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Well, my first thought is definitely going to be h6 since the black king cannot cover h8 in time:
1. h6
Now, black’s decision has to be how to cover h8. If he tries Bd8, for example, white can take f6 away with 2.e5! de5 3.Be5 taking direct control of the long diagonal should win. The same applies to the maneuver 1. …Bb6. So I think black is left with the check from a5, retaining a tempo:
1. …..Ba5
2. Ke2!
The reason for this move will become clear in a few moves:
2. …..Bc3
3. e5 de5 (what else?)
4. Bd2!
Now black has to choose among the moves h3, Bd4, Bb2, and Ba1. Trying 4. …h3 will lose to 5.h7 e4 6.Bc3 and white will queen first and guard h1. And the moves 4. …Bb2/a1 allows 5.Bc3 Bxc3 6.Kd3 followed by 7.Ke4 permanently closing the bishop’s access to h8. However, 4. …Bd4 also loses similarly:
4. …..Bd4
5. Kd3! and black cannot play e4 clearing the line because it drops the bishop, and black will have to play 5. …Bb2 or Ba1 after which white puts his bishop on c3 and win the game.
So, let’s back up to white’s second move to see why Ke2 was important:
1. h6 Ba5
2. Kf2 Bc3
3. e5 de5
4. Bd2 Ba1 and now the white king can’t get to d3 and e4 in time to prevent black from opening the path to h8.
i am not an expert, but i think Bg5 will do
i am not an expert, but i think Bg5 will do
Immediate 1. h6 looks obvious, a battle of the a1-h8
diagonal between bishops seems to follow.
1. h6 Ba5+
2. Bd2! Bb6/Bd8
3. Bc1 winning
1. … Bb6/Bd8
2. e5! also winning
This looked almost too simple, what did I miss now…
It looks to me like 1.e5 wins, which keeps 1…d5 from driving the white bishop off the digonal it needs to be on and it prevents the black bishop from getting to f6.
Ke2 if : Be8 e5 will prevent the bishop from the a1-h8 diagonal. Ba5 will also be met with e5.
jMac,
1. e5 de5!
I am not completely sure, right now, if 1. …Ba5 will hold for black- I just haven’t put the time into that line, but 1. …de5 is surely good enough to draw:
2. Bg5 h3 (again Ba5 ok or not??)
3. Kf2 h2
4. Kg2 e4!
5. fe4!
This seems forced to me: [5.f4?? e3! 6.h6 e2 7.Bh4 Bf4! 8.h7 Be5 and this should be won for black if I am not mistaken]. Continuing:
5. …..Be5
6. h6 Ke8 with what is clearly a drawn ending.
Anonymous,
1. Bg5 h3
2. Kf2 d5 (what else better?)
3. ed5 ed5
And, now, if white attempts to prevent the black bishop from getting onto the a1/h8 diagonal with Bf6, black can attack the bishop with Ke6 gaining the tempo required to get the king into position to stop the pawn on h5. Or, if he tries to take e5 away by playing 4.f4…
4. f4 Ke6 anyway
5. h6 Kf7
And white either pushes and loses the pawn on h7, or the black king reaches either g6 or h7 and will never be dislodged.
1.h6 also wins
black king cannot catchup …so only bishop can move. If Bd8 then 2.e5
I must admit to have been too quick here:
1. h6 Ba5+ (what else)
2. Bd2?? Bd8!
3. e5 dxe5
doesn’t queen.
Yancey Ward, you nicely found Ke2, I didn’t see it. So it wasn’t that simple after all..