White to move. White is down a piece. What is the best continuation for White?
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Find the best continuation
About Author
White to move. White is down a piece. What is the best continuation for White?
White is doomed. Everything will decay into nothingness – darkness will envelope the world – there is no hope – resign and spare yourself the despair of a slow crushing defeat.
Sorry – couldn’t resist that…
What about 1. BxNe6+?
The knight on c5 is pinned, so if 1… QxBe3, then 2. QxNc5+ picks up the knight, and redresses the material balance. If instead of taking the Bishop, the king moves, the only option looks to be 1… Kd8, then Qd5 looks feasible.
I will look more closely for some deeper lines, in the meantime, my apologies for my poor joke, and probably poorer analysis!
Ok, still half-asleep and without my chessboard set up yet today, but I’ll give it a shot… white is probably only doomed if I am playing white at this ungodly hour.
White’s queen is under attack, so a queen move or a check is called for, unless there is some unusual cute tactic.
Both black’s knights protect each other, and both are pinned to the queen: one by the bish, the other by queen and rook. If the white queen moves, then the black queen is indirectly attacked by the white rook, and if both queens and knight move, the white rook attacks the black rook. Finally, the black king for the moment can’t escape to b8 because of the white queen, and is vulnerable to rook checks on the c and d files.
Ok, the checks are queen takes either knight, or BxN+, and those are the most likely interesting moves to consider first. Qxe6+ looks the least interesting, as it just seems to trade material after NxQ, BxQ RxB. Qxc5+ seems to win two knights for a rook, which isn’t enough for the piece down, after NxQ, RxQ RxR, BxN. So BxN+ should be the most promising try.
1 BxN+ QxB (NxB loses the queen to BxQ)
2 QxN+ looks right because the check exposes the rook attack on black’s queen.
2 … Qc6 (or K-any, RxQ)
3 RxR+ and white wins both rooks.
PWJW said…
“What about 1. BxNe6+? … If instead of taking the Bishop, the king moves, the only option looks to be 1… Kd8, then Qd5 looks feasible.”
Aha, you beat me to the answer by only a minute! But if 1 (Bxe6+) Kd8, then Bxc5 looks the most decisive to me, picking off the second knight, attacking the queen, and threatening Bb6+ with mate next move.
“(NxB loses the queen to BxQ)”
But what about that little pawn f6 grabbing the white queen instead?
1. Bxe6+!, Nxe6?
2. Rc3+ I think this is the move, not 2. BxQ?, PxQ
NOW black is lost.
2. -, Kd7 3. Qd5+
2. -, Kd8 (3. Qd5+? Qd7!) but now 3. BxQ+ (check!)
2. -, Nc5 3.Rxc5+
what else?
I “found” 1. Bxe6+!, Qxe6! 2. Qxc5+, Qc6 3. RxR+, too, and I also thought white would win both rooks but while writing this I see that Re8 is protected by the black bishop (umph) (3. -, Bxe8), so the Qxe6 2. Qxc5+ variation “just” wins one figure (back!) and black is still up one pawn!
I have to rewatch that 1. -, Qxe6 variation, again, but first I have to find something for lunch. 🙂
By now I’d say 1. Bxe6+ is the best move but just wins back the figure (like pwjw proposed) that white is down in the diagramme.
Greetings
Jochen
1.Bc5:!!
1…Qc5:2.Be6:and 3.Qc5:
1…Nc5:2.Qe7: and white wins the exchange
1…fe4:2.Be7:Re7:3.Re4: and white not only wins back the piece but also the pawn
I don’t see why white wins back the figure after 1. Bxc5.
After 3. Rxe5 (not e4) for example Nc7 saves the knight and “white is doomed”.
What do I oversee?
Yes you oversee that the Rook is on e7 and hangs!(i mixed up e4 and e5 in my previous post, sorry, so the line reads correct: 1.Bc5: fe5: 2.Be7: Re7: 3.Re5:; I add 3..Bf7 4.Rf7: and 5.Be6: or 3..Kd7 4.Rd5 and 5.Re5 draws)
You’re right with the rook – in my mind it was still on e8. Sorry.
I should have taken a board…. I did now.
What happens after 3. Rxe5, Kd7 4. Rd5, Kc6 5. Re5, Bf7
After the black king moves Be6 isn’t check anymore so 6. Rxf7 won’t work (in this case it will give BK vs R but leave white with an exchange down).
If 4. -, Ke8 instead of Kc6 5. -, Bf7 looks even stronger and seems to leave black with the whole figure up.
Or do I again oversee anything?
To our Bxe6+ line above – after Qxe6 2. Qxc5+, Qc6 3. Rxe8+ Bxe8 white can still try to start an attack at the black king, the bishops of different colours will help him.
If Rf3 wasn’t attacked by the queen, 4. Qe7 would be a very strong move, I think (but 4. Qe7, Qxf3 5. Qxe8+, Kc7 6. Qxa8 leads to perpetual Qf1+-f2+-f1+ and so on).
Perhaps white can try 4. Qf5+, for example 4. -, Bd7 5. Qf4.
There is the threat of Rc3 and black is weak on the black squares.
I am not quite sure if white can launch a successful attack but at least there are many ways for black to fail….
Greetings
Jochen
1.Bc5: fe5: 2.Be7: Re7: 3.Re5
I am not sure this line works after 3… Ra6
Why not the simple Qc3 to win a piece?
1. BxNe6
If.NxBe6,2.Rc3+ wins.
If QxBe6,2.Qxc5+ Qc6,3.Qd4!! Rd8 4.Qf4!!! 1.0
I just posted the variation.
1.BXNe6 if NXe6,2.Rc3+ wins,
If Qxe6,2.Qxc5+ Qc6,3.Qd4!! Rd8 4.Qf4!!! 1.0.
As anonymous,so i decided to creat an accout as wamama.
The idea of the Variation is that after 3.Qd4!! if Qc7+,then 4.Bd6 wins because of Rc3.
And After 4.Qf4!!!,if Qc7,then 5.Rc3 wins.
If 4.Rd2+ 5.Kg3 with the idea of Rc3 wins.
1- Rc3 looks like interesting for me.
Jochen said…
“‘(NxB loses the queen to BxQ)’
But what about that little pawn f6 grabbing the white queen instead?”
Oops, I totally forgot about that!
“1. Bxe6+!, Nxe6?”
No reason for a question mark — this is black’s best try by far, isn’t it?
“2. Rc3+ I think this is the move, not 2. BxQ?, PxQ NOW black is lost.”
Sure as I forgot about the queen hanging. So Rc3+ Nc7 holds, I think.
wamama said…
“I just posted the variation.
1.BXNe6 if NXe6,2.Rc3+ wins”
How? Again:
1 (Bxe6+) (Nxe6)
2 (Rc3+) Nc7 And now what?
If 3 BxQ PxQ and black is fine. So:
3 QxQ RxQ
4 BxR Kd7 and white is up a rook for knight and pawn. I think this is the best white can do in the 1 Bxe6+ line, and possibly the best line for white overall.
Anon_9:58 said…
“1.Bc5:!!
1…fe5:2.Be7:Re7:3.Re5: and white not only wins back the piece but also the pawn”
No, either 3…Ra6 or 3…Kd7 defends, and either way black is up a piece.
Jochen said…
“What happens after 3. Rxe5, Kd7 4. Rd5, Kc6 5. Re5, Bf7 After the black king moves Be6 isn’t check anymore so 6. Rxf7 won’t work (in this case it will give BK vs R but leave white with an exchange down).
If 4. -, Ke8 instead of Kc6 5. -, Bf7 looks even stronger and seems to leave black with the whole figure up.
Or do I again oversee anything?”
No, I think white is simply down a piece no matter what in the 1 Bxc5 line with 3…Kd7 or 3…Ra6.
“To our Bxe6+ line above – after Qxe6 2. Qxc5+, Qc6 3. Rxe8+ Bxe8 white can still try to start an attack at the black king, the bishops of different colours will help him.
If Rf3 wasn’t attacked by the queen, 4. Qe7 would be a very strong move, I think (but 4. Qe7, Qxf3 5. Qxe8+, Kc7 6. Qxa8 leads to perpetual Qf1+-f2+-f1+ and so on).
Perhaps white can try 4. Qf5+, for example 4. -, Bd7 5. Qf4.
There is the threat of Rc3 and black is weak on the black squares.
I am not quite sure if white can launch a successful attack but at least there are many ways for black to fail….”
This looks rather even to me, and with black up a pawn in an opposite-colored bishop endgame.
1 Bxe6+ Nxe6
2 Rc3+ Nc7
still looks like black’s strongest reply to me.
I see – it is not my day, today, (or it wasn’t my day, yesterday, here it is past modnight now)…
I was sure 2. -, Nc7 couldn’t be playable because of 3. Qxe7 Rxe7 4. Rxe7 (!) attacking the pinned night with two rooks.
But c3 and e7 are the same rooks and Rxe7 is impossible. 😉
Puh…..
Greetings
Jochen
I found the quiet 3Qd4 move in the variation 1Be6 Qe6 2Qc5 Qc6 3Qd4. White’s initiative is just too much and black has no good responsed to the threat of Rc3. Kb8 just runs into Bd6+ Kc8 Rc3. It is common to overlook quiet moves when down material as there is a paradigm of “I have to force things to make my initiative count.” Congrats to the other posters who found 3Qd4
-Justin Daniel
Justin Daniel said…
“I found the quiet 3Qd4 move in the variation 1Be6 Qe6 2Qc5 Qc6 3Qd4.”
Yep, good job — another reason that after 1 Bxe6+ (white’s best move), black’s only legitimate response is …Nxe6.
TVTom said…
1 Bxe6+ Nxe6
2 Rc3+ Nc7
still looks like black’s strongest reply to me.
What about:
3. Qxe7 Rxe7
4. Bxe7
Isn’t white simply winning here?
tanstaafl said…
“TVTom said…
‘1 Bxe6+ Nxe6
2 Rc3+ Nc7
still looks like black’s strongest reply to me.’
What about:
3. Qxe7 Rxe7
4. Bxe7
Isn’t white simply winning here?”
Well, I wrote:
“1 (Bxe6+) (Nxe6)
2 (Rc3+) Nc7 And now what?
If 3 BxQ PxQ and black is fine. So:
3 QxQ RxQ
4 BxR Kd7 and white is up a rook for knight and pawn. I think this is the best white can do in the 1 Bxe6+ line, and possibly the best line for white overall.”
I do still think it’s the best line for white, and white is up rook for knight and pawn, though the game is not clearly won.
1.Bxc5 fxe5 (…Qxc5 2. Bxe6+ wins)2. Bxe7 Rxe7 (otherwise White wins a piece back) 3. Rxe5 Bf7 4. Rxf7 Rxf7 5. Bxe6+ wins back the rook and White emerges a piece ahead.