Win     6+3

Marcin Banaszek     Tidskrift för Schack 1994 Prize FIDE Album 1992-94 D18 White has a material advantage, which should rather bring him an easy victory. However, the position has some positional weaknesses for white: not very favourable position of white pawns and figures (pawn f2 in danger, isolated pawn d6, double pawns on h-line, cut-off king of white) and the necessity to lose the tempo, because white has to capture the pawn a2. 1.d7! Trying to get a-pawn immediately does not lead to the goal: 1.B:a2? R:f2 2.d7 Rd2 3.Be6 R:d7! 4.B:d7 Kg8 and a draw because of the "bad bishop"! The correct plan for white is to first distract the black king from the "good corner" h8. 1...Ke7 Of course not 1...a1Q? and 2.d8Q#. 1...R:h2+ this leads to the main variant with the switch of moves 2.Kg6 Rg2+ 3.Sg4! R:g4+ 4.Kh5! Ke7 5.B:a2 Rd4 (or 5...Rg1 6.Be6! Rh1+ 7.Kg5+- ) 6.h7 etc. +- Now white is already forced to capture a-pawn. 2.B:a2 R:h2+ After 2...R:f2 3.h4 black is unable to control of the h8-square and quickly loses, e.g. 3...R:a2 4.d8Q+ K:d8 5.h7+- or 3...K:d7 4.h7 Rf8 5.Bg8+-; if 2...K:d7 then 3.h7 R:h2+ 4.Kg6 or 3.Sg4 R:a2 4.h7 with win. 3.Kg6! The white must play with precision. A seemingly logical move 3.Kg5? in order to defend the rook chess with the knight on g4, white achieves no more than a draw, e.g. 3...R:f2 4.Be6 (4.h7 Rh2 5.Kg6 R:h7=) Rf8! 5.Bg4 (5.h7 K:e6=) Rg8+ (or 5...Rh8 6.Kg6 Rg8+ 7.Kh5 Rh8=) 6.Kh5 Rh8 7.Bf5 (7.Bh3 Kf6 8.Bg4 Ke7=) Rf8 8.Kg6 Rg8+ 9.Kh5 (9.Kh7 Rg1=) Rf8= 3...Rg2+ Now 3...R:f2 is no more good for black, because the white king is closer to the important square h8, 4.Be6 Rf8 (4...Rf6+ 5.Kg7! R:e6 6.h7 Re1 7.d8Q+ K:d8 8.h8Q+-) 5.Kg7! (5.Bh3? Rg8+ 6.Kh7 Rg1=) Rf1 6.h7 Rg1+ 7.Kh6 Rh1+ 8.Kg6+- and then as in the main variant. 4.Sg4!! An effective knight sacrifice brings the black rook to g4, allowing the white king to attack the rook. White thus gains an important tempo which allows the h-pawn to advance. It would be a mistake 4.Kh7? R:f2 5.Be6 Rg2!= or 4.Kh5? Rg1 5.Be6 Rg2=. 4...R:g4+ After 4...K:d7 wins 5.Kf7 R:a2 6.h7 Ra8 7.Sf6+ Kc6 8.Sg8 Ra7+ 9.Se7+ as well as the 5.Kf5 R:a2 6.h7 Ra8 7.Sf6+ Ke7 8.Sg8+- 5.Kh5! Return of the white king to the starting position! After 5.Kh7? Rg1 the white king can no longer return to the play without losing the d-pawn and a draw follows. After 5.Kf5? black sacrifices his rook for two pawns: 5...Rh4 6.Kg5 R:h6! 7.K:h6 K:d7, which also brings a draw. The decoying of the black rook has paid off. Black has to lose time to leave the rook, and white can advance his pawn. Fortunately, the eighth row is inaccessible to the black rook. 5...Rd4 Other continuations are also losing out: 5...Rg2 6.Be6! Rd2 (6...Rh2+ 7.Kg5 Rg2+ 8.Bg4 Rh2 9.Kg6 Rg2 10.h7! and then as in the main variant) 7.h7 Rh2+ (7...Ke6 8.Kg4+-) 8.Kg6 Rg2+ 9.Bg4 R:g4+ 10.Kh5 wins; 5...Rf4 6.h7 Rf8 7.Bg8 Rf2 8.Be6! etc. also wins. 6.h7 With move 5...Rd4 black has set up a trap. If white plays now 6.Be6? with the intention after 6...K:e6? 7.h7 Rd1 8.Kg5 to win, this win will slip out of his hands after 6...Kf6! 6...Rd1 With a plan for indirect control of the square h8. The move 6...Rd2 leads to similar variants. 7.Be6! Second figure sacrifice! With the idea of moving the black king away from the d8-square. 7...Rh1+ After accepting the sacrifice 7...K:e6 an interesting variant is formed: 8.Kg4! The king must leave the h-line and approach the black rook, but not through the f-line! The mistake would be 8.Kg5? Rg1+ 9.Kh4 K:d7=, 9.Kf4 Rf1+ 10.Kg5 Rf8= and 9.Kg6? Rg1+ 9.Kh6 K:d7=; 8...Rg1+ 9.Kh3! Rh1+ or 9...K:d7 10.Kh2!+- 10.Kg2 R:h7 11.d8Q+- 8.Kg6 Rg1+ After 8...Rh2 wins 9.Bg4 or 9.Bf5. 9.Bg4!! White sacrifices another figure, this time a bishop, on the same square g4 (Echo sacrifice!), with the same motive of decoying the black rook and attacking it with the king. This means that black has to lose the tempo again to then leave the rook (the eighth line is again inaccessible!) and white can realise the promotion of the h-pawn into the queen, this time definitively. And all this, of course, with the appropriate precision, with an indispensable check in the end. It would be a mistake 9.Kh6? Rh1+ 10.Kg7? Rg1+ 11.Kh8 Rg3 with a draw. 9...R:g4+ 10.Kh5! White King's return to the starting square! 11...Rg1 11.d8Q+ K:d8 12.h8Q+ and white wins. The struggle to promote a pawn, echoing sacrifices of figures on the same square. Award | My studies