White to move. How should white proceed?
Source: ChessToday.net
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Chess Queen Tactic
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White to move. How should white proceed?
Source: ChessToday.net
Hi Susan Polgar,
Well,nice puzzle.
White wins the game [ Variations exist ]
Example One
===========
1.h7 R*h7
2.Qg6+ Kf8
3.Q*Rh7 Qa1
4.Qh6+ Kg8
5.Bh7+ Kh8
6.Bg6+ Kg8
7.Qh7+ Kf8
8.Qf7++ Mate
Example Two
===========
1.h7 Qf6
2.Qh5+ Kf8
3.Bh6+ Q*Bh6
4.Q*Qh6+ Ke8
5.Qg6+ Kf8
6.Qf6+ Ke8
7.Q*Rh8+ Kf7
8.Q*Ra8 Ne5
9.h8(Q) Ng6
10.Qag8++ Mate
White wins the game [ Interesting variations exist ]
By
Venky [ India – Chennai ]
Hi Susan Polgar,
My second post at this title.
White wins the game in ease with “Qg6+” followed by h7 .
I felt many would have gone for it – so I opted “h7” initial move in my 1st post at this title.
Example [ for “Qg6” ]
=======
1.Qg6+ Kf8
2.h7 Qg7
3.Bh6 Q*Bh6
4.Q*Qh6+ Ke8
5.Qg6+ Kd8
6.Qf6+ Ke8
7.Bg6+ Kf8
8.Q*Rh8++ Mate
By
Venky [ India – Chennai ]
Bb2 seems to work.
1. … Qxb2
2. Bg6+ Kf8
3. Qf4+ Kg8
4. Qf7 mate
if
2. … Kg8
3. Bh5+ Kf8
4. Qf4+ same as above
This was a beautiful tactic, if I really did find the right one. To me, the obvious move was 1.Bg6, but try as I might, it simply fails:
1. Bg6 Kf8
Here, 1. …Kg8 should be ok for black, too. Continuing:
2. Bd3
Trying to dislodge the queen’s coverage of f6 and/or f4 so that white can check with the queen on the f-file. Here, 2.Bb2 won’t work due to the back rank mate. Continuing:
2. …..Qe5 and I just couldn’t find a way to make this work.
So, either white needs another basic plan, or he needs to drive the queen away first. The latter idea is the right one, I think:
1. Bb2! Qb2?
2. Bg6 Kg8 (Kf8 3.Qf4+-)
3. Bh5 Kf8 (mate otherwise)
4. Qf4 with mate to follow.
Also, if the black queen leaves the long diagonal by offering herself at e4, white will mate starting with 2.Qf6+ followed by Qh8-Qg7-Qg8#. The best defense might be to concede some material with a move like Rag8, but I am out of time, and I must leave it here for now. It isn’t clear to me that winning the queen for the bishop provides a decisive edge to white.
Exposed King, advanced passed pawn, Queen and Bishops raking the kingside – there’s got to be a win in there somewhere.
Darned if I can find it. I want to play 1. Qg6 or Bg6+, but what do I do after 1…Kf8?
More thought is required…
How about 1. Bb2, to lure the black Queen away from covering f4? Grabbing the b2B gets Black mated, so he has to give up the Q.
Black still has a lot of wood for the Q, but his game is so disorganised that prognosis is not good.
Bb2
Well, Venky [ India – Chennai ]’s solutions helped me eliminate two possible first moves. Given that white gave up two rooks for presumably exposing the black king and the bishop pair, I though there would be a checkmate here somewhere. I figured 1. Bg6+ should work, but couldn’t find a way forward after 1… Kf8. The killer move, Qf4+, is not possible because of the black queen guarding f4.
Which led me to the correct solution:
1. Bb2!!
Now if black gives up the guard on f4, he is lost:
1… Qxb2
2. Bg6+ Kg8 (2… Kf8 3. Qf4+ Qf6 4. Qxf6+ Kg8 5. Qf7#)
3. Bh5+ Kf8
4. Qf4+ Qf6
5. Qxf6+ Kg8
6. Qf7#
What else can black do at his first turn? Give up the queen? 1… e5 is useless, because it cuts off the queen’s protection of another key square, f6. So, 2. Qg6+ Kf8 3. Qf6+ Kg8 (3… Ke8 4. Bg6#) 4. Qg7#.
So, I think counterattacking the white queen by placing a rook at g8 is black’s best option at this point – which one, though? I looked at both options, but the sequence of moves are the same and I would play 1… Rag8 just to mobilize the a8 rook. So:
1… Rag8
2. Qh5+ Kf6
3. Qf3+ Ke5
4. Qe3+ Kxd6 (the black queen is pinned, of course)
5. Bxd4 Nxd4
6. Qxd4
While this is advantage white, it is largely positional. There is the threat of Qc5+ followed by Qc7+ leading to the loss of the black bishop, which black has to counter now (say via 6… Be8), after which 7. h7 will tie up one black rook to guarding the promoting square. Now, the white queen can clean up the pawns on the queen side.
One last option I considered is:
6… Bb5
7. Qc5+ Kd7 (7… Ke5 8. Qc7+ etc.)
8. Bxb5+ axb5
9. Qxb5+ etc.
I couldn’t see anything that would reduce white’s positional advantage, or his three-pawn material advantage. White should win comfortably from this point. I have run out of time to continue this analysis, though.
The only forced sequence that I could see is:
1.Qg6+ Kf8
2.h7 (threatening mate with Bh6)
2…Qg7 (all other moves will lead to quicker mate)
3.Bh6 Qxh6
4.Qxh6+ Ke8 (4…Kf7 5.Qg6+ Kf8)
5.Qg6+ Kd8 (5…Kf8? 6.Qf6+ Ke8 7.Bg6#)
6.Qg8+ Rxg8
7.hxg8Q+ Be8
8.Bg6 Kd7
9.Bxe8 Rxe8
10.Qf7+ Nf7
11.dxf7 Rxf7 with clear advantage
To @Anon Monday, September 19, 2011 7:41:00 PM
And if you try to divert the Black Queen?
🙂
Best regards
Stef
1. Qg6+, Kf8
2. h7 (threatening Bh6+) and Black cannot defend without losing the Queen and the Rook and the game too