Ryan asks:
I have recently begun a rigorous study of REASSESS YOUR CHESS and
have come across a puzzle to which I don't understand the answer; I hope
that you can enlighten me.
At the end of Part One: Basic Endgames, there is a puzzle on page 20, diagram
# 21. According to the answer you have given, White wins by 1.Kd2! to which
Black replies 1...Kb7. Of course, its obvious how White wins if that
is Black's response. But my question is, if Black simply replies by
1...Kb8, isn't it true that Black has taken the opposition and that consequentially,
White cannot win? As I see it, the only way for white to get the opposition
back is to make a pawn move, but that would eliminate White's chances of
getting his King in front of his pawn.
I would appreciate very much if you could answer this question for me. I
spent several hours on this puzzle yesterday and had decided that White could
not win, (which was extremely frustrating because I had my wife read the
answer to tell me if I was right or not, which of course she said I wasn't)
and I still don't see how White can win if Black makes the correct moves.
Diagram 1
WHITE TO MOVE & WIN
Silman replies:
The misconception you (and many other people!)
seem to have is that owning the opposition allows
you to get the result you're playing for (in
this case, a draw with Black). That's not true – the
opposition is just a tool, a means to an end.
Sometimes having it can indeed help you achieve
your goal (defensive or otherwise), while other
times you'll find that the opposition doesn't
help your cause at all. In fact, it's often correct
to give away the opposition at just the right
time if you wish to make progress!
To understand the puzzle in the earlier diagram
(diagram 1), you must understand the following
two positions:
Diagram 2 
HAVING THE MOVE IS BAD
In diagram two,
the DIRECT opposition is all-important in that
whoever possesses it will achieve their goal
(White to move draws while Black to move loses
since it allows the white King to advance to
c5 or e5.).
Diagram 3
WHITE WINS
In diagram three White wins no matter who has
the move because White has the opposition. Thus,
if White moves he can play 1.d4, giving the move
to Black and forcing his opponent to allow a
King penetration to either c6 or e6.
Once you are used to diagrams 2 and 3, then
the position in diagram 1 is easy to solve:
White wins by 1.Kd2!
Taking the distant opposition would only draw:
1.Kc2?? Kb7 2.Kb3, and now it's true that White
wins after 2…Kc6?? 3.Kc4! Kd6 4.Kd4 taking us
to diagram 2, but Black holds by 2…Kc7! when
3.Kc4 Kc6 4.Kd4 Kd6 gives Black the opposition
and a draw, while 3.Kc3 Kd7! 4.Kb3 Kd6 5.Kc4
Kc6 is also nothing for White.
It will quickly become clear that DIRECT opposition
is the key factor in K & P vs. K positions.
1…Kb8
This is the move Ryan thinks draws, but we'll
soon see that it's not even close. In my book,
I gave 1…Kb7 2.Ke3 running to the other side
of the pawn. Note that from c1 it is only two
squares to either c3 or e3. But e3 is much farther
away from Black's King, and this deprives him
of drawing chances based on gaining the DIRECT
opposition. After 1…Kb7 2.Ke3 Kc6 3.Ke4 Kd6 4.Kd4
(back to diagram 2!) 4…Ke6 5.Kc5, the win is
easy.
The funny thing about 1…Kb8 is that it DOES
give Black the indirect opposition. Unfortunately
this doesn't count for anything if White can
get his King in front of his pawn and achieve
diagram 2 with Black to move or diagram 3.
2.Ke3 Kc7
Black still has the opposition, but he can't
avoid the unfavorable aspects of diagrams 2 or
3!
3.Ke4!
And not 3.Kd4?? Kd6 with DIRECT opposition and
a favorable version of diagram 2.
3…Kd6
Otherwise White plays 4.Kd5 or 4.Ke5 with an
easy win (following the K&P vs. K rule that
states: “The stronger side wins whenever his
King is two squares in front of its pawn.”).
4.Kd4! with direct opposition and a favorable
version of diagram 2. The remainder might be:
4…Kc6 5.Ke5 Kd7
5…Kc5 6.d4+ Kc6 7.Ke6 (and NOT 7.d5+?? Kd7,
=) 7…Kc7 8.d5 Kd8 9.Kd6 Ke8 10.Kc7, 1-0.
6.Kd5
We've reached diagram 3!
6…Ke7 7.Kc6 Ke6 8.d4 Ke7 9.d5 Kd8 10.Kd6
More direct opposition, this time forcing the “win” of
the queening square on d8.
10…Kc8 11.Ke7, 1-0. | 