King and Pawn Endings: Exercise #2: The Solution
We started here, with this deceptively simple position; the task White to move and win:
I also requested that readers who attempted to solve it let me know their (attempted) solutions and their ratings. Between readers, friends and students, it seems that for players 2000 and up, it's pretty straightforward; around 1700-1800 most of the key ideas are spotted fairly quickly but some detail or other is usually missed; below that, only dogged effort will succeed (and occasionally did, as in the case of regular reader sbb1cpa).
So thanks to everyone for their feedback; I might try something like this in the future, too, to build up a collection of positions that can be more precisely ratings-indexed than "easy", "kinda tough", "migraine-inducing", etc.
And now, the solution - click here.
I also requested that readers who attempted to solve it let me know their (attempted) solutions and their ratings. Between readers, friends and students, it seems that for players 2000 and up, it's pretty straightforward; around 1700-1800 most of the key ideas are spotted fairly quickly but some detail or other is usually missed; below that, only dogged effort will succeed (and occasionally did, as in the case of regular reader sbb1cpa).
So thanks to everyone for their feedback; I might try something like this in the future, too, to build up a collection of positions that can be more precisely ratings-indexed than "easy", "kinda tough", "migraine-inducing", etc.
And now, the solution - click here.
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Posted by Dennis Monokroussos on
Tuesday February 28, 2006 at 10:30pm
i disagree with ur following statement in regard to the posted exercise:
"it seems that for players 2000 and up, it's pretty straightforward"
my rating 2100+ and i cant found the h4!! but anyway i think i might be the only special case:)
wish u able to build up ur collection soon!! is a very creative work:)thks
White: Ke6, Pg3 &h3
Black: Kh8, Pg6 &h6
After 1.Kf6 Kh7 2.g4 g5 3.Kf7 and so on ...
1.Kh6 is the only winning move:
- if 1.Kf7 Kh7 2.g4 g5 3.Kf6 as in the exercise.
- if 1.g4 g5 2.Rf6 h5!
If you look at the replayable board, you'll see that this study is by F. Teed and dates to 1885. Prokes - a great composer, by the way - simply tacked on a two-move intro 59 years later.