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[@calebklingerman7902]

This was also a realistic endgame scenario

[@BlckJack123]

Exactly!! I love puzzles like this. They are realistic and yet full of easy to make mistakes like this one is.

[@todayslord]

who leaves e pawn untouched until endgame. unless u mean the concept itself then yes

[@calebklingerman7902]

@@todayslord I guess you’re right, but the general idea of just kings and a couple pawns is practical. I suppose it could happen though, I play a lot of London system so I start with d4 instead of e4, maybe in some wild game this could happen

[@harikumars1487]

Yeah I agree

[@LeventK]

​@@todayslord I move it on the first move

[@FlowerPotsM]

bro turned square rule to triangle

[@syndrac6254]

well it takes 2 isosceles triangles to form a square sooo...yea

[@michalkloucek473]

Well, it is actually a rectangle formed of two squares with one column overlap.🧐

[@TekMoliGy]

@@syndrac6254 don't bring socrates into this

[@TVIDS123]

@@michalkloucek473actually a square is just a special case of a rectangle 🧐

[@luqmaanhay4957]

@@syndrac6254 isn't it 2 of any of the same triangle

[@bobibobbobino]

Easy solution. You go f1 to avoid possible future opposition. King opposition is an extremely important endgame concept everyone should learn.

[@rogergeyer9851]

Yes, the opposition is KEY in king and pawn endgames very often. But I disagree that this is a distant opposition thing. It's about being able to DEFEND the central pawn if you advance it as black runs toward the queenside pawns as Nelson explained in the video. It's NOT like that move prevents black from getting the opposition. The extra pawn is what wins this (if white keeps it), NOT the opposition.

[@magicsinglez]

No. I’m not so sure it’s a draw. I could lose that game.

[@roblodocus2539]

Another great one by the mastermind John Crum. And this is a puzzle I could actually remember, and explain to people haha.

[@matthewgraham2619]

On the d1 version, why not escort the pawn, keeping blacks king away?

[@floof6896]

true, i dont see the problem with that. no 50 move rule either because it doesn't apply to pawns, nor does it specify that its close to 50 move rule.

[@enderyu]

You can't keep the black king away (by shouldering), he is too far in front of you. The king will capture your A pawn and then get in front of your pawn to prevent it from queening. Meanwhile you end up having to abandon your pawn to capture the opponent's pawn, or else you lose

[@yanp9071]

Seems like that, but try to play it out, black king is quick enough to get your a pawn and block the other one, no matter how you play. White is 1 tempo too late, that's the tempo he lost when he had to push the king up before a4, because Black would go back and take, because he could box out White, because White played d1.

[@matthewgraham2619]

Starting where black has already captured the a pawn... Kd4. Kb6 Kd5. Kc7 Ke6. Kd8 Kf7 blocks black from taking e8 to prevent queening. If, somewhere along the line, black decides to come down to take the pawn, we bring our king back to a position where the pawn can come up to a safe spot. But, all this is just to protect the pawn. Is there a line black can throw in some pawn moves of their own and race us?

[@enderyu]

@@matthewgraham2619 By the time the black king takes the A pawn your king should already be on d4, (both kings moving 3 ranks up from where they started) meaning the continuation should be something like: Kd5 Kb7 Kd6 Kc8... If your king moves to d4 *after* black took the A pawn, then white wasted a move or moved the pawn Either way, following the line you mentioned (I'm assuming no pawns moved) then it's just a pawn race and both sides get a queen. Still a draw

[@drziggyabdelmalak1439]

Brilliant! At 2:56 though, when the Black King can get into the triangle, why would White keep simply pushing the Pawn ? Why noy have King moves too to defend it?

[@josiahserrano6651]

I had the same idea.

[@ThatCowGuy]

Because black would promote their A pawn while blocking your pawn with their king. And as soon as you try going for the black pawn, the black king can take your remaining pawn and the game becomes unwinnable for white

[@Boudicca-the-musical]

​@ThatCowGuy they wouldn't be able to block the pawn on the e file. The white king could keep them away and promote the e paen begore the black a file pawn could promote.

[@Soenglish44]

i also thought about that But you end up in a similar position than at 5:00 with with blacks having a free pawn and you can't sacifice your pawn cuz you lost the other one already

[@BramCohen]

Credit to Mr. Crum for searching around for interesting positions in tablebases back in 1913

[@goldfing5898]

I don't understand some of your explanations. At 2:07, I would push the white king rather than the white pawn forward, namely Kd3 instead of e4, to protect my pawn while moving it towards promotion. The same thing at 2:37, where I would push the king: Kd4 rather than e4. And at 3:40, I would prefer Ke3 over e4. I cannot see any investigation of this variant, and how this would turn out.

[@explosivetolgagunpowder]

props to the guy for not moving his e pawn

[@rajeevbansal1959]

Fantastic puzzle. Thanks for sharing

[@syndrac6254]

I was thinking that if king to D1 then all the king has to do was stay in front of his pawn and the pawn will promote, but either way the Black king will get in the way.

[@andremanicke8534]

Was thinking the Same, because as long as the king is in front of the pawn it can always promote. Issue ist that the black pawn can do the same again resulting in a draw.

[@christopherwellman2364]

​@@andremanicke8534but black pawn wouldn't get across in time

[@BrawlStarsPearl-Stats]

2:54 I quite not understand that triangle so I arrow the pawn and the king alternative for easier understanding! 😅 If that's a problem then reply. Im just winning every single pawn endgame where Im not losing (Drawn/Winning). Edit: Im not knowing and winning every single pawn endgame, just a lot (not this)

[@rogergeyer9851]

The diagonal part of the triangle is simply the diagonal of the square the king must be in to catch the pawn (re the square rule). It's just a visualization aid, since the square rule applies to ALL such king and pawn races, the square can be large, this can happen at the END of a longer calculation with trades, etc. To me -- every little trick that helps me not mess up the calculation and be more confident I'm looking at it right is appreciated. Oh, even grandmasters mess up some complex king and pawn endgames. There is a whole massive book on them, re the Encyclopedia of Chess Endings, with a bazillion categories. And I've seen strong players (like near-experts, the rating class below master) mess up even VERY SIMPLE king and pawn endings, as they got their rating being great at the MIDDLE game. So don't feel bad if you don't know every endgame, but if you want to improve, being better at the endgame will certainly help over time.

[@Justajawnie]

I miss you actually playing games. Content took a nose dive after Peter patzer series ended

[@stanlm]

Nice, that was a fun one. Thanks for sharing

[@ashoksafaya5397]

The rule is square rule not triangle rule , standard king pawn endgame seems to be behind the concept of the problem.

[@tannerarmstrong1496]

1:13 I've tried to incorporate this advice into my opening strategy and have had bad results so far. I'll keep trying though.

[@gustavofiguera]

Nelson you are an outstanding historian.

[@myfaceismyshield5963]

You could just screen the white pawn with your white king if the black king goes far enough away from it. Once the king is too far, it can no longer approach the pawn since it isn't allowed to check the other king. I think you ignore that the king protects all areas adjacent to it against another king. So keeping the pawn next to it can make it impossible to stop the pawn by going two spaces ahead of the pawn with the king. That does mean the black pawn could also make it to the end, but then it's a duel of queens.

[@quigonkenny]

White can still start with D1 and win, as long as he stays within one of his pawn, but will eventually be forced over to column F and that resultant strategy anyway as long as he's trying to protect the pawn.

[@faroncobb6040]

Nope, the black king can always get back onto the e file and block the remaining white pawn before the white king can cut him off if the white king stays so close to the pawn. If the white king advances ahead of the pawn it can stop the black king from coming back over, but it has to leave the pawn on its starting row to do so and then black just pushes its own pawn to promote to queen immediately after white and draws that way. White has to be able to threaten to move the king up to protect that pawn, but can't actually do so if black doesn't come back without being one move too slow to prevent a draw.

[@laartwork]

Geez these people suck at chess. It's kf1. After 110 years you probably aren't coming up with an unknown solution.

[@GreenBowYT]

I'm gonna be honest here, the other lines wouldn't have worked, but you played them like an absolute buffoon 😂😂😂

[@laartwork]

The only solution for white to win is kf1 . He shows all the wrong moves but once it's kf1 it's over for black no matter what he does.

[@karlpoon7092]

Lol instincts tells me kf1, but my learnings tells me kd1😂

[@ChibiRuah]

I like it. It’s minimalist and counterintuitive.

[@michaelmaestas5039]

I was able to win moving K-D1. I suggest playing it again.

[@mohankathe3332]

With Kd1, no way. Please illustrate the line. Waiting......

[@Gaban_]

We are still waiting for the line magnus

[@MichaelHarrisIreland]

Seriously protect your pawn so it's a real threat.

[@sergeimashkov2022]

Solved at once. If black king wants to go after the a-pawn, we should just let him have it.

[@reminderIknows]

i learnt the rule of the square from david's forehead

[@richardkeller4892]

Black can force draw by following white queen to each side

[@RedBloodAura]

How is your blood clot doing? Also, nice puzzle!

[@andywang7262]

I have read Endgame Manuel,discuss ing about the theme of this puzzle. According to the method introduced in the book,I find that the e-pawn can be pushed at most to 6th rank. But I still find this instructive to me,for the reason that I meant to push the decoy pawn to 6th rank to gain a tempo.

[@gorgit]

What? I thought this was a forced win

[@rogergeyer9851]

@@gorgit: It is a forced win, but you have to know how to play it JUST right, and clearly black can try different defensive ideas. That's why practical chess endings are much harder (and more realistic) than just knowing theoretical chess endings. (With practical endings, the same fundamentals apply, but extra pawns, for example, might be involved, and you have to calculate their impact on the game, and you have to be PRECISE to play the ending properly with consistency). The ending is the ONLY part of chess I'm fairly strong at -- I like the precision and the lack of pure memorization (like the opening) and the lack of random cheap tactical shots in the middle game. IOW, I like the purity of the endgame, as the KNOWLEDGE will separate the men from the boys, so to speak.

[@jimmears]

Yep. I set it up and won in 13 moves against the computer.

[@HankJames-b3h]

Push the king to keep the opposition.

[@cleverpete]

What if the black king doesn't go for the a pawn at all and just stays in opposition to the white king?

[@Milindsbarve]

Is fishermen story covered on any other channel other than chess adventutes

[@guy0116]

Why would you assume black would move it's king back to the other pawn? That's not what a good player would do, they'd just keep their king around your own to force repetitive moves to get the draw. Am i missing something?

[@rizka7945]

Others: rule of the square! Nelson: make a triangle here.

[@rogergeyer9851]

The triangle isn't that uncommon. I learned that trick in another KZbin chess video, and was very surprised by it having played literally like 40 years before and not recall seeing that. If the square is big, it really helps visualize it clearly / more quickly for wherever the K and pawn are, IMO.

[@mjt106]

Excellent merci 🤩👍

[@fantomghost6213]

Yep, picked this one. Thanks

[@jbr84tx]

After ...Kxe6 white's next move should be Kd4 not e5. Then white can defend the pawn all the way down to 8.

[@crinolynneendymion8755]

You should have started with an explanation why the pawn doesn't simply capture the King en-passant.

[@laartwork]

This is a joke right? That only works against an enemy pawn.

[@rogergeyer9851]

@@laartwork: It's funny how on internet discussions, one can't tell if someone is sarcastic or clueless -- given how many clueless comments often come up on SO many topics. Which is why if it's not SUPER obvious, I prefer to use a /s when being sarcastic.

[@33LB]

1913 is not the year this chess puzzle was conceived. it's paul crum's IQ.

[@mykhaylobatalinskyy3982]

Can someone explain the following scenario f1 - f3, and there is a draw, because black should just keep white king on th 1st line

[@chaimingyang5706]

triangle is very intuitive

[@advjayee]

Move king to d1 and continue at d diognal till promoting e2 pond. Simple end game

[@laartwork]

How does white king pass the black king? Please let me play you at chess. I am sick of losing but know a king can't pass another king a file over.

[@BobPenzien]

White King can also move to f4 rather than d4 and still White can win. Likewise, White King can move to f5 rather than d5 and White can still win.

[@laartwork]

As long as you start with kf1. That was the solution

[@Astrobrant2]

You said 90% of the people would move Kd1. I'll add that 5% of the people would say Kf1 just because it's a puzzle and the most obvious move is almost certainly not the right move. And 4.999% would say Kf1 without having any idea why.

[@tropicsalt.]

Hey, I resemble that comment. Go the 4.999%ers.

[@sebastiang7394]

Yeah that was exactly what I thought. In a game I would definitely have played d1 but given this was a puzzle I assumed this would be wrong. But I didn’t see the solution.

[@bakersmileyface]

What if white king chases the black king, pins him to a corner and pushes it's pawn up.

[@tiemen9095]

My thought here: black is gonna need opposition to block the E-pawn, so if I go away from the action, black must too, justifying me moving away from the action.

[@glowingfish]

I guessed the right move because I guessed the counterintuitive answer!

[@RealShayie]

What if white does go left and only loves their pawn one square instead of two?

[@laartwork]

Try it. The black king can block the white kings advancement and the white pawns. I know for a minute you thought you were able to disprove a 110 year solution. But no that's a draw. For the win it's kf1

[@donj2222]

Why not try to put the WK ahead of the P like normal?

[@craigcampos]

If you go d1 then don’t make the pawn take 2 spots and guard the pawn

[@krislogy]

Why not King to D3 after D2 instead of pushing the pawn to E4?

[@speedypopoff]

U lose tempo on the pawns and their king can force u to draw by pushing their unblocked a pawn

[@laartwork]

You are on the wrong side to defend. You can't get within a space of the other king

[@richardcasey4439]

Amazing puzzle. I’ll bet there are situations where this logic works

[@CyberRabid.]

If white moves King to D1 there is no reason for white king to sit still forever thereafter. He must move for with the pawn preventing black king's interception.

[@TangoNevada]

How many times has this actually happened to anyone in a game?

[@davidcase4600]

Seems like a bad solution. If black knows how white wins, then he would play for the draw. White, k to f1, black k to f3. Mirror the white king

[@steveanderson6350]

F3?

[@PossiblyMaybeGrim]

You can not go to f3 because of the pawn covering that square

[@swedishpsychopath8795]

Would it be possible to turn on a a hidden radio in the frames of your glasses? So that is is turned off when you use the glasses but is turned ON when you fold the arms of the glasses? What if you also have a small speaker/buzzert in your hollow tooth that turns itself on when you press your tongue against it? OK I'm NOT SAYING that Wesley So is cheating. BUT why is he only using glasses when he arrives the chess arena and removes and folds his glasses when he starts to play?

[@konroh2]

Then why isn't he winning?

[@rogergeyer9851]

As if conspiracy theorists tend to have an accurate view of how things work, vs. lots of random unproven THEORIES the vast majority of the time. Sans logic. Sans proof.

[@yogeshsirbaiya5843]

It's a win both side , move king to left or either right , it's a win win

[@konroh2]

No, Black K can draw if go left. He can force stalemate. Under analysis the Bl K just takes the other pawn and the Wh K is forced to defend.

[@rogergeyer9851]

Ignoring the facts and evidence like a science denier will NOT work well for you in chess, any better than it makes the earth flat for flat earthers. Nelson SHOWED YOU CLEARLY why it's NOT a win both ways.

[@QuentinStephens]

What about, after Kd2 you move the pawn to e3, not e4?

[@ThrawnDidNothingWrong]

You equally lose a tempo, so the outcome will be exactly the same.

[@laartwork]

You are on the wrong side to defend.

[@TruthSurge]

why can't black king just step left and right over and over and just not step away from the white pawn in the first place and just get a draw?

[@themrlace]

Because the pawn is controlling those fields. You can't move yourself into check.

[@TruthSurge]

@@themrlace oh, I guess I was for some reason thinking the white pawn was coming down to the bottom. This is why I lose all the time!!!!

[@christopherwellman2364]

At 2:34, I'm not convinced that it's impossible to get the e pawn across by advancing the king further before beginning to advance the pawn... I'm gonna have to check it out on my chessboard

[@simpudney8191]

That was my exact thought on first watching it. What did you come up with? Seems quite easy to use white king as blocker to stop black king getting back across to e pawn. I don't think black king would ever go across for the blocked white pawn for that exact reason

[@AS-lt7jj]

Why not keep playing king up two more squares then use the pawn jump and king can’t get to it in time because our king blocks?

[@johnshaw6702]

Interesting, my first thought on seeing the thumbnail was Kf1. I'm not sure why, other than I had already rejected the run for the pawns on 'a'. I was thinking that I could probably get the pawn on 'e' to the last rank. I didn't bother to think much beyond that.

[@Andre-fu3ve]

I said, king F1 I pinky promise

[@Chomta]

I like john crum without r 😩😩😩

[@briceyokem9236]

At 2:37 keep pushing the King

[@mohankathe3332]

Chess visualization matters. Actually, without moving a pieces but just calculate both side one with Kd1 and another with Kf1. In tournament there is no take back. Perfect visualization study matters. What say? Thanks

[@mikestubbs1708]

Good one, Sir!!

[@VanillaLimeCoke]

6:27 Oh man. That was crazy. It went click......... Bererererererererererererererererer Click!!!!!!!! Almost reminds me of how the clock synced itself back to 9am back in the 5th grade when it was all the way up to 9:35am

[@briceyokem9236]

At 2:02 what is wrong with the white king chasing the black king?

[@sabriath]

why couldn't you move the king up first before moving the pawn on left side, if he moves back, then worst case you are forced to move other side and it's the same....but best case, he keeps going after pawn, you move king up on more time and now the black king can't come back as the white has trapped him on left side. the distance between white and black pawns are same so white will get queen first and check first....then eventually take pawn stuck on a2 but ok

[@mikechesmer5682]

King to d1, you can alternate king and pawn and still win.

[@laartwork]

Oh wow. You disproved a 110 year old solution. ... or just maybe... you didn't fully think it through and if you Played it out you will see it's a draw as the black king can easily block the white kings advancement since you know how king can't move into a check situation. Since he has to move it means he has to move the pawn...nevermind . Just play it out and see.

[@turbotong]

What if at 2:41, white advanced its king first to protect the pawn? White King to D4, instead of Pawn to E4. Black plays King to B6. White King to D5. Black King to C7. White can then go to the E and F columns to protect its pawn. What's wrong with this?

[@konroh2]

Black K can get in the way preventing the promotion. If the Black K ever gets to the C file the White K can't protect

[@speedypopoff]

Problem is u lose tempo and blacks king has enough time to get in a normally stalemate position and/or threaten to promote their a pawn. Kd5 Kc7 Ke6 a5 Kf7 a4 e5 a3 e6 a2 e7 a1=Q e7=Q from then on just a bunch of checks until a forced draw by black

[@fauxnoob4157]

A great practice for king & pawn endgames.

[@tykemorris]

I had a 50/50 chance for the right answer and still wrong. I figured it was Kf1, but I didn't know why.

[@tottenvillelegend826]

I love your puzzle videos!! ❤❤❤

[@spinograph_art]

This is what reality mean

[@patrick3136]

We would use the King,not just thr pawn

[@NJDJ1986]

Now i know king on F1 was the winning move all this time!

[@gdigoroaragedon]

But what if at start of this position black just takes opposition every move

[@laartwork]

He can't do anything to stop you from promoting the pawn if you go to f1. Your pawn has a free run to the top with the king protecting.

[@badguy4216]

Pls more tournaments

[@SamuelPearlman]

I was so close to choosing the correct first move!!

[@MyHydralisk]

2:05 actually, isn't e3 here is a winning move? Instead of e4 that exposes pawn we play slowly e3 and force black king either to race us with a pawn (which they will not be able to do), or to go into "stalemate' where we abandon e-pawn in the end and go help a pawn.

[@MyHydralisk]

Tested. In this case black has time to get back ahead of E-pawn and stale there while pushing it's own A-pawn in the meantime. Interesting puzzle!

[@rogergeyer9851]

No, because you lose a tempo. The reason you win going to F1 is that you GAIN a tempo. These things matter a LOT in K+P endings.

[@harikumars1487]

Really nice puzzle, enjoyed it

[@davebrown6552]

with D1 could you not push the king in front of the pawn so that just before the king takes they pawn on a6 you start pushing the pawn so it gets to the end first.

[@laartwork]

You can't push the white king if the black king blocks him

[@johnklaus9111]

Here's a significantly tougher chess puzzle... How can that setup come to pass? hint: it cant happen.... so many of these 'puzzles' are based on game position that cannot occur....

[@DerekCroxtonWestphalia]

I don't have nearly the analyic skills to go through with it, but couldn't you, instead of moving the pawn to e4, move the king to d3? You protect the pawn for a move to e4 next time, and it seems like you could keep the king between the black king and your pawn down the board until the promotion.

[@konroh2]

Black K can get in the way preventing the promotion. If the Black K ever gets to the C file the White K can't protect

[@speedypopoff]

So i did some calculations and I came to the conclusion that if white tried to push the king when blacks king is on c5 black white loses a tempo on the race for white to promote and black to stop promotion. Kd3 Kb6 e4 Kxa6 Kd4 Kb6 Kd5 Kc7 and at this point it's unwinnable for white because black can threaten to promote while u try to roll out the carpet for the e pawn or simply get in a normally stalemate position and force u to take their a pawn and it's a draw

[@laartwork]

Uh... king can't go to d3 and check himself. He has to stayva square away from the other king so can't protect the pawn... unless the king goes the f1 and now is the black king that can't go on the e file.

[@DerekCroxtonWestphalia]

@@laartwork I don't know at what point you're talking about, but I meant at 2:05 when the black king is at c5.

[@ironpin7949]

Thank you for video

[@dayanandpathak-rv8mw]

King move from d1 to d2 is not good why king not moving to d1 to c2 then pown push. And if black king come close then move will be b3, c4 and creat a blockade agaist the black king

[@JessmanChicken86]

that's such a neat puzzle.

[@peterolbrisch8970]

Yes.

[@BruceLinderDPT]

This game is a draw if the black king stays on the 3 row and just mirrors the white king's first move.

[@ozelot131]

he can't stay on the 3 row, the pawn defends it

[@BruceLinderDPT]

@@ozelot131 Oof, I forgot that today. I remembered it yesterday, but I completely S--t myself today.

[@jackmclane1826]

What chess software do you use? Because I'd like to repeat some of these positions because I'm not yet convinced (I believe you, but believing is not knowing) that there is not option going left...

[@kikixchannel]

Just use literally any grid and any pieces. It can even be a grid drawn in sand with pebbles for pieces...It's not like this grid has any complex pieces or setup. Heck, you can even use a some kind of calc program, like Excel, to simulate it.

[@christopherwellman2364]

Don't you have an actual chessboard?

[@jackmclane1826]

Did I ask for a physical chess set? No, i asked for the software!

[@rogergeyer9851]

@@jackmclane1826: Use virtually ANY strong program. There are LOTS of them now.

[@msjoanofthearc]

Thank you!

[@ae00505]

good one.

[@richardpaling600]

You've put your pawn in front of your king! If you protect the pawn by making sure it's behind the king at all times surely this is a win for white regardless of which side you go?

[@andrewandsueniemeyer6958]

I was thinking d1 and then attempt to box out the king and advance your pawn

[@Sippi81]

interesting thanx

[@KraggHC]

Side note: You should move your microphone slightly to the side, so your plosives do not fire directly into it.