Mate in 5 . . .

i'm open to any who can find mate in less than 5 moves.

...ryan 

I don't believe that white can force mate in under six moves.

@tonightonly,

are you saying you don't think my moves are entirely forced? if not, i'm curious for another way black has out. otherwise it is mate in 5, no??

...ryan 

 For one, 2...Ka6 leads to a quicker mate than 2...Ka5.

Also, white's options are narrower because he must keep checking. Otherwise, black can waste moves by checking with the Queen and perhaps pawns. i.e.

1...Qf3+  2.Kg1 Qg2+  3.Kxg2 h3+

So, I believe the fastest forced mate will avoid this sort of scenario. 

White has

1.b5+ Kxb5  2.Qb4+ Ka6  3.Qc4+ b5  4.Bb7+ Kxb7  5.Qc7+ Ka6  6.Qxa7#

TonightOnly wrote:

White has

1.b5+ Kxb5  2.Qb4+ Ka6  3.Qc4+ b5  4.Bb7+ Kxb7  5.Qc7+ Ka6  6.Qxa7#

@tonight,

you're right, Ka6 is not best move for black. good catch, and your take on mate is fun as well, not sure if it's the fastest otherwise, but looks like it from what i can see.

...ryan

1. Qa8 Qe2 (to prevent Bc4 mate)

 2. a4 Bxa4 (to prevent Qc8/Qb7/Bb7 mate)

 3. Rxa4+ Kb5 (forced)

 4. Qc6+ Kb4 (again, forced)

 5. Bc3 ++

I think this line is forced mate in five.