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2025/06/01 DPA: "The Tractor Beam Snares The King"

2025/06/01 DPA: "The Tractor Beam Snares The King"

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White to move:

.

Black is about to checkmate on g2 so White must keep checking.

1. Qb8+ Nxb8  2. Nc7# but Black can play 1. ... Kxb8 instead.

1. Qc8+ Bxc8 [if 1. ... Nxc8  2. Nc7#]  2. Nc7+ Kb7  3. a6+ Kb8  4. Nc6#.

However, Black can play 2. ... Kb8 and 3. Nc6 Kb7 attacks the Knight so that 4. a6+ fails.

1. Qd8+ Nxd8  2. Nc7+ Kb8.

1. Qxb7+ Kxb7  2. a6+ Kxa6  3. Nc7+ Kb7; no more checks

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So 1. Qc8+ seems to be the only way forward.

I think I see it:  1. Qc8+ Bxc8  2. Nc7+ Kb8  3. Nc6+ Kb7  4. a6+ Kxc6  5. b5#.

That was it; *very* puzzle-like.

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The first key was recognizing that White is about to get checkmated so he has no time for setup moves or winning material:  he must keep checking until he achieves checkmate.

The second key was figuring out why all of the other moves do NOT work.

The third key was anticipating 2. ... Kb8, not 2. ... Kb7 that allows the gain of a tempo with 3. a6+, and figuring out the mating net is in tact.

  • 1. Qc8+:  the sac offer must be accepted, as 1. ... Nb8  2. Nc7#.
  • 2. Nc7+ is the only check that exists.
  • 3. Nc6+ is the only reasonable follow-up, since 3. Na6+ Bxa6.  However, 3. ... Kb7 attacks the Knight so White's 3rd move only makes sense if he can calculate the next two moves
  • 4. a6+, which forces the King to capture the Knight
  • 5. b5#

Once I calculated the first two moves, I got stuck for a bit because I visualized 3. Nc6+ Kb7 and thought that 4. a6+ wouldn't work because White loses the c6 Knight, which I assumed was vital for the mating net.  So I left that variation and looked elsewhere.

But I couldn't find anything so I came back to the solution and realized White *wants* Black to capture the Knight.

I haven't watched the video yet but I imagine Dane will talk about this concept of "This can't possibly work because I'm going to lose my Knight" but not letting that stop you from considering the possibilities.

Indeed, had I discarded the idea because White was going to drop the Knight, I wouldn't have been able to solve the puzzle.

If you solved this all in your head, you had to visualize what the board looked like after 4. ... Kxc6 and that 5. b5 was checkmate.

If you solved it move-by-move, 3. a6+ was probably where many stumbled, because it involved saccing a Knight which might be perceived as critical to preserving.