Test your chess: daily chess puzzle

White to play and win

Y Solodovnichenko v V Petkov, Padua 2013

Solution

This is another stinker from Malcolm Pein's Daily Telegraph column. It wasn't given as a puzzle, Malcolm just gave the game score (a fantastic Nf5!! sac in the open Sicilian). Had he set it as a puzzle, I wouldn't have solved it in a month of Sundays.

Once seen, it is 'obvious', just like so many impossible to find moves: 1 Be6!! exploits the fact that the black Q is LPDO and the Nc5 pinned. If 1…Kg7 2 g5!! crashes through, and if 1….fe (as played) 2 Qf6+ Kg8 (else the LPDO Rh8 drops off) 3 Rd7! Nd7 4 Qg6+ Kf8 5 fe 1-0

A final thought: in the initial position, there are three black pieces which are LPDOs; the two rooks and queen; and the N is tied to the B, and the N pinned to the Q: enough for any Purdy player.

Posted with Blogsy