- You did not challenge his structure on the kingside and instead shuffled which is still drawn position but makes your defence easier to go wrong (you allowed him space on queenside).
- You had the chance after h3 to play ...g6 and create winning chances due to your own passed pawn threat. In fact, I think that is winning for you.
- As a result of giving your opponent too much space, you kept shuffling assuming it was a draw and there was nothing he could do and he broke through. You had to find 42...h6+ followed by ...g6 and you create a blockade with pawns so no entry square for White king. As the structure would be permanent there, you can shuffle and if he tries h5 you go g5 keeping the blockade.
- Therefore, in King and Pawn endings which are usually tricky, play for space as well as king placement, and do not assume dead draw.
- You had the chance after h3 to play ...g6 and create winning chances due to your own passed pawn threat. In fact, I think that is winning for you.
- As a result of giving your opponent too much space, you kept shuffling assuming it was a draw and there was nothing he could do and he broke through. You had to find 42...h6+ followed by ...g6 and you create a blockade with pawns so no entry square for White king. As the structure would be permanent there, you can shuffle and if he tries h5 you go g5 keeping the blockade.
- Therefore, in King and Pawn endings which are usually tricky, play for space as well as king placement, and do not assume dead draw.
Nothing's Easy' @hydroshadow ... Study Play Play Play then Study some more . Repeat
Pawn endgame is not so easy.
Pawn endgames are not easy. This leads to the very first critique: You played too fast! What were you saving up your time for?
I think 14...Ke7 is the first step in the wrong, passive direction. Activate the king: Kc6!
The remaining moves contained many blunders for both players. I would suggest to really slow down, and ideally going through a couple of endgames and get in the habit of calculating.
Yes, we cannot calculate everything (and obviously not correctly), especially in blitz, but moving just by instinct in two seconds will not lead to good results.
I think 14...Ke7 is the first step in the wrong, passive direction. Activate the king: Kc6!
The remaining moves contained many blunders for both players. I would suggest to really slow down, and ideally going through a couple of endgames and get in the habit of calculating.
Yes, we cannot calculate everything (and obviously not correctly), especially in blitz, but moving just by instinct in two seconds will not lead to good results.
To me the biggest mistake is thinking you could shuffle the king on the 7th rank. 19. . . . c5 and get the king to c6 and its not so boxed in, and yeah, draw is not that hard if your careful. King position matters, you were not only on the 7th, you were unable to easily get to the queenside unless going in front of pawns.
> Pawn endgames are not easy.
Indeed. When you look at the interval between 26. ... Kc8 and 42. ... Kf8, 17 out of these 31 moves completely change the calculated result. And for most of them it's not obvious why they make so much difference.
> Yes, we cannot calculate everything (and obviously not correctly), especially in blitz, but moving just by instinct in two seconds will not lead to good results.
Indeed, thinking things through properly takes time. I've watched games where titled players lost half point or even a full point in an endgame because of one bad move under time pressure. And those were games with 30s increment...
This endgame reminds me one advice: "In endgame, the most important thing is a plan. Even a bad plan, if executed consistently, can be better than no plan at all." Can't help feeling this is an example. White certainly did two things right: had his king way more active and he made sure that before the pawns meet, his are as far as possible so that if both sides get a pass pawn, white will be closer to promotion.
Indeed. When you look at the interval between 26. ... Kc8 and 42. ... Kf8, 17 out of these 31 moves completely change the calculated result. And for most of them it's not obvious why they make so much difference.
> Yes, we cannot calculate everything (and obviously not correctly), especially in blitz, but moving just by instinct in two seconds will not lead to good results.
Indeed, thinking things through properly takes time. I've watched games where titled players lost half point or even a full point in an endgame because of one bad move under time pressure. And those were games with 30s increment...
This endgame reminds me one advice: "In endgame, the most important thing is a plan. Even a bad plan, if executed consistently, can be better than no plan at all." Can't help feeling this is an example. White certainly did two things right: had his king way more active and he made sure that before the pawns meet, his are as far as possible so that if both sides get a pass pawn, white will be closer to promotion.
but, what should i do in this kind of drawn position? any move will increase my risk of losing, so i only dare to defend.
@hydroshadow said in #9:
> but, what should i do in this kind of drawn position? any move will increase my risk of losing, so i only dare to defend.
Maybe the solution is to not think of it like a drawn position. Think of it like an equal position, but where there are chances. You want to look for any practical chances to win so gain more space, look for tactics, breakthroughs, king placement, undermine his structure, make his job of defending harder and put him on the defensive instead of allowing him to force you on the defensive. Pawn endgames are hard and they take lots and lots of practice but you will understand it eventually. Also maybe solve pawn endgame puzzles to look at some tactical themes and ways you could create chances.
> but, what should i do in this kind of drawn position? any move will increase my risk of losing, so i only dare to defend.
Maybe the solution is to not think of it like a drawn position. Think of it like an equal position, but where there are chances. You want to look for any practical chances to win so gain more space, look for tactics, breakthroughs, king placement, undermine his structure, make his job of defending harder and put him on the defensive instead of allowing him to force you on the defensive. Pawn endgames are hard and they take lots and lots of practice but you will understand it eventually. Also maybe solve pawn endgame puzzles to look at some tactical themes and ways you could create chances.
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