White to move. Can White hold this game? How should White proceed? No computer please 🙂
8/k1K5/p5R1/8/8/7p/1P4p1/8 w – – 0 0
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
- About Us
- Chess Improvement
- Chess Puzzles
- Chess Research
- College Chess
- General News
- Home
- Major Tournaments
- News
- Polgar Events
- Privacy Policy
- Scholastic Chess
- SPICE / Webster
- Susan’s Personal Blog
- Track your order
- USA Chess
- Videos
- Women’s Chess
- Contact Us
- Daily News
- My Account
- Terms & Conditions
- Privacy Policy
Black wins after:
1. Rg6 x g2
2. h3 x Rg2
It goes down hill for white after that once black promotes to Queen.
Yes, white can hold this game.
A.Munoz
womancandidatemaster.blogspot.com
You are correct Mr. Munoz.
The assumption gumption left out the way the rook takes out both g2 and h3 pawns then goes after the Kings pawn leaving a checkmate.
1. Rb6! a5 (1… g1Q 2. Rb7+, etc., is also a draw) 2. Rb7+ Ka5 (or Ka8)3. Rb6+ (White loses after 3. Rb8?? g1Q 4. Ra8+ Qa7, and Black promotes the other pawn. Similarly, in the 2… Ka8, 3. Rb6?? loses to 3…g1Q 4. Ra6+ Qa7), Ka7 4. Rb7+, etc., and White draws.
White can draw with 1. Kc6, threatening a perpetual check on the 7th and 8th ranks. Trying to escape by moving the black king towards the rook will get black mated on c8. The only other try is 1. … a5, in hopes of slipping out the other direction, but then white can play 2. Rg8, threatening mate on a8, so black has no choice but to accept the draw.
After posting my way for white to force a draw (and seeing David come up with an equally good way to achieve the same result), I checked my computer, and found a surprise. You folks out there–can you think of a way for white to WIN? As Susan said, this is indeed “clever stuff”!
Or white plays Rb6 and then gives perpetual checks by Rb7 and Rb8 no matter what black plays.
An important feature is, that black’s a pawn blocks a possible checkmate along the a-file. Another feature is, that if white’s b-pawn can advance three squares, it will check the rest of the way and coronate to queen with mate. If black’s pawn stops this, it will open up a file for mate. So
1. b4 h2
2. b5 axb5 (Rxa6# was threatened)
3. Rxg2 h1Q (nothing better)
4. Ra2#
So does white have an alternative to 1. … h2? 1… a5 simply loses a tempo, white continues 2. b5 and wins by coronating the pawn. 1. b4 Ka8 2. Rxa6#. 1. b4 g1Q 2. Rxg1 is obviously not going to do it. Black is lost.
for chess puzzles visit
http://chesspuzzles4u.blogspot.com/
Yeah,
1.b4! wins.
–Henryk.
I can’t understand so many people just finding a draw while the way to win isn’t very hard to find.
Probably it’s Susan’s “can white hold?” which almost always means “can white win?” but which sounds like “can white draw?”. 😉
Regular readers here should know…..
Just one add:
“1… a5 simply loses a tempo, white continues 2. b5 and wins by coronating the pawn.”
That were my first thoughts, too, and it should win but after 1. b4, a5?! 2. Rg5 is much quicker with mate in the next move.
Best regards
Jochen
Just one add:
“1… a5 simply loses a tempo, white continues 2. b5 and wins by coronating the pawn.”
That were my first thoughts, too, and it should win but after 1. b4, a5?! 2. Rg5 is much quicker with mate in the next move.
Nothing wrong with:
1.b4 a5
2.b5
… which also mates next move.
I almost fell into the draw trap that jochen mentioned, after all it does look like white is losing and saving half a point is the first priority. Fortunately I realized that the draw would still be there after removing white’s b pawn, so decided to look a little closer to see what difference the pawn could make and found the win. Advice I have heard from good players many times “After you find a good move, look for a better move.” This is why I think too much blitz is bad for your chess, it teaches you to play the first acceptable move you find.
Ouch, thanks ano 5:40.
My fault was that I did not see your mate in one. As I said, I first wanted to play [1.b4, a5] 2. b5, too, but with another continuation.
I thought of
2. b5, h2 3. b6+ (?), Ka6 4. b7+, Kb5 5. b8Q+ which of course wins, too, but muuuuch more senseless complicated.
Than I found my continuation was complicated because 2. Rg5 was much faster…
But you’re right, not being blind 2. b5 and 3. Ra6# are same fast.
I go to the edge and am ashamed. 😉
Best regards from Germany
Jochen
ashamed
Have patience with me for a minute, Jochen:
Schach bildet regelmäßig Dummköpfe von uns alle. Das ist wie wir wissen daß es ein großes Spiel ist.
“Schach bildet regelmäßig Dummköpfe von uns alle. Das ist wie wir wissen daß es ein großes Spiel ist.”
Nice one – thank you. 🙂
I am not sure if I understand what you want to say (I predict some cute translation mistakes in there).
I predict the first sentence to be about “Chess regularly makes fools of(?) all of us.” [“Schach macht regelmäßig Dummköpfe aus uns allen.”] and I fully agree with that.
I don’t get the second one, please say it in english.
Best regards
Jochen
PS to the other readers:
sorry for offtopic 😉
A bit of Google gives:
“Chess regularly makes fools of us all. That’s how we know that it is a great game.”
Someone knows who is the author of this phrase?
Good heavens, thanks for the compliment. I just made it up. It’s also true of several other games, including bridge, go, and baseball.