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Subject: Re: Deepest chess problem ever composed?

Author: Uri Blass

Date: 08:17:31 09/15/00

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On September 15, 2000 at 11:01:58, Robert Hyatt wrote:

>On September 15, 2000 at 10:47:47, Uri Blass wrote:
>
>>On September 15, 2000 at 10:43:06, Robert Hyatt wrote:
>>
>>>On September 15, 2000 at 10:34:53, Uri Blass wrote:
>>>
>>>>On September 15, 2000 at 10:20:57, Helmut Conrady wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>On September 15, 2000 at 09:01:22, Andreas Stabel wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>On September 15, 2000 at 08:43:27, Bernhard Bauer wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>On September 15, 2000 at 08:18:59, Helmut Conrady wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Im wondering, what is the deepest chessproblem ever composed. There is a problem
>>>>>>>>created by Petrovic in 1969 which might lead to a mate in 270.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>[D]8/Bk3p1p/1P3p2/KP2n2p/1P1p4/1Pp2p2/B1P5/7B w - - 0 1
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Unfortunately I haven t got the solution.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Can onyone explain how to win this.
>>>>>>>>Does anyone know a deeper problem?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Thanks in advance.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Helmut
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Found an old posting.
>>>>>>>-----------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>>>>The task record for a legal position is this one:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Petrovici, "Problem", 1969
>>>>>>>White: Ka5, Ba2, Ba7, Bh1, pb3, pb4, pb5, pb6, pc2 (9)
>>>>>>>Black: Kb7, Ne5, pc3, pd4, pf3, pf6, pf7, ph5, ph7 (9)
>>>>>>>#270
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Solution:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>1.Bb1 h4 2.Ka4 Ka8
>>>>>>>(Black's king oscillates to and from b7 except when a black
>>>>>>>pawn is moved)
>>>>>>>3.Ka3 4.Ka2 5.Ka1 6.Ba2 7.Kb1 8.Kc1 9.Kd1 10.Ke1 11.Bb1
>>>>>>>12.Kf1 (White begins a triangulation in order to lose the move)
>>>>>>>13.Kf2 14.Ke1 15.Kd1 15.Kc1 17.Ba2 18.Kb1 19.Ka1 20.Bb1
>>>>>>>21.Ka2 22.Ka3 23.Ka4 Kb7 24.Ka5 f5
>>>>>>>(Black moves a pawn rather than permit White's king to be
>>>>>>>moved to a6. White makes nine more triangulations, each time
>>>>>>>forcing Black to move a pawn)
>>>>>>>47...pf4 70...pf6 93...pf5 116...ph3 139...ph2 162...ph6
>>>>>>>185...ph5 208...ph4 231...ph3, and now
>>>>>>>254.Ka5 Kc8 255.Ka6 f2 256.b7+ Kd7 257 b8=Q f1=Q 258.Q:e5 Q:h1
>>>>>>>259.Qg7+ Ke6 260.Qg6+ Ke5 261.Bb8+ Ke4 262.Qc6+ Ke3 263.Q:h1 Kf2
>>>>>>>264.B:f4 Ke2 265.b6 d3 266.c:d3 Kf2 267.Bc2 Ke2 268.Bd1+ Kf2
>>>>>>>269.Qf3+ Kg1 270.Be3 mate.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Cornel Pacurar
>>>>>>>http://www.orbonline.net/~corpac/index.html
>>>>>>>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>>>>Kind regards
>>>>>>>Bernhard
>>>>>>
>>>>>>I don't think this solution is correct. Black has to move some pawns during
>>>>>>the first white king tour or the white king will escape to g3 or h3 and
>>>>>>start munching black pawns and win that way. To stop this black has to do
>>>>>>the following pawn moves h4-h3-h2 and f5-f4. This will cause the mate to
>>>>>>be a lot less than 270, but still awesome.
>>>>>
>>>>>I think the 270 moves must be correct, because this problem was discussed in the
>>>>>problem magazine "Die Schwalbe" 8/2000. The discussion was: 270 or 271 moves to
>>>>>mate. :)
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>Helmut
>>>>
>>>>This is not convincing because you need to prove that there is no shorter mate.
>>>>The problem seem to be not a good problem also because the solution is not
>>>>unique and white can win by 1.Ka4 instead of 1.Bb1
>>>>
>>>>Uri
>>>
>>>
>>>I think the point is that if not Bb1, then c3 gives white a headache.  With the
>>>bithop at b1, c3 simply drops the pawn.
>>
>>You are right.
>>It should be d3.
>>
>>After Ka4 d3 I see that white cannot prevent a new black queen.
>>
>>Uri
>
>Right.  I was changing c3 to d3 when the phone rang.  By the time I got off
>the phone, you had already found it.  :)
>
>This is one of several types of problems we used to tackle with Cray Blitz.
>
>We solved this one perfectly, but we obviously couldn't see the mate.  The
>problem a computer might have here is that as the king makes the walk, it
>reaches a position where it repeats the position for a second time, and some
>programs might choke there and simply oscillate the king and draw instantly.
>Cray Blitz had a unique approach to accepting draw scores and had no problem
>with this at all.  I don't think Crafty will have the problem as it knows
>that near the root, 2-fold repetitions are not draws.

I think that there is another problem for computers here.

This is the position after 12 moves.
[D]k7/B4p1p/1P3p2/1P2n3/1P1p3p/1Pp2p2/2P2K2/1B5B w - - 0 1

In this position a lot of programs including Crafty(at least at short time
control) will play 13.Bxf3+ that is probably drawing because the white bishop
are useless.

After 13.Bxf3+ Nxf3 14.Kxf3 f5 white has no way to make progress.

Uri



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