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Chessville
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Basic Endgame StrategyKing & Pawn Endings - King & Pawn v. King (Square of the pawn)Examine the board below:
Can the Black King stop the White pawn before it marches up the board and
promotes? One way to find out is to count moves: 1. a4 Ke4 2. a5 Kd5 etc. However, there is an easier way to tell, a technique
which involves visualizing “the square of the pawn.” Imagine a line which
starts at the pawn and extends to its promotion square. Now add a line of
the same length which starts at the promotion square and extends
perpendicularly out toward the opponent’s King. Now add the two lines need
to complete a square. In other words, the square’s four corners are at a3,
a8, f8, and f3. If the opponent’s King is in the square, or can move into
the square on its next move, then it can stop the pawn. Otherwise, the pawn
promotes. So, can the Black King stop the White pawn?
Click here to find
out!
The Black Knight is in the way of the Black King’s path. Black will have to
spend an extra move, either moving the Knight out of the way, or maneuvering
the King around the Knight. Either way, this gives the White pawn just
enough time to promote safely. (Of course, Black could try to capture the
White pawn with the Black Knight, but we'll forget that for a moment, just
so we can make our point . . . )
The White Knight controls the d5 and c6 squares, thus forcing the Black King
to take an indirect route which requires an extra move, and once again the
White pawn has just enough time to promote safely.
The Black King is in the square of the pawn, and can therefore stop the White pawn from promoting, correct? Wrong! Since the White pawn is on its home square, it can move two squares on its first move. Therefore, the square of the pawn should be drawn starting an additional square forward, to account for the extra square which the pawn can traverse on its first move. Next: King and pawn Endings - King & pawn v. King (Opposition and Outflanking) Copyright 2002 S. Evan Kreider. Used with permission.
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