White to move. How can white draw this game? (It is quite difficult)
Source: ChessToday.net
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I’m not sure about the move order, but a plan with Bd5, Kg2, Kh1, with the bishop taking care of the h1-a8 diagonal, must draw easily.
I don’t have a lot of time for this this evening, but here are my thoughts on this problem at the moment:
I have a hard time believing that there is any other beginning than Bd5 to threaten b7 and b8 since the white king has control, for the moment, of g3 from where the dark square bishop would need to go to cover b8:
1. Bd5 Ba5
2. b7 Bc7
So, now, white has the dark-squared bishop tied down to the b8/h2 diagonal. Black cannot capture at b7 without the king, but we don’t even need to consider such lines. To win at b7 with the king and bishop double attacking b7 will require the exchange of the light-square bishops, and black cannot queen the h-pawn with just the king and dark-square bishop. So, black must try to advance the h-pawn while leaving the b-pawn on the board:
3. Kg2 h5
4. Kf3 h4
5. Bc6
I don’t really know how white best proceeds here, but I see no reason to allow the black king access to f4 or g3 right away. Continuing:
5. …..h3 (what else?)
6. Bd5 h2
7. Kg2 Bd3
8. Bc6 Kf5 (Kf4 9.Kh2)
9. Bd7 Ke4
10.Bc6
And I am not sure if white truly has a draw here, but I can’t see how black makes progress here either.
Bc4
a.
Yancey, how about
3. b8(Q), BxQ
then chase the Black queen’s bishop up and down the parallel diagonals with White’s for stalemate if taken or known draw with the wrong bishop if black exchanges at g2.
I agree with Yancey until
1. Bd5 Ba5
2. b7 Bc7
but now
3. b8Q ! Bxb8
4. Bb7 Bxb7
Draw – Stalemate!
Or:
4…. Bb5
5. Bc6 Bc4
and so on, drawn by repitition
Very nice!
Yancey’s and Martin’s analyses are very clever but don’t take into account that 2. … Ba6-c8 can wreck the chances of stalemate:
1. Bd5 Bc8+
2. Kh2 Ba5
3. b7 Bc7+
Now white’s chance of stalemate is substantially reduced if not eliminated completely, or at least I don’t see it.
Can’t believe I missed the stalemate in my line, and I was actually looking for something like it, too, just not so quickly in the line. Sheesh!
So, white can give up the pawn to put the bishop on b8, so the question, as Craig Johannsen points out, can black foil this idea?
He clearly can’t by putting the king’s bishop on c3, b4 at move 1, etc. since white just plays b7 followed by b8Q with the stalemate lines Davey and Martin pointed to. Also, king moves and pawn moves are eliminated at move 1 since white plays b7 and the bishop can’t safely cover b8 any longer. So, we are left with the two checks from f1 and c8 (that Craig pointed to).
1. Bd5 Bc8
2. Kg2
Black must deal with the threat of b7 attacking the bishop. The dark square bishop still has no way to put eyes on b8 in one move. In fact, the only move here I can see that prevents b7 from obtaining an immediate draw is Kh4 which allows Bh3 with check and a subsequent Bg3 covering b8:
2. …..Kh4
3. b7 Bh3
4. Kf3 Bg3
5. Bc6 Bb8 (alternatives later)
6. Be4 Bg4
7. Kg2
And how does black make progress here? I don’t see it right now, but this is much more complicated than it looks. I need more time to think about it.
Hi Craig,
ok, but what about
2. Kg2 instead of 2. Kh2
2. … Ba5
3. b7
Draw, isn’t it?
I was in agreement with the first post about the B just doing sentry on the long diagonal, but White must avoid Black getting Ph3 and Bf1 with Black to move, allowing Bg2 (assuming Black K on f2 or g3). So there is still some work to do.