White to move. How should White proceed?
6r1/P7/KPk4p/2p2p2/7p/2P1P3/6P1/8 w – – 0 2
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Tricky Chess Tactic
About Author
White to move. How should White proceed?
6r1/P7/KPk4p/2p2p2/7p/2P1P3/6P1/8 w – – 0 2
g3
I originally was trying to find a win after 1. b7, but after 1… Rxg2 2. b8=N+ Kc7 white has nothing since Nc6 doesn’t work after Rg8.
I think 1. c4!! should win, but I could easily be missing something. The idea is to be able to play b7 without allowing the rook to come around and threaten mate. Either black can play a waiting move by playing h5 but then g3 cuts the rook of for good, or black can try and sneak around the pawns by playing Rd8 which allows the pretty Nc6 trick.
1. c4!!
1… h5
2. g3! hxg4 (or 2… h3, same thing)
3. b7 g2
4. a8=Q! and white is either mating or up a queen
1… Rd8
2. b7 Rd2
3. b8=N+ Kc7
4. Nc6! Ra2+
5. Na5 Rxa5
6. Kxa5 Kb7
7. Kb5 and white is easily winning the pawn ending
Two problem for white
1> How to avoid checkmate by Ra2
2> How to Queen the pawn
to solve the first white must play
1> g3 black can’t capture with Rxg3 as this will be a8-Q+ for white so the best reply is either h3 or hxg3 but queening on h1 is bad for black since white is going to queen on a8 so best would be hxg3
2> b7 and now g2
3> a8-Q black can not play here G1-Q due to b8-Q and check by a8-Q so black Rxa8 bxa8 now g2 pawn is gone even if black would have played h3 initially since white queen is on a8- h1 diagonal white wins finally.
1 c4 a5 2 g3 Rd8 3b7 Rd2
4 B7 b8+ Kc7 5 Nc6 Ra2+
6 Na5 Rxa5 7 Kxa5 Kb7
8 gxh4 ………
g3
b7 and wins
I had in mind a study by Cozio, 1766
FEN: 6r1/P7/KPk5/8/8/8/8/8 w – – 0 1
with the solution
1.b7 Rg2
2.b8N+ Kc7
3.a8Q Ra2+
4.Kb5 Rxa8
5.Na6+
In our puzzle, this line loses because of 5…Rxa6 6.Kxa6 h3 and Black wins easily.
Returning to this puzzle, I thought I’ve seen the first moves,
1.b7! Rxg2 (threat Ra2#)
2.b8N+ Kc7 (forced to avoid 3.Kb7)
3.Nc6 (threatening a8Q+, and zhe knight is protected: if 3…Kxc6 4.a8Q+)
3…Rg8
4.Ne7 (Not 4.Nb8 Rxb8!) Ra8
5.Nxf5 and perhaps draw.
But Black can meet the Cozio-mimicry with
1.b7!? Rxg2
2.b8N+ Kc7
3.Nc6 Ra1+!!
4.Na5 Rxa5+
and easy win
Yancey Ward, Consul and other strong contributors here will of course find much better!
black has only one trick up his sleeve and that is Rg4-a4# and so i think we should play c4 to prevent that. after that we have enough time to make a new queen.
greets, jan
1. g3
The key is that Black’s Rook is tied to the back rank until White plays b6-b7, because until then White will be promoting on a8 with check. Once White has played b6-b7, the Rook must get behind White’s King, threatening mate.
1. c4
This blocks the 4th rank. Black’s King must stay at c6 and the Rook must stay on the back rank, so Black’s first try is a useful “pass” to run White out of Pawn moves and force him to play b6-b7.
1. … h5
2. g4
Blocking the Rook’s access to get behind White’s King.
2. … hg3:
3. b7 wins
VARIATION 2:
1. c4 Rd8
Another route to get behind White’s King, but the problem is that it will not be able to get back.
2. b7 Rd1
3. b8(N)+ Kc7
4. Nc6 Ra1+
5. Na5 Ra5:+
6. Ka5: Kb7
7. Kb5 with a clearly winning Pawn endgame.
What is preventing white for playing b7 – a8? It is essentially the following variation :
1. b7!? Rxg2
2. Ka5 (to avoid mate )
2…… Kxb7 -+
So, white has to prevent black’s counter-attack. The best way to go is :
1. g3!! hxg3
( 1……… Rxg3
2. a8Q ++- )
2. b7 g2
3. a8Q g1Q
4. b8Q+
and white should win.
1-0
1. g3 to keep the rook from taking on g2 to set up a mate on b2. This gives white time to play b7 and queen.
Very tricky indeed!
White threatens b6-b7, but 1.b7 Rxg2! does not work, because after b8=Q or a8=Q there follows Ra2#.
2. b8=N+ Kc7! does not help either.
However, Black is lost after
1. g3!!.
The rook must be able to reach a square from which it can check on the a-file, and it must stay on the 8th rank until the b-pawn is moved, because otherwise the a-pawn queens with check… So, Rxg3 is out.
1. … hxg3 and 1. … h3 are both answered by 2. b7! and the newcoming white queen will stop the advanced black pawn. so:
1. … Rd8
2. b7! Rd1 (or Rd2)
3. b8=N+ Kc7
4. Nc6! Ra1+
What else? Kxc6 5.a8=Q+ is easily won for white, and if Black does not check, White queens the a-pawn and blocks a check on the a-file with the knight.
5. Na5 Rxa5+
6. Kxa5 Kb7
7. gxh4! and White will win the c-pawn and the pawn-endgame easily.
1. g3 Rxg3
2. a8=Q white wins
1. g3 hxg3
2. b7 g2
3. a8=Q g1=Q
4. b8=Q+ again white wins
1. g3 hxg3
2. b7 g2
3. a8=Q Rxa8
4. bxa8=Q+ again white wins.
Let’s first dispense with the obvious move of b7- this is a fairly common theme in this type of ending where one player has a rook vs advanced pawns threatening to queen.
1. b7?? Rg2!
Placing the rook where he can check the white king from behind and threaten skewers on a new queen. In this particular position, however, the black c-pawn’s control of b4 means the white king can’t even escape the mate, and neither pawn can queen with check- so white is forced to underpromote with check to extend the game:
2. b8N Kc7! (Kc6 look like a draw)
3. Nc6
A last trick. Continuing:
3. …..Ra2! (Kc6?? 4.a8Q+!)
4. Na5
Or 4.Kb5 h3! wins for black. Continuing:
4. …..Ra5!
5. Ka5 Kb7! and black will win with his passed h-pawn.
So, how does white unravel this puzzle? My first thought was to prevent the rook from reaching g2 by pushing g3, but this won’t work since the white rook can reach the a-file through g4:
1. g3?? h3! (hg3 ok, too)
2. b7 Rg4! (only move)
3. Ka5
See the other line above for b8N. Continuing:
3. …..Kb7 and black will win with ease.
Also, it will do white no good to try 1.g4 since black will still pass the pawn with h3 and capture at g4 when white plays b7, and in this line, white can’t even push g5 since the h-pawn queens too quickly:
1. g4?? h3
2. g5 h2
3. b7 h1Q
4. b8N Rb8 and it is over since black is still threatening mate if white captures at b8 while queening.
In my next comment, I will consider a different plan.
In my previous comments, I disussed the various pushes of b7, either on the first move, or on a move subsequent to pushing the g-pawn. These didn’t work, and for a time I was a bit stymied, but then it occurred to me that white might simply have black in a kind of zugzwang already. Note that the black rook cannot leave the 8th rank since white will queen at a8 with check. If the rook moves, then he must move to an open file so that he can reach the ranks behind the white queen. With this in mind, the first move is obvious, even if you can’t see the implications since white cannot move the e-pawn:
1. c4 Rd8 (alternatives below)
In this position, black could move his king to the d-file, but then b7 is deadly: [1. …Kd7 2.b7 Rg2 3.a8Q+-]. 1. …Rd8 puts the rook on the other open file, and remember, 1. …Rg2 doesn’t work due to 2.a8Q coming with check. Continuing:
2. b7
I wracked my brain here, but this was the only possible way forward, but then it hit me just as soon as I committed to it how this would play out, and it is really good! Continuing:
2. …..Rd1 (Rd3/d2 no different)
3. b8N Kc7 (Kc6 4.a8Q+! wins)
Or [3. …Kd6 4.Nc6 Kc6 5.a8Q+-]. From c7, the black king can more reasonably try to prevent white from blocking with the coming check with Na5 since black can then capture at a5 with check and then play Kb7 stopping the a-pawn, but there is just one problem with this plan for black- unlike the previous lines, he has no passed h-pawn to win the game with, and will have a poorly placed king in the ending. Continuing from move 3 above:
4. Nc6 Ra1
The black rook cannot return to d8 to guard a8, and any other move white just queens and blocks the skewer with the knight at a5. Continuing:
5. Na5 Ra5 (or white queens)
6. Ka5 Kb7
7. Kb5 Ka7
8. Kc5 Kb8 (Kb7 no better)
9. Kd6 Kc8 (else king move 10.Kd7)
10.Ke5 and white will have two passers to win with.
So, let’s return briefly to move 1 in this line. Did black have any other move to replace 1. …Rd8 with? No, but I wasn’t sure going into it:
1. c4 h3
2. gh3 h5 (Rd8 is like above)
Here, again, if black plays a move like Rg2/g1, white queens at a8 with check. Continuing:
3. b7 Rg1
4. b8N Kc7
5. Nc6 Rg8
Here, Ra1+ will play out as we saw above where white will have a won K+P ending. Here we can see the difference between keeping the rook on the g-file vs having him on the d-file- the rook can return to the 8th rank in this line. Continuing:
6. Ne7
I don’t think white can win with any other move. If he tries Nb8, black just checks from g6 driving the white king away from a6: [6.Nb8?? Rg6 7.Kb5 Kb7 8.Nc6 Rg3! (8. …Rc6?? 9.a8Q Ka8 10.Kc6+-) 9.Kc5 Re3 and black should win this fairly easily]. Continuing from move 6 above:
6. …..Re8
7. Nd5!
This is not an easy move to find. I got lost in the 7.Nf5 line (it was my original plan for deciding on 6.Ne7, but black just checks from e6: [7.Nf5? Re6! 8.Kb5 Kb7 9.Ng3 (9.Kb5?? Re5-+) 9. …Re5 and only black has winning chances, though I don’t know if his edge is decisive.]. The knight is aiming at b6. Continuing from move 7 above:
7. …..Kc6 (or Kd6)
8. Nb6 and white will win black’s rook for the a-pawn, and the game since black can’t liquidate white’s c-pawn.
And, finally, let’s look at the other h-pawn move at move 1 for black since:
1. c4 h5
2. g3!
An easy move to find for myself since it was my very first idea for a plan when I looked at this puzzle. It now works since the black rook cannot reach the a-file through either g2/g1 or g4 (1.c4 blocked up the 4th rank). Continuin:
2. …..h3
Here, 2. …Rd8 will play out just like the line discussed above for 1. …Rd8, and 2. …Rg3 loses to 3.a8Q. Continuing from move 2 above:
3. b7 h2 (what else now?)
4. a8Q h1Q (Ra8 5.ba8Q skewers)
5. b8Q and white will mate in a few more moves.
A very, very nice puzzle.
This was a repeat I had not remembered. Found it in my Word files on my computer. Appears to be from July 2010.
For the curious, here is the previous comments section for this puzzle:
Link
1.g3?? hxg3 2.b7 Rg4! and black wins.
Only 1.c4!! wins. I did not find it, kudos to those who did. Very logical when you see it. Wonderful zugzwang move.
B6 B7 , REY NEGRO JUEGA C6 C7, BLANCA A7 A8 “TRICKY”