White to move. Is this a win, draw, or loss for White?
This fascinating puzzle was sent to us by Jeremy Reading of Australia.
3r2k1/4qb2/p6Q/1p2p2p/1P2p1p1/2P3P1/3R1B2/6K1 w – – 0 0
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Fascinating puzzle
1. Bc5 Qe8 (or Qc7)
Black’s queen is protecting the rook, so it must stay on on a square that guards d8
2. Qg5+ Unfortunately for black, white now has two pieces aimed at d8 and the rook is toast.
If Black tries 1. … Rxd2, you simply take his queen, and if he tries anything else with his queen, you take his rook.
I am still not sure why not the simple 1. Bc5 wins. Any defencive queen move as Qc7 fails to Qg5+ (fork).
Best may be 1. -, Rxd2 2. Bxe7 (it’s RPPP vs Q now) but several direct threats (Qf8+, Qxd2) (which force Rd1+ followed by B anywhere, best looks Bc4) and many weak pawns (and abandoned black king!) seem to give an easy win for white.
It does not seem as black had a perpetual…
Hmm, but this is not “fascinating” so I must oversee anything!?
Best wishes
Jochen
Bc5 followed by a queen check picking up the rook
Isn’t Bc5 super obvious?
Bc5 …
Qg5+ wins the rook
1. Bc5 wins
1. Bc5 looks like it picks up the chips. After …Qe8, 2. Qg5+ is conclusive.
No one has given a complete line so far. It is far from over after 1.Bc5 🙂
Best wishes,
Susan
Simple. It’s a win, because these puzzles are always wins for the person on the move. (The puzzle doesn’t ask you to find the win, only to find the result. Never set yourself a more difficult task than you have to.)
Bc5 can be followed by e3. If the bishop takes the queen, the pawn takes the rook. Thus the white bishop my have to take the pawn instead, which, after a rook trade, will still leave black up two pawns.
the only intermezzo i can see fro black after bishop c5 is e3 – is that what we need to defend against susan?
You people (-Susan) overlook the fact after 1.Bc5 black can reply with 1…e3 complicating the issue. I haven´t analyzed it deeply but could not find anything better than a draw.
i do not see any way for white to win. conclusion: =
1.Bc5 e3!
2.Qxe3 and position seems drawish.
Also,
1.Bc5 e3!
2.Rd3/d4/d5 RxR
3.BxQ Rd1+
4.K moves Kd2+ and draw by repetition.
Assessment : Position is draw.
Pharaoh
Ah, finally we can discuss again.
Now I see the thing I have overlooked but have not found the correct answer to it.
1. Bc5, e3!
(If 2. Qxe3 Qf6 is possible. If 2. Bxe7 exd2 is possible.)
Unfortunately I have to leave now for a non-chess training but I am going to rethink this later.
1. Bc5, e3
2. ?
Nice. 🙂
(last idea – time is ticking)
1. Bc5, e3 2. Rd5 or 2. Rd3
After 1.-, e3 the move Qxc5 is not check anymore so after Rd3 black cannot play QxB followed by RxR so black has lost a defensive idea.
Which one is better and why?
(After 2. Rd3 e4 is no option as 3. Bxe7, exd3 4. Bf6 mates.)
Thanks, Susan for a discussion exercise and thanks to Jeremy Reading.
Bye
Jochen
Perhaps
1. Bc5 e3
2. Rd5 e2
3. Kf2 and now black has to move its queen and face Qg5+ or take the rook and lose the queen.
Also
1. Bc5 e3
2. Rd5 Rxd5
3. Bxe7 Rd1+
4. Kg2 Rd2+
5. Kf1 Bc4+
6. Ke1
or 5. … Rd1+
6. Ke2
and black’s attack seems to have petered out
Yes, nice puzzle!
1. Bc5 .. e3
2. Rd5 interference
the rest has been already posted.
2. Rd3 doesn’t work… in that variation Black can rely also on a threat of a mate (with Nf3 and Rh2)…
1. Bc5 e3
2. Rd5 Rxd5
3. Bxe7 Rd1+
4. Kg2? Bd5+
5. Kh2 Rh1++
4. Kh2! draws
It is still a draw..
1. Bc5 e3
2. Rd5 Rxd5
3. Bxe7 Rd1+ with a perpetual, as 4. Kg2 is met by Bd5+. So
4. Kh2 Rd2+
5. Kg1 Rd1+ etc.
I have rethought that while on my way and I have come to similar lines as posted by John (second post with the rook coming down) but still do not see the difference between Rd3 and Rd5.
Maybe someone can show me the black drawing/winning way after 2. Rd3? instead of Rd5! (punctuation mark set after your comments)!? Thanks!
“2. Rd3 doesn’t work… in that variation Black can rely also on a threat of a mate (with Nf3 and Rh2)…”
Where does the knight come from?
So in summary we are at
1. Bc5!, e3! 2. Rd5 and now black can try e2 3. Kf2 or play Rxd5 at once and white captures the queen (with mate threat in 2: Be7-f6, Qg7#).
For the e2 idea black needs too much tempo to get the pawn promoted (after Rxd5 he needs to play Rd2 to save the pawn first, Bc4, Rd1; after Rd3 similar).
If she tries to get a perpetual after 1. Bc5, e3 2. Rd5, Rxd5 the white king can escape the attack of bishop and rook as posted by John G.
Are there still more resources by black?
Best wishes
Jochen
anon 9:55 :
it appears you were wrong this time 🙂
John G:
2. Rd5 e2 3. Kf2 Qf6+ 4. Kxe2 Bxd5 -+
and after 3. Rxd8 Qxd8 4. Kf2 Qf6+ 5. Kxe2 Bc4 black is better
oops, 3… qf6 4. qxf6 – there is no black pawn on g6…
2… rxd5 4. bxe7 rd1+ = (5. kg2 loses to bd5+ 6. kh2 rh1#)
so it’s an equal position
“John G:
2. Rd5 e2 3. Kf2 Qf6+ 4. Kxe2 Bxd5 -+
and after 3. Rxd8 Qxd8 4. Kf2 Qf6+ 5. Kxe2 Bc4 black is better”
Qf6+ won’t help as the white queen covers the square f6 and simply QxQ follows instead of Kxe2.
“2… rxd5 4. bxe7 rd1+ = (5. kg2 loses to bd5+ 6. kh2 rh1#)”
Hmmm.
What about 1. Bc5, e3 2. Rd4! (I haven’t considered this yet.) The difference is that after Rxd4 (forced I think) 3. cxd4! is possible. The queen is still hanging which could probaly give white enough time to play against the black king on the black squares (different coloured bishop prefer the attacking side – don’t they?)!? (or perhaps that is total crap.)
Absolutely not sure. Perhaps there is nothing, perhaps there is something more. Hope we’ll get it!
(And now I now why it is fascinating. :))
I’m both excited and frustrated because of the outcome of this puzzle…
@Jochen: sorry, i was seeing ghosts… and i’m still seeing them
Hi Susan,
Post Gufeld’s Dancing of the Elephant!
W: Kd6, Bd1, Ng4, Pd7-g3
B: Kh7, Bb4, Na6-g5, Pc5-c3-e3-h6
White to play and win!
I’m sure you already know the answer 🙂
Following the idea of Jochen (allowing the rook to move on more squares than d3 and d5), i found
1. Bc5 .. e3
2. Rd6 with the threat of Rg6+.
If 2 .. Rxd6
3. Bxd6 .. Qd8 (otherwhise quick mate follows)
4. Kf1 (eliminating the pawn…)
Of course most of the lines written so far are to be taken into account. Hopefully this completes the solution, so that i can go to sleep…
I was actually black in this game. I had been winning and we were both down to about 2 minutes plus 10 seconds per move for the entire game by this point. I thought I had thrown it all away when white played Bc5. I played e3 just because in the timw scramble it would complicate things – not because I knew it was the best move. I think he played Bxe7, I managed to promote my pawn and I ended up winning an opposite coloured bishop endgame with my extra pawns.
Great Analysis everyone! I also think that white can play Rd4 (along with Rd5 that you all found)and the best black gets is a perpetual check.
Jeremy
Good morning Jeremy, Consul, everyone,
I really had fun analysing this one with you all. Respect to those who had the right idea/intiution/calculation strength of perpetual.
It seems this one ‘has no solution’ but that’s more efficient for learning than if every exercise has a foreseen ending. Good one, Susan.
Interesting to see what nice options there may appear in a game. Propbably white did not look at e3 (as many of us inclusive me did first) first and even underestimated it after it was played (time trouble!).
Goog game, Jeremy, thanks for sharing.
Best wishes from Germany
Jochen
PS: Consul, Rd6 got to my mind lately yesterday, too, but did not seem to end with a win also. I think black can defend. But interesting try though!
It’s been extremely pleasant to me too. I’m still looking at the reason why Rd6 doesn’t work! ^_^
For the record here is the Full Game (played in Canberra, Australia)
[Event “ANU Open”]
[Site “?”]
[Date “2009.07.25”]
[Round “2”]
[White “Ninchich, Milan”]
[Black “Reading, Jeremy”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “B06”]
[WhiteElo “1622”]
[BlackElo “1762”]
[PlyCount “200”]
1. e4 g6 2. d4 c6 3. c3 Bg7 4. Nf3 d6 5. Bc4 Nf6 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. Bb3 Nbd7 8. O-O
e5 9. dxe5 dxe5 10. Re1 Qc7 11. Nf1 Nc5 12. Bc2 Be6 13. b3 Rad8 14. Qe2 Rfe8
15. Bb2 Nh5 16. Red1 Nf4 17. Qe3 b6 18. b4 Bh6 19. Kh1 Ncd3 20. Bxd3 Nxd3 21.
Qe2 Bc4 22. Qc2 Rd7 23. Ne3 Bxe3 24. fxe3 Red8 25. Rd2 f6 26. Kg1 Rd6 27. Ba3
b5 28. Rad1 Qd7 29. h3 Qb7 30. Bc1 Qb6 31. Kh2 Qc7 32. Kg1 g5 33. g3 Qf7 34.
Ne1 Nxe1 35. Rxe1 Rxd2 36. Bxd2 Bd3 37. Qb3 Bc4 38. Qb2 Qd7 39. Bc1 Qxh3 40.
Qf2 Qe6 41. Bd2 Bd3 42. a4 Bxe4 43. axb5 cxb5 44. Ra1 a6 45. Be1 g4 46. Ra2 f5
47. Rd2 Bd5 48. Qh2 Rf8 49. Qh4 Be4 50. Rh2 Qg6 51. Qe7 Re8 52. Qd7 h5 53. Rd2
Qe6 54. Qc7 Bd5 55. Qc5 Rd8 56. e4 fxe4 57. Bf2 Qd6 58. Qe3 Qe7 59. Qh6 Bf7 60.
Bc5 e3 61. Bxe7 exd2 62. Qg5+ Kh7 63. Bxd8 d1=Q+ 64. Kf2 Qf3+ 65. Ke1 Qxc3+ 66.
Qd2 Qxd2+ 67. Kxd2 Kg6 68. Kd3 Kf5 69. Ke3 Bg6 70. Kd3 Ke6+ 71. Ke3 Kd5 72. Be7
h4 73. gxh4 Bh5 74. Bc5 Ke6 75. Kf2 Kf5 76. Ke2 g3+ 77. Ke1 Kg4 78. Ke2 Kxh4+
79. Ke3 Kg5 80. Kd3 Kf4 81. Bg1 Bf7 82. Ke2 Bd5 83. Ke1 g2 84. Ke2 Kg3 85. Ke3
Kh3 86. Kd2 Bf3 87. Ke3 e4 88. Kf4 Kh4 89. Ke3 Kg3 90. Kd2 Kf4 91. Kc3 Ke5 92.
Kd2 Kd5 93. Kc3 Kc6 94. Be3 a5 95. bxa5 Kb7 96. Kb4 Ka6 97. Kc3 Kxa5 98. Kb2
Kb4 99. Kc1 Kc4 100. Kb2 Kd3 0-1