Evgeny Bourd & Arieh Grinblat

Probleemblad, 2010

Mate in 3

1...Rff4 2.Sc4+  Rxc4               3.Qf6#
1...Rhf4 2.Qf6+  Rxf6               3.Sc4#
1...Re4  2.Bxb7                     (3.Qd6#)
                 Rxg3               3.Qf6#
                 Rd4                3.cxd4#
                
1.Bd3!   (2.Sf5+ Rg3,Rxh2,Rff4,Rhf4 3.Qf6#)

1...Rff4 2.Be4                      (3.Sc4#)
                 Rxe4               3.Qf6#
                 Sa5,Sd6            3.Q(x)d6#
1...Rhf4 2.Bf5                      (3.Qf6#)
                 Rxf5               3.Sc4#
                 Rd4                3.cxd4#
1...Re4  2.Sxe4+ Rg3,Rf4            3.Qf6#
                 Kf5                3.Sf2#
1...Rxe3 2.Qf6+  Kd6                3.Se4#
1...Rxh2 2.Sc4+  Kd5                3.e4#
1...Rxg3 2.Bxg3+ Rf4                3.exf4,Bxf4#
				

The prominent set Wurzburg-Plachutta produced by the play of the black rooks to f4 led this solver to reject the ‘obvious’ 1.Bd3 (how else is the B+S battery to be useful?) as the key for quite some time, but eventually I was forced to reconsider that move for want of anything else that could possibly work. The key destroys the set play but does replace it with new, quiet continuations after the thematic black rook moves, this actual play being better than the set play, which is the way around that it should be. There is also a changed continuation after 1...Re4 and some well-integrated by-play that sees the black king moving around a bit.