Any Key Square By Any Route
Jan Drtina, 1908| a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | ||
| 8 | 8 | ||||||||
| 7 | 7 | ||||||||
| 6 | 6 | ||||||||
| 5 | 5 | ||||||||
| 4 | 4 | ||||||||
| 3 | 3 | ||||||||
| 2 | 2 | ||||||||
| 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h |
With a king and pawn versus a lone king, it is important to get the attacking king to any key square and the path to a key square is not always direct. For instance, in the diagram on the right, the key squares for the white king are b5, c5, and d5. Black can prevent the white king from reaching a key square directly, e.g.:
- 1. Kd2 Ke7
- 2. Kd3 Kd7
- 3. Kc4 Kc6 (taking the opposition).
However the white king can reach a key square (b5) by going on the other side of the pawn:
- 1. Kc2! Ke7
- 2. Kb3 Kd6
- 3. Kb4 Kc6
- 4. Kc4 (opposition, and Black is in zugzwang) Kd6
- 5. Kb5
or
- 4... Kb6
- 5. Kd5
and the white king has occupied a key square and has a winning position (Müller & Lamprecht 2007:20).
Read more about this topic: Key Square
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