<32...Rc1+> forces white to take with the rook, leaving d4 underdefended <33. Rxc1 Bxd4+> forking queen and king and forcing the queen to capture <34. Qxd4 Qxd4+ 35. Kb1>

Black to play (32...?) "Easy"

This one is easier than yesterday's. Black is down an exchange for a pawn, and White is threatening mate in two.

32...Rc1+! 33. Rxc1 Bxd4+ wins the queen, but there is one more element to find.

34. Qxd4 Qxd4+ 35. Kb1 f6!

This is simplest, to stop all counterplay. Black should also be winning after 35...Bb5 36. Rc8+ Kg7 37. Rxf7+ Kh6! (not 37...Kg6?? 38. Rg8+ Kh6 39. Rxh7#) 38. h4 Bd3+ 39. Kc1 Bxe4.

36. Nf3 Qxe4+ 37. Ka1 Bb5 38. Rde1 Qd3!

35...Bb5 threatening 36...Be3+ with nasty consequences.

I'm liking 32...Rc1+ 33. Rxc1 Bxd4+ 34. Qxd4 (forced, or else mate) 34...Qxd4+ 35. Kb1 Bc6 (Not 35...Bb5 as it is too risky in regards to 36. Rc8+ Kg7 37. Rxf7+)

Position after 35...Bc6

click for larger view

36. Rfd1 Qe3 is good enough for Black to win.

32............Rc1+
33.Rxc1 Bxd4+
34.Qxd4 Qxd4+

I like 32.....Rc1+ 33. Rxc1 (only move) Bd4+. Now white must give up his queen to avoid mate. So 34. Qxd4 Qxd4+ leaving black with a slight material advantage of Q + B + 2P for 2R + N, not immediately decisive.

I have spent 10 minutes trying to find something better.

If 36. Rcd1 Qe3! 37. Nxf7 Qxe4+ is strong enough to win outright in a few more moves

It looks as though White is much worse on material but an actual count shows he cedes only a P and has garnered an exchange somewhere.

The pattern says White's Q is doomed. The only precaution Black needs to implement first is to remove the protection of White's d4 P by his R at d1.

So my line goes;

White threatens 33 Qxf7+ Kh8 34 Qxh7#, so black must act with haste.

Fortunately, he can solve all his problems (mate threats and material deficiency) with...

32...Rc1+ 33 Rxc1

Forced.

33...Bxd4+ 34 Qxd4

At least this way white gets a bishop for the queen.

34...Qxd4+ 35 Kb1 f6

and once the knight moves 36...Qxe4+

There's still some fight in the position, but I think black will emerge victorious.

Things are obvious to here; now some work:

<35.Kb1 Qd3+ 36.Kb2 Qd2+ 37.~ Qxg5 ... 0-1>.

White threatens mate in two starting with 33.Qxf7+.

The rook on d1 protects the square d4. This suggests 32... Rc1+ 33.Rxc1 Bxd4+ 34.Qxd4 Qxd4+ 35.Kb1 f6 36.Nf3 (36.Rc7 Qd3+) 36... Qxe4+ - + [Q+B+3P vs 2R+N].

32 ... Rf8 33 Nxf7 mating
32 ... Be8 33 Nxe6 mating
32 ... Any other move that is not a check 33 Qxf7+ mating

Black's only choice is to check on d4 and try to deflect Rd1 with Rc1+. If these are played in the wrong order they fail (i.e. 32 ... Bxd4+ 33 Qxd4 Rc1+ 34 Rxc1 Qxd4 works, but 32 ... Bxd4+ 33 Rxd4 doesn't)

<32 ... Rc1+>
<33 Rxc1 Bxd4+>
<34 Qxd4+ Qxd4+>
<35 Kb1 ...>

Black is now a Q v 2R exchange up and has a two pawn advantage, so is clearly winning, but needs to be a little careful. White still has some threats that need to be assessed. I think white should probably let black make his 35th move before resigning!

<35 ... f6>
<36 Nf3 Qxe4+>
<37 Ka1 Bc6>

Okay, white can resign now. Black has closed all whites open files and has a three pawn advantage of white two are connected passed pawns in the centre of the board. Black's king is safe compared to white's and white must deal with the immediate threat of 38 ... Qd3 winning

You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you might just find you get what you need.

I didn't used to like the Rolling Stones. I couldn't see past Mick Jagger's pouting lips and swaggering hips. And the fact that they weren't the Beatles.

My late Dad was the same. Except the bit about the Beatles. He didn't like them either, probably because they weren't Elvis.

And then I heard this song...

<You can't always get what you want>. Black would love to deliver a mating attack on the vulnerable white king. But only his queen is pointing in the right direction. One piece rarely gives a mate. And white is threatening a mate of his own.

So perhaps we need to look for a plan B. If we can't get what we want, maybe we can get what we need. Black has a perpetual check available if there is nothing better. He just shuttles his queen between c3 and b4 and that's a draw.

But the song tells us we've got to try to find what we need. So if we can't win by a swashbuckling mating combination, perhaps we can simplify to a win on material.

And that's when we spot that the white king is stalemated so we need to check, check, until dead. Bxd4+ would be great if we could deflect the Rd1, and we can do that with 32...Rc1+. Then we win the white queen with the rare bishop fork Bd4+. Material is even but our powerful queen ought to defeat the pair of white rooks because they haven't got obvious targets and we can go pawn hunting.

Okay, so it's not the mating attack that we wanted, but it is the victory that we need. And that's the point. Sometimes we have to bail out of one kind of attack and win in a different way.

I don't have many regrets. But I do wish I had taken the time to sit down with my Dad before he died and play him this song. It might have answered a few things, and not just whether the Rolling Stones were any good.