Ready, get set, go! What should White do here?
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1. b5 initiates a pawn breakthrough for White.
If 1…cxb5, then White breaks through after c6 because Black must then either (i) recapture, leaving White’s a-pawn with a free path, (ii) challenge the White a-pawn with b6, allowing White to pass with a6, or (iii) do something else, allowing cxb7 and queening on the next move.
VERY SIMPLE ENDING..
Susan, perhaps you could mark such exercises with a designation on a scale of 1(easy) to 10(very difficult~impossible)
or something similar.
For a cousin to this theme, play over the game Mamedyarov-Sokolov, Essent 2006 rd. 6, and figure out why, after White’s 51.g5, Black realized he could not gobble up White’s pawns with 51…Ke4?—!
Ah yes, I found the other example I was looking for: Weinstein-Rohde, Lone Pine 1977, which I saw in person! How could my NJ buddy Michael Rohde have won on Move 40?
These may be higher up on the scale “bam” and K. Liles are looking for, but one has to see the basic pattern first!
Second question:
If after 1. b5, cxb5 it was black’s (instead of white’s) turn how should black proceed (or go to the starting position and take away b4 and c6, black to move)?
Seeing a breakthrough as attacker and make it is often more obvious then finding it as defender and try to stop it. 😉
Greetings
1.b5
if 2..cxb5 then 3.c6 (attacks the p7 pawn, which has to move, so the a-pawn’s way becomes clear)
if 2..Kb4 (or other king’s moves) then 3.a6 (and the a-pawn promotes)
Of course, I used the number 2 for Black’s first move by mistake.
That’s two in a row I solved! Two out of about a thousand.
When I looked at this a few minutes ago, it was a rook endgame puzzle, now its just pawns. Why did the picture change?
while we are talking about pattern, I was wondering about if you think that doing problem on at Chess tactic server (CTS) site is good or it damages your chess ? Also, the best there have about 2200 rating so what Susan’s rating could be? Did you try Susan ?
1.b5 will lead to a pawn queening for white.
This seems to be a variation on the 3 vs 3 symmetrical pawn ending taught to beginners, using many similar themes. Again white’s superior pawns are sufficiently advanced to a win.
This is much more easier than the previous one.keep up publishing this kind of puzzle.
Can these puzzles be graded automatically by some software? That would be modern!? Some programmer can try!? The sell the patent, doesn’t have to be free work.