Daily chess puzzle: Check Mate #226

Another puzzle from Dragoslav Andric’s 1981 book “Matni Udar”.

Black to play and mate White

Bakulin v Chistiakov, Moscow 1959

Solution

This one took me a while to see: I intuitively knew that there must be some way to get through to the White King, trying the usual suspects such as 1..Nf3+ 1…Ng4+ 1…Rg3 1…Qh1+, all to no avail, before seeing 1…Qf1!

Once seen, it is “obvious”.

2 Nf1 Rg2+ 3 Kh1[] Rf2+ 4 Kg1[] Rg2+ 5 Kh1[] Rc2+ 6 Kg1[] Nf3+ 7 Kh1[] Ng5+ 8 Kg1[] Nh3 mate.

FEN

6rk/7p/Q2R1p2/1p2n3/4b3/1P4NP/P1P2PPK/2q5 b – – 0 1