pawn game

http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=30148710

i just lost this game.

i kno there were some blunders in the beginning, but i cant figure out what i did wrong after 36.Nf4

i thought i had a good chance for a draw

please help. i really appriciate it

Move 41, you should go after the h pawn 41 ... Kg4

I don't know whether you have a win or not, I think you did...  the draw should have been easy... At move 41. ...  You would want to calculate to see if perhaps e3 or Kf4 are best because of opposition issues promoting your h pawn... but the basic idea of an eventual or immediate Kg4 winning the h pawn and promoting (or getting his king out position defending, allowing you to win his other pawns) should have been obvious. In this context 42...Kg1?? is an unimaginable blunder. For what conceiveable reason would you ever want to help put his King inbetween your King and all the pawns?? 42...Kg1?? seizes defeat from the jaws of victory. I can't guess what you were thinking.

This is an interesting endgame. One thing I think you missed is that White has the c4 idea - I'm wondering if 41.c4 is a win, for example 41...dxc4 42.d5 c3 43.Ke1 e3 44.fxe3 Kxe3 45.Kd1. After 41...Kg2, though it seems to lead to a drawish-looking Queen endgame because of 42.c4 dxc4 43.d5 c3 44.d6 c2 45.Kd2 Kxf2 46.d7 f3+ 47.Kxc2 f2 48.d8(Q) f1(Q). Rooperi's 41...Kg4 may even win, though, as may 42...Kh3 with the same idea. Another thing I'm considering is 39...Kg4 after which my three candidates would be 40.c4, 40.Kf1, and 40.Kh2, all of which are complicated. I think we'll need to wait for a master to weigh in to get a good idea of what's goign on here.

By the way, if 39...Kg4 40.Kf1 Kxh4, the idea is still 41.c4 after which White can catch Black's pawn but Black can't catch White's. The purpose of 40.Kh2 is simply to keep c1(Q) from being check in that pawn race. If 40.Kh2 Kxh2 41.c4, dxc4 is tough because d8(Q) will be check but bxc4 is still tough because b8(Q) will defend the f4 pawn, which is the only check in the position. Either way, White seems to get the initiative.

JG27Pyth, what if 41...e3 42.dxe3 Kxe3 43.c4 Kxd4 44.cxb5 Ke5? White walks his King up and takes d5 (playing b6 to distract Black's King away if necessary). It looks like White has time to pick up the h5-pawn afterward and promote, although just barely.

You were already down by a pawn. By 34..f4, losing another pawn was inevitable; with that the game.  May be 34..Kc5 could have prolonged the agony.

Absolutely in c4 reside all White's faint hopes... but White doesn't "get the initiative" as far as I can tell.

For example, you give "if 39...Kg4 40.Kf1 Kxh4, the idea is still 41.c4 after which White can catch Black's pawn but Black can't catch White's..." true, but Black plays 40....Kxf4  and then can go win the h pawn without fear.

41...e3 looked appealing (to my broken intuition) but upon further scrutiny I don't think it works... though I didn't look at the line you gave... I analyzed it differently with a win for White... at any rate I think the straightforward 41...Kg4 is winning for black unless I'm mistaken.

It's becoming increasingly clear to me that in the line played in the game 40...Kf3 was a blunder (although White missed his move. 41.c4!) 40...Kg4 was correct, and I think wins pretty easily. 

"Black plays 40....Kxf4  and then can go win the h pawn without fear." Hmm, I completely missed that. Good point, scratch 40.Kf1.

My comment about the initiative was in reference to 40.Kh2 with both of the subsequent Queen endgames after 40...Kxh4 41.c4 followed by either capture allowing White to start checking first, although I haven't analyzed either Queen endgame very much.

I don't see any other line to even draw against 41...e3, let alone win. What's your line there?

In the game, I think you're right about 40...Kg4.

I'm pretty much certain that it's a draw draw right after entering the pawn endgame. Instead of 38.Kg3, White can shuffle between h3, h2, and g2 and not step on g3 until Black steps on f5 - but this is boring. Black can do similar things if he wants a draw. I have to go soon (for a week) so I can't analyze further, but I don't think I have anything else to add anyway.

thanks

i appriciate your help  

40. ... Kg4  41.  c4 dxc4  42. d5  Kf5  White has to defend against the passed pawn on c4 while black picks off the remaining white pawns.

40. ... Kg4 41. Ke2 Kxh4  White has to defend against the passed h pawn.  This one's a little tricky.  However, white is unable to make the c4 break while the black king is "within the square."

40. ... e3 may be the simplest solution.

@wonton

...Kg4 wins for black, I agree. But 40...e3? isn't a (winning) solution for Black! It draws, just barely -- Unless my analysis is wrong *(see below).

@ Sir David

I'd earlier said that I analyze 40...e3 as a win for White. I guess it's a draw after all:

I don't see what's wrong with woton's e3 line. I can't find an improvement for White that refutes his analysis. e3 works? Jeezis you have no idea how long I spent analyzing that line incorrectly.  It's too bad -- because the ending I analyzed really was interesting... *sighs* ... well, I can take comfort in A) OTB, I would have played Kg4 and won on that line, and B) my intuition liked e3, even if I failed in the calculation/analysis later.

I did find an improvement for Black in woton's e3 line: 7...Qc6+

[COMMENT DELETED] 

@woton's message 19...

How does that position arise?

And IMO it's not analyzed correctly.

See NM tonydal comment #17.  You're correct.  Looks as if e3 doesn't work.