I was wondering whether any of you had any advice on how to win this bishop endgame I played it blitz so I wasn't dissapointed to much but I think it is pretty much essential knowledge beacuse I was a pawn up. Also I don't care at all about the middle game just the endgame thanks.

30.c5 looks like it may have been winning for you.

 

34.c5! bxc5 35.bxc5 would have given you a passed pawn and maybe the win.

34. c5, as likesforests said, most likely would have won.

One of Nimzowitsch's famous sayings is, "Candidate in front." When you have a pawn majority, advancing the candidate (unblocked pawn) is generally best. That would be your c-pawn in this case. All exceptions have rules, but this one is generally true and especially useful during blitz or rapid games. Advancing your b-pawn was a mistake.

Thanks guys yeah I said in my comments that I regret the B pawn push and if thats the mistake that ended it for a draw I'll remember in a game thats important.

Hello,

 Is it so easy though after 34c5? because white could end up with the wrong rook's pawn. For example  after 34 ... pxc5 35 pxc5 Kf4 36 Bb6 Be5 37 Kg2 h4 38 c6 h3+

39 kxp kxp 40 c7 Bxp 41 BxB is a book draw I think because black king can't be stopped from getting to a8. If this is the case, then 30 h4 was a mistake, because you are helping the weaker side reduce the number of pawns.

             Also not so sure about 30c5 i.e 30 ...pxp 31 Bxp  (if 31 pxp then Bf4+ followed by kd5 cannot be won by white I think) Now is the pawn endgame a win for white after 31... BxB 32pxB Kd5? probably so think black has to try 31... bf4+32 Kg2 Kd5 my feeling is black king is too active for white to win.

TwoMove> white could end up with the wrong rook's pawn.

Yes, if his opponent knows to sacrifice his bishop for the c-pawn leaving a wrong-coloured bishop for the rook-pawn ending, White's chances of converting go way down.

"Candidate in front" is a corollary to the "unit that holds two" (which may also be another Nimzowitch phrase). Notice at move 36 that black's b-pawn stops both your b and c pawn from advancing.

 

I think you can deviate earlier as well. 26. f4 followed by Kf3 and Ke4 will give you an endgame with a much more active king than the way it was played. 

 

 

You never play 4.e5 in the King's Gambit. The reason for this is that it creates an over-extended pawn in Black's territory. He can then play ...d6 as your opponent did and exploit it to even out the position. After that, White really has no compensation.

Hello,

I dont know anything about Kings Gambit, but in this Nf6 line 4.e5 seems only way for white to try for an advantage.

                   Also, I think it is necessary for white to play 26.f4 etc as suggested by Loomis, or black is drawing the endgame.

Bye John S

I think Ba7 auto-trapping the bishop is the major error.

then,you must centralize the king before pushing the pawns.

Yes, I agree that after Ba7, whites passive king and shattered king side pawns, cause too many technical problems for white to win. It was maybe hard for white to decide on 26/27 f4, putting another pawn on same colour of bishop, but looks like only way to activate king.

 Bye John S

I think commenting for me can start at move 26.  Better for black may have been b5 instead of a6, but I think a6 is a "natural" inflection to move a piece that is attacked.  26...b5 allows the bishop to defend a7 as well as push a pawn to stop white's pawns from advancing too much.  Having said that, it would be tough for black to win this game.  The key squares in my opinion are a7, b8 and c7, mainly because white has pawns on those files and those squares have to be defended by black.  White obviously has the material advantage, he's up a pawn.  But driving in the win is not going to be easy because of blitz and the fact that both sides have the same-colored bishops.

Move 28... g5 black should have played Kd5 because white's queenside is winning, and black needed to defend that side.  The kingside is not a problem for black because his pawns are connected and the bishop can still support them.

Though I agree with everyone that c5 should have played, a key mistake I see being played was 36.Kh4. I think 36 Kf2 should have played and this would have created a serious problem for black.  Since you didn't play c5 early, you still had a chance to play c5 later, but that f pawn must stay on the board. Why? because black has 2 areas on the board to cover instead of one.  Black's h pawn is no threat.  The white king controls that area.  So, if black's king chases the queenside pawns, that should open the door for the f pawn to advance.  That f pawn was your winner because f8 is difficult to defend.

Hello thepitbull,

It looks possible that you are right that white  cannot win after 26...b5, which applies that 26Bb8 was a mistake, and 26f4 necessary for win. Will check 26..b5 a bit more. Dont really understand the comment about same-coloured bishops, but that not important.

Think you are right that 28..Kd5 is good move for black. Bishop a7 is so badly placed even possible black is winning! White must try to scrabble a defence with Bb8-e5, with black king going after queen-side pawns.

Don't agree that white can win after 36Kg2.

Bye John S 

Opposite colored bishops usually lead to a draw, usually, but not always.

Yes! A good addendum though... opposite colored bishops with other pieces on-board such as rooks... gives an advantage to whomever has the initiative.

At whites move 26: b5 instead of Bb8. Now black will lose pawn on a7 and also they have to waste time to play g6. If played correctly you should get an easy win after b5.

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 uh huh