Tricky K+P endgame

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Remellion

caveatcanis got it.

This illustrates the concept of shouldering, and how it differs from the simple opposition. Hope you enjoyed.

Time4Tea

Is 1.f4 really that bad for white?  Seems ok to me, but maybe I'm missing something ...

FancyKnight
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FancyKnight

6...Ke6 and black wins.

Remellion

@Time4Tea: 1. f4? throws away the win; black's saving idea is to save his own pawn.

Notice that in these lines black holds on by just one tempo. 1. Kd4 is the only way to force black's king to lose a tempo.

[EDITED because it's too tricky. :X]

FancyKnight

@Remellion, I initially thought Kc4 as well, but white wins with 4.f6 in the blue line.

Remellion

Bah. Edited and ninja'd.

Time4Tea

Ok, yep, you've got me.  6 ... Ke6 in my initial analysis is indeed a win for black.  However I still think 1 ... Kc4 is a mistake - I've added some more lines in my analysis.  :-)

Remellion

1...Kc4 IS a mistake. 1...Kc5 is the draw by going up towards both pawns. (Grrr tricky stuff...)

Time4Tea

@Remellion:  I bow to your superior knowledge!  I see now that 1.Kd4 is the only way for white to win  :-)

FancyKnight

Yeah Kc4 is bad. For some reason I had a hard time seeing 4.f6