Endgame theory question Let us look at an endgame where White has 8 pawns, and Black has the e/d-pawn missing. How can White win this endgame if both sides play perfectly? I am having a little trouble.
A more practical form of your question relates to the Exchange Lopez and Tartakover Caro-Kann.
Euwe did a complete analysis of how White wins the Exchange Lopez pawn ending if you set up the pawn structure with no pieces on the board:
4k3/1pp2ppp/p1p5/8/4P3/8/PPP2PPP/4K3 w - - 0 1

While the Tartakover Caro=Kann is the same thing on the other wing.
In this impractical 8-vs.-7 thing you envision, the side with the extra pawn would surely begin with the unopposed pawn two squares, as the first step toward creating a passed pawn.