The active king outweighs a pawn

Draw White to move · Pawn endgames · Difficulty about Elo 1700

The plan

Black has an extra pawn — and White still holds the draw, because his king stands on the sixth rank right in the middle of the enemy camp. The only saving move is 1.Kf5!: it keeps contact with f6 AND with his own g-pawn; every other move loses. After that whatever can be traded gets traded, and the king hurries back to the a-pawn — the blocked a-pawns are the fortress. The practical lesson: don't count the pawns, measure the kings. An active king is regularly worth a pawn in the pawn endgame.

Why this level: King activity outweighs a pawn — a pure question of judgement

The solution, move by move

1. 1. Kf5 The only move! The king stays in the centre of the action — any retreat would lose contact and with it the game. Two typical wrong tries are shown as sidelines.
   Sideline 1. Kd6 The natural move: the king sets off toward the a-pawn. But in doing so it loses touch with the kingside — and the game. 1… f5 The refutation: Black unravels the clump himself. The white king now stands too far away to gather up the rest. 2. gxf5 Kf6 The only winning move — and Black keeps an extra pawn on the kingside. 3. Kc5 Kxf5 4. Kb5 h5 5. Kxa5 h4 The h-pawn runs through while White is busy at the other end. One square of king position was the whole difference.
   Sideline 1. g5 The second try: releasing the tension with a pawn move. This too costs the whole point. 1… hxg5 Only this capture wins — and it leaves Black with two pawns against one on the kingside. 2. Kd5 Kf7 3. Kc5 Ke6 4. Kb5 f5 5. Kxa5 f4 White picks up the a-pawn and still arrives one move too late. Remember: in the pawn endgame the king decides, not the pawn move.
2. 1… h5 Black tries to unravel the clump —
3. 2. gxh5
4. 2… Kh6
5. 3. Kxf6 The equalizer: White collects f6, Black h5. Black is still ahead on material, but now only the a-pawns matter.
6. 3… Kxh5 The only move that keeps Black's extra pawn — and it is not worth the trouble: it puts the black king right on the edge, while White gets a free run to the queenside.
7. 4. Ke5 And now back! The king runs down the diagonal — e5-d4-c3-b3, and the a-pawn is defended forever.
8. 4… Kg4
9. 5. Kd4
10. 5… Kf3
11. 6. Kc3
12. 6… Ke2 A draw: Black has an extra pawn but no way in. The activity of the white king has outweighed it.

More in Pawn endgames

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