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My first thought is Bxg6 to try to win a piece or a pawn:
1. Bg6 fg6
2. Nd7 Nb5
3. Bc5 Nd4!
4. Nf6 Kg7
5. Bd4 Ne2 and I see white cannot win a piece or pawn in this line due to the weak back rank. I did look at some variations in the moves above, but nothing really jumped out at me, so it was time to look at other beginnings, and trying to remove the threat on d3 really is key here, but not with the capture at g6:
1. Be4!
Removes the threat on the bishop, but also threatens Bb7 if black tries to move his light-colored bishop out of danger since the black rook is the only protection for the knight at c7. Best I can really see here is to just concede the bishop at d7 and get the knight out danger by playing him to b5:
1. …..Nb5
2. Nd7 Ne2 (not sure what is best)
3. Kf1 Nec3 and black at least gets a pawn for the piece loss.
1 N:d7 N:d3
2 Rd1 Nf4
3 Nf6+ Kg7
4 Rc1
wins a piece
1. Be4 threatening 2. Bb7
1. Bxg6
looks generally good.
Be4 seems correct
a) if … Be8?!
then Bb7+/-
b) if … Nb5
then Nxd7 f5!?
Bb1 Ne2+
Kf1 Nexd4
Bc5 +/-
c) if … Ncd5
then Nxd7 Ne2
Kf1 Nxd4
Bxd5 and white is winning.
My thought is:
1. Be4, protecting the White Bishop while maintaining jeopardy on the Black Bishop. I think Black’s best defense is then:
1. … Bb5 (or Be8)
2. Bb7 Ne8 (or Nb5, as per 1st move)
3. Bxc8 Nxd6,
but, White still wins the exchange.
Did I miss anything?
My line is wrong.
Instead of 2…Nf4? Black plays 2 … N(c7)any and the Nd3 is immune due to back-rank mate threats.
I don’t see anything that works for white. Black’s knights prove very pesky in most cases. However, Rc1 has some possibilities. The following line trades off pieces resulting in black having just a single pawn advantage:
1. Rc1 Nb5
2. f3 Nxd4
3. Rc4 Nxd3
4. Rxd4 Nxc5
5. Bxc5 Rxc5
6. Rxd7
But, from this position, white will have great difficulty stopping the advance of black’s queen-side pawns. Likely, black can take the pawn at a2 and then force exchange of white’s rook for a queened pawn, resulting in, at a minimum, a rook advantage for black, after which white is doomed. And this was the best line I found for white. So, white’s prospects are not good, unless I overlooked something.
In one line starting with Rc1, I was able to achieve the following position: FEN 2R5/5pBk/2n1pPp1/p6p/8/5PK1/2r3PP/1q6 b – – 0 17
but didn’t have enough tempo to achieve the mate that was one move away.
For anyone who might be curious, here’s how the position just one move from mate that I referred to above was achieved:
1. Rc1 Nb5
2. f3 Nxd4
3. Rd1 Bb5
4. Be4 Bc6
5. Bxc6 Nxc6
6. Kf2 Nd5
7. Ne4 Na7
8. Nf6+ Nxf6
9. exf6 Rc2+
10. Kg3 Nc6
11. Bf4 Rxa2
12. Rd6 Rc2
13. Rd7 b3
14. Rc7 b2
15. Bh6 b1=Q
16. Rc8+ Kh7
17. Bg7 {Mate by white just one
move away here. But no time to complete the attack. Sigh.}
17… Qe1+ {Now white’s king has no escape. Black has a mate attack.}
18. Kh3 g5
19. Rh8+ Kg6
20. Rh6+ Kf5
21. Rxh5 Qf1
22. Rxg5+ Kxg5
23. Bh6+ Kh5
24. Bd2 Rxd2
25. Kg3 Qf2+
26. Kf4 Rd4#
I’m playing against Fritz 13 in infinite analysis mode above.