White to move. How should white proceed?
3q4/8/r1b4Q/1pP2kp1/3p4/8/p6P/4R1K1 w – – 0 1
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White to move. How should white proceed?
3q4/8/r1b4Q/1pP2kp1/3p4/8/p6P/4R1K1 w – – 0 1
Interesting position. I stumbled into the solution:
1. Qe6 Kf4 (only legal move)
2. Rf1?
This seemed obvious, but it only draws at best. Continuing:
2. …..Bf3 (only legal move)
3. Qa6
I tried everything at this point, and am pretty sure white will lose with any other move. Continuing:
3. …..Qd5
Black might be able to play d3, but I don’t see any real reason to just concede the a-pawn. Continuing:
4. Qd6
I had high hopes for this line when I found it, but black need not take at d6- he can just unpin the bishop protecting the queen by playing Kg4:
4. …..Kg4
Or [4. …Qd6? 5.cd6 a1Q! (forced) 6.Ra1 Bg4! 7.Kf2! Ke5 8.Rg1 Bd7 9.Rg5 Kd6 10.Ke2 and only white can win this, but I am not sure it is a forced win for him- it is very complicated beyond this point.] Continuing from move 4 above:
5. h3
I don’t see any better move here- white cannot win the bishop at f3 with 5.Qg3+ since the rook cannot recapture at f3 without allowing a1Q+. Continuing:
5. …..Kh4
Here, Kh3 is probably ok, but I kind of like having the white h-pawn keeping a rook to be effectively placed at h1 in some of the lines I looked at.
6. Qh6 and this will draw by repetition. I did look at 6.Kf2, but I just don’t see it working after black replies with b4 since the bishop is no longer pinned and can interpose at h5 if white fall back to 7.Qh6+.
The most obvious place to improve this was move 2 for white since Rf1 seemed so obvious that I didn’t even really consider anything else. What is notable about the position is that white actually does have time for a more passive kind of move, and one suggested itself pretty quickly. From the top:
1. Qe6 Kf4
2. h3!
A deadly move. Black has no checks on the white king and white is now threatening Qg4#. Black can try protecting g4 with either the queen or the bishop, but then white can play Qe5+ followed by Rf1#. There is no way to deal with both threats. The only somewhat different attempt is to block the rook cover of the e-file with the bishop, but this is also mate in 2 more:
2. …..Be4
3. Qe4 Kg3
4. Qg4#
qh3
1. Qe6+ Kg4
2. h3 threatening Qg4# or Rf1#
1. Qe6+ Kf4
2. h3 (threatening Qg4#) Bd7
3. Qe5+ Kf3
4. Rf1#
1. Qe6+ Kf4
2. h3 with the idea of 3.Qg4 should mate soon.
Black can try
2….. Qd7 ( or 2…. Bd7)
3. Qe5+ Kf3
4. Rf1#
1 . Qe6+ Kf4
2 . h3! leaves Black Defenseless against threat of either
Qg4 mate or Qe5 if eg
2 …… Qd7 or Qc8 then
3. Qe5+ Kf3
4.Rf1 mate
If 2 …… Bf3
3 .Re5 mate
Qe6Kf4 Qe5Kg4 ifKf3Qf5# Qg3Kh5 or Kf5 Qh3Kf6 or Kg6 Re6 ifKf7 Qf5 ifKg7Qh6