End game help

I'm pretty new to chess but am loving it. I have just completed a game which I eventually won but I think I made much tougher work of it than I should have. Is there someone who could do a bit of analysis of the game for me showing me where I went right or wrong, in particular move 34 and onwardsGame 1024841 It would be much appreciated.

Yes, Black could have finished White off much more easily. In fact, the game was almost drawn despite his efforts.

Always remember to keep a King ahead of a marching Prawn.

And that there are 65 squares on a chessboard.

38..Ke4 should have been ..Ke3 so that your King is in opposition with the White King. This way you can prevent his King from getting in front of your pawn. You also moved ..d4+ and again, Ke4 blocking his King would have been a faster way to push the d pawn to promotion.

My other advice is to ignore Bowman.

your move 33, (Be6) was an excellent choice. It created a partial pin on white's bishop, forcing the exchange.

One thing you might have done once the Bishops were exchanged, would be to go after W's pawns. W's King would probably go after your a-pawn and then would try to take out your d-pawn. Let him have 'em.

Your K could take out both of White's isolated pawns, and then advance your g pawn down to get a Queen. One possible scenario would be:

33. ... Be6
34 Bxe6+ Kxe6
35 Kb5 Kf5
36 Kxa5 Kxf4
37 h5 Kg4
38 Kb5 Kxh5
39 Kc6 g5
40 Kd5 (g-pawn advances, will queen)


You had pawns on both ends of the board, which the W King obviously could not completely cover. If this scenario played out, I'm not sure it would have been possible to queen your d-pawn because the W king could have snuck in front of your d pawn and prevented it from queening.

Another possibility would be for your King to take the Opposition when the W king went after your a-pawn. Then, you could have advanced your d-pawn to Queen with no interference from White's King. For example:

... Kxe6 (i.e. King takes Bishop)
Kb5 Kd5 (taking the Opposition)
Kxa5 Kc4 (from here, you should be able to Queen your d-pawn, while your own King prevents W's king from getting to the d file.

You would just leave your g and h pawns alone in this scenario. If white advanced his f-pawn, your g-pawn can pick it off when it reaches f6.

This would be the position after you move Kc4 in the above scenario, with White to move.



As you can see, your d pawn can now advance, guarded by your King.

Originally posted by TheBloop
your move 33, (Be6) was an excellent choice. It created a partial pin on white's bishop, forcing the exchange.

One thing you might have done once the Bishops were exchanged, would be to go after W's pawns. W's King would probably go after your a-pawn and then would try to take out your d-pawn. Let him have 'em.

Your K could take out both of White ...[text shortened]... 8/8 w - - - - -[/fen]

As you can see, your d pawn can now advance, guarded by your King.

Thanks to all for your advice, it all seems pretty obvious when explained but was a real struggle to try and think through myself. Cheers

The Bloop gives some good analysis to which I might add that you could have played 38...g5, giving yourself two passed pawns. This might have been faster than running the king over to pick up the h-pawn.

As the game was played,from move 37 on I think this would be pretty much the best play for both sides:
37.Kb4 Ke4
38.Kc3 d5
39.Kd2 g5
40.hxg5 hxg5
41.Ke2 Kd4
42.Kd2 g4
43.Ke2 Kc3
44.Kd1 Kd3
45.Ke1 Kc2
46.Ke2 d4
47.Ke1 d3
48.Kf2 d2
49.Kg3 d1=Q
0-1

Generally, if you're new to chess, and you are interested in endgames, this bodes very well for your game. Most people consider studying endgames even more boring than learning the openings. I couldn't disagree more, on either count; collapsing the game down to a won endgame is one of the most satisfying things about playing chess. . . that is, if you know what to do. . .
I would suggest reading two books, both of them by Irving Chernev: Capablanca's Best Chess Endings, and Practical Endgames. Endgame technique is an invaluable resource. If you read these books, and assimilate the material in depth, you will be well on your way towards making your opponent fear playing gambit openings. . .

Hey, I was just looking at the game you posted, and although 5. . . Bg4 was played during the opening there are endgame features which result from a different move. Why not play 5. . . Bxe3 and double white's e-pawns, also weakening the d8-h4 diagonal? It won't make it any easier for white to play d4, because the knight on f3 prevents the queen check oh h4. . .

Originally posted by Wulebgr
The Bloop gives some good analysis to which I might add that you could have played 38...g5, giving yourself two passed pawns. This might have been faster than running the king over to pick up the h-pawn.

Originally posted by TheBloop

White could have then captured Black's g pawn en passant (39. hxg5 e.p.)
This would then give White a passed pawn on the g-file.

That's why I mentioned that one option would have been for black to simply leave his g and h pawns alo ...[text shortened]... e, and simply queen his d-pawn once White captured his a-pawn.

Originally posted by ChessNut
My other advice is to ignore Bowman.

Originally posted by Wulebgr
White played 39.h5. On move 38, the pawn remains on h4 from which it cannot capture en passant. White could play 39.hxg5. leading to 39...hxg5 and two passed pawns.

...

Originally posted by Langdon13
I'm pretty new to chess but am loving it. I have just completed a game which I eventually won but I think I made much tougher work of it than I should have. Is there someone who could do a bit of analysis of the game for me showing me where I went right or wrong, in particular move 34 and onwardsGame 1024841 It would be much appreciated.