Black to move and win.
NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.
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The Benedictine in Norcia make great beer. I’ll bet your parish priest might like to have some.
If you want a meal that’s sort of awful but not completely, this is your place in the via S. Paolo alla Regola.
Wesley So (defeated Humpy) and Richard Rapport (defeated Gukesh) must duke it out in the lower bracket of the Armageddon Finale. Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Jan-Krzysztof Duda will face off in the upper bracket.
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Gonna hava get me a reservation! Sounds like most restaurants in the US—I’m looking at you Olive Garden—sorta awful, but not completely!!!
1. . . . . N×b4+
2. K-a5 or a7 K×c5
If:
3. e6-e7 . . . N–c6+
4. K moves . . N×e7
But if:
3. K-a4 (best if 2nd move had been K-a5)
. . . . . . K-d6
4. K×b4 . . . K×e6
In either scenario, Black should be able to take White’s g-pawn and queen its own g-pawn — even without its Knight — before White’s King can successfully interfere.
Hmmm. What does it mean when certain squares are a light blue like this one with the white pawn?
Also, are you going to offer any commentary during the synod?
1. . . . Nb4+
2. Ka7 Kxc5
3. Kb7 Kd6
White would appear to have the advantage here, due to material, but this position could go off the rails quickly for either color with poor play. The line I posted involves the best moves I could find for both black and white. After move three, depending on white’s response, black needs to take the pawn on e6 or e7, then keep an eye on the king while moving to take the pawn on g4. From there, it becomes a typical king and pawn endgame.
stdaniel two have 2 questions.
1) certain squares are a light blue
That shows the immediately last move, the move that resulted in the position you are looking at. That, and the orientation of the board, shows clearly that it is black’s move. It also reveals something of the mind of the (white) opponent.
2) I no longer have press credentials for the Holy See, as I did for many years. Also, I have no stomach for what they will no doubt issue each day. Since it is closed to the press, I’m pretty sure that what is released with be as reliable as Baghdad Bob. Unless something really interesting happens, I’ll probably just spend my days in Rome being happy and spiritually renewed.
Dear waalaw,
brilliant. I saw 1. … Nxb4+ of course; I also saw that after 2. Ka4 (Ka6 is obviously worse, in my view) black can capture the white knight and at the same time defend his own knight.
What I didn’t see was that after that, c6 is free for the knight and that he will give check from there; and so ruled 1. … Nxb4+ out because I thought there’d be a white queen immediately.
But…
1. … Nxb4+
2. Ka5 KxN
3. Ka4 (better than 3. e7 Nc6+ 4. Ka4 Nxe7) Kd6
4. KxN Kxe6
5. Kc4 Ke5
6. Kd3 (white cannot defend his pawn anyway) Kf4
7. Ke2 Kxg4
8. Kf1
Now the white king is obviously going to jump between g1 an h1 as long as he possibly can. Our aim as black is to get him to stand on g1 at a time when the black king is on h3 (not g3!) and the black pawn, as yet on g5, on e2. But maybe make it easier to calculate by taking the second row from him.
8. … Kh3
9. Kg1 g4
10. Kh1 g3
11. Kg1 g2
12. Kf2 (strike!) Kh2 and the rest is obvious.
Note that it is very easy to run into detours or even stalemates.