This question arose in the game Pilnik-Olafsson, Reykjavik, 1956. Black has several checks and an easy draw. Should 1…Qf4+ be the check he chooses to try for a win? If yes or no, what will happen after that?

Solution:

If you have learned from the previous two puzzles, then this was easy. If not, then go back and look at the other two again. Black did check on f4—and lost! He thought he would win because of: 1...Qf4+ 2.Qxf4+ Kxf4 3.h6 e3 4.h7 e2 5.h8=Q e1=Q+ 6.Kh5 Qh1+ and wins the White queen, but he found out that it was his promoted queen that would be lost by the unexpected king move: 3.Kh3!! Kf3 4.h6 e3 5.h7 e2 6.h8=Q e1=Q 7.Qf8+ Ke3 8.Qe7+ Kd2 9.Qxe1+ Kxe1 10.b4 with an easy win for White.

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