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74. Ke3
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White has this nice mating tactic where Black will lose quickly if he takes the knight. After Kxh2, play continues Kf2 Kh1 Ne2 Kh2 (h2 Ng3#) Nc3 Kh1 Ne4 Kh2 (h2 Ng3#) Nd2 Kh1 Nf1 h2 Ng3# |
 
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74... Kh4
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Kg2 also loses quickly because Ne2 maintains the sacrifice mating tactic (Ne2 Kxh2 Kf3 Kh1 Kf2 transposes into the line discussed before) and Black's king is completely restricted to the corner. White uses restriction to force Black to accept the knight sacrifice, where White can use the brilliant 1-knight mating tactic, which was once just a composed puzzle, but now it serves a purpose in this endgame. If Black's pawn wasn't a rook pawn, then it would have to be farther from promotion in order for White to still win, since mating with 1 knight can only be done if the king is trapped behind a rook-pawn |
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75. Kf4 Kh5 76. Kf5 Kh6
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If Kh4, then Ne2 restricts the king to be pushed upward anyway |
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77. Kf6 Kh7 78. Ne2
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White's powerful knights and Black's traitor pawn restrict the enemy king from crossing a barrier, Black's only hope of escaping is around the White king and back to the queenside. |
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78... Kg8 79. Ke7
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Here we are nearing the 50-move rule. On most online chess servers, the 50-move rule is initiated, and White would have to sadly settle for a draw, but in competetive tournament play, the 50-move rule can be exempted for special cases that require more than 50 moves to win. Usually your opponent's defense won't be perfect, so there is still hope of winning in under 50 moves when playing online where the 50-move rule interferes with your win. If you are in an OTB tournament and you ever get a winning ending requiring more than 50 moves to win, I highly encourage you to cause a scene if the tournament director won't allow you more than 50 moves to win. I think the 50-move rule is dumb, because there is a famous position that requires almost 600 moves to force a win! |
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79... Kh7
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Kg7 allows White to win slightly quicker with Nf4, where White's opposition of the king allows Black to be cornered quicker. A lot of players would've played Kg7, cutting off time from White's winning sequence. A lot of inaccuracies by a human player can take lots of moves of your winning sequence, and may allow you to finish in less than 50 moves in cases where extra time isn't allowed. |
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80. Kf7 Kh6 81. Kf6 Kh7
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If Kh5, then White tightens the barrier with a Nc3 Ne4 maneuver |
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82. Nd4 Kh6
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The finishing moves of this ending are usually the hardest to find. The cornering part at the beginning just required logical restricting moves. White now has to continue the restriction barrier into the h8-corner where White's h2-knight has sufficient moves to mate Black the same move the pawn promotes. Back when the king was cornered on a1, the knight wasn't close enough to force a mate, but the h2-knight served a purpose when it restricted the a1-square with a mating threat. |
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83. Nf5+
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If Kh7 here, then Kf7 corners the king more quickly. |
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83... Kh5 84. Ne3
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There are two totally different winning sequences.
If Black's plan is to move toward the h8-corner, then White will win by stalemating the king on h8 the same move the h2-knight moves to give Black a legal pawn move, then that knight will mate Black the same move the pawn promotes.
If Black's plan is to move toward the h1-corner, then White will win by figuring a way to get his king to g3 the same move Black plays Kh1, so that White will have Nf2 h2 Nf2# |
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84... Kh6
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This is Black's longest way of surviving, since the knights are further from the h8-corner, but regardless, the knights are powerful enough to corner the king in either corner wherever Black flees. |
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85. Neg4+ Kh7
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If Kh5, then Kf5 Kh4 Kg6 and White forces the king to h1 thanks to the powerful barrier restricting f3, f2, and f1. White would then need to get the king to g3 the same move the king is forced to h1, and then play Nf3 h2 Nf2# |
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86. Kf7 Kh8 87. Nh6 Kh7 88. Nf5 Kh8
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The king has been forcefully cornered, so now White must figure out the mating sequence. There are certain squares the knights need to be on in order to complete the mating attack. |
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89. Kg6 Kg8 90. Ng7 Kf8
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Kh8 loses quicker to Ne6 Kg8 Ng4!! where White has enough moves to mate Black on or before the move the pawn promotes |
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91. Kf6 Kg8 92. Ne6 Kh7
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If Kh8, then Kg6 Kg8 Ng4!! reaching the same position discussed a couple moves ago. |
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93. Kg5 Kg8 94. Kg6 Kh8 95. Kf7 Kh7
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Now White has maneuvered the knight onto a square where a forced checkmating sequence can begin with the movement of the blockading knight. |
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96. Ng4
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It takes a lot of foresight and extremely accurate play to win an endgame like this, so hopefully these ideas will help you in your endgame. Even though this endgame took more than 50 moves to win, White still had a forced win, and most TD's will exempt the 50-move rule if you have the technique to win this. A lot of times the defenders's defense won't be well enough to make you take more than 50 moves, especially in lower rated games. |
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96... h2
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Kh8 loses just as fast, after Nf6 h2 Nf4 h1=Q Ng6#. |
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97. Ng5+
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Checking with this knight on g5 or f8 will win just as fast, since the knight will be guarding h7 in either case, the king will be stalemated in either case, and the g4-knight can complete the same mating maneuver in either case. |
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97... Kh8 98. Ne5
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This is the final mating maneuver, Black has been successfully cornered into a stalemated position where forced mate exists. |
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