White to move. Is it a win or draw?
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Win for White… very nice.
This is a win for white. The idea here is to take advantage of the fact that black needs to move his king around, as he cannot move his pawn. This can be used to force him away from the action.
1. Kh5 forces the black king to move away. 1… Kh7 2. Kg4 Kg7 (note the tempo) 3. Kf3 Kh6 (what else can black do?) 4. Ke3 (again, the black king needs to move; we can’t do Ke4 right away) 4… Kg5 5. Ke4 and at this point, there is nothing productive that black can do anymore.
Hmm… looking further down your blog’s post history, I see an interesting end game problem that looks very familiar. 🙂
It’s not difficult to see it’s a draw. If 1.Kh5 Kh7 2. f4 (if as msikma said, white plays 2. Kg4 black plays 2…Kh6. Then 3.f4 Kg7 4.
Kg7, and white can make no progress.) 2….Kg7 and black defends successfully.
I apologize for the error in my last post. As I said, draw. 1. Kh5 Kh7 2.f4 Kg7 draw. In msikma’s post 2. Kg4 Kh6 3. f4 kg7 4.Kh5 Kh7 draw.
shredder190, you are wrong there.
If 1. Kh5 Kh7 2. f4, it is indeed a draw. But that’s why white plays 2. Kg4 instead of 2. f4.
Allow me to demonstrate why this too is a win for white.
If 2… Kh6, as you suggest, 3. Kf4. Because, what else can black do then? 3… Kg7 4. Ke4. You do the rest.
The point is not to play f4 too soon.
This is won for White because he can get his K to e6 (by way of d5) while still guarding f5 from capture. If the Black K is able to move to g7 on the next move, White puts him in zugzwang by playing f4; then f6 falls.
Pushing the f pawn too early doesn’t seems to work for example :
1.Kg3 Kh6 2.f4 Kh5 3.Kh3 Kh6
4.Kg4 Kg7 5.Kf3 Kh6 6.Ke4 Kh5
7.Kd5 Kg4 8.Ke6 and 9.Kxf6 winning
but if 5…Kf7 6.Ke4 Ke8 7.Kd5 Kd7 and the opposition force draw…
But keeping the pawn on f3 as long as possible seems more dangerous:
1 Kg3 Kh6 2.Kg4 Kg7 3.Kf4 Kh6
4.Ke3 Kg5 5.Ke4 Kh5 6.Kd5 Kh4
7.Ke6 Kg5 8.f4 winning
if blacks tries 4…Kh5 5.Kd4 Kg5
6. Ke4, as in the main variation
if black tries 6…Kg5 7.Ke6 winning
If black defend on the queen side:
1.Kg3 Kf7 2.Kf4 Ke7 3.Ke3 Kd6
4.Ke4 Kc6 5.Kf4 Kd5 6.Kg3 Kd4
7.Kh4 Ke5 8.Kg4 Kd4 9.Kh5 win
or 4…Ke7 5.Kd5 Kd7 6.f4 Ke7
7.Kc6 winning
if black plays 3…Kd7 4.Kd3 Kd6
5.Ke4 as in the previous variation
If black plays 3…Kd7 4.Kd3 Ke7
5.Kd4 Kd6 Ke4 as in previous variation…
Finally, I think i find a way to draw with black with 3…Kd7 4.Kd3 Kc7 then
a) if 5.Ke4 Kd6 draw
b) if 5.Kd4 Kc6 draw
c) if 5.Ke3 Kd7 draw
d) 5.else Kd6 draw
Ughh, 1.Kg3? leads to a draw because then Black can prevent White from ever reaching e6 with his K.
White wins by:
1. Kh5 Kh7 (otherwise White penetrates with Kh6)
then it could follow:
2. Kg4 Kh6
3. Kf4 Kh5
4. Ke3! (not Ke4? because then…Kg5 and the White K can’t reach e6 without losing guard of f5)…Kg5
5. Ke4 and Black cannot prevent White from marching his K to e6.
white wins ez
– Sam Sloan
I like endgames like this where White’s win can be found by principles rather than by a memorized sequence.
This is a race for position to the left (from White’s point of view) of the pawns, and White starts a step behind. The White king has to reach d5 before the Black king reaches d6, so White gains a step by threatening the f6 pawn with 1. Kh5. Black is forced to protect with 1. … Kh7, and now White has the needed head start. Along the way, White’s extra pawn move (f4) is essential to get opposition.
Here is a likely line:
1. Kh5 Kh7
2. Kg4 Kg7
3. Ke4 Kf7
4. Ke4 Ke7
5. Kd5 Kd7
6. f4 Ke7
7. Kc6 Ke8
8. Kd6 Kf7
9. Kd7 Kf8
10. Ke6 Kg7
11. Ke7 Kh7
12. Kxf6 Kf8 (12. …Kg8 holds out an extra move)
13. Ke6 Ke8
14. f6 Kf8
15. f7 Kg7
16. Ke7 and the pawn is in.
Any deviations from this by Black (until the 12th move) shortens White’s task.
White to play wins with K h5.
Changing sides… working the White King to the d file from the h file around Black’s pawn, gaining the opposition leaving Black stuck and on the move and leading to the loss of Black’s pawn is the key.
So K h5, g4, f4 is the path.
The gap between White’s pawns is the other key… giving White a tempo to give when needed, forcing the play to Black when Black does not want to be on the move.
Once White’s King is on c6 – a Knight’s move away from Black’s King with Black on the move, it is all over.
Peter / chesstoplay
Hmmm, almost everyone saying white wins.
Some of you pointing out that the position A (w: Ke4, Pf3f5 b: Kg5, Pf6) is only won if black has to move (doublesided zugzwang).
But….
“1. Kh5 Kh7 (otherwise White penetrates with Kh6)
then it could follow:
2. Kg4 Kh6
3. Kf4 Kh5
4. Ke3! (not Ke4? because then…Kg5 and the White K can’t reach e6 without losing guard of f5)…Kg5
5. Ke4″
(this quotes an anonymous, msikma also playing Kg5 right away)
White makes a waiting move to be the one not having to move in position A but I do not understand why no one wonders what happens if black does a waiting move, too?
4. -, Kh4! or Kh6!
White has to find the correct path now and it’s getting interesting.
5. Kd4! (Ke4??), Kh5 (Kg5 6. Ke4!) 6. Kd5! and now the way to e6 is free.
Nice route:
h4 -> h5 -> g4 -> f4 -> e3 -> d4 -> d5 -> e6
Btw. very nice idea to win the tempo by Kh4-h5-g4. If we started with Kg4 immediately black would have another defense plan going to d6 (c6-d6-c6 and there is no breakthrough).
Bluffing right to be able to make the breakthrough on the left.
Regards
Jochen