White to move. Is this a win or draw for White?
This was an actual game in a tournament.
8/5k2/1p4R1/p4p1P/P7/1P4p1/5bP1/7K w – – 0 9
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Endgame improvement
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Easy draw.
[Event “?”]
[Site “?”]
[Date “????.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “New game”]
[Black “?”]
[Result “*”]
[SetUp “1”]
[FEN “8/5k2/1p4R1/p4p1P/P7/1P4p1/5bP1/7K w – – 0 9”]
[PlyCount “8”]
9. b4 axb4 10. a5 bxa5 11. Rg7+ Kxg7 12. h6+ Kxh6 *
DRAW
[Event “?”]
[Site “?”]
[Date “????.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “New game”]
[Black “?”]
[Result “*”]
[SetUp “1”]
[FEN “8/5k2/1p4R1/p4p1P/P7/1P4p1/5bP1/7K w – – 0 9”]
[PlyCount “8”]
9. b4 axb4 10. a5 bxa5 11. Rg7+ Kxg7 12. h6+ Kxh6 *
DRAW!
This is a new idea to me. White can lose a tempo with 1. Rg5 Kf6 2. Rg8 Kf7 3. Rg6. Now it is black to move, and he has no really wonderful choices.
3… Be1 4. Kg1 and the K is out of jail, headed to f3.
3… Be3 4. R:g3 is worse.
3… K moves allows the h-pawn to advance
3… f4 seems like the only sane idea, but this opens up g4 for White’s R. 4. Rg4 Be3 5. h6 f3 6. gf B:h6 7. R:g3 is obviously winning.
I think we can take it as a given that white has a draw if he wants it- black’s king can never cross the sixth rank unless white allows it. So, I have to believe we are looking for a win for white.
So, let’s identify white’s problems in trying to win this- the most limiting factor for white is that his king is trapped on h1, so to have winning chances, I think he must induce black to move the bishop off of the g2/a7 diagonal. I don’t see how white can do this other than to try to set up a zugzwang position of some kind, and the most likely candidate for this is to push the h-pawn and force black to take it while using the tempo win at g3. With this idea in mind, where can white hide the rook on the g-file that would allow him to start pushing the h5 pawn? Black’s f5 pawn covers g4, and the black king covers g6/g7/g8. So, to get the room for the rook, white must induce black to play f4 some way- with this in mind, I would try the following line to see where I could get to:
1. Rg5
Threatens to win the f-pawn and gain the space to start pushing the h-pawn. Black can protect the pawn with the king or play f4 and protect the pawn there with Be3 when necessary. I will take these separately, but will note for now that playing 1. …f4 gives white access to g4, and also limits the flexibility of the bishop who might well get tied down to e3 to both protect the king side pawns and keep white’s king imprisoned. Continuing from 1. Rg5 above:
1. …..Kf6
2. Rg8 Kf7
Still inhibiting the pawn push, but now white turns the move order around by waiting it out:
3. Rg6
And we have returned to the starting position, but now it is black who must move. I don’t think I have to show why black can’t play b5 without losing. If he plays Be1, white frees the king with 4.Kg1 and will almost surely have a winning endgame, and moving the bishop to e3/d4/c5 just drops the g-pawn and white will free the king through h2 instead. So, black is left with king moves and f4:
3. …..f4 (alternatives later)
4. Rg5
It will become clear why this is more precise than an immediate Rg4:
4. …..Be3
If black tries Kf6, then white can play Rg4: [4. …Kf6 5.Rg4 Kf5 6.Rg8! Be3 7.h6! Bd4 8.h7+-]. With Be3, black protects the f4 pawn, threatens f3 with a discovered attack, but now white proceeds with the alternate plan:
5. Rg4!
Ties the black bishop to e3 quite securely, and black is in zugzwang quite clearly. He must move the king to keep ahold on f4 and keep the white king out of the game:
5. …..Kf6 (what other king move?)
6. h6! Kf5 (what else now?)
7. Rg8 and it is clear that black will lose his bishop on h8 to stop the h-pawn.
Due to problems with length, I will discuss the third move alternatives for black in my next comment.
In my previous comment, I outlined a plan to gain room for white’s rook on the g-file that allows him to push the the h-pawn, eventually forcing black to give up the bishop at h8:
1. Rg5 Kf6
2. Rg8 Kf7
3. Rg6
And I showed that black loses from this point if he pushes f4. However, black could have tried Kf8 or a bishop move along the e3/c5 diagonal. Let’s pick it up from there:
3. …..Kf8
4. h6!
It is important to understand the weakness in a ham-handed winning of the f-pawn with a move like 4.Rf6: [4.Rf6? Kg7 5.Rf5 Kh6 and black will hold this since he is free to always move the king and white can never sacrifice at f2 without giving black a queen at f1]. Continuing from 4.h6 above:
4. …..Kf7
Black will still lose with Bd4 since black win at b6 in some lines and get the rook on the 8th rank at b8: [4. …Bd4 5.h7 Bg7! 6.Rb6! and Rb8+ followed by h8Q will follow].
5. Rg7
I got sidetracked here. My original plan was to play 5.h7 here, but black can take at g6 and play the king against white’s new queen, but after black puts the f-pawn on f4 and the bishop on e3, white won’t be able to make any progress to win the game since the queen can’t mate the black king by herself and every other black soldier is protected. So, white must play to win the bishop. Continuing:
5. …..Kf8 (Kf6 6.Rg8 Kf7 7.h7+-)
6. Rg5
Again threatening h7 followed by Rg8 and now there is no other reasonable defense to this but Be3:
6. …..Be3
7. h7
I don’t think white can win by taking at f5 since black will keep the white king imprisoned and the black king now gets across the g-file to hold up the pawn. Continuing:
7. …..Bg5 (Bd4 8.Rg8 Kf7 9.h8Q+-)
8. h8(Q)Kf7
9. Qe5! keeps black from reestablishing the prison for white’s king. White will now play Kg1 freeing the king and winning the game.
Now, at move 3, black could try a bishop move, but this is clearly going to lose:
3. …..Be3
4. Rg3! f4 (what else better?)
5. Rg4 Bd2
6. Kh2 and this is a fairly simple endgame for white to win once the king is freed.
So, the last loose thread is at move 1 for black:
1. Rg5 f4
2. h6! Kf6
Again, black can try Bd4, but this won’t hold, though the position is a bit different now since the rook on the 5th rank here- now white will have to settle for winning at f4 and freeing the king through g1: [2. …Bd4 3.Rg4! Bc3 4.Rf4 Kany 5.Kg1+-]. Continuing:
3. Rg4 Kf5
4. Rg8 and h7 and h8Q can’t be defended against other than to give up the bishop.
A very nice position to study. I enjoyed this one immensely, even more because it arose in an actual game.
It is a waiting game for who blinks first
1.Rg5 Kf6 2.Rg8 Kf7 3.Rg6
and now Black has to move his Bishop or the King or the pawn which give space to White to advance his h file pawn and claim the Bishop.
3 .., f4 4.Rg4 Be3 5.h6
1. b4? axb4
2. a5 bxa5
3. Rg7+ Kxg7
4. h6+ Kh8 !
5. h7 Le1
and win for black
1. b4? axb4
2. a5 bxa5
3. Tg7+ Kxg7
4. h6+ Kh8!
5. h7 Le1
and black wins !
If white plays Rook c6 g6 back and forth, I do not see how Black can progress. Pushing the f pawn to f3 yields nothing.
May be we should find how White wins ?
As a clue, you are looking for white to win this- a draw for white is a trivial matter. Focus on the h-pawn, how to advance him, and how to force black’s bishop to get off the g1/a7 diagonal.
This is a very good problem- study like from, apparently, a real game.
One additional clue- in the starting position, if black had to move first, would he have any good options? If the answer you arrive at is “no”, then ask yourself how you can change the move order here.
This comment is simply a compliment to Yancey. Beautiful, enriching analysis.
I think you’ve excelled yourself and this is one of the most fascinating analyses I’ve seen in this blog.
Congratulations
Psyche
This comment is simply a compliment to Yancey. Beautiful, enriching analysis.
I think you’ve excelled yourself and this is one of the most fascinating analyses I’ve seen in this blog.
Congratulations!
Psyche