Mate in 4 - release the Bishop

The d4 Bishop should be unleashed, but how?

@BigDogg
Queen sacrifices are always good fun … Qxr+ rxQ , p-f7 ( discovered check ) r-g7, p queens # …. Thanks Ray

@rewind said
@BigDogg
Queen sacrifices are always good fun … Qxr+ rxQ , p-f7 ( discovered check ) r-g7, p queens # …. Thanks Ray

This Queen sacrifice is only fun for Black! 1.QxR+ KxQ! and black wins.

🙂

That was my knee jerk try just after posting the blog. Had to leave and do other things
and now leaving to help out at an Edinburgh Chess Club open day but have a copy of
the position and will solve it whilst waiting for visitors.
(and figure out why the pawn has to be on h3.)

@greenpawn34
Qe8

SOLV'D

1.Qe8! ensuring the f-pawn has a path to promotion. There's no good defense to 2.f7+.

1...Raxe8 2.f7+ Re5 3.Bxe5+ Rg7 4.f8Q#

2...Rg7 3.fxe8Q# shows the point of white's first move.

Hi BigDogg,

We looked at this position during the day and I had them convinced it was a problem.
a friend spotted 1.Qe8 and then I tried to justify why the pieces were placed
as they were. The pawn on h3 etc... Then I realised it must be from a game.

Then my friend (a 75 year old) tried to log onto here with his 'smart' phone. we both
toiled to get on. (I do not have a smart phone, just a basic 20 year old Nokia so I was
not much help.) eventually we logged and tapped in Qe8.

A good day, we had 60+ visitors from 11am to 4pm. It was open day all over
Edinburgh and as the club is just round the corner from where Alexander Graham Bell
and Robert Louis Stevenson were born we caught a lot of over spill including a schoolboy
friend of Jonathan Rowson that use to play in the same school team as him

@greenpawn34 said
Hi BigDogg,

We looked at this position during the day and I had them convinced it was a problem.
a friend spotted 1.Qe8 and then I tried to justify why the pieces were placed
as they were. The pawn on h3 etc... Then I realised it must be from a game.

Then my friend (a 75 year old) tried to log onto here with his 'smart' phone. we both
toiled to get on. (I do not ...[text shortened]... l including a schoolboy
friend of Jonathan Rowson that use to play in the same school team as him

Yes, it must be from a game. Be1 and Ra1 don't do anything in the solution. A composer avoids idle pieces.

But because it came from you I automatically thought it was a 'Release the Bishop' problem and here....


I went with there must be a Bc3 defence busted by a Rg1+ in there somewhere. I'll find it when I have more time. What game was it?

@greenpawn34

I don't have any info on the game.

The post that was quoted here has been removed

No, just one. Qa7 does not mate in 4.