Author: Robin Smith
Date: 20:02:26 01/03/01
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On January 03, 2001 at 21:41:26, Ricardo Gibert wrote: >On January 03, 2001 at 19:51:25, Michael Fuhrmann wrote: > >>[D] 8/5p2/8/4P1p1/4bk2/8/8/4BK2 b - - 0 63 >> >>This position was reached in a comp-comp blitz game on my computer between >>crafty 17.14 and little goliath. I was surprised that crafty (black) did not >>play Kxe5, which wins, and instead played g4, which eventually draws. >> >>Later I let crafty analyse the position, and it doesn't really seem to settle on >>Kxe5 until ply 16 or thereabouts (about 2 1/2 minutes on my computer). > >1...Kxe5 2.Bd2 any 3.Kf2 followed by 4.Kg3 is an easy draw. Maybe Crafty has it >hand coded into its eval that the type of KBPPKB ending that results after Kxe5 >is a dead draw. Regardless, it's no big deal whether it takes or not in this >position. A draw is a draw. This position is not such an "easy" draw as you seem to imply. In fact I am not at all certain it IS a draw. After 1...Kxe5 2.Bd2 Kf5 3.Kf2 Kg4!, black prevents your Kg3 move and thus has good winning chances since both pawns can then easily be brought to the fifth rank (the f4 & g4 squares). If white instead tries 3.Bc3 Kf4 4.Bc6 to blockade the f-pawn, black plays 4...g4, 5...g3 and then 6...Kf5, chasing away the bishop to allow the f-pawn to then advance. Thus after 2.Bd2 black can force both pawns to the 5th rank, and although opposite colored bishops with 5th rank pawns on the f & g files is sometimes a draw and sometimes not, it is never all that "easy". Possibly 2.Kf2 is better than 2.Bd2, but in any case, even if the position should eventually prove to be drawn, not taking the pawn clearly gives white a *much* easier game, and not playing 1...Kxe5 is highly peculiar. Robin Smith
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