Originally posted by randolph
Ok, thanks- I thought I had the king getting away from the checks.
Interesting position that highlights a queen that is stuck for good moves. In the line Rgc8 41.Rxb5 Rxc2, where can the queen go...
- obviously a1 and b1 are out due to Rc1+
- Qd4 actually prevents the king from escaping since it then can't safely cross the 4th rank: Qd4, Rc1+, Kg2, R1c2+, Kh3 (there is no escape path via Kf1-e2-etc), Rh8+ and if now Kg4, Rg2+ and Rh4+ highlights the unfortunate placing of the White queen. In other lines, Black playing Rc4 with a pin does a likewise role
- Qb3 Rd2! Notice how the White pieces are limited in their options to prevent the backrank mate. The White rook ironically keeps the Black king safe from checks. Now White has to repeat: Qb1, Rdc2
The top level mainline, Rgc8, Rd3 appears to mainline a slight advantage for White. I used Rybka 3.