White to move. How should white proceed?
Source: ChessToday.net
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White to move. How should white proceed?
Source: ChessToday.net
Black’s Q is in a bad spot. After 1. f4 it looks like ceding a piece by 1…B:f4 2. B:f4 (2…Q:f4 Nd5+ wins the Q) Q:e2+ 3. B:e2 is best for Black.
If Black tries to avoid dropping the B, he must move the Q along the 5th rank to guart against 2. Bc5+ with a quick mate in store. But his only safe squares on the 5th rank are f5 and h5; 2. g4 drives the Q off the 5th rank permanently in either case, allowing the mating threats with the two B’s and Q.
bishop to g6?
A very interesting position. Black’s king is exposed, and the Black queen has to watch out that she doesn’t get trapped. The open d-file can be used by White’s queen’s rook, and White has the possibility of opening up the f-file, in some variations, after 1. f4
The main line, I suppose, after 1. f4 would go:
1. .. Bxf4 2. Bxf4 Qxe2+ (2. .. Qxf4 3. Nd5+) 3. Bxe2
White is slightly ahead in material, but Black is busted in any case, since White is developed and can launch a deadly attack on the Black king. It is very hard for Black to develop his pieces here. He cannot develop his king’s knight here, for instance:
3. .. Nf6 4. O-O and now Black has to move the knight again, due to the threatened pin with the bishop on either e5-square or g5-square.
After 1. f4 Black can also try to move his queen to various squares, which puts him in a whole lot of hurt:
1. .. Qf5 2. g4 Qf6 3. Bc5+ Kd8 4. Qd3+ Kc7 5. Qd6#
1. .. Qd6 2. Rd1 Qb4 3. a3 Qa5 4. Bc5+ Kf6 5. Qe5#
1. .. Qd6 2. Rd1 Qb8 3. Bc5+ Kf6 4. Rd8 g5 (4. .. a6 5. Ne4+ Kf5 (5. .. Kg7 6. Bf8#) 6. g4+ Kxf4 7. Rf1+ Ke5 8. Ng5#) 5. Nd5+ exd5 6. Bd4+ Kg6 (6. .. Kf5 7. Bd3+ Kxf4 8. O-O#)7. Bd3+ Bf5 8. Bxf5+ Kxf5 9. g4+ Kg6 (9. .. Kxf4 10. Rf1#) 10. f5#
1. .. Qb8 2. Bc5+ Kf6 3. Bd4+ Ke7 4. Be5
1. .. Qc7 2. Nd5+ exd5 3. Bc5+ Kd8 (3. .. Kf6 4. Bd4+ Kf5 5. Bd3+ Kxf4 6. Qf3+ Kg5 7. h4#) 4. Qe8#
I have looked at this for 20 minutes, and I don’t see a winning move for white.
Just looked it up on the website
http://en.spbchesstournaments.com/memorials/peterburgleto/partii-live.html
That was a good tactic! I actually considered that move, but overestimated black’s chances of escape!
1.f4
1.Bg5+ wins Q.
2…..Ke6
3.Rd1+
It is a brilliant problem!!
f4 seals the deal!!
Black loses the Queen in all the lines (to avoid mate).
Qf6 or Qg7 lead to Bc5+ and a quick checkmate.
Qf5 or Qh5 is met by g4 and we end up in a similar situation as above.
Qc7 is met by Nd5+!! exd5, Bb6+ winning the Queen again.
Qd6 is met by Rd1 and then:
1. Qb8 is met by Bc5+ followed by Bd6!
2. Qc7 is again met by Nd5+
3. Qb4 is met by a3! threatening Bc5+ once the Queen moves
It is a brilliant problem!!
f4 seals the deal!!
Black loses the Queen in all the lines (to avoid mate).
Qf6 or Qg7 lead to Bc5+ and a quick checkmate.
Qf5 or Qh5 is met by g4 and we end up in a similar situation as above.
Qc7 is met by Nd5+!! exd5, Bb6+ winning the Queen again.
Qd6 is met by Rd1 and then:
1. Qb8 is met by Bc5+ followed by Bd6!
2. Qc7 is again met by Nd5+
3. Qb4 is met by a3! threatening Bc5+ once the Queen moves
Yancey
Join the club! Couldn’t see anything either in reasonable time
but interested more and more in why I can’t in particular positions! Ended up putting it in Fritz 11 (usually not fantastic for spectacular tactics) and saw that I had considered all the ‘winning’ moves without registering their significance ‘in composito’. Have not seen the game yet. End of comment since I referred to a ‘higher authority’!
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PS See my comment regarding the Grandadam game puzzle of 7th Sept.
Well, i also had to look for a good move and then finally i saw f4. If Bxf4, Bxf4 and black’s a piece down cause he can’t recapture due to the great fork Nd5+. So what can black do? He has to move his Q and looking for a good square, there just isn’t any! The threats of mate by Bc5+, Kd8, Qd3 combined whith that great fork on d5 or a discovered check (in case of exd5) are huge. The white B can go unleash the discovered check on any black square. So where does the black Q go? So i guess, if Qf5, then g5 and only Qf6 remains, which of course will at least lose the queen, if you miss the mate described earlier. What about f4, Qh5, g5, Qh4+, Bf2, Qh3….? Then again Bc5+ (if Kd8, Qd1 and mate follows), Kf6 and g6 wins the B.
I probably missed a lot more here, but i’m doing this while staring at my screen (@work…sssssssht, don’t tell my boss!), and after 26 minutes i notice i’m just tired! I guess i’m working way to hard! ;-P
f4 followed whites
f4 followed whites
f4 followed whites
Anonymous,
The knight fork from d5 was just invisible to me.
Anonymous,
I read your comment on the Sept 7 puzzle. I had also seen Nh4 in that line, but then edited out that line after I thought I had proven to myself that Nxf4 was superior. It is why the word “either” is left mysteriously hanging uselessly in the beginning of my comment- it had originally read “play either Nxf4 or Nh4” with the same basic threats on g2.
I had hellucination. I thought black Q is pinned.
1.f4!
{1… Qf6 2. Bc5+! Kd8 5. Qd2+ Kc7 ( 5… Bd7 6. Qxd7#) 6. Qd6#}
{1… Qd6 2. Rd1! Qb4 ( 2… Qb8 3. Bc5+! Kf6 4. Bd6! trapping Black Queen and Mate threat 5. Qe5 +- ) 3. a3! Qa5 4. b4! Qc7 5. Nd5+ exd5 ( 5… Kf8 6. Nxc7+-) 6. Bb6+! Kd6 7. Bxc7 Kxc7 +-}
{1… Qh5 2. g4! Qh4+ 3. Bf2! Qh3 4. Bc5+! Kd8 ( 4… Kf6 5. Qe5#) 5. Qd2+ Kc7 ( 5… Bd7 6. Qxd7#) 6. Qd6# }
{1… Qc7 2. Nd5+ exd5 ( 2… Kf8 3. Nxc7+-) 3. Bb6+! Kd6 4. Bxc7 Kxc7 +- }
{1… Qg7 2. Bc5+! Kd8 ( 2… Kf6 3. Qe5#) 3. Qd2+ Kc7 ( 4… Bd7 5. Qxd7#) 4. Qd6# }
{1… Bxf4? 2. Bxf4 Qxe2+ (2… Qxf4?? 3. Nd5+ wins Black Queen) 3. Kxe2 +-}
{1… Qb8 2. Bc5+! Kf6 ( 2… Kd8 3. Qd2+ Kc7 (3… Bd7 4. Qxd7# ) 4. Qd6# ) 3. Ne4+! Kg7 4. Bd6! trapping Black Queen}
Marcelo