White to move. How can white hold this game?
8/8/3ppp2/4k3/5pP1/2PK1P2/8/8 w – – 0 1
W. Bone
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White to move. How can white hold this game?
8/8/3ppp2/4k3/5pP1/2PK1P2/8/8 w – – 0 1
W. Bone
1.Kc4 d5+ 2.Kc5 f5 3.g5 d4 4.cxd4+mate or
1.Kc4 f5 2.g5 d5+ 3.Kc5 d4 4.cxd4+mate
i wonder, how this position could ever occur in an actual game. but well it didn´t. how could the black king ever lock itself in the centre of the board between all those pawns? anyway, things being like this, it´s a mate in four:
1. Kc4 d5+
2. Kc5 f5
3. g5 d4
4. cxd4#
black can play those moves in a different order, but this won´t change anything. greets, jan
Well, the theme here is zugswang. White has to force black to play f5, so that white can play g5, cutting off the king from f6 and freely marching down and queening. However, cutting the king from f6 has the even better bonus of forcing mate:
1 Kc4 wins, cutting off the king from any movement. Either way is the same:
1 Kc4 f5, 2 g5 d5+, 3 Kc5 d4; 4 cxd4#; or
1 Kc4 d5+, 2 Kc5 f5, 3 g5 d4; 4 cxd4#.
Other than …f5, black can try to delay the inevitable for a move with …d5; 2 Kc5, and now if …d4, then cxd4# is mate, so black has to play …f5; 3 g5, d4; 4 cxd4# mate again!
So 1 Kc4 f5; 2 g5
White can even win this:
1. Kc4 Zugzwang! Black cannot move the King. so:
1. … f5
2. g4! Zugzwang again
… d5+
3. Kc5 d4 (only move)
4. cxd4#
Very nice!
Interesting position: Almost could be called a “front rank” mate. And with a pawn.
Forget the black pawn advantage: Effectively, the king can only move to d5. So the idea is to block d5.
First the weaker alternative but the most obvious examination:
Now 1. c4 does so and if black continued d5, then 2. c5 is powerful.
Similarly, …f5 leads to g4. But in either instance the win must be won in the ending.
Now for the elegant solution.
Instead, with these clues there is a direct front rank mate, with zugzwang. Quite beautiful.
1. Kc4! d5+ (f5 will transpose) 2. Kc5 f5 3. g5 d4, 4 c*d4 mate.
Psyche/Anonymous
I think White should immediately play 1. c4 and use the fact that black’s king is stalemated to advantage.
So, if black plays 1. …d5 then 2. c5 d4 3. Kc4 and black should against be in zugzwang.
I cannot believe f5 from black helps at any stage since white responds g5.
Essentially, in the main variation I see 1. c4 d5 2. c5 d4 3. Kc4 d3 4. Kxd3 Kd5 5. c6 Kxc6 6. Ke4 e5 7. g5 fxg5 8. Kxe5 Kc5 9. Kf5 Kd4 10. Kxg5 Ke3 and in this variation 11. Kg4 actually wins, but this was black’s best try at a win as a I see it, black does not need to play the king there.
This is not comprehensive, but essentially this is how white draws.
1. Kc4! leads to mate
1.Kc4 not allowing Black King to move
d5+ (even if f5 2.g5 will close the escape squre for Black king. d5+ 3.Kc5 d4 4.cxd4#)
2.Kc5 f5
3.g5 d4 (only move)
4.cxd4#
Thank God I still see a checkmate in 4 move.
1. Kc4 d5+
2. Kc5 f5
3. g5 d4
4. cxd4#
Or equally:
1. Kc4 f5
2. g5 d5+
3. Kc5 d4
4. cxd4#
Susan, sweet greetings.
Stef
1 Kc4! d5+ (forced)
2 Kc5! f5 , if 2…d4 3 cxd4 mate
3 g5 stalemate
cute puzzle
1.c4 d5 (1…f5?? 2.g5 +-) 2.c5 d4 3.c6 Kd6 4.Kxd4 Kxc6 5.Ke4 e5 6.g5 fxg5 7.Kxe5 g4 8.Kxf4 1/2-1/2
1. c4 zugzwang
1. … d5 is only move, as f5 would have to be followed by d5 and give black two passed pawns.
2. e5 (passed pawn)
2. … d4 and unfortunately white is in zugzwang now, and can’t return it. Kc4 doesn’t work because of d3, so it has to be
3. e6 Kd6
4. e7 Kxe7
5. Kxd4 Kd6
6. Ke4 e5 (f5+ looses to gxf5 exf5
Kxf5 followed by Kxf4)
7. Kf5 Kd5
8. g5 fxg5
9. Kxg5 looks like a draw to me.
This quite easy to see. Most of the moves are forced.
1. Kc3, d5
2. c5, d3+
3. Kc4, Kd5
4. c6, and white draws easily.
Erik Fokke
Amsterdam, Netherlands
white WON only 4 steps :
1.Kc4 d5+
2.Kc5 f5
3.g5 d4
4.cxd4#
And game DRAW if:
1.c4 d5
2.c5 d4
3.Kc4 d3
4.Kxd3 Kd5
5.c6 Kxc6
6.Ke4 Kd6
7.Kxf4 Kd5
8.Ke3 e5
9.f4 Kxf4
10.Kxf4 Ke6
11.g5 fxg5
12.Kxg5
c4 wasn’t the right zugzwang idea after all. Now it looks more like mate in 4 after:
1. Kc4! (marvellous zugzwang)
1. … f5 (this and next move may be interchanged)
2. g5 d5+ (only legal move)
3. Kc5! d4 (only legal move)
4. cxd4#
1.Kc4!
Offhand, I would start with
1. c4 d5
2. c5 d4
3. c6 Kd6
That would pull the Black king to the queenside. White can take the d4 pawn.
That’s the extent of my limited analysis.
1.c4! otherwise Black just activates his king
1…d5
1…f5?? 2.g5 d5 3.c5 and now it is White who wins.
2.c5 d4
again 2….f5?? 3.g5 and it is White who wins
3.Kc4 d3! 3…f5?? 4.g5 is still the same thing
4.Kxd3 forced Kd5 5.c6! Kxc6 6.Ke4 e5 7.g5!
Very good move because if 7.Kf5?! Kd6 8.Kxf6 e4! 9.g5 (9.fxe4 f3 10.g5 f2! or 10.e5+ Kd7 11.e6+ Ke8 12.g5 f2 -+ ) 9…exf3 10.g6 f2 11.g7 f1/Q 12.g8/Q and Black has still something to pull
a)7….Kd6 8.gxf6 Ke6 9.f7! Kxf7 10.Kxe5 Ke7 11.Kxf4 Kf6 is a draw
b)7….fxg5 8.Kxe5 Kc5(8…g4! draw) 9.Kf5 Kd4 10.Kxg5 Ke5 11.Kg4 Ke6 12.Kxf4 Kf6 is a draw
In my previous comment, i concluded that 1.c4 should lead to a draw
But what about 1.Kc4 ??
1.Kc4!! f5 2.g5! no escape d5+ 3.Kc5 d4 only move 4.cxd4 is mate ! so White wins 1-0
It seems to me that white can do much better than just a draw…
1.Kc4 d5+ 2.Kc5 d4 3.cxd #
Of course, whenever black plays …f5, white replies with g5.
1.Kc4 d5+
2.Kc5 f5
3.g5 d4
4.cxd4#
Kc4!! and mate to come