Proof Game

Originally posted by Mephisto2
- by the bishop via g7 - e5.

While e5 is the most obvious, it is not the only possibility.

Originally posted by THUDandBLUNDER
While e5 is the most obvious, it is not the only possibility.

yes.

Originally posted by Mephisto2
yes.

Yes, it is the most obvious
or
Yes, it is the only possiblity
or
Both
or
Neither
or......

I am starting to believe this is not possible:
1) If the queen is passing to g6 via d3, f5 must be played after the queen reaches it. The rook must have gone to c6 (that is through h6)before that, so that the bishop can go to h6. The pawns must move to d4 and f4 after the move Rg4. However it takes three moves for Black to capture the pawn at h2 and the pawn from g7 must have moved to g3 (another three moves). But how can Black capture the pawn? Either through the knight or through the bishop. However, White does not have enough neutral moves (that is moves that do not obstruct the h-file, the fourth line, or the c1-h6 diagonal, or the passing of the pawn from g7).
I have been only able to restore the original position without the bishop at f8 for 16 moves, but I have not been able to find a solution to the original problem.
2) If the queen is going to g6 via h5 there are even more problems. The knight must have been moved to f3, and there is no way that the White queen can get to h5 before Rg4 is played. On the other hand, the bishop from c1 must move to h6 so d4 must be played sometime, and it is either the rook that is unable to reach g4 or the queen to reach g6 on time.
If this is indeed possible I should congratulate the person that composed that problem.
As for your remarks BiggDoggProblem, you are absolutely right, I've been trying to fix minor problems with the variations and got everything messed up.

Originally posted by ilywrin
I am starting to believe this is not possible:
1) If the queen is passing to g6 via d3, f5 must be played after the queen reaches it. The rook must have gone to c6 (that is through h6)before that, so that the bishop can go to h6. The pawns must move to d4 and f4 after the move Rg4. However it takes three moves for Black to capture the pawn at h2 and the pa ...[text shortened]... ight, I've been trying to fix minor problems with the variations and got everything messed up.

I am stuck with the same problems. Nicely put.
What are we missing?

Originally posted by ilywrin
I am starting to believe this is not possible:
1) If the queen is passing to g6 via d3, f5 must be played after the queen reaches it. The rook must have gone to c6 (that is through h6)before that, so that the bishop can go to h6. The pawns must move to d4 and f4 after the move Rg4. However it takes three moves for Black to capture the pawn at h2 and the pa ...[text shortened]... ight, I've been trying to fix minor problems with the variations and got everything messed up.

This is a good summation of the difficulty of the problem.

The only hint I can offer is that black is the one with spare time. His priority should always be to provide white with a useful move.

Eurika!
It has been a sleepless night (Thank God for coffee) but finally the mystery is revealed.
So without further ado:
1.a4 g5 2.a5 g4 3.Ra4 g3 4.Rg4 Bg7 5.f4 Bd4 6.Nf3 Bg1 7.d4 Bxh2 8.Qd3 Bg1 9.Rh6 Kf8!! Black needs to lose a tempo to reach the final position. 10.Rc6 e6 11.Qg6 Ke7! 12.f5 Ke8 The tempo is now lost.
13.Bh6 Be3 14.Ng5 Bf4 15.e3 Bd6 16.Be2 Bf8 and voila 🙂

Originally posted by ilywrin
Eurika!
It has been a sleepless night (Thank God for coffee) but finally the mystery is revealed.
So without further ado:
[b] 1.a4 g5 2.a5 g4 3.Ra4 g3 4.Rg4 Bg7 5.f4 Bd4 6.Nf3 Bg1 7.d4 Bxh2 8.Qd3 Bg1 9.Rh6 Kf8!! Black needs to lose a tempo to reach the final position. 10.Rc6 e6 11.Qg6 Ke7! 12.f5 Ke8 The tempo is now lost.
13.Bh6 Be3 14.Ng5 Bf4 15.e3 Bd6 16.Be2 Bf8 and voila 🙂
[/b]

Yes, that's the solution. Good Job, ilywrin.

Composer: Gianni Donati