A real brain challenge

9 comments

• Reply

  

  Jørgen Toldsted says:

  January 25, 2008 at 7:31 pm

  A try (from the screen, so i’m sorry for any obvious mistakes):

  1.Bd3 Kb7 (1..Bg8? 2.Be4 and black looses the bishop if it stayes on the a2-g8 diagonal) 2.Ne7 and now the black king cannot go to c7 (or b6) because of 3.Nd5+ and 4.Nf6.

• Reply

  

  Anonymous says:

  January 25, 2008 at 7:36 pm

  Jørgen,

  You’re off to a flying start, but there’s a lot more to this study.

  1.Bd3 Bg8
  2.Be4

  … does force 2…Bh7. White’s still got a long way to go, though.

  You have indeed spotted the theme, which is that once White gets his knight to e7, the Black king is trapped in the corner, for exactly the reason you cite.

• Reply

  

  eray says:

  January 25, 2008 at 7:45 pm

  1.Bd3 Bb7 2.Ne7

  Black’s king is boxed in the corner. White just improves the king to eventually take of the Black’s bishop.

• Reply

  

  Anonymous says:

  January 25, 2008 at 8:11 pm

  It’s not quite that simple, guys. For example,

  1.Bd3 Bg8
  2.Be4 Bh7
  3.Ne7+ Ka7
  4.Kf2? Ka6!
  5.Ke3 Kb5
  6.Kd4 h4
  7.Ke5 Kc5
  8.Kf6 Kd4

  … is only good for a draw.

• Reply

  

  zoobee says:

  January 25, 2008 at 8:24 pm

  but for the above line,
  4. Bd3 saves the day, right?

• Reply

  

  Pitor says:

  January 25, 2008 at 9:36 pm

  Jörgen is right.

  My version:

  1. Bd3 Kb7 2. Ne7. This is the key position.

  After this I will go for the black bisoph with the king. There is just one more thing with that white has to be cautious. If the white king is on g3 and black plays h4+ I mustn’t take that pawn because of g5+.

  Instead of this first white have to fix tehe G pawn with Kg5.

• Reply

  

  Anonymous says:

  January 25, 2008 at 10:04 pm

  1.Bd3 Bg8

  (1…Kb7 2.Ne7 transposes)

  2.Be4! Bh7
  3.Ne7+ Ka7
  4.Bd3!

  (4.Kf2? Ka6! 5.Ke3 Kb5 6.Kd4 h4 7.Ke5 Kc5 8.Kf6 Kd4 =)

  4…Kb7
  5.Kf2 Kb8
  6.Ke3 Kb7
  7.Kd4 h4
  8.Ke3! Kb8
  9.Kf3

  (9.Kf4? g5+ =)

  9…Kb7
  10.Kg4 Kb8
  11.Kg5!

  (11.Kxh4? g5+ =)

  11…h3
  12.Kh6 h2
  13.Be4

• Reply

  

  Anonymous says:

  January 26, 2008 at 6:54 am

  Here is what I think it will go:

  1. Bd3 Kb7
  2. Ne7

  Boxing the king in the corner

  2 .. Kb8
  3. Kg2 Kb7
  4. Kf3

  White approaching from f3-e3-d4-e5

  4 .. Ka7

  All black can do is moving the king in that little box
  Other moves will lose anyway

  5. Ke3 Kb7
  6. Kd4 Kb8
  7. Ke5 h4
  8. Kf6 Kc7
  9. Ke6!

  9. Kg7 Kd6 put a little headache for white

  9 .. Kd8
  10. Kf7 h3
  11. Be4 Kc7
  12. Nd5+ Kd6
  13. Nf6 Ke5
  14. Bb7 g5
  15. Nxh7

  The rest is a matter of technique

  15 .. g4
  16. Kg6 Kf4
  17. Ng5 h2
  18. Kh5 Kf5
  19. Be4+ Kf4
  20. Kh4 g3
  21. Bb7 Kf5
  22. Nh3 g2
  23. Bxg2 Ke5
  24. Kg3 Ke6
  25. Kxh2

• Reply

  

  Anonymous says:

  January 27, 2008 at 7:40 pm

  I think I have an improvement:
  8. Kd6 My computer found it;
  this is one of the best puzzles I have ever seen.