White to move. How should white proceed?
Source: ChessToday.net
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Tata Steel Tactic
White to move. How should white proceed?
Source: ChessToday.net
1. Kh4
threatening 2. Qg8+ and 3. Qh8# with no defence.
Black has no useful checks with his heavy pieces, even after 1 … g5+ 2. Kh5 and if 2 … g6+ 3. Q:g6#
Kh4 ….leads to safety.
Kh4 leads to safety .
First move plays it self, since it can’t be f4? Qxe3+, then it must be:
1. Kh4!
And immediately black is in trouble, since he has no good direct check, and no way to stop Qg8+ and Qh8#. An escape via g5 is stopped now.
E.g.
1. … g5+
2. Kh5 g6+ (otherwise Qg8#)
3. Qxg6#
1. Kh4 g5+ 2. Kh5 and black is about to be checkmated (for example 2. … Qf6 3. Qg8#).
No… I was too hasty when I looked at the position… after 1. Kh4 there is 1. … Qf6+ for black.
So, the only way to go is 1. f4 Qxe3+ 2. Kh4 g5+ 3. Kxg5 and white wins.
Hi!
I saw this played on Cheessbomb
but you don’t need Houdini to see there are 3 alternatives…
f4 or Qf4 or Kh4.
I found the move actually played (and winning) was ‘anti-intuitive’!
So no substitute for thorough calculation then!
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1.f4 Qxe3+ 2.Kh4
2…Qe1+ 3.Kg5 or 2…g5+ 3.Kxg5 White is winning.
I might oversight something.
They are better.
1.f4 Rg2+!
2.Kxg2 Qe4+ ( 2…Qb2+ 3.Kg3 ) 3.Kg3 Qxe3+ 4.Kh4 Qf2+ 5.Kg5 or 4…g5+ 5.Kxg5 White is winning.
2.Kh4? Qh5+! 3.gxh5 g5#
2.Kf3? Qe4#
Pretty amazing, of the three legal moves, the right one is, to my eye, the least obvious. White can do ok with either Kh4 or Qf4 (win, I don’t know), but I now think black cannot avoid the mate if white just plays f4 here:
1. f4 Qe3
The only real alternative I see here is to try for a perpetual by sacrificing at g2 and checking from e4, but the white king seems safe for one move by playing first to h2, then to g3 after the check from c2, at which time white can proceed with the mate. Continuing:
2. Kh4
And now what for black? If black checks from e1 or f2, white plays safely to g5 giving two mating lines for white (starting Qg8 or Qxg6), and if black checks with g5, white just takes the pawn safely. All I see are sacrificial delays- eventually white should mate black.
1. f4 Qxe3+ 2. Kh4 Rh2 (2. .. Qe4 3. Qg8+ Kh6 4. g5#) (2. .. Qe1+ 3. Kg5)
(2. .. Qf2+ 3. Kg5) (2. .. Qe1+ 3. Kg5) 3. Kg5 Qxh3 (3. .. Qe4 4. Qg8#) 4.
Qxg6#
I messed up! Yes, if 1. Kh4 then 1 … Qf6+ (thank you, @Oleg), but 1. f4 does the trick.