White to move. Which side is better? How should White proceed?
Platov M. & V., 1912, presented by Andreas
8/5p2/N1p3p1/3pP1P1/7P/2kP4/Pb6/7K w – – 0 1
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e6
-nathaniel y.
h5
Both e6 and h5 are the first move comes to my mind. However the bishop is too strong and may remove the pawn before it becomes queen. One possible line I’m thinking is
1. Nb8 c5
2. Nd7
Now
2. … Kb4? 3. h5!
and black cannot stop one the white pawn becoming queen
2. … Kxd3 3. h5 looks promising
2. … c4 3.dxc4 Kxc4 4. h5 looks good.
The idea I’m looking the deny the line a3-f8 diagonal to black bishop. Also a1-h8. Notice that black is not forced to take the pawn at h5
Oops.
There is mistake in my line. I’m correcting that.
2. … c4
3. dxc4 Kxc4
4. a4 Kb4
5. h5
”2. … c4
3. dxc4 Kxc4
4. a4 Kb4
5. h5”
2….c4
3.dxc4 d4!
4.c5 d3
5.Nf6 Kd4
6.Ng4 Kxg5 -+
This line :
1.Nb8 c5
2.Nd7
doesn’t seem to work.
h5 gxh5
g6 fxg6
e6 Ba3
Nb4 BxN
a4 and the bishop can’t stop both pawns
Very pretty!
Too hard for me. Any computers that found
this solution (starting with an empty hash table)?
Toga II 1.3.4 couldn’t (although it did confirm that the posted solution was correct),
It was,in one sense, too hard for me too. In that if I got this position in a game, there is no way I would have spotted Nb4 even if I had examined the pawn breakthroughs on the kingside.
But this is a puzzle. And that makes it easier. What is the pawn doing on a2? Chess studies don’t usually contain superfluous pieces so it must be part of the solution. Moving it straightaway doesn’t seem to work, and you need a forcing variation else black’s king can get too close to the a pawn.