Arikstotle wrote:
Actually, the losing side will never be interested in the "accuracy" of prolonging the game but instead attempt to lure his opponent into making a mistake. Rather play a move that enables white to mate in 5 but also to make a stalemate error, than fight on for 20 moves without another such chance.
I totally agree that this is the better strategy in a game of chess (in this endgame particularly). but ...
Whenever the DP editor selects a black defense which allows a nice mate, they are criticized as black could have escaped by sacriicing a rook.
I also sympathise with the criticisms, because a puzzle is not a game of chess.
I like the position by the way. I'm working on a Wikipedia update to this endgame and was planning to include a counterpart to the "stalemate trap" with pieces reversed but this one is nicer than the one I came up with. Would it be OK to include it in my update? I could give an attribution but I don't know whether "Arikstotle" would be the best - do you publish under the same pseudonym?
In the above diagram after 1.Bc7+ you would regard 1...Kc8 and 1...Ke8 as equally accurate, and the first leads to the mate shown. If distance to mate is ignored then one can argue that if Black plays 1...Ke8 then White can mate him (sometime, somewhere) and he is therefore forced to play 1.Kc8, making the position I showed a forced mate, but it wouldn't be regarded as such by the community at large.
I would first of all say that the concept of "accuracy" is meaningless here, unless there is a threat to collide with 50M or the skill level of the white player is in question. Black might play ..Kc8, ..Ke8 but also ..Kc7, ..Ke1, resign, walk off, slap the pieces off the board, all with the same outcome.
When two moves are equal in some respect - here accuracy - does not imply they are equal in all other respects - like forcing mates -, in the same way that two women considered equally beautiful does not imply that they have the same hair colour.
Actually, the losing side will never be interested in the "accuracy" of prolonging the game but instead attempt to lure his opponent into making a mistake. Rather play a move that enables white to mate in 5 but also to make a stalemate error, than fight on for 20 moves without another such chance. This is the never ending discussion on the Daily Puzzle (that's how low we sunk). Whenever the DP editor selects a black defense which allows a nice mate, they are criticized as black could have escaped by sacriicing a rook. This is ridiculous. Black will lose anyway in a normal course of events but he may get lucky if white misses the single opportunity to checkmate. White would get tons of opportunities to win with the rook up.
As an illustration a variation on your diagram: