White to move and draw. See if you can solve it without computer assistance. Have fun! 🙂
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Another brain challenge!
About Author
White to move and draw. See if you can solve it without computer assistance. Have fun! 🙂
Re6 simple
1.Re6 forces Black to exchange queen for rook after 1.-Qxe6 2.Nc5+ king moves and then 3.Nxe6 after which the game is clearly drawn.
Let’s see here:
1. Re6+ Qxe6 (forcing; else black loses)
2. Nc5+ (forking the queen)
Blac’s dark bishop will eventually
take white’s pawn: 1/2-1/2
What’s wrong with this?
I think Nd4 will draw this. The move clears the line for the rook to reach a3 to check the king followed by a pin a pin from b3, so black cannot take the knight without losing the queen for the rook, and moving the king is no option. So the queen must move, but where? The queen cannot check from a5, white will block and pin her. Also, the queen cannot stay on the b-file or the 6th rank due the threat of Ra3 and Re6 respectively. So, the queen must either take the knight, play to c5, c7, or d8, but these are easily seen to be draws. The least obvious draw is Qxd4, but it leads to stalemate:
1. Nd4 Qd4
2. Ra3 Kb6 (or Kb5 doesn’t matter)
3. Rb3 Kc6 (or Kc5)
4. Rc3 Kd6
5. Rd3! Qd3 stalemates white.
And in that line, black must cross to the d-file, or white just checks with the rook on a3/b3/c3 endlessly for a draw by repetition.
Now, Qc5 has a certain illusory win in that the queen eyes a3 with the idea of bringing the king to a4 to prevent a subsequent Ra3+, but….
1. Nd4 Qc5
2. Ra3 Kb6
3. Rb3 Ka5
4. Rb5! with a draw of insufficient material.
Also, 1. …Qc7 must draw by either repetition or a skewer from c3.
And, last, but not least….
1. Nd4 Qd8
2. Ra3 Kb7
3. Rb3 Kc8
4. Rb8! Kb8
5. Nc6 draws by insufficient material. And, in this line….
1. Nd4 Qd8
2. Ra3 Kb6
3. Rb3 Kc5/c7
4. Ne6 draws by insufficient material.
1. Re6! Qxe6 2. Nc5+ Kb6 3. Nxe6 makes a draw as Black easily stops White’s only remaining pawn. ½ – ½
Re6!
Re6!! Queen is pinned. Now if Qxe6 then Nc5+ and forking the King and Queen. Later it is drawish.
I don’t understand the problem because 1.Re6 seems so easy ?
The answer is 1. Re6!
Hmm….
Is there anything wrong with:
1. Re6 Qxe6 (What else? Q is pinned)
2. Nc5+ forking the queen
This should be an instant draw, since black can at some time sack his bishop for the pawn.
But this doesn’t look like a brain challenge though!
Strange.
Way too simple!
1. Re6!! Qxe6
2. Nc5+! 1/2-1/2
Re6
1. Re6
After 1. Re6 Q:e6 2. Nc5+ White has an easy draw, with winning chances if Black isn’t careful.
1)Re6 ! traps the Queen
How about a simple Re6 to pin the queen and capture it directly or by a Knight fork if QxR
Wouldn’t 1. Re6 Qxe6 2. Nc5 be easier?
Re6- Qe6,
Nc5……
RE6 pinning the queen. If QxE6 then the knight forks
Re6 followed by nc5+ is simply not possible as the knight is pinned by the black queen (open check)
I wondered how many would fall for Re6. I fell for it myself the first half minute or so, but it’s very ease made me take a second look.
Of course, as the anonymous commenter just above pointed out, after Qxe6 the knight is going nowhere since it is pinned to the king.
the problem with 1. Re6 is that simply 1. … Qxe6 and black gets a free rook! Those that say that white plays 2. Nc5+ are not looking too carefully as the N on g3 will be pinned by the Q now on e6!
1. Re6! Qxe6 ( 1… Kb7 2. Rxb6+ Kxb6 =) 2. Nc5+ Kb5 3. Nxe6 = since black can sacrifice bishop for pawn.
Marcelo
Yancey Ward’s analysis is correct that 1. d4 does draw. For completeness, any move by the B on h8 runs in to the same lines that pin the queen as well.
1. Nd4! Qxd4 2. Ra3+ Kb5 3. Rb3+ Kc5 4. Rc3+ Kd5
(if 4… Kb5 white keeps checking from a3,b3 and c3)
5. Rd3!! Qxd3 stalemate 1/2-1/2
Marcelo
1. Nd4!
if 1… Qxd4 2. Ra3+ Kb5 3. Rb3+ Kc5 4. Rc3+ Kd5
(if 4… Kb5 white keeps checking from a3,b3 and c3)
5. Rd3!! Qxd3 stalemate 1/2-1/2
if 1… Qc5 2. Ra3+ Kb6 3. Rb3+ Ka5 ( 3… Kc7 4. Rc3 wins queen 1/2-1/2)
4. Rb5+ Qxb5 5. Nxb5 Kxb5 1/2-1/2 insufficient material.
if queen moves to anywhere on 6th rank or bishop moves then 2. Rc6 traps queen draws 1/2-/1/2 insufficient material.
if 1… Qc7 white checks on a and b files unless king moves to c file the Rc3 skewers queen and draws
if 1… Qd8 then Rook checks on a and b files and if king moves to b4 then Nc6 wins, or if king moves to c5 or c7 the Nd6 wins. If King moves to c8
then Rb8+ and Nc6+ draws.
if 1… Bxd4 2. Ra3+ Kb7 or Kb5 3. Rb3 skewers queen and draws
if 1….Ka5 or 1… Ka7 2. Ra3+ Kb7 or 2… Kb5 3. Rb3+ wins queen and draws
if 1… Kb6 2. Rb3+ wins queen and draws.
Marcelo
Haha, I fell for 1. Re6??. Totally missed that 2. Nc5+ would then be illegal.
LOOOL! I was utterly amazed when reading all the posts that couldn’t see that the fork 2.Nc5+ is illegal.
It it was legal, it would have been a lousy, lousy puzzle 🙂
But, Humanum errare est….