Abdel Irada: <<•> ...Not to be shredded by a gull <•>>If computers enjoy one perfection, it is their pragmatism. With the ego-free clarity of the automaton, Shredder calculated that it could not, barring an extremely improbable blunder, win this game. But it did find a way not to lose, and in the process produced a piece of art.
It is meant as no disparagement when I say that this puzzle more resembles a composition by Sam Loyd than a practical endgame.
Sometimes, it seems, the laws and rigors of necessity are the most artistic of craftsmen.
White begins with a move that may be an example of interference. Or enticement. Or deflection. Or mere binary diabolism.
<<•> 46. Bb3! ... >
This is the prettiest move I've seen in some time. At a stroke it (momentarily) freezes all of Black's nasty threats, invites Black into error, and at worst forces a draw.
Black can do one of three things:
(1) Take the bishop with its queen.
(2) Take the bishop with its knight.
(3) Retreat the queen (to b5 or c6).
Let's consider them in order.
< (1) 46. ...Qxb3 >
Black has opened itself to attack. By relinquishing control of e8, it offers White the latter's only *winning* possibilities.
< 47. Re8†, Kc7 >
Losing are (a) 47. ...Ka7? 48. Qd7†, Ka6 49. Ra8# and (b) 47. ...Kb7? 48. Qc8†, Ka7 49. Re7#.
Here I spent much time analyzing continuations for White, and eventually decided on pragmatism. Neither 48. Qc8† nor 48. Rc8† appears to force a win, so we will settle for not losing.
< 48. Re7†, Kb8 = >
Black will lose if it tries to win: (c) 48. ...Kd8/c6/d6? 49. Qd7#. It must therefore accept this draw by <perpetual check>.
More remarkable is the way the game ends in our second line.
< (2) 46. ...Nxb3
47. Qf4†!, gxf4 >
This is forced, for allowing 48. Qf8† would be deadly. But now, after
< 48. Rb7†! = >,
we have a <wild rook> draw. White's rook will simply continue shuttling across the seventh rank, giving check, and if ever Black should take the rook (with king or queen), White will be <stalemated>.
< (3) 46. ...Qb5 >
Here Black declines the bishop but keeps his threats alive, but White has a surprise rejoinder.
< 47. Bc4! = >
And now we have yet another sort of draw: <repetition>. Black has nothing better to do than return the queen to a4, whereupon White will return the bishop to b3.
You may have noticed I haven't yet discussed what happens if Black retreats the queen to a "safe" square.
Safety, however, can be illusory, as seen in (d) 46. ...Qc6? 47. Qxg5 
. The queen is safe, but it is also not threatening anything, and now White's threats on the back rank are far more immediate than Black's counterplay.
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The collective term for seagulls, incidentally, is a "squabble." Anyone who's ever watched them converging on food being thrown up for grabs will know exactly why. And when they get hold of a piece of raw meat, the demolition of the latter under their beaks during the ensuing feeding frenzy would give pause to a school of piranhas.
You may imagine why Shredder spun magic here to deliver itself from a like fate.
Kibitzing
