Run for your life
Easy question: Who recorded ‘Run for your life’ and when?
More difficult question: Who was Richard Reti and how can Black whose turn it is win in the position below? Black moves down the board.
Easy question: Who recorded ‘Run for your life’ and when?
More difficult question: Who was Richard Reti and how can Black whose turn it is win in the position below? Black moves down the board.
November 28th, 2008 at 1:52 am
Black to move wins, you say? Only if White blunders! White can get a draw. If Black plays h5, then we get a famous study by Réti (whom you mention) where White to move can get a draw.
For Black, h6 and moves of the king are even worse than h5. If Black plays Kb6 threatening to capture White’s pawn, White can’t expect more than a draw, and he gets it by Kxh7.
Reti’s study is interesting. Suppose that Black has played h5 in your diagram. Then White has the move. If White tries only to promote his pawn safely, Black has no trouble capturing it: 1 c7 Kb7 2 c8=Q+ Kxc8. If White tries only to stop Black promoting, Black succeeds, for example: 1 Kg7 h4 2 Kf6 h3 3 Ke5 h2 4 Kf4 h1=Q. However, even if Black promotes safely, White can still get a draw provided that he promotes safely too, and part of the above line shows how. White’s 1st 3 moves are Kg7, Kf6 and Ke5. With his king on e5, White is now making two threats: Kd6 to support his pawn, and a move to the 4th rank to chase Black’s pawn. For example:
1 Kg7 h4 2 Kf6 Kb6 3 Ke5 Kxc6 4 Kf4 h3 5 Kg3 h2 6 Kg2 and White catches either Black’s pawn or the piece it promotes to
1 Kg7 h4 2 Kf6 h3/Kb6 3 Ke5 Kb6/h3 4 Kd6! (White gives up trying to stop Black promoting, and instead ensures that his pawn promotes safely) h2 5 c7! (Kd7? h1=Q! 6 Kd6 Qxc6+! or 6 c7? Qc6+!) h1=Q 6 c8=Q draw
Thank you for including this study (or a variant of it). It is interesting and doesn’t need much knowledge of chess.