White to move. Is this a draw or win for White? How should White proceed? No computer lines please.
8/2N5/1k6/8/6P1/8/8/n1K5 w – – 0 1
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
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I think 1.Na8+ wins
1… Kc6
2.Kb2 Kd6
3.Nb6
and now the white knight must go to e3 square which I think is the key to win
Dead draw.
1 Na8+! wins … Kc6
2 Kb2 then when the black K approaches the pawn
N-b6-c4-e3 wins
I think that chess-rules should
be changed so that, if there are
6 pieces or less (calculated now)
position should be evaluated by a database. Same thing could be allowed, if computer can show mate in n. This is reality in correspondence chess already!
White’s only move to win is counter-intuitive.
Given the injunction, that’s all I can tell you.
John Nunn’s Secrets of Minor-Piece Endings is excellent on this.
Nunn’s more recent Understanding Chess Endgames is also useful here.
I’m looking for a sponsor to organize a match between one woman and winner of Anand-Topalov. I ahve ready venue and arbiters. Anyone?
na8
arctic knight
Got this one very quickly.
1.Na8+! the point of course is to guard the passed pawn with the knight when the black king comes to take it. And this move allows white to neutralize or take the black knight. Of course 1…Kb7 and Kxa8 is harmless because the passed pawn is too fast.
1…Kc6 2.Kb2 Kd5 3.Nb6+ Ke4 4.Nc4 Kf4 5.Ne3 and white wins.
At first I thought: Nd5+ and Ne3 to guard the pawn from behind. But then the black knight escapes.
Solution: Na8+ and Kb2 as the second move. Black cannot catch the white knight or rescue his own knight by moving the King to b4 because he then steps out of reach of the white pawn.
If he does neither of the two, White playes Na8-b6-c4-e3, picks up the black knight and wins
1. Ne6 .. Kc6 (if .. Nb3+ 2. Kc2)
2. Kb2 (if White plays g5 now the black king threatens the white knight which has to move , giving room to the black night after .. Nb3+ and .. Nc5)
.. Kd6
3. Nf4 .. Ke5
4. g5
I’ve forgotten to ask if this is an example of opposition. Is it Susan?
This one is easy as exercise, but probably impossible (for me) in a real game. But in fact in this case simple looking what does not win and calculate the last remaining line gives the answer here (and took me not that much time as the material is not that much).
Any non check move but Kb2 leads to Nb3 and the knight can stop the pawn (1. Ne6!? may be the best try but Na1-b3+-a5!-c6-e7 saves the draw). 1. Kb2? leads to Kxc7 and the black king is just close enough.
1. Nd5+? fails to Kc5 and there is no time to play Kb2.
1. Na8+ (what else?), Kc5 (black needs to get to the pawn, now he is in the square of the pawn (is “das Quadrat des Bauern” called “square of the pawn” in english?)) 2. Kb2 followed by 3. Nb6 (the knight can’t be captured there) and as soon as the black king reaches the e file white plays Nc4 followed by Ne3 just in time to protect the pawn from behind. If the black king does not walk over to the pawn white simply approaches with his king.
Cute.
Jochen
1. Na8+ Looks good.
If the King tries to block the knight with
1.. Kb7
White has the chance to do the same with
2. Kb2
After that, the pawn just rolls on to Queen.
If the Black King goes for the pawn immediately
1.. Kc6
White will still have time to block the Knight with
2. Kb2
And to bring the White Knight to the defence of the g4 pawn as the e3 square is now only three moves away.
I think g5.
Then probably b3.
Then using the king to continuously threaten the black knight, and thereby eventually creating the room necessary for the white pawn to move forward.
I think it’s possible. 🙂
If white pushes pawn, black stops it with his knight, so Kb2 doesnt work either due to black king takes whites knight=draw, so there is only move to stop both blacks knight and save the white knight and win!
Oh, no! The knight can go to a4…
Na8+ case
I found this game of a certain M. Greengard:
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1398664&kpage=1#reply1
How is it possible that such a weak player is today commenting matches of Kasparov & Karpov, amongst other grandmaster games, selling analyzed games, etc?? Are there other examples of similar anti-chess activities?