Chess Puzzle #KoEHW — Master, Black to move, endgame

Position

White: king a6; bishop f7; pawns a3/b2. Black: king c5; knight c6; pawns b4/c4. Material is balanced. Black to move.

Solution (9 moves)

1. Opponent setup: a4 — pawn a3→a4. Now Black to move.
2. Best move: Ne5 — knight c6→e5. Opponent replies Bg8 (bishop f7→g8).
3. Best move: Nd3 — knight e5→d3. Opponent replies Kb7 (king a6→b7).
4. Best move: Nxb2 — knight d3→b2, captures pawn. Opponent replies a5 (pawn a4→a5).
5. Best move: c3 — pawn c4→c3. Opponent replies Bb3 (bishop g8→b3).
6. Best move: Nc4 — knight b2→c4. Opponent replies a6 (pawn a5→a6).
7. Best move: Na5+ — knight c4→a5, gives check. Opponent replies Kc7 (king b7→c7).
8. Best move: Nxb3 — knight a5→b3, captures bishop. Opponent replies a7 (pawn a6→a7).
9. Best move: c2 — pawn c3→c2. Opponent replies a8=Q (pawn a7→a8, promotes to queen).
10. Best move: c1=Q — pawn c2→c1, promotes to queen.

Tactical themes

advanced pawn, crushing, endgame, fork, promotion, very long. The key move is Ne5.

Position data

FEN: 8/5B2/K1n5/2k5/1pp5/P7/1P6/8 w - - 0 58

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