Test your chess: daily chess puzzle # 108
White to play and win
J Tsalicolgou v B Kerr 1977
Solution
I messed this up. Reitstein's clue asked his readers to find the coup de grace, and I took this as a mating net, and was pleased with myself to find 1 Rg6 Rb7 (threatening 2…Rg7) 2 Kf6 (preventing the same) Bb5 3 Nf7 threatening both 4 Rg7 mate and 4 Rh6 mate. But what did I miss?
Alas, Stockfish immediately showed 4…Rf7+! 5 Kf7 Be8+ and black wins: if 6 Ke6 Bg6 7 Kd5 f4 and a pawn queens.
Alas. 1 Rg6 is fine, and after 1..Rb7 2 Re6 is a trivial win. This line is one of Stockfish's favourites. It also likes 1 Re6 with the same idea, of taking on e6, and if 1…Rb6, 2 Kf6 since the rook is now tied to defending the Pe6: white can follow up with Nf7 and Rh8 mate. Stockfish also likes 1 Ra8, the idea being the same forced passivity of black's rook if he plays 1…Rb6, or the blocking of b7, if black plays 1…Bb7, met by either Rf8 or Re8.
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