Chess Puzzle of the Week (89): Solution

puzzle89

Last week’s puzzle was taken from the new book The Grandmaster Mindset by Alojzije Jankovic, which I’ll be reviewing at some point within the next few weeks.

The game Zvjaginsev – Schwarz (Novi Sad 2016) concluded 44. Rxa6!! bxa6 45. b7 Qd8 46. Qxh6+!! Kxh6 47. Nxf7+ and Black resigned as White will capture the black queen and then promote. An aesthetically pleasing combination with complementary major piece sacrifices on a6 and h6 to set up a knight fork followed by pawn promotion.

Jankovic, apart from adding an unplayed extra move, fails to mention another solution: 44. f4! Rg6 45. Rxa6!! which wins in similar fashion but without the queen sacrifice. 45. f4! in the game would have amounted to the same thing. Should he have mentioned this in the book? What do you think?