Test your chess: daily chess puzzle

White to play and win

A Grischuk v S Karjakin FIDE Grand Prix, Baku 2014

Solution

A really tough puzzle. I would never have considered the winning move had it been a game, and knowing it is a puzzle, it still took me a good while to solve.

1 Bf8!! threatens 2 Nh6 mate.

Black has many defences.

1…Nf8 is natural, but 2 Nh6+Kg7[] 3 Rdf1 (bringing more pieces to the party, or, to use one of Jacob Aagaard's phrases, Revolution followed by Evolution). If say 3…Rc7 4 Rf8 Qf8 5 Qg5 mate.

1…h5 was what took me longest to crack, 2 Nh6+ Kh7 3 Nf7!.

Again, black has several choices, a sensible one being 3…Qf8 but it loses to 4 Rh5+ Kg6 5 Nh8+ and if 5….Kh5 6 g4+ Kh4[] 7 Ng6 mate.

I wonder how much Alexander saw? To me, there are two many variations to fathom, and whilst I could see many lines, I couldn't see all. On the off chance that I were to see 1 Bf8 in a game, I would only play it if I couldn't see anything safer, or if I was feeling sufficiently confident or reckless to give it a go.

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