I finally forced the K + Q vs K + R checkmate by forcing the philidor position. No video though, it was done in the endgame simulator.

Nice! This is very tricky.

Thanks, it was not easy.

I'm probably breaking some sort of convention, but I've got two brags and one "beat" I should have lost. All were G/5.

Knockout in the Sicilian (13 moves)

Najdorf Massacre (24 moves)

Interesting Queen Transfer (21 moves)

Did that checkmate again, but this time it was on the 49th move after having forked on the 45th and took the rook on the 46th.

Crushed the Queen versus Rook endgame simulator in 33 or 34 moves, having reached Philidor's position around move 25, and the fork happened around move 30.

beat: waking up and deciding that the first thing you'll do is play 1-minute games. I lost 4 or 5 in a row and somehow managed to be down on time by more than 30 seconds in a few of the games...I need caffeine

Brag: finally got my Tactics Trainer rating up to 1988! Someday when admins here have oodles of free time, rated tactics training could be a nice feature to add.

I love losing 300 points 1940-1675 I hope i dont stop this unbelievable streak..makes me want to play all day and night ..yahoooooooo

After outplaying a 1900 player for a few hours in OTB club tournamnet game, i reached the below position. It ended a DRAW!!! OK, i had 3 minutes left, but still. In Silman's book, don't you think he expects a 1200 player to win this easy?? I think this means i am below 1200 level in the endgame LOL
EDIT: I'm sorry Dandy Dan, it is BLACK to move. Anyway, here is how i "botched it up":

33... h5 34. Ke4 g5 35. Kf5 f6 36. e4 c5 37. e5 h4 38. gxh4 gxh4 39. Kg4

And now we have this very instructive position with black to play:

39...h3?? A totally wasted tempo, the White king is just as fast from h3 as it would be from h4. 39...b5 wins easy.) 40. Kxh3 fxe5 41. Kg4 Kf7 42. Kf5 Ke7 43. Kxe5 Kd7 44. Kd5 b6 45. a4 Kc7 46. a5 bxa5 47. Kxc5 a4 48. bxa4 OK whatever.

Yeah... 1. Ke4 Kf8 2. Kd4 b6! 3. Ke5 Ke7! is a routine win, although finding b6 and Ke7 isn't so easy. I guess the big idea is activate your king to block White's king.

Hi katar,

Bummers... It's very easy to get flustered in time trouble. In the calm, cool light of the next day, I suspect you know (unlike most 1200s and even a lot of 1600s) that you almost always need to get your king involved in K+P vs. K+P endgames even with a couple extra pawns.

Instead of 33... h5 I think 33... Kf8 followed by 34... Ke7 and then getting in the White king's face (wherever he goes) is the is the answer, maybe tossing in ...b6 like DDD sugested if he tries to go to c5 -- though that's unnecessary if you play 33... Kf8 since if 34. Ke4 Ke7 35. Kd4 Kd6 and if 36. Kc4 h5 or if 36. Ke4 c5 in either case hitting him on the side where he isn't. Then wherever he goes you play to generate a passed pawn on the other side while using your king to push him back in the center or support your pawns on the side where he is. Your 3P vs. 2P majorities can both win the game alone if the White king is kept busy. And with the right idea, all of the necessary moves are pretty easy so you don't get into complicated seeming positions like your second diagram where it's easy to make a mistake.

L8erz...
=wild=

PS -- I've got a beauty of a beat myself. I'll try and post it later tonight.

Thanks, the advice to win an easily winning endgame in a simple, safe (idiot-proof) manner is valuable.

Well, here's my beat... I think I got slightly the better of it eliminating Black's g7 bishop early on, then I underestimated his play on the queenside and got my pieces horribly discoordinated, then I got some counterplay going and just when I thought I'd crawled back into it, he made that beautiful last move... Hey, at least I resigned with a smile on my face. Moves like that are part of what makes this game so darn fun!

Tricky position but white should not resign!
Nxd8 Nf2
Kg1 Nxd1
Ne6+ Kf7
Re2 c2
d8Q threatens Qf8#