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Not easy for me to spot the key move in one of the main alternative variations at move 1 for black in the line below, though the first move occurred to me almost instantly. White wins a piece with 1.h6:
1. h6 Kg8
Black gets mated quickly on capturing at h6: [1. …Kh6 2.Bf8! Bg7 (or 2. …Kg5 3.Qf4 Kh5 4.Be2#) 3.Bg7 Kg5 4.Qg3 Kh5 5.Be2#]. If black maintains contact with the f6 bishop by playing Kf7, he loses quickly: [1. …Kf7 2.Nd5! Bd7 (or 2. …ed5?? 3.Qd5#; or 2. …Qd6 3.Qf6 Kg8 4.Qg7#; or 2. …Kg8 3.Qf6 Qf6 4.Nf6+-) 3.Nf6+-]. Finally, if black play Kh8, white just captures at f6 still but with check winning the piece, and maintaining a strong attack as the rook can then penetrate to the seventh rank. Continuing:
2. Qf6 Qf6 (or get mated)
3. Rf6 with a decisive edge.
1.h6+ kf7 (otherwise bishop is hanging)
2.nxd5
Winning bishop. Knight can’t be taken because of Qxd5#
1. h6 Kxh6
2. Bf8+ Kg5 (Bg7 2.Bxg7 Kxg7 3. Qf8#)
3. Qg3+ Kh5
4. Be2#
1.h6 check, Kf7
2.Nxd5!
1h6+ Kxh6
1… Kf7 2Be5 Nxe5 3dXe5 wins apiece.
1…Kh8 2Qxf6+ wins a piece.
1…Kg8 2Qxf6 Qxd6 3Qg7#
2Bf8+ Kg5
2… Bg7 3Bxg7+ Kxg7 4Qf8#
3Qg3+ Kh5
4Be2#
This is way too hard.
no look…
First advance the rook pawn. If the King takes it leads to quick mate.
If the king goes to either g8 or f7 then knight takes d5…
If black takes, the queen comes in, if he does not he is busted anyway
Be5 should win a piece. Black’s bishop at f6 is temporarily pinned due to possibility of being mated by Qf8.
Nice to see Sadler coming back !
He’s leading this norvegian open .
Wins the dark-squared B of Black after:
h6+ Kf7 Be5 wins the B at f6
First I tried the natural looking idea of trapping a bishop:
1. Be5 Nxe5
2. dxe5 Be7 (covering f8)
Clearly, the idea needs an improvement, so I tried:
1. Bc7 Qe7 (covering f8 and the bishop)
2. Be5 Nxe5
3. dxe5 Bg5 (bishop escaped)
Not the right improvement, remains to test:
1. h6+ Kf7 (Kg8 Qxf6 Qxd6?? Qg7#)
2. Be5 Nxe5
3. dxe5
Wins a bishop and the game.
Bf6 is pinned. Hence Be5 wins.
1. h6+! Kf7
2. Nxd5 exd5
3. Qxd5#
Let’s show my thinking process (aka not-so-beautiful-brain)
White can win material by several ways, I think.
1) The flashy but less expeditive one:
The Bf6 is a tactical weakness and if we decoy the black King, all in all, the Bf6 is lost. So, 1.h6+ is what comes first in mind, but after 1… Kf7, there seems be nothing at all.
But the tempting sac 2.Nxd5 packs all: if 2…exd5 3.Qxd5#
Alas, if 1.h6+ Kxh6 2.Qxf6 Qxd6
So, reverting move order can help a lot:
1.Nxd5 exd5 (if 1…Qxd6 2.Qxf6+ with strong attack)
2.h6+ Kxh6 (2…Kf7 defends the Bf6 but 3.Qxd5# is instant death)
3.Qxf6 protecting the Bd6, no gain, no loss but an overwhelming position.
2) The “I win surely” approach:
ok, ok, ok, the Bf6 is a tactical weakness. In fact, he’s pinned to the checkmate square f8!
So, White can exploit this fact by playing the simple but very efficient 1.Be5! and if 1…Nxe5 2.dxe5 wins the Bishop f6.
3) The probably played variation:
1. h6+ is nevertheless correct and doesn’t lead to material equality.
If 1…Kf7 2.Nxd5 is correct and the bishop is dead.
If 1…Kg8 2.Qxf6 and the Bishop d6 cannot be taken (2…Qxd6 3.Qg7#)
And if 1…Kxh6?
2.Qxf6 is strong enough, but substracting the Bishop d6 to the attack of the queen d8 with tempo wins more.
2.Bf8+ 1-0
Any move is followed by Qxf6, or if 2…Bg7 3.Qh3+ Kg5 4. Bxg7 with material AND compensation! or if 2…Kg5 3.Qf4+ Kh5 4.Be2#
So, let’s reorder this brain dump.
___
1)
1.Nxd5 exd5 (1…Qxd6 2.Qxf6+)
2.h6+ Kxh6 (2…Kf7 3.Qxd5#)
3.Qxf6
2)
1.Be5! Nxe5 (1…Bxe5 2.Qf8#)
2.dxe5
3)
1.h6+ Kxh6 (1…Kf7 2.Nxd5 wins the Bishop exd5? 3.Qxd5#; 1…Kg8 2.Qxf6 Qxd6? 3.Qg7#)
2.Bf8+ Kg5 (protecting the Bf6 but at a very expensive cost)( 2…Bg7 3.Qh3+ Kg5 4. Bxg7)
3.Qf4+ Kh5 and if you want to prepare for the next round of the tournament, not 4.Qxf6 but
4.Be2#
Excellent puzzle, solved without engine, board or electronic board…
Hi Susan Polgar,
Well,its a neat but simple puzzle.
White wins the game [ Variations exist ] – Even if,file en-passant rule is applied(to make to the puzzle complex) – Still White wins the game in ease.
Example One
===========
1.h6+ K*h6
2.Bf8+ Kg5
3.Qf4+ Kh5
4.Qh6+ Kg4
5.Rf4+ Kg3
6.Ne2++ Mate
Example Two
===========
1.h6+ Kg8
2.Q*Bf6 Q*Qf6
3.R*Qf6 Bf7
4.Ne2 Rd8
5.Bc5 b6
6.B*b6 Rb8
7.Bc5 R*b2
8.Nf4 Rb8
9.N*e6 Re8
10.Ng5 Re7
11.B*Re7 N*Be7
12.R*Bf7 Nf5
13.B*Nf5 g*Bf5
14.R*h7 f4
15.e*f Kf8
16.Rg7 Ke8
17.h7 Kf8
18.Ne6+ Ke8
19.h8(Q)++ Mate.
After 8th move in 2nd example – Nothing Black could do to win this game.
White wins the game in ease [ Variations exist ]
By
Venky [ India – Chennai ]
To Cortex:
Your solution 1):
1.Nxd5 exd5 (1…Qxd6 2.Qxf6+)
2.h6+ Kxh6 (2…Kf7 3.Qxd5#)
3.Qxf6
is material balance, knight given, bishop taken, and I don’t see any clear edge for white here.
Your solution 2):
1.Be5! Nxe5 (1…Bxe5 2.Qf8#)
2.dxe5
leads to
2. … Be7!
and is also material balance since the mate field on f8 is covered now.
Your solution 3) starting with:
1. h6
is probably the one and only correct solution.
Dear Yancey,Martas,Mario and Hariharan
thank you all for the variation
1h6+ Kf7
2Nxd5!
I had completely mised it.My 2Be5 is too pedestrian.
Prof Bhat,
2.Nd5 was missed by myself for the longest time. I only saw it near the end when I set the position up and was running the lines through checking for errors. I have great difficulty with knights. I could see instantly that the knight couldn’t be captured at d5, once I saw the move, but Nd5 didn’t enter my thinking at all when I was studying the problem without the board.
PHT,
My 1) solution wasn’t good, but Black must not take the pawn h6!
1.Nxd5 exd5 (1…Qxd6 2.Qxf6+)
2.h6+ Kxh6 is a huge blunder because of the same move as in the solution:
3.Bf8+ and mate comes shortly.
(Not Qxf6 and equality)
Instead, White keep an edge with his pawn h6 after the best
2…Kg8!
But much work must be done if White wants to win this game.
1.h6+ is lethal. Period.