Checkmate in 6

4 comments

• Reply

  

  PROF.S.G.BHAT says:

  February 1, 2015 at 7:18 am

  1.exf8=N+ Kh8
  (1…Bxf8 2.Qf7+ Bg7 3.Qxg7#)
  2.Bxg7+ Kxg7 3.Re7+ Kf6
  (3…Kh8 4.Rh7#)
  4.Qf7+ Kg5
  5.Nh7+
  (5.Re5+ Nf5 6.Qxf5+ Kh4 7.Qh5#However this is mate in 7.)
  5….. Kg4/Kh4 6.Rxf4#

• Reply

  

  pht says:

  February 1, 2015 at 7:54 am

  First I looked at:
  1. exf8=Q(?) Bxf8??
  2. Qf7+ Bg7
  3. Qxg7#

  But black’s possibilities to deviate from 1. … Bxf8 are numerous, also including Qc5+ or Ne3+, and for some of those lines I don’t find a mate in 6 though white is clearly better.
  So 1. exf8=Q probably isn’t enforcing enough to solve this puzzle.
  I try:

  1. exf8=N+! Kh8

  Only move because of 1. … Bxf8? 2. Qf7+ Bg7 3. Qxg7#.

  2. Bxg7+! Kxb7 (only legal move)
  3. Re7+! Kh8

  The alternatives were:
  1. … Kf6 2. Qf7+ Kg5 3. Rf5+ Kg4/Kh4 4. Qxf4#
  1. … Kg8? 2. Qf7+ Kh8 3. Qg7#/Qh7#
  1. … Kxf8?? 2. Qf7#

  And now all enforced seems:
  4. Qb2+ Qc3
  5. Qxc3+ Rd4
  6. Qxc4+ Kg8 (only legal move)
  7. Qg7#

  But alas, this was mate in 7, needed was 6!
  Where did I drop a tempo?
  I tried to insert Ng6+ somewhere but couldn’t quite make that work…

• Reply

  

  pht says:

  February 1, 2015 at 9:05 am

  Well, my mate in 7 line after 3. … Kh8? was clearly nonsense (though that mate I found was also kind of pretty):

  1. exf8N+ Kh8 (1. Bxf8?? 2. Qf7+ mates next)
  2. Bxg7+ Kxg7
  3. Re7+ Kh8??
  4. Rh7#

  I missed that mate, and wrote something strange about the alternatives to 3. … Kh8.
  It of course goes:

  3. … Kf6

  Enforced. Only alternative was 3. … Kxf8?? 4. Qf7#.

  4. Qf7+ Kg5

  Here I looked at the easy to find 5. Re5+(?) Nf5! 6. Qxf5+ Kh4 7. Qxf4# still being 7 moves. But I should not forget the promoted knight!

  5. Nh7+! Kg4/Kh4
  6. Rxf4#

  Nice mate where Pg2, Qf7 and Nh7 and black’s own Ng3 take all the escape fields.

  This time I hope it is correct!

• Reply

  

  CraigB says:

  February 1, 2015 at 4:41 pm

  An underpromotion problem!

  1. efN+ Kh8 (1…B:f8 2. Qf7+ and mate next)
  2. B:g7+ K:g7 (forced)
  3. Re7+ Kf6 (other moves are met by immediate mates)
  4. Qf7+ Kg5 (forced)
  5. Nh7+ Kg4/h4
  6. R:f4#