Two Pawns to One: When the Extra Pawn Draws

Watch the method: press play to see the winning idea run, or step through it move by move.

Material means nothing when the extra pawns cannot be converted. This little two-against-one is a draw, and the mechanism is stalemate.

No blockade required. The pawns are already locked: your a6 pawn cannot move and the white a5 pawn cannot move. Your king is confined to a8, b8 and c8, and from the starting position all three hold.

Let him push. White's only try is b6-b7 with check. Step in front of it, and then look at the position when his king comes alongside on b6: the pawn on b7 covers a8 and c8, the king covers a7 and c7, your own pawn cannot move. You have no legal move at all. Stalemate.

The lesson. Do not judge this ending by counting pawns. Count legal moves.

The corner is doing the work. This refuge only exists on the rook file. Slide the whole position one file toward the center and White wins: he gives the front pawn away, walks his king in, and collects your last pawn, because away from the corner there is no stalemate to hide in. When you head for a refuge like this, check which file you are on first.

In this drill you are two pawns down and cannot lose. Recognize the pattern and the half point is yours instantly.