White to move. How can White launch a successful attack?
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With the latent pinning opportunity with Bf5 (to x-ray the rook at c8), the bishop at e6 is none too safe, so the very first move I would look at would be Qf6:
1. Qf6 Kf6 (or concede the rook)
2. Re6! Qe6
Black could try to move the king, and it might be a bit better- I just can’t be sure: [2. …Kg7 3.Rc6 Rc6 4.Bf5 Rc3 5.Kf2 Ra3 6.Re7 Kf8 7.Rb7 Rb3 8.Rb6 Rb4 9.Ra6 Rd4 10.Rh6 and white should have a wining endgame, though a tedious win to bring in]. Continuing:
3. Re6 Ke6
Again, black could decline to take at e6, but in this position, white is one further move ahead than in the previous side note. Still, it might still be better than exchanging the rooks- it is hard for me to tell. Continuing:
4. Bf5
And, now the latent pinning threat reaches it operative point:
4. …..Kd6
Any other move drops pawns on the queenside, and the game for sure. Continuing:
5. Bc8 Kc7
And now white has the task of finding a way to break through. The only plan I can see here is to bring the white king over to b3 and at least force black to liquidate a pair of pawns while keeping the doubled pawns on the b-file. Let’s follow through on this a bit to see where it might lead.
6. Bf5 Kc6
I don’t see that black gains anything by trying to liquidate the queenside pawns- all it seems to me this does it to open a hole for the white king. Continuing:
7. Kf3 Kc7
8. Ke3 Kc6
9. Kd3 Kc7
10.Kc3 Kc6
11.Kb3 Kc7
12.a4 Kd6 (ba4 and Kc6 below)
13.ab5 ab5
So, black has kept the white king out. Where does white go from here? What I would like to do if I were white is to force black to play b6 taking away a waiting move, then play to sacrifice the bishop at d5 and take the opposition with Kd3 after black takes at d5. However, right now, I don’t see a good way to accomplish this. I have to think about this a bit longer.
There are two parts to it. The first part is to win a piece, the second to win the end-game.
1. Qxf6+ Kxf6
2. Rxe6+ Qxe6
3. Rxe6+ Kxe6
4. Bf5+ Kd6
6. Bxc8 Kc7
7. Be6 Kd6
8. Bf7
Black has d6 and c6 for the king, and if the bishop goes to c8, the black king can defend with …Kc7
And the white king doesn’t have an easy route in.
White will now move the white king to b3, and play a4. Black cannot try hanky panky with …h5 — that will lose immediately. And black won’t take on a4.. that will open the route for the white king. So, black will keep moving the black-king. White has no choice but to take a4xb5, and black replies a6xb5.
Now, white attacks the b5 pawn with Bd7 or Be8. black defends with King on b6. Now white makes a random waiting move (e.g., with the white king). Black is forced to keep defending b5 with …Ka6. Now, white attacks the d5 pawn with Bf7 and the black king is too far away. Winning the d-pawn wins the game.
Ok, I think I see it now. Picking it up from move 13 in my previous comment:
14.Bg6
Threatens Be8 attacking the b5 pawn. To protect this pawn, black must play the king to either c7 or c6 immediately, or play the king to e7 or d7 to cut of the bishop before it reaches e8. Continuing:
14. ….Kc6
15.Bf7 Kd6
16.Be8 and b5 will fall, and the white king will infiltrate the black position. Cutting the bishop off from e8 at move 14 won’t work either:
14. ….Kd7
15.Bf7 Kc6 (Kd6 16.Be8+-)
16.Be8 Kb6
17.Kc3
A waiting move. Continuing:
17. ….Ka6
Here, black loses with h5: [17. …h5 18.gh5 g4 19.Bd7! and the black pawn will be held up by Bh3 and the white h-pawn can’t be stopped]. Continuing:
18.Bf7 and the d pawn falls.
So, did black have a way to hold this position prior to move 12 (in my previous comment? I don’t know. I still need to do some work on those alternate lines.
Qxf6+ Kxf6
Rxe6+ Qxe6
Rxe6+ Kxe6
Bf5+ K any
Bxc8
I’ve checked an algorithm to solve those kind of positions. This algorithm is the pluscross algorithm.
Checks or captures, in fact.
Here we go!
My first try (10-15 seconds) was
1.Qxe6 Rxe6
2.Rxe6 with penetration on the e-file, the rook, we will see later why, is tactically protected. But the material balance is slightly unfavorable for White, and the attack is not very dangerous. Black is not forced to take the impertinent Rook and moves like 2…Qd3 are at their disposition.
The principal difficulty here is that Black is not forced to take the Re6.
But I stumbled upon another move, more punchy.
1.Qxf6+ (annihilation of defender piece, attraction) Kxf6
2.Rxe6+ (double attack, with check) Qxe6 (forced this time)
3.Rxe6+ and White is a Bishop ahead, now or after 3…Kxe6 which is met by 4.Bf5+ (skewer) and 5.Bxc8, with a not so hard ending to win because all Black’s queenside pawns are on white squares and God the bishop is hungry!
PS: alas, this kind of puzzles gives the false impression that I’m a strong tactician. In fact, I’m not. All I had to do was to verify captures and check in a sequence of forced moves,
All moves, white and black, were captures, checks or both!
start with q x r check. continue trading and finish with a bishop xray attack on the king-rook diagonal
1. Qxf6+, Kxf6 (not taking this won’t help at all)
2. Rxe6+, Kg7 (Qxe6 is worse as 2…, Qxe6, 3. Rxe6+, Kxe6 4. Bf5+ and Black will lose all its pieces and leave White with the advantage of the Bishop having the a and b rank pawns)
3. Rxc6, Rxc6
4. Bf5 and White attacks the pawns on white square, Rc3+
5. Kf2, Rxa3
6. Rb1, Ra2
7. Bxd5 and White with his extra piece can win the game
Maybe 1.Qf6:-Kf6: 2. Re6:-Qe6: 3.Re6:-Ke6: 4. Bf5 and after Bc8: a rook up for white.
1Qxf6+ Kxf6
2 Rxe6+ Qxe6
3 Rxe6+ Kxe6
4 Bf5+ K moves
5 BxR wins a piece.
1. Dxf6+
. . .
4. Lf5+
Hi Susan polgar,
Well,here again in this puzzle,I do see few worth while combination, White wins with ease.
My preferred initial move is either “Rf1 / Bf5 / Rh1”.
There is a most piece exchange move “Q*Rf6” ,White will have an additional piece(Bishop),but due to pawn positioning,it may lead to repeated move draw.
By
Venky [ India – Chennai ]
1. Qxf6+! Kxf6
2. Rxe6! Qxe6
3. Rxe6+ Kxe6
4. Bf5+ skewers the other rook. This should be enough to win.
I continue Yancey Ward’s analysis:
11…bxa4+ and 11…Kc6 were yet to be analysed.
11… bxa4+ is easy to defeat:
12. Kxa4 (with the terrible menace Ka5) b6 (forced) 13. Be6 (attacking the weak pawn d5) Kc6
Here, it seems that Black can hold the position, but White wins by the very elegant move (perhaps not unique)
14. b5+!!
14…axb5+ 15. Kb4, putting Black in zugzwang.
Black can delay it by playing 15…Kd6 but with 16.
Bg8 Kc6 (forced) 17. Bf7 one of the two pawn b5 or d5 falls, with win.
11… Kc6 is a tougher nut to crack. 12. Bd3 reinforces pressure to b5 and prepares the swapping of pawns in eliminating a variation
12…Kb6 13. axb5 axb5 and b5 is weak.
14. Bg6 Kc7 15. Be8 (again pressuring b5)
15..Kb6 16. Kc3 (putting black in zugzwang) Ka6 17. Bf7
Black can play in this variation 16… Kc7 but after 17. Bxb5 Kb6 18. Be8 Kc7 19. Bf7 (pressure to d5) Kc6 20. Kb3 Kd6 21. Ka4 and White breaks in Black’s position, the Black King bound by obligation to his ill pawn d5.
The principal themes to remember here is the play on two weaknesses and zugzwang (the Bishop is a zugzwang-machine).
The two weaknesses can be either material (weak pawn b5, for example) or squares (the queensides squares after the swapping or capture of pawns at b5)
Regards!
Cortex.