White to move. How should White proceed? Is this a win, draw, or loss for White?
8/7R/p3p3/k4P2/8/1K6/3rP3/8 w – – 0 1
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R & P endgame challenge
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Wesley So.
I want to try f6 but I don’t see a win. f6 Rxe2 f7 Rf2 Rg5+ Kb6 Re5 Rxf7 Rxe6+ should be a draw. In general drawing against the rook pawn shouldn’t be hard and there doesn’t seem to be a way to get the f pawn promoted.
Maybe I’ll have to look at some king moves
1. f6 Rxe2 2. Th5+ Kb6 3. Rf5 ef5 4. f7
comes to mind. But it’s probably not the right solution, since it leads to not-so-easy Q vs R+2P endgame
1. f6 – Rxe2, Rh5+ – Kb6, Rf5! – exf, f7 +-
1.f6 Rxe2 2.Rh5+ Kb6 3.Rf5! should win?
f6 Rxe2 Rh5+ Kb6 Rf5 (so that if exf5 f7 and the pawn is unstoppable) seems to give white pretty good winning chances, although I can’t calculate to a win in the Q v. R+P+P ending.
1. fe6 seems to be, at best, a draw after Re2- the black rook is behind the remaining white pawn, and the black king can get to b5 without problem.
I am tempted by e4
1. e4 ef5
2. Rh5 Rd4 (Kb6 3.ef5 Rf2= I think)
3. Rf5 Kb6
4. e5 Re5 and this must be drawn,too.
The only move that looks possibly winning for white is
1. f6 Re2?
2. Rh5! Kb6
3. Rf5! ef5
4. f7 and the pawn will queen.
Other lines looks promising for white as well-
1. f6 Rd1
2. Rh5 Kb6
3. Re5 Rf1
4. Re6 Kc5 (Kb5 5. e4!)
5. Ra6 Kd4
6. Kc2 Rf5 (Ke3? 7. Re6+-)
7. Kd2 and white should have the upper hand in this endgame. My only concern would be whether or not black can force this into a drawn king and pawn endgame before white can get the pawns connected up. I lack the ability to calculate all the possible variations that deep. The other option in this line is to gain a tempo by playing e4 immediately (as you would if black had played the king to b5 to protect the a-pawn) before taking at a6 in the line above- in total:
1. f6 Rd1
2. Rh5 Kb6
3. Re5 Rf1
4. Re6 Kc5
5. e4 a5 (Kd4 6. Kb4 should win)
6. Re5 Kd4
7. Rf5! should also win.
At move #1 black probably should play something like Kb5 or Kb6
1. f6 Kb5
2. Rh5 Kc6
3. Rh2 Rd7 and black might have a blockade here. However, white could play, in this line:
3. Ra5 Rd7 (Kb6?? 4. Re5)
4. e4 Ra7 (Kb6 5. Re5 wins)
5. Kc4 Ra8 (what else?)
6. Rc5 Kd6
7. e5+ Kd7
8. Kb4 Rb8 (Ra7 looks worse to me)
9. Ka5 Rb1
10.Ka6 Ra1
11.Kb6 Rb1
12.Rb5 and now what for black? Eventually, it seems white will force the black king back to the 8the eighth rank and play his rook to e7 to win the remaining black pawn. Harrassing the white king with the rook only delays things as the white king will walk him down each time. Continuing:
12. ….Rc1 (Rf1 looks worse to me)
13. Ra5 Rb1
14. Kc5 Rc1
15. Kd4 Rd1
16. Ke3 Re1
17. Kd2 Re4 (what else?)
18. Ra8 Rf4 (Re5? 19. f7 wins)
I am probably missing a lot of variations early on, but white seems to have the upper hand in all of the ones I immediately see, and I might be missing even more forcing lines for white as well.
Jorg,
I think f6 is correct, but you are missing something immediately after black’s Re2.
I think it is pretty simple: 1.f6 Rxe2, 2.Rh5+ Kb6 (if 2…e5 is even simpler), 3.Rf5 (behind the past pawn) exf5, 4.f7 and f8 cannot be stopped. White should win this ending.
this is very easy
1.f6! Rxe2 2.Rf5!! 1-0
or Rd5 2.f7 Rf5 3.Rh5!
I like 1. f6…
1…Rxe2
2. Rh5+ and then 3. Rf5, getting the rook behind the passed pawn.
If 3…exf5, then 4. f7 wins.
1. f6 Rxe2
2. Rh5+ Kb6
3. Rf5 exf5
4. f7
Black has no good defense.
1. f6 Rxe2
2. Rg5+ Kb6
3. Rf5 wins!
f6 Rxe2
Rh5+ ..
followed by f7 wins
This is very beautiful. 1.f6! Rxe2 2.Rh5+ Kb6 3.Rf5!! exf5 4.f7 and the pawn queens. The third move is the key.
f6, took takes pawn, White rook checks, Black king moves,
Key move then is White moves rook to f5 behind the white pawn,
If Black takes the white rook with the e pawn, white pushes f7 and the black now of f6 blocks the black rook from attacking the white pawn from behind and the pawn covers e8 so
White Queens a pawn and wins while black buys a new chess book
1 f6 Rxe2
2 Rg5+ Kb6
3 Rf5 exf5
4 f7 & then
5 f8Q
1. f6, Rxe2
2. Rh5+, Kb6
3. Rf5, exf5
4. f7, wins.
After
1. …, Rd8
2. Re7,
wins at least one of Black’s pawns, and White can move his e pawn forward — should be a win.
1.f6 Rxe2 2.Rh5+ and Rf5
The critical question is where to move the king after: 1.f6 Re2 2.Rh5 Kb6 3.Rf5 ef5 4.f7 Re5 5.f8Q Rb5 …?? I can see that everybody found the above sequence of moves but it’s still a tricky ending. A move to c4 (the most logical) should be a draw! but to a4 should win! Everyone should go find out why…
“Danny said…
The critical question is where to move the king after: 1.f6 Re2 2.Rh5 Kb6 3.Rf5 ef5 4.f7 Re5 5.f8Q Rb5 …?? I can see that everybody found the above sequence of moves but it’s still a tricky ending. A move to c4 (the most logical) should be a draw! but to a4 should win! Everyone should go find out why… “
according to the shredderbases 5. … Rb5+ is a draw.
addendum:
after 5. … Rb5+, 6. Ka4 the rook can check the white king on a- and b-line til the king goes to c-line and then it’s draw.