Should I have taken the draw?

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LaSek

In the end I had a 1 pawn advantage, but did not see a way to capitalize on it.

likesforests

LaSek> I had a 1 pawn advantage, but did not see a way to capitalize on it.

It's a won position, so there are two flaws in your thinking:

  • This endgame is won, and you do not see it.
  • You offered a draw when you had a significant advantage and you weren't 100% certain the position was drawn. You should've played on.

49...Kc3 is forced. After that, I would bring your king to c2, then aim to chase away his king with Rd4-Re4. White cannot defend all threats.

LaSek

A minor correction, I accepted the draw that was offered.

To Bermuda: What is the rational for 2Ra1? I was thinking that white would try to advance the pawns until rook is threatened.

 

To likesforests: Kc3-c2 was a continuation I was thinking of, but what then?

immortalgamer

Depends on the time left if your time was almost out then yes draw.  If you had a time advantage why not play a few moves more since you know you can draw it at least.

bondiggity

Your move order should have been: Kc3, Kc2 Rd3, Re3: This effectively defends the the pawn, forces a trade of rooks whereby afterwards you can easily promote. 

 

Even if you didn't see this, I would suggest never accepting a draw if you think there is a chance you could win. You were up a pawn, which is not always winning, but it was a protected passed pawn which is extremely powerful. 

Nytik

If you won't/can't see the winning combination, then obviously a draw was the right thing to do. It all depends on how you would've continued...

fullscreen

In general, until you reach class A, you should not accept draws unless the position is completely lifeless. The amount that you will learn playing the position, even if you end up losing, is worth more than the half point. In many rook-and-pawn endgames, play gets very complicated. Even if your position was not technically absolutely winning, you should dig in and try, especially when you have a material advantage. As you can see from other more experienced players' comments, yes, you do have a winning position if you play it right. Likesforests' idea of ...Kc3, ...Kc2 is a good one. Now the opponent's rook and king are locked up. You might be able to check White's king away, as  L. advises. Or instead, after ...Kc2, you can lock up all the pawns (perhaps by shuttling your rook on the d-file if necessary), forcing White to move either the king (in which case you take the rook on d1) or rook (in which case you queen the pawn). Since you asked this question, you might have the energy and enthusiasm to work out variations, perhaps with the help of a computer playing White.

likesforests

LaSek> Kc3-c2 was a continuation I was thinking of, but what then?

likesforests

Nytik> If you won't/can't see the winning combination, then obviously a draw was the right thing to do.

In this case there was a win, but even if there were no simple win (also no simple draw) I would play on. Black's ahead and has all the winning chances.

fullscreen> In many rook-and-pawn endgames, play gets very complicated.

Absolutely. Even masters stumble after spending several minutes on each position...