White to move. How should white proceed?
Source: ChessToday.net
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Real game chess tactic
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White to move. How should white proceed?
Source: ChessToday.net
Safest would be Ke2, but we need tactic.
1.Qh7+!
A>1…….f1=Q.2.Qxh8+!.Qf8.3.Bxf7+!.
A1>3…..Kxf7.4.Rxb7+!.
A11>4….Ke6.5.Qe5#!
A12>4….Kg6.5.Ne5+.Kf5.6.Qh7+.Kf6.7.Qg6#
A13>4….Ke8.toughest.5.Qh5+.Kd8.6.Qxg5+.Ke8.7.Qh5+.Kd8.8.Qh4+!.Ke8.9.Qh3!! White threatens Qd7# and Qxc8#.
Inter posing 9….Rc7 is simply answered by 10.Rxc7 maintaining the threats. This was the idea of 8.Qh4 to chase the black king to e8 so that it no longer controls c7!
9….Rd8 is simply answered by 10.Qh5+.Qf7.11.Qxf7#
9….Qe7 leads to 10.Qxc8+.Qd8.11.Qe6+.Kf8.12.Qf7#
A14>4….Qe7.5.Ne5+.Ke6.6.Qxc8+.Kf6.7.Qh8+.Ke6.
8.Qh3+.Kf6.9.Qh6+!.Kf5.10.Rxe7!. White is a N and R up with mate nearby. Black has only one spite check Qxg2+ answered by Kc3! And there are no more checks!
A2>Declining the bishop leads to Rxb7+ and so on. Black cannot move to 8th rank by Kd8 for it would be Qxf8 #
B> not queening simply loses even more rapidly.
Harry
A)
1. Qh7!! f1=Q? (alternatives below)
2. Qg8+ (Qxh8+ is far too materialistic) Qf8
3. Bxf7+ Ke7
4. Rxb7 Kf6 (Rc7 Rxc7 Kf6)
5. Qg6#
3. … Kd7
4. Rxb7! Rc7
4. Ne5+ Ke7
5. Rxc7 Kf6
6. Qg6#
3. … Kd8
4. Qxf8+ Kc7 (Kd7 Qd6#)
5. Qe7+ Kb8
6. Qxb7#
B)
1. Qh7 Qxe6
2. Qxh8+ Ke7
3. Rxb7+ Qd7 (Rc7 Rxc7+ Qd7)
4. Qe5+ Kd8 (Kf8 Rxd7 any Qh8#)
5. Rxd7+ Kxd7
6. Qd6+ Ke8
7. Ne5 Rd8 (f1=Q+ Qd7+ Kf8 Qxf7#. f1=1N+ Ke1 Rd8 eq. text line).
8. Qf6 Rd7 (otherwise Qxf7#)
9. Qh8# (funny mate)
C)
1. Qh7 Kf8?
2. Qxh8#
D)
1. Qh7 Rc7
2. Ke2!! Qxe6
3. Qxh6+ Ke7
4. Q in h file
Is simply up with a piece and the well defended white position has an easy win.
E)
1. Qh7 Qf8
2. Ke2 fxe6
3. Rxb7
threatens Qd7 mate, white has a very nice attack here.
F)
1. Qh7 f1=N+
2. Ke1
Transposes to any of the lines B,C,D,E above.
The critical line is perhaps:
1. Qh7!! Qf8
2. Bxf7+! Qxf7 (alternatives must be worse)
3. Qxh8+
is nicely up with piece, and with check there is also time to stop the f pawn. If now K in 7th rank to let Qh8 hang, there is Rxb7+ and finally Qe5+, and if it isn’t mate white is anyway up with a piece, and will stop f pawn.
2. …
1. Qh7 Qf8
2. Bxf7 Qxf7
3. Qxh8 Qf8
5. Qxf8+ Kxf8
6. Ke2
is up with knight and wins.
3. … Ke7?
4. Rxb7+ Rc7
5. Rxc7+ Ke6
6. Qe5#
3. … Kd7 (critical)
4. Rxb7+ Rc7
With queens on board, white must observe that his Nf3 hangs (Ke2 f1=Q+ Kxf1 Qxf3+ must be avoided).
5. Ne5+! Ke6
6. Qh6+! Kf5
Ke7? Rxc7#.
Qf6 Qxf6 Kxf6 Ke2 was probably critical.
7. g4+! Ke4
8. Qh1+! Qf3 (only)
9. Qxf3#
is yet another nice mate.
Correction:
1. Qh7 Qf8
2. Bxf7+ Qxf7
3. Qxh8+ Kd7
Here probably 4. Rxb7+ was the wrong idea since Rb7 hangs after Rc7. The knight fork must be played now.
4. Ne5+! Ke6
5. Qxc8+! Kf6 (Qd7 Qxd7 Kxd7 Ke2)
Black king in f file while also Qf7 is hanging, makes black’s position very difficult.
6. Ke2 should win here.
Qh7!! the rest are easy….
An interesting position. My first thought was to just take at f7 and then retreat the rook to b1, but I don’t see how that gives white much:
1. Bf7 Qf7
2. Rb1 Rc7
3. Rf1 g4
4. Nh4 g3
And, to be honest, I would much rather be black at this stage.
Now, if I didn’t have to worry about the pawn, I might be tempted to try a move like Qh7 instead of the brute Bxc8 (which, of course, loses here). Let’s see what this might lead to:
1. Qh7 f1Q
2. Qh8 Qf8
3. Bf7! Kf7 (Ke7/d7 4.Rb7 anyway)
4. Rb7
And white has a powerful looking attack. Is it decisive? I think it might be- the black king has only one defender, the queen at f8, against a queen, a rook, and a knight coming in at e5 or g5. The critical line from here seems to me to be….
4. …..Ke8 (alternatives below)
5. Qe5 Kd8
6. Qe6
And now white is threatening Qd7#. The black queen at f8 can’t guard d7 from e8 since white then mates starting with Qd6. All I see as a defense is to try for a perpetual, but this is quickly foiled by the white knight’s guard on e1:
6. …..Qf2
7. Kc3
And now what? All I see is to take at e3…
7. …..Qe3
8. Qe3
And white is up a knight and still has an overwhelming attack.
At move 4 in this line, black could have played Kg6, Qe7, or Ke6, but these all look like mate to me. On 4. …Ke6, white mates immediately with Qe5, and on 4. …Qe7, white checks from h7 first and has the king naked against a rook and queen. Finally, on 4. …Kg6….
4. …..Kg6
5. Ne5 Kf5
6. Qh7 Ke6 (Kf6 7.Qg6#)
7. Qd7 Kf6
8. Ng4 Kg6
9. Qh7# all forced.
The real holes in this analysis are back at move 1 for black. Maybe he doesn’t have to cooperate by queening the pawn. White’s real hammer here was the move Rxb7. Maybe black has a defense with a move like Rc7 or b5. I am must not sure right now.
Qh7 is d key move?