White to move. How should White proceed?
Source: ChessToday.net
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White to move. How should White proceed?
Source: ChessToday.net
Qc8 doesn’t work because of Rf8, so it should probably be something with:
1. Rxg6 hxg6
2. Qc8+ Kh7
3. Qc7+ Kh6
4. Qxe5
followed by Ne6, and white has a strong attack?
1. Qc7 Threatening Rh7+ and Qg7++
but :
2. … Rg2+
3. Kg2 Qe2+ and Black can draw
So let have a chess :
1. Qc8+
1. … Kg7 2. Ne6+ and Qc4
1. … Rg8 2. Qc7 now
1. … Ng8 (2. Qc7 Rf6)
2. Qg4 Rf4 (Ng6 3.Rg6,Qh4+ and Qf2)
3. Qg5 Ng6
4. Qh6
And W have a win
Better idea:
White actually wins Q for R+N after
1. Qc8 Kxg7 (only playable option)
2. Ne6+ Qxe6
3. Qxe6
White still has work to do though to defeat R+N.
The alternative was:
1. … Rf8??
2. Qc7 threats Rxh7 and mate and no good defence exists because rook takes the field where knight should go, black plays Qg8 and resigns.
Qc8+ Kxg7
Ne6+ something
Qxc4
I must admit, I have some difficulties to see how white progresses after
Qc8 Nf8 (though it is good for white probably after Qg4), so I should regard Nf8 perhaps the most practical answer to Qc8.
It is not very clear, this puzzle…
How about
1 Qc8+ Rf8
2 Qc7 threatening Rxh7.
The first check forces the Rook back so that black can’t play something like Rxg2+.
Overrated Navarah patzed around:
1. Qc8+! Kg7
2. Ne6+ and the black Queenn is lost
1….Rf8
2. Qc7 and Rxh7 +-
1 Qc7 looks strong, but Black can gain a draw by 1 … Rxg2+!, 2 Kxg2 Qe2+, 3 Kg3 Qe3+ with a perpetual, as 4 Kg4?? allows Qf4+, 5 Kh5 Qh4#.
Instead, White attacks directly with the Queen:
1 Qc8+!
Black has three options here.
ONE
1… Rf8?
2 Qc7
Black must give the Queen up for a Rook by 2 … Qg8 to avoid mate.
TWO
1… Nf8
2 Qg4 h6
Black gives the King some room so that he can play Rf7 later. The immediate 1 … Rf7 is met abruptly by 2 Qg8#.
3 Qg3!
There’s no brute-force mate here. White instead attacks both the Rook and the pawn on e5.
3 … Rf7
Of course, the Queen can’t take the Knight because of mate in two.
If instead 3 … Rf4, 4 Nd3 Rf6 (4 … Qe6, 5 Nxf4 exf4, 6 Qg4, and White is up a pawn and the Exchange.) 5 Nxe5 Qb3, 6 Rb7 Qg8, 7 Ng4 Nh7, 8 Nxf6 Qg3+, 9 Kxg3 Nxf6, 10 Kf3 with an easy win.
4 Rxf7 Qxf7
5 Qe5+ Kg8
6 Nxa6
White is up three pawns.
THREE
1 … Kxg7
Black’s best chance.
2 Ne6+ Qxe6
3 Qxe6
White has won the Queen for a Rook and Knight, but Black still has a few tricks.
3 … Rxg2+!
4 Kh1
Of course, the pawn is taboo: 4 Kxg2 Nf4+ wins the Queen.
4 … Rc2
5 Qd7+
White prefers to not trade pawns by 5 Qxa6 Rxc3. White’s passed pawn will be far more powerful than Black’s, as Black will have trouble supporting the a-pawn’s advance.
5 … Kg8
The problem with 5 … Kf6 is that it gives White the possibility of winning the a-pawn with check in some lines.
6 Qd3 Rc1+
7 Kh2 Kf8
Black can’t do much more than mark time. 7 … Kf7, 8 c4 Ne7, 9 Qa3! wins the a-pawn. With the given move, Black avoids the pin by Qb3 in some lines.
8 c4
Some chess engines like 8 h4 better. With the given move, White gets down to the business of advancing his passed pawn.
8 … Ke8
9 Qd5 Rc2+
Black doesn’t have much to do here. The a-pawn will soon be lost, and protecting it by 9 … Ra8 allows White to continue to push the c-pawn.
10 Kg3 Rg2+
11 Kf3
And not the careless 11 Kxg2?? Nf4+, winning the Queen and the game.
11 … Rg5
Nothing else does much good, either.
12 Qc6+
A bit better than 12 Qe6+ Ne7, which gets the Knight closer to its defense against the c-pawn.
12 …. Kf7
13 Qxa6 h5
Black tries to get some counterplay on the Kingside, but it’s too late.
14 c5 h4
15 Qc4+ Kg7
16 c6 Ne7
17 Qe6 Rg3+
18 Kf2 Kf8
19 Qxe5
White has two passed pawns now, and the h-pawn will soon follow.
I was thinking Qc7 which supports the rook and attacks h7.
I watched this game yesterday online, so I know how it went, but it would easy to spot anyway. The white rook can’t be taken by the black king due to the knight check from e6 that opens an attack on the unprotected black queen. All white need do is force black to take the rook:
1. Qc8 Kg7
2. Ne6 Qe6
3. Qe6 and white has a queen for a knight and rook. If I remember correctly, the game continued with
3. …..Rg2
4. Kh1
Here, Kg2 drops the queen to the knight fork. Continuing:
4. …..Rg3
5. c4 Rc3
6. Qd7
And so forth. Eventually, Vallejo Pons forced the issue with the passed c-pawn.
Nonsense.1.Qc8 Rf8 2.Qc7 and the vulnerability of h7 is fatal.