Another blitz game... I ended up with his King coming over to my side of the board, but I only had a Knight (which I had to trade soon), two Bishops and two Rooks plus some pawns to attack with. Was it enough? I've put some lines in, but there are so many other options... Do you think I was won from the start (by which I mean move 15) or did he have a defense? Perhaps I was won but I let it slip away at some point, but he returned the favor?

Did you notice afterwards that your Bxf7+ idea doesn't work? The bishop can just be taken and if you play Qxd8 next black has Bc5+ winning back the queen.

He sure was playing with fire with Ng4...the open d file and half open c file should have given him pause...

I think black maybe had a chance to survive but he definitely blew it with Rxh2+. It's way too greedy. It's overextended his forces and taking a vital defender away from the back-rank. It makes it possible for you to play Bd8 later on. Kxc5 or maybe Nxh2 and black will still have chances I think.

So, the king-hunt. Yes, there should be a quick way to finish with all those pieces buzzing around the monarch. Although the way it turned out in the game wasn't too sluggish at all.

It looks like you played very well and got the king boxed in tightly but 27. b3 looks a little bit loosening. How about Rf3? It's the move I would be most worried about as black. Some sequence like Ra3+ Kb4 Be2 with Be7+ coming up looks very difficult to stop. Maybe you can find something better there, there's bound to be many options! Rf3 would have made your life a little bit easier I think but you still played effectively to seal the deal. Bringing the enemy king to your own home rank is a pretty rare thing so well done on an attractive victory.

Great ideas, thank you very much! I missed Bc5+. I was also very surprised when he played Ng4 - I guess the idea of threatening mate in one enticed him.

Maybe he felt compelled to play Rxh2+ because otherwise Ng4 would be pointless - I know it can be difficult to admit a mistake. Oh, and I just saw the idea of Nxh2 instead of Rxh2+, which I find quite interesting as it threatens Nf3#, Nxf1+, and Kxc5 all in one. In fact, I can't even figure out what I would do if he played that.

27.Rf3 is an interesting idea that I didn't consider at all there - I think I should look at quiet moves more often in the middle of King hunts. I'm always too quick to play the first "attractive" check, if that makes sense - a check that draws the King in closer and puts it where other pieces can check it. 27...c5 can't be good since there's 28.Ra3+ Kb4 29.Ba5#. I guess there's also nothing in 27...b6 and 28...c5 since the a8-Rook gets trapped by the Bishops. The only attempt at defense I can think of (and I'm not at all sure it works) is 27...Rh6. The idea is that after 28.Ra3+ Kb4 29.Be7+ (or Be2) c5 30.Be2 (or Be7) Black can play 30...Rc6 to defend c5. Also, the Knight is no longer tied to the defense of f2 and it's OK if White exchanges on g4. 28.Be7 Ka5 and the King tries to escape to b6. It looks rough after 28.Be7 Ka5 29.Ra3+ Kb6 30.Bd8+ Kc5, but I don't see anything better for Black and White still has to prove something here since Black's light-squared minors are both defended and the discovery doesn't seem to win material. Is there a mate somewhere in that position? The Black King gains a lot of squares if it steps to d4, but I feel like there must be a mate.

Sure, that's the natural inclination, to try and keep the pressure up and maintain the hounding of the king. I mean, there's absolutely nothing wrong with what you played and there's no way that the black king would survive in any case.

But yeah, it can be beneficial to consider what the absolute most accurate moves would be. Rh6 after Rf3 looks to be a fair attempt. There are probably mates starting with Ra3+ but shrinking the net around the king with a move like 28. Be7 first looks good with the immediate threat of Ra3 mate. ...c5 leads to Bxc5 with the same threat and black can't slip back through the a or b file pawns if he advanced them. 28... Ka5 to try and attempt something similar runs into Bc5 again. He's a goner!

Just out of curiosity, I put the position into Rybka and indeed 28. Ra3+ does lead to a quick mate! Check it out. 28. Ra3+ Kb4 now 29. Rb3+ Ka4 (if 29...Kc5 30. Bf7 Kd4 (or Kd6 Rd3++) 31. Rc4++) 30. Bb5!+ cxb5 31. Ra3+ Kb4 32. Ba5 mate. That's neat. So, there was a direct mate there but it was pretty hard to see. The 28. Be7 move shrinking the net was a lot easier to see but is less forcing. All roads lead to Rome though.

Wow, that's a nice mate! Bb5+ is not a natural move at all.