A Beautiful Troitsky Chess Study

The Study

The following position is a famous chess study.
This is White to move, and we have to find a way to draw. At first glance this looks hopeless, as the not only is the knight being attacked but also the d pawn is far advanced. The solution is a very beautiful one, and I want you to not look any further. Try and solve it on your own.

Solution

Have you solved it? In case you accidentally scrolled too far, I'll reveal the solution a little down the page.

The first move is the astonishing Nc6!! We do not care about the d4 pawn by playing Kg1, the only way to stop the pawn. Now we are letting the pawn promote. After d3 we play Nxa7! After d2 Nb5 d1Q we play Nc3! (see below).
What is unbelievable is that stockfish gives this position 0.0. Why? Our next move is going to be Ne4, setting up an indestructible fortress. The Black king is stuck on the edge and g3# will always be a constant threat. For example, after Qd6 Kh1 black has to address Ne4 and g3, and so Black must go for a perpetual. If black does not give a check, say Qa1 white will go Ne4.
The King will alternate between h2 and h1 if any checks arise. It is not safe to go to g1 due to exposure of the g1-a7 diagonal. Now in this position g3# is a huge threat, and as we can see Black cannot really make any progress. Black has to pin the pawn with Qa2 or b2 or sac the queen along the back rank for stalemate.

Conclusion

That concludes this blog on analysing a famous and beautiful chess study. If you want to look at this study in full: