Thank you Girkassa! You have found very nice refutation of my refutation! I have missed the manoeuvre 7.Kb5! Rb1+ 8.Kc5 after which Black has no choice than to play 8…Rc1+. That 8…Rc1+ loses I have shown in the line 7.Kd4 Rd1+ 8.Kc5 Rc1+? In any case the line 2…Kf3  3.a7 Rb1+ 4.Kc4 Rc1+ 5.Kb5 deserves to be included in the solution of this study. So I have to modify the my post -  Kraemer study is correct! (Girkassa).

D. 1


Kraemer 1949

Ado Kraemer (1898-1972) was one of the outstanding German chess problemists who created  – separately  and together  with his congenial friend  Eric(h) Ernest Zepler  -  numerous unforgettable and immortal masterpieces of problem genre. But Kraemer has composed also chess studies. One of them, presented here, won the 1. prise of Deutsche Schachblätter (according to the Endgame Study Datebase III of Harold van der Heijden, n. 44654). Because of its practical significance this study was included in the Averbakh handbook (n. 227 in the 1. edition and n. 652 in the 2. edition) and ECE (n. 890). The idea of the study is that White manages to escape the checks of the desperado rook and to avoid the stalemate. 

1.Rf7+

If 1.Rh7 then 1…Rb1+=. 

1...Kg2

1...Ke2 2.Rh7 Rb1+ 3.Kc4 Rxb6 4.Rxh2+ Ke3 5.Ra2 (ECE).

2.Rg7+ 

Other moves are weaker. 
2.Rxf1 Kxf1 3.b7 h1Q 4.b8Q= Qd5+ 5.Kb4 Qd2+ 6.Kc5 Qe3+ 7.Kc6 Qe4+ 8.Kb6 Qd4+ 9.Kb7 Qd5+=. 
2.a7? Rxf7 3.a8Q+ Rf3+= and White has now to struggle for draw.  

D. 1.1



1) 2...Kh1?

Black is playing for stalemate by hiding the king on h1 and obtaining a "desperado" rook. 

3.a7 Rf3+

ECE gives also the following line - 3…Rb1+4.Kc3 Rb3+ 5.Kd4 Rd3+ 6.Ke4 Re3+ 7.Kf4 Rf3+ 8.Kg4! Rf4+ 9.Kh5! Rh4+ 10.Kg5 Rh5+ 11.Kf6 Rf5+ (11...Rh6+ 12.Rg6 Rh8 13.b7 Rf8+ 14.Ke6 Re8+ 15.Kd6 Rd8+ 16.Kc6 Rc8+ 17.Kb6) 12.Ke7 Re5+ 13.Kd7 Rd5+ 14.Kc7 Rc5+ 15.Kb7+-. 

4.Kc4 Rf4+ 5.Kd5 Rf5+ 6.Ke6 Rf6+ 7.Ke7 Re6+ 8.Kf7 Rf6+ 9.Kg8 Rf8+ 10.Kh7 Rh8+ 11.Kg6 Rh6+ 12.Kg5!

12.Kf7 Rf6+ 13.Ke7 Re6+ would have been a loss of time (Kopayev). 

12...Rh5+ 13.Kf6 Rf5+ 14.Ke7 Re5+ 15.Kd7 Rd5+ 16.Kc7 Rc5+ 17.Kb7 and White wins. 

2) 2...Kf2? also does not help. 

3.Rh7 Rb1+

3...Kg2 4.Rxh2+ Kxh2 5.a7+-.

4.Kc4 Rxb6 5.Rxh2+ Ke3 6.Ra2 +- (ECE). 

3) 2...Kf3!

Black can save the position with this move. The idea of Black is the same - desperado rook but without trying to make stalemate. 

3.a7 

D. 1.2



3…Rb1+!

ECE gives here only 3…Ra1? 4.Rh7+-. 
 
4.Kc2 Rc1+!

The only move to draw. The refutation of Kraemer can be regarded as a study in itself since until the promotion of the Black pawn Black can draw by only moves.  

5.Kd3 Rd1+ 6.Kc4 Rc1+ 7.Kd4 Rd1+

D. 1.3



I. 8.Ke5 Rd5+!

Not 8…Re1+? 9.Kf5 Ra1 10.Rh7.

9.Kf6 

9.Ke6 h1Q 10.a8Q Qe1+ 11.Kf7 Qe4= Transposition to the main line after 11…Qe4. 


9...h1Q! = 10.a8Q Qh4+ 11.Kf7 Qe4 12.Qa3+ Ke2 13.Qb2+ Kf1 14.Qc1+ Ke2= 15.Qc8 Rf5+ 16.Kg8 Qd5+ 17.Kh7 Qh1+ 18.Kg8 Qd5+=. 

II. 8.Kc5 Rd5+!

Not 8...Rc1+? 9.Kd6 Rc6+ (9...Rd1+ 10.Kc7 Ra1 11.Rh7+-) 10.Kd7! (10.Kxc6? h1Q=) 10...h1Q 11.a8Q+-. 

9.Kc4 h1Q= 10.a8Q Qh4+ 11.Kb3 Qe4 12.Qf8+ Rf5 13.Qa3 Rd5 14.Ka2+ Rd3 15.Qf8+ Ke2 16.Re7 Rd2+ 17.Ka1 Rd1+ 18.Kb2 Rd2+ 19.Kb3 Rd3+=.