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Advice on Drill "King and Pawn endgame: Active King"

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meyekal

Does anyone have advice on getting better with the "King and Pawn Endgame: Active King" drill?  I seem to draw the majority of times.  I am assuming there is a concept that I need to study on to get better at it, so any advice would be appreciated

 

Thanks

Malis1959

https://www.chess.com/drills/endgame-fundamentals

Morphyofallbombs

Did you ever figure out the heuristic? I’ve only solved it once out of many tries. I know it’s the whole opposition thing but am still having trouble. Any help would be appreciated. Ty

waphang

go to lesson>study plan>intermediate>end game here at chess.com

KeSetoKaiba

As with all endgames, certain patterns help you win. With this King and pawn example, one key is opposition. Additionally, there is an old saying "King on the 6th, pawn on the 5th always wins." This refers to the rank, where keeping your King ahead of your pawn is the key. Even if the opponent has the opposition (on 8th rank) while your King is on the 6th this still wins for you. Simply advance your King diagonally forward around the other King, and you get control of the promotion square - to which your 5th rank pawn rolls down the board to promote.

KeSetoKaiba

Thanks for post #10 happy.png I typed this on a mobile device late last night.

What I meant is: if that said position arises with Black to move (if White has the extra pawn) , then a King move to either side should be countered by my diagonally forward King advance in the other direction. White or Black to move is still a win for the side with the extra pawn if played correctly. happy.png 

What to avoid is a premature pawn push to the 6th rank with the King next to the pawn - the opposing King then blocks the promotion square with stalemate to come.

aplotner

This exercise is stupid. It is just a draw if black only goes g7 g8 over and over with the occasional f8 when white takes f6.

Seriously, play it as black, you won't ever lose doing that.