White to move. Is this a draw?
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Not a draw. a5 wins.
Dead draw.
1.a4 wins
1…bxa4 leaves a White KPPKPP mate in 29. White 2.b5+!! and has the freedom to retain ‘the opposition’, win the Black aP and then come back for the cP.
After 1…kc7 2.axb5, the b-c Pawns are untouchable and White can pick of Black’s remaining P
2…cxb4 is mate in 18.
Of course, {Engine + EGTB} is good here, and FREEZER could create a KPPPKPP sub-EGTB to include this position.
You didn’t need a tablebase to see that. Once white gets connected passers, blacks king is tied down. The only other trick is making sure black’s pawns are within the box of white’s king. The line I was looking at doesn’t even require any calculation after
1. a4 bxc4
2. b5+ Kb6
3. Ke3
the rest is trivial (proof by intimidation)
tyler kindly overestimates my ability in the endgame. In this case, I was looking at a4 but …
The EGTBs often show me things I would not otherwise see, but do not explain things in ‘higher terms’ – their only criticism.
For a good use of EGTBs and human insight in combination, see John Nunn’s trilogy “Secrets of …”. He writes very well.
Yes,with 1.a4 the victory is easy for white