8/4Q1pk/5pb1/6n1/8/7p/1K5P/8 w – – 0 1
White to move (and it actually does not matter). I actually saw this position earlier today in one of the blitz game online. How do you assess this position? Which side would you pick? Which side should push for the win here? This is a good position to play out on both sides.
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
My God! This is a tough one!
Only black seems to have winning chances. I do not see how White can generate threats. Black can either keep the fortress or play Be4-g2 and Nf3.
Very interesting!
-Justin Daniel
Very curious, Dustin.
My (second or third) thought was that black had no winning chances, only white could have some.
One possible idea could be trying to get to f8 with the king and try to capture g7. Another one is getting the king to g3 first and look for a zugzwang.
Black’s threats against h2 (what else can black do?) are handled easily (simply protect h2) but probably give black the time to defend against white’s plans above.
I’d say it’s probably a draw but if I had to choose I’d take white!
Not to forget: it’s a blitz game.
So knight fork threats give black little more chances while it’s harder to defend against a plan like K->f8.
Blitz changes the situation a bit but (if time was about equal) I’d still prefer white.
Greetings
Jochen
I think only black has winning chances, the material is roughly equivalent, but black pieces if coordinated can defeat the white queen, and all black pieces are in the king side, so if I’d have to chose I’d pick black:)
IMHO, in a blitz game (likely no more than 1 min left, or a second per move or so): white has no chances whatsoever. Black has some.
I suspect that in pre-comp era (when game was postponed after 40 moves and resumed next day or so) a brilliant analyst like Polugaevski could have found a clear way to win 🙂
I meant, he could have found a way to win for white…
Viktor, back pieces might be coordinated better, but what winning plan do you suggest? I dont see anything but Be4-g2, Nf3, g7-g5, f6-f5-f4, Nf3:h2-f3 and h2-h2-h1Q. I dont have the diagram before my eyes now, but after playing it in mind a little I found this plan very difficult to complete…
It`s draw for both sides,white can`t do anything with his queen,and all Black has to do is moving his Bishop forth and back..
As for black,he can`t move his f pawn,and his only Knight move can be handled easily by white`s queen..so it`s draw.
b
Jochen’s plan of getting the white K to f8 to attack the g7 pawn and also to potentially threaten Qa4+ can be defended with Bf7. With his B on f7, black also prevents white from moving Kg8 at any time. If white manages to get in Qh4+ after placing his K on f8, black moves Kg6, and if then Qh8, black can play Nh7+ taking advantage of the fact that his B on f7 is now protected by the K at g6. If white leaves his Q on h4 and moves his K from f8 to e7 black can move Be6, and I don’t see how white can successfully attack g7. This line of reasoning seems to leave only black with any winning chances.