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© Copyright 2004, Jim Loy
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The White king, in this ending, is called the Fugitive
King. The position is by J. Robertson. Although a piece ahead, White is in some
trouble, as the four pieces are immobile, and Red has more kings. Traditional
wisdom is that Red wins. This ending is particularly famous because A. Long
pointed out that this game results in one move after the diagrammed
position:
12-16 21-17 9-13 24-20 5-9 25-21 11-15 20-11 7-16 23-18 16-20 18-11 8-15 26-23 4-8 23-18 8- 11 30-26 1-5 26-23 9-14 18-9 5-14 28-24 6-9 29-25 3-8 23-18 14-23 27-18 20-27 32-23 8-12 31- 27 2-7 18-14 9-18 23-14 15-19 14-9 11-16 9-6 16-20 6-2 19-24 2-11 24-31 11-7 31-26 7-14 20- 24 14-18 24-27 18-15 27-31 15-19 31-27 19-15 12-16 15-11 16-20 11-15 20-24 15-10 24-28 10- 14 28-32 14-10 32-28 10-14 28-24 14-9 24-19 9-14 19-16 14-9 27-24 9-5 24-19, A. Long, analysis of the game L. Ginsberg - A. Long, 7th U.S. National Tourney.
I think the Fugitive King position is a draw. Here is the analysis (apparently all by Boland himself) as found in B. Boland's Famous Positions, p. 135, beginning at the above diagram, with my comments added:
23-26 5-9 19-15 9-14 16-11 14-18 15-10 18-14 11-7 14-9 7-3 9-5 26-23 5-9 23-19 9-5 (9-14 19-15 draw, J. Loy) 19-15 5-9 15-11 9-5?(A) 11-7 5-9 7- 2 9-5 2-6 5-9 (5-1 3-8 17-14 10-26 1-10 26-23 RW) 6-1 9-6 10-15 6-9 (6-2 15-18 22-15 13-29 15-10 29-25 RW) 1-5 9-6 (17-14 15-10 14-7 3-10 RW) 5-9 6-2 3-8 2-7 8-12 7-2 12-16 (15-10? 17-14 10-26 25-22 26-17 21-5 draw) 2-7 16-19 7-2 19-23 (15-10? 17-14 10-26 25-22 26-17 21-5 draw) 2-7 23-26 7-2 15-11 RW.
A - 9-14 11-7 (11-8 draw) 14-18 draws, J. Loy. If Red tries to prevent 17-14 by keeping the king on 10, then White forces 17-14 by moving 18-23-26. Though a piece down, Red can probably still draw easily.