Daily Puzzle Analysis for Saturday 4.11.26

It’s Time for a Saturday puzzle! 

Legend: (Color Version)

• Observations in Yellow

• Strategies in Purple

• Responses (Unforced, Anticipated or Actual) in Orange

• Fails (Potential or Actual) in Red

• Successes (Potential or Actual) in Green

On setting up the board, we observe:

* There are no Rooks.

* There are no Bishops.

* There are no kNights.

* We both have Queens.

* We are equal on Pawns.

* We have an immediate checking opportunity, with Qh5+, but it’s a Queen sac.
* We have an immediate checking opportunity, with Qh8+.

* We have an immediate checking opportunity, with Qg7+.

* We have an immediate checking opportunity, with Qg5+, but it’s a Queen sac.

* We have an immediate checking opportunity, with Qe3+.

* We have an immediate checking opportunity, with f6+.

* We have an immediate checking opportunity, with Qf4+, but it’s a Queen sac.

* We have a blocked pawn downfield on the h file.

* White has a blocked pawn downfield on the a file.

* With 1 escape square, there appears to be a King Trap.

* It is our turn to move.

* The puzzle’s title is “Take On Me”

* It is Saturday.

The above observations inform potential strategies:

Our opponent’s King seems to be almost in a King trap, but not quite. He can slip through our defenses with Kd6. Presently White’s Queen cannot successfully check us, and all of White’s pawns are blocked from advancing on their respective files. Our King anchors our pawn chain, and our Queen protects our h pawn. All it should take for us to close the trap completely would be Ke7. That would prevent escape through d6, and it would keep our King safe from tempo thievery with any checks.

Opening with Ke7 is not a forcing move, so White can play anything. We now have their King completely trapped, and all of their pawns blocked, so that limits their options to a Queen move.

Their two checking options, Qxh4+ and Qg5+ both fail to QxQ. They have no other capture opportunities available in their present position.

We are now in a position to Qe3#, so I would expect resistance to that play. Qe4 fails to dxe4, and Qg3 fails to hxg3, so I would expect either Qf3 or Qe2.
-----If Qf3, we can Qg5+, forcing Qf5.
----------We can then follow with Qxf5#
-----If Qe2, we can Qg5#. 

We cannot Qf6# as this abandons the dark diagonal culminating in c1, but Qg5# retains coverage there. 

Ok, it’s a plan – but how could it fail?

Well White has another option that would prevent Qe3#, and which would additionally refute Qf5#, that being Qf4, attacking our Queen and preventing travel along the aforementioned dark diagonal.

Protected by her King, we could not capture without making it an exchange. And this exchange would leave White’s King in range of capturing our h pawn before we could prevent it.

However, if Qf4, White has placed their Queen in the only reachable escape square along the aforementioned dark diagonal, so in this case we could either Qg7+ or Qh8+, both of which would then be blocked by Qf6. That’s a no go.

Alternately however we could f6+ forcing Qxf6, and then follow with Qxf6#. Fantastic.

Ok, but is there a BETTER PLAN?

Well there is no better plan than checkmate, and this plan seems to ensure it.

Confident in my plan, I set the board aside and engage with the puzzle online.

Ke7 is correct, and Black surprises me with Qxh4+. An interesting move, certainly preventing checkmate. I should have calculated for this potentiality. 

No matter however, we can now Qxh4 for a decisive material advantage. BUT WAIT! If we do, we’ll create a situation wherein White cannot move any of their pieces, a STALEMATE. What a devious play! That’s a no go.

Instead we must block their check with check, our mighty f pawn to the rescue.

f6+ is correct, and White is forced to Qxf6. Excellent.

Qxf6# is correct, and the PUZZLE IS SOLVED!

A stunning Saturday puzzle from @Pepe. An amazing composition my friend!

Have a great day everyone.