Find the Move

[Brendan O'Gorman]

A friend suggested I share this position from a game I played last Sunday. It's White to play. Can you do better than I did and find the only move that draws?
8/8/3k4/8/2p1p3/1p1NK3/8/8 w - - 0 63

[Barry Sandercock]

How about Nf2 ?

[Paul McKeown]

Took me five minutes or perhaps ten. Process of elimination really. Danger pawn is the b-pawn, need the knight, Kxe4 fails to ...c3. Only square the knight can intercept the b-pawn without getting hit by the c-pawn is c3. Access to c3 is via e4. Therefore...

[Brendan O'Gorman]

Yes, Nd3-f2-e4+-c3 it is. I have difficulty finding moves that take a piece away from the area of the board where the problem lies - in this case the problem is on the queenside so I instinctively rule out moving a piece to the kingside. I wonder whether I should try to apply one of Jeremy Silman's tips which is to fantasise about where you'd like your pieces to be ('if only my knight were on c3') and then see whether the fantasy is possible.

[Simon Brown]

Curious starting position. Just wondering what Black played instead of c or exd3 last move or a few moves ago.

[Kevin O'Rourke]

Curious starting position. Just wondering what Black played instead of c or exd3 last move or a few moves ago.

Was thinking the same. How is the Knight still alive?

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Presumably Black captured a major piece (worth more than the knight) on c4 or e4, capturing with a pawn that came from d5 or f5, maybe even from b5 though that seems less likely. Might even have been a capture by White with check using a knight to capture what was on c4 or e4. You still have to go back a few more moves to find when the knight first got threatened by the other pawn (and why it didn't move away sooner after being threatened). Maybe Brendan will post the whole game (or at least the moves up to that point)?

[Angus French]

Yes, Nd3-f2-e4+-c3 it is. I have difficulty finding moves that take a piece away from the area of the board where the problem lies - in this case the problem is on the queenside so I instinctively rule out moving a piece to the kingside. I wonder whether I should try to apply one of Jeremy Silman's tips which is to fantasise about where you'd like your pieces to be ('if only my knight were on c3') and then see whether the fantasy is possible.

Also, knights like circuits.
For example:
[SetUp "1"] [FEN "8/8/K7/4N3/8/7p/7k/8 w - - 0 1"]
When 1. Ng4+ and keeping the knight on the g4-e3-f1-h2 circuit draws.

[Brendan O'Gorman]

6B1/8/3k4/1p6/2r1p3/1p1NK3/8/8 w - - 0 62

Black, running short of time, had just played 61…e4? allowing 62.Bxc4 bxc4 and arriving at my missed chance to draw.