White to move. How should White proceed?
Source: ChessToday.net
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White to move. How should White proceed?
Source: ChessToday.net
1.Bf3 looks good
i think, white can win the exchange like this:
1. Qh6+ Ke7
2. Qg5+ Kd7
3. Bg4+ Re6
4. Bxe6+ Qxe6
5. Qxg6 this is a very good position for white, especially since i guess black shouldn’t take on a2, too dangerous.
another variation:
2. … Ke6
3. Bg4+ Kd5
4. Bf3+ Ke6
5. Bxc6 Nxc6
or:
1. … Kf7
2. Qg7+ Ke6
3. Bg4+ Kd5
4. Bf3+ Ke6
5. Bxc6 Nxc6
greets, jan
Bf3 I think will be won!
Best
I am torn between three different moves Qh8, Bc3 and Bf3. I will start with the last because it is the one that seems most “obvious” to me- a rook skewer. At first, I thought this move could be easily answered by Rc1+, but after a few minutes, I realized this is a bit deceiving in that black helps solve one of the problems I find in playing Qh8+ by being so agreeable:
1. Bf3 Rc1
2. Ke2
I know, this looks horrible, but the rook at g1 is poisoned!
2. …..Rg1?
3. Bd5
And now black is toast- the threat is Qf6+ and I don’t see anything black can do about it other than give up the queen. It does no good to cover the square from d8 or e7 as Qh8+ is mate:
3. …..Qd8 (Qe7 4.Qh8#)
4. Qh8 Ke7
5. Qg7 Ke8
6. Qf7#
So, black must either play Qf7 or Qe5 at move 3:
3. …..Qe5
4. fe5
And what does black do about the a8 rook? Qf6 is still the threat:
4. …..Ra7 (Re8 5.Qf6#)
5. Qf6 Ke8
6. Qf7 Kd8
7. Qf8 Kd7
8. e6# Or
4. …..Rb8/c8(Rd85.Qf6 Ke8 6.Qf7#)
5. Qf6 with mate to follow the same as the line 4. ….Ra7 above. If black tries blocking the bishop with c6 at move 4, white still wins rook with Qh8, but probably mates with Qf6:
4. …..c6
5. Qf6 Ke8
6. Qf7 Kd8
7. Be6 and I don’t see how mate is prevented here.
At move 3 in this line, black could play Qf7, but the material advantage for white should be decisive as the rook at a8 is still vulnerable to a skewer through his king:
3. …..Qf7
4. Bf7 Kf7
5. Qf6 with Qh8 to follow, even if there isn’t a mate here.
At move 2, black clearly cannot play Rg1. Other than returning the rook to c6, the best I see is the check from c2:
2. …..Rc2
3. Kf1
And, now what for black? If the rook returns to c6
3. …..Rc6
4. Qh6 Ke7 (Kf7 5.Qg7 Ke6 6.Rg6
5. Bc6 Nc6 (Qc6 6.Rg6+-)
6. Rg6 Ne5 (what else?)
7. fe5
There is no rush to play Re6+ as the skewer can’t be stopped:
7. …..Kd8 (Kd7 8.Qh7 Kd8 9.Rg8)
8. Qg5 Kc8 (Qe7 9.Rg8; Kd7 9.Qg4)
9. Rg8 and it is over.
So, the question is now, did black have a reply back at move 1? Of the possibles, the only one that looks plausible is Re6:
1. …..Re6
And is there any reason that 2.Qh7 is simply winning for white?
2. Qh7 Re5 (else below)
3. fe5 Qe5
4. Kf1 and with the rook hanging at a8, black must play a move like Rd8 or Re8, but both should lose quickly to Rg6 as the black king is simply too vulnerable:
4. …..Re8 (Rd8/c8/b8/a7 is same)
5. Rg6 Qe1 (no defense vs Rg8)
6. Kg2 and there are no other checks on the white king and Rg8 or Qg7# can’t both be prevented.
I will take a look at the other moves I mentioned at the top (Bc3, Qh8/h6), but 1.Bf3 looks completely winning to me.
Qf6+ or Qh7 are both answered by
2…. Qf7 and trade of queens, which does not benefit white, being down in material.
1. Qh6+ Ke7
2. Qg5+ leads to perpetual, with the Black King moving between e7 and f8
1. Bf3 Rc1+
2. Ke2 Rxg1
3. Bd5 is not winning, yancey, explain please how white can mate after 4. Qh8+? the black king simply marches to the other side of the board via e7.. (strangely) there is no mate for white that I can see because of the black’s knight on a5
Aaron,
If I understand you, this is the line in question:
1. Bf3 Rc1
2. Ke2 Rg1?
3. Bd5
The threat is Qf6, and to defend it, black either gives up his queen by taking a bishop or guards f6 from d8 or e7 with his queen, however this cuts off the escape to the other side of the board as white either mates or forces the king back to e8 (d8 is not open any longer):
3. ….Qd8 (Qe7 4.Qh8#)
4. Qh8 Ke7
And, here, the king is returned to the eighth rank with a check from g7:
5. Qg7 Ke8 (only move)
6. Qf7#
Yancey, your analysis is great, but I still think you missed a few things in this line.
1. Bf3 Rc1+
2. Ke2 Rxg1 (or maybe ….Rc2+instead 3. Kf1 is best, followed by Rc1+ Kg2 and trade of rooks, giving black the tempo after the exchange, and saving the rook on a1 after which Rd8 saves the rook and prevents Bd5. Or, if 3. Kd1 [or Kd3], then Rc5 prevents Bd5. Black must sacrifice the rook then, but should survive at least longer, with checks from the queen, say Qd7+.
In the main line, 3…g5 looked strong, but it doesn’t pan out, unfortunately.
1. Bf3 Rc1
2. Ke2 Rg1?
3. Bd5 g5
yancey to move
Consul,
3… g5 is met by
4. Qh8+ Ke7
5. Qg7+ Kd8
6. Qxc7#
Unfortunately, this line is a dead end for black, but 2. Rxg1 is not forced, so there may be drawing chances for black there.
Aaron,
I had considered the check from c2 (see above), but the tempo gained with a second check from c1 followed by the take at g1 with check is equally hopeless for black (I had decided against including this analysis due to the length of my original comment, but will include it now):
1. Bf3 Rc1
2. Ke2 Rc2
3. Kf1 Rc1
4. Kg2 Rg1
5. Kg1
And the threat is now Qh8. For example, if black tries to save the exchange by moving the rook, he loses rapidly:
5. …..Rc8 (Rd8/b8/a7 is same)
6. Qh8 Ke7 (Kf7 7.Qf6 Kg8 8.Qg7#)
7. Qf6 Kc7
8. Bg4 Qe6 (only move)
9. Qe6 Kd8
10.Bf6#
In addition, at move 5, trying a move like g5 also loses the same way as above. Also, the king cannot escape by playing to f7 since Qf6+ is mate on the next move. A knight move to c6 or c4 also loses to Qh8 just like above. This leaves only queen moves at move 5:
5. …..Qf7
6. Ba8 and black is down a piece and still has a vulnerable king. Any move off the 8th rank simply leaves black down a piece after Ba8. What else is there for black?