King and pawn: the hardest cases is lesson 3 of 6 in Endgame 8: Pawn endings for experts, an endgame course suited to players rated around 2000 (strong club players). King-and-pawn positions where the win is many moves away and only one king move keeps it. It has 6 interactive exercises: 6 calculated lines from real positions. You play every move on a board and get feedback straight away. The lesson is free.
What you practise
White to move and win. (3 positions)
Black to move and win. (3 positions)
Worked examples
White to move and win. 1.Ka2 Kb7 2.Kb3 Kc6 3.Kc4 Kb6 4.Kb4 Kc6 5.Ka5. Only Ka2 wins: the king takes the right square first. This is a won endgame (checked with endgame tables). After Kb1 the win would be gone.
Black to move and win. 1...Kf2 2.Kh3 Kf3 3.Kh4 Kf4 4.Kh3 g5 5.Kg2 Kg4. Only Kf2 wins: the king takes the right square first. This is a won endgame (checked with endgame tables). After Kd2 the win would be gone.
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