Checkmate in 7

3 comments

• Reply

  

  Yancey Ward says:

  December 26, 2013 at 10:18 pm

  No one offered a solution here?

• Reply

  

  Yancey Ward says:

  December 26, 2013 at 10:31 pm

  Pretty much has to start with Bg1:

  1. …..Bg1
  2. Kh1

  Or [2.Kg3 Ne4 3.Kh4 (or 3.Kg4 Rf4#) 3. …Rf4 4.Bg4 (or 4.g4 Bf2#) 4. …Bf2 5.g3 Bg3#]. Continuing:

  2. …..Ne4

  Threatens Nf2/Ng3#. I don’t see a defense outside of g3/g4 opening a hole for the king on g2. White can delay things with a check from f8. There are two basic lines here- 3.Be1 guarding both f2 and g3, and an immediate g3/g4:

  3. Be1 Be3! (does Re1 even mate?)
  4. Kh2 Re1

  The difference between playing Re1 here rather than on move 3 is that with the king on h2, black can now take away g2 with Re2+ if white tries 5.g3/g4. What can white do now- black is again threatening Bg1 followed by mate with the knight. The longest defense here looks like…

  5. h4

  Or [5.g3/g4 Re2 6.Kh1 Ng3#]. Continuing:

  5. …..Bg1
  6. Kh3 Re3 with either Nf2# or Rg3# on the next move.

• Reply

  

  Consul says:

  December 27, 2013 at 8:08 am

  Thanks Yancey,
  I was missing the fact that Ng3 controls f1, where the King can escape in case of

  1. .. Ng1+
  2. Kh1 .. Nxe4
  3. g3 .. Be3+
  4. Kg2 .. Rf2+
  5. Kg1

  At this point I was trying manouvers like Ng5, preparing for Nf3+ and arab checkmate, but the white Rook stops it by playing on d2. A quiescence error (cit. Dan Heisman) wasn’t letting me see a retreat of the black Rook to e2 with the final blow of the Knight on g3. In this way everything is forced, apart from White’s move 3, where he can play Bf8+ in order to delay, as you pointed out.