Monday, March 2, 2015

Interesting positions from the matches

I'll be adding more to this positions post as I have time. Check periodically to see if one of  your games is here. Answers are at the bottom of this post.

Position 1 Round 2 Victoria vs Peyton. Peyton has just played b5 and Victoria is trying to find a good place for her queen. Where should she move?


Problem #2 Harrison of Cap Hill has just played Ba3 preventing Caleb of Farnsworth from Castling and also threatening immediate mate on e7 if the Queen moves. What should Caleb do?

Problem #3
Simon of Farnsworth has just played Bh6. How should Oscar of Friendly Hills respond?


Answers
 #1. Nxb5 if cxb5 2. Bxb5+ Ke7 Nxc6+ winning the queen. If instead of Ke7 he tries Nd7 it's still Bxe7+ Ke7 Nc6+ and the queen is a goner. Even if he doesn't take on move 1, white has many threats.
#2. Move the queen anyway. ... QKd2+ 2. Kf1 Qxf2# This would have resulted in a drawn match between Capitol Hill and Farnsworth A.
#3. The queen is the only thing supporting that bishop - give it a nudge - Bc8. The queen must move and the bishop falls.