Hello Everyone,
The Chess Olympiad is just a few weeks away in Khanty-Mansiysk. So, how about a puzzle from Khanty-Mansiysk, 2005!
This is a game between Shulman-Khalifman.
White has a very clear cut plan to get Qh5 and force Black to resign. The problem is the immediate Qh5 doesn't work because of the Qb1 and White's back rank weakness allowing the Black Queen to run back to g6 and prevent the mate on h7!
So, what does White play here?
It's a simple puzzle. Thinking time: Well take five minutes but no more!
Which White move will prevent the Black Queen from saving her King?
You can run the moves in our flashplayer below.
Shulman-Khalifman, Khanty-Mansiysk, 2005
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
Also see her personal blog at
I rather blew that one ... I was thinking in terms of interferance with Nf5, but after ... Ng6 2.Rxh7 Kxh7 3.Qh5 its a perpetual. 5 minutes. Wow
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