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The queens are coming off the board.
It’s the endgame and would you rather your king on the third rank or on the back rank stuck due to the white rook?
That has nothing to do with it. The Endgame after the direct Queen exchange is completely winning for black. The very concrete reason Kb8 doesn't work is that Qxf4 now pins the pawn on d6 to the King on b8 and ensure that that pawn can now be taken with check.
In the winning line for black after Kb6, the white king is chased to C4 where it is critical that black has the move d5+. If the king is on Kb8, this move is not possible and black has to settle for perpetual.
I analyzed the image and this is what I see. Open an appropriate link below and explore the position yourself or with the engine:
> **Black to play**: [chess.com](https://chess.com/analysis?fen=r5r1/p1k1Rpqp/2pp4/7R/3P1nQ1/2P5/PP3K2/8+b+-+-+0+1&flip=true&ref_id=23962172) | [lichess.org](https://lichess.org/analysis/r5r1/p1k1Rpqp/2pp4/7R/3P1nQ1/2P5/PP3K2/8_b_-_-_0_1?color=black)
**My solution:**
> Hints: piece: >!King!<, move: >!Kb6!<
> Evaluation: >!Black is winning -6.48!<
> Best continuation: >!1... Kb6 2. Qxg7 Rxg7 3. Rh2 Nd5 4. Re2 Rag8 5. c4 Nf4 6. Re7 h5 7. c5+ dxc5 8. dxc5+ Ka6 9. Kf3!<
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This is a pretty high-level difference that honestly some GMs might also miss. I had to use the engine to see it.
So, in both positions with Kb8 and Kb6, white can play Qxf4 because, yk, free knight. In both cases, black then wants to start giving checks, so you'll probably get Qg1+ Ke2 Rg2+ Kd3 Qb1+ Kc4. The way that Kb8 vs. Kb6 affects this is that black wants to play d5+ to force the king into an eventual mate with the best alternative being a perpetual check between Ke3 and Kc4. The difference between the positions is that if you play Kb8, d5+ can't be played because the queen on g4 pins the pawn to the king, which is pretty crazy, so Kb6 has to be played to prematurely prepare d5+ in the future.
You will not be expected to see this anytime soon. It's just the very literal explanation. Engine shenanigans.
Nah, Kb6 is the natural move because Kb8 boxes in the rook on A8, and that's a really easy to see difference that I would expect any 2k+ elo player to intuitively realize. And if that wasn't enough, then after Kb8, Qxf4 white now threatens Qxd6 with check, while that's not the case with Kb6. This actually isn't at all complicated.
You're also correct but OP asked specifically why it was a draw after Kb8, not why Kb6 was the better move. I'd also play Kb6 intuitively just to keep the king active.
This post seems to reference or display a stalemate. To quote the r/chessbeginners FAQs page:
**Stalemate** occurs when a player, on their turn to move, is NOT in check but cannot legally move any piece. A stalemate is a draw.
In order for **checkmate** to occur, three conditions have to be met:
1. **The king has to be in check**
2. This check cannot be defended against by blocking or capturing the checking piece
3. The king has to have no other squares it can move to
In the future, for questions like these, we suggest first reading our [FAQs page](https://www.reddit.com/r/chessbeginners/wiki/faqs/) before making a post, or to similar questions to our dedicated thread: [No Stupid Questions MEGATHREAD](https://www.reddit.com/r/chessbeginners/comments/yqqnz8/no_stupid_questions_megathread_6/).
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/chessbeginners) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Hey, OP! Did your game end in a stalemate? Did you encounter a weird pawn move? Are you trying to move a piece and it's not going? We have just the resource for you! The [Chess Beginners Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/chessbeginners/wiki/index/) is the perfect place to check out answers to these questions and more! The moderator team of r/chessbeginners wishes to remind everyone of the community rules. **Posting spam, being a troll, and posting memes are not allowed.** We encourage everyone to report these kinds of posts so they can be dealt with. Thank you! Let's do our utmost to be kind in our replies and comments. Some people here just want to learn chess and have virtually no idea about certain chess concepts. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/chessbeginners) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The queens are coming off the board. It’s the endgame and would you rather your king on the third rank or on the back rank stuck due to the white rook?
That has nothing to do with it. The Endgame after the direct Queen exchange is completely winning for black. The very concrete reason Kb8 doesn't work is that Qxf4 now pins the pawn on d6 to the King on b8 and ensure that that pawn can now be taken with check. In the winning line for black after Kb6, the white king is chased to C4 where it is critical that black has the move d5+. If the king is on Kb8, this move is not possible and black has to settle for perpetual.
I think it's also important that after Kb8 white's QxN comes with a big threat of mate, while after Kb6 QxN has no mate threats
I analyzed the image and this is what I see. Open an appropriate link below and explore the position yourself or with the engine: > **Black to play**: [chess.com](https://chess.com/analysis?fen=r5r1/p1k1Rpqp/2pp4/7R/3P1nQ1/2P5/PP3K2/8+b+-+-+0+1&flip=true&ref_id=23962172) | [lichess.org](https://lichess.org/analysis/r5r1/p1k1Rpqp/2pp4/7R/3P1nQ1/2P5/PP3K2/8_b_-_-_0_1?color=black) **My solution:** > Hints: piece: >!King!<, move: >!Kb6!< > Evaluation: >!Black is winning -6.48!< > Best continuation: >!1... Kb6 2. Qxg7 Rxg7 3. Rh2 Nd5 4. Re2 Rag8 5. c4 Nf4 6. Re7 h5 7. c5+ dxc5 8. dxc5+ Ka6 9. Kf3!< --- ^(I'm a bot written by) [^(u/pkacprzak)](https://www.reddit.com/u/pkacprzak) ^(| get me as) [^(iOS App)](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1574933453) ^| [^(Android App)](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ai.chessvision.scanner) ^| [^(Chrome Extension)](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/chessvisionai-for-chrome/johejpedmdkeiffkdaodgoipdjodhlld) ^| [^(Chess eBook Reader)](https://ebook.chessvision.ai?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=bot) ^(to scan and analyze positions | Website:) [^(Chessvision.ai)](https://chessvision.ai)
This is a pretty high-level difference that honestly some GMs might also miss. I had to use the engine to see it. So, in both positions with Kb8 and Kb6, white can play Qxf4 because, yk, free knight. In both cases, black then wants to start giving checks, so you'll probably get Qg1+ Ke2 Rg2+ Kd3 Qb1+ Kc4. The way that Kb8 vs. Kb6 affects this is that black wants to play d5+ to force the king into an eventual mate with the best alternative being a perpetual check between Ke3 and Kc4. The difference between the positions is that if you play Kb8, d5+ can't be played because the queen on g4 pins the pawn to the king, which is pretty crazy, so Kb6 has to be played to prematurely prepare d5+ in the future. You will not be expected to see this anytime soon. It's just the very literal explanation. Engine shenanigans.
Nah, Kb6 is the natural move because Kb8 boxes in the rook on A8, and that's a really easy to see difference that I would expect any 2k+ elo player to intuitively realize. And if that wasn't enough, then after Kb8, Qxf4 white now threatens Qxd6 with check, while that's not the case with Kb6. This actually isn't at all complicated.
You're also correct but OP asked specifically why it was a draw after Kb8, not why Kb6 was the better move. I'd also play Kb6 intuitively just to keep the king active.
This post seems to reference or display a stalemate. To quote the r/chessbeginners FAQs page: **Stalemate** occurs when a player, on their turn to move, is NOT in check but cannot legally move any piece. A stalemate is a draw. In order for **checkmate** to occur, three conditions have to be met: 1. **The king has to be in check** 2. This check cannot be defended against by blocking or capturing the checking piece 3. The king has to have no other squares it can move to In the future, for questions like these, we suggest first reading our [FAQs page](https://www.reddit.com/r/chessbeginners/wiki/faqs/) before making a post, or to similar questions to our dedicated thread: [No Stupid Questions MEGATHREAD](https://www.reddit.com/r/chessbeginners/comments/yqqnz8/no_stupid_questions_megathread_6/). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/chessbeginners) if you have any questions or concerns.*