White to move. Does White have a sufficient attack? How should White proceed?
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Attacking chess tactic
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White to move. Does White have a sufficient attack? How should White proceed?
Bishop G3 to D6 will create a chance of check mate.
I’d play D2-D4. If black responds B6-D4 white has G3-E5.
Rxd4 followed by Kf6+ does look like an option, but its not a good one as it will lead to queen exchanges. The pawn on F5 is weak. One possible move is advancing that pawn to F6, such that it gets protected by G4 knight. The next move can be advancing pawn on E6 to E7.
1.Rxd4! seems to win in all variations.
1.Rxd4! Qxd4 2.Be5! and mate or loss of Queen
1.Rxd4 Rh7 2.Nf6+! Rxf6 3.Qxf6 and wins.
Kamalakanta
1.Rxd4…
a) 1…Rh7 2.Nf6+ Rxf6 3.Qxf6…( 3…Qxd4 4.Qxd4 /+-/ ) 3…Rg7 4.Rg4…(4…Qb7 5.Be5 /+-/) 4…Rxg4 5.Be5 /+-/
b) 1…Qxd4 2.f6 Rh7 3.Qg5+ Kh8 4.Be5 Qxe5 5.Nxe5 Rg8 6.f7!…(6… Rxg5 7.fxe8Q+ Rg8 8.Ng6+ /+-/ ) 6…Bxf7 7.Nxf7+ Rxf7 8.exf7 Rxg5 9.f8Q+ /+-/
1. Rxd4!
The plan is 2. Be5 and 3. Qh8#.
Or also 2. Nf6+ and Rg4+.
Black has no good defence against it.
A)
1. … Rh7/Rxf5
2. Nf6+ Rxf6
3. Rg4+ Rg6 (Kh8 Qxf6+ Rg7 Qxg7#)
4. Rxg6+ Kh8
5. Qf8#
B)
1. … Qxd4 (best looking)
2. Be5 Qxe5
3. Nxe5
and now the plan is Ng6 and Qh8#, but please note that black is still up with material despite of the Q sack.
3. … Rh7
4. Qg5+ Rg7
5. Qf4!
and I can’t see how to stop the e and f pawn’s from entering the attack.
Well, I can’t see any other reasonable start but f6:
1. f6
This threatens the sequence Qg5+-Rd4+-Qh6-Bd6. Continuing:
1. …..Bf6 (alternatives later)
2. Nf6 Rf6
3. Qf6
And now white is threatening to put the rook on d4-g4 etc., and/or put the bishop on d6. I can only see on one potential defense to all this:
3. …..Rg7
4. Be5 Qb7
5. Rd4! Qe7
White was threatening Rg4 and Qh8#. Continuing:
6. Qg7 Qg7
7. Bg7 Nc5 (Kg7 8.Ra4; Nb2 8.Rg4)
8. Be5 Ne6
9. Rd3 Nc5
10.Rc3 Ne4
11.Rb3 and white’s advantage should be decisive with proper technigue.
Back at move 1, black might try something else, but they don’t look all that much better to me. I would probably prefer the following line more than the others, but only because it seems to lead to a slightly more difficult endgame to manage as white.
1. …..Rh7
2. Qg5 Kh8
3. Rd4 Qd4
4. f7 Bf7 (what else better?)
5. Be5 Qe5
6. Qe5 Rg7 (Kg8 7.Nf6)
7. ef7 Rf7
8. Qe8 Kh7
9. Qc6 Nb2
10.Qd5
And white should win both remaining queenside pawns. I didn’t look all that long at this line, so I might well be missing a better line for white- he did have a lot of options I didn’t investigate.
I posted a solution on Sunday which did not get posted. So I briefly repost.
This position is a win for white.
There are not too many lines but it requires precise play.
Importantly, white begins significantly down in material, so even the initial winning of the queen itself is insufficient of itself to win.
1. R*d4! (thematic which several have mentioned) Q*d4
2. B*e5 (again obvious) Q*e5+ (otherwise mate is rapid)
3. N*e5 R*e5 (what else? That f pawn is a thorn)
4. Ng4! (a key move) N*b2 (again what else; black can’t prevent Nf6+)
5. Nf6+ R*f6 (forced)
6. Q*f6 Rg7! (this is the best in the losing line; otherwise e7 wins by blocking out the black rook, see below)
7. e7! (all the same) Rf7 (what else? Moving the N also loses)
8. Q*b2 Re*e7
9. Q*b3 Re4
10. Qc3 and wins eventually.
Line 2: 6 … Nc4
7. e7! (note that Qd8 only draws)Ra8 (alternatives are eg. b2 which is more active; if these then 8. Qf8+ Kh7 9. Q*e8+ Kh7 9. Q*e8! b1=Q, 10. Qh5+ and d8=Q; therefore black must play 9. Nd6! 10.Qh5+ Kg7 11. Qe5+Kf7 12. Q*b2+ R*e7 13. Qb6 and white wins the endgame.)
8. g4! (which is better than Qf8) and wins after advancing the Pawn requiring the black B to sacrifice and then the R to sacrifice the new queen at e8)
Psyche
I may mention that the Anonymous post from Sunday with an A and B line, was me. Don’t know why it became anonymous.
All I was certain about, was that:
1. Rxd4 Qxd4
2. Be5 Qxe5
3. Nxe5
looks all enforced.
Of cource the material win of that queen isn’t by itself enough to win here, so there has to be something more to it. And I think it is, thanks to the pawns, though I don’t quite look through all possible lines…