This Magnus’ game took place in Calvia.
It is White to move. Can you find the best continuation for Magnus?
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RxNf6…….QxRf6, Qh7+……Ke8, Ne4…..attacking the Q and planning to check with the B at b2 at Ba3. mating is the offing! am I on the right track?
RxNf6…….QxRf6, Qh7+……Ke8, Ne4…..attacking the Q and planning to check with the B at b2 at Ba3. Mate is in the offing! Or the queen is dead!
Dear Prof.S.G.Bath,
About the May 22 problem:
You are absolutely right in your suggestion that I don’t move the pieces on a chess board. To calculate all moves in my mind is for me the only way to get a proper training, making me a better player.
This is one of the reasons why it’s difficult for me to get it right when a puzzle has lines more than say 10 moves long that must be looked at to verify the solution.
Your analyze seems to be excellent!
Ba3 threatens mate. No reasonable reply
Well, Rxf6 pops out immediately:
1. Rf6 Qf6 (alternatives below)
2. Qh7 Kf8
And now what? White has given up the exchange, but he still has a piece hanging. My initial plan was to continue with either Qh8+ followed by Ba3, or Ba3 immediately. The problem with 3.Qh8 is that the queen is also hanging after Ke7, and I don’t see that white has anything other than a loss. 3.Ba3 is more promising:
3. Ba3
Now black must block at d6 with the pawn, or at b4 first with the knight:
3. …..d6?
4. Ne4!
And black has to give up the queen just to prevent mate. No, black must block first with the knight just to guard the e4 square. Back to move 3:
3. …..Nb4!
4. Bb4 d6
And now white can’t play Ne4, but has won two knights for a rook.
However, white can do even better by stealing a march on black at move 3:
3. Ne4!
With the attack on the queen, white forces black to give her up just to prevent the mate that starts with Ba3 as in the sideline above.
At move 1, black might try hg5, but after white retakes at g5 with the pawn, white’s attack on the h/f-files and on the a3/f8 diagonal is still decisive in my opinion:
1. Rf6 hg5
2. hg5 Nb4 (what better?)
3. Rf7 and it is over.
When you are giving such puzzle, you should give solution as well atleast the very next day.
It is easy to spot that
1. Rxf6 must be the start of the attack, but not so easy to see why it wins. Black has various options:
A:
1. … Qxf6
2. Qh7+ Kf8
3. Ne4 Qg6 what else?
3. … Qe7 (to prevent Ba3+)
4. Qh8#
4. Ba3+! d6
4. … Re7/Ne7
5. Qh8#
5. Bxd6+ Qxd6
5. … Re7/Ne7
6. Qh8#
6. Nxd6 +-
B:
1. … gxf6?
2. Qh7+ Kf8
3. Qxf7#
C:
1. … g6
2. Rxg6+! fxg6
2. … Kf8 3. Qxf7#
2. … Kh8 3. Nxf7+ Kh7 4. Rg3#
2. … Kh7 3. Rxc6+ Kg7/g8 4. Qh7+ and 5. Qxf7#
3. Qxg6+ Kf8/h8
4. Qxf7#/Qh7#
D:
1. … hxg5
2. hxg5! g6
2. … gxf6 3. gxf6 followed by Qh7+ and Qg7#
2. … gxf6 3. gxf6 Qxf6 4. Qxf6 and 5. Rh8#
3. Rxg6+ fxg6
3. … Kf8 4. Rh8+ Ke7 5. Qf6#
4. Qxg6+ Kf8
5. Rh8+ Ke7
6. Qf6#
Here I first tried to make Rxf6 work, but couldn’t.
Then I notice that if white simply “ignores” that Ng5 is hanging, black should not get much out of taking it, because after hxg5 hxg5 then black night is actually trapped! All black could gain from this was a destroyed king’s position.
This fact could give Magnus the time to do some quiet looking move, just to prepare and improve an attack.
Then black would have the choice between hxg5 with the mentioned consequences, or doing something else to improve his position.
Clearly encouraging is the fact that black would dislike to replace hxg5 with Re6 because of Nxe6….
Interesting thoughts, but it still remains to find a good first move based on this.
It has to threaten something, for sure.
What about:
1. Ba3!?
This seems to threaten Rxf6 with winning attack, since there now would be mates both after Qxf6 and gxf6.
So enforced looks:
1. … hxg5
2. hxg5
and I simply think this looks ugly for black. Still a move like Re6 looks useless.
I get more and more convinced that 1. Ba3 looks good. For the absence of good replies.
1.Rxf6 Qxf6
2.Qh7+ Kf8
3.Ba3+ d6
4.Ne4 Qg6
5.Bxd6+ Ne7
6.Qh8#
Rf6!
After 1.Rxf6 other options for black also will not work.
1…. hxg5
2.hxg5 gxf6
(2… g6 3.Rxg6+)
3.gxf6
1. RxNf6 QxRf6
2. Qh7+ Kf8
3. Ba3+ if Qe7 or Re7 4. Qh8#
if Nb4 BxNb4+ and same as above
if d6 Bxd6+ if QxB Qxf7#
Very nice analysis by several people here, especially those who found the 3.Ne4 move (before playing Ba3+).
For some reason I didn’t see the Ne4 maneuver (even in the 3.Ba3+ line) for a long time, to the point I abandoned 1.Rxf6 in my thinking and tried searching for something else. Of course this also means in an actual over-the-board game, I almost certainly wouldn’t have played for this position 🙁 As always it’s always easier to find a solution when you’re told that there is one. – Craigaroo
Dear pht,
Please note that my name is BHAT and not BATH.
Thank you for your kind comments on me.
Also thankful to Yancey for the correct order of moves 3.Be4 and 4.Ba3+ which I had overlooked.
This was played in Chess Olympiad 2004, when Magnus was 14, and already been GM a year