King and Pawn vs. King

Hello, I'm a chess novice and I am having difficulty in quickly figuring out whether black (lone king) will draw or lose against white (King and pawn). I have a basic understanding of opposition, but I don't know how to quickly assess whether black should draw or lose in a situation. Can someone give me tips or pointers?

I'm not an idiot. So please don't make fun of me; I'm just new and need help in understanding. Thank you.

Somtimes in it your king can get stalemated like this   

And sometimes you can lose because there pawn premotes

I need to figure out in real game situations whether I can win or if I have to stalemate. How do you calculate it quickly?

Basically it depends which king is in front of the pawn. If it's your own you can force a promotion and if it's your opponent's he can force a stalemate. If the pawn is on the edge (a or h file) then it might be possible to force a stalemate even if your king is in front of the pawn.

Learn opposition:

http://tinyurl.com/7l4bfjy

In general the side with the pawn needs his/her King in front of the pawn not behind it in order to win

You need to learn "the sq of the pawn" rule when it's just your King vs a pawn (ie the enemy King is too far away to matter) or vice versa

If the pawn can get to the 7th-rank WITHOUT checking the enemy King it queens; if it checks the game is drawn by stalemate. See my blogs for more details and consider picking up a copy of Pandolfini's endgame book Pandolfini's Endgame Course: Basic Endgame Concepts Explained by America's Leading Chess Teacher Fireside Books, 1988. AN 320 pp.

http://www.chess.com/forum/view/endgames/king-and-pawn-vs-king?lc=1#last_comment

http://blog.chess.com/NimzoRoy/endgame-books

Or to put things simply:

King in front of pawn wins. Always...

[ edit: ''nearly always '' according to the experts..:) ]

No.

Yes. hehe.

( If you have pawn & King get in front of your pawn early you will win..:)

No.

You win king on 6th rank pawn on 5th rank, if the pawn is further back your king needs to be two rows in front or you need the opposition. Also, if it’s a rook pawn, the opposition king can trap your king in front of the pawn despite your king being in front, or just move between the queening square and the adjacent one.

King in front, draw:

I said '' early '' & in Scott's diagram black played incorrectly before position was arrived at.

Well, splitting-hairs about specific-positions aside, I stand by what I say. (for advice to beginners such as OP here) It is a good maxim to adopt in my opinion...

Would rather tell them something they can remember & put to good-use than confuse with excess theory.

As for forcing a draw, there's a simple rule of thumb I use - I have to win  control (occupy) one of the two squares in front of the advancing pawn. When my king is forced off both of these squares then I go to opposition on the same file:-

So as a rule, if you can jump on to one of the two squares immediately in front of the pawn then a draw can be forced.  But like most rules there's  an exception to this one:-

So watch out when that pawn is two squares away from the promoting square. Otherwise, always try to get to the square in front of the pawn whenever possible.

Forcing promotion is trickier. It isn't just a case of placing your king in front of your pawn as some people suggest - I think you need to be at least two squares in front to be certain.

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No it isn't, beginners should completely avoid that 'rule'.

It's a simple enough concept to learn without learning errors which may throw away a win.

Scott they are either going to win or at very worst draw. Why is that bad advice ?

Because you can turn a won position into a drawn one by thinking it's enough to have the king one square in front of the pawn, when often it's not.

Often ?  It's always the best route to take to '' try '' to win. What are you going to play otherwise to win from such a position then ??

(In your diagrammed game)

You could have mentioned that you & the Parham-crew had already gone over this & posted link to save time ? 

http://www.chess.com/forum/view/game-showcase/beginners-learn-opposition?page=1

Look at this position.

You've told a beginner 'king in front of pawn is always winning'. They play Kc5 and throw away the win.

If you instead tell them that they need the king in front of the pawn with opposition with the object of getting their king to b6, c6 or d6 (and afterwards pawn on 5th, King on 6th) they can see the idea of Kd5.

good