White to move. Can White (Ivanchuk) win this position? Black is Seirawan. 
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This is a tough one! I’m still thinking!
I would vote for 1.g6 !
I would think g6 as well, the threat is 2.f6 followed by 3.g7 or if black doesn’t capture then white can play f7 and navigate the horse to h7 or e6 to pick up the piece first and then the pawn.
If black plays 1…Bf8 then white can play Ng5 threatening Ne6 and black can’t really do anything about it.
after 1.g6 if Black moves
a) the Bishop along the d8-h4 diagonal, then 2.f6 simply wins
e.g
1.g6 Bh4 2.f6! gf (2..Bf6 3.Nf6 gf 4.g7) 3.g7 ! 1-0
b) along the a3-f8 diagonal, then White simply brings his N to g3, paralysing the Black King and forcing the Bishop to move, and then queens his g pawn
e.g
1) g6 Bb4
2) Nd2 Bf8 (2..Bd2 3.f6 !+-)
3) Ng3 Bb4
4) f6 ! Bf8 (4..gf 5.g7 ! +-)
5) Nd4 ! Ka1 (if the B moves fg7)
6) Nd6
1-0
the tricky question is, what if Black plays 5)..gf ? then Whits grabs the Bishop, and then the pawn, just in time to checkmate Black (that part is the standard mating with technique with N vs P)
e.g
5) …gf
6) Nd6 Bh6
7) g7 Bg7
8) Ng7 f5
9) Nf5 Ka1
10)Nd4 ! a2 (..Ka2 11.Kc1! etc)
11)Nb3 #
yeah I guess your idea of playing f7 works too. White just brings the N to g5 etc..and if Black tries to stalemate himself by playing Ka1 and a2, then mates him at g3
After stumbling around: 1.g6! Ka1 2.f6 Bf8 3.f7 Be7 or Bb4 4. Ng5 wins. If 1…Bb4 2.f6 Bf8 3.f7 B moves 4Ng5 wins. Or 1…Bf8 2. Ng5 Be7 3.Nh7 wins.
1 f6 (gf6 2 g6 Bf8 3 Nc5 f5 4 Nd6 wins; Bf6 2 Nf6 wins) Bf8 2 g6 Ka1 3 Nc5 Ka2 4 Nd6 wins
g6 fails to Ka1 2 f6 Bf6 3 Nf6 a2.
The correct answer is f6 as above.
1.g6 Ka1 2.f6 Bf8 3.f7 Bb4 4.Ng5 Bd6 5.Ne6 Bf8 6.Kc1 Bd6 7.Nxg7 Ka2 8.Kc2 Ka1 9.Nf5 Bf8 10.g7 Bxg7 11.Nxg7 a2 12. Kb3 Kb1 13.f8=Q a1=N+ 14.Kc3 Nc2 15.Qf1+ Ka2 16.Qc1 and soon mate.
Hi Susan , I am from Greece, Why I can’t order your new DVD from yoyr chess shop with my credid card? its only for USA? Where can I find it in Europe?
Both might be correct actually, as Nf6 en-prise so not stalemate.
1.f6 gf6: 2.g6 Nf8 3.Nc5 Bh6
4.Ne6 f5 is not quite clear yet.
1.g6 Ka1 2.f6 B:f6 3.N:f6 a2 4.Kc1
(zugzwang) seems the right idea.
What a great Knight! If the bishop could get to c5 or d6 right away black could stop the g pawn from queening.
The likely outcome would be the black pawn taking the f pawn and then white refusing to take back to keep the bishop blocked
I love these puzzles with comments.
sorry you have an error here.
Anonymous said…
g6 fails to Ka1 2 f6 Bf6 3 Nf6 a2.
The correct answer is f6 as above.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006 5:24:42 AM
looks good but white has Kc1 and now black must move and the only move is to take the knight. and voila!
1 …. Ka1
2 f6 Bf6
3 Nf6 a2
now
4 Kc1 gxf6
5 g7
and mate obviously coming.
Hi Susan
1. Nc3, Ka1
2. g6, a2 [2. …, Bf8 3. Nd5, Bc5 4. Nf6, Be7 5. Nd7, Bd8 6. f6, Bxf6 7. Nxf6, Ka2 (7. …, a2 8. Kc1, gxf6 9. g7, f5 10. g8=Q, f4 11. Qh8# Mate)8. Ne4, Ka1 9. Nd2, Ka2 10. Nb1, Ka1 11. Nxa3 win; 2…, Bf6 3. Nd5, Bd4 4. f6, Ka1 5. f7, Bc5 6. Nf6 win]
3. Nd5, Bf8
4. Kc1, Be7
5. f6, Bf8
6. Nb4, Bxb4
7. fxg7, Bf8
8. g8=Q, Bh6
9. Kc2, Bc1
10. Qg7, Bb2
11. Qxb2# Mate
Good Night