Diagram 17 Well, this one is pretty sweet. Watch carefully. It starts with 1 Qg5!, threatening to queen the d-pawn and setting up some mate threats. The obvious 1...Bxd7 fails to 2 Nf4! threatening 3 Bh5+, to which there is really no good response. So Black must play 1...Ke6+ 2 Kg1 Kxd7, not 2...Bxd7 3 Bg4+ and now 3...Kd6 4 Qc5 mate or 3...Kf7 4 Ne5+ Ke8 5 Bh5+ winning.
So we have material equality and no pawns on the board. But there is a win. White plays 3 Nc5+. Black has two real choices (3...Kc7 loses immediately to 4 Ne6+). The less interesting one is 3...Kd6 4 Qg3+! and now there are two more choices: 4...Ke7 5 Qe5+ Kf7 6 Bc4+ Kg6 7 Bd3+! will win, as 7...Kf7 8 Qe6+ is mate in two, and 7...Kh6 8 Qh2+ and 9 Ne6+ wins the queen. Or 4...Kd5 5 Bc4+ Kxc4 6 Qb3+ Kxc5 7 Qa3+ wins the queen, although I confess I am not up on my endgame theory. (Is White supposed to win the Q v B+N endgame? I can't find anything better.)
But we saved the best for last. After 1 Qg5 Ke6+ 2 Kg1 Kxd7 3 Nc5+, the other choice is 3...Kc8, to which White replies 4 Ba6+ Kb8 5 Qg3+ Ka8 6 Bb7+! Bxb7 7 Nd7!! Two pieces totally dominate the board, and the finish is magical. The only move that saves the queen and stops an immediate mate is 7...Qd8, but 8 Qb8+! Qxb8 9 Nb6 mate is one of the most picturesque smothered mates ever constructed. Looking back at the original position, it seems hard to believe that everything would be jammed up in the top left corner after nine moves.
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