An extraordinary win in a precarious situation December 27, 2008
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White to play and win

For our third puzzle, we have an endgame study: White to play and win. Material is roughly equal, but White has an h-pawn on the verge of promotion. On the other hand, the white king is very exposed, and if Black is allowed to start checking then he will have at least perpetual check (indeed, at the moment ...Qc5+ would force mate). Therefore White must take vigorous action against Black’s counterplay before he can consider promoting the h-pawn.

To help you out, I will tell you that Q v B+N is generally won, while Q v 2N is generally drawn. Even if Black has an additional pawn, these verdicts may not change.

Problems selected and annotated by John Nunn.
The solutions to all puzzles will be published at the end of the series (after January 1st).
Please do not send in solutions after each problem is published.