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30 seconds to survive or die

Last evening, playing Black against Paul Kemp in the Bury League, I was faced with this position after White’s 30th move (Ne4-g5).   With only half a minute remaining, I missed the saving move which would probably have drawn the game.

White is threatening Nxf7 checkmate, so I can’t take the queen.   But White has three pieces attacking h7.

Now you know there’s a good move for Black, you’ll probably find it easily.   But with only 30 seconds to think, I missed it and soon lost.

Scroll down the page to see the answer.

30… Rf1+!

One thought on “30 seconds to survive or die
  1. hi Bob, agreed – Rxf1, Kc2 Qxd3+ Kxd3 Nxd2 Kxd2 and white will probably get the pawn back for the draw. this analysis took me about 5 minutes, so a tricky one to find in 30 seconds!

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