White to move. How should White proceed?
Source: ChessToday.net
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Benasque chess tactic
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White to move. How should White proceed?
Source: ChessToday.net
1.Rg7+! Driving the Black king into the corner
1….Kh8 2.Re7! Driving the bisop !
A) 2…Bc6 3.Rc7! or B)2…Bb5 3.Rb7! in both cases threatening either mate or a big material gain
At first, I was sure it was easy to win the the bishop by first driving the king into the corner with Rg7:
1. Rg7 Kh8
2. Re7
And, no matter where the bishop goes, white will create a double threat of RxB or R to 8th rank for mate. However, I started to doubt my line as I realized that black would create his own double attack on the rook and knight at move 5 below, and I wasn’t really sure how to untangle this threat:
2. …..Bc6 (Bb5 3.Rb7)
3. Rc7 Be8 (everything loses)
4. Rc8 Kg8 (only move)
5. Re8 Kf7
And, now, we are at the position I foresaw:
6. Nc7 Rc3 (what else?)
And then I realized I had suffered another bout of knight blindness- my inability to appreciate the potential of knight moves, even, occasionally, one move deep in an analysis. Indeed, I had seen the position up to move black’s sixth move without aid of a board, but could only see the finish by getting my actual chess board out and setting up the position, and even then, I didn’t see the knight fork for the first 2 minutes:
7. Re7! Ke7 (anything else?)
8. Nd5 Ke6
9. Nc3 a3
10.Kf4
Now, I am fairly sure this is won for white, but I am not 100% sure at this point in the position. I counted the moves it takes to queen pawns should black try for the queen side with his king and white try to win h7 and g6 and queen the h-pawn, and it appears that black queens first and wins:
10. …..Kd7 (Kd6 11.Nb5+ wins)
11. Kg5 Kc6
12. Kh6 Kc5
13. Kh7 Kb4
14. Na2 Kb3
15. h5
This is forced, now, since Kg6 means that when black queens a move ahead, white’s own h-pawn will queen totally unprotected:
15. …..gh5 (only move)
16. f4 Ka2
17. f5 Kb2
18. f6 a2
19. f7 a1(Q)
20. f8(Q)and I would be shocked if this isn’t a forced draw.
Clearly, at move 11, if black has played Kd7 at move 10, white needs to at least keep his king in range of the queen side with a move like Ke3 which accomplishes this while, at the same time, gets the king out of the way of all three pawns:
10. …..Kd7
11. Ke3
And, now, if black persists with Kc6, white can just create a passed pawn without aid of his king which can be used very cleverly to put black in a horrid kind of zugzwang- one I have used on occasion to win games online:
11. …..Kc6
12. f4 Kc5
13. g4 Kc4
But, now, white has a very pretty resource to win this game:
14. Na2 Kb3
15. Kd3! Ka2 (everything loses)
16. Kc2! and the black king is trapped on the a-file and mate will follow as soon as white queens a pawn as it does black no good to try for a stalemate, though white must play carefully:
16. …..Ka1
17. g5!
Here, 17.f5 looks like a draw to me after black takes at f5 and follows up with h5 and a2:
17. …..a2 (h6 18.gh6 g5 19.h7)
18. Kc1 h6
19. gh6 g5
20. h7 with mate on the next move.
The position is even. Is white supposed to win?
1. Rg7+ kh8
2. Re7 Bc6
3. Rc6 1-0! because of mate threat, the bishop cannot be saved.
If 2.. Bb5 3. Rb7 and the same situtation.
Force the black king into the corner with Rg7+
Attack the black bishop.
Attack the black bishop again, potentially enabling R to the 8th mate if black saves the bishop.
Black must give up the bishop to avoid mate.
not even. 1.Rg7+ Kh8 2.Re7 +-
1.Re7 Bc6 (Bb5)
2.Rg7+ Kh8
3.Rc7 if Black played Bc6 The double threat of Rc8# and Rc6 wins
3.Rb7 if Black played Bb5 The double threat of Rb8# and Rb5 wins
continued…
Of course
if 3….Be8
4.Rb8 or Rc8
4…Kg8 (forced)
5.Re8 White wins
1.Rg7+ Kh8
2.Re7 Bc6 [Bb5 3.Rb7]
3.Rc7 threatening mate and capturing the B
I think I see it.
Rg7+ Kh8
Re7 Bc6 (or Bb5)
Rc7 (or Rb7) threatening mate &
black has to let go of the Bishop.
Haven’t checked out the other variations.
Rg7 Kh8
and then attack the bishop with the Rook and threaten a back rank mate which will end with black giving the bishop and moving the h7 Pawn to avoid the mate.
1. Wg7+ Kh8
2. We7 Gc6
3. Wc7 Ge8
4. Wc8 Kg8
5. We8+ Kf7
6. Sc7 Wc3
6. Sb5 Wf3
7. Kf3 Ke8
8. g4 …
1/2
1. Rg7+ Kh8
2. Re7, Bc6/b5
3. Rc7/b7 +-
Winning the Bishop and the game!
1. Rg7+ Kh8
2. Re7 Bb5
3. Rb7, attacking the bishop and threatening mate at the same time.
2 … Bc6
3. Rc7 with the same outcome
White should win the black bishop and
therefore the game. First force the
king into the corner and then attack
the bishop:
1.Rg7+ Kh8
2.Re7 Bc6
3.Rc7 threatens mate so the bishop falls
2. …Bb5
3.Rb7 threatens mate so the bishop falls
Of coarse if the bishop goes to d7 or f7
the rook just captures it. Black does have
one resource:
1.Rg7 Kh8
2.Re7 Kg8
3.Rxe8+ Kf7 attacking the rook & knight
4.Nc7 Rc3 and if white panics & plays
5.Rc8 a3 and it looks like white will
have to give up the knight
for the a-pawn:
6.Ra8 Rxc7
7.Rxa3 a black may be able to hold a draw
R+2 pawns vs. R+3 pawns. However,
after 4. …Rc3 white has:
5.e7+ Kxg7
6.Nd5+ forking the king and rook. White should
Prevail in this ending.
White can win Black’s Bishop here
1 Rg7+ Kh8
2 Re7 Bb5
Or 2…Bc6, 3 Rc7 with the same result.
3 Rb7 Be1
Black has to lose the Bishop regardless. At least this way, Black can free the King.
4 Rb8 Kg8
5 Rxe8+ Kf7
6 Nc7 Rc6
Nothing else is any better.
7 Re7+!
If 7 … Kxe7, 8 Nd5 wins back the Rook.