White to Play
Pete Tamburro
on
Published in Chess Puzzles
If you tried these moves as your first moves, you would only draw: 1.Rf3 Kg6 2.e7 Ra5+; 1.Re3 Kf6 2.e7 Kf7; 1.Kd6 Kf6 2.Rf3+ Kg6 3.e7 Ra6+ because the white king can’t hide from the rook checks. The solution is 1.e7 Kf6 1...Ra5+ 2.Kd6 Ra6+ 3.Kd7 Ra7+ 4.Ke6 Ra6+ 5.Kf7 2.Ra3!! Rc8+ 2...Rb8 3.Kd6 Kf7 4.Rf3+ Kg7 5.Kc7 Ra8 6.Ra3; 2...Re8 3.Kd6 Rxe7 (3...Rb8 4.Rf3+ Kg7 5.Kc7 Ra8 6.Ra3) 4.Rf3+ 3.Kd6 Rb8 4.Rf3+ Kg7 5.Kc6 Rc8+ 6.Kd7 White’s second move was a killer and well worth remembering as a tactic. A queen wins vs. a rook, so all you have to do is queen at the expense of giving up your rook.
Send questions and comments to PTamburro@aol.com.