Tactical or positional example? You decide.

Originally posted by Mephisto2
White to play and win. Tough nut to crack.

[fen]3k4/2pq3p/pp5R/4P3/P6P/2PN4/1PN3K1/8 w - - 0 1[/fen]

If you enjoyed the previous study, perhaps you'll enjoy the next one as well:
White to move and win

Originally posted by Kornrade
If you enjoyed the previous study, perhaps you'll enjoy the next one as well:
White to move and win
[fen]6Nk/pp2Np1p/2p2Pp1/2R2bP1/7K/P7/1q1n1Q2/5n2 w - - 0 1[/fen]

1.Rxf5 gxf5 2.g6 hxg6(2...fxg6 and the white f pawn is deadly) 3.Nxg6 i would guess just off instinct.

Originally posted by tomtom232
1.Rxf5 gxf5 2.g6 hxg6(2...fxg6 and the white f pawn is deadly) 3.Nxg6

3... fxg6 4.f7 (4.Nh6 Qxf6+) Qg7 5. Kh3 Qxf7 is clearly winning for black

Originally posted by Kornrade
If you enjoyed the previous study, perhaps you'll enjoy the next one as well:
White to move and win
[fen]6Nk/pp2Np1p/2p2Pp1/2R2bP1/7K/P7/1q1n1Q2/5n2 w - - 0 1[/fen]

Brilliant! You need an thorough understanding of the position to find the solution:

1.Rxf5 gxf5 otherwise white safes his rook and wins on material
2.Nh6( threatens Nxf7 mate) Nf3+ (Qa2? then Qf4 or Qxf5 threaten backrank mate)
3.Kh5 Qa2 (Qb3? then simply Qxf1 etc...)
4.Qg2!!



Black has no other moves than pawn moves (4. ... N1d2 loses to Qg3 followed by Qb8) and runs into zugzwang. It can go this way (the sequence is not important):

4. ... b5 5.Qf2 c5 6.Qg2 a5 7.Qf2 b4



8.a4! avoids black to create counterplay with sufficient compensation for the piece(s) he could give up. Black has no choice than to avoid another pawn move on the white diagonal: 8. ... Qb3 (Qc4 is even worse) 9.Qxf1 Nd2 10.Qd3!



Black is lost, his checks won't last, for instance:

10. ... Qd1+ 11.Kh4 Qe1+ 12.Kh3 Qh1+ 13.Kg3 Qg1+ 14.Kf4 etc.. white's king goes hiding behind the black pawns. Knight checks are answered by QxN. The threat on f7 remains deadly.

Originally posted by Mephisto2
Brilliant! You need an thorough understanding of the position to find the solution:

1.Rxf5 gxf5 otherwise white safes his rook and wins on material
2.Nh6( threatens Nxf7 mate) Nf3+ (Qa2? then Qf4 or Qxf5 threaten backrank mate)
3.Kh5 Qa2 (Qb3? then simply Qxf1 etc...)
4.Qg2!!

[Event "White to move and win"]
[Site "Glarean Magazine"]
[Date "17.Dec.2009"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Mihai Neghina"]
[Black "Fritz11"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Mihai Neghina"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6Nk/pp2Np1p/2p2Pp1/2R2bP1/7K/P7/1q1n1Q2/5n2 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "61"]

1.Rxf5 {Unique key move. Black's bishop is the decisive piece in Black's mate threat 1.-- Nf3+ 2.Qxf3 Qh2+ 3.Qh3 Qxh3#. After 1.Nxf5?, Black can easily draw, or even try to go for a win (although I doubt that).} (1.Nxf5 $2 Nf3+ 2.Qxf3 (2.Kg4 $4 Qxf2 3.Kf4 N3d2+ 4.Kg4 Qg2+ 5.Kf4 Qe4 # ) 2... Qh2+ 3.Qh3 Qf4+ 4.Qg4 Qh2+ $11) 1...gxf5 {Anything else loses quickly.} 2.Nh6 {Threatening Nxf7#.} (2.Nxf5 $4 Qc1 3.Qf4 (3.Ngh6 Ne4 4.Qf3 Qxg5+ 5.Kh3 Nfd2 $17) 3... Qe1+ 4.Kh3 Qe4 5.Qxe4 Nxe4 6.Ngh6 Nxg5+ $17) 2... Nf3+ {Zwischenzug} 3.Kh5 $1 {Depending on software, hardware, analysis time and knowledge stored in hash, the computer misevaluates this move as (slight) advantage for Black, or dead draw} (3.Qxf3 $2 Qh2+ 4.Qh3 Qf2+ 5.Kh5 Qe2+ 6.Kh4 $11) 3... Qa2 {Queens attack each other, but neither can capture anything without allowing mate. Almost mutual zugzwang: Black has only pawn moves, White has only Qf7<->g7, while the white pawn stands guard} 4.a4 $1 {Passive defense 4.Qg2 may also work, although it needs to be checked thoroughly.} a5 (4...b6 {The tougher resistance from Black} 5.Qg2 a6 6.Qf2 b5 (6...a5 7.Qg2 b5 8.axb5 cxb5 9.Qf2 a4 10.Qg2 b4 11.Qf2 a3 (11...Qb3 12.Qxf1 Nd2 13.Qh1 Ne4 14.Nexf5 Qd3 15.Kh4 Qc4 16.Nxf7+ Kg8 17.Ne5 Qc2 18.Nh6+ Kf8 19.Nd7+ Ke8 20.f7+ Kxd7 21.f8=Q) 12.Qg2 Qc4 13.Qxf3 Ng3+) 7.a5 $1 {There are several variations in which the a-pawn is vital for winning the game... in one of the variations, it even remains the only piece on the board that is not a king.} (7.axb5 $2 axb5 $11
{See variations after a5, especially those in which the a-pawn in decisive.} )
(7.Qg2 $2 bxa4 8.Qf2 a3 9.Qg2 Qc4 10.Qxf3 Ng3+ 11.Qxg3 Qe2+ 12.Kh4 Qe4+ 13.Kh3 Qh1+ 14.Qh2 Qf3+ 15.Kh4 Qe4+ 16.Kh5 Qf3+ 17.Kh4 $11 (17.Ng4 $4 Qxg4+ 18.Kh6 f4 {And the black a-pawn is too advanced.})) 7... b4 8.Qg2 Qc4 (8... c5 9.Qf2 Qc4 10.Qxf3 Ng3+ 11.Qxg3 Qe2+ 12.Kh4 Qe4+ 13.Kh3 Qh1+ 14.Qh2 Qf3+ 15.Kh4 Qe4+ 16.Kh5 Qf3+ 17.Ng4 Qxg4+ 18.Kh6 f4 19.Qh1 f3 20.Qh2 Qc8 21.Nxc8 f2 22.Ne7 f1=Q 23.Qb8# ) 9.Qxf3 Ng3+ 10.Qxg3 Qe2+ 11.Kh4 Qe4+ 12.Kh3 Qh1+ 13.Qh2 Qf3+ 14.Kh4 Qe4+ 15.Kh5 Qf3+ 16.Ng4 Qxg4+ 17.Kh6 f4 18.Qh1 b3 19.Nxc6 b2 (19... Qg3 20.Nd4 $18) (19... Qc8 20.Ne7 $18) (19... f3 20.Ne5 $18) 20.Ne5 $18 Qc8 21.g6 b1=Q 22.Qxb1 Qh3+ 23.Kg5 Qg3+ (23... h6+ 24.Kxf4 Qh2+ 25.Ke4 Qe2+ (25... Qg2+ 26.Kd4 $16) 26.Kd5 $16) 24.Ng4 h6+ 25.Kf5 fxg6+) 5.Qg2 b6 6.Qf2 b5 7.axb5 (7.Qg2 $2 bxa4 8.Qf2 a3 9.Qg2 Qc4 10.Qxf3 Ng3+ 11.Qxg3 Qe2+ 12.Kh4 Qe4+ 13.Kh3 Qh1+ 14.Qh2 Qf3+ 15.Kh4 Qe4+ 16.Kh5 Qf3+ 17.Kh4 $11 (17.Ng4 $4 Qxg4+ 18.Kh6 f4 19.Nxc6 a2 $17)) 7... cxb5 8.Qg2 a4 9.Qf2 a3 10.Qg2 b4 11.Qf2 {Finally, true zugzwang for Black.} Qb3 (11... Qc4 12.Qxf3 Ng3+ 13.Qxg3 Qe2+ 14.Kh4 Qe4+ 15.Kh3 Qh1+ 16.Qh2 Qf3+ 17.Kh4 Qe4+ 18.Kh5 Qf3+ 19.Ng4 Qxg4+ 20.Kh6 f4 21.Qh1 f3 22.Qh2 Qc8 23.Nxc8 a2 24.Ne7 a1=Q 25.Qb8# ) 12.Qxf1 Nd2 13.Qg2 Ne4 14.Nhxf5 a2 15.Qxe4 a1=Q 16.Kh6 (16.Nh4 $4 Qe6 17.Qb7 Qd1+ 18.Kh6 Qd8 19.Qxb4 Qe2 20.Nef5 Qed2 $17) 16... Qh3+ {15.... a1Q and 16... Qh3 are interchangeable.} (16... Qe6 17.Qb7 Qc3 18.Qb8+ Qec8 19.Qxc8+ Qxc8 20.Nxc8 Kg8 21.Nb6 Kf8 22.Nd6 Kg8 23.Nd7 b3 24.Nc8 b2 25.Ne7+ Kh8 26.Ne5 b1=Q 27.Nxf7# ) 17.Nh4 {or mate in very few moves.} Qxh4+ 18.Qxh4 Qe5 19.Qh1 Qb8 20.Nf5 b3 21.Ng7 Kg8 (21...b2 22.Qb1 Qh2+ 23.Nh5 Qxh5+ 24.Kxh5 Kg8 25.Qxb2 h6 26.Kxh6 Kf8 27.Qb8# ) 22.Qe4 Kf8 23.Nh5 b2 24.g6 hxg6 25.Kh7 Qd8 26.Ng7 b1=Q 27.Qxb1 Qd6 28.Qa2 Qxf6 29.Qa3+ Qe7 30.Qa8+ Qe8 31.Qxe8# 1-0

Originally posted by Kornrade
[Event "White to move and win"]
[Site "Glarean Magazine"]
[Date "17.Dec.2009"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Mihai Neghina"]
[Black "Fritz11"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Mihai Neghina"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6Nk/pp2Np1p/2p2Pp1/2R2bP1/7K/P7/1q1n1Q2/5n2 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "61"]

1.Rxf5 {Unique key move. Black's bishop is the decisive piece in Black's mate th ...[text shortened]... iations after 7.a5!, especially those in which the a-pawn in decisive.})

edit. nevermind didn't get the entire post on my screen

I am trying to put the full solution, as copied from Fritz, and I seem to have problems...