Daily chess puzzle: Check Mate #340

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

White to play and mate Black

Mista v Navarovski, Reggio Emilia 1968

Solution

A good puzzle today: at the limit of my horizon.

1Ra4! is “obviously” the move, and after 1…Ba4[] 2 Rf7+! is the natural follow up, forcing 2…Kh8!, else there is a discovered check winning the Queen, or a mate.

But what then?

Eventually I found 3 Rh7+! Kh7[] 4 Qe6, which alas is only equal, but missed the far better 4 g6+! to force the Black King to move to the mined square g7, on which Ne6+ then forks the Queen: 1-0.

Very nice.

FEN

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