My first thought is Qe4, with the possible line of 1. ... Rh2 (other lines lead to the same place) 2. Rxc2 Rxc2 3. Kd1 Ka1 4. Qa4+ Kb1 5. Qxc2+ Ka1 and white brings the king around to win the b-pawn with the K&Q. Is that the solution?
Beautiful Position from a Game I played
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Rxc2 Rxc2 Qd3 a simple pin
Feather-ism wrote:
Rxc2 Rxc2 Qd3 a simple pin
Not really...after Rxc2 Rxc2 Qd3 Ka1 the b-pawn threatens to queen.
Qxd2 and Qe4 both work. After 1.Qxd2 1.c1(Q)+ 2.Qd1 2.Qxd1 3.Kxd1 3.Ka2(Ka1 fails to Ra8+, Rb8, Kc2 with checkmate to follow.) 4.Ra8+ 4.Kb3 5.Rb8+ and the b pawn will get gobbled. Qe4 is more complicated but should still win thanks to some nice pins and checks.
Edit: And a checkmate threat should black be foolhardy enough to move his king onto the a-file.
I reached this position after a grueling 63 moves in a game yesterday against a far superior opponent. I was running very low on time but could not find a win. I'm honestly not sure I could have found the win if I had adequate clock. It's a tough position. It's white to move and win. I showed the position to a player rated around 2200 and he could not find the win either. The solution is very simple and easy to overlook.