It’s Your Move: daily chess puzzle # 129

White to play and win

Find the win; and find the win against the best defence

Morse v Buschine, corres 1963-6

Solution

Level 1: easy, follow Purdy's ignore threats advice, and 1 Ng5! Ng6? 2 Nf7 mate. Pretty, but not too hard.

Level 2: if 1…Bf5, then 2 Qh5+ mates next move.

To my shame, I thought that was it, and started to write this blog: but Stockfish suggested 1…Qf5!

White to play and win 1….Qf5

Prosaic is 2 Qf5 Bf5[] 3 Re5 gf[] 4 Rf5 fg[] 5 Rg5 and White wins easily, but White has far better, with the classy 2 Qe8+!! Re8[] 3 Nf7+! Nf7[] 4 Re8 mate.

Full marks if you saw this line from the initial position.

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