Test your chess: Reitstein problem 141

White to play and win

J Glyn v B Kerr 1977

Solution

This stumped me for a while: 1 b8(Q) Nb8[] 2 c7 is a double attack (b8 and c8) but while the pawn promotes, black's knight can fork: 2…Nd7 3 c8(Q) Nb6+ 0-1; and 3 Kc6 Ne5+ 4 Kb7 (4 Kb6 Nc4+ and 5…Nd6) Nc4! and if 5 c8(Q) Nd6+ forks again.

It took me quite a few false starts, such as 1 c7?, 1 Kc4?, 1 b8(Q) again and again, before seeing that it was a 'simple' matter of losing a move: 1 Ke5! and now the N doesn't check: so, e.g., 1…h5 2 c7! promotes.

Very nice.

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