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I was thinking about this problem just a couple of weeks ago, and wondering if it was due for repost.
I will just wait and see what others come up with before commenting further. I will warn people- this is extremely difficult and requires an incredibly deep analysis to determine the outcome, which, in my opinion is still uncertain.
Another beautiful problem! Though it was easier and fun! And very quick!
1.Qa7+!!!.Kxa7.
2.Nxc8+!.Kb8. forced.
3.Nxe7.Kc7 to avoid mate.
4.Nd5+!.Kd6.5.Nf6! Trapping the bishop and white wins easily!
If 1….Kc7.2.bxc8=Q+.Kxb8.3.Qxe7 winning the Queen and the game easily!
If 3….g5 to save bishop.4.Kb6! Shutting out the black king from escaping and setting up a mating net. Eg., a5.5.Bb7!. Followed by 6.Nc6#!! Black has no choice and can only postpone mate by inter posing and giving up his bishop. Then it will be mate on the seventh move!
Harry
I’m not sure it works… (Houdini on my computer isn’t sure either !).
There are several moves that lead to a draw, so I guess that’s not what’s expected…
My intuition was that once we traded queens, there should be a mating net with bishop and Knight, but it does not seem to work…
Qa7+
So after:
1.Qa7 Kxa7
2.bxc8=N+ Kb8
3.Nxe7
if:
4… Kc7
5.Nd5+ followed by Nf6 winning the bishop.
if:
4. … g5
5.Kb6 followed by Bb7 and manoeuvring the knight to give mate somehow on c6 or a6 (I haven’t got this part working yet, somehow there’s always a defence for black.)
at first glance White seems to win, but ist´s White to find the hidden resource to eualize, nice! MGick
Qa7+ Kxa7, bxc8=N+ forking Queen
OR
Qa7+ Kc7, bxc8+ – discovered check winning the Queen
Qa7+ Kxa7, bxc8=N+ forking Queen
OR
Qa7+ Kc7, bxc8+ – discovered check winning the Queen
1.Qa7+ Kxa7 2.bxc8N+ Kb8 3.Nxe7…
a) 3…Kc7 4.Nd5+ Kd6 5.Nf6 /+-/
b) 3…Ka7 4.Be4 Kb8 5.Kb6 a5 6.Bb7 /+-/
c) 3…g6 4.Kb6…(4… Bd3 5.Nc6+ Kc8 6.Bf3
Kd7 7.Ne5+ /+-/) 4…Bc2 5.Bb7 Ba4 6.Bxa6 g5 7.Nd5 /+-/
1. Qa7+ Kxa7
2. bxc8 = N+ followed by
3. Nxe7 with at least a draw by White.
A couple of weeks ago I was reviewing my notes on another puzzle from 2010 that had been reposted here, and I found my notes to this puzzle. As a few commenters found today, white draws at the very least with 1.Qa7 followed by an underpromotion to fork the king and queen. Now, in both this posting and the previous one, Susan was careful not to write “white to play and win”, so it is perfectly reasonable to discover only a draw for white. However, as I am sure some of you discovered (Harry for instance), it looks like white should be able to trap the black king on b8 with the king/bishop combo on b6/b7 respectively, and mate with the knight, however, I and others in 2010 could never make it work that way, and I was, and am today, convinced this is drawn.
Cortex suggested at the time that the a6 pawn was erroneously included in this puzzle, and I agree, though I have never been able to find this or similar puzzles in the online chess problem databases, but I have found Cortex never steers me wrong on these issues.
In any case, here is the link to the previous posting of this problem:
<a href=”https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=13118012&postID=5585268641226125367>Link</a>
Again, since I messed up the formatting:
Link
Also, here is the most complete of the comments I made in 2010:
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?)
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.
Harry,
You are too much in a hurry.I have been trying since morning and unable to get nothing more than draw.
1.Qa7+ Kxa7
2.bxc8=N+ Kb8
3.Nxe7 g5
4.Kb6 Bc2
5.Bb7 Ba4I tried so many things like bringing N to b4 to check at either a6 or c6 but black B at b5 spoils all plan or black B challenges B at b7 by …. Bc8 making any plan impossible.Now it is 10:22 P.M. Indian time. I shall go to sleep and see yancey’s Link tomorrow.
Yancey/prof Bhat,
I agree that I was in a bit of a hurry with excitement!
I do realize now that 4…Bc2.5.Bb7.Ba4! spoils the show.
If only the white bishop was at Bg2 (instead of h1) it would still have worked for I found another beautiful mate!
4…Bc2.5.Nc6+.Kc8.6.Bh3+.g4.7.Bxg4+.Bf5.8.Bxf5#!!
Given the problem with B at Bh1, black cannot play Bd3 hoping to play Bb5 next due to the following variation:-
4…Bd3?.5.Nc6+.Kc8.6.Bf3!!! threatening mate with 7.Bg4.
If 6…f5 to prevent mate then 7.Ne7+! and 8.Nxf5 winning the game!
If 6..Kd7 to escape from mate.7.Ne5+ and 8.Nxd3 winning the game!
On 4..Bc2 I can think of a situation where (a) Nb4 threatens both Na6# or Nc6# (b) while black is forced to keep Bb5 to cover both a6 and c6 (c) white has already captured a pawn and (d) black’s g pawn is blockaded by white bishop at g5 when black is in zugzwang and he has to give up either a6 or c6. Here white can mate by Na6+.Bf3# if black gives up a6 or by Nf6+,Bc8,Bb7# if black gives up c6.
Maybe we will find this solution!
Cheers! .
Harry
Harry,
Perhaps that was the missing piece of this puzzle- the bishop on h1 instead of g2.
Can anyone give ma a clue what’s wrong with Kxa6 after regaining a Queen?
Anonymous:
I assume this is the line you are asking about:
1. Qa7 Ka7
2. b8N Kb8
3. Ne7 g5
4. Ka6
The black king escapes the net is the most obvious problem….
4. …..Kc7
I think black draws with a number of other moves here, too, but this is the one I would play.
I still have nightmares about this problem, over five years later!
Great to see the puzzle back. Cant do it, but that’s as usual.
consider the position after
Qa7+ Ka7
Pc8:N+ Kb8
Ne7: g5
Kb6 Bc2
Bc6 intention Bd7, Nc6+, Bc8 and Bb7#
I don’t have a chess board or chess program so
I can’t really check it out – but I think white can
force mate
Nope. I believe the puzzle is flawed. White can only draw.
The problem is that the bishop is perfectly placed on c2.
Black plays the waiting move 5…g4
If 6.Bd7, then 6…Be4 protecting c6
If 6.Bb7, then 6…Ba4 protecting once again c6, and if 7.Nd5, then 7…Bb5 (the most direct refutation
And now, we see why the pawn a6 is a typo here : the Bb5 is protected, and thus this ending is a draw.
Congratulations to Ben Aoufa, Saldy Lopez who said that this is a draw position, and of course to Yancey Ward