White to move and checkmate in 5.
Puzzle by Kovalenko
6R1/6P1/8/8/8/K7/6P1/kr6 w – – 0 1
Daily Chess Improvement: Checkmate tactic
About Author
White to move and checkmate in 5.
Puzzle by Kovalenko
6R1/6P1/8/8/8/K7/6P1/kr6 w – – 0 1
Trying to find an enforced Q mate in 5 failed totally.
So it is likely to be a R mate, after a Q sack!
Seeing this, the difficult puzzle suddenly became much easier.
Main line:
1. Rd8! Re1
2. g8=Q! Re3+ (alt. below)
3. Qb3! Rxb3 (Re2 Rd1#. Re1 Qa2#.)
4. Kxb3 Kb1 (zugzwang)
5. Rd1#
2. … Kb1
3. Qb3+ Kc1
4. Qb2#
This variation is the reason why I prefer Rd8 before Re8, Rf8 or Rh8.
Side line:
1. … Rb7
2. Rd1+ Rb1
3. g8=Q R any
4. Qa2#
Rf8 Re1
Rf3 Re3 +
Rxe3 Kb1
Rc3 Ka1
Rc1#
1.Re8!
A>1….Rc1.2.Re3!.
A1>2…..Rc3+.3.Rxc3.Kb1.4.Kb3.Ka1.5.Rc1#!
A2>2…..Rb/d/f//g/h1.3.g8=Q!.Rb/d/f/g/h2.4.Re1+!.Rb1.5.Qa2#!
B>1….Rb3+!.2.Kxb3.Kb1.3.Re8#!
C>1….Rb2/4/5/6/7/8.2.Re1+!.Rb1.3.g8=Q!.Rxe1.4.Qa2#!
At move 1, Rc/d/e/h all works!
1.Rf8 Re1-d1-c1
2.g8=Q Re3-d3-c3+
3.Qb3 Rf3
(3… Rxb3+ 4.Kxb3 Kb1 5.Rf1#)
4.Qxf3 Kb1
5.Qd1# d1 is the right square for Q to deliver mate while controlling flight square c2. All other rook moves by white on 1st move will delay mate.If 1.Rd8 white should refrain from 3.Qb3 to avoid stalemate.With 1.Rc8 black plays 3…. Rxb3+ 4.Kxb3 Kb1 and R is unable to mate on 5th move. Black R’s movement in b file is easy to handle.
1.Rf8 Rb7 2.g8=Q Rc2 3.Rf1+ Rb1 4.Qa2#
I remember this puzzle well from this past Summer. I will just repost my comment from that one:
A better question for this puzzle is not really to find the 1st move, but to explain why that move allows a mate in 5 where other similar moves are moves in 6 or more. The difference is very subtle, and I literally didn’t understand it until I reached the end (and I almost overlooked the mating move, too!)
A hard puzzle. What makes it difficult for me is that there isn’t any clearly obvious reason one rook move along the 8th rank might be better (by a move or two) than another. Let’s look at my first wrong choice, since it can help illustrate why the solution is the shortest mate possible:
1. Rc8
Threatens g8Q, of course. I had no particular reason for choosing this square for the rook, I just needed a way to get my teeth into the problem. Now, the black rook can leave the 1st rank, but white will mate in 4 total moves: [1. …Rb6 2.Rc1 Rb1 3.g8Q Rc1 4.Qa2#]. So, black must move the rook along the 1st rank, and he must move the rook to a square where he can check safely on the 3rd rank on the next move- these moves are Re1 and Rd1
1. ……Re1
Now, here for white, my plan was to guard the 3rd rank with the rook:
2. Rc3
Now, black’s rook can’t leave the 1st rank unless he pins the rook with Re3, but it is mate in 5 total moves if black does play Re3. However, if black returns the rook to b1…..
2. ……Rb1
3. g8Q Rb3 (shorter #s else)
4. Kb3
Both Rxb3 and Qxb3 are stalemates. Continuing:
4. ……Kb1
And white can only mate by move 6. Nor can white do better at move 2 the line above by queening the pawn:
2. g8Q Re3
3. Qb3
This is the shortest mate I can find in this variation, but it doesn’t solve the problem. Continuing:
3. ……Rb3
4. Kb3 Kb1
And, again, white mates in 6 total moves.
Even after this, I still didn’t really see the solution, but let’s look at my next choice which is the actual solution, and I will tie it back into the variation above:
1. Rf8!
Again, the threat is g8Q followed by Qa2#. As before, the black rook can’t leave the 1st rank without allowing a mate in 4 moves total. Now, lets look at the lateral moves along the 1st rank, starting with the same Re1 as in the previous line:
1. ……Re1
Threatens Re3+, however….
2. g8Q Re3
Or [2. …Kb1 3.Qa2 Kc1 4.Qb2 Kd1 5.Rc8#], and, of course, 2. …Re6 loses quickly to Rf1+ followed by Rxe1#. Continuing:
3. Qb3! Rf3
If 3. …Rxb3, then 4.Kxb3 is followed by 5.Rf1#. Any other move along the 3rd rank also is mate in 5. Continuing:
4. Qf3! Kb1
5. Qd1#
And right there is your difference- the queen can reach d1 from f3 without also stalemating the black king by taking b1 away at the 4th move as she would from b3 and especially from d3.
Complete source
Kovalenko, Smena (Moskva), 1992-11
Brilliant stuff!