It’s Your Move: daily chess puzzle #284

Evaluate 1 Rd1 Ba4

Calvo- Csom, Siegen 1970

Solution

Visually hard, with all the opposing pieces, but once focussed, not too hard to see 2 Bb5! and White wins.

In the game, I am sure there was a time scramble, because after (2 Bb5) 2..Bb5 3 Rd7 Bd7, White played the ridiculous 4 Rd2 (actually, 39Rd2) rather than the obvious 4 ba.

Perhaps though the Megabase game position is wrong, though what is odd is that there was logic in how the R got to a5 (it biffed an unprotected N on c5, White later played Pc3*b4) whilst Teschner’s book has the R on a3 in its problem position.

Most odd.