Black to move. How should black proceed?
Source: ChessToday.net
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LCC tactic
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Black to move. How should black proceed?
Source: ChessToday.net
Qe1 threatening Bh3 +
or Ra1
I don’t have time this evening to do this comprehensively, but Qd1 looks devastating. It threatens Bh3 and Ra1, and I don’t see a real way to defend against both threats right now.
Bg4
Lucky Adams..
Wow! This is a difficult puzzle because we’re used to seeing a simple or complex tactical move with obvious results.
This is much more subtle and I spent some time on it.
1. … Qd1! Quiet but killing. The threat is h3 and the king and queen and rook cannot parry it. The WB can exchange or move to f1.
A. 2. b*e6. This is the toughest defense but refuted by
2. … Re1! and the mate or great material loss cannot be prevented. e.g. B*f7+, Kg7 4. Qc1 (or better resigns as 4. … R*c1 5. R*c1 Q*c1
B. 2. Bf1 Ba3+ wins as 3. K*a3 Q*f1 4. Ka2 R*f2 and not only does the Q but the R fall 5. Q*f2 Q*f2+ and 6. Q*c4.
psyche
Qd1…
It seems my post did not go through.
This is a difficult problem because usually there is no clear target.
Here the absence makes for a challenge. The first move which took me some time to find is a quiet but very powerful one.
Effectively:
1. … Q-d1! wins outright, I think.
The replies are limited as 2. … Bh3 3. K*h3 Q*f1 is threatened.
The only ways to respond relate to the bishop but both are hopeless:
2. Bf1, Bh3+ 3. K*h3 Q*f1+ and 4… R*f2 wins a full queen.
The option is taking the Bishop.
So 1. … Qd1 2. B*e6 2. Ra1! threatens Qh1 mate so
3. B*f7 Kg7! 4. Rc1 R*c1 5. Q*c1 Q*c1 overwhelms in material. Incidentally, the black king must go all the way to e1 and with the Queen grab the pawn at f2 to win.
Psyche.
Qd1 wins. White’s best defense is Bxe6, as psyche already pointed out. The road to a win from there is pretty long, but black ends up with a queen advantage early on. White’s pawn fortress around the king will turn out to be difficult for the black queen to break into without help from the black king. Even after that fortress is busted, the white king can play hide and seek around the remaining pawn with help from his bishop, which also can provide some protection for white’s remaining pawns and will prove to be quite pesky.