This was a game between WGM Muzychuk and GM Sulskis It is White to move. Is this a win, loss or draw? How should White proceed?
8/p4p2/3p2p1/2k4p/1pP1KPPP/1P6/P7/8 w – – 0 4
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
King and Pawn endgame improvement
I say the position is a draw. I think black should advance his d5 pawn. Of course I just woke up and I am still sleepy, I wouldn’t bet my lunch money on my answer.
WCM Claudia Munoz
womancandidatemaster.blogspost.com
1.a3 clearly loses.
1.g5 a6 and White’s king must abandon its dominant position.
1.K any allows 1…d5, dissolving the iso and bringing Black’s king into the center.
“When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”
My gut instinct is to play g5 a6, f5 gf5+ (a5, f6 a4 maybe), Kf5
1.f5 hxg4 2.fxg6 fxg6 3.Kf4 d5 (4.cxd5 Kxd5 5.Kxg4 Ke6 6.Kg5 Kf7 7.Kh6 Kf6 8.Kh7 Kf7=) 4.Kxg4 dxc4 (4.-d4? 5.Kf4) 5.bxc4 a5 6.Kg5 a4 7.Kxg6 a3 8.h5 b3 9.axb3 a2 10.h6 a1Q -+
1.f5 hxg4 2.fxg6 fxg6 3.Kf4 d5 (4.cxd5 Kxd5 5.Kxg4 Ke6 6.Kg5 Kf7 7.Kh6 Kf6 8.Kh7 Kf7=) 4.Kxg4 dxc4 (4.-d4? 5.Kf4) 5.bxc4 a5 6.Kg5 a4 7.Kxg6 a3 8.h5 b3 9.axb3 a2 10.h6 a1Q -+
Instead of 2.fxg6, try 2.Kf4.
Indeed, this is a great example where you might think White has only two sensible moves (not counting the retreat Kf3? as sensible), but if you know your Nimzovich and Kmoch, you may more quickly spot the third possibility.
To continue the thread, after 1.f5 gxh4 2.Kf4, how do you continue after 2…g3!?, and what is the point of not playing 2.fxg6?
I believe it is a win for white
1.g5 a5
[1….a6 2.f5 a5 3.f6 a4 4.bxa4 Kxc4 5.a5 d5+ 6.Ke5 Kb5(6…..d4 7.a6 d3 8.a7 d2 9.a8=Q d1=Q 10.Qc6+ Kd3 11.Qd6+ Ke2 12.Qxd1+ Kxd1 13.Kd4 Kc2 14.Kc4(The black b-pawn goes and then the black king runs for the f7 pawn.))7.Kxd5 Kxa5 8.Kc5(Zug)Ka4 9.Kb6 Ka3 10.Kb5 (Black wins a tempo on the previous alternative but black’s king still runs for f7 after grabbing b4)]
2.f5 a4 3.bxa4 Kxc4 4.fxg6 d5+ 5.Ke5 fxg6 6.a5 Kb5 (6….d4 loses a tempo)7.Kxd5 Kxa5 8.Kc5(Zug)Ka4 9.Kb6 Ka3 10.Kb5(The b-pawn is liquidated then the White King runs for the g-pawn.
Regards,
Dave Gordon
but the diagram says its black turn.
WCM Claudia Munoz
kid
opps it was white’s move. i just woke up when I answered. to my fellow kids, dont move if you just woke up.
WCM Claudia Munoz
kid
I think gxh5 wins for White.
I also think white is winning here, but i found another, forced line line.
1.gh5: gh5:
2.Kf5 Kd4 (after ..d5 3.cd5: Kd5: black looses a tempo)
3.Kf6 Kc3
4.Kf7: Kb2
5.Ke6 Ka2:
6. f5 Kb3:
7. f6 Ka2 (or somewhere else)
8. f7 b3
9. f8Q b2
10.Qf2 Ka1
11.Qb2: Kb2: (white queen is alsways able to cath this pawn, no matter where blacks king went in move 7)
12.Kd6: a5 (the second pawn-run!)
13. c5 a4
14. c6 a3
15. c7 a2
13. c8Q a1Q
14.Qh8+ Ka2
15.Qa1: Ka1:
and white´s king can win the pawn h5 and his own pawn will win the game!
Tobe
13.
After 1 f5 hxg4 2 Kf4 d5 ( g3 3 Kg3 also wins for white) 3 cd5 Kd5 4 Kxg4 the e6 square is not available for the black king, so black is lost.
David,
1.g5 a5
You’re right that this loses, but either 1…a6 or 1…Kc6 holds the draw.
1….a6 2.f5 a5
Why the hurry to spend all Black’s spare tempi? 2…Kc6 still draws.
Anon 2:09 & Tobe,
1.gxh5 gxh5 2.d5 Kd4? 3.Kf6! does indeed win for White, but 2…Kxd5 draws painlessly.
1.gxh5 gxh5 2.Kf5 Kd4? 3.Kf6! does indeed win for White, but 2…Kxd5 draws painlessly.
The curse of the dropped move-pair: of course that should be 2…d5 3.cxd5 Kxd5.
anon 2:47,
think you are right. Of course black will not go to queenside. If 4. Kf6 Ke4.
Much more easier is:
1.gh5:? f5+
2.Kd3 gh5:=
Tobe
1.gxh5 and thats my final answer.
WCM Claudia Munoz
I think it’s a draw.
Obviously 1.gxh5 draws because of 1…f5!, a simple in between move that keeps the White king out.
Then we have this 1.f5 line, where everyone wants to play 1…hxg4, which is losing for Black. But black is not required to play 1…hxg4 which allows the h-pawn to promote after either 2.Kf4 gxf5?? or 2.Kf4 Kd4 3.fxg6 fxg6 4.Kxg4 when the white king cannot be stopped from playing Kg5 and Kxg6.
So the only reasonable line to me is:
1.f5 a5! 2.gxh5 (now …f5 is impossible) gxh5 3.Kf4 Kd4 4.Kg5 Kc6 5.Kxh5 a4! 6.Kg5 axb3 7.axb3 Kxb3 8.h5 Ka2 9.h6 b3 10.h7 b2 11.h8Q b1Q
if 6.bxa4 Kxc4 the d pawn will run although this still be White’s best chance. Someone run with this.
Use a lifeline, Claudia. 1.gxh5? is only good for a draw after either 1…gxh5 2.Kf5 d5 3.cxd5 Kxd5 or 1…f5+ 2.Ke3 gxh5.
1.f5 a5! 2.gxh5 (now …f5 is impossible) gxh5 3.Kf4
3.f6! leaves Black in zugzwang.
I don’t get the 1. f5 a5! lines. I see Black as losing. For example:
1. f5 a5!
2. fxg6 fxg6
forced or white has a passed pawn on the 7th and black is completely lost
if 2. .. hxg5, then 3. gxf7 (or g7)
if 2. .. f5+, Kxf5 and black has no way to stop the g-pawn from promoting
3. gxh5 gxh5
and white’s king will pick up the black h-pawn, giving white a won position.
anon 12:29: Just because you add in the moves 2.fxg6 fxg6 this doesn’t really change the pawn race except you added a pair of moves. The analysis I gave above still stands it’s just one move later and there are no f pawns.
anon 4:35,
3…a4! keeps the game level
DK,
I don’t know that I’d go so far as to call the position “level,” but you’re certainly right that there’s more to it than my previous glib “3.f6! leaves Black in zugzwang.”
For the record, the game continued from the starting position:
33.f5 d5+
34.cxd5 hxg4
35.Kf4 1-0
The Poster Formerly Known As Anon 4:35
Indeed there is more here than meets the eye, and I believe one can prove a theoretical draw that no player at the board would ever go into! After White queens the c-pawn, Black would instead go into something very much like the famous Kasparov-World queen ending is reached, but with fewer chances to White. Yes you’ve read right, the c-pawn! Here is what seems to me to be best play by both sides, continuing on from some of the previous comments:
1. f5! hxg4 (Kmoch calls f5 a “lever”)
2. Kf4 g3 (or 2…Kd4 immediately, transposing)
3. Kxg3 Kd4!
4. Kf4 Kc3
5. fxg6 fxg6
6. Kg5 Kb2
7. Kxg6 Kxa2
8. h5 Kxb3
Now it looked to me at first sight that 9.h6 just makes a Queen first and wins. But on 9…Ka2 10.h7 b3 11.h8=Q b2, White has no checks, and after 12.Qh2 Ka1, the d6-pawn prevents White follwoing up by 13.Qe5! Then White cannot stop Black from queening and drawing. The point of White’s next move is to open more lines for checks.
9. c5! Ka2!? or Ka3!?
Amazingly, Black can prove a draw after 9…dxc5(!) 10.h6 c4 11.h7 c3 12.h8=Q Ka2! or 12…a5! NOT by 12…c2, nor by playing …Ka2 earlier and pushing the b-pawn! But Fritz gives White a hefty edge, and who in their right mind would play against a Queen with only one pawn on the 6th rank? After 9…Ka2/a3, White does not want to capture 10…cxd6, which leaves a fairly easy theoretical draw, because the d6-pawn helps White limit the checking power of Black’s queen-to-be.
10. c6! b3
11. c7 b2
12. c8=Q b1=Q+
13. Qf5 …
White still has winning chances because the h-pawn is further ahead than either of Black’s pawns. Can White win this, or can Black demonstrate a strategy that gives perpetual check and/or restrains White’s h-pawn? That becomes a new question!
1.gxh5 gxh5 2.Kf5 d5 3.cxd5 Kxd5 4.Kg5 Kd4 5.f5 etc.
its a win.