Test your chess: Reitstein problem 237

Black to play and win

E de Schrijver v LR Reitstein, correspondence 1968

Solution

I got this one wrong, in the sense that I found a good move, but didn't look for (and wouldn't have seen) a better one.

I played 1…Nf2! 2 Bf2 Rf2! 3 Rf2 Rf8 when white's best is 4 Kh1! Rf2 reaching this position.

Black is a pawn up, and his pieces are better too: he is winning, but it is not over.

The solution played in the game was 1…g5! the idea being to open the h file by doubling white's pawns. Then h1 is no shelter for the king. 2 Bg3 Ng3 3 hg[] Rf2 4 Rf2 Bf2+! 5 Kf2 Qe3+

6 Kf1[] Rf8+ etc, 0-1.

Nice: perhaps shows the difference between correspondence and OTB, since g5! carries some 'risk', or at least requires more confident calculation.

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