Mother Of All King Marches

KING marches, where a king wanders over much of the board, surviving unscathed, are rare - certainly rarer than the closely related king hunts, where a king is driven across the board to destruction.

One of the most famous king marches occurred at Tilburg (Netherlands) 1991 in a game between Nigel Short and Jan Timman.

But it is possible the original such event happened in the following game from Vienna 1898.

Notes in italics are algebraicised from 500 Master Games Of Chess by Savielly Tartakower and Julius du Mont.

Mikhail Chigorin - Horatio Caro

Vienna Gambit

The white king's peregrinations are nothing short of amazing, and make it unique in the annals of master chess.

1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6

The Vienna Game: 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 dates back to at least 1836, and was so named because of its popularity with Austrian players, and others, based in Vienna. White often, as in this game, plays what is effectively a delayed King's Gambit.

3.f4 d5 4.d3!?

An archaic continuation, recommended particularly by Steinitz.

How should Black respond?

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4...Bb4

Playing a kind of 'Ruy Lopez' with the colours reversed (and in which consequently the "defence" has an extra move thrown in).

After 4...d4, White can play 5.Nce2, or even 5.Nb1, with a compact game.

After 4...dxe4 5.fxe5 Ng4 6.Nxe4 (if 6.d4, 6...e3) Nxe5 7.d4 Ng6 8.Bd3 etc, White has the better chances.

After 4...exf4, White obtains a well-balanced position by 5.exd5 Bb4 6.Bxf4 Nxd5 7.Bd2 etc.

Marginally most popular in ChessBase's 2024 Mega database is 4...Nc6, after which 5.fxe5 Nxe5 6.d4 Ng6 gives an equal game, according to Stockfish16 and Komodo14.1

5.fxe5 Nxe4!?

A "correct" sacrifice in the sense that it ensures the draw by perpetual check.

6.dxe4 Qxh4+ 7.Ke2

If 7.Kd2, 7...d4, recovering the piece.

7...Bxc3 8.bxc3 Bg4+!?

The perpetual starts with 8...Qg4+, after which neither player can avoid repeating without contracting a lost game.

9.Nf3 dxe4 10.Qd4

In a most astute manner he maintains his extra piece. If now 10...exf3+, 11.gxf3, and the adverse bishop is held in a horizontal pin.

Komodo14.1, for quite some time after 9...dxe4, sees 10.Qd4 as winning for White, but eventually agrees with Stockfish16's verdict of equality.

10...Bh5

Insisting on regaining what is his due.

11.Ke3

The only correct reply.

The engines marginally prefer 11.Kd2.

How should Black continue?

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11...Bxf3!

A find! If now 12.gxf3, 12...Qe1+ 13.Kf4 (13.Be2 Qxh1) Qh4+ 14.Ke3 Qe1+ etc, White [sic] obtains a perpetual check.

12.Bb5+

A sworn enemy of the drawn games, the great Russian master plays 'va banque', although the decision is fraught with many hazards, But "there is nothing new under the sun." A game Steinitz-Blackburne, 'London' 1876, ran an identical course.

12...c6 13.gxf3 Qh6+!?

This was probably a prepared 'improvement' over the aforementioned Steinitz-Blackburne game, which saw 13...cxb5 14.Qxe4 Qh6+, with an equal position, according to the engines (but 1-0, 53 moves), and over Blackburne-Zukertort, Match (London) 1887), which saw 13...cxb5 14.Qxe4 Qxe4+ 15.Kxe4, again with an equal position, according to the engines (but 0-1, 60 moves).

14.Kxe4!?

Possibly better is 14.Ke2, as in Hermann Pusch - Bernhard Schippan, Bochum (West Germany) 1979, which continued 14...Qh3 15.Rd1!? 0-0!? 16.Bc4, with a completely equal position, according to the engines (but 1-0, 49 moves).

14...Qg6+ 15.Ke3 cxb5 16.Ba3 Nc6 17.Qd5 Qxc2

How would you assess this middlegame?

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White is a pawn up, but Black will have problems completing development, and clearly the most significant factor in the position is the precarious position of both kings. Komodo14.1 gives Black the upper hand, but Stockfish16 gives Black 'only' a slight edge.
18.Rac1 Qf5 19.Rhe1

An indirect defence of the KP (19...Qxe5+ 20.Kf2).

19...Rd8

The engines want Black to either protect his extra pawn with 19...a6, or give it up by 19...b4 so as to enable kingside castling.

20.Qxb5

Re-establishing the balance in material.

20...a6 21.Qb1

Definitely not 21.Qxb7, 21...Rd3+ etc.

21...Qg5+ 22.f4 Qg2 23.Bd6 Qh3+

Embarking on a series of checks, intended to keep the adverse king on the edge of a precipice.

24.Ke4!?

The engines prefer 24.Ke2 or 24.Kf2.

24...f5+ 25.Kd5 Qg2+ 26.Kc4 b5+

Where should the king go?

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27.Kd3?

The engines reckon White is more-or-less equal after 27.Kb3.

27...Qf3+?

Now the king escapes from the centre of the board, whereas the engines' 27...Na5 cuts off its retreat, a possible continuation being 28.Rc2 Qf3+ 29.Re3 Qd5+ 30.Ke2 Nc4, with a winning attack for Black, according to the engines.

28.Kc2 Qf2+ 29.Kb3 Rc8

With the potential threat of 30...Na5+ 31.Kb4 [31.Ka3 avoids checkmate, but 31...Nc4+ is devastating, eg 32.Kb4 a5+!? 33.Kxb5 Qb6+ etc] Rc4+, followed by 32...Ra4#.

If at once 29...Na5+, 30.Kb4 Nc4 31.Qxf5 Qb2+ 32.Kc5 Qf2+ 33.Kd5 Qd2+ 34.Kc6 Qg2+ 35.Kc7, and the white king prevails. However Black has a major improvement with 33...Qf3+ (other moves also improve on ...Qd2+) , eg 34.Qe4 Qh3!? 35.Kd4 Rf8, with complete equality, according to the engines.

30.Rc2 Qxf4 31.Kb2 Na5 32.Ka1

Of White's first 32 moves, 12 have been with the king, but the monarch has found safety

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32...Qc4 33.e6

Applying the closure.

33...Nc6?!

With the counterthreat of 34...Nd5.

Probably best is the engines' 33...Rd8!?, although that is a hard move to come up with after having played 33...Rdc8.

34.Qd1!?

Threatening the devastating 34.Qh5+

34...h5?!

Still best seems to be ...Rd8, but with a large advantage to White.

35.Rg1?!

Probably better are the engines' 35.Ba3 and 35.Bb4.

35...Rh7?

Or 35...Qxe6 36.Re2, and wins. Or 35...Nd4 36.cxd4 Qxc2 37.Qxc2 Rxc2 38.Rxg7, and White still must win.

The engines continue the latter line with 38...Rc6, which they reckon holds. Stockfish16 instead suggests 38.d5!?, claiming a win after 38...Rg8 39.Bf4!? Komodo14.1 at first calls this equal, but switches to giving White a slight edge.

36.Rxg7! 1-0

Something Rotten In The State Of The Danish

IT is not surprising analysis engines have detected many tactical errors in the analyses of the old masters.

Modern engines sometimes find incredible resources and rarely, if ever, make short-term tactical miscalculations in middlegames (their opening and endgame skills are not at such a high level, however).

Occasionally I come across an old game where instinctively I disagree with, or at least find surprising, the positional conclusions of the annotator(s).

Usually I am the one who is mistaken, which is why I will be particularly interested in what Stockfish14.1 and Komodo12.1.1 have to say about the following from 500 Master Games Of Chess.

The algebraicised notes in italics are by Savielly Tartakower and Julius du Mont.

Jacques Mieses - Mikhail Chigorin

Deutscher Schachbund (Hannover) 1902

Danish Gambit

The exciting vicissitudes of this game can be divided into three phases, from the point of view of Black: stopping the enemy's first onslaught; building up a close but defendable position; watching all openings, and, at the right moment, launching the counterattack.

1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2 Qe7?!

This defence is not without logical foundation. The queen surveys the critical sector, prepares for casting on the queenside, and in addition threatens to win one of the bishops by 6...Qb4+.

The engines are distinctly unimpressed, preferring 5...Nf6, which was an earlier favourite of Chigorin's and has been played by Magnus Carlsen, and 5...Bb4+, which Tartakower and du Mont describe in analysis to another game as "not as promising as it looks."  It is possible 5...Qe7?! was a novelty - there is no earlier example in ChessBase's 2022 Mega database. The move immediately struck me as suspicious as it slows Black's kingside development, but perhaps this is not important if the black king finds safety on the queenside.

6.Nc3 c6!?

This defends the b5 and d5 squares from a knight incursion and prepares the tempo-gaining ...d5.

7.Qc2

Two years later, against the same opponent at Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania, Mieses played 7.Nge2!? The game continued 7...b5!? (7...Qb4 can be countered by 8.Bb3) 8.Bb3 a5 9.Rc1!? Na6 10.0-0 Nc5?! 11.Nd4 Nxb3 12.Nf5!? Qe6 13.axb3, after which the engines reckon White has much more than enough compensation for two paws (but 0-1, 54 moves).

7...d6

Suicidal would be 7...d5 8.Bxd5 cxd5 9.Nxd5 and wins.

The engines prefer 7...d5!? to the text, as long as Black does not grab the bishop, eg 8.Bxd5 Nf6 9.Bb3 Na6, when Stockfish14.1 gives White a slight edge although Komodo12.1.1 calls the position equal.

8.0-0-0?!

The engines reckon this is a mistake, preferring 8.Nf3 Be6 9.Bxe6 fxe6 10.Rd1!?, when they rate White as having full compensation for being two pawns down.

8...Be6

How should White proceed?

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9.Be2!?

At the crossroads. Instead of giving up territory, the imaginative 9.Nd5 maintains the initiative.

The authors do not explain how White should continue after 9...cxd5, eg 10.exd5 Qg5+ and ...Bf5, or 10.Bb5+ Nd7 11.exd5 Qg5+ etc. The engines reckon objectively best is 9.Bxe6, but it is understandable Mieses thought such an exchange would help Black's defence.

9...Nd7 10.Nf3 Nc5

Not 10...0-0-0 as yet, because 11.Qa4 and White gets going.

The engines reckon castling is fine, and if 11.Qa4 then 11...Kb8.

11.Rd4 0-0-0 12.Rhd1 Qc7

Slowly but surely Black proceeds with his development. 12...Nf6 would be premature, on account of 13.e5.

The engines prefer 12...Nf6 to the text, meeting 13.e5 with 13...Ne8 or 13...Nd5, in each case claiming a winning advantage for Black.

13.Na4 Nd7!? 14.R1d3?!

This natural-looking move makes White's position worse, according to the engines, although their suggestion of 14.Bc4!? Bxc4 15.Rxc4 Ngf6 16.Kb1 hardly inspires. It seems White has nowhere near enough compensation for being two pawns down.

14...Ngf6 15.Rc3 Be7

The "hedgehog" position, which Black has obtained, is cramped but solid, his pawns being particularly strong in the defence of the king's position.

16.Rb4

With the threat of 17.Ba6, which is, however, prevented by Black's next move.

The point being 17.Ba6 bxa6 is met by 18.Rxc6.

16...Nb8

Also meeting the threat are 16...Nc5 and 16...c5.

17.Nd4 d5

This counterthreat in the centre provokes the crisis.

18.Nxc6!?

Being already two pawns to the bad, and threatened with the loss of a third, White, by the offer of the knight, tries to alter the normal course of things.

18...Nxc6 19.Ba6

How should Black proceed?

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19...Qf4+

As neither 19...Kb8 20.Rxc6, nor 19...Kd7 20.Rxb7, nor 19...bxa6 20.Rxc6, nor 19...Nxb4 20.Rxc7+, nor, finally, 19...Bd7 20.Bxb7+, is admissible, the "relieving check" in the text is the only move, which, however, saves the situation and refutes the hostile combination.

The engines show 19...Kb8? 20.Rxc6? loses to 20...Qf4+ 21.Kb1 Bxb4. However they reckon 20.Rxb7+ Qxb7 21.Rxc6 leads to a draw by repetition after 21...Qb4 22.Bc3 Qa3+ 23.Bb2 Qb4 etc. They also reckon Black is better after 19...Bd7? 20.Bxb7+? Qxb7 21.Rxb7 Kxb7, but that White wins with 20.Rxb7, eg 20...Qxb7 21.Rxc6+.

The authors do not mention 19...Bxb4?, which the engines reckon leads to equality after 20.Rxc6 Ne8!? 21.Bxg7!?, eg 21...Ba3+ 22.Nb2 Rg8 23.Rxc7+ Nxc7 24.Be5 Bd6 25.Qc6 Bxe5 26.Qxb7+ Kd7 27.Nd3! Bd6 28.Bb5+.

20.Re3

Or 20.Kb1 Bxb4 21.Rxc6+ Kb8, and the whole of White's game collapses.

20...Bxb4 21.Qxc6+ Qc7 22.Bxb7+ Kb8 23.Be5

His final trump.

23...Qxe5 24.Rb3 Qc7 0-1

Speculative Gambit

Timothy Seymour (2100/199) - Spanton (1881/168)
'Paignton' Round 3
Chigorin Defence
1.Nf3 Nc6 2.d4 d5 3.c4 e5?!
The main move is very much 3...Bg4, but the text has been played by Keres, Tartakower and several modern GMs.
4.Nxe5!?
The more popular 4.dxe5 d4 transposes to a main line of the Albin, but the text may be slightly better.
4...Nxe5 5.dxe5 d4 6.e3 Bb4+ 7.Bd2 dxe3 8.Qa4+
Not 8.Bxb4?? exf2+ 9.Ke2 Bg4+.
8...Bd7 9.Qxb4 exd2+ 10.Nxd2 Ne7 11.0-0-0!?
This may be new. 11.Be2 was played in the three games to reach this position in ChessBase's 2019 Mega database.
11...Nc6 12.Qa3 Qg5 13.g3!?
White threatens to hang on to the e pawn, and at the same time opens the long light-square diagonal for his bishop.

Can Black safely take the e pawn?

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13...0-0-0?!
Clearly Black cannot capture with the knight, and I rejected 13...Qxe5 because of 14.Nf3 followed by 15.Re1. But this is not to be feared, as Black can play, among other moves, 14...Qe7, meeting 15.Re1 with 15...Be6. After 16.Qxe7+ Kxe7 17.Ng5, White is slightly better, but the game is still well within the drawing margin.
14.f4 Qh5?
Better was 14...Qg6, which gives Black more of a chance of taking advantage of White's somewhat exposed king, eg Komodo10 gives the sharp line 15.Bd3 Bf5 16.Bxf5+ Qxf5 17.Nf3 g5!? 18.Nxg5 Nxe5 19.Qxa7 Nd3+ 20.Rxd3 Qxd3 21.Qa8+ Kd7 22.Qxb7 Qxc4+ 23.Kb1 Rb8 24.Qg2, with an unclear but roughly equal position.
15.Bg2 Kb8
White has caught up in development and remains a pawn to the good (1-0, 35 moves)

More Double Trouble

FOR the second time in this year's Olomouc seniors, I was double-upfloated as Black against a titled player.
In round five it was against the top seed; today in round eight it was against the second seed.
Sergej Shilov (FM2129) - Spanton (1881)
Chigorin
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c4 Bg4 4.cxd5 Bxf3 5.gxf3 Qxd5 6.e3 e5 7.Nc3 Bb4 8.Bd2 Bxc3 9.bxc3 Nf6!?
This has been recommended by Chigorin-guru Morozevich, although it is the first time I have played it. More common in ChessBase's 2019 Mega database are 9....Qd6 and 9...exd4.
10.c4 Qd6 11.d5 Nb8
Nigel Short is among those who have played the more popular 11...Ne7.
12.Rb1 b6 13.Rg1!?
This may be a new move; it is the choice of the analysis engine Stockfish10, although Komodo9 narrowly gives the nod to 13.Bb4.
13...g6 14.Bb4 c5 15.dxc6!?
Opening lines for the bishops, but the engines prefer to keep the protected passed pawn with 15.Bc3.
15...Qxd1+ 16.Rxd1 Nxc6 17.Ba3 Rd8 18.Bd3

Black faces a tricky task as White's bishops and better development more than outweigh his inferior pawn-structure

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18...e4!?
I rejected the engines' 18...Nd7 because of 19.Bd5, when Stockfish10 gives 19...Na5 20.Bd5 Rc8. White then has a pleasant choice between winning a pawn with 21.Bxf7+ Kxf7 22.Rxd7+, and Stockfish10's preferred 21.Ke2!? Nxc4 22.Rc1 b5 23.Rgd1 a5 24.Bxc4 Rxc4 25.Rxc4 bxc4 26.Rd6, with plenty of play for being a pawn down (Black still has problems getting his king's rook into play, and the black queenside pawns are very weak).
19.fxe4
The engines prefer this to the alternative capture 19.Bxe4, but even better seems to be a move I did not consider, 19.Bc2! The point is that after 19...Rxd1+ 20.Kxd1, Black cannot play 20...exf3?? because of 21.Ba4 Kd7 22.Bb2. So in this line Black is more-or-less obliged to play 20...Kd8, when 21.fxe4 leaves White a pawn up. Black could instead try 19...Ne5!?, but then 20.Ba4 Nfd7 21.Rd5! is very strong for White, eg 21...Nxf3+ 22.Kd1 Nxg1? 23.Re5#. Black has alternatives in this last line, but none seems good.
19...Ne5 20.Ke2
Black is at least equal after 20.Be2? Rxd1+ followed by ...Nxe4.
20...Nxd3 21.Rxd3 Nxe4 22.Rgd1 Rxd3 23.Rxd3 f5 24.f3 Nf6
24...Nc5?! effectively forces a rook-and-pawn ending, but after 25.Bxc5 bxc5 26.Rd5 Ke7 27.Rxc5, I found it hard to believe Black has much chance of holding the ending a pawn down.
25.c5?!
I intended meeting 25.Rd6 with 25...0-0?! (not 25...Kf7?? 26.Rxf6+!), but Stockfish10 gives 26.Bb2 Ne8 27.Rd7 Rf7 28.Rd8 Re7 29.Ba3 Re6 30.Kd3, when Black is tied up. Better, therefore, seems to be the engines' 25...Nd7, although after 26.Re6+ Kd8 27.Bd6 Black is very passive.
25...Kf7
25...bxc5? loses the a pawn after 26.Bxc5.
26.c6
Not 26.cxb6? axb6 27.Rd6 as Black has 27...Ra8, and if 28.Bb2, then 28...Ne8=.
26...Rc8 27.Rd6 Ne8?!
I rejected 27...Rc7?! because of 28.Bb2? Ne8 29.Rd7+, missing that Black is close to winning after the simple 29...Ke6. However, the engines find 28.e4!, eg 28...Ne8 29.e5!
Best, therefore, seems to be pushing the a pawn to a6 or a5 to stop it being vulnerable to the white rook on White's seventh rank.
28.Rd7 Kf6?!
I thought 28...Kg8!?, which is the engines' choice, was simply not active enough, eg 29.Rxa7 Rxc6 30.Kd3, but the engines reckon White only has a slight edge after 30...Nc7.
29.Rxa7?!
Even stronger, according to the engines, is 29.Rxh7 Rxc6 30.Rxa7 Rc2+ 31.Kd3 Rxh2 (not 31...Rxa2?? 32.Be7+) 32.f4!? I guess the point is that White's pieces are much better coordinated than Black's, and anyway rook and bishop is nearly always a better combo than rook and knight.
29...Rxc6 30.Kd3
The engines prefer 30.Rxh7!? Rc2+ 31.Kd3 Rxa2, although the line is not as strong as first capturing on h7, as given in the previous note.
30...Nc7 31.Bb2+ Ke6 32.Bd4 h5?!
I looked at 32...f4! 33.exf4 but rejected it because 33...Kf5?? loses to 34.Be4. However, the engines show that the correct follow-up is 33...Nb5, when the game is equal.
33.Rb7 b5 34.h4 Kd7?
This loses by force. I did not like the look of 34...Kd6 35.f4, eg 35...Kd5 36.Be5, as Black is losing the b pawn, but the engines reckon White is only slightly better thanks to Black's activity in the line 36...Ne6 37.Rxb5+ Nc5+ 38.Ke2 Kc4.
35.Be5 Kc8 36.Rxc7+ Rxc7 37.Bxc7 Kxc7

White to play and win

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38.e4
The engines reckon this wins, but they are wrong, as we shall see.
Correct is 38.Kd4!, which Komodo9 comes to prefer over the text after a short while. Stockfish10 instantly prefers 38.Kd4!, but only by a narrow margin. After 38.Kd4!, best play proceeds 38...Kd6 39.f4 Kc6 40.Ke5 c5 41.Kf6 Kb4 42.Kxg6 Ka3 43.Kxh5 Kxa2 44.Kg6 b4 45.h5 b3 46.h6 b2 47.h7 b1=Q 48.h8=Q Qb6+ 49.Kxf5 Qxe3. White ends the race a pawn up, and can win in 58 moves, according to the Nalimov endgame tablebase.
After the text, White also emerges a pawn up, but this time the position is drawn.
38...fxe4+
Not 38...f4?? 39.e5, nor 38...Kd6?? 39.exf5 gxf5 40.Kd4.
39.Kxe4 Kd6 40.Kf4 Kc5 41.Kg5 Kb4 42.Kxg6 Ka3 43.f4 Kxa2 44.f5 b4 45.f6 b3 46.f7 b2 47.f8=Q b1=Q+
After 38.Kd4!, Black queens first, but the position is nevertheless a win for White. Here White queens first, but Black queens with check and so is in time to avoid Qa8+ etc.
48.Qf5 Qg1+ 49.Kxh5
White cannot win with a rook's pawn, although both engines believe White is winning, and I was able eventually to claim a draw by threefold repetition (½–½, 66 moves)

Embarrassing Ending

BACK at Bradford for a three-day, five-round U171 tournament, which I won in 2016 and did horribly in last year.
My round-one game this evening was reasonably played on both sides ... until we reached a king-and-pawn-ending.
Richard Desmedt (144) - Spanton (167)
Stonewall Attack
1. d4 d5 2. e3 Nc6 3. f4 Bf5
Chigorin played 3... Nh6 at London 1899, drawing with Showalter and losing to Tinsley.
4. c3 f6!?
Hoping to smash White's central wall with a quick ...e5, but ...e5 does not
come until move 19.
5. Nf3 Qd6 6. Bb5
This may be a new move. 6. b3 was played in a Swedish game by a 1959.
6... a6 7. Qa4 Rb8 8. Bxc6+ Qxc6 9. Qxc6+ bxc6

The queens have come off early

White has stopped a quick ...e5 and has broken up Black's queenside pawns, but at the cost of giving up his good bishop.
10. b3
An exchange of dark-square bishops must help White.
10... Nh6
Nevertheless it might have been better for me to play 10... e6 11. Ba3 Bd6, so that 12. Bxd6 cxd6 would reinforce Black's centre.
11. Ba3 a5
Hoping to prove a weakness at b3, but I had not seen far enough ahead.
12. Nbd2 a4 13. Ke2 Kd7
13... axb3 14. axb3 Bc2 is no threat as I cannot capture on b3 with my bishop because of a subsequent pin along the b file.
14. h3 e6 15. Bc5!?
My main analysis engines Stockfish9 and Komodo9 slightly prefer 15. Bxf8, but they do not hate the text.
15... Bxc5 16. dxc5 Rb5 17. b4 Re8 18. Nd4 Rbb8 19. N2f3
The engines give 19. g4 Bg6 20. N4f3!? with what they reckon is a roughly equal position.
19... e5 20. fxe5 fxe5 21. Nxf5 Nxf5 22. Kf2 e4 23. Nd4?!
Although the engines reckon White can get away with this, I thought it was rather risky.
23... Nxd4 24. exd4 Rf8+ 25. Ke2 Rf6 26. Rhf1 Rbf8 27. Rxf6 Rxf6

A difficult position for White, whatever he plays

28. Rf1?
The king-and-pawn ending should be lost for White with correct play. But even if White keeps a pair of rooks on, Black can carry on probing.
28... Rxf1 29. Kxf1 Ke6
My original idea was 29... Kc8 30. Ke2 Kb7 31. Ke3 Ka6, which does indeed
seem to win, but the text is fine too, although it requires more-precise play.
30. Ke2 Kf5 31. Ke3 h5 32. g3 h4?
White is in big trouble after 32... a3, eg 33. h4 g6 (but not 33... Kg4? 34. c4! Kf5 35. cxd5 cxd5 36. b5 with a draw) 34. Kf2 Kg4
33. g4+ Ke6 34. Kf4?
34. a3 seems to draw as neither side can make progress.
34... Kd7?
Again 34... a3, and if 35. Ke3 the engines give 35... g6, eg 36. Kf4 g5+ 37.
Ke3 Kd7 with lines similar to my original idea of 29...Kc8
35. c4?
35. a3= K9/S9.
35... dxc4 36. Kxe4 Ke6?
36... a3 is still key, eg 37. Ke3 Ke6 38. Ke4 g5 39. Kf3 Kd5 40. Ke3 c3 41. Kd3 c2 42. Kxc2 Kc4! and Black wins (K9/S9).
37. a3! g5 38. d5+??
38. Kf3 holds, ie 38... Kd5 39. Ke3 c3 40. Kd3 c2 41. Kxc2 Kc4 (or 41... Kxd4 42. Kd2) 42. Kc1! Kxd4 43. Kd2 and White draws thanks to having the opposition (K9/S9).
The game finished:
38... cxd5+ 39. Kd4 c6 40. Kc3 Ke5 41. Kd2 Kd4 42. Kc1 c3 43. Kc2 Kc4 44. Kc1 d4 45. Kc2 d3+ 46. Kd1 Kb3 47. b5 Kb2 48. bxc6 c2+ 49. Kd2 c1=Q+ 0-1