Daily Chess Improvement: Endgame Saving Tactic!

6 comments

• Reply

  

  gabimiulescu says:

  January 7, 2016 at 8:33 am

  1. h5 gh 2.hg hg 3. Rf2 Re4 4. Rg3 Rf5 5. Rh5! =

  • Reply

    

    Mario says:

    January 7, 2016 at 11:51 am

    B’s second move doesn’t make sense

    2 …. hg – the h pawn is on h7 – there is no longer a W g pawn to take

  • Reply

    

    Mario says:

    January 7, 2016 at 11:57 am

    Also a problem with W’s fifth move
    K jumps from Kg3 to Kh5 ??

• Reply

  

  Yancey Ward says:

  January 7, 2016 at 12:26 pm

  An instructive ending. Let’s discuss the “obvious” 1.gf5 and why it loses:

  1. gf5 gf5

  And now white is a quandary. There are no saving moves since the e4 square is unavailable at all times to the white king (as is g4)- the black king will eventually march through c4 and c3 to force the white king back regardless of who eventually locks up the h-pawns. Let’s look at the paths:

  2. Kd3

  Taking the opposition. However, black has the ready reply:

  2. …………h5!

  The only winning move, of course, is taking the opposition back:

  3. Ke3

  If white plays any other move, black just plays Ke4 to win the f-pawn:

  3. ………..Kc4 (more direct than Kc5 which will eventually win too with proper play)

  And now it should be clear that white can’t keep the black king out of e4, and even if white can guard the f-pawn from g3 for a move, black can then play Ke3 forcing the white king to abandon the f-pawn anyway.

  So, now, let’s back up to move 2:

  2. Kf3

  But black now wins with any move, I think. Most direct is:

  2. …………Kd4

  Getting ready to move into e4 if white moves the king, and just waiting for white to move the pawn:

  3. h5 h6

  Most direct, but black wins with all moves here. Continuing:

  4. Kf2 Ke4 (most direct win)
  5. Kg3 Ke3 and the pawn on f4 falls.

  Finally in the most critical line in this variation, it will do white no good at move 2 to move the pawn, but black must resist the urge to make an “obvious move” mistake:

  2. h5 Kc4! (the only winning move)

  Here, playing h6 allows white to draw by playing Kd3 taking the opposition and black can never get it back without losing the game himself. Continuing:

  3. h6

  Moving the king allows the black king to simply play to d4 again taking control by threatening to play Ke4 and win the pawn. It would even help white if he played 3.Kd2 Kd4, and then 4.h6 having the opposition since the f-pawn can’t be protected with the black king on rank 4. Continuing:

  3. …………Kc3

  Taking the opposition. Now one sees the why the black f-pawn is dominant here- e4 is unavailable to the white king who is forced to give ground:

  4. Ke2 Kd4 (most direct)
  5. Kf3 Kd3 (taking the opposition again)

  And now white can’t prevent black from winning the f-pawn.

  Though I have yet looked at it, I suspect Gabimiulescu’s suggestion of 1.h5 for white is the correct drawing line.

• Reply

  

  Yancey Ward says:

  January 7, 2016 at 12:41 pm

  Now let’s take a quick look at 1.g5 for white:

  1. g5?? Kc4!

  This is surely the only winning move for black, but an obvious one. White can’t move the h-pawn now without giving black a dangerous passed pawn that will draw the white king away. And a king move allows black the d4 square and eventully e4 and the winnning the f-pawn.

• Reply

  

  Yancey Ward says:

  January 7, 2016 at 1:17 pm

  Let’s turn our attention to 1. h5 which was suggested above:

  1. h5 fg4 (alternatives later)
  2. hg6 hg6 (no alternative now)

  And black has won a pawn, but that extra pawn is doubled. At this point, white is the one who has to move. He has two reasonable looking king moves to choose from, but only one holds:

  3. Kf2!

  Here, 3.Kd3 loses to g3 and the white will end up in a losing K vs K+P ending since he can’t both stop the passed g-pawn and protect his remaining f-pawn. Continuing:

  3. ………….Ke4 (nothing will win, this is most critical line)
  4. Kg3

  Protecting the f-pawn and attacking the front g-pawn. All black can do is protect from f5:

  4. ………….Kf5
  5. Kh4!

  And black has no reply- if he takes the f-pawn, white is stalemated. This leaves

  5. ………….g5+
  6. fg5 with a draw.

  So, now let’s return to black’s first move:

  1. h5 gh5
  2. gf5

  I am not sure this is the only drawing move, but I wouldn’t even consider any other move for white here. This formation is an pretty obvious draw just on the face of it. Black can’t push his h-pawns without losing them, nor can white.

  The critical line is where black moves his king on the first move:

  1. h5 Kc4

  Setting up a situation where black is threatening to play Kd4 if white moves the king at any point, and threatening to play Kc3 if white ever is the one to play the last legal pawn move. Here, I don’t think white can play 2.gf5 for the same reasons he couldn’t play it on the very first move I described above, but what about hg6:

  2. hg6 hg6 (forced, obviously)
  3. gf5

  Now, it looks like this should lose, too, but there is a critical difference here that didn’t exist before:

  3. …………gf5 (forced, again)
  4. Kf3

  I think white draws with any move here, and it will obvious why. Continuing:

  4. ………..Kd3
  5. Kg3

  Again, I think white draws with any move here:

  5. ……….Ke3

  And, for all the world, this looks lost for white, but without the extra pawns on the board as before, black can’t win this ending after winning the f-pawn:

  6. Kg2!

  The only drawing move. White must be ready to play Kf2 if black takes at f4:

  6. ………….Kf4 (what else can black do?)
  7. Kf2

  And this is a classic draw, though one white must carefully play. The rest is left as an exercise.