White to move. How should White proceed?
1r5k/1q3p1p/2p2P1b/4p1N1/n7/p6P/4Q1PK/3R4 w – – 0 1
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1.Qd3 Bxg5 2.Qd8+ Rxd8 3.Rxd8#
knockout- oh you are so good- you must be Candian
Qd3 with double threat at h7 and d8.
Good thinking, Knockout! I have the same solution. If you are looking for short and brilliant games of chess, you may visit http://brilliantchessgames.com.
and if 1. …Kg8
1.Qd3 Kg8
2.Qxh7+ Kf8
3.Qh8#
Rc8+ Kb8
Rb8+ Ka6
Ra8+ Kb5
Nd4+ Ka4
Bc2+ Check Mate
– HH
Qd3 e4; Qd8+ Bf8 is not nearly as clear cut as Qh5 Bxg5; Qxg5 Rg8; Rd8 1-0
1.Dh5 Bxg5 2.Dxg5 Tg8 3.Td8! 1-0
1.Qh5 Bxg5 2.Qxg5 Rg8 3.Rd8 ?
1. Qd3 threatening Qh7#
1. … Bg5
2. Qd8+ Rd8
3. Rd8#
1.Qd3 Bg5 (1… e4 2. Qd8) 2.Qd8 Rd8 3. Rd8#
also this one will work
1. Qh5 Bg5 2. Qg5 Rg8 3. Rd8 and 4. Qg7#
1. Qd3 with a double attack.
1. …, Nxg5 (2. Qxh7 was the threat)
2. Qd8+, Rxd8
3. Rxd8 checkmate
Erik Fokke
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Qd3 looked ok till I spotted e4 for black and with Qc7 # covering the d8 square…black is pretty much winning. Qh5 is fun…threatening..#h6 and g7 mate…when the rook..(forced) covers g7 with RG8 then Rd8 pins it and white still mates on G7. I’d say Qh5 is the cleanest win.
Maybe I’m wrong..but sure looks good to me and that’s probably what I’d play.
Mike M
The last comment is not correct.
1.Qd3 e4!
I think
1.Qh5 Bxg5
(1… Rg8 2.Nxf7#; 1… Qc8 2.Nxf7+ Kg8 3.Rd8+ Qxd8 4. Nxd8 Rxd8 5.Qxh6 and mate to follow)
2.Qxg5 Rg8
3.Rd8! Rxd8
4.Qg7#
Well, after wasting time looking at moves like Nf7, Rd8, and Qg4 I finally found Qh5. Once again, I failed to immediately appreciate the entire range of a knight’s power, in this case the fact that the bishop was pinned to h7 by the mate threat of Qh7:
1. Qh5
Attacking the bishop and threatening Nf7. So far, I can find no adequate defense for black:
1. …..Bg5
2. Qg5 Rg8
3. Qg8 Kg8
4. Rd8#
Or
1. …..Bf8
2. Qh7# the move I missed for a bit of time. Or
1. …..Rg8
2. Qh6 Rg5
3. Qg5 any move
4. Qg7# Or
1. …..Qc8 (longest line I find)
2. Nf7 Kg8
3. Nh6 Kh8 (Kf8 is mate in 1)
4. Qg5
Here, I think Qe5 is also a forced mate, but I am less certain than this line:
4. …..Qc7 (Rb7 5.Rd8! Qd8 6.f7!)
5. f7!
And now, with twin threats of Qg8 and Qe5 (if black plays Qd8), black seems to have nothing better than
5. …..e4 (with check)
6. Kh1 and I find no way to prevent mate in 2.
There is just one problem with Qd3- black probably wins. However, I completely missed this move initially in that I didn’t even notice the knight attacked h7, only f7. I am knight blind sometimes.
1. Qd3?? e4 (only move)
And what does white do now? 2.Qd8 is met Bf8, 2.Qe4 just loses a second piece when black takes at g5. On 2.Ne4 black can play either Qc7+ covering d8 a second time, or playing (better IMO) Nb2. The best line for white is probably the one below:
2. Qd8 Bf8
3. Nf7 Qf7
4. Qb8
Here, I looked a bit at Qf6, and I think black will win with that move, but Nc5, getting the knight back into the fray safely ASAP seems a little better to me. With Qf6, white can put some pressure on black with 5.Rd8-for example:[Qf6 5.Rd8 Kg7 (Kg8 6.Rf8 still) 6.Rf8 Qf8 7.Qg3 Kf7 8.Qf4(8.Qb3? Kf6! 9.Qa4 Qc5! protects every pawn directly and indirectly)Ke7 9.Qe4 Kd7 10.Qg4 (10.Qa4? Qb8! 11.Kg1 Qb1 12.Kf2 a2 will win easily for black) Kc7 11.Qa4 Qc5 and black should win with the two passed pawns, but it won’t be a walk in the park]
4. …..Nc5
And, now, Rd8 isn’t so messy for black:
5. Rd8 Ne6 and the f-pawn will fall, and the a-pawn will advance to a2.
No, I think black wins if white plays 1.Qd3.
I was thinking…
1. Qh5 Bxg5
2. Qxg5 Rg8
3. Rd8 and black’s done for.
And then I see here and go: “Wow! I never thought of Qd3!”
But then: “Wow! Ward’s right too!”
Which just shows how undecided I am. So the answer is?
1 Qh5
The logical 1 Qd3 is met by e4!, 2 Qd8+ Bf1, or 2 Qxe4 and now Black can safely take the Knight with Bxg5.
The given move threatens Qxh6, followed by Qxh7 or Qg7, both of which are mate.
1 … Qc8
No better is 1 … Bxg5, 2 Qxg5 Rg8, 3 Qxg8+! Rxg8, 4 Rd8#
2 Nxf7+
2 Qxh6 also wins, but Black can hold on for a while with 2 … Qg8. The given move removes the Bishop without letting Black get his Queen closer to the action.
2 … Kg8
3 Nxh6+ Kh8
Of course, 3 … Kf8 is met by 4 Qf7#
4 Qg5
With threats of Qg7# and Nf7#
4 … Rb7
No better is 4 … Qc7, 5 f7, and
Black can’t stop both threats of 6 Qf6# and 6 Qg8+
5 f7
Yes, I know there’s a faster mate by 5 Rd8+ Qxd8, 6 f7! Qxg5, 7 f8=Q+ Qg8, 8 Qxg8#.
The given move is much easier to see. White has threats of 6 Qf6# or 6 Qg8+ Qxg8, 7 fxg8=Q#.
5 … Rxf7
Black decides to end it quickly with the dubious consolation of getting rid of the annoying pawn. The alternative is to stall mate for a few moves by giving up the Queen and Rook with checks, which might be a viable strategy in a bullet/blitz game or if the opponent was otherwise seriously short on time.
6 Nxf7#
(Apologies if this gets posted twice)