Neverov-Howell

Black to play and win

(Puzzle first seen in Chess, May 2010: the game was played in the European Individual Championships in Rijeka, 2010)

Solution

I found this surprisingly hard, at least whilst dipping into it. At first, I thought 1…Rg5+ was too simple to be the solution, so I looked at 1…Re3, hoping it has a clever point, but couldn't see anything, and 2 Rg2 permits white to seek to set up the second line defence.

So, 1… Rg5+ and white has two moves. 2. Kh7 Kf7 3 Kh6 (forced) Re5-+ and mates; so 2 Kh6 Rg3+ 3 Kh5 Kf5 4 Kh4 Rf3 and the point is finally revealed: black's next move is Bg3+ and Rh3 mate, unless white plays 5 Rh2, in which case 5…Rg8! and it is game over. The same idea, of pushing the king to the h file followed by Rg8 also wins against 4 Re1.

I haven't bothered to check this position with Houdini or another engine: just used Beardsworth 1.0, a 50 year carbon based one. It is quite galling, in a way, that I find such four piece positions every bit as difficult, if not more so, than some middlegame puzzles.

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