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Mate in 9

kevingong
| 1

 

So, last night I played a blitz game (8 | 0 time control).  I unleashed a kingside attack and after 22. Rxf6 I had a couple choices.

 

I could play the obvious 22. ... Be5+ which wins not only the rook, but also the knight as well after 23. Nh3 BxR.  So, that was an obvious way to win the game.

But, having used the Tactics Trainer a fair bit, I immediately thought...hey, what about 22. ... BxN+ ?  At this point in the game I had about 4 minutes left. I could see 22. ... BxN+ 23. KxB Qh2+, but then I wasn't sure if I could force mate.  I thought and thought for about 30-40 seconds (a long time in an 8-minute blitz game) before I finally decided it wasn't worth the risk when I had an obvious move to win the game.  I played Be5+, and my opponent resigned a couple moves later.  So I lost my chance for glory. :)

Analyzing it with a computer later, I see I actually could have forced mate -- in 9 moves.  Don't think I can do that entire analysis in a blitz game.  Maybe in a game with classical time controls.  And certainly if it were a Tactics Trainer problem, I would have just gone ahead and played BxN and worked out the details later.

What would you have done?  In a rated blitz game, would you have played BxN and taken your chances if you didn't have time to do the full analysis, or play Be5+ as I did?

Here's the mate in 9: