White to move. Is this a win, draw, or loss for White? How should White proceed?
8/p1p5/1b3k2/2N2P2/1P3K2/8/8/8 w – – 0 1
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Special endgame
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Nd7
NxB
b5 zug
White must uncripple Black, then cripple Black!
Without doing real analysis, I’d try 1. Nd7+ K~ 2. Nxb6 axb6 or cxb6 3. b5 and I think white will win.
White can win playing Nd7+, then capture the bishop and play b5. I think that doesn’t matter that black do, the position is winning for white.
Nc5-d7xb6 followed by b5 wins for white!
1. Kd7 Ke7 (Kf7 or Kg7)
2. Nxb6 ab6 or cb6
3. b5
Now, the black king must stay on f6, f7 or f8 to stop the white f line pawn from promoting. But if black moves the pawn, white will get one more advanced passed pawn. The black king can’t stop both white pawns. White wins.
Regards Peter
1. Nd7+ Ke7 or Kf7
2. Nxb6 cxb6 or axb6
3. b5
and its a win for white now.
-HH
Terrific !! Very instructive!!
wins by simply exchanging.
1. Nd7+, Ke7
2. NxB, axN
3. b5!, Kd6
4. Kg4, Kd7
5. f6 etc
Eventually black either lets white queen the f pawn, or end up in zugzwang needing to move the c pawn, after which white queens on the queen side.
i think the solution should be something like this:
1. Nd7+ Ke7
2. Nxb6 cxb6
3. Ke5 Kf7 (f.e.)
4. Kd6 Kf6
5. Kc7 Kxf5
6. Kb7 Ke5
7. Kxa7 Kd5
8. Kxb6 this is obviously a won position.
greets, jan
Nd7+ then NxBb6 followed by Ke5. If the Black king moves away from the f pawn the f pawn queens, if the Black king stays with the f pawn then the White king picks off Black’s queenside pawns, enabling White’s queenside pawn to queen.
White should win.
1. Nd7+ Ke7 2. Nxb6 axb6 3. Ke5 Kd7 4. f6 c6 5. bxc6+ Kxc6 6. Ke6 b6 7. f7 b5 8. f8=Q8 # Black resign because white had a queen for attack the King (black) White WON 1-0
1.Nd7+ Ke7 2.Nxb6! axb6 (cxb6 can only be worse) 3.b5! with a qualitative pawn majority = one unit controls two as Capa puts it 1-0
1 Nd7+ Ke7
2 Nxb6 axb6 (or cxb6)
3 b5!
Freezing the pawns. The ending now becomes, effectively, K+P vs K. The problem for Black is that he can’t force a stalemate with proper play.
If White doesn’t play 3 b5, Black will at least equalize with 3 … a5. In fact, White can lose here with such as the careless 3 Kg5?? a5, and White is too far away to get back to stop Black’s pawn from promoting, while Black can simply move to f8 if White tries to promote his own pawn.
3… Kd6
All roads lead to the same basic position
4 f6
Other moves are just as good. The given move forces Black to decide.
4 …. Ke6
4 … Kc4, going after the b pawn, 5 f7 Kxb5, 6 f8=Q a5, 7 Qa3 (yes, the engines list faster mates than my line) a4, 8 Ke4 Ka4, 9 Kd4 b5, 10 Kc5
5 Kg5
White could get cute here and play 5 Ke4 and still win, i.e. 5… Kxf6
, 6 Kd5 Kf5, 7 Kc6 Ke5, 8 Kb7 Kd5, 9 Kxa7 Kc5, 10 Ka6, reaching a position known as “Trebuchet”: mutual Zugzwang. Whoever has the move in this position will lose. Since it’s Black’s move, White wins.
The given move, of course, is much simpler.
5…. Kf2
6 Kf5 Kf1
7 Ke6 Ke1
8 f7+ Kf1
9 Kf6
The point. Black isn’t stalemated.
9 … a6 ( a5)
10 bxa6 (e.p)
And mate soon.
Now for the source:
after 1.Nd7+, we reach a study by
Van Zuylen van Nyevelt, P., Het Schaakspel, 1792, #106.
Old study, but still instructive!