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Clearing the ling to f6 for the queen and for the rook to g7 definitely would suggest Bd5 before any other move. Let’s see where this might lead:
1. Bd5 ed5
Black might do better to try the less clear 1. …Rab8 here- the idea being Rb6 and Rh6 giving some counterplay, but if white isn’t too greedy, he can just retreat with Bg2 and have a pawn or two advantage (assuming he can win a7, too). Hard to evaluate clearly. Continuing:
2. Rg7
With the rook on d1 under attack, white doesn’t have time to try to double the rooks on the g-file, but Rg7 is pretty clear to me up to a point since the other rook can come to g1:
2. …..Kg7
Forced. If black plays Kh8 or Kf8, 3.Qf6 is going to lead to an eventual mate or loss of the queen, surely.
3. Qf6!
Definitely better than 3.Rg1 where Kf8 allows black to block the check from f6 with his queen, and I don’t know what white has: [3.Rg1? Kf8 4.Qf6 Qf7! is unclear to me]. Continuing:
3. …..Kg8
4. Rg1! Qg6
5. Rg6
Basically forced. White has given huge material for this queen. White is literally in no danger of losing since he has a sure 3-fold repetition draw if needed, but I can definitely see some winning chances with the passed e-pawn and h-pawn. However, I really need to do deep look here to be sure white can get the edge which suggest I am missing the right beginning here. I really need to go back to the beginning now.
Ok, I don’t think the other capture at d5 is better either:
1. Rd5 ed5
2. Bd5 Kh8!
And now, I think white is forced to play e6:
3. e6 Be8 (any better move?)
4. Ba8 Rd1!
If black plays Rxa8, white should win with Qb7 double threat easily. Continuing:
5. Qa7
White can’t evade the perpetual as far as I can tell. Continuing:
5. …..Rg1
6. Kg1 Qd1
7. Kg2 Qg4=
And I am not really sure I even picked the best defense for black here- black could well be winning after white’s first move.
Bxd5 wins material.
This line is more or less forced after exd5:
Bxd5 exd5 Rxg7+ Kxg7 Qf6+ Kg8 Rg1+ Qg4 Rxg4+ fxg4 e6 Bxe6 Qxe6+ Kh8 Qxg4
I think better might be Bxd5 Rab8, if I take on e6 the queen can kill me on the h1 a8 diagonal.
So white can just go back to g2 (only available square to stay on the diagonal). White only wins a pawn really but still you know, free pawn. Also the a7 pawn is hanging.
Bxd5! exd5 Rxg7+
1. Rxd5
–br
1. Rxd5 exd5
2. Qf6 g6
3. Bxd5+
1-0
I gave up on this one today. I actually found the game on Chessgames.com and the line followed my first comment up to black’s fourth move (move 25 in the game). In the actual game, black blocked at g4 with the queen rather than at g6, giving white two connected passers on the e and f-files. In my opinion, a weak defense in my opinion.
a nice combo to get to a Benko style endgame puzzle.
It is easy to give up when you see Q v two rooks and a bishop. Surprisingly white has time to calmly push f5 before e6
Boy, do I remember this puzzle well! I worked on this after the last comment I made above for another week, and eventually decided white could win. Technically, however, a difficult win for white with lots of pitfalls along the way. Below is the key line I identified:
1. Bd5 ed5
2. Rg7 Kg7
3. Qf6 Kg8
4. Rg1 Qg6
5. Rg6 hg6
6. Qg6
From this point, black has two paths -Kf8 or Kh8. Let’s take the worse of the lines first:
6. ………..Kf8
7. e6!
And black is in a quandary now. The bishop is under attack, and white is threatening Qf7#. There is no way to save the bishop:
7. ………..Be8?
8. Qh7!+-
Threatening 9.e7#, or 9.e7+ followed by 10.exd8(Q) if black moves the bishop off of e8 to give the black king an escape path. Clearly lost. So, at move 7 in this line, black must concede the bishop:
7. ………..Be6 (or 7. …Ke7 8.ed7 Kd7 9.Qf5+-)
8. Qe6+-
The f-pawn will fall. The win isn’t trivial from this point, but isn’t all that difficult either. So, let’s return to the main line at move 6 where black could have played…..
6. ………..Kh8
7. e6!
We again have two main paths. Taking at e6 simply reverts to a similar ending we just finished discussing, but black can put the bishop on e8 or c6. Let’s take Be8 first:
7. ………..Be8
8. Qf5+-
And white has connected passers and the passed h-pawn. Black’s pieces are uncoordinated, still, and has no real time to develop any counterplay. Again, not a trivial ending for white to win, but not terribly difficult either. So, let’s discuss the move 7 alternative placing of the bishop, which is a trickier line:
7. …………Bc6!?
This lays a little trap for white…..
8. f3!
It would careless to play the greedy 8.Qf5? since it gives black major counterplay with 8. …d4+ followed by dxc3!. The lines are complicated, and I could never fully resolve them, but none of them ever suggested white had any winning chances afterwards- in most, white would be forced to take the draw by repetition, or end up in a potentially losing ending. Continuing:
8. …………d4
Hard to say if this is black’s best move or not. However, more passive defense seems hopeless to me. There will never be enough time or safety to double the rooks on any file, and the f-pawn can’t be protected by 8. …Rf8 since white just pushes 9.e7. Continuing:
9. Qf6
Again, it requires a bit of patience on white’s part. White needs to get the queen off the g-file first, and force the black king onto it, or to h7 where f5 can be taken with check:
9. ………Kg8 (or Kh7 10.Qf5 Kg7+-)
10.ed4!
Better than 10.cd4, in my opinion, though the entire line is still quite unclear to me 2 1/2 years later. What I didn’t really like about 10.cd4 is that it gets the c-file open for black one move more quickly than otherwise, and it keeps blocked off the e3 square from the white king who might want to advance to f2-e3 in response to Rg8+ and so forth. In one critical line, white can push d5 (with the queen on f7) to give the white king access to d4 and and possibly e5. I am not going to discuss the details since most of it is speculative and their are numerous subvariations that I found intractable. And, finally, I think ed4 is better than the push e4 since the latter move allows needless counterplay for black. Continuing:
10. ……….. Bf3
Hard to believe there is a better move for black here. Black could try 10. …Rf8, but white can check from g6 and h6 and then push e7 and black will still have to play Bf3, but under worse or, maybe same, conditions. Continuing:
11.Kg1
And, believe it or not- this is sort of the end of the concrete portion of the analysis! The deeper weeds are now coming up. What should black do with the bishop now? Here is what I see with 11. ….Be4:
11. …………Be4
12.Qf7 Kh8
13. e7 Rg8
14. Kf2
And we have reached the position where one might understand why 10.cd4 was inferior to 10.ed4. With a white pawn on e3 and no pawns on the c-file at all, black’s Rg2+ is quite dangerous looking combined with a preparatory Rac8. However, in the present position, it looks less dangerous and much less annoying, since black would have to take at c3 first to have a real threat. For example:
14. ………..Rac8?
15. d5! Rg2 (there are better moves, but this is for demonstration)
16. Ke3 Rc3
17. Kd4 Rd3 (nothing better now)
18. Ke5 Rd5 (again, nothing better)
19. Ke6 Rg8
20. Qg8 Kg8
21. e8Q+-
Basically, with the pawn on c3, black never has time to separate the rooks on the 8th rank with the looming new queen in the form of the e7 pawn. So, at move 14 in the line above, black must play much more passively:
14. ……….Rae8 (any better move????)
15. d5 Bd5
Basically, black takes it now or later- he can’t allow d6-d7 etc. Continuing:
16. Qf6
Hard to say if an immediate 16.Qxd5 is worse- white should still win f-pawn, too, since black still has to take at e7. I looked at both lines, and 16.Qf6 at least gives black the opportunity to blunder that doesn’t exist with 16.Qd5:
16. ……….Kh7 (Rg7? 17.Qf8 Rf8!? 18.ef8+-)
17. Qf5 Rg6 (any better?)
18. Qd5 Re7
19. Qb5
And white should be able to win this, though it wouldn’t be trivial. In any case, I will stop here. I could discuss the alternatives to 11. ….Be4, but don’t have the time right now.
I feel after 1.Bxd5 exd5 2.Rxg7+ Kxg7 3.Qf6+ Kg8 4.Rg1+ Qg6 5.Rxg6+ hxg6 6.Qxg6+ Kh8 7.e6 Bc6 8.f3 d4 in your line white should try to retain f pawn by 9.Qh5+ Kg7 10.cxd4. it is true some tempo is lost but pawn structure may be solid. after Kg2 , Q can be freed.I am however weary of long analysis.
I looked back through my notes on this puzzle, and I don’t seem to have considered this line, or if I did, I didn’t make notes on it at the time 2 and 1/2 years ago. Looking at it now, it visually appeals to me- it is hard for black to defend this against the looming e4 advance, especially with a passive defense like 10. …Rf8, for example. I would probably favor 10. …Rac8 here since an immediate 11.Qf5 again allows Bxf3.
It may be the case I did think of this at the time but didn’t see an immediate way to win the black bishop. After 10. ….Rac8, I don’t like what happens with 11.e4, so I would have to spend considerable time investigating the queen maneuvers before taking at f5, or pushing the e-pawn. Very complex is all I can guess right now.
On 1…. Rab8 i have crazy idea of 2.Bb7 ( can i call it defacing the R?) I got this idea because of your plan for black of playing 2…. Rb6. the idea is black’s other pieces are passive and after Qxa7 ,Bishop at d7 is in danger.
Sorry. I overlooked 2….. Bc6 is a check.