Cordingley puzzle 176 #chess

White to play and win

Solution

I found this a thoroughly enjoyable one. It didn't take me that long, but it involved putting a few disparate thoughts together:

Only one LPDO, the Bb7;

The king is in a net, with clearly Bh7+ being a possibility, so the Nf6 is tied;

The Re1 and Ng5 are both well placed; in particular, the N threatens f7

The weakest piece for white is either the Qc2, or the Bf4.

Looking at all possible smites made me think of Bd6 hitting the queen. It doesn't work initially, but if first 1 Bh7+ Kh8 then 2 Bd6!! is game over: the Queen is tied in f7, and the Bh7 and Re1 prevent its only moves.

Very pleasing.

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