White to move. Is this a win or draw for White? How should White proceed?
8/5P2/8/Q7/K7/8/6qp/7k w – – 0 1
Tabidze, 1999
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Queen and Pawn Endgame Challenge
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Q-e1-e4-b1-b7, f8=Q
1. Qe1+ Qg1 2. Qe4+ Qg2 3. Qb1+ Qg1 4. Qb7+ Qg2 5. f8=Q! Qxb7 (What else?) 6. Qf1#
1. Qe1+ Qg1 2. Qe4+ Qg2 3. Qb1+ Qg1 4. Qb7+ Qg2 5. f8(Q), and the Black queen is, remarkably, pinned. (5. … Qxb7 6. Qf1#.)
1.Kb3!! seizes the distant opposition. Black will then be in zugzwang.
1.Qe1+ Qg1
2.Qe4+ Qg2
3.Qb1+ Qg1
4.Qb7+ Qg2
5.f8(Q)! Kg1 [Qxb7 6.Qf1#]
6.Qb1+ Qf1 1-0
I remember this one very well, mostly because it was very difficult for me to solve the first time.
First, let’s dispense with the seemingly obvious promotion on the first move:
1. f8Q? Qa2
2. Kb4 Qa5!
3. Ka5 Kg1 (Kg2 ok, too)
And this is a well known drawn position. Let’s see why:
4. Qg7 Kf1 (Kh1 and Kf2 draw too)
5. Qf6
If white tries Qh6, black just plays Kg2/g1 and threatens to queen again. Continuing:
5. …..Kg2 (Kg1 good, too)
6. Qg5 Kf1 (Kf2, Kh1 good, too)
7. Qh4 Kg2 (Kg1 good, too)
8. Qg4 Kf2 (Kf1, Kh2, good still)
9. Qh3 Kg1 (only move)
10.Qg3 Kh1
If this were a pawn on the b, d, e, or g-files, this sort of position would now be the decisive one since the black king would face the choice of giving up the pawn, or putting the king in front of it for a move, giving white a move to bring his king in for the kill, but when it is a rook’s pawn, there is no escape hatch on the other side, and white must move the queen to relieve the stalemate threat. So, for thoroughness, lets just finish this out to make the final point:
11.Qe1 Kg2
12.Qe4 Kg1 and it should be clear that white cannot win this.
The beginning here is easy to see, but it is a bit of trick after that:
1. Qe1 Qg1
2. Qe4 Qg2
Now, if white’s king weren’t on the 4th rank, white could play 3.f8Q and mate with Qf1 after the capture at e4 by black, but this won’t work since black captures with check at e4. So white must find a way to get this same position, but with his queen on some other square on the long a8/h1 diagonal where black can’t capture the queen with check:
3. Qb1 Qg1
4. Qb7 Qg2
Now white can play f8Q:
5. f8Q
And there is nothing black can do to escape the mate:
5. …..Qb7
6. Qf1#
Or
5. …..Kg1
6. Qb1 Qf1
7. Qf1#
1.Qe1+ Qg1 2.Qe4 Qg2 3.Qb1+ Qg1 4.Qb7+ Qg2 5.f8=Q! and wins
1. Qe1+ Qg1 2. Qe4+ Qg2 3. Qb1+ Qg1 4. Qb7+ Qg2 5. f8=Q wins