Chess Puzzle #IrS88 — Expert, Black to move, endgame

Position

White: king c3; pawns a2/e5/f5/g4/h4. Black: king c5; pawns c4/e6/f7/g6/h6. Material is balanced. Black to move.

Solution (4 moves)

1. Opponent setup: a4 — pawn a2→a4. Now Black to move.
2. Best move: gxf5 — pawn g6→f5, captures pawn. Opponent replies gxf5 (pawn g4→f5, captures pawn).
3. Best move: exf5 — pawn e6→f5, captures pawn. Opponent replies a5 (pawn a4→a5).
4. Best move: Kb5 — king c5→b5. Opponent replies a6 (pawn a5→a6).
5. Best move: Kxa6 — king b5→a6, captures pawn.

Why this works

Black executes a forcing sequence that eliminates White's dangerous passed pawns on the kingside while creating an unstoppable passed pawn on the queenside. After 1...gxf5 2.gxf5 exf5, Black has traded away White's dangerous e5 and f5 pawns but kept the c4 pawn intact. The critical move is 3...Kb5, attacking the a4 pawn and forcing White to push it forward. Once White plays 4.a5, Black's king captures on a6, and Black's c4 pawn becomes the only remaining passed pawn on the board — White's king on c3 cannot stop it from c5. White has no counterplay: the h4 pawn is too slow, and Black's king will shepherd the c-pawn to promotion after consolidating the queenside.

What to practice

In pawn endgames with multiple passed pawns, calculate whether you can trade away the opponent's dangerous passers while preserving your own. The key is measuring tempi: how many moves does each side's passed pawn need to promote, and can the defending king stop it? Here, Black sacrifices time on the kingside (allowing White two pawn trades) because the resulting position leaves Black's c-pawn unstoppable and White's remaining h-pawn too distant. Count carefully which pawns promote first.

Tactical themes

crushing, endgame, pawn endgame, very long. The key move gxf5 wins material.

Position data

FEN: 8/5p2/4p1pp/2k1PP2/2p3PP/2K5/P7/8 w - - 2 40

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