White to move. How can White save this game?
8/3k2b1/2NP4/3K3B/6p1/8/2p2n2/8 w – – 0 1
Stamma puzzle
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
A classic endgame
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White to move. How can White save this game?
8/3k2b1/2NP4/3K3B/6p1/8/2p2n2/8 w – – 0 1
Stamma puzzle
1. Bf7 c1Q 2. Be6+ Ke8 (forced) 3. d7+ Kf8 (forced) 4. d8Q#
Bg6 threatening Bf5+
Be8+! Kxe8
Ke6 traps the king and the pawn will queen.
At first, I thought 1.Nb8 and 2.d7 might lead somewhere, but black can play to either c8 or d8 on the first move, and I couldn’t really find a continuation after 1. ….Kc8:
1. Nb8 Kc8
2. d7 Kd8 and now what for white? If he plays Nc6 black just takes at d7, and if he plays Kd6, black just drives the white king to e6 with a bishop check from f8 and then queens. So, Nb8+ cannot be the first move.
So, the only other check worth looking at is the one from e8. Now, this isn’t actually that bad looking even on a first glance:
1. Be8 Ke8
Here, [1. …Kc8 2.d7 Kb7 (2. …Kc7 3.d8Q Kb7 4.Bd7 with mate to follow) 3.d8Q c1Q (nothing holds) 4.Qb8 Ka6 5.Qa7 Kb5 6.Qa5#].
2. Ke6
Not a hard move to find since white really has nothing else. Of course, once into it, one can easily see what is coming, and there is nothing black can really do to stop it- the king, pawn, knight combo on the sixth rank is overpowering:
2. …..c1(Q) (alternatives below)
3. d7 Kf8
4. d8(Q)#
Or
2. …..Kf8
3. d7 Kg8 (Bc3 4.d8Q Kg7 5.Qg5+-)
4. d8(Q)Kh7
Here [4. …Bf8 5.Ne7 Kg7 6.Nf5 Kg8 7.Qg5 Kh7 (7. …Kh8 8.Kf7 with mate to follow) 8.Kf7 with mate unstoppable]. Continuing:
5. Qd2 and the black c-pawn falls. This is probably a forced mate, too, but I am tired and want to finish the main business up here.
Or, at move 2:
2. …..Bf6
3. d7! Kf8
4. Kf6 Ne4 (else d8Q+ is coming)
5. Kg6
That white knight is amazing- it covers e7 keeping the black king locked out of the queening square. Continuing:
5. …..Nd6 (what else?)
6. d8(Q)Ne8
7. Qe7 Kg8
8. Qe8#
And, lastly:
2. …..Bc3
3. d7 Kf8
4. d8(Q)Kg7
5. Qg5 Kh7/h8
Here: [5. …Kf8 6.Qh6 Kg8 (6. …Ke8 7.Qh5 Kf8 8.Qf7#) Ne7#]. Continuing:
6. Kf7 with an unstoppable mate we saw above.
I think that covers it all.
1. Be8+ Kxe8
2. Ke6 Bf6
3. d7+ Kf8
4. Kxf6 Ne4+
5. Kg6 Nd6
6. d8Q+ Ne8
7. Qd7 Nd6
8. Qxd6+ Ke8
9. Kf6 c1Q
10.Qe7#
greets, jan
Be8 boop, boop be poop
Hi Susan Polgar,
Your web site is well organized and has attractive contents – it shows your talent,I appreciate it.
Okay coming to today’s chess puzzle – well there are good many combination : If I take White piece,then my moves will be as given below.
White wins the game.[ 4 moves ]
===================
1.Be8+ k*Be8
2.Ke6 c1(q)
3.d7+ kf8
4.d8(Q)++ Mate
White wins the game
By
Venky [ India – Chennai ]
1. Be8+ Kxe8 (or Kc8)
2. Ke6, and the pawn will queen with mate.
Why there is a black bishop on g7? To prevent Black queening the c-pawn after
1. Be8+! Kxe8
2. Ke6 cQ1?
3. d7+ Kf8
4. d8Q mate
Alternatives:
1. Be8+! Kxe8
2. Ke6 Bb2
3. d7+ Kf8
4. d8Q+ Kg7
5. Qg5+ Kh8
6. Qh6+ Kg8
7. Qg6+ Kh8
8. Ne7 c1Q
9. Qg8 mate
More interesting
1. Be8+ Kc8!
2. d7+ Kb7
3. d8Q c1Q
4. Qb8+ Ka6
5. Nb4+ Ka5
6. Qb5 mate
Hope all that is more or less correct. As always I tried to puzzle it out in a breakfast break at my office desk 😉 without a board or any other help. Maybe there are some mistakes for that reason in my analysis.
Dannyboy from Germany
1.Be8+! Kxe8 forced 2.Ke6! Bf6!? an interesting try but 3.d7+! easily refutes it 1-0
I guess it would be either Bf7 or Bg6.
Bf7 wins quickly if black answers with c1=Q?, but I suspect he doesn’t. Bf6 looks good for white here.
Bg6-f5 seems to give black king an escape field on f7, and at the same time black might still answer with Bf6, sacking c2 pawn and playing g pawn instead.
I think this is too difficult for me…
1. Be8+ pulls the king from blocking the pawn, and after 1. … Kxe8 2. Ke6, the Black king has to run to avoid mate from the promoting pawn (e.g., 2. … Kf8 3. d7 Kg8 4. d8(Q)+ Kh7 5. Qg5 and White wins). Going the other way leads to a quicker end: 1. … Kc8 2. d7+ Kb7 3. d8(Q) still nails it for White: 3. … c1(Q) 4. Qd7+ Kb6 5. Qa7+ Kb5 6. Qa5#; or 3. … Be5 4. Na5+ Ka7 5. Qc8 Kb6 6. Qc6+ and mate happens on a5 or a7; 3. … Ka6 4. Qc7 and 5. Nb8#.
I think white is completely won. 1.Bf7! c1=Q
2.Be6+ Ke8
3.d7+ Kf8
4.d8Q mate.
Hi Susan Polgar,
I have already posted a comment for this chess puzzle,may be you have not approved & updated it yet – okay I will check this site tomorrow.
My chess moves for this puzzle is for White piece’s win.
By the by – your web site really
attracts me – thats because of its brilliants in its contents and placement of the same.
By
Venky [ India – Chennai ]
This is very tricky, but at the end I think I have figured out a way for White to achieve a draw.
1. Bg6
The idea of this move is to push Pd6 by Bf5+, d7+, Be6+ and finally d8=Q. If Black doesn´t swap the queens then, White will go for perpetual checks.
Basically, Black has two answers: c1=Q, g3 and Bf6. The first one intends to swap the queens by Qd1+, the second covers the square d8, so that White cannot queen his pawn without being taken by the bishop. Let´s have a look at 1. … d1=Q first:
2. Bf5+ Ke8
3. d7+ Kf7
If the king goes to f8, then the new white pawn reaches the final rank with check.
4. Be6+
This turn means to get the bishop to d5 after the queens are swapped and thus to stop the g-pawn.
4. … Kg6 Not Kf6 of course, again because of d8=Q with check.
5. d8=Q Qd1+
6. Kc5 Qxd8
7. Nxd8 g3
8. Bd5 and draw.
Now for 1. … Bf6:
2. Bf5+ Ke8
3. d7+ Kf8(or Kf7)
4. Bxc2 g3
What now?
5. Ne5! g2 The knight cannot be taken because of (Bxe5) 6. d8=Q+
6. Nf3 and draw.
I don’t see any stalemates, knight forks or bishop skewers so white is going to need to queen and then at least get a perpetual. Nb8+ is my main consideration.
Nb8+ Kc8 d7+ Kd8 (Kxb8 d8=(q)+ would be at least a drawor more if white could for the c2 pawn) here I think black holds with two lines
Be8 c1(q) Nc6+ Qxc6 Kxc6 and black will win. The same is true if we transpose Be8 and Nc6. So 2.d7+ didn’t seem to work.
Nb8+ Kc8 Nc6 c1(q) doesn’t go anywhere d7+ Kxd7
Nb8+ Kc8 Be8 c1(q) d7+ Kb7 the king is trying not to allow d8=(q) with check but I think white will at least draw here
Nb8+ Kc8 Be8 Bf6 d7+ Kc7 Na6+ Kb7. Now this gets confusing. Maybe there’s a mating pattern here I don’t know or am missing.
Start with 1. Be8+ to free the passed pawn.
white plays
1) Bf7…with the threat of
2) Be6+, Ke8(forced)
3) d7+, Kf8(forced)
4) d8=Q++
1.Bf7 looks good, with the threat of Be6+. Phil
what about
Bg6, c1(q)
Bf5+, Ke8
d7+, Kf8
d8(q)++
I an kind of relieved that I was not the only one to look at Bg6 and Bf7 🙂
The error whith Bf7 is of course that black is to smart to play c1Q at once.
Instead he takes time to play Bf6, for ever preventing whites pawn to queen on d8, and so there is nothing more for white to play for.
Bg6 is even worse, hardly threating anything…
A lesson to learn is that in such situations a goodlooking first move that isn’t a check, quite rearly is enforcing enough. There are too many options for the other side, who migt find a surpricing answer.
Of course the simple bishop sack Be8+ wins, but the easiest move is sometimes the most difficult to find…