Friday, February 24, 2012

The Kamikaze Rook

Few things are more frustrating in chess than to outplay an opponent for an entire game only to fall for a stalemate trick. This postion occurred on 6th Board at the recent IHSA State Tournament.


After Black played 52...c2 rather than 52...Rf1#, White uncorked 53.Rxg6+! and Black cannot capture the kamikaze rook without allowing stalemate. Black's first thought is to maneuver the White rook to a square where one of the pieces confining the White king can capture it, but the White king is too thoroughly trapped. Can Black still gain the full point? The solution can be found here.

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