Answers.Body: <p>In positions where the side with the Rook is trying to hold back the passed pawns it is often critical how quickly the King can scramble back to base, because the Rook will usually be easy. If for example the King must reach g8, then ..Kxa2 leaves the King with one rank less to cross and therefore (other things being equal) will save a tempo. Therefore my instinct would tend toward ..Kxa2 rather than ..Rxa2, even before attempting any analysis. The question whether other things truly are equal is the reason why endings in general need a lot of calculation. In this case they probably are.</p>
  <p>However, why did White take the pawn before it promoted? 1.f5 waiting for 1..a1=Q 2. Rxa1 Kxa1. White would then be two tempi up compared to the game. He made Black spend a move on promoting, and also ensured that the Black King would have to cross all eight ranks.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2020-07-23T02:46:18.780Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2020-07-23T02:46:18.780Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Philip Roe
Body: <p>Recently I got this position in a game I played as Black with White to move.</p>
  <pre><code> [FEN &quot;8/8/8/R6p/4KP1P/6P1/pr6/1k6 w - - 0 1&quot;]
  </code></pre>
  <p>Here, White captured with the move 1.Rxa2. It turns out that 1... Kxa2 is winning while 1... Rxa2 loses. Is there any way to see that Kxa2 must be played instead of Rxa2 without turning to the endgame tablebases? How do you judge such endgames?</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2020-07-23T06:49:27.707Z
Comments.Text: 1...Rxa2 is a draw, not a loss. (This doesn’t invalidate the question, of course.)
Comments.UserDisplayName: Stephen
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2020-07-23T06:53:06.533Z
Comments.Text: There's still a long game to play after either of the moves. That being said, you want your king to reach a square near f8 as soon as possible, and ...Kxa2 puts it one move closer (despite what it may seem in "standard geometry")
Comments.UserDisplayName: David
Tags: <analysis><endgame>
Title: How to play this endgame without consulting the tablebases
ThreadText: # How to play this endgame without consulting the tablebases
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2020-07-23)
  
  Recently I got this position in a game I played as Black with White to move.
   [FEN "8/8/8/R6p/4KP1P/6P1/pr6/1k6 w - - 0 1"]
  
  Here, White captured with the move 1.Rxa2. It turns out that 1... Kxa2 is winning while 1... Rxa2 loses. Is there any way to see that Kxa2 must be played instead of Rxa2 without turning to the endgame tablebases? How do you judge such endgames?
  
  **Tags:** analysis, endgame
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: 1...Rxa2 is a draw, not a loss. (This doesn’t invalidate the question, of course.)  
  > **username_2**: There's still a long game to play after either of the moves. That being said, you want your king to reach a square near f8 as soon as possible, and ...Kxa2 puts it one move closer (despite what it may seem in "standard geometry")  
  
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  ## 1 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_3 on 2020-07-23. Score: 7 | Accepted answer
  
  In positions where the side with the Rook is trying to hold back the passed pawns it is often critical how quickly the King can scramble back to base, because the Rook will usually be easy. If for example the King must reach g8, then ..Kxa2 leaves the King with one rank less to cross and therefore (other things being equal) will save a tempo. Therefore my instinct would tend toward ..Kxa2 rather than ..Rxa2, even before attempting any analysis. The question whether other things truly are equal is the reason why endings in general need a lot of calculation. In this case they probably are.
  
  However, why did White take the pawn before it promoted? 1.f5 waiting for 1..a1=Q 2. Rxa1 Kxa1. White would then be two tempi up compared to the game. He made Black spend a move on promoting, and also ensured that the Black King would have to cross all eight ranks.
  
  
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