| Feb-14-17 | | RKnight: Saw it as the only forcing line due to black's mate threat. But it may not be an immediate win. From the final position: 32... Rg7, 33 Bxg7+ Kxg7, 34 Rg1+ should do it. However, if the more obvious 34 Qg6+ Kf1, black kind of gets away. |
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| Feb-14-17 | | stacase: White has to say check or somehow prevent the mate. And there's only one way to do that, 38.Rg8+ and then after Black take the Rook, White still needs to say check or stop the mate and there are two ways to say check. One of them snags Black's mate supporting Rook in the process. And Game Over (-: |
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| Feb-14-17 | | stst: One main line:
31.Rg8+ RxR (forced)
32.Bc3+ (not Qc3+, let QxR later) Rg7
33.QxR KxB
34.Qe4+ Kg8
35.Qe8+ Kh7
36.BxR KxB
37.Rg1+ Kf6
38.Qe6# |
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| Feb-14-17 | | saturn2: <stacase White has to say check or somehow prevent the mate. And there's only one way to do that, 38.Rg8+ >
There is also 38 Rg2 |
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| Feb-14-17 | | YouRang: Tuesday 31.?
click for larger view
Black has an obvious mating threat (...Qxh2#), but it's white's move and attack in in the air. The most dangerous attack looks like it would come on the long diagonal a1-h8 via Bc3, but our Rg7 is blocking it. Much like yesterday's puzzle, we simply move the obstructing piece with check, in this case <31.Rg8+>, forcing <31...Rxg8 32.Bc2+>
click for larger view
I expect either:
<32...Rg7 33.Qxe2 Kxh7 34.Bxg7 Kxg7>, with black's exposed K about to be target of Q+R attack. or <32...Re5 33.fxe5>, black's mating threat is gone and e6+ is deadly. |
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| Feb-14-17 | | dfcx: Black is about to play 31...Qxh2#
White counters with
31.Rg8+ Rxg8 32.Bc3+
Now black's best response is
32...Re5 33.fxe5
with
33...dxe5 34.Bxe5+ or
33...some other moves 34.e6+
still to come, winning easily. |
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| Feb-14-17 | | agb2002: White has the bishop pair and a pawn for a knight. Black threatens Qxh2#.
White has Rg8+ and Rg2.
In the case of 31.Rg2:
A) 31... Rxg2 32.Bc3+
A.1) 32... Rg7 33.Rg1
A.1.a) 33... Rf6 34.Rxg7 Kxg7 35.Qg6+ Kf8 (35... Kh8 36.Qg8#) 36.Qxf6+ Qxf6 37.Bxf6 + - [2B+P vs N]. A.1.b) 33... Rf7 34.Qg6 Qe7 35.Qxh6 followed by Bg6+ looks crushing. A.2) 32... Rf6 33.Kxg2 and White emerges a rook ahead (33... Qg4+ 34.Kh1 Qf3+ 35.Qg2). B) 31... Rxd2 32.Rxd2 + - [R+B+P vs N].
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In the case of 31.Rg8+ Rxg8 32.Bc3+ Rg7 (32... Re5 33.fxe5 + -) 33.Qxe2 Kxh7 34.Bxg7 Kxg7 35.Rg1+ with the exchange and a winning attack (35... Kh8 36.Qg6 + -; 35... Kf7 36.Qf5+ Qf6 37.Qh7+ + -; 35... Kf8 36.Qf5+ + -). -----
I think I'd play 31.Rg8+. |
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| Feb-14-17 | | Once: Hmm. Interesting. More interesting than it looks at first. Just like yesterday, we start with a line clearing sacrifice. We would rather have a bishop than a rook sitting on the a1-h8 diagonal. Add in the fact that black has a mate threat of his own and it's clear we've got to work fast. So 31. Rg8+ has to be looked at (although Fritzie says that 31. Rg2 also works). Then we could have 31...Rxg8 32. Bc3+ Rg7 33. Bxg7+ Kxg7, bringing us to here: 
click for larger viewIn human mode, this was the position that gave me the most "cause to pause". I saw three plausible moves - 34. Qg6+, 34. Rg1+ and 34. Qxe2 The thug in me wants to play 34. Qg6+. Her majesty gets up close and personal with the enemy king. But then I'm struggling to see the continuation. As <RKnight> has already spotted, black runs away with Kf8 and we've still got the mate on h2 to worry about. 34. Rg1+ throws another piece into the attack. We can always take the loose black rook next move. 34. Qxe2 gives up the attack temporarily by exchanging down into a rook for knight ending. But the knight is rubbish and black's king is awfully windy. Hmm. Decisions, decisions. I'd probably grab the rook with 34. Qxe2. Life looks a lot happier when you haven't got a mate threat hanging over you. |
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| Feb-14-17 | | newzild: I glanced at the position and saw that 31. Bg8 mates after 31...Kxg7 32. Qh7+ Kf6 33. Bc3#. Then I clicked on the game and realised I'd overlooked not only 33...Re5 but also 31. Qxh2 mate! |
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| Feb-14-17 | | patzer2: For our Tuesday puzzle (31. ?), Black is threatening mate. Thus, a move that combines defense and offense is necessary. After a quick look, it was obvious 31. Rg8+ Rxg8 32. Bc3+!  (#9, Deep Fritz 15) yielding a discovered attack with check does the trick. If 32...Rg7 then 33. Qxe2 , and if 32...Re5 then 33. Bxe5+ dxe5 34. Bxg8 (#7, Deep Fritz 15) wins quickly. For a Black improvement, I'd start early in the opening and break up White's pawn chain with 7...cxd4 (the most popular move) for active counter play as in A Colovic vs R Mamedov, 2016. |
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| Feb-14-17 | | morfishine: Simple enough: <31.Rg8+> followed by <32.Bc3+> and Black falls fatally behind in material ***** |
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Feb-14-17
 | | ajk68: <Once> Rg1+ chases the king away from the bishop, allowing white to scoop up the rook on the next move. This wins a full rook, instead of just the exchange. It also brings the rook into the attack. |
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| Feb-14-17 | | Sularus: I first tried Rg2 but saw the DSB and the long diagonal so changed my first move to Rg8+. |
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| Feb-14-17 | | zb2cr: Black is threatening mate on the move with Qxh2#, so a brisk solution is in order. 31. Rg8+, Rxg8; 32. Bc3+, Rg7; 33. Bxg7+, Kxg7; 34. Qxe2, Kxh7; 35. Qe4+ and White is up by the exchange with Black's King exposed to attack. |
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| Feb-14-17 | | mel gibson: I saw another way & I was right:
31 R-g2
DR4 64 Bit shows mate in 15.
31. Rg8+ (31. Rg2 Rxd2
(♖e2xd2 ♖g2xd2 ♘b7-d8 ♖d2-g2 ♘d8-f7 ♖c1-g1 ♘f7-g5 f4xg5 h6-h5 ♕c2-g6
♕h4-f4 ♕g6xh5 ♕f4-f3 ♕h5-h6 ♖f8-f7 ♗h7-e4+ ♔h8-g8 ♗e4xf3 ♖f7-e7 ♕h6-g6+
♔g8-h8 ♕g6-f6+ ♔h8-g8 ♕f6xe7 a6-a5 ♗f3-g4 ♔g8-h8 ♕e7-f8+ ♔h8-h7 ♗g4-f5+)
-M15/14 43) |
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| Feb-14-17 | | mel gibson: The computer followed the text move & it was the same - mate in 15: 31. Rg8+ (31. Rg8+
(♖g7-g8+ ♖f8xg8 ♗d2-c3+ ♖e2-e5 ♗h7xg8 ♔h8xg8 ♖c1-g1+ ♔g8-f8 ♕c2-g6 ♖e5-g5
f4xg5 ♕h4-f2 ♕g6-g7+ ♔f8-e8 ♖g1-e1+ ♕f2xe1+ ♗c3xe1 ♘b7-d8 g5xh6 a6-a5 h6-h7
♘d8-f7 ♕g7-g8+ ♔e8-e7 ♗e1-h4+ ♔e7-d7 ♕g8xf7+ ♔d7-c8 h7-h8♕+) +M15/13 24) |
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| Feb-14-17 | | bbouaziz: Black should have gone for 20...- f4 instead of 20...- ♕c8 |
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| Feb-14-17 | | AlicesKnight: Given the mate threat, 31.Rg8+ was not so hard to see followed by the QB check and an eventual exchange win. Not instantly conclusive but "White wins". |
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| Feb-14-17 | | stst: <Life looks a lot happier when you haven't got a mate threat hanging over you.>
IF so, then do it early, as right after B3+, viz., in
33.QxR .... then there's plenty of time to finish it off (Once the R-Q threat is eliminated, Black has nothing more in his sleeve.) |
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| Feb-14-17 | | whiteshark: Fine termination by the then sports director... |
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| Feb-14-17 | | LIzzard: not a great puzzle here - the only available move is too easy to take and follow. You don't have to see it finish to take it.... |
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Feb-15-17
 | | gawain: I was (for a while)reluctant to go with the Rg8+ combination because I was looking for a mating attack. But the win of a rook is plenty. |
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Kibitzing
sac: 31.Rg8+