Today's chess exercise:
At first sight is seems that Black can hold on, but White finds a surprising resource. Can you find it?
Solution to the last puzzle:
Szabo - Hort
Wijk aan Zee 1972
Black played the correct 1...Ke5, and White, after thinking for 55 minutes, resigned. He considered these possibilities: 2.Ke2 Rd3! 3.Re7+ (or 3.Ra3 Kd5 followed by Kc4) 3...Kf5 (not 3...Kd5? because of 4.Rd7+ Kc4 5.Rxd3 exd3+ 6.Kd2! with a draw) 4.Rf7+ Ke6 and Black wins the pawn and the game. After 2.Kc2 Black can quite simply push the passed e-pawn-try it yourself! The poor position of White's Rook on the 7th rank makes Black's win easy because the Rook, as in the first variation, has little scope. If the Rook stood on its best square, a8, Black could not have made progress. It's not for nothing that Rook endgames are considered among the most difficult ones!
That puzzle's solution required quite a lot of quotation from the source so I think it's only fair that I should name my references! It was taken from "the Best Move" by Vlastimil Hort and Vlastimil Jansa, 1980. Quite an interesting book, very difficult as the positions aren't really puzzles in the usual meaning of the word.
Stephen Short presented a very interesting position in the Cork Chess Club last night. He wouldn't tell us the solution - he has an evil side!! I have seen it before, but can't find it at the moment.
I'm sure Sean Coffey will give me the composer and solution!
2 comments:
Glad to oblige:
L. Centurini, 1856.
I won't give my source just yet, as I'm writing something up to submit to the revived ICJ with a couple of other examples from the same source. The solution is very elegant.
I don't see anyone chiming in with the solution,so here goes:
White wins if, and only if, he can force the black bishop off the b8-h2 diagonal. He can only do this by getting his own bishop to c7 or b8. Black needs to stop this and so Black needs to be able to reply to Bd8 with ... Kc6 and to Bf2 (or bishop anywhere on the a7-g1 diagonal) with ... Ka6. Since a6 and c6 are two squares apart, "all" White needs to do is to transfer his bishop from d8 to the a7-g1 diagonal (other than a7 or b6) in one move. But that's impossible. Or is it?
1. Bh4 Kb6 (or 1. ... Kb5) 2. Bf2+ Ka6 3. Bc5!! (only here works) 3. ... Be5 (the black king still needs to guard a7, so the bishop must move; 3. ... Bf4 or 3. ... Bg3 come to the same thing) 4. Be7 Kb6 5. Bd8+ Kc6.
Now we're back in the original position, except that black's bishop has been forced out of its corner. This makes all the difference, by giving White the expedited transfer to the a7-g1 diagonal he needs:
6. Bf6! Bh2 7. Bd4
and now the rest is simple: 7. ... Kb5 8. Ba7 Kc6 9. Bb8 Bg1 10. Bg3 Ba7 11. Bg1 and wins.
If instead 3. Bd4, say, Black replies 3. ... Bd6! and on 6. Be7 Bh2, White finds he can't go to c5. Hence 3. Bc5.
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