Black to move. Is this a win, draw, or loss for Black?
8/2p5/1p1p4/p2P3p/P1P4P/1PK5/8/2k5 b – – 0 1
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1…Kb1
White cannot save the Queenside pawns.
2.Kd3 Kb2 3.Ke4 Kxb3 4.Kf5 Kxc4 5.Kg5 b5 (5…Kxd5 6.Kxh5 c5 looks like a deep ending) 6.Kxh5
[6.axb5 a4 7.Kxh5 a3 -+]
6…b4 7.Kg5 b3 -+
– SS
it took me a while to figure out this line, which doesn’t seem to be winning:
1. … Kb1
2. b4 axb4
3. Kxb4 Kb2
4. Kb5 Kb3
5. Kc6 Kxc4
6. Kxc7 Kxd5
7. Kxb6 Kc4
8. Kxa5 Kc5
9. Ka6 d5
10. Kb7 d4
11. a5 d3
12. a6 d2
13. a7 d1Q
14. a8Q Qd5+
15. Kb8 Qxa8
16. Kxa8 Kd5
The white king makes it in time for the corner. There’s a tempo missing to win this. Seems quite possible to win it somewhere, but i fail to see where exactly. greets, jan
If you just calculate how long it takes to run with the black king to b3, a4, b3 and then promote the pawn to a1 it is 9 moves. If you calculate the White King’s road to the other side of the board and the promoting of his pawn to h8 it is 10. Black is to move, so if nothing disturbes those King’s pathes the game is won by Black.
I suggest
1. … Kb1
and I cant see how White prevents Blacks’ King to take the way to b2 and b3.
Have I disregarded anything?
I just add one thing to my posting before.
White can try to play b4. But Black of course does not take on b4 but play Ka2 and again White cant prevent him from taking the a4 and win probabyl
One idea black can have is to head for the h-pawn while white tries to get a winning blocked pawn position on the kingside.
…Kd1 b4 Ke2 bxa4 bxa4 Kd4 Kf3 c5 Kg4 ( Kc4 Kg4) cxd6 cxd6 Kxh4
Of course white can respond to Kd1 with Kd3 and keep black from advancing. I don;t see how black could advance the kingside pawns without losing. Of course white can’t walk away and just leave the b-pawn as is.
So it looks to me that black has enough threats to force a draw
1. Kb1 and zug.
After 1…. Kb1, it looks like White is in zugzwang. White loses by going to kingside, by trying to promote a queenside pawn before black does, or by trying to keep black’s king from the queenside pawns. Nothing will save White.
Some lines:
1….Kb1 2. Kd4 Kb2 3. Ke4 Kxb3 4. Kf5 Kxa4 5. Kg5 Kb3 6. Kxh5 a4 7. Kg5 a3 8. h5 a2 9. h6 a1=Q
1….Kb1 2. b4 Ka2 3. c5 axb4+ 4. Kxb4 dxc5+ 5. Kb5 Ka3 6. Kc6 c4 7. Kxc7 c3 8. d6 c2 9. d7 c1=Q+
1….Kb1 2. b4 Ka2 3. c5 axb4+ 4. Kxb4 dxc5+ 5. Kc4 Ka3 6. Kb5 Kb3 7. Kc6 c4 8. Kxc7 c3 9. d6 c2 10. d7 c1=Q+
1….Kb1 2. b4 Ka2 3. bxa5 bxa5 4. Kd4 Kb3 5. c5 Kxa4 6. cxd6 cxd6 7. Kc4 Ka3 8. Kb5 [ 8. Kc3 a4 9. Kc2 Kb4 ] a4 9. Kc6 Kb3 10. Kxd6 a3 11. Kc6 a2 12. d6 a1=Q 13. d7 Qc1+
1….Kb1 2. b4 Ka2 3. bxa5 bxa5 4. c5 Ka3 5. Kc4 Kxa4 6. c6 Ka3 7. Kb5 a4 8. Ka6 Kb4 9. Kb7 a3 10. Kxc7 a2 11. Kb8 a1=Q 12. c7 Qh8+ 13. c8=Q Qxc8+ 14. Kxc8 Kc5 15. Kc7 Kxd5
Kb1 and it looks like white has no move. if b4 then Ka2 wins the a3 pawn. supprisingly white is in trouble when forced to move.
Here’s a patzer’s analysis.
1. … Kb1
2. Kd2,3,or4 Kb2
White’s b pawn is doomed and his pawn structure falls apart.
1. … Kb1
2. b4 Ka2
3. bxa bxa
4. Zugzwang. White can only make suicide moves of the king to the d file or the c pawn, and cannot protect the a pawn from White’s king.
Alternatively,
3. b5 Ka2
4. Zugzwang strikes a move earlier.
Mark
Not very happy that I missed the 2.b4 line. In my opinion, this is more or less the complete line.
1…Kb1 2.b4
[2.Kd3 Kb2 3.Ke4 Kxb3 4.Kf5 Kxc4 5.Kg5 b5 (5…Kxd5 6.Kxh5 c5 looks like a deep ending) 6.Kxh5 (6.axb5 a4 7.Kxh5 a3 -+) 6…b4 7.Kg5 b3 -+]
2…Ka2 3.b5
[3.ba5 ba5 4.Kc2 Ka3 5.Kd3 Kxa4 6.Kc3 Ka3 7.Kc2 Kb4 -+]
3…Ka3 4.Kc2
[4.Kd3 Kxa4 5.Ke4 Kb4 6.Kf5 a4 -+]
4…Kxa4 5.Kc3 Ka3 6.Kc2 Kb4 -+
– SS
It’s a draw
1. … Kb1 2. b4 Ka2 (2. … axb4+ leads to a Q+2P vs Q+P endgame, which I think is probably won for White) 3. bxa5 bxa5 4. c5 Ka3 5. c6=
4. … bxc5 is also a draw after 5. Kc4 Kb2