Daily Chess Puzzle #125
White to play and win
W Kobese v R Banai 1996
Solution
At first, I looked at the wrong move order: 1 e6, to disconnect black's queen from the kingside, followed up by 2 Bh6, but it gives black one more option (of 2…ef) compared with the better 1 Bh6!.
After 1 Bh6!, the win is trivial: 1…Bh6 2 e6! and the bishop falls (2…Kg7 3 Qg4+) after which white has too many pieces in the attack, with the Ra1 easily activated to boot, compared with all black's pieces being off side.
For completeness, my engine says that 1 e6 also wins, at +5, but it is far harder to calculate. 1…fe 2 Bh6 ef
and the engine can see that Bg7+ Rg5+ is 1-0, but for a human work would be necessary to comvince oneself of it: 1 Bh6 is far easier to see through to a conclusion.
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