Could White Have Won?
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yes you should have....
I think that you had the edge and would have won, instead of Rc1 you should have played pxp then pxp RxP+ and i think you have a winning postion.
It looks like a draw from here if his king stays within one square of your pawn. On move 56, bring your bishop to h3 then f1 to protect your pawn and start eating his pawns with your king. Then go and promote to queen. I know you asked about moves only after the set up given though...
Michael, I know I should have won. I've awknowledged my mistakes in the game. I am content with having played through a game where mistakes were made on both sides that resulted in a draw. I enjoyed the game. I was asking whether it was possible to win it in the last position, not whether I should have won it.
I appreciate hearing advice on better moves though, I'm always learning. Benws essentially answered my main question though.
You are Indeed correct, white won this game. black has no response.
EDIT: I forgot to include that if the king moves at 58, then you capture but still have enough move to catch the other pawn.
Move 59 would be Kb6, themirrortwin and is still a draw
The draw is certain.
9. Qd4?! Qxd5 10. Qxb4?? Bxf3+ 11. gxf3 Qd3+ 12. Ke1 Nxf3#
or 11. Ke1 Qd1#
So I suppose if white's goal is to trade queens, he's succeeded. But it's bad too as it develops black's 4th piece! Black will then castle queen-side to bring the rook directly into battle.
Such is the power of well developed pieces. And black could always just trade off some pieces to get out of the jam.
14. Qxb7?? allows his unprotected K to be killed. 14. ... Nf4+ (opening the d file) 15. exf4 (triples!) Qd3+ 16. Ke1 Nxf3# or 15. Ke1 Nxf3# (fun!)
17. ... Qd5?? loses all steam
Regarding the endgame, I think white is won at 43.
The idea is that the B pins down the black pawns while the K gobbles them. I had troubles originally because as the black K made its way to the pawn it would tempo the B (on e5) and this was enough to hose the win.
44. Bf6 I think is the key move. This prevents black from gaining a tempo by using the f5 pawn as a shield. After that, the pawn marches. Each step it takes constrains the black K's squares and the white K gobbles the pawns.
i like ham sandwiches
diomed and caiovp2 you are correct and I was mistaken.
You still had the win as late as the last move you made.
!!!
Shoot! I can't believe I didn't see that, silentfilmstar13! So my draw was actually a blunder... Endgame is the weakest point of my play - I need to practise it.
Coe wrote:
!!!
Shoot! I can't believe I didn't see that, silentfilmstar13! So my draw was actually a blunder... Endgame is the weakest point of my play - I need to practise it.
Well, at the point you agreed to the draw, it was a draw... theoretically, anyway. Your opponent had that draw already but stepped away from the pawn giving you the theoretical win again. He likely would have made that mistake again, but when you agreed to a draw, it was a drawn position.
I notice you're from Vancouver. I'm going to be visiting there for a week or so in November. We should play some OTB.
Ah, yes - I see what you mean. I was too focused on keeping the pawn protected and trying to figure out a way for my king to get the pawns alone that I completely overlooked that. I'll have to remember to look at the entire board in the endgame, not just focus on locations as if they are independent of one another.
I saw a very instructive endgame, though I can't remember where, in which the king and the knight had to switch sides of the board to maintain the draw. It was a real eye opener.
From the last position it's a draw but like silentfilmster said, you had the win after Bh3... Bf1
This is a great way to study... thx for sharing
You coulda won.
This game ended in an agreed draw.
We both made mistakes, but in the end neither of us managed to beat the other, or so I think. Is there any way for white to win this game without changing any of the moves prior to the last position?