White to move. How should White proceed?
r2qrk2/4np2/3p3p/2pP1bN1/2n1N3/7P/p3B1P1/Q4RK1 w – – 0 1
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White to move. How should White proceed?
r2qrk2/4np2/3p3p/2pP1bN1/2n1N3/7P/p3B1P1/Q4RK1 w – – 0 1
1. Qf6 Ne5 ( 1. … Bg6 2. Ne6+ Kg8 3. Qg7# ) 2. Qxh6+ Kg8 3. Nf6#
I missed 1. … hxg5 but 2. Qh6+ Kg8 3. Nf6+
James,
You are missing the best defense for black at move 1- it isn’t Ne5 or hxg5- all other replies look like mates to me.
Right now, I don’t see anything better than 1.Qf6, though, and I have looked hard, but white does regain the material he has probably sacrificed here- I think black ends up having to give up the queen for a knight here, but I am having trouble evaluating the position after that because of that pawn on a2. I really need more time than I have right now.
This much more complicated than it appears on the surface unless I am just overlooking something more forcing. I am not so sure my first thought isn’t the best plan right now- 1.Nh7 followed by either Nef6+ or Rxf7 check depending on whether or not black takes the knight at h7 or plays Kg8 in replay to the first move. White has a sure draw in hand after
1. Nh7 Bh7
2. Rxf7 and 3.Qf6 will lead to a perpetual check is white wants it. If black doens’t take the knight at move 1, then white might have more of an attack, but again it is complex. Really needs more thought.
Right now, I would have to agree 1.Qf6 is more promising, but I can’t really untangle the position that follows after black’s best move, which I don’t want to give away right now so that others can enjoy this.
8/8/2p2p2/8/7P/8/1k1K4/8 w – – 0 1
Here is a nice little ending problem I found earlier today- it is educational.
I liked your puzzle. I saw the solution instantly but this is because I’m studying pawn endings.
And I would ask Susan or whoever does these posts- more puzzles like this one!
Yancey problem.Is it white to play and win or draw.
of course it’s white to play and win
Very well done for trying. I’m giving up on it.
Though I didn’t find this problem in my files, it has been posted here before in 2009. A commenter named Ed Seedhouse found it so difficult he submitted it to Fritz and posted the following comment:
This analysis more or less is the same I came up with last night, but hadn’t really verified- I only differed in the second move for white, but I can see now that 2.Nf7 and 2.Qf7 are equivalent via transposition. However, my real questions about this line actually come even later in this line:
1. Qf6! Kg8!
2. Nf7 Ng6!
3. Nd8
So, black still has that a2 pawn and white must be careful to not let control of a1 slip once- this was my problem with this line altogether. White does have initiative here and material edge (A queen for a rook) and black has a very loose position. I think black does best here by supporting the bishop at f4:
3. …………..Rf8!? (what could be better?)
What to do with the queen? My thought last night before I went to bed was the obvious….
4. Qa1 Ne3
Black could try Bxe4, but I don’t see how that is better: [4. …Be4 5.Rf8! Nf8! 6.Bc4 Rd8 7.Qa2 and white has a decisive edge even though the work is still a bit tedious]. Continuing from 4. ….Ne3 above:
5. Ne6
It is this or 5.Nxd6 or 5.Nf6+. I think 5.Ne6 is a bit better than either of the alternatives, but not by a lot and those lines also need a deeper look than I have given so far. Continuing:
6. …………..Be6! (what could be better now?)
7. de6
Again, white has plausible alternatives here that look nearly as good to me, but are complex- too complex right now for a certain judgment. I am more or less going on my gut that de6 is superior to Nf6+ or Rxf8. Continuing:
7. …………..Nf1 (better than Rxf1? Maybe, maybe not?)
8. Bf1 d5
9. Nc3
Doubling the attack on the a2 pawn. I don’t think the pawn can be saved now since pushing c4 threatening c3 if white plays Nxa2 here just allows 10.Nxd5 with an even bigger edge, right? At any rate, that is all I have right now. I think at move 9 in this line that white has the upper hand, surely, but it isn’t an easy finish to win.
However, as I was writing this analysis down earlier, it occurred to me that white might have a better line back at move 4:
4. Bc4!? Rf6
5. Nf6+ Kf8 (Kg7 6.Nh5 Kg8 7.Ba2)
6. Ba2!
And if black recaptures at a2, white just takes the bishop at f5 with what should be a decisive edge in a still tough endgame. This line needs more study, though, and I have other things to do right now, so others can pick it up if they want.