Cecil's Saturday Puzzle - January 17, 2009

from the Winnipeg Free Press

White to mate in 3 (Bellas)

I tried moving the king up to e4 and d4, but didn't get anywhere. White has to cover the black diagonals, so after a couple of tries I found the answer. 1. Qa7

1.Qa7 Ke6
( 1...Kd5 2.Rf5+ Kd6 3.Qxd7# )
( 1...d5 2.Qe7+ Kd4 3.Qe3# )
( 1...d6 2.Qe3+ Kd5 3.Rf5# )
( 1...Ke4 2.Qc5 d6 ( 2...d5 3.Qe3# ) 3.Bd3# )
2.Qd4 d5
( 2...d6 3.Qe4# )

( 2...Ke7 3.Qf6# ) 3.Qf6#


note: due to a publishing glitch Cecil's puzzle of January 3, 2009 was the same as this one.