Checkmate in 7

6 comments

• Reply

  

  CraigB says:

  May 14, 2014 at 3:08 am

  Not for your puzzle, but I reached a pretty amazing mating position in a blitz game tonight. I was Black.

  4R1K1/P4qRr/1B4r1/4P1n1/8/p5p1/4ppk1/8

• Reply

  

  Papan Catur says:

  May 14, 2014 at 6:18 am

  I think all move is force, that is check in seven move :

  1. Qf6+ Kh6 2. Qh4+ Kg7 3. Qd4+ Kh6 4. Qf4+ Kg7 5. Qe5+ Kh6 6. Rh5+ gxh5 7. Qf6#

  Gens Una Sumus. Thank you GM Susan Polgar.

• Reply

  

  pht says:

  May 14, 2014 at 9:03 am

  If we for simplification presume that black avoids 8th rank and sticks to Kh6/Kg7 as long as possible (unrealistic but I like this way to think), then I instantly spot e5 as a good place to give Q check from, and easily find a mate in 7.

  1. Qe7+ Kh6
  2. Qh4+ Kg7
  3. Qd4+ Kh6
  4. Qf4+ Kg7
  5. Qe5+! Kh6
  6. Rh5+!! gxh5
  7. Qf6# (nice mate being the main key to the solution)

  5. … Kg8
  6. Qxb8+ Kg7
  7. Qf8# (the other more obvious key)

  Then there are the deviations from my initial presumption to handle. I can simply reuse the moves I already found:

  3. … Kg8
  4. Qd5+ Kh8 (Kg7 Qe5+ enters the first line above)
  5. Qe5+ Kg8
  6. Qxb8+ Kg7
  7. Qf8#

  1. … Kg8 (Kh8 Qe5+ was mate in 4)
  2. Qe6+ …
  3. Qe5+
  enters previous line but 2 moves shorter, mate in 5.

  I really liked this puzzle!
  And I enjoyed to find this nice and efficient (almost mathematics like) method to solve it.

  The key was of course to first see this mate picture:

  5. Qe5+ Kh6
  6. Rh5+ gxh5
  7. Qf6#

  Before seeing this I had no idea at all.

• Reply

  

  pht says:

  May 14, 2014 at 9:11 am

  I may add that 1. Qe7+ and 1. Qf6+ seem very equal alternatives. Only difference I can find is that Qf6+ denies black the Kh8 option (his worst) and therefore has slightly fewer lines.

• Reply

  

  Anonymous says:

  May 14, 2014 at 9:22 am

  The key mating position is black pawns at h7 and h5 and king at h6 for a white mate by a lone Qf6!A beautiful theme!
  It can be as follwos:-
  1.Qe7+.Kh6.
  2.Qh4+.Kg7.
  3.Qd4+.Kh6.
  4.Qf4+.Kg7.
  5.Qe5+.Kh6.
  6.Rh5+!.gxh5
  7.Qf6#!
  The alternatives mate even more quickly:-
  A>1…Kh8.2.Rf8+.Rxf8.3.Qxf8#
  B>1…Kg8.2.Qe6+.
  B1>2..Kg7.3.Rf7+.
  B11>3.Kh6.4.Rxh7#
  B12>3.Kh8.4.Qf6+.Kg7.5.Qg7#
  B13>3.Kg8.4.Re7+.Kh8.5.Qf6+.Kg8.6.Qg7#

  Harry

• Reply

  

  Yancey Ward says:

  May 14, 2014 at 2:28 pm

  Craig,

  Is that FEN correct? It tells me that black had two pawns ready to queen, and white had one ready to queen. It seems to me you have the FEN backwards- the piece locations usually start from the 8th rank as seen by white, and proceeds down the board, not the other way around.