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<17.?>

The first order of business was spending about three minutes trying to figure out how that pawn got to g7. Seeing the pawns on c2/c3 made me think it might be a French and I could just let <Once> explain it, but a deeper assessment based on the Black pawn at e7 led to the conclusion that it probably wasn't a French after all.

So I tried to do something with the pawn, probably by cracking open Black's kingside with a sacrifice. Another three minutes was spent evaluating 17.Rxf7, and certainly 17...Kxf7 18.e6+ with possibly 19.Qxg6 to follow looked promising. However, I then spotted the subtle defense 17...hxg4, and put that line of reasoning away.

But it doesn't look right to move the queen. Does White have another forcing move? Yes, <17.e6> looks interesting. After 17...fxe6 18.Qxg6+ Kd7 19.Rd1+ wins Black's queen (there is no wrong rook in this case.)

After some thinking, I decided 17.e6 hxg4 18.exf7+ Kd7 19.Rad1+ was optimal, taking Black's queen to weaken the back rank before doing the promotion thing. Naturally I didn't see the defense Black chose or Najdorf's brilliant refutation. (By the way, I that 20.Bh6? falls to 20...Qb6+ followed by 21...Bxg2+ and 22...Qxe6.)

First thoughts: I wish I could sac the Q (hanging at the moment) at g6. The R then checks at f8 and other R is in line. Wishful! I am falling a piece and a tempo short. (It would work if the Rs were doubled already).

Is there any move that can help further my utopian plan?

Yes, e6 looks a great candidate except that my Q continues to hang. Can I afford that?

Emphatically yes, on a/c of the R-backed check making Black's hapless R a grand target. And it will renew my Q with devastating effect. (The Black K cannot help on account of g7).

17. e6 hxg4 18. exf7+ and 1-0.

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Sorry folks, my plan was based on the automatic <17...hxg4>

A valid question. Why would Black R continue to sit at g8 and lose the game pathetically? Why shouldn't Black take g7 and ignore the Q for a while. That'll make my exf7+ useless.

My Utopia goes awry; who tosses away a Q on a half baked plan.

How about 17. Qxc4 doubling pressure on f7. But...

17. Qxc4 Bd5 18. Qa4+ Rc6 and its a cul-de-sac. I saved my Q but Black will take g7 in good time.

Its very tough going today! What now?

Go back and see if I can handle <17...Rxg7>. After all, my Q has a temporary reprieve in this line.

17. e6 Rxg7 18. Rxf7 ( I shun exf7 now, if Rxf7, I say exf7+ and save my Q. So <now Black is under pressure>)

18...hxg4 19. Rxg7 Kf8 (a must to avoid Rf8#) 20. Rxg6 and I am in control.

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21. Rf1+ and K is forced back to e8 with my e6 P ensuring mate with 'g' R.

But the position after 17. e6 is a GOOT. Black is not in check, we haven't captured anything and we are not threatening imminent mate. That means that black has lots of choices about how to respond ... and we have a lot of variations to analyse.

M'learned colleagues do variations far better than I can, so I'll just chip in one from the imagination of herr Fritz: 17...Bd5.

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Black simply brings up another defender for f7, blocks the d file and ignores the saucy strumpet of a white queen on g4. One sample line:

17... Bd5 18. exf7+ Bxf7 19. Qg5 Rxg7 20. Rad1 Qc7 21. Qh6 Rg8 22. Qh7 e5

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We have lost our two advanced pawns but black's position is a train wreck. He surely can't survive much longer ... although I can't see an immediate way to win for white.

Good puzzle, fascinating position, but I can't claim the full point because I didn't come near to examining all the variations.

#1 - the detective. Putting my deerstalker on and asking Watson to put his service revolver in his pocket (why oh why didn't the army ask for it back when he retired?) (and doesn't this mean that he had very large pockets?) (or a very small revolver?) (which might be why his marriage didn't last) ...

Material is level and white's doubled c pawns show that there have been piece exchanges. So the most logical explanation is that there have been a series of mutual exchanges. Black's advanced c4 pawn and the striking immobility of the e7 pawn suggests that Lestrade was not on best form when he suggested that the killer came from France. Sicily seems nearer the mark.

And if we are into the realms of the sicilian, we can conjecture that white has chucked his f pawn forwards, landing on f6 from thence to capture a Bg7.

#2 - but why would black do this to himself? Here I see two possible explanations - (a) that he wasn't a very good player and (b) that he had a cunning plan.

#2a - The mysterious Frenkel appears thrice in our database, each time as black and each time scoring a fabulous duck egg against his name - 1-0. He even managed to lose one game in 10 moves. So I'm guessing that he's not a contender for "strongest player who never became world champion".

#2b - sad to say, but my lowly playing strength means that I am closer to understanding the thought processes of patzers than I am the divine inspirations of the masters. My guess is that Frenkel's cunning plan was a kingside storm against white's castled king. He figured that he would have time for Rxg7, then h4-h3 and grisliness would happen.

One of those players, perchance, who thinks more about his own plans and attacks than his opponent's.

#3 - the Oncian whimsy. I'm moderately hooked at the moment on one of your televisual serial offerings - The Walking Dead. Or, as the characters insist on calling it, the Wocking Dead.

Here's the deal. For some reason which is never ever explained, dead people come back to life and shuffle around moaning with nothing on their minds except an insatiable appetite and very poor dress sense. It's like Thriller without the music or Michael Jackson grabbing his crotch.

Our attention is centred on a group of surviving living. I'd be more interested if we focussed on a group of wockers and heard their story. But maybe I'll have to write that one myself.

What I don't get is the lack of precautions that these living take. I'm not talking about the fact that one of them has fallen pregnant, although she seems so skinny that standing up would be a challenge.

No, it's the fact that they've chosen to live in tents near a farm. Hello, people! It's a post apocalyptic zombie world. How about putting some fences up? And/ or living inside bricks and mortar rather than under canvas.

The inevitable happens. Every now and again a zombie wocks into their camp and someone gets grued. Just like today's visitor on g7. But, come on folks. The clue is in the title. They are called the Walking Dead for a reason...

16. e6! Bd5! 17. exf7 Bxf7 18. Qg5 Qd5 19. Qh6 Rc6 20. Rd1 Qe6 21. Bd4

I guess the other more obvious lines (taking the queen with the pawn, allowing exf7, or lines with Rxg7 are already covered, so I have not posted them (again)

In the final position of my line white is better, most probably enough to win

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The link at 17. ?

<17 e6 ...>

17 ... hxg4 18 exf7+ Kd7 19 Rad1+ Kc7 20 Rxd8 Rcxd8 21 f8=Q

17 ... f6/f5/fxe6 18 Qxg6+ Kd7 19 Rad1+ Kc7 20 Rxd8

17 ... Qd5 18 exf7 Kd8 (Qxf7 Qxc8#) 19 fxg8=Q+ Qxg8 (Kc7 Qxc8+ mating) 20 Rf8+ mating

So black only has one option...

<17 ... Bd5>
<18 exf7+ Bxf7>

Now we get to the interesting bit. Can white play Rxf7? The rook cannot be taken

19 Rxf7? Kxf7+ 20 Rf1+ Kxg7 (Ke8 21 Qxg6+ Kd7 22 Rd1+ Kc7 23 Bf5+ mating) 21 Qg5! Rh8 22 Bd4+ Qxd4 23 Qxe7+ Kh6 24 cxd4

But white is giving up a whole queen to keep the attack going!

19 Rxf7? hxg4 20 Raf1 Qd6 and that seems too much, but the idea is very interesting! Especially the <19 Rxf7 Kxf7+ 20 Rf1+ Kxg7 21 Qg5! Rh8 22 Bd4+ Qxd4 23 Qxe7+ Kh6 24 cxd4> varation. So why not play Qg5 and watch black squirm! The rook sac is now availble and so is the queen invasion on h6!

<19 Qg5 ...>

Now black must protect against the rook sac as it leaves Pg6 vunerable

<19 ... Qd5>

At this point white could play Qh6, but I think the queen swap is in white's favour.

<20 Qxd5 Bxd5>
<21 Bh6! Bf7>
<22 Rf2 ...>

Okay now it is really getting murky. d6 and Rc6 are available both lose a pawn and leave black's position in tatters. I think you can probably say that white is clearly winning...

Time to check...

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Hmmm, not even close to the continuation. I didn't look at Rxg7 as a reply. It doesn't look that great considering what it lead to, but that is just me being miffed that I didn't consider it.

17. e6 hxg4

What else? 17... fxe6 18. Qxg6+, if 17... Bd5
18. Rd1. Wait, maybe 17... Rxg7. However, white can play 18. exf7+ Rxf7 19. Qxg6 with too many threats to handle.

18. exf7+ Kd7
19. Rd1+ Kc7
20. Rxd8 Rgxd8
21. f8(Q) Rxf8
22. gxf8(Q) Rxf8
23. Rxf8

And white is a rook up. This must be the solution.
Time to check.

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The game went different than my line, but I was right.

17e6 hxg4 18Rxf7 Qd6 19Rf8+ Rxf8 20gxf8=Q+ not working

17e6 hxg4 18exf7+ Kd7 19Rd1+ Kc7 20Rxd8 Rxd8 21f8=Q Rxf8 22gxf8=Q Rxf8 23 Rxf8

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