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Sunday, August 1, 2021

Winning Isolated Queen Pawn KP Ending

 I still have quite a few issues of Inside Chess which was a bimonthly periodical brain child  of Seattle native Yasser Seirawan prior to easy access to the internet. I thought of Yaz after reaching the following KP ending where I was left with the doomed IQP.


It is crazy, but Whites last pawn move f4 is LOSING. I screwed it up with the game becoming a draw. Despite Black's ostensibly weak d4 pawn, White is busted with Black enjoying the enviable extra pawn move advantage which will create a zugzwang favoring the second player. 

Also the only winning move is h6 which was not noticed by this slightly above average player! So, despite Black having 3 pawn islands to White's more manageable 2, Black is winning for concrete reasons rather than blind adherence to general principles. 


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