White to move. Can White stop Black’s powerful Queenside pawns?
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White to move. Can White stop Black’s powerful Queenside pawns?
White is lost 🙁
No, White wins 🙂
1. Rg8+ Kxg8
2. Qf8#
Or, if 1…Qxg8
2. Qf6#
Not a difficult puzzle but one could easily miss it in a game.
Except that
2.Qf6 isn’t mate, Black can play Kh6
White can force a draw by perpetual check or repetition of play with:
1. Rg8+ Qxg8
2. Qf6…..
Rf6, Rf8, and repeat
1Rg8 wins. if 1…Kg8 2 Qf8 mates.
if 1…Qg8 2 Qe5 Kh6 3 Rf4 and the threat of Rh4 forces 3…g5 4Rf6 wins: 4…Kg7 5 Rd6 leads to mate; 4…Qg6 5Rg6 Kg6 (hg6 6Qh8 mate) 6 Qe6 wins
Correction on last post. it should read 5 Re6 not 5 Rd6.
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Rg8+ Qxg8
Qxe5+ Kh6
Rf4 g5
Rf6+ Kh5
g4+ Kh4
Kh2 black moves
Qg3++
1.Rg8+ Qxg8
2.Qxe5+ Kh6
and now not
3.Rf4? Qd8!
(with the threat 4… Qg5)
4.Rf1 Rxd6 –+ and black is winning,but
3.Qf4+! g5
or 3…Kg7 4.Qf6+ Kh6 5.Rf4 with mate to follow.
or 3…Kh5 4.g4+ Kh4 5.g5+ Kxh3 (5…Kh5 6.Qg4#) 6.Rh2#
4.Qf6+ Qg6
(4…Kh5 5.g4+ Kh4 6.Rg2! leads to mate)
5.Qf8+ Rg7
unfortunately black is not forced to play 5…Kh5 6.Rf6 b2 7.g4+ Kh4 8.Kh2! b1=Q 9.Qh6+ Qxh6 10.Rxh6#
6.d7 +- with a clear win for white
Rg8+ is the best.
Unfortunately, I went for:
1. axb cxb
2. Rb8 Rf7 (the only reasonable way to stop Qf8#, I think)
3. QxRf7+ QxQ
4. RxQ+ KxR
5. Rxb3 and white should be able to grind out a draw.
All that work could have been avoided and a full point probably collected by considering the most forcing move on the board (Rg8+) for 5 seconds. (Okay, Qh6+ is more forcing due to only one legal response, but leads absolutely nowhere.)
Vohaul, nice solution.
One interesting sideline:
1.Rg8+ Qxg8
2.Qxe5+ Kh6
3.Qf4+! g5
4.Qf6+ Qg6
5.Qf8+ Qg8?!
6. Rf6+ Kh5
7. g4+ Kh4
and then not:
8. Kh2?? QxQ
or
8. QxQ RxQ
9. Rh6+ Kg3 and black wins
or
8. QxQ RxQ
9. Kh2 Rg6 and black wins
But a variation on Vohaul’s nice theme:
8. Rh6+ QxR
9. QxQ Kg3
10.Qf6 and white wins.
If 10. …b2, 11. Qf2+ Kxh3 12. Qf3+ Kh4 13. Kg2(h2) followed by 14. Qg3(h3)#.
If 10. …Kxh3 (vainly trying to create an escape), 11. Qf3+ Kh4 12. Kg2(h2) followed by Qg3(h3)#
Perhaps the longest, but most pointless variation:
10. …Rxd6
now not: 11. Qf2+ Kxh3 12. Qf3+ Kh4 13. Kg2?? Rd2+ 14. Kg1 b2 -/+
but 11. Qxd6+ Kxh3 12. Qxa3 and will mate in many more moves.
1 Rc8!, threatening Qf8#
if 2 .. h6, 3 Qf8+, Kh7, 4 Qh8#
if 2 .. g5, 3 Rg8+,
then if 3 .. Kh6, 4 Qf8+, Kh5, 5 Rf6! attacks Q at e6 and g6#
Or if 3 .. Qxg8, 4 Qxe5+, Kh6, 5 Rf6,
if .. Kh5, 6 g4+, Kh4, 7 Rh6#
if .. Kg7, 6 Re6+, Kf8, 7 Re8+, Kf7, 8 Qe6+, Kg7, 9 Rxg8#
if 2 .. Rf7, 3 Rc7, pins Rf7 (3 .. Ref5, 4 exf5, Qxf5, 5 Qd4+! or
4 .. Rxc7, 5. fxe6 or 4 .. Qd5, 5 f6, Kg8, 6 Rc8+, Rf8, 7 f7+, Kg7, 8 Qf8, Kh6, 9 Rxf8) wins easily
4 .. Qe1+ 5 Rf1, Qxf1+, 6 Qxf1, Rxc7, 7 dxc7, bxa2, 8 c8=Q, # shortly
if 2 .. Qf6, Qxf6+, followed by Qxe5
if 2 .. Rf5, 3 exf5, Qe1+, 4 Rf1, Qxc3, 5 f6+, Kf7 6 Rc7!, Rxc7, 7 d6xc7 # shortly
1.Rc8? can be refuted with 1…Qxd6! – the only move “anon 2.40” did not analyze… 🙂
^^
After 1.Rg8+ Qxg8 (1…Kg8?? 2.Qf8#) 2.Qf6+ Kh6 3.Qxe5 b2 I think that white should try to check the king continuously or to prevent b1 by playing Rf1.