johnlspouge: Sunday (Insane): Black to play and win.
Material: Even. The 2 Black Bs are on adjacent diagonals, with the battery Qb7 and Bc6 pointed at Pg2 and behind, Kh1. The Rd8 has an open file opposite Rd3, and only Rg8 needs to be activated. The White Kh1 is susceptible to back-rank mates, and Rd3 is particularly vulnerable to Bc6, with Bb1 unprotected behind it. The Bh6 is loose can be entangled by the move …g5. Nothing pops out, so on to a thorough list of checks, captures, and threats.
Candidates (36…): Bxg2+, Rxd3, Be4, Bg4, g5
36…Bxg2+
37.Rxg2 Qf3 (threatening 38…Qf1+ 39…Qg1#)
The move 38.Rxf3 cannot protect against the threat, because of 38…Rd1+ …Rxg1#. If
38.Qe1 Rxd3 39.Bxd3 Qxd3,
Black is a P down without compensation, with Bs of the same color. To avoid being a P down, the White Qc3 must maintain protection of Rd3, so it can protect neither f1 nor g1. Thus, White must protect g1 with Bh6.
38.Be3 Bxe3 (renewing the threat)
White has 2 feasible responses.
(1) 39.Rxe3 Rd1+ 40.Re1 [Qe1 Rxe1+ 41.Rxe1] Qxc3 41.Rxd1
Black has the initiative against an open K and Q+P for R+B.
(2) 39.Qe1 Rxd3 40.Bxd3 fxe5 (threatening 41…Rf8)
and now Black maintains the pin on Rg2 for as long as possible, takes over the f-file, and in the worst case, goes into an ending with 2 passed Ps with Bs of opposite color.
The alternative 37…Qe4 to 37…Qf3, although an apparent brilliancy, seems to be a loser.
38.Qd2 (threatening 39.Rxd8 Qxb1+ 40.Qd1)
38…Qf5 (an attempt to pull Qd2 out of position) 39.Qe2
39…Rxd3 Bxd3 40…Qh3 (threatening <both> Bs, gaining a tempo because Bh6 is loose)
40.Bc1 Rd8 41.Rg3 Qd7 42.Bc2
and White is up a B for a P.
Time to peek. Time to check the kibitzing.
<<goodevans> wrote: I think this puzzle’s fantastic. Does anyone claim to have solved it yet?>
:) :) :) I had to work for this one (see the flawed line above), so I am going to claim it!!! This puzzle was murder, because there were so many false trails.
Kibitzing
icon.
was already annotated.
