K+Q vs K+P

I recently drew a winning position with K+Q vs K+P (rook pawn, to be exact). I looked over the game review but I still don't understand how to win these positions. 

Here is the game for reference (I am the black pieces):

Hi @h15h

Queen vs one pawn can be tricky even for titled players in certain situations. Some of these positions are winning, but others are drawn. It takes study to know how to play best with the Queen and what file the pawn is on can actually matter a lot!

Without getting into complicated nuances, there are two main ways to win (depending on the position).

1) Get the Queen to block the pawn promotion square and then advance your King up the board for checkmate.

2) A long series of Queen checks (or pins) to force the enemy King in front of their own pawn and then advance your King one square closer and then repeat the process until your King is close enough to checkmate.

In this position, the first option is the easiest one. I think most simple is just ...Qa8 to try to block the h8 pawn promotion square.

Thanks, this will definitely help me in the future.

With best play it is a win for black, not a draw. In the first post with white to move there are only six options.

Kf5/Kf6 both lose in 9 moves, Kg6/Kf4 loses in 8 moves. Kh6/Kxh5 loses in 7 moves.

In the first post, 72 ... Qb1 allowed the draw. With the pawn on the seventh rank and the Black king one square too far away there was no longer a win.

As a practical hint you could set up the position after 72 ... Qb1 and play it against an engine with reversed colors. StockFish will quickly show you how to do it since it is not all that complicated.

K+Q vs K+p (when the pawn is on, or can reach the 7th rank) is usually a win for the Q against a b, d, e, and g pawn and usually a draw against a a, c, f, and h pawn, You can find the explanation is almost any endgame manual

win

draw

If you read back, you'll find that the OP has a position where the pawn was nowhere near the 7th rank.

The strategy of our hero was to do nothing until the pawn reached the 7th (and the position is a draw already). Then started to give random checks (actually a good idea, the opponent might blunder), and fell into a repetition.

In the game after 68. Kxh5 the fastest black win is to move the queen to h8 (in 2 moves). You can start with Qa8 or by moving your king away. After the queen sits on h8, white can do nothing and black can walk the king in.

There is a great chess.com lesson on Queen v pawn ending. Below is the link:

https://www.chess.com/lessons/endgame-patterns/queen-vs-pawn

Even a move as late as 72 ... Ke5 would have been enough. 73 h7 Qc7+ 74 Kg8 Kf6 75 h8=Q+ Kg6 and the threat of 76 ... Qf7# forces White to play 76 Qh6+ Kxh6 77 Kf8 Qd7 78 Kg8 Qe8#

Very misleading to say a,c,f and h pawns usually draw. The drawn positions are somewhat special.

With the pawns on those files Wilhelm/Nalimov gives around 99% of side with queen to play positions and 80% of side with pawn to play positions as winning for the side with the queen.

If the pawn has reached the 7th. rank, it's still misleading. The corresponding figures are then about 92% and 43%.

Most straightforward, arguably. But fastest?

Can you beat this v. Rybka/Nalimov that way?

You're right. I meant that it's the fastest to reach a position where white obviously has no hope.