2rq1rk1/pn2bppp/1p2p3/4N3/8/1P2P1P1/PB3P1P/R2Q1RK1 w – – 0 0
White to move. This is from a real bullet game. Can you find the winning combination for White?
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Saturday chess tactic
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Nd7 followed by Qg4
Way too difficult.
This is tough, and I still have doubts I have found the right line. The very first thing that catches my eye is to put the queen on g4 and use the threat to clear the a1/h8 diagonal by moving the knight. So, let’s look at 1.Qg4:
1. Qg4
Threatens a move like Nc6 with double threats against the black queen and mate with Qg7. However, I really can’t see a good counter to the most obvious defensive move:
1. …..f5
Here, black should be able to defend with Bf6, too, but white might retain some initiative with a move like Rfd1 or Rad1. I simply didn’t look that deep at those lines. Continuing:
2. Qe2
To keep black’s queen out of d2. Continuing:
2. …..Nc5
And after this, I really just see this as equal, and I looked at it for a long time.
So, if white is going to make use of this potential attack on g7, he must probably move the knight first, but there are no active captures in which black can’t just exchange the queens first. This fact lead me to investigate the odd looking move of 1.Nd7 which clears the diagonal, attacks the rook at f8, and keeps black from exchanging queens:
1. Nd7 Re8 (or concede exchange)
2. Qg4 g6
I will consider the alternative at the end, but they all look worse to me than this most obvious defensive move:
3. Rfd1
This rather than Rad1 since, if black plays Qc7, white will be able to play a rook to c1 while keeping one on d1. The hamhanded Qh3, threatening Qh6-Qg7 is too slow, black just captures at d7 and defends g7 later. Continuing:
3. …..Qc7
Black can’t defend with f5 or h5 since white puts the queen on d4, and black will lose a piece to stop the mate since the knight at b7 is unprotected: [3. …h5? 4.Qd4 f6 5.Qe4! Kf7 6.Qb7+-]. Also, I don’t see black has any counterplay with a move like 3. …Rc2: [3. …Rc2 4.Nf6 Bf6 5.Rd8 and white is up a queen for a rook and knight]. Continuing:
4. Rac1
I sort of just stumbled into this. I really didn’t notice that black queen is in a tight spot until I got this position onto the board. To save the queen, black must now give up the knight, though that is most likely not the best course:
4. …..Nc5
5. b4 Qd7
I looked at everything here, I think. Black seems to do best to just give up the queen for a rook and knight. If he just concedes the knight, he is down more material and white retains a powerful attack as well. In what seems to me to be a fairly forced line, white can tie black up a bit before advancing the pawns:
6. Rd7 Nd7
7. Rc8 Rc8
8. Qe4 Rc7
9. Qa8 Nf8
10.Be5 Rd7
11.a3 Bd8 (what else here?)
And now white might start the advance of the kingside pawns along with the king for the final onslaught. I think white’s advantage is clearly decisive, but still not trivial from this point.
So, in this line above, the biggest loose threads are back at move 2 for black, and of those, I think the only two relevant lines are Bg5 and g5:
2. …..Bg5
3. Rfd1 f5
Or [3. …Qe7 4.h4 Bh6 5.Nf6 Kh8 6.Ne8 should win]; or, more complicated [3. …h5 4.Qh5 Qe7 5.h4 Bh6 6.Bf6! Qa3 7.g4! Qa5 8.g5! Qf5 9.e4! Qg6 10.Qg6! fg6 11.gh6! wins a piece outright, I hope]. Continuing:
4. Qf3
I looked a long time here, and this is the best I see for white. Continuing:
4. …..Qc7
Black might do better with Rc7, but white just checks from f6 with the knight to win the queen for rook and knight. Continuing:
5. Rac1 Nc5 (we saw sim. pos. abov)
6. Qh5
Here, b4 won’t work as seen above because black can put the queen on b7 attacking the undefended queen on f3. Continuing:
6. …..Be7 (keeps B in game)
7. b4! and again, black loses a piece or gives up the queen at d7 for a rook and knight.
Finally, at move 2:
2. …..g5
3. Rfd1 Qc7?
4. Bf6! h6 (Bf6 5.Nf6 Kh8 6.Qh5+-)
5. Qh5! Bf6 (what else?)
6. Nf6 Kg7 (Only move really)
7. Rd7! Qd7 (anything better?)
8. Nd7 and white has a queen for a rook.
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Qg4
What about:
1. Nd7
and unless white wants to give up a quality, it goes:
1. … Re8
2. Qg4 f5 (only)
3. Rfc1! Qc7 (what else)
4. Bxf5! Bxf5
5. Nxf5+ Kh8
6. Nxe8
up with a quality.
I’m not sure I found best play for either side in this line, but at least the basic idea looks interesting…