Test your chess: daily chess puzzle # 22

White to play and win

A special problem today, worth giving it time, and setting it up on board and pieces. I didn't (though I did spend a lot of time on it, in my head) and I got part, and not the main part of Reitstein's solution. So null points for me.

See if you can do better. I will be presenting this puzzle as a several part, since there is a lot in it.

K Solomon v K Willenberg 2003

Solution

Reitstein's solution (but, see below, there is better) is 1 Nf7, which I saw, but missed the follow up.

Firstly, 1…Re4 is a spoiler (in the sense of not permitting white to play his main concept) but means white isn't sacrificing anything for his attack: 2 Re4 Kf7 3 Rae1 and white is better.

So 1…Kf7 2 Ng5+ Kg8 (or 2…Ke8) 3 Qf8+!

I missed this move, playing instead 3 Bh3 bringing more pieces to the party, and white is better. But 3 Qf8+ is neater, and after 3…Kf8[] 4 Ne6+ Kf7 5 Nc7 white is better:

Reitstein's rubric doesn't say 'White to play and win', just to end in an improved position, and indeed he has.

However, the engine shows an even better approach. 1 Re3! – so simple, bringing all the pieces to the party- with the rook lift aimed at f7. Once the engine has suggested it, it becomes 'obvious': white just amasses an overwhelming majority of pieces on the king side.

For instance, 1…Nb6 2 Nc3 (defending the Pd5) Re8 3 Rf3 f6 (or f5) we reach the following position.

White to play and win

Solution

4 Nh7! Nh7 5 Qg6+ Kh8 (or the knight drops off) 6 Nb5! and if 6…Rb5, 7 Qe8+ and the LPDO Re8 drops off: everything falls into place.

When I saw this, I couldn't help but smile: the rook lift, so simple, creates a weakness (the f7 pawn moving) which then leads to tactics working. I wonder if Stockfish smiled too?

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