??? How ???

I just completed a blitz game (LOL) at FICS.

This position was reached:



It's white's move.
Before continuing down the page, form an idea of how this endgame should play out.

I was black.

White is currently rated 1822 but was rated a whopping 2268 last year!
That is a remarkably high rating for FICS.

Anyway, in this position, white resigned!
That absolutely stunned me.
Isn't this an obvious draw?

I was fairly certain that it was. In fact, I told him after the game that I thought it was and logged off to check with Shredder.

Shredder has black up over 3 points at first but eventually comes around to the draw.

No matter where white captures the c pawn, black doesn't have time to round up the h pawn before white gets to the corner.

It is amazing to me that someone rated so high couldn't know this or at least be willing to play it out.

For the record, it was a 3 minute game, and both sides had a whole minute left when it was over.

Am I missing something? Your thoughts?

because when the pawn is on a/h files the instinct is to try to reach in time to not let the other king to come out from the a/h file after the capture...so this was my first look(instead of trying to reach h1) and white cannot make it in time...

draw for sure. Black isn't fast enough to prevent white from reaching h1. Not even if we shift the queenside one or two files to the left .

Originally posted by Mephisto2
Not even if we shift the queenside one or two files to the left .

Doing that also moves the Black king further away from the h-file, so it’s no surprise that it makes no difference. Of more relevance is how far advanced the blocked h-pawn is – that can make a difference.

Originally posted by Varenka
Doing that also moves the Black king further away from the h-file, so it’s no surprise that it makes no difference. Of more relevance is how far advanced the blocked h-pawn is – that can make a difference.

In this case, moving the pawn and white king to the a-file and leaving the blackking on d5 wouldn't change the outcome.

Originally posted by paulbuchmanfromfics
I just completed a blitz game (LOL) at FICS.

This position was reached:

[fen]8/8/8/3k3p/2p4P/2K5/8/8 w - - 2 43[/fen]

It's white's move.
Before continuing down the page, form an idea of how this endgame should play out.

I was black.

White is currently rated 1822 but was rated a whopping 2268 last year!
That is a remarkably hi ...[text shortened]... sides had a whole minute left when it was over.

Am I missing something? Your thoughts?

maybe he taught this might happen:

Originally posted by wormwood
maybe he taught this might happen:

[pgn]

[Event "Edited position"]
[Date "2010.10.29"]
[Round "-"]
[White "-"]
[Black "-"]
[Result "*"]
[FEN "8/8/8/3k3p/2p4P/2K5/8/8 w - - 2 1"]
[SetUp "1"]

{--------------
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . k . . . p
. . p . . . . P
. . K . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
...[text shortened]... ----------}
1. Kd2 Ke4 2. Kc3 Kf4 3. Kxc4 Kg4 4. Kd4 Kxh4 5. Ke3 Kg3
*
[/pgn]

yes, this I meant in my previous post also

I've seen gms screw up a standard k vs k+p in blitz maybe 3 times with 30-60 seconds left. sometimes the brain just freezes.



all of them disconnected in disgust right away. 🙂

Originally posted by wormwood
maybe he taught this might happen:

[pgn]

[Event "Edited position"]
[Date "2010.10.29"]
[Round "-"]
[White "-"]
[Black "-"]
[Result "*"]
[FEN "8/8/8/3k3p/2p4P/2K5/8/8 w - - 2 1"]
[SetUp "1"]

{--------------
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . k . . . p
. . p . . . . P
. . K . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
...[text shortened]... ----------}
1. Kd2 Ke4 2. Kc3 Kf4 3. Kxc4 Kg4 4. Kd4 Kxh4 5. Ke3 Kg3
*
[/pgn]

take it everyone realises 4 Kd4 loses in the above quote;
to draw white needs to play, Kd3 and Ke2 so as to safely reach Kf1

Originally posted by paulbuchmanfromfics
I just completed a blitz game (LOL) at FICS.

This position was reached:

[fen]8/8/8/3k3p/2p4P/2K5/8/8 w - - 2 43[/fen]

It's white's move.
Before continuing down the page, form an idea of how this endgame should play out.

I was black.

White is currently rated 1822 but was rated a whopping 2268 last year!
That is a remarkably hi sides had a whole minute left when it was over.

Am I missing something? Your thoughts?

what was black's last move?
because .....Ke4 instead ....c4 and black was winning.
maybe that was why he resigned: not realising things had changed!

Its arrogant to claim "its an obvious draw", when its an online blitz game. Anything can happen e.g.

- black may not know what to do in the position.
- white may not know what to do in the position.

This is why you see G.M's & stronger players playing on at blitz when down materially.

Originally posted by enrico20
Its arrogant to claim "its an obvious draw", when its an online blitz game. Anything can happen e.g.

- black may not know what to do in the position.
- white may not know what to do in the position.

This is why you see G.M's & stronger players playing on at blitz when down materially.

LOL at arrogant

You really like to make friends online don't you?

The fact that the possibility of a draw could not even cross one of the supposedly top player's minds still stuns me.

Even if he thought it were really bad or lost, why not play it out and see?

Originally posted by paulbuchmanfromfics
LOL at arrogant

You really like to make friends online don't you?

The fact that the possibility of a draw could not even cross one of the supposedly top player's minds still stuns me.

Even if he thought it were really bad or lost, why not play it out and see?

You yourself have told us he was ranked almost 2300 and is now ranked 1800 or so. You then proceeded to load this "obviously drawn position" onto Shredder instead of demonstrating to him there and then how "obviously drawn" it was. Seems to me the only obvious thing in this situation is that you are arrogant and gloating. 😵

Originally posted by enrico20
You yourself have told us he was ranked almost 2300 and is now ranked 1800 or so. You then proceeded to load this "obviously drawn position" onto Shredder instead of demonstrating to him there and then how "obviously drawn" it was. Seems to me the only obvious thing in this situation is that you are arrogant and gloating. 😵

If I was truly arrogant, would I second guess myself and check?

Originally posted by paulbuchmanfromfics
If I was truly arrogant, would I second guess myself and check?

Why didn't you demonstrate the "obvious draw" in the chat at FICS and then log off to check if necessary? You didn't demonstrate the "obvious draw" immediately.