White to move. Is this a win, draw, or loss for White? How should White proceed?
8/3P4/1P2p3/K1k1P3/P5R1/7P/4r3/3r4 w – – 0 1
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White can win it with Rb4 and continue from there.
Black’s one hope is to get the rook to a8 to checkmate white before one of the white pawns queens. Since d8 plays into this plan nicely, we do not play d8. Instead we play
1. b7 Rxd7
2. b8/Q finito
I suppose black could play
1. … Rxe5
2. b8/Q Kc6+
c. Qxe5 but it comes to the same thing
1. b7 and one of the pawns will queen.
1. b7! Rb2 forced
2. Rg1!! Rd2
3. Rc1+ Kd-
4. d8Q+
1-0
Nice!
Cute!
Well, the first move just has to be 1.b7 if white is to win. I don’t know whether or not other moves might draw (I doubt it), but my first instinct is to push b7:
1. b7 Rb2 (forced)
2. Rg2
I really wanted to play Rg8 here- that was my plan initially, but I realized I had overlooked a drawing line for black: [2.Rg8 Rb5! 3.Ka6 (or 3.ab5?? Ra1#) 3. …Rb6 4.Ka7 Rd7! 5.Rc8! Rc6! 6.Kb8 and this is a draw at best for white.] Continuing:
2. …..Rb5
I think everything else loses here. If black moves the rook somewhere else on the b-file or plays Kc6/c4, white will just check from c2 and the black king will have to block the d-file allowing white to queen with check. If black captures at d7, white can win by taking at b2 followed by b8Q to win black’s other rook, and if black takes at b7, white again checks from c2 and queens at d8 with check winning easily. And, finally, if black takes at g2, he will lose one of the rooks: [2. …Rg2 3.b8Q Rd7 4.Qc8+ wins the rook at d7]. Continuing:
3. Ka6
Again, 3.ab5 loses to Ra1+ followed by Rxa2#. Continuing:
3. …..Rb6
Again, this is the only way to possibly hold- if black captures at d7, white checks from c2 and, if needed, from b2 or d2 to win a rook and will win the other rook for the b pawn. Capturing at b7 allows the same check from c2 followed by a check from b2 and white will capture at b7 with the rook, preserving the d7 pawn. Continuing:
4. Ka7!
This is forced. White loses with Ka5: [4.Ka5?? Kc6! and now white will lose both 7th rank pawns to the black king and/or d1 rook. Continuing:
4. …..Rb7!
Again, taking at d7 allows a combination starting with Rc2+ that will win the b6 rook and preserve the b7 pawn, and 4. …Kc6 allows 5.Rc2+ followed by Kxb6 again winning a rook and preserving the b7 pawn to win the game. Continuing:
5. Kb7 Rd7 (what else now?)
6. Ka6
I don’t know what is best here. I just prefer Ka6 to moves like Kc8 since it gets the white king near one of the passers. Continuing:
6. …..Rh7 (what else?)
It is really difficult to come up with a plan here for white. White can support the h-pawn with Rh2, for example, but then black can play Rh8, and if white then pushes h4, Ra8+ wins the a-pawn with a probable draw. Also, in that line, white can’t even play 8.a5 since Ra8+ still wins the pawn. There two options for white, I think- 7.a5 or 7.Rc2+ driving the black king away to free the white one, but I am not seeing a clear winning continuation here. Right now, I lean toward conceding the h-pawn since I think white is going to have to give it up anyway to make any progress. So, let’s look at a5 first and see what we can find:
7. a5 Rh3 (what else?)
8. Rd2
Very complicated ending. Right now, I just can’t find the path forward. I am tired. Will try it again in the morning. Right now, I lean toward this being drawn.
White clearly seems better here:
1. Rb4 Rxd7 (Rxe5 Rb5+ must be worse)
2. b7 Rd8
3. b8=Q Rxb8
4. Rxb8
White is comfortably up with 2 pawns. I don’t think black can reduse it to one pawn:
4. … Rxe5?
5. Rb5+ Kd6
6. Rxe5 Kxe5
is won for white.
Chuffed to bits if it was….
1. b7 Rb2
2. Rg8
1.Rb4 Rxd7 2.b7 Rxb7 3.Rxb7 Kc6 4.Rb6+ Kd7 5.Rd6+ should win but it is not easy atleast for me
I never even considered Rb4 last night. It seems to me that it ends up in the same basic place as my choice, eventually, based on pht’s analysis:
1. Rb4 Rd7 (Rf2/g2 2.b7)
2. b7
The only move that can win, I think. Continuing:
2. …..Rb7 (Rd8 3.b8Q etc)
3. Rb7
As pht points out, the e-pawn is immune for a move since the passers on the flanks will win the game for white if black exchanges rooks at e5- after black recaptures at e5, white will just push the h-pawn forcing black to chase, and while he is chasing, white just moves the king to b5/b4 and pushes the a-pawn while keeping an eye on the e-pawn.
This position is a bit different from the one I reached earlier. In the earlier position, the black rook was on the 7th rank at d7 at this point, and the white rook was at g2. I can’t really say which one is better for white. Here, if black plays Rh2, which I think is best, white can protect with Rb3, or he can check from b5 first:
3. …..Rh2
4. Rb5
Why this? First, I like it because it puts black to a decision- where does the king go? A careless player will play Kd4 attacking the e-pawn, but this will lose: [4. …Kd4? 5.Kb6! Rh3 6.a5! Rh8 (or 6. …Ra3 7.a6) 7.a6 Rb8 8.Kc6 Rd8 (or 8. …Ra8 9.Kb7+-) 9.a7 Rc8 10.Kb7+-.] Also, black will lose similarly with 4. …Kc4: [4. …Kc4 5.Kb6 Rh3 6.a5 Rh8 7.Rc5! Kd4 8.a6 Rb8 9.Kc7! Ra8 10.Ra5+-]. Contininuing from move 4 above:
4. …..Kc6!
5. Rb3 Re2 (attacking the weak P)
Now, what plan does white follow? I have to say, I don’t see a clear winning plan here. It isn’t a trivial problem to get the white king off the a-file in front of the pawn while retaining the h-pawn, or without giving black his own passer. White can just move the king down the file towards a8 bringing the pawn with him:
6. Ka6 Re5 (what else better?)
7. a5 Rc5 (shields the king)
8. Rb6 Kc7 (or Kd7 is OK?)
9. Re6
White is up two pawns clean, now. However, there is just one problem. Now that I have reduced this to a 6 man or less problem, I can cheat and consult my Nalimov tablebase, and it tells me that with black to move next, this position is drawn as long as black plays 9. …Rh5.
Again, I still see a draw out of this.
Haridaran,
1. b7 Rb2
2. Rg1??Rb7!
And the mate threat of Ra7 is decisive:
3. Ka6 Rbd7 wins with ease.
Missed it completely, Yancey.