A tactic a day keeps the losses at bay!
[FEN “rnb2r1k/pp1p2bp/3Pp3/2p1q2P/4N1Q1/8/PPP2PP1/R1B1KB1R w KQ – 0 14”]
How did White follow up after 14.h6 Bf6?
Kreiman,Boris (2526) – Hanken,Jerome (2200)
American op 40th Los Angeles (2), 25.11.2004
Modern Defense [B06]
1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.h4 c5 4.d5 e6 5.d6 f5 6.exf5 gxf5 7.Nf3 Nf6 8.Nc3 0-0 9.h5 Ne4 10.Nxe4 fxe4 11.Ng5 Qf6 12.Nxe4 Qe5 13.Qg4 Kh8 14.h6 Bf6
15.Rh5! 1-0 The black queen is trapped.
(The commentators are correct: The queen is not trapped. 15…Qd4 16.c3 Qa4 17.Nxf6 Qxg4 18.Nxg4 wins the black bishop.)
I thought of 15. NxBf6 QxNf6 16. Qg7 QxQg7 17. hxQg7 Kxg7 18. Bh6 which opens up the board, a skewer to Black King for Rf8. But 15. Rh5 definitely traps Black’s Queen.
What about d4? Looks safe to me.
In fact the queen isn’t trapped but black lose at least a bishop 15…Qd4 16.c3 Qa4 17.Nxf6, or after 17.Bb5! white threatens 18.Nxf6 and 19.Qg7#
Amazing people, chess brains!
Rh5 is hard to see because the pawn is on that square. It only becomes available once you visualize the pawn move. This exercise helps your visualization skill. It took me 5 minutes to find it.