Black to move. Can Black hold this or is it hopeless?
5n2/4kP2/8/3K1R2/8/8/8/8 b – – 0 1
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(Once I got the board turned in the right direction): With Black’s knight toggling between f8 and g6 (or d7), I don’t see how White is able both to defend the f7 pawn and attack Black’s position. Draw.
Yes
OK, folks: With the board as-is (i.e. not flipped around with White’s pawn at f7), now let’s add a Black pawn at d6. So:
WK e4, WR c4, WP c2;
BK d2, BN c1, BP d6, Black to move.
What happens? I guarantee you’ll like the fact that Black’s second move is forced (after 2.Rc6 or 2.Rc8 by White), while 2.Kd5 creates what problemists call a switch!
First, the position as-given is comfortably winning for White, because Black cannot stop White’s c-pawn from getting to c4 and beyond. After 1…Na2/e2 2.Rc8 Nc3+, White’s most efficient reply is 3.Ke5! when Black must give way since 3…Kxc2 4.Kd4 costs the Knight. But 3.Kd4 NB5/e2+ 4.Kd5 Nc3+ 5.Kc4 wins just as clearly, if a bit more slowly. And 1…Ne2 2.Rc8 Ng3+ just gets the Knight boxed out by 3.Ke5!
Adding a Black Pawn at d6, albeit weak, changes the verdict because it takes away e5 from White’s King and c5 from White’s King *and* pawn. Black draws by 1…Ne2! and now:
2.Rc8 Ng3+! 3.Kd4 Nf5+!, and on account of forks or hanging the c-pawn, White’s King can only come back to e4. On the other hand, 2…Nc3+? loses to the maneuver 3.Kd4 Ne2+ 4.Kd5! Nc3+ 5.Kc4!, when Black still cannot play 5…Kxc2 6.Kd4, and otherwise White’s King comes to b3 or b4 to stop the counterplay.
2.Rc7 Ng3+! 3. Kd5 Nf5! works even without forks at e7: 4.c4 Kd3! and White is still tied up enough that Black will trade off the pawns. Finally,
2.Kd5 Nc3+! is now necessary, and works because White’s Rook blocks c4. Since 3.Kc6/xd6 Kxc2 is safe for Black, White has nothing better than 3.Kd4 Ne2+ repeating. However, 2.Kd5 Ng3? loses simply to 3.Rg4 freeing the c-pawn. Thus we have a “switch” between the …Ng3 and …Nc3 defenses!
All this has been verified at the K4IT.de 6-piece EGTB server run by Knowledge 4 IT and Shredderchess.com in Germany.
The board is clearly labeled that the white pawn is on f7, not c2. So I don’t think the other analysis is valid for this puzzle.
Ah—quite! With the pawn at f7, I don’t see any special “trick”—Black just has to leave f8 open so as to keep eir King on the same side of the f-file as White’s. Is there any trick?
Nor do I see nay interesting way to extend the position by adding a pawn…