Test your chess: daily chess puzzle # 187

White to play and win

Black has just played Qf5*Pe6

E Van den Hoek v M De Wit 2003

Solution

Rather than the prosaic 1 Re1, when black can struggle on with 1…Qe1+ 2 Ne1 Rh6 with the idea of 3….Bd6, white can instead develop with tempo: 1 Bc4.

Black's queen is tied to the Nd7, so the Bc4 can't be captured, so 1..Qf5 2 Rhe1+ Be7:

When the neatest is 3 Rd7! again using the fact that after 3…Qd7 the king is tied to the Q, so 4 Bf7+! is 1-0.

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