ChessToday.net
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
0 to winning in 60 seconds
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1. Qf5
1. … g6
2. Qf8#
1. … Rf5
2. Rd8+ Rf8
3. Rf8#
1. … any other
2. Qh7#
RxB then black can refuse to recapture but then Rxh7 or if gxR then Qe5+ either way black is cooked he can only delay the inevitable.
Bd3 protects against Qxf2 and frees up whites Rook on the d file to join in the attack on blacks castled king.
Qf5
In my earlier post, missed out this line
1. Qf5 Kg8
2. Bd5+ Rf7 (Kh8 3. Qf8#)
3. Rd8#
Qf5
Qf7 looks good, g6 is forced and then:
2. Rd8 Rxd8
3. Qf6+ Bg7
4. Qxd8+ Bf8
5. Qxf8#
or
3. … Kg8
4. Qxd8+ etc. should also be winning.
greets, jan
Tricky!
Two tries are a chess version of the boomerang:
1.Rxh6?? Qxf2+! Δ2…Rc1+ with mate
1.Qf7 g6!
BUT
1.Qf7 g6
2.Rd8!! Rxd8
3.Qf6+ Δ4.Qxd8+ probably winning.
Is there a more convincing combination?
because Black has a good defense:
2…Qa3
3.Qf6+ Bg7
1.Qf5 (double threat) is meeted again by 1…g6 (double defense)
So…?
I fell into 1. Rxh6 initially but made a correction later with 1. Qf5. Unfortunately, it took more than 1 minute 🙁
I think 1.Rxh6 wins the piece, because 1…gxh6 is replied by 2.Qe5+ forking king and rook
1. Rxh6, threatening
2. Rxh7+ Kg8
3. Rh8#
1. … gxh6
2. Qe5+ Kg8
3. Bd5+ Rf7
4. Bxf7+ Kxf7
5. Qxc3
Bxh7!
Df7
then Rxh6
No. Part of the problem, at least for myself, is that two other first moves get into my head, and I have to follow through on them. This is a another repeat, I believe, and I still jump to Qf5 first, followed by 1.Rh6:
1. Qf5? g6 (Rf5 2.Rd8+-)
2. Qe5 Bg7 and black still has it all under control.
I don’t remember how long it took me last time to give up on this beginning and find the right move, but 1.Rf6 is a killer, but even if the move occurred to me immediately, I could not work it all out in anything less that 10 minutes, and even then, I still look to 1.Rh6 before 1.Rf6:
1. Rf6!! gf6 (Rf6 2.Qe8+-)
There are no good defenses. If black protects the rook at f8 with the queen [1. …Qa3 2.Rh6! gh6 3.Qe5 Kg8 4.Bd5 Rf7 5.Qe8 Qf8 6.Bf7 Kg7 7.Qe5 Kf7 8.Qc3+-]. If black tries Rg8 he loses in a similar way: [1. …Rg8 2.Rh6 gh6 3.Qe5 Rg7 4.Bd5! and mate is going to follow soon]. Or if black tries another square on the 8th rank: [1. …Rd8 2.Rh6 gh6 3.Qf7! and the mate with Qh7 can only be delayed, not prevented]. The key feature of white’s first move is that it denies black his counterplay move of Qf2+ sacrificing the queen at f2 to get a mating net- white’s Rf6 cuts off black’s rook’s X-ray attack on f1- this is why an immediate 1.Rh6 is ineffective for white. Continuing from move 1 above:
2. Qh6 Rf7 (or get mated)
3. Bh7! Qa3 (Rh7 4.Qf8#; Qc4 4.Bd3)
4. Be4 Kg8
5. Qg6 Kf8
Or [5. …Rg7 6.Bd5 Kf8 (or 6. …Kh8 7.Qe8 Kh7 8.Qh5#) 7.Qf6 Ke8 8.Qg7+- (though 8.Bc6 and 9.Re1 might mate)]. Continuing:
6. Bd5 Qe7
7. Rb1 Rb3
8. Qh6 Ke8 (Kg8 9.Bf7; Rg7 9.Qh8)
9. Bf7 Kf7 (Kd8 10.Qd2;Qf7 10.Rb3)
10.Qh7 Ke8 (Ke6 11.Re1)
11.Qe7 Ke7
12.Rb3 wins easy from here.
Rxh6!
Qf7 should win
I kinda like Qf7, but what comes after I have no idea…
1.Rxh6 gxh6 2.Qd4+ +-