The Chess Mind

About a week ago, I gave this position as homework, based on (but not from) the game Volkov-Popov from the Russian Championship (Higher League):



It's White to move, Black to win; the task if figuring out how. In fact the basic idea is quite simple, as long as one is familiar with this elementary endgame:



It doesn't matter whose move it is here, as Black will push the f-pawn every move (unless he's checked, when the simplest response is to head for the rook until it can't safely check any longer) until White reacts in one of three ways:

(1) He captures the f-pawn with the rook. In this case, Black can move his rook and promote the a-pawn.
(2) He captures the f-pawn with the king (on f3, presumably). In that case, Black plays ...Rf1+ and ...a1Q.
(3) He meets ...f3+ with Kf2. That is met by ...Rh1, with the point that Rxa2 falls to the skewer ...Rh2+ followed by ...Rxa2.

Returning to our first position



the trick is to transform this into a version of our elementary ending. To do this, we must make the f-pawn a passer, and that involves two preliminaries: eliminating White's e-pawn and White's g-pawn, or at least turning the latter into an h-pawn.

The first step is easy as pie, because White to move is in zugzwang: he can't move his king because of ...Rh1#, g3 is bad because of hxg3+ Kg2 h4 followed by ...h3+, forcing the White king to allow a safe check from Black's rook, and White's rook can't stay on the 5th rank because it would allow ...Rc1 followed by ...b1Q. (Of course, if it were Black to move it wouldn't be any more difficult: 1...Ke6/Ke4/Kf4 all work perfectly well.)

So: 1.Rb8 (no better or worse than any of Rb3/4/6/7) 1...Kxe5 (preliminary 1 is taken care of) 2.Rb7 f5 3.Rb8 f4 (it's useful to push the f-pawn as far it can safely go before playing ...h3, so that there's no need to worry about g3 in reply) 4.Rb3 h3! 5.gxh3 (and there's preliminary 2) 5...f3 and wins (6.Rxf3 Re1 and 7...b1Q, or 6.Kg3 Rg1+ [the sadistic 6...f2 works as well: 7.Kxf2 Rh1 8.Rxb2 {else ...b1Q} 8...Rh2+ and 9...Rxb2] 7.Kxf3 b1Q).

In the risibly labeled Russian Championship (Higher League)*, the game Sergey Volkov (2659) - Ivan Popov (2524), the game ended in the following position, after 46...Ke6-f5:



Black's win here is quite easy: White can't move his king (48.Kh3 Rh1#, and if it wasn't mate 49...b1Q would suffice) or push the g-pawn (47.g3 hxg3+ 48.Kg2 (48.Kxg3 Rg1+ and 49...b1Q) 48...h4 with the threat of 49...h3+ followed by the appropriate rook check and b1Q), and pushing the e-pawn is pointless. That leaves rook moves, and Black beats that by maneuvering his king to a2, e.g. 47.Rb8 Kxe5 48.Rb7 Kd4 49.Rb3 Kc4 50.Rb8 Kc3 (threatening to move the rook, so it's time to give check) 51.Rc8+ Kb3 52.Rb8+ Ka2 followed by a rook move and b1Q.

Note, however, that if there were no a-pawns White could continue checking: 53.Ra8+ and so on. Black would need another winning plan in that case, so let's go back to the beginning, set up the position without a-pawns, and "assign" the position as a test of your ability to apply basic endgame theory.



The solution will be given in a few days; meanwhile, please do NOT comment your analytical proposals.

* My criticism of the event name comes from the fact that it's actually a qualifier for the "Superfinal" later in the year. That, ultimately, is the Russian Championship.