[Event "Beautiful Checkmates: Study by Ercole del Rio"] [Site "https://lichess.org/study/YtBYXc3m/5AhCCiWR"] [Result "*"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "?"] [Opening "?"] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/NoseKnowsAll"] [FEN "5kr1/R6p/5b2/4n3/3N2Pq/2P4P/3Q3K/5R2 w - - 0 1"] [SetUp "1"] [UTCDate "2020.11.17"] [UTCTime "22:58:48"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/YtBYXc3m/5AhCCiWR"] [Orientation "white"] [ChapterMode "gamebook"] { Welcome to Beautiful Checkmates by NoseKnowsAll. This study is a compilation of all 64 of my reddit posts these past two months. Each position is a forced checkmate, with the difficulty ranging from 1500 - 2200+. I'll provide several hints that should help solidify the main themes of this study: forcing moves, deflecting/attracting defenders, intersection squares, and pure aesthetics. } 1. Ne6+ Ke8 2. Qd8+! (2. Ra8+ { This rook was already doing an excellent job cutting off the enemy king's escape squares. How do we bring all the boys to the party in order to finish him off instead? }) 2... Bxd8 3. Rf8+ (3. Ng7+?? { We have deflected the rook off the back rank, but our knight no longer is around to control the important f8 square! } 3... Rxg7 { [%cal Gf1f8] }) 3... Rxf8 4. Ng7# { The first of many beautiful checkmates! Notice how it's crucial to first consider all forcing moves in a variation (including "crazy" moves like rook or queen sacrifices) if they further your goal of mating the enemy king. } *