2024/01/31 DPA: "Jeepers: A Royal Fork, Knightman!"

White to move.

Without Black's dark-squared Bishop, e7 is weak and the Royal Fork Ne5 is possible.

1. Re7+ Bxe7  2. Ne5+ Kf8  3. Nxf7 Bxg5  4. Qxg5 Kxf7  5. Qxc7+.  White gets Q+P for R+B; positive but not great.

Black has a potential attack if he can get in ... Qd5 to form a battery with the Bishop directed towards g2.

1. Qh3+ Qf5

The tactic will involve e7 somehow.

1. Ne5+ Bxe5  2. Rxe5 but Black now has a tempo to defend against 3. Re7+.

I think we can eliminate any Queen move.

Can the Bishop go anywhere else besides e7?  BBM [Backwards Bishop Move], maybe?  I don't see anything.

Pawn?  No. 

That leave the Rooks and the Knight.

1. Rxc5 Bxc5  2. Ne5+

1. Re5 and the Bishop cannot capture due to 2. Nxe5+ but what does this Rook move accomplish?  Where is it ultimately going?

I think I see it:  1. Re7+ Bxe7  2. Ne5+ Ke8  3. Nxf7 [threatening the Rook] Bxg5  4. Nxg5:  not capturing with the Queen, as that would leave the Knight hanging, but recapturing with the Knight, which removes the Knight from peril.

The alternative is worse for Black:  3. ... Kxf7  4. Bxe7 Kxe7  5. Qg7+, winning the Rook.

Only now did I realize White is down a piece.

But White has checkmate threats with Re1 and Qg7 and the Knight still on g5.

Hmm, my solution was correct but the puzzle stopped at 3. Nxf7, probably because there were too many branches to account for.

The key was recognizing the deflection of the Bishop away from guarding e5, which allowed the Royal Fork 2. Ne5+.

I didn't jump on this solution because I questioned whether it was sufficient.

And my initial analysis assumed 3. ... Bxg5  4. Qxg5 rather than 4. Nxg5, which saves the Knight.

Of course, I didn't know a priori that the puzzle would end at 3. Nxf7.