White to move. Is this a win, draw, or loss for White?
8/3P2k1/8/3K4/8/3B3r/8/8 w – – 0 1
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Bh7
1.Bh7! Kxh7
2.Ke4 Ra4+
3.Ke5 Ra5+
4.Ke6 Ra6+
5.Ke7
and white wins
I think 1. Bh7 does it. The bishop stops Rh8. 1. … Rxh7 2. d8=Q white must remember how to win the endgame, and should not lose while at it, and after 1. … Kxh7 2. Ke4 white can escape the black rook’s checks at e7 when the rook cannot follow, nothing else black can do will even slow white from queening, as the white king does not need to cross the d file when black starts checking from below.
I don’t think 1. Bh7 Rh5 2. Ke6 could possibly achieve anything.
Oh,
1. Bh7 Rh1 2. Kc4 wins, if black does not take the bishop and attack with rook, the bishop returns to block with the white king on the 4th rank. 2. Kc4 is important because if white goes to d4 immediately, and not after check, Black can simply take the bishop with king and draw.
2…. Rc1+ 3. Bc2 Rxc2 4. Kd3 and black cannot stop the pawn.
There’s always more to these things. 🙂
White wins.
In order to draw, Black just has to sacrifice the R for the P. Since they are in the same file, and BR can go to the 8th rank, things are a bit tricky.
In each of the White move below, the threat is d8Q. Black tries to win that pawn, which White counters by clever maneuvers.
1. Bh7! Rh1
2. Kc4 Rc1+
3. Bc2! Rxc2
4. Kd3 Rc1
5. Kd2
and the pawn queens.
Nice study!
Looks like a win. Bh7 looks hard to meet
Bh7?
Bh7! looks good.
Very instructive… Spent couple minutes and haven’t looked through all variations, but seems
1. Bh7
should do it. It protects Rd3 check,
2a. .. Rxh7 white queens safely.
2b. .. Kxh7, Ke4 (and later Ke3, Ke2) avoid Rook attacking queen. Also black King blocks Rh8.
Lets see if I missed something in a hurry …
Arun
1.Bh7!! crushes Black: (a) 1…Rxh7 2.d8(Q)+-; (b) 1…Kxh7 2.Ke4! Rh4+ 3.Ke5 Rh5+ 4.Ke6 Rh6+ 5.Ke7+-; (c) 1…Rh2 2.Kc4! Rh4+ 3.Kc5 Rh5+ 4.Kc6 Rh6+ 5.Kc7+-; (d) 1…Rh1 2.Kc4! Rc1+ (2…Rd1 3.Bd3) 3.Bc2!! Rxc2+ 4.Kd3 Rc1 5.Kd2+-
On the board i’d have drown this endgame, i’m almost sure, because disregarding the line Bh7 in view of Kxh7; but analyzing it carefully…
1. Bh7 .. Kxh7 (if 1 .. Rxh7 2. d8/Q)
2. Ke4 or even Kc4, and the white king will hide exploiting the interference between black’s rook and king; black will shortly run out of checks.
Let’s use a bit of logic to solve this one.
It can’t be a loss for White, since he at the very least could save the bishop, and it’s a draw even if he loses the pawn.
At first it looks like Black can draw at will, since he can play …Rh8 and …Rd8, and if necessary sac the rook for the pawn, unless…
Maybe the crazy move 1. Bh7 works – and indeed on 1…Rxh7 2. d8=Q wins, 1…Kxh7 2. Ke4 and again Black can’t stop White from queening. How about 1…Rh1/h2? Then 2. Kd4 and the bishop blocks any rook checks next. So it looks like a win for White!
Bh7 wins!
The cool shot 1.Bh7! should win this ending for white, provided he knows how to win Q vs R endgames.
Beelze
Who is the creator of this nice little tactical study?
Solution: 1.Bh7 (preventing Rh8) Rh1 2. Kc4 (idea Bd3 + main variation) Rc1+ 3. Bc2 Rxc2+ 4. Kd3 Rc1 5. Kd2 and d8Q with winning position follows.
I think 1.Bh7! wins… the game can continue 1. … Kxh7 2. Ke4 Rh4+ 3. Ke5 Rh5+ 4. Ke6 Rh6+ 5. Ke7 winning.
1.Bh7! with variations
A)1..Kxh7 2.Kc4 Rh4+ 3.Kc5 Rh5+ 4.Kc6 Rh6+ 5.Kc7 winning.
B)1..Rh1 2.Kc4 Rc1+ (or 2..Rd1 3.Bd3 Rc1+ 4.Kd4) 3.Bc2 Rxc2+ 4.Kd3 Rc1 5.Kd2 and White wins
The alternatives for Black are no better:
C)1..Rh5+ 2.Kc4 Rh4+ 3.Kc3 Rh3+ 4.Bd3 doesn’t help.
D)1..Rh2 2.Kc4 Rd2 3.Bd3 doesn’t help either.
E)1..Rxh7 2.d8=Q looses as well.
It´s a win for white: 1. Bh7 Kxh7 2. Ke4.
b-h7
Tough at first sight, and then some things occurred to me.
Since a queen vs. rook is (most often) won, the problem becomes how to get to that ending. Black can spoil it by simply exchanging the rook for the pawn at the first opportunity, so the solution: prevent the rook’s access to d7 or d8 via either the d-file or the 8th rank.
The only move that does this is 1. Bh7. If Black captures with either the rook or the king, White promotes to a queen and a theoretically won (if tricky) ending. So Black has to find a way to capture the pawn either on d7 or on d8 (after promotion).
1. … Rh1
2. Kc4 (eventually to pinch the rook away from the d-file)
2. … Rc1+
3. Bc2 Rxc2
4. Kd3 Rc1
5. Kd2 and the pawn promotes.
b-h7
bh7 +-
zz
oops, wrong
zz
Bh7
Ke4
wins I think
A win for white.
Bh7!
Ok I don’t get it.
Bh7, Rh1
Ke4/c4, Rd1 and there is not stopping the rook from taking the pawn. White can’t mate with a bishop alone. So it looks like a draw to me. Not sure what I am missing.
Anonymous @ 4:51,
1. Bh7 Rh1
2. Kc4 Rd1
3. Bd3
and the P queens.
3… Rc1+
4. Bc2 etc.
“Who is the creator of this nice little tactical study?” said an anonymous guy at Friday, October 30, 2009 2:26:00 PM.
This study is a mirror of a study by Vasiltsjev, Shakhmaty v SSSR, 1963, but Vasiltsjev is NOT the creator of this study.
Mattison is, in fact. He composed the following study :
White : Ke5, Bf4, pawns a3, e6
Black : Ka7, Ra1
Fen : 8/k7/4P3/4K3/5B2/P7/8/r7 w – – 0 1
The solution goes like this :
1. Be3+ Kb7
2. e7 Rxa3
and now we reach our position
(Mattison, Rigasche Rundschau, 1914)
Hermanis Matisons (his real name) was a good composer and a strong OTB player. His top class chess career was between 1913 and 1931, and he defeated players like Capablanca, Alekhine, Rubinstein, Tartacover, Maroczy, Yates and Vidmar.
He composed more than 70 studies and awarded a first prize at 1927 in the world famous chess magazine Shakhmatny Listok.
Vasiltsjev, on the other hand, composed (?) only one study.
So be it…
1.Bh7!! Magic! Wonderful! These moves are the reason for which i could say “Chess is my life!”
A)1…Rxh7 2.d8/Q
B)1…Kxh7 2.Ke4!
C)1…Rh1!? 2.Kc4!! Rc1+ 3.Bc2!! Rxc2 4.Kd3 Rc1 5.Kd2! 1-0