White to move and win. How should White proceed? No computer analysis please. See if you can figure the solution out on your own.
Hint: This is quite a complicated and lengthy endgame.
B1k5/5P2/3p1rPp/3R4/3p4/6K1/6p1/8 w – – 0 1
Maksimovskikh, 1977
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
1.Kh2 g1Q+ 2. Kg1 Rg6+ 3. Rg5 Rg5+ 4.Bg2 Rf5 5. Bh3 with 6. Bf5 and 7. f8Q +- Greetings from Bulgaria 🙂
1.Kh2 g1=Q+ 2.Kxg1 Rxg6+ 3.Rg5! Rxg5+ 4.Bg2 Rf5 5.Bh3
Kh2
Kh2 g1Q Kg1 Rg6 Rg5 Rg5 Bg2 +-
2 questions please:
Are the solutions posted at any time? It would be instructive to know the right one.
Why in most of the notes a town is mentioned, but no state or country? I don’t know most of the towns indicated in the notes.
Thanks,
Martin
1.Kh2! a little subtlety! g1/Q 2.Kxg1 Rxg6+ 3.Rg5! Rxg5+ 4.Bg2!! the crème de la crème Rf5 5.Bh3! Kd8
6.Bxf5 Ke7 7.Bg6! d3 8.Kf2! and everything is under control
1.Kh2 g1=Q, 2.Kg1 Rg6, 3.Rg5 Rg5, 4.Bg2 Rf5, 5.Bh3+-
Anonymous,
The solution is nearly always found by one of the commenters, you just have to recognize it when you see it. It really does help your play if you learn to (1) find these solutions for yourself, and (2) work through the various solutions offered by the commentariat and convince yourself of their worthiness or lack of it.
What might seem obvious
1. Kg2 Rg6
2. Kh3 Rf6
looks like a draw to me after black takes at f7. So, I can only assume that Kg2 is not the first move. The only other move that qualifies for “immediate, eye-ball” consideration is
1. Kh2 Rf1 (Rg6? 2. f8(Q))
2. Kg2 wins, so black must try something else
1. Kh2 Rf4 (to check at h4)
2. Kg2 still wins.
1. Kh2 Rf2
2. g7 Rf7
3. g8(Q) wins. In all, I don’t see a move of the black’s rook, it must stay, for a move, where it is in this line
However, black can still play g1(Q) on his first move:
1. Kh2 g1(Q)
2. Kg1 Rg6
2. Kh2 Rf6 and I still see a draw, and I see nothing else for the move 1. Kh2.
If white tries
1. g7 g1(Q)
2. Kh3 Qg7 will win for black.
Having eliminated the obvious, I will discuss the non-obvious in a subsequent comment.
If I didn’t know there was a win, I’d undoubtedly miss this continuation.
1.Kh2! g1/Q+ 2.KxQ Rxg3+ 3.Rg5! Rxg5+ 4.Bg2 Rf6 5.Bh3 ++
After concluding everything else drew, I started looking at Kh2 and noticed the potential pin if the black rook moved to f5 (to stop the f pawn from queening).
If I didn’t know there was a win, I’d undoubtedly miss this continuation.
1.Kh2! g1/Q+ 2.KxQ Rxg3+ 3.Rg5! Rxg5+ 4.Bg2 Rf6 5.Bh3 ++
After concluding everything else drew, I started looking at Kh2 and noticed the potential pin if the black rook moved to f5 (to stop the f pawn from queening).
Indeed, in all the above lines, I am being hung up by the rook at f6; white needs to take at g2, and can’t with the rook where it is, and I see only one way to get the rook off that square
1. f8(Q) Rf8
2. Kg2 Rf6 and the g-pawn will fall. I don’t see a way to prevent the rook returning to f6 in this line.
Sacrificing the rook does no good.
1. Rc5 dc5
2. Bg2 Rg6
3. Kh3 Rf6 will win for black.
Sacrificing the bishop isn’t any better, that I can see
1. Bb7 Kb7
2. Rb5 Kc7
3. Rb1 Rg6
4. Kh2 Rf6 (or g1(Q))
I am out of “less obvious” moves here. What seems to be left are lines that allow black to queen the g-pawn. I will look at those in my next comment.
Rxd6 looks like a great start.
Oops. I take that back. g1(Q) obviously negates my idea.
I didn’t find it. But Rybka did in 1sec.
Hint: The bishop isn’t there just for fun.
k-h2 seems likely
I think..
1.Kh2 g1(Q)
2.Kg1 Rg6+
3.Rg5! Rg5
4.Bg2! Rf5
5.Bh3 +-
Sorry
Continue with..
… Kd8
Bf5 Ke7
Bg6!…
and white king trap d Pawns
kh2 Rg6
Rg5 Rg5
Bg2 Rf5
Bh3
1. Kh2 seems like the best start – it gets the king off the g-file (now 1…R:g6 is not check and 2. f8Q is). Black is forced to burn the g2 pawn with 1…. g1Q+ 2. K:g1 R:g6+
3. Rg5!! R:g5+ 4. Bg2 (here he comes, per the hint above) Rf4 5. Bh3 Kd8 6. B:f4 Ke7 7. Bg6 and now the B protects the f-pawn and holds the h-pawn, while the white K is in the square of the d-pawns, so it is all over.
This took me considerably longer than one second, but the hint helped a lot.
Let me see . . . Kh2 is a force move so let it be 1.Kh2 then the continuation more or less should be 1..g1=Q so that after 3.KxQ there comes 3..Rxg6 with a check. Hu huh i think i am already close to the solution. ok, see it. 4.Rg5 Rxg5+ 5.Bg2 Now the rook is forced to play 5..Rf5 to stop white from promoting. White now plays Bh3 pinning the rook with +-
Is that it?
1.Kh2!! subtlety! g1/Q 2.KxQg1 Rxg6
3.Rg5!! Rxg5+ 4.Bg2!!! the crème de la crème Rf5 5.Bh3! Kd8 6.Bxf5 Ke7 7. Bg6! d3 8.Kf2! and everything is under control
LOL! I got fooled by “complicated and lengthy endgame”, and totally overlooked the obvious.