It’s Your Move: daily chess puzzle # 8

White to play and win

The initial move is fairly obvious, the precise follow up being impossible, at least for me: Spassky shows his class. This is a tough puzzle, worth trying to see how much you can see, especially since black has several defences.

Spassky v Darga, Varna Olympiad 1962

Solution

1 Ne6! fe 2 Qa4+ Ke7

3 Qg4! (a move I failed to see- I played Rd7/Rf7 and tried to pick up the LPDO Bc5). I would not have the guts to trust that such a position was winning, and so would be scared of sacrificing the Ne6: except in a blitz game. I suspect, though, that stronger players 'feel' that's white's development advantage counts. Studying such unbalanced positions would I suspect pay dividends (note to myself: go study)

Or, if 2…Qb5, 3 Qg4!

Then 3…Qc6 4 Qg7 Rf8 5 Qh7 and it seems (so say the engines) that white's attack is winning.

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