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White to Play

Pete Tamburro on

Published in Chess Puzzles

You just know by now that the little inconspicuous pawn on b6 will have some role in the execution of the solution. There are two key lines here: one long and one short, both ending in mate. Here’s hoping you take a look at the long line, too.


Solution:

The key is to see the mating possibility once the king is drawn to b8 and the back rank becomes deadly for Black. The shorter solution is in bold because it’s easy to visualize. You can see the importance of seeing the possibility of giving up all sorts of material to get a mate. The variation beginning with 1…Kd7 is a most unusual king hunt, and it is recommended that you take a look at it. It is quite curious!

1.Rxb8+ Kxb8 [1...Kd7 2.Rxb7+ Kc8 3.Rc7+ Kb8 4.Rxc6 (4.Qxe5 Qxg2#) 4...Kb7 5.Rc7+ Kb8 6.Ra1 Qg5 7.g4 Rxh2 8.Ra8+ Kxa8 9.Ra7+ Kb8 10.Bd6+ Kc8 11.b7+ Kd7 12.b8Q+ Ke6 13.Qg8+ Kxd6 14.Qd8+ Kc6 15.Qd7+ Kb6 16.Qb7#] 2.Qxe5+ fxe5 3.Rf8+ Qe8 4.Rxe8+ Rd8 5.Rxd8#

 

Send questions and comments to PTamburro@aol.com.


 

 

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