White to move. Find the winning the continuation and no computer analysis please 🙂
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Morning Brain Boosting Puzzle
About Author
White to move. Find the winning the continuation and no computer analysis please 🙂
Hard to see:
1. Bg3+ Kxd5
2. Bb1! winning black bishop.
If 1. … Kd6 or Ke6 white easily promote the pawn.
Iuissr: what if black pushes his pawn while White snatches the bishop?
2 … d3
3. Ba2+ Kd4
4. Bxg8 d2
and now White will have to sac a bishop to stop the pawn, a draw.
Or if White grabs the pawn with 3. Bxd3 then Black seems to have time to save his bishop, and we get BB versus B (which I assume is a draw?).
anonymous: 2 … d3 is the best try. But I think White still wins:
2 … d3 3 Ba2+ Kd4 4 Bxg8 d2 5 Bb3 Kc3 6 Ba4(!)
and now either:
6 … Kb2 7 Bd6 Kc1 8 Ba3+ cuts the black King off from the pawn, and allows white to round it up with his King (if black plays … Ka2 at some point, Bb4 wins the pawn).
6 … Kd3 7 Bd1 and again the pawn has been stopped. White wins by keeping the black King away from b2, f2, and bringing his King back to help out; e.g. 7 … Kc3 8 Be5+ Kd3 9 Kd5 Ke3 10 Bg3 Kd3 11 Bf4 Kc3 12 Ke4 and the pawn falls.
–gb
gb,
Your
2 … d3 3 Ba2+ Kd4 4 Bxg8 d2 5 Bb3 Kc3 6 Ba4(!)
is spot on and the rest of your analysis is sound. However, I thought this was slightly more attractive:
6. Ba4! Kb2
7. Bf4 Kc1
8. Bh6 (or g5 or K-moves)
8…. Kb2 is forced, the pawn is pinned..
9. Bxd2 and wins
An admittedly subjective opinion, but the line is interesting (and instructive?) at any rate.
I don’t see any improvement, aesthetic or otherwise, to your 6. Ba4! Kd3 line, though Bf4 can still be used.
6. Ba4! Kd3
7. Bd1 Kc3
8. Bf4 Kd3
9. Kb5 Kc3
10. Ka4 Kd3
11. Kb3 Kd4
12. Bxd2 and wins.
kerry
You’re right: pinning and winning the pawn is pretty.
–gb
For the morning it’s quite a hard!
Like some said:
1.Bg3+ Kxd5 2.Bb1 and skewer is the first right idea BUT IT’S NOT FINISHED…
2…d3 3.Ba2+ Ke4 4.Bxg8 d2 and this is quite another problem!
White will use almost the same technique as in Q vs P on the 7th: force the king in front of his pawn and then bring your king one step closer…repeat this and repeat again untill your king comes in contact with the pawn, eat it! (and now you just have to know how to win with 2 bishops).
One variation could be:
5.Bb3 (stops the pawn advance) …Kf3 (attacks the bishop)
6.Bd6 (other bishop moves would although be good) Ke2
7.Bc4+ Kf2 (…Kf3 8.Bf7 preparing a skewer)
8.Bc5+ Ke1 9.Bb4 (pinning the pawn) Kd1
10.Bd3! (the bishops takes his best square) …Kc1 11.Ba3+ Kd1 12.Kc5 and so on
Jean-Luc