White to move. Can White win this Bishop opposite color endgame?
8/3R4/2Pp2p1/4b1k1/4BpP1/5P2/4K3/2r5 w – – 0 0
IM Boskovic – GM Koneru (Gibraltar 2010)
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Endgame challenge
About Author
okay, after just a glance i’ll hazard a guess. Bd5 to block the advance of black’s d-pawn, which would be needed to prevent the push to c7, followed by c7, and Bb7 (to support the queening on c8).
black can take bishop on d5 but he has to go …c5 first, then white pushes to c7, which won’t give him time for both Rxd5 and get back to the c-file in time to stop the white’s pawn.
if black doesn’t take on d5, white plays Bb7 to support queening
Yes, move order for white is Bd5,c7,Rd8 and c8. Black has no defence. Bd5 is essential in order to prevent black from moving the d pawn.
1.c7 Koneru went from a better game to big trouble. She needs a stronger coach. She had a chance to play a brilliant move against Kamsky also, but played only for a draw. This is not good enough if she wants to become World Champion.
Ouch, this one is difficult.
Hmmmm, no idea…
One strategy is go after the g-pawn, and capture it. Black cannot do much about it. Leave the c6 pawn on c6, so it’s protected (fight to prevent …d5). Following that, there are two passed pawns, so even if the rooks are exchanged, opposite colored bishops will not save black (as Kamsky shows in his recent win against Bindrich).
The other strategy is to try to push the c-pawn to c7, and the bishop to b7 and try to promote. The problem with this line is that Black seems to be able to defend. For example:
1. c7 d5
2. Rxd5 Kf6
3. g5+ Ke6
and white loses the c-pawn.
In the first strategy, if the black rook tries to save the g-pawn (with the rook on h6), the c-pawn will advance.
Play could go:
1. Rd8 Rc5 (threatening …d5 and …Rxc6)
2. Rg8 d5
3. Rxg6+ Kh4
4. Bf5
So does she ever post the answers to these puzzles? It would seem strange to throw these out there and never answer them.
Susan has actually given the position after 53…Be5, three moves after a critical juncture. Three moves ago White’s bishop was on d5, and White’s King was on g2 in check from Black’s Rook on c2. Play proceeded 51.Kf1 Bc3 52.Be4 Rc1+ 53.Ke2 Be5, giving the setup shown.
Can you think of another idea for White back at Move 51?
Then, can that idea be applied in the current position? (I don’t know myself…yes this one is difficult.)
In general it strikes me that more women players were in contention right up to the end, than any other top open tournament I recall. Not only Koneru and Natalia Zhukova but also Pia Cramling could have tied for 1st with a win (she lost to Bacrot), ditto Antoaneta Stefanova (lost to Gopal), and Irina Krush was only 1/2 point behind. Two factors are (a) the field had a lot of the top women players to begin with, so this may be an effect of numbers, and (b) first place stayed reachable with many large ties. But the women certainly weren’t boxed out by the dozen 2600+ men.