White to move. How should white proceed?
Source: ChessToday.net
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
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White to move. How should white proceed?
Source: ChessToday.net
Is it Qd1?! That took me a long while to figure out; still not totally sure about it.
1.Qd1!!!!!! Solo Alekhine !
1…Bxd1 2.Rxc7
1…Qxc1 2.Qxc1 or 1….Qxd6 2.Qxd6 or 1…Rf1 2.Qxf1.
Now 2.Rxc7 is threatened and so is 2.Qxe2. Black can play 2…Qb8 but then simply 3.Qd2! and White remains a piece up
You have to note the problem with Rc7- that black mates with Rf1. In addition, white has two rooks hanging at d6 and c1. So, how can white protect his back rank and the rooks at the same time? I really see only one plausible move:
1. Qd1
Black can take at d1, of course, but this prevents Rf1, so white can safely take at c7 and be up the piece he began the position with. Also, this attacks the bishop at e2. So, black has bad choices it seems- take at d1 and be down a piece, play Qa5 to attack the unprotected knight at e5 to avoid being down two pieces, or play Rf1:
1. …..Rf1
2. Qf1 Qd6 (Bf1 3.Rc7 no better)
3. Nf7 Kg8
4. Nd6 Bf1
5. Kf1
Probably best for black is play Qa5 at move 1:
1. …..Qa5
2. Qe2 Qe5
3. Rd5 and white maintains his piece advantage.
1. Qd1 is crushing.
1.Ng6+ does the trick with Qh3 – h5 mate.
correction: Qh3 is not mate but allows to take Black Queen … 🙂
1.Ng6+ and 2.Qh3+ won’t stop Rf1++. On the other hand, there is 1.Qg8+ Rxf8 2.Rxc7 and White is up a piece in a crushing position.
1.Qg8+ meets Kxg8. Sigh. Another great idea destroyed by a silly fact.
1 Qd1 !!
Gabriele
only ALEKHINE CAN FIND Qd1
Black to move. How should black proceed?Source: ChessToday.netChess daily news from Susan Polgar Posted by Picasa Chess daily news from Susan Polgar
Usually in these positions where Black is threatening checkmate, the White strategy is to keep checking until White checkmates Black instead. Here that is not possible, as the only try, 1. Ng6+ fails.
White can’t defend against the threat of 1. …Qxc1+ by playing
1. Rxc7 because of 1. … Rf1#.
So White has to defend against both
… Rxc1 and … Rf1, AND keep White’s threat of Rxd7 alive.
I see only one way to do that. But is seems out of the question…. Can I really consider that move….
Alimuzzman’s suggestion is no good: 1.Ng6+? hxg6 2.Qh3+ Kg8 3.Rxc7?? Rfl#.
The best I see is 1.Qd1! staying a piece ahead and winning after 1…Bxd1 2.Rxc7.
I also started thinking as Alimuzzan, but then i realized that i knew this puzzle.
It’s so nice playing this kind of moves in a real game!
So, both of the rooks are en-prise, and if Rxc7 .. Rf1#.
Alekhine played
1. Qd1, and after .. Qa5
2. Qd4 keeping a knight to the good.
nice
nice
I see that Ng6+ (followed by Qh3+ Qe6+ Qh3+ …) forces a draw by repetition but I don’t see anything better out of Ng6+.
1. Qd1!!! {Protects against 1. … Qxc1 and keeps alive threat of Rxc7, which was not possible on White’s first move because of 1. … Rf1#. Can 1.
Qc1 really be playable? Yes!}
1. … Qa5 {Probably the best move for Black at this point. But White has more than one way now to stay a piece ahead, having
eliminated Black’s dangerous threats. White can now try Qxe2, Qd5 or Rd5.
Probably the strongest is Qd5.}
Other first move tries by Black are:
(1. .. Bxd1 2. Rxc7 Be2 {Renewing threat of Rf1#, but this is unavailing.} 3. Nf7+ Kg8 4. Rdd7 {With deadly threat of Nh6+ with simultaneous attack by the rooks on g7.} Bb5 5. Re7 Rae8 6. Nh6+ Kh8 (6. .. gxh6 7. Rg7+ Kh8 8. Rxh7+ Kg8 9. Rcg7#) 7. Rxe8 {Now the
Black rook is pinned, and Black cannot play … Rf1#.} Rxe8 8. Nf7+ Kg8 9. Nd6)
(1. .. Qxc1 {Have to look at all the captures!} 2. Qxc1 Rf1+ 3. Qxf1
Bxf1 4. Kxf1 {And White is way ahead in material.})
(1. .. Rf1+ {This is a reasonable try, since it attacks both the White king and queen.} 2. Qxf1
Bxf1 3. Rxc7 {And White is way ahead in material.})
(1. .. Qxd6 2. Qxd6)
Continuing from 1. Qd1 Qa5:
2. Qd5 {At this point, Black can either exchange queens with …Qxd5 exd5, leaving White a piece up and with a dangerous passed d-pawn, or Black can avoid the exchange, leaving White a piece up and with a strong attack on Black’s king position.
I just downloaded the Arena GUI, which I like a whole lot better than the Winboard that I have been using previously. With Arena, it’s a whole lot easier to key in comments and keep track of
multiple variations.}
i can’t see how to win
no Qh3 will be answered with Bh5 and you can’t take the queen.
1. Qd1 seems right to me as black has no good response and white stays up with one knight.
Here are no alternatives, white simply has to play:
1. Qg8+ Rxg8
2. Rxc7 Rgf8 (enforced, and threats mate)
3. Nf7+ Kg8
4. R6d7
So far enforced.
Is up with a knight and a pawn.
Double rook in 7th rank will win very fast.
This might continue:
4. … Bh5? (Bc4? Rxc4)
5. Nd6 Be2
6. h3
and the counter mate threat is solved, black out of ideas, game over.
I do not think your answer is correct because Rf1 mate is threatened. Because of this threat and all of the lose ends I only see:
1. Qd1 Qa5
2. Qd5 Qxd5
3. ed Kg8
4. Re6 h6
5. Ng6 Bg4
6. Nxf8 and wins exchange!
Qd1
Quick link to the full game
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1012011
1.Ng6? hg6 2.Qh3 Kg8 and the queen can not be taken [mate in f1].
1.Qd1
White is a piece up and has to consolidate his position.Black threatens ….. Qxc1+ followed by … Rf1#.Also white’s R on e6 is under attack.I am satisfied with 1Qd1 which thwarts the threat as well as protects R but Alekhine is Alekhine and he may be having some profound move to accelerate attack.
I am clueless.
Black threatens Qc1# and Rf1#. Normally, with black threatening mate, white has to keep giving checks.
However, I cannot see anyway of making Qg8 or Ng6 or Nf7 work.
Therefore, started wondering if bringing additional forces will help prevent a back-rank mate.
Of the 2 possibilities, Rd1 loses the Knight.
Therefore, I am thinking of
1. Qd1
I cannot see anyway for Black to breakthrough after this.
1. … Bxd1
2. Rxc7
Or,
1. … Rf1+
2. Qxf1 Bxf1
3. Rxc7
What do the chess gurus of this forum have to say? Help, please.
1.Qd1 Bxd1
2.Rxc1 Be2
3.Nf3 Bxf3
4.gxf3 Rxf3
5.Rd8 Raxd8
6.Bxd8
– Black resigned 1-0
OR
1.Qd1 Qa5
2.Qxe2 Qxe5
3.Rd5 Qe8
4.Re1 Qc6
5.Qe3 Re8
6.Rc1 Qxd5
7.exd5 Rxe3
8.Bxe3 Re1
9.d6 Rxe3
10.Rc1+ Re8
11.Rxe1#
– White WON 1-0
#High skills of MR KO ( Malaysian)
Looked most of the day at this, trying to find an immediate winner, but have come to the conclusion that there is none.
Best I can find i Qd1, which guards everything and sorta forces the black queen to move since he is behind and rxc7 would be to strong, only trouble is that the queen cant directy protect the bishop on e2, so it has to do something ridicolous looking like go to b8 which runs into the fork on b8. So perhaps Qa5 to pressure the knight, but white will happily take the bishop and consolidate after Qxe5 with Rd5, and thats it I guess, a piece and a pawn up with blacks attack gone…
1. Qd1! forces either exchange of queens or (after 1. …Qa5; 2. Qxe2 Qxe5) minor pieces, neutralizing black’s attack and leaving white a piece up.
Rd8!
With so many people advocating 1Qd1 and no other solution coming forthwith I am reconciled to Alekhine also having played the same.
prof Bhat,
It is is funny, I had the exact same thought when I first looked at the players and the position- it is Alekhine and there must be some devastating attack here. Like a few other commenters, I first looked at moves like Ng6 and Qg8, but, fortunately, those were easy to show were bad which left me nothing but consolidating moves. Once you account for the material advantage white starts with, and the three threats black has, Qd1 was pretty obvious. At first, I was disappointed with this idea, but it isn’t without it’s elegance, either.
Qg8