Test your chess: daily chess puzzle # 27

Black to play and win

E Holloway v G Somerville 1995

Solution

An exercise in calculation, clearly aimed at 'how to break through' with g2 and the d5-h1 diagonal being key.

I often find this type of positon, with lots of pieces in play, hard, getting caught in the fog. Here, one point to watch out for is on some lines Nh2 Bh2 results in the Queen and King being skewered.

The current positon is not too hard: a nice exercise. First, checking on f2 (examine all biffs) with Nef2+! being clearly preferable because it forces 2 Rf2 (2 Bf2 Qh2 mate); and then 2…Nf2+ 3 Bf2. Black has improved his rooks and his bishop for trivial material loss.

Then, it is not hard to see that 3…Rg2 is ruinous: it threatens mate on h2, opens the diagonal, and removes the protection of the Bf3.

If 4 Bg3 R8g3 5 hg Qg3 mates on h2 or g2.

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