Cool Chess endgame II: Can White win?

Hi Everybody!

How often have you resigned without calculating all the way through? How often have you resigned thinking you've lost? We recently took up a chess endgame study in which the Queen could be trapped with pawns, Bishop and King! Here is another cool endgame study with White to play. Can White win? Don't scroll down for the answer till you have studied the position.

Black will promote their g3 pawn to a Queen.

Can white avoid losing? Or even win?

--- DON'T LOOK UNTIL YOU'VE STUDIED THE POSITION ---

Well! In this nice endgame study it seems the King cannot stop the pawn from queening. Neither can the bishop stop the pawn from becoming a Queen!

There is no perpetual check happening either. Once Black makes the Queen, he will take all the White pawns. Have you thought about how you can win as White in this situation that seems so hopeless and so helpless for White?

--- IF YOU DON'T SEE THE SOLUTION KEEP THINKING ---

Well! Yes! White can win!

Here is how the game went.

1.Bc5 (attacking the d pawn and thereafter keeping an eye on the g1 square where Black would Queen the pawn. So Black is forced to defend the d4 pawn.)

1. ... Ke5 [Because if 1. ... Kd5 2. Bb6 g2 4. e4 K anywhere allows White Bishop to control g1 (if en passant then 5.Bxe3 stopping pawn from Queening on g1)]

2. e3 g2

3. Bxd4+ Kd5

4. Bb6 g1=Q

5. e4+ 1-0

Hope you enjoyed this study.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.chessblog.com

Also visit my personal blog at

www.chessqueen.com