rnb1k2r/pp3pb1/4p1p1/2p4p/2BP4/q3PN1P/P2N1PP1/R2Q1RK1 w kq – 0 1
White to move. Black is up a pawn but behind in development. How should White proceed? No computer please 🙂
Level of difficulty: 3 out of 4
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Practical real game tactic
nice queen trap, white wins the queen for a rook.
I think Black’s queen is misplaced.
1. Bb5+ (making room for the knight)
1. … Bd7
2. Nc4
And now
2. … Qc3
3. Rc1 Qb4
4. Rb1 with Rb3 following
(2. … Qb4 3. Rb1 Qc3 4. Rb3 is the same)
jcheyne
Dear J Cheyne,
That’s one approach, but it looks to me like you’ll end up trading Rook and Bishop to get Queen.
If instead of 1 Bb5+ you played,
1 Nb3 , the Black Queen can’t move without being lost for just one piece. And if you followed with
2 Nf3-d2 and
3 Nb1 then it seems to me that the Q is kaput.
But maybe I’m missing some brilliant move by Black?
Mark
Give the tactics to Carlsen and Almasi. Just see the last few moves of their game in european team 2007 played now to see how badly they both play chess.
1 Nb3 doesn’t work, because the black Q can escape via b4 and b6
Secondly, after 1 Bb5+ black can only obtain a R for the Q, not R + B.
1 Bb5+ Bd7
2 Nc4 Qc3
3 Rc1 Qxc1
4 Qxc1 Bxb5
and it looks like R + B for Q, but there follows…
5 Nd6+ K moves
6 Nxb5
and it’s just a R for the Q
I’d like to give an alternate line to Chris Falter’s line, in which also Black can get only a rook for the queen.
1. Bb5+ Bd7
2. Nc4 Qc3
3. Rc1 Qxc1
4. Bxd7+ Nxd7(or Kxd7)
5. Qxc1
Nice trick. I guess the theory to remember here is.. dont wander too much with the queen in the early stages of the game. And also, dont get your queen out unless you have all the other pieces out.
susan, these boards are really a pain for my eyes, i have to squint all the time.