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White to Play and Win

Pete Tamburro on

Published in Chess Puzzles

Welcome to "Living Dangerously" week! Each of our positions this week have our designated winner on the brink of disaster. Of course, our hero snatches victory from defeat. Your task will be to find out how. Take today's position. Black is threatening to mate with 1...Rh1+ 2.Kxh1 Qb1+ 3.Kh2 Qg1#


Solution:

The position is from Kresmer-Laue, Eisencah, 1951. White played the brilliant 1.Qc5 !! which interferes with Bg1+ threats and threatens mate starting with 2.Qf8+ 1...Re8 [1...Bxc5 2.Rd8+ Qg8 3.Rxg8#; 1...gxf6 2.Qf8+ Qg8 3.Qxf6+ Qg7 4.Qxg7#; 1...Rh1+ 2.Kxh1 Qb1+ 3.Kh2 Qg1+ 4.Kxg1 Bxc5+ 5.Kf1 gxf6 6.Rf7] 2.Rxg7 Kxg7 [2...Qxg7 3.Qxh5+ Qh7 4.Qxh7#] 3.Nxe8+ Kg8 4.Qxb6 Qc2 5.Qe6+ Kf8 6.Nd6 Kg7 7.Nf5+ Kh7 8.Qf7+ Kh8 9.Qg7# Neither of the following tries works:

1.Qxf4 Rh1+ 2.Kg3 [2.Kxh1 Qb1+ 3.Kh2 Qg1+ 4.Kg3 Bf2#] 2...Qg6+ 3.Ng4 Rf1 4.Rd6 Bf2+ 5.Kh2 Rh1+ 6.Kxh1 Qb1+ 7.Kh2 Qg1#

or 1.h4 Rh1+ 2.Kxh1 Qb1+ 3.Kh2 Qg1+ 4.Kh3 Qh1# or 1.Re8+ Bxe8

 

All in all, quite a display of mates!

Send questions and comments to PTamburro@aol.com.


 

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