White to move. Can you find the most efficient continuation for White?
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White is so lost.
1. Bf1+ Ka5
2. Qxa7 #
Bf1+
1.Bf1+
theres only one square for the black king but if 1.. Ka5 2.Qxa7#
so black has to block the check. he could block with queen and lose it immediately with no effect to the check. right. so the only option left is
1.. Rb5
2. Bxb5+ cxb5 (still the mate threat at Qxa7)
3. Qxg8
black is lost
“White is so lost.”
Nonsense! This one took less than 5 seconds for me to see. I first looked at all the possible checks. Only one doesn’t throw away a piece, making this a 1 on a scale of 1 to 10 in difficulty:
1 Bf1+!
For if …Ka5, then QxP is mate. Blocking with the Queen only puts off mate a move, so the only try is:
1 Bf1+! Rb5 2 Qd7!! and now it is black who is “so lost”. Heh! I always look at all the obvious checks first — sometimes the most obvious check leads directly to mate.
(Or 2 BxR wins too, I suppose, but 2 Qd7!! is just so much more elegant and there is no defense to stop Qxc6 — better to leave the piece pinned and useless and threaten mate than to take the piece here.)
Bf1 ch if black move forward Qxa7 mate. So,1.. Rb5 2 BxRch PxB
3.QxR
1. Bf1+ seems to win. Black has to play Rb5 (1. -, Ka5? 2. Qxa7#).
Now 2. Qxg8 wins. At first look white seems to be just an exchange up but the black king is still in danger.
A big threat is 3. Bxb5+, cxb5 4. Qc8+, Ka5 5. Qc7+, Ka4 (Ka6 6. Qc6+) 6. Qa7+, Ba5 7. Rb4+.
This takes away all black hopes to get active with 2. -, Bxd4 (attacking fs) for example.
I do not see a good black move.
Probably the passive defense move 2. -, Bb2 is his only chance to survive but the endgame should be an easy win for white.
Another possibility seems to be the more impressive move 2. Qe6! If black plays 2. -, Ka5 for example 3. Dxc6! wins. 2. -, Kb7 fails to 3. Qd7+ and mate soon.
Perhaps that is even stronger if I did not oversee anything.
Jochen
1.Bf1+ Q~ 2.BxQ Ka5 3.Qxa7#
1. Bf1 Rb5
2. QxR threatening Qc8 check followed by Qc7 check and Qxa7 mate.
Unstoppable
1. Bf1+ with the idea:
1. … Ka5 2. Qxa7 mate
1. … Rb5 2. a4 Rb8 3. axb5+ cxb5 4. Qxd5 +- (idea: 5. Qc6+ / 6. Rxb5+ / 7. Qxb5 mate)
White will win with …
Bf1 +
Bf1+… make use of the “almost hidden” piece…
1. Bf1+
1. …, Ka5
2. Qxa7#
1. …, Rb5
2. Qxg7 wins a rook, and Rb5 will probably fall, too.
R-b6+
I’m still the only one that posted 2 Qd7!! after 1 Bf1+ Rb5:
While everyone else suggests 2 BxR or 2 QxR, both of which eventually win, the cool part of these puzzles is to find the most elegant and efficient win, and 2 Qd7!! is the kind of move to look for. In this case, black has no counterplay, but in others, making the second-best move will often leave you with a draw or loss.
Note how the twin threats of Qxc6+ with mate next move and the Q triple-attacking b5, and hence threatening Bxb5 c6xd5 Qxb5++ mate, leaves black checkmated in a move or two (not including spite checks like Qxf2+, etc.).
2 Qd7!! is the smooth move here.
Wow, just about all of you have it wrong. Bf1?! is good enough to win (1…Rb5 2Bb5 ab5 3Qg8 +-) but only 1Bc8! leads directly to mate. 1Bc8 Rc8 (1…Ka5 2Qa7) 2Qb7 Ka5 3Qa7 mate. Do not just play the first good move you see. Look for a better move.
-Justin Daniel
Uh, disregard my last post. I just saw the rook on g8 covers c8. What can I say, my brain is fried today.
-Justin Daniel