It's often said, and with good reason, that the road to success is paved with hard work. We've experienced this ourselves and we're sure many of our readers have as well. But the task above is seemingly impossible. It does pay to work smart as well as to work hard.

Now, although we're going to start off the New Year by working you quite hard, the task we're setting is achievable and we hope will prove to be worth your time and trouble.

Have a look at the following position.

WHITE

BLACK
Black to Play and Win

B:W15,19,21,23,25,30,31,32:B2,3,5,10,12,13,16,24

Certainly, Black has a small but visible advantage here; the question is, can you turn it into a win? You'll have to put some mental exertion into this one, but there is a way.

Work it out and then work your mouse over to Read More to see the solution.

Solution

This problem was sent to us by regular Toronto contributors Lloyd and "Gosh Josh" Gordon. Lloyd said he took the draw with the 13-17 clearing and chided himself for missing the win. We can hardly blame him; as you'll see the win is long but is an instructive lesson in restricted mobility. Variations on this solution are of course possible; use your computer to explore further.

The computer is now seeing this as a much clearer probable win for Black.

The end approaches.

and Black will win a man up. A lot of work but the goal has been achieved!