Agree with tkbunny, easy. Oh, i also missed stalemate. :)
Pawn Ending - a little quiz
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Just for fun... here are some pawn endings:
Position 1:
Which of the following statements is correct (with white to move):
A) White wins only with 1.Kd6.
B) White wins only with 1.Kd5
C) Both 1.Kd6 and 1.Kd5 win for white.
Position 2:
Which of the following statements is correct (with black to move):
A) Black draws with 1...Ke5.
B) Black draws with another move.
C) Black can't draw whatever he plays - white will win.
Position 3:
Which of the following statements is correct (with white to move):
A) White wins this ending easily.
B) The ending is lost for white in spite of him having the move.
C) The game is drawn.
Hope you enjoy! :)
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Ok, so here are some solutions:
Brief solutions:
Position 1: B
Position 2: B
Position 3: C
Detailed solutions:
Position 1:
The key thing here is that white needs to accomplish two objectives simultaneously in order to win:
A) Capture the black pawn on a7, and
B) Prevent the black king from reaching c7 in time.
Since white needs 4 tempi to reach the black pawn and black also needs 4 tempi to reach c7, it's important to block the black king's progress to c7 while also approaching the black pawn; thus the solution becomes clear:
1.Kd5
1.Kd6? Kd4 (and now the black king reaches c7 in time) 2.Kc6 Ke5 3.Kb7 Kd6 4.Kxa7 Kc7 and the game is drawn since the white king is trapped at the edge for good.
1...Kd3 (notice that black isn't approaching c7 with this move)
1...Kb4 (targeting the white pawn also fails) 2.Kc6 Ka5 3.Kb7 Kb5 (again wasting a move regarding the journey to c7) 4.Kxa7 Kc6 5.Kb8 and white wins.
2.Kc6 Kd4 (trying to reach c7 but it's too late) 3.Kb7 Kd5 4.Kxa7 Kc6 5.Kb8 and white wins.
Position 2:
The key thing here is that white is threatening to play 1.Kb4 and not only win the pawn but also reach a key square of the b-pawn (these are a4, b4 and c4) when the pawn can't be stopped. Since the black a-pawn can't be saved anyway, the key idea is simply to sacrifice it in order to devalue the white pawn (making it a rook's pawn) so the defending king can simply go to the corner and draw:
1...a3
1...Ke5 (any other king move also fails) 2.Kb4 Kd5 3.Kxa4 reaching a key square and the pawn will promote.
2.bxa3
Nothing wins for white, for example: 2.b4 Ke5 3.Kb3 Kd5 4.Kxa3 Kc6 5.Ka4 Kb6 and the black king has reached a drawing square - the pawn can't be safely promoted.
2...Ke6 (the king just heads to the corner which is a sufficient defence against a rook's pawn) 3.Kc4 (the king tries to reach c7 but he doesn't have the needed time for this) 3...Kd7 4.Kc5 Kc8 5.Kb6 Kb8 and the black king defends easily by just staying in the corner until stalemate arrives.
Position 3:
Most people just focus on the Rule of the Square which in this position states that the white king can't stop the h-pawn. This is true but he has an unusual defensive resource - a self-imposed stalemate cage which saves him just in time:
1.Kb2 h4 (black might as well try to promote his pawn) 2.Ka3 h3 3.Ka4 h2 4.a3 h1D and the game is drawn due to stalemate.
I hope you enjoyed these fun positions. There are more in the endgame section! :)