Chess Problem #809

 

This one is too easy. I bet Drew gets it. And Wes won’t need Rybka. White’s got three pieces developed to Black’s one. White is also ready to castle, Black isn’t near that. Not certain, haven’t peeked at the answer yet, but I’m almost certain White doesn’t have to castle to win.

1. White draws out the black king with

   1. Nxf7 ...... Kxf7
   2. N-e5+

   Blacks only choice to avoid mate in a couple of moves loses the queen with

   2. ............... K-e6
   3. Q-g4+ .... K-d6
   4. N-f7+ ..... K-c7
   5. Q-e5+ .... K-d7
   6. Nxd8 ...... Kxd8

   At this point, the black king is stuck in the middle of the board, the white queen is right in top of him, he is down 4 points, and it is white to move.  As white, I would next trade my white bishop for the black knight, then grab the pawn, now on d5 with the queen.  This would simplify the position, maintain tempo, and gain a little more material.

   Posted by JW       04/01/2012  at  07:27 PM  



2. Twenty seconds or less to solve this one, I won’t spoil it for anyone else. The eye is immediately drawn to the square and piece that should be attacked.  If no one gets this by late tomorrow I will chime in.  And yes, if I am wrong I will own up to it.

   Posted by Wes       04/01/2012  at  07:27 PM  



3. Twenty seconds? And you didn’t resort to Rybka Wes? 

   And JW, doesn’t look good for Black, does it? Not certain about 3. Qg4+ but it should be good. I think Black is lost. I am certain that Black can’t go back to e8 without an immediate mate. (3. Qh5+) I’ve not peeked yet, but JW may have gotten it.

   Guess I’ll prepare the next problem for tomorrow.

   Meanwhile, I’ve got both seasons of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir from the 60’s to watch. Did you know that Charles Nelson Reilly played the ghost’s great-nephew?

   Posted by Christopher       04/01/2012  at  07:54 PM  



4. Upon further review, better for white after K-e6 is

   3. Bxd5+ ..... Pxd5
   4. Q-g4+ ..... K-d6
   5. N-f7+ ..... K-c7
   6. B-f4+ ..... K-b6

   After which, white wins with

   7. Q-g6+ ..... K-a5
   8. B-d2 ....... K-b5
   9. P-a4++

   If the black king instead goes to b5 first, the result is the same with

   8. P-a4+ ..... K-a5
   9. B-d2++

   Black can instead go with:

   7. ................ N-f6
   8. Nxd8

   After which, white is up 7 and the black king is entirely in the open.  Black is still doomed.

   Posted by JW       04/01/2012  at  09:44 PM  



5. Here is my solution, And I really did see it almost at once. Not through move 6 but the first three and Whites move 4 and I knew it was a winner:

   1. Nxf7 .. Kxf7
   2. Ne5+ .. Ke6
   3. Qg4+ .. Kd6
   4. Nf7+ .. Kc7
   5. Qg3+ Qd6
   6. Nxd6 and White Wins

   There are more complicated ways of doing this but really why bother?  And no need for Rybka, as a mater of fact Rybka says:

   1. Nxf7 Kxf7
   2. Ne5+ Ke6
   3. Bb3 ... Is the best line, and if you can play tactically like Rykba it is!  I try to simplify as soon as possible.  Looking at these problems and running the other lines is really interesting. There are many ways of winning this game after the first move of:

   1. Nxf7 ..

   Posted by Wes       04/02/2012  at  07:18 PM  

Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.