capanegra: This game includes one of the most amusing anecdotes I’ve ever read. At the adjournment, there was an ending with for Najdorf and for Fine, all pieces in the same side, but with Najdorf’s Pawns connected, and Fine’s Pawns isolated. Fine –who had just written his famous “Basic Chess Endings”- said to Najdorf:

-We are wasting our time. Look at my book, and you’ll see this is a theoretical draw.

-However –replied Najdorf- I think I’m a little better, and would like to try a bit more.

-I bet you a thousand Dollars that this is a draw.

-That is too much money for me! I’ll bet you two hundred.

-Look, I don’t want to steal your money. Let’s follow without bets if that makes you happy.

At the end of the game, Fine abandoned, and had to change the conclusion from his own book!!

Looks to give white a draw as after 68.kxf3 kxh3 69. Kxf4 69...g5+? cannot be played and white should be able to get both pawns or trade off his knight for one and gain opposition.

<capanegra> Great story! RF must have been a wealthy guy. A thousand USD in '49 would buy a pretty good 2nd hand car straight away, or be enough for 1/3 of a brand new Cadillac. MN was known to be wealthy and a generous host.

Eggman: <<At the end of the game, Fine abandoned, and had to change the conclusion from his own book!!>>

There are, of course, other mistakes in Fine's ambitious "Basic Chess Endings", mistakes that were not caught before it went to print. One that I ran across just yesterday:

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Supposedly this is a win for White, with Fine giving the line 1.a6 Bf5 2.Kf3 Kd5 3.a7 Be4+ 4.Ke3 and Black is lost. However, instead of 2...Kd5 Black can draw with 2...Bd3 3.a7 Bc4! 4.a8/Q Bd5+. Ironically, Fine had given this as a very rare example in which White can win with Bishop and pawn against Bishop of opposite colour. Such wins must indeed be very rare, since even this is a draw after all!

I wonder if there is a misprint in the game record and Black actually played 45...Ke6.

beatgiant: <sfm>
<So how about 64.Kg1 ?>

I'm not sure if that draws, but at least, any win would take much longer. If White avoids playing h3, I don't see any possibility of direct attack on the h-pawn. Instead, Black can try to maneuver his king to e3 and pile up on the f-pawn.

Following the above plan, a few plausible moves might lead to a position like this:

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and then it might continue 1. Ke2 Nf5 2. Ne4 Kc4 3. Nf6 Kc3 4. Ne4+ Kc2 4. Nf6 Nd4+ 5. Kf2 Kd3 6. Ng8 Nf5 7. Nf6 Ne7 8. Nd7 Nd5 9. Ne5+ Kd2 10. Nc4+ Kd1 11. Ne5 and White threatens to counterattack Black's pawns with Nf7, so even now it's still hard to make progress:

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I was not able to find any win. Does anyone else see one?

Peligroso Patzer: <syracrophy: After 72.Nxg5 h3 73.Nxh3 Kxh3 74.Kd3 <73.Kf2 Kh2 74.Ke2 Kf2 [sic - should read "Kg2"] pushes the king away from the pawn> 74...Kg2! 75.Ke4 Kf3 and white loses the pawn, and black promotes in a couple moves>

Apart from the one obvious typo [74. ... Kf2 where 74. ... Kg2 was intended] in one variation, the above analysis of the final position is excellent.

There is one further point I would add with respect to the final position:

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If this position (with White to play) were moved one rank towards Black's side of the board, it would be drawn. The key factor is that the Black pawn on f4 (in the actual final position) has reached its fifth rank. If that pawn were only on its fourth rank, White could hold by maneuvering to take the opposition after Black captured the last White pawn. In the most basic of endings ( + versus lone ), if the "attacking" (i.e., the one with a ) is on the square directly in front of the , and if the opposing has the opposition, the position is drawn if the is on its own half of the board, but it is a win if the has reached its fifth rank.