White to move. How should White proceed? No computer lines please.
1kr5/1P2q2b/pQ4p1/K7/8/8/8/7B w – – 0 2
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The best I see is 1. Qa7+ if 1… Kc7 2. bxc8=Q wins. If 1… Kxa7 then 2. bsx8=N+, looks like a draw.
White is in a fix here, since Black is threatening mate in one with Qa3. White has two variations here and I am not sure which is better.
a)
1.Qa7+ Kxa7
2. bxc8=N (forks the king and queen) Kb8
3. Nxe7 Ka7(Black king tries to protect the pawn)
4. Nc6+ Kb7
5. Nb4+ Kc8
6. Na6 g5
Now I feel white is in a better position here because Black’s bishop will not be able to protect the promoted piece on g1.
b)
1. bxc8=Q+ Kxc8
2. Qxa6+ Kd8/Kd7
Now I think white can go for a draw with perpetual check by pushing the Black king between d8 and d7, but am not sure about this. White might have a play by bringing the bishop closer but black can still go for a draw.
Please correct me if I have missed something in the above two moves.
I can see winning the Rook and trading the Queens with the Knight fork and how Black can be confined to the corner but I don’t see the finish. Is this winnable?? Takes someone over my pay grade … Susan?
1. Qa7+! Kxa7 (1…Kc7 2.bxc8=Q+)
2. bxc8=N+ Kb8
3. Nxe7 and now
3… g5
4. Kb6… 5. Bb7 … 6. Nc6#
or
3… Kc7
4. Nd5+ … 5. Nf6 winning the bishop and with an easily won ending.
Nice one Susan! 🙂
Well, I have looked at this for about 40 minutes, and see only
1. Qa7 Ka7(Kc7 2.b8Q Kd8 3.Qc8+-)
2. bc8(N)Kb8
3. Ne7
Now, this position is a bit interesting in that black has only one move that I can see- g5 as king moves like Kc7 and Ka7 seem to lose:
3. …..Kc7
4. Nd5!
And black is going to lose the trapped bishop at h7 on the next two moves, but the question is, can black force an exchange for the remaining pawn in this line? I don’t think so:
4. …..Kd6 (what else different?)
5. Nf6 Ke6
6. Nh7 Kf5
Here, I could not trap the knight with the king, so advancing the g-pawn is the only hope now:
7. Ka6
Here, I could find nothing better, but I think white could interpolate a lot of different moves here, but he will need the king in my opinion:
7. …..g5 (else loses for sure)
8. Kb5 g4
9. Kc4 Kf4
10.Kd3 Kg3
11.Kf2 Kh2
12.Bd5 g3
13.Kf1 Kh3 (g2 14.Bg2+-)
14.Kg1 Kh4 (or Kg4)
15.Kg2 Kg4
16.Nf6 and Ne4 followed by, eventually, Ng3 cannot be prevented. Of course, enforcing the mate with the bishop and knight isn’t trivial, but I am not going to go further in this line.
At move 3, black also loses with
3. …..Ka7
4. Be4
This was the hard move to find- took me a while, but I am sleepy right now, so I have a bit of an excuse. Continuing:
4. …..Kb8 (g5 loses to Bh7)
5. Kb6
And black is in horrible zugzwang:
5. …..a5 (Bg8 or g5 lose, too)
6. Bb7 and mate by Nc6 is unstoppable on the next move.
Now, back to move 3 and the alternative move of g5 for black:
3. …..g5
Now, here, I was completely convinced that white could win with Kb6, but black does have a defensive move that I could only find by trial and error:
4. Kb6 Bc2!
Every other move loses for black. For example:
4. …..Bd3
5. Nc6!
Here, 5.Bb7 is met by Bb5 covering c6. 5.Nc6 is the only winning move I can find:
5. …..Kc8 (Ka8 6.Nb5+ wins)
6. Bf3 Kd7 (Bf5 7.Ne7 wins)
7. Ne5 Kf5
8. Ka6 g4 (what else?)
9. Bb7 g3 (Kg5 no better)
10.Kb5 Kg4
11.Kc4 Kh3
12.Nf4 Kh2 (Kg4 13.Ng2 wins)
13.Ng2 Kh3
14.Kd4 and there is no way to prevent white from winning the pawn and getting a forced win, however difficult it might be. Or
4. …..Bb1
5. Bb7 with Nc6 unstoppable. So, back to 4. ….Bc2:
4. …..Bc2!
And, now, 5.Nc6 doesn’t work like before since there are no knight forks after black replies with Kd7.
I have to admit, I am stumped right now. White could try Bb7, but I don’t see how it works:
5. Bb7 Ba4 (only move)
6. Ba6
The idea here is to try to force black to either give up the pawns, and/or move the bishop off of the a4/e8 diagonal whenever white has the bishop at b7, but I can’t make this work. I am going to pack it in for the night, and either read the solution tomorrow, or give it another crack.
bxc8=Q+
good to think over the weekend. :)thanks.
well, the only funny thing i can come up here with is
1. Qa7+ Kxa7
2. bxc8N+ Kb8
3. Nxe7
but this isn’t winning. what the heck, it isn’t losing either. greets, jan
Qa7+ any
bxR (N)+ K moves
NxQ
I find no time for white to prepare an attack here, since whites own king is too vulnerable. The best I think for white is to find an exchange of pieces improving the material balance. The simple bxc8Q isn’t quite good enough. A possible improvement (removing the queens) could be:
1. Qa7+ Kxa7 (Kc7 looses immediately)
2. bxc8N with fork.
I suppose this would be a draw.
1.Qa7+ Kxa7
2.bxc8Q+ Kb8
3.Nxe7 b5
(3. … Kc7 loses the bishop: 4.Nd5+ and 5.Nf6 and wins)
4.Kb6!
Black will be mated with Bb7 and Nc6
I don’t see anything better than 1.Qa7+ Kxa7 2.bxc8(N)+ with a draw.
1.Qa7+ Kc7
2.bc8=Q+ Kxc8
3.Qxe7 ++-
(TiagoT.)
My suggestion:
1. Qa7+ Ka7
2. dxc8N+ Kb8
3. Nxe7 g5
4. Kb6! g4
5. Bb7+ Kb8
6. Nc6 mate
I cant see moves alternativly to g5 and g4 to prevent that mate.
1.Qa7+ Kxa7
2.bxc8=N+ Kb8
3.Nxe7 b5
(3. … Kc7 loses the bishop: 4.Nd5+ and 5.Nf6 and wins)
(3. … Ka7 4.Be4! and black has nothing but 4. … Kb8 followed by
5.Kb6!)
4.Kb6!
Black will be mated with Bb7 and Nc6
1.Qa7+ Kxa7 2.bxc8N+ Kb8 3.Nxe7 Kc7
[3…g5 4.Kb6 g4 5.Bb7 followed by Nc6#]
4.Nd5+ Kd8 5.Nf6 +-
– SS
Amir
bxc8=Q? KxQ
and now?
If the solution was so obvious what would be the problem?
Qa7+ and then bxR promoting to a N wins.
I give my line again since my first post has not appeared yet, perhaps a web error?
White wins by Qa7+, then promoting the pawn as a Knight, taking the queen. The clue is, that Black’s king can not get out, so after a move like g5, White plays Kb6, followed by Bb7 and Nc6, which is mate.
1.Qa7+ Kxa7 2.bxc8=N Kb8 3.Nxe7(Now, Black lost if try 3…g5 4.Kb6 or 3…Kc7 4.Nd5+ and 5.Nf6) 3…Ka7 4.Be4 Now, zungzwang!
mhh, it is very good that my commnts arent published yet, so I can add something important …
After
1. Qa7+ Kxa7
2. bxc8N+ Kb8
3. Nxe7 … Black can play Ka7 or Kc7 in order to prevent Kb6.
a)
3. … Kc7
4. Nd5 Kd6
5. Nf6 wins the bishop and the game
b)
3. … Ka7
4. Be4! … and Zugzwang
b1) … Kb8
5. Kb6! and mate with Bb7 and Nc6
b2) … g5
b3) … Bg8 … looses both the bishop and so the game
1.Qa7+ Kxa2 2.cxb8=N+ Kb8 3.Nxe7 g5!
(3…Kc7 4.Nd5+ and Nf6
3…Ka7 4.Be4 Kb8 4.Kb6 etc.)
4.Kb6! Bc2 (Bd3 5.Nc6+ Kc8 6.Bf3 Kd7 7.Ne5+ or 6…Bf5 7.Ne7+)
5.Bb7 Ba4 6.Bxa6 g4 7.Bb7, Nd5, Nb4 white wins
You should look a bit further into the knight fork lines…
1. Qa7+ Kxa7 2.bxc8=N+ Kb8 3.Nxe7
3…Kc7 loses to 4.Nd5+ and 5.Nf6
3…g5 4.Kb6 and now Black’s king is looking in rather a lot of trouble with threats like 5.Bb7
A night’s sleep has offered me no solution (for a white win) this morning. The critical line (and the only way to not lose for black in the first 4 moves) is
1. Qa7 Ka7
2. bc8(N) Kb8
3. Ne7 g5
4. Kb6 Bc2
From here, I can find no win for white, and I have tried every possible move for white. The two most promising looking moves are Bb7 and Kc6:
5. Bb7 Ba4 (only move)
And now what? I can find nothing that makes any progress at all but
6. Ba6 Bd7 (Be8 ok, too)
7. Bb7
Now, here, if white could get the knight to b4, he would have a double threat of mates with Na6 and Nc6, and black would have to cover both squares from b5, which isn’t necessarily bad for black as the white king is tied down to defending the white bishop at b7. For example:
7. ……Bb5 (g4 ok? I don’t know)
8. Nd5 Bf1 (Ba4 or d7? 9.Nc7+-)
9. Nb4 Bb5 (only move)
And now what? Even if black had to move here rather than white, he could play g4 safely and we would have the same fundamental problem- white has no moves that don’t give black freedom to move his bishop by removing the immediate threats of mate of Nc6 or Na6. For example:
10.Be4 Bd7 (an only move, I think)
Here, black must maintain control of the c8/h3 diagonal as 10. …Be8 loses to 11.Bf5- the threat being Na6+ followed by mate with the bishop on the long diagonal. However, with 10. ….Bd7, black maintains an adequate defense as far as I can tell since a move like 11.Bd3 (to cut off c8 from a6) simply allows the black king to escape, if he wishes, with 11. …Kc8.
I am at the end of what I can do with this. I am either missing something right at the beginning of this problem (a move other than 1.Qa7+), or I am missing something after black’s fourth move, but I have no clue what it could be. If there is a win for white after move 4, it must be something awfully damned clever.
White wins. The real puzzle is what was black’s prior move?
1.Qa7+,Kxa7 (If Kc7 PxC8=Q wins)
2.Pxc8=N+,Kb8
3.Nxe7
If 4… Kc7 then 5.Nd5+ followed by 6.Nf6 winning the bishop leading to a won end game (if you know how to mate with a bishop and a knight).
If 4… Ka7 then 5.Be4 (zugzwang) either wins the bishop or forces the king backwards 5…Kb8 followed by 6.Kb6 a5 7.Bb7 a4 8.Nc6checkmate
-Bob Savage
Nice study, Wite wins
Qa7+ Kxa7 bc=N+ Kb8 Nxe7 Ka7 (if g5 Kb6, Bb7 and N mates) and can post the rest later….
The funny line from Qa7+ to Nxe7 was spotted by everyone. The continuations for Black are mainly three:
a) g5 b) Ka7 c) Kc7
a)
4. Kb6, followed by Bb7 and mate in few moves;
b)
4. Be4, and now g5 allows the transition into a BN ending – which is not straightforward but is won for the ones who know it – while Kb8 falls in the (a) variation
c) Nd5+ followed by Nf6, and once again a BN ending.
Greetings from KSA
1:Qa7 Kxa7
2:bxc8N+ looks nice
Quorthon
Sorry, guys, I still don’t see the win for white in this line:
1. Qa7 Ka7
2. bc8(N)Kb8
3. Ne7 g5
4. Kb6 Bc2 (only move?)
A number of you claim Bb7 followed by Nc6 wins, but
5. Bb7 Ba4
Covers the Nc6 threat. At least one commenter besides myself suggested
6. Ba6
But then M.Pasman didn’t continue with
6. ……Bd7
I thought the suggested 6. …g4 was still a draw, but that is another debate- Bd7 seems like a draw to me. What for white here wins?
i think yancey is right … at the end of all this bb7 stuff with the N on b4, black always plays Bb5.
I found it in a minute without looking at the other comments. Very nice, getting the extra piece with the Q-sack on a7 and then moving the knight to win the boxed in bishop on h7.
Mr. Ward is correct. After 1 Qa7+ Kxa7, 2 bxc8=N+ Kc8, 3 Nxe7 g5!, 4 Kb6! Bc2!, 5 Bb7 Ba5, the game is drawn. To prove this to yourself, take both Black pawns off the board and consult the endgame tablebases. As long as Black keeps the Rook on the a4-e8 diagonal and plays Bc8 when possible, White can’t make progress. The defense is a bit more complicated than that, and Black has many ways to go wrong, but the game should be a draw even with the pawns on the board.
If White could could get the knight to c5 (instead of b4) then he threatens mate on a6 and d7, whilst still protecting the bishop on b7. Any ideas how to achieve this?
Adam,
I had thought of that at one point, but could never make it work, and I tried hard to make it work:
1. Qa7 Ka7
2. bc8(N)Kb8
3. Ne7 g5
4. Kb6 Bc2
5. Bb7 Ba4
So, let’s try to bring the knight to c5 while leaving the a6 pawn in place:
6. Nf5 Bd7
7. Nd4
Prevents 7. ….Bc8. Continuing:
7. ……Bb5
8. Nb3 Bf1 (g4 draws, too)
9. Nc5
So, we have arrived. Continuing:
9. ……Bb5 (only move now)
And, now, white must move- moving the knight is gives us no net progress in our plan, moving the king allows the black king escape through c7, so we are left with bishop moves along the a8/h1 diagonal:
10.Bf3 Kc8
11.Bb7 Kd8 and the king has escaped. So, clearly, the a6 pawn must be taken down at move 6 by white in order to prevent Bb5 being protected by the a6 pawn:
6. Ba6 Bd7
7. Nd5 Bc8
8. Be2 g4 (everything draws I see)
9. Nb4 Be6
10.Ba6
Else, the black king skedaddles out through c8:
10. ….Bd7 (only move I see)
11.Nd3 Bc8
12.Bb5 Bb7 (why not?)
13.Nc5 g3
And this is a draw since white can’t take at b7 without giving black a queen, and 14.Bf1 draws after g2.
I will give it one last try later, but I don’t see how white can ever bring the knight to c5 without allowing the black king to escape, or letting the black bishop sit at b5 with impunity.
I took Tom Barrister’s advice and did a tablebase search minus the pawns, one and/or the other, and they are known draws from many of the positions I looked at. I am now convinced the position is a draw right from the start.
I saw the whole Yancey continuation, including the Bb5 stroke, and decided that i was in a “lazy” day and to report the solution-seeking to a further horary….
In fact i wasn’t that “lazy” and seemingly everybody agrees !
It’s high time Susan publishes the winning idea, if one was to exist….
I think after
1 Qa7+ Kxa7 2 bc=N+ Kb8 3 Nxe7 g5 4 Kb6 Bc2 5 Bb7 Ba4 6 Bc8 wins for White.
With the idea of blockading the g pawn with Bg4 and then transferring the Knight to c5 with the double attack on d7 and a6.
Alas, alas…
The pawn in a6 ahould NOT be there!!
It is a mirorred study from Pivovar, Shakmaty v SSSR, 1967, minus the introduction.
In our setting, the position would be this :
White : Ka5,Qb6,Bh1,Rc1,Pb7
Black : Kb8,Qe7,Bh7,Rh8,Pg6
FEN: 1k5r/1P2q2b/1Q4p1/K7/8/8/8/2R4B w – – 0 1
and the solution like this :
1. Rc8+ Rxc8
2. Qa7+ Kxa7
3. bxc8=N+ Kb8
4. Nxe7 g5
5. Kb6 Bc2
6. Bb7 Ba4
7. Nd5 Bb5
8. Nf6 g4
9. Ne4 g3
10. Nc5 g2
11. Bxg2 Bc4
12. Bb7 forcing the win of the Bishop or checkmate in a6 or d7…
The intro is cut by one full move by the webadmins of this site because 1. Qg2 wins easier.
Note the variation
8…Ba4
9. Ne4 Bb5
10. Nc5 that threatens Kxb5 and wins as above, but with the pawn g.
But the pawn a6 in the submitted diag is very obviously a typo, because in this key position, there is no zugzwang at all because black has
10… g4, the Bishop protected by the typo pawn a6…
So, there’s no win for white!!
“No computer lines please.”
Okie, but no false diags please HHOS…
Check it next time, and good luck!
Cortex
PS : Yancey Ward, you’re just an amazing solver! How do you do to be so sharp and so exhaustive?
I’ve done two typos :
1) Read “The pawn in a6 should NOT be there!!” and not “The pawn in a6 ahould NOT be there!!”
2) Obviously because of the mirror, it is 1.Qb2 and not 1.Qg2, which is illegal.
Sorry!