Black is Ivanchuk and White is Shirov (from Foros). It is Black to move. How should Black proceed?
3r2k1/pp3p2/b1p2qp1/4n2p/PP2PN1P/2Q2PP1/4NK2/2R5 b – – 0 32
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
World Class Chess Tactic
About Author
1. … Rd3 seems promising.
Rd5, I think. (Cheers, Luciano Pavez)
Rd3..
Rd3…
1.Rd3!! busts White in all variations.
1. – Rd3
2. Qb2 Ng4+
3. fxg4 Qxb2
4. Nxd3 Bxd3
5. Re1 hxg4
6. Ke3 Bxe4
7. Rd1 Bf3
and white has nothing to play for.
1. – Rd3
2. Qc2 Rxf3+
3. Kg2 Bxe2
4. Qxe2 g5
5. Nh3 gxh4
6. gxh4 Qxh4
and mate around the corner else black will be up a Q and several pawns vs R with a easy win
1. – Rd3
2. Qa1 Rxf3+
3. Kg2 Bxe2
4. Nxe2 Rf2+
5. Kg1 Qf3
and mate in 2 more moves!
Note that 1…Bxe2 is countered by 2.Kxe2 and black’s attack fizzles out!
Harry
I would play Rd3 almost without thinking about it, though, one must think it through after that. Attacks the f3 pawn doubly, and if white takes with the knight, the f3 pawn is still under double attack.
1. ……Rd3
2. Nd3 Qf3
3. Ke1
Or [3.Kg1 Bd3 4.Qe5 Qe3! 5.Kh2 Qe2 6.Kh3 Be4 7.Qe8 Kg7! 8.Qe5 Kh7! and white must give up the queen for the bishop just to prevent mate]. Continuing:
3. ……Bd3
4. Rc2 Qe4
5. Kd1 Bc2
6. Qc2 Qb4 with a decisive material edge and still pressure on the king.
Now, at move 2, white doesn’t have to take the rook, but white’s attack is still powerful:
1. ……Rd3
2. Qe1 Rf3
3. Kg2!
And now black has a decision to make that isn’t immediately obvious to me what is best (though many look winning to me). He has options to attack the weak pawns at either b4 or e4 with the rook, or attack the e4 pawn with the bishop (from d3). I would have to think about this for a while to determine which is actually best.
Tough one for me. I agree with others that 1… Rd3 looks promising and I think I would venture to play it over-the-board but I don’t feel I have it figured out at all in either the variation where White accepts the sac with 2.Nxd3 or where he declines with 2.Qe1 or 2. Qc2 (although Black must be better here since now he’s winning the f3 pawn “for free”)
– Craigaroo
Rd3. Not super obvious, but not that hard either. Not a “world class chess tactic” by any stretch.