White to move. How should White proceed? No computer analysis please.
5bk1/1p2n3/r2p3n/1NpPp1NQ/2P5/5RP1/5P1K/rq6 w – – 0 1
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RxB
From Spain…
1)Rf8+,Kf8
2)Ne6+,Kg8
3)Qe8+,Kh7
4)Qe7+,Kg6
5)Qg7+,Kf5
6)Qg5+,Ke4
7)Cc3+,Kd3
8)Cb1,Rb1
9)Qg6+,Kc4
10)Qb1 +-
———————————–
1)Rf8+,Kf8
2)Ne6+,Kg8
3)Qe8+,Kh7
4)Qe7+,Kh8 o Kg8
5)Qg7++
Greetings from Spain
1. Rf8:+ Kf8:
2. Ne6+ Kg8
3. Qe8+ Kh7
4. Qe7:+ Kg6
5. Qg5+ Kf7
6. Qg7+ Ke8
7. Nc7#
in other words: mate in 7.
It’s obvious that every move is check+
Declaimer: Only brains were used, no chess-drill-motors were attached by me to this particular puzzle.
From spain..
Checkmate in 7
1)Rf8+,Kf8
2)Ne6+,Kg8
3)Qe8+,Kh7
4)Qe7+,Kg6
5)Qg5+,Kf7
6)Qg7+,Ke8
7)N5c7++
Greetings from Spain…
Well, at a glance, black is threatening mate with Qh1, and g4, providing a hole at g3 for the king is no defense, nor is Kh3. Thus, white must check with his first move- this leaves Qg6, Qf7 and Rf8 as the only possible beginnings. Giving up the queen at g6 or f7 seems to lead nowhere but to Loss City for white, so we are left with the exchange sacrifice at f8:
1. Rf8 Kf8 (Kg7 below)
Now, white has three realistic options for the next check- Nh7, Ne6, and Qh6. Of the three, my natural selection is Ne6 to push the king back to the corner. Let’s see where we get:
2. Ne6 Kg8 (only move, obviously)
3. Qe8 Kh7
Here, I could see immediately the correct solution for the first time, but it is instructive to look at the alternatives for white here, and why they draw or lose:
4. Ng5? Kg7
5. Ne6 Kf6 (Kh7 6.Ng5=)
6. Qf8 Kg6!(Nf7 7.Qg7 Kf5 8.Qf7+-)
7. Qg7 Kf5 (only move)
8. Qg5 Ke4
And, now, white has a draw by repetition starting with Qe3+, but it is tempting to win black’s queen with Nc3:
9. Nc3 Kd3
10.Nb1 Rb1 (R6a2 maybe better?)
Here, I think either Qh6 and Qe3 draw with correct play, but I have not done a complete analysis. My natural choice to to take the piece as this is the clearest draw:
11.Qh6 Raa1
12.Qh7 Kc3
13.Qe7 Rh1
14.Kg2 e4!
15.f4
This may be the only move white has in this line- I could find no other. In any case, the white king can find no shelter from the rook checks now, thus this is a draw. I am not 100% sure this is a draw since I didn’t look at all of white’s alternatives from moves 11 through 15, but nothing really jumped out at me as better than even. All the way back at move 4, white loses with Nf8
4. Nf8 Kh8!
5. Ng6
Everything loses here, I think:
5. …..Kg7
And, now what for white? He can’t both save the knight and deliver a check at the same time:
6. Qe7 Kg6
7. Qe6 Kh5
8. Qh3 Kg5
9. f4 Kg6
10.Qe6 Kg7
11.Qd7 Nf7
12.Qg4 Qg6 And white is all out of checks. Hopefully, I did not overlook a perpetual for white, but even if I did, a draw is the max he gets out of this line.
The correct move in this main line at move 4, and the natural one, was
4. Qe7 Kg6 (what else?)
5. Qg5 Kf7 (Kh7 6.Qg7#)
6. Qg7 Ke8
7. Nbc7#
The only question about this line is black’s very first move where he could decline taking the rook, but this is clearly no good, either:
1. Rf8 Kg7
2. Ne6 Kh7
3. Rf7 Kg8 (Kh8 4.Qh6 mate in 1)
4. Rg7 Kh8
5. Qh6 with mate on the next move.
Black is threatening mate, so every move has to be check. There is only one check that makes any sense:
1 Rxf8+ Kxf8
2 Ne6+ (Qxh6+ might work too, but I can’t find the mate)
2 … Kg8
3 Qe8+ Kh7
4 Qxe7+ Kg6
5 Qg5+ (if Qg7+, the king might slip away with K-f5-e4)
5 … Kf7
6 Qg7+ Ke8
7 Nb5-c7# mating the king on his home square!
Well, White’s next move must be check — or he gets mated himself. There is only one sensible move: Rxf8+.
I’d be more interested in the position a few moves before this one: Did White plan it, did he see it, or did he just more or less accidentally arrive at this position?
Sort of lucky stumbling …
Rxf8 Kxf8
Ne6 Kg8
Qg5 Kf7
Qg7 Ke8
Qf8 Kd7
Qd8++
1.Rxf8+, Kxf8;
2.Ne6+, Kg8;
3.Qe8+,Kh7;
4.Qxe7+,Kg6;
5.Qg7,Kh5;
6. Qg5#
1.Rf8+,Kf8
2.Ne6+,Kg8
3.Qg5+,Kf7
4.Qg7+,Ke8
5.Qf8+,Kd7
6.Qd8#
It doesnt need computer analysis at all…
“It doesnt need computer analysis at all…”
Only if you want to real smart: the shortest line is a mate in seven moves …