This is a classic by Alexey Alexeyevich Troitsky
White to move and win.
Hint: It is EXTREMELY difficult. I am not sure if your chess programs can solve this one. See if you can figure it out without computer assistance.
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Not so hard, or i missed something.
1.Bf8+ Kh7 2.Rg7+ Kh8 3.Be7! (Q is trapped) Kxg7 4.Bxh4 1-0
Incomplete. No dice Jose.
Well, you missed that the Black Queen is not trapped (it can go to e1), but you you are probably on the right path (or on a false trail, carefully laid out by the genius composer). In any case, let’s continue: 3..Qe1 4. Bf6 Qxe2+ ..now of course not 5. Kh3 ? Qe6+ and 5.Kg1 doesn’t appear to work either because after Qe6, the Bishop doesn’t have a retreat square on the long diagonal where it doesn’t fall to a fork. So, 5. Kh1 is left. Now I am going to pass the torch to someone else. We shouldn’t be the only ones having all the Christmas fun .
Michael Langer
Austin, Texas
Eeeek, I missed that after 5. Kg1 Qe6, White Bishop DOES have a square in the long diagonal: 6. Bb2 …then Qa2, I guess.
Michael Langer
Austin, Texas
Hello anonymous 1:14,
I thought similar, at least for the first moves.
1. Bf8+, Kh7
2. Rg7+, Kh8
3. Be7 as you predict
But now 3. -, Qe1! is possible (no need to play Kxg7, is there?).
4. Bf6! (I think this move makes the day) but the question is if black can
a) give a perpetual
b) successful hide his queen
c) move his queen to attack the bishop
d) sac the pawn h4 after which there is extremely stalemate danger
After 4. Bf6 the main threat seems to be Kh2. In addition to that black has to move and has no senseful moves.
After 4. Bf6 black’s only chance seems to be Qxe2+ (which badly opens e7->e1 and takes away places to hide).
5. Kh3! Qf1+ (what else?)
6. Kh2! and it’s over.
Have I overseen anything?
Greetings
Jochen
Aaaak, forget my post above, I overlooked Qe6 (defense type c)).
Retreating the bishop anywhere must be the clew (have to rethink later…).
Thank ano 1:44 for showing up that possibility!
I shouln’t have tried that hard problem without board (and with a stomake full of christmas chokolate!).
Greetings
Jochen
i look only one way
1Bf8+ Kh7 2Rg7+ Kh8 forced if
2 …Kh6 3 Rg4+ win
3 Be7 Qe1 only square for the queen 4Bf6 and now the problem for black is where go the queen ?
if QXe2+ 5 Kh1
5… Qe6 6 Ba1 Qe1+?? 7 Rg1+
(5… Qxf3+ Rh2 and queen is lost next move )
6…Qc4 the only case for the queen not eat by the rook but 7Kh2 and queen is lost next move others black trys slow the lost but no more 5…Qxf3+ Rh2 6 Qd5 and king and Bishop and a passed pawn win easily against 3 and soon 2 pawns 5 … Qe6 6 Ba1 Qh6 7 Rg6+ Kh7 8RxQh6 KxRh6 and white win by zugzwang some moves later.
black can also not eat e2 for protection and goes to 5…Qc1 6Kh2 (and not h3 because Qh1++ mate)and queen must go to c2 and after c4 because of the rook so the king can go easealy (carefully) eat the black pawns and in some variations help to mate. please tell me if i am wrong and where thanks
If my computer can’t solve it, why should I waste my brain? By the way, since when do “computers” solve anything?? That’s like calling a WGM a GM.
Anony-mouse:
You already wasted it being a meanypants, why not excercise it and you might do better next time. 😛
(Merry Christmas, have a trollsnack)
I do know the solution, which I would never have found by myself. “Extremely difficult” is putting it mildly. But it is very pretty.
What’s the protocol here? Do you folks have a generally accepted time after which it’s okay to publish non-original analysis?
Michael Langer, you have the right idea:
1.Bf8+ Kh7
2.Rg7+ Kh8
3.Be7 Qe1
4.Bf6 Qxe2+
5.Kh1 Qe6
… is the right start.
OK, as confirmed by Anon 9:28, we have 1. Bf8+ Kh7 2. Rg7+ Kh8 3. Be7 Qe1 4. Bf6 Qxe2+ 5. Kh1 Qe6.
Now 6. Ba1 Qc4 7. Kh2 suggested by Anon 2:28 doesn’t work due to Qa2+. If 6.Bb2, then immediately Qa2.
So, how about 6. Bd4 Qc4 7. Ba1 and the only thing left for Black is 7..h4 What next? White can force Black pawn to h2 by repeating the same Bf6 Qe6 Bd4 Qc4 Ba1 maneuver. But I somehow doubt this is the end of the study, since with the pawn on h2, there are suddenly stalemate motifs!
Michael Langer
Austin, Texas
So now we have:
1.Bf8+ Kh7
2.Rg7+ Kh8
3.Be7 Qe1
4.Bf6 Qxe2+
5.Kh1 Qe6
6.Bd4 Qc4
7.Ba1 h4
8.Bf6 Qe6
9.Bd4 Qc4
10.Ba1 h3
11.Bf6 Qe6
12.Bd4 Qc4
13.Ba1 h2
Michael, when something works for you, stick with it 🙂
Well, I cannot find a defense for Black against the same 14. Bf6 Qe6 15. Bd4 Qc4 16. Ba1. Any Black Queen move to the a1-h8 diagonal will be answered by the Rook retreat, protecting the Bishop.
But that would be too easy….
Michael Langer
Austin, Texas
“Easy,” he says 🙁
A gorgeous zugzwang, don’t you think?
Any computer programs that managed to solve this endgame?
I let mine (Toga II) think for a couple of hours but it never got a clue.
Not being a very skilled chess player; I let Spike 1.2 churn on this for a while. It doesn’t seem to be very successful – after more than a hour it’s recommending Rf8 with a value of -0.26. Either this is too difficult for computer programs, or maybe there’s an error in the given solution?
What if 4… Qc1?
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id be interested in seeing the solution to this one.
Wolverine, the 5th and 6th posts before yours describe the whole solution.
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1.Bf8+ Kh7
2.Rg7+ Kh8
3.Be7 Qe1
4.Bf6 Qxe2+
5.Kh1 Qe8
… loses to 6.Re7+.
Did you mean 5…Qe1+? That’s easily beaten by 6.Rg1+.
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As a bit of an update, Spike 1.2 chewed on this problem for 16 hours without a solution. It suggests 1.Re8 with a value of -0.23 and a depth of 28 halfmoves after evaluating more than 26 billion nodes. It’s waffled between Rf8 and Re8 several times, but never to Bf8+.
I guess computers still aren’t perfect!
4..Qc1 is a good try.
The idea is to have 2 squares for the Queen: c2 and c4 in order to avoid zugzwang. I think that’s answered by playing e4 when the Black Queen is on c4 and White King is on the h-file. For example: 4..Qc1 5. Kh2 Qc2 6. Kh1 Qc4 7. e4
Michael Langer
Austin, Texas