White to move. How should white proceed?
Source: ChessToday.net
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Real game chess tactic
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White to move. How should white proceed?
Source: ChessToday.net
The eye should definitely fall on a sacrifice at g7 or h6 in this position, even if it is wrong (in this case, it isn’t a mistake). The sacrifice at g7 is not really good since the black king takes at g7 allowing a rook to come to h8 if necessary. So, sacrificing at h6 can be done with either the knight or the bishop. I favor using the bishop since the knight keeps the black queen guarding the bishop at e7. Let’s see where this leaves us:
1. Bh6 gh6?
2. Qh5
The point of the sacrifice. The only piece that can guard h6 is the queen who already is tied to defending the bishop at e7. In fact, I don’t even see how black can prevent the mate without immediately returning the piece:
2. …..Bg5 (to clear the 7th rank)
3. hg5 Kg8
4. Qh6 f6 (the point of Bg5)
5. ef6 and there is no point in taking this further- white has to have a mate in here somewhere, or black will have to give up massive material to prevent it.
So, at move 1, what was black’s best defense? All I can really see is to give up the exchange and play g6 to drive off the knight and/or keep the white queen out of h5:
1. Bh6 g6
2. Bf8
The right sequence, I think, since the knight protects the bishop when it is on h6. Continuing:
2. …..Rf8
3. Ne7
Anything better? Continuing:
3. …..Qe7
And white is up an exchange and a pawn, which should be decisive.
Bxh6. now if ..gxh6 Qh5 and mate to follow. If ..g6 then Bxf8.
Bh6 followed by Qh5
Bh6 followed by Qh5
My very first idea was the double sacrifice in g7 and h6 (I wanted to be flashy)
1.Nxg7 Kxg7
2.Bxh6+ Kxh6
but while the king is bare in the h file, black holds too good the center to let any attacking white pieces come near their monarch.
I tried then Nxg7, Nxh6 or Bxh6 alone, but, without moving pieces, it was hard for me.
But am I a chessplayer or a woodshifter moving pieces hoping to win haphazardly?
So (but not Wesley), I asked myself this question: if I had to keep one minor piece on the kingside between the Bishop and the Knight, what is the rule of thumb?
In connection with the queen, the answer is immediate: the knight, of course. The couple Queen and Knight is statistically the best in middlegame for close range actions
(for more informations, I know there is a book talking specifically about this topic: “Bishop versus Knight, the verdict”, Steve Mayer, Batsford 1997)
And immediately, i focused again but with more stubbornness on Bxh6, which leaved the Knight alive.
I realized I can obtain a tremenduous attack by 1.Bxh6 gxh6
2.Qh5 (standard attacking move of great force here, hitting once more h6 and threatens mate in two: 3.Qxh6+ Kg8 4.Qg7#)
2…Bg5 3.hxg5 regains the Bishop and the attack continues with a pawn plus. If 3…Qc6, 4.e6
2… Qc6 protects h6. Of course, White can net the bishop by 3. Nxe7 gaining a tempo and conserving initiative but pawn d3 is weak and White must work to convert his slight edge into clear win
There is nevertheless a move which is far more aggressive: 3.e6! which cuts the board in two and threatens again Qxh6+
3…Bf6 4.Qxh6+ Kg8 5.Qxf6 and checkmate is unavoidable
3…Bg5 4.hxg5 transposes to 2…Bg5. Again, the attack is crushing.
Of course, 1…g6 is relatively best, attacking the protection of the bishop on h6, but after 2.Bxf8, the pawn and exchange plus, the e-file and other positional considerations (excentred black knights, two pawn islands versus three, slight space plus and opposing bishops in the middlegame encouraging the attacking side) can ensure White a win, although not as immediate and bombastic as the acceptation of the sacrifice.
I saw it in 10-15 minutes. But a GM sees it in 10 seconds, and two moves before if the last black move is in the spirit of a foreseeable plan.
Even if I solved this puzzle, I have still much more progress to make to master easy tactics like this, which is spectacular for social players, difficult for average club players, humdrum for above 2000 ELO players, boring for international masters and a very minor pattern for top GMs.
(as an endnote, which thrilled me in this combination is not 1.Bxh6 but 3.e6, a modest but indispensable move)
1. Bxh6 gxh6
2. Qh5 Qc6
3. e6 and black can’t stop
4. Qxh6+
5. Qg7# for long
Mark
PS: 3 Nxe7, which gets the bishop back and threatens to trap the queen if she stays on the 6th rank is also interesting but doesn’t lead to a quick mate.
Nothing to add to what Yancey Ward has posted.