Frustration

My training regimen includes playing tactical positions from books against the computer. Thanks to the work of others, I have all of the games from Fred Reinfeld's 1001 Winning Chess Sacrifices and Combinations in a database. Within ChessBase I can open this database to a random position then go to Fritz and begin play. Alternately, I can play through every position in sequence. Finding Reinfeld's idea is often fairly simple, but nursing the resulting advantage to victory takes more effort, especially when the side to move--the side with the tactic--is losing. Such is the case with the third position in the book.

White to move



Reinfeld's solution:

1.c4 Ne7 (if 1...Nxc4, Rxd5) 2.c5 winning the pinned piece.

After 1.c4, Hiarcs 12 favors 1...Bxg3. My game continued 2.hxg3 Re7 3.Rh1 g6 4.c5 Ke8 5.cxb6 Ne3 and so on.

I could have resigned at any point. White is clearly losing in all variations, although not as badly when Black plays the insipid 1...Ne7 given as the main line in Reinfeld's solution.

Due to Black's vulnerability along the d-file, White is able to win back the lost piece, but not the pawn. White is losing in all variations.