Cordingley puzzle 186 #chess
Black to play and win (or does he?)
Solution
My first thought was 1..Qa2, but that enables white's queen to slip out to c5 via a3, when it is messy. So I settled on 1…Qb2 which I think is equivalent to the move played in the game, 1…a3: I think they transpose.
After either 1…a3 or 1…Qb2, white is trussed up on the back rank. But is it a win for black? I am not sure if I have the answer to that question, even after some analysis with Houdini. In the game, white blundered, and when I tried to play it as white against Houdini, I kept blundering too, but there does appear to be a very narrow path to achieve a draw. White seems just about able to avoid zugzwang: however, I am not sure, and don't really believe it, suspecting that it is a depth of field issue for the engine: I have spent some time on the ending, but not a great deal.
I may write more about this puzzle some other time: I have made a note to do so, if time can be found to analyse and understand why some moves seem to hold out.
White has a joyless task, to be sure, in the above position: it would be a good Aagaardian exercise to answer all its mysteries. For now, the attached game file gives my present analysis.
Posted with Blogsy
allanbeardsworth 