k2K3Q/1p6/1P6/8/5q2/P7/8/8 w – – 0 13
White to move. Can White win this? How should White proceed?
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
King and Pawn Wednesday morning tactic
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Pretty simple.
1. Kd7+ Qb8
2. Qc4 Q~ (black cannot check white’s king)
3. Qa5+ Kb8
4. Qa7 #
after 2 Qc3 black can prevent direct mate with Qe5. So you’ll have to do a little bit more work 🙂
1. Kd7+ Qb8
2. Qc3 Qe5
3. Qc8+ Qb8
4. Qc5 Qe5
5. Qf8+ Qb8
6. Qb4 winning
The key is to get the white queen to b4 with black unable to check (i.e., black queen must be on b8), where it threatens checkmate on both a4 and a5. This means white needs to find a check on f8 to enable Qb4 on the next move. Black can only defend one of those squares at a time. How to do it? Gradually work the queen into position by taking advantage of single threats of checkmate on a4 or a5.
1. Kd7+ Qb8
2. Qc3 Qe5 (forced)
3. Qc8+ Qb8 (forced)
4. Qc5 Qe5 (white cannot capture b/c stalemate)
5. Qf8+ Qb8 (forced)
6. Qb4 wins.
Doesn’t 6…Qb4 save it? I am probably wrong but it looks like it.
6…Qb4 is impossible, but 6…Qc4 allows 7. Qxc4 and 6…Qf4 allows 7. Qa5 with mate to follow.
I setup a board and your right, Thanks
1. Kd7 qb8
2. Qd4 the black queen is lost
to add to the above comment If black plays Qe5, then Qa4++ eventually
the maneuver to b4 seems to be the only solution. Note 2Qc4 runs into …Qf4. White needs to hit both a5 and a4 squares to deliver mate. I thought that 1 Kd7 Qb8 2. Qe8 Qe8 3 Ke8 Kb8 4 Kd8 Ka8 5 a4 Kb8 6 a5 Ka8 7 a6 wins but then realized that 7…Kb8 holds.
-Justin Daniel
Thanks Susan for this awesome tactic. I hope to use this tool one day. The position looks so simple with few pieces but so rich with lines that only one apparently works. That’s a manifestation of beauty.
1.Kd7+ Qf4
2.Qc2 Qe5
3.Qc8+ Qb8
4.Qc5 Qe5
After this my head explodes. Not a prity sight.
No one mentioned that after 6. Qb4, Qc8+ is met with Ke7 with no more cheeky stalemate dences for black. I think everyone stopped a move early for my liking, but then I started looking at 1. Ke7 first because of the lack of stalemate defences, and quickly found it didn’t work.