Black to move. How do you assess this position? How should Black proceed? No computer please.
8/1kp3p1/1p1p3P/3P2P1/1KR2r2/2P5/1P4Q1/3q4 b – – 0 1
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Friday chess tactic
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1 … b5
[A] 2. Kxb5 Qb3+
[B] 2. Rxf4 (or 2. Rd4) Qa4+
1. … b5
2. Kxb5 (otherwise 2. … Qa4++)
2. … Qd3
(2. … Qb3 fails to draw as far as I can see since 3. Rb4 Rxb4 4. cxb4 Qd3+ 5. Ka4 Qa6+ 6. Kb3 Qd3+ 7. Ka2 and the king escapes)
3. b3 Rxc4
4. bxc4 gxh6!
4. … Qb1+ fails since the king approaches and finds shelter. Also the I could not make the immediate 4. … Qxc3, threatening perpetual, work due to 5. Qa2. So I came up with 4. … gxh6.
Now if:
5. gxh6 Qb1+
and black succeeds in collecting the unprotected h6 pawn by giving checks the right way. That is driving the white king to a3, since if it doesn’t it is perpetual.
Elseif
5. g6 Qxc3 now works fine
6. Qa2 Kb8! (to eliminate the mating threat Qa6+ followed by Kc6)
and white is unable to make progress.
Pff, my bad; I just saw that
2. … Qb3 mates white 🙂
3. Rb4 Rxb4
4. cxb4 Qa2 and black delivers mate…
5. ~ Qa6#
Take the rook first, and it’s a forced mate.
1. …Rxc4+
2. Kxc4, b5+
If 3. Kb4, Qa4++
If 4. Kxb5, Qb3++
@Mt Tabor
after Kxb5 there is no immediate mate
1. … b5
2. Kxb5 Qb3+
3. Rb4 Rxb4+
4. cb4 Qa2! and #
1. … b5
2. Ka5 Qa1+
3. Kxb5 Qa6+
4. Kb4 Rxc4 and #
Take the rook first, and it’s a forced mate.
1. …Rxc4+
2. Kxc4, b5+
1…Rxc4+?
… throws away the win. Then after:
2.Kxc4 b5+??
… White should win after:
3.Kxb5
“1. … b5
2. Ka5″
What is Ka5 for a curios move? Doesn’t white want to save his double attacked rook? 😉
Instead of the “complicated” Qa1+ Rxc4 is much easier here….
So I wouldn’t look at Ka5 as a defense against the black attack and the problem has only one variation left.
The silent Qa2 is a nice move – play out the position until cxb4 and it is very easy to find I predict.
But finding it from the original position without board (or without moving the peaces) took me some minutes.
Finding such silent moves in your calculations can be very important in a real chess game as in such variations hunting the king checking moves always come to one’s mind first….
Very good puzzle, Susan. Not very hard but important.
Best regards from Germany
Jochen