Hi good'evans, I found Be4 but on move 15 (I considered Qh5+ Qh3 first but it seemed to slow). <Playground Player> above said <I started with Be4, too, and then Bxg7 before Qh5+. It netted me a nice little attack that ran out of gas and couldn't deliver checkmate. As Samuel Johnson once said, in regard to something else, "The pleasure is transitory, and the position is ridiculous."> but s/he doesn't give the continuation.

The main difference seems to be that delaying the B-sac until after black has "saved" his R cuts down black's options. The early sac gives black the choice to abandon his R and instead pick up a second white minor with 15.Be4 fxe4 16.Qh5+ g6 17.Qh3 h6, though as you say white is still better, I think.

Sadly, I don't think it quite works - although there's not much in it.

Here's the line played in the game: 15. Qh5+ g6 16. Qh3

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Here Black went wrong with 16...Rg8 and his whole position fell apart. Instead Fritzie defends with 16...h6 when Black gives up his Rh8 for the white knight. Play might go 17. Nxe6 dxe6 18. Bxh8 when white has the advantage of the exchange. Fritzie is currently calling that +1.86.

Instead of this, our line is 15. Be4 fxe4 16. Qh5+ g6

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Now we've got to move our queen out of danger, say with Qg4 or Qh3. We've sacrificed a bishop but there is no way for Black to save his Rh8. The problem is that, as goodevans has said, Black can snaffle a second white minor with either 17. Qh3 h6 or 17. Qg4 e5 18. Bxe5 Qxc5

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White will get the Rh8 but Black will add a second minor piece to his total. So the game line wins the rook for one minor piece. Our line wins the rook for two minor pieces. Not so good.

Fritzie rates the game continuation as +1.8 and ours as +0.58. So, as you say, the game line is better but ours is also doing okay. I wouldn't quite call it winning.

Well the line I gave above (and below) certainly seems to work, what specific fault do you find with it?:

17. Qh5+ Ke7 18. Qf7+ Kd8 19. Qxg7 Re8

A. [19...e3? 20. Qxh8+ Kc7 21. Qe5+ Kc8 22. f3 e2 23. Rfe1 a5 24. Nf7 Na6 25. Nd6+ Kb8 26. Nb5+ Kc8 27. Qh8#]`

B. [19...d5 20. Qxh8+ Kc7 21. Qe5+ Kc8 22. Nxe6 Nd7 23. Qh8+ Nf8 24. Qxf8+ Kd7 25. Qf7+ Kc8 26. cxd5 Kb8 27. dxc6 a5 28. Qxb7#

That was a mistake but it's hard to believe you're in good faith because I corrected it just two posts above this one with 19. Qxg7:

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Black has three ways to escape the check: 17... Kf8 allows 18. Qf7#. Your new line of 17...Ke7 is good for white because of 18 Qf7+ followed by Qxg7 and Qxg8.

But the third line - 17...Kd8 - is a lot harder to crack:

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White doesn't have a followup queen check. He can grab the Rh8 with the knight fork on f7, but after Bxh8 he is down three minors for a rook. Fritzie is calling this -3.8. In other words, White is down by more than a minor piece without sufficient compensation.

When we analyse a position like this, it's not enough to look at only one response by the opponent in each position. We need to analyse each possible response. So, yes, 17...Ke7 in your line leads to White having a material plus. But 17...Kd8 is a much better defence.

I feel a little bad knocking back your ideas like this. I have Fritz 15 telling me that everything after 16. Bxg7 is a loss for white. Your long lines leading to a fantasy mate on move 33 only work if black plays less than ideal moves.

But white doesn't care about the rook:

18. Rd8 Nf7+ and where does the king go?

Ke8 is obviously fatal.

Kc8 looks dubious at best:
18. Nf7+ Kc8 19. Nd6+ Kc7 20. Rab1 Bc8 21. Rfd1

Ke7?

18. Nf7+ Ke7 19. Nd6 Rf8 (Kd8 20. Qg5+ Kc7 21. Qxg7 Rd8 22. Qe5 ) 20. Qxh7 Qxc5 21. Qxg7+ Kxd6 22. Rfd1+ Kc6 23. Qxd7+ Kb6 24. Rab1+ Ka5 25. Qxb7

Black's best move is 18...Kc7. That brings us to here:

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Black is threatening Bxa1 and e3 (renewing the mate threat). If the white queen moves off the fifth rank, black will play Qxc5 followed by Nc6 and he is untangling his pieces.

What's more, Black is ahead in material by two bishops. The black king is fairly safe on c7 because white's c4 and c5 pawns are shielding him along the c file and white has no queenside pawn levers to open up the position.

Fritz 15 is calling this one -4.16. That's -6 for the two bishop material advantage minus one for the pawn deficit and some loose change because white's pawns are better than black's.

-4 is time to resign.

<Its a pity as this site wouldn't be half as much interesting.>