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Qe1 check
Qh1. After queen exchange, b pawn can not stopped
Classic endgame trick when king and 1 pawn vs king and 1 pawn : 1. Qe1+ Kb2 2. Qxe5+ Ka2 3. Qxa1+ Kxa1 4. b7 a3 5. Kb6 a2 6. b8=Q Kb2 7. Ka5+ Kc2 8. Qh2+ Kb3 9. Qe5 Kc2 10. Qe2+ Kb1 11. Kb4
a1=Q 12. Kb3 black lose.
Qe1
1. Qh1+
2. QxQ
3. b7
4. b8=Q
At first glance this looks too easy, but it is a real challenge here:
1. Qe1+ Kb2
2. Qxe5+ Ka2
3. Qxa1 Kxa1
4. b7 a3
5. b8=Q a2 (inviting to stalemate)
This looks unpleasantly like a draw!
How now both prevent a1=Q, avoid stalemate, and do so without having to check forever?
Black’s idea here is very simple:
a) Play always Kb1 and Kb2 while you check him from 1st or 2nd rank. Keeps pawn protected and ready to queen and you get no mate Qc1 when he avoids Ka1. You get no tempo to push K here.
b) Play Ka1 whenever you check him in b file! You are not close enough to give Qc1# here, and you must now move Q again to avoid stalemate, and he will have either Kb1 or Kb2 next.
c) The closest you get with Q is Qc3+ but then Kb1 Qb2+ Ka1 Qc3+/Qd1+ etc.
For this reason, the 5 moves I played above until b8=Q must contain a flaw! This line is a theorethical draw!
To be continued….
So the challenge here is NOT to kill N, exchange Q, push b pawn and be up with blank queen.
The challenge is to find the flaw in the line:
1. Qe1+ Kb2
2. Qxe5+ Ka2
3. Qxa1+ Kxa1
4. b7 a3
5. b8=Q a2!
being a theorethical draw.
It simply is far too materialistic (probably being Kling’s point here).
We might have avoided Qxe5 to let black keep knight and spoil his stalemate motive.
But black can manage to sack knight:
1. Qe1+ Kb2
2. Qxa1+ Kxa1
3. b7 Nd7/Nc6!!
4. KxN (what else?) a3
5. b8=Q a2
is the same as the above line, still a theorethical draw.
Other ideas that don’t work include:
– Minor promotin, black will get queen.
– Delaying promotion, black won’t delay his.
The correct idea here has to include starting earlier to push b pawn, I guess!
Must avoid to exchange queens first!
And it must also include some good defensive moves to delay black’s checking as much as possible.
Probably avoiding to take N also, but then even black’s N sack plans have to be observed.
Here I first looked at the spectacular ide Qh1+ and Qh8, but I don’t like it due to Qc1+ and then Kb1 unpinning knight.
I try:
1. Qe1+ Kb2
2. Qe3
This move looks good to me, now I can play b7 next for sure, OR revert to original plan whenever that is good.
Qb4
1.Qe1+ Kb2
2.Qxe5+ Ka2
3.Qxa1+ Kxa1
4.b7 a3
5.b8=Q a2 5… Ka2 6.Qb4 and P is lost.
6.Kb6 Kb2
7.Ka5+ Ka1
(7….. Kc1 8.Qe5 Kb1 9.Qe1+ Kb2 10.Kb4 a1=Q 11.Qd2+ Kb1 12.Kb3 Qc3+ [taking a chance 13.Qxc3 is stalemate] 13.Kxc3 Ka1 14.Qb2#)
8.Kb4 Kb2
(8….. Kb1 9.Ka3+ Ka1 otherwise lose the P 10.Qb2#)
9.Qh2+ Kb1
10.Kb3 a1=Q
11.Qc2#
The right solution must probably be:
1. Qe4+ Kb2
2. Qb4+!
Not the too passive Qe3?
Qb4 prevents Qc3+ and brings BK back to c file.
2. … Kc2 (Ka2? Qxa4+ wins directly)
3. b7! Nd3!
To delay b8=Q and get checks, only alternative to this would be an N sack Nc6/Nd7, but it’s hard to see how that could be better.
From here the play is complicated, but white must be better here?
Black has however a plan like Qe5+ Kb7 Nc5+ here….
Qe1+ Kb2
Qxe5+
Papan Catur,
In your variation I would prefer 10.Qa1 with eyes closed.
Without Yancey and Harry the page looks dry.
pht,
If you remember well Yancey had commented a few days back,you have to ask why the pieces are placed where they are,of course applied to studies only.Here also if you had pondered why white K is on c file and not beyond you would have understood the meaning.It is to resolve the problem of stalemate.But to tell you the truth this came to me only as an aftermath.
This problem first appeared here over four years ago on September 25th 2009 according to my files.
I simply missed the point that white king could prevent stalemate.
I think I must have seen that theme in other situations, I simply forgot it.