This is a famous endgame. White to move and …
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Queen and Rook endgame
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This is a famous endgame. White to move and …
Qg7 unprotected
1.Re6+ Rxe6
2.Qb5+ Kd6
3.Qc5+! Kd7
4.Qa7+ wins Queen
oops
2…Kc7
aha: right idea, wrong square
Hi Bill! How’s life in the land of Lincoln? I don’t have time to work out the details, but IMO 1 Rc2 is the key move. Eventually white will either mate black or skewer the Q no matter which way black runs (I think). I’ll try to take a closer look tomorrow, if no one else has supplied analysis.
Hi Chris
It was (not quite) pitch black in the Loop today–funnel clouds but no big damage.
The solution is very cool and well worth looking for!
This is a very beautiful puzzle. I first thought that billbrock was crazy with 1.Re6, so i tried 1.Rc2. However, black plays 1… Kb7 and is safe on b7 and b8.
So in fact 1.Re6 is the right move! The main line goes
1.Re6 Re6
2.Qa6! Kd5 (otherwise 3.Qa7 picks up the queen)
3.Qc4! Kd6 (3… Ke5 4.Qc3 wins the queen)
4.Qc5 K*7
5.Qa7 and wins the queen
I would never have thought that you could have two pieces left and sacrifice one without there being a forced mate. Amazing!
WJ
!! = ‘only winning move’
Black’s moves are ‘best’ in Depth-to-mate terms.
1.Re6+!! Rxe6
2.Qa6+!! Kd5
or K~6 Qa6+ K~ Qxg7
3.Qc4+!! Ke5
or Kd6 Qc5+ K~6 as above
4.Qc3+!! Kd5
5.Qxg7!!
… and still, White needs 25 moves to capture the Rook.
Five absolutely unique moves – looks like a Study. Artistic content: the R-sac, the self-block on e6, the diagonal thrust Qa6, and the KQKR ending is non-trivial
Probably out of copyright, :-), but would still be courteous to know the author, award if any, and publication source of this position.
This is not in Nunn’s matchless “Secrets of Pawnless Endings”, expanded edition, where he cites the maxim “Whoever checks first wins”. This should more accurately be “If there’s a win, it is probably to the side that checks first”.
If anyone has the database of Chess Studies, maybe they can source this.
Good point about the source – if it’s “famous”, why so?
Please credit Your Famous Predecessors 🙂
I don’t think it is a study. And if it is I can’t believe it won any awards – in comparison with the studies from today its theme (if we can call so) is much too simple.
It’s a nice endgame to look at and if you have something like that in areal game you really could be proud of winning that endgame with such a great move like Re6+! but it can’t compare with an artificial study position.
I am not quite sure why everybody seems to be so impressed by the solution….
Greetings
Jochen