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I am not seeing a white victory. Any assistance?
1.Rh8+.Kf7.
2.Be8+!!.Nxe8
3.Kg5!and next move
4.Rf8#
Harry
Here I first looked at:
1. Rh8+ Kf7
2. Kg5!? (to threat Rf8#) Nxe4!
3. Kf5 Ng3+!
Hopeless due to the irritating N checks.
But the idea was simply too good to give up.
This instantly lead me to look at:
1. Rh8+ Kf7
2. Be8+!!
Brilliant deflection of the knight!
2. … Nxe8
3. Kg5!! any
4. Rf8#
No checks and not even delaying sacks were available for black.
Mate in 4.
Easy peasy:
1. Rh8 Kf7
2. Be8! Ne8
3. Kg5 and Rf8# can’t be stopped.
“The king, well knowing he is the best and smartest attacker, boldly advances against his enemy. In the middle game of course. Why wait till the boring end game? The enemy pieces around him don’t scare him at all. Since his officers are happy to die for him, he knows his boldness will give him the victory in the end. After his final advance to g5, after his bishop gave his life for him, the enemy has no choice but to resign.”
Hi Susan! Since you are so close will you come to the US championship?
Rh8+ Kf7 Be8+ NXe8 Kg5 and next move mate… This was a great one I thought it wasn’t the correct position for a minute
I guess black must have made a stupid bishop move to reach this position.
The bishop must have been on h3 when white attacked it with Rh1 (a really brilliant swindle in a hopeless situation). Then black became greedy and wanted to capture e4 and finish it all with playing Bg2? Exactly as white hoped, since this takes a vital field from black rook!
Correct seemed Bd7. A very natural move (except that Bg2 was too tempting). Trading off pieces is good for black, and black officers should stay behind the pawns here.
Hey Susie your title is misleading. I think the right title is “Brilliant Mate in 4”
1.Rh8+ Kf7 2. Be8+! Nxe8 3.Kg5 Bxe4 4.Rf8#
Both pht, with his poetic description of the King’s bold advance, and kanayo umeogu have the solution I believe.
As usual it helps to know there is a solution and of course White’s Rook is under attack which limits White’s options. It’s easy enough to see the check Rh8 and the pattern of the Knight supporting the Rook coming from behind is also familiar but there’s a hitch in theimmediate 1. Rh8+ Kf7, 2. Rf8+ because the Knight isn’t supported. So it’s logical to try to support the Knight with 2. Kg5 but that probably doesn’t work right away because of 2… Nxe4+.
1. Rh8+ Kf7
2. Be8+ …. Delightful and elegant sacrifice. It’s a twist on the theme of the overworked piece. The Knight is overworked, not because it’s protecting one of his own pieces or a square from invasion but because it has to counter the Kg5 move with …Nxe4+. So it can’t doubly protect against the Bishop check at e8
2. …. Nxe8 Another small tactical element is that although in a sense White can’t defend the Bishop, the White Rook does so just enough forcing the Knight to capture and not the King.
3. Kg5 …. It’s amusing too that Black’s own Bishop gets in way of his Rook, taking away the square from which the Rook could check the White King and disrupt White’s mating attack. No stopping Rf8 mate now.
-Craigaroo