It’s Your Move: daily chess puzzle #253

Black to play and win

Almgren v Burger, California 1969

Solution

Quite difficult, since the pieces are spread out and placed unusually. In Teschner’s book, we are told the strange fact that Black mistakenly touched his Rg8: so, the move has to be a rook move. I think this is to show that there is something better than 1…f1(Q) and so, confined to rook moves, it is not to hard to try 1…Rg3 – if only for the prophylactic reason that it prevents 2 Be3.

If White checks (2 Rc7+) it isn’t too hard to see that Black can shuffle away- Ke8=Ke7-Kf6.

Black has a nice threat. If say some pass move like 2 a4 then 2…Bg2+!! 3 Ng2[] Rh3 mate.

I have created a game file with some more lines here.