White to move. How should white proceed?
Source: ChessToday.net
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White to move. How should white proceed?
Source: ChessToday.net
Just a glance at the position one feels immediately that black is at disadvantage but not disastrous.White’s pieces one feels are not at their best.I was contemplating 1.Qf7 attacking B and building attack slowly.However looks are deceptive.By chance I tried 1.Ng6+
1.Ng6+ hxg6
2.g4 After this move only one realizes how helpless black is.
2….. Qd5
3.Rh3+ Kg8
4.Bxd5+ cxd5
5.Rxe8+ Kf7
6.Qe3 g5
7.Re7+ Kg6
8.Qd3+ f5
9.Qxf5# Almost all moves by black are forced.
1Knight ch wins
1. Ng6+ hxg6 Forced.
2. g4!! To avoid mate by Rc3-h3, Black must give the queen:
2. … Qd5 Only move.
3. Rh3+ Qh5 If
3. … Kg8, then the queen is captured with check
4. Bxd5+ cxd5 (if Kf8 then 5.Rh8#)
5. Rxe8+ Kf7
6. Qe3 +-
4. Rxh5+ gxh5
5. Qf7 and Black cannot both save rook and bishop.
+-
Qf7
I don’t have much time, but Ng6+ forces hxg6, and then g4 allows the subsequent Rh3. There can be a useless interposition with Qh4 in case of 2 .. f5.
1. Ng6+!! hxg6
Only legal move, and I like this double pawn very much. Now g7 will for a long time stand where it is.
2. g4!
And there is nothing against Rh3#, except:
2. … Qd5(!)
But here we indeed need to stop and think, since Bxd5?? leads to Rxe1+ and black may have enough compensation for the queen.
3. Rh3+! (only playable) Qh5
Enforced. The alternativ was:
3. … Kg8? 4. Bxd5+ cxd5 (Kf8?? Rh8#) 5. Rxe8+ Kf7 6. Rh8 mating soon.
4. Rxh5+ gxh5
So white is up with Q for R+N, and this must win. E.g. like this:
5. Qf7! Na6 (any better here?)
6. Qxh5+ Kg8
And one possibility now is 7. Qh7+ Kf8 8. Qh8+ Kf7 9. Bg6+ Kxg6 10. Rxe8 Rxe8 11. Qxe8+ and white’s advantage is increased to Q vs. B+N with rooks gone, but I might rather go for:
7. Re3
I think that looks better.
Now coming to less juicy option
1.Qf7 Re7
2.Qh5 Rxe4
2….h6 3.Ng6+ Kg8 4.Nxe7+ Kf8
(4…Qxe7 5.Bd5+ Kf8 6.Rce3)
5.Bh7 Qxe7 6.Rce3 Qxe3 7.Qc5+ Kf7 8.Rxe3 Nd7 9.Qe7#
3.Rxe4 Nd7
4.Ng6+ Kg8
5.Ne7+ Kf8
(5…Kh8 6.Qxh7+)
6.Qxh7
(6.Nf5 Nb6(6…. Kg8 7.Re7) 7.Qxh7 Qc7 8.Qh8+ Kf7 9.Qxg7# also o.k.)
6…. Qxe7
7.Rxe7 Kxe7
8.Qxg7+ Kd6
9.Re3
All the variations above are more fertile giving endless choices but white always seems to have upper hand.
Ng6+ -hxg6 then g4 with a idea of Rh3 mate.
Looking at it once more, I think enforced seems:
1. Ng6+ hxg6
2. g4 Qd5
3. Rh3+ Qh5
4. Rxh5+ gxh5
5. Qf7! Na6 (what was better here?)
6. Qxh5+ Kg8
7. Qh7+ (must be best) Kf8
8. Qh8+ Kf7
9. Bg6+! Kxb6
10. Rxe8 Rxe8
11. Qxe8+ Kg5/Kh6
12. Qd7!
and Bb7 is lost too, wherefore 5. … Na6 didn’t look good, but I don’t know what the alternative might be…
Once more:
I badly missed that with my pawn on f4, there is no way black can get rook for his queen!
Typacal for me, I therefore found a more complicated win than needed.
1. Ng6+ hxg6
2. g4 Qd5 (must be longest lasting)
3. Rh3+
and there is nothing more.
3. … Qh5? 4. gxh5 (of course)
and white is up with a full queen for the knight.
3. … Kg8? 4. Bxd5+ cxd5 5. Rxe8+
and white is up with Q+R for N+B looking even better.
4. … Kf8? 5. Rxe8+ Kxe8+ 6. Bxb7
was even more fun.
1. Ng6+ hg 2. g4 forces black to play 2…Qd5 to avoid a quick mate. But I don’t think it does much more than postpone it.
3. Rh3+ Kg8 4. B:d5+ cd 5. R:e8+ Kf7 and black is buried.
1.Qf7 Nd7 (1… Qe7 2.Qh5 there are multiple threats)2.Ng6+ hxg6 3.g4 Nf8 (3…. Re5 4.Rh3+ Rh5 5.Rxh5+ gxh5 6.Qxh5+ Kg8 7.Bg6 Ne5[7… Nf8 8.Bf7#] 8.Rxe5 fxe5 9.Qh7+ Kf8 10.Qh8+ Ke7 11.Qxg7+ Kd6 12.Qxe5+ Kd7 13.Bf5#)4.Rh3+ Nh7 5.Rxh7+ Kxh7 6.Re3 Re5 7.Rh3+ Rh5 8.Rxh5#
To conclude 1.Ng6+ is instant killer but 1.Qf7 gives food to imagination.
1. Ng6+ hxg6
2. g4 Qd5
Both preparing to block the h file and immediately blocking the a2-g8 diagonal (to allow … Kg8), while the White Bishop is pinned against the Rook on e1. This appears to be the best try, although insufficient.
3. Rh3+
3. Bxd5 Rxe1+ 4. Kg2 cxd5 and Black has Bishop, Knight, and Rook for the Queen. That would be OK if mate was not preventable, but the blocked diagonal allows the Black King to escape to g8.
3. … Qh5
4. gxh5 g5
To prevent hxg, opening the h file and mating.
5. Qf7 Rg8
6. h6 g6
7. h7 Rg7
8. Qf8+ Rg8
9. hxg8=Q mate
I don’t see a better defense for Black. There may be a faster mate, even against best defense, but this looks good enough to me.
1.Ng6+ hxg6 2.g4 Qd5 3.Rh3+ Qh5 ( I had missed this move by blackand now there is fun in ) 4.Qf7
Nowadays Yancey is conspicuous by his absence
I was heavily surprised to see that someone else (fajac) had made exactly same mistake as me and played 4. Rxh5+ instead of gxh5.
pht,
You need not repent for your 4.Rxh5+ but be proud of it.
1.Ng6+ hxg6 2.g4 Qd5 3.Rh3+ Qh5 4.Rxh5+ gxh5 5.Qf7 Na6 6.Qxh5+ Kg8 7.Bd5+ cxd5 8.Rxe8+ Rxe8 9.Qxe8+ Kh7 10.Qd7 Ba8 11.Qf5+ Kg8 12.Qc8+ Kh7 13.Qxa6 better than 13.Qxa8 and pick up the remaining B also.
In the above variation black may opt for giving up B and save N 10… Nb4.So more appropriate would be 10.a3 which will fix up both.
To Prof. Bhat:
After:
1.Ng6+ hxg6 2.g4 Qd5 3.Rh3+ Qh5
I think the only natural looking move is:
4. gxh5!
being up with so much material (Q for N) that black has no reason to play on.
I even suspect there is a quite fast mate in this line!
Black’s 3. … Qh5 wasn’t much of an option really, because white has a pawn on g4, easy to miss when playing this without a board and you “see” the pawn on g3.
Even though 4. Rxh5+ also wins through quite interesting play, I do think this move looks artificial….
After:
1.Ng6+ hxg6
2.g4 Qd5
3.Rh3+ Qh5?
4. gxh5!
the mate is very near.
The immediate threat is 5. hxg6#, or if 4. gxh5?? then Rxh5#. Enforced to avoid both seems:
4. … g5
5. Qf7!
and now white can simply push h pawn on and get mate in a couple of moves.
Because of this I hardly think a computer will give 3. … Qh5 as an option for black.
Of course I had missed 2… Qh5 in my first analysis. however I wrote later about the fun in 4.Qf7 without taking Q.
1.Ng6+ hxg6 2.g4 Qd5 3.Rh3+ Qh5 4.Qf7 Qxh3
(4…. Re5 5.Rxh5+ Rxh5 6.Qe8+ Kh7 7.Qxg6+ Kg8 8.Qe8# )
5.Qxe8+ Kh7 6.Qxg6+ Kh8 7.Qe8#
An attempt by black to play 2… Re5 also fails.1.Ng6+ hxg6 2.g4 Re5 3.Rh3+ Rh5 4.Bxg6 Rh6 5.Qf7 Na6 6.Rxh6+ gxh6 7.Qh7#