White to move. How should White proceed? (1st puzzle challenge of 2011 created by Tommy Polgar)
8/3B4/4p3/b1pkP2r/Pp3P2/1p3Pn1/b7/R3K3 w Q – 0 1
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Susan Polgar
January 1, 2011
Chess Improvement, Chess Puzzles, Daily News, Susan's Personal Blog
21 Comments
1. O-O-O+
2. Bb5+
3. Rd3++
This is a good one.
1. 0-0-0 Kc4
2. Bb5+ Kc3
3. Rd3#
Interesting use of castling!
1. 0-0-0+ Kc4 2.Bb5+ Kc3 3.Rd3#
After queenside castling, the black king is automatically checked. Only move is 1…Kc4 forced. Followed by check by bishop at b5. Again only move for black king is 2…Kc3. And rook checks at d3 where it is protected by bishop at b5 and black king is mated.
1. 0-0-0+ Kc4
2. Kb2 with two threats, Bb5# and Bxe6#.
There must be a trick somewhere.
Tommy Polgar seems to know his classics, the castle in an endgame-like puzzle !
1.0-0-0+! Kc4 2.Bb5+ Kc3 3.Rd3 mate !
Very funny !!
The first move is with the king….
Wasted so much time looking at Rd1+ and not seeing how to complete it until I finally realized I could castle instead. Then it was crystal clear.
1. 0-0-0+ Kc4
2. Bb5+ Kc3
3. Rd3 mate
Bb5 and then Rd1 mate is unavoidable.
If this was from the Sherlock Holmes chess book by Raymond Smullyan, we would also have to prove that White hasn’t lost the right to castle!
1.O-O-O +
0-0-0, Bb5 and Rd3mate
@anonymous 10:51 PM:
the trick is called castling 😉
1. 0-0-0+ Kc4 2. Bb5 Kc3 3. Rd3 mat
Bb5 would be a blunder because of Rh1+…and white loses the rook for the knight. or…1.Bb5 Rh1+ 2. Bf1 Rxf1+ 3.Ke2 Rxa1….: Bb5= blunder
1.0-0-0+ Kc4 2.Bb5+ Kc3
3.Rd3#.
1. 0-0-0+ Kc4 2. Bb5+ Kc3 3. Rd3#
0-0-0 is the move
Nice puzzle!!
It is a good thing I actually read up on FEN diagrams a few months back, or I would have to ask a basic question about the position.
The threat of Rh1 must be addressed by white. Even moving the king off the 1st rank won’t help since black still plays Rh1 and simplifies to a won endgame. So, white’s first move must be with check. 1.Rd1+ doesn’t work:
1. Rd1 Kc4
2. Bb5 Kc3
And on Rc1 or Rd3, the black king will motor over to b2 and a3 and hide. So, what is the solution? We know that white can castle queenside because of the attached fen notation (this part-“w Q”). With 000, white delivers the rook to d1 and cuts off the black king’s retreat square of b2, all in one move:
1. 0-0-0 Kc4
2. Bb5 Kc3
3. Rd3#
!.0-0-0, 2.Bb5, 3.Rd3
1:0-0-0+ Kc4
2:Bb5+ Kc3
3:Rd3#
Happy newyear Quorthon.