White to move. How should white proceed?
Source: ChessToday.net
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Classic endgame
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White to move. How should white proceed?
Source: ChessToday.net
Hi Susan Polgar,
Ref: 8/5kp1/7p/4Pp1P/8/6K1/6P1/8
=======
Well,To me,this puzzle leads to a draw : if both players are good at chess.
If immediate previous move of black is “f5” – then white now can imply(If preferred) “file en- passant” rule of chess,still the game leads towards draw.
By
Venky [ India – Chennai ]
1Kf3 Distant opposition.
1Kf4? g6 2hxg6+ (2 g3 Kg7 3hxg6+ Kxg6 with same result)Kxg6 3 g3 h5 4e6 Kf6 5e7 Kxe7 6 Kxf5 kf7 draw
1…. g6
2hxg6+ Kxg6
3Kf4 h5
4g3 Kg7
5Kxf5 Kf7
6kg5 Ke6
7Kxh5 Kxe5
8g4 Kf6
9Kh6 Kf7
10 g5 Kg8
12 Kh7 and wins
If white defends his pawn too soon (1.Kf4), white will lose the pawn (after 1…Ke6)
So, 1.Kf3 Ke6 2.Kf4 Ke5 3.Kxf5 (wins for white).
Or, 1.Kf3 g6 2.hxg6 Kxg6 3.g3 h5 4.Kf4 wins for white.
But, 1.Kf3 Ke7 2.Kg3 Kf7 appears to be a draw.
From Michael,
There really are only two viable looking moves for white here- Kf4 and Kf3 since any other move is just going to drop the passed e-pawn. I have always thought that the best way to study this sort of position is to look carefully at the wrong move first (I will often enough do this by accident, but not this time):
1. Kf4?
Now, what are the features of this position? First, white is attacking the unprotected f-pawn. Secondly, there are only two moves for black to protect this pawn. Thirdly, white has waiting moves in reserve with the g-pawn. Now, let’s look at black’s replies here, starting again with the wrong one:
1. …..Ke6?
2. g3
This waiting move kills black’s f or g-pawn:
2. …..Kf7 (g6/5 3.hg6+-)
3. Kf5 and black will lose the other two pawns or allow the e-pawn to queen. Much better at move 1:
1. …..g6 (g5 2.Kf5+-)
2. hg6
White cannot win with g3: [2.g3 Kg7! (2. …gh5? 3.Kf5+-) 3.hg6 (or 3.e6 Kf6! 4.hg6 Ke6!=) 3. …Kg6 4.e6 Kf6 5.e7 Ke7 6.Kf5 Kf7 7.g4 Kg7=]. Continuing:
2. …..Kg6 and this is transposition into the previous side note which is a draw.
So, now let’s look at the best move for white at move 1:
1. Kf3! Ke6
I will cover the alternatives below. Continuing:
2. Kf4! g6 (Kf7 3.Kf5+-)
3. hg6 h5
4. g3 and black is in zugzwang (already was, but it is now explicit).
Or at move 1:
1. …..g6
2. hg6! Kg7 (one last trick)
Here, Kg6 still loses: [2. …Kg6 3.Kf4 h5 (or 3. …Kf7 4.Kf5+-) 4.g3! Kf7 5.Kf5+-]. Continuing:
3. Ke3!
Important not to play Kf4 here: [3.Kf4? Kg6! 4.g3 (or 4.e6 Kf6 5.e7 Ke7 6.Kf5 Kf7=) 4. …h5! 5.e6 (or 5.Kf3 Kf7 6.Kf4 Kg6=) 5. …Kf6 6.e7 Ke7 7.Kf5 h4!! 8.gh4 Kf7 and white can’t queen a rook’s pawn here]. Continuing:
3. …..h5
We have already seen the positions that arise after 3. …Kg6 4.Kf4, and 3. …f4 4.Kf4 Kg6 5.g3 wins easily for white. Continuing:
4. Kf4 Kg6 (nothing else now)
5. g3 and black must either give up the f-pawn or the h-pawn and the game, too.
Or, at move 1:
1. …..Ke7
2. Kf4 Ke6 (g6/g5 3.hg6+-)
3. g3 and white will win easily as shown above.
1. Kf4 seems to be the only move for white.
Now if
1. … Ke6
2. g3 g6
3. hxg
and black cannot stop g-pawn from queening.
Therefore
1. … g6
this seems to be a draw, but I am unable to say for sure. Any other options here?
i think, the white king should move to d3, and then to c5, always ready to jump to d5 or f5, as soon as the black king enters e6. i don’t see any active counterplan for black, but i haven’t been checking very long. 🙂
greets, jan
The white king will force its way to d5, if necessary through c4,
let’s eliminate some lines:
1. Kf3 g6
2. hxg6 Kxg6
3. Kf4 h5
4. g3
and black loses the f5 pawn, and loses.
1. Kf3 Ke7
(if 1… Ke6 2. Kf4 and the f5 pawn falls)
2. Ke3 Kd7
3. Kd3 Ke7 (3… Kc7, 4. Kf4)
4. Kc4 Ke6
5. Kd4 Ke7
6. Kd5 Kd7 (other alternatives also fail)
7. e6+ Ke7
8. Ke5
wins
Well since this is a test the Kf4 must not be the answer, since it would be the obvious first try,
so Kf3 is probably the correct move.
Let’s look.
At first, it seems that is an easy pawn ending.
But we know since long that there isn’t such a think as an easy pawn ending. (cf the last puzzle with a busted Troitzky study!!)
Before looking at lengthy manoeuvres like Kf3-e3-d4, how about the immediate attack of the weak f pawn by Kf4?
Starting analysis:
1. Kf4 Ke6 (one of the two ways of defending the pawn)
and now…
2. g3 places Black in zugzwang.
2… g6 (the best)
3. hxg6
This is a well-known situation. the two pawns although not connected defends each other by holding squares (f6 and f7 are under attack), so, if black wants to attack the g6 pawn, he must play Ke7-f8-g7. But when he’ll reach f8, White will play e6, and if say Kg7, e7 and the e pawn will queen. Ke7 is met by g7 with a symmetrical sanction. This position of pawns is so powerful that White will win even with his King on d1!!
Here, the win is assured speedier, because Black is forced, in order not to lose his f pawn, to play
3…h5 which creates a hole.
4. Kg5 followed by Kxh5 and Kh6 with easy win.
Now the other defense:
1…g6
we can try
2. e6+ Kxe6
3. hxg6 Kf6
4. g7 Kxg7
5. Kxf5
but the ending is dead draw after the only move
5…Kf7
and after
6. g4
black has the choice between the technical
6…Kg7
or the whimsical
6…h5!
So, 2.e6+ is a loss
How about 2.hxg6?
Same fiasco after
2… Kxg6
3. e6 Kf6
4. e7 Kxe7
5. Kxf5 Kf7
and the same as above: dead draw.
But we can build a zugzwang position again with
2. g3!! and we have two variations:
2…g5+ and the trickier 2…gxh5
On
2…g5+
3. Kxf5 Ke7
and now the cleaner
4. e6 g4 (else 5…Kf6)
5. Ke5 wins easily
Why
2…gxh5
is trickier?
Because, in this variation, Black could try to push …h4 and transform the White g pawn into an useless h pawn. So, more care is needed.
3. Kxf5 h4 (black goes ahead with his plan. If his king moved, Ke6 or Kg6 will follow accordingly)
4. gxh4 h5
5. Kg5 (not the only winning move)
5…Ke6
6. Kxh5 Kxe5
7. Kg6 and the h pawn will queen.
Main themes: trébuchet, zugzwang, tempo move (with g3)
(A few hours later)
I was very glad to analyse this pawn ending, and, before posting this text, checked with the actual game and an engine.
I know, I know, I’ll never do that again…
There IS a tremendous hole in my analysis, easily spotted by Houdini.
Which one?
Hi Susan Polgar,
Ref : 8/5kp1/7p/4Pp1P/8/6K1/6P1/8
Well,this game leads towards draw,if both players are good at chess.If any one commits mistake and fails to recover from it then the other will win.
Okay let me give examples to support my words.
Example one
=========== [ When both players
are good at chess ]
1.Kf4 g6
2.e6 K*e6
3.h*g Kf6
4.g7 K*g7
5.K*f5 Kh7
6.g3 Kg7
7.Kg4 Kg7
8.Kh5 Kh7
9.g4 Kg7
10.g5 h*g
11.K*g5 – Game ends in draw.
Example Two
===========[ If Black comments mistake,white wins the game ]
1.Kc4 Ke6[ Black commits mistake]
2.g3 Kf7
3.K*f5 Ke7
4.e6 Kd6
5.g4 Ke7
6.g5 h*g
7.K*g5 K*e6
8.Kg6 Ke7
9.K*g7 Ke6
10.h6 Kf5
11.h7 Ke5
12.h8(Q) Kd5
13.Kf6 Ke4
14.Ke6 Kf4
15.Qh5 Ke4
16.Qe5+ Kd3
17.Qf4 Ke2
18.Ke5 Kd3
19.Kd5 Kc3
20.Qd4+ Kc2
21.Kc4 Kb2
22.Qc3+ Ka2
23.Qc2+ Ka1
24.Qh2 Kb1
25.Kc3 Ka1
26.Qb2++ Mate [ White wins the game.]
Example Three
=============[ If White commits mistake then recovers,so the game leads to stale mate ]
1.Kc4 g6
2.e6+ K*e6
3.g4[White commits mistake] f*g
4.K*g4 Kf6[Black’s clever move]
5.Kh4 Kg7
6.Kg4 g*h
7.K*h5 Kh7
8.Kh4[White decides to recover and end the game in stale mate,if done mistake at this stage White would have lost the game ] Kg6
9.Kg4 h5+
10.Kh4 Kh6
11.Kg3 Kg5
12.Kh3 h4
13.Kg2 Kg4
14.Kh2 h3
15.Kg2 Kg3
16.Kh1 h2 [ Stale mate ]
By
Venky [ India – Chennai ]