Rinck 1916, presented by Andreas
White to move. Can White win this game? How should White continue?
4b3/8/5P2/2Pkpp2/7K/3B4/8/8 w – – 0 1
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Endgame tactic
About Author
Bb5
Hmm…
I was thinking maybe Bb5. If black takes Bxb5, white responds with f7 and it should be over. If black moves his bishop to f7, g6 or h5, just start pushing the c5 pawn. There’s no way black can stop both, I think.
After 1. Bb5 Black can stop one of White’s pawns, but not both.
Black can try any one of these to no avail:
1. .. Bf7 2. Bc4+ Kxc4 3. c6 Kd5 4. c7 Be6 5. f7
1. .. Kxc5 2. Bxe8 Kd6 3. Kg5 e4 (3. .. f4 4. Kg6 f3 5. f7 Ke7 6. Kg7) 4. Kg6 e3 5. f7 Ke7 6. Kg7 e2 7. f8=Q+
1. .. Bxb5 2. f7 Kxc5 3. f8=Q+ Kc4 4. Qxf5
1. .. Bg6 2. Kg5 Bf7 3. Bc4+ Kxc4 4. c6 Be6 5. c7 Kd5 6. f7 Bxf7 7. c8=Q
If white is to win, the first move absolutely must be Bb5. Let’s see why the “obvious” Bxf5 can’t win:
1. Bf5? Kc5
2. Kg5 Bf7 (cleanest draw)
3. Bg6 Bd5
4. Kh6
Only way to make progress towards a win. Continuing:
4. ……Kd4
5. Kg7 e4
6. Bf7 Bf7
7. Kf7 e3 and simple counting shows each player will end up with a queen and a drawn position. So, let’s see the possibility that is inherent in 1.Bb5:
1. Bb5
The bishop is immune to capture. If black takes at b5, white pushes f7 to win immediately, though the ending itself isn’t trivial. So, the question really is where to put the black bishop- g6 or f7? I think g6 is the only real chance since white can sacrifice the bishop at c4 if black plays Bf7: [1. …Bf7? 2.Bc4! Kc4 3.c6 and black cannot stop both the c-pawn and the f-pawn with just the bishop and doesn’t have time to bring the king back into the action]. So, black must play 1. …Bg6:
1. ……Bg6
2. Kg5
The only other plausible move I see here is c6 to keep the c-pawn, but then black plays Kd6: [2.c6 Kd6! 3.Kg5 Bf7! 4.Kf5 Be6! 5.Kg6 Bd5 6.f7 Bf7 7.Kf7 e4 and white will have to capture at e2 to prevent black from queening, and then black will take at c6 for draw by insufficient material.] Continuing:
2. ……Bf7 (only hope)
3. Bc4
The move I mentioned earlier- so black can’t avoid this afterall:
3. ……Kc4 (nothing better)
4. c6 e4
There really is no better move. As I wrote earlier, the bishop can’t stop both white pawns, and the black king is separated from c6, so he is out of the action. Black’s most resistant line is going to be advance a pawn, and advancing the e-pawn makes more sense to me since it is closer to the black king, and it also sets a bit of a trap for a careless white:
5. Kf4
I think 5.c7 is ok here, but I would rather have the white king in contact with the pawns. What white must absolutely avoid is capturing at f5 since black plays the very nasty Kd5 and gains just enough time to queen his own pawn: [5.Kf5? Kd5! 6.c7 Be6! 7.Kg6 (or 7.Kf4 Kd6=) 7. …e3! 8.f7 Bf7 9.Kf7 e2=.] Continuing:
5. ……Kd3 (what better?)
6. c7 Be6 (e3 7.c8Q wins easy)
7. f7 Bf7
8. c8Q Bh5 (heading for f3)
9. Qf5 Bf3
So, I was a bit wrong- in my mind, at the beginning, I envisioned black having both pawns, but with only one, it is actually pretty simple to separate the black king from his men:
10.Qd5 Ke2
11.Qd4 Bg2
12.Qe3 Kd1 (else, shorter #)
13.Qf2 Bf3
14.Qb2
I think this has to be the shorter way-keep the king corralled near the white king. Continuing:
14. …..Ke1
15. Ke3 with mate in another 1 or two moves.
I would instantly play:
1. Bb5!
Where shall black put his bishop?
Can’t drop it, king can’t stop both pawns.
1. … Bf7 (Bxb5? f7, Bg6 Kg5 Bf7 Bc4+)
2. Bc4+!! Kxc4 (Kxc5 Bxf7 Kd6 Kg5 e4 Bc4 Kd7 Kg6 Ke8 Kg7)
3. c6 Be6
4. c7 Kd5
5. c8=Q Bxc8
6. f7
1. Bb5! Bf7 (1. … Bxb5 2. f7) 2. Bc4+! Kxc4 2. c6 and the two white pawns are unstoppable.
1. Bb5
–br
1.Bb5 Bf7 2.Bc4+ Kxc4 3.c6
3…e4 4.Kg3 Kd3 5.Kf2 Kd2 6.c7 e3+ 7.Kf3 Be6 8.f7 Bxf7 9.c8=Q
9…Bd5+ 10.Kf4 e2 11.Qxf5+
11…Kc3 12.Qxd5 Kc2 13.Qe4+ White is winning.
11…Kd2 12.Qxd5+ Kc1 13.Qe4 White is winning.
1.Bb5 Bxb5 2.f7 Kxc5 3.f8=Q+ Kc4 4.Qxf5 Kd4 5.Kg3 Bd3 6.Qf2+ Kd5 I think white is winning, but not so easy.
1.Bb5 Bf7 2.Bc4+ Kxc5 3.Bxf7 Kd6 4.Kg5 f4 5.Bc4 Kd7 6.Kg6 Ke8 7.Kg7 White is winning.
1.Bb5 Bg6
2. Kg5 Bf7
3. Bc4 Kc4
4. c6 Be6
5. c7
And the bishop can not stop both pawns.
Eric
Bb5
I propose Bb5 with Bf7 Kc4 c5 and one pawn will make queen.