This is an actual game. It is White to move. Is this a win, draw, or loss for White?
8/8/5k2/8/P2K2P1/1N5p/8/1n6 w – – 0 44
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Endgame improvement
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definitely not a loss for white. Nc5 followed by Ne4 and then Nf3. 2. Nd3 and Nf2 also look plausible.
It looks like a draw.
44 Nc5
The only move to draw.
44 … Kg5
If 1 … h2, 2 Ne4+ followed by Nf2 stops the h-pawn. Or 1 … Nd2, 2 Nd3 and Nf2 stops the pawn.
45 Ne4+ Kf4!
And not 45 … Kxg4? 46 Nf2+ Kh4, 47 Nxh3 Kxh3, 48 a5, and the Knight is out of position to stop the pawn.
46 Nf2 h2
47 g5! Kxg5
If 47 a5 Nd2, 48 a6 Ne4!, 49 Nh1 Ne6, and Black draws. Black’s Knight can prevent White from promoting the a-pawn.
48 a5 Na3
49 Kc5
White tries to cut Black’s Knight off.
49 … Nb5!!
Black moves the Knight there anyway.
50 Kxb5
Otherwise, black moves the Knight to a7, and White can’t chase it away. Unfortunately for White, this moves his King outside of the magic square for the Q vs RP ending that follows.
50 … Kf4
51 a6 Kf3
52 Nh1 Kg2
53 a7 Kxh1
54 a8=Q+ Kg1
This is a known draw, as White can’t trap Black’s King behind the h-pawn because the King is stalemated. In order to win this ending, White’s King generally needs to be able to get to either f2 or g3 in two moves (there are a few other ways). Since the King is too far away, it’s a draw.
I’ve looked for ways for White’s King to stay closer, but I can’t find them.
i think, it´s possible, that white can win this, though i´m not quite sure yet. let´s see, i think the first moves are obvious:
1. g5 Kxg5
2. Nc5 Kg4
3. Ne4 Kf3
4. Ng5+ Kg3
5. Nxh3 Kxh3
6. a5 and wins. if
2. … h2, then
3. Ne4+ Kf4
4. Nf2 Kf3
5. Nh1 Kg2
6. a5 Kxh1
7. a6 Kg1
8. a7 h1Q
9. resign
ok, that wasn´t enough. there´s still one move missing. no idea, where to bail out that one though. greets, jan
Nc5 h2
Ne4+ Kg6
Nf2 Kg5
a5 Kf4
a6 Kf3
a7 Kxf2
a=Q
Nc5 h2
Ne4+ Kg6
Nf2 Kg5
a5 Kf4
a6 Kf3
a7 Kxf2
a=Q
Nc5 Nd2
Nd3 h2
Nf2
Nc5, Ne4+, Nf2 must be whites only plan here, this works.
Then pushing a-pawn and king (starting with king). Black’s h-pawn kan hold white knight occupied for ever, at the same time whites g-pawn holds black king occupied.
So this will be a battle between white’s a-pawn and king vs. knight.
At least white isn’t loosing, and with accurate endgame teqnique, white could win this?
Kc5 Kg5
Kd3 Kh4
Kf2 Kg3
Ke3
The reason kd3 is better is because if we played Ke4+
Kc5 Kg5
Ke4+ Kf4
Kf2 Kf3
a5 Kxf2
a6 h7
a7 h=Q
we would lose out because of his weasal move side stepping our pawn and cutting off our king..
Loss for white. Black will win any pawn-promotion race. Neither the king or knight can stop the black pawn from queening, and white has no potential knight forks against the new queen.
Incredibly, white has a win:
1. Nc5
Black can advance but white will win a move by checking the King.
If white avoids check with:
1. … Kg6
2. Ne4 h2
3. Ng3
And the black pawn will not promote.
If black doesn´t avoid check, and try to advance his pawn:
1. … h2
2. Ne4+ Kg6
3. Ng3
Now white has enough time to promote his pawn in row A.
Beauty exercise!
Loss…
1.Nc5! is clearly an only move, and surely Black has nothing but it is unclear wether White wins.
I)1….h2 2.Ne4+ Ke6 or 2…Kg6 3.Nf2 and things can only be worse for Black so we might not really consider that
II) 1….Nd2 2.Nd3 Kg5 (2…Nb3+ 3.Ke4 Kg5 4.Nf2 h2 5.Kf3! and 6.Kg2 now there is no doubt about White’s position being won ) 3.Nf2 h2 4.Ke3! +- Nf1+ 5.Ke2 etc…
III) 1…Kg5 2.Ne4+ Kxg4 3.Nf2 Kg3 4.Nxh3 Nd2! (4…Kxh3 5.a5 a) 5….Na3 6.Kc5 +- or b)5….Nd2 6.a6 Nb3+ 7.Kd5 +- clearly wins for white ) is really the critical line. The problem is that 5.Kc3 Ne4+ 6.Kb4 fails to 6…Kxh3! 7.a5 Nd6= but still I think White has some chances to win thanks to the far-positionned king, but I am really unsure.
The position is a draw. Before we analyze it, look at the following position. It’s necessary to understand the position because it can come up in the game.
8/n1K5/P7/8/8/8/8/7k w – – 0 1
This is a book draw. The Black Knight will sit on either b5, a7, or c8, usually the first of these. When those aren’t available or safe, Black has two different resources that involve the square d6. Those are the four squares that the Knight will move between. Note that the Knight will NEVER go to c6, as this can often lead to a loss. We’ll put White’s King and Black’s Knight through various tours to illustrate:
1 Kb6 Nc8+
2 Kc7
On all other moves, Black can go back to a7.
Already it looks like Black is out of luck, but this isn’t the case.
2 … Nd6+
This is the first resource that doesn’t involve the b5/a7/c8 triangle. White must move the King somewhere. No matter where the King goes, Black can reach either c8 or b5.
3 Kc7 Nb5+
4 Kb6
Again it looks like Black is out of luck, because this time, the Knight can’t even give check. But again there is a resource.
4 … Nd6!
The other resource. Now 5 a7 is met by Nc8+ eliminating the pawn. White’s King can’t simultaneously guard b6 and c8, so Black can hold here. We’ll now complete the tour to show what NOT to do:
5 Kc6 Nc8
6 Kc7 Na7
7 Kb8 Nc6??
Of course, 7 … Nb5 works.
8 Kb7
Now Black’s Knight is out of the loop.
8 … Na4+
9 Kc7
Black can’t stop the pawn.
Now we’ll return to the original position.
8/8/5k2/8/P2K2P1/1N5p/8/1n6 w – – 0 44
1 Nc5!
The only move that stops Black’s pawn from promoting.
Black now has three logical alternatives:
ONE
1 … h2
2 Ne5+ Ke6!
If the g-pawn is protected by the Knight, Black must guard against the other pawn by keeping the King within distance of it. 2 … Kg6?is an error that allows White to win via: 3 Nf2 Nd2, 4 Ke3 Nc4+, 5 Kf3, and White will win the pawn, keep Black’s Knight on the other side of the board with the a-pawn, and push the g-pawn forward with the help of the King and Knight. While Black may need to change plans later, the option of stopping the pawn with the King must be kept open here.
3 Nf2 Nd2
4 Ke3 Nc4+
5 Kf3
Or 5 Kd4 Ne5 leads to positions in the other two lines
5 … Nb2!
6 a5 Nd3!
Forcing White to move the Knight gives Black just enough time to hold.
7 Nh1 Ne4+
8 Kg3 Kd6!
And not the immediate 8 … Kxg4, 8 a6, and White isn’t close enough to stop the pawn.
9 g5
Otherwise, Black takes the pawn and proceeds to stop the a-pawn.
9 … Kc6
10 Kf4
White can’t take the pawn because of Nf3+, winning the g-pawn
10 … Ng6+
A variety of the K+P vs N position shown first in this comment. We already know that White can’t outmaneuver the Knight here, and White’s Knight can’t get involved because it needs to guard the h-pawn. This is a draw.
(continued, hopefully this didn’t post twice)
LINE TWO
1 … Kg5
2 Kg4+ Kf4!
And not 2 … Kxg4?, 3 Nf2+ Kh4, 4 Nxh3 Kxh3, 5 a5, and Black can’t get to the position in the demonstration position, i.e. 5 …Nd2, 6 a6 Nb3+, 7 Kd5 Na7, 8 a7 wins, or 5 … Na3, 6 Kc5, denying Black the key square of b5 and winning.
3 Nf2 h2
4 g5
Or 4 a5 Nd2, 5 a6 (5 g5 Ne4, 6 Nh1 Ng3, 7 a6 Nxh8, 8 a7 Ng6, 9 a8=Q h1=Q, 10 Qxh1 Nxh1 11 g6 Ng3, 12 g7 Nf5+ wins the pawn) Ne4!, 6 Nh1 Nd6, 7 Kc5 (7 a7 Nb5+ wins the pawn) Nc8, and we’ve reached our demonstration K+P vs N position. We know that White can’t outmaneuver the Knight here, so it’s a draw.
With the given move, White gives up the g-pawn to move Black’s King away from f4, which gets rid of the maneuver … Nd2/e4 in the previous note.
4 … Kxg5
5 a5 Kf4!
Now 5 … Nd2 doesn’t work, 6 a6 Nc3+, 7 Kd5, and the pawn promotes.
Instead, Black gets a square closer to the h-pawn.
6 a6 Nc3!!
Or 6 … Na3, 7 Kc5 Nb5!!, 8 Kxb5 much as in the game. The reason for this will be clear shortly.
7 Kxc3
Or 7 Kc4 Ne4, 8 Nh1 Nd6+, followed by … Nc8, and we’ve reached the demonstration position again.
7 … Kg3 (or Kf3)
8 Nh1+ Kg2
9 a7 Kxh1
10 a8=Q+ Kg1
This is a known draw. However, if White’s King were still on d3, White would win. As long as White’s King is within the square marked by d1, d5, and h5, except for the square of d5 itself, White can win. Put another way, If White’s King can reach either g3 or f2 in two moves, White has a way to win. I’ll illustrate the position if White’s King were still on d3 at the end of the comments. As it is, the King is a square too far away, and Black can draw, as White can’t force the King in front of the pawn without stalemating Black and needing to release the stalemate.
LINE THREE:
1 … Nd2
Preventing 1 … Ne5+
2 Nd3
White takes the other route.
2 … h2
3 Nf2 Ke6
Black has no way to force a win. The given move leads to similar positions as the first line.
4 Ke3 Nc4+
5 Kf3 Ne5+
6 Kg3 Nxg4
7 a5 Kd6
Black stays within the square and draws.
Now for the Q vs P position. Enter this into your GUI:
Q7/8/8/8/3K4/8/7p/6k1 w – – 0 1
This is the position in Line Two, except that White’s King is on d4 instead of c3.
1 Qa1+ Kg2
2 Qa2+ Kg1
If 2… Kg3/h3, 3 Qb7, and the Queen gets to h1.
3 Ke3! h1=Q
4 Qef2#
A more standard win is achieved in this position:
Q7/8/8/8/8/3K4/7p/6k1 w – – 0 1
Note that this line works whenever White’s King is on d1, d2, or d3.
1 Kd2!
In this exact position, there’s a faster mate. The given move works with the Queen on other squares, and this way needs to be used if White’s King starts on d1.
1 … h1=Q
2 Qa1+ Kh2
2 … Kg2, 3 Qg8+ lasts a while longer with the same principle as in the main line.
3 Qe5+ Kg2
4 Qg5+ Kh3
5 Qh5+ Kg2
6 Qg4+ Kg1
7 Ke2 wins.
There’s an alternate way to win here:
1 Qg8+ Kf2
2 Qd5 Kg1
3 Qg5+ Kf1
4 Qf4+ Kg2
5 Ke2 (or e3) wins.
Also:
1 Qa1+ Kg2
2 Qb2+ Kg1
3 Ke3
With the King on e5, f5, g5, or a5, the same general principle works. Here’s a diagram:
Q7/8/8/4K3/8/8/7p/6k1 w – – 0 1
1 Qa1+ Kg2
2 Qb2+ Kg1
If 2 … Kg3/h3, 3 Qb7 gets the Queen to h1.
3 Kf4!
Unlike the other position, White doesn’t need to get the Queen closer to the action.
3… a1=Q
4 Kg3 wins