Unlock Your Genius 10 June 2008 (Problems)

by dlwyatt, Ohio, Monday, September 29, 2008, 11:39 (6044 days ago) @ dlwyatt

Looking a bit closer at the position, I still like h4 (planning h5) as the best move, and I think it does lead to a draw, even when Black frees up his bishop. The most likely line looks like this:

1. h4 Kg7 2. h5 Bc5 3. Ne4 Ba7 4. hxg6 Kxg6 5. Kf3

Now, Black's only two attempts are the immediate f5, or Rb2.

If he goes for the B pawn with Rb2, white's earlier "passive setup" idea of putting his knight on d2 works perfectly. With his king on f3 (in front of black's f pawn) and the weaker h pawn off the board, Black can make no progress at all. White's position is solid.

If Black tries f5 to dislodge the knight and win on f2, white plays the obvious Rd6+, and Black's king has no squares that allow him to win:

Kf7 runs into Rf6+ and Rxf5. White will end up losing the b3 pawn, but the resulting Rook - Pawn - Piece endgame is a draw.

Kh5 and white plays Rd5, pinning the pawn. Black can do no better than just repeating the position (or he can play Rb2, leading to the same draw as in the Kf7 line with b3 and black's F pawn coming off the board).

If Black tries to avoid those moves by going onto his back rank, white's rook and knight are enough to force the draw, ie:

Kg7 Rd7+ Kf8 Nf6! Rxf2+ Kg3 f4+ Kg4, and now Black can't both keep his extra pawn and stop white from just playing Nh7+, Nf6+, Nh7+ for a draw (Black gets mated if he goes to h8).