Black to move and Black’s pawn is 2 squares from Queening. Is this a win, draw, or loss for Black? How should Black proceed?
8/2K5/8/8/4B2P/pk6/8/8 b – – 0 3
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Important endgame improvement
About Author
kc4=
Looks kile Black can draw by 1… Kc4 2. Bb1 Kc5, etc.
Looks like Black can draw by 1… Kc4 2.Bb1 Kd5, etc.
It’s a loss for Black if Kc4 is played. White uses the bishop to blockade the pawn with 1.Kc4 Bb1 2.Kc3 h5 3.Kb2 Ba2 4.Kxa2 h6 5.Kb1 h7 6.a2 h8=Q +-
To me the Kc4 looks like the only try that Black has to stop Bd5 attacking the a2 square and queening the h pawn.
Please tell me if I’m wrong?
Kb4 wins
Kc4 loses
1. …Kb4! draws for Black.
Bule
Kc4=
I just end up with losses for black. Kc4 can be replied with Bishop to B2, and white can move his pawn.
or?
Funny one! 🙂
If the black king could get to h8, the position is drawn because it is the wrong bishop for the h-pawn to queen.
After 1 .. Kc4? 2 Kd6! Kd4 3 Bd5 a2 4 Bxa2 Ke4 5 Be6! Kf4 6 Kd5 the black king must retreat to the third rank and the h-pawns marches in.
The same position arises even if .. a2 is played earlier.
But 1 .. Kb4! seems to draw.
If 2 Bb1 Kc3! (threatens Kb2) 3 Ba2 Kd4 4 Kd6 Ke4 5 Be6 a2 6 Bxa2 Kf5 the black king can either grab the pawn or head for the corner.
In the same way, 2 Bd5 Kc5 3 Be6 Kd4 4 Kd6 (4 h5 Ke5) Ke4 5 h5 a2 6 Bxa2 Kf5 black is saved.
kc4 kd6
if I play White, I win, if I play Black I win, if I don’t play it’s a draw
Black’s King has to reach h8 and g7 squares ahead of the White King to move back and forth to secure a draw. Black needs to sacrifice the a-pawn to gain a tempo to catch up the h-pawn and reach those two dream squares. The game will most likely end in a DRAW!
1….a2
2.Bd5+ Kc3
3.Bxa2 Kd4=
Kc4 is a draw but cant find a win if there is one.
with Kc4 – white needs to play Bb1 and then king comes back at kb3 and kb2 to pick the bishop while white moves its h pawn. both pawns queen together => draw.
rb
looks like kb4 is the move, great analysis by asbjorn
The key is the e4 square. As long as black can drive the bishop off of the b1/h7 diagonal, while staying just ahead of the white king, he should be able to draw this by beating white to h8 corner. He can gain two tempi by forcing white to capture on a2.
1. ….Kc4
2. Kd6 Kd4?
3. Bb1 and black can neither queen his pawn nor stop the h-pawn since the e5 and e4 squares are unavailable to his king as demonstrated:
3. ….Ke3
4. h5 Kf4
5. h6 Kg5
6. h7 and wins, and the alternate line:
3. ….Kc3
4. Ba2 Kb2
5. Bg8 wins, too. So, at move 2:
1. ….Kc4
2. Kd6 a2! (white loses 2 tempi)
3. Bd5 Kd4
4. Ba2 Ke4 (black gets the square)
5. Ke6 Kf4 (white loses 3rd tempo)
6. h5 Kg5
7. Bf7 Kh6 and this is a draw since white has the wrong-colored bishop.
Kb4 loses:
1. ….Kb4
2. Kd6 Kc4
3. Ke6 Kd4
4. Bb1 and the black king is in the same hole as before.
Kb4 lights a fire under the black kings wop wop and sends him flying to the draw forcing bd5 then kc5 be6 kd4 kd6 ke4 h5 a2 bxa2 kf5 and we reach a well known draw
I find these riddles very fun, but since i’m bad at chess, i would like to get the solution in the end. Does Susan publish the solution?