Cordingley puzzle 181 #chess

Black to play and win

Solution

Before I checked with Houdini, I thought that I messed this one up. Yes, I found a nice way to win, 1…Rf3!, when 2 gf Nf3 is carnage, if he wanted, white could struggle on with 2 Ng3 and it is messy, though 2…Rb3 keeps everything under control. Far simpler, if you can see it (and I couldn't) is 1…Be4! 2 gf Nf3!!, the point of which I failed to see at first, but is 3 gf Rd2 mating. However, Houdini actually prefers 1…Rf3 (-16) to 1…Be4 (-12) although of course both assessments are so high so that the comparison is meaningless: it suggests white can grovel on by 2 Qa7 after 1…Be4.

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