Mate in just 271 moves

[JohnS]

Saw this in Joys of Chess by Hesse. Problem by Petrovic 1969.

[D]8/Bk3p1p/1P3p2/KP2n2p/1P1p4/1Pp2p2/B1P5/7B w - - 0 1

The key is 1 Bb1 and I'm sure everyone here can work out the rest of the solution.

Will any engine ever solve this?

[muxecoid]

Stockefish 2.0.1 crashes upon receiving your FEN.

[Jack Lad]

Retro analysis has nothing (aside from pointing out the legality) to do with solving Petrovic problem. Else concerning the long problems:

The longest (by solution) chess problems known at this time:

The longest with special extra condition (“During the solution black has to make three successive, complete Knight Tours “) from J.N. Babson (1882) asks for a mate in 1220 moves.

The longest without special conditions, but with illegal initial position comes from Otto Blathy (1889) and calls for the mate in 290 moves

The longest legal problem – but with promoted bishop – is a bit younger. It derives from Nenad Petrovic (1969 ) with the stipulation of mate in 271.

Finally as the longest problem without promoted men, the TEMCCA refers to Jim Hetherington and Sir Jeremy (“Chief Inspector”) Morse having the mate in 226 requirement.

However, it seems to me that as the Computer will explore
Further the ultimate thruth, the envelope gets pushed further
And further. Tim Krabbe reports at http://www.xs4all.nl/~timkr/chess2/diary.htm
316. 26 May 2006: A 517-move win

Black to play, White wins in 517 moves
Marc Bourzutschky and Yakov Konoval, May 2006

Incredible news from the wizards of 7-men endgames, Marc Bourzutschky and Yakov Konoval.
Barely two months after breaking the 300-move barrier in tablebase endgames (see item 311) they have now found a position where it takes White 517 moves to win (convert to a winning sub-endgame) with best play by both sides: White and Black always aim for the fastest and slowest conversions, respectively.

Of course, this is not a direct mate task, but ultimately the mate
Is there. Possibly even before move 600 .

http://www.chessworld.net/chessclubs/fo ... ID=5039206

http://timkr.home.xs4all.nl/records/records.htm

[Event "Problem III, special prize"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1969.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Petrovic, Nenad"]
[Black "Mate in 271"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Conrady/Friedel"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/Bk3p1p/1P3p2/KP2n2p/1P1p4/1Pp2p2/B1P5/7B w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "541"]
[EventDate "2001.08.18"]

{Mate in 271 moves! This is generally considered to be the longest problem
starting from a legal position. Dies gilt als das laengste Schachproblem aus
einer legalen Ausgangsstellung: Matt in 271 Zuegen!} 1. Bb1 h4 ({
Black cannot move his king to a8 in this position:} 1... Ka8 2. Ka6 d3 3. b7#)
2. Ka4 Ka8 {As long as the white king is out of reach of a6 Black simply moves
his king back and forth between b7 and a8. When the wK threatens to move to a6
he is forced to move a pawn. Der schwarze Koenig pendelt immer zwischen b7 und
a8 hin und her, ausser, wenn er gezwungen wird, einen seiner Bauern zu ziehen.}
3. Ka3 Kb7 4. Ka2 Ka8 5. Ka1 Kb7 6. Ba2 Ka8 7. Kb1 Kb7 8. Kc1 Ka8 9. Kd1 Kb7
10. Ke1 Ka8 11. Bb1 Kb7 12. Kf1 {Now we understand the reason for this long
king journey. With the triangulation Kf1-f2-e1 White loses a tempo and can
threaten Ka6 twelve moves later. Nun der Sinn des weissen Koenigsmarsches
durch den Korridor. Mittels eines Dreiecksmanoevers (f1-f2-e1) will er
jedesmal ein Tempo verlieren, so dass stets Schearz am Zug ist und dann einen
Bauern ziehen muss, der weisse Koenig wieder einmal auf a6 auftaucht.} 12...
Ka8 13. Kf2 Kb7 14. Ke1 {This was the first of ten triangulations. Das erste
Dreiecksmanoever ist nun abgeschlossen und es folgen noch 9 wietere, so dass
Schwarz im 25., 74., 70., 93., 116., 139., 162., 185., 208. und 231. ZUg immer
einen Baueren ziehen muss.} 14... Ka8 15. Kd1 Kb7 16. Kc1 Ka8 17. Ba2 Kb7 18.
Kb1 Ka8 19. Ka1 Kb7 20. Bb1 Ka8 21. Ka2 Kb7 22. Ka3 Ka8 23. Ka4 Kb7 24. Ka5 f5
{Black cannot move his king to a8 and is forced to move a pawn for the first
time. This will occur again every 23 moves, i.e. on move 47, 70, 93, 116, 139,
162, 185, 208 and 231} (24... Ka8 $2 25. Ka6 d3 26. b7#) 25. Ka4 Ka8 26. Ka3
Kb7 27. Ka2 Ka8 28. Ka1 Kb7 29. Ba2 Ka8 30. Kb1 Kb7 31. Kc1 Ka8 32. Kd1 Kb7 33.
Ke1 Ka8 34. Bb1 Kb7 35. Kf1 Ka8 36. Kf2 Kb7 37. Ke1 Ka8 38. Kd1 Kb7 39. Kc1 Ka8
40. Ba2 Kb7 41. Kb1 Ka8 42. Ka1 Kb7 43. Bb1 Ka8 44. Ka2 Kb7 45. Ka3 Ka8 46. Ka4
Kb7 47. Ka5 f4 48. Ka4 Ka8 49. Ka3 Kb7 50. Ka2 Ka8 51. Ka1 Kb7 52. Ba2 Ka8 53.
Kb1 Kb7 54. Kc1 Ka8 55. Kd1 Kb7 56. Bb1 Ka8 57. Ke1 Kb7 58. Kf1 Ka8 59. Kf2 Kb7
60. Ke1 Ka8 61. Kd1 Kb7 62. Kc1 Ka8 63. Ba2 Kb7 64. Kb1 Ka8 65. Ka1 Kb7 66. Bb1
Ka8 67. Ka2 Kb7 68. Ka3 Ka8 69. Ka4 Kb7 70. Ka5 f6 71. Ka4 Ka8 72. Ka3 Kb7 73.
Ka2 Ka8 74. Ka1 Kb7 75. Ba2 Ka8 76. Kb1 Kb7 77. Kc1 Ka8 78. Kd1 Kb7 79. Ke1 Ka8
80. Bb1 Kb7 81. Kf1 Ka8 82. Kf2 Kb7 83. Ke1 Ka8 84. Kd1 Kb7 85. Kc1 Ka8 86. Ba2
Kb7 87. Kb1 Ka8 88. Ka1 Kb7 89. Bb1 Ka8 90. Ka2 Kb7 91. Ka3 Ka8 92. Ka4 Kb7 93.
Ka5 f5 94. Ka4 Ka8 95. Ka3 Kb7 96. Ka2 Ka8 97. Ka1 Kb7 98. Ba2 Ka8 99. Kb1 Kb7
100. Kc1 Ka8 101. Kd1 Kb7 102. Ke1 Ka8 103. Bb1 Kb7 104. Kf1 Ka8 105. Kf2 Kb7
106. Ke1 Ka8 107. Kd1 Kb7 108. Kc1 Ka8 109. Ba2 Kb7 110. Kb1 Ka8 111. Ka1 Kb7
112. Bb1 Ka8 113. Ka2 Kb7 114. Ka3 Ka8 115. Ka4 Kb7 116. Ka5 h3 117. Ka4 Ka8
118. Ka3 Kb7 119. Ka2 Ka8 120. Ka1 Kb7 121. Ba2 Ka8 122. Kb1 Kb7 123. Kc1 Ka8
124. Kd1 Kb7 125. Ke1 Ka8 126. Bb1 Kb7 127. Kf1 Ka8 128. Kf2 Kb7 129. Ke1 Ka8
130. Kd1 Kb7 131. Kc1 Ka8 132. Ba2 Kb7 133. Kb1 Ka8 134. Ka1 Kb7 135. Bb1 Ka8
136. Ka2 Kb7 137. Ka3 Ka8 138. Ka4 Kb7 139. Ka5 h2 140. Ka4 Ka8 141. Ka3 Kb7
142. Ka2 Ka8 143. Ka1 Kb7 144. Ba2 Ka8 145. Kb1 Kb7 146. Kc1 Ka8 147. Kd1 Kb7
148. Ke1 Ka8 149. Bb1 Kb7 150. Kf1 Ka8 151. Kf2 Kb7 152. Ke1 Ka8 153. Kd1 Kb7
154. Kc1 Ka8 155. Ba2 Kb7 156. Kb1 Ka8 157. Ka1 Kb7 158. Bb1 Ka8 159. Ka2 Kb7
160. Ka3 Ka8 161. Ka4 Kb7 162. Ka5 h6 163. Ka4 Ka8 164. Ka3 Kb7 165. Ka2 Ka8
166. Ka1 Kb7 167. Ba2 Ka8 168. Kb1 Kb7 169. Kc1 Ka8 170. Kd1 Kb7 171. Ke1 Ka8
172. Bb1 Kb7 173. Kf1 Ka8 174. Kf2 Kb7 175. Ke1 Ka8 176. Kd1 Kb7 177. Kc1 Ka8
178. Ba2 Kb7 179. Kb1 Ka8 180. Ka1 Kb7 181. Bb1 Ka8 182. Ka2 Kb7 183. Ka3 Ka8
184. Ka4 Kb7 185. Ka5 h5 186. Ka4 Ka8 187. Ka3 Kb7 188. Ka2 Ka8 189. Ka1 Kb7
190. Ba2 Ka8 191. Kb1 Kb7 192. Kc1 Ka8 193. Kd1 Kb7 194. Ke1 Ka8 195. Bb1 Kb7
196. Kf1 Ka8 197. Kf2 Kb7 198. Ke1 Ka8 199. Kd1 Kb7 200. Kc1 Ka8 201. Ba2 Kb7
202. Kb1 Ka8 203. Ka1 Kb7 204. Bb1 Ka8 205. Ka2 Kb7 206. Ka3 Ka8 207. Ka4 Kb7
208. Ka5 h4 209. Ka4 Ka8 210. Ka3 Kb7 211. Ka2 Ka8 212. Ka1 Kb7 213. Ba2 Ka8
214. Kb1 Kb7 215. Kc1 Ka8 216. Kd1 Kb7 217. Ke1 Ka8 218. Bb1 Kb7 219. Kf1 Ka8
220. Kf2 Kb7 221. Ke1 Ka8 222. Kd1 Kb7 223. Kc1 Ka8 224. Ba2 Kb7 225. Kb1 Ka8
226. Ka1 Kb7 227. Bb1 Ka8 228. Ka2 Kb7 229. Ka3 Ka8 230. Ka4 Kb7 231. Ka5 h3 {
The final journey Und nun:} 232. Ka4 Ka8 233. Ka3 Kb7 234. Ka2 Ka8 235. Ka1 Kb7
236. Ba2 Ka8 237. Kb1 Kb7 238. Kc1 Ka8 239. Kd1 Kb7 240. Ke1 Ka8 241. Bb1 Kb7
242. Kf1 Ka8 243. Kf2 Kb7 244. Ke1 Ka8 245. Kd1 Kb7 246. Kc1 Ka8 247. Ba2 Kb7
248. Kb1 Ka8 249. Ka1 Kb7 250. Bb1 Ka8 251. Ka2 Kb7 252. Ka3 Ka8 253. Ka4 Kb7
254. Ka5 {Now Black, as usual, cannot move his king to a8, but he also has no
pawn moves left. The following defence is the longest availabe to him. Jetzt,
nachdem die Tempozuege mit den Bauern ausgegangen sind, kann der schwarze
Koenig wegen Matt nicht mehr nach a8 ziehen.} 254... Kc8 255. Ka6 Kd8 256. b7
Nd7 257. Bxf3 h1=Q 258. Bxh1 d3 259. cxd3 f3 260. Bxf3 Ke7 261. b8=Q Nxb8+ 262.
Bxb8 c2 263. Bxc2 Ke6 264. b6 Kf6 265. b7 Ke6 266. d4 h2 267. Bxh2 f4 268. b8=Q
Kf7 269. Bxf4 Kg7 270. Bh5 Kf6 271. Qe5# 1-0

http://www.chessbase.com/puzzle/puzz07a.htm

I could only survive for 205 moves when I tried it. I will have to check the solution one day to see where I went wrong.
[d] 8/Bk3p1p/1P3p2/KP2n2p/1P1p4/1Pp2p2/B1P5/7B w - - 0 1

1.Bb1 h4 2.Ka4 Ka8 3.Ka3 Kb7 4.Ka2 Ka8 5.Ka1 Kb7 6.Ba2 Ka8 7.Kb1 Kb7 8.Kc1 Ka8 9.Kd1 h3 10.Kc1 Kb7 11.Bb1 Ka8 12.Kd1 h2 13.Ke1 f5 14.Ba2 Kb7 15.Kd1 Ka8 16.Bb1 Kb7 17.Kc1 Ka8 18.Ba2 Kb7 19.Kb1 Ka8 20.Ka1 Kb7 21.Bb1 Ka8 22.Ka2 Kb7 23.Ka3 Ka8 24.Ka4 Kb7 25.Ka5 f4 26.Ka4 Ka8 27.Ka3 Kb7 28.Ka2 Ka8 29.Ka1 Kb7 30.Ba2 Ka8 31.Kb1 Kb7 32.Kc1 Ka8 33.Kd1 Kb7 34.Bb1 Ka8 35.Ke1 Kb7 36.Kf2 Ka8 37.Kf1 Kb7 38.Ke1 Ka8 39.Ba2 Kb7 40.Kd1 Ka8 41.Kc1 Kb7 42.Kb1 Ka8 43.Ka1 Kb7 44.Bb1 Ka8 45.Ka2 Kb7 46.Ka3 Ka8 47.Ka4 Kb7 48.Ka5 f6 49.Ka4 Ka8 50.Ka3 Kb7 51.Ka2 Ka8 52.Ka1 Kb7 53.Ba2 Ka8 54.Kb1 Kb7 55.Kc1 Ka8 56.Kd1 Kb7 57.Bb1 Ka8 58.Ke1 Kb7 59.Kf2 Ka8 60.Kf1 Kb7 61.Ke1 Ka8 62.Ba2 Kb7 63.Kd1 Ka8 64.Kc1 Kb7 65.Kb1 Ka8 66.Ka1 Kb7 67.Bb1 Ka8 68.Ka2 Kb7 69.Ka3 Ka8 70.Ka4 Kb7 71.Ka5 f5 72.Ka4 Ka8 73.Ka3 Kb7 74.Ka2 Ka8 75.Ka1 Kb7 76.Ba2 Ka8 77.Kb1 Kb7 78.Kc1 Ka8 79.Bb1 Kb7 80.Kd1 Ka8 81.Ke1 Kb7 82.Kf1 Ka8 83.Kf2 Kb7 84.Ke1 Ka8 85.Ba2 Kb7 86.Kd1 Ka8 87.Kc1 Kb7 88.Kb1 Ka8 89.Ka1 Kb7 90.Bb1 Ka8 91.Ka2 Kb7 92.Ka3 Ka8 93.Ka4 Kb7 94.Ka5 h6 95.Ka4 Ka8 96.Ka3 Kb7 97.Ka2 Ka8 98.Ka1 Kb7 99.Ba2 Ka8 100.Kb1 Kb7 101.Kc1 Ka8 102.Bb1 Kb7 103.Kd1 Ka8 104.Ba2 Kb7 105.Ke1 Ka8 106.Bb1 Kb7 07.Kf1 Ka8 108.Kf2 Kb7 109.Ke1 Ka8 110.Ba2 Kb7 111.Kd1 Ka8 112.Kc1 Kb7 113.Kb1 Ka8 114.Ka1 Kb7 115.Bb1 Ka8 116.Ka2 Kb7 117.Ka3 Ka8 118.Ka4 Kb7 119.Ka5 h5 120.Ka4 Ka8 121.Ka3 Kb7 122.Ka2 Ka8 123.Ka1 Kb7 124.Ba2 Ka8 125.Kb1 Kb7 126.Kc1 Ka8 127.Kd1 Kb7 128.Ke1 Ka8 129.Bb1 Kb7 130.Kf2 Ka8 131.Kf1 Kb7 132.Ke1 Ka8 133.Ba2 Kb7 134.Kd1 Ka8 135.Kc1 Kb7 136.Kb1 Ka8 137.Ka1 Kb7 138.Bb1 Ka8 139.Ka2 Kb7 140.Ka3 Ka8 141.Ka4 Kb7 142.Ka5 h4 143.Ka4 Ka8 144.Ka3 Kb7 145.Ka2 Ka8 146.Ka1 Kb7 147.Ba2 Ka8 148.Kb1 Kb7 149.Kc1 Ka8 150.Bb1 Kb7 151.Kd1 Ka8 152.Ke1 Kb7 153.Kf2 Ka8 154.Kf1 Kb7 155.Ke1 Ka8 156.Ba2 Kb7 157.Kd1 Ka8 158.Kc1 Kb7 159.Kb1 Ka8 160.Ka1 Kb7 161.Bb1 Ka8 162.Ka2 Kb7 163.Ka3 Ka8 164.Ka4 Kb7 165.Ka5 h3 166.Ka4 Ka8 167.Ka3 Kb7 168.Ka2 Ka8 169.Ka1 Kb7 170.Ba2 Ka8 171.Kb1 Kb7 172.Kc1 Ka8 173.Kd1 Kb7 174.Bb1 Ka8 175.Ke1 Kb7 176.Kf2 Ka8 177.Kf1 Kb7 178.Ke1 Ka8 179.Ba2 Kb7 180.Kd1 Ka8 181.Kc1 Kb7 182.Kb1 Ka8 183.Ka1 Kb7 184.Bb1 Ka8 185.Ka2 Kb7 186.Ka3 Ka8 187.Ka4 Kb7 188.Ka5 Kc8 189.Ka6 Kd8 190.b7 Nd7 191.Bxf3 Ke7 192.b8=Q Nxb8+ 193.Bxb8 d3 194.cxd3 h1=Q 195.Bxh1 Ke6 196.b6 f3 197.Bxf3 Kd7 198.b7 c2 199.Bxc2 f4 200.Bxf4 h2 201.b8=Q h1=Q 202.Bxh1 Ke7 203.Bd5 Kd7 204.Bc7 Ke7 205.Qd8# 1-0

[zullil]

Stockefish 2.0.1 crashes upon receiving your FEN.

No crash here with Stockfish-2.0.1 or 2.1.1.

[mcostalba]

Stockefish 2.0.1 crashes upon receiving your FEN.

You have mistyped the FEN

Code: Select all

Searching: 8/Bk3p1p/1P3p2/KP2n2p/1P1p4/1Pp2p2/B1P5/7B w - - 0 1
infinite: 0 ponder: 0 time: 0 increment: 0 moves to go: 0
 1   +4.16   00:00      35  Bb1 
 2   +3.47   00:00      66  Bb1 h4 
 3   +3.35   00:00     126  Bb1 h4 Ba2 
 4   +2.22   00:00     271  Bb1 h4 Bxf3+ Nxf3 
 5   +2.10   00:00     434  Bb1 h4 Bxf3+ Nxf3 Ba2 
 6   +1.49   00:00     887  Bb1 h4 Ba2 d3 Bxf3+ Nxf3 
 7   +0.40   00:00    2595  Bb1 h4 Ka4 h3 Ka5 h2 Ka4 d3 cxd3 f5 
 8   +0.28   00:00    3883  Bb1 h4 Ka4 h3 Ka5 h2 Ka4 h6 Ka3 h5 Ka4 d3 cxd3 
 9   +0.28   00:00    4855  Bb1 h4 Ka4 h3 Ka5 h2 Ka4 h6 Ka5 h5 Ka4 h4 Ka5 d3 
10   +0.28   00:00    7414  Bb1 h4 Ka4 h3 Ka5 h2 Ka4 h6 Ka5 h5 Ka4 h4 Ka5 d3 
                            cxd3 
11   +0.36   00:00    9580  Bb1 h4 Ka4 h3 Ka5 h2 Ka4 h6 Ka5 h5 Ka4 h4 Ka5 f5 
                            Ba2 d3 
12   +0.24   00:00   17151  Bb1 h4 Ka4 h3 Ka5 h2 Ka4 h6 Ka5 h5 Ka4 h4 Ka5 f5 
                            Ka4 h3 Ka5 f6 Ka4 d3 cxd3 c2 
13   +0.32   00:00   21297  Bb1 h4 Ka4 h3 Ka5 h2 Ka4 h6 Ka5 h5 Ka4 h4 Ka5 f5 
                            Ka4 h3 Ka5 f6 Ka4 f4 Ka5 f5 Ba2 d3 
14   +0.32   00:00   23510  Bb1 h4 Ka4 h3 Ka5 h2 Ka4 h6 Ka5 h5 Ka4 h4 Ka5 f5 
                            Ka4 h3 Ka5 f6 Ka4 f4 Ka5 f5 Ba2 d3 
15   +0.00   00:00   57067  Bb1 h4 Ka4 h3 Ka5 h2 Ka4 h6 Ka5 h5 Ka4 Ka8 Ka5 Kb7 
16   +0.00   00:00   60931  Bb1 h4 Ka4 h3 Ka5 h2 Ka4 h6 Ka5 h5 Ka4 Ka8 Ka5 Kb7 
17   +0.00   00:00   67106  Bb1 h4 Ka4 h3 Ka5 h2 Ka4 h6 Ka5 h5 Ka4 Ka8 Ka5 Kb7 
18   +0.00   00:00   75514  Bb1 h4 Ka4 h3 Ka5 h2 Ka4 h6 Ka5 h5 Ka4 Ka8 Ka5 Kb7 
19   +0.00   00:00   86588  Bb1 h4 Ka4 h3 Ka5 h2 Ka4 h6 Ka5 h5 Ka4 Ka8 Ka5 Kb7 
20   +0.00   00:00  118174  Bb1 h4 Ka4 h3 Ka5 h2 Ka4 h6 Ka5 h5 Ka4 Ka8 Ka5 Kb7 
21   +0.00   00:00  156917  Bb1 h4 Ka4 h3 Ka5 h2 Ka4 Ka8 Ka3 Kb7 Ka4 
22   +0.00   00:00  197643  Bb1 h4 Ka4 h3 Ka5 h2 Ka4 Ka8 Ka3 Kb7 Ka4 
23   +0.00   00:00  242352  Bb1 h4 Ka4 h3 Ka5 h2 Ka4 Ka8 Ka3 Kb7 Ka4 
24   +3.96   00:09   9372K  Bb1 f5 Ka4 f4 Ka3 Ka8 Ka2 Kb7 Ka1 f6 Ba2 h4 Kb1 Ka8 
                            Kc1 Kb7 Kd1 h3 Bb1 h2 Ke1 h6 Kf2 f5 Ke1 h5 Kf2 Ka8 
                            Kf1 Kb7 Ke1 Ka8 Kf2 Kb7 Kf1 Ka8 Kf2 
25   +3.96   00:09   9393K  Bb1 f5 Ka4 f4 Ka3 Ka8 Ka2 Kb7 Ka1 f6 Ba2 h4 Kb1 Ka8 
                            Kc1 Kb7 Kd1 h3 Bb1 h2 Ke1 h6 Kf2 f5 Ke1 h5 Kf2 Ka8 
                            Kf1 Kb7 Ke1 Ka8 Kf2 Kb7 Kf1 Ka8 Kf2 
26   +3.96   00:10  10256K  Bb1 f5 Ka4 f4 Ka3 Ka8 Ka2 Kb7 Ka1 f6 Ba2 h4 Kb1 Ka8 
                            Kc1 Kb7 Kd1 h3 Bb1 h2 Ke1 h6 Kf2 f5 Ke1 h5 Kf2 Ka8 
                            Kf1 Kb7 Ke1 Ka8 Kf2 Kb7 Kf1 Ka8 Kf2 
27   +3.96   00:10  10817K  Bb1 f5 Ka4 f4 Ka3 Ka8 Ka2 Kb7 Ka1 f6 Ba2 h4 Kb1 Ka8 
                            Kc1 Kb7 Kd1 h3 Bb1 h2 Ke1 h6 Kf2 f5 Ke1 Ka8 Kf1 Kb7 
                            Kf2 h5 Kf1 d3 cxd3 h4 d4 
28   +4.04   00:13  13414K  Bb1 f5 Ka4 f4 Ka3 Ka8 Ka2 Kb7 Ka1 f6 Ba2 h4 Kb1 h3 
                            Kc1 h2 Bb1 Ka8 Kd1 Kb7 Ke1 Ka8 Kf2 f5 Ke1 Kb7 Kf1 
                            Ka8 Kf2 Kb7 Ke1 Ka8 Kf1 h5 Ke1 Kb7 Kf2 Ka8 Ba2 Kb7 
                            Bb1 
29   +4.04   00:13  14135K  Bb1 f5 Ka4 f4 Ka3 Ka8 Ka2 Kb7 Ka1 f6 Ba2 h4 Kb1 h3 
                            Kc1 h2 Bb1 Ka8 Kd1 Kb7 Ke1 Ka8 Kf2 f5 Ke1 Kb7 Kf1 
                            Ka8 Kf2 Kb7 Ke1 Ka8 Kf1 h5 Ke1 Kb7 Kf2 Ka8 Ba2 Kb7 
                            Bb1 
30   +4.04   00:15  15773K  Bb1 f5 Ka4 f4 Ka3 Ka8 Ka2 Kb7 Ka1 f6 Ba2 h4 Kb1 h3 
                            Kc1 h2 Bb1 Ka8 Kd1 Kb7 Ke1 Ka8 Kf2 f5 Ke1 Kb7 Kf1 
                            Ka8 Kf2 Kb7 Ke1 Ka8 Kf1 h5 Ke1 Kb7 Kf2 Ka8 Ke1 

[Alexander Schmidt]

Will any engine ever solve this?

Yes! I searched this position for years. I remember a Yace version solving that position with an anouncement of the correct mate. Unfortunatgely I don't remember the version number and if there where some changed settings.

I have only the 0.99.56, 0.99.87 and Paderborn.

Maybe someone can try some older versions

Alex

[JohnS]

Will any engine ever solve this?

Yes! I searched this position for years. I remember a Yace version solving that position with an anouncement of the correct mate. Unfortunatgely I don't remember the version number and if there where some changed settings.

I have only the 0.99.56, 0.99.87 and Paderborn.

Maybe someone can try some older versions

Alex

I'm amazed that Yace found it. I didn't think any engine had such a high maximum depth. This position from the old Computer Chess Reports shows the max depth an engine can get. Which engines go past 100 ply?

[D]4b1k1/3p1p1p/3P1PpP/6P1/1p6/pPp1p3/P1P1P3/1K1B4 w - - 0 1