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4th and Inches at the Goal Line

The 2006 NFL season is approaching fast and the pre-season has officially began last Sunday.

One of the more exciting plays in football is the "4th and inches" at the goal line.  The offense can pick a variety of plays, from using a brute force to some sneaky tricks.  The defense, on the other hand, is set for the last "do or die" stand knowing that making a stop here will provide a tremendous boost for the whole team.

Can you think of anything similar in Chess?

How about a struggle surrounding promoting a pawn?  The defense is building roadblocks and the offense is working on clearing the path for the pawn to 'score a touchdown' (get it promoted into the Queen.)

Here are some interesting examples of the '4th and inches" on the chessboard.

Assess each position, find move candidates and the best variation.  Write it down.  Give it your best shot before proceeding to the answers (below).  The difficulty varies so don't get discouraged if you miss something.

#1 Black to Move!	#2 Evaluate 1...Qxf1+
#3 White to Move!	#4 White to Move!

 STOP - SOLUTIONS ARE BELOW!

Solutions
 

<1> Created by Polerio Black has a fairly simple strategy - give up the rook for the a-pawn and rush his king forward to win white's kingside pawns.  The problem though is that the white king reaches the h1 square or is able to box the black king on the h-file.  For example:  1...Rc7+? 2.Kb8 Rxa7 3.Kxa7 Ke6 4.Kb6 Kf5 5.Kc5 Kg4 6.Kd4 Kxg3 7.Ke3 Kxh4 8.Kf2 or 1...Rh8? 2.Pa8Q Rxa8 3.Kxa8 Ke6 4.Kb7 Kf5 5.Kc6 Kg4 6.Kd5 Kxg3 7.Ke4 Kxh4 8.Kf3.

Thus Black must be a bit more creative and find the stunning... 1...Ra8!!  This move reveals a different, tactical strategy based on zugzwang.  2.Kxa8 Kc7 (2...Kc8 would be a major mistake since White's h-pawn would Queen with check!)  3.g4  (White is forced to make this losing move)  3...hxg4 4.h5 g3 5.h6 g2 6.h7 g1Q 7.h8Q (without check!) 7...Qg2 mate.
 

The second idea is even trickier, but by now maybe you could guess what it is:  3.Qxf3! Rc1+  4.Qd1! Rxd1+  5.Ke2 and White forces a won pawn ending after 5...Rxx 6.d8Q d1Q+ 7.Qxd1 Rxd1 8.Kd1.
 

<3> Created by Troitsky One of the two black pawns supported by the rook seems to be poised for promotion.  The first thing that you must do is to identify the 'big picture' plans - White needs to stop the pawns and can give up either of his two pieces (but not both) for the pawns (R vs. B is an easy draw).  Next, the moves candidates.  There are two:  1.Rf4 and 1.Rh1.

The natural 1.Rf4 has a point - 1...Re1? (a 'brute force' approach) 2.Rf8 and White will succeed in eliminating the pawn: 2...f1Q 3.Rxf1 and 4.Bxe3 or 2...any 3.Bxe3 and 4.Rxe2. But after a sneaky 1...Kb1! planning 2...Ra2+ and 3...Pe2 and White has no defense.  For example: 2.Bg7 Ra2+ 3.Kb3 e2 4.Rxf2 e1Q 5.Rxa2 Qe6+.

What about 1.Rh1?  Well, now the brute force seems to seal the deal 1...Re1!  But wait, White just 'stuffs' the line with 2.Rf1!!  After 2...Rxf1 (2...Kb2 3.Bxe3 Rxf1 4.Kb4 transposes) 3.Bxe3 Kb2 (Black can't lose the pawn f2) 4. Kb4 Kc2 5.Kc4 Kd1 6.Kd3 Ke1 7.Bd2+ Kd1 8.Be3 Draw!
 

<4> Created by Kalandadze This position is a complete mess.  Both sides are ready to promote pawns, but Black's threat is more significant as he would do this with check, winning the game.  Is there a way out?  Did you come up with any worthy moves candidates?

 Well, the obvious moves to consider are 1.Rxb1 and 1.Rc2+.

After 1.Rxb1 Kxb1 2.b7 (not 2.h8Q? h1Q+ and 3....Qxh8) h1Q+ 3.Kg5, can the black queen catch the two 'rabbits'?  Yes, the queen can do this either from h2 or from anywhere on the 8th rank.  Without spending any more time you should conclude that White's chances for a draw are minimal at best.  The situation seems much better after 1.Rc2+ Rb2 2.Rc1 as Black must play 2...Rb1 accepting repetition.

Summary

In this article I showed you examples that have one rare idea in common - how to stop or slow down the pawn on the 7th (2d) rank by attracting pawn's own supporter onto the square of promotion
 

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For comments send email or this form.

I am looking for 'Ukrainian' copy of British Chess Magazine from last year.  If anyone has an extra one, please contact me via my website www.IamCoach.com.

You might want to take a look at my new Tactical test.  Try the demo as I am looking for more data to refine my statistics. The full version is also available at a nominal fee.

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