White to move. How should white proceed?
Source: ChessToday.net
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Important attacking pattern
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White to move. How should white proceed?
Source: ChessToday.net
Slightly easier than that queen and pawn ending from a couple of days back:
1. Bg7 Kg7 (alternatives follow)
2. Nf5 Kh8 (Kg8 3.Qg4+-)
3. Re4!
The hard move to find. There are no real defenses now to Rh4 other than giving up the queen at f5. At move 1, black can’t refuse the bishop either:
1. Bg7 Be7 (guarding f6)
2. Re7 Qe7
3. Nf5 Qe6 (Qe4 4.Bf6)
4. Bf8 Nd6
Of course, 4. …Rf8 loses to 5.Qg4+ followed by mate, and 4. …Kf8 loses to 5.Qh6+ followed by Ng7+ forking the king and queen. Continuing:
5. Bd6 Kh8 (Qe5 6.f3 wins)
6. Bb4 and white is up two pieces.
Spent some time starting with Nf5 but couln’t find the win after g6 Qe2 Rfe8 Qxc4 gxf5. Then found out that the bishop sac opens up black and actually wins:
1. Bxg7 Kxg7
2. Nf5+ Kh8
3. Re4 …
etc.
Qg4.
1.Bxg7! Kxg7
2.Nf5+! Kh8
(if 2…Kg8 3.Qg4+ Kh8 4.Qg7#)
3.Re4! Rg8
4.Rh4 Rg7
5.Nxg7 Kxg7
6.Qxh7+ Kf8
7.Re1 Be5
(if 7…Be7 8.Qh8#)
8.Qh8+ Ke7
9.Qxa8 Kd6
10.dxe5+ Kc7+-
(if 10…fxe5 11.Rd1 skewers queen)
Marcelo
Bxg7! Kxg7 Nf5+ Kh8 Re4! Rg8 Qh4 +-
Bxg7! Re8? Bxf6 Bf4 Nf5 +-
Qg4?? Qxg4 -+
1. Bxg7 Kxg7
2. Nf5+ Kh8
3. Re4
1. Bxg7 Kxg7
2. Nf5+ Kh8
3. Re4 …
4. Rh4
Suggest
1.Bxg7 Kxg7
2.Nf5+ Kh8 (else Qg4+ and Qg7#)
3.Re4 Rg8
4.Rh4 Rg7
5.Nxg7 Kxg7
6.Qh6+ to keep the King in the corner
6…..Kg8
7.Re1 Ne5
8.dxe5 Bxe5
9.Qxh7+ Kf8
10.Qxh8+ Ke7
11.Qxa8 wins material
but surely we can find
a checkmate?
Bg7
1. Bxg7 Kxg7 (not taking would hardly help?)
2. Nf5+ Kh8
3. Re4!
followed by Rh4 and Qxh7# looks like a good opportunity for white.
Important is that there is a “high wall” in the f file, closing black completely out from his own defense.
pht,
“High wall” describes it perfectly!
To Yancey Ward:
Yes, just because of that “high wall” the basic idea here is very easy to find.
But I realize that just finding that basic idea isn’t enough.
Here are variations that I didn’t analyze, that make it not being a quick mate:
1. Bxg7 Be7
You analyzed that one, it looks right. I just mentioned to not take back on g7 with a question mark….
I think Marcelo’s line looks interesting.
It is up with quality and a couple of pawns for white?
Is this the critical continuation?
pht,
Yes, that is the critical line, but it is up a lot more than “quality and a couple of pawns”. By the tenth move, it is up a full rook, an exchange, and two pawns.