Cordingley puzzle 70

Black to play and win

Solution

A nice, not too difficult, puzzle. Once you realise that the Nd5 is pinned, then the only practical check is 1…Rf2+, and after 2 Kf2 Qg3+ there is a moment to think. If the king goes for e1 (eg 3 Ke2) then black plays 3…Qf3+, and after either 4 Kd2 or 4 Ke1, 4…Ba5+ is game over. So instead, white must move to the king side, so a few checks, capture on e3, move the queen back to f3, so that it protects the Nd5 after …e3.

Then it is over. One nice line is Qf1 e2! 'sacrificing' the queen, but only temporarily: the pawn promotes, and then Ne3+ is game over.

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