White to move. How should white proceed?
Source: ChessToday.net
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Very clever chess tactic
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White to move. How should white proceed?
Source: ChessToday.net
1. Rxa5, Rxa5; 2.Nxe7+, Rxe7; 3. Qd8+, Re8; 4. Qxa5
1. Rxa5, Rxa5
2. Nxe7+, Rxe7
3. Qd8+ and take the rook on a5 wins a piece.
Quite a nice tactic, but I am not whether I am correct or not.
1. Rxa5 Rxa5
2. Nxe7+ Rxe7 obviously
3. Qd8+ Re8
4. Qxa5, and white is up a knight
This one was difficult for me to spot immediately since I was way too focused on busting open the black king’s fortress by sacrificing at h6. After running through a lot of ideas and variations in my head, in one of them I did take at e7 with the knight, it was only then that I noticed how weak the back rank might be if the rooks could be forced off one by one. Once I saw this, I backtracked and found, quite by accident (and I almost still overlooked the attack on the rook at a5), the triple attack at move 3 below:
1. Ra5! Ra5 (or concede knight)
2. Ne7 Re7 (or lose queen)
3. Qd8!
Attacking the king and both unprotected rooks which will leave white up a piece. Of course, white can play the transposition of 1.Ne7 followed by 2.Ra5. If there is a real difference in those two lines, I am not seeing it right now.
1.Rxa5 Rx15 2.Nxe7 Rxe7 3.Qd8+ … 4.Qxa5
How about 1. Rxa5? if 1…Rxa5 2. Nxe7+ Rxe7 3. Qd8+ Qe8 4. Qxa5
Must win something…
1. Nxe7+, Rxe7
2. Rxa5, Rxa5
3. Qd8+, …
followed by 4. Qxa5
What immediately occurs to me is that the knight on a5 seems to be en prix, since 1. Rxa5 Rxa5 2. Nxe7+ Rxe7 Qd8+ forks the king and the black’s a5 rook, thus winning an officer. I think this is also the better move order.
1.Rxa5 Rxa5 2.Nxe7+ Rxe7 3.Qd8+. the end 🙂
1 Rxa5, Rxa5 2. Nxe7 Rxe7 3 Qd8+
White picks up a piece with 1. Rxa5 Rxa5 2. Nxe7+ Rxe7 3. Qd8+ Re8 4. Qxa5 Ra8 5. Qb4.