White to move. There are a lot of ways to continue with this game. Which is the best?
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I think the position is equal.
Nxe5 Qxe5
f4 Q moves
Bxa8 Rxa8
e5
1. Bxa8 Rxa8
2. Nxe5 Qxe5
3. f4 and 4. e5 seems to win material
1. -, Nxg4 does not help, I think.
Directly 1. f4 looks good, too.
In both cases white is an exchange up (if I haven’t overseen anything).
Jochen
bxn pxb
nh6 & nf7
1 Bxf6 gxf6
2 Nh6 K any
3 Nxf7
1 Bxf6 Bxf6
2 Bxa8 Rxa8
3 e5
Here is a possibility:
1.Nh6+ PxN
If the king moves out of check then Nxf7 wins material with a fork
2.BxP
White now threatens check mate by Qg5-g7
2. … Bf4
3. BxB Qe7
4. Bh6
White threatens check mate again. If black pays NxB then the rook is skewered by Bg5. NxP prevent checkmate and the skewer but the Knight is lost.
1.Bf6: gf 2.Nh6+ & 3.Nf7 fork
1. …Bf6 2.Ba8: and 3. e5 fork
1. …Bd5: 2.Be5: and 3.ed +-
Here is a possibility:
1.Nh6+ PxN
If the king moves out of check then Nxf7 wins material with a fork
2.BxP
White now threatens check mate by Qg5-g7
2. … Bf4
3. BhxB Qe7
4. Bh6
White threatens check mate again. If black pays NxB then the rook is skewered by Bg5. NxP prevent checkmate and the skewer but the Knight is lost.
Roger
1. Nxe5 Qxe5
2. f4 Q…
3. Bxa8 Rxa8
4. e5
looks like the most accurate move order, as it deprives square e6 one move longer for the queen.
I think anonymous is right with bxn.
I spend a long time thinking 1 f4 was the move (preparing the nasty pawn fork), but 1…Nxg4 seems to hold black’s position, and if 2 Bxd8, then …Bxf4 gets the bishop out of danger and wins a tempo by attacking the queen.
1 Nxe5 Qxe5 2 f4 Qd4 3 Bxa8 Rxa8 4 e5 as (another) anonymous suggests doesn’t work because of 4…Nh5! 5 Bxd8 Ng3+ and white’s king and rook are forked, so the pin of the knight was no good.
Note that 1 Bxa8 Rxa8 2 Nxe5 Qxe5 3 f4 Qd4 4 e5, as jochen suggests, is the same as above transposed, where black gets the knight fork.
So to avoid the knight fork, we must remove the annoying knight first with 1 Bxf6!
As anonymous points out, if …gxf6, then Nh6+! followed by Nf5! and black’s pawn structure is shattered, white’s knight occupies a crucial hole, and the queen will invade with Qh6 next with a won game.
So black must respond to 1 Bxg6 with …Bxg6, and now 2 Bxa8 Rxa8 3 e5! and white gets the pawn fork without any tricky knight counterplay once the knight is taken out of action first.
Yes tv_tom, you solved the problem. 1. Bxf6 indeed is the best move.
Just one note though: after 1. Bxf6 gxf6 2. Nh6+ I would prefer 3. Nxf7 to finish it off at once.
A+ analysis tvtom.
Thanks. I miss so many of these and then ‘cheat’ by looking at your replies and saying “I could have found that!”, so now I try to attack problems thoroughly before I look at responses.
“Just one note though: after 1. Bxf6 gxf6 2. Nh6+ I would prefer 3. Nxf7 to finish it off at once.”
No way. I mean, yes if Kh8??, as Nxf7 forks K and Q, but not if he moves to f8 or g7, in which case Nf5!! is much stronger. The two tactical principles of ‘occupying holes’ and creating a ‘mating net’ together make this move stronger.
For example: …Kf8 (…Kg7 loses the queen immediately to a fork with Nf5+), and if black attacks whites queen after …Kf8 3 Nf5! Bf4 4 NxQ BxQ 5 NxR RxN 6 RxB then white’s up a full rook.
Or 3 Nf5! Qc7 4 Qh6+ Ke8 5 Qg7! and the king is mated after Qg8 and Qxf7 (you finally get your pawn but how much stronger with the Queen!) or else black loses a rook or queen trying to find a hole for the king to hide in. If black trades off with 5 …BxB 6 PxB RxP 7 Qxf6! and the black bishop is pinned and lost and black is almost mated.
I think all these lines are more decisive than 3 Nxf7, which unless I’m missing some finesse, ‘merely’ wins the exchange. Point: go for the mating net and tactical power of a strong knight post in a commanding hole rather than snatch a lousy pawn!
It’s hard to argue the strength of Nf5, however Nxf7 is not so much as a lousy pawn. You have the smae infiltration left by Qh6+ and the mating attack, together with the exchange. By no means a lousy pawn, but a clear win (also) :).
e.g. a more stubborn defence to Nf5 would be Qb8, and after Qg7 then Rc7 and it’s not yet mate.
“It’s hard to argue the strength of Nf5, however Nxf7 is not so much as a lousy pawn. You have the same infiltration left by Qh6+ and the mating attack, together with the exchange. By no means a lousy pawn, but a clear win (also) :).”
Ok, but Nf5 is more aesthetically pleasing, and it’s stronger, too!
“e.g. a more stubborn defence to Nf5 would be Qb8, and after Qg7 then Rc7 and it’s not yet mate.”
Clever! I missed that ingenious try, to give another space for the king to run; but it’s of no use: for after 3 Nf5 Qb8 4 Qg7 Rc7, 5 Rd2!! cuts off the king at the pass and black is in worse shape again than in the Nxf7 lines, and again is about to be mated.