Bondar, 2000
White to move. Is this a win, draw, or loss for White?
4k3/p7/PpPBK3/1Pp5/8/2P5/8/1r6 w – – 0 1
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Tricky chess tactic
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Loss – Definitely not
Draw – Straightforward
1. c7 Re1+
2. Be5 Rxe5+ (forced)
3. Kxe5 Kd7 1/2-1/2
Win – Difficult
I think this should win:
1. Be7! Re1+
2. Kd6 Rd1+
(if Rxe7, c7 should win for White)
3. Kc7 Kxe7
4. Kb7 c4
(Black trying keep stalemate threats)
5. Kxa7 followed by Kxb6 should win for White
It’s a win for white. After c7 everything becomes forced. The tricky tactic is that after Re1+, Be5, RxBe5+ the King musn’t take the R. Just walk away to d6. And now if Re6+ the King can safely capture, cause the pawn is untouchable. If Rd5+ the King walks again, Kc6! Now black gives his R on d8 (Rd8, c7xd8Q+, Kxd8)and the K on c6 captures an a7 (Kb7, Kd7, Kxa7, Kc7) his first pawn. But can black force the draw by cornering the white King? No, due to the zwischensatz c4! The b-pawn will fall and white wins (Kb8, Kxb7).
Solution:
1. c2 Re1 check 2. Be5 Rxe5 check 3. Kd6! Re6 check (… Rd5 check 4. Kc6 wins) 4. KxR wins
1. c7 Re1+
2. Be5 (Moving King gives access to Kd7 preventing c8) Rxe5+ (playing for draw)
3. Kd6 (3. Kxe5 Kd7 draw) 3 … Rd5+ (Re6+ Kxe6 protecting d7)
4. Kc6 Rd8 5. Kb7 Rd7 6. Kxa7 Rxa7+ 7. Kxb6 (two passed pawns with rook) +-
It doesn’t look too tricky.
Perhaps because I’m inspired by Magnus Carlsen.
1. c7
Hard to stop, threats mate in 1, enforced is:
1. … Re1+
2. Be5 Rxe5+
Seems to gain the pawn and give a drawish game, but white refuses to take rook, enforced seems:
3. Kd6!! Rd5+
4. Kc5!! Rd8
5. cxd8 Kxd8
6. Kb7!
Winning all the black pawns, as I at first glance thought this puzzle might be about.
1 – 0
In my first post I didn’t look at the actual endgame and therefore missed the tricky part!
1. c7 Re1+
2. Be5 Rxe5+
3. Kd6 Rd5+
4. Kc6 Rd8
So far so good, but here I played wrong:
5. cxd8=Q+?? Kxd8
6. Kb7 c4!!
Deprives white of the option to play c4 with zugzwang!
White seems out of winning ideas then, his king will just be stuck in the corner, or going for the c4 pawn and playing his own c-pawn won’t help either with black king in corner.
White must gain tempo by still refusing to take rook at move #5:
5. Kb7!! Kd7
Enforced, no rook moves available.
6. cxd8=Q+ Kxd7
7. Kxa7
1 – 0
I think white is winning:
1. c7 Re1+ 2. Be5 Rxe5+
Now if 3. Kxe5? Kd7 draws. So:
3. Kd6! Rd5+ 4. Kc6! Rd8
And now for the trickiest part: If now 5. cxd8=Q+? Kxd8 6. Kb7 c4! 7. Kxa7 Kc7 draws, as white’s king gets trapped. Therefore:
5. Kb7! Rd7
(If 5…Kd7 6. cxd8=Q+ Kxd8 7. Kxa7 Kc7 8. c4! wins, as black is in zugzwang)
6. Kxa7 Rxc7+ 7. Kxb6 Kd7 8. a7 Rc8 9. Ka6, followed by 10. b6 and 11. b7 (+-)
In addition to my previous comment:
“9. Ka6, followed by 10. b6 and 11. b7 (+-)”
If 9. Ka6 Rh8, white should not play 10. b6? because of 10…Kc6! 11. b7 Rh1! and the mating threat saves black.
Instead, simply 10. Kb7 and 11. a8=Q wins.
Seeing the other posts, I see that I still missed an important detail in the end:
1. c7 Re1+
2. Be5 Rxe5+
3. Kd6 Rd5+
4. Kc6 Rd8
5. Kb7! Rd7!
This rook move pinning c7 pawn against white king is of course blacks best and only defence! And it is still tricky to see that white actually has a win here, though I guess he has…
I could now have dreamt about 6. Kb8? but 6. … Rxc7 7. Kxc7 c4!! is a draw.
Basic observation here is that c4 isn’t a resource for white in the endgame, since black will play c4 first!
So I guess white must simply hurry to eat a and b pawns and get 2 passed pawns, even if this means to let black rook live “for ever”.
This play is only for very strong chess players I think….
To Anand Gautam:
Your winning attempt 1.Be7
looks really odd because of:
1. Be7? Kd8!
2. c7+ Kc8
To prevent black from playing Kd8 (and at the same time opening c6 for white king) it’s absolutely enforced to start with
1. c7
Other first moves are impossible to consider.
1 Bxc5 bxc5
2 c7 seems simplest freeing d6-c6 for K and preparing pawn b5-b6 sac eventually
John lim
1. Bxc5 Kd8 ! So 1. c7 is best. John
White can never win:
1. c7 Re1+
2. Be5 Rxe5+
3. Kd6 Rd5+
4. Kc6 Rd8
5. Kb7 Ke7
From here on, I only can find a draw
(if: 6. cxd8=Q+ Kxd8 7. Kxa7 Kc7 … the black King can move c7-c8
then, draw)
To the last post that claims white can’t win:
In your line where black played
5. … Ke7? (Rd7 was correct)
After this mistake white has a really easy win:
6. cxd8=Q+ Kxd8
7. Kxa7 Kc7
8. c4! (zugzwang) Kc8
9. Kxb6
Two passed pawns win.
pht: Sorry, of course “5. Kb7 Ke7” was a mistake. I meant: 5. Kb7 Kd7
Anyway, I hadn’t seen the possibility “Kxb6”, so you’re right and I wasn’t.