White to move. How should White proceed?
Source: ChessToday.net
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Test your skill
About Author
White to move. How should White proceed?
Source: ChessToday.net
1. exf6 Bxf6
2. Bg8 Rxg8
3. Qxh6 #
1. exf6 Qxf6
2. Ne5
I’m not sure how strong that is. I think it ins at least the exchange.
I might play
1. Qxh6 Nxh7
2. Ng5
1. Ng5 foloowed by exf6 and Qh6 wins.
Sorry Umesh, but I do not understand your line. For example, black does not have to recapture with the bishop on f6 as the queen is also covering this field…
Regarding the “right” move I am not a 100% sure (at work and little time) but the simple Qxh6 sure looks interesting: the black knight is still hanging and a discovered mate threatened. If then e.g. Nxh7 Ng5! looks strong.
1.Ra2!, Qxa2
(1…Qc2 2.Rc2)
2.exf6, Bxf6
3.Bg8, Rxg8
4.Qh6++
sorry
(1…Qc3(instead of Qc2) 2.Rc2)
b
Following the idea of anonymous to force the black Q off the long black diagonal, 1.Ra2 Qc3;2.Ra3 Qb2;3.Rb3. Then after QxR 4.PxN etc as pointed out by others. The disadvantage of 2.Rc2 is 2. … QxR 3.QxQ 3. …. NxB and Black has a rook plus two bishops for the queen.
1. Ra2 Qc3 2. Ra3 Qxa3 3. ef6 Bxf6 4. Bg8 Qe7 and?
1. Ng5 Qxe5 and?
Both 1. Qxh6 and 1. ef6 Qxf6 2. Ne5 as suggested earlier look better.
1. Ng5 Qxe5
2. Qxh6
3. … Ng4
4. Rxf1 Bxf1
5. Qxf1#
3. … Ng8
4. Rxf8 Qxa1+
5. Kg2 Qg7
6. Rxg8+ Qxg8
7. Bxg8
and then mate.
Maybe there are better lines for black but i didn’t found them,
Of course there is 3. … Qxg5 but black lost anyway
i found this puzzle very difficult.
i couldn’t force black off the long diagonal, the main purpose would be preventing black to recapture on f6 with the Queen:
1.Rb1 Qxb1
2.Rxb1 Nxh7
1.Ra2 Qc3
2.Rc2 Qxc2
3.Qxc2 Nxh7
Ng5 was difficult to find because it seems to threaten nothing and seems to slow, but its main purposes are to prevent black playing Nxh7, and it threatens exf6, but this time the black Queen could not recapture on f6 because of the Rook f1.
after 2.Qxh6 in the main line, although the threat of Rxf6 is obvious, i couldn’t find any defence for black, no defending piece around the king can improve
its position (like zugzwang), so there remains the prosaic Bd7
1.Ng5 Qxe5
1…hxg5
2.exf6 Bxf6
3.Bg8 Rxg8
4.Qh6++
2.Qxh6 Bd7
3.Rxf6 Qxa1+
4.Kg2 Qxf6
5.Bg6+ Kg8
6.Qh7++
I agree with Anon 4:09.
1 Ng5 hxg5 2 exf6 and now the Q recapturing on f6 will lose to Rxf6 and Qxh6. So the threat is 3Qxh6 threatening mate and I don’t think its stoppable.
1 ef6 Qf6 (1…Bf6 2 Qh6 Bg7 3 Qh5 and Black has no defense against the coming Bg6 and Qh7) 2 Ne5! Qg6 (2…Qe5? 3 Rf8 Bf8 4 Qg8#) 3 Ng6 Kh7 4 Nf8 Kg7! 5 Rc1! Bf8 6 Rc7 Kg8 7 Rfc1 and White emerges up an exchange and should win.
Note that 1 Qh6? Nh7 2 Ng5 is unconvincing in view of 2…Qc2! and White has no clear follow-up.
-Justin Daniel
Well, looks like I botched this one. My line would work fine, were it not for the minor detail that White’s pawn on e5 no longer exists on move 5 of my line and Black can play 5…Bd6! and White has nothing. I incorrectly visualized White’s pawn as still being on e5. Hopefully, in a real game I would have had the presence of mind to check my analysis carefully.
The 1 Ng5! lines given by other posters look correct.
-Justin Daniel
Is there a reason to prefer 1. Ng5 over 1. Qxh6, or vice versa?