Black to move. Is this a win, draw, or loss for Black? How should Black proceed? (No computer lines please.)
8/3Rp3/1k6/8/K4p2/P3P3/7r/8 b – – 0 1
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Important R&P endgame
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f3
Fantasy line (no board, less than 1 minute, so please forgive the mistakes, if any!)
1…f3! 2.Rxe7 Rh4+ 3.Kb3 Rf4! 4.exf4 f2 and wins?!
Kamalakanta
f3, Rh4+ and Rf4 ensures the pawn promotes
1. f3 Re7:
2. Rh4+ Kb3
3. Rf4 +-
I find this in 15 sec , i hope that it’s not mistake 😉
… f3
2) Txe7 Th4+
3)K moves Tf4!
4)PxT f2 and black wins
I would think that black needs to get behind the f-pawn. The most obvious way to do this is
1. ….f3
2. Re7 Rh4
3. Kb3 Rf4
4. Rd7 f2
5. Rd1 f1 (Q) wins. Given this outcome, white must respond differently. One possibility is
1. ….f3
2. Rd4 f2
3. Rf4 Rh4! pinning the rook and allowing the pawn to queen.
Best for white seems to be
1. ….f3
2. Rd1 Rh4
3. Kb3 Ka5
4. Kc3 Ka4
5. Kb2 f2
6. Rf1 Rf3
7. Ka2 and now black is at a crossroads:
7. ….Re3
8. Rf2 Ra3
9. Kb2 Ra8
10.Kc3 and this looks drawish to me. In this line black might try
9. ….Rd3
10.Kc2 Rd5
11.Rf7 e5
12.Re7 Kc4
13.Rc7 Kd4
14.Kd2 Ke4
15.Ke2 and I don’t see how black makes progress- whenever the king leaves the e-file, he is going to be harrassed by white’s rook. In this last variation, black might try going behind the e-pawn and his rook in order to keep white’s king trapped on the queenside a bit longer:
12. ….Kc5
13. Kc3 Kd6
14. Kc4 Ke7
15. Kd5 Kf6
16. Ke4 Ke6
17. Ke3 Kd5
18. Kd3 e4
19. Ke3 Ke5
20. Kd2 Kd4
21. Kd1 Kd3
22. Ke1 Ke3 wins. The truth is that I don’t know for sure this was a won endgame for black once the rooks came off the board.
At move 14 above in this line, white may move the rook at e7 to h7 and harrass the king from the side:
14. Rh7 e4 (what else?)
15. Rh6 Kc5 (Ke5 16. Rh5)
16. Re6 and again I don’t see a win.
All in all, I don’t see using the f-pawn as leverage to win white’s remaining pawns leads to anything more than a draw. I will look at using the f-pawn itself to win white’s rook.
Susan: Black is better. I’m thinking f3. The pawns on the f and e file are too much for the White Rook and King to handle.
1.. f3 must be the move.
The point is
2 Re7 is met by
2…. rh4
3 kb3 rf4!
and queens.
So play goes
2 rd1 re2
3 Any re3 with an easy win.
1. … f3
2. Rxe7 Rh4+
3. Kb3 Rf4!
4. exf4 f2 wins.
if
2. Rd1 Re2
3. Rf1 Rxe3
I think should win.
1. … f3
2. Rxe7 Rh4+
3. Kb3 Rf4
4. exf4 f2
0-1
or
1. … f3
2. Rd1 Re2
3. Rf1 Rxe3
followed by …e5 and doubled passed pawns 0-1
or
1. … f3
2. Rd1 Re2
3. Kb3 Rxe3+
4. Kc2 Rxa3
5. Kd2 e5
followed by … e4, …Kc5 etc.
0-1
Yes, f3 is the first move.
1 .. f3
and now
a
2. Rxe7 .. Rh4+
3. Kb3 .. Rf4 and queen in two moves
b
2. Rd1 .. e5
followed by e4 and/or Re2 depending on White’s reply. The capture of the ‘e’ pawn won’t be too difficult!
f3,Rxe7,Rg4+, Kb3, Rf4, exf4 (don’t see any other try), f2 and queen.
1..f3
if 2.Bxe7? then Rh4+ (2..Rb2 was tempting) 3.Kb3 Rf4! and the f-pawn promotes
e5
Rd5 e4
Rd4 f3
Re4 f2
Rf4 Rh4
1) .. f3 2) R:e7; Rh4+ 3) Kb3; Rf4
4)e:f4; f2
One nice line is:
1 .. f3
2 Rxe7 Rh4+
3 Kb3 Rf4!!
4 exf4 f2 and queens.
1. … f3
2. Rxe7? Rh4+
3. Kb3 Rf4!
4, exf4 f2 and white can not stop the pawn from queening.
Alternative line:
1. …. f3
2. e4 f2
3. Re1 Rh4
4. Rf1 Rxe4+
5. Kg3 Rf4
and black should win this easily.
1………..f3
2 Re7 Rh4+
3 Kany Rf4!
4 ef f2 and the f pawn queens
I was thinking
1…f3
if
2. Rxe7 Rh4+
3. K moves then …Rf4
Now I don’t think white can stop the pawn promoting eg 4. exf4 f2
else if
2. Rd1 f2
then I think black can probably win the a pawn and then the game.
Sorry that I have not analyzed all variations.
Jeremy – Australia
1) … f3!
2)TxPe7 Th4+
3)K moves Tf4!!
4)P x T f2 and black wins
1… f3 2.Rxe7 Rh4+ and … Rf4.
…f3
Rxe7 Rh4+
Kb3 Rf4!
looks good – so long as Rf4! isn’t really Rf4?.
Dear Susan:
I think that best line is 1…f3 2.Re7 and now, 2…Rh4 white king move and, Rf4. The black pawn promote. I not used a engine, only remember the game Christiansen-Korchnoi, Linares 1979 (see my blog)where Viktor sacrified a rook for block a column.
Sorry for my english.
A kiss and my admiration
Ah, a few of the other commenters have found the correct move I missed 2. ….Re2. Retains the f-pawn, wins the e-pawn, and allows the advance of black’s own e-pawn.
1. …..f3
2. Rd1 Re2
3. Rf2 Re3
4. Kb4 e5
5. Kc4 e4
6. Kd4 Re2
7. Rf1 f2
8. Kc3 e3
9. Kd3 Re1 and it is all over.
The situation after
1…f3 2.Rxe7 Rh4+ 3. Kb3 Rf4 4.exf4 f2
as Kamalakanta and others suggested, looks fine, but is a draw according to Nalimov’s table base. Q against R and 2P
1…f3! 2.Rxe7 Rh4+! 3.Kb3 Rf4!! 4.exf4 f2! 0-1