Mating the queen

As the queen is such a powerful piece it is often hard to completely trap it. When it does get trapped it is usually because it has wandered off to the edge of the board, or ends up in a tactical unfavourable position. It is less common to see it caught in the middle of the board, with nowhere to run.
Hrant Melkumyan (well known to Canberra players), pulled this off on his way to 6/6 at the Riga Tech Open. Capitalising on his doubled rooks, he found the clever Rd6!, which forced Q-Mate! Melkumyan finished the event with 3 draws to take equal first with Richard Rapport. Melkumyan has been on a bit of a tear over the summer, winning a number of big swisses on the European circuit. If he continues this form he may get close to (or over) the 2700 mark, and into consideration for the next Armenian Olympiad team.


Melkumyan,Hrant (2655) - Iturrizaga Bonelli,Eduardo (2653) [E15]
Riga Tech Open A 2014 Riga LAT (6.1), 21.08.2014