It’s Your Move: daily chess puzzle # 127

White to play and win

White steers the game into a won ending, is the rubric in Teschner's book.

Smyslov v Donner, Havana 1965

Solution

I flunked this one, spending a lot of time on 1 Qc8 Rc8[] 2 Rc8+ Nf8 (best) 3 Bb7 trying to convince myself that White is winning.

Against orthodox play, White can easily be better. 3…Rd6 is sensible, when 4 Kg2 breaks the pin because it threatens Nc6 hitting the Qa5, with Rd6-d1 not being check.

But Stockfish tells me 4….Bg5 is equal.

Instead, the version of Stockfish on my iPhone prefers 1 Qc7! Qc7 2 Rc7. If then 2…Bd6, 3 Rc8! Rc8[] 4 Bb7 is surprisingly strong,

White is indeed winning after 1 Qc7.

But Stockfish on my iPad, and Smyslov in the game, played better still. 1 Qa5! Ra5[] 2 Rc8!! Rc8[] 3 Bb7

in the game, Donner resigned here. Some thought shows that the secondary threat of Nc6, hitting the LPDOs on a5 and e7, is crushing.

Instructive.

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