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1 Rg2+ Kb3
2 Ra2!! Kxa2
3 a7 and the pawn queens
Rg2+, Kb3, Ra2! 1-0
1 Rg2+
Black has two ways to go here:
LINE ONE
1 … Kb3
Attempting to stop the Rook from reaching the a-file.
2 Ra2! Kxa2
2 … Re1 leads into line two, with the Black King two files farther away.
3 a7
White promotes. Black’s Rook will need to get closer to the King to avoid being forked or skewered. With both pieces away from the pawns, White will be able to pick both up and win the Queen vs. Rook ending.
LINE TWO
1 … Kd3
Black gives up the Rook for the promoting pawn and tries to race to the Kingside to support the more advanced of his h-pawns.
2 Ra2 Re1
3 a7 Re8
4 a8=Q+ Rxa8
5 Rxa8 Ke3
6 Kxh6 Kf2
7 Kg5 h3
8 Kg4
Yes, Virginia, I know the tablebase says 8 Kf4 wins two moves faster, but that assumes that on the given move (8 Kg4), Black abandons the pawn and heads for the wide open spaces to forestall mate.
8 … h2
9 Ra2+ Kg1
10 Kg3! a1=N+
And not 10 …h1=Q, 11 Ra1#
11 Kf3!
Black must give up the Knight to avoid mate for a few moves.
whitw is wining with Rg2+ Kb3 2.Ra2 KxR 3.a7 …… and black cannot stop the queening pawn,
Rg2+ Kb3
Ra2
I like pawn end game problems.. There some of my favorites..
We have seen this theme before, and it still took me a bit of time to notice it again. To queen the a-pawn, white must get the rook behind it, and there is only one way to do this:
1. Rg2! Kb3
To “prevent” Ra2. However, white has simple reply that is hard to see unless you have seen it before:
2. Ra2!! Rd1
Of course, Ka2 is met by a7 and the pawn cannot be stopped because black’s king is blocking his own rook ability to cover a8. One, if he wishes, can look up the position in the Nalimov tablebase after 2. ….Ka2 3.a7, but the endgame is a loss for black because his king is too far away from his rook and pawns to have a hope of drawing. So, black has to try a move like Rd1, but this will also lose. Continuing:
3. a7
Works just as well in this line, too. Black just doesn’t have time for both Ka2 and Rd7+. He must either give up the rook for the pawn, or allow white to get a queen in place of his rook. The best line is to just take at a2:
3. …..Ka2
4. a8(Q) and the Nalimov tablebase declares this position to be won in 36 moves for white starting with 5.Kh6.
For thoroughness, if black had taken at a2 on move 2, the postion that arises is won for white in 37 moves. If black had moved his rook to any available square on move 2, he loses in 33 to 36 moves.
1.Rg2+ Kb3
2.Ra2! Kxa2
3.a7!
This is obviously going to transpose into a King and Queen vs King and Rook end game.. This is quite a laborious process.. The sequence to mate in this positon usually involves forking the rook and king…Im sure Yancy Ward will give us a lengthy lesson is this kind of end game but I digress..
1.Rg2+ Kb3 2.Ra2! looks like a good idea to block the a-line. After 2… Kxa2 3.a7 it seems to me that the white position is probably winning as black will hardly be able to hold on to his pawns.
Well in my opinion white can easily get a draw. Not a problem if that is what white wants. From my knowledge and i am still a beginner at the game. It look like that is the best option for white. I do not see a clear win for white.
White wins
Rg2+ Kb3
Ra2! KxR
a7
Ah very nice. Rg2+ Kb3 – the king needs to stay in touch or the rook will get behind the pawn but Ra2! anyway. King blocks the file if he takes and the pawn marches on. Should be won with black pawns doubled on h file.
I feel White should win. I tried Rg2+ and Rg4, with the plan of getting behind the pawn but I am missing something! Unable to see the key move…
Well, I think there is a win for white if he starts with
1.Rg2+
here black can move his king to either 1st or 3rd ranks. If black moves the king to 1st rank, white can simply push the a-pawn forward and queen it. So best option for black here is to move his king to b3. Continuing,
1. . .Kb3
and white has a neat tactic here.
2.Ra2!!
If black capture’s the rook, white simply queens the pawn and the ensuing position seems to be a who for white. If black doesn’t capture, then its a clear win for white
Rg2 Kb6
Ra2 Ka2
a7
I think its a win for white by these moves;
1 Rg2+
Logigally, black King would go to 1…Kb3 to cover the A file.
Then;
2 Ra2!
Black doesnt have a choice but to capture the rook and from there would not have a chance to save the A pawn from Queening.
1.Rg2+ Kb3 2.Ra2! Rd1(2…Kxa2? 3.a7 and White will win. ) 3.a7 and White will win.(3…Rd8 4.a8=Q)
1.Rg2+ Kb3 2.Ra2! and is an easy win
In my opinion White can have a Queen while Black has a Rook:
1. Rg2+ Kb3
2. Ra2 Kxa2
3. a7
and Black cannot stop the pawn.
White wins by
1 Rg2+ Kb3
2 Ra2 KxR
3 a7 and queens next move
I didn’t calculate until last.
1.Rg2+ Kb3 2.Ra2! Rd1 3.a7 Rd8 4.a8=Q Rxa8 5.Rxa8 Kb2(5…h3 6.Ra1) 6.Rf8 h3 7.Rf3 h2 8.Rh3
and White will win.
1.Rg2+ Kb3 2.Ra2! Kxa2? 3.a7 and White will win.
1.Rg2+ Kb3 2.Ra2 Kxa2 3.a7 + –
I found 2 ways, one trivial and another less elegant, that I also think is winning(comments are welcome)
A
1.Rg2 Kb3 2.Ra2 Kxa2, and the a pawn promotes
B
1.Ra7 Ra1 2.Ra8 Ra4 3.a7 Kb2 (trying to hide) 4.Rb8+ promoting the next move and winning the black rook.
less elegant, but an easier win after that
I think white wins. Starts with a check on g2 and can get easily behind his advanced pawn.
1.Rg2+! Kb3 Other king moves are only worse 2.Ra2! Kxa2 3.a7! and the promotion is not to be avoided.
White can try to win by
1. Rg2+ Kb3/b1
2. Ra2!
Now the pawn a6 cannot be stopped and queens, e.g.
2. … Kxa2
3. a7 Kb3 (h3? 4.a8Q+ and 5.Qxh1)
4. a8Q
The black rook is attacked and must move.
Still not easy to win for white, but should be possible.
Rg2+ and the Black King can only go to b3 (otherwise Ra2 behind the pawn ensures promotion); then Ra2 anyway forcing Black to take the R.
1.Rg2+ Kb3 2.Ra2 Kxa2 3.a7 promoting and most probably winning the endgame.
1.Rg2! Kb3 2. Ra2! Kxa2 3. a7 +-
Wow, wonders will never cease- Wolverine got one right.
Well, maybe not so right:
From Wolverine: “The sequence to mate in this position usually involves forking the rook and king”
Actually, no. A careless opponent might allow you to fork the pieces and win (probably the only way wolverine could win this ending)- but the mate is actually enforced whether you fork the king and rook, or not. The main reason that many players can’t win this ending is that they spend all their time and moves trying for a fork to win the rook rather than coordinating their king and queen to force the opponent’s king to the edge of the board.