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      Home  >  Chess Improvement • Chess Puzzles  >  Brain challenge

      Brain challenge

      Chess tactic, Puzzle Solving


      White to move. Can you find the absolute best continuation for White?

      3R4/r3pp1p/2b3pk/1qPB4/p2Q4/7P/p4PPK/1r6 w – – 0 1

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      20 Comments

      1. Kerry Liles Reply
        January 19, 2011 at 3:15 am

        I like Rg8

        seems over after that (threat is Qh4 as well as Qg7 – cant stop both)

      2. Anonymous Reply
        January 19, 2011 at 3:46 am

        1/ Qf4+ (if 1/ … KH5 then 2/ G4+ Kh4 3/ QH6 mate) 2 … Kg7 3/ QxF7+ KH6 4/ QF4+ KG7 5/ RG8 mate

      3. Tom Barrister Reply
        January 19, 2011 at 4:16 am

        1 Rg8 fails to 1 … Qb8+, 2 Rxb8 a1=Q

        1 Qh4+ doesn’t work, either, because of 1 … Kg7, 2 Qd4+ e5!, 3 Qxe5+ Kh6, 4 Qf4+ Kg7, 5 Qd4+, and the best White can do is a perpetual.

        Since White needs to check, there’s only one reasonable one left:

        1 Qf4+ g5

        Other moves lose faster: 1 … Kg5, 2 g4+ Kh5, 3 Qh6#. Or 1 … Kg7 2 Rg8+! Kxg8, 3 Qxf7+ Kh8, 4 Qg9#.

        Now it looks like White is out of good checks, but there’s one left.

        2 Rd6+!

        White gives up her Rook in order to clear f6 for the Queen.

        2 … f6

        Other moves lead to the same basic position as the main line: 2 … exd6, 3 Qf6+, or 2 … e6, 3 Qf6+

        3 Rxf6+ exf6

        The alternatives are 3 … Kh5, 4 Qg4# or 3 … Kg7, 4 Qxg5+ Kh8, 5 Rf8# (or 5 Qg8#).

        4 Qxf6+ Kh5
        5 g4+ Kh5
        6 Rh6#

      4. Anonymous Reply
        January 19, 2011 at 5:23 am

        1. Qf4+ wins. The most challenging line is 1…g5, in which case 2. Rd6+! leads quicky to mate.

        Here are the lines after 2. Rd6+

        if 2…exd6 3.Qf6+ Kh5 4.g4+ Kh4 5.Qh6#
        if 2…Kg7 3.Qxf7+ Kh8 4.Qg8#
        if 2…Kh5 3.Qg4#

      5. Anonymous Reply
        January 19, 2011 at 5:41 am

        qf4+ han

      6. M.Pasman Reply
        January 19, 2011 at 7:02 am

        1.Qf4+ Kg7 2.Rg8+

        or 1…g5 2.Rd6+

      7. Marvel Reply
        January 19, 2011 at 9:22 am

        1.Rg8 g5(to prevent Qh4 mate)
        2.Qg7+ Kh5
        3.Qxg5#

      8. Timothée Reply
        January 19, 2011 at 10:16 am

        1.Qf4+ g5 2.Rd6+! deviation 🙂

        2…e6 or 2….exd6 3.Qf6+ so 2….f6 3.Rxf6+ Kg7 4.Qxg5+ and mate soon follows

      9. Anonymous Reply
        January 19, 2011 at 10:54 am

        Ugh… don’t see it clearly… I would try:

        1. Bxf7 a1=Q
        2. Qf4+ Kh5
        3. Bxg6+ Kxg6
        4. Rg8+ Qg7
        5. Qg4+ Kf6
        6. Rxg7

        White will mate in a few moves
        Same if

        3. … hxg6
        4. Qg4+ Kh6
        5. Qh4+ Kg7
        6. Qh8+

        I don’t see a quick mate in any line, but a sure win by white.

        Zam

      10. Anonymous Reply
        January 19, 2011 at 11:01 am

        let´s start with Qf4+:
        1. Qf4+ g5
        2. Rd6+ exd6
        3. Qf6+ Kh5
        4. g4+ Kh4
        5. Qh6#
        or 2. … Kg7
        3. Qxg7+ Kh8
        4. Qg8/Rd8#
        or 2. … Kh5
        3. Qg4#
        if 1. … Kh5, then
        2. g4+ Kh4
        3. Qh6#, and
        if 1. … Kg7, then
        2. Qxf7+ Kh6
        3. Qf8+ Kg5
        4. f4+ Kh5
        5. g4+ Kh4
        6. Qh6#
        if 3. … Kh5, then
        4. g4+ Kg5
        5. f4+ Kh4
        6. Qh6#
        greets, jan

      11. Anonymous Reply
        January 19, 2011 at 12:04 pm

        For some reason I keep looking at 1. Qf4+ g5 2. Rd6+ exd6 3. Qxd6+ , whenever I look at this, but to me it looks the black king can escape to the queenside eventually.

      12. SoulIntruder Reply
        January 19, 2011 at 1:11 pm

        I don’t think 1.Rg8 is THE BEST conitunation casue I can play 1..Rb4

        I think 1.Qf4+ wins due to forced mate.

        What I have calculated is:

        A:

        1..Kh5 2.g4+ Kh3 3.Qg6#

        B:

        1..Kg7 2.Qf7+ Kg6 3.Qf8+

        Now, if 3..Kh5 then 4.g4+ Kh3 5.Qg6#

        If 3..Kg5 4.f4+ Kh5 5.g4+ Kh3 6.Qg6#

        C:

        1..g5 2.Rd6!+ exd6 (if f6 then 3.Rxf6+ exf6 4.Qf6+) 3.Qf6+ and.. simmilar mate to the previous variations.

        What do you think?:)

        I am finaly improving in chess?

        Regards,

        Wodzu

      13. SoulIntruder Reply
        January 19, 2011 at 1:18 pm

        After second thought there is also a after 1.Rg8 ..Qb8+!

        probably better then 1..Rb4

      14. pht Reply
        January 19, 2011 at 1:24 pm

        I feel that the goodlooking
        1. Rg8
        would fail to the enforced line:
        1. … Qb8+
        2. Rxb8 a1=Q
        3. Qxa1 Rxa1
        4. Bxc6 and black is up with quality and pawn, winning.
        I’m not smart enough to find the winning line for white.
        But I see an easy draw, however:

        1. Qh4+ Kg7
        2. Qd4+ will be answered with Kh6 and repetition, because of:
        2. … f6
        3. Rg8 Kh6
        4. Qh4#

      15. SMINIL Reply
        January 19, 2011 at 2:53 pm

        I think Qf4+ should lead to a win here..

        If Kg7 then Qf7+ Kh6 Qf4 Kg7 Qf8#
        If g5 then Rd6+! exd6 Qf6+ Kh5 g4 Kh4 Qh6#

      16. Anonymous Reply
        January 19, 2011 at 2:57 pm

        Qf4+ and Rg8+

      17. Anonymous Reply
        January 19, 2011 at 3:24 pm

        Qf4, g5, Rd6, exd6, Qf6..

      18. Anonymous Reply
        January 19, 2011 at 3:36 pm

        Mate in 4:

        Qf4 – f7 – f4 – f8#.

      19. Yancey Ward Reply
        January 19, 2011 at 4:11 pm

        On 1.Rg8, black should win with Qb8+:

        1. Rg8 Qb8!

        This is a pseudosacrifice, of course since the a-pawn is going to queen:

        2. Rb8 a1(Q) and I see nothing white can do now with all three men underattack. The best I can find is

        3. Qe3 Kg7
        4. Rb1 Qb1
        5. Bc6 a3
        6. Bd5

        Here, 6.Qd4, trying for a perpetual is going to fail to the block with f6 (e5 sacrifice might be even better since it buys a tempo by forcing the white queen to move). In any case, black just keeps pushing the a-pawn and the bishop will have to be given up.

      20. Yancey Ward Reply
        January 19, 2011 at 4:11 pm

        Oh well, guess I don’t have to do any work on this one at all now that the answers have posted.

      Leave a Reply to Anonymous Cancel reply

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