The task
- To move
- Dark
- Difficulty
- Hard
- Goal
- win in 4
On the board: 3 men and 1 kings for Dark, 0 men and 1 kings for Light. A long forcing line of four or five moves. Kings and tempo count more than material here.
What to look for
- A sacrifice: giving material first is the only way to force the result.
- Kings are on the board and their freedom to move backwards matters.
How the answer is checked
There is exactly one first move that forces the result; any other first move allows the defence to escape. Moves that keep the forced result are accepted later in the line, and a move that loses it is taken back with a short note.
Show the key move
The key move is 7-11. The main line runs: 7-11 · 3x12 · 17-14 · 12-8 · 14-10 · 8x15x6 · 1x10.