White to play. Can white win? Provide your analysis in the comments.
Note: Board orientation. White pawns move from bottom to top.
Friday, May 3, 2019
Karthik's corner - Puzzle Corner
King and pawn endgames are usually considered the most basic end games. King and pawn endgames are statistically most often occurring type of endgames in tournament play. Though these look simple, there are so many hidden ideas that even experienced grandmasters miss out on. This position is from an Averbakh study.
White to play. Can white win? Provide your analysis in the comments.
Note: Board orientation. White pawns move from bottom to top.
White to play. Can white win? Provide your analysis in the comments.
Note: Board orientation. White pawns move from bottom to top.
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The a pawn wants to run but the black king can get into the square.
ReplyDeleteKe6 blocks the black king and the race of the a vs h pawn ends when white queens with check. So Kd4 is necessary. Now c3+ works as the black king cannot take the pawn as it would not be able to get back into the square and Black cannot move Ke4 as a5 wins so Kc4 is played. White can then play Kf5 and mop up the king side pawns. The assumption is that black can make no progress on the queen side.
This would be my initial thinking.
1.Ke6 Kd4 (if h4 then a5 and white queens with check)
2.c3+ Kc4 (if Ke4 then a5) (if Kxc3 then a5 queens)
3.Kf5...Kg4...Kh5 winning two pawns
If black moves c5 hoping for bxc5 then b5 is the response.
This is a very good start. 1. Ke6 Kd4 2. c3 Kc4 3. Kf5 (with the idea of Kg4, Kh5 and taking both pawns. Now can black find a defensive idea after 3. Kf5. Yes white will play 4. b5 for 3... c5. Look further for defensive ideas for black. Pls also leave your name in the comments
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ReplyDeleteI believe it is a draw. Start with what DPCJSR posted as I agree with his items 1 and 2, but I disagree with item 3.
ReplyDelete1.Ke6 Kd4 2.c3+ Kc4 3.Kf5 appears forced. If 3.Kd7, White loses by 1 move. 3...h5! 4.a5 (or else h4 and Black hits h1 first) bxa5 5.bxa5 Kc5 6.Kxc7 Kb5 and Black gets the a-pawn)
Therefore, after 3.Kf5, I believe Black draws by breaking up the pawn phlanx on a4-b4 with 3...c5 4.b5 Kd5. Now 5.c4 Kxc4, 5.a5 bxa5 b6 Kc6, etc don't work. Therefore, White has to go for the pawns. Problem is, After 6.Kg4, Black can play 6...c4. This immobilizes all pawns, and White has no way to "lose a tempo". Any advancement of a5 results in bxa5, and so the "box" that Black must remain in is b5-b8-e8-e5. The real catch is the stalemate cage. If the White King tries to go around the back, Black must keep opposition, so whenever White takes on h6, Black should go to d6 with the King (Going to f6 loses to a5). When White takes on h7, Black goes Kd7. As long as the White King stays on ranks 5 thru 8, Black goes to the square amongst the e-file and d-file that gives Black opposition (i.e. Kg7 is answered by Ke7 while Kh5 is opposed by Kd5). The moment that White goes to the 4th rank, like Kh4 or Kg4, Black goes for a c5-d5 toggle between the King. The reason is a stalemate cage. Even if White gets opposition, stalemate is a problem (i.e. BK on c5, WK on e5). There are a couple of corresponding squares. If the White King can get to e4, Black must not put his King on c5, it must go to d6. If the White King can get to a3 (i.e. the K is on a2 or b2), Black must not put his King on c5, he must go to d6 or d5. The reason is that Black must answer Ke4 with Kc5 and he must answer Ka3 with Kc5. If the White King is on e4 or a3 and the Black King is on c5 with Black to move, he loses. White can't force either of those positions. For example, if the BK is on d6, WK goes to e4, then after ...Kc5, White must abandon the d5 square for Black since Ke5 is stalemate. I see no break through for White.
Patrick’s solution is correct. The key is seeing the stalemate solution in the middle of the board and then using principle of distant opposition and corresponding squares to force a draw.
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