Chess Cafe Endgame Corner Columns 1-165

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Karsten Müller

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Endgame Corner

Columns 1‐165

Endgame Corner

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

The Chess Cafe is pleased to welcome German grandmaster Karsten Müller as one of its regular columnists. Müller was born in Hamburg in 1970 and has played for the Hamburger SK team in the German Bundesliga since 1988, with an overall score for the 12 years of 86½/159, achieving a GM norm in the 1997-98 season. His third place finish in the 1997 German Championship together with his second place finish in the 1998 Hamburg Championship earned the grandmaster title. He has been a regular contributor to ChessBase Magazine since 1997 and is the co-author, with IM Frank Lamprecht, of the outstanding book Secrets of Pawn Endings (Everyman 2000). Away from the chessboard he is a mathematician and currently working at Hamburg University undertaking research towards his doctorate. We hope you enjoy Karsten's new Chess Cafe column, Endgame Corner...

All Rook Endings Are Drawn You are certainly aware of the old aphorism by Dr.Siegbert Tarrasch. It certainly contains a lot of truth, but matters are of course not that easy and sometimes it only seems to apply when you are one or two pawns up. Nevertheless, a drawish tendency is inherent in many rook endings and in my first Chess Cafe column I want to look at Rook and h- and f-pawn vs Rook. The general result is a draw, which has baffled me ever since I got to know it. Before we dive into the jungle, I want to give three positions with Rook+f-pawn vs Rook (See Diagram):

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1.01 Philidor Position +/= The Philidor position is one of the most important of endgame theory and the defensive method is certainly worth knowing as it applies also to the other pawns on the 5th rank: 1...Rb6! and White can't make any progress as his King has no shelter after 2.f6 Rb1 3.Kg6 Rg1 += White to move wins as follows: 1.Kg6! Kg8 (1...Rb1 2.Ra8+ Ke7 3.f6+ Ke6 4.Re8+ Kd7 5.f7 +-) 2.f6 Rd8 3.Rg7+ Kf8 4.Rh7 Kg8 5.f7+ Kf8 6.Rh8+ +If Black to move misses Philidor's set up, active defense with 1...Rb1?! is possible as well, but passively waiting on the eighth rank is fatal, as White wins with 2.Kg6! similar to the White to play case of the first diagram. So the general principle that active play is crucially important in rook endings is valid here as well. After 2.Kg6 Rf1! the Rook moves behind the pawn to make his advance more difficult. After 3.Kf6, another important moment arises. To which side shall Black's King go? To the long or the short side of the pawn? 3...Kg8! (3...Ke8? loses as the checking distance of Black's Rook is much too short. White can gradually force the advance of his pawn: 4.Ra8+ Kd7 5.Rf8! Rh1 6.Kg7 Rg1+ 7.Kf7 Rh1 8.f6 Rh7+ 9.Kg8 Rh1 10.Ra8 Rg1+ 11.Kf8 Rf1 12.f7 Rg1 and White has reached a Lucena-type position and wins by building a bridge: 13.Ra4 Rg2 14.Rd4+ Kc7 15.Ke7 Re2+ 16.Kf6 Rf2+ 17.Ke6 Re2+ 18.Kf5 Rf2+ 19.Rf4 +-) 4.Ra8+ Kh7 5.Rf8 Ra1! and the reason for going to the short side is revealed: the checking distance of the Rook is great enough now. After 6.Re8 we have reached the next position (See Diagram):

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1.02 After Kling and Horwitz 1851 =/= Black can still draw comfortably by the following method: 1...Rf1! 2.Rf8 Ra1 3.Re8 Rf1 4.Ke6 Kg7 and White can't make progress. If Black plays less accurately with 1...Ra6+?!, the position remains drawn, but great care is required: 2.Kf7 Ra7+ 3.Re7 Ra8 4.f6 Ra1 (4...Kh6!? draws as well.) 5.Re6! and we have reached Chéron's position (1.03), which is of crucial importance for the ending Rook+ hand f-pawn vs Rook (See Diagram): 1.03 Chéron 1926 +/= 1...Ra8! only establishing a last rank defense secures the draw 2.Re8 (2.Ke7 Kg6 3.f7+ Kg7! 4.Ra6 Rb8 =) 2...Ra7+ (2...Ra6 is playable as well. All other moves lose.) 3.Re7 Ra8 4.Re6 Kh6 5.Re1 Ra7+! 6.Re7 (6.Kf8 Kg6! 7.Rf1 Rf7 +=) 6...Ra8 7.Re6 Kh7 = White to move wins, but he has to act very precisely: 1.Kf8! Kg6 (1...Ra8+ 2.Re8! Ra6 [2...Ra7 3.Re7+ +-] 3.f7 Ra7 4.Rd8 Kg6 5.Rd6+! Kh7 6.Ke8+-; 1...Ra2 2.f7 Ra8+ 3.Re8!+- [3.Ke7? Kg7! =] ) 2.f7+! Kh7 3.Rf6 Re1 4.Rf2 Re3 5.Rh2+ Kg6 6.Kg8 +With h- and f-pawn, a third rank defense like Philidor's in the first diagram is not enough to reach a draw (See Diagram):

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1.04 Maizelis, Shakhmaty, September 1939 +/White to move wins relatively easily: 1.f6 Ra1 2.Rg7+ Kh8 (2...Kf8 3.h6 and the h-pawn runs through.) 3.Kg6 Rg1+ 4.Kf7 Ra1 5.Rg8+ Kh7 6.Re8 Ra7+ 7.Kf8 followed by f7 and White wins the Lucena-type position. With Black to move, much more care is required: 1...Ra1!? 2.h6 Rg1+ (2...Ra6 3.f6 Ra1 4.Rb8+ Kh7 5.f7 Rf1 6.Rb7! [6.f8Q? Rxf8 7.Rxf8 stalemate.] 6...Kh8 7.Kg6 Rg1+ 8.Kf6 Rf1+ 9.Ke7 Re1+ 10.Kd8 Rf1 11.Ke8 Rf5 12.Rb5 +-) 3.Kf6 Ra1 There are two major alternatives: (A) 3...Rh1 4.Rg7+ Kf8 (4...Kh8 5.Re7 Rxh6+ 6.Kf7! Ra6 7.f6! Kh7 8.Kf8+! Kg6 9.f7! Ra8+ 10.Re8 Ra7 11.Re6+!+-) 5.Kg6 Rg1+ 6.Kh7 Rf1 7.Ra7 Rg1 (7...Rxf5 8.Kg6!+-) 8.f6 Rg2 9.Rg7 Rf2 10.Kg6 Rf1 11.h7 Rg1+ 12.Kf5 Rh1 13.Ke5+- (after 13.Rg8+ Kf7 14.h8Q?? is a fatal error: Rxh8 15.Rg7+ [15.Rxh8 stalemate] 15...Kf8! 16.Kg6 Rh1 =, but 14.Ra8 still wins.); (B) 3...Rf1 4.Rg7+ Kh8 (4...Kf8 5.Rg5 Rh1 6.Kg6 Kg8 7.f6 Rh2 8.f7+ Kf8 9.h7 +-) 5.Re7 Kg8 6.Re8+ Kh7 7.Ke6 Ra1 (7...Kxh6 8.f6! Re1+ 9.Kf7 Ra1 10.Rh8+ Kg5 11.Kg7! +-) 8.f6 Ra6+ 9.Kf5 Ra5+ 10.Re5 +4.Re7 Ra2 (4...Rh1 5.Ke6 Rxh6+ 6.f6! +-) 5.Ke5 Re2+ 6.Kd6 Rd2+ (6...Rf2 7.Re8+ Kh7 8.Ke6 +-) 7.Ke6 Re2+ 8.Kd7 Rd2+ (8...Rf2 9.Re8+ Kh7 [9...Kf7 10.h7 +-] 10.Ke6 +-) 9.Ke8 Rf2 10.Re5 Kh7 (10...Rf1 11.Ke7 +-) 11.Kf7 (11.Ke7? Kxh6! 12.Kf7 Ra2 13.f6 Ra8 14.Re6 Kh7 = and we have reached the Black-to-play case of the third diagram) 11...Kxh6 12.Re6+! Kh7 13.f6! Ra2 14.Kf8! +(White-to-play case of the third diagram). But starting from a normal position, the attacker is usually not able to confine the defending King to the back rank. The following defensive effort by endgame virtuoso Vassily Smyslov is so impressive that Mark Dvoretsky thinks that for a practical player, it is enough to study it to understand the whole ending with h- and f-pawn and Rook vs Rook (See Diagram):

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1.05 S.Gligoric - V.Smyslov, Moscow 1947 =/= Black's Rook occupies a good position on b5 as it hinders the advance of White's King: 1.Rg6+ (After 1.f5 Black can give checks from behind: 1...Rb1 2.h6+ Kh7 3.Kg5 Rg1+ 4.Kf4 Rf1+ 5.Ke5 Re1+ 6.Kf6 (A) The immediate 6...Kxh6? runs into 7.Kf7+! Kh7 8.Ra2 Rh1 [8...Kh6 9.f6 Rb1 10.Rh2+! Kg5 11.Kg7 +-] 9.f6 +-; (B) 6...Rb1! 7.Re6 Kxh6 =) 1...Kf7! 2.Rg5 Rb1! the southwest corner is the right place for the Rook. It can give check from the side or behind depending on White's winning attempts. 3.Rc5 (3.h6 Ra1! [3...Rg1+? 4.Kf5 Rh1 5.Rg7+ +-] 4.h7 [4.Rh5 Kg8 5.h7+ Kh8 6.f5 Ra4+ 7.Kg5 Ra6 =] 4...Rg1+ 5.Kf3 Rh1 6.Ra5 Kg6 7.Ra7 Kf5 =) 3...Kf6 4.Rc6+ Kg7! this decision is of crucial importance. (After 4...Kf7? Black's King is driven to the back rank: 5.Kg5 Rg1+ 6.Kf5 Rh1 7.Rc7+ +- [compare 1.04] ) 5.Kg5 Rg1+! 6.Kf5 Ra1 7.Rc7+ Kh6 8.Re7 Rb1 9.Re8 Kg7 10.Re5 Ra1 11.Rd5 Rf1 (11...Rb1 =) 12.Rd4 Ra1 13.Rd6 Ra5+ 14.Kg4 Ra1 (14...Rb5!? 15.Rg6+ and the position after 1.Rg6+ arises again.) 15.Re6 Rg1+ 16.Kf5 Ra1 17.h6+ Kh7! now Black's King has to go on the h-file to take the h-pawn when the appropriate time arrives. 18.Rd6 Ra2 19.Kg5 Rg2+ 20.Kf6 Kxh6! 21.Ke7+ Kh7 (21...Kg7 22.f5 Re2+ 23.Re6 Rf2! 24.f6+ Kg6! [24...Kg8? 25.Re5 +-] 25.Rd6 [25.f7+ Kg7! =; 25.Re1 Ra2 26.Rg1+ Kh7 27.f7 Ra7+! =] 25...Rf1 =) 22.f5 Re2+ 23.Re6 Ra2 24.f6 Ra8! 25.Kf7 Kh6 26.Re1 Ra7+! 27.Re7 Ra8 (27...Ra1 28.Kf8 Kg6! 29.f7 Kf6! 30.Kg8 Rg1+! =) 28.Rd7 Kh7 29.Rd1 Ra7+! 30.Ke6 Ra6+ 31.Rd6 Ra8 32.Rd4 Kg8 33.Rg4+ Kf8 ½-½ In the next position White has managed to penetrate one step further, but with accurate play it is still drawn (See Diagram):

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1.06 A.Ivanov (2395) - A.Vitolinsh (2430) URS-FL Frunze 1979 =/= 72.Ke6!? (72.Kf7 Kxh6 73.Re2 Rb7+ 74.Re7 Rb8 75.f6 Kh7 =) 72...Rb6+? allows White's King to penetrate to f7 with decisive effect. (72...Kxh6! was called for: 73.f6 Rb6+! 74.Kf7 [74.Ke7 Rb7+ =] 74...Kh7 =; 72...Re1+? is wrong as well: 73.Kf7 Rf1 74.f6 Kxh6 75.Re2 Kg5 76.Kg7 +-) 73.Kf7 Ra6 (73...Kxh6 74.Re6+! +-; 73...Rxh6 74.f6 +-; 73...Rb7+ 74.Kf8 Kxh6 75.Re6+! +-) 74.Re1 Ra8 (74...Ra7+ 75.Kf8! [Maizelis] 75...Kxh6 76.Re6+! Kg5 [76...Kh7 77.Re7+ +-] 77.f6! Kf5 78.Rd6 Ke5 79.Rb6 +-) 75.f6 Ra7+ 76.Re7 Ra8 77.Re8 Ra7+ (77...Ra6 78.Ke7 (A) 78...Kg6 (A1) 79.Rg8+?! Kf5 80.h7 [80.f7? Ra7+ 81.Ke8 Ra8 +=] 80...Ra7+ 81.Kf8 Rxh7 82.Rg7! Rh8+ 83.Ke7! Ra8 84.f7! Ra7+ 85.Kd6! Ra6+ 86.Kc5 Rf6 87.Kd5! Kf4 88.Rg1 Ke3 89.Re1+ Kd2 90.Re7! +-; (A2) 79.h7 Ra7+ 80.Ke6 Ra6+ 81.Kd5 Kxh7 82.f7! +-; (B) 78...Ra7+ 79.Ke6 with transposition into the game after 78.Ke6) 78.Ke6 Ra6+ 79.Kf5 Ra5+ 80.Re5 Ra1 81.f7 Rf1+ 82.Ke6 Kg6 (See Diagram): At first sight it seems that Black can hold on, but the strike 83.Rg5+!! clarifies the situation: 83...Kxg5 84.h7 Re1+ (84...Rf6+ 85.Ke7 Kg6 86.h8Q Rxf7+ 87.Ke6 +-) 85.Kd7 Rd1+ 86.Ke8 Re1+ 87.Kf8 Rh1 88.Kg7 1-0 I want to end this article with one recent example and two exercises (See Diagram):

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1.07 J.Timman (2635) - N.Short (2655), El Escorial cf 1993 =/= 66.Rf4 (66.Re4?! Rxf2+ =) 66...Ke5 67.Kg2 Ra1 68.Rf8 Ke6 69.h4 Ke7 70.Rf4 Ra8 71.Kh3 Rh8 72.Kg4 Rg8+ 73.Kh5 Ke6 74.Kh6 (74.f3!?) 74...Ke5 75.Ra4 (75.Rf3 Rh8+ 76.Kg5 Rg8+ 77.Kh5 Rh8+ and White can't make progress.) 75...Rg2? (75...Kf6 76.Ra6+ [76.Rf4+ Ke5 77.Rf7 Ke6 78.Rf3 Rh8+ 79.Kg5 Rg8+ 80.Kh5 Rh8+ 81.Kg4 Rg8+ 82.Kh3 Rh8 =] 76...Kf7 [76...Kf5? 77.h5 Rh8+ 78.Kg7 Rxh5 79.Ra5+! Kg4 80.f3+! Kh4 81.Rxh5+! Kxh5 82.Kf6! +-] 77.Ra3 Rg6+! [77...Rb8 78.Kh7+-; 77...Rg2 78.Rf3+ +-; 77...Rh8+ 78.Kg5 Rg8+ 79.Kf5 Rg2 80.Ra7+ Kg8 81.f4 +-; 77...Kf6 78.Rf3+ +-] 78.Kh5 Rf6 79.f3 Rf5+ 80.Kg4 Rb5 = (Ftacnik in MEGABASE 99] ) 76.f3 Rg3 77.Re4+ Kf5 78.Re8 Rg6+ 79.Kh7 Rf6 80.Kg7 Rg6+ 81.Kh7 Rf6 82.Re7! Ra6 (82...Kf4 83.Kg7 +-) 83.Rf7+ Ke6 84.Kg7 Ra1 85.Rf6+ 1-0 as White wins with his h-pawn for a change. Exercises (Solutions next month) E1.01 I.Bondarevsky - I.Kan, URS-ch11 Leningrad 1939 Can White to move save the postion? What about Black to move? (See Diagram):

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E1.02 A.Kotov - S.Flohr, URS-ch19 Moscow 1951 How to asses the position with Black to move?

Sources: A.Chéron, Lehr-und Handbuch der Endspiele, Band 1, 2.Auflage, Engelhardt Verlag, Berlin 1960. M.Dvoretsky, A.Yusupov, Technique for the Tournament Player, Batsford 1995. J.Nunn, Secrets of Rook Endings, 2nd edition, GAMBIT 1999 (first edition, Batsford 1992). J.Emms, The Survival Guide to Rook Endings, Everyman 1999. J.Speelman, J.Tisdall and R.Wade, Batsford Chess Endings, Batsford 1993. ChessBase MEGABASE 1999. Copyright 2001 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved.

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Bees of Opps OPPOSITE-COLOURED BISHOP ENDINGS are even more drawish than rook endings as both bishops live in different worlds. If the defender manages to establish a firm blockade on squares the same colour of his bishop this is usually the end of the matter (See Diagram): 2.01 H.Strobel - K.Müller Hamburg 1983 =/=

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

White can win Black's h-pawn, but not the game: 41...Bd3 42.Kf6 Be4 43.Kg5 Bd3 44.Kxh5 Be4 draw agreed as the plan king-march to g1 followed by h2-h4 g4xh3e.p. Kg1-h2 leads to nothing after Bd5(or e4)-f3 with the same ironclad fortress as after 45.Kh4 Bf3 (45...Bg2!?) 46.h3 gxh3 47.Kxh3 Bg4+ 48.Kh4 Kd5 49.Kg5 Kc6 50.Kf6 Kd7 51.Ke5 Bh3 52.Kd5 Bg2+= The next two positions represent the second main type of fortress (See Diagram): 2.02 Cheron 1957 =/= Black's king can't get in front of one of the passed pawns, but, assisting his bishop, he nevertheless manages to survive: 1...Bc7! (After 1...Kd4? 2.f4 the pawns can no longer be stopped on the same diagonal and Black is lost e.g. 2...Kc5 3.Bf3 Kd6 4.f5 Ke7 5.f6+ Kf8 6.Kf5 Ke8 7.Ke6 Bg3 8.f7+ Kf8 9.Bd5 Bf4 10.Kd7+-; 1...Bh2? 2.Kf5 Kd4 3.f4 Ke3 4.c7+-) 2.Kf5 Kd4 3.Ke6 Kc5 4.Kd7 Kb6 5.Be8 Bb8 6.Ke6 Kc5 7.Kf5 Kd4 8.Kg4 Ke3 9.Bh5 Bc7=.

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(See Diagram): 2.03 V.Kramnik - G.Kasparov Braingames WCh London 2000 =/= The players agreed to a draw as Kasparov can’t make any progress: 1...Kg6 2.Bc7 Kf5 3.Kd4 Kg4 4.Ke3 Kh3 5.Kf2 = Even two connected passed pawns usually don't win (See Diagram):

2.04 =/= White can't make any meaningful progress as Black's bishop ties White's king to the defense of the e-pawn: 1.Ke4 (1.e6 Bd6=; 1.d6+ Bxd6 2.exd6+ Kxd6=)1...Bb8! 2.Kd4 Bc7=. The bishop has two squares on the b8-h2 diagonal so Black doesn't fall into zugzwang. So usually the best strategy to win with connected passed pawns is to keep the king in front of them (See Diagram):

2.05 Somlai - Sherzer Zalaegerszeg 1990 +/ 1.Kb3?! a step in the wrong direction. (1.b5 immediately was easier: 1...Ke5 2.b6 Kd6 3.Kb4+[Soltis in GM Secrets: Endings]) 1...Bc1 (1...Bd4 doesn't help either as White's king gets in front of the pawns: 2.Kc4 Ke5 3.a4 Bf2 4.Kb5 Kd6 [4...Be1 5.Kc5 Bf2+ 6.Kc6+-] 5.Ka6+-) 2.a4? this spoils the win as Black's king is back in time now. (2.b5! was called for: 2...Ke5 3.Kb4 Be3 [3...Kd6 4.b6 Be3 5.Kb5+-] 4.Ka5 Kd4 5.b6 Kc4 6.b7 Ba7 7.a4 Kc5 8.Ka6 Bb8 9.a5 Kb4 10.Bf3 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (2 of 7) [2/12/2001 11:03:05 PM]

Endgame Corner

Bc7 11.Be2 Ka4 12.Bd1+ Kb4 13.Bc2 Bf4 14.Kb6 Be3+ 15.Kc6 Ba7 16.a6 Ka5 17.b8Q Bxb8 18.Kb7 Kb5 19.Bd3++-) 2...Ke5 3.Kc4 (3.a5 Kd6 4.b5 Bd2 5.Ka4 Kc5 6.b6 Bg5 7.Bg2 Bd8 8.b7 Bc7=; 3.b5 Kd6 4.b6 Kc5 5.b7 Bf4=) 3...Kd6 4.Kb5 Bd2! keeping an eye on the b-pawn 5.a5 Kc7 6.Ka4 Be1 7.b5 Bf2! (See Diagram) Against a- and b-pawns this formation is enough to draw as White's king can't penetrate on the queenside. 8.b6+ Bxb6 9.axb6+ Kxb6 ½-½ The next position is very similar despite the additional h-pawns due to the "wrong" rook's pawn on h3 (See Diagram):

2.06 E.Walther - R.J.Fischer Zürich 1959 +/ 54.a4? already a decisive mistake allowing Black's king to get to a7. (54.b4! was necessary as pointed out by Pal Benko in Chess Endgame Lessons, p.24: 54...Kc7 55.Ka5 Kb8 56.b5 Ba3 57.b6 Kc8 58.Ka6 Kb8 59.Be4 Bc5 [59...Kc8 60.Ka7 Bc5 61.a4+-] 60.a4 Bd4 61.Kb5+-) 54...Kc7 55.b4 Kb8 56.a5 Ka7 57.Ka4 Bg3 58.b5 Bf2 59.Be2 (After 59.Bd5 Be3 60.b6+ Bxb6 61.axb6+ Kxb6 62.Kb4 Kc7= Black's king is inside Rauser's drawing zone a6-c4-d5-e4-h7 [for further details see Averbakh, example #68, p.41]) 59...Be3 60.Kb3 Bd2 61.b6+ Kb7 62.Ka4 Kc6! 63.Bb5+ Kc5! draw agreed as White can't make any meaningful progress. The connected passed pawns surprisingly even win in the following position (See Diagram):

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Endgame Corner

2.07 A.Khalifman (2635) A.G.Donchenko (2385) Moscow Tal mem 1992 +/The analysis is based on work by Solozhenkin and Khalifman on the CD ROM Ungleichfarbige Läuferendspiele: 66...Kf5 (66...Ke3 67.a4 e4 68.a5 Be5 69.b4 Kd2 70.Bh5+-; 66...h5!? 67.Bxh5 Kf5 68.a4 [68.b4 Ke6 69.Kb5 wins as well, because Ka6 followed by b5-b6 and a4-a5 can't be prevented in the long run.] 68...Ke6 [68...Bh6 69.a5 Ke6 70.Kc5! Kd7 71.Kb6 Kc8 72.b4+-] and now White has to act very precisely: A) 69.a5? Kd6 70.Kb5 Bh6 71.Kb6 [71.b4 Bd2=] 71...Be3+ 72.Kb7 Kc5! 73.a6 Kb4 74.Bd1 e4=; B) 69.Kc5! Bf8+ [69...Kd7 70.Kb6 Kc8 (70...Bf8 71.a5+-) 71.b4+-] 70.Kc6 Bb4 71.Bg4+ Ke7 72.Kb6 Kd6 73.a5 Bc5+ 74.Kb7 Bd4 [74...Kd5 75.a6 Kd4 76.b4+-] 75.a6 Kd5 76.Bf3+ [76.a7? Bxa7 77.Kxa7 Kc5=] 76...e4 77.Bxe4+ Kxe4 78.b4+-) 67.a4 Ke6 68.a5 Kd6 69.b4 Bh6 would save Black now. But unfortunately it is not possible: 69...e4 [69...Bf6 70.Kb5 Kc7 71.Ka6 e4 72.b5 Kb8 73.b6 Bc3 74.Kb5 Bxa5 75.Kxa5 Kb7 76.Kb5 e3 77.Be2+-] 70.b5 h5 71.Bxh5 Kc7 72.b6+ Kb7 73.Kb5 Bd4 74.a6+ Kb8 75.Be8 1-0 That positional considerations can be more important than material in opposite colored bishop endings is illustrated by the next two very famous examples (See Diagram):

2.08 A.Kotov - M.Botvinnik URS-ch22 Moscow 1955 /+ A first sight it looks as if White has an ironclad fortress. His king safeguards the passed b-pawn and his bishop protects the other pawns. But Botvinnik managed to land a fantastic blow: 59...g5!! 60.fxg5 (60.hxg5 h4 61.Bd6 [61.f5 Bxf5 62.Kxb3 h3 63.Bd6 Kxe3-+] 61...Bf5 62.g6 Bxg6 63.f5 Bxf5 64.Kxb3 h3-+) 60...d4+! Keeping the valuable b-pawn 61.exd4 Kg3 (61...Kg4? 62.d5 Bxd5 63.Bf2 spoils file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (4 of 7) [2/12/2001 11:03:05 PM]

Endgame Corner

it.) 62.Ba3 (62.g6 Kxh4 63.Be7+ Kg4-+ and Black wins as his bishop can protect the b-pawn and stop the white pawns on one and the same diagonal. This is an important principle in bishop endings !) 62...Kxh4 63.Kd3 Kxg5 64.Ke4 h4 65.Kf3 Bd5+ and Kotov resigned. A possible finish is 66.Kf2 Kf4 67.Kg1 h3 68.Kh2 Be6 69.d5 Bd7 70.d6 Ke4-+ In very extreme cases even the bishop can be sacrificed (See Diagram): 2.09 V.Topalov (2740) - A.Shirov (2710) Linares 1998 =/+ Shirov played the unbelievable 47...Bh3!! which is surprisingly the only move to win, e.g. 47...Be4? 48.g3 Kf5 49.Kf2 a3 50.Ba1 Bh1 51.Ke3 Kg4 and now: A) 52.Kf2? f5 53.Be5 a2 54.Bb2 f4 55.gxf4 Kxh4! 56.Ke3 Be4 57.Kf2 Kg4 58.Ke3 (58.Be5 Kf5 59.Ke3 g5-+) 58...Kg3 59.Ba1 Kg2 60.Be5 (60.Ke2 Bf5 61.Bd4 Bg4+ 62.Ke3 Kf1 63.Kd2 Be2 64.Kc1 Kg2 65.Kb2 Bc4-+) 60...Kf1 61.Bc3 Bf5 (See Diagram) putting White in zugzwang 62.Kd2 62.Kf3 d4 63.Bxd4 Ke1 64.Ke3 Kd1-+) 62...Kf2 63.Bb2 Kf3 64.Be5 Bb1 65.Ke1 Ke3 66.Bb2 Kxf4-+; B) 52.Bxf6 Kxg3 53.Ke2 a2 (53...d4 54.Bxd4 Kxh4 55.Bf6+ g5 56.Kd2=) 54.Ke3 Kg4 55.Ke2 Kf5 56.Ba1 Ke4 57.Kd2 d4 58.Bb2 Bf3 59.Ba1 d3 60.Bf6 Bg4 61.Ba1 Bf5 62.Bb2 Kf4 63.Bc3 Kg4 64.Bf6 a1Q 65.Bxa1 Kxh4 66.Bf6+ g5 67.Ke3=; 47...Kd6? 48.Kf2 Kc5 49.Ke3= 48.gxh3 (48.Kf2 Kf5 49.Kf3 Bxg2+ 50.Kxg2 Ke4-+ [A.Shirov in Informant 72/415]) 48...Kf5 49.Kf2 Ke4 50.Bxf6 (50.Ke2 f5-+ [A.Shirov]; After 50.Bb4 Black's three passed pawns decide the outcome: 50...Kd3 51.Ba3 d4 52.Bb2 f5 53.Kf3 Kc4 54.Ke2 d3+ 55.Kd2 f4 56.Be5 f3 57.Ke3 f2 58.Kxf2 Kb3-+) 50...d4 51.Be7 (51.Ke2?! a3-+ [Ftacnik in ChessBase Magazine 64]; 51.Bg5 Kd3 52.Ke1 Kc2-+) 51...Kd3! 52.Bc5 Kc4! 53.Be7 until this point all Black's move were unique. Now he has a choice: 53...Kb3 (53...Kc3-+) and Topalov resigned due to 54.Bc5 d3 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (5 of 7) [2/12/2001 11:03:05 PM]

Endgame Corner

55.Ke3 Kc2 56.Bb4 a3-+ (Ftacnik) Exercises: E2.01 M.Dvoretsky It looks pretty grim for White doesn't it ?

E2.02 K.Müller (2470) J.Gustafsson Hamburg simul 1994 In a simultaneous display against young talents from Hamburg Jan Gustafsson, who was fourteen years old, reached the following position. Did he manage to win it?

Solutions to last month’s exercises: E1.01 I.Bondarevsky - I.Kan URS-ch11 Leningrad 1939 In the game it was White to play: 127.Ra1+! Re1 128.Ra3! f3 has to be prevented 128...Re2+ 129.Kh1! Re3 130.Ra1+! Kf2 131.Kh2 Re1 132.Ra4 f3 133.Ra2+ Re2 134.Ra1 White has established a back rank defense 134...Re3 135.Rb1 Re7 136.Rb2+! Re2 137.Rb1 Re1 138.Rb2+ Ke3 139.Rb3+! Kf4 140.Rb4+! Re4 141.Rb8 Re2+ 142.Kg1 ½-½

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Endgame Corner

Black to move wins as in (1.03): 1...f3! (1...Re2+ 2.Kh3 Re3+! 3.Kh2 f3!-+) 2.Ra1+ (2.Ra7 f2 3.Ra2 Rf3-+) 2...Re1! 3.Ra3 f2-+ E1.02 A.Kotov - S.Flohr URS-ch19 Moscow 1951 Flohr won the game as follows: 107...Re1 108.Ra2+ (108.Ra3 A. 108...f3? 109.Kxh3! Re3 [109...Re8 110.Ra2+! Kf1 111.Kg3!=] 110.Ra1!=; B. 108...Re8 109.Ra2+ Kf1 110.Ra1+ Re1 111.Ra3 Re2+ 112.Kh1 Re3 113.Ra1+ Re1 114.Ra3 f3-+) 108...Kf1 109.Kxh3 (109.Ra3 Re2+ 110.Kh1 Re3 111.Ra1+ Re1 112.Ra3 f3 113.Rxf3+ Ke2+-+) 109...Re3+! 110.Kg4 f3! 111.Kg3 f2+! 112.Kh2 Re8 113.Ra1+ Ke2 114.Ra2+ Kf3 0-1 Sources: A.Soltis, GM Secrets: Endings, Thinkers Press 1997. P.Benko, Chess Endgame Lessons, Volume 1, 1989. J.Emms, The Most Amazing Chess Moves of All Times, GAMBIT 2000. M.Dvoretsky, A.Yusupov, Technique for the Tournament Player, Batsford 1995. J.Awerbach, Läufer- und Springerendspiele, Sportverlag Berlin 1987. E.Solozhenkin, Endspiele mit ungleichen Läufern, ChessBase CD-ROM, Hamburg 2000. 100 Jahre Schach, ChessBase CD-ROM, Hamburg 2000. Copyright 2001 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved.

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Endgame Corner

Bees of Opps and Rooks My first column was about rooks my second about opposite coloured bishops, so it is now time to deal with opposite coloured bishop and rook endings. A lot of new motifs like sacrificing the exchange and playing for mate come into play then. Generally speaking, the winning chances of the attacking side are much higher than in opposite coloured bishops endings. The first example demonstrates this (See Diagram): 3.01 Ed.Lasker - J.R.Capablanca, New York 1931 /+

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

Without the rooks the position would be dead drawn, but with them Capablanca won convincingly: 65...Rh2+ 66.Re2 (66.Kc1 d3 67.Rc8+ Kb5 68.Rb8+ Ka4 69.Rf8 [69.Rc8?! d2+ 70.Kd1 Bf3#] 69...Rc2+ 70.Kb1 d2 71.Rf1 Bf3-+) 66...Rh3 67.Re8 Bc6 68.Re2 (68.Rc8!? Rh2+ 69.Kc1 Kd3 70.Kb1 Be4 71.Ka1 Ke3 72.Bc1+ Kf3 73.Rf8+ Ke2 74.Re8 Kd1 75.Bb2 Rh1 76.Rc8 Ke2+ 77.Bc1 d3 78.Kb2 Rxc1 79.Rxc1 d2 80.Rg1 Bd5-+) 68...Bf3 69.Rf2 Bg4 threatening Rd3+ followed by Rd1 mate 70.Ke1 (70.Rf1 Rh2+ 71.Kc1 Bh5 72.Kb1 [72.Rf4?! Rh1+ 73.Kd2 Rd1#] 72...d3-+) 70...Re3+ 71.Kf1 Bh3+ 72.Kg1 Re1+ 73.Kh2 Bf1 74.Kg3 Rb1 75.Ba3 Bd3 76.Rf8 Kc3 77.Rf2 Bc2 78.Kf4 Ra1 79.Rf3+ d3 80.Bd6 and Edward Lasker lost on time. The next example is well known and so I will not give too many details. Just enjoy Nimzowitsch's excellent technique (See Diagram):

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3.02 H.von Gottschall A.Nimzowitsch, Hannover 1926 /+ 29...Kg6 30.Rd4 Kf5 31.Bd2 Rf8! the rook occupies the f-file as Nimzowitsch's next aim is to open it 32.Be1?! e5 33.fxe5 fxe5 34.Rh4 g5 35.Rb4 (Of course not 35.Rxh5?? Kg6+-+) 35...Ke6+ 36.Ke2 e4 37.Bf2 Rf3 38.Rb6 Ke5 39.Rb4 Kd5 40.h4 gxh4 41.gxh4 Rh3 42.Rd4+ Ke5 43.Rd8 Bd5 44.Re8+ (44.Rh8?! Bc4+ 45.Kd2 Rd3+ 46.Ke1 e3 47.Bg1 Ke4-+) 44...Be6 45.Rd8 Kf4 46.Rf8+ Bf5 47.Rf7 Rh2 48.Re7 Bg4+ 49.Ke1 Kf3 50.Rf7+ Kg2 51.Kd2?! (51.Bd4 was more tenacious.) 51...Kf1 52.Ke3 Bf3 53.Bg3 Rxb2 54.Bd6 Rb3+ 55.Kd4 Kf2 56.Rg7 e3 57.Bg3+ Kf1 58.Rf7 e2 59.Re7 Bc6 0-1 In the recent Braingames World Championship there were two games with rooks and opposite coloured bishops (See Diagram - for the other see the exercises): 3.03 V.Kramnik - G.Kasparov, Braingames WCh London 2000 +/ The material is quite reduced and White's king has difficulties entering the play. But due to his strong a-pawn he should win nevertheless: 38.a5 (38.Rb6+!? with the idea 38...Rd6? 39.Rxd6+ Bxd6 40.Kh4+- came strongly into consideration as well.) 38...Ra2 39.Rb6+ Ke7?? in severe time trouble Kasparov blunders making it very easy for Kramnik. 39...Kg7 was called for although White should be winning in the long run e.g. 40.a6 Bd4 41.Rg6+ Kf8 (41...Kf7? 42.Rd6 Ra4 43.Rxd4+-) 42.Bb7 Ra5 43.Rd6 Be3 (43...Bg1 44.Rf6+ Kg7 45.Rxf4 Ra2 46.Rf5 Rxh2+ 47.Kg3 h4+ 48.Kg4 Bf2 49.f4+-) 44.Rd5!? trading rooks is normally not such a good winning strategy. But here it works due to the far advanced a-pawn and Black's weakness on h5: 44...Rxd5 45.Bxd5 Kg7 46.Kg2 Ba7 (46...h4 47.Kh3 Bf2 48.Kg4+-) 47.h4! fixing the weakness h5 on a light square is very important! 47...Kf6 48.Be4 Be3 49.Kf1 Ba7 50.Ke2 Bg1 51.Kd3 Bf2 52.Bh7 Kg7 (52...Ke5 53.Ke2 Ba7 54.Bg6+-) 53.Bf5 Kf6 54.Ke4 Be3 55.Bh3+- 40.Bd5! and Kasparov resigned as the pawn ending after 40...Rxa5 (40...Re2 41.Re6+ Kd7 42.a6+-) 41.Re6+ Kd7 42.Rxe5 Kd6 43.Rxh5 Rxd5 44.Rxd5+ Kxd5 45.Kg4 is hopeless. In 1993, I was the Alexei Shirov’s second at the Munich tournament and file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (2 of 7) [3/14/2001 9:10:30 AM]

Endgame Corner

Alexei's start had not been very good. After two rounds he had only half a point and in the third round his position against Lautier was very bad until in the second time control. Joel was too greedy and had to seal a move in the following position (See Diagram): 3.04 A.Shirov (2670) - J.Lautier (2635), Munich 1993 /= Black is three pawns up at the moment, but he is nevertheless at the brink of disaster because of White's strong attack. After analysing the position myself for a long time I shared my thought's with the German chess trainer and columnist Claus Dieter Meyer and he wrote an article for the German Schachmagazin 64 (12/1994). Alexei included it in his book Fire on Board. So let's see what happened: 61...Kg8? Lautier had indeed sealed the move we had expected, although in retrospect it seems to be losing a drawn position. But - to be honest - at the time we also thought that it would lead to a draw. Instead, there were two ways to hold on: 61...Rh3 and 61...Rd3. I will only give some details for 61...Rh3: 62.Rxg7+ Kh8 63.Kg6 f4+ 64.Kg5 (64.Kf7? Rh7!) 64...Bf3 (64...Rd3? See Diagram is beautifully refuted by 65.Re7+ Rxd4 66.cxd4 g3 67.Rxe4 g2 68.Re1 f3 69.Kg6 f2 70.Re8#) 65.Kxf4 Bd1 66.Rxg4+ Kh7 67.Rg7+ Kh6 and Black should be able to hold on. 62.Kg6 Bc6 63.Bc5!? Joel had overlooked this tricky move in his adjournment analysis and did not find the strongest resistance. 63...Rd3?! 63...Kh8!? should have been played. The main line runs: 64.Bd4! Kg8 and we have reached the position after 62...Bc6 again. Now comes the stronger continuation 65.Rxg7+ Kf8 66.Rc7 Bd5 (66...Bg2!? comes into consideration as well: 67.Kf6 Ke8 68.Ke6 Kd8 69.Rc5 Bb7 70.Bf6+ Ke8 71.Rc7 Re3+ 72.Be5 Rxe5+ 73.Kxe5 (See Diagram)

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Meyer worked very hard on this position and finally came to the conclusion that White is winning.) 67.Rc5! (better than 67.Kf6 Ke8 68.Rc5 Bb7! 69.Re5+ Kd7 70.Re7+ Kc6 71.Re6+=) my improvement over the post mortem analysis of Shirov and Lautier, which runs 67...Be6 (67...Bb7? 68.Re5! Bc6 69.Bc5+ Kg8 70.Re6 Bd7 71.Re7 Rd3 72.Rg7+ Kh8 73.Bd4+-; 67...Bf7+? 68.Kf6 Ke8 69.Be5 Rg2 70.Rc8+ Kd7 71.Rc7+ Ke8 72.Rxf7 Rxb2 73.Ke6+-) 68.Kf6 Bd7 69.Rc7 Ke8 70.Ra7 with a further branch: (A) 70...Bc6 71.Re7+ Kd8 [71...Kf8 72.Rc7 Be8 73.Rc8+-] 72.Bb6+ Kc8 73.Rc7+ Kb8 74.Rxc6 should be winning for White although it is not trivial; (B) 70...Kd8 71.Bb6+ Kc8 72.Rc7+ Kd8 73.Rc5+ Ke8 74.Re5+ Kf8 75.Bc5+ Kg8 76.Re7 Rd3 77.Rg7+ Kh8 78.Bd4 Bc6 79.Rc7 Rxd4 80.cxd4 Be4 81.Kg6 f4+ 82.Kh6 and we have reached the game after 68.Kh6) 64.Rxg7+ Kh8 65.Bd4 (See Diagram) 65... Rxd4 (65...Be8+ 66.Kh6 Rh3+ 67.Kg5 Rh5+ 68.Kf4+-) 66.cxd4 f4 (66...g3 67.Rh7+ Kg8 68.Rc7 Be8+ [68...Kf8 69.Rxc6 g2 70.Kf6 Kg8 71.Rc8+ Kh7 72.Rc7+ Kh8 73.Rg7+-] 69.Kf6 f4 70.Rg7+ Kh8 [70...Kf8 71.Rg5 Bc6 72.d5 f3 73.dxc6 f2 74.c7 f1D+ 75.Rf5+-] 71.Rg5 Bc6 72.d5 Bxd5 73.Rxd5 g2 74.Kf7!+- B.Certic in Informant 58.) 67.Rc7 Be4+ (67...Bd5 68.Rc8+ Bg8 69.Rf8 f3 70.d5 g3 71.Rxf3 Bxd5 72.Rxg3+-, Lautier) 68.Kh6 Bd5 (See Diagram)

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Endgame Corner

and now Alexei found the bonecrusher 69.Rc5! leaving Joel Lautier defenceless: 69...Bg8 70.d5 f3 71.d6 Be6 (71...f2 72.Rf5 g3 73.d7 g2 74.d8Q g1Q 75.Qf6+ Qg7+ 76.Qxg7#) 72.Re5 Bd7 73.Re7 f2 74.Rxd7 Kg8 75.Rg7+ Kf8 76.d7 1-0

Exercises (Solutions next month): E 3.01 V.Kramnik - G.Kasparov, Braingames Wch, London 2000 Garry Kasparov chose the natural looking 35...Rd2+ . Was that a good winning try?

E 3.02 I.Radziewicz (2379) R.Fernandez Blanco (2096), EU-ch U20 Girls Aviles 2000 White to move and win

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Endgame Corner

Solutions to last month’s exercises: S2.01 M.Dvoretsky White creates a fortress with 1.c5! Bxc5 2.Bb3! forcing Black's e-pawn to a dark square which allows a blockade: 2...e5 3.Be6 Kc7 4.Ke4 and Black can't make any further progress.

S2.02 K.Müller (2470) J.Gustafsson, Hamburg simul 1994 Jan Gustafsson managed to win as follows: 49...Kf3 50.Bd5+ Kf2 51.Be6 g3 52.Bd5 Kf1 (52...a5 53.Bc6 b5 54.cxb5 c4 or 52...a6 53.Bb7 b5 54.axb5 axb5 55.cxb5 c4 would have won faster.) 53.Bc6 Bf2 54.Bg2+ Ke2 55.Bc6 Kd3 56.Bb5 Kc3 57.Kg2 Kb4 58.Kf3 Ka5 59.Bc6 a6 60.Bb7 b5 (60...Kxa4? 61.Bxa6=) 61.axb5 axb5 62.cxb5 Kxb5 63.Ke2 Kb4 64.Kd2 Kb3 65.Bd5+ c4 66.Ke2 Kc3 67.Be6 Kd4 68.Bf7 c3 69.Bg6 Kc4 0-1 Sources: A.Shirov, Fire on Board, Cadogan 1995 E.Solozhenkin, Endspiele mit ungleichen Läufern, ChessBase CD-ROM, Hamburg 2000 ChessBase MEGABASE 2001. Copyright 2001 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in Chess Cafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

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Endgame Corner

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Endgame Corner

Activate the King An endgame is different from a middlegame in many respects. One of the most important is the new role of the King. In the middlegame he usually hides after castling behind his pawn shield, but when the firepower on the board diminishes he himself becomes a strong fighting unit: 4.01 Rashkovsky - Krasenkov, Capelle la Grande 1990 +/

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

White's main trump, the far-advanced d-pawn, needs further support, so his majesty comes: 1.Kf2 Qf6+ 2.Ke2 Qb2+ 3.Ke3 Qc3+ 4.Qd3 Qe5+ 5.Kf3 Qf6+ 6.Ke4 Qh4+ 7.g4 Qe1+ 8.Kd4 Qa1+ 9.Kc5 Qxa4 10.Qc3+ (immediately simplifying into a pawn endgame with 10.Qd4+?? backfires as Black gets an outside passed b-pawn [an important concept in pawn endings] 10...Qxd4+ 11.Kxd4 Kf6 12.Kc5 Ke7 13.h4 g5–+] 10...Kf7 11.Kd6 Qf4+ 12.Kd7 b5 13.d6 b4 14.Qc7 Qe4 (after 14...b3 15.Kc6+ Kg8 16.Qb8+ White wins the b-pawn leaving Black without counterplay.) 15.Kc8+ Kf6 16.Qc5 and Krasenkov resigned due to 16...b3 17.d7 Qa8+ 18.Kc7 b2 19.d8Q+ Qxd8+ 20.Kxd8 b1Q 21.Qe7# But beware of running into a mating net: 4.02 N.Short (2685) - A.Beliavsky (2620), Linares 1992 Instead of capturing with the Knight on f6, Nigel Short wanted to improve the position of his King even further with 58.Ke6?? missing the reply 58...Bc8# In two of my recent games, this theme played an important role:

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Endgame Corner

4.03 J.Emms (2527) - K.Müller (2513), German Bundesliga 2001, Solingen Hamburg, 6th board After the time control I took a closer look at the position and found myself in trouble. Finally I decided to activate my Rook at the cost of two pawns to obtain counterplay: 41...Rd6 (After 41...Rc8 I didn't like 42.g4) 42.Nd3 Rb6 43.Rxd5 Rb3 44.Ne5! Rb2+ 45.Ke1 Ne3 46.Rxa5 (I was a worried about 46.Nxg6+ during the game, but in the post mortem we decided, that Black has good chances to draw after 46...fxg6 47.Re5+ Kd6 48.Rxe3 Kd5) 46...Nf5 47.Ra7+? (47.d5! was John's suggestion. It seems to be very strong e.g. 47...Rg2 48.Nc4 Rxg3 49.Ra7+ Kf6 50.d6 Rxf3 51.d7 Ke7 52.Nb6 Rd3 53.a5+-) 47...Ke6 48.Nxf7 (Of course not 48.Rxf7? Nxd4 49.f4 Re2+ 50.Kf1 Rxe5) 48...Nxg3 [Dorfman's proposal 48...Nxd4 is interesting as well, e.g., 49.Ng5+ Kd5 50.a5 Kc4 51.a6 Ra2 52.Rc7+ Kd3 53.a7 Nc2+ and White's King can't escape from the checks as after 54.Kf1 Ne3+ 55.Kg1 Ra1+ 56.Kh2 Ra2+ 57.Kh3? leads to disaster: 57...Nf1 58.Rd7+ Kc4 59.Rc7+ Kb5 60.Rb7+ Kc5 61.Ne4+ Kc4 62.Rc7+ Kd3 63.Rd7+ Ke3–+] 49.Ng5+ Kd5 (See Diagram) Now Black's King is coming to assist the attack 50.Rd7+ Kc4 51.d5 Re2+? (As Lubomir Ftacnik pointed out, 51...Kd3! immediately was called for: 52.Rc7 [52.Re7? Nf5 53.Re4 Ne3–+] 52...Nf5! 53.Ne4 [53.Rc1? Ne3–+] 53...Nxh4 54.Rc3+ Kd4 55.d6 Nxf3+ 56.Rxf3 Kxe4 57.Rg3 Rb4=) 52.Kd1 Kd3 (See Diagram)

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Endgame Corner

Certainly not an easy position to play as John had to win - the Hamburg team was leading 3½:2½ - and was already running short of time 53.Kc1 (53.Rc7!? was interesting as well: (A) 53...Ra2? 54.d6 Ra1+ 55.Rc1 Ra2 56.Ne4! Nxe4 57.fxe4 Rxa4 58.d7 Rd4 59.Ke1+-; (B) 53...Rh2? 54.Kc1 Rxh4 55.Kb2 [55.Ne6!?] 55...Rxa4 56.d6 Rb4+ 57.Ka3 Rb8 58.Nf7 h4 59.d7 h3 60.Rc8 Rxc8 61.dxc8Q h2 62.Ne5+ Kd4 63.Kb4 Kxe5 64.Qh8++-; (C) 53...Rd2+! 54.Kc1 Ne2+ 55.Kb1 Ke3 and Black is still fighting.[55...Nc3+? 56.Rxc3+ Kxc3 57.Ne4++- is the main point behind 53.Rc7.] ) 53...Ra2 54.Kb1 Rxa4 55.d6 Ne2? (55...Rb4+ 56.Ka2 Nf5 was better.) 56.Ne4? (56.Rb7! seems to win, e.g., 56...Nc3+ [56...Rd4 57.d7 Nc3+ 58.Kc1 Ne2+ 59.Kb2 Nf4 60.Nf7 Ne6 61.Rb8 Kd2 62.Ne5 Rd5 63.f4 Ke3 64.Re8+-] 57.Kb2 Ra2+ 58.Kb3 Ra1 59.d7 Rb1+ 60.Ka3 Rxb7 61.d8Q+ Kc2 62.Qg8+-) 56...Nc3+ 57.Nxc3 Kxc3 (See Diagram) I had read John's excellent book The Survival Guide to Rook Endings and therefore managed to survive: 58.Rc7+ (58.Rd8 Rd4 59.d7 Kd3 60.Kb2 Rd6 61.Kb3 Kd4=) 58...Kb3 59.Rb7+ (59.Re7 Kc3 [59...Rd4? 60.Re3+ Kc4 61.Re4+-] 60.d7 Rd4=) 59...Kc3 60.Rc7+ Kb3 61.d7 Rd4 62.Kc1 Rd6 63.f4 Rd5 64.Rb7+ Kc3 65.Rc7+ Kb3 66.Rc6 Rxd7 67.Rxg6 Rf7 68.Rg5 Rxf4 69.Rxh5 Kc3 70.Rc5+ (After 70.Kd1 Kd3 71.Rd5+ Rd4 72.Rxd4+ Kxd4= the subject of my book (together with IM Frank Lamprecht), Secrets of Pawn Endings, is reached - The Rule of the Square in the first example of Chapter 1 to be more precise.) 70...Kb4 71.Rc8 Rxh4 72.Kd2 ½–½

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Endgame Corner

4.04 Z.Almasi (2668) - K.Müller (2523), Austrian Staatsliga Graz, Fürstenfeld-Gleisdorf, 1st board I start at an earlier stage as the complications are quite interesting. After the opening Zoltan Almasi was winning, but he had messed things up and now matters are not so easy any more: 43.bxc4 dxc4 44.d5 exd5 45.Qxf5 Qh7! 46.Kg2 (Of course not 46.f4? Qh2+ 47.Kf1 Qxe2+ 48.Kxe2 Nbd4+) 46...Nxe5 (46...Nbd4 came strongly into consideration as well e.g. 47.Nxd4 Nxd4 48.Qf6 [48.Qg5? allows 48...Qh2+] 48...Nxc2 49.e6 c3 50.Qf7+ Qxf7 51.exf7 Ne3+ 52.Kf2 c2 53.f8Q Nd1+ 54.Ke1 c1Q) 47.Qxe5 Qxg6 48.Qxd5+ Qc6 49.Qf7+ Ka6 50.g4 a4 51.g5 b3 52.cxb3 cxb3 53.axb3 a3 54.b4 Qc2 55.Qe6+ Kb7 56.g6 Nc7! (After 56...a2 57.g7 a1Q 58.g8Q I was afraid, that my King wouldn't be as safe as White's.) 57.Qe4+ Qxe4 58.fxe4 Ne6 59.Nc3 Nf4+ 60.Kf3 Nxg6 61.Ke3 Kc6 62.Kd4 (See Diagram) Although it looks very difficult for me it seems, that I still could have saved the day 62...Nf4 (62...Nf8 leads to a draw as well.) 63.Kc4 Kd6 (At first I wanted to play 63...Ne2? but this fails due to 64.Nxe2 a2 65.Nd4+ Kd6 66.Nc2+-) 64.Kb3 Ke5 65.Kxa3 Kd4! the active position of Black's King is very annoing for White (See Diagram)

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66.b5!? Nd3 (66...Kc5? 67.Ka4 Nd3 68.Ka5 Ne5 69.Ka6 Kd4 70.b6 Kxc3 71.b7 Nd7 72.e5+-) 67.b6 Nc5 68.Kb4 and now I blew it with 68...Na6+? (Instead 68...Nb7! was called for: 69.Na4 [69.Kb5 Nd8 70.Ka6 Kxc3 71.e5 Kd4 72.e6 Nxe6 73.b7 Nc5+=] 69...Kxe4 70.Nc5+ Kd5 71.Nxb7 Kc6=) 69.Kb5 Sb8 70.b7 Kxc3 71.e5 1–0

4.05 G.Kasparov (2849) - E.Bareev (2709) World Cup of Rapid Chess Final Cannes 2001 34.Kc3 34.g4!? to create more spare tempi on the kingside is very interesting as well. I couldn't find a win for White, but it is very close: (A) 34...f6 35.Kc3 h5 36.gxh5 gxh5 37.h4 (37.a4 c5 38.h4 f5 39.Kd3 Ke5 40.Kc4 Ke4 41.Kxc5 Kf3 42.b4 axb4 43.Kxb4 Kxf2 44.a5 f4 45.a6 f3 46.a7 Kg1

and the position is a theoretical draw, although in practice it is much more difficult to defend than with help of the endgame database.) 37...f5 38.a4 c5 39.Kd3 Ke5 (39...f4? 40.f3 Ke5 41.Kc4 Kd6 42.Kb5+-) 40.Kc4 Ke4 41.Kxc5 Kf3 42.b4 axb4 43.Kxb4 Kxf2 44.a5 f4 45.a6 f3 46.a7 Kg1=; (B) 34...h5? 35.g5+-; (C) 34...Ke5? 35.Kc4 Kf4 36.b4+- and White is much faster than Black. (D) 34...f5 35.gxf5 gxf5 36.h3 h5 37.h4 Kc5 (37...Ke5 38.Kc4 Kf4 39.b4 axb4 40.a4+-) 38.Kc3 Kd5 39.a4 c5 40.Kd3 Ke5 (40...f4? 41.f3+-) 41.Kc4 Ke4 42.Kxc5 Kf3 43.b4 axb4 44.Kxb4 Kxf2 45.a5 f4 46.a6 f3 47.a7 Kg1 48.a8Q f2= 34...h5 35.h4 f6 36.Kd3 g5 37.g3 gxh4?! (37...g4 was better as Black's counterplay on the kingside is stronger and he has the tempo f6-f5 in reserve.) 38.gxh4 f5 39.f3 (39.f4 c5 40.a4 [40.Ke3 c4 41.b4 axb4 42.axb4 c3 43.Kd3 c2 44.Kxc2 Kc4=] 40...Kd6 41.Kc4 Kc6=) 39...Ke5 40.Ke3 c5 41.f4+ Kd6 42.Kd2! much more tricky than 42.Kd3 42...Kc6 (even 42...Kd5 is playable: 43.Kd3 Kc6 44.Kc4 Kd6 45.Kb5 Kd5 46.Kxa5 Ke4=) 43.Kc3 Kb5 44.Kd3 1-0 and file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (5 of 8) [4/4/2001 4:32:03 PM]

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Bareev having only two seconds left resigned. But the position seems to be tenable with more time on the clock: 44...Kc6! (44...Kb6? 45.Kc4 Kc6 46.a4+-) 45.Kc4 Kd6! 46.Kb5 Kd5 47.Kxa5 Ke4 48.Kb6 Kxf4 49.a4 Kg3 50.a5 f4 51.a6 f3 52.a7 f2 53.a8Q f1Q= Exercises (Solutions next month): E4.01 V.Georgiev (2538) - K.Müller (2527), Hamburg 2000 Can White to move convert his advantage?

E4.02 G.Meins (2465) - S.Reschke (2390), German Bundesliga 1997 White's King is very active isn't he?

E4.03 J.Hjartarson (2605) - S.Sulskis (2510), FIDE-Wch Groningen 1997 White played Re7. Was this a fortunate choice?

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Solutions to last month's exercises S 3.01 V.Kramnik - G.Kasparov, Braingames WCh London 2000 35...Rd2+?! was an unfortunate choice as Kramnik could force the exchange of Rooks immediately. (35...Kg6!? was a better try although Kramnik claims in New in Chess Magazine 01/2001, that White is still able to defend e.g. 36.Ke2 [36.Be3?! Rd5] 36...Rb3 37.Be3 Bd5 [37...Kf6 38.Bd2 Rb2 39.Ke1 e5 40.Rg3 Bd5 41.Bxg5+ Kf5 42.Bd2] 38.Rxg5+ Kf6 39.Bd2 Bc4+ 40.Kd1 e5 41.Rh5) 36.Ke3 Rxg2 37.Rxg2 Bxg2 38.Be5 (see Endgame Corner No.2) ½–½ S 3.02 I.Radziewicz (2379) R.Fernandez Blanco (2096), EU-ch U20 Girls Aviles 2000 White won with 59.Ke6! Rg6+ (59...Kd8 60.Rc6 Rg6+ 61.Bf6++-) 60.Bf6 Rxf6+ 61.Kxf6 Kd8 62.Ra7 Kc8 63.a5 Kb8 64.Rxa6 Kb7 65.Rb6+ Ka7 66.Ke6 Bf1 67.Kd5 Be2 68.Kc5 Bd3 69.Rc6 Be2 70.Rc7+ Ka6 71.Kb4 Bd3 72.Rc6+ Kb7 73.Rxc4 Bxc4 74.Kxc4 1-0

Sources: A.Soltis, GM Secrets:Endings, Thinkers Press 1997 J.Emms, The Survival Guide to Rook Endings, Everyman 1999 ChessBase MEGABASE 2001 New in Chess 01/2001 Copyright 2001 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in Chess Cafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

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Endgame Corner

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Endgame Corner

Bishop vs Knight Part I

Endgame Corner

It is very surprising, that Bishop and Knight and are of almost equal strength on an 8x8 board as they move in completely different ways. The Knight is a short range piece. When it moves, it loses contact with all (!!) the squares it controlled before and the colour of the square it occupies changes with each move. The Bishop is a long range piece, which can visit only half of the squares of the board. So depending on the given pawn structure, it can dominate the Knight in an open position with play on both wings or look like an overgrown pawn, if the pawns are blocked on squares of the same colour and it has very limited scope. In the first part of my discussion I will look at positions, in which the player with the Knight is behind on material and tries to set up a fortress on squares opposite to the Bishop's colour:

Karsten Müller

5.01 L.Gutman (2533) - K.Müller (2513) German Ch, Heringsdorf 2000 =/= White can't make any meaningful progress so Gutman decided to call it a day after 53.Kf3 Nd5 ½–½ The next fortress shows a curious special case:

5.02 C.Cohrs (2205) - W.Gerstner (2400) Dresden 1999 /= 46...Nd1 47.Kf3 Kf6 48.Bc8 Nc3 49.Ke3 Nxa2 50.Kd4 Nc3 51.Kc5 Na2 52.Bd7 ½–½ In the next example Black has even better chances than White due to her more active King:

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Endgame Corner

5.03 R.Borer (2015) - A.Frank Elista ol (Women) 1998 /= 53...Kb4! 54.Ke3 (54.Bc6 Kc5=) 54...Nc4+ (54...Nb7!? was worth trying e.g. 55.Be8 Nc5 56.Kd2 [56.Bc6? is bad as the pawn ending after 56...Nxa4 57.Bxa4? Kxa4 58.Kd2 Kb4 59.Kd3 Kb3 is lost.] 56...Ne6 [56...Nxe4+ 57.Ke3 Nc5 58.Bc6=] 57.Bb5 Nf4 58.Bf1 Kxa4 59.Kc3 Ka5 and Black is slightly better) 55.Kd3 and a draw was agreed as the pawn ending after 55...Nb2+ 56.Kc2 Nxa4 57.Bxa4 Kxa4 58.Kc3 Kb5 59.Kb3 is equal. The most powerful weapon to break such fortresses is zugzwang. The next two examples demonstrate this: 5.04 P.Leko (2701) - A.Khalifman (2628) Budapest 2000 +/52.Bd7 1–0 If Black's Knight on c7 were a Bishop, the position would be dead drawn as Black wouldn't fall into zugzwang.

5.05 S.Ivanov (2538) - J.van der Wiel (2544) 15th EUCup final, Bugojno 1999 +/59.Bd7 and van der Wiel resigned as he has no move after 59...Ng7 60.Kh6+Sometimes the Bishop dominates the Knight:

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5.06 M.Socko (2438) - K.Lerner (2588) MK Cafe Cup-A Koszalin 1999 -/+ 53.Kd4 (The pawn ending after 53.Nf3 Bxf3 54.Kxf3 is lost: 54...Ke6 55.Ke3 Kd5 56.Kd3 d6–+) 53...Kf6 54.Kc5 g5 55.fxg5+ Kxg5 56.Kd6 (56.Kb6 f4 57.gxf4+ Kxh4 58.Kxa6 Kg4–+ [Hecht in ChessBase Magazin 73]) 56...f4 0–1 I want to end the discussion with a very complicated example: 5.07 H. Berliner in The System +/ Without the g-pawns, the position is dead drawn, but with them White can break through by a well-timed sacrifice of the e-pawn: 1.Bh4 Nf4+ 2.Kc5 (After 2.Ke4?! Ne6 3.Be1? Black's king gets to a more active position with 3...Kc6! making a win extremely difficult, if not impossible.) 2...Ne6+ (2...Nd3+ 3.Kd4 Nf4 4.Bg3 Ne2+ 5.Kd5 Nxg3 6.e6+ Kd8 7.Kc6 Ne4 8.e7+ Ke8 9.d7+ Kxe7 10.Kc7+-) 3.Kb6 Nd4 (3...g5 4.Bg3 Nd8 5.Bh2 Ne6 6.Kb5 Nd8 7.Kc5 Ne6+ 8.Kd5 Nd8 9.Bg1 Ne6 10.Be3+-) 4.Bf2 Ne6 (4...Nf3 5.Bg3 Ng5 6.Bf4 Ne6 7.Bh2+- see the main line) 5.Bg3 Nd4 6.Kc5 Ne6+ 7.Kd5 Nd8 8.Bf4 Ne6 9.Bh2 Nd8 now the appropriate time for e6+ has come: 10.e6+! Nxe6 11.Ke5 g5 (11...Ng5 12.Kf6 Nf3 13.Bf4 g5 14.Be5+-) 12.Kf6 Nd4 13.Be5 Ne6 14.Kf5 Nc5 15.Kxg5 Ke6 16.Bh2 Kf7 17.Kf5 Nd7 18.Be5+-

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Exercises (Solutions next month) E5.01 Gambit Tiger 1.0 - Deep Fritz Computer Chess Match Tournament Cadaques 2001 How to assess the position with Black to move?

E5.02 K.van der Weide (2434) J.Nilssen (2326) Politiken Cup Copenhagen 1999 Van der Weide found a way to defend his position. Can you do the same?

E5.03 V.Potkin (2470) - V.Milov (2604) Linares Anibal open 2001 Did Potkin manage to storm Milov’s barricades? (White is to move)

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Solutions to last month exercises E4.01 V.Georgiev (2538) - K.Müller (2527), Hamburg 2000 White can indeed win: 73.Bb5 Qf7 74.Kh5 Ke7 (74...Qxg6+ 75.Kxg6 Kg8 76.Kh6 Bb7 77.Be1 Bc8 78.Be8 Bb7 79.Bg6 Nf8 80.Kxg5+-) 75.Kh6 Qxg6+ 76.Kxg6 Nf8+ 77.Kxg5 Kf7 78.Kh6 Ng6 79.Be1 Ne7 80.g4 Ng6 81.Be8+ Kxe8 82.Kxg6 Ba6 83.g5 Be2 84.Kh7 Bg4 85.g6 Bf5 86.Kg7 (86.Bxb4 wins as well.) 86...Ke7 87.Bh4+ Ke8 88.Bg5 1–0 E4.02 G.Meins (2465) - S.Reschke (2390), German Bundesliga 1997 In the game Reschke missed the mate with 57...Kc6! and played instead 57...Re6+? The game ended in a draw several moves later. 58.Rc1+ Kd7 59.Ra1 f6#

E4.03 J.Hjartarson (2605) - S.Sulskis (2510), FIDE-Wch Groningen 1997 30.Re7? allowed Black to save himself in a spectacular way. (30.Re8+ Kg7 31.Re7 Nxa2+ 32.Kxa2 Rh2+ 33.Ka1 b3 34.Rexf7+ Kh6 35.R7f2+- [Tsesarsky in ChessBase Magazin 63]; 30.a5 Ne2+ [30...Nxa2+ 31.Kxa2 Rh2+ 32.Kb3 Rb2+ 33.Ka4+] 31.Kxb4 Nxd4 32.a6+[Hjartarson]) 30...Nxa2+! 31.Kxa2 Rh2+ 32.Kb1 (32.Kb3?? Rb2#) 32...b3 33.Rb7 Rb2+ 34.Ka1 Ra2+ 35.Kb1 ½–½ Sources: The System, Hans Berliner, GAMBIT 1999 ChessBase MEGABASE 2001 ChessBase Magazin Nos.63, 73 Copyright 2001 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (5 of 6) [4/22/2001 4:42:15 PM]

Endgame Corner

This column is available in Chess Cafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

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Bishop vs Knight Part II IN THE SECOND PART of my analysis of knight vs bishop I want to deal with positions, where the knight feels at home. His manoeuvres in the first example are quite common in a position with many of the defender's pawns blocked on squares of the bishop's colour: 6.01 J.Gdanski (2435) - A.Volzhin (2370), Oakham 1992

Endgame Corner

First White liquidates the kingside pawns in order to penetrate there with his king: 46.g5 hxg5+ 47.hxg5 fxg5+ 48.Nxg5 Kf6 49.Nf3 Bh5 50.Ne5 Be8

Karsten Müller In the next step, White breaks through to the fifth rank as Black's king cannot maintain the opposition because the knight controls g6 51.Kg4! Ke6 52.Kg5 Ke7 53.Kf5! Kd8 54.Ke6 Kc7 55.Ke7 Bh5

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Now White's knight heads for e6 to force Black's king away to penetrate with the king to d6: 56.Nf7 Bg6 57.Ng5 Bh5 58.Ne6+ Kc8 59.Kd6 Be8 (59...Bg4 60.Nf4 Kb7 61.Ng6 Bh5 62.Ne5 Be8 63.Ke7 Bh5 64.Kd7+-) 60.Nc7 Bd7 61.Nxa6 Be8 62.Nc7 Bd7 63.Ne6 Be8 64.Nf4 and Volzhin resigned due to 64...Bd7 (64...Kb7 65.Ke7+-) 65.Nd3 Be8 66.Ne5 Kb7 67.b3+In the next example the attacking king can't penetrate and everything depends on whether the knight can overcome the resistance. 6.02 Z. Peng (2403) - V. Shklovski (2220) Hoogeveen, 2000 Black can't prevent White's knight from reaching c6 or winning the g- or d-pawn: 55.Kd1 Bg5 56.Ne1 Be3 57.Ke2 Bc5 (57...Bc1 58.Nc2 Kd7 59.Nb4 Kc7 60.Nc6+-) 58.Ng2 Kd7 59.Nh4 Ba3

And now White's king hinders the bishop from going back to the kingside with 60.Kd1! Bc5 (60...Ke7 61.Nf5+ Kf6 62.Nh6 Kg5 63.Nf7+ Kf6 64.Nd8+-) 61.Nf5 Bg1 62.Ke2 1–0 The following position is much easier to win.

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6.03 A.Burn - A.Alekhine, Karlsbad 1911 76.f5+ gxf5 (76...Bxf5 77.Nxf5 Kxf5 78.Kf3 g5 (78...Ke6 79.Kf4 Ke7 80.Kg5 Kf7 81.Kh6+-) 79.hxg5 Kxg5 80.Kg3 Kf5 81.Kh4 Kg6 82.e6+-) 77.Kf4 Bg4 78.Kg5 Bh3 79.Ne8 Kf7 80.Nf6 f4 81.Kxf4 Be6 82.Kg5 1–0 Alexander Khalifman combined a lot of techniques to win this very complicated position. 6.04 A.Khalifman (2628) - D.Barua (2550) FIDE-Wch k.o. Las Vegas 1999 69.f5!! opening a path for White's king 69...gxf5 (69...Bxf5 70.Nxd5 Kf7 71.Nc7 Bc8 72.Kf4 Ke7 73.Ke5 g5 74.hxg5 h4 75.g6 h3 76.Nd5+ Ke8 77.Kf6 Bf5 78.Kxf5 h2 79.g7 Kf7 80.Nf6 Kxg7 81.Nh5+ Kf7 82.Ng3+-) 70.Kf4 Kf6 71.Nc2 Bd7 72.Ne1 Bc8 73.Nd3 Be6 (73...Bb7 74.Ke3 Kg7 75.Nf4 Kh6 76.Ne2 Kg6 77.Kf4 Kf6 78.Ng3 Bc8 79.Nxh5++-) 74.Kf3 Ke7 (74...Kg7 75.Ke3 Kf6 (75...Kf7 76.Nf4+-) 76.Nc5 Bc8 77.Kf4+- see the game) 75.Kg3 Kf6 76.Nc5 Bc8 77.Kf4 Kg6 78.Ke5 f4 (78...Kf7 79.Nd3+-) 79.Kxf4 Kf6 The next move looks strange at first sight, but White's king has to retreat to win the fight for the opposition as the knight can't lose a tempo 80.Kg3 Kg7 81.Kf3 Kg6 (81...Kf7 82.Nd3 Bg4+ 83.Kf2 Kf6 (83...Ke7 84.Nc5 Bc8 85.Ke3 Kf7 86.Nd3 Kf6 87.Nf4+-) 84.Nf4 Kf5 85.Nxd5 Ke4 86.Nf6+ Kxd4 87.Nxg4 hxg4 (87...Kc3 88.Nf6 Kxb4 89.Nxh5 Kxa5 90.Nf4+-) 88.Kg3+-; 81...Kf6 82.Kf4+- and White has managed to lose the tempo by the triangulation of his King.) 82.Nd3 Bg4+ (82...Bb7 83.Nf4+ Kh6 84.Ke3 Ba8 85.Nd3 Kg6 86.Kf4 Kf6 87.Nc5+-) 83.Ke3! Be6 84.Nf4+ Kf5 85.Nxh5 (Of course not 85.Nxe6?? Kxe6 86.Kf4 Kf6=) 85...Kg4 86.Nf4 Bf7 87.Nd3 Be6 88.Nc5 Bc8 89.h5 1–0 Very well played by Alexander Khalifman! The last two examples show different themes.

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Endgame Corner

6.05 K.Müller - Curt Hansen German Bundesliga 6th board, Hamburg-Porz 2001 Curt Hansen breaks through with a nice sacrifice of the knight: 42...Nf3! (42...Ne4? 43.Bxe4 dxe4 44.g5+ Ke7 45.g6 e3 46.g7 e2 47.g8Q e1Q 48.Qg5+=) 43.Bc2 e5 44.g5+ Nxg5 (Of course not 44...Kf7?? 45.g6+ Kg8 46.Bf5+-) 45.dxe5+ Kxe5 46.Kxg5 d4 47.a4 (47.cxd4+ Kxd4 48.Kf4 b4 49.axb4 axb4 50.Kf3 b3 51.Bd1 b2 52.Bc2 Kc3 53.Bf5 Kd2–+; 47.Kg4 d3 48.Bb1 Ke4 49.Kg5 b4 50.axb4 axb4 51.cxb4 c3–+) 47...d3 48.Bd1 b4 49.cxb4 c3 0–1 6.06 J.Pelikian (2393) - J.Sunye Neto (2555) Sao Paulo zt 2000 Black can't make progress by normal means, so Sunye Neto takes drastic measures: 68...Nxd4!? 69.exd4 e3 70.Kh6 (70.Bh4 comes into consideration as well e.g. 70...Ke4 71.Kg6 Kxd4 72.Kf6 Kc4 73.Kxe6 d4 74.Kf5 d3 75.e6 d2 76.e7 d1Q 77.e8Q Qf3+ 78.Ke5 Kxb4 79.Kd4=) 70...Ke4 71.Kg6 Kxd4 72.Kf6 Kc4 73.Kxe6?! (73.Kg5! was better e.g. 73...d4 74.Kf4 Kd3 75.Kf3 e2 76.Kf2 Ke4 77.Kxe2 Kxe5 78.Kd3 Kd5 79.Bh4 e5 80.Be7 e4+ 81.Kd2 Kc4 82.Bc5 e3+ 83.Kc2 d3+ 84.Kd1 e2+ 85.Kd2=) 73...d4 74.Kf5 d3 75.e6 d2 76.Bxd2 exd2 77.e7 d1Q 78.e8Q Qd5+ 79.Kg6 Kxb4 80.Qe1+ Kc5 81.Qe3+ Qd4 82.Qc1+ Kb6 This endgame is drawn according to the tablebase, but over the board it is extremely difficult to hold the draw. White shows, that he knows the rule, that his king should be near the north east corner, but unfortunately Black's king march to b6 involved a trick: 83.Kh7? Qd7+ and White resigned as he can't prevent the exchange of queens.

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Endgame Corner

Exercises (Solutions next month) E6.01 J.H.Blackburne - J.Mason Paris 1878 Can White to move convert his advantage?

E6.02 C.Schlechter - K.Walbrodt Wien 1898 This example is very famous. White can indeed win but how?

E6.03 After Z.Varga - P.Acs Budapest 1999 Black to move and draw

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Endgame Corner

E6.04 G.Vescovi (2526) - K.Sakaev (2627) Istanbul ol 2000 Black to move and win

E6.05 H.Camilleri (2156) - Nirosh De Silva (2162) Istanbul ol 2000 How to asses the position with White to move?

Solutions to last month’s exercises S5.01 Gambit Tiger 1.0 - Deep Fritz Computer Chess Match Tournament Cadaques 2001 The position is drawn: 57...Kf7 58.Bxh7 Kg7 59.Bg6 Nc3 60.h5 Ne2 61.h6+ Kh8 62.Bf7 Nd4 63.Bd5 Nxb3 64.Bxb3 and Gambit Tiger made another 68 moves before conceding the draw.

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Endgame Corner

S5.02 K. van der Weide (2434) J.A.Nilssen (2326) Politiken Cup Copenhagen 1999 Van der Weide saved the game as follows: 48.a4!! closing the path of Black's king via b5-a4 48...Bc2 49.g5 fxg5 50.Kg4 Bxa4 51.Nb1! the point: the knight goes to a3, where it locks the queenside. 51...Bd1 52.Na3 Kd6 53.Kxg5 Bxf3 54.Kxf4 ½–½

S5.03 V.Potkin (2470) - V.Milov (2604) Linares Anibal op 2001 White managed to storm Black's castle: 57.Bd7 Na8 58.Kd5 Nc7+ (58...Nb6+ 59.Ke4 Nxd7 60.cxd7 Kxd7 61.Kf5 Ke7 62.Kg6+-) 59.Ke4 Kf8 60.Kf5 Kf7 61.Bc8 Nb5 62.Be6+ Ke7 (62...Kg7 63.Bd5 Nc7 64.Bc4+-) 63.Bd5 Nd4+ 64.Kg6 Ne2 65.Kxh6 Nf4 66.Be4 Kd6 67.Bg6 1–0 Sources: ChessBase MEGABASE 2001 The Week in Chess Awerbach, Endspiele Läufer gegen Springer und Turm gegen Leichtfigur, Sportverlag Berlin 1989 Copyright 2001 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in Chess Cafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

[The Chess Cafe Home Page] [Book Reviews] [Bulletin Board] [Columnists] [Endgame Studies] [The Skittles Room] [Archives] [Links] [Online Bookstore] [About The Chess Cafe] [Contact Us] Copyright 2001 CyberCafes, LLC. All Rights Reserved. "The Chess Cafe®" is a registered trademark of Russell Enterprises, Inc.

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Endgame Corner

Rook vs Bishop Richard Forster analysed a very interesting ending in his April 2001 Late Knight column, which was reached in a game between Staunton and Horwitz and asked me about my opinion. I answered his question (it was on the ChessCafe.com Bulletin Board item no. 320–1) and promised to deal with the subject in more detail. Now I want to keep my promise: 7.01 Staunton - Horwitz London match 1846 17th game +/-

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

"Since Staunton just says 'and wins', we do not know whether Horwitz resigned at this point or whether further moves were played"(Forster). The position is winning for White in any case: 1...Kh6 2.Kb5!? The easiest way to win is to transfer the king to a6 first. But 2.Rb2 immediately wins as well: 2...Kg6 3.Rxb6 Bd2 (3...Kf6 4.Rb2 Ke5 5.Rb5++-) 4.Rb2 Be1 5.Re2 Bb4 6.Rf2 Kg5 7.Kb6 Be1 8.Rf8 Bb4 9.Ra8 Kf6 10.Rxa5+- 2...Bc5 3.Ka6 Kh7 4.Rb2 Kg6 (4...Bb4 5.Kxb6 Kg6 6.Rf2+-) 5.Rxb6+ Kf7 6.Kxa5+The following classic shows, how complicated this ending can be. My discussion follows Averbakh. 7.02 Salwe - Rubinstein Prague 1909 1...Rf7 Maizelis showed the right path, which is surprisingly not driving the king into the open field, but attacking him near the edge: 1...Kd3 2.Bf4 Ke2 3.Bg5 Rf3+ 4.Kg2 Ra3 5.Be7 Ra4 6.Bd8 Rg4+ 7.Kh3 Kf3 8.Bc7 Rg1 9.Bh2 Rf1 10.Bg3 Rh1+ 11.Bh2 Ke4 12.Kg2 Rd1 13.Bg3 (13.Bg1 Kf4 14.Bc5 Kg4 15.Be7 Rd2+ 16.Kf1 Kf3 17.Kg1 Kg3 18.Kf1 Rd4 19.Bg5 Re4 20.Bd8 Re6 21.Bg5 Re8–+) 13...Rd2+ 14.Kh3 (14.Bf2 Kf4 15.Kh3 Rd3+ 16.Kg2 Kg4–+) 14...Kf5 15.Bh2 (15.Be1 Rd3+ 16.Kg2 Kg4 17.Kf2 Rd7 18.Ke2 Re7+ 19.Kd2 Kf3 20.Kd1 Re4 21.Kd2 Re2+ 22.Kd1 Rh2 23.Kc1 Ke2 24.Bg3 Rh3–+) 15...Rd3+ 16.Bg3 Ra3 17.Kg2 Kg4 18.Bf2 Ra2 19.Kg1 Kf3 20.Bd4 Kg3 21.Bf6 Rg2+ 22.Kh1 Re2–+ 2.Bh6 Rf3+ 3.Kg2 Rd3? this let's White's king

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out of the corner. But it must be stressed, that this plan was not known at Rubinstein's time. 4.Bg5? 4.Kf2 was called for. 4...Kf5? 5.Kf2! I think, that there are two ways of looking at this: 1) the modern view: now Salwe escapes from the corner into the open field, which is the right plan.2) the way valid at the time of the game: now Rubinstein has forced Salwe away from his pawn 5...Kg4 6.Ke2 Rf3 7.Bh6 Kg3 8.Bg5 Rf8 9.Ke3 Re8+ 10.Kd3 Kf3 11.Kd4 Re6 12.Kd5? the decisive mistake. Baranow proved, that Black can't break through after 12.Kd3 Rd6+ 13.Kc3! Rd7 14.Kc4 Ke4 15.Kc3 Rd3+ 16.Kc2! and Black can't make meaningful progress. 16.Kc4? is wrong: Rg3 17.Bd8 Rg8 18.Be7 Rc8+–+ 12...Re4 13.Bf6 Kf4 14.Bd8 Kf5 15.Bg5 Rg4 16.Be7 Rg7 17.Bf8 (17.Bg5 Rxg5 18.hxg5 Kxg5 19.Ke4 Kg4–+) 17...Rd7+ 18.Kc6 Rd4 19.Be7 Ke6 20.Kc5 Rd5+ 21.Kc4 Rf5 22.Bd8 Kd7 23.Bb6 (23.Bg5 Rxg5 24.hxg5 h4 25.g6 Ke7–+) 23...Rf4+ and Rubinstein won the game after a few more moves. In the next game Rubinstein reaches his aim again . This time he manages to draw with the bishop. 7.03 A.Rubinstein - S.Tartakower Vienna 1922 Black has to protect the g5 pawn, so one of his pieces is tied down and he can't break through: 68.Kf3 Kd4 69.Be3+ Kd3 70.Bc1 Rg7 71.Kf2 The brutal 71.Bxg5? fails: 71...Rxg5 72.Kf4 Rg8 73.g5 Kd4 74.Kf5 Kd5 75.Kf6 Kd6–+ 71...Kc2 72.Be3 Rg8 73.Kf3 Kd3 74.Bc1 ½–½

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Endgame Corner

The following fortress is very important as it occurs quite often in practical play: 7.04 P.Leko (2743) - A.Beliavsky (2654) Istanbul Ol (Men) 2000 72.g4!? (72.Rc7+ Kg8=) 72...hxg4 73.Rxg4 Kh6! this counterattack against the weak h4-pawn secures the draw. 74.Rg5 Bc3 75.Kf7 Be1 76.Rxg6+ Kh5 77.Rg1 Bf2 (77...Bxh4 is playable as well.) 78.Rg2 Be1 79.Kf6 Kxh4 79...Bc3+ draws as well, but all other moves lose. 79...Bb4 loses for example in 44 moves according to the Nalimov endgame tablebase. 80.Kf5 Bg3 81.Rc2 Kh3 82.Rc3 Kh4 83.Rc8 Bd6 84.Rc3 Bb8 85.Rc8 Bd6 86.Rg8 Kh3 87.Ke4 Kh4 and after some further moves a draw was agreed. I want to end this article with a very complicated example, that was analysed in detail by German chess trainer and columnist Claus Dieter Meyer, who was a trainer in Hamburg for a long time: 7.05 Claus Dieter Meyer Hamburg 1997, ChessBase Magazine 77 1.c5!? was my proposal at a training session in 1997 to break through Black's defence. Other tries include 1.Rxg6+ Kh7 2.Re6 (2.Rd6 Bc5 3.Re6 a3 4.Rc6 Bd4 5.Rc7+ Kh6 6.Ra7

6...Bc5=) 2...a3 3.Re2 Kh6 4.Ra2

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4...Bc5 (4...Bb2? 5.Kf5 Kxh5 6.Ke6 Kg5 7.Kd5 Kf5 8.Kc6 Ke5 9.Kxb6 Kd4 10.c5 Kc4 11.c6 Kb3 12.Rxa3++-) 5.Kf5 Bb4 6.Rg2 Bc3 7.Rg6+ Kh7 (7...Kxh5? 8.Rg3 Be1 9.Rh3+ Bh4 10.Rxa3+-) 8.Rxb6 a2= and 1.hxg6 a3= 1...a3 (1...bxc5? gives White's rook free access to the a-file: 2.Rxg6+ Kh7 3.Ra6 a3 (3...Kg7 4.h6+ Kh7 5.Kh5 c4 6.Rxa4 Be3 7.Rxc4 Bxh6 8.Rc7+ Bg7 9.Kg5+- as Black's king is in the wrong corner.) 4.Rxa3 Kg7 5.Ra6 Be3 6.Rc6 Kh7 7.Kf3 Bd4 8.h6 c4 9.Kg4+-, but not 9.Rxc4? Bf6 10.Kg4 Kxh6=. After 1...Bxc5? 2.hxg6 wins e.g. 2...a3 3.Kf5 Kg7 4.Rc7+ Kg8 5.Ra7 b5 (5...Bb4 6.g7 Kh7 7.Kf6 Bc3+ 8.Kf7 Bxg7 9.Rxa3+-) 6.Ra8+ Kg7 7.Ra5 Bb4 8.Ra7+ Kg8 9.g7+-) 2.Rxg6+ Kh7 3.c6! 3.cxb6?! allows stalemate motives: 3...a2 4.b7 a1Q 5.b8Q

and now neither A) 5...Qg1+? 6.Qg3 A1) 6...Qc1 7.Rd6 Qd1+ (7...Qc4 8.Qf4+-) 8.Qf3 Qg1+ 9.Kh3+-; A2) 6...Qd1+ 7.Qf3 Qg1+ 8.Kh3+- nor B) 5...Bg7? 6.Qf4 Qg1+ (6...Qd1+ 7.Qf3 Qd7+ 8.Kh4+-) 7.Qg3 Qc1 8.Qf3+-, but C) 5...Qd1+!

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6.Kg5 (6.Kg3 Be5+! 7.Qxe5 Qf3+ 8.Kh4 Qh3+ 9.Kg5 Qxh5+ 10.Kxh5 stalemate; 6.Kf5 Qxh5+ 7.Rg5 Qh3+=; 6.Kf4 Be5+!=) 6...Be3+ 7.Kf6 Qf3+ 8.Ke7 Bc5+ 9.Ke6 Qh3+! 10.Kf6 Qf3+ 11.Ke6 Qh3+= 3...a2 4.c7 a1Q 5.c8Q and now C.D.Meyer's main line runs as follows: 5...Qd1+ 6.Kf4! Qd2+ 7.Ke4 Qe3+ 8.Kd5 Qe5+ 9.Kc4! After 9.Kc6? Black can exchange the queens as White's king is too far away from his h-pawn, e.g. 9...Qc5+ 10.Kb7 Qxc8+ 11.Kxc8 b5 12.Rg5 (12.Kd7 b4 13.Ke6 b3 14.Rg3 Kh6 15.Kf5 b2=) 12...b4 (12...Kh6? 13.Rxb5+-) 13.Rb5 Bc3 (13...Kh6? 14.Rxb4+-) 14.Rb6 (14.Kd7 Kh6=) 14...Be1 and now both A) 15.Kd7 Bd2 16.Ke8 (16.Ke6 Kh6=) 16...Bg5 17.Kf7 Bd2 18.Rg6 Bc3 (18...b3? 19.Rb6+-) 19.Ke6 b3= and B) 15.Kb7 Bf2! 16.Rxb4 Kh6= are not sufficient to win. 9...b5+ (9...Qc5+? 10.Qxc5 Bxc5 (See Diagram)

11.Kd5 Bf2 12.Ke4 b5 13.Kf3 Be1 14.Rb6 b4 15.Kg4 Bd2 16.Rb7+ Kh6 17.Rc7!+-) 10.Kb4 Qe7+ 11.Ka5 Qa3+ 12.Kxb5 Qb3+ 13.Kc6 Qc4+ 14.Kb7 Qb5+ 15.Ka8 Qa5+ 16.Ra6 Qxh5

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Endgame Corner

Meyer's main line ends here with the statement, that “we have to wait for 6 man databases to evaluate this position.” Ken Thompson's 6-man database states that it is drawn. Amazing stuff!

Exercises (Solutions next month) E7.01 Claus Dieter Meyer White to move and win.

E7.02 R.Vera (2584) - A.Baburin (2590) Istanbul Ol (Men) 2000 Is Black lost or did Alexander Baburin find a way to survive?

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E7.03 R.Knaak - K.Müller German Bundesliga 2001, Hamburger SK-Werder Bremen, 5th board Can White to move defend the position?

E7.04 W.Pajeken (2337) - M.Kopylov (2444) International Hamburg City Championship 2001 The position is more complicated than it seems at first sight. In the game it was White to move and he can indeed win. How? Black to move on the other hand could reach a draw by force.

E7.05 A.Greenfeld (2570) - A.Graf (2649) European Championship Ohrid 2001 Can Black to move convert his advantage?

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Endgame Corner

Solutions to last month exercises E6.01 J.H.Blackburne - J.Mason Paris 1878 Blackburne sent his Knight to c6 and won: 79.Na2 Bd8 80.Nb4 Kd7 81.Nc6 Be7 82.Nxa7 Kc7 83.Nc6 Bd6 84.Ne5 Kc8 85.Nd7 and Mason resigned. After 85...Bc7 86.Nf6 the d5-pawn falls and it is over.

E6.02 C.Schlechter - K.Walbrodt Wien 1898 Black to move is in zugzwang and loses immediately. But transferring the move to Black is quite tricky: 60.Nf3?! 60.Ke3!? Ke6 (60...Kf5?! 61.Nf7+-; 60...Ke7 61.Kf3 Ke6 62.Nd3 Kf6 63.Ke3 Kf5 64.Nf4 Kg4 65.Nxh5 Kxh5 66.Kf4+-) 61.Ke2 Kf6 62.Kf2 Ke6 63.Ke3 Ke7 64.Kf3 Ke6 65.Nd3 Kf6 66.Ke3 Kf7 67.Kf4 Kf6 68.Ne5 and the position E6.02 is reached with Black to move and he is lost e.g. 68...Be6 (68...Ke6 69.Kg5 Ke7 70.Kxh5+-) 69.Nxc6 bxc6 70.b7+- 60...Bf5 61.Ke3 Bc8 62.Ne5 Ke6 63.Kf3 Ke7 64.Nd3 Bf5 65.Nf4 Bg4+ 66.Ke3 Kf7 67.Nd3 Ke7 68.Ne5 Bc8 69.Kf3! Ke6 70.Nd3 Kf6 71.Ke3 1–0 S6.03 After Z.Varga - P.Acs Budapest 1999 This exercises was not so easy due to the many reciprocal zugzwangs lurking around: 1...Kc4!! reciprocal zugzwang no.1. All other moves lose e.g. 1...Kb4? 2.Nc3 Bf8 3.Kd2 Bh6+ 4.Ke2 A) 4...Bf8 5.Kf3 Bg7 6.Ne4 Kxa4 7.Kg4 Kb5 8.Kf5 Kc6 9.Kg6 Be5 (9...Bf8 10.Nf6 Kd6 11.Ne8+ Ke7 12.Ng7+-) 10.h6 Kd7 11.Kf7 Bh8 12.h7 Kc6 13.Kg8 Bb2 14.Ng3 Kd7 15.Nf5+-; B) 4...Bg7 5.Kd3 Bf8 6.Ke4 Kxc3 7.a5 Kb4 8.a6 Bc5 9.h6 Kb5 10.h7+- or 1...Kd5? 2.a5 Kc6 3.a6 Kb6 4.a7 Kb7 5.Kd3 Bg5 6.Ke4 Ka8 7.Kf5 Bd2 8.Kg6 Kb7 9.Nd6++2.Nc3 Kb4 reciprocal zugzwang no.2 3.Kd3 and we have reached the game, which ended in a draw: 3...Bg7 reciprocal zugzwang no.3 4.Ne2 (4.Kc2 Bh6 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (8 of 10) [7/5/2001 8:16:58 AM]

Endgame Corner

5.Kd3 Bg7 6.Nd5+ Kxa4 7.Ke4 Kb5 8.Kf5 Kc5 9.Kg6 Bd4 10.Nf4 Kd6 11.h6 Ke7 12.h7 Bb2 13.Nh5 Bh8!=) 4...Kxa4 5.Ke4 Bh6 6.Nd4 Kb4 7.Ne6 Kb5 8.Kf5 Kc6 9.Kg6 Bc1 10.Ng5 Kd7 11.h6 Ke8 12.h7 Bb2 and the game was drawn after some further moves. S6.04 G.Vescovi (2526) - K.Sakaev (2627) Istanbul ol 2000 This exercise was probably not so difficult: 49...Ka5! and Vescovi resigned. A possible finish is 50.Nd5 Bd4 51.Nf6 Kb4 52.Nh7 Kxb3 53.Nxg5 c4 54.Nxh3 c3–+

S6.05 H.Camilleri (2156) - Nirosh de Silva (2162) Istanbul ol 2000 White lost the game, but the position is drawn: 51.Bc4? (51.Bd5! f2 52.Bc4 Na2 (52...Nxb3+ 53.Kxb4 Nd2 54.Be2=) 53.Be2=; 51.Kxb4 Nd3+ 52.Kc3 f2–+) 51...Na2 52.Kb6 Kxh5 53.Kc5 Kxh4 54.Kd4 Kg3 55.Ke3 f2 56.Bf1 Nc1 57.Ba6 Nxb3 58.Bf1 Nc5 59.Kd4 b3 60.Kc3 Kh2 61.Kd2 Kg1 62.Bc4 f1Q 63.Bxf1 Kxf1 64.Kc3 Ke2 65.Kb2 Kd2 66.Kb1 Kc3 67.Ka1 Ne4 0-1 Sources: Juri Awerbach, Endspiele Springer gegen Läufer und Turm gegen Leichtfigur, Sportverlag Berlin 1988 Claus Dieter Meyer's endgame analysis in ChessBase Magazine 77 Richard Forster's Late Knight column April 2001 and his contribution on Staunton vs Horwitz to the ChessCafe.com Bulletin Board (item no. 320–1). ChessBase MEGABASE 2001 Nalimov 5-man tablebase Ken Thompson's 6-man database Copyright 2001 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in Chess Cafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

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Endgame Corner

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Endgame Corner

Recent Rook Endings Rook Endings are very important as they happen so often in practical play. In my first column I dealt with some basic positions and the famous ending rook + h- and f-pawn vs rook. Now I want to look at seven games from this year including four double rook endings: 8.01 D.King - K.Müller German Bundesliga 2001, Castrop Rauxel HSK, 4th board

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

Despite Black's extra pawn, the position is completely drawn, but care is required: 50.g4!? If White manages to swap pawns he can use Philidor’s well known defensive technique (see, e.g., my first Endgame Corner column); after 50...f4 Black's king lacks shelter and Black has to sacrifice the g-pawn in order to play on 51.Rb7+ Kf6 52.Rb6+ Ke5 53.Rb5+ Ke4 54.Rxg5 Kf3 (54...Ra2+ 55.Kh3! f3 56.Rb5=) 55.Rg8?! King makes it difficult for himself. 55.Rb5 was called for: 55...Kxg4 (55...Ra2+ 56.Kh3!=) 56.Rb8 Ra2+ 57.Kg1 Kg3 58.Rg8+! Kf3 59.Rf8= as White's king is on the short side of the f-pawn. 55...Ra7 setting a trap. White has now only two moves to hold the position. 56.Rh8 Moving back with 56.Rg5 is the only other option. All other moves lose, e.g., 56.g5? Rh7+ 57.Kg1 Kg3 58.g6 Ra7 59.Kf1 Ra1+ 60.Ke2 f3+ 61.Kd2 Ra6 62.g7 Ra7 63.Ke3 Re7+ –+ or 56.Rb8? Rh7+ 57.Kg1 Kg3 58.Rb3+ f3 59.g5 Ra7 60.Rb1 Ra2 61.g6 Rg2+ –+ 56...Kf2 57.Kh3 (57.g5?! Rg7 58.Kh3 [58.Rh5? f3 59.Kh3 Kg1 60.Rh4 Rxg5 61.Ra4 f2–+; 58.Rh4?! f3 59.Kh3 Rxg5 60.Ra4=] 58...Rxg5 59.Ra8=) 57...Ra3+ (57...Ra1 58.Kh2 f3 59.Rb8 Ke1 60.Kg3 f2 61.Re8+ Kf1 62.g5 [Not 62.Rf8? Ra3+ 63.Kh4 (63.Kh2 Re3–+) 63...Kg2 64.Rxf2+ Kxf2 65.g5 Kf3 66.Kh5 Kf4 67.Kh6 Rh3+–+] 62...Kg1 63.Rf8 f1Q 64.Rxf1+ Kxf1 65.Kf4=) 58.Kh4 58.Kh2 was playable as well, but King wanted to activate his king. 58...Kg2 59.Rb8?! 59.Rf8 Rh3+ 60.Kg5 f3 61.Kg6!= was somewhat easier.

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59...Rh3+ 60.Kg5 f3 Again White has only two moves to save his skin and the following king move is essential in both lines: 61.Kg6!! 61.Rb1 is possible as well, but after 61...f2, 62.Kg6!!= has to be played anyway. All other moves lose, e.g., 61.Kf6? f2 62.Rb1 (62.Rb2 Rf3+ 63.Kg6 Kg3 64.Rxf2 Rxf2 65.g5 Kg4 66.Kh6 Rh2+ 67.Kg6 Rh5–+) 62...Rf3+ 63.Ke6 Kg3 64.g5 Re3+ 65.Kf5 Re1–+, 61.Rb2+? f2 62.Rxf2+ (62.Rb1 Rg3 63.Kh4 Rb3–+) 62...Kxf2 63.Kf6 Rf3+ 64.Ke6 Rg3 65.Kf5 Kg2 66.g5 Kh3 67.g6 Kh4 68.Kf6 Kh5 69.g7 Kh6–+ and 61.Kf4? f2 62.Rb1 Rf3+ 63.Ke5 Kh3 64.g5 Re3+–+ 61...f2 62.Rb1! 62.Rb2? loses in an instructive way: 62...Rf3 63.g5 Kg3 64.Rxf2 Rxf2 65.Kh7 Rh2+ 66.Kg8 Kg4 67.g6 Kg5 68.g7 Kg6 69.Kf8 Rf2+ 70.Kg8 Rf1 71.Kh8 Rh1+ 72.Kg8 Rh7–+ 62...Rh1 63.Rb2 Kg3 64.Rxf2 Kxf2 65.g5 Kg3 66.Kf7 Rf1+ 67.Ke7 Re1+ 68.Kf7 Rf1+ 69.Ke7 Kh4 in sharp contrast to the variation 62.Rb2? Black's king now chases the pawn in vain: 70.g6 Rg1 71.Kf7 Kh5 72.g7 Rf1+ 73.Ke7 Rg1 74.Kf7 Kh6 75.g8R and King had his rook back 75...Rxg8 76.Kxg8 ½–½ Garry Kasparov had two instructive rook endings recently. In the first example he won convincingly: 8.02 A.Morozevich (2749) - G.Kasparov (2827), Astana 2001 Black's e4-pawn will cost white his rook: 47...Rc7 48.Rxe5 48.Kg3 doesn't help: 48...Rg7+ 49.Kh4 (49.Kh2 Kd2 50.Rxe5 e3–+) 49...Kd2 50.Rxe5 e3 51.Rd5+ Kxc2 52.Re5 Kd3 53.Rd5+ Ke4–+ 48...Kf4! not allowing White any counterplay 49.Rb5 Rxc2+ 50.Kg1 e3 51.Rxb4+ 51.Kf1 Rxa2 52.h4 (52.Rxb4+ Kf3 53.Rb1 Rh2 54.Kg1 Rg2+ 55.Kh1 e2 56.Re1 Rg8–+) 52...Kf3 53.Rf5+ Ke4 54.Rb5 Kd3 55.Rd5+ Kc4 56.Rd8 b3–+ 51...Kf3 52.Rb1 Rg2+ 53.Kh1 e2 54.a4 Kf2 55.a5 Rg5 56.Kh2 Rxa5 57.h4

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57...Ra3 0-1 good technique! Kasparov cuts the king off making it very easy for him. But 57...e1Q 58.Rxe1 Kxe1 59.Kg3 Ra4! wins as well. The next example is more complicated:

8.03 G.Kasparov (2849) - V.Kramnik (2772), Corus Wijk aan Zee 2001 Kasparov's position is much better as he has the initiative and Black's pawn majority on the queenside is crippled. Nevertheless the drawish tendency inherent in rook endings is great and Kramnik is by no means easy to defeat: 30...a5!? seeking active counterplay is usually a good idea in rook endings. 31.bxa5 Ra8 32.Ra3 Kf5 Of course not 32...Rxa5? 33.Rxa5 bxa5 as White's pawn majority can produce a passed pawn while Black's can't. One sample line runs 34.g4 hxg3+ 35.Kxg3 Kf5 36.c5 Ke4 (36...Ke6 37.h4 f6 38.exf6 Kxf6 39.Kg4 g6 40.a4+-; 36...g5 37.fxg5 Kxg5 38.a4 Kf5 39.h4 Kxe5 40.Kg4 Ke4 41.h5 f5+ 42.Kh3+-) 37.h4 Kd5 38.h5 Kxc5 39.f5 Kd5 40.f6+33.Kf3 Ra6! 33...Rxa5? is wrong again: 34.Rxa5 bxa5 35.c5 a4 (35...g5 36.fxg5 Kxg5 37.Ke4+-) 36.a3 g6 37.g4+ hxg3 38.Kxg3 g5 39.fxg5 Kxg5 40.h4+ Kf5 41.Kf3 Kxe5 42.Kg4+- 34.c5 f6? Kramnik underestimates the dangerous e-pawn. 34...bxc5 was called for, when Black should be able to hold the draw e.g. 35.Ra4 c4 36.Rxc4 Rxa5 37.a4 Ra6 35.Re3! Rxa5 36.e6 Ra8 37.e7 Re8 38.a4! Kg6 39.Re6 Kf7

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until this moment Kasparov had played very strong. But in the 40th move he spoiled it as he pointed out on www.kasparovchess.com: 40.Rxc6? 40.f5! was much more precise: A) 40...bxc5? 41.a5 g6 (41...Ra8 42.e8Q+ Rxe8 43.Rxe8 Kxe8 44.a6+-; 41...c4 42.a6 c3 43.Ke2 g6 44.Kd3 gxf5 45.Re1+-) 42.a6 gxf5 43.Re3 c4 44.a7 c3 45.Ke2 f4 46.Re4 f5 47.Re5 Kf6 48.a8Q+B) 40...Rxe7 41.Rxc6 bxc5 42.a5 and Black's forces are very bad coordinated to fight against the passed a-pawn, but it is not so easy to prove the win for White. 40...Ra8! 41.cxb6 cxb6 42.Rxb6 Rxa4 43.Re6 Ke8! (43...Ra8? 44.e8Q+ Rxe8 45.Rxe8 Kxe8 46.Kg4+-) 44.Re4 Ra3+ Of course not 44...Rxe4?? 45.Kxe4 g6 (45...Kxe7 46.Kf5 Kf7 47.Kg4+-) 46.f5 g5 47.Kd5 Kxe7 48.Kc6+- 45.Re3 Rxe3+ 46.Kxe3 f5 ½–½ Double-rook endings are a bit different from single rook endings. King safety is more important as more firepower is on the board, two doubled rooks on the seventh rank are very strong (sometimes called "Seventh Heaven"), an extra pawn is easier to convert and activity and coordination of the rooks play a crucial role, to name just a few major differences. Alexander Grischuk won two very interesting double-rook endings in his first appearance at Linares this year: 8.04 A.Grischuk (2663) - A.Karpov (2679), Linares 2001 35.Bxg5+!? Bxg5 36.Rdf7+ Ke5 37.Rxg5+ Kd4 38.Ra7 38.Rxa5?! allows 38...Rb1+ 39.Kg2 Rg8+ 40.Kh3 Rh8+= 38...Rb1+?! Karpov is in time trouble and makes it more difficult for himself. Both 38...e3! 39.Rg4+ Kd3 40.Rg3 Rg8 41.fxe3 Rb1+= (Lukacs in CBM 82) and 38...Rd5! 39.Rxa5 Rxg5+ 40.Rxg5 Ra8 41.h4 Rxa2 42.h5 e3 43.fxe3+ Kxe3 44.h6 Ra8 45.h7 Rh8= (Hecht) lead to a draw. Note that in both variations Black exchanges one pair of rooks to reduce the danger to his exposed king. 39.Kg2 Rb2?! 39...Rd5!= should still save the draw. 40.Raxa5

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40...Rf8? as it happens so often in practical play: Karpov spoils it with his unfortunate 40th move. Again 40...Rd5! was the right way to defend e.g. 41.Ra4+ Kc5 42.h4 e3= (Lukacs) 41.Ra4+ and White wins easily due to the bad position of Black's king: 41...Kd3 42.Rg3+ Kd2 43.Rxe4 Rxa2 44.Rxe6 Ra4 45.Rd6+ Kc2 46.Rdd3 Raf4 47.Rdf3 Rxf3 48.Rxf3 Rh8 49.Rf4 Kd3 50.h4 1–0

8.05 A.Grischuk (2663) - A.Shirov (2718), Linares 2001 The position is equal, but Shirov does not defend very accurately, allowing Grischuk to demonstrate the power of two well coordinated rooks in the attack: 29.Rd7+ Ke6 30.Rhd1 Rc6 31.Rxb7 Rg8? The wrong way to activate the second rook as Black's rooks are now badly coordinated. 31...Rhc8!= was called for. 32.Rdd7 Rg2+ 33.Kb3 Rxh2 33...Rf2 34.Re7+ Kd6 35.Rbd7+ Kc5 36.Rd3 Rxh2 37.Rd5+ Kb6 38.a4 leads to the game. 34.Re7+ Kd6 35.Rbd7+ Kc5 36.Rd5+ Kb6 37.a4 Grischuk has created a massive attack out of a seemingly quiet position. 37...a5! (37...Rc7? 38.Rd6+ Kb7 [38...Kc5? 39.Ree6 Rh5 40.Rxf6 a5 41.Kc3+-] 39.Rxc7+ Kxc7 40.Rxf6+-; 37...Rc5? 38.Rd6+ Ka5 [38...Rc6 39.a5++-] 39.Ree6+-; 37...Rc1? 38.a5+ Kc6 39.Re6+ Kb7 40.Rxf6+-) 38.Rb5+ Ka6 39.Re8! Rb6? 39...Ka7! was much more tenacious. Hecht gives in ChessBase Magazine 82 the following line: 40.Rxa5+ Kb6 41.Rb5+ Kc7 42.Re7+ Kd6 43.Rbb7 Rf2 44.Rbd7+ Kc5 45.Rd3 Rd6 46.Rc3+ Kd4 47.a5 h5 48.Rh7 Rh2 and Black is still fighting. 40.Ra8+ Kb7 41.Rb8+ Kxb8 42.Rxb6+ Kc7 43.Rxf6 h5 43...Rh4 44.Kc4 Kd7 45.Kd5 Ke7 46.Ke5+- (Ftacnik) 44.Rxf4 h4 45.Kc4 h3 46.Rh4 Rh1 47.Kd5 Of course not 47.e5?? h2–+ 47...h2 48.Ke5 Rf1 49.Rxh2 Rxf3 50.Rc2+ Kb6 51.Rc4 1–0 The next example shows a nice breakthrough:

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8.06 J.van der Wiel (2493) - E.van den Doel (2574), NED-ch Leeuwarden 2001 Black's king has to be activated: 29...f5! Both 29...Kc6 30.Rf3 Kd5 31.Re1 and 29...f6 30.Rf3 fxe5 31.Ke2 are not so clear. 30.Re2 c4! 31.bxc4 (31.Rf3 d3 32.cxd3 cxb3 33.Rb2 [33.Rxf5 Rc8 34.Rb2 Rc1+ 35.Ke2 Rc2+ 36.Rxc2 bxc2 37.Kd2 Rc6 38.Kc1 b3–+] 33...Rxe5 34.Rxb3 Rde8 35.Rb1 Kc5 36.Rc1+ Kd4 37.Rc4+ Kd5 38.Rc1 f4! with the idea to answer 39.g3 with 39...b3 40.gxf4 b2 41.Rb1 Re1+–+) 31...Kc5 32.Rf3 f4 33.g3 fxg3 34.fxg3 Kxc4 35.Re4 Rd5 36.Rd3 Rexe5 37.Rdxd4+ Kc3 "A very picturesque position - all four Rooks are in the centre!" (Barsky in Chess Today 228) 38.Rc4+ Kb2 39.Rxe5 Rxe5 40.Kf2 Ka3 41.Rc6 Kxa4 42.g4 Ka3 43.Rxh6 Rc5 0–1 I want to end this article with a complete game by the Swedish grandmaster Ulf Andersson. His technique is really superb. 8.07 S.Giardelli (2438) - U.Andersson (2640) [A39], Pinamar 2001 1.c4 c5 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.Nc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.d4 cxd4 7.Nxd4 0–0 8.0–0 Nxd4 9.Qxd4 d6 10.Qd2?! this move is rarely played and allows Black to equalize easily. 10...Be6 11.Bxb7 Rb8 12.Bg2?! now Black even seizes the initiative. 12.Bd5 was better e.g. 12...Nxd5 13.Nxd5 Qd7 14.e4 Rfc8 15.Qe2 Bxd5 16.cxd5 Qb5 17.Qxb5 Rxb5 18.Rb1 Rc2 19.Bg5 f6 20.Be3 a5 21.Bd4 f5= V.Korchnoi-E.Geller, URS-ch Leningrad 1963 12...Bxc4 13.b3 Be6 14.Bb2 Qa5 15.Rfd1 Rfc8 16.Nd5 Qxd2 17.Nxf6+ Bxf6 18.Rxd2 Bxb2 19.Rxb2 a5

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Black is better as White's pawn majority on the queenside is more a weakness than a strength due to Black's very active pieces. 20.Rd2 Rb4! preparing a4 to expose White's a-pawn 21.Bd5 Bxd5 22.Rxd5 a4 23.Rd3?! This allows Black to penetrate to the second rank. 23.bxa4 Rxa4 24.Rd2 and Black is slightly better (Ribli in CBM 82) 23...Rc2 24.Kf1

24...Re4! forces White to weaken his second rank further. 25.e3 Rb4 26.h4 Rb2 27.bxa4 Rxa4 28.a3

Now the point of 24...Re4 is revealed: 28...Rc4! 29.Kg2 After 29.a4?! one sample line runs 29...Rcc2 30.f4 Rh2 31.Kg1 Rbg2+ 32.Kf1 Rxg3 33.Raa3 Rgg2 34.a5 Rb2 35.Kg1 Rhc2 36.Rd1 Rg2+ 37.Kh1 Rh2+ 38.Kg1 Rbg2+ 39.Kf1 Ra2 40.Rxa2 Rxa2 41.Rd5 Kg7 and Black is clearly better. 29...Rcc2 30.Rf1 Ra2 31.Kf3 Rc5 32.g4?! h5! Before taking the a3-pawn, Andersson fixes a second weakness - the h4-pawn. 33.Rg1 33.g5 is answered by 33...Rc4 34.Kg3 Rg4+ 35.Kh3 Ra4 33...Kg7 34.gxh5 Rxh5 35.Rg4 Rf5+ 36.Rf4 Ra5 37.Re4 Kf6 38.Rf4+ Ke6 39.Rdd4 39.Re4+ came into consideration as well: 39...Kd7 (39...Kf6 40.Rf4+ Kg7 41.Re4 Kf8 42.Rb3) 40.Rf4 f5 41.Rb4 R5xa3 42.Rxa3 Rxa3 43.Kf4 and in both cases it is not clear if Black can convert his advantage. 39...R2xa3 40.Rde4+ Re5 41.Rxe5+ dxe5 42.Rb4 f6 43.Rb7?! (43.h5!?) 43...Ra4 44.Kg3?! f5 45.Rb6+ Kf7 46.Kh3 Rg4 47.f3 Rc4 48.Rb3 e4

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49.fxe4? a last mistake. After 49.f4 White's task is much more difficult e.g., 49...Rc2 50.Kg3 Rd2 51.Rb6 Re2 52.Rb3 Ke6 53.Rb6+ (53.Ra3 Kd5 54.Rc3 e6 55.Kh3 Rf2 56.Kg3 Rf3+ 57.Kg2 Kd6 58.Ra3 Ke7 59.Rb3 Kf7 60.Ra3 Kg7 61.Rb3 Kh6–+) 53...Kd5 54.Rxg6 Rxe3+ 55.Kg2 Rf3 56.h5 Rxf4 57.h6 Rh4 58.Kg3 Rh5–+ 49...Rxe4 50.Ra3 Kg7 0-1 and White resigned as he can't prevent Black's king marching to h5 with devastating effect. Exercises (Solutions next month) E8.01 A.N.Zaitsev - R.Hübner, Büsum 1969 Black has to be very careful to save the draw. What shall he do?

E8.02 F.de Gleria (2432) - A.Kveinys (2533) Julian Borowski-B Essen 2001 White to move and draw.

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E8.03 A.Ehrke - K.Müller, Hamburg 1994 How to asses the position with Black to move?

E8.04 While preparing this column, one line of my analysis reached this position. It is White to move and draw.

E8.05 A.Shirov (2722) - A.Morozevich (2749), Astana 2001 Black to move and draw.

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E8.06 R.Mamedov (2306) - Z.Izoria (2489), Batumi Open 2001 Rook endings with f- and g- vs f-pawn are usually drawn. Is this position an exception or not? Black is to move.

Solutions to last month’s exercises E7.1 Claus Dieter Meyer White puts Black in zugzwang as follows: 1.Rg6! (1.Rg7? Bc5 2.Rg2 Kh5 3.Ka2 Bd6=) 1...Bc5 2.Ka2!! Kh3 (2...Kh5 3.Rg3 Kh4 4.Rxa3+-) 3.Rg5 Bd6 (3...Kh4 4.Rxc5 bxc5 5.Kxa3 Kg4 6.Ka4+-) 4.Rb5 Bc5 5.Rxc5+-

E7.2 R.Vera (2584) - A.Baburin (2590), Istanbul ol (Men) 2000 You should know, that this position is drawn: 83...Kh7! (83...Kg7? 84.h5 g5 85.Rxg5+ Kh6 86.Kf5 Bd2 87.Rg6+ Kxh5 88.Rg2+-) 84.Kf7 Kh6 85.Rg5 (85.Rxg6+ Kh5 86.Rg3 Be1 87.Rh3 Bxh4=) 85...Be1 86.Rxg6+ Kh5 87.Kf6 Kxh4 Not 87...Bxh4+? 88.Kf5 Be7 89.Rg7+-) 88.Kf5 Bd2 89.Rg2 Be3 90.Rb2 Kg3 ½–½

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E7.3 R.Knaak - K.Müller, German Bundesliga 2001, HSK-Werder Bremen, 5th board Knaak drew easily: 45.Ke4! (45.b5? Rd2 46.Rc1 c2 47.b6 Rd1 48.b7 Rxc1 49.bxc8Q+ Kxc8–+; 45.Rc1? c2 46.Ke4 Rd1 47.Bb2 Re8+ 48.Kf5 Rxc1 49.Bxc1 Re1–+) 45...Rd2 (45...Rg3 46.Kd5=) 46.Rxc3 Re8+ 47.Kd5 Re6 48.Kc4 Re4 49.Rd3 Rg2 50.Kb5 Rgxg4 51.Bc5+ ½–½ E7.4 W.Pajeken (2337) - M.Kopylov (2444), International Hamburg City Championship 2001 Black to move draws with Bxh4! (see the game). White missed the narrow path to victory at this moment, but Black returned the favour later. White should have played 76.Rf4 Kh6 (76...Bc3 77.Rc4 Bb2 78.Rc5 Kh6 79.Ke6 Kg6 80.Rg5+ Kh6 81.Kf5 Ba3 82.Rg6+ Kh7 83.Re6 Bc1 84.Re7+ Kh6 85.Rc7 Bd2 86.Rc2 Be3 87.Ke4+-) 77.Kf6 Ba5 78.Kf5 Bd8 79.Rd4 Be7 80.Ke6 Bc5 81.Rc4 Be3 82.Kf5 Bd2 83.Rc2 Be3 84.Ke4 Bg1 85.Rc6+ Kg7 86.Kf4+-. The game went 76.Re3? 76.Rh3? is wrong as well: 76...Kh6 77.Kf6 Ba5 78.Kf5 Bd8= 76...Bd2? (76...Bxh4! was called for: 77.Rh3 Kh6! 78.Rxh4 Kg5 79.Rh1 h4 80.Ke6 Kg4 81.Ke5 h3 82.Ke4 Kg3 83.Rg1+ Kf2=) 77.Re4 Bc1 78.Kf6 Bd2 79.Re2 Bc1 80.Kf5 Kg7 81.Re7+ Kh6 82.Re6+ Kh7 83.Rg6 Bd2 84.Rg2 Bc1 85.Kf6 Be3 86.Kf7 Bc1 87.Kf6 Be3 88.Rg7+ Kh6 89.Re7 Bd2 90.Kf5 Bc1 91.Rc7 Be3 92.Rc3 Bd2 93.Rd3 Bc1 94.Rd1 Be3 95.Rd3 Bc1 96.Rc3 Bd2 97.Rc2 Be3 98.Ke4 Bg1 99.Rc6+ Kh7 100.Kf4! Bh2+ 101.Kg5 Kg7 102.Rb6 Bg3 103.Rb7+ Kf8 104.Kxh5 Bf2 105.Kg5 1–0

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E7.5 A.Greenfeld (2570) - A.Graf (2649), European Championship Ohrid 2001 It was not easy at all, was it? 64...Rb4! 65.Bd7 (65.Be8 Rb8 66.Bb5 Rxb5 67.axb5 Kxb5 68.Kd4 Kb4!–+; 65.Kf5 Rxb5 66.axb5 a4–+) 65...Rb1? (65...Rb7! 66.Bg4 Kb4 67.Bd1 Re7+ 68.Kf4 Re1 69.Bc2 Rc1–+) 66.Ke4 Re1+ 67.Kf3 Kb4 68.Kf2 Re7 69.Bb5 Kb3 70.Kf3 Re1 71.Kf4 Kc3 72.Kf3 Kd4 73.Kf2 Re3 74.Ba6 Ke4 75.Bc4 Kf4 76.Bb5 Re4 77.Bc6 Re7 (77...Rc4 78.Bb5 Rc2+ 79.Ke1 Ke3 80.Kd1=) 78.Bb5 Re6 79.Bc4 Re3 80.Bb5 Ke4 81.Ba6 Kd4 82.Bb5 Re7 83.Kf3 Re4 84.Kf2 Re5 85.Kf3 Re6 (85...Rxb5 86.axb5 Kc5 87.Ke2 Kxb5 88.Kd2=) 86.Kf2 Kc5 87.Kf3 Kb4 88.Kf2 Re7 89.Kf3 Kb3 90.Kf4 Kc3 91.Kf3 Kd2 92.Kf4 Re3 93.Ba6 Rb3 94.Bb5 Rb4+ 95.Kf3 Rh4 96.Bc6 Kd3 97.Bb5+ Kd4 98.Ke2 Rh2+ 99.Kd1 Kc3 100.Ke1 Rd2 101.Bc6 Kd3 102.Bb5+ Ke3 103.Be8 Rd4 ½–½ Sources: Chess Today 228 ChessBase Magazine 82 The Week in Chess ChessBase MEGABASE 2001 Copyright 2001 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in Chess Cafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

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Endgame Corner

Rook + Knight vs Rook + Bishop

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

Following the underlying concept of this column it is now time to deal with Rook+Knight vs Rook+Bishop. Although the ending rook and minor piece vs rook and minor piece occurs very often in practical play, there is much less literature about it than about pure rook endings. This is probably due to the great complexity inherent in these endings. So I can only scratch the surface of the ending rook+knight vs rook+bishop in this column, but I will try to stress some very important points: (1) The pawn structure is very important. If the knight occupies a strong, secure outpost it can dominate the board. (2) Is there a weak colour complex (or weak pawns) on squares opposite to the bishop's colour? This is a good sign for the knight. (3) The bishop likes to play on both wings. In open positions it can form a very powerful duo of long range pieces. Robert James Fischer was especially strong playing with rook and bishop. (for Fischer's endings with Bishop vs Knight see an article by Hanon W. Russell in the ChessCafe.com Archives) (4) Is the knight on a bad circuit or has limited scope? This is usually a very good sign for the bishop. Of course activity is almost as important as in pure rook endings and several of the themes and motifs of the ending knight vs bishop are valid here as well. I want to start with positions favorable for rook and knight: 9.01 H.Herndl (2365) - S.Kindermann (2530) AUT-chT9697 Black's knight has a dominating position and Kindermann managed to convert his advantage: 28...Ra4 29.Bf5 29.Rb6 Nc4 30.Rc6? doesn't work: 30...Ra1+ 31.Kh2 Nd2 32.g3 (32.Rxd6?? Nf1+ 33.Kg1 Ng3+ 34.Kh2 Rh1#) 32...f3 33.Rxd6 h5 34.Bxh5 Nf1+ 35.Kg1 Nxg3+ 36.Kh2 Nxh5–+ 29...h5 30.f3?! This weakens the dark squares further and gives Black's knight another strong outpost on

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e3. But it is very difficult to give a better defence for White, e.g., 30.Rb6 Ra1+ 31.Kh2 Kg7 32.Rxd6?! Nd3 33.g4 hxg4 34.hxg4 Nxf2 35.Rc6 Ra2 36.Kg1 Nd1 37.Rc1 (37.e5? f3–+) 37...Ne3 38.Re1 Kf6 and Black is clearly on top. 30...Kg7! Kindermann brings his last unit into play, threatening to penetrate White's position via f6-e5-d4. 31.Rc1 Kf6 32.Rc3 Nc4! Opening the king's path and heading for e3 33.Bd7 Ra1+ 34.Kf2 Ra2+ 35.Kg1 Ne3 Now it is completely clear that Black is winning. 36.g4 h4 Black doesn't want to exchange pawns of course. 37.Rc7 Rg2+ 38.Kh1 Rg3 39.Be8 Rxh3+ 40.Kg1 Rxf3 41.Rxf7+ Ke5 42.Re7+ Kd4 43.e5 Rg3+ 44.Kh2?! f3 and Herndl resigned as he can't prevent mate: 45.exd6 Nxg4+ 46.Kh1 Nf2+ 47.Kh2 Rg2# The next example is favourable for the knight again:

9.02 M.Krasenkow (2615) - A.Miles (2550) New York 1997 Black has to be play extremely precise in order to save the draw: 29...Rf1+? 29...g5! to transfer the bishop to g6 was called for e.g. 30.Kg3 Rb3 31.Nxf7 Rxe3+ 32.Kf2 Re2+ 33.Kf3 Bd3 34.Nxg5 Rxe5 35.Kf4 Re2= (Krasenkow in Informator 69/344) 30.Kg3 Bc6 31.Rc7 Ba4 32.g5! Fixing Black's pawns on light squares. The next step in Krasenkow's plan is to advance his kingside pawns. 32...Kg7 33.h4 Kf8 34.Kh2 Kg7 35.g4 Rf3 36.h5 gxh5 (36...Kf8 37.h6 Bd1 38.Rc8+ Ke7 39.Re8+ Kd7 40.Rh8+-) 37.gxh5 Kf8 After 37...Rxe3 Krasenkow gives 38.Nxf7! Kf8 39.g6! hxg6 40.h6 Re4 41.Kg3 Re3+ 42.Kg4 Bd1+ 43.Kg5+- 38.h6! Bd1 39.Kg2 Be2 40.Rc8+ Ke7 41.Rc7+ Kf8

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After the repetition of moves Krasenkow now deals the final blow: 42.g6! fxg6 (42...hxg6 43.Rc8+ Ke7 44.h7+-) 43.Rxh7 Rxe3 (43...Kg8 44.Rg7+ Kh8 45.Ne8+-) 44.Rh8+ Ke7 45.Re8+ Kd7 46.h7 1–0 Now I want to show positions favouring the bishop:

9.03 R.J.Fischer - M.Taimanov Palma de Mallorca izt 1970 Black is a pawn up, but Fischer's bishop is too strong as it supports the advance of the passed a-pawn: 47.a5 47.Rb5? spoils it of course: 47...Rxb5 48.axb5 Nd7 47...Re8 (47...Nd7 48.Rc7 Ne5 49.Bb7 Rd8 50.Rc1+-) 48.Rc1 After 48.a6 Black's rook manages to get behind the a-pawn: 48...Re1+ 49.Kf2 Ra1 50.Rc6 but White has nevertheless good chances to win. 48...Re5 49.Ra1 Re7 50.Kf2 White's king heads to the queenside to support the a-pawn or to win Black's weak b-pawn 50...Ne8 After 50...Kf8, one sample line runs 51.a6 Ra7 52.Ke3 Ke7 53.Kd4 Kd6 54.Kc4 Kc7 55.Kxb4 Kb6 56.Bb7 Nd7 57.Rf1 f6 58.Rd1 Kc7 59.Ka5+- 51.a6 Ra7 52.Ke3 Nc7 53.Bb7 Ne6 54.Ra5 Kf6 (54...Nd8 55.Rb5+-) 55.Kd3 Ke7 56.Kc4 Kd6 57.Rd5+ Kc7 58.Kb5! and Taimanov resigned due to 58...Nd8 59.Rc5+ Kd6 60.Kb6 Nxb7 61.Rc6++-. It wasn't too late to blunder with 58.Kxb4? Nd8=. 9.04 R.J.Fischer (2740) - M.Taimanov (2620) Vancouver cqf 1971 Black's knight has very limited scope and White's rook is more active than its counterpart, so Taimanov again faced a very tough job: 35.h4 h5?! I don't like this move as it fixes the h-pawn on a light square. 35...Ne7 was probably preferable although Black's task is still very difficult. Putting all pawns on dark squares with 35...f6? loses unfortunately: 36.Re6+ Kd7 37.Ke4 f5+ (37...Re8? 38.Rxe8 Kxe8 39.Bb5 Kd7 40.Kd5+-) 38.Kf3 Rf6 39.Rxf6 gxf6 40.Bb5+36.Rd3+ Kc7 37.Rd5!? Fischer forces more Black pawns onto light squares file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (3 of 9) [9/11/2001 7:10:16 AM]

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- a good strategy in this type of ending. In the following lines, it is difficult to say, when exactly Taimanov's position was lost. 37...f5 38.Rd2 Rf6 39.Re2 Kd7 40.Re3 g6 41.Bb5 Rd6 42.Ke2 Kd8?! This allows Fischer to simplify into a winning bishop vs knight ending. 42...Rd5 seems to be tougher. 43.Rd3! Kc7 44.Rxd6 Kxd6 45.Kd3 Of course not 45.Bxc6?? Kxc6 46.Kd3 Kd5 47.c4+= 45...Ne7 After 45...Kc7 simplifying into the pawn ending wins: 46.Bxc6 Kxc6 47.Kc4 Kd6 48.Kb5 Kc7 49.Ka6 Kc6 50.c4 Kc7 51.Ka7 Kc6 52.Kb8+- 46.Be8 Kd5 47.Bf7+ Kd6 48.Kc4 Kc6 49.Be8+ Kb7 50.Kb5 Nc8 51.Bc6+ (51.Bxg6?? Nd6#) 51...Kc7 52.Bd5 Ne7 (52...Nd6+ 53.Ka6 c4 54.Bg8 Kc6 55.Bh7 Ne4 56.Bxg6 Nxg3 57.Be8+ Kc5 58.Ka7 Ne2 59.Bxh5 Nxf4 60.Bf3+-) 53.Bf7 Kb7 54.Bb3 Ka7 55.Bd1 Kb7 56.Bf3+ Kc7 57.Ka6 Nc8 58.Bd5 Ne7 59.Bc4 Nc6 60.Bf7 Ne7 61.Be8 Kd8 62.Bxg6! Now Black is defenceless against White's queenside pawns: 62...Nxg6 63.Kxb6 Kd7 64.Kxc5 Ne7 65.b4 axb4 66.cxb4 Nc8 67.a5 Nd6 68.b5 Ne4+ 69.Kb6 Kc8 70.Kc6 Kb8 71.b6 1–0 The next example went no better for Taimanov:

9.05 R.J.Fischer (2740) - M.Taimanov (2620) Vancouver cqf 1971 75...Ng6 75...Nxg4!? was easier: 76.Rxg4 (76.hxg4 Ke6 77.Rf4 Rf7=) 76...Re7 77.Rg6 Re6= 76.Ra6 Ne5 77.Kf4 Rf7+ Now 77...Nxg4? doesn't work any longer: 78.hxg4 Rg8 79.g5 Rf8+ 80.Kg4 Ke5 81.Kh5 Kf5 82.Kh6+78.Kg5 Rg7+ 79.Kf5 Rf7+ 80.Rf6 Rxf6+ 81.Kxf6

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The position is still drawn, but now great care is required: 81...Ke4? (81...Nd3 82.h4 Nf4 83.Kf5 Kd6 84.Kxf4 Ke7=; 81...Kd6 draws as well.) 82.Bc8 Kf4 83.h4 Nf3 84.h5 Ng5 85.Bf5 Nf3 86.h6 Ng5 87.Kg6 zugzwang 87...Nf3 88.h7 Nh4+ 89.Kf6 1–0 I want to end this column with two of my own games:

9.06 J.Hector (2546) - K.Müller (2523) International Hamburg City Championship 2001 Something had gone wrong after the opening and I had to pin all my hopes on the passed e-pawn: 29...Nf3 30.Rd8+ Kf7 31.Bb4 Ng1 I had originally planned to continue with 31...c3? until I spotted 32.Rf8+ Kg6 33.Rxf3 e2 34.Re3 Rd6 35.Bxd6+-. At first I had only seen 35.Rxe2 Rd1+ 36.Kxd1 cxb2 when I can fight on. 32.Rf8+ Kg6 33.Re8 e2 34.Kd2 Rc7 35.Re7 35...Rc8?? a sad error in time trouble, which spoils everything as Black's rook can't move to f8 in the critical line. 35...Rc6! was called for, when it is very difficult to prove a win for White, e.g., (A) 36.Bc3 Rc8 37.Re6+ (37.g4 Rf8 38.Rg7+ Kh6 39.g5+ Kh5 40.Bf6 Re8) 37...Kg5 38.Ke1 Rf8 39.Bd2+ Kf5 40.Re7 Kg6; or B) 36.g4 36...Kg5 37.Ke1 Rf6 38.Rg7+ Kh6 39.g5+ Kxg7 40.gxf6+ Kxf6 41.Bc5 Nxh3 42.Bxa7 Nf4 43.Bb8 Nd5 44.Kxe2 Ke6 and White is better, but is he winning ? 36.Ke1+- Rd8 37.Kf2 Rd1 38.Be1 Rc1 39.Kxg1 Rxe1+ 40.Kf2 Rb1 41.Kxe2 Rxb2 42.Kd2 a5 43.Re5 Rb1 44.Rxa5 Rg1 45.h4 h6 46.h5+ Kf6 47.Kc3 Rg2 48.Ra6+ Ke5 49.Rg6 Kd5 50.a4 1–0

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Endgame Corner

I start a bit earlier: 9.07 K.Müller (2523) - C.C.Buhr (2392) International Hamburg City Championship Black's passed pawns are not as dangerous as they seem to be: 34.Bd7! Bd5 35.Re1 Be4+ 36.Kxd4 Ne6+ 37.Kxe3 Nxc7 38.Kxd2 38.Rd1! was even better: 38...Nd5+ 39.Kxd2 f6 40.gxf6 Nxf6 41.Ke3+- 38...Bf5 39.Rf1 Bxd7 40.Rxf7+ Ke8 Time trouble was over and I had time to think again. Unfortunately I made the wrong decision: 41.Ke1? 41.Rxd7! was called for, e.g., 41...Rxd7+ 42.Nxd7 Kxd7 43.a4 Nd5 44.g6! to avoid a blockade 44...Ke6 45.a5 Kf6 46.Kd3 Kxg6 47.Kd4 Ne7 48.Kc5 Kf5 49.a6 Nc8 50.b4+- 41...Ne6! 42.g6 42.Rh7 Ba4 43.Rh8+ Ke7 44.Rxh5 Rd1+ 45.Kf2 Rd2+ 46.Ke3 Rxb2 and Black should be able to hold on. 42...Ba4 43.Rh7 After 43.g7 Rd1+ White's king lacks shelter: 44.Kf2 Rd2+ 45.Kg3 Rd3+= 43...Rd1+ 44.Kf2 Rd2+ 45.Ke3 Rxb2 46.g7 Nxg7 47.Rxg7 Rb3+ 48.Kf4 Rxa3 49.Ra7 Rh3 50.Kg5 Bd1 51.Kf6 The position is now completely drawn of course and my opponent defended accurately: 51...Bf3! 51...Kd8?! 52.Rd7+ Kc8 53.Rxd1 Rxh4 54.Rc1+ is unnessarily risky. 52.Ke6 52.Rh7 Kd8 53.Nf7+ Kc8= (53...Ke8? 54.Ng5 Rxh4 55.Ne6+-) 52...Kd8 53.Kd6 (53.Rd7+!? Kc8 54.Nxf3 Rxf3 55.Rd5 Rf4 56.Rxh5 Re4+ 57.Kf5 Ra4=) 53...Kc8 54.Rc7+ Kb8 55.Nd7+ Ka8 56.Nb6+ Kb8 57.Nd7+ Ka8 58.Rc2 Kb7 59.Rb2+ Ka6 60.Ne5 Bh1 61.Rb4 Re3 62.Rf4 Re4 63.Rxe4 Bxe4 64.Nd7 Bf3 65.Ke5 Kb7 66.Kf4 Kc7 67.Nf6 ½–½ Sources: ChessBase MEGABASE 2001 Informator 69 The Week in Chess

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Exercises (Solutions next month) E9.01 Qin Kanying (2501) A.Stefanova (2514) FIDE World Cup-B (Women) Shenyang 2000 White to move and win

E9.02 G.Kasparov (2849) - P.Svidler (2695) World Cup of Rapid Chess-A Cannes 2001 Kasparov found a convincing way to reach the draw. What did he play?

Solutions to last month's exercises E8.01 A.Zaitsev - R.Hübner Büsum 1969 Black has to defend very carefully: 1...Rb1? 1...Rb4 was called for e.g. 2.f5 Ra4 3.Kh5 Rf4! (3...Kf8? 4.g5! Ke8 5.Rb7 fxg5 6.Kg6 g4 7.f6+-) 4.Ra7 Kf8 A) 5.g5 Rxf5 6.Kg6 Rf1! (6...Rxg5+?? 7.Kxf6+-) 7.gxf6 Rg1+=; B) 5.Kg6 5...Rxg4+ 6.Kxf6 Kg8 7.Ra8+ Kh7 8.Kf7 Rb4= 2.Kh5 Rg1 3.g5 fxg5 4.f5! Kf8 5.f6 and Hübner resigned due to 5...Rf1 6.Kg6 Ke8 7.Ra7 g4 8.f7+ Kf8 9.Ra8+ Ke7 10.Re8+ Kd6 11.f8Q+ Rxf8 12.Rxf8 Ke5 13.Kg5 g3 14.Rf3 g2 15.Rg3+-

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E8.02 F. de Gleria (2432) - A.Kveinys (2533) Julian Borowski-B Essen 2001 De Gleria drew as follows: 82.hxg5! (82.g4? Rd3+ 83.Kh2 hxg4 84.Rxf6+ Rf3 85.Rxf3+ Kxf3 86.hxg5 Kf2 87.g6 g3+–+; 82.Kh2? Kf3+ 83.Kg1 Kxg3–+; 82.Rxf6+? Kg1 83.hxg5 Rh2#) 82...fxg5 (82...Kg1 83.Re1+ Kf2 84.Re6=) 83.Re5!? Kg1 84.Re1+ Kf2 85.Re5 Kg1 86.Re1+ Kf2 87.Re5 Kg1 ½–½

E8.03 A.Ehrke - K.Müller Hamburg 1994 After 53...Ra2 a draw was agreed as Black's counterplay is just in time, if White wins Black's rook for his a-pawn: 54.Rh5 Rxf2 55.Rb5 Ra2 56.Kb8 (56.Rf5 f2 57.Rxf6 Rb2=) 56...Kxh6 57.a8Q Rxa8+ 58.Kxa8 Kg6 59.Kb7 f2 60.Rb1 Kf5 61.Rf1 Ke4 62.Rxf2 f5 63.Kc6 f4 64.Kc5 Ke3=

E8.04 The solution runs: 1.Kd7! (1.a5? Kb7 2.a6+ Kxa6 3.Kd5 g2!–+) 1...Kb7 2.Rc6 h2 3.a5 a6 4.Rc7+=

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E8.05 A.Shirov (2722) - A.Morozevich (2749) Astana 2001 55...Kb4? Both players missed the surprising 55...Rxh5! 56.Ra5+ Kb4 57.Rxh5 stalemate 56.Rb6+ Kc5 57.Rxh6 Kb4 58.Kc2! Rc3+ 59.Kd2 Rh3 60.Rh8 Kc5 61.Kc2 Kb5 62.Kd2 Kc6 63.h6 Kb7 64.b4 Ka7 65.Ke2 Rh4 66.Kf3 Rxb4 67.Rg8 Rh4 68.Rg6 Kb7 69.Kg3 Rh1 70.Kf4 Kc7 71.Kf5 Kd7 72.Kf6 Ke8 73.Kg7 1–0 E8.06 R.Mamedov (2306) - Z.Izoria (2489) Batumi open 2001 A nice stalemate trick saved the day: 81...f4+ 81...Kf6 82.Ra1 f4+ 83.Kh3 Rf2 84.Ra6+=) 82.Kh3 (82.Kg4?? Rh2 83.Rh1 Rg2+ 84.Kh3 Rg3+–+) 82...Rf2 83.Rxg5+! Kxg5 stalemate ½–½

Copyright 2001 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in ChessCafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

[The Chess Cafe Home Page] [Book Reviews] [Bulletin Board] [Columnists] [Endgame Studies] [The Skittles Room] [Archives] [Links] [Online Bookstore] [About The Chess Cafe] [Contact Us] Copyright 2001 CyberCafes, LLC. All Rights Reserved. "The Chess Cafe®" is a registered trademark of Russell Enterprises, Inc.

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Endgame Corner

Opposition, Triangulation and more I start with a very fundamental example to illustrate the importance of opposition 10.01 +/= If White's king manages to advance to the key squares of the e3-pawn (d5,e5 and f5), then Black is lost. But if White is to move, he can't achieve that as Black has the opposition: 1.Kf4 Kf6! 2.Ke4 Ke6 3.Kd4 Kd6 4.e4 Ke6 5.e5 Ke7 6.Kd5 Kd7 7.e6+ Ke7 8.Ke5 Ke8! 9.Kd6 Kd8 10.e7+ Ke8 stalemate.

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

Black to move on the other hand is in zugzwang and loses: 1...Kd6 2.Kf5! Ke7 3.Ke5 3.e4? Kf7!= (opposition) 3...Kf7 4.Kd6 Kf6 5.e4 Kf7 6.e5 Ke8 7.Ke6 (opposition, but in this exceptional case with the pawn on the fifth rank and his king in front White would also win, if it were his move) 7...Kd8 8.Kf7 Kd7 9.e6++The opposition is the main weapon in the fight for 3 adjacent key squares. The next example shows more forms of the opposition:

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10.02 After van Nyevelt Supériorité 1792 +/= I want to analyse the situation with Black to move in detail: 1) No counterattack against the g3 pawn is possible: 1...Kf3 2.h5 Kxg3 3.h6 Kf2 4.h7 g3 5.h8Q g2 6.Qh2 and White wins. 2) So Black's king has to stay inside the square of the protected passed pawn on h4. 3) Advancing the h-pawn doesn't win for White. After the black king has captured it, White manages to win the g4-pawn, but Black's king moves to g6 in the opposition and draws. 4) All key squares of the black g4-pawn are inside the square of the h4-pawn. As d4, e4, f4, d5, d6 and d7 are key squares we can now conclude: Black can defend according to the rules of opposition inside the square of the h4-pawn, but he has to choose the appropriate form carefully as he has to stay in the square of the h4-pawn and f4 is not accessible. Definition: If all corners of the rectangle round the kings are of the same colour, the kings are in opposition (more precise: the player not to move has the opposition). A sample line runs: 1...Ke5! (virtual opposition) 2.Ka4 Ke4! (distant opposition) Not 2...Ke6? 3.Kb4! and White's king creeps on the fourth rank to the key squares: 3...Kd6 4.Kc4! Ke6 5.Kd4! Kf6 6.Ke4! Kg6 7.Kf4 Kh5 8.Kf5+- 3.Kb3 Kd5! (diagonal opposition) 4.Kb4 Kd4! (opposition) 5.Ka3 Ke5! 6.Ka2 Ke4 7.Kb2 Kd4! 8.Kc2 Ke4! 9.Kd1 Kd5= Remark: The key squares in 10.02 are f4, e4, d4, d5, d6, d7, e7, f7, g7 and h7. If you know, how to apply the theory of corresponding squares (see, e.g., Averbakh pp.369-409 or Secrets of Pawn Endings pp.188-203) it is an interesting exercise to number the squares of the board accordingly, but from Black's point of view this is not really necessary as it is enough to master the rules of the opposition (see the main line above). The next example serves as an application of van Nyevelt's position (10.02):

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10.03 Capablanca - Kalantarov Simul St. Petersburg 1913 Kalantarov and his consultants - among them was the great Romanovsky thought, that 1.Ke7 was called for as 1.Kf7 allowed Black to simplify into a seemingly favourable pawn ending. But when Capablanca came to the board he played nevertheless 1.Kf7!? The next two moves followed immediately: 1...Ng5+? After 1...Nc5 Black should be able to draw the knight ending. 2.Nxg5 fxg5 3.g4!! and Capablanca left the board leaving the amazed Kalantarov behind. Black is now lost in all variations. 3.h4? is the wrong way to break through due to 3...g4! (3...gxh4? 4.g4 h3 5.g5 h2 6.g6 h1Q 7.g7+ Kh7 8.g8Q+ Kh6 9.Qg6#) 4.Ke6 a5 5.Kd5 Kg7 6.Kc4 Kf6 7.Kb5 Ke6 8.Ka4 Kd5 9.Kxa5 Ke5= (10.02) 3...Kh7 3...a5 4.h4 gxh4 5.g5+- 4.h4 Kh6 5.Kf6 Kh7 6.h5! 6.hxg5? Kg8= 6...a5 7.Ke5 1-0 and Kalantarov resigned as his a-pawn will fall prey to White's king. The remaining ending is won in sharp contrast to (10.02) as the key square d5 is outside the square of the protected passed pawn on h5. If the protected passed pawn is a c-pawn it is different: 10.04 N.Grigoriev (end of a study) 64, 1930 White wins whoever moves first. When White moves first (with Black to move after 1...Ka5!? 2.Kb8 Kb6 the main line is reached) 1.Kb8! Kb6 2.Kc8! Kc6 A counterattack with 2...Kc5 is too slow: 3.Kb7 Kd4 4.Kb6 Kc3 5.c5! Kxb3 6.c6! Ka2 7.c7! b3 8.c8Q! b2 9.Qc2+- 3.Kd8! Kd6 4.Ke8! Ke6 5.Kf8! Kf6 6.Kg8! Kg6 7.Kh8! Kf6 7...Kh6 leaves the square of the c-pawn: 8.c5!+- 8.Kh7! Kf7 9.Kh6! Kf6 10.Kh5! Kf5 11.Kh4! Kf4 12.Kh3! Kf5 13.Kg3 Kg5 14.Kf3 Kf5 15.Ke3 Ke5 16.Kd3 Ke6 17.Kd4 Kd6 18.c5+ Kc6 19.Kc4!+In Grigoriev's study the pawns are on b2, c3 resp. b5 and Black's king is on b6. After 1.b3! b4 2.c4! Ka6 the position (10.04) is reached. file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (3 of 11) [10/8/2001 11:15:41 PM]

Endgame Corner

Now I want to deal with triangulation: 10.05 H.Fahrni - S.Alapin +/Black to move would be in zugzwang immediately as White's king could reach b6. White to move on the other hand seems to be in zugzwang as well as c5-c7, d6-d8 and d5-c8 are corresponding squares. But a careful observation shows of the squares on the 4th rank reveals, that he has more space to manoeuvre as c4, d4 - b8, d8 are corresponding squares as well. So Black perishes as c4 and d4 are connected while b8 and d8 are isolated: 1.Kd5! Kc8 2.Kd4 Kd8 3.Kc4 Kc8 4.Kd5! Kc7 4...Kd8 5.Kd6! Kc8 6.c7! Kb7 7.Kd7! Ka7 8.Kc6+- Of course not 8.c8Q?? stalemate 5.Kc5! reaching the starting position with Black to move 5...Kc8 6.Kb6! and Alapin resigned because of 6...Kb8 7.Kxa6! Kc7 8.Kb5!+When and where was the game played ? I quote Edward Winter (Source: Chess Notes 2425): "The caption is usually "Fahrni-Alapin", sometimes with a date between 1909 and 1917 and occasionally with a mention of Munich. Although the exact occasion and complete game have yet to be found, we note that at a tournament in Munich in June 1909 Fahrni scored +3 –0 =1 against Alapin. When Fahrni himself gave the above position, on page 15 of his book Das Endspiel im Schach (Leipzig, 1917), he did so with just the vague heading "From a game Fahrni-Alapin". The position after 1 Kd5 Kc8 occurred in Fiebig-Tartakower, Barmen, 1905, but White missed the win, and the game was agreed drawn after 59 Kd6 Kd8 60 Kd5 Kc8. Source: Barmen, 1905 tournament book, page 250. A similar ending arose in W. Lange-C. Carls, Aachen, 1934. White's king was on e2 and he had a pawn at h3; Black had his king on e4 and pawns at f4 and h4. The game ended: 1 f3+ 2 Kf1 Kf5 3 Ke1 Ke5 4 Kf1 Ke4 5 Ke1 Ke3 6 Kf1 f2 and wins. Source: Schackvärlden, July 1934, page 254." To add to the problems, Winter found that (10.05) had already been published on page 82 of the March 1911 La Stratégie. I quote from Chess Notes 2458: "In an item which mentioned neither Fahrni nor any other player, Michel A.Tossizza gave an extract from his 1910 book Etude explicative d'une partie d'échecs. Le Gambit Evans." To end this column I give several recent examples:

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10.06 R.Gerber - A.Miles Crans Montana 2001 The first is from the excellent July 2001 "Miles Report" on the Chess Cafe website (Miles has analysed it in depth, see the Chess Cafe Archives): 1...Bxe3 2.Kxe3 Kf6 3.fxg6 fxg6 4.Kf2 Kg5 5.Kg3

On the kingside an interesting formation is reached (please compare it with the next example) 5...b6 6.c4 c5 7.b5 axb5 8.cxb5 c4 9.h4+ Kf6 10.f4 h6 11.Kg4 exf4 12.Kxf4 g5+ 13.hxg5+ hxg5+ 14.Kg4 Ke5 15.Kxg5 Kxe4 16.Kf6 Kd5? 0-1 and Gerber resigned, but the position is astonishingly drawn: 17.Ke7 Kc5 18.Ke6 Kxb5 19.Kd5 Kb4 20.Kc6 b5 21.Kb6 Ka4 22.Kc5 Ka5 23.Kd5= (Miles) Instead 16...Kd3 17.Ke5 c3 18.bxc3 Kxc3 19.Kd5 Kb4 20.Kc6 Ka5–+ was one way to win. 10.07 A.Karpov - G.Kasparov Las Palmas 1996 Karpov thought for a long time before he played 1.Kg2!? ½–½ and a draw was agreed, e.g., 1...Kf6 2.Kg3! g5 3.h5!= 1.Ke2?! draws as well, but is very difficult to calculate: 1...Kf6 2.Ke3! g5 3.h5! g4!? 4.f4! exf4+ (4...Ke6 5.f5+!=) 5.Kxf4! g3! 6.e5+!! Ke6! 7.Kxg3! Kxe5 8.Kf3!=. After 1.Kg3? Black manages to create an outside passed pawn: 1...Kf6 2.Kg4 h5+ 3.Kg3 g5 4.Kh3 gxh4 5.Kxh4 Kg6 6.Kh3 Kg5 7.Kg3 h4+ 8.Kh3 Kf4 9.Kxh4 Kxf3–+ and 1.Ke3? is wrong as well: 1...Kf6 2.f4 (2.Kf2 h5 3.Kg3 g5–+) 2...exf4+ 3.Kxf4 g5+–+

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10.08 N.Phan Koshnitsky (2156) L.Moylan (2110) Oceana zt 3.2b (Women) Gold Coast 2001 =/= White's extra pawn can't be converted: 52.Kh3 Kg5 53.g4 Kh6 (53...Kf4? 54.Kh4 Ke3 55.g5 fxg5+ 56.Kxg5 Kf2 57.g4+-) 54.Kh2 Kg6! (54...Kg5? 55.Kg3 Kh6 56.Kf4 Kg6 57.g3 Kg7 58.Kf5 (58.g5? Kg6!=) 58...Kf7 59.g5 fxg5 60.Kxg5 Kg7 61.g4+- (opposition)) 55.Kg3 Kg5 56.Kh3 Kh6 57.Kh4 Kg6 58.g5 fxg5+ 59.Kg4 Kf6 60.Kh5 Kf5 61.g3 g4 62.Kh4 Kf6! 63.Kxg4 Kg6! (opposition) 64.Kf4 Kf6 65.g4 Kg6 66.g5 Kg7 ½–½ 10.09 A.Khamatgaleev (2412) N.Sanjay (2364) Goodricke 12th op Calcutta 2001 Simplifying into the pawn ending with 50...Rxe5?? is a fatal error. The correct strategy is 50...g5!: 51.Kf3 (51.h4 gxh4+ 52.Kxh4 Rg8=) 51...R8e7 (51...Rxe5? 52.Rxe5+ Rxe5 53.Rxe5+ Kxe5 54.Kg4 Kf6 55.Kh5+-) 52.Ke3 Rxe5+ 53.Rxe5+ Rxe5+ 54.Rxe5+ Kxe5 55.Kf3 Kf5 56.Kg3 Kf6 57.Kg4 Kg6 58.f3 Kf6 59.Kh5 Kf5 60.Kh6 Kf6 61.Kh7 Kf7= (Hecht in CBM 82) 51.Rxe5+ Rxe5 52.Rxe5+ Kxe5 53.Kg4 Kf6 54.h4! Kf7 55.Kg5 Kg7 56.h5 gxh5 57.Kxh5 Kf6 58.Kg4 Kg6 59.Kf4 Kf6 60.f3 1–0 White has the opposition and wins (see 10.01). Addendum After finishing my work on Endgame Corner No.10 I studied Mark Dvoretsky's excellent column "Tragicomedies in Pawn Endings", especially his comments on Ree vs Ftacnik, Kiev 1978:

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Endgame Corner

I sent him my observations and want to thank him for his very valueable insights. Together we can now prove, that Lubomir Ftacnik could have won by using the theory of corresponding squares: e5-e3, d6-e2, e6-f2,f7-g2 and e7-f1 are pairs of corresponding squares as White has to able to answer g5 with g4 and to be in time on the queenside. From this we can conclude, that Black has more squares on the 8th rank at his disposal and can force a decisive zugzwang: 1...Kd6 (instead of the game continuation 1...g5??, when Ree could turn the tables completely with 2.g4!+-) 2.Ke2 (2.Kd4 g5–+; 2.Kf4 Ke6 3.Kf3 (3.Ke3 Ke5 4.Kd3 g5–+) 3...g5 4.Ke3 (4.Ke2 gxh4 5.gxh4 Ke5 6.Ke3 f5 7.exf5 Kxf5 8.Kf3 b5–+) 4...gxh4 5.gxh4 Ke5 6.Kf3 f5–+; 2.Kf2 Kc5–+) 2...Ke6 After 2...Kc5 3.Kd3 g5? doesn't work because of 4.e5!= 3.Kf2 Kf7 4.Kg2 4.Kf3 allows 4...g5 as Black takes on g4 with check: 5.g4 hxg4+ 6.Kxg4 gxh4 7.Kxh4 Ke6 8.Kg4 Ke5 9.Kf3 Kd4 10.Kf4 10...b5 11.Kf3 (11.Kf5 Ke3 12.Kxf6 Kxe4 13.Ke6 Kd3–+) 11...Kd3 12.Kf4 Ke2 13.Kg4 Kd2 14.Kf4 Kd3 15.Kf3 Kc2–+ 4...Ke7 After 4...g5? 5.g4! Kg6 6.Kg3 hxg4 7.Kxg4 gxh4 8.Kxh4 f5

the only move to save White's skin is 9.Kg3!= 5.Kf1 Kf8 6.Kf2 Ke8

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and now White can't hold the correspondence as Mark Dvoretsky proved: 7.Kf3 (7.Kg2 Kf7 8.Kf3 g5–+; 7.Ke3 Kf7 8.Kf2 Ke6 9.Ke2 Kd6–+; 7.Kg1 Kd7 8.Kf1 [8.Kg2 Kd6–+; 8.Kf2 Ke6–+] 8...Ke7 9.Ke2 Kd6 10.Kd3 g5–+) 7...Ke7 8.g4 (8.Ke3 Kf7–+) 8...Kd6 9.Kf4 hxg4 10.Kxg4 Ke5 11.Kf3 Kd4 12.Kf4 b5

(mutual zugzwang) 13.Kf3 Kd3 14.Kf4 Kc2–+ The whole work is a joint analysis by Mark Dvoretsky and me. I want to thank Mark for his kind permission to publish it in my column.

Sources: The Final Countdown, Willem Hajenius and Herman van Riemsdijk, Cadogan 1997 Secrets of Pawn Endings, Karsten Müller and Frank Lamprecht, Everyman 2000 Bauernendspiele, Yuri Averbakh, Sportverlag Berlin 1988 The Seven Deadly Chess Sins, Jonathan Rowson, GAMBIT 2000 Chess Explorations, Edward Winter, Cadogan 1996 Chess Notes 2425 in New in Chess magazine 6/2000 by Edward Winter Chess Notes 2458 in New in Chess magazine 8/2000 by Edward Winter The Instructor by Mark Dvoretsky: Tragicomedies in Pawn Endings [www.chesscafe.com/text/dvoretsky12.pdf] The Miles Report by Tony Miles: Kings and Pawns [www.chesscafe.com/text/miles25.pdf] ChessBase MEGABASE 2000 ChessBase Magazines 79 and 82 The Week in Chess Exercises (Solutions next month)

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Endgame Corner

E10.01 Capablanca 1921 White to move and win.

E10.02 After H.van Riemsdijk 1974 White wins by triangulation. Please find the solution to the end.

E10.03 After E.Krassilnikov (2257) Y.Meister (2450) White Nights St Petersburg 2001 Can White to move save himself?

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E10.04 J.Gallagher (2480) - Peetoom Bargteheide op 1988 The position is quite closed. Is there a way for White to break through?

E10.05 K.Schlenga - B.Donner NRW 1992 Can Black to move storm White's castle?

E10.06 After J.Shaw - J.Rowson Edinburgh 2000 In the game White's king was on e3 and Rowson remarks in his book The Seven Deadly Chess Sins: "For a while I thought this ending was interesting and subtle but after a while it dawned on me that it was a fairly clear draw." With the white king on e3 this is correct, but his first point also has its merits as with the king on e1 it is White to move and win (note that in the main line White reaches a won queen ending). Solutions to last month exercises

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E9.01 Qin Kanying (2501) A.Stefanova (2514) FIDE World Cup-B (Women) Shenyang 2000 The solution was not easy to find: In the game Qin Kanying went wrong with 45.Ng5? (45.Nf6! Rxh6 46.a5 wins as Tsesarsky proved in CBM 79. One sample line runs 46...Rh1 47.Rc7 Re1+ 48.Kd4 Rd1+ 49.Ke3 Re1+ 50.Kd2 Rh1 51.a6 Bd1 52.Rc1+-; 45.a5? Rh5+ 46.Kd4 Rxa5=; 45.Kf5? Rxe4! (45...Bxa4? 46.Rc8+ Kh7 47.Nf6+ Kxh6 48.Rh8++-) 46.Kxe4 Bxa4 47.Rc7 Bb5 48.Kf5 Bd3+ 49.Kf6 Be4=) 45...Rxa4 46.Rc8+ Bg8 47.h7 Ra5+ 48.Kf4 (48.Kf6 Rxg5=) 48...Rxg5 49.Kxg5 Kxh7 ½–½ E9.02 G.Kasparov (2849) - P.Svidler (2695) World Cup of Rapid Chess-A Cannes 2001 Kasparov drew as follows: 43.Nc4+ Ke6 44.Rg6+ Kf7 45.Rb6 Be6 46.Ne5+ Ke7 (46...Kf6 47.Nd7+ Ke7 48.Ne5=) 47.Ng6+ Kf7 48.Ne5+ ½–½

Copyright 2001 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in ChessCafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

[The Chess Cafe Home Page] [Book Reviews] [Bulletin Board] [Columnists] [Endgame Studies] [The Skittles Room] [Archives] [Links] [Online Bookstore] [About The Chess Cafe] [Contact Us] Copyright 2001 CyberCafes, LLC. All Rights Reserved. "The Chess Cafe®" is a registered trademark of Russell Enterprises, Inc.

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Endgame Corner

The Bishop Pair Part 1 Two bishops are usually very strong as the main disadvantage of a single bishop, his monocromacity, is compensated by the second bishop. Jonathan Rowson describes this in his recent work The Seven Deadly Chess Sins (page 130) as follows:

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

"Although the pair of knights can be very effective, we don't see them as 'a pair' because there is nothing one knight can do that the other can't in principle...There may be something good about 'the two knights' in a particular position, but this is purely accidental, for there is no reason in principle why a pair of them should be more than the sum of their parts. On the other hand, one bishop makes up for the shortcomings of the other, and takes care of its own shortcomings in the process. So what happens when you capture the opponent's bishop is not only that you remove one piece of value, but that you 'weaken' the other bishop too." The following game of Steinitz shows is an example of how to play with the two bishops in an otherwise almost symmetrical position:

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11.01 B.Englisch - W.Steinitz London 1883 15...Rad8!? 15...Bxb2? only activates White: 16.Rab1 Be5 17.Rxb7= 16.c3 Rfe8 17.Nb3 b6! a typical strategy: Black strengthens his light squared bishop as it has no counterpart and restricts White's knight at the same time. 18.h3 Be6 19.Rfd1 c5 Continuing the strategy 20.Bg5 f6 21.Bf4 Kf7 22.f3 g5 23.Rxd8 Rxd8 24.Be3 h6 Finally all six black pawns are on dark squares 25.Re1 f5 Steinitz wants to grab space on the kingside with f5-f4 to follow up with a7-a5-a4a3 or with a further advance on the kingside. 26.f4 Bf6 27.g3 a5! Planning to create weaknesses on White's queenside with a5-a4-a3 28.Nc1 a4 29.a3 Bc4 This domination of White's knight is called corralling. You should know this important motif by heart! 30.Kf2 gxf4 31.Bxf4 Bg5! Threatening to exchange White's best defender, the dark squared bishop. This transformation of one advantage into another is one major advantage of the bishop pair as it is usually easier for the player with the bishops to exchange one pair of minor pieces. 32.Bxg5 After 32.Ke3, trading rooks is a mistake: 32...Re8+?! (32...Kg6 (Tartakover) and Black is much better.) 33.Kf2 Rxe1? 34.Kxe1 Bxf4 35.gxf4 Ke6 36.Kf2 Kd5 37.Ke3 Bf1 38.h4 Kc4 39.Kd2 and Black can't break through, e.g., 39...b5 40.Ke3 Bg2 41.Kd2 Bf3 42.Ke3 Be4 43.Kd2 b4 44.cxb4 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (2 of 15) [11/04/2001 10:02:50 AM]

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cxb4 45.axb4 Kxb4 46.Ne2 Kb3 (46...Kc4 47.Nc3 Bc6 48.Ne2=) 47.Nc3 Bc6 48.Nd1= 32...hxg5 33.Ke3 Kf6 34.h4? this loses by force as does 34.Ne2? Rd3+ 35.Kf2 Rd2–+. White had to try something like 34.Rg1 or 34.Rh1 34...gxh4 35.gxh4?! Re8+ 36.Kf2 Rxe1 37.Kxe1 Ke5! 38.Ne2 Bxe2 39.Kxe2 the pawn ending is winning for Black as his active king is more important than White's outside passed pawn: 39...Kf4 40.c4 Kg4 41.Ke3 f4+ 42.Ke4 f3 43.Ke3 Kg3 0–1 In a pure endgame the advantage of the bishop pair can easily be decisive (for a statistical research see Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy by John Watson, page 149): 11.02 B.Gulko (2622) T.Radjabov (2483) Corus-B Wijk aan Zee 2001 41...Ne8 41...Kf6 42.Bc2 Ke7 (42...Ke5?? 43.Bc3#) 43.b4 is similar to the game continuation. 42.b4! White opens a second front on the queenside and plans to attack the pawn b7. 42...cxb4 After 42...Nf6 one sample line runs 43.Bf5 Kd8 44.bxc5 dxc5 45.Bf2 (45.Kf3!?) 45...Bd2 46.Bxc5 Bxa5 47.Be3 and White has a large advantage. 43.Bxb4 Nf6 44.Bf5 Nd7 44...Bc1 45.Kf3!+- (The immediate 45.Bc8? is wrong due to 45...Ne4+ 46.Kf3 Nc5 when it is not clear, if White can break through Black's dark squared blockade.) (DIAGRAM)

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45.Bxd7! "The advantage of the bishop pair consists the possibility of a favourable exchange of it!" (Hazai in CBM 81) 45...Kxd7 46.Kf3 Bd8 47.Ke4 b6 Keeping the structure with 47...Bg5 isn't sufficient either: 48.Kf5 Be3 49.Kg6 Bc1 50.Bc3 Be3 51.Bg7 Bd2 (I want to add the following variation to Hazai's line: 51...b6 52.axb6 a5 53.Bxh6 Bxh6 54.Kxh6 a4 55.b7 Kc7 56.b8Q+ Kxb8 57.g5+-) 52.Bxh6 Bxa5 53.Kf7 b5 54.cxb5 axb5 55.Bc1+(Hazai) 48.axb6 Bxb6 49.Bd2 a5 50.Bxh6 a4 51.Kd3 Ke7 52.Bg5+ Kf7 53.Kc3 Bc5 54.Kb2 Kg6 55.Bf4 Kf6 56.Ka2 Bb4 57.Bc1! Ke5 58.g5 Ba5 58...Kf5 59.Ba3 Ba5 60.Bxd6 Kxg5 61.Ka3+- 59.Ka3 1–0 In the next example Kasparov shows his superb technique:

11.03 G.Kasparov (2849) J.Timman (2629) Corus Wijk aan Zee 2001 Diagram after 42...b7-b5 43.Bb4! with the terrible threat of Bd3-f5-c8. Capturing en passant with 43.axb6?! is wrong in principle as White's winning potential is then very file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (4 of 15) [11/04/2001 10:02:50 AM]

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reduced. His winning chances are nevertheless alive e.g. 43...Nxb6 44.Bxa6 (44.Ba5!?) 44...Bc4 (44...Nc4 45.Bb4 Nb2 46.Ke3 Nc4+ 47.Kd3 Nb2+ 48.Ke2 Nc4 49.Bc8) 45.Bxc4+ Nxc4 46.Ke2 Kf7 47.Kd3 Nb6 48.Ba5 Nd5 49.Kc4 Ke6 50.Kc5 43...Nb2 44.Bf5 44.Be2? Kf7 45.Ke1 Bc4 allows Black to halve the bishop pair on his terms. 44...Bc4 44...Bb7? 45.Be6+ Kh8 46.Bf8 Nd3+ 47.Ke3 Nf4 48.Bg7# 45.Ke3 Bd5 45...Nd1+ 46.Kd2 Nf2 47.Bc8 Nd3 48.Bd6 b4 49.Bf5+- 46.Bc8 Nc4+ 47.Ke2 1–0 In the following example White has an extra exchange but must not underestimate the power of the bishops: 11.04 I.Hausner (2440) K.Müller (2380) Hamburg 1990 42.Bxa7? allowing the c-pawn to advance further is extremely risky. After 42.Kf2!? it is Black who has to look for equality. 42...hxg4 43.hxg4 c3 44.Be3 For 44.Re1 c2 45.Be3 see the game. 44...c2 Now White faces an awkward choice: Where shall his rook go? 45.Re1! Certainly not 45.Ra1? as Black wins after 45...Nc4 46.Bc1 Bc5! 46...Bb2?! wins as well, but is much more complicated: 47.Bxb2 Nxb2 48.Kf2 Bxf3 49.Kxf3 Nd3 A) 50.a4 c1Q 51.Rxc1 Nxc1 52.a5 Nb3 53.a6 Nd4+ 54.Kg3 (54.Ke4 Nc6–+) 54...Nc6 55.f5 Ke8 56.Kh4 Kd7 57.Kh5 Kc7 58.Kg6 Ne5+ 59.Kxg7 Nxg4–+; B) 50.Ke4 c1Q 51.Rxc1 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (5 of 15) [11/04/2001 10:02:50 AM]

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Nxc1 52.a4 Nb3 53.Kd5 Now a fascinating battle between the knight and White's king has arisen. With precise play Black can decide it in his favour: 53...Ke7 54.Kc4 Nc1 B1) 55.Kb5 Kd7 56.Kb6 Nd3 57.f5 Kc8–+; B2) 55.a5 Kd6 56.a6 Kc6 57.a7 Kb7 58.Kd5 Ne2 B2a) 59.Ke4 Ng3+ 60.Kf3 Nf1 61.Kf2 (61.Ke4 Kxa7 62.g5 Ng3+ 63.Kf3 Nf5 64.Kg4 Ne7–+) 61...Nd2 62.Ke3 Nc4+ 63.Kd4 Nb6 64.g5 (64.Ke4 Nd7 65.Kd5 Nf8 66.f5 Nh7 67.Ke6 Ng5+ 68.Ke7 Nf3 69.Kf7 Ne5+–+) 64...fxg5 65.fxg5 Nd7 66.Kd5 Nf8 67.Kd6 Ng6 68.Ke6 Nh4 69.g6 Kxa7 70.Kf7 Nf5–+; B2b) 59.f5 Nf4+ 60.Kd6 Kxa7 61.Ke7 Nd5+ 62.Kf7 Ne3 63.Kxg7 Nxg4 64.Kg6 Kb6 65.Kh5 Ne5–+; B3) 55.Kd5 Ne2 56.a5 Nxf4+ 57.Kc6 Ne6 58.a6 Kd8 59.a7 Nc7 60.Kd6 Nb5+–+; 47.a4 Bd4 The raking bishop pair (sometimes called Horwitz bishops) dominates the board. White is completely lost: 48.Ra2 Be3 49.Ra1 Nd2 50.Kg3 (50.Ra3 Bxf3+ 51.Kh3 Bxf4 52.Rxf3 Nxf3 53.Bxf4 Ng1+ 54.Kg2 Ne2 55.Be3 c1Q 56.Bxc1 Nxc1 57.a5 Nd3 58.a6 Nf4+ 59.Kf3 Ne6 60.a7 Nc7–+) 50...Bxf3 51.Bxd2 Bxd2 52.Kxf3 c1Q 53.Rxc1 Bxc1 54.a5 Ba3 55.a6 Bc5–+; 45.Rxd6? is a better practical try, but the file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (6 of 15) [11/04/2001 10:02:50 AM]

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position after 45...Bxd6 46.Bc1 g5 47.fxg5 fxg5 48.Bxg5 (48.Kf2 Bxf3 49.Kxf3 Bf4–+) 48...Ba3 49.Kf2 c1Q 50.Bxc1 Bxc1–+ is theoretically lost as both white pawns will fall prey to the bishops and the pawnless ending 2 bishops vs knight is always won for the bishops, if the side with the knight can't force an immediate draw. This fact was discovered by Ken Thompson using a computer database. His result overturned pre database theory, which assumed that the ending is drawn, if the defender can reach the "Kling and Horwitz position" (wKd5,Ba4,f8; bKb6,Nb7. See, e.g., Nunn in Secrets of Minor-Piece Endings, p.277). John Nunn deals with the subject very extensively in Secrets of Minor-Piece Endings (p.265-281). 45.Rf1?! seems to be playable as well, although it looks suspicious: 45...Nb5 (45...Nc4? 46.Bc1 Bxc1 47.Rxc1 Nd2 48.Rxc2! is certainly not better for Black.) A) 46.Bc1? Bxc1 47.Rxc1 Nc3–+; B) 46.Kf2?! Nc3 47.Nd4 Bb2 48.Rc1 (48.Nxc2 Bxc2 49.Bd4 Ne4+ 50.Ke3 Ba3) 48...Bxc1 49.Bxc1 Nxa2 and in both cases it is not completely clear, if White can reach the draw. C) 46.Re1?! Bb4 and Black's threats are very dangerous, e.g., C1) 47.Ra1? Bc3 48.Rf1 (48.Rc1 Bb2 49.Rf1 Nd4–+) 48...Nd4 49.Bc1 Ke6–+; C2) 47.Rh1 Nc3 48.a4 Ba3 49.a5 Nd1 50.Bd2 Bc5 51.Bc1 Be3 52.Ba3 Bxf4; D) 46.Kg3 46...Bd3 (46...Nc3 47.Nd4 Bb2 48.Bc1! Bxc1 49.Rxc1 Nxa2 50.Rxc2=) 47.Re1 Nc3 48.Nd4 Bb2 (48...Nxa2 49.Ra1 Bb2 50.Rxa2 Bxd4 51.Rxc2 Bxc2 52.Bxd4=) 49.Nxc2 Bxc2 50.Bd4=; 45...Bb4 After 45...Nc4?! 46.Bc1 Bxc1 47.Rxc1 Nd2 White has the resource 48.Rxc2!

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asking the rook to move again and now Hausner failed to find the right square: 46.Re2? A) 46.Rc1! Nc4 47.Kf2 Nb2 (47...Ba3 48.Nd4 Bxc1 49.Bxc1=) 48.Nd4 (48.Ne1? Nd1+ 49.Ke2 Bxe1 50.Kxe1 Nxe3–+) 48...Nd3+ (48...Nd1+ 49.Ke2 Nc3+=) 49.Ke2 Nxc1+ 50.Bxc1 and Black's advantage is probably insufficient. B) 46.Rf1? Nc4 47.Bc1 (47.Kf2? Bxf3 48.Kxf3 Nd2+–+) 47...Nd2 48.Rf2 Nxf3 49.Rxf3 Ke6 50.Kf2 Bxf3 51.Kxf3 Kd5 52.Ke3 Kc4 and I can't see a way for White to hold on, but on the other hand it is not so easy to prove that he is lost. C) 46.Ra1? Nc4 47.Kf2 Nxe3 48.Kxe3 Bxf3 49.Kxf3 Ba3–+ 46...Bd3 47.Nd4 Nc4 48.Bc1 48.Nxc2 Bxc2 49.Bc1 Bd3 50.Rf2 Be1 51.Rf3 Be4–+ 48...Bc3 wins the exchange while keeping the strong passed cpawn alive 49.Nb5! 49.Rxc2? Bxd4–+ 49...Bxe2 After 49...Bb2? 50.Re1! White is in full command as Black's attack is over. 50.Nxc3 Bxg4 51.Nd5 Be6 52.Nb4 Bf5 53.Kf2 Be4 54.Na6 Ke6 55.Nc5+ Kd5 56.Nb3 56.Nxe4 Kxe4 57.Ke2 Kd4–+ 56...Bf5 57.Ke2 Bg6 58.Nd2 Nb6 59.Nf1 Kd4 60.Bb2+ Ke4 61.Bc1 Kd4 62.Bb2+ Ke4 63.Bc1 63.Ne3? Na4 64.Bc1 Nc3+ 65.Kd2 Nxa2–+ 63...Bh5+ 64.Kf2? Hausner is tired and makes it easy. 64.Kd2! was called for, file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (8 of 15) [11/04/2001 10:02:50 AM]

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when it is not totally clear, if Black is winning e.g. 64...Kxf4 65.Kxc2+ Kf3 66.Bb2 64...Kd3! 65.Ne3 Bf7 66.a3 Na4 67.Ng2 Nc5 68.Ne1+ Kc3 69.Ke3 Bg6 70.Bd2+ Kb2 71.Nxc2 Bxc2–+ and Black won after some further moves. I want to end the first part of my discussion of the bishop pair with two games illustrating the power of the bishops in a pure ending: 11.05 L.van Wely (2670) - M.van der Werf (2450) [D46] ch-NED Leeuwarden 2001 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6 4.e3 Nd7 5.Bd3 Ngf6 6.Nf3 Be7 7.0–0 0–0 8.b3 b6 9.Bb2 Bb7 10.Qe2 Qc7 11.Rac1 Rad8 12.Ne5 dxc4 13.Nxc4 c5 14.Rfd1 cxd4 15.exd4 Qf4 16.Qe3 Qg4 17.Qg3 Qxg3 18.hxg3 Nb8 19.Be2 Nd5 20.Nxd5 Bxd5 21.Ne3 Bc6 22.d5 Bxd5 23.Nxd5 exd5 24.Bf3 Bc5 25.Bxd5 a5 26.Bf3 h6 27.Kf1 Rfe8 28.Be2 Nc6 29.a3 Rxd1+ 30.Rxd1 Rd8 31.Rxd8+ Nxd8 32.Bf3 Kf8 33.Ke2 f6 34.Bd5 34...Ke7 35.f4 Kd6 36.Bc4 Nc6 37.Kd3 Ne7 38.Ke4 f5+ 39.Kf3 g5 40.Be5+ Kc6 41.a4 g4+ 42.Ke2 Kd7 43.Bg7 Nc8 44.Bxh6 Nd6 45.Bd5 Bd4 46.Bf8

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46...Bh8? 46...Bc5 is more tenacious, when it is not completely clear, if White can win. 47.Kd3 Bf6 48.Bg8 Ne4 49.Kc4 Ke8 50.Ba3 Kd7 51.Bc1 Bd8 52.Be3 Nf6 53.Bf7 Ne4 54.Kd5 Ke7 55.Be6 Nxg3 56.Bf2 Ne2 57.Bh4+ Ke8 58.Bxd8 Kxd8 59.Ke5 Ke7 60.Bxf5 g3 61.Bd3 Nc3 62.Bc4 Nd1 63.Ke4 Nf2+ 64.Kf3 Nh1 65.Bd3 Kf6 66.Bc2 Ke6 67.Kg4 Kf6 68.Kh4 Ke6 69.Kg5 Kf7 70.Be4 Nf2 71.Bd5+ Ke7 72.f5 Nh1 73.f6+ Kf8 74.Kf4 Ke8 75.Ke5 Nf2 76.Kd6 Ng4 77.Kc7 Nxf6 78.Bf3 Ke7 79.Kxb6 Kd6 80.Kxa5 Nd7 81.Kb5 Nc5 82.b4 Nb3 83.Ba8 Nd4+ 84.Kc4 Ne6 85.a5 1–0 11.06 T.Heinemann (2420) - C.Wilhelmi (2355) [B53] Hamburg HSK 1996 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Qxd4 Bd7 6.Bxc6 Bxc6 7.c4 f5 8.Nc3 e5 9.Qd3 fxe4 10.Nxe4 Nf6 11.Nfd2 Be7 12.0–0 0–0 13.Nc3 d5 14.cxd5 Nxd5 15.Nxd5 Qxd5 16.Qxd5+ Bxd5 17.Nb3 Rac8 18.Be3 b6 19.Rac1 Rfd8 20.Rxc8 Rxc8 21.Rc1 Rxc1+ 22.Nxc1

22...Bc4 23.b3 Ba6 24.f3 Kf7 25.Kf2 Bb4 26.Ne2 Bd3 27.Bc1 Bc5+ 28.Be3 Bb4 29.Bc1 Ke6 30.Bb2 Bc5+ 31.Ke1 g6 32.Kd2 Ba6 33.Bc3 h5 34.Kd1 Bf2 35.Be1 Bc5 36.h4 Be7 37.Bf2 Bb7 38.Nc3 Kf5 39.Ke2 Bc6 40.g3 Bb4 41.Be1 a6 42.Bd2 Bd6 43.Nd1 Bb5+ 44.Kf2 Bd3 45.b4 Ke6 46.a3 Kd5 47.Ke3 Bc2 48.Nb2

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48...e4 49.f4 b5 50.Bc1 Bc7 51.Kd2 Ba4 52.Ke2 Bd8 53.Be3 Bf6 54.Nxa4 bxa4 55.Kd2 Kc4 56.Bc5 Bb2 57.Ke3 Bxa3 58.Kxe4 Bb2 0-1 Sources: The Seven Deadly Chess Sins, Jonathan Rowson, GAMBIT 2001 Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy, John Watson, GAMBIT 1998 Secrets of Minor-Piece Endings, John Nunn, Batsford 1995 ChessBase MEGABASE 2000 ChessBase Magazine 81

The Week in Chess Exercises (Solutions next month) E11.01 V.Kramnik (2740) V.Topalov (2725) Novgorod 1997 Where is Black's Archilles heel? (White to move and win.)

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E11.02 V.Anand (2794) V.Kramnik (2797) Champions duel Mainz 2001 Kramnik to move and win.

E11.03 V.Anand (2725) J.Lautier (2645) PCA-Intel GP London 1995 How to evaluate the position with White to move?

E11.04 K.Bischoff (2533) A.Khalifman (2690) Bundesliga 2000/01 PlauenPorz Khalifman found an ingenious way to smoke out White's fortress. Can you do the same? (Bischoff had the pair of bishops earlier in the game, so I found this game in my preparations for this column.) Solutions to last month excercises

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E10.01 Capablanca 1921 White wins by using the opposition: 1.Ke2! (distant opposition) 1...Kd8 2.Kf3 Ke7 3.Ke3 Ke6 3...Kf7 4.Kd4 Kf6 5.Kc5 Kf5 6.Kxb5 Kg4 7.Kc4 Kxh4 8.b5+- 4.Ke4! Kd6 5.Kd4! In the race after 5.Kf5? Black is in time: 5...Kd5 6.Kg5 Kc4 7.Kxh5 Kxb4 8.Kg4 Ka3= 5...Kc6 5...Ke6 6.Kc5 Kf5 7.Kxb5 Kg4 8.Kc4 Kxh4 9.b5+- 6.Ke5 Kc7 7.Kd5 Kb6 8.Kd6 Kb7 9.Kc5 Ka6 10.Kc6+10.02 After H.van Riemsdijk 1974 White has to triangulate several times: 1.Kf4 Ke8 2.Ke4 Kf8 3.Ke5! with the pawn on a6 this is the correct way as Black has an even number of spare moves with his a-pawn. 3...Kf7 4.Kf5 a5 5.Ke5 Ke8 6.Kf4 Kf8 7.Ke4 Ke8 8.Ke5! with the pawn on a5, e8 is the corresponding square to e5 as Black has only one spare move with his a-pawn. 8...Kf7 9.Kf5 a4 and finally a "normal" triangulation wins because Black has no spare moves left 10.Ke5 Kf8 11.Kf4 Ke8 12.Ke4 Kf8 13.Ke5 Kf7 14.Kf5 Kf8 15.Kg6+-

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E10.03 After E.Krassilnikov (2257) - Y.Meister (2450) St Petersburg White Nights 2001 White has only one move to save the position: 1.Kh3! 1.Kg3? Kf5 and we have reached the game, which continued: 2.Kg2 Kf4 3.Kg1 Kf3 4.Kf1 g4 5.Kg1 Ke2 6.Kg2 Ke1 7.Kg1 (7.Kg3 Kf1 8.Kxg4 Kxf2 9.Kf4 e3–+) 7...g3! 8.fxg3 e3 0–1; 1.f3? e3 2.Kg3 Kf5–+; 1.f4? e3 2.f5+ Kf6 3.Kf3 Kxf5 4.Kxe3 Kg4 5.Kf2 Kh3–+ 1...Kf5 2.Kg3! g4 3.Kh2 Kf4 4.Kg2 g3 5.fxg3+ Ke3 6.g4 Kd2 7.g5= E10.04 J.Gallagher (2480) – Peetoom Bargteheide op 1988 Gallagher won easily: 37.b5+ Kc5 38.Kd3 Kd6 39.Kd2! zugzwang 1–0

E10.05 K.Schlenga - B.Donner Germany 1992 Black won by 46...g3! 0-1 He had to avoid 46...gxf3+? 47.Kh2!=

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E10.06 After J.Shaw - J.Rowson Edinburgh 2000 White can break through as follows: 1.f4! e4 1...exf4 2.gxf4 Kb6 3.Kd2 Kxb5 4.Kc3 Ka4 5.Kd4 Kxb4 6.Kxd5+- 2.g4 hxg4 3.h5 g3 4.h6 e3 5.Kf1 d4 6.h7 e2+ 7.Kxe2 d3+ 8.Kd2 g2 9.h8Q g1Q 10.Qe5+ Kb7 11.Qd5+ Kb8 12.Qxf5+Copyright 2001 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in ChessCafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

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The Bishop Pair Part 2

Endgame Corner

In my last column of the year I want to deal with two bishops vs two knights. The knights have one principle advantage over the bishops: they can attack one square twice. Nevertheless the bishops are superior in the majority of cases. John Watson gives the following figure in Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy on page 149f based on the ChessBase MEGABASE 1997: the bishops scored 63% in the pure ending with even pawns. The first example is no exception: 12.01 C.Sandipan (2446) E.Vladimirov (2598) Penta Media GM Kelamabakkam IND 2000

Karsten Müller

I start earlier as Vladimirov's play is quite instructive: 32...Reb8 33.Nf1 Bc5 34.Ng3 Nd7 35.Nge2 Bd6 36.Na2 Rb2 37.Rxb2 Rxb2 38.Nac3 Nc5 39.Nd1 Rb4 40.Ndc3 now Black's last unit - his majesty himself - enters the fight on the queenside: 40...Kf8 41.Rb1 Ke7 42.Nc1 Kd7 43.N1a2 Rxb1+ 44.Nxb1 Nb3 45.Nac3 Bb4 46.Kf1 Kd6 47.Ke2 Kc5 48.Kd1 Bc8 49.Bxb3 cxb3 50.Kc1 Ba6 51.Kb2 Bf1 52.g3 Bxh3 53.Nd2

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Black's king has become too active and White is lost: 53...Bg2! 54.Kxb3 54.Nxb3+ Kc4 55.Nd1 Kd3–+ 54...Kd4 55.Nb5+ Kd3 56.Nc4 Kxe4 57.d6 Bh3

White's counterplay with the dpawn comes too late: 58.Nb6 58.g4 Bxg4 59.Nc3+ Kd4 60.Nb5+ Kc5 61.Nxe5 Be6+ 62.Kb2 Kd5 63.d7 Be7–+ 58...Be6+! 59.Kc2 Bc5 60.Na8 Bxf2 61.Nac7 Bf5 0–1

12.02 A.Rustemov (2620) I.Sokolov (2659) Dos Hermanas Internet KO ICC Internet 2001 Rustemov plays on despite his pawn deficit. A brave decision! 35.Bh1!? Fritz naturally prefers 35.Bxd5+ Rxd5 36.Rxb6 with total equality 35...Ne2+ 36.Kf1 Nec3 37.Rb3 Ne4 38.Rd3 Rd7 (38...Kf7!?) 39.g4 Ndf6 40.Rxd7 Nxd7 41.gxf5 gxf5 42.Ke2 Kf7 43.Ke3 Ndf6 44.Bf3 Ke6 45.Be2 Nd5+ 46.Kd4 Nf4?! 47.Bc4+ Kf6 48.Bb2

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Endgame Corner

Black has to be careful now as the bishops form a powerful attacking force 48...Kg6?! Of course not 48...Nxf2?? 49.Ke3++-, but 48...Ng2 was called for. 49.Ke5 Nh3 50.f3 Nd2 51.Bd5 b5 52.h5+ Kxh5 53.Kxf5 Now Sokolov has to defend very well to hold on 53...Kh4?! 53...Ng1 54.f4 Ne2= 54.Bc3 Nc4? The decisive error. 54...Nf1! was the only move to save Black's skin, e.g., 55.Be1+ Kh5 56.Bf7+ Kh6 57.Be8 Ne3+ 58.Kf6 Nf4 59.Bxb5 Kh5 60.Bd2 Kh4 61.Ke5 Ng6+ 62.Ke4 Ng2=. 54...Nxf3? 55.Bxf3 is lost for Black as the pawnless endgame 2 bishops vs knight is always won. 55.Be1+ Kh5 56.Bf7+ Kh6 57.Kf6 Ng5 57...Nf4 loses due to 58.Bxc4 Nh5+ (58...bxc4 59.Bd2 Kh5 60.Bxf4 Kh4 61.Bg5+ Kg3 62.f4 Kg4 63.f5 c3 64.Bh6 c2 65.Ke6+-) 59.Kf7 bxc4 60.Bd2++58.Be8 Nxf3? allows a nice mate. But even after 58...Nd6 59.Bc6 Ngf7 60.Bb4+- Black is completely tied down. 59.Bb4 Nce5 60.Bf8# 1–0 But the bishops do not always win:

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Endgame Corner

12.03 Zaw Win Lay (2633) J.Ehlvest (2622) Japfa Classic Bali 2000 Ehlvest played too optimistically and even lost the game: 51...Kh6? 51...e4! was called for: 52.Nf4+ Kf5 53.Ne2 Bb6 54.Ng3+ Kf4 55.N3xe4 Ke3 56.Nxf2 Be2+ 57.Kg2 Bxb5 58.Nfe4 Bxc6 59.Kh3= 52.Nf6! Bd1? 52...Bf5! was a better chance to fight on although White is clearly better after 53.Nfe4 Kg7 54.Nxf2 Kf6 55.Ke2 Bb6 56.Nfe4+. Of course not 52...Bb6? 53.Nxg4+ hxg4 54.Ne6+- 53.Nfe4?! makes the win very complicated. 53.c7? surprisingly only leads to a draw: 53...Bc2! 54.Nf7+ Kg7 55.Nxh5+ Kxf7 56.Ng3 Bd3+ 57.Ne2 Bf5 58.Nxd4 exd4 59.Kxf2 (59.b6 Bc8 60.Kxf2 Kg6 61.Ke2 Ba6+ 62.Kd2 Kh5=) 59...Ke7 60.b6 Kd7 61.h5 Kc6 62.h6 Kb7 63.Ke2 d3+ 64.Kd2 Bh7=, but 53.Ng8+! wins on the spot: 53...Kg6 (53...Kg7 54.Ne6+ Kxg8 55.Nxd4+-) 54.Ne7+ Kf6 55.Nd5+ Kg6 56.Ne6 Ba7 57.b6+- 53...Ba4 53...Bb3 54.Nd2 Bc2 55.Kg2 Be3 56.Nf7+ Kh7 (56...Kg7 57.Nd6+-) 57.Nd6 Bb6 58.N6c4+- 54.Nf7+ Kg6 55.Nfd6 Bb6 56.Nxf2 56...Kf6? 56...Bc7! was a tougher defence. But White is winning nevertheless. One sample line runs: 57.Nfe4 Bc2 58.Ke2 Bb3 59.Ne8 Bc4+ 60.Kf3 Bxb5 61.Nxc7 Bxc6 62.Ke3 Kf5 63.Nf2+- 57.c7! Bxc7 58.Ne8+ Ke7 59.Nxc7 Kd7 60.b6 Kc6?! 60...Bb3 61.Ke2 Kc6 62.Ne8 Kxb6 63.Nd3+- 61.Nd5 Bb3 62.Nd3 and Ehlvest resigned due to file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (4 of 11) [12/05/2001 12:44:10 PM]

Endgame Corner

62...Bc4 63.Kf2 e4 64.N3f4+Another famous question is whether the bishop pair is as strong as rook + knight in the endgame: 12.04 B.Spassky (2560) R.J.Fischer (2785) Sveti Stefan/Belgrade match 1992 White's activity is not enough compensation for his material deficit: 50...Nb3? 50...Nxc4! was called for: 51.Bxc4 Rxc4 52.Bxb6 Rxa4 53.Kxc5 Ra2 54.Kc4 a4–+ (Ftacnik in CBM 31) 51.Bd5! Rxa4 51...Nd4+ 52.Kc7= 52.Bxb6 Ra1 53.Bxc5 a4 53...Nxc5 54.Kxc5 a4 55.Kd6 a3 56.c5 Rd1 57.c6 a2 58.c7 a1Q 59.c8Q Qf6+ 60.Qe6= (Ftacnik) 54.Bb4 a3 55.c5 Nd4+ 56.Kd7 Rd1 57.Bxa3! Nc2 57...Nb5 58.Bb4! (58.c6? Rxd5+ 59.Ke6 Rd1–+) 58...Rxd5+ 59.Kc6 Rd8 60.Kxb5= 58.c6 Rxd5+ 58...Nxa3 59.c7 Rxd5+ 60.Ke7 Rc5 61.Kd8= 59.Bd6 ½–½ I want to end this column with two games, where Einar Gausel managed to save inferior positions:

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Endgame Corner

12.05 J.Nilssen (2333) E.Gausel (2520) Nordic Championships Bergen 2001 36...Nd7 37.Kf2 Nb6 38.Ke3 Bc6 39.Ba6 g5 40.Kd3 f5 41.Kc3 Bd5 42.Kb4 Kg6 43.Bb5 Kf6 44.Kc5 Nc8 45.Bc4 Ne7 46.Bxd5 Nxd5 47.Kc4 Ke7 48.Kxb3 Kd6 49.Kc4 Kc6 50.Bd2 Nb6+ 51.Kd3 Kd5 52.h4 Nc4 53.hxg5 hxg5 54.Bc3 f4 55.b3 Nd6 56.Ba5 Nf5 57.Bd8 Nxd4 58.Bxg5 Nxb3 59.Bxf4 Nd4 60.Bg5 e5 61.Be3 Nf5 62.Bf2 Nd6 63.Ke2 Nf5 64.g4 Ne7 65.Be3 Ng6 66.Bg5 Ke6 67.Kf2 Kd5 68.Bc1 Ke6 69.Kg3 Kf6 70.Bh6 Ke6 71.Bg5 Kd6 72.Kf2 Ke6 73.Ke3 Kd5 74.Kd3 Nf8 75.Kc3 Ne6 76.Be3 Nf8 ½–½ 12.06 F.Christenson (2218) E.Gausel (2520) ch-NOR Kristiansund 2001 38.Bc7 a4 39.Bd6 axb3 40.axb3 Bd5 41.Bxb4 Bxb3 42.Bd6 Bd5 43.Be5 Bxf3 44.gxf3 Bf8 45.Kf1 Kf7 46.f4 Be7 47.Ke2 Bb4 48.Ke3 Be7 49.Ke4 Bb4 50.Kf3 Be7 51.Kg3 Bd8 52.Kf3 Be7 53.Ke4 Bb4 54.Bc7 Be7 55.Bb6 Bd6 56.Bd8 Bb8 57.f3 ½–½ Exercises (Solutions next month)

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Endgame Corner

E12.01 Ki.Georgiev (2676) R.Rabiega (2517) 2nd IECC Ohrid 2001 Rabiega's last move was somewhat careless. How did Kiril Georgiev exploit it? (Earlier in the game White had the pair of bishops.) E12.02 S.Volkov (2558) R.Ponomariov (2673) 2nd IECC Ohrid 2001 Ponomariov found an amazing move to demonstrate the superiority of his bishops.

E12.03 C.Lutz (2600) A.Morozevich (2625) Elista (ol) 1998 How to assess the position with Black to move? What about White to move?

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Endgame Corner

E12.04 G.Kasparyan Revista Romana de Sah 1978, 1st hon. mention White to move and draw.

E12.05 M.Bier - E.Flechsig Leipzig 1879 Black is to move. Which of the following is true: A) Black is better, the only real questions is whether he can convert his advantage. B) Black can force a draw. C) White is better. E12.06 R.Fischer (2785) B.Spassky (2560) Sveti Stefan/Belgrade match 1992 How to assess the position with White to move?

Solutions to last month exercises

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Endgame Corner

E11.01 V.Kramnik (2740) V.Topalov (2725) Novgorod 1997 Kramnik won very quickly: 40.Bc4! aiming at Black's Achilles' heel, the knight on f7. After other moves, Black can fight on, e.g., 40.Rd7? Rxd7 41.cxd7 Ke7; 40.Bd8? Nxd8 41.Rxd8 Bc7; 40.Bb4? Re8 41.Rd7 Rb8 and 40.Rc1? Bc7 40...f4 (40...Nd6 41.Bd8! Nxc4 42.Rd7+- (Huzman in CBM 60); 40...Bc7 41.Bb4+- look at the powerful white bishops!; 40...Re8 41.c7 Rc8 42.Rd7 Nd6 43.Ba6+-) 41.Rd7 1–0 E11.02 V.Anand (2794) V.Kramnik (2797) Mainz Chess Classics Champions duel 2001 Kramnik turned the tables with 25...g3!! 26.Nf1 26.fxg3 Bc5+ 27.Rd4 Bxd4+ 28.Bxd4 Rd8–+ 26...gxf2+ 27.Kh2 27.Kg2 Rg8+ 28.Kf3 Bxc4 29.Ba3 Bxa3 30.Rxg8 Bxf1 31.Kxf2 Bc4–+ 27...Bxc4 0–1

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E11.03 V.Anand (2725) J.Lautier (2645) London PCAIntel GP 1995 The following motif is worth remembering: 34.Bxb7!! Kd7 34...Nxb7? 35.a6 Kd7 36.a7+35.Bb4 Kc7 The bishop is still poisoned: 35...Nxb7 36.a6 Kc7 37.a7+- as the unfortunate knight hinders his own king. 36.Bd5 Na6 37.c3 37.Bf8 g6 38.g5 wins as well. 37...Nxb4 38.cxb4 c3 39.Ke3 Kd6 40.Bf3 40.a6 Kxd5 41.a7+- 40...h5 41.a6 1–0 E11.04 K.Bischoff (2533) A.Khalifman (2690) Bundesliga 2000/01 PlauenPorz Alexander Khalifman demonstrated superb technique: 52...Kf5 53.Ke3 Kg4 54.Kf2 f5 55.Bb2 Be8 56.Bc3 and now dealt the decisive blow: 56...g5!! Bischoff resigned as he can't prevent the creation of a third black passed pawn, destroying his fortress: 57.fxg5 57.hxg5 h4 58.gxh4 Kxf4 59.Bf6 Ke4 60.Ba1 d5 61.Bb2 Bh5 62.Ba1 d4 63.Bb2 f4–+ 57...f4 58.gxf4 Kxh4 59.Kf3 59.Bf6 Kg4–+ 59...Bg6 60.Bf6 Kh3–+

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Endgame Corner

Sources: Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy, John Watson, GAMBIT 1998. ChessBase MEGABASE 2000 No Regrets, Fischer-Spassky 1992, Yasser Seirawan and George Stefanovic, ICE, Seattle 1992 The Complete Studies of Genrikh Kasparyan, John Roycroft ed., Russell Enterprises 1997 ChessBase Magazine 31 The Week in Chess Copyright 2001 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in ChessCafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

[The Chess Cafe Home Page] [Book Reviews] [Bulletin Board] [Columnists] [Endgame Studies] [The Skittles Room] [Archives] [Links] [Online Bookstore] [About The Chess Cafe] [Contact Us] Copyright 2001 CyberCafes, LLC. All Rights Reserved. "The Chess Cafe®" is a registered trademark of Russell Enterprises, Inc.

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Endgame Corner

Bishop vs Pawns Part 1 The value of the bishop as long range piece is quite high in a pure ending - especially zugzwang is a very sharp weapon. Of course sometimes it is not easy to win (or even to draw) against dangerous passed pawns in a blocked position or because of problems caused by having a wrong rook's pawn. I start with a very important theme:

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

A) The Principle of One Diagonal If the bishop has all its duties on one diagonal, it will never fall into zugzwang and can't be diverted. It can become a real ruler of the board and tame a hord of 8 pawns: 13.01 Loyd, 1868 1.Bd7+ Ka3 2.Bc6 a4 3.Bh1 c5 4.Bd5 a5 5.Bh1 Ka2 6.Kc2 Ka3 7.Kc3= Black can't make any meaningful progress.

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Endgame Corner

B) Pawns on One Wing/Few Pawns 13.02 Y.Pelletier (2474) A.Galkin (2587) MTO Open Biel 2000 Black has to penetrate with his king first so as not to risk the exchange of his last pawn: 43...Ke4! 44.f3+ Ke3 45.g5 Kf4 46.Kf2 Bh8 47.Ke2 (47.Kg2 Bd4 48.g6 Kf5 49.Kh3 Kxg6 50.Kg4 Bf6 51.h5+ Kh6 52.f4 Be7 53.f5 e5–+) 47...Kg3 and Pelletier resigned due to 48.Ke3 Kxh4 49.f4 Kg4 50.Ke4 Bg7 51.Ke3 Kf5 52.Kf3 Bf8 53.Ke3 Bd6–+ 13.03 Xu Jun (2668) A.Onichuk (2627) Tan Chin Nam Cup 6th Beijing 2000 When fighting enemy pawns, the bishop is also very strong (with a knight on e1 Black would be lost): 81.Kf3 81.f5 Kg2 82.f6 Bh4 A) 83.Kf5 Kf3 (even 83...Bxf6 is possible.) 84.f7 (84.e4 Bxf6=) 84...Be7 85.e4 Ke3!= B) 83.f7 Be7 84.Kf4 Kf2 85.e4 Ke2 86.e5 Kd3 87.Kf5 Kd4 88.Ke6 Bf8 89.Kf6 Kd5 90.e6 Kd6= 81...Kh2! Onichuk improves the slower king first, which is of crucial importance. After 81...Bd2? 82.e4 Kh2 White can shoulder Black's king away: 83.Kg4! Kg2 84.e5 Bc3 85.e6 Bf6 86.f5 Kf2 87.Kh5+- 82.f5 (82.e4 Kh3 83.e5 Kh4 84.e6 Bb4=; 82.Kg4!? was worth trying as Black's king now has to take the long route through the centre: 82...Kg2 83.e4 Kf2 84.e5 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (2 of 13) [01/04/2002 8:01:43 AM]

Endgame Corner

Ke3 85.f5 Bc3 (85...Ke4? 86.e6 Bb4 87.f6+-) 86.e6 Bf6 87.Kh5 Kf4 88.Kg6 Ke5=) 82...Kh3 83.f6 Kh4 84.Kf4 Kh5 85.Kf5 Kh6 86.e4 Kh7 87.Ke6 (87.e5 Kg8 88.e6 Bb4 89.Kg6 Kf8=) 87...Kg6 88.e5 Bb4 ½–½ The next example is taken from Pal Benko's excellent book Chess Endgame Lessons: 13.04 A.Strojevs M.Deschamps New York Open 1990 1...e4! Otherwise Black is dead lost, e.g., 1...Kg6? 2.Kf3 Kf6 3.Ke4 Kg6 4.Be2 Kf6 5.Bh5 Kg7 6.Kf5 Kh6 7.Bf3+- 2.Be6 Ke5 3.Ke3 g4 4.Bg8 g3 5.Be6 Kf6 5...g2 6.Kf2 Kd4 draws as well. 6.Bd7 Ke5 7.Bc6 Kf6 8.Ba4 Ke5 9.Bb3 Kf5? A fatal error allowing White's bishop to win the e-pawn with check. 9...g2 10.Kf2 Kd4 11.Kxg2 Ke3 12.Kf1 Kd4 13.Ke2 e3 14.Kd1 Ke4 15.Ke2 Kd4= and 9...Kf6 draw. 10.Bc2! Ke5 (10...g2 11.Bxe4++-) 11.Bxe4 Kf6 12.Kf4 Ke7 13.Kxg3 1–0 In the next position the defender misses the draw again: 13.05 K.Stefanov (2378) I.Manolov (2331) TCh-BUL Pamporovo 2001 53.Kf2 sidestepping g5-g4+ 53...Ke4 54.Bd8 g4 55.h4 White has to keep his h-pawn in order to preserve his winning chances.

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Endgame Corner

Black can now draw by adopting a sit-and-wait policy, but instead he rushes forward: 55...g3+? 55...Kd3 56.Bc7 Ke4 and White can't make progress as 57.Ke2 Kf5 58.Kd3 allows 58...g3=; 55...f3 is playable as well. 56.Kg2 Ke3 57.Bb6+ Ke4 58.Ba7 By using zugzwang White forces Black to give ground: 58...Kf5 59.Kf3 g2 60.Bf2 Ke5 and Black resigned, as all his pawn's will fall prey to White's king, e.g., 61.Kxg2 Ke4 62.Bg1 f3+ 63.Kg3 Ke5 64.Kxf3 Kf5 65.Bd4 Kg6 66.Kf4 Kh6 67.Kf5 Kh7 68.Kg5+C) Blocked Positions In positions with many pawns, the bishop sometimes has a problem finding targets: 13.06 E.Schiller (2200) S.Nath (1742) US Open 1996 White has to be careful to prevent Black from constructing a fortress: 1...Kh6 2.Kf4 Kh5 3.Be2+ Kh6 4.b4 Kg7 5.a4 h6 6.Bf3 Kf8

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Endgame Corner

7.b5? 7.a5! a6 (7...Ke7 8.a6 bxa6 9.Bxc6+-) 8.b5 axb5 9.Bxc6+- was the right way to proceed as Pal Benko showed in Chess Endgame Lessons. 7...cxb5 8.axb5? Again 8.a5! was correct, e.g., 8...b6 9.axb6 axb6 10.Ke3 Ke7 11.Kd4 f6 12.exf6+ Kxf6 13.Kc3 Kf5 14.Kb4 e5 (14...Ke5 15.c3 Kd6 16.Kxb5 Kc7 17.c4+-) 15.Kxb5 e4 16.Be2 g5 17.Kxb6 h5 18.Bxh5 g4 19.Be8 e3 20.Bd7+ Kg5 21.Bb5 Kf5 22.Be2+8...b6! Now Black's castle is watertight. 9.Ke4 Ke7 10.Kd4 10...f5?? Opening the position proves fatal. Black has to sit inside the walls of his fortress as Pal Benko has demonstrated, e.g., 10...Kd7 11.Ke3 Ke7 12.Kf4 Kd7 13.g4 Ke7 14.g5 h5 15.Kg3 Kd7 16.Kh4 Ke7 17.Bxh5 Kd7 (17...gxh5? 18.Kxh5 Kf8 19.Kh6 Kg8 20.g6 fxg6 21.Kxg6+-) 18.Bf3 Ke7 19.Kg3 Kd7 20.Kf4 Ke7 21.Ke3 Kd7 22.Kd4 Ke7 23.c4 Kd7 24.c5 Ke7 25.Bc6 Kd8 26.Kc4 Ke7 27.Be4 Kd7 28.c6+ Kc7= 11.exf6+ Kxf6 12.c4 e5+ (12...Kf5 13.Be4+ Kf6 14.Bd3 h5 15.Bc2 g5 16.Bd1 h4 (16...g4 17.Bc2 e5+ 18.Kd5+-; 16...e5+ 17.Kd5 h4 18.g4 h3 19.Bf3+-) 17.gxh4 gxh4 18.Bg4 Kg5 19.Bxe6 Kf4 20.Kd5+-) 13.Kd5 Kf5 14.Be4+ Kf6 15.Kc6 Kg5 16.Kb7 Kg4 17.Bxg6 Kxg3 18.Kxa7 Kf4 19.Bh5 e4 20.c5 1–0 Eingorn managed to save his skin using a similar defensive technique in the following example: file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (5 of 13) [01/04/2002 8:01:43 AM]

Endgame Corner

13.07 V.Eingorn (2597) M.Bobrowska (2417) Bank Pocztowy Open Bydgoszcz 2000 Black's position is clearly superior due to the activity of his rook: 33...Rc1+! 34.Kg2!? After 34.Nf1?! Rb1 35.Rxa5 Rxb3 White's position is very awkward, e.g., 36.Kg2 (36.Rb5 Bc3 37.a5 Ra3 38.Rc5 Ra2 39.g4 Be1–+) 36...Rd3 37.Rc5 b3 38.Rc1 b2 39.Rb1 Ra3 40.Nd2 Rxa4–+ 34...Rd1 The pin seems to be deadly, but Eingorn has prepared a nice trick 35.Rd7! Bc3?! It was easier to preserve the f-pawn with 35...h5!?, e.g., 36.Rd6 (36.g4 hxg4 37.hxg4 Kh6 38.g5+ Kh7 39.Kg3 Be5+ 40.f4 Bc3 41.Rxf7+ Kg8 42.Rd7 Rxd2 43.Rxd2 Bxd2 44.Kf2 Kf7–+) 36...Be5 37.Rd7 Kg7 38.Rd5 Bc3 39.Rd7 Rxd2 40.Rxd2 Bxd2 41.Kf1 f5 42.Ke2 Bc3 43.Kf1 (43.h4 g5 44.hxg5 Kg6–+) 43...h4 44.Kg2 Kh6 45.Kf1 Kh5 46.Kg2 Be1–+ 36.Rxf7+ Kg8 37.Rd7! Rxd2! After 37...Bxd2? White should be able to save himself. One sample line runs: 38.f3 Rb1 39.Rxd2 Rxb3 40.fxe4 Ra3 41.Rd7 Rxa4 42.Rb7 Ra3 43.Kf3 b3 44.e5 a4 45.e6 Kf8 46.Kf4= 38.Rxd2 Bxd2 39.Kf1 Kf7 40.Kg2 Ke6 41.Kf1 Kf5 42.Kg2 42...h5? Now the position is indeed drawn. Black can smoke out White's fortress as follows: 42...Kg5 43.Kf1 Kh5 44.Kg2 g5 45.Kh2 (45.f3 exf3+ 46.Kxf3 g4+ 47.hxg4+ Kg5 48.Ke2 Bc3 49.Kf3 Be5–+) 45...g4 46.h4 Bc3 47.Kg2 Bf6 48.Kh2 Bxh4 49.gxh4 (49.Kg2 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (6 of 13) [01/04/2002 8:01:43 AM]

Endgame Corner

Bf6 50.Kf1 Bc3 51.Ke2 Kg5 52.Kf1 h5 53.Kg2 h4 54.Kf1 h3 55.Kg1 Be1 56.Kf1 h2 57.Kg2 Bxf2 58.Kxh2 Bxe3–+) 49...Kxh4 50.Kg2 h5 51.Kh2 Kg5 52.Kg2 h4 53.Kh2 h3 54.Kg3 Kh5 55.Kh2 Kh4 56.Kg1 g3–+ 43.Kh2 Bc3 44.Kg2 Be5 45.Kg1 ½–½ Sources: ChessBase Magazine 73 Chess Endgame Lessons Volume 2, Pal Benko 1999. ChessBase MEGABASE 2001 The Week in Chess The Ultimate Chess Puzzle Book, John Emms, GAMBIT 2001

Exercises (Solutions next month) E13.01 L.Helm - S.Germann BL9900 (Women) Germany 2000 Can Black to move save himself?

E13.02 D.Lam - L.Chipkin (2156) ch-New York State Rochester 2001 Can White to move convert his advantage?

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Endgame Corner

E13.03 A.Potapov (2490) E.Pigusov (2584) RUS-ch 54th Elista 2001 How to assess the position with Black to move?

E13.04 H.Shehab T.Moudallal ch-LIB Beruit 2001 How to assess the position with White to move? What about Black to move?

Solutions to last month exercises E12.01 Ki.Georgiev (2676) R.Rabiega (2517) 2nd IECC Ohrid 2001 Georgiev seized his chance as follows: 81.g5! (81.Bb2? Ne4!=) 81...Ne4 (81...fxg5? 82.Bb2 Kf6 83.Kg4+-; 81...Nd5 82.g6 (82.Bb2 Ne3=) 82...Ne7 83.Bh6+ Kg8 84.Kg4 Nc8 85.Be3 Nd6 86.Bc5 Nc4 87.Kh5 Kg7=) 82.g6 Ng3+? This is the decisive mistake. After 82...Nd6 83.Bh6+ Kg8 84.Kg4 Nc8 White can't make progress, e.g. 85.Be3 Nd6 86.Bc5 (86.Kf4 Kg7 87.Ba7 Kg8 88.Bb8 Nc8 89.Bc7 Kg7 90.Bd8 Nd6 91.Ba5 Kg8 92.Bb4 Nc4 93.Ke4 Kg7 94.Bc3 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (8 of 13) [01/04/2002 8:01:43 AM]

Endgame Corner

Nd6+=) 86...Nc4 87.Kf4 Kg7 88.Bd4 Nd6 89.Bb6 Kg8 (89...Nc4? 90.Bc7+-) 90.Bc5 Nc4 91.Ke4 Kg7 92.Bd4 Nd6+= 83.Kg4+- Ne4 83...Ne2 84.Bb2 Ng1 85.Kg3 Ne2+ 86.Kf3 Ng1+ 87.Ke3 Nh3 88.Bd4 Ng1 (88...Ng5 89.Kf4 Nh3+ 90.Kg4 Ng5 91.Be3 Ne4 92.Bf4+-) 89.Kf2 Nh3+ 90.Kg3 Ng5 91.Kf4 Nh3+ 92.Kg4 Ng5 93.Be3 Ne4 94.Bf4+- 84.Bf4 Nc3 85.Kf3 Nd5 86.Bd6! (86.Ke4? Ne7=) 86...Nc3 After 86...Nb6 one sample line runs: 87.Ke4 Nc4 88.Bc7 Nd2+ 89.Ke3 Nc4+ 90.Kd3 Na3 91.Bd6 Nb5 92.Be7 Na7 93.Ke4 Nb5 94.Kd5 Nc3+ 95.Ke6 Ne4 96.Ba3 Ng3 97.Bb2 Nh5 98.Ke7+- 87.Ke3 Nd1+ 87...Nb5 88.Bb4 Kh8 (88...Nc7 89.Kd4 Ne8 90.Be7 Kg8 91.Ke4 Kh8 92.Kd5+-) 89.Ke4 Kg8 90.Be7 Nc3+ 91.Kd3 Nd5 92.Bd6 Nb6 93.Kd4 Kg7 94.Kc5 Na4+ 95.Kc4 Nb6+ 96.Kd4 Na4 97.Bc5 Nb2 98.Ba7 Na4 99.Kc4 Nb2+ 100.Kc3 Na4+ 101.Kb3+- finally the brave knight can't escape any more! 88.Kd4 Nf2 89.Bf4 Kg8 90.Be3 Ng4 91.Bf4 Nf2 92.Kd5 Kg7 93.Ke6 Ne4 93...Ng4 94.Bd6 Nf2 95.Be5 Ne4 (95...fxe5 96.f6+ Kxg6 97.f7 Kg7 98.Ke7+-) 96.Bb2+- 94.Be3 Ng3 (94...Kg8 95.Bh6+-) 95.Bd4 and Rabiega resigned due to 95...Nh5 96.Ke7 Nf4 97.Bxf6+ Kg8 (97...Kh6 98.g7 Kh7 99.Kf7+-) 98.Bh8 Nd5+ 99.Kd7 Nf4 100.Be5 Nd3 101.Ke6+The following game features a similar fight of a brave knight: E12.01A T.Radjabov (2558) H.Mecking (2552) Miguel Najdorf Memorial Buenos Aires 2001 Is this ending won for White? 42...Na8 43.Bb3 Nb6 44.Bf7 Nd7 45.Bd5 Nb6 46.Be4 Nd7 47.Kc4 Nf6 48.Bf3 Nd7 49.Kb5 Ne5 50.Be4 Nd7 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (9 of 13) [01/04/2002 8:01:43 AM]

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51.Bb1 Nf6 52.Ba2 Nd7 53.Bf7 Ne5 54.Kb6 Nf3 55.h5 Nd4 56.Kb7 Kd7 57.Bd5 Kd6 58.Be4 Kd7 59.Bd3 Kd8 60.Kb6 Kd7 61.Bb5+ Kd6 62.Ba4 Ne6 63.Kb7 Nd4 64.Kc8 Ke7 65.Kc7 Ne6+ 66.Kc6 Nd4+ 67.Kd5 Ne6 68.Ke5 Nc7 69.Bc6 Ne6 70.b5 Nd8 71.Bd5 Kd7 72.b6 Ke7 73.Be4 Kd7 74.Bg2 Ke7 75.Bh3 Nb7 76.Kd5 Nd8 I can prove, that White wins after 76...Nd6: 77.Be6 Nb7 78.Bc8 A) 78...Na5 79.Kc5 Kd8 (79...Nb3+ 80.Kc4 Nd2+ 81.Kd5 Kd8 82.Be6 Nb3 83.Kd6 Na5 84.Bd5+-) 80.Be6 Nb7+ 81.Kc6 Na5+ 82.Kb5 Nb7 83.Bd5 Nd6+ 84.Kc6 Ke7 85.Ba2+B) 78...Nd6 79.Kc5 Ne4+ 80.Kc6 Nd6 81.Ba6 Ke6 82.Bf1 Ke7 83.Bd3 Ke6 84.Be4 Ke7 85.Bd5+- 77.Bc8 1–0 E12.02 S.Volkov (2558) R.Ponomariov (2673) 2nd IECC Ohrid 2001 Ponomariov uncorked the amazing 35...Kd7!! After 35...Kxe8? 36.g4! wins a bishop. 36.g4 Bxc3 37.gxf5 Bxf5 38.h4 Bd3 39.Ra2 Kxe8 40.Ke3 Bd4+ 41.Kd2 Bb1 42.Rxa7 c3+ 43.Kc1 Be4 0–1

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E12.03 C.Lutz (2600) A.Morozevich (2625) Elista (ol) 1998 Morozevich's bishops wrecked havoc: 29...Ba7+ 30.Rf2 30.Nf2 e3–+ 30...Ba6 0–1 With White to move it is completely different as his knight finds a very good square: 29.Ne3! and White is much better. E12.04 G.Kasparyan, Revista Romana de Sah 1978, 1st hon. mention Kasparyan composed several studies with the theme 2B vs R+2N underlining the power of the bishop pair on an open board: 1.Kf7 Rxc6 2.Bg5+ (2.Bxb8? Rb6–+) 2...Kc7 (2...Kc8 3.Be6+ Nd7 4.Ke7 Rc7 5.Be3=) 3.Bf4+ Kc8 4.Be6+ Nd7 5.Ke7 Nab6 6.Be3 Kc7 7.Bf4+ Kc8 8.Be3= E12.05 M.Bier - E.Flechsig Leipzig 1879 Black is better. Hübner analysed the postion extensively in CBM 41 and I have used his notes as source: 32...Kf6? (32...Be2? 33.Kg2 Bxc4 34.Na3+-; 32...Kh6! is the right way to increase the pressure: 33.Nd6 hxg4+ 34.Rxg4 Kh5 35.Rxg5+ Kxg5 36.Nxf7+ Kxf5–+) 33.gxh5 Be2 33...Kg7 34.Nd6 Kh6 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (11 of 13) [01/04/2002 8:01:43 AM]

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(34...f6 35.Rg4 Kh6 36.Ne4+-) 35.Nxf7+ Kxh5 36.Ne5 Be2 37.Kg2+- 34.Kg2 Bxc4 35.Na3 Ba6 36.Kxf2 Kxf5 37.h3 Bc8 38.Nc4 Kf6 39.Kg3 Bf5 40.Ne3 Be4 41.h4 gxh4+ 42.Kxh4 Ke5 43.c3 Bb1 44.Nc4+ Kf4 45.Nd6 f6 46.h6 Bg6 47.c4 Ke5 48.c5 a5 49.Nc4+ Kd5 50.Nxa5 Kxc5 51.Nb3+ Kc4 52.Kg4 1–0 E12.06 R.J.Fischer (2785) B.Spassky (2560) Sveti Stefan/Belgrade 1992 Fischer reached a solid advantage with 25.Bd2! The automatic 25.Rxc5? only leads to an equal position after 25...Bb1= 25...Bd5 (25...Na6? 26.Ra1+-; 25...Rc8?? 26.Bxb4+) 26.Bxd5 Nxd5 27.Rxc5 as his pieces are more active and the bishop is better than the knight. The game went: 27...Nb6 28.Kf1 f6 29.Ra5 Re7 30.Bb4 Rd7 31.Bc5 Kf7 32.Ke2 g5?! 33.Kf3 Kg6 34.Ke4 h5 35.Bxd4 Re7+ 36.Kf3 h4 37.Bc5 Re1 38.Rxa7 Nd5 39.Bf8 Re8 40.Bd6 Re6 41.Rd7 Nb6 42.Rd8 Nd5 43.b4 Re1 44.b5 Rb1 45.Rb8 Rb3 46.Ke4 Nc3+ 47.Kd4 Nxb5+ 48.Kc4 Rc3+ 49.Kxb5 Rxd3 50.Kc6 Rxh3 51.Kd5 Rf3 52.Ke6 Rxf2 53.Rg8+ Kh7 54.Kf7 Ra2 55.Rg7+ Kh6 56.Bf8 Ra7+ 57.Kxf6 Ra6+ 58.Kf7 1–0 Copyright 2002 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in ChessCafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

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Endgame Corner

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Bishop vs Pawns Part 2 I continue the Bishop vs Pawns debate started last month (for the first part see the ChessCafe.com Archives): D) Pawns on Both Wings

Endgame Corner

With a lot of pawns still on the board matters can become quite complicated: 14.01 G.Hertneck - K.Müller Austrian Staatsliga 2001, Mozart Salzburg-Gleisdorf, 1st board

Karsten Müller

Shortly before the time control I made a big mistake: 40...Kf6? 40...Kd6! was called for: 41.Kh3 Ke5 42.Kxh4 c5 43.a4 (43.Kh5 b5 44.Kxh6 c4 45.Kg7 d4 46.bxc4 bxc4 47.Kxf7 d3 48.Bb1 Kd4 49.f4 c3–+) 43...Kd4 44.Kh5 (44.Bd1 c4 45.bxc4 dxc4 46.Kh5 Kd3 47.Bg4 c3 48.Bf5+ Kd2 49.Kxh6 c2 50.Bxc2 Kxc2 51.f4 Kd3–+) 44...Kc3 45.Bd1 c4 46.bxc4 dxc4 47.Bf3 b6 48.Bd5 f6 49.Kxh6 a6 50.Kg6 b5 51.axb5 axb5 52.Be4 Kd2 53.Kxf6 c3–+ 41.f4! Now Black's king is severely restricted and I had to fight hard to get a draw: 41...c5 42.Bd3 Ke6 43.a4 b6 44.Kf3 h5 45.Kg2 Kf6 46.Kh3

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46...c4! I want to exchange as many pawns as possible, especially White's very valuable f-pawn. After 46...Kg7? White will use zugzwang to force Black back step by step, e.g., 47.Kxh4 Kh6 48.f5 f6 49.Be2 Kg7 50.Kxh5 d4 51.Bf1 Kh7 52.Kg4 Kh6 53.Kf3 Kg5 54.Ke4 Kg4 55.Bd3 a5 56.Kd5 Kf4 57.Ke6 Ke3 58.Bc4+- 47.bxc4 dxc4 48.Be4 48.Bxc4 Kf5 49.Bxf7 Kxf4 50.Bc4 Ke5 51.Kxh4 Kd4 52.Bb5 Kc5 53.Kxh5 Kb4 54.Kg4 a6 55.Be8 b5= 48...a6 49.Kxh4 b5 50.axb5 After 50.a5?? b4 it is White who is losing: A) 51.Bd5 c3 52.Bb3 Kf5 53.Kg3 h4+ 54.Kf3 h3 55.Bc2+ (55.Kg3 f6 56.Bc2+ Ke6 57.Kxh3 Kd5–+) 55...Ke6 56.Bb3+ Kd6 57.Kg3 Kc5 58.Kxh3 Kd4–+ B) 51.Kxh5 Ke6 52.Kg4 b3 53.Kf3 f5 54.Bb1 c3–+ 50...axb5 51.Kxh5 b4 52.Kg4 Ke6 53.Kf3 b3 54.Ke3 c3 55.Kd3 c2 56.Kd2 Kf6 57.Bd5 Kf5 58.Bxf7 Kxf4 ½–½ 14.02 H.Ilieva (2190) E.Djingarova (2235) ch-BUL Women Plovdiv 2001 White can't win despite her mighty connected passed pawns on the queenside: 58...Kd6 59.Kd4 Ba7+ 60.Ke4 60.Kc4 isn't sufficient to win either: 60...Ke6! 61.Kb5 Kd5 and now not 62.b8Q? Bxb8 63.Kb6 (63.f5 gxf5 64.Kb6 Bf4–+) file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (2 of 11) [02/07/2002 7:26:11 AM]

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63...Bxf4! (avoiding the trap 63...Ke4?? 64.Kb7+-) 64.a7 Be3+–+ but 62.f5 gxf5 63.g6 Ke6 64.Kc6 f4 65.Kc7 f3 66.b8Q Bxb8+ 67.Kxb8 f2 68.g7 Kf7= 60...Ke6 61.Kf3 Kf5 62.Kg3 Bb8 63.Kf3 Ke6 64.Ke4 After 64.Kg4 Black has the defence 64...Ba7 65.f5+ gxf5+ 66.Kh5 f4! (66...Kf7? 67.g6+ Kg7 68.Kg5 f4 69.Kxf4 Kxg6 70.Ke5 Kf7 71.Kd6 Ke8 72.Kc7+-) 67.g6 f3 68.Kh6 f2 69.g7 f1Q 70.g8Q+ Ke7 71.Qh7+ Qf7= 64...Ba7 65.Kf3 Kf5 ½–½ 14.03 C.Aarefjord - H.Nordahl (2272) Open NOR-ch Oslo 2001 Black can win the e4-pawn but not the game: 53...Kc6 53...Bc6!? 54.Kd3 Ka6 55.Kc4 Bxe4 56.b5+ Kb7 (56...Ka5 57.b7 Bxb7 58.c6 Bc8 59.Kc5 e4 60.b6 Ka6 61.b7 Bxb7 62.cxb7 Kxb7 63.Kd4 Kc6=) the active 57.Kb4? is now wrong: 57...Bd3 58.Ka5 Bf5 59.c6+ (59.Kb4 e4 60.Kc4 e3 61.Kc3 Bg6–+) 59...Kb8! 60.Ka6 Bc8+ 61.b7 Bxb7+ 62.Ka5 e4 63.Kb4 Bc8 64.b6 e3 65.Kc3 Bf5–+. After the correct 57.Kc3! Black can't make meaningful progress, e.g., 57...Bg6 58.Kd2 Be8 59.Ke3 Bxb5 60.Ke4 Kc6 61.Kxe5 Ba6 62.Kf4 Bc8 63.Kg3 Kxc5 64.b7= 54.Kf2 Bd3 55.Kg3 Bxe4 56.Kxg4 Kb5 57.h4 Kxb4 58.h5 Kxc5 Until this moment White has defended accurately but now he blunders: 59.b7? 59.Kg5 Kxb6 60.Kf6= 59...Bxb7 60.Kf5 Kd4 and White resigned due to 61.h6 Be4+ 62.Kf6 Bh7 63.Kg7 Bf5 64.Kf6 Ke4 65.Kg5 Bh7 66.Kf6 Kf4 67.Kg7 Bf5–+ file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (3 of 11) [02/07/2002 7:26:11 AM]

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E) Examples with More Pieces I want to end this article with three examples where the exchange into a pure bishop vs pawns ending plays a crucial role: 14.04 Ye Jiangchuan (2671) Wang Rui (2526) zt3.3 HeiBei CHN 2001 White can't make progress by normal means so he decides to sacrifice his bishop: 50.Bxf6!? Kxf6 51.g5+ Kf7 52.Ke5 Bg2 53.Kd6 Be4 54.Ke5 Bc2 55.g6+ Ke7 56.f6+ Ke8 57.g7 Bh7 57...Kf7 is playable as well: 58.Kxd5 Bh7 (58...Kxf6? loses to 59.g8N+! Kf7 60.Nh6+ Ke7 61.Ng4+-) 59.Ke5 Bg8 60.d5 Ke8 61.Ke4 Kf7 62.Kf5 Bh7+ 63.Ke5 Ke8 64.Kd6 Bg8 65.Kc6 Bf7= 58.Kxd5 Bg8+ 59.Kc6 Now Black cracks under the pressure, but the ending remains very tricky: 59...Kd8? 59...Kf7 60.d5 Ke8!= 60.Kb5! Bb3 61.f7 Bxf7 62.Kxa4 Ke7

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The natural move is not the right one as it allows Black to set up a defence on the e8-a4 resp a8-h1 diagonal 63.Kb5? 63.Kb4! was called for: 63...Kd6 (for 63...Kf6 64.Kc5 see the game.) 64.Kb5 Kd5 65.a4 Kxd4 66.a5 Ke5 67.a6 Kf6 68.a7+- 63...Kf6? 63...Be8+! 64.Kb6 (64.Kb4 Kf7 65.a4 Kxg7 66.a5 Bc6 67.Kc5 Ba8 68.d5 Kf7 69.d6 Ke8 70.Kb6 Kd7=) 64...Kf7 65.Kc7 (65.d5 Kxg7 66.Kc7 Kf6 67.d6 Ke6=) 65...Kxg7 66.Kd8 Ba4 67.Ke7 Kg6 68.d5 Kf5 69.d6 Ke5 70.d7 Bxd7 71.Kxd7 Kd5 72.Kc7 Kc5= 64.Kc5 Kxg7 65.a4 Bh5 66.Kd6 66.a5 was possible immediately: 66...Be2 67.d5 Kf8 68.Kb6 Ke7 69.Kc7 Bb5 70.d6+ Ke6 71.a6+- 66...Kf8 67.a5 Be2 67...Ke8 68.a6 Bf3 69.d5+68.d5 Bc4 White's following finish is quite instructive: 69.Kc5! 69.Kc6? Ke7 70.d6+ Kd8= 69...Be2 70.Kc6 Ke7 71.Kc7 1–0

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14.05 Y.Kraidman (2322) A.Luboshitz (2200) European Seniors Saint Vincent 2001 White has the wrong rook's pawn but Black's task is not as easy as he thought: 51...c4+!? 52.bxc4 Nxc4? too early. Using the b-pawn as decoy was the right way to proceed: 52...b3! 53.c5 Nd5 and Black should be able to hold the draw. 53.Kxc4 Ng6 54.Nc5 Kf4 55.Kxb4 Kg5 56.Ne6+ Kh4 57.Kc5 Ne5 58.Bf5 Black can exchange knight's now but it is not sufficient to draw: 58...Nf3 58...Nf7 59.Nf8 Ng5 60.Ng6+ Kh5 61.Nf4+ Kh4 62.Ng2+ Kg3 63.h4 Nf7 64.Be4+- 59.Kd5 Ng5 60.Nxg5 Kxg5 61.Ke6 Kh6 62.Kf6 Kh5 63.Kg7 Kg5 64.Bg4 1–0 The analysis of the next example follows my article "The Fortress of Lippstadt" in CBM 73: 14.06 K.Müller (2533) I.Csom (2472) Lippstadt 1999 I had won a bishop earlier and now thought that I could win easily. But Istvan Csom had prepared a nasty surprise: 37.fxg5? 37.Bc7? gxf4 38.gxf4 f5 39.Kf2 Kf7 40.Ke2 (40.Kg3 Be1+=) 40...Bc1 41.Kd3 Kf6 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (6 of 11) [02/07/2002 7:26:11 AM]

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42.Be5+ Kg6 43.Bc8 Kf7 44.Kc4 White can't win the e6-pawn: 44...Ke7 45.Kc5 Ba3+ 46.Kc6 Bb4 47.Ba6 (47.Bg7 Bd2 48.Bh6 e5=) 47...Ba3 48.Kc7 (48.Bd3 Bb4 49.Bc4 Ba3 50.Bd4 Bc1 51.Bc5+ Kf6 52.Bd6 Bb2 53.Kd7 e5=) 48...Bb4 49.Bc4 Ba3 50.Kc8 Bb4 51.Bc7 Bc3 52.Bd8+ Kd6=; 37.f5! was called for: 37...exf5 38.Bd3 f4 39.g4 Bc3 40.Kf2 A) 40...Kg7 41.Kf3 Bb2 42.Bd8 Bf6 43.Bxf6+ Kxf6 44.Ke4 Ke6 45.Bc4+ Kf6 46.Bd5 Ke7 47.Kf5 f6 48.Bc4 f3 49.Ke4 f2 50.Kf3 Kd6 (50...f5 51.gxf5 Kf6 52.Kg4+-) 51.Kxf2 Ke5 52.Bd3+-; B) 40...f6 41.Kf3 Kf7 42.Ke4 Ke7 43.Bc5+ Kf7 44.Bc4+ Kg7 45.Be6 Bb2 46.Bd4 Ba3 47.Kf5 Be7 48.Bd5 Bd8 49.Ke6 Kg6 50.Be4+ Kg7 51.Kd7 Ba5 52.Ke7 Bb4+ 53.Ke6+37...Bxg5 38.Bc4 Bf6 39.Bc7 Kg7 40.Kg2 Bc3 41.Kf3 Kg6 42.Kf4 Bd2+ 43.Ke4 Bc3 44.Be5 Be1 45.Kf4 f6 46.Bd3+ Kf7 47.Bb2 Bb4 48.Kf3 Bd6 49.Bc4 f5= and I tried to break through for some further moves before we finally agreed to the draw. Sources: Chess Endgame Lessons Volume 2, Pal Benko 1999 The Ultimate Chess Puzzle Book, John Emms, Gambit 2001 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (7 of 11) [02/07/2002 7:26:11 AM]

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ChessBase MEGABASE 2001 CBM 73 The Week in Chess Exercises (Solutions next month) E14.01 J.Sunye Neto (2375) D.Velimirovic (2515) Rio de Janeiro izt 1979 White to move and win.

E14.02 J.Whitehead (2325) J.Tarjan (2535) USA-ch 1983 Black to move and draw.

E14.03 B.Spassky (2660) R.Fischer (2785) Wch28Reykjavik 1972 Spassky found a convincing way to victory. How did he proceed?

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E14.04 V.Kortschnoj (2665) A.Karpov (2725) How to asses the position with Black to move? What about White to move?

E14.05 M.Euwe - M.Sultan Khan Hastings 1931 Is Black lost?

E14.06 M.Zwettler - F.Loidl Ybbs 2002 Was 67.Bxf5+ a fortunate choice?

Solutions to last month's exercises

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E13.01 L.Helm - S.Germann BL9900 (Women) Germany 2000 White is winning: 60...f2+ 60...Bc8 61.Nxg3 Kg6 62.Ne4 Ba6 63.Nc5+- 61.Nxf2 gxf2+ 62.Kxf2 Bc8 63.Ke3 Kg6 64.Kd4 Kf6 65.Kd5 Ke7 66.Kc6 Kd8 67.b7 1–0 E13.02 D.Lam - L.Chipkin (2156) ch-New York State Rochester 2001 White won as follows: 45.Kd4 Kc6 46.Bc2 Kb6 47.Bb3 Kc6 48.Ba2 Kd7 48...Kb6 49.Bxd5 exd5 50.Kxd5 Kc7 51.Kc5+49.Kc5 1–0 E13.03 A.Potapov (2490) E.Pigusov (2584) RUS-ch 54th Elista 2001 Black is surprisingly winning: 53...Ke3! 53...g4?? 54.Bg1 h2 55.Bxh2 Ke3 56.Bg1+ Kxe2 57.Bd4 Kf3 58.Be5 Ke4 59.Bc7+- 54.g4 54.Kc4 Kxe2 55.Kd4 Kf3 56.g4 Kg2 57.Bd6 h2 58.Bxh2 Kxh2 59.Ke5 Kg3–+ 54...Kxe2 55.Kd4 Kf3 and White resigned as 56.Ke5 loses to 56...Kg2 57.Bf4 gxf4 58.g5 h2 59.g6 h1Q–+

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E13.04 H.Shehab T.Moudallal ch-LIB Beruit 2001 Black to move was easy:1...g3! followed by h4-h3 leaves White with a wrong rook's pawn. White to move on the other hand could have won the game, but blew it with 48.Be4?? One way to victory was 48.Ba6 Kf5 (48...h3 49.g3 Kf5 50.Bb7 Kg5 51.Ke4 h2 52.Ke5+-) 49.Bc8+ Kg5 50.Bd7 h3 51.g3 h2 52.Bc6 Kf5 53.Kd4 Ke6 54.Bg2 Kf5 55.Kd5 Kf6 56.Ke4 Kg5 57.Ke5 Kg6 58.Kf4 Kh5 59.Kf5+- 48...g3 49.Bb7 h3 50.gxh3 Kf6 51.Kf4 g2 52.Bxg2 Kg7 ½–½ Copyright 2002 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in ChessCafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

[The Chess Cafe Home Page] [Book Reviews] [Bulletin Board] [Columnists] [Endgame Studies] [The Skittles Room] [Archives] [Links] [Online Bookstore] [About The Chess Cafe] [Contact Us] Copyright 2002 CyberCafes, LLC. All Rights Reserved. "The Chess Cafe®" is a registered trademark of Russell Enterprises, Inc.

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Ponomariov's Technique Part 1 The new FIDE world champion Ruslan Ponomariov has a very strong fighting spirit. He plays long games and fights hard and manages to squeeze a lot of points out of his endgames, which is really remarkable for his young age. I would like to show some of his recent achievements. I start with a difficult bishop ending, which he drew easily:

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

15.01 R.Ponomariov (2673) L.Aronian (2528) Lausanne Young Masters 2001 63.Kf5! (63.Bd4? Kd7 64.Kf5 Be7 65.Bb2 (65.Ke4 Ke6 66.Be3 Bb4 67.Kd4 Be1 68.Bf4 b4 69.Kc4 Bc3–+) 65...b4 66.Bd4 Kc6 67.Ke4 b3 68.Bb2 (after 68.Kd3 Ba3 69.Kc3 Black has the shot 69...Bc5!–+) 68...Kb5 69.Kd3 Ka4 70.Bc1 Ba3 71.Bf4 Bb2 followed by Ka3 –+.) 63...Kd7 (63...Ke7 64.Bd4 Ba3 65.Be3 Bb2 66.Bc5+ Kd7 67.Bb4 Bd4 68.Kf6 Ke8 69.Kf5=) 64.Kf6 Bc3 (64...Ke8 65.e6 Be7+ 66.Kf5 f6 67.Bd2 Kf8 68.Kg6

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Endgame Corner

Ke8 69.Kf5 Kd8 70.Ba5+ Kc8 71.Bc3 b4 72.Bxb4=) 65.Kxf7 Bxe5 66.Bd2 or 66.Kg6 Ke6 67.Bd2 Kd5 68.Kf5 Bg7 69.Kg4 Kc4 70.Kf3 Bc3 71.Bf4 (71.Bc1? b4 72.Ke2 Kb3 73.Kd3 Ka2 74.Kc4 Be1 75.Bf4 b3 76.Be5 Bd2 77.Kb5 Bc1 78.Bd4 Bb2 79.Be3 Bf6 80.Bc1 Be7 81.Ka4 Bg5 82.Ba3 Bd2–+ zugzwang) 71...b4 (71...Kd3 72.Bd6=) 72.Ke2 b3 (72...Kb3 73.Bd6=) 73.Kd1 Kd3 74.Kc1= (74.Bg5 draws as well due to the stalemate trick 74...b2 75.Bc1!) 66...Kd6 67.Ke8 Bf6 68.Bb4+ Kd5 69.Kd7! (69.Kf7? Kc4 70.Ba3 Bd4 71.Ke6 Bc5 72.Bc1 b4 73.Ke5 b3 74.Ke4 Kc3 75.Bf4 Kc2 76.Be5 Bb4–+) 69...Kc4 70.Bf8 ½–½ and a draw was agreed as Ponomariov reaches a standard drawing formation after 70...Bd4 71.Kc6= White's king helps his bishop and reaches a well known drawing formation according to Centurini's rule (see Averbakh No.167 or Fundamental Chess Endings No.4.26). The strategy used by Ponomariov is well worth remembering! In the next example he demonstrates, that the most important factor in queen endings is usually a far advanced passed pawn: 15.02 R.Ponomariov (2673) M.Turov (2553) 3rd Rector Cup Kharkov 2001 First he exchanges queens to win with his g-pawn in the new queen ending: 40.Qf6+ Kd5 (40...Kd7? 41.e6+ Kc8 42.Qf8+ Kc7 (42...Qd8+ 43.e7+-) 43.Qf7+ Kd6 44.e7+-) file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (2 of 13) [03/06/2002 7:38:53 AM]

Endgame Corner

41.Qd6+ Ke4 42.Qxd3+ Kxd3 42...cxd3 43.e6 results in a similar queen ending. 43.e6 c3 44.e7 c2 45.e8Q c1Q 46.Qd7+ Ke2 White's g-pawn is too strong: 47.g5 Qh1+ 48.Qh3 Qd5 49.Qg4+ Kf2 50.Qf4+ Ke1 51.g6 Qxa2 52.g7 Qg8 53.Qf8!

Ponomariov plans to hide his king on a8! 53...Qc4+ 54.Kg5 Qd5+ 55.Kf6 Qc6+ 56.Ke7 Qc7+ 57.Ke6 Qc6+ 58.Qd6 Qc4+ 59.Kd7 Qa4+ 60.Kd8 Qb3 61.Qf8 1-0 and Turov resigned, not waiting for 61...Qd3+ 62.Kc8 Qh3+ 63.Kb8 Qg3+ 64.Ka8+He also knows how to use the bishop pair: 15.03 R.Ponomariov (2684) C.Lutz (2643) World Teams Yerevan ARM 2001 44.Rc7!? exchanging rooks gives White more attacking possibilities 44...Rxc7 45.Bxc7 Be7 46.f4 f6 47.Kf2 Bc5+ 48.Kf3 Kf7 49.Bb5 Nd1 50.Ba5 f5 51.Be1 Ke7 52.Ke2 Nb2! (52...Ne3? 53.Bf2+-) 53.Bc3 Bd6 54.h4 Bc5 55.Be5 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (3 of 13) [03/06/2002 7:38:53 AM]

Endgame Corner

Bb4 56.Bd4 Kf7 57.Bc6 Ke7 58.Bd5 Ke8 59.Bf6 Kf8 60.Bb3 Ke8 61.Bd4 Ke7 62.Be3 Ke8 Black's knight is dominated, but how to make progress? 63.Bd2! White tries to trade one advantage for another: the bishop pair for the play against Black's cornered knight. 63...Bc5! 64.Bc3 Ke7 65.Kd2 Ke8 66.Kc2 Ke7 (66...Bf2? 67.Bb4 Bxg3 68.Bxa3+-) 67.Be1 (67.Bxb2?? is no winning plan due to the opposite coloured bishops and their notorious drawing tendency.) 67...Ke8 68.Kc3 Ke7 69.Bd2 Bf2 70.Kc2 Bc5 71.Bd5 Na4 72.Be1 Nb6? Why not 72...Nb2 ? 73.Bg8 Nd7 74.Kb3 Nf6 75.Bc4 Ne4 76.Ka4 Ke8 77.Kb5 Bd4 78.Kc6 Bc3? 78...Nc3 is more tenacious, e.g. 79.Kd6 Kf8 80.Ke6 Kg7 79.Bxc3 Nxc3 80.Kc5 Ne4+ 81.Kb4 Nxg3 82.Kxa3 Kd7 83.Kb4 Kc6 84.a4 Ne4 85.a5 Nf2 86.Bf1! preserving the pawn f4 86...Kb7 87.Kc5 Ng4 88.Kd4 Nh2 89.Be2 Ka7 90.Ke5 Ng4+ 91.Ke6 Ne3 92.Kf6 Nd5+ 93.Kg5 1–0 In the following bishop vs knight ending White is better due to his more active king and better minor piece unter these circumstances:

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Endgame Corner

15.04 R.Ponomariov (2684) V.Borovikov (2593) Governor's Cup Kramatorsk UKR 2001 40.Bd2 Ke6?! 40...Kc6!? may be easier for Black, e.g. 41.Bb4 Ng6 42.a4 Ne5 43.Bf8 g6 44.Kd4 Nd7 45.Be7 a5 46.h4 Nb6 47.Bd8 Nxa4 48.Bxa5 Nc5= 41.Kd4 Nf5+ After 41...Kd6? White simplifies into an easily won pawn ending (you should watch out carefully for such possibilities): 42.Bb4+ Kd7 43.Bxe7 Kxe7 44.Kc5+- 42.Kc5 Nd6 43.Bf4 Ne4+ 44.Kb6 g5 45.Bh2?! (45.Bc1!?) 45...Nd2 46.c5 Nc4+ 47.Kb7 Kd5 48.c6 Na5+ 49.Kxa6 Nxc6 50.Kb6 50...f5 50...Ne5!? deserved consideration as well, e.g. 51.Bxe5 (51.a4 Nc4+ 52.Kb5 Na3+ 53.Ka6 Kc6=) 51...fxe5 52.a4 e4 53.a5 e3 54.a6 e2 55.a7 e1Q 56.a8Q+ Kc4 57.Qg8+ Kd3 58.Qxg5 Qe3+ 59.Qxe3+ Kxe3 60.g4 hxg4 61.hxg4 Kf4= 51.a4 h4 51...f4? 52.h4! and White wins, e.g. 52...f3 53.gxf3 gxh4 54.a5 Nxa5 55.Kxa5 Kd4 56.Kb4 h3

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Endgame Corner

Now follows a well known finish: 57.f4 Ke4 58.Kc4 Kf3 59.Kd3 Kg2 60.Ke2 Kxh2 61.Kf2 h4 62.f5 Kh1 63.f6 h2 64.f7 h3 65.Kg3+- 52.Bg1 g4 53.Be3 Ne5 54.Bg5 g3 54...gxh3 55.gxh3 to reduce White's winning potential is interesting as well. 55.Kb5 Nc4 (55...Ng6? 56.a5 f4 57.a6 f3 58.gxf3 g2 59.Be3+-) 56.Kb4 (56.a5?! Nxa5 57.Kxa5 Ke4 58.Bxh4 f4 59.Kb4 f3 60.Bxg3 fxg2 61.Bh2 Kf3 62.Kc3 g1Q 63.Bxg1 Kg3=) 56...Nd6 57.a5 Kc6 58.Bxh4? Too greedy. 58.Be3! was called for. Black has very serious problems now, e.g. 58...Nf7 59.Kc4 Ne5+ 60.Kd4 Ng6 61.Bd2 Kb5 62.Kd5 Ka6 63.Ke6 f4 64.Kf5 f3 65.gxf3 Ne7+ 66.Kg4 Nd5 67.Be1 g2 68.Bf2 Nc3 69.f4+- 58...f4 59.Bg5 f3 60.gxf3 g2? 60...Nf5! equalizes: 61.Bd8 (61.Bf4 g2 62.Bh2 Nh4=) 61...Nd4 62.Bh4 g2 63.Bf2 Nxf3= 61.Be3 Nf5 62.Bf2 Nh4 63.f4 Nf3 63...Ng6!? is more tenacious, but White should be winning as well after 64.f5 Ne7 65.h4 Nxf5 66.h5 64.f5 g1Q 65.Bxg1 Nxg1 66.f6 Kd7 67.f7 Ke7 68.a6 1–0 This reminds me of an interesting endgame by Miles, which Mark Dvoretsky analysed in his December 2001 column:

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Endgame Corner

15.05 A.Miles R.Dzindzichashvili Tilburg 1978 I asked myself how to win, if Black makes the plan expanding the bridgehead by g3g4 more difficult to realise. I sent Mark my ideas and here is the result of our joint analysis: 1...f5!? (instead of the game continuation 1...Kh6) 2.exf5+ exf5 3.Kh3! the white king goes the long way to f4 to force a decisive zugzwang position. After 3.Bd8 Kh6 4.g4? too many pawns are exchanged and Black can save himself: 4...hxg4 5.fxg4 fxg4 6.Kxg4 Kg6 7.Kf4 Kf7 8.Kf5 Ke8 9.Bg5 A) 9...Kf7? loses in an instructive way: 10.Bf4 Ke7 11.Bc7 Kf7 12.Bd6 Ke8 (12...Nf6 13.Ke5 Ne8 14.Kd5+) 13.Ke6 Kd8 14.Kd5+(Dvoretsky) B) 9...Nb8! 10.Ke6 Nc6 11.Kd6 Nd4 12.Bf6 Kf7 13.Bd8 (13.Be5 Nxb3 14.Bf4 Kg6 15.Kc6 Kf5 16.Bc7 Ke6 17.Kb5 Kd7=) 13...Nxb3 14.Bxb6 Nd2 15.Kxc5 Ke8 16.Kb5 Nxc4= due to the wrong rook's pawn. 3...Kf7 4.Kg2 Ke6 5.Kf2 Ke7 6.Ke3 Ke6 7.Kf4 Kf6 8.Bd8+ Kg6 9.Bh4

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Endgame Corner

White has finally reached his aim and Black has to make a concession. 9...Nb8 10.Ke5 Nc6+ 11.Kd5 Nd4 12.f4 Kf7 (12...Nxb3 13.Bd8 Nd2 14.Bxb6 Ne4 15.Bxa5+-) 13.Bd8 Ne2 14.Bxb6 Nxg3 15.Bxa5 Ne2 16.Be1 Nxf4+ 17.Kd6 Ke8 18.a5 Kd8 19.a6 Kc8 20.Kc6+-

Sources: ChessBase MEGABASE 2001 The Week in Chess Schach Magazin 64 No.1/2002 Mark Dvoretsky’s December 2001 Instructor column Fundamental Chess Endings, Karsten Müller and Frank Lamprecht, GAMBIT 2001 Läufer und Springerendspiele, Yury Averbakh , Sportverlag Berrlin 1988. Exercises (Solutions next month) E15.01 R.Ponomariov (2673) A.Moiseenko (2561) 3rd Rector Cup Kharkov 2001 DIAGRAM Black has two moves to draw. Find both!

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Endgame Corner

E15.02 R.Ponomariov (2684) R.Vaganian (2650) World Teams Yerevan ARM 2001 DIAGRAM How did Ponomariov continue his attack?

Solutions to last month's exercises

E14.01 J.Sunye Neto (2375) D.Velimirovic (2515) Rio de Janeiro izt 1979 DIAGRAM White won as follows: 72.Kf4 Bc4 (72...Kg6 73.e6 Kxh6 74.e7 Bb5 75.a6+-) 73.Ke4 1-0 and Black resigned due to 73...Kg6 74.Kd4+- and his bishop is overloaded. E14.02 J.Whitehead (2325) J.Tarjan (2535) USA-ch 1983 Tarjan managed to save his skin: 68...Bc8! (68...Be2? 69.g4 and Black is lost, e.g. 69...Ba6 70.g5 Kc6 71.Ke5 Kd7 72.g6 Ke7 73.g7 Kf7 74.Kd6 Kxg7 75.Kc7+-) 69.Ke5 (69.g4 Ka6! 70.g5 Kxa5 71.g6 Kxb6 72.Ke5 Ba6 73.Kd4 Bc8 74.g7 Be6=) 69...Bg4 70.Kd6 Bf3 71.Kc5 (71.a6+ Kxb6!=) 71...Be2 the careless 71...Bg4 loses due to 72.a6+! Kxa6 73.Kc6 Bf3+ 74.Kc7 Kb5 75.g4 Kc5 76.g5+file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (9 of 13) [03/06/2002 7:38:53 AM]

Endgame Corner

72.Kd4 Bg4 73.Kd5 Bf3+ 74.Ke5 ½–½ E14.02A J.Whitehead (2325) - B.Kogan (2475) USA-ch 1983 Whitehead had a similar ending in the same tournament two rounds before and couldn't win as well: 53...Bb8 54.h3 Bd6 55.h4 Bf8 56.Kf4 Bb4 57.h5 Bf8 58.b3 Bh6+ 59.Ke4 Bf8 60.Kf4 Bh6+ ½–½

E14.03 B.Spassky (2660) R.J.Fischer (2785) Wch28Reykjavik 1972 Spassky solved the technical problems as follows: 51.Bf2! putting Black in zugzwang. 51.Bd2? is wrong as the valuable b-pawn has to be preserved: 51...Kc5 52.Bxa5 e3 53.Kg6 e2 54.Kxg7 e1Q 55.Bxe1 Kxb6= as White's rook's pawn is wrong. 51...g5 (51...Kc4 52.Kxe4 Kb3 53.Kd5 Kxa4 54.Kc5 Kb3 (54...g5 55.Be1 g4 56.Kc4+-) A) 55.Kd6 Kc4 56.Kc7 a4

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Endgame Corner

57.Bg3 (57.Kxb7? a3 58.Bg3 Kd5=) 57...Kd4 58.Kxb7 a3 59.Kc6 a2 60.Kd6+B) 55.Bd4 55...g5 56.Kd6 Kc4 57.Kc7 Kxd4 58.Kxb7+-) 52.Kxg5 Kc4 53.Kf5 Kb4 54.Kxe4 Kxa4 55.Kd5 55.Kd3?? Kb5 56.Kc3 Kc6 57.Kc4 Kd7= and Black has an impregnable fortress. 55...Kb5 56.Kd6 1-0 and Fischer resigned due to 56...a4 57.Kc7 Ka6 58.Bc5 Kb5 59.Bf8 Ka6 60.Ba3+E14.04 V.Kortschnoj (2665) A.Karpov (2725) Wch29Baguio City 1978 In the game Karpov (with Black) was to move and managed to draw the game as his king gets back to the drawing zone in time: 105...Kg4! 106.Kc5 (106.Ke4 Kg5 107.Be7+ Kg6 108.Ke5 Kf7 109.Bf6 Ke8 110.Ke6 Kf8 111.Bg5 Kg7 (111...Ke8?? 112.Be7+-) 112.Kf5 Kf7=) 106...Kf5! 107.Kxb5 Ke6 reaching Rauzer's drawing zone 108.Kc6 Kf6 109.Kd7 Kg7 110.Be7 Kg8 111.Ke6 Kg7 112.Bc5 Kg8 113.Kf6 Kh7 114.Kf7 Kh8 115.Bd4+ Kh7 116.Bb2 Kh6 117.Kg8 Kg6 118.Bg7 Kf5 119.Kf7 Kg5 120.Bb2 Kh6 121.Bc1+ Kh7! (121...Kh5? 122.Kf6 Kg4 123.Kg6 Kh4 124.Bf4 Kg4 125.Bg5+-) 122.Bd2 Kh8 123.Bc3+ Kh7 124.Bg7 ½–½ stalemate. More details on this position can be obtained from Fundamenbtal Chess Endings (4.11 and 4.11A) or file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (11 of 13) [03/06/2002 7:38:53 AM]

Endgame Corner

Averbakh (No.93). White to move in E14.04 wins as he is just fast enough: 105.Kc5 Ke4 106.Kxb5 Kd5 107.Bg3 Ke6 108.Kxa4 Kd7 109.Kb5 Kc8 110.Kc6+E14.05 M.Euwe - M.Sultan Khan Hastings 1931 Sultan Khan made a Houdini like escape: 43...Nxa4!! 43...f4?! might also be sufficient. But it looks very suspicious, e.g. 44.h3 h5 (now 44...Nxa4? comes too late: 45.Kxa4 h5 46.Kb4 g4 47.fxg4 hxg4 48.hxg4 f3 49.Kc3 f2 50.Bb5 Kxd5 51.Kd2 Ke4 52.Ke2 Kf4 53.Bd7 Kg3 54.Kf1+-) 45.Kb4 g4 (45...Nd3+?! looks very risky, but it is still not easy to break through e.g. 46.Kc3 Ne5 47.a5 Kc5! and Black may be able to hold the position.) 46.fxg4 hxg4 47.hxg4 f3 48.Bb5 Nxa4! (48...Nd1? 49.a5 Ne3 50.a6 Nxd5+ 51.Ka5 Nc7 52.a7 f2 53.Bf1+-) 49.Kxa4 Kxd5= 44.Kxa4 g4 45.fxg4 (45.f4 h5 46.Bb5 Kxd5 47.Bd3 h4 48.Bxf5 g3 49.hxg3 hxg3 50.Bh3 Ke4=) 45...fxg4 46.Kb4 h5 47.Be8 47.Kc4? runs into 47...h4 48.Kd4 g3 49.hxg3 h3!–+ 47...Kxd5 48.Bxh5 Ke5 49.Bxg4 ½–½ E14.05A K.Müller (2533) A.Khalifman (2628) German Bundesliga 2000, SG Porz Hamburger SK, 3rd board Khalifman used a similar motif against me: 59...g4! 60.a6 f4 61.a7 Rf8 62.a8Q Rxa8 63.Bxa8 fxg3 0–1 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (12 of 13) [03/06/2002 7:38:53 AM]

Endgame Corner

E14.06 M.Zwettler - F.Loidl Ybbs 2002 67.Bxf5+?? was very unfortunate as 67...Kf3! 68.Bxg4+ Kxf2 ½–½ draws. 67.Kd6 was called for: 67...Kf3 68.Ke5 Kxf2 69.Kf4+-

Copyright 2002 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in ChessCafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

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Endgame Corner

Ponomariov's Technique Part 2 I continue my analysis of Ponomariov's recent endgames (for the first part see the ChessCafe.com Archives): 16.01 R.Ponomariov (2727) - V.Ivanchuk (2717) FIDE WCh Final Moscow 2002

Endgame Corner

I start with two examples from the final of the FIDE World Championship, where he was a bit lucky:

Karsten Müller

47...Kg7?? A very unfortunate idea. In principle it is good to activate the king to prepare for the endgame, but the queens are still on the board and so more care was required. 47...a5 with the idea to exchange queens was the right way to proceed. White is defenceless, e.g., 48.Kf2 Qxa2+ 49.Bxa2 Bc2 50.Ke2 a4 51.Bd5 (51.Kd2 Bb3 52.Bxb3 axb3 53.Kc1 Kg7–+) 51...Bb3 52.Bc1 Bc5 53.Kd3 Kg7 54.Bc4 g5 55.Bd5 Kf8–+ (Hübner in Schach 3/2002) 48.Qd2! This counterattack gives White equality. 48...g5 (48...Qxb1 49.Bxh6+ Kg8 (49...Kh8? 50.Bxf8 a2?? 51.Qh6+ Kg8 52.Qg7#) 50.Qd5+ Kh7 51.Bxf8 Qe1+=)

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Endgame Corner

49.Ba2 Qb7 50.Qd3 Be8 (50...Bb3?? 51.Qb1+-; 50...Bc6?? 51.Qc4+-) 51.Qd5 Qxd5 52.exd5 a5 53.c4 Bb4 54.c5 Kf8 55.Kf2 Bb5 56.c6 Ke7 57.Ba7 Kd8 (57...Kd6!?=) 58.Bb6+ Kc8 58...Ke7 draws as well. 59.Ke3 59...a4? wastes precious time and allows White's king to support his connected passed pawns. 59...Bf1! was called for: 60.g3 a4 61.Bb1 Bd6 62.Ba2= (Hübner) 60.Ke4 Be2 (60...Bf1 61.Kf5 Bxg2 62.Bc4 a2 [62...Bd6 63.Ke6 Bc7 64.Bxc7 Kxc7 65.d6++-] 63.Ba6+ Kb8 64.c7+ Ka8 65.c8Q#; 60...Bd6 61.Kf5 Bc7 62.Bxc7 Kxc7 63.Ke6 Bxc6 [63...Kb6 64.Ke7 Kc7 65.d6++-] 64.dxc6 Kxc6 65.Kxf6 Kd6 66.g3 Kc5 67.Kxe5 Kb4 68.Kd4 Kb5 69.f4+-) 61.Kf5 e4 62.Ke6 exf3 63.d6 Bxd6 64.Kxd6 1–0 In the second round he even managed to reach a draw a piece down: 16.02 V.Ivanchuk (2717) - R.Ponomariov (2727) FIDE WCh Final Moscow 2002 39...h3!? opens lines against White's king and prepares the following king march. 40.gxh3 Of course not 40.g4?? h2+ 41.Kg2 Rf1–+ 40...Kd5 41.Rxa4 Ke4 42.Nf2+ Kf3

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Endgame Corner

White has to be careful now as his king is under attack: 43.Rxd4? 43.Rc4! was much stronger, e.g. 43...Re5 44.Nd3 Re2 45.b4 Rg2+ 46.Kf1 Rh2 47.Ne1+ Ke4 48.Bg7 Rd2 49.Rc2+43...Bc5 44.Rd2 44.Rd3+ comes into consideration as well: 44...Ke2 45.Rd2+ Ke1 (45...Kf3? 46.Kf1 Kg3 47.Rd3+ Kh2 48.Be3+-) 46.Kg2 (46.Rc2 Bxf2+ 47.Kg2 Rf6) 46...Bxf2 47.Rd7 Bh4 48.Be3 Ke2 49.Bg1 Rg5+ 50.Kh1 Rh5 51.Rxc7 Bf6 and in both cases it is not completely clear, if White can win. 44...Rf6! Continuing the attack is stronger than regaining the piece with 44...Kg3? 45.Rd3+ Rf3 46.Rxf3+ Kxf3 47.a4 Bxf2+ 48.Kf1+- 45.Bg5?! 45.Rc2!? Bd4 A) 46.Bg5?! is less clear than 46.Bc1 although after 46...Rg6 47.Kf1 Rxg5 48.Rxc7 White's winning chances are still alive, e.g., A1) 48...Bxf2 49.Rf7+ Kg3 50.Rxf2 Ra5 A2) 48...Rf5 49.Nd1 Ke4+ 50.Ke2 Rh5 51.Nc3+ A3) 48...Bxb2? 49.Rf7+ Kg3 (49...Ke3 50.Nd1++-) 50.Ne4++B) 46.Bc1!? 46...Kg3 (46...Rg6+ 47.Kf1 Rg2 48.a4+-) 47.Rc3++file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (3 of 13) [04/02/2002 11:20:49 PM]

Endgame Corner

45...Rg6 46.Kf1? 46.h4! h6 47.Kf1 (47.Rc2?! Be3 48.Kf1 hxg5 49.hxg5 c5 50.Nh3 Rd6) 47...hxg5 48.Rd3+ Kf4 49.Nh3+ Ke4 50.Rc3 (Kasparov according to New in Chess magazine 2/2002) and White should still have excellent winning chances,e.g. 50...g4 51.Nf2+ Kd5 52.Rd3+ Ke5 53.b4 Bb6 54.Kg2 46...Rxg5 Black's activity is now enough compensation for the missing pawn. 47.Rd3+ Kf4 48.Rc3 Bb6 49.b4 Rd5 50.Rd3 Rf5 51.Nd1 c5 52.Nc3 (52.Rd6?? Ke5+–+) 52...cxb4 53.axb4 Ke5+ 54.Ke1 Rf4 55.Rd5+ Ke6 56.Rb5 Bc7 57.Nd5 Re4+ 58.Kf2 Bd6 ½–½ In the next example Ponomariov defeated a very strong and experienced grandmaster:

16.03 A.Beliavsky (2659) - R.Ponomariov (2684) EUCup 17th Panormo 2001

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Endgame Corner

Black's knights are a powerful force, but it is still a lot of work ahead of him. First he exchanges the active white rook: 27...Rd7! 28.Rxd7+ Nxd7 29.h4 Nce5 30.Kf1 Kf6 31.Ke1 Ke6 32.Nd5 Kd6 33.a4 Nc6 34.b3 White has protected the weak pawn c4, but the price is high as all his queenside pawns are now on light squares. 34...Nb4 35.Nc3 Ke5 36.Kd2 Nf8 37.Nb5 After activating his king he now advances his kingside pawns to gain further space. 37...h6 38.Nc3 g5 39.hxg5 hxg5 40.Nd1 Nd7 41.Nc3 Nf6 42.Nb5 f4 43.gxf4+ gxf4 44.exf4+ Kxf4 45.Na7 Nd7

46.Kc3? Now f2 becomes really weak. 46.Nc8 looks more logical. 46...Ne5 47.Nc8 (47.Kd2?! Nbd3 48.Bxd3 Nxd3 49.Ke2 [49.Nc8 Kf3 50.Nxb6 Kxf2 51.Nd5 Ne5–+) 49...Nc1+–+] 47...Ned3 48.Nxb6 Nxf2 49.Nd5+ Ke5

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Endgame Corner

50.Ne3 Exchanging the knights loses in a common way. First Black's knight is transferred to his optimal blockading outpost c5 and then his king penetrates decisively: 50.Nxb4? cxb4+ 51.Kd2 Kd4 52.Kc1 (52.Ke1 e3 53.Bf3 Nd3+ 54.Kf1 Kc3 55.Ke2 Nc1+ 56.Kxe3 Nxb3–+) 52...e3 53.Kc2 Ne4 54.Bd1 Nc5 55.Be2 now Black's king breaks through on the kingside: 55...Ke4 56.Bh5 Kf4 57.Be2 Kg3–+ 50...Nh3 51.Bd1 Ng5 52.Bh5 Ne6 53.Bd1 Nd4 54.Ng2 Nf3 55.Ne3 (55.Bxf3? exf3 56.Ne3 Kf4 57.Kd2 Nc6 58.Nd5+ Kg3 59.Ke1 Nd4–+) 55...Nh4 56.Ng4+ Kf5 57.Ne3+ Kf4 58.Nd5+ Ke5 59.Nb6 Nf5 60.Nd7+ Kd6 61.Nf6 Ng3 62.Ng4 Ke6 63.Kd2 Nf5 64.Be2 Nc6 65.Bf1? Can Black win against the alternatives 65.Bd1 and 65.Kc3? I 65.Bd1! Ncd4 66.Nh2 Ke5 67.Ng4+ Kf4 68.Nf6 Nf3+ 69.Kc3 N5d4 70.Nd7 Ne6 71.Nf6 Kf5 72.Nd5! (72.Nd7? Ne5 73.Nb6 Kf4 74.Nd5+ Kg3 75.Bc2 Ng5 76.Bd1 Kf2–+) 72...Kg4 73.Nf6+ II 65.Kc3 Ne5 66.Nf2 Ng3 67.Kd2 (67.Bd1? e3 68.Nh3 Kf5 69.Ng1 Ne4+ 70.Kc2 Nc6 71.Bh5 Nb4+ 72.Kd1 Ng3 73.Bf3 Ke5–+) 67...Nc6 68.Bd1 (68.Ng4? Nxe2 69.Kxe2 Kf5 70.Ne3+ Ke5 71.Nd5 Nd4+ 72.Ke3 Nf5+–+) 68...Ke5 69.Ng4+ Kf4 70.Ne3 Nf5 71.Nd5+ Ke5 72.Kc3

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Endgame Corner

65...Ne5! 66.Ne3 (66.Bh3 Nxg4 67.Bxg4 Ke5 68.Be2 Nd4 69.Bd1 Kf4 70.Kc3 Ke3–+) 66...Nf3+! 67.Ke2 N3d4+ 68.Kf2 Nxe3 69.Kxe3 Ke5 0-1 and White resigned. A possible finish is 70.Bg2 The pawn ending after 70.Bh3 Nf5+ 71.Bxf5 Kxf5

is completely lost (the technique is worth knowing!): 72.Ke2 Kf4 73.Kf2 e3+ 74.Ke2 Ke4 75.Ke1 Kf3 76.Kf1 e2+ 77.Ke1 Ke3 and now White has to commit suicide: 78.b4 cxb4–+ 70...Nf5+ 71.Ke2 Kf4 72.Kf2 Nd4 73.Ke1 Nxb3 74.Ke2 Nd4+ 75.Kf2 Nf3 76.Ke2 Ne5–+ The next example is easier: 16.04 A.Volokitin (2493) - R.Ponomariov (2673) Lausanne Young Masters 2001

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Endgame Corner

White's knight is much superior due to the closed nature of the position and White's pawns are securely placed on light squares: 27...Be5 28.Ne3 Kf8 29.c4! a good strategy, which gives White's knight the ideal blockding square d3 and the mighty central square e4. 29...d4 30.Nf1 h5 31.Nd2 Bd6 32.Ne4 Be7 33.Ng3 Kg7 34.h4!? Imprisoning Black's king is even more convincing than grabbing the h-pawn. 34...Kh6 35.Ne4 Kg7 36.Kd3 the start of a king march to the queenside. 36...Kh7 37.Kc2 Kh6 38.Kb2 Kg7 39.Ka3 Bd8 40.Ka4 Bb6 (40...d3 41.Ka3 Ba5 42.Kb2 Bb4 43.f3+-) Black is completely dominated, but how to deal the decisive blow? 41.b4! the right moment to grab more space 41...cxb4 42.c5 Bc7 43.Kxb4 Bf4 44.Kc4 Be5 45.Ng3 a5 46.Ne2 1–0 I want to end my discussion with three examples in which Ponomariov defeated very strong grandmasters: 16.05 R.Ponomariov (2684) - A.Morozevich (2742) FIDE WCh Moscow 2001 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (8 of 13) [04/02/2002 11:20:49 PM]

Endgame Corner

29.exd6! Qxd6 (29...cxd6 30.Qd7 Qg7 31.Qxd6+-) 30.Qxd6 cxd6 31.Re1 A good example of the power of a rook on an open file. 31...Rf8 32.Re7 Bb8 33.Nd2 Ng7 34.Nf3 Re8 35.Rb7 d5 36.Rb6 h5 37.Bg6 Rc8 38.Nxg5 f3 39.gxf3 Bf4 40.h4 Bc1 41.Rxa6 Bxb2 42.Bf7 threatening mate 42...Ne8 43.Rg6 Nc7 44.Rc6 Ra8 1–0 16.06 P.Svidler (2686) - R.Ponomariov (2684) FIDE WCh Moscow 2001 25...Bg4! 26.Qxg4 (26.fxg4? Rxf1+ 27.Kg2 Ra1 28.Qb8+ Qf8–+) 26...Rxg4+ 27.fxg4 Qg5 28.Rg3 b5 29.Rf2 Kg7 30.Kg2 a5 31.Rb2

31...b4! Ponomariov wants to create two connected passed passed pawns. An important weapon for the queen fighting against two rooks. 32.cxb4 axb4 33.h3 Qc1 34.Rgb3 Kh6 35.Rxb4 Qd1 36.Kf2 Kg5 37.Re2 Kf4 38.Rb3 Qxd4+ 39.Kg2 Qc4 40.Rf2+ Kg5 41.Rf7 d4 42.h4+ Kxh4 43.Rxh7+ Kxg4 44.Rg3+ Kf5 0–1 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (9 of 13) [04/02/2002 11:20:49 PM]

Endgame Corner

16.07 A.Dreev (2676) - R.Ponomariov (2684) World Teams Yerevan 2001 22...Nc5! Instead of fighting against the bishop pair, Ponomariov decides to sacrifice an exchange and to play on the dark squares. 23.Bc6 Rb4 24.Rfd1 Rc8 25.Bxc5 Bxc5 26.Rac1 Bd4 27.Bb5 Rb8 28.Rc4 Rxc4 29.Bxc4 Bxb2 30.Bxb3 a5 31.Bc4 This endgame should be drawn, but the presence of rooks gives Black some hope. In the following Ponomariov shows how to play for a win: 31...g6 32.g3 Rc8 33.Bb5 Rc2 34.Bd3 Rc5 35.Kg2 Kg7 36.Bb5 Ba3 37.Rd2 Bb4 38.Re2 e5 the pawns start to roll. White should probably stop this by grabbing more space on the kingside himself. 39.Re4 h5 40.Rc4 Rd5 41.Rc7 e4 42.Rc4 Re5 43.Bc6 f5 44.Rc2 g5 45.Rc4 Kf6 46.Rc2 Re7 47.Bb5 f4 48.Rc6+ Ke5 49.gxf4+ gxf4 50.Rg6 Kf5 51.Rg8 Rc7 52.Rc8 f3+! (52...Rxc8? 53.Bd7+=) 53.Kf1 Rg7 54.Rc4 Ke5 55.Bc6 Rg4 56.Bb5 Rg2 57.h3 Kd5

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Endgame Corner

58.Rc8? 58.Ba6 was more tenacious although it already looks very unlikely, that White will be able to save his skin. 58...Bc5–+ 59.Rd8+ Ke5 60.Re8+ Kf4 61.Rc8 Bxf2 62.Rc4 0-1

Sources: ChessBase MEGABASE 2001 The Week in Chess Schach No.3/2002 New in Chess magazine No.2/2002 Exercises (Solutions next month) Three exercises from the recent super tournament in Linares, where Ponomariov showed, that he already belongs to the circle of the world's top players and his win of the FIDE world championship was no accident: E16.01 M.Adams (2742) R.Ponomariov (2727) SuperGM Linares 2002 Adams played 46.Rf2 and won later. Is 46.Re2 winning as well?

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Endgame Corner

E16.02 R.Ponomariov (2727) V.Anand (2757) SuperGM Linares 2002 Anand has sacrificed a piece to reach this position. What was his idea? (Black to move)

E16.03 R.Ponomariov (2727) G.Kasparov (2838) SuperGM Linares 2002 Kasparov played 43...Kf7 (43...Rf2! looks much more dangerous). What was Ponomariov's reply?

Solutions to last month exercises E15.01 R.Ponomariov (2673) A.Moiseenko (2561) 3rd Rector Cup Kharkov 2001 Black can't allow White's king to reach the opposition on the fourth rank. So the two drawing moves are 57...Kf5 ½–½ 58.Kf3 Ke5! 59.g4 hxg4+! 60.Kxg4 Kf6= and 57...Kf7 58.Kf3 Ke7! 59.Ke3 Kf7! 60.Kd4 Kf6! 61.Ke4 Ke6!= Did you find both? But not 57...Kg7? 58.Ke4! Kf6 59.Kf4! Kg6 60.Ke5! Kg7 61.Kf5! Kh6 62.Kf6! Kh7 63.Kg5!+file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (12 of 13) [04/02/2002 11:20:49 PM]

Endgame Corner

E15.02 R.Ponomariov (2684) R.Vaganian (2650) World Teams Yerevan 2001 Ponomariov won nicely with 56.Rf7+ Kg8 57.Nh6+ 1–0

Copyright 2002 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in ChessCafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

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Endgame Corner

Readers Write I have received several e-mails with interesting endgame material from readers and friends. Now it is time to deal with some of them: A) In Pawn Endings Precise Calculation is Very Important

Endgame Corner

Joe Shipman (USA) has send me the following razor sharp pawn ending (the analysis is based on Joe's): 17.01 Gorokhovski - J.Shipman 15th US Correspondence Chess Championship (ICCF), Section 3

Karsten Müller 25...g5! Joe had to calculate the resulting pawn ending very precisely to make sure that he didn't lose. ...g5 makes a lot of sense as it speeds up Black's play on the kingside. 26.Bxf4 gxf4 27.Kd2 f5! a nice move to save time again. It makes life really hard for White. 28.gxf5?! extremely risky. 28.g5 was called for: 28...Kf7 29.Ke2 Kg6 30.Kf3 Kxg5 31.d5 h5 32.c4 h4 33.c5 Kf6 34.Kxf4 h3 35.Kg3 Ke5 36.d6 cxd6

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Endgame Corner

A) 37.c6 is easier: 37...Ke6 38.b4 (38.Kxh3? a5–+) 38...d5 39.Kxh3 d4 40.Kg3 Kd6 41.b5 a6 42.a4= B) 37.cxd6?! Kxd6 38.Kxh3 Ke5 39.Kg3 Ke4 A very delicate situation has arisen. White has only one move to save himself: 40.a3! Ke3 (40...a6 41.b4 Ke3 42.Kg2=) 41.Kg2 Kd3

Again there is only one move left: 42.Kg3! (42.Kf3? Kc2 43.a4 a5 44.b4 axb4 45.a5 b3 46.a6 b2 47.a7 b1Q 48.a8Q Qh1+–+) 42...Kc2 43.a4 a5 (43...Kxb2 44.a5 Kc3 45.a6 Kc4 46.Kf4 Kb5 47.Kxf5 Kxa6 48.Ke4=) 44.b4 axb4 45.a5= 28...h5 29.Ke2 h4 30.Kf3 h3 Black threatens to advance his king to f5 devouring the pawn on the way. Then he is in position to promote one of his pawns with h2 followed by Ke4. So White has to take measures on the queenside immediately. But which are called for? It is surprisingly difficult: 31.c4? Now Black's plan can't be stopped anymore. The right way was: 31.b4 Kf7 32.b5 Kf6 33.d5 (33.c4? Kxf5 34.d5 h2 35.Kg2 Ke4 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (2 of 14) [05/02/2002 7:57:58 AM]

Endgame Corner

36.Kxh2 Kd4–+) 33...Kxf5 And now 34.d6 cxd6 35.a4 A) 35...Ke6? 36.a5 Kd7 37.c4= as 37...d5? 38.cxd5 Kd6 39.a6 Kxd5 40.b6 Kc6 41.bxa7+even loses. B) 35...Ke5? 36.a5 Kd5 37.c4+ Kc5 38.Kf2 a6 (38...d5? 39.b6 axb6 40.a6 h2 41.Kg2 Kc6 42.cxd5++-) 39.b6 Kc6 40.Kf3= C) 35...h2 36.Kg2 Ke4 37.Kxh2 Ke3 38.a5 f3 39.b6 axb6 40.axb6 f2 41.b7 f1Q 42.b8Q and with precise play, White should be able to hold the draw. 31...Kf7 32.d5 (32.b4 Kf6 33.b5 Kxf5 34.c5 (34.d5 h2 35.Kg2 Ke4 36.Kxh2 Kd4–+) 34...h2 35.Kg2 Ke4 36.Kxh2 Kxd4 37.a4 Kxc5–+) 32...Kf6 33.c5 (33.Kf2 Kxf5 34.Kf3 Ke5 35.b3 Kd4 36.a4 h2 37.Kg2 f3+ 38.Kxh2 Ke3–+) 33...Kxf5 0–1 My teammate in the German Bundesliga, Swedish IM Emanuel Berg, showed me the following two examples in the train from Hamburg to Nürnberg. IM Oliver Reeh (also playing for the Hamburger SK) took part in the analysis as well: 17.02 E.Berg (2432) - A.Rustemov (2553) Bydgoszcz Bank Pocztowy op Bydgoszcz 2000

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Endgame Corner

Emanuel has judged correctly, that the resulting pawn ending is won for him: 29.Rd6+ Re6? 30.Rxe6+ Kxe6! After 30...fxe6 White wins easily by creating an outside passed pawn, e.g. 31.Kd2 g4 32.Ke3 Kf5 33.f3 a6 34.fxg4+ Kxg4 35.Ke4+- 31.Kd2 Ke5 31...f5 32.Ke3 a6 33.g4 fxg4 34.Ke4+White has gained the opposition and Black will fall in zugzwang soon. 32.Ke3 Kf5 33.f3 Ke6 34.g4 Ke5 35.b3? An error as White has to be very careful with his spare moves to win the fight for the opposition in the end. 35.Kd3! was called for, e.g. 35...Kf4 (35...Kd6 36.Ke4 Ke6 37.g3 f6 38.f4 a6 39.a3 b6 40.b3 b5 41.cxb5 axb5 42.a4 c4 43.a5 cxb3 44.Kd3+- the outside passed pawn decides the issue.) 36.Ke2 Kg3 37.Kf1 a6 38.a3 b5 39.b3 bxc4 40.bxc4 Kh2 41.Kf2 a5 42.a4 f6 43.f4 gxf4 44.Kf3 Kg1 45.Kxf4 Kxg2 46.Kf5 Kf3 47.Kxf6 Kxg4 48.Ke5+35...a6? Black returns the compliment. 35...Kd6! saves all spare tempi and draws: 36.Ke4 Ke6 37.g3 f6 38.a3 b6 39.f4 a6 40.b4 cxb4 41.axb4 a5 42.c5 axb4 43.cxb6 Kd6 44.Kd4 Kc6 45.Kc4

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Endgame Corner

45...Kb7!! 46.Kb3 Kc6 47.Kxb4 Kxb6 A) 48.Kb3 Kb7 (48...Kb5 49.Kc3 Kc5 50.Kd3 gxf4 51.gxf4 Kd5= draws as well.) 49.Kc3 Kc7 50.Kd3 Kd7 51.Ke4 Ke6= B) 48.f5 Kc6 49.Kc4 Kd6 50.Kb5 Kd5 51.Kb6 Kd6= 36.a3 a5 37.Kd3 Emanuel gives Rustemov no second chance 37...Kf4 38.Ke2 Kg3 39.Kf1 Kh2 40.Kf2 b6 41.a4 1-0 and Black resigned due to 41...Kh1 42.f4 gxf4 43.g5 Kh2 44.Kf3 Kg1 45.Kxf4 Kxg2 46.Kf5 Kf3 47.Kf6 Kf4 48.Kxf7 Kxg5 49.Ke6+B) Knight against Bishop 17.03 E.Berg (2500) - H.Nakamura (2430) Bermuda Open Southamton Princess Hotel 2002 Is this a fortress? Emanuel showed that this is not the case: 50.Ke4 Of course not 50.Bxf7? Ne5+= with an easy draw. 50...Nf6+ 51.Ke5 Kg7 52.Bb5 Nh5 (52...Nh7 53.h4 Nf6 54.Be2 Nd7+ 55.Kd6 Nf6 56.Bf3 Kf8 57.h5 Kg7 58.Ke5 Nd7+ 59.Kd5 Kf6 (59...Nf6+ 60.Kd6 Ng8 61.Ke5+-) 60.Kd6 Ne5 61.Be2 Kxf5 62.Ke7 Kg5 63.Kf8 Kf6 64.Kg8 Nc6 65.h6 Ne7+ 66.Kh7 Kg5 67.Bd3+-) 53.Be8 Nf6 54.Bc6 Nh5 55.Bf3 Nf6 56.h4 Nd7+ 57.Kd6 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (5 of 14) [05/02/2002 7:57:58 AM]

Endgame Corner

The knight is quite strong when the play is only in a limited area. So White has to make long manoeuvres to break the resistance. 57...Nf6 57...Nb6!? 58.h5 Kf6 (58...Nc8+ 59.Kd7 Nb6+ 60.Kd8! Black is in zugzwang. 60...Nc4 61.Ke7 f6 62.h6+ Kxh6 63.Kxf6+-; 58...Nc4+ 59.Ke7 f6 60.h6+ Kxh6 61.Kxf6+-) 59.h6 Nc4+ 60.Kc7 Ne5 61.Bh5 and the white king goes to f8 followed by h7. 61...Nd3 62.Kd8 Nxf2 63.Ke8 Ne4 64.Kf8 Ng5 65.Bg4+- 58.h5 Ng8 I 58...Nh7 59.Ke7 f6 60.Bg2 Ng5 61.h6+ Kxh6 62.Kxf6 Nh7+ 63.Kf7 Kg5 64.Bh3 Kh4 65.Kg7 Ng5 66.Bg2 Kg4 67.f6+II 58...Kf8 59.h6 A) 59...Nh7 60.Ke5 Kg8 (60...Ke7 61.Bc6 f6+ 62.Kd4 Ng5 63.Bd5+-) 61.f6 Nf8 62.Kd6+B) 59...Ke8 60.Bc6+ Kf8 61.f3 Nh7 (61...Nh5 62.Ke5 Kg8 63.Bd5+-) 62.Ke5 Ke7 63.f6+ Nxf6 64.Bb5 Nh7 65.Bd3 Ng5 66.Kf5 (66.h7? f5!! complicates matters.) 66...Nh7 67.Kf4+59.Ke5

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Endgame Corner

59...Kh6 59...f6+ is more principled: 60.Ke6 Nh6 (60...Kf8 61.Bd5 Ke8 62.f3 Kf8 63.Kd7 Nh6 64.Be6+-) A) 61.Bd5 Ng4 62.f3 Ne3 63.Be4 Nc4 64.h6+ Kxh6 65.Kxf6 Nb6 66.Ke7 Nc8+ 67.Kd8 Nd6 68.f6 Kg5 69.Kd7 Nf7 (69...Nxe4 70.fxe4 Kxf6 71.Kd6+-) 70.Ke7+B) 61.Be2 Nf7 62.Bc4 Nh6 63.f3 B1) 63...Ng8 64.Kd7 Nh6 65.Be6 Kh8 66.Ke8 Kh7 67.Bc8 (67.Kf8?! Kh8 68.f4? Nxf5!=) 67...Kg7 (67...Ng8 68.Kf7 Kh8 69.Ba6 Kh7 70.Bb7 Kh8 71.Kg6+-) 68.Kd8 Nf7+ 69.Ke7 Ne5 70.Bb7 Nd3 71.h6+ Kxh6 72.Kxf6 Nf4 73.Be4+B2) 63...Nf7 64.Ke7 (64.f4? Nh6= Black keeps the draw, because white can´t protect both the g4 and the g8 square at the same time, while attacking the f6pawn.(O.Reeh)) 64...Ne5 (64...Nh6 65.Be6+-; 64...Ng5 65.Bd5 Nh7 Now Black's knight can´t come to h6, so 66.f4 is possible: 66...Kh6 67.Bg8+-) 65.Bd5 Nd3 and finally White manages to get h6+ in: 66.h6+ Kxh6 67.Kxf6 Nf4

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Endgame Corner

68.Be4 A very important move. From here the bishop protects both the f-pawns. It also prepares for a later f5-f6 when Black doesn't have Kg6 anymore. (68.Bc6?! Nh5+ 69.Kf7 Nf4 70.f6? Kg5! 71.Ke7 Ng6+!=) 68...Nh5+ 69.Kf7! Black is now in zugzwang. If he just could say pass, whenever this position is reached, it would be a draw. (69.Ke6? allows Black to establish an unbreakable blockade: 69...Kg7 70.Ke7 Nf6=) 69...Kg5 (69...Nf4 70.f6 Kg5 71.Ke7+-) 70.Ke6 Now Black is again in trouble. He can´t play Nf6 because of f4+ and he can't move is king because of f6 and the pawn will queen very soon. (70.Ke7 wins as well: 70...Nf6 71.f4++-) 70...Nf4+ (70...Ng7+ 71.Ke5 Ne8 72.f4+ Kg4 73.Bc6+-) 71.Ke5 Nh5 72.f4++(72.f6? Nxf6 73.f4+ Kg4!=) 60.f6 Kg5 61.Be2 Nh6 62.Bd1! Kh4 63.f4 Kg3 64.Bb3 Kg4 Now White is active enough to sacrifice his bishop: 65.Bxf7! Nxf7+ 66.Ke6 Nd8+ 67.Kd7 Kf5 (67...Nf7 68.Ke7 Nh6 69.f7 Nxf7 70.Kxf7 Kxh5 71.f5+-) 68.Kxd8 Kxf6 69.h6 Kf7 70.f5 Kf8 71.f6 Kg8 72.Ke7 Kh7 73.f7 1–0 Paavo Honkakoski from Finland has sent me the following fight: 17.04 P.Honkakoski - G.Brajnikov CP–1999-S–00001 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (8 of 14) [05/02/2002 7:57:58 AM]

Endgame Corner

IECG 42...Kf7? Centralizing the knight immediately with 42...Nc7!? wins: A) 43.f4 Nd5 44.f5+ Kf7 45.Be5 a5 46.Kxh5 (46.c4 bxc4 47.Kxh5 c3 48.Kg5 a4 49.h5 a3 50.h6 c2–+) 46...c4 47.Kg5 a4 48.h5 a3 49.h6 Kg8 50.f6 (50.Kg6 Ne7+ 51.Kf6 Nc6–+) 50...Nxf6 51.Bxf6 Kh7–+ B) 43.Bf8 c4 44.Bb4 Nd5 45.Ba5 b4 46.cxb4 a6–+ C) 43.Kg6 Nd5 44.Kxh5 Kf5

Now White's king is suffering badly from lack of space 45.Kh6 a5 46.Bf8 C1) Surprisingly, 46...Nxc3? is wrong: 47.Kg7 b4 48.Bxc5 b3 49.Ba3 Nb5 C1a) 50.Bb2? a4 51.h5 a3 52.Bxa3 Nxa3 53.h6 b2 54.h7 b1Q 55.h8Q

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Endgame Corner

Now Black's wins by the well known mating motif: 55...Qb7+ 56.Kh6 Qc6+ 57.Kg7 (57.Kh5 Qxf3+ 58.Kh6 Qc6+–+) 57...Qd7+ 58.Kh6 Qd6+ 59.Kg7 Qe7+ 60.Kg8 (60.Kh6 Qg5+ 61.Kh7 Qg6#) 60...Kg6–+ C1b) 50.Bc1! a4 51.h5 a3 52.h6 b2 53.Bxb2 axb2 54.h7 b1Q 55.h8Q Qg1+ 56.Kf8 Qc5+ 57.Kg8 Qc4+ 58.Kh7 Qh4+ 59.Kg8 and it seems that Black can't win. C2) 46...c4 47.Kg7 Nxc3 48.h5 Nd5 49.h6 Nf4 50.h7 Ng6 White's pawns are securely stopped and Black's triumph: 51.Bc5 c3 52.Be3 b4 53.Bd4 a4 54.Bc5 b3 55.Ba3 b2–+ 43.Be5 b4 44.cxb4 cxb4 45.Kxh5 b3 (45...Ke6 46.Bd4 Kf5 47.Bxa7 b3 48.Bd4=) 46.Kg4 Nc5 47.Ba1 a5 48.Kf4 It seems like a miracle, but White's counterplay is just fast enough, so the players agreed a draw after 48...a4. Some sample lines run 48...a4 ½–½ (48...b2 49.Bxb2 Nd3+ 50.Ke3 Nxb2 51.Kd4=) 49.Ke3 a3 50.Kd2 b2 51.Bxb2 axb2 52.Kc2 Na4 53.f4 Kg6 54.Kb1 Kf5 55.h5 Kf6 56.Kc2 Kg7 57.f5 Kg8 58.Kb1=

Sources:

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Endgame Corner

The Week in Chess ChessBase MEGABASE 2001 Exercises (Solutions next month) E 17.01 A.Feuerstein E.Mednis U.S. Championship, New York 1957

Sadly, Edmar Mednis passed away recently, so I decided to add one exercise from his games. At first sight it does not look very good for him, but he had an amazing surprise in store. Which one? (Black to move) E 17.02 W.Müller, K.Müller One line of analysis of my father reached the following position. We found a win for White together rather quickly. Can you do the same?

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Endgame Corner

E17.03 O.H.Meyer S.Puttfarken Hamburg Youth Championship under 12, Schönhagen 2002 In a youth tournament Black decided to play 1...Rc4. Was this a fortunate choice? Solutions to last month exercises E16.01 M.Adams (2742) R.Ponomariov (2727) SuperGM Linares 2002 46.Re2 wins as well. 46.Rf2 was the game continuation and Adams managed to convert his advantage later. 46...Rxe2 (46...Bc6+ 47.b5 Rxe2 48.bxc6 Rc2 49.Kb5 Kf6 50.Kb6 Ke6 (50...Rxg2 51.c7 Rc2 52.c8Q+-) 51.c7 Kd7 52.c8Q+ Rxc8 53.Bxc8+ Kxc8 54.Kc6+-) 47.Bxe2 Bxg2 48.Bg4 (48.b5? Bxh3 49.b6 Bg2=) 48...Kf6 49.Kb5 Ke7 50.Kc5 Bf1 (50...Kd8 51.Kd6 Bf1 52.Bd7+-) 51.b5 Bg2 52.b6 Bb7 And now White has to pass the move to Black 53.Kc4 Kd6 (53...Bc6 54.Kb4 Kd6 55.Ka5 Bb7 56.Kb5 Ke7 57.Kc5+-) 54.Kb5 Ke7 55.Kc5 Bg2 56.Bc8 Bf3 (56...Kd8 57.Be6 Ke7 58.Bd5+-) 57.b7 Bxb7 58.Bxb7 And now White wins by the well known technique of file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (12 of 14) [05/02/2002 7:57:58 AM]

Endgame Corner

imprisoning Black's king in the corner to force the g5 pawn to move: 58...Ke6 59.Bc8+ Ke5 60.Bg4 Kf6 61.Kd6 Kf7 62.Kd7 Kf6 63.Ke8 Kg7 64.Ke7 Kg8 65.Kf6 Kh7 66.Kf7 Kh8 67.Kf8 Kh7 68.Be6 Kh8 69.Bg8 g4 70.hxg4 g5 71.Be6+E16.02 R.Ponomariov (2727) V.Anand (2757) SuperGM Linares 2002 Anand drew easily with 25...Rxe3 (25...Re1+ may work as well, but is not as convincing as Anand's move, e.g., 26.Kh2 g4 (26...Bg4 27.Rxd5 h6 28.Rd6 Bf3 29.Nd2 Rxa1 30.Nxf3 Rxf3 31.Rxa6) 27.Rxd5 Rxe3 28.Rg5+ Kh8 29.Rxg4 Bxg4 30.fxe3 Rf2+ 31.Kg1) 26.fxe3 Rf1+ 27.Kh2 g4 28.Rxd5 ½–½ E16.03 R.Ponomariov (2727) G.Kasparov (2838) SuperGM Linares 2002 Ponomariov played 44.bxc5 Bxc5 ½–½ and due to 45.Ra5= a draw was agreed.

Copyright 2002 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in ChessCafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

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Endgame Corner

[The Chess Cafe Home Page] [Book Reviews] [Bulletin Board] [Columnists] [Endgame Studies] [The Skittles Room] [Archives] [Links] [Online Bookstore] [About The Chess Cafe] [Contact Us] Copyright 2002 CyberCafes, LLC. All Rights Reserved. "The Chess Cafe®" is a registered trademark of Russell Enterprises, Inc.

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Endgame Corner

Rooks Revisited In this column I want to look at some recent endings with at least one rook on the board. I start with pure rook endings: Doug Schwetke from the USA has sent me a very interesting game with his comments. My first ChessCafe column dealt with Rook+h and f pawn vs lone Rook (see the ChessCafe Archives) and Doug's endgame shows a battle with this material balance and the notorious 4 pawns vs 3 pawns on the kingside:

Endgame Corner

18.01 A.Echeverry (1910) - D.Schwetke (1667) DCC GP 8 Dallas, Texas 2002

Karsten Müller

At first White activates his king and his rook and as activity is crucially important in rook endings his position is slightly better. 32.Kf2 Ke7?! Activating the rook with 32...Ra8 is more precise. 33.Rd6 Rb8 34.Ke3 34...Rb7?! Schwetke suggests 34...h5 and explains: “Even I know this is the correct pawn formation for Black. This comes back to haunt me big time. I could have played it maybe even as early as 31...h5.” (instead of 31...Kg8f8) 35.g4!? b5 36.Ke4 c4?!

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Endgame Corner

36...Ra7! was called for, e.g., 37.Kd5 Ra2 38.Kxc5 Rxb2 39.g5 Rxh2= 37.Kd5 Rc7 38.Rb6 38...c3?! 38...Rd7+! 39.Kc5 Rd2 40.Rxb5 Rxh2 as given by Schwetke was called for, when Black should be able to hold the draw without having to defend an awkward 4 pawns vs 3 pawns rook endgame with the pawns all on the kingside. 39.bxc3 Rxc3 40.Rxb5 “Botvinnik said upon becoming world champion that he would learn to draw the endgame of rook plus 4 pawns vs rook plus 3 pawns with all pawns on the same side of the board. Here I demonstrate why I am not the ‘World Champion’.” (Schwetke) 40...Rc2?! 40...Rd3+! was better to force White's king out of his commanding position. 41.Rb7+! “Nice technique.” (Schwetke) 41...Ke8? 41...Kf8 was more tenacious. 42.h3? 42.e6! fxe6+ (42...Rd2+ 43.Ke5 Re2+ 44.Kf6 Rxe6+ 45.Kg7 Re2 46.Rxf7 Rxh2 47.g5 Ra2 48.Rf8+ Ke7 49.Rg8 Rh2 50.Rh8+-) 43.Kxe6 Re2+ 44.Kf6 Rxh2 45.Kg7 Rh4 46.g5 Rxf4 47.Kxh7 Kf8 48.Kxg6 Rg4 49.Rb8+ Ke7 50.Rg8+42...Rh2? (42...Rd2+! 43.Ke4 Rh2 was more precise.) 43.e6! “See how effective the rook on the seventh is here.” (Schwetke) 43...Rd2+ (43...Rxh3 44.Rxf7+-) 44.Ke4? “Whoa Nellie. Did I just get a draw, again? I only see the win of the e-pawn.” (Schwetke) 44.Ke5! Re2+ 45.Kf6 Rxe6+ 46.Kg7+- was winning due to White's very active pieces.

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Endgame Corner

44...Re2+! 45.Kf3 Rxe6 “Now I offered a draw as I did not see the following manoeuvre. Not playing 34...h5 kills me here.” (Schwetke) 46.Rb8+! Ke7 47.Rh8 Ra6 48.Rxh7 Ra3+ 49.Kf2

49...Ra2+? Activating White's king is a big mistake. 49...Kf8 draws relatively easy. 50.Kg3 Ra3+?! 51.Kh4 Ra4?! 52.Kg5 After several Black inaccuracies is in deep trouble again. 52...Ra5+ 53.f5

53...Rb5? 53...Kf8! was called for, e.g., 54.Kh4 gxf5 55.Rh5 Kg7 56.Rxf5 Ra3= 54.h4 54.Rh8 gxf5 55.gxf5 Rb3 56.f6+ Kd7 57.h4 Rg3+ 58.Kf4 Rh3 59.Kg4 Rh1 60.Ra8 Rg1+ and Black should be able to save the game. 54...Ra5?! 54...gxf5!? 55.gxf5 Rb1 (Schwetke) is more to the point. file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (3 of 14) [06/03/2002 8:09:30 AM]

Endgame Corner

55.Rh8 gxf5 56.gxf5 f6+?? Schwetke comments: “Fritz gives "the position was bad, and this mistake simply hastens the end. [Doug made a blundercheck with Fritz. Giving Fritz 10 seconds per move to find errors and comments on the play. KM] I actually think it clever. It allows my king access to the corner of the board and there is the theoretical possibility of the draw. during the game I thought I had read somewhere that R+h and f pawns vs rook can be a draw.” This misses the point: 56...f6+?? is a losing blunder as the resulting ending with h- and f-pawn is lost. Black's position was still tenable: 56...Ra1! 57.f6+ Kd7 58.Rb8 Rg1+ 59.Kh6 Rg6+ 60.Kh7 Rxf6 61.h5 Rf4 A) 62.h6 Ke7 (62...Rg4? 63.Rg8 f5 64.Rg6+-) 63.Rb7+ Kf8= B) 62.Kg7 Ke7 63.Rb7+ Ke8 64.h6 Rg4+ 65.Kh8 f5 66.Rg7 Kf8= 57.Kg6 Ra1 58.Rh7+ Kf8 59.Kxf6 This endgame is lost because Black's king is passively confined to the 8th rank. 59...Ra6+ 60.Kg5 Kg8 61.Re7 Ra1 62.Kf6 One road to victory is 62.h5 Rg1+ (62...Ra6 63.h6 Rb6 64.f6 Rb1 65.h7+ Kh8 66.Re8+ Kxh7 67.f7+-; 62...Ra2 63.Kg6 Rg2+ 64.Kf6 Ra2 65.Re8+ Kh7 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (4 of 14) [06/03/2002 8:09:30 AM]

Endgame Corner

66.Kf7 Ra7+ 67.Kf8 Ra6 68.Re7+ Kh8 69.Re6 Ra8+ 70.Re8 Ra6 71.Kf7+ Kh7 72.f6+-) 63.Kf6 Rh1 64.Re8+ Kh7 65.Kf7 Rxh5 66.f6 Ra5 67.Kf8 Kg6 68.f7 Ra7 69.Re6+ Kh7 70.Re1 Ra8+ 71.Ke7 Ra7+ 72.Kf6 Ra6+ 73.Re6 Ra8 74.Re8+62...Rh1?! 63.Kg5?! 63.Re8+ “makes it even easier for White” (Schwetke) 63...Kh7 64.Kf7+- 63...Ra1 64.h5 Ra6 65.Re6?! 65.f6 Ra1 66.h6+- was much easier. 65...Ra1 66.Kg6 Rg1+ 67.Kh6? (67.Kf6+- was the correct way to proceed.) 67...Rg7?? (67...Kf7! 68.Rg6 Rf1 69.Kg5 Rg1+ 70.Kh6 Rf1 71.Rg5 Kf6 72.Rg8 Kf7=) Schwetke expains his blunder as follows: “Fritz says ‘the final mistake, not that it matters anymore.’ Why did I make this move? I was delusional with hunger is the best excuse for cracking under pressure. Please notice my lack of endgame game skills has hurt me three times in this game. That is why this game is so important to my chess education. Sometimes lacking skills makes my games go on longer than they should. You would think a lack of skills would shorten your games. I am frequently the Last Man ‘playing’ in my games.”

Thank you, Doug for allowing me to use your game and open comments in my column! 68.Re8+ Kf7 1-0 and Black resigned due to 69.Re7+ Kxe7 70.Kxg7+- with an easily won pawn ending. The next example shows an attack with very reduced material: 18.02 E.Berg (2500) - H.Kallio (2522) GM-B Bermuda 2002 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (5 of 14) [06/03/2002 8:09:30 AM]

Endgame Corner

White's king advances to support his attacking forces: 32.Kf4!? Nxb3? (32...Rxg2 is better, e.g., 33.Ke5 Nd3+ 34.Kf6 Nc5 35.Rg7+ Kh8 36.Rc7 Ne4+ 37.Ke5 b6 38.Nf6 Nxf6 39.Kxf6 Rg3 40.Rc8+ Kh7 41.Rc7+ Kh6 42.Rc8=) 33.Kg5 Nc5! (33...Rxg2+? 34.Kh6 Rg3 35.Rg7+ Kh8 36.h4 Rg4 37.Nf6 Rxh4+ 38.Kxg6+-) 34.Re7 Ne6+! (34...Rxg2+? 35.Kh6 Rg3 36.Rg7+ Kh8 37.h4 Ne6 38.Re7+-) 35.Kh6 (35.Rxe6 Kxh7 36.Re7+ Kg8 37.Kxg6 Rxg2+ 38.Kxf5 is drawn.) 35...Rc6 36.Rxb7 g5 White's attack is very dangerous now. But it appears that Black can still fight very tenaciously. 37.Rb8+?! 37.Nf6+!? gives more chances in my opinion as the game leads to a pure rook ending, where White's winning potential is very reduced: 37...Kf8 38.Ra7 g4 39.hxg4 fxg4 40.g3 37...Nf8+! 38.Kxg5 Kxh7 39.Rxf8 Rg6+ 40.Kh5 Rh6+ 41.Kg5 Rg6+ 42.Kf4 Rxg2 43.Rxf5 Rf2+ 44.Kg5 Rg2+ 45.Kh5 1-0

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Endgame Corner

and Black resigned as he loses the a-pawn. But the position is drawn nevertheless: 45...Rc2 46.Rxa5 Rc4 and White's rook can't leave the a-file (this technique is worth knowing!), e.g. 47.h4 Kg7 48.Ra7+ Kg8 49.Kg6 Rc6+ 50.Kf5 Rc4 51.h5 Kh8 52.Ke6 Kg8 53.Kd5 Rf4 54.Kc5 Rf5+= see for example Fundamental Chess Endings 6.81 on page 200. In my last example in this column I want to begin with analysis of some very interesting complications that occurred earlier in the game: 18.03 K.Müller (2506) - P.Wells (2517) Austrian Staatsliga A, Mörbisch 2001, Gleisdorf-Austria Graz, 1st board Black’s position is much easier to play as he has two clear plans: A) a5-a4-a3 to destroy White's bishop's base and B) to attack White's very open king position by manoeuvres like Bc5+, Rd3, Qd5 (for the moment the dominant position of White's queen prevents some of them, but this will not be forever). White's attack on the other hand is not as dangerous as it looks at first sight: file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (7 of 14) [06/03/2002 8:09:30 AM]

Endgame Corner

28...a4 (28...Qb3!?) 29.fxe6 Qxe6 I After 29...Bc5+ one possible continuation is 30.Kh2 fxe6 31.g5 hxg5 32.hxg5 a3 33.Qb7 axb2 34.Qf7+ Kh8 35.Qh5+= II 29...fxe6 30.g5 hxg5 31.hxg5= 30.Qxa4 30...h5?! The alternatives are more dangerous, but I didn't find a way for Black to win, e.g., 30...Bc5+ 31.Kh2 Qe7 32.Kg3 Rd3+ 33.Rf3 Rxf3+ 34.Kxf3 Qxh4 35.Qa8+ Kh7 36.Qe4+= 30...Rd3!? A) 31.Qe4?! Rg3+ 32.Kh2 Rxg4 33.Rf4 Rg6 B) 31.Kg2?! Qd5+ 32.Kh2 Qd8 33.Kg2 (33.Be1? Rd4 34.Qb3 Qd7 35.Qf3 Rxg4 36.Qf5 Qxf5 37.Rxf5 g6 38.Rf3 Re4 and Black is clearly better.) 33...Qxh4 34.Rf3 Rd8 C) 31.Qf4?! Bc5+ 32.Kh2 Qa2 D) 31.Rf4 Qb6+ 32.Kf1 Qe3 33.Rf2 and Fritz says, that the position is equal. But this looks nevertheless very dangerous. 31.Qe4 (31.gxh5? Rd3 32.Qf4 (32.Kf2 Qb6+ 33.Kg2 Qb7+ 34.Kh2 Qc8–+) 32...Bc5+ 33.Rf2 Be3 34.Qe4 Qh3 35.Qa8+ Kh7 36.Qe4+ Kh6 37.Qc6+ Kxh5–+) 31...hxg4 (31...Bc5+ 32.Kg2 hxg4 33.Kg3=) 32.Kg2 Be7 33.h5 Rc8 34.Rf4 Qa2?! 35.e6!? file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (8 of 14) [06/03/2002 8:09:30 AM]

Endgame Corner

Setting a trap 35...Qxe6?! Wells was in time trouble and had to play this and the following moves very quickly. I 35...fxe6? 36.Bxg7! Qd5 (36...Kxg7? 37.Qg6+ Kh8 38.Qh6+ Kg8 39.Rxg4+ Kf7 40.Qg6+ Kf8 41.Qg8#) 37.Bd4+II 35...f5! was the right answer: 36.Qd3 (36.Qxf5 Rxc3=) 36...Qxe6 37.Qxf5 Qxf5 38.Rxf5 Bf6 39.Bxf6 gxf6 and Black should be able to hold the rook endgame. 36.Qxe6 fxe6 37.Rxg4 Bf8 38.h6 g5?! 38...g6 39.Rxg6+ Kh7 40.Rxe6 Bxh6 and Black can most probably sacrifice his bishop for White's b-pawn to reach a drawn R+B vs R endgame. 39.Rxg5+ Kh7 40.Bg7 Rc2+ The pawn endgame after 40...Bxg7? 41.hxg7 Rg8 42.b4 Rxg7 43.Rxg7+ Kxg7 is lost as Black's king is outside the square of the b-pawn. 41.Kf3 Bxg7? The resulting rook endgame is lost due to White's dangerous outside passed b-pawn. Something like 41...Bd6 had to be tried. 42.hxg7 Kg8 43.b4 Rb2

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Endgame Corner

44.Rg4! White needs time to transfer his king to the queenside to support the passed b-pawn. The hasty 44.b5? spoils it: 44...e5 45.Rxe5 Kxg7 46.Ke4 Kf6= 44...Rb3+ 45.Ke2 e5 46.Kd2 e4 (46...Rf3 47.Kc2 Rf7 48.Kd3 Rb7 49.Kc4 Re7 50.Kd5 Re8 51.Re4 Kxg7 52.Rxe5 Rb8 53.Re4 Kf6 54.Kc6 Kf5 55.Rh4 Ke6 56.b5+-) 47.Rxe4 Kxg7 48.Rf4 Kg6 49.Kc2 Re3 50.b5 Kg5 51.Rb4 Kf5 52.b6 Re8 53.b7 Rb8 54.Kb3 1-0 and Black resigned due to 54...Ke6 55.Ka4 Kd6 56.Ka5 Kc5 57.Rb1 Kc6 58.Ka6 Kc7 59.Ka7+Sources: Fundamental Chess Endings, Karsten Müller and Frank Lamprecht, GAMBIT 2001 ChessBase MEGABASE 2001 The Week in Chess

Exercises (Solutions next month) E18.01 J.Loifenfeld (2400) A.Illner (2309) 2nd Bundesliga West, Germany 2000 Can White to move save himself?

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Endgame Corner

E18.02 H.Hebbinghaus T.Heinemann Northern German Blitz Team Championship Potsdam 2002

In a blitz game White took the pawn with 1.Rxa2. Was this a fortunate choice?

E18.03 R.Polzin (2469) E.Brestian (2428) Austrian Staatsliga A, Graz 2002, Gleisdorf-Gamlitz, 2nd board The position looks dangerous for Black. What should he do?

E18.04 V.Anand (2794) A.Shirov (2722) Leon Man+Comp 2001 White to move and win.

Solutions to last month exercises

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Endgame Corner

E17.01 A.Feuerstein E.Mednis U.S. Championship, New York 1957 Mednis played the amazing 43...Bc6!! 0-1 and White resigned as he loses after 44.Bxc6 (44.Bxf7+ Kf8 45.Ra7 Bc5+–+; 44.Rxf7 Bxd5 45.Rd7 a2–+) 44...a2 45.Rd7 a1Q 46.Rxd6 Qa7+ 47.Kg2 Qc7 48.Rf6 Kg7–+ E17.02 W.Müller, K.Müller White wins by avoiding nasty checks with 1.Kb3! (1.Kb4? Ke3 2.g5 Kf4 3.g6 Nxg6 4.d7 Ne5=; 1.Ka4? Nc4 2.d7 Nb6+=) 1...Ke3 2.g5 Kf4 3.g6 Nxg6 4.d7 Ne5 5.d8Q+-

E17.03 O.Meyer - S.Puttfarken Hamburg youth championship under 12, Schönhagen 2002 I want to thank Jeronimo Hawellek from Hamburg for allowing me to use his analysis of this instructive rook ending. The two very young players made several mistakes and 44...Rc4? was the first of them. 44...Rg3= or 44...Rh3= would have drawn. 45.g5! Threatening back rank mate. 45...hxg5 46.hxg5 fxg5

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Endgame Corner

47.Kxg5? I found the correct way to proceed in the post mortem analysis: 47.f6!! A) 47...Rc8 48.Rxg7+ Kh8 49.Kg6 Rc6 (49...Rg8 50.Rxg8+ Kxg8 51.Kxg5+-) 50.Rd7 Rc8 51.Rh7+ Kg8 52.f7+ Kf8 53.Rh8++B) 47...Rxe4 48.Rxg7+ Kh8 49.Kg6 Rd4 50.Rh7+ Kg8 51.f7++- The pawns on e5 and g5 hinder Black. White shall not take these shields for his king! 47...Rxe4 48.f6 48...Rc4? Black had to play 48...Kg8! 49.Rxg7+ (49.fxg7 Re1=) 49...Kf8 50.Ra7 (50.Kf5 Ra4 51.Rd7 Ra1=) 50...Re1 51.Kf5 Rb1= and Black's rook can deliver a check against Ke6 and Kg6. 49.Rxg7+ Kh8 50.Kh6 Rc6 50...Rh4+ 51.Kg6 A) 51...e4 52.Re7 Rg4+ 53.Kf7 Kh7 54.Ke8+ Kg6 55.f7 (55.Rg7+? Kxf6 56.Rxg4 Kf5=) 55...Rf4 56.f8Q Rxf8+ 57.Kxf8 Kf5 58.Kf7 Kf4 59.Ke6 e3 60.Kd5 Kf3 61.Kd4 e2 62.Kd3+B) 51...Rg4+ 52.Kf7 Ra4 53.Rg1 Ra7+ 54.Kg6 Kg8 55.Rb1 Ra8 56.Rb7+51.Rg6 (51.Kg6+-) 51...Rc7

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Endgame Corner

52.Rg5? A mistake allowing White to use a stalemate defence. White's rook had to move farther south. I 52.Kg5? e4 53.Rh6+ Kg8 54.Kg6 e3 55.Rh4 e2 56.Re4 e1Q 57.Rxe1 Rg7+= II 52.Rg1! e4 (52...Rh7+ 53.Kg6 Kg8 54.Rd1 Rf7 55.Rd8+ Rf8 56.f7++-) 53.Rd1 Kg8 54.Kg6 Rc8 55.Rd7 e3 56.Rg7+ Kh8 57.Rh7+ Kg8 58.f7++52...e4? 52...Rh7+! 53.Kg6 Kg8 54.Rxe5 (54.Rg1 Rh2 55.Ra1 Rg2+ 56.Kf5 Rb2=) 54...Rg7+= as 55.fxg7 is stalemate. 53.Rf5? (53.Kg6 Kg8 54.Re5+-) 53...Kg8 54.Re5 Rc4? (54...Kf7 55.Kg5 e3=) 55.Kg6 Rc8 56.Rxe4 Kf8 57.Rh4! Kg8 58.f7+ 1–0 Copyright 2002 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in ChessCafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

[The Chess Cafe Home Page] [Book Reviews] [Bulletin Board] [Columnists] [Endgame Studies] [The Skittles Room] [Archives] [Links] [Online Bookstore] [About The Chess Cafe] [Contact Us] Copyright 2002 CyberCafes, LLC. All Rights Reserved. "The Chess Cafe®" is a registered trademark of Russell Enterprises, Inc.

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Endgame Corner

Bishops at Work (Part 1) So far I have not dealt with same coloured bishop endings in Endgame Corner, so it is high time to do it. Important concepts in same coloured bishops endings are:

1) The principle of one diagonal, i.e. if the bishop can fulfill all its tasks on one diagonal, then it is very strong as it can be diverted and can't fall in zugzwang.

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

2) Capablanca's rule: Put all your pawns on the opposite colour of your bishop, so that they can't be attacked by the opponent's bishop and complement your bishop by protecting squares of the other colour to compensate the bishop's greatest weakness: its monochromacity (it can only visit 32 of the 64 squares of the board). 3) Put protected pawns on the colour of your opponents bishop to restrict it (and ideally close it out of your position altogether). This is contradictory to Capablanca's rule (see 2), but chess is no easy game. It depends on the given situation, which rule should be used. Both strategies are of course also applicable in the middlegame. 4) It is difficult to dislodge a king from squares of the other colour, if there is no check with a pawn and no zugzwang available. I can't deal with all of these principles in detail, but I hope that my analysis of the following recent games shed some light on the problems:

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Endgame Corner

A) A king defends his fortress The following game is an instructive example of the strength of a defending king, which can't be disloged:

19.01 P.Blatny (2458) - K.Bischoff (2541) Austrian Staatsliga 31.10.2001 44...f5 45.Kg3 e5 46.Kf3 Kg8 47.Ke2 Kf7 48.Ba5 Ke6 49.Bd2 e4 50.Bc1 Be5 51.Bd2 f4 52.Bb4 Kf5 53.Bc5

White's king on e2 is holding the position together: 53...Bf6 53...Kg5 54.Kf2 Kh4 55.Be7+ g5 A) 56.Bd8? Bd4+ A1) 57.Kf1 Be3 58.Bf6 (58.Ba5 Kg3 59.Be1+ Kh2 60.h4 g4 61.h5 g3 62.h6 f3–+) 58...f3 59.Be5 Bf4 60.Bc3 Kg3 61.Be1+ Kh2 62.gxf3 exf3 63.Kf2 Bg3+–+ A2) 57.Ke2 Be3 58.Bc7 Kg3 59.Kf1 Bd2 60.Be5 (60.Bb6 f3 61.gxf3 Kxf3–+) 60...e3 61.Bd4 e2+ 62.Kxe2 Be3 63.Bc3 Kxg2 64.Be1 Bb6 65.h4 f3+ 66.Kd3 gxh4 67.Bxh4 Bc7–+ B) 56.Bc5! the king has to stay on f2 for the time being file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (2 of 11) [06/23/2002 11:47:37 AM]

Endgame Corner

54.Bf2 Bc3 55.Bc5 Ba5 56.Ba7 Bb4 57.Bb6 Ke6 58.Bc7 Bd6 59.Bb6 Kd5 60.Ba7 Bc5 61.Bb8 g5 62.Bc7 Ke6 63.Bd8 Kf5 64.Ba5 Kg6 65.Bc3 Kh5 66.Ba5 Bg1 67.Bb4 Bh2 68.Ba5 Kh4 69.Be1+! Bg3 70.Bd2 Kh5 71.Bb4 Kg6 72.Bc5 Kf5 73.Bb6 g4 74.hxg4+ Kxg4 75.Bc5 Bh4 76.Bb6 Bf6 (76...Kg3 77.Bf2+ Kxg2 78.Bxh4 e3 79.Be1=) 77.Kf2 Bb2 78.Ba7 Bc1 79.Bb6 Ba3 80.Ba7 Be7 81.Bb6 Bh4+ 82.Ke2 Bg5 83.Kf2 e3+ 84.Kf1 Bh4 85.Ke2 Bf2 86.Kf1 Kg3 87.Bc7! the only move as 87.Ba5? e2+ 88.Kxe2 Kxg2–+ loses 87...Kg4 88.Bb6 Bh4 89.Ke2 and after a few more moves a draw was agreed.

19.02 T.Souche (2139) M.Santo Roman (2426) Parisch op 2001 White's king on b4 keeps the enemy at bay. Butt he has to defend very carefully due to his weak pawns: 52.Bb5? loses precious ground. White can hold the position with 52.Be6 A) 52...Kc7 53.Ka5 Bd3 (53...Be8 54.Bf5 Bd7 55.Bxd7 Kxd7 56.Kb6 Kc8 57.Kb5 Kc7 58.Ka5 Kb8 59.Kb6= as 59...Ka8?? loses to 60.Kc7 b5 61.Kxd6+-) 54.Bf7 b6+ 55.Kb4 Be2 56.Be6 Ba6 57.Bf5 Bc8 58.Be6! (58.Bxc8? Kxc8 59.Kb5 Kb7 60.Ka4 Ka6 61.Kb4 b5 62.Kb3 Ka5–+) file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (3 of 11) [06/23/2002 11:47:37 AM]

Endgame Corner

58...Ba6= (58...Bxe6? 59.dxe6 d5 60.Kb5 Kd6 61.Kxb6 Kxe6 62.Kc6+-; 58...Bd7? 59.Bxd7 Kxd7 60.Kb5 Kc7 61.Ka6+-) B) 52...Be4 53.Bg8 Bf3 54.Be6 Ka6 55.Ka4 b5+ 56.Kb4 Kb6 57.Bd7 Bxd5 58.Bxb5= 52...Be4! 53.Kc4 (53.Bc4 Bf3–+) 53...Bd3+! a nice shot. White probably hoped for 53...Bxd5+?? 54.Kxd5 Kxb5 55.Kxd6+- 54.Kxd3 Kxb5 55.Ke4 Kc4 56.Kf5 b5 57.Ke6 b4 58.Kxd6 b3 59.Kc7 (59.Kc6 b2 60.d6 b1Q 61.d7 Qb8–+) 59...Kxd5 0–1 19.03 Xu Jun (2668) - P.Nielsen (2578) Istanbul ol (Men) 2000 The goalkeeper on d8 would have drawn this position as well: 48.b5 f5? Christopher Lutz showed the method to hold the draw (see his analysis in the MEGABASE 2001): 48...Be6! 49.Kb4 Bc8 50.Ka5 f5 51.Kb4 Be6 52.Kc5 f4 e.g. A) 53.Bf3 Bc8 54.Kc6 Bd7+ 55.Kd5 Bxb5 56.Kxe5 a5 57.Kxf4 a4 58.Bd1 (58.Bd5 Bd3 59.Ke5 Bb1 60.f4 a3 61.f5 a2=) 58...a3 59.Bb3 Bc6 60.Ke5 Bf3= B) 53.f3 Bb3 54.Bd5 (54.Kb4 Be6 55.Ka5 Bc8 56.Be4 Ke8 57.b6 axb6+ 58.Kxb6 Kd8=) 54...Bc2 55.Kc6 e4 56.fxe4 f3 57.e5 f2 58.e6 (58.Bc4 Be4+ 59.Kc5 Bg2=) 58...f1Q 59.e7+ Ke8 60.Kc7 Qxb5 61.Bc6+ Qxc6+ 62.Kxc6 Bf5= 49.Kd5 e4 (49...Bf3+ 50.Kxe5 Bxc6 51.bxc6 a5 52.Ke6+-) file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (4 of 11) [06/23/2002 11:47:37 AM]

Endgame Corner

50.Ke5 Bh3 51.Bd5 Bg4 52.Be6 Be2 53.Kxf5 Bxb5 (53...e3 54.fxe3 Bxb5 55.e4 Bd3 [55...a5 56.e5 a4 57.Ke4 a3 58.Kd4+-] 56.Kf4 a5 57.Ke3 Bc2 58.e5 a4 59.Kd4 Bb1 60.Bg4+-) 54.Kxe4 Bc6+ (54...a5 55.f4 a4 56.f5 a3 57.f6 Ke8 58.Kd4 Ba4 59.f7+ Kf8 60.Kc5 Kg7 61.Kb4 Bd7 62.Ba2+-) 55.Ke5 Bf3 White wins the race now: 56.Bd5 Bg4 (56...Bxd5 57.Kxd5 a5 58.f4 a4 59.f5 a3 60.f6 Ke8 61.Ke6 a2 62.f7+ Kf8 63.d7+-) 57.f4 a5 58.f5 a4 59.f6 Ke8 60.f7+ Kf8 61.Be6 a3 62.d7 1–0

19.04 A.Miles (2584) - L.Comas Fabrego (2516) Mondariz zt 1.1 2000 In the next example Black tried the restriction method, but it is nevertheless very complicated as Tony Miles tried very hard to break through: It looks like White's king and bishop have no inroad into Black's camp, but Miles finds an amazing way to create trouble: 69.g5 f5! Normally the defender tries to exchange pawns to reduce the remaining winning potential, but in this position he has to restrict White's bishop with f5. 69...fxg5? 70.fxg5 Kf7 71.Ke5 Ke7 72.Bg2 Bd7 73.Bf3 Be8 74.Be4+- 70.Bf3 Bd7

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Endgame Corner

71.Bd5+!! A fantastic shot! Tony Miles really had good technique and fighting spirit! 71...cxd5? 71...Ke7! was correct as Tsesarsky showed in CBM 79: 72.Ke5 cxd5 73.cxd5 A) 73...Bb5 works as well: 74.c6 Bc4 (74...Ba4? 75.d6++-) 75.d6+ Kf7 76.Kd4 Be6 77.Kc5 Ke8= B) 73...Ba4 74.c6 Bb5 75.d6+ Kd8 76.c7+ (76.Kd5 Kc8 77.Kc5 Bd3=) 76...Kd7 77.Kf6 Ba6 78.Kxg6 Kxd6 79.Kxf5 Kxc7 80.Kf6 Kd7 81.f5 Bd3! firing at the f-pawn is essential (81...Ke8? 82.Kg7+-) 82.g6 Ke8 83.g7 Bc4 84.Kg6 Bd5 85.Kh7 Ke7= 72.cxd5+ Ke7 73.c6 Bc8 (73...Be8 74.Ke5 Bf7 75.d6+ Kd8 76.Kf6+-) A critical position. White has to make the right choice. 74.Kc5? 74.Ke5! was called for: 74...Ba6 75.d6+ Kf7 76.Kd5 Ke8 77.Ke6 Bc4+ 78.Kf6 Bb5 79.c7 Kd7 80.Kxg6 Ba6 81.Kxf5 Kxd6 82.g6 Kxc7 83.Ke6 Kd8 84.Kf7 Bc4+ 85.Kf8 Kd7 86.f5+(Tsesarsky) 74...Ke8! After 74...Kd8? 75.Kb6+- Black is in a fatal zugzwang. 75.d6 (75.Kb6 Kd8 76.d6 Be6 77.Kb7 Bd5=) 75...Be6 76.Kd4 (76.d7+ Ke7 [76...Bxd7? 77.cxd7+ Kxd7 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (6 of 11) [06/23/2002 11:47:37 AM]

Endgame Corner

78.Kd5 Ke7 79.Ke5 Kf7 80.Kd6+-] 77.Kb6 Bxd7 78.cxd7 Kxd7 79.Kb7 Kd6 80.Kc8 Kd5 81.Kd7 Ke4=) 76...Kf7 77.Kc5 (77.Ke5 Bb3 78.d7 Ke7 79.d8Q+ Kxd8 80.Kf6 Kc7 81.Kxg6 Kxc6 82.Kxf5 Kd7 83.Kf6 Ke8 84.g6 Kf8=) 77...Ke8 78.Kd4 Kf7 79.d7 Ke7 80.Kc5 Kd8 81.Kd4 Ke7 82.Kc5 Kd8 83.Kd6 Bxd7 84.cxd7 stalemate ½–½ Sources: ChessBase MEGABASE 2001 ChessBase Magazine 79 The Week in Chess Secrets of Chess Intuition, Beliavsky and Mikhalchishin, Gambit 2002 Exercises (Solutions next month) E19.01 T,Thiel (2335) K.Müller (2505) German Bundesliga 1997 Can White to move save his skin?

E19.02 B.Raphael H.Kennicott USA–01.New York 1857 How to asses this position with White to move?

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Endgame Corner

E19.03 E.van Haastert (2417) M.Hoffmann (2428) Dutch Team Playoffs Enschede 2002 Who is better? (White to move.)

E19.04 Rogulj - Groszpeter Gleisdorf 1996 Find Black's most convincing move.

E19.05 Z.Ivanovic (2232) M.Savic (2184) Croatian Cup Pula 2002 While playing through some bishop endings I found this very fascinating pawn ending. How to evaluate this position with White to move? Solutions to last month exercises

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Endgame Corner

E18.01 J.Loifenfeld (2400) A.Illner (2309) German 2.Bundesliga West 2000 White has to act very precisely: 65.Kd3? now the advance c4 follows with check! 65.Ke3! Kb3 66.Ra5 b4 (66...c4 67.Rxb5+ Kc2 68.Ra5=; 66...a2? 67.Kd2+-) 67.Rxc5 a2 (67...Kb2 68.Ra5 b3 69.Kd3=) 68.Ra5 Kb2 69.Kd3 (69.Kd2? b3 70.Kd3 a1Q–+) 69...b3 70.Kc4= 65.Ra7? is wrong as well: 65...c4 66.Kd4 Kb3 67.Rh7 c3 68.Kd3 a2 69.Rh1 b4 70.Rf1 c2 71.Rc1 Ka3! 72.Kxc2 b3+ 73.Kd3 b2–+ 65...Kb3 66.Kd2 (66.Ra5 c4+ 67.Kd2 b4 68.Kc1 Ka2–+) 66...Kb2 67.Ra5 b4 68.Kd3 a2 0–1 E18.02 H.Hebbinghaus T.Heinemann NDBMM Potsdam 2002 1.Rxa2?? was a very unfortunate choice: 1...Rb8+ 2.Ka3 Kc4 3.Ra1 Kxc3 4.Ka2 Kxc2 0–1

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Endgame Corner

E18.03 R.Polzin (2469) E.Brestian (2428) Austrian Staatsliga 2002 The position is astonishingly difficult: 57...Rc4? 57...Rg4! was the right move: 58.Kf6 (58.Rxf7 Rxg5+ 59.Kd6 Rf5=) 58...Rf4+ 59.Ke5 Rf1= 58.Kf6? 58.Rxf7 leads to a won endgame with the g-pawn: 58...Rxc6 59.Rf6 Rc1 (59...Rc5+ 60.Kd6 Rf5 61.Rxg6 Ke8 62.Ke6 Rf8 63.Rh6 Rg8 64.g6 Kf8 65.Kf6+-) 60.Rxg6 Ke7 61.Rf6 Rc5+ 62.Kf4 Ra5 63.Kg4 Ra1 64.Kf5 Ra8 65.Kg6 Rg8+ 66.Kh6+58.c7+ wins surprisingly as well:

A) 58...Kd7 59.c8Q+ Kxc8 60.Rxf7 Rc6 61.Re7 (61.Rf6? Rc5+ 62.Kf4 Rc4+ 63.Kg3 Kd7 64.Rxg6 Ke7 65.Rf6 Ra4=) 61...Kd8 62.Re6 Rc8 63.Kf6 Kd7 64.Re7+ Kd6 65.Re1 Rg8 66.Kf7+B) 58...Kc8 59.Kf6 Rf4+ (59...Rc5 60.Ra8+ Kxc7 61.Ra7+ Kd8 62.Rxf7 Ke8 63.Rh7 Rc6+ 64.Kg7 Ra6 65.Rh6+-) 60.Ke7 B1) 60...Rf1 61.Ra8+ Kxc7 62.Rf8 f5 (62...Rg1 63.Rxf7 Rxg5 64.Kf6++-) 63.gxf6 g5 64.Rg8 Re1+ 65.Kf8 Re5 66.f7+B2) 60...Rg4 61.Ra5 Rf4 62.Ra8+ Kxc7 63.Rf8+58...Rf4+! (58...Rxc6+? 59.Kxf7 Rb6 60.Ra8+ Kd7 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (10 of 11) [06/23/2002 11:47:37 AM]

Endgame Corner

61.Rg8+-) 59.Ke5 Rf1 60.Rd7+ Kc8 61.Kd6 f6 62.Rc7+ (62.Rf7 Rd1+ 63.Kc5 fxg5=) 62...Kd8 63.Rd7+ ½–½ E18.04 V.Anand (2794) A.Shirov (2722) Leon Man+Comp Anand played 56.R4d5+ and Shirov resigned due to 56...Kh4 (56...Rf5 57.Rxf5+ Kxf5 58.Kf2+-) 57.Rh6+ Kg4 (57...Kg3 58.Rg5#) 58.Rg6+ Kh4 59.Rxg2+- 1–0 Copyright 2002 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in ChessCafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

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Endgame Corner

Bishops at Work (Part 2) I continue the discussion of same-colour bishops endings (for the first part see the ChessCafe.com Archives):

B) How to deal with passed pawns? A passed pawn is a dangerous weapon. If the defending king can blockade it securely, it is not easy to stop as the attacker can try to use his own bishop as shield for the pawn as the following example shows:

Endgame Corner

20.01 C.Engelbert (2238) - G.Putzbach (2235) Hamburg-ch int 10.06.2001 What shall Black do? Is it good to wait or shall he play c3 to exchange his c-pawn for White's a-pawn?

Karsten Müller

58...c3? Putzbach made the wrong choice as White's powerful e-pawn will now decide the issue. He had to stay, where he was, e.g., 58...Bb4 59.a7 (59.Kg6 Kc7 60.Kf7 Kc6 61.Bc3 Ba3 62.Ke8 Kb6 63.Kd7 Kxa6 64.Kc6 Be7 65.Kxd5 Kb5=) 59...Kb7 60.Ke5 (60.Kg6 Ka8 61.Kf7 Kb7 62.e7 Bxe7 63.Kxe7= as White has a wrong rook's pawn.) 60...c3 61.Kxd5 c2 62.Be3 Be7 63.Kc4 c1Q+ 64.Bxc1 Kxa7 65.Kd5 Kb7 66.Bf4 Kc8 67.Kc6 Bb4 68.Bg5 Ba3! 69.Kd5 Kc7 70.Ke5 Kc6 71.Kf5 Kd5 72.Kf6 Ke4 73.Kf7 Kf5 and the position is drawn due file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (1 of 15) [08/02/2002 8:34:56 AM]

Endgame Corner

to Centurini's rule (see, e.g., Fundamental Chess Endings 4.26). 59.Bxc3 Kb6 60.Kf6 Kxa6 61.Kf7 Kb5 (61...Bc5 62.Bg7 d4 63.Bxd4+-) 62.Bg7! Necessary precision 62.Bf6? Kc4 63.Be7 Bxe7 64.Kxe7 d4=. After 62.Ke8? Black has many ways to draw. One of them is to reach Centurini's position immediately: 62...d4 63.Bxd4 Kc4 64.Bf6 Kd5 65.Kd7 Bc5= 62...d4 (62...Kc4 63.Bf8+-) 63.Bxd4! Black doesn't get to f5 in time to draw by Centurini's rule. (63.Bf8? d3 64.Bxd6 d2 65.e7 d1Q 66.e8Q+ Kc4=) 63...Kc4 64.Bf6 Kd5 65.Be7! Bg3 66.Bb4 1-0 and Black resigned due to 66...Bh4 67.Bc3 Ke4 68.Bf6+The next example shows a fascinating race: 20.02 S.Williams (2369) - S.Collins (2194) BCF-ch Smith & Williamson Scarborough (4), 02.08.2001 59.a4 Ke5 The radical 59...Bxa4 loses: 60.Kxa4 Ke5

A) 61.h4? f4 62.g4 f3 63.g5 (63.Bxg6 Kf4 64.h5 Ke3 65.h6 f2 66.h7 f1Q 67.h8Q Qa6+=) 63...Kf4 64.h5 Kxg5 65.hxg6 Kf6 66.Kb4 f2=

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Endgame Corner

B) 61.Kb3 f4 62.g4 g5 63.Kc4 f3 64.Kc5 f2 65.Kc4 Kf4 66.Kxd4 Kg3 67.Bf1+60.a5 60...g5? This race is lost. Black had to play 60...Be4! 61.Kc4 Bd5+ 62.Kc5 Be4 63.Bxe4 fxe4 64.a6 d3 65.a7 d2 66.a8Q d1Q 67.Qe8+ Kf6 68.Qxe4 Qc1+ 69.Kd4 Qa1+ 70.Ke3 Qe1+ 71.Kf4 g5+ 72.Kf3 Qh1+= 61.a6 f4 (61...g4 62.hxg4 fxg4 63.Kc5 Bg2 (63...Bf3 64.a7 Bh1 65.Be2 Bb7 66.Bxg4 d3 67.Kb6 Bg2 68.Kc7 Kd4 69.Kb8 Ke3 70.Bd1 Kd2 71.Ba4 Ke3 72.g4 Kf4 73.Bd1+-) 64.a7 Bf3 65.Bb5 Ba8 66.Be2 Ke4 67.Bxg4 Ke3 68.Bd1 d3 69.g4+-) 62.gxf4+ gxf4 (62...Kxf4 63.Kc5 Bg2 64.Kxd4 Bxh3 65.Be4+-) 63.h4 f3 64.h5? White misses the strong 64.Kc5!, which wins a tempo: 64...Ba8 65.h5 f2 66.a7 Be4! (66...Bh1?! 67.h6 Kf6 68.Kxd4 Kf7 69.Ke3 f1Q 70.Bxf1 Kg6 71.Bd3+ Kxh6 72.Be4+-) 67.Bxe4 f1Q 68.a8Q Qc1+ 69.Kb6 Qb2+ (69...Qc4!?) 70.Kc7 Qc3+ 71.Bc6 and White should be winning despite his wrong rook's pawn. 64...f2 65.a7 (65.Bf1 Be4 [65...Kf6? 66.Kc5 d3 67.Bxd3 Bg2 68.a7 Kg5 69.Kd4 Kxh5 70.Ke3+] 66.Kc4 d3 67.Kc3 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (3 of 15) [08/02/2002 8:34:56 AM]

Endgame Corner

Kf5 [67...Kd6? 68.h6 Kc7 69.Kd2 Kb6 70.Ke3+-] 68.Kd2 Kg5=) 65...Kf6? Black has the right idea, but waits one move too long. He had to play 65...Be4! immediately: 66.Bf1 Kf6 67.Kc4 d3 68.Kc3 Kg5 69.Kd2 Kxh5 70.Ke3 Kg5 (70...d2? 71.Kxd2 Kg4 72.Ke3 Ba8 73.Kxf2 Kf4 74.Bg2+-; 70...Kh4? 71.Kxf2 d2 72.Ke2 Kg3 73.Kxd2 Kf2 74.Bd3 Ba8 75.Kc3 Ke3 76.Kc4 Bb7 77.Bg6 Kf4 78.Kd4 Ba8 79.Bf7+) 71.Kxe4 (71.Kxf2 d2 72.Ke2 Kf4 73.Kxd2 Ke5 74.Ke3 Ba8 75.Bd3 Kd5 76.Be4+ Kc5 77.Bxa8 Kb6=) 71...d2 72.a8Q d1Q= 66.h6 Be4 (66...f1Q 67.Bxf1 Kg6 68.Kc5 Ba8 69.Kxd4 Kxh6 70.Bc4 Kg7 71.Bd5+-) 67.h7 Kg7 (67...Bxh7 68.a8Q Bxd3 69.Qf3++-) 68.Kc5 1-0 (68.Bxe4 works as well: 68...f1Q 69.a8Q Qe1+ 70.Kb5 Qf1+ 71.Kb6 Qf6+ 72.Ka5 Qe5+ 73.Ka4 and Black has run out of checks) and Black resigned because of 68...Bxd3 69.h8Q+ Kxh8 70.a8Q+ Kh7 71.Qh1+ Kg7 72.Qg2++Sometimes strange positions arise: 20.03 G.Seul (2434) - Y.Pelletier (2531) Julian BorowskiB 3rd Essen 10.05.2001

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Endgame Corner

It looks like White is winning easily due to his passed a-pawn. But it is surprisingly difficult (the game was even drawn):

42.f4? this allows Black to create a passed e-pawn. 42.a7! was called for: 42...Bb7 43.Be8 A) 43...f6 44.Bf7 e5 (44...Kc5 45.Bxe6 Kb6 46.Kg3 Kxa7 47.Bg8 h6 48.Bf7 g5 49.Kg4+-) 45.Bg8 h6 46.Bh7 Kc5 47.Bxg6 Kb6 48.Be4+B) 43...f5 44.Bf7 Ke5 45.Bg8 Kf6 (45...h6 46.f4+ Kxf4 47.Bxe6 Ke5 48.Bc8 Ba8 49.Ba6 Kd6 50.Be2 Kc7 51.Bf3 Bxf3 52.Kxf3 Kb7 53.Kf4 Kxa7 54.Ke5+-) 46.f4 h6 47.h4 Ba8 48.g3 Bb7 49.Ke3 e5 50.fxe5+ Kxe5 51.Bc4 g5 52.Be2 g4 53.Bf1 Kd6 54.Kf4+42...f6 43.h4 43.Be2!? e5 44.h4 h6 45.fxe5 fxe5 and I did not find a way for White to break through - can the readers do better? 43...h6 44.g3 ½–½ The next example could also be in section A of the first part as White's king almost holds his castle together:

20.04 E.Lomer - J.Nunn German Team Cup 2002, Eckernförder Schachclub-Lübecker SV file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (5 of 15) [08/02/2002 8:34:56 AM]

Endgame Corner

The strong English grandmaster had to fight very hard against the German amateur Edmund Lomer to break the resistance: 50.Bb4?! This makes it relatively easy for Black. 50.Bf2!? was tougher, but a reader of the German Schachmagazin 64, Gerhard Kleber from Niederwambach, proved that Black wins nevertheless: 50...Ba5 51.Bxd4 Be1 52.Bf6 Bxg3 53.Bg5 Bf2 54.Bd8 Bc5 55.Bf6 Bd6 56.Bg5 Bc7 57.Ke3 Kc4 58.Bf6 Bb6+ 59.Kd2 Bd4 60.Bd8 Bg7 61.Ke3 Bh8 62.Be7 Kc3 63.Bd8 Bd4+ 64.Ke2 Kc2 65.Be7 Bb6 66.Bf6 Bc7 67.Bg5 Black has to lose a tempo now: 67...Bb8 68.Bh6 Bd6 69.Bg5 Bc7 70.Ke3 (70.Bh6 Bd8–+) 70...Kd1 71.Bf6 (71.Kd4 Ke2 72.Kd5 Kf3 73.Ke6 Bxf4 74.Kf7 Kg4 75.Kxg6 Bg3–+) 71...Ke1 72.Be7 Kf1 73.Kf3 Bb6 74.Bf6 Kg1 75.Kg3 Bf2+ 76.Kf3 Be1 77.Ke2 Bg3 78.Kf3 Kh2 79.Be7 Kh3 80.Bf6 Bxh4 81.Bd4 Bg3 82.Bg1 h4 83.Be3 Kh2 84.Bd4 Bxf4 85.Kxf4 Kg2–+ Very instructive stuff! 50...Bc5 51.Be1 Ba3 52.Bf2 Bb2 53.Be1 Ba1 54.Bf2 Bc3 55.Bg1 Be1 56.Bh2 Bf2 57.Ke2 Be3 58.Kd3 Kc5 59.g4 hxg4 60.Bg3 Kd5 0-1

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Endgame Corner

Addendum After I had finished this column I noticed the following very instructive bishop endgame from the Einstein candidates tournament, Dortmund 2002. It is not as amazing as the endgame Topalov and Shirov played in Linares 1998 (you certainly remember Shirov's incredible move 47...Bh3!!!). But it is nevertheless worth analyzing:

V.Topalov (2745) - A.Shirov (2697) Dortmund 2002 46.Kd2? The following win was shown by Maxim Notkin in the daily internet newspaper Chess Today No.610 and 611: 46.h4! c4!? 47.Kd2 (47.axb4?? c3 48.Bxa4 cxb2–+) 47...c3+ 48.Kc1 cxb2+ 49.Kxb2 bxa3+ 50.Kxa3 A) 50...Bd1?! now White can also win with 51.f5 Bg4 52.fxe6 Bxe6 53.Kxa4 g5 54.Kb5 gxh4 55.gxh4 Bg4 56.Kc5 Kg7 57.Kd4 (57.Kd6?! Kf8 58.Bd7 is met by 58...Kg7!) 57...Kf8 58.Bc6 Ke7 59.Ke4 Kf7 60.Bd5+ Kg6 61.Kf4

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Endgame Corner

Black is now in zugzwang and has to allow e6 or Kg5, e.g., 61...Bd7 62.Be4+ Kh6 (62...Kg7 63.Kg5 Bg4 64.Bg6+; 62...Kf7 63.Kg5 Ke6 64.Bf5+ Kxe5 65.Bxd7 Kd6 66.Kxh5+-) 63.Bf5 Ba4 64.e6 Kg7 65.Ke5 Bb5 66.e7+B) 50...Bc2 51.Bxa4 Bf5 52.Kb4 g6 53.Kc5 Kg7 54.Kd6 Kf7 55.Bb3 and Black has to leave the magic square f5. The following winning plan was found by Maxim Notkin: 55...Bg4 56.Bc2 Bh3 (56...Bf5 57.Bxf5 gxf5 58.Kd7+-) 57.f5!! The first white pawn on f5 57...gxf5 (57...Bxf5 58.Bxf5 exf5 59.Kd7+-) 58.Bb3 f4 59.gxf4 Bf5 (59...Bg4 60.Bc2 Be2 61.f5 exf5 62.Bxf5 Bc4 63.Be4 Kg7 64.Bd5+-) 60.Bd1 Bg4 (60...Kg6 61.Ke7 Bg4 62.Bc2+ Bf5 63.Bxf5+ Kxf5 64.Kf7+-) 61.Bc2 Bh3 The square f5 has a magical attraction for the white pawns: 62.f5! Bxf5 63.Bxf5 exf5 64.Kd7 f4 65.e6++46...h4! Black's desperately needs counterplay on the kingside. 47.gxh4 After 47.g4? Black gets counterplay with 47...g5 48.f5 (48.Ke3? c4 49.fxg5+ Kxg5 50.Kd2 c3+ 51.bxc3 bxa3 52.Kc1 Kf4–+) file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (8 of 15) [08/02/2002 8:34:56 AM]

Endgame Corner

48...exf5 49.gxf5 g4 50.hxg4 h3 51.e6 Kg5 52.Bc6 h2 53.e7 Bf7 which is certainly not favourable for White. 47...g6 48.Kc1 after this retreat the draw is relatively easy. 48.Bb5!? was worth trying: 48...Kh5 49.Kd3 Kxh4 50.Bc4 bxa3! (50...Bxc4+? loses as GM Hort shown: 51.Kxc4 bxa3 52.bxa3 Kxh3 53.Kxc5 Kg4 54.Kd6 Kxf4 55.Kxe6 g5 56.Kd5 g4 57.e6 g3 58.e7 g2 59.e8Q g1Q 60.Qf7+ Kg3 61.Qg6++-) 51.bxa3 Kg3 52.Bxb3 axb3 53.a4 Kxf4 54.a5 c4+ 55.Kc3 Ke3 56.a6 b2 57.Kxb2 Kd2 58.a7 c3+ 59.Kb3 c2 60.a8Q c1Q 61.Qg2+ Kd3 62.Qxg6+ Kd4 63.Qxe6 Qe3+= 48...Kh5 49.Bf7 Kxh4 50.Bxg6 Kg3! 51.f5 exf5 52.Bxf5 bxa3 53.bxa3 Kf4 54.Bc2 Be6! (54...Kxe5?? 55.Bxb3 axb3 56.a4 c4 57.a5 Kd4 58.a6 Kc3 59.a7 b2+ 60.Kb1 Kb3 61.a8Q c3 62.Qa2++-) 55.h4 Kg4 56.Bxa4 Kxh4 57.Kc2 Kg5 58.Kc3 ½–½ Sources: ChessBase MEGABASE 2001 Chess Today The Week in Chess

Secrets of Chess Intuition, Alexander Beliavsky and Adrian Mikhalchishin, Gambit 2002 Fundamental Chess Endings, Karsten Müller and Frank Lamprecht, Gambit 2001 Schachmagazin 64 No.10/2002 Exercises (Solutions next month)

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Endgame Corner

E 20.01 E.Maahs (2194) G.Putzbach (2242) IHEM Hamburg 20.05.2002 Does the breakthrough 1...c4 win ? If not, can Black win?

E 20.02 K.Ozturk (2017) S.Besheva (2125) 3rd EIWCh Varna 03.06.2002 How to asses the position with Black to move?

E 20.03 A.Othman (2367) M.Hussan (2152) Dubai open 24.04.2002 Can Black to move save himself?

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Endgame Corner

E20.04 P.Cramling (2505) A.Shirov (2580) Stockholm 1990 Can Pia Cramling to move hold on despite her pawn deficit?

Solutions to last month exercises E19.01 T.Thiel (2335) K.Müller (2505) German Bundesliga 1997 White can save the draw as follows: I 50.Ke3!! Kc5 (50...Ke5 51.Bc4 Be6 52.Bb5 Bd5 53.Bf1 Be4 54.Bc4 and Black can't make meaningful progress as 54...f4+? 55.gxf4+ Kf5 is met by 56.Bg8 Bc6 57.Bh7+ Kf6 58.Kf2) 51.Kf4 Kb4 52.a6! (52.Bxf5? Bxf5 53.Kxf5 Kxa5 54.Kxg4 b5–+) 52...bxa6 53.Bxa6 Bxa6 54.Kxf5 Bc8+ 55.Ke4 Kc3 56.Ke3 Bd7 57.Kf2=

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Endgame Corner

and White has constructed a fortress.

II 50.Bf1? f4! 51.gxf4 A) 51...Bd7? 52.Ke3 g3 (52...Bb5?? 53.Bxb5 g3 54.Be2+-) 53.hxg3 h2 54.Bg2 Bc6 55.Kf2 h1Q 56.Bxh1 Bxh1 57.a6 bxa6 (57...b5 58.Ke3 Kc5 59.f5 Kb6 60.g4=) 58.Ke3 Kc5 59.Kd3 Kb4 60.Kc2= B) 51...g3 52.hxg3 (52.Bxh3 gxh2 53.Bg2 Bd7 54.Ke3 Bc6 55.Kf2 h1Q 56.Bxh1 Bxh1 57.Ke3 Kc6 58.a6 b5 59.a7 Kb7 60.Kd4 Kxa7 61.f5 Bf3–+) 52...h2 53.Bg2 53...Bh3!! The point of Black's play! 54.Bxb7 (54.Bh1 Bd7–+) 54...Bd7 55.f5 Bc6–+ III 50.Bc2? f4 51.gxf4 Bd7–+ IV 50.Be2? f4 51.gxf4 Bd7–+

V The game continuation 50.Bc4? allowed the decisive breakthrough f5-f4: 50...f4 51.gxf4 Be6 52.Bf1 Bd5 53.Ke3 g3 0–1 E19.02 B.Raphael - H.Kennicott New York 08.10.1857

The position is won for White, but he has to play precisely: 55.Bc4! 55.f6? a5

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Endgame Corner

A) 56.Kd4 b3 57.g7 (57.Bf5 Bxg6 58.Bxg6 b2 59.f7 Ke7=; 57.Kc3 a4 58.Kb2 Bxg6 59.Bxg6 Ke6 60.f7 Ke7=) 57...Bf7 58.Bc4 b2 59.Bxf7 b1Q 60.g8Q Qb2+= B) 56.f7 Bxf7 57.gxf7 Ke7 58.Bc4 a4 59.Kd2 b3 60.Kc3 Kf8 61.Bd5 Ke7= and White can't make progress, e.g. 62.Kd4 b2 63.Ba2 b1Q 64.Bxb1 Kxf7= 55...Ke7 56.g7 Bf7 57.Bxf7?? A horrible blunder. 57.g8Q Bxg8 58.Bxg8 Kf6 59.Kf4 a5 60.Bb3+- was winning easily as the bishop is a source of tempi. 57...Kxf7 58.f6 a5 59.Kd3 a4 60.Kc4 a3 61.Kb3 ½–½ E19.03 E.van Haastert (2417) M.Hoffmann (2428) Dutch Team Playoffs Enschede 10.05.2002 White wins with 57.b5! as Black can't go into the pawn endgame. 57...Kc5 57...Kxb5 58.Bd7+ Ka5 59.Bxa4 Kxa4 60.g4+57...Bxb5 58.Be2+ Kc5 59.Bxb5 Kxb5 60.g4+58.Be2 f5 58...Kd6 59.g4 b6 (59...Ke7 60.b6 Bd7 61.Bf3 Bc8 62.Kd4 Kf8 63.Kc5 Ke7 64.Be4 Bxg4 65.Bxb7 Kd7 66.Bc6+ Kc8 67.Kd6 Kb8 68.Ke7 f5 69.Kf6 Bxh5 70.Kxf5+- White's bishop controls b7 and h1 and so the principle of one diagonal is valid here. White's king will push the f-pawn forward, which will cost Black's bishop.) 60.g5 Ke7 (60...fxg5 61.fxg5 hxg5 62.h6 Bc2 63.Bd3+-) 61.gxh6 Kf8 62.Kd4 Bb3 63.Bc4 Bc2 64.Kd5+file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (13 of 15) [08/02/2002 8:34:56 AM]

Endgame Corner

59.Bd3 Bxb5 (59...Bd1!? 60.Bxf5 Bxh5 61.g4 Be8 62.Bd3 Kd6 63.Kd4 b6 64.f5 Bd7 65.Ke4 Be8 66.Kf4 Bf7 67.f6 Ke6 68.g5 hxg5+ 69.Kxg5 Kd6 (69...Ke5 70.Bg6 Ke6 71.Bxf7+ Kxf7 72.Kf5+-) 70.Kh6+-) 60.Bxf5 Bc4 (60...Bf1 61.Kf2 Bc4 62.g4 Kd6 63.g5 hxg5 64.h6 Bg8 65.fxg5 Ke7 66.h7+-) 61.g4 Kd6 (61...Bf7 62.Bg6 Bg8 63.g5 hxg5 64.fxg5 Kd6 65.h6+-) 62.g5 Ke7 (62...hxg5 63.fxg5 Ke7 64.h6 Kf8 65.g6 Ba2 (65...b5 66.Bd3 Bf7 67.h7+-) 66.Kd4 b5 67.Ke5 b4 68.Kf6 Kg8?! 69.h7+ Kh8 70.g7#) 63.Kd4 Be2 64.Bg6 Kf8 65.gxh6 Bg4 66.Kc5 Kg8 67.Kb6 Bf3 68.f5 Kh8 69.f6 Bd5 70.Kc5 Of course not 70.f7?? Bxf7= as White has only wrong rook's pawns left. 70...Ba2 71.Kd6 Bc4 72.Ke7 b5 73.Bd3 Bd5 74.Bxb5 1–0 E19.04 Rogulj – Groszpeter Gleisdorf 1996 Groszpeter played the amazing 1...Bf4!! 2.Bxf4 (2.gxf4 h4 3.Kxb5 h3 4.Bb6 h2–+) 2...h4 3.Be3 h3 4.Bg1 Ke4 5.a4 bxa4 6.Kxc4 Kf3 7.Kd3 Kg2 0–1

E19.05 Z.Ivanovic (2232) M.Savic (2184) Croatian Cup Pula 08.05.2002 The pawn endgame is surprisingly tricky: 49.Kf4? This allows a breakthrough on the queenside. The only way to stop Black is 49.c4!! d4+ 50.Ke4 a4 51.Kf4 Kf7 52.Ke4 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (14 of 15) [08/02/2002 8:34:56 AM]

Endgame Corner

Kg6 53.Kf4 Kh5 54.Kf5 d3 55.g6 d2 56.g7 d1Q 57.g8Q Qc2+ 58.Kf4 Qf2+ 59.Ke4 Qd4+ 60.Kf3 and White should be able to hold the queen endgame. 49...a4! 50.g6 I 50.Kg4 c4 51.Kh5 d4 52.Kh6 a3 53.g6 axb2 54.g7 Kf7–+ II 50.Ke3 Kf5 51.c4 d4+ 52.Kd3 Kxg5–+ 50...Kf6 51.g7 Kxg7 52.Ke5 d4! 53.cxd4 (53.Ke4 dxc3 54.Kd3 cxb2 55.Kc2 a3–+) 53...c4 54.d5 c3 55.bxc3 a3 56.d6 56...Kf7! 0-1 The careless 56...a2? spoils it due to 57.d7 a1Q 58.d8Q=

Copyright 2002 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in ChessCafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

[The Chess Cafe Home Page] [Book Reviews] [Bulletin Board] [Columnists] [Endgame Studies] [The Skittles Room] [Archives] [Links] [Online Bookstore] [About The Chess Cafe] [Contact Us] Copyright 2002 CyberCafes, LLC. All Rights Reserved. "The Chess Cafe®" is a registered trademark of Russell Enterprises, Inc. file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (15 of 15) [08/02/2002 8:34:56 AM]

Endgame Corner

Bishops at Work (Part 3) I continue my discussion of same coloured bishop endings (for the first two parts see the ChessCafe Archives) and end with some featuring opposite coloured bishops: C) In Karpov's Hands

Endgame Corner

Karpov is known for his excellent technique and so I wanted to include some of his games: 21.01 A.Karpov (2775) - C.Hansen (2635) Groningen 1995

Karsten Müller

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It does not look like much, but Karpov understands how to increase his advantage: 34...Kf7 35.a4 Ke8 36.a5 Kd7 37.axb6 cxb6 38.Bc3 Bd6

Endgame Corner

39.b4!? Karpov tries to open a road for his king on the queenside to support his protected passed d-pawn. 39...cxb4 39...c4 40.b5 Ke7 41.Kc2 Kf6 42.Bd2 Bc5 43.Kc3 (+- Karpov in Informant 65/556).

But how does White break through after 43...Ke7 44.Kxc4 Bd6 45.Be3 (45.Bb4? Bxb4 46.Kxb4 g5=) 45...Bc7 46.Kd3 Kd7 47.Ke2 Ke7 48.Kf3 Kd6 49.Kg3 Bd8 ? This may be a fortress. 40.Bd2 Kc7 41.Kc2 b5 42.Kb3 Kd7 (42...Kb7?! 43.Bxb4 Bxb4? 44.Kxb4 Kb6 45.g5 Ka6 46.d6 Kb6 47.d7 Kc7 48.Kxb5 Kxd7 49.Kc5+-) 43.Bxb4 Bc7 44.Bc3 Bd6 45.Bb2 b4 46.Bc1 Bc5 47.Bd2 Bg1 48.Kxb4 Bf2 49.Kc4 Bg1 50.Kd3 Bc5 51.Be3 Be7 52.Kc4 After Steffen Pedersen's suggestion 52.g5!? (see Test your Chess page 116) Black has to transfer his bishop to a more active post immediately: 52...Bb4! 53.Kc4 Be1 54.Kc5 Bg3 55.d6 Bf4 56.Bf2 (56.Bxf4 exf4 57.Kd4 Kxd6 58.e5+ Ke6 59.Ke4 f3=) 56...Bxg5 57.Kd5 Bf4 58.Bh4 g5 59.Bxg5 Bxg5 60.Kxe5= file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (2 of 24) [09/02/2002 10:25:12 AM]

Endgame Corner

52...Ba3? Now Karpov manages to restrict Black's bishop. After 52...Bh4! 53.Bc5 Bg5 54.d6 Kc6 55.d7 Bd8 56.Bb4 Kxd7 57.Kd5 Bf6 58.Bc3 Bg7 59.Bxe5 Bh6= (Karpov) White can't get to f6 to win the pawn g6. 53.Bd2 Be7 I 53...Bb2 54.Bc3+II 53...Kc7 54.Bc3 Bd6 55.Bb4+54.Bc3 Bd6 (54...Bf6 55.g5 Bxg5 (55...Bg7 56.Bb4 Bh8 57.Bf8 Ke8 58.Bh6+-) 56.Bxe5 Bh4 57.Bd4 Ke7 58.e5 g5 59.Bc5+ Kf7 60.e6+ Kf6 61.Kb5 g4 62.Kc6+-) 55.Bb4 Bb8 (55...Bc7 56.d6 Bxd6 57.Bxd6 Kxd6 58.Kb5 g5 59.Kb6 Kd7 60.Kc5 Ke6 61.Kc6 Ke7 62.Kd5 Kf6 63.Kd6+) 56.Kb5 Ba7 (56...Bc7 57.d6 Bd8 58.Kc5 Bf6 59.Kd5 Bg7 60.Bc3+-) 57.Bc5 Bb8 58.d6 1-0 Black's bishop is completely dominated! The following rapid game is quite instructive as well: 21.02 A.Karpov (2693) - L.van Wely (2697) FIDE GP Dubai 2002 White is slightly better and creates the first passed pawn with 28.f3 exf3 29.gxf3 Kd7 30.a4 a6 31.e4 Kc6 32.Kf2 Bf4 33.Bf6 b5 34.cxb5+ axb5

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Endgame Corner

35.a5!? A remarkable decision. Karpov seeks his chances with two distant passed pawns against Black's connectors. This makes the following play quite sharp and in the end his decision will prove justified as van Wely has to fight against the dangerous a-pawn, which forces his king very far away from the remaining kingside pawns. 35...b4 36.e5 c4 37.e6 c3 38.e7 Kd7 39.a6 c2 40.Bb2 Bb8 41.Ke2 Kxe7 42.Kd3 Kd6 43.Kxc2 Kc6 44.Bd4 Bd6 45.Kb3 Be7 46.Kc4 Bf8 47.Be3 Be7 48.Bd2 (48.f4 Bd6=) I am sure, that Karpov had such a position in mind, when he played 35.a5. Black is already in trouble, but he could still have found a rescue. 48...b3 48...Kb6? 49.Bxb4 Bg5 (49...Bxb4 50.Kxb4 Kxa6 51.Kc5+-) 50.Kd5 Kxa6 51.Ke6 Bc1 (51...Kb5 52.Be7 Bd2 53.h4 Kc4 54.Kf7 Kd5 55.Kxg6 Ke6 56.Bg5 Ba5 57.f4+-) 52.Bf8 g5 53.Bh6 Kb5 54.Kf5+49.Kxb3 Kb6 50.Kc4 Kxa6 51.Kd5 (51.f4 Bh4 52.Kd5 Kb5 53.Bc3 Bd8 54.Be1 (54.Be5 g5 55.f5 g4 56.hxg4 hxg4=) 54...Bc7 55.Bd2 h4 56.Ke6 Kc4 57.Kf6 Kd3 58.Bc1 Ke4=) 51...Kb5 52.f4 (52.Ke6 Bd8 53.Bc3 (53.f4 Kc4 54.Kf7 Kd3 55.Bc1 Kc2=) 53...Kc4 54.Bf6 Bc7 55.Kf7 Kd3 56.Bg5 Ke2 57.f4 Kf3 58.Kxg6 Bxf4=) 52...Bd8 53.Bc1 (53.Be1 Bc7 54.Bg3 h4 55.Bh2 Bb6 56.Ke6 Bf2=) file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (4 of 24) [09/02/2002 10:25:12 AM]

Endgame Corner

and in this difficult position van Wely makes the decisive error. ...h4 is wrong in principle as it violates Capablanca's rule, not to put your pawns on the colour of your bishop, but in this concrete situation the saving path could only be found by precise calculation seeking active counterplay: 53...h4? 53...Kb4! was the way to hold on, e.g. 54.Ke6 Kc3 55.Kf7 Kc2 56.Ba3 (56.Kxg6 Kxc1 57.Kxh5 Kd2 58.Kg6 Ke3 59.f5 Kf4=) 56...g5 57.fxg5 Bxg5 58.Kg6 Bd8 59.Kxh5 Kd3 60.Bc1 Ke4 61.Bg5 Ba5 62.Kg4 Be1=

54.Ke6 Kc4 55.Kf7 Kd3 56.Kxg6 Ke4 57.f5 Kf3 58.Bg5 Ba5 59.Bxh4 Kg2 60.Be7 1–0 To bring a counterexample to Capablanca's rule I want to remind you of the following classic by the great Cuban world champion and endgame virtuoso himself: 21.03 W.Winter - J.R.Capablanca [C49] Hastings 1919 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bb4 5.0–0 0–0 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.d3 Bd6 8.Bg5?! 8.h3 was called for. 8...h6 9.Bh4 c5 Preventing d4 as Black is not yet ready for this opening of the position and setting a trap into which William Winter falls. 10.Nd5? Now the trap is sprung. 10.Nd2 or 10.h3 is better. 10...g5!

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Endgame Corner

11.Nxf6+ I 11.Nxg5 Nxd5! wins a piece as 12.Qh5 hxg5 13.Bxg5 Nf4 wins for Black. II 11.Bg3 Nxd5 (11...Bg4? 12.Ne3 Bh5 13.Nf5 Kh7 14.Qe2 Re8 15.Qe3 and White has managed to unpin.) 12.exd5 Bg4 13.h3 Bh5 14.Re1 Re8 15.Bh2 f5 and Black is clearly better. 11...Qxf6 12.Bg3 Bg4! 13.h3 Bxf3 14.Qxf3 Qxf3 15.gxf3 Black is clearly on top despite the fact, that so many of his pawns are stuck on dark squares. The point of his strategy is that White's bishop is completely hemmed in and he is playing with a piece more on the queenside. 15...f6 16.Kg2 a5 17.a4 Kf7 18.Rh1 Ke6 19.h4 Rfb8 20.hxg5 hxg5 21.b3 c6 22.Ra2 b5 23.Rha1 Now Capablanca is able to open the queenside with the nice break 23...c4! 24.axb5 (24.dxc4 bxc4 25.bxc4 Rb4 26.Kf1 Rab8 27.Ke2 Rxc4 28.Kd3 Rd4+ 29.Ke2 g4–+) 24...cxb3 25.cxb3 Rxb5 26.Ra4 (26.Kf1 Rxb3 27.Rxa5 Rxa5 28.Rxa5 Rb1+ 29.Kg2 (29.Ke2 Bb4 30.Ra6 Re1#) file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (6 of 24) [09/02/2002 10:25:12 AM]

Endgame Corner

29...Rd1 30.Ra6 c5–+) 26...Rxb3 27.d4 Rb5 28.Rc4 (28.dxe5 fxe5 29.Rh1 Be7 30.Rh6+ Bf6–+) 28...Rb4 29.Rxc6 Rxd4 0–1 Three Endgames with Opposite Coloured Bishops While searching for examples I also found the following with opposite coloured bishops, which illustrate fundamental principles in bishop endings: A) The principle of one diagonal If the bishop has all its tasks on one diagonal it can't fall in zugzwang (if the diagonal is long enough) and can't be diverted. So the attacker usually has to avoid such a set up: 21.04 C.Lutz (2644) J.Markos (2467) Mitropa Cup Leipzig 2002 Lutz has calculated precisely that this position is won for him: 50.a8Q Bxa8 51.Kxc4 Ke4 Winning White's bishop with 51...f2 does not help: 52.Bxf2+ Kxf2 53.d5 Ke3 54.Kc5 Bb7 55.d6 Bc8 56.b4 Ke4 57.b5 Ke5 58.b6 Ke6 59.Kc6+- 52.Kc5! 52.Bf2? Bd5+ 53.Kc5 Bb3 54.Bg3 Kf5 55.d5 Kf6 56.Kd6

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Endgame Corner

and White can't break through as Black can always establish a defensive set up based on the principle of one diagonal 56...Kf5 57.Kc6 Kf6 58.d6 Ke6 59.Kc7 Ba4 now Black can stop the pawns on one diagonal as he can use his f-pawn as decoy. 60.b4 Be8 61.Kb6 f2= 52...Kf5 53.Kd6 Bb7 53...Ke4 54.Bf2 Kd3 55.Kc5 Ke4 (55...Ke2 56.Bh4 f2 57.Bxf2 Kxf2 58.d5+-) 56.b4 Kf5 57.Kd6 Ke4 58.b5 Kd3 59.b6 Kc4 (59...Ke2 60.Bh4 Ke3 61.Ke5+-) 60.Kc7 +White's bishop has all its task on the d4-g1 diagonal so White can cash his b-pawn in and win. 54.b4 Ba6 55.Kc6 Bd3 56.b5 Be4+ 57.Kc7 Bd5 58.b6 Ke4 59.Bf2 Kd3 60.b7 Ke2 1–0 B) Firing at pawns This is another important principle in bishop endings, which is more relevant for opposite coloured bishops as the attacking king must then defend pawns on squares of the opponent's bishop (to put pawn's on squares of the other colour is one of the important attacking techniques to restrict the enemy bishop). But now back to 'firing at pawns':

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Endgame Corner

21.05 M.Voigt (2298) T.Gollasch (2126) International Hamburg City Championship 2002 58.Bd5? 58.Be8! was the right defence: 58...Bd6 59.Kh1 Kg5 60.Bf7 h4 61.Be6 firing at the new target - the pawn g4. 61...h3 (61...f3 62.gxf3 gxf3 63.Bd5 f2 64.Bc4= due to the wrong rook's pawn.) 62.gxh3 g3 63.Kg2 Kh4 64.Bd5=

58...Bd6! 59.Bf7 Now it is unfortunately too late. 59.Kh1 Kg3 60.Bc4 h4 61.Be2 h3 62.gxh3 Kxh3 63.Ba6 f3 64.Bb7 Kg3 65.Bc8 Kf4 66.Be6 g3 67.Bh3 Ke3 68.Kg1 Ke2 69.Bf1+ Ke1 70.Bh3 Bc5+ 71.Kh1 Kf2–+ 59...f3+ 60.Kg1 60.Kh1 f2 61.Bc4 g3 Black would now win even without his bishop, but not without his h-pawn: 62.Bf1 Kg5 63.Ba6 Kf4 64.Bf1 Ke3 65.Ba6 Kd2 66.Bf1 Ke1 67.Ba6 h4 68.Bf1 h3 avoiding stalemate 69.Ba6 f1Q+ 70.Bxf1 Kxf1 71.gxh3 g2# 60...Bc5+ 61.Kf1 (61.Kh2 g3+ 62.Kh1 f2 63.Bc4 Kg4–+; 61.Kh1 f2 62.Bc4 g3–+)

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Endgame Corner

Now White can't get back into the safe corner h1 61...f2? Giving White an impregnable fortress. 61...Kg5! was called for: 62.Bc4 (62.g3 h4–+; 62.gxf3 gxf3 63.Be8 h4 64.Bd7 Kf4 65.Be6 Kg3 66.Bf5 h3–+) 62...Kf4 63.Bd5 h4 64.gxf3 gxf3 65.Be6 Kg3–+ Black's pawn-f3 is a typical example of the attacking strategy to put pawns on the other colour to fight against the enemy bishop.

62.Be8 Kg5 63.Bc6 Kf4 64.Be8 h4 65.Bc6 Kg3 66.Bd7 h3 67.gxh3 Kxh3 68.Bc6 ½–½ On his way to the great victory in the Prague Grand Prix Anand had the following interesting ending: 21.06 V.Anand - I.Sokolov Eurotel Trophy (rapid game) White has difficulties to get f4 in. He can resolve them by slowly regrouping his men and threatening to bring his king over to the queenside: 58.Kg3?! Starting an unfortunate plan. 'I thought that White could gain a tempo to move his king to the queenside by threatening f4.' (Anand in New in Chess Magazine 4/2002, p.23). 58.a4 was called for, e.g., A) 58...Kf4 59.a5 Bc3 60.a6 Bd4 61.Bc4+- (Anand). Same sample lines run: 61...Bb6 62.Bd5 Ba7 (62...Ke5 63.Bc6 d5 64.Kg3 Kd6 65.b5 d4 66.Be4 Ke5 67.Bd3 Ba7 68.f4+ Kf6 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (10 of 24) [09/02/2002 10:25:12 AM]

Endgame Corner

69.Kg4 Bb6 70.f5 Ba7 71.Kf4 Bb6 72.Ke4+-) 63.Kh3 Bf2 64.Bc6 Ba7 65.Kh4 Be3 66.Kh5 Kf5 67.Be4+ Kf6 68.Kg4 Ke5 69.b5 d5 70.Bd3 Bb6 71.f4++B) 58...Bc3 59.b5 Ba5 60.Bd3 Kf4 61.Kf2 Bb6+ 62.Ke2 d5 (62...Ke5 63.Bc2 Kd4 64.f4 Ba5 65.Kf3 Kc5 66.f5+-) 63.Bc2 Ke5 64.Kd3 Ba5 65.f4+ Kxf4 66.Kd4 Kg5 67.Kxd5 Kf6 68.Kc6 Ke7 69.b6 Kd8 70.Kb5 Be1 71.a5 Kc8 72.a6+58...Be5+ 59.Kf2 Bd4+ 60.Ke1? 'And here I froze, realizing that I had blundered a pawn.' (Anand) 60...Bb2 61.a4 Bc3+ 62.Kd1? 62.Kf2! Bxb4 63.Ke3 Kf5 64.Kd4

seems surprisingly to be winning: 64...Kf4 65.Kc4 Bc5 (65...Be1 66.Kb5 Ke3 67.Bd1 Kd2 68.f4 Kxd1 69.f5+-) 66.a5 Ke3 67.Bd1 Ba7 68.a6 Bc5 69.Kd5 Kf4 70.Kc6 Ke3 71.Kb7 d5 72.Kc6 Kd4 73.Bb3+62...Bxb4 63.Kc2

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Endgame Corner

63...Kf6?! now it is Sokolov's turn to choose a wrong (too passive) plan (but we must always bear in mind, that this is a rapid game!). 63...d5 64.Kd3 Bc5= (Anand) 64.Kb3 Bd2? 64...Bc5! was called for: 65.Kc4 Ke5 66.a5 Ba7 67.Kb5 d5 68.Kc6 (68.Ka6 Bc5 69.Kb7 d4 transposes.) 68...d4 69.Kb7 Bc5 70.a6 (70.Kc6 Ba7 71.Bd1 d3=) 70...Kf4 71.a7 Bxa7 72.Kxa7 d3 73.Bd1 Ke3 74.Kb6 Kd2 75.Ba4 Ke3= 65.Kc4 Ke6 65...Ke5 66.Kb5 d5 (66...Kf4 67.a5 Kg3 68.a6 Be3 69.Kc6 Bc5 70.Kb7 Kf2 71.Bd1 Ke1 72.Ba4 d5 73.f4+-) 67.a5 Be3 68.Kc6 Ba7 69.a6 d4 70.Kb7 Bc5 71.a7 Bxa7 72.Kxa7 Kf4 73.Kb6 Ke3 74.Bd1 Kd2

White's king is back in the nick of time: 75.Kc5! d3 76.Kd4+66.Kb5 Kd7 67.Bc4 Kc7 68.Bd5 Be3 69.a5 Bd2 70.a6 Be3 (70...Kb8 71.Kc6 Ka7 72.Bc4 Bf4 73.Kd5 Kb6 74.Ke4 Bh2 75.Bd3 (75.f4?? d5+=) 75...Bg3 76.f4 d5+ 77.Kf3 Bh4 78.Kg4 Be7 79.Kh5+-) 71.f4 Kb8 72.f5 Bd4 73.Kc6 Ka7 74.Bc4 Be5 75.Bd3 Kb8 76.Kd7 1–0 I want to end this discussion with one example, which includes a very interesting queen ending: file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (12 of 24) [09/02/2002 10:25:12 AM]

Endgame Corner

21.07 S.Joachim (2455) U.Bönsch (2542) German Bundesliga 2001–2002, Werder Bremen - König Plauen 50...Ke3? leads to great difficulties. 50...Bd5 was called for: 51.b5 e4 52.Bg2 (52.c6 Bxc6=) 52...e3 53.Bxd5 e2 54.Kxb7 e1Q 55.c6 Qe7+ 56.c7 Ke5 57.Kb8 Qd6 58.Bc6= 51.Bh3! Kf2 52.Bc8 e4 53.Bxb7 e3 54.Ba6! Be2 55.Bxe2 Kxe2 56.c6 The resulting queen endgame with a knight's pawn is quite tricky. In pre-computer days the analysts had grave difficulties and couldn't come to definite conclusions. Nowadays we know, that the defender can usually hold a draw, if his king is in front of the pawn or in the corner farest away (see, e.g., Fundamental Chess Endings 9.13-9.15, p.318). So Black has to choose the right way to handle his king now. 56...Kd1? Black heads into the wrong direction. One sample drawing line runs: 56...Kf2 57.c7 e2 58.c8Q e1Q 59.b5 Kg2 60.Qc6+ Kh2 61.Kb7 Qb4 62.b6 Kg1 63.Kb8 Qf8+ 64.Qc8 Qd6+ 65.Qc7 Qf8+ 66.Qc8 Qd6+ 67.Ka7 Qa3+ 68.Qa6 Qc5 69.Ka8 Qf8+=. Even 56...Kd3?! draws as Black's king can hide behind the b-pawn in this case as well (but this is less reliable especially if the pawn is far advanced): 57.c7 e2 58.c8Q file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (13 of 24) [09/02/2002 10:25:12 AM]

Endgame Corner

e1Q 59.Qd7+ (59.b5 Qf2+ 60.Qc5 Qf7!! (only move) 61.Ka6 Qa2+ (only move) 62.Kb7 Ke2 63.b6 Kf1 64.Kb8 Qe6?! 65.b7 Kg2! and Black's king has reached the safe south-east corner (with his queen well centralized).) 59...Kc4 60.b5 Qf2+= (even 60...Kb4 draws.) 57.c7 e2 58.c8Q e1Q 59.b5 Qf2+ 60.Qc5 Qf6+ 61.Kb7? this blocks the pawn's path. 61...Qf7+? Black returns the favour. He had to head for the safe corner with 61...Ke2 62.b6 Kf1! 63.Ka8 Kg2= 62.Qc7?! 62.Kb8 Qe8+ 63.Kc7 Qf7+ 64.Kd8 Qg8+ 65.Kd7 Qf7+ 66.Qe7 Qf5+ 67.Kc6 Qc8+ 68.Qc7 Qa8+ 69.Kd7 is more precise. 62...Qd5+ 63.Qc6 Qf7+ 64.Kc8 Ke1 65.Qe4+? wastes time and 'forces' Black's king into the safe corner. 65.b6 (only move) 65...Qf8+ 66.Kd7 Qf7+ 67.Kd8 Kf2 68.Qe4!!+- (only move) and White wins in 80 moves. 65...Kf1! 66.b6 Qf8+ 67.Kd7 Qg7+ 68.Kc6 Qc3+ 69.Kb5 Qb2+ 70.Kc5 Qa3+ 71.Qb4 Qe3+ 72.Qd4 Qe7+ 73.Kb5 Qe8+ 74.Ka5 Qe1+ 75.Ka6 Qe2+ 76.Ka7 Qa2+ 77.Kb8 Qh2+ 77...Kg2? is wrong due to the good position of White's queen and the bad of Black's queen. The endgame tablebase gives the following line: 78.Qe4+ Kg1 79.b7 Qf7 80.Kc8 Qg8+ 81.Kc7 Qf7+ 82.Kc6 Qf6+ 83.Kc5 Qc3+ file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (14 of 24) [09/02/2002 10:25:12 AM]

Endgame Corner

84.Kd5 Qb3+ 85.Ke5 Qb5+ 86.Kf4 Qb2 87.Kf5 Qb5+ 88.Kg6 Qb6+ 89.Kh5 Qc5+ 90.Kg4 Qb6 91.Qe7 Qd4+ 92.Kh5 Qb2 93.Qc7 Qe2+ 94.Kh6 Qe3+ 95.Kh7 Qh3+ 96.Kg7 Qg4+ 97.Kh8 Qh5+ 98.Qh7+- 78.Kc8 Qh3+ 79.Kd8 Qb3 80.Qf4+ Kg1! Black's king has reached the safe south-east corner and the position is a theoretical draw. In practice it is very difficult to prove that under time pressure of course. 81.Qg5+ Kf1? the wrong direction. 81...Kh1 was called for. 82.Qf6+? 82.Qg6 was the only winning move. 82...Kg1 83.Qg7+ 83...Kf1? again 83...Kh1 was called for, e.g. 84.b7 Qd5+ 85.Qd7 Qg8+ 86.Kc7 Qg3+ 87.Qd6 Qg7+ 88.Kb6 Qb2+ 89.Ka7 Qa1+ 90.Qa6 Qd4+ 91.Ka8 Qd5= 84.b7 now White makes no further mistake and costs his advantage home: 84...Qd5+ 85.Ke8 Qc6+ 86.Kf8 Qd6+ 87.Kg8 Ke1 88.Qa1+ Ke2 89.Qb2+ Ke1 90.b8Q Qd5+ 91.Kf8 Qc5+ 92.Ke8 1-0 Sources: ChessBase MEGABASE 2001 The Week in Chess

Test Your Chess, Steffen Pedersen, GAMBIT 2000 Secrets of Chess Intuition, Beliavsky and Mikhalchishin, GAMBIT 2002

Fundamental Chess Endings, Karsten Müller and Frank Lamprecht, GAMBIT 2001 Schachmagazin 64 No.10/2002 New in Chess Magazine No. 4/2002. Exercises (Solutions next month)

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Endgame Corner

E21.01 A.Karpov - V.Hort Budapest Tungsram 1973 How did Karpow convert his advantage? (White is to move)

E21.02 A.Karpov (2690) J.Bellon Lopez (2415) Linares 1981 Did Karpov manage to draw this position? (White to move)

E21.03 L.Portisch (2605) A.Karpov (2705) Tilburg 1986 Karpov played 51...Rb4 . Was this a good choice?

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Endgame Corner

E21.04 A.Karpov (2710) J.Timman (2590) Brussels 1987 Timman found a way to hold this position. Can you do the same?

E21.05 A.Karpov (2770) L.Ljubojevic (2600) Amberblind 5th Monte Carlo 1996 White to move and win.

E21.06 K.Darga - B.Spassky Amsterdam Interzonal 1964 Can White to move make progress?

Solutions to last month exercises

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Endgame Corner

E20.01 E.Maahs (2194) G.Putzbach (2242) International Hamburg City Championship 2002 The breakthrough 47...c4 only leads to a draw, but the position seems to be drawn anyway as Black's king can't penetrate. 48.bxc4 bxc4 49.Be1? 49.dxc4 draws as Black doesn't have enough winning potential: 49...Bf2 50.Ke2 Bxg3 51.Kf3 A) 51...Bh4 52.Bb4+ Ke6 53.Bc3 Be7 54.Kg3 f5 55.exf5+ Kxf5 56.Bxe5= B) 51...Bh2 52.Bb4+ (52.Be3?! Bf4 53.Bxf4? exf4 54.Kxf4 Kc5–+) 52...Kc6 53.Kg2 Bf4 54.Kh3 Bg5 55.Kg3= C) 51...h4 52.Bb4+ Ke6 53.Kg4= 49...cxd3 50.Bb4+ Bc5 51.Ba5 Be3 52.Bd2 Bxd2 53.Kxd2 f5 54.Kxd3 fxe4+ 55.Kxe4 Ke6 0–1 E20.02 K.Ozturk (2017) S.Besheva (2125) 3rd European Woman Championship Varna 2002 Black is winning as White has too many weaknesses: 67...Bd2 68.Ba5 Bc3 69.Kf4 Kg7 70.Ke4 After 70.Bc7!? Bxb4 71.Bd6 Black has to be careful due to the closed nature of the position, e.g. 71...Ba5 72.Be7 Kf7 73.Bd6 b5 74.cxb6 Bxb6 75.Bb4 Bd8 76.Kg4 Be7 77.Bd2 Ke8 78.Ba5 c5 79.Be1 Kd7 80.Kf3 Kc6 81.Ke4 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (18 of 24) [09/02/2002 10:25:12 AM]

Endgame Corner

Bd8 82.Bg3 Ba5 83.Bf4 Be1 84.Bg5 c4 85.Bf6 c3 86.Kd3 Kd5–+

70...Kh6 71.Kd3 Bxe5 72.Bd8 Kh5 73.Kc4 Bg3 74.b5 axb5+ 75.axb5 Bxh4 76.Bc7 Bf6 77.bxc6 (77.Kb4 Bd4 78.Bd6 e5 79.Ka5 cxb5 80.Kxb5 g5 81.Kb6 Kg4 82.Kxb7 Bxc5 83.Bxc5 Kf3–+) 77...bxc6 78.Kb4 Bd4 79.Bd6 g5 80.Kc4 e5 81.Kd3 g4 82.Ke2 Kh4 83.Bf8 Kh3 0–1 E20.03 A.Othman (2367) M.Hussan (2152) Dubai open 2002 Black can't save the day: 54...Kf3 55.Bc5 h5 (55...Kg2 56.h4 Kh3 57.h5 h6 58.Be3+-) 56.h4 f5

I 56...Kg4 57.Be7 Kf3 58.Bf6 Kxf2 59.Kb5 Ke3 60.Kc5 Ke4 61.Kd6 Kf5 62.Ke7 Kg6 63.Bd4 f5 64.Be5+II 56...f6 57.Kb5 Kg4 58.Be7 Kxh4 59.Bxf6+ Kg4 60.Kc4 Kf3 61.Bh4 Kg4 62.Bg3 h4 63.Bxh4 Kxh4 64.Kd4 Kg4 65.Ke4+57.Kb5 Kg4 58.Kc4 Kxh4 59.Kd3 Kh3 (59...Kg4 60.Ke3 h4 (60...f4+ 61.Ke4 h4 62.Bd6+-) 61.Bd6 h3 62.Bf4 Kh4 63.Kf3 Kh5 64.Kg3+-) 60.Ke3 h4 (60...Kg2 61.Be7 f4+ 62.Ke2 Kg1 63.Kf3 Kf1 64.Bh4+-)

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Endgame Corner

61.Kf3? 1-0 (61.Be7! was the right move: 61...Kg4 62.Bxh4 Kxh4 63.Kf4+-) and Black resigned, but the position is drawn: 61...Kh2 62.Bd6+ Kg1 63.Ke3 (63.Bg3 hxg3 64.Kxg3 f4+ 65.Kf3 Kf1=) 63...h3 64.Bg3 h2 65.Bxh2+ Kxh2 66.Kf4 Kg2 67.f3 Kf2 68.Kxf5 Kxf3= E20.04 P.Cramling (2505) A.Shirov (2580) Stockholm 1990 Black can't win surprisingly as White has established a blockade on the dark squares with her king and pawns: 54.Bb1?! g5 55.hxg5+?? This unfortunate error opens a path for Black's king. 55.Bd3! was called for, e.g. 55...gxh4 (55...g4 56.Be4 Ke5 57.Bb1=) 56.gxh4 Ke5 57.Be2 Ke4 58.Bb5 Kf3 59.Be2+ Kg3 60.Bxh5 Bxh5 61.Kd3 Kxh4 62.Kxd4 Kg3 63.Ke3= and White's castle can't be taken.

55...Kxg5 56.Be4 I 56.Bd3 Kg4 57.Be2+ Kxg3 58.Bxh5 Bxh5 59.Kd3 Kf2 60.Kxd4 Ke2 61.Kc3 Bf7–+ as White's king can't get to c1, b1 or a1 to reach an inpregnable fortress. II 56.Ke2 Bg6 57.Bxg6 Kxg6 58.Kd3 Kf5 59.Kxd4 Kg4–+ 56...Kg4 57.Kd3 Kxg3 58.Kxd4 h4 59.Ke3 h3 60.Bf3 h2 0-1 and Pia Cramling resigned as she can't prevent that Black's bishop is transferred to g2. file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (20 of 24) [09/02/2002 10:25:12 AM]

Endgame Corner

Addendum I want to correct two mistakes in last month Endgame Corner column. I found the first in example 20.02 myself: S.Williams (2369) - S.Collins (2194) BCF-ch Smith & Williamson Scarborough 2001 60...Be4! is the right defence, but I gave the wrong reasons. 60...g5? was the game continuation (see Endgame Corner 20 in the ChessCafe.com Archives). 61.Kc4 Against the immediate 61.Bxe4 Black has a surprising ressource: 61...Kxe4! (61...fxe4? 62.Kc4+-) 62.a6 d3 63.a7 d2 64.a8Q+ Ke3 and it seems that White can't win, e.g., 65.Qd5 Ke2 66.Qe6+ Kf2 67.Qd6 Ke1 68.Qxg6 d1Q 69.Kc5 Kf2 70.h4 Qc1+ 71.Kd5 f4 72.gxf4 Qxf4 and the queen endgame is theoretically drawn. 61...Bd5+? forces Black's king on a more active position. 61...Bb7! is the way to do it: 62.Kc5 g5 63.h4 (63.a6 Bxa6 64.Bxa6 f4 65.gxf4+ gxf4= due to the wrong rook's pawn.) 63...gxh4 64.gxh4

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Endgame Corner

Now Black can rescue himself as his king has access to the f4 square: 64...Be4 65.Kc4 (65.Bxe4 fxe4 66.Kc4 d3 67.Kc3 Kf4 68.Kd2 e3+ 69.Kxd3 Kf3 70.a6 e2 71.a7 e1Q 72.a8Q+ Kg4=) 65...Bd5+ 66.Kb4 Be4 67.Bf1 (67.Bxe4 fxe4 68.Kc4 d3 69.Kc3 Kf4 70.Kd2 e3+ 71.Kxd3 Kf3=) 67...f4 68.h5 f3 69.a6 (69.Kc4 Bd5+ 70.Kd3 Be4+ 71.Kd2 Kf4 72.h6 Kg5 73.Bd3 f2=) 69...Kf5 70.Kc4 Kg5 71.Kxd4 Ba8 72.Ke3 Kxh5 73.Bb5 Kg4 74.Kf2 Kf4 75.Bd7 Be4 76.Bc8 Bd3 77.a7 Be4= 62.Kc5 Be4 (62...Bb7 63.h4 Bc8 64.Kc6 f4 65.gxf4+ Kxf4 66.Kd5+-) 63.Bxe4 Kxe4 (63...fxe4: White wins the resulting pawn ending as his outside passed pawns tear Black's king apart 64.Kc4!+- [I gave the wrong 64.a6? d3 65.a7 d2 66.a8Q d1Q 67.Qe8+ Kf6 68.Qxe4 Qc1+ 69.Kd4 Qa1+ 70.Ke3 Qe1+ 71.Kf4 g5+ 72.Kf3 Qh1+= last month.]) 64.a6 d3 65.a7 d2 66.a8Q+ Ke3 67.Qa3+ Ke2 68.Qb2

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Endgame Corner

Now everything is ready for the well known mating final 68...Ke1 (68...Kd3 69.Qb5+ Kc2 70.Qc4+ Kb2 71.Qd3 Kc1 72.Qc3+ Kd1 73.Kd4+-) 69.Kd4 d1Q+ (69...d1N is no real escape, of course.) 70.Ke3+The second mistake is in example 20.04 and was pointed out by my friend Frank Holzke (I have translated his e-mail from German into English): E.Lomer - J.Nunn German Team Cup EckernfördeLübeck, Hamburg 2002 "The german amateur Edmund Lomer could have saved the draw with 50.Bf2! (50.Bb4? was the game continuation.) After 50...Ba5 51.Bxd4 Be1 52.Bf6 Bxg3 53.Bg5

I (Holzke) follow the line given by Kleber from Niederwambach and is quoted by you (KM) in Endgame Corner No.20. A position arises that is known from the game Westerinen vs. Timman, Haifa ol 1976. The position is drawn, file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (23 of 24) [09/02/2002 10:25:12 AM]

Endgame Corner

although Westerinen lost and Donner (The King, 1997, p. 235 et seq.) claimed that there was no salvation. The win was given by Mark Dvoretsky (Secrets of Chess Training, 1991, p. 199): White has to avoid moving his king, which would allow Black's king to enter his camp via c4. So he has to maneuvre his bishop carefully to avoid falling into zugzwang. After 53...Bf2 (as played by Timman) he has to choose 54.Bd8 (or Bf6) Bc5 and now in any case 55.Ba5 to be ready to meet 55...Be7 with 56.Be1 and 55...Bd6 with 56.Bd2. Only if Black transfers his bishop back to g3 White returns with his bishop to g5 and after Bh2 he always replies Bh6." Thank you, Frank! Copyright 2002 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in ChessCafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

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Endgame Corner

Winning Zones

Endgame Corner

The queen is so strong that it usually beats a whole horde of pawns, if they are not too far advanced. But even a single pawn can draw if it has reached the seventh rank. You certainly know that the queen normally wins against a knight or central pawn (if not you can look it up in almost any endgame reference work). With a rook or bishop's pawn, matters are completely different as the defender has stalemate defences at his disposal. The attacker only wins if the king is close enough to support the queen. I will now look at several such cases. It is of course not necessary to know all these zones by heart but I hope that you profit from studying the examples. Then you will be able to deal successfully with such positions. I start with the rook's pawn:

22.01 Queen vs a-pawn

Karsten Müller

White to move only wins, if his king is inside the zone: 1.Qf2+ Kb1 (1...Kb3?! 2.Qd4 Kc2 3.Qa1+- when the queen gets in front of the pawn she wins always.) 2.Kb4 a1Q 3.Kb3 Qe5 4.Qc2+ Ka1 5.Qa2# With a bishop's pawn, the zone is considerably smaller:

Order Fundament Chess Endings by Karsten Müller & Frank Lamprecht The BCF Book of the Year!

22.02 Queen vs c-pawn

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Endgame Corner

Even d4 is not near enough: 1.Qe2!? (1.Qb4+ Ka1 2.Qa3+ Kb1 3.Qb3+ against a knight's or central pawn this manoevre would have won as Black's king would be forced to go in front of his pawn. But now he has 3...Ka1! 4.Qxc2 stalemate.) 1...Ka1! (1...Kb1? denies the queen the very important square b1 2.Kc3 c1Q+ 3.Kb3+-) 2.Kc3 c1Q+ 3.Kb3 Qb1+ 4.Ka3 Qc1+= or 4...Qd3+ 5.Qxd3 stalemate. When the defending king is on the other side of the cpawn, the winning zone is much larger as Black has to block his c-pawn on his way to the queenside and there are new mating motifs on the kingside: 22.03 Queen vs c-pawn - Kd2 After Grigoriev e5 is just outside the zone, but Black has to defend extremely carefully to save himself: 1.Qd5+ After 1.Qa2 Black has to find 1...Kc3: A) 1...Kc1? 2.Kd4 Kd1 3.Ke3 (3.Kd3?? runs into 3...c1N+=) 3...c1Q+ 4.Kd3+B) 1...Kd3? 2.Qb2 Kd2 3.Ke4 Kd1 4.Kd3+C) 1...Kd1? 2.Kd4 c1Q 3.Kd3+file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (2 of 13) [10/08/2002 7:33:55 AM]

Endgame Corner

D) 1...Kc3!! 2.Qa1+ Kd2 3.Qa5+ Kd1! 4.Qa4 Kd2! 5.Qf4+ Kd1! 6.Qd4+ Kc1= Black has 5 moves now, but only one of them does the job: 1...Ke1! (1...Ke3? 2.Qg2 c1Q 3.Qg5++-; 1...Kc3? 2.Qd4+ Kb3 3.Qa1+-; 1...Kc1? 2.Qa2 Kd1 3.Kd4 c1Q 4.Kd3+-; 1...Ke2? 2.Qa2 Kd1 3.Kd4 c1Q 4.Kd3+-) 2.Qh1+ Kd2! 3.Qg2+ Kc1 4.Kd4 Kb1!= as White's king is just outside the winning zone. Additional pawns can be the defenders undoing as they prevent a stalemate defence: 22.04 J.Dorfman (2505) - G.Timoshchenko (2505) URSch49 Frunze 1981 63...Kg1 64.Qa1+ Kg2 65.Qb2+ Kg1 66.Qb1+ Kg2 67.Qg6+ Kf2

Now White has to take the right pawn: 68.Qxh5 68.Qxf6+?? spoils it: 68...Kg2 69.Qg5+ Kf2 and the h5-pawn controls the square g4, which is of vital importance for the winning manoevre. So to make progress White has to take the file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (3 of 13) [10/08/2002 7:33:55 AM]

Endgame Corner

pawn allowing the stalemate defence. 70.Qxh5 Kg2= 68...Kg2 69.Qg4+ Kf2 70.Qh3 Kg1 71.Qg3+ 1-0 and Black resigned due to 71...Kh1 72.Qf2 no stalemate 72...f5 73.Qf1# But sometimes additional pawns don't spoil the defence and so winning zones arise again: 22.05A X.Bedouin (2115) - S.Kasparov (2475) 22nd Open Bethune 2001 56...Qd4+ 57.Ka8 (57.Ka6 is another defence: 57...Qd8 58.b8Q+! Qxb8 stalemate) 57...Qd5 58.a6 Kd6 59.Ka7 Qd4+ 60.Ka8 Qe4 ½–½

22.05B With the king on c3 the winning procedure is as follows: 1...Qd4+ 2.Ka6 (2.Ka8 Qd5 3.a6 Kb4 4.Ka7 Qc5+ 5.Ka8 Qc6–+) 2...Qd6+ 3.Ka7 Qc7 4.a6 Kb4 5.Ka8 Qc6 6.Ka7 (6.a7 Qd5 a fatal zugzwang 7.Kb8 Qd8#) 6...Ka5 7.b8Q Qxa6#

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Endgame Corner

22.05C With the king on the bad square c8 Black even wins despite his offside king: 1...Qc2+ 2.Kd8 2.Kb8 Qc5 3.a6 Qb6! and White's a-pawn is lost. 2...Qd2+ 3.Kc8 Qc3+ 4.Kd7 Qe5 5.a6 Qb8 6.Kc6 Qa7 7.Kc7 Kg2 8.Kc8 Qxa6–+ On c7 is a better place as the route via b6 is available and so the winning zone appears again: 22.05D e5 and f4 are outside the zone as Black has no diagonal check then. I have put Black's queen on h1 as with the queen on d1 the zone would be much smaller (check this for yourself!). Black is winning as his king is close enough: 1...Qh2+ 2.Kb6 (2.Kc8 Qh8+ 3.Kc7 Qe5+ 4.Kc8 Qf5+ and Black wins the a-pawn.) 2...Qe5! 3.Ka6 (3.a6 Qd4+ 4.Kc7 Qa7 and Black wins the a-pawn.) 3...Qb8 (3...Kd3?? 4.b8Q Qxb8 stalemate) 4.Kb6 Kd3 5.a6 Kd4 6.a7 Qd6+ 7.Kb5 (7.Ka5 Qc5+ 8.Ka6 Qc6+–+) 7...Qc5+ 8.Ka6 Qc6+–+ For pawns on a5 and b6 such winning zones can be constucted as well (depending of the placements of the kings and the queen of course). I will not do this, but instead look at the following formation: 22.06 Pawns a4 vs a5 and b2 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (5 of 13) [10/08/2002 7:33:55 AM]

Endgame Corner

The winning zone is explained as follows: White must either be able to reach b5 or c4 in three moves to win as follows: 1.Qc2 1.Qd5+ Ka1 2.Qxa5? b1Q leads to a theoretically drawn queen endgame. 1...Ka1 1...Ka3 2.Qb1+- (2.Ke6+-) 2.Ke6 b1Q 3.Qxb1+ Kxb1 4.Kd5 Kc2 5.Kc4! bodycheck 5...Kd2 6.Kb5 Kd3 7.Kxa5 Kc4 8.Kb6+Sources: Fundamental Chess Endings, K.Müller and F.Lamprecht, GAMBIT 2001 ChessBase MEGABASE 2001 The Week in Chess Informator 66 Exercises (Solutions next month) E 22.01 A.Troitzky (end of a study) 1935 It looks like White is completely lost. Is this true? (White to move)

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Endgame Corner

E 22.02 White's king is outside the winning zone isn't he? (White to move)

E 22.03 J.Diaz (2410) G.Camacho Pinar del Rio 1996 Can Black to move save himself?

E22.04 N.Saleh (2256) S.Testor (2164) Open Oberwart 2002 Which is the right square?

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Endgame Corner

E22.05 H.Palsson (2182) G.Rey (2359) Oz.com qualifier blitz Internet ICC 2000 It is unusual to analyse a blitz game, but this position is quite interesting. Can White to move win?

E22.06 R.Gimber - E.Maurer GER-ch Seniors 13th Dresden 2001 White to move and win.

E22.07 A.Winnicki (2010) A.Czaeczine (2083) GER-ch U18 Girls Winterberg 2002 Black's pawns are very far advanced. Can White to move stop them?

Solutions to last month exercises

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Endgame Corner

E21.01 A.Karpov - V.Hort Budapest Tungsram 1973 Karpov won easily using the sharp weapon zugzwang as all Black's pawns are on light squares and he has 3 weaknesses (on a6,d5 and h7): 44.Bf3 Bf7 45.Bg4 and Hort resigned due to 45...Bg8 46.Bc8 Kc6 47.a3 Bf7 48.Ke5 Bg8 49.Bg4 Kc7 50.Bf3 d4 (50...Kc6 51.g4 Bf7 52.f5 Bg8 53.Kf6+-) 51.Kxd4 Kd6 52.Bg4 Bd5 53.g3 Bc4 54.Bc8+E21.02 A.Karpov (2690) J.Bellon Lopez (2415) Linares 1981 Karpov had to defend very precisely: 49.Ka2! (49.Kc2? Ba5 50.Bd4 Kc6 (50...Bxb6? 51.Kc3 Ba5+ 52.Kxc4 Be1 53.Kd5 Bxg3 54.Ke6=) 51.b7 Kxb7 52.Bf2 Kc6–+) 49...Ba5 50.Ka3! Bc3 (50...Bxb6 51.Bxb6 Kxb6 52.Kb4 c3 53.Kxc3 Kc5 54.Kd3 Kd5 55.Ke3 Kc4 56.Ke2 Kd4 57.Kd2 (57.Kf3? Kd3 58.Kf2 Kd2 59.Kf3 Ke1 60.Kg2 Ke2 61.Kg1 Kf3 62.Kh2 Kf2 63.Kh3 Kg1–+) 57...Ke4 58.Ke2=) 51.Ka4 Bd2 52.Ka3! Ba5 53.Ka4 Bd2 54.Ka3 Kc6 55.Ka4 Bc3 56.b7 Kxb7 57.Kb5 Bd2 58.Kxc4 Kc6 59.Kd3 ½–½

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E21.03 L.Portisch (2605) A.Karpov (2705) Tilburg 1986 51...Rb4! was an excellent choice (51...a4? 52.b6 Bd4 53.Rb5 Ke6 54.Ra5 Rb4 55.b7 Bxa7 56.Rxa7 Rb3+ 57.Kg2 a3 58.Rxa3=) 52.Rxb4 axb4 53.Ke3 (53.b6 runs into 53...Bd4 54.Ke2 b3 55.Kd3 b2 56.Kc2 h5–+) 53...Be7! Karpov prepares to stop White's b-pawn as the endgame with queens, which arises after 53...b3 54.b6 b2 55.b7 b1Q 56.b8Q is far from clear. 54.Kd4 h5 55.b6 b3 56.b7 Bd6 57.Kc3 (57.Kd5 b2 58.Kxd6 b1Q 59.b8Q Qxb8+ 60.Bxb8 h4–+) 57...h4 58.Bd4 Bb8! (58...Bxf4? 59.Ba7 Ke6 (59...Be5+? 60.Kxb3 Kg6 61.b8Q Bxb8 62.Bxb8 Kg5 63.f3 f4 64.Ba7 h3 65.Bg1 Kh4 66.Bh2+-) 60.b8Q Bxb8 61.Bxb8 Kd5 62.f3 b2 63.Kxb2 Kd4=) 59.Be5 Ba7 60.Bd4 60...b2!! 61.Kc2 (61.Bxa7 b1Q 62.b8Q Qxb8 63.Bxb8 h3–+) 61...Bb8 and Portisch resigned due to 62.f3 h3 63.Bg1 Bxf4 64.Kxb2 h2–+

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E21.04 A.Karpov (2710) J.Timman (2590) Brussels 1987 Timman uncorked the manoevre 63...Kf5! (63...Bd4? 64.e6 Bf6 65.Bd6 Kf5 66.Be7 Bc3 67.Bh4 Bb4 68.Bg3+-) 64.e6 Bd8!! 65.Bd6 a5 66.Bc7 Bg5 67.Bxa5 Ke5 and a draw was agreed as Black reaches the Centurini position. E21.05 A.Karpov (2770) L.Ljubojevic (2600) Amberblind 5th Monte Carlo 1996 Karpov converted his advantage easily: 90.Bf2 (90.Bc7 Bxc7 91.a7 wins as well.) 90...Ka5 91.Bh4 Kb5 92.Be1 zugzwang 92...Ba7 93.Kxa7 Kc6 94.Kb8 1–0 E21.06 K.Darga - B.Spassky Amsterdam Interzonal 1964 Klaus Darga had planned to play 66.Kd8? but at the last moment he noticed the ressource 66...Bxc4! 67.Bxc4 stalemate. So he had to go back in order to win: 66.Kb7 Bd3 67.Ka6 Bf1 68.Ka5 Bd3 69.Ka4 Bf1 70.Ka3 Be2 71.Kb2 Ke7 72.Kc3 Kd6 73.Bc2 Ke7 74.Bd3 Bd1 (74...Bxd3?! 75.Kxd3 Kd6 76.Kc3 Kc7 77.Kb3 Kb7 78.Ka4 Kb6 79.d6 Kc6 80.Ka5 Kxd6 81.Kb5+) 75.Kd2 Bb3 76.Be2 Kd6 77.Kc3 Ba4 78.Bd3 Bd1 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (11 of 13) [10/08/2002 7:33:55 AM]

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79.Kd2 Bb3 80.Kc1 Ke7 81.Kb2 Bd1 82.Bc2 Be2 83.Kc3 Kd6 How to win this position? 84.Ba4 Ke7 I After 84...Bf3 a lot of manoevring is required to break Black's tenacious resistance: 85.Be8 Bh5 86.Kb3 Ke7 87.Bb5 Bd1+ 88.Ka3 Be2 (88...Bc2 89.d6+ Kxd6 90.Be8 Bd3 91.Kb3 Be2 92.Bxg6 Bd1+ 93.Ka3 Ke6 94.Be8 Bc2 95.Ba4 Bd3 96.Bb3 Be2 97.Ka4 Bh5 98.Bc2 Bg6 99.Kb5 Kd6 100.Bd3 Bh7 101.Kb6 Bg6 102.Kb7 Kd7 103.Bc2 Bh7 104.Ba4+ Kd6 105.Kc8 Bg8 106.Bb5 Be6+ 107.Kd8 Bf7 108.Bd7+-) 89.Ka4 Bf3 90.Ka5 Be2 91.Kb6 Kd6 92.Be8 Bxc4 (92...Bh5 93.Bf7 Ke7 94.Kc7+-) 93.Bxg6 Bd3 (93...Bxd5 94.Bxf5 c4 95.Kb5 Bf7 96.Kb4 Kd5 97.Kc3 Bg8 98.Bb1 Bf7 99.Bh7 Bh5 100.g6 Ke6 101.g7 Bf7 102.Kd4 c3 103.g8Q Bxg8 104.Bxg8+ Kf5 105.Ke3 c2 106.Bh7++-) 94.Bh7 Kxd5 (94...c4 95.g6 Be4 96.g7 Bxd5 97.g8Q Bxg8 98.Bxg8 c3 99.Bb3+-) 95.g6 Kd4 96.Bg8 c4 97.g7 c3 98.Bb3 Bc4 (98...c2 99.Bxc2 Bc4 100.Bxf5+-) 99.Bxc4 c2 100.g8Q c1Q 101.Qd5+ Ke3 102.Qe5+ Kf3 103.Bd5+ Kg3 104.Qg7+ Kf2 105.Qg2+ Ke3 106.Qh3+ Kd4 107.Qh8+ Kd3 108.Qe5+II 84...Bh5?! 85.Kd2 Bf3 86.Bd1 Be4 87.Bh5+85.Bb5 Kd8?! 85...Bd1 was tougher as White has to win as in the line 84...Bf3 86.d6! Bf3 87.Kb3 Bd1+ 88.Ka3 Bc2 89.Bc6 Bd1 90.Ba4 Be2 91.Bb5 Bd1 92.Bc6 Be2

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Endgame Corner

93.Ka4! the point. White is willing to sacrifice the pawn c4 to penetrate with his king 93...Bxc4 94.Ka5 Be2 (94...Bf7 95.Kb5 c4 96.Kb4 Kc8 97.Bb5 Kb7 98.Bxc4 Bxc4 99.Kxc4 Kc6 100.d7 Kxd7 101.Kd5 Ke7 102.Ke5 Kf7 103.Kd6+-) 95.Bb5 c4 96.Ba4 1–0 Copyright 2002 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in ChessCafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

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Endgame Corner

The Riddle of Bird vs. Morphy Revisted

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

At first I want to thank the many readers, who contributed valuable analysis or important sources (the thread 431 on the Bulletin Board was devoted to these reactions) to my article on Morphy's combination in The Skittles Room in August 2002 (see the ChessCafe Archives). In the end they supported my claim that Morphy's brilliant combination starting with 17...Rf8xf2! 18.Be3xf2 Qh3-a3!! was correct, but the reasoning was different from my original lines. So I decided to put the new ideas together in this article and publish it in Endgame Corner as the main part of the arguments is based on the resulting endgames. If readers know additional sources or analysis of this position or see improvements in the variations given here, they can send an email to [email protected]. 23.01 H.Bird - P.C.Morphy [C41] London 1858 5th match game 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Nc3 fxe4 5.Nxe4 d5 6.Ng3 e4 7.Ne5 Nf6 8.Bg5 Bd6 9.Nh5 0–0 10.Qd2 Qe8 11.g4 Nxg4 12.Nxg4 Qxh5 13.Ne5 Nc6 14.Be2 Qh3 15.Nxc6 bxc6 16.Be3 Rb8 17.0–0–0

Order Fundament Chess Endings by Karsten Müller & Frank Lamprecht The BCF Book of the Year! file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (1 of 19) [10/28/2002 7:41:38 AM]

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We should be grateful to Paul Charles Morphy that he didn't try to convert his extra pawn smoothly now, but tried to win by spectacular means. 17...Rxf2! “The rook sacrifice with which Morphy decided his match game with Bird made the rounds of the chess press.” (Neistadt in Uncrowned Champions) 18.Bxf2 Qa3!! an amazing move from one edge of the board to another 19.c3! the only serious try. I 19.Qg5? Rxb2 20.Qd8+ Kf7 21.Bh5+ g6 22.Bxg6+ hxg6–+ II 19.bxa3?? Bxa3#

19...Qxa2 19...e3? is met by 20.Bxe3 Bf5 21.Qc2!! Dan Scoones pointed out (Bulletin Board item 431–10) that Yakov Neistadt credited the following analysis to Murey in his book Uncrowned Champions, which Dan Scoones translated from Russian. 21...Qxa2 22.Bd3 Bxd3 23.Rxd3 Ba3 24.bxa3 (or 24.Qb1 Bxb2+ 25.Kc2 Qa4+ 26.Kd2 Bxc3+ 27.Rxc3 Rxb1 28.Rxb1 Qa2+ 29.Kc1) file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (2 of 19) [10/28/2002 7:41:38 AM]

Endgame Corner

24...Qa1+ 25.Kd2 Qxh1 26.c4 Qxh2+ 27.Kc3 “In both variations Black ends up losing material.” (Neistadt) 20.b4 Qa1+ 21.Kc2 Qa4+ 22.Kb2? Bird cracks under the pressure. 22.Kc1! is the critical try. Many sources claim that it is sufficient for a draw, e.g.. Euwe and Nunn in The Development of Chess Style (p.38, Batsford 1997): “22.Kc1!...22...Qa1+ leads to perpetual check. This is the best line, but it means that with his pretty combination Black has thrown away the win.” Neistadt in Uncrowned Champions: “After 22.Kc1 Morphy would have had nothing better than satisfying himself with perpetual check.” Fred Reinfeld and Andrew Soltis in their book Morphy Chess Masterpieces (First Collier Books Edition 1974, in descriptive notation, which has been converted to algebraic): “Legend has it that when an onlooker found that 22 Kc1! draws, no one would speak to him for a week. The point of 22 Kc1! is that 22...Bxb4? 23 cxb4 Rxb4 is not check so that White might escape with 24 Qg5! Qa3+ 25 Kd2 Rb2+ 26 Ke1 Rxe2+ 27 Kxe2 Qf3+ 28 Ke1 Qxh1+ 29 Qg1! and wins. So Black would have to take a perpetual check with 22...Qa1+.” (quoted from Claudio Correa de Almeida's Bulletin Board item 431–7) and last not least Anatoly Karpov in his book Miniatures from the World Champions (Collier Books 1985) “Karpov...acknowledges contributions by ‘Soviet masters Gik and Rozenberg’...” file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (3 of 19) [10/28/2002 7:41:38 AM]

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(Macon Shibut, Bulletin Board item 431–3). Now I come to the analysis of 22.Kc1!: A) The variation 22...Bxb4? is more difficult than I assumed in my Skittles Room article: 23.cxb4 Rxb4 24.Qg5 Qa3+ 25.Kd2 Rb2+ 26.Ke1 Qc3+ (26...Rxe2+?! 27.Kxe2 Qf3+ 28.Ke1 Qxh1+ 29.Qg1 Qf3 30.Qg3 (Neistadt in Uncrowned Champions) and White retains his material advantage. ) 27.Kf1 (I only gave 27.Rd2? Rb1+ 28.Bd1 Rxd1+ 29.Kxd1 Qa1+ 30.Kc2=) 27...Bh3+ (27...Qh3+? 28.Qg2 and White is better.) 28.Kg1 Rxe2 29.Qh5 Qf3 30.Qe8+ Qf8 31.Qxf8+ Kxf8 32.Re1 Ra2 33.Re3 Bf5 34.h4 c5 35.Rc3 or 35.Re1 and White is probably better, but matters are still quite complicated. I guess that this variation is already known. B) 22...Rxb4?! 23.cxb4 (23.Qg5? Rb2–+) 23...Bxb4 24.Qc2 Qa1+ 25.Qb1 Qc3+ leads to a draw. C) 22...Bf5?! is interesting as well. Cyrille Viossat and Jean Jabbour tried to prove in a letter to New in Chess Magazine No.2/1992 (page 5f) that Black wins now. But there is a mistake in their line B). After 23.Qe3 Qa2 B1) 24.Rhg1 Bxb4 White can reach a draw with 25.cxb4 Rxb4 26.Rxg7+! . There is of course much more analysis of 22...Bf5, but I think that it is not sufficient to win. François Le Guen suggested analysing the immediate 22...e3?, but this has the big disadvantage that White's king has a clear escape route, after 23.Qxe3, via d2-e1, e.g,. 23...a5 24.Kd2 axb4 25.Ra1 Qb3 26.Rhb1 bxc3+ 27.Qxc3 Bf4+ 28.Be3 Qxc3+ 29.Kxc3 Rxb1 30.Rxb1 Bxe3 31.Rb8 +- or file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (4 of 19) [10/28/2002 7:41:38 AM]

Endgame Corner

23...Bf5 24.Kd2 Be4 25.Rhg1 Rxb4 26.Bg3 +- as White's king finds a safe shelter via e1-f2 or 23...Qa2 24.Qe8+ Bf8 25.Bd3 +-.

Now to my main line: D) 22...a5! seems to win in the long run 23.Qc2 (see line D3) White’s alternatives are weaker: D1) 23.Rhg1 Bf5 24.Qg5 (24.Be3 Bf4–+) 24...Bg6 25.Kd2 axb4 26.Rc1 (26.Ke1 bxc3 27.Rc1 c2 28.Bh5 Qb4+ 29.Kf1 Be7–+) 26...Qa2+ 27.Ke3 bxc3 28.Be1 Bb4 29.h4 Qb2–+ D2) 23.Rdg1 Bf5 (23...axb4? runs into the bolt from the blue 24.Rxg7+! +-) 24.Be3 (24.Qg5 Bg6 25.Kd2 e3+ 26.Bxe3 Qc2+ 27.Ke1 Qxc3+ 28.Bd2 Qa1+ 29.Bc1 Rf8–+; 24.Qh6 Bg6 25.Rxg6 hxg6 26.Qxg6 Qa1+ 27.Kd2 Bf4+ 28.Be3 Qb2+–+) and now 24...Bf4!! is the right move, which I missed in my Skittles Room article (Dennis Breuker had found a flaw in my other line, so I had to look at it again) 25.Bxf4 Qa1+ 26.Kc2 e3+ 27.Qd3 Qa2+–+

D3) 23.Qc2 Qa3+ D3a) After 24.Kd2 Karpov gives the very beautiful: 24...axb4 25.Ra1 (25.Ke1 bxc3–+) 25...bxc3+ 26.Ke3 Qb4 (26...Bf4+ 27.Kxf4 Qd6+ 28.Ke3 Qh6# is even more precise.) 27.Rhb1?

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Endgame Corner

27...Bf4+ 28.Kxf4 Qd6+ 29.Ke3 Qh6# D3b) 24.Qb2 axb4

Dennis Breuker drew my attention to the king moves Kc2 and Kb1, which were not mentioned in my previous article. It seems that 25.Kb1 and 25.Qxa3 are most critical now.

D3b1) 25.cxb4? Bxb4 26.Qxa3 Bxa3+ 27.Kd2 Rb2+ 28.Ke3 Rb3+ 29.Kd2 e3+ 30.Bxe3 Bb4+–+ D3b2) 25.Kc2? b3+ 26.Kb1 (26.Kc1 Qa2 27.Qxa2 bxa2 28.Kc2 and now Dennis Breuker gives “28...e3! 29.Bxe3 Ba3 30.Ra1 Bf5+ 31.Kd2 Rb2+ 32.Ke1 Rb1+ 33.Kd2 Rxh1 34.Rxh1 Bb1 35.Bd3 a1Q 36.Bxb1 and Black must be winning.”) 26...Qa4 threatening a combination of Ba3,b2,Bf5,e3 and Rb3xc3 or Qa5xc3, e.g. 27.Bg3 Ba3 28.Qa1 Bf5 29.Rhf1 Bg6 30.Rg1 b2 31.Qa2 e3+ 32.Bd3 Rb3–+ D3b3) 25.Kb1!? Bf5 26.Qxa3 (26.Bg3 Qxc3 27.Qc2 Bxg3 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (6 of 19) [10/28/2002 7:41:38 AM]

Endgame Corner

28.hxg3 Qxg3 and Black should be winning in the long run.) 26...bxa3+ 27.Ka1 Rb2 28.Rde1 Bf4 29.Rhf1 (29.Bg3 Bd2 30.Rb1 Bxc3 31.Rxb2 axb2+ 32.Ka2 Bxd4–+) 29...Bxh2 30.Bh4 g6 31.Be7

31...Bg3 or 31...Bd6 when Black is much better as his horde of pawns will sooner or later advance. D3b4) 25.Qxa3 bxa3

Anatoly Karpov has made a deep investigation of the resulting endgame and revealed many hidden White resources. But I disagree with his ultimate conclusion that White can hold the draw.

D3b41) After 26.Bg3 the important lines I gave in my previous article are: 26...Be7 D3b411) 27.h4 e3 28.Bxc7 (28.Rdf1 a2 29.Kc2 Ba3 30.c4 Rb2+ 31.Kd3 Rb1 32.Rxb1 Bf5+ 33.Kxe3 Bxb1–+; 28.Rhe1 Rb2 29.Bf1 Bf5–+) 28...Rb7 29.Be5 a2 30.Kc2 Ba3 31.c4 Rb2+ 32.Kd3 Bf5+ 33.Kxe3 Rb3+ 34.Kf4 Bb1 35.Rdg1 Rb7 36.Bxg7 a1Q 37.Be5+ Kf8 38.Bd3 Qc3 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (7 of 19) [10/28/2002 7:41:38 AM]

Endgame Corner

39.Bxb1 Rf7+ 40.Kg5 Be7+ 41.Kh5 Qf3+ 42.Kh6 Bb4–+ D3b412) 27.Bf4 Bf5 28.Kd2 a2 29.Ra1 (29.Ke3 Rb3 30.Ra1 Rxc3+ 31.Kd2 Ra3 with the plan c5 –+.) 29...Rb2+ 30.Ke3 (30.Kd1 e3 31.Bf3 Rf2–+) 30...c5 and Black's attack looks very dangerous, e.g., 31.h4 cxd4+ 32.cxd4 Bb4 33.Bxc7 Bd2+ 34.Kf2 e3+ 35.Kg3 Be4 36.Bf3 e2 37.Bxe4 dxe4–+ D3b42) 26.Be3 D3b421) My main argument last time was refuted by a beautiful study like idea by Karpov, who used a slightly different move order: 26...a2 27.Kc2 Ba3 28.Ra1 Rb2+ 29.Kd1 Bd7 30.Rf1 c5 31.dxc5 Ba4+ 32.Ke1 Bb3 33.Bd4! Rb1+ 34.Kd2 Rxa1 35.Rxa1 Bb2 36.Rg1 (36.Rf1!?) 36...g6 37.h4 a1Q 38.Rxa1 Bxa1 39.Kc1 Ba2

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Endgame Corner

“Both sides are guaranteed a draw,” Karpov judges. “Black is two pawns up, but his bishops are in seclusion.” (Macon Shibut quoting Karpov). D3b422) 26...Rb3 27.Kd2 Rb2+ 28.Ke1 a2 29.Ra1 (One possible line after 29.Kf2 is 29...Bf5 30.h4 Be7 31.h5 Kf7–+) “and now Karpov looks at... 29...Bxh2?! but finds it wanting in view of 30 Kd1! threatening Bc1. Instead he suggests 28...Bh3 and ultimately concludes that ‘a position of dynamic equilibrium’ is what we have!” (Macon Shibut).

I continue with 29...Bd7 30.Kd1 (30.Kf2 Bg4 31.Rhe1 Bxh2 looks very good for Black.) 30...c5 31.dxc5 (31.c4 Be7 32.cxd5 Bh4–+) 31...Be7 32.h4 (32.Bh5 Ba4+ 33.Ke1 Bh4+ 34.Kf1 Bd7 35.h3 Bxh3+–+) 32...Ba4+ 33.Ke1 Bxh4+ 34.Kf1 Bf6 35.Bd4 35...Kf7 My first idea was 35...Bc2? but Kevin Bonham showed (in his Bulletin Board item 431–5) that it is flawed: 36.Bxf6 gxf6 37.Kf2 Bd3 38.Rhe1 f5 39.Ke3 f4+ 40.Kxf4 Bxe2 41.Rg1+ Kf7 42.Rg2

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Endgame Corner

“when Black cannot stop White playing Ke3, forcing Black to play ...Rb1 and surrender the apawn, and after looking at several lines (both with 42...h5 and 42...Kf6) Black's position looks very difficult to win if it is even won at all.” (Kevin Bonham) D3b4221) 36.Bxf6 gxf6 37.Rxh7+ (37.Bg4 Bb5+ 38.Ke1 Bd3 39.Bd1 Kg6–+ as White can't stop Black's slow progress.) 37...Ke6 38.Rh1 f5 39.Ke1 (39.Kf2 Bb5 40.Rhe1 f4 41.Kf1 Ba4–+) 39...Ke5 40.Kf1 f4 41.Rh5+ Kf6 42.Rh6+ Kg5 43.Rh5+ Kg6–+ D3b4222) 36.Ke1 Bb3 37.Bxf6 (37.Rf1 Ke6 38.Bg4+ Ke7 39.Bxf6+ gxf6 40.Rh1 h6 and Black has real winning chances as White's king is firmly tied to the first rank.) 37...gxf6 38.Kf2 (38.Rxh7+ Ke6 39.Rh1 f5 40.Kf2 Bc4 41.Rhe1 f4 42.Kf1

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Endgame Corner

and now Black has the beautiful 42...Rxe2 43.Rxe2 f3–+)

38...Ke6! (My first idea 38...Bc4? 39.Rhe1 f5 40.Kf1 Bb3 41.Bd1 Bxd1

was refuted by Kevin Bonham: 42.Raxd1 Kf6 43.Ra1 Rh2 44.Kg1 Rc2 45.Kf1

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Endgame Corner

and I don't think that Black can win this position.) 39.Ke3 f5 40.Rxh7

40...Rb1! (40...f4+? does not work as Dennis Breuker has shown: 41.Kxf4 Rxe2 42.Rh6+ Ke7 43.Rh7+ Kf6 44.Rh6+ Kg7 45.Rah1

and White should be able to hold.) 41.Rh1 Rxh1 42.Rxh1 Ke5

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This endgame seems to be winning for Black due to his dangerous horde of pawns (he wants to play f4+ followed by d4) and the passive white rook, which has to guard the first rank. I asked Dennis Breuker to check my assessment and he sent me the line 43.Ba6 f4+ 44.Kd2 d4 45.Rh5+ Kf6 46.Rh6+ Kg5 47.Rh1 d3 48.Ra1 (I add the line 48.Bxd3 exd3 49.Kxd3 Be6 50.Rg1+ Kf6 51.c4 Bf5+ 52.Kc3 Bb1 53.Kb2 Ke5–+) 48...Bc2 49.Bxd3 Bxd3 50.Rxa2 which I continued with 50...Kg4 51.Ra4 (51.Ra7 Bc4 52.Ra4 e3+ 53.Ke1 Be6–+; 51.c6 Bc4 52.Ra4 e3+ 53.Ke1 Be6–+) 51...Kg3 52.Ra7 Bc4–+ After this long analysis of 22.Kc1 we now return to the game: 22...Bxb4! 23.cxb4 Rxb4+ 24.Qxb4 Qxb4+ 25.Kc2 e3 26.Bxe3 Bf5+ 27.Rd3 Qc4+ 28.Kd2 Qa2+ 29.Kd1 Qb1+ 0-1 I want to end this article quoting Dennis Breuker (from Bulletin Board item 431–13): “So my whole feeling is Morphy's combination is winning, but that it is very difficult and tricky. Since some variations go to move 30 and further, it is not a full proof. It is difficult to make it entirely clear I think. And that is a pity, since I am a scientist and want a full proof.” file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (13 of 19) [10/28/2002 7:41:38 AM]

Endgame Corner

He certainly has a point, but at least I did not manage to find a drawing line for White. Is the Riddle of Bird vs Morphy now solved or not? Sources: Euwe and Nunn, The Development of Chess Style, Batsford 1997. New in Chess Magazine No.2/1992

ChessBase MEGABASE 2002 ChessCafe Bulletin Board, Thread 431, Nos. 431–1 to 431–14 The following sources were mentioned there: Yakov Neistadt, Uncrowned Champions; Fred Reinfeld and Andrew Soltis, Morphy Chess Masterpieces (First Collier Books Edition 1974); Anatoly Karpov, Miniatures from the World Champions (Collier Books 1985), Karpov...acknowledges contributions by “Soviet masters Gik and Rozenberg.” (M.Shibut) Exercises (Solutions next month) E23.01 P.C.Morphy C.Maurian New Orleans 1869 Can White to move save himself?

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E23.02 P.C.Morphy W.Thomas Philadelphia 1859 White to move and win.

E23.03 P.C.Morphy W.Thomas Philadelphia 1859 It looks pretty grim for White. Is he lost? (White is to move.)

E23.04 P.C.Morphy H.Richardson New York simul 1859 White mates in 3 moves.

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Endgame Corner

E23.05 P.C.Morphy J.Loewenthal London 1859 How to asses the position with White to move?

E23.06 P.C.Morphy J.Loewenthal London 1858 Black to move and draw.

Solutions to last month exercises

E22.01 A.Troitzky, end of a study 1935 White draws with the surprising 1.Ke6!! I 1.e8Q? Kd3+ 2.Kd6 Qxe8–+ II After 1.Kd6? Black wins as usual: 1...Kf4 2.Kd7 Qd1+ 3.Kc7 Qh5 4.Kd8 Qd5+ starting the usual winning manoevre 5.Kc7 Qe6 6.Kd8 Qd6+ 7.Ke8 Ke5–+

1...Kf4+ 2.Kf7=

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Endgame Corner

E22.02 White's king enters the winning zone with check: 1.Kg4+ (1.Kf5+? is outside the winning zone: 1...Kd1! 2.Qd6+ Kc1 3.Qb4 Kd1 4.Qb3 Kd2 5.Qa2

5...Kc3!!=) 1...Kd1 2.Qd6+ Kc1 3.Qb4 Kd1 4.Qb3 Kd2 5.Qb2 Kd1 6.Kf3 c1Q (6...c1N 7.Ke3+-) 7.Qe2#

E22.03 J.Diaz (2410) G.Camacho Pinar del Rio 1996 Black draws with 1...g6! (1...h4 2.f5 h3 3.f6 gxf6 (3...Kg1? 4.fxg7 h2 5.g8Q+- G.Camacho in Informant 66/(569)) 4.g6 f5 5.g7 f4 6.g8Q h2 draws as well.) 2.f5 gxf5 3.g6 f4 4.g7 f3 5.g8Q f2 6.Qf7 Kg2 7.Qg6+ Kh2 8.Qf5 Kg2 9.Qe4+ Kg1 ½–½

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E22.04 N.Saleh (2256) S.Testor (2164) Open Oberwart 2002 61.Kf7? (61.Kh6! is the right square, e.g., 61...Qe8 62.g8Q! Qxg8 stalemate) 61...Qf5+ 62.Ke7 Qe5+ 63.Kf8 Qf6+ 64.Kg8 Qh6 65.Kf8 Kb5 66.Kf7 Qxh5+ 67.Kf8 Qf5+ 68.Ke7 Qg6 69.Kf8 Qf6+ 70.Kg8 Kc5 71.Kh7 Qh4+ 72.Kg6 Qg4+ 0–1 E22.05 H.Palsson (2182) G.Rey (2359) Oz. comqualifier blitz Internet ICC 2000 White could indeed have won: 56.Qd3+? (56.Qd2! Kb2 57.Kc4 Kb1 (57...b5+ 58.Kd3+) 58.Kb3 c1Q 59.Qa2#) 56...Kb2 57.Qd4+ Kb1 58.Qb4+ (58.Kb4 c1Q 59.Kb3 Qc2+ 60.Ka3 Qa2+=) 58...Ka1 59.Qa3+ Kb1 60.Qb3+ Ka1! 61.Qc3+ Kb1 62.Qxc2+ Kxc2 63.Kxb6 ½–½ E22.06 R.Gimber - E.Maurer GER-ch Seniors 13th Dresden 2001 In the game White missed the win: 53.Qd6+? (53.Qf1!+-) 53...Kh3? (53...Kg2=) 54.Qd3+? (54.Qc6 would still have won as the queening square of the h-pawn is firmly under control, e.g., 54...g3 55.Kf5 g2 56.Qf3+ Kh4 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (18 of 19) [10/28/2002 7:41:38 AM]

Endgame Corner

57.Qg4#) 54...Kg2 55.Qe4+ Kg1 56.Qxg4+ Kh1 57.Qh3 ½–½ E22.07 A.Winnicki (2010) A.Czaeczine (2083) GER-ch U18 Girls Winterberg 2002 The win was not easy to spot: 56.Ke4? (56.Qf3+ the queen is on her way to b3 56...Kc2 57.Qe4+ Kc1 (57...Kc3 58.Qc6+ Kd2 59.Qd5+ Kc1 60.Qc4+ Kd2 61.Qb3 Kc1 62.Qxa3+-) 58.Qc4+ Kb1 59.Qb3 Kc1 (59...a2 60.Qd1#) 60.Qxa3+-) 56...a2 57.Qd4+ Kb3 58.Qd5+ Ka3 59.Qc5+ Kb3 60.Qb5+ ½–½ Copyright 2002 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in ChessCafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

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Endgame Corner

Checking Distances, Shelters and More An active rook is a very strong piece on an open board. It can attack loose pawns and harass unprotected pieces easily. I want to deal in this column with another aspect of this strength:

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

A typical problematic arises, when a defending rook is far away from the enemy king and keeps pestering it with checks. In a pure rook and pawn endgame the attacker has three ways to deal with this problem: 1) He can approach the rook with his king. 2) He can use pawns (his own or the opponents') as shelter. 3) He interposes his rook. This is only interesting, if the pawn ending is won, of course. I want to start with a typical example for the first technique. In this case the distance from the checking rook is obviously crucial. The following general guideline is valid here:

Order Fundament Chess Endings by Karsten Müller & Frank Lamprecht The BCF Book of the Year!

When there are at least 3 squares between the king and the rook then the checking distance is sufficiently long. If not then the king usually overcomes the problem successfully. This rule helps in the following well known position:

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24.01 Educational Example The checking distance is long enough and so Black can draw by precise play: 1.Kb4 The waiting move 1.Rd2!? is interesting as well: A) After 1...Rc7?? the checking distance is not long enough any more: 2.Kb4 Rb7+ 3.Ka5 Rc7 4.Kb5 Rb7+ 5.Kc6 Rb8 6.c5+B) 1...Rb8 2.c5 Ke7 3.Kc4 Rd8 draws, e.g. 4.Rh2 Kd7 5.Rh7+ Kc6 6.Rh6+ Kc7 7.Kb5 Rb8+ 8.Kc4 Rb1= as Black's rook will give a barrage of checks. C) 1...Ke7? is wrong: 2.Kb4 Rb8+ (2...Rd8 3.Rxd8 Kxd8 4.Kb5! Kc7 5.Kc5+-) 3.Ka5 Rc8 4.Kb5 Rb8+ 5.Ka6 Rc8 6.Rd4 and now Black doesn't have the resource Ke5 6...Ke6 7.Kb7 Rc5 8.Kb6 Rc8 9.c5+D) 1...Ke5 draws as well. 1...Rb8+ 2.Ka5 Rc8 2...Ra8+? is wrong as White's king can penetrate further 3.Kb6 Rc8 (3...Rb8+ 4.Kc7 Rb4 5.c5+-) 4.c5 the distance is now too short 4...Rb8+ 5.Kc7 Rb2 6.c6 Ke7 7.Re1+ Kf7 8.Kc8 Rb3 9.c7 Rb2

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We have reached the Lucena position. White's rook has to build a bridge for the king as the checking distance is large enough to prevent a direct approach of White's king: 10.Re4 (10.Kd7?! Rd2+ 11.Kc6 Rc2+ 12.Kb6 Rb2+ 13.Ka5 Rc2 14.Kb6 and White is not making progress.) 10...Rb1 11.Kd7 Rd1+ 12.Kc6 Rc1+ 13.Kd6 Rd1+ (13...Rc2 14.Re5 Rd2+ 15.Kc6 Rc2+ 16.Rc5+-) 14.Kc5 Rc1+ 15.Rc4+3.Kb5 Rb8+ 4.Ka6 Rc8! 5.Kb5 After 5.Rd4 Black has the important resource 5...Ke5! 6.Rd5+ Ke6 7.Rd4 Ke5 8.Rh4 Rb8 9.Rh5+ Kd6 10.Rb5 Rc8!= 5...Rb8+ 6.Ka5 Rc8 7.Kb4 Rb8+ 8.Kc3 Rc8 and we have reached the starting position of 24.01 again. The next example shows an important method for the attacker to shorten the checking distance: 24.02 M.Borriss (2445) - M.Wahls (2580) German Bundesliga, Neukölln - HSK, 4th board, 28.04.2002 The position is drawn, but Black has to play very carefully: 48...Kd5 49.Kf4? 49.Kf3! was called for to be able to answer 49...Re1 with 50.Kf2! Re6!? (after 50...Re5 White defends with 51.Kf3! Kc5 52.Rc8+! Kd4 53.Rc1!= as the checking distance is large enough) file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (3 of 23) [12/03/2002 7:56:14 PM]

Endgame Corner

This position is a good exercise! Only 51.Rc8! draws. (51.Ra8? loses as the checking distance from that side is too short: 51...Kc4 52.Ra4+ Kb5 53.Rd4 Kc5 54.Rd1 d5 55.Rc1+ Kb4 56.Rd1 Kc4 57.Rc1+ Kb3 58.Rd1 Re5–+) 51...Kd4 52.Rc6!= (52.Kf3? Re3+ 53.Kf2 d5 54.Rc1 Re5–+ (compare 24.01, line 1...Ke7?)) 49...Re6 50.Ra8 Now Black must shorten the checking distance with his own rook. An important technique to remember!

50...Kc4? 50...Re1! 51.Kf3 Kc4 52.Ra4+ Kb5 A) 53.Ra2 d5 54.Kf2 Re5 55.Ra1 Kc4 (55...d4? 56.Re1!=) 56.Rc1+ Kd3 57.Rd1+ Kc2 58.Rd4 Kc3–+ B) 53.Rd4 Kc5 54.Ra4 d5 55.Kf2 Re5 56.Kf1 Re3 (56...d4? 57.Ra5+ Kd6 58.Rxe5 Kxe5 59.Ke2=) 57.Ra5+ Kc4 58.Kf2 (58.Ra4+ Kb3 59.Rd4 Re5 60.Kf2 Kc3–+) 58...d4 59.Ra4+ Kc5 60.Ra5+ Kb4–+ 51.Ra4+ (51.Ra1 d5 52.Rc1+ Kb3 53.Rd1= draws as well (compare 24.01)) 51...Kc5 52.Ra1 d5 53.Rc1+ Kb4

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54.Rb1+?? White was too exhausted from the long fight and gives a very careless automatic check. After Black's answer he immediately realized, what he had done. 54.Rd1!= was of course called for. 54...Kc3 55.Rc1+ Kd2 0-1 and White resigned due to 56.Ra1 d4 57.Ra2+ Kc3 58.Ra3+ Kc2 59.Ra2+ Kb3 60.Rd2 Kc3–+ The checks can come from the side as well of course: 24.03 After Grigoriev The distance is large enough: 1...Ra8+ 2.Kd7 Ra7+ 3.Kd6 Ra6+ 4.Kc7 (4.Kc5 Re6=) 4...Ra7+! (4...Ra8? is an instructive mistake: 5.Ra2! Rxa2 (5...Rh8 6.Kd7 Kf7 7.Rf2++-) 6.e8Q+-) 5.Kd8 Ra8+ = The next example is very important: 24.04 R.Jamieson (2430) - P.van der Sterren (2375) WijkB 1977

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If White cannot use Philidor's defensive method (see e.g. 1.01 in Endgame Corner No.1 in the ChessCafe Archives) then he must defend very precisely: 86.Re8+? I Only 86.Rd8 draws: 86...Kd3!? (after 86...d3?! 87.Re8+ Black's king has no shelter.) A) Against a center pawn it is also possible to go to long side: 87.Ke1?! Rh1+ 88.Kf2 Rd1 (88...Rc1 89.Rd7! Kc3 90.Ke2!=) 89.Ra8! the checking distance is shorter than 3 so the rule predicts that White loses. But he has another resource: 89...Kc2 90.Ra2+ Kb3 91.Ke2 and the pawn ending after 91...Kxa2 92.Kxd1 Kb3 93.Kd2 is drawn. B) 87.Kc1!? moving to the short side is best. 87...Rh1+ 88.Kb2 Re1 89.Rd7 Rd1 (89...Ke3 90.Kc2=) 90.Rh7 Re1 91.Rd7= II 86.Ra3+? is even worse than the game continuation: 86...d3 87.Kc1 Rh1+ 88.Kb2 Ke2 89.Ra8 d2 90.Re8+ Kf3 91.Rf8+ Ke4–+ 86...Kd3 87.Kc1 Rh1+ 88.Kb2 Kd2!

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It is important that Black’s rook occupies the h-file, so White can only check from the g-file, which is not far away enough. 89.Rg8 d3 90.Rg2+ 90.Re8 does not help as White reaches the Lucena position. Even 90...Re1?! is possible (90...Kd1!? is more precise.): 91.Rh8 A) of course not 91...Ke2? A1) 92.Kc3 Rc1+ 93.Kd4 d2 94.Rh2+ Ke1 (94...Kd1 95.Kd3 Ke1 96.Re2+=) 95.Rh1+= A2) 92.Rh2+ Ke3 93.Rh3+ Kd2 94.Rh2+ Re2 95.Rh1 Re3 and now only 96.Kb3! draws. B) 91...Kd1! 92.Kc3 d2 93.Rh2 Re3+ 94.Kb2 Rd3 95.Rh1+ Ke2 96.Rh2+ Ke3 97.Rh3+ Ke4 98.Rh4+ Kf5–+ 90...Ke3 91.Rg3+ Ke2 Black prepares to approach the rook with the usual technique. 92.Rg2+ Kf3 93.Rd2 Ke3 94.Kc3 Rc1+ 0–1 The following way to draw the rook ending against a and h pawns is old and instructive: 24.05 Defense against two rook's pawn's after Vancura

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Black's rook has to defend the apawn on the a-file and Black's king has no shelter on the queenside, so the position is an easy draw. I want to emphasize the importance of keeping the checking distance here: 1.Kh2 I 1.Rf4+?! is risky: 1...Ke3 2.Rf3+ (2.Rf5 draws as well) 2...Ke4 3.Rh3 (3.Rf7? Rc1–+) 3...Kd4 (3...a4?! 4.Rxh7= as Black's rook can't leave the a-file due to Rh4+ winning the a-pawn.) 4.Rh5 (4.Rf3? Rc1 5.Rf4+ Kc5–+) 4...a4 5.Rf5 Ke4 6.Rh5 Kd3 7.Rh4 (7.Rh3+? Kc2 8.Rh4 a3 9.Rh3 Kb2+) 7...a3 8.Rh3+ (8.Rf4? Ra2+ 9.Kf1 Ke3-+) 8...Kc2 9.Rf3 a2 10.Rf2+ = II 1.Rb5 draws as well: 1...a4 2.Rb4+ Kc3 3.Rf4= 1...a4 2.Rf4+ Kd3 3.Kg2!? 3.Rb4?! is playable as well, but requires precision: 3...a3 4.Rb3+ Kc2 5.Rf3 a2 6.Rf2+ (6.Ra3? Kb2–+) 6...Kd3 7.Rf3+ Kc4 8.Ra3 Kb4 9.Ra8= as Black's king has no shelter and the h-pawn does not help as White's king can't be forced to leave the squares g2 and h2. 3...a3 4.Rf3+ Ke4 5.Rb3 h5 6.Kh2 h4 7.Kg2 Kd4 8.Rf3 h3+ 9.Kh2 Ke4 10.Rb3=

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Black can't make meaningful progress. The following example is analysed in detail in Tim Harding's excellent book 64 Great Chess Games on page 174:

24.06 H.Tiemann - A.Khasin corr. Finjub-20 1981-1984 30...Ra2+ 31.Kg1 (31.Kf3?! Rxh2 32.Rd4 Rh5–+ is lost in the long run.) 31...Kg6 32.Rd5! White uses the same technique as in the last example to keep Black's rook in front of his apawn. 32...Kf6 33.Rb5 a4 34.h3 a3! (34...Rc2?! 35.Ra5 Rc4?! has the disadvantage that it frees White's king.) 35.Rb3! White must hinder Black's rook from leaving the afile. 35.h4? is punished in typical manner: 35...Rb2 36.Ra5 a2 37.Kf1 Rb1+ 38.Kg2 a1Q–+ 35...Ke5 (35...Ra1+? 36.Kg2 a2?? 37.Ra3 is completely drawn as Black's king has no shelter on the queenside.) 36.Kf1 Kd4 37.Kg1 Kc4 38.Re3 g5 takes the square f4 away from White's rook, which is file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (9 of 23) [12/03/2002 7:56:14 PM]

Endgame Corner

important to shorten the checking distance. 39.Kf1 Kb4!? "This is the start of a triangulation manoeuvre, typical of such endgames, where 'losing a move' and 'gaining a move' can be equivalent." (Tim Harding) 40.Re4+ Kc3 41.Re3+ Kc4 42.Kg1 After 42.g4 Black just repeats the manoeuvre: 42...Kb4 43.Re4+ Kc3 44.Re3+ Kc4 and White is in zugzwang and has to move the king anyway. 42...Kb4 43.Re4+ Kc3 44.Re3+ Kd2 45.Kf2 Ra1 threatening to simplify with Rf1+. 46.Re6 Rb1 finally Black's rook can leave its passive post on the a-file. 47.Re2+ Kc3 48.Kf3 Kb3 49.Re3+ Ka4 50.Re6 a2 0-1 Good technique by Khasin! Sometimes the attacking rook must have more space to give checks as well: 24.07 A.Baburin (2580) - H.Nakamura (2494) Imre Konig Memorial San Francisco USA, 5th round, 09.09.2002 I start a bit earlier: 79...h5? (79...h6 was called for.) 80.Re7 Rb3 80...Ra4+ does not help: 81.Re4 Ra2 (81...Ra7 82.Re6 Ra3 83.Rh6 Ra4+ 84.Kg5 Rg4+ 85.Kxh5 Rxg3 86.Rg6++) 82.Re3 h4 (82...Kf7 83.Kg5 Rh2 84.Ra3 Rh3 85.f6+-) 83.g4 Rh2 84.Kg5+file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (10 of 23) [12/03/2002 7:56:14 PM]

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81.Re3 Rb8 (81...Rb5 82.Kg5 Kf7 83.Rf3 Rb1 84.Kxh5 Kf6 85.Ra3 Kxf5 86.Rf3+ Ke4 87.Rf8! an important move to shorten Black's checking distance from in front. 87...Rb5+ 88.Kh4+82.Kg5 Kf7 (82...Kg7 83.Ra3 Rf8 84.Ra7+ Kg8 85.Kg6+-)

The immediate capture 83.Kxh5?! makes it very difficult as the checking distance of White's rook is not large enough. 83.Ra3! is easier: 83...Rg8+ 84.Kxh5 Kf6 85.Ra6+ Kxf5 86.g4+ Kf4 87.Rf6+ Ke5 88.g5+83...Kf6! 84.Rf3 Rg8 85.Kh4 Rh8+ (85...Rg7 86.Rf2 Rg8 87.g4 Rh8+ 88.Kg3 Ra8 89.Rh2 Ra3+ 90.Kh4 Ra7 91.Rb2 Rh7+ 92.Kg3 Kg5 93.Rh2+-) 86.Kg4 Ra8 87.Kh4?! 87.Rb3 is much easier. 87...Rh8+ 88.Kg4 Ra8 89.Rf4? now White can't prevent that Black's king settles comfortably on g5. 89...Rg8+! 90.Kf3 (90.Kh3 Ra8 91.g4 Kg5=) 90...Ra8 91.g4 Kg5

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White can't win any more as Black's king can't be driven away comfortably. 92.Re4 Ra3+ 93.Ke2 Rb3 94.Kf2 Ra3 95.Kg2 Rb3 96.Kf2 Ra3 97.Ke2 Rb3 98.Rd4 Ra3 99.Rb4 Rc3 100.Re4 Ra3 101.Kf2 Rb3 102.Re3 Rb2+ 103.Kf3 Rb4 104.Re8 Rf4+ 105.Ke3 Rxg4 106.Rg8+ Kxf5 107.Rxg4 Kxg4 ½–½ Another important motif in rook endings is the creation of a shelter for the king: 24.08A Example of a Shelter White wins easily by 1.g5 fxg5 2.f5! Rb1 3.Kg6 Rb8 4.f6 g4 5.Rg7+ Kf8 (5...Kh8 6.Rh7+ Kg8 7.f7+ Kf8 8.Rh8++-) 6.Rh7 Kg8 7.f7++With the king on f8 it is much more difficult:

24.08B 1.g5 Rf1! 1...fxg5?! A) 2.fxg5 wins as well: 2...Rb1 (2...Rg2 3.Kg6 Rg1 4.Ra8+ Ke7 5.Rg8+-) 3.Kg6 Rb6+ file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (12 of 23) [12/03/2002 7:56:14 PM]

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4.Kh7 Rb1 5.Ra8+ Ke7 6.g6+B) 2.f5 g4 3.Kg6 g3 4.f6 Re1 5.Rh7 Ke8 6.f7+ Ke7 7.Kg7 Rf1 8.Kg8 Ke6 9.Rg7+2.Kh6 Rxf4 3.Ra8+ Ke7 4.g6 Rh4+ 5.Kg7 f5 6.Ra5! an important move to cut Black's king off 6...Ke6 (6...f4 7.Re5+ Kd6 8.Kf6 f3 9.Rf5 Rh3 10.g7+-) 7.Kg8 f4 (7...Kf6 8.g7 Rb4 9.Ra6+ Kg5 10.Ra8 Kf6 11.Kf8 Rg4 12.g8Q Rxg8+ 13.Kxg8 Kg5 14.Kf7 f4 15.Ke6 f3 16.Rf8 Kg4 17.Ke5 Kg3 18.Ke4 f2 19.Ke3+-) 8.g7 f3 (8...Ke7 9.Rg5 Rh1 10.Rg4 f3 11.Rf4 Rh3 12.Re4+ Kf6 13.Kf8 Rg3 14.Re3+-) 9.Ra3 Rf4 10.Kh7 Rh4+ 11.Kg6 Rg4+ 12.Kh6 f2 13.Rf3 Rg2 14.Rxf2 Rxf2 15.g8Q++One practical example, in which shelters play an important role: 24.09 G.Barcza - J.Smejkal Lugano Olympiad 1968 71...Ra4 I 71...Ra5+ 72.Kg6 Rg5+ 73.Kf7 Ra5

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and now 74.g5!+- works. II 71...Ra1 can be answered by 72.g5 Ra5+ 73.Kg4 hxg5 (73...Rxg5+ 74.Rxg5 hxg5 75.Kxg5 Kh7 76.Kf5 Kg8 77.Ke6 Kf8 78.f7 Kg7 79.Ke7+) 74.Re7 Kg8 75.Kh5 Ra1 76.Kg6+72.Re7 Kg8 73.Re4 1-0 Now 73.g5?? would be a mistake: 73...Ra5+ 74.Kg6 Rxg5+ 75.Kxh6 Rg1 76.Rg7+ Kh8!= Addendum

The 2002 German Championship has just finished, with the following result: 1.GM Thomas Luther 7/9, 2.GM Alexander Graf 6.5/9 (some readers know him under his former name Nenashev), 3. IM Florian Handke 6.5/9, 4.GM Arkadij Naiditsch 6/9. The young players Naiditsch and Handke played very strongly with Florian managing to make his final GM norm. His endgame technique played an important part: F.Handke (2504) - K.Schulz (2321) 74th ch-GER Saarbrücken 24.11.2002

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Endgame Corner

Black has to play very precisely to prevent White from reaching Vancura's draw: 68...Ra2? throws the win away. 68...Ra1! was the way to proceed: 69.Kg3 a4 70.Rh4+ Kc5

and now White can't reach the Vancura set up as his king is still on g3: 71.Rf4 (71.Kg2 a3 72.Rh3 Kb4–+) 71...a3 72.Rf5+ (72.Rf3 a2 73.Ra3 with White's king on g2 or h2 this position would be drawn, but now it's over: 73...Rg1+–+) 72...Kb6 73.Rf6+ Kc7 74.Ra6 (74.Rf7+ Kd6 75.Rf6+ Ke5 76.Ra6 Kd4 77.Kf2 Kc3 78.Ke2 a2 79.Ra8 Rh1–+) 74...Kb7 75.Ra4 Kb6 76.Kf2 Kb5 77.Ra8 77...Kb4 (77...a2?? would be a fatal error as Black's king has no shelter anymore. 78.Kg2=) 78.Rb8+ Kc3 79.Rc8+ Kb2 80.Rb8+ Ka2 81.Ke2 Rb1 82.Ra8 Rb4 83.Kd2 Kb3 84.Kc1 (84.Rc8 a2 85.Rc3+ Ka4 86.Rc8 Ka3 87.Rc3+ Rb3 88.Rc1 Rb1–+) 84...a2 85.Ra7 Rc4+ 86.Kd2 Ra4–+ 69.Kg3! Florian doesn't give White another chance: 69...a4 70.Rh4+ Ke3 71.Rb4 a3 72.Rb3+ Ke4 73.Rc3 Kd4 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (15 of 23) [12/03/2002 7:56:14 PM]

Endgame Corner

74.Rf3 Ra1 75.Kg2 Ke4 76.Rb3 Ra2+ 77.Kh1 Kd4 78.Rg3 Ke5 79.Rb3 Kf4 80.Rc3 Ke5 81.Rb3 Kd5 82.Rg3 Ra1+ 83.Kh2 Kd4 84.Rg4+ Ke3 85.Rg3+ Kf4 86.Rc3 a2 87.Ra3 Kg4 88.Kg2 Kf5 89.Ra8 Ke4 ½–½

Sources:

Fundamental Chess Endings, Karsten Müller and Frank Lamprecht, GAMBIT 2001 64 Great Chess Games, Tim Harding, Chess Mail 2002 Chess Mail MEGACorr 2001 ChessBase MEGABASE 2002

Exercises (Solutions next month) E24.01 P.Balogh (2285) - A.Ooms (2170) EU-chJM Tallinn, 2nd

round, 11.09.1997 Where shall Black's king go?

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Endgame Corner

E24.02 R.Kasimdzhanov (2704) - E.Sutovsky (2651) EUR-ASIA rapid match Batumi (4th round), 17.09.2001 It looks pretty grim for White, doesn't it? (White is to move.)

E24.03 J.Votava (2510) J.Smejkal (2515) CZE-chT season 2000/2001 How to evaluate the position with White to move?

E24.04 Educational Example Can White to move win?

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Endgame Corner

E24.05 Educational Example Can White to move win?

E24.06 J.Polgar (2595) N.Short (2655) Monaco blind 1993 The game ended 61...Re7 62.h6+ Kf7 63.g5 fxg5 64.Rd8 Re1 65.h7 Rf1+ 66.Kxg5 Rg1+ 67.Kf4 1–0. But the diagram position is drawn. Can you see why? E24.07 Y.Afek (2369) D.Baramidze (2335) Groningen SO-ON Groningen (4th round), 26.12.2001 White to move and draw.

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Endgame Corner

E24.08 P.Schmidt (2392) O.Reeh (2399) German Bundesliga 1999/2000 (8th round), 29.01.2000 Black to move and win.

Solutions to last month exercises E23.01 P.Morphy - C.Maurian New

Orleans match 1869 The only, narrow path runs 68.Rg8! The game ended 68.g6? c2 69.Rh7 (69.Rg8 Rxg8 70.fxg8Q c1Q 71.Qe6+ Kg5 72.Qf6+ Kh5 73.g7 Qc7+ 74.Ke6 Qc6+ 75.Ke7 Qxf6+ 76.Kxf6 Rg4–+) 69...Kxg6 0–1 68...R4h7 (68...R8h7?! 69.g6 c2 70.gxh7 Rxh7 71.Rc8=) 69.g6 Rxg8 70.gxh7 Rh8 71.f8Q+ Rxf8 72.Kxf8 c2 73.h8Q c1Q

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Endgame Corner

This queen endgame would normally be lost, but White can draw by giving the right series of checks 74.Qh3+! Ke4 75.Qh7+! Kd5 (75...Ke3?? even loses 76.Qh6++-) 76.Qd7+ Ke4 77.Qh7+! Kd4 78.Qd7+ Ke3 (78...Kc3 79.Qc7+ Kd2 80.Qxe5=) 79.Qh3+ as Black can't make any progress, e.g. 79...Kd2 80.Qh2+ Kd3 81.Qxe5= E23.02 P.Morphy - W.Thomas Philadelphia match 1859 White wins easily using the sharp weapon zugzwang: 48.Ra7!? The immediate 48.h8Q+? is insufficient: 48...Rxh8 49.Rc8+ Kg7 50.Rxh8 Kxh8 51.Kc5 Kg7 52.Kxc6 Kf7 53.Kb6 Ke7 54.Kxa5 Kd7 55.Kb6 Kc8= 48...Rh4+ 49.Kc5 Rh5+ 50.Kxc6 Rh6+ 51.Kb5 Rh5+ 52.Kb6 Rh6+ 53.Kxa5 1-0 and Black resigned due to 53...Rh5+ 54.Kb6 Rh6+ 55.Kc5 Rh5+ 56.Kd6 Rh6+ 57.Ke5 Rh5+ 58.Kf6 Rh6+ 59.Kg5 Rh1 60.h8Q+ Rxh8 61.Ra8++-

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Endgame Corner

E23.03 P.Morphy - W.Thomas Philadelphia match 1859 Morphy found the way to do it: 45.g3+ (45.Rxe4+? Kxe4 46.Kg5 Be7+ 47.Kxg6 h4 48.Kh5 Kf4–+; 45.Rf6+? Bf5 46.g3+ Ke5 47.Rf7 Ke6 48.Ra7 Be7+–+) 45...Kf5 46.Rxe4 Kxe4 47.Kg5 Kf3 48.Kxg6 Kxg3 49.Kxh5 Kxh3 ½–½ E23.04 P.Morphy - H.Richardson

New York simul 1859 You certainly found the mate in 3 moves, but I just had to include this exercise: 41.Ne5+ Kg7 42.Rf7+ Kh8 43.Ng6# 1–0

E23.05 P.Morphy J.Löwenthal London match 1859 Morphy drew easily: 40.Bxa3 bxa3 41.Kd4 Bxf4 42.Kxc4 Bxh2 43.Kb3 Bd6 44.Kc2 ½–½ and White has reached an impregnable fortress.

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Endgame Corner

E23.06 P.Morphy J.Löwenthal London match 8th game 30.07.1858 Black has to take the distant opposition: 49...Kg7! After 49...Kf6? White wins by the typical procedure: 50.Kh4 Kg6 51.Kg4 Kf6 52.Kh5 Kf7 53.Kg5 Ke6 54.Kg6 Ke7 55.Kf5 Kd6+50.Kf2 (50.Kg4 Kg6 51.Kh4 Kh6=) 50...Kf6 51.Kg1?? Morphy goes too far. 51.Ke3 was one way to lure Black into 51...Kg5? (51...Ke7 52.Kd2 Kd6 53.Kc3 Kc7 54.Kc4 Kc6=) 52.Kd2 Kf4 (52...Kf6 53.Kc3 Ke6 54.Kc4 Kd6 55.Kb5+-) 53.Kc3 Ke3 54.Kc4 Kd2 55.Kxc5 Kxd3 56.Kd5+51...Kg5–+ 52.Kg2 (52.Kf2 does not help: 52...Kf4 53.Ke2 c4! (53...Kg3?? 54.Kd2+-) 54.Kd2 cxd3 55.Kxd3 Kf3 56.Kd2 Kxe4 57.Ke2 Kd4 58.Kd2 Kc4 59.Ke3 Kb4 60.Ke4 Kxa4 61.Kxe5 Kb3–+) 52...Kf4 53.Kf2 c4 54.dxc4 Kxe4 55.Ke2 Kd4 56.Kf3 Kxc4 57.Ke4 Kb4 58.Kxe5 Kxa4 59.Kd4 Kb3 0–1

Copyright 2002 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in ChessCafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

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Endgame Corner

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Endgame Corner

Bishop vs. Knight Revisited: The Wrong Rook's Pawn and More Endgame Corner nos.5 and 6 have already dealt with B vs N endings, but I hope that the following examples are instructive and shed some light on certain aspects. I start with

A) The wrong rook's pawn

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

Rule: In the endgame bishop+rook's pawn vs lone king on the queening square of the pawn, the attacker can only force a win if the bishop can control the pawn's queening square. Let us look at some applications in the endgame bishop vs knight: 25.01 D.Steel (2055) - W.Shipman (2284) American open Los Angeles 2001 54...c4? an mistake as Black's winning potential is reduced. White exploits this very instructively.

Order Fundament Chess Endings by Karsten Müller & Frank Lamprecht The BCF Book of the Year!

54...Bf6! was called for. Some sample lines run: 55.Ng4 (55.Nd3 Kd6 56.Kf5 c4 57.bxc4 bxc4 58.Nb4 a5 59.Nc2 Be7 60.Ke4 Kc5–+) 55...Bb2 56.a4 bxa4 57.bxa4 Bd4 58.Nh2 Bf6 59.Nf1 c4 60.Ne3 c3 61.Kd3 Kd6

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Endgame Corner

A) 62.Nd1 Kc5 63.Nf2 (63.Nxc3 Bxc3 64.Kxc3 a5–+) 63...Kb4 64.Kc2 Kxa4 65.Ne4 Be5 66.Nxg5 Kb4–+ B) 62.Kc4 a5 63.Nc2 Ke5 64.Kxc3 Kf4+ 65.Kd3 Kg3 66.Ne3 Be7 67.Nf5+ (67.Ke4 Bc5–+) 67...Kxg2 68.Nxe7 g4–+ 55.bxc4 Bxa3 55...Bf6 A) 56.Nd3? bxc4 57.Nc5+ Kd6 58.Nxa6 Kc6 59.Nb4+ Kb5 60.Nc2 Ka4 61.Ne3 Kb3 62.a4 Bd8 63.Nd5 Kxa4 (63...c3? 64.Nxc3 Kxc3 65.Kf3 Kb4 66.g3=) 64.Kf3 Kb5 65.Nc3+ Kb4 A1) 66.Nd5+ Kc5 67.Ke4 (67.Ne3 c3 68.g3 hxg3 69.Kxg3 Kd4 70.Kf3 Bb6 71.Ke2 Ke4 72.Nc2 Bc5 73.Ne1 Bd4 74.Nc2 Bh8 75.Ne1 Kf4 76.Kf2 Bd4+ 77.Kg2 Ke3 78.Nc2+ Kd3 79.Nb4+ Kd2 80.Na2 c2 81.Kf3 Bc5 82.Kg4 Be7 83.Kf3 Ba3 84.Kg4 Kd3 85.Kxg5 Kc4 86.h4 Kb3–+) 67...Ba5 68.Ne7 Be1 69.Nd5 c3 70.Ne3 Bd2 71.Nc2 Kc4 72.Nd4 Bf4 73.Nc2 Kb3 74.Kd3 Kb2 75.Nb4 Be5 76.Nc2 Bg7 77.Ne3 Kc1 78.Nc2 Kd1 79.Nb4 Be5 80.Nc2 Bf4 81.Kxc3 Ke2–+ A2) 66.Ne4 Bc7 67.Ke3 Bf4+ 68.Kd4 Bc1 69.g4 (69.g3 g4–+) 69...Bf4 70.Nf6 Bb8 71.Ke3 Be5 72.Ne4 Ka3 73.Nc5 Kb2 74.Na4+ Kc2 75.Nc5 c3–+ B) 56.Ng4 Bb2 57.cxb5 axb5 58.Nh2 Bxa3 59.Nf3 transposes to the game. 55...Kd6!? is an interesting alternative. 56.cxb5 axb5 57.Nf3 Kf6 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (2 of 29) [12/22/2002 2:05:43 PM]

Endgame Corner

57...Bb2 58.Nxg5+ Kd6 59.Nf3 Bf6 60.Kd3 Kd5 61.Kc2 Kc4 (61...Ke4 62.Kb3 Be7 63.Nxh4 Bxh4 64.Kb4=) 62.Nd2+ Kb4 63.Ne4 Be5 64.Nd2 Ka3 65.Kb1 Bf4 66.Nf3 Bg3 67.Nd4 b4 68.Kc2 Ka2 69.Nb3= 58.Nd4 b4 59.Nc2 Now the draw is clear as Black's bishop can't free itself without losing the b-pawn: 59...Ke6 (59...g4 60.hxg4 Kg6 61.g5 Kxg5 62.Kf3 Kh5 (62...Kf5 63.Nxb4 Bxb4 64.g3=) 63.Nxb4 Bxb4 64.g4+ Kg5 65.Kg2=) 60.Kf3 Ke5 61.g3 hxg3 62.Kxg3 Kf5 63.Nd4+ Ke4 (63...Kg6 64.Nc2 Kh5 65.Kf3 Kh4 66.Kg2=) 64.Nc2 Kd3 65.Nxb4+ Bxb4 66.Kg4! Of course not 66.h4?? Be1+ 67.Kg4 Bxh4–+ 66...Be7 67.h4 gxh4 68.Kh3 ½–½ In the next example White could solve the problems relatively easily as Black played too passively: 25.02 V.Shinkevich (2480) S.Mirovshchikov (2402) Aeroflot Open Moscow 2002

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Endgame Corner

30.Bd6 Nb4 30...c4!? was an interesting alternative. Some sample lines: 31.Bc5 (31.Kd2? allows Black to create a barrier by 31...Nd4 32.Be5 Nb5) 31...Kd7 (31...Ne5 32.Kc2 Nd3 33.Be3 and White has good winning chances.) 32.Kb2 Ke6 33.Ka3

A) 33...c3 34.Kxa4 Kd5 35.Be3 Kc4 36.Bxh6 Nb4 37.h4 A1) 37...Nd3 38.h5 f4 39.Bf8 c2 40.Ba3 Kc3 41.h6 Nb2+ 42.Bxb2+ Kxb2 43.h7 c1Q 44.h8Q+ Kxa2 45.Qd4 Qc6+ 46.Kb4 Qb7+ (46...Qxg2 47.Qxf4+- as White has an fpawn (see, e.g., Fundamental Chess Endings 9.16 and 9.17, page 319).) 47.Kc4 Qc8+ 48.Kd3 Qf5+ 49.Qe4 Qf8 50.Ke2+A2) 37...Nxa2 38.h5 c2 39.Ka3 Nc3 40.Kb2 Ne4 41.Bf4 Nf6 42.h6 Kd3 43.f3 Nh7 A2a) 44.g4? is surprisingly a fatal mistake 44...fxg4 45.fxg4 Ke4 A2a1) 46.g5 allows Black to regroup and coordinate his forces relatively easily: 46...Kf5 47.Kxc2 Nf8! 48.Bc1 (48.Bd6 Ng6=) 48...Kg6 49.Ba3 Ne6 50.Be7 Kh7 51.Kd3 Nf4+ 52.Ke4 Ng6=

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Endgame Corner

Black has an impregnable fortress. A2a2) 46.Bd2 Ke5 47.Kxc2 Kf6

48.Kd3 (48.g5+ Kf7 49.Kd3 Nf8 50.Ke4 Kg8 51.Kf5 Kh7 52.Kf6 Ng6=) 48...Nf8 49.Ke4 Kg6 50.Bb4 Nh7 51.Bd2 (51.Be7 Kxh6 52.Kf5 Kg7 53.Ba3 Kf7 54.Bb2 Nf8=) A2a21) 51...Nf6+?! brings Black on muddy, slippery ground: 52.Kf3 Nh7 53.g5 Nf8 54.Bb4 Ne6 55.Be7 55...Nd4+ 56.Ke4 Nc6 (56...Nf5? 57.h7+-; 56...Nb5? 57.Bb4 Nc7 58.Ke5 Nb5 59.Bc5 Nc3 60.Ke6 Ne4 61.Be3 Kh7 62.Ke5 Ng3 63.Bf2 Nf1 64.Kf5 Nh2 65.Be3+-) 57.Bf6 Nb4

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Endgame Corner

and it is difficult to say, if Black can survive, but on the other hand I did not manage to find a win for White. A2a22) 51...Nf8 52.g5 Kh7=; A2b) 44.Kc1 Nf8 45.Bd6 Nh7 46.Be7 f4 (46...Kc3 47.g4+-) 47.Bd6 Ke3 48.Kxc2 Kf2 49.Kd3 Kxg2 50.Ke4+-; B) 33...Ne5 34.Kxa4 Nd3 35.Be3 f4 36.Bd2 Kd5 37.Kb5 Kd4 38.a4 c3 39.Bxc3+ Kxc3 40.a5 Nb4 (40...f3 41.gxf3 Nb4 42.f4 Nd5 43.f5 Kd4 44.f6 Nxf6 45.a6 Nd5 46.a7 Ke5 47.Kc5 Nc7 48.Kc6 Na8 49.Kb7+-) 41.g4 Nd5 (41...fxg3 42.hxg3 Nd5 43.Kc5 Nc7 44.f4+-) 42.Kc5 Nb4 (42...Nc7 43.Kd6 Nb5+ 44.Ke5 Kb4 45.a6 Ka5 46.h4 Kxa6 47.h5 Na7 48.g5 Nc6+ 49.Kf6 hxg5 50.h6+-) 43.h4 f3 44.Kb5 Nd3 (44...Nd5 45.g5 hxg5 46.hxg5+-) 45.a6 Nxf2 46.a7 Nxg4 47.a8Q f2 48.Qf3+ Kd2 49.Qf4+ Kc2 (49...Ke1 50.Qb4++-) 50.h5 Kc3 51.Kc5 Kc2 52.Kd4+31.Kd2 Na6?! very passive. But 31...Nxa2 32.Bxc5 Kd7 33.Kc2 Kc6 34.Bf8 Kb5 35.Bxh6 Nb4+ 36.Kc3 looks bad as well. 32.Kc3 Kd7 33.Bf8 h5 34.Kc4 Kc6 35.a3

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Endgame Corner

Black is completely tied up. White will just create a passed pawn on the kingside to open a second front: 35...Kb6 36.g3 Kc6 37.h3 Kb6 38.f3 Kc6 39.g4 fxg4 40.fxg4 hxg4 41.hxg4

41...Nc7 42.Bxc5 Ne6 43.Be3 Nf8 44.Kb4 Kb7 (44...Kd5 45.Kxa4 A) 45...Ke4 46.Kb5 Kxe3 47.a4 Kf4 (47...Kd4 48.Kc6+-; 47...Ne6 48.a5 Kf4 49.Kb6+-) 48.a5 Ne6 49.Kb6+; B) 45...Kc4 46.Ka5 Ng6 47.a4 Ne5 48.g5+-) 45.Kxa4 Ka6 (45...Kc6 46.Ka5 Ng6 47.Ka6 Ne5 48.g5 Ng6 49.a4 Ne5 50.Ka7 Ng6 51.a5 Kc7 52.Bb6+ Kc8 53.a6 Ne7 54.Bc5 Ng6 55.Bd6 Nh4 56.Kb6+-) 46.Kb4 Ng6 47.Bd4 Nf4 48.a4 Ne6 49.Be3 Nf8 50.Bd2 Ne6 51.Kc4 Nf8 52.Kd5 Ng6 53.Ke4 Kb6 54.Be1 Kc6 55.Kf5 Ne7+ 56.Ke6 Ng6 57.Bg3 Nf8+ 58.Kf7 Nh7 59.Bf4 1–0 But the defender does not always perish: 25.03 J.Alvarez (2379) E.Berg (2500) Bermuda 2002

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Endgame Corner

54.a4 Ke6! The king must head in the direction of a8, so that Black can sacrifice his knight for White's g-pawn. 54...Ne4? is wrong of course: 55.a5 Nd6+ 56.Kd5 Nb5 57.Kc6 Na7+ 58.Kb7 Nb5 59.a6 Kg6 60.Bf8 h5 61.gxh5+ Kxh5 62.Kb6+55.a5 (55.Kb5 Kd7 56.Kb6 Ne4 57.a5 Kc8 58.Ka7 Nf6 59.Bxg5 Nxg4 60.Bf4 Nf6=) 55...Kd7 56.Kb5 (56.Kd5 Kc7 57.Bxg5 Kb7 58.Bf4 Nh1 59.Be3 Ng3 60.Ke5 Ka6 61.Bd2 Ne2 (61...Nf1? 62.Bf4 Kxa5 63.Ke4 Kb5 64.Kf3+) 62.Kf6 Nd4 63.Kg7 Nf3 64.Bf4 Kxa5 65.Kxh7 Kb5 66.Kg6 Kc6 67.Kf5 Kd7 68.Ke4 Nh4 69.Bg3 Ng6 70.Kf5 Nf8 71.Bh4 Ke8=) 56...Kc8 57.Kb6 Kb8 58.Bxg5 Ne4 59.Bh4 Nd2 60.Kc5 (60.Bg3+ Ka8 61.Kc6 Ne4 62.Bh4 Nd2 63.Kd5 Nf3 64.Bg3 Kb7 65.Ke6 Ka6 66.Kf6 Kxa5 67.Kg7 Ng5 68.Bh4 Nf3 69.Bd8+ Kb5 70.Kxh7 Kc6=; 60.Bf2 Nc4+ 61.Kb5 Nd6+ 62.Kc6 Nf7 63.Kd5 Nh6 64.g5 Nf7=) 60...Kb7 61.Kd5 Nf1 62.Ke4 (62.g5 Nd2 63.Bf2 Nf3 64.Be3 Nxg5=) 62...h6 and the threat Nh2 can't be parried so a draw was agreed. The last example of this part features not exactly a wrong rook's pawn: 25.04 T.Radjabov (2558) - H.Mecking (2552) Miguel Najdorf Memorial Buenos Aires 2001

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Endgame Corner

The analysis of this position has already been published in the daily internet newspaper Chess Today early 2002) In Endgame Corner No. 13 I was not completely sure if Black can defend or not, but now I am convinced that he is lost. White's zugzwang weapon is just too sharp. If Black could sacrifice his knight for the b-pawn he would reach an ironclad fortress despite being a bishop down. But White can manoeuvre so cleverly, that he can prevent that: 62...Ne6 62...Nf5 was a very interesting alternative. It is now very difficult to break Black's defence and many traps are lurking around. A) 63.b5? Nd4= allows the knight to sacrifice himself. B) After 63.Ka7? Black can astonishingly draw by precise moves as White's king is a bit out of play: 63...Ne7 (63...Kc7 64.b5 Nd6 65.b6+ Kd8= works as well - see the main line.; 63...Ng3? 64.b5 Ne4 65.b6 Nc5 66.Bb5 Ke7 67.Ka8 Kd8 68.Kb8 zugzwang 68...Ne4 69.Kb7 Nd6+ 70.Kc6+-) 64.b5 Nc8+ (64...Kc5? 65.Kb7 Kb4 66.Bd1 Kxb5 67.Kc7 Nf5 68.Kd7 Kc5 69.Ke6 Nd6 70.Ba4 Nf5 71.Kf7 Kd6 72.Bc2 Ng3 73.Kxg7 Nxh5+ 74.Kxh6 Nf6 75.g7+-) 65.Kb7 Kd7 66.Kb8 (66.b6+ Kd8 67.Kc6 Nxb6=) 66...Kd8 67.Bd1 Nd6 68.b6 Nc8 69.b7 Nd6 70.Ka7 Nxb7 71.Kxb7 Ke7 72.Kc7 Kf8=

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Endgame Corner

and Black has reached the fortress. C) 63.Bc2?! doesn't achieve the aim as after 63...Nd4 64.Be4 Kd7 65.Kc5 (65.Kb7 Kd8 66.Bc6 Nc2 67.b5 Na3 68.b6 Nc4=) 65...Ne6+ White's king shall return to b6. Two false paths are: 66.Kd5? (66.Kc4? Nc7=) 66...Nf4+ 67.Ke5 Nxh5 68.b5 Nf6 69.Bf3 (69.Bc6+ Ke7 70.b6 Nd7+=) 69...Ke7 70.Bg2 h5 71.Kf5 Kd6 72.b6 h4 73.b7 Kc7 74.Ke6 h3 75.Bxh3 Kxb7=; D) 63.Be8? is met by 63...Ne7 64.b5 Nd5+ 65.Ka7 Kc7= and White can't break Black's dark squared blockade. E) After 63.Kb7? Black has the amazing defence 63...Ne3! (see line E2) E1) 63...Ne7? 64.b5 Nd5 (64...Kc5 65.Kc7 Nd5+ 66.Kd8+-) 65.Bb3 Nf6 66.Kc8 Kc5 (66...Nxh5 67.b6 Nf6 68.Ba4+-) 67.Bd1 Kxb5 68.Kd8+E2) 63...Ne3! E2a) 64.Kc8 Nd5 65.Kd8 Nxb4 66.Bb3 Nd3 67.Ke8 Nf4=; E2b) 64.b5 Nc4 65.Kb8 Kd7 66.b6+ (66.Bb3 Nd6 67.b6 Kc6=) 66...Kd8=; E2c) 64.Bb3 Kd7 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (10 of 29) [12/22/2002 2:05:43 PM]

Endgame Corner

E2c1) 65.Kb6 Kd6 66.b5 Nf5 67.Ka7 Kd7 (67...Nd4? 68.b6 Nc6+ 69.Kb7 Na5+ 70.Kc8 Ke7 71.Bd5 Kd6 72.Kd8 Kxd5 73.Ke7+-) 68.b6 Nd6=; E2c2) 65.Kb8 Kd8 66.b5 Nf5 67.b6 Nd6=; E2c3) 65.b5 Nf5 66.b6 Nd6+ 67.Ka6 The powerful knight hinders White's king from leaving the edge, so White can't win: E2c31) even 67...Kc6 is playable: 68.Ba4+ Kc5 69.Bd1 (69.Bd7 Kd5 70.Ka7 Ke5 71.Kb8 Nc4 72.b7 Nd6=) 69...Kd5 70.Be2 Kc6 (70...Ke5? 71.Ka5 Kd5 72.Bf3+ Kc5 73.Ka6+-) 71.Bf3+ Kd7 (after 71...Kc5? 72.Bg2 Black is in zugzwang and can't reach his fortress in time: 72...Kd4 73.b7 Nxb7 74.Kxb7 Ke5 75.Kc7 Ke6 76.Kd8 Kf6 77.Ke8+-) 72.Bd5 E2c311) 72...Kc8? 73.Ka5 (73.Ka7?! Nb5+ 74.Ka6+-) 73...Kb8 (73...Kd8 74.Kb4 Nc8 75.b7 Kc7 76.Kc5 Nd6 77.b8Q++-) 74.Kb4 Ne8 75.Kc5 Nf6 76.Bf3 Nd7+ 77.Kd6 Nxb6 78.Ke7+-; E2c312) 72...Kd8 E2c3121) 73.Bc6 Nc8 74.b7 Kc7=

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Endgame Corner

as 75.Kb5?? even loses: (75.Bd7 Nd6 76.b8Q+ Kxb8 77.Kb6 Ne4 78.Bg4 Nf6 79.Be2 Kc8=) 75...Na7+ 76.Kc5 Nxc6–+; E2c3122) 73.Be6 Ke7 74.Bh3 Kd8 75.Bg4 Ke7 76.Bd1 Kd7 77.Ba4+ Kd8 78.Bb5 Nc8 79.b7 Kc7=; E2c3123) 73.Ka5 Nc8 74.b7 Kc7 75.Kb5 Nd6+ 76.Kc5 Nxb7+ 77.Bxb7 Kd7=; E2c32) 67...Nc8? 68.Be6++-; E2c33) 67...Kd8 68.Ba4 E2c331) 68...Nc8? 69.b7 Kc7 70.Kb5 Kxb7 (70...Nd6+ 71.Kc5 Nxb7+ 72.Kd5 Nd8 73.Ke5+- zugzwang) 71.Kc5 Kc7 72.Kd5 Nb6+ 73.Ke6 Nxa4 74.Kf7+-; E2c332) 68...Ne4? 69.Kb5 Nc3+ 70.Kc6 Kc8 71.Kd6+-; E2c333) 68...Ke7 E2c3331) 69.Bb3 Kd8 E2c33311) 70.Be6 Ke7 71.Bg4 Kd8 72.Ka7 Nb5+ 73.Kb7 (73.Kb8 Nd6 74.Ka8 Ke7=) 73...Nd6+ 74.Kc6 Nc4 75.b7 Na5+=; E2c33312) 70.Ka5 Nc8 71.b7 Kc7 72.Kb5 Kxb7 73.Kc5 Kc7 74.Ba4 Kd8=; E2c3332) 69.Bb5 Kd8 70.Ka5 Nc8 71.b7 Kc7 72.Kb4 Nd6 73.Kc5 Nxb5 74.Kxb5 Kxb7= The pure pawn endgame is file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (12 of 29) [12/22/2002 2:05:44 PM]

Endgame Corner

of course a fortress as well. F) 63.Ka6? F1) 63...Ne3? 64.Bb3 (64.b5? Nd5=) 64...Nf5 65.Kb7 Nd4 66.Ba4 Ne2 67.Kc8+-; F2) 63...Ne7 64.b5 Nc8 65.Kb7 Kd7=; G) 63.Bd1! The start of a manoeuvre to lose a tempo and to bring Black into zugzwang G1) 63...Ne3 64.Bb3 Nf5 65.Kb7 Nd4 (65...Ne7 66.b5 Kd7 67.b6 Nf5 68.Ba4+ Kd8 69.Kc6+-) 66.Ba4 Ne2 67.Kc8 Nf4 (67...Ke7 68.Kc7 Nc3 69.Bc6+-) 68.Bd1 Nd5 69.b5+-; G2) 63...Nd4 64.Kb7 Kd7 65.Ba4+ Kd8 66.Kb6+-; G3) 63...Ne7 64.Bf3 (64.b5? Nd5+ 65.Kb7 Nc3 66.b6 Nd5=) 64...Nf5 65.Kb7 Nd4 (65...Ne3 66.Kc8 Nc2 67.b5 Nd4 68.b6+-; 65...Ne7 66.b5+-) Now comes the point: G3a) 66.Bg4? Nc2 67.b5 Na3 68.b6 Nc4 69.Kc8 Nxb6+ 70.Kd8 Nd5=; G3b) 66.Bg2? Nc2 (66...Kd7? 67.Bh3+ Kd6 68.Kc8 Nc6 69.b5 Na7+ 70.Kd8 Nxb5 71.Ke8+-) 67.b5 Na3 68.b6 Nc4=; G3c) 66.Bd1 Kd7 (66...Nc6 67.b5 Ne7 68.Bf3+-) 67.Ba4+ and White's king can gain further space depending on the square, that the black monarch chooses. 67...Kd8 (67...Kd6 68.Kc8 Ke7 69.Kc7+- see the game continuation.) 68.Kb6 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (13 of 29) [12/22/2002 2:05:44 PM]

Endgame Corner

Nf5 69.Kc6+63.Kb7 Nd4 (63...Nf4 64.b5 Kc5 (64...Nd5 65.Bb3+-) 65.Kc7 Nd5+ 66.Kd8 Nf6 67.Bd1+-) 64.Kc8 Ke7 65.Kc7 Ne6+ (65...Ne2 66.Bd7 Nf4 (66...Nc3 67.Bc6+- zugzwang) 67.b5 Nd5+ 68.Kc6 Nb4+ 69.Kc5 Nd3+ 70.Kd4 Nf4 (70...Nb4 71.Bf5 Kd6 72.Be4+-; 70...Nf2 71.Bf5 Kd6 72.b6 Kc6 73.Ke5+-) 71.Bg4 Kd6 72.b6 Ng2 73.b7 Kc7 74.Ke5 Kxb7 75.Ke6+-) 66.Kc6 Nd4+ 67.Kd5 Ne6 68.Ke5 Nc7 69.Bc6 Black is in zugzwang and has to make a concession. 69...Ne6 (69...Kd8 70.Kd6 Na6 71.b5 Nc7 72.b6 Na6 73.Bb5 Nb8 74.b7 Nd7 75.Kc6 Nb8+ 76.Kb6 Ke7 77.Kc7+-) 70.b5 Nd8 71.Bd5 Kd7 72.b6 Ke7 73.Be4 Kd7 74.Bg2 Ke7 75.Bh3 Nb7 75...Nc6+ 76.Kd5 Na5 77.Bg4 Nb7 78.Kc6 Na5+ 79.Kb5 Nb7 80.Bc8 Nd6+ (80...Nd8 81.Kc5+-) 81.Kc5+zugzwang. 76.Kd5 Nd8 77.Bc8 1-0

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Endgame Corner

Addendum I received two e-mails with important remarks about previous Endgame Corner columns: 1) The first is about the famous pawn ending Ree vs Ftacnik, Kiev 1978: Dr. Lubomir Ftacnik chose 1...g5?? and lost after the brilliant refutation 2.g4!+-. In Endgame Corner 10 I proved together with Mark Dvoretsky that Black can win after 1...Kd6 using the technique of corresponding squares. Mark has now kindly informed me about the following easier win: "Later on in Averbakh's endgame book I found another, simpler solution (discovered by K.Vinokurov from Kiev perhaps he is an amateur): 1...f5! 2.exf5 Kxf5 3.Kf3 g5! 4.hxg5 Kxg5 5.Kg2 Kg4! 6.Kf2 Kh3 7.Kf3 b5! 8.Kf2 Kh2 9.Kf3 Kg1–+ or 5.Kf2 Kf5! 6.Kf3 (6.Ke3 Kg4) 6...Ke5 7.Ke3 b5! 8.Kd3 (8.Kf3 Kd4) 8...Kd5 9.Kc3 Ke4–+." 2) The second remark is about my analysis of the famous game Bird vs Morphy, London 1858 in Endgame Corner 23; it seems to confirm that the Riddle is solved in Morphy's favour. Rolf Knobel from Switzerland has found the following improvement over my analysis: "I have some additional analysis which seems to demonstrate that the position is won shorter and therefore simpler. I like your move 29...Bd7! in the main variation D3b422). After 30.Kd1 c5 31.dxc5 Be7! Black correctly refrains from an early 31...Ba4+? (32.Ke1 Bxh2 33.Bd4). After the really file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (15 of 29) [12/22/2002 2:05:44 PM]

Endgame Corner

bad looking (but necessary) 32. h4 it came to me that Black does not have to rush things. The bishop is kept at its good position where it can fire in both directions. It resembles zugzwang. Therefore, I propose 32...h6! One point is that the bishop is covered after: a) 33. h5 Bf6 34.Bd4 Rb1+ 35.Kd2 Bg5+ 36.Be3 Rb2+ 37.Kc1 Rxe2. b) 33. Bd4 (or 33. Bf2 Bf6 34.Bd4) neglects c1 when after 33...Bxh4!, 34. Rxa2 is not possible anymore. So 34. Rxh4 Rb1+ 35.Kc2 Rxa1 36.c4 Rb1 and 37.cxd5 is refuted by the nice 37...Ba4+ 38.Kd2 Rb4! c) The white bishop cannot leave the f1–a6 diagonal: 33. Bh5 (33.c6 Bxc6 34. Bg4 is similar) 33...Ba4+ 34.Ke1 Bxh4+ 35.Kf1 Bb5+ 36.Kg1 Bg3 and ...Bh2+.

d) The d1–h5 diagonal needs to be covered also: 33.Ba6 Ba4+ 34.Ke1 Bxh4+ 35.Kf1 Bf6 36.Bd4 Bxd4 37.cxd4 Bd1! and even the desperate 38.Bb7 does not help after 38. ... Be2+ 39.Ke1 Bc4 40.Bc8 e3 41.Bf5 Kf7. The heavy forces from white look really poor in their initial positions!" Sources: Fundamental Chess Endings, K.Müller and F.Lamprecht, GAMBIT 2001 ChessBase MEGABASE 2001 Chess Today, daily internet chess newspaper, editor in chief A.Baburin

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Endgame Corner

Exercises (Solutions next month) E25.01 J.Boersma (2244) M.Dogge (2124) Essent Open Hoogeveen 2002 Can Black to move save himself?

E25.02 A.Karpov (2693) P.Leko (2713) NAO Masters Cannes 2002 Can White to move break through?

E25.03 T.Heinemann U.Kunsztowicz Glückstadt rapid 2002 White to move and win.

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Endgame Corner

E25.04 K.Williamson (1864) H.Jones (1824) BCF-chT2 0102 (4NCL) Birmingham 2001 How to asses this position with White and with Black to move?

Solutions to last month exercises E24.01 P.Balogh (2285) A.Ooms (2170) EU-chJM Tallinn 1997 Black's king must go to f6 to draw easily (so the general principle to play actively in rook endgames is valid here as well). In the game the passive 74...Ke7? was chosen and White won by threatening to simplify into a won pawn endgame. 74...Kf6! 75.Rc6 (75.Ke4 Re7 76.Kd5 Ra7=; 75.Rd7 Ra5+=) A) 75...g5?! draws as well, but then much more precision is required, e.g. 76.fxg5+ (76.e7+?! Kxe7 77.fxg5 Ra5+ 78.Rc5 Rxc5+ 79.Kxc5 Kf7=) 76...Kxg5 77.Rc8 (77.Ke5 Kg6 78.Kd6 Kf6=) 77...Kf6 78.Rf8+ Kg7 79.Rf1 Ra5+= the checking distance is sufficient. B) 75...Ra1= 75.Ke5 threatening Rd7+ 75...Ke8 (75...Ra4 76.Rd7+ Ke8 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (18 of 29) [12/22/2002 2:05:44 PM]

Endgame Corner

77.Rd4 Ra1 78.Kf6 Ra6 79.Rb4+-; 75...Rb7 76.Rd7+ Rxd7 77.exd7 Kxd7 78.Kf6+-) 76.Rd4 Ra1 (76...Ke7 is of course met by 77.Rd7++-) 77.Kf6 Re1 78.Rc4 Kd8 79.e7+ and Black resigned due to 79...Rxe7 80.Rc8+ Kxc8 81.Kxe7 Kc7 82.Kf6+- 1–0 E24.02 R.Kasimdzhanov (2704) - E.Sutovsky (2651) Europe vs Asia rapid match Batumi 2001 White must prevent that his king is driven further away: 62.Ra4? 62.Rg2! Ke4 63.Rg4+ Kd3 (63...Kf3 64.Rf4+ Ke3 65.Ra4 e5 66.Kf5=) 64.Rg3+ Kd4 (64...Re3 65.Rxe3+ Kxe3 66.Kf6=) 65.Rg4+ Re4 66.Rg1 A) 66...e5 67.Rd1+ Kc3 (67...Ke3 68.Kf5=) 68.Kf5 Re2 69.Rd8= B) 66...Re3 67.Rd1+ Ke4 68.Kf6 e5 69.Ra1 Kf3 70.Kf5 e4 71.Rf1+ Ke2 72.Ra1 Kd3 73.Ra3+ Kd2 74.Ra4= 62...Rg1+ 63.Kh4 Kf5 64.Kh3 e5 65.Kh2 Rg8 66.Ra1 Kf4 (66...e4 wins as well due to 67.Rg1 Rg4! (67...Rxg1? 68.Kxg1 Kg4 69.Kf2 Kf4 70.Ke2=) 68.Rxg4 Kxg4 69.Kg2 e3 70.Kg1 Kg3–+) 67.Rf1+ White's checking distance is great enough, but he should lose nevertheless due to his offside king. 67...Ke4 68.Re1+ Kd4 and a draw was agreed. We must keep in mind of course that this was a rapid game. Otherwise Sutovsky would most certainly have found 69.Rd1+ Ke3 (69...Kc3?! is a bad idea here due to 70.Re1 Rg5 71.Kh3 and now Black has to retreat with 71...Kd4 as 71...Kd2? spoils it: 72.Kh4! Rf5 73.Ra1=) 70.Re1+ Kf2–+ file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (19 of 29) [12/22/2002 2:05:44 PM]

Endgame Corner

E24.03 J.Votava (2510) J.Smejkal (2515) CZE-chT season 00/01 2001 White is winning, but he has to act very precisely: 78.Kf7 78.Kg6? Rg1+ A) 79.Kh6?! Kg8 (79...Rg3? 80.Ra8+ Rg8 81.Rxa3 Rf8 82.Ra6+-) 80.Rxa3 Kf7 81.Ra6 Rf1 82.Kg5 Rg1+= B) 79.Kf6 Rg3 and Black has improved the position of his rook, e.g. 80.Ke5 (80.h6 Kg8 81.h7+ Kh8 82.Ke6 a2 83.Rxa2 Kxh7 84.f6 Rb3 85.Rh2+ Kg6 86.Rg2+ Kh7 87.f7 Rb8 88.Rb2 Ra8= and Black has a back rank defense.) 80...Rh3 81.f6 Kg8 (81...Rf3 82.h6 Kg8 83.h7+ Kh8 84.f7 transposes.) 82.h6 Rf3 83.h7+ Kh8 84.f7 (84.Ke6 Re3+ 85.Kf7 Rb3 86.Kg6 Rg3+ 87.Kf5 Rf3+ 88.Ke5 a2 89.Rxa2 Kxh7=) 84...a2 85.Ke6 Re3+ 86.Kf6 Rf3+ 87.Ke7 Re3+ 88.Kf8 Re2 89.Ra4

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Endgame Corner

89...Kxh7? a mistake, as White's h-pawn shielded Black's king. (89...Rb2!=) 90.Rh4+ Kg6 91.Rg4+ Kh5 B1) 92.Rg1? B1a) 92...Rb2? 93.Rh1+ Kg4 (93...Kg5 94.Kg8 Rb1 95.f8Q+-) 94.Kg8 Rb1 95.f8Q+- e.g. 95...a1Q (95...Rxh1 96.Qb4+ Kg3 97.Qb3++-) 96.Qc8+ Kg5 97.Qd8+ Kg6 98.Qe8+ Kf5 99.Qf7+ Kg4 100.Qh5+ Kg3 101.Qh4+ Kf3 102.Rh3+ Kg2 103.Qg3+ Kf1 104.Rh1+ Ke2 105.Rh2+ Kd1 106.Qg1# B1b) 92...Rg2! 93.Re1 Kg5 94.Rf1 Kg6 95.Kg8 Kh6+= B2) 92.Ra4 Kh6 and now White wins by Emanuel Lasker's famous manoeuvre: 93.Kg8 Rg2+ 94.Kh8 Rf2 95.Ra6+ Kh5 96.Kg7 Rg2+ 97.Kh7 Rf2 98.Ra5+ Kh4 99.Kg7 Rg2+ 100.Kh6 Rf2 101.Ra4+ Kh3 102.Kg6 Rg2+ 103.Kh5 Rf2 104.Ra3+ Kg2 105.Rxa2+78...Kh7 (78...a2 79.f6 Kh7 80.Kf8+ Kh6 81.f7+- see the line 79.Kf8+.) 79.Ra6? and a draw was agreed due to (79.Kf8+ was called for: 79...Kh6 (79...Kh8 80.f6 a2 81.f7 Kh7 82.h6+- transposes) 80.f6 a2 (80...Rf1 81.f7 Rf3 82.Ke8 Re3+ 83.Re7+-) 81.f7 Kh7 82.h6 A) 82...Rb1 83.Rxa2 Rb8+ 84.Ke7 Rb7+ 85.Ke6 Rb6+ 86.Ke5 Rb5+ 87.Kd6 Rb6+ 88.Kc5 Rf6 89.Ra7 Rf5+ (89...Kxh6 90.Ra6+-) 90.Kd6 Kxh6 91.Ke7 Kg7 92.Ke8+file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (21 of 29) [12/22/2002 2:05:44 PM]

Endgame Corner

B) 82...Kxh6 83.Kg8 Rg1+ 84.Kh8 Rf1 85.Ra6+ Kh5 86.Kg7 Rg1+ 87.Kh7 Rf1 88.Ra5+ Kh4 89.Kg7 Rg1+ 90.Kh6 Rf1 91.Ra4+ Kh3 92.Kg6 Rg1+ 93.Kh5 Rf1 94.Ra3+ Kh2 95.Rxa2++C) 82...Kh8 83.Ra6 Kh7 84.Ra8+- zugzwang 84...Kxh6 85.Kg8 Rg1+ 86.Kh8 Rf1 87.Ra6+ etc.] 79...Rb1 [79...Rh1? 80.Rxa3 Rb1 (80...Rxh5 81.f6+-) 81.Ra7+-; 79...Rf1 80.f6 Rf3 should draw as well, e.g. 81.Ke6 Re3+ 82.Kf5 Kg8 83.Ra7 Rf3+ 84.Ke5 Rb3 85.h6 Rh3 86.Kf5 Rf3+ 87.Kg5 Rg3+ 88.Kh4 Rf3 89.Ra8+ Kh7 90.Kg5 Rg3+ 91.Kf4 Rg1 A) 92.Ke5 Re1+ 93.Kd6 Rd1+ 94.Ke7 Re1+ 95.Kf8 Re3 96.f7 Kh8 97.h7 Kxh7 98.Ra4 Rh3 99.Ra6 Rf3 (99...Re3? 100.Ra8 Kh8 101.Re8+-) 100.Ra7 Rb3 101.Ke7 Re3+= B) 92.Rxa3 Kxh6 93.Kf5 and now Black must give check: B1) 93...Kh7? 94.Ra8 (94.Ke6? Rb1=) 94...Rf1+ 95.Ke6 Re1+ 96.Kf7 Rb1 97.Kf8+B2) 93...Rf1+ 94.Ke6 Rb1 95.Re3 Kg6 96.Rg3+ Kh7 97.f7 Rb6+= B3) 93...Rg5+ 94.Ke6 Rb5 95.Ra8 Rb6+ 96.Kf7 Rb7+=; 79...a2? 80.f6 A) 80...Rb1 81.Rxa2 Rb7+ 82.Ke8 Rb8+ 83.Ke7 Rb7+ 84.Kd8 Rb8+ (84...Kg8 85.Ke8 Rb8+ 86.Ke7 Rb7+ 87.Ke6 Rb6+ 88.Kf5 Rb1 89.Ra8+ Kf7 90.Ra7+ Kg8 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (22 of 29) [12/22/2002 2:05:44 PM]

Endgame Corner

91.Rg7+ Kh8 92.Re7 Kg8 93.h6 Rf1+ 94.Ke6 Re1+ 95.Kd7 Rf1 96.Re8+ Kh7 97.Re6 Kxh6 98.Ke8+-) 85.Kd7 Rb7+ 86.Kc6 Rf7 87.Rf2 Kg8 88.Kd6 Ra7 89.Rg2+ Kh7 90.Rd2 Ra1 91.Ke7+-; B) 80...Kh6 81.Kf8+80.f6 80.Rxa3 Rb7+ A) 81.Ke6 Rb6+ 82.Ke5 Rb5+ 83.Kf4 Kh6 84.Rf3 (84.f6 Rxh5 85.Rg3 Ra5 86.f7 Ra4+=) 84...Rb4+ 85.Ke5 Rb5+ 86.Kd6 (86.Kd4 Kg7 87.h6+ Kxh6 88.f6 Rb8=) 86...Rb6+ 87.Kc7 Rf6 88.Kd7 Kg5 89.h6 A1) 89...Rxh6? 90.Ke7 Rh7+ 91.Ke6 Ra7 92.f6 Kg6 (92...Ra6+ 93.Ke7 Ra7+ 94.Kf8 Kg6 95.f7+-) 93.f7 Ra6+ 94.Kd5+A2) 89...Kxh6 90.Ke7 Ra6 91.f6 Ra7+= B) 81.Kf6 Kh6= 80...Rb7+ 81.Ke6 81.Ke8 Rb8+ 82.Ke7 Rb7+ 83.Kd8 Rb8+ 84.Kd7 Rb7+ 85.Kc6 Rb2 86.Kd6 (86.Rxa3 Rf2 87.Ra7+ Kh6 88.f7 Kxh5 89.Kd6 Kg6 90.Ke6 Rf6+=) 86...a2 87.Ra8 Rf2 88.Ke7 Re2+ 89.Kf8 Rb2= 81...a2 82.f7 82.Rxa2 Rb6+ 83.Ke7 Rb7+ 84.Kd8 Rb8+ 85.Kc7 Rf8 86.Rf2 Kg8 87.Kd6 Kf7 88.Ke5 Rh8 89.Rh2 (89.Rf5 Rh6=) 89...Rh6 90.Rh1 Rxf6 91.h6 Re6+ 92.Kf5 (92.Kd5 Re8=) 92...Rf6+ 93.Kg5 Rg6+ 94.Kh5 Rg2= file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (23 of 29) [12/22/2002 2:05:44 PM]

Endgame Corner

82...Rb6+ 83.Rxb6 a1Q 84.f8R (84.f8Q Qe5+ 85.Kd7 Qc7+ 86.Kxc7 stalemate) 84...Qa2+ 85.Kd7 Qd5+ 86.Rd6 Qb7+ 87.Ke8 Qe4+= as White can't escape from the checks. 88.Kf7 Qf5+ 89.Rf6?? Qd7# is a nice way to lose.

E24.04 Educational Example White wins easily: 1.fxg5! 1.Rg7+? Kf8 2.Rg6 Rf1=; 1.Rd8+?! Kf7 and now White has to take his last move back: 2.Rd7+ Kg8. (See the main line, (2...Kf8 3.fxg5 hxg5 4.Kg6+-; 2...Ke8 3.f7+ Kxd7 4.f8Q+-) 1.Ke6? Re1+ 2.Kf5 gxf4= 1.f7+? Kg7 2.f8Q+ Kxf8 3.Kf6 Ke8 4.Re7+ Kd8 5.f5 g4 6.Re2 Rf1 7.Kg6 (7.Rg2 h5 8.Kg6 Ke7=) 7...g3 8.Rg2 Rf3 9.f6 h5 10.Kxh5 Rxf6 11.Rxg3= 1...Rxg5+ After 1...hxg5 2.Kg6+- Black's pawn g5 shields White's king. A very important motif! 2.Ke6 Rg1 (2...Rg6 3.Ke7+-) 3.Rd8+ Kh7 4.f7 Re1+ 5.Kd6 Rd1+ 6.Kc7 Rc1+ (6...Rxd8 7.Kxd8 Kg7 8.Ke7+-) 7.Kb6 Rf1 8.f8Q Rxf8 9.Rxf8 Kg6 (9...h5 10.Rf6+-) 10.Kc5+-

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Endgame Corner

E24.05 Educational Example Surprisingly White can make progress as the pawn ending after 1.Re5 (1.Rb8?! Ra5+=) 1...Rb7 2.Re7+ Rxe7 3.fxe7 is drawn due to 3...h5!! 4.gxh5 (4.g5 Kxe7 5.Kf4 (5.Kg6?? h4–+) 5...Kf7 6.Kg3 Kg7=) 4...Kxe7 5.Kg6 Kf8 6.Kh7 Kf7 7.h6 Kf8 8.Kg6 (8.Kh8 Kf7 9.h7 Kf8 stalemate) 8...Kg8 9.h7+ Kh8 10.Kh6 stalemate. E24.06 J.Polgar (2595) N.Short (2655) Monaco blind 1993 This position is drawn as well but it is very close: 61...Re7? 61...Rb7 62.Ke6 Rb4 63.Rd7+ Kh6 64.Kf5 Rb5+ A) 65.Kf4 Rb4+ 66.Kg3 Rb1 (66...f5?! 67.Rd6+ Kh7 68.gxf5 Kg7 should draw as well, but why play an endgame with f+h pawn (see Endgame Corner No.1), when one can also draw only one pawn down?) 67.Rf7 Rf1 68.Rf8 Kg5 69.Rg8+ Kh6 70.Rg6+ Kh7 71.Kg2 Rf4=; B) 65.Kxf6 65...Rb4 66.g5+ (66.Kf5 Rf4+ 67.Kxf4 stalemate) 66...Kxh5 67.Rh7+ Kg4 68.g6 Rb6+ 69.Kf7 Rb7+ 70.Kg8 Rb8+ 71.Kg7 Kg5=

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Endgame Corner

as White's rook is badly misplaced. 62.h6+! Kf7 62...Kh7 63.Kxf6 Re8 A) 64.g5?!

makes it much more difficult. White must play very precisely to prevent Black's king getting to g6 (the "hole" in the pawns): 64...Rf8+ 65.Ke7 (65.Ke6? Kg6= gives Black an impregnable fortress, which was discovered by Kling and Horwitz 1851 (their study starts in a slightly different position (see, e.g., Fundamental Chess Endings 6.68, page 193f), but their arguments are valid here as well).) 65...Ra8 (65...Rf1 66.Rd7 Kg6 67.Ke8 Kxg5 68.h7 Rh1 69.Kf8 Kf6 70.Rf7++-; 65...Rg8 66.Ke6 Kg6 67.Rd7 Re8+ 68.Re7 Rg8 69.Ke5+- Black has to allow Rg7(+) as he is in zugzwang.) 66.Kf7 Ra6 (66...Ra7+ 67.Kf6 Ra6+ 68.Kf5 Ra7 69.Re5 Rf7+ 70.Kg4 Rf1 71.Re7++-)

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Endgame Corner

67.Rd4! Rb6 (67...Rg6 68.Rg4 zugzwang 68...Rg7+ 69.Kf6 Rg6+ 70.Kf5 Ra6 71.g6+ Kxh6 72.g7 Ra5+ 73.Ke6 Ra6+ 74.Kd5+-) 68.Re4 Ra6 (68...Rg6 69.Rg4 Rg7+ 70.Kf6 Rg6+ 71.Kf5 Ra6 72.g6++-; 68...Rb7+ 69.Kf6 Rb6+ 70.Re6+-) 69.Re6 Ra8 70.Kf6 Rf8+ 71.Ke5+-

B) 64.Rd7+ Kxh6 65.g5+ Kh5 66.g6+63.g5! fxg5 64.Rd8 Re1 65.h7 Rf1+ 66.Kxg5 Rg1+ 67.Kf4 1–0 E24.07 Y.Afek (2369) D.Baramidze (2335) Groningen 2001 White has a study-like stalemate defense: 52.Re8? (52.a6! g3 [52...Kc6 53.Rg8 Rxg8 stalemate] 53.Rg8 Rxg8 stalemate) 52...g3 53.Re1 g2 54.Rg1 Kc6 0–1 E24.08 P.Schmidt (2392) O.Reeh (2399) German Bundesliga season 99/00 Black wins easily by simplifying into a won pawn endgame, while the rook ending is surprisingly tricky: 39...Bxf1 40.Rxf1 Rxb2? 40...Rxf1+! 41.Kxf1 Kf6 42.Ke2 Ke5 43.Kd3 Kd5 44.Kd2 Kc4 45.Kc2 d3+ 46.Kd2 Kd4 47.Kd1 Ke3 48.Ke1 d2+ 49.Kd1 Kd3–+ and now White has to fall on his sword. file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (27 of 29) [12/22/2002 2:05:44 PM]

Endgame Corner

41.Rd1 Rb3 42.Rxd4 Rxg3+ 43.Kh2 Rxa3 (43...Rg4?! 44.Rxg4 hxg4 45.Kg3=) 44.Rf4

White now has a fortress as his rooks cut Black's king off and forces White's rook to stay in front of the a-pawn: 44...Ra2+ 45.Kg3 Ra1 46.Kh3? (46.Kg2! leads to a draw, e.g. 46...a3 47.Rf3 g5 48.hxg5 Kg6 49.Kh2 Kxg5 and White can defend using Vancura's method: 50.Kg2 Kg4 51.Rb3 Ra2+ 52.Kg1 h4 53.Kh1 Kf4 54.Kg1 Ra1+ 55.Kg2 Ke4 56.Kh2 a2 57.Ra3=) 46...a3 47.Ra4 now White can't use Vancura's method: 47.Rf3 a2 48.Ra3 Rh1+–+ 47...Kf6 48.Ra5 Ke6 49.Kg2 Kd6 50.Rg5 Rb1! makes any Vancura like defense impossible. 51.Rxg6+ Kc5 52.Ra6 Rb2+ 53.Kf3 Kb4 54.Ke4 (54.Kf4 Rg2–+) 54...Rd2 55.Rb6+ Kc3 56.Rc6+ Kb2 57.Rb6+ Kc1 0–1

Copyright 2002 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in ChessCafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

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Endgame Corner

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Endgame Corner

Bishop vs. Knight Revisited Part 2 I continue my discussion of bishop vs knight (for the first part see The Chess Cafe Archives): B) Fortresses for the Knight

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

Order Fundament Chess Endings by Karsten Müller & Frank Lamprecht The BCF Book of the Year!

This is a very important theme for the side fighting against a bishop as it can control only half of the squares on the board (against a pair of bishops it is a different matter of course). The following instructive example was analysed in detail by Roberto Alvarez in Chess Base Magazine no.87:

26.01 A.Pankratov (2561) - A.Kozlowicz (2494) email ICCF XIV ol prel S1B2 CAISSA 2002 43.a5!? Kc7 44.Kf2 Kb8 45.Bb5 Ka7 46.Kg2 g5 (White can force ...g5 anyway: 46...Nh7 47.Be8 g5 48.Bb5) 47.Kf2 Kb8 48.Ke2 Ka7 49.Kd3 Kb8 50.Kc4 (50.Kc3 Ka7 51.Be2 Ka8 52.Kc4 Ka7 53.Kb5 Ne8 54.a6 Nc7+ 55.Ka5 b6+ 56.Ka4 Kb8=) 50...Ka7 51.Ba4 Kb8 52.Kb5 (52.b5 b6 53.axb6 Kb7=) A) 52...Ka7? 53.a6 Nd7 54.Ka5 Nb6 55.Bb5 (55.axb7? Kxb7 56.Bc6+ Kc7 57.Ka6 Nc4 58.Bb5 Nb6=

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43.Kd3 Black has an impregnable fortress.) 55...bxa6 56.Bxa6 Nd7 (56...Na8 57.Kb5 Nc7+ 58.Kc6 Nxa6 59.Kxd6 Nxb4 60.Kxe5 Nd3+ 61.Kf6 Kb6 62.Kxg5 Kc7 63.Kf5+-) 57.Kb5 Nf6 58.Bc8 Kb8 59.Bf5 Kb7 60.Ka5 Ka7 61.b5 Kb7 62.b6 Ne8 63.Bd7 Nf6 64.Bc6+ Kb8 65.Ka6 Ng8 66.b7 Nf6 67.Bb5 Ng8 68.Kb6 Nf6 69.Kc6+B) 52...Ne8 53.Kb6 (53.a6 Nc7+ 54.Kb6 Nxa6=) 53...Nc7 54.Bd7 (Of course not 54.Bb5?? Na8#) 54...Na8+ 55.Kb5 Nc7+ 56.Ka4 Ka7 57.b5 Kb8 (57...b6? 58.Bc6+zugzwang) 58.b6 Na6 59.Bb5 Kc8= 43...b5!! a very impressive sacrifice to close the queenside 44.a5 (44.axb5 Kc7 45.b6+ Kxb6 46.Kc3 g5=) and a draw was agreed as there is no way to break through Black's walls, e.g. 44...Ne8 45.g5 Nc7 46.Kc3 Kc8 47.Be2 Kb7 48.Kd3 Ka6= (Alvarez) The next castle was stormed: 26.02 E.Arlandi (2454) - L.Esposito (2155) 14th Porto San Giorgio open 2002

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53...g5 it is always very risky to place the pawns on the bishop's colour, but Black position is very awkward in any case as he will fall into zugzwang sooner or later. 54.h3 h5 (54...Ke7 55.Kc6 Ke6 56.Kc5 h6 57.Bd2 Nh8 58.h4 gxh4 59.Bxh6 Nf7 60.Be3 Nh8 61.Bg5 Ng6 62.Kc6+-) 55.g4 hxg4 (55...h4?! 56.Bd2 Ke7 57.Kc6 Ke6 58.Kc5 Kf6 59.Kd5 Nh8 60.Ba5 Nf7 61.Bc7+-) 56.hxg4 Ke7 57.Kc6 Ke6 58.Bd2?! an inaccuracy. 58.Kc5 A) 58...Nh8 59.Bxg5 Ng6 60.Kc6 Nf8 (60...Nh8 61.Kc7 Nf7 62.Bh4 Nd6 63.Kd8 Kf7 64.Kd7 Nb5 65.Bg3 Nd4 66.Bxe5 Nxf3 67.Bf4 Kf6 68.Kd6+-) 61.Kc7 Ng6 62.Kd8 Kd6 (62...Kf7 63.Kd7 Nf8+ 64.Kd6 Ne6 65.Bc1 Nd4 66.Kxe5 Nxf3+ 67.Kd5 Kf6 68.Bf4+-) 63.Ke8 Ke6 64.Bd8 Nf4 65.Kf8 Ng2 66.g5 Nh4 67.Kg7 Nxf3 68.g6+B) 58...Kf6 59.Kd5 Nd8 60.Bb2 Nf7 61.Bc3+- (zugzwang) finishes Black off. 58...Nd8+! 59.Kc5?! (It was still possible to transpose to the line 58.Kc5 with 59.Kc7 Nf7 60.Bc1 Ke7 61.Kc6 Ke6 62.Kc5 Kf6 63.Kd5 Nd8 64.Bb2 Nf7 65.Bc3+-)

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Endgame Corner

59...Nf7?! This passive move makes it relatively easy. But White was winning anyway, e.g. 59...Kf6 60.Kd5 Ne6 61.Bc3 Nc7+ 62.Kc6 Ne6 63.Kd6 Nd4 64.Kd5 Nxf3 65.Bb2 Kf7 (65...Nh2? 66.Bxe5+ Ke7 67.Bxh2+-) 66.Bxe5 A) 66...Ng1 67.Bc7 Ne2 68.Ba5 Ng3 (68...Nf4+ 69.Kd6 Ne2 70.Bb6 Nf4 71.Be3 Ne6 72.e5+-) 69.e5 Nf1 70.e6+ Ke8 71.Ke4 Ke7 72.Bc7 Nd2+ (72...Kxe6 73.Kd3 Kd7 74.Bb8 Kc8 75.Be5 Kd7 76.Ke2 Ke6 77.Bb8+-) 73.Kd5 Nf1 74.Bd6+ Ke8 75.Ke4+B) 66...Nd2 67.Bc7 (67.Bd4? is wrong: 67...Nf1 68.Bg1 Nd2 69.e5 Nf3 70.e6+ Ke8 71.Be3 Nh2 72.Bxg5 Nxg4 73.Ke4 Nf2+ 74.Kd4 Nd1=) It is surprisingly difficult to win now, but using the sharp weapon zugzwang time after time does the job. 67...Nf1 68.Kd4 Nd2 69.Kd3 Nb3 (69...Nf3 70.Bg3 Ke6 71.Ke3 Ne5 72.Bxe5 Kxe5 73.Kd3 Kf4 74.Kd4 Kxg4 75.e5 Kf5 76.Kd5 g4 77.e6 Kf6 78.Kd6 g3 79.e7 g2 80.e8Q g1Q 81.Qf8+ Kg5 82.Qg7++-) 70.Kc4 Nd2+ 71.Kd5 Nf1 72.Kd4 Nd2 73.Ke5 Kg6 74.Kd5 Nf3 (74...Nf1 75.Kd4 Nd2 76.Kd3 Nb3 77.e5 Nc5+ 78.Kc4 Ne4 79.Bb6 Kf7 80.Kd5+-) 75.Bg3 Nd2 76.Bh2 Nf3 77.Bc7 Nd2 78.e5 Nf1 (78...Kf7 79.e6+ Ke7 80.Bd6+ Ke8 81.Bc5 Nf3 82.Ke4 Nd2+ 83.Kf5 Nf3 84.Be3+-) 79.e6 Ne3+ 80.Kc6 Nxg4 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (4 of 12) [02/05/2003 8:59:31 AM]

Endgame Corner

81.e7 and Black has no defense: 81...Nf6 (81...Kf7 82.Kd7 Nf6+ 83.Kd8 Ne8 84.Be5+-) 82.Be5 Ne8 83.Kd7 Kf7 84.Kd8 g4 85.Kd7+60.Bc1 zugzwang 60...Kf6 61.Kd5 Nh8 62.Bb2 (62.Bxg5+? Kxg5 63.Kxe5 Ng6+ 64.Ke6 Nh4=) 62...Ng6 (62...Nf7 63.Bc3+-) 63.Kd6 Zugzwang 63...Kf7 64.Bxe5 Nh4 65.f4 gxf4 66.Bxf4 Ng6 67.Bg5 Nf8 68.Ke5 Ng6+ 69.Kf5 Nf8 70.Bf6 and Black resigned due to 70...Ne6 71.g5 Nc7 (71...Nf8 72.e5+zugzwang) 72.e5 Nd5 73.e6+ Ke8 74.Ke4 Nc7 75.Ke5 Kf8 76.g6 Ne8 77.e7+ Kg8 78.Ke6 Nc7+ 79.Kf5 (79.Kd7?! Ne8 80.Be5 Nf6+ 81.Bxf6?? stalemate(81.Ke6+-)) 79...Ne8 80.Be5+C) Knights can battle on two wings under favourable circumstances Usually bishops are much better at fighting on both wings due to their long range fire power. But the do not always win as king activity, weak squares or colour complexes, knight forks etc. may change the equation. So the following 2 examples shall serve as a warning: 26.03 S.Karjakin (2523) - I.Semenova (2257) Sudak 2002 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (5 of 12) [02/05/2003 8:59:31 AM]

Endgame Corner

Black's activity is sufficient to hold on: 38...Nb4! 39.a3 Nd3 40.Bc3 Nc1 41.b4 cxb4 42.axb4 One sample line after 42.Bxb4 runs 42...Nd3 43.Bc3 b5 44.Ke3 Nc5 45.Bb4 Nd7 46.Kd4 Nf6 47.g5 Nd5 48.Bd2 Nb6 49.Kc5 Nc4 50.Bc1 Kf5 51.a4 Na5 52.axb5 axb5 53.Kxb5 Nb7 (53...Nb3 54.Be3 Ke4 55.Kc4 Kxe3 56.f5 Nd4 57.fxg6 Nf5=) 54.Kc6 Nd8+ 55.Kd6 Ne6 56.Ke7 Ng7 57.Kf7 Nh5= 42...Nb3 43.Ke4 a5 44.f5+ gxf5+ 45.gxf5+ Kf7 46.b5 a4 47.Bb2 Nc5+ 48.Kd5 Nb3 48...Nb7?! 49.Bd4 a3 50.Kc6 Na5+ 51.Kxb6 Nb3 52.Bc3 a2 53.Kc6 (53.Kc7 a1Q 54.Bxa1 Nxa1 55.b6 Nb3 56.b7 Nc5 57.b8Q Na6+=) 53...a1Q 54.Bxa1 Nxa1 55.b6 Nb3 56.Kb5 Nd4+ 57.Kc5 Nb3+ 58.Kb5 Nd4+ 59.Kc5 Nb3+ 60.Kb4 Nd4 61.b7 Nc6+= 49.Ke5 49.Kc4 Nc5 50.Bd4 Ne4 51.Kd5 Ng3 A) 52.Bxb6 a3 53.Bc7 (53.Bd4 Nxf5 54.Be5 Ne7+ 55.Kc5 Ke6 56.b6 Kd7 57.b7 Nc6=) 53...Nxf5 54.b6 Ne7+ 55.Kc5 Ng6 56.b7 a2 57.b8Q a1Q 58.Qb3+ Kg7= B) 52.f6 Nf5 53.Bxb6 a3 54.Ba5 Ne3+ 55.Kc6 a2 56.Bc3 Ke6 57.b6 Nd5 58.Bd4 Nxf6 59.b7 Nd7= 49...Na5 50.Kd4 Nb7 51.Kd3 Na5 (51...Nd6!? 52.Kc3 Nxb5+ 53.Kb4 Nd6 54.Kxa4=) 52.Bd4 a3 53.Bxb6 Nb3 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (6 of 12) [02/05/2003 8:59:31 AM]

Endgame Corner

54.Bc7 54...Nd4 (54...Kf6 55.Ke4 Nc5+ 56.Kf4 Nd3+ 57.Ke4 Nc5+= (57...a2?! is answered by 58.Bb6 but it draws nevertheless: 58...a1Q 59.Bd4+ Qxd4+ 60.Kxd4 Kxf5 61.Kxd3 Ke5=)) 55.b6 a2 56.b7 a1Q (56...Nc6 57.b8Q Nxb8 58.Be5=) 57.b8Q Nxf5 ½–½ 26.04 T.Petrosian - B.Larsen San Antonio 1972 It looks pretty grim for Black, but Larsen managed to save himself with ingenious defense: 1...h5!? 2.g5 2.gxh5!? is very dangerous as well (despite the two wrong rook's pawns): 2...Nc4 A) 3.Bg4 Nxb2 4.Bxe6 Kg7 5.f5 (5.Kg3 c4 6.Bf5 c3 7.Kf3 Nc4 8.Ke2 Nb6 9.Be6 Na4 10.Kd1 Nc5 11.Bc4 Ne4 12.Kc2 Ng3 13.h6+ Kxh6 14.Kxc3 Nh5 15.f5 Kg5=) 5...c4 6.Kg3 c3 7.Bb3 Nc4 8.Kf4 Nd6 9.h6+ Kxh6 10.f6 Kg6 11.Ke5 Nf7+= B) 3.b3!? Nd2 4.Bd1 c4 5.bxc4 Nxc4 6.Bb3 Nd6 7.Bxe6 Kg7 8.Kg3 Kh6 9.Kg4 Ne4 10.Bf7 Nf2+ 11.Kh4 Ne4 12.Bd5 (12.f5? Nd6 13.Be6 Nxf5+ 14.Bxf5 Kg7=) 12...Nf6 13.Bf3 Ne8

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Endgame Corner

and Black may be able to hold on, but I am not completely sure. 2...h4 3.Kg1 3.b3 is met by 3...c4! It is important to reduce White's winning potential and to leave pawns only on one wing as this makes the knight's job much easier. (but not 3...Nf5? 4.Kg2 Nd4 5.Bd1 Kf7 6.Kf2 and now e.g. 6...Kg6 7.Ke3 e5 8.fxe5 Kxg5 9.Ke4 Nb5 10.Bf3 Nd4 11.b4 Nxf3 12.bxc5 Nd2+ 13.Kd5 Nb1 14.c6 Nc3+ 15.Ke6 Nb5 16.Kd7+-) 4.bxc4 Nxc4 5.Kg2 e5= 3...e5! a fantastic ressouce! 4.fxe5 Nc4 5.Kf2 5.e6 Nxb2 A) 6.g6 c4 7.Bd5 (7.Kf2 c3 8.Be4 Na4 9.Ke3 Nc5 10.Bf5 c2 11.Bxc2 Nxe6 12.Bf5 Kg7=) 7...c3 8.Bb3 Nd3 9.g7+ Kxg7 10.e7 c2 11.Bxc2 Kf7 12.Bxd3 Kxe7= B) 6.Kf2 c4 7.Ke3 c3 8.Be4 Ke7 9.Kd4 Kxe6 10.Bc2

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Endgame Corner

10...Kf7 (10...Nd1? 11.Bxd1 Kf5 12.Bc2+ Kxg5 13.Ke5 Kh6 14.Kf6 Kh5 15.Bd3 Kh6 16.Bg6+-) 11.Kxc3 Nd1+ 12.Bxd1 Kg6= 5...Nxe5 Black has to play extremely precisely to save his skin. 5...Nxb2? 6.Ke3 A) 6...c4 7.Kd4 Nd3 8.Be4 Nf4 (8...Nf2 9.Bf5 Nd1 10.e6 Ke7 11.Ke5+-) 9.Bf5 Ng2 10.e6 Nf4 11.Ke5+B) 6...Nc4+ 7.Kf4+6.Be4 Kg7 7.b3 Nf7 8.g6 Ne5 9.Ke3 Nxg6 10.Bxg6 (10.Kf3 Ne5+ 11.Kf4 Kf6 12.Bd5 Nd3+ 13.Kg4 Nc1 14.Kxh4 Nxb3 15.Bxb3 Kg7=) 10...Kxg6 11.Ke4 Kf6 12.Kd5 Kf5 13.Kxc5 Kf4 14.b4 Kg3 15.b5 Kxh3 16.b6 Kg2 17.b7 h3 18.b8Q h2= as White's king is out of the winning zone (see Endgame Corner no.22 in the ChessCafe Archives).

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Endgame Corner

Bibliography Fundamental Chess Endings, Karsten Müller and Frank Lamprecht, GAMBIT 2001 Secrets of Chess Intuition, Adrian Michalchishin and Alexander Beliavsky, GAMBIT 2002 ChessBase MEGABASE 2001 ChessBase Magazine 87 The Week in Chess Solutions to last month exercises

E25.01 J.Boersma (2244) M.Dogge (2124) Essent Open Hoogeveen 2002 Black saves himself as follws: 60...h5! (60...a4? 61.bxa4 bxa4 62.Bd3+-) 61.Kxd6 hxg4 62.Bxg4 Nb1 63.c4 (63.Kc5 a4=) 63...bxc4 64.bxc4 Nd2 65.c5 Ne4+ 66.Kd5 Nxc5 ½–½ E25.02 A.Karpov (2693) P.Leko (2713) NAO Masters Cannes 2002 Karpov won as follows: 49.d6+ Kxd6 50.Bxf7 and Leko resigned as he is torn apart: 50...Nf6 (50...g5 opens a path via f5: 51.Ke4 Ke7 52.Bd5 Nb6 53.Ke5 h6 54.Be4 Nc8 55.Kd5 Kd8 56.Ke6+-) 51.b6 Kc6 52.Be6 Kxb6 53.Ke5 Ne8 54.Bg8 h6 55.Bf7 Nc7 56.Kf6 g5 57.Kg7 h5 58.Bxh5+-

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E25.03 T.Heinemann U.Kunsztowicz Glückstadt rapid 2002 I asked you to find a win for White last month, but at closer inspection I couldn't find one myself: 1.Kxf5?! 1.Be5!? b4 2.Kxf5 b3 3.g4 Ng3+ 4.Kf4 Ne2+ 5.Ke3 Ng3 6.Kf3 Nf1 7.g5 Nd2+ 8.Kf4 (8.Ke2 Ne4 9.g6 Ng3+ 10.Kf3 Nf5=) 8...Nc4 9.Bc3+ Kb5 (9...Ka4? 10.g6 Nb6 11.Ke5+-) 10.g6 Nb6 11.Ke5 Kc4 12.g7 (12.Bb2 Nd5 13.Kd6 Ne3 14.Ke6 Ng4 15.Bc1 Nh6 16.g7 a5 17.Bxh6 b2 18.g8Q b1Q=) 12...Kxc3 13.g8Q Nc4+ and it seems that Black can survive. 1.Kxh5? allows Black to defend himself easily: 1...b4 2.Kg5 b3 3.Be5 Kb4 4.Kxf5 Ka3 5.g4 b2= 1...b4? (1...Ng7+ 2.Kf6 b4 3.Kxg7 b3 4.Be5 Kb4= was better.) 2.Be5 b3 3.g4 Ng3+ 4.Kf4 Nf1? (4...Ne2+! transposes to the line 1.Be5) 5.g5+- and White won after some further moves.

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Endgame Corner

E25.04 K.Williamson (1864) H.Jones (1824) BCF-chT2 0102 (4NCL) Birmingham 2001 White won with 73.Kf8 1–0 Of course not 73.h7?? Nh8 74.Bb2 Nf7 75.Bf6 Kxh7 76.Kxf7 stalemate. With Black to move E25.04 is drawn due to 1...Nh8! with the idea to follow up with Kh7 and Ng6 with an impregnable fortress.

Copyright 2002 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in ChessCafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

[The Chess Cafe Home Page] [Book Reviews] [Bulletin Board] [Columnists] [Endgame Studies] [The Skittles Room] [Archives] [Links] [Online Bookstore] [About The Chess Cafe] [Contact Us] Copyright 2002 CyberCafes, LLC. All Rights Reserved. "The Chess Cafe®" is a registered trademark of Russell Enterprises, Inc.

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Endgame Corner

Bees of Opps Revisited Endgame Corner #2 dealt extensively with opposite coloured bishop endgames (see the ChessCafe Archives). Now I want to deal with some interesting new examples: 27.01 V.Korchnoi (2617) - Y.Pelletier (2531) Biel 2001

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

Korchnoi had to make one last precise move: 47.Kh4! and Peletier resigned as White's king gets in front of his pawns and shepherds them to the 8th rank. One sample line runs 47...Bf4 48.h3 Bd2 49.Kh5 Be3 50.h4 Bd2 (50...Bf2 51.g5+ Ke5 52.g6 Kf6 53.Kh6 Bxh4 54.g7+-) 51.g5+ Kg7 52.Kg4 Bb4 53.h5 Kf8 54.h6 Bd2 55.Kh5 Bc1 56.g6 Bb2 57.g7++The immediate 47.h4? allows 47...Be1+ 48.Kh3 Ke5 49.g5 Kf4

Order Fundament Chess Endings by Karsten Müller & Frank Lamprecht The BCF Book of the Year! file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (1 of 11) [03/04/2003 9:08:57 AM]

Endgame Corner

and White can't make progress, e.g., 50.a4 a5 51.Bb1 Bf2 52.g6 Bd4 53.Bc2 Bc3 54.h5 Kg5 55.Bd1 Kh6= In the next example Luke McShane found the way to survive:

27.02 A.Sokolov (2569) - L.McShane (2568) Bundesliga 2002-3, Tegernsee 2003 58...Kf8 59.Kg6 Bh8 60.h4 Ke7 61.f5 c4!? McShane sacrifices his pawn as it is not necessary to hold it. Just waiting is not enough: 61...Bd4 62.h5 Be5 63.h6

63...Bd4? (63...Bh8 still draws.) 64.h8Q Bxh8 65.Kh7 Bd4 66.Kg8 Kf6 67.Bc2+- 62.Bxc4 Kf8 63.h5 (63.f6 Ke8 64.h5 Kf8 65.Bb5 Bxf6 66.Kxf6 stalemate.) 63...Ke7 64.Bb3 Kf8 65.f6 Ke8 ½–½ Lars Schandorff, Luke McShane's team mate at SV Werder Bremen in the German Bundesliga, managed to win the following endgame nicely:

27.03 L.Schandorff (2546) - M.Golubev (2528) German Bundesliga 02/03 Stuttgarter Sfr - SV Werder Bremen file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (2 of 11) [03/04/2003 9:08:57 AM]

Endgame Corner

(4.3), 17.11.2002 44...Kxa4 44...Bxh2 45.Bd1 Bb8 46.Kb6+(Golubev in Chess Today 742); 44...Bb8 45.a5 Kc5 (45...Bxh2 46.Kb6 Bg1+ 47.Kc6 Ba7 48.a6 Ka5 49.b8Q Bxb8 50.Kb7+-) 46.Be4+- Zugzwang 45.h4!? 45.Ka7 is playable as well, but White must act more precisely: 45...Bxh2 46.b8Q Bxb8+ 47.Kxb8 Kb5 48.Kc7 Kc5 49.Kd7 Kd4 50.Ke6 Ke3

51.Ke5! (51.Kf6? Kf4 52.Kg7 h5 53.Kxg6 h4= (Golubev)) A) 51...Kf2 52.Kf4 h6 53.Be4 Kg1 (53...h5 54.Bc6 h4 55.Kg4 g5 56.Bd5 Kg1 57.Kxg5+-) 54.Kg3 g5 55.Kg4+-; B) 51...h5 52.Bc6 Kf2 53.Kf4 Kg1 54.Kg3+45...Bb8 46.Be4 Kb4 47.g4 Kc5

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Endgame Corner

and now Schandorff revealed his point: 48.Bxg6! h6 (48...hxg6 49.h5 gxh5 50.gxh5 Kc6 51.h6 Be5 52.h7 Kc7 53.Ka7+-) 49.g5 hxg5 50.h5 g4 51.h6 g3 52.Be4 Kd4

53.Bg2!? 1-0 53.h7?! requires more thought: 53...Kxe4 54.h8Q g2 55.Qxb8 g1Q 56.Qe8+ Kd5 57.Qb5+ Ke4 58.b8Q Qa1+ 59.Kb7 Qg7+ 60.Qc7+In the next example very tenacious defence was called for: 27.04 E.Miroshnichenko (2525) - A.Romero Holmes (2524) ECC Halkidiki 2002 36...Bb5? Wrong, as Black's bishop is ideally placed on c6. White's winning possibilities had to be reduced with 36...h5! 37.Be7 Bb5 38.gxh5+ (38.Bd6 hxg4 39.hxg4 Kf6 40.Ke4 Bc6+=) 38...Kxh5 39.Bf6 Kh4 40.Bxe5 Kxh3 41.Bf6 g4= 37.Ke4 Bf1 37...Bc6+ 38.Kxe5 Bxf3 39.b5 h5 40.b6 now Black's bishop has to keep an eye on the last stop b7. 40...hxg4 41.hxg4 Kf7 42.Kd6 Ke8 43.Kc7+- 38.h4! gxh4 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (4 of 11) [03/04/2003 9:08:57 AM]

Endgame Corner

39.Bxh4 White has won an important pawn, which facilitates the technical stage: 39...Bb5 39...Be2 40.Bg3+40.Kxe5 Be2 41.Kf4 Kf7 42.Ke3 Bd1 43.b5 Ke6 44.b6 Kd6 45.Kf4 Kc6 46.Bf2 Be2 47.g5 Bd1 48.Ke4 Kd6 49.Bg3+ Kc6 50.Bc7 Kd7 51.f4 1–0 The analysis of the following fascinating ending is largely based on Marc Schroeder's notes in Schaakschakeringen nr. 353 (Okt./Nov. 2001), p. 101–102 and Chess Mail 7/2002, p. 38-40. I want to thank Marc for his kind permission to use them in my article: 27.05 C.van Wieringen (2388) - M.Schroeder (2354) Dick Smit Memorial Tournament ICCF Email 2000 46...Kc2 47.Ke1 47.c4!? Bxc4 (47...bxc4 48.Bf6=; 47...Kxb2 48.cxb5=) 48.Bf6 Bd5 49.Bd4 Kd3 50.Bc5 Kc4 51.Be7 c5 52.Ke3 b4 53.Bf8=; 47.Ke3 Kxb2 48.Kd2!= (48.Kd4? is dangerous only for White.) 47...Bc4 48.Bd6 Kxb2 49.Kd2 Kb3 50.Be7 Bf1 51.Bd6 Kc4 52.Be7 Bd3 53.Bf8 Be4 54.Be7 Bd5 55.Bd6 Be6 56.Be7 Bc8 57.Bf8 Ba6 Black has transferred his bishop to its best place to realise his plan to infiltrate with his king on the kingside. White has to defend extremely carefully now: 58.Bg7? 58.Be7! b4 (58...c5 59.Ke3! Kxc3 60.Bxc5=)

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Endgame Corner

A) 59.cxb4? Kd4–+ (59...Bb5? 60.Bf6 Kb3 61.Be5 Kxa3 62.Kc2 Kxb4 63.Bf6=) ; B) 59.Bxb4 c5 60.Ba5 Kb3 61.c4 Kxa3 (61...Kxc4 62.Bc3 Kb3 63.Bh8 Kxa3 64.Bg7 Kb3 65.Bh8 Kc4=) 62.Bc3 Kb3 63.Bh8 Kxc4 64.Bg7 The principle of one diagonal saves White. 64...Kd5 65.Ke3 Kc4 66.Kd2 Kb3 67.Bh8 Ka2 68.Kc1= 58...c5 59.Bf6 (59.Bf8 b4 60.cxb4 Kd4–+) 59...Kb3 60.Be7 Kxa3 61.Kc2 Ka2 62.Bxc5 Bb7 63.c4

63...Be4+! 63...bxc4? 64.Bd4 Be4+ 65.Kc1 a3 66.Bh8 Kb3 67.Kd2 a2 68.Ba1= Black can neither support his a-pawn, nor reach g3. 64.Kc3 64.Kc1 b4! 65.Bxb4 Kb3 66.Ba5 (66.Be7 Kc3 67.Kd1 Kd3 68.Bc5 Kxc4 69.Bd6 Kd3 70.Bc5 a3 71.Bxa3 Ke3–+; 66...a3 67.Kd2 Kb2 68.Bc3+ Kb1 69.Ke3 a2 70.Kd4 Kc2 71.c5 Kd1–+ Black reaches g3 by Zugzwang (see below). 64...Kb1! 64...bxc4? 65.Kxc4 Kb2 66.Kd4 a3 67.Bxa3+ Kxa3 68.Ke5 Kb4 69.Kf6 Kc5 70.Kg6 Kd6 71.Kxh5 Ke7 72.Kg6 Kf8 73.Kh7 Kf7 74.h5= 65.Kd2 bxc4 66.Ba3

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Endgame Corner

66...Ka2! "Black wants to play ...c3+, but first he has to clear c1 for his king. He achieves this with a triangle." (Schroeder) 67.Bb4 Kb2 68.Bc3+ Kb1 69.Bb4

69...c3+ 70.Kxc3 70.Bxc3 a3 71.Ke3 a2 72.Kd4 Kc2–+ "We analysed this position earlier (with an irrelevant extra pawn c4)." (Schroeder) 70...Kc1 71.Kd4 Kd1 72.Ke3

72...a3 73.Bxa3 Ke1 74.Bb4+ Kf1 75.Bc3 Kg2 76.Be1 Bc6

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Endgame Corner

"Black has achieved his aim. White realises that he runs into Zugzwang and opts for counterattack." (Schroeder) 77.Kd4 77.Ke2 Ba4 78.Ke3 Bb5 79.Kd4 Kf1–+ 77...Kf1 78.Bb4 Kf2 79.Ke5 Bd7 80.Kf6 Kxg3 81.Kg5 Be8 82.Be7 82.Bc5 Kh3–+; 82.Be1+ Kh2 83.Kxf5 g3 84.Kf6 g2 85.Bf2 g1Q 86.Bxg1+ Kxg1–+ 82...Kh2 0-1 "Now 83. Kxf5 g3 84. Bc5 g2 85. Kf6 g1Q 86. Bxg1+ Kxg1 leads to a won pawn endgame for Black. White resigns." (Schroeder). 27.06 Variation of N.De Firmian - World Strategy Team Ross Ammann published analysis by the world team and himself after the end of the game. If De Firmian had played on the following endgame could have arisen. Amann gives the following instructive win: 61.a4 Bc2 62.a5 Bf5

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Endgame Corner

Zugzwang 63.Be7 Kxh6 64.Bd8 Kh5 65.Be7 h6 66.Bd8 Kg4 67.Be7 g5 68.hxg5 68.Bxg5 is met by 68...hxg5 69.h5 Kf3 70.h6 Ke4–+ 68...h5 69.g6 Bxg6 70.Bd8

Now Amann continues with 70...Kf3, which wins nicely. But 70...Bf7 does the job as well: 71.Kb1 h4 72.Kc1 h3 73.Bc7 Kf3 74.Kd2 Kg2 75.Kc3 h2 76.Bxh2 Kxh2 77.Kb4 Kg3 78.Kc5 Kf3 79.Kb6 Bc4 80.Kc5 Bd3 81.Kb4 Bc2 82.Kc5 Ke2 83.Kb6 Bd3 84.Kc5 Kd2–+ 71.Be7 Ke4 72.Bf6 Kd5 73.Bg5 Kc6 74.Bf6 Kb5 75.Bd8 Bc2 Zugzwang. The bishop is torn repeatedly apart. Nice! 76.Bc7 h4 77.Bd8 h3 78.Bc7 Bf5 Zugzwang again 79.Bg3 Kxa5–+

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Endgame Corner

The following two examples reveal insights into the nature of oppositecoloured bishop endings by showing an amazing motif that is not often applicable:

27.07 M.Golubev (2528) - M.Jirovsky (2464) Bundesliga season 02/03 Germany (6.3) 15.12.2002 46...g5!! 47.fxg5 For 47.hxg5 Bxf4 48.g6 (48.Bg6 Bxg5 49.Bxf5 Kd6–+ as Black's pawns are separeted by 3 files.) 48...Kd6, see the game continuation. 47...Bxh4 48.g6 Kd6 49.Ke3 Ke5 50.Be8 c5 51.Bf7 Bg5+ 52.Kd3 Bh4 53.Be8 Kf4 54.Bb5 Bf2 55.Ke2 Bd4 56.Kf1 Kg5 57.Be8 c4 58.Ke2 Kf4 59.Bd7 Bf6 60.Bb5 c3 61.Bd3 Kg4 0–1 27.08 J.Polgar (2700) - V.Kramnik (2807) Wijk aan Zee 2003 Judit Polgar saved herself by 77.g4!! Bxf4+ 78.Ke2 hxg4 79.h5 gxh5 80.Bxf5 Kb4 81.Bg6! it is an important technique to fix the opponent's pawns on squares of the colour of your own bishop by attacking them. Remember it! 81...h4 82.Bf5 g3 83.Kf3 Finally the pawns are safely blockaded. 83...Kc4 84.Bh3 Be5 84...Kxd5 85.Kxf4 Kd4 86.Kg4 Ke3 87.Kxh4 Kf2 88.Kg4 d5 89.Kf4 d4 90.Ke4= 85.Ke4 Bf6 86.Bf1+ Kc3 87.Bg2 Kc4 88.Bf1+ Kc5 89.Bg2 Be7 90.Bf1 Bd8 91.Bg2 Kc4 92.Bf1+ Kc3 93.Bg2 Kd2 94.Kf3 Kd3 95.Kg4 Ke3 96.Kh3 Bf6 97.Bh1 The file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (10 of 11) [03/04/2003 9:08:57 AM]

Endgame Corner

principle of one diagonal at work. Bravo Judit! ½–½ Sources: Chess Today 727 and 742, daily internet newspaper by Alexander Baburin, articles by Ross Amann and Mikhail Golubev The Week in Chess, weakly internet chess magazine by Mark Crowther ChessBase MEGABASE 2003

ChessMail 7/2002 by Tim Harding, article Endgame Clinic by Marc Schroeder

Copyright 2003 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in ChessCafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

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Endgame Corner

Queen and Rook's Pawn vs Queen You probably know that the theoretical result of this endgame is a draw. But how to achieve it, when you can't give perpetual check and your king can't get in front of the enemy pawn? The following game by Alexander Graf (before he emigrated to Germany his last name was Nenashev) shows, how difficult this theme can be:

28.01 A.Graf (2649) - F.Döttling (2509) Bad Wörishofen 2001

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

Order Fundament Chess Endings by Karsten Müller & Frank Lamprecht The BCF Book of the Year!

55...Qf1+= 56.Ka5 Qc1 57.Qd6 Kg5?! 58.Qe5+ Kg6?! Black's king heads in the wrong direction 59.a4 Qd2+ 60.Ka6 Kf7? Black's king is now firmly confined to the losing zone 61.a5!+- Please note that I have used the Nunn Convention for the exclams, question marks etc. and thereby ignored the 50 move rule, which would probably influence the result. But it would require a lot of work to figure that out. 61...Qd3+ 62.Kb7 Qb1+ 63.Kc8 Qa2 64.Qc7+ Kg8 65.Qg3+ Kf7 66.Qe5 Kg8 67.Kd8 Qd2+ 68.Ke8 Qh6 69.Qd5+ Kh8 70.Qd4+ Kh7 71.Qd3+ Kh8 72.Qc3+ Kg8 73.Qc4+ Kh8 74.Qc8 Qh5+ 75.Ke7+ Kh7 76.Qc2+ Kh8 77.Qc3+ Kg8 78.Qc4+

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Endgame Corner

78...Kh8!? Black defends very tenaciously by keeping his king in the north east corner (at h8 resp. h7). 79.Qd4+ Kg8 80.Qc4+ Kh8 81.a6 Qe5+ 82.Kd7 Qf5+ 83.Qe6

83...Qf7+!? A nice and typical trick 84.Kd6 (84.Qxf7?? stalemate) 84...Qf8+ 85.Kc6 Qa8+ 86.Kc5 Qa7+ 87.Kb5 Qb8+ 88.Kc6 Qa8+ 89.Kc5 Qa7+ 90.Qb6 Qe7+ 91.Qd6 Qa7+ 92.Kb5 Qe3 93.Qd8+ Kh7 94.Qd7+ Kh8 95.a7? Too early as we will see later (White's queen is not centralized enough). The shortest win starts 95.Qd8+ Kh7 96.Kc6 Qe4+ 97.Qd5 Qg6+ 98.Kb7 Qg7+ 99.Kb6 Qf6+ 100.Qc6 Qd4+ 101.Kb7 Qb4+ 102.Ka7 but the mate is still 57 moves away. 95...Qb3+ 96.Ka6 Qa3+ 97.Kb7 Qb4+ 98.Kc8

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Endgame Corner

98...Qc5+? (98...Qc4+ draws, e.g. 99.Kd8 Qh4+! 100.Ke8 Qe4+ 101.Qe7 Qa4+ 102.Kf8 Qf4+! 103.Qf7 Qb4+ 104.Ke8 Qa4+ 105.Qd7 Qe4+! 106.Kd8 Qa8+ 107.Ke7 Qe4+ and White can't make progress.) 99.Kd8? (99.Kb8+-) 99...Qb6+? (99...Qa5+!=) 100.Qc7? Qf6+! 101.Qe7 Qb6+? 102.Ke8? Qb5+ 103.Kf7 Qh5+ 104.Ke6 Qe2+ 105.Kd6 Qd3+ 106.Kc7 Qc4+ 107.Kd8 Qd5+ 108.Qd7 Qa5+ 109.Ke8 Qe5+ 110.Kf7 Qg7+ 111.Ke6 Qg4+ 112.Kd6 Qd4+ 113.Ke7 Qg7+ 114.Kd8 Qf6+! 115.Kc7 Qe5+? 116.Qd6? Qa5+? 117.Kb7 Qb5+ 118.Kc8? Qc4+ 119.Kd8 Qg8+ The position is drawn and I do not know if the result 1–0 in the ChessBase MEGABASE is correct. Black's main problem was that his king was firmly cut off from the main drawing zone, which is in the corner farest away: the south east corner (the squares g1,h1,g2,h2). To understand that, please note that the endgame would be an easy draw without the defending king as then the queen would just pester White with checks forever. So much hinges on its position. A good attacking technique is to bring the attacking king to the same file or diagonal to make counterchecks possible. To do this with Black's king on h1 requires stretching White's forces to the limit. They just can't make this work: 28.02 T.Markowski (2568) - J.Piket (2649) Istanbul olympiad 2000

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Endgame Corner

White's king is ideally placed and Markowski defends well: 57.Qe8+ Kh4 58.Qe4+ Qg4 59.Qe7+ Kg3 60.Qe1+ Kh2 61.Qe5+ Kg2 62.Qb2+ Kh3 63.Qc3+ Qg3 64.Qc8+ Kh2 65.Qf5!? (65.Qc2+?? Qg2+–+) 65...Qg5 66.Qf7 h5 67.Ka6 Qe5 68.Qf2+ Kh3 69.Qf3+ Kh4 70.Qf2+ Kg5 71.Qg2+ Kf6 72.Qf3+ Qf5 73.Qc3+ (73.Qc6+?? Qe6–+) 73...Kg6 74.Qg3+ Kh7 75.Qh4 Qe6+ 76.Ka7 Qg4 77.Qf2 h4 The pawn will not come any further in this game. 78.Ka8 Qe4+ 79.Ka7 Kg6 80.Qb6+ Kf7 81.Qb3+ Ke7 82.Qc3 Qf4 83.Qc5+ Kf7 84.Qd5+ Kg7 85.Qg2+ (85.Qd7+?? Qf7–+) 85...Qg3 86.Qb7+ Kh6 87.Qc6+ Qg6 88.Qf3!? Qg7+ 89.Ka8 Qe5 90.Qc6+ Kg7 91.Qd7+ (91.Qc7+!?) 91...Kg6 92.Qg4+ Qg5 93.Qe4+ Kg7 94.Qd4+ Qf6 95.Qd7+ Kh8 96.Qe8+ Kh7 97.Qd7+ Kh6 98.Qd2+ Kg6 99.Qg2+ Kf7 100.Qd5+ Kf8 101.Qc5+ Kg8 102.Qd5+ Kh8 103.Qh5+ Kg7 104.Qd1 Kf8 105.Qd3 Qe6 106.Qf3+ Ke7 107.Qb7+ Kd8 108.Qb6+ Kd7 109.Qb7+ Kd6 110.Qb4+ Kc6 111.Qa4+ Kc7 112.Qa7+ Kd6 113.Qb6+ Kd5 114.Qb5+ Kd4 115.Qb6+ Kd5 116.Qb3+ Ke5 117.Qe3+ Kd6 118.Qb6+ Kd7 119.Qb7+ Ke8 120.Qb5+ Kf8 121.Qc5+ Qe7 122.Qf5+ Kg7 123.Qg4+ Kh6 124.Qf4+ Kg6 125.Qg4+ Qg5 126.Qe6+ Qf6 127.Qg4+ draw by the 50 move rule. ½–½ The next example is more difficult as White's king is file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (4 of 11) [03/25/2003 8:45:40 AM]

Endgame Corner

further away from the saving north west corner: 28.03 E.Lasker - F.Marshall USA-ch m 1923 58.Qf7!? Qh3+ 59.Kc4 (59.Ke2!? is easier as White's king is close enough, e.g. 59...Qg2+ 60.Qf2 Kh1 61.Ke1 Qe4+ 62.Kf1=) 59...Qg4+ 60.Kb5 Qe2+ 61.Ka5 h5 62.Qf4+ Kg2 63.Qg5+ Qg4 64.Qd2+ Kh3 65.Qe1 Qf4 66.Qh1+ Kg4 67.Qg2+ Kf5 68.Qh3+ Kg6 69.Qe6+ Qf6 70.Qe8+ Kh6 71.Ka4?! h4 72.Qe3+ 72...Kg7 72...Qg5!? was better to cut White's king off from the drawing zone, e.g., 73.Qe6+ Kh5 74.Qe8+ Kg4 75.Qe2+ Kh3 76.Qf2 and Black has to release the cut-off to make progress. 73.Qa7+ Kg6 74.Qg1+ (74.Qd7? Qf4+ 75.Ka3 Kg5 and Black wins in 70 moves.) 74...Qg5 75.Qe1 Qf4+ 76.Ka5!? Of course. 76...Kf6 77.Qh1 The other move that draws is 77.Qd1 77...Qf5+ 78.Ka6 White's king is now almost in the drawing zone, but he still has to act very precisely 78...h3 79.Qa1+ Kf7

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Endgame Corner

80.Qc1? Only 80.Qh1! draws, e.g., 80...Qd7 81.Qf3+ Ke8 82.Qa8+ (82.Qe4+?! Kd8 83.Qg6!=) 82...Ke7 83.Qh8! Qd6+ 84.Ka7 and White's king has reached the safe harbour. 80...Qe5! Centralising the queen is almost always good 81.Qb1 81...Qf6+? Forces White's king into the drawing zone. 81...h2 wins: 82.Qb7+ Kf6 83.Qf3+ Ke7 84.Qb7+ Kd8 85.Qa8+ Kd7 86.Qb7+?! Qc7 and White has no check, so he perishes as Qc6+ is threatened. 82.Ka7 Kg7 (82...h2?! 83.Qh7+ Qg7 84.Qxh2=) 83.Qg1+ Kh7 84.Qe3 Qa1+ 85.Kb8 Qb2+ 86.Ka7 Qg2 87.Qd3+ Kh8 It is dangerous now as Black's king is on a neighboring file, which makes counterchecks possible. 88.Ka6 If the king moves then it has to go to a6 or b6 as 88.Kb8?? loses: 88...Qg8+ 89.Ka7 Qh7+–+. Staying inside the drawing zone is of course also possible, e.g., 88.Qe3 h2 89.Qh6+! Kg8 90.Qe6+! Kh7 91.Qf5+! Qg6 92.Qh3+! Qh6 93.Qf5+= 88...h2 89.Qd8+ Kh7 90.Qc7+! eyes the pawn h2, so that Black's queen can't interpose on g7 90...Kh6 91.Qf4+! Kg6 92.Qd6+! Kf5 93.Qd7+ Ke5 94.Qe7+ Kd4 95.Qb4+ Ke3 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (6 of 11) [03/25/2003 8:45:40 AM]

Endgame Corner

96.Qc3+ Kf2 97.Qd4+!? Ke1 98.Qa1+ Ke2 99.Qb2+ Kf3 100.Qc3+ Kf2 101.Qd4+ Ke2 102.Qb2+ Kf1 103.Qa1+ Kf2 104.Qd4+ Draw by threefold repetition. ½–½ 28.04 S.Guimaraes - F.Vasconcellos BRA-ch Fortaleza 1951 White's king has to head for the drawing zone immediately: 92.Qh4+? 92.Kd8! Qd3+ 93.Kc8! Qc2+ 94.Kb8! and White's king has reached the drawing zone, e.g. 94...h2 95.Qh4+ Kf3 96.Qh3+= 92...Ke3 93.Qg5+ Ke2 94.Qh4 Kd3 95.Qh8?! makes Black's task much easier. 95.Kd6!? was tougher. 95...Qe4+ 96.Kf7 Qf4+ 97.Kg6 h2 98.Qh3+ Ke2 98...Kd2!? is more precise: 99.Qg2+ Ke3 100.Qh3+ Kf2 101.Qh5 Qe4+–+ 99.Qh5+ Kf1 100.Qd1+?! Kg2 101.Qd5+ Qf3 102.Qd2+ Qf2 103.Qd5+ Qf3 104.Qd2+ Kg3 105.Qe1+ Kh3 0-1 White has no good check anymore. 28.05 M.Tal - M.Taimanov URS-ch25 Riga 1958

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Endgame Corner

If the king is in the losing zone and has no hope of escaping from there, then it should head for h8: 73...Kh6?! 73...Kh8!? is much more tenacious: 74.Kb8 Qb3+ 75.Qb7 Qg3+ 76.Ka8 Qc3 77.a7 Qc4 78.Qb2+ forces Black's king to leave its haven: 78...Kg8 79.Qb6 Qe4+ 80.Qb7 Qc4 81.Qd7 Qe4+ 82.Kb8 Qb4+ 83.Kc8 Qc4+ 84.Kd8 Qh4+ 85.Qe7 Qd4+ 86.Kc8 Qc4+ 87.Kb8 Qb5+ 88.Qb7 Qe5+ 89.Ka8 Qc5 90.Qb3+ Kf8 (90...Kh8 91.Qh3+ Kg8 92.Qe6+ Kh8 93.Qf6+ Kh7 94.Kb7 Qb4+ 95.Qb6 Qe4+ 96.Qc6 Qb4+ 97.Kc7 Qf4+ 98.Qd6 Qc4+ 99.Kb7 Qb3+ 100.Kc8 Qg8+ 101.Qd8 Qg2 102.Qc7+ Kg6 103.Qb6+ Kg5 104.Qa5++-) 91.Kb7 Qe7+ 92.Ka6 Qd6+ 93.Qb6 Qd3+ 94.Kb7 Qd7+ 95.Ka8 Qd5+ 96.Kb8 Qe5+ 97.Kb7 Qe4+ 98.Qc6 Qe7+ 99.Kb8 Qe5+ 100.Ka8

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Endgame Corner

100...Kg8 Black keeps his queen central and his king near the h8 corner to make White's task as difficult as possible 101.Qc4+ Kh7 102.Qd3+ Kg8 103.Qb3+ Kg7 104.Kb7 Qe4+ 105.Ka6 Qc6+ 106.Qb6 Qa4+ 107.Kb7 Qe4+ 108.Qc6 Qb4+ 109.Kc7 Qf4+ 110.Kd8 Qf8+ 111.Qe8 Qf3 112.Qd7+ Kf8 113.Qc8+-; 73...Kg8?! 74.a7 Qe6+ 75.Kb8 Qb3+ 76.Qb7 Qg3+ 77.Ka8 Qc3 78.Qd5+ Kh8 79.Qd8+ Kg7 80.Kb8 Qb4+ 81.Kc8! Qe4 82.Qc7+ Kg6 83.Qb6+ Kg5 84.Qa5++74.a7 Qe4 75.Qb6+ and Black resigned due to 75...Kg5 (75...Kh7?! 76.Qb7++-) 76.Qa5+ Kg4 77.a8Q Qe6+ 78.Kc7 Qe7+ 79.Kb6 Qe3+ 80.Qc5 Qb3+ 81.Qb5 Qe3+ 82.Ka5 Qa3+ 83.Qa4++To be continued next month. Sources: Fundamental Chess Endings, Karsten Müller and Frank Lamprecht, GAMBIT 2001 ChessBase MEGABASE 2003 The Week in Chess, edited by Marc Crowther Endgame Tablebase by Eugene Nalimov Die Endspiel Universität, Mark Dvoretsky, Chess Gate 2002 (in German). Mark's excellent and extremely instructive work will soon appear in English.

Exercises (Solutions next month)

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Endgame Corner

E28.01 E.Bogoljubow F.Sämisch Bad Harzburg 1938 Can Black to move draw?

E28.02 P.Keres - G.Gescheff München olympiad 1936 What is Black's best move?

E28.03 K.Neporozhniy O.Vovk (2293) Independence Cup op-B Kiev 2002 Black to move and win

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Endgame Corner

E28.04 M.Petursson G.Gunnarsson Reykjavik 1976 Black to move and draw.

E28.05 V.Atlas (2501) R.Polzin (2462) Austrian Staasliga A, GleisdorfHohenems, 2nd board, Frohnleiten 2002 A central pawn usually wins, if the defending king does not get in front or very near to it. So the only important question here is: has Black to move perpetual check or not?

Copyright 2003 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in ChessCafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

[The Chess Cafe Home Page] [Book Reviews] [Bulletin Board] [Columnists] [Endgame Studies] [The Skittles Room] [Archives] [Links] [Online Bookstore] [About The Chess Cafe] [Contact Us] Copyright 2003 CyberCafes, LLC. All Rights Reserved. "The Chess Cafe®" is a registered trademark of Russell Enterprises, Inc.

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Endgame Corner

Queen and Rook's Pawn vs Queen Part 2 I continue the discussion of the important motifs: If the defending king can get in front of or very near the pawn, it should do so:

Endgame Corner

29.01 A.Bakutin - D.Novitzkij (2328) Tula 2000 62.Kc4!? Kg4?! (62...Qd2!?) 63.Kd3 h5 64.Ke2 Now the draw is totally clear 64...Qe5+ 65.Kf1 Qb5+ 66.Kg2 Qd5+ 67.Kh2 Qe5+ 68.Kg2 Qg3+ 69.Kh1 Qe1+ 70.Kg2 Qe2+ 71.Kg1 Kh3 72.Qf1+ Qxf1+! (Nunn Convention is used for the !, ? etc.) ½–½

Karsten Müller

In certain favourable position the defender can exchange the queens himself: Order Fundament Chess Endings by Karsten Müller & Frank Lamprecht The BCF Book of the Year!

29.02 L.Helm (2148) - N.Zdebskaja (2182) EU-chT U18 Girls Balatonlelle 2001

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Endgame Corner

60.Qc3!? Kg2 (60...Qe2+ 61.Kb3 a2 62.Qb2=) 61.Kd3 Qb5+ (61...Qb7!? 62.Kc2 a2 63.Qa1 Qd5 64.Kb2=) 62.Kc2 Qb2+ ½–½ The queen should be placed as centrally as possible:

29.03 S.Stoisavljevic (2088) - S.Petronic (2203) JUG-ch (Women) 53th Herceg Novi 2000 90.Qa6+? (90.Qb3 was better: 90...Qa5 now Black's queen is not well placed to deal with the checks (90...Kc7 91.Kh7 and White's king is inside the drawing zone) 91.Qc4+ Kb7 92.Qe4+ Ka6 93.Qd3+=) 90...Kc7! 91.Qe2 Qd6+ 92.Kf7 92...Qd5+!? Black's queen is now beautifully centralized 93.Kg7?! a2 94.Qc2+?! Kb8 95.Qh2+ Ka8 96.Qb2 Qb7+ 0–1

29.04 J.Gabriel (2180) - C.Frick (2169) Oberliga Württemberg 2001

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Endgame Corner

White has to be careful as his king is in danger: 93.Qc7+!? A nice stalemate trick 93...Kb5 94.Qb7+ Ka5 95.Qc7+ Kb4 96.Qf4+ Qc4 97.Qd2+ Kc5

98.Qa5+? Misplaces the queen. 98.Qe3+ was called for: 98...Qd4 99.Qc1+ Kb6 100.Qh6+ Kc7 101.Qc1+! Kd7 102.Qg5= (102.Qh6? Qd5+ 103.Ka7 Qa5+ 104.Kb7 Qc7+ 105.Ka8 Qc6+–+) 98...Kc6! 01 and White resigned due to 99.Qxh5 (99.Qa7 Qg8+–+; 99.Qa3 Qg8+ 100.Ka7 Qf7+ 101.Ka6 Qb7+ 102.Ka5 Qb5#) 99...Qa6+ 100.Kb8 Qb7# I now want to show the winning procedure, if the defending king is firmly cut off in the losing zone and fighting methods against a cut-off: 29.05 I.Gil Rodriguez - R.Solyomvari EU-ch U14 Girls Peniscola 2002

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Endgame Corner

78...Qa3? (78...Qf4 still draws as Black's king is close enough: 79.a5 Ke7! 80.a6 Qc4! 81.Kb7 Kd7!=) 79.a5! Ke8 80.a6? (80.Kb7+-) 80...Qe7+? 80...Kd7! and White can't win. 81.Ka8 Qe4+ 82.Qb7? Qd3? (82...Qc4!=) 83.a7? Too early; White's queen is not centralized enough. 83.Qc8+ is the right way to proceed: 83...Ke7 84.Kb8 Kf6 85.Qc6+ Kg5 86.a7 Qd8+ 87.Kb7! Qe7+ 88.Kb6 Qd8+ 89.Ka6+83...Kf8? 83...Kd8!? draws: 84.Qb6+ Kd7! 85.Kb8 Qg3+! 86.Kb7 Qf3+ 87.Ka6! Qa3+! 88.Qa5 Qd6+!= 84.Qc8+ Kf7 85.Kb8 It's over as Black has no check 85...Qb3+ 86.Qb7+ 1–0 As fighting against a cut-off is important I give two further examples: 29.06 O.Ivanov (2350) - V.Kuporosov (2473) Petrov memorial open St Petersburg 2002

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Endgame Corner

99.Qc1? 99.Qb4 is better as Black's king can't free himself with out the help of the queen. So the cut-off must be released to make progress: 99...Qb3 100.Qd2+ Kb1 101.Kh5 a2 102.Qe1+! Kb2 103.Qd2+ Qc2 104.Qb4+! Kc1 105.Qf4+!= 99...Qe4+? (99...Kb3 100.Qe3+ Kb2 101.Qe2+ Kc3 102.Qe1+ Qd2 103.Qg3+ Qd3! 104.Qe1+ Kb3 105.Kh5 a2 106.Qe6+ Qc4 107.Qe5 Kc2 108.Qh2+ Kc3 109.Qg3+ Kb4 110.Qe1+ Ka4 111.Qd1+ Kb5 112.Qd7+ Qc6 113.Qd3+ Kb6 114.Qd8+ Ka6 115.Qd4 Qh1+–+) 100.Kg5 Kb3 101.Qd1+! Kb2 102.Qd2+! Kb3 the position is drawn and I don't know, if the result 0–1 in the ChessBase MEGABASE is correct or not. 29.07 Wang Yu (2382) - E.Levushkina (2208) Asian-ch (Women) 9th Chennai 2001 Black has to defend very carefully as his king is cut-off in the losing zone: 92...Qd4+! 93.Kh7 Qe4+ 94.Kh6 Black's king can't go to the 6th rank now, so care is required. But White has no real threats, so e.g. 94...Qd4 draws. 94...Qe3+? 95.Qg5! Qe6+ 96.Qg6 Qe3+ 97.Kh7 Kc8 98.h5 Qe7+ 99.Qg7 Qe4+ 100.Kh8

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Endgame Corner

100...Qf5?! This makes it very easy. 100...Qf4!? was much tougher: 101.Kg8! Qc4+ 102.Qf7 Qg4+ 103.Kh7 Qe4+ 104.Kg7 Qd4+ 105.Qf6 Qg4+ 106.Qg6 Qd4+ 107.Kf7 Kb8 and the mate is still 60 moves away. 101.Qg8+ Kd7 102.Qh7+! Ke6 103.Qxf5+ Kxf5 104.Kg7! 1–0 The ending Q+P vs Q mostly arises from pawn endings, so I end my discussion with a few examples (for further discussion of Q+P vs Q se,e e.g., Fundamental Chess Endings, p.316-322): 29.08 A.Moiseenko (2575) - V.Bologan (2652) RUS-chT 9th Ekaterinburg 2002 47...f6! 48.fxg5 fxg5! (48...hxg5? 49.Kf5! Kb4 50.Kxf6! Ka3 51.Kxg5! Kxa2 52.h4 a4 53.h5!+-) 49.Kf5 Ka4 50.Kg6! Ka3! 51.Kxh6! Kxa2 52.Kxg5! a4 53.Kh6 a3 54.g5! Kb2 55.g6 a2 56.g7 a1Q 57.g8Q

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Endgame Corner

The endgame is easily drawn as Black's king is ideally placed: 57...Qc1+ 58.Qg5 Qc6+ 59.Qg6 Qc1+ 60.Kh7 Qf4 61.Qg2+ Ka1

62.h3?! Making it very easy as White's queen is not centralized enough 62...Qf5+ Eyeing the pawn h3 63.Kh6 Qe6+ 64.Kh5 Qf5+ 65.Kh4 Qh7+ 66.Kg3 Qc7+ White's king finds no shelter anymore 67.Kf2 Qc5+ 68.Kg3 Qc7+ 69.Kg4 Qg7+ 70.Kf3! Qb7+ 71.Kf2 Qb6+ 72.Kf1 Qb1+ 73.Ke2 Qc2+ 74.Kf3 Qc6+ 75.Kg3 ½–½ 29.09 A.Calotescu (2299) - H.Hunt (2415) EU-ch 3rd (Women) Varna 2002 White has to defend very carefully: 78.f4+! Kxh5 79.Kf5! g5 (79...g6+ 80.Kf6 g5 81.f5!=) 80.Ke4! g4 (80...Kg6 81.fxg5 hxg5 82.Kf3! Kh5 83.Kg3!=) 81.f5! Kg5 82.Ke5! g3 83.f6! g2 84.f7! g1Q 85.f8Q!

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Endgame Corner

White's king will find enough time to reach the saving corner or to stay closely behind the pawn: 85...Qe3+ 86.Kd5! h5 87.Qd8+ Kg4 88.Qc8+ Kg3 89.Qb8+ Qf4 90.Qb1 Qf3+ 91.Ke5 Qe3+ 92.Kf5 h4 93.Qb8+ Kh3 94.Qb1 Qf3+ 95.Kg5 Qg4+ 96.Kh6 Qe6+ 97.Kg5 Qe5+ 98.Kh6 Qe3+ 99.Kh5 Qe2+ 100.Kg5 Qg2+ 101.Kh5 Qg4+ 102.Kh6 Kg2 103.Qc2+ Kg3 104.Qb1 Qe6+ 105.Kg5 Qe3+ 106.Kh5! h3 107.Qb8+ Qf4 108.Qg8+! Kf2 109.Qa2+! Kg1 110.Qb1+ Kg2 111.Qc2+ Qf2 112.Qg6+! Kf1 113.Qb1+ Qe1 114.Qf5+ Kg2 115.Qc2+ Qf2 116.Qg6+! Kh2 117.Qd6+ Kg1 118.Qg6+ Qg2 119.Qb1+ Kf2 120.Qc2+ Ke3 121.Qc3+ and the game was drawn after several more moves. A very good defensive effort by White! 29.10 F.Cruz (2363) - K.Vera (2233) PER-ch Lima 2002 White won nicely: 39.e6!? Opening a path for the king 39...Kd6 (39...Bxe6 40.Ke5! Bf7 41.Kf6! Be8 42.Ke7 Bd7 43.Kf7!+-) 40.Bxd5! Bxe6 41.Bxe6! Kxe6 42.Kc5! Kf6 43.Kb6! g5 44.fxg5+ hxg5 45.hxg5+! Kxg5 46.Kxa6! Kg4 47.Kxb5! Kf3 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (8 of 14) [04/26/2003 11:47:34 PM]

Endgame Corner

And now White wins by forcing the exchange of queens: 48.Kc5! Kxe3 49.b5! f4 50.b6! f3 51.b7! f2 52.b8Q! f1Q

53.Qe5+ Kd2 54.Qd4+ 1–0

29.11 R.Pogorelov (2489) - G.Gonzalez Intelangelo (2228) Las Palmas open 1999 Normally White should try to keep his f-pawn as it usually wins, if the defending king can't get in front of it, but here it does not help: 59.f5 (59.a6 e3! 60.Kd3 Kf2! 61.a7 e2! 62.a8Q e1Q! 63.Qe4

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Endgame Corner

centralizing the queen does not help here as Black has wheel checks: 63...Qb1+ 64.Kd4! Qb4+ 65.Kd5 Qb7+ 66.Ke5 Qe7+ 67.Kf5 Qh7+=) 59...e3! 60.Kd3 Kf2 61.f6 e2! 62.f7! e1Q! 63.f8Q+!

The endgame is drawn as Black's king is well placed inside the drawing zone: 63...Kg2 64.Qg7+ Kh3 65.Qh6+ Kg4! (65...Kg2? 66.Qd2+!+-) 66.Qg6+ Kf4 67.Qd6+ Kf5?! Heading in the wrong direction (67...Kf3!?=) 68.Qd5+ 68...Kf6? (68...Kf4!=) now it is firmly cut off in the losing zone and White never let's the win slip: 69.Kc4! Qc1+ 70.Kb5 Qb1+ 71.Kc6 Qc2+ 72.Kb6 Qb2+?! 73.Kc7?! Kg7 74.Qd7+ Kg8 75.Qd8+ Kg7 76.a6?! White's queen is not very central 76...Qc3+ 77.Kb8 Qb4+ 78.Kc8 Kh6?! 78...Qe4!? is much tougher. 79.a7 Qg4+ 80.Qd7 Qc4+ 81.Qc7 Qa6+?! 82.Kd7 Kh5 83.Qh2+ 1-0 Addendum The following recent game at very high level shows the file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (10 of 14) [04/26/2003 11:47:34 PM]

Endgame Corner

difficulty of queen endgames: P.Leko (2736) - G.Kasparov (2847) XX SuperGM Linares 24.02.2003 The f-pawn shields the king and Q+f-pawn vs Q is won, if the defending king does not manage to get in front of the pawn or at least very close to it. 74...Qf6? Now White can exchange queens as his king gets back in time. 74...f6! wins, e.g., 75.Qe7+ Kh6 76.Qaf8+ Kg5 77.Kb7 Q6b1+ 78.Qb4 (78.Kc6? Qgb6+ 79.Kd5 Qd3#) 78...Qxb4+ 79.Qxb4 Qg2+ 80.Kc7 Qd5 centralising the queen 81.Kc8 f5 and Black wins in 59 moves according to the tablebase. 75.Qh8+ (75.Qxf6+?! draws as well, but more care is required: 75...Kxf6 76.Qf3+ Kg6 77.Qe4+ Kg7 78.Qe5+!=) 75...Kxh8 76.Qxf6+ Qg7 77.Qh4+ (77.Qxg7+?? Kxg7 78.Kd6 Kf6 79.Kd5 Kf5–+) 77...Kg8 78.Kd6!? Qg6+ (78...f5 79.Qd8+ Kf7 80.Qe7+ Kg6 81.Qxg7+ Kxg7 82.Ke5 Kg6 83.Kf4=) 79.Ke5 Kg7 80.Qe7! the only move 80...Qg3+ 81.Kf5 Qg6+ 82.Ke5 (Of course not 82.Kf4?? Qf6+–+) 82...Qh6 83.Kf5 Qg6+ 84.Ke5 Kh7 85.Qh4+ Kg8 86.Qd8+ Kg7 87.Qe7 ½–½

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Endgame Corner

Sources: Fundamental Chess Endings, Karsten Müller and Frank Lamprecht, GAMBIT 2001 ChessBase MEGABASE 2003 The Week in Chess, weekly internet chess magazine edited by Mark Crowther Solutions to last month exercises E28.01 E.Bogoljubow - F.Sämisch Bad Harzburg 1938 Black has to head for the southwest corner with 67...Kb2! The game ended 67...Kd1? 68.Qg4+! 1–0 as the exchange of queen's can't be avoided. 68.Qf6 (68.h7?! Qh2+ 69.Qf4 Qxh7!=) 68...Qh2+ 69.Ke6+ Ka2! 70.Kf7 Qc7+ 71.Qe7 Qf4+= E28.02 P.Keres - G.Gescheff Munich Olympiad 1936 Black must head for the saving southwest corner immediately: 93...Ka4! The game continued 93...Qd7+? 94.Kf8?! (94.Kg6 is more precise.) 94...Qc8+ 95.Kg7? Qg4+! and was later drawn. 94.h7 Qd7+! 95.Kg6 Qg4+! 96.Kf7 Qd7+! 97.Kg8 Qg4+ 98.Kh8 Ka3= E28.03 K.Neporozhniy - O.Vovk (2293) Independence Cup op-B Kiev 2002

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Endgame Corner

That was easy, wasn't it? 61...Qe3+ 62.Kd5 Qf3+ 63.Qxf3+ 0–1

E28.04 M.Petursson - G.Gunnarsson Reykjavik 1976 103...Qb3! and the draw is clear, e.g., (The game ended 103...Qe4+? 104.Kb8! Qe8+ 105.Kb7 Qe4+ 106.Ka6 Kb3 107.Qd8 Qc4+ 108.Kb7 Qe4+ 109.Kb8 Qe5+?! 110.Qc7 Qe8+ 111.Kb7 Qe4+ 112.Qc6 Qe7+ 113.Ka6 1–0 as 113...Qa3+ 114.Kb6 Qb4+ is answered by 115.Qb5+-) 104.Qc7 Ka1 105.Qb7 Qg8+ 106.Qb8! Qd5+= E28.05 V.Atlas (2501) - R.Polzin (2462) Austrian Staatsliga, Gleisdorf-Hohenems, 2nd board, Frohnleiten 2002 Surprisingly Black does not have perpetual check: 70...Qb7+ 71.Kf4 Qf7+ 72.Kg4 Qe6+ 73.Kh4 Qc4+ 74.Kg5 Qg8+ 75.Kf4 (75.Kf6! Qf8+ 76.Ke6 Qe8+ 77.Kd6 Qf8+ 78.Kc6 Qc8+ 79.Kb5 Qd7+ 80.Kb4 Qb7+ 81.Kc3 Qc8+ 82.Kb2 Qb8+ (82...Qb7+ file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (13 of 14) [04/26/2003 11:47:34 PM]

Endgame Corner

83.Qb3) 83.Kc2 Qc8+ 84.Kd1+and Black has run out of checks in both cases. The win is of course still a lot of moves away.) 75...Qf7+ 76.Ke4 Qb7+ 77.Kf4? Qf7+ and drawn by threefold repetition ½–½

Copyright 2003 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in ChessCafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

[The Chess Cafe Home Page] [Book Reviews] [Bulletin Board] [Columnists] [Endgame Studies] [The Skittles Room] [Archives] [Links] [Online Bookstore] [About The Chess Cafe] [Contact Us] Copyright 2003 CyberCafes, LLC. All Rights Reserved. "The Chess Cafe®" is a registered trademark of Russell Enterprises, Inc.

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Endgame Corner

Dautov's Doubts You certainly know, that the rook endgame, where both sides have 3 pawns on the kingside and one has an extra outside apawn is usually drawn. But you don't want to defend it, do you? To help you a bit I will look at some examples in the first part of my column:

Endgame Corner

30.01 M.Krakops (2530) - R.Dautov (2597) Eu Team Ch Batumi 1999 44...Kd5! Black shall sacrifice his f-pawn on f7, so that White needs further time to win the g6pawn. Note that Black's rook is well placed on a3 to prevent the activation of White's king via f3. 44...f6? makes it relatively easy

Karsten Müller

45.Ra6=

45.f3? 45.Rxf7!? was called for: 45...Rc3.

Order Fundament Chess Endings by Karsten Müller & Frank Lamprecht The BCF Book of the Year!

A) In a training session by Artur Yusupov 14 year-old David Baramidze found the way to save the position and published his analysis in the German magazine Schach 6/2003: 46.f4. A1) 46...Ke4 47.Rf6 a3 48.Rxg6 a2 49.Ra6 Rc2+ 50.Kh3= A2) 46...Kc4 47.f5 gxf5 48.Rxf5 a3 (48...Kb4 49.Rxh5 Rc5 50.Rh6 a3 51.Re6 a2 52.Re1 Ra5 53.Ra1 Kb3 54.g4 Kb2 55.Rxa2+ Rxa2=) 49.Rxh5 Kb4 (49...a2 50.Ra5 Kb3 51.h5 Rc4 52.Rxa2 Kxa2 53.Kf3 Kb3 54.g4=)

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Endgame Corner

50.Re5 a2 51.Re1 Kb3 52.h5 Kb2 53.Kh3 Rc1 54.Re2+ Rc2 55.Re1= A3) 46...a3 47.f5 a2 48.Ra7 Rc2+ 49.Kf3 gxf5 50.Kf4 Kc4 51.Kg5 Kb3 (51...Kb4 52.Rb7+ Kc3 53.Rc7+ Kb2 54.Rb7+=) 52.Rb7+ Kc3 53.Ra7 Kb2 54.Rb7+ Kc1 55.Ra7 Kb1 56.Kxh5= B) 46.Rg7? Rc6 47.Ra7 Rc4 Black's rook is now ideally placed to shield his king and to keep a watchful eye on the kingside.

A) 48.f3 Kc5 49.g4 hxg4 50.fxg4 Rxg4+ 51.Kh3 Rc4 52.Ra6 Kb4 A1) 53.Rb6+!? a nasty zwischenschach 53...Kc3 (53...Ka5? 54.Rxg6 a3 55.Rg2 Kb4 56.h5 Kb3 57.Rg3+ Kb2 58.h6 Rc6 59.Rg2+=) 54.Ra6 (54.Rxg6 a3 55.h5 a2 56.Ra6 Kb3 57.h6 Ra4–+) 54...Kc2 Zugzwang 55.Kg3 Kb3 56.Rb6+ Rb4 57.Rxg6 a3–+ A2) 53.Rxg6 a3 54.Rg1 a2 55.h5 Kb3 56.h6 (56.Rf1 Kb2 57.Rf2+ Kb1 58.Rf1+ Rc1–+) 56...Rc6 57.Rg3+ Kb4 58.Rg4+ Kb5 59.Rg5+ Kb6 60.Rg1 Rxh6+–+ B) 48.Ra6 Kc5 49.Rxg6 a3 50.Ra6 Kb4 B1) My suggestion 51.f4

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Endgame Corner

was refuted by Dautov as follows: 51...Rc2+ an important check to force White's king on a bad square. Such subtleties occur quite often in rook endings. Watch out for them! 52.Kh3 (52.Kf3 a2 53.Ke4 Rc4+ 54.Ke5 Rc5+ 55.Ke4 Ra5–+) 52...Rc5 53.g4 (53.f5 Rxf5 54.g4 Ra5 55.Rb6+ Kc3 56.Rc6+ Kd4–+; 53.Kg2 Ra5 54.Rb6+ Ka4 55.Rb1 a2 56.Ra1 Kb3 57.g4 Kb2 58.Rf1 a1Q 59.Rxa1 Rxa1 60.gxh5 Kc3 61.Kf3 Kd4 62.Kg4 Kd5 63.Kf5 Ra6 64.Kg5 Ke6 65.Kg6 Ke7+ 66.Kg7 Ra1–+) 53...Ra5 54.Rb6+ Kc3 55.Rb1 (55.Rc6+ Kd2 56.Rd6+ Ke2 57.Re6+ Kf2–+) 55...a2 56.Ra1 Ra3! Bravo Rustem! 57.Rxa2 (57.Kg2 hxg4 58.f5 Kb2 59.Re1 a1Q 60.Rxa1 Kxa1 61.h5 Rf3–+) 57...hxg4+ 58.Kxg4 Rxa2 59.h5 Kd4 60.h6 Rh2 61.Kg5 Kd5 62.f5 Kd6 63.Kg6 Ke7 64.f6+ Kf8–+ B2) 51.f3 Kb3 52.Kh3 Ra4 53.Rb6+ Kc2 54.Rc6+ Kd2 55.Rd6+ Ke2 56.Re6+ Kf2–+ C) 48.Kf3 does not help as the pawn endgame after 48...Kc5 49.Ke3 Kb4 50.Kd3 Kb3 51.Rb7+ Rb4 52.Rxb4+ Kxb4 is lost for White due to Black’s distant passed apawn (Dvoretsky). 45...f5! (45...Ra2+? 46.Kh3 Ra1 47.Rxf7 a3 48.Ra7=) 46.Ra6 Ra2+ 47.Kh3 a3 48.g4 (48.Rxg6 Rf2 49.f4 a2 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (3 of 15) [06/03/2003 8:49:26 PM]

Endgame Corner

50.Ra6 Kc4–+) 48...f4! (48...hxg4+? 49.fxg4 f4 50.h5 gxh5 51.gxh5 Ra1 52.h6=; 48...Ra1? 49.gxh5 gxh5 50.Kg3 with the idea Kf4) Imprisoning White's king 49.gxh5 (49.Rxg6 Ra1 50.Ra6 a2 51.Kg2 hxg4 52.fxg4 f3+ 53.Kf2 Rh1 54.Ra5+ Kc6 55.Ra6+ Kb7 56.Rxa2 Rh2+ 57.Kxf3 Rxa2 58.h5 Kc6 59.Kf4 Kd6–+) 49...gxh5 50.Ra5+ Kc4 51.Rxh5 (51.Rc5+ Kd3 52.Rxh5 Ke3 53.Rb5 Kxf3 54.Rb3+ Ke4 55.Rb4+ Kf5 56.Rb5+ Ke6 57.Rb6+ Kd7 58.Rb7+ Kc6 59.Ra7 Ra1 60.Kg2 a2 61.h5 f3+–+) 51...Ra1 52.Ra5 a2 53.Kg4 (53.Kg2 Kb3 54.Rb5+ Ka4–+) 53...Rg1+ 54.Kxf4 a1Q 55.Rxa1 Rxa1 56.h5 Kd5 57.Kf5 Rh1 58.Kg6 Ke6 59.f4 Rg1+ 60.Kh7 0–1 If Black's king is on f6 then the draw is usually relatively easy: 30.02 Kantorovich 1989 1.Kd4 1.f3 Ra3+ A) 2.Kd4 Rxf3 3.Rc7 Rxg3 4.a7 Ra3 5.Kc5 g5 (5...Ra1!? may be somewhat easier: 6.Kb6 Rb1+ 7.Kc6 Rc1+ 8.Kb7 Rb1+ 9.Kc8 Ra1 10.Kb8 Kf5 11.a8Q [11.Rc1 Ra2=] 11...Rxa8+ 12.Kxa8 Kg4 [or 12...f6] 13.Rc4+ Kg3 14.Kb7 f6 15.Kc6 g5= [Dvoretsky]) file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (4 of 15) [06/03/2003 8:49:26 PM]

Endgame Corner

A1) 6.hxg5+ Kxg5 7.Kb4 Ra6 8.Rc5+ (8.Kb5 Ra1=) 8...Kg4 9.Ra5 Rxa7 10.Rxa7 h4= A2) 6.Kb5 Kg7 7.hxg5 h4 8.Kb6 h3 9.Rc3 Rxc3 10.a8Q Rg3 11.Qa1+ Kg8 12.Qf6 h2 13.Qh6 h1Q 14.Qxh1 Rxg5=

The black rook moves back and forth between g6 and e6 making the fortress invincible. B) 2.Ke4 Ke6 3.Kf4 Kf6 (3...Ra4+? 4.Kg5 is wrong.) 4.Ra8 Ra4+ 5.Ke3 Kf5 6.a7

6...Kf6!= (6...f6?? would be a terrible mistake: 7.Kd3 Ra3+ 8.Kc4 Ra5 9.Kb4 Ra1 10.Kc5 Ra6 11.Kb5 Ra1 12.Kc6 Rc1+ 13.Kd7 Rd1+ 14.Ke7 Ra1 15.Kf8 Ra6 16.Kf7 Ra3 17.Kg7 Ra6 18.Kh6 Ra3

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Endgame Corner

19.Rc8 Rxa7 20.Rc5+ Ke6 21.Kxg6 Ra8 22.Kxh5+-) 1...Rxf2 2.Rc7 Ra2 3.Rc6+ (3.a7 Kf5 4.Rxf7+ Kg4 5.Kc5 (5.Rg7 Kxg3 6.Rxg6+ Kxh4 7.Rg7 Kh3=) 5...Kxg3 6.Kb5 Rb2+ 7.Kc4 Ra2 8.Kb3 Ra6 9.Rc7 Kxh4 10.Rc4+ Kg3 11.Ra4 Rxa7=) 3...Kf5 4.Kc5 Kg4 5.Kb5 Kxg3 6.Rc4 f6 7.Ra4 Rb2+ 8.Kc6 (8.Rb4 Ra2=) 8...Rb8! 9.a7 Ra8 10.Kb7 Rxa7+ 11.Kxa7 (11.Rxa7 g5=) 11...g5 12.hxg5 fxg5 13.Ra5 h4 14.Rxg5+ Kf2 15.Rh5 Kg3 16.Kb6 h3 17.Kc5 h2 18.Kd4 Kg2= The next example shows that this endgame is really not easy: 30.03 V.Akopian - K.Georgiev Las Vegas Wch 1999 1...Ra2 2.Kf3 Kg7 3.Ke3 Ra1?! 3...Kf6 is more to the point and draws comfortably. 4.Ra6 Ra2 5.Ra4 Ra1 6.Ra6 Ra2 7.a4

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Endgame Corner

7...Ra3+?! Petrosian's plan 7...f6! 8.a5 g5 was the way to proceed: 9.Ra8 gxh4 10.gxh4 Ra4 11.f4 Kg6= (Cu.Hansen in CBM 72) and Black's counterplay is fast enough.

8.Kd4 f6?! Curt Hansen claimed that 8...Ra2!? leads to a draw, but Rustem Dautov has his doubts: 9.a5 (9.f3? Rg2=; 9.f4? Ra3 10.a5 Rxg3 11.Rb6 Rf3 12.Ke4 Ra3 13.a6 Ra5=) 9...Rxf2 10.Rc6 Rg2? (Baramidzes' 10...f5! saves Black) and now Hansen analyses 11.a6? (for 11.Rc3 see Dautov's analysis of 30.01 KrakopsDautov.) 11...Rxg3 12.Kc5 Ra3

13.Kb6 g5! 14.hxg5 h4 15.a7 h3 16.Rc3 (16.Rh6 Rb3+ 17.Kc7 Rc3+ 18.Kb7 Rb3+ 19.Rb6 h2 20.Rxb3 h1Q+ 21.Kb8 Qh2+=) 16...Rxc3 17.a8Q Rg3 18.Qc6 Rxg5 19.Qc3+ Kg8 20.Qxh3 Rg6+= 9.Ra7+ Kh6 10.a5 g5 (10...Rf3? 11.a6 Rxf2 12.Rc7 Ra2 13.a7 g5 14.Kc5 gxh4 15.gxh4 Kg6 16.Kb6+-) 11.Kc5 gxh4 12.gxh4

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Endgame Corner

12...Ra4? A useless move as Black can't take on h4. 12...Kg6 should be sufficient for a draw, e.g., 13.Kb4 Rh3 (13...Rf3? 14.a6 Rxf2 15.Rd7+-) 14.Rc7 Rxh4+ 15.Rc4 Rh2! (15...Rh1? 16.a6 h4 17.Kb5? (17.Kb3! looks more promising: 17...h3 18.a7 Ra1 19.Ra4 Rb1+ 20.Ka2 h2 and now Mark Dvoretsky gives 21.a8Q (21.Rh4? Rb4 22.a8Q Rxh4 23.Qh1 and it is not clear, if White can win or not) 21...a1Q 22.Qe8+! Kh6 23.Qe3+ Kg7 (23...Kg6 24.Qd3+ followed by 25.Qxb1 winning the rook) 24.Qg3+! (24.Ra7+? is answered by Rb7) 24...Kf8 (24...Kf7 25.Ra7+ Rb7 26.Qb3++-) 25.Qd6+ Kf7 26.Qd7+ Kf8 27.Qc8+ Kf7 28.Ra7+ +-) 17...h3 18.a7 Ra1 19.Ra4 Rb1+ 20.Kc5 h2? (Mark Dvoretsky has pointed out, that Black should play 20...Rc1+! as White’s king will get in the way of his major pieces: 21.Kd4 h2 (no check Rg4 later on); 21.Kd6 Rd1+ 22.Ke7 Re1+ 23.Kf8 h2 (no check from g8); 21.Kb6 Rb1+ 22.Ka5 h2 23.a8Q h1Q 24.Qg8+ Kh6 25.Qh8+ Kg6! 26.Rg4+ Kf5 27.Qc8+ Ke5 as White has no checkmate now.) 21.a8Q h1Q and White has the all important first check: 22.Qg8+ Kh6 23.Qh8+ Kg5 24.Qg7+ Kh5 25.Qh7+ Kg5 26.f4+ Kg4 27.Qg6++-) 16.Rc2 Rh4+ (16...h4 17.a6 Rh1 18.Ra2 h3 19.f3 h2 20.Ka5+-) 17.Kb5 Rh1 18.Ra2 Rb1+ 19.Kc6 h4?! (“19...Rc1+! looks promising as the king cannot escape to a5 now”(Dvoretsky)) 20.a6 Rc1+ 21.Kb6 Rb1+ 22.Ka5 h3 23.f3 Re1? (Dvoretsky’s doubts were again well founded. file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (8 of 15) [06/03/2003 8:49:27 PM]

Endgame Corner

He improved my original line with 23...Rb8! 24.Rh2 (24.a7 Ra8 25.Kb6 Kg5 =) 24...Re8! 25.R:h3 Re5+ 26.Kb4 Re6 =) 24.a7 Re8 25.Kb6 Kg5 26.a8Q Rxa8 27.Rxa8 Kf4 28.Rh8 Kxf3 29.Rxh3+ Ke4 30.Kc5 f5 31.Rh8 f4 32.Kc4 Ke3 33.Kc3 f3 34.Re8++13.a6 Ra2 After 13...Rxh4 it is Black's undoing, that the rook is placed on his fifth rank: 14.Ra8 Ra4 15.a7 Kh7 16.Kb6 h4 (16...Rb4+ 17.Ka5+-) 17.Rd8+14.Ra8 Kg6 15.Kb6 Rb2+ 16.Ka7 A typical procedure: White's king seeks shelter behind the apawn, witch would be impossible, if the pawn had already advanced to a7. 16...Rxf2 17.Rb8 Rf4 18.Rb5 Rxh4 19.Kb6 Re4 20.a7 Re8 21.Ra5 h4 22.a8Q Rxa8 23.Rxa8 Kg5 24.Kc5 h3 25.Rh8 Kg4 26.Kd4 Kg3 27.Ke3 Kg2 28.Ke2 h2 29.Rg8+ Kh3 and now 30.Kf2! finishes Black off: 30...h1N+ 31.Kf3 Kh2 32.Rg2+ Kh3 33.Rg6 Kh2 34.Rxf6 Kg1 35.Rg6+ 1–0 In the second half of this column I want to look at 3 rook endings from the Linares supertournament:

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Endgame Corner

30.04 P.Leko (2736) - V.Anand (2753) XX SuperGM Linares 2003 45...Ra1? Anand had to try 45...Rc4 to make the transfer of White's king to the queenside more difficult. This seems even to hold the position: 46.Kf3 (46.f3 Rc2 47.f4 Rc3+ 48.Kf2 gxf4 49.Rxf4 Ra3 50.Rf5 f6 51.Rb5 Kf7 52.Rb7+ Ke6 53.Rb6+ Ke5 54.a6 Kf4= (Leko at www.chessgate.de)) 46...Ra4 47.Ke3 Rxg4 48.Kd3 f6 49.Kc3 Kf7 50.Kb3 Ke6 51.a6? (51.Rc5! Rg1 52.Kb4 gives White very good winning chances as it is very difficult for Black to create counterplay on the kingside (compare Timman's analysis in New in Chess Magazine 3/2003, p.84f)) 51...Kxf5 52.a7 Rf4 53.a8Q Kg4 and I don't see a way for White to win as there are so many fortresses lurking around, e.g., 54.Qe8 Rxf2 55.Qg6 f5 56.Qxh6 Rh2 57.Qe6 Kxh5 58.Qxf5 (58.Kc4 Rh4+ 59.Kd5 Re4 60.Qxf5 Rf4=) 58...Rh4=

46.Kg2 Re1 47.f3 Re6 48.Kf2 and White's king marches triumphantly to the queenside: 48...Kf8 49.Rb5 Kg7 50.Rf5 Kf8 51.Rc5 Kg7 52.Rb5 Kf8 53.Rb6 Re5 54.a6 Kg7 55.a7 Ra5 56.Rb7 Ra3 57.Ke2 Kf6 58.Kd2 Ke6 59.Kc2 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (10 of 15) [06/03/2003 8:49:27 PM]

Endgame Corner

f6 60.Kb2 Ra4 61.Kb3 Ra1 62.Kb4 Kd6 63.Rh7 Ke5 64.Kb5 Ra2 65.Kb6 Kd5 1–0 In the next example Anand was probably too exhausted from the long fight: 30.05 G.Kasparov (2847) - V.Anand (2753) XX SuperGM Linares 2003 57...Kh8?? 57...Rc5 58.Kxf4 Rxh5 59.Re6 Rc5 60.Ke4 Kg7 61.Kd4 Rc1 62.Kd5 Kf7 63.Re4 (63.Rxh6 Ke7 64.Rh7+ Kd8 65.Kd6 Rd1+= as Black's king has no shelter; 63.Kd6?? Rxc6+–+) 63...h5 64.Kd6 Rd1+ 65.Kc7 Kf6 66.Rb4 Kg5 67.Kb6 Rd6 68.Kc5 Rxc6+ 69.Kxc6 h4 70.Kd5 h3 71.Ke4 h2 72.Rb1 Kg4= 58.Rxh6+ Kg7 59.Rd6 Kh7 60.Kg4 Kg7 61.Rd7+ Kf6 62.c7 1–0 30.06 F.Vallejo Pons (2629) - R.Ponomariov (2734) XX SuperGM Linares 2003 Usually the endgame with 4 pawns against 3 on the kingside is drawn, but this is an exception due to White's bad pawn structure: 44...Rf7! 45.Kf3 45.h4+ does not help: 45...Kg4 46.Kg2 g5 47.hxg5 (47.Rb6 gxh4 48.gxh4 Kf4 49.Rb4 file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (11 of 15) [06/03/2003 8:49:27 PM]

Endgame Corner

Rg7+ 50.Kf2 Rg4–+) 47...fxg5 48.Ra3 (48.Rg6 Rc7–+) 48...Rc7 49.Re3 Rc2+ 50.Kg1 Kh3 51.Kf1 g4 52.Ra3 52...h4 53.gxh4+ g3–+ 45...h4! 46.Rb6 46.gxh4+ Kxh4 47.Kg2 Kg5 48.Kg3 Rh7 49.Ra3 (49.Rb6 Rh4 50.Rxf6 Rxh3+–+) 49...Rh4 50.Re3 Rf4 51.Kg2 Kh6 52.Kg3 g5 followed by a king march to d4 via h6. 46...Rh7 47.Re6 (47.g4 Ra7 48.Rb2 Ra3+ 49.Kg2 Rg3+ 50.Kh2 Re3 51.Rb4 Kf4 52.Rb6 Re2+ 53.Kg1 Rxe4 54.Rxf6+ Kg3–+) 47...hxg3 48.Kxg3 Rh4 49.Rxf6 Rxh3+ 50.Kxh3 Kxf6 51.Kg4 Kf7 52.Kh4 Tiptoing around the mined square g7 52...Kg8! (for 52...Kg7?! 53.Kg5 Kf7! 54.Kg4 Kg8!–+ see the game.) 53.Kg4 Kh7 and White resigned due to 54.Kg5 Kg7 55.Kh4 Kh6 56.Kg4 g5 57.Kf5 Kh5 58.Kxe5 g4 59.Kf4 (59.Kd4 g3 and Black will promote with check: 60.Ke3 Kh4 61.e5 Kh3 62.e6 g2 63.Kf2 Kh2–+) 59...Kh4 60.e5 g3 61.e6 g2 62.e7 g1Q 63.e8Q Qf2+ 64.Ke5 Qe3+–+ file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (12 of 15) [06/03/2003 8:49:27 PM]

Endgame Corner

I want to thank Rustem Dautov and Mark Dvoretsky for allowing me to use their analysis and for proofreading this column.

Sources: ●

● ●

●

● ●

● ●

Fundamental Chess Endings, Karsten Müller and Frank Lamprecht, GAMBIT 2001 ChessBase MEGABASE 2003 The Week in Chess, weekly internet chess magazine edited by Marc Crowther Die Endspiel Universität, Mark Dvoretsky, Chess Gate 2002 (in German). Mark's excellent and extremely instructive work will soon appear in English. Schach 11/2002, 1/2003, 2/2003 and 4/2003 www.chessgate.de analysis of Leko-Anand, Linares 2003 by Peter Leko Schach 6/2003 New in Chess Magazine 3/2003

Exercise (Solution next month) E30.01 K.Lerner (2495) - J.Dorfman (2540) URS-FL Tashkent 1980 Can Black to move save himself?

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Endgame Corner

Addendum In Germany Rafael Vaganian is called Mr Bundesliga due to his fantastic over all score. This season didn't go well for him, but the following finish is very nice: R.Hübner (2625) - R.Vaganian (2667) German Bundesliga 2002/2003, Baden Oos - SG Porz Vaganian uncorked 58...g4! and Hübner resigned due to 59.Rxh5 Kg7 60.Kxg4 Re3 and White is completely powerless and has to watch the d-pawn running down the board. A fantastic domination! If the rook protects f- and apawn Black must act quickly against it:

S.B.Hansen (2537) - D.Palo (2483) DEN-ch Horsens 15.04.2003 GM Sune Berg Hansen demonstrated very good technique: 41.Rb3!? (41.a4 Ra2 42.h4 h5 43.Rf4 f6 followed by g5) 41...h5 42.h4 Kf6? (42...Ra2 43.Rf3 f6 44.Ke1 g5 was called for as 45.Kd1 can now be answered by 45...g4=) 43.Ke1 Ra2 44.Rf3+! Ke6?! (44...Ke5 was file:///C|/Cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (14 of 15) [06/03/2003 8:49:27 PM]

Endgame Corner

better) 45.Kd1 45...Ke5? Black must act quicker with 45...f6 46.Kc1 g5 but it is not clear, if this can save him, e.g., 47.Kb1 Rd2 48.a4 (48.hxg5? fxg5=) 48...gxh4 49.gxh4 Rd4 50.Ra3 and White has good winning chances.) 46.Kc1 f6 (46...Ke4? 47.Kb1 Kxf3 48.Kxa2 Kxf2 49.a4+-) 47.Kb1 Rd2 48.a4 g5 49.a5 gxh4 50.gxh4 Rd4 51.Ra3 Rxh4 52.a6 Rb4+ 53.Kc2 Rb8 54.Ra5+ Kd6 (54...Ke4 55.Rxh5 Ra8 56.Ra5 f5 57.Kd2 f4 58.Ra3 Ra7 59.f3+ Kd4 60.Ra4+ Kc5 61.Kd3 Kb6 62.Ke4+-) 55.Rxh5 Kc7 56.a7 Ra8 57.Kd3 Kb6 58.Rh7 Re8 59.Re7 Rd8+ 60.Ke4 Kc6 61.Kf5 1–0

Copyright 2003 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in ChessCafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

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Endgame Corner

Polzin's Pawns and More Some time has passed since I have dealt with pawn endgames in Endgame Corner 10, so I was grateful when my friend and team mate in the Austrian League Rainer Polzin send me analysis of some of his recent endgames which are incorporated in the following examples:

Endgame Corner

31.01 J.Horvath (2551) - R.Polzin (2469) Austrain Staatsliga season 2001/2002 Black's ugly pawn structure was nicely exploited by GM Joszef Horvath: 39.Kg2 Kf6 40.Kh3 Kg5 41.Kg2 Kg4

Karsten Müller

41...h4 does not help: 42.Kh3 hxg3 (42...h5 43.f3 hxg3 44.hxg3 Kf5 45.Kh4 Kg6 46.g4 hxg4 47.fxg4 e4 48.g5 Kf5 49.Kh5 Kf4 50.g6 Ke3 51.g7 Kxe2 52.g8Q+-) 43.hxg3 Kh5 44.g4+ Kg5 45.Kg3 h5 (45...Kf6 46.Kh4 Kg6 47.f3 Kf6 48.Kh5 Kg7 49.g5 hxg5 50.Kxg5+-) 46.gxh5 Kxh5 47.f4 Kg6 48.fxe5 Kf5 49.Kh4 Ke6 50.Kg4 Kxe5 Order Fundament Chess Endings by Karsten Müller & Frank Lamprecht The BCF Book of the Year!

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Endgame Corner

51.Kg5 Ke6 52.Kg6 Ke5 53.Kf7 Kf4 (53...Kd6 54.Kf6 Kc6 55.Ke6 Kc5 56.Ke5+-) 54.Ke6 Ke3 55.Kxd5 Kxe2 56.Kxd4+42.h4 Kf5 43.f3 Ke6 (43...e4 44.Kf1+- as White's king marches to the queenside to infiltrate Black's camp) 44.Kf2 Kd6 45.Ke1 Kc5 46.Kd2 Kb5 (46...Kb4 47.f4 exf4 48.gxf4 Kc5 49.Kc2 Kd6 50.Kb3 Ke6 51.Kb4 Kf5 52.Kc5 Kxf4 (52...Kg4 53.f5+-) 53.Kxd4 Kg4 54.e4 Kxh4 55.exd5 Kg5 56.d6 Kf6 57.Kd5 h4 58.Kc6 h3 59.d7+-) 47.Kc2 Kc5 48.Kb3 Kb5 49.Ka3 Ka5 and now the time to deflect Black's king has come: 50.f4 exf4 51.gxf4 Kb5 52.Kb3 Kb6 53.Kb4 Kc6 54.f5 Kd6 55.f6 Ke6 56.Kc5 Kxf6 57.Kxd5 Kf5 58.Kxd4 Kg4 59.Ke4 Kxh4 60.Kf4 1-0 and Black resigned due to 60...Kh3 61.d4 Kg2 62.d5 h4 63.d6 h3 64.d7 h2 65.d8Q h1Q 66.Qd5+ Kh2 67.Qxh1+ Kxh1 68.e4 Kg2 69.Kg4+In the next example Rainer managed to save his skin: 31.02 S.Kasparov (2440) - R.Polzin (2465) 9. Werther Schloss Open It looks bad for Black, but not hopeless: 24.Kf5 24.Bxe6 is also interesting: 24...fxe6 25.g5 (25.f4?? exf4 26.Kxf4 Ke7 and Black is clearly better as 27.g5? runs into 27...f5–+) 25...fxg5 26.Kxe5 Ke7 27.c4 b6 28.h3 (28.b4?? a5 29.c5 a4 30.cxb6 Kd7 31.Kd4 e5+ 32.Kc3 file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (2 of 13) [07/03/2003 9:58:54 AM]

Endgame Corner

Kc6–+) 28...a6 29.c3 a5 30.Kd4 Kd6 31.Ke4 Kd7 32.Ke5 Ke7= 24...Ke7 25.Bxe6 fxe6+ 26.Kg6 26...b5!! Black has to fight for spare tempi with this move as it also threatens to advance the a-pawn. 27.c4 27.b4 h3! 28.Kh5 f5 A) 29.Kh4?! Kf6 30.Kxh3 Kg5 31.Kg3 f4+ 32.Kf2 e4 33.h3 e3+ 34.Kg1 (34.Ke2?? is punished by 34...Kh4 35.Ke1 e5 36.Ke2 e4 37.fxe4 Kg3–+) 34...e5 35.Kf1 Kh4 36.Kg2 a6 37.c4 bxc4 38.c3 Kg5 39.Kf1 e4 40.fxe4 f3 41.e5 Kh4 42.e6 Kg3 43.e7 e2+ 44.Ke1 f2+ 45.Kxe2 Kg2 46.e8Q f1Q+ 47.Kd2 Qd3+ 48.Ke1 Qxc3+ 49.Kd1 Qd3+ 50.Ke1 Kxh3 and Black is slightly better. B) 29.Kg5 f4 30.Kh4 Kf6 31.g5+ Kg6 32.Kg4 a6 33.c4 bxc4 34.c3 and now Black holds on by 34...e4! 35.fxe4 e5 36.Kh4 B1) Of course not 36...f3? 37.Kxh3 Kxg5 38.Kg3 f2 39.Kxf2 Kg4 (39...Kf4 40.h3 Kxe4 41.Ke2 Kf4 42.h4 Kg4 43.Ke3 Kxh4 44.Ke4+-) 40.Ke3 Kh3 41.Kf3 Kh4 42.Kg2 Kg4 43.h3+ Kf4 44.Kf2+B2) 36...Kg7 37.Kxh3 Kg6 38.Kg4 Kg7 39.h4 Kh7 40.h5 Kg7= as White's king can't leave the square of the protected passed pawn file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (3 of 13) [07/03/2003 9:58:54 AM]

Endgame Corner

27...bxc4 28.h3 28.b4 h3! 29.c3 (29.Kh5 Kd6 30.Kh4 e4 31.Kxh3 Ke5 32.Kg3 f5 33.h4 f4+ 34.Kf2 e3+ 35.Ke2 Kf6=) 29...a6 30.Kh5 f5= 28...cxb3 29.cxb3 a5 30.Kh5 Kf7 30...Kd6 31.Kxh4 Kc5 32.Kh5 Kb4 33.h4 Kxb3 (33...f5?! 34.gxf5 exf5 35.Kg5 Kxb3 36.h5 a4 37.h6 a3 38.h7 a2 39.h8Q a1Q 40.Kxf5 is awkward for Black.) 34.g5 fxg5 35.hxg5 a4 36.g6 a3 37.g7 a2 38.g8Q a1Q 39.Qxe6+ Kc2 40.Kg5 Qd4= 30...f5 31.Kxh4 Kf6 32.Kh5 e4 33.fxe4 f4 34.g5+ Kg7 35.Kg4 e5 36.h4 Kg6 37.h5+ Kg7 38.g6 Kh6 39.Kh4 Kg7= as 40.Kg5?? f3 41.h6+ Kg8 42.Kf6 f2 43.h7+ Kh8 44.Kf7 f1Q+–+ even loses. 31.Kh6 Kf8!? sets a trap 32.Kg6 32.g5?? overpresses: 32...Kf7 33.Kh5 f5 A) 34.g6+ Kg7 35.Kg5

A1) 35...e4? is the wrong way to do it: 36.fxe4 fxe4 A1a) 37.Kf4? Kxg6 38.Kxe4 Kf6 39.Kf4 e5+ 40.Kg4 e4 41.Kf4 (41.Kxh4 Ke5 42.Kg3 Kd4 43.Kf2 Kc3 44.h4 Kd2–+) 41...e3 42.Kxe3 Ke5–+ A1b) 37.Kxh4 Kxg6 38.Kg4 e5 39.Kg3 Kh5 40.Kf2 Kh4 41.Ke3 Kxh3 42.Kxe4 Kg3 43.Kxe5 file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (4 of 13) [07/03/2003 9:58:54 AM]

Endgame Corner

Kf3= A2) 35...f4 36.Kxh4 Kxg6 37.Kg4 Kf6–+ B) 34.Kh6 Kg8 35.Kh5 Kh7 36.g6+ Kg7 37.Kg5 f4 38.Kxh4 Kxg6 39.Kg4 Kf6 40.h4 Kg6 41.h5+ Kf6 42.Kh4 Kf5–+ 32...Ke7 33.Kh5 Kf7 34.Kxh4 Kg6 35.Kg3 f5 36.h4 f4+ 37.Kf2 e4 38.fxe4 e5 39.Kf3 Kh6 40.Kg2 Kg6 41.g5 Kh5 42.Kf3 Kg6 43.Kg4 Kh7 44.h5 Kg7 45.g6 ½–½ I want to end this column with two misguided simplifications into pawn endings and several exercises: 31.03 M.Müller (2153) - W.Hajenius (2018) 19th Open Bad Wörishofen White did not analyse the resulting pawn endgame carefully: 26.Bxe6+? 26.Qb6 Kf8 27.Bxe6 Qxe6 28.Qxe6 Rxe6 29.Kg1= was called for. 26...Qxe6 27.Rd8? Qxb3 28.Rxe8+ Kf7 29.axb3 Kxe8

Black is winning as White's queenside majority can't produce a passed pawn on its own: 30.Kg1 Ke7 31.Kf2 Ke6 32.Ke3 Ke5 33.c4 33.b4 Kf5 34.g3 (34.c4 h5 35.g3 h4–+) 34...h5 35.h3 (35.b3 h4 36.gxh4 g6 37.c4 Ke5–+; 35.Kd4 h4 36.Ke3 hxg3 37.hxg3 g5 38.Kf2 Kg4–+) 35...Ke5 36.Kf2 (36.h4 Kf5 37.c4 Kg4–+) 36...h4–+ 33...a5 34.g3 g6 35.h3 h6 36.g4 g5 0–1 file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (5 of 13) [07/03/2003 9:58:54 AM]

Endgame Corner

31.04 S.Brynell (2534) - T.Hellborg (2240) Tch-SWE 2002/2003 Brynell simplified with 49.Rxd7+? 49.Rd2 was called for. 49...Kxd7 50.Nb6+ Kc7 51.Nxc8 Kxc8 52.Kd5 and was probably waiting for his opponent to resign. But a horrible shock awaited him: 52...f5! 53.f4 53.Kxe5 g4! 54.fxg4 fxg4 55.Kf4 gxh3 56.Kf3 Kc7 and White will fall into zugzwang sooner or later. 53...exf4 54.Ke5 g4 55.hxg4 h3 0-1

Sources: ●

● ●

●

●

Fundamental Chess Endings, Karsten Müller and Frank Lamprecht, GAMBIT 2001 ChessBase MEGABASE 2003 The Week in Chess, weekly internet chess magazine edited by Marc Crowther Chess Today #692, daily internet newspaper by A.Baburin et al. Die Endspiel Universität, Mark Dvoretsky, Chess Gate 2002 (in German). Mark's excellent and extremely instructive work will soon appear in English. Exercises (Solutions next month)

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Endgame Corner

E 31.01 S.Collins (2313) A.Goloshchapov (2544) Monarch Assurance International Port Erin 2002 White to move and draw

E 31.02 A.Donchenko (2463) A.Rotstein (2544) 19th Open Bad Wörishofen 2003 Black to move and draw

E 31.03 V.Golod (2532) - S.Cicak (2526) IV Dos Hermanas Internet Final ICC 2003 How to asses the position with White to move and how with Black to move?

E 31.04 O.Korneev (2551) I.Argandona Rivero (2284) Elgoibar 2002 Black to move and win

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Endgame Corner

E 31.05 W.Paschall (2444) B.Finegold (2551) USA-ch Seattle 2003 How to asses the position with White to move?

E 31.06 J.van der Wiel (2509) J.Hector (2570) Corus-B Wijk aan Zee 2003 White played a4-a5. Did he manage to draw?

Solution to last month exercise E30.01 K.Lerner (2495) - J.Dorfman (2540) URS-FL Tashkent 1980 60...Rxf3? too greedy. 60...Kf6! was called for, e.g. 61.Kc6 Rxf3 62.Rb8 Ra3 63.Rb6 Kf5 64.Kb7 Kg4 65.a7 Rxa7+ 66.Kxa7 Kxg3 67.Rb4 f6= (Dvoretsky in Die EndspielUniversität) 61.Rb8 Ra3 62.Rb6 Rxg3 62...f6 63.Kc6 g5 64.Kb7 Kg6 65.a7 Rxa7+ 66.Kxa7 Kf5 67.Rb4+-; 62...Re3 63.Kc6 Re7 64.Rb3 Re6+ 65.Kb7 Re7+ 66.Ka8 g5 67.hxg5 Kg6 68.a7 Kxg5 69.Kb8 Kg4 (69...f5 70.Rb4+-) 70.Rc3 (70.a8Q? Re8+ 71.Kb7 Rxa8 72.Kxa8 f5=) 70...Rxa7 71.Kxa7 f5 72.Kb6 f4 73.gxf4 Kxf4 74.Kc5 h4 75.Kd4 Kg4 76.Ke3 Kg3 77.Rc8 h3 78.Rg8+ Kh2 79.Kf2 Kh1 80.Kg3 file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (8 of 13) [07/03/2003 9:58:54 AM]

Endgame Corner

h2 81.Ra8+63.Kc6 Ra3 63...g5 64.hxg5 Rxg5 65.a7 Ra5 66.Kb7 Rxa7+ 67.Kxa7 f6 68.Rb4 Kg6 69.Kb6 Kg5 70.Kc5 h4 71.Kd4 Kg4 72.Ke3+ Kg3 73.Rb8+64.Kb7 g5 (64...f6 65.a7 Rxa7+ 66.Kxa7 g5 67.Rb4 Kg6 68.Kb6 Kf5 69.Kc5 g4 70.Kd4 Kf4 71.Rb6 f5 72.Rh6+-) 65.hxg5 h4 66.a7 h3 67.a8Q Rxa8 68.Kxa8 h2 69.Rh6 f6 70.Rxh2 fxg5 and now Lerner uncorked the amazing 71.Rf2!! to avoid nasty bodychecks. The automatic 71.Kb7? is met by 71...Kf6! 72.Kc6 Ke5!= 71...Kh6 72.Kb7 (72.Rf5? Kh5 (72...g4? 73.Rc5+- as Black's king is cut off on the fifth rank) 73.Kb7 Kh4!=) 72...g4 73.Kc6 Kg5 74.Kd5 g3 75.Rf8 Kg4 76.Ke4 1–0

Addendum I have already dealt with the famous pawn ending Hans Ree vs Lubomir Ftacnik, Kiev 1978 in Endgame Corner 10 and 25 (see the ChessCafe Archives). I quote EC 25 first to remind you of the fascinating breakthrough: Dr. Lubomir Ftacnik chose 1...g5?? and lost after the brilliant refutation 2.g4!+-. In Endgame Corner 10 I proved together with Mark Dvoretsky that Black can win after 1...Kd6 using the technique of corresponding squares. Mark has kindly informed me about the following easier win: "Later file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (9 of 13) [07/03/2003 9:58:54 AM]

Endgame Corner

on in Averbakh's endgame book I found another,simpler solution (discovered by K.Vinokurov from Kiev - perhaps he is an amateur): 1...f5! 2.exf5 Kxf5 3.Kf3 g5! 4.hxg5 Kxg5 5.Kg2 Kg4! 6.Kf2 Kh3 7.Kf3 b5! 8.Kf2 Kh2 9.Kf3 Kg1-+ or 5.Kf2 Kf5! 6.Kf3 (6.Ke3 Kg4) 6...Ke5 7.Ke3 b5! 8.Kd3 (8.Kf3 Kd4) 8...Kd5 9.Kc3 Ke4-+." I asked Hans Ree what he thought about all this and he has kindly given permission to publish his response, indicating that Rob Nio Bertholée had discovered the win based on the triangulation process much earlier: Hello Karsten Müller: I have not checked all your lines yet, but I think your analysis is correct and White was lost. The reason I think so is that some years ago I received a letter from the Dutch player Rob Nio Bertholée who pointed out the same triangulation process as you did and analysed the position to a Black win. I would have liked to refute his analysis but I couldn't. So I won this game thanks to my bad analysis. It was adjourned with the heavy pieces still on the board. I analysed the pawn ending, did not see this triangulation and so happily exchanged the heavy pieces, thinking I had a draw. If I had analysed correctly I would have hung on with rooks and queen and probably have lost. I included the ending in my book The Human Comedy of Chess. I should have corrected this, but I didn't think of it, probably having filed this unwelcome letter by Bertholée deep down in my subconscious. One can run from the truth, but finally not escape. Best Wishes, Hans Ree Johannes Steckner (Switzerland) has made a great discovery in the Kantorovich position (30.02), which changes the whole picture. Like Dautov's winning line in 30.01 (see Endgame Corner 30 in the ChessCafe Archives) it shows, that the winning chances of the superior side are larger than previously thought: file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (10 of 13) [07/03/2003 9:58:54 AM]

Endgame Corner

The position in Kantorovich's study (30.02) from 1989 occurred in the game Tal-Gipslis 1983. Tal played 1.Ra8 and agreed a draw after 2 more moves. I would like to show now that the position has been wrongly estimated until now, as it is won for White: 1.Kd4! Rxf2 2.Rc7 Ra2 3.a7 Kf5 4.Kc4!! (Kantorovich gives only 4.Rxf7+ and ends with =) 4...Kg4 5.Kb3! Ra5, and we have reached the game Gurevich,MGlek,I, Vlissingen 2002, which was won by White instructively: 6.Rc4+! Kxg3 7.Ra4 Rxa7 8.Rxa7 Kxh4 9.Kc3! Kg3 10.Kd2! g5 11.Rxf7, etc. If this is correct then Black should avoid the Kantorovich position as it is probably also lost with Black to move, e.g., 1....g5 2.Kd4! gxh4 3.gxh4 Ra5 (3...Rxf2 4.Rc7 Ra2 5.a7+-) 4.Kc4 Ke6 (4...Ke5 5.Kb4 Ra2 6.f4+!) 5.Kb4 Ra2 6.Kc5+-. But this requires further investigation. For a safe draw, Black should play 1...g5 in time instead, when White has the set up Pa5, Ra7: 2.hxg5 (2.Kd4 gxh4 3.gxh4 Rxf2=) 2...Kxg5 3.a6 Kg4=. So Black's defence is even more difficult than originally thought." Mark Dvoretsky found further defensive ressources, but Steckner managed to deal with them: "1.Kd4 Rxf2 2.Rc7 Ra2 3.a7 Kf5 4.Kc4! A) 4...Kg4 5.Kb3+- as we have already seen. B) 4...Ra1 (Dvoretsky,M) 5.Kb5! Rb1+ 6.Kc6 Ra1 7.Kb7 Rb1+ 8.Kc8 Ra1 9.Rxf7+! (9.Kb8? Kg4 10.Rxf7 Kxg3 11.Rf6 Kxh4 12.Rxg6 Kh3 13.Kb7 Txa7+ 14.Kxa7 h4=) Kg4 10.Rg7 Kxg3 (10....Kh3 11.Kb8+-) 11.Rxg6+ Kxh4 12.Kb7! The difference, saving an important tempo (12.Kb8? Kh3= would transpose to the line 9.Kb8 ...) 12....Rxa7+ 13.Kxa7 Kh3 14.Kb6+C) 4...f6!? (Dvoretsky,M) The most interesting try. 5.Kb5! Rb2+ 6.Kc6 Ra2 7.Kb7 Rb2+ 8.Kc8 Ra2 9.Rg7! (9.Kb8? Kg4 10.Rc6 Kxg3 11.Rxf6 Kxh4 12.Rxg6 Kh3=) and I do not see how Black can save himself: C1) 9....Kg4 10.Rxg6+ Kh3 11.Rg7 Ra3 (11....f5 12.Kb8 Rb3+ 13.Rb7 Ra2/Re2 both rook moves can be answered by 14.a8Q or 14.Rb3, winning in both cases) 12.Kb8 Rb3+ 13.Rb7 Rxg3 14.Kc7! Ra3 15.Rb3+. C2) 9....g5!? 10.Kb8 gxh4 (10....Rb2+ 11.Rb7 Ra2 12.a8Q Rxa8 13.Kxa8 Kg4 14.Rg7!+-; 10....Kg4 11.a8Q Rxa8 12.Kxa8+-) 11.gxh4 Ke4 12.a8Q Rxa8 13.Kxa8 f5 14.Rg5+C3) 9....Ra1 10.Kb8+-" Amazing! After studying the Postscript to Endgame Corner 30 GM Yannick Pelletier (Switzerland) managed to confirm independently that Steckner is right. His analysis varies only very slightly from Steckner's lines above.

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Endgame Corner

Mark Dvoretsky now even agrees that the Black to move case of the Kantorovich position (30.02) is lost as well as claimed by Steckner (!!): "...1...Ke5 - White replies 2.Kd3! Rxf2 3.Re7+! Kf6 4.a7 Ra2 (after 4...Kxe7 5.a8Q Rf5 Black would make a draw with his king at g7, but with king at e7 it should be lost - I considered it in the book - see Dorfman - Beliavsky) 5.Rc7 Kf5 6.Kc4! again with Steckner's position." Steckner's latest analysis on the Black to move case of the Kantorovich position (30.02) runs: "The Kantorovich position appears to be winning for White even with Black to move. I am not yet completely sure about everything, because the variations are complex and some important lines are decided by highly clever subtleties. A)1....Ke5!? seems to be the best try. 2.Kd3! and now: A1) 2....Kd5 3.Kc3 Rxf2 (3....Kc5 4.Kb3) 4.Rc7 Ra2 5.a7 f6 (5....Kd6 6.Rxf7 Kc5 7.Kd3 Kd5 see line A2c after 5....Kd5) 6.Kb4 Kd6 (6....Ke6 7.Kb5+-) 7.Rg7! (7.Rf7? Ke6 9.Rg7 Kf5=) Kc6 (7....Ke6 8.Kb5+-) 8.Rf7! (8.Rxg6? Rxa7 9.Rxf6+ Kd5=) f5 9.Rg7 Kb6 10.Kc4+A2) 2....Rxf2 3.Re7+! A2a) 3....Kf6 After this White is winning as Mark Dvoretsky points out: 4.a7 Ra2 (4....Kxe7 5.a8Q+-, would be draw with Kg7 instead of Ke7) 5.Rc7 Kf5 6.Kc4! leading to the key line 4.Kc4! in the Kantorovich position with White to move. A2b) 3....Kd5!? 4.a7 Ra2 5.Kc3 (5.Rxf7?! Ra3+ and I don?t see a clear win but I?m not sure) f6 (5....Kc5 6.Kb3 Ra1 7.Rxf7+-) 6.Kb4 Kd6 (6....Kc6 7.Rf7!+-) 7.Rg7!+see line A1. A2c) 3....Kd6!? 4.a7 Ra2 5.Rxf7 Kd5 (5....Ra4 6.Rg7+-) This position can arise in various lines, but it is lost for Black: 6.Rd7+ Kc6 7.Rg7 Kd5 8.Rxg6 Ra3+ (8....Rxa7 9.Ke3 see below) 9.Ke2 Rxa7 (9....Ke4 10.Re6+ and 11.Re7+-) 10.Ke3 Rh7 11.Kf4 Rh8 and now both 12.Rf6! and 12.Kf5! are winning. A3) 2....f6 3.Ra8 Kf5 (3....Ra4 4.f3! (4.Kc3 Ke4!?) Ke6 (4....Kf5 5.a7!+-)5.Kc3+-) 4.a7 (not 4.f3? Ra3+ 5.Kc4 Rxf3 6.Kb4 Rf1 and Black?s counterplay is just in time) Kg4 5.Rg8 Rxa7 6.Rxg6+ Kf5 7.Rh6+A4) 2....f5 3.Ra8 Kd5 4.Ke3+B) 1....Ke6 2.Kd4! B1) 2....Rxf2 3.Rc7 Ra2 4.a7 and now both 4....Kf5 5.Kc4!+- and 4....f6 5.Kc5 Kf5 5.Kb5+- are known from the Kantorovich position with White to move. B2) 2....f6!? 3.Kc5 Kf5 4.f3! (4.Ra8 Kg4; 4.Kb6 Rb2+) Ra3 5.Kb4 Rxf3 (5....Ra1 6.Ra8) 6.Rb7+- B3) 2....f5 3.Ra8! (threat 4.a7) Kf7 4.f4! and the white King heads to a7, +-. C) 1....g5!? 2.Kd4! gxh4 3.gxh4 Ra5 (3....Ke6 4.Kc5) 4.Kc4 Ke5!? 5.Kb4 Ra2 6.f4+!! Finally winning an important tempo, as we will see (6.Kb5? Rb2+ 7.Kc6 Rc2+ 8.Kb6 Rb2+ 9.Kc7 Ra2 10.Ra8 Kf4 11.Kb7 Rb2+ 12.Ka7 f5 and Black?s

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Endgame Corner

counterplay is in time) Ke6 (6...Kd5 and 6....Kf6 is virtually the same; 6....Ke4 7.Re7+ and 6....Kxf4 7.Rxf7+ lose faster) 7.Kb5 Rb2+ 8.Kc6 Rc2+ 9.Kb6 Rb2+ 10.Kc7 Ra2 11.Ra8 Kf5 11.Kb7 Rb2+ 12.Ka7 Kxf4 Compared to the line 6.Kb5, Black is a tempo down but a pawn up. But here the pawn is not important, the tempo decides the day for White: 13.Rb8 Ra2 14.Rb5 f5 15.Kb6+-" Steckner also refuted my analysis in 30.03: "In your notes on rook endgame, position 30.03 Akopian-Georgiev 1999, it is claimed that 12...Kg6 (in the game 43...Kg6) would have drawn. To support this claim, only 13.Kb4 is investigated. I would like to show now that the obvious 13.a6 wins: 13...Ra2 (13...Kf5 14.Kb5!, with the idea Rc7 +-) Black is a tempo up compared to the game, but this does not save him: 14.Ra8 Kf5 15.Kb6 Rb2+ (15...Rxf2 16.Rb8 Rb2+ 17.Ka7! Re2 see below) 16.Ka7 Rxf2 17.Rb8 Re2 (17...Rf4 18.Rb5+ Kg4 19.Kb6+-;17...Kg4 18.Rb4+ Kg3 19.Kb6 Ra2 20.Kb5+-; 17...Ra2 18.Rb4+-) 18.Rb4! Re7+ 19.Kb6 Re6+ 20.Ka5 Re7 21.Rb7 Re8 22.a7 Ra8 23.Ka6+-. If this wins, then 7...Ra3+ (38...Ra3+ in the game) was the decisive mistake, which should have been replaced by 7....f6!=."

Copyright 2003 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in ChessCafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

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Endgame Corner

Shirov's Surprises At one of the Bundesliga weekends in Lübeck Alexei showed me the following fascinating endgame: 32.01 A.Shirov (2723) - I.Sokolov (2688) Hrokurinn Reykjavic 2003 At first sight it seems that White is winning easily, but Shirov managed to convince me very quickly that matters are surprisingly complicated:

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

54.Qd3 I 54.d6? even spoils it: 54...Bf5 55.Ne4 Kg7 56.c5 (56.Qa7+ Kg6 57.d7 Bxe4 58.d8Q Qc3+ 59.Ke2 Nf4+ 60.Kf1 Qh3+=) 56...Nf6 57.f3 Nd5 58.Qd3 Nf4 59.Qb5 Be6= II 54.Ne4!? wins as well: 54...Bf5 55.c5 Kg7 56.c6 Nf6 57.Qa7+ Kh8 58.Qb8+ Kg7 59.Qc7+ Kg6 60.h5+ Nxh5 61.Qd6+ Kf7 62.c7 Qd4+ 63.Ke1+-

Order Fundament Chess Endings by Karsten Müller & Frank Lamprecht The BCF Book of the Year!

54...Nf4

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Endgame Corner

55.Qe3? Such a mistake is committed by Alexei very seldom as he normally throws himself into the jungle of complications head first. The direct 55.Qh7+ was called for: 55...Kf8 56.Qxh6+ Kf7 57.Qh7+ Kf8 A) 58.Ne4! wins as well: 58...Qd4+ (58...Bg4 59.Qh8+ Kf7 60.Qf6+ Ke8 61.Nd6+ Kd7 62.Nb5+-) 59.Kc1 Qa1+ 60.Bb1 Bg4 61.f3 Bh3 62.Kc2! Ng2 (62...Bf1 63.Qh8+ Kf7 64.Nd6+ Ke7 65.Qe8+ Kxd6 66.Qd8+ Kc5 67.Qc7+ Kd4 68.Qb6#) 63.Qh8+ Kf7 64.Nd6+! Ke7 65.Qe8+ Kxd6 66.Qd8+ Bd7 67.c5+ Kxc5 68.Qc7+ Kd4 69.Qa7+ Kxd5 70.Qxd7+ Kc5 71.Qc7+ Kd5 72.Qxa5++B) 58.Qh8+ Kf7 59.Ne4 Qd4+ 60.Kc1 Qa1+ 61.Bb1 Nd3+ 62.Kd2 Qxb1 63.Ng5+ Ke7 64.Qxc8+55...Bf5 56.Ne4 Kf8! Sokolov defends extremely tenaciously. 57.f3? I 57.d6? Kf7 58.Qa7+ Kg6 59.h5+ Kxh5 60.Qe3 (60.Ng3+ Kg6 61.Nxf5 Qc3+=) 60...Kg6 61.f3 Kf7= II 57.h5! was the only chance as it fixes the weak pawn on h6: 57...Bxe4 58.Qxe4 Ke8 (58...Qc3+ 59.Kd1 Qa1+ 60.Bb1 Ke7 61.c5 Nxd5 62.Qxd5 Qxb1+ 63.Kd2 Qb2+ 64.Ke3 Qc1+ 65.Ke4 Qe1+ 66.Kf5 Qxf2+ 67.Kxe5±) 59.d6 (59.Kd1!?) A) 59...Kd8 60.c5 (60.Qa8+? Kd7 61.Qa7+ Kxd6 62.c5+ Ke6 63.Qb6+ Kf7=) 60...Qc3+ 61.Kd1 Kd7 62.Qh7+ Kc6 63.Be4+ Kxc5 64.Qc7+ Kd4 65.Qxc3+ bxc3 66.Bf5 c2+ 67.Kd2+B) 59...Kd7 60.Qh7+ Kxd6 61.Qxh6+ Kd7 62.Qg7+ Ke8 63.Qg3 file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (2 of 11) [08/03/2003 11:21:33 PM]

Endgame Corner

Qd4+ 64.Ke1 Qa1+ 65.Bd1 Qb1 (65...Qd4 66.h6 Qe4+ 67.Kd2 Qh7 68.Qg5 Qd3+ 69.Kc1 Qd4 70.Bh5+ Kd7 71.Bg4+ Kc7 72.Qe7+ Kb6 73.c5++-) 66.Qf3± 57...h5! 58.d6 58.c5 Bxe4 59.Qxe4 (59.fxe4 Ke7 60.c6 Kd6 61.c7 Kxc7 62.Qc5+ Kd7= Capablanca's Theorem at work as Black's mighty queen+knight duo easily hold the position. By the way: Edward Winter has searched for quotes of Capablanca on the superiority of queen and knight over queen and bishop. You can find his results on page 200 of his excellent new work A Chess Omnibus.) 59...Qc3+ 60.Kd1 Ke8 61.d6 Qxc5 62.Qa8+ Kd7 63.Bf5+ Kxd6 64.Qd8+ Kc6 65.Be4+ Nd5= 58...Bxe4 58...Bg6? 59.c5 Be8 60.d7 Bxd7 61.c6 Bxc6 (61...Bc8 62.Qc5+ Kg8 63.Qc4+ Kf8 64.c7+-) 62.Qc5+ Kf7 63.Qxc6 Qd4+ 64.Kc1 Qa1+ 65.Bb1 Nd3+ 66.Kd2 Qxb1 67.Ng5+ Ke7 68.Qc7+ Ke8 69.Qf7+ Kd8 70.Ne6+ Kc8 71.Qc7# 59.Qxe4 (59.fxe4 Ke8=) 59...Ke8 60.Kd1!? 60.Qc6+ Kf7 61.Qc7+ Kg8 62.Qd8+ Kf7 63.Qe7+ Kg8 64.Qg5+ Kf7 leads nowhere. 60...Qa1+ Of course not 60...Kd8?? 61.Qa8+ Kd7 62.Bf5++61.Bb1

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Endgame Corner

A strange position has arisen. Surprisingly, there is still a solution for Black's problems: 61...Qc3? I 61...Kd8! Only this way! 62.c5 Kd7 The point: now White is in zugzwang! 63.Qc2 (63.Qb7+ Ke6 64.Qc8+ Kd5=) 63...Qd4+ 64.Kc1 Ne6 65.Qh7+ Kc6 66.Qe4+ Qxe4 67.Bxe4+ Kxc5 68.d7 Kd6 69.Bg6 Kxd7 70.Bxh5 Ke7 71.Bg4 Nd4 72.Kb2 Kf6= II 61...Kd7? 62.c5 Zugzwang 62...Ng2 (62...Qc3? 63.Qb7+ Ke6 64.Bf5+ Kf6 65.Qe7+ Kxf5 66.Qf7#) 63.Qd3 Nf4 64.Qb5+ Ke6 65.Qc4+ Kd7 66.Kc2 Kc6 67.Kc1 Qa3+ (67...Qc3+ 68.Qxc3 bxc3 69.Be4+ Kxc5 70.d7 Ne6 71.Bg6+-) 68.Kd2 Qb2+ 69.Bc2 Kd7 70.Ke3 Qc3+ 71.Qxc3 bxc3 72.Ke4 Ke6 73.b4+62.Qa8+ Kf7 62...Kd7? 63.Bf5+ Ne6 64.Qb7+ Kxd6 65.Qb6+ Ke7 66.Qxe6+ Kf8 67.Qd6+ Kf7 68.Be6++63.Qa7+ Kg8 (63...Kf6? 64.Qe7#) 64.Qh7+ Kf8 65.Qf5+ Kg7 65...Kg8 does not help: 66.Qe4! Qxb3+ 67.Bc2 Qc3 68.d7 Qa1+ 69.Kd2! (69.Bb1? Qxa4+ 70.Kc1 Qxd7=) 69...Qc3+ 70.Kc1 Qa1+ 71.Bb1 Qa3+ 72.Kd2 Qb2+ 73.Kd1+66.Qe4

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Endgame Corner

66...Qxb3+ I 66...Kf8 A) 67.d7 works as well: 67...Ke7 (67...Ne6 68.Qa8+ Kg7 69.Qd5+-) 68.Qh7+ Kd8 69.Qg8+ Kxd7 70.Qf7+ Kd6 71.Qf8+ Kc6 (71...Kc7 72.Qe7+ Kb6 73.Qd6+ Ka7 74.Qc5+ Ka6 75.Qb5+ Ka7 76.Qxa5+ Kb7 77.Be4+ Kc8 78.Bf5+ Kb7 79.Qb5+ Kc7 80.Qd7+ Kb6 81.Qd8++-) 72.Be4+ Kd7 73.Bf5+ Ne6 (73...Kc6 74.Qc8+ Kb6 75.Qd8++-) 74.Qf7+ Kd8 75.Qf6+ Kc7 76.Qe7+ Kb8 77.Qd6+ Ka7 78.Qd7+ Kb8 79.Qb5+ Kc7 80.Qxa5+ Kb7 81.Qd5+ Kc7 82.Bxe6+B) 67.c5 Qxb3+ (67...Qxc5? 68.Qa8+ Kf7 69.Qb7+ Ke6 70.Bf5+ Kxf5 71.Qf7#) 68.Bc2 Qc3 69.c6 Ke8 70.c7 Kd7 71.Qf5+ Ne6 72.Qd3 Qc5 73.Qb5++II 66...Kf6 67.c5 Ke6 68.Qc4+ Qxc4 69.bxc4 Kd7 70.Bf5+ Kc6 71.Kd2 Ng2 72.Bg6 Nf4 73.Be8+ Kxc5 74.d7 Ne6 75.Bxh5+III 66...Kf7 67.d7 Ne6 68.Qg6+ Ke7 69.Qe8++67.Bc2 Qc3 68.d7 Qa1+ 69.Bb1 Qxa4+ 70.Ke1 1-0 and Black resigned due to 70...Qxd7 71.Qh7++I want to thank Alexei for kindly allowing me to use his analysis. Any other mistakes are mine alone, of course. Sources: ChessBase Magazine ChessBase MEGABASE 2003 The Week in Chess, weekly internet chess magazine edited by Marc Crowther Chess Today, daily internet newspaper by A.Baburin et al. A Chess Omnibus, Edward Winter, Russell Enterprises 2003 file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (5 of 11) [08/03/2003 11:21:33 PM]

Endgame Corner

Exercises (Solutions next month) E32.01 B.Gelfand (2700) - A.Shirov (2723) Amber Rapid Monte Carlo 2003 Does 74...g2 draw?

E32.02 A.Shirov (2699) V.Mikhalevski (2524) 6th Corsica Masters Bastia 2002 How to asses the position with White to move?

Solutions to last month exercises E 31.01 S.Collins (2313) A.Goloshchapov (2544) Monarch Assurance International Port Erin 2002 White can draw easily using the distant opposition as V.Barsky has pointed out in Chess Today 692: 67.Kd4? the normal opposition is insufficient as White's king has no access to f4. 67.Kd2! was called for, e.g. 67...Ke6 68.Ke2! Kf6 69.Kf2! Ke5 70.Ke3! Kd5 71.Kd3! h4 72.Ke3! Ke5 73.Kf3! Kf5 74.Ke3! g4 75.hxg4+ Kxg4 76.Kf2= 67...Ke6! 68.Ke4 Kf6! and now Kf4 is impossible 69.Kd3 Kf5! 70.Ke3 Ke5! 71.Kf3 Kd4 Encirclement 72.Ke2 Ke4 73.Kf2 Kf4 74.Kg2 Ke3 75.Kg3

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Endgame Corner

75...h4+ 76.Kg4 Kf2 77.Kxg5 Kg3 0–1

E 31.02 A.Donchenko (2463) A.Rotstein (2544) 19th Open Bad Wörishofen 2003 Black draws by 51...h6! (51...h5+? 52.Kf3 (52.Kh4? f5–+) 52...Kg5 53.h4+ Kg6 54.g4+-) 52.Kf3 (52.h4? h5+ 53.Kf3 f5–+) 52...Kg5 53.Ke3 Kg6 ½–½ E 31.03 V.Golod (2532) - S.Cicak (2526) IV Dos Hermanas Internet Final ICC 2003 In the game White was to move: 42.b4! White mobilizes his majority 42...Kd5 43.Ke3 g5 (43...Kc4 44.b5 axb5 45.axb5 Kxb5 46.Kxe4 Kc4 47.h4+-) 44.b5 a5 45.h3?! (45.b6 Kc6 46.Kxe4 Kxb6 47.Kd5+- and the pawn a5 is lost.) 45...h4 46.Ke2 Kc5 47.Ke3 Kd5 48.Ke2 Kc5 49.Ke3 Kd5 and a draw was agreed, but White is still winning by 50.b6. E 30.03 Black to move case Black to move would win easily: 42...Kc5 43.Ke3 Kb4 44.Kxe4 a5 45.Kf4 Kxb3 46.Kg5 Kxa4 47.Kxg6 Kb5–+

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Endgame Corner

E 31.04 O.Korneev (2551) I.Argandona Rivero (2284) 12th Elgoibar 2002 Black missed the win: 29...c6? (29...a4! 30.b3 b5 31.b4 (31.bxa4 bxa4 32.c3 c6 33.g5 c5 34.c4 dxc4 35.Ke4 c3–+) 31...c5! 32.c3 d4! 33.bxc5 dxc3 34.Ke3 b4 35.Kd3 bxa3 36.Kxc3 Kxe5–+ (Hecht in CBM 93)) 30.b3 b6 31.c3 a4 32.bxa4 c5 33.g5 c4 34.a5! bxa5 35.a4 Ke7 36.Ke3 Kd7 ½–½ E 31.05 W.Paschall (2444) B.Finegold (2551) USA-ch Seattle 2003 White drew as follows: 29.f4+ Kf6 30.g5+! (30.gxh5? gxh5 31.Kd4 Kf5 32.Kxd5 Kxf4–+) 30...Kf5 31.Kd4 Kxf4 32.Kxd5 Kg4 33.Ke5 Kxh4 34.Kf6 Kg3 35.Kxg6 h4 36.Kf5 h3 37.g6 h2 38.g7 h1Q 39.g8Q+ Kf2 40.Qb3 Qc6 41.Ke5 Ke2 42.Kd4 Qd6+ 43.Kc4 Qc6+ ½–½ E 31.06 J.van der Wiel (2509) J.Hector (2570) Corus-B Wijk aan Zee 2003 Yes 41.a5 leads to a more or less forced draw: 41...bxa5+ 42.Kxa5 Kc5 43.Kxa6 Kxc4 44.Kb7 Kxd5 45.Kxc7 e4 (45...Ke6 46.Kd8 Kf5 47.Ke7 Kf4 48.Kf6 Kg3 49.Kxg6 Kxg2 50.Kxh5 Kxf3 51.Kg5=) 46.fxe4+ Kxe4 47.Kd6 Kf4 ½–½

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Endgame Corner

The Black to move case of the Kantorovich position (30.02) is even more difficult than we thought as the following interesting discussion revealed: First Gabriele Mileto raised two interesting questions on Johannes Steckner's analysis (see the Addendum to Endgame Corner 31): "Well, in endgame corner 30.02 how can white win after 1...Ke6 2 Kd4 f6 3 Kc5 Kf5 4f3 Ra3 5 Kb4 Rf3 6 Rb7 and now ...Rf1 ? And after 1...g5 2Kd4 gh 3 gh Ra5 4 Kc4 Ke5 5 Kb4 Ra2 6 f4 Kf4 7 Rf7 Kg4 ?" I could only answer the second question: "White wins with 8.a7 Ra1 (8...Kxh4 9.Rc7 +-) 9.Rc7 Rb1+ 10.Ka3 Ra1+ 11.Kb3 Kf5 12.Kb4 Kf4 13.Rg7 +-" and Johannes Steckner had to admit that 6...Rf1! in the first line refutes his analysis: "After 1....Ke6 2 Kd4 f6 3.Kc5 Kf5 4.f3 Ra3 5.Kb4 Rxf3 6.Rb7, G. Mileto asks how White can win on 6....Rf1! As far as I can see, this defence indeed holds the draw for Black, e.g. 7.a7 Rb1+ 8.Kc5 Ra1 9.Rg7 g5 10.Kb6 Kg4 11.Rg8 Ra2 (I missed this simple move) 12.Kb7 Rb2+ 13.Kc6 Ra1 14.a8Q Rxa8 15.Rxa8 Kxg3 16.Kd5 gxh4=. The careless 6.Rb7? must be replaced by 6.Rc7! and I do not see any defence for Black: A) 6....Rf1 7.Rc4! Ra1 (7....Ke6 8.Kb5+-) 8.Kb5 g5 9.Ra4 Rb1+ 10.Ka5 Rb8 11.a7 Re8 12.Kb6 gxh4 13.gxh4+B) 6....Re3!? 7.Rc4! Re7 (7....g5 8.a7 Re8 9.Kb5+-; 7....Re8 8.Kb5+-) 8.Kb5 g5 9.Ra4 gxh4 10.gxh4 Ra7 11.Kb6 Ra8 12.a7+" Mark Dvoretsky put an end to this problem by remarking: "I didn't go deeply into discussion between Steckner and Miletos on 1...Ke6, as after 2.Kd4 f6 White can play 3.Ra8!. Both 3...Kf5 4.f3 following 5.a7 (Unzicker - Lundin) and 3...Kf7 4.Kc5 looks file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (9 of 11) [08/03/2003 11:21:33 PM]

Endgame Corner

bad for Black. After 3...Kd6(d7) White can either get a winning pawn endgame (4.a7) or play Rf8(g8) in a proper moment." Rustem Dautov found this independently and refuted further defensive attempts by Black. So the matter seems closed and the Kantorovich position seemed to be lost for Black even if he has the move. But somehow this sounded unbelievable. Mark Dvoretsky and Rustem Dautov "could not believe their eyes". Then Rustem finally cut the Gordion knot and found a draw for Black: "1...Ra4! 2.Kd3 [2.Ra8 g5 3.hxg5+ Kxg5 4.a7 Kf6=; 2.f4 Ra3+=] 2...g5 3.hxg5+ [3.Kc3 gxh4 4.gxh4 Rxh4 5.Rb7 (5.Kb3 Rh1=) 5...Ra4 6.a7 h4=] 3...Kxg5 4.Kc3 Kg4 5.Kb3 Ra1 6.Kb4 [6.Rxf7 Rxa6 +/=] 6...Ra2 7.Kb5 Rxf2 8.Rb7 Kxg3 9.a7 Ra2=" Johannes Steckner agreed and gave some more details: "1...Ra4! 2.Ra8!? a) 2....g5? 3.hxg5+ Kxg5 4.f3! (4.a7 Kf6= Dautov,R) Kf6 (3....Kf5 is virtually the same, 3....Ra3+ 4.Kd4 and 3....h4 4.gxh4+ lose faster) 4.Kd3 Ke5 5.Kc3 Kd6 6.Kb3 (6.a7? Ke7=) Ra1 7.Kc4! Very subtle as we will see (Not 7.Kb4? Kc7 8.Ra7+ Kb6 9.Rxf7 Kxa6 and White cannot win this ending as 10.Rf5 Rg1 11.Rxh5 Rxg3 draws) Kc7 (7....Kc6 8.Ra7 Kb6 is the same) 8.Ra7+ Kb6 (8....Kb8 9.Rb7+! Ka8 10.Rxf7 Rxa6 11.Rh7 Ra5 12.Kd4+-) 9.Rxf7 Kxa6 10.Rf5 Rh1 (the clever difference with wKc4 instead of wKb4 reveals after 10....Rg1 11.Rxh5 Rxg3, which is here winning for White, 12.f4+-) 11.Kd4 Kb6 12.Ke4 Kc6 13.Kf4 Kd6 14.g4 h4 15.Rh5+b) 2....Kf5! saves Black: b1) 3.Kd3 Kg4 4.Rf8 (4.Kc3 Kf3=) Rxa6 5.Rxf7 Kh3= b2) 3.f3 Ra3+ 4.Kd4 Rxf3 (Blacks position is better than in Lerner-Dorfman 1980) 5.Kc5 Rxg3 or Kg4,=" and Mark Dvoretsky confirmed it as well: "It seems to me that Rustem is right, I don't see a win after 1...Ra4!. Some lines could be corrected or developed a little bit. After 2.Kd3 g5 3.hg+ K:g5 4.Kc3 Kg4 5.Kb3 Ra1 6.Kb4 the easiest way to a draw perhaps is 6...f5 7.Rg7+ Kf3 8.a7 K:f2. file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (10 of 11) [08/03/2003 11:21:33 PM]

Endgame Corner

After 6...Ra2 7.Kb5 R:f2 White can try 8.Ra8 hoping to 8...K:g3? 9.Rg8+ Kf3 10.a7 Ra2 11.a8Q R:a8 12.R:a8 h4 13.Rh8 Kg3 14.Kc4+-. But Black plays 8...Rb2+ 9.Kc4 Ra2 10.Rg8+ Kf3 11.Kb5 Rb2+ 12.Kc6 Ra2 13.Kb7 Rb2+ 14.Ka8 f5 (or 14...Rb6 15.a7 f5 16.Rg5 Rb5 17.Rg7 f4=) 15.Rg5 f4 16.gf h4 17.f5 Kf4 18.Rh5 Kg4 19.Rh8 K:f5 20.R:h4 Ke6=. In the line 2.f4 Steckner's suggestion 2...Ke6 looks most convincing. But perhaps after 2...Ra3+?! 3.Kd4 it is still not too late for playing 3...Ke6. Position after 4.Kc5 f6 5.Ra8 Kf5 6.Kb4 Ra1 7.Kb5 Steckner evaluated as lost, but I am not sure. 7...Rb1+ 8.Kc6 Rc1+ 9.Kb7 Rb1+ 10.Ka7 Rb3 11.Rc8 R:g3 12.Rc6 Rb3 13.Rb6 (13.Ka8 K:f4=) 13...Re3!, and the position looks drawish."

Copyright 2003 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in ChessCafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

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Endgame Corner

Shirov's Surprises Part 2 Alexei Shirov is a very creative player who often gets highly unbalanced positions and is capable of finding the most amazing solutions. As his outstanding autobiography Fire on Board covers his career until 1997 I decided to concentrate on his recent games (for the first part see the ChessCafe Archives):

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

A mighty Queen 33.01 A.Morozevich (2678) - A.Shirov (2723) Amber Rapid Monte Carlo 2003 The rooks have great problems dealing with Black's dangerous apawn: 95...a3 96.Kc4? 96.Kd6 was White's last chance to save the game, e.g. 96...Qb8+ 97.Rc7+ Kg6 98.Kd7 Qb4 99.Rd5 Qg4+ 100.Kd8 Qa4 101.Rd6+ Kxg5 102.Rc1 a2 103.Rdd1=

Order Fundament Chess Endings by Karsten Müller & Frank Lamprecht The BCF Book of the Year!

96...Qf7+ 97.Kc3 Qf3+ 98.Kb4 98.Kc2 Qe2+ 99.Kc3 Qb2+ 100.Kc4 a2 101.Rc7+ Kg6 102.R7c6+ Kh5 103.g6+ Kg4–+ 98...a2 99.Rc7+ Kf8 100.Ra7 (100.Rc8+ Ke7 101.R8c7+ Kd6–+) 100...Qe4+ 101.Kc3 Qe3+ 102.Kc4 Qc1+ 103.Kd5

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Endgame Corner

Qxg5+ 104.Kc6 104...a1Q!? I guess that this caught Morozevich by surprise 105.Rxg5 105.Rxa1!? Qf6+ 106.Kb5 Qxa1

and White has established a third rank defence on the c-file, which is not so easy to break down; Nunn devoted no less than 8 examples to it (see Secrets of Pawnless Endings 78-85 on p.5762). 105...Qf6+ 106.Kd7 Qxg5 107.Rc7?! 107.Kc6 was more tenacious, e.g. 107...Qg2+ 108.Kb5 Qd5+ 109.Kb6 Qd4+ 110.Ka6 Ke8 111.Rb7 (111.Rc7 Kd8 112.Rc6 Kd7–+) 111...Kd8 112.Ka5 Qa1+ 113.Kb5 Qa8 114.Kb6 Qc8 115.Ka6 Qc6+ 116.Ka7 Qc4 117.Rb8+ Kc7 118.Rb7+ Kc6 119.Rb6+ Kc5–+ 107...Qd5+ 108.Kc8 Ke8 109.Kb8 Kd8 110.Rc8+ Kd7 111.Rc7+ Kd6 112.Rg7 the rook won't be able to get back to its king. But 112.Rb7 does not help as well as Black will reach Philidor's position: 112...Kc6 113.Ka8 Qg5 114.Kb8 (114.Ka7 Qd8) 114...Qa5

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Endgame Corner

and the rook will very soon perish. 112...Kc6 113.Rg6+ Kb5 114.Kc7 Qf7+ 0–1

Rolling Pawns 33.02 A.Grischuk (2702) - A.Shirov (2697) Russia vs. Rest of the World, Moscow 2002 42...Rf5! 43.Nxf5 gxf5 44.Qd2? 44.Rg1 g6 45.Qd8+ was much better. White is at least not worse. 44...Qxd2+ 45.Kxd2 g5 White is on the verge of an abyss now. 46.Ke2? Now the wave of pawns is unstoppable 46.Rh1 was called for. I can't say if this saves White, but I did not manage to find a way to win, e.g. 46...f4 47.Ke2 e5 48.b4 b5 (48...Kf5 49.b5 e4 50.Kf2 e3+ 51.Ke2 Ke4 52.Rh3) 49.Kd3 (49.a4? bxa4 50.Ra1 h3 51.Rxa4 g4 52.Rxa7 h2 53.Rh7 g3 54.Kf3 e4+–+) 49...Kf5 50.Rh2 e4+ 51.Kd4 e3 52.Kd3 and I don't see a way for Black to make progress in either case. But I am not completely sure. There may be surprises lurking... 46...g4 47.Rc1 (47.Kf2 f4 48.Kg2 h3+ 49.Kh2 e5–+) 47...h3 48.Kf2 (48.Rc7 h2 49.Rh7 g3 50.Kf3 f4 51.Kg2 e5 52.Rxb7 f3+–+) 48...f4 49.Rc7 g3+ 50.Kf3 h2 51.Rh7 (51.Rc1 e5 52.Kg2 e4 53.Re1 Ke5 54.Rd1 e3 55.Kf3 e2 56.Re1 Kd4–+) 51...e5 52.Rh6+ (52.Kg2 e4 53.b4 e3 54.Kf3 e2 55.Kxe2 g2–+) 52...Kg5 53.Rh8 e4+ 54.Kg2 (54.Kxe4 g2–+) 54...Kf5 55.Rf8+ Ke5 56.Rh8 (56.Rf7 f3+ 57.Kh1 f2 58.Kg2 e3–+) 56...Kd4 57.Rh4 file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (3 of 9) [09/04/2003 8:13:56 AM]

Endgame Corner

Ke3 58.b4 b5 59.a3 59...a6! Zugzwang is a surprisingly sharp weapon! Neither 59...f3+? 60.Kxg3 f2 61.Kg2 Ke2 62.Rxe4+ Kd1 63.Rf4 Ke1= nor 59...Kd2? 60.Rxf4 e3 61.Rd4+ Kc2 62.Re4 Kd3 63.Re7 e2 64.Re8= 60.Rh8 f3+ 61.Kxg3 f2 62.Kg2 Ke2 0–1 33.03 A.Shirov (2695) - M.Kazhgaleyev (2600) 6th Corsica Masters, Bastia 2002 I immediately saved this game in my Endgame Corner database after reading Chess Today 735: "This game attracted my attention after it was mentioned in N.Vlassov's Corcisa report at the Worldchessrating.ru site and I decided that it deserved even wider coverage and detailed explanations" (M.Golubev in Chess Today 735). I could not agree more: 32.Bb5!! the start of a brilliant combination. Shirov had to calculate to the 3P vs B+P endgame and make sure that he could hold it. Amazing! 32...Nxb5 33.Rxa4 Nc3 34.Bxc3 Qxa4 35.Qf2! Qc6 I 35...Re8 36.Qf6+ Kg8 37.Rxd4 A) 37...Qc2+ 38.Kg1 Qc1+ (38...Qxc3 39.Qg5+ Kf8 40.Qh6+=) 39.Kf2= B) 37...exd4 38.Bxd4 Qc2+ 39.Kg1 Qc1+ 40.Kf2 Qd2+ 41.Kg3 Qe1+ 42.Kh2= II 35...Qxd1 36.Qf6+ Rg7 37.Qd8+ with perpetual check.

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36.Rxd4! "36.Qxf7? is the wrong way: 36...dxc3 37.Rd7 Qh6! 38.Qf5 (38.Rxb7 Rf8–+) 38...Qf4+! 39.Qxf4 exf4 40.Rxb7 Rc8 41.Rb1 c2 42.Rc1 Kg7–+ , followed by Kf6, Ke5 and Black wins." (Golubev) 36...exd4 37.Qxd4+ f6 38.Qxf6+ Qxf6 39.Bxf6+ Rg7 40.e5 Kg8 41.Bxg7 Kxg7 Black's remaining winning potential is too small to win: 42.Kg3 Bc8 43.Kf4 Kg6 44.h4 Be6 45.Kg3 Bb3 46.Kf4 Bc2 47.Kg3 Kf7 48.Kf4 Ke6 49.Kg5 Kxe5 50.h5 Ke6 51.Kh6 Kf6 52.g5+ ½–½

33.04 A.Shirov (2723) - E.Bacrot (2671) [C42] Hrokurinn Reykjavic 2003 The next game features another combination to reach a winning endgame: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0–0 Be7 8.c4 Nb4 9.Be2 Be6 10.Qa4+ An interesting novelty 10...Qd7 11.Qxd7+ Kxd7 12.Nc3 Nxc3 13.bxc3 Nc6 14.Rb1 dxc4! It seems Bacrot has solved his opening problems. But Alexei always fights for the initiative at almost any price: 15.d5!? (15.Rxb7 Rhb8= ist not dangerous for Black and quite easy to play.) 15...Bxd5 16.Rd1 Ke6 17.Rxb7

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17...Rab8? 17...Rhd8 18.Rxc7 Rac8= (Macieja in Schach 4/2003) was called for. 18.Rxc7 Rhc8 19.Rxc6+! Rxc6 19...Bxc6 20.Bxc4+ Kf5 21.Bd3+ Ke6 22.Re1+ Kd7 23.Bf5+ Kd8 24.Ne5± 20.Nd4+ Kd7 and now comes the real brilliant point of Shirov's combination: 21.Nf5!! Rb1?! (21...Rb5 22.Ne3 Rd6 23.Ba3 Bf3 24.Bxf3 Rxd1+ 25.Bxd1 Bxa3 26.Ba4 a6 27.Nxc4± (Macieja)) 22.Nxe7 Rxc1 23.Nxd5 Rxd1+ 24.Bxd1 with a winning endgame, which Shirov converted easily: 24...Rd6 25.Ne3 Rd3 26.Ba4+ Kd6 27.Nxc4+ Kc5 28.Ne3 Rxc3 29.Kf1 g6 30.Ke2 Kd4 31.Nc2+ Ke4 32.Bb3 f5 33.h4 f4 34.Ne1 Kf5 35.Nf3 Rc7 36.Kd3 h6 37.Kd4 g5 38.Bc4 Rd7+ 39.Bd5 Rc7 40.hxg5 hxg5 41.Be4+ Kf6 42.Ne5 Rc1 43.Nd3 Rc2 44.a4 Ra2 45.Bc6 Rc2 46.Kd5 g4 47.Nxf4 Rxf2 48.g3 Kf5 49.Bd7+ Kg5 50.Ne6+ Kh5 51.Nc5 Rf3 52.Ne4 Rd3+ 53.Ke5 Ra3 54.Be8+ 1–0 One rook ending concludes this column: 33.05 T.Radjabov (2644) - A.Shirov (2735) Bosnia GM Sarajevo 2003

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37.h3?! weakens g3, which may give Black's rook a superb outpost. 37.Kg1 Re3 38.Rc6 Rxb3 39.Rb6 Rb2 (39...h5 40.h4=) 40.h4 Kg8 41.Rb7 h5 42.Kh2 g6 43.Kg3= (Kasimdshanow in Schach 7/2003) 37...Re3 38.Rc6 Rxb3 39.Rb6 g5 40.Rb7+? 40.Kh2 was called for, giving White some drawing chances, e.g. 40...h5 (40...Kg7 41.g4= (Kasimdshanow)) 41.g3 Rb2+ (41...Kg7 42.Kg2 g4 43.hxg4 hxg4 44.Kf2 Rf3+ 45.Kg2 b3 46.Rb4) 42.Kg1 Kg7 (42...b3 43.Kf1 Kg7 44.Ke1 Kf7 45.Kd1 Rh2 46.Rxb3 Rxh3 47.Ke2) 43.Kf1 Kf7 44.Ke1 Ke7 (44...Rg2 45.Rxb4 Rxg3 46.h4 g4 47.Kf2 Rh3 48.Kg2 Rxh4 49.Rb3 is a well known fortress.) 45.Rb5 g4 (45...b3 46.Rxg5 Rg2 47.Rb5 Rxg3 48.h4) 46.Rxh5 b3 47.hxg4 Rg2 48.Rb5 b2 49.Kd1 Kf6 50.Rf5+ Kg6 51.Rb5 40...Kg6 41.Rb6+ Kg7 42.Rb7+?! Kf6 43.Rb6+ Ke5 44.Rxh6 Rd3 45.Rb6 (45.Rg6 b3 46.Rxg5+ Kd4 47.Rb5 Kc3 48.Kh2 b2 49.h4 Rd4–+) 45...b3 46.Rb4 (46.Rb5+ Kd4 47.Rxg5 b2 48.Rb5 Rd1+–+) 46...Kd5 47.Kg1 Kc5 48.Rb8 Kc4 49.Kf2 Kc3 50.Ke2 Rd2+ 51.Kf3 Rd4 0–1 A deserved reward for Alexei's great fighting spirit! Sources: ChessBase Magazine ChessBase MEGABASE 2003 The Week in Chess, weekly internet chess magazine edited by Mark Crowther file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (7 of 9) [09/04/2003 8:13:56 AM]

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Chess Today, daily internet newspaper by A.Baburin et al.Schach 4/2003 and 7/2003, German monthly magazine Secrets of Pawnless Endings, John Nunn, Batsford 1994 Fire on Board, Alexei Shirov, Cadogan 1997 Exercise (Solution next month) E33.01 A.Shirov (2699) M.Kazhgaleyev (2604) 6th Corsica Masters Bastia 2002 Is there a way for Black to move to save himself?

Solutions to last month exercises E32.01 B.Gelfand (2700) - A.Shirov (2723) Amber Rapid Monte Carlo 2003 Shirov forced the draw as follows: 74...g2!? (74...Re4?! 75.Rxg3 Rxd4 76.Rg2+ Kf1 (76...Ke3?? 77.Re2#) 77.Ra2 Rc4 should draw as well, but is unneccessary risky.) 75.Nxg2 (75.Rh2 Re4 76.Rxg2+ Ke3 77.Rg3+ Kxd4=) 75...Rxh3 76.Kxh3 Kf3 77.Ne1+ Ke4 78.Nc2 Kd3 and a draw was agreed as 79.Kg4?? even loses: 79...Kxc2 80.Kf4 Kd3 81.Ke5 Kc4–+

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E32.02 A.Shirov (2699) V.Mikhalevski (2524) 6th Corsica Masters Bastia 2002 Black resigned due to 47.Qg3+ Ke4 48.Qf3#

Copyright 2003 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in ChessCafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

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The Mighty Knight

Endgame Corner

Until now I have mostly emphasized that the knight is a shortrange, clumsy piece that can easily fall in zugzwang and can't lose a tempo. To get it the respect it certainly derserves, I have decided to show it in a brighter light now. It teams up well with the queen, likes to be near its king to defend it and can visit all the squares of the board. On a safe anchor square in the centre or near the enemy king it can even be worth a whole rook. It is a tactical piece (when it moves it loses control of all squares that it protects) and so concrete calculations usually predominate, like in my first example:

Karsten Müller

34.01 P.Leko (2740) - Computer Deep Junior Dortmund 2000 Leko had a winning position earlier, but now the computer mercilessly attacks him: 57...Qa2+ 58.Kh1 (58.Kf3 Qf2+ 59.Ke4 Qg2+ 60.Kxe3 Qxc6–+) 58...Nf5!? 59.Qe4 (59.c8Q Ng3+ 60.Kg1 Qf2#) 59...Qa1+ 60.Kh2 (60.Kg2 Qb2+ 61.Kf3 Qf2+ 62.Kg4 g6 63.Kg5 Qg3+ 64.Qg4 Qxg4+ 65.Kxg4 (65.hxg4 Nxd6–+) 65...e2 66.c8Q e1Q 67.Qd7+ Kh6–+

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What a knight!) 60...Qb2+ and Leko resigned due to 61.Kh1 g6 62.Qxf5 Qb7+–+

34.02 Chekhover 1938 One of the knight's weapons is the ability to erect a barrier: The short-range knight has mined the entire length of the c-file and b3: 1...Kb3 (1...Kc4 2.Ne4! f5 3.Nd6+=) 2.Ne4 f5 3.Ng3 f4 4.Ne2! f3 5.Nd4+ Kc3 6.Nxf3 h5 7.Ka2 Kd3 8.Kxa3 Ke3 9.Nh4= Of course not 9.Nh2?? Kf2–+ 34.03 K.Kachiani Gersinska (2437) - O.Brendel (2398) German Bundesliga 99/00 Sometimes the knight can be sacrificed: 62...Nxh3!? (62...Ke5 63.h4 Ne6+ 64.Ke7 g5 65.h5 (65.Re3+ Kf4 66.Rxe6 gxh4=) 65...Ng7 66.h6 Nf5+=) 63.Rxh3 g5 64.Ra3 (64.Rh8 Kf5 (64...g4?? 65.Rh5+-) 65.Ke7 g4 66.Rg8 Kf4 67.Kf6 (67.Ke6 g3 68.Kd5 Kf3 69.Rf8+ Ke2=) 67...g3 68.Kg6 g2 69.Kh5 Kf3 70.Kh4 Kf2=) 64...Kf5 65.Ke7 g4 66.Ra5+ Kf4 67.Kf6 g3 68.Ra4+ Kf3 69.Kf5 g2 ½–½

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34.04 Em.Lasker - Ed.Lasker New York 1924 In the next famous example the knight is a real hero: 73...Re8+ 74.Kd4 Rd8+ 75.Ke4 Frank Sawatzki (Germany) drew my attention to the move 75.Kc3 by claiming that it draws as well and it seems that he is just right, e.g. 75...Rd6 (75...Kd6 76.g5 Rf8 77.f5 Ke5 78.g6 Rd8 79.Kc2=) 76.g5 Kd7 77.f5 Ke7 78.Ng4 Kf8 (78...Kf7 79.Ne5+ Kf8 80.Ng6+ Kg7 81.Nf4 Rd1 82.Ne6+ Kf7 83.Nc5 Rc1+ 84.Kd4 Rc4+ 85.Ke5 Rxb4 86.g6+ Kg7 87.Ne6+ Kh6 88.Kf6 Rg4 89.Ke7 Rxg6 90.fxg6 Kxg6 91.Kd6=) 79.g6 Kg7 80.Ne3 Rd8 81.Ng4 Rc8+ (81...Rd1 82.Ne3=) 82.Kd3 a5 83.bxa5 b4 84.a6 b3 85.f6+ Kxg6 86.Ne5+ Kxf6 87.Nc4 Ke6 88.a7 Ra8 89.Kc3= 75...a5 76.bxa5 b4 77.a6 Kc5 78.a7 b3 79.Nd1 Ra8 80.g5 Rxa7 81.g6 Rd7 82.Nb2 Rd2 83.Kf3 Rd8 84.Ke4 Rd2 85.Kf3 Rd8 86.Ke4 Kd6 87.Kd4 Rc8 88.g7! Ke6 89.g8Q+ Rxg8 90.Kc4 Rg3 91.Na4 Kf5 92.Kb4 Kxf4

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When I was first told that this position is drawn many years ago I could not believe my eyes, but it is true: 93.Nb2 Ke4 94.Na4 Kd4 95.Nb2 Rf3 96.Na4 Re3 97.Nb2 Ke4 98.Na4 Kf3 99.Ka3! Not 99.Nb2? Ke2 100.Ka3 Kd2!! 101.Nc4+ Kc1 102.Nxe3 b2–+. 99...Ke4 100.Kb4 Kd4 101.Nb2 Rh3 102.Na4 Kd3 103.Kxb3 Kd4+ ½–½ 34.05 Behting 1906 Two well known studies follow to prove that incredible fortresses exist: 1.Kc6!! 1.Ng7+? should lose, but I am not 100% sure, e.g. 1...Kg5 2.Nf3+ Kg4 3.Ke4 h3 4.Nf5 g1Q 5.Nxg1 h2 6.Nxh6+ (6.Ne3+ Kh5 7.Nf3 h1Q 8.Nxc4 Kg4 9.Ne3+ Kg3 10.Nf5+ Kf2 11.N5h4 Qb1+ 12.Kf4 Qd3 13.Kg4) 6...Kh5 7.Nf3 h1Q 8.Nf5 and both positions are probably lost for White. But I have one caveat: many pawnless endgames Q vs 2N are drawn (for more details see Nunn's Secrets of Pawnless Endings). 1.Nf3? h3 2.Ke4 h2 3.Ng3+ Kg4 4.Nxh2+ Kxg3 5.Nf3 Kf2–+ 1...g1Q 2.Nxh4 and now Black can't prevent Nhf3 as he has only one check (thanks to the amazing key move 1.Kc6!!): 2...Qa1 (2...Qh1+ 3.Nhf3=) 3.Nhf3

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and a positional draw is reached as Black can't make progress as his king is firmly imprisoned and White will not fall into zugzwang.

34.06 V.Mihailov 1954 In the next study one knight is even sufficient: 1.Nxa7! g3 2.Nc6 g2 (2...bxc6?? even loses: 3.Kc7 g2 4.b7+ Ka7 5.b8Q+ Ka6 6.Qb6#) 3.Ne5 g1Q 4.Nd7= and Black's king is imprisoned for ever.

34.07 A.Saric (2394) - M.Cornette (2355) EU-ch U18 Peniscola 2002 With pawns on only one wing there are many fortresses in the endgame R vs N, but the following one could have been stormed: 61.Qg4 Qxg4 62.hxg4 Nh8 63.Kg3 Nf7 64.Kf4 Ng5 65.Re7 Kg6 66.Ra7 Kf6 67.Ra6+ Kf7 68.Kf5 and a draw was agreed, but the position is won for White, e.g. 68...Nh7 69.Ra7+ Kg8 70.Kg6 Nf8+ 71.Kf5 Nh7 (71...Kh7 72.g5 h5 73.g6+ Nxg6 74.Kg5 h4 75.Ra1 h3 76.Rh1+-) 72.g3 Ng5 73.Kg6 Ne6 74.g5! destroys the anchor square g5 74...hxg5 75.Ra8+ Nf8+ 76.Kxg5 Kf7 77.Ra7+ Kg8 78.Kf5 Kh7 79.g4 Ng6 80.Ra1 Ne7+ (80...Nh4+ file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (5 of 9) [10/01/2003 9:04:07 PM]

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81.Kg5 Nf3+ 82.Kf4 Nd4 83.Rd1 Ne6+ 84.Kf5 Nc5 85.Rd5+-) 81.Ke6 Ng6 82.g5 Kg8 White wins by using zugzwang and the threat g6: 83.Ra6 Kh7 84.Kf5 Nh4+ (84...Ne7+ 85.Kg4 Nd5 86.Rd6 Ne7 87.Re6 Nd5 88.g6+ Kh6 89.Kf5 Kh5 90.Re2+-) 85.Kg4 Ng6 86.Re6 Nf8 87.Re1 Ng6 (87...g6 88.Re7+ Kg8 89.Kf4 Nh7 90.Rxh7 Kxh7 91.Ke5+-; 87...Kg6 88.Re7 Nh7 89.Re6+ Kf7 90.g6+ Kxe6 91.gxh7+) 88.Re8 Nh8 89.Kf5 Ng6 90.Re4+a murderous zugzwang! 34.08 Computer Shredder Computer YACE Paderborn 2003 Last but not least a game from a computer tournament: YACE's (Yet Another Chess Engine) position looks overwhelming, but surprinsingly White could have saved himself: 99.e6! The game went 99.Kf2? Ke4 100.Kxg2 Kxd4 101.Kg3 Bd7 102.Kf2 (102.Kf4 Kc3 103.Nf3 Kb2–+) 102...Kxe5 103.Ne2 d4 104.Ke1 Bb5 105.Nc1 Bc4 106.Kd1 Kf4 107.Kd2 Ke4 108.Kc2 Ke3 109.Kb1 0–1 99...Kxe6 100.Kf4

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and White's fortress is impregnable, which is difficult to find for a computer program as it does not understand the very nature of this concept. 100...Bd1 101.Nh3 Kf6 It is also not possible to enter through the queenside: 101...Kd6 102.Ke3 Kc6 103.Kd2 Bg4 104.Ng1 Kb5 105.Kc3 Bf5 106.Nf3 and Black can't make progress as the bishop can't control d3, e2, f3 and h3 simulatneously and White does not fall into zugzwang. 102.Ng1 Bb3 (102...Bc2 103.Ne2 Be4 104.Ng1 Kg6 105.Kg4 Kh6 106.Kh4 Bf5 107.Kg3 Kg5 108.Kxg2 Kf4 109.Ne2+ Ke3 110.Nc3 Kxd4 111.Nxa4=) 103.Nf3 Bc4 104.Ng1 Bf1 105.Kg4 Kg6 106.Kf4 Kh5 107.Nh3 Kh4 (107...Be2 108.Kg3=) 108.Ng1 Reciprocal zugzwang with Black to move 108...Bd3 108...Ba6 109.Kf3 Kg5 110.Kxg2 Kf4 111.Kf2 Ke4 112.Ke1 Kd3 113.Ne2 Kc2 114.Nf4 Bc4 (114...Bb7 115.Ng2 Kd3 116.Kd1 Kxd4 117.Nf4 Kc3 118.Kc1 d4 119.Ne2+= and White’s king will reach the safe corner in time.) 115.Ng2 Kb2 116.Kd2 Kxa3 117.Kc3 Ka2 (117...Be2 118.Ne3 Bf3 119.Nc2+ Ka2 120.Kb4 Kb2 121.Na3 Bd1 122.Nb5=) 118.Ne3= 109.Kf3 Be4+ 110.Kf2 Kg4 111.Ne2 Bf3 112.Nc3 Kf4 113.Nxa4 Ke4 114.Nc5+ Kxd4 115.Ne6+ Kc4 116.Ng5= My analysis of this example was published first in the german Schachmagazin 64 early this year. Sources:

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ChessBase Magazine ChessBase MEGABASE 2003 The Week in Chess, weekly internet chess magazine edited by Mark Crowther Schachmagazin 64 A Chess Omnibus, Edward Winter, Russell Enterprises 2003 Fundamental Chess Endings, Karsten Müller and Frank Lamprecht, GAMBIT 2001 Die Endspiel Universität, Mark Dvoretsky, Chess Gate 2002 (in German). Mark's excellent and extremely instructive work will soon appear in English. Secrets of Pawnless Endings, 2nd edition, John Nunn, GAMBIT 2002 Exercise (Solution next month) E34.01 A.Herbstmann and L.Kubbel 1st Price Troitzky Tourney 1937 DIAGRAM White to move and draw

Solution to last month exercise E33.01 A.Shirov (2699) - M.Kazhgaleyev (2604) 6th Corsica Masters Bastia 2002 DIAGRAM

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Black could have drawn with 64...h4! In the game Black had to exchange queens and so the passed a-pawn decisived the matter easily: 64...Ne4? 65.Qf4+ Ke7 66.Bc6 Qd6 67.Qxd6+ Nxd6 68.a6 Nc8 69.Kg3 Kf6 70.Kf4 g5+ 71.Ke4 Ke6 72.Bb7 Na7 73.Kd4 Kd6 74.Kc4 h4 75.Kb4 Kc7 76.Kc5 Kb8 77.Kd5 1–0 65.Bg4 (65.a6 Nf5=) 65...Nf5 66.Bxf5 Qe5+ 67.Kg1 (67.g3 Qe2+ with perpetual check.) 67...Qe1+= Another example of Capablanca's Theorem, that Q+N are stronger than Q+B. By the way: Edward Winter has searched for quotes of Capablanca on the superiority of queen and knight over queen and bishop. You can find his results on page 200 of his excellent new work A Chess Omnibus. Copyright 2003 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in ChessCafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

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The Damned Pawn Part 1

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

From time to time readers of Fundamental Chess Endings ask me about the famous Troitzky endgame 2N vs P as it is only covered very briefly in FCE. Unfortunately I can't simply say: Look it up in Nunn's Secrets of Minor Piece Endgames as Nunn has excluded it from his thorough treatise as Trotizky's analysis was extremely accurate. Before him Chapais (1780) and GuretzkyCornitz had worked on solving the mysteries of this intriguing endgame and reached several results. But the true lord of this endgame is doubtlessly the great Russian analyst A.A.Troitzky. I can neither give all his results nor a full proof of them here. I will concentrate on techniques that shall help a practical player to understand the ending better:The endgame K+2N vs K is surprisingly drawn as the attacker can't avoid a stalemate defense, when the defending king is imprisoned in a corner. But an additional defending pawn opens Pandora's box as it can provide the desired tempi. The attacker should try to securely blockade the pawn as soon as possible to be able to win tempi for the blockading knight to approach the enemy king and to help in the mating process. But how far advanced can the pawn be, so that White can still force a mate no matter where all the pieces are (the pawn must be securely blockaded by a knight, of course)? Troitzky answered this question as follows: 35.01 The Troitzky Line

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If the pawn is securely blockaded by a white knight no further down than the line then Black loses, no matter where the kings are. If the pawn has advanced beyond the line, there is usually a drawing and a losing zone for the defending king, which were also analysed by Troitsky. But there is one caveat: This rule does not take the 50–move-rule into account. So over the board you may even with optimal play not be able to win some of the won positions, e.g., many positions with Black's pawn on d4 are not won with respect to the 50–move rule like wKh8,Nd3,c7;bKg6,Pd4 with Black to move is won in 82 moves. It would be interesting to find a "second Troitzky line", which takes the 50–move-rule into account. I guess that all the pawns should be one square farther back in order to always be able to win with respect to the 50–move-rule. By the way: the longest win in the ending K+2N vs K+P lasts an amazing number of 115 moves! 35.02 Longest Win Black starts with 1...Ne7! and mates in 115 moves! Before we enter the real jungle, I want to deal with two important techniques. The first is old and famous:

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35.03 Stamma's Mate E.Malmstig (2270) - K.Kiik (2438) SoLett op Skelleftea 1999 Unfortunaley Black ignored the golden moment, when Caissa was smiling at him: 85...Nd5+? The a7 knight can be sacrificed: 85...Ke7 86.Kb6 Kd6! A) 87.Ka5 Kc5! 88.Ka4 Kc4! 89.Ka3 Kc3 90.Ka2 Kc2 91.Ka3 Nd5! 92.Ka4 (92.Ka2?! Nb5 93.a7 Ndc3+ 94.Ka1 Nd4 95.a8Q Nb3#) 92...Kb2 93.Ka5 Kc3 94.Ka4 Nc7 95.Ka3 Ncb5+ 96.Ka2 Kc2 97.Ka1 Na3 98.Ka2 Nc4 99.Ka1 Kb3 100.Kb1 Nb2 101.Kc1 Kc3 102.Kb1 Nd3 103.Ka2 Kb4 104.Kb1 Kb3 105.Ka1 Kc2 106.Ka2 Nb5 107.a7 Nb4+ 108.Ka1 Nd4 109.a8Q Nb3# B) 87.Kxa7 Kc7! And now Black can deliver Stamma's famous mate: 88.Ka8 Nd5 89.Ka7 (89.a7?! Nb6#) 89...Ne7 90.Ka8 Nc8 forcing White to nail his own coffin 91.a7 Nb6# 86.Kb7 Nb5 87.a7 ½–½ Stamma's mate is the main reason why the rook's pawn can be so far advanced in the Troitzky line. In 35.03 the pawn has advanced one square farther than the line (in the following White's pawn on a6 is firmly blockaded by a black knight on a7), so a drawing zone for the defending king must exist. It is around the safe corner h1: c5-f5-g4-h3-h1–e1–d2-c3-c5. If Black's king is inside the zone then the postion is always drawn. If Black's king is file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (3 of 10) [10/31/2003 6:36:29 AM]

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caught near the h8-corner then White has to force it into the a1or a8-corner to give mate. The second method is a typical way to imprison the defending king. The attacker has to be very careful here, as the knight can't lose a tempo. So White to move would only draw the following position: 35.04 After Troitzky 1...Kg1 2.Ne3! the first step to imprison Black's king on g1 and h1 2...Kh1 3.Kg4! the king has to lose a tempo (3.Kg3?! Kg1 would leave White "on the wrong foot" (this term was coined by Nunn).) 3...Kh2 4.Kh4 Kh1 5.Kh3! now White is on the "right foot" 5...Kg1 6.Kg3 Kh1 And finally the time has come to release the blockading knight from its duty 7.Nd3 b2 8.Nf2+ Kg1 9.Nh3+ Kh1 10.Ng4 forcing the damned pawn to seal Black's fate 10...b1Q 11.Ngf2# The Knight's inability to lose a tempo makes this endings very tricky. No less than 3,124 reciprocal zugzwang positions exist according to John Nunn. The next example shows a typical win, when the pawn is blockaded on or below the Troitzky line:

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35.05 M.Vaculik (2150) - M.Vokac (2490) Ceske Budejovice open 1999 Black's aims are as follows: force White near the first rank and imprison it there. Then it is possible to mate White in the h1- or the a1-corner. To reach the first aim White has to act very precisely: 46...Ned3+ 47.Ke4 Ke6 48.Kd4 Kf5 49.Ke3 49.Kc4 loses as well, e.g. 49...Ke4 50.Kb5 Kd5 51.Kb6 Ne5 52.Kb5 Nec6 53.Kb6 Nd4 54.Kc7 Ke6 55.Kd8 Nb5 56.Kc8 Ke7 57.Kb7 Kd6 58.Kc8 Nd4 59.Kd8 Ndc6+ 60.Ke8 Ne5 61.Kf8 Ke6 62.Kg7 Ke7 63.Kh6 Kf6 64.Kh5 Kf5 65.Kh4 Nf3+ 66.Kg3 Ng5 67.Kh4 Ne4 68.Kh3 Kg5 and we have reached the game at the 66th move. 49...Ke5 50.Kf3 Nf4 51.Ke3 Nfd5+ 52.Kf3 Kf5 53.Kg3 Nf6 54.Kf3 Ng4 55.Ke2 Ke4 56.Kd2 Kd4 57.Ke2 Ne5 58.Kd2 Nf3+ 59.Ke2 Ke4 60.Kf2 Nd4 61.Kg3 61...Kf5! White's king shall not escape in the direction of the north east corner. 62.Kf2 Kf4 63.Kg2 Nf5 64.Kf2 Ng3 65.Kg2 Ne4 66.Kh3 Kg5 67.Kg2 Kg4 68.Kf1 Kf3 69.Ke1 Ng3 70.Kd2 Ne2

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Now White's king is firmly caught near the right edge. Note that Black's blocking knight completes the barrier! 71.Ke1 Ke3 72.Kf1 Nf4! Black starts the typical maneuver to imprison White's king 73.Ke1 Ng2+

White can now only choose in which corner he wants to perish 74.Kd1 74.Kf1 loses as follows (compare 35.04): 74...Kf3 75.Kg1 Ne3 76.Kh2 Kg4 77.Kh1 Kg3 78.Kg1 Nd3 79.b4 Nf2 80.b5 Nh3+ 81.Kh1 Ng4 82.b6 Ngf2# 74...Kd3 75.Kc1 Ne3 76.Kb2 Nec2 77.Kc1 Ke2 78.Kb1 Na3+ 79.Kb2 Nb5 A typical set up of the knights. White's king can't break through their barrier 80.Kc1 Ke1 81.Kb1 Kd2 82.Kb2 Nd3+ 83.Ka2 Kc2 and White resigned due to 84.b4 Nc1+ 85.Ka1 Nd4 86.b5 Ndb3# Superb technique by Marek Vokac! I want to end this part of my discussion with a nice underpromotion to a knight. Next month I will deal with very complex positions and more examples of drawing zones.

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35.06 M.Pervushov (2158) V.Yanvarev RUS-ch U14 Toljatti 2000 94.Ne3 Ka3 95.Nc5 Kb2 96.Kb4 e4 97.Na4+ Kc1 98.Kc3 Kb1 99.Nb2 Ka2 100.Nbc4 Kb1 101.Kd2 Ka2 102.Kc2 Ka1 103.Nd6 Ka2 104.Nb5 Ka1 105.Nf5 e3 106.Nc3 e2 107.Nd4 e1N+ (107...e1Q 108.Nb3#) 108.Kb3 1-0 And Black is in fatal zugzwang. A very good performance by White! Does every Russian schoolboy know how to win this endgame?

Sources: A. Troitzky, Collection of Chess Studies, 1937 Richard Forster, Late Knight column 24, www.chesscafe.com, April 2000, Late Knights' Tango: The Troitzky Endgame Balashov, Prandstetter, Basic Endgames, Prague Chess Agency 1992, p.55-65 Cheron, Lehr- und Handbuch der Endspiele, Band 2, 2nd edition, Verlag Das Schach Archiv 1964, pp.220–250 Speelman, Tisdall, Wade, Batsford Chess Endings, Batsford 1993, pp.112–115 John Nunn, Secrets of Minor Piece Endings, Batsford 1995 Exercises (Solutions next month)

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E35.01 C.O'Shaughnessy (2195) N.Frost (2109) BCF-chT2 0001 (4NCL) England 2000 How to blockade Black's pawn to prevent it from crossing Troitzky's demarcation line? (White is to move)

E35.02 S.Stanek - P.Skacelik (2240) Duras BVK op-A Brno 2001 White's king has two options, but only one saves it...

E35.03 A.Gual Pascual (2400) A.van Benthem (2284) Hostafrancs op 3rd Barcelona 2001 Is Black doomed or is there a saving move for him? What happens, if Black's king is on e3 instead of d4?

E35.04 A.Tzermiadianos (2460) H.Banikas (2521) GRE-ch51 Athens 2001 Is there an escape for White into the drawing zone?

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E35.05 A.Elfert (2239) A.Shchegolev Suetin mem Tula 2002 Black's king has two options available...

Solution to last month exercise E34.01 A.Herbstmann and L.Kubbel 1st Price Troitzky Tourney 1937 1.Ng1 Ne3+ 1...e1Q 2.Nf3+=; 1...Nf4+ 2.Kh1 e1N 3.Nf3+ Nxf3 stalemate; 1...e1N+ 2.Kxf1= 2.Kh3 2.Kh2? e1N! and the three knights win against White's knight. Note that the 50-move rule has a strong influence on this endgame, but in studies there is no 50-move rule. There a win is a win no matter how long it lasts until a pawn moves or something is exchanged. 2...Nf4+ (2...e1N 3.Nf3+ Nxf3 stalemate) 3.Kh2 (3.Kh4? e1Q+–+) 3...Ng4+ (3...e1N 4.Nf3+ Nxf3+ 5.Kg3=) 4.Kh1 Nf2+ 4...e1N 5.Nf3+ Nxf3 stalemate; 4...e1Q stalemate 5.Kh2 e1N 6.Nf3+ Nxf3+ 7.Kg3 Ke3 stalemate. This is one of my favourite studies. A real masterpiece!

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Copyright 2003 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in ChessCafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

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The Damned Pawn Part 2 The "Second Troitzky-line Solved!"

Endgame Corner

Helmut Conrady solved, with Rafael Andrist's program Wilhelm which analyses the Nalimov tablebases, my question from last month column (see the ChessCafe Archives). The "second Trotizkyline", which takes the 50–move-rule into account is as follows: 36.01

Karsten Müller If Black's pawn is securely blockaded by a white knight not farther down the board than the given line, then the attacker can always force in win within 50 moves. But it has to be noted that the attacker also wins with a blocked pawn on b6 or b7 (resp. g6 or g7) in at least 99% of all cases. Attacking techniques Before I deal with the drawing zones in more detail I will present several basic techniques: Losing a tempo As the knight can't lose a tempo Richard Forster coined the following rule: If you can't make direct progress consider a triangulation. Here is a case in point: file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (1 of 17) [12/3/2003 11:58:25 AM]

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35.02 Triangulation 1...Kf3! 2.Kh1 (2.Kh2 Kg4 3.Kh1 Kh3 is the same.) 2...Kg4 3.Kh2 Kh4 4.Kh1 Kh3! After 4...Kg3?! 5.Kg1 Black has to start again. 5.Kg1 Kg3 6.Kh1 and finally the blockading knight can be released from duty and join the attack: 6...Nc5 7.a6 Ne4 8.a7 Nf2+ 9.Kg1 Nh3+ 10.Kh1 Ng4 11.a8Q Ngf2# Changing the direction Sometimes it is not possible to mate the king and one has to "change direction": 35.03 After Chéron White can't mate Black's king on the a-file. It must be first forced to the first rank: 1.Nc4 (1.Kb3?! Kc1 2.Nc4? Kd1!= and the king escapes.) 1...Ka2 1...Kc1 2.Nb2 Kb1 3.Nd3! Ka2 4.Kb4 Ka1 5.Ka3 Kb1 6.Kb3 Ka1 7.Ne3 g2 8.Nc2+ Kb1 9.Na3+ Ka1 10.Nb4 g1Q 11.Nbc2# 1...Ka1 2.Kb3 Kb1 3.Nb2 Kc1 4.Kc3 Kb1 5.Nd3 Ka2 6.Kb4+2.Kc2 Ka1

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And now comes the second step, which changes the direction: 3.Kb3! (3.Na3?! Ka2 4.Nb1 Ka1 5.Ne3? g2=) 3...Kb1 4.Nb2 Kc1 5.Kc3 Kb1 6.Nd3 Ka1 7.Kb4! Ka2 8.Ka4 Ka1 9.Ka3 Kb1 10.Kb3 Ka1 11.Ne3 g2 12.Nc2+ Kb1 13.Na3+ Ka1 14.Nb4 g1Q 15.Nbc2# A sidecheck is another important weapon: 35.04 Henry's sidecheck White a-pawn has crossed the demarcation line, but his king is firmly caught in the losing zone and perishes due to Stamma's mate, sidechecks and changing the direction together with the usual techniques: 1...Nh6+ 2.Kg7 2.Ke7 Ke5 3.Kd7 Nf5 4.Kc7 Ne7! 5.Kb7 Kd6 and White can't take on a7 due to Stamma's mate: 6.Kxa7 (6.Kb8 Kc6 7.Ka8 Kb6 8.Kb8 Nac6+ 9.Ka8 Nd5 10.a7 Nc7#; 6.Kb6 Nec8+ 7.Ka5 Kc5 8.Ka4 Kc4 9.Ka3 Kc3 10.Ka2 Nd6 loses as in the main line.) 6...Kc7 7.Ka8 Nc8 8.a7 Nb6# 2...Kg5 3.Kh7 Black must now force White from the wrong h8-corener into a right corner. 3...Nf5 4.Kg8 Kf6 5.Kh7 Kf7 6.Kh8 Kg6 7.Kg8 Ne7+ Another nasty sidecheck 8.Kf8 (8.Kh8?! Nac6 9.a7 Ne5 10.a8Q Nf7#) 8...Kf6 9.Ke8 Ng6 10.Kd7

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10...Ke5! 11.Kc7 Nf8 12.Kb6 Kd6! 13.Ka5 13.Kxa7?!

allows Stamma's mate: 13...Kc7 14.Ka8 Nd7 15.Ka7 Nf6 16.Ka8 Nd5 17.Ka7 Ne7 18.Ka8 Nc8 19.a7 Nb6# 13...Kc5 14.Ka4 Kc4 15.Ka3 Kc3 16.Ka2 Nd7 17.Kb1 Kd2 18.Ka2 Kc2 19.Ka3 Kc3 20.Ka2 Nc5 21.Ka3 Nb3 22.Ka2 Nd2 23.Ka3 Nb1+ Another sidecheck 24.Ka2 Kc2 25.Ka1 Nd2 26.Ka2 Nc4 27.Ka1 Now Black has to change the direction: 27...Kb3! 28.Kb1 Nb2 29.Kc1 Kc3 30.Kb1 Nd3 31.Ka2 Kb4 32.Kb1 Kb3 33.Ka1

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and Black must now change the direction again to be able to release the blockading knight: 33...Kc2! 34.Ka2 Nb5! 35.a7 Nb4+ 36.Ka1 Nd4 37.a8Q Nb3#

Practical Examples 36.05 M.Malo Quiros (2217) - E.Rozentalis (2553) Malaga op 3rd 2000 Rozentalis wins in an instructive way. At first he uses the knight barrier, which is even better with a more central pawn, of course: 52...Na7!? 53.Ke5 Nb5 54.Ke4 (54.Ke6 Kc5 55.Ke5 Nc3 and Black mates in 87 moves according to the Nalimov tablebase.) 54...Nd4 55.Ke5 Kc5 56.Ke4 Nc6!? Taking e5 away to force a concession 57.Kf5 Kd6 58.Kf4 Kd5 59.Kf5 And now he gives a sidecheck: 59...Ne7+!? 60.Kf4 Kd4 The usual opposition is of course another weapon to force concessions 61.Kg5 Ke5 62.Kg4 Nd5! The knight wants to control g4 63.Kg5 Nf6 64.Kg6 Ne4 65.Kh5 Kf5 66.Kh4 66.Kh6 Nd6 67.Kh5 Nf7 68.Kh4 Kf4 69.Kh5 Ne5 70.Kh6 Kg4 71.Kg7 Kf5 72.Kh6 Nf3 73.Kg7 Nd4 74.Kh7 Kg5 75.Kg7 Nc6 76.Kf7 Kf5 77.Kg7

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Now the blockading knight is replaced by its college on a7 to win like in 36.04. This attacking technique is very rare and almost mystical. 77...Nc7!! 78.Kh6 Kg4 79.Kg6 Nd5 80.Kf7 Kf5 81.Kg7 Nf4 82.Kf7 Ke5 83.a6 Na7! 84.Ke7 Ng6+ 85.Kf7 Kf5 and Black wins as in 36.04.

66...Nf6 67.Kg3 Ke4 68.Kf2 Nh5 69.Ke2?! (69.Kg2 is much more tenacious.) 69...Ng3+ Another sidecheck 70.Kf2 Kf4 71.Kg2 Ne4 72.Kh3 (72.Kf1 Kf3 73.Ke1 Ke3 74.Kf1 Ng3+ 75.Kg2 Nf5 76.Kf1 Nh4 77.Kg1 Ke2 78.Kh2 Kf3 79.Kg1 Nf5 80.Kf1 Nd6 81.Ke1 Ne4 82.Kf1 Nd2+ another sidecheck 83.Ke1 Ke3 84.Kd1 Nf3 85.Kc1 Kd4 86.Kc2 Kc4 87.Kc1 Kc3 88.Kd1 Kd3 89.Kc1 Nd4 90.Kd1 Nc2 91.Kc1 Ne3–+ and so on.) A typical manover follows: 72...Kg5 73.Kh2 Kh4 74.Kg2 Kg4 75.Kh2 (75.Kf1 Kf3 76.Ke1 Ke3 77.Kf1 Kd2 78.Kg2 Ke2 79.Kh3 Kf3 80.Kh4 Kf4) and now the knight head to f4: 75...Nf2 76.Kg2?! Nd3 77.Kh2 Nf4 78.Kg1

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and Black wins with the usual method: 78...Kf3 79.Kf1 Ng2 80.Kg1 Ne3 81.Kh2 Kg4 82.Kh1 Kh3! 83.Kg1 Kg3 84.Kh1 Ng4 85.Kg1 Nh2 86.Kh1 Nc5 87.Kg1 Ne4 and White resigned due to 88.a6 Nf2 89.a7 Nh3+ 90.Kh1 Ng4 91.a8Q Ngf2# Sadler also does not play badly in the next example, but misses one subtle mate and then the 50–move rule recues White: 36.06 F.Nijboer (2515) - M.Sadler (2667) Sonsbeek SNS Arnhem 1999 I start a bit earlier as White faces a difficult choice here. But with help of the Troitzy line it is easy to see that 61.b4?! is weak as the f-pawn can now be blocked on the demarcation line. 61.f5! was the easiest way to draw: 61...Nf6 (61...Nxf5 62.b4=) 62.b4 now both pawns have crossed the line and the position is drawn. 61...Nf5!? 62.b5 Kc5 63.b6? Now it is over. 63.Ka6 Nb6 64.Ka5! Nc4+ 65.Ka6=

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and White to move would lose, but Black can't lose a tempo. 63...Nxb6 64.Ka6 Nc4 65.Kb7 Kd6 66.Kc8

66...Na5!? 67.Kd8 Nb7+ a deadly sidecheck 68.Ke8 Ke6 69.Kf8 Nbd6 70.Kg8 Ke7 71.Kh7 Kf7 72.Kh8

2...Kg6?! The right way was 72...Ne4 73.Kh7 Nc5 74.Kh8 Ke7 75.Kh7 Kf6 76.Kg8 Ne6 77.Kh7 Kf7 78.Kh8 Nh6 79.Kh7 (79.f5 Ng5 80.f6 Kf8 81.f7 Nhxf7#) 79...Ng8 80.f5 Ng5+ 81.Kh8 Ne7 82.f6 Ng6# 73.Kg8 Nf7 74.Kf8 N7h6?! Sadler makes it very hard for himself 75.Ke8 Kg7 76.Kd8 Kf7 77.Kd7 Ng4 78.Kc6 Ke6 79.Kc5 Kd7 80.Kd5 Nge3+ 81.Ke5 Ke7 82.Ke4 Kd6 83.Kd3 Kd5 84.Kc3 Nc4 85.Kd3 Ncd6 86.Kc3 Ke4? 86...Kc5 still wins within the bounds of the 50 move rule. 87.Kb3 Kd3 88.Kb4 Kd4 89.Kb3 Ne4 90.Kb4 Nc3 91.Kb3 Nd5 92.Kb2 Kc5 93.Kc1 Nb4 94.Kd1 Kc4 95.Ke2 Nd5 96.Kf3 Nf6

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A very good barrier. Remember this weapon! 97.Ke2 Kc3 98.Ke1 Ne4 99.Ke2 Nd2 100.Ke1 Kd3 101.Kf2 Ne4+ 102.Ke1 Nc3 103.Kf1 Kd4 104.Kf2 Ke4 105.Kf1 Kf3 106.Ke1 Ke3 107.Kf1 Ne4 108.Ke1 Nf2 109.Kf1 Nd3 110.Kg2 Ke2 111.Kh2 Kf3 112.Kh3 Nf2+ 113.Kh2 Ne3?! Hoping for f5, (113...Ng4+ wins faster without the 50 move rule: 114.Kh3 Nge3 115.Kh2 Kg4 116.Kg1 Kg3 117.Kh1 Nd4 118.f5 Nf3 119.f6 Ng4 120.f7 Nf2#) but White successfull claimed a draw according to the 50–move rule. Otherwise he would soon be mated: 114.f5 Neg4+ 115.Kg1 Nf6 116.Kh2 N2e4 117.Kh3 Ke3 118.Kh2 Kf2 119.Kh3 Kf3 120.Kh4 Kf4 121.Kh3 Nd2 122.Kg2 Ke3 123.Kg3 Nf1+ 124.Kg2 Ke2 125.Kh3 Kf3 126.Kh4 Kf4 127.Kh3 Ne3 128.Kh4 Ng2+ 129.Kh3 Kf3 and so on. Drawing Zones When the attacking pawn has crossed the Troitzky line, there is a drawing zone for the defending king. When it is not within the zone, it perishes: 36.07 I.Rogers (2595) - M.Gurevich (2605) Biel Interzonal 1993 88...Ke1 89.Kb1 89.Kb2 Kd2 90.Kb3 Nd3 91.Ka4 Nc5+ 92.Kb4 Nd7 again this barrier 93.Kb3 Kd3 94.Kb4 Kc2 95.Ka3 Kc3 96.Ka4 Kc4 97.Ka3 Nc5 98.Kb2 Kd3 99.Kc1 Na4 100.Kd1 Nb2+ A deadly sidecheck 101.Ke1 Ke3 102.Kf1 Nd3 103.Kg2 Kf4 104.Kh3 Kf3 105.Kh4 Nf2 106.Kg5 Ng4 107.Kh5 Kf4 108.Kg6 Ke5 109.Kg5 Nf2 110.Kg6 Nfe4 111.Kh5 Kf4 112.Kh4 Ng5 113.Kh5 Nf3 114.Kh6 Ke4 115.Kg6 Ke5 116.Kh6

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Kf6 117.Kh5 Kf5 118.Kh6 Nh4 119.Kh5 Ng6 120.Kh6 Nf4 121.Kg7 Kg5 122.Kf8 Ng6+ 123.Kg7 Ne5 124.Kf8 Kf6 125.Kg8 Nd7 126.Kh7 Nf5 127.d6 Kf7 128.Kh8 Kg6 129.Kg8 Nh6+ 130.Kh8 Ne5 131.d7 Nef7#

89...Kd2 90.Kb2 Nc2? 90...Nd3+ is more precise. 91.Kb3 Kd3 92.Kb2? 92.Ka4 was called for. 92...Nd4 93.Kb1 Kd2 94.Kb2?! 94.Ka2 Kc2 95.Ka3 Nb3 96.Kb4 Kb2 97.Ka4 Kc3 98.Ka3 Nc5 99.Ka2 Nd3 100.Ka3 Nb2 and so on. 94...Nc4+ 95.Kb1 Ne2 0–1 96.d6 Nc3+ 97.Ka1 Kc2 98.d7 Na5 99.d8Q Nb3#

Sometimes the drawing zone is very small: 36.08 Only f2 and its neighborhood is safe, when Black defends circumspectly: 1.Kd1 Kf1 2.Nf5 Kf2 3.N5h4 Kf1! 3...Kg3? 4.Ke2 loses. 4.Kd2 Kf2 5.Kd3 Kf1! 6.Ke4 Kf2 7.Kf5 Kg3!= 7...Ke2? 8.Kg4 Kf1 9.Kh3 Kf2 10.Kh2 Kf1 11.Ng6 Kf2 12.Nge5 Kf1 13.Ng4 Ke2 14.Kg2 and Black's king is forced to leave the drawing zone. I want to end this discussion with two examples of simplification into the Troitzky endgame: 36.09 S.Galdunts (2435) - L.Nisipeanu (2594) Gelsenkirchen Masters op 1999

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60.Ne3+ 60.Nc3 Nxf4+ 61.Kd1 Ng2 62.Ke2 Nge3 63.e6 Kxe6 64.Kf2 Ke5 65.Ke2 Kd4 66.Nb5+ Kc5 67.Nc3 Kb4 68.Kd3 Kb3 69.Kd4 Nc2+ 70.Kd3 Ne1+ 71.Kd4 Nf3+ 72.Kd3 Nb2+–+ 60.Kd1 Ke4 61.Nb6 Nxb6 62.Kxd2 Kxf4–+ 60...Nxe3 61.Kxd2 Kxf4 62.Kd3 Kf3 63.Kd2 Ke4 64.Ke2 Nc4 65.Kf2 Nd2 66.Ke2 Nf3 67.Kd1?! 67.Kf2 was called for, which may even draw due to the 50 move rule. 67...Kd3 68.Kc1 Nfd4 69.Kd1 Nc2 70.Kc1 Ne3 71.Kb2 Kc4 72.Kc1 Kc3 73.Kb1 Nc4 74.Kc1 Nb2 75.Kb1 Nd3 76.Ka2 Kb4 77.Ka1 Ka3 0–1 36.10 L.Orak (2343) - S.Kosanski (2420) CRO-chT Pula 1999 White must push the right pawn to draw: 56.e6? (56.h5! Nh6+ 57.Kg5 Neg8 58.Kf4! Ke6 59.Ke4!

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and Black can't win as he is unable to block one of the white pawns on the Troitzky line.) 56...Kxe6 57.h5 Nh6+ 58.Kf4 (58.Kg5 Nef5–+) 58...Nef5 59.Ke4 Kd6 60.Kd3 Kd5 61.Kc3 Nd6 62.Kd3 Nc4 63.Kc3 Ne5 64.Kb4 Nd3+ 65.Kb5 Nf4 66.Kb4 Ne2 67.Kb5 Nc3+ 68.Kb4 Ne2 69.Kb5 Nc3+ 70.Kb4 Kd4 71.Kb3 Nd5 72.Kc2 Ne7 73.Kb3 Nc6 74.Kc2 Na5 75.Kd2?! 75.Kb2! was called for. This should draw easily due to the 50-move rule although the position is lost in 73 moves. 75...Nb3+ 76.Kc2 Kc4 77.Kb2 Nd4 78.Ka3 Kb5 79.Kb2 Kb4 80.Ka2 Ndf5 81.Kb2?! 81.Kb1 was more tenacious. 81...Ne3 82.Kc1 Kc3 83.Kb1 Nc4 84.Ka2 84.Kc1 Nb2 85.Kb1 Nd3 and so on. 84...Kc2 85.Ka1 Nf5 86.h6 Nd4 87.h7 Nb3+ 88.Ka2 Nc1+ 89.Ka1 0-1 Sources: A. Troitzky, Collection of Chess Studies, 1937. Richard Forster, Late Knights' Tango: The Troitzky Endgame, www.chesscafe.com, April 2000 Balashov, Prandstetter, Basic Endgames, Prague Chess Agency 1992, p.55-65. Chéron, Lehr- und Handbuch der Endspiele, Band 2, 2nd edition, Verlag "Das Schach Archiv" 1964, p.220–250. Batsford Chess Endings, Speelman, Tisdall, Wade, Batsford 1993, p.112–115. Exercises (Solutions next month)

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E36.01 V.Karasev (2353) V.Turikov (2286) White Nights op St Petersburg 1999 Find a way for Black to win! Analyse it to the end!

E36.02 N.Ristic (2464) J.Nikolac (2428) BIH-chT Neum 2002 White to move and mate in 3 moves

E36.03 P.Simacek (2402) R.Lobejko (2344) Trinec op 2002 Prove that White wins regardless of what Black plays now!

E36.04 V.Topalov (2702) A.Karpov (2696) Amber-rapid 9th Monte Carlo 2000 Can Black hold this position?

Solutions to last month exercises file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (13 of 17) [12/3/2003 11:58:25 AM]

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E35.01 C.O'Shaughnessy (2195) N.Frost (2109) BCF-chT2 0001 (4NCL) England 2000 White's king must blockade the pawn on g6, so that his knights can stop it on g5, which is enough to satisfy Troitzky's rule: 64.Ng4? 64.Kg6! Ke5 65.Ng4+ Kf4 66.Nf2 Ke5 67.Nh3 Ke6 68.Ng5+ Ke5 69.Nh4 Kf4 70.Nhf3 Kg4 71.Kf7+- and White has blockaded the black pawn securely on the Troitzky line.

64...Kd5? 64...g6! draws as it is impossible to blockade the pawn on g5 with a knight. 65.Ne7+ from now on White demonstrates good technique and wins instructively: 65...Ke4 66.Ng6 Kd4 67.Kf5 Kd5 68.Ne3+ Kd4 69.Kf4 Kd3 70.Nf5 Kc3 71.Ke4 Kc4 72.Nd6+ Kc3 73.Ke3 Kc2 74.Ne4 Kb3 75.Kd4 Kb4 76.Nc3 Kb3 77.Nd5 Kc2 78.Ke3 Kb3 79.Kd3 Ka4 80.Kc4 Ka5 81.Nc3 Kb6 82.Kd5 Ka5?! 83.Kc5 Ka6 84.Nd5 Ka5 85.Nb6 Ka6 86.Nc4 Ka7 87.Kd6 Kb7 88.Kd7 Ka7 89.Kc7 Ka6 90.Kc6 Ka7 91.Nd6 Ka6 92.Nb7 Ka7 93.Nc5 Kb8 94.Kd7 Ka7 95.Kc7 Ka8 96.Nd7 Ka7 97.Nb8 Ka8 98.Ne7 g5 99.Nec6 g4 100.Nd7 1–0 E35.02 S.Stanek - P.Skacelik (2240) Brno Duras BVK op-A 2001 White's king must move away from the blockading knight of course: 101.Ke1? 101.Kc1! Kc3 102.Kb1 Nd3 103.Ka2 Kb4 104.Kb1 Kb3 105.Ka1

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105...Kc2 Black changes the direction. The direct (105...Nc1 does not help either, e.g. 106.Kb1 Na2 107.Ka1 Ne5 108.g6 Nc3?! 109.g7 Nc4 110.g8Q=) 106.Ka2 Nb2 107.Ka3 Kc3 108.Ka2 Nc4 109.Kb1 Kd2 110.Ka2 Kc2 111.Ka1 Na3 112.Ka2 Nb1 113.Ka1 Ne5 114.g6 Nf3 115.g7 Nd4 116.g8Q Nc3 117.Qc4 Nb3+ 118.Qxb3+ Kxb3 stalemate. 101...Ke3 102.Kf1 Nd3 103.Kg2 Nde5 104.Kf1 Nf3 105.Kg2 Ke2 and the game was drawn due to the 50-move rule. But the position is won for Black as White's king is firmly imprisoned in the losing zone: 106.Kg3 Nfe5 Now the knights create a barrier. 107.Kg2 Nc4! Black transfers his free knight to e3 to strengthen the barrier: 108.Kg3 Ne3 109.Kh2 Kf2 110.Kh3 Kf3 111.Kh2 Nf4 112.g6 (112.Kg1 Kg3 113.g6 Nh3+ 114.Kh1 Ng4 115.g7 Ngf2#) 112...Kf2! 113.g7 Ng4+ 114.Kh1 Nh5 115.g8Q Ng3# E35.03 A.Gual Pascual (2400) A.van Benthem (2284) Hostafrancs op 3rd Barcelona 2001 Black's pawn must hurry to cross the Troitzky line: 68...a5! After 68...Kd5? White manages to blockade the pawn on a4: 69.Nc3+ Kc5 70.Ke4 a5 (70...Kb4 71.Kd4 a5 72.Nd3+ Kb3 73.Nc5+ Kb4 74.N5a4+-) 71.Nd3+ Kc4 72.Na4 Kb5 73.Ndb2+- 69.Nc6+ Kd5 ½–½ with Black's king file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (15 of 17) [12/3/2003 11:58:25 AM]

Endgame Corner

on e3 only 1...Kd4!! saves Black. E35.04 A.Tzermiadianos (2460) H.Banikas (2521) GRE-ch51 Athens 2001 White's king must escape from the dangerous corner immediately. But as the h1 corner is also not safe, the monarch has to dance in the middle: 100.Ka2? (100.Kc1! Nd3+ 101.Kd1! Nf4 102.Kc1! Ne2+ 103.Kd1! Kd3 104.Ke1 Nc3 105.Kf2! Nce4+ 106.Ke1! Ke3 107.Kd1!=) 100...Nd3 101.Ka3 Nb2 and now the typical mating procedure follows: 102.Ka2 Nc4 103.Kb1 Kd2 104.Ka2 Kc2 105.Ka1 Ne4 106.g5 Nc3 0–1 107.g6 Nd2 108.g7 Nb3# E35.05 A.Elfert (2239) A.Shchegolev Suetin mem Tula 2002 As in E 35.02, the king must head for the safe corner (in this case a8): 79...Kd8! 79...Kf8? 80.Nf6 Kg7 81.Ke7 Kg6 82.Nfe4+- see E.35.02. 80.Kd6 Ke8 81.Nf6+ Kf7 82.Nfe4 Ke8 83.Nf6+ Kf7 84.Nxg4 Kg6 ½–½ Copyright 2003 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in ChessCafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

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Endgame Corner

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Endgame Corner

Readers Write

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

The two fascinating articles by Mark Dvoretsky in his November and December Instructor column have provoked many responses. Mark has already included several in his last column and will include all interesting finds in new edition of his Endgame Manual. But he discusses a completely different subject this month, so he had no space for IM Julen Luis Arizmendi Martinez’s fascinating discoveries. So he generously allowed me to publish them here (I have edited them slightly). Many thanks also to IM Julen Luis Arizmendi Martinez for his kind permission to use his analysis here: 37.01 Analysis of Leko - Anand Linares 2003 Arizmendi believes that White wins this position in any case due to his very good structure on the kingside, which makes it extremely difficult to generate counterplay for Black. I now hand over the microphone to Arizmendi, my remarks start with KM:" 7...Rc4 8.f3! I believe White is winning here, for there is, in my opinion, a flaw in Leko’s analysis. 8...Rc2 9.f4 Rc3+! 10.Kf2 gxf4 (10...f6!? is a try. I analize it separately in game 2.) 11.Rxf4 Ra3 12.Rf5 f6 13.Rb5 Kf7

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Endgame Corner

And here I think the winning move is 14.Ke2! which wins a whole tempo over the Hungarian’s line, for I see nothing better than KM: Leko had given 14.Rb7+? Ke6 15.Rb6+ Ke5 16.a6 Kf4 = at www.chessgate.de. For the game continuation and further analysis you can either consult Endgame Corner 30.04 or Mark Dvoretsky's analysis in his December 2003 Instructor column. 14...Ke6 14...Ra4 15.Kf3 (also 15.Kd3 is interesting 15...Rxg4 16.a6 Ra4 17.Rb6 Rh4 18.Kc3 Ke7 19.Rb4 and white has good winning chances.) 15...Ke7 16.Rb7+ A) 16...Kf8 17.Ra7 Ke8 18.a6 Kf8 (18...Kd8 19.Ra8+ Kc7 20.a7 Kb7 21.Rh8 Kxa7 22.Rxh6+-) 19.Ke3 Ke8 20.Ra8+ Kf7 (20...Kd7 21.a7 Kc7 22.Rh8+-) 21.Kd3 Kg7 22.Kc3 Kf7 (22...Rxg4 23.Ra7+ Kg8 24.Rb7+-) 23.Kb3 and White wins. B) 16...Kd8 17.Rf7+C) 16...Ke6 17.Rb6+ brings us back to the main line. 14...Ke7 15.Rb7+ Kd6 16.Rb6+ transposes as well. 15.Rb6+ Ke5 16.a6

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Endgame Corner

and now the pawn race is lost. 16...Kf4 16...Ra4 does not work either. 17.Kd3 Rd4+ (17...Rxg4 18.Rb5+ Kd6 19.Ra5) 18.Kc3 Rxg4 19.Rb5+ Ke6 20.Ra5 Rg8 21.a7 Ra8 22.Kd4 with a winning position for White. KM: Let me add 22...Kd7 (22...f5 23.Ra6+ Kd7 24.Rxh6 Kc7 25.Rf6 Kb7 26.Rxf5+-) 23.Ke4 Kc6 24.Kf5 Kb6 25.Ra1+17.Rxf6+ Kxg4 18.Rxh6 Kg5 19.Rb6 Kxh5 20.Kd2 Kg5 21.Kc2 Kf5 22.Kb2 Ra5 23.Kb3 Ke5 24.Kb4 Ra1 25.Kc5++37.02 Analysis of Leko - Anand Linares 2003 Arizmendi has also refuted 48...f6! An annoying defence, but it loses as well. 49.Rb5 Ra3 (49...gxf4 50.Rb7+ Kg8 51.a6+-) 50.f5! This keeps Black’s king caged in. 50.Rb7+? I do not see a win after this. 50...Kg8 51.fxg5 fxg5 52.Ra7 Ra4 53.a6 Kf8 54.Ke3 Ke8 55.Ra8+ (55.Kd3 Kd8 56.Kc3 Kc8 57.Kb3 Rxg4 58.Rh7 Kb8 59.Rxh6 Ka7 60.Rg6 Rg1=) 55...Kf7 56.Kd3 56...Kg7! (KM: 56...Rxg4? runs into the following old trick: 57.a7 Ra4 58.Rh8+-) 57.Ra7+ Kf6 KM:Activity is usually crucial in rook endings. (57...Kf8? 58.Kc3 Ke8 59.Kb3+-) 58.Rh7 Rxg4 59.Rxh6+ Kg7 60.Rg6+ Kh7 61.Ke3 (61.Kc3 Ra4 62.Kb3 Ra1 63.Kb4 g4 64.Kb5 Rb1+ 65.Kc6 file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (3 of 21) [01/04/2004 11:33:55 PM]

Endgame Corner

Rc1+ 66.Kb7 Rb1+ 67.Ka8 Rg1=) 61...Ra4 62.Kf3 Kh8 63.Kg3 Kh7= and there is no progress. 50...Ra4 51.Kf3

The pawn must remain protected until the a pawn reaches a6. 51...Kf7 (51...Ra3+ 52.Ke4 Ra4+ 53.Kd5 Rxg4 54.Rb7+ Kg8 55.a6 Ra4 56.a7+-) 52.Rb7+ Ke8 53.Ra7 Kd8 (53...Kf8 54.a6 Ke8 55.Ra8+ Kf7 56.Ke3 Kg7 (56...Rxg4 57.Ra7+! Kf8 58.Rb7 Ra4 59.a7 wins.) 57.Kd3+-) 54.a6 Kc8 55.Ra8+ Kc7 56.a7 Kb7 57.Rh8 Kxa7 58.Rxh6 +- and the game is over. And now comes a really deep insight, which is quite incredible, but I (KM) couldn't refute it: 37.03 Analysis of Leko - Anand Linares 2003 40...h5!? A very interesting idea, which tries to make h4 more accesible. It looks quite bad at first, but Black might just be holding. 41.g5 41.gxh5 is less critical because it leaves h4 as an easy target. 41...gxh5 42.Rg5+ Kh6 43.a5 Ra4 44.Kg3 f6 45.Rb5 Rg4+ (45...Kg6 is not bad either. 46.f4 Kh6 47.Kf3 Kg6 48.Ke3 Kh6 and I cannot see how to make any file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (4 of 21) [01/04/2004 11:33:55 PM]

Endgame Corner

progress.) 46.Kh3 Rf4 47.a6 Ra4 48.Rb6 Kg6 And White cannot bring his king to the queenside without losing one of his pawns, which would mean a draw in any case. 41...Ra3 42.Ra7 Kf8 43.f4?! Actually, this is part of the most dangerous plan, but the move order is wrong for it allows an easy draw by cheking with the rook and going for the h-pawn. White must first get his pawn to a6 by playing f3, followed by a5-a6, and only then go for f4. I gave this move on purpose to show a typical drawing procedure to the readers. The problem is that I cannot change the analysis to give the right move order because I would have to rewrite the whole analysis again. 43.f3! The right move. 43...Ra2+ 44.Kg3 A) 44...Kg8 might be a little more acurate, but White nonetheless reaches his goal. 45.a5 Ra3 46.a6 Kg7 and now give black the move through triangulation. 47.Kg2 f4 is the idea, reaching the main line. 47...Ra2+ 48.Kh3! Ra3 (48...Ra4? does not prevent the pawn push. 49.f4 Rxf4 50.Rb7 Ra4 51.a7+-) 49.Kg3! transposing into the line below. B) 44...Kg7 45.a5 Ra3 46.a6 Zugzwang. 46...Kg8? Black should just move the rook, which would draw according to my analysis. Now White wins. 47.Kf4! Ra4+ 48.Ke5 Rxh4 49.Rb7 Ra4 50.a7 It is easy to see why black’s king had to be standing on the eighth rank: Rb8 is a threat. This tempo is decisive. file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (5 of 21) [01/04/2004 11:33:55 PM]

Endgame Corner

50...Kg7 51.Kd6 h4 52.Kc7 h3 53.Kb8 h2 54.Rb1 just in time. 54...h1Q (54...Rb4+ 55.Rxb4 h1Q 56.a8Q+-) 55.Rxh1 Rb4+ 56.Kc7 Ra4 57.Kb6+43...Kg7 (43...Ra2+= is the draw I mentioned before.) 44.a5 Ra4 45.Kf3 Kf8 46.a6 We have reached a critical position. 46...Kg7 (46...Kg8 47.Ke2! Kg7 (47...Rxf4? 48.Rb7+) 48.Ke3 amounts to the same.) 47.Ke3 Kf8 48.Kd3 Kg7! 49.Kc3 Now the idea of f4 is seen: Black will need two tempi to take on h4 and create a passer. 49...Rxf4 50.Rb7 Rxh4 The h-pawn must be taken. 51.Rb4 Rh3+ 52.Kb2 Rh2+ 53.Ka3 Rh1 54.Ra4! 54.Ka2 also quite a dangerous try. 54...Rh2+ 55.Rb2 Rh4 56.Rb3! Spanish IM Luis Javier Bernal brought my attention to this strong idea. Very accurate play is required from Black now. (56.Ka3 is analyzed in 37.04.) 56...Rh2+ 57.Ka3 Rh1 58.Kb4 Ra1 59.Ra3 Rb1+ 60.Ka5 Rb8 61.Rc3!

Another critical position. At first I thought 61...h4 would draw here also, but it is not so. Still, I found quite an amazing defensive resource. A) 61...h4? 62.a7 Re8 63.Rb3! Ra8 (63...h3?! 64.Rb8+-) 64.Ka6 black has no useful move. 64...h3 (64...f6?! 65.Rb7++-) 65.Kb7 file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (6 of 21) [01/04/2004 11:33:55 PM]

Endgame Corner

(65.Rb2!? transposes to a position from the main line with 54.Ra4 (position after 62.Rb2), which is more difficult.) 65...h2 (65...Re8 66.Rxh3 f6 67.Rc3!+- is the key idea.; 65...Rh8!? Maybe this is not so clear. 66.Rxh3 Rxh3 67.a8Q 67...Rf3 is similar to the line after 54.Ra4. I do not think white can win here. KM: This is probably lost as White's king can't be firmly cut off on the c-file as 67...Rc3 is not playable (see below for more details on this endgame).) 66.Rh3 Re8 67.Rxh2 the easiest. 67...Re7+ 68.Kb6 Re6+ 69.Ka5 Re5+ 70.Ka4 Re4+ 71.Ka3 Re3+ 72.Ka2 Re8 73.Rb2 Ra8 74.Rb7+- as given by Bernal. B) 61...Ra8! Since black cannot carry on with his active play right away, he spends a tempo on stopping White’s ideas. After B1) 62.Rc4 now that the pawn cannot go to a7 the usual counterplay will work. 62...h4! B1a) 63.Kb6 Rb8+ (63...h3!?) 64.Kc7 Rh8 65.Kb7 h3 66.a7 h2 67.Rc1 Re8 68.a8Q (68.Rh1 Re7+) 68...Rxa8 69.Kxa8 f6 70.Kb7 fxg5 71.Rh1 g4 72.Rxh2 Kf6= B1b) 63.Rxh4 f6 is equal. B2) 62.Kb6 62...Rb8+ 63.Kc7 Rb1 the rook has been given a more active position to fight against the a pawn. 64.a7 (64.Ra3 Rc1+ 65.Kd6 Rd1+ does not lead anywhere; 64.Rc5 h4; 64.Rc4 f6 there is no chack on c7, so this works. 65.gxf6+ Kxf6) 64...Ra1 65.Kb7 (65.Kb6 In contrast with some other lines, now White’s rook cannot shelter the king on the fourth rank. 65...Rb1+ 66.Ka5 Ra1+) 65...Rb1+ 66.Kc8 (66.Ka8!? almost works. 66...h4 67.Rc8 h3 68.Rb8

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68...Rg1! the only defense, preparing a neat reply. 69.Rb2 Rg2! 70.Rb1 h2. 71...Rg1 is threatened. 71.Rh1 Rb2 and the game is drawn.) 66...Ra1 67.Rc7 h4 68.Kb8 h3 69.a8Q Rxa8+ 70.Kxa8 h2 71.Rc1 f6 and again black escapes. 72.Rh1 fxg5 73.Rxh2 Kf6 74.Kb7 g4 75.Kc6 Ke5 76.Kc5 g3= 54...Ra1+ 55.Kb4 Rb1+ 56.Ka5 Rb8 57.Rc4! looks like a winning idea, but there is perhaps a saving move for the second player. 57...Rh8! 57...h4? 58.Rxh4 f6 59.Rb4!+57...Ra8? This was the only move in the line given after 54.Ka2, but it would lose here. 58.Kb6 (58.Rd4 h4) A) 58...Rb8+ 59.Kc7 Rb1 60.a7 Ra1 61.Kb6! h4 (61...Rb1+ 62.Ka5 Ra1+ 63.Ra4 is one of the advantages of having the rook on the fourth rank.) 62.Rxh4 f6 63.gxf6+ Kxf6 64.Rh8! g5 65.a8Q Rxa8 66.Rxa8 g4 67.Kc5+- the white king is too close. B) 58...h4 59.Kb7 B1) 59...Rh8 60.Rc8! Rxc8 61.Kxc8 h3 62.a7 h2 63.a8Q+B2) 59...Re8 60.Rxh4! (60.a7? h3 61.a8Q Rxa8 62.Kxa8 h2 63.Rh4 f6= has been seen already.) 60...f6 61.Rc4! the winning motif. 61...fxg5 62.Rc8 Re1 63.a7 Ra1 64.a8Q Rxa8 65.Rxa8 White is saving a tempo for the king now. 65...Kf6 66.Kc6 Ke5 file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (8 of 21) [01/04/2004 11:33:55 PM]

Endgame Corner

67.Ra4!! an important move. 67...Kf5 68.Kd5 g4 69.Kd4 Kf4 70.Kd3+ Kf3 71.Ra8+- the king manages to get to the kingside. B3) 59...Rf8 60.Rxh4 f6 61.Rf4+58.a7 h4 59.Rb4! 59.Rxh4!? Rxh4 60.a8Q Rf4

This is a position I wonder about. Can White breach the fortress? It does not look like it. KM: Here I can lend a helping hand to Arizmendi with a tailormade solution for this case. Usually White can take Black's fortress as Khenkin has shown (see, e.g., Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual, 13-32, p.257), but here the unfortunate position of White's king saves Black as he can cut it off on the c-file forever or win the pawn g5: (60...Rc4! KM) 61.Kb6 A) 61...Rf5? 62.Qa1+ Kg8 (62...Kf8 63.Qd4 Ke7 64.Kc7+-) 63.Qd4 Rf1 64.Kc6 Rf5 65.Qd8+ Kg7 66.Qe7 A1) 66...Rf1 67.Kd7 Rb1 (67...Rf5 68.Ke8 Rf1 69.Qf8+ Kh7 70.Qxf7++-) 68.Qf6+ Kg8 69.Qd6 Rb2 70.Qa6 Rb3 71.Qa8+ file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (9 of 21) [01/04/2004 11:33:55 PM]

Endgame Corner

Kg7 72.Qd5 Rb1 73.Qd3 Rb7+ (73...Rc1 74.Qe4 Kf8 75.Qb4+ Kg8 76.Qb8+ Kh7 77.Qf4+-) 74.Kc8 Re7 75.Qd4+ Kh7 76.Qc5 Re8+ 77.Kd7 Ra8 78.Ke7 Kg8 79.Qc6 Ra7+ 80.Kf6 Kh7 81.Qe8 Ra6+ 82.Kxf7+A2) 66...Kg8 67.Kd7 Rb5 68.Qd8+ Kg7 69.Qf6+ Kg8 70.Qf4 Rb2 71.Qe5 Rb7+ 72.Ke8 Rb1 73.Qa5 Kg7 74.Qc3+ Kg8 75.Qe5 Rb6 76.Qc5 Rb8+ 77.Ke7 Rb7+ 78.Kf6+B) 61...Rc4! 62.Kb5 Rc2 63.Qe4 (63.Qa1+ Kg8 64.Qd1 Rc8=) 63...Rc1 64.Qe5+ Kg8 65.Qd4 Rc8= and Black's rook can't be forced to leave the c-file. 59...Ra8 60.Ka6 h3 61.Rb2! Again black´s problem is his lack of useful moves. 61.Kb7 Rh8 62.a8Q Rxa8 63.Kxa8 h2 64.Rh4 f6 65.Rxh2 fxg5

66.Rf2 The idea Dvoretsky mentions in his December column, but here the g6-pawn does make a difference. 66...Kh6 67.Kb7 g4 68.Kc6 Kg5 69.Kd5 g3= And the g6 pawn prevents nasty checks from behind. 61...Rf8!! 61...h2? 62.Rxh2 f6 63.Kb7 Rxa7+ (63...Re8 64.Rc2+-) 64.Kxa7 The king is a little closer, enough to tilt the balance file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (10 of 21) [01/04/2004 11:33:55 PM]

Endgame Corner

to his side. 64...fxg5 65.Kb6 Kf6 66.Kc5 Ke5 67.Re2+ Kf4 68.Kd4 Kf3 69.Re3++61...Re8? 62.Rb8 h2 (62...Re6+ 63.Kb5 Re5+ 64.Kc4) 63.Rxe8 h1Q 64.a8Q Now White only needs to take his king to e2 in order to prevent diagonal checks. 64...Qf1+ 65.Kb6 Qg1+ 66.Kc7 Qg3+ 67.Kd7 Qg4+ 68.Kd6 Qb4+ 69.Ke5 Qb2+ 70.Kf4 Qh2+ 71.Ke3 Qg1+ 72.Ke2+61...Rh8? 62.Rb8 Rh4 63.Kb5+This leaves the white rook hanging on f8 against 62.Rb8. 62.Kb7 (62.Rb8 h2 63.Rxf8 h1Q 64.a8Q Qa1+ 65.Kb5 Qb2+= White’s queen cannot cover against the checks due to the hanging rook.) 62...f6 63.gxf6+ (63.Rf2 is not good. 63...Rf7+ 64.Kb6 Rxa7 65.gxf6+ Kf7 66.Kxa7 g5=) 63...Kf7 63...Kh7? loses in a instructive way. A) 64.a8Q? will not do. 64...Rxa8 65.Kxa8 Kg8 (65...g5? 66.Rf2 Kg8 67.Rf5+-) 66.Kb7 Kf7 67.Kc6 Kxf6 68.Kd5 (68.Rh2 Ke5 shoulders away the white king. 69.Rxh3 g5=) 68...Kf5 draws. B) 64.Rf2 Kg8 (64...g5 65.a8Q Rxa8 66.Kxa8 Kg8 67.Rf5+-) 65.f7+ Kg7

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Endgame Corner

66.Kb6!! White is not interested in exchanging his pawn for "only" a rook. 66...g5 67.Re2! the threat 68.Re8 forces Black’s hand. 67...h2 68.Rxh2+64.Rh2 (64.Rc2 Re8 moving away the rook from check after 65.Rc8 h2=; 64.Ka6 Ra8=) 64...Rg8 (64...g5? 65.Rxh3+-) 65.Rxh3 Kxf6 66.Ra3 Ke5 67.a8Q Rxa8 68.Rxa8 g5 69.Kc6 g4 70.Rg8 Kf4 71.Kd5 g3 72.Kd4 Kf3= 37.04 Analysis of Leko - Anand Linares 2003 18.Ka3 Another attempt. 18...Rh3+ 19.Ka4 (19.Kb4 Rh1! (19...Re3? loses. 20.a7 Re8 21.Ka5 Ra8 22.Ka6 not 22...f6 due to 23.Rb7+) 20.Ra2 Rb1+ 21.Ka5 Rb8 transposes to the main line.) 19...Rh1 20.Ra2 Re1 21.a7 Re8 White has two possibilities, but neither one seems to brings white anything. 22.Kb5 22.Rb2 Ra8 23.Rb7 This stops the f6 counterplay, but the h pawn comes into play. 23...h4 24.Ka5 h3 25.Ka6 h2 26.Rb1 Rh8 (27...h1Q is a threat) A) 27.Kb7 f6 28.Rh1 (28.gxf6+ Kxf6 29.Rh1 g5 30.Rxh2 Rg8 31.Ra2 g4 32.a8Q Rxa8 33.Rxa8 Kf5 34.Kc6 g3 35.Kd5 Kf4=) 28...fxg5 29.Rxh2 Rg8 30.Ra2 (30.Rc2 Kf6=) 30...Kf6 31.a8Q Rxa8 32.Rxa8 Ke5 33.Kc6 g4 34.Ra4 Kf5 35.Kd5 g3= B) 27.Rh1 f6 28.gxf6+ Kxf6 29.Kb7 B1) 29...Rh7+!? 30.Kb6 Rh8 31.Kc6 (31.Rxh2 Rxh2 32.a8Q file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (12 of 21) [01/04/2004 11:33:55 PM]

Endgame Corner

Kg7=) 31...Kg7 32.Kb7 Kf6 33.a8Q Rxa8 34.Kxa8 Kf5 35.Rxh2 g5 36.Kb7 g4 37.Kc6 g3= B2) 29...g5 30.Rxh2 Rg8= 22...Ra8 23.Kc6 f6 24.Kb7 Not helping the black king come into play too quickly, but the extra pawn will play an important role. (24.gxf6+ Kxf6 25.Kb7 Rxa7+ 26.Kxa7 (26.Rxa7 h4 27.Kc6 g5 28.Kd5 Kf5 29.Kd4 Kf4 30.Kd3 Kf3=) 26...h4 27.Kb6 g5 28.Kc5 Kf5= is drawn as well.) 24...Rxa7+ 25.Rxa7 fxg5 26.Kc6+ Kf6 27.Kd5 Kf5 28.Kd4 (28.Rf7+ Kg4 29.Ke4 h4 30.Ke3 Kg3 31.Ke2 Kg2 32.Rf2+ Kg1 In this line the importance of the g6 pawn can once more be seen: if it were not there, 33.Rf5 would win easily. 33.Ke3 g4 34.Rf4 h3 35.Rxg4+ Kf1 36.Rf4+ Kg2 37.Rf2+ Kg3 38.Rf6 g5=) 28...Kf4 29.Kd3 Kf3 White’s king must not be allowed to reach the kingside. 30.Kd2 30...Kf2! the key defensive move. (30...h4? 31.Ke1 Kg2 (31...h3 32.Kf1) 32.Ra2+ Kg1 (32...Kg3 33.Kf1) 33.Ra4! Kg2 34.Ke2 Kg3 35.Ra6 g4 36.Rxg6+-) 31.Rf7+ Kg2 32.Ke2 (32.Rg7 h4 33.Rxg6 h3 34.Rxg5+ Kh1 35.Ke2 h2=) 32...h4 33.Rf2+ Kg1= The difference is that white cannot bring his rook to the fourth rank to check on g4. A draw in inevitable. file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (13 of 21) [01/04/2004 11:33:55 PM]

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My congratulations to IM Julen Luis Arizmendi Martinez for this fascinating piece of analysis! Johannes Steckner and Mark Dvoretsky are still analysing Arizmendi's fascinating lines. So far they have discovered the following: Dear Mark, Thank you for your and J. Arizmendi Martinez's analysis on Leko-Anand. You and Arizmendi have made extremely interesting suggestions! But let us follow the ending step by step. 1) Black still had a safe draw by 39....h5, as we agree. At the moment, I do not know yet which move was Black's fatal error in the game. 2) Arizmendi proposes the very interesting 40....h5!? and presents many beautiful and hidden resources to show that it draws. A really profound analysis! But after studying it many hours, I have a suggestion: 41.g5 Ra3 42.Ra7 Kf8 43.f3! (most precise, according to Arizmendi) Ra2+ 44.Kg3 Kg8!? (forcing white to use triangulation, Arizmendi) 45.a5 Ra3 46.a6 Kg7 47.Kg2 Ra2+ 48.Kh3! Ra3 49.Kg3 Ra4 50.f4 Kf8 (50...Ra3+ 51.Kf2 Ra4 52.Ke3 Kf8 53.Kf3 is the same ) 51.Kf3 (A critical position, Arizmendi) 51...Kg8!? (again, forcing white to use triangulation. 51...Kg7 52.Ke3 is the same, Arizmendi) 52.Ke2! Kg7 (52...Kf8 53.Kd3 is the same) 53.Ke3 Kf8 54.Kd3 Kg7 55.Kc3 Rxf4 56.Rb7 Rxh4 57.Rb4 Rh3+ 58.Kb2 Rh2+ 59.Ka3 Rh1 60.Ra4! Ra1+ 61.Kb4 Rb1+ 62.Ka5 Rb8 63.Rc4! Another critical position. Arizmendi claims a fantastic draw after 63...Rh8! 64.a7 h4 file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (14 of 21) [01/04/2004 11:33:55 PM]

Endgame Corner

65.Rb4! Ra8 66.Ka6 h3 67.Rb2! Rf8! But here, my suggestion is 68.Rh2! with big problems for black: A) 68....f6 69.Rxh3 fxg5 (69...f6 70.gxf6+ Kxf6 71.Rb3+-, 69...Ra8 70.Rb3+-) 70.Rb3 Rf1 (70...Kh6 71.Rb8+-, 70...g4 71.Rb8+-) 71.Ra3+B) 68...Re8 69.Rxh3 Re6+ (69...f6 -A) 70.Ka5 Re5+ (70...Re8 71.Rb3+-) 71.Ka4 Re4+ (71...Re8 72.Rb3+-) 72.Ka3 Re1 (72...Re8 73.Rb3+-) 73.Rh2+C) 68...Rh8 69.Kb7 Re8 (69...f6 70.Rc2 fxg5 71.Rc8+-) 70.Rxh3 Re7+ 71.Ka6 Re6+ -B) D) 68...Ra8 69.Rxh3 f6 -A) B) 68...f5 69.Rxh3 f4 70.Rb3+3) M. Marins suggestion 41.g5 is not winning. I completely agree with your fine analysis which shows that black achieves the draw. 4) The move 41...Rc1 (the game) looks illogical, but it is hard to suggest something better. Maybe 41...Ra2 42.Kf3 (your suggestion) g5!? 43.Rf5+ Kg7 44.a5 (44.hxg5 Ra3+! 45.Kg2 Rxa4 46.gxh6 Kxh6=) gxh4 45.Kg2 Ra3 46.f3 Ra1. But at the moment, I cannot say whether Black will then draw or not. 5) After 42...g5 (the game) Black is lost. Black may try 42...Rc4!? 43.a5 Ra4. But again, I am not sure if White wins or Black draws. 6) 45...Rc4!? has been widely recommended. But I think that White has then even more than one winning continuation. A) 46.f4 (or 46.f3 Rc2 47.f4 - I see no essential difference, as after 47...Rc3+ it is the same) Rc3+ 47.Kf2 gxf4 (47...f6 loses as well as Arizmendi has shown) 48.Rxf4 Ra3 49.Rf5 f6 50.Tb5 Kf7 51.Ke2! Arizmendis improvement. I agree with his analysis, i.e. that White is winning. B) 46.Kf3 Ra4 B1) 47.Ke3 Rxg4 48.Kd3 f6 (48...Kf8!?) 49.Kc3 Kf7 50.Kb3 Ke6 (50...Rg1!? may be an file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (15 of 21) [01/04/2004 11:33:55 PM]

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improvement, preventing line B12 below) 51.Rc5! (after 51.a6 Kxf5 52.a7 Rf4! 53.a8Q Kg4, Karsten Müller claims a draw for black - incredible but appears to be true) 51...Rg1 B11) After 52.Kb4 Ra1 53.Kb5, Jan Timman claims a win for White. I agree with this estimation, but maybe Black can improve on move 52: 52...Kd6!?, 52...Rb1+!? The win is then not yet fully clear to me. B12) 52.a6 Ra1 53.Rc6+ Kf5 54.Kb4 Kg4 55.Rc4+! (after 55.Rxf6 Kxh5, Karsten Müller has shown a draw for Black) 55...Kxh5 (55...Kf3 56.Kb5 Kxf2 57.Ra4 Rb1+ 58.Kc6 Rb8 59.a7 Ra8 60.Kb7 Rxa7+ 61.Rxa7+-) 56.Kb5 Kg6 57.Ra4 Rb1+ 58.Ka5 Rb8 59.a7 Ra8 60.Kb6 h5 61.Kb7 Rxa7+ 62.Rxa7 h4 63.Kc6 Kf5 64.Kd5+B2) 47.Rd5 (M. Marin's suggestion) Kf6 48.Ke3 Ke6 49.Rb5 Rxg4 50.Rb6+ B21) 50...Ke5 51.Rxh6 Ra4 52.Ra6 +- Marin. I do not see the win so clearly after 52...Ra3+, but I have not spent much time on it. B21) 50...Kf5 (M. Dvoretsky's defence) 51.Rxh6 f6 52.Rh7! Re4+! 53.Kd3 Ra4 54.Ra7 Rh4 55.a6 Rxh5 56.Rc7 Rh3+ 57.Kc4 Ra3 58.a7 Ra1 59.Kb5 Rb1+ 60.Kc6 Ra1 61.Kb7 Rb1+ 62.Kc8 Ra1 63.Kb8 Kf4 64.Rc5! (64.a8Q Rxa8 65.Kxa8 Kf3= as you have shown) 64....g4 65.a8Q Rxa8 66.Kxa8 f5 67.Kb7 Ke4 68.Rc3 f4 69.Kc6+-. This is certainly not the last word in the discussion of this ending but may give rise to further insights. Best regards, Johannes Steckner Then Mark Dvoretsky answered: Dear Johannes, I checked again a line 45...Rc4!? 46.Kf3?! Ra4 file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (16 of 21) [01/04/2004 11:33:55 PM]

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47.Rd5 Kf6 48.Ke3 Ke6 49.Kb5 R:g4 50.Rb6+ Kf5 (instead of Marin's 50...Ke5) 51.R:h6 f6 52.Rh7! Re4+! 53.Kd3 Ra4 54.Ra7 Rh4 55.a6 R:h5 56.Rc7 Rh3+ 57.Kc4 Ra3 58.a7 Ra1 59.Kb5 Rb1+ 60.Kc6 Ra1 61.Kb7 Rb1+ 62.Kc8 Ra1 63.Kb8. You are right - after 63...Kf4 your move 64.Rc5! wins. I tried 63...Kg4!?, but it is also lost: 64.Rc5! f5 65.a8Q R:a8+ 66.K:a8 f4 67.Rc3! Kh4 68.Kb7 g4 69.Kc6 g3 70.Kd5!+-. Then I tried 58...Kf4! (instead of 58...Ra1), with the following short lines: 59.Kb4 Ra1 60.Rc4+ Ke5! 61.Rc5+ Kd4!=; 59.Kb5 Kf3 60.Rc3+ R:c3 61.a8Q+ K:f2 - White hardly can stop Rf3, and the position looks drawish after that. I am not sure also about White's win after 47.Ke3 R:g4 48.Kd3 f6 49.Kc3 Kf7 50.Kb3 Ke6 51.Rc5 Rg1 52.a6 Ra1 53.Rc6+ Kf5 54.Kb4 Kg4 55.Rc4+! K:h5 56.Kb5. You considered 56...Kg6, but Black can also try 56...f5!? 57.Ra4 Rb1+ 58.Kc6 Rb8 59.a7 Ra8 60.Kb7 R:a7+ a) 61.R:a7 Kg4 62.Ra3 h5 63.Kc6 h4 64.Kd5 h3 65.Ke5 (65.Rg3+ Kh4 66.Rg1 h2=) 65...h2 66.Ra1 Kf3 67.K:f5 g4! (67...K:f2? 68.Kg4!+-) 68.Kg5 g3 69.fg K:g3= b) 61.K:a7 g4 (61...f4 perhaps is losing) 62.Kb6 Kg5 63.Kc5 h5 64.Kd5 h4 or 64.Kd4 Kf4 also looks drawish. If it is true, it means that the pawn sacrifice after 45...Rc4!? leads to a draw; 46.f3 or 46.f4 is the only way to win (with Arizmendi's improvement 51.Ke2!). I wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Mark file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (17 of 21) [01/04/2004 11:33:55 PM]

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And Johannes admitted: Dear Mark, thank you for this analysis. I have to admit that in both cases, you are right! This makes Arizmendi's improvement 52.Ke2! even more valuable. Thank you also for the analysis on Spassky-Zhu Chen 1997. I am afraid I have no time for further endgame studies in this year, but again in January. Best wishes for your journey. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year also to you! Johannes Finally Christian Sánchez found a work, which definitely should have made it into the list of sources on the endgame 2N vs P, which was my topic in the last two month: Dear Mr Müller, I would like to draw your attention to the book Dos caballos en combate (Two Knights in Battle) by the Spanish author Carlos Lafora. Perhaps it is the only book that deals entirely with the endgame 2N v P. Regards, Christian Sánchez Rosario, Argentina

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Exercise (Solution next month) E37.01 M.Stejskal (1671) - S.Abel (1761) Championship of the Hamburger SK 2003 Sascha Abel has sent me this interesting position. Can White to move reach a draw?

Solutions to last month exercises E36.01 V.Karasev (2353) V.Turikov (2286) White Nights op St Petersburg 1999 Black wins as follows: 59...Nf6 60.Kg6 Ne4 61.Kf7 Kd6 62.Kg7 Ke7 63.Kg6 Ke6 64.Kg7 64.Kh5 Kf5 65.Kh4 Kf4 66.Kh5 Nf6+ 67.Kg6 Nd5 68.Kh5 Ne7 69.Kh6 Kf5 70.Kg7 Nd5 71.Kf7 and Black wins as in the game. 64...Ng5 65.Kg6 Nf3 66.Kg7 Ne5 67.Kh6 Kf5 68.Kh5 Ng6 69.Kh6 Nf4 70.Kg7 Ke6 71.Kf8 Nh5 72.Ke8?! 72.Kg8 was much more tenacious, e.g. 72...Ke7 73.Kh7 Kf6 74.Kg8 Ng7 75.Kf8 Nc6 76.a5 Ne6+ 77.Ke8 Nc5 78.a6 Na7 79.Kf8 Ne4–+ see 36.04. 72...Ng7+ 73.Kf8 Kf6 74.Kg8 Ne6 75.Kh7 Kg5 76.Kh8 Kh6 77.Kg8 Kg6 78.Kh8 0–1

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E36.02 N.Ristic (2464) J.Nikolac (2428) BIH-chT Neum 2002 White mates as follows: 116.Nc5! b3 117.Kc8 1–0 117...b2 118.Na6 b1Q 119.Nc7#

E36.03 P.Simacek (2402) R.Lobejko (2344) Trinec op 2002 Black perishes in any case: 66...Kb6 (66...Kd8 67.Ndc6+ Ke8 68.Ne7 Kf8 69.Nf5 Ke8 (69...Kg8 70.Ke7 Kh7 71.Kf7 Kh8 72.Nd5+) 70.Ng7+ a sidecheck 70...Kd8 (70...Kf8 71.Kf6 Kg8 72.Ne6+-) 71.Kd6 Kc8 72.Ne6 Kb7 73.Kc5 Kb8 74.Kb6 Kc8 75.Kc6 Kb8 76.Nc5 Kc8 77.Nb7 Kb8 78.Nd6 Ka7 79.Kc7 Ka8 80.Nc6 b4 81.Nc4 b3 82.Nb6#) 67.Nb3! Kc7 68.Ke7 Kc8 69.Nc5 Kc7 70.Nd7 Kc8 71.Nf6 Kc7 72.Nfd5+ Kc8 73.Kd6 Kd8 74.Nc7 Kc8 75.Ne6 Kb7 76.Kc5 Kc8 77.Kc6 Kb8 78.Nc5 Kc8 79.Nb7 Kb8 80.Nd6 Ka8 81.Kc7 Ka7 82.Nc8+ 1–0 E36.04 V.Topalov (2702) A.Karpov (2696) Amber-rapid 9th Monte Carlo 2000 Black can draw by approaching the drawing zone near the south east corner: 65...Kb2? (65...Kd2 66.Nde2 Ke3 67.Kc3 Kf3 68.Kd3 Kf2 69.Ke4 Kg2 70.Ke3 Kh2 and White can't win as the advancing gpawn will disturb him, when he releases the blockading knight.) 66.Kb4 Ka2 67.Ndf5? Kb2? returns the favor. 67...Kb1! 68.Kc3 Ka2! draws. 68.Ne3 Ka2 69.Nc4 Kb1 file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (20 of 21) [01/04/2004 11:33:55 PM]

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70.Kc3 Kc1 71.Nb2 Kb1 72.Nd3 Ka1 73.Kb3 Kb1 74.Ne2 1–0 Copyright 2003 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in ChessCafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

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The Mystical Sister Squares

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

The theory of corresponding squares (sometimes called sister squares) seems to be mystical to many players. Like an excursion to the magical world of the sorcerers or to mathematics. But the subject is not that difficult. You just need to sit down with the confidence that you will be able to understand it and concentrate hard to understand each step. This is really important: Please repeat each step until you have really understood its point. I will take a non-traditional approach here by choosing an example which could be solved by just applying the rules of (distant) opposition and hope that makes it easier for you. But you must follow the steps here. Don't cheat by only remembering the techniques of converting the opposition: 38.01 After Capablanca All pawns are blocked, so it is only a battle of the kings and the theory is applicable. The first step is always to determine the key squares, defined as follows: when the attacking king reaches a key square, then it wins no matter who is on move and no matter where the defending king is (counterattacks are not allowed in this case. In reality you have to make sure that there is no counterattack, of course). So, if White's king could fly, where would it land? I hear you say b6 and you are of course right. But this is already too far. The border of the key squares is of

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Endgame Corner

interest. So I suppose that your second guess is c5, d5, e5 and g5. To check that we must analyse the position: 38.02 with Black to move. White can reach one of your proposed key squares. So does he win? This has to be calculated: 1...Kd6 (1...Kf6 2.Kf4 Kg6 3.Ke5 and White wins as the pawn h5 falls: 3...Kg7 4.Kf5 Kh6 5.Kf6 Kh7 6.Kg5 Kg7 7.Kxh5+-) 2.Kd4! (2.Kf5? blows it: 2...Kd5 3.Kg5 Kc4 4.Kxh5 Kxb4 5.Kg5 Ka3=) 2...Kc6 (2...Ke6 loses as well as White queens with check after 3.Kc5 Kf5 4.Kxb5 Kg4 5.Kc4 Kxh4 6.b5 Kg3 7.b6 h4 8.b7 h3 9.b8Q++-) 3.Ke5 Kc7 4.Kd5 Kb6 5.Kd6 Kb7 6.Kc5 Ka6 7.Kc6+As 38.02 with Black to move is drawn we can conclude that the right key squares are found. Now you should determine the corresponding squares. In the following I assume always that Black is on move. On which square must Black's king stand, if White's is on d4? Right on d6 as we have seen in 38.02. Similarly, e4 corresponds to e6 and f4 to f6. So d4 and d6 get the number 1, e4=e6=2 and f4=f6=3. That was relatively easy. Now it is best to look at squares, which have access to as many numbered squares as possible. So e7 is the first natural candidate. As it has access to 1, 2 and 3, e3 is the corresponding square and both are numbered 5. Similarly d7=d3=4 and f7=f3=6. The numbering scheme is of course arbitrary. You also say d7=d3=5 and continue accordingly. But to solve 38.01 this is still insufficient. So we must continue and get d8=d2=7, e8=e2=8 file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (2 of 7) [02/04/2004 8:38:18 PM]

Endgame Corner

and f8=f2=9. Now we have the solution and we remember the following two guidelines: The attacking king must always move in such a way that Black can not reach the corresponding square (either because it is already on it or because it can't fly). If possible the attacker should approach the key squares. Figure out the solution yourself, before you read on: 38.03 Black's king is on d8=7=d2 so the first move is easy: 1.Kd2! Ke8 1...Kc7 is not in the system, but the king can reach d8=7, d7=4 or d6=1. So we could move to e1, e2 or e3. To determine the square you should now use the second guideline, which says that you should approach the key squares: 2.Ke3! Kd6 3.Kd4!+- and it is over (see 38.02). 2.Ke2! According to the system 2...Kf8 now you can choose between f2, d2 and d3. So you consider the second guideline and play 3.Kd3! approaching the key squares 3...Ke7 4.Ke3! According to the system 4...Kf7 (4...Ke6 5.Ke4 +- as you reach a key square; see 38.02.) Now you can choose between f3, d3 and d4 (looks familiar, doesn't it?) and must consider guideline no.2, which gives 5.Kd4! Kf6 Now you reach a key square and win: 6.Kc5 Kf5 7.Kxb5 Kg4 8.Kc4 Kxh4 9.b5 Kg3 10.b6 h4 11.b7 h3 12.b8Q++But what happens if more than one square corresponds to another square? It depends whether the squares are connected or not (connected means that the king can move from one to the other in one go). This is illustrated as follows (please don't apply your knowledge about triangulation now): file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (3 of 7) [02/04/2004 8:38:18 PM]

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38.04 As usually in this theory you start with the determination of the key squares. b6 is obviously one, but where is the other (is there any?)? In a way d7 is the other, but you can also look at it this way: if White can meet 1...Kd8 with 2.Kd6 then he wins by reaching d7 after 2...Kc8 3.c7 Kb7 4.Kd7+-. So c7=c5=1 and d8=d6=2 are corresponding squares. From d5=3 White has access to both of them, so c8=3 corresponds. I hear you asking: So far, so good, but what now? Now you should just at other square bordering the already numbered ones. So c4 and d4 come into play. White's king can go to c5=1 and d5=3, so corresponding square for Black must border c7 and c8. Only b8 and d8 satisfy this condition, but they are not connected! Black's king can't fly from one to the other and the solution is found: 1.Kd5 Kc8 2.Kd4 Kd8 For 2...Kb8 3.Kc4 Kc8 4.Kd5 see the main line. 3.Kc4 and Black is in a fatal zugzwang as he can't fly to b8 3...Kc8 4.Kd5 Kc7 4...Kd8 5.Kd6 Kc8 6.c7 Kb7 7.Kd7 Ka7 8.Kc6 (Of course not 8.c8Q?? stalemate.) 8...Ka8 9.c8Q+ Ka7 10.Qb7# 5.Kc5 Kc8 6.Kb6 Kb8 7.Kxa6 Kc7 8.Kb5 (8.Ka7?? Kxc6=) 8...Kb8 9.Kb6 Kc8 10.a6 Kb8 11.c7+ Kc8 12.a7+To be continued next month. Exercises (Solutions next month) Solve the following exercises using the theory of file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (4 of 7) [02/04/2004 8:38:18 PM]

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corresponding squares. Determine the key squares, the corresponding squares and deduct the solution from this information: E38.01 Grigoriev K novoi armii 1920 White to move

E38.02 Grigoriev Isvestia 1921 Black to move Hint: The shortest route between the key squares is of importance and sometimes a defense on the key squares is possible. E38.03 Instructive Example How to evaluate this position with White to move?

Solution to last month’s exercise

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E37.01 M.Stejskal (1671) - S.Abel (1761) Klubturnier (Championship) of the Hamburger SK 2003 White could have drawn as follows as Sasha Abel has proved: 1.Kf4? 1.g5! Kb2 (1...h5 2.gxf6 Kb2 3.Kf4 Kc3 4.Kg5 Bf7 5.Kh6 Kd4 6.Kg7 Bb3 7.f7 Bxf7 8.Kxf7 Ke5 9.Ke7 Kf5 10.Kd6 Kg4 11.Ke5 Kxh4 12.Kf4=; 1...fxg5 2.hxg5 h5 3.g6 Kb2 4.Kh4=; 1...hxg5 2.hxg5 f5 3.Kf4 Be6 4.g6 Kb2 5.g7 Kc3 6.g8Q Bxg8 7.Kxf5=; 1...Bf7 2.gxf6 Kb2 3.Kf4 Kc3 4.Ke5 Kd3 5.Kd6 Ke4 6.Ke7 Bh5 7.f7 Bxf7 8.Kxf7 Kf5 9.h5 Kg5 10.Ke6 Kxh5 11.Kf5=; 1...f5 2.g6 Kb2 3.h5 Kc3 4.Kf4 Be6 5.g7 Kd4 6.g8Q Bxg8 7.Kxf5 Bf7 8.Kf6 Bxh5 9.Kg7=) 2.Kf4! (2.g6? h5 3.Kf4 Be6 4.g7 Kc3 5.g8Q Bxg8 6.Kf5 Kd4 7.Kxf6 Ke4 8.Kg5 Bf7–+; 2.gxf6? Kc3 3.Kf4 Kd4 4.Kf5 Bf7 5.Kf4 Kd5 6.Kf5 Kd6 7.Kf4 Ke6–+; 2.gxh6? Bc2 3.Kf4 Kc3 4.h5 Kd4 5.h7 Bxh7 6.h6 Kd5 7.Kg4 Ke4–+) 2...Kc3 (2...Bf7 3.gxf6 Kc3 4.Ke5 Kd3 5.Kd6 Ke4 6.Ke7 Bb3 7.f7 Bxf7 8.Kxf7 Kf5 9.h5 Kg5 10.Ke6 Kxh5 11.Kf5=) 3.g6! (3.gxh6? Bc2–+; 3.gxf6? Kd4 4.Kf5 Bf7–+; 3.Kf5? fxg5 4.hxg5 h5 5.g6 Bc2+ 6.Kg5 Bxg6–+) 3...Be6 4.h5! (4.g7? h5 5.g8Q Bxg8 6.Kf5 Kd4 7.Kxf6 Ke4–+) 4...Kd4 5.g7! Kd5 6.g8Q! Bxg8 7.Kf5 Bf7 8.Kxf6 Bxh5 9.Kg7 Ke6 10.Kxh6= 1...Bc2! 2.g5 fxg5+ 3.hxg5 h5 4.Ke5 Kb2 5.Kf4 Kc3 6.Kg3 Kd4 7.Kh4 Bg6 8.Kg3 Ke4 9.Kh4 Kf5 10.Kg3 Kxg5 11.Kh3 h4 12.Kg2 Kg4 13.Kh2 h3 14.Kh1 Kg3 0–1

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Copyright 2004 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved. This column is available in ChessCafe Reader format. Click here for more information.

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The Mystical Sister Squares (Part 2) There is, of course, much more to the general theory of corresponding squares than the examples of opposition and triangulation I dealt with last month. For instance, when the attacker has more squares behind him, triangulation is not the only way to prevail, but one must always watch out for possible triangulations.

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

39.01 Instructive Example As is customary, we first determine the key squares for White's king. The f5square is not sufficient, but squares g6 and e6 are obvious. A brief calculation proves that d5 does the job as well. Against Black's king on d7, White wins with 1.Kc5 Ke6 2.Kb5 etc. Let us start with the numbering near the key square g6: f5=f7=1, e4=e6=2, d4=d6=3, c4=c6=4, and f4=e7=5 follow quickly. Now White's backward moves should be considered. This is a very important counter-intuitive step! In such cases you should always consider moving backwards to win the fight for the correspondence, especially if your opponent has no strong counterplay. From e3, White can reach 2, 3 and 5, so d7=5 corresponds. But what about d3? It reaches 2, 3, 4 and 5 and so again d7 corresponds, which makes White's win clear: 1.Ke3! 1.Kf5?! Kf7 2.Kf4 Ke7 3.Ke3!+-; 1.Ke4?! Ke6 2.Kf4!+1...Kd7 2.Kd3 and Black can't keep the correspondence 2...Ke6 3.Ke4 Ke7 4.Kd5 Kd7 5.Kc5 Ke6 6.Kb5 f5 7.gxf5+ Kxf5 8.Kxa5 Kg5 9.Kb6 Kxh5 10.a5+-

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I was inspired by the following game: 39.01A Z.Izoria (2569) - A.Sulypa (2492) EU-ch 4th Istanbul 2003 50...f5! and a draw was agreed as 51.Ke3 is met by 51...Ke6!=

Mined Squares 39.02 A.Gasthofer (2412) - D.Agaragimov (2245) EYb18 Budva 2003 We could begin by calculating the key squares, which are a6, b6, and e4 (i.e. capturing Black's e4-pawn), but White's shortest path from a5 to d4 is three moves long, while Black's from b7 to f5 is four moves long. So it seems White wins easily, but this is not so! First we must check if the theory is applicable or not. The first condition is fulfilled: it is a maneuvering position, without spare tempi (pawn moves). But the second is not: Black has counterplay against the c5-pawn, and maybe even against the e3-pawn. Therefore 1.Kb4?? would be a fatal blunder due to 1...Kd5–+. So be warned, in reality b4 and d5 are mined squares. White can only move to b4, when Black is at d5 and vice versa, therefore he must tiptoe around it. 48.Kc3 48.Kb3 works as well: 48...Kd7 49.Kb4 Kc7 50.Kc4+48...Ke5 49.Kb3 Ke6 50.Ka4 Ke5 (50...Kd5 51.Kb4 Ke6 52.Ka5 Kd5 53.Kb6+-) 51.Ka5 Kd5 52.Kb6 Kc4 53.Kxc6 Kd3 54.Kd5 Kxe3 55.c6 Kf3 56.c7 e3 57.c8Q e2 58.Qc1 and Black resigned due to 58...Kf2 59.Ke4 e1Q+ file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (2 of 9) [03/08/2004 8:45:53 AM]

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60.Qxe1+ Kxe1 61.Kf4+A Complicated Case Very complicated correspondences almost never occur in practice, but the game of chess is so rich with possibilities that they are feasible: 39.03 Em.Lasker and G.Reichhelm Chicago Tribune 1901 The key squares are b5, g5, and h5. The shortest path for White is c4-d3-(e2, e3)-(f2, f3)-g3-h4 and for Black b6-c7-(d7, d8)-(e7, e8)-(f7, f6)-g6. As Black has a counterattack, when both kings are on the kingside we only number h4=g6=6. So White should only go to the kingside, when this wins and the distance to the kingside is important only for evaluating the system on the queenside. So it follows that the squares on the c-file for White, correspond to squares on the b-file for Black. Now you can deduce: c4=1=b6, d3=b3=d1=b1=2=c7, c3=c1=3=b7, d2=b2=4=c8, c2=5=b8. So, for instance, 1.Ka2? can be met by 1...Kb7 and 1.Kb2? by 1...Ka8!!. There only remains: 1.Kb1! now Black can't go to c7=1 1...Kb7 2.Kc1! Kc7 3.Kd1! Kd8 4.Kc2! White approaches the key squares (another important guideline) at just the right moment as Black can't get to b8. 4...Kc8 5.Kd2! Kd7 6.Kc3! Kc7 7.Kd3! Kb6 8.Ke3 Kc7 9.Kf3 Kd7 10.Kg3 Ke7 11.Kh4 Kf6 12.Kh5+Another complicated case could have arisen in the game Hans Ree vs. Lubomir Ftacnik (see Endgame Corner 10 in the ChessCafe Archives). And other resource material is listed at the end of this article.

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Correspondence in Other Endgames Jonathan Speelman analyses, in Endgame Preparation, the theory of corresponding squares in endgames with pieces. One example is: 39.04 F.Bondarenko 1946 White's king is almost mated so its bishop has to guard squares f5, f3 and g2 from the knight. Averbakh has derived the following list of correspondences in Bishop vs. Knight Endings:

Bishop ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

f2 c3 f4 f6 c5 e5 d4 d4,e7 d6,e3

Knight c2 d3,b3 e4,c4,f7 c6,e6 d5,b5 e8,d8,a5,c5 b4,c7 a7 c3

A quick inspection reveals that the knight can never move "inside one correspondence." Let’s look at e5 for example: e8, d8, a5 and c5 are all more than one knight move away from each other, and that indicates that the position is drawn, indeed the mighty knight can't defeat the brave bishop. 1.Be1! Nb3 2.Bc3 Nc5 3.Be5 Ne4 (3...Ne6 is met by 4.Bf6) 4.Bf4 Nf2 5.Bd2 Nd3 6.Bc3 and Black can't make progress. That was really complicated, wasn't it? One last exercise: without the g5-pawn, determine why example 39.04 is lost!

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Addendum Mark Dvoretsky has sent me the following discoveries that expand on his November and December 2003 Instructor columns (see the ChessCafe Archives), and has given his kind permission to publish them here: 39.05 "I found some new improvements in the Kantorovich/Steckner position with Black to move after 1...g5!? 2.Kd4 gxh4 3.gxh4 Ke6! (Anand, Dautov) 4.Kc5 Ke5 5.Ra8 Kf4 6.Kb6 Rb2+ 7.Ka7 f5! 8.Rg8!? We can get the same position after 3...Ra5?! 4.Kc4 Ke5 5.Kb4 Ra2 if White plays 6.Kb5 (instead of 6.f4+!). Steckner demonstrated that 8...Kf3! leads to a draw. The move 8...Rxf2?! was considered losing after 9.Ka8! but now I have my doubts. The race after 9...Rb2 10.a7 Ke3 is indeed lost for Black (I gave this analysis in my last column). I also suggested an unusual plan beginning with 9...Ke5!!

The idea is to bring the king to the queenside to fight against the a-pawn. I demonstrated that 10.a7 Kd6 leads to a draw, so the immediate attack against the h5pawn was analysed. 1) The move 10.Rg5?! which was analysed by Steckner and I, actually allows Black to change his plan: 10...Ke4! 11.Rxh5 Rb2! (or 10...Rb2! 11.Rxh5 Ke4). Steckner gave 12.a7 f4 13.Rh7! f3 14.h5 Rb5 15.Re8+ Re5 16.Kb8!+-. But Black can defend better: 14...f2! (instead of 14...Rb5?) 15.Rf7 Ke3 16.h6 Rb1 17.h7 Rh1 18.Kb8 R:h7 19.R:h7 f1Q 20.a8Q Qf8+ 21.Kb7 Qb4+ with a perpetual. And if 13.Rh8 (instead of 13.Rh7) 13...f3 14.h5, then 14...f2? loses due to 15.Rf8 Ke3 16.h6 Rb1 17.h7 Rh1 18.Kb8, but 14...Rb5! 15.Re8+ Re5 works. 2) Stronger is 10.Rh8 (instead of 10.Rg5) - White prevents this plan of defense (10...Rb2? or 10...Ke4? - 11.a7+-) 3) But after 10.Rh8 Kd6 11.Rxh5 Black still can make a draw by 11...Rh2!! (we considered 11...Kc7 as the main line, but after 12.Ka7! White wins in a

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very complicated line).12.a7 Kc7 13.Rh7+ Kc8 is not dangerous. I considered 12.Kb7!? Rb2+ 13.Kc8 Rc2+ 14.Kd8 Ke5 15.a7 Ra2 16.Rh7 f4 17.h5 f3 18.h6 f2 19.Re7+ Kf5 20.h7 f1Q 21.h8Q as a refutation, but missed the simple 17...Kf6! 18.h6 Kg6= or 18.Rb7 Kg5=." Johannes Steckner now adds: "thank you for this new analysis on 8....Rxf2 9.Ka8! Ke5! In the line 10.Rg5, your resource14....f2! indeed draws, as far as I see. And I also agree that, for this reason, your suggestion 10.Rh8 looks more accurate. But my impression is that, with the new improvements below, both rook moves still win: 1) 10.Rg5 Ke4! (or 10....Rb2! 11.Rxh5 Ke4!) 11.Rxh5 Rb2! 12.Rh8! (The hpawn must run immediately! Not 12.a7, which is drawn as you have shown) 12....f4 (what else?) 13.h5! (But not 13.Rb8? Ra2 14.a7 f3 15.Rb1 (15.h5 f2 16.Rf8 Rd2!=) Kf4 16.Kb7 Kg4 17.Rb4+ Kg3=. Also not 13.a7? transposing to 12.a7 f4 13.Rh8, f3=) f3 14.h6 f2 (14....Rh2 15.a7+-; 14....Rb5 15.h7 f2 16.Rf8+-) 15.Rf8 Rb6 16.a7+-. 2) 10.Rh8! Kd6 11.Rxh5 (the same as 10.Rg5 Kd6 11.Rxh5) 11....Rh2! (11....Kc7 we have already looked at, but I need to refer to it below, 12.Ka7! f4 (12....Rh2 13.Rh7+ +-) 13.Rf5 Kd6 14.Kb7+-) 12.Ka7! (looks more logical than 12.Kb7!? Rb2+ 13.Ka7!? which is quite similar, but I have not exactly worked it out. I agree with you that 13.Kc8 Rc2+ 14.Kd8 Ke5! leads to a draw.) Black is now in trouble, the threat is 13.Rxf5+-. 2a) 12....Kc7 transposes to 11....Kc7 12.Ka7 Rh2, 13.Rh7+ +-. 2b) 12....Kc6 13.Rh6+ Kc7 14.Rh7+ +- is the same. 2c) 12....Ke5!? 13.Kb7 Rb2+ 14.Ka8! transposes to the position 10.Rg5 Rb2 11.Rxh5, which is +- if line 1) is correct. 2d) 12....f4 13.Rf5! Rf2 (13....Rxh4?! 14.Kb6+-) and we have transposed to 11....Kc7 12.Ka7 f4 13.Rf5 Kd6, 14.Kb7+ +-. 2e) 12....Rf2 13.Rh6+ +-. 2f) 12....Ke6 13.Rh6+ and 14.Kb7+-" Many thanks for these deep insights! By the way: Helmut Conrady has written a very interesting article Was find ich denn da - Teil 4. Endspielforschung mit den Tablebases for the German magazine Computer, Schach und Spiele 1/04, p.42ff, which also explains the Troitzky rule in the endgame 2N vs. P (see Endgame Corner 36 in the ChessCafe Archives). Sources The Final Countdown, Willem Hajenius and Herman van Riemsdijk, Cadogan 1997 Secrets of Pawn Endings, Karsten Müller and Frank Lamprecht, Everyman 2000 Bauernendspiele, Yuri Averbakh, Sportverlag Berlin 1988 file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (6 of 9) [03/08/2004 8:45:53 AM]

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Bishop vs. Knight Endings, Averbakh, Batsford 1976 Endgame Preparation, Jonathan Speelman, Batsford 1981 Fundamental Chess Endings, Karsten Müller and Frank Lamprecht, GAMBIT 2001 ChessBase MEGABASE 2004

Solution to last month’s exercise E38.01 Grigoriev K novoj armii 1920 One key square is obviously d4, but it is not so easy to determine that e3 is also sufficient (for the proof see the line 1...Ke5?!). So f3=d2=1 to prevent White's Ke3 and c3=e3=2 to stop Kd4. From this it follows that c2=f4=3. But what about White's squares b3 and b2? From both squares his king can reach c3=2 and c2=3. Black’s only available square to deal with this is f3=1 and so he succumbs to a simple triangulation: 1...Kf3!? 1...Ke5?! 2.Ke3 Kd5 3.d4 Kc4 (3...Kd6 4.Ke4 Ke6 5.d5+ Kd6 6.Kd4+-) 4.Ke4 Kxb4 5.d5 Kc5 (5...Kc3 6.d6 b4 7.d7 b3 8.d8Q b2 9.Qd3++-) 6.Ke5 b4 7.d6 b3 8.d7 b2 9.d8Q b1Q 10.Qc7+ Kb4 11.Qb6++2.Kc2 Kf4 3.Kb2 Kf3 4.Kb3 and Black is in fatal zugzwang 4...Kf4 5.Kc2! Ke5 6.Kd1! sidestepping the mined square d2 (6.Kd2?! Kd4 7.Kc2 Ke5 forces White to find 8.Kd1!+-) 6...Kf5 7.Ke2 Kf4 8.Kf2 Ke5 9.Ke3+- and White has reached a key square and so wins as in the line with 1...Ke5?! above.

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E38.02 Grigoriev Izvestiya 1921 The key squares are f2, e2 and b3, a3. As they are not connected the shortest route between them is of interest. For White this is e1–d1–c1–b1–a2 and for Black f3-e3-d4c5-b4. As Black must start with 1...Kf3! it is clear that these squares correspond to each other (f3=e1=1, e3=d1=2 etc.). The only remaining square behind White is the a1-square, which corresponds to b5. 2.Kd1 Ke3 3.Kc1 Kd4 4.Kb1 Kc5 5.Ka1 Kb5 6.Ka2 Kb4= E38.03 Instructive Example First we search for the key squares. Black must capture the f3-pawn in order to win, so f3 and f2 are obviously key squares. After a brief examination it is also clear that the f1square is sufficient as well. So e3=g3=1, e2=g2=2, and e1=g1=1 can all be numbered. Now the adjacent squares h3, h2, and h1 shall be scrutinized and we can number h3=d3=4, h2=d2=5, and h1=d1=6. As White can move on the key squares there are no more squares at his back, so only Black's back squares remain and we find a3=c3=e3=g3, a2=c2=e2=g2. a1=c1=e1=g1, b3=d3=h3, b2=d2=h2, and b1=d1=h1. Hence, we have used the general method to find that this is a case of distant opposition! 1.Kh3!! 1.Kf2? Kb2 2.Ke3 Kc3 3.Ke2 Kc2 4.Ke3 Kd1 5.Kd3 Ke1 6.Kc4 Kf2 7.Kd5 Kxf3–+ 1...Ka2 2.Kg2! Ka1 3.Kg1! 3.Kg3? Kb1 and White's king can't leave the third rank: 4.Kh3 Kc1 5. Kg3 Kd1 6.Kf2 Kd2 7.Kf1 Ke3 8.Kg2 Ke2 9.Kg3 Kf1 10.Kh3 Kf2–+ 3...Kb2 4.Kh2! Kc3 5.Kg3! Kd3 6.Kh3! Kd2 7.Kh2! Ke2 8.Kg2!= and Black can't make progress.

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A Fascinating Fight My friend Merijn van Delft plays for BIS Apeldoorn and he had a very close look at his game with Tom Middelburg (LSG Leiden), which was played September 27th during the first round of the Dutch Meesterklasse. Merijn included his thoughts after a very brief analysis with me, and a few lines by his Amsterdam club mate Rob Witt. I have also added a few remarks, which start with KM. 37.05 T.Middelburg (2387) - M.van Delft (2402) [B19] Dutch League 2003

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.Nf3 Nd7 7.h4 h6 8.h5 Bh7 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 e6 11.Bd2?! (Critical is 11.Bf4) 11...Ngf6 12.0–0–0 Be7 13.Ne4 0–0 14.Kb1 c5 The equalizer. 15.dxc5 Nxc5 16.Nxf6+ Bxf6 17.Qxd8 Rfxd8 18.Be3 Na4 (Black also has other options, for example: 18...Rxd1+ 19.Rxd1 Rc8; 18...Rdc8; 18...b6) 19.c3?N (A very unfortunate move. The alternatives lead to equal play: 19.Rxd8+ Rxd8 20.c3; 19.Bd4) 19...Nb6? This misses the sudden opportunity for 19...Rxd1+ 20.Rxd1 Bxc3! 21.bxc3 (21.Rd7 Bxb2 22.Rxb7 Bf6 and Black stays a pawn up because of Nc3.) 21...Nxc3+ 22.Kc2 Nxd1 23.Kxd1 b6 (see diagram) followed by Rd8-d5 gives Black a clear advantage. My teammate Sipke Ernst, who has a lot of experience with the Open Spanish variation where Black exchanges two pieces against rook and pawn at f2, found it incredible that I did not go for this line. 20.Bxb6 axb6 (see next diagram)

After this exchange the position has become remarkably sharp. The duel between the white knight and the black bishop is very interesting. In some positions the knight is stronger, while in others the bishop is superior. 21.Rxd8+ Rxd8 22.Kc2 Rd5 This active rook compensates for the weak queenside. In this line of the Caro-Kann Black can often make some concession in the transposition to the ending, because White's kingside (pawn h5) can also become weak. 23.Rd1!? White keeps the game sharp. 23.g4 Ra5 24.Kb3 (24.a3 Ra4! followed by Rf4.) 24...Rb5+ 25.Kc2 Ra5 leads to a draw. 23...Rxh5 24.Rd7 Rf5! The move missed by White. 24...Rh1? is less good. 25.Rxb7 (25.Kd3!? g5 (25...Rd5+? 26.Rxd5 exd5 27.Nd4 Kf8 28.Nf5 Be7 29.b4 Bg5 30.a4 and despite his extra pawn Black has problems. This is a good example

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of a scenario where the white knight is superior.) 26.Nd2 is comparable to the lines examined next move.) 25...g5 26.Rxb6? A big mistake, after which the black bishop becomes very strong, while the white knight becomes very passive. It was necessary to retain the coordination between the white pieces with 26.Kd3! b5 27.Nd2! with about equal chances: 27...Kg7 (27...Rxf2 28.Ne4 Rf5 29.Nxf6+ Rxf6 30.Rxb5 Rf2 leads to a very sharp rook ending, for example: 31.a4 Rxg2 32.a5 Rg1 33.b4 Ra1) 28.Ne4 Rd5+ 29.Ke3 Kg6 and the position is more or less balanced. 26...g4 27.Ne1 Rxf2+ 28.Kd3 Bg5! Now the black rook and bishop are forming a perfect team. 29.a4 Rd2+ 30.Kc4 (see next diagram) 30...Be3? A superficial move which disturbs the coordination between the black pieces. In this critical position sharp calculation was required. Black could have won with 30...Re2! 31.Nd3 Rxg2 32.a5 and now the apawn is stopped by 32...Rg1! 33.a6 Ra1 after which the g-pawn decides the game. 31.Rb5 (see next diagram)

31...h5? This leads to trouble, better was 31...Re2 A) 32.Nc2 Ba7 may still be better for Black, although the position has become less clear. (32...Rxc2 33.Kd3 Rxg2 34.Kxe3 and Black seems to be more passive then in an earlier version of this rook ending.) B) 32.Nd3 Rxg2 33.Re5 Bg1 and the position is not quite clear to me. 32.Rxh5? Strong was the counter-intuitive 32.Re5! Bf4 (32...Bg1 33.b4 Kf8 34.a5 Ke7 35.b5 h4 36.b6 Kd6 37.Rb5 Re2 38.Rb1 h3 39.gxh3 gxh3 40.Nf3 h2 41.Nxh2 Bxh2 42.a6 Ra2 43.Kb5 Kd7 44.a7 and White wins, in this sample line given by the Amsterdam chess player Rob Witt.) 33.Rxh5 wins at least a tempo in comparison to the game, for example: 33...f5 (33...Rxb2 34.Nd3 Re2 35.Nxf4 Re4+ 36.Kb5 Rxf4 37.a5 does not seem to work as we saw in our joint analysis, which was also attended by Dirk Sebastian.) 34.a5 Re2 35.Nd3 Be3 36.g3 Rg2 37.a6 Rxg3 38.Rh6! and White wins. 32...Rxb2 33.Re5 33...Bd2? Again leading to problems, better was 33...Bf4 A) 34.Rb5 Ra2! Forces the king to b3, so the defence Rb2 is no longer possible. 35.Kb3 Re2! (see next diagram)

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seems to keep the balance, according to analyses by Rob Witt: 36.Nd3 (36.Rb4 e5 37.Nd3 Rxg2 38.Nxf4 exf4 39.Rxf4 Rg1 40.a5 g3 41.a6 Ra1 42.Ra4 Rxa4 43.Kxa4 g2 44.a7 g1Q 45.a8Q+ Kg7=) 36...Bh6 37.a5 Rxg2 38.a6 Be3 39.Ra5 Ba7 40.Ne5 g3 41.Nc6 Bb6 42.Kc4 f5 43.a7 Bxa7 44.Rxa7 Rf2 45.Ra1 f4 46.Ne5 f3 47.Rg1 g2= B) 34.Nd3 Ra2 35.Kb3 Bxe5 36.Kxa2 Bxc3 37.Kb3 Ba5 and Black has a better version of the ending we will see later, and thus he is able to draw. 34.Re2! (see next diagram) After the exchange of rooks, the a-pawn becomes very strong. And yes, in the following it paradoxically seems to be the white knight who is working on two wings! 34...Bxc3 35.Rxb2 Bxb2 36.Nd3 (36.a5 Be5) 36...Bf6 37.a5 Bd8 (see next diagram)

38.a6! After the obvious alternative 38.Kb5? Bxa5 39.Kxa5 Kg7 40.Kb5 Kf6 41.Kc5 Kf5 42.Kd4 Black can save the game with 42...e5+! 43.Ke3 (43.Nxe5 Kf4 44.Nc4 Kg3 45.Ne3 f5=) 43...Ke6 followed by f5 with a positional draw. 38...Bb6 39.Kb5 Ba7 (see next diagram)

40.Ne5? In time trouble it was impossible for White to find the amazing win: 40.Kc6! Kg7 (see next diagram) (40...f5? 41.Kb7 Bd4 42.a7 Bxa7 43.Kxa7 Kg7 44.Kb6 Kf6 45.Kc5 e5 46.Kd5 wins for White.)

A) 41.Kb7 Bd4 42.Kc6 (42.Ne5 f5) 42...Ba7 only repeats moves. B) 41.Kd6!! This move was indicated by Rob Witt. The idea is to force the black pawn to g3 after which an old-fashioned good knight-bad bishop scenario remains. Yet with the modern paradoxical feature of the knight working on two wings. 41...Kf6 42.Ne5! g3 (42...Bb8+

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43.Kc6 Kxe5 44.Kb7! is a nice point.) 43.Nc4 Kg5 (43...Kf5 44.Kc6 with the idea of Kb7 and Nb6 wins.) 44.Ke5 (I just noticed that the simple 44.Kc6? also seems to win. KM: This is (fortunately) not the case: 44...f5 45.Kb7 (see next diagram) 45...Bc5!! 46.Nb6 f4 47.a7 f3 48.a8Q fxg2=) 44...Bb8+ 45.Ke4 f5+ 46.Kf3 and White wins. KM: Let me explain: 46...Kf6 (46...f4 47.Ne5 Ba7 48.Nc6 Bf2 49.a7 Bxa7 50.Nxa7 Kf5 51.Nb5 e5 52.Nc3 Kg5 53.Ke4 Kf6 54.Ne2 Ke6 55.Ng1+-; 46...e5 47.Nxe5+-) 47.Na5 Ba7 48.Nc6 Bf2 49.a7 Bxa7 50.Nxa7 e5 51.Kxg3 Kg5 52.Nb5 (see next diagram)

and now White has to force a pawn move and then blockade the resulting hole: 52...Kf6 (52...f4+ is met by 53.Kf2! Kf5 54.Nd6+ Ke6 55.Ne4 Kd5 56.Kf3 Ke6 57.Kg4 Kd5 58.Nf6+ Ke6 59.Nh5+-; 52...Kh5 53.Nd6 Kg5 54.Nc4 Kf6 55.Kh4+-) 53.Kh4 Kg6 (53...e4 54.g3 Ke5 55.Kg5 e3 56.Nc3 Kd4 57.Kf4 Kd3 58.Kf3 Kxc3 59.Kxe3+-) 54.Nc3 Kf6 (54...Kh6 55.Nd1 Kg6 56.Nf2 e4 57.Nh3+) 55.Kh5 e4 (55...Ke6 56.Kg5+-) 56.Ne2 Ke5 57.Kg5+40...f5 41.Nc6 f4 (see next diagram) 42.Ne5! This forces a draw by one tempo. 42.Nxa7? f3 43.gxf3 gxf3 44.Nc6 f2 45.a7 f1Q+ 46.Kb6 (see next diagram)

seems to win for Black after a zigzag manoeuvre by the new queen: 46...Qb1+ 47.Kc7 Qa2 48.Kb7 Qb3+ 49.Kc7 Qa4 50.Kb7 Qb5+ 51.Kc7 Qa6–+ 42...f3! 43.Nxf3 (43.gxf3 g3 (see next diagram)

Merijn van Delft stops this line here. I (KM) continue to prove that the position is drawn: 44.f4 g2 (44...Kg7 45.Kc6 Kf6 46.Kb7 g2

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47.Nf3 g1Q 48.Nxg1 Bxg1 49.Kc6 Kf5 50.Kd6= (see next diagram)

as Black can't make progress due to the vulnerability of his e-pawn.) 45.Nf3 Kg7 (45...g1Q 46.Nxg1 Bxg1 47.Kc6 Kf7 48.Kd6=) 46.Kc6 Kf6 (46...Kh6 47.Kb7 Bf2 48.a7 Bxa7 49.Kxa7 Kh5 50.Kb6 Kg4 51.Ng1 Kxf4 52.Kc5 e5 53.Kd5=) 47.Kd6=) 43...gxf3 44.gxf3 Kf7 45.Kc6 Kf6 46.Kb7 Be3 47.a7 Bxa7 48.Kxa7 Kf5 49.Kb6 Kf4 50.Kc6 e5 (50...Kxf3 51.Kd6=) 51.Kd6 Kxf3 52.Kxe5 And the arbiter declared the game drawn ½–½ KM: What a tough fight! Well done, Merijn!

Copyright 2004 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved.

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Endgame Corner

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A Theoretically Important Endgame I had an interesting endgame, in the recent German Championship held in Höckendorf, against one of Germany's very talented young players, 16-year-old Arik Braun: 41.01 K.Müller (2517) - A.Braun (2429) [B47] 75th ch-GER Höckendorf 2004 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.g3 6...Nf6?

Endgame Corner

This is a serious error. As usual the move order is very critical in the Open Sicilian. 6...a6 is correct, which leads to the game after 7.Bg2 Nf6 8.0–0 Nxd4 (8...Bc5 is an important alternative.) 9.Qxd4 Bc5 10.Bf4 d6 11.Qd2.

Karsten Müller

7.Bg2? I can't explain this properly. Maybe I hoped to get the endgame I was aiming for: 7.Ndb5! Qb8 (7...Qa5 8.Bd2±) 8.Bf4 Ne5 (8...e5 9.Bg5±) 9.Be2! Bc5 (9...a6 10.Qd4 d6 11.Rd1 axb5 12.Bxe5+-) 10.Bxe5! Qxe5 11.f4 Qb8 12.e5+- from R.Fischer-M.Tal, Bled 1961 is the well known refutation. 7...Nxd4 8.Qxd4 Bc5 9.Bf4 d6 10.Qd2 a6 11.0–0 h6 (11...Nd7? 12.Rad1 Ne5 13.Na4±) 12.Rad1 e5 13.Be3 Bg4 13...Ke7 is the alternative here. Yet White's initiative is dangerous, e.g. 14.Bxc5 Qxc5 15.Na4 Qc7 (15...Qc6?! 16.f4 a5 17.Qd3 b5 18.Nc3 Be6 19.Qxb5 Qxb5 20.Nxb5 Bc4 21.Nxd6 Bxf1 22.Nf5+ Kf8 23.Rxf1±) 16.f4 a5 17.Qd3 b5 18.Nc3 Be6 19.Nxb5 Qc5+ 20.Kh1 Bc4 21.Qxd6+ Qxd6 22.Nxd6 Bxf1 23.Nf5+ Kf8 24.Rxf1 with compensation (Ribli in CBM 64) K.Georgiev-S.Dorobanov, New York Open 1998. 13...Bxe3? 14.fxe3 Ke7? (14...Be6 15.Qxd6 Qxd6 16.Rxd6 Rd8 17.Rxd8+ Kxd8 18.Nd5±) 15.Rxf6+13...Be6 14.Bxc5 dxc5 15.Nd5 Bxd5 16.exd5 Qd6 17.f4 is another move order to reach the endgame. It was used in Adams-Anand, Corus Wijk aan Zee 2001. 14.Bxc5 dxc5 (14...Bxd1?? 15.Bxd6+-) 15.f3 15.Qd6 Rc8 (15...Qxd6?! 16.Rxd6 Rd8 17.Rxd8+ Kxd8 F.Peredy-O.Touzane, Budapest First Saturday 1995 18.f4 is unpleasant as 18...Re8? is met by 19.f5±)

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16.Rd2 has also been tried, but Black should be able to neutralize White's initiative. 15...Be6 16.Nd5 16.f4 A) 16...Rd8?! 17.Nd5 Bxd5 18.exd5 e4 19.Rfe1 (19.c4 0–0 20.Rfe1 Rfe8 21.Qc2 with compensation B.Kurajica-M.Franklin, Hastings 1971) 19...Rxd5 20.Rxe4+ Kd8 21.Qe2 Rxd1+ 22.Qxd1+ Qd7 23.Qxd7+ Kxd7 24.Re5 b6 25.Bf1 a5 26.Bc4± was the very famous R.Fischer-M.Taimanov, Vancouver 1971, that Fischer managed to win in very instructive fashion. See Endgame Corner 9 in the ChessCafe Archives. B) 16...0–0 B1) 17.Qd6 Qa5!= O.Rodriguez Vargas-V.Palermo, Buenos Aires 1973 (17...Qxd6? 18.Rxd6 gives White a very strong initiative, e.g. 18...Rfe8 19.Rfd1 Rac8 20.f5 Bc4 21.a4± V.Kotronias-D.Rajkovic, Corfu 1993) B2) 17.Nd5 Bxd5 18.exd5 (see next diagram)

and now Black has something better than … Qd6: 18...e4 (18...exf4 19.Qxf4 Qb6 and White has only a very slight advantage.) 19.Rfe1 Rfe8 20.c4 Qd6 21.Re3 Re7 22.Rde1 Rae8 23.Qc2 b5 24.b3 h5 and in M.PavlovM.Bobotsov, Bucharest 1971 a draw was agreed. So I like the immediate 16.Nd5 more: 16.Rfe1 Rd8 17.Qxd8+ Qxd8 18.Rxd8+ Kxd8 19.f4 Kc7 20.Nd5+ Bxd5 21.exd5 e4!= D.NavaraP.Haba, CZE 2002 16...Bxd5 17.exd5 (see next diagram) 17...Qd6 17...0–0?! 18.d6 Qb6 19.c4 Rad8 20.Rfe1 Rfe8 21.Bh3 and it is not easy to blockade White's dangerous d-pawn, D.Alsina LealD.Andreikin, Kirishi 2003 18.f4! 18.c4 0–0 19.Rfe1 Rfe8 20.Re2 Re7 21.Rde1 Rae8 22.Qc2 b5 does not promise White anything, D.Maxion-W.Heinig, Germany

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1992. 18...0–0 19.fxe5 19.Rfe1 exf4 20.Qxf4 Rfd8 21.Qxd6 Rxd6 22.Re7 b6 23.Rc7 Rad8 24.c4 R8d7 25.Rc8+ Rd8 26.Bh3 Rxc8 27.Bxc8 a5 28.Bb7 Ne4= (Ribli) P.Large-G.Fischdick, London 1984 19...Qxe5 If Black manages to blockade the d5-pawn with his knight, he will be just fine. So White has to take drastic measures to fight for an advantage. Michael Adams has given the following pawn sacrifice his stamp of approval, so I was happy to try it myself: 20.d6!? 20.c4 Qd6 is just equal: 21.Qf4 Rad8 22.Rfe1 Qxf4 23.gxf4 Ne8 24.Re7 Nd6 25.b3 Rfe8= due to Black's strong blockading knight, T.Ernst-C.Bergstrom, Norrkoeping 1988 20...Qxb2 21.c4! At first sight this is a very strange decision: White offers an endgame a pawn down! But Adams is extremely strong, so we have to look again. White's d-pawn threatens to cut Black's army in two halves, which may lead to a domination of his rooks. Due to White's queenside pressure his bishop is stronger than the knight, which has lost its ideal blockading post on d6. And last but not least – White is better mobilized and has the initiative. 21.Rb1?! Qxa2 22.Rxb7 Rad8 T.Horvath-A.Fominyh, Budapest 1996 reduces White's winning potential, especially as his potentially dangerous a-pawn has disappeared, and makes Black’s defense much easier. 21...Qxd2 22.Rxd2 Rab8 23.a4!? White wants to keep the queenside pawns on the board to bring pressure to bear on them. 23.Rb1 b5 24.d7 Rfd8 25.Bc6 Kf8 26.cxb5 axb5 27.Rxb5 Rxb5 28.Bxb5 Ke7 29.Re2+ Kf8 30.Rd2 Ke7 31.Re2+ and a draw was agreed in I.Rodriguez Gonzalez-J.Morales, Madrid 2003. 23...Rfd8 23...Nd7 One idea of this move is to establish the knight on e5.

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A) 24.Bd5!? comes strongly into consideration, e.g. 24...Nf6 25.Rb1 Nxd5 (25...b6 26.Bc6 is quite good for White as it’s not easy for Black to untangle his forces.) 26.Rxd5 b6 (see next diagram) 27.a5! bxa5 28.Rbd1 and White is better despite the two pawn deficit. B) 24.Rb2 Rfd8 25.Rxb7 Rxb7 26.Bxb7 Nb6 27.Bxa6 Nxa4 28.Bb5 (28.Rd1 Nc3 29.Rd3 Ne4 30.d7 Nf6 31.Bb5 Kf8=) 28...Nc3 29.Rf5 Rxd6= T.Bakre-A.Fominyh, Cairo 2001 23...b5? is met by 24.cxb5 axb5 25.a5± (see next diagram)

and White's bishop lends his long arm to the a-pawn. 24.Rb1 b6!? 24...Nd7 25.Rxb7 Rxb7 26.Bxb7 Ne5 27.Rd5 Nxc4 28.Bxa6 Nxd6 (see next diagram)

29.a5 (29.Rxc5!? still gives White some winning chances as his a-pawn is quite dangerous.) 29...Kf8 30.Bf1 Nb7! White can win the knight, but not the game. 31.Rxd8+ Nxd8 32.Bg2 Ne6 33.a6 Nc7 34.a7 Ke7 35.Kf2 Kd6 36.Ke3 c4 37.a8Q Nxa8 38.Bxa8 Ke5 39.Bf3 f5 40.Be2 g5 41.Bxc4 f4+ 42.Kf2 (42.gxf4+ gxf4+ 43.Kf3 Kf6 is drawn due to White's wrong rook's pawn.) 42...fxg3+ 43.hxg3 g4 44.Bf7 Kf6 45.Be8 Kg5 46.Ke3 h5 47.Bxh5 Kxh5 48.Kf4 Kh6 49.Kxg4 Kg6 (see next diagram) and a draw was agreed in Adams-Anand, Corus Wijk aan Zee 2001. If you don't know why or want to study pawn endgames, you can start with Endgame Corner 10 in the ChessCafe Archives. 25.Re1 (see next diagram)

25...Nd7? now it is too late for this regrouping. 25...Ne8 was called for, when I could not find more than 26.Red1 Nf6

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27.Re1= 26.Re7 f6?! 26...Nf6 27.Bc6 Kf8 28.Ra7 Ng4 29.Re2 Rxd6 30.Bd5 with compensation. 27.Bd5+ Kh8 28.Be6 Ne5 29.Kf2 Nc6 30.Rc7 Nd4 (see next diagram) 31.Bd7 Thomas Luther suggested the immediate 31.Rxd4 cxd4 32.d7 (see next diagram)

This is very interesting, e.g. A) 32...g6? 33.a5 f5 (33...d3 34.Rc8 d2 35.Rxd8+ Rxd8 36.Ke2+-; 33...bxa5 34.Rc8 Kg7 35.Rxd8 Rxd8 36.c5+-) 34.Rc8 Kg7 35.axb6 Kf6 36.c5 Kxe6 37.c6+- (see next diagram)

The touch down is coming! B) 32...a5! 33.Ke2 g6 34.Kd3 Kg7 35.Kxd4 Kf8 36.Kd5 Ke7 37.g4 and White may be winning, but I am not 100% sure. 31...Kh7 32.Ke3 (see next diagram)

32...f5? (32...b5 was the last chance.) 33.Rxd4! now it is over: 33...cxd4+ 34.Kxd4 Kg6 35.Ke5 Rf8 36.Be6 b5 37.axb5 axb5 38.c5 b4 39.d7 b3 40.Rc8 b2 41.Rxb8 Rxb8 42.Bxf5+ Kf7 43.Kd6 b1Q 44.Bxb1 Rxb1 45.d8Q 1-0

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Sources: ChessBase MEGABASE 2004; The Week in Chess

Exercises (Solutions next month) E41.01 K.Müller (2521) - P.Acs (2606) ECC Rethymnon 2003 White to move and win

E41.02 M.Adams (2719) - S.Zhigalko (2399) ECC Rethymnon 2003 White to move and win

E41.03 G.Schebler - K.Müller German Championship Hoeckendorf 2004 White to move and win

Copyright 2004 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved.

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Endgame Corner

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The Silicon Oracle Speaks It is now time to return to the theme of Endgame Corner #1 (see the ChessCafe Archives) as Eugene Nalimov has published his database with R+2P vs. R and the Silicon Oracle corrected a few important points: This is a well known standard drawing position. After 1.Rg6+ both ...Kf7 and ...Kh7 draw, but which is easier for humans to comprehend? Traditionally ...Kf7 was favoured after Smyslov managed to demonstrate that he could draw easily with it. But Jonathan Speelman advocated ...Kh7 in Batsford Chess Endings, so let us take a closer look:

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

1...Kh7 1...Kf7 A) 2.Rg5 Rb1 3.Ra5 Kf6 4.Ra6+ A1) 4...Kf7? 5.Kg5 Rf1 (5...Rg1+ 6.Kf5 Rb1 7.Ra7+ (see next diagram)

and Black's king is cut off on the back rank, which is almost always won for White.) 6.Rf6+! (6.Ra7+?! Ke6 and White must return 7.Ra6+ Kf7 8.Rf6++-) 6...Kg7 7.h6+ Kg8 (see next diagram)

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8.Rf5!! Rg1+ 9.Kh5 Rh1+ 10.Kg6 Rh4 11.Kg5 Rh1 12.Rd5 Rg1+ 13.Kh5 Ra1 14.Rd8+ Kh7 15.Rd7+ and Black's king is cut off. White mates in 40 moves with optimal play according to the tablebase. A2) 4...Kg7!= B) 2.Kh4 Kopaev's plan 2...Rb1 Another rule of this endgame suggests that the defending rook is usually well placed on a1 or b1 to be able to deliver checks on g1, h1 or a6, a7 etc., whenever White's king leaves its shelter. 3.Rg3 Rh1+ 4.Kg5 (4.Rh3 Rg1 5.f5 Kf6 6.h6

6...Kxf5 7.h7 and Black delivers perpetual check: 7...Rg4+ 8.Kh5 Rg5+ 9.Kh6 Rg6+=) 4...Kg7! 5.f5 Ra1 (5...Rh2? just waiting is not sufficient: 6.f6+ Kf7 7.h6 Rh1 8.Rg4 Rh2 9.Rg1! Rh3 10.Ra1 Rg3+ 11.Kh4 Rg2 12.h7 Rh2+ 13.Kg5 Rg2+ 14.Kf4 Rh2 15.Ra8 Rxh7 16.Ra7+ Kg6 17.Rxh7 Kxh7 18.Kf5 Kg8 19.Ke6 Kf8 20.f7+-) 6.h6+ Kh7 7.Re3 Rg1+ 8.Kf6 Ra1 9.Re6 Kxh6 10.Kf7+ Kh7 11.f6 Ra8! (see next diagram)

and Chéron's draw is reached, which is based on the back rank defense: 12.Re8 Ra7+ 13.Re7 Ra8 14.Ke6+ Kg6 15.f7 Kg7= 1...Kh8? 2.f5! Kh7 3.Kg5 Rb1 4.Re6 Kg7 5.h6+ Kh7 6.Re7++2.f5 Rb1 3.Kg5 3.f6 (see next diagram)

A) Speelman gives 3...Rb6? but it loses: 4.f7 Rb4+ 5.Kf5 Rb5+ 6.Ke6 Rb6+ 7.Ke5 Rb5+ 8.Kd6 Rb8 9.Rg5 Rb6+ 10.Ke5 Rb5+ 11.Kd4 Rxg5 (11...Rb4+ 12.Kd5 Rb5+ 13.Kc6 Rb8 14.Rf5 Kg7 15.h6+ Kf8 16.h7 Kg7 17.f8Q+ Rxf8 18.Rxf8+-) 12.f8Q (see next diagram)

12...Rd5+ the desperado rook does not help: 13.Kc4 Rd4+ 14.Kb5 Rd5+ 15.Kc6+- and the checks have run out.

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B) 3...Rb4+ 4.Kg3 Rb3+ 5.Kh4 Rf3! 6.Kg4 Rf1 7.Kg5 (see next diagram)

and now only the amazing 7...Kh8!! draws: 8.h6 (8.Kh6?! Rf5=) 8...Rf2 9.Rg7 Rxf6= 3...Rg1+ 4.Kf6 Ra1 5.Rg2 5.Ke6 Ra6+ 6.Ke5 Ra5+ 7.Kf4 Ra1 8.Re6 Kg7!= 5.Rg7+ Kh6 6.Re7 Ra6+ 7.Re6 Ra7= (Speelman) 5...Kh6 6.Re2 (see next diagram) 6...Ra5 Speelman's 6...Ra6+? is insufficient: 7.Kf7 A) 7...Kg5 8.h6 Kxf5 (8...Rxh6 9.Kg7 Ra6 10.f6+-) 9.Rf2+! Kg5 10.h7 Rh6 11.Rg2+ Kf5 12.Kg7+B) 7...Kxh5 8.f6 Ra7+ 9.Kg8 Kg6 10.f7 Rxf7 11.Rg2+ Kf6 12.Rf2++C) 7...Ra7+ 8.Re7 Ra8 9.f6 Kh7 10.Rd7 Kh6 11.Ke7 Ra1 12.f7 Re1+ 13.Kf8 Re2 14.Re7 Ra2 15.Re6+ Kh7 16.Ke7+6...Ra7 draws as well. 7.Re6 Kxh5 8.Re5 Ra7 9.Ke6 Kg5 10.f6+ Kg6 11.Re1 Ra6+ 12.Ke7 Ra7+= The next example will remind you of Endgame Corner #1: 42.02 R.Pogorelov (2517) - E.Fernandez Romero (2396) Dos Hermanas-B 2003 60.Rc8 Kg4 61.Rg8+ Kf3 62.Ra8 Rg2+ 63.Kh1 Rd2?! The road to victory is as follows: 63...Re2 64.Kg1 Ke4 65.Re8+ Kd3 66.Rd8+ Ke3 67.Re8+ Kd2 68.Rd8+ Ke1 69.Rf8 (see next diagram)

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69...Re4 70.Kh2 Kf2 71.Kxh3 (71.Ra8 Re3 72.Ra4 f3 73.Ra1 Re8 74.Ra3 Ke2–+) 71...Re3+ 72.Kh2 f3 73.Ra8 (see next diagram)

Chéron's position with Black to move 73...Kf1 74.Ra1+ Re1 75.Ra3 f2 76.Ra2 Rd1 77.Kg3 Rd3+ 78.Kh2 Rf3 79.Rb2 Ke1–+ 64.Kg1 Rd3 (see next diagram)

65.Rf8? 65.Kh2!= was called for, as the king must leave the first rank according to the rule. 65...Re3? 66.Kh2 Re7 67.Ra8 67.Rf6? Ke3 68.Kxh3 f3 69.Kg3 Rg7+ 70.Kh2 f2–+ 67...Rh7 68.Ra3+ 68.Rb8 Ke3 69.Rb3+ Ke4 70.Rb4+ Kf5 71.Rb3 Kg4 72.Rb8 f3 73.Rb4+ Kf5 74.Rb5+ Ke4 75.Rb4+ Ke3 76.Rb3+= 68...Kg4 69.Ra8 Rg7 70.Ra4? Now the other rule is applicable and the rook must move to b8: 70.Rb8 70...Rd7 71.Ra8 71.Ra2 is much too passive, of course: 71...Rd4 72.Re2 f3 73.Rf2 Re4–+ 71...Rd2+ 72.Kg1 Kg3 73.Rg8+ Kf3 74.Ra8 White could have now claimed threefold repetition. 74...Rd3? 75.Kh2 Ke2 (see next diagram) 76.Re8+? (76.Ra2+ Rd2 77.Ra1 Rd1 78.Ra2+ Kf3 79.Ra8=) 76...Kf1 77.Rf8 (77.Ra8 Re3

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78.Ra1+ Re1 79.Ra3 Re2+ 80.Kh1 Re3 81.Ra1+ Re1 82.Ra3 f3–+) 77...f3 0–1 When the defending king is cut off on the e-file the attacker usually wins, but when the pawns are very far back it is amazingly difficult:

42.03 J.Timman - N.Short El Estorial Candidates match 1993 1.Rf4 Rh1 The game continued with 1...Ke5 and was analysed in detail in John Nunn's excellent article The Silicon Detective in New in Chess Magazine 1/2004, pp.48-53. 2.Kg4 Rg1+ 3.Kh5 Rg8 4.Rf7 Ke6 5.Rf3 5.Rf4? Rh8+ 6.Kg4 Rg8+ 7.Kh4 Rh8+ 8.Kg3 Rg8+ 9.Kf3 Ke5 10.h4 Rh8= and White can't make progress. 5...Ke5 5...Rh8+ 6.Kg6 Rg8+ 7.Kh7 Rg2 8.Kh6 Rg8 9.Rg3 Ra8 10.Kg6 Rg8+ 11.Kh7 Ra8 12.Rf3 Ra4 13.Kg6 Ke7 14.Rf7+ Ke8 15.f4 Ra3 16.f5 Rxh3 17.Ra7 Black's king is caught on the long side of the pawn 17...Rg3+ 18.Kf6 Rf3 19.Ra8+ Kd7 20.Rf8! you should remember this little move, which makes full use of the rooks power. 20...Rf1 21.Kg7 Rg1+ 22.Kf7 Rh1 23.f6+6.Kh6 6.h4? is still too early: 6...Rh8+ 7.Kg4 Rg8+ 8.Kh3 Rh8= 6...Ke4 7.Rf7 Ke5 7...Rh8+ 8.Rh7 Rg8 9.Rg7 Rh8+ 10.Kg5 Rf8 (10...Rxh3 11.Re7+ Kf3 12.Re3+ Kg2 13.Rxh3 Kxh3 14.f4+-; 10...Ra8 11.h4 Ra5+ 12.Kg4 Ra2 13.Re7++-) 11.Re7+ Kf3 12.Re6 Kxf2 13.h4+8.Kh7 Rg1 9.Rf3 Rg2 10.Rf8 Ke6 11.Kh6 Rh2 12.Rf3 Ke7 13.Kh5 Rg2 14.Rf4 Rg8 and finally White can prepare the advance of his h-pawn: 15.Kh6 Rh8+ 16.Kg7! Rxh3 17.Re4+ Kd6 18.f4 Kd5 19.Re5+ Kd6 20.Kf6 Rh6+ 21.Kg5 Rh8 22.Re4 Rg8+

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(22...Kd5 23.Ra4 Rg8+ (23...Ke6 24.f5+ Kf7 25.Ra7+ Kg8 26.Kg6+-) 24.Kf6 Rg4 25.Ra5+ Kd6 26.f5+-) 23.Kf6 Kd5 24.Ra4 Rf8+ 25.Kg7 Rf5 26.Kg6 Rf8 27.f5+and the pawn has crossed the middle of the board. White is winning because he will reach Lucena's position. Two connected passed pawns usually win, but when the defending king occupies a hole between them it can be quite difficult and even several fortresses exist: 42.04 F.Vallejo Pons (2662) - K.Landa (2614) EUCup 19th Rethymnon 2003 52...Kc5 53.Rg5+ 53.Rb3? is too passive: 53...Kb6 54.Kc3 Ra4 55.Rb4 Ra1 56.Kd4 Ra8 (56...Rd1+? 57.Ke5 Rh1 (see next diagram)

58.Rd4!! R 61.Kd6 Rh 64.Rd6+-) diagram)

58...Rh8 and White's king has no shelter 59.Rb1 Rh6+= 53...Kb6 54.Rd5 Ra4 55.Kc3 Rh4 56.Kd3 Rb4 57.Ke3?! (57.Re5 Rf4 58.Re8 wins quicker) 57...Rc4 58.Re5 Rh4 59.Kd3 Rg4 (see next diagram)

60.Re8 Rg7 60...Rh4 61.Rb8+ Ka7 62.Rb7+ (Of course not 62.c7?? Rd4+ 63.Kc3 Rc4+=) 62...Ka8 63.Re7 Rb4 64.Re8+ Ka7 65.c7+61.Kc4 Rh7

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61...Rg4+ 62.Kd5 Rg5+ 63.Kd6 Rg6+ 64.Kd7 Rg7+ 65.Re7 Rg8 66.c7 Kb7 67.b6 Rh8 68.Re8+62.Rd8 Rh4+ 63.Kd3?! Rh7 64.Rb8+ Ka7 65.Re8 Kb6 66.Kc4 Rg7 67.Rh8 Rf7 68.Ra8 Rf4+ 69.Kd5 Rf5+ and Black resigned due to 70.Ke6 Rxb5 71.Kd6 Rh5 72.Rb8+ Ka7 73.c7+Finally I return to Endgame Corner #30, example 30.04: 42.05 P.Leko (2736) - V.Anand (2753) XX SuperGM Linares 2003 Anand had to try 45...Rc4! to make the transfer of White's king to the queenside more difficult. This seems to hold the position, while in the game Anand played 45...Ra1? and lost (see 30.04): 46.Kf3 46.f3 Rc2 47.f4 Rc3+ 48.Kf2 gxf4 49.Rxf4 Ra3 50.Rf5 f6 51.Rb5 Kf7 52.Rb7+ Ke6 53.Rb6+ Ke5 54.a6 Kf4= (Leko at www.chessgate.de) 46...Ra4 47.Ke3 Rxg4 48.Kd3 f6 49.Kc3 Kf7 50.Kb3 Ke6 51.a6 51.Rc5 Rg1 52.a6 Ra1 53.Rc6+ Kf5 54.Kb4 Kg4 55.Rxf6 Kxh5 56.f3 Ra2 57.Kb5 Ra3 58.Kb6 Rb3+ 59.Kc7 Ra3 60.Kb7 Rb3+ 61.Rb6 Rxf3= 51...Kxf5 52.a7 Rf4 53.a8Q Kg4 So far my analysis. Now Jan Timman has found a very dangerous plan to shatter Black's fortress (see New in Chess Magazine 1/2004, p.97): 54.Qh1!? My line went 54.Qe8 Rxf2 55.Qg6 f5 56.Qxh6 Rh2 57.Qe6 Kxh5 58.Qxf5 (58.Kc4 Rh4+ 59.Kd5 Re4 60.Qxf5 Rf4=) 58...Rh4= 54...Rxf2 55.Qg1+ Kf3 56.Kc3 g4 57.Qc1 g3 58.Qxh6 g2 59.Qxf6+ (see next diagram) Assuming that White wins, but Black still has a resource: 59...Kg3! 60.Qg5+ (60.Qg7+ Kf3 61.h6 Rf1=) 60...Kf3 61.h6 Rf1 62.h7 Rh1= Sources Batsford Chess Endings, Speelman, Tisdall and Wade, Batsford 1993 New in Chess Magazine 1/2004 Nalimov 6-man Tablebases The Week in Chess ChessBase MEGABASE 2004

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Exercises (Solutions next month) E42.01 L.Lenic (2386) - Sermek (2577) Vidmar mem 15th Terme Zrece 2003 Can White to move save himself?

E42.02 V.Anand (2766) - A.Shirov (2736) GMA Wijk aan Zee 2004 White to move and win

Solutions to last month exercises E41.01 K.Müller (2521) - P.Acs (2606) ECC Rethymnon 2003 White wins by force: 41.Rxd7+!! (41.gxh6? g5+ plays into Black's hand.) 41...Kxd7 42.gxh6 Nxh6 (42...Ke6 43.a4 bxa4 44.bxa4 Kf6 45.a5 Nd8 46.a6 Nc6 47.Ke4+-) 43.Kg5 Nf5 44.Kxg6 Ne7+!? forces White to act very precisely 45.Kf7 Nd5 46.h4 Nxc3 47.h5 Ne4 48.Kg6! (48.h6? Ng5+ 49.Kg6 Ne6 spoils the win as the knight is able to stop the h-pawn alone.) 48...Nc5 (48...Ke7 49.h6 Nf6 50.a4+-) (see next diagram)

49.Kf6!! the only way to win as it follows two aims: the transfer of White's king to the queenside via e5 and a helping hand for the advance of the h-pawn. 49...Ne6 (49...Ke8 50.h6 Nd7+ 51.Ke6 b4 52.Kd6+-) 50.Ke5 Ke7 51.h6 Kf7 (see next diagram)

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52.b4!? the easiest way to win. 52.h7 Nf8 53.h8N+ should win as well, but 53.h8Q? Ng6+ is only drawn. 52...Nd8 53.Kd6 Kg6 54.Kc5 Kxh6 55.Kxb5 Kg6 56.a4 Kf6 57.a5 Ke6 58.a6 Kd7 59.a7 Ne6 60.Kb6 and Acs resigned due to 60...Nc7 61.Kb7 Kd6 62.b5 Kd7 63.b6+-

E41.02 M.Adams (2719) - S.Zhigalko (2399) ECC Rethymnon 2003 Adams could have won with 47.Rf3+, but instead played: 47.h4? 47.Rf3+ Kg6 48.h4 Rg2 (48...Ra2 49.d4 Ra8 50.Kc6 Ra4 51.Kc5 Ra5+ 52.Kb4 Rd5 53.Kc4 Ra5 54.hxg5 Kxg5 55.d5+-; 48...Rh2 49.hxg5 Kxg5 50.d4 Kg4 51.Ke4 Re2+ 52.Re3 Rxe3+ 53.Kxe3 Kxg3 54.d5+-) 49.Ke4 g4 (49...gxh4 50.gxh4 Rg4+ 51.Rf4+-) 50.Re3 Kf6 51.Kd5 Rf2 52.d4 Rf3 53.Ke4 Rf1 54.Kd3 Rf5 55.Kc4 Rf1 (see next diagram) 56.d5 (56.Re5 Rf3 57.Rxh5 Rxg3 58.Rg5 comes into consideration as well.) 56...Rf3 57.Re1 (57.Kd4? Rxe3 58.Kxe3 Ke5 59.d6 Kxd6 60.Kf4 Kd5 61.Kg5 Ke4 62.Kxh5 Kf3=) 57...Rxg3 58.d6 Rg2 59.Rd1! (see next diagram)

Rooks belong behind passed pawns. Black's rook is on the wrong side of the g-pawn: 59...Rc2+ 60.Kb5 Rb2+ (60...Rc8 61.d7 Rd8 62.Kc6 g3 63.Kc7 Rxd7+ 64.Kxd7 Kf5 65.Ke7 Kg4 66.Kf6 Kxh4 67.Kf5 Kh3 68.Kf4 h4 69.Kf3 g2 70.Rg1+-) 61.Kc6 Rc2+ 62.Kb7 Rb2+ 63.Kc7 Rc2+ 64.Kd8 g3 65.d7 Kf7 66.Rf1+ Kg6 67.Rg1 g2 68.Ke7 Re2+ 69.Kf8 Rd2 70.Rxg2++47...gxh4 48.gxh4 Kg4 49.Re4+ Kf3 50.Kd4 Ra2 51.Kc3 Rh2 52.Kd4 Ra2 53.Ke5 Ra5+ 54.Ke6 Ra3 55.Rd4 Ke3 56.Rd5 Rxd3 57.Rxh5 Kd4 ½–½ E41.03 G.Schebler - K.Müller

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German Championship Höckendorf 2004 White can win by simplifying into a won pawn ending with 1.fxe5+, but instead played: 1.Rxa6? 1.fxe5+! Kxe5 (1...dxe5 2.Rxa6++-) 2.Rxb4 cxb4 3.Kf3 Kf6 4.Kf4 a5 (see next diagram)

5.e5+!! the point 5...dxe5+ 6.Ke4 g5 7.hxg5+ Kxg5 8.Kxe5 A) 8...Kg6 9.Ke6 h4 (9...Kg7 10.d6 Kf8 11.d7+-) 10.d6 h3 11.d7 h2 12.d8Q h1Q 13.Qg8+ Kh5 14.Qh7++B) 8...h4 9.d6 h3 10.d7 h2 11.d8Q++1.Rxb4? is the wrong move order as Black can take back with the d-pawn on e5: 1...cxb4 2.fxe5+ dxe5= 1...Rxe4 2.Rxd6+ Kf5 3.fxe5 Rg4+ 4.Kh3 Kxe5 and the game was soon drawn.

Copyright 2004 Karsten Müller. All rights reserved.

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Endgame Corner

Counterplay Counts In rook endings activity is usually critically important, as in the following recent examples: 43.01 V.Anand (2774) - S.Lputian (2634) ARM-ROW Match Moscow 2004 57.Kd4? The winning method was given at the ChessBase website: 57.Re5! Rb8 (passively waiting makes White's task easier: 57...Ra7 58.Kd5 Ra6 59.Kc5 Ra8 60.Kb6+-) 58.Rxa5 Rb4+ 59.Kd5 Kxg5 60.Ra8 Kh6 61.a5 Rb5+ 62.Kc4 Rg5 63.a6+- as Black is one tempo too slow to set up Vancura's draw.

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

57...Rd8+? Activity is the correct concept, but Black chooses the wrong way to implement it. Alexander Baburin found the proper method and published it in Chess Today 1313: 57...Rf8!! A) 58.Kc5 Kxg5 59.Rxa5 Rf4 60.Ra8 Kg6 61.a5 Rf5+ 62.Kc6 Kg7 is Vancura's draw. B) 58.Ke4 Re8+! 59.Kd3 (59.Re5 Rxe5+ 60.Kxe5 Kxg5=) 59...Rf8!! 60.Rxa5 Rf4= C) 58.Rxa5 Rf4+ 59.Kc3 Rf3+ 60.Kb4 Rf4+ 61.Kb5 Kxg5 62.Ra8 Rf5+ 63.Kc6 Rf6+ 64.Kd5 Rf5+ 65.Ke6 Rf6+ 66.Ke7 Kg6 67.a5 Rf7+ 68.Ke6 Rf6+ 69.Ke5 Rf5+ 70.Ke4 Rb5= (Baburin) 58.Kc4! Rd1 (58...Rf8 does not work anymore due to 59.Rc5+-) 59.Rxa5 Ra1 60.Kb3 Rb1+ 61.Ka3 1–0 This strategy is, of course, also valid in other endings. Although sacrificing a file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (1 of 9) [7/8/2004 1:53:27 PM]

Endgame Corner

pawn for activity is more common in rook endings. The following position is a classic example from a minor piece endgame: 43.02 Pachman - Hromadka Prague Ch 1944 1.Ne1 Keeping the position closed is the best try. 1.Nxc5 was played in the game. One sample line runs 1...Kf6 2.Nd3 Ke6 3.Kg5 Kd6 4.Kf5 Bd4 5.Nxe5 (5.c5+ Kc6 6.Ke6 Ba1=) 5...Kc5= (see next diagram)

and White can't keep both pawns. 1...Bd4 2.Nf3 Bc3 3.Nh4+ Kf6 4.Kh5 White was thought to be winning with this plan, but Robin Smith recently found that the position is drawn (see Modern Chess Analysis, p.41f): 4...Bd4 5.Nf5 Bc3 6.Ne3 Bd4 7.Ng4+ Ke6 8.Kg6 Bc3 9.Nf6 Bb2 10.Nh7 Ke7 11.Kf5 Bc3 12.Ng5 Bd4 13.Nf3 Kd6 14.Kf6 Kd7 15.Ng5 (see next diagram) So far everything has worked out according to White's plan, but now comes the amazing surprise: 15...Kc7! Counterplay is what counts! 16.Nf7 Kb6 17.Nxe5 (17.Ke6 Ka5 18.Kd5 Kb4 19.Nd8 Kc3 20.Nc6 Kd3 21.Nb8 Be3 22.Nd7 Bd4=) 17...Ka5 18.Ke6 Kb4 19.Kd5 Bxe5 20.Kxe5 Kxc4 21.Kd6 Kd3 22.e5 c4= The next two endgames are also classics: 43.03 S.Dolmatov (2550) - M.Drasko (2510) Sochi 1988

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This was analyzed independently by Nikolai Grigoriev and, more than half a century later, by Sergey Dolmatov (see School of Chess Excellence 1 by Dvoretsky). Again activity is the only chance: 62...Bg8? 62...Kc6 offered much more resistance: 63.Nb7? This direct plan was given by Dolmatov, but Black now has a miracle escape. (Retreating with 63.Ka6! was called for: 63...Kc7 64.Nb7 Be8 65.Ka7 Bf7 66.Nd6 Bg8 67.Ka6 Kc6 68.Ka5 Bh7 69.Nf7 Bg8 70.Nh6+- (Grigoriev)) 63...Kb5! 64.Nd6+ Kb4 65.Nxf7 Kc4 (see next diagram) Now the position is drawn due to Black's counterplay: 66.Kb6 (66.Nh8 Kxd4 67.Nxg6 Ke4=) 66...Kxd4 A) 67.Kb5 Ke3 68.Kc5 Ke4 (68...d4? 69.Nd6 d3 70.Nc4+ Ke4 71.Kd6+-) 69.Kb4 Ke3= B) 67.Kc6 Ke3 B1) 68.Kc5 Ke4 69.Kb4 Ke3 70.Nd8 B1a) 70...Kf4? 71.Nc6 Kxg5 (71...Ke4 72.Kc5 d4 73.Nxd4 Kxe5 74.Kc4+-) 72.Kc5 Kf4 73.Kd6 g5 74.Nd4+B1b) 70...Ke4 71.Nc6 d4 72.Kc4 d3 73.Kc3 Kd5 74.Nd8 Kxe5 75.Kxd3 Kf4 76.Nf7 e5= B2) 68.Kd6 d4 69.Kxe6 d3 70.Nd6 Kd4 71.Kf6 d2 72.e6 d1Q 73.e7 Qf3+ 74.Kxg6 Qc6 75.e8Q Qxd6+ 76.Kg7 Kc3 77.g6 Kb2= as Black's king is inside the drawing zone. 63.Nb7 Kc6 64.Nd6 (imprisoning the bishop) 64...Bh7 65.Ka6 Bg8 66.Ka5 Bh7 67.Nf7 Bg8 68.Nh6 Bh7 69.Ka6 Kc7 70.Kb5 Kb7 71.Kc5 Kc7 72.Nf7 Bg8 73.Nd6 Bh7 74.Ne8+ (what a knight!) 1–0 43.04 A.Karpov (2705) - G.Kasparov (2715) World Championship 31th-KK1 Moscow 1984

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With additional black (!!) pawns on a7 and d5 White would win easily as Black has no counterplay whatsoever. Yet as matters stand it is extremely difficult to convert the two pawn advantage: 58...Kd6! 59.Kf5 Kd5 60.Kf4 Bh1 61.Ke3 Kc4 62.Nc5 Bc6 63.Nd3 Bg2 64.Ne5+ Kc3 65.Ng6 Kc4 66.Ne7 Bb7? 66...Bh1 offered much tougher resistance, e.g. 67.Nf5 Kd5 68.Ng3 Bg2 69.Kd3 Bf3 70.Nf1 Be4+ 71.Kc3 Bf3 72.Ne3+ (see next diagram)

72...Kd6 (72...Ke4?! 73.Nc4 Kd5 74.Nb2 Kc6 75.a4+-) 73.a4!! a study-like win follows: 73...bxa4 74.Nc4+ Kc7 75.b5 Bd5 76.Ne3 Bb3 77.Kb4 Kb7 78.d5 Kc7 79.Nc4 Bc2 80.b6+ Kb7 81.Kc5 Bg6 82.Na5+ Kb8 83.d6 Be8 84.b7 a3 85.Kb6 a2 86.Nb3 Bd7 87.Nc5 Bb5 88.d7 a1Q 89.d8Q# 67.Nf5! now it is over: 67...Bg2 67...Kd5 68.Kd3 Ke6 69.Ng3 Bg2 70.Nh5 Kd6 71.Nf4 Bf1+ 72.Kc3 Kc6 (72...Bc4 73.a4+-) 73.d5+ Kd6 74.Kd4 Bc4 75.a4+67...Kb3 68.Kd3 Bg2 (68...Kxa3 69.Kc3+-) 69.Ne3 Bh3 70.d5 Kxa3 71.Kc3+68.Nd6+ Kb3 69.Nxb5 Ka4 70.Nd6 1–0 Finally Johannes Steckner (Zürich, Switzerland) has asked me to clarify matters in Endgame Corner 30, example 30.04 (see also EC42.05): 43.05 P.Leko (2736) - V.Anand (2753) XX SuperGM Linares 2003

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Endgame Corner

45...Rc4!? (In the game Anand played 45...Ra1? and lost quickly (see 30.04).) 46.Kf3 46.f3 Rc2 47.f4 Rc3+ 48.Kf2 gxf4 49.Rxf4 Ra3 50.Rf5 f6 51.Rb5 Kf7 52.Ke2!+(Arizmendi – see Endgame Corner 37 in the ChessCafe Archives) (52.Rb7+? Ke6 53.Rb6+ Ke5 54.a6 Kf4= (Leko at www.chessgate.de)) 46...Ra4 47.Ke3 Rxg4 48.Kd3 f6 49.Kc3 Kf7 50.Kb3 Ke6 51.a6 Kxf5 52.a7 Rf4 53.a8Q Kg4 (see next diagram) So far my analysis in Endgame Corner 30. Now Jan Timman has found a very dangerous plan to shatter Black's fortress (see New in Chess Magazine 1/2004, p.97): 54.Qh1!? My line went 54.Qe8 Rxf2 55.Qg6 f5 56.Qxh6 Rh2 (see next diagram)

and now Steckner looked at A) 57.Qe6 Kxh5 58.Qxf5 (58.Kc4 Rh4+ 59.Kd5 Re4 60.Qxf5 Rf4=) 58...Rh4= B) 57.Qd6!? Rh3+! (57...Rxh5? 58.Qd1+ Kh4 59.Kc4 g4 60.Kd4+-) 58.Kc4 Kxh5 59.Kd4 g4 (59...Rh4+? 60.Ke5 Rf4 61.Qc6!+-) 60.Ke5 Rf3 61.Kf6 g3 62.Qd1 Kg4 63.Qe2 Kf4= (see next diagram)

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Endgame Corner

with a reciprocal zugzwang, but Steckner did not find a way for White to lose a tempo. 54...Rxf2 55.Qg1+ Kf3 56.Kc3 g4 57.Qc1 g3 58.Qxh6 g2 59.Qxf6+ (see next diagram)

Assuming that White wins, but Black still has a resource: 59...Kg3! 60.Qg5+ (60.Qg7+ Kf3 61.h6 Rf1=) 60...Kf3 61.h6 Rf1 62.h7 Rh1= So the doors of Black's fortress remain closed at least for the time being...

Sources: School of Chess Excellence 1 – Endgame Analysis, Mark Dvoretsky, Edition Olms 2001 Modern Chess Analysis, Robin Smith, Gambit 2004 Chess Today – daily internet newspaper edited by Alexander Baburin The Week in Chess – compiled and edited by Mark Crowther, which has recently reached its 500th issue. Congratulations! Exercises (Solutions next month) E43.01 G.Kasparov (2817) - E.Bacrot (2675) ARM-ROW Match Moscow 2004 Pawn endings are not as easy as they seem to be, even Kasparov missed the win here. Can you do better?

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Endgame Corner

E43.02 Instructive Pawn Ending Hamburg 2004 Frank Lamprecht showed me this position from a game between two young players at his club. They agreed to a draw, which is indeed the correct result. Why? (White is to move)

E43.03 Nguyen Chi Minh (2364) M.Borriss (2441) Bundesliga 2003-4 Kreuzberg 2004 Evaluate the position with Black to move.

E43.04 R.Vaganian (2623) L.Johannessen (2495) Bundesliga 2003-4 Katernberg 2003 White to move and win.

Solutions to last month exercises E42.01 L.Lenic (2386) - D.Sermek (2577) Vidmar mem 15th Terme Zrece 2003

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Endgame Corner

White has to keep his h-pawn: 53.Rg6+? 53.h6 f4+ 54.Ke4 Re2+ 55.Kd3 Re3+ A) 56.Kd4 A1) 56...a3 57.h7 Rh3 58.Ke4 (58.Rxa3? Rxh7–+) 58...Rxh7 59.Rg6+ Kh5 60.Rg1 Rf7 61.Kf3= A2) 56...Kf5 57.h7 Rh3 58.Ra7= (58.Rxa4? Rxh7 59.Kd3 Rh2–+) B) 56.Kd2 Rh3 57.Ke2 Rh2+ 58.Kf1 Kg3 59.Rg6+ Kf3 60.Kg1 Rh5 61.Ra6= 53...Kxh5 54.Rg8 a3 55.Kf4 Rf2+ 56.Ke3 Rf1 57.Ra8 Ra1 58.Kf2 58.Kf3 a2 this is possible due to Black's f-pawn. With a pawn on g5 instead of f5 it would not work as White's king can remain on g2 and the black king then lacks shelter. 59.Kg2 f4 60.Kf2 Kg6 61.Kg2 f3+ 62.Kf2 Rh1–+ 58...Kg4 0–1 E42.02 V.Anand (2766) - A.Shirov (2736) GMA Wijk aan Zee 2004 White has to play precisely to avoid Vancura's draw: 53.Ra7+! 53.a7? Ra4 is completely drawn as White's king can't hide from the checks, e.g. 54.Kc3 Ra1 55.Kb2 Ra6 56.Kb3 Ra5 57.Kb4 Ra1 58.Kb5 Rb1+ 59.Kc6 Rc1+ 60.Kb5 Rb1+ 61.Kc4 Ra1= 53.Rc8? is just too slow: 53...Ra4 54.Rc6 Kf7 55.Kc3 Ke7 56.Kb3 Ra1 57.Kb4 Kd7= 53.Rb8? does not help either: 53...Ra4 54.Rb6 Kf7 55.Kc3 Ke7 56.Kb3 Ra1 57.Kb4 Kd7 58.Kb5 Rb1+= 53.Kc3? Rh6! 54.Kb4 Rf6 is Vancura's draw. 53...Kf6 53...Kg8?! loses easily: 54.Rb7 Ra4 55.a7 Ra1 56.Rb8++-

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Endgame Corner

54.Kc3 Re4 54...Ra4 55.Ra8 Kf7 56.Kb3 Ra1 57.Kb4 Rb1+ (Black's king can't leave squares g7 and h7 due to the trick 57...Ke7 58.a7 Kd7 59.Rh8+-) 58.Kc5 Rc1+ 59.Kb6 Rb1+ 60.Ka7 Ke7 61.Rb8 Rc1 62.Kb7 Rb1+ 63.Ka8 Rc1 64.a7 Kd6 65.Kb7 Rb1+ 66.Kc8 Rc1+ 67.Kd8 Rh1 68.Rb6+ Kc5 69.Rc6++55.Rh7 Ra4 56.a7 and Shirov resigned due to 56...Ke6 57.Kb3 Ra1 58.Kb4 Kd6 59.Kb5 Rb1+ 60.Ka6 Ra1+ 61.Kb7 Rb1+ 62.Kc8 Ra1 63.Kb8+-

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Endgame Corner

The Bear in the Hole Two connected passed pawns are very powerful in rook endgames. If the defender does not have any pawns there are basically two types of drawn positions: Kasparyan's triangular positions or the defending king blocks the pawns (the bear in the hole). But even then the draw is by no means guaranteed: 44.01 R.Dautov (2535) - O.Romanishin (2520) Kecskemet 1989

Endgame Corner

Should the defending rook try to cut off the king horizontally or vertically? 57...Kd4

Karsten Müller 57...Rc6? is wrong as it allows the improvement of White's rook: 58.Rc3! Rh6 59.Rc4 and White wins as shown in the game. 58.Re1 Rb8+? Black had to change direction with 58...Rf8! 59.Kb5 Rf6! (see next diagram) and White can't make progress. 59.Ka3? 59.Ka5!+- was called for (see below). 59...Ke5 60.Ka4 Rb7? 60...Rb6! had to be played. Dautov gives the following sample lines in Informator 48: 61.Ka5 Rf6 62.Kb4 Kd4 63.Kb5 Ke5 64.Kc4 Rd6 65.Re2 (65.Re3 Ra6 66.Kd3 Kf4! 67.Re2 Rd6+ 68.Kc3 Ke5 69.Rd2 Rh6! 70.Rd4 Rh3+ 71.Kc4 Rh8!=) 65...Ra6 66.Kd3 Ra3+ 67.Kd2 Rb3 68.Re3 Rb6 69.Kd3 Kf4 (I can add that 69...Ra6 70.Rf3 Ra3+ 71.Ke2 Ra2+ 72.Ke3 Ra3+ 73.Kf2 Ra8! also draws.) 70.Kd4 Rd6+ 71.Kc5 Ra6 72.Re1 Ke5= file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (1 of 11) [8/6/2004 6:09:46 PM]

Endgame Corner

61.Ka5! and the king cannot be cut off on the 6th rank anymore, so White wins. The steps are as follows: move the rook to a4, b4 or c4 and use it as bridge for the king. When the king has reached an appropriate square (e.g. c7) the e4-pawn can be sacrificed with Ra7. Dautov demonstrates this: 61...Rb8 62.Ka6 Rb2 63.Ka7 Rb5

now the time has come to implement the first step: 64.Rf1! forces Black's king to blockade the f-pawn 64...Kf6 64...Kxe4?! 65.f6 Ra5+ 66.Kb6 Ra8 67.f7 Rf8 68.Kc6 Ke5 69.Kd7+65.Rc1 Ke5 66.Rc4 Rb1 now the king has to march to a5 to use the rook as a bridge to the b-file 67.Ka6 Rb2 68.Ka5 Rb8!? (see next diagram) setting a devilish trap 69.Ra4!! puts Black in zugzwang. The immediate 69.Rb4? is wrong as White's king has no place to hide on the other side: 69...Ra8+ 70.Kb5 Rb8+ 71.Kc4 Ra8! 72.Kb3 Kf4! 73.Rc4 Re8 74.Kb4 Re5 (see next diagram)

and this cut off draws, e.g. 75.Kc3 Re8 76.Kd3 Rd8+ 77.Ke2 Ra8= 69...Ra8+ 70.Kb4 Rb8+ 71.Kc5 Rc8+ 72.Kb5 putting Black in zugzwang again 72...Rc7 73.Rc4 Rd7 74.Kc6 Rd8 75.Kc7 Rd1 76.Kc8 Rd6 76...Rd2 77.Rc7 Rd6 (77...Kxe4 78.f6 Rf2 79.f7 Ke5 80.Kd8+-) 78.Re7+ Kf6 79.Re8 Ra6 80.Kb7 Ra5 81.Re6++77.Ra4 preparation for the final phase 77...Kf4 file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (2 of 11) [8/6/2004 6:09:46 PM]

Endgame Corner

77...Rd1 78.Ra7 Kxe4 79.f6+77...Rb6 78.Kc7 Rh6 79.Kd7 Rb6 80.Ra5+ Kf6 (80...Kxe4 81.Ke7 Rb7+ 82.Kf6 Rb6+ 83.Kg7 Rb7+ 84.Kg6+- another example for the strength of the horizontal cut off.) 81.Kc7 Rb1 82.Ra6++78.Kc7 Rd1 78...Rh6 79.Kd7 Ke5 80.Ke7 Rh7+ 81.Kf8 Rh8+ 82.Kg7 Rh1 83.f6 Rg1+ 84.Kf7 Rb1 85.Ra6+79.f6 Ke5 80.Ra6 Rd2 80...Rf1 81.Kd7 Rxf6 82.Rxf6 Kxf6 83.Kd6+81.Kc8 (Of course not 81.f7?? Rf2=) and Black resigned due to 81...Rd1 82.f7 Rf1 83.Ra7 Ke6 84.Kd8 Rxf7 85.Rxf7 Kxf7 86.Kd7 Kf6 87.Kd6+The checking distance of the defending rook can be extremely important: 44.02 E.Rutherford (2117) - I.Gourlay SCO-ch Aberdeen 2001

The position is drawn due to the cut off king and the passive rook: 87...Rg6 88.Re2 88.Rd8+? allows Black to shorten the checking distance: 88...Ke5 89.Re8+ Kd4 (89...Kf5? 90.Ra8=) 90.Re2 (see next diagram)

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Endgame Corner

90...Rg8!! (90...Rg7? 91.Ra2 Ke5 92.Ra5+ Kf6 93.Ra6+ Kg5 94.Ra5+ Kh4 95.Ra8! Rb7 96.Rh8+ Kg5 97.Rg8+ Kf5 98.Rf8+= and the checking distance is too long.) 91.Ra2 Ke5 92.Ra5+ Kf6 93.Ra2 Kg5 94.Ra5+ Kh4 95.Ra7 Rb8 96.Rh7+ Kg5 97.Rg7+ Kf5 98.Rf7+ Ke5 99.Re7+ Kf6 now the rook is attacked, which spells doom 100.Re4 Kg5 101.Re5+ Kh4 102.Re1 Rb2 103.Kxf4 Rf2+ 104.Ke3 Kh3–+ 88.Re7?? g2–+ 88...Kd4 89.Re1? gives Black a chance to win. 89.Ra2 was called for, e.g. 89...Kd3 (89...g2 90.Rd2+! the saving zwischenschach 90...Ke5 91.Rxg2=) 90.Ra3+ Kc2 91.Ra2+ Kb1 92.Rg2 Rf6 93.Rg1+ Kc2 94.Rg2+ Kd3 95.Ra2= 89...Kd3? 89...g2 was the way to go as the resulting pawn endgames are won: 90.Rd1+ (90.Rg1 Kd3 91.Rd1+ Kc2 92.Rg1 Kd2 93.Kf2 Rg3–+ zugzwang) 90...Ke5 91.Re1+ Kf5 92.Rg1 Rg3+ 93.Kf2 Kg4 94.Rxg2 (94.Ra1 g1Q+–+) 94...Kh3 95.Rg1 Rxg1 96.Kxg1 Kg3–+ 90.Rd1+ Kc2 91.Rg1! (Here 91.Ra1? is wrong due to 91...g2–+) 91...Kd2 ½–½ So, when advancing connected passed pawns, you should be very careful to not allow the defending king to block them. Here is a warning example: 44.03 D.Lorenz - R.Galicki (2067) Dortmund op-B 2001

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Endgame Corner

80.g5?! better technique is 80.Rb3 Rc6 81.Kg3 Ra6 82.Kh4 Rc6 83.f5+ Kf6 84.Rb5 Rc4 85.Kh5 Rc8 86.g5+ Kg7 87.Rb7+ Kg8 88.Kg6 Ra8 89.f6 and White would win even without his g-pawn (but not without his f-pawn as you doubtlessly know). 80...Kh5!? 80...Kf5?! 81.Re5+ Kg6 82.Kg4 and White has made one step forward. 81.Re4 81.Ke4?! Kg4 82.Rb3 Re6+ 83.Kd5 Re1 84.Rb4 Kf5 85.Kd6 is won (compare 44.01), but still quite difficult. 81...Ra3+ 82.Ke2? now Black's king can infiltrate to f5. 82.Re3 Ra6 83.Re8 Rb6 84.Rh8+ Kg6

A) 85.Rh6+?! if you think that it is over now then you have missed the point of Black's defense as 85...Kf5 86.Rxb6?? is stalemate. But 86.Kg3 Rb3+ 87.Kh4 Kxf4 88.Rf6+ Ke5 89.Kh5+- wins. B) 85.Kg4+82...Kg4 83.Rd4 Rg3 84.Kd2 Kf5 85.Ke1 Kg4 86.Ke2 Ra3 87.Rd3 Ra4 88.g6 Kf5?! 88...Kxf4 (see next diagram)

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Endgame Corner

draws immediately thanks to a little zwischenschach: 89.g7 (89.Rf3+ Ke5 90.Rg3 Ra8=) 89...Ra2+ 90.Kf1 Ra8= 89.g7 Ra8? 89...Ra2+ had to be played first to prevent White's best set up: 90.Kf3 Ra8 91.Rd7 Kf6 92.Kg4 Kg6! 93.f5+ Kf6 94.Kh5 Ra1!= the deep point 90.Kf3? White could seize his chance with 90.Rg3! Rg8 91.Kf3 Kf6 92.Ke4 Re8+ 93.Kd5 Rd8+ 94.Kc5 Kf7 95.f5 Rc8+ 96.Kd6 Rd8+ 97.Kc7 Ra8 98.Rg6 Re8 (98...Kg8 99.f6 Kf7 100.Rh6+-) 99.Kd7 Rg8 and now White triangulates with his rook to force the decisive zugzwang: 100.Rg1 Kf6 101.Rg2 Kf7 102.Rg6+90...Rg8 91.Rd7 Ke6 92.Ra7 Kf6 93.Kg4 Rb8? the invasion of White's king had to be prevented: 93...Kg6! 94.f5+ Kf6 95.Kh5 Rxg7= 94.Kh5 Rb1 (see next diagram)

Both players missed that the promotion to a queen is not forced: 95.g8Q? (95.g8N+ Kf5 96.Rf7++- wins easily.) 95...Rh1+ 96.Kg4 Rg1+ 97.Kf3 Rxg8 98.Ra6+ Kf5 99.Ra5+ Kf6 100.Rb5 Rg1 101.Kf2 Ra1 102.Ke3 Re1+ 103.Kd3 Rd1+ 104.Ke3 Rf1 105.Rb4 ½–½ The last example again shows the strength of a cut off on the 5th rank: 44.04 C.Hansen (2595) - I.Miladinovic (2565) Sigeman & Co Malmo 1998

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Endgame Corner

65...c4+! 65...Rb5? 66.Rc4 Rb8 67.Kxc5 and White wins. 66.Kxc4 Black's rook can't move on the 5th rank, so how does he maintain the cut off? 66...Ra8? Only 66...Kh4! remains: 67.Kd4 (67.f6 Ra6 68.f7 Rf6 69.Re7 Kxg4 70.Kd5 Kf5=) 67...Kg5! 68.Re5 Ra4+ 69.Kd5 Rxg4 70.Ke6 Ra4= 67.Kc5 Rd8 68.Kc6 Rd1 69.Re7? the right idea, but too early. 69.Kc5 Rd8 70.Ra4 zugzwang 70...Rc8+ (70...Rd7 71.Rd4 Rc7+ 72.Kd6 Rb7 73.Ke6 Rb8 74.Rd5 Rb6+ 75.Rd6 Rb4 76.f6 Kg6 77.g5 Re4+ 78.Kd7 Kf7 79.Kd8 Re8+ 80.Kc7 Kg6 81.Rd8 Re6 82.Rg8+ Kh7 83.Rg7+ Kh8 84.Rd7+-) 71.Kd5 Rb8 72.Ke6 Rb6+ 73.Kd7 Rb7+ 74.Kc6 Rb1 75.Rd4 Re1 76.Kc7 Re5 77.Kd7 Re1 now the rook can advance as White's king is better placed: 78.Rd6 Kxg4 79.f6 Rf1 80.Ke7+69...Kxg4 70.f6 Rd8 71.f7 Rf8 72.Kd6 Kf5 ½–½ Exercises (Solutions next month)

E44.01 E.Sveshnikov (2595) - D.Sermek (2510) Nova Gorica op 1998 Black has two plausible moves, but which one of them wins?

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Endgame Corner

E44.02 P.Tjornsted - K.Hovmoller (2170) Politiken Cup Copenhagen 2000 White played 122.Rh5, was this a clever decision?

E44.03 K.Richter (2217) - C.Baeder Germany 2001 Can Black to move break White's cunning defense?

E44.04 E.Danielian (2411) - N.Kosintseva (2336) EU-ch 3rd (Women) Varna 2002 How can Black to move construct a cut-off on the 5th rank? (Just moving up and down on the d-file is not sufficient.)

E44.05 M.Rockenschaub (2205) - T.Pfaffel (2070) AUT-chT 1996 White to move and win.

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Endgame Corner

E44.06 D.Zav - U.Blass Israel ch 3/4-Final corr 2000 Black to move and win easily.

E44.07 M.Kilic - A.Can (1983) TUR-ch Kusadasi 2004 Black to move and win.

Solutions to last month exercises E43.01 G.Kasparov (2817) - E.Bacrot (2675) ARM-ROW Match Moscow 2004 Even the great Kasparov can make a mistake in deceptively simple pawn endings: 66.Kd4? 66.Kf3! puts Black in zugzwang: A) 66...f6 67.Kf4+B) 66...Kf6 67.Kf4 Ke6 (67...Kg6 68.Ke5 f6+ 69.Ke6+-) 68.Kg5 Ke5 69.h5+C) 66...Kg7 67.Kf4 Kf6 68.h5 Ke6 69.Kg5+66.Kf4? f6 67.h5+ (67.Ke3 Kh5=) 67...Kh6!! (67...Kxh5? 68.Kxf5 Kh6 69.Kxf6+-) 68.Kxf5 Kxh5= now White has ended on the wrong end of the reciprocal zugzwang.

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Endgame Corner

66...Kh5 and a draw was agreed due to 67.Ke5 Kg4 68.h5 Kxh5 69.Kxf5 Kh6 70.Kf6 Kh5= The next exercise was analyzed by my friend Frank Lamprecht: E43.02 Tassell - M.Hanssen Hamburg 2004 Here the game was agreed drawn and indeed the position is equal, but White has to prove it: 38.Kg2? The only move is 38.h3! to clarify the situation on the kingside immediately: 38...a5 39.a4! now White's fortress is watertight (39.b3? g3+ 40.Kg2 a4!–+; 39.a3? a4!–+ Black will penetrate on the kingside; 39.Kg2? a4!–+) 39...gxh3?! 40.Kg1 Kf6 41.Kh2 Kg6 42.Kxh3 Kh5 43.b3!= 38...h3+ 38...Kd6? 39.Kf2? Kc6? 40.Kg2? Kb6? 41.a3? Ka5? 42.b3? (42.h3! g3! 43.b3! Kb6 44.Kf3 a5 45.a4!=) 42...Kb6 43.Kg1 a5 44.a4 Kc6 45.h3 Kd6 46.Kg2 Ke6 47.Kg1 Kf6 48.Kh2 Kg6 49.Kg2 Kg7 (49...gxh3+? 50.Kh2! Kh6 51.b4! and White should be able to hold the draw.) 50.Kh2 (50.Kg1 gxh3 51.Kh2 Kg6–+) 50...Kh6 51.Kg2 gxh3+ 52.Kh2 Kg6! 53.Kxh3 Kh5! 54.b4 cxb4–+ 38...a5 39.a4 (39.h3 a4–+) 39...h3+! 40.Kf1 Kf6 41.Kg1 Kg6 42.Kf2 Kh6 43.Kg3 Kh5 44.b3 Kh6 45.Kf2 Kg6 46.Kf1 Kh5 47.Kg1 (47.Kf2 Kh4 48.b4 axb4 49.a5 b3 50.a6 b2 51.a7 b1Q 52.a8Q Qc2+ 53.Ke1 Qc1+ 54.Ke2 Qxc4+ 55.Ke3 Qe4+–+) 47...Kh4 48.Kf2 g3+ 49.hxg3+ Kg4–+ 39.Kf2 Kd6 40.Kg3 Kc6 41.a3 41.Kf2 Kb6 42.a3 Ka5 43.b3 Kb6 44.Kg3 a5 45.a4 Kc6 46.Kf2 Kd6 47.Kg3 Ke6 48.Kf2 Kf6 49.Kg3 Kg6 50.Kf2 Kh6 51.Kf1 Kh5 52.Kf2 Kh4 53.b4 axb4 54.a5 b3 55.a6 b2 56.a7 b1Q 57.a8Q Qc2+ 58.Kg1 Qc1+ 59.Kf2 Qxf4+–+ 41...Kb6 42.b4 (42.Kf2 Ka5 43.b3 Kb6 44.Kg3 a5 45.a4 Kc6–+) 42...cxb4 43.axb4 a5–+ Instructive lines; thank you, Frank! E43.03 Nguyen Chi Minh (2364) - M.Borriss (2441) Bundesliga 2003-4 Kreuzberg 2004 file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (10 of 11) [8/6/2004 6:09:46 PM]

Endgame Corner

Black has to be very careful to hold, the careless 50...a5? spoils it. 50...Bc3 was called for to stop the d-pawn via a5 or via e1–h4, e.g. 51.Ke6 Be1 52.Nc8 Kxc4 53.d6 Ba5 54.Nxa7 Kb3 55.Nc6 Bb6= 51.Nb5 Bg7 52.d6 Bf8 53.d7 Be7 54.Na7! and it is all over: 54...Bh4 55.Nc6+ Kxc4 56.Ke6 a4 57.Ne7 Bxe7 58.Kxe7 a3 59.d8Q a2 60.Qg8+ 1–0

E43.04 R.Vaganian (2623) - L.Johannessen (2495) Bundesliga 2003-4 Katernberg 2003 Vaganian won nicely with the beautiful 48.Nf5+!! (48.fxg4? Bxg2 49.Kxe6 Bf3=) 48...Kh7 (48...exf5 49.Kxd5 Kf6 50.f4+-) 49.f4 Bxg2 (49...Ba2 50.Nd4 g3 51.Ne2 Bd5 52.Nxg3 Bxg2 53.Kxe6 Kg8 54.Kf6 Kh7 55.Kf7+-) 50.Kxe6 Bf1 51.Kf7 Bc4+ 52.Kf8 Bd3 53.Ng3 1–0 and the advance of the f-pawn decides.

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Endgame Corner

Bishops and Overgrown Pawns I decided to return to the topic of same-coloured bishop endings, which was last dealt with in Endgame Corner 21 (see the ChessCafe Archives). One Weakness is Usually Not Enough to Win 45.01 J.Lopez Martinez (2474) - P.San Segundo Carrillo (2528) ESP-ch Gp B Cala Mendia, Mallorca 2001

Endgame Corner

Black should be able to draw with careful defense: 27...a5!? 28.Kd2 Bc6 29.Ke3 g5 30.Bf5 Kg7 31.f4 f6 32.g3 (see next diagram)

Karsten Müller

32...h5?! this pawn can easily become a decisive second weakness. 32...h6= was called for. 33.Be6 Kh6? misguided “activity.” 33...Kf8 draws easily: 34.fxg5 fxg5 35.h4 Ke7 36.Bh3 Kf6= (Tsesarsky in CBM 86) 34.Bf7! eyeing both weaknesses 34...Bb7 (34...h4? doesn’t help: 35.gxh4 gxh4 36.Kf3+-) 35.Be8 Ba8 (see next diagram)

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Endgame Corner

The way to make progress now is by restricting Black’s poor bishop: 36.a3 Bb7 37.b4 axb4 38.axb4 Ba6 39.b5 if White’s bishop were on d7 it would be over. As matters stand Black can still fight: 39...Bc8 40.Bf7 Bb7? passivity is fatal. 40...Bd7 offered tough resistance. 41.fxg5+ Kxg5 (41...fxg5 42.Kf3 Ba8 43.Be8 Bb7 44.Bc6+) 42.Be6 f5 43.h4+ Kg4 44.Kf2 1-0 and Black resigned as 44...Ba8 45.Bc8 leads to a deadly zugzwang. In the next examples I start earlier in the game: 45.02 Wang Lei (2473) - I.Krush (2380) USA-China Summit Seattle 2001

Black has many weaknesses, but the decisive one is the far advanced b4-pawn: 34.Be2 Bc5 35.g4 fxg4 36.Bxg4 Bxd4 37.exd4 Bc8 38.Ke3 38.f5 wins as well: 38...Ke7 (38...exf5? 39.Bxf5+ Kc7 40.Bxc8 Kxc8 41.Kf3 Kd7 42.Kg4 Ke6 43.Kf4 b3 44.Kg4 Kf7 45.Kf5 Ke7 46.Kg6 Kf8 47.e6+-) 39.fxe6 Bb7 (39...Bxe6 40.Kg3 Bf7 41.Be2 Kd7 42.Bxa6 Bxh5 43.Bb5+ Kc7 44.e6+-) 40.Ke3 Bc6 41.Be2 Bb7 42.Kd2 Kxe6 43.Bg4+ Kf7 44.Kc2+38...Kc6 39.Be2 no counterplay! 39...Kb7 40.Kd2 now the time is ripe 40...Bd7 41.Kc1 Be8 42.Kb1 (see next diagram)

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Endgame Corner

42...Bd7? 42...g6 was much more tenacious, e.g. 43.Bg4 Bf7 44.hxg6 Bxg6+ A) 45.Ka2? is met by 45...Bf5 46.Bh5 Kc6 47.Be8+ Kc7 48.Kb3? (the bishop must return: 48.Bh5= ) 48...Bg4 49.Kxb4 h5 with strong counterplay. B) 45.Kc1 Bf7 (45...Bf5? 46.Bxf5 exf5 47.Kd2 and White wins easily.) 46.f5 exf5 47.Bxf5 (see next diagram)

and the win is still far away. 43.Ka2 Ba4 44.Bg4 Kc6 45.Bxe6 Bd1 46.Bf7 Kb5 47.e6 1–0 Russian grandmaster Konstantin Aseev, who unfortunately passed away recently, had superb endgame technique:

45.03 K.Aseev (2577) - A.Vaulin (2540) RUS-ch 54th Elista 2001 Aseev had to calculate far in advance to convince himself that 48.Bxe7! Rxe7 49.Rxe7+ Kxe7 50.b5! (see next diagram)

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Endgame Corner

wins as Black has three light-square weaknesses. 50...axb5 50...Be8?! 51.bxa6 bxa6 52.Bxe8 Kxe8 53.Kf4 Ke7 54.Kf5 Kf7 55.f4+- (Huzman in CBM 83) 50...Kd6 51.b6 Bf7 (see next diagram)

and now a triangulation wins the decisive tempo: 52.Kg2 Bg6 53.Kf2 Bf7 54.Ke3 Bg6 55.Kf4 with a deadly zugzwang, e.g. 55...Bd3 (55...Bf7 56.Kf5 Ke7 57.Bc6 Be6+ 58.Kg6+-; 55...Ke6 56.Bc6 bxc6 57.b7+-) 56.Be8+51.Bxb5 Kd6 52.Kf4 the start of a very long march into the heart of the enemy camp. 52...Kc7 53.Ba4 Kd6 54.Ke3 Kc7 55.Kd2 Kd6 56.Kc3 (see next diagram) 56...Bf7 passively waiting does not save the day: 56...Kc7 57.Kb4 Kd6 58.Bb5 Bf7 59.Be2 Be8 60.Bd3+- with a decisive zugzwang according to Huzman. 57.Bc2 Kc7 58.Kb4 b6 something must be done to avoid the zugzwang. 59.a6 Kb8 60.Kb5 Ka7 (see next diagram)

61.Kc6!! Black’s days are numbered. 61...Kxa6 62.Kd7 Kb5 63.Ke7 Bg8 64.Kxf6 Kc4 65.Ke5 b5 66.Bg6 b4 67.Bxh5 b3 (67...Bh7 68.Bf7 b3 69.Bxd5+ Kc3 70.Bxb3+-) 68.Bg6 b2 69.Bb1 Bf7 70.f4 Kc3 71.f5 Kd2 72.f6 Ke3 73.h5 Bxh5 74.Kxd5 Bf7+ (74...Kf4 75.Ke6 Kg5 76.d5+) 75.Ke5 Bc4 76.d5 Bd3 77.f7! Bxb1 78.f8Q Bc2 (78...Kd2 79.Qb4+ Kc2 80.Qa3+- (Huzman) and the d-pawn will decide the day.) 79.Qa3+ 1–0 file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (4 of 8) [9/5/2004 2:18:42 PM]

Endgame Corner

Exercises (Solutions next month)

E45.01 P.Barata (2000) - J.Costa (2021) POR-ch57 Lisbon 2001 Can Black to move draw?

E45.02 C.Sandipan (2452) - K.Guseinov (2527) Moscow Aeroflot op 2002 White to move and win.

Solutions to last month exercises

E44.01 E.Sveshnikov (2595) - D.Sermek (2510) Nova Gorica op 1998 Black blundered with 47...Kg6? (47...Rc4 followed by Kg6 and f5 wins.) 48.Rg5+!! ½–½

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Endgame Corner

E44.02 P.Tjornsted - K.Hovmoller (2170) Politiken Cup Copenhagen 2000 122.Rh5?? was a blunder. 122.Re2 is one way to win: 122...Rf3 123.Rc2 Re3+ 124.Kd6 Re8 (124...Kf7 125.Rc8+-) 125.Kd7 Kf7 126.Rc8+- 122...Rxf6 ½–½

E44.03 K.Richter (2217) - C.Baeder Baden VLS 0102 2001 White’s clever stalemate defense proved too much for Black and he agreed to a draw after 60...Kf3?! but the position is still won: 61.Rb1 Kg3 62.Rb3 Kg4–+ 60...Rf3? blows it because of 61.Ra3 Re3 (61...Kg4 62.Ra8=) 62.Rxe3+ fxe3 stalemate 60...Kg4! is quickest: 61.Rxe3 fxe3 62.Kxg2 Kf4 63.Kg1 Kg3 64.Kf1 Kf3 65.Ke1 e2-+ E44.04 E.Danielian (2411) - N.Kosintseva (2336) EU-ch 3rd (Women) Varna 2002 Just moving up and down on the d-file is insufficient. Black has to construct a cut-off on the 5th rank: 75...Rd7? 75...Kb4! 76.Ke3 Rc8 (the original 76...Kc3 77.Kf4 Kd3= works as well.) 77.Kf4 Rc5= 76.Rh4? White must cross the 5th rank immediately: 76.Ke3 Rd8 77.Kf4 Rh8 78.Kf5 Rf8+ 79.Kg5 Kd6 80.Rd4+ Kc5 81.Rh4 Rf7 82.Rf4 Re7 83.Kf6 Re8 84.Kg6 and White wins similar to 44.01 (the ChessCafe Archives).

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Endgame Corner

76...Rd8 77.Ke3 ½–½ E44.05 M.Rockenschaub (2205) - T.Pfaffel (2070) AUT-chT 96/97

White has to win a tempo: 87.Kf3 Ra4 88.Re4 and the blockade will be broken, e.g. 88...Ra1 89.Kf4 Rg1 90.Ra4 Rf1+ 91.Kg5 Rg1+ 92.Kh6 Rg2 (92...Kxe5 93.f7 Rf1 94.Kg7 Rg1+ 95.Kf8+-) 93.Ra6+ Kf7 94.Ra7+ Ke6 95.f7 Rf2 96.Kg7 Rg2+ 97.Kf8+The game continued 87.Kd3? and a draw was agreed because of 87...Ra4 88.Ke2 Ra8 89.Kf3 Kf5!= E44.06 D.Zav - U.Blass Israel ch 3/4-Final corr 2000 Black wins easily with 63...Rb3! as White is completely defenseless, because he has to prevent ...Rf3+.

E44.07 M.Kilic - A.Can (1983) TUR-ch Kusadasi 2004 Black has a nice tactical solution here: 66...Rf6? (66...Rh5! and White can’t set up a blockade: 67.Re7 (67.Ke3?! f4+ 68.Kxe4 Rxe5+ 69.Kxe5 f3–+) 67...Kf8 68.Ra7 f4 69.Ra4 Re5 70.Ke2 Ke7 71.Ra6 Rb5 72.Ra4 Rb2+ 73.Ke1 Rb1+ 74.Ke2 f3+ 75.Kf2 Rb2+ 76.Kg3 Re2–+) 67.Ke3 Kg7 68.Kf4 and the game was drawn later.

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Endgame Corner

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Endgame Corner

Deceptive Simplicity Pawn endings seem easy, don’t they? When only kings and pawns remain on the board, very few possible candidate moves must be considered for both sides. But don’t be deceived; they can be quite difficult to handle, as the following recent examples show. First let’s look at some simplifications into pawn endings: 46.01 A. Morozevich (2758) - A. Korotylev (2596) 57th ch-RUS Moscow 2004

Endgame Corner

Black has to find many exact moves to reach a safe harbor: 56...Rf2+! 56...Re2? is refuted by 57.Rd1! Kg2 58.Kf7 Rf2+ 59.Ke6 Re2+ 60.Kd7+-

Karsten Müller

56...Kg2? 57.Re1+57.Rxf2 Kxf2 58.e8Q h1Q 59.b5 Qd5 After 59...Qh6+ White can continue to fight with 60.Ke7 Qg5+ 61.Ke6 Qe3+ 62.Kd7 Qc5 63.Kd8 which is objectively drawn, but difficult to defend over the board. 60.Qc6 Qd4+ 61.Ke6 Ke1?! a step in the wrong direction. 61...Kg1 is better as the defending king should head for the south east corner in the endgame Q+bpawn vs. Q, if it can’t get in front of the pawn. 62.Qd5

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Endgame Corner

62...Qc5?? a blunder probably caused by time pressure. 62...Qb4 63.Kd7 Qc5 64.Qc6 Ke2 is objectively still drawn, but very hard to defend over the board. 63.Qxc5 bxc5 64.Kd5! 1-0 Of course not 64.b6? c4 65.b7 c3 66.b8Q c2= as White’s king is just outside the winning zone. In the next example pawn breakthroughs play a major role: 46.02 B. Khotenashvili (2248) - S. Gvetadze (2324) Tbilisi Chiburdanidze 2004

53.Kd3? 53.Ke3! was called for, when I haven’t managed to find a win for Black. 53...Rg2? this natural move is surprisingly a mistake. The pawn storm had to start first: 53...e5! A) 54.Ke3 Rg2 55.Rxg2 (55.Rd5 Rxh2 56.Rxe5+ Kf6 57.Ra5 Rg2–+) 55...hxg2 56.Kf2 e4 57.Kxg2 Kf6 58.h4 (58.Kf1 Ke6 59.Kg2 Kd5–+) 58...gxh3+ 59.Kxh3 Kg6 and Black’s king infiltrates successfully as 60.g4 fails because of 60...e3 61.gxf5+ Kxf5 62.Kg3 Ke4 63.f5 Kd3–+ B) 54.fxe5 Rg2 55.Re2 (55.Rd1 Rxh2 56.Ke3 Ke6 57.Kf4 Rf2+–+) 55...f4! (see next diagram)

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Endgame Corner

the point 56.Re1 (56.gxf4 Rxe2 57.Kxe2 g3–+) 56...fxg3 57.hxg3 Rxg3+ 58.Ke2 (58.Ke4 Ra3 59.Rh1 g3 60.Rxh3 g2–+) 58...Rf3 59.Rg1 Rf4 60.Ke3 h2 61.Rh1 g3–+ 54.Ke3? 54.Re2! was the only chance as 54...Rxe2 55.Kxe2 e5 56.fxe5 f4 57.Kf2! (57.gxf4?? g3 58.Kf1 gxh2–+) 57...f3= (see next diagram) is a watertight fortress. 54...Rxd2 55.Kxd2 (see next diagram)

55...Kd6? missing the immediate breakthrough 55...e5 56.fxe5 (56.Ke3 e4 57.Kd4 Kd6 58.Kc4 Kc6 59.Kd4 Kb5–+) 56...f4 57.gxf4 g3 58.Ke2 gxh2–+ 56.Ke3 Kc5 57.Ke2 Kc4 58.Ke3 Kc3 59.Ke2 Kd4 60.Kd2 (60.Kf2 is much easier.) 60...e5 61.fxe5 (see next diagram)

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Endgame Corner

61...f4 61...Kxe5 62.Ke3 Kd5 63.Kf2 (Naturally not 63.Kd3? f4 64.gxf4 g3 65.Ke2 gxh2–+) 63...Kd4 64.Kg1 Ke3 65.Kh1= and White has reached a well known fortress. 62.e6! fxg3 63.hxg3 (63.e7 draws as well, e.g. 63...gxh2 64.e8Q h1Q 65.Qh8+ Kc5 66.Qf8+ and Black can’t escape from the checks.) 63...h2 64.e7 h1Q 65.e8Q Qg2+ (see next diagram) 66.Kd1?? allows Black to reach a won pawn ending. 66.Ke1 was forced: 66...Qxg3+ (66...Qe4+ 67.Qxe4+ Kxe4 68.Ke2=) 67.Kf1= 66...Qf3+! The greedy 66...Qxg3? spoils it: 67.Qd7+ Ke4 68.Qe6+ Kf3 69.Qe2+! Kf4 70.Qc4+!= 67.Kd2 Qd3+ 68.Ke1 Qe3+ 69.Qxe3+ Kxe3 70.Kf1 Kf3 0–1

Fortress and breakthrough themes appear in the following game as well: 46.03 M. Kozlov (2282) - M. Novikov (2498) Stek Cup Tula 2004

Novikov instructively demonstrates how to convert Black’s superior activity: 41...Qc1! 41...Qd4+? is a horrible blunder: 42.Qxd4+ exd4 43.e5! (see next diagram)

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Endgame Corner

43...dxe5 (43...d3 44.Kb3 Kxb5 45.exd6 Kb6 46.Kc3+-) 44.d6+- and in both cases Black will fall into zugzwang sooner or later. 42.h4? 42.Qe2 was much more tenacious as the pawn endgame after 42...Qa1+ 43.Kb3 Qa5 44.f4! Qxb5+? (44...exf4 45.Qf2+ Kxb5 46.Qf1+ Kb6 47.Qxf4 and White is still fighting.) 45.Qxb5+ Kxb5 46.fxe5 dxe5 is drawn. 42...Qc5 (42...Kc5 was even easier: 43.Kb3 b6–+) 43.Qb3 Qd4+ 44.Qb4 Qd1+ 45.Ka3 Qxf3+ 46.Ka4 Qd1+ 47.Ka3 Qd3+ 48.Ka4 Qc2+ 49.Ka3 Qc5 the decisive simplification 50.Ka4 Qxb4+ 51.Kxb4 Ka7 52.Ka5 b6+ 53.Kb4 Kb7 54.Kc3 Kc7 55.Kd3 Kd7 56.Ke3 Ke7 57.Kf3 f6 58.Kg4 Kf7 White’s castle will be stormed by h7-h6. 59.gxf6 59.h5 fxg5 60.h6 Kf6 61.Kg3 g4 62.Kxg4 g5 63.Kh5 g4 64.Kxg4 Kg6–+ 59.Kg3 Kg7 60.Kg4 (60.Kf3 h6 61.Kg3 hxg5 62.hxg5 fxg5 63.Kh3 g4+ 64.Kxg4 Kh6–+) 60...h6–+ (But not 60...h5+? 61.Kg3=) 59...Kxf6 60.Kg3 h5 0–1 Superior activity is very important in major piece endgames, especially in rook endings: 46.04 G. Fish (2523) - W. Koch (2330) Bundesliga 2004-5 Bremen 2004

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Endgame Corner

61.Kb3! Of course not 61.Rxg6?? c5+–+ 61...Rb6+? (61...Ra1 62.Rxg6 Rf1 63.f4 Kd7 was called for.) 62.Kc4 c5? based on a miscalculation. Black had to keep the rooks on the board to fight on. 63.Rxb6 Kxb6 64.g4 Kc6 65.g5 Kd6 66.f4 Ke6 67.Kxc5 (see next diagram)

Black’s counterplay is just too slow: 67...Kf5 68.Kd6 Kg4 (68...Kxf4 69.Ke6 Kg4 70.Kf6 Kxh4 71.Kxg6 Kg4 72.Kf6 h4 73.g6 h3 74.g7 h2 75.g8Q+ Kh3 76.Qa8+-) 69.Ke6 Kxh4 (69...Kxf4 70.Kf6 Kg4 71.Kxg6 Kxh4 72.Kf5 Kg3 73.g6 h4 74.g7 h3 75.g8Q++-) 70.f5 Kxg5 71.f6 h4 72.f7 h3 73.f8Q Kg4 74.Qf2 1–0 I want to end this short discussion with a missed study-like draw: 46.05 F. Vallejo Pons (2666) - P. Svidler (2733) Leon rapid 17th 2004

39.Ke3? 39.Kd3! was the right choice: A) 39...Kd5 40.Ke3 e4 (40...Kc4? 41.g4+-) 41.fxe4+ fxe4 42.g4= B) 39...Kd6 40.Kd2 e4 41.f4 Kd5 42.Kc3 e3 43.Kd3 e2 44.Kxe2 Kc4 45.Ke3 Kxb4 46.Kd4! (see next diagram)

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Endgame Corner

the hidden point 46...Ka3 47.g4 hxg4 48.h5 b4 49.h6 b3 50.h7 b2 51.h8Q b1Q 52.Qa8+ Kb2 53.Qb7+ Kc2 54.Qg2+= 39...Kd5 40.Kd3 e4+ 41.fxe4+ fxe4+ 42.Ke3 Ke5 43.Ke2 Kf5 44.Ke3 Kg4 45.Kxe4 Kxg3 46.Kf5 Kxh4 47.Kf4 Kh3 48.Kf3 h4 49.Kf2 Kg4 50.Kg2 Kf4 0–1

The Bear in the Hole Revisited John Colucci from Canada has found the following tough defense: “Mr. Müller, I was wondering if you could answer a question I have about your endgame article Bear in the Hole (R+2P vs. R). I really enjoyed this article even though it was extremely complex. In the first diagram (44.01) Dautov vs. Romanishin we arrive at a critical position after Dautov (White) played 69.Ra4!!. 44.01 R. Dautov (2535) - O. Romanishin (2520) Kecskemet 1989 I believe in this position Black now assists White to achieve the decisive zugzwang a few moves later with 69...Ra8+??. My question is, what if Black plays 69...Rb7!! Now 70.Ka6 Rb8 doesn’t achieve anything, so White is forced to play 70.Rb4 Rc7!. White has several choices but Fritz 8 and I can’t seem to find a winning plan. For example 71.Ra4 Rb7 just reaches the same position as before, while other rook moves either lose the rook or the e4-pawn. Therefore, White must choose a king move: 71.Ka4 or 71.Ka6 doesn’t accomplish anything since Black can just reply …Rc8 or …Kf4 holding the position! Meanwhile 71.Kb5 Rb7+! and White must retreat since he can’t attack the rook while leaving his unprotected. As I’m sure you’re aware 71...Rc8?? would be answered by 72.Ra4!! and the decisive zugzwang has been reached. Therefore, the only sensible White move is 71.Kb6. Black now replies 71...Rc8 and White will be unable to reach the decisive zugzwang that occurred in the game since Black’s rook can just shuffle on the c-file so that when White achieves the Ra4, Kb5 setup he then plays Rc8! forcing White to move! For example, after 71.Kb6 Rc8 72.Ra4 Rc1 73.Kb5 Rc8! After 73...Rc8 White can still force Black’s rook off the c-file with 74. file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (7 of 10) [1/14/2005 4:49:54 PM]

Endgame Corner

Rc4 but that doesn’t seem enough to win after 74...Rb8+ or …Ra8. Am I missing something here since I can’t beat Fritz and Fritz can’t beat me when we switch sides in this position after 69...Rb7!! Anyway if you don’t have time to respond I’ll understand but I just wanted to say that I really enjoy your column.” 69...Ra8+ 69...Rb7!? is indeed interesting. White breaks through by using zugzwang again and again: 70.Rb4 Rc7 71.Kb6 Rc8

72.Ka6! forcing Black’s rook to leave its best post 72...Rc1 (72...Rc7 73.Rb7+-) 73.Kb5 Rc8 74.Ra4 and again the same procedure 74...Rc1 75.Rc4 Rb1+ 76.Kc6 Rd1 77.Kc7 and White wins as in the game. 70.Kb4 Rb8+ 71.Kc5 Rc8+ 72.Kb5 Rc7 73.Rc4 Rd7 74.Kc6 Rd8 75.Kc7 Rd1 76.Kc8 Rd6 77.Ra4 Kf4 78.Kc7 Rd1 79.f6 Ke5 80.Ra6 Rd2 81.Kc8 1–0 Exercises (Solutions next month)

E46.01 A. Raetsky (2430) - M. Santo Roman (2394) 4th Rohde Open Sautron 2004 Can Black still save himself?

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Endgame Corner

E46.02 G. Garcia (2461) - V. Mikhalevski (2551) Montreal-B 5th 2004 Mikhalevski has been aiming for this position. What was his point?

Solutions to last month exercises

E45.01 P. Barata (2000) - J. Costa (2021) POR-ch57 Lisbon 2001 Black’s monarch must hurry to c5 immediately: 48...Bc8? (48...Kd4! 49.Bd7 Bb3 50.Bg4 Ba4 51.Bf3 Kc5!=) 49.Bd7 Ba6 50.Bg4 Bb5 51.Be2 Ba4 52.Bf3 1–0

E45.02 C. Sandipan (2452) - K. Guseinov (2527) Moscow Aeroflot op 2002 The tactical shot 31.h4! decided the game in White’s favor: 31...Rc1+ (31...Bxh4 32.Kd1 Rxf2 33.Bxf2 Bxf2 34.Ke2 Bg3 35.Rd1+(Finkel in CBM 88)) 32.Rxc1 Bxc1 33.Kd1 Bxb2 (33...Bf4 34.Be3+-) 34.Kc2 Ba1 35.Be3 b4 (35...h5 36.Bd2 b4 37.cxb4 axb4 38.a4+-) 36.cxb4 axb4 37.a4! Be5 38.a5 Bb8 1–0

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Endgame Corner

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Endgame Corner

The Aim of the Game Usually a direct attack against the enemy king is an important theme in the middlegame, but it does happen in endgames as well. Most of the following examples are relatively easy, so lean back and have fun. 47.01 Gimes - Frias corr 1981 At first sight it looks like a dead draw, but Frias had a nasty trick up his sleeve: 1...Ng4!! 2.Nxg6 Kf2 3.Nf4 Kg1 4.Nd3 (4.Nxh5 Nf2# what a magnificent picture!) 4...Kh1 0-1 and White is in fatal zugzwang.

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

47.02 N.Short (2685) - A.Beliavsky (2620) Linares 1992 Short probably miscalculated that taking the pawn only leads to a draw and chose without further thinking the highly unfortunate 58.Ke6?? 58.Nxf6 should win, e.g. 58...Bxg2 59.b6 Nxf6 60.Kxf6 g4 (60...Ke8 61.Bf5 Bb7 62.Kxg5 Ke7 63.Kxh4 Kf6 64.Kg4+-) 61.hxg4 Ke8 (61...h3 62.Bf1+-) 62.g5 Kd7 63.Bf5+ Kd6 64.g6 Bd5 65.g7 Bg8 66.Be6 Bh7 67.Kf7 Kc6 68.Bf5+58...Bc8# 0–1 47.03 Zhang Pengxiang (2519) - A.Rustemov (2602) Top 16 Bastia 2004

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Endgame Corner

Is White’s 57.b5!? objectively good or only a cheap trick? Rustemov probably thought that the idea to exchange pawns is justified and played quickly 57...g3?? 57...Rb1+ followed by Rxb5 was one practical chance, but theoretically drawn. 57...a5 58.Kc4 and 57...axb5 58.Kb4 g3 59.Kxb5 Kb8 60.Kb6 Kc8 61.Rg8+ Kd7 62.Kxb7 should also be tenable. 58.b6+ 1–0 47.04 M.Rade (2411) - A.Brkic (2436) CRO-chT Rabac 2004

43...h4 setting a devilish trap. 43...Rb1 44.c3 Rd7 45.Kh4 should also be winning for White in the long run. 44.Kxh4?? 44.b5 was called for. 44...Rh7 and it is over: 45.g4 (45.Kh3 Rg1 46.Rg2 Kg7#) 45...Rg1 46.h3 Kg7+ 0–1 If 47.Kg5 Rh5# The next example features a highly original attack with opposite colored bishops.

47.05 A.van de Oudeweetering (2369) A.Kuzmin (2567) Amsterdam ACT op 2004 78...h2!? sacrificing the last pawn for the gallery. 78...Bb5 79.Bc7 h2 80.Kg2 Bf1+ 81.Kh1 Kh3 wins as well of course. 79.Kg2 h1Q+ 80.Kxh1 Kh3 81.Bc7 Bb5 82.Ba5 Bf1 83.Bc3 Bg2# 0–1

47.06 S.Loeffler (2413) - D.Rogozenko (2531) Hamburg-ch 2004

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Endgame Corner

White must defend very carefully despite the reduced material: 45.Rc6?! 45.f4 Rxg2 46.fxg5 draws much easier. 45...Rxg2 46.Rh7 Rh2+ 46...Kh4 47.Rc4+ g4 48.fxg4 leads to nothing. Of course not 48.Rxg4+?? Rxg4 49.fxg4 Kg3–+. 47.Kg1 Kh4 (see next diagram)

48.Rc4+? 48.f4! was the last chance to save the game. For example: 48...Rhg2+ (48...Rag2+ 49.Kf1 Rf2+ 50.Kg1 Rhg2+ 51.Kh1 Rc2 52.Rhc7 Rh2+ 53.Kg1 Rcg2+ 54.Kf1 Rf2+ 55.Kg1 gxf4 56.Rg7=) 49.Kh1 Kg3 (49...Rgc2 50.Ra7 Rxc6 51.Rxa2 gxf4 52.Kg2=; 49...Kxh3 50.Rhxh6+ Kg3 51.Rc3+ Kf2 52.Rc1=) 50.Rc3+ Kf2 51.Rhc7 Re2 52.Rc2 Kg3 53.R7c3+ Kxf4 54.Rc4+= 48...Kxh3! 48...Kg3? 49.Rg4+ Kxf3 50.Rf7+ Ke3 51.Re7+= 49.Rxh6+ Kg3 50.Rg4+ Kxf3 51.Ra4 (51.Rxh2? Ra1#) 51...Rag2+ 52.Kf1 Rf2+ 53.Kg1 (53.Ke1 Rxh6 54.Ra3+ Kg2–+) 53...Rhg2+ 54.Kh1 Rf1# 0–1

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Endgame Corner

47.07 O.Cvitan (2532) - F.Volkmann (2454) 36th Olympiad Calvia 2004 At the moment there does not look seem to be a strong attack against Black’s monarch. But it is in the air: 48.Kc3! b5 49.cxb6 c5 49...Re8? 50.Rd4+ Ke5 51.Kc4 Rb8 52.Nc5+50.Kb3 Bb4 51.b7 Re8 52.Nb6+ Kc6 53.Rxe4 Rb8? 53...Rh8 was called for, but White’s attack continues, e.g. 54.Re6+ Kxb7 55.Kc4 Rxh3 56.Nd5 Rf3 57.Kb5 Rxf2 58.Re7+ Kc8 59.Rxg7 Kd8 60.Kc6 (60.Rg6!?) 60...Ke8 61.Kd6 Kf8 62.Rc7 54.Re6+ Kxb7 54...Kb5? 55.Nc4 Rxb7 (55...Ba5? 56.Na3#) 56.Nd6++55.Kc4 White’s small army makes a mighty impression 55...Rh8? leaves the king alone in the cold. 55...Ka7 was more tenacious. 56.Kb5 f5?! (56...Kc7 57.Rc6+ Kb8 58.Rd6+- followed by Rd7 and Ka6.) 57.Re7+ Kb8 58.Ka6 1–0

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Endgame Corner

47.08 L.Seres (2497) - O.Jakobsen (2391) Budapest First Saturday 2004 Black is completely lost, but successfully manages to muddy the water: 27.Ke3! Ra4 28.Nb6 Ra3?! objectively bad, but quite tricky. 28...Nc5 29.Nxa4 Nxb7 30.Rc1+29.Nxa8? White is too greedy. 29.Nc2 Rc3 30.Kd2 wins easily. 29...Nc4+ 30.Ke2 Nf4+ 31.Kf2 31.Kd1 Ne3+ 32.Kc1 Nxf1=; 31.Ke1? Rxa2 even favors Black. 31...Rxa2+

32.Kg1 It is also impossible to escape via 32.Kg3 Nh5+ 33.Kh3 Ne3 34.Rg1 Nf4+ 35.Kg3 Nh5+ 36.Kh4 Nf4= 32...Rd2? 32...Ne3 33.Re1 Nd3 (see next diagram) draws immediately. 33.Rd7? White returns the favor. 33.Nb6?! Ne3 A) After 34.Rc1? Black has the following fairy tale line: 34...Rxg2+ 35.Kh1 Nh3 36.Rc8+ Kg7 37.Ne6+ Kf6 38.Nd7+ (see next diagram)

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Endgame Corner

A nice position, isn’t it? 38...Ke7 (38...Kxe6? 39.Rc6+ Ke7 40.Nf6+ Kf8 41.Rb8+ Ke7 42.Re8#) 39.Re8+ Kd6 (39...Kxe8? 40.Nf6#) 40.e5+ Kc6 41.Rc7+ Kb5 42.Nd4+ Ka4 43.Rc4+ Ka3 44.Rc3+ Ka2 45.Rc2+ Rxc2 46.Nxc2 Nf2+ 47.Kg1 Nh3+= B) 34.Nd5 Nfxd5 35.Re1 Nxg2 36.Re2 Rxd4 37.exd5 is better for White, but Black still has some drawing chances. 33.Ra1! was the right choice: 33...Rxd4 34.Nb6 Ne3 35.Rd7+33...Ne3 34.Re1? White completely loses control. But it was already difficult to reach a draw: 34.Nc7 Rxg2+ 35.Kh1 Nh3 36.Ne2 Rxe2 37.Rb1 Nf2+= 34...Rxg2+ 35.Kh1 Nh3!! 36.Rf1 Rg1+ 37.Rxg1 Nf2# (see next diagram)

A pleasing picture to end this column, don’t you agree?

Exercises (Solutions next month)

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Endgame Corner

E47.01 J.Maiwald (2543) - R.Felgaer (2592) Capablanca mem Elite 39th Havana 2004 How did Black capitalize on White’s lack of coordination?

E47.02 Ni Hua (2587) - E.Vladimirov (2621) FIDE-Wch KO Tripoli 2004 Black played 67...Bxa4 and was punished. How? What about 67...d1Q ?

E47.03 Z.Kozul (2640) - K.Haznedaroglu (2394) 36th Olympiad Calvia 2004 Can Black to move save himself?

E47.04 A.Belozerov (2548) - N.Coenen (2389) 20th ECC Izmir 2004 Find White’s best move!

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Endgame Corner

Solutions to last month exercises

E46.01 A.Raetsky (2430) - M.Santo Roman (2394) 4th Rohde Open Sautron 2004 Black was probably in time pressure, otherwise he would certainly have found the way to the safe harbor: 46...g5? (46...b5! 47.gxh5 gxh5 48.Kf4 (48.Kd4 Kd6 49.f4 f5=) 48...Kd5 49.Kf5 Kc4 50.Kxf6 Kxb4 51.f4 Kc4=) 47.hxg5 h4 (47...hxg4 48.fxg4 fxg5 49.b5+-) 48.f4 fxg5 49.fxg5 Kf7 50.b5! and Black resigned because of 50...Kg7 51.Kf3 Kf7 52.Kg2 Kg6 53.Kh2! Kxg5 54.Kh3+-

E46.02 G.Garcia (2461) - V.Mikhalevski (2551) Montreal-B 5th 2004 Black has to exchange the queens on his terms: 68...Qe5+! (68...Qxh3? 69.Qc4+ and 68...Qh6+? 69.Qh7+ are easy draws.) 69.Kh7 (69.Qg7+ is met by 69...Kd6! 70.Kh7 Qxg7+ 71.Kxg7 Ke5–+ (Mikhalevski in CBM 101 extra)) 69...Qh5+ and Garcia resigned because of 70.Kg7 Qg5+ 71.Kh7 Qxg8+ 72.Kxg8 Kd6 73.Kf7 Ke5–+

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Endgame Corner

Capablanca's Theorem: Part I In his excellent book Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy John Watson has cast doubt on the validity of Capablanca’s famous dictum “in the endgame queen and knight are superior to queen and bishop.” He claims that at least one further advantage is required and that a large percentage of these endgames are drawn. So I will look at various possible advantages. A) The strong attacking duo Q+N

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

Their good cooperation in a dangerous attack against the enemy king is one of the reasons for the fame of the Q+N duo. A1) Against an open king 48.01 A.Miles (2560) - V.Kortschnoj (2695) Konex Buenos Aires 1979 White’s king lacks defenders: 39...Qh4+! this is even stronger then taking the h-pawn 40.Kg1 Ng4 41.Qf7 Qh2+ 42.Kf1 Qh1+ 43.Ke2 Qxg2+ 44.Kd1?! allows the knight transfer to d4, but 44.Ke1 loses as well: 44...Qe4+ 45.Kf1 Qb1+ 46.Ke2 (46.Kg2? Ne3+–+ winning the queen.) 46...Qc2+ 47.Ke1 Ne5 48.Qf6 Nd3+ 49.Kf1 Qd1+ 50.Kg2 Qg4+ 51.Kf1 Qxh5–+ 44...Ne3+ 45.Ke1 Nc2+ 46.Kd1 Nd4 47.Qe8 (47.Qc4+ b5 48.Qd3 Qg1+ 49.Kd2 Qf2+ 50.Kd1 Qxf8–+) 47...Qf1+ 48.Kd2 Nf3+ 49.Kc2 (49.Kc3? Qc1+ 50.Kd3 c4+ 51.Ke2 Qe1+–+) 49...Qc4+ 50.Kb2 Qd4+ 51.Kc2 Qd2+ 52.Kb1 (see next diagram)

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52...Qd1+ Of course not 52...Nd4?? 53.Qa4+ Kb7 54.Qd7+ with perpetual check. 53.Kb2 Nd4 and Miles resigned because of 54.Qe4 Qd2+ 54...Qb3+ 55.Kc1 Qxa3+ should win as well. 55.Kb1 (55.Ka1 c4 56.Bh6 Qc3+ 57.Kb1 Qb3+ 58.Kc1 c3–+) 55...c4 56.Bb4 c3 57.Bxc3 Qd1+ 58.Kb2 Qb3+ 59.Kc1 Qxc3+–+ A2) Using a weak color complex This theme highlights the biggest advantage of the knight over the bishop: it can visit all the squares of the board. The following example is quite typical. 48.02 A.Cherniaev (2509) - D.Frolyanov (2448) RUS-ch Krasnodar 2002 Black’s king feels a little uncomfortable with all the weak dark squares surrounding it. So Frolyanov must defend very accurately: 59.Kf2 Bd7? Al.Rabinovich’s 59...Ba4! was much more precise (see CBM 91). 60.Nb3 Qb1 61.Ke3 Bb5 62.Qd2 Qg1+ 63.Kf4 Qb6 64.Qd4 (see next diagram)

White has made considerable progress. 64...Qc6?! I like 64...Qd8 more, but White is certainly better after 65.Qe5 Be8 66.Ke3 65.Qe5 Qc4+? Black completely loses the thread. 66.Nd4 Qf1? 67.Kg5 Qc1+ 68.f4 Qxb2 69.Qb8+ Kg7 (see next diagram)

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Endgame Corner

and now White landed the knock out blow: 70.Ne6+! fxe6 71.Qc7+ Bd7 72.Qxd7+ Kf8 73.Qd8+ Kf7 74.Qc7+ 1–0 This king march reminded me of the famous classic:

48.02A N.Short (2660) - J.Timman (2630) Tilburg 1991

31.Kh2!! Rc8 (31...Bc8 is refuted by 32.Ng5 Bxd7 (32...Qxd7 33.Rxd7 Bxd7 34.g4 hxg4 35.h5+-) 33.Rf4 Qc5 34.Nxf7 Rxf7 35.Qxf7+ Kh8 36.Qxg6 Qxe5 37.g3 Qg7 38.Qxh5+ Qh7 39.Qxh7+ Kxh7 40.Rf7++-) 32.Kg3! Rce8 33.Kf4 Bc8 34.Kg5 1-0 Bravo Nigel! In the next example Adams shows good technique, but misses the win: 48.03 J.Polgar - M.Adams Corus A Wijk aan Zee 2005

43...Kh7!? Safeguarding the king, which may become active later via the light squares 44.Qa5 f6 this restriction of the bishop is a typical method 45.Kh2 (45.Qxd5?? Nxc3–+) 45...Qg3+ 46.Kg1 Nd2 47.Bf2 Qd3 (47...Qxf4? 48.Qxd5 Ne4 49.Bd4 leads to nothing as 49...Nxc3 50.Bxc3 Qe3+ 51.Kh1 Qxc3 52.Qe4+ is perpetual check.) 48.Kh2 Qe4 49.Qc7 h5!? Adams activates his whole army 50.Kg1? (50.Kh1! was more precise; although I am not sure if White can survive.) 50...Qe2 51.Qf7 (see next diagram)

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Endgame Corner

now Adams misses his chance to maximize the pressure: 51...Ne4? 51...h4! was called for: 52.Kh1 (52.Qxd5? Qd1+ 53.Kh2 Nf1+–+; 52.Bxh4? Qf1+ 53.Kh2 Qxf4+ 54.Bg3 Nf1+–+) 52...Ne4 53.Bd4 A) 53...Qd1+!? looks also very promising for Black and may be even better: 54.Bg1 (54.Kh2? Nd2 55.Bg1 (see next diagram) 55...Nf3+!! an amazing shot! 56.gxf3 Qe2+ 57.Kh1 Qxf3+ 58.Kh2 Qg3+ 59.Kh1 Qxh3+ 60.Bh2 Qf3+ 61.Kg1 h3–+) 54...Nxc3 55.Kh2 Ne4 56.f5 Nd6 57.Qg6+ Kg8–+ B) 53...Ng3+ 54.Kh2 Qe1 55.Bg1 Qe4 (see next diagram)

the decisive zugzwang as all of White’s pieces are on their optimal squares. 56.Bc5 Qf5! 57.Bf8 (57.Bg1? Ne2 58.Be3 Nxc3–+) 57...Qg6 (57...Nh5!?) 58.Qe7 (58.Qxd5? Qb1–+) 58...Ne4 and Black has a strong attack. 52.Bd4! h4 unfortunately one move too late 53.Kh2 Nd2 54.Kh1 Qd1+ 55.Bg1 Ne4 56.Kh2 Nd2 57.Kh1 Ne4 58.Kh2 Ng3 59.Qe6 Nf1+ 60.Kh1 Ng3+ 61.Kh2 Ne2 62.Bf2 Qd2 (62...Nxc3 63.Qf5+ Kh6 64.Bxh4 Ne4 65.g4=) 63.Qg4 Qxf4+ (63...Nxf4 64.Bd4=) ½–½ Sometimes the weak color complex must be created first: 48.04 V.Kupreichik (2580) - V.Gavrikov (2365) URS-ch49 Frunze 1981

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Endgame Corner

This position may look almost equal at first, but this is completely wrong: 51.Na5 Qb4 (51...Qd3 52.Qxd3 exd3 53.Kf1+- as one of Black’s pawns is lost.) 52.Qd5 Qxa4 53.Nxb7 Be7 54.Na5 Bb4 (54...h5 loses the e-pawn as 55.Nc4 Qc2? is met by 56.Ne5+-) 55.Nc6 Bc3 (see next diagram)

The following motif is quite typical for this structure. Note that Black’s pawn is already on h6, so he has to make a concession: 56.h5! gxh5 the light squares, especially f5, are fatally weak now, but 56...Kg7 doesn’t help: 57.hxg6 fxg6 58.Nd4 Qe8 (58...Bxd4 59.Qxe4+-) 59.Ne6+ Kf6 60.Nc5+- 57.Ne7+ Kg7 58.Nf5+ Kg6 59.Nh4+ Kg7 60.Qxh5 Qd7 (60...Qc6 61.Nf5+ Kf8 62.Qh4 Qe6 63.Qd8+ Qe8 64.Qd6+ Kg8 65.Nxh6+ Kh7 66.Qf4+-) 61.Nf5+ Kf6 62.Qxh6+ Ke5 The knight is poisoned: 62...Kxf5? 63.Qh3++63.g4 f6 (63...Kd5 64.Qb6 Kc4 65.Qb1+-) 64.Qh8 Ba5 65.Qb8+ Bc7 66.Qb2+ Ke6 67.Qb3+ Qd5 68.Ng7+ 1–0 Exercises (Solutions next month)

E48.01 K.Müller (2550) - S.Telljohann (2410) GER-ch Bremen 1998 White to move and win

Solutions to last month exercises

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Endgame Corner

E47.01 J.U.Maiwald (2543) - R.Felgaer (2592) Capablanca mem Elite 39th Havana 2004 Black exploited White’s unfortunate king position as follows: 52...Nd8! (52...c3? is met by 53.Bxd4! Nxd4 54.bxc3) 53.Rf6 Rc6! Blow after blow. 53...Nf7+? 54.Rxf7 Kxf7 55.Bxd4 gives White good drawing chances. 54.Rxc6 Nf7# 0–1 E47.02 Ni Hua (2587) - E.Vladimirov (2621) FIDE-Wch k.o. Tripoli 2004 67...Bxa4?? was a fatal error. But the correct defense was not at all easy to spot: 67...d1Q 68.Nxd1 Bxd1 69.e6+ Kg8 70.Kg6 (70.Kf6 Bh5 71.Ke7 Bd1=) 70...Bc2+ 71.Kf6 Bg6!!= (see next diagram)

The point; 67...Bb3 draws as well. 68.e6+ Kg8 69.Ne4 1–0

E47.03 Z.Kozul (2640) - K.Haznedaroglu (2394) 36th Olympiad Calvia 2004 The black rook had to remain on the c-file: 99...Rd1+? 99...Rc2 100.Bd5 Kc8! 101.c7 (see next diagram)

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Endgame Corner

And now the hidden secret is revealed: 101...Rc6+!!=; 99...Rc3 is also playable. 100.Bd5 Rd2 101.c7+ 1–0

E47.04 A.Belozerov (2548) - N.Coenen (2389) 20th ECC Izmir 2004 Belozerov demonstrated the best way to convert White’s advantage: 48.h4+! Kxh4? (48...Kg4 49.Rg6+ Kf5 50.Rg5+ Ke6 51.Rxh5+-; 48...Kf5? 49.Nd6++-) 49.Rg6 10 and Black resigned as mate in one is inevitable.

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Endgame Corner

Capablanca's Theorem: Part 2 I continue the discussion of the strong attacking duo queen & knight begun in last month’s column. Sometimes it is even possible to attack on the bishop’s own color complex: 49.01 J.Speelman (2625) - P.Cramling (2545) Yerevan ol (Men) 1996 42.Qg5! Bb8 43.Qe7 Bd6 (43...b5? 44.a5+-) 44.Qf6+ Kg8 45.Kf3!

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

Black is almost completely paralyzed 45...Qc5 45...Qd7? 46.Qxg6+ fxg6 47.Nf6++45...a5!? 46.Kg2 (the greedy 46.Qd8+ Kg7 47.Qxa5? is strongly met by 47...Qc1!) 46...Qa6 47.Qd8+ Kg7 48.Ne7 Bxe7 49.Qxe7 and White should be winning, but the technical task is not easy. 46.b4! Speelman wants to fix the pawn on b7 to apply the principle of two weaknesses. 46...Qc6 47.b5 axb5 48.axb5 Qc5 (48...Qxb5 49.Qxd6 Qd3+ 50.Kg2 Qxe4+ 51.Kh2 Qf3 52.Kg1+- according to Speelman) 49.Kg2!

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Endgame Corner

Again the sharp endgame weapon zugzwang at work. 49...Qa3 50.g4?! opening one’s own king is risky from a practical point of view. 50.Qd8+ Kg7 (50...Bf8 51.Qc7+-) 51.Qb6+- was much easier. 50...hxg4 51.hxg4 Qc5 52.b6 Qc8! 53.Kg3 53.Kf3!? comes strongly into consideration. 53.Qxd6? Qxg4+ is perpetual check. 53...Qf8 54.Kf3 Qb8 55.Ke2? allows Black to activate her bishop. 55.Ne7+ was called for: 55...Bxe7 56.Qxe7 Qa8 57.Qxe5 and White should prevail in the long run. 55...Bc5! 56.Qh4 Kg7

57.Kd3? now White is even worse because of his misplaced monarch. 57...Qe8? Cramling misses her chance: 57...Qd6! 58.g5 Bxb6 59.Ke2 Bd8! and Black is much better according to Speelman. 58.g5 Qb5+ 59.Kd2 Qb2+ 60.Ke1 Qc1+ 61.Ke2 Qc2+ 62.Ke1! ½–½

A3) A Pawn Storm in the Endgame In the last example g4 was bad, but sometimes it does work: 49.02 V.Tseshkovsky - M.Dvoretsky URS-ch1L Minsk 1976

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31.Qe4? has a hidden tactical drawback. The great Russian trainer and ChessCafe columnist Mark Dvoretsky gives the correct concept in his excellent work School of Chess Excellence 3: Strategic Play. 31.g4! Bc3 (31...c5? is very dangerous for Black, e.g. 32.g5 Qc6 33.g6 Bf6 34.h5 a6 35.Kg1 Qe8 36.a4 with a strong attack.) 32.g5 g6 33.Qf7 h5 (33...Bg7 34.gxh6 Bxh6 35.h5 gxh5 36.Nh4 and White’s attack continues.) 34.Ng1 Qc6+ 35.f3 Qd6 36.Ne2 Be5 37.f4 Qc6+ (37...Bg7? 38.Ng3 Qc6+ 39.Kh2 Qd6 40.f5

and Black’s house is stormed.) 38.Kg3 (38.Qd5!? may be interesting, but I am not sure; 38.Kh2? is met by 38...Bd6 39.Qxg6 Qf3=) 38...Bg7 39.Ng1 with initiative. 31...Bf6 32.Qa8+ Kh7 33.Qxa7 Qc6! a very nasty pin 34.Qa6 Qe4 35.Qb5 35.h5 Be7 36.Qb5 Bc5 37.Qb3 Kh8 and White can’t win because of Black’s activity. 35...Bxh4! 36.Qd7 Be7 37.Qxc7 Bc5 38.Qf4 Qc2 39.Ne5 Bd6 40.Qd4 Bxe5 41.Qxe5 Qxc4 ½–½ B) Bad Bishop This classical theme is often dealt with in the literature, although the bishop is seldom as bad as Hebden’s: 49.03 M.Chandler (2508) - M.Hebden (2549) Gibraltar Masters Catalan Bay 2004

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It is surprisingly difficult for White. 36.Kf3 you probably know the old guideline: the knight is the best friend of the king 36...Qxa2?? this greedy capture loses on the spot. One sample line after 36...Qc1 runs 37.Qd6 Qc8 38.h4 a5 39.a3 Kh7 40.Ke4 Qe8+ 41.Kd3 Kh8 42.Qb6 a4 43.Qd6 Qc8 44.Kd4 Kh7 45.Qc5 Qd7+ 46.Kc3 Qh3 47.Kb4 Qxh4+ 48.Ka5+- 37.Qd6 and Black resigned because of 37...Qe6 38.Qf8 Qh3+ 39.Ke2 Qxh2+ 40.Kd3+The last example shows the superb technique of the great Anthony Miles, who died much too young: 49.04 A.Miles - S.Makarichev Oslo 1984 The knight must be preserved, so Miles came up with: 37.Nh1!! Qb2 after 37...Be7 38.Qc6 Bd6 the knight gloriously returns from its hideaway: 39.Ng3 and White has strong pressure. 38.Qc6 Qb1? Black does not get compensation for the pawn. But 38...Bg5 39.Kf3 Qa1 40.Ng3 Qd1+ 41.Kg2 is also very unpleasant for him. 39.Qxc7 Qe4+ 40.Kh2 h5 41.Qc6 Qc2 42.gxh5 Qf5 43.Qg2 Qxh5 44.c5 bxc5 45.b6 Qd1 46.Qc6 Be7 47.Ng3 c4 48.b7 Bd6 49.Ne4 Bb8 50.Qc8 Qf3 51.Qxb8 Qxe4 52.Qc7 Qf3 53.Kg1 Qd1+ 54.Kg2 Qd5+ 55.Kg3 1–0 Exercise (Solution next month)

E49.01 A.Morozevich (2756) - A.Beliavsky (2654) German Bundesliga 00/01 Can White to move still save himself?

Solution to last month's exercise file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (4 of 5) [4/13/2005 11:19:08 PM]

Endgame Corner

E48.01 K.Müller (2550) - S.Telljohann (2410) GER-ch Bremen 1998 Even today I do not know, why I did not play 44.c5!: 44.Ne4? 44.c5! A) 44...bxc5 45.b6 cxb6 (45...Ke7 46.Ne4!+) 46.Qxd6++B) 44...Be7 45.cxb6 cxb6 46.Qxb6 Bxg5 47.hxg5 Qe4+ 48.Kh2+C) 44...Bxc5 45.Ne6+ Kg8 (45...Ke7 46.Nxc5 bxc5 47.Qxc7++-; 45...Kf7 46.Nxc5 bxc5 47.Qxc7+ Kg8 48.Qxc5+-) 46.Qe8+ Bf8 (46...Kh7 47.Qd7+!+-) 47.Nxf8 Qxf8 48.Qxg6+ Qg7 49.Qxg7+ Kxg7 50.g4 hxg4 51.Kg3+44...Be7 45.f3 Bd8 46.Kf2?! again 46.c5 offered better winning chances, but is less clear than before. 46...Ke7 47.Ke2?! Qe6= 48.Ng5 Qxc6 49.bxc6 Kf6 50.Kd3 Kf5 51.Ne4 Be7 52.Kc3 g5 53.hxg5 Bxg5 54.Nd6+ The pawn endgame after 54.Nxg5 is drawn: 54...Kxg5 55.Kb4 h4 56.gxh4+ Kxh4 57.Kb5 Kg3 58.Ka6 Kxf3 59.Kb7 e4 60.Kxc7 e3 61.Kxb6 e2 62.c7 e1Q 63.c8Q Qb4+! 64.Ka7 Qa5+ 65.Kb8 Ke4= 54...Ke6 55.Nb5 h4 56.gxh4 Bxh4 57.Kd3 Bg3 58.Ke4 Bh2 59.Kd3 Bg3 60.Nc3 1-0 and Black lost on time, but the position is completely drawn of course.

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Endgame Corner

Freeze! Professor Ingo Althöfer from Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany) has experimented with computer chess for a long time and he wanted to prove that the machines were much stronger when a human was allowed to choose from the best move options. As a rule he chose from the best options of two different programs and with this so called “3-Hirn” (Triple Brain), he played matches against international master Reefschläger (in 1989) and grandmasters Lutz (1995), Timoscenko (1996), and Yusupov (1997). One endgame from the Yusupov match especially caught his attention:

Endgame Corner

50.01 Listen-3-Hirn - A.Yusupov Shuffle Chess Match, Jena 1997 Is this position won as Yusupov had claimed? In order to find out Althöfer asked his Ph.D. student Eiko Bleicher to create a program (Freezer) similar to the Nalimov tablebases, but with the possibility to include additional rules to allow positions with more than 5 or 6 men. It has to be admitted that the idea is not completely new. To quote Stiller:

Karsten Müller

From a computational point of view, it might seem that the next logical step...should be the exhaustive solution of pawnless seven-piece endgames. In fact, in my opinion a more promising approach would be to follow up on the suggestions first made by Bellman...and solve endgames with multiple pawns and minor pieces. Such an approach would combine heuristic evaluation...with the exhaustive search techniques described here. Although the use of heuristics would introduce some errors, the result of such a search would...have considerable impact on the evaluation of many endgames arising in practical play. Eiko did as he was asked and kindly allowed me to use his work. In short, I set the following rules for this endgame to prove my conjecture that it is drawn: The pawns are frozen. Black wins, if the bishop or the white pawns are taken file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (1 of 6) [5/10/2005 10:09:07 PM]

Endgame Corner

or White’s king has to move on the b-file. Of course, with this method it can only be shown that certain positions are drawn. It is not clear which are won. The whole Freezer concept is especially good for positions where you already have previous knowledge and a conjecture. And the result confirmed my conjecture: 1...Kc5 Freezer claims that 1...Rd8 wins (Distance to Conversion according to my conditions 19 moves), but the reality check reveals this to be an illusion: 2.Kd2 Rd4 3.Ke3 Rh4 4.Be2 Rxh3+ 5.Ke4 Rh2 6.Kf5 Rxe2 7.Kxg5 and White draws. As this was the only “win” found by Freezer, it is now clear that the given position must be drawn. 2.Kd2 Kd4 3.Be2 Rf8 4.Bg4 Rf2+ 5.Ke1 Ke3 6.Be6 Rf8 7.Bd7 Kf3 8.Bg4+ Kg3 9.Ke2 Re8+ 10.Kf1 Re7 11.Bc8 Rc7 12.Be6 Rc2 13.Bg4 Rf2+ 14.Ke1 Kg2 15.Bd7 Rf7 16.Bg4 Re7+ 17.Kd1 Kg3 18.Kd2 Re8 19.Kd3 Kf4 20.Kd2 Re3 21.Kd1 Kg3 22.Kd2 Kf2 23.Bd7 Re5 24.Kc3! Rd5 25.Bg4 Ke3 26.Kc4 Rd8 27.Kc5 Ke4 28.Kc6 Ke5 29.Bd7 Kf6 30.Kd6 Kf7 31.Kc6 Ke7 32.Bg4 Rd2 33.Kc5 Kf6 34.Kc6 Ke5 35.Kc7 Rd6 36.Bd7 Ra6 37.Bg4 Kd5 38.Bf3+ Ke6 39.Bg4+?! now White’s king is cut off on the b-file. 39.Kd8 avoids this according to Freezer. From now on I had to analyze without the help of Freezer as my condition that White’s king is not allowed to use the b-file is not valid any more. 39...Ke7 40.Kb7 Rf6 41.Kc7 Rd6 42.Bf5 after 42.Kb7 the cut off mechanism works as follows: 42...Rh6 43.Kc7 Rf6 44.Kb7 Kd6 45.Kc8 Rf1 46.Be2 Rf8+ 47.Kb7 Rf2 48.Bd1 Rd2 49.Bg4 Rc2 42...Rd5 43.Bg4 Rc5+ 44.Kb6 Kd6 45.Bf3? probably already seeing the draw according to the 50-move rule, White allows a cut off on the a-file. 45.Kb7 still draws even ignoring the 50-move rule: 45...Rc7+ 46.Kb6 Rc5 47.Kb7 Rc3 48.Bf5 Rc7+ 49.Kb6 Rc3 50.Kb7. 45...Rc3 46.Bg4 Rb3+ 47.Ka5 Kc5 48.Ka4 Rb8 49.Bf3 Kd4 50.Ka5 Ke3 51.Bd5 and White claimed a draw according to the 50-move rule. But the position is now won: (51.Bg4 Kf4 52.Ka6 Kg3 53.Ka7 Rb4 54.Bf5 (54.Ka6 Kh4 55.h6 Rd4 56.h7 Rd6+ 57.Kb5 Rh6 58.Bf5 Kg3-+) 54...Kh4 55.Bg4 Rb2 56.h6 Rf2 57.Be6 Rf6 58.h7 Rh6 59.Bf5 Kg3 60.Kb7 Kf4-+) 51...Rh8 52.Bf7 Kf4 53.Kb5 Kg3-+ The following analysis from Fundamental Chess Endings was confirmed by Freezer: 50.02 A.Shirov (2615) - A.Fishbein (2465) file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (2 of 6) [5/10/2005 10:09:07 PM]

Endgame Corner

Kerteminde 1991 White is lost because his knight fails to reach its optimal post at e3 or g3 soon enough: 49.Nd4 Rh3+? this is surprisingly a mistake, which is confirmed by Freezer: (49...Kg6 wins easily.) 50.Kf2 Kg6 51.Ke2? 51.Nf3! draws as Freezer proves: 51...Kh5 (51...Rh8 52.Ne1 Kh5 53.Kf3 Ra8 54.Ng2 Ra3+ 55.Ne3 Kh4 56.Kf2=; 51...Rh1 52.Kg3 Kh5 53.Nd4 Rg1+ 54.Kf2 Rg4 55.Kf3 Kg6 56.Nc2=) 52.Kg2 Kg4 53.Ne5+ Kxf4 54.Ng6+ Kg4 55.Ne5+= 51...Ra3 52.Nc2 Ra2 53.Kd3 Ra4! forces White’s king to occupy the knight’s post. 54.Ke3 Rc4 55.Nd4 Rc3+ 56.Ke2 Rc5 57.Nf3 Kh5 58.Ne5 Rc3 59.Kf2 Kh4 60.Kg2 Rb3 0-1 The next fortress was also confirmed by Freezer: 50.03 V.Anand (2555) - J.Costa (2350) Biel-B 1988 88.Qb3+ Kg6! 88...Kf6? 89.Qb4 Ba1 (89...Ba7 90.Qa3 Bf2 91.Qb2++-) 90.Qa3 Bd4 91.Qd6++89.Qg8 89.Ke7 Bc5+ and White can’t make progress. 89...Bf6 90.Kd6 Bh4 91.Qa8 Bf6 92.Qc6 Kf7 93.Qg2 Be7+ 94.Kd7 Bh4 95.Qh3 Bf6 96.Qg3 Bd4 97.Kd6 Bf6 98.Kd5 Be7 99.Qxg7+ Anand’s last joke and a draw was agreed. He was sure that his opponent wouldn’t fall into the trap: 99...Kxg7 100.Ke6 Kg6 101.Kxe7 Kh5?? (101...Kg7=) 102.Kf6 Kg4 103.Ke5+The following position is surprisingly also drawn: 50.04 Instructive Example

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Endgame Corner

Freezer can not really prove this autonomously, but with its help I constructed the following main line: 1.Kg5 Bd3 2.Nh5 Be4 3.Nf6 Bd3 4.Ne8 Kd7 5.Ng7 Ke7 6.Nf5+ Ke6 7.Nh4 Bc2 8.Ng6 Be4 9.Ne5 Bc2 10.Nc6 Bb1 11.Nb8 Bd3 12.Na6 Ke7 13.Kg4 (13.Nc5 is met by 13...Bc2) 13...Kf6 14.Nc7 (14.Kf4 Bf1 15.Nc7 Bc4=) 14...Be2+

Now comes the point of Freezer’s line (according to my faulty conditions, of course), but it unfortunately doesn’t work as Black can sacrifice the bishop: 15.Kg3!? White aims for zugzwang 15...Kf5 16.Nxd5 Ke4 17.Nc3+ Kxd4 18.Nxe2+ Kc4= and Black escapes. The next dance of Black’s knight is quite fascinating as well: 50.05 Freezer proves that White wins as the knight finds no safe harbor: 1.Kb7! Nc3 2.Kc6 Kg7 3.Kc5 Ne2 4.Kc4 Kh6 5.Kd3 Nc1+ 6.Ke4 Ne2 7.Ba5 Ng3+ 8.Kf4 Ne2+ (8...Nh5+ 9.Kg4 Ng7? 10.Bd2#) 9.Kg4 Kg7 10.Bb4 Nd4 11.Kf4 Ne2+ (11...Nc6 12.Bd6 Na5 13.Ke4 Nc4 14.Bc7+-) 12.Kf3 Nd4+ 13.Ke4 Ne2 14.Be1 Kg8 15.Ke3 Nc1 16.Bd2 Nb3 17.Kd3 Kg7 18.Bf4 Nc5+ 19.Kc4 Nd7 20.Bd6! it is all about domination. 20...Nb6+ 21.Kd4 Na4 22.Bc7 Kg8 23.Ba5 Kg7 24.Bd8 Nb2 25.Be7 Na4 26.Kd5 Nc3+ 27.Ke6 Ne4 28.Ba3 Ng5+ 29.Ke7 Ne4 30.Bb2+It is, of course, also possible to ask questions such as the following:

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Endgame Corner

50.06 Is it possible to mate Black’s king without using the traditional “W” maneuver (c7-d5e7-f5-g7) of White’s knight? So let’s just not allow the knight to use the squares d5, e5, d4, e4 and see what happens. Freezer proves that White wins nevertheless: 1.Na6 Kd8 2.Nb4 Ke8 3.Nd3 Kf7 4.Kd6 Kf6 4...Ke8 5.Bb6 Kf7 6.Bd8 Kg6 7.Ke6 and Black’s king is firmly caught near the right corner h8. 5.Nf2 Kf5 6.Be3 Kf6 7.Bf4 Kf5 8.Be5 Kg6 9.Ke6 Kg5 10.Bd6 Kh4 11.Kf5 Kh5 12.Be7 Kh6 13.Nh3 Kg7 14.Ng5 Kh6 15.Ne6 Kh5 16.Ng7+ Kh6 17.Kf6 Kh7 18.Nf5 Kg8 19.Kg6 Kh8 20.Bd6 Kg8 21.Nh6+ Kh8 22.Be5# Please do not attempt to mate like this; use the well-known “W” maneuver instead! I want to thank Professor Dr.Ingo Althöfer and Eiko Bleicher for allowing me to use their ideas and the Freezer program. Sources: Freezer program written by Eiko Bleicher Building Chess Endgame Databases for Positions with many Pieces using Apriori Information, E.Bleicher, downloadable here as a PDF file. 13 Jahre 3-Hirn, Ingo Althöfer, Selbstverlag Jena 1998. Multilinguar Algebra and Chess Endgames, Lewis Stiller, Games of No Chance, MSRI Publications, Vol. 29, 1996 Fundamental Chess Endings, K.Müller and F.Lamprecht, Gambit 2001.

Solution to last month's exercise

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Endgame Corner

E49.01 A.Morozevich (2756) A.Beliavsky (2654) German Bundesliga 00/01 Morozevich failed to find the narrow path: 52.a8Q? (52.Qb3! f4 53.gxf4 gxf4 54.Bd2 Kh4 55.Ba5=) 52...Qxa8 53.Qxf5+ Kh2 and Black’s attack prevailed: 54.Qe6 Qa1+ 55.Ke2 Kg2 56.Kd3 Qb1+ 57.Kc3 h5 58.Qd5 Qa1+ 59.Kc2 Qa4+ 60.Kc3 h4 61.gxh4 gxh4 62.Qg8+ Kf1 63.Qd5 Qa3+ 64.Kc2 Ne1+ 65.Kb1 Qd3+ 0-1

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Endgame Corner

The Power of the Bishop Pair I have previously discussed the power of the bishop pair in the endgame. This time the following fascinating fight caught my attention: 51.01 M.Chraibi (1969) - A.Winnicki (2104) HSK 15 - St. Pauli 3, Hamburg 2005

The position should be dynamically balanced, but both sides must play very precisely and both are in terrible time trouble: 36.Rgg2?! Unnecessarily passive.

Endgame Corner

36.e5 dxe5 37.Nxe5 Bb5 38.c4 Be8 39.Rge4 and;

Karsten Müller

36.Rf4 Rh1 37.Rff2 Bb5 38.Re3 Kc7 39.e5 dxe5 40.Nxe5

are better as White’s knight has found a good outpost, which is very important. 36...Bb5 37.Rd2 Rf3?! 37...Kc7!? was more precise, according to the old positional rule that the worst placed piece should be improved. 38.Kc2? Again, it was better to improve the prospects of the knight: 38.Rg3 Rf1 39.e5! dxe5 40.Nc5 and White is OK, e.g. 40...Bc4 (40...h5!?) 41.Rh3 Bg5 42.Rd7 Rf2+ 43.Ka1 Rf1+=. 38...Bc4?

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Endgame Corner

38...Ba4+ 39.Kb2 Bc6 is very unpleasant for White because of his weak pawns, e.g. 40.e5 (40.Rg4 h5 41.Rg3 Bxe4; 40.Rge2? Bb5 41.Kc2 Bg5–+) 40...dxe5 41.Nb4 Bb5 42.Nc2 Bc4. 39.a3 Rf1?! 40.Nb2! Bb5? A miscalculation; 40...Ba2 was called for, but White can keep the initiative with 41.Nd1 Rf4 42.Nf2 Kc7 43.Ng4. 41.Rxd6 Rf3 42.Rxe6? Without the c3-pawn White’s king lacks shelter, which will be his undoing in the end. 42.Nd1! gives White a large advantage. 42...Rxc3+ 43.Kd1 Other king moves also offer nothing: 43.Kb1 Bd7 44.Rd6 Bc6 and 43.Kd2 Rb3. 43...Bd7 44.Rd6 Kc7 45.Rdd2 45.Rd3?! Ba4+ 46.Ke1 Rc1+ 47.Nd1 Ra1

gives Black a strong bind; a real nightmare for the poor pinned knight. 45...Rxa3 46.Rc2+?! 46.Nc4!? Ba4+ 47.Ke1 Bh4+ 48.Ke2 Bb5 49.Rc2 (49.Rxg7+?! plays with fire: 49...Kc6 50.Rc2 Ra2! 51.Kd1 Ba4 52.Ne3+ Kd6) 49...Bf6 and White should be able to hold. 46...Kb8?! 46...Bc6 looks more promising. 47.Rc5 47.e5 Bxe5 48.Nc4 doesn’t solve White’s problems because of 48...Ra1+ 49.Kd2 Bf5 50.Nxe5 Bxc2. 47...Bh3 48.Rgc2 Re3

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Endgame Corner

now White should have directed his knight to b6 as 49.e5? is beautifully refuted. 49.Kd2 Rxe4 50.R2c4? Re8 51.Nd3 Bd7 is also horrible for White. But 49.Nc4! does the job: 49...Rxe4 50.Nb6 Ka7 51.Kd2 and a draw is the most likely outcome. However, not the direct 51.Rc8? Bxc8 52.Rxc8 because of 52...Rd4+ 53.Ke2 Rd8–+. 49...Bg4+ 50.Kd2 Bg5! 51.e6 Re5+ 52.Kd3 Bf5+ 53.Kd4 Re4+ 54.Kd5? 54.Kd3 was called for, but Black’s winning chances are excellent: 54...g6 (54...Re3+ 55.Kd4 Bxc2 56.Rxg5 Rxe6 57.Rxg7 Rh6) 55.Rxf5 gxf5 56.Rc5 Rxe6 57.Rxf5 Be7. 54...Bf6 55.Nc4? 55.Rd2 Re5+ 56.Kd6 Rxe6+ 57.Kd5 Re5+ 58.Kd6 Re8 59.Rcd5 Rc8–+. 55...Rd4# 0–1

Exercises (Solutions Next Month) E51.01 S.Volkov (2558) - R.Ponomariov (2673) EU-ch 2nd Ohrid 2001 How did Ponomariov catch the steed?

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Endgame Corner

E51.02 S.Kindermann (2519) - A.Reuss (2368) Bayern-ch Bank Hofmann 6th Bad Wiessee 2002 How did Kindermann rescue his knight?

E51.03 I.Khenkin (2610) - A.Motylev (2680) TCh-RUS Sochi 2005 What to do against Black’s mighty passed pawns?

E51.04 I.Khenkin (2610) - A.Motylev (2680) TCh-RUS Sochi 2005 Asses the position with White to move.

E51.05 M.Kobalija (2618) - T.Vakhidov (2504) Abu Dhabi op 14th 2004 Find Black’s best move!

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Endgame Corner

E51.06 After I.Nataf (2553) M.Bluvshtein (2462) Canadian op Kapuskasing 2004 Black to move and win (in the game Black’s king was on f7 and it was soon drawn).

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Endgame Corner

Storming the Barricades It is often necessary to sacrifice material to breakthrough a fortress: 52.01 Y.Razuvaev (2535) - P.Ostojic (2395) Berlin West 1988 54.g4!! 54.Nxe5? dxe5 is completely drawn as there is no inroad into Black’s camp.

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

54.Nf2 Kf6 55.Kf4 Kf7 56.g4? is wrong because of 56...hxg4 57.Nxg4? Nxc4–+. 54...Nxg4+ after 54...hxg4 55.Nxe5 dxe5 56.Kf2 the story is different, and White’s king advances decisively. 55.Kf4 Nf6 (55...Kf6 56.e5+ Nxe5 57.Nxe5 dxe5+ 58.Ke4 and Black is in a fatal zugzwang.) 56.e5 dxe5+ 57.Nxe5 Kd6 58.Nxg6 Nxd5+ 59.cxd5 c4 60.Ke4 1–0 The next case is much more difficult: 52.02 G.Arsovic (2419) - D.Antic (2488) SCG-ch 1st Kopaonik 2005

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Endgame Corner

White’s knight gives him hope to shatter the walls: 80...Rb6?! 80...Rf1!? seems to be more precise 81.Qe4 R1f6 as 82.g5? hxg5 83.Nxg5 Rf5 84.Kg4 Rxg5+ 85.Kxg5 Rf6=,

which leads to a well known fortress. 81.Nf4 Rbf6? This exchange sacrifice loses. 81...Rxf4? is also insufficient: 82.Kxf4 Rf6+ 83.Ke5 Rf2,

and now White wins by sacrificing his pawns to destroy the anchor squares of the rook: 84.g5 hxg5 85.h6 gxh6 86.Ke6 Rf4 87.Qg6 Rh4 88.Qe8+ Kg7 89.Qe7+ Kg8 90.Kf6+-. 83...Rc6 84.Qd7+-. 83...Kg8 84.Qd8+,

and now 84...Rf8 (84...Kf7 85.Qxf6+ gxf6+ 86.Kf5+-) 85.Qd6 Rf2 86.g5 hxg5 87.h6 Rf6 88.Qd8+ Kh7 89.hxg7+-. 81...Rfb8! was called for. 82.Ng6+ Kg8 (82...Rxg6 83.hxg6 Rb8 84.Qd6 Ra8 85.g5+-) 83.Nxf8 Rxf8

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Endgame Corner

(83...Kxf8 84.Qd5 Ke7 85.Qg8 Rf7 86.Kh4 Kf6 87.g5+ hxg5+ 88.Kg4 Rd7 89.Qf8+ Ke6 90.h6+-) Now White could win with 84.g5 hxg5 85.h6+-, but he spoiled it and only drew.

Solutions to last month's exercises

A51.01 S.Volkov (2558) - R.Ponomariov (2673) EU-ch 2nd Ohrid 2001 Ponomariov uncorked the amazing 35...Kd7!! leaving Black defenseless. 35...Kxe8? is wrong as 36.g4! wins a bishop. 36.g4 Bxc3 37.gxf5 Bxf5 38.h4 Bd3 39.Ra2 Kxe8 40.Ke3 Bd4+ 41.Kd2 Bb1 42.Rxa7 c3+ 43.Kc1 Be4 0–1

A51.02 S.Kindermann (2519) - A.Reuss (2368) Bayern-ch Bank Hofmann 6th Bad Wiessee 2002 Kindermann found 29.Nc3! (29.Nd6+? Bxd6 30.Rxc6 Bxh2+–+) 29...Rxd1+ (29...Bxc3? 30.Rxd7+ Bxd7 31.Rxc3+-) 30.Nxd1 Bb7 31.Rc1 Ke7 32.Ne3 h5 33.Kf1 Bf4 and now he should have played 34.g3 instead of 34.Ke2?? after which he even lost in the end.

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Endgame Corner

A51.03 I.Khenkin (2610) - A.Motylev (2680) TCh-RUS Sochi 2005 White had to find 43.Kb2!! to establish a blockade: 43...c4 (43...d4 44.Na3) 44.Kc3 Bf2 45.Rf1 Bc5 46.Nd4 when he has very good winning chances. The game went 43.Na3? c4+ 44.Kc3 d4+ 45.Kc2 Bc5 and now we come to the next exercise.

A51.04 I.Khenkin (2610) - A.Motylev (2680) TCh-RUS Sochi 2005 White drew easily with 46.Rxe6+! ½-½ A possible finish is 46...Kxe6 47.Nxc4 Kxf6 48.Kd3 Ke6 49.Nd2=. 46.a6?! is playing with fire, but probably draws as well e.g. 46...d3+ 47.Kb2 Bd5 48.Nb5+ Kc6 49.Nc3 Bd4 50.Ra1 Kb6 51.a7 Ba8 52.Rf1.

A51.05 M.Kobalija (2618) - T.Vakhidov (2504) Abu Dhabi op 14th 2004 Black missed the amazing 32...Bd8!! and chose 32...Be7? instead: 33.Rxe7+ Rxe7 34.Nf6+ Kg7 35.Nxd5 Rb7 36.Kf1 b5 37.Ra1 a4 38.Ke2 Kf7 39.Nc3 Ke6= Black lost here, probably on time. 33.Ng5+! Bxg5 34.Rc7+ Be7 35.Rcxe7+ Rxe7 36.Rxe7+ Kh6 37.Rxe5 Bc4 (Krasenkow in CBM 103) and Black’s passed pawns give him good chances to prevail.

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Endgame Corner

A51.06 After I.Nataf (2553) M.Bluvshtein (2462) Canadian op Kapuskasing 2004 In the game Black’s king was on f7 and it was soon drawn. But as matters stand Black wins easily: 41...Bxc1 42.Rxc1 Ke5 (42...Bf3? 43.Rf1+-) 43.b4 Bf3–+

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Endgame Corner

A Knightmare In his first Bundesliga season my friend Gernd Beckhuis almost managed to defeat the German legend Dr. Robert Hübner. Now, a decade later, he has taken a close look at their fascinating endgame and kindly allowed me to use his notes. 53.01 G.Beckhuis (2300) - R.Hübner (2610) German Bundesliga 93/94 [E15]

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 b6 3.c4 e6 4.g3 Ba6 5.b3 Bb7 6.Bg2 Bb4+ 7.Bd2 a5 8.0–0 0–0 9.Qc2 c5 10.Nc3 Na6 11.Rad1 d5 12.cxd5 exd5 13.Qb2 Qe7 13...Ne4? is answered with 14.Nxe4 dxe4 15.Ng5 Qe7 16.d5 Bxd5 17.Be3 Nc7 18.a3 and White is on top. 14.dxc5 bxc5 15.a3 d4 16.axb4 dxc3 17.Bxc3 cxb4 18.Be5 After 18.Bxf6 one sample line runs 18...Qxf6 19.Qxf6 gxf6 20.Nd4 Bxg2 21.Kxg2 Rfd8 22.e3 Nc5 23.Rb1 (23.Rc1?! Rxd4 24.Rxc5 Rd2=) 23...Ne6 24.Nc6 Rd3 25.Rfc1 Ra6 and Black’s queenside play gives him good drawing chances. 18...Rfc8 19.Nh4 Bxg2 20.Kxg2 20.Nf5? is incorrect: 20...Qe6 21.Nxg7 Kxg7 22.Rd6 (22.Kxg2 Rc6 23.f4 Re8 24.e4 Kg8–+) 22...Qxd6 23.Bxd6 Bxf1 24.Be5 Rc6–+. 20...Re8 21.Bxf6 Qxf6 22.Qxf6 gxf6

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Endgame Corner

White grabs the initiative with his next move, but Hübner defends ingeniously. 23.Rd5! Nc7! 23...Re5? 24.Rxe5 fxe5 25.Rc1 is very pleasant for White. 23...Rxe2? 24.Rxa5 Nc7 25.Rxa8+ Nxa8 26.Rd1 Nc7 27.Rd4 Na6 28.Rd8+ Kg7 29.Nf5+ Kg6 30.g4 h5 (30...h6?? 31.Rh8 Re5 32.Rxh6+ Kg5 33.Kg3 Rxf5 34.Rh5++-) 31.Ng3+-. The immediate 23...a4?! is very risky: 24.bxa4 Rxe2 (24...Nc7 25.Rc5 Ne6 26.Rb5 Rxa4 27.Rb1) 25.Rc1 and White’s initiative is strong in both cases. 24.Rd7 Ne6 25.Rc1 Rec8 26.Rxc8+ The surprising 26.Ra7!? was an alternative, but Black can defend with 26...Rd8 27.Rxa8 Rxa8 28.Nf5 Kf8. 26...Rxc8 27.Nf5 Rc7 27...Nc5 should lead to a draw, but White still has some chances: 28.Ra7 Rb8 29.Ne7+ Kg7 30.Nc6 Re8 31.Rxa5 Nxb3 32.Ra4 Rxe2 33.Rxb4 Nc5 34.Rg4+. 28.Rxc7 Nxc7

29.Nd4! White does not waste his check on e7 to win a pawn: 29.Ne7+? Kf8 30.Nc6 a4 31.Nxb4 Na6 and only Black can play for a win. 29...Ne6 30.Nc6 a4 31.bxa4 b3 32.Ne7+ Kf8 33.Nd5 Nc7 34.Nc3 Ke7 35.Kf3 Kd6

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Endgame Corner

Artur Jussupow now found an amazing resource for White. 36.Ke4?! 36.Ne4+! but Hübner, Jussupow and Beckhuis nevertheless found a way for Black to survive: 36...Kd5 37.Nd2 b2 38.Ke3 Na6 39.Kd3 Nc5+ 40.Kc2 Nxa4 41.Kb3: 41...Kd4!! The point; Black’s counterplay is just barely fast enough: 42.Nb1 (Taking the knight doesn’t help: 42.Kxa4 Kc3 43.Nb1+ Kc2 44.Na3+ Kd2 45.e4 Ke2 46.f4 Kf3 47.Kb3 h5 48.Kxb2 Kg2 49.Kc2 Kxh2 50.Kd3 Kxg3 51.Ke3 h4 52.Nc4 h3 53.Nd2 h2 54.Nf1+ Kg2 55.Nxh2 Kxh2=) 42...Nc5+ 43.Kxb2 Ne4 44.f3 Ng5 45.Kc2 Ke3 46.Kd1 Kf2 47.Nc3 Kg2 48.h4:

And now Black can establish an impregnable fortress with 48...Nxf3! 49.exf3 Kxf3 50.Ne2 h5 51.Ke1 f5 52.Kf1 f6 53.Ke1 Kg2=. 36...Kc5 37.Kd3 Kb4 38.e4?! White is probably still playing for a win, but now he should have made a draw with 38.a5 Ne6 39.Nd5+ Kxa5 40.Kc3 Ka4 41.Kb2=. 38...Ne6

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Endgame Corner

39.h4?? This is just one mistake too many. White still had a narrow path available: 39.a5! Nc5+ 40.Kd4 b2 41.Nb1 Nb3+ 42.Kd3 Nxa5 43.Kc2 Nc4 44.h4=; 39.Nd5+? is risky because of 39...Kxa4 40.Kc4 Ng5!. 39...Nc5+ 40.Kd2 Nxa4 41.Nb1 41.Nxa4 Kxa4 42.Kc1 Kb4 43.Kb2 Kc4–+. 41...Kc4 42.Ke3 42.f3 doesn’t help: 42...Kd4 43.Na3 Nc3 44.h5 b2 45.Kc2 b1Q+ 46.Nxb1 Nxb1 47.Kxb1 Ke3–+. 39.h4?? 42...b2 43.Kd2 Nc5 44.f3 Kb3 45.g4 Ne6 46.Ke3 Kc2 47.Na3+ Kc1 48.Kd3 Nf4+ 49.Kc3 Ng2 0–1

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Endgame Corner

The Strongest Piece is the Rook, Part One Obviously a queen is by definition even better than a rook, but I rather like the phrase coined by the famous Russian trainer Mark Dvoretsky in Secrets of Chess Training (p.117) – that an active rook in an open position can work wonders. Let’s begin with rook vs. bishop. 54.01 R.Fyllingen (2395) - S.Agdestein (2571) ch-NOR Sandnes 2005

Endgame Corner

The connected passed pawns give White a draw, but he has to be careful. 86...g2!? 87.Bxg2 Rxc4?!

Karsten Müller

This makes it relatively easy for White. 87...Kg3 88.Bf1 Rc1 89.b6 Rb1 90.c5:

Now the lone rook is trying to win against the bishop and two connected passed pawns, but they’re too far advanced: 90...Rb3 Black wants to lose a tempo with his rook (90...Kf3? 91.b7+-) 91.Bg2?! A) 91.Bc4! is better as Black can’t achieve his aim now. B) 91.Kh1 Kf2 92.Bg2 Rb5 93.b7 Rxc5 94.b8Q= (94.Kh2? Rh5+ 95.Bh3 Rh8–+) 91...Rb4 92.Bf1 (92.c6 Rxb6 93.Be4 Rb4 94.Bg6 Rc4 95.Kf1 is playable as well.) 92...Rb1 93.c6 (93.b7? is the wrong way to sacrifice a pawn as White’s king is firmly caught in the dangerous corner: 93...Rxb7 94.Bd3: file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (1 of 9) [9/7/2005 1:26:14 AM]

Endgame Corner

And now Black wins in typical fashion 94...Rd7 95.Be2 (95.Bc2 Rd2 96.Bb3 Rb2–+) 95...Ra7 96.c6 Ra1+ 97.Bf1 Rc1–+) 93...Rxb6 94.Bd3 Rxc6 95.Kf1 Kf3 96.Be2+ Ke3 97.Bh5 and the d1–h5 diagonal is long enough to prevent Black from winning. 88.Bc6 Rc2 89.Kf1 Ke3 90.Kg1 Black can’t make any real progress, so agreed to draw after a few more moves. In the next position, Black again has moderate winning potential, but this time the rook prevails. 54.02 M.Wahls (2551) - A.Braun (2480) German Bundesliga 2005

White has to act very carefully to defend his fortress. 50.Kg1 The immediate sacrifice 50.d5!? was also possible, but White must know what he is doing: 50...Kxd5 51.Ba7 Ke4 52.Bc5 h5 53.Ba7 g5 54.Bc5 Rb2+ (54...g4 55.hxg4 hxg4 56.Bd6 Rb2+ 57.Kg3=) 55.Kf1 g4 (55...Kf5 56.Ba3 Rc2 57.Bd6 g4 58.hxg4+ Kxg4 59.Kg1=) 56.hxg4 hxg4 57.Bd6 Ke3:

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Endgame Corner

And now the activation of White’s king saves the day: 58.Kg1 Ke2 59.Kh2 Kf1 60.Kg3 Rxg2+ 61.Kf4 Kf2 62.Bc5+ Ke2 63.Be7 Kf2 64.Bh4+ g3 65.Kg4=. 50...Ke3 51.Kh2 Ke2 52.Bd6 Kf1 53.Bf4 Rd3!? Black shows good technique against the two time German champion! The greedy 53...Rb2 54.Kg3 Rxg2+ leads to a draw because of counterplay with the d-pawn: 55.Kf3 g5 56.Be3 h5 57.d5 g4+ 58.hxg4 Rxg4 59.d6=. 54.Be5 h5 Again, White has to tread carefully. The foot of his fortress must remain on g2. 55.g4? 55.Bf6 Rd2 (55...Kf2 56.Bh4+ Kf1 57.Bf6=) 56.Kg3 Rf2 (56...Rxg2+ 57.Kf4=) 57.Be7 Rf5 58.Kh2 g5 59.Kh1 Ra5 60.Bd8 Rb5 61.Be7 g4 (61...Kf2 62.Kh2=) 62.hxg4 hxg4 63.Kh2 Rb2 64.Kg3 Rxg2+ 65.Kf4=. 55...h4! 56.Bf6 Rd2+ 57.Kh1 Kf2 58.Bxh4+ 58.Be5 doesn’t help as the h2-b8 diagonal is surprisingly too short: 58...Rd1+ 59.Kh2 Kf3 60.Bb8 (60.g5 Rd2+ 61.Kg1 Rg2+ 62.Kf1 Rxg5–+) 60...Rxd4 61.Kg1 Rd8 62.Bc7 Rc8 63.Be5 Ke4 64.Bd6 (64.Bf6 Rc1+ 65.Kf2 Rc2+ 66.Kg1 Kf4 67.Bxh4 g5 68.Be1 Kf3–+) 64...g5 65.Kg2 (65.Be7 Kf3 66.Bd6 Rd8 67.Bc7 Rd7–+) 65...Rd8 66.Bc7 Rd2+ 67.Kg1:

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Endgame Corner

And now Black proves that the diagonal is indeed too short: 67...Rd7 68.Bb8 (68.Bh2 Rd1+ 69.Kg2 Rd2+ 70.Kg1 Rxh2 71.Kxh2 Kf3–+) 68...Kd5 69.Kg2 Rb7 when White’s bishop is dominated: 70.Bh2 Rb2+ 71.Kg1 Rxh2 72.Kxh2 Ke4 73.Kg2 Ke3–+. 58...Kf3 59.Bg5 Rxd4 60.Kh2 Ra4 61.Bd8 Ra2+ 62.Kg1 Rg2+ 63.Kh1 Kg3 64.g5 Kxh3 65.Bf6 Rg4 66.Bd8 Rd4 67.Bb6 Rd5 68.Be3 Re5 0–1 In the following two examples I start a bit earlier to include some interesting attacks. 54.03 A.Evdokimov (2503) - F.Amonatov (2599) RUS-chT Sochi (5), 23.04.2005 Black took the poisoned pawn: 71...Rxg2? After 71...Kh6 72.Ke6 Kh7 73.Rg5 Ra2 White has all the fun, but Black should be able to save the draw. 72.Ke6 Ra2 (72...h3? 73.Kf5 Kh6 74.Ng4+ Kh7 75.Nf6+ Kh6 76.Rg6#) 73.Kf5 and Black must lose the exchange to stop immediate mate, which actually helps in the long run: 73...Ra6 74.Rg5+ Kh6 75.Ng4+ Kh7 76.Nf6+ Rxf6+ 77.Kxf6 Kh6 77...Be1 78.Rh5+ Kg8 79.Rd5 Kh7 80.Kg5 Bg3 81.Rd7+ Kg8 82.Kf6 h3 (82...Be1 83.Kg6 Kf8 84.Rf7++-) 83.Rg7+ Kf8 (83...Kh8 84.Kg6 h2 85.Re7 h1Q 86.Re8#) 84.Rh7+-. 78.Rg6+ Kh7 79.Rg7+ White follows the typical do not rush strategy. He repeats the position to show his opponent, who is in control. 79...Kh6 80.Rg6+ Kh7 81.Kg5 Bf2 82.Re6 Bg3 83.Re7+ Kg8 84.Kf6 Kf8 85.Rh7 Ke8 86.Ke6 Kf8 87.Kf6 Ke8 88.Re7+ Kf8 89.Re5 Bf2 90.Rh5 Ke8 91.Rh7 Bg3 92.Re7+ Kf8 93.Rb7 Ke8

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Endgame Corner

94.Ra7! and Black will inevitably fall into zugzwang: 94...h3 95.Re7+ Kd8 96.Rh7 h2 97.Ke6 Kc8 98.Kd6 Kb8 99.Kc6 Ka8 100.Kb6 Bf2+ 101.Ka6 Kb8 102.Rxh2 Be3 103.Rc2 1–0

54.04 P.Müller - R.Stellwagen (2139) Hamburg rapid 2005 Black has a strong attack with opposite colored bishops and plays instructively. Please note that White can’t castle. 44...Rf2 44...Rf4!? is strongly met with 45.Kd2 when White should survive, but matters aren’t completely clear: (45.c5? Rb2 46.Ra4 dxc5 47.Rxf4 exf4 48.Rf1 Bd6–+) 45...Rf2+ 46.Kd3 Rxg2 47.c5 dxc5 48.Ke3 Rb7 (48...Rc1 49.Ke4) 49.Rf1 Rf7 50.Rxf7 Kxf7 51.Bh5+ Kg7 52.Kf3 Rd2 53.Kxg3. 45.Rg1 45.h5? Kh7 46.Ra7+ Kh6 47.Rg1 e4! (Stellwagen) 48.Ra3 Bg7 49.Rxg3 Bd4–+. 45...Kf7? 45...Kh7! 46.Ra7+ Bg7 -+ was much stronger according to Stellwagen. 46.Ra3 Upon 46.Ra7+? Black’s king runs to the queenside: 46...Ke8 47.Ra8+ Kd7 48.Ra7+ Kc8 49.Ra8+ (49.Rh7 e4–+) 49...Kc7 50.Ra7+ Kb6 51.Ra3 Rfb2 52.Ra8 (52.Rxg3 Bh6–+) 52...Bh6 53.Rb8+ Kc5 54.Rxb2 Rxb2–+. 46...Bh6 47.Rxg3

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Endgame Corner

47.Rf3+? Rxf3 48.gxf3 Bf4 49.Rg2 Rc1 50.c5 (50.Rc2? Be3!! 51.Rg2 Bf2+–+) 50...Rxc5 51.Bc2 Kf6 52.Be4 Rc1+ 53.Ke2 Rh1: And Black’s activity should be enough to win, e.g. 54.Bd3 Rxh4 55.Kf1 Rh1+ 56.Rg1 Rh3 57.Rg2 Be3 58.Re2 Bf2 59.Re4 Rh1+ 60.Kg2 Rg1+ 61.Kh3 Rd1 62.Bc4 Kf5 63.Rg4 Rh1+ 64.Kg2 Rh2+ 65.Kf1 e4 66.Rxe4 Bc5 67.Rg4 Rf2+ 68.Kg1 Rc2+ 69.Kf1 g2+ 70.Rxg2 Rxc4–+. 47...Rd2 48.Rf1+ Bf4 49.Rxf4+ exf4

Here Philipp Müller missed his chance: 50.Kxd2? At first I was convinced that this should draw as well, but I didn’t manage to find one! Maybe one of the readers can do better? 50.Rg7+! was called for because the pawn structure is now better for White’s bishop and the exchange sacrifice on f3 is ineffective: 50...Kxg7 51.Kxd2 Rb2+ (51...Kf6 52.Bf3 Ke5 53.Kc3=) 52.Bc2 Kh6 53.Kc3 Ra2 54.Kb3 (54.Be4?! Kh5 55.Bf3+ Kxh4 56.c5 dxc5 57.Kc4 Rd2 58.Kxc5 Kg5 59.d6 Kf6 60.Kc6 Ke5 61.d7 Ke6 62.Bg4+ Ke7 63.Bh3: Seems to be drawn as well.) 54...Ra1 55.Kb4 Kh5 56.Kb5 Rc1 (56...Kxh4 57.c5 dxc5 58.d6=) 57.Bd3 Kxh4 58.Kc6:

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Endgame Corner

And White’s counterplay is fast enough. 50...fxg3 51.Bf3 51.Be2 Rb3–+. 51.h5 Rb2+ 52.Bc2 Kg7 53.Kc3 Ra2 54.Kb3 (54.c5 is strongly met with 54...Ra5 55.cxd6 Rxd5–+) 54...Ra8 55.Bf5 (55.Kb4 Rb8+ 56.Kc3 Kh6 57.Bd3 Ra8 58.Kb4 Ra2 59.Be4: And now Black starts to repeatedly use the Rxf3 motif: 59...Re2 60.Bf3 Rb2+ 61.Kc3 Rf2 62.Be4 Kxh5 63.c5 dxc5 64.d6 Rf6 65.d7 Rd6 66.Bf5 Rd4–+) 55...Rf8 56.Be6 Rf2 57.Bh3 Rf4:

For a change Black plays for 57…Rxh3 58.Kc3 Rh4 59.Be6 Rxh5–+. 51...Kf6 52.Kd3 52.Ke3 Ke5 53.Be2 Rh1 54.Kf3 (54.h5 Rh4 55.Kd3 Re4–+) 54...Rxh4 55.Kxg3 Rf4 56.Bd3 Rf7 57.Kg4 Kd4 58.Bf5 Rg7+ 59.Kf3 Kxc4 60.Be6 Kd4 61.g4 Ke5–+. 52...Ke5 53.h5 Rb3+

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Endgame Corner

54.Kc2?! makes it very easy, but it was over anyway as Black’s forces dominate: 54.Ke2 Kd4 55.Bg4 Re3+ 56.Kd2 Re4 57.Bf3 Re8 58.Be2 Rf8–+ 54...Rxf3 0–1

Exercises (solutions next month) E54.01 H.Nordahl (2423) L.Johannessen (2543) ch-NOR Sandnes 2005 Find Black’s winning plan!

E54.02 P.Czarnota (2478) - S.Sulskis (2545) 6th EICC Warsaw 2005 Can White storm Black’s fortress?

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Endgame Corner

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Endgame Corner

Marin Solves an Old Riddle While proofreading the new edition of Mark Dvoretsky’s excellent Endgame Manual I hit on an old riddle in the Karpov-Kasparov endgame, which was also discussed in Endgame Corner 43 under the title Counterplay Counts. As it turns out Romanian GM Mihail Marin has proven me and many other analysts wrong because Black’s counterplay in the following game does compensate even two pawns. I begin with Karpov’s amazing 47th move. 55.01 A.Karpov (2705) - G.Kasparov (2715) World Championship 31st-KK1 Moscow, 9th game, 05.10.1984

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

47.Ng2!! The only move to open the way into Black’s position. 47...hxg3+ 48.Kxg3 Ke6 49.Nf4+ Kf5 50.Nxh5 Ke6 51.Nf4+ Kd6 52.Kg4 Bc2 53.Kh5 Bd1 54.Kg6 Ke7! A very good defensive move as the d5-pawn is not important; it even hinders Black.

Now Karpov couldn’t resist the temptation to win the d-pawn. But this is wrong in principle as it opens a path for Black’s king, which must be constantly guarded. 55.Nxd5+? 55.Nh5 wins, but it is more difficult than it looks at first sight: 55...Bxf3 56.Nxf6 Be4+ 57.Kg5 Bd3

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Endgame Corner

Here Marin showed the key maneuver to make progress: 58.Ng4! Bf1 59.Ne5 Bh3 60.Kg6 (60.Nd3? is met by 60...Kf7! (Dvoretsky)) 60...Ke6 61.Nc6 Kd6 62.Na5 Ke7 63.Nb3 Bd7 64.Nc5 Bc8 65.Kg7

Black is in zugzwang and loses the a6pawn (Marin). Dvoretsky showed that Black can still offer resistance, but White will prevail: 65...Bf5 66.Nxa6 Bd3 67.Nb8 Bc2 68.Nc6+ Ke6 69.Kf8+55...Ke6?! 55...Kd6 was more precise and draws relatively easy. 56.Nc7+ Kd7?! 56...Kd6 was again necessary. But the text move does surprisingly draw despite losing another pawn. 57.Nxa6 Bxf3 58.Kxf6 Kd6 59.Kf5 Kd5 60.Kf4 Bh1 61.Ke3 Kc4 62.Nc5 Bc6 63.Nd3 Bg2 64.Ne5+ Kc3 65.Ng6 Kc4 66.Ne7 Now Kasparov made the final mistake: 66...Bb7? Black has to play 66…Kd5 in many lines and so the bishop will look odd on b7. Black had to find the study like move: 66...Bh1!! 67.Nf5 (67.Nc8 Kd5=) 67...Kd5 (67...Bc6?+- leads to exercise E55.02.) 68.Ng3 (68.Kf4 Be4! 69.Nd6 Bd3 70.Ke3 Bf1 71.Ne4 Bg2 72.Nd2 Bh3= (Marin)) 68...Bg2 69.Kd3 (69.Kf2 Bh3 70.Ne2

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Endgame Corner

This is Timman’s plan to smash the walls of Black’s fortress, but Marin found 70...Bg4 71.Ke3 Bxe2 72.Kxe2 Kxd4=; 69.Nh5 Kc4 70.Nf4 Bc6=) 69...Bh3? (69...Bf3! the bishop always comes one step closer 70.Nf1 Be4+ 71.Kc3 Bf3 72.Ne3+ Ke4! 73.Nc4

And now comes Dvoretsky’s defense, which shattered my belief that White can win the position: 73...Kd5! 74.Nb2 White will achieve a3-a4, but there are many cases when this doesn’t win according to the Nalimov six-man database. This discovery convinced me that the position is drawn. 74...Bh5 75.a4 bxa4 76.Nxa4 Kc6=) 70.Nh5! (70.Kc3? Bd7 71.Nh5 Bf5 72.Nf4+ Ke4 73.Nd3 Kd5 74.Nc5 (74.Ne1!?

A tricky try, but Black can still defend: 74...Bg4 (74...Ke4? and we have reached exercise E55.03.) 75.Nc2 Bd7 76.Ne3+ Ke4 77.Nc4 and this is exercise E55.04.) 74...Bg4 75.a4 bxa4 76.Nxa4 Kc6=) 70...Bf5+ 71.Ke3 Bc8 (71...Kc4?! 72.Nf6 Kb3 73.Kd2 Kxa3 74.Kc3+-; 71...Bc2 72.Nf4+ Kc4?! 73.d5+-) 72.Nf4+ Kd6 and we have reached a position akin to exercise E55.05. 67.Nf5 Bg2?! 67...Kd5 was more tenacious, but Marin showed the road to victory: 68.Kd3 Ke6 69.Ne3 Bf3 70.Kd2 and White’s monarch will march all the way to f8 and win. 68.Nd6+ Kb3 69.Nxb5 Ka4 70.Nd6 1-0 I want to thank Mark Dvoretsky for allowing me to use his ideas and analysis. file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (3 of 6) [10/14/2005 1:12:26 PM]

Endgame Corner

Sources: Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual by Mark Dvoretsky, Russell Enterprises 2003. Fundamental Chess Endings by Karsten Müller and Frank Lamprecht, Gambit 2001. Power Chess with Pieces by Jan Timman, New in Chess 2004. Learn from the Legends by Mihail Marin, Quality Chess 2004.

Exercises (solutions next month) E55.01 Analysis of A.Karpov (2705) G.Kasparov (2715) World Championship 31st-KK1 Moscow 1984 White has a surprising tactic that wins in this position. Can you spot it?

E55.02 Analysis of A.Karpov (2705) G.Kasparov (2715) World Championship 31st-KK1 Moscow 1984 Speelman and Tisdall showed how White can win in their book on the match. So I only reinvented the wheel. Can you do the same?

E55.03 Analysis of A.Karpov (2705) G.Kasparov (2715) World Championship 31st-KK1 Moscow 1984 Can White shatter Black’s walls or not?

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Endgame Corner

E55.04 Analysis of A.Karpov (2705) G.Kasparov (2715) World Championship 31st-KK1 Moscow 1984 Black to move and draw.

E55.05 Analysis of A.Karpov (2705) G.Kasparov (2715) World Championship 31st-KK1 Moscow 1984 Can White break through?

Solutions to Last Month's Exercises

E54.01 H.Nordahl (2423) L.Johannessen (2543) ch-NOR Sandnes 2005 Black’s rook has to infiltrate via the e-file: 50...Kf6 51.Kd2 Re7 52.Bd1 Re3 0-1 and White is powerless against the march of Black’s monarch, e.g. 53.Kc2 Ke5 54.Kd2 Kd4 55.Kc2 Rc3+ 56.Kd2 Rd3+ 57.Kc2 Rxd1 58.Kxd1 Kc3–+

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Endgame Corner

E54.02 P.Czarnota (2478) - S.Sulskis (2545) 6th EICC Warsaw 2005 White used the absence of the bishop to create a winning passed pawn on the queenside: 49.c5! bxc5 50.Kf4 Bg1 51.Ra3 Bd4 52.Rxa5 e5+ 53.Kf3 e4+ 54.Kg2 f4 55.gxf4 Kf5 56.Ra7 f6 57.a4 Kxf4 58.a5 Ke3 59.a6 c4 60.Rd7 Bb6 61.Kf1 f5 62.Ke1 f4 63.a7 Bxa7 64.Rxa7 Kd4 65.Kd2 e3+ 66.Ke2 Kc3 67.Rc7 Kd4 68.Rf7 1–0

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Endgame Corner

Long Marches with the King While proofreading the second edition of Mark Dvoretsky’s excellent Endgame Manual, I came upon the following very interesting problem. 56.01 Y.Balashov - A.Shirov Klaipeda ch-USSR 1988 Dvoretsky claimed that Black can draw with active defense, but I was very skeptical. Yet, despite analyzing it for about an hour, I did not manage to find convincing proof. Fortunately, FM Stefan Sievers came to my rescue at a training session in Hamburg.

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

51...Kc4? this active move loses quickly because of the sharp endgame weapon zugzwang. 51...Bc4! is much more tenacious: 52.Rf6 Ke5 after (52...Ba2 53.Rf1 Ke5 (53...Kc4 54.Kd2 Kb3 55.Kc1 b4 56.cxb4 cxb4 57.Rf3++-) 54.Rh1 Kd5 55.Kd3 Bc4+ 56.Kd2 Ba2 57.Rh5+ and White either reaches the desired cut off or wins because of zugzwang: 57...Kc4 58.Kc1 Bb3 59.Rg5 Ba2 60.b4 axb3 (60...Kxc3 61.bxc5+-) 61.Kb2+-) 53.Rg6 Bd5 54.Rg5+ Kd6 55.Kf4 Bb3

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Endgame Corner

I had proved that this cut off can be forced, but did not find a way to break through since Black’s counterplay is always dangerous. But Sievers just suggested to go one rank back with the cut off and then to march the king via h6-g7-f8 into Black’s camp. A really remarkable idea! 56.Rh5 (56.Kg4 Bd1+ 57.Kf5? is too slow: 57...Kd5 58.Rg2 Kc4 59.Rd2 Bf3 60.Rf2 (60.Ke6 Kb3 61.Rf2 Bb7 62.Kd6 b4 63.Kxc5 bxc3 64.bxc3 Kxa3 65.c4 Kb3 66.Rf7 Be4 67.Re7 Bd3 68.Kd4 Bf5 69.Rb7+ Kc2=) 60...Bb7 61.Ke5 Kb3 62.Kd6 b4 63.Kxc5 bxc3 64.bxc3 Kxa3=) 56...Bc2 57.Rh4 Kd5 58.Kg5 Ke5 59.Kh6

and Black is helpless against the march of White’s monarch, e.g. 59...Bd3 (59...Kf6 60.Rh5 Bf5 61.Rg5+-) 60.Kg7 Kd5 61.Kf6 Kd6 62.Rh5 Be4 63.Kf7 Bf3 64.Rg5 Be4 65.Ke8 Bd3 66.Kd8+52.Kd2! and Shirov had seen enough: 52...Ba2 53.Kc1 Bb3 54.Rd6 Ba2 55.Kc2 Bb3+ 56.Kb1

Now Black is dominated and loses because of zugzwang. I want to thank Mark Dvoretsky for allowing me to share his insights. Another example of a long march with the king is in the solution of exercise E55.05 below.

Solutions to Last Month's Exercises

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Endgame Corner

E55.01 Analysis of A.Karpov G.Kasparov World Championship 31st-KK1, Moscow 1984 White wins with the surprising 77.d5!! because of 77...Ke5 (77...Kf3 78.Kd4 Kxf2 79.Ke5 Ke3 80.d6 Kd3 81.Ke6 Kc4 82.d7 Bxd7+ 83.Kxd7 Kb3 84.Kc6 Ka4 85.Kc5+-) 78.Ng4+ Kf5 (78...Kd6 79.Kd4 Bf7 80.Nf6 Bg6 81.Ne4++-; 78...Kxd5 79.Nf6++-) 79.Kd4 Kxg4 80.Ke5+-

E55.02 Analysis of A.Karpov G.Kasparov World Championship 31st-KK1, Moscow 1984 Speelman and Tisdall indicated that 68.Kf4! wins: 68...Kb3 69.Ke5 Kxa3 70.Kd6 Be4 71.Ng3+-

E55.03 Analysis of A.Karpov G.Kasparov World Championship 31st-KK1, Moscow 1984 Black’s pieces are only slightly misplaced, but it’s enough for White to take advantage of the moment: 75.a4! bxa4 76.Nc2 Bd7 76...Be6 77.b5 Kd5 78.Ne3+ Kd6 79.Kb4 Bb3 80.Nf5+ Kd5 81.Ne7+ Kd6 82.b6 Bc2 83.Kc3 Bd1 84.d5 Bg4 85.Kb4 Bd7 86.Ka3 Bb5 87.Nf5+ Kd7 88.Kb4 Bd3 89.Ne3 Ba6 90.Kxa4+76...Kd5 77.Ne3+ Ke4 78.Nxf5+76...Bc8 77.Kc4 Kf5 78.b5 Ke6 79.Kc5 Bb7 80.Kb4 Kd5 81.Kc3 Ke4 82.Na3 Kd5 83.Nc4 Ke6 84.Ne3+-

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Endgame Corner

76...Bg4 77.Kc4 Bd1 78.Na3 Kf5 79.Kd5 Bf3+ 80.Kd6 Ke4 81.Kc5 Kf5 82.d5+77.Kc4 Be6+ 78.Kc5 Kd3 78...Bd5 79.b5 Ba8 80.Na3 Kf5 81.Nc4 Ke6 82.Kb4 Bd5 83.Ne3 Bb3 84.d5+ Kd6 85.b6 Kd7 86.Nc4+79.Na3 Kc3 80.b5 Kb3 81.b6 Bc8 82.Nc4+-

E55.04 Analysis of A.Karpov G.Kasparov World Championship 31st-KK1, Moscow 1984 Black has to act very precisely: 73...Bc6! 73...bxc4? 74.Kxc4 Kf5 75.b5 Ke6 76.Kc5 Ke7 77.a4 Kd8 78.a5 Kc8 79.d5 Kb7 80.a6+ Kb8 81.b6+73...Kf5? 74.Nb6 Be8 75.Nd5 Bd7 (75...Bh5 76.Nc7 Be2 77.a4 bxa4 78.b5+-) 76.Kd3 Ke6 77.Nc3+74.Ne5 (74.a4?! bxc4=) 74...Be8 (74...Bb7? 75.a4 bxa4 76.Nc4 Kd5 77.b5+-) 75.Ng4 Kf5 76.Nf2 Ke6 77.Ne4 Bg6 78.Nc5+ Kd5=

E55.05 Analysis of A.Karpov G.Kasparov World Championship 31st-KK1, Moscow 1984 It seems that White can’t win since he can’t transfer the knight to c3: 73.Ke4 Bc6+ 74.Kf5 74.Kd3 Bd7 75.Ng2 Bf5+ 76.Kd2 Bg6 77.Ne3 is also possible, but Black’s king will be activated, if the knight is transferred to c3. 74...Bf3 75.Kf6 Bg4 76.Kf7 Bf5 77.Ke8 Bd7+ 77...Bg4? 78.Kd8 and Black is in fatal zugzwang: 78...Bf5 79.Ne2 Kd5 file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (4 of 5) [11/11/2005 12:27:09 PM]

Endgame Corner

(79...Bh3 80.Nc3 Bd7 81.Ne4+ Kc6 82.d5++-) 80.Nc3+ Kc4 (80...Kxd4 81.Nxb5+ Kd3 82.Nd6+-) 81.Nxb5 Kxb5 82.d5 Kb6 83.d6+78.Kd8 Bg4 79.Ng2 Bh3 80.Ne3 Be6 and White can’t make progress, e.g. 81.d5 (81.Nd1 Kd5 82.Nc3+ Kxd4 83.Nxb5+ Kc4=) 81...Bh3 82.Ke8 Bd7+ 83.Kf7 Bh3 84.Kf6 Bc8 85.Kg5 Ke5=

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Endgame Corner

The Strength of Connected Passed Pawns The power of connected passed pawns is legendary. Rooks especially have problems fighting against them: 57.01 A.Dreev - J.Ehlvest Tallinn chsf-USSR 1986 64...Kf5! this seems to draw by a hair because Black’s g-pawn manages to reach g4, which gives his rook more scope.

Endgame Corner

64...Kd5? 65.a5 Rg7 66.Kc3 with the idea of marching to a4 should win for White according to Mark Dvoretsky in his Endgame Manual.

Karsten Müller

65.Rg1 trying to keep the rook active with 65.Rc4 is also insufficient, e.g. 65...g4 66.Ke2 Ke5 67.Kf2 (67.Rc6 Kd5 68.Rb6 Rf8 69.a5 g3 70.Rg6 Kc4=) 67...Kd5 68.Rf4 g3+ 69.Kg2 in general it’s good to blockade lone passed pawns with the king, but here Black’s king blockades the connected pawns: 69...Kc6 70.Rf6+ (70.b5+ Kb7 71.Rf7+ Kb6 72.Rf6+ Ka7 73.a5 Rg5=) 70...Kb7 71.b5 Rg4 72.a5 Ra4 (72...Rg7? 73.Re6+-) 73.a6+ Ka7 74.Kxg3 Rb4 75.Rf7+ Ka8 76.Rf5 Ka7 77.Kf3 Kb6=.

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Endgame Corner

Black has reached the well-known Kling and Horwitz fortress. 65...g4 66.Kc4 66.a5!? is slightly more dangerous, but Black’s castle cannot be stormed: 66...Ke6! 67.b5 Kd7 (67...g3? 68.b6 Kd5 69.Rc1 Rb8 (69...g2 70.a6+-) 70.Ke2+-) 68.Rc1

68...Rg5! forces White’s rook to relinquish the cut-off 69.Rb1 (69.Kc4 g3 70.a6 Kc7 71.Kb4+ Kb6 72.Rc6+ Ka7 73.Rc7+ Ka8! 74.b6 Rg8 75.Rc1 g2=) 69...g3 70.b6 (70.a6 Kc8 71.Ra1 Rg8=) 70...Kc8 71.b7+ Kb8 72.a6 Ra5=. 66.b5 Ra8 67.Ra1 Ke5 68.Ra3 (68.a5 Kd5 69.Kc3 Kc5 70.b6 Kc6 71.Kb4 Rg8 72.Rc1+ Kb7 73.Rc7+ Ka8 74.a6 g3=) 68...g3 69.Ke2 Kd6 70.a5 Kc5 71.b6 g2 72.Kf2 Kb5 73.Kxg2 Re8

White’s rook is too passive, e.g. (73...Rf8? allows the activation of the rook: 74.Rf3+) 74.Kf2 Rh8 75.Kg3 Rg8+ 76.Kf4 Rf8+ 77.Ke5 Rd8 78.Ke6 Ka6 79.Ke7 Rd1=. 66...g3? now Black’s king is too late on the queenside and the rook is no match for the connected passed pawns. Mark Dvoretsky gives the proper path: 66...Ke6! 67.Rg3 Kd6 68.b5 Kc7 69.a5 Kb7=. 67.Kd5! a nasty body-check. 67...Rd8+ 68.Kc6 Rc8+ 69.Kb7 Rg8 70.a5 Rg7+ 71.Kb6 Ke5 72.a6 Rg6+ 73.Kc5 1–0 In the next example, Black always faces the danger of White getting connected passed pawns: 57.02 V.Topalov (2788) - R.Kasimdzhanov (2670) WCh-FIDE San Luis 2005 file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (2 of 7) [12/16/2005 12:09:27 AM]

Endgame Corner

58...b4? now Black’s g-pawn remains alive which will cause his ultimate demise. 58...Rc1! was much stronger and seems to hold the draw, e.g. 59.Rxg5 Rc4+ 60.Kd3 Rc5 61.Rg7 b4 (61...Rxe5? 62.Kd4 Rh5 63.e5 A) 63.Re7? b4 64.e5 b3 65.Rxe6 Rh4+ 66.Kc3 Rb4 67.Kb2 Rb7 68.Rd6 Kf7=. B) 63.Rb7? b4 64.e5 (64.Rxb4 e5+ 65.Kd5 Kf7 66.Rb6 Rg5 67.Re6 Rg4=) 64...Rh1 65.Re7 b3 (65...Rh4+? 66.Kc5 b3 67.Rb7 Ra4 68.Rxb3 Ra5+ 69.Rb5+-) 66.Kc3 Rh3+ 67.Kb2 Re3 68.Rxe6 Kf7 69.Re7+ Kf8=. 63...b4 64.Rb7 Rh2 65.Rxb4 Rd2+ 66.Ke3 Rc2 67.Rb8+ Kf7 68.Rb7+ Kf8 69.Re7 Rc6 70.Kf4+-) 62.Rb7 Rxe5 63.Kd4 Ra5 64.e5 Rd5+ 65.Ke4 Rd1 66.Rxb4 Re1+ 67.Kf4 Rf1+ 68.Kg5 Rg1+ (68...Re1!?) 69.Rg4 Rf1 70.Kg6 Black’s activity secures the draw, e.g. 70...Rf2 71.Rg1 Rf4 72.Ra1 Rg4+ 73.Kh5 Re4 74.Kg5 Kf7=. 59.Kc5 b3 60.Rb7 Ra1 61.Rxb3 Ra5+ 62.Kd4!? 62.Kd6?! Ra6+ 63.Kd7 Kf7 64.Rg3 probably wins as well, but it’s much more complicated. 62...Ra4+ 63.Ke3 Ra5 63...Ra7 64.Kf3 Rh7 65.Rb8+ Kf7 66.Rb7+ Kg6 67.Re7 and White prevails as the pawn endgame is won (67.Rxh7? Kxh7 is only drawn as White’s king can’t penetrate.): 67...Rxe7 68.fxe7 68...Kf7 69.Kg4 Kxe7 70.Kxg5 Kf7 71.Kh6 Kf8 72.Kg6 Ke7 73.Kg7 Ke8 74.Kf6 Kd7 75.Kf7+-. 64.Rb8+! Topalov enters on the 7th rank with tempo. 64...Kf7 65.Rb7+ Kf8 sad passivity, but the active 65...Kg6 loses as well: 66.Rg7+ Kh6 (66...Kh5 67.Re7 Kg6 68.Rxe6+-) 67.Rg8 Ra3+ 68.Kf2 Ra7 69.Kf3 Ra1 70.Kg3 Rf1 71.Re8+-. 66.Kd4 66.Kf3 was possible immediately. 66...Ra4+ 67.Kc5 Ra5+ 68.Kd4 Ra4+ 69.Ke3 Ra3+ 69...Ra5 70.Kf3 Rxe5 71.Kg4 Rxe4+ 72.Kh5+-.

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Endgame Corner

70.Kf2 Ra5 70...g4 71.Re7 Rf3+ 72.Kg2 Re3 73.Rxe6 Rxe4 74.Kg3+-. 71.Kg3 Rxe5 71...Ra4 72.Kg4 Rxe4+ 73.Kh5+-. 72.Kg4 Rxe4+ 73.Kh5 1–0 White uses Black’s pawn as an umbrella to shield it from enemy checks. This is one of the many techniques described in Mark Dvoretsky’s outstanding Endgame Manual (Russell Enterprises 2003). 73...Rd4 73...Ke8 74.Kg6 Rf4 75.Kg7+-. 74.Kg6 Rd8 75.Rh7 Kg8 76.f7+ Kf8 77.Kf6 g4 78.Rh8# Alexandra Kosteniuk recently won an instructive opposite-colored bishop endgame:

57.03 A.Kosteniuk - Y.Dembo 15th ETC Women Gothenburg 2005 58.Ke5 puts Black in zugzwang, but Dembo fights back: 58...d3!? 59.c4!! only this advance will do. After 59.cxd3? Black has a watertight fortress as Kosteniuk proves in the German Schachmagazin 64, 19/2005: 59...Bb8+ 60.Kf5 Bd6 61.Kxg5 Bb8 62.d4 Bd6 63.Kf5 Bc7 64.d5 Bd6 65.Be2 Bb8 66.Bb5 Bc7 67.Bd7 Bd6 68.Bc8 Bb8 69.Ke4 Bd6 70.Kd4 Kd8 71.Kc4

Black simply waits in her fortress: 71...Ke7 (71...Kc7? hands White the key on a silver platter: 72.Kb5 Kd8 73.Kb6 Bb8 74.d6 Bxd6 75.Ka7+-) 72.Kb5 Bc7 73.Kc6 Bb8=. 59...d2 60.c5 Bb8+ 61.Kd5 Ba7 62.c6 Bb8 63.Kc5 Bc7 64.Kb5 Kd6 64...d1Q 65.Bxd1 Kxe6 66.Ka6 Kd6 67.Bf3 g4 68.Bh1 Bb8 69.Kb6 g3 70.Bg2

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Endgame Corner

Black is in a fatal zugzwang. 65.Ka6 d1Q 66.Bxd1 Kxc6 67.Ka7 Kd6 68.Bg4 1–0 Jürgen Fleck from Germany has pointed out a mistake in a crucial line of 54.02 (see the ChessCafe Archives):

54.02 M.Wahls (2551) - A.Braun (2480) German Bundesliga 2005 50.Kg1 The immediate sacrifice 50.d5? is wrong: 50...Kxd5 51.Ba7 Ke4 52.Bc5 h5 53.Ba7 g5 54.Bc5 Rb2+ 55.Kf1 g4 56.hxg4 hxg4 57.Bd6 Ke3?! this allows the disturbing Bc5+. Fleck gives the more precise 57...Rc2 58.Bb8 Rc8 59.Bd6 Ke3 60.Kg1 Ke2 61.Kh2 Rc3 and Black wins as in the main line. 58.Kg1 Ke2 59.Kh2 and now I gave 59...Kf1? which allows the activation of White’s king: 60.Kg3 Rxg2+ 61.Kf4= and White draws because of the fortunate position of his bishop on d6 (or c7) as Fleck indicates. But Black’s rook can drive it away first: 59...Rb3 60.Bc7 Kf1 61.Bd6

Now the rook starts the dance: 61...Re3 62.Bc7 Re7 63.Bd6 Re6 64.Bc7 Rc6 65.Be5 Rc2 66.Kg3 Rxg2+ 67.Kf4 Kg1 68.Kg5 Kf2 69.Kf4 Rg3 followed by Kg2h3 and Black wins. 50...Ke3 51.Kh2 Ke2 52.Bd6 Kf1 53.Bf4 Rd3!? Good technique by the young German talent against the two time German champion! The greedy 53...Rb2 54.Kg3 Rxg2+ leads to a draw because of the file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (5 of 7) [12/16/2005 12:09:27 AM]

Endgame Corner

counterplay with the d-pawn: 55.Kf3 g5 56.Be3 h5 57.d5 g4+ 58.hxg4 Rxg4 59.d6=. 54.Be5 h5

Now White has to act very carefully. The base of his fortress must remain on g2. 55.g4? 55.Bf6 Rd2 (55...Kf2 56.Bh4+ Kf1 57.Bf6=) 56.Kg3 Rf2 (56...Rxg2+ 57.Kf4=) 57.Be7 Rf5 58.Kh2 g5 59.Kh1 Ra5 60.Bd8 Rb5 61.Be7 g4 (61...Kf2 62.Kh2=) 62.hxg4 hxg4 63.Kh2 Rb2 64.Kg3 Rxg2+ 65.Kf4=. 55...h4! 56.Bf6 Rd2+ 57.Kh1 Kf2 58.Bxh4+ 58.Be5 doesn’t help as the diagonal h2-b8 is surprisingly not long enough: 58...Rd1+ 59.Kh2 Kf3 60.Bb8 (60.g5 Rd2+ 61.Kg1 Rg2+ 62.Kf1 Rxg5–+) 60...Rxd4 61.Kg1 Rd8 62.Bc7 Rc8 63.Be5 Ke4 64.Bd6 (64.Bf6 Rc1+ 65.Kf2 Rc2+ 66.Kg1 Kf4 67.Bxh4 g5 68.Be1 Kf3–+) 64...g5 65.Kg2 (65.Be7 Kf3 66.Bd6 Rd8 67.Bc7 Rd7–+) 65...Rd8 66.Bc7 Rd2+ 67.Kg1 Now Black proves that the diagonal is too short: 67...Rd7 68.Bb8 (68.Bh2 Rd1+ 69.Kg2 Rd2+ 70.Kg1 Rxh2 71.Kxh2 Kf3–+) 68...Kd5 69.Kg2 Rb7 and White’s bishop is dominated: 70.Bh2 Rb2+ 71.Kg1 Rxh2 72.Kxh2 Ke4 73.Kg2 Ke3–+. 58...Kf3 59.Bg5 Rxd4 60.Kh2 Ra4 61.Bd8 Ra2+ 62.Kg1 Rg2+ 63.Kh1 Kg3 64.g5 Kxh3 65.Bf6 Rg4 66.Bd8 Rd4 67.Bb6 Rd5 68.Be3 Re5 0–1

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Endgame Corner

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Endgame Corner

Body-checks, Switchbacks and more While reading John Nunn’s new book Grandmaster Chess Move by Move (Gambit 2005) the following study caught my attention: 58.01 Nunn Due Alfieri, 1983 White to play and draw At first I calculated 1.Kf6? b3 2.Kg7 b2 3.Kxh8 b1Q 4.Kg7 and now White’s own b-pawn is his undoing: 4...Qg1+ 5.Kf7 Qd4 6.Kg8 Qd8+ 7.Kg7 Qg5+ 8.Kf7 Qh6 9.Kg8 Qg6+ 10.Kh8 Kc5 Black’s king frees the pawn’s path, which seals White’s fate: 11.b6 Qf7 12.b7 Qf8#

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

So I searched for a way to get rid of the pawn and found the amazing switchback 1.Kd4!! Kxb5 2.Ke5 b3 3.Kf6 b2 4.Kg7 b1Q 5.Kxh8 Kc6 6.Kg7 when White draws as Black’s king is just outside the winning zone (see Endgame Corner #22). The most famous switchback is probably the following amazing piece of art: 58.02 A. and K. Sarychev 1928 White to play and draw 1.Kc8!! White’s king voluntarily blocks the pawn’s way and loses time in the race against Black’s b-pawn. The reason for this is that White must prevent Black’s bishop from doing its job on the c8-a6 diagonal. So the bishop is torn between trying to protect the b-pawn and stopping the c-pawn. Therefore, White can win back the lost tempi.

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Endgame Corner

1.c8Q? fails to 1...Bf5+ 2.Kc7 Bxc8 when the pawn is protected.; 1.Kd6? is just too slow: 1...Bf5 2.Kc5 Ke4 3.Kb6 Bc8 4.Ka7 b5! (4...Kd5? 5.Kb8 b5? 6.Kxc8 even loses.) 5.Kb8 Bh3–+. 1...b5 2.Kd7 b4 3.Kd6! 3.Ke6? is refuted by the bodycheck 3...Ke4! 4.c8Q Bf5+ 5.Kd6 Bxc8 6.Kc5 b3–+. 3...Bf5 4.Ke5! this attack wins back the decisive tempo 4...Bc8 5.Kd4 b3 6.Kc3 Be6 7.c8Q Bxc8 8.Kxb3= The body-check is an important technique that uses one’s monarch to keep the enemy king at bay. It is especially important in pawn endings and in rook vs. pawns endings. One famous example is: 58.03 K.Lerner (2495) - J.Dorfman (2540) URS-ch FL48 Tashkent 1980 White must stop Black’s king from executing a body-check: 71.Rf2!! After 71.Kb7? Kf6 72.Kc6 Black’s king gives a body-check to win an important tempo: 72...Ke5! 73.Kc5 g4 74.Kc4 Ke4 75.Kc3 g3 76.Rh8 g2 77.Rg8 Kf3 78.Kd2 Kf2 79.Rf8+ Kg3=. And 71.Ra2? gives Black the opportunity to operate with body-checks: 71...Kg6! A) 71...Kf6? 72.Ra5 Kg6 (72...g4 is a typical winning position for White as Black’s king cannot support the pawn which is lost if it advances. So White’s king can be as far away as you like and win nevertheless.) 73.Kb7 Kh5 74.Kc6 Kg4 75.Kd5 Kf4 76.Ra4+ Kf3 (76...Kf5 77.Ra1 Kf4 78.Kd4 g4 79.Rf1++-) 77.Ke5 g4 78.Rf4++-. B) 71...Kh6? 72.Kb7 Kh5 73.Kc6 Kg4 74.Kd5 Kf3 75.Ke5 g4 76.Ra3+ Kf2 77.Kf4+-. 72.Ra5 Kh5 73.Kb7:

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Endgame Corner

Once again Black’s king must give a bodycheck: 73...Kg4 74.Kc6 Kf4 75.Kd5 g4 76.Ra4+ Kf3 77.Ke5 g3 78.Ra3+ Kf2 79.Kf4 g2 80.Ra2+:

Now Black has two ways to draw, but from a practical point of view the stalemate defense is preferable: 80...Kg1 (80...Kf1 81.Kf3 g1Q+ is drawn, but somewhat uncomfortable with little time left on the clock.) 81.Kg3 Kh1 82.Rxg2 stalemate. 71...Kg6 72.Kb7 g4 73.Kc6 Kg5 74.Kd5 g3 75.Rf8 Kg4 76.Ke4 and Lerner resigned because of 76...g2 77.Rg8+ Kh3 78.Kf3+To conclude this article I present a double body-check against the enemy king and queen.

58.04 Instructive Example White to play and draw White has only one move as Black’s king is just outside the winning zone: 1.Kf6!! only this double body-check suffices. 1.Ke8? Ke5 2.f8Q Ke6 and Black mates. 1.Ke6? Qg7 2.Ke7 Ke5 3.Ke8 Ke6 4.f8Q Qd7# 1...Qh8+ 2.Ke7 Qg7 3.Ke8 Qg6 4.Ke7 Qe4+

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Endgame Corner

Once again White must play with the utmost precision 5.Kd8!= Both 5.Kd6? Qb7! 6.f8Q Qb4+–+ and 5.Kf6? Qe5+ 6.Kg6 Qh8–+ fail. 5.Kd7? is also wrong: 5...Qh7 6.Ke8 Ke5 7.f8Q Ke6–+.

Exercises (solutions next month)

E58.01 A.Burn - J.Taubenhaus USA–06.Congress New York 1889 It does not look good for White as Black’s bishop is a much superior minor piece and Black’s pawn is further advanced. Can you find the path to salvation?

E58.02 After M.Leon Hoyos (2431) R.Hungaski (2308) American Continental 3rd Buenos Aires 2005 Is White to move lost? (Note: this position did not occur in the game.)

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Endgame Corner

E58.03 Educative Example With precise play Black can win despite White’s body-check. Can you find it?

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Endgame Corner

The Strongest Piece is the Rook: Part Two I would like to return to the theme begun in Endgame Corner 54, except this time the rook has to deal with two minor pieces. I’ll start with a complete game that also features many other aspects of the endgame. 59.01 K.Müller (2521) - P.Acs (2606) European Club Cup Rethymnon 2003 [B88]

Endgame Corner

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bb3 Nc6 8.Be3 Be7 9.0–0 0–0 10.f4 Nxd4 11.Bxd4 b5 12.e5 dxe5 13.fxe5 Nd7 14.Ne4 Bb7 15.Nd6 Bxd6 16.exd6 Qg5 17.Qe2 e5 18.Rf2?!N

Karsten Müller

I wanted to avoid the well-trodden paths after 18.Be3 but objectively this novelty is unconvincing. 18...exd4!? Alternatively 18...Qg6 can be considered, e.g. 19.Raf1 exd4 (19...Qxd6?! 20.Bc3 Kh8 21.Rxf7 gives White a strong initiative.) 20.Rxf7 Kh8 21.Rxd7 Bc6 and Black has more or less equalized. 19.Qe7 Qxe7? Playing with fire as White’s initiative based on the passed e-pawn and his active rooks in the resulting endgame will be very dangerous. 19...Nf6! was called for: 20.Qxb7 Qe3 21.Qf3 Qxf3 22.Rxf3 Rad8 23.Rd3 Rxd6 24.Rad1 Rfd8 25.c3 and Black has nothing to worry about. 20.dxe7

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Endgame Corner

20...Rfe8 20...Rfc8 21.Rxf7 (21.Bxf7+?! Kh8 22.Be6 Re8 23.Bxd7 Rxe7 24.Bg4 is almost equal.) 21...Kh8 22.e8Q+ (22.Be6?! Bc6 23.Raf1 Rg8 24.R7f4 Rae8 25.Bxg8 Kxg8 26.Re1 Nf6 27.Rxd4 Kf7 28.Rd6 Bb7 29.Rb6 Bc8 30.Rc6=) 22...Rxe8 23.Rxd7 Bc6 24.Rd6 Bb7 25.Rb6 (25.Rxd4? is wrong in principle as it allows the activation of Black’s rooks: 25...Re2 26.Rg4 Rd8) 25...Re7 26.a4 and White is at least slightly better. Acs and Hazai give 20...Rfb8 21.Bxf7+ Kh8 22.Re1 Nf6 23.Rf4 Bc6 as Black’s best in Informant 89/221.

But I strongly doubt this because of the passive placement of Black’s rooks, e.g. 24.g4 Ng8 (24...h6 25.h4 Be8 26.Bb3 Rc8 27.g5 hxg5 28.hxg5 Nh5 29.Rxd4) 25.Rxd4 Nh6 26.Bb3 Re8 27.Rd6 Bf3 28.h3. 21.Bxf7+ Kh8 22.Re1! This zwischenzug was probably underestimated by Acs. 22.Bxe8? Rxe8 23.Re1 Kg8 gives Black the upper hand as he has everything under control. 22...Nf6

23.g4! A typical Sicilian push to dislodge Black’s key defender: the f6-knight. White’s initiative is really strong now. 23...Bd5?! 23...Rec8!? might be better, but it is more fun playing White, e.g. 24.g5 (24.h4!?) 24...Ne4 25.Rfe2 Nd6 26.g6. 23...Nxg4? is refuted by 24.Bxe8 Nxf2 25.Bxb5+-. 24.Bxe8 file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (2 of 7) [2/14/2006 10:53:36 PM]

Endgame Corner

Of course not 24.Rxf6? gxf6 25.Bxd5 Ra7–+. 24...Rxe8 25.g5 Nd7 25...Ng8? 26.Rf8 leaves Black completely tied up. 26.Rf4 Kg8 27.Rxd4 Nb6 28.Re5 Bf7 29.Rd8 Nc8 30.c3 Useful prophylaxis to avoid Bg6 followed by Kf7. 30...g6? Now Black is more or less completely dominated. 30...Bg6 had to be tried: 31.Re6 Kf7 32.Rxa6 Nxe7 33.Rxe8 Kxe8 when White is on top, but the fighting chances are better. 31.Kf2 Kg7 32.Re2 Na7

33.Re6? An incredible mistake that violates the important endgame principle: “Do not rush.” For some reason I thought that this wins quicker. I should just have continued to play for domination: 33.b3 Nc6 34.Rd7 Bg8 35.Rc7 Bd5 36.Re3 Nb8 37.c4 bxc4 38.bxc4 Bf7 39.Kg3+-. 33...Bxe6! 34.Rxe8 Kf7 (34...Nc6? 35.Rg8++-) 35.Ra8 Nc8 36.Rxa6 Kxe7 Now I have to win all over again. 37.Ke3 Nd6 38.Ra7+ Bd7 39.Kf4 Again trying to play for domination. 39...Nf7 40.b3 h6?!

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Endgame Corner

And now the rest was exercise E41.01 (see the ChessCafe Archives) but I’ll briefly repeat it: 41.Rxd7+!! (41.gxh6? g5+ plays into Black’s hand.) 41...Kxd7 42.gxh6 Nxh6 (42...Ke6 43.a4 bxa4 44.bxa4 Kf6 45.a5 Nd8 46.a6 Nc6 47.Ke4+-) 43.Kg5 Nf5 44.Kxg6 Ne7+!? 45.Kf7 Nd5 46.h4 Nxc3 47.h5 Ne4 48.Kg6! (48.h6? Ng5+ 49.Kg6 Ne6 only draws as the knight now stops the h-pawn alone, freeing the king to deal with White’s queenside majority.) 48...Nc5 (48...Ke7 49.h6 Nf6 50.a4+-)

49.Kf6!! Ne6 (49...Ke8 50.h6 Nd7+ 51.Ke6 b4 52.Kd6+-) 50.Ke5 Ke7 51.h6 Kf7 52.b4!? (52.h7 Nf8 53.h8N+ should win as well, but 53.h8Q? Ng6+ is only drawn. 52...Nd8 53.Kd6 Kg6 54.Kc5 Kxh6 55.Kxb5 Kg6 56.a4 Kf6 57.a5 Ke6 58.a6 Kd7 59.a7 Ne6 60.Kb6 and Acs resigned because of 60...Nc7 61.Kb7 Kd6 62.b5 Kd7 63.b6+-. To be continued next month. Exercises (solutions next month) E59.01 A.Blanco Fernandez (2367) - R.Vasquez (2558) American Continental 3rd Buenos Aires 2005 Black controls the position and should be winning. Outline a plan and give some sample lines!

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Endgame Corner

Solutions to Last Month's Exercises

E58.01 A.Burn - J.Taubenhaus USA–06.Congress New York 1889 White’s king must help his pawn to create counterplay. In the game Burn choose the wrong plan to try to transfer it to the queenside: 93.Kg5? 93.Kh5 Bd3 94.g4 Kf4 95.g5 Ke5 and now the pawn can be sacrificed to deflect Black’s king: 96.g6 Kf6 97.g7 Kxg7 98.Kg5 Kf7 99.Kf4 Ke6 100.Ke3 and White draws. 93...Bd3 94.Kf6 94.g4 Kd4 95.Kf4 Kc5 96.Ke3 Bh7 97.g5 Bg6 and White is in fatal zugzwang. 94...Kd4 95.g4 Kc5 96.Ke5 Bh7 97.g5 Bg6 and White is in zugzwang and has to try to enter the following race: 98.Kf6 Kb4 99.Kxg6 Kxa3 100.Kf7 c2 101.g6 c1Q 102.g7 Qf4+ 103.Kg6 Qg4+ 104.Kf7 Qf5+ 105.Kg8 Kb4 106.Kh8 Qh5+ 0–1

E58.02 After M.Leon Hoyos (2431) R.Hungaski (2308) American Continental 3rd Buenos Aires 2005 White must give a bodycheck: 56.Ke5!! 56.f5? Kf4 57.h4 Ra3 58.Kg6 Ra6+ 59.f6 Ke5 60.h5 Rxf6+ 61.Kg5 (61.Kg7 Kf5 62.h6 Rg6+–+) 61...Rf1 62.Kg6 Ke6 63.h6 Rg1+–+. 56.h4? Kxf4 57.h5 Ra3 58.h6 Ra6+ 59.Kg7 Kg5 60.h7 Ra7+ 61.Kg8 Kg6 62.h8N+ Kf6 and the knight is lost. 56...Rf3 (56...Rxh3 57.f5 Rf3 58.f6 Kf2 59.Ke6 Kg3 60.f7 Kg4 61.Ke7=) 57.f5 Kf2 58.f6 Kg3 59.Ke6 Kh4 60.f7 Kg5 61.Ke7= Please note that this position did not occur in the game. file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (5 of 7) [2/14/2006 10:53:36 PM]

Endgame Corner

Without his h3-pawn White would be lost as Black’s king could circumvent the bodycheck: E58.02B 1.Ke5 Kf3 or 1...Rg8 2.f5 Re8+ 3.Kd6 Rf8 4.Ke5 Kf3 5.f6 Kg4 6.Ke6 Kg5 7.f7 Kg6–+ 2.f5 Kg4 3.f6 Kg5 4.f7 Rf3 5.Ke6 Kg6–+.

E58.03 Educative Example Black is just in time to walk around White’s king: 1...Rd8+ 2.Kc5 2.Ke5 is basically the same: 2...Kc4 3.f5 Kb5!! 4.f6 Kc6 5.Ke6 Re8+ 6.Kf5 Kd6 7.f7 Rb8 8.Kf6 Kd7 9.b5 Kd6 10.b6 Rf8 11.b7 Rb8 12.Kg7 Ke7–+. 2.Kc6 Kc4 3.b5 Rc8+ 4.Kd6 Kxb5 5.f5 Rf8 6.Ke6 Kc6 7.f6 Re8+ 8.Kf7 Kd7 9.Kg7 Ke6 10.f7 Re7–+. 2...Ke4 3.b5 3...Kf5!! (3...Kxf4? 4.b6 Ke5 5.b7=) 4.Kc6 Ke6 5.f5+ Ke7 6.f6+ Ke6 7.Kc7 Rd7+ 8.Kc6 Rd1 9.b6 Rc1+ 10.Kb7 (10.Kb5 Kd7 11.f7 Rf1 12.b7 Kc7 13.Ka6 Rxf7 14.Ka7 Rf8–+) 10...Kd7 11.Ka7 Ra1+ 12.Kb8 Rb1 13.Ka7 Kc8 (13...Kc6? allows a stalemate defense: 14.f7 Rf1 15.b7 Rxf7 16.Ka8 Rxb7) 14.Ka6 Kb8–+.

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Endgame Corner

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Endgame Corner

The Strongest Piece is the Rook: Part Three I continue the discussion of rook versus two minor pieces from last month. 60.01 M.Tal - E.Geller Moscow 1967 At first sight Black seems to be completely winning, but Tal’s active rook will work wonders: 85.Kg6 Kd7 86.Kxh6 Ne6 87.Re4 Bb4 88.Kg6

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

88...Kd6 88...Nc5 does not help either: 89.Re3 Kd6 90.Rg3 (90.Kf7 Kd5 91.Rh3 Kd4 92.Ke8 Bc3 93.Rh4+ Kd3 94.Ke7 should also be sufficient, e.g. 94...Bb4 95.Kd6 Nxa4+ 96.Kc6 Nc3 97.Rh5=) 90...Ke5 91.Kf7 Kd4 (91...Kf4 92.Rh3 Kg4 93.Re3 Bd2 94.Re5 Nxb3 95.Ke6=) 92.Rh3 Bc3 93.Rh4+ Kd3 94.Ke7 Nxb3 95.Kd6 Bb4+ 96.Kc6 Nd4+ 97.Kb6 Kc4 98.Rh5 Nb3 99.Rh4+ Kc3 100.Rh5 and it seems that Black cannot break through. 89.Kf5 Nc5 90.Re8 Nxb3 91.Ke4 Nc5+ 92.Kd4 Nxa4

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Endgame Corner

White is too active. 93.Kc4 Nb6+ 94.Kb5 Kc7 (94...Nd5 95.Rd8+ Ke6 96.Kc6 Nc3 97.Ra8 a4 98.Rxa4 Nxa4 99.Kb5=) 95.Re6 Nd5 96.Ra6 Nc3+ 97.Kc4 Kb7 (97...Ne4 98.Kb5 Nd6+ 99.Ka4 Nb7 100.Kb5=) 98.Re6 Nb1 99.Kb5 Kc8 100.Ra6 Nc3+ 101.Kb6 ½–½ In the following positions, the side with the minor pieces has to fight hard to avoid defeat.

60.02 O.Boricsev (2396) - J.Genna (2215) Venetian Autumn open Venice 2004 White’s h-pawn is much more dangerous than Black’s a-pawn, which is easily stopped by the rook: 58...a3? Black’s knight had to fight against the advance of the h-pawn immediately: 58...Nd3! 59.Rc8+ (59.Rf7+ Kg8=) 59...Ke7 60.Kg7 a3 61.Ra8 Nf4 62.Rxa3 Kd6:

Black’s activity is enough to keep the balance. 63.Rf3 (63.f3 Nh5+ 64.Kh6 Nf4 65.h5 Ke5 66.Ra5+ Kd6= and Black’s activity is sufficient for a draw.) 63...Be5 (63...Ke5? 64.Rxf4 Kxf4 65.Kg6+–) 64.Re3 (64.Rxf4 Bxf4 65.Kxf6 Be5+ 66.Kf7 Bc3 67.h5 Ke5 68.Kg6 Kd6 69.f6 Ke6 70.f7 Ke7=; 64.Kf7 Kd5=) 64...Nh5+ 65.Kf7 Kd5 66.f3 Kd4 67.Re4+ Kd5 68.Kg6 Nf4+ 69.Rxf4 Bxf4 70.Kxf6 Be5+ 71.Kg6 Kd6 72.Kf7 Bd4 73.h5 Ke5 74.Kg6 Kd6=. 59.Rf7+ Ke8 60.Ra7 Bxf2 60...Nd3 61.Rxa3 Nf4+ 62.Kg7 Nh5+ (62...Ke7 63.Ra4 Be5 64.Rxf4 Bxf4 file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (2 of 7) [3/11/2006 8:45:23 PM]

Endgame Corner

65.h5+–; 62...Ng2 63.h5 Nh4 64.Ra5 Be5 65.f4+–) 63.Kh6 Nf4 64.Ra4 Bxf2: Now White just simplifies into a won pawn ending. 65.Rxf4 Be3 66.Kg7 Bxf4 67.h5 Ke7 68.h6 Bxh6+ 69.Kxh6 Kd6 70.Kg7 Ke7 71.Kg6+–. 61.h5 Nd7 62.Ra8+ Ke7 63.h6 Ne5+ (63...a2 64.Rxa2 Nf8+ 65.Kg7 Bd4 66.Ra4 Bc5 67.Ra8+–). 64.Kg7 Nf7 65.Rxa3 White plays it safe. The direct 65.h7 wins as well: 65...Bc5 66.Rf8 Nd6 67.h8Q Kd7 68.Kg6+–. 65...Nxh6 66.Kxh6 Bd4 67.Kg7 Be5 68.Ra7+ 68.Re3!? Ke8 (68...Kd6 69.Rxe5 Kxe5 70.Kg6+–) 69.Rxe5+ fxe5 70.f6 was also possible. 68...Ke8 69.Rf7 Bd4 70.Rxf6? A terrible mistake. 70.Kg6 had to be played first to avoid the pin, e.g. 70...Be5 71.Rxf6 Bxf6 72.Kxf6 Kf8 73.Ke6 Ke8 74.f6 Kf8 75.f7 Kg7 76.Ke7+–. 70...Bxf6+? 70...Ke7 draws easily. 71.Kxf6 Kf8 72.Ke6 1–0

60.03 A.Filippov (2478) - S.Ganguly (2562) Asia-ch 5th Hyderabad 2005

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Endgame Corner

Black tries his last chance: 78...g4!? 79.hxg4? Now the h-pawn is very fast. 79.Nxg4 was called for: 79...Rxh3 80.Kf2 Rc3 81.Nh2 Rc2+ 82.Kg1:

The duties of White’s pieces are clearly delineated: the king and knight stop the hpawn, while the bishop deals with the problems on the queenside, e.g. 82...h3 83.Nf3 Kd5 84.Be7 Rc3 85.Ng5 Re3 86.Bd8 Kc4 87.Kh2 Kxb4 88.Nxh3=. 79...h3 80.Bc5? 80.Bh6 was the last chance, e.g. 80...h2 81.Bf4 Rb2+ 82.Bd2 Ke5 83.Nh1 Rb1 84.Nf2 h1Q 85.Nxh1 Rxh1 86.Kd3 Rg1 (86...Kd5 87.Ke3 Rh3+ 88.Kf4) 87.g5 Rg4 88.Kc3 Ke4 89.Kb3 (89.Kc4? Rg2 90.Kc3 Kd5 91.Kd3 Rg3+ 92.Ke2 Ke4 93.Kf2 Rf3+ 94.Kg2 Rd3 95.Be1 Kf5–+) 89...Rg1 90.Ka4 Kd3 91.Bf4 Ra1+ 92.Kb3 and in both cases White can hope for a draw because of his counterplay. 80...h2 81.Be3 81.Kf1 Rg3 82.Nh1 Rxg4 83.Bf2 Rxb4 84.Kg2 a5 85.Kxh2:

Now the rook makes sure that nobody is going to stop the a-pawn. 85...Rc4!! 86.Ng3 a4 87.Ne2 a3–+. 81...Rxb4 82.Kf1 (82.Kf3 Rb3 83.g5 Kf5–+) 82...Rxg4 0–1 I leave the next example for your study, but I found the first move really amazing:

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Endgame Corner

60.04 T.Gareev (2525) - F.Jenni (2503) Calvia ol (Men) Mallorca 2004 38.Bxc5!? bxc5 39.Rxh6+ Kg7 40.Ra6 Be6 41.Rxa7 e4 42.fxe4 Nd6 43.a4 Nxe4 44.a5 Nxc3 45.Rc7 c4 46.a6 Na4 47.a7 Nb6 48.Rb7 Na8 49.Rb8 Bd5 50.Rb5 Be4 51.Rxg5+ Kh6 52.Rc5 f5 53.Rxc4 Kxh5 54.Kf2 Kg5 55.g3 Bd5 56.Rd4 Be4 57.Ke3 Kg4 58.Kf2 Kg5 59.Rd8 Kf6 60.Ke3 Ke7 61.Rd4 Bc6 62.Kf4 Nc7 63.Ke5 Bd7 64.Rh4 Bc6 65.Rh7+ Kd8 66.Kd6 1–0 I want to end this discussion with an example that is favorable for the minor pieces, from Esben Lund’s Rook vs. Two Minor Pieces (Quality Chess 2005). 60.05 A.Moroz (2514) - D.Jakovenko (2552) Czech open Pardubice 2002 White should not go for 39.Rxe7? and just play 39.Bxg3 Nfe4 40.Bxe4 Nxe4 41.Qd4 Nxg3 42.Kxg3= (Lund) 39...Bxf4 40.Rxe8 Bxd2 41.Rxd8 Bxe1 42.Rxd6

42...Nfd7 Black is clearly on top as White has no real active prospects, his c2-bishop is bad and Black’s solid blockade on the dark squares gives him firm control, which makes White’s life harder and harder. 42...Ncd7!? was also possible, e.g. 43.Rc6 Kg7 44.Rc7 Kf8 45.d6 Bb4 46.Rc8+ Kg7 47.Rc6:

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Endgame Corner

Now Laubsch’s 47...Bc5!–+ and not 47...Ne8?! which allows 48.Rc7. 43.Rc6 Kg7 44.Kf1 Bg3 45.Kg2 Bh4 46.Bd1 Kf8 47.d6 Ke8 48.Rc8+ Bd8 49.Ra8 Ne5 50.Ra7 Nc6 51.Ra8 Kd7 52.Bf3 Ne5 53.Bd5 Nxb3 54.Ra7+ Kxd6 55.Bxf7 Nc5 56.Be8 Bc7 57.Bb5 Ncd7 58.Kf2 Nc6 59.Ra8 Bb8 60.Ke3 Kc7 61.c5 bxc5 62.Bxc6 Kxc6 63.Rxa5 Nb6 64.Ke4 Bc7 65.Ra6 Kb7 66.Ra5 Nd7 67.Rb5+ Kc6 68.Rb1 Nf6+ 69.Kd3 Kd5 70.Rb7 Kc6 71.Ra7 Nd5 72.Ra8 c4+ 73.Kd4 c3 74.Kd3 Be5 75.Rc8+ Kb7 76.Rc4 Bg7 77.Re4 Kb6 78.Kc2 Kc5 79.Kb3 Bd4 80.Re8 Ne3 81.Rc8+ Kb6 82.Rxc3 Bxc3 83.Kxc3 g5 84.Kd4 Ng2 85.Ke4 Ka5 86.Ke5 Kxa4 87.Kf5 Kb4 88.Kg6 Nf4+ 89.Kxh6 Nxh3 90.Kg6 Kc4 0–1 Exercises (solutions next month)

E60.01 V.Ivanchuk (2748) - I.Cheparinov (2618) FIDE World Cup Khanty Mansyisk 2005 Must Black protect his c6-pawn?

E60.02 Ni Hua (2603) - A.Morozevich (2707) 6th World Team Championship Beer Sheva 2005 With his last move, d4-d5, White tried to open a path for his king to join the attack. What was Morozevich’s reply?

Solutions to Last Month's Exercises

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Endgame Corner

E59.01 A.Blanco Fernandez (2367) R.Vasquez (2558) American Continental 3rd Buenos Aires 2005 46...Kg8? Now White can liquidate all the pawns. The win was possible with some typical techniques: 46...Ne8 47.Ra7 (47.Kf5 Kg7 48.Ra7 Nf6 49.Ra2 Nh5 50.Kg4 Kg6 51.Kf3 f5 52.exf5+ Kxf5 53.Ke3 Nf6 54.Rf2+ Kg6 55.Rg2+ Kf7 56.Rf2 Ke7 57.Rd2 Kd7–+ and Black’s king advances via c7-b6-c5 into White’s camp.) 47...Nf6 48.Ra4 Kg7 49.Rc4 Nh7+ 50.Kf5 Nf8 51.Rb4 Ng6 52.Kg5 Nf4 53.Rb8 Ne2 54.Rb7 Ng3 55.Rb4 Bc3 56.Ra4 Ne2 57.Ra2 Bf6+ 58.Kf5 Ng3+ 59.Kf4 Be5+ 60.Kf3 Kf6 61.Rg2 Nh5 62.Kg4 Ng7 63.Rf2+ Kg6 64.Kf3 Ne8 65.Rg2+ Kh6 66.Ra2: Now the decisive lever destroys White’s defensive concept. 66...f5 67.exf5 Kg5 68.Rg2+ Kxf5 69.Ke3 Nf6–+. 47.Rd8+ Kh7 48.Rf8 f6+ 49.Rxf6! Bxf6+ 50.Kxf6 Nh5+ 51.Ke6 Ng3 ½–½

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Endgame Corner

Davies vs. Danish Dynamite In his recent excellent book, Play 1.e4 e5! (Everyman 2005), Nigel Davies recommends meeting the Danish and the Göring Gambit with Capablanca’s Defense, and he gives some fresh and interesting ideas for Black. So I decided to take a closer look at the resulting endgames. 61.01 V.Bondarenko (2300) - E.Najer (2455) Alekhine Open, Moscow 1996 [C44] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.c3 d5 5.exd5 Qxd5 6.cxd4 Bg4

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

7.Be2 7.Nc3!? is also very interesting, as it gives Black the additional option 7...Bxf3, which is recommended by Davies. (7...Bb4 usually transposes to the main line, but gives White the additional option 8.a3, for further details see Danish Dynamite, by Martin Voigt and Karsten Müller, Russell Enterprises 2003.) 8.Nxd5 Bxd1 9.Nxc7+ Kd7 10.Nxa8 Bh5 11.d5 Nd4 12.Bd3 Bg6 13.Bxg6 hxg6 14.Kd1 Nh6 15.Be3 Nhf5:

Now Davies gives only 16.Kd2? from Coleman-Westerinen, Gausdal 1991. But 16.Rf1! is the critical test, as given in Danish Dynamite: 16...Nxe3+ 17.fxe3 Nf5 18.Rf3 Bd6 19.e4 Nh6 20.Rb3:

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Endgame Corner

Here 20...Rb8!? may be best. (Danish Dynamite only mentions 20...Rxa8 21.Rxb7+ Kc8 22.Rb3 and White is slightly better.) 21.a4! (21.h3? is too slow: 21...b5 22.Rc1 a6:

Black has full control. White should try to avoid this, as without dynamic options the rooks lack prospects.) 21...Bxh2 (21...f5 22.h3 fxe4 23.Rc1 Nf5 (23...Ng8 24.a5 Ne7 25.Rc4 Nxd5 26.Rxe4 Rxa8 27.Rxb7+ Kc6 28.Rxg7) 24.Rc4 b6 (24...e3 25.g4 Ne7 26.a5) 25.Nxb6+ Rxb6 26.Rxb6 axb6 27.Rxe4 Ne7 28.Rg4:

with very interesting and complicated positions in all cases.) 22.g3! Rxa8 23.Ke2:

This complicated position seems to be more-or-less balanced. Any practical tests would be welcome. 7...Bb4+ 8.Nc3 Bxf3 9.Bxf3 Qc4 10.Bxc6+ bxc6 11.Qe2+ Qxe2+ 12.Kxe2

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Endgame Corner

The overall verdict of this endgame has always been that it is equal. Of course, I will not be able to overturn that opinon; I only want to arm gambit players with ideas to meet the challenge. 12...Ne7 13.Be3 13.Kd3!? is an interesting idea to centralize the king immediately: 13...0–0–0 (13...Kd7 can now be met by 14.Kc4 Bxc3 15.bxc3 Nd5 16.Ba3) 14.Kc4 Ba5 15.Bg5 f6 16.Be3 Bb6 17.Rhd1 Nf5 18.Rd3 Rd7 19.Rad1 Rhd8 20.b4 Nd6+ 21.Kb3 Nf5: 22.Kc4 (22.Ne2!? was an option to continue the fight: 22...c5 23.bxc5 Bxc5 24.g4 Nxe3 25.fxe3 Bd6 26.Kc4) 22...Nd6+ and, in I.DolgovF.Fleischanderl, ICCF Email 2002, a draw was agreed. 13...Kd7!? The start of an interesting concept to use the half open b-file. 13...0–0–0 14.Rac1 (Other moves are not given by Davies, but I think that 14.Kd3 is called for, e.g. 14...c5 (14...Nf5 15.Kc4 Be7?! 16.Rad1 Bf6 17.Rd3 Rhe8 18.Rhd1 Kb7 19.b4 Nd6+ 20.Kb3 Nb5 21.Na4 is better for White: 21...Rd5 22.Nc5+ Kc8 23.a4 Nd6 24.R1d2 g5 25.Rc3 Nf5 26.Na6 Nxd4+ 27.Bxd4 Rxd4 28.Rxd4 Bxd4 29.Rxc6 Re7 30.f3 h5 31.Kc4 Bg7 32.Rc5 Be5 33.Rb5 c6 34.Ra5 f6 35.Nc5 Bxh2 36.Ra6 Rc7 37.Ne6 Rd7 38.Rxc6+ Kb7 39.b5 Bg1 40.Kc3 Be3 41.Nf8 Rd8 42.Ne6 Rd7 43.a5 h4 44.Nf8 Rd8 45.a6+ Kb8 46.Nh7 f5 47.Rg6 Rd5 48.Nf6 Rd4 49.Rg7 Rd8 50.Nd7+ Kc8 51.b6 axb6 52.Ne5 Rd1 53.Nc6 Ra1 54.a7 b5 55.Kb2 Ra6 56.Ne7+ Kd8 57.a8Q+ Rxa8 58.Nxf5 1–0, D.Zink-R.Stroeher, ICCF Email 2000) 15.Kc4 cxd4 16.Bxd4 Nc6 17.Rad1:

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Endgame Corner

White is only slightly better, but the position should be drawn. (17.Be3 Ba5 18.Rad1 Ne5+ 19.Kb3 Bb6 20.Bxb6 axb6 and, in I.Dolgov-P.Schuster, ICCF Email 2002, a draw was agreed.) 14...Rhe8 15.Rhd1 Nf5 16.Kf3 h5:

Now I think that 17.g3 is called for, e.g. 17...Rd6 18.Rd3 (18.Na4!?) 18...Rf6 19.Kg2 Rfe6 20.Kf3 Rf6=. 14.Rac1?! 14.Kd3 is not given by Davies, but seems worth a try, e.g. 14...Bxc3 15.bxc3 Rab8 16.Rab1 Nd5 17.Bd2. 14...Rab8 15.Kd3 Bxc3!? with the idea to play on the light squares. White must now be careful. 16.bxc3 Rb2 17.Rc2 Rhb8

18.c4?! The first step in the wrong direction. 18.Re1! Nd5 19.Bd2 a5 20.Re4 Rb1 21.c4 Nb4+ 22.Bxb4 R8xb4:

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Endgame Corner

The position is equal. 18...Nf5 19.Kc3 Rxc2+ 20.Kxc2 Nd6 21.Kc3 a5 22.Rc1 Rb4

23.c5? Conceding the light squares is fatal. After 23.Kd3, White should be able to hold the position. 23...Nb5+ 24.Kd3 Ra4 25.Rc2 Ke6 26.Bc1 Kd5 27.Re2 Rxd4+ 28.Kc2 Rg4 29.Re7 Rxg2 30.Rxf7 Kxc5 31.a4 Nd6 32.Be3+ Kd5 33.Rxc7 Nf5 34.Bb6 Rxh2 35.Ra7 Nd4+ 36.Kd3 Rh3+ 37.Kd2 Nb3+ 38.Kc2 g6 39.Be3 Kc4 40.Kb2 c5 41.Ra6 Rh2 42.Ka3 Nd4 43.Kb2 Nf5 44.Re6 Nxe3 45.Rxe3 Rxf2+ 46.Ka3 Rf7 0–1 Solutions to Last Month's Exercises E60.01 V.Ivanchuk (2748) - I.Cheparinov (2618) FIDE World Cup Khanty Mansyisk 2005 Cheparinov missed his chance to activate his rooks: 60...Rc7? 60...g5!! (Shipov on Chesspro.ru) 61.h5 (61.Ra1 gxh4 62.Rh1 Rg4 63.Rxh4 Rdg7–+; 61.hxg5? Kf5 and White is mated.) 61...g4 62.Rxc6+ Kf5 63.e6 Rb7 64.e7 g3 65.Bh4 (65.e8Q Rxe8 66.Be5 Rg8 67.Rf6+ Ke4 68.c6 g2 69.Rf4+ Ke3 70.Rg4 Rxg4 71.cxb7 Rg8 72.Bh2 Re8 73.Kg5 Rb8 74.Bxb8 g1Q+ 75.Kf6 Qb1 76.Be5 Qxb7–+; 65.Kh7 Re8 66.Bg7 Rexe7 67.Rf6+ Kg4 68.h6 g2 69.Rg6+ Kh3 70.Rg5 Rb1 71.Rxg2 Kxg2 72.Kg6 Rh1 73.h7 Re8 74.c6 Rc8 75.h8Q Rhxh8 76.Bxh8 Rxh8 77.Kf6 Kf3 78.Ke5 Rh5+ 79.Kd6 Ke4–+) 65...g2 66.Rf6+ Kg4 67.Rf8 Rb8 68.Rxb8 Rxb8 69.Bf2 Re8 70.Kg6 Rxe7 71.h6 Re6+ 72.Kg7 Kf3 73.Bg1 Re1 74.h7 Rxg1 75.h8Q Rh1 76.Qf8+ Ke3 77.Qe7+ Kd3–+. file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (5 of 6) [4/15/2006 2:47:14 PM]

Endgame Corner

61.Kg5 Kf7 62.h5 gxh5+ 63.Kf5 Re8 64.Ra2 Rb7 65.Rg2 Kf8 66.Rh2 Rb1 67.Rxh5 Rf1+ 68.Kg6 Rg1+ 69.Bg5 Kg8 70.Kf5 Rf1+ 71.Kg4 Rg1+ ½–½ E60.02 Ni Hua (2603) - A.Morozevich (2707) World Team Championship Beer Sheva 2005 Morozevich stopped White’s initiative with a convincing counterattack: 51...g5!! 52.dxe6 52.fxg5 e5–+; 52.Rxg5 Rxg5 53.fxg5 e5 54.d6 Bc6 55.g6 f4+ 56.Ke2 e4–+ (Afek in Schach 12/2005) Black controls White’s passed pawns, and will sooner or later promote one of his own. 52...g4 53.Kd4 Rh3 54.Rg1?! 54.Re3 Kd8 55.Bc5 Kc7 56.e7 (56.Ke5 Rxe3 57.Bxe3 a3–+) 56...Kd7 57.c4 (57.Re1 g3 58.Rd1 g2 59.c4 b4 60.Ke5+ Rd3 61.Ra1 a3 62.Kf6 Bf3 63.Kg7 Ke8–+) 57...b4 58.Bxb4 (58.Re2 g3 59.Ke5 g2 60.Rd2+ Rd3 61.Ra2 Bc6–+) 58...g3 59.Be1 g2 60.Bf2 Rh1 61.Re2 Kxe7–+. 54...g3 55.Ke5 g2 56.Rd1 Rh1 57.Rd7 g1Q 58.Bd6 Bc6 0–1

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Endgame Corner

Queen vs. Two Rooks: Part One In general, it is impossible to say whether two rooks are better than a queen; it all depends on the exact position. Factors in favor of the queen include: ● ● ● ●

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

●

●

bad coordination of the rooks, the queen can attack weak pawns or chase the rooks, exposed king, no safe anchor squares for the rooks, a strong passed pawn or even two connected passed pawns, which are always dangerous against a rook, the rooks have no control over the position.

Factors in favor of the rooks include: ● ● ● ● ●

the rooks have full control, the queen has no real targets, safe king, the rooks support a strong passed pawn, the queen must passively protect weak pawns.

The following examples will help you to apply these principles in practice. 62.01 R.Hamdani (2385) - M.Chokshi (2223) Dubai 2004

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Endgame Corner

Black is winning, as his rooks have safe anchor squares, and White’s weak pawns will fall, one after the after, like ripe fruits. Conversely, White has no counterplay, as the queen has no targets and the passed apawn is easily stopped. 26...h6 27.d5 exd5 28.Qxd5 Re8! Pressuring the weak e5-pawn and eyeing the superb anchor square e6. 29.Qb7 29.a4 Rf5 30.Qc6 Rfxe5 31.a5

Now Black wins the a-pawn in typical fashion: 31...Rf8 32.a6 Re7 33.Qc5 Rd7 34.Kh2 Ra8–+ followed by Rda7 and Rxa6. 29...Re6 (29...Re2!?) 30.g4 Rf3 31.Qb8+ Kh7 32.Qb1+ g6 33.Qb7 Rf4 34.a4 34.Qc7 Kg7 35.Kg2 Re4 36.Qc3 R4xe5 37.a4 Kh7 38.a5 Re7 39.h4 Rb5

White’s a-pawn is doomed. 34...Rxe5 35.Qc7 Ree4 36.a5 Rc4 37.Qe5 Rf2 38.Kg1 Ra2 39.Qe1 Rc3?? 0–1 Black’s last move is given in the database, but I think that either 39...Rc5 or 39...Rcc2 is more likely the last move of the game.

62.02 P.Leko (2741) - V.Kramnik (2770) World Championship, Brissago 2004

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Endgame Corner

Black is on top, as he will win the a-pawn and his king is safe; whether he can win remains to be seen: 37...R2d5 38.Qc6 Ra5 The rooks start to gang up against the passed pawn. 39.Kg3 Rda8 40.h4! White must try to reduce material and create threats against Black’s monarch 40...R5a6 41.Qc1 Ra5 42.Qh6 Rxa4 43.h5 R4a5

The critical moment has come. 44.Qf4? Probably overlooking the point of Kramnik’s reply. 44.hxg6 was called for, e.g. 44...hxg6 45.g5? This is probably too commital. The question as to whether Black can win against the best defense seems to be open. 45...Rf5 46.f4 Ra4 47.Qh4

Now I think that Black can prevail: 47...Rc4!? A) The immediate 47...Rfxf4? leads to a drawn pawn endgame: 48.Qxf4 Rxf4 49.Kxf4 Kf8 50.Ke4 (50.Ke5? Ke7–+) 50...Ke8

I leave this as an exercise: White to move and draw. The solution is at the end of this article. B) 47...Kf8?! 48.Qh8+ (48.Kf3? Raxf4+ 49.Qxf4 Ke7!–+) 48...Ke7 49.Qb8! Raxf4?

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Endgame Corner

This is refuted by 50.Qc7+ Kf8 51.Qxf4=. Now I continue with the analysis of the main move 47...Rc4!?: 48.Qg4 (48.Kf3?! Rc3+ 49.Ke4 Rb5 50.Kd4 Ra3 51.Qg4 Rb4+ 52.Ke5 Ra5+ 53.Kd6 Rf5–+) 48...Rc3+ 49.Kg2 (49.Kf2 is similar: 49...Rd3 50.Ke2 Rb3 51.Kf2 Kg7 52.Kg2 Rd5 53.Qe2 Rdd3 54.Kf1 Rf3+ 55.Kg1 Rfe3 56.Qc4 Rbd3 57.Kf1 Rd2 58.Qb4 Red3 59.Qe4 Ra3

Black is winning, e.g. 60.Qe5+ Kh7 61.Qf6 Kg8 62.f5 Rf3+ 63.Ke1 Rd5–+; 49.Kh4?? Kh7–+ immediately leads to fatal zugzwang.) 49...Rd5 50.Qe2 Rdd3 51.Qe8+ Kg7 52.Qe2 Kf8!

The king comes closer to help the rooks dominate the queen 53.Kf2 (53.Kg1 Rb3 54.Qf2 Re3 55.Kh2 Kg8 56.Kg2 Rbd3 57.Kg1 Rd1+ 58.Kg2 Rde1–+) 53...Rb3 54.Kg2 Rg3+ 55.Kf2 Rh3 56.Qd1 Rbd3 57.Qc1 Rh2+ 58.Kg1 Ra2 59.Qc8+ Kg7 60.Qc1 Kh7 61.Qe1 Rdd2 62.Qf1 Kg7 63.Kh1 Rf2–+. 44...g5! 45.Qf6 h6!

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Endgame Corner

Black will eventually double rooks on the ffile and win White’s f-pawn: 46.f3 46.f4 overexposes the king: 46...Ra3+ 47.Kf2 Ra2+ 48.Kf3 (48.Kf1 Rc8–+) 48...R8a3+ 49.Ke4 Ra4+ 50.Kd3 R2a3+ 51.Ke2 Rb3–+.

The attack of Black’s rooks crashes through. Of course not 46.Qxh6?? R8a6–+. 46...R5a6 47.Qc3 Ra4 48.Qc6 R8a6 49.Qe8+ Kg7 50.Qb5 R4a5 51.Qb4 Rd5 52.Qb3 (52.f4 Rd3+ 53.Kf2 Ra2+ 54.Ke1 Rh3 55.Qe4 Rh1+ 56.Qxh1 Ra1+–+) 52...Rad6 53.Qc4 Rd3 54.Kf2 Ra3 55.Qc5 Ra2+ 56.Kg3 Rf6 Finally, the first rook has arrived 57.Qb4 Raa6 58.Kg2 Rf4 59.Qb2+ Raf6 60.Qe5 Rxf3 61.Qa1 Rf1 62.Qc3 R1f2+ 63.Kg3 R2f3+ 64.Qxf3 Rxf3+ 65.Kxf3 Kf6 and Leko resigned because of 66.Ke4 Ke6 67.Kd4 f5–+.

Exercises (Answers Next Month) E62.01 G.Beikert (2444) - M.Godard (2353) FRA-chT France 2003

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Endgame Corner

How to storm White’s fortress?

In the pawn endgame exercise, from the analysis of Leko vs. Kramnik, White can draw by 51.Kd4! Kd8 52.Ke4=.

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Endgame Corner

Queen vs. Two Rooks: Part Two I continue the discussion from last month, but this time I want to look at positions where the queen is more comfortable: 63.01 L.Aronian (2502) - R.Milu (2395) Victor Ciocaltea Memorial Bucharest 1999

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

Black must act precisely to maintain any winning prospects, as White’s queen finds many targets to attack, and Black’s king is not completely safe because of the typical thrust h4-h5. 31...h5? 31...Rc2! 32.h5 Rxf2+ 33.Kg1 Re2

34.h6 A) 34.Kf1 Re8 (34...Raxa2? 35.h6=) 35.Qd7 Rae4. B) 34.a3!? is interesting as 34…Rxa3?? is met by 35.Qd8+ Kg7 36.h6+ Kxh6 37.Qf8++–. 34...Re1+ 35.Kg2 Re8 36.Qd7 Rxa2+ 37.Kh3 Rae2 38.Qxa7 R2e5.

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Endgame Corner

White’s counterplay against Black’s king still gives him drawing chances in all cases. 32.Qd7! Now White can force a draw with his active queen.

32...Rcc4 33.Qe8+ Kg7 34.Qe5+ Kf8 35.Qh8+ Ke7 36.Qe5+ Kd8 37.Qd5+ Ke7 38.Qe5+ Kf8 39.Qh8+ Ke7 40.Qe5+ Kf8 41.Qb8+ Kg7 42.Qe5+ Kh7 43.Qe8 Kg7 44.Qe5+ Kh7 45.Qe8 Kg7 ½–½ The next example is similar.

63.02 S.Shipov (2620) - D.Velimirovic (2535) Belgrade-Moscow, Belgrade 1998

Black must threaten White’s king to make it difficult to activate the rooks. 29...h5! 30.g3 a5?! More precise was 30...h4 31.g4 Qd3 32.Rb3 Qd2 33.Ra1 Qc2.

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Endgame Corner

31.Rb3?! 31.h4 was called for; e.g., 31...g5 32.hxg5 h4 33.Rc8+ Kg7 34.Rbc2 hxg3 35.fxg3 Qe3+ 36.Kg2 Qxg5 37.R8c3 Qd5+ 38.Rf3.

White’s exposed king makes it difficult to make progress, but I think the winning chances are better than in the game, as the rooks coordinate better. 31...Qd5 32.Rcb1 32.h4 Qd2 33.Ra1 Qc2= (Stohl in CBM 64). 32...Qd2 33.a3 Qc2 34.Rb8+ Kg7 35.Re1 Qc3!

More or less forcing the draw. 36.Re3 Qc1+ 37.Kg2 Qc6+ 38.Kg1 38.Rf3?

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Endgame Corner

This even loses in typical fashion: 38...g5 39.g4 hxg4 40.hxg4 f5–+ (Stohl). 38...Qc1+ 39.Kg2 Qc6+ ½–½ Finally, one example that is clearly favorable for the queen.

63.03 S.Volkov (2567) - V.Tkachiev (2634) Moscow Aeroflot Open 2002 White’s rooks must passively defend his weaknesses and keep the passed b-pawn under control – a job rooks do not like at all. 46...Qe2! 47.Rf1 Kg5 and White is powerless: 48.Kg1 Kh4 49.Rf2 Qe3 50.Kg2 50.Rxb4+ Kg3 51.Rbb2 Qc1+ 52.Rf1 Qxb2–+. 50...Qf4 51.Rbb2 51.Rb3 Qg3+ (51...g5!?) 52.Kf1 Kxh3 53.Rxb4 Qd6 54.Rfb2 Kg3 55.Rg2+ Kxf3 56.Rb3+ Kf4–+. 51...g5 52.Kh1 Qd6 53.Rfd2 Qf4 54.Rf2 h5 55.Kg2 Qg3+ 56.Kh1 Qd6 57.Rfd2 57.Kg2 Qb8 58.f4 g4 59.hxg4 hxg4 60.Rb3 Qd6 61.Kh2 Qd4–+. 57...Qc5 58.Rdc2 Qd4 59.Rd2 Qc3 60.Kg2 b3 61.Rf2 f4 62.Kh1 g4 63.fxg4 hxg4 64.hxg4 f3 65.Rb1 65.Kh2 Qe5+ 66.Kg1 Kxg4–+. 65...Kg3 0–1 Solutions to Last Month’s Exercises file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (4 of 6) [6/18/2006 12:19:31 AM]

Endgame Corner

E62.01 G.Beikert (2444) - M.Godard (2353) FRA-chT, France 2003

Black could have won with a timely sacrifice of his queen. 75...f3? 75...Qg2+ 76.Kc1 (76.Ka1 Qxh3 77.Rb5+ Kg4 78.Rg1+ Qg3 79.Rbb1 h3 80.Kb2 h2 81.Rh1 f3–+) 76...Qxh3 77.Rb5+ Kg4 78.Rg1+.

Now 78...Qg3! 79.Rxg3+ fxg3 80.Kd2 g2 81.Rb8 Kg3 82.Rg8+ Kh2 83.Ke2 g1Q 84.Rxg1 Kxg1–+. 76.Rh1 f2 77.Kc3 Qe3+ 78.Kc4 Kf4 79.Rbd1 Qe2+ 80.Kc3 Kf3 81.Rd3+ Kg2 82.Rdd1

White has an impregnable fortress. 82...Qe3+ 83.Kc4 ½–½

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Endgame Corner

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Endgame Corner

Kamsky's Comeback Gata Kamsky’s comeback during the recent M-tel Masters tournament in Sofia, Bulagria was really amazing. It seems as if he has lost nothing of his former strength. I want to present his fine endgame victory over Viswanathan Anand. The following notes are mostly from German FM Claus Dieter Meyer, who has made a deep study of the subtleties. V.Anand (2803) - G.Kamsky (2671) M-tel Masters, Sofia 2006

Endgame Corner

39...Rd6!

Karsten Müller

40.Re8+

This forces White’s rook to leave the d-file

Of course, the rook must stay on the board: 40.Rxd6+? Kxd6 41.Ke4 Ke6:

And Black’s kingside majority will decide the issue: 42.b4 A) 42.b3 f5+ 43.Kd4 f4 44.Ke4:

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Endgame Corner

Now Black opens a path on the queenside to open a second front: 44...a5! 45.Kd4 a4–+. B) 42.Kd4 f5! 42...a5? 43.b4 (43.Kc5? f5 44.Kxb5 (44.Kd4 a4–+) 44...Ke5 45.Kc4 Ke4–+) 43...axb4 44.axb4 f5 45.gxf5+ gxf5 46.c4=. 43.b4 (43.gxf5+ gxf5 44.b3 (44.b4 g4–+) 44...Kd6 45.c4 bxc4 46.Kxc4:

And Black is quicker: 46...Ke5 47.b4 Ke4 48.Kc3 g4 49.hxg4 fxg4 50.Kd2 Kf3 51.Ke1 Kg2–+) 43...f4 44.Ke4–+ leads to the main line. Now back to 42.b4. 42...f5+ 43.Kd4 f4: The passed pawn secures the win. White cannot undermine it successfully, as the g6pawn can replace its colleague. (43...Kd6? 44.c4 bxc4 45.gxf5 (45.Kxc4 f4 46.Kd4 a5 47.Ke4! Kc6 48.Kd4 Kb5 49.Kc3=) 45...gxf5 46.Kxc4=) 44.Ke4 (44.c4 bxc4 45.Kxc4 Ke5 46.Kd3 (46.Kc3 Ke4–+; 46.a4 f3 47.Kd3 Kf4 48.b5 Kg3–+) 46...Kd5 47.a4 Ke5 48.Kc3 Ke4 49.b5 axb5 50.axb5 Kd5 51.Kd3 Kc5 52.Ke4 Kxb5 53.h4 gxh4 54.Kxf4 g5+–+) 44...Kd6 45.Kd4 (45.h4 gxh4 46.Kxf4 g5+–+) 45...a5! (45...f3? 46.Ke3 Kd5 47.Kxf3 Kc4 48.Ke4 Kxc3 49.Ke5 Kb3 50.Kf6 Kxa3 51.Kxg6 Kxb4 52.Kxg5 a5 53.Kh5 a4 54.g5 a3 55.g6 a2 56.g7 a1Q 57.g8Q=) 46.c4 (46.bxa5 Kc6 47.c4 bxc4 48.Kxc4 Kb7:

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Endgame Corner

The a-pawn will fall prey to Black’s king, as White must remain in the square of the protected passed pawn; 46.Ke4 a4 47.Kd4 f3 now Black wins the race easily: 48.Ke3 Kd5–+) 46...bxc4 47.Kxc4 axb4 48.axb4:

48...Ke5! (48...Kc6? surprisingly spoils it 49.Kd4 Kd6 50.b5=) 49.Kd3 Kd5 50.Kc3 Ke4 51.Kd2 Kd4–+. 40.Rc8!? might be a bit more precise; e.g., 40...Kd5 (40...Rd2 41.Rc6+ Ke5 42.Rxa6 Rxb2 43.a4=) 41.Rc7 f5 42.Rg7 Ke5 43.Re7+ Kf6 44.Ra7 and White should reach the safe harbor. 40...Kd5

41.b3 41.Rc8?! is playing with fire. The immediate 41...Rc6? does not do the job, but 41...f5!? is very dangerous; e.g., 42.Rc7 Rc6 43.Rg7 now (43.Rxc6? Kxc6–+ is lost.) 43...f4 and Black is very active. 42.Rxc6! Kxc6 43.Ke4 Kd6:

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Endgame Corner

Now White can mobilize his queenside just in time: (43...Kc5? 44.Ke5+-) 44.b4! Ke6 45.c4 f5+ 46.Kd4 bxc4 47.gxf5+! gxf5 48.Kxc4=. 41...Rf6+ 42.Kg2 The king must retreat, as the pawn endgame after 42.Ke3? Re6+! 43.Rxe6 Kxe6 is lost as usual: 44.Kd4 f5 45.b4 (45.gxf5+ gxf5 46.c4 bxc4 47.Kxc4 Ke5 48.Kd3 Kf4–+) 45...f4 46.Ke4 Kd6 47.Kd4 a5!–+ and Black wins as shown above. 42...Rc6 43.Re3 f5

Black has made good progress, but it should still be drawn, because of the large drawish tendency inherent in rook endings (but not in pawn endings. Here every small detail can count for a lot). 44.gxf5 gxf5 45.Rg3 Ke4 46.a4 46.Rxg5 should also suffice: 46...Rxc3 47.Rg6 a5 (47...Rxb3 48.Rxa6 Rb2+ 49.Kg1 f4 50.h4 Kf3 51.Rg6 Rb3 52.h5 Rxa3 53.h6 Ra1+ 54.Kh2 Ra8 55.Rb6=) 48.h4 Rxb3 49.h5 Rb2+ 50.Kh3 Rb1 51.Kh2 Rc1 52.h6 Rc8 53.Kh3 Rh8 (53...f4 54.h7 Rh8 55.Rg7=) 54.Kh4 f4 55.Re6+=. 46...bxa4 47.bxa4

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Endgame Corner

47...Kf4 47...Rg6!? is not easy to parry, but White should survive: 48.Kf2 f4 49.Rg1 Kf5 50.Rd1 Rc6 (50...Ke4 51.Rg1!) 51.Rd5+ Kg6:

52.Rd4!? with the idea to undermine Black’s kingside, to reduce the winning potential or even to reach the famous drawn rook + h- and f-pawn ending (see Endgame Corner #1). 52...Rxc3 53.h4 gxh4 (53...Rc6 54.Kf3 Rc3+ 55.Kf2 gxh4 56.Rd6+ (56.Rxf4) 56...Kf5 57.Rxa6=) 54.Rxf4 Kg5 55.Rd4 Rc2+ 56.Kg1 Rc5 57.Kg2 Rf5 58.Kh3 Rf3+ 59.Kg2 Rf4 60.Rxf4 Kxf4 61.Kh3=. 48.Rf3+ Ke5 49.Re3+ Kf6 50.Rd3 f4

51.Kf3? The losing move, because of the resulting pawn endings; Anand had to play for a draw in the rook endgame by activating his rook, which is quite typical by the way: 51.Rd5!? Kg6 52.h4! gxh4 53.Kh3 f3 54.Kxh4 f2 55.Rd1 Rxc3 56.Rf1 Ra3 57.Rxf2 Rxa4+ 58.Kg3= 51.c4!? Ke5 (51...Rxc4 52.Rd6+ Kf5 53.Rxa6 Rc2+ 54.Kf3 Rc3+ (54...Rh2 55.Rh6=) 55.Kg2 Rg3+ 56.Kh2 Ra3 57.Kg2=) 52.Rd5+ Ke4 53.Rxg5 Rxc4 54.Ra5 f3+ 55.Kf2 Rc2+ 56.Kf1 Ke3 57.Re5+ Kf4 58.Re6 a5 59.Rf6+ Kg3 60.Rg6+ Kxh3 61.Rg5=. 51...Ke5 52.Kg4 Rd6!

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Endgame Corner

White must exchange rooks and loses by one tempo. 53.Rxd6 53.Rf3 Rd1! 54.Kxg5 (54.c4 Ke4–+; 54.Rf2 Rg1+–+) 54...Rg1+ 55.Kh6 Ke4 56.Rf2 Ke3–+. 53...Kxd6 54.h4 gxh4 55.Kxh4 Kd5 56.Kh3

56.c4+ is also one tempo too slow: 56...Kxc4 57.Kg4 Kb4 58.Kxf4 Kxa4 59.Ke3 Kb3 60.Kd2 Kb2–+, as Black has reached a key square. 56.Kg4 Ke4 57.c4 f3 58.Kg3 Ke3–+. 56...Ke4!! Precise to the end. 56...Kc4? spoils it: 57.Kg4 Kxc3 58.Kxf4 Kb4 59.Ke3 Kxa4 60.Kd2 Kb3 61.Kc1=. 56...a5? 57.Kg2! (57.Kg4?? Ke4–+) 57...Ke4 58.Kf2=. 57.Kg2 Ke3 0-1 White resigned because of 58.Kf1 Kd3 59.Kf2 Kxc3 60.Kf3 Kb4 61.Kxf4 Kxa4 62.Ke3 Kb3 63.Kd2 Kb2–+. Addendum 63.01 L.Aronian (2502) - R.Milu (2395) Victor Ciocaltea Memorial Bucharest 1999

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Endgame Corner

Black must act precisely to maintain any winning prospects, as White’s queen finds many targets to attack, and Black’s king is not completely safe because of the typical thrust h4-h5. 31...h5? 31...Rc2! 32.h5 Rxf2+ 33.Kg1 Re2

34.h6 A) 34.Kf1 Re8 (34...Raxa2? 35.h6=) 35.Qd7 Rae4. B) 34.a3!? is interesting as 34…Rxa3?? is met by 35.Qd8+ Kg7 36.h6+ Kxh6 37.Qf8++–. 34...Re1+ 35.Kg2 Re8 36.Qd7 Rxa2+ 37.Kh3 Rae2 38.Qxa7 R2e5.

White’s counterplay against Black’s king still gives him drawing chances in all cases. 32.Qd7! Now White can force a draw with his active queen.

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Endgame Corner

And now instead of 32...Rcc4 Georg von Buelow from Rio de Janeiro (but originally from Hamburg) has suggested 32...Rac4!?, as the a-pawn only hinders the coordination of Black’s rooks. Indeed it is by no means easy to prove a draw, if this is possible at all; e.g., 33.Qxa7 Re4 34.a4 Ree8 planning to double on the a-file in the long run. The direct 35.g4, with the idea h5, is met by 35...Ra8 36.Qd4 Ra5. This is, of course, no complete proof, but certainly a very interesting concept for Black to play. 33.Qe8+ Kg7 34.Qe5+ Kf8 35.Qh8+ Ke7 36.Qe5+ Kd8 37.Qd5+ Ke7 38.Qe5+ Kf8 39.Qh8+ Ke7 40.Qe5+ Kf8 41.Qb8+ Kg7 42.Qe5+ Kh7 43.Qe8 Kg7 44.Qe5+ Kh7 45.Qe8 Kg7 ½–½

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Endgame Corner

Dautov's Doubts Revisited In Endgame Corner 30, I made a deep investigation of the following game based on Dautov’s analysis. Mark Dvoretsky also published extensive research of the difficult rook endgames with 3 vs. 3 pawns on one wing and an additional passed a-pawn, in the second edition of his excellent Endgame Manual. But Thomas Stark has made a discovery that changes matters: M.Krakops (2530) - R.Dautov (2597) EU-chT (Men) Batumi 1999

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

44...Kd5 45.f3! 45.Rxf7? Rc3 46.Rg7 Rc6! 47.Ra7 Rc4

Black wins because of his active rook (see Endgame Corner 30 for the details). 45...f5 46.Ra6 Ra2+ 47.Kh3 a3 47...Kc4 48.g4 (48.Rxg6? Rf2–+) 48...Ra1 49.Rxg6 (49.gxh5? is nicely refuted: 49...gxh5 50.Kg3 Kb5 51.Ra8 Rg1+ 52.Kf4 Rg6 53.Kxf5 Ra6 54.Rb8+ Kc4 55.Rb1 a3 56.Kg5 Ra5+ 57.Kg6 a2 58.Ra1 Kb3 59.f4 Kb2 60.Rxa2+ Rxa2 61.Kxh5

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Endgame Corner

Now a typical finish follows, where even the promotion to a knight will not save White: 61...Kc3 62.Kg6 Kd4 63.h5 Kd5 64.h6 Ke6 the king as slower unit has absolute priority here 65.h7 Rg2+ 66.Kh6 Kf7 67.h8N+ Kf6–+) 49...fxg4+ 50.fxg4 Rh1+ 51.Kg2 Rxh4 52.g5 Rg4+ 53.Kh2 (53.Kh3? a3 54.Ra6 Kb3 55.g6 a2 56.Rb6+ Ka3 57.Ra6+ Ra4 58.Rxa4+ Kxa4 59.g7 a1Q 60.g8Q Qh1+ 61.Kg3 Qg1+–+) 53...a3 54.Ra6 Kb3 55.g6 a2 56.Rb6+=. 48.g4 48.Rxg6? Rf2–+. 48...f4!? 48...Ra1 49.gxh5 gxh5 (49...a2 50.Kg2 gxh5 Black’s king has no hiding place on the queenside, so it is a draw.) 50.Kg3 Kc4 (50...Ke5 51.Ra5+ Kd4 52.Kf4 Kc3 53.Kxf5 Kb3 54.Rb5+ Ka4 55.Rb8 Rg1 56.Ra8+ Kb3 57.Rb8+ Kc3 58.Ra8 Kb2 59.Rb8+ Ka1 60.f4 a2 61.Kf6 Rb1 62.Ra8 Kb2 63.Kg6=) 51.Kf4 Kb3 52.Rb6+ (52.Kxf5? Rc1 53.Rb6+ Ka4 54.Ra6+ Kb4 55.Kg6 Rc5 56.f4 Ra5 57.Rb6+ Kc3 58.Rb1 a2 59.Ra1 Kb2 60.Rxa2+ Rxa2 61.f5 Kc3 62.f6 Rf2 63.Kxh5 Kd4 64.Kg6 Ke5–+) 52...Ka4 53.Ra6+ Kb4 54.Rb6+ Ka5 55.Rb8

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Endgame Corner

Now Black’s rook has a wide choice, but White seems to escape in every case: 55...Rc1 (55...Rf1 56.Kxf5 Rxf3+ 57.Kg6=; 55...Rh1 56.Kg5 Rh2 57.f4 Ka4 58.Ra8+ Kb3 59.Kxh5 Rg2 60.Rb8+ Kc2 61.Rc8+ Kb1 62.Rb8+ Ka1 63.Rb5=) 56.Ra8+ Kb4 57.Rb8+ Ka4 58.Ra8+ Kb3 59.Rb8+ Kc2 60.Rc8+ Kb2 61.Rb8+ Ka1 62.Kxf5 Rg1 63.Rb5 a2 64.Kf6 Rb1 65.Rxh5 Rb6+ 66.Kg7 Rb4 67.Re5 Rxh4 68.Rb5=. 49.gxh5 gxh5 50.Ra5+ Kc4

51.Rxh5? The decisive mistake. Black must force the king to the d-file or the first rank first with the help of the stalemate tricks: 51.Rc5+ Kd3 (51...Kb3 52.Rb5+ Kc2 53.Rc5+ Kb1 54.Rxh5 Rb2 55.Ra5 a2 56.Kg4 Rh2 57.h5=) 52.Rxh5 Ke3

Now Thomas Stark indicated the saving resource: 53.Ra5! instead of (53.Rb5? Kxf3 54.Rb3+ Ke4 55.Rb4+ Kf5 56.Rb5+ Ke6 57.Rb6+ Kd7 58.Rb7+ Kc6 59.Ra7 Ra1 60.Kg2 a2 61.h5 f3+–+) 53...Kxf3 54.h5, counterplay with a passed pawn is always difficult to deal with in rook endings, 54...Ra1 55.Kh2=. 51...Ra1 52.Ra5 a2 53.Kg4 Rg1+ 54.Kxf4 a1Q 55.Rxa1 Rxa1 56.h5 Kd5 57.Kf5 Rh1 58.Kg6 Ke6 59.f4 Rg1+ 60.Kh7 0-1 Can you find a win for Black? Addendum

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Endgame Corner

Rupert Mühlberger from Germany has found a mistake in my analysis of Anand-Kamsky, Sofia 2006 (see Endgame Corner 64): 51.Kf3? The losing move because of the resulting pawn endings. Anand had to play for a draw in the rook endgame by activating his rook (this is quite typical by the way): 51.Rd5!? Kg6 and now the immediate 52.h4? is a mistake as indicated by Mühlberger: 52...gxh4 53.Kh3 Rxc3+ 54.Kxh4 and now comes the point of Black’s rook maneuver: 54...Rg3!. This cut off decides: 55.Ra5 Rg1 56.Rxa6+ Kf5 57.Ra5+ Ke4 and White’s own a-pawn is in the rook’s way, so that he can not apply the short side defense and has to waste one all important tempo: 58.Rb5 f3 59.Rb2 Ke3 60.Rb3+ Ke2 61.Rb2+ Kf1 62.Kh3 f2 63.Kh2 Rg2+ 64.Kh1 Rg3 65.Kh2 Rf3 and Black wins. Instead 52.Rd4! Rxc3 53.h4! draws. Well done, Rupert!

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Endgame Corner

Deceptive Simplicity One of the reasons why chess is so difficult is that pawn endings can be extremely complicated, despite the reduced amount of material. In some cases the queens may even reappear. The German chess instructor Claus Dieter Meyer drew my attention to the following recent example and provided plenty of analysis, which I have edited and expanded: 66.01 A. Shirov (2699) – A. Areshchenko (2660) Aerosvit Foros 2006

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

64...Qd2+ 65.Be2 65.Qe2 Qd4+ 66.Kg3 Rc4–+. 65...Qe1+ 66.Ke3?!

Missing the mate, but White’s case was hopeless anyway; for instance, 66.Kf3 Rc3+ 67.Bd3 Qxe4+ 68.Kxe4 Ke7 69.g4 Rb3 70.Bb5 Kd6 71.Be8 Rb1 72.Kf4 Rf1+ 73.Kg3 (73.Kg5 Re1 74.Bb5

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Endgame Corner

Now Black can simplify as White’s king is outside the square of the resulting passed apawn: 74...Re5+ 75.Kh6 Rxb5 76.axb5 a4 77.g5 a3 78.g6 a2 79.g7 a1Q 80.g8Q Qh1+ 81.Kg7 Qg1+ 82.Kh8 Qxg8+ 83.Kxg8 Kc5–+) 73...Re1 74.Bb5 Re5 75.Bc4 (75.Bf1 b5 76.axb5 Rc5 77.Kf4 a4 78.Bd3 a3 79.Bb1 Rxb5–+) 75...Rc5 76.Bf7 Ke7 77.Bg6 Rc4–+. 66...Qg3+?! 66...Rc3+ 67.Kd4 Qd2+ 68.Bd3

Now the mating net could be closed with the beautiful 68...Rc4+!! 69.Kxc4 Qb4+ 70.Kd5 Qc5#. 67.Qf3+ Qxf3+ 68.gxf3 Kf6 69.f4 69.Kd4 Kf5 70.Bd3+ (70.Kd5 Rc5+ 71.Kd6 Kf4 72.Bd1 Ke3 73.Ke6 b5–+) 70...Kf4 71.Be4 Ra1 72.Bc6 Rb1 73.Kd3 (73.Kd5 Kxf3 74.Kd6+ Ke3 75.Kc7 Kd4 76.Bb5 Rxb5–+) 73...Rc1 74.Bd5

Here a breakthrough decides the issue: 74...b5 75.axb5 a4 76.Kd4 (76.b6 Rb1 77.b7 a3 78.Kc2 Rb6 79.Kc3 Ke5 80.Bb3 Rxb7 81.Kc2 Kf4–+) 76...a3 77.Bb3 Rc2

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Endgame Corner

White surprisingly cannot save himself, as the rook is so much stronger than the bishop in this kind of endgame: 78.Kd5 (78.b6 Rc6 79.b7 Rb6–+; 78.Be6 Kg5 79.Bb3 Kf6–+) 78...Rb2 79.Kc4 Ke5 80.b6 (80.f4+ Kd6–+) 80...Kd6 81.f4 a2 82.b7 Kc7 83.Bxa2 Rxa2 84.Kd5 Kxb7 85.f5 Kc7 86.Ke6 Re2+–+. 69...Rb1 69...Re1 70.Kd2 Rb1 was slightly more precise. 70.Bd3 70.Bb5 Rb4 71.Bd7 Ke7 72.Bb5 Ke6 73.Bc6 (73.Kf3 Rxb5–+) 73...Kd6 74.Be8 Rb1–+. 70...Rb4?! 70...Rb3 was even easier: 71.Ke2 (71.f5 Ra3–+) 71...Rb4–+. 71.Bb5

71...Rxb5? Black sees that he can win the f4-pawn, but overestimates the value of his protected passed extra pawn. He could win by outmaneuvering his opponent: 71...Ke6 72.Bc6 (72.Be8 Kd6 73.Bb5 (73.f5 Ke5–+) 73...Kd5–+) 72...Kd6 73.Be8 Rb1 74.Bb5 (74.Kf3 b5–+; 74.Ke2 Rb3 75.Bb5 Kd5 76.Bd7 Ke4–+) 74...Kd5 75.Bd7 Rb3+ 76.Ke2 Ke4 77.f5 Re3+ 78.Kf2 Rd3 79.Bb5 Rd6–+. 72.axb5 Kf5 73.Kd3 Kxf4

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Endgame Corner

White draws by applying the proper form of opposition. 74.Kd4 Normal opposition. 74...Kg5 75.Ke5 Kh6 76.Kd4 Virtual opposition. 76.Kd5? Kh5 77.Kd4 (77.Kc6 a4 78.Kxb6 a3 79.Kc7 a2 80.b6 a1Q 81.b7 Qa7 and the queen wins against the knight’s pawn.) 77...Kh4 78.Kd5 Kg3 outflanking 79.Ke4 Kg4 80.Ke5 Kf3 81.Kd4 Kf4 82.Kd5 Ke3 83.Kc4 Ke4 84.Kc3 Kd5 85.Kb3 Kc5 86.Ka4 Kc4 87.Ka3 Kxb5–+. 76...Kh7 77.Kd5 Kh8 78.Kd4 Distant virtual opposition. 78...Kg8 79.Ke4 Kf8 80.Kd4 Kf7 81.Kd5 Diagonal opposition. 81...Kg7 82.Ke5 Kh6 83.Kd4 Kh7 84.Kd5 Kg8 85.Ke4 Kf8 86.Kd4 Kf7 87.Kd5 Kf6 88.Kd4 Kg5 89.Ke5 ½–½ Exercises (Solution next month)

E66.01 Dedrle White to move and draw

Addendum Claus Dieter Meyer from Germany has found a mistake in Rupert file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (4 of 5) [9/18/2006 1:01:21 PM]

Endgame Corner

Mühlberger’s analysis of Anand-Kamsky, Sofia 2006 (see Endgame Corner 65): 51.Kf3? The losing move because of the resulting pawn endings. Anand had to play for a draw in the rook endgame by activating his rook (this is quite typical by the way): 51.Rd5!? Kg6 and now the immediate 52.h4 seems to draw as well: 52...gxh4 53.Kh3 Rxc3+ and now instead of 54.Kxh4? Rg3!, which loses as Mühlberger has shown, Meyer has found the amazing 55.Kg4!! which draws.

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Endgame Corner

The Art of Defense With the faster time limits it gets harder and harder to hold difficult positions. Y.Habu (2382) - L.Hansen (2560) 34th World Open Philadelphia 2006

37...b5!? 38.cxb5?

Endgame Corner

38.b3 draws much easier as Black’s king has no entry route. 38...cxb5 39.b3 Kd7 40.Kd3 Bb2 41.a4 Kc6 42.axb5+ Kxb5

Karsten Müller 43.Bg7? 43.Be7 Bxe5 44.Ke4 offered much better drawing chances, e.g. 44...Bh2 45.Bf8 a5 46.Be7 Bg1 47.Ke5 Bc5

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Endgame Corner

48.Bh4= (48.Bxc5?! is risky: 48...Kxc5 49.g5 Kb4 50.Kf6! e5 51.Kxg6 e4 52.Kf5 e3 53.g6 e2 54.g7 e1Q 55.g8Q and the position is drawn, but Black can fight on of course.) 43...Kc5 44.Bh6 Kd5 45.Bf4 Bxe5 46.Be3 a6 47.Ba7 Bd6 48.Bf2 Bb4 49.Bd4 e5 50.Bb2 e4+ 51.Ke2 Bc5 52.Bg7 Bd4 53.Bf8 Bf6 54.Ba3 Bc3 55.Bf8 Bd4 56.Kd2

56...Kc6! Black will infiltrate sooner or later. 57.Kc2 Kb5 58.Be7 e3 59.Kd3 59.Bh4 Kb4 60.Be1+ Ka3 61.Kd3 Bc5 62.Kc4 Bd6 63.b4 e2 64.b5 axb5+ 65.Kxb5 Kb3 66.g5 Kc2 67.Kc6 Kd1 68.Bf2 Be7–+. 59...Bc5! 60.Bxc5 60.Bf6 Kb4 61.Kc2 e2 62.Kd2 Kxb3 63.Kxe2 a5–+. 60...Kxc5 61.Kxe3 Kb4 62.Kf4 Kxb3 63.Kg5 a5 64.Kxg6 a4 65.g5 a3 66.Kh7 a2 67.g6 a1Q 68.g7 Qh1+ 69.Kg6 Qd5 and White resigned. One possible finish is 70.Kh7 Qh5+ 71.Kg8 Kc4 72.Kf8 Qf5+ 73.Ke7

73...Qg6 74.Kf8 Qf6+ 75.Kg8 Kd5 76.Kh7 Qf7 77.Kh8 Qh5+ 78.Kg8 Ke6 79.Kf8 Qf7# White’s fortress is watertight in the next example, but he spoiled it, most likely because of time pressure.

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Endgame Corner

G.van der Stricht (2417) - M.Hovhanisian (2363) ch-BEL Namur 2006 63.Bh6! The bishop joins the defensive force. 63.Bh8?? a4 64.Bg7 a3 65.Bh6 b2–+. 63...Kxf6 64.Bc1 Ke6 65.Ba3 Kd5 66.Bc1 Kc5 67.Be3+ Kb5 68.Bd2 Ka4 69.Kb2 Kb5 70.Kc3 a4 71.Bc1 d2 71...Kc5 72.Ba3+ Kd5 73.Bc1 Ke4 74.Kd2 Kf3 75.Ba3=. 72.Bxd2 a3 73.Be1 Kc5 74.Bd2 a2 The alternatives promise nothing: 74...b2 75.Kc2 Kd4 76.Bb4=; 74...Kb5 75.Bc1 Ka4 76.Bd2=. 75.Kb2 Kd4 76.Bc3+ Kd3 So far van der Stricht has defended well, but now he had to blockade Black’s a-pawn to allow a stalemate defense. 77.Bf6? 77.Ka1!! Kc2 78.Bf6 c3 79.Bxc3=. 77...a1Q+ 78.Kxa1 Kc2 79.Be5 c3 80.Bxc3 Kxc3 81.Kb1 b2 0–1 In the last example. White fails to convert a winning position. Y.Yemets - E.Leonov Sunny Pawn Open Illichevsk 2006

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Endgame Corner

46...f4 47.gxf4?! 47.g4 was easier, as it keeps more winning potential on the board, e.g. 47...fxe3 48.fxe3 Kd3 49.Kxd5 Kxe3 50.Kc4 Kd2 (50...Kf4 51.Kxc3 Kg3 52.Nf5+ Kxh3 53.Nxh6+–) 51.Nb3+ Kc2 52.Nc5 Kd2 53.Ne4+ Ke3 54.Nxc3 Kf3 55.Kd5 Kg3 56.Ne4+ Kxh3 57.Nf6+–. 47...gxf4 48.Ke5? This loses valuable time. 48.h4! was called for: 48...fxe3 49.fxe3 h5 (49...Kd3 50.Kxd5 Kxe3 51.Ke5+–) 50.Ke5 Kd3 51.Kxd5 Kxe3 52.Ke5 Kd3 53.Nb3 Kc2 54.Nc5+–. 48...fxe3 49.fxe3 Kd3 50.Kf4 It is too late for 50.h4 Kxe3 51.h5 Black has 51...Kf2!!= (51...Kd3? 52.Kxd5 c2 53.Nb3 Kc3 54.Nc1 Kd2 55.Na2 Kd3 56.Ke5 Kc4 57.Kf5 Kd4 58.Kg6 Ke5 59.Kxh6 Kf6 60.Kh7 Kf7 61.h6 Kf8 62.Kg6 Kg8

Now the knight joins the attack: 63.Nc1 Kh8 64.Nd3 Kg8 65.h7+ Kh8 66.Ne5 c1Q 67.Nf7#) 50...c2 51.Nb3 Kc3 52.Nc1 Kd2 53.Na2 c1Q 54.Nxc1 Kxc1 55.Ke5 Kd2 56.Kd4 Ke2 57.h4 Kf3 58.Kxd5 58.h5 Kg4 59.Kxd5 Kxh5 60.e4 Kg6 61.Ke6 Kg7 62.e5 h5 63.Kd7 h4 64.e6 h3 65.e7 h2 66.e8Q h1Q=. 58...Kxe3 59.Ke5 h5 60.Kf5 Kf3 61.Kg5 Ke4 ½–½ file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (4 of 5) [10/17/2006 7:28:08 PM]

Endgame Corner

Solution to last month's exercise

E66.01 Dedrle White to move and draw As Black’s king is still far away from the key squares c5-e5-e2, the main task is to get closer: 1.Kd3! Taking the long diagonal opposition with 1.Kc3? is wrong, as the c5square is inaccessible for White: 1...Kg6 2.Kc4 Kg5 3.Kc3 Kf5 4.Kd3 Ke5 5.Kc4 Ke4 6.Kc3 Kd5 7.Kb3 Kc5 8.Ka4 Kc4 9.Ka3 Kxb5–+. 1...Kh6 2.Kd4! Kg6 3.Ke4! Kf6 4.Kd4!= White draws by taking the proper form of opposition.

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Endgame Corner

Minor Piece vs. Pawns When you have a material balance of a minor piece versus pawns, it is usually the player with the pawns that eventually falls into zugzwang. 68.01 R. Williams – L. Khanna Caerleon 2006

47...Nc6?

Endgame Corner

This gives away the win, as White is just in time in the upcoming pawn race. Black had to play for zugzwang to win an allimportant tempo: 47...Ke5 48.h3 (48.Kc5 Nd5 49.g5 (49.Kc6 h3 50.g5 Ne3 51.Kb6 Ng4–+) 49...Ne3 50.Kb6 Kf5 51.Kxa6 Nc4 52.Kb5 Nxa5 53.Kxa5 Kxg5 54.Kb4 Kg4 55.Kc3 Kh3 56.Kd2 Kxh2 57.Ke2 Kg2–+) 48...Ke6

Karsten Müller

Black triangulates to reach the position with Kb6 vs. Ke5 with White to move. (48...Kf4? 49.Kc5 spoils it.) 49.Kb7 (49.Kc5 Nd5 50.Kc6 Nf4 51.Kb6 Nxh3 52.Kxa6 Nf4–+) 49...Kd5 50.Kc7 Kd4 51.Kb6 Ke5 52.Kb7 Kf4 53.Kb6 Kg3 54.g5 Kxh3 55.g6 Nd5+ 56.Kxa6 Kg4 57.Kb7 h3 58.a6 h2 59.a7 h1Q 60.a8Q Nc7+–+. 48.h3 48.Kxa6 h3 49.g5 Ke5 50.Kb6 Nxa5 51.Kxa5 Kf5 52.Kb4 Kxg5 53.Kc3 Kf4 54.Kd2 Kf3 55.Ke1 Kg2 56.Ke2 Kxh2 57.Kf2=. 48...Nb4 49.g5 Ke5 50.Kc5 Kf5 51.g6 Kxg6

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Endgame Corner

51...Nd3+ does not help, as White can chase the knight incessantly after 52.Kb6 Kxg6 53.Kxa6 Nb4+

54.Kb5 Nd5 55.Kc5 Nc7 56.Kc6 Na6 57.Kb6 Nb4 58.Kb5=. 52.Kxb4 Kf5 53.Kc5 Kf4 54.Kb6 Kg3 55.Kxa6 Kxh3 56.Kb6 Kg2 57.a6 h3 58.a7 h2 59.a8Q+

Now White’s king is outside the winning zone: d1–d4-e4-e5-h5. 59...Kg1 60.Qg8+ Kh1 61.Qd5+ Kg1 62.Qg5+ Kh1 63.Qd5+ Kg1 64.Qd1+ Kg2 65.Qg4+ Kh1 66.Qe4+ Kg1 67.Qe1+ Kg2 68.Qe2+ Kg1 69.Qg4+ Kh1 70.Qh3 Kg1 71.Qg3+ Kh1 72.Qf3+ Kg1 73.Qh3 h1Q 74.Qxh1+ ½–½ In the next example, White has to act very carefully despite the fact that the black bishop does not control the rook pawn’s queening square. 68.02 A. Albers (1995) – L. Sternberg (2072) International Hamburg City Championship 2006

62.a5? This only weakens the queenside pawns. White’s king had to head for the kingside immediately: 62.Kc3! Kc5 (62...Ke4 63.Kc4=) 63.Kd3 Kb4 64.Ke4 Kxa4

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Endgame Corner

Now White can liquidate the last black pawn: 65.g5 hxg5 66.Kf5 Bd8 67.b6=. 62...Bf2 63.b6 63.Ka4 does not help, as zugzwang will decide sooner or later: 63...Kc4 64.a6 (64.b6 Bc5 65.b7 Ba7 66.a6 Kc5 67.Ka5 Kc6 68.Kb4 Kb6–+) 64...Bb6 65.Ka3 Kxb5 66.Kb3 Kxa6–+. 63...Kc6 64.Kc4 Be1 65.Kd4 Bxa5 66.Ke4 Bxb6 67.Kf4

67...Kd5? 67...Bd8 and the doubled g-pawns will be White’s undoing: 68.Ke4 Kc5 69.Kd3 Kd5 70.Ke3 Bg5+ 71.Kf3 Kd4 72.Kf2 Ke4 73.Kg2 Ke3 74.Kg1 Kf3 75.Kh1 Kf2 76.Kh2 Bd2 77.Kh1 Be3 78.Kh2 Kf1

Again the sharp endgame weapon zugzwang will be employed: 79.Kh1 (79.Kh3 Kg1 80.Kh4 Kg2–+) 79...Bg1 80.g5 hxg5 81.g4 Bc5–+. 68.g5 Be3+ 69.Kxe3 hxg5 70.Kf3 Ke5 71.Kg4 Kf6 72.Kh5 Kf5 73.Kh6 Kg4 74.Kg6 ½–½

Exercises (Solutions next month)

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Endgame Corner

E68.01 S. Grigoriev (2106) – R. Prelovskij (2184) White Nights Open St Petersburg 2006 How did Black convert his advantage?

E68.02 Lin Ta (2386) – Wang Rui (2497) 3rd All-China Games Suzhou 2006 White played 1.Ne6. Was this a good choice?

E68.03 S. Barbeau (2398) – W. Arencibia (2539) Empresa B Montreal 2006 Black can win in study-like fashion. Can you find it?

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Endgame Corner

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Endgame Corner

Niggling Doubts When reviewing Lars Bo Hansen’s excellent Secrets of Chess Endgame Strategy (Gambit 2006) for New in Chess magazine (5/2006), Jonathan Rowson hit on the following recent example and asked his friend Luke McShane to supply his game notes: 69.01 V.Korchnoi (2615) - L.McShane (2625) Igualada 2005

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

In principle, the bishop is stronger than the knight in positions with pawns on both wings. But as White is more active at the moment Rowson had his doubts as to whether Black was already winning. To underline the difficulty of such endings I quote Rowson: “Whenever I see these ‘pure’ bishop v knight endings my assessment is invariably wrong. I tend to see easy draws, when there is a subtle win, and then the next time I look for subtle wins where there is an easy draw, and so it goes on.” Now let’s delve into the jungle of complications. 38.Ne3? 38.Ke2! f5 (38...Ke8 39.f5 gxf5 40.Nf4=) 39.Ne3 Kf7 40.Nc2 Bc5 41.Ne1 Ke6 42.Nf3 Kd5 (42...Bd6 43.Ng5+ Kd5 44.Nf7, with the idea Nh8xg6 is also far from clear.) 43.Ne5 Kd4 44.Nxg6 Kc3 45.Ne5

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Endgame Corner

So far Rowson’s main line; now he gave 45...a5, when 46.Nc4! draws because of the idea Ne3xf5, followed by the breakthrough g4, as White’s counterplay is just in time. In New in Chess magazine 6/2006 he suggested 45...b5, but White is again in time. First let’s look at 46.Nc6?!: 46...b4 (46...a6 47.Nb8 a5 48.Nc6 Bb6 (48...a4 49.bxa4 bxa4 50.Nd8 Kb2 51.Ne6 Bb4 52.Kd3 Kxa2 53.Kc2 Be1 54.Ng7=; 48...Kb2 49.Nxa5 Kxa2 50.Kd3 Bf2 51.b4 Bxg3 52.Nc6 Bxh4 53.Nd4=) 49.Ne7 Kb2 50.Nxf5 Kxa2 51.g4 hxg4 52.h5 Bc7 53.Ke3 Kxb3 54.h6 Bd8 55.Nd6=) 47.Ne5 a5 48.Nc6 Bb6 (48...a4 49.bxa4 Kb2 50.Kd3 Kxa2 51.Nxb4+ Bxb4 52.Kd4=)

49.g4!! (49.Ne7? Kb2 50.Nxf5 Kxa2 51.g4 a4 52.g5 axb3 53.g6 b2 54.g7 b1Q 55.g8Q+ b3–+) 49...fxg4 50.f5 Kb2 51.f6 Kxa2 52.f7 Bc5 53.Nxa5 Kb2

54.Kd3 g3 55.Ke2 g2 56.f8Q g1Q 57.Qf4

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Endgame Corner

White should be able to hold. 46.Nd3? Bf8–+; 46.g4? fxg4 47.f5 Be7 48.Nc6 (48.Ng6 Bf6 49.Nf4 Bxh4 50.Nxh5 Kb2 51.f6 Kxa2 52.f7 Be7 53.Nf6 Kxb3 54.Nxg4 a5–+) 48...Bxh4 49.Nxa7 b4 50.Nc6 Bf6 51.Nb8 h4 52.Nd7 Bd4 53.f6 h3 54.f7 h2 55.f8Q h1Q–+. Best is 46.Nf7!: 46...Bf8 (46...Kb2 47.Nh6 Kxa2 48.Nxf5 Kxb3 (48...a5 49.g4 hxg4 50.h5 a4 51.bxa4 b4 52.h6 b3 53.h7 b2 54.h8Q b1Q 55.Qg8+=) 49.g4 hxg4 50.h5=) 47.Nd8 White gets counterplay in any case: 47...a5 (47...Kb2 48.Ne6 Be7 49.Nd4 Kxa2 50.Nxf5 Bb4 51.Nd4 a5 52.Kd3 Be1 53.f5 Bxg3 54.Nxb5 Kxb3 55.f6 Bxh4 56.Nd4+ Ka4 57.f7 Be7 58.Nc6 Bf8 59.Ke4=; 47...b4 48.Ne6 Bh6 49.Ke3 a5 50.Nd4 Bf8 51.Nxf5 Kb2 52.Nd4 Kxa2 53.Kd3=; 47...Ba3 48.Ne6 a5 49.Nc7 b4 50.Nb5+ Kb2 51.Nxa3 bxa3 52.Kd3 Kxa2 53.Kc2=) 48.Ne6 Bh6 49.Ke3 Kb2 50.Nd4 Kxa2 51.Nxf5 Bf8 52.Nd4 a4 53.bxa4 bxa4 54.Kd3 Kb2 55.Nb5= as the h5-pawn is the wrong color. 38...Ke7 39.Kd3 Bc5 40.Ke4?! 40.b4!? Bd6 (40...Bxe3? 41.Kxe3 Ke6 42.Ke4 b5 43.Kd4 Kf5 44.Kc5 Kg4 45.Kxb5 Kxg3 46.Ka6 Kxh4 47.Kxa7 Kg4 48.b5 h4 49.b6 h3 50.b7 h2 51.b8Q h1Q 52.a4=) 41.a4

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Endgame Corner

The idea to keep Black’s king and bishop outside is not easy to counter. Again niggling doubts remain as to whether Black is already winning. 40...Kf6 41.Nc4 Now it is too late for 41.b4: 41...Bxe3 42.Kxe3 Kf5–+ (Rowson) This is probably correct, but much work still has to be done: 43.b5 Kg4 44.Kf2

I did not manage to avoid a queen endgame, but I could prove that Black is winning: 44...a6! (44...Kh3?! 45.Kf3 a6 46.b6 a5 47.a4 f5 48.Kf2 Kh2 49.Kf3 Kg1 50.Ke3 Kg2 51.Kd4 Kxg3 52.Ke5 Kxh4 53.Kd6 Kg4 54.Kc7 h4 55.Kxb7 h3 56.Ka6 h2 57.b7 h1Q 58.b8Q Qf1+ 59.Kxa5 Qxf4

This may suffice, but it is very complicated. One sample line runs: 60.Qb4 g5 61.Kb5 Kh5 62.a5 Qe5+ 63.Ka4 f4 64.a6 f3 65.a7 f2 66.a8Q f1Q–+) 45.a4 axb5 46.axb5 Kh3 47.Kf3 f6 48.Kf2 b6 49.Kf3 f5 50.Kf2 Kh2 51.Kf3 Kg1 52.Ke3 Kg2 53.Kd4 Kxg3 54.Kd5 Kxh4 55.Kc6 g5 56.fxg5 Kxg5 57.Kxb6 h4 58.Kc5 h3 59.b6 h2 60.b7 h1Q 61.b8Q Qc1+ 62.Kd5 Qd2+ 63.Kc6 Qc3+ 64.Kd5 Qd3+ 65.Kc5 f4–+.

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Endgame Corner

41...Ke6 42.Na5 f5+ 43.Kf3 b5 According to Luke’s notes, Korchnoi was more afraid of 43...Kd5!? 44.Nxb7 Bb6 45.b4 Kc6 46.Na5+ Kb5–+. 44.Nc6 Kd5 45.Ne5 Kd4 46.Nxg6 Kc3 47.Ne5 a5 48.Ke2?! 48.Nc6!? was more tenacious, but Rowson refuted it: 48...a4 49.bxa4 bxa4 50.Ke2 (50.Ne5!? Bd4 51.Nc6 Bf6 52.Ke3 Kb2 53.Nb4 Ka3 54.Nd5 Kxa2 55.Nxf6 a3 56.Nxh5 Kb3 57.Kd4 a2 58.Ke5 a1Q+ 59.Kxf5 Qe1

Black should win sooner or later.) 50...Kb2 51.Kd3 Kxa2 52.Kc2

52...Ka3 (52...Bf2? 53.Ne7 Bxg3 54.Nxf5 Bxf4 55.Ne7= (McShane)) 53.Kc3 Bf2 54.Ne7 Be1+ 55.Kc2 Bxg3 56.Nxf5 Bxf4 57.Ne7 Bg3 58.Nd5 Bxh4 59.Nc3 Bf6 60.Nxa4 h4 61.Nc5 h3 62.Ne4 Bh4–+ (Rowson). 48...Bb6! 49.Nc6 Kb2 50.b4 a4 51.Kd3 Kxa2 52.Kc2 Ka3 53.Ne7 Kxb4 54.Nxf5 a3 55.g4 hxg4 56.h5 g3 0-1

Korchnoi resigned because of 57.h6 a2 58.Kb2 g2 59.h7 a1Q+ 60.Kxa1 Kb3 61.h8Q g1Q#. If the knight is better, it should seek to keep complete control and not allow counterplay.

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Endgame Corner

69.02 V.Kramnik (2750) - Deep Fritz Man vs. Machine, Bonn (1) 25.11.2006 Kramnik has reached a very promising position against the mighty machine, but unfortunately he could not defeat the computer. 29.Nd5? Now Black always seems to get counterplay. Activating the king immediately was called for: 29.Kf3! b5 a) 29...Ba3 30.Nd5 Bc5 31.e3 f6 32.Ke2 e4 33.Kd2+–. b) 29...e4+ 30.Kf4 Kf6 31.Nd5+ Ke6 32.Nxb6 Bc1+ 33.e3+–. c) 29...Kg6 30.Nd5 Bd4 31.e3 Bc5 32.a4 e4+ 33.Ke2 Kg5 Now White stops the counterplay: 34.h3 h6 (34...h5 35.h4++–) 35.Kd2 h5 36.h4+ Kg4 37.Ke2 f4 38.Nxf4 Be7 39.Nd5 Bd8 40.Kd2 Kf3 41.Ke1 Kg4 42.Ke2 Kf5 43.f3 exf3+ 44.Kxf3 Ke5 45.Nf4+–. Now back to 29...b5: 30.Nd5 Bd4 31.e3 Bc5 32.Ke2 e4 (32...Bd6 33.Kd3 Kg6 34.Nc3 e4+ 35.Kd4 b4 36.Nd5 Kg5 37.h3 h5 38.h4+ Kg4 39.Nf6+ Kf3 40.Nxh5 Kxf2 41.Ng7 f4 42.gxf4+–; 32...Kg6 33.Nc7 b4 34.Kd3 Kg5 35.Kc4 Bd6 36.Nd5 Kg4 37.Nxb4 Kf3 38.a4 Kxf2 39.a5 Bb8 40.Nc6 Bc7 41.a6 Bb6 42.Nxe5+–) 33.Kd2 Kg6 34.Kc3 Kg5 (34...Bd6 35.Kd4 Kg5 36.h3+–) 35.Nc7 Kg4 (35...b4+ 36.Kc4 Bd6

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Endgame Corner

Again, White can restrict Black’s activity: 37.Nb5 Be7 38.h3 h5 39.Nd4 Bd6 40.Kb5 Kf6 41.h4+–) 36.Nxb5 Kf3 37.Kc4 (37.Nd4+? is met by:

37...Kxf2 38.Kc4 f4!!) 37...Bb6 38.Nd4+ Kxf2 39.Nxf5 Kf3 (39...Bxe3 40.Kd5+–; 39...Ke2 40.Kd5 Kd3 41.Nd6 Bxe3 42.Nxe4+–) 40.Kd5 Bxe3 41.Nh4+ Kg4 42.Kxe4 and White should prevail, e.g. 42...Bb6 43.a4 Kh3 44.Nf5 Kxh2 45.g4 Kh3 46.Nh6 f6 47.Kf5 Kh4 48.Kxf6+–. 29...Bd4 30.a4 Bc5 31.h3 f6 32.f3 Kg6 33.e4 h5 34.g4 hxg4 35.hxg4 fxe4 36.fxe4 Kg5 37.Kf3 Kg6 38.Ke2 Kg5 39.Kd3 Bg1 40.Kc4 Bf2 41.Kb5 Kxg4 42.Nxf6+ Kf3 43.Kc6 Bh4 44.Nd7 Kxe4 45.Kxb6 Bf2+ 46.Kc6 Be1 47.Nxe5 ½–½ Solutions to last month's exercises

E68.01 S. Grigoriev (2106) – R. Prelovskij (2184) White Nights Open, St. Petersburg 2006 How did Black convert his advantage? Black concentrates on his h-pawn, which is notoriously dangerous against a knight: 71...Kg4! (71...g4? 72.Nc3 g3 73.Nxe4 g2 74.Kf2 Kxe4 75.Kxg2=) 72.Kxe4 (72.Kf2 h3 73.Nc3 e3+ 74.Kxe3 h2 75.Ne4 Kh3 76.Nf2+ Kg2 77.Ke2 g4–+; 72.Nc3 h3 73.Nxe4 h2 74.Nf2+ Kg3–+) 72...h3 73.Nc1 h2 0–1

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Endgame Corner

E68.02 Lin Ta (2386) – Wang Rui (2497) 3rd All-China Games, Suzhou 2006 White played 68.Ne6. Was this a good choice?

●

●

68.Ne6!? wins beautifully: 68...Nxe6 69.h7 Nd4+ (69...Ng7+ 70.Ke5+–) 70.Ke4 1–0

●

E68.03 S. Barbeau (2398) – W. Arencibia (2539) Empresa B Montreal 2006 Black can win in study-like fashion. Can you find it? 58...a5? Now White’s knight can stop the apawn and his king the f-pawn. 58...h4+!! wins the decisive tempo: 59.Kxh4 (59.Kh3 Kd4–+) 59...a5 60.Nd7+ Kd4 61.Nb6 f4 62.Kh3 Kd3 63.Nd5 Ke4 64.Nc3+ Kf3 65.Kh2 Kf2 66.Ne4+ Ke3 67.Nc3 f3 68.Kg3

68...a4 69.Nd5+ Kd4 70.Nb4 Kc3 71.Na2+ Kb2 72.Nb4 Kb3 73.Nd3 Kc3 74.Nc1 Kd2 75.Na2 Ke3 76.Nc3 a3 77.Nd5+ Kd2 78.Kxf3 a2–+. What a dance! 59.Nxh5 a4 60.Nf4 Kd4 (60...a3 61.Nd3+ Kd4 62.Nc1 Ke3 63.Kg2 Kd2 64.Na2 Ke2 65.Kg3=) 61.Ne2+ Ke3 62.Nc3 a3 63.Kg2 ½–½

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Endgame Corner

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Endgame Corner

On Fortresses and Domination Averbakh’s famous treatise on the endgame gives two main fortresses with bishop and two pawns vs. rook and two pawns. 70.01 Fortress The first arises after 1...h5!. This move is very important, as otherwise the h7-pawn will become weak, and White must now exchange further pawns when he advances on the kingside. It is a typical defensive technique in many endgames, as the defender wants to exchange pawns to ease his task.

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

After 1...Bd4?, White immediately stops ...h5 with 2.g4! Bf2 (2...h6 3.h4 Bc3 4.h5 (4.g5? hxg5 5.hxg5 Bd4 6.Rf7 Bc3 7.Rf6

Black just ignores the rook: 7...Kg7!= (7...Bxf6? 8.Kxf6+–)) 4...gxh5 5.gxh5 Bd2 6.Kf6 Bg5+ 7.Kg6 Kf8

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Now White wins by the repeated use of zugzwang, domination and the option to simplify into a won pawn ending at the proper moment, as Enevoldsen has shown: 8.Rf7+ Ke8 (8...Kg8 9.Rf2 Be3 10.Re2+–) 9.Rf5 Bd2 10.Rf2 Bg5 11.Kg7 Ke7 12.Re2+ Kd7 13.Kf7 Kd6 14.Re4 Kd5 15.Re6+–) 3.g5 Bd4 4.h4 Bf2 5.Ke5 Bc5 6.Kf4 Bd4 7.Kg4 Be5 8.h5 gxh5+ 9.Kxh5 Bd6

This position is won, as Noam Elkies proved in 1993; for example, 10.Kg4 Be5 11.Rb5 Again, playing the domination game: 11...Bd6 12.Kf5 Bc7 (12...Kf7 13.Rb7+ Be7 14.Kg4 Ke6 15.Kh5+–) 13.Rd5 Bb6 14.Kf6 Bc7 15.Rd7 Ba5 16.Rg7+ Kh8 17.Kf7+–. 2.h4

Now Black has to be very careful. 2...Ba1= This is the correct square for the bishop, as 2...Bd4? allows White to win a tempo by attacking the bishop: 3.Rb4 Bc3 4.Rc4 Bb2 (4...Be1 5.Kf6 Kh7 6.Rc6 Bxg3 7.Kg5+–) 5.g4 hxg4 6.Rxg4 Kh7 7.Kf7 Kh6 8.Rxg6+ Kh5

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Endgame Corner

And White wins, but it is by no means easy; for instance, 9.Rg2! Bc3 10.Rh2 Be1 11.Kf6 Bg3 (11...Bxh4+?! 12.Kf5+–) 12.Rh1 Bf2 13.Kf5 Be3 14.Rh2 Ba7 15.Ra2 Bb6 16.Rb2 Bc5 17.Rc2 Be3 (17...Bd6 18.Rd2 Bc5 19.Kf4 Be7 20.Rd7 Bf8 21.Kg3 Bd6+ 22.Kh3 Bf4 23.Rd5++–) 18.Ke4 Bh6 19.Rh2 Bg7 20.Kf4 Bf8 21.Kf3 Ba3 22.Ra2 Be7

Now White shows his point, which is based on a beautiful zugzwang position: 23.Re2 Bf6 (23...Bxh4 24.Rh2 Kg5 25.Rh1

Black is in fatal zugzwang and will lose his bishop.) 24.Kf4 Bd8

25.Rc2! Domination! 25...Be7 26.Rd2 Bb4 27.Rd8 Bc3 28.Kg3 Be5+ 29.Kh3 Bf4 30.Rd5+ Kg6 31.Kg4+– and, after changing the roles of the king and rook, White wins easily. In the second fortress given by Averbakh, the bishop does not control the corner square. But this fortress is shakier than the previous example, as the main g1-a7 file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (3 of 6) [1/12/2007 1:11:51 PM]

Endgame Corner

diagonal is shorter, especially as White’s king must not penetrate to c6. So Black often has to play ...Kb6, effectively making the diagonal even shorter. 70.02 S.Tiviakov (2480) - R.Korsunsky (2390) Frunze 1989

45.Ke4 Bf2 46.Rf5 Bg1 47.Rf1 Bc5 48.Kd5 Be3 49.Rf7+ Kb6 50.Rf3 Bg1 51.Rf1 Be3

Tiviakov has systematically dominated the bishop and now forces it to leave the g1-a7 diagonal. 52.Ke4 Bg5 52...Bc5 53.b4 Be7 54.Kd5 Bg5 55.Re1 Bh4 56.Re6+ Kb7 and Black is defending. 53.Rf5 Bc1 54.Rf2 Bg5 55.Kd4

55...Bc1? Now Black’s bishop will not reach the g1a7 diagonal in time, as it can be dominated. 55...Kc6 was called for. 56.Re2 Ka5 56...Bg5 57.Re6+ Kb7 58.Kc5 Bd8 59.b4 Bh4 60.Rb6+ Ka7 61.Kc6+–. 57.Kc3 Kb6 58.Kd4 Ka5 59.Rc2 Bh6 60.Rg2 Bc1 61.Rc2 Bh6 62.Rc7? 62.Rg2 Bc1 (62...Bf8 63.Kc3 Kb6 64.Rg6+ Kb7 65.b4+–) 63.Re2 Kb6 file:///C|/cafe/mueller/mueller.htm (4 of 6) [1/12/2007 1:11:51 PM]

Endgame Corner

(63...Bh6 64.Kc3 Bg7+ 65.Kb3 Bf6 66.Re6 Bd4 67.Ka2 b4 68.axb4+ Kb5 69.Kb3+–) 64.Kd5 Bg5 (64...a5 65.Kd4 a4 66.Kd5 b4 67.Rc2 Be3 68.axb4 Kb5 69.Rc8+–) 65.Re6+ Kb7 66.Kc5 Bd8 67.b3 Bg5 68.Rb6+ Ka7 69.Kc6+–. 62...Kb6 63.Re7 Bc1! 63...Bg5? 64.Re6+ Kb7 65.Kc5 Bd8 66.b3 Bh4 67.Rb6+ Ka7 68.Kc6+–. 64.Re6+ Kb7 65.Re2 65.Kc5 Bxb2 66.Re7+ Kb8! 67.Kb6 Bd4+ 68.Kxa6 Bc5=. A critical moment has arisen. Black must bring his bishop back into the defense immediately. 65...Kb6? 65...Bf4? 66.Re7+ Kb6 67.Re6+ Kb7 68.Kc5 Bg5 69.Rb6+ Ka7 70.Kc6+–. I could not find a win for White after 65...Bg5!, e.g. 66.Kc5 Bh4 67.b3 (67.Rg2 Be7+ 68.Kd5 Bh4; 67.Re4 Bf2+ 68.Kb4 Bb6 69.Re7+ Kc6 70.Re6+ Kb7) 67...Kc7 68.Re6 Bf2+ 69.Kd5 (69.Kb4 Bb6 70.Rf6 Kb7 71.a4 bxa4 72.Kxa4) 69...Kb7. Can you do better? 66.Kd5 Bg5 66...a5 67.Kd4 a4 68.Kd5 b4 69.Rc2 Be3 (69...bxa3 70.Rxc1 axb2 71.Rb1 a3 72.Kc4+–) 70.axb4 Kb5 71.Rc8+–. 66...Ka5 67.Rc2 Be3 (67...Bf4 68.Rc6+–) 68.Rc6 b4 69.axb4+ Kb5 70.Rc8 Bf4 71.Rc5+ Kb6 72.Kc4+–. 67.Re6+ Kb7 68.Kc5 Bd8 68...Bh4 69.Rb6+ Ka7 70.Kc6+–. 69.b3 Bh4 70.Rb6+ Ka7 71.Kc6 Bf2 72.Rb7+ Ka8 73.Rf7 Bg1 74.Rf4 Ka7 75.a4 bxa4 76.Rxa4 Bf2 77.b4 Be3 78.b5 Kb8 79.Rxa6 1–0 Exercise (Solution next month)

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Endgame Corner

E70.01 L.Ftacnik (2540) - J.Murey (2505) New York 1987 How could White have saved himself?

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The Right Exchange The problem of when to exchange pieces is at the heart of the game of chess. Many points are won or lost based on this decision. In this article I will concentrate on when to exchange a pair of rooks in the endgame. The following guidelines may play a role: ●

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Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

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Single rook endgames have a very large drawish tendency. Remember Dr. Tarrasch’s aphorism: “All rook endgames are drawn.” The side playing against a rook usually wants to retain one rook to coordinate with the minor pieces; for example, with one or two minor pieces against a rook. When exchanging into a pawn endgame, you should be absolutely sure about the result, because even the slightest advantage may prove decisive, e.g. a slightly more active king.

Let’s look at the guidelines in practice (also please solve the exercises!): 71.01 B.Larsen (2620) – S.Marjanovic (2505) Bled 1979 Of course, Larsen avoids the exchange of rooks and provokes a weakening of Black’s structure. 38.Rh4! h6 39.Nf3 Rb1+ 40.Kg2 Rb2 41. Nc4 Rbe2 42.Ncd2 Rd7 43.Nb3 Rde7 44. Ra4 Rb2 45.Nbd2 Reb7 46.h3 R2b4 47. Ra5 R7b5 48.Ra3 Larsen again avoids the exchange. 48...Rd5 49.Ra7 Rdb5 50.h4 Rb7 51.Ra6 R7b6 52.Ra3 R6b5 53.Rd3 Kh7 54.Ng1 Kg7 55.Ne2 Ra5 56.Nf4 Rba4 57. Nb3 Ra7 58.Rd5 58...R4a6?!

Allowing the undermining h5 eases White’s task. 58...h5 was more tenacious. 59.h5 Kh7 60.Nd4 Kg7 61.Nb5 Rb7 62. Nd6 Rbb6? 62...Re7 was called for. For example 63. Nc4 Rc7 64.Ne5 Rca7 65.hxg6 fxg6 66. Kh3 Rf6 67.Rd8 Rfa6 68.Nd5 Rb7 69.f4 Re6 70.Kg4 Ra7 71.Nc3 Rea6 72.Nb5 Rb7 73.Nd6 Rba7

74.Ne8+ Kh7 75.Nd7 Ra5 76.Nef6+ Kg7 77.Rf8 h5+ (77...Rb5? 78.Ne8+ Kh7 79. Ndf6#) 78.Kh4+–. 63.Ne8+ Kf8 64.Nc7 Ra7

65.Rd8+! Larsen has created a mating attack, which forces Black’s king to leave its shelter. 65...Ke7 65...Kg7 66.Ne8+ Kh7 67.Nd5 Rc6 68. Nef6+ Rxf6 (68...Kg7 69.Rg8#) 69.Nxf6+ +–. 66.Rg8 Rc6 67.Ncd5+ Kd6 68.hxg6 fxg6 69.Nb4 Rb6 70.Nfd5 Rbb7 71. Rxg6+ Kc5 72.Rxh6 Rf7 73.Rc6+ Kb5 74.Rc2 Rad7 75.g4 1–0 With rooks and opposite-colored bishops, the defender usually wants to exchange rooks. But do not use this guideline too mechanically. 71.02 T.Heinemann (2453) – A.Skripchenko (2427) German Bundesliga 2006 The German trainer Claus Dieter Meyer

deeply analyzed this endgame and kindly allowed me to use his notes. 52...Re5? An inappropriate moment for the exchange, as White can centralize his king with tempo. With rooks Black should be able to hold: 52...f5 53.Rd3 a) 53.Rd8 Bb6 54.Rc8 Kg5 55.Rc6 (55.Rg8+ Rg6) 55...f4 +; b) 53.Be2 Kg5 54.c4 (54.Bd3 Re5) 54... bxc4 55.bxc4 Bg1; 53...Bc5 54.Bb7 Kg5 55.Kf3 a5 56.b4 (56.a4 bxa4 57. bxa4 Re5) 56...axb4 57.cxb4 Rd6 with excellent drawing chances in all cases. 53.Rxe5 fxe5 54.Bb7 a5 55.Kf3 Bd2 55...Bc5 56.Ke4 Kf6 (56...b4 57.c4 Kf6 58.Kd5+–) 57.Kd5 Bf2 58.b4 axb4 (58...e4 59.Bc6+–) 59.cxb4 Be1 60.Kc5+–. 56.c4 bxc4 57.bxc4 Kf6 57...Kf5 58.Bc8+ Kf6 59.Ke4 Bf4 60.g4 Ke7 61.c5 Kd8 62.Bf5 Kc7 63.Kd5 a4 64.Be4 Kd7 65.c6+ Kc7 66.Ke6+–. 58.Ke4 Ke6 58...a4 59.c5 a3 60.Kd5 Ba5 61.g4 Bd8 62.g5+ Kxg5 63.Kxe5+–. 59.g4 a4 60.c5 a3 61.Bd5+ Kf6 62.Bb3 62.c6 Ba5 63.g5+ Kxg5 64.Kxe5+– is even easier. 62...Bb4 63.Kd5 e4 64.c6 e3 65.Bd1 Ke7 66.g5 Ba5 67.Be2 Bc7 68.g6 Kf6

69.Bd3! The decisive zugzwang. White could still spoil it by violating the principle: do not hurry, e.g. 69.g7? Kxg7 70.Ke6 Bb6 71. Kd6 Kf6=. 69...Bg3 70.Kc5 Bc7 71.Kb5 1–0

Exercises (Solution next month)

E71.01 M.Stean (2420) – W.Browne (2550) Buenos Aires ol (Men) 1978 How did White exchange his rook?

E71.02 I.Sokolov (2685) – V.Topalov (2757) Corus Wijk aan Zee 2005 To exchange the rook e3 or not to exchange the rook e3 that is the question?

E71.03 T.Chistiakova (2351) – S. Shaidullina (2293) 56th ch-RUS w Top League Orel 2006 Was 1...Rxb6 a good choice?

Solutions to last month's exercise E70.01 L.Ftacnik (2540) - J.Murey (2505) New York 1987

66.Bb7? 66.Be6! Kf3 67.Kh2 Rg5 68.Kh3 (68.Bf7? Rxg3 69.Bxh5+ Kf2–+) 68...Rxg3+ 69. Kh4 Rg6

Now comes the point of White’s defense: 70.Bb3! (70.Bf7? Rg7–+) 70...Rh6 (70... Kf4 71.Kxh5 Rg3 72.Bc2=) 71.Kg5 Rh8 72.Bd1+ Ke4 73.Bxh5=. 66...Rg5 67.Kh2 67.Kg2 h4 68.Kh3 hxg3 69.Kg2 Kf4 70. Bf3 Rc5 71.Ba8 Rc2+ 72.Kg1 Black breaks the fortress with the typical 72...g2 73.Kh2 Rf2 74.Bc6 g1Q+ 75.Kxg1 Kg3–+. 67...Kf2 68.Kh3 Rxg3+ 69.Kh4 Rg7 70. Bc6 Rh7 71.Bd5 Ke3 72.Bg8 Rh8 73.Bf7 Kf4 74.Bb3 Rb8 75.Bc4 Rc8 76.Be6 Rc6 77.Bd5?! 77.Bf7 Rc7 78.Be6 Ke5 79.Bh3 Rh7 80. Bg2 Kf5 81.Bf1 Kf6 82.Ba6 Ra7 83.Be2 Re7 84.Bf3 Kf5 85.Bd1 Rc7 86.Be2 Rd7 87.Bb5 Rd1 88.Bc6 Kg6 89.Be4+ Kh6 90.Bf5 Rd4+–+. 77...Rc2 78.Kh3 Kg5 0–1 Addendum We return to the fascinating knight vs. bishop endgame between Vladimir Kramnik and Deep Fritz from Endgame Corner 69. 69.02 V.Kramnik (2750) – Deep Fritz Man vs. Machine, Bonn (1) 25.11.2006

29.Kf3 Instead of 29.Nd5, but the lines ultimately transpose. The real mistake was Kramnik’s 30.a4?, which wasted precious time. 29...b5 30.Nd5 Bd4 31.e3 Bc5 32.Ke2 e4 32...Kg6 33.Nc7 b4 34.Kd3 Kg5 35.Kc4 Bd6 36.Nd5 Kg4 37.Nxb4 Kf3 38.a4 Kxf2 39.a5 Bb8 40.Nc6 Bc7 41.a6 Bb6 42.Nxe5 +–. 33.Kd2 Kg6 34.Kc3? Kg5 35.Nc7 Kg4 35...b4+ 36.Kc4 Bd6 37.Nb5 Be7 38.h3 h5 39.Nd4 Bd6 40.Kb5 Kf6 41.h4+–. 36.Nxb5 Kf3 37.Kc4 Bb6 38.Nd4+ Kxf2 39.Nxf5 Kf3 40.Kd5 Bxe3 41.Nh4 + Kg4 42.Kxe4 Bb6 43.a4 So far my main line. Now Kasparov found 43...h5!, which I could not refute, as the bishop is very strong fighting on both wings. Matthias Feist gives the instructive 43... Bd8? 44.Ng2 Kh3 45.Nf4+ Kg4 (45... Kxh2 46.g4 Kg3 47.Kf5 Kh4 48.Ng2+ Kh3 49.Ne1 Kg3 50.g5 Kh4 51.Ng2+ Kg3 52.Nf4 Kh4 53.Nd5+–) 46.Ke3 Bb6+ (46... h5 47.Ng2 Bb6+ 48.Ke2 Ba5 49.Kf2 Bd8 50.h3+ Kf5 (50...Kxh3 51.Kf3+–) 51.Kf3 +–) 47.Ke2 Bd8 48.Kf2 Kf5 49.Kf3+–. 44.Ng2 44.Nf5 Bd8 (Kasparov stops here) 45.Ne3+ Kh3 46.Kf3 Kxh2=. 44...f5+ 45.Ke5 Bc7+ 46.Kf6 Bd8+ 47.Kg6 Kf3 48.Ne1+ Kg4 49.Nd3 Bc7 50.Nf2+ Kf3 51.Kxh5 Kxf2 52.Kg5 Ke3 53.Kxf5 Kd4 and Black survives. Instead of my suggestion 34.Kc3?, Raj Tischbierek gives 34.Nc7 b4 35.Nd5! Kg5 36.h3 Bd6 as the main line in his analysis in the German magazine Schach 1/07.

Now Kasparov has found the way to stop Black’s counterplay with 37.Nf4! h5 38. Ng2+– and White has full control and will win.

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Chinese Chess This month I want to make a comparison between Chinese chess and Western chess with a focus on endgame fortresses, but first an explanation of Chinese chess seems to be in order. The Rules Chinese chess is played on the intersections of a 9x10 board. The two sides are called red and black. Each side has a king (general), two rooks (chariots), two cannons (or catapults), two knights (horses), two elephants (ministers or bishops), two mandarins (guards or assistants) and five pawns (soldiers). In the middle of the board there is a river. The pieces that can cross the river (rooks, cannons, knights and pawns) are called attacking pieces. The king and the guards are confined to the palace, the 3x3 square around the king (d1-d3f3-f1 for red).

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

The rook moves the same as in Western chess. The cannons move like a rook, but to capture it needs a frame (any other piece) to jump over in order to capture the enemy piece behind the frame. This is similar to a cannon ball fired above the frame, which obliterates the enemy by landing on it. The knights move one point vertically or horizontally and then one point diagonally away from its former position, but they cannot jump. For instance, a knight on b1 can move to a3, c3 and d2, but any piece on b2 would block the access to a3 and c3 and any piece on c1 blocks d2. So with pieces on b2 and c1, a knight on b1 cannot move at all. The pawns move and capture in the same way. If they have not crossed the river they can only move forward, if they have crossed the river they can move and capture forward and sideways. If they reach the last rank they remain pawns and can then only move sideways. The king is confined to the palace and can move forward and sideways, but not diagonally. It also has a special feature called telepotency, where the two kings may not face each other directly on an otherwise open file. For example, a red king on e1 and a black king on e10, with no other pieces on the e-file is an illegal position. This is especially important in the endgame. The guards move diagonally to five different squares inside the palace: d1, d3, e2, f1 and f3 (for a red guard). The ministers move two squares diagonally to seven different squares: a3, c1, c5, e3, g1, g5 and i3 (for a red minister). Ministers cannot jump, so a minister on c1 cannot move to a3 if any piece occupies b2. This is known as stuffing the elephant’s eye. The aim of the game is to checkmate the enemy king or to stalemate the opponent, which is also a win for the side giving stalemate. If both sides do not possess any attacking pieces (rook, knight, cannon and pawn) the game is a draw. There is a special rule disallowing perpetual check and perpetual attack: ●

●

A player may not put the opponent into check with the same piece more than three times in a row without either side moving any other pieces. Continual chasing of a piece is not allowed, e.g. if a black piece moves from

● ● ●

position 1 to 2 to avoid being captured and the red piece moves from A to B to chase black, then red is not allowed to chase continuously, if a) the black piece is not protected in position 1 and 2. b) black uses exactly two positions 1 and 2 to avoid being captured, and c) red uses exactly two positions A and B to chase black. If any of the three conditions is violated continual chasing is allowed.

According to H.T. Lau in Chinese Chess (Tuttle Publishing 1985), the values of the pieces are: rook 9, cannon 4½, knight 4, minister 2, guard 2, pawn 2 (after crossing the river), pawn 1 (before crossing the river). And according to D.B. Pritchard in Popular Chess Variants (Batsford 2000), they are: rook 12, cannon 6, knight 5, minister 3, guard 2, pawn 2 (after crossing the river), pawn 1 (before crossing the river). One guideline is: losing one minister greatly endangers the king to the attack of a cannon, while losing one guard opens the gates for an attack of the rooks. In the endgame the value of the cannon decreases as there are fewer pieces that can act as a frame, and the value of the knight increases as there are fewer pieces to block its legs. Fortresses and Sieges I will compare the fortress and siege techniques by material and motifs. A) The Knight in the Attack A1) Domination and Zugzwang A knight always wins against one guard:

1.Ne7+ Kd8 2.Ng8 Gf8 3.Nf6 Ge9 4.Nd7 Gf10 5. Nb8 Ge9 6.Nc10+, forking the king and guard and winning the guard. The ending of knight vs. minister is more interesting. If the minister and defending king are on one side of the board with the attacking king controlling the central e-file it is very dangerous.

Red wins by 1.Nd6 (but not 1.Ng5?, when 1... Mg6! blocks the legs of the knight in a forward direction, so that it cannot move to f7 to stuff the elephant’s eye in a central direction) 1...Mg10 2. Ke3 Kf9 3.Nf5 Kf10 4.Ng7+– with full domination. Black is in zugzwang and must lose the minister and the game. Here is a similar domination in Western chess:

72.01 Domination White wins with 1.Kc7!, which forces Black to allow a pawn endgame: 1...Be7 2.Nxe7 Kxe7 3. Kc6+– and White wins the resulting race. Two guards draw against a knight:

1.Nh9+ Kf9 2.Ke3 Gd10 (of course not 2... Gf10?? 3.Ng7 mate) 3.Kf3 Ge7 4.Kf2, Black is now in zugzwang and it seems that he loses his pinned guard on f8, but red’s knight will be won back because of the pin: 4...Gd10 5.Nxf8 Ge7 winning the pinned knight and drawing. A2) Two Knights are a Powerful Attacking Force If one knight is added to both sides the attacker always wins: 1.Nc7 Nf7 2.Nb9+ Kd9 3.Nf6 Nd6 4.Kd1 Gd8 5. Nd7 (after 5.Nxd8?, Black can use the pin because of the telepotency of the king with 5... Nf7=) 5...Gfe9 6.Kd2 Gf10 7.Ke2 Gfe9 8.Ke1 Gf10 9.Nf8+ Ne8 10.Nc7+ Ke9 11.Nxe8 and red wins. Of course, adding more winning potential increases the chances of the attacker in both versions of chess. One example in Western chess that fits into this context is the endgame of two knights vs. king, which is drawn, while as a rule

three knights defeat one knight. Two knights are indeed a very powerful attacking force in Chinese chess. They can even defeat two guards and two ministers (something a rook cannot do) if the defense is properly coordinated: 1.Nb9+ Ke10 2.Nc9+ Kd10 3.Nxe8+ Kd9 4.Ng9 +–. In Western chess there are similar paradoxes: a rook and bishop defeat two knights in a pawnless endgame, while queen against two knights is drawn if the defender is reasonably placed. B) Pin Li presents the following example in Syllabus on Horse on p.182:

Red to move can win with 84.Pxe9!, as knight and pawn win against a single knight and the pawn is already well-placed in the center of the palace to restrict the king. In the game Wu Xia-Wen Jin, National Team Championship Harbin 2003, red played 84.Nxe9? Nf6 85.Pf8 Ke10! and the knight can not extricate itself from the pin, so the game was later drawn. Of course, similar fortresses exist in chess as well:

72.02 Black cannot win as he cannot rescue the pinned knight: 1.Bh1= The following fortress is quite typical, as the last pawn is often worth its weight in gold.

72.03 V. Kramnik (2770) - G. Kasparov (2849) BGN World Championship, London 2000 Objectively Black is lost, but Kasparov makes White’s job as difficult as possible.

52...Be3! Exchanging the important defender. 53.Bxe3 53.Nd5? Bxb6 54.axb6 Kc6=. 53...Rxe3 54.Rxf7? 54.Nd5 (Kramnik) was necessary to protect the a-pawn with the knight from behind. 54...Re5? Miguel Illescas proved that 54...Kc6! leads to a drawn position. 55.a6+? 55.Nd5+ Ka6 56.Nb4+ Kb5 57.Rf4+– (Kramnik). 55...Kb6 56.Rxg7 Ra5 Kramnik has a piece and a pawn to his advantage, so he should win, shouldn’t he? 57.Kd2 Ra1 58.Kc2 58...Rh1? Wim van Os indicates that the black rook had to stay on the a-file. 59.Kb2? Kramnik misses his chance. 59.Rg8! Rh2+ (59... Kxc7 60.a7+–; 59...Ra1 60.Nd5+ Ka7 61.Nb4+–) 60.Kd3 Rh3+ 61.Ke2 Rh2+ 62.Kf3 Rh3+ 63.Kg2! (van Os) (63.Kg4? Ra3!=) 63...Ra3 64.Nd5+ Kc5 (64...Ka7 65.Nb4+–; 64...Kxa6 65.Ra8++–) 65. Rg5 Kb5 66.Rg6 Kc5 67.Nc7+–. 59...Rh8 60.Kb3 Rc8 61.a7 61.Kb4 Rxc7 62.Rxc7 Kxc7 63.Kc5 Kb8=. 61...Kxa7 The endgame with rook + knight vs. rook is nearly always a draw. In Chinese chess, rook and knight would prevail.

62.Kb4 Kb6 63.Nd5+ Ka6! 64.Rg6+ Kb7 65. Kb5 Rc1 66.Rg2 Kc8 67.Rg7 Kd8 68.Nf6 Rc7 69.Rg5 69.Rg8+ Ke7 70.Nd5+ Kf7!=. 69...Rf7 70.Nd5 Kd7 71.Rg6 Rf1 72.Kc5 Rc1+ 73.Kd4 Rd1+ 74.Ke5 ½–½ C) Incarcerated Piece Such fortresses occur in both versions of the game:

Normally one minister and two pawns lose against a rook, but in this special case red’s king is incarcerated and, surprisingly, the rook cannot defeat the minister: 1.Ri6 Ke9 2.Rxi8 Pf1 and Black draws because of the mating threat. One example from chess:

72.04 G.Zakhodiakin Shakhmatny Listok 1930 1.g7+ Nxg7 2.Nf7+ Kg8 3.Bc5 f1Q 4.Nh6+ Kh8 5.Bd6=

D) Secure Camp This fortress also exists in both versions of the game. For Western chess I refer the reader to the rich body of literature of the game. For Chinese chess I present the following: 1) The rook cannot win against full defense:

Guards and ministers are well-placed on different sides and the rook cannot make progress. 2) With two ministers and knight it is different. The rook usually wins, but there is one fortress with so-called high ministers:

It is important that the king can freely move in its palace without stuffing an elephant’s eye. E) The Unfortunate Pawn Rook and knight form a formidable attacking duo, but rook and two guards can draw against them, if they are reasonably placed. But sometimes the rook is hindered by a friendly pawn:

1.Rg9+ Kf10 2.Ng7 Ke10 3.Nh9 Kd10 4.Rg4 Gd8 5.Nxf8 Rf10 6.Nd7 Re10+ 7.Kd2 Re8 8. Rg10+ Kd9 (8...Re10 9.Rg8 Ge9 10.Rc8 Kd9 11. Re8 Kd10 12.Ke2 and red wins the pinned guard or the rook) 9.Nb8+ Ke9 10.Nc10+ Kf9 11.Rg9+ Kf10 12.Rg2 Ri8 13.Ke2 Re8+ 14.Kd2 Ri8 15. Ke2 and Black loses the guard or the pawn because of the mating threat Rf2+ as he is not allowed to give the check on e8 any longer. In chess the additional pawn not only prevents rook checks, but also stalemate:

72.05 Mandler 1927 1.Ke7! 1.Ke6? Kh7 2.Kf7 Kh6=. 1...c4 1...Rh4 2.Nf6+ Kg7 3.Rg8+ Kh6 4.Kf7+–; 1... Kh7 2.Rc6+–; 1...Rh7+ 2.Ke6 Rh8 3.Rc7+–. 2.Ke6!! Kf8 2...Kh7 3.Rxc4 Rf8 4.Nf6+ Kh6 5.Rh4+ Kg7 6. Rg4+ Kh8 7.Kf5 Ra8 8.Rh4+ Kg7 9.Rh7++–. 3.Nd6+ Kg7 4.Nf5+ Kh7 5.Rc7+ Kg6 5...Kg8 6.Rg7+ Kf8 7.Rf7+ Ke8 8.Nd6+ Kd8 9.Rd7#. 6.Rg7+ Kh5 7.Ke5

The remaining pawn is Black’s undoing. 7...c3 8.Kf4 c2 9.Rg5# I would like to thank Dr. René Gralla and Michael Taktikos for providing material and ideas for this column.

Solutions to last month's exercises

E71.01 M.Stean (2420) – W.Browne (2550) Buenos Aires ol (Men) 1978 White can exchange rooks with the small combination: 38.Rxe5+! Kf7 38...fxe5 39.Bg5+ Kf7 40.Bxh4+–. 39.Rd5 Rxd5 40.exd5 Rxh2 41. Ne4 The passed d-pawn will decide the issue sooner or later. 41...Rh5 42.Nc3 Rh2 43.Bd4 f5 43...Rd2 44.Bxf6+–. 44.Be5 Rc2 45.f4 Ke7 46. Ne2 Rd2 47.Nd4 Kd7 48.Ke1 Ra2 49.Nb3 Rc2 50.Kd1 White’s king can finally join the rest of its forces, as Nc5+ must be prevented. 50...Rc8 50... Rh2 51.Nc5+ Kd8 52.d6 Rh7 53.Kd2+–. 51.Kd2 Rc4 52.Kd3 Rc8 53.Kd4 Rc2 54.Nc5+ Ke7 55.d6 + Kf7 56.Kd5 Rd2+ 1–0 E71.02 I.Sokolov (2685) – V.Topalov (2757) Corus Wijk aan Zee 2005 The side fighting against a rook should usually keep as many pieces on the board as possible. So 59...Rxb3? was a mistake. Now the only question is if White can win or not. 59...Rc3! was called for, to keep the active rook on the board, e.g. 60. Nf3+ Kf6:

It is difficult to find a useful move for White, because of the pressure of Black’s active c3-rook. After 61.Kg2, Black should again avoid the exchange of rooks: 61...Nxb3 (61...Rxb3?! 62.Re2 is dangerous for Black because of White’s active rooks.) 62.Rf4 Nc1 63.Nh4 Kg5 64.Rxf5+ Kxh4 65.Rf6 Nd3 66.Rb1 Rc2+ 67.Kf1 Ne5 and Black’s counterplay is sufficient. 60.Rxb3 Nxb3 61.Nf3+ (61.Ke3!?) 61...Kf6 62. Ke3 Bd7 63.Rf4+ Kg7 (63...Ke7!?) 64.Nd4 Nc5 65.Kd2

Topalov solves his problems convincingly: 65... Kg8! 65...Bxa4? 66.Ne6+ plays into White’s hands. 66.Ne6 Nxe6 67.dxe6 Bxe6 68.Rd4 Kf7 69.Rxd6 Bxc4 70.Rxh6 b5! As a rule, the defender exchanges pawns, the attacker pieces. 71. axb5 71.Rc6 b3 72.Kc3 Be2 73.axb5 Bxb5 74.Rc7 + Kg8 75.Kxb3 Be2 76.h6 Bd3=.

Reaching a well-known fortress. 71...Bxb5 72. Rg6 Be8 73.Rg1 73.Rg5 Kf6 74.Rxa5 b3 75.Kc3 Kg7 76.Kxb3 Kh6=. 73...Kf6 74.h6 Bg6 75.Rf1+ Kg5 76.Ra1 ½–½

E71.03 T.Chistiakova (2351) – S.Shaidullina (2293) 56th ch-RUS w Top League Orel 2006 Exchanging into a pawn endgame is always dangerous. 71...Rxb6? The rook endgame after 71...g5 is completely drawn: 72.hxg5 (72.Rb5 gxh4 73.gxh4 Rxb6=) 72...hxg5 73.Rb5 f4 74.g4 Re3+ (74...Rxb6? 75.Rxg5+–) 75.Kf2 Rg3 76. Rxg5 Kxb6=. 72.Rxb6+ Kxb6 73.Kf4 Kc5 74. Ke5 h5 74...Kc4 75.Kf6 Kd5 76.Kxg6 Ke4 77.h5 (77.Kxh6? Kf3=) 77...Kf3 78.Kxf5 Kxg3 79.Kg6 Kf4 80.Kxh6 Kf5 81.Kg7+–. 75.Kf6 Kd5 76. Kxg6 Ke4

Black must have missed the next move in her calculations: 77.Kg5!! 77.Kxh5? Kf3 78.Kg5 Kxg3=. 77...Ke5 78.Kxh5 Kf6 79.Kh6 f4 80.gxf4 Kf7 81.Kg5 Kg7 82.Kf5 Kf7 83.h5 Kg7 84.Ke6 Kf8 85.f5 Ke8 86.f6 Kf8 87.f7 Kg7 88.Ke7 Kh7 89.h6 1–0

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Mysterious Rook Endgames I have received several queries from readers about rook endgames. In particular, Chi Minh Nguyen sent me the following two examples. 73.01 C.Foisor (2409) - H.Daurelle (2201) Bethune 2005

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

White should first patiently improve the position of the rook, as shown by Chi Minh Nguyen. 65.f6+? 65.Rg4+ Kf8 66.Rg2 Kf7 67.Ra2

Black is in fatal zugzwang: 67...Ke7 (67...Kg7 68.Ke6 Re1 69.f6++–) 68.Ra7+ Ke8 69.Rh7 Kf8 70.Kf6 Kg8 71.Rg7+ Kf8 72.Rg2+–.

65...Kg6 66.Rg4+ Kf7 67.Rg7+ Kf8 68.Rh7 Kg8 69.f7+ Now Black missed a stalemate resource.

69...Kxh7? 69...Kf8 70.Ke6 Rf1 71.Rxh2 Rf6+ 72.Kxf6 stalemate. 70.f8Q Rg1 71.Qf7+ Kh6 72.Qf4+ Rg5+ 73.Kf6 1–0 The difficulty of seemingly simple rook endings is exemplified in the following example. 73.02 C.Nguyen (2343) - G.Camus de Solliers (2307) APSAP Open Paris 2006

39...Kc4! 40.Rd4+ Kc3! 40...Kb3? 41.h4!=. 41.Rd3+ Kc4 42.Rd4+ Kc3! 43.Rd3+ Kc2 44.Rd2+ Kc1! 45.Rg2!?

Now the critical moment is reached and the first priority must be to cut off White’s king. 45...b4? 45...Rh4! 46.Kf3 (46.Kd3 b4 47.Rg1+ Kb2) 46...b4 47.Kg3 Rd4 48.h4 b3 49.h5 b2 50. Rxb2 Kxb2

The cut off on the fourth rank is decisive, e.g. 51.h6 Rd6 52.h7 Rh6–+. 46.Kf4! White draws relatively easily with his active counterplay. 46...Rh7 47.Rg1+ Kc2 48.Rh1 Rh4+ 49.Kg5 Rh3 50.Kg4 Rd3 51.h4 b3 52.h5 b2 53.h6 Rd7 54.Kg5 ½–½ The next example is from my friend Hannes Langrock, author of The Modern Morra Gambit. 73.03 G.Putzbach - H.Langrock Ani-Cup Hamburg 2006 White is winning but underestimated Black’s counterplay.

46.Kb5! h4 47.Rg7+ Kd6 48.Kxb6?! Now the passed h-pawn is a constant source of worry. 48.gxh4 Rxh4 49.Kxb6 Rxf4 50.b5 is much easier. 48...Rg2 49.g4 h3 50.g5 Rg4!? 50...h2 51.Rh7 Ke6 52.b5 Kf5 53.Rh4+–. 51.Rh7 Rxf4 52.b5 Rf3 Now White should have forced the exchange of his g-pawn for Black’s h-pawn to stop any counterplay.

53.Kb7? 53.g6! Rg3 (53...Ke6 54.Rh8+-) 54.g7 Kd5 55.Rxh3 Rg6+ 56.Ka7 Rxg7+ 57.Ka6 Kc5 58. Rc3++–. 53...Rb3 54.b6 54.Kb6 Ke6 55.Kc5 Kf5 56.Kc4 Re3 57.b6 Re4+=. 54...Ke6 55.Kc7 Kf5 56.b7 Rc3+ 57.Kd6 Rb3 58.Kc7 Rc3+ 59.Kd8 Rb3 60.Kc8 Rc3+ ½–½ Finally, Martin Petr has found a flaw in a previous column. 73.04 E.Berg - H.Kallio

GM-B Bermuda 2002

He writes, “this position is taken from the June 2002 Endgame Corner, Rooks Revisited. In the game E. Berg - H. Kallio, after White’s forty-fifth move, Black resigned, because the position is considered to be a theoretical draw, but I disagree. 1...Rc2 2.Rxa5 Rc4 3.h4 Kg7 4.Ra7+ Kg8

5.Ra6! The difference between this position and a well-known theoretical draw (Vancura’s Defense) is the placement of White’s king on h5, as the white king is not usually in front of the h-pawn in “normal” positions. After 5.a5?, Black can apply Vancura’s defensive method: 5...Rc5+ 6.Kg4 Kh8 7.a6 Rc6 8.h5 Kg8 9.Kf3 Kh8 10.Ke4 Kg8 11.Kd5 Rf6 12. Ra8+ Kh7 13.Kc5 Rf5+ 14.Kb6 Rf6+ 15.Kb7 Rf7+=. 5...Kf7 Black has to avoid the check. 5...Kh7 6.Rh6+ Kg7 7.Rg6+ Kh7 8.Rg4 Rc6 9.Rg5 Rh6+ (9... Rc4 10.a5 Rd4 11.Rb5+–) 10.Kg4 Rd6 11.a5 Rd4+ 12.Kf5 Rxh4 13.Ke6 Rd4 14.Rd5+– with an easy win; 5...Rc5+ 6.Kg6+–. 6.a5! Rc5+

6...Rd4 7.Rg6 Rd5+ 8.Rg5 Rd6 (8...Rd4 9.a6+–) 9.Rf5+ Ke7 (9...Kg7 10.Kg5 Rd1 11.h5 Rg1+ 12.Kf4 Ra1 13.Ke4 Kh6 14.Kd4+–) 10.Kg5+–. 7.Kh6! White’s position should be won. 7...Rc4 7...Rc8 8.Rg6+–. 8.h5 Rc5 9.Ra7+ Kf6 10.Ra8 Kf5 10...Kf7 11.a6 Rc6+ 12.Kh7 Kf6 13.Rg8! Rc7+ 14.Kh6 Ra7 15.Rg6+ Kf5 16.Rb6 (zugzwang) 16…Ra8 17.Kg7+–. 11.Rg8 Kf4 12.a6 Ra5 13.Rg6+ (zugzwang) 13…Kf3 14.Rf6+ Kg4 15.Kg6 Rg5+ 16.Kf7 Rxh5 17.Ke7 Kg5 18.a7+– .” Thank you, Martin!

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The Right Exchange Revisited I have decided to revisit a very important problem that was first discussed in February 2007. So let’s begin with a review of the following guidelines and add a couple new ones: ●

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●

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Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

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Single rook endgames have a very large drawish tendency. Remember Dr Tarrasch’s old aphorism: “All rook endgames are drawn.” The side playing against a rook usually wants to retain one rook to coordinate with the minor pieces; for example, with one or two minor pieces against a rook. When exchanging into a pawn endgame, you should be absolutely sure about the result, because even the slightest advantage may prove decisive, e.g. a slightly more active king. One side usually gains more from every exchange. Make sure it is you! What stays on the board is more important than what comes off the board.

A) Exchange to reduce the attacking potential 74.01 A.Rmus - L.Vajda Herceg Novi 2006 White must exchange rooks, otherwise the firepower of Black’s major pieces will prevail. 38.Rc7+? 38.Rxb5 axb5 39.h8Q b1Q+ 40.Kg2 was forced, when White has good drawing chances, e.g. 40... Qb2+ 41.Kh3 Qe5 42.Qc8+ Kb3 43.Qc1 b4 44. Qb1+ Kc4 45.Qc2+ Qc3 46.Qe4+. 38...Kd5 39.h8Q 39.Rd7+ Ke6 40.Rd1 b1Q 41.Rxb1 Rxb1+ 42. Kg2 Rb8–+. 39...b1Q+ We have now reached the “fourth phase” of the game, as coined by Mihail Marin in Learn from the Legends. The most important rule after both sides have queened is “the one who gives the first check wins.” It is applicable here as both kings are exposed.

40.Kf2 Rb2+ 41.Ke3 41.Kg3 Qe1+ 42.Kh3 Qh1+ 43.Kg3 Qxh8–+. 41...Qe1+ White resigned because of 42.Kf4 (42.Kd3 Qd2#) 42...Qe5#. B) Exchange to alter the pawn structure and open lines 74.02 R.Ponomariov - A.Morozevich Tal Memorial Moscow 2006

The position seems dead drawn, as White’s king has no inroads, but Ponomariov found a surprising way to play for a win. 45.Rd6+!? 45.Rxd7 Bxd7 46.Kd4 Be8 47.c5+ Kc7=. 45...Kc5 46.Kf4 Rxd6 47.exd6 Kxd6 48.c5+

48...Kxc5? Accepting the gift is too greedy. 48...Ke7! was called for: 49.Ke5 Ba6 50.Ba8 Be2 51.c6 Bf1 52. c7 Ba6

This is drawn, as Ponomariov showed in the post mortem analysis, but Barski and Notkin proved that matters are not that simple in the German magazine Schach 1/2007: 53.Bc6 Bc8 54.Bb5 Bb7 55.Kd4 Kd6 56.Be8 e5+ 57.Ke3 Ke6 58.Bb5 Bc8 59.Bc4+ Kf5 60.Bxf7 Kxg5 61.Ke4 Kf6 62. Bg8 Bb7+ 63.Bd5 Bc8 64.Bc6 g5 65.Bb5

Now Black’s passed g-pawn secures him enough counterplay: 65...g4! (but not 65...Bb7+? 66.Ke3 Kg6 67.Bd7 Kxh6 68.Kd3!! Kh5 69.Kc4 g4 70. Kc5 g3 71.Kb6 g2 72.Kxb7 g1Q 73.c8Q+–) 66. Bd3 Kg5 67.Kxe5 g3 68.Bf1 Bb7 69.Bh3 Ba6=. 49.Ke5 Ba6 50.Kf6 Kd6 51.Be4 51.Kxf7 Bd3 52.Kg8 Ke7 53.Kxh7 Kf8 54.Bc6 e5 55.Be8+– 51...Be2 52.Kxf7 Bg4 52...Bh5 53.Kg7+–. 53.Bxg6 1–0 C) Breaking a blockade 74.03 N.Nikolaev - G.Tunik Petroff Memorial St. Petersburg 2000 How will Black make progress? Zugzwang alone will not do, as White’s rook can wait on d1 and d2. But exchanging the bishops first and then the rooks does the job. 43...Bc5! 44.Bxc5 44.Bc1?! Rxd1 45.Kxd1 e3–+ allows Black’s king to invade on e4 with decisive effect. 44...Kxc5 45.Rd2 45.Re1 Kd5 46.Rg1 Rg3 47.Rd1+ Ke6 48.Rg1 g5 49.fxg5 Ke5 50.Kf2 e3+ 51.Ke2 Ke4 does not help.

45...Kd5 White cannot prevent Black from entering a won pawn ending. 46.Rd1 46.Rxd3+ exd3+ 47.Ke3 d2 48.Kxd2 Ke4–+. 46...Rxd1 0–1 D) Exchange to keep a blockade 74.04 Shishkin,V (2474) - Kruppa,Y (2531) Fifth I Platonov Mem Kyiv UKR (7), 08.02.2007

Usually the side fighting against the lone rook should keep both rooks on the board. But this is an exception because of Black’s activity. 72...Re2! 72...Ke3? 73.Bd5 Rd4 74.Bb7 and White has winning chances. 73.Rxe2+ Kxe2 74.Bd5

74...Ke3? 74...Kd3 75.g4 hxg3 76.Bxh1 (76.Kxg3 Rb1 77. Nf3 Kc3 78.Kf4 b3 79.axb3 Rxb3=) 76...gxh2 77. Kxh2

Now comes the point of the defense: 77...Kc4!! and White cannot safeguard his last pawn. 75.g4? 75.g3 wins. 75...Rd1 76.Bb3 Kf4?? After 76...Rg1 77.Kxh4 Kf4, Black’s activity is sufficient for a draw. 77.Bxd1 1–0 Exercises (Solutions next month)

E74.01 A.Miles - V.Smyslov Dortmund 1986 How did Miles proceed?

E74.02 L.Aronian - V.Anand XXIV SuperGM Morelia/Linares 2007 Aronian sacrificed his two bishops for one of Black’s rooks to get two dangerous passed pawns. However, at the moment his initiative seems to have come to a dead end, or can you find a plan for White?

E74.03 R.Vaganian - E.Sutovsky Pamplona 2004 Is 1...Rxd5 a good move? If not, what did Sutovsky play?

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Endgame Principles This month I want to look at a few principles of the endgame. A) The Principle of Two Weaknesses The defender can usually protect one weakness and survive. Yet if the attacker manages to open a second front and create a second weakness, this can easily lead to insurmountable problems. 75.01 J.Hodgson (2550) – N.Situru (2385) Jakarta 1996

Endgame Corner

I start a bit earlier as Hodgson’s play is quite instructive. The first question is: will Black defend actively or passively?

Karsten Müller

32...Kd7? Situru had to seize his chance with 32...Nxd5! 33. Nxd6+ Bxd6 34.exd5 e4 (Stohl in CBM 57) to activate his sleeping bishop with very good drawing chances. 33.Rh5! A strong prophylactic move to stop tactics based on ...Nxd5. 33...Rf6 34.Kc2 In the next step the king is activated. An important endgame principle! 34...Rfg6 35.Kd3 R4g5 36.Rxg5 Rxg5 37.Rf1 Be7

38.Nc4! As more pieces are exchanged, the bad bishop on e7 is more of a factor. 38...Nxc4 39.Kxc4 Rg4 40.Kd3 Rg8 41.Rf2 Bg5 42.Rc2 h5?! This only makes the pawn weaker, but good advice is already hard to come by. 43.Ke2 Bf6 44.Kf3 Rh8 45.Rh2 Kc7

White has a good position, but how to convert his advantage into a full point? This is where the principle of two weaknesses comes into play. White must open roads on the queenside, so that his king and rook can pressure d6. 46.Ke2 Kd7 47.Kd3 Kc7 48.Kc2 Kd7 49.Kb2 Bd8

50.a3! Opening the second front. 50...bxa3+ 51.Kxa3 Ba5 52.Kb2 Bd8

53.Rh1! “Space advantage among others means White can more easily transfer his pieces from one flank to the other.” (Stohl) 53...Bf6 54.Kc3 Bd8 55.Kc4 Bf6

56.Ra1! Now White can use the inroads he has created and the defense quickly collapses. 56...Bd8 57.Ra7+ Bc7 58.Ng7! Kc8 59.Ne6 Bb8 60.Rg7 h4 61.gxh4 Rxh4 62.Kb5 Rh8 63.Kc6 1– 0 B) The Initiative The initiative plays an important role in many endgames, but one of the most striking examples is the endgame of rook + knight vs. rook + knight. The next game is presented in full, as Mamedyarov’s play also has theoretical importance. 75.02 S.Mamedyarov (2657) – A.Ramirez Alvarez (2507) Corus-B Wijk aan Zee 2005 1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.Nf3 d6 5.Bc4 e6 6.0–0 Nc6 7.d4 cxd4 8.cxd4 Be7 9.Qe2 0–0 10.Nc3 Nxc3 11.bxc3 dxe5 12.dxe5 Qa5 13.Qe4 Qa4 14.Bg5!? h6 15.Bxe7 Nxe7 16. Rab1 Bd7 17.Bd3 Qxe4 18.Bxe4 Bc6 19.Bxc6 bxc6 Black should be able to hold this endgame, but he must be careful to neutralize White’s initiative. 20.c4!? After 20.Rb7 Nd5 21.c4 Nc3 22.a3 Rfb8 23.Rc7 Rc8 24.Rb7 Rcb8 25.Rc7 Rc8 26.Rb7 Rcb8, a draw was agreed in M.Adams-V.Tkachiev, Cannes 2001. 20...Rab8?! A slight inaccuracy; Black should have moved the

other rook to allow his king to help the defense via f8-e8, as Rogozenko showed in CBM 105: 20...Rfb8! 21.Rfd1 Kf8 22.h4 Ke8 23.Kf1 Rb6=. 21.Rfd1 Rfd8 22.Rxd8+ Rxd8 23.h4! A strong prophylactic move to stop g5 and avoid back rank problems. 23...Nf5 24.Kf1 Rd3 25.Rb8+ Kh7 26.Rb7

Black is already feeling the pressure, but because of the large drawish tendecy of rook endgames, he should still be able to survive. 26...Nd4! 27.Nxd4 Rd1+?! The immediate 27...Rxd4 is more logical. 28.Ke2 Rxd4 29.Rxf7 Rxc4! 30.Rxa7 Rxh4 31. Ke3 Rg4 32.Re7 Kg6 33.Kf3 Ra4 34.g4

34...Rxa2? Ramirez Alvarez cracks under the pressure. He had to give checks first to force White’s king to an inferior square: 34...Ra3+! 35.Ke4 (35.Kg2 Kg5=) 35...Ra4+ 36.Kf3 Ra3+ 37.Kf4 and only now can he take the pawn: 37...Rxa2 38.f3 Ra4+ 39.Kg3 Ra5 40.f4 Ra3+= (Rogozenko). 35.Rxe6+ Kg5 36.Rxc6 Ra4 36...Ra3+ 37.Ke4 Ra4+ 38.Kd5 Ra2 (38...Kxg4? 39.Rc4++–) 39.f3+–. 37.Rc7 g6 38.Rf7 Ra3+ 39.Ke4 Kxg4 39...Ra4+ 40.Kd5 Ra5+ 41.Kd4 Ra4+ 42.Kc5 Ra6 (42...Ra5+ 43.Kb6 Rxe5 44.f4++–) 43. Kd5 Ra5+ 44.Kd6 Ra6+ 45.Ke7 Ra7+ 46.Kf8 Ra8+ 47.Kg7+–. 40.e6 Ra1 40...Ra2 41.Ke5 Re2+ 42.Kd6 h5 43.Rf6 Kg5 44.Rf3 Kg4 45.Re3+–. 41.Ke5 h5 41...Re1+ 42.Kd6 h5 43.Rf6 h4 44.e7 Kg5 45.Re6 Rd1+ 46.Kc7 Rc1+ 47.Kd7 Rd1+ 48. Ke8 Ra1 49.Kf7+–; 41...Ra5+ 42.Kf6 Ra6 43.Rf8 g5 44.Kf7 Ra2 45.e7 Rxf2+ 46.Kg6+–.

42.e7 Re1+ 43.Kf6 h4 44.Rf8 Kf3 45.Kg5+ 1–0 C) The Right Exchange Revisited The solution of the following exercise was published in Endgame Corner 72, but I forgot to mention Sokolov’s fantastic winning line. E71.02 I.Sokolov (2685) – V.Topalov (2757) Corus Wijk aan Zee 2005 The side fighting against a rook should usually keep as many pieces on the board as possible, so 59...Rxb3? was a mistake. Now the only question is, if White can win or not. 59...Rc3! was called for, to keep the active rook on the board, e.g. 60. Nf3+ Kf6.

Now it is difficult to find a useful move for White because of the pressure of Black’s active rook c3. After 61.Kg2, Black should again refuse to exchange rooks: 61...Nxb3 (61...Rxb3?! 62.Re2 is dangerous for Black, because of White’s active rooks.) 62.Rf4 Nc1 63.Nh4 Kg5 64.Rxf5+ Kxh4 65.Rf6 Nd3 66.Rb1 Rc2+ 67.Kf1 Ne5 and Black’s counterplay is sufficient. 60.Rxb3 Nxb3 61.Nf3+ Kf6

62.Ke3? Sokolov found an amazing way to win: 62.Rf4! Nc1 63.Ke3 b3 64.Nd2 Kg5 65.Rf1 b2 66.Rf2 Kg4

Now comes his point: 67.Nb1!!. The rook is so strong in this position that White can even sacrifice the knight! 67...Bxb1 68.Rxb2 Bd3 69. Rxb6 Bxc4 70.Rxd6 Nb3 71.Rxh6 Bxd5 72.Rd6 Bg8 73.Rg6+ Kxh5 74.Rxg8 Nc5 75.Ra8 Nxa4 76. Rxa5++–. 62...Bd7 63.Rf4+ Kg7? 63...Ke7! was called for. 64.Nd4 Nc5 65.Kd2? Sokolov’s plan allows Black to exchange too many pawns. After 65.Rf1, he has very good winning chances. 65...Kg8! 65...Bxa4? 66.Ne6+ plays into White’s hands. 66.Ne6 Nxe6 67.dxe6 Bxe6 68.Rd4 Kf7 69.Rxd6 Bxc4 70.Rxh6 b5! As a rule, the defender exchanges pawns, the attacker pieces. 71.axb5 71.Rc6 b3 72.Kc3 Be2 73.axb5 Bxb5 74.Rc7+ Kg8 75.Kxb3 Be2 76.h6 Bd3=:

Reaching a well-known fortress. 71...Bxb5 72.Rg6 Be8 73.Rg1 73.Rg5 Kf6 74.Rxa5 b3 75.Kc3 Kg7 76.Kxb3 Kh6=. 73...Kf6 74.h6 Bg6 75.Rf1+ Kg5 76.Ra1 ½–½

Solutions to last month's exercises

E74.01 A.Miles - V.Smyslov Dortmund 1986 White must keep the rooks on the board, as he needs his rook to invade Black’s camp. 34.Bb3! 34.Rxb2? Rxb2 35.Kxb2 gxf4 36.gxf4 and White probably cannot win because of the extreme drawish tendency of opposite-colored bishop endgames. 34...gxf4 35.gxf4 Kd7 36.Rxb2 Ke8 37.Rb1 Kf7 38.Rg1 Bh8 39.Bc2 Bg7 40.Bg6+ Kg8 41.Rd1 1–0 Black resigned, because of 41...Rd6 42.Rb1 Rd8 43.Rb5 Rf8 44.e3+–.

E74.02 L.Aronian - V.Anand XXIV SuperGM Morelia/Linares 2007 White can only make progress by activating his rook d1 and threatening to exchange a pair of rooks. 35.Rdb1! 35.d7? Rd8, followed by Kf8-e7, plays into Black’s hands. 35...Rf8 35...Nf3+ 36.Kh1 Bd5 37.Rb8+–. 36.Rb8 Be8 37.a5 Nf3+ After 37...Nc6, White can even sacrifice the exchange: 38.a6 Nxb8 39.Rxb8 Bc6 40.a7 Kf7 41.d7+–. 38.Kf1 Nd2+ 39.Ke1 Nxb1 40.a6 Bc6 41.a7

Black is defenseless. 41...Kf7 42.d7 Ke7 43.Rxf8 Kxd7 44.a8Q Bxa8 45.Rxa8 h5 45...Ke7 46.Ra7+ Kf8 47.Ra5 Nc3 48.f3 e4 49. Kd2 Nb1+ 50.Kc2 e3 51.Ra8+ Ke7 52.Ra7+ Kf8 53.Kd3+–. 46.Ra7+ Ke6 47.Rxg7 Kf5 48.Rg3 1–0

E74.03 R.Vaganian - E.Sutovsky Pamplona 2004 Black should not exchange rooks. 29...a5! 29...Rxd5?? 30.Rxd5 Nxd5 31.Re8+ Bf8 32.Ra8 (Krasenkow in CBM 105) plays into White’s hands. 30.d6 30.Ra7 Rc8 31.f3 Rc1+ 32.Kf2 Bh6 gives Black a strong initiative. 30...Bf8 31.a4? Now Black has everything under control. The best chance to fight for a draw was 31.Re4! Rxd6 32.Rxd6 Bxd6 33.Ra4 Bc7 34.b4 (Krasenkow) and the passed a-pawn gives White some hope, especially as he has managed to exchange one pair of rooks. 31...Rxd6! 32.Rxd6 Bxe7 33.Rd4 g5 34.Ke1 Bf6 35.Rc4 Bxb2 36.Kd1 Ba3 37.Rc8+ Kg7 38.Kc2 Nd5 39.Kb3 Bb4 40.Rd8 Nf6 41.Rb8 Be1 42.f3 h5 43.Rb7 g4 44.fxg4 hxg4 45. Rc7 Bb4 46.Rb7 Nd5 47.Rb5 Ne3 48.Rxb4 axb4 49.Kxb4 Nd5+ 50.Kc5 Ne7 0–1

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Calculation Training Pawn endgame exercises are well suited to train your ability to calculate. 76.01 I.Ivanisevic (2602) – D.Solak (2564) ch-SRB, Vrsac 2007 Black has two ways to draw. He can play 52...b6 or 52...Kf7. Calculate both lines to the end until Black’s king has reached the saving c8-square, where it either imprisons White’s king in front of its a-pawn or it reaches salvation on the a8-square! This was quite easy: 52...b6

Endgame Corner

52...Kf7 53.Kd6 Kf6! 54.Kc7 Kxf5! 55.Kxb7 a5! 56.Kb6 Ke6! 57.Kxa5 Kd7! 58.Kb6 Kc8!=.

Karsten Müller

53.Kd6 Kf6! 54.Kc7 Kxf5! 55.Kb7 Ke6 56.Kxa7 Kd7! 57.Kxb6 Kc8! ½–½ The next position is more complicated. 76.02 L.Gutman (2464) – A.Schaffarczyk (2133) Sander Schloss Open, Werther 2007 At first sight it may seem that White can not win because of Black’s passed d-pawn. But another look reveals the undermining option b4-b5. Calculate this to the end! 42.Kc5 Ke5 43.b5 cxb5 44.g6! Kf6 45.Kxd5! White wins the race by one tempo. 45...b4 46.Kc4! b3 47.Kxb3! Kxg6 48.Kc4 Kf5 49.Kc5 Kg4 50.Kb6! Kxh4 51.Kxb7! Kg3 52.a6 h4 53.a7 h3 54.a8Q Kg2 54...h2 55.Kb6 Kf2 56.Qh1!+-–. 55.Qa2+ Kg1 56.Qb1+ Kg2 57.Qc2+ Kg1 58.Qd1+ 1–0 In the next position it is not even clear as to who is better.

76.03 Y.Pelletier (2589) – F.Vallejo Pons (2679) Bundesliga 2006-7, Baden Baden (14) 2007 Is Black’s outside passed pawn better than White’s kingside majority or vice versa? First find the candidates moves and then calculate White’s most promising option! 47.fxg6?! This leads directly to a draw. 47.f6!? would have given Pelletier excellent practical winning chances, but theoretically the position remains drawn, as the endgame tablebase confirms: 47...Kd6 ( 47...Kb6? is punished by the typical breakthrough: 48.e5! Kc6 49.e6!+– ) 48.Kxb5 Ke5! 49.Kc5 Kxe4! 50.Kd6 Kf3! 51. Ke7 Kg2! 52.Kxf7 Kxh2! 53.Kxg6 Kg3! 54.f7 h2! 55.f8Q h1Q! White has good practical winning chances, but the queen endgame is drawn with optimal play from both sides. 47.e5?! gxf5 48.e6! Kd6! 49.exf7! Ke7! 50.Kxb5 Kxf7 51.Kc4 Kg6 52.Kd3 Kxg5 53.Ke3 Kg4 54. Kf2 Kf4 55.Ke2! Ke4 56.Kf2! Kd3 57.Kf3! Kd2 58.Kf2! f4 59.Kf3 Ke1 60.Kxf4 Kf2 61.Ke4! Kg2 62.Ke3! Kxh2 63.Kf2!=. 47...fxg6! 48.e5 Kd5 49.Kxb5 Kxe5 50.Kc4 Kf4 51.Kd3 Kxg5 51...Kf3 52.Kd2 Kg2 53.Ke2 Kxh2 54.Kf2!=. 52.Ke3 Kg4 53.Kf2 Kf4 54.Kg1 g5 55.Kh1 g4 56.Kg1 Kf3 57.Kh1 Kf2 ½–½ In the final example you have to calculate very deeply. 76.04 B.Vuckovic (2551) – D.Pikula (2513) ch-SRB, Vrsac 2007 White won by simplifying into a pawn endgame. His final point is quite profound. 63.Rb6+ Kxa7 63...Kc7 64.Ka6+–. 64.Ra6+! Kb7 65.Rxa8! Kxa8 66.Kc6 Ka7 67. Kd6 Kb6 68.Ke7 Kc5 69.Kxf7 e5

69...Kd6 70.Kf6 e5 71.Kxg5+–. 70.Kf6 Kd4

Now White finally showed his point. 71.Kf5!! 1–0

Exercises (Solutions next month)

E76.01 A.Gasthofer (2453) – A.Berelovich (2556) 8th ch-Euro, Dresden 2007 Can Black save himself?

E76.02 S.Kartsev (2213) – A.Schaffarczyk (2133) Sander Schloss Open, Werther 2007 White to move and win.

E76.03 R.Akesson (2475) – M.Oleksienko (2541) 23rd Open, Cappelle la Grande 2007 Black to move and win.

E76.04 G.Flear (2480) – Ni Hua (2632) 4th Balagne Open, Calvi 2007 How did Ni Hua win the game relatively easily? Does 1...e6 win?

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The Rook Belongs Behind the Passed Pawn The German chess trainer and analyst Claus Dieter Meyer has analyzed the following struggle in detail. It sheds light on the case of rook plus three pawns vs. rook plus three pawns on one wing, when the attacker has an additional passed a-pawn that is protected from the side. He has kindly allowed me to use his insights. 77.01 G.Fish (2529) – V.Dinstuhl (2426) German Bundesliga 2007, Wattenscheid – Werder Bremen

This position is drawn, as Black’s rook is well placed.

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

40...Ra2!? 41.Ke3 Kf6 42.f3 Rg2 43.Kf4

43...Re2? A mistake, as White can now improve his rook to protect his passed pawn from the side. 43...Ra2 44. Ra6+ Kg7 draws. One source for this endgame is the excellent Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual (2nd edition, p.188-210) or Endgame Corner 30. 44.Ra6+ Kg7 44...Ke7 45.Rb6 Ra2 46.Rb3 Kf6 47.Re3 transposes to the game. 45.Rd6 Ra2 46.Rd3 Kf6 47.Re3 Ra1 48.Ke4? This violates the endgame principle do not hurry.

The preparatory 48.Rc3!? was called for, e.g. 48... Re1!. White is not allowed to transfer his king to the queenside so easily. Black wishes to block White’s safe setup a3, Rc3, f4, g3, h4, which would give the white king a free hand. A) 48...Ke6? 49.Ke4 (49.Kg5 Ke7 50.f4 Rb1 51. Kh6 Kf6 52.Rc6+ Kf5 53.Kg7 Rb7 (53...Rb3 54. Rc5+ Ke4 55.Re5+ Kd4 56.Kxf7 Rxg3 57.Rg5+–) 54.Rc5+ Ke4 55.a4 Rd7 56.a5 Kf3 (56...Ra7 57. a6) 57.Rc3+ Kg4 58.Kf6 Ra7 59.Ra3+–) 49...f5+ (49...Ra2 50.f4+–) 50.Kf4 Kf6 51.Rc6+ Kg7 52.Ra6 Kh6 53.a4 Rb1 54.a5 Rb4+ 55.Ke5 Rb3 56.f4 Rxg3 57.Rc6 Ra3 58.a6+–. B) 48...Ra2? is too slow, as White can now meet 49.Ke4 g5 with a check (for 49...Ke6 50. f4 Ra1 51.Kd4+– see the game.) 50.Rc6+ Kg7 51.hxg5 Rxa3 52.Rh6 Ra4+ 53.Ke3 Ra3+ (53...Ra5 54.f4 Ra3+ 55.Kf2 Ra2+ 56.Kg1 Rb2 57.Rxh5 Kg6 58.Rh6+ Kg7 (58...Kf5 59. Rf6+ Kg4 60.Rxf7 Kxg3 61.Kf1 Kf3 62.Ke1 Ke3 63.Kd1+–) 59.Rh2 Rb3 60.Kg2 Ra3 61. Kh3+–) 54.Kf2 Ra2+ 55.Kg1 f5 (55...Ra1+ 56.Kh2 Ra2+ 57.Kh3 Ra1 58.Rxh5 Kg6 59. Kg4) 56.f4+–. Now back to 48...Re1!: 49.a4 Ra1 50.Rc6+ (50.Rc4 Ra3 51.g4 (51.Ke4 g5! 52.hxg5 + (52.Rc6+ Kg7 53.hxg5 Rxa4+ 54.Ke3 h4=) 52... Kxg5 53.Rc5+ Kg6 54.a5 f5+!? 55.Kf4 (55.Kd4 f4 56.gxf4 Rxf3 and Black should be able to hold on.; 55.Kd5 f4 56.gxf4 Rxf3 57.Kc6 h4 58.a6 h3 59.Rg5+ Kf6 60.Rh5 Kg6 61.Rh4 Ra3 62.Kb7 Rb3+ 63.Kc7 Kf5=) 55...Ra4+ 56.Ke5 Ra3 57.Rc6 + Kf7 58.a6 Rxf3 59.Rc7+ Kg6 60.a7 Ra3 61.Rb7 Kg5 62.Rg7+ Kh6 63.Rb7 Kg5 64.Kd6 f4=) 51... Ra1 (51...hxg4 may also be sufficient: 52.fxg4 Ra1 The alternatives are insufficient: A) 52...Ke6? 53.Kg5 Ke7 54.h5+–. B) 52...Rh3? 53.a5 Rxh4 54.Ra4 Rh8 55.a6 Ra8 56.a7 Ke6 (56...g5+ 57.Ke4 Kg6 58.Ra6+ f6 59.Kd5+–) 57.Ra6+ Kd5 58.g5+–. 53.Re4 (53.Rb4 Ra2 54.Re4 Rf2+ 55.Ke3 Ra2 56.Kd3 g5 57.h5 Kg7 58.Rb4 Kh6=) 53... Rf1+ (53...g5+? 54.hxg5+ Kg6 55.Rb4 Rf1+ 56.Ke4 Kxg5 57.Kd5+–) 54.Ke3 Ra1 (54... Rd1? 55.Rb4 Ke7 56.h5 gxh5 57.gxh5 Rh1 58.Rb5 Rh3+ 59.Ke2 Rh2+ 60.Kf3 f6 61.a5 Ke6 62.a6 Ra2 63.Rb6+ Kf5 64.Ke3 Kg5 65.Kd4+–) 55.Kd3 g5 56.h5 Kg7 57.Rb4 Kh6 58. Kc4 f5! Counterplay is the order of the day, which is very typical for rook endgames! 59.Rb6+ (59.gxf5 g4 60.f6 (60.Kb5 Kxh5 61.a5 Kg5 62.f6 Kxf6 63. Rxg4 Ke6=) 60...Kxh5 61.Kb5 Kg5 62.a5 (62.f7 Rf1=) 62...Kxf6 63.Rxg4 Ke6=) 59...Kh7 (59...

Kg7? 60.Rg6+ (60.gxf5? Rxa4+ 61.Kd5 Kf7=; 60. h6+? Kh7 61.gxf5 Rxa4+ 62.Kd5 g4=) 60...Kf7 61.Kb5 Rb1+ 62.Ka5 fxg4 63.Rxg5 Rh1 64.Rxg4 Rxh5+ 65.Kb6+–) 60.gxf5 Rxa4+ 61.Kd5 Ra5+ 62.Ke6 g4 63.f6 Ra8 64.Rb7+ Kh6 65.Ke7 Kxh5 66.f7 g3 67.f8Q Rxf8 68.Kxf8 Kh4=) 52.g5+ (52. gxh5 gxh5 53.Rc6+ Kg7 54.Ra6 Ra3 55.Kg5 Rxf3 56.Ra5 Ra3 57.Kxh5 Kh7= must be drawn, as White’s winning potential is too reduced.) 52... Ke6 53.Ke4 (53.Rc6+ Kd5 54.Ra6 Rh1 55.Kg3 Rg1+ 56.Kh2 Ra1 57.a5 Ra2+ 58.Kg3 Ra1 59.Rf6 Rxa5 60.Rxf7 Ra6=) 53...Kd6 54.Kd4 Ra3 55.f4 Rh3 56.Ke4 Rxh4 57.a5 Rh1 58. Rd4+ Ke6 59.Ra4 Re1+ 60.Kf3 Rf1+ 61.Kg2 Rc1 62.a6 Rc8 63.Kg3 Ra8 64.a7 Kd5 65.f5 gxf5 66.Kf4 h4 67.Kxf5 h3 68.Kf6 h2 69.Rh4 Rxa7 70.Rxh2 Ke4!=) 50...Kg7 51.Rc4 51...f6 (51...Kf6 52.g4 hxg4 53.fxg4

53...Rf1+ (53...Rh1? 54.a5 Rxh4 55.a6 g5+ 56. Kg3 Rh8 57.Ra4 Ra8 58.a7+–) 54.Ke3 Ra1 55. Kd4 (55.Re4 Kg7 56.g5 (56.Kd3 f5=) 56...f5 57. Rb4 (57.gxf6+ Kxf6 58.Kd3 g5 59.hxg5+ Kxg5 60.Kc3 Kf5=) 57...Kg8 58.Kf4 Kf7 59.Ke5 Re1+ 60.Kd5 Ra1 61.Kc5 Ke6 62.Kb6 Ke5 63.a5 f4 64. a6 f3 65.Rb2 Kf4=) 55...Ke6

56.g5 now White has a safe setup on the fourth rank, but Black surprisingly seems to have enough resources to hold the balance: 56...Kd6 (56...f5? 57.gxf6 Kxf6 58.Kc5+–) 57.Kc3 Kd5 58.Rf4 Kc5 59.Kb3 Rb1+ 60.Ka3 Ra1+ 61.Kb2 Rh1

Black is so active that we cannot see how White will make progress.) 52.g4 hxg4 53.fxg4 Kf7 54. g5 Rh1 55.Ke3 Rh3+ 56.Kd2 fxg5 57.hxg5 Ke6 58.a5 Ra3 59.Rc5 Kd6 60.Rb5 Ra4 (60...Kc6? 61. Rb6+ Kc5 62.Rxg6+–) 61.Kc3 Kc6 62.Re5 (62. Rb6+ Kc5 63.Rxg6 Rxa5=) 62...Kd6 63.Kb3 Ra1 64.Rb5 Kc6 65.Rb6+ Kc5 66.Ra6 Rb1+ (66... Kb5? 67.Re6+–) 67.Kc3 Ra1=. 48...Rg1? As White wants to play f4 anyway, this wastes precious time. Black had to begin active counterplay immediately: 48...g5! 49.hxg5+ A) 49.Rb3 gxh4 50.gxh4 Rh1 51.Rb6+ (a) 51.f4 Rxh4 52.Rb6+ Kg7 53.Rb1 Rh3 54.Ra1 h4 55.a4 Rg3 56.a5 h3 57.a6 h2 58.Rh1 Ra3=) 51...Kg7 52. Rb4 Rxh4+ 53.Kf5 Rh3 54.Rf4 Rg3 55.a4 f6 56. Ke6 Rg1 57.Rxf6 h4=. B) 49.Kd4 gxh4 50.gxh4 Rh1 51.Re4 (51.Kc4?! Rxh4+ 52.Kb5 Rh2) 51...Ra1 52.Re3 Rh1=; 49... Kxg5 50.Kd4 f5 51.Rb3 (51.f4+ Kg4=) 51...f4 52. Rb5+ Kf6 53.gxf4 Rxa3=. 49.f4

White has reached his ideal setup and wins easily. 49...Ra1 49...Ke6 was more tenacious, but White should prevail in any case: 50.Kd4+ Kd6 51.Kc4 Kc6 52. Kb4+–. 50.Kd4 Kf5 51.Kc4 Kg4 52.Kb4 1–0

Exercises (Solutions next month)

E76.01 A.Gasthofer (2453) – A.Berelovich (2556) 8th ch-Euro, Dresden 2007 Black can draw by activating his king. 45...Kf6! 45...Bc7? 46.hxg4 hxg4 47.Ne3+–; 45...Ke6? 46. hxg4 hxg4 47.Ne3+–. 46.Nxe5 46.hxg4 hxg4 47.Ne3 Kg5=. 46...Kxe5 47.Kg2 Ke4 48.f4 gxf3+ 49.Kf2 h4 50.g4 Kf4 51.Ke1 Ke4 52.Kd2 Kf4 53.Ke1 Kg3 54.Kf1 Kf4 55.Kf2 Ke4 56.g5 Kf5 57.Kxf3 Kxg5 58.Ke4 Kg6 59.Kf4 Kg7 60.Kg5 Kh8 61.Kh6 ½–½

E76.02 S.Kartsev (2213) – A.Schaffarczyk (2133) Sander Schloss Open, Werther 2007 White wins by shouldering Black off. 50.Kd5! 50.f4? Kc6= spoils it. 50...Ka4 51.f4 b5 52.f5 b4 53.Kc4 b3 54.Kc3 1-0 Black resigned, as White queens with check: 54...Ka3 55.f6 b2 56.f7 b1Q 57.f8Q+ Ka4 (57...Ka2 58.Qa8#) 58.Qa8+ Kb5 59.Qb7++–.

E76.03 R.Akesson (2475) – M.Oleksienko (2541) 23rd Open, Cappelle la Grande 2007 Black must play ...h7-h5 at the proper moment. 47...Kc3! 47...h5? runs into 48.g4, which leads to a drawn queen endgame: 48...d4+ 49.Kd2 hxg4 50.h5 g3 51.h6 g2 52.h7 g1Q 53.h8Q Qf2+ 54.Kd1 Kc3 55. Qh3+ d3 56.Qc8+=.

48.Ke2 d4 0-1 White threw in the towel, because of 49.Kd1 h5 This finally seals White’s fate, as he must throw himself onto his own sword after 50.Kc1 d3 51. Kd1 d2 52.g3 Kd3 53.g4 hxg4 54.h5 g3 55.h6 g2 56.h7 g1Q#. Remember this technique to exploit a backward pawn.

E76.04 G.Flear (2480) – Ni Hua (2632) 4th Balagne Open, Calvi 2007 In the game Ni Hua chose the easy route to victory. 50...Ke6!? But 50...e6 does the job as well: 51.Kd4 Ke7 52. Ke5 Kf7 53.Kd4 Now 53...Ke8 54.Ke4 Kd7 tiptoeing around the mined e7-square (54...Ke7?! 55.Ke5 forces Black to repeat the position with 55...Kf7) 55.Ke5 Ke7 56.Kd4 Kd6 57.Ke4 e5 58.Kf5 Kd5 59.Kxg5 e4 60.Kf4 Kd4 61.g5 e3 62.g6 e2 63.g7 e1Q 64.g8Q Qf2+ 65.Kg4 Qg2+–+. 51.Kd4 Kd6 52.Ke4 e6 0–1

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The Passed Pawn is the Lord of the Endgame The German chess trainer Claus Dieter Meyer has made a deep investigation of Aronian – Anand, Linares 2007, which I dealt with in May 2007. This time I start a bit earlier and incorporate Meyer’s discoveries: L.Aronian (2744) - V.Anand (2779) Morelia/Linares 2007

Aronian unleashed a fantastic combination based on the strength of his passed d-pawn:

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

31.d6!? Nxe7 32.Bd7!!

Aronian’s point. 32.dxe7?! Be8 33.Be2 (33.Bd7 Bxd7 34.Rxd7 Re8 35.Rbxb7 Rxa4=) 33...Bxa4 34.Bc4+ Rxc4 35.Rd8+ Kf7 36.Rxa8 Kxe7 37. Rxb7+ Kd6

Black should be able to hold because of his activity. 32...Nc6? Black has to accept the sacrifice. If 32...Rcb8? (the only square along the back rank where the rook will not be attacked after White’s next move), then 33.dxe7 Be8 34.Be6+ Bf7

35.Rxb7!!+– (M. Marin in CBM 117). 32...Nd5?! 33.Bxc8 (33.Rxb7?? Rd8–+) 33...Rxc8 34.Rxb7 Kf8 (34...Be6? 35.d7 Rd8 36.a5+–) 35. Rdb1 Be6 36.Rb8 Ke8 37.a5±. 32...Ng6! 33.Bxc8 (33.h5?? Rd8) 33...Rxc8

34.Rxb7 (34.Rdc1? is met by 34...Rd8! 35.Rxb7 Bd5) 34...Rd8!

In all cases Black is alive and fighting, e.g. 35.a5 (35.h5 Nf8 36.h6 gxh6 37.a5 Bh5 38.Rd3 Nd7 39. a6 Kf7 40.a7 Ke6) 35...Bc4 36.Rc7 Be2 37.Rd2 (37.Rb1 Nf4 38.Rbb7 Nh3+ 39.Kg2 Nf4+ 40.Kg3 Nh5+ 41.Kg2 Nf4+ with perpetual check.) 37... Nf4 38.h3 Bb5 39.Kh2 Ne6 40.Rb7 Bc6 41.Rc7 Nd4 42.Rxd4 exd4 43.Rxc6 d3. 33.Rxb7 Nd4 34.Bxc8 Rxc8

Now we have reached the position from E74.02, the solution of which was published in June 2007. 35.Rdb1! “Threatening to exchange Black’s remaining rook, when the passed pawns would be impossible to stop.” (Marin) 35.d7? Rd8 36.a5 Kf8 37.a6 Bd5 38.Rc7 Ke7 plays into Black’s hands. 35...Rf8 35...Be6 36.d7 Rf8 37.Rc7 Ne2+ 38.Kf1 Nf4 39.Rd1 Bh3+ 40.Ke1 Rd8 41.Rc8 Ne6 42. Rd6 Kf7 43.Rxe6 Rxd7 44.Rec6+–. 35...Nf3+ 36.Kh1 Be6 37.d7 Rf8 38.Rc1 Nxh4 39.Rc8+–. 36.Rb8? Surprisingly this natural move is a mistake, as it allows Black to interpose a minor piece on b3 to take advantage of the large drawing margin of rook endgames. 36.d7 Be6 37.Rc7 and White must be winning because of his dangerous passed pawns. 36...Be8? Black must interfere on b3 to make White pay a price for the exchange of a pair of rooks: 36...Bb3 37.Rxf8+ Kxf8 38.a5 Ne2+ 39.Kf1 Nd4 40.a6 Bc4+ 41.Ke1 Bxa6 42.Rb8+ Kf7 43.d7 Nc6 44.Rb6 Ke7 45.Rxa6 Kxd7

Black can hope to construct a fortress. 36...Nb3 37.Rxf8+ (37.R1xb3 Bxb3 38.Rxb3 Kf7

Black can probably save the rook endgame: 39. Rb7+ Ke6 40.d7 Ra8 41.a5 Ke7 42.d8Q+ Kxd8 43.Rxg7 Rxa5 44.Rxh7 Ke8) 37...Kxf8 38.a5 Ke8 39.a6 Bd5 40.a7 Nd4 41.Rb8+ Kd7 42.a8Q Bxa8 43.Rxa8 Kxd6 and again it is not clear if White can storm Black’s solid fortress. 37.a5 Nf3+ After 37...Nc6, White can even sacrifice the exchange: 38.a6 Nxb8 39.Rxb8 Bc6 40.a7 Kf7 41. d7+. 38.Kf1 Nd2+ 39.Ke1 Nxb1 40.a6 Bc6 41.a7 “An incredible position. Black is lost in spite of being two whole pieces up.” (Marin) 41...Kf7 42.d7 Ke7 43.Rxf8 Kxd7 44.a8Q Bxa8 45.Rxa8 h5 45...Ke7 46.Ra7+ Kf8 47.Ra5 Nc3 48.f3 e4 49. Kd2 Nb1+ 50.Kc2 e3 51.Ra8+ Ke7 52.Ra7+ Kf8 53.Kd3+–. 46.Ra7+ Ke6 47.Rxg7 Kf5? 47...Nc3 48.Rh7+–. 48.Rg3 1–0

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The Activity of the Rook Oliver Reeh drew my attention to the following striking example. 79.01 M.Carlsen (2710) - A.Onischuk (2650) Biel 2007 The key to the position is that Black’s rooks are not performing up to their powerful potential and it is difficult to penetrate into the enemy position. But Fritz 10 has found an amazing way to activate Black’s rook. Can you find it before looking at the solution?

Endgame Corner

28...Bf8?

Karsten Müller

Onischuk wants to stop b4, but it is coming anyway. 28...Rh5!! was called for, followed by ... g5-g4, e.g. 29.Nb8 g5 30.Nc6 g4 31.Nxa7 gxh3 32.gxh3 Rxh3 33.Kg2 Rh5 and Black’s counterplay is sufficient to draw. 29.b4! Now the activation of White’s rook decides the issue. 29...Bxb4 30.a4 Rb7 31.Rc1! Nd5 32.Rb1

Black cannot extricate himself from the pin without losing material. Play through and download the games from ChessCafe.com in the DGT Game Viewer. The Complete DGT Product Line

32...f5 33.a5 Kg7 34.Ne5 f4 35.exf4 e3 36.fxe3 Nxe3+ 37.Kg1 Nd5 38.Kh1 Rb5 39.Nc6 1–0 In the following example, the German Under-12 Junior Champion uses his active rooks to draw a difficult position.

79.02 J.Bolacky (2258) - Se.Kaphle (2041) Czech Open A Pardubice 2007 32...Ra2! 33.Rxa5 Rb2 Black must not exchange his rook of course. 34.Rh4+? The post mortem analysis revealed that temporary passivity with 34.Ra1 was the best chance to fight for a win, e.g. 34...Re8 35.Kh1 Ra2 36.Rg1 Re6 37.h4

White retains real winning chances. 34.Rxc6? Rd8 35.h4 Rdd2 36.Kh2 Rxg2+ 37.Kh3 Kh5 38.Ra7 h6 39.Rh7 Rh2+ 40.Kg3 Rbg2+ 41. Kf4 Re2 42.Kg3 Rhg2+ 43.Kf4 Rh2= 34...Kg5 35.Rd4 Now it is more a less a forced draw. But Black’s counterplay already gives him the draw, e.g. 35. Rxh7 Re8 36.Ra1 Ree2 37.g3 Rg2+ 38.Kh1 Rgf2 39.f4+ Kg4 40.Rh6 Kf3=. 35...Re8 36.f4+ 36.h4+ Kh5 37.Rc5 Ree2 38.Rg4 Rec2 39.Kh2 Rxc3=. 36...Kh4 37.Re5 Ra8 38.Ra5 Re8 39.Re5 Ra8 ½–½ The final example is from Adrian Mikhalchishin’s excellent ChessBase DVD Secret Weapons of the Champions. 79.03 Y.Razuvaev - N.Kirov Bulgaria 1981 White’s mighty rook plays cat and mouse with Black’s minor pieces. 45.h4 Ke6 45...Bf2? 46.Rf8++–. 46.h5 Kf7 46...gxh5? is met by 47.Rh8+–. 47.Kd5 The beautiful breakthrough 47.g5!? probably wins as well: 47...Kg7 (47...gxh5 48.gxh6 Kg6 49.Re8!

White’s rook dominates the show, e.g. 49...Bc5 (49...Bf2? 50.Re6+ Kh7 51.Kf5 h4 52.Kg5 h3 53. Re7+ Kg8 54.h7+ Kh8 55.Kg6+–) 50.Re6+ Kh7 51.Re5 Nb3 52.Kd5!

White should be winning, but I am not completely sure.) 48.Rb8 (48.Re8!?) 48...Bf2 49.Kf3 Be1 50. Ke2 Bg3 51.Rb6 gxh5 52.gxh6+ Kh7 53.Rb5 Nc6 54.Rxh5 Bf4 55.Kd3 Bxh6 56.Rc5

White mates in sixty-two moves according to the six-man tablebase. Chess really is an amazingly deep game! 47...gxh5 48.gxh5 Kf6 49.Rb8 Be3 White also retains good winning chances after 49... Bc7!? 50.Rb1 (50.Re8? Kg5 51.Rc8 Bf4 52.Rc5 Bd2=) 50...Ke7 (50...Bf4 51.Ke4) 51.Kc5 Kd7 52. Rd1+ Kc8 53.Kb5. 50.Ke4 Bd2 51.Rb2 Be1 52.Re2 Bb4 52...Bh4 53.Rb2 Kf7 (53...Ke7 54.Rb5 Nc4 55.Kd5 Ne3+ 56.Kc6 Kf6 57.a5 Nc4 58.a6 Bf2 59.Rc5+–) 54.Rb6 Kg7 55.Rg6+ Kh7 56.Kd5 Be7 57.Rb6 Bg5 58.Ra6 Bd2 59.Kc5 Kg7 60. Kb5 Nb3 61.Rd6 Be3 62.Rd3+–. 53.Rg2 Kf7 53...Ke7 54.Rg6 Bd2 55.Kd3 Bg5 56.Ra6 Nb3 57.Kc4 Nd2+ 58.Kd5 Kd7 59.Rg6 Be3 60. Rc6+–. 54.Rg6 Bd2 55.Rd6

Forcing the bishop away from one of its duties. 55...Bg5 55...Nb3 56.Kd3 Nc5+ (56...Bg5 57.Rd5 Ke6 58. Rb5 Nc1+ 59.Kc4+–) 57.Kc4 Be3 58.a5 Ne4 59. Rg6 Nf6 60.Kd3

White wins the h6-pawn, as 60...Nxh5 is refuted by 61.Kxe3 Kxg6 62.a6+–. 56.Rd5 Nc6 56...Nc4 57.a5 Ke6 58.a6 Be3 59.Rd8 Ba7 60.Re8 + Kf6 61.Rg8 Ne5 62.Rf8+ Nf7 63.Kd5 Bf2 64. Re8 Ng5 65.Rg8 Nf7 66.Rg6+ Kf5 67.Re6 Kg5 68.Re7 Nd8 69.Rd7 Bb6 70.Rd6+–. 57.a5 Ke6 58.a6 Be3 58...Bh4 59.Rb5 Kd6 60.Rb7 Be7 61.a7 Nxa7 62.Rxa7 Bg5 63.Kf5 Bc1 64.Rg7 Bd2 65. Rg2 Bc1 66.Rg1 Be3 67.Rd1++–. 59.Rb5 This forces the bishop to make a decision that overloads the defense. 59...Bg1?! 59...Bg5?! 60.Rc5 Na7 61.Rc7 Nb5 62.Rc6+ Kd7 63.Rc5 Na7 (63...Nd6+ 64.Kd3 Nc8 65.Rxg5 hxg5 66.h6+–) 64.Rxg5 hxg5 65.h6+–. 59...Bf2 was the most tenacious, e.g. 60.Rb2 Bh4 61.Rb7 Bg5 62.Rg7 Bc1 63.Rg6+ Kd7 64.Rg2 Ba3 65.Rg7+ Kc8 66.Rg6 Kc7 67.Rxh6+–. 60.Rb1 The immediate 60.Rb7 was possible as well. 60...Bf2 61.Rb2 Bc5 62.Rb7 Na7 62...Ne7 63.a7 Bxa7 64.Rxa7 Kf6 65.Ra5+–. 63.Rh7 The h-pawn finally falls prey to White’s rook. 63...Kf6 64.Kf4 64.Rxh6+ Kg5 65.Rh7 Nb5 66.Kd3+–. 64...Bd6+ 65.Kg4 Bc5 66.Rxh6+ Ke5 66...Kg7 67.Rg6+ Kh7 68.Re6 Bf8 69.h6+–. 67.Rg6 1–0

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Not all Rook Endgames are Drawn Dr. Tarrasch’s old aphorism that all rook endgames are drawn is certainly true in many respects, but sometimes even a small advantage in activity is decisive: 80.01 A.Stickler (2265) – W.Uhlmann (2500) German Bundesliga 1991 This position just must be drawn, if White keeps his passed pawns on the queenside: 48.Rxf7?

Endgame Corner

48.b5 Kd3 (48...d3 49.Ke1=, as 49...Rxg2? even loses: 50.a7 Ra2 51.Ra6+–) 49.Rf3+ Kc4 50.Rxg3.

Karsten Müller

48...Rxa6 49.Re7+?! This check just wastes time as it activates Black’s king even more. But White was lost anyway: 49. b5 Ra1+ 50.Ke2 d3+ 51.Kd2 Ra2+ 52.Kd1 (52. Kc3 Rc2+ 53.Kb3 Rxg2 54.Re7+ Kf5 55.Kc3 d2 56.Kc2 Rf2 57.b6 g2 58.Rg7 d1Q+ 59. Kxd1 Rf1+–+) 52...Rxg2 53.b6 Rb2 54.b7

Now Black uses an old trick to win the rook: 54... g2 55.Rg7 Rxb7 56.Rxg2 Rb1+ 57.Kd2 Rb2+–+. 49...Kd3 50.Re1 Kc2 51.Re2+ Kc3 52.b5 Ra1+ and White resigned because of 53.Re1 Rxe1+ 54. Kxe1 Kc2 55.b6 d3 56.b7 d2+ 57.Ke2 d1Q+–+. Play through and download the games from ChessCafe.com in the DGT Game Viewer. The Complete DGT Product Line

80.02 P.Haba – D.Baramidze Nürnberg 2007

Black’s small army is so active that he is winning: 1...Rc1! 2.Re1 2.Ra2 e3+ 3.Ke2 Ke4 4.a5 Rg1 5.Ra4+ Kf5 6.a6 Rxg2+ 7.Kd3 Rd2+ 8.Kc3 Rd8 9.a7

Black wins the race with 9...e2 10.a8Q e1Q+–+. 2.Rb2 e3+ 3.Ke2 Rg1 4.Kd3 Kg4

Again Black prevails in the ensuing races, e.g. 5. a5 (5.Ra2 Kg3 6.a5 Rxg2 7.Rxg2+ Kxg2 8.a6 Kf2 9.a7 e2 10.a8Q e1Q–+) 5...Ra1 6.Rb5 Kg3 7.Rf5 Ra2 8.Rg5+ Kf2 9.Rf5 Ra4 10.a6 e2–+; 2.g3 f3 3.Ra2 (3.Re1 Rc2+ 4.Ke3 Ra2 5.g4+ Kxg4 6.Kxe4 Re2+–+) 3...Kg4 4.a5

Now 4...Rc3 seals White’s fate: 5.a6 e3+ 6.Kg1 Kxg3 7.Ra1 e2 8.a7 Rd3 9.a8Q Rd1+ 10.Rxd1 exd1Q#. 2.g4+ Ke5 3.Re1 (3.g5 f3 4.Re1 Rc2+ 5.Ke3 Rc3 + 6.Kd2 Ra3 7.g6 Rxa4 8.g7 Ra2+ 9.Ke3 Rg2 10. g8Q Rxg8 11.Rh1 Rf8 12.Rh5+ Ke6 13.Rh6+ Kf5 14.Rh1 Kg4–+) 3...e3+ 4.Kf1 Rc2 5.Re2 Rxe2 6. Kxe2 Ke4 7.g5 f3+ 8.Ke1 Kd3 9.g6 e2 10.g7 Ke3 11.g8Q f2#. 2.a5?! allows Black to execute his threat: 2...e3+ 3. Kf3 Rf1+ 4.Rf2 Rxf2#.

2...Rc2+?! 2...e3+ 3.Kf1 Rc2 White’s king is too passive: 4.Re2 (4.Ra1 f3 5. gxf3 Kf4 6.a5 Kxf3 7.a6 Rh2 8.Kg1 Rg2+ 9.Kh1 e2 10.a7 Rg8–+; 4.a5 Ke4 5.Re2 Rc5 6.Ra2 Rc1+ 7.Ke2 Rg1 8.Ra4+ Kf5 9.Kf3 Rf1+ 10.Ke2 Rf2+ 11.Kd3 Rxg2 12.a6 Rd2+–+; 4.Rb1 Rf2+ 5.Kg1 f3 6.gxf3 Kf4 7.Rb8 Kxf3 8.Rf8+ Ke2 9.Rb8 Rf5 10.Rg8 Ra5 11.Rg2+ Kf3 12.Ra2 Rg5+ 13.Kf1 Rc5–+) 4...Rc4 5.Rb2 (5.a5 Ke4 6.Ra2 Rc1+ 7. Ke2 Rg1 8.Ra4+ Kf5–+; 5.Ra2 Rc1+ 6.Ke2 Ke4 7. a5 Rg1–+) 5...Rc1+ 6.Ke2 Rg1 7.Kd3 Kg4 8.a5 Kg3 9.a6 Ra1–+. 3.Re2 e3+? Now White can escape. 3...Rc1 was called for. 4.Kf3 Rc1 5.g3! This destroys the mating net. Not 5.g4+? Ke5 6.

Rb2 Rg1 7.Rb5+ Kd4 8.Rb2 Rf1+ 9.Kg2 Rd1 10. Kf3 Kc3 11.Rh2 (11.Kxf4 Kxb2 12.Kxe3 Rg1 13. Kf4 Kc3 14.g5 Kd4 15.Kf5 Kd5 16.Kf6 Kd6 17. g6 Rf1+–+) 11...Rd2 12.Rh3 Rf2+ 13.Ke4 Kd2 14. Rh1 e2 15.Ra1 f3–+. 5...Rf1+ 6.Kg2 Ra1 7.Kf3 7.gxf4? Kxf4 8.a5

Black has a study like win: 8...Ke4!! (8...Rxa5? 9. Rb2 Ke4 10.Kf1 Kd3 11.Rb3+ Kd2 12.Rb2+ Kc3 13.Rb8=) 9.Rb2 Kd3 10.Rb3+ Kd2 11.Kf3 Rf1+ 12.Ke4 e2 13.Rb2+ Kd1 14.Kd4 Rf5 15.Rb1+ Kc2 16.Ra1 Rxa5 17.Rxa5 e1Q–+. 7...Rh1 8.gxf4 Rh3+ 9.Kg2 Kg4 10.a5 Rg3+ 11. Kh2 Kxf4 12.a6 Rg8 13.a7 Kf3 14.Ra2 e2

15.Ra3+! Precision to the end. 15...Kf4 15...Kf2 16.a8Q Rxa8 17.Rxa8 e1Q 18.Rf8+ Ke2 19.Re8+=. 16.Ra4+ ½–½

Exercises (Solutions next month)

E80.01 B.Itkis (2429) – G.Szabo (2512) XXII Felix Cup Felix Spa 2007 How did Szabo save himself?

E80.02 M.Bijaoui (2388) – A.Payen (2378) TCh-FRA Top 16 Gonfreville l’Orcher 2007 White to move and draw.

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Clash of the Computer Titans The computer programs Rybka and Zappa played a match in Mexico City alongside the human world championship in September 2007. It was won by Zappa 4½-3½. I want to look at two instructive endgames that show fortresses are still a difficult theme for computers (and humans too, of course). 81.01 Rybka - Zappa Clash of the Computer Titans, Mexico City 2007

57...Be1?!

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

As fighting against the bishop-pair is always difficult, I prefer the exchange: 57...Bxe5 58.Kxe5 Bc2 59.Bd5 Kg7 60.g3 Bd3 61.f4 gxf4 62.gxf4 Bf1 63.h4 Bh3 64.Be6 (64.f5 Bxf5 65.Kxf5 Kh8 is an immediate draw of course.) 64...Bf1 65.f5 Bd3 66.f6+ Kf8

White cannot penetrate into Black’s camp. 58.g4 Bc2 58...Bc8? 59.Kd6 Bb7 (59...Ba5 60.Ke7 Bb4+ 61. Ke8 h5 62.Bd3+ Kh6 63.Kf7+–) 60.Ke6 h5 (60... Bxf3? 61.Bd3+ Be4 62.Bxe4#) 61.Bd3+ Kh6 62. Be4 Ba6 63.Kf6 Play through and download the games from ChessCafe.com in the DGT Game Viewer. The Complete DGT Product Line

Now White’s bishops control better diagonals than Black’s. This makes the difference to the game and White wins, e.g. 63...Bf1 A) 63...hxg4 64.hxg4 Bc4 (64...Bb5 65.Bd5 Be8 66.Ke7 Bg6 67.Kf8+–) 65.Bd6 Bc3+ 66.Kf5 Bd2 67.Bf8+ Kh7 68.Kf6+ Kg8 69.Bh6+–. B) 63...Bc4 64.Bd6 Bc3+ 65.Kf5 Bd2 66.Bf8+ Kh7 67.Kf6+ Kg8 68.Bh6+–; 64.Bd5 Bxh3 65. Be6 hxg4 66.fxg4 Bg2 (66...Bxg4 67.Bxg4 Bb4 68.Kf7 Bc5 69.Bg7+ Kh7 70.Bf5#) 67.Kf7 Be4 68.Kg8 Bh7+ 69.Kh8 Bb4 70.Bg7+ Kg6 71.Bf5++–.

59.Ke6 h5 60.Bd5 hxg4 61.hxg4 Ba4 62.Be4+ Kh6 63.Kf6 Bb4 64.f4

64...Bd2! The only defense against the mating attack. 64... gxf4?? 65.Bxf4#. 65.Bg6 65.f5? Bd1 66.Ke7 Bxg4 67.f6 Bh5=; 65.Bf3 Bb5 (65...Bxf4? 66.Bxf4 gxf4 67.g5+ Kh7 68.g6+ Kh6 69.Bd5 Bc2 70.g7 Bh7 71.Kf7 Kg5 72.Be4+–) 66. f5 Bb4

And I could not find a win for White. 65...Bb3 66.f5 Bb4!

Black’s bishops are very well placed and White must regroup. 67.Bf7 Bc2 68.Bd4 Bd1 69.Bh5 Bb3 70.Ke5 White’s bishop h5 can not break free, e.g. 70.Bf7 Bd1 71.Bg6 Bf3 72.Ke6 Be2 73.Kf7 Bc4+ 74.Ke8 Bb5+ 75.Kd8 Ba5+ 76.Kc8 Be2 and 77.Bh5 is forced. 70...Bc4 71.f6 Ba3 72.Bb6 Bb2+ 73.Kf5 Bd3+ 74. Ke6 Bc4+ 75.Ke7 Ba3+ 76.Kd7 Bb5+

The immediate 76...Kh7!? comes strongly into consideration: 77.Be3 (77.Bc7 Kg8 78.Bd6 Bxd6 79.Kxd6 Kf8 80.Bg6 Be2 81.Bf5 Kf7 82.Ke5 Bd1 83.Be6+ Kg6 84.f7 Kg7 85.Kf5 Be2 86.Kxg5 Bd1= White can not break the blockade.) 77...Kh6 78. Kc6 Bb2 79.Kc5 Bb3 80.Bd4 Ba3+ 81.Kb6 Bd1 82.Kc7 Kh7

Black seems to be defending, e.g. 83.f7 (83.Kd8 Ba4 84.Be5 Kg8) 83...Ba4 84.Be5 Bf8. 77.Ke6

77...Bc4+? Drives White’s king to f5, where it wants to go anyway. The last chance was 77...Kh7!, when I could not find a win because of the many fortresses lurking about, e.g. 78.Kf5 (78.Be3 Kh6 79.Kd5 Bd7 80.Bb6 Bf8 81.Bd8 Kh7 82.Be7 Kg8 83.Kd6 Bc8)

78...Bd3+ 79.Kxg5 Bc1+ 80.Kh4 Kh6 81.Bd8 Bc4 82.Be7 Bg5+ 83.Kg3 Kh7

And in both cases the defense seems to hold. 78.Kf5 Bd3+ 78...Ba6 79.Bd8 Bc8+ 80.Ke5 Bb2+ 81.Kd5 Kh7 82.Be7+–. 79.Ke5 Bb2+ 79...Bc4 80.Bd8 Bb2+ 81.Kf5 Bd3+ 82.Ke6 Bc4+ 83.Ke7 Ba3+ 84.Kd7 Bb5+ 85.Kc8 Ba6+ 86.Kc7 Bb4 87.Be7 Ba5+ 88.Kd6 Bc8 89.Kc5+–.

79...Kh7 80.Be3 Kh6 (80...Bb2+ 81.Ke6 Bc4+ 82.Kf5 Bc3 83.Bxg5 Bd3+ 84.Ke6 Bc4+ 85. Ke7 Bb4+ 86.Ke8 Bb5+ 87.Kd8 Bc3 88.f7 Ba5+ 89.Ke7 Bb4+ 90.Kf6 Bc3+ 91.Ke6 Bc4+ 92.Kd7 Bb5+ 93.Kc8 Bb4 94.Bd2 Ba3 95.Kd8 Bc5 96.g5 Bd3 97.Bf4 Bb4 98.Kd7 Kg7 99. Bd6+–) 81.Kd5 Be2 82.Bb6 Bd1 83.Bd8 Bb3+ 84.Ke5 Bc1 (84...Bb2+ 85.Kf5 Bc2+ 86. Ke6 Bb3+ 87.Ke7 Ba3+ 88.Kd7+–) 85.Be7 Bf4+ 86.Ke4 Bc2+ 87.Kd4+–. 80.Bd4 Ba3 81.Kd5

81...Kh7 Now the retreat comes too late to construct a fortress. But the alternatives do not help either: 81...Be2 82.Be5 the immediate (82.Bc5?

This is refuted by 82...Bxg4 83.Bxg4 Bxc5 84. Kxc5 Kg6=) 82...Kh7 83.Bd6 Bc4+ 84.Kc6 Bb2 85.f7 Bxf7 86.Bxf7 Kg7 87.Bc4 Kf6 88.Kd5+–. 81...Bg6 82.Bxg6 Kxg6 83.Ke6 Bb4 84.f7 Bf8 85. Bf6 Ba3 86.Be7+–. 82.Be3 Bc2 82...Kh6 83.Bc5 Bxc5 (83...Bb2 84.f7+–) 84. Kxc5 Be2 85.Kd6 Bxg4 86.Bxg4 Kg6 87.Ke7+–.

82...Be2 83.Bxg5 Kg8 84.Bh6 Kh7 85.Bf4 Kg8 86.Ke6 Bc4+ 87.Kd7 Bb5+ 88.Ke6 Bc4+ 89.Ke5 Be2 90.Kd5 Bd1 91.Ke6 Bb3+ 92.Kd7 Bd1 93.Ke8 Ba4+ 94.Kd8 Bd1 95.Bh6 Kh7 96.Bg5 Bb4 97.f7 Ba5+ 98.Kc8 Bb4 99.Bf6 Be2 100.Bc3 Bc5 101.Kd8 Bd1 102.Bf6 Be2 103.Be7+–. 83.Bxg5 Bb3+ 84.Ke5 Bd1 85.Ke6 Bb3+ 86.Kd7 Ba4+ 86...Kg8 87.Bf4 Bd1 88.Ke8 Ba4+ 89.Kd8 Bd1 90.Bh6 Kh7 91.Bg5 Bf8 92.Ke8 Bc5 93.f7 Ba4+ 94.Kd8 Bb6+ 95.Ke7 Bc5+ 96.Kf6 Bd4+ 97.Ke6 Bb3+ 98.Kd7 Ba4+ 99.Kd6 Bc3 100.Be7+–. 87.Kd8 Bb4 88.f7 Ba5+ 89.Ke7 Bb4+ 90.Ke6 Bb3+ 91.Kf6 Bc3+ 92.Kf5! The king heads for c8 to escape the checks. 92...Bc2+ 93.Ke6 Bb3+ 94.Kd7 Ba4+ 95.Kc8 Bb4 96.Bd2 Bc5 97.g5 Bc2 98.Kd7 Ba4+ 99. Kd8 Bc2 100.Bf4 Kg7 101.Be5+ Kh7 102.Bf6 Bg6 103.Be7 Bb6+ 104.Kd7 Bxf7 105.Bxf7 Kg7 106.Ke6 Bd4 107.Be8 Bb2 108.Bf6+ Kf8 109. Bxb2 Kxe8 110.g6 1–0 In the next example Rybka fails to defend a fortress: 81.02 Rybka - Zappa Clash of the Computer Titans, Mexico City 2007 The pawnless endgame two rooks + bishop vs. queen is won, so White must use the pawns. 128.Qe8? This allows Black to establish a firm blockade on the light squares. After 128.Qg5, White can either achieve e5-e6 or give perpetual check: 128...Be6 (128...Rg6 129.Qh4+ Kg7 130.Ke4 Ra7 (130...

Bd1 131.e6=) 131.Qd8 Bh3 132.e6=) 129.Kc3 Rg7 (129...Rxd5 130.Qe7+ Kh8 131.Qf8+ Kh7 132.Qe7+ Kg8 133.Qg5+=) 130.Qd8 Rh3+ 131. Kd4 Rd7

132.Qe8 Rxd5+ 133.Ke4 Rh4+ 134.Kf3=. 128...Kg7 129.Qb8 Be6 130.d6 Rh4+ 131.Ke3 Kg6

White has no real activity left, so Black will win in the long run. 132.Qf8 132.Qb1+ Bf5 133.Qb5 (133.Qg1+ Rg4 134.Qa1 Rh7 135.Qa6 Rh3+ 136.Kf2 Rf4+ 137.Kg2 Bd3 138.d7+ Bxa6 139.d8Q Bf1+ 140.Kg1 Rg3+–+) 133...Ra7 134.Qd5 Ra3+ 135.Kf2 Rh2+ 136.Kg1 Rc2 137.Qd4 Rb3–+. 132.Qa8 Rf7 133.Qg2+ (133.Qd8 Rb4 134.Qh8 Kg5 135.Qg8+ Kf5 136.Qh8 Rb3+ 137.Kd4 Kg4–+) 133...Rg4 134.Qa8 Kf5 135.Qh8 Rfg7 136.Qh5+ R4g5 137.Qh2 Rg3+ 138.Kd4 R7g4+ 139.Kc5 Rc3+ 140.Kb6 Rb4+ 141.Ka5 Rb8 142.Qh7+ Kf4 143.Qh4+ Ke3–+.

132...Rf7 133.Qd8 Rb4 134.Qe8 Kf5 135.Qh8 Rb3+ 136.Kd4 Kg4 137.Qg8+ Kf3 138. Qa8+ Kg3 139.Qg8+ Kf2 140.Qg5 Rb4+ 141.Kc5 Rff4 White first loses the pawns and then the game. 142.d7 Bxd7 143.Qh5 Rfc4+ 144.Kd6 Rd4+ 145. Ke7 Bg4 146.Qh2+ Kf3 147.e6 Re4 148.Qh1+ Kf4 149.Qc1+ Kf5 150.Qf1+ Ke5 151.Qa1+ Rbd4 152.Qg1 Bxe6 153.Qg5+ Bf5 154.Qg3+ Kd5+ 155.Kf6 Rf4 156.Qb3+ Kc6 157.Kg5 Bd7 158.Qc2+ Rc4 159.Qg2+ Kc5 160.Qg1+ Kd5 161.Qg2+ Ke6 162.Qg3 Rf8 163.Qh3+ Ke7 164. Qe3+ Kf7 165.Qf2+ Kg8 166.Qa2 Be6 167.Qa1 Rg4+ 168.Kh6 Rc8 169.Qa6 Bd7 170.Qa2+ Rcc4 171.Qa7 Rcd4 172.Qa2+ Kf8 173.Qb3 Ke7 174.Qa3+ Rb4 175.Qe3+ Kf6 176.Qf3+ Rgf4 177.Qc3+ Rbd4 178.Qf3 Rxf3 179.Kh7 Bf5 + 180.Kh8 Rd8# 0–1 Solutions to last month's exercises

E80.01 B.Itkis (2429) – G.Szabo (2512) XXII Felix Cup Felix Spa 2007 Black employed Vancura’s defensive method to save the draw: 53...Kg7!? 53...Ke7? loses to the following old trick: 54.a7 Kd7 55.Rh8 Rxa7 56. Rh7++–. 54.Kd2 Rf3 55.Kc2 Rf6

Black has reached the standard Vancura setup and draws easily “by the book.” 56.Kb3 Rf3+ 57.Kc4 Rf4+ 58.Kd5 Rf5+ 59.Ke4 Rf6 60.Ke5 Rb6 61. Ra7+ Kg6 62.Kd5 Rf6 ½–½

E80.02 M.Bijaoui (2388) – A.Payen (2378) TCh-FRA Top 16 Gonfreville l’Orcher 2007 White’s king must join the forces that imprison Black’s monarch. 71.Rf2+? 71.Kf2 Ra8 (71...Ra2 + 72.Kf3 Rg2 73.Ra1 Rg1 74.Ra8 Rf1+ 75.Ke2 Rf7 76.Rg8=) 72.Kf3 Rf8+ 73.Ke2 Rxf1 74.Kxf1 Kg3 75.Kg1=. 71...Kg3 72.Rf8 h2 73.Rg8+ Kh3 74.Kf2 74.Rh8+ Kg2 75.Rg8+ Rg3–+. 74...Ra2+ 75.Ke1 0–1

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Minor Pieces Fight I begin with a pair of knight endgames to illustrate Botvinnik’s rule that “a knight ending is really a pawn ending.” In both cases the importance of an outside passed pawn and zugzwang play a role. 82.01 R.Klipper (2026) – S.Aflalo (1954) TCh-FRA Top 16 Gonfreville l’Orcher 2007 28...Rd6? Black should keep the rooks on the board and search for activity: 28...Ne2!? 29.Nc4 Rb4 30.Ne5 Kd6 31.Nf7+ Kc6 32.Nxh6 Rb7 and Black’s active pieces cannot be defeated. One possible finish is the repetition after 33.Re1 Nd4 34.Rc1 Rb3+ 35.Ka2 Rb4=.

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

29.Rb1 Rd3+?! Another step in the wrong direction. 30.Rb3 Rxb3+? 31.Kxb3 Kd7 32.Kc4 Kc6 33.g3 Ne2 34.Ng4 Nd4 35.Ne5+ Kb6 36.f4 gxf4 37.gxf4 g5 38.fxg5 hxg5

39.a5+?! 39.h3! was better, utilizing the sharp endgame weapon of zugzwang, e.g. 39... Nc2 (39...Ne2 40.Nf3+–) 40.a5+ Kxa5 41.Kxc5+–. Play through and download the games from ChessCafe.com in the DGT Game Viewer.

39...Kxa5 40.Kxc5 Nb3+ 40...Nb5 41.Nc6+ Ka6 42.Nd4 Nc3 43. e5 Kb7 44.Kd6+–.

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41.Kc4 Nd2+ 41...Nc1 42.Kc5 Nb3+ (42...Ne2 43.Kd6 Nf4 44.Nf7 g4 45.Nh6+–) 43.

Kd6 Kb4 44.Kxe6 Kc5 45.Kf5 Nd2 46.Nf7+–. 42.Kd3

42...Nf1 Now the knight is dominated and lost. 1) 42...Nb3!? was called for, when it is astonishingly difficult to demonstrate the win: 43.Nf7 g4

Now which pawn should be attacked? Right: the center pawn: 44.Ng5! After 44.Ne5?, Black might be able to save himself, but I am not completely sure: a) 44...Kb5 45.Nxg4 Kc6 46.h4 Kd6 47. h5 Nc5+ 48.Ke3 (48.Kd4 e5+ 49.Ke3 Ne6 50.h6 Ng5) 48...Ke7. b) 44...e5 (44...Nc5+ 45.Kd4 Kb6 (45...Kb4 46.Ke5 Kc4 47.Nxe6 Nb3 48.Kf5 Nd2 49.Nf4 Nf1 50.e5 g3 51.h4+–) 46.Ke5 Nb3 47.Kxe6 Nd2 48. e5 Nf3 49.Kf6 Nxh2 50.e6 g3 51.e7 g2 52.Nh3 Ng4+ 53.Kg7+–) 45.Ke3 Nc5 (45...Nd4 46.Kf2 Kb5 47.Kg3 Kc5 48.Kxg4 Kd6 49.h4 Ke7 50.Nf3 +–) 46.Kf2 Nd7 47.Nh7 Nc5 48.Nf6 Kb6 49.Kg3 Kc7 50.Kxg4 Kd6 51. Kf5+–.

2) 42...Nb1 43.Nf3 g4 44.Ne5 Kb6 (44...Na3 45.Nc4++–) 45.Nxg4 Kc7 46.h4 Kd8 47.Ne5 Na3 48.Nc6+ Ke8 49.Nd4 Kf7 Now White wins the dominated knight with 50.Kc3, but not 50.e5? Kg6! and Black escapes: 51.Nxe6 Kf5 52.h5 Nb5 (52...Kxe6? 53.h6+–) 53.h6 (53.Nd4+ Kxe5 54.Nxb5 Kf5=) 53...Kg6 54.Nd4

Nc7 55.Nf5 Ne6=) 50...Kg6 51.Kb3 Nb1 52.Nf3+–. 43.Ng4 Kb5 44.Ke2 Nxh2 44...Kc4 45.Kxf1 Kd4 46.Nf2 Ke3 47. Kg2 Kf4 48.Nh3+ Kg4 49.Nxg5 Kxg5 50.Kg3 e5 51.h4+ Kh5 52.Kh3 Kh6 53.Kg4 Kg6 54.h5+ Kf6 55.Kh4+–. 45.Nxh2 Kc5 46.Ke3 Kc4 47.Nf3 g4 48.Ne5+ Kc5 49.Nxg4 Kc4 50. Kf4 Kd4 51.Ne5 Kc5 52.Nf7 Kc6 53.Ke5 Kd7 54.Ng5 Ke7 55.Nxe6 Ke8 56.Kd6 Kf7 57.Nc7 1–0 In the second example an outside passed rook’s pawn illustrates how dangerous it is against a knight. 82.02 J.Rowson (2594) – L.Ortega (2425) Capo d’Orso Porto Mannu 2007

38...b5! 38...Na3? 39.Nxb6 Nc4 40.Nxc4 dxc4 41.Ke3 Kd5 42.g4 c3 43.Kd3 Ke5 44. Kxc3 Kf4 45.Kc4 Kxf3 46.Kb5=. 39.axb5 a4 40.b6 Nb4 41.b7

41...Na6! The correct retreat as 41...Nc6? allows White’s knight to return with tempo: 42. Na7 Nb8 43.Nb5 Kd7 44.Ke3 Kc6 45. Nc3 a3 46.Kd4 Na6 47.Na2=. 42.Na7 Kd7 43.Nb5 Kc6 44.Nd4+ Kxb7 45.Ke3 a3 46.Kd2 46.Nc2 a2 47.Kd4 Kb6 48.Kxd5?! Nb4+–+.

46...a2 47.Nb3 Kb6 48.Kc3 Nc5 49.Na1 Kb5 50.Nc2 Ne6 51.Kb3 d4 52.Kxa2

52.Na3+ Kc5 53.Kxa2 d3 54.Kb3 (54.Kb2 Kd4 55.Kc1 Ke3 56.Kd1 Kf2 57.Kd2 Nc5 58.Nb1 Kxg2 59.Ke3 Kxh2 60.Kd4 Kg2 61.Kxc5 h5–+) 54...Kd4 55.Nc4 Nf4 56.g3 (56.g4 Ne6 57.h3 Ng5 58.Nd6 Ke3 59.Kc3 Nxf3 60.Nf5+ Ke2 61.Ng3+ Kf2 62.Ne4+ Ke3 63.Ng3 d2–+) 56...Ne6 57.h4 Nc5+ 58.Kb4 Nd7 59.Nd2 Ne5 60.f4

Now even the surprising 60...Nf3!? wins: 61.Nxf3+ Ke3 62.Nh2 Ke2–+. 52...Kc4 53.Na3+ Kd3 (53...Kc3!?) 54. Kb3 Ke2 55.Kc4 d3 56.Nb1 d2

57.Nxd2 After 57.g3!?, Black must underpromote to a knight: 57...d1N! (57...d1Q? 58.Nc3+ Ke1 59.Nxd1 Kxd1 60.Kd5 Ng7 61.Kd6 Ke2 62.Ke7=) 58. Kd5 Ng5 59.f4 Ne3+ 60.Kd6 Ne4+ 61. Ke6 Kf3–+. 57...Kxd2 58.Kd5 58.g3 Ke3 59.Kd5 Ng7 60.f4 Kf3 61.Kd6 Kg2–+. 58...Nf4+ 59.Ke4 Nxg2 60.Kf5

60.f4 Nh4 61.Kd5 f5–+. 60...Ke3 61.Kxf6 Nf4 62.Kg7 h5 63.Kf6 Kxf3 64.Kg5 Ke4 65.Kf6 Kd4 66.Kf5 Ke3 67.Kg5 Kf3 68.Kh4

68.h4 Kg3 69.Kf5 Nh3–+. 68...Ke4 69.Kg5 Ke5 70.h4 70.Kh4 Kf5 71.Kg3 Kg5 72.Kf3 h4 73.Ke3 Kg4 74.Ke4 Ne6–+. 70...Ke4 71.Kf6 Ne2 0–1 Now a pair of bishop vs. knight endgames. The first is a race, which is more difficult than it looks because of the relative slowness of the knight. 82.03 A.Baburin (2545) – Z.Borosova (2206) III EUICC Arvier 2007

78.Kb8? The king is in the way of the queen here. White must play 78.Kb6! Ba8 (78...Kxh4 79.Nb7 Kg3 80.a7 h4 81. a8Q h3

Now White wins as the knight is quick enough: 82.Qg8+ Kf2 (82...Bg4 83.Nd6 h2 84.Ne4+ Kf3 85.Qf7+ Kxe4 86.Qh7+ +–) 83.Nc5 h2 84.Nd3+ Kf1 85.Qg3 h1Q 86.Qf2#) 79.Ne8 Kxh4 just waiting does not help, e.g. (79...Bg2 80.Kc5 Kf5 (80...Bf3 81.Nc7 Kf4 82.Kd6 Ke3 83.Nd5+ Kd4 84.Nf6 Kc4 (84...Ke3 85. Nxh5+–) 85.a7 Kb5 86.Nd5+–) 81.Kd6 Bf1 (81...Kg4 82.Nf6+ Kxh4 83.Nd5 +–) 82.a7 Bg2 83.Kc7 Kg4 84.Nd6 Ba8 (84...Kxh4 85.Nb7 Kg3 86.a8Q h4 87.Qa3+ Bf3 88.Nd6+–) 85.Nb7 Kxh4 86.Kb8 Kg4 87.Kxa8 h4 88.Nd6 h3 89.Kb8 h2 90.a8Q+–) 80.Nc7 Be4 81.Kc5 Kg3 82.Nd5 h4 83.a7 h3 84.a8Q h2

Again White’s hunt will be successful: 85.Qb8+ Kg2 86.Ne3+ Kh3 87.Qc8+ Kg3 88.Qg4+ Kf2 89.Qxe4+–. 78...Kxh4 79.a7 Kg3 80.Nb7 h4 81. a8Q h3

Surprisingly, White cannot win. 82.Qa1 h2 83.Qe5+ Kg2 84.Qg5+ Kf2 85.Qh4+ Kg2 86.Nc5 h1Q 87.Qxh1+ Kxh1 88.Kc7 ½–½

82.04 Z.Matas (1985) – S.Kamenecki (1934) 16th TCh-CRO Sibenik 2007

White is better, but probably not winning. 76...Bb4? Black should have defended passively: 76...Bd8! 77.Ne4 Be7 78.h5 gxh5+ 79. Kxh5 Bf8 80.g6+ (80.Ng3 Kg7 81.Nf5+ Kf7 82.g6+ Kf6=) 80...Kg7 81.Kg5 Be7 + 82.Kf5 Bf8 83.Nf6 Be7 (83...Kh6? 84. Ne8 e4 85.Nf6+–) 84.Nh5+ Kg8 85.Kg4

Now 85...Bf8! seems to hold the balance. But not 85...Bd8? as White can use the fact that d6 is unprotected: 86. Ng3 Kg7 87.Kh5 Kg8 88.Nf5 e4 89. Kg4 Bb6 90.Kg5 e3 91.g7 Kf7 92.Kh6 e2 93.Kh7 e1Q 94.g8Q+ Kf6 95.Qg6+ Ke5 96.Qe6++–) 86.Ng3 Kg7 87.Kh5 Kf6=. 77.h5 Ba3 77...gxh5+ 78.Kxh5 Kg7 79.Ne4 Ba3

White wins by transferring the knight to f5: 80.Ng3 Bb4 81.g6 Ba3 82.Nf5+ Kg8 83.Kg5+–. 78.h6 Bb4 79.Kf3 Ba3 80.Ne4 Kg8 81. Ke3 Kh7 82.Kd2 Kh8 83.Kc3 Kh7 84. Kc2

84...Kh8 This loses immediately, but, after 84... Kg8, White’s monarch just continues its long journey inside Black’s camp: 85. Kb3 Bc1 86.Kb4 Kh7 (86...Kf8 87. Nxd6 Bxg5 88.h7 Bf6 89.Kb5 Ke7 90. Ne4 Bg7 91.Kc6 Kd8 92.d6+–) 87.Kb5 Ba3 88.Kc6 Bb4 89.Kd7 Ba3 90.Ke6 Bb4 (90...Kg8 91.Nxd6+–) 91.Nf6+ Kh8 92.Kf7+–. 85.Kb3 Bc1 86.Nxd6 Bxg5 87.Nf7+ Kh7 88.Nxg5+ Kxh6 1–0

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Rook Endgame Exercises

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Part One

Chess training is different from learning an academic subject, because studying books alone is insufficient. It is very important to solve exercises to develop one’s calculating abilities and intuition, to analyze oneself and to play against and analyze with strong players. So this month I decided to offer several exercises that you should try to solve without computer assistance. The solutions will be published next month. Let’s begin with a study that is much more complex than the author had assumed.

Endgame Corner

O. Bernstein, Tidskrift för Schack 1906 It was a White to play and draw study, but the German chess trainer and analyst Claus Dieter Meyer proved that Black is winning in any case. The following is a shortened and slightly edited version of his work:

Karsten Müller

The ChessCafe Puzzle Book by Karsten Müller

1.Rf8!? Relatively best as it prevents the activation of Black’s rook with ...h3. The alternatives lose quickly: Play through and download the games from ChessCafe. com in the DGT Game Viewer. The Complete DGT Product Line

1.Rb8?! h3–+; 1.Ke3?! h3 2.f4+ (2.gxh3 Rxh3+ 3.Kd2 (3.f3 f4+ (3...Rh2 4.f4+ Kf6 5.b4 axb4 6.axb4 Rb2–+) 4.Ke4 Rh2 5.b4 Re2+ 6.Kd5 Re3–+ (6...axb4 7.axb4 Re3–+)) 3...Rf3 4.Ke2 Rb3–+) 2...Kg4 3.gxh3+ Rxh3+ 4.Kd2 (4.Kd4 Rb3 5.Rxg6+ Kxf4 6.Rg2 Kf3 7.Rh2 Kg3 8.Rh8 f4 9.Rg8+ Kf2 10.Rh8 f3–+) 4...Rb3 5.Rxg6+ Kxf4 6.Kc2 a4–+.

The Magic of Chess Tactics by Claus Dieter Meyer & Karsten Müller

The first question is: why does the natural 1...h3? spoil the win? E83.01 White to move and draw This, by the way, is Bernstein’s solution. But Black is not forced to activate the rook like this, as soon will become clear. 1...a4 This is correct. Now White has an amazing defensive resource at his disposal. The immediate 2.Rb8?! is refuted by 2...h3–+; he should first play 2.b4!. But before we deal with this let’s look at another rook move: 2.Ra8 b5 3.Rf8 Black has finally completed the preparations on the queenside and has secured the commanding outpost square b3 and can play: 3...h3! 4.Kg3

Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual by Mark Dvoretsky

Now Black must win time with 4...f4+!. But let us first examine why the impatient 4...hxg2? spoils it: 5.Kxg2 Rh4 6.Rb8 b4 7.Rxb4!

E83.02 Calculate the pawn endgame to the end and prove that White can reach a draw! Back to the main line of the defense 2. Ra8: 4...f4+! 5.Kh2 hxg2+ 6.Kxg2 Rh5 7.Rf7 7.f3 Rh7 8.Rb8 Rc7 9.b3 I add the variation (9.Kh3 Rc5 10.Rb7 (10.Rb6 Kh5 11.Rb8 Rc2–+) 10...Kf5 11.Kh4 Ke5 12.Kg5 Kd4+ 13.Kxf4 Kd3 14. Re7 Kc2 15.Re2+ Kb1 16.Rg2 Rc2–+) 9...axb3 10.Rxb5+ Kh4 11.Rxb3 Rc2+ 12.Kf1 Kg3–+. 7.Rg8 Kf5 8.Rg7 Kf6 9.Rb7 Rc5 10.Kf3 Ke5–+. 7...Kg4 8.Rf6 8.f3+ Kg5 9.Rf8 Rh7 10.Rd8 (10.Rb8?! Rd7 11.Rxb5+ Kh4–+) 10...Rc7 11.Kh3 Rc2 (11...Rc5 also comes into consideration) 12.Rd5+ Kf6 13. Rxb5 g5 14.Rd5 (14.b4 Rf2–+; 14.b3 Rf2 15.bxa4 Rxf3+ 16.Kg4 Rg3+ 17.Kh5 Rh3+ 18.Kg4 Rh4+ 19.Kf3 Kg6–+; 14.Ra5 Rf2 15.Ra6+ Kf5 16. Ra5+ Kg6 17.Rxa4 Rxf3+ 18.Kg2 Rb3–+) 14...Kg6 (14...Rxb2?? 15. Rxg5=) 15.Rd6+ Kh5 16.Rd4 16...Rf2! avoiding the stalemate trap (16...Rxb2?? 17.Rxf4=) 17.Rxa4 Rxf3+ 18.Kg2 Rd3–+. 8...f3+ 8...Rg5? 9.f3+ Kh5+ 10.Kf1 Rc5 (10... Rf5?! 11.Rxf5+ gxf5 12.Kg2=) 11.Rxf4 Rc1+ 12.Kf2 Rc2+ 13.Kg3 Rxb2 14.Rd4 Rb3 15.Rd5+ g5 16.Rc5 Rxa3 17.Rxb5 Rb3 18.Ra5 a3 19.Ra8=. 9.Kg1 9.Rxf3? Rh2+ 10.Kxh2 Kxf3–+. 9...Rd5 10.Rxg6+ Kf4 11.Rb6 Ke4 Meyer’s analysis stops here. However, I’ve added some more lines to convince the reader that Black’s activity should be sufficient: 12.Kh2 12.Re6+ Kd3 13.Re3+ (13.Rc6 Ke2 14. Re6+ Kd1 15.Rc6 Rd2 16.Rc3 Rxb2 17. Rxf3 b4 18.axb4 Rxb4–+) 13...Kc2 14.

Rxf3 Kxb2 15.Kg2 b4 16.axb4 a3–+. 12.Rg6 Kd3 13.Rg4 Kc2 14.Rb4 Rh5–+ zugzwang. 12...Rg5 13.Kh3 Kd3 14.Rc6 14.Kh4 Rg2 15.Rxb5 Ke2 16.b3 Kxf2 17.bxa4 Rg8 18.Kh3 Rh8+ 19.Kg4 Kg2–+. 14...Rg2 15.Rc5 15.Rc3+ Ke2 16.b3 Rxf2 17.bxa4 bxa4–+. 15...Ke2 16.Rxb5 16.b3 Kxf2 17.bxa4 bxa4 18.Rc2+ Kf1 19.Rc3 Ke2 20.Rc2+ Kd3–+. 16.Rc2+ Kd1–+. 16...Kxf2 17.Rc5 Rg3+ 18.Kh2 Rg8 19.Rc2+ E83.03 It should be possible to escape from the checks as the checking distance of white’s rook is only two squares. But how to do it? Now finally to the surprising try 2.b4!? Black cannot take en passant as then 3. Rb8 will save the day. So, again, the rook must be activated in another way: 2...Rh7! 3.Rb8 Rc7 4.Rxb6 Rc3+ 5.Ke2 Rxa3 Black’s grip on the kingside will ultimately decide the issue: 6.Ra6 6.b5 Rb3! 7.Ra6 a3 8.b6 Kg4 9.b7 (9. Kf1 Rb1+ 10.Ke2 Rb2+ 11.Kf1 a2 12.b7 Rxb7 13.Rxa2 Rb1+ 14.Ke2 Rg1 15.Ra4 + f4–+) 9...Rxb7 10.Rxg6+ Kf4 11.g3+ (11.Ra6 Rb2+ 12.Kf1 a2–+) 11...hxg3 12.fxg3+ Ke4 13.Re6+ Kd4 14.Kf3 (14. Ra6 Rb3–+) 14...Ra7–+. 6...f4! 7.b5

E84.04 And here is your fourth exercise: Black to move and win. 7.Ra8 does not help: 7...Kg4 8.b5 g5 9. b6 Rb3 10.Rxa4 Rxb6 11.Ra5 (11.Ra2 h3 12.f3+ Kg3 13.gxh3 Rb3!–+) 11...Rb2 + 12.Kf1 Rb1+ 13.Ke2 Rg1 14.f3+ Kg3 15.Rxg5+ Kh2

Black’s activity prevails, e.g. 16.Rf5 (16. Kf2 h3–+) 16...Rxg2+ 17.Kf1 Rb2 18. Rxf4 Kg3 19.Rf8 Rb1+ 20.Ke2 h3 21. Rg8+ Kf4 22.Rg4+ Kf5 23.Rh4 h2 24.

Rxh2 Rb2+–+. 7.Kf1 Ra1+ 8.Ke2 Kf5 9.b5 g5 10.b6 Kg4 11.b7 Rb1 12.Rxa4 Rxb7 13.Ra5 (13.Ra1 h3–+) 13...Rb2+ 14.Kf1 (14. Ke1 f3 15.gxf3+ Kxf3 16.Rf5+ Kg4 17. Rf8 Kh3–+) 14...Rb1+ 15.Ke2 Rg1 16.f3 + Kg3 17.Rxg5+ Kh2–+. Exercises: Solutions Next Month It is Black to move and draw in each example. E 83.05 C.Deepan (2492) - R.Sangma (2318) Parsvnath ch-Commonwealth New Delhi 2007 There should be some way to exploit the awkward position of White’s king. Find it!

E 83.06 A.Grischuk (2715) - V.Anand (2801) World Blitz Moscow 2007 The Indian world champion lost this blitz game, but with more time he would have found the only move to draw this position with Black. Which one?

E 83.07 A.Getz (2121) - V.Setkauskas (1926) World Junior Championship b14 Kemer 2007 Can you find the narrow path to keep Black alive?

E 83.08 N.Mamedov (2567) - I. Schneider (2442) 11.OIBM Bad Wiessee 2007 Ilja Schneider missed the solution over the board, but in analysis he did better. Can you do the same?

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Rook Endgame Exercises

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Part Two

This month I present the solutions to the exercises from last month’s column, which are very interesting in their own right. I will also include a few more relatively easy exercises, the solutions of which can be found at the end of the column. Again, much of the analysis for the Bernstein study is from C.D. Meyer. E 83.01 Study by O. Bernstein, Tidskrift för Schack 1906

Endgame Corner

Bernstein’s solution runs as follows: 2.Kg3! h2

Karsten Müller

2...f4+ 3.Kh2 hxg2+ 4.Kxg2 Rh7 5.Rb8 Kg4 6.Rxb6 f3+ 7.Kg1 g5 8.b4 axb4 9. Rxb4+ Kh3 10.Rb3 g4 11.Rb8=.

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3.f4+ Kh5 4.Kxh2 And White draws, e.g. 4...Kg4+ 5.Kg1 Kxf4 6.Rf6 b5 7.Rb6=. E 83.02 Analysis from a Study by O. Bernstein, Tidskrift för Schack 1906 Play through and download the games from ChessCafe. com in the DGT Game Viewer. The Complete DGT Product Line

The resulting pawn endgame is drawn: 7...Rxb4 8.axb4 Kf6 9.b5 Ke6 10.f4 Kd5 11.Kg3 Kc5 12.Kh4 Kxb5 13.Kg5 Kb4 14.Kxg6 Kb3 15.Kxf5 Kxb2

The Magic of Chess Tactics by Claus Dieter Meyer & Karsten Müller

E84.01 Where should White’s king go?

Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual by Mark Dvoretsky

E 83.03 Analysis from a Study by O. Bernstein, Tidskrift för Schack 1906

Black makes use of the fact that the checking distance is too short and approaches the rook as follows: 19...Ke1 20.Rc1+ Ke2 21.Rc2+ Kd1 22. Rc7

E84.02 How to decide the issue after 22.Rf2? 22...Rg2+ 23.Kh3 Rxb2 24.Kg3 Rb3–+.

E 83.04 Analysis from a Study by O. Bernstein, Tidskrift för Schack 1906

Black creates another passed pawn with 7...f3+! This overloads the defense, e.g. 8.gxf3 h3 9.Ra8 Rb3 10.Rxa4 h2 11.Ra1 Kh4 12.Ra8 Rxb5–+.

Solutions to last month's exercises E 83.05 C.Deepan (2492) - R.Sangma (2318) Parsvnath ch-Commonwealth New Delhi 2007

Black can use the awkward position of White’s king as follows: 111...Kf2? 111...Kf3! 112.h6 Ra8

White can not win: 113.h7 (113.Rh5 Ra1 114.Kh4? would even lose: 114... Kf4–+; 113.Rb4 Rh8 114.Rb6 Kf4 115. Kh4 Kf5 116.Kh5 Rh7=) 113...Ra1 114. Kh2 Ra2+ 115.Kg1 Ra1+= (115...Kg3? 116.Rh3+ Kxh3 117.h8Q++–). 111...Rg1? 112.h6 Kf3 113.Kh2 Rg2+ 114.Kh1 Re2 115.Rh3+! Kg4 116.h7 Kxh3 117.h8Q++–.

112.Ra4 Rg1 113.Kh4 Kf3 114.h6 Rb1 115.Ra3+

115.Kg5? Rb5+ 116.Kh4 Rb6=. 115...Kf4 116.h7 Rb8 117.Rg3 Rh8 118.Rg7 Kf5 119.Kh5 Kf6 120. Kh6 1–0 E 83.06 A.Grischuk (2715) - V.Anand (2801) World Blitz Moscow 2007 With more time Anand certainly would have found the correct solution. 88...Rg5+? 88...Re5! 89.Kxh6 Kf6! 90.Rb6 Rf5! and White cannot make progress. 89.Kxh6 Rg1 90.Kh7 Kf6 91.h6 Rg2 92.Kh8 Rg1 93.h7 Rg2?! 94.Rb6?! 94...Rg1?! A bad move from a practical point of view. 94...Rg3!? is much more tenacious, as after 95.Rb8 Kxe6 96.Rg8 Ra3 97.Kg7 Rg3+ 98.Kf8 Rf3+ 99.Ke8 Ra3 100.Rg6+ Kf5 101.Rf6+ Kxf6 102. h8Q+ Ke6, White must win the pawnless queen vs. rook endgame. 95.Rb8 Kxe6 96.Rg8 Rh1 97.Kg7 Rg1 + 98.Kf8 Rf1+ 99.Ke8 Ra1 100.Rg6+ Kf5 101.Rf6+ Kg5 101...Ke5 102.Rh6 Ra8+ 103.Kf7 Ra7+ 104.Kg6+–. 102.Rf8 1–0 E 83.07 A.Getz (2121) - V.Setkauskas (1926) World Junior Championship b14 Kemer 2007

56...Rh6? Too slow. Black must give check from the first rank as soon as possible to overload White’s forces. 56...Rc6+ 57.Kb5 Rc1

Black’s counterplay is just in time: 58.a5 Rb1+ 59.Kc6 (59.Ka4 Ra1+ 60.Ra3 Rxa3+ 61.Kxa3 Kd6=) 59...Rc1+ 60. Kb7 Rb1+ 61.Ka7 Ke6 62.Rd8 (62.a6 Ke7 63.Ka8 Rb2 64.a7 Rb1=) 62...Ke7 63.Rb8 Ra1 64.a6 Kd7=. 57.a5 Rh1 58.a6 Ra1 59.Kb5 Ke6 59...Rb1+ 60.Ka4 Ra1+ 61.Ra3+–.

60.Rd4 Ke7 61.Ra4 Rb1+ 62.Ka5 Rh1 63.a7 1–0

E 83.08 N.Mamedov (2567) - I.Schneider (2442) 11.OIBM Bad Wiessee 2007 45...Rh1? The rook had to come from another direction as Schneider’s analysis shows. I have edited it slightly: 45...Rb8! 46.Kf4 (46.h4 Rg8+ 47.Kf4 Rf8+ 48.Ke3 Rc8 49.Rxe4 Rxc3+ 50. Kd2 Ra3 51.Rb4 Ke5=) 46...Rf8+ 47. Ke3 Rc8 48.Rxe4 Rxc3+ 49.Kf4 (49. Kd2 Ra3 50.Rg4 Ke5 51.Rc4 Ra2+ 52. Rc2 Ra8=) 49...Rc2 50.Re5+ (50.Kxf3 Rxf2+ 51.Kxf2 Kxe4=) 50...Kd6 51.Re1 Rxf2 52.Kg3 Re2=. 45...Re1? 46.Kf4 Re2 47.Re5+ Kc4 48.Rxe4+ Kd3 49.Rd4+ Kxc3 50.Ra4 Rxf2 51.h4+–. 46.Re8 46.Kf4 Rxh3 47.Re5+ Kc4 48.Kxe4 Kxc3 49.Rd5 Kc4 50.Rf5 Rh8 51. Kxf3 Kd4 52.Kg4 Ke4 53.f3+ Ke3 54.f4 Rg8+ 55.Rg5 Rf8 56.Re5+ Kd4 57.Ra5 Ke4 58.f5 Rg8+ 59.Kh5 Rf8 60.Kg6+–. 46...Rc1 46...Rf1 47.Re7 Rh1 48.Kf4+–. 47.Kf4 Rxc3 48.Re5+ Kd6 49.Rxe4 Rc8 50.Kxf3 Rf8+ 51.Ke3 Rh8 52. h4 Kd5 53.f3 Kd6 54.Kf2 Kd5 55.Kg3 Rg8+ 56.Rg4 Rh8 57.Rg6 Ke5 58.Kg4 Rf8 59.h5 Rf4+ 60.Kg3 Rf8 61.h6 Kf5 62.Rg4 Rh8 63.Rh4 Kg5 64.h7 Kf6 65.Kg4 Kg6 66.f4 Kf6 67.Rh6+ Kg7 68.Kg5 Kf7 69. Rb6 1–0 Solutions to this month's exercises E 84.01: 16.Kg6! 16.Ke6? a3 17.f5 a2 18.f6 a1Q 19.f7 Qa3–+. 16...a3 17.f5 a2 18.f6 a1Q 19.f7=.

Black’s king is not only outside the winning zone, but in such an unfortunate position that the queen can not come back in time. E 84.02: 22...Rg2+ 23.Rxg2 fxg2 24. Kxg2 Kc2 25.Kf2 Kxb2 26.Ke2 Kxa3 27.Kd2 Kb2–+.

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The Fischer Endgame

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

Robert James Fischer passed away on January 17, 2008 in Iceland at the age of sixty-four. In the 1960s and at the beginning of the 1970s he managed to break the domination of the Soviet grandmasters and in 1972 he defeated Boris Spassky in the legendary Reykjavik world championship match. He had a strong will to win and good stamina; his opening preparation was thorough; his tactics sharp and last but not least his endgame technique superb. In this last respect he will especially be remembered for his endgames with rook and bishop vs. rook and knight. As I have already dealt with a few of his fine efforts in September 2001, I have decided to take a closer look at his victory against the Armenian Tigran Petrosian. My analysis is based on Kasparov’s in My Great Predecessors Part IV, on Marin’s in Learn from the Legends and Matanovic’s in Informator 12/11.

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85.01 T.Petrosian – R.Fischer Buenos Aires (6), 1971 Petrosian had to seal his move and faced an extremely difficult decision. It is very understandable that he decided not to alter the structure radically and sealed: 42.Ne2?

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Yet in retrospect it seems that he had to use the moment more actively: 42.f4!! gxf4 (42...exf4 43.Nf3 Rxa6 44.Rxa6 Kxa6 45.e5 fxe5 46.Nxg5 Ba5 47.Ke4 (47.Nxh7? Bd8 48.Ke4 (48.g5 f3 49.g6 f2 50.Ke2 Bh4 51.g7 d3+–+) 48... d3 49.Kxd3 f3 50.Ke3 e4 51.Kf2 Kb5 52.Nf8 Bb6+ 53.Kg3 Kc4–+) 47... Kb5 (47...Bd8 48.Nf7 Bc7 49.Ng5=) 48.Nxh7 Kc4 49.g5 d3 50.g6 d2 51. g7 d1Q 52.g8Q+

The Magic of Chess Tactics by Karsten Müller

The Complete DGT Product Line White’s drawing chances should be real.) 43.g5! fxg5 44.Nf3

Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual by Mark Dvoretsky

Amazing as it may seem Matanovic and Kasparov think that White’s initiative compensates for the pawns and they seem to be right, e.g. 44...h5 A) 44...Rxa6 45.Rxa6 Kxa6 46.Nxg5 Ba5 (46...Bb4 47.Nf7 f3 48.Nxe5 f2 49. Ke2 Bd6 50.Nd3 Bxh2 51.Kxf2 Kb5 52. e5 Kc4 53.Kg2=) 47.Nxh7 f3 48.Nf6 f2 49.Ke2 Be1 50.Ng4 d3+ 51.Kf1=. B) 44...g4 45.Nxe5 h5 46.Ng6= (Matanovic) 46...f3 47.e5 Be1 48.e6 f2 49.Ke2 d3+ 50.Kf1 d2 51.e7 Rxe7 52.Rxd2 Bxd2 53.Nxe7 Be3 54.Nd5 Ba7 55.Nf6=.

C) 44...h6 45.Nxe5 Rxa6 46.Rxa6 Kxa6 47.Ng4 f3 (47...h5 48.Nf6 f3 (48...h4 49.e5 f3 50.Ne4 g4 51.e6 Bb4 52.Kxd4=) 49.Nxh5 Kb5 50.e5 Kc6 51.Ke4 g4 52.Ng3 f2 53.e6 Kd6 54.Kf5 Ke7 55.Kxg4=) 48.e5 Kb6 49.e6 Kc7 50.Ke4 Kd6 51.Kxf3 Kxe6 (51...h5 52.Nf6 Kxe6 53.Nxh5 d3 54.Ng3 Bd4 55.h3 Bg1 56.Ne4=) 52.Nxh6 d3 53.Ke3 d2 54.Ke2 Ke5 55. Ng4+ Ke4 56.Ne3=. 45.Nxg5 Ba5 46.Nf3 Bc7 47.Rb2+ Kxa6 48.Kc4 Rb7 49.Rxb7 Kxb7 50. Kb5

White’s fortress seems to be watertight, e.g. 50...Bb8 51.h3 Bd6 52.Ne1=. Or can you find a way to break through? 42...Ba5 43.Rb2+ Kxa6 44.Rb1 Rc7 45. Rb2 Be1 46.f3 Ka5 47.Rc2 Rb7 48.Ra2 + Kb5 49.Rb2+ Bb4 50.Ra2 Rc7 51. Ra1 Rc8

52.Ra7 Waiting passively with 52.Ra2 is probably also insufficient, e.g. 52...Rc7 53.Ra1 Be7 54.Ra2 Kb4 55.Rb2+ Ka3 (Marin) and now:

56.Rc2 Rb7 57.Nc1 Ka4 58.Ke2 Rb1 59. Rc4+ A) 59.h3 Kb5 60.Nd3 (60.Rc7 Rb2+ 61. Kd3 Bc5 62.Rb7+ Bb6 63.Rf7 Kc5 64. Rf8 Bc7 65.Rc8 Kd6–+) 60...Ra1 61.Rb2 + (61.Kd2 Bb4+–+) 61...Kc4 62.Rc2+ Kb3 63.Rc7 Ra2+ 64.Kd1 (64.Kf1 Rd2– +) 64...Ba3 65.Ke1 Bb4+ 66.Kf1 Rd2–+. B) 59.Rc7 Rb2+ 60.Kd3 Bb4 61.Rc2 Ka3 62.Re2 Ba5 63.Rc2 Be1 64. Re2 (64.h3 Bb4 65.Re2 Bc3 66.Rc2 Be1–+) 64...Bf2 65.Rc2 Be3 66. Rxb2 Kxb2 67.Ne2 Bf4 68.h3 Kb1–+ zugzwang.

59...Kb5 60.Rc7 (60.Rc2 Ba3 61.Nd3 Rh1–+) 60...Rb2+ 61.Kd3 Bc5 62. Rb7+ Bb6 63.Rf7

63...Kc5! zugzwang 64.Rf8 (64.Rxf6 Ba5–+) 64...Bc7–+. 52...Ba5

53.Rd7 53.Rxh7? is wrong, as the h-pawn is insignificant: 53...Bb6 54.Kd2 Ra8 55. Rb7 Ra3–+. 53.Rf7!? was called for, as the f-pawn is important. Black should probably protect it by 53...Bd8!?. Black’s winning potential is very reduced after the direct 53...Bb6?! 54.Rxf6 Ra8 55.Nc1 Ra3+ 56.Ke2 Re3+ 57.Kd1 Ba5 58.Kc2 Ra3

59.Re6! A) 59.Nb3? Ra2+ 60.Kd3 (60.Kb1? Rxh2 61.Nxa5 Kxa5 62.Rf5 d3 63.Rxe5 + Kb4–+) 60...Bb4 61.Nxd4+ exd4 62. Kxd4 Rd2+ 63.Ke3 Rxh2–+. B) 59.Rf5? Kc4 60.Rxe5 Bc7–+. 59...Bb4 (59...d3+ 60.Nxd3 Rc3+ 61. Kb2 Rxd3 62.Rxe5+ Kb4 63.Rxg5 Rxf3 64.Rh5 (64.Rf5? Rh3 65.Rh5? This loses surprisingly: 65...Rxh5 66. gxh5 Kc4 67.Kc2 Kd4 68.e5 Kxe5 69. Kd3 Kf4 70.Ke2 Bb6 71.Kf1 Kf3 72.h6 Bd4 73.h3 Be3 74.h4 Bf2 75.h5 Be3 76. Ke1 Bxh6 77.Kf1 Be3 78.Ke1 Bc5 79. Kd2 Bf2 80.Kd3 Be3 81.Kc2 Ke2 82. Kc3 Bf2 83.Kc4 Kd2 84.Kb4 Bd4 85. Kc4 Bc3 86.Kb3 Kd3 87.Ka3 Kc2 88. Ka4 Bd2 89.Kb5 Kd3 90.Kc5 Bc3 91. Kb5 Kd4 92.Ka4 Kc4 93.Ka3 Be5 94. Ka2 Kc3 95.Ka3 Bd6+ 96.Ka4 Kc4 97. Ka5 Bc5 98.Ka6 Bb4 99.Kb6

Finally White’s king has been driven out of Rauser’s drawing zone, so that 99...h6 wins.) 64...Rf7 65.Kc2 is also not completely clear.) 60.Rxe5+ Kc4 61. Rxg5 Rc3+ 62.Kd1

Black will win the knight with 62...Ba3, but it is far from clear, if he manages to win the game, as the bishop does not control the queening square of the hpawn. (62...Rxf3? is met by 63.Rf5) 63. Ne2 Rd3+ 64.Kc2 (64.Ke1 Bb4+ 65.Kf1 Rd1+ 66.Kf2 Rd2 67.Rd5 d3 68.Rd4+ Kc5 69.Rd5+ Kc6 70.f4 Bc5+ 71.Ke1 Rxe2+ 72.Kd1 Rf2 73.Rxd3 Rxf4 74. Rh3 Rf7) 64...Rxf3 65.Rf5 Rb3 66.Nxd4 Rb2+ 67.Kd1 Kxd4 68.e5) 54.Ra7 Bb6 55.Ra2 and Black should win in the long run (compare the line 52.Ra2). 53...Bb6 54.Rd5+ Bc5 55.Nc1 Ka4 56.Rd7 Bb4 57.Ne2 57.Ra7+ Ba5 58.Ne2 Rb8 59.Kc2 Rb5 (Marin) Black will penetrate slowly but surely on the queenside, e.g. 60.h3 A) 60.Nc1 Rc5+ 61.Kd1 Rc3–+. B) 60.Ra8 Ka3 61.Kd1 d3 62.Nc3 (62. Nc1 d2–+) 62...Rc5 63.Nd5 Ka4 64. Nxf6 Rc7 65.Nd5 Rc2–+. 60...h6! puts White in zugzwang. The typical technique against a knight. (The direct 60...Rc5+?! 61.Kd3 Kb3 62.Rb7+ Bb4 63.Rb8 and 60...Ka3?! 61. Kd1 d3? 62.Nc3 Rb3 63.Kd2 Kb4 64.Nd5+ Kb5+ 65.Rxa5+ Kxa5 66. Nxf6 are not convincing.) 61.Ra8 (61.Ra6 Ka3 62.Nc1 Rb2+ 63.Kd1 Ka4 64.Rxf6 d3–+) 61...Ka3 (61...d3+? 62.Kxd3 Rb3+ 63.Kc4 Rxf3 64.Rb8 Rxh3 65.Rb1 and White’s activity gives him the draw.) 62.Kd1 d3 63. Nc3 Rc5 64.Nd5 Ka4

(64...d2? 65.Ke2 gives White a solid blockade.) 65.Rb8 A) 65.Nxf6 Rc7 66.Rd8 Rc6–+. B) 65.Rxa5+ Rxa5 66.Kd2

66...Kb3 and Black will break the blockade sooner or later. (But not 66... Rxd5? 67.exd5 Kb5 68.Kxd3 Kc5 69. Ke4 Kd6 70.Ke3 (70.Kf5? Kxd5 71. Kxf6 Kd4–+) 70...Kxd5 71.Kd3= and Black’s king cannot penetrate.) 67.Kxd3 Ra6 68.Nc7 Rc6 69.Nd5 Kb2 70.Kd2 Rc2+ 71.Kd3 Kc1 72.Nxf6 Rd2+ 73. Ke3 Kd1 74.Ng8 Rd6 75.Kf2 Re6 76. Ke3 Kc2–+. 65...Rc2 66.Nb6+ Bxb6 67.Rxb6 Rf2 68.Rxf6 Kb4 69.Rc6 Rxf3 70.Kd2 Rxh3 71.Rc8 Rg3 72.Rc6 Kb5 73.Rc8 (73.Rxh6 Kc4 74.Ra6 Rg2+ 75. Ke3 d2–+) 73...Rxg4 74.Kxd3

74...h5! great care is still required. (74... Rg3+? 75.Ke2 g4 76.Kf2 Rf3+ 77.Kg2 Rf4? 78.Re8 Rxe4 79.Rh8 Re3 80.Rxh6

This is surprisingly only drawn despite the two extra pawns.) 75.Re8 Rg3+ 76. Ke2 Kc5 77.Kf2 Rg4 78.Kf3 Rf4+ 79. Ke3 Kd6–+. 57...Kb3 58.Rb7 Ra8 59.Rxh7 59.Nc1+ Kb2 60.Rxb4+ (60.Ne2 Ra3+ 61.Kc4 d3 62.Rxb4+ Kc2 63.Ng3 d2 64. Nf1 d1Q–+) 60...Kxc1 61.Rb7 Rc8 62. Rb3 Kd1 63.Rb1+ Rc1 64.Rb3 Rc3+–+.

59...Ra1 60.Nxd4+ A sad necessity, as Black’s mating attack brings even higher dividends after 60.Ng3 Ra2 61.Nf1 Rf2–+. 60...exd4 61.Kxd4 Rd1+ 62.Ke3 Bc5+ 63.Ke2 Rh1 64.h4 Kc4 65.h5 Rh2+ 66.Ke1 Kd3 0–1 Exercises (Solutions next month) E85.01 R.Fischer – T.Petrosian Bled 1961 Petrosian resigned after Fischer’s next move. Can you find it?

E85.02 R.Fischer – M.Taimanov Vancouver 1971 How did Fischer break Black’s resistance?

E85.03 R.Fischer – M.Taimanov Vancouver 1971 Fischer found the only move to win. Can you do the same?

E85.04 R.Fischer – M.Taimanov Palma de Mallorca 1970 To take the pawn or not to take the pawn that is the question.

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Fischer's Major Pieces The endgame queen and rook vs. queen and rook occurs quite frequently in practical play, but it is underrepresented in chess literature. Two works that do deal with it are Learn from the Legends by Mihail Marin (Quality Chess 2003) and Practical Endgame Play – Beyond the Basics by Glenn Flear (Everyman 2007). In this column I only want to cover the middlegame aspects. Yet, you should be aware of the possible simplifications to queen, rook or pawn endings and the endgame factors.

Endgame Corner

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In the first example, Fischer opens roads to get at Black’s king: 86.01 R.J.Fischer – P.Benko Candidates Tournament 1959 33.a4!! bxa4?!

Karsten Müller

Now the rook will enter the attack with decisive effect. Trying to exchange queens immediately with 33...Qg5?! loses as well: 34.Rh7+ Rg7 35.Qxg5 fxg5 36.Rxg7++–.

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Trying to keep the queenside closed for the time being with 33...b4!? is probably relatively best, but also no real solution, as the white rook penetrates nevertheless: 34.Rh5 Rc8 35.e5 fxe5 36.Rxe5 c5 37.Rg5. Play through and download the games from ChessCafe.com in the DGT Game Viewer.

After 33...Ra8?! 34.axb5 cxb5 White blows the position open by 35.e5! fxe5 36.Qe4 Qf8 37.Qb7+ Kd6 38.Qb6+ Ke7 39.Qc7+ Ke8

The Magic of Chess Tactics by Karsten Müller

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Now comes the point 40.f4!! gxf3+ 41. Kf2 Qg8 42.Rh7+–. 34.Rb1 e5 35.Rb7+ Kd6 36.Rxg7 exf4 37.Rxg8 f3+ 38.Kh1 Kc5 39.Rb8 1–0 Sometimes even the king can help the attack:

86.02 M.Blau – R.J.Fischer Varna ol qual-B 1962

Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual by Mark Dvoretsky

35.Qf8+? Now White’s queen is somewhat misplaced and the king can enter the fight against its counterpart. 35.Rf3! was the only defense: 35...Qd1 + 36.Rf1 Qd2 37.Qe4 d5 38.Qf3 Qd4+ 39.Kh2 and White can still fight. 35...Kh5 36.g4+ 36.Rf3 Qd1+ 37.Rf1 (37.Kh2 Qxf3–+) 37...Qe2 38.g4+ Kh4 39.Qh6+ Kg3–+. 36...Kh4 37.Qxf6+ Kxh3 It is over. 38.Qc3+ Kxg4 39.Qc8+ Kh4 40.Qd8+ Kh5 0-1 Blau resigned as 41.Rf2 Qd1+ 42.Kg2 Qg4+ 43.Kh1 Qh3+ 44.Kg1 Ra1+ 45. Rf1 Rxf1# mates. The fourth phase of the game arises when both sides get a new queen. Here king safety plays the most important role and usually he who gives the first check wins: 86.03 R.J.Fischer – W.Bills Houston simul 1964

I begin a bit earlier: 45.Rf7+ Ke6 46.f5+ Kd6 47.g7 a2 48. g8Q a1Q

If Black were to move, he could win with ...Qg1+, but White gives the all important first check. 49.Qd8+ Kc5 50.Rc7+ Kb4 51.Qd4+ 10 Black resigned because of 51...Kb3 52. Rxc3+ Qxc3 53.Qxc3+ Kxc3 54.h6 b4 55.h7 b3 56.h8Q++–.

Exercises (Solutions next month)

E86.01 M.Taimanov – R.J.Fischer Candidates qf3, Vancouver 1971 What did Taimanov miss, when he took on f6 with his rook?

E86.02 R.J.Fischer – W.Wagenfeld Chicago simul 1964 In a simul, Fischer missed the win at this moment. Can you do better?

E86.03 R.J.Fischer – S.Reshevsky 2nd Piatigorsky Cup, Santa Monica 1966 How could Reshevsky have defended?

Solutions to last month's exercises E85.01 R.Fischer – T.Petrosian Bled 1961 Fischer played 36.Kc4! and Petrosian resigned as mate is inevitable. 36.Kxb4? Nd5+ 37.Kc4 Ne3+ spoils it.

E85.02 R.Fischer – M.Taimanov Vancouver 1971 61.Be8! brought Black into fatal zugzwang. As the knight cannot move, Black’s best chance is 61...Kd8 but the bishop just sacrifices itself: 62.Bxg6 Nxg6 63.Kxb6 and the knight is helpless against White’s horde of pawns: 63... Kd7 64.Kxc5 Ne7 65.b4 axb4 66.cxb4 Nc8 67.a5 Nd6 68.b5 Ne4+ 69.Kb6 Kc8 70.Kc6 Kb8 71.b6 1–0

E85.03 R.Fischer – M.Taimanov Vancouver 1971 82.Bc8! Kf4 82...Nf3 83.Bb7+ Kf4 84.Bxf3 Kxf3

85.Kg5!+–. 82...Nd3 83.Bf5+ Kf4 84.Bxd3 Kg3 85. Bf5+–. 83.h4 Nf3 83...Ng4+ 84.Kg7 Kg3 85.h5 Kh4 86.Bxg4+–. 84.h5 Ng5 85.Bf5 Nf3 86.h6 Ng5 87.Kg6 Nf3 88. h7 Nh4+ 89.Kf6 1–0

E85.04 R.Fischer – M.Taimanov Palma de Mallorca 1970 The right answer was not to take the pawn: 58.Kb5! 1-0 Taimanov resigned because of 58...Nd8 59.Rc5+ Kd6 (59... Kb8 60.Rc8#) 60.Kb6 Nxb7 61.Rc6++–. 58.Kxb4? spoils it because of 58...Nd8=.

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Shirov's Rooks Alexei Shirov can do more than play spectacular sacrifices; he also possesses very good endgame technique. This month I want to look at a few of his recent rook endings. The first example is a typical endgame from the Sveshnikov variation of the Sicilian Defense:

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87.01 A.Shirov (2755) - V.Topalov (2780) XXV SuperGM Morelia/Linares 2008 [B33]

Endgame Corner

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3 Bg5 12.Nc2 0–0 13.a4 bxa4 14. Rxa4 a5 15.Bc4 Bd7 16.0–0 Ne7 17.Ra3 Nxd5 18.Bxd5 Rb8 19.b4 axb4 20.Nxb4 Qb6 21.Qe2 Bb5 22.Bc4 Rfc8 23.Bxb5 Qxb5 24.Qxb5 Rxb5 25.Rd1 g6 26.g3 Kg7 27.Nd5 Rc4 28.Ra7 Bd8 29.Rd7 Ba5

Karsten Müller

White’s advantage is small but very stable. One of his plusses is that he can activate his king in the long run, while Black’s king must wait at home. First Shirov activates his second rook.

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30.Re1! Bb6 30...Bxc3? runs into a direct mating attack: 31.Re3 Bd4 (31...Rxe4 32.Nxc3 +–) 32.Rf3+–. 31.Nxb6 Play through and download the games from ChessCafe.com in the DGT Game Viewer. The Complete DGT Product Line

Of course not 31.Rb7?? Bxf2+–+. 31...Rxb6 32.Re3 Rc8 33.Rf3 Rf8

The Magic of Chess Tactics by Karsten Müller

Now comes the second phase: Shirov activates his king. 34.Kf1 g5 35.h4 g4 36.Rf5 h6 37.Ke2 Rc6 38.Kd2 Kg6 39.h5+ Kg7 40.Kd3 Rb6 41.Rc7 Rb1 42.Kc4 Rd1 43.Kb5

43...Kg8? This allows White’s f5-rook to penetrate further. 43...Rc1 44.Kb6 Rb8+ 45.Ka7 Rf8 46.Kb7 Rc2 was called for. 44.Rf6 Rd2 45.Kc6

Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual by Mark Dvoretsky

45...Kg7? Now Black is lost. He had to try 45... Rd3 46.Re7 Rd2, which still retains some drawing chances. 46.Rg6+ Kh7 47.Rxg4 Rxf2 48.Kxd6 Re8 49.c4 Rd2+ 50.Kc6 Rf8 51.c5 Rd4 52.Rb7 Kh8 53.Kb5 Rd1 54.c6 Rc1 55. Kb6 Rc8 56.c7 Re8 57.Ra7 Rb1+

57...Rc8 does not help, as White’s rook g4 will come to the queenside sooner or later, e.g. 58.Rh4 Kg7 59.Rh2 Kf6 60.Rb2 Ke6 61.g4 Kd7 62. Rd2+ Ke7 63.Rd5 f6 64.Rc5 Rb1+ 65.Kc6 Rb4 66.Rb7 Rxe4 67.Rb8+–. 58.Kc5 Rc1+ 59.Kd5 Rc2 60.Ra6 Kh7 61.Rc6 Rd2+ 62.Kc5 Ra8 63. Rh4 1-0 63.c8Q? Rxc8 64.Rxc8 Rc2+ is of course too hasty. In the second example both sides were most likely in time trouble: 87.02 A.Shirov (2755) - A.Rustemov (2552) German Bundesliga 2008 White is better, but because of the large drawish tendency of rook endings this position should be drawn. 39...d3? Too hasty; 39...Rb2 40.Kxh4 d3 41.Rd7 Rxb6 42.Rxd3 Rb5= draws comfortably. 40.e6? Missing 40.Kf6!, when the important f7-pawn will fall, e.g. 40...d2 41.Rb8 + Kh7 42.Rd8 Rxb6+ 43.Kxf7 Rb7+ 44.Kf6 Rb8 45.Rxd2 Rf8+ 46.Ke7 Kg7 47.e6 Ra8 48.Rd8 Ra7+ 49.Rd7 Ra8 50.Kd6+ Kf8 51.Rh7+–. 40...fxe6?! 40...Rb5+ drew relatively easily, as after 41.Kf6? Rf5+ 42.Ke7, Black has 42...Re5. 41.Kxg6 Kf8 42.Kf6 Kg8 43.Rg7+ Now Black chose the wrong way. 43...Kh8? White wins the h4-pawn with check and his connected passed pawns decide the issue. 43...Kf8 was called for: 44.b7 e5 45.Rd7 Ke8 46.Rxd3 Rxb7 47.Re3 Rb6 + 48.Kxe5 Rb2 49.Kf4+ Kf7 50.Kf3 Kg6 51.Re4 Kg5=. 44.Rg4 44.b7? d2 45.Rd7 Rxb7 46.Rxd2 Rg7=.

44...Rxb6 45.Rxh4+ Kg8 46.Rd4 Rb3 Another instructive moment has arisen. 46...Rb2 47.g4 Rf2+ 48.Kg6 e5 49.Rxd3 e4 50.Rd4 e3 51.Re4 e2 52.Re8+ Rf8 53. Rxe2+–; 46...e5+ 47.Kxe5 Rb5+ 48.Ke6 Rb6+ (48...Rb2 49.g4 d2 50.Kf6+–) 49.Kd5 Rb2 50.g4 Rd2 (50...d2 51.Kc4 Kg7 52. Kc3 Ra2 53.Kb3+–) 51.Ke4 Re2+ 52. Kf3 Rh2 53.Kg3 Rd2 54.Rd7 Rd1 55.g5 Kf8 56.Kg4 Ke8 57.Rd4 Kf7 58.Kh5 Ke6 59.g6 Kf6 60.h4+–. 47.Kxe6? First White must improve the position of his rook: 47.Rd8+! Kh7 48.Rd7 + Kg8 (48...Kh6 49.g4 Rb5 50.Rd8 Kh7 51.Rxd3+–) 49.Kxe6 Rb6+ (49... Kf8 50.g4 d2 51.Kf6 Rb6+ 52.Kf5 Rb5+ 53.Kg6 Rb6+ 54.Kh5 Rb2 55.g5 +–) 50.Kf5 Rb5+ 51.Kf4 Rb2 (51...Rb4+ 52.Kf3 Rb3 53.Rd4 Kf7 (53... Kh8 54.Ke3 d2+ 55.Ke2 Rg3 56.Kf2+–) 54.Ke3 Rb2 55.Rf4+ Ke7 56.Rf2 +–) 52.g4 d2 53.g5 Kf8 54.Kf5 Ke8 55.Rd3 Kf7 56.g6+ Kg7 57.Rd7+ Kf8 58.Kf6 Rb6+ 59.Kg5+–. 47...Rb2? A mistake in return. The king had to gain space first: 47...Kg7 48.Kf5 Rb5 + 49.Ke4 Rb2 50.g3 Rh2 51.h4 d2 52.Ke3 Rg2 53.Kf4 Rh2 54.Kg5 Kf7 55.g4 Ke6 56.h5 Ke5 (56...Re2=) 57.Rd8 Ke6 (57...Ke4? 58.Kh6 Rg2 59. g5 Kf5 60.g6 Kf6 61.Kh7 Rg5 62.Rd6+ Kf5 63.Rxd2 Rxh5+ 64.Kg7+–) 58.Kg6 Ke7 59.Rd3 Re2 60.Kg5 Rf2 61.Kh4 Kf6 62.Kg3 Re2=. 48.g4 d2 48...Re2+ 49.Kf6 d2 50.g5 Rf2+ 51.Kg6 Kf8 52.h4+–. 49.Kf6 Rb6+ 50.Kg5 Rb5+ 51.Kg6 Rb6+ 52.Kh5 Rb2 53.g5 Kf7 54.g6 + Ke6 54...Kg7 55.Rd7+ Kf6 56.Kh6 Rb8 57.Rd6++–. 55.g7 Kf7 56.Kh6 Rb8 56...Rb3 57.h4 Rg3 58.Rf4+ Ke7 59.Rf1+–. 57.Kh7 1-0 Black resigned because of 57...Rg8 58.Rd7+ Ke6 59.Rxd2 Kf7 60.Rf2+ +–; 57.Rxd2 wins as well: 57...Kg8 58.Rd6 Ra8 59.Kg6 Rb8 60.h4 Rb6 61.Rf6+–. Exercises (Solutions next month)

E87.01 A.Shirov (2699) - V.Tukmakov (2551) Odessa Pivdenny Bank 2007 How did Shirov finish Black off?

E87.02 L.Aronian (2759) - A.Shirov (2699) Wch Candidates final Elista 2007 How did Shirov save himself? Calculate the variation to the final fortress!

E87.03 A.Shirov (2739) - S. Mamedyarov (2752) World Blitz Moscow 2007 Black to move and draw.

Solutions to last month's exercises E86.01 M.Taimanov – R.J.Fischer Candidates qf3, Vancouver 1971 Taimanov had missed 46...Qd4+ and had to resign, as he loses his rook: 47. Rf2 Ra1+ 48.Kh2 Qxf2–+.

E86.02 R.J.Fischer – W.Wagenfeld Chicago simul 1964 42.Qh7+? Now Black’s king escapes to the queenside. Centralising the queen with 42.Qe4+ cuts the king’s escape route: 42...Kf7 (42...Kd7 43.Qxd4+ Qd6 44. Rg7++–) 43.Qxb7+ Ke8 (43...Kf6 44. Qb6+ Kf7 45.Qg6+ Ke7 46.Qe4+ Kf7 47.Qf5+ Ke7 48.Re1+ Re3 49. Rxe3+ dxe3 50.Qxf8+ Kxf8 51.Kg3+–) 44.Re1+ Re3 45.Qc8+ Kf7 46. Rxe3 dxe3 47.Qxf8+ Kxf8 48.Kg3+–. 42...Kd6 43.Qg6+ Kc5 ½–½ E86.03 R.J.Fischer – S.Reshevsky 2nd Piatigorsky Cup, Santa Monica 1966 35...Rb4? Now Black’s queen plays no real role. It had to be activated at once: 35...Qxf4 36. Qe7

Then comes the point: 36...Rg8!! the rook defends purely passivly to free the queen from defensive tasks. White cannot win, e.g. 37.Rh5+ Kg6 38.Rh4 Qe3+ 39.Kh2 Rh8!! 40.Rxh8 Qf4+ and White cannot escape from the checks. 36.Qf3 Kh6 37.g3! Qxh3 38.Qxd5 1-0 Black resigned because of 38...Rxb2 39. Qe6+ Kh7 40.Qg6+ Kg8 41.Qxg7#.

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Shirov's Queens Last month we examined a few of Alexei Shirov’s recent rook endings. This month we will see that he can also work magic with the queens. The analysis of the following fascinating battle is based on the work of German chess trainer and analyst Claus Dieter Meyer from the Werder Bremen sports club website, where you can find many more examples of his deep analytical approach. I have shortened it and added a line here and there.

Endgame Corner

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88.01 B.Gelfand (2733) – A.Shirov (2699) Odessa (Pivdenny Bank Cup) 2007 37...g5+!! The only chance to continue the fight. The immediate 37...Qxf4+?? does not work of course: 38.gxf4 Bf2+ 39.Kg5 and the f-pawn cannot deliver mate because it is pinned.

Karsten Müller

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38.fxg5 38.Kxh5? is punished by 38...Qf3+ 39. Kxg5 (39.g4 Qxh3+ 40.Kxg5 Qh6+ 41.Kf5 Qf6#) 39...Qxg3+ 40.Kf5 Qg6 + 41.Ke5 Qf6+ 42.Kd5 Qe6#. 38...Kg6! Play through and download the games from ChessCafe.com in the DGT Game Viewer.

Threatening mate with 37...Qf4+ 38. gxf4 Bf2, and to advance the passed apawn. The immediate 38...a2? is refuted by 39.Qe6! Bf8 40.Qe5+ Kh7 41.Ra7+–.

The Magic of Chess Tactics by Karsten Müller

39.Qc3?

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Gelfand does not find the best defense in the heat of the battle. 39.Rd3! was called for. (39.Qd3? Qe3! and White is powerless) Now 39...a2 A) 39...Kh7? 40.Rd8+–. B) 39...Be7? 40.Qc6+! Kh7 41.Qh6+ Kg8 42.Rd7+– Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual by Mark Dvoretsky

B1) 40.Rd5? This runs into the hammer blow 40... Qf6!! 41.Qb5 Qe6 42.Re5 Qd6 43.Rd5 Qe6=. B2) 40.Qd5? Qf6! 41.Qf5+ (41.g4 Qxg5 + 42.Qxg5+ Bxg5+ 43.Kg3 h4+ 44.Kf3 Be7–+) 41...Qxf5 42.exf5+ Kxf5 43. Kxh5 (43.Rd7 Bxg5+ 44.Kxh5 Ke6 45. Ra7 Be7–+) 43...Ke6 44.Re3+ Kd7 45.

Rf3 b5 46.Rxf7 a2 47.Rf1 b4 48.g6 Bf6 49.Rxf6 a1Q 50.g7 Qxf6 51.g8Q Qe5+ 52.Kh4 Qe7+ 53.Kh5 Qe8+–+. Now back to the main line 39...a2, which ends in a perpetual check: 40. Qd5! (40.Qa4? Be7 41.Qc6+ Kh7 42.Qh6+ Kg8 43.Rc3 (43.Rd1 Qe3 44. Ra1 Qxe4+ 45.g4 Qb1–+) 43...Bc5 44.Rd3 Bd4–+) 40...a1Q 41.Qc6+ Bd6 (41...f6?? 42.Qe8+ Kh7 43.Rd7+ Be7 44.Rxe7#) 42.Rxd6+ Kh7 43. Rh6+ Kg7 44.Qc8 (44.Qe8 Qxg3+=) 44...Qxg3+ 45.Kxg3 Qe1+ 46.Kf4 Qf2+ 47.Ke5 Qg3+ 48.Kd4 Qg1+! (48...Qf2+? 49.Kd5 Qa2+ (49...Qd2+ 50.Kc6+–) 50.Kd6+–) 49.Kd3 Qd1+ 50.Ke3 Qe1+ 51.Kf4 Qf2+=. 39...f6!? Thomas Stark pointed out that surprisingly 39...a2 wins as well: 40.Ra7 a1Q 41.Rxa1 f6 42.gxf6 Bd4 43.Rf1 Qxf1 44.Qxd4

Now 44...b5!! and White’s days are numbered despite his two extra pawns. (But not 44...Qxf6+? 45.Qxf6+ Kxf6 46. Kxh5 b5 47.Kh6 b4 (47...Kf7 48.Kh7=) 48.g4 b3 49.g5+ Kf7 50.Kh7 b2 51.g6+ Kf6 52.g7 b1Q 53.g8Q Qxe4+ 54. Kh8=.) 45.f7 (45.e5 Qc4–+) 45...Qxf7 46.g4 Qf6+ 47.Qxf6+ Kxf6 48.Kxh5 Kg7!–+.

40.Rd5!? I) 40.gxf6 Qxf6+ 41.Qxf6+ Kxf6 This loses because of Black’s passed pawns on the queenside: 42.g4 A) 42.Ra7 Kg6–+. B) 42.Kxh5 b5 43.Rc7 Bf8 44.Rc6+ (44. Rc8 Kg7–+) 44...Kf7!–+. 42...hxg4 43.hxg4 b5–+ 44.Rc7 Bf8 (after 44...a2??, White turns the tables with 45.g5+ Ke6 46.Rc6+ Kd7 47.Ra6 +–) 45.g5+ Kg6 46.Rc6+ Kg7 47.Rc7+ Kg8–+. II) 40.Qxf6+ Qxf6 41.gxf6 a2 42.Ra7 Be3–+. 40...a2

41.Rf5 The stalemate trick 41.Rxc5!? bxc5 42. Qe5!! was the most tenacious and still poses annoying problems:

42...fxg5+ 43.Qxg5+ Kf7 and Black wins, as White has no perpetual check, e. g. 44.Qd5+ Ke7 45.Qe5+ (45.Qb7+ Kf8!–+) 45...Kd7 46.Qd5+ (46.Kg5 Qe3 + 47.Kh4 (47.Kxh5 Qb3 48.Qg7+ Kc6 49.Qf6+ Kb5 50.Qa1 Qb1–+) 47...Qa3! 48.Qd5+ Kc7 49.Qe5+ Kb6 50.Qb8+ Ka5 51.Qc7+ Kb4 52.Qb6+ Kc3 53.Qf6 + Kb3 54.Qf3+ Kb4–+) 46...Kc7 47.Qe5 + Kc6 48.Qd5+ Kb6 49.Qb3+ Kc7 50. Qe6 50...Qc2–+ (50...a1Q?? 51.Qe5+ Qxe5 stalemate spoils it.). 41...Qf4+ This wins prosaically, but 41...a1Q was even more beautiful: 42.Qxa1

(42.Qb3 Qaa2–+) 42...Qf4+!!

A really amazing position! 43.gxf4 (43. g4 Bf2#; 43.Rxf4 fxg5#) 43...Bf2#. 42.gxf4 Bf2+ 43.Qg3 Bxg3+ 44.Kxg3 a1Q 45.Rxf6+ Kg7 46.e5 b5 47.Kh4 b4 48.Kxh5 Qd1+ 49.Kh4 b3 50.e6 b2 51. Rf7+ Kg8 52.Rb7 b1Q 53.Rxb1 Qxb1 54.Kg4 Qe4 0–1 What a magical fireworks display by Black’s queen!

Solutions to last month's exercises

E87.01 A.Shirov (2699) - V.Tukmakov (2551) Odessa Pivdenny Bank 2007 Shirov won easily with 39.Rb8+ Rf8 40. Rxf8+ Kxf8 41.Kg6 1-0 Black resigned because of 41...Rg8+ 42. Kf6+–.

E87.02 L.Aronian (2759) - A.Shirov (2699) Wch Candidates final Elista 2007 Shirov saved himself by the skin of his teeth. 63...Ra7+ 64.Kf8 Kd3 65.Rh4 Ke3 66. Rh7 Kf4 67.Rxf7 Ra6 68.Kg7 ½-½ A draw was agreed, as White cannot make progress after 68...Kg5 69.Rf8 Rb6 70.f7 Rg6+ 71.Kh7 Rh6+ 72. Kg7 Rg6+=.

E87.03 A.Shirov (2739) - S. Mamedyarov (2752) World Blitz Moscow 2007 This was a five-minute blitz game, so do not be too critical. 49...Kg6? 49...Ra1! 50.Rxc2 Rxa4 was the solution, as the threats Rxh4 and Kg4 cannot be parried, e.g. 51.Rf2+ (51. Kg3 Ra3+ 52.Kg2 Kg4 53.Rc4+ Kh5=) 51...Kg4 52.g6 Ra8 53.g7 Rg8 54. Rf7 Kxh4=. 50.a5? 50.Rc6+ Kh5 51.g6 Kh6 (51...Ra1 52.g7 Ra2 53.Kf3 Ra3+ 54.Ke2 Rg3 55.Rxc2 Rxg7 56.Rc4+–) 52.h5 Ra1 53.Rxc2 Rxa4 54.Rc5+–. 50...Kh5 51.a6 Ra1 52.Rxc2 Kxh4 53.Rc6 Kxg5 54.Kf3 Kf5 ½–½

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Rook vs. Bishop with Three Pawns Each on One Wing

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Yannick Pelletier recently asked me about material on the endgame rook vs. bishop with three pawns each on one wing. I came up with Averbakh’s, Rook v. Minor Piece Endings, London 1978, p.80-85, Speelman’s, Endgame Preparation, London 1981, p.95-98 and Hübner’s Twenty-Five Annotated Games, Edition Marco 1996, p.26-40, but decided that it might be good to put everything together in one article.

Endgame Corner

89.01 Kholmov 1973 If the pawns are blocked and the attacking king has managed to penetrate deeply, then Kholmov showed the way to win. This was refined a bit by Hübner.

Karsten Müller

1.Bc6 Rd2

The ChessCafe Puzzle Book by Karsten Müller

First the rook must be transferred to d6 to prepare the breakthrough. 2.Kg1 Rd6 3.Bb7 Now comes the point. 3...g5!! Black must make the pawn structure fluid again. Play through and download the games from ChessCafe.com in the DGT Game Viewer.

4.fxg5

The Magic of Chess Tactics by Karsten Müller

4.hxg5 h4 5.gxh4 (5.Kg2 hxg3 6.Kxg3 Rd4 7.Kh4 Kxf4 8.Kh5 Rd8 9.Kh6 Rh8 + 10.Kg7 Rb8–+) 5...Kxf4 6.Kg2 Kg4 7.Bc8

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7...Rg6!? Good technique. (7...Rb6 8. Kf2 Rg6 9.Kg2 Kxh4 works as well.) 8. Kh2 Rc6 9.Bd7 Rc2+ 10.Kg1 Kg3 11. Kf1 f4 12.Ke1 f3 13.Bb5 f2+ 14.Kd1 Rb2 15.Bd3 Rb1+ 16.Bxb1 f1Q+–+. 4...f4 5.gxf4 Kxf4 6.Kf2 Rd2+ 7.Kf1 7.Ke1 Rh2 8.g6 Rxh4 9.Bc8 Kf3 10.Kd2 Rd4+ 11.Kc3 Rd1–+. 7...Kg3 8.g6 Rd4 9.Bc8 Rf4+ 10.Kg1 10.Ke2 Rf6–+. 10...Rc4 11.Ba6 Rc1+ 12.Bf1 Rc7 13.Bb5 13...Rg7! (Hübner) 14.Be8

Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual by Mark Dvoretsky

14.Bd3 Kxh4 15.Kg2 Kg4 16.Be2+ Kg5 17.Bd3 Rd7 18.Be4 Kf4 19.Bb1 Rd2+ 20.Kh3 Rb2 21.g7 Rb3+ 22.Kh4 (22. Kh2 Rg3–+) 22...Rxb1–+. 14...Re7 15.Bb5 Kxh4 16.Kf2 Kg5 17. Bd3 Rd7 18.Bb1 Kf4 19.Kg2 Rd2+ 20. Kh3 Rb2 21.g7 Rb3+ 22.Kh2 22.Kh4 Rxb1 23.Kxh5 Kf5–+. 22...Rg3–+ Speelman illustrated the way to win if the attacking king has not advanced very far. 89.02 Speelman Endgame Preparation 1980 The long diagonal is not long enough. 1...Rb2+ 2.Kf3 Rb8 3.Bc6

3...Kc5! This forces the bishop to leave the long diagonal. 4.Ba4 4.Bd7 Rb6 5.Be8 Kd4 6.Bf7 Rf6 7.Be8 Ra6 8.Bf7 (8.Bd7 Ra3+ 9.Kf2 Rc3 10. Be8 Ke4 11.Bxg6 Rc2+ 12.Kg1 Kf3 13. Bxf5 Rg2+ 14.Kf1 Rh2 15.Kg1 Kxg3– +) 8...Ra3+ 9.Kg2 Ke3 10.Bxg6 Ra2+ 11.Kh3 Kf2–+ see the main line.

4...Rb6! Now the bishop cannot return to the long diagonal. 5.Ke3 Re6+ 6.Kf2 Kd4 7.Kf3 Re3+ 8.Kg2 8.Kf2 Rc3 9.Be8 Ke4 10.Kg2 Rc2+ 11.Kh3 Kf3 12.Bxg6 Rg2 13.Bxf5 Rxg3+ 14.Kh2 Kxf4–+. 8...Ra3 9.Be8 Ke3 10.Bxg6 Ra2+ 11.Kh3 Kf2 Black’s mating attack decides. 12.Kh2 12.Bxh5 Kg1 13.g4 Ra3#. 12...Kf3+ 13.Kh3 Ra1 14.Bxh5+ Kf2 15.Kh2 Rg1 16.Bf3 Rxg3 17.Bc6 Rg4 18.Kh3 Ke3 19.h5 Kxf4 20.Bd5 Kg5 21. Bf3 Rc4–+

Hübner demonstrated the win if the f-pawns have not advanced. 89.03 Hübner Twenty-five Annotated Games 1996 1.Ra2 Bd4 2.f4 Bc3 3.Ra8+ Kg7 4.Ke8 Be1 5.Ra3! Do not rush! 5.Ra7? Bxg3 6.Rxf7+ Kg8=. 5...Bf2 6.Rb3 Be1 7.Rd3 Bf2 7...Kf6 8.Kf8 Bf2 9.Kg8 Be1 10.Kh7 Bb4 (10...Kf5 11.Kg7 f6 12.Rb3 Kg4 13. Kxf6 Bxg3 14.Kxg6 Bxh4 15.f5 Bg5 16. Rb4+ Bf4 17.Rxf4+ Kxf4 18.f6+–; 10...Bf2 11.f5 gxf5 12.Rf3 Be1 13. Kh6+–) 11.f5 Kxf5 (11...g5 12.Kh6 gxh4 13.gxh4 Kxf5 14.Kxh5 Be7 15. Rf3+ Ke6 16.Re3+ Kf6 17.Kh6+–) 12.Rf3+ Ke6 13.Kg7+– Black’s bishop is helpless. 8.f5!

The decisive undermining of Black’s structure. 8...gxf5 9.Rf3 Be1 10.Rxf5 f6 11.Rf3 Bb4 12.Rb3 Bc5 13.Rb7+ Kg6 14.Kd7 Bf2 15.Rb2 Be1 16.Re2 Bc3 17.Ke6 Bd4 18.Ra2 Be5 19.Ra3 Bc7 20.Ra8 Be5 21.Rg8+ Kh7 22.Kf7+–

If the pawns are still fluid, the win can be achieved easier, as Lputian showed in the following game. 89.04 S.Lputian – F.Sideifzade USSR 1979 First White improves his king. 1...h5 2.Kf1 Kg7 3.Ke2 Kg8 4.Ke3 Kg7 5.Ke4 Kg8 6.Kd5 Kg7 7.Rb3 Ba1 8. Rb1 Bc3 9.Rc1 Bb2 10.Rc2 Ba1 11. Kd6 Bd4 12.Ke7 Be5 13.Rc4 Bb2 14. Ke8 f5 15.Ke7 Ba1 16.Ke6 Bb2 17.Rc7 + Kg8 18.Rd7 Bc3

White could now win Kholmov’s way, but it is much easier to play f3, g3, and then transfer the rook to g2, followed by g4. 19.f3 Bb2 20.g3 Bc3 21.Rd3 Ba1 22. Rd1 Bc3 23.Rg1 Bd4 24.Rg2 Kg7

Finally the preparations are over and the decisive advance decides the issue. 25.g4 fxg4 26.hxg4 26.fxg4? leads to a well-known fortress: 26...hxg4 27.Rxg4 Bc3 and White cannot win, e.g. 28.h4 Kh6 29.Kf7 Kh5 30.Rxg6 Kxh4=.

26...Kh6 27.gxh5 27.Kf7 h4 28.Rd2 (28.f4+–) 28...Be3 29.Re2 (29.Rd6? Kg5 30.Rxg6+ Kf4= (S.Lputian in Informant 29e/9)) 29...Bf4 30.Re6 h3 31.Rxg6+ Kh7 32.g5+–. 27...gxh5 27...Kxh5 28.Kf7+–. 28.Kf5 h4 29.Rd2 Bc3 30.Rc2 Be1 31.Rc6+ Kg7 32.Kg5 Bg3 33.f4 h3 34.Rg6+ Kf7 35.Rh6 h2 36.Kg4 1–0 Knowing the following position is very helpful for solving the first two exercises. 89.05 Kling and Horwitz 1851 White always wins no matter where Black’s dark-squared bishop is located. 1.Rf3 Bh2 2.Rh3 Bg1 3.Rh1 Now the bishop is forced to leave the shadow of the kings. 3...Bd4 3...Bf2 4.Ra1 Kf8 5.Rf1+–. 4.Rd1 Bb6 5.Rb1 Bc7 6.Rc1 Bd8 7.Rc8+– Exercises (Solutions next month)

E89.01 V.Platov 1925 How to dominate Black’s bishop?

E89.02 V.Platov 1925 Find White’s only way to make progress!

E89.03 A.Muir (2322) – M.Erdogdu (2403) EU-chT 15th Gothenburg 2005 Black has two moves that draw. Find one of them!

E89.04 K.Bischoff (2560) – M.Senff (2471) German Bundesliga 2006 Is 61.f5 or 61.h5 the right way to break Black’s fortress?

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Open the Gates American grandmaster Edmar Mednis wrote many books on the endgame and had superb endgame technique. This month we will examine his beautiful opening of the position in a knight vs. bishop ending against Schandorff.

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90.01 E.Mednis (2440) - L.Schandorff (2400) Silkeborg 1988 White’s knight is much stronger than Black’s bishop and White has complete control, which is always important in the fight knight vs. bishop. But how to make progress? There seems to be no way for White’s king to enter, but Mednis finds a beautiful way to open the gate.

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

Q & A on Practical Endgame Play by Edmar Mednis

62.f4!? gxf4 62...g4+? 63.Kh4+– and Black is in fatal zugzwang. 62...Kh5? 63.fxg5 (63.g4+? fxg4+ 64.Kg3 gxf4+ 65.Kxf4 g3 66.Kxg3 Kg5=) 63...Kxg5 64.Kg2 also loses because of the bad position of Black’s bishop, which is dominated by the knight: (64.Nd3? Bd7 65.Nf4 Bc8 66.Nxd5 f4+ 67.Kh2 fxg3+ 68.Kxg3 Bb7 69.Nc3 Kf5=) 64...Kh5 (64...f4 65.g4+–; 64... Kf6 65.Kf3 Kg7 Play through and download the games from ChessCafe.com in the DGT Game Viewer. The Complete DGT Product Line

66.Ke3! puts Black in fatal zugzwang 66...Bf7 67.Kf4 Be6 68.Kg5+–) 65.Kf3 Kg5 66.Ke3 f4+ (66...Bg6 67.Nd7 Kg4 68.Kf2 f4 69.Ne5+ Kf5 70.g4+ Kg5 71. Nd7 Kxg4 72.Nc5+–) 67.gxf4+ Kf5 68. Nd3 Bd7 69.Kf3 Bc8 (69...Be6 70.Ne5 Bc8 71.Ng4 Be6 72.Ne3+ Kf6 73.f5 Bxf5 74.Nxd5+ Ke6 75.Nc7+ Kd6 76. Nxa6 Kd5 77.Nc5 Kxd4 78.a6+–) 70. Nf2 Kg6 71.Ng4 Bb7 72.Ne3 Kh5 73. Kg3 Bc6 74.Nf5 Bb7 75.Nd6 Ba8 (75... Bc6 76.Nf7 Bd7 77.f5 Bxf5 78.Kf4 Kg6 79.Ke5+–) 76.Ne8 Bc6 77.Nc7 Bb7 78.Ne6 Kg6 79.Kg4 Kf6 80.f5 Bc8 81.Kf4 Bxe6 82.fxe6 Kxe6 83.Kg5+– as White’s king has reached a key square of the d5-pawn.

63.Nd3!!

The Magic of Chess Tactics by Karsten Müller

Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual by Mark Dvoretsky

This is an extremely dangerous winning try. Black has to act very precisely to avoid the infiltration of White’s king and knight. 63...f3? 63...fxg3 was called for: 64.Kxg3 Bd7 65.Kf4 Bc8

Black can hold: 66.Ke5 (66.Ne5 Kg7 (66...Kh5? 67.Nc6+–) 67.Kg5 f4 68. Kxf4 Kf6 69.Nd3 Bf5 70.Nc5 Bc8=) 66...Kg5 67.Kd6 (67.Kxd5 f4 68.Kc6 Kf5 69.Nf2 f3 70.d5 Kf4 71.Kc7 Bf5 72. d6 Ke3 73.Nh1

Now Black’s king must turn its attention back to the queenside: 73...Kd4 74.Kb7 Kd5 75.Kxa6 Kc6 76.Ka7 Kxd6 77.Kb6 Bd7 78.Nf2 Be8 79.Ne4+ (79.a6 Bc6 80. a7 Kd5 81.Kc7 Ba8=) 79...Ke5 80.Nd2 f2 81.a6 Kd5=) 67...f4 68.Kc7 Bf5 69. Ne5 Be6 70.Kb7 Kf5 71.Kxa6 Ke4 72. Kb6 (72.Kxb5 Kxd4 73.a6 Bc8 74.Ng4 Kd3 75.a7 (75.Kb6 Bxa6 76.Kxa6 d4=) 75...Bb7 76.Kb6 Ba8 77.Kc7 d4 78.Kb8 Bg2 79.b5 Ke2=) 72...Bc8 73.Kc5

Black’s position looks very precarious, but he seems to be able to defend: 73... Ba6! But not: a) 73...f3? 74.Nxf3 Kxf3 75.Kxb5+–. b) 73...Be6? 74.a6 Bc8 75.a7 Bb7 76. Ng4 Kf3 77.Nf6 Kg2 78.Nxd5 f3 79. Nc3 f2 80.Nd1 f1N 81.d5+–. c) 73...Bb7? 74.Ng4 Kf3 75.Nf6 Kg2 (75...Ke3 76.Kxb5 Kxd4 77.a6 Bc8 (77...Ba8 78.Ng4 Ke4 79.Kc5 d4 80.b5 d3 81.b6 d2 82.Nf2+ Kf3 83.Nd1 Ke2 84.Nc3+ Kd3 85.Kb4+–) 78.a7 Bb7 79.Kb6 Ba8 80.Kc7 f3 81.Ng4 Kc4 82.Kb8 Bc6 83.Ne5++–) 76.Nd7 f3 77.Ne5 f2 78.Ng4 It is over, as the underpromotion to a knight does not help: 78...f1N 79.Kxb5 Nd2 80.Ne5 Ba8 (80...Nb3 81.Kb6+–) 81.a6 Nb3 82.Nc6+–; 74.Ng4 f3 75.Nf2 + (75.Nh2 f2 76.Kb6 Bc8 77.a6 Bxa6 78. Kxa6 Kxd4 79.Kxb5 Kc3=) 75...Ke3 76. Nh1 Ke2 77.Kxd5 Bb7+ 78.Kc5 Kf1 79. d5 Kg2 80.d6 Kxh1 81.d7 f2 82.d8Q f1Q

I could not find a win for White. 63...Bd7?! may defend as well; e.g., 64. Nxf4 Kg5 65.Kg2 (65.Kh2 Bc6) 65... Kg4 66.Kf2 Bc6 67.Nd3 Bb7 68.Ne5+ Kg5 69.Kf3 Ba8 70.Nd3 Bb7 71.Nf2 Bc8 72.Nh3+ Kf6 73.Kf4 Bb7 74.Nf2 Bc6 75.Nd3 Bd7 76.Nc5 Bc8

Surprisingly, I could not find a way to break through. Can you do better? Now back to the game. 64.Nc5 Kg5 65.Nxa6 f4 66.g4

66...Bg6?! Black’s counterplay is too late. He should have tried 66...Bd7 67.Nc5 Bxg4 + 68.Kh2 Kh4 69.a6 Bh3

White must now be very careful to prevent dangerous counterplay: 70. Nb3!! (70.Nd3? Bc8 71.a7 Bb7 72.Nc5 Bc6 73.Nd7 f2 74.Kg2 f1Q+ 75.Kxf1 Kg3 76.Nb6 Kf3 77.a8Q Bxa8 78.Nxa8 Ke3=; 70.a7? f2 71.a8Q f1Q is only drawn, as White’s knight cannot enter the attack in time.) 70...Bc8 (70...f2 71. Nd2 f1Q 72.Nxf1 Bc8 73.a7 Bb7 74. Kg2 Kg4 75.Kf2 f3 (75...Kf5 76.Kf3+–) 76.Ke3 f2 77.Kxf2 Kf4 78.Nd2+–) 71.a7 Bb7 72.Nd2 Kg4 73.Kg1 Kg3 74.Nf1+ Kg4 75.Kf2 Kf5 76.Nd2 Kg4 77.Nb3 Kf5 78.Kxf3+–. 67.Nc5 Be4 67...Be8 68.Ne6++–. 68.a6 Kg6 68...f2 69.Nxe4+ dxe4 70.Kg2+–. 69.Nxe4 1-0 Black resigned because of 69...dxe4 70.a7 f2 71.Kg2 e3 72.a8Q+–. Solutions to last month's exercises

E89.01 V.Platov 1925 White wins with 1.Kf5 with the double threat Kg6 and Rf7, so 1...Kg8 is forced. Now 2.Ra4! dominates the bishop: 2... Be1 2...Bf2 3.Kg6 Kf8 4.Rf4++–; 2... Bg3 3.Rg4++–; 2...Bd8 3.Ra8+–; 2...Be7 3.Kg6 Kf8 4.Ra8++–. 3.Kg6 Kf8 4.Rf4 + Ke7 5.Re4++–

E89.02 V.Platov 1925 White must not allow Black’s bishop to reach the long diagonal comfortably: 1. Rc3! After 1.Rd3?, Black has 1...Bc1! 2. Rd7+ Kg8 3.Kg6 Kf8 4.Kf6 Bb2+= and defends. 1...Bd2 1...Bf4 2.Rf3 Bd6 3.Rf7 + Kg8 4.Kg6+–; 1...Bg7 2.Rc7 Kg8 3. Kg6+–. 2.Rc7+ Kg8 3.Kg6 Kf8 4.Kf6 Ke8 5.Ke6 Kf8 5...Kd8 6.Rd7++–. 6.Rf7 + Ke8 6...Kg8 7.Kf6 Bc3+ 8.Kg6+–. 7. Rf2 Be3 8.Re2 Bh6 9.Rh2 Bg7 10.Ra2 Kd8 11.Ra8+ Kc7 12.Ra7++– E89.03 A.Muir (2322) – M.Erdogdu (2403) EU-chT 15th Gothenburg 2005 93...Bg3?? A very unfortunate square. 93...Bb6= or 93...Bd4= was called for. 93...Bh4?? 94.Kg4+–, 93...Ba7? 94.Rb2 Bd4 95.Rb7+ Ke8 96.Kf6 Bc3 97.Re7+ +–. 94.Kg4 1–0

E89.04 K.Bischoff (2560) – M.Senff (2471) German Bundesliga 2006 White must use his h-pawn to open the gates of Black’s fortress: 61.h5 61.f5? gxf5 62.Kxf5 Bb3 is drawn. 61...gxh5 61...Bxh5 62.f5 Bf3 63.f6+ Kh7 (63... Kg8 64.Kh6 Bg4 65.Rb7+–) 64.Rc4 Be2 65.Rh4+ Bh5 66.Rh1 Kg8 67.Kh6 Kf8 68.Rb1 Ke8 69.Kg7 g5 70.Rb5+–. 62.f5 Bb3 62...Bg4 63.f6+ Kf8 64.Kh6+–. 63.f6+ Kh7 64.Kxh5 Bd5 65.Kg5 Be6 66.Rc2 Bd5 67.Rh2+ Kg8 68.Kf4 1–0

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The Riddle of Botvinnik vs. Bronstein The legendary endgame of the twenty-third game of the world championship match Botvinnik vs. Bronstein has been analyzed by many experts, but there still seems to be several open questions and lingering doubts. Oliver Zierke from Germany drew my attention to this endgame and has allowed me to use his extensive analysis of the final position. For some time he thought that he had found a draw until Alexey Shirov, armed with Rybka, proved him wrong. However, let me start a bit earlier to ask some further questions.

Endgame Corner

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91.01 M.Botvinnik – D.Bronstein World Championship Moscow (23), 08.05.1951 In this position the game was adjourned and Botvinnik sealed the wrong move: 42.Bd6?

Karsten Müller

A Practical Guide to Rook Endgames by Nikolay Minev

42.Bb1 wins a pawn and should win in the long run: 42...fxe4 (42...Nc6 43.exd5 exd5 44.Ba2 Nab4 45.Bb3 Kf6 46.Bd6 +–) 43.fxe4 dxe4 44.Bxe4+ Kg7

Now Salo Flohr showed the way to win: 45.Bxb7! Nxb7 46.Kc4+–. 42...Nc6 43.Bb1 The Magic of Chess Tactics by Karsten Müller

Play through and download the games from ChessCafe.com in the DGT Game Viewer. 43...Kf6?

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Bronstein misses his chance. He should have played 43...Na7!, but I am uncertain if this is really drawn now. Kasparov’s line is correct: 44.exd5 exd5 45.Ba2 b5! 46.a5 b4+ 47.Kd3 Nb5 48. Be5 Nac7 49.Kc2 Kf7 50.Bxc7 (Botvinnik gives 50.Kb3?!) 50...Nxc7 51. Kb3 Ke6 52.Kxb4 Kd6 53.Bb1 f4 54. Bxh7 Ne6 55.Kb5 Nxd4+ 56.Kb6 Nxf3 57.Kxb7 Ne5 58.a6 f3

Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual by Mark Dvoretsky

59.a7 (I add that 59.Bf5 f2 60.Bh3 Nc6 61.Bf1 d4 62.h4 d3 63.Bxd3 Nb4 is drawn as well.) 59...f2 60.a8Q f1Q 61. Qb8+ Ke6 62.Bg8+ Nf7 63.Qe8+ Kd6=. But is 43...Na7! 44.Bd3! (to stop b5) really drawn or can White still harbor winning chances similar to the game?

Further analysis is needed here. 44.Bg3!

This strong retreat puts Black into some sort of zugzwang. 44...fxe4? 44...Nab4? 45.Be5+ Kg6 46.exf5+ exf5 47.Bd6 Na6 48.Ba2+–. Kasparov gives 44...h6! 45.Bf4 h5 as Black’s best chance. What about 46.Bg3!? now? (46.h4 fxe4 47.fxe4 e5 48.dxe5+ Ke6 49.Ba2 Nc7 is one line given by Kasparov.

Now 50.Kd2!? Nxe5 51.Ke3 b5 52.axb5 Ng4+ 53.Kd2 Nxb5 54.Bxd5+ Kf6 55. Bxb7 is also not completely clear to me.) 45.fxe4 h6 46.Bf4 h5 47.exd5 exd5 48. h4 Nab8 49.Bg5+ Kf7 50.Bf5 Na7 51. Bf4 Nbc6 52.Bd3 Nc8 53.Be2 Kg6 54. Bd3+ Kf6 55.Be2 Kg6 56.Bf3 N6e7 57. Bg5 1–0

Bronstein resigned after thinking for forty minutes. The main line of the analysts runs 57...Nc6 58.Bxd5 Nd6 59. Bf3 Kf5 The immediate 59...b5 is refuted by 60. Bf4 Nf5 61.Bxc6 bxc6 62.a5 Ne7 63.a6 Nd5+ 64.Kb3 Kf5 65.a7 Nb6 66.d5 cxd5 67.Be3 Na8 68.Kb4 Ke4 (68...Ke6 69. Kxb5 Kd7 70.Kc5 Kc8 71.Kxd5 and

Black’s poor knight will not be able to sacrifice itself against White’s h-pawn.) 69.Bd2 d4 70.Kxb5 Kd5 71.Ba5 d3 72.Bb4+– (Winter & Wade) and Black is in zugzwang. A typical endgame weapon against the knight. 60.Bc1 (Smyslov) 60.d5 Ne5 61.Bxh5, as suggested by Winter & Wade, may win as well, but Ken Thompson’s endgame database proved in 1983 that the bishoppair always wins the pawnless endgame against a lone knight, if the knight can force no immediate draw: 61...b5 62.Be7 Nc8 63.Ba3 bxa4 64. Kd4 Ng6 65.Kc5 Nxh4 66.d6 Nxd6 67.Kxd6 Both black pawns will be lost and White wins from the theoretical point of view. But this was not known in 1951, when the pawnless endgame two bishops vs. knight was thought to be drawn. 60...b5 61.Bxc6 bxc6 62.a5

Here ends the line quoted by most sources, but Oliver Zierke’s research went much further: 62...Ke6!? 62...Ke4 63.a6 Nc8 64.Bh6 Kd5 65.Bf8 Nb6 66.Kb4 Na8 67.a7 Ke6 (67...Kxd4 68.Ka5+–) 68.Ka5 Kd7 69.Ka6 Kc7 70. Bb4 Kc8 71.Ba5+– and Black is in zugzwang. 62...Kg4 63.Bg5 Kf5 64.Kb4 Ke4 65. Be7 Nf5 66.a6+–.

63.Bf4 63.Kb4 Kd5 64.a6 Nc8 65.Bf4? does not work: 65...Kxd4 66.Bd6 (66.Bb8 Kd5 67.a7 Nxa7 68.Bxa7 Ke4 69.Bc5 Kf5 70.Be7 Kg4=) 66...Kd5 67.Bc5 Ke5 68.a7 Nxa7 69.Bxa7 Kd5

Black’s fortress cannot be surmounted, e. g. 70.Be3 Ke4 71.Bh6 Kd4 72.Bf8 Kd5 73.Ka5 Kc4 74.Kb6 c5 75.Bxc5 b4 76. Kc6 b3 77.Ba3 Kc3 78.Kd5 b2 79.Bxb2 + Kxb2 80.Ke4 Kc3 81.Kf5 Kd4 82.Kg5 Ke5 83.Kxh5 Kf6=. 63...Kd5 64.a6

The pawn endgame 64.Bxd6? Kxd6 is only drawn: 65.Kb4 Kc7 66.d5

cxd5 67.Kxb5 Kb7 68.Kc5 Ka6 69.Kxd5 Kxa5 70.Ke5 Kb6 71.Kf5 Kc7 72.Kg5 Kd7 73.Kxh5 Ke7 74.Kg6 Kf8=. 64...Nc8 Now comes Shirov’s contribution. All Black’s pieces are on optimal squares, so the sharp endgame weapon zugzwang is applied to break the defense: 65.Bg3 Ke6 65...Ke4 is met by 66.Bd6!! Kd5 67.Bc5 +–. 66.Bb8 Kd5 67.a7 Nb6 68.Bg3 Na8 69. Kb4 Kxd4 70.Ka5+– Thus it seems that Bronstein did indeed resign in a lost position. Yet he should have played on, because the win is by no means trivial.

Sources ●

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Botwinnik, M. (1980). Meine 100 schoensten Partien von 1925 bis 1970. Schmaus: Heidelberg. Botwinnik, M. (1985). Meine 25 interessantesten Endspiele. De Gruyter: Berlin. Botwinnik, M. (2005). Der Schachwettkampf Botwinnik – Bronstein um die Weltmeisterschaft Moskau 1951. Olms: Zuerich. Bronstein, D. & Fuerstenberg, T. (1997). Der Zauberlehrling. Olms: Zuerich. Kasparow, G. (2004). Meine grossen Vorkaempfer, Bd. 3, Michail Botwinnik. Olms: Zuerich. Vainstein, B.S. (1983). David Bronstein – Chess Improviser. Pergamon: Oxford. Winter, W. & Wade, R.G. (1951), World Chess Championship 1951, Botvinnik vs Bronstein. The Chess Player: London.

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An Old Riddle Revisited

Endgame Corner

While working on the German translation of Dvoretsky’s Analytical Manual (Russell 2008), I noticed that the old riddle of the famous knight vs. bishop endgame Karpov-Kasparov still contains many unanswered questions. Most of the work was done by Mark Dvoretsky in his famous Endgame Manual (Russell 2003) and his Analytical Manual and by Mihail Marin in Learn from the Legends (Quality Chess 2004). Further modern works are Tibor Karolyi’s Endgame Virtuoso Anatoly Karpov (New in Chess 2007) and Jan Timman’s Power Chess with Pieces (New in Chess 2004). In this column I want to prove that a certain endgame is always won for White. 92.01 Karpov - Kasparov World Championship 1984, 9th game

Karsten Müller

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1...gxh4? Kasparov probably missed White’s next amazing winning shot. Play through and download the games from ChessCafe.com in the DGT Game Viewer.

The Magic of Chess Tactics by Karsten Müller

2.Ng2!! hxg3+ 3.Kxg3 Ke6 4.Nf4+ Kf5 5.Nxh5 Ke6 6.Nf4+ Kd6 7.Kg4 Bc2 8.Kh5 Bd1 9.Kg6

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9...Ke7!

Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual by Mark Dvoretsky

10.Nxd5+? Too greedy. Now the path of Black’s king through the center must always be guarded by White’s forces. 10.Nh5! was called for: 10...Bxf3 11.Nxf6 Be4+ 12.Kg5 Bd3!

At first it seems difficult to breakthrough, but Marin found the knight maneuver to the queenside: 13.Ng4! Bf1 14.Ne5 Bh3 15.Kg6! Ke6!? 16. Nc6 Kd6 17.Na5 Ke7 18.Nb3 Bd7 19.Nc5 Bc8 20.Kg7

Finally Black is in zugzwang and loses the a6-pawn as White’s king cannot be allowed to enter the key square f6. But Black can still continue to resist: 20...Bf5! 21.Nxa6 Bd3

This position is the focus of this article. The main line of the analysis is given in bold italics. Dvoretsky and Marin both discuss this position, but I want to present my analysis here to remove any doubt that White is indeed winning. Some preliminary remarks: White always wins, if his king reaches one of the key squares f6, e5 or f5, if Black’s king is passive. In that case he

even wins without his a3-pawn. Furthermore, White prevails if he wins one of Black’s pawn. Winning the d5-pawn is sufficient in this case, as White’s knight can jump back to c3, when White always wins. First White transfers the knight to the kingside or enters with his king via f8: 22.Nb8 Bc2 22...Ke6 23.Kf8 Bg6 (23...Kf5 24.Ke7 Ke4 25.Nc6 Bc4 26.Kd6 Kd3 27. Kc5 Kc3 28.Ne7 Kb3 29.Nxd5 Kxa3 30.Nc3+–) 24.Nc6 Bh5 25.Ne7 Bf3 (25...Kd6 26.Nf5+ Kd7 27.Ng3 Bg6 28.Kg7 Bd3 29.Kf6+– and White would even win without his pawn a3.) 26.Ke8 Bg4 27.Kd8 Kd6 28.Ng6 Bh3 (28...Bf5 29.Ne5 Bh3 30.Nf7+ Kc6 31.Ke7+–) 29.Ne5 Bf5 30.a4 bxa4 31.b5 a3 32.b6 Bc8 33.Kxc8 a2 34.b7 a1Q 35.b8Q+ Ke6 36.Nc6+–. 23.Nc6+ Kd7 23...Ke6 24.Kf8 Bg6 25.Na7 Bd3 (25...Kf5 26.Ke7 Ke4 27.Nxb5 Kd3 28. Kf6 Be4 29.Ke5+–) 26.Ke8 Be2 27.Nc6 Kd6 28.Ne7 Ke6 29.Kd8 Kd6 30. Nc8+ Kc6 31.Ke7+–. 24.Ne5+ Ke7 24...Ke6 25.Kf8 (25.Ng4 Be4 26.Ne3 Ke7 leads to the main line and wins as well.) 25...Kf5 26.Ke7 Ke4 27.Nc6 Kd3 28.Kd6 Kc4 29.Ke5 Be4 30. Na5+ Kc3 31.Nb7 Kb2 32.Nd6 Kxa3 33.Nxe4 dxe4 34.Kxe4 Kxb4 35.d5 Kc5 36.Ke5+–. 25.Ng4 Bf5 25...Bd1 26.Ne5 Bc2 27.Kh6 Kf6 28.Ng4+ Ke6 29.Kg5+–. 26.Ne3 Be4 27.Kh6 Kf6 28.Kh5 Ke6 28...Bd3 29.Kg4 Be4 30.Kf4 Ke6 31.Ng4 Bf5 32.Kg5+–. 28...Bg6+ 29.Kg4 Bf7 30.Nd1 Be6+ (30...Be8 31.Nc3 Bd7+ 32.Kg3 Bc6 33.Kf4+–) 31.Kg3 Kg5 (31...Bd7 32.Kf4 Be8 33.Ne3 Bf7 34.Ng4+ Ke6 35.Kg5+–) 32.Nc3 Bd7 (32...Kf5 33.Kf2 Bd7 34.Nxd5+–) 33.Nxd5 Bc6 34.Nc3 Kf5 35.Kf2 Kf4 36.Ke2+–. 29.Kg5 Bd3

Now comes a knight maneuver to the queenside similar to Marin’s. 30.Ng4 Be4 31.Ne5 Bc2 32.Nc6 Be4 33.Nb8 Bd3 34.Na6 Ke7

White begins the first triangulation. 35.Kg4 Kf6 35...Kd6 36.Kf4 Bc2 37.Kg5 Ke7 38.Nc7+–. 36.Nc7 Be2+

The second triangulation puts Black in fatal zugzwang. 37.Kg3!! Kf5 37...Bc4 38.Kf4+– and Black either loses one of his pawns or has to allow White’s king to enter one of the key squares e5 or f5. 38.Nxd5 Bh5 38...Bd3 39.Nc3 Bf1 (39...Ke6 40.Kf4 Kd6 41.Ke3 Bf1 42.a4 bxa4 43. Nxa4 Kd5 44.b5 Bh3 (44...Bxb5 45.Nc3+ Kc4 46.Nxb5 Kxb5 47.Ke4 Kc6 48.Ke5 Kd7 49.Kd5+–) 45.b6 Kc6 46.d5+ Kb7 47.Kd4 Bg2 48.Kc5 Bf3 49.Nc3+–) 40.Kf2 Bc4 41.Ke3 Bf1 42.a4 bxa4 43.Nxa4+–. 39.Nc3

With the knight on c3 this constellation is always won for White, but some care is still required. 39...Be8 40.Kf3 Bc6+ 41.Ke3 41.d5? Bd7 42.Ke3 Ke5 spoils it. 41...Be8

41...Ke6 42.d5+ Bxd5 43.Kd4 Bc4 44.Kc5+–. 42.Ne4

The board is too small for Black’s bishop. With the knight forks everywhere, White succeeds. 42...Bd7 42...Bc6 43.d5 Bxd5 44.Nd6+ Ke5 45.Nxb5+–. 42...Ke6 43.Kf4 (43.d5+? Ke5=) 43...Bc6 44.Nc3 Be8 45.d5+ Kd6 46.Ke4 +–. 43.Nc5 Be8 44.Na6 Bf7 45.d5 Ke5 46.Nc7 Kd6 47.Nxb5+ Kxd5 48.Kd3 +–. 10...Ke6?! 11.Nc7+ Kd7?! 12.Nxa6 Bxf3 13.Kxf6 Kd6 14.Kf5 Kd5 15. Kf4 Bh1 16.Ke3 Kc4 17.Nc5 Bc6 18.Nd3

18...Bg2 19.Ne5+ Kc3 20.Ng6 Kc4 21.Ne7

21...Bb7? The decisive mistake. 21...Bh1! and surprisingly White cannot win. 22.Nf5 Bg2?! After 22...Kd5!?, White can transfer the knight to the key square c3: 23. Kd3 Ke6

24.Ng7+! Kd7 (24...Kd6 25.Ne8+ Ke7 26.Nc7 Bc6 27.d5+–; 24...Kd5 25. Ne8+–; 24...Ke7 25.Nh5+–) 25.Nh5 Bg2 26.Nf4! Bf1+ 27.Ke4 Kd6 28. Ke3

Black is in fatal zugzwang: 28...Bc4 (28...Kc6 29.d5+ Kd6 30.Kd4 Bc4 31.a4+–) 29.Ne2+–. 23.Nd6+ Kb3 24.Nxb5 Ka4 25.Nd6 1–0

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Russell’s Resources ChessCafe.com owner Hanon W. Russell recently won the U.S. Amateur Championship, from which he sent me two interesting minor piece endgames. In both cases he spoiled his chances shortly before move fortyone.

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93.01 Russell, Hanon (2076) – Kelly, John (2100) U.S. Amateur, Somerset NJ, 25.05.2008

Endgame Corner A Practical Guide to Rook Endgames by Nikolay Minev

Karsten Müller

39.Kc4? This just wastes time as Black exchanges on d4 anyway. 39.Bc5 Bxd4 a) 39...b6 40.Bb4 Bxd4 41.Kxd4 Ke6 42.Bf8 h5 43.Bh6 g4 (43...Kf6 44. Kd5 Nc7+ 45.Kd6 Ne6 46.h3+–) 44.Bf4 Kd7 45.Be5 Ke6 46.Bb8 Kd7 47. Bxa7 Kc7 48.Ke5 Kb7 49.Bxb6 Kxb6 50.Ke6+–. Play through and download the games from ChessCafe.com in the DGT Game Viewer.

b) 39...a6 40.bxa6 bxa6 41.Nc6+–.

The Magic of Chess Tactics by Karsten Müller

40.Kxd4 a6

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Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual by Mark Dvoretsky

(40...b6 41.Bb4 Ke6 42.Bf8 h5 43.Bh6 g4 44.Bf4+–) 41.Ke5! The king must penetrate to prevent Black from creating a fortress. (41.b6? Ke6 42. Bf8 (42.e5 Ng7 43.g4 Kd7 44.Kd5 Ne6=) 42...Nf6 43.Bxh6 Ng4 44.Bxg5 Nxh2

There seems to be no way to storm Black’s castle, e.g., 45.Bf4 Ng4 46. Be3 (46.e5 Nf2 47.a5 Ng4 48.Ke4 Nf2+ 49.Kf3 Nd3 50.Kg4 Nc5 51.Kg5 Kf7=) 46...Ne5 47.Bf4 Nf7=) 41...Nf6 (41...axb5 42.axb5 h5 43.Bb4 h4 44.Bd2 hxg3 (44...Nc7 45.b6 Ne6 46.Kd6+–) 45.hxg3 g4 46.b6 Ke7 47. Bb4+ Kf7 (47...Kd7 48.Bf8 Kc6 49.Ke6 Kxb6 50.Ke7 Nc7 51.Kd7+–) 48. Bc5 Nf6 49.Be3 Ne8 50.Bg5 Ng7 51.Kd6+–) 42.Bb4 axb5 43.axb5

Black cannot stop the king, e.g., 43...g4 (43...Ng4+ 44.Kd6 Nxh2 45.Kc7 Nf3 46.Kxb7 Ne5 47.Kc7 Nc4 48.Kd7+–; 43...Ne8 44.b6 g4 45.Kd5 Kf6 46.Bf8 h5 47.e5+ Kf7 48.Bb4 g5 49.e6+ Kf6 50.Bc3+ Ke7 51.Ke5+–) 44. Kd6 Nxe4+ 45.Kc7 Ke6 46.Kxb7 Nf6 47.Kc6 Nd5 48.Bc5 Ke5 49.b6 Nxb6 50.Bxb6 Ke4 51.Kd6 Kf3 52.Ke5 Kg2 53.Kf6+–. 39...Bxd4 40.Kxd4 Ke6 41.Bb2 41.Bc5!? was again worth trying, but this time Black seems to have enough resources: 41...a6 (41...b6? 42.Bf8 h5 43.Bh6 Kf6 (43...g4 44.Bf4 +–) 44.Kd5 Nc7+ 45.Kd6 Ne6 46.h3 h4 47.e5+ Kf7 48.g4 Nc5 49.a5+–) 42.bxa6 bxa6 43.Bf8 h5 44.Bh6 g4 45.Kc5 Nd6 46.Kb6 Nxe4 47.Kxa6 Kd7 48.Kb6 g5 49.Bg7 Kc8 50.Be5 Nd2 51.Kc6 Nb3

Black’s knight is quick enough to hold the position. 41...g4! Now Black has an impregnable fortress. 42.a5 Nd6 43.b6 a6 44.Bc1 h5 45.Bf4 Nc8 46.Bg5 Nd6 47.Bf4 Nf7 48. Bc7 ½–½ In the second case Russell missed his chance at the fortieth move.

93.02 Matlin, Anna (1836) – Russell, Hanon (2076) U.S. Amateur, Somerset NJ, 26.05.2008

40...c5? Now the position opens up and too many pawns are exchanged. This allows White to draw comfortably. 40...Nc1 was called for, but it seems that White can defend: 41.Bc2 a) 41.Bh7? Ne2+ 42.Kxg4 Nxc3 43.Bc2 Kf6 44.Kf3 Ne4 45.Kg4 Nd2 46. Bh7 Nc4 47.e4 Kg7 48.Bf5 Kh6–+. b) 41.Bf1? Na2 42.Bd3 (42.c4 Nc3–+) 42...Nxc3 43.Bc2 Kf6 44.Kxg4 Ne4 45.Bb1 Nd2 46.Bd3 Nc4 47.e4 c5–+; 41...Ne2+ 42.Kxg4 Kf6 43.e4 Nxc3 44.exd5 (44.e5+? Ke7 45.Kxg5 Ne2–+) 44...cxd5 (44...Nxd5 45. Be4 Ne3+ 46.Kh3 (46.Kh5!?) 46...Nf5 47.Bxc6 Nxd4 48.Bd7=

The knight is too slow to make a win possible.) 45.Bb3

45...Kg6 to win time in the fight on the queenside is an interesting try. The direct (45...Ke6 is met by 46.Kxg5 Ne2 47.Bd1 Nxd4 48.Kf4 Kd6 49. Ke3 Kc5 50.Kd3

The line between a win and a draw in this configuration is critical for the following analysis. I think that White can draw if Black’s king cannot invade via c4 or d4. If it can invade, it does not automatically mean that Black wins of course, but in that case the chances are quite high, as you will see in the variations below. So this position should be drawn, e.g., 50...Nc6 51.Kc3 Ne5 52.Be2 Nc4 (52...d4+ 53.Kd2 Kb4 54.Bb5=) 53. Bd3 d4+ 54.Kc2 Kd5 55.Be2 Ne5 56.Kd2 Ke4 57.Bb5 d3 58.Kc3 Ke3 59. Be8 Nf3 60.Bh5 Nd4 61.Kc4 Ne2 62.Bg6 d2 63.Bc2 Ng1 64.Kd5 Ke2 65. Kc5 Nf3 66.Kc4 Ne5+

Now White must be careful: 67.Kd5 (67.Kb5? Ng4 68.Kxa5 Ne3 69.Bb3 Kd3 70.Kb5 (70.Kb4 Nc2+–+) 70...Kc3–+) 67...Nd3 68.Kc4 Nb4 69. Bb3=) 46.Bc2+ Ne4

47.Bb3 and now: a) 47.Kf3 Kf5 48.Bb1 g4+ 49.Ke3 g3 50.Kf3 Ke6 51.Bd3 Kd6 52.Ba6 Kc6 (52...Nc3 53.Kxg3 Nxa4 54.Kf3 Nc3 55.Ke3 Kc6 56.Kd2 Nb5 57. Kd3 a4 58.Bc8 a3 59.Kc2 Nxd4+ 60.Kc3 Kc5 61.Bg4=) 53.Bd3 Ng5+ 54. Kxg3 Ne6 55.Kf3 Nxd4+ 56.Ke3 Kc5 57.Bf1

White should be able to defend. b) 47.Bd3? Kf6 48.Bc2 (48.Bb5 Nc3 49.Bc6 Ke6 50.Kxg5 Ne2 51.Be8 Kd6 52.Kf5 Nxd4+ 53.Kf4 Kc5 54.Ke3 Kc4 55.Kd2 (55.Kf4 Nc2 56.Ke5 Kc5 57.Bd7 Ne3 58.Kf4 Nc4 59.Be8 Kb4 60.Bf7 Nb6–+) 55...Nf3+ 56. Kc2 Ne5 57.Bb5+ Kd4 58.Be8 Ke3 59.Kc3 d4+ 60.Kc2 Nc4 61.Bh5 Nb6 62.Kb3 d3 63.Bd1 Kd2 64.Bh5 Ke1–+) 48...Ke6 49.Bb3 Kd6 50.Bc2 Nc3 51.Kxg5 (51.Kf3 g4+ 52.Kf4 g3 53.Kxg3 Ne2+ 54.Kf2 Nxd4 55.Bb1 Nb3 56.Ke3 Nc5 57.Kd4 Nxa4–+) 51...Ne2

Now Black has won an all important tempo that allows his king to penetrate decisively: 52.Bg6 (52.Bd3 Nxd4 53.Kf4 Kc5 54.Ke3 Nb3 55. Bb5 Kb4 56.Kf4 Nc5 57.Ke5 Nxa4–+; 52.Bd1 Nxd4 53.Kf4 Kc5 54.Ke5 Nc6+ 55.Kf4 Kd4–+) 52...Nxd4 53.Kf4 Kc5 54.Bf7 (54.Ke3 Kc4 55.Kd2 Nb3+ 56.Kc2 Nc5 57.Be8 d4–+) 54...Nc2

White cannot prevent the invasion of Black’s king, e.g., 55.Kf3 (55.Ke5 Ne3 56.Kf4 Nc4–+; 55.Be8 Kd4 56.Bc6 Na3 57.Kf3 Kc5 58.Be8 Kc4 59. Bc6 Kd4–+) 55...Kc4 56.Ke2 (56.Bg8 Kd4 57.Ke2 Na1 58.Bf7 Nb3 59. Be8 Kc3 60.Kf3 Nc5 61.Bc6 d4–+) 56...Nd4+ 57.Kd2 (57.Ke3 Nb3 58. Kf4 Kd4 59.Kf5 Nd2 60.Ke6 Kc5 61.Ke5 Nc4+ 62.Kf4 d4 63.Bg6 Nb2– +) 57...Nb3+ 58.Kc2 Nc5 59.Be8 d4 60.Bb5+ Kb4 61.Be8 d3+ 62.Kd2 Kc4 63.Bg6 Kd4 64.Bh7 Nb3+ 65.Kd1 Kc3 66.Bg6 Nc5 67.Be8 d2 68. Bb5 Ne4 69.Ke2 Kc2 70.Bd3+ Kc1–+; 47...Nf6+ 48.Kg3 Kf5 (48...Kh5 49.Bd1+ g4 50.Kf4 Kh4 51.Ke5 Kg5 52.Be2 g3 53.Bf3=) 49.Bc2+ Ne4+ 50.Kf3 g4+ 51.Ke3 g3 52.Kf3 Ke6 53.Bd3 Kd6 54.Ba6 Ng5+ 55.Kxg3 Ne6 56.Kf3 Nxd4+ 57.Ke3

Again White should be able to defend. 41.Kxg4 Kf6

Russell suggested 41...c4!?

But White can draw as well by activating his bishop: 42.Bh7 Nc1 43.Bg8 + Kd6 44.e4 dxe4 45.Bxc4 Kc6 46.Kg3 Nd3 47.Kg4=. 42.dxc5 42.Bh7 draws as well: 42...cxd4 43.cxd4 Nd2 44.Bg8 Nc4 45.e4 Ne3+ 46. Kf3 Nc2=. 42...Nxc5 43.Bc2 Ne6 And now White just exchanges another pair of pawns, when the draw is clear. 44.e4 dxe4 45.Bxe4 Ke5 46.Bc2 Nc5 47.Kxg5 Kd5 48.Kf4 Kc4 49.Ke3 Kxc3 50.Bd1 Nd3 51.Be2 Nb2 52.Bb5 Kb4 53.Kd2 Nxa4 54.Bxa4 Kxa4 55.Kc2 Kb4 56.Kb2 a4 ½–½ Addendum Charles Sullivan from the USA spent a lot of time analyzing the Botvinnik-Bronstein ending featured in Endgame Corner #91 and has found some new insights. 91.01 Botvinnik, Mikhail – Bronstein, David World Championship Moscow (23), 08.05.1951

48...Nab8 His first point is that 48...Ne7 draws as well: 49.Bg5+ Ke6 50.Bxe7 Kxe7 51.Bg6 b5 52.axb5 Nc7 53.b6 Na8 54.Bxh5 Nxb6 55.Bf3 Kf6 56.Kb4

Kasparov stops here and claims that White wins. But Sullivan found a rescue for Black: 56...Nc8 57.Bxd5 Nd6 58.Bf3 Nf5 59.d5 Nxh4 60.Bg4 Ke5 61.Kc5 Ng6 62.d6 Nf8

The d-pawn is stopped and the draw is clear. 49.Bg5+ Kf7 50.Bf5 Na7 51.Bf4 Nbc6 52.Bd3

52...Nc8? Only this seems to be the real losing mistake. Sullivan gives 52...Ne7! 53. Be2 (53.Bc7 Ke6 54.Be2 Nf5 55.Bxb6 Nc8 56.Bd8 Nce7 57.Bxh5 Nxh4

And only pawns on one wing are left, so the knights should be able to hold themselves.) 53...Kg6 54.Bg5 Nec6 55.Bd3+ Kf7 56.Bf1 Kg6 57. Be2

Now it seems that Black is in fatal zugzwang, but Sullivan found the amazing 57...Kf5!!, when after 58.Bxh5 b5 Black’s counterplay is sufficient: 59.Bd1 bxa4 60.Bxa4 b5 61.Bc2+ Kg4 62.Bd1+ Kf5 63.Kd3 (63.Be3 b4+ 64.Kd3 Nb5 65.h5 Nbxd4 66.Bxd4 Nxd4 67.Kxd4 Kf6=) 63...b4 64.Ba4 Kg4 65.Ke3 Kf5 66.Bc2+ Kg4 67.Bb3 Nb5 68.Bxd5 Ncxd4=. 53.Be2 Kg6 54.Bd3+ Kf6 55.Be2 Kg6 56.Bf3 N6e7 57.Bg5 1–0 Is the last word on this fascinating battle now spoken or will there be new surprises?

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Central Pawns While studying Efstratios Grivas book Practical Endgame Play – Mastering the Basics (Everyman 2008) my attention was drawn to the following example:

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94.01 Grivas, Efstratios – Soylu, Suat Varna Balkaniad, 1994

Endgame Corner A Practical Guide to Rook Endgames by Nikolay Minev

Karsten Müller

Grivas managed to win in an instructive way, but can this position really be called won already? I had my doubts and I sent him a few ideas. He finally came up with a corrected version and with his kind permission I now hand over the microphone to him. Central pawns are almost always beneficial for the strongest side. In our example White’s winning chances are much better than in the case where he has e- and f-pawns against Black’s g-pawn. In my opinion there are two reasons for this:

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1. Black’s rook does not have at his disposal ‘enough’ files on the queenside to check White’s king. 2. White’s rook has at his disposal more files on the kingside to act through. But still Black, with accurate play he can hold the draw.

The Magic of Chess Tactics by Karsten Müller

46.Kf4 Rd3 The Complete DGT Product Line

There is not much difference with 46...Kf7 47.Rh1, which transposes. 47.Rh1 Kf7 48.Ke4

Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual by Mark Dvoretsky

The critical moment has arisen. 48...Rd2?

The correct defensive method starts with 48...Ra3! 49.Rd1

49...Ra2! the rook must prepare checks from the a-file and from behind. A typical defensive method in rook endgames! (49...Ke6? 50.Kf4 Kd6 51. e4 Ra4 (51...Rb3 52.Ra1 Rd3 53.d5 Rd2 54.Ke3 Rh2 55.Ra6+ Ke7 56. Ra7+ Ke8 (56...Kd6 57.Rf7+–) 57.d6 Rh5 58.Kd4 Re5 59.Rh7 Ra5 60. Re7+ Kf8 61.Kc4 Rg5 62.Re6 Kf7 63.d7 Rg8 64.Kd5+–) 52.Kf5 Ke7 53. d5+–) 50.Rd3 (50.d5 Rf2! 51.Kd4 f5! 52.Rd3 Kf6! (52...Ke7? 53.Ke5 Rf3 54.Rb3! Kd7 55.Ra3 Ke7 56.d6+ Kd7 57.Ra7+ Kd8

White wins in typical fashion by creating an umbrella: 58.e4! fxe4 59.Ke6 +–) 53.Kc5 Ke7 54.Ra3 Re2 55.Ra7+ Kf6 56.Ra6+ Ke7 57.Kd4 Rd2+ 58. Ke5 Rd3=) 50...Ra1 51.Rc3 Ke6 52.Rc6+ Ke7 53.Kd5 (53.Rb6 Re1 54. Rb7+ Kd6 55.Rb3 Ke6 56.d5+ Kd6 57.Rb6+ Ke7 58.Re6+ Kf7 59.Kf3 Rd1 60.e4 f5=) 53...Ra5+ 54.Rc5 Ra3 55.e4 Ra7!

In this critical position, Black can defend: 56.Rc6 Ra5+ 57.Kc4 Ra4+ 58. Kd3 Ra3+ 59.Kd2 Ra4 60.Ke3 Ra1! 61.d5 Rf1= . 49.Kd5 White has placed his king in front of the pawns, so he can assist with their advance. 49...Ra2 50.Rc1! Now White’s rook can provide shelter. 50...Ra5+ Or 50...f5 51.Ke5 (51.Rc7+ Kf6 52.Rc6+ Ke7 53.Ke5 Rf2 54.Rc7+ Kd8

55.Kd6 Rf3 56.Ra7 Ke8 57.Re7+ Kd8 58.d5 also loses) 51...Rf2 52.d5 Rf3 53.Rc3+– . 51.Rc5 Ra3 No help is 51...Ra7 52.Kd6 (the difference!) 52...Ra6+ 53.Rc6 Ra3 54.Rc7 + Kg6 55.e4 Ra6+ 56.Kc5 Ra5+ 57.Kb4 Ra1 58.Re7+–. 52.Rc7+! Ke8 A better, but still insufficient try is 52...Kg6 53.e4 Ra5+ 54.Rc5 Ra7 55. Rc6 Kf7 56.Kd6 Ra4 57.Rc7+ Kg6 58.Kc5 Ra5+ 59.Kb4 Ra1 60.Re7+–. The defender must (nearly always) stay active. 53.Ke4 53.e4 is also fine. 53...Rb3

54.d5! Creating a stronghold for the white rook on e6, from where it will protect its pawns and attack the enemy g6-pawn. 54...Ra3 54...f5+ 55.Kd4 Rb4+ 56.Rc4 Rb2 57.Rc3 Kd7 58.Ke5 Rd2 59.Ra3 Rd1 60.Ra7++–. 55.Kf4 f5 Alternatively, Black could have tried 55...Rb3, but White will still win: 56.e4! Rb1 57.Kf5+– . 56.Rc6 1–0 Black resigned in view of 56...Kf7 57.Re6 Ra5 58.Re5+–. Exercises (Solutions next month) E94.01 Educative Example

Black has only one move to draw. Can you spot it? E94.02 Hecht, Hans Joachim – Springer, Artur Berlin-ch (9), 1959

Black to move has two options to reach the safe heaven of a draw. Find both!

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The Famous Rook Endgame with 4 vs. 3 Pawns

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In this column I will deal with cases relatively favorable for the attacker, when the h-pawn has already reached h5, so that the best defensive setup with pawns on f7-g6-h5 is not possible. One aim is the following famous position. 95.01 Botvinnik,Mikhail – Najdorf,Miguel Alekhine Memorial, Moscow 1956

Endgame Corner A Practical Guide to Rook Endgames by Nikolay Minev

Karsten Müller

White wins as follows: 64.e5 fxe5 65.fxe5 Ke7 65...Re7? 66.Rd7 Rxd7 67.e6+ Ke7 68.exd7 Kxd7 69.Kg6+–. 66.e6 Ra4 Play through and download the games from ChessCafe.com in the DGT Game Viewer.

66...Ra6 67.Rd7+ Kf8 68.Kg6 Rxe6+ 69.Kh7 g5 70.hxg6+–; 66...Kf8 67. Rd8+ Ke7 68.Rd7++–.

The Magic of Chess Tactics by Claus Dieter Meyer & Karsten Müller

67.g5!

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Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual by Mark Dvoretsky

67...hxg5?! 67...Ra7!? is a very tenacious defense: 68.Re5! (now the pawn endgame after 68.Rd7+? Rxd7 69.exd7 Kxd7 is only drawn:

70.Kg6 hxg5 71.Kxg5 Ke7 72.Kg6 Kf8=) 68...hxg5 69.Kxg5 Ra1 70.Kg6 Rg1+ 71.Rg5+–. 68.Rd7+ Kf8 69.Rf7+ Kg8 70.Kg6 g4

Now Botvinnik won beautifully. 71.h6! gxh6 72.e7 Ra8 73.Rf6 1–0 Najdorf resigned because of 73...g3 74.Rd6 g2 75.Rd8+ Rxd8 76.exd8Q#. In the next example Black’s pawn structure is broken, but he has an extra a-pawn, so it should be drawn. 95.02 Karpov,Anatoly (2705) – Hort,Vlastimil (2600) Waddinxveen (6), 1979

37.h5! g5? 37...gxh5 offers better drawing chances, as it is easier to exchange pawns, which is an important defensive technique! For example, 38.Rxh5 Kg6 39. Ra5 Kf6 40.Ra6 Rb6 41.Rxa7 e5. 38.Ra6 gxf4 38...Rb3 39.fxg5+ hxg5 40.Rxa7 Rb4 41.Rh7 e5 42.Rh6+ Kf7 43.Rg6 e4 + 44.Ke2 Rb5 45.Kd1 Rc5 46.Kd2 Rd5+ 47.Kc2 Rd3 48.Rxg5 Rxe3 49. h6+– (Karolyi in Endgame Virtuoso Anatoly Karpov, New in Chess 2007); 38...Re7 39.f5 Kf7 40.e4 Kf6 41.Ke2 Ke5 42.Ke3 Kf6 43.Kd4 Rd7 + 44.Kc5 Re7 45.Kd6 exf5 46.Kd5+ Kf7 47.gxf5+–. 39.exf4 Rb3+ 40.Kg2 Rb7

40...Rb2+ 41.Kg3 Rb3+ 42.Kh4 Rb4 43.Rxa7 Rxf4 44.Rh7+–. 41.Kg3 Kf7 42.Ra4?

The immediate 42.g5 was called for. 42...Kg7? Returning the favor. The rook had to be activated: 42...Rb3+ 43.Kh4 a6 44.Rxa6 (44.g5 Rb1 45.g6+ Kf6 46.Rxa6 Kf5 47.Ra4 Rg1=) 44...Rb4 45. Ra7+ Kg8 46.Kg3 Rb3+ 47.Kf2 Rb4 48.Kf3 Rb3+ 49.Ke4 Rg3 50.Re7 Rxg4 51.Rxe6 Kg7 (51...Rh4 52.Rxh6 Kg7 53.Rg6+ Kf7=) 52.Kf5 Rh4 53.Re7+ Kf8 54.Ra7 Kg8=. 43.g5 Rc7 44.Ra5 This was the sealed move. 44...Kg8 45.Rb5 Kf7 46.Kg4

46...a6 46...Kg7!? was more tenacious, but should ultimately be insufficient: 47. g6 Kf6 48.Rb8 e5 49.fxe5+ Kxe5 50.Rh8 Rc4+ (50...Kf6 51.Rxh6 a5 52. Rh8 a4 (52...Ra7 53.Rg8+–) 53.Ra8 Rc4+ 54.Kf3 Rh4 55.Ra6+ Kg7 56. Ra7+ Kg8 57.Ra5 Kg7 58.Kg3 Rh1 59.Ra7+ Kg8 60.Kg4+–) 51.Kf3 Rc3 + 52.Kf2 Kf6 53.Rxh6 Rc7 54.Rh8 Rb7 55.Ke3 Rb3+ 56.Kd4 Rb4+ 57. Kc5 Rb7 58.Re8 a6 59.Kc6 Ra7 60.Kb6 Rd7 61.Kxa6+–; 46...Rc4 47. gxh6 Rc8 48.Rb7+ Kg8 49.Rxa7 Kh8 50.Kg5 Rg8+ 51.Rg7 Rf8 52.Re7 Rg8+ 53.Kf6 Rg4 54.Ke5 Rh4 55.Rxe6 Rxh5+ 56.f5 Kh7 57.Kf6 Rxh6+ 58.Kf7 Rh1 59.Re2+–) 47.Rb8 (47.g6+ Kf6 48.Rb6 wins as well). 47...Rc1 47...hxg5 48.fxg5 Rc4+ 49.Kf3 Rc3+ 50.Kf4 Rc4+ 51.Ke3 Rc3+ 52.Kd4 Rc7 53.Ra8 Rb7 54.Rxa6 Rb4+ 55.Kd3 Rh4 56.Ra7+ Kg8 57.Ra8+ Kh7 58.g6+ Kg7 59.Ra7+ Kg8 60.Rh7+–. 48.g6+ Kg7 49.Rb7+ Kf8 50.Rb6 Rg1+ 51.Kf3 Rf1+ 51...Rh1 52.Ke4 Rxh5 53.Rxe6 Kg7 54.f5+–.

52.Ke4 Re1+ 53.Kd4 Ke7 53...Rh1 54.Ke5 Rxh5+ 55.Kxe6 Rb5 56.Rxb5 axb5 57.f5 b4 58.f6 b3 59. f7 b2 60.Kf6 b1Q 61.g7#. 54.Rxa6 Kf6 55.Ra7 e5+ 56.fxe5+ Rxe5

57.Ra6+ 1–0 But not 57.Rf7+?! Ke6 58.Re7+? (58.Rf8+–) 58...Kxe7 59.Kxe5 Kf8 with a well known fortress draw. Black resigned because of 57...Re6 58.g7 Rxa6 59.g8Q Re6 60.Qf8+ Kg5 61.Qf7 Rf6 (61...Rb6 62.Qe7+ Kxh5 63. Qc5++–) 62.Qe7 Kf5 63.Qe5++–. In conclusion, here is an example from one of my games. The pure rook endgame and the pure bishop endgame would be relatively easy draws, so I had to keep both pieces on the board and try to achieve concessions. 95.03 Pöpl – Müller,Karsten DBMM Hockenheim, 19.10.2008

35.h3?! This is not good for the rook endgame. A better setup is 35.h4 Rc2+ 36. Kf3 Be5 (36...Rc3+ 37.Kxf4 Rxa3 38.g3=) 37.Bc5 Ke6 38.g3

35...g5 36.Bc5 h5 37.Kd3?! 37.Kf3 is safer. 37...h4

Fixing the kingside so that an exchange into a rook endgame is more dangerous. 38.Be3 Bd6 39.Ra5 Ke6 40.Rb5 Rc8 41.Ke4 Rc3 42.Rb6 f5+ 43.Kd4 43.Kf3? f4–+. 43...Rc2 44.Kd3 Of course not 44.Bxg5? Rxf2 45.Rb3 Rxg2 46.Bxh4 Rd2+ 47.Ke3 Rh2 48.Kd4 Be5+ 49.Kc4 f4 50.Bg5 Bd6 51.h4 Kf5–+. 44...Ra2 45.Rb5 Bf4!?

Now it is very critical for White. 46.Bc5? This allows the king to be cut off on the d-file. 46.Rb3! was called for and should be sufficient for a draw; e.g., 46...Kf6 47.Rb6+ Kf7 48.Rb3 e5 49. Rb7+ Kg6 50.Rb6+ Kh5 51.Rb7 Bxe3 (51...e4+ 52.Kd4 Bxe3+ 53.Kxe3 f4+ 54.Kxe4 Rxf2 55.Kf5=; 51...Ra3+ 52.Ke2 Bxe3 53.fxe3 f4 54.exf4 gxf4 55.Re7 Re3+ 56.Kf2=) 52.Kxe3 Ra3+ 53.Ke2 e4 54.Rb6 f4 55.Rb1 f3+ 56.Kf1; 46.Bxf4? gxf4 47.Rb6+ Ke5 48.Rh6 Rxf2 49.Rxh4 Rxg2–+. 46...Rd2+ 47.Kc3 47.Kc4 g4 48.hxg4 (48.Rb3 Bd6 49.Be3 Rd1 50.Bg5 Rg1–+; 48.Kc3 Ra2 49.Rb1 g3 50.Rf1 Bd6 51.Kb3 Bxc5 52.Kxa2 gxf2–+) 48...fxg4 49.g3 hxg3 50.fxg3 Bxg3

Now White has the surprising 51.Bxe7!?, but it should be insufficient; e.

g., 51...Bf2 (51...Kxe7? 52.Rg5=) 52.Bb4 Rd4+ 53.Kc3 g3 54.Rg5 Rd8 55.Kb3 Kf6 56.Rg4 Kf5 57.Rg7 Rd3+ 58.Kc2 Rd4 59.Bc3 Rg4–+. 47...Rd1 48.f3 Other tries include 48.Rb6+ Bd6 49.Bxd6 exd6 50.Rb2 Ke5 51.Re2+ (51. Kc4 d5+ 52.Kc3 Rg1 53.Kd3 g4–+) 51...Kf4 52.Re3 Rg1 53.Rf3+ Ke5 54. Re3+ Kf6 55.g3 hxg3 (55...g4 works as well.) 56.fxg3 Rh1 57.Rd3 (57.g4 f4–+) 57...Ke5 58.Re3+ Kd5 59.Rd3+ Ke4 60.h4 gxh4 61.gxh4 f4 62.Rd4 + (62.Rxd6 f3–+) 62...Ke5 63.Ra4 Rxh4 64.Kd3 Rh2 65.Ra8 Kf5 66.Rg8 d5–+; 48.Be3 Bxe3 49.fxe3 Kf6 50.Rb8 (50.Ra5 e6 51.Rb5 Rg1 52.Rb2 Rh1 53.Kd2 Rh2 54.Ke1 g4 55.hxg4 h3 56.Kf1 Rxg2–+; 50.Rb2 e6 51. Kc4 Ke5–+) 50...Rg1 51.Rb2 g4 52.hxg4 fxg4 53.Kd4 h3 54.gxh3 gxh3 55.Ke4 Kg5 56.Kf3 e5 57.e4 Kh4–+. \ 48...Rd5? This retreat is a mistake. The rook had to remain active. Simplifying into a bishop ending with 48...Rd2? is also wrong: 49.Rb2 Rxb2 50.Kxb2 Kd5 51.Ba7 (51.Bxe7? Kd4–+ spoils it.) 51...Kc4 52.Kc2 e5 53.Bf2 e4 54. fxe4 fxe4

Now White draws with 55.Bb6! (55.Ba7? e3 56.Bb6 Kb5 57.Ba7 e2 58. Bf2 Kc4 and White is on the wrong end of the reciprocal zugzwang and loses.) 55...e3 56.Ba7 e2 57.Bf2 Bg3 58.Bxg3 hxg3 59.Kd2=; But 48... Be5+ 49.Kc2 Ra1 was the way to go, e.g. 50.Bxe7 (50.Kb3 Rc1–+; 50. Rb6+ Kf7 51.Rb7 Ra2+ 52.Kd3 Bf6–+) 50...Ra2+ 51.Kd3 Rxg2 52.Bb4 Rg3–+. 49.Rb6+ Bd6 50.Bd4 Ra5 51.Kc4 Ra2 Setting a trap.

52.Rb2? 52.Bb2 was forced and then it seems that White can hold. 52...Ra4+ 53.Kd3 Rxd4+ 0–1 White resigned because of 54.Kxd4 Be5+ 55.Kd3 Bxb2–+. Exercises (Solution next month)

E95.01 Papaioannou,I (2520) – Lutz,Ch (2600) Elista (ol), 1998

How did Lutz make progress? E95.02 Hansen,Lars Bo (2565) – Blatny,Pavel (2519) BL2-Nord 0506 Germany (7.1), 19.02.2006

Lars Bo Hansen showed the way to win in his excellent book How Chess Games are Won and Lost (GAMBIT 2008). Can you do the same? Solutions to last month exercises E94.01 Educative Example

1...Ra1! The rook must stay in the south-west corner to keep maximal checking distance in both directions. 1...Rh2? 2.Rh5 Rg2+ 3.Kf5 Kg8 4.Rg5++–; 1...Rg2+? 2.Kh3 Ra2 3.h7 Ra8 4.Kg4 Rb8 5.Rh5 Rh8 6.Kg5 Kg7 7.f5 Kf7 8.f6+–. 2.h7 2.Rh5 Kg8=; 2.Kf5 Ra5+=. 2...Rg1+ 3.Kf3 3.Kf5 Rh1=. 3...Rh1 4.Ra5 Kg7 5.Ra7+ Kh8 6.Ke4 Re1+ 7.Kf5 Re5+ 8.Kg6 Rg5+ 9.

Kf6 Rf5+= E94.02 Hecht,Hans Joachim – Springer,Artur Berlin-ch (9), 1959

Black has two ways to draw. 56...Rxa7+ 56...Kxh6 57.Rxe2 Rxa7+ 58.Re7 Ra8 59.Re6+ Kh7 60.f6 Kh6= is the alternative.; But 56...e1Q? spoils it: 57.Rxe1 Rxa7+ 58.Kf8 Kxh6 59.Re6 + Kg5 60.f6 Kf5 61.Rd6 Ke5 62.Rb6+–. 57.Kf6 Ra6+? 57...Kxh6 was called for. 58.Kg5 Ra2 58...Ra1 59.Re7+ Kg8 60.Rxe2 Rg1+ 61.Kf6 Ra1 62.Re7+–. 59.Re7+ Kg8 60.Kg6 Ra6+ 61.f6 Ra8 62.Rxe2 Kh8 63.Re7 Rb8 64.Rh7 + Kg8 1–0

Addendum Charles Sullivan from the USA, has some interesting insights regarding Efstratios Grivas remarkable rook ending. 94.01 Grivas,Efstratios – Soylu,Suat Varna Balkaniad, 1994

46.Kf4 Rd3 47.Rh1 Kf7 48.Ke4 Rd2 This move is still playable. 49.Kd5

49...Ra2? Sullivan discovered that Black can still save himself with 49...Re2 50.Rh7 + Ke8 51.e4 Re1. The fortress concept is as follows: Black’s king waits on e8, e7, and sometimes f7 and Black’s rook stays on the e-file to force White to defend the e4-pawn. For instance, 52.Rc7 Re2 53.Rc6 Kf7 54. Re6 Ra2 55.Rb6 Re2=. 50.Rc1? Sullivan gives 50.Rh7+ Kg6 (50...Ke8 51.Ke6 Ra6+ 52.Kf5 Rd6 53.Ra7 Kf8 54.Ra5 Ke7 55.d5+– Müller) 51.Re7 f5 52.Ke5 Re2 53.Re6+ Kg5 54. Kd6+–. 50...Ra5+? The final mistake. 50...Re2 still holds as 51.Rc7+ Ke8 52.e4 Re1 leads to Sullivan’s fortress. 51.Rc5 Ra3 52.Rc7+ Ke8 53.Ke4 Rb3

54.d5 Ra3 55.Kf4 f5 56.Rc6 1–0

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The Underestimated Knight There is a tendency to underestimate the knight in chess literature. There is much written on the power of the bishop-pair or the excellent cooperation of rook + bishop vs. rook + knight (Fischer won a few instructive endgames with this material balance) or even the saying that the best knight is still worse than the worst bishop. But the knight is not that bad. Lars Bo Hansen presents the following example in his excellent work How Chess Games are Won and Lost (Gambit2008).

Endgame Corner

96.01 Rasmussen,A (2468) – Nielsen,PH (2625) ch-DEN Silkeborg DEN (3), 17.03.2008

A Practical Guide to Rook Endgames by Nikolay Minev

Karsten Müller

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There was a long discussion after the game as to who was better in this position. Rasmussen had prepared this and claimed to be better because of the bishop-pair. Nielsen also claimed to be better. Hansen sides with Nielsen and I agree with them. If anyone, Black is for choice. Black has a strategic initiative on the dark squares, which is very difficult to counter because Black has one more piece that can operate on the dark squares. In the long run his kingside majority is easier to mobilize than White’s majority on the queenside, where weaknesses may arise sooner or later. And finally White’s light-squared bishop has problems finding a meaningful role. It can reach the outpost c6, but White can not support it in time as he must deal with Black’s counterplay. Let’s see how Nielsen began his initiative:

The Magic of Chess Tactics by Claus Dieter Meyer & Karsten Müller

20...Rc8 21.Bf1 b4 22.Bb5 b3 23.cxb3 23.c3 Rb8 24.Bc4 Na4 (Nielsen) with annoying pressure. 23...Rb8 24.Ba4 Nxb3 25.Be3 Rb4 26.Bc6 Bd8 27.f4

Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual by Mark Dvoretsky

27...Bf6

Hansen prefers 27...e4!? and I agree. Having more pawns on the board keeps more winning potential in reserve. 28.fxe5 Bxe5 29.Re2 Kg7 30.Kf1 h5 31.Bf2

31...Nd4! Black exchanges his knight for White’s good bishop to emphasize his superiority and initiative on the dark squares. Remember that oppositecolored bishops favor the attacker! 32.Bxd4 Rxd4 33.b3

33...h4! Nielsen creates another weakness and opens a second front. 34.gxh4 Rxh4 35.Kg1 f5 36.Rd2

36...Rh3 Hansen suggests the slow approach with 36...Kf6!?. I like his suggestion, as White has difficulties finding a useful move. In the game Nielsen rushes a bit, which makes it clear for White as to what to do and where to defend. Here are just a few lines that illustrate White’s problems: 37.Rc2 g5 38.Bd7 Rd4 39.Be6 (39.Rf2 Rxd5 40.Kg2 Bc3) 39...Rb4 40.Rc8 f4 41. Rf8+ Kg7 42.Rg8+ Kh6 43.Bf7 Rxb3 44.Rg6+ Kh5. 37.b4 Bc3 38.Re2 Bxb4 39.Re6? Quite slow. 39.Re7+ Kf6 (39...Kh6 40.Re6 Rd3 41.Be8 Kg5 42.Rxg6+

Kf4 43.Bf7) 40.Re6+ Kg5 41.Be8 is a better way to generate counterplay against g6. 39...g5? In time trouble Black rushes forward with his pawns. It was better to coordinate the pieces first: 39...Bc5+ 40.Kg2 Rb3 41.Re7+ (41.Be8? f4 42.Rxg6+ Kf8 loses.) 41...Kf6 42.Re6+ Kg5 43.Be8 f4 44.Rxg6+ Kf5 45. Rg8 (45.Rg7 Bd4 46.Rf7+ Ke4 47.Re7+ Be5 48.Bg6+ Ke3 49.Ra7 f3+ 50.Kf1 Rc3 51.Ra1 Bxh2) 45...f3+ 46.Kg3 f2+ 47.Kg2 Kf6 48.Bh5 Rb1 49.Rf8+ Kg7 50.Rf7+ Kg8 51.Rxf2 Bxf2 52.Kxf2 Kg7 and in both cases Black has better winning chances than in the game. 40.Be8 g4 41.Bg6? 41.Rg6+ Kf8 42.Bd7 Rf3 43.Kg2 Kf7 44.Rh6 (Hansen) was called for. White should be able to defend. 41...Bc5+ 42.Kh1 Ra3 43.Kg2 43.Bxf5? Ra1+ 44.Kg2 Rg1#. 43...f4 44.Bh5 f3+ 45.Kf1 f2 0–1 German IM Herbert Bastian wrote a letter to the German magazine Schach (8/2008, p.66f) about bishop vs. knight endgames indicating that the resources of the knight are often underestimated. One of his examples is the following famous classic: 96.02 Stoltz,Goesta – Kashdan,Isaac The Hague (Men) The Hague (10), 30.07.1928

Some sources claim that Black is winning, while other authors think that White can draw with best defense. Bastian thinks that White should be able to draw and I agree, but some work still has to do be done. 1...Kf8 2.Kf1 Ke7 3.Ke2 Kd6 4.Kd3 Kd5 5.h4 Bc8 6.Nf3 Ba6+ 7.Kc3 h6 8.Nd4 g6

We have reached the critical position, where Stoltz committed an error. 9.Nc2?

This allows Kashdan’s king to penetrate one step further. 9.f3 was called for to erect a barrier against Black’s king. Of course, Black can still try to use zugzwang and an advance of his pawns to probe White’s fortress. Here more work is needed to establish the correct assessment, but I think that White can hold his own; e.g., 9...h5 10.g3 Bb7 11.Kd3 a5 12.Kc3 f6 13.Kd3 Ba6+ 14.Ke3 Kc5 (14...g5 15.Nf5) 15.g4 Bb7 16.gxh5 gxh5 17. Kd3 Kb4 18.Kd2. Can a reader find a win for Black after 9.f3? 9...Ke4 10.Ne3 f5 11.Kd2 f4 12.Ng4 h5 13.Nf6+ Kf5 14.Nd7 Bc8 15. Nf8 g5 16.g3 gxh4 17.gxh4 Kg4 18.Ng6 Bf5 19.Ne7 Be6 20.b4 Kxh4 21. Kd3 Kg4 22.Ke4 h4 23.Nc6 Bf5+ 24.Kd5 f3 25.b5 h3 26.Nxa7 h2 27.b6 h1Q 28.Nc6 Qb1 29.Kc5 Be4 0–1 Finally one example that seems to be dead lost for the knight: 96.03 Anand,Viswanathan (2725) – Tiviakov,Sergei (2625) Hoogovens Wijk aan Zee (13), 28.01.1996

94...Kd8 94...Nc8 seems to draw as well; e.g., 95.Kc4 Kd6 96.Kd4 (96.Kb5 Kc7 97. Bf3 Nd6+ 98.Ka6 Nc8 99.Be4 Ne7 100.Kb5 Nc8=) 96...Ne7 97.Ke4 Nd5 98.Kf5 Ne3+ 99.Kf4 Nd5+=. 95.Kc3 Ke7 96.Kd4

96...Nb7? This allows White’s king to penetrate. 96...Ne8? is wrong as well: 97.Ke5 Nc7 98.Bf5 Na6 99.Kd5 Nb4+ 100.Kc4 Nc6 101.Be4 Nd8 102.Kb5 Nxe6 103.Kxb6 Kd6 104.a5 Nc5 105.Bc6 Na6 106.h4 Nb4 107.Bb7 Kd7 108. Kb5+–. But 96...h5! amazingly seems to lead to a draw; e.g., 97.Bh3 (97.Bxh5 Kxe6 98.Bf3 Nf5+ 99.Ke4 Kf6 100.Kd5 Ne3+ 101.Kc6 Nc4=) 97...Kf6 98.Kd5 Ke7 99.Bf1 (99.Kc6 Nc4 100.Kb5 Nb2=) 99...Nb7 100.Bc4 Nd8 101.Ke5 Nb7 102.h4 Nc5 103.Be2 Nxe6 104.Bxh5 Nc5=. 97.Kc4 Kd6 97...h5 98.Bh3 Nd6+ 99.Kd5 b5 100.a5 b4 101.Kd4 b3 102.Kc3 b2 103. Kc2+–.

98.Kb5 Nc5 98...Kc7 99.e7 Nd6+ 100.Ka6 Kc6 101.Bh5 Kd7 102.e8Q+ Nxe8 103. Bxe8+ Kxe8 104.Kxb6+–. 99.h4 h5 100.Bh3 Ke7 101.a5 Nxe6 102.Kxb6 Nf4 103.a6 Nd5+ 104. Kb7 Kd8 105.a7 Nc7 106.Bf1 Kd7 107.Be2 1–0 Exercises (Solutions next month) E96.01 Balashov,Y (2407) – Ruchkin,I (2188) Open A Vladimir RUS (3), 14.08.2008

How did Balashov convert his advantage? E96.02 Luther,Thomas (2515) – Hoffmann,Michael (2470) Lippstadt (9), 1994

Can Black to move save himself? E96.03 Larsen,B – Gligoric,S Linares, 1981

Find Black’s path to draw! E96.04 Spassky,B – Benko,P Palma de Mallorca, 1968

As there are only a few pawns left on the kingside, Black should be able to defend. How? E96.05 Salov,V (2630) – Timman,J (2610) Amsterdam, 1989

Timman drew easily. Can you do the same? Solutions to last month’s exercises E95.01 Papaioannou,I (2520) – Lutz,Ch (2600) Elista (ol), 1998

Black triangulated with his rook to bring White into zugwang. 49...Ra3! 50.Rb4 Ra1+ 51.Ke2 Ra2+ 52.Kf1 Ra1+ A repetition to gain time on the clock and show “who is the boss.” 53.Kf2 Ra2+ 54.Kf1 Rb2!

Now White is in zugzwang and must make a concession. 55.Ra4 55.Rb8 Ke4 56.Rb5 g4 57.b4 Rb3–+; 55.Kg1 Re2–+. 55...Rxb3 56.e4+ 56.Kf2 Rb2+ 57.Kf1 Rc2 58.Rb4 Ra2 again zugzwang. 56...fxe4 57.Ke1 Rb2 58.Kf1 Rc2 59.Rb4 Ra2 60.Kg1 e3 61.Kf1 Rf2+ 62.Kg1 Rc2 63.Kf1 Rc4 0–1 E95.02 Hansen,Lars Bo (2565) – Blatny,Pavel (2519) BL2-Nord 0506 Germany (7.1), 19.02.2006

43.Rc8? HHansen showed the way to win in his excellent How Chess Games are Won and Lost (GAMBIT 2008): 43.e6 Kg8 (43...Ra1 44.Rxc2 Ra5+ 45. Ke4 Kg6 (45...Ra8 46.Ke5 Kg8 47.Kd6 Kf8 48.Kd7 Ra7+ 49.Rc7+–) 46. f5+ Kf6 47.Rc7+–) 44.g5 hxg5 45.Kg6 Kf8 46.fxg5 Re1 47.Rc8+ Ke7 48. Rxc2 Re5 49.Rc7+ Kxe6 50.Rxg7+–. 43...g6+ 44.Kf6 Rf1 45.Rc7+ Kg8 46.Rxc2 Rxf4+ 47.Kxg6 Rxg4+ 48. Kf6 Rf4+ 49.Ke7 h5 50.e6 Kg7 51.Rc8 Rf1 52.Rc4 Re1 53.Kd7 Kf6 54. Rf4+ Kg5 55.Rf8 h4 56.e7 h3 57.e8Q Rxe8 58.Rxe8 Kf4 59.Ke6 h2 60. Rh8 Kg3 61.Kf5 Kg2 62.Kf4 h1Q 63.Rxh1 Kxh1 ½–½

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Position is Everything In pure opposite-colored bishop endgames the defender usually wants to construct a fortress on the squares that his bishop controls (see Endgame Corner 2). So material is often less important than positional factors. The following endgame, from Lars Bo Hansen’s excellent book How Chess Games are Won and Lost (GAMBIT 2008), caught my attention.

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97.01 Hansen,Lars Bo - Rasmussen,K Danish Championship Playoff Match Ry, 1993

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Karsten Müller

My feeling was that White is better, but somehow it should still be drawn with best defense, as the drawish margin is quite large in opposite-colored bishop endings. Yet Hansen managed to win, so I had to search for improvements. 47.Rb6?

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A surprising decision, as usually the attacker wants to keep the rooks on the board. So 47.Bd4+ was necessary; e.g., 47...Kf7 (47...Ke7 48.Be5 Rb7 49.f4 Kf7 50.fxg5 hxg5 51.Rd8) 48.Be5 now Rxe6 is threatened 48... Ra8 (48...Rb7 49.Rd8 Ra7 (49...Be8 50.Rc8 with the threat Rc7+ as now the pure opposite-colored bishop endgame is won.) 50.Rh8 Ra2+ 51.Kg3 Re2 52.Bd6 Rd2 53.Bb8 Bf1 54.f4) 49.Rb6 Ra2+ 50.Kg3 and White has a strong initiative in all cases.

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47...Rxb6 48.Bxb6

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48...Bc6? Black must act energetically to stop White’s plan. White wants to play f3f4 and after gxf4 Bxf4 put his king on h4 and play g4-g5 hxg5 Kxg5

followed by h5-h6. Then put his bishop to e3, where it protects h6 and stops Black’s e-pawn (the important principle of one diagonal at work), so that White’s king can march to the queenside to win Black’s bishop. 48...e5! 49.Bc5 (49.Ke3 Bc6 50.Bc5 Kf7 51.Bd6 e4 52.f4

52...Bd7! (of course not 52...gxf4+? 53.Kxf4 Bd7 54.Bc5+-) 53.f5 Bb5 54. Kxe4 Be2 55.Be5 Ke7 56.Bg7 Bxg4 57.Bxh6 Kf6 58.b5 Bxf5+ and Black draws.) 49...e4 50.fxe4 (50.Bf8 exf3 51.Kxf3 Bc6+ 52.Kg3 Bd7 53.Bxh6 Bb5 54.Bf8 Bc6 55.Bc5 Kg7 56.Be3 Kh6=

White can not make meaningful progress because of his weak pawn g4.) 50...Kf7

It seems that Black draws because of White’s weak g4-pawn; e.g., 51.e5 Bd7 52.Kf3 Bc6+ 53.Ke3 Bd7 54.Bd6 Bxg4 55.b5 Bd7 56.b6 Bc6 57. Bb4 Ke6 58.Kd4 Bf3 59.Be1 Kd7 60.Bg3 Kc6=. 49.Bc5 Kf7 Now it is too late for 49...e5 50.Bf8 e4 51.fxe4 Bxe4 52.b5+-. 50.Bd4 Bd7 51.Kg3 Bb5 52.Ba1 Kg8 53.Bb2 Kh7 53...Kf7 54.f4 Be2 55.Bc1 Kf6 56.fxg5+ hxg5 57.h6 Bd3 58.Kf2 Kg6

Now White has 59.Bxg5 Kxg5 60.Ke3+- overloading the bishop. 54.f4 gxf4+ 54...Be2 55.Bf6+-. 55.Kxf4 Be2 56.Be5 Bb5 57.Kg3 57.g5?! is less precise, but wins as well: 57...Be2 58.g6+ Kg8 59.Bd4 Bxh5 (59...Kf8 60.Ke5 Kg8 (60...Bxh5 61.b5 Bf3 62.Kf4 Be2 63.b6 Ba6 64.Kg4 Bc8 65.Kh5+-) 61.Bc3 Kf8 62.Kf6 Bxh5 63.b5 Bf3 64.Kxe6 h5 65.Be1 Kg7 66.Kf5 Bd5 67.b6 Kg8 68.Kg5 Bf3 69.Kh6 Kh8 70.Bc3+ Kg8 71.Bf6 Kf8 72.Kh7 Be4 73.b7+-) 60.b5 Be2 61.b6 Ba6 62.Kg4 Be2+ 63.Kg3 Ba6 64.Kh4 Bb7 65.Kh5+-

White wins based on the principle of one diagonal. This time it is the diagonal a1–h8. 57...Bd3 58.Kh4 Be2 59.Bb2 Bd3 60.Bc3 Be2 61.Be5 1–0 The game was adjourned here and Black resigned. A possible finish is 61...Bb5 62.g5 hxg5+ 63.Kxg5 Be2 64.h6 Kg8 65.Kg6 Bd3+ 66.Kf6 Kh7 67.Bf4 Bc4 68.Ke5 Kg6 69.Kd4 Bf1 70.Kc5 e5 71.Be3 Kf6 72.b5 Bd3 73. b6 Be4 74.Kd6+-. Exercises (Solutions next month) E97.01 Kramnik,Vladimir (2777) - Svidler,Peter (2747) Corus Wijk aan Zee (4), 14.01.2004

Svidler resigned here. Is Black really lost?

E97.02 Topalov,Veselin (2740) - Shirov,Alexei (2710) Linares, 1998

There is only one move that wins for Black. Can you find it? E97.03 Euwe,Max - Yanofsky,Daniel Abraham Staunton m Groningen (1), 1946

How to break Black’s fortress? E97.04 Kotov,Alexander - Botvinnik,Mikhail URS-ch22 Moscow, 1955

How did Botvinnik win? E97.05 Skatchkov,Pavel (2370) - Sherbakov,Ruslan (2580) RUS-Cup5 terinburg (2), 1997

Can White to move survive?

Solutions to last month’s exercises E96.01 Balashov,Y (2407) – Ruchkin,I (2188) Open A Vladimir RUS (3), 14.08.2008

Balashov won with 43.Rg8+ Rf8 44.Ba4+! The point. Black must open a road for White’s king. 44.Rxf8+? Kxf8 45. Ke3 Kg7 46.Bc2 Kf6 gives Black drawing chances. 44...b5 45.Rxf8+ Kxf8 46.Bc2 Kg7 47.Ke3 Kf6 48.Kd4 Nb7 49.Bd3 e6 50.dxe6 Kxe6 51.Bxb5 Nd6 52.Be2 Ne8 53.a4 Kd6 54.a5 1–0 E96.02 Luther,Thomas (2515) – Hoffmann,Michael (2470) Lippstadt (9), 1994

Black can draw by hiding near the corner: 51...Ke7? 51...Kc8 52.Bc6 Kb8 53.Kd6 Ka7 54.Kd7 Kb8 55.Be4 Ka7 56.Kc8 Nxb5 57.axb5 stalemate; 51...Kd8 is playable as well: 52.Bf5 Ne8 53.Bg6 Nc7 54.Kd6 Kc8 55.Kc6 Na8 56.Bf5+ Kb8=. 52.Bf5 1–0 Black resigned because of 52...Ne8 53.Kd5 Nd6 54.Bh3+E96.03 Larsen,B – Gligoric,S Linares, 1981

Black must try to get active counterplay. 3...Ke6?

53...Na6! 54.f5 (54.Kd5 Kg6 55.Kc6 Nxb4+ 56.Bxb4 Kf5 57.Bd2 b4=) 54...Ke7 55.Kd5 Kd7 56.Bc3 Nc7+ 57.Kc5 Ne8 58.Kxb5 Nd6+ 59.Ka6 Nxf5 60.b5 Nd6 61.b6 Kc8! 62.Bxf6 Nb7= (Larsen in Informant 31/415). 54.Kc5 Kd7 55.Bc1 Ke6 55...f5 56.Bd2 Kc8 57.Kd6 Kd8 58.Be3 Kc8 59.Bc5 Kb7 60.Ke5 Kc6 61. Kxf5 Kd5 62.Kf6 Ke4 63.f5 Nd5+ 64.Kg6 Ke5 65.Kg5 Nc3 66.Bg1 Nd5 67.Bh2+ Kd4 68.f6+-. 56.Kc6 Ne8 57.Kxb5 Kd5 58.Ka5 Nd6 59.b5 f5 60.Ka6 Ne8 61.b6 Kc6 62.Ba3 1–0 E96.04 Spassky,B – Benko,P Palma de Mallorca, 1968

Black can draw by precise defense. 53...Ne3? 53...Nd4! 54.Kxh5 Kf6 55.Kh6 (55.Bd8+ Kg7 56.Kg5 Ne6+=) 55...Ne2 56.h5 Nc3 57.Bd8+ Kf7 58.Bg5 Ne4 59.Bh4 Nd6 60.Bd8 Ne4=; 53... Kf7? 54.Bf4 Nd4 55.Be5 Nf3+ (55...Ne2 56.Kxf5 Ng1 57.Kf4 Ne2+ 58. Kg5 Ke6 59.Bb8+-) 56.Kxf5 Nh2 57.Bc7 Ng4 58.Kg5 Ke6 59.Kxh5 Kf5 60.Bd8 Ne5 61.Bb6 Ng4 62.Bd4 Nh2 63.Kh6 Nf1 64.Bf2+-. 54.Kxh5 Nd5 55.Bf4 Kf6 56.Bd2 Nc7 57.Bc3+ 1–0 E96.05 Salov,V (2630) – Timman,J (2610) Amsterdam, 1989

Timman constructed a barrier on the kingside. 47...g5! Just waiting with 47...Ka7? is insufficient: 48.Kf4 Nh5+ 49.Kg4 Kb6 50. Kh4 Nf6 51.Kg5 Ne4+ 52.Kf4 Nf6 53.g4 Nh7 54.Bf1 Ka7 55.Ke5+-. 48.Be2 Ka7 49.Kf3 49.Kd4 g4 50.Ke5 Nh5=. 49...Kb6 50.Bf1 Ka7 51.Bd3 Kb6 52.Bc4 Ka7 53.Bb5 Kb6 54.Be2 Ka7 55.Bf1 Kb6 56.Bd3 Ka7 57.Bc4 Kb6 58.Bb5 Ka7 59.Be2 Kb6 60.Ke3

Ka7 61.Bc4 Kb6 ½–½

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Same-colored Bishops After investigating opposite-colored bishop endings last month, I decided to look at same-colored bishops this time. The drawish tendency is lower than with “bees of opps,” but still quite large. One of the reasons for this is that the defending king cannot easily be dislodged if it sits on a square that the bishop does not control. Furthermore, it is more difficult for the defending bishop to fall into zugzwang compared to a knight, and it is usually very difficult to exchange it.

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

I found the following victory of fourteen-year-old Russian-Nepalese Anish Giri (who now lives in the Netherlands) against a very experienced grandmaster worth analyzing in more detail. The position should still be drawn, but as Black has the plan to send his king on a long march inside White’s camp it is not so easy. 98.01 Romanishin,O (2533) - Giri,A (2469) Corus C Wijk aan Zee NED (8), 25.01.2009

67...Kd7 68.Bg4+ Ke7 69.Bd1 Play through and download the games from ChessCafe.com in the DGT Game Viewer. The Complete DGT Product Line

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69.c4 Bf7 70.f5 Kf8 71.Be2 Kg7 72.Ke4 Kh6 73.Kf4 Bh5 74.Bg4= is better from a practical point of view. The strategy to restrict the enemy bishop is often seen. As Black’s king cannot penetrate, no real progress can be made.

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69...Kf7 70.Bc2 Ke6 71.Ke3 Bg2 72.Kd4 Bh3 73.Bd3 Bg4 74.Bc2 Bh5 75.Kc4 Be2+ 76.Kd4 Bg4 77.Kc4 Bf5 78.Bd1 Be4 79.Bg4+ Kf7 80.Bh5 +?! This drives Black’s king to the kingside, where it wants to invade anyway. 80.Bc8 Bc2 81.Bxb7 Bxa4 82.Bc8 Kg6 83.Bg4 is easier. 80...Kg7 81.Bd1 Kg6 82.Kd4 Kf5 83.Ke3 Bd5 The Manual of Chess Endings by Sarhan Guliev Only $9.95!

Zugzwang. 84.Bc2+ Kg4 85.Bd1+ Kg3 86.Bc2 Be6 87.Bd1 Kg2

After Black’s long march, the moment of truth has arrived. Now it must be stopped. 88.Bc2? This was a mistake. After 88.Be2, I could not find a win, but maybe you can do better? For example, 88...Kg1 (88...Bb3 89.Bg4 Bxa4 90.Bc8 Bb3 91.Bxb7 Bd5 92.c4 Bf3 93.f5 Kg3 94.Kd4 Kf4 95.Bc8 Be4 96.Bd7) 89. Bd3 again stopping the march. (After 89.Bd1? Black invades successfully: 89...Kf1 90.Kd2 Kf2 91.Kd3 Ke1 92.Bf3 Bb3 93.Bg4 Bxa4 94.Bc8 Bb5+ 95.Kc2 Ba6 96.Be6 Ke2 97.Kb3 Ke3 98.f5 Bb5 99.Bc8 Ke4 100.c4 (100.Bxb7 Kd5–+) 100...Ba6 101.Kc3 a4 102.Kb4 Kd4–+) 89...Bb3 90.Bf5 Bxa4 91.Bc8 Bb3 92.Kd2 a4 93.Kc1 a3 94.f5 Kf2 95. Bxb7 Bd5 96.Kc2 Ke3 97.Bc8 Ke4 (97...a2 98.Kb2 Kd3 99.Ba6+ Kd2 100.c4 Bg8 101.Bb7 Kd3 102.Bxc6 Kxc4 103.Bb7 Kxc5 104.Ka1) 98. Be6 Ke5 99.Bd7

As Black’s bishop does not control a1 and the f6-pawn is not far advanced, Black cannot win. 88...Kf1 89.Kf3 89.Bd3+ Ke1 90.Bc2 Bh3 91.Bb3 Bf5 92.c4 Bg4 93.Bc2 Bd1 94.Bxd1 Kxd1

White loses the pawn ending: 95.Ke4 (95.Kd3 Ke1 96.Ke3 Kf1 97.Kf3 f5–+) 95...Kd2 96.Kf5 Ke3 97.Kxf6 Kxf4 98.Ke6 Ke4 99.Kd7 Kd4 100. Kc7 Kxc4 101.Kxb7 Kxc5–+. 89...Ke1 90.Ke3 Bg4! The weakness on a4 will be White’s undoing. 91.Bg6 Bd1 92.Kd3 Bxa4 93.c4 The counterattack 93.Bf5 does not help: 93...Kd1 94.Bc8 Bb3 95.Bxb7 a4 96.Bxc6 a3 97.Bf3+ Kc1 98.c6 a2 99.c7 Be6 100.Bd5 Bf5+ 101.Be4 a1Q 102.Bxf5 Qb1+–+. 93...Kf2 94.Bf7 Kf3 95.f5 Kf4 96.Be6 Bd1 97.Bc8 Bf3 98.Kc3 Ke5 99. Be6 Be4 0–1 I also once had an interesting bishop ending against Oleg Romanishin, but, unlike Anish, I did not manage to win. 98.02 Müller,Karsten (2533) - Romanishin,Oleg (2567) Lippstadt (9), 30.07.1999

40.Kxf7? The typical fortieth move error just before the time control. Playing for domination and zugzwang with 40.f5! was necessary; e.g., 40...Be8 (40... gxf5 41.gxf5 Be8 42.Bd3 Kd7 43.Ke5 Ke7 (43...Kc6 44.Bc2 Kc7 45.Kd5 Kb6 46.Kd6+-) 44.f6+ Kd7 45.Kd5+-) 41.Bd3 g5 42.Bc2 Kd7 43.Kxg5 Ke7 44.Kh6 f6 45.Kg7 Bf7

Now White can start more drastic action: 46.g5 fxg5 47.f6+ Ke6 48.Bg6

Bg8 49.Be4 Ke5 50.Bd5 d3 51.Bxg8 d2 52.f7 d1Q 53.f8Q+-. 40...Bxg4 41.Bxg6 Be2 42.f5 d3 43.f6 d2 44.Bc2

44...Ke5! A nasty surprise. I had only calculated 44...d1Q? 45.Bxd1 Bxd1 46.Kg6! (46.Kg7? Bh5 47.f7 Bxf7 48.Kxf7 Ke5 49.Ke7 is surprisingly only drawn:

49...Kd4 50.Kd6 a4 51.Kc6 a3 52.Kd6 Kc3 53.Kxc5 Kb2 54.b4 Kxa2 55. b5 Kb3 56.b6 a2 57.b7 a1Q 58.b8Q+ Kc2!=) 46...Ke6 47.f7 Bh5+ 48. Kxh5 Kxf7 49.Kg5 Ke6 50.Kf4+-. 45.Ke7 Kd4 46.f7 Kc3 47.f8Q Kxc2 48.Qf5+ Bd3 49.Qf2 Kc1 50.Qxc5 d1Q 51.Qxa5 Kb1 52.c5 Qe2+ 53.Kd8 Bb5 54.a4 Qe8+ 55.Kc7 Qc6+ 56.Kb8 Qe8+ 57.Kc7 Qc6+ 58.Kb8 Qe8+ 59.Kc7 ½–½ Solutions to last month’s exercises E97.01 Kramnik,Vladimir (2777) - Svidler,Peter (2747) Corus Wijk aan Zee (4), 14.01.2004

Peter Svidler resigned in a drawn position. He can just defend along the diagonal a7-g1: 49...Bg1 50.Kxa5 Bf2 51.Kb5 Bg1 52.Bd5 Bf2 53.Ka6 Kc7 54.a5 Bg1 55.Kb5 Kd6 56.Kb4 Bf2 57.a6 Ba7 58.Kc3 Ke5= 1–0 E97.02 Topalov,Veselin (2740) - Shirov,Alexei (2710) Linares, 1998

The only winning move is the amazing 47...Bh3!! 47...Kd6? 48.Kf2 Kc5 49.Ke3 Kc4 50.Bxf6 Kb3 51.Kd2 Ka2 52.Kc1=. 48.gxh3 Kf5 49.Kf2 Ke4 50.Bxf6 50.Ke2 a3 51.Kd2 d4 52.Ba1 f5 53.Ke2 f4 54.Kf2 f3 55.Kf1 Ke3 56.Ke1 d3–+. 50...d4 51.Be7 Kd3 52.Bc5 Kc4 53.Be7 Kb3 0–1 E97.03 Euwe,Max - Yanofsky,Daniel Abraham Staunton m Groningen (1), 1946

Euwe won by breaking through with his king to the queenside: 44.Bf6 Bg2 44...Bf3 allows 45.Kf4 Bh1 46.Ke5+-. 45.h5 gxh5 46.Kf5 1–0 Yanofsky resigned, as Black’s king is cut off on the diagonal h4-d8 and it cannot follow White’s in the race to the queenside. E97.04 Kotov,Alexander - Botvinnik,Mikhail URS-ch22 Moscow, 1955

Botvinnik created a second decisive passed pawn with the typical break 59...g5!! 60.fxg5 60.hxg5 h4 61.g6 h3 62.f5 Bxf5 63.g7 Be6 64.Bd6 Kxe3 65.Kxb3 d4+–+. 60...d4+ 61.exd4 61.Bxd4 Kg3 62.g6 Kxh4 63.g7 Kh3 64.e4 h4 65.Bf2 Kg4–+. 61...Kg3 61...Kg4? 62.d5 Bxd5 63.Bf2=. 62. Ba3 Kxh4 63.Kd3 Kxg5 64.Ke4 h4 65.Kf3 Bd5+ 0–1 E97.05 Skatchkov,Pavel (2370) - Sherbakov,Ruslan (2580) RUS-Cup5 terinburg (2), 1997

The e6-pawn will be White’s undoing, if he does not sacrifice it immediately: 69.Kh3? 69.e7!! Bxe7 70.Bg8 Ke5 71.Bf7 Kd4 72.Bg8 Ke3 73.Be6 Bf6 74.Bh3= and White’s fortress cannot be stormed. 69...Be7 70. Bd3 Ke5 71.Kg2 Kd4 72.Bc4 72.Be4 Kc3 73.Bd5 Kd2 74.Be4 (74.Bc4 Ke3 75.Bf1 h3+ 76.Kxh3 Kxf3–+) 74...Ke2 75.Bf5 Ke3 76.Bh3 Kd2 77. Bf5 Kc3–+. 72...Ke3 0–1

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Good Knight, Bad Bishop After discussing bishop endings in the last two columns, I decided to highlight the duel of knight vs. bishop in order to show the differences and similarities between these types of endgames. The side with the knight always wants to have complete control, so that the slow-moving knight can maneuver at its leisure.

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99.01 Short,N (2663) - Kasimdzhanov,R (2687) Corus B Wijk aan Zee NED (7), 24.01.2009

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

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Strong grandmaster and endgame expert Rustam Kasimdzhanov faces a choice between evils: to exchange the rooks or to allow a passed a-pawn. Both are bad for Black as rook and bishop usually cooperate better than rook and knight, and of course allowing a dangerous passed pawn is also usually to be avoided. 37...Re5?

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As White has complete control, this exchange of a counterattacking unit is wrong from a practical point of view. Even former FIDE world champion Kasimdzhanov could not manage to save Black, if it is at all possible. I will not exclude this possibility, perhaps one of the readers will find a way. 37...axb4! is called for; e.g., 38.cxb4 c6 39.Kd3 (39.a5 Bd6 40. b5 bxa5 41.bxc6 Bb4 42.Rb5 Rc7 43.Rb6 Kg6 44.Ke3 (44.Kd3 f5 45.Nc3 Bxc3 46.Kxc3 fxg4 47.fxg4 Kg5=) 44...f5 45.gxf5+ Kxf5 46.Kd4 Rc8 47. c7 Be7 48.Rc6 h5 49.Kd5 Kf4=) 39...Ra7 40.a5 bxa5 41.Rxa5 Re7

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White can still press of course, but Black’s practical drawing chances are higher than in the game. 38.Rxe5 Bxe5 39.bxa5 bxa5 40.Ke3 c6 41.f4 Bc7 42.Ng3 Kg6 43.Ke4

43...Bd6 43...f6!? with the idea 44.Nf5 h5 is very tenacious, but I think that I have found a win: 45.gxh5+ (After 45.Nh4+?, Black always seems to find counterplay: 45...Kh6 46.Kf5 hxg4 47.Kxg4 Kg7 48.Kf5 Kf7 49.Nf3 Ke7 50.Nd4 Kd6 51.Ne6

51...Bb6! (51...Bb8? 52.c4 gives White control and he wins; e.g., 52...Ke7 (52...Ba7 53.Kxf6 Bf2 54.f5 Be1 55.Kf7 Ke5 56.Kg6 Bb4 57.Nd8+-) 53. Nd4 Kd7 54.c5 Ba7 55.Nb3 Ke7 56.Ke4 Kd7 57.f5 Bb8 58.Kf3 Bc7 (58... Be5 59.Nxa5 Bc3 60.Nb3 Bb4 61.Kg4 Kc7 62.Kh5 Kb7 63.Kg6 Bc3 64. Kf7+-) 59.Kg4 Ke7 60.Kh5 Kf7 61.Nd4 Bf4 62.Nxc6 Bd2 63.Na7 Ke7 64.Kg6 Bc3 65.c6 Be5 66.Nb5 Ke8 67.Kh5+-) 52.Kxf6 Kd5 53.f5 Bf2

Black’s activity is enough for the draw. But not(53...Be3? 54.Ke7+-)) 45... Kxh5 46.Ne7 Kg4 47.f5 c5

48.c4

(48.Kd5? is met by 48...c4 and White loses his complete control.) 48... Bd6 (48...Bd8 49.Nd5 Kg5 50.Nf4 Be7 51.Ne2 Bd8 52.Nc1 Bb6 53.Nb3 Kg4 54.Kd5 Kxf5 55.Kc6 Bd8 56.Nxc5 Ke5 57.Nb7 Be7 58.Nxa5 f5 59. Nb3 Bb4 60.a5 f4 61.a6 f3 62.a7 f2 63.a8Q f1Q 64.Qb8++-; 48...Be5 49. Kd5 Bd4 50.Nc6 Bc3 51.Kxc5 Kxf5 52.Kd5 Kg6 53.Ke6 Bb4 54.Nd4+-) 49.Ng8 Kg5 (49...Be5 50.Nh6+ Kg3 51.Nf7 Bc3 52.Nd6 Bb4 53.Ne8 Bc3 54.Kd5 Kf4 55.Kxc5 Kxf5 56.Kd5+-) 50.Kd5 Bf4 a) 50...Bg3 51.Ne7 Be1 52.Ke6 Bc3 53.Nc6 Kf4 (53...Bd2 54.Nd8+-) 54.Nxa5 Bxa5 55.Kxf6 +-; b) 50...Be5 51.Ne7 Bc3

52.Kd6! the start of a triangulation, which keeps an eye on the c5-pawn 52...Bb2 (52...Bb4 53.Ke6 Bc3 54.Nc6 Kf4 55.Nxa5 Bxa5 56.Kxf6+-) 53. Nc6 Kxf5 54.Nxa5 Ke4 55.Nb3 Kd3 56.Kd5+-; 51.Ne7 (51.Kxc5 seems to win as well, but is more risky. One sample line runs 51...Kxf5 52.Kd5 Bb8 53.Ne7+ Kg5 (53...Kf4 54.Nc6 Bc7 55.Nd4+-; 53...Kg4 54.Nc6 Bc7 55.Ke6 Kf4 56.Kd7 Be5 57.c5 Bc3 58.Nd8 Be5 59.c6 f5 60.Nf7 Bb8 61.

Kc8+-) 54.Nc6 Bc7 55.Nd4 Kg4 56.Ke4 Bd6 57.Ne6 f5+ 58.Kd3 f4 59. c5 Bb8 60.c6 Kf5 61.c7 Bxc7 62.Nxc7 Ke5 63.Nb5 f3 64.Nd4 f2 65.Nf3+ Kd5 66.Nh2 Kc5 67.Kc3 Kd5 68.Nf1 Kc5 69.Ne3+-

The knight is just long legged enough to stop the pawn and help its king.) 51...Bd2 52.Ke6 Bc3 53.Nc6

Black is in fatal zugzwang because of 53...Kf4 (53...Bd2 54.Nd8+-) 54. Nxa5 Bxa5 55.Kxf6+-. 44.Nf5 Bc5 44...Ba3 45.Nd4 Bb2 46.Kd3

Black has various tries, but nothing saves him: 46...Bc1 a) 46...Ba3 47.c4! keeping control is the most important issue for White (47.Nxc6? is surprisingly insufficient: 47...f5 48.g5 hxg5 49.fxg5 Kxg5 50.Nxa5 Kf6 51.Nc6 Ke6 52.Nd4+ Kd5 53.Nxf5 Bc5=

Black draws according to the Nalimov endgame tablebase, despite his two pawn deficit.) 47...c5 48.Nf3 Kf6 (48...f5 49.Nh4+ Kf6 50.Nxf5 h5 51. Ne3 hxg4 52.Ke4 g3 53.Nd5+ Ke6 54.Kf3+-) 49.Nh4 Bc1 50.Ke4 Bb2 51. Nf5 Kg6 52.Nd6 Bc1 53.Nb7+-. b) 46...c5 47.Nc6+-; 47.f5+ Kg5 48.Nb3 Ba3 (48...Kxg4 49.Nxc1 Kf3 50. Nb3 h5 51.Nd2+ Kg2 52.Ke4 h4 53.Nf3 h3 54.Ke3 Kg3 55.f6 c5 56.c4 Kg4 57.Kf2 Kf5 58.Kg3 Kxf6 59.Kxh3 Kf5 60.Nd2 Ke5 61.Nb3 Ke4 62. Nxa5 Kd4 63.Kg4 Kc3 64.Kf5 Kb4 65.Nc6++-) 49.Nxa5 Kxg4 50.Nxc6

White wins the race: 50...h5 (50...Kxf5 51.a5 Ke6 52.a6 Bc5 53.a7 Bxa7 54.Nxa7 h5 55.Nb5 h4 56.Nd4+ Kd5 57.Nf3 h3 58.c4+ Kc5 59.Kc3+-) 51.a5 h4 52.a6 Bc5 53.Kc4 Ba7 54.Nxa7 h3 55.Nc6 h2 56.a7 h1Q 57.a8Q Qe4+ 58.Kb5 Qxf5+ 59.Kb6 Qf2+ 60.Nd4 Qb2+ 61.Nb5 Qf2+ 62.Kc7 Qg3+ 63.Kc8+-; 44...Bf8 45.c4 Bb4 46.Nd4 c5 47.Nf5 h5 48.gxh5+ Kxh5 49.Nd6 Kg6 50.f5+ Kf6 51.Kd5 Ba3 (51...Kg5 52.Nxf7+ Kxf5 53.Ne5 Kf4 54.Nd3+ Ke3 55.Nxc5+-) 52.Nb7 Kxf5 53.Nxa5+-. 45.Nh4+ Kg7?! After 45...Kf6, White can implement the same plan, but Black gets more counterplay: 46.Nf3 Ba3 47.Ne5 Bb2 48.Kd3 Bc1 49.Nxc6 Bxf4 50.Nxa5 Bc7 51.Nc4 Kg5 52.a5 Bxa5 53.Nxa5 Kxg4 54.c4 h5 55.c5 Kf5

White’s knight is just in time on the kingside: 56.Nb3 Ke6 57.Kc4 h4 58. Nd4+ Kd7 59.Kd5 h3 60.Nf3+-. 46.Nf3 f6 Defending with the bishop with 46...Be7 47.Ne5 Bf6 does not help as the pawn ending after 48.c4 Bxe5 49.Kxe5 is won for White: 49...Kg6 50.c5 f5 51.gxf5+ Kf7 52.f6 Kg8 (52...h5 53.Kf5 h4 54.Kg4 Kxf6 55.Kxh4 Kf5 56.Kg3+-) 53.Kd6 Kf7 54.Kxc6 h5 55.Kd5 h4 56.Ke4+-. 47.Nd2 Bb6 48.Kf5 Kf7 49.Nb3 Kg7 50.c4 1–0 Black resigned because of 50...Kf7 51.c5 Bd8 52.Nd4 Be7 53.Nxc6 Bxc5 54.Nxa5+-. Exercises (Solutions next month) In some of the exercises the bishop will have its revenge. E99.01 Cmilyte,V (2497) - Csonka,A (2289) 7th Gibtelecom Masters Caleta ENG (3), 29.01.2009

How to demonstrate the bishop’s superiority despite the wrong rook’s pawn? E99.02 Choudhary,J (2187) - Nitin,S (2365) 7th Parsvnath Open New Delhi IND (5), 14.01.2009

How did White manage to draw? E99.03 Orso,M (2349) - Kiss,K (2129) Bela Perenyi Mem Budapest HUN (2), 09.01.2009

How to assess the position with White to move? E99.04 Urbina Perez,J (2215) - Knight,S (2148) 7th Gibtelecom Masters Caleta ENG (1), 27.01.2009

How did White’s knight defeat the knight’s bishop? E99.05 Shen,D (2098) - Lyell,M (2287) Queenstown Classic NZL (7), 21.01.2009

White to move and win.

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Race of the Passed Pawns First I want to thank my many readers and contributors. At the start of Endgame Corner in January 2001 I did not think that I would reach column 100. This time Charles Sullivan (Davis, California, USA) has sent me an amazing piece of analysis and kindly allowed me to use it. So I hand the microphone over to him.

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

At the Portoroz Interzonal in 1958, fifteen-year-old Bobby Fischer finished in a tie for fifth place and thus qualified for the Candidates’ Tournament and became, at the time, the youngest grandmaster in chess history. As the round commenced, Fischer’s score was 6-5 and he was in danger of not advancing to the Candidates’. His opponent was the future world champion Tigran Petrosian. In 1969, Fischer published his notes to the game in My 60 Memorable Games and conceded that Petrosian had missed the winning variation at move fifty-seven. Robert Hübner came to the same conclusion in his CD-based monograph of 2003, World Champion Fischer. But perhaps modern computers will show us a few undiscovered subtleties.

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My 60 Memorable Games by Bobby Fischer

100.01 Tigran Petrosian - Bobby Fischer Portoroz Interzonal (13), 27.08.1958

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A Practical Guide to Rook Endgames by Nikolay Minev

57.Rh1 On pages 29-30 of My 60 Memorable Games, Fischer wrote, “As Petrosian points out in the Russian bulletins of the tournament, White can win with the following line: ‘57 R-R7!, P-B3; 58 R-Q7+, K-B4; 59 R-Q1, P-B6; 60 P-N5, K-B5; 61 P-N6, P-B7; 62 R-QB1, K-B6; 63 P-B5, RKN1; 64 K-B4, K-Q7; 65 RxP+, KxR; 66 K-N5, P-B4; 67 P-B6, P-B5; 68 P-B7, RxP+; 69 KxR, P-B6; 70 P-N8=Q.’ White is a tempo ahead of the game, where Black’s Pawn succeeds in reaching B7, instead of B6 (as here).” Indeed, after 57.Rh7 c6 58.Rd7+ Kc5 59.Rd1 c3 60.g5, ChessCafe Puzzle Book by Karsten Müller

the computer confirms that 60...Kc4 is a lost cause. The line quoted in Fischer’s book wins for White, as does, for example, 61.g6 Rg8 62.f5 c5 63.Kf4 Kb3 64.Rb1+ Ka2 65.Rg1 c2 66.Kg5 Rd8 67.g7 Ka3 68.Kg6 Rd1 69.Rg3+ Kb4 70.g8=QRb3 68.Rc1 Rg3+ 69.Kh6 Rh3+ 70.Kg5 Rg3+. However, you may, with the help of your computer, find that all is not hopeless for Black. After 60...Kb4! 61.f5 c5 62.g6 (Worth a try is 62.f6 but 62...Rf8 63.Rf1 (or 63.Kf4 c4

64.Kf5 (In this position I asked Charles Sullivan about 64.Ke5!?. He answered: a (somewhat) “easy” draw is 64...c2! (A tricky draw follows 64...Re8+!? 65.Kf5 c2! 66.Rf1 (66.Rc1 Kc3 67.f7 Rf8 68.g6 Kd2 69.Rxc2 + Kxc2 draws; for example, 70.Ke6 c3 71.g7 Rxf7 72.Kxf7 Kd2 73.g8Q c2=) 66...Rd8! 67.f7 Kb3!! (67...Kc3? 68.Ke4!! wins; e.g., 68...Kb2 69.g6 c1Q 70.Rxc1 Kxc1 71.g7 c3 72.f8Q Rxf8 73.gxf8Q c2 74.Kd3 etc.) 68.g6 Rd1! 69.Rf3+ Rd3! 70.Rf4 c1Q 71.f8Q Rd5+ 72.Ke6 Rb5! 73.Rf3+! (73. g7?? Qe3+ mates) 73...c3 74.g7 Qe1+ and Black has enough counterplay to hold the draw; for example, 75.Kf7 Rb7+ 76.Kg8 Qe4, etc.) 65.Rc1 Kc3! (after 65...Kb3? Black has a mate in seventy beginning 66.g6 Kb2 67.Rxc2+ Kxc2 68.g7!, etc.) 66.g6 Re8+! 67.Kd6 (or 67.Kd5 Rd8+! 68. Kc5 Rc8+! 69.Kd6 Rg8 transposes) 67...Rg8! 68.f7 (or 68.g7 Kd2 69. Rxc2+ Kxc2=) 68...Rxg6+ 69.Ke5 (69.Ke7?? Rg7! wins) 69...Kd2 70. f8Q Kxc1=) 64...c2 65.Rc1 Kc3 66.g6 Kd2 67.g7 Rxf6+ 68.Kxf6 Kxc1=) 63...c2 64.Ke4 Kc3 65.Kf5 c4! 66.g6 Rd8! 67.f7 Rd1! 68.Rf3+ Rd3! draws) 62...Rg8! 63.Kf4

(63.Rb1+ Ka3! 64.Ke4 c2 draws) 63...c4!! (Now we see why 60...Kb4 (instead of 60...Kc4) was necessary – the c4-square was needed for this pawn. After 63...c2? 64.Rc1! Kb3 65.Kg5 Kb2 66.Rxc2+ Kxc2 67.f6, it’s mate in seventy-two, according to the endgame tablebases) 64.Kg5 (If 64. Ke5, then 64...c2 draws). The situation is critical. Still bad is 64...c2 when White wins with 65.Rc1 Kb3 66.f6 Rd8 67.g7 Rd1 68.Rxc2 Rg1+ 69.Kh6 Rh1+ 70.Kg6 Rg1+ 71.Kh7 Rh1+ 72.Kg8. Can Black find a move that doesn’t lose a tempo? The beautiful 64...Rd8!! draws!

For example, 65.Rc1 (Black also has a draw after 65.Rxd8 c2 66.Rb8+ Kc3 67.g7 c1Q+ 68.Kf6 Qh6+ 69.Kf7 Qh5+:

The Black queen holds the game.) 65...Kb3! 66.f6 Kb2! (Wrong is 66... c2? 67.f7 and White has a winning position) 67.Rh1 c2 68.f7 c1Q+ 69. Rxc1 Kxc1 70.g7 c3 71.f8Q Rxf8 72.gxf8Q c2 is a book draw.; Eventually, you (and your computer) find that the stunning resource of ... Rd8!! can be played much earlier in the critical variation: 57.Rh7 c6 58. Rd7+ Kc5 59.Rd1 c3 60.g5 and now 60...Rd8!! leads to a draw.

Here is a tricky line: 61.Rg1! Kd4! 62.g6 c2 63.Rc1! Rd6! 64.f5 (64.Rxc2 Rxg6=) 64...Ke5! 65.g7 Rd8 66.Kg4 Kf6 67.Rxc2 Rg8 68.Rxc6+ Kxg7=; So 60.g5 is good for no more than a draw. Is 60.f5 any better? After 57. Rh7 c6 58.Rd7+ Kc5 59.Rd1 c3 60.f5,

the trusty 60...Kb4!! saves the day: 61.f6 (61.g5 c5! 62.f6 Rf8! 63.Ke4 c4 64.Ke5 Re8+ 65.Kf5 c2! 66.Rh1 Rh8 67.Rg1 Rd8 68.f7 Kc3 69.g6 Rd1 70.f8Q c1Q=) 61...c2 62.Rc1 Kc3 63.g5 Rf8! 64.Kf4 c5! 65.Ke5 c4! 66. g6 Re8+! 67.Kd6 Rg8! 68.g7 Kd2 69.f7 Rxg7 70.f8Q Kxc1 71.Qxg7 Kb1=; Once again, more research reveals that ....Rd8 can be played: 57. Rh7 c6 58.Rd7+ Kc5 59.Rd1 c3 60.f5 Rd8! One interesting draw is 61. Rc1 Kd4 62.Kf4 Kd3 63.f6 Kd2 64.Ra1 Ra8!

65.Rh1 Re8 66.f7 Re1!=; So now we have shown that in Petrosian’s main variation, neither 60.g5 nor 60.f5 can win against perfect defense, which we can be sure Fischer was anxious to prove. Believing that his position had been completely lost – in such an important game! – must have galled him. Fischer probably spent hours (days?) looking for a way to bust Petrosian’s 57.Rh7. Not only did he examine the lengthy main variation, he discussed two sub-variations after asking, “What if Black tries to improve?” He gave 57.Rh7 c5 58.Rd7+ Ke6 59.Rd1 Rb8, which he demonstrated is drawn after 60.g5, but Fischer himself then showed a victory for White after 60.f5+:

60...Ke5 61.Re1+ Kd4 62.g5 c3 63.f6 c2 64.Rc1 Ke5 65.Kg4. Now here’s the kicker to the story. Fischer was so close, I’m surprised that he did not find the relatively simple 60...Kf6! 61.Kf4 c3 62.g5+ Kg7 63.Rc1 Rb3 – this is a position that Black will draw without much difficulty. Perhaps the finish would be 64.Ke5 Kf7 65.Kd5 Rb2 66.Rxc3 Rg2 67.g6+ Kf6 68. Ke4 c4 69.Rxc4 Rg4+ 70.Kd5 Rg5 71.Rf4 Rg2 72.Rf3 Rg5, etc.

Poor Bobby never knew that he had the draw in hand. The concluding moves to the actual game were 57...c3 58.g5 c5 59.Rd1+ Kc4 60.g6 c2 61.Rc1 Kd3 62.f5 Rg8 63.Kf4 Kd2 64.Rxc2+ Kxc2 65. Kg5 c4 66.f6 c3 67.f7 ½–½ Really amazing work! Many thanks Charles! Solutions to last month exercises In some of the exercises the bishop will have its revenge. E99.01 Cmilyte,V (2497) - Csonka,A (2289) 7th Gibtelecom Masters Caleta ENG (3), 29.01.2009

The knight is dominated with 63.Bf3! 63.Be2? Ng2 64.h5 Nf4+=. 63...Kd8 64.Bc6! Ng4 65.h5 Nh6 66.Bb5 Ng4 67.Kf7 Ne5+ 68.Kg7 Nf3 69.Kf6 1–0 E99.02 Choudhary,J (2187) - Nitin,S (2365) 7th Parsvnath Open New Delhi IND (5), 14.01.2009

White draws by 56.Nxg3! 56.Nxf6? g2 57.Ne4 g1Q+ 58.Kd3 Kh3–+. 56...Kxg3 57.c5 dxc5 58.d6 Kg4 59.Ke4 c4 60.d7 ½–½ E99.03 Orso,M (2349) - Kiss,K (2129) Bela Perenyi Mem Budapest HUN (2), 09.01.2009

White storms the barricades as follows 49.Nf5! 49.b3? Kg5=. 49...Bf8 50.Kh4 Kg6 51.b3

Puts Black in fatal zugzwang. 51...Bh6 52.Ne7+ Kf7 53.Kxh5 1–0 E99.04 Urbina Perez,J (2215) - Knight,S (2148) 7th Gibtelecom Masters Caleta ENG (1), 27.01.2009

White’s knight defeated knight’s bishop by entering the position immediately: 38.Ne8! Ba8 38...Kxe8 39.Kxc6 Ke7 40.Kb6 Kd6 41.Kxa6 Kc6 42.g4 g5 43.e5+-. 39.Nf6+ Kc7 40.e5 h5 41.Kxb4 Bf3 42.Kc5 Bd1 43.b4 Bc2 44.Ne8+ Kd7 45.Nd6 Kc7 46.b5 Bd3 47.bxa6 Bxa6 48.Nb5+ Kd7 49.Kb6 Bc8 50.Nd6 1–0 E99.05 Shen,D (2098) - Lyell,M (2287) Queenstown Classic NZL (7), 21.01.2009

A breakthrough of his kingside majority brought White victory: 52.g6! Nh6 52...Ng5+ 53.Kf4 Nh3+ 54.Kg4 Nf2+ 55.Kf3 Nxd1 56.f6 gxf6 57.g7+-. 53.f6 gxf6 54.Bb3 c4 55.Bxc4 Kc5 56.Be6 Kb4 57.Kf4 Kc5 58.g7 Kb4 58...Kd4 59.g8Q Nxg8 60.Bxg8 Kc3 61.Bf7 Kb4 62.Be8+-. 59.Kg3 Kxa4 60.Kh4 1–0

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The Difficulty is the Difficulty Chess is an amazingly deep and difficult game and this makes it hard to master. Even seemingly simple rook endgames often contain hidden traps. At the Dresden Olympiad Alexander Morozevich pressed hard for a long time against Gustafsson, because the match between Russia and Germany was equal at 1½-1½, but he missed a golden opportunity.

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101.01 Gustafsson,J (2634) - Morozevich,A (2787) 38th Olympiad Dresden GER (5), 17.11.2008

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

Endgame Workshop by Bruce Pandolfini

70...Ke4? This allows the activation of White’s rook. Black’s king had to invade via f4. But not directly with 70...Kf4? because of 71.Rf1+ Kg4 72.Rf6=. First 70...Rg3! 71.Rf1 (71.Kf2 Kf4–+; 71.Ra1 Rg4 72.Rh1 transposes) 71...Rg4 72.Rh1 Kf4 73.Kf2 A Practical Guide to Rook Endgames by Nikolay Minev

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The nest step is to bring the king to g4: 73...Rg3 74.Kf1 (74.Ra1 Kg4 75. Rh1 Rh3 76.Rg1+ Kf5 77.Rg5+ Kf6–+) 74...Rf3+ 75.Ke2 (75.Ke1 Kg4 76.Ke2 Rf6 77.Ke3 Kg3 78.Ke4 Rf4+ 79.Ke5 Rxh4 80.Rg1+ Kf3 81. Rxg6 Re4+ 82.Kf5 h4–+) 75...Kg4 76.Rg1+ Rg3 77.Rh1

However, even with this aim achieved it is not easy. Black’s king will invade while a counterattack of White’s king is too slow; e.g., 77...Rg2+ 78.Ke3 Kg3 79.Kd3 Kf2 80.Ke4 Rg4+ 81.Ke5 Kg3 82.Kf6 Rxh4 83.Rg1 + Kf3 84.Rxg6 Rg4–+. 71.Rb1! Now it is a technical draw. Morozevich presses on, but gets no second chance. 71...Rg3 71...Ra2+ 72.Kf1 Kf3 73.Rb3+ Kg4 74.Rb6 Kf5 75.Rb5+ Kf6 76.Rb6+ Kg7 77.Rb7+ Kh6 78.Rb4=. 72.Kf2 Rg4 73.Rh1 Kf4 74.Rh3!

ChessCafe Puzzle Book by Karsten Müller

74.Rh2? Rg3 75.Rh1 Rf3+ 76.Ke2 Re3+ 77.Kf2 Rg3 78.Kf1 Kf3 79.Rh2 Kg4 80.Ke2 Kf4 81.Rf2+ Ke4 82.Rf6 Rg2+ 83.Kf1 Rg4 84.Ke2 Ke5 85. Ra6 Kf5 86.Ra5+ Kf4 87.Ra6 Kg3–+. 74...Kf5 75.Rf3+ Ke5 75...Rf4 76.Kg3 Rxf3+ 77.Kxf3 Ke5 78.Ke3=. 76.Re3+ Kf6 77.Rf3+ Kg7 78.Rh3 Rb4 79.Rh1 Kf6 80.Kg3 Rb3+ 81. Kf4 Ra3 82.Rh2 Ra4+ 83.Kg3 Rg4+ 84.Kh3 Kf5 85.Ra2 Re4 86.Ra5+ Re5 87.Ra3 Kf4 88.Ra6 Re3+ 89.Kh2 Kf5 90.Ra5+ Re5 91.Ra4 Re4 92. Ra5+ Kg4 93.Rg5+ Kxh4 94.Rxg6 Re2+ 95.Rg2 Rxg2+ 96.Kxg2 Kg4 97.Kh2 h4 98.Kg2 h3+ 99.Kh2 Kh4 100.Kg1 Kg3 101.Kh1 h2 ½–½ Ivanchuk found the following ending so instructive that he showed it to many of his colleagues. 101.02 Ivanchuk,V (2779) - Anand,V (2791) XXVI SuperGM Linares ESP (5), 24.02.2009

At first it seems that Black is dead lost, but this is deceptive. 48...g6? Only now White can win by a hair’s breadth. After 48...Rc1, he can reach a watertight fortress: 49.Rc6 Rg1 50.Kc5 (50.a7 Ra1 51.Rc7

Black can begin to construct the fortress based on stalemate with 51...Kh6 52.Kc6 g6 53.Kd7 Rd1+ 54.Kc8 Ra1 55.Kb8 Rxa7 56.Kxa7 stalemate) 50...Rxg4 51.a7 (51.Kb5 Rf4 52.a7 Rf8 53.Ra6 Ra8 54.Kb6 g4 55.Kb7 Rf8=; 51.Kb6 Rf4 52.a7 Rf8 53.Kb7 g4 54.a8Q Rxa8 55.Kxa8 g3 56.Rc3 g5 57.Rxg3 Kg6 58.Kb7 Kf5 59.Kc6 Kf4=) 51...Ra4 52.Kb6 g4 53.Rc4 Rxc4 54.a8Q Rf4 55.Qd5 Rf6+=

The queen may be able to win the g4-pawn, but not the game. 49.Kd6? White misses the study like 49.Rc6 Rg3 50.Kc5 Rxg4 51.Kb5 Rf4 52.a7 Rf8 53.Ra6 Ra8 54.Kc6 g4 55.Kb7 Rf8 56.a8Q Rxa8 57.Rxa8 Kh6

Now Black’s king must be cut off with 58.Ra5! (58.Kc6? runs into 58... Kg5 59.Kd5 g3 60.Ke4 g2 61.Ra1 Kg4=) 58...g5 59.Kc6 Kh5 60.Kd5 g3 61.Ra2 Kg4 62.Ke4 Kh3

63.Ra8 and Black can promote, but the knight will not survive long: 63... g2 64.Kf3 g1N+ 65.Kf2 Kh2 66.Rh8+ Nh3+ 67.Kf3+- (Ivanchuk). 49...Kh6 50.Rb8 Ra3 51.Ra8 Kg7 52.Kc5 Ra1 53.Kb6 Rb1+ 54.Ka7 Rb4 55.Rb8 55.Rc8 Kh6 (55...Rxg4? 56.Kb6 Rb4+ 57.Ka5 Rb1 58.a7 Ra1+ 59.Kb6 Rb1+ 60.Kc6 Rc1+ 61.Kd7+-) 56.Rc5 Rxg4 57.Kb6 Rf4 58.a7 Rf8=. 55...Rxg4 56.Rb5 56.Rb7+ Kh6=. 56...Ra4 57.Rxg5 57.Kb6 g4 58.a7 g3=. 57...Rb4 58.Rc5 Kh6 59.Rc6 Kh5 60.Rb6 Rf4 61.Rb5+ g5 62.Kb6 Rf6 + 63.Ka5 Rf7 64.Kb6 Rf6+ 65.Ka5 ½–½ Exercises (Solutions next month) E101.01 Kurnosov,I (2658) - Lalic,B (2508) 4NCL 2008-9 Staverton ENG (11), 04.05.2009

Alexander Baburin playing for the winning Wood Green team spotted the way to draw for Black during the match. Can you do the same? E101.02 Kamsky,G (2725) - Kramnik,V (2759) 18th Amber Blindfold Nice FRA (6), 20.03.2009

Kamsky missed the win. Can you do better?

Addendum 100.01 Tigran V Petrosian - Bobby Fischer Portoroz Interzonal Portoroz (13), 27.08.1958

IM Lawrence Day pointed out that in the line 57.Rh7 (57.Rh1 was the game continuation.) 57...c6 58.Rd7+ Kc5 59.Rd1 c3 60.f5 Rd8? 61.Rc1 Kd4 62.Kf4 Kd3 63.f6 Kd2 64.Ra1 the originally given 64...Ra8? loses directly to 65.Rxa8+-. Charles Sulllivan then inserted the moves 64...c2 65.g5 to deal with this problem and continued analogously to the line given in Endgame Corner 100 with 65...Ra8

66.Rh1? Re8! 67.f7 Re1!=. But now I asked Charles about 66.Rg1 with the idea 66...Re8 67.f7 Re1 68.Rg2+ Re2 69.Kf3 Rxg2 70.Kxg2 c1Q 71. f8Q

White wins according to the tablebase. Sullivan confirmed the line and concluded that 60...Rd8? does lose - only 60...Kb4!! works. Furthermore, IM Day wrote on chessgames.com: “In his 2007 notes Fischer takes the ? away from 57.Rh1 claiming 57.Rh7 c5! 58.Rd7+ Ke6 59.Rd1 Rb8 60.f5 +! Kf6! (improving on 60..Ke5 in M60MG) 61.Kf4 c3 62.g5+ Kg7 63. Rc1 Rb4+! 64.Ke5 Rb3 65.Rc2 Ra3 66.Kd5 Rb3!! is a draw because 67. Kxc5? Rb2! 68.Rxc3 Rg2 collecting the pawns or 67.Ke4 Ra3 68.Kd3! c4 +! 69.Kxc4 Ra5! 70.f6+ Kf7 71.Rg2 c2! drawing. Having found the elusive draw he then improves with 57..Ra8!! since 58.Rxc7?? [sic] Ra3+ cuts off the K drawing easily while 58.g5! c5 59.Rd7+ Ke6 60.Rd1 c3 61. Re1+ Kf7 will draw (after two paragraphs of analysis) or 58.Rd7+ Kc6! more easily.” To which Charles Sullivan comments: “So yes, it certainly seems appropriate to say that "My 61 Memorable Games" (which cannot be bought in a store and which might not be by Fischer) contains one drawing line from Endgame Corner #100 and also the new 57.Rh7 Ra8! drawing idea.”

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The Old Riddle of Botvinnik vs. Smyslov Vassily Smyslov is one of the finest endgame virtuosos of the royal game. One of his most famous victories is the seventeenth game of the 1957 world championship match against Botvinnik. I suspected that White could still draw with 44.a4! and asked Charles Sullivan (California, USA) to look deeply at the arising complications. He confirmed my suspicion, and even found a draw at the forty-fifth move. He has kindly allowed me to incorporate his analysis.

Endgame Corner

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102.01 Botvinnik,Mikhail - Smyslov,Vassily World Championship Moscow (17), 13.04.1957

Karsten Müller

Endgame Workshop by Bruce Pandolfini

41.Ne1?! Botvinnik underestimates the danger. White should address the problems on his queenside immediately with 41.b4 axb4 42.Nxb4 Kh6 43.a4= (Kasparov in My Great Predecessors, Part 2, Everyman 2003). 41...Kh6 Play through and download the games from ChessCafe.com in the DGT Game Viewer. The Complete DGT Product Line

A Practical Guide to Rook Endgames by Nikolay Minev

The sealed move. “The game was adjourned and the following morning Goldberg, Botvinnik’s second, sent me an offer of a draw.” (Smyslov) But Smyslov had found out that he can play for a win without risk and declined. 42.Nc2 Be7 43.Kg3?! Again Botvinnik neglects the urgency of the problems on the queenside. With 43.a3! Kh5 44.b4 axb4 45.axb4 Bxh4 46.b5 Bd8 47.Kg3 g5 48.fxg5 Kxg5 49.Kf3 Bb6

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White can hold as Fridstein has proved in a long analysis published in

Shakmatny Vestnik 1994 No. 3, according to Kasparov. 43...Kh5 44.Kf3?! Now a3 is no longer sufficient, but 44.a4! surprisingly is: 44...Bxh4+ 45. Kf3 Be7 (45...g5 46.fxg5 Bxg5 47.Ke2 Kg4 48.Kd3 Kf3 49.b4 Bd8 50.b5 Bb6 (50...Kf2 51.Na1 Ke1 52.Nb3 Kd1 53.Na1 Bc7 54.Nc2 e5 55.dxe5 Bxe5 56.b6 Kc1 57.b7 Kb2 58.Nd4 Bb8 59.Nc2 Bd6 60.Nd4=) 51.Na1 Kf2 52.Nb3 Bc7 53.Nc5 c2 54.Kxc2 Kxe3 55.Nxe6 Bg3 56.b6 f4 57.Nc7 f3 58.Nxd5+ Kxd4 59.Nc3 Be5 60.Nd1 Kc5 61.b7 Kb6 62.Kd3 Kxb7 63. Ke4 Bh8 64.Nf2 Kc6 65.Nd3 Bf6 66.Kxf3=) 46.Ke2 Kg4 (46...g5 47. fxg5 Kxg5 48.Kd3 Kg4 49.b4! (49.Kxc3 Kf3 50.Kd3=) 49...axb4 50.a5 f4! (50...Bd6? 51.a6 Bb8 52.Nxb4+-) 51.a6 b3 52.a7 b2! 53.Na3 Bxa3 54. Kc2 fxe3 55.a8Q e2 56.Qg8+ Kf3 57.Qf7+ Kg2 58.Qxe6 b1Q+ 59.Kxb1 Kf2=) 47.Kd3 Kf3 48.Kxc3 Ke2 49.b4 Bd8 50.bxa5 Bxa5+ 51.Kb3 Kd3 52.Kb2 Kd2 53.Kb3 Bd8 54.Kb2 Bb6 55.Kb3 Kd3 56.Kb2 (Sullivan)

White seems to be able to hold. 44...Kxh4

45.Ne1? Just waiting is not sufficient to hold the game as Black’s king will creep into the position via the first rank. The last chance to draw is 45.Ke2! Kg4 (45...g5 46.fxg5 Kxg5 47.Kd3 Kg4 48.Kxc3=) 46.Kd3 Kf3 47.a4! Bd6 48. Kxc3 Ke2 49.b4 axb4+ 50.Nxb4 Bc7 (50...Kxe3 51.a5 Bxf4! 52.a6 Bb8 53.Nc6 f4 54.Nxb8 f3 55.a7 f2 56.a8Q f1Q 57.Nc6=) 51.Nc2 Bb6 52.Kb4 Kd3 53.Kb3 Ba5 54.Kb2= (Sullivan). 45...g5 46.fxg5 Kxg5 47.Nc2 Bd6 48.Ne1 48.a3 Kh4 49.b4 a4 50.b5 Bc7 51.Ne1 Kg5 52.Nc2 Ba5–+ (Smyslov). 48...Kh4! 49.Nc2 Kh3 50.Na1 Kh2 51.Kf2 Bg3+ 52.Kf3 Bh4 53.Nc2 Kg1 54.Ke2 Kg2 55.Na1 55.b4 is met by 55...a4–+. 55...Be7 56.Nc2 Kg3 57.Ne1 Bd8 58.Nc2 Bf6 59.a3 Be7 60.b4 Now it is too late for 60.a4 Bd6 61.Ne1 e5 62.dxe5 Bxe5 63.Nc2 d4 64. exd4 Bd6–+ (Smyslov).

60...a4! Black can safely keep his a-pawn, which will be White’s undoing in the end. 61.Ne1 Bg5 62.Nc2 62.Nd3 c2 63.Kd2

The combination 63...c1Q+ 64.Nxc1 Kf3 decides: 65.Ne2 Bxe3+ 66.Kd3 f4 67.b5 Kf2 68.b6 f3 69.Ng1 Kg2 70.Nxf3 Kxf3–+; 62.b5 Bd8–+. 62...Bf6 63.Kd3 63.b5 Bd8 64.Ne1 Ba5 65.Nc2 Kg4 66.Ne1 Bc7 67.Nc2 Bb6 68.Nb4 f4 69.exf4 Bxd4 70.Kd3 Bb6 71.Kxc3 Kxf4–+ (Smyslov). 63...Kf2 64.Na1 Bd8 65.Nc2 Bg5 66.b5 Bd8 67.Nb4 Bb6 68.Nc2 Ba5 69.Nb4 Ke1 0–1 The king has almost completed his long march, so Botvinnik resigned. Solutions to last month exercises E101.01 Kurnosov,I (2658) - Lalic,B (2508) 4NCL 2008-9 Staverton ENG (11), 04.05.2009

Lalic only looked at the queenside and played 53...Rb8? missing the zugzwang after 53...Kg7! 54.h6+ Kh7 (Baburin in Chess Today) and White must allow an immediate draw. 54.Kc3 Rb3+ 55.Kc2 Rg3 55... Rb4 56.Rh3 Rf4 57.Kb1 Rb4 58.Ka2 Re4 59.Ka3 Rf4 60.Rg3 Kxh5 61. Rg8+- (Baburin). 56.Rh1 Rf3 57.Rh4 a3 58.b3 Rf1 58...Rf2+ 59.Kc3 a2 60.Rh1+-. 59.Ra4 Kxh5 60.Rxa3 Kg6 61.b4 Rf2+ 62.Kb3 Kf7 63.Ka4 Ke7 64.Rd3 Ra2+ 65.Kb5 Ra8 66.Kc6 1–0 E101.02 Kamsky,G (2725) - Kramnik,V (2759) 18th Amber Blindfold Nice FRA (6), 20.03.2009

Kamsky missed the win 71.Re7? takes the e7-square away from White’s king. So 71.Rd7 is called for: 71...Ra1 (71...Kf8 72.Kf6 Ke8 73.Rh7 Ra1 74.Rh8+ Kd7 75.e6+ Kd6 76.Rd8+ Kc7 77.e7+-) 72.Kf6 Rf1+ 73.Ke7 Ra1 74.Rd2 Ra7+ 75.Kf6 Rf7+ 76.Ke6 Rf1 77.Ra2 Kg7 78.Ra7+ Kg6 79. Ra8 Kg7 80.Kd7 Rd1+ 81.Ke7 Rb1 82.e6 Rb7+ 83.Kd6 Rb6+ 84.Kd7 Rb7+ 85.Kc6 Rb1 86.e7+-. 71...Ra6 72.Re6 Ra1 73.Rf6 Kg7 74.Ke4 Ra4+ 75.Kd5 Ra5+ 76.Kd4 Ra4+ 77.Kd5 Ra5+ 78.Ke4 Ra4+ 79.Kf5 Ra1 80.Rb6 Kf7 81.Rb7+ Ke8 82.Kf6 Re1 83.Ke6 Kf8 84.Rb8+ Kg7 85.Rd8 Re2 86.Rd5 Kf8 87.Rc5 Re1 88.Rc8+ Kg7 89.Kd6 Kf7 90.Rc7 + Ke8 91.Ke6 Kf8 92.Rf7+ Ke8 93.Rh7 Kf8 94.Rh8+ Kg7 95.Re8 Re2?! 95...Ra1 96.Rd8 Re1 97.Kd6 Kf7= (Karstedt) is easier. 96.Kd7 Rd2+ 97.Ke7 Re2 98.e6 Ra2 99.Rc8 Ra7+ 100.Kd6 Ra6+ 101.Kd7 Ra7 + 102.Rc7 Ra8 103.Ke7 Kg6 104.Rb7 Kg7 105.Rd7 Kg6 106.Rd2 Ra7 + 107.Kf8 Ra8+ 108.Ke7 Ra7+ 109.Kd6 Ra6+ 110.Ke5 Ra5+ 111.Rd5 Ra1 112.Rd8 Ra5+ 113.Kd6 Ra6+ 114.Ke7 Ra7+ 115.Rd7 Ra8 116. Rd6 Kg7! The rook must keep the maximum checking distance, so the king has to move. 116...Rb8? 117.Rd1 Rb7+ 118.Rd7 Rb8 119.Ra7 Kg7 120.Kd6+ Kf6 121.Kd7 Kg7 122.Ke7 Kg6 123.Ra1 Rb7+ 124.Kd6 Rb6+ 125.Kd7 Rb7+ 126.Kc6 Rb8 127.Kc7 Rb2 128.Re1 Rc2+ 129.Kd7 Rd2+ 130.Ke8+-. 117.Rc6 Ra7+ 118.Ke8 Ra8+ 119.Ke7 Ra7+ 120.Kd8 Kf8! 120...Ra8+? 121.Rc8+-. 121.Rc5 Ra8+ 122.Kd7 Ra7+ 123.Kd6 Ra6+ 124.Rc6 Rxc6+ 125.Kxc6 Ke7 126.Kd5 Ke8 127.Kd6 Kd8 128.e7+ Ke8 129.Ke6 ½–½

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Small Advantages in Bishop Endings According to German grandmaster Georg Meier, the ability to create the maximum of problems out of a small advantage is one of the differences between the world's very top players and other grandmasters. I want to illustrate this point with three same-colored bishop endings. In the first I use Georg Meier's and Claus Dieter Meyer's joint analysis:

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103.01 Dominguez Perez,L (2721) - Meier,G (2641) XLIV Capablanca Memorial Elite Havana CUB (10), 2009

Endgame Corner Understanding Chess Endgames by John Nunn

Karsten Müller

27.b4 White is clearly better because of his queenside majority, but it should still be a draw with best play due to the drawish tendency of bishop endings and the reduced material. 27...Kf7 28.Kf3 Bf6 Play through and download the games from ChessCafe.com in the DGT Game Viewer.

Power Play 11: Defence by Daniel King

Meier calculated 28...Bc7?! 29.h3 Ke7 30.Ke4 Kd7 31.Bd4 g6 32.Be5 Bd8 33. Kf4, with the idea Bd4, Ke5 and concluded that his bishop is best placed on the diagonal h6-c1.; An alternative is 28...Be7 29.Bd4 without provoking g6 White cannot make real progress 29...Bf8! a very original defense 30.Ke4 Ke8 31.h3 Kd7 32.Kd3 Kc7 33.Kc4 g6 34.Kd3 Kd7 35.Ke4 Bh6 with a flexible defense: 36.Bh8 (36.c4 Bd2 37.b5 cxb5 38.cxb5 Bh6 39.Be5 Kc8 40. Bg3 Bg7=) 36...Kd6 and Black holds; 28...e5? gives White an easily accessible weakness; e.g., 29.Ke4 Ke6 30.c4 Be7 31.Bd2 Bf8 32.f3 g6 33.Bc3 Bd6 34.b5 cxb5 35.cxb5 Bc7 36.h3 Bb8 37.b6 Bd6 38.b7 Bb8 39.Bb4 Ba7 40. Bc5 Bb8 41.h4 h6 42.Bf8 h5 43.f4 exf4 44.Bh6 f3 45.Kxf3 Kf5 46.Be3 Bc7 47.Bf2 Bb8 48.Bg3 Ba7 49.Bf4 Kf6 50.Ke4 Ke6 51.b8Q+-. 29.c4 g6 Or 29...Ke8 30.Ke4 Kd7 31.Bd4 Be7 32.b5 (32.Bc3 Kc7 33.h3 Kd7=) 32... cxb5 33.cxb5 Bd6 34.Be5 Bf8 35.Kd4 Ba3 36.Bg3 Bf8 37.b6 Kc6 38.Ke5 Bc5 39.Kxe6 Bxb6 with a draw. 30.Ke4 Bg7 31.b5 cxb5 32.cxb5 Ke7 33.Bd4 Bh6 34.Be3 Bg7 35.Bd4 Bh6 36.Be5 36.Ba7 Kd7 37.b6 Kc6 38.Ke5 Kb7 39.Kxe6 Bg7 40.Kf7 Bd4 41.f3 g5 would have divided the board into two halves, but the equilibrium is not disturbed: 42.Kg8 h6 43.Kh7 Be3=. 36...Kd7 37.Kd4 Bf8 38.Bg3

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Dominguez has achieved a perfect setup. His pawn was left at f2 to allow Ke5. Black's problems are really unpleasant now. 38...Bb4 39.Kc4 Be7 40.Kd4 Bb4 41.h4 Ba3? A serious inaccuracy. Meier underestimated that h2-h4 was the start of White's offensive with the king march e5-f6-g7. The position should still be drawn, but now it is almost study like. 41...Be7! was called for; e.g., 42.b6 Kc6 43.Ke5 Bd8! 44.b7 (44.Kxe6 Bxb6=) 44...Kxb7 45.Kxe6 Kc6 46.Kf7 (46. f3 Kc5 47.Kf7 Kd4 48.Kg7 Ke3=) 46...Kd5 47.Kg7 Ke6 48.Kxh7 Kf5= with a solid blockade; Not 41...Be1? because of 42.Kc5+-. 42.b6 Kc6 43.Ke5

43...Bc5? A decisive loss of tempo. 43...Kxb6 was necessary: 44.Kf6 Bb2+! a) 44... Bb4! is a study like draw found by the players in the post mortem analysis: 45. Kg7 (45.f3 Bc3+ 46.Kf7 Kc5 47.Kg8 Kd4 48.Kxh7 Ke3=; 45.Kxe6 Kc6=) 45...Be1! 46.Kxh7 e5

Black's counterplay is just in time: 47.Kxg6 e4 48.Be5 (48.h5 e3 49.fxe3 Bxg3) 48...Bxf2 49.h5 e3 50.Bd4+ Kc6 51.h6 Bg1 52.h7 e2 53.Bc3 Bd4=; b) 44...Bc1? 45.Kg7 g5 46.h5 g4 (46...Bf4 47.Bxf4 gxf4 48.Kf6!+-) 47.Kxh7+-; 45.Be5 (45.Kf7 Kc6 46.Kg8 h5 47.Kf7 Kd5 48.f3 (48.Kxg6 Ke4 49.Kxh5 Kf5 50.f3 e5 51.Kh6 Bc1+ 52.Kg7 Be3 53.h5 e4 54.fxe4+ Kxe4=) 48...e5 49. Kxg6 Ke6 50.Kxh5 Kf5=) 45...Bxe5+! 46.Kxe5

Black has to foresee that he must defend actively with 46...Kc5! 47.Kxe6 a) 47.Kf6 Kd6 48.Kg7 Ke7 49.Kxh7 Kf7=; b) 47.f4 Kc6 (47...Kc4=) 48.Kxe6 Kc7=; 47...Kd4! 48.Kf6 Ke4 49.Kg7 (49.Kg5 Kf3=) 49...g5! 50.hxg5 Kf5 51. Kh6 Kf4=. 44.Kf6! But not 44.Kxe6?? because of 44...Bxb6 45.Kf7 Kd5 46.Kg7 Ke4 (46...Ke6 47.Kxh7 Kf5=) 47.Kxh7 Kf5=. 44...Bd4+ 45.Kf7 Bxb6 After 45...Kxb6 46.Kg8, White's king march decides: 46...h5 47.Kf7 Kc6 (47...e5 48.f3 Kc6 49.Kxg6+-) 48.Kxg6 Kd5 49.Kxh5 Bc5 (49...e5 50.Kg6+-) 50.Kg6 Bf8 51.h5 e5 (51...Ke4 52.Kf7 Bh6 53.Kxe6+-) 52.h6 Bxh6 53.Kxh6 Ke4 54.Bxe5! Kxe5 55.Kg5+-. 46.Kg7 e5

47.f3? Dominguez Perez makes a mistake, which is not exploited by Meier. The fpawn should remain on f2 and only advance later: 47.Kxh7 e4 48.Kxg6 e3 49. f4 Bc7 50.h5

White wins the race: 50...e2 51.Kf5! (51.Kg5? Kd5 52.Be1 Ke6=) 51...Ba5 52. h6 Kd5 (52...e1Q 53.Bxe1 Bxe1 54.h7 Bc3 55.Ke6 Bh8 56.f5+-) 53.h7 Bc3 54.Kg6 Ke4 55.f5 Kf3 56.Bh4 Kg4 (56...Be5 57.f6+-) 57.f6 Kxh4 58.h8Q+ Kg3 59.Qb8+ Kg2 60.Qb7+ Kf2 61.f7+-.

47...Kd5? 47...Be3! surprisingly saves Black: 48.Kxh7 g5 49.h5 Kd5 50.Kg6 e4 51.fxe4 + Kxe4 52.h6

Now 52...Bd4! (52...g4? 53.h7 Bd4 54.Bh4 Bh8 55.Bf6 g3 56.Bxh8 g2 57.Bd4 +-) 53.h7 Kf3 54.Be1 g4 55.Bh4 g3=. 48.Kxh7 e4 49.fxe4+ Kxe4 50.Kxg6 Be3 51.Bd6 Kd5 52.Be7! [52.Bf8? Ke6=] 52...Ke6 53.Bg5! Bc5 54.h5 Bf8 55.Bh4 [55.Bf6? Bh6=] 55...Kd5 56. Bf6 1–0 In the next example Peter Svidler manages to win a drawn endgame: 103.02 Svidler,P (2727) - Bu Xiangzhi (2714) Pearl Spring Nanjing CHN (8), 19.12.2008

42.h4!? This is good technique, as 42.b5?! directly leads to a draw: 42...Kc5 43.b6 Kb5 44.Bxd5 Bc8 45.b7 Bxb7 46.Bxb7 Kxa5 47.Kf2 Kb6 48.Bg2 Kc7 49. Kg3 Kd7 50.Kg4 Ke8 51.Kh5 Kf8 52.Kxh6 Kg8=. 42...Bd3 43.Kf2 d4 44.Kf3 Bf1 The alternative 44...f5 also seems to hold, because of the possible counterplay with the d-pawn; e.g., 45.Kf4 Bb5 46.Bf3 Ke6 47.h5 Ba6 48.Bc6 Kd6 49.Ba4 Bd3 50.b5 Kc5 51.b6 Kd6 52.Be8 Ba6 53.Bg6 Bd3=. 45.Kf4

45...Bd3? Black cracks under the pressure and loses the all important d-pawn. 45...f6 was called for to try to erect a barrier, e.g. 46.Be4 (46.a6 Kc7 47.Ke4 d3 48. Ke3 Kb6 49.Kd2 f5 50.b5 Be2 51.Bd5 f4 52.Bc4 Bf3 53.Kxd3 Kc5 54.Kd2 Kb6 55.Kc3 Kc5 56.Kd3 Ba8 57.Ke2 Bg2 58.Kf2 Be4 59.Be2 Kb6 60.Bf3 Bg6 61.Bc6 Bh5 62.Ke1 Bg4 63.Kd2 Bf5 64.Kc3 Bg4 65.Kd4 Be2 66.Ke4 f3 67.Ke3 Ka7 68.Bxf3 (Georg von Bülow (Rio de Janeiro) added the following line to my analysis: 68.Kf2 Kb6 69.Kg3 Ka7 70.Bxf3 Bxb5 71.Bb7 Be2 72. Kf4 Kb6 73.Kf5 Ka7 74.Kg6 h5 75.Kg5 Kb6 76.Kf4 Kc7 (but not 76...Ka7?? 77.Bf3 Bxa6 78.Bxh5+- as the king is now too far away.) 77.Bf3 Bxa6 78. Bxh5=) 68...Bxb5 69.Be2 Kxa6=) 46...Ba6 47.Bg6

Now a tactical trick gives Black counterplay: 47...f5!! 48.Bxf5 (48.Bh5 Kd5 49.Bf7+ Kd6 50.Kxf5 d3 51.Ke4 d2 52.Bh5 Kc6 53.Ke3 Kb5 54.Kxd2 Kxb4 55.Be2 Kxa5=) 48...Kd5 49.Bd7 Kc4 50.b5 Bxb5 51.Bxb5+ Kxb5 52.Ke4 Kxa5 53.Kxd4 Kb6=. 46.a6 Kc7 47.Ke5 Kb6 48.Kxd4 Be2 48...Bxa6 loses by one tempo: 49.Bxa6 Kxa6 50.Ke5 Kb5 51.Kf6 Kxb4 52. Kxf7 Kc5 53.Kg6 Kd6 54.Kxh6 Ke7 55.Kg7+-. 49.Ke5 h5 50.Kf6 Bc4 51.Kg5 Be2 52.Bd5 f6+ 53.Kxf6 Kxa6 54.Bc6 1–0 The third endgame arose from the Berlin Defense of the Ruy Lopez: 103.03 Jakovenko,D (2737) - Wang Yue (2736) FIDE Grand Prix Elista RUS (1), 14.12.2008

Jakovenko has managed to create a lot of pressure, but with best defense it still seems to be tenable: 40...Ba5? Now White's king will penetrate successfully on the queenside. 40...bxc4 41. bxc4 c6 was called for: 42.Bd6 Ba5 43.Bxc5 (43.e7?! Kf7=; 43.Kf6?! Bc3+ 44.Be5 Be1 45.e7 Bh4+=) 43...Be1

I have not managed to find a way to breach Black's fortress; e.g., 44.Ke4 Bc3 45.Kd3 Be5 46.Kc2 (46.Bb4 Bf6 47.Kc2 Bh4 48.Kb3 a5 (48...Bg3? 49.Ka4 Bc7 50.a3+-) 49.Bxa5 Ke7 50.Bb6 Kxe6 51.a4 Kd7 52.a5 Kc8 53.a6 Kb8=) 46...Bf6 47.Kb3

Now Black should surprisingly play 47...a5! (47...Bd8? 48.Bd6 Ba5 49.Ka4 Be1 50.Bb4+-) 48.Bd6 (48.Bb6 Ke7 49.Ka4 Bc3 50.Bxa5 Bd4 51.Bc7 Bc3 52. Kb3 Be1 53.Bb6 Kxe6 54.a4 Kd7 55.a5 Kc8 56.a6 Kb8=; 48.a4

White would win if he could transfer his king to the kingside. But Black can prevent this by playing against the pawn e6: 48...Be7 49.Bf2 Bf6 50.Bb6 Ke7 51.Bxa5 Kxe6 52.Bb6 Kd7=) 48...Bd4 49.Ka4 Bc3 50.Bc7 Ke7 51.Bxa5 Bd4 52.Bc7 Bc3 53.Kb3 Be1 54.a4 Kxe6 55.a5 Kd7 56.Bb6 Kc8 57.a6 Kb8=. 41.Kf6 c6 41...bxc4 42.bxc4 Kf8

Now White's king will either march via e5 or after e6-e7 via e6: 43.Bb2! c6 (43...Bb4 44.Ke5 Ke7 45.Bc1 a5 46.Bg5+ Ke8 47.a4+-) 44.e7+ Ke8 45.Be5 Bd2 46.Bc7 Be1 47.Ke6 Bh4 48.Kd6+-. 42.e7 Be1 43.Ke6 Bh4 44.Kd6 Bxe7+ 45.Kxc6 bxc4 46.bxc4 Kd8 47.Bd6 Bh4 47...Bxd6 48.Kxd6 Kc8 49.Kxc5 Kc7 50.a4 Kb7 51.Kd6 Kc8 52.Kc6+-. 48.Bxc5 Kc8 49.Kb6 a5 50.Kxa5 Kb7 51.Kb5 Bg3 52.a4 Ka8 53.Be3 Bd6 54.Bd2 Kb7 1–0 Wang Yue resigned because of 55.Bb4 Bg3 56.c5 Be5 57.c6+ Ka7 [57...Kc7 58.a5 Kc8 59.Kc4 Bc7 60.Kd5+-] 58.Kc4 Kb6 59.Kd5 Bc7 60.Bc3 Bg3 61. Bd4+ Ka6 62.Ke6 Bc7 63.Kd7 Bg3 64.Bc5+-. Exercises (Solutions next month) In the exercises the attacker has already achieved a winning position and you are asked to convert it. E103.01 Forster,W (1955) - Smokina,K (2251) Queenstown Classic NZL (6), 20.01.2009

Which is Black's first priority? E103.02 Nehls,Benedikt (1836) - Lebeda,Lukas (1710) Open German Youth Ch U25 Willingen (1.23), 30.05.2009

How did White storm Black's castle? E103.03 Jakovenko,D (2737) - Alekseev,Evgeny (2715) ch-RUS Moscow (3), 05.10.2008

53...Bxe5 is threatened; how do you deal with it?

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The Last Exchange Exchanging into a pawn ending is almost always a tricky business. One should be absolutely sure about the final result, because the drawing margin is usually much narrower than in other endings.

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104.01 Lodes,H (2151) - Koepke,C (2374) 6th LGA Premium Cup Nuernberg GER (5), 05.09.2009

Endgame Corner Power Play 11: Defence by Daniel King

Karsten Müller

47.Rxa6? The pawn ending is lost despite Black's doubled rook's pawns. White had to defend the rook ending; e.g., 47.Rd3 Rb6 48.Rg3+ Kf7 49.Re3 with good drawing chances. 47...bxa6 48.b4

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ChessCafe Puzzle Book by Karsten Müller

After 48.a5, Black uses the typical technique of just pushing the f-pawn down the board: 48...f5 49.Kf3 Kg5 50.Kg3 f4+ 51.Kf3 Kf5 52.Kf2 Ke4 53.Ke2 f3+ 54.Kf2 Kf4 55.Kf1 Ke3 56.Ke1 f2+ 57.Kf1 Kf3 58.b4 Ke3 and finally White has to throw himself onto the sword with 59.b5 axb5 60.a6 b4–+. 48...Kf7 49.b5 49.Kf5 does not help: 49...Ke7 50.Kf4 Ke6 51.Ke4 f5+ 52.Kf4

ChessCafe Puzzle Book 2 by Karsten Müller

52...Kf6 (but not 52...Kd5? as White's king is in time: 53.Kxf5 Kc4 54.Ke4 Kxb4 55.Kd3 Kxa4 56.Kc2=) 53.Kf3 Ke5 54.Ke3 Kd5 55.Kd3 f4 56.a5 Ke5 57.Ke2 Ke4–+. 49...axb5 50.axb5 Ke6 51.Ke4 Kd6 52.Kf5 Kc5 53.Kxf6 Kxb5 54.Ke5 Kc4 55.Ke4 a5 56.Ke3 Kc3 0–1

In the following example, the exchange was correct, but Black missed the win later. 104.02 Bergez,L (2371) - Almeida Quintana,O (2524) XI ants Open Barcelona ESP (5), 25.08.2009

56...Rxe4+! 57.Kxe4 Nc5+ 58.Kd4 Nxd3 59.Kxd3 Ke5 60.Kc4 Ke4 61.h5

61...Ke5? The wrong way around. Black had to play 61...Kf4! first: 62.Kb5 (62.Kd4 Kxg4 63.Ke4 Kg5–+ body check!) 62...Kxg4 63.Kc6 Kf5 64.Kd7 Kf6 65.Kc7 Ke5 66.Kd7 Kxd5 67.Kxe7 Ke5 68.Kf7 Kf5 69.Kg7 Kg5–+. 62.Kb5 Kf4 62...Kxd5 is met by 63.g5 Ke5 64.g6 Kf6 65.Kc4 e5 66.Kd5 Ke7 67.Ke4 Ke6 68.Ke3 d5 69.Kd3= and Black cannot make further progress, as his king must stay inside the square of the g6-pawn. 63.Kc6 Kxg4 64.Kd7 Kf5 65.Kxe7 Ke5 66.Kf7 Kf5 66...Kxd5 67.Kg6 Ke6 68.Kxh6 Kf6 69.Kh7 d5 70.h6 Kf7 71.Kh8 d4 72.h7 d3 is stalemate. 67.Ke7 Ke5 68.Kf7 ½–½ The last example is much more difficult. White made the right decision by exchanging rooks, but probably underestimated the difficulty of the resulting pawn ending. 104.03 Trent,L (2471) - Parpinel,Marc (2165) XXI Festival Open A Porto San Giorgio ITA (5), 25.08.2009

37.Rxf7 Kxf7 38.Kg2 Kf6 39.Kf3 Kf5

40.h3? White misses the moment for 40.b3! when he will always breakthrough on the queenside: 40...g4+ (40...a6 41.h3 a5 42.a4 b4 43.Ke3 g4 44.hxg4+ Kxg4 45. c3 bxc3 46.b4 axb4 47.Kd3+-) 41.Ke3 Kg5 42.Kd2 Kh4 43.c4+-. 40...a5 41.Kg3 Now it is too late for 41.b3, as Black stops the dangerous breakthroughs with 41...a4! and White cannot win; e.g., 42.b4 Ke6 43.Kg4 Kf6 44.c3 Kf7 45. Kxg5 Kg7 46.h4 Kf7 47.h5 gxh5 48.Kxh5 Kf6 49.Kh6 Kf5 50.Kg7 Ke4 51. Kf6 Kd3 52.Ke5 Kc4 53.Kd6 Kb3 54.Kxd5 Kxa3 55.Kc5 Kb3 56.d5 a3 57.d6 a2 58.d7 a1Q 59.d8Q Qxc3+ 60.Kxb5 Qxb4+=. 41...g4 This is possible, but the more direct 41...Ke4 might be more logical: 42.Kg4 Kxd4 43.Kxg5 b4 44.Kxg6 b3 45.cxb3 Ke4 46.h4 d4 47.h5 d3 48.h6 d2 49.h7 d1Q 50.h8Q Qg1+=. 42.h4 Black is also quick enough after 42.hxg4+ Ke4 43.Kh4 Kxd4 44.Kg5 b4 45. Kxg6 b3 46.cxb3 Ke5 47.g5 d4 48.Kh7 d3 49.g6 d2 50.g7 d1Q 51.g8Q Qh5+ 52.Kg7 Qg4+ with perpetual check. 42...b4 43.a4 Ke4 44.Kxg4 Kxd4

45.Kf4? Objectively White should enter the race: 45.Kg5 b3 46.cxb3 Ke3 47.b4, which leads to a drawn queen ending after 47...d4 48.bxa5 d3 49.a6 d2 50.a7 d1Q 51.a8Q Qh5+. 45...Kc4 46.Ke5 d4 47.Ke4

The critical moment has come. Is Black in fatal zugzwang or does he have a way out? 47...b3? Now White's active king will decide the issue. Black had to activate his own king with 47...d3 48.cxd3+ Kb3 49.d4 Kxb2 50.d5 b3 51.d6 Ka3 52.d7 b2 53. d8Q b1Q+ when only Black can play for a win in the resulting queen ending. 48.cxb3+ Kxb3 48...Kc5 49.Kd3 Kd5 50.b4 axb4 51.b3 Kc5 52.Ke4+-. 49.Kxd4 Kb4 50.Kd5 Kb3 50...Kxa4 is met by 51.Kc4 g5 52.b3++-. 51.Kc5 g5 52.hxg5 Kxa4 53.g6 Kb3 54.g7 Ka4!? A last desperate trick. 55.b3+ 1-0 It was all over, so Black resigned. Exercises (Solutions next month) E104.01 Bologan,V (2688) - Predojevic,B (2654) TCh-SRB 1st League Kragujevac (3), 03.09.2009

How did Bologan save himself? E104.02 Milov,L (2562) - Khanukov,B (2379)

6th LGA Premium Cup Nuernberg GER (3), 04.09.2009

Please answer two questions: 1) What is Black's unique drawing move? 2) Why does 86...Qg5+ lose? E104.03 Ponkratov,P (2564) - Smirnov,Alexey (2415) Corporation Centre Cup Izhevsk RUS (3), 17.07.2009

Finally one pure pawn ending to finish this column. How to evaluate this position with White to move? Solutions to last month exercises In the exercises the attacker has already achieved a winning position and you are asked to convert it. E103.01 Forster,W (1955) - Smokina,K (2251) Queenstown Classic NZL (6), 20.01.2009

58...b4? Black must give a body check with 58...Kd3! when the pawn will queen, as White's king cannot get around: 59.Bg7 b4 60.Bf6 b3 61.Bb2 Bd4 62.Ba3 Kc2 63.Ke2 Bc5–+. 59.Ke2 Bd4 60.Kd1 Kb3 61.Bf8 Be3 62.Bxb4 Kxb4 ½–½ E103.02 Nehls,Benedikt (1836) - Lebeda,Lukas (1710) Open German Youth Ch U25 Willingen (1.23), 30.05.2009

White brought about zugzwang with 51.Bf3! Ke6 51...Bc4?! 52.Kxg6+-; 51... Be4?! 52.Bxe4 dxe4 53.Kf4+-. 52.Bg2! And Black had to give way. 52...Kd6 52...Bc2 53.Bf1 Ke7 54.Bxb5 Kf7 55.Be2 Ke6 56.c4 dxc4 57.Bxc4+ Ke7 58. d5 Kd6 59.Bb5 Kxd5 60.Be8+-. 53.Kf6 Be4 54.Bh3 Bd3 55.Be6 Be4 56.Bf7 1–0 E103.03 Jakovenko,D (2737) - Alekseev,Evgeny (2715) ch-RUS Moscow (3), 05.10.2008

In this typical endgame from the Berlin Wall Defense of the Ruy Lopez, Jakovenko showed excellent technique. 53.Bf6! Bxf6 53...a4 54.Bxg7 axb3 55.axb3 Kxg7 56.Kh4 Kh6 57.g5+ Kg6 58.Kg4 Kg7 59.Kh5 Kh7 60.g6+ Kg8 61.Kh6 c6 62.Kh5 Kh8 63.Kh4 Kg8 64.Kg4 Kf8 65.Kh5 Kg8 66.Kh6 b5 67. g7 b4 68.Kh5 Kxg7 69.Kg5+-; Avoiding the exchange does not help as the pawns on the queenside are fixed on dark squares: 53...Bh6 54.Bd8 a4 55. bxa4 Bd2 56.Bxc7 Ba5 57.Kg3 Kf7 58.Kf4 Kg6 59.g5 Kh5 60.Bd8 Bd2+ 61. Ke4 Ba5 62.Kf3 Kg6 63.Kg4 and Black is in fatal zugzwang 63...Kg7 64.Kh5 Kh7 65.g6+ Kg8 66.Kh6 Bd2+ 67.Bg5 Bc3 68.g7 Bxe5 69.Bd8+-. 54.exf6 Kxf6 55.a4! Necessary precision. After the direct 55.Kg3?, Black can undermine the queenside with 55...a4 56.bxa4 Kg5 57.Kf3 e5 58.Ke4 Kxg4 59.Kxe5 Kf3 60.Kd5 Ke3 61.Kc6 Kd4 62.Kxc7 Kxc4 63.Kxb6 Kd4=. 55... Kg6 55...Ke5 56.Kg3 Ke4 57.Kh4 e5 58.g5 Kf5 59.Kh5 Ke6 60.Kh6+-; 55... c6 56.Kh4 e5 57.Kg3 b5 58.Kf3 bxa4 59.bxa4 Kg5 60.Ke4 Kxg4 61.Kxe5 Kf3 62.Kd6 Ke4 63.Kxc6 Kd4 64.Kb5+-. 56.Kg3 Kg5 57.Kf3 e5 57...c6 58. Ke4 Kxg4 59.Ke5 Kf3 60.Kxe6+-. 58.Ke4 Kxg4 58...Kf6 59.Kd5! (The immediate 59.g5+? runs into 59...Ke6 60.g6 Kf6 61.g7 Kxg7 62.Kxe5 Kf7 63. Kd5 Ke7 64.Kc6 Kd8 65.Kb7 Kd7=) 59...c6+ 60.Ke4 Ke6 61.g5 Kd6 62.g6 Ke6 63.g7 Kf7 64.Kxe5 Kxg7 65.Kd6+-. 59.Kxe5 Kf3 60.Kd5 Ke3 61.Kc6 Kd2 62.Kxc7 Kc3 63.Kxb6 Kb4 63...Kxb3 64.Kb5+-. 64.Kc6 Kxb3 65.Kb5 1–0

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The Domination Game

Endgame Corner

I do not get a lot of feedback from readers, but when I do it often has a valuable point. Recently, Gabriele Mileto from Italy discovered that exercise 89.03 is always won for White and therefore cannot be solved. E89.03 Muir, Andrew (2322) - Erdogdu, Mert (2403) EU-chT (Men) 15th Gothenburg (2.3), 31.07.2005

Karsten Müller

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I thought that Black can draw by 93...Bb6 or 93...Bd4, but I was wrong. To understand the winning procedure is not so easy, as will be shown in example 105.02. Other tries such as 93...Ba7? 94.Rb2 Bd4 95.Rb7+ Ke8 96.Kf6 Bc3 97.Re7++- and 93...Bh4?? 94.Kg4+- are obviously lost. The end of the game was 93...Bg3?? 94.Kg4 1–0

Power Play 11: Defence by Daniel King

ChessCafe Puzzle Book by Karsten Müller

Before moving on let's look at the famous Elkies's position, which is related to this example in many ways. 105.01 Elkies 1993

ChessCafe Puzzle Book 2 by Karsten Müller

White can always win by using the method of dominating the bishop and a combination of the following plans: A) White's king penetrates via h6. B) White's king penetrates via f6.

C) White plays g6 to reach the configuration of white Kg6, Rf7 vs. black Kg8, which wins regardless of the position of Black's darksquared bishop. So let's see a few sample lines: 1.Rb3 Bd6 2.Kg4 The king goes backwards to be able to employ plan A and B quickly. 2...Bf8 2...Bc5 3.Rb5 the domination game begins 3...Bd4 (after 3...Ba3 White can use plan B as the bishop has no access to b2 4.Kf5 Be7 5.Rb8+ Kf7 6.Rb7+Black can not break this eternal pin, so White's king will now switch to plan A and invade decisively via h6.) 4.Kh5 now plan A is right as after 4...Bc3 (4...Bg7 5.g6 h6 6.Rb8+ Bf8 7.Rxf8+ Kxf8 8.Kxh6+-) 5.Rb8+ Kg7 6.Rb7+ Kh8 White can switch to plan C with 7.g6 h6 8.Kxh6 Bg7+ 9.Kg5 Bd4 10.g7 + Kh7 11.Rf7 Be5 12.g8Q+ Kxg8 13.Kg6+-. 3.Kf5 Bc5 4.Rd3 Bb4 5.Kf6 Ba5 6.Rb3 Bd8+ 7.Kf5 Ba5

8.Kg4 White again threatens to realize Plan A. 8...Bc7 This is called for. 9.Rb5 9.Kh5?! is met by 9...Bd6. 9...Bd6 Finally plan B decides the day as the bishop is dominated. 10.Kf5 Bc7 11.Rd5 Bb6 12.Kf6 Bc7 13.Rd7 Ba5 14.Rg7+ Kh8 15.Kf7+105.02 Muir, Andrew (2322) - Erdogdu, Mert (2403) EU-T (Men) 15th Gothenburg (2.3), 31.07.2005

Although this position looks similar, and White still has Plan A to penetrate with the king via f6 and Plan B to invade via d6, but it also has differences. Plan C usually leads to a draw here, but there are important exceptions, especially with Black's bishop on e7 or h6. Black's bishop can operate from both wings; nevertheless, White is surprisingly always winning as in Elkies's position. 93...Bb6 94.Rb2 Ba5 95.Rb7+ Kf8 95...Ke8 allows the direct realization of Plan A: 96.Kf6 Bd8+ 97.Kg7 Be7 98. Rb8+ Bd8 99.Rxd8+ Kxd8 100.Kxf7+-. 96.Ke4 Again, White's king goes back to be able to realize Plan A and B quickly. 96...Bd2 97.Kd5 Bf4 98.Rb4 The domination game begins. 98...Bd2 99.Rb2 Bc1 100.Rc2 Be3 This allows Plan B, but Black only had a choice between two evils. He can also try 100...Ba3 when White will realize a combination of Plan A and C: 101.Rc3 Bb2 (101...Be7 102.Rf3 Ke8

Now comes an important moment, when White can use plan C: 103.e6 f6 104. Rc3 Kd8 105.Rc4 Bf8 (105...Ba3 106.Ra4 Be7 107.Kc6 Bf8 108.Ra8+ Ke7 109.Rxf8 Kxf8 110.Kd7+-) 106.Ra4 Ke7 107.Ra7+ Kd8 108.Ra8+ Ke7 109. Rb8 Bh6 110.Rb7+ Ke8 111.e7 Kf7 112.Kd6+-) 102.Rb3 Ba1 103.Rf3 Ke7 (103...Kg7 104.Ke4 Kf8 105.Ra3 Bb2 106.Rb3 Bc1 107.Kf5 Bh6 108.Rb7 transposes.) 104.Ke4 Bb2 105.Rb3 Bc1 106.Rb7+ Kf8 107.Kf5 Bh6 108.Rc7 Bg7 (108...Kg8 109.e6 fxe6+ 110.Kg6 Bf8 111.Rc8 e5 112.Re8 e4 113.Rxe4 +-) 109.Rd7 Bh6

Now, because of Black's badly placed bishop, White can use Plan C with 110. e6 fxe6+ 111.Kf6! Ke8 112.Kxe6 Kf8 113.Rf7+ Kg8 114.Kf6+-. 101.Kd6 Bd4 102.Rc8+ Kg7 103.Kd5 Bb2 104.Ke4 Ba3 105.Rc3 Bb4 105...Bb2 106.Rb3 Bc1 (106...Ba1 107.Kf5 Bd4 108.Rb7 Kf8 109.Kf6 Kg8 110.Rxf7 Bxe5+ 111.Kg6+-) 107.Kf5 Bh6 108.Rb8 Bd2 109.Rb7 Kf8 110. Kf6+-. 106.Rb3 Bd2 106...Bf8 107.Rg3+ Kh7 108.Rf3 Kg7 109.Kd5 Kg6 110.Rf6+ Kg7 111.Kc6 Be7 112.Rf3 Kg6 113.Kd7 Bh4 114.Ke8 transposes to the main line. 107.Rd3 Bb4 108.Kd5 Kf8 109.Rb3 Bd2 After 109...Be7 110.Kc6 (it is also possible to use plan C with 110.Rf3 Ke8 111.e6+-) 110...Bg5 111.Kd6 Bh6 112.Rh3 Kg7 113.Rf3 Kg6 114.Ke7 Bg5+ 115.Ke8+-, White wins similar to the main line. 110.Kd6 Bh6 111.Rc3 Bg5 112.Rh3 Kg7 After 112...Bd2 113.Kd7 Bf4 114.Rh5 Kg7 115.Rf5 Bd2, White even has the shot 116.Rxf7+ Kxf7 117.e6++-. 113.Rf3

Plan B is realized. Now the next aim is to march with the king to e8 to force Black's f-pawn forward. Thus, Black has to start counterplay, which will prove to be one tempo too slow. 113...Kg6 114.Kd7 Bh4 115.Ke8 f5 116.e6 Kf6 117.Kd7 Ke5 118.e7 Bxe7 119.Kxe7 f4

Now White wins in similar fashion to a famous Réti study. 120.Rf1 Kf5 121.Kf7! Opposition. 121...Ke4 122.Kf6 f3 123.Kg5 Outflanking and winning. 123...Ke3 124.Kg4 f2 125.Kg3+- 1–0 The following position on the other hand is a fortress, but it is not easy to hold. At first Bu plays faultlessly. 105.03 Ding Liren (2530) - Bu Xiangzhi (2702) Maotai Prince Cup Kings JinZhou CHN (3), 19.09.2009

79...Ba3! 80.Kf5 Kg7 81.Rg4+ Kh6 82.Rg3 Bc1 83.Rh3 Bb2 84.Rb3 Bd4 85.Ke4 Bc5 86.Rf3 Bb4 87.Rf5 Bd2 88.Kf3 Kg7 89.Kg4 Bc1 90.Rf3 Bd2 91.Kf5 Bc1 92.Ke5 Bd2 93.Kd6 Bc1 94.Ke7

The critical moment has arisen. 94...Kh6? This allows White's king to stay very well placed. 94...f6? is also wrong: 95. Rh3 Bg5 96.Ke6 Bd2 97.Kf5 Bc1 98.Rg3+ Bg5 99.Rc3 Kh6 100.Kg4 Bd2 101.Rc6 Kg7 102.Kf5 Bg5 103.Re6 Kh7 104.Kg4 Kh6 105.Rd6 Kg7 106.Rd7

+ Kh6 107.Rf7 and Black is in fatal zugzwang.; 94...Bg5+! forces White's king to leave its comfortable chair and draws; e.g., 95.Ke8 Kh6 96.Rh3 f5 (96...Kg7 is playable as well.) 97.Kf7 f4 98.Ke6 f3 99.Rxf3 Kxh5 100.Kf5 Kh4=. 95.Rh3 Kg7 95...f5 96.Ke6 f4 97.Kf5 Be3 98.Kg4 Kh7 99.Rf3 Kh6 100.Rf1 Kg7 101.Re1 Kh6 102.Re2 Kg7 103.Kg5+-. 96.h6+! Kh7 96...Bxh6 runs into 97.Rg3+ Kh7 98.Kxf7+-. 97.Kxf7 Bb2 98.Ke6 Bc1 99.Rh1 Bd2 100.Kf5 Be3 101.Kf6 Bd2 102.Rd1 Be3 103.Rd3 Bc1 104.Rb3 Bd2 105.Rg3 Bc1 106.Rg2 Be3 107.Rh2 Bf4 108.Rh1 Be3 109.Kf7 Bd2 110.Rh3 Bg5 111.Rc3 Bd2 112.Rc6 Be3 113. Rg6 Bd4 114.Rd6 114.Rg7+?? Kxh6 spoils it. 114...Be3 115.Rc6 Bd2 116.Rc2 Bf4 117.Rc6 Be3 118.Ra6 Bd2 119.Rb6 Be3 120.Rb3 Bg5 121.Rh3 Bc1 122.Ke6 Bd2 123.Kf5 Bc1 124.Rc3 Bd2 125.Rc6 Be3

126.Rf6 Finally Ding Liren realizes the right plan. 126...Bd2 127.Kg4! Bxh6 128.Kh5 Be3 129.Rf7+ Kg8 130.Kg6 Bg1 131. Rf3 Bh2 132.Rh3 Bg1 133.Rh1 1–0 Solutions to last month exercises E104.01 Bologan, V (2688) - Predojevic, B (2654) TCh-SRB 1st League Kragujevac (3), 03.09.2009

How did Bologan save himself? Bologan saved himself with 63.Rf3+! Bxf3 63...Bd3 is answered by 64.Rf2! Bc2 65.Rf3+ Bd3 66.Rf2=. 64.gxf3 Kd3 65.Kb2 Ke3 66.Kxb3 Kxf3 67.Kc2 Kg4 ½–½ A draw was agreed because of 68.Kd2 Kxh4 69.Ke2 Kg3 70.Kf1.

E104.02 Milov, L (2562) - Khanukov, B (2379) 6th LGA Premium Cup Nuernberg GER (3), 04.09.2009

Please answer two questions: 1) What is Black's unique drawing move? 2) Why does 86...Qg5+ lose? 86...Qg5+? This allows the simplification into a lost pawn ending. The draw is difficult to find over-the-board: 86...Qg8+ 87.Kd7 (87.Kc7 Qc4+ 88.Kd7 Qa4+ 89.Qc6 Qd4+=) 87...Qg4+ 88.e6 Kg6 89.Kd8 Qe4 90.Qxb6 (90.e7+ Kf7=) 90...Qd5+ 91.Ke7 Qg5+ 92.Ke8 Qd5 93.e7+ Kg7 and White's king cannot break free; e.g., 94.Qg1+ Kf6 95.Qf2+ Kg7 96.Qf8+ Kg6 97.Qf4 Kg7=. 87.Qe7+ Qxe7+ 88.Kxe7 b5 89.e6 b4 90.Kf6 b3 91.e7 b2 92.e8Q b1Q 93.Qf7+ Kh6 94.Qg7+ 1–0 E104.03 Ponkratov, P (2564) - Smirnov, Alexey (2415) Corporation Centre Cup Izhevsk RUS (3), 17.07.2009

Finally one pure pawn ending to finish this column. How to evaluate this position with White to move? White wins with 42.g4! and Black will have to allow White's king to penetrate via d5 or f5: 42...a5 43.a4 Ke6 44.h4 Kd6 44...Kf6 45.Kd5+-. 45.Kf5! 45.g5? hxg5 46.hxg5 Ke6 47.g6 Kf6=. 45...Kd5 46.g5 hxg5 47.hxg5 Kd6 47...e4 48. g6 e3 49.g7 e2 50.g8Q++-. 48.g6 1–0

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The Fischer Endgame When preparing for the presentation of the book Bobby Fischer, The Career and Complete Games of the American World Chess Champion at the Max Euwe Center in Amsterdam, I had to select a few positions to show the audience. Among those I considered was the following famous classic, with the typical material configuration for the Fischer endgame of rook and strong bishop vs. rook and knight.

Endgame Corner

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106.01A Fischer, Robert (2740) – Taimanov, Mark (2620) Vancouver Match 1971 Vancouver (4), 25.05.1971

Bobby Fischer Rediscovered by Andrew Soltis

Karsten Müller

Endgame literature generally considers this position to be lost for Black (and this seems to be about right), but Charles Sullivan drew my attention to an interesting defensive try: 42...Kd8?! Play through and download the games from ChessCafe.com in the DGT Game Viewer.

Allowing the exchange of rooks, when White's king will penetrate slowly but surely by repeatedly using the sharp endgame weapon of zugzwang. Black must make sure that the rooks remain; for example, with 42...Rf6!?, which will be dealt with below in 106.01B and 106.01C.

Chess Informant 5-99 Endings Section by Chess Informant

43.Rd3! Kc7 44.Rxd6 Kxd6 45.Kd3 Ne7 45...Kd5 46.Bxc6+ Kxc6 47.Kc4 Kd6 48.Kb5 Kc7 49.Ka6 Kc6 50.c4 and White wins by outflanking: 50...Kc7 51.Ka7 Kc6 52.Kb8+-. 46.Be8 Kd5 47.Bf7+ Kd6 48.Kc4 Kc6 49.Be8+ Kb7 50.Kb5 Nc8 51.Bc6+ Of course not 51.Bxg6?? Nd6#. 51...Kc7 52.Bd5 Ne7 53.Bf7 Kb7 54.Bb3 Ka7 55.Bd1 Kb7 56.Bf3+ Kc7 57. Ka6 Ng8 58.Bd5 Ne7 58...Nf6 59.Bf7 Ne4 60.Bxg6 Nxg3 61.Be8 Ne2 62.Bxh5 Nxf4 63.Bf3+- and the bishop is far superior to the knight, so it is over. 59.Bc4 Nc6 60.Bf7 Ne7

How to Play Chess Endgames by Karsten Müller & Wolfgang Pajeken

61.Be8! This brings Black into fatal zugzwang. 61...Kd8 As the knight cannot move, this is Black's best chance, but the bishop just sacrifices itself. 62.Bxg6 Nxg6 63.Kxb6 Kd7 64.Kxc5 Ne7 65.b4 axb4 66.cxb4 Nc8 67.a5 Nd6 68.b5 Ne4+ 69.Kb6 Kc8 70.Kc6 Kb8 71.b6 1–0 106.01B The Soltis and Sullivan Defense

42...Rf6!? 43.Kd3 Kd8

And here comes the problem with the old analysis, which I noticed when preparing for Amsterdam, when the English edition of the book was already in print: 44.Kc4? This looks very natural, but is surprisingly wrong. In this case the rook ending is won 44.Bxc6! Rxc6 45.Kc4

Black is too passive. Such a simplification is easy to overlook as rook endings tend to have a large drawish tendency and White is usually trying to prove that his bishop is superior to the knight. 45...Rd6 46.Kb5 Kd7 (46...Rd2 47. Kxb6 Rxb2+ 48.Kxc5 Kd7 49.Rd3+ Ke7 50.Rd6+-) 47.b3 Kc7 48.c4 Kd8 (48...Kb7 49.Re7+ Kc8 50.Rg7 Re6 (50...Rd3 51.Rxg6 Rxb3+ 52.Kc6+-) 51. Ka6 Re3 (51...Kd8 52.Rb7 Re3 53.Rxb6 Rxg3 54.Kxa5 Kc7 55.Ka6+-) 52. Rxg6 Rxb3 53.Rxb6 Rxg3 54.Rc6+ Kd7 55.Rxc5 Rg4 56.Kxa5 Rxf4 57.Kb6 Rf3 58.Rb5 Rf4 (58...f4 59.a5 Ra3 60.a6 f3 61.a7 f2 62.Rf5+-) 59.a5 Rxc4 60. Rxf5 Rb4+ 61.Rb5 Rxh4 62.a6+-) 49.Ka6 Rc6 50.Kb7 Rf6 (50...Rd6 51.Re5 Kd7 52.Rd5 Rxd5 53.cxd5 b5 54.axb5 a4 55.bxa4 c4 56.a5+-) 51.Rd3+ Ke7 52.Kc7 Re6 53.Rd7+ Ke8 54.Rd6 Re3 55.Rxg6 Rxb3 56.Rxb6 Rb4 (56... Rxg3 57.Rb5 Rf3 58.Rxa5 Rxf4 59.Rxc5+-) 57.Rb5 Rxa4 58.Rxc5+-. 44...Kc7 45.Re8 Rd6 46.Rg8 Ne7 47.Rg7 Kd8 Soltis in Bobby Fischer Rediscovered, p. 248, with drawing chances according to Charles Sullivan. 106.01C So I asked Charles Sullivan to have a deeper look at the problem and, after analyzing with his computer, he confirmed that White should be winning in any case. But matters are not completely clear:

42...Rf6 43.Kd3 Rd6+ 44.Kc4 Rf6 45.Re5 Kc7 45...Kd8? 46.Bxc6 Rxc6 47.Kd5+-. 46.Re8 Rd6 47.Kb3 Rf6 48.Bc4 Kd7 49.Rh8 Ne7 50.Rh7 Ke8 51.Kc2 Rd6 52.Rh8+ Kd7 53.Bf7 Nd5 54.Rg8 Ne7 55.Rg7 Kd8 56.Rh7 Rf6 57.Kd3 After 57.Kb3? Nc8 58.Rg7 Ke7 59.Bxg6+ Kf8 60.Rc7

Black has the amazing shot 60...c4+!!, which should not be allowed. 57...Nc8 Black plans to regroup his knight to d6. If he waits, then White's king will invade with decisive effect. 58.Rg7 Ke7 59.Bxg6+ Kf8 60.Rc7 Rxg6 Now 60...c4+? has no point because of 61.Kd4+-. 61.Rxc8+ Ke7 62.Kc4

Sullivan did a lot of work on this rook ending. I present only one beautiful sample line here. 62...Rxg3 63.Kb5 Rg4 64.Kxb6 Rxf4 65.Kxa5 Rxh4 66.b4 cxb4 67.cxb4 f4 68.b5 f3 69.b6 f2 70.Rc7+ Ke6 71.Rc1 Kd7 72.b7 f1Q 73.b8N+!+-

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The Eternal Duel of Bishop vs. Knight Jeff Caveney from the United States sent me an interesting ending. I want to present it here with his annotations. My remarks are noted by "KM."

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

Caveney writes, "The other day I reached an endgame with bishop and a-, b-, c-, f-, g-, and h-pawns vs. knight and a-, b-, e-, f-, g-, h-pawns. After making several key mistakes in the endgame, I studied it and realized Fundamental Chess Endings (FCE) includes an example of the same situation. Moreover it is an old game between the two co-authors, Müller-Lamprecht, Hamburg 1986 (diagram 5.18, pp. 141–142). I think this is a very important and useful practical situation, because this pawn structure is very common and can be reached from many popular openings. Players with some endgame knowledge are aware of the fact that control of the d-file is usually critical for both sides in such a position, so it makes sense that all the rooks and the queens will move toward the d-file and be exchanged, and the best advantage White may hope to achieve is a bishop vs. knight endgame in the resulting open position with many pawns on both sides of the board. In my game I achieved this advantage by forcing Black to recapture with his bishop on d8 when the rooks were exchanged, then exploiting this slight misplacement of the bishop to force its exchange for my knight."

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Fundamental Chess Endings by Karsten Mueller & Frank Lamprecht

107.01 Rokirovka - MantaRay ICC G25+5, 19.11.2009

Chess Informant 5-99 Endings Section by Chess Informant

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22.Rxd8+ Bxd8 23.Qf3 Qxf3 24.Nxf3 Nd7 25.Kf1 Kf8 26.Ke2 Ke7?! KM: This is an inaccuracy as it walks directly into White's next move. 26... Ke8 is more precise, but the ending is unpleasant for Black in any case. 27.Nd4! The threat of a "family fork" Nc6 attacking Ke7, Bd8, and a7 means Black must allow the exchange of his bishop for the knight. 27...a6?! 28.Nc6+ Ke8

Bishop v Knight: the Verdict by Steve Mayer

29.Nxd8?! KM: Jeff does not comment on this decision, but it is a very important moment, as is any decision to make an exchange. White should keep his active knight for the time being and increase the pressure with 29.Bd6 a5 (29... Nf6?! 30.Be5 and; 29...Bf6?! 30.b4 are already highly unpleasant.) 30.b3 Bf6 31.Kd3 with pressure. 29...Kxd8 Now we have the bishop vs. knight endgame. Unfortunately, my knowledge that it was promising for the bishop was not complemented by a detailed knowledge of how to play such an endgame in practice. This is a good example of the value of practical endgame knowledge in modern rapid time control chess. I had 11:40 on my clock at this moment; Black had 17:14. All the decisions must be made quickly, so you have to know what to do already! I did not, and I immediately made a big positional mistake. 30.b4? I wanted to advance my king to d3 without allowing ...Nc5+, and also b4 is the natural move to advance my queenside pawn majority. But I broke the basic rule that my pawns belong on squares the opposite color of my bishop! This highlights the significance of which bishop White has in such a position. In Müller-Lamprecht, White had a light-squared bishop, so the natural queenside pawn advances b4 and c5 were in harmony with the bishop and Black could not blockade on c6. This was critical as the white king's advance to d5 set the stage for the decisive penetration on the kingside in that game. In my game with the dark-squared bishop, this plan won't work so well. On the other hand, my bishop can attack the pawns on g7 and h6. If those pawns move to g6 and h5, all the kingside dark squares are open for a king penetration. FCE emphasizes the importance of Black seizing space on the kingside in this endgame with ...f5 or ...g5. Against the dark-squared bishop, ... g5 looks dubious, so ...f5 is the natural advance. Therefore, White should have considered 30.g4!? to inhibit ...f5 and seize kingside space himself. All this detailed analysis just to reach the simple conclusion that a pawn on the bishop's color (b4) is bad and a pawn on the opposite color (g4) is good! Karpov would probably play it in his sleep. The other move to consider is the immediate 30.Bd6. KM: Caveney's question mark is a bit harsh, but in principle he is right. A pawn move must always be considered very carefully, since it cannot move backwards. 30...Kc8 31.Kd3 Kb7 32.Bd6 The last chance to play Bd6 before ...Kc6. KM: But White does not want to play Bd6 here. 32.Kd4, to meet 32...Kc6 with 33.a4, is called for. 32...Kc6 33.Be7?

KM: This is a mistake for tactical reasons. Caveney concentrates on the positional aspects in his remarks and misses 33...Ne5+!. The bishop should retreat along the h2-d6 diagonal. 33...b5? Exploiting the mistake 30.b4? by fixing the queenside pawns to the bishop's disadvantage. KM: 33...Ne5+ wins a valuable pawn: 34.Ke4 (34.Kd4 Ng6 35.Bd8 Nf4) 34... Nxc4 35.Bf8 Nd6+. 34.Kd4 I rejected the protected passed pawn after 34.c5 because with 34...Kd5 Black's light square blockade and king position are just too good. KM: Caveney took the correct decision not to allow a strong blockade on the light squares. 34...f5?! Seizing space on the kingside, just like the doctor (FCE) ordered. Black exploits my failure to play g4, and now threatens to drive the white king back again with ...e5+. I couldn't tolerate this, so now I had to fix a key kingside pawn on the same color as my bishop. Ugh. KM: This is a highly committal move as the pawn e6 may become permanently backward. It seems to lead to a draw as well, but I like 34...e5+ 35.Kd3 f5= more. 35.f4? KM: Caveney should exchange on b5 first for tactical reasons: 35.cxb5+ axb5 36.f4 and White is slightly better, but Black can defend. 35...bxc4 When I analyze my games I focus more on my own mistakes and how I could have played better, rather than on my opponent's mistakes and how he could have played better. But for the sake of analyzing this endgame, Black's decision to exchange pawns on c4 here is an important moment. I think it was a mistake. He relaxes his grip on the light squares, allowing a future a4 by White. And simplifying White's pawn majority to two vs. one could give White a huge advantage if the players exchange down to a king and pawn endgame. As FCE points out, two/one majorities are a distinct advantage in pawn endgames because when they advance, the opponent either has to allow a protected passed pawn, freezing his king, or the opponent's last pawn on that side disappears, which means he will have no counterplay with a queenside pawn when White leaves his queenside pawn to be captured and penetrates on the kingside.

Probably Black did not want to allow c4-c5 with the white king on d4, but in fact I think he had nothing to fear from it. Black's light square blockade is so firm that there will never be a penetration or a zugzwang: the black knight can stay on d7 and the black king moves back and forth on c6 and b7. KM: Caveney's arguments have a point of course, but he again misses a tactical possibility. 36.Kxc4

36...Nf6? KM: Both players miss 36...Nb6+! 37.Kd4 Nd5 38.Bf8 Nxf4 39.Bxg7 h5 and the game after 39...h5 is reached. 37.Bf8? With five minutes on my clock for the game, I did not want to spend all of my time trying to calculate the outcome of the pawn endgame after 37.Bxf6 gxf6. But I should have gone for it, because in the pawn endgame White is winning whereas in the bishop vs. knight endgame he probably isn't. The main line is 37.Bxf6 gxf6 38.g4 fxg4 39.hxg4

39...Kb6 40.a4 Kc6 41.b5+ axb5 42.axb5+ Kb6 43.Kb4 Kb7 (As long as the white king is "in the square" of f5 - that is, not on the a-file or beyond the fifth rank - ...f5 always loses. For example, 43...f5 44.g5 hxg5 45.fxg5 f4 46.Kc4 +-.) 44.Kc5 Kc7 45.b6+ Kb7 46.Kd6 f5 (With the white king on the sixth rank, now is the time for ...f5, but now it loses to a different line.) 47.gxf5 exf5 48.Ke5 and White will capture the f- and h-pawns and escort his pawn to the queening square before Black can get back over to stop it. KM: Caveney is absolutely right. He should have entered the won pawn ending. 37...Nh5 38.Kd4? Losing the thread under the relentless pressure of the clock. I was still trying to win, and rejected 38.g4 Nxf4 39.Bxg7 Nxh3 40.gxf5 exf5 41.Bxh6 =. Nor did I see any point to 38.g3 Nxg3 39.Bxg7 h5. But I inexcusably remained blind to the importance of the queenside light squares, and never even considered 38.a4!. Before staking everything on the kingside, White must make sure he will liquidate Black's last pawn on the queenside.

KM: 38.g4 or 38.a4 indeed seem to be easier ways to force a draw. But I can understand that this was a difficult psychological moment. Caveney is still playing for a win, which is not there any more. His move still draws, but from now on he has to very careful. 38...Nxf4 39.Bxg7 h5 40.Ke5 It is enough to repeat that I inexcusably remained blind to the importance of the queenside light squares, and never even considered 40.a4!. Before staking everything on the kingside, White must make sure he will liquidate Black's last pawn on the queenside. KM: OK, but 40.Ke5 is perfectly playable as well. 40...Nxg2

41.Bh6? The last chance and the final mistake. All together now: I inexcusably remained blind to the importance of the queenside light squares, and never even considered 41.a4!. Before staking everything on the kingside, White must make sure he will liquidate Black's last pawn on the queenside. KM: White had two much easier ways to draw: 41.Kxe6 f4 42.Bd4 Ne1 43. Kf5 Nc2 (43...Kd5 44.Bg1 Nd3 45.a4 f3 46.b5 a5 47.h4 f2 48.Bxf2 Nxf2 49. Kg5=) 44.Ba7 f3 45.a4 Nxb4 46.Ke4 Nd5 47.Kxf3=; and Caveney's 41.a4!? Kd7 42.b5 axb5 43.axb5 Ne1 44.b6 Nd3+ 45.Kd4 Nf2 46.Ke5 Nxh3 47.b7 Kc7 48.Kxe6=. 41...Kb5 Of course. Game over. The rest requires no comment. KM: There still was one chance left. 42.Bd2 Ka4

43.Kxe6? KM: The final mistake. Because of the strength of the bishop in open positions, White can surprisingly still hold the game by the skin of his teeth:

43.Bc3! Ne3 (43...f4 44.Ke4 Ne3 45.Bg7 Nd5 46.Bf8 Nxb4 (46...Kb5 47.a3 Kc4 48.Bg7 Kb3 49.Bf8=) 47.Kxf4 Nxa2 48.Kg5=) 44.Kxe6 f4 45.Be1 Nc2 46.Bh4 Kxb4 47.Kf5 f3 48.Bg3 Kc4 49.Ke4 Nb4 50.Kxf3 Nxa2 51.Bc7=. 43...f4 44.Bc3 f3 45.Bd4 Nf4+ 46.Kf5 Nxh3 47.Kg6 f2 48.Bxf2 Nxf2 49. Kxh5 Kxb4 50.Kg5 Ka3 51.Kf4 Nd1 52.Ke4 Kxa2 Did I mention White must make sure he will liquidate Black's last queenside pawn before staking everything on the kingside? 53.Kd3 a5 54.Kc2 Nb2 55.Kc1 a4 56.Kc2 a3 57.Kc1 Kb3 58.Kb1 Nc4 59. Ka1 Ne3 60.Kb1 a2+ 0–1 I hope you and your readers will find this painful example of a misplayed bishop vs. knight endgame with many pawns and opposite side majorities to be as instructive as I did. I would be very interested to see some other examples of this endgame in practice. KM: Many thanks for your annotations and the permission to use them!

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The Clumsy Knight Usually a minor piece is much stronger than one or two pawns in the endgame. Still, the relative value of the knight is lower than that of the bishop and it often has problems proving the win. John Upper has sent me a case in point. I hand over the microphone to him:

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108.01 Sapozhnikov, Roman (2412) – Upper, John (2228) National Capital Open (5), 06.12.2009

Endgame Corner Fundamental Chess Endings by Karsten Mueller & Frank Lamprecht

Karsten Müller

66...g4??

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Played on the general principle that the more moves it takes White to win the pawn g4 the more moves Black has to advance the pawns and attack the pawn g3. But Black should be concerned about only one of the following, either saving both a- and b-pawns, or winning White's g-pawn. Unfortunately, I'd read only the first two pages of the chapter on knight endings in Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual. On the fourth page he shows that when pawns are head-tohead (like the g3/g4 duo are now) the knight can safely defend its pawn without being attacked, because then the black pawn g4 prevents the defending king from attacking both the knight h5/f5 and the pawn g3. On its own, that would still make it a draw, but the tempo Black spent on ...g5-g4 allows White to win a queenside pawn and still get back to defend the pawn g3.

Chess Informant 5-99 Endings Section by Chess Informant

Better is 66...Kc3 with the idea 67.Nxg5 (67.Ke2 a5 68.Nxg5 a4 69.Ne4+ Kc2 70.Nc5 a3 71.Nd3= (only move) b5 72.g4 (only move) Kc3 73.Nc1 (only move) b4 74.Na2+ Kb3 75.g5 (only move) Kxa2 76.g6 Kb1 77.g7 a2 78.g8Q a1Q 79.Qg1+ Ka2 80.Qa7+=) 67...Kd3 68.Nh3 Ke3 69.g4 Ke4= the pawn g4 can't be defended by the white king, so there's no way to use the knight to stop the a- and b-pawns without dropping the g-pawn. 67.Nd8!+- b5?! 67...b6 68.Nc6+ Kc4 69.Nxa7 Kd3 70.Nc6 Ke3 71.Ne7 (only move) Kf3 72. Nf5+- the black pawn prevents the defending king from attacking both the knight and the pawn, so on 72...Ke4 73.Ng7 Kf3 74.Nh5+-; 67...Kc5 68.Nxb7 + Kc6 69.Nd8+ Kd5+- 70.Kd2 a5 71.Kd3+- the knight goes to h5 and the king stops the pawn a5. 68.Nc6+! Kc3 69.Ne5?? Either time pressure or White hasn't finished the chapter on knight vs. pawn endings either. 69.Nxa7 b4 (69...Kd3 70.Nxb5 Ke3 71.Nd6 Kf3 72.Nf5 Ke4 73.Nh4 Ke3 74.

Power Play 11: Defence by Daniel King

Ke1+-) 70.Nc6 b3 71.Kc1 (only move)+-. 69...b4= 70.Nxg4 Now the black king can attack the g-pawn or safely sit on the square in front of it to hold the draw. 70...Kd3 71.Nh2 a5 72.g4 Ke4 73.Kc2 a4 74.g5 Kf5 75.Nf3 a3 76.Kb3 Kg6 77.Ka2 Kf5 ½–½ Many thanks to John for the instructive example and the permission to use it! I had a similar endgame several years ago and even managed to blockade the passed pawns with my knight, but they were just too far advanced: 108.02 Hertneck, Gerald (2475) – Müller, Karsten (2365) Bundesliga 8990 Germany, 1989

46...Ke6!? Usually the knight should stop the pawns. The other try with 46...Nc7?! also leads to a draw, as in John Upper's case 108.01: 47.h6 Kf7 48.h7 Kg7 49.g6 b5 50.Kd4=. 47.h6 Of course not 47.g6?? Nf6+ 48.Kd4 Nxh5 49.Kc4 Kd6 50.Kb5 Kc7–+. 47...Ne7 48.h7 Ng6 49.Kd4 Nh8 50.Ke4 b5 51.Kd4 Kd6

52.Ke4! This active defense draws. But not 52.Kc3?? Kc5 53.Kd3 b4 54.Kc2 (54.Ke4 b3 55.Kf5 b2 56.Kf6 b1Q 57.Kg7 Qg6+ 58.Kxh8 Qf7 59.g6 Qf8#) 54...Kc4 55.Kb2 b3 56.Kb1 Kc3 57.Kc1 b2+ 58.Kb1 Ng6 and Black wins, since the knight can act as a source of tempi. 52...Ke6 ½–½ 52...Kc5 53.Kf5 b4 54.g6 b3 55.g7 b2 56.gxh8Q b1Q+ is also drawn, but makes no sense from Black's point of view. I the next example I start a bit earlier:

108.03 Fridman, D (2649) – Krasenkow, M (2656) 9th Amplico Life Rapid Warsaw POL (12), 20.12.2009

Please take your time here and decide how to parry the mating threat h7+ followed by Ng6 mate. To play 48...Rg1 or 48...Rf6? 48...Rg1? After 48...Rf6, White has nothing better than 49.Rb8+ Kh7 50.Rb7+ Kxh6 51. Ng4+ Kg6 52.Ne5+ with a draw. 49.Kf2 Rg5 50.h7+ Kh8 51.Rf7! Krasenkow probably missed this shot. 51.Nf7+?? Rxf7 52.Rxf7 Rb5–+. 51...Rg2+ 51...Rxf7 52.Nxf7+ Kxh7 53.Nxg5+ is similar; e.g., 53...Kg6 54.Ne4 b3 (54... a4 55.Nc5 a3 56.Kf3 Kf5 57.Nb3 a2 58.e4+ Kf6 59.Kg4+-) 55.Nc3 b2 56.e4 Kh5 57.Ke3 a4 58.Nb1 Kg4 59.Na3+-. 52.Kxg2 Rxf7 53.Nxf7+ Kxh7 54.Nd6 a4 55.Nb5 e5 55...Kg6 56.e4 Kf7 57.Kf3 Kf6 58.Ke3 e5

White wins contrary to 108.02, as his e-pawn remains: 59.fxe5+ (59.f5?? a3 even loses.) 59...Kxe5 60.Kd3 Kf4 61.Nd4 b3 62.Nb5 b2 63.Na3 Ke5 64.Ke3 +-. 56.fxe5 Kg6 57.e4 Kf7 58.Kf3 Ke6 59.Kf4 Kd7 60.Kf5 1-0 Black resigned because of 60...Kc6 61.e6 Kxb5 62.e7 b3 63.e8Q++-. Sometimes the knight even loses against passed pawns. Rook pawns are the most dangerous: 108.04 Müller, Karsten (2521) – Acs, Peter (2606) EU-Cup 19th Rethymnon (3), 30.09.2003

49.Kf6!! 49.h6? Ne6 spoils it, as the knight defends the kingside and the king the queenside. White must prevent such a distribution of forces. 49...Ne6 50.Ke5 Ke7 51.h6 Kf7

52.b4!? This brings Black in some kind of zugzwang and takes away the opportunity Nc5-d3-c1. 52.h7?! Nf8 53.h8N+ probably wins as well, but the game continuation is much easier. But not 53.h8Q? Ng6+ when Black manages to defend. 52...Nd8 53.Kd6 Kg6 54.Kc5 Kxh6 55.Kxb5 Kg6 56.a4 Kf6 57.a5 Ke6 58. a6 Kd7 59.a7 Ne6 60.Kb6 1-0 In the last example, the reason for the defeat is different: 108.05 Laznicka, Viktor (2637) – Bologan, Viktor (2692) World Cup Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (3.5), 29.11.2009

54.h4! This incarcerates Black's king and starts a fascinating fight between the king and the knight.

54...d5 55.Kg2 d4 56.Kf2 d3 57.Ke1 Nb7 58.Kd2

58...Nc5? A leap in the wrong direction. The web could be destroyed by 58...Nd6 59. Kxd3 Kxh4 as White's king is badly placed on d3: 60.f6 Kg5 61.f7 Nxf7 62. b7 Ne5+ This check saves Black. 63.Ke4 Nc6 64.Kd5 Nb8 65.Kd6 h5 66.Kc7 Na6+ 67.Kb6=. 59.Ke3 Kg4 59...d2 60.Ke2! (Golubev in Chess Today #3310) and now White's king can walk around the mine field: 60...d1Q+ 61.Kxd1 Nb7 62.Kd2 Nd6

Even here some care is required: (62...Nc5 63.Ke3+-) 63.Ke1 (63.Kc3? Kxh4 64.f6 Ne4+ 65.Kd4 Nxf6 66.b7 Nd7=; 63.Ke2? Nxf5 64.b7 Nd4+ 65.Kd3 Nc6=) 63...Nb7 64.Kf2 Nd6 65.Kg2 Nb7 66.Kg3 Nd6 67.Kf4 Nb7 68.Ke5+-. 60.f6 d2 61.Ke2 Nd7 62.f7 Kf5 63.b7 Ke6 64.f8Q 1-0

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A Perplexing Riddle The eternal duel of bishop vs. knight often leads to fascinating fights and perplexing riddles. From time to time, I am asked about the following famous classic:

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109.01 Stoltz, Goesta – Kashdan, Isaac Den Haag, 1928

Endgame Corner Bishop v Knight: the Verdict by Steve Mayer

Karsten Müller

[FEN "6k1/p2b1ppp/8/8/3N4/ 1P5P/5PP1/6K1 b - - 0 1"]

Black's bishop is superior to the knight, but with best defense I am convinced that White should be able to hold. Still, Burkhard Treiber from Germany has thoroughly checked the analysis in Fundamental Chess Endings and found that Frank Lamprecht and I overestimated White's defensive resources in the later stage of the endgame. 1...Kf8 2.Kf1 Ke7 3.Ke2 Kd6 4.Kd3 Kd5 5.h4 Bc8

Strategical Endgames by Karsten Müller

[FEN "2b5/p4ppp/8/3k4/3N3P/ 1P1K4/5PP1/8 w - - 0 6"]

Power Play 8: Knights and Bishops by Daniel King

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6.Nf3 White can try to build a barrier against Black's king directly with 6.f3 Ba6+ 7. Ke3 Kc5 8.Nc2 Bf1 9.g3

[FEN "8/p4ppp/8/2k5/7P/1P2KPP1/ 2N5/5b2 b - - 0 9"]

Usually the attacking side tries to break such set ups by zugzwang or by opening a second front or a road for the king. But here it seems that White's narrow front does hold: 9...Ba6 10.Nd4 Bb7 11.Kd3 Kb4 12.Kc2 Bd5 13.Kb2 g6 14.Kc2 a6 15.Kb2

[FEN "8/5p1p/p5p1/3b4/1k1N3P/ 1P3PP1/1K6/8 b - - 0 15"]

Black is still far away from victory according to Averbakh in his famous classic series on the endgame. I even think that he cannot win at all. Maybe a reader can find a way? 6...Ba6+ 7.Kc3 h6 8.Nd4 g6

[FEN "8/p4p2/b5pp/3k4/3N3P/ 1PK5/5PP1/8 w - - 0 9"]

9.Nc2? This allows Black's king to come one step closer and is probably the decisive mistake. After 9.f3 Ke5 10.g3, Frank Lamprecht and I claim in Fundamental Chess Endings that White can hold the position. 9...Ke4 10.Ne3 f5 11.Kd2 f4

[FEN "8/p7/b5pp/8/4kp1P/1P2N3/ 3K1PP1/8 w - - 0 12"]

12.Ng4?! In the following, the knight is floating around and plays no real part in the fight. But 12.f3+ is probably insufficient as well; e.g., 12...Kd4 13.Nc2+ Kc5 14.Kc3 Bf1 15.Ne1 Kd5 16.Kc2 (16.Nd3? leads to a lost pawn endgame: 16... Bxd3 17.Kxd3 a5 (17...Kc5? 18.Ke4 Kb4 19.Kxf4 a5 20.Ke4 Kxb3 21.f4 a4 22.h5=) 18.Kc3 Kc5 19.Kd3 (19.Kb2 Kd4 20.Ka3 Kc3-+) 19...Kb4 20.Kc2 Ka3 21.Kc3

[FEN "8/8/6pp/p7/5p1P/kPK2P2/ 6P1/8 b - - 0 21"]

Now Black uses his spare move to invade with his king: 21...h5 22.Kc2 Ka2 23.Kc3 Kb1 24.Kc4 Kc2-+) 16...Kd4 17.Kd2 a5 18.Nc2+ Ke5 19.Ne1 Kf6 20. Kc3 g5

[FEN "8/8/5k1p/p5p1/5p1P/1PK2P2/ 6P1/4Nb2 w - - 0 21"]

Black should be winning, as his king will invade sooner or later: 21.h5 (21. hxg5+ Kxg5 22.Kd4 Kh4 23.Ke4 Kg3–+) 21...Kf5 22.Kd4 g4 23.fxg4+ Kxg4 24.Ke4 Ba6 25.Ke5 Be2 26.Nc2 Bf1 27.Ne1 Kg3 28.Ke4 Be2 29.Nf3 Kxg2 30.Nh4+ Kh3 31.Nf5 f3 32.Ke3 Kg2 33.Nh4+ Kh2-+. 12...h5 13.Nf6+ 13.Nh6 loses as well; e.g., 13...Bf1 14.f3+ Kd4 15.Nf7 Bxg2 16.Ng5 a5 17. Ne6+ Ke5 18.Ng5 Bf1 19.Kc3 Bb5 20.b4 a4 21.Nf7+ Kd5 22.Ng5 Bc6 23. Nh3 Ke5 24.Ng5 Bd5-+.

13...Kf5

[FEN "8/p7/b4Np1/5k1p/5p1P/1P6/ 3K1PP1/8 w - - 0 14"]

14.Nd7?! 14.Nh7!? is much more tenacious and Frank and I thought that Black has good chances to win, but that matters are not totally clear. Now Burkhard Treiber has convincingly proved the win with the following analysis: 14...Kg4 15.Nf8 Kxh4 16.Nxg6+ Kg5 17.Ne5 Kf5

[FEN "8/p7/b7/4Nk1p/5p2/1P6/ 3K1PP1/8 w - - 0 18"]

White's knight has many squares, but no really safe harbor: 18.Nf3 a) 18.Nd3 Bxd3 19.Kxd3 Kg4 20.Ke2 (20.Ke4 h4 21.b4 a6 22.Ke5 f3–+) 20...h4 21.b4 a6 22.Kf1 Kf5 23.Ke2 (23.Kg1 Ke4 24.Kh2 Kd4 25.Kh3 Kc4 26.Kxh4 Kxb4– +) 23...Ke4 24.Kd2 f3–+; b) 18.Nc4 Bxc4 19.bxc4 f3 20.g3 Ke4–+; c) 18.Nc6 Bb7 19.Nxa7 (19.Nd4+ Ke5 20.Kd3 Be4+ 21.Kc3 Bxg2–+) 19...Bxg2 20.Ke2 Kg4 21.Nb5 h4 22.Nd4 f3+!!

[FEN "8/8/8/8/3N2kp/1P3p2/ 4KPb1/8 w - - 0 23"]

It is over. 18...Bb7 19.Ke2 a5 20.Nd4+ Ke4

[FEN "8/1b6/8/p6p/3Nkp2/1P6/ 4KPP1/8 w - - 0 21"]

21.Nc2 (Fundamental Chess Endings gives 21.Nf3 Bd5 and Black is only clearly better, but this is an understatement. Black is winning, as the bishop is superior in this open position and Black's king has penetrated too far.) 21...f3+ 22.gxf3+ Kf4 23.Ne3 Ba6+ 24.Ke1 Kxf3 25.Nf5 Bd3 26.Nh4+ Kg4 27.Ng2 Bf5 28.Ne3+ Kf4 29.Nxf5 Kxf5-+. 14...Bc8 15.Nf8 g5 16.g3 gxh4 17.gxh4 Kg4 18.Ng6 Bf5 19.Ne7 Be6 20.b4 Kxh4 21.Kd3 Kg4 22.Ke4 h4 23.Nc6 Bf5+ 24.Kd5 f3 25.b5 h3 26.Nxa7 h2 27.b6 h1Q 28.Nc6 Qb1 29.Kc5 Be4 0-1 In the next example, the knight is trying to win, but the bishop should be able to defend. 109.02 McShane, Luke (2616) – Sebag, Marie (2510) 9th Aeroflot Open A Moscow RUS (5), 13.02.2010

[FEN "8/8/4k3/2Pp2K1/3P4/ 3N4/8/7b b - - 0 134"]

134...Kd7? Now White's king can enter the winning zone. It had to be kept outside with 134...Be4 135.Nf4+ Ke7, when Black's walls cannot be stormed: 136.Nh5 Bc2 137.Kf4 (137.Nf6 Ke6 138.Ne8 Ke7 139.Nc7 Be4 140.Kf4 Kd7 141.Nb5 Ke6=) 137...Ke6 138.Ng7+

[FEN "8/6N1/4k3/2Pp4/3P1K2/ 8/2b5/8 b - - 0 138"]

138...Kf7 (But not 138...Kf6? 139.Ne8+ Ke7 140.Nc7 Be4 141.Ke5+-) 139.

Nf5 Ke6 140.Nd6 Bg6 141.Kg5 Bd3 142.Ne8 Ke7 143.Nc7 Be4=. 135.Kf6 Kc6 136.Ke5 Kb5 137.Nf4 Kc6 138.Ng6 Kd7 139.Kf6 Bg2 140.Ne5 + Kc7 141.Ke6 Be4 142.Nf7 Kc6 143.Nd6 Bg2 144.Nf5 Kb5 144...Bh3 145.Ke5 Kd7 146.Ne3+-. 145.Ke5

[FEN "8/8/8/1kPpKN2/3P4/8/ 6b1/8 b - - 0 145"]

145...Bh3?! 145...Kc6 146.Ne7+ Kd7 147.Nxd5 Kc6 was much more tenacious:

[FEN "8/8/2k5/2PNK3/3P4/8/ 6b1/8 w - - 0 148"]

Now White's king has to make long marches in order to win: 148.Nb6 Bf3 149.Kf4 Bh5 150.Ke3 Bg6 151.Kd2 Bf7 152.Kc3 Kb5 153.Nd7 Bd5 154.Ne5 Be4 155.Kd2 Bb7 156.Ke3 Bg2 157.Kf4 Bd5 158.Kf5 Ka6 159.Kf6 Kb7 160. Nd3 Kc7 161.Nb4 Bf3

[FEN "8/2k5/5K2/2P5/1N1P4/ 5b2/8/8 w - - 0 162"]

162.Ke5+- This final action of the king is necessary, as 162.d5?? runs into 162...Bxd5 163.Nxd5+ Kc6=. 146.Ne7 Bg2 147.c6 Bh3 148.c7 1-0

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The Dangerous Corner The rook is usually far superior to a bishop in simplified positions, because it can play for zugzwang and try to dominate the bishop.

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110.01 Kramnik, Vladimir (2772) - Ponomariov, Ruslan (2739) Tal Memorial Moscow RUS (6), 11.11.2009

Endgame Corner ECE: Rook Endings by Chess Informant

Karsten Müller

[FEN "8/1R6/6k1/6b1/7p/1p5P/6K1/8 w - - 0 58"]

58.Kf3! The pawn b3 cannot run away, but Black's king can after 58.Rxb3? Bf4! 59. Kf3 Kf5! (Golubev in Chess Today #3292) and the king has escaped from the dangerous corner h8. White cannot win; e.g., 60.Rb5+ Be5 61.Ke3 Ke6 62. Ke4 Bg3 63.Rb6+ Ke7 64.Kf5 Bf2 65.Re6+ ECE: Queen Endings by Chess Informant

Play through and download the games from ChessCafe.com in the DGT Game Viewer.

[FEN "8/4k3/4R3/5K2/7p/7P/5b2/8 b - - 0 65"]

65...Kd7! It is important to escape from the losing zone near the h8-corner. (After 65...Kf7? 66.Re2, White wins similar to the game.) 66.Kf6 Bg3 67.Kf7 Bf2 68.Re2 Bg3 69.Rd2+ Kc7 70.Ke7 Kc6 71.Ke6 Kc7 72.Rc2+ Kd8 and White cannot make progress. But not 72...Kb8?? 73.Kd7 Kb7 74.Rb2+ and the cut off along the b-file is sufficient to win. 58...Bd2 Now 58...Kf5 can be met by 59.Rb5+ Kf6 60.Kg4 and Black's bishop is so poorly placed that its king cannot escape. 59.Kg4 Be1 60.Rxb3

ECE: Minor Piece Endings by Chess Informant

[FEN "8/8/6k1/8/6Kp/1R5P/8/4b3 b - - 0 60"]

60...Bg3 Trying to run away with 60...Kf6 does not help because of 61.Rf3+ Ke6 62. Re3++-. 61.Rf3 Kramnik cuts Black's king off, so that he will win by using the sharp endgame weapon zugzwang again and again. 61...Be1 62.Re3 Bf2 63.Re6+ Kf7 64.Kf5 Bg3 65.Re4 Bf2 66.Kg5 Bg3 67. Re2 Kg7 68.Re7+ Kf8 69.Kf6 Bf2 70.Re6 Bg3 71.Kg6 Bh2 72.Re4 Bg3

[FEN "5k2/8/6K1/8/4R2p/6bP/8/8 w - - 0 73"]

This is the decisive zugzwang position, but at the moment White is to move. So Kramnik has to lose a move in order to win. 73.Kf6 Bf2 74.Kg6 Bg3 75.Re2 Bd6 76.Kg5 Bg3 Changing the defensive diagonal with 76...Be7+ does not help, as it is quite short and the bishop has no safe anchor square:

[FEN "5k2/4b3/8/6K1/7p/7P/4R3/8 w - - 0 77"]

77.Kf5 Kf7 78.Re4 Bf6 79.Rc4 Bd8 80.Rd4 Be7 81.Rd7 Kf8 82.Ke6 Bg5 83. Rc7

[FEN "5k2/2R5/4K3/6b1/7p/7P/8/8 b - - 0 83"]

Black is in zugzwang; e.g., 83...Kg8 84.Kf5 Be3 85.Kg6 Kf8 86.Rh7+-. 77.Kf6 Bf4 78.Re4 Bd6 79.Rd4 Bc7 80.Kg6 Bg3 81.Re4 1–0 Finally Kramnik has managed to lose the move. Ponomariov is in zugzwang and resigned. In the next example Black's king must also run away directly: 110.02 Dragun, K (2300) - Leniart, A (2439) ch-POL Warsaw POL (6), 14.01.2010

[FEN "1k6/5R2/1p6/1K6/8/p1P1b3/8/8 b - - 0 68"]

68...Bc5? Now White can imprison Black in the corner and win the a-pawn in typical fashion. The king had to run away immediately: 68...Kc8! 69.Kc6 Kd8 70.Rf1 (70.Rd7+ Ke8=) 70...Bc5 71.Rd1+ Ke7

[FEN "8/4k3/1pK5/2b5/8/p1P5/8/3R4 w - - 0 72"]

White cannot win, as he cannot reach a decisive zugzwang because Black's king breathes freely. 68...a2? loses, but it is very close: 69.Rf1 Bd2 70.Kb4 Kc7 71.Ra1 Kc6 72.Rxa2 Bf4 73.Ra8 Bd6+ 74.Ka4 Bc7 75.Rc8 Kb7 76.Rf8 Kc6 77.Rf5 Bd6 78.Rh5

[FEN "8/8/1pkb4/7R/K7/2P5/8/8 b - - 0 78"]

White mates in forty-nine moves according to the tablebase. 68...Bh6?

[FEN "1k6/5R2/1p5b/1K6/8/p1P5/8/8 w - - 0 69"]

This is refuted by 69.Rf6! (The greedy 69.Kxb6? falls into Black's trap: 69... a2 70.Rf1 Bg7=) 69...Be3 70.Rf3 Bc5 71.Kc6 Kc8 72.Rd3+-. 69.Kc6 Ka8 After 69...Kc8, 70.Rd7! stops the escape of Black's king: 70...Kb8 71.Rd8+ Ka7

[FEN "3R4/k7/1pK5/2b5/8/p1P5/8/8 w - - 0 72"]

72.Re8! puts Black into fatal zugzwang; e.g., 72...Bg1 73.Re4 Bc5 74.Ra4+ Kb8 75.Ra6+- (Baburin in Chess Today #3356). After 69...Be3, 70.Rf1 Ka7

[FEN "8/k7/1pK5/8/8/p1P1b3/8/5R2 w - - 0 71"]

The rook wins the domination game as follows: 71.Ra1 Bc5 72.Re1 Ka6 73. Re8 Ka7 74.Re4+-. 70.Rh7 Kb8 71.Rf7 Ka8 71...a2 is refuted by 72.Rf1 Be7 73.Kxb6 (73.Ra1? blows it because of 73... Bf6 74.Rxa2 Bxc3 75.Kxb6 Bd4+=) 73...Bf6 74.Rxf6 a1Q 75.Rf8#. 72.Rf4 Ka7 73.Ra4+ Kb8 74.Ra6

[FEN "1k6/8/RpK5/2b5/8/p1P5/8/8 b - - 0 74"]

Finally the decisive zugzwang is reached. First Black loses a pawn, later the game. 74...Bf2 75.Rxa3 Bc5 76.Ra6 Be3 77.c4 Bf2 78.Rxb6+ Kc8 78...Bxb6 79.Kxb6 Kc8 80.Kc6 Kb8 81.Kd7 Kb7 82.c5+-. 79.c5 Bg3 80.Rb3 1–0 In the last example, White's king must stay away from the dangerous a1corner. 110.03 Hirschberg, Leander (1699) - Haubold, Martin (2065) Nuremberg 6th LGA Cup (2), 04.09.2009

[FEN "8/8/8/pB6/P2k4/8/r7/2K5 w - - 0 54"]

54.Kb1?

The wrong direction. After 54.Kd1, Black cannot win. 54...Rd2 55.Kc1 Kc3 56.Bc6 Rh2? This lets the king escape. Black wins with 56...Rd8 57.Bb5 (57.Bf3 Kb3 58. Bd1+ Kb4 59.Bc2 Kc3 60.Kb1 Rb8+ 61.Kc1 Rh8–+) 57...Kb3

[FEN "3r4/8/8/pB6/P7/1k6/8/2K5 w - - 0 58"]

White is in fatal zugzwang. 57.Kd1 Kb3 58.Bb5 Kb2 59.Ke1 Kc1 60.Bc6 Rd2 61.Bb5 Kc2

[FEN "8/8/8/pB6/P7/8/2kr4/4K3 w - - 0 62"]

62.Kf1? It is a mistake to allow Black's king to come closer. 62.Bc6 or; 62.Be8 is called for. 62...Rd6? Black misses his chance. 62...Kd1 wins; e.g., 63.Bc6 Rd6 64.Bb5 Rf6+ 65.Kg2 Kc2 66.Kg3 Kb3 67. Kg4 Rf2 68.Kg3 Ra2 69.Kf3 Rxa4–+. 63.Ke2 Re6+ 64.Kf3 Kc3 65.Kf4 Kb3 66.Kf3 Re7 67.Kf4 Kb4 68.Kf3 Kc3 69.Kf4 Kd2 70.Kf3 Re3+

[FEN "8/8/8/pB6/P7/4rK2/3k4/8 w - - 0 71"]

71.Kf4! Hirschberg defends well and does not allow White to cut off his king very far away. 71...Re7 72.Kf3 Rf7+ 73.Ke4! Kc3 74.Ke3 Re7+ 75.Kf4 Re1 76.Kf3 Kb3

[FEN "8/8/8/pB6/P7/1k3K2/8/4r3 w - - 0 77"]

77.Kf2?? Hirschberg blunders, probably because of fatigue after the long defense. After 77.Kf4, Black cannot win, as White's king is back in the corner just in time after 77...Ra1 78.Ke3 Rxa4 79.Bxa4+ Kxa4 80.Kd2 Kb3 81.Kc1=. Chess really is a deep and rich game. Sometimes the defending king must leave the corner to breathe freely and sometimes it must be able to run into the corner as quickly as possible. 77...Re4 78.Kf1 Rxa4 79.Bxa4+ Kxa4 80.Ke1 Kb3 0–1 Exercises (Solutions next month) E110.01 Petrov, Marij (2500) - Dimitrov, R (2394) Georgi Tringov Mem Plovdiv BUL (4), 02.02.2010

[FEN "8/3kb3/p7/3K4/1P3R2/8/8/8 w - - 0 66"]

How did Petrov convert his advantage? E110.02 Kharlov, Andrei (2558) - Movsesian, Sergei (2632) Moscow Aeroflot op-A (1), 08.02.2006

[FEN "8/8/2Bk3p/P2P2p1/6P1/3KP3/5r2/8 b - - 0 44"]

Why was Kharlov's last move 44.a5? a mistake? E110.03 Velchev, H (2298) - Petrov, Marij (2500) Georgi Tringov Mem Plovdiv BUL (3), 01.02.2010

[FEN "8/5Qbk/5q1p/7P/3pp3/5p2/1PP5/1K4R1 w - - 0 44"]

Was 44.Qg6+ a good decision? E110.04 Bednarski, J - Hecht, H.J. Wijk aan Zee, 1973

[FEN "8/8/2B5/8/5k2/6p1/1r6/6K1 b - - 0 11"]

White's king is near the dangerous corner. How did German endgame expert Hecht convert his advantage? E110.05 Serper, G (2435) - Bern, I (2275) Baguio City, 1987

[FEN "4R3/8/5bP1/8/5k2/8/8/5K2 w - - 0 8"]

White has two winning moves. Find one of them!

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Rook + Knight vs. Rook + Knight Endgames with rook and minor piece vs. rook and minor piece occur frequently in practical play and are not very extensively dealt with in endgame literature. I will now look at the endgame with a knight, as I think that it is useful to know a few guidelines to be able to assess it more accurately. As both rook and knight do not like to defend passively the initiative and control are very important. Even a very slight initiative can be extremely annoying:

Endgame Corner

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111.01 Sanchez, Lo (2232) – Czibulka, Z (2094) 26th Budapest Spring Festival (2), 20.03.2010

ECE: Rook Endings by Chess Informant

Karsten Müller

[FEN "r7/1p2k3/4p3/pP1nPp2/P4P2/ 1N4R1/4K3/8 b - - 0 61"]

Black must be careful to keep his advantage. 61...Nxf4+? Play through and download the games from ChessCafe.com in the DGT Game Viewer.

This greedy capture allows the activation of White's forces. Black must keep control with 61...Kf7! when Black has good practical winning chances as the drawish tendency of rook endings is much reduced because of the additional knights.

How to Play Chess Endgames by Karsten Müller & Wolfgang Pajeken

62.Kf3 Nd3? The rook should be activated with 62...Nh5 63.Rg5 Rc8

Survival Guide to Rook Endings by John Emms

[FEN "2r5/1p2k3/4p3/pP2PpRn/P7/ 1N3K2/8/8 w - - 0 64"]

This gives excellent drawing chances; e.g., 64.Nxa5 Rc3+ 65.Kf2 Nf4 66.Rg7 + Kf8 67.Rxb7 Nh3+ 68.Ke1 f4 69.Rh7 f3 70.Rxh3 f2+ 71.Kxf2 Rxh3=. 63.Rg7+ Kf8 64.Rxb7 Nxe5+?!

64...Rd8 is more tenacious. 65.Kf4 Nf7?! A bit passive, but good advice is already hard to give. 66.Nc5? This allows a tactical combination that leads to a drawn N+2P vs. R+P ending. With 66.Rc7!

[FEN "r4k2/2R2n2/4p3/pP3p2/P4K2/ 1N6/8/8 b - - 0 66"]

White's active forces should win in the long run; e.g., 66...Rb8 (66...Kg7 67. b6 Kg6 68.b7 Rb8 69.Nxa5 Nd6 70.Ke5+-) 67.Nc5 e5+ 68.Kxf5 Nd6+ 69. Kxe5 Nxb5 70.axb5 Rxb5 71.Kf6!

[FEN "5k2/2R5/5K2/prN5/8/8/8/8 b - - 0 71"]

71...Kg8 72.Ne6 Rb6 73.Re7 Rc6 74.Kg6 Rc8 75.Ra7 a4 76.Rxa4 Rb8 77. Rd4 Ra8 78.Rd6 Rb8 79.Ng5 Kf8 80.Re6 Rb7 81.Nh7++-. 66...e5+ 67.Kxf5 Nd6+ 68.Kxe5 Nxb7 69.Nxb7 Ke7 70.Kd5 Kd7 71.b6 Rh8 72.Nc5+ Kc8 73.Kc6 Rh6+ 74.Kb5

[FEN "2k5/8/1P5r/pKN5/P7/8/8/8 b - - 0 74"]

74...Rh5!

The rook shows its power in active defense. 75.Kc6 Rh6+ 76.Kb5 Rh5 77.Ka6 Rxc5 78.Ka7 Rc7+ ½–½ A nice joke to end the game. A dangerous passed pawn is usually very valuable. 111.02 Timofeev, Arty (2655) – Skoberne, J (2509) 11th EICC Men Rijeka CRO (5), 10.03.2010

[FEN "r5k1/7p/4N1p1/p3Pp2/n4P2/ 1R2K2P/6P1/8 w - - 0 38"]

Black's fate is sealed by the e-pawn despite the reduced material. 38.Kd4 Re8? 38...Kf7! 39.Kd5 Ra7 40.Ng5+ Ke7 41.Nxh7 Rc7+/-

[FEN "8/2r1k2N/6p1/p2KPp2/n4P2/ 1R5P/6P1/8 w - - 0 42"]

This gives better chances to fight, as White's e-pawn is now under control for the moment. 39.Nc7! Rc8 39...Rd8+ runs into 40.Nd5 Kf7 41.Rb7++-. 40.Rb7 Nb6 40...Rd8+ does not help either, as White's forces coordinate remarkably well to support the e-pawn: 41.Kc4 Rd1 42.e6 Re1 43.Rb8+ Kg7

[FEN "1R6/2N3kp/4P1p1/p4p2/n1K2P2/ 7P/6P1/4r3 w - - 0 44"]

44.Rd8! h5 (44...Rc1+ is met by 45.Kb5 Rxc7 46.Rd7++-) 45.Kb5 Nc3+ 46. Kxa5 Re4 47.Rd7+ Kf8 48.Kb6 Ne2 49.Kc6 Rc4+ 50.Kd6 Rd4+ 51.Ke5 Rxd7 52.exd7 Ke7 53.Ne6 Kxd7 54.Nf8++-. 41.e6 Kf8 42.e7+ 1–0 A dangerous outside pawn majority is often also very promising. Alexei Shirov showed the following ending in a lecture for the Hamburger SK. White has to be very careful. 111.03 Najer, E (2681) – Shirov, A (2730) Bundesliga 2009–10 Emsdetten GER (13), 21.03.2010

[FEN "4rk2/3R2pp/p7/Pp3N2/2p4P/ 2Pn1P2/1r4P1/R5K1 w - - 0 33"]

33.Rxg7? Too greedy, as the knight will be too far away and completely helpless. 33. Kh2 Ree2 34.Rg1 was the last chance to fight. 33...Re5 34.Rg5

[FEN "5k2/7p/p7/Pp2rNR1/2p4P/ 2Pn1P2/1r4P1/R5K1 b - - 0 34"]

34...h6! Shirov's point, which decides the issue.

35.f4 35.Nxh6 Rxg5 36.hxg5

[FEN "5k2/8/p6N/Pp4P1/2p5/2Pn1P2/ 1r4P1/R5K1 b - - 0 36"]

Now the queenside majority has the last word: 36...b4 37.cxb4 c3–+ (Shirov); 35.Rg6 Rxf5 36.Rxa6 does not help as Black's active forces will decide the day sooner or later as the king escapes; e.g., 36...Nf4 37.Ra8+ Kf7 38.Ra7+ Kf6 39.Ra6+ Ke7 40.Re1+ Kd7 41.Ra7+ Kc6–+. 35...Nxf4 36.Nxh6 Rxg5 37.hxg5 Rxg2+ 38.Kh1 Rxg5 39.Rf1 Rh5+ 40.Kg1 Rxh6 41.Rxf4+ Ke7 42.Kg2 42.Kf2 allows the liquidation into a won pawn ending with 42...Rf6–+. So White is lost in any case. 42...Rg6+ 0–1 The last example was extensively annotated by Anna Muzychuk in ChessBase Magazine #135 and I have used her analysis: 111.04 Muzychuk, Anna (2523) – Giri, Anish (2588) Corus-B ijk aan Zee (9), 26.01.2010

[FEN "r2k3r/1p3ppp/p2p1n2/3Pp3/4P3/7P/ PP1N1PP1/R3K2R w KQ - 0 17"]

17.Rc1 White has a very pleasant initiative and Black has no counterplay. This makes his task extremely unpleasant. Even the very talented wunderkind Anish Giri is not able to hold it. One example of his technique can be found in Endgame Corner 98. 17...b5?! 17...Rc8 is easier: 18.Ke2 Ke7 19.Ke3 Nd7 (Muzychuk) and White's advantage is only very slight. 18.Ke2 Kd7 19.Rc6 Rhc8 20.Rhc1

[FEN "r1r5/3k1ppp/p1Rp1n2/1p1Pp3/ 4P3/7P/PP1NKPP1/2R5 b - - 0 20"]

20...Rxc6? Now White's initiative can not be stopped anymore because of the passive rook a8. Black had to try to exchange all rooks by 20...Ng8! 21.a4 Ne7 22. Rxc8 Rxc8 23.Rxc8 Kxc8 24.axb5 axb5 25.Kd3 Kc7 26.Kc3 Ng6 27.Kb4 Kb6! with excellent drawing chances as given by Anna Muzychuk. 21.Rxc6 Ng8

[FEN "r5n1/3k1ppp/p1Rp4/1p1Pp3/ 4P3/7P/PP1NKPP1/8 w - - 0 22"]

22.a4! White increases her pressure on the queenside by tactical means. 22...Ne7 22...bxa4? runs into 23.Nc4+-. 23.Rb6 Kc7 24.a5 Ra7 25.Nf3 f6 26.Ne1! The knight comes closer to the queenside and the king and the pawns will operate on the kingside. 26...Nc8 27.Rc6+ Kd7 28.Nd3 Ne7 29.Rc3 f5 29...Rc7 30.Nb4+/-. 30.f3 f4 31.Kf2 Ra8 32.h4 g6

[FEN "r7/3kn2p/p2p2p1/Pp1Pp3/4Pp1P/ 2RN1P2/1P3KP1/8 w - - 0 33"]

33.g3! White opens a second front, which will most likely overload the defense. 33...fxg3+ 34.Kxg3 g5? Opens lines for White. The guideline that one should not play on the wing where the opponent is stronger or wants to infiltrate is valid here. But good advice is very hard to give. 35.hxg5 Rg8 36.Kh4 h6 37.gxh6 Rg1 38.Rc1 Rg6

[FEN "8/3kn3/p2p2rP/Pp1Pp3/4P2K/ 3N1P2/1P6/2R5 w - - 0 39"]

39.f4 39.Kh5!? wins easier, as Anna Muzychuk proves in her notes: 39...Rg2 (39... Rg3 40.Nf2+-) 40.Rh1 Ng6 41.h7 Nh8 (41...Ke7 42.Rc1+-) 42.Rc1 Rg7 43. Rc6+-. 39...Rxh6+ 40.Kg3 exf4+ 41.Nxf4 Ng6 42.Ne6! Ke7 43.Nd4 Kf6 44.Nf5 Rh5

[FEN "8/8/p2p1kn1/Pp1P1N1r/ 4P3/6K1/1P6/2R5 w - - 0 45"]

45.Rc8! Good technique. White activates all her forces.

45...Rg5+ 45...Ke5 46.Re8+ Kf6 47.Re6++-. 46.Kf3 Rg1 47.Nxd6 Rb1 48.Re8 Rxb2 49.Re6+ Kg5 50.Nf7+ Kh5 51.Ke3 Rb3+ 52.Kd4 Rb4+ 53.Kc5 Rc4+ 54.Kb6 b4 55.Rxg6 1–0 Exercises (Solutions next month) E111.01 Livner, A (2304) – Doci, S (2071) Uxbridge Open ENG (5), 21.03.2010

[FEN "8/2R5/3n1kp1/7p/5P2/5NPK/ 4r2P/8 w - - 0 59"]

White to move and win. Solutions to last month exercises E110.01 Petrov, Marij (2500) - Dimitrov, R (2394) Georgi Tringov Mem Plovdiv BUL (4), 02.02.2010

[FEN "8/3kb3/p7/3K4/1P3R2/8/8/8 w - - 0 66"]

How did Petrov convert his advantage? The easiest solution is to liquidate into a pawn ending: 66.Rf7!? Ke8?! 66... Kd8 more or less forces 67.Rxe7+-. 67.Ke6 Now this wins as well, and is even quicker than 67.Rxe7+ Kxe7 68.Kc6 a5 (68...Kd8 69.Kb6 Kc8 70.Kxa6 +-) 69.bxa5 Kd8 70.Kb7+-. 67...Bxb4 68.Rb7! Ba5 69.Rb8+ Bd8 70.Ra8 a5 71.Kd6 a4 72.Ke6 a3 73.Rxa3 1–0 E110.02 Kharlov, Andrei (2558) - Movsesian, Sergei (2632) Moscow Aeroflot op-A (1), 08.02.2006

[FEN "8/8/2Bk3p/P2P2p1/6P1/3KP3/5r2/8 b - - 0 44"]

Why was Kharlov's last move 44.a5? a mistake? Surprisingly Black wins now: 44...h5! After 44...Ra2?, White is too active: 45. Ke4 Rxa5 46.Kf5 Ra2 47.e4 Re2 48.Be8=. 45.a6 h4 46.a7 46.e4 Ke5–+. 46... Ra2 47.a8Q Rxa8 48.Bxa8 h3 49.e4 Ke5! The point of Black's play. 49...h2? 50.e5+ Kxe5 51.d6+- 50.d6 0–1 White resigned because of 50...h2 51.d7 h1Q 52.d8Q Qd1+–+ E110.03 Velchev, H (2298) - Petrov, Marij (2500) Georgi Tringov Mem Plovdiv BUL (3), 01.02.2010

[FEN "8/5Qbk/5q1p/7P/3pp3/5p2/1PP5/1K4R1 w - - 0 44"]

Was 44.Qg6+ a good decision? White must keep the queens on the board to create counterplay: 44.Qg6+? 44. Qb7 draws; e.g., 44...e3 45.Rxg7+ Qxg7 46.Qxf3 Qg1+ 47.Ka2 Kg7 48.Qe4 Kf6 49.Qf4+=. 44...Qxg6 45.hxg6+ Kg8 46.Kc1 e3 47.Rh1 Be5 48.Kd1 Bg3 0–1 E110.04 Bednarski, J - Hecht, H.J. Wijk aan Zee, 1973

[FEN "8/8/2B5/8/5k2/6p1/1r6/6K1 b - - 0 11"]

White's king is near the dangerous corner. How did German endgame expert Hecht convert his advantage? White's king is in the dangerous corner, so Black's winning plan is to sacrifice the g-pawn: 11...g2! 12.Kh2 12.Bxg2 Kg3 13.Bf1 Rb1–+. 12...Rb6 13.Bxg2

13.Bd5 Rb5 14.Bc6 Rg5 15.Bxg2 Rh5+ 16.Kg1 Kg3 17.Kf1 Rf5+–+. 13...Rh6 + 14.Kg1 Kg3 0–1 White resigned, as his king is caught in the dangerous corner, e.g. 15.Bd5 Rd6 16.Bb3 Rd3 17.Bc2 Rc3 18.Bd1 Rc1–+ E110.05 Serper, G (2435) - Bern, I (2275) Baguio City, 1987

[FEN "4R3/8/5bP1/8/5k2/8/8/5K2 w - - 0 8"]

White has two winning moves. Find one of them! White has the following two winning moves: 8.Re7!? is the elegant finish of the game. 8.Re2 is the other winning move; e.g., 8...Kf5 9.Rg2 Bg7 10.Kf2 Kf4 11.Rg3 Kf5 12.Kg2 Kf6 13.Kh3 Bh6 14.Kh4 Kg7 15.Kh5+- and White wins as in E110.04.

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Pawn Endgame Exercises It is very important to train the calculation of variations on a regular basis. Pawn endings are very suitable for this, as there are only few candidate moves and it is often possible to see very far ahead:

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112.01 Laylo, D (2556) - Lopez Martinez, Josep (2593) 9th Aeroflot Open A Moscow RUS (5), 13.02.2010

Endgame Corner ECE: Rook Endings by Chess Informant

Karsten Müller

[FEN "8/7p/4n1k1/1KP1R3/6r1/8/8/8 b - - 0 58"]

Black demonstrated good technique with 58...Nxc5 59.Kxc5 Rg5 60.Kd4 Rxe5 61.Kxe5 Kg5

ECE: Queen Endings by Chess Informant

Play through and download the games from ChessCafe.com in the DGT Game Viewer.

[FEN "8/7p/8/4K1k1/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 62"]

Opposition. Black will be able to reach the key square g2 and win. 62.Ke4 Kg4 63.Ke3 Kg3 64.Ke2 Kg2 65.Ke3 h5 0–1 In the next example, Black should have avoided the pawn endgame: 112.02 Kamsky, G (2702) – Langer, M (2282) Philadelphia Open (2), 01.04.2010

ECE: Minor Piece Endings by Chess Informant

[FEN "2r5/3k1p2/P2p1p2/1K1P2p1/ 1Pn3P1/2R4P/8/8 b - - 0 48"]

48...Nb6? 48...Ne5! 49.a7 (After 49.Rxc8 Kxc8 50.Kb6 Kb8 51.b5 Nc4+ 52.Kc6 Ka7 53.Kd7 Ne3 54.Kxd6

[FEN "8/k4p2/P2K1p2/1P1P2p1/ 6P1/4n2P/8/8 b - - 0 54"]

The bodycheck 54...Kb6!= saves the day.) 49...Rxc3 50.a8Q Rxh3

[FEN"Q7/3k1p2/3p1p2/1K1Pn1p1/ 1P4P1/7r/8/8 w - - 0 51"]

Black should be able to hold due to his centralized forces. 49.Kxb6 Rxc3 50.a7 Ra3 51.Kb7 Rb3 52.a8Q Rxb4+ 53.Ka7 Ra4+ 54.Kb8 Rxa8+ 55.Kxa8

[FEN"K7/3k1p2/3p1p2/3P2p1/6P1/7P/8/8 b - - 0 55"]

55...f5!? A desperate attempt to create counterplay that fails by one tempo. But 55... Kc7 loses due to the typical procedure 56.Ka7 Kc8 57.Kb6 Kd7 58.Kb7 Kd8 59.Kc6 Ke7 60.Kc7+-. 56.gxf5 Ke7 57.Kb7 Kf6 58.Kc6 Ke5 59.f6! 1–0

[FEN"8/5p2/2Kp1P2/3Pk1p1/8/7P/8/8 b - - 0 59"]

Black is in decisive zugzwang and so resigned. Exercises (solutions next month) E112.01 Mohammed Abdul, M (2259) – Enkhtuul, A (2133) Six Seasons WIM Narayanganj BAN (2), 24.05.2010

[FEN"8/6k1/7p/5p1P/1K6/5P2/8/8 w - - 0 67"]

How to assess the position with White to move? E112.02 Smeets, Jan (2651) – Karjakin, Sergey (2725) Amber-blindfold 19th Nice (2), 14.03.2010

[FEN"8/5p1p/5kp1/8/5PP1/1K5P/8/8 b - - 0 46"]

Karjakin missed the win. Can you do better? E112.03 Cramling, P (2523) – Munguntuul, B (2428) FIDE GP w Nalchik RUS (5), 30.04.2010

[FEN"8/5p2/4k3/4P1RK/7P/6r1/8/8 b - - 0 109"]

Black did not play 109...Rxg5+. Why? E112.04 Reisch, S (2192) – Migheli, G (1863) 7th Balagne Open Calvi FRA (6), 28.04.2010

[FEN"8/8/4k2K/7P/1p4P1/8/8/8 w - - 0 51"]

White to move and draw. E112.05 Hallerod, R (2121) – Sorensen, B (2240) TCh-Eur Seniors Dresden GER (4), 13.02.2010

[FEN"8/8/8/8/6p1/4k1p1/6Kp/8 b - - 0 82"]

Can White's defense be overrun? E112.06 Alfelo Alsad, G Ahmed – Alnami, Salaheddin (1716) Africa-ch U16 Cairo (6), 05.01.2010

[FEN"8/8/2k5/1p3K1p/7P/4P3/8/8 b - - 0 41"]

Black to move and win. E112.07 Kadziolka, Beata (2328) – Worek, Joanna (2226) POL-ch (Women) Warsaw (1.3), 10.01.2010

[FEN"8/8/8/1R6/p2r4/P7/KPk5/8 b - - 0 42"]

Why was 42...Kc1 a mistake? Solution to last month's exercise E111.01 Livner, A (2304) – Doci, S (2071) Uxbridge Open ENG (5), 21.03.2010

[FEN "8/2R5/3n1kp1/7p/5P2/5NPK/ 4r2P/8 w - - 0 59"]

White to move and win. 59.Ng5! Black resigned as he can not avoid a lost pawn ending. 59.Rc6 Ke7 60.Ra6 Re6 61.Ra7+ Ke8 62.Kh4 wins as well, but is not as convincing as the game continuation. 59...Kf5 60.Rd7 Ne4 61.Rf7+ Nf6 62.Nh7 Re6 63.Kh4 Ra6 64.Rxf6+ Rxf6 65.Nxf6 Kxf6 66.g4 hxg4 67.Kxg4 Kf7 68.Kg5 Kg7 69.h3 Kf7 70.Kh6 Kf6

[FEN"8/2R5/3n1kp1/7p/5P2/5NPK/ 4r2P/8 w - - 0 59"]

71.h4! White wins by outflanking. The hasty 71.Kh7?? g5 spoils it. 71...Kf7 72.Kh7 Kf6 73.Kg8+- 1–0

© 2010 ChessCafe.com. All Rights Reserved.

Comment on this month's column via our Contact Page! Pertinent responses will be posted below daily.

[ChessCafe Home Page] [Book Review] [Columnists] [Endgame Study] [The Skittles Room] [Archives] [Links] [Online Bookstore] [About ChessCafe.com] [Contact Us] © 2010 BrainGamz, Inc. All Rights Reserved. "ChessCafe.com®" is a registered trademark of BrainGamz, Inc.

Learning from the Classics In opposite-colored bishop endgames, positional considerations often take precedence over material, as in the following famous classic:

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113.01 Topalov, Veselin (2740) – Shirov, Alexei (2710) Linares (10), 04.03.1998

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

Endgame Fireworks by Alexei Shirov

[Find us on Facebook.] [FEN "8/8/4kpp1/3p1b2/p6P/2B5/ 6P1/6K1 b - - 0 47"]

47...Bh3!! The only move to win as White's defense on the diagonal a1–h8 must be broken. 47...Be4? 48.g3 f5 49.Kf2 Kd6 50.Ke3 Kc5 51.Bf6 Kc4 52.Be5 Kb3 53.Kd2 Ka2 54.Kc1! Kb3 55.Kd2=. 48.gxh3 48.Kf2 Kf5 49.Kf3 Bxg2+!–+ does not change the outcome.

Practical Endgame Play: Beyond the Basics by Glenn Flear

48...Kf5 49.Kf2 Ke4 50.Bxf6 Play through and download the games from ChessCafe.com in the DGT Game Viewer.

After 50.Ke2 a3 51.Kd2 d4 52.Ba1 f5–+, Black's army of ants will roll down the board. 50...d4 51.Be7 Kd3! 52.Bc5 Kc4 53.Be7 Kb3 0–1 113.02 Psomiadis, Stavros (2204) – Skembris, Spyridon (2452) 37th Greek T-Ch Kallithea Halkidiki (1.1), 03.07.2009

ECE: Minor Piece Endings by Chess Informant

[FEN "8/3kp3/8/4Pbp1/7p/1pK4P/ 1B4P1/8 b - - 0 43"]

Skembris doubtlessly knew the previous example, calculated deeply, and came up with the inspired 43...Bxh3!!

After 43...Be4?, White's counterplay is in time: 44.Bc1 g4 45.hxg4 Bxg2 46. Kxb3 Ke6 47.Bf4 Kd5 48.g5 Ke4 49.Bh2 Bh3 50.g6 Be6+ 51.Kb4 Kf3 52. Kc5 Kg2 53.Bf4 h3 54.Kc6 h2 55.Bxh2 Kxh2 56.Kc7=. 44.gxh3 g4 45.Bc1 gxh3 46.Bf4 Ke6

[FEN "8/4p3/4k3/4P3/5B1p/1pK4p/8/8 w - - 0 47"]

47.Kxb3?! The tricky 47.Kb2!? was much more tenacious: 47...Kf5 48.Bh2 Ke4 (48...e6? 49.Kxb3 Ke4 50.Kc2 Kf3 51.Kd2 Kg2 52.Ke2 Kxh2 53.Kf2=) 49.e6

[FEN "8/4p3/4P3/8/4k2p/1p5p/1K5B/8 b - - 0 49"]

Now only 49...Ke3!! does the job. (Black's queen is dominated after 49...Kf3? 50.Bd6 Kg2 51.Bxe7 h2 52.Bxh4 h1Q 53.e7=)

[FEN "8/4P3/8/8/7B/1p6/1K4k1/7q b - - 0 53"]

50.Bd6 Kf3 and White is in fatal zugzwang: 51.Bxe7 h2 52.Bxh4 h1Q 53.e7 Qg2+–+. 47...Kf5 48.Bh2 Ke4 49.e6 Kf3 0–1 White resigned because of 50.Bd6 Kg2 51.Bxe7 h2 52.Bxh4 h1Q 53.e7 Qd1+ 54.Kc4 Qd7–+ The following endgame is another famous classic: 113.03 Euwe, M – Yanovsky, D

Groningen, 1946

[FEN "8/B4kpp/2pp4/P7/4P3/8/ 1Pb3PP/6K1 w - - 0 1"]

1.Bc5! Bd3 1...dxc5?? 2.a6+-. 2.Bxd6 Bxe4 3.a6 c5 4.Bxc5 h5 5.Kf2 Bd3? In principle it is good to force the pawns on dark squares and blockade them, but here it costs too much time. 5...Ke6 is called for. 6.a7 Be4

[FEN "8/P4kp1/8/2B4p/4b3/8/1P3KPP/8 w - - 0 7"]

7.g3? Too slow. 7.g4!! is necessary: 7...hxg4 8.Kg3 Bf3 9.Kf4 Ke6 10.Bd4 g6 11.h3 g5+ 12.Kg3+- (Nunn in his excellent Understanding Chess Endgames, Gambit 2009); By the way: 7.h4! wins as well. Burkhard Treiber had found the move in an Internet forum and proved that it does the job. One line runs 7...g6 8.g4 hxg4 9.Kg3 Bf3 10.Kf4 Ke6 11.Kg5 Be4 12.Kxg4 Kd7 13.Kf4 Bg2 14.Kg5 Be4 15.a8Q Bxa8 16.Kxg6 and White wins, as his pawns are so far apart from each other. 7...Ke6 8.Ke3

[FEN "8/P5p1/4k3/2B4p/4b3/4K1P1/1P5P/8 b - - 0 8"]

8...Bg2? Too careless. 8...Kf5! defends: 9.Bf8 g6 10.Kd4 Ba8 11.Kc5 Ke6 12.Kb6 Kd7= (Averbakh). 9.Kf4! g6 10.g4! hxg4 11.Kxg4 Bh1 12.Kg5 Kf7 12...Be4 13.a8Q Bxa8 14.Kxg6+-. 13.Bd4 Bg2 14.h4 Bh1 15.b4 Bg2 16.b5 Bh1

[FEN "8/P4k2/6p1/1P4K1/3B3P/8/8/7b w - - 0 17"]

Now White wins by preparing the transfer of his king to the queenside. 17.Bf6! Bg2 17...Be4 18.Kf4 Bb7 19.Ke5+-. 18.h5 gxh5 19.Kf5! 1–0 L'Ami most probably knew the previous example and applied the same technique, but here it does not lead to a win: 113.04 Reinderman, D (2608) – L'Ami, E (2620) ch-NED Eindhoven NED (4), 15.06.2010

[FEN "8/8/8/3p3p/4b1k1/6P1/pB3K2/8 b - - 0 71"]

71...Bf3 72.Ba1 h4 73.gxh4 Kf4! 74.Bb2 Ke4 75.Kf1 Ke3 76.Ke1 Bh5 77. Bc1+ Kd3 78.Bb2 d4 78...Kc2 does not help, as White can liquidate all the pawns after 79.Bf6 Kb1 80.Kd2 a1Q 81.Bxa1 Kxa1 82.Kd3=] 79.Kf2! Bg4 [79...Kc4 80.Ke1 d3 81. Kd2 Kb3 82.Ba1=. 80.Ke1 Be2 81.Kf2 Bd1 82.Ke1 Bh5 83.Kf2 Ke4 84.Ke1 Ke3

[FEN "8/8/8/7b/3p3P/4k3/pB6/4K3 w - - 0 85"]

Black has made as much progress as possible, but White still defends. 85.Bc1+! 85.Ba1? d3 86.Bc3 a1Q+ 87.Bxa1 d2+–+. 85...Kd3 86.Bb2 Bg4 87.Kf2 Bh5 ½–½ Solutions to last month exercises E112.01 Mohammed Abdul, M (2259) – Enkhtuul, A (2133) Six Seasons WIM Narayanganj BAN (2), 24.05.2010

[FEN"8/6k1/7p/5p1P/1K6/5P2/8/8 w - - 0 67"]

How to assess the position with White to move? 67.Kc5? allows Black counterplay. After 67.f4!, Black's king remains passive and White wins: 67...Kf6 68.Kc5 Ke6 69.Kc6 Ke7 70.Kd5 Kf6 71.Kd6 Kf7 72.Ke5 Kg7 73.Kxf5 Kf7 74.Ke5 Ke7 75.f5 Kf7 76.f6 Kf8

[FEN "5k2/8/5P1p/4K2P/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 77"]

Now White wins by triangulation: 77.Ke4 Ke8 78.Kf4 Kf8 79.Ke5 Kf7 80.Kf5 +-. 67...f4! 68.Kd5 Kf6 69.Ke4 Kg5 70.Ke5 Kxh5 71.Kf5 Kh4 72.Kxf4 h5 73.Ke5 Kg3 74.f4 h4 75.f5 h3 76.f6 h2 77.f7 h1Q 78.f8Q Qe1+ 79.Kf6 Qf2 + 80.Kg7 Qxf8+ 81.Kxf8 ½–½ E112.02 Smeets, Jan (2651) – Karjakin, Sergey (2725) Amber-blindfold 19th Nice (2), 14.03.2010

[FEN"8/5p1p/5kp1/8/5PP1/1K5P/8/8 b - - 0 46"]

Karjakin missed the win. Can you do better? 46...g5? Now White's king is just in time. Karjakin had to exchange the hpawns first: 46...h5! 47.Kc4 hxg4 48.hxg4 g5 49.f5 Ke5 50.f6 Kf4 51.Kd5 Kxg4 52.Kd6 Kf5 53.Ke7 Kg6–+. 47.f5 Ke5 47...h5 48.gxh5 Kxf5 49.Kc4 Kf6 50.Kd5 Kg7 51.Ke5 Kh6 52.Kf6 Kxh5 53.Kxf7 Kh4 54.Kg6=. 48.Kc4 Kf4 49.Kd5 Kg3 50.f6 Kxh3 51.Kd6 Kxg4 52.Ke7 h5 53.Kxf7 h4 54.Kg6 h3 55.f7 h2 56.f8Q h1Q 57.Qf5+ ½–½ E112.03 Cramling, P (2523) – Munguntuul, B (2428) FIDE GP w Nalchik RUS (5), 30.04.2010

[FEN"8/5p2/4k3/4P1RK/7P/6r1/8/8 b - - 0 109"]

Black did not play 109...Rxg5+. Why? 109...Rh3! 109...Rxg5+?? would have been a disastrous choice: 110.Kxg5 Kxe5 111.h5 Ke6 112.h6 f6+ 113.Kg6+-. 110.Kg4 Rh1 111.Kh5 Rh2 112. Kg4 Rh1 113.Rh5 f6 114.exf6 Kxf6 115.Ra5 Kg6 116.Ra6+ Kh7 117.Kh5 Rg1 118.Ra7+ Rg7 119.Rxg7+ Kxg7 ½–½ E112.04 Reisch, S (2192) – Migheli, G (1863) 7th Balagne Open Calvi FRA (6), 28.04.2010

[FEN"8/8/4k2K/7P/1p4P1/8/8/8 w - - 0 51"]

White to move and draw. 51.g5? 51.Kg7 b3 52.h6 b2 53.h7 b1Q 54.h8Q draws despite the unfortunate position of White's queen. Without the pawn g4, Black would be winning. but

as matters are it shields the king. 51...b3 52.g6 b2 0–1 White resigned because of 53.g7 Kf7 54.Kh7 b1Q+–+. E112.05 Hallerod, R (2121) – Sorensen, B (2240) TCh-Eur Seniors Dresden GER (4), 13.02.2010

[FEN"8/8/8/8/6p1/4k1p1/6Kp/8 b - - 0 82"]

Can White's defense be overrun? White's house was stormed by 82...Ke2 83.Kh1 g2+ 84.Kxg2 84.Kxh2 Kf1 85.Kg3 g1Q+–+. 84...h1Q+ 85.Kxh1 Kf2 0–1 E112.06 Alfelo Alsad, G Ahmed – Alnami, Salaheddin (1716) Africa-ch U16 Cairo (6), 05.01.2010

[FEN"8/8/2k5/1p3K1p/7P/4P3/8/8 b - - 0 41"]

Black to move and win. 41...b4? Black plays this trump too early. First 41...Kc5! forces White's king to make a longer march: 42.Ke4 (42.e4 b4 43.e5 b3 44.e6 b2 45.e7 b1Q+–+) 42...Kc4 43.Kf3 b4 44.Ke2 Kc3 45.Kd1 Kd3–+. 42.Ke4 Kc5 43.Kd3 Kd5 44. e4+ Ke5 45.Kc4 Kxe4 46.Kxb4 Kf3 47.Kc3 Kg3 48.Kd2 Kxh4 49.Ke1 Kg3 50.Kf1 ½–½ E112.07 Kadziolka, Beata (2328) – Worek, Joanna (2226) POL-ch (Women) Warsaw (1.3), 10.01.2010

[FEN"8/8/8/1R6/p2r4/P7/KPk5/8 b - - 0 42"]

Why was 42...Kc1 a mistake?

42...Kc1? 42...Kd3 43.Rb4 Rxb4 44.axb4 Kc4 45.Ka3 Kb5 and 42...Rc4 43. b3 axb3+ 44.Rxb3 Ra4 45.Rb4 Ra8 46.a4 Kc3 47.Ka3 Ra7 48.Rb5 Kc4 are drawn. 43.Rb4 Rd2 44.Ka1!

[FEN "8/8/8/8/pR6/P7/1P1r4/K1k5 b - - 0 44"]

Black is defenseless. 44...Rc2 45.Rxa4 Rxb2 46.Rc4+ 46.Rb4 wins as well. 46...Rc2 47.Rxc2+ Kxc2 48.a4 Kd3 49.a5 Kd4 50.a6 1–0

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The Riddle of Duchamp Alexander Beliavsky and Adrian Michalchishin devote one chapter of their book Winning Endgame Technique (Batsford 1995) to the following old riddle by famous artist Marcel Duchamp: "He composed one enigmatic study but never gave the solution. In the 1970s the magazine Chess Life and Review published a discussion with the participation of Grandmaster Larry Evans, reaching the conclusion that there is no win." I agree with this result, which is also reached by Beliavsky and Mikhalchishin:

Endgame Corner

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114.01A Riddle of Duchamp: Original Version

Karsten Müller

Chess Biography of Marcel Duchamp, Vol. One by Vlastimil Fiala

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[FEN "1r6/1PR5/5p2/1P5p/5K2/8/6k1/8 w - - 0 1"]

1.Rg7+ 1.Ke3 h4 2.Rg7+ Kf1 3.Kf3 h3 4.Rh7 Ke1 5.Rxh3 Rxb7 6.Ke3 Chess Biography of Marcel Duchamp, Vol. Two by Vlastimil Fiala

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[FEN"8/1r6/5p2/1P6/8/4K2R/8/4k3 b - - 0 6"]

After 6...Kf1 7.Rf3+ Kg2 8.Rf5 Kg3 9.Kd4 Kg4= Black's f-pawn will provide sufficient counterplay.; 1.Ke4 h4 2.Rg7+ Kf2 3.Rh7

[FEN"1r6/1P5R/5p2/1P6/4K2p/8/5k2/8 b - - 0 3"]

NIC Magazine, 2009/5 by New In Chess

3...h3 again hoping for counterplay with the f-pawn. But not (3...Kg3? 4.Kd5 h3 5.Kc6 h2 6.Kc7 Rxb7+ 7.Kxb7 f5 8.Kc6 f4 9.b6 f3 10.b7 f2 11.b8Q++-) 4. Rxh3 Rxb7 5.Rb3 Rb6 6.Kd5 f5 7.Kc5 Rb8 8.b6 f4=; 1.Rh7 h4 2.Rxh4 Rxb7 3.Rh5 Rb6=; 1.Kf5 h4 2.Kxf6 h3 3.Rg7+

[FEN"1r6/1P4R1/5K2/1P6/8/7p/6k1/8 b - - 0 3"]

3...Kf2 (Of course not 3...Kh1? 4.Ke5 h2 5.Kd6 Rg8 6.Rh7+-) 4.Rh7 Kg2 5. Ke5 h2 6.Kd6 Rxb7!=; After 1.Rh7 h4 2.Rxh4 Rxb7

[FEN"8/1r6/5p2/1P6/5K1R/8/6k1/8 w - - 0 3"]

The rook can not move to b4 which led me to the following version of the study. 1...Kf2 2.Rh7 h4 3.Rxh4 Rxb7 4.Rh2+ Ke1 5.Rb2 Kd1 6.b6 Kc1 7.Rb5 Kd2 8.Ke4

[FEN"8/1r6/1P3p2/1R6/4K3/8/3k4/8 b - - 0 8"]

It seems that Black loses because of the bodycheck. But this is deceptive: 8...f5+!! 8...Ke2? is refuted by 9.Rb2+ Kd1 10.Kd5 f5 11.Kc6 Rb8 12.b7 f4 13.Rf2 Rf8 14.Rxf4+- and; 8...Kc3? runs into the bodycheck 9.Kd5+-. 9.Kxf5 Kd3 10.Ke5 Kc4 11.Rb1 Kc5= In view of this result, I suggest the following version of Duchamp's study: 114.01B Version of the Riddle of Duchamp

[FEN"1r6/1P5R/5p2/1P5p/5K2/8/6k1/8 w - - 0 1"]

1.Kf5! 1.Ke3? h4 2.Rg7+ (2.Rxh4 Rxb7 3.Rb4 Kg3 4.b6 f5=) 2...Kf1 3.Kf3 h3 4.Rh7

[FEN"1r6/1P5R/5p2/1P6/8/5K1p/8/5k2 b - - 0 4"]

Now only 4...Ke1! saves Black.; 1.Rg7+? transposes to 114.01A.; 1.Rxh5? Rxb7 2.Rc5 Kf2 3.Rc2+ Ke1 4.Rb2 Kd1 5.b6 Kc1 6.Rb5 Kd2 7.Ke4 f5+!!=; 1.Ke4? h4 2.Kd5 h3 3.Kc6 h2 4.Kc7 Rxb7+ 5.Kxb7

[FEN"8/1K5R/5p2/1P6/8/8/6kp/8 b - - 0 5"]

5...f5! Direct promotion with (5...h1Q? is premature: 6.Rxh1 Kxh1 7.Kc6 f5 8. Kd5 f4 9.Ke4+-) 6.Kc6 f4 7.b6 h1Q=. 1...h4 1...Kg3 2.Rxh5 Rxb7 3.Kxf6 Rb6+ 4.Ke7!+-. 2.Rxh4 2.Kxf6? is refuted by 2...h3 3.Ke6 h2 4.Kd6

[FEN"1r6/1P5R/3K4/1P6/8/8/6kp/8 b - - 0 4"]

4...Rxb7!=. 2...Rxb7 3.Rb4 Rb6

[FEN"8/8/1r3p2/1P3K2/1R6/8/6k1/8 w - - 0 4"]

4.Kf4 First the king has to go backwards to win time before returning to support his pawn. 4.Rb3 Kf2 5.Ke4 Ke2 6.Rb2+ Kd1 7.Kd3 transposes. 4...Kf2 5.Rb2+ Ke1 6.Ke3 Kd1 7.Rd2+ Ke1 8.Rd5 Kf1 9.Rf5+ Kg2

[FEN"8/8/1r3p2/1P3R2/8/4K3/6k1/8 w - - 0 10"]

The time has come to return: 10.Kd4 Kg3 11.Kc5 Re6 11...Kg4 12.Kxb6 Kxf5 13.Kc6 and White wins the race. 12.b6 Kg4 13.b7 Kxf5 14.b8Q Re5+ 15.Kd6

[FEN"1Q6/8/3K1p2/4rk2/8/8/8/8 b - - 0 15"]

White's queen will prevail sooner or later. 15...Kg5 16.Qg8+ Kh6 17.Qf7 Kg5 18.Qg7+ Kf5 19.Qg2 Re6+ 20.Kd7 Re5 21.Qg3 Re4 22.Qf3+ Rf4 23.Qd5+ Kg4 24.Qg2+ Kf5 25.Ke7 Ke5 26.Qe2+ Kd5 27.Qd3+ Ke5 28.Kf7 f5 29.Qe3+ Re4 30.Qc5+ Kf4 31.Kf6+-

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Capablanca's Concept If you have only one bishop left, there is always the question as to where to put the pawns: on the color of the bishop or not. This is difficult to answer in general, but in pure same-colored bishop endings Capablanca's advice to put the pawns on the opposite color to complement the bishop and to restrict the enemy king usually comes in handy.

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115.01 Bologan, Victor (2668) – Motylev, Alexander (2704) 11th Karpov Poikovsky (11), 13.06.2010

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

Capablanca: A Primer of Checkmate by Frisco Del Rosario

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[FEN "8/6p1/p2b1k2/3P1p1P/2K5/5P2/3B4/8 b - - 0 61"]

61...f4? This violates the guideline, opens a road for White's king and weakens the fpawn. 61...g5 62.hxg6 (62.Bc3+ Kf7 63.h6 Kg6 64.Bb4 Bf4 65.d6 Bxd6 66.Bxd6 Kxh6 67.Kd3 g4=) 62...Kxg6 63.Be3 Kf6

Jose Raul Capablanca by Isaak & Vladimir Linder

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[FEN"8/8/p2b1k2/3P1p2/2K5/4BP2/8/8 w - - 0 64"]

This draws, as the aggressive 64.Bc5?? even loses because of the distant passed a-pawn: 64...Bxc5 65.Kxc5 Ke7 66.Kc6 Kd8–+. 62.Bc3+ Kg5 After 62...Kf7, White penetrates on the weakened light squares: 63.Kd3 Bc7 64.Ke4 a5 65.Kf5 a4 66.Bb4+-. 63.Bxg7 Kxh5 64.Bd4

Capablanca by Edward Winter

[FEN"8/8/p2b4/3P3k/2KB1p2/5P2/8/8 b - - 0 64"]

64...Kh4 64...Bc7 is met by 65.Bf2!, which stops the counterplay and White wins. (The direct 65.Kc5? violates the endgame principle "Do not rush" and runs into 65... Kh4 66.Kc6 Bd8=.) 65...Kg6 (65...Bd6 66.Bc5+-) 66.Kc5 a5 (66...Kf7 67. Kc6 Bd8 68.Kd7 Bf6 69.Bb6+-) 67.Kc6 Be5 68.Kb5 Kf7 69.Kxa5+-. 65.Bc5 Bb8 65...Be5 66.Bf2+ Kh3 67.Bd4 Bb8

[FEN"1b6/8/p7/3P4/2KB1p2/5P1k/8/8 w - - 0 68"]

This does not help because of 68.Kd3! and White's centralized forces will dominate Black: 68...Kg3 69.Ke4 a5 70.Bc5 a4 71.d6+-. 66.Kd4 Kg5 67.d6 a5 68.Kd5 a4 69.Bb6 1–0 But all rules have exceptions. 115.02 Simacek, P (2518) – Wojtaszek, R (2663) Wroclaw (3), 28.06.2010

[FEN"8/7p/5Bpb/3k4/P3p3/1PKp2P1/7P/8 b - - 0 42"]

Wojtaszek has calculated that he wins by force by advancing his passed pawns further. 42...d2! 43.Kc2 e3 44.Kd1

44.Bc3 Ke4 45.a5 Kf3 46.Bxd2 (46.a6 Ke2–+) 46...exd2 47.Kd1 Ke4 48.a6 Be3 49.Ke2 Kd5–+. 44...Ke4 45.Ke2

[FEN"8/7p/5Bpb/8/P3k3/1P2p1P1/ 3pK2P/8 b - - 0 45"]

At first sight, it seems that Wojtaszek has miscalculated. Yet his next move is the point of his approach. 45...d1Q+!! 46.Kxd1 Kd3 47.Ke1 47.Bc3 Kxc3 48.Ke2 Kd4–+. 47...Bf8! 0–1 But not 47...e2? 48.Bc3 Kxc3 49.Kxe2 and Black's winning potential is insufficient. In the last example, the attacker also profits from the fact that the defender's pawns can be attack by his bishop. 115.03 Richter, Mic (2428) – Mamedov, Nid (2604) Sants Open A La Bordeta (5), 24.08.2010

[FEN"8/8/1k2p1p1/2p1p3/2P1Pb2/ 1P1KB3/5P2/8 w - - 0 43"]

43.Ke2! Richter retreats to get the option to play on both wings. 43.Bxf4? exf4 44.f3 Ka5 45.Kc3 g5 loses for White. 43...Kc6 43...g5 44.f3 Kc6

[FEN"8/8/2k1p3/2p1p1p1/2P1Pb2/ 1P2BP2/4K3/8 w - - 0 45"]

This does not help. White cannot go into a pawn ending, but he can win the bishop ending by invading with his pieces: 45.Bd2 Kd7 46.Bc3 Kd6 47.Kf1 Ke7 48.Kg2 Kf6 49.Kh3 Kg6 50.Kg4+-. 44.Kf3 g5 44...Bxe3?! 45.Kxe3 Kb6 46.Kd3 Ka5 47.Kc3 g5 48.f3+-. 45.Bxf4! Now White can enter the pawn ending, as he has won several tempi. 45...gxf4 After 45...exf4

[FEN"8/8/2k1p3/2p3p1/2P1Pp2/1P3K2/5P2/8 w - - 0 46"]

White closes the road first with 46.e5+- and then wins the race. The direct 46. Kg4 wins as well: 46...Kd6 47.Kxg5 Ke5 48.f3 Kd4 49.Kxf4 Kc3 50.Ke3 Kxb3 51.Kd3 e5 52.f4 exf4 53.e5+-. 46.Ke2 Kb6 47.Kd3 Ka5 48.Kc3 f3

[FEN"8/8/4p3/k1p1p3/2P1P3/1PK2p2/5P2/8 w - - 0 49"]

Now White opens the queenside with a typical break. 49.b4+! cxb4+

49...Kb6 is met by 50.b5+- followed by marching to the kingside. But not 50. bxc5+?? Kxc5 51.Kb3 Kd4 52.Kb4 Kxe4 53.Kc3 Kf4 54.c5 e4=. 50.Kb3 Kb6 51.Kxb4 Kc6 52.c5 Kc7 53.Kb5 Kb7 54.c6+ Kc8

[FEN"2k5/8/2P1p3/1K2p3/4P3/5p2/5P2/8 w - - 0 55"]

How to make progress? By triangulation. 55.Kc4 Kb8 56.Kb4 Kc8 57.Kb5 Kb8 57...Kc7 58.Kc5+-. 58.Kb6 Ka8 59.Kc7 1–0 Exercises (Solutions next month) E115.01 Roque, M (2244) – Ranola, Y (2397) 6th Prospero A Pichay Cup Manila (7), 25.08.2010

[FEN"8/6b1/8/6P1/2p2P1K/2P5/4k3/4B3 w - - 0 62"]

How did Roque storm Black's house ? E115.02 Short, N (2690) – Fluvia Poyatos, Joa (2499) TCh-ESP CECLUB Honor Sestao (5), 27.08.2010

[FEN"8/Pb3p2/3p3p/4p3/2P1P2k/2KB4/8/8 w - - 0 45"]

Short found the shortest route to win. Can you do the same? E115.03 Saez Coma, Alejandro (1477) – Serra Canals, Oriol (1607)

XI Miquel Mas Open Figueres (9), 18.08.2010

[FEN"2K5/8/1p3p1p/1B3kp1/3P4/8/8/8 w - - 0 72"]

How to asses this position with White to move ? E115.04 Akesson, R (2470) – Vovk, Y (2561) GM1 Valoz Cup Olomouc (3), 06.08.2010

[FEN"8/8/3K2k1/8/1p6/1P5P/P7/4b3 b - - 0 55"]

Black to move and win.

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Prophylaxis The importance of the concept of prophylaxis for the game of chess can hardly be overestimated. You should always try to find out what your opponent threatens or plans first before you make your list of candidate moves. Mark Dvoretsky has dealt with this theme in detail in many of his excellent books. I can only scratch the surface here:

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116.01 Martinez, Marce (2431) – Cozianu, Costin (2557) USCL ICC INT (3), 07.09.2010

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

Strategic Play by Mark Dvoretsky

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[FEN "8/2n1k3/7K/p7/P2R4/1P5P/6r1/8 w - - 0 67"]

White has the clear plan to exchange the a5-pawn to reach a draw. Yet he should also look at Black's options carefully, as White's king is exposed. 67.b4 Ne6 68.Re4? White only thinks his own way and does not parry all threats. He should have played 68.Rd1! axb4 (68...Ng7 69.bxa5 Nf5+ 70.Kh5 Kf6 71.h4 Rh2 72.Kg4 Ne3+ 73.Kg3=) 69.Rb1 Kf6

Secrets of Positional Play by Mark Dvoretsky

Play through and download the games from ChessCafe.com in the ChessBase Game Viewer. Secrets of Creative Thinking by Mark Dvoretsky [FEN "8/8/4nk1K/8/Pp6/7P/6r1/1R6 w - - 0 70"]

The idea is 70.Rf1+ Ke5 71.Rb1 Rg3 72.Rxb4 Kf6 73.h4 Rg6+ 74.Kh7 and Black cannot win. 68...Kf6 69.bxa5 Rg6+ 70.Kh5 70.Kh7 Ng5+ 71.Kh8 Nf7+ 72.Kh7 Rg7#. 70...Ng7+ 71.Kh4 Nf5+ 72.Kh5 Rg5# 0–1 116.02 Vega Gutierrez, B (2215) – Cabrera Trujillo, J (2384) ch-ESP El Sauzal ESP (5), 08.09.2010

[FEN "8/8/6P1/1k6/1p4R1/p7/K3r3/8 w - - 0 124"]

White's king must retreat, as 124.Kb3?? runs into 124...Rb2 mate. But where? Those fifty-percent chances are often surprisingly difficult to deal with. Try to decide this for yourself first before reading on. 124.Kb1? 124.Ka1! b3 125.Rg1 draws, as Black cannot drum up a mating attack in time now, since the advance a3-a2 is not with check. 124...b3? This gives White another chance. 124...a2+ 125.Ka1 b3 126.Rg1 Kb4–+ is the correct order of moves. 125.Rg1? After 125.Rg5+, Black's king cannot hide from the checks and it is a draw. 125...a2+ 126.Ka1 Kb4 0–1 White resigned, as 127.g7 is met by 127...Ka3 128.g8Q b2#. In the next example I start a bit earlier. 116.03 Alvarado Diaz, A (2101) - Fernandez Garcia, Jose (2235) ch-ESP El Sauzal ESP (4), 07.09.2010

[FEN "8/PK6/1n1k4/3n4/1P6/8/3B4/8 w - - 0 76"]

At first White plays strongly. 76.Be3! Na8 76...Nxe3 77.Kxb6 Nd5+ 78.Kb7 Nc7 79.b5+–. 77.Bc5+ The direct 77.Kxa8 Kc7 78.b5 Nxe3 79.b6+ Kxb6 80.Kb8 wins as well. 77...Kd7

[FEN "n7/PK1k4/8/2Bn4/1P6/8/8/8 w - - 0 78"]

78.Kxa8?? Too greedy. The b-pawn had to advance first to stop any counterplay prophylactically: 78.b5 Nac7 79.b6 Ne6 80.Ba3 Nec7 81.bxc7 Nxc7 82.Bb4 +–. 78...Kc8 0–1 As it is mate next move, White threw in the towel. The last example is very difficult. 116.04 Markos, J (2566) – Kuipers, S (2370) 11th WUCC Men Zuerich SUI (1), 05.09.2010

[FEN "8/6k1/2b2p2/1pN1pPp1/nPp1PbB1/2P4R/4K3/8 w - - 0 50"]

White can drum up an attack, but he must stop the defensive resources first. 50.Kf3? This runs into a breakthrough on the queenside. Correct is 50.Ne6+! Kg8

[FEN "6k1/8/2b1Np2/1p2pPp1/nPp1PbB1/2P4R/4K3/8 w - - 0 51"]

Now comes the prophylactic point 51.Ke1!! (As the direct 51.Rh6? is met by 51...Nxc3+ 52.Ke1 Nxe4=) 51...Bxe4 (51...Be8 52.Rh6 Nxc3 53.Rxf6 Bf7 54. Nxf4 Nxe4 55.Rb6 exf4 56.f6+–) 52.Rh6 Nxc3 53.Rxf6 Nd5 54.Rf8+ Kh7 55. f6 Kg6 56.f7 Nf6

[FEN "5R2/5P2/4Nnk1/1p2p1p1/1Pp1bbB1/8/8/4K3 w - - 0 57"]

57.Nd8! and White wins; e.g., 57...Nh7 58.Rg8+ Kf6 59.f8Q+ Nxf8 60.Rxf8+ Ke7 61.Ne6+–. 50...Nxc5 51.bxc5 b4 52.Bh5 52.cxb4 c3 53.Ke2 c2–+. 52...bxc3 53.Bg6 c2 54.Rh7+ Kf8 55.Rh8+ Ke7 0–1 Solutions to last month exercises E115.01 Roque, M (2244) – Ranola, Y (2397) 6th Prospero A Pichay Cup Manila (7), 25.08.2010

[FEN"8/6b1/8/6P1/2p2P1K/2P5/4k3/4B3 w - - 0 62"]

How did Roque storm Black's house? 62.f5! The pawns will beat Black's bishop. 62.Bg3?! wins as well, but is extremely complicated: 62...Bxc3 63.f5 Bd4 64.f6 c3 65.f7 c2 66.Bf4 Be3 67. Bxe3 Kxe3 68.f8Q c1Q and White mates in fifty-two moves according to the Nalimov tablebase. 62...Kxe1 63.f6 Bh8 63...Bf8 64.g6 Kd2 65.g7+–. 64.Kh5 Kd2 65.Kg6 1–0 65.Kg6 Kxc3 66.f7+–. E115.02 Short, N (2690) – Fluvia Poyatos, Joa (2499) TCh-ESP CECLUB Honor Sestao (5), 27.08.2010

[FEN"8/Pb3p2/3p3p/4p3/2P1P2k/2KB4/8/8 w - - 0 45"]

Short found the shortest route to win. Can you do the same?

45.Kd2! 45.c5 dxc5 46.Kd2 is also playable and will transpose. But not 46. Kc4? Kg5 47.Kxc5 f5 48.exf5 e4=. 45...Kg5 46.Ke3 h5 47.c5!

[FEN "8/Pb3p2/3p4/2P1p1kp/4P3/3BK3/8/8 b - - 0 47"]

Short's point, as now his king protects the e4-pawn. 47...h4 47...dxc5 48.Bc4 f5 49.Bd5+–. 48.Ba6 48.cxd6 Kf6 49.Ba6 wins as well. 48...h3 48...Ba8 49. cxd6 Kf6 50.Bc4 h3 51.Kf3 Bxe4+ 52.Kg3 Bg2 53.Bf1+–. 49.Bxb7 h2 50. a8Q h1Q 51.Qd8+ Kg6 52.Qxd6+ f6 53.Kd2 Qb1 54.Qb6 Qa2+ 55.Kd3 Qa3+ 56.Kc4 Qa4+ 57.Qb4 Qc2+ 58.Kb5 Qd3+ 59.Qc4 1–0 E115.03 Saez Coma, Alejandro (1477) – Serra Canals, Oriol (1607) XI Miquel Mas Open Figueres (9), 18.08.2010

[FEN"2K5/8/1p3p1p/1B3kp1/3P4/8/8/8 w - - 0 72"]

How to assess this position with White to move? 72.d5? This allows Black to block the passed pawn. After 72.Bc6 Ke6 73.Kc7 +–, it can safely sail down the board to the eighth rank. 72...Ke5! 73.Bc6 Kd6 74.Kb7 b5 75.Kb6 b4 76.Ka5 b3 77.Ba4 b2 78.Bc2 Kxd5 79.Kb4 h5 80. Kc3 h4 81.Kxb2 h3 82.Bd1 Ke4 83.Ba4 g4 84.Bc6+ Ke3 85.Bd7 h2 86.Bc6 g3 0–1 E115.04 Akesson, R (2470) – Vovk, Y (2561) GM1 Valoz Cup Olomouc (3), 06.08.2010

[FEN"8/8/3K2k1/8/1p6/1P5P/P7/4b3 b - - 0 55"]

Black to move and win. Black's bishop must change diagonals: 55...Bh4! 55...Bf2 56.Kd5 Bh4 wins as

well. 56.Ke6 56.Kc5 Be7+ 57.Kb5 Kg5–+

[FEN "8/4b3/8/1K4k1/1p6/1P5P/P7/8 w - - 0 58"]

White cannot make progress on the queenside, so Black's king has all the time in the world. 56...Bf6 57.Kd5 Kg5 58.Ke6 Bd4 0–1 White resigned because of 59.Kd5 Bb2 60.Kc4 Ba3–+.

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The Art of Defense I often need exercises for my students, but I find that some positions have no solution of the kind "Black to move and draw." An example of which is the following position:

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117.01 Tan Jun Feng (1870) – Rian, K (2096) 7th Malaysia Open Kuala Lumpur MAS (2), 02.09.2010

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

Chess Endgames 7 by Karsten Müller

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Black loses whatever he does, but one defense is definitely more tenacious than the alternatives: 51...Kf4! 51...b5?! 52.Kc5 Kf5 53.Kxb5 Ke5 54.Ka6 Kd4 55.Kxa7 Kxd3 56.Kb6 Kc4 57.a4+-; 51...a5?! 52.a4 Kf4 53.Kd5 Ke3 54.Kc4!+-. 52.Kd5 Ke3 53.d4

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Chess Endgames 6 by Karsten Müller

Chess Endgames 5 by Karsten Müller [FEN"8/p7/1p6/3K4/3P4/P3k3/8/8 b - - 0 53"]

Now the moment has come, where Black missed his chance: 53...b5?! After 53...a5!, White has to win a technically difficult queen ending: 54.a4 Kd3 55.Ke5 b5 56.axb5 (The direct 56.d5? runs into 56...bxa4 57.d6 a3 58.d7 a2 59.d8Q+ Kc2 60.Qxa5 Kb1

[FEN"8/8/8/Q3K3/8/8/p7/1k6 w - - 0 61"]

It is a draw, as White's king is just outside the winning zone.) 56...a4 57.b6 a3 58.b7 a2 59.b8Q a1Q 60.Qb3+ Kd2

[FEN"8/8/8/4K3/3P4/1Q6/3k4/q7 w - - 0 61"]

With optimal play White mates in seventy-two moves beginning with 61.Qh3 +-. 54.Kc5 a5 55.d5 b4 56.Kc4 1–0 56.axb4 a4 57.Kc4 Kd2 58.d6 wins as well of course. The following position shows a typical winning configuration, but against best defense plenty of work still has to be done: 117.02 Educative Example

[FEN"K7/P4k2/8/8/1r6/8/8/4R3 b - - 0 1"]

1...Rb3!? Much better than 1...Rb2?!, which will be seen soon. 2.Rh1 Ke7 3.Rh8 Kd6 4.Rb8 Ra3 5.Kb7 Rb3+ 6.Kc8 The only way to make real progress, as after 6.Ka6?! Ra3+ 7.Kb6 Rb3+ 8. Ka5 Ra3+, White has to return with 9.Kb6. 6...Rc3+ 7.Kd8 Rh3 8.Rb6+ Kc5 9.Rc6+

[FEN"3K4/P7/2R5/2k5/8/7r/8/8 b - - 0 9"]

Now it becomes clear why Black's rook had to go to the third rank: 9...Kxc6!? 10.a8Q+ Kd6 The rook cannot be won by a series of checks and White must win the ending queen vs. rook in a technical way. 11.Qb8+ Kd5 12.Qb7+ Ke5 13.Qg7+ Kf4

[FEN"3K4/6Q1/8/8/5k2/7r/8/8 w - - 0 14"]

The king and rook join forces, forcing White to take the long route; e.g., via breaking the third rank defense, the second rank defense, and finally winning the Philidor position for this type of endgame. In the following example, I had first thought that the defender had missed a draw: 117.03 Perez,En (2099) – Awad, O (1669) 39th Olympiad Women Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (6.44), 27.09.2010

[FEN"8/4bk2/6p1/2p1p1Bp/ 1pP1P1PK/1P5P/8/8 b - - 0 50"]

50...Bxg5+?! 50...hxg4! should be played first, but it does not hold in the long run: 51.Kxg4 (51.Bxe7? gxh3 52.Kxh3 Kxe7

[FEN"8/4k3/6p1/2p1p3/1pP1P3/1P5K/8/8 w - - 0 53"]

This is surprisingly still drawn, but makes no sense from White's point of view of course: 53.Kg4 Kf7 54.Kh4 Kg8 55.Kg4 Kh7 56.Kg5 Kg7 57.Kh4 Kh6 58.Kg4 g5 59.Kf5 Kh5 60.Kxe5 g4 61.Kd6 g3 62.e5 g2 63.e6 g1Q 64.e7

[FEN"8/4P3/3K4/2p4k/1pP5/1P6/8/6q1 b - - 0 64"]

The queen cannot win.) 51...Bf8 52.h4

[FEN"5b2/5k2/6p1/2p1p1B1/ 1pP1P1KP/1P6/8/8 b - - 0 52"]

White will open a path by h5 and invade sooner or later; e.g., 52...Ke6 53.h5 Kf7 (53...gxh5+ 54.Kxh5 Bd6 (54...Kf7 55.Bd8 Ke8 56.Bh4 Kf7 57.Kg5 Be7 + 58.Kg4+-) 55.Kg6 Bc7 56.Kg7 Bd6 57.Bh4 Bc7 58.Kf8 Kd7 (58...Bd6+ 59. Ke8 Be7

[FEN"4K3/4b3/4k3/2p1p3/1pP1P2B/ 1P6/8/8 w - - 0 60"]

This is a nice trick, but White just answers 60.Bf2+-) 59.Kf7 Bd6 60.Bf6 Bc7 61.Be7 Bb6 62.Kf6+-) 54.Be3 Bd6 55.Bd2 Bf8 (55...Be7 56.Bh6 Bd6 57.Kh4 Be7+ 58.Bg5 Bd6 59.h6 Kg8 60.Bf6 Kh7 61.Kg5 Bc7 62.Be7 Bb6 63.Kf6 Kxh6 64.Kxe5+-) 56.Bg5

[FEN"5b2/5k2/6p1/2p1p1BP/1pP1P1K1/ 1P6/8/8 b - - 0 56"]

The zugzwang White was aiming for: 56...Kg7 57.Bd8 Kh6 58.Bc7 gxh5+ 59. Kf5 Bg7 (59...h4 60.Bxe5 h3 61.Bh2 Kg7 62.Ke6 Kg6 63.e5+-) 60.Bd6 h4 61. Kg4+-. 51.Kxg5 hxg4 51...h4 52.Kh6 Kf6 53.g5+ Kf7 54.Kh7+-. 52.Kxg4 Of course not 52.hxg4? Kg7 53.Kh4 Kh6=. 52...Kf6 53.h4 Kf7 54.Kg5 Kg7 55.h5 gxh5 56.Kxh5

[FEN"8/6k1/8/2p1p2K/1pP1P3/1P6/8/8 b - - 0 56"]

White wins as her king has occupied a key square. 56...Kf6 57.Kh6 Ke7 58.Kg7 Ke6 59.Kg6 Ke7 60.Kf5 1–0 Exercises (Solutions next month) E117.01 Mir Mahmoud, A (2014) – Muminova, N (2319) 39th Olympiad Women Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (3.16), 23.09.2010

[FEN"8/5K2/8/4kpp1/6B1/8/8/8 w - - 0 90"]

Where will the bishop go? E117.02 Yang Kaiqi (2396) – Motylev, A (2704) TCh-CHN Shanghai CHN (9), 26.07.2010

[FEN"8/8/8/8/2B2k2/8/3r1K2/8 w - - 0 110"]

White can still draw, but has to be careful. E117.03 Zeng Chongsheng (2350) – Wang Li (2383) TCh-CHN Ningbo City CHN (2), 17.04.2010

[FEN"8/8/8/P7/1KNpb3/1P6/2k5/8 b - - 0 59"]

Black to move and draw.

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Equidistant Moves that follow two aims are usually very good. In the following classic endgame study, Richard Réti illustrates this theme using the special geometry of the chessboard, in which the king is as quick on diagonals as on straight lines.

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118.01 R. Réti Kagan's Neueste Schachnachrichten, 1921

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

Chess Endgames 7 by Karsten Müller

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At first sight it seems unbelievable that the h-pawn can be stopped, but this is deceptive: 1.Kg7!! h4 2.Kf6 Kb6 After 2...h3, White can already support his own pawn successfully: 3.Ke7 h2 4.c7 Kb7 5.Kd7=.

Chess Endgames 6 by Karsten Müller

3.Ke5!!

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Chess Endgames 5 by Karsten Müller [FEN"8/8/1kP5/4K3/7p/8/8/8 b - - 0 3"]

Now the double threat to enter the square of the h-pawn with Kf4 and to support the c-pawn secures the draw. 3...h3 3...Kxc6 4.Kf4=. 4.Kd6 h2 5.c7 h1Q 6.c8Q= Sometimes following two aims is even more hidden, as in the following example found by Mark Dvoretsky.

118.02 Yildiz, Betul Cemre (2214) – Danielian, Elina (2496) FIDE GP (Women) Istanbul (8), 15.03.2009

[FEN"8/8/4K3/7p/1p1k4/6P1/P7/8 w - - 0 54"]

White's king must be on time on the queenside and on the kingside, so it must stay equidistant. 54.Kd6? Now White is too late on the kingside. Only the study-like 54.Ke7!! holds: 54...Ke4 55.Kf6 Kf3 56.Kg5 Kxg3 57.Kxh5 Kf4 58.Kg6 Ke5

[FEN"8/8/6K1/4k3/1p6/8/P7/8 w - - 0 59"]

And after 59.Kf7!, White is in time again: 59...Kd4 60.Ke6 Kc3 61.Kd5 Kb2 62.Kc4 Ka3 63.Kb5=; 54.Kf5? is wrong because of 54...Kc3 55.Kg5 Kb2 56. Kxh5 Kxa2 57.g4 b3 58.g5 b2 59.g6 b1Q–+. 54...Ke4 55.Kc5 Kf3 56.Kxb4 Kxg3 57.a4 h4 58.Kb5 h3 59.Kb6 h2 60.a5 h1Q 61.Ka7 Qh7+ 62.Kb8 Qb1+ 63.Ka7 Qb5 0–1 The next example is taken from Nunn's Chess Endings, Volume 1. 118.03 Turzo, A (2315) – Vokarev, S (2310) Kecskemet, 1996

[FEN"8/8/4p3/p7/2k2K1p/P6P/6P1/8 b - - 0 4"]

Black can win, but his king has to work wonders. 4...e5+!! 5.Ke3 Kc3!!

The king must stay equidistant. 5...Kb3? runs into 6.g4 hxg3 7.h4 g2 8.Kf2 e4 9.h5 Kc2 10.h6 e3+ 11.Kxg2 e2 12.h7= (Vokarev in Informator 67). 6.a4

[FEN"8/8/8/p3p3/P6p/2k1K2P/6P1/8 b - - 0 6"]

Again the same principle is at work. 6...Kc2!! 6...Kc4? 7.g3=. 7.Ke2 7.Ke4!? is more critical: 7...Kb3 8.Kf3 e4+ 9.Ke3

[FEN"8/8/8/p7/P3p2p/1k2K2P/6P1/8 b - - 0 9"]

Now, you probably guessed it: 9...Kb4!! (Vokarev) (9...Kxa4?! wins as well, but Black does not want to play a queen ending of course: 10.g4 hxg3 11.h4 Kb3 12.h5 Kc2 13.h6 g2 14.Kf2 e3+ 15.Kxg2 e2 16.h7 e1Q 17.h8Q Qd2+–+) 10.Ke2 Kc4 11.Ke3 Kd5–+. 7...e4! 8.Ke3 Kb3 9.g4 hxg3 10.h4 Kc2 0–1 In the following example, from John Shaw's Quality Chess Puzzle Book, the mysterious king move has another aim: 118.04 Lopez Martinez, Josep Manuel (2576) – Fluvia Poyatos, Jordi (2504) Catalunya-ch Barcelona (3.1), 17.05.2008

[FEN"8/8/8/1p6/p4N2/P1k5/6K1/8 b - - 0 55"]

55...Kb2? Only the prophylactic 55...Kc2!! does the job: 56.Nd5 Kb3 the king dominates the knight 57.Kf2 (57.Nc7 b4 58.axb4 a3–+) 57...Kxa3 58.Ke3 Kb3 59.Kd2 a3 60.Ne3 a2 61.Nc2 Kb2 62.Kd3 b4–+. 56.Kf2 Kxa3

[FEN"8/8/8/1p6/p4N2/k7/5K2/8 w - - 0 57"]

56...b4 does not help because of 57.Nd3+ Kxa3 58.Ke2 b3 59.Kd2 Ka2

[FEN"8/8/8/8/p7/1p1N4/k2K4/8 w - - 0 60"]

60.Kc3!= (But not 60.Kc1 Ka1!–+ (60...a3? 61.Nb4+ Ka1 62.Nc2+=). 57.Ke2? As the king is not in time to deal with the a-pawn it head to go for the b-pawn: 57.Ke3! Kb3 58.Kd4 a3 59.Nd3 a2 (59...b4 60.Nc5+ Kb2 61.Kc4 a2 62.Nb3 Ka3 63.Na1=) 60.Nc1+ Kb2 61.Nxa2 Kxa2 62.Kc5=. 57...Kb3 58.Ne6 58.Kd2 a3 59.Kc1 a2–+. 58...a3 59.Kd2 a2 60.Nd4+ Kb2 61.Nc6 0–1 In the final example, I begin a bit earlier.

118.05 Stevic, H (2607) – Topalov, V (2803) 39th Olympiad Men Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (2.13), 22.09.2010

[FEN"6B1/8/3b1k2/pp1K1p2/4n1p1/8/PP2R2P/8 w - - 0 42"]

42.a4!! Stevic wants to get access to the c4-square for his bishop, as the direct 42. Rxe4? fxe4 43.Kxd6?? runs into 43...e3–+. 42...bxa4 43.Rxe4 fxe4 44.Kxd6 Kf5 45.Bc4 Kf4

[FEN"8/8/3K4/p7/p1B1pkp1/8/1P5P/8 w - - 0 46"]

But now White loses an all important tempo, which will allow Black's king to work wonders. 46.Be2? 46.Kc5! wins: 46...e3 (46...Kf3 47.Bd5 Kf4 48.Kd4 e3 49.Kd3+-) 47.Be2 g3 48.hxg3+ Kxg3 49.Kb5 Kf2 50.Bc4 Ke1 51.Kxa4 Kd2 52.Kxa5 Kc2 53.b4+-. 46...g3 47.hxg3+ Kxg3 48.Kc5 Kf2 49.Bh5

[FEN"8/8/8/p1K4B/p3p3/8/1P3k2/8 b - - 0 49"]

49...Ke1 Black's king is time on the queenside. 50.Kb5

50.Kd4 Kd2 51.Kxe4 Kc2=. 50...Kd2! 51.Kxa4 Kc2 52.Ka3 e3 53.Be2 After 53.b3, Black just defends along the same lines; e.g., 53...Kc3 54.Ka4 Kc2 55.Be2 Kd2 56.Bc4 Kc3 57.Kxa5 e2 58.Bxe2 Kxb3=. 53...a4 54.Ba6 Kc1 55.Ka2 Kc2 56.Bc4 Kc1 57.Bb5

[FEN"8/8/8/1B6/p7/4p3/KP6/2k5 b - - 0 57"]

It seems that Black is in zugzwang, but this is deceptive. 57...Kd2! 58.Kb1 58.Ka3 is parried by 58...Kc1! 59.Bd3 Kd2= Black's king is always just in time. 58...e2 59.Bxe2 Kxe2 60.Kc2

[FEN"8/8/8/8/p7/8/1PK1k3/8 b - - 0 60"]

60.Ka2 Kd2 61.Ka3 Kc2=. 60...Ke1! 60...Ke3? runs into the body-check 61.Kc3! a3 62.bxa3 Ke4 63.Kc4+-. 61.Kc3 Kd1 62.Kb4 Kc2 63.Kxa4 Kxb2 ½–½ Amazing footwork by Topalov's king! Solutions to last month's exercises E117.01 Mir Mahmoud, A (2014) – Muminova, N (2319) 39th Olympiad Women Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (3.16), 23.09.2010

[FEN"8/5K2/8/4kpp1/6B1/8/8/8 w - - 0 90"]

Where will the bishop go? 90.Bh5? Now White's pieces get into the way of each other. 90.Be2 g4 91.Kg6 g3 92. Bf1 f4 (92...Kf4 93.Bh3=) 93.Bg2 Kd4 94.Kf5 Ke3 95.Kg4 Kf2 96.Bf3= and; 90.Bf3 g4 91.Bb7 f4 92.Kg6 f3 93.Kg5= lead to a draw. 90...g4 91.Kg6 91.Ke7 g3 92.Bf3 f4 93.Bb7 Kd4 94.Kf6 Ke3 95.Kf5 f3 96.Kg4 g2–+ 91...Kf4!? 0–1

[FEN"8/8/6K1/5p1B/5kp1/8/8/8 w - - 0 92"]

White resigned as the g-pawn will queen. 91...g3 wins as well: 92.Bf3 Kf4 93. Bc6 Kg4! Body-check! 94.Kf6 f4 95.Ke5 f3–+. E117.02 Yang Kaiqi (2396) – Motylev, A (2704) TCh-CHN Shanghai (9), 26.07.2010

[FEN"8/8/8/8/2B2k2/8/3r1K2/8 w - - 0 110"]

White can still draw, but has to be careful. 110.Ke1? The d1–h5 diagonal is long enough after 110.Be2! Ke4 111.Kf1! Ke3 112. Bg4=

[FEN"8/8/8/8/6B1/4k3/3r4/5K2 b - - 0 112"]

110...Ke3 111.Be6 111.Kf1 Rf2+ 112.Kg1 Kf3 113.Bd5+ Kg3

[FEN"8/8/8/3B4/8/6k1/5r2/6K1 w - - 0 114"]

This reaches Tarrasch's well-known winning position; e.g., 114.Bg8 Rf8 115. Bh7 Rh8 116.Bg6 Rh6 forces the bishop out of the shadow of the kings 117. Bd3 Rd6 118.Be2 Rc6–+. 111...Rd6 112.Bf7 Rd7 113.Be6 Re7 114.Bb3 Rb7 115.Bc2 Ra7 116.Bd1 Ra1 0–1 E117.03 Zeng Chongsheng (2350) – Wang Li (2383) TCh-CHN Ningbo City (2), 17.04.2010

[FEN"8/8/8/P7/1KNpb3/1P6/2k5/8 b - - 0 59"]

Black to move and draw. Black must be very careful: 59...d3? This follows the guideline that passed pawns must be pushed. But, as White can push his a-pawn as well, this backfires here. First the a-pawn must be stopped: 59...Bb7! 60.Ne5 Ba6 61.Nf3 d3 62.Ne1+ Kd2 63.Nxd3 Bxd3 (63... Kxd3? 64.Kc5+-) 64.Kc5

[FEN"8/8/8/P1K5/8/1P1b4/3k4/8 b - - 0 64"]

Now Black's king is just in time: 64...Kc3 65.b4 Kb3 66.b5 Ka4 67.a6 Ka5 68. a7 Be4 69.b6 Ka6=. 60.a6 d2 60...Ba8 61.Ne3+ Kd2 62.Nf1+ Ke2 63.Kc3 Kxf1 64.Kxd3+-. 61.Nxd2 Kxd2 62.Kc5 Bd3 62...Kc3 does not help, as the king only sees the rear lights of the pawns: 63. b4 Kb3 64.b5 Ka4 65.b6 Ka5 66.b7+-. 63.a7 Be4 64.b4 Kc3 65.b5 Kb3

[FEN"8/P7/8/1PK5/4b3/1k6/8/8 w - - 0 66"]

66.Kb6! The king must lead. After 66.b6? Ka4, Black is in time: 67.Kd6 Kb5 68.Kc7 Ka6=. 66...Kb4 67.Ka6 Kc5 68.b6 Bd3+ 69.Kb7 Kb5 70.Kc7 1–0

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A Theoretical Novelty In general, endgame theory is very stable. However, from time to time new discoveries are made. Independently, W. Micawber from the Netherlands and Igor Yanvarev from Russia (in an article for the Chesspro website in 2008) have found an error that is important for the theory of rook endings in the analysis of the following famous classic. I wish to thank Mr. Micawber for his kind permission to use his extensive analysis, which I have shortened and edited.

Endgame Corner

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Hollis – Florian Correspondence Game, 1972

Karsten Müller

ECE: Rook Endings by Chess Informant

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[FEN "8/1R3pk1/1P4p1/7p/7P/1r4P1/5PK1/8 w - - 0 0"]

1.Kf1 Rb2 2.Ke1 Kf6 3.f3 Rb3 4.Kd2 ECE: Queen Endings by Chess Informant

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[FEN"8/1R3p2/1P3kp1/7p/7P/1r3PP1/3K4/8 b - - 0 3"]

The endgame theory assumed that the capture 4...Rxf3? still leads to a draw, but Yanvarev and Micawber proved that it loses. Only Kantorovich's ingenious defensive method draws: 4...Ke6!! 5.Kc2 Rb5 6.Kc3 Rb1

[FEN"8/1R3p2/1P2k1p1/7p/7P/2K2PP1/8/1r6 w - - 0 6"]

ECE: Minor Piece Endings by Chess Informant

As Mark Dvoretsky has shown in his excellent Endgame Manual. 5.Rc7! This wins important tempi as Black's rook has problems dealing with the bpawn now. In the game, Hollis played 5.Kc2? when Black could have defended with 5...Re3. However, Black played 5...Rf5?, which allowed 6.Rc7 and Hollis went on to win. 5...Rb3 5...Rxg3 6.Kc2! (van Wijgerden/Averbakh) 6...Rg2+ (6...Re3?! 7.b7 Re8 8. Rc8!+-) 7.Kb3 Rg1

[FEN"8/2R2p2/1P3kp1/7p/7P/1K6/8/6r1 w - - 0 7"]

Now comes an important moment: 8.Kb2!! White retreats to make it more difficult for Black's rook to return 8...Rg4

[FEN"8/2R2p2/1P3kp1/7p/6rP/8/1K6/8 w - - 0 8"]

(8...Rg2+ 9.Rc2 Rg4 10.Rc3 Rxh4 11.Ka3 Re4 12.b7 Re8 13.Rc8 Re3+ 14. Kb2 Re2+ 15.Kc3 Re3+ 16.Kd2 Rb3 17.b8Q Rxb8 18.Rxb8 Kg5 19.Ke3 Kg4 20.Kf2+- (Averbakh cited by Yanvarev on Chesspro)) 9.Rc3! the rook will be well placed behind the passed pawn 9...Rxh4 10.Rb3 Re4 11.b7 Re8 12.b8Q Rxb8 13.Rxb8+-; 5...Ra3 6.b7! Rb3 7.Kc2 Rb6 8.Kd3+- (see the line 6... Rb1).; 5...Ke6 6.b7 Rb3 7.Kc2 Rb6 8.Kc3

[FEN"8/1PR2p2/1r2k1p1/7p/7P/2K3P1/8/8 b - - 0 7"]

Now Black can again try a blocking defense with 8...Kd5!?, but White has made too much progress: 9.Rxf7 Kc5 10.Rg7 Kd5 11.Kd3 Rb3+ 12.Kd2 Kd4

13.Rd7+ This check breaks Black's defense, as the white king can now make progress on one wing. 13...Kc4 14.Ke2 Kc5 15.Rg7 Kd4 16.Rxg6 Rxb7

[FEN"8/1r6/6R1/7p/3k3P/6P1/4K3/8 w - - 0 16"]

17.Rg5! Rh7 18.Kf3 Rf7+ 19.Kg2 Rh7

[FEN"8/7r/8/6Rp/3k3P/6P1/6K1/8 w - - 0 19"]

Now surprisingly 20.g4!! wins because of the cut-off: 20...hxg4 21.h5 Ke4 22. Kg3 Rh6 23.Kxg4 Rh8 24.Rg6 Ra8 25.h6+-. 6.b7

[FEN"8/1PR2p2/5kp1/7p/7P/1r4P1/3K4/8 b - - 0 5"]

Black has many different defensive options here, but he is not able to stop White's plan to approach with the king. 6...Kf5 6...Rb1 7.Kc2 Rb6 8.Kd3

[FEN"8/1PR2p2/1r3kp1/7p/7P/3K2P1/8/8 b - - 0 7"]

Black is defenseless: 8...Ke5 (8...Ke6 9.Rc6+ Rxc6 10.b8Q+-

[FEN"1Q6/5p2/2r1k1p1/7p/7P/3K2P1/8/8 b - - 0 9"]

This is no fortress, as Black's king does not manage to reach g7.; 8...Kf5 9. Rxf7+ Kg4 10.Rg7+-) 9.Kc4! Kd6 (9...f6 10.Rd7! Ke6 11.Kc5+-) 10.Rxf7 Rb1 (10...Ke6 11.Rg7 Kf6 12.Rc7+-) 11.Rg7! Kc6 12.Kd4+-; 6...g5 This was even tried in a tournament game: 7.Kc2 Rb5 8.hxg5+ Kxg5 9.Rxf7 Kg4!? (9... Kg6 10.Rc7 Kg5 11.Kc3 Kg4 12.Rc4+ Kxg3 13.Rb4 Rxb7 14.Rxb7 h4

[FEN"8/1R6/8/8/7p/2K3k1/8/8 w - - 0 14"]

Now comes the typical technique: 15.Rg7+! Zwischenschach! 15...Kf3 16. Rh7 Kg3 17.Kd3 h3 18.Ke2! Kg2 19.Rg7+ Kh1 20.Kf3 h2 21.Re7 Kg1 22. Re1#) 10.Rg7+ Kf3 11.Kd3 Rb4 12.Kc3 Rb1

[FEN"8/1P4R1/8/7p/8/2K2kP1/8/1r6 w - - 0 12"]

13.Kd4 (The direct 13.Rd7!? was already playable: 13...Kxg3 14.Rd3+ Kg4

15.Rd4+ Kg3 16.Rb4+-) 13...Rb5 14.Kc4 Rb1 15.Kd5 Rb6 16.Kc5 Rxb7 17. Rxb7 Kxg3 18.Rg7+ Kf3 19.Rh7 and Black resigned in the game B.Socko (2528)-A.Zubarev (2074), Polanica Zdroj 2000; 6...Rb6

[FEN"8/1PR2p2/1r3kp1/7p/7P/6P1/3K4/8 w - - 0 6"]

This is met by 7.Kd3!+- (But not the hasty 7.Rc6+?? Rxc6 8.b8Q Kg7! and Black has a fortress like set up.) ; 6...Ke6 7.Kc2 Rb6 8.Kc3+-. 7.Kc2! 7.Rxf7+!? Kg4 8.Kc2 Rb6 9.Rg7+- transposes. 7...Rb6 7...Rb5 8.Kc3 Kg4 9.Rc4+ Kxg3 10.Rb4 Rxb7 11.Rxb7 Kxh4 12.Rxf7+(Yanvarev on Chesspro). 8.Rxf7+! 8.Kc3? spoils it as Black's counterplay is in time after 8...f6 9.Rg7

[FEN"8/1P4R1/1r3pp1/5k1p/7P/2K3P1/8/8 b - - 0 8"]

9...g5! 10.Kd4 Kg4 11.Kd5 (11.Kc5 Rb1 12.Kc6 Rc1+ 13.Kd7 Rd1+ 14.Kc8 Rc1+ 15.Rc7 Rb1=) 11...Kxg3 12.hxg5 fxg5 13.Rxg5+ Kf4 14.Rg7 h4=. 8...Kg4

[FEN"8/1P3R2/1r4p1/7p/6kP/6P1/2K5/8 w - - 0 8"]

9.Rg7!?

9.Rd7 wins as well: 9...Kh3 (9...Kxg3?! 10.Rd3+ Kxh4 11.Rb3! Rxb7 12. Rxb7+- (Kantorovich)) 10.Rg7! Rb5 11.Kc3 Kxg3

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Here Micawber had made a mistake, but later corrected himself: 12.Kc4 (First he had given 12.Rxg6+?, but Black defends after 12...Kxh4 13.Rg7 Kh3=) 12...Rb1 13.Rd7+-. 9...Kh3 10.Kc3 Rb1

[FEN"8/1P4R1/6p1/7p/7P/2K3Pk/8/1r6 w - - 0 10"]

At this point Micawber's and Yanvarev's lines diverge: 11.Kc4 Yanvarev gives 11.Rd7 Rb6 (11...Kxg3 12.Rd3+ Kxh4 13.Rd4++-) 12.Kc4 Kxg3 13.Rd3+ Kxh4 14.Rb3 Rxb7 15.Rxb7+-. 11...Kxg3

[FEN"8/1P4R1/6p1/7p/2K4P/6k1/8/1r6 w - - 0 11"]

Now comes the final deep point 11...Rb2 12.Kc5 Kxg3 13.Rxg6+ Kxh4 14. Rb6+-. 12.Rd7!! 12.Rxg6+? Kxh4 spoils it. 12...Kg2 12...Kxh4 13.Rd4+ Kg5 (13...Kg3 14.Rd3+ Kg2 15.Rb3+-) 14.Rd5+ Kg4 15.

Rb5+-. 13.Kc3!? White just continues to threaten to bring his rook to the b-file. 13...Kg1 14.Kc2 Rb4 15.Rd1+ Kg2 16.Rb1+Finally the job is done. A really fascinating piece of work. Again many thanks to Mr. Micawber for allowing me to use his analysis. Igor Yanvarev was the first to give convincing proof that White wins and Micawber managed to make a few points clearer. This reminds me of Johannes Steckner's discovery in another Kantorovich position, which is discussed in detail in the second edition of Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual: Steckner, 2003

[FEN"8/P1R2p2/6p1/5k1p/3K3P/6P1/r7/8 w - - 0 1"]

1.Kc4!! 1.Kc5? Kg4 2.Kb5 Kh3 3.Rxf7 Kxg3 4.Kb6 Kxh4=; 1.Rxf7+? Kg4 2.Kc5 Kxg3 3.Kb5 Rb2+ 4.Kc6 Ra2 5.Kb7 Kxh4 6.Rf6 Rxa7+= (Kantorovich). 1...Kg4 1...Ra1 2.Kb5 Rb1+ 3.Kc6 Ra1 4.Kb7 Rb1+ 5.Kc8 Ra1 6.Rxf7+ Kg4 7.Rg7 Kxg3 8.Rxg6+ Kxh4 9.Kb7 Rxa7+ 10.Kxa7 Kh3 11.Kb6+-; 1...f6 2.Kb5 Rb2 + 3.Kc6 Ra2 4.Kb7 Rb2+ 5.Kc8 Ra2

[FEN"2K5/P1R5/5pp1/5k1p/7P/6P1/r7/8 w - - 0 6"]

6.Rg7! g5 (6...Kg4 7.Rxg6+ Kh3 8.Rg7 Ra3 9.Kb8 Rb3+ 10.Rb7 Rxg3 11. Rb4 Rg8+ 12.Kb7 Kg3 13.a8Q Rxa8 14.Kxa8 f5 15.Kb7 f4 16.Kc6 f3 17.Kd5 f2 18.Rb1+-) 7.Kb8 Rb2+ 8.Rb7 Re2 9.a8Q Re8+ 10.Ka7 Rxa8+ 11.Kxa8 Kg4 12.Rg7+-. 2.Kb3

[FEN"8/P1R2p2/6p1/7p/6kP/1K4P1/r7/8 b - - 0 2"]

White's rook will interpose on the a-file. 2...Ra6 3.Rc4+ Kxg3 4.Ra4 Rxa7 5.Rxa7 Kxh4 6.Kc3 Kg3 6...f5 7.Kd2 g5 8.Ke2 g4 9.Kf2 Kg5 10.Rg7+ Kf6 11.Rg8 h4 12.Ke3 h3 13. Kf4+-. 7.Kd2 h4 8.Ke2

[FEN"8/R4p2/6p1/8/7p/6k1/4K3/8 b - - 0 8"]

8...Kg2 8...h3 9.Kf1 h2 10.Ra3+ Kg4 11.Kg2+-. 9.Rxf7 h3 10.Rf2+ Kg3 11.Rf6 g5 12.Kf1 h2 13.Rh6+-

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The Rear Lights of Passed Pawns Even seemingly simple pawn endings can be surprisingly tricky:

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120.01 Georgiadis, Ioannis (2457) – Sandalakis, Nikolaos (1931) Paleochora op 3rd (2), 22.07.2010

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

Fundamental Chess Endings by Karsten Müller & Frank Lamprecht

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64.Ke6!! The king moves backwards into the way of its own passed pawn. Chess really is an amazing game. After 64.e5? g5 65.Kf6 g4=, all the king would see would be the rear lights of the g-pawn. 64...Kg3 64...g5 65.Kf5 Kg3 66.Kxg5+–. How to Play Chess Endgames by Karsten Müller & Wolfgang Pajeken

65.Kf5 1–0

Play through and download the games from ChessCafe.com in the ChessBase Game Viewer. [FEN"8/6p1/8/5K2/4P3/6k1/8/8 b - - 0 65"]

This body-check is the point. The king separates the black forces in the most personal of fashions. So Sandalakis resigned because of 65...g6+ (65...Kh4 66. Kg6 Kg4 67.e5+–) 66.Kg5 Kf3 67.e5+– and now it is Black who can only see the rear lights. The following pawn race is also decided by White's monarch: 120.02 Guichard, P (2320) – Milliet, S (2367) 85th ch-FRA w Belfort (7), 17.08.2010

Secrets of Rook Endings by John Nunn

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101.h4! White must enter the race immediately as 101.Kf4? is met by 101...Kxc5 102. Ke3 d4+ 103.Kd3 Kd5 104.h4 Ke5 105.h5 Kf6 106.Kxd4 Kg5=. 101...d4 102.Kf4! Necessary, as the direct race 102.h5? ends in a drawn queen endgame: 102... d3 103.h6 d2 104.h7 d1Q 105.h8Q Qd5+=. 102...Kxc5 103.h5!

[FEN"8/8/8/2k4P/3p1K2/8/8/8 b - - 0 103"]

White makes sure that Black cannot enter the square of the passed pawn. 103...Kc4 104.h6 d3 105.Ke3!

[FEN"8/8/7P/8/2k5/3pK3/8/8 b - - 0 105"]

The decisive point. 105...Kc3 106.h7 1–0 Black resigned as the h-pawn promotes with check after 106...d2 107.h8Q+ +–. The following example is not a direct pawn race, as Black's protected passed fpawn has a head start.

120.03 Zickus, S (2320) – Sulskis, S (2562) Open LTU Rapid Vilnius LTU (8), 27.11.2010

[FEN"8/8/5k2/8/4P1p1/3K1pP1/8/8 b - - 0 87"]

Black always wins by invading with his king on the queenside. 87...Ke6!? 87...Ke5 is less precise, but nevertheless winning: 88.Ke3 Kd6 89.Kd2 Kc5 90.Kd3 Kb4

[FEN"8/8/8/8/1k2P1p1/3K1pP1/8/8 w - - 0 91"]

White is in zugzwang; e.g., 91.e5 Kc5 92.e6 Kd6–+. 88.Ke3 88.Kd2 does not help, as Black just tip toes around the square e5 with 88... Kd6 89.Kd3 Kc5 90.Ke3 Kc4–+. 88...Ke5

[FEN"8/8/8/4k3/4P1p1/4KpP1/8/8 w - - 0 89"]

White is in zugzwang and Black wins by exchanging his f-pawn for White's epawn followed by invading with the king. 89.Kd3 f2 90.Ke2 Kxe4 91.Kxf2 Kd3

[FEN"8/8/8/8/6p1/3k2P1/5K2/8 w - - 0 92"]

Black has reached a key square. 92.Kf1 Ke3 93.Kg2 Ke2 94.Kg1 Kf3 95.Kh2 Kf2 96.Kh1 Kxg3 97.Kg1

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97...Kh3! 0–1 The last point, so Zickus resigned. After 97...Kf3?! 98.Kh2!, Black must repeat the position with 98...Kf2 99.Kh1 Kg3 100.Kg1 and now 100...Kh3 in order to win. The last two examples are very complicated: 120.04 Saltaev, Mihail (2483) – Walter, Stefan (2321) German Bundesliga 2010/11 (6), 12.12.2010

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56...g5? The direct race is lost, as White will win the queen ending because of his centralized king. The monarch must first be diverted with 56...a5! 57.Kc5 (57. c5?? Kc8 even wins for Black.; 57.Kd7 is answered by 57...Kb6 58.Kd6 Kb7) 57...a4 58.Kb4 g5 59.fxg5 a3 60.Kxa3 f4 61.g6 f3 62.g7 f2 63.g8Q f1Q 64. Qe6 Kc7

[FEN"8/2k5/4Q3/8/2P5/K6P/8/5q2 w - - 0 65"]

The resulting queen ending is drawn according to the endgame tablebase; e.g., 65.Kb4 Qf8+ 66.Kc3 Qf3+ 67.Kd4 Qf4+ 68.Kd5 Qf3+ 69.Ke5 Qe3+ 70.Kf6 Qh6+ 71.Kf7 Qh7+ 72.Kf8 Qh8+ 73.Ke7 Qh4+=. 57.fxg5 f4 58.g6 f3 59.g7 f2 60.g8Q f1Q 61.Qd5+ 1–0

[FEN"8/pk6/3K4/3Q4/2P5/7P/8/5q2 b - - 0 61"]

Black resigned, as he is mated very soon: 61...Kb8 62.Qb5+ Kc8 63.Qd7+ Kb8 64.Qc7+ Ka8 65.Qc8#. 120.05 Piankov, E (2341) – Nikolaev, L (2308) 4th South Bohemia Open Cesky Krumlov CZE (8), 27.11.2010

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Black can only choose between two evils, as White will always win the resulting races. 68...Rxc6 68...Rd1+ 69.Kc5 g4 (69...Kf7 70.Kb6 g4 71.Kxa6 g3 72.Rc2+–) 70.Rg6 Rc1 + (70...Rf1 71.Rxg4 Rf6 72.Rd4 Ke7 73.Rd5 Rh6 74.b5 axb5 75.Kxb5 Ke6 76.Kc6 Rh1 77.a6 Ra1 78.Rd6+ Ke7 79.Kc7+–; 70...Rg1 71.Rxa6 Kf7 72. Rd6 g3 73.Rd2+–) 71.Kb6 Rc4

[FEN"4k3/8/pK4R1/P7/1Pr3p1/8/8/8 w - - 0 72"]

Now 72.b5 decides: 72...Kf7 73.Rd6 g3 (73...axb5 74.a6 g3 75.a7 g2 76.Rd1 Ra4 77.Rg1+–; 73...Ke7 74.Rh6+–) 74.Kxa6 g2 75.Rd1 Rg4 76.Rg1 Ke7 77. b6 Kd7 78.b7 Kc7 79.Ka7 Rg8 80.Rxg2+–. 69.Kxc6 g4 69...Kd8 70.Kb7 g4 71.b5 does not help. 70.b5 g3 71.bxa6 g2 72.a7 g1Q 73.a8Q+ Kf7 74.Qb7+ Ke8 After 74...Kg6, 75.Qb5 cuts Black's king off in the losing zone:

[FEN"8/8/2K3k1/PQ6/8/8/8/6q1 b - - 0 75"]

(After 75.a6? Qg2+ 76.Kc7 Qh2+ 77.Kc8 Qh8+ 78.Kc7 Qg7+ 79.Kb8 Qe5+ 80.Qc7 Qb5+ 81.Ka7, Black's king can leave the losing zone with 81...Kg5:

[FEN"8/K1Q5/P7/1q4k1/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 82"]

Heading for the drawing zone in the south east corner.) 75.Qd7+ Kf8 76.Qd6+ Ke8?! 76...Kg8 is much more tenacious. If the defending king cannot leave the losing zone, then it should head for the h8-corner. 77.a6 Qg2+ 78.Kc7 Qg7+ 79.Kc8 Qg4+ 80.Kb7 Qg7+ 81.Qc7 Qb2+ 82. Ka8 1–0 Black resigned, but the road to victory is still quite long: 82...Qg2+ 83.Kb8

Qb2+ 84.Kc8 Qa3 85.Qc6+ Kf8 86.Kb8 Qb4+ 87.Ka8 Qa5 88.Qd6+ Kf7 89. Kb7 Qb5+ 90.Qb6 Qd5+ 91.Qc6 Qb3+ 92.Kc8 Kg8 93.Qe8+ Kh7 94.Qd7+ Kg8 95.Qd8+ Kf7 96.a7 Qf3 97.Qc7+ Ke8 98.Qc5 Kf7 99.Kc7 Qg3+ 100. Kb6 Qb3+ 101.Kc6 Qe6+ 102.Kb7 Qb3+ 103.Qb6 Qd5+ 104.Qc6 Qb3+ 105. Kc8+–. Exercises (Solutions next month) E120.01 Croes, O (1951) – Liu, Yeh Yang (1818) 39th Olympiad Men Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (7.65), 28.09.2010

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Both pawns will queen at the same time or will they? (White to move) E120.02 Baloun, Tomas – Nad, B (1892) 4th South Bohemia Open Cesky Krumlov CZE (8), 27.11.2010

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Can Black to move survive? E120.03 Jones, G (2575) – Edouard, R (2636) European Rapid Championship Warsaw POL (6), 18.12.2010

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After Black's stalemate trick 51...Qf7, White has only one winning move. Find it! E120.04 Shimanov, A (2516) – Bologan, V (2686) European Rapid Championship Warsaw POL (5), 18.12.2010

[FEN"8/5Bp1/3k4/p4P2/5P2/rNK5/8/8 w - - 0 45"]

Was 45.Bc4 a good choice? E120.05 Borbjerggaard, L (2338) – Hove, E (2258) 49th TCh-DEN XtraCon 2010–11 (3.5), 05.12.2010

[FEN"1n6/4k3/6p1/3K1pP1/Bp1P1P2/8/8/8 b - - 0 57"]

Was 57...Nd7 a good choice?

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The Last Pawn In a pawnless endgame a very large material superiority (often a whole rook) is needed to ensure the win. So the last pawn is very valuable.

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121.01 Siebrecht, Sebastian (2421) – Berger, Steve (2423) Bundesliga 2010–2011 Germany (9), 06.02.2011

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

Fundamental Chess Endings by Karsten Müller & Frank Lamprecht

[Find us on Facebook.] [FEN"8/8/8/3b2Pp/2k5/4P3/6P1/6K1 b - - 0 55"]

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Black must proceed with great care. 55...Be6! The only winning move. 55...Kd3? runs into a nasty surprise: 56.Kf2 Bf7 (56... h4 57.g6 Ke4 58.g3 h3 59.g4 Ke5 60.Kg3=) 57.Kg3 Kxe3 58.Kh4 Kf4

How to Play Chess Endgames by Karsten Müller & Wolfgang Pajeken

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[FEN"8/5b2/8/6Pp/5k1K/8/6P1/8 w - - 0 59"]

Now White has the Houdini-like escape 59.g6 Bxg6 60.g4 hxg4 stalemate; 55...Be4? 56.Kh2 Kd5 57.Kg3 Ke6 58.Kh4 Bg6 59.g4=. 56.Kf2 Kd5! 57.Kg3 57.g6 does not help, as the bishop takes control after 57...Ke5 58.g7 Kf6 59. Kg3 Kxg7 60.Kh4 Bg4–+. 57...Ke5 58.e4 Bg4 The direct 58...Kxe4? is met by 59.Kh4 Bf7 60.g4=. 59.Kh4

Secrets of Rook Endings by John Nunn

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59...Ke6! Black acts according to the principle "Do not rush!". The greedy 59...Kxe4? runs into 60.g6= and the bishop is overloaded. 60.Kg3 Kf7 61.Kf4 Kg6 Now Black will convert his extra piece by using the standard endgame weapon zugzwang. 62.Ke5 Kxg5 63.Kd6 Kf4 64.e5 Kg3 65.e6 Bxe6 0–1 White resigned because of 66.Kxe6 Kxg2 67.Kf5 h4 68.Kg4 h3 and the hpawn queens. In the next example I start a bit earlier. 121.02 Jonsson, M (2332) – Norberg, J (2277) TCh-SWE Elitserien 2010–11 (5), 04.12.2010

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49...Nf3!? Very beautiful, but Black can also win by 49...Kd5 50.c6 Ne4+ 51.Kc2 b6–+. 50.b6 axb6 50...a6 51.c6 Ne5 52.cxb7 Nd7 53.Kd2 Kd6 54.Ke3 Kc6 is the alternative. 51.c6

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51...Kd6! 52.cxb7 Kc7 53.axb6+ Kxb7

[FEN"8/1k6/1P6/8/7p/2K2n2/6P1/8 w - - 0 54"]

A tragicomical picture. White is lost whatever he does. 54.Kd3 Ne1+ 55.Ke3 Nxg2+ 56.Kf3 h3 57.Kg3 Nf4 0–1

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The knight protects the last pawn from behind so White resigned. With the knight concrete calculation is often called for. 121.03 Wiander, M (2158) – Palmblad, J (2135) Rilton Cup 2010–11 Stockholm SWE (5), 31.12.2010

[FEN"8/p7/6p1/2N5/3p4/7k/P4K2/8 w - - 0 43"]

White wins by precise play. 43.Ne6 Kg4 43...d3 44.Ke3 Kh4 45.Kxd3 g5

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46.Ke3 Returning to the kingside is the right direction. (Black draws by perpetual attack against the knight after 46.Kc4?! g4 47.Kb5? g3 48.Nf4 Kg4 49.Ng2 Kf3 50.Nh4+ Kg4=)

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46...g4 47.Kf2 Kh3 48.Kg1 Kg3 49.Nd4 Kf4 50.Nc6 a6 51.Nb8 a5 52.a4 Ke4 53.Nc6 Kd5 54.Nxa5 Kc5 55.Nb3+ Kb4 56.a5 Kb5 57.Kg2+–. 44.Nxd4 Kf4 45.Nc6 a6 46.Nb8 a5 46...Ke4 47.Nxa6 Kd5 48.Nb4+ Kc4 49.Nc2 Kc3 50.a3+–. 47.a4 Ke4 48.Nc6 Kd3 49.Nxa5 Kc3

[FEN"8/8/6p1/N7/P7/2k5/5K2/8 w - - 0 50"]

50.Nb3! 1–0 The knight will protect the a-pawn from behind. 50.Nc6? is wrong because of 50...Kc4 51.a5 Kb5=. In the last example the bishop sacrifices itself to get rid off the last pawns.

121.04 Eggleston, D (2307) – Pert, R (2464) Hastings Masters 2010–11 (3.3), 30.12.2010

[FEN"2k5/8/2Pb2p1/8/ppKN2P1/8/P7/8 b - - 0 43"]

43...b3!? Black demonstrates good technique. Surprisingly, even 43...Kc7 44.Nb5+ Kxc6 45.Nxd6 b3 46.axb3 axb3 47.Ne4 b2 48.Nd2 Kd6 49.Kd4 Ke6 50.Ke4 Kf6 51.Kf4 is playable:

[FEN"8/8/5kp1/8/5KP1/8/1p1N4/8 b - - 0 51"]

51...Ke6 52.Kg5 Kf7 53.Kh6 Kf6 54.g5+ Kf5 55.Nb1 Ke4 56.Kxg6 Kd3 57. Kf5 Kc2=. 44.axb3 a3 45.b4 a2 46.Nc2 Kc7 47.Kb3 (47.b5 Kb6=) 47...Kxc6 48.Kxa2 Kd5 49.Kb3

[FEN"8/8/3b2p1/3k4/1P4P1/1K6/2N5/8 b - - 0 49"]

Now comes the final liquidation. 49...Bxb4! 50.Kxb4 Ke4 51.Kc3 Kf4 52.Kd2 ½–½ Exercises (Solutions next month) E121.01 Bellahcene, B (2152) – Sirosh, Ilja (1752) WY Boys-U12 Porto Carras GRE (1.13), 20.10.2010

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At first sight it seems that White can not win as he is tied up. But this is deceptive. White to move and win. E121.02 Mir Mahmoud, A (2010) – Saleh, No (1884) 16th Asian Games Rapid Women Guangzhou CHN (5), 15.11.2010

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Black to move and draw. E121.03 Bykhovsky, Av (2428) – Kiran, M (2230) 3rd Chennai Open IND (2), 19.01.2011

[FEN"8/5k2/5P2/1PK1b2p/7P/8/8/8 b - - 0 50"]

Black to move and win. E121.04 Cocchi, A (2266) – Bove, A (2397) Open Livigno ITA (3), 12.09.2010

[FEN"8/4b3/2k4p/8/1p6/2B4P/6P1/7K w - - 0 58"]

White to move and draw. E121.05 Margraf, D (2264) – Pruijssers, R (2483) Schachbundesliga 2010–11 Wattenscheid GER (8), 05.02.2011

[FEN"8/p1Pk4/8/6p1/8/4nK2/P5P1/8 b - - 0 46"]

Black played 46...Nxg2. Was this a good choice? E121.06 Robson, R (2532) – Andersen, Mad (2410) Gibraltar Masters Caleta ENG (10.24), 03.02.2011

[FEN"8/2N4p/2k5/K1P3P1/2B1b3/8/8/8 b - - 0 62"]

Black to move and draw. Solutions to last month exercises E120.01 Croes, O (1951) – Liu, Yeh Yang (1818) 39th Olympiad Men Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (7.65), 28.09.2010

[FEN "8/8/8/4K2p/5P2/3k4/8/8 w - - 0 48"]

Both pawns will queen at the same time or will they? (White to move) 48.f5! 48.Kf5? h4 49.Kg4 Ke4 50.f5 h3=. 48...h4 49.Kf4! The decisive bodycheck. 49...h3 50.Kg3 Ke4 51.f6 1–0 E120.02 Baloun, Tomas – Nad, B (1892) 4th South Bohemia Open Cesky Krumlov CZE (8), 27.11.2010

[FEN"8/5pk1/8/4PKP1/8/8/8/8 b - - 0 49"]

Can Black to move survive? 49...Kf8? 49...Kg8! was forced: 50.g6 (50.Kf6 Kf8 51.g6 fxg6 52.Kxg6 Ke7! =) 50...Kg7 51.gxf7 Kxf7 52.e6+ Ke7 53.Ke5 Ke8! 54.Kf6 Kf8 55.e7+ Ke8 56.Ke6 stalemate. 50.g6? ½–½ 50.Kf6 wins by encirclement: 50...Ke8 51. Kg7 (But not 51.e6? due to 51...Kf8! 52.exf7 stalemate.) 51...Ke7 52.Kg8 Ke8 (52...Ke6 53.Kf8 Kxe5 54.Kxf7+–) 53.e6 fxe6 54.g6 e5 55.g7 e4 56.Kh7 e3 57.g8Q++–. E120.03 Jones, G (2575) – Edouard, R (2636) European Rapid Championship Warsaw POL (6), 18.12.2010

[FEN"7k/5q2/7P/5Q2/8/6PK/8/8 w - - 0 52"]

After Black's stalemate trick 51...Qf7, White has only one winning move. Find it! 52.g4? This allows Black to trade queens on his terms. The preparatory 52. Qe5+! was called for: 52...Kh7 (52...Kg8 53.Kh4 Qc4+ 54.g4 Qf7 55.Qg7+ Qxg7 56.hxg7 Kxg7 57.Kg5+–) 53.Kh4 Kxh6 (53...Qc4+ 54.Kg5 Qc1+ 55.

Qf4 Qc5+ 56.Qf5++–) 54.Qh8+ Kg6 55.Qh5+ Kg7 56.Qxf7+ Kxf7 57.Kg5 +–. 52...Qxf5 53.gxf5 Kh7 54.Kg4 Kxh6 55.Kf4 Kg7 ½–½ E120.04 Shimanov, A (2516) – Bologan, V (2686) European Rapid Championship Warsaw POL (5), 18.12.2010

[FEN"8/5Bp1/3k4/p4P2/5P2/rNK5/8/8 w - - 0 45"]

Was 45.Bc4 a good choice? 45.Bc4? White miscalculates the resulting pawn ending. One way to draw was 45.Kb2 Ra4 46.Bg6 Rxf4 47.Nxa5=. 45...a4 46.Kb2 Rxb3+ 47.Bxb3 axb3 48.Kxb3 Kd5! 49.Kc3 Ke4 50.Kd2 Kxf4 51.Ke2 Kxf5 52.Kf3 Kg5 53. Kg3 g6 54.Kf3 Kh4 55.Kf2 Kh3 56.Kf3 g5 57.Kf2 g4 58.Kg1 Kg3 0–1 E120.05 Borbjerggaard, L (2338) – Hove, E (2258) 49th TCh-DEN XtraCon 2010–11 (3.5), 05.12.2010

[FEN"1n6/4k3/6p1/3K1pP1/Bp1P1P2/8/8/8 b - - 0 57"]

Was 57...Nd7 a good choice? 57...Nd7? Black's counterplay will be too slow. 57...Na6! was forced: 58.Kc6 (58.Bb3 Nc7+ 59.Kc5 Ne8 60.d5 Nd6 61.Bc2 Ne8 62.Ba4 Nd6 63.Kxb4 Ne4=) 58...b3 59.Bxb3 Nb4+ 60.Kc7 Na6+ 61.Kc8 Nb4 62.d5 Kd6 63.Kd8 Nxd5 64.Bxd5 Kxd5 65.Ke7 Ke4 66.Kf6 Kxf4 67.Kxg6 Ke4=. 58.Bxd7 Kxd7 59.Kc4 Kd6 60.Kxb4 Kd5 61.Kc3 Ke4 62.Kc4 Kxf4 63.d5 Ke5 64. Kc5 f4 65.d6 1–0

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Rook Endgame Technique Rook endings occur very frequently in practical play, so it pays to know a few motifs and principles:

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A) The rook belongs behind the passed pawn. This is a very good guideline.

Endgame Corner

122.01 Aerni, A (2182) – Sommerhalder, E Gibraltar Masters Caleta ENG (9.71), 02.02.2011

Karsten Müller

ECE: Rook Endings by Chess Informant

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[FEN "8/8/8/1P6/5p2/1K2rP1k/2R5/8 w - - 0 66"]

66.Rc3? The wrong way to meet the check. The retreat 66.Ka2! uses White's rook more actively: 66...Re8 (After 66...Rxf3 67.b6, the pawn can only be stopped by giving the rook: 67...Re3 68.b7 Re8 69.Rc8 Re2+ 70.Kb1 Re1+ 71.Kc2 Re2+ 72.Kd3 Re3+ 73.Kd4+–) 67.b6 Ra8+ 68.Kb1 Kg3 69.Rc3 Rb8 70.Rb3 Rb7 71.Kb2 Kf2

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Starting Out: Rook Endgames by Chris Ward

Secrets of Rook Endings by John Nunn [FEN "8/1r6/1P6/8/5p2/1R3P2/1K3k2/8 w - - 0 72"]

White's king marches to the pawn: 72.Ka3 Ke2 73.Ka4 Rxb6 74.Rxb6 Kxf3 75.Kb3 Ke2

[FEN "8/8/1R6/8/5p2/1K6/4k3/8 w - - 0 76"]

76.Re6+ This zwischenschach is the usual technique and worth remembering 76...Kd2 77.Rf6 Ke3 78.Kc2 f3 79.Kd1 f2 80.Rf8+–. 66...Kg3! 66...Rxc3+?? wastes an all important tempo 67.Kxc3 Kg3 68.b6 Kxf3 69.b7 Kg2 70.b8Q f3 71.Qg8+ Kh2 72.Kd2+–. 67.Kc4 67.b6?? Re6 even backfires. 67...Rxc3+ 68.Kxc3 Kxf3 69.b6

[FEN "8/8/1P6/8/5p2/2K2k2/8/8 b - - 0 69"]

69...Kg2! 69...Ke2?? is the wrong side: 70.b7 f3 71.b8Q f2

[FEN "1Q6/8/8/8/8/2K5/4kp2/8 w - - 0 72"]

White's king is inside the winning zone; e.g., 72.Qb5+ Ke1 73.Qb1+ Ke2 74. Qd3+ Ke1 75.Kc2 f1N (75...f1Q 76.Qd2#) 76.Qf3+–. 70.b7 f3 71.b8Q f2

[FEN "1Q6/8/8/8/8/2K5/5pk1/8 w - - 0 72"]

White's king is just outside the winning zone. 72.Qg8+ Kh1 73.Qd5+ Kg1 74.Qd4 Kh1 75.Qxf2 ½–½ B) Force the enemy rook to defend pawns passively. The rook does not like to be passive; even two solid extra pawns can be insufficient to win. 122.02 Tiviakov, S (2637) – Potkin, V (2630) German Bundesliga 2010–11 Mulheim GER (13), 20.03.2011

[FEN "1r6/8/8/2Rk2p1/1P6/1K3P2/8/8 b - - 0 68"]

68...Kd6! 68...Ke6? 69.Rxg5 Rf8 70.Ka4 Rxf3 71.Ka5 Kd6 72.Kb6 Kd7 73.Rc5+–. 69.Rxg5 Rf8 70.Rg6+ Kc7 71.Rg3 Rf4

[FEN "8/2k5/8/8/1P3r2/1K3PR1/8/8 w - - 0 72"]

White's rook is so misplaced that he cannot win. 72.Ka4 Kb6 73.Rg6+ Kb7 74.Rg3 Kb6 75.Kb3 Kc6 76.Kc3 Kb6 77.Rh3 Kc6 78.Rg3 Kb6

[FEN "8/8/1k6/8/1P3r2/2K2PR1/8/8 w - - 0 79"]

79.Kd3!? A last try but Black can defend. 79...Rxb4 80.Rg4 Rb3+! This zwischenschach is the only way to survive. 81.Ke4 81.Ke2 Kc5 82.Re4 Kd5=. 81...Kc6 82.f4 Kd6 83.Kf5 Ke7 84.Kg6 Kf8 85.f5 Rb6+ 86.f6 Rb1 ½–½ C) Activate the rook. In rook endings passivity is often fatal. The rook wants to attack! 122.03 Socko, Bartosz – Wojtaszek, Radoslaw ch POL Warsaw POL (6), 17.02.2011

[FEN "6k1/4R3/2r1p2p/3p2pP/3P2P1/ 1K2P3/8/8 b - - 0 68"]

68...Rb6+? After 68...Kf8 69.Rh7 e5!, Black will always be able to activate his rook in time to profit from the large drawish tendency of rook endings:

[FEN "5k2/7R/2r4p/3pp1pP/3P2P1/

1K2P3/8/8 w - - 0 70"]

70.Rd7 (70.dxe5 Re6 71.Kc3 Kg8 72.Rd7 Rxe5=) 70...exd4 71.exd4 Re6 72. Rxd5 Re4 73.Kc4 Rxg4=. 69.Kc3 Ra6 69...Kh8 does not help because of 70.Rf7 Rc6+ (Passive defense with 70... Kg8 71.Rf6 Kg7 72.Rg6+ Kh7 loses to triangulation:

[FEN "8/7k/1r2p1Rp/3p2pP/3P2P1/ 2K1P3/8/8 w - - 0 73"]

73.Kc2 Ra6 74.Kb3 Rb6+ 75.Kc3 and Black is in fatal zugzwang: 75...Rc6+ 76.Kb4 Rb6+ 77.Kc5 Ra6 78.Rf6 Kg7 79.Rf3 Kg8 80.Kb5 Rd6 81.Rf1 Kg7 82.Rc1 Kf6 83.Rc7 e5 84.Rh7+–) 71.Kb4 e5 72.dxe5 Rc4+ 73.Kb5 Re4 74. Rf5 Rxg4 (74...Rxe3 75.Kc5 Kg7 76.Kxd5 Ra3 77.e6 Ra7 78.Ke5 Ra5+ 79. Kd4 Ra7 80.Kc5 Ra5+ 81.Kb6+–) 75.Kc6 Re4 (75...Ra4 76.e6 Kg7 77.e7 Ra6 + 78.Kd7 Ra7+ 79.Ke6 Ra6+ 80.Ke5 Ra8 81.Rf6 g4 82.Ke6 Ra6+ 83.Kxd5 Ra8 84.Rf8+–) 76.Kd7

[FEN "7k/3K4/7p/3pPRpP/4r3/4P3/8/8 b - - 0 76"]

The easiest win, as the pawn e5 is White's main trump. 76...g4 77.e6 g3 78. Rf1 Kg7 79.Rf3 g2 80.Rg3+ Kf6 81.Rxg2 Rxe6 82.Rg6++–. 70.Kb4 Kf8

[FEN "5k2/4R3/r3p2p/3p2pP/1K1P2P1/ 4P3/8/8 w - - 0 71"]

71.Kb5! Kxe7 (71...Rd6 72.Rh7+–) 72.Kxa6 Kf7 73.Kb7

[FEN "8/1K3k2/4p2p/3p2pP/3P2P1/ 4P3/8/8 b - - 0 73"]

White takes the distant opposition and infiltrates using the typical technique. 73...Kg8 74.Kc8 Kg7 75.Kc7 Again distant opposition. 75...Kg8 76.Kd6 1–0 Black resigned as he is outflanked by 76...Kf7 77.Kd7 Kf6 78.Ke8 e5 79.Kd7 exd4 80.exd4 Kf7 81.Kd6+–. Exercises (Solutions next month) E122.01 Vitiugov, Nikita (2709) – Ghaem Maghami, Ehsan (2594) German Bundesliga 2010/11 (13), 20.03.2011

[FEN "r7/4k3/8/8/6PK/8/8/5R2 w - - 0 78"]

Find the only winning move for White! E122.02 Fridthjofsdottir, S (1808) – Rehfeldt, F (2091) MP Reykjavik Open ISL (8.60), 15.03.2011

[FEN "R7/8/8/8/5K2/4p3/4k3/3r4 w - - 0 84"]

White to play and draw. E122.03 Becuwe, O (2096) – Marholev, D (2401) 27th Open Cappelle la Grande FRA (3.70), 28.02.2011

[FEN "R7/8/8/8/5K2/4p3/4k3/3r4 w - - 0 84"]

Find Black's narrow path to victory! E122.04 Becuwe, O (2096) – Marholev, D (2401) 27th Open Cappelle la Grande FRA (3.70), 28.02.2011

[FEN "8/8/6P1/8/6rk/5R2/4K2p/8 w - - 0 55"]

White managed to make a Houdini like escape. Can you do the same? Solutions to last month exercises E121.01 Bellahcene, B (2152) – Sirosh, Ilja (1752) WY Boys-U12 Porto Carras GRE (1.13), 20.10.2010

[FEN"8/8/8/8/1p6/1Pk1K3/3N4/8 w - - 0 52"]

At first sight it seems that White can not win as he is tied up. But this is deceptive. White to move and win. White has to sacrifice the knight: 52.Ke4! After 52.Ke2?! Kc2 53.Ke1 Kc3 54. Kd1 Kb2, White can still not free the knight. 52...Kxd2 53.Kd4 The decisive bodycheck. 53...Ke2 54.Kc4 Ke3 55.Kxb4 Kd4 56.Kb5 Kd5 57.b4 Kd6 58. Kb6 Kd7 59.b5 Kc8 60.Ka7 1–0 E121.02 Mir Mahmoud, A (2010) – Saleh, No (1884) 16th Asian Games Rapid Women Guangzhou CHN (5), 15.11.2010

[FEN"8/5k2/8/8/6P1/2Bp1K2/1R2r3/8 b - - 0 79"]

Black to move and draw. Black manages to exchange the last pawn with 79...Rxb2 80.Bxb2 d2 81.Ke2 Kg6

[FEN "8/8/6k1/8/6P1/8/1B1pK3/8 w - - 0 82"]

White is unable to keep his pawn. 82.Kxd2 Kg5 ½–½ E121.03 Bykhovsky, Av (2428) – Kiran, M (2230) 3rd Chennai Open IND (2), 19.01.2011

[FEN"8/5k2/5P2/1PK1b2p/7P/8/8/8 b - - 0 50"]

Black to move and win. Black chose the wrong way to capture: 50...Bxf6? 50...Kxf6! wins as White's king does not manage to reach the corner in time: 51.b6 (51.Kd5 Kf5–+) 51... Kf5 52.Kd5 Kf4 53.b7 Kf5 54.Kc4 Kg4 55.Kd3 Kxh4 56.Ke2 Kg3 57.Kf1 Kh2–+. 51.Kd5 Bxh4 52.Ke4 Kg6 53.b6 Bg3 53...Kg5?? would be very unfortunate because of 54.Kf3+–. 54.Kf3 Bb8 55.Kg2 Kg5 ½–½ E121.04 Cocchi, A (2266) – Bove, A (2397) Open Livigno ITA (3), 12.09.2010

[FEN"8/4b3/2k4p/8/1p6/2B4P/6P1/7K w - - 0 58"]

White to move and draw. White is saved by the wrong rook's pawn h6: 58.Bxb4! 58.Bg7? Kc5 59.Bxh6 b3 60.Bg7 Kc4 61.g4 Kd3 62.Kg2 Bg5 63.Kf3 Kc2 64.Ke4 Bd2 65.Kf5 Bc3– +; 58.Bb2? Kd5 59.g4 Bh4 60.Kg2 Ke4–+. 58...Bxb4 59.g4 Be1 60.h4 Bxh4 61.Kg2 Kd5 62.Kh1 Ke4 63.Kg2 Kf4 64.Kh2 Kf3 65.Kh1 Kg3 66.Kg1 Kh3 67.Kh1 Bf2 68.g5

[FEN "8/8/7p/6P1/8/7k/5b2/7K b - - 0 68"]

68...Bg1!? A last trick. 69.gxh6 ½–½ Of course not 69.Kxg1?? hxg5–+. E121.05 Margraf, D (2264) – Pruijssers, R (2483) Schachbundesliga 2010–11 Wattenscheid GER (8), 05.02.2011

[FEN"8/p1Pk4/8/6p1/8/4nK2/P5P1/8 b - - 0 46"]

Black played 46...Nxg2. Was this a good choice? Black wins by one tempo: 46...Nxg2!? 47.Kxg2 Kxc7 48.Kg3 Kb6 49.Kg4 Ka5 50.Kxg5 Ka4 51.Kf5 Ka3 52.Ke4 Kxa2 0–1 White resigned because of 53.Kd3 Kb3 54.Kd2 Kb2 55.Kd3 a5 56.Kc4 a4 57.Kb4 a3–+ E121.06 Robson, R (2532) – Andersen, Mad (2410) Gibraltar Masters Caleta ENG (10.24), 03.02.2011

[FEN"8/2N4p/2k5/K1P3P1/2B1b3/8/8/8 b - - 0 62"]

Black to move and draw. The pawn is more important than the knight: 62...Kxc5! 62...Kxc7? 63.Kb5 Bc6+ 64.Kb4 Be4 65.Bb5 Bf5 66.Kc3 Be4 67.Bd3+–. 63.Bg8 Kd6 64.Kb6 Bf5 65.Nd5 Be6 66.Nf6 Bxg8 67.Nxg8

[FEN "6N1/7p/1K1k4/6P1/8/8/8/8 b - - 0 67"]

67...Ke5! Black's king must follow a narrow path 67...Ke6? 68.Nh6+–. 68. Nh6 68.Nf6 Kf5 69.Nxh7 Kg6=. 68...Kf4! 68...Kd6? 69.Kb5 Kd5 70.Kb4 Kd4 71.Nf7 Kd5 72.Kc3 Ke6 73.Nh6 Ke5 74.Kc4 Kf4 75.Nf7 Kf5 76.Kd5 Kg6 77.Ke6 Kg7 78.Ne5 h6 79.g6 h5 80.Kf5+–. 69.Nf7 Kf5! 69...Kg4? 70. Kc6 Kf5 71.Kd7 Kg6 72.Ke7 Kg7 73.Ne5 h5 74.Ke6 h4 75.Kf5 h3 76.Nf3+–. 70.Kc6 Kg6 ½–½

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The Eternal Hunt Sometimes study-like motifs can occur in practical games.

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123.01 Battaglini, G (2413) – McShane, L (2683) 12th ch-EUR Aix-les-Bains FRA (1), 22.03.2011

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

ECE: Minor Piece Endings by Chess Informant

[Find us on Facebook.] [FEN "5b2/p1k5/4KP2/2p5/2P4p/8/ 5N2/8 w - - 0 55"]

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55.Nh3? Now Black's rook's pawns, the most dangerous enemies of the knight, cannot be stopped. After the direct switchback of White's king 55.Kf7 Bd6 56.Ke6, Black's bishop cannot escape the hunt:

Starting Out: Minor Piece Endgames by John Emms

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[FEN "8/p1k5/3bKP2/2p5/2P4p/8/5N2/8 b - - 0 56"]

56...a5 (56...h3?! is only dangerous for Black now: 57.Nxh3 a5 58.Nf2 a4 59. Ne4 a3 60.Nxd6 a2 61.f7 a1Q 62.Ne8+ Kc6 63.f8Q Qe1+ 64.Kf7 Qf1+ 65. Nf6 Qxc4+=) 57.Ne4 Bf4 58.Kf5 A) 58...Be3 59.Kg6 Kd7 60.f7 Ke7 61.Nf6 h3 62.Nd5+ Kf8 63.Nb6

Endgame Virtuoso by Vasily Smyslov

[FEN "5k2/5P2/1N4K1/p1p5/2P5/4b2p/8/8 b - - 0 63"]

63...Ke7!= as (63...Bh6?? runs into 64.Kf6+–). B) 58...Bh6 59.Kg6 Bf8 60.Kf7=

[FEN "5b2/2k2K2/5P2/p1p5/2P1N2p/8/8/8 b - - 0 60"]

And it could go on in circles like this forever. 55...a5 56.Kf7 Bd6 57.Ng5

[FEN "8/2k2K2/3b1P2/p1p3N1/2P4p/8/8/8 b - - 0 57"]

57...h3!? This deflection of the knight is good technique. 57...a4?! wins as well, but is much more complicated; e.g., 58.Ne4 h3 59.Nxd6 h2 60.Ke7 h1Q 61.Nb5+ Kb6 62.f7 Qh4+ 63.Ke8 Qxc4 64.f8Q Kxb5–+. 58.Nxh3 a4 59.Ke6 a3 60.Nf2 a2 61.Ne4 a1Q 0–1 White resigned as he loses the knight directly: 62.Nxd6 Qa6–+. The next example is easier: 123.02 Morozevich, A (2700) – Gashimov, V (2733) 53rd Masters Reggio Emilia ITA (3), 30.12.2010

[FEN "4b3/8/K3k3/Pp6/1P6/8/8/8 w - - 0 85"]

85.Kb6!

But not 85.Kb7? Kd5 86.a6 Kc4 87.a7

[FEN "4b3/PK6/8/1p6/1Pk5/8/8/8 b - - 0 87"]

87...Bh5 88.a8Q Bf3+–+. 85...Kd6 86.a6 Bc6 87.a7 Kd5 ½–½

[FEN "8/P7/1Kb5/1p1k4/1P6/8/8/8 w - - 0 88"]

A draw was agreed as White can choose between the trivial 88.a8Q and the eternal hunt 88.Kc7!? Ba8 89.Kb8 Bc6 [89...Kc6 90.Kxa8 Kc7 stalemate is another possible finish.] 90.Kc7=. The last example is very famous: 123.03 Rubinstein, Akiba – Grünfeld, Ernst Karlsbad (5), 05.08.1929

[FEN "8/1K6/P7/4p3/4Pk2/2pBb3/8/8 w - - 0 67"]

67.Bb1! Rubinstein uses the moment to win the decisive tempo in the following race. Grünfeld had only expected 67.a7? Bxa7 68.Kxa7 Ke3 when his king will hunt the bishop forever:

[FEN "8/K7/8/4p3/4P3/2pBk3/8/8 w - - 0 69"]

69.Bb1 Kd2 70.Kb6 Kc1 71.Bd3 (71.Ba2?? even loses because of 71...Kb2– +) 71...Kd2=. 67...Bd4 68.a7 Bxa7 69.Kxa7 Ke3 70.Kb6 1–0 The game was adjourned, but Grünfeld resigned directly because of 70...Kd2 71.Kc5 Kc1 72.Kc4 Kxb1 73.Kxc3+–.

[FEN "8/8/8/4p3/4P3/2K5/8/1k6 b - - 0 73"]

The bodycheck decides. Exercises (Solutions next month) E123.01 Munoz, Li (2391) – Luther, T (2545) 39th Olympiad Men Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (10.53), 01.10.2010

[FEN "3b4/8/2K5/p7/P1P2k2/8/8/8 w - - 0 50"]

How did White make a Houdini-like escape? E123.02 V. Smyslov, 1999

[FEN "4K3/p7/2P5/b7/6Pk/8/6P1/8 w - - 0 1"]

It looks unlikely but White can still save himself in this masterpiece by Endgame Virtuoso Vassily Smyslov. Can you find it? E123.03 Acs, Peter (2593) – Van Wely, Loek (2654) EU-chT (Men) 14th Plovdiv (2.1), 12.10.2003

[FEN "2k5/2P5/1K1b4/8/1p6/1P6/8/8 w - - 0 78"]

How did Acs dominate the bishop? Solutions to last month exercises E122.01 Vitiugov, Nikita (2709) – Ghaem Maghami, Ehsan (2594) German Bundesliga 2010/11 (13), 20.03.2011

[FEN "r7/4k3/8/8/6PK/8/8/5R2 w - - 0 78"]

Find the only winning move for White! White must protect the pawn g4: 78.Rf4! 78.g5? Rf8= allows Black's king to cross over in front of the g-pawn.; And 78.Kh5? Rh8+ 79.Kg6 Rg8+ leads nowhere. 78...Rh8+ 78...Rf8 79.Rxf8 Kxf8 80.Kh5 Kg7 81.Kg5+–. 79.Kg5 Ke6 79...Rg8+ 80.Kh6+–. 80.Kg6 Ke5 81.Rf5+ Ke4 82.Rf6 Rg8+ 83.Kh5 Ke5 83...Rh8+ 84.Rh6 Rg8 85.g5 Kf5 86.Rf6++–. 84.g5 Rh8+ 85.Kg6 Rh1 86.Kg7 Rg1 87.g6 Ra1 88.Rf8 Ke6 89.Kg8 Ke7 90.Rf4 Rg1 91.g7 Rg2 92. Rh4 Kf6 93.Rh6+ Ke7 94.Kh8 Kf7 95.Rh7 1–0 E122.02 Fridthjofsdottir, S (1808) – Rehfeldt, F (2091) MP Reykjavik Open ISL (8.60), 15.03.2011

[FEN "R7/8/8/8/5K2/4p3/4k3/3r4 w - - 0 84"]

White to play and draw. 84.Ra3? The third rank is important, but this does not stop Black's rook from occupying it. 84.Ke4! dominates Black's forces and draws: 84...Rd7 (84...Kf2 85.Rf8+=) 85.Ra2+ Rd2 86.Ra3=. 84...Rd4+?

[FEN "8/8/8/8/3r1K2/R3p3/4k3/8 w - - 0 85"]

84...Rd3! 85.Ra2+ Kf1 86.Ke4 Rb3 87.Ra1+ Kf2–+. 85.Ke5? Now White's king is out of the game. 85.Kg3! Rd3 (85...Kd2 86.Ra2+ Ke1 87.Kf3 Rd3 88. Re2+=) 86.Ra1! draws. 85...Rb4 86.Ra2+ Kf1 87.Ra8 e2 88.Rf8+ Kg2 89. Rg8+ Kf2 90.Rf8+ Kg3 0–1 E122.03 Becuwe, O (2096) – Marholev, D (2401) 27th Open Cappelle la Grande FRA (3.70), 28.02.2011

[FEN "R7/8/8/8/5K2/4p3/4k3/3r4 w - - 0 84"]

Find Black's narrow path to victory! Black chose the wrong order of moves: 51...Rg4? 51...h2! wins: 52.Rg5+ (52. g7 Rg4–+) 52...Kf2 53.Rf5+ (53.Rh5 Kg3 54.Ke2 Rg4 55.Kf1 Rxg6 56.Rh8 Rg4 57.Rh7 Rf4+ 58.Ke2 Rh4–+) 53...Kg3 54.Rh5 Rg4 55.Rh6 Kg2–+. 52. Ke2 h2 52...Re4+ 53.Kd3=; 52...Rxg6 53.Rf2+ Kg3 54.Rf3+ Kg4 55.Kf2 h2 56.Rg3+ Kf4 (56...Kh4?? 57.Rxg6 h1N+ 58.Kg2+–) 57.Rh3=. 53.Rf2+ Kh3 54.Rf3+ Kh4 and we have reached the next exercise E122.04. E122.04 Becuwe, O (2096) – Marholev, D (2401) 27th Open Cappelle la Grande FRA (3.70), 28.02.2011

[FEN "8/8/6P1/8/6rk/5R2/4K2p/8 w - - 0 55"]

White managed to make a Houdini-like escape. Can you do the same? White found the only way to save himself: 55.Rf8! 55.Rf7?

[FEN "8/5R2/6P1/8/6rk/8/4K2p/8 b - - 0 55"]

This runs into 55...Rg5!! 56.Rh7+ Kg3 57.g7 Kg2–+; 55.Rf1? Rxg6 56.Rf8 Rg1 57.Rh8+ Kg3 58.Rg8+ Kf4–+. 55...Rxg6 56.Kf2!

[FEN "5R2/8/6r1/8/7k/8/5K1p/8 b - - 0 56"]

Black can promote, but not win: 56...h1N+ After 56...h1Q, 57.Rh8+= picks up the new born queen. 57.Ke3 ½–½

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Deceptive Simplicity Even "easy" pawn endings with only a few pawns can be quite tricky.

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124.01 Mona, K (2076) – Iskusnyh, S (2481) 13th Dubai Open UAE (1), 10.04.2011

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

888 Miniature Studies by Genrikh Kasparian

[Find us on Facebook.] [FEN "8/8/6pp/4K3/6P1/5Pk1/8/8 w - - 0 56"] Translate this page

56.g5!? Probably the best solution. 56.f4 is also playable, because of 56...Kxg4 57. Kf6 Kxf4 (57...g5 58.f5 h5 59.Kg6 h4=) 58.Kxg6 and the last black pawn cannot be saved. But the king moves lose: 56.Kf6? g5 57.Kg6 Kxf3 58.Kh5 Kf4 59.Kxh6 Kxg4–+; 56.Ke4? h5 57.gxh5 gxh5 58.f4 h4 Chess Informants 107 109 by Chess Informant

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[FEN "8/8/8/8/4KP1p/6k1/8/8 w - - 0 59"]

Black queens with check: 59.f5 h3 60.f6 h2 61.f7 h1Q+–+. 56...hxg5 56...h5?! 57.f4

Killer Endgames Part One by Nick Pert

[FEN "8/8/6p1/4K1Pp/5P2/6k1/8/8 b - - 0 57"]

57...h4 (57...Kg4? backfires completely because of 58.f5 h4 59.fxg6 h3 60.g7 h2 61.g8Q h1Q 62.Qc4+ Kh5 63.Qf7+ Kg4 64.Qf5++–) 58.f5 h3 59.fxg6 h2 60.g7 h1Q 61.g8Q is theoretically drawn, but Black avoids it of course. 57.Kf6 Kxf3 58.Kxg5 ½–½ In the following example, White's king is again the main actor. 124.02 Ofstad, P (2194) – Kjoita, H (1843) Norsk Open A Fagernes NOR (4), 17.04.2011

[FEN "8/7p/3Pk1p1/8/7P/4K1P1/8/8 w - - 0 55"]

55.Kf4! h6!? 55...Kxd6?! allows the direct invasion of White's king: 56.Kg5 Ke6 57.Kh6 Kf5 (57...Kf7 58.Kxh7 Kf6 59.g4 Kf7 60.g5+–) 58.Kxh7 g5 (58...Kg4 59. Kxg6 Kxg3 60.h5+–) 59.h5 Kg4 60.Kg6+–. 56.h5? White violates the important endgame principle "Do not rush." 56.Kg4! Wins, as proved by Alexander Baburin in Chess Today #3824; e.g. 56...Kxd6 57.h5

[FEN "8/8/3k2pp/7P/6K1/6P1/8/8 b - - 0 57"]

A) 57...g5 58.Kf5 g4 59.Kg6 (59.Kxg4? Ke5=) 59...Ke5 60.Kxh6 Kf6 61.Kh7 Kf7 62.h6 Kf8 63.Kg6 Kg8 64.Kh5 Kh7 65.Kg5+–. B) 57...Ke6 58.hxg6 Kf6 59.Kh5 Kg7 60.g4 Kg8 61.Kxh6 Kh8 62.g7+ Kg8

63.g5 Kf7 64.Kh7+–. C) 57...gxh5+ 58.Kxh5 Ke5 59.Kxh6 Kf5 60.Kh5

[FEN "8/8/8/5k1K/8/6P1/8/8 b - - 0 60"]

White has reached a key square. Though he must still be careful as the edge is very near: 60...Kf6 61.g4 Kg7 62.Kg5 Kh7 63.Kf6 Kh6 64.g5+ Kh7 65.Kf7 Kh8 66.Kg6 Kg8

[FEN "6k1/8/6K1/6P1/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 67"]

67.Kh6! (67.Kf6?! Kh7 68.g6+?? Kh8 69.Kf7 stalemate.) 67...Kh8 68.g6 Kg8 69.g7 Kf7 70.Kh7+–. 56...gxh5 57.d7 Kxd7 58.Kf5 Ke7 59.Kg6 h4 ½–½ André Nilsson sent the following instructive pawn endgame from one his students. 124.03 Orell, Martin (1744) – Gummesson, Ingvar (1807) Påskturneringen, 24.04.2011

[FEN "8/4k2p/3N1p2/2P1p1p1/3nP3/6P1/ 5P1P/5K2 w - - 0 34"]

White wins with 34.Nf5+! Nxf5 35.exf5! Kd7

[FEN "8/3k3p/5p2/2P1pPp1/8/6P1/5P1P/ 5K2 w - - 0 36"]

Now comes the point. 36.h4! h6 36...g4 37.f3! gxf3 38.g4 h6 39.g5 fxg5 40.f6 Ke6 41.c6+–; 36...gxh4 37.g4! h6 38.Kg2 Kc6 39.Kh3 Kxc5 40.Kxh4 Kd4 41.Kh5 Ke4 42.Kxh6 Kf3 43.g5 fxg5 44.Kxg5 Kxf2 45.f6+–. 37.hxg5! hxg5 38.Ke2!

[FEN "8/3k4/5p2/2P1pPp1/8/6P1/4KP2/8 b - - 0 38"]

White's king invades. 38...Kc6 38...g4 39.Kd3 Kc6 40.Kc4+–. 39.Kf3! Kxc5 40.Kg4! e4 40...Kd6 41.Kh5 Ke7 42.Kg6 g4 43.Kg7 e4 44.Kg6+–. 41.Kh5! Kd5 42.Kg6 Ke5 43.g4! Kf4 44.Kxf6 Kxg4 45.Kg6 Kf3 46.Kxg5 46.f6 wins as well. 46...Kxf2 47.f6 e3 48.f7 e2 49.f8Q+ Ke1 50.Kg4 Kd2 51.Qd6+ Kc2 52.Qc5 + Kd1 53.Qd4+ Kc2 54.Qe3 Kd1 55.Qd3+ Ke1 56.Kf3 1–0 Exercises (Solutions next month) E124.01 Kazhgaleyev, M (2618) – Ghaem Maghami, E (2606) 17th Asian Cities Jakarta INA (6.2), 26.04.2011

[FEN "5k2/5p2/5Kp1/8/6P1/8/5P2/8 w - - 0 44"]

White to move and win. E124.02 Hess, Ro (2565) – Shulman, Y (2622) ch-USA KO Saint Louis USA (1.3), 25.04.2011

[FEN "8/8/5kpK/7p/6P1/7P/8/8 b - - 0 54"]

How did Shulman save himself? E124.03 Zvedeniouk, I (2110) – Illingworth, M (2345) Doeberl Cup Premier Canberra AUS (7.8), 24.04.2011

[FEN "8/8/3k4/2p5/8/P6p/7P/5K2 b - - 0 67"]

Black to move and win. E124.04 Sonnberger, Thomas (2153) – Schnider, G (2357) 10th Weiz City Open Weiz AUT (2), 08.04.2011

[FEN "8/8/8/p1K4p/P6P/2k5/8/8 b - - 0 48"]

Can Black save himself? Solutions to last month exercises E123.01 Munoz, Li (2391) – Luther, T (2545) 39th Olympiad Men Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (10.53), 01.10.2010

[FEN "3b4/8/2K5/p7/P1P2k2/8/8/8 w - - 0 50"]

How did White make a Houdini-like escape? 50.Kd7! This wins the decisive tempo, as the bishop must leave the diagonal a5–d8. 50.Kd5? Ke3 51.c5 Kd3 52.c6 Kc3 53.Kc5 Kb3 54.Kb5 Bc7–+; 50. c5? Ke5 51.Kd7 Kd5 52.Kxd8 Kxc5 53.Kc7 Kb4 54.Kc6 Kxa4 55.Kc5 Kb3– +. 50...Ke4 50...Bb6 is met by the switch back 51.Kc6 Bf2 52.Kb5 Be1 53.c5 Ke5 54.c6 Kd6 55.Kb6

[FEN "8/8/1KPk4/p7/P7/8/8/4b3 b - - 0 55"]

Now even Black has to be careful: 55...Bg3!=; 50...Bh4 51.c5 Ke4 52.c6 Bg3 53.c7 Bxc7 54.Kxc7 Kd5 55.Kb6 Kd6 56.Kxa5 Kc7=. 51.Kxd8 Kd4 52.Kd7 Kxc4 53.Kd6 Kb4 54.Kd5 Kxa4 55.Kc4 ½–½ E123.02 V. Smyslov, 1999

[FEN "4K3/p7/2P5/b7/6Pk/8/6P1/8 w - - 0 1"]

It looks unlikely but White can still save himself in this masterpiece by Endgame Virtuoso Vassily Smyslov. Can you find it? White's king wins many tempi by hunting the bishop: 1.Kd7 Bb6 2.Kc8!! a5 3.Kb7 Bd8 4.Kc8 Bf6 4...Bg5? even loses:

[FEN "2K5/8/2P5/p5b1/6Pk/8/6P1/8 w - - 0 5"]

5.g3+! Kxg3 6.c7 Bf4 7.g5+–. 5.Kd7 Be5

[FEN "8/3K4/2P5/p3b3/6Pk/8/6P1/8 w - - 0 6"]

6.Ke6! The hunt continues. 6...Bc7 7.Kf5 a4 8.g5 a3 9.g6 a2 10.g7 a1Q 11. g8Q= ½–½ E123.03 Acs, Peter (2593) – Van Wely, Loek (2654) EU-chT (Men) 14th Plovdiv (2.1), 12.10.2003

[FEN "2k5/2P5/1K1b4/8/1p6/1P6/8/8 w - - 0 78"]

How did Acs dominate the bishop? White draws by 78.Kc6 Bxc7 After 78...Bg3 79.Kc5 Be1 80.Kc6, Black cannot make progress. 79.Kc5! Ba5 80.Kb5 Bc7 ½–½

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Fischer's Famous First Match Game vs. Larsen

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Bobby Fischer's famous first match game against the great Dane Bent Larsen has been analysed many times, but open questions remain about the fight of rook and two bishops vs. queen. It is so difficult that even modern computers cannot come to a definite verdict. Charles Sullivan has made a deep analysis and kindly allowed me to publish his findings.

Endgame Corner

125.01 Fischer, Bobby (2760) – Larsen, Bent (2660) Match Denver (1), 06.07.1971

Karsten Müller

Endgame by Frank Brady

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[FEN "8/p5pp/2B3k1/2B2p2/P1p5/2P5/ 2Pq3P/R6K b - - 0 32"]

32...Qxc3!

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Kasparov gives this move a question mark in My Great Predecessors, Part Four and I followed him in my book on Fischer's games. However, it seems that the real mistake comes later. Sullivan even suggests to attach an exclamation mark to 32...Qxc3 and now I agree with him. Kasparov writes, "The last mistake in this long-suffering game. The pawn should have been saved by 32...a5." Nevertheless, it is not clear whether Kasparov believes that Black can still reach a draw. He analyzes Timman's 32...a5 33.Bd4 Kh6 34. Rf1 and eventually reaches two positions that are very troublesome for Black. Writes Kasparov, "White would have remained the stronger side and, knowing Fischer, there can be no doubt that he would have tried to squeeze the maximum out of this position! But by giving up his a-pawn, Larsen effectively resigned the game." Kasparov: "It is probable that better chances of success are promised by 33.Bd4 (retaining the rook check as a threat and not allowing the black king to escape to the centre)" 33...Kh6 34.Rf1 (Timman)

[FEN "8/6pp/2B4k/p4p2/P1pB4/2P5/ 2Pq3P/5R1K b - - 0 34"]

My Great Predecessors by Garry Kasparov

Bobby Fischer: His Approach to Chess by Elie Agur

Let's examine one of Kasparov's main variations: 34...g6 35.h4 Kh5 36.Bf6 A) Kasparov continued with 36...Kg4?

[FEN "8/7p/2B2Bp1/p4p2/P1p3kP/2P5/ 2Pq4/5R1K w - - 0 37"]

37.Rg1+?! (Kasparov missed a nice forced win: 37.Bg5! Qd6 38.Bf3+ Kh3 39. Bf4 Qxf4 40.Bg2+ Kg3 41.Rxf4 Kxf4 42.Bd5 Kg4 43.Bg8! h6 44.Bf7 g5 45. hxg5 hxg5 46.Bxc4+–) 37...Kh3 38.Bg2+ Kg4 39.Bf1+ Kf3 40.Bxc4 Qxc2 41. Bd5+ Kf4 42.Bc6 "and Black's problems are obvious." (Kasparov). B) 36...Qd6! 37.Bf3+ Kh6 38.Bg5+ Kg7 39.Rd1 Qe6 40.Rb1

[FEN "8/6kp/4q1p1/p4pB1/P1p4P/2P2B2/ 2P5/1R5K b - - 0 40"]

40...h6! (Leading to a lost position is 40...f4? 41.Kg2 Qf5 42.Rb7+ Kg8 43. Kg1 h5 44.Re7 Qxc2 45.Bxf4 Kf8 46.Re1 Qd3 47.Kf2 Kf7 48.Re2 Kf8 49. Be5 Qd7 50.Kg3 Ke7 51.Bf4+ Kf7 52.Re3 Kg8 53.Be5 Kf7 54.Bd4+–) 41. Rb7+ Kg8 42.Bxh6 f4! 43.Kg2 Qf5 44.Re7 Qxc2+ 45.Re2 Qc1 46.Bd5+ Kh7 47.Bg5 Qxc3 48.Bxf4 Qf6 49.Re4 Qxh4 50.Rxc4 Qg4+

[FEN "8/7k/6p1/p2B4/P1R2Bq1/8/ 6K1/8 w - - 0 51"]

This position has drawish tendencies; for example, 51.Kf2 Qf5 52.Bf3 Qe6 53. Re4 Qb6+ 54.Be3 Qb2+.

[FEN "8/7k/6p1/p7/P3R3/4BB2/ 1q3K2/8 w - - 0 55"]

Remove all the pawns in this position, and the endgame databases tell us that this is a draw. 33.Rg1+ Kf6 34.Bxa7 By the way, Frank Brady, in Profile of Prodigy (1973), says that Larsen now had only ten minutes to make the seven moves before time control.

[FEN "8/B5pp/2B2k2/5p2/P1p5/2q5/ 2P4P/6RK b - - 0 34"]

34...g5? Here is the losing move. With no pawns on the board, the rook and two bishops do not (usually) win against the queen. And with Black having an extra pawn, the draw seems even more likely. In fact, there are at least three moves that should lead to a draw: 34...Ke5, 34...Ke6, and 34...g6. 34...Ke5!

[FEN "8/B5pp/2B5/4kp2/P1p5/2q5/ 2P4P/6RK w - - 0 35"]

A) 35.Bc5 g5! A1) 36.Rxg5 Qxc2 37.Rg1 (37.a5 Qa2 38.Rg3 Qxa5=) 37...Qd2 38.Bf3 Qa5 39.Bf8 c3 40.Rc1 Kf4 41.Kg2 Qb6 42.Re1 c2 (42...Qg6+ 43.Kf2 Qb6+ 44. Kg2 repeats) 43.Ba3 Qg6+ 44.Kf2 Qb6+ 45.Kg2 Qg6+=. A2) 36.Rd1 Qxc2 37.Re1+ Kf6 38.Bd4+ Kf7 39.Be8+ Kf8 40.Bh5 Qxa4 41.

Kg1 c3 42.Bxc3 Qa7+ is drawish. B) 35.Bc5 f4 36.Rxg7 Qxc2 37.a5 Qa2 38.Rg5+ Kf6 39.h4 c3 40.Bd4+ Ke7 41.Bc5+ (41.Bxc3?? Qc4) 41...Kf6 repeats. C) 35.Bb6 Kd6 36.Bg2 Qxc2 37.a5 Qa4 38.Rc1 Ke7 39.h3 h6

[FEN "8/4k1p1/1B5p/P4p2/q1p5/7P/ 6B1/2R4K w - - 0 40"]

C1) 40.Rf1 c3 41.Rxf5 g5! 42.Bg1 g4! 43.Rc5 (43.Re5+ Kd6 44.Bh2 Kd7 45. Rc5 c2 46.hxg4 Qb4 47.Rxc2 Qe1+ 48.Bg1 Qh4+ draws) 43...gxh3 44.Bb7 c2 45.a6 h2 46.Bxh2 h5 47.Bg3 Qd4=. C2) 40.Bf1 Qc6+ 41.Kg1 c3 42.Bd3 f4 43.Bf2 Qd5 44.Rxc3 Qg5+ 45.Kf1 Qxa5 drawish. At chessgames.com, "Dionyseus" on June 29, 2005, was the first one to find a draw: 34...Ke6!

[FEN "8/B5pp/2B1k3/5p2/P1p5/2q5/ 2P4P/6RK w - - 0 35"]

A) 35.Bc5 g5! A1) 36.Rg2 Qe1+ 37.Bg1 g4 (also 37...Kd6= ) 38.h3 h5 39.Rf2 Ke5 40.hxg4 fxg4=. A2) 36.Rxg5 Qxc2 37.a5 Qa2 38.Rg3 f4 (Also 38...c3= 39.Rxc3?? Qa1+) 39. Ra3 Qb2 40.a6 c3 41.Rxc3 Qa1+ (41...Qxc3 42.a7 Qc1+ 43.Kg2 Qc2+ 44. Kf3 Qd3+ 45.Kxf4 Qf5+ 46.Kg3 Qe5+ draws) 42.Kg2 Qb2+ 43.Kf1 Qa1+ draw. A3) 36.Bb6 Qxc2 37.a5 Qa2 38.Re1+ Kd6 39.Bf3 c3=. A4) 36.Bb7 f4 37.a5 (37.Bb6 Qxc2 38.a5 Qb2 39.Re1+ Kf6 40.Bd8+ Kg6 41. a6 Qf2 42.Rb1 f3 43.Rg1=) 37...Qxa5 38.Rxg5 h6 39.Rh5 Qc3 40.Rxh6+ Kf5 41.Rd6 Qxc2=. B) 35.Rg2 Kd6 (Dionyseus) 36.Bb7 Qa1+ 37.Bg1 Qxa4 38.Re2 c3 39.h3 g5 40.Bh2+ Kd7 41.Kg2 Qc4 42.Re3 Qd4 43.Rf3 f4=. C) 35.Bb6 Qxc2 (With two "extra" pawns, Black should draw) 36.a5 Qa2 37. Re1+ Kd6 38.Bg2 f4 39.Rd1+ Ke7 40.Bb7 Qb3 41.Bc5+ Kf6 42.Rd6+ Ke5

43.a6 Qb1+ 44.Kg2 c3 45.Rb6

[FEN "8/1B4pp/PR6/2B1k3/5p2/2p5/ 6KP/1q6 b - - 0 45"]

45...c2 46.a7 c1Q 47.Rxb1 Qc2+ 48.Kf3 Qd3+ and Black has a perpetual check. D) 35.a5 Qxa5 36.Bd4 Qd2 37.c3 g5 38.Bg2 Qe2 39.Rf1 f4 40.Rf2 Qd1+ 41. Bf1 Kf5 42.Kg1 h5 43.Re2 g4 44.Re5+ Kg6=. The third drawing possibility is 34...g6!

[FEN "8/B6p/2B2kp1/5p2/P1p5/2q5/ 2P4P/6RK w - - 0 35"]

35.Bb6 Qxc2 36.a5 Qb2 37.Bg2 f4 38.Rf1 Ke6 39.Bh3+ Kd6 40.Rd1+

[FEN "8/7p/1B1k2p1/P7/2p2p2/7B/ 1q5P/3R3K b - - 0 40"]

40...Ke5!? (simplification into a drawn position) 41.Bd4+ Qxd4 42.Rxd4 Kxd4 43.Bd7 c3 44.Ba4 Kc5 45.Kg2 g5 46.Kf3 h5 47.Ke4 Kd6 48.Bc2 Kc6! 49.Bd3 Kc5 draws:

[FEN "8/8/8/P1k3pp/4Kp2/2pB4/ 7P/8 w - - 0 50"]

For example, 50.Kf5 (or 50.h3 g4 51.hxg4 hxg4 52.Kxf4 c2 53.Bxc2 Kb5 54. Kxg4 Kxa5) 50...Kd4 51.a6 Kxd3 52.a7 c2 53.a8Q c1Q 54.Qe4+ , etc. 35.Bb6 Qxc2 35...g4 36.a5 Kg7 (36...Qb2 37.Bd8+ Kg6 38.a6+– (Kholmov)) 37.Rf1 Qf6 38.Bd7 Qh6 39.Kg1 f4 40.Bd4+ Kf8 41.Bb5 Qg5 42.Bxc4 Qxa5 43.Rxf4+ Ke7 44.Rxg4+–. 36.a5 Qb2 36...Qa2 37.Bd4+! A) 37...Kf7 38.Ra1 Qd2 39.Bg1 f4 (39...Qd6 40.Bb7 Qe5 41.a6 Qxa1 42.a7 Ke6 43.a8Q Qxa8 44.Bxa8+–; 39...Qb2 40.Ra4 c3 41.a6 c2 42.Rc4 c1Q 43. Rxc1 Qxc1 44.Bd5+ Kg6 45.a7+–) 40.a6 g4 41.a7 f3 42.Bd5+ Ke7 43.Bc5+ Kd7 44.Bc6+ Kc7 45.Rg1 Kxc6 46.a8Q+ Kxc5 47.Qc8+ Kb4 48.Qb7+ Kc5 49.Qc7+ Kb4 50.Qb6+ Kc3 51.Qb1 f2 52.Rc1+ Kd4 53.Rd1 f1Q+ 54.Rxf1+–. B) 37...Ke6 38.Ra1 Qd2 39.Bg1 B1) 39...Qb2 40.a6 Qxa1 41.a7 c3 42.a8Q Qxa8 43.Bxa8 Ke5 (43...c2 44.Be3 +–; 43...f4 44.Be4 h6 45.Bd4+–) 44.Bf3 c2 45.Be3 g4 46.Bc6 f4 47.Bd2 h5 48.Ba4+–. B2) 39...Qc3 40.a6 Qxa1 41.a7+–. 37.Bd8+ Ke6 38.a6

[FEN "3B4/7p/P1B1k3/5pp1/2p5/8/ 1q5P/6RK b - - 0 38"]

38...Qa3 A chance for a swindle exists here: 38...Qf2!

[FEN "3B4/7p/P1B1k3/5pp1/2p5/8/ 5q1P/6RK w - - 0 39"]

A) Probably Fischer would have seen that 39.Bxg5? leads to a draw after 39... c3! 40.Ra1 f4

[FEN "8/7p/P1B1k3/6B1/5p2/2p5/ 5q1P/R6K w - - 0 41"]

A1) 41.Bxf4 Qxf4 42.a7 c2 43.a8Q c1Q+ 44.Rxc1 Qxc1+ 45.Kg2 Qd2+ and Black has a perpetual check: 46.Kh3 (46.Kf3 Qc3+ 47.Ke4 Qe5+ 48.Kd3 Qf5 + 49.Kd4 Qf6+ 50.Ke3 Qc3+ etc.; 46.Kg3 Qg5+ 47.Kf3 Qf5+ 48.Ke3 Qc5+ etc.) 46...Qh6+ 47.Kg4 Qg7+, etc. A2) 41.Bh4 Qc5 42.Be4 c2 43.a7 Qxa7 44.Rxa7 c1Q+ 45.Kg2 Qb2+ 46.Bf2 Qe5 and Black's position is strong enough to hold. B) The winning move is 39.Rb1! , but White still has to play very accurately to bring home the victory: B1) 39...c3 40.Bb6 Qa2 41.Re1+ Kd6 42.Bb7 c2 43.Bg1 Kc7 (43...Qb1 44. Rxb1 cxb1Q 45.Bg2 Qa1 46.a7 Ke6 47.a8Q Qxa8 48.Bxa8+–) 44.Re8 Kd7 45.Rc8 f4 46.a7 g4 47.Rxc2 Qxc2 transposes to the main line beginning 39... Qa2. B2) 39...Qa2 40.Re1+ Kd6 41.Bb7 c3

[FEN "3B4/1B5p/P2k4/5pp1/8/2p5/ q6P/4R2K w - - 0 42"]

42.Bb6! c2 43.Bg1! Kc7 44.Re8! f4! (44...Qb2 45.Rc8+ Kd6 46.Rxc2 Qxc2 47.a7+–; 44...Qb1 45.Rc8+ Kd6 46.Bg2 c1Q 47.Rxc1 Qxc1 48.a7+–) 45.Rc8 + Kd7 46.Rxc2 Qxc2 47.a7 g4 48.a8Q f3 49.Bxf3! gxf3 50.Qxf3+–.

39.Bb7 Qc5 39...c3 40.Bb6 c2 41.a7 c1Q 42.Rxc1 Qxc1+ 43.Bg1+– (Kholmov). After 39...Qb3!

[FEN "3B4/1B5p/P3k3/5pp1/2p5/1q6/ 7P/6RK w - - 0 40"]

one way for White to sidestep the Bxg5 swindle is 40.Re1+! (40.Bxg5? c3! 41. Re1+ Kd6 42.Bf4+ Kd7 43.Rc1 c2 is drawish.; Another winning move was 40.Ba5!; for example: 40...Qb5 41.Bc3 Qc5 42.Ra1 Qa7 43.Rd1 Qc5 44.Bd4 Qb5 45.Ra1 c3 46.Bxc3 Qb6 47.Bd5+ Kxd5 48.a7+–) 40...Kd6

[FEN "3B4/1B5p/P2k4/5pp1/2p5/1q6/ 7P/4R2K w - - 0 41"]

41.Ba5! (41.Bxg5? c3 and Black has drawing chances) 41...Qb5 (41...c3 42. Bg2 Qa4 43.a7 Qxa5 44.Rd1+ Ke5 45.a8Q Qxa8 46.Bxa8+–) 42.Rd1+ Ke7 43.Bd8+ Kf8 44.Bxg5 (finally winning the g-pawn!) 44...Qb6 45.Ra1 Qb2 46. Bh6+ Ke7 47.Re1+ Kd6 48.Rd1+ Ke7 49.Bg5+ Kf8 50.Rd8+ Kg7 51.Rd7+ Kg6 52.Be3 Qa1+ 53.Kg2 Qe5 54.a7+–. After 39...Qb2 , it is safe to play 40.Bxg5 (Kasparov) 40...c3 41.Re1+ Kd6 42. Bf4+ Kd7

[FEN "8/1B1k3p/P7/5p2/5B2/2p5/1q5P/ 4R2K w - - 0 43"]

43.Rd1+! (It looks like Black draws after 43.Bg2? Qf2 44.Rd1+ Ke6 45.Rf1 Qb6 46.Re1+ Kd7 , etc.) 43...Ke7 44.Bg5+! Kf8 45.Bf6 h5 46.Bxc3!+– (46... Qxc3? 47.a7+– ).

40.Rb1 In this position, 40.Bxg5 is not a bad move, since it wins with ease: 40...Qb5 (40...c3 41.Ra1 Qb4 42.Bf3 c2 43.a7 Qb1+ 44.Kg2 Qxa1 45.a8Q Qxa8 46. Bxa8+–) 41.Ra1 Qb3 42.Re1+ Kd6 43.Be3 Qb5 44.Ra1 Qb3 45.Bg1 c3 46. Bg2 Qb2 47.Rf1 Ke5 48.a7+–. 40...c3 41.Bb6 1-0 Larsen resigned. If 41...c2, then 42.Re1+ Qe5 43.Rxe5+ Kxe5 44.Be3+– . Many thanks to Charles Sullivan for the permission to publish his analysis. Bobby Fischer went on to win all six games against Larsen, then defeated Tigran Petrosian in the final Candidates match, and finally Boris Spassky in Reykjavik to become the Eleventh World Champion. Solutions to last month exercises E124.01 Kazhgaleyev, M (2618) – Ghaem Maghami, E (2606) 17th Asian Cities Jakarta INA (6.2), 26.04.2011

[FEN "5k2/5p2/5Kp1/8/6P1/8/5P2/8 w - - 0 44"]

White to move and win. White wins by 44.f4! But not 44.f3? because of 44...Ke8! 45.Kg7 Ke7 46.f4 Ke6 47.Kf8 Kf6 48.Ke8

[FEN "4K3/5p2/5kp1/8/5PP1/8/8/8 b - - 0 48"]

48...Ke6 49.g5 f6 50.gxf6 Kxf6 51.Kf8 Kf5 52.Kf7=. 44...Kg8 44...Ke8 45. Kg7 Ke7 (45...f5 46.g5+–) 46.f5 gxf5 47.gxf5 Ke8 (47...f6 48.Kg6+–) 48.f6 +–. 45.Ke7 Kg7 46.f5 gxf5 47.gxf5 f6 (47...Kg8 48.f6+–) 48.Ke6 Kg8 49. Kxf6 1–0 E124.02 Hess, Ro (2565) – Shulman, Y (2622) ch-USA KO Saint Louis USA (1.3), 25.04.2011

[FEN "8/8/5kpK/7p/6P1/7P/8/8 b - - 0 54"]

How did Shulman save himself? Black must exchange pawns by 54...hxg4! 54...h4? runs into 55.Kh7! Kg5 (55...g5 56.Kh6+–; 55...Kf7 56.g5+–) 56.Kg7 Kf4 57.Kxg6 Kg3 58.g5 Kxh3 59.Kf5 Kg2 60.g6 h3 61.g7 h2 62.g8Q+

[FEN "6Q1/8/8/5K2/8/8/6kp/8 b - - 0 62"]

White's king is just inside the winning zone: 62...Kf2 63.Qd5 Kg1 64.Qd1+ Kg2 65.Qe2+ Kg1 66.Kg4 h1Q 67.Kg3+–. 55.hxg4 g5! But not 55...Kf7? 56. g5 Kf8 57.Kxg6

[FEN "5k2/8/6K1/6P1/8/8/8/8 b - - 0 57"]

White occupies a key square and wins. After 57...Kg8, the king must avoid stalemate tricks by 58.Kh6!+–, as 58.Kf6?! can be met by 58...Kh7 59.g6+?? Kh8 60.Kf7 stalemate. 56.Kh5 Kf7! 57.Kxg5 Kg7

[FEN "8/6k1/8/6K1/6P1/8/8/8 w - - 0 58"]

Black defends the key squares by opposition. 58.Kf5 Kf7 59.g5 Kg7 60.g6 Kg8! 61.Kg5 Kg7 ½–½ E124.03 Zvedeniouk, I (2110) – Illingworth, M (2345) Doeberl Cup Premier Canberra AUS (7.8), 24.04.2011

[FEN "8/8/3k4/2p5/8/P6p/7P/5K2 b - - 0 67"]

Black to move and win. The king must advance first: 67...Kd5! and Black wins as his more active king counts more than White's outside passed pawn: 67...c4? 68.Ke2 Kc5 69. Kd2 Kb5 70.Kc3 Ka4 71.Kxc4 Kxa3=; 67...Kc6? 68.Ke2 Kb5 69.Kd3 Ka4 70. Kc4=. 68.Ke2 68.a4 does not help because of 68...Kc4 69.Ke2 Kb4 70.Kd3 c4 + 71.Kd4 c3 72.Kd3 Kb3–+. 68...Kc4 0–1 White resigned because of 69.Kd2 Kb3 70.Kd3 c4+ 71.Kd4 c3 72.Kd3 c2 73.Kd2 Kb2–+. E124.04 Sonnberger, Thomas (2153) – Schnider, G (2357) 10th Weiz City Open Weiz AUT (2), 08.04.2011

[FEN "8/8/8/p1K4p/P6P/2k5/8/8 b - - 0 48"]

Can Black save himself? Black draws by 48...Kd3! 49.Kb5 Kd4 50.Kxa5 Kc5 51.Ka6 Kc6 52.a5 Kc7 53.Ka7 53.Kb5 Kb7! is only drawn according to Bähr's rule, which can be applied in the standard version here:

[FEN "8/1k6/8/PK5p/7P/8/8/8 w - - 0 54"]

White's a-pawn has advanced too far and crossed the diagonal. Bähr's rule can

be applied for blocked rook's pawns (I will use h-pawns here) and one passed pawn on the a- through e-files. Let us assume that the kings occupy the normal positions like in the diagram. If the attacking h-pawn has crossed the middle of the board than the attacker always wins. If not, then draw the diagonal from the defender's h-pawn to the f-file and a diagonal from there to the a-file. If the attacking pawn is on or below the diagonal, then the attacker wins otherwise it is a draw. The rule has a few exceptions; e.g., when a counterattack is possible. 54.Kc5 Ka6 55.Kd5 Kxa5 56.Ke5 Kb6 57.Kf5 Kc7 58.Kg5 Kd7 59.Kxh5 Ke7 60.Kg6 Kf8!=. 53...Kc6! ½–½ But not 53...Kc8? 54.Kb6 Kb8

[FEN "1k6/8/1K6/P6p/7P/8/8/8 w - - 0 55"]

White wins according to Bähr's rule. Note that White's king has advanced one square further so that we are in the first case of the rule, in which the attacker always wins; e.g., 55.Kc6 Ka7 56.Kd6 Ka6 57.Ke6 Kxa5 58.Kf5 Kb6 59.Kg5 Kc6 60.Kxh5 Kd7 61.Kg6 Ke7 62.Kg7+–.

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Checking Distances, Umbrellas, and Shelters In rook endings it is often important to be able to hide from the rain of rook checks, if the checking distance of the defending rook is large enough.

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126.01 Huschenbeth, Niclas (2502) – Buhmann, Rainer (2579) GER-ch 82nd Bonn (8.3), 02.06.2011

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

The Ruy Lopez: Move by Move by Neil McDonald

[FEN "4k3/R7/5Kp1/8/1P3PP1/8/ p4r2/8 w - - 0 52"] Translate this page

52.f5! The greedy 52.Kxg6? Rxf4 53.g5 Rf2 is only drawn; e.g., 54.b5 Kd8 55.Kg7 Kc8 56.g6 Kb8 57.b6 Rg2 58.Kf6 Rf2+ 59.Ke6 Rg2 60.Kf7 Rf2+ 61.Kg8 Rg2 62.g7 Rf2 63.Kh7 Rh2+=. 52...gxf5 53.g5!! The umbrella f5 must remain on the board. White could not stop the rain of checks in a satisfactory way as he has no umbrella after 53.gxf5? Kd8 54.b5 Kc8 55.Kg6 Kb8 56.Ra6 Rg2+ 57.Kf7 Rf2 58.f6 Kb7 59.Kg7 Rg2+ 60.Kf8 Rf2 61.f7 Re2 62.Kg7 Rg2+=

Play through and download the games from ChessCafe.com in the ChessBase Game Viewer.

Houdini 2 Standard by Robert Houdart

Play the Benko Gambit by Nicolai Pedersen

[FEN "8/1k3PK1/R7/1P6/8/8/p5r1/8 w - - 0 63"]

53...f4 54.g6 Rg2 55.g7 f3 56.Rxa2 f2 The umbrella runs but it is just not quick enough. 57.Ra1

[FEN "4k3/6P1/5K2/8/1P6/8/5pr1/R7 b - - 0 57"]

57...Rg3 57...Rg1 is also met by 58.Rf1!! and Black is defenseless e.g. A) 58...Rxf1 59. g8Q+ Kd7 60.Qd5+ Ke8 (60...Kc7 61.Qc4++–) 61.Qb5++–; B) 58...Rg2 59. b5 Kd7 60.Kf7 Kc7 61.g8Q Rxg8 62.Kxg8+–. 58.Rf1 Rf3+ 58...Rg2 59.b5 Kd7 60.Kf7+–. 59.Kg6 Rg3+ 60.Kh7 Rh3+ 61.Kg6 Rg3+ 62.Kf6 Rf3+ 63.Ke6 Rg3 64. Rxf2 Rxg7

[FEN "4k3/6r1/4K3/8/1P6/8/5R2/8 w - - 0 65"]

Now White wins with the b-pawn. 65.Kd6 Rg6+ 65...Rb7 66.Rf4+–. 66.Kc7! Bodycheck! 66...Rg7+ 67.Kc6 Rg6+ 68.Kb7 Rg7+ 69.Ka6 Rg6+ 70.Ka5 Kd7 71.Rc2!

[FEN "8/3k4/6r1/K7/1P6/8/2R5/8 b - - 0 71"]

This cut off decides as White's pawn manages to cross the middle of the

board, when the checking distance is too short. 71...Re6 White's king has reached a key square after 71...Rc6 72.Rxc6 Kxc6 73.Ka6! +–

[FEN "8/8/K1k5/8/1P6/8/8/8 b - - 0 73"]

71...Rg8 72.b5

[FEN "6r1/3k4/8/KP6/8/8/2R5/8 b - - 0 72"]

The checking distance is only two squares. 72...Ra8+ 73.Kb6 Rb8+ 74.Ka6 Ra8+ 75.Kb7+–. 72.b5 1–0 Buhmann resigned. One sample line runs 72...Re8 73.Ka6 Ra8+ [73...Rc8 74. Rxc8 Kxc8 75.Ka7+–] 74.Kb7 Ra1 75.b6 Ra3 76.Rd2+ Ke7 77.Kc7 Rc3+ 78. Kb8 Rc1 79.b7 Ra1

[FEN "1K6/1P2k3/8/8/8/8/3R4/r7 w - - 0 80"]

Now White wins via Lucena's position by building a bridge: 80.Rd4 Ra2 81. Kc7 Rc2+ 82.Kb6 Rb2+ 83.Kc6 Rc2+ 84.Kb5 Rb2+ 85.Rb4+–. The year before Huschenbeth had missed an opportunity to create an umbrella. 126.02 Huschenbeth, Niclas (2404) – Khenkin, Igor (2597) GER-ch 81st Bad Liebenzell (7), 11.03.2010

[FEN "5k2/7R/7p/4KPb1/4N3/8/8/r7 w - - 0 50"]

50.f6? 50.Nxg5 hxg5 51.f6 wins:

[FEN "5k2/7R/5P2/4K1p1/8/8/8/r7 b - - 0 51"]

For example, 51...g4 (51...Rf1 52.Ke6 Re1+ 53.Kf5 Rf1+ 54.Kg6 Ke8 55.Rh8 + Kd7 56.f7 Ke7 57.Re8++–) 52.Kf5 g3 53.Kg6 Ke8

[FEN "4k3/7R/5PK1/8/8/6p1/8/r7 w - - 0 54"]

Now not 54.Rh8+? (but 54.f7+ Ke7 55.Kg7 Rf1 56.Kg8 Ke6 57.Rg7

[FEN "6K1/5PR1/4k3/8/8/6p1/8/5r2 b - - 0 57"]

Black is defenseless; e.g., 57...Rxf7 58.Rxf7 Ke5 59.Rf3 g2 60.Rg3+–) 54... Kd7 55.f7 g2 56.Rd8+ Kc7 57.Rc8+=. 50...Re1 51.Kf5 Rxe4 52.Kxe4

52.Kg6 can be met by 52...Bxf6= or 52...Ke8 53.f7+ Ke7=. 52...Bxf6 53.Rxh6 Kg7 and the game was drawn after some further moves. In case of h- and f-pawn even two solid extra pawns are often not enough to win, but the defender must exercises great care. 126.03 Nguyen Huynh Minh Huy (2464) – Kaisar, J (2258) Zonal 3.3 Tagaytay City PHI (1), 24.05.2011

[FEN "8/8/R6k/5K1P/5P2/8/8/7r b - - 0 55"]

55...Kg7! 55...Kxh5? loses to the tactical trick 56.Ra8 Kh6 57.Rh8+ Kg7 58.Rxh1+–. White threatens to cut Black's king off along the seventh rank, which usually wins, after 55...Kh7? 56.Kg5:

[FEN "8/7k/R7/6KP/5P2/8/8/7r b - - 0 56"]

56...Rg1+ 57.Kf6! Rb1 (57...Kh6 58.Ra8 Kh7 59.f5 Rb1 60.Re8 Rf1 61.Re5 Kh6 62.Kf7 Kxh5 63.f6+ Kh6 64.Re2 Kg5 65.Kg7 Rxf6 66.Rg2+ Kf5 67.Rf2 ++–) 58.f5 Kh6 (58...Kg8 59.Ra7+–) 59.Ke7+ Kxh5 60.f6 Rb7+ 61.Kf8 Kg6 62.f7+ Kh7 63.Rf6 Ra7 64.Ke8+–. 56.Rg6+ 56.h6+ should be met by 56...Kh7 Black king should usually head for h7, when the h-pawn advances to h6. 56...Kf7 This defensive method is usually recommended by the books. 56...Kh7 is the alternative. 57.Rg5 57.Kg5 Rg1+ 58.Kh6 Rf1 59.Rg4 Kf6 60.Kh7 Kf5 61.Rh4 (61.Rg5+ Kf6=) 61...Kf6 62.h6 Ra1 63.Rg4 Ra7+ 64.Rg7 Ra4 65.Kh8 Rxf4 66.h7 Ra4=. 57...Rh2 58.Ke4 Re2+ 59.Kf3 Rh2 60.Re5 Rh1 61.Kg4 Kf6 62.Rf5+ Kg7 63.Rd5 Rg1+ 64.Kf5 Rh1 65.Ke6 Kh6 66.Re5 Ra1

[FEN "8/8/4K2k/4R2P/5P2/8/8/r7 w - - 0 67"]

The defending rook is usually best placed in the south west corner to be able to give checks from both directions with a large checking distance. 67.Rg5 Ra6+ 68.Kf5 Ra1 69.Rg8 Kh7 [69...Ra2!?] 70.Rg6 Rh1 71.Kg5 Rg1 + 72.Kf6 Rh1 73.h6 Ra1 74.f5 Ra2 75.Ke5 Re2+ 76.Kf4 Rf2+ 77.Ke4 Re2 + 78.Kf3 Rh2 79.Kf4

[FEN "8/7k/6RP/5P2/5K2/8/7r/8 b - - 0 79"]

79...Rf2+ Of course not 79...Rxh6? 80.Rxh6+ Kxh6 81.Ke5 Kg7 82.Ke6+–

[FEN "8/6k1/4K3/5P2/8/8/8/8 b - - 0 82"]

80.Ke4 Re2+ 81.Kd5 Rd2+ 82.Ke5 Re2+ 83.Kd6 Rf2 84.Ke6 Ra2 85.Kf7 Ra7+ 86.Kf6 Ra2 87.Ke6 Ra6+ 88.Kf7 Ra7+ 89.Kf6 Ra2 90.Ke5 Re2+ 91. Kd6 Rf2 92.Rf6 Ra2 93.Ke6 Ra6+ 94.Ke7 Ra7+ 95.Kf8 Ra8+ 96.Kf7 Ra7 + 97.Kf8 Ra8+ 98.Kf7 Ra7+ 99.Ke6 Ra6+ 100.Ke5 Ra7 101.Re6 Ra5+ 102. Kf6

[FEN "8/7k/4RK1P/r4P2/8/8/8/8 b - - 0 102"]

102...Ra1? Kaisar has defended well for a long time, but now he commits a mistake. 102...Kxh6 was called for: 103.Kf7+ Kh7 104.f6 Ra8! 105.Ke7 (105.Re8 Ra7 + 106.Ke6 Ra6+ 107.Kf5 Ra5+ 108.Re5 Ra8 109.f7 Kg7 110.Re8 Ra5+ 111. Ke6 Ra6+=) 105...Kg6 106.f7+ Kg7 107.Re1 Ra7+ 108.Ke8 Ra8+=. 103.Re2? White misses the moment. 103.Kf7! Ra7+ 104.Kf8 Ra8+ 105.Re8

[FEN "r3RK2/7k/7P/5P2/8/8/8/8 b - - 0 105"]

And Black is defenseless; e.g., 105...Ra6 (105...Ra5 106.f6 Kxh6 107.f7 Kh7 108.Ke7+–; 105...Ra7 106.Re7+ Kh8 107.f6 Ra8+ 108.Re8 Ra7 109.f7+–) 106.Re7+ Kh8 107.Re6 Ra8+ 108.Re8 Ra6 109.f6 Rxf6+ 110.Ke7++–. 103...Ra3 104.Rd2

[FEN "8/7k/5K1P/5P2/8/r7/3R4/8 b - - 0 104"]

104...Ra1 Now Black's rook can just wait in the south west corner. 105.Rc2 Ra3 106.Rb2 Ra1 107.Re2 Ra3 108.Kg5 Rg3+ 109.Kf6 Ra3 110. Rh2 Ra1 111.Kg5 Rg1+ 112.Kf6 Ra1 113.Rh4 Ra2 114.Rh1 Ra3 115.Kg5 Ra2 116.f6 Ra5+ 117.Kf4 Ra4+ 118.Kf5 Ra5+ 119.Ke6 Ra6+ 120.Ke7 Ra7 + 121.Kd8 ½–½

[FEN "3K4/r6k/5P1P/8/8/8/8/7R b - - 0 121"]

White's king finds no shelter from the checks so a draw was agreed. The importance of the south eastern corner for the defending rook is also shown in the following example. It seems that the rook works wonders. 126.04 Plump, D (2246) – Fier, A (2566) 20th ZMDI Open A Dresden GER (1.7), 06.08.2011

[FEN "8/k7/P7/1KP5/2R5/8/8/7r b - - 0 74"]

74...Rb1+! 75.Rb4?! Makes it relatively easy for Fier. But Black holds in any case; e.g., 75.Kc6 Rh1

[FEN "8/k7/P1K5/2P5/2R5/8/8/7r w - - 0 76"]

The rook just belongs in the south eastern corner to be able to deliver checks from both directions. (75...Kxa6?? 76.Ra4#) 76.Rd4 Rg1 (76...Rh6+? 77.Kb5 Rh7 78.Rd5 Rh1 79.Rd7+ Kb8 80.c6 Rb1+ 81.Kc5 Rc1+ 82.Kd6 Rd1+ 83. Ke7 Rc1 84.Rd8+ Kc7 85.a7+–) 77.Rd8 (77.Kc7 Kxa6! 78.c6 Rg7+ 79.Rd7 Rg8=) 77...Rh1

[FEN "3R4/k7/P1K5/2P5/8/8/8/7r w - - 0 78"]

The rook just waits in its corner. Black only acts when White's kings has made a decision. 78.Kc7 (78.Kb5 Rb1+ 79.Kc6 Rh1=) 78...Kxa6! 79.Ra8+ Kb5 80.c6 Rh7+=. 75...Rxb4+ 76.Kxb4 Kxa6 77.Kc4 Kb7 78.Kb5 Kc7

[FEN "8/2k5/8/1KP5/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 79"]

The king defends the key squares. 79.c6 Kc8 ½–½ Exercises (Solutions next month) E126.01 Deviatkin, A (2573) – Alsina Leal, D (2531) Aeroflot Open A Moscow RUS (6), 13.02.2011

[FEN "8/6K1/6R1/4k2P/8/8/8/r7 w - - 0 75"]

How to find shelter against Black's rook checks? E126.02 Wojtaszek, Radoslaw (2663) – Efimenko, Zahar (2689) German Bundesliga 2010/11 Bremen/Germany (1.1), 09.10.2010

[FEN "8/2R5/4k1pP/r7/7P/8/4KP2/8 w - - 0 59"]

White to move and win. E126.03 Siddharth, R (2458) – Joshi, GB (2288) 3rd Chennai Open IND (10), 25.01.2011

[FEN "8/8/1r6/1PR1K3/8/8/3k4/8 b - - 0 70"]

Black to move and draw. E126.04 Polzin, R (2494) – Buhmann, R (2577) Austrian Bundesliga 2010–11 Graz AUT (7.2), 23.01.2011

[FEN "8/4k3/6K1/3p2P1/R2P1r2/8/8/8 w - - 0 58"]

Where shall White's king hide? E126.05 Steadman, M (2242) – Stevens, T (2050) Oceania Zonal Rotorua NZL (8.10), 30.01.2011

[FEN "8/3P2k1/3K4/2p4p/3r4/8/5R2/8 w - - 0 49"]

Where shall White's king go?

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News on a Classical Rook Endgame In the famous classical rook ending Alekhine vs. Capablanca, Erich Körber from Germany suggests to defend without the standard advance h6–h5. He sent analysis to prove that White wins nevertheless and I want to thank him for his kind permission to use his work:

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127.01 Alekhine,A - Capablanca,J World Championship Buenos Aires (34), 26.11.1927

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

Test Your Rook Endgames by Daniel King

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[FEN "8/5p2/r5pp/P3k3/R6P/4K1P1/ 5P2/8 b - - 0 56"]

56...Kd5!? While this should lose in the long run as well, it might be more tenacious from the practical point of view and is not given in the rich literature on this game as far as I know. Capablanca played the normal 56...h5, but this opens a road for White's king via g5 57.Kd3 Kd5 58.Kc3 Kc5

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[FEN "8/5p2/r5p1/P1k4p/R6P/2K3P1/ 5P2/8 w - - 0 59"]

59.Ra2! Alekhine exploits the advantage that his rook is well placed behind the passed pawn. Black's rook cannot make such waiting moves. 59...Kb5 60. Kd4 Rd6+ 61.Ke5 Re6+ 62.Kf4 Ka6

ECE: Rook Endings by Chess Informant

Starting Out: Rook Endgames by Chris Ward

[FEN "8/5p2/k3r1p1/P6p/5K1P/6P1/ R4P2/8 w - - 0 63"]

White now wins by invading on the kingside. The standard way to convert an outside passed pawn. 63.Kg5 Re5+ 64.Kh6 Rf5

[FEN "8/5p2/k5pK/P4r1p/7P/6P1/ R4P2/8 w - - 0 65"]

A) 65.Kg7! wins easier: 65...Rf3 66.Rd2! (66.Kg8 Rf6 67.f4 Rf5 68.Kg7+–) 66...Kxa5 67.Rd5+ Kb4 68.Rd4+ Kc3 69.Rf4+–; B) 65.f4?! A slight inaccuracy. 65...Rc5! Capablanca starts a counterattack, but White wins nonetheless: 66.Ra3 Rc7 67.Kg7 Rd7 68.f5 (68.Kf6 Rc7 69.Rf3! Kxa5 70.f5 +–) 68...gxf5 69.Kh6 f4 70.gxf4 Rd5 71.Kg7 Rf5

[FEN "8/5pK1/k7/P4r1p/5P1P/R7/ 8/8 w - - 0 72"]

72.Ra4 72...Kb5 73.Re4! Ka6 74.Kh6 Rxa5 75.Re5 Ra1 76.Kxh5 76...Rg1 77. Rg5 Rh1 78.Rf5 Kb6 79.Rxf7 Kc6 80.Re7

[FEN "8/4R3/2k5/7K/5P1P/8/8/7r b - - 0 80"]

Capablanca resigned; thus, Alexander Alekhine won the match and became the Fourth World Champion. 57.h5!

[FEN "8/5p2/r5pp/P2k3P/R7/4K1P1/ 5P2/8 b - - 0 57"]

White uses immediately that Black has not played h5 as he must open an inroad on the kingside. Furthermore, White's h-pawn is not such a valuable winning potential as his f- and g-pawns. 57...Ke6!? 57...g5 58.f4 A) 58...g4 59.Kd3 f5 (59...Kc5 60.Ke4+– ) 60.Ra1 Kc5 61.Re1 Rf6 62.Re5+ Kc6 63.Kc4+–; B) 58...gxf4+ 59.Kxf4 Kc5

[FEN "8/5p2/r6p/P1k4P/R4K2/6P1/ 8/8 w - - 0 60"]

White's king will invade on one of the wings; e.g., 60.Kf5 Kc6 (60...Kb5 61. Ra1 Kb4 62.g4+–) 61.g4 Kd7 62.Rd4+ Ke8 63.Rd5 Kf8 64.Ke5 Ke7 (64... Kg7 65.Kd4 Kf6 66.Kc4 Ra8 67.Kb5+–) 65.Kd4 Ke6 66.g5! hxg5 67.Rxg5 Kf6 68.Rc5 Kg7 69.Kc4+– ; 57...gxh5 58.Rh4!

[FEN "8/5p2/r6p/P2k3p/7R/4K1P1/ 5P2/8 b - - 0 58"]

Black's kingside structure is too vulnerable; e.g., 58...Re6+ 59.Kd3 Kc5 (59... Re5 60.a6+–) 60.Rxh5+ Kb4 61.Rf5 Re7 62.a6! Ra7 63.Rf6 h5 64.Ke4 Kc5 65.Kf5 Kd5 66.Kg5 Ke5 67.f4+ Ke4 68.Kxh5 Kf3 69.g4+–; For 57...Kc5 58.

hxg6! fxg6 59.f4! Kd6 60.Ke4 and; 57...Re6+ 58.Kd3! Ra6 59.hxg6 fxg6 60. f4 Kd6 61.Ke4+– see the main line. 58.hxg6! It is best to create an asymmetrical pawn structure to be able to get a passed pawn. 58...fxg6 59.Kd4 Kd6 [59...g5?! 60.Kc5+–] 60.f4

[FEN "8/8/r2k2pp/P7/R2K1P2/6P1/8/8 b - - 0 60"]

60...h5 60...g5 61.fxg5 hxg5 62.Ke4 Ke6 63.g4+– ; 60...Kc6 61.Rc4+! Kd6 (61...Kb7 62.Rb4+! Kc8 63.Rb6 Rxa5 64.Rxg6 h5 65.Rg5 Ra3 66.Ke5 Kd7 67.Kf6 Ra6 + 68.Kf7+–) 62.Rc5 Ra8 63.Kc4 Ra6 64.Kb4 Ra8 65.Rb5 Kc7 66.Rb6 g5 67. f5 h5 68.Rh6 Rf8 69.f6 h4 70.gxh4 gxh4 71.Kc5 h3 72.Rh7+ Kb8 73.f7 h2 74. Kb6+–. 61.Ra3

[FEN "8/8/r2k2p1/P6p/3K1P2/R5P1/8/8 b - - 0 61"]

White exploits that Black's rook has no waiting moves. 61...Kc7 61...Ke6?! 62.Kc4+–; I add the following line to Körber's analysis: 61...Kd7 62.Kd5 Kd8

[FEN "3k4/8/r5p1/P2K3p/5P2/R5P1/8/8 w - - 0 63"]

63.f5!? g5 (63...gxf5 64.Ke5+–) 64.f6 Ke8 65.Kc5 Kf7 66.Kb5 Ra8 67.a6 Kxf6 68.Ra4 Kf5 69.Kb6+–. 62.Ke5 Kb7 Now White regroups his rook. But there is no defense anyway: [62...Kd7 63. f5! A) 63...g5 64.f6! Ke8 (64...h4 65.gxh4 gxh4 66.Kf5 h3 67.Rxh3 Rxa5+ 68. Kg6+–) 65.Kf5 h4 66.gxh4 gxh4 67.Kg6 Kf8 68.Rb3 Ke8 69.Kg7+–; B) 63... gxf5 64.Kxf5 Ke8 65.Kg5 Kf7 66.Kxh5+–. 63.Rb3+ Kc7 63...Kc6?! runs into 64.Rb6++–. 64.Rc3+

[FEN "8/2k5/r5p1/P3K2p/5P2/2R3P1/8/8 b - - 0 64"]

This forces Black's king to make a choice, which White then exploits and wins on the wing that is deserted by the king. 64...Kd7 Now Black's king is cut off from the a-pawn. 64...Kb7 Now White wins on the kingside: 65.Rc5 Kb8 (65...Ra8 66.Kf6+–) 66.f5! gxf5 (66...g5?! 67.f6 Ra7 68.Ke6 Ra6+ 69.Ke7 Ra7+ 70.Ke8+–) 67.Kxf5 Rd6 (67...Rh6 68.Kg5 Rh8 69.Kh4! Kb7 70.Rxh5+–) 68.Kg5 Rd3 69.Kh4+–. 65.Rc5

[FEN "8/3k4/r5p1/P1R1K2p/5P2/6P1/8/8 b - - 0 65"]

Now Black's king is cut off, so White's king helps his a-pawn. 65...Re6+ 66.Kd4 Ra6 67.Kc4 Ra8 67...h4?! 68.gxh4 Rf6 69.Kb5+–. 68.Kb4 Rb8+ 69.Rb5 Re8 70.Rb7+

[FEN "4r3/1R1k4/6p1/P6p/1K3P2/6P1/8/8 b - - 0 70"]

70...Kc8 70...Ke6 to create counterplay on the kingside is the alternative, but White is too quick: 71.a6 Kf5 72.Rb5+ Kf6 73.a7 Ra8 74.Ra5 Ke6 (74...Kf7 75.Kc5 +–) 75.Kc5 Kf5 76.Kb6++–. 71.Rb6 Re4+ 71...Rg8 72.a6 Kc7 73.Kb5 g5 74.a7 gxf4 75.gxf4 Rh8 76.Ka6!+–. 72.Kb5 Re3 [72...g5 73.a6+–] 73.Rxg6+– 1–0 Solutions to last month's exercises E126.01 Deviatkin, A (2573) – Alsina Leal, D (2531) Aeroflot Open A Moscow RUS (6), 13.02.2011

[FEN "8/6K1/6R1/4k2P/8/8/8/r7 w - - 0 75"]

How to find shelter against Black's rook checks? White used his rook as shield with 75.Rf6! Ra7+ 75...Rg1+ 76.Kf7 Ra1 77.h6 Ra7+ 78.Kg6 Rb7 79.Rf7 Rb6+ 80.Kg7 Rb1 81.h7 Rg1+ 82.Kf8 Rh1 83.Kg8 Ke6 84.Rg7+–. 76.Rf7 Ra1 77.h6 1–0 E126.02 Wojtaszek, Radoslaw (2663) – Efimenko, Zahar (2689) German Bundesliga 2010/11 Bremen/Germany (1.1), 09.10.2010

[FEN "8/2R5/4k1pP/r7/7P/8/4KP2/8 w - - 0 59"]

White to move and win. Wojtaszek won with the trick 59.Rc6+! Kf7 60.Rc8! 60.h7? runs into 60... Kg7=. 60...Rh5 61.h7 Rxh7 62.Rc7+ Kg8 63.Rxh7 Kxh7 64.Kf3 Kg7

[FEN "8/6k1/6p1/8/7P/5K2/5P2/8 w - - 0 65"]

65.Kf4 After 65.Kg4?! Kh6, White must retreat with 66.Kg3!!+–. 65...Kh6 66.Kg4 Kg7 67.Kg5 Kf7 68.h5 1–0 Black resigned because of 68...gxh5 69. Kxh5 Kf6 70.Kg4 Kg6 71.f3 Kf6 72.Kf4+– E126.03 Siddharth, R (2458) – Joshi, GB (2288) 3rd Chennai Open IND (10), 25.01.2011

[FEN "8/8/1r6/1PR1K3/8/8/3k4/8 b - - 0 70"]

Black to move and draw. Black's king must choose the right square: 70...Ke3! 70...Kd3? 71.Kd5 Rh6 72.Rc1 Kd2 73.Rg1 Kc3 74.Kc5 Kb3 75.Rg4+–. 71.Rc3+ 71.Kd5 Kd3!=. 71... Kd2 72.Rb3 Kc2 73.Rb4 Kc3 ½–½ E126.04 Polzin, R (2494) – Buhmann, R (2577) Austrian Bundesliga 2010–11 Graz AUT (7.2), 23.01.2011

[FEN "8/4k3/6K1/3p2P1/R2P1r2/8/8/8 w - - 0 58"]

Where shall White's king hide? The king must hide behind the pawn: 58.Kg7? 58.Kh5!! Kf7 (58...Ke6 59.g6 Rf1 60.Ra8 Rh1+ 61.Kg5 Rg1+ 62.Kh6 Rh1+

63.Kg7 Kf5 64.Re8+–; 58...Re4 59.g6 Kf6 60.Ra6+ Kg7 61.Ra7+ Kg8 62. Ra4 Kg7 63.Kg5 Re7 64.Ra5 Rd7 65.Kf5 Kh6 66.Ke6 Rg7 67.Rxd5 Rxg6+ 68.Kd7 Kg7 69.Rf5+–) 59.g6+ Kf6 60.Ra6+

[FEN "8/8/R4kP1/3p3K/3P1r2/8/8/8 b - - 0 60"]

Black is lost: 60...Kf5 (60...Kg7 61.Ra7+ Kg8 62.Ra4 Kg7 63.Kg5 Re4 64. Ra7+ Kg8 65.Kf6 Rf4+ 66.Ke5 Rg4 67.Ra6 Kg7 68.Kxd5 Rg5+ 69.Kc4 Rg1 70.Re6+–) 61.Rd6 Rxd4 62.g7 Rd1 63.Rxd5+ Rxd5 64.g8Q+–; 58.Kh7 Kf8 (58...Rh4+ 59.Kg7+–) 59.Kh6 Kf7 60.Kh5 wins as well. 58...Ke6 59.g6 Kf5 60.Ra1 60.Kf7 Kg5+ 61.Ke6 Kxg6 62.Kxd5 Kf7 63.Kd6 Rf6+ 64.Kd7 Rf4=. 60...Rxd4 61.Kf7 Rg4 62.g7 d4 63.Re1 Kf4 64.g8Q Rxg8 65.Kxg8 d3 66.Rd1 Ke3 67.Rxd3+ Kxd3 ½–½ E126.05 Steadman, M (2242) – Stevens, T (2050) Oceania Zonal Rotorua NZL (8.10), 30.01.2011

[FEN "8/3P2k1/3K4/2p4p/3r4/8/5R2/8 w - - 0 49"]

Where shall White's king go? This was quite deep: 49.Kc7? 49.Ke7! Re4+ (49...Kg6 is now refuted by the typical 50.Rf6+ Kg5 51.Rd6 +–) 50.Kd8 Rd4 (50...Kg6 51.Rd2 Kf5 52.Kc8 Ra4 53.Kb7 Rb4+ 54.Kc7+–) 51.Rf5 h4 52.Kc7 c4

[FEN "8/2KP2k1/8/5R2/2pr3p/8/8/8 w - - 0 53"]

Now 53.Rf4! does the trick: 53...Rxf4 (53...Rd3 54.Rxh4 c3 55.d8Q+–) 54. d8Q Kg6 55.Qc8 Kg5 56.Kd6 Rf3 57.Qxc4 h3 58.Qe4 Rf4 59.Qe2 Rf5 60.

Ke6 Rf6+ 61.Ke5 Rf5+ 62.Ke4 Rf4+ 63.Ke3 Rh4 64.Qh2 Kf5 65.Kf2 Rh5 66. Kg3 Rh6 67.Qf2+ Kg6 68.Kh2 Kg7 69.Qf3 Kg6 70.Qf4 Rh7 71.Qe4+ Kg7 72. Qf5 Rh6 73.Qg5+ Kh7 74.Qg3 Rh5 75.Qg4 Rh6 76.Qg5+–. 49...Kg6! 49...h4? 50.Rh2 Kg6 51.Rxh4+–; 49...c4? 50.Rf4 Rxf4 51.d8Q Kg6 52.Qe8+ Kg5 53.Kd6 Kg4 54.Qg6+ Kh4 55.Ke5 Rg4 56.Qh6+–; 49...Rxd7+? 50.Kxd7 Kg6 51.Ke6 Kg5 52.Ke5 Kg4 53.Ke4 Kg3 54.Rf3+ Kg4 55.Ke3 h4 56.Kf2+–. 50.Rc2 Kg5 51.Rxc5+ Kg4 52.Kc6 52.Rc4?? Rxc4+–+. 52...Rxd7 52...h4?? 53.Rd5+–. 53.Kxd7 h4 54.Ke6 h3 55.Rc8 h2 56.Rh8 Kg3 ½–½

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The Riddle of Bird vs. Morphy Redux I dealt with the following famous classic game in both Endgame Corner 23 and The ChessCafe Puzzle Book 1.

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128.01 Bird, Henry – Morphy, Paul London m5, 1858 Philidor Defense [C41]

Endgame Corner

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Nc3 fxe4 5.Nxe4 d5 6.Ng3 e4 7.Ne5 Nf6 8.Bg5 Bd6 9.Nh5 0–0 10.Qd2 Qe8 11.g4 Nxg4 12.Nxg4 Qxh5 13.Ne5 Nc6 14.Be2 Qh3 15.Nxc6 bxc6 16.Be3 Rb8 17.0–0–0

Karsten Müller

ECE: Rook Endings by Chess Informant

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[FEN "1rb2rk1/p1p3pp/2pb4/3p4/3Pp3/ 4B2q/PPPQBP1P/2KR3R b - - 0 17"]

Black has an extra pawn, but the position is quite sharp as the kings are on different wings. Now Morphy started an amazing combination: 17...Rxf2?!

ECE: Queen Endings by Chess Informant

"I raise my hat to the great chess artist, but the crude 17...Bg4! was correct" (Kasparov in My Great Predecessors, Part 1, p.38, Everyman 2003). 18.Bxf2 Qa3!! A beautiful, geometrical and paradoxical move from one end of the board to the other. 18...Ba3? is met by 19.Qe3!. Play through and download the games from ChessCafe.com in the ChessBase Game Viewer.

19.c3! The only defense 19.Qg5? Rxb2 20.Qd8+ Kf7 21.Bh5+ g6–+; 19.bxa3?? Bxa3#. 19...Qxa2! 19...e3? is refuted by 20.Bxe3 Bf5 21.Qc2!!. 20.b4 Qa1+ 21.Kc2 Qa4+

ECE: Minor Piece Endings by Chess Informant

[FEN "1rb3k1/p1p3pp/2pb4/3p4/qP1Pp3/ 2P5/2KQBB1P/3R3R w - - 0 22"]

Black's attack flew nicely until this critical point. 22.Kb2? Bird crumbles under the pressure and loses quickly. This position makes a good tactical exercise, which is solved by Morphy easily. 22.Kc1! is the only move and, as it seems now, White cannot win; contrary to what I had claimed in Endgame Corner 23. 22...Bxb4! Black's king hunt flows nicely. 23.cxb4 Rxb4+ 24.Qxb4 24.Kc1? Qa1+ 25.Kc2 Qb2#. 24...Qxb4+ 25.Kc2 25.Ka2 c5 26.dxc5 e3 27.Be1 (27.Bxe3 d4 28.Bxd4 Be6+ 29.Ka1 Qa3+ 30. Kb1 Bf5+–+) 27...Qe4 28.Bg3 Qc2+–+. 25...e3 26.Bxe3 Bf5+ 27.Rd3 Qc4+ 28.Kd2 Qa2+ 29.Kd1 Qb1+ 0–1 A) "DrMAL's" Ace "DrMAL," who wishes to remain anonymous, has given a refutation of my proof:

[FEN "1rb3k1/p1p3pp/2pb4/3p4/qP1Pp3/ 2P5/2KQBB1P/3R3R w - - 0 22"]

22.Kc1! a5 23.Qc2 Qa3+ 24.Qb2 axb4

[FEN "1rb3k1/2p3pp/2pb4/3p4/1p1Pp3/ q1P5/1Q2BB1P/2KR3R w - - 0 25"]

25.Kb1!! An astonishing move! At first sight, White's king seems to walk into the line of fire, but closer inspection reveals that now White forces are better coordinated and often he can opt for c3–c4(-c5) to close the queenside. I had mostly looked at Karpov's defense: 25.Qxa3? bxa3

[FEN "1rb3k1/2p3pp/2pb4/3p4/3Pp3/p1P5/ 4BB1P/2KR3R w - - 0 26"]

A) 26.Bg3! it is not clear, if Black can win; e.g., 26...Be7 (26...a2? 27.Kd2 Ba3 28.Ra1 Rb2+ 29.Ke3 Rc2 30.Bxc7 Rxc3+ 31.Kd2 Bb2 32.Bf4 Ra3 33. Bd6 Ra8 34.Bc5 Bf5 35.Kc2 Bxa1 36.Rxa1 e3+ 37.Bd3 g6 38.Bxf5 gxf5 39. Kd3 Kf7 40.Kxe3 Ke6 41.Kf4 seems to be drawn.)

[FEN "r7/7p/2p1k3/2Bp1p2/3P1K2/ 8/p6P/R7 b - - 0 41"]

A1) 27.Bf4 Bf5 28.Kd2 a2 A1a) 29.Ke3 Rb3 30.Ra1 Rxc3+ 31.Kd2 Bb4 32.Kd1 Ra3 33.Bd2 Bxd2 34. Kxd2 e3+ 35.Ke1 Kf7

[FEN "8/2p2kpp/2p5/3p1b2/3P4/r3p3/ p3B2P/R3K2R w - - 0 36"]

Black has good winning chances. Same sample lines run 36.Rg1 (36.Rf1 Ke6 37.Rg1 c5 38.dxc5 Kf6 39.Rg3 Bb1 40.Bd1 Rc3) 36...Kf6 37.Bg4 Bd3 38. Bd1 g5 39.Rg2 Bc4 and in both cases it is not easy to see how to stop Black's mighty pawn mass in the long run. A1b) 29.Ra1 Rb2+ 30.Ke3 c5

[FEN "6k1/2p1b1pp/8/2pp1b2/3PpB2/ 2P1K3/pr2B2P/R6R w - - 0 31"]

This also looks promising for Black, but it is no complete proof of course, as in many lines the winning potential gets very reduced; e.g., 31.Rhc1 (31.Bd1 Kf7 32.Re1 cxd4+ 33.Kxd4 Bf6+ 34.Kxd5 Bxc3 35.Rf1 Be6+ 36.Kxe4 Rb4+ 37.Ke3 Bd4+ 38.Kd2 Bc4 39.Bh5+ Kg8 40.Rxa2 Bxa2 41.Bxc7) 31...cxd4+ 32.cxd4 Rb3+ 33.Kd2 e3+ 34.Bxe3 Ba3 35.Kd1 Rxe3 36.Rxc7 Bb1 37.Rb7 and in both cases White is still fighting. A2) 27.h4 e3 28.Bxc7 Rb3 29.Rdf1

[FEN "2b3k1/2B1b1pp/2p5/3p4/3P3P/ prP1p3/4B3/2K2R1R b - - 0 29"]

29...Rb2!? This promises Black the best chances, but I did not manage to come to a definite conclusion. The alternatives look more likely to be tenable for White: 29...Bxh4?! 30.Rxh4 Bf5 31.Rxf5 a2 32.Kc2 a1Q 33.Kxb3 Qb1+ 34.Ka3 Qxf5 35.Kb2 Qf2 36.Rh2

[FEN "6k1/2B3pp/2p5/3p4/3P4/ 2P1p3/1K2Bq1R/8 b - - 0 36"]

29...Rb7?! 30.Ba5 Rb2 31.Bd3 e2 32.Bxe2 Rxe2 33.Kb1 Ba6 34.Rf3

[FEN "6k1/4b1pp/b1p5/B2p4/3P3P/ p1P2R2/4r3/1K5R b - - 0 34"]

30.Rh2 (30.Bd3 Rd2 31.Bc2 Ba6 32.Rd1 Rf2 33.Kb1 e2 34.Rc1 Bc4

[FEN "6k1/2B1b1pp/2p5/3p4/2bP3P/ p1P5/2B1pr2/1KR4R w - - 0 35"]

This gives Black more than enough compensation for the material, because of his activity and strong passed pawns.) 30...Rb7 31.Ba6 Rxc7 32.Bxc8 Rxc8 33.Kc2 c5

[FEN "2r3k1/4b1pp/8/2pp4/3P3P/p1P1p3/ 2K4R/5R2 w - - 0 34"]

Black is for choice, but it is not clear if he can win or not, because of the

reduced remaining winning potential and the strength of the defending rooks. B) 26.Be3? indeed seems to lose. But after 26...Rb3 27.Kd2 (27.Bg5 h6 28. Bd2 e3 29.Bxe3 Bf5–+) 27...Rb2+ 28.Ke1 a2 29.Ra1 (29.Kf2 Ba3–+) 29... Bd7 30.Kd1 (30.Kf2 Bg4 31.Rhe1 Be7–+) 30...c5 31.dxc5 Be7 32.h4

[FEN "6k1/2pbb1pp/8/2Pp4/4p2P/2P1B3/ pr2B3/R2K3R b - - 0 32"]

So far my main line in Endgame Corner 23. However, CCGM Rolf Knobel (Switzerland) found 32...h6!–+ (see Endgame Corner 25), which wins much more easily than my suggestion. White's heavy pieces make a very poor impression. 25...Bf5 26.Qxa3 bxa3+ 27.Ka1 Rb2

[FEN "6k1/2p3pp/2pb4/3p1b2/3Pp3/p1P5/ 1r2BB1P/K2R3R w - - 0 28"]

Now comes another "DrMAL" ace. 28.Rhe1! I had only looked at 28.Rde1? Bf4. 28...Bxh2 28...Bf4 29.Bg3 Bd2 30.Rxd2 Rxd2 31.Bxc7 ("DrMAL") and White is not worse. 29.Be3 Bg3 30.Rg1 Bh2 31.Rg2 Bd6 32.Rd2 Rxd2 33.Bxd2 Kf7 34.Ka2 c5 35.Bc1 g6 36.Bxa3 Bf4 37.Rg1

[FEN "8/2p2k1p/6p1/2pp1b2/3Ppb2/B1P5/ K3B3/6R1 b - - 0 37"]

I agree with "DrMAL" that Black cannot win. B) Black Alternatives after 25.Kb1!! As in the Karpov defensive line I did not manage to find a proof for a win, but Black is better after 25.Qxa3? bxa3 26.Bg3! Be7 and I hope that something can be found, I looked at alternatives to avoid "DrMAL's" defense which looks totally convincing. But I did not manage to break White's set up. B1) The queen retreats B11) The queen retreats to a7

[FEN "1rb3k1/2p3pp/2pb4/3p4/1p1Pp3/ q1P5/1Q2BB1P/1K1R3R b - - 0 25"]

Black's queen can retreat to a4 or a7: 25...Qa7!? 26.c4 b3 27.c5 27.Rhg1? Ba3 28.Qa1 (28.Rxg7+? Kxg7 29.Rg1+ Kf8 30.Qd2 Bc1–+) 28...e3 29.Bh4 Bf5+ 30.Bd3 e2 31.Bxf5 exd1Q+ 32.Rxd1 Qa4–+. 27...Bf4

[FEN "1rb3k1/q1p3pp/2p5/2Pp4/3Ppb2/ 1p6/1Q2BB1P/1K1R3R w - - 0 28"]

Again White should not care about his h-pawn.

28.Rhg1! 28.Bg3? Bh6 29.Be5 (29.Qa1 Qb7 30.Qa5 Ra8 31.Qxc7 Qxc7 32.Bxc7 Ra2 33.Rhe1 Bh3; 29.Rhf1 Bh3 30.Rg1 Bf5 31.Be5 Ra8 32.h4 g6 33.Rdf1 Bd2 34. Rxf5 Bc3) 29...Ra8 30.Rhg1 Bf5 31.Rdf1 Bg6 32.h4

[FEN "r5k1/q1p3pp/2p3bb/2PpB3/3Pp2P/ 1p6/1Q2B3/1K3RR1 b - - 0 32"]

32...Bd2!! This shot is the point of Black's set up. 33.h5 Bc3 34.Qxb3 Rb8 35. Kc2 Rxb3 36.Kxb3 Qa5 37.Rb1 Bf5 38.Rxg7+ Kf8 39.Rg5 Be6 with good winning chances for Black in all cases.; 28.Be1? Ra8 29.Bc3 Qb8 30.Rdf1 Bh6 31.Bd1 Ba6 32.Bxb3 Qb7 33.Rd1 Rb8 34.Ka2 Be2 35.Rhe1 Bxd1 36. Rxd1 Bf4 37.Rh1 Be3 38.Ba4 Qa7 39.Qa3 Ra8 gives Black a dangerous initiative.

[FEN "r5k1/q1p3pp/2p5/2Pp4/B2Pp3/ Q1B1b3/K6P/7R w - - 0 40"]

28...Ra8 28...Bf5 29.Bh4 Bg6 (29...Ra8 30.Rgf1 transposes to the main line.) 30.Bg5 e3 + 31.Bd3 Bxg5 32.Bxg6 e2 33.Bxh7+ Kxh7 34.Qxe2 Ra8 35.Qb2 Bf6 36. Rgf1 Qa2+ 37.Qxa2 bxa2+ 38.Ka1 Ra4 39.Rf4 White seems to be able to defend.

[FEN "8/2p3pk/2p2b2/2Pp4/r2P1R2/ 8/p6P/K2R4 b - - 0 39"]

29.Bh4 29.Bg3? Be3 30.Rge1 Bh6 31.Rg1 g6–+; 29.Bg4? Ba6–+.

29...Bf5 29...Qa2+? Backfires, because of 30.Qxa2 Rxa2 31.Bg4 Ba6 32.Be6+ Kh8

[FEN "7k/2p3pp/b1p1B3/2Pp4/3Ppb1B/ 1p6/r6P/1K1R2R1 w - - 0 33"]

33.Bf6 Bh6 34.Be5 e3 35.Rgf1 and White is for choice. 30.Rgf1!

[FEN "r5k1/q1p3pp/2p5/2Pp1b2/3Ppb1B/ 1p6/1Q2B2P/1K1R1R2 b - - 0 30"]

Now Black has nothing better than the following. 30...e3+ 31.Kc1 Bc2 32.Rxf4 Bxd1 33.Bxd1 Qa1+ 34.Qxa1 Rxa1+ 35.Kb2 Rxd1 36.Rf3 Rxd4 37.Be7!=

[FEN "6k1/2p1B1pp/2p5/2Pp4/3r4/ 1p2pR2/1K5P/8 b - - 0 37"]

White's counterplay saves the day. B12) The queen retreats to a4

[FEN "1rb3k1/2p3pp/2pb4/3p4/1p1Pp3/ q1P5/1Q2BB1P/1K1R3R b - - 0 25"]

25...Qa4 The main line of my analysis runs as follows. 26.c4 b3 27.c5 Bf4 28.Bg3 Bh6

[FEN "1rb3k1/2p3pp/2p4b/2Pp4/q2Pp3/ 1p4B1/1Q2B2P/1K1R3R w - - 0 29"]

Now White can force the exchange of queens, which should save him. 29.Qa1! Qxa1+ 30.Kxa1 Ra8+ 31.Kb2 Ra2+ 32.Kxb3 Rxe2 33.Ra1

[FEN "2b3k1/2p3pp/2p4b/2Pp4/3Pp3/ 1K4B1/4r2P/R6R b - - 0 33"]

White is so active that I do not think that Black has real winning chances. B2) The Bishop to the Queenside

[FEN "1rb3k1/2p3pp/2pb4/3p4/1p1Pp3/ q1P5/1Q2BB1P/1K1R3R b - - 0 25"]

Another alternative is 25...Ba6 but again White just activates his rook and does not care about his h-pawn: 26.Rhe1! Qxb2+ 26...Bxe2 27.Rxe2 Qa4 28.Rg1 Bxh2 29.Rc1 b3 30.c4 Bd6 31.c5 Be7 32.Be3

[FEN "1r4k1/2p1b1pp/2p5/2Pp4/q2Pp3/ 1p2B3/1Q2R3/1KR5 b - - 0 32"]

White has regained some control and should not lose. 27.Kxb2 bxc3+ 28.Kxc3 Bb4+ 29.Kc2 Bxe1 30.Rxe1 Bxe2 31.Rxe2

[FEN "1r4k1/2p3pp/2p5/3p4/3Pp3/8/ 2K1RB1P/8 b - - 0 31"]

White's solid set up should give him the draw sooner or later. B3) The greedy pawn capture

[FEN "1rb3k1/2p3pp/2pb4/3p4/1p1Pp3/ q1P5/1Q2BB1P/1K1R3R b - - 0 25"]

Black can also take the c-pawn directly, but this should not give him an advantage: 25...Qxc3 26.Rc1 Qh3 (26...Qa3 27.Bg3=) 27.Bg3 Bf5 28.Qb3=. C) The major alternative 22...Bf5 So it seems that 22...a5 does not win unless a reader can find an improvement for Black against DrMAL's amazing defense in the line 25.Kb1!!.

[FEN "1rb3k1/p1p3pp/2pb4/3p4/qP1Pp3/ 2P5/3QBB1P/2KR3R b - - 0 22"]

The natural developing move 22...Bf5!? has often been mentioned and analysed as well. I think that White should be able to defend. 23.Be3 23.Be1? e3 24.Qb2 a5 gives Black dangerous play. 23...Bxb4 24.cxb4 Rxb4 25.Qc2 Qa3+ 26.Kd2 Rb2 26...Rxd4+ 27.Ke1 Qxe3 28.Rxd4 Qxd4 29.Qxc6=. 27.Qxb2 Qxb2+ 28.Ke1

[FEN "6k1/p1p3pp/2p5/3p1b2/3Pp3/4B3/ 1q2B2P/3RK2R b - - 0 28"]

Black has many pawns, but they are not very mobile. So it seems that Morphy's amazing sacrifice does not win objectively. Is this the last word or can another reader change the picture once again?

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The Aim of the Game Mating attacks in the endgame are of a different character than in the middlegame because the king can often join its forces:

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A) Mating Attack Out of the Blue Even an exchange of queens is no insurance against a direct mating attack:

Endgame Corner

129.01 Cordova, Emilio (2561) – Guimaraes, Wagner Peixoto (2277) Zonal 2.4 Open Araruama BRA (8), 25.06.2011

Karsten Müller

Endgame Tactics by Van Perlo

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[FEN "7k/p7/1b6/3Q1K1P/1q4N1/7P/8/8 b - - 0 75"]

75...Qc5?! 75...Qf8+ 76.Ke4 Qb4+ draws easily because of White's open king. 76.Qxc5 Bxc5 77.Kg6

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[FEN "7k/p7/6K1/2b4P/6N1/7P/8/8 b - - 0 77"]

The king is an important part of the attacking army. 77...Bd4 77...Bf8? loses to 78.h6 a5 79.Ne5 Bxh6 (79...a4 80.Nf7+ Kg8 81.h7#) 80. Kxh6 a4 81.Nc4 Kg8 82.Kg6+–

Endgame Fireworks by Alexei Shirov

You Move, I Win! by Alex Angos

[FEN "6k1/8/6K1/8/p1N5/7P/8/8 b - - 0 82"]

Black's a-pawn is too far behind. 78.h6 78.Nh6 a5 79.Nf7+ Kg8 80.h6

[FEN "6k1/5N2/6KP/p7/3b4/7P/8/8 b - - 0 80"]

A) Even 80...a4 is playable: 81.Ng5 Bh8 (81...a3? 82.h7+ Kf8 83.Ne6+ Ke7 84.Nxd4 a2 85.h8Q a1Q 86.Nf5++–) 82.Ne6

[FEN "6kb/8/4N1KP/8/p7/7P/8/8 b - - 0 82"]

82...Bf6!! The surprising point. (82...a3?? 83.h7#) 83.Kxf6 Kh7 84.Kg5 a3 85. Nd4 (85.Nf8+ Kh8 86.h7 Kg7 87.Ne6+ Kxh7 88.Nd4 a2 89.Nc2=) 85...a2 86. Nc2 Kg8=. B) 80...Kf8 81.Nd8 Bc3 82.h7

[FEN "3N1k2/7P/6K1/p7/8/2b4P/8/8 b - - 0 82"]

Now 82...Bh8 saves the day, but not 82...a4? 83.Ne6+ Ke7 84.Ng7+–. B1) 83.Nf7 Bd4 84.h8Q+ Bxh8 85.Nd6 (85.Nxh8? a4–+ backfires completely.) 85...a4 86.Nb5=. B2) 83.Ne6+ Ke7 84.Nc5 Bc3=. 78...a5 79.h7 Bg7! 80.Ne3

[FEN "7k/6bP/6K1/p7/8/4N2P/8/8 b - - 0 80"]

80...a4? Black rushes. The bishop has to fight the domination duel with 80...Be5! 81. Nc4 (81.Ng4 Bg7=) 81...Bc7 82.Nd2 a4 (82...Be5 83.Ne4 Bf4=) 83.Ne4 Bf4 84.Nc5 Be5 (84...a3? 85.Ne6 a2 86.Nd8 a1Q 87.Nf7#) 85.Nxa4 Bd4!

[FEN "7k/7P/6K1/8/N2b4/7P/8/8 w - - 0 86"]

Domination by corralling 86.h4 Bf2 87.h5 Bd4 88.h6 Be3 89.Nc3 Bxh6 90. Nd5 (90.Kxh6 stalemate) 90...Bg5=. 81.Nc4 1–0

[FEN "7k/6bP/6K1/8/p1N5/7P/8/8 b - - 0 81"]

Black resigned because of 81...a3 82.Nd6 a2 83.Nf7#. B) The Flight In double rook endings mating attacks and perpetual check often play a role: 129.02 Caruana, F (2714) – Hou Yifan (2612) AAI GM New Delhi (8), 30.06.2011

[FEN "4rk2/5ppp/1PR5/1R3P2/P7/1p6/ r5PP/6K1 w - - 0 38"]

38.h4! Caruana prepares an escape for his king. After 38.h3? Ree2, White's king cannot run away from the mighty black rooks:

[FEN "5k2/5ppp/1PR5/1R3P2/P7/1p5P/ r3r1P1/6K1 w - - 0 39"]

39.Re5 (39.Kh2?? backfires completely: 39...Rxg2+ 40.Kh1 Rgc2 41.Rxc2 bxc2 42.Rc5 Ra1+ 43.Kg2 c1Q 44.Rxc1 Rxc1 45.a5 Rb1–+) 39...Rxg2+ 40. Kf1 Rgf2+ 41.Ke1 Rfc2 42.Rxc2 bxc2 43.Rc5 Rxa4 44.Rxc2 Rb4=. 38...Ree2 38...Rc2 39.Rc7 (39.Rd6 Ke7 40.Rd4+–) 39...Ree2 40.Kh2 Rxg2+ 41.Kh3 Rh2+ 42.Kg3 Rhg2+ 43.Kf3 Rgf2+

[FEN "5k2/2R2ppp/1P6/1R3P2/P6P/ 1p3K2/2r2r2/8 w - - 0 44"]

This allows White's king to hide on the kingside: 44.Kg4 Rg2+ 45.Kh5 g6+ 46.Kh6 Rh2 47.b7 Rxh4+ 48.Kg5 Rh5+ 49.Kf6+–; 38...b2 39.Kh2 Rxa4 40. b7 Rb8 41.Rc8++–. 39.Kh2! Rxg2+ 40.Kh3 Rh2+ 41.Kg3

[FEN "5k2/5ppp/1PR5/1R3P2/P6P/ 1p4K1/r6r/8 b - - 0 41"]

Caruana's king starts its long journey. 41...Rhg2+ After 41...Rag2+ 42.Kf4 Rxh4+ (42...Rf2+ 43.Ke5 Re2+ 44.Kd6 Rd2+ 45. Kc7+–) 43.Kf3 Rgh2 44.b7 R2h3+, the king hides on a3:

[FEN "5k2/1P3ppp/2R5/1R3P2/P6r/ 1p3K1r/8/8 w - - 0 45"]

45.Ke2 Rh2+ 46.Kd3 R2h3+ 47.Kd2 Rh2+ 48.Kc3 R2h3+ 49.Kb2 Rh2+ 50. Ka3+–

[FEN "5k2/1P3ppp/2R5/1R3P2/P6r/ Kp6/7r/8 b - - 0 50"]

42.Kf4 Rgf2+ 42...Rxa4+ 43.Kf3 Rgg4 44.b7 Raf4+ 45.Ke3 Re4+ 46.Kd3 Rd4+ 47.Kc3+–. 43.Ke5

[FEN "5k2/5ppp/1PR5/1R2KP2/P6P/ 1p6/r4r2/8 b - - 0 43"]

43...g6 Opens a new route for White's king. After 43...Rfe2+, White hides on the queenside: 44.Kd6 Rad2+ 45.Kc7 Re7+ 46.Kb8+–. 44.Kf6! Rac2 45.Rxc2 bxc2 46.b7 1–0 Black resigned because of 46...c1Q 47.b8Q+ Qc8 48.Qxc8#. C) Race of the Passed Pawns In this case the usual drawish tendency of rook endings is reduced: 129.03 Lalic, S (2277) – Hebden, M (2533) 98th ch-GBR Sheffield ENG (2), 26.07.2011

[FEN "8/6k1/3R4/6PP/P1p2K2/3p4/4r3/8 b - - 0 41"]

Hebden could still have saved himself. How to deal with White's wave of pawns: 41...Re7 or 41...d2?

41...Re7? Too passive. White's rolling pawns are now always one move quicker. 41...d2 draws, if Black's king navigates carefully: A) 42.h6+ Kh7! 43.Rd7+ Kg6!

[FEN "8/3R4/6kP/6P1/P1p2K2/8/3pr3/8 w - - 0 44"]

A1) 44.Rg7+ Kh5 45.h7 Rf2+

[FEN "8/6RP/8/6Pk/P1p2K2/8/3p1r2/8 w - - 0 46"]

46.Ke5 (46.Kg3? backfires completely: 46...Rf8 47.Rg8 Rf3+ 48.Kg2 d1Q 49. h8Q+ Kg4–+) 46...d1Q 47.h8Q+ Kg4 48.Qc8+ Kg3 49.Qc7=. A2) 44.h7 Re8 45.Rxd2 Kxh7 46.a5 c3 47.Ra2 Rc8 48.Rc2 Ra8 49.Rxc3 Rxa5=. B) 42.Rd7+ Kh8!!

[FEN "7k/3R4/8/6PP/P1p2K2/8/ 3pr3/8 w - - 0 43"]

The point. (42...Kg8? 43.g6 Rf2+ 44.Kg5 c3 45.h6 Rf8 46.h7+ Kh8 47.g7+ Kxh7 48.gxf8Q#) 43.g6 (43.Rd8+ Kg7! 44.h6+ Kh7 45.Rd7+ Kg6! 46.h7 Re8=) 43...c3 44.Kg5 (44.h6 Re8=) 44...Re8 (44...c2?? 45.Rd8+ Re8 46.Rxe8 + Kg7 47.h6#) 45.h6 c2 46.Rh7+= (46.h7?? c1Q 47.Kh6 d1Q+–+). 42.h6+ Kh7 43.Kg4

[FEN "8/4r2k/3R3P/6P1/P1p3K1/ 3p4/8/8 b - - 0 43"]

43...Rc7 43...Re8 44.Kh5 Kh8 (44...Re5 45.Rd7+ Kh8 46.h7 d2 47.Kh6+–) 45.g6 (45. Rd7? Rc8 46.h7? backfires because of 46...c3 47.Kh6 c2 48.g6 c1Q+–+) 45... Re5+ (45...c3 46.Rxd3 Rc8 47.Rd1 c2 48.Rc1 Rc5+ 49.Kg4+–) 46.Kg4 Re8 47.Kg5 c3 48.h7 c2 49.Rc6 d2 50.Kh6 c1Q

[FEN "4r2k/7P/2R3PK/8/P7/8/ 3p4/2q5 w - - 0 51"]

Now the pawn d2 acts as an umbrella. 51.g7#. 44.Kh5! But not 44.Kf5?, as White's king has no safe shelter after 44...c3 45.Rxd3 Rc5 + 46.Kf6 Rc6+=. 44...Rc5 45.Rd7+ Kh8 46.h7 1–0

[FEN "7k/3R3P/8/2r3PK/P1p5/3p4/ 8/8 b - - 0 46"]

Black resigned because of 46...d2 47.Kh6 Rc8 [47...Rxg5 48.Rd8+ Rg8 49. hxg8Q#] 48.g6 c3 49.g7#. D) Coordination is Crucial When two rooks fight against a queen, it is often extremely important as to whether the rooks can coordinate or not:

129.04 Hole, O (2383) – Thomassen, J (2400) ch-NOR Oslo NOR (9), 10.07.2011

[FEN "2R5/pp2q1kp/3R2p1/4p3/PP6/7P/ 5PP1/6K1 w - - 0 31"]

31.Rcd8! Kh6 31...Qg5? 32.R8d7+ Kh6 33.Rc7+–

[FEN "8/ppR4p/3R2pk/4p1q1/PP6/7P/ 5PP1/6K1 b - - 0 33"]

The rooks dominate completely. 32.R8d7 Qf8 33.Re6

[FEN "5q2/pp1R3p/4R1pk/4p3/PP6/7P/ 5PP1/6K1 b - - 0 33"]

33...Qf4?! 33...Qc8!? forces White to stop the perpetual check by 34.Red6! (34.Ree7? runs into the typical 34...Qc1+ 35.Kh2 Qf4+ 36.Kg1 Qc1+=) 34...Qc1+ (34... Qf8 35.b5+/-) 35.Rd1 Qc2 36.Re1

[FEN "8/pp1R3p/6pk/4p3/PP6/7P/ 2q2PP1/4R1K1 b - - 0 36"]

36...Qxa4 37.Rxb7 a5 38.bxa5 Qxa5 39.Re4+/-. 33...Qxb4?! 34.Rf7!

[FEN "8/pp3R1p/4R1pk/4p3/Pq6/7P/ 5PP1/6K1 b - - 0 34"]

This uses the powerful rook in an optimal way 34...Qxa4 35.Ree7 Qd1+ 36. Kh2 Qd6 37.Rxh7+ Kg5 38.Ref7 e4+ 39.g3+–

[FEN "8/pp3R1R/3q2p1/6k1/4p3/6PP/ 5P1K/8 b - - 0 39"]

34.g3 Qxb4 34...Qe4 35.Rf7!+–; 34...Qc1+ 35.Kh2 Qb2 36.Rf7+–. 35.Rxe5

[FEN "8/pp1R3p/6pk/4R3/Pq6/6PP/ 5P2/6K1 b - - 0 35"]

Full board control by the beautifully coordinated rooks. 35...Qxa4 36.Ree7 a5 37.Rxh7+ Kg5 38.Rdf7 Qd1+ 39.Kh2 1–0

[FEN "8/1p3R1R/6p1/p5k1/8/6PP/ 5P1K/3q4 b - - 0 39"]

Black resigned; one sample line runs 39...Qd2 40.h4+ Kg4 41.Rf4+ Qxf4 42. gxf4 b5 43.Rb7 b4 44.Rb5+–. E) The King Leads the Attack Pure opposite colored bishop ending have a large drawish tendency, but matters are completely different, if both sides have an additional rook. Here the guideline from the middlegame, that opposite colored bishops favor the attacker, gains in importance. Usually blitz games should not be analysed, but I found the following final so typical, that I just had to annotate it: 129.05 Hovhannisyan, R (2553) – Andreikin, D (2687) 1st ICC Open Final INT (1.4), 05.06.2011

[FEN "6k1/5p1p/2B1p1p1/1Rp1P3/ 1bP2PK1/2r3P1/7P/8 w - - 0 39"]

39.Rb7! The right move, which hits Black's Achilles heel directly. 39.Kg5? Kg7 40. Rb7 h6+ 41.Kg4 Kf8=; 39.Rb8+? Kg7 40.Rb7 h5+ 41.Kg5 Ba5 42.Be8?? Bd8 + 43.Re7 Bxe7#.

39...Kf8 39...Rxc4 does not help, as after 40.Be8 Kf8 41.Bxf7 Rc2 42.Bxe6 Rxh2 43. Bc4 Rc2 44.Bb5, White's e-pawn will decide the day:

[FEN "5k2/1R5p/6p1/1Bp1P3/1b3PK1/ 6P1/2r5/8 b - - 0 44"]

44...Rb2 45.e6 c4 46.Rf7+ Kg8 47.Bxc4 Rc2 48.Bb5 Rc8 49.Rb7+–. 40.Kg5! Ba5

[FEN "5k2/1R3p1p/2B1p1p1/b1p1P1K1/ 2P2P2/2r3P1/7P/8 w - - 0 41"]

40...Kg7 41.Be8 h6+ 42.Kg4 Rxc4 43.Bxf7 Rd4 44.Bxe6+ Kf8 45.Bf7 Kg7 46.Be8++–. 41.Kh6! Of course not 41.Kf6?? Bd8+ 42.Re7 Bxe7#. 41...Rxc4? This allows a mate, but Black is lost in any case; e.g., 41...Rd3 42.Rb5 Bc7 43. Rxc5 Rd8 44.Kxh7+–; 41...Bd8 42.Rb8 Rd3 43.Kxh7+–. 42.Rb8+ Ke7 43.Re8# 1–0 Exercises (Solutions next month) E129.01 Howell, D (2625) – Ansell, S (2410) 98th ch-GBR Sheffield ENG (9), 03.08.2011

[FEN "2rk4/3p4/pR1Kp3/P1P1Pp2/4bP2/ 3B4/2P2R2/1r6 w - - 0 33"]

Black has just played 32...Rb1. How to react ? E129.02 Girish, A Koushik (2309) – Grandelius, Nils (2542) 50th World Junior Championship Chennai IND (8), 10.08.2011

[FEN "8/r3p2R/6p1/p4k2/2p2P2/Ppn2KP1/ 8/3R4 w - - 0 32"]

Who comes first: White's attack or Black's pawns? (White to move) E129.03 Mazi, L (2332) – Beliavsky, A (2613) 19th Vidmar Mem Ljubljana SLO (4), 09.08.2011

[FEN "2R5/8/8/2P2p2/4k3/3p1N1P/ 5nPK/1r6 b - - 0 77"]

How did Beliavsky close the net? E129.04 Rombaldoni, Ax (2459) – Rombaldoni, D (2495) 1st Alghero Open ITA (8.6), 02.09.2011

[FEN "8/1B6/p1PRpk2/5b2/1Pr2P1K/ 8/8/8 b - - 0 66"]

Why was 66.c5-c6?? a blunder? E129.05 Sokolov, Ivan (2672) – Collutiis, D (2468) 1st Alghero Open ITA (2.1), 27.08.2011

[FEN "2k5/p2R3p/2P5/2r5/2N5/8/ 3K4/8 w - - 0 53"]

How did Sokolov win? E129.06 Rombaldoni, D (2495) – Braga, F (2447) 1st Alghero Open ITA (9.6), 03.09.2011

[FEN "1Q6/8/p2p2p1/P1pPpk1p/2q5/ 4B3/3K1P2/8 w - - 0 51"]

White to move and win. E129.07 Bu Xiangzhi (2675) – Gupta, Abhijeet (2627) FIDE World Cup 2011 Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (3.2), 04.09.2011

[FEN "3Q4/8/6p1/1p3p1k/1q6/5PpP/ 2Bb2K1/8 w - - 0 61"]

White won with a surprising shot. Can you find it? E129.08 Miezis, Normunds (2520) – Bauer, Christian (2637) Biel MTO SUI (5), 21.07.2011

[FEN "8/7n/7P/8/8/4n3/5k1K/8 b - - 0 115"]

Find the quickest win for Black!

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Pawn Endgame Exercises II Pawn endings are deceptively simple. The road to mastery can be paved by knowing a few techniques. One of the most important is the opposition. It is the main weapon when the king fights to occupy one of three adjacent key squares.

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130.01 Potkin, Vladimir (2682) – Grischuk, Alexander (2746) FIDE World Cup 2011 Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (4.4), 08.09.2011

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

Chess King Training: Endgames by Chess King

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[FEN "8/8/2k3p1/5p1p/1PK1pP1P/ 6P1/8/8 b - - 0 47"]

47...Kb6? Golubev showed the way in Chess Today #3957: 47...Kc7! 48.Kc3 (I add 48. b5 Kb6 49.Kb4 e3 50.Kc3 Kxb5 51.Kd3 Kb4 52.Kxe3 Kc3–+ Chess Informant 112 by Chess Informant

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[FEN "8/8/6p1/5p1p/5P1P/2k1K1P1/ 8/8 w - - 0 53"]

Opposition. For the way to convert it, see the game continuation below.) 48... Kb6 49.Kc4 Kc6, and now 50.Kd4 Kb5 51.Kc3 e3 52.Kd3 Kxb4 53.Kxe3 Kc3–+ Opposition; 47...Kb7–+ wins as well. 48.Kb3? Too passive. The active 48.b5! saves the day: 48...Kc7 (48...Ka5 49.Kc5 e3 50.b6 e2 51.b7 e1Q 52.b8Q= (Golubev)) 49.Kd4 Kb7 50.Kc3! Kb6 51.Kc4 e3 52.Kd3 Kxb5 53.Kxe3 Kc4 54.Ke2=

Chess School 4 by Slobodan Mirkovic

[FEN "8/8/6p1/5p1p/2k2P1P/6P1/4K3/ 8 b - - 0 54"]

Diagonal opposition is when all corners of the rectangle around the kings have the same color: in this case the light squares. The side not on move has the opposition: here White. 48...Kb5 49.Kc3 e3 50.Kd3 Kxb4 51.Kxe3 Kc3!

[FEN "8/8/6p1/5p1p/5P1P/2k1K1P1/ 8/8 w - - 0 52"]

Normal Opposition. 52.Ke2 Kc2

[FEN "8/8/6p1/5p1p/5P1P/6P1/2k1K3/ 8 w - - 0 53"]

Opposition on the main line, which goes through the middle of the three key squares e1, e2, and e3. 52...Kc4? is an error, as the opposition after 53.Kd2 Kd4 is not enough:

[FEN "8/8/6p1/5p1p/3k1P1P/6P1/3K4/ 8 w - - 0 54"]

This cannot be improved to the opposition in the direction left to right: 54. Ke2 Ke4 55.Kf2 Kd3 56.Kf3!=

[FEN "8/8/6p1/5p1p/5P1P/3k1KP1/8/8 b - - 0 56"]

White has the all important opposition. 53.Ke3 53.Ke1 Kd3–+. 53...Kd1! The typical way to exploit the opposition. 54.Kf2 The counterattack 54.Kd4 Ke2 55.Ke5 Kf3 56.Kf6 Kxg3 57.Kxg6

[FEN "8/8/6K1/5p1p/5P1P/6k1/8/8 b - - 0 57"]

runs into 57...Kg4!!–+. 54...Kd2 55.Kf3 55.Kf1 Ke3–+. 55...Ke1

[FEN "8/8/6p1/5p1p/5P1P/5KP1/ 8/4k3 w - - 0 56"]

Finally, the king has penetrated to a key square. This prooves that Black wins. 56.Ke3 After 56.Kg2 Ke2 57.Kg1 Kf3 58.Kh2 Kf2 59.Kh3 Kg1, White must throw himself onto his own sword:

[FEN "8/8/6p1/5p1p/5P1P/6PK/8/6k1 w - - 0 60"]

60.g4 hxg4+ 61.Kg3 Kf1 62.Kh2 Kf2–+. 56...Kf1 57.Kf3 Kg1 0–1 Exercises (Solutions next month) E130.01 Carbone, Stefano (1911) – Naumkin, I (2486) 1st ASDEC Open A Messina ITA (3), 30.08.2011

[FEN "8/8/6p1/1k1K1p2/4p1P1/7p/5P1P/ 8 b - - 0 61"]

Why was 61.g3–g4 a blunder? E130.02 Langer, M (2180) – Panjwani, R (2420) 1st Metropolitan International Los Angeles USA (1), 17.08.2011

[FEN "8/3p1p2/8/4P3/3K4/6k1/8/8 w - - 0 80"]

Where should White's king go? E130.03 Guerrero, Alv (2210) – Bassan, R (2356) 3rd Julio Bolbochan Mem Banfield ARG (2.5), 30.08.2011

[FEN "8/8/4Kpk1/4p3/4P3/6P1/8/8 w - - 0 68"]

White to move and draw. E130.04 Garcia Sanchez Navarro, M (1573) – Perez Ortego, A (1581) XXVIII Collado Villalba Open ESP (6), 28.08.2011

[FEN "8/3k4/1P1p4/3K1p1p/8/6P1/8/8 b - - 0 63"]

How to assess the position with Black to move? E130.05 Banas, J (2320) – Petenyi, T (2398) Richard Reti Mem Trnava SVK (3.6), 30.08.2011

[FEN "8/6pp/5k2/8/5P1P/6K1/8/8 b - - 0 56"]

Black to move and win. E130.06 Kalmachevskikh, V (2293) – Kabanov, N (2520) VII Ugra Governor's Cup Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (8), 07.09.2011

[FEN "8/8/3kp3/4p1p1/4K1P1/7P/8/8 w - - 0 54"]

White to move and draw. E130.07 Kiewra, K (2351) – Khachiyan, M (2505) 1st Metropolitan International Los Angeles USA (5), 19.08.2011

[FEN "8/8/4k1p1/1p5p/3p1P2/P6P/4K1P1/8 w - - 0 39"]

White to move and win. E130.08 Rasulov, Vu (2523) – Javanbakht, N (2311) 3rd Zenderood Open Esfahan IRI (5), 04.09.2011

[FEN "8/8/8/2k1K1p1/1p4P1/1P6/8/8 w - - 0 52"]

Solutions to last month exercises E129.01 Howell, D (2625) – Ansell, S (2410) 98th ch-GBR Sheffield ENG (9), 03.08.2011

[FEN "2rk4/3p4/pR1Kp3/P1P1Pp2/4bP2/ 3B4/2P2R2/1r6 w - - 0 33"]

Black has just played 32...Rb1. How to react? Howell reacted forcefully with 33.Rxa6! 33.Rxb1?? Rc6#. 33...Bxd3 33...Bb7 34.Rh2 Ke8 (34...Bxa6 35.Rh8#) 35.Rh8+ Kf7 36.Rxc8 Bxc8 37.Ra8 Bb7 38. Rb8+–; 33...Rd1 34.Rh2+–. 34.Rh2! Bxa6 35.Rh8# 1–0 E129.02 Girish, A Koushik (2309) – Grandelius, Nils (2542) 50th World Junior Championship Chennai IND (8), 10.08.2011

[FEN "8/r3p2R/6p1/p4k2/2p2P2/Ppn2KP1/ 8/3R4 w - - 0 32"]

Who comes first: White's attack or Black's pawns? (White to move) Girish uncorked 32.Re1!, which weaves a mating net. Black can neither escape nor bring in defenders. 32...g5 32...Kf6 33.g4 g5 (33...Rd7 34.g5+ Kf5 35.Re5#; 33...e5 34.Rxa7 e4+ 35.Ke3+–) 34.f5 e5 35.Rxa7 e4+ 36.Rxe4 Nxe4 37.Kxe4 c3 38.Kd3+–. 33.g4+ Kg6 33...Kf6 34.f5+-. 34.Reh1 gxf4 35. R1h6+ Kg5 36.Re6 1–0 E129.03 Mazi, L (2332) – Beliavsky, A (2613) 19th Vidmar Mem Ljubljana SLO (4), 09.08.2011

[FEN "2R5/8/8/2P2p2/4k3/3p1N1P/ 5nPK/1r6 b - - 0 77"]

How did Beliavsky close the net? Black closed the escape road with 77...Kf4!, and White resigned because of 78.Ng1 (78.c6?! Rh1#) 78...d2–+. E129.04 Rombaldoni, Ax (2459) – Rombaldoni, D (2495) 1st Alghero Open ITA (8.6), 02.09.2011

[FEN "8/1B6/p1PRpk2/5b2/1Pr2P1K/ 8/8/8 b - - 0 66"]

Why was 66.c5-c6?? a blunder? It was a blunder because of 66...Rc3! 0–1 When Rh3 mate cannot be avoided in the long run. E129.05 Sokolov, Ivan (2672) – Collutiis, D (2468) 1st Alghero Open ITA (2.1), 27.08.2011

[FEN "2k5/p2R3p/2P5/2r5/2N5/8/ 3K4/8 w - - 0 53"]

How did Sokolov win? Sokolov found a nice finish: 53.Nd6+ Kb8 54.c7+ 1–0 54.Rb7+ Ka8 55.c7 wins as well. Black resigned because of 54...Rxc7 55.Rd8+ Rc8 56.Rxc8#. E129.06 Rombaldoni, D (2495) – Braga, F (2447) 1st Alghero Open ITA (9.6), 03.09.2011

[FEN "1Q6/8/p2p2p1/P1pPpk1p/2q5/ 4B3/3K1P2/8 w - - 0 51"]

White to move and win. White wins in a direct attack: 51.Qc8+! The right way. Both 51.Qf8+? Kg4= and 51.Qb1+? e4= lead to nothing. 51...Ke4 51...Kf6? 52.Qf8#. 52.f3+! 1–0

[FEN "2Q5/8/p2p2p1/P1pPp2p/2q1k3/ 4BP2/3K4/8 b - - 0 52"]

Rombaldoni's tactical point. Black resigned because of 52...Kxf3 (52...Kxd5 53.Qg8++–) 53.Qh3+ Ke4 54.Qh1+ The queen uses the whole board. 54...Kf5 55.Qf3+ Qf4 56.Bxf4 exf4 57.Qh3++–. E129.07 Bu Xiangzhi (2675) – Gupta, Abhijeet (2627) FIDE World Cup 2011 Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (3.2), 04.09.2011

[FEN "3Q4/8/6p1/1p3p1k/1q6/5PpP/ 2Bb2K1/8 w - - 0 61"]

White won with a surprising shot. Can you find it? Bu uncorked the amazing shot 61.f4!! 1–0 Black resigned because of 61... Qxf4 (61...Bxf4 62.Bd1+ Kh6 63.Qh8+ Kg5 64.h4#) 62.Bd1+ Kh6 63.Qh8+ Kg5 64.h4+ Qxh4 65.Qd8++–, as given in Chess Today #3953. E129.08 Miezis, Normunds (2520) – Bauer, Christian (2637) Biel MTO SUI (5), 21.07.2011

[FEN "8/7n/7P/8/8/4n3/5k1K/8 b - - 0 115"]

Find the quickest win for Black! Bauer missed the shortest road to victory: 115...Ng4+?! 115...Ng5!? closes the net immediately: 116.h7 Ng4+ 117.Kh1 Ne4 118.h8Q Ng3#. 116.Kh3 Kf3 117.Kh4 Ngf6 118.Kh3 Ne4 119.Kh2 Kf2 120.Kh3 Nef6 ½–½ Most likely the draw was agreed because of the fifty-move rule. From a theoretical point of view, Black is still winning. The h-pawn has crossed the Troitzky line, but White's king is imprisoned in a losing zone.

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Breakthroughs Pawn Breakthroughs often create an artistic impression and they happen in more than just pawn endings.

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A) Kasparov's Breakthrough Normally blitz games should not be analysed, but when Garry Kasparov plays matters are different.

Endgame Corner

131.01 Kasparov, Garry (2812) – Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime (2715) Clichy FRA (1), 17.09.2011

Karsten Müller

Endgame Magic by Efstratios Grivas

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[FEN "2Rbk3/1p3p1p/p4P2/4P1PP/ 3r4/3pNK2/P7/8 w - - 0 48"]

48.e6? A breakthrough is the right concept, but this is the wrong way. 48.g6! hxg6 49. hxg6 fxg6 50.e6, as given in Chess Today #3966 wins:

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[FEN "2Rbk3/1p6/p3PPp1/8/3r4/3pNK2/ P7/8 b - - 0 50"]

50...Rd6 (50...d2 51.e7 d1Q+ 52.Nxd1 Rxd1 53.exd8Q+ Rxd8 54.f7+ Ke7 55. Rxd8 Kxd8 56.f8Q++–) A) The direct 51.e7?? runs into 51...Rxf6+ 52.Ke4 Kxe7 53.Nd5+ Kd7–+. B) 51.Nd5? Rxe6 52.Rxd8+ (52.f7+ Kxf7 53.Rxd8 Re2 54.Nc3 Rb2 55.Rxd3 b5=) 52...Kxd8 53.f7 Re8 54.fxe8Q+ Kxe8 55.Ke3 Kd7 56.Kxd3 g5=. C) 51.Nf5!! A very beautiful shot to close the f-file. 51...gxf5 (51...d2?! 52. Nxd6+ Kf8 53.Rxd8#; 51...Rxe6 52.Ng7+ Kf7 53.Nxe6 Bxf6 54.Nc5 d2 55. Ke2+–) 52.e7 d2 53.exd8Q+ Rxd8 54.f7+

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Chess Informant 110-112 CD by Chess Informant

[FEN "2Rrk3/1p3P2/p7/5p2/8/5K2/ P2p4/8 b - - 0 54"]

What a picture! 54...Ke7 55.Rxd8 Kxd8 56.f8Q++–. 48...d2? Vachier-Lagrave follows the rule that passed pawns must be pushed. But first he had to deal with the threats on the kingside. 48...fxe6! 49.g6 hxg6 50.hxg6

[FEN "2Rbk3/1p6/p3pPP1/8/3r4/3pNK2/ P7/8 b - - 0 50"]

50...e5! And Black can offer very tenacious resistance as White's rook and knight do not cooperate well here; e.g., (50...d2? 51.Ke2+–) A) 51.f7+ Kf8 52.Kf2 A1) 52...d2? 53.Ke2 Rd6 54.Kd1 e4 (54...Rxg6 55.Rxd8+ Kxf7 56.Rd7+ Ke8 57.Rxb7+–) 55.Ng4 Rxg6 56.Rxd8+ Kxf7 57.Ne5+ Ke7 58.Nxg6+ Kxd8 59. Kxd2 b5 60.Ke3 Kc7 61.Ne5 Kb6 62.Kxe4 Ka5 63.Kd3 Ka4 64.Kc2 b4 65. Nc4 a5 66.Nd2 Ka3 67.Kb1 Ka4 68.Kb2 Kb5 69.Kc2 Ka4 70.Nb1 Kb5 71. Kd3 Kc5 72.Nd2 Kb5 73.Kd4 Ka4 74.Nb1 Kb5 75.Kd5 b3 76.a3 Ka4 77.Kc4 b2 78.Kc3+–; A2) 52...Rd6 53.Nc4 Rd5 54.Ke3 b5 55.Nd2 Rd6 56.Ne4 (56.Ke4 Rxg6 57. Rxd8+ Kxf7 58.Kxe5 b4 59.Rd7+ Ke8 60.Rxd3 Rg5+ 61.Ke6 Rg6+ 62.Kf5 Rg2) 56...Rxg6 57.Rxd8+ Kxf7 58.Rd7+ Kf8 59.Rxd3 Rc6

[FEN "5k2/8/p1r5/1p2p3/4N3/3RK3/ P7/8 w - - 0 60"]

B) 51.g7 Kf7 52.Rb8 Rf4+ 53.Kg3 Rxf6 54.Rxd8 Kxg7 55.Ng4 Rb6

[FEN "3R4/1p4k1/pr6/4p3/6N1/3p2K1/ P7/8 w - - 0 56"]

And in all three cases it is not clear if White can win because of the reduced winning potential. 49.e7 d1Q+ 50.Nxd1 Rxd1

[FEN "2Rbk3/1p2Pp1p/p4P2/6PP/8/ 5K2/P7/3r4 w - - 0 51"]

51.h6!? Kasparov prepares the break g5–g6. The immediate 51.g6 hxg6 52.h6 wins as well. Even 51.exd8Q+ Rxd8 52. Rxd8+ Kxd8 53.Ke4 is playable; e.g., 53...Kd7 54.Kd5 b6 55.a3 b5 56.Kc5 Kc7 57.g6+–. 51...Rd6 52.Kg2 Rd2+ 53.Kf3 Rd6 54.Ke2 Re6+ 55.Kd3 Rd6+ 55...Rxe7 56.fxe7 Kxe7 57.Rb8 b5 58.Rb7+ Ke6 59.g6 fxg6 60.Rxh7 Bf6 61. Ra7+–. 56.Ke4 b5 57.g6!?

[FEN "2Rbk3/4Pp1p/p2r1PPP/1p6/4K3/8/ P7/8 b - - 0 57"]

Finally the beautiful breakthrough is executed.

57...fxg6 (57...hxg6 58.h7+–) 58.exd8Q+ Rxd8 59.f7+ 1–0 B) Breaking the Pawn Chain At first sight the following pawn ending looks dead drawn. But looks can be deceptive. 131.02 Chatalbashev, B (2566) – Tratar, M (2477) 20th TCh-CRO 1b Sibenik (2.3), 05.10.2011

[FEN "5k2/1p4p1/1P3pKp/4p2P/4P1P1/ 5P2/8/8 w - - 0 55"]

55.g5!! 55.Kh7? Kf7 56.Kh8 Kf8= and 55.Kf5 Kf7 56.f4 exf4 57.Kxf4 Ke6 58.Kf3 Ke5 59.Ke3= are indeed dead drawn. 55...fxg5?! 55...hxg5!? is more complicated: 56.h6

[FEN "5k2/1p4p1/1P3pKP/4p1p1/4P3/ 5P2/8/8 b - - 0 56"]

The breakthrough continues. 56...gxh6 (56...Kg8 57.hxg7 g4 58.fxg4 f5 59. exf5 e4 60.f6 e3 61.f7#) 57.Kxf6 Ke8 58.Kg6! (Of course not 58.Kxe5? h5 59. Kf5 h4 60.Kg4 Ke7 61.f4 gxf4 62.Kxh4 Kd6 63.Kg4 Kc5 64.Kxf4 Kxb6=) 58...Kd7 (58...Ke7 59.Kxh6 Kf6 60.Kh5+–) 59.Kxh6 Kc6 60.Kxg5 Kxb6 61. Kf5 Kc5 62.Kxe5 b5

[FEN "8/8/8/1pk1K3/4P3/5P2/8/8 w - - 0 63"]

63.Kf4!? Good technique! (63.f4?! b4 64.f5 b3 65.f6 b2 66.f7 b1Q 67.f8Q+ Kc4 68.Qd6 mates in 52 moves according to the tablebase.) 63...Kd4 (63...b4 64.Ke3 Kc4 65.Kd2+–) 64.e5 Kd5 65.Kf5 b4 66.e6 Kd6 (66...b3 67.e7 b2 68. e8Q b1Q+ 69.Qe4++–) 67.Kf6 b3 68.e7 b2 69.e8Q b1Q 70.Qe7+ Kd5 71.Qe5 + Kc6 72.Qe4++–. 56.Kf5 Kf7 57.Kxe5

[FEN "8/1p3kp1/1P5p/4K1pP/4P3/5P2/ 8/8 b - - 0 57"]

57...g6 57...Ke7 does not help either: 58.Kf5 Kf7 59.e5 Ke7 60.Kg6 Ke6 61.Kxg7 Kxe5 62.Kxh6 Kf6 63.Kh7 Kf7 64.h6+–. 58.hxg6+ Kxg6 59.Kd6 Kf7 59...h5 60.e5 h4 61.e6 h3 62.e7 Kf7 63.Kd7 h2 64.e8Q++–. 60.e5 1–0 Black resigned because of 60...Ke8 61.Kc7 h5 62.Kxb7 h4 63.Kc7 h3 64.b7 h2 65.b8Q++–. C) Mikhalevski's Majorities In a pawn ending majorities on the wings are often very valuable. 131.03 Urkedal, Frode (2447) – Mikhalevski, Victor (2542) Oslo GM Open NOR (3), 04.10.2011

[FEN "8/p6p/1p2k1p1/r3P3/8/5PP1/ P2R4/3K4 b - - 0 38"]

38...Rd5!? Good technique! The resulting rook ending after 38...Rxe5 39.Rh2 h5 is most probably won as well, but not as easy as the pawn ending. 39.f4 b5 40.Ke2 Rxd2+ 41.Kxd2 a5 42.Ke3 Kd5!

[FEN "8/7p/6p1/pp1kP3/5P2/4K1P1/ P7/8 w - - 0 43"]

This bodycheck is Black's point. Now his pawn majorities on both wings will win. 42...g5? blows it: 43.Ke4 gxf4 44.gxf4 b4 45.f5+ Ke7 46.Kd5 a4 47.e6 (47. Kc4? h5–+) 47...b3 48.axb3 axb3 49.f6+ Kxf6 50.Kd6 b2 51.e7 b1Q 52.e8Q Qg6 53.Qe5+ Kf7+ 54.Kd5=. 43.Kd3 g5 44.Ke3 44.fxg5 Kxe5 45.Ke3 Kf5 46.Kd4 Kxg5 47.Kc5 Kg4 48.Kxb5 Kxg3 49.Kxa5 h5–+. 44...g4 45.Kd3 h5 0–1 White resigned because of 46.Ke3 b4 47.Kd3 a4 48.Kc2 (48.e6 Kxe6 49.Kc4 h4 50.gxh4 g3–+) 48...h4 49.gxh4 g3–+. D) The Quartgriff The formation with pawns e5, f4, g4, h5 against e6, f7, g7, h6 is also called Quartgriff in German. White's space advantage gives him a dangerous option to break through. 131.04 Getz, N (2391) – Azarov, S (2648) 27th ECC Rogaska Slatina SLO (4.6), 28.09.2011

[FEN "8/5pp1/4p2p/3pP2P/3P4/1k2KPP1/ 8/8 b - - 0 45"]

45...g6! Good prophylaxis against White's intensions to break through. Here the typical 45...Kc3? 46.g4 Kc4? is wrong due to the coming typical pawn breakthrough. (46...f6 is the last chance to fight: 47.exf6 gxf6 48.f4 e5 49.fxe5 fxe5 50.dxe5 d4+ 51.Ke2 Kc2 52.e6 d3+ 53.Kf2 d2 54.e7 d1Q 55. e8Q Qd4+ 56.Kf3 Qc3+ with drawing chances.) 47.f4 Kc3 48.f5 Kc4 (48... exf5 49.gxf5 Kc4 50.e6+–) 49.g5

[FEN "8/5pp1/4p2p/3pPPPP/2kP4/4K3/ 8/8 b - - 0 49"]

And the typical Quartgriff breakthrough pawn formation is on the board 49... Kc3 (49...exf5 50.g6 fxg6 51.e6+–; 49...hxg5 50.f6 gxf6 51.h6 fxe5 52.h7 exd4+ 53.Kd2+–) 50.f6 (50.g6+–) 50...gxf6 51.gxh6 fxe5 52.h7 exd4+ 53.Kf2 d3 54.h8Q++–. 46.hxg6 fxg6 47.g4!

[FEN "8/8/4p1pp/3pP3/3P2P1/1k2KP2/ 8/8 b - - 0 47"]

47.f4? h5–+. 47...g5! White's breakthroughs can only be stopped this way. 47...h5? 48.gxh5 gxh5 49.f4 h4 50.f5 exf5 51.e6 h3 52.Kf2+–; 47...Kc4? 48. f4 Kc3 49.f5 gxf5 50.gxf5 exf5 51.e6+–. 48.f4 gxf4+ 49.Kxf4 Kc4

[FEN "8/8/4p2p/3pP3/2kP1KP1/ 8/8/8 w - - 0 50"]

50.g5! White's counterattack is just in time. The passive 50.Ke3? is met by 50...Kc3– +. 50...hxg5+ 51.Kxg5 Kxd4 52.Kf6 Kc5 53.Kxe6 d4 54.Kf7 ½–½

E) Rozentalis Double Breakthrough 131.05 Rozentalis,Eduardas (2575) – Gronn,Atle (2378) Oslo GM Open NOR (6.7), 06.10.2011

[FEN "2k5/4b3/1pp2p1p/p3pP1P/P1P1NpP1/ 1P1K1P2/8/8 w - - 0 42"]

In this blocked position the knight is obviously much better than the bishop. But how to make progress? 42.c5!? First Rozentalis opens a road on the queenside. 42.g5 wins as well: 42...fxg5 43.Nf2 Kd7 44.Ng4 Bf8 45.c5+–; 42.Nf2 is also possible; e.g., 42...Bc5 (42...Bf8 43.g5 hxg5 44.Ng4 Bg7 45.h6 Bh8 46.c5 Kb7 47.Kc4 Kc7 48.cxb6+ Kxb6 49.h7 Bg7 50.Nf2 Bh8 51.Ne4 Bg7 52.b4 +–) 43.g5+–. 42...bxc5 42...b5 43.g5 fxg5 44.Nf2 Bxc5 45.Ng4 Bf8 (45...e4+ 46.Kxe4 Bf8 47.f6 Kd7 48.Kf5 Kd6 49.Ne5 bxa4 50.bxa4 Kd5 51.Nd7 Bd6 52.f7 c5 53.Nb6+ Kc6 54. Nc4 Bf8 55.Ke4+–) 46.Nxe5 Kc7 47.f6 Bd6 48.Ng6 c5 49.axb5 Kb6 50.Kc4 g4 51.f7 gxf3 52.Kd5 f2 53.Kxd6 f1Q 54.Ne7 Qd3+ 55.Nd5+ Kxb5 56.f8Q +–; 42...Kc7 43.g5 fxg5 44.f6 Bf8 45.cxb6+ Kxb6 46.Nd2 Kc5 47.Ke4 Kb4 48.Nc4 c5 49.Nxe5 Kxb3 50.Nd7 Bd6 51.Kd5 c4 52.Kxd6 c3 53.Nc5+ Kc4 54.f7 c2 55.f8Q c1Q 56.Qf7++–. 43.g5!!

[FEN "2k5/4b3/2p2p1p/p1p1pPPP/P3Np2/ 1P1K1P2/8/8 b - - 0 43"]

And in the next step he opens the other wing. Very beautiful! 43...fxg5 44.Nf2 c4+ 44...Bf6 45.Ng4 Bg7 46.Ke4 Kc7 47.f6 Bf8 48.Nxe5 Kd6 49.Ng6+–. 45.bxc4 Kd7 46.Ng4 Bf8 47.Nxe5+ Kd6 48.Ke4 Bg7 49.Ng4 Bf8

49...Ke7 50.f6+ Bxf6 51.Nxh6 Ke6 52.c5 Bh8 53.Ng4 Bg7 54.h6 Bh8 55.h7 Ba1 56.Nh6 Bb2 57.Nf5 Kf7 58.Kd3 Bf6 59.Nd6+ Kg6 60.Nc4 Kxh7 61. Nxa5 Be7 62.Nb3 Bd8 63.a5 Bc7 64.a6 Bb8 65.Na5 Ba7 66.Kd4 g4 67.fxg4 f3 68.Ke3 Bxc5+ 69.Kxf3 Kg6 70.Nxc6 Kg5 71.a7 Bxa7 72.Nxa7+–. 50.f6 Ke6 50...Kc5 51.Ne5 Kb4 52.Nd7 Bd6 53.c5 Domination! 53...Bxc5 54.Nxc5 Kxc5 55.f7+–. 51.Ne5 Kxf6 (51...c5 52.Ng4+–) 52.Nxc6 Bb4

[FEN "8/8/2N2k1p/p5pP/PbP1Kp2/ 5P2/8/8 w - - 0 53"]

53.Ne5! White keeps full control. Of course not 53.Nxb4? axb4 54.a5 b3 55.Kd3 b2 56. Kc2 g4 57.a6 b1Q+ 58.Kxb1 gxf3 59.a7 f2 60.a8Q f1Q+–+. 53...Ke6 54.Ng4 Bf8 55.Kd4 Kd6 56.c5+ Kc6 57.Ne5+ Kc7 58.Kd5 Bg7 59. Ng4 Bf8 59...Kd7 60.c6+ Kc7 61.Kc5 Bf8+ 62.Kb5+–. 60.Kc4 Kc6 61.Ne5+ Kc7 62.Kb5 Bg7 63.Ng4 Bf8 64.Kxa5 Kc6 65.Kb4 Bxc5+ 66.Kc4 Bf8 67.Kd4 Kb6 68.Kd5 Ka5 69.Ke6 Kxa4 70.Kf7 Bb4 71. Nxh6 Kb3 72.Ng4 Kc2 73.h6 1–0 Black resigned because of 73...Bc3 74.Nf6 Bxf6 75.Kxf6 g4 76.h7 gxf3 77. h8Q f2 78.Qh2 Kd2 79.Qxf2++–. F) Deep Breakthrough When exchanging into a pawn endgame always great care is called for. In the following example, Tunik had calculated very far ahead. 131.06 Tunik, G (2412) – Duzhakov, I (2325) Chigorin Memorial Open St. Petersburg RUS (8.50), 21.10.2011

[FEN "6k1/ppn2p2/8/2P2P1p/1P2K3/ 2N5/P7/8 w - - 0 37"]

37.Nd5!! Nxd5

Staying in the knight ending with 37...Ne8 does not help as White's central forces are dominating; e.g., 38.b5 f6 39.Kf4 Kf7 40.a4 Kg7 41.a5 Kf7 42.c6 bxc6 43.bxc6 Nd6 44.c7 Nc8 45.Kg3 Nd6 46.Kh3 Nc8 47.Kh4 Nd6 48.Kxh5 +–. 38.Kxd5 h4 39.Ke4 White is inside the square of the rook's pawn. But Black in the end not as Tunik will show. 39...h3 40.Kf3 Kg7 40...a6 41.Kg3 Kg7 42.Kxh3 Kf6 43.Kg4+–. 41.b5 Kf6 42.a4! Kxf5 42...Ke5 43.a5 Kd5 44.c6 bxc6 45.b6 Kd6 46.bxa7+–. 43.a5!

[FEN "8/pp3p2/8/PPP2k2/8/5K1p/8/8 b - - 0 43"]

43...Ke6 43...a6 44.c6 bxc6 45.bxa6+–. 44.c6 b6 After 44...bxc6, follows the typical breakthrough: 45.b6 axb6 46.a6+–, which was planned by Tunik when he decided to exchange the knights. 45.axb6 45.a6? spoils it; e.g., 45...h2 46.Kg2 Kd6 47.Kxh2 Kc7 48.Kg3 Kd6 49.Kf4 Ke6 50.Kg5 Ke7 51.Kf5 Kd8 52.Kf6 Ke8=, as now 53.c7 Kd7 54.Kxf7 Kxc7 55.Ke7 Kb8 56.Kd7 Ka8 57.Kc7 leads to stalemate. 45...axb6 46.Kg3 Kd6 47.Kxh3 Kc7 48.Kg4 Kc8 49.Kf5 Kc7 49...Kd8 50.Kf6 Ke8 51.c7 Kd7 52.Kxf7 Kxc7 53.Ke7+– transposes. 50.Kf6 Kc8 51.Kxf7 Kd8 52.Ke6 Kc8

[FEN "2k5/8/1pP1K3/1P6/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 53"]

53.c7! The pride of White's position is simply sacrificed to get at the pawn b6. 53...Kxc7 54.Ke7 White has reached a key square. 54...Kc8 55.Kd6 Kb7 56.Kd7 Ka7 57.Kc7 Ka8 58.Kxb6 Kb8 59.Ka6 1–0 After 59.Kc6?! Ka7 White must retreat: 60.Kc7! Ka8 61.Kb6 Kb8 62.Ka6!+–. G) Corresponding Squares This theory is quite advanced and usually only occurs in its basic forms, when the concepts of opposition and triangulation are all you need to master. But sometimes the real deep theory is needed to really understand what is going on: 131.07 Kovalenko, I (2578) – Levin, Ev (2481) Chigorin Memorial Open St. Petersburg RUS (8.16), 21.10.2011

[FEN "3k4/2p5/1p6/3Pp1p1/2P1PpPp/ K4P1P/8/8 b - - 0 70"]

In this case Black must be able to meet Kb5 with Kd6 and Kb4 with Kd7 to answer 1.c5 with the counter-blow 1...c6! the point of the defense. So Ka4 must be met by Ke7 to be able to reach d7 and d6. So it seems to be drawn by 70...Ke8 but this misses one point. After Kb3 White threatens the pawn advance c4–c5 so Black must be able to answer Kb3 with Kd6 which completes the system of corresponding squares. As Black can not win the fight for the correspondence he loses, whatever he does. 70...Kd7 70...Ke8!? is more tricky: 71.Kb3! A) 71...Kd8 72.c5 bxc5 73.Kc4 Kc8 74.Kxc5 Kd7 Now a triangulation decides: 75.Kc4 Ke7 (75...Kd6 76.Kb5+–; 75...c6 76.Kc5 cxd5 77.Kxd5+–) 76.Kb4 Kd6 77.Kb5 Kd7 78.Kc5+–. B) 71...Ke7 72.Ka4! Kd7 73.Kb4! Kd6 74.Kb5!+–. 71.Ka4? White gives Black the correspondence. 71.Kb4! wins as 71...c6 is met by 72.Kc3 b5 (72...cxd5 73.cxd5 Kc8 74.Kc4 Kd7 75.Kb5 Kc7 76.Ka6+–; 72...c5 73.Kb3+–; 72...Kd6 73.dxc6 Kxc6 74. Kb4 transposes to the game.) 73.dxc6+ Kxc6 74.Kb4 bxc4 75.Kxc4+– Opposition. 71.Kb3? Kd6!=. 71...c6?

71...Ke7! keeps the correspondence and draws because of 72.Kb4 (72.Kb5 Kd6 73.Kb4 c6 74.dxc6 Kxc6 75.Kb3 Kc5 76.Kc3 b5 77.cxb5 Kxb5 78. Kb3=) 72...Kd7 73.c5 (73.Kb5 Kd6=) 73...c6!!

[FEN "8/3k4/1pp5/2PPp1p1/1K2PpPp/ 5P1P/8/8 w - - 0 74"]

The hidden counterblow 74.cxb6 cxd5 75.exd5 e4 76.Kc3 (76.fxe4? f3 77.d6 f2 78.b7 f1Q 79.b8Q Qb1+–+) 76...e3 77.Kd3 Kd6=. 71...Kd6? 72.Kb5 Kd7 73.c5 bxc5 74.Kxc5 Ke7 75.Kc6 Kd8 76.d6 Kc8 77. Kd5+–. 72.dxc6+ Kxc6 73.Kb4 1–0 Black resigned because of 73...Kc7 74.Kb5 Kb7 75.c5 bxc5 76.Kxc5 Ka6 77. Kd5 Kb5 78.Kxe5 Kc4 79.Kf5 Kd4 80.e5 Ke3 81.e6 Kxf3 82.e7 Kg2 83.e8Q f3 84.Qe4+–. Solutions to last month exercises E130.01 Carbone, Stefano (1911) – Naumkin, I (2486) 1st ASDEC Open A Messina ITA (3), 30.08.2011

[FEN "8/8/6p1/1k1K1p2/4p1P1/7p/5P1P/ 8 b - - 0 61"]

Why was 61.g3-g4 a blunder? 61.g4 was a blunder because of the breakthrough 61...e3! But not 61...fxg4? 62.Kxe4 Kc4 63.Kf4 Kd4 64.Kxg4 Ke4 65.Kxh3 Kf3=. 62.fxe3 fxg4 By the way 62...g5?! wins surprisingly as well. 63.e4 63.Ke4 g3 64.Kf3 gxh2–+. 63... g3 64.e5 gxh2 0–1 E130.02 Langer, M (2180) – Panjwani, R (2420) 1st Metropolitan International Los Angeles USA (1), 17.08.2011

[FEN "8/3p1p2/8/4P3/3K4/6k1/8/8 w - - 0 80"]

Where should White's king go? Opposition is the right concept but it must also be applied in the correct way: 80.Ke3? The normal opposition is wrong here as White can not use all squares to defend it. White must fight the duel as follows: 80.Kc3!

[FEN "8/3p1p2/8/4P3/8/2K3k1/8/8 b - - 0 80"]

Distant opposition 80...Kf4 81.Kd4 Kf3 82.Kd3 Kg2 83.Kc2 Kg1 84.Kc1=; 80.Kd5? Kf3–+ Diagonal Opposition. 80...Kg4 81.Ke4 Kg5 And now White can not maintain the vital normal opposition as e6 is not available for his king. 82.Kd4 82.Ke3 Kf5 83.Kd4 Kf4 84.Kd5 Ke3–+. 82...Kf4 Opposition 83.Kd5 Ke3 0–1 White resigned because of 84.Kc5 Ke4 85.Kd6 Kd4 86.Kxd7 Kxe5 87.Ke7 f5–+. E130.03 Guerrero, Alv (2210) – Bassan, R (2356) 3rd Julio Bolbochan Mem Banfield ARG (2.5), 30.08.2011

[FEN "8/8/4Kpk1/4p3/4P3/6P1/8/8 w - - 0 68"]

White to move and draw. White must reach the reciprocal zugzwang position wKe6 vs bKg5 on the right foot: 68.g4? 68.Kd6! Kh6 69.Ke7 Kg5 70.Ke6 Reciprocal zugzwang with Black to move and so a draw results: 70...Kg6 71.Kd6 Kf7 72.Kd5=. 68. Kd5? Kh5 69.Ke6 Kg5! Reciprocal zugzwang with White to move and lose: 70.Kf7 f5 71.exf5 Kxf5–+. 68...Kg5! 69.Kf7 Kxg4 0–1 White resigned because of 70.Kxf6 Kf4 71.Ke6 Kxe4–+. E130.04 Garcia Sanchez Navarro, M (1573) – Perez Ortego, A (1581)

XXVIII Collado Villalba Open ESP (6), 28.08.2011

[FEN "8/3k4/1P1p4/3K1p1p/8/6P1/8/8 b - - 0 63"]

How to assess the position with Black to move? Pawn races must always be calculated carefully: 63...f4? Only 63...Kc8! saves the day as both sides manage to queen: 64.Kxd6 (64.Kc6? f4 65.gxf4 h4–+) 64...h4 65.gxh4 f4 66.h5 f3 67.h6 f2 68.h7 f1Q 69.h8Q+ Kb7 70.Qd4 Qf8+=. 63...h4? 64.gxh4 f4 65.Ke4 Kc6 66.h5 Kxb6 67.h6+–. 64.gxf4 h4 65.Ke4 d5+

[FEN "8/3k4/1P6/3p4/4KP1p/8/8/8 w - - 0 66"]

65...Kc6 66.f5+–. 66.Kxd5? This greedy capture loses the race. 66.Kf3! keeps both black pawns under control just long enough: 66...d4 (66...Kc6 67.f5 Kxb6 68.f6+–) 67.f5 h3 68.b7 Kc7 69.b8Q+ Kxb8 70.f6 h2 71.Kg2 d3 72.f7 h1Q+ 73.Kxh1 d2 74.f8Q++–. 66...h3 67.b7 Kc7 68.Ke4 68.f5 h2 69.f6 h1Q +–+. 68...h2 0–1 E130.05 Banas, J (2320) – Petenyi, T (2398) Richard Reti Mem Trnava SVK (3.6), 30.08.2011

[FEN "8/6pp/5k2/8/5P1P/6K1/8/8 b - - 0 56"]

Black to move and win. Black's king will invade, but one pawn move must come first: 56...h5! 56... Kf5? 57.h5!=. 57.Kf3 57.Kf2 Kf5 58.Kf3 g6 59.Kg3 (59.Ke3 Kg4 60.Ke4 Kxh4 61.Kf3 Kh3 62.f5 gxf5 63.Kf4 Kg2 64.Kxf5 h4 65.Kg4 h3–+) 59...Ke4 60.f5 gxf5–+. 57...Kf5 58.Ke3 58.Kg3 Ke4 59.f5 Kxf5 60.Kf3 g6 61.Kg3 Ke4–+. 58...Kg4 59.f5 Kxf5 59...Kxh4 wins as well: 60.Kf4 Kh3 61.Kg5 h4 62.Kg6 Kg4 63.Kxg7 Kxf5–+. 60.Kf3 g6 61.Kg3 Ke4 62.Kg2 Kf4 0–1

E130.06 Kalmachevskikh, V (2293) – Kabanov, N (2520) VII Ugra Governor's Cup Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (8), 07.09.2011

[FEN "8/8/3kp3/4p1p1/4K1P1/7P/8/8 w - - 0 54"]

White to move and draw. Surprisingly White can still defend: 54.Kf3? 54.Ke3! Kd5 55.h4 gxh4 56.g5 h3

[FEN "8/8/4p3/3kp1P1/8/4K2p/8/8 w - - 0 57"]

57.Kf2! (57.g6? h2 58.g7 h1Q 59.g8Q Qe1+ is won in 49 moves according to the endgame tablebase.) 57...e4 58.g6 h2 (58...e3+ 59.Kxe3 h2 60.g7 h1Q 61. g8Q=) 59.Kg2 e3 60.g7 h1Q+ 61.Kxh1 e2 62.g8Q e1Q+ 63.Kg2=. 54...Kd5 55.Kg3 Ke4 56.h4 gxh4+ 57.Kxh4 Kf4 0–1 White resigned because of 58.g5 (58.Kh5 e4–+; 58.Kh3 e4 59.Kg2 Kxg4 60.Kf2 Kf4 61.Ke2 e3 62.Ke1 Kf3 63. Kf1 e2+ 64.Ke1 e5 65.Kd2 Kf2–+) 58...e4 59.g6 e3 60.g7 e2 61.g8Q e1Q+ 62. Kh5 Qh1+ 63.Kg6 Qg2+ 64.Kf7 Qxg8+ 65.Kxg8 e5–+. E130.07 Kiewra, K (2351) – Khachiyan, M (2505) 1st Metropolitan International Los Angeles USA (5), 19.08.2011

[FEN "8/8/4k1p1/1p5p/3p1P2/P6P/ 4K1P1/8 w - - 0 39"]

White to move and win. Both sides must be very careful as all spare tempi will count. 39.g4? This gives away one valuable tempo. 39.Kd3 Kd5 (39...h4 40.Kxd4 Kd6 41.Ke4 Ke6 42.Kf3 Kf5 43.g4+ hxg3 44.Kxg3 g5 45.fxg5 Kxg5 46.Kf3 Kh4 47.Ke4 Kxh3 48.Kd4 Kg4 49.Kc5 Kf5 50.Kxb5 Ke6 51.Kc6 Ke7 52.Kc7+–) 40.g3!

[FEN "8/8/6p1/1p1k3p/3p1P2/P2K2PP/ 8/8 b - - 0 40"]

Uses the g-pawn to win the tempo and so the game: 40...Kc5 41.g4 hxg4 (41... Kd5 42.f5 gxf5 43.gxh5 Ke5 44.h6 Kf6 45.Kxd4 Kg6 46.Ke5 Kxh6 47.Kxf5 +–) 42.hxg4 Kd5 43.g5 Kc5 44.f5 gxf5 45.g6+–. 39...h4? 39...hxg4 40.hxg4 Kd5 41.Kd3 Kc5 42.f5 gxf5 43.gxf5 Kd5 44.f6 Ke6 45.Kxd4 Kxf6 46.Kc5 Ke7 47.Kxb5 Kd7 48.Kb6 Kc8=. 40.Kd3 Kd5 41.g5 1-0 Black resigned because of 41...Kc5 42.f5 gxf5 43.g6+–. E130.08 Rasulov, Vu (2523) – Javanbakht, N (2311) 3rd Zenderood Open Esfahan IRI (5), 04.09.2011

[FEN "8/8/8/2k1K1p1/1p4P1/1P6/8/8 w - - 0 52"]

White to move and win. White must give a bodycheck first: 52.Ke4!! 52.Kf5? Kd4 53.Kxg5 Kc3=. 52...Kd6 53.Kf5! But not 53.Kd4?! Ke6 54.Kc4? Ke5 55.Kxb4 Kf4 56.Ka5 Kxg4 57.b4 Kf5 58.b5 g4 (58...Ke6? 59.b6 Kd7 60.Ka6+–) 59.b6 g3 60.b7 g2 61.b8Q g1Q=. 53...Kd5 54.Kxg5 Kd4 55.Kf4 Kc3 56.g5 Kxb3 1–0 Black resigned because of 57.g6 Kc2 58.g7 b3 59.g8Q b2 60.Qc4+ Kd2 61.Qb3 Kc1 62.Qc3+ Kb1 63.Ke3 Ka2 64.Qc2 Ka1 65.Qa4+ Kb1 66.Kd3 Kc1 67.Qc2#.

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Kantorovich/Steckner Position Redux Vardan Poghosyan from Armenia has found an amazing way to save Black and has kindly allowed me to use his analysis and notes, which I have edited and shortened. W. Micawber has checked Poghosyan's analysis, which was published on ChessPub.com and made corrections and additions:

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132.01 Kantorovich 1989

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

Endgame Magic by Efstratios Grivas

[FEN"8/R4p2/P4kp1/7p/7P/4K1P1/r4P2/8 w - - 0 1"]

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"V. Kantorovich considered this position in 1989 as draw with two tempi to spare. But 2003 J. Steckner came to the conclusion that White to play wins with 1.Kd4. His analysis has been endorsed by such great endgame authorities like M. Dvoretsky and K. Müller. Steckner's discovery has been regarded by Dvoretsky as a revolutionary change in the theory of this portion of endgame. But I think that with correct defence Black is able to reach a draw. In my analysis I will refer to the 2. edition of the Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual (DEM, 2008), since it summarizes very well the main points of the theoretical discussions of 2003."

1000TN!! by Chess Informant

1.Kd4 g5!! That this draws is Poghosyan's discovery.

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Chess Informant 110-112 CD by Chess Informant

[FEN"8/R4p2/P4k2/6pp/3K3P/6P1/r4P2/8 w - - 0 2"]

1...Rxf2? 2.Rc7 Ra2 3.a7 Kf5 4.Kc4 loses as Steckner proved in 2003. 2.Kd5 "Now 2... gxh4? loses (see the next example 132.02). The only move to draw is 2...g4." 2.Kc5 gxh4 ("Black can draw also with 2...g4 See the variation 2.Kd5 g4.") 3. gxh4 Ke5

[FEN"8/R4p2/P7/2K1k2p/7P/8/r4P2/8 w - - 0 4"]

And we are now back in familiar territory: "(1...g5!? (DEM p.197; Kantorovich Black to move) after 2.Kd4 gh 3.gh Ke6 (DEM, p.199) 4.Kc4 (I think it is a misprint in DEM and should be 4.Kc5, since White plays later 6. Kb6. In Chesscafe, The Instructor, n. 39, p.4 Dvoretsky gives 4.Kc5) 4... Ke5.)" A) 4.Kb6 Rb2+ 5.Kc7 "(Transposition to DEM, p.202, n.9.153, variation A. 6. Kb5 Rb2+ 7.Kc6 Rc2+ 8.Kb6 Rb2+ 9.Kc7.)" 5...Ra2! (5...Rc2+? 6.Kd8!+–) 6. Kb8 "(According to DEM, Kb8 is weaker than Ra8 because of ..f5 11. Re7+ Kf6, but ...f5? actually loses)" (6.Ra8 Kf4! 7.Kb7 Rb2+ 8.Ka7!= Micawber: "Steckner/Dvoretsky; Now besides 8...f5= (Dvoretsky) 8....Rxf2= as Poghosyan proves; transposition to 3....Ke5 4. Ra8 iso 4.Kb6 Kf4! 5.Kb6 Rb2 + 6.Ka7") 6...f5? This loses surprisingly. (6...f6! 7.Kb7 Rxf2 8.Ra8 Rb2+! 9. Ka7 Kd6!=; 6...Ke6 draws as well.) 7.Re7+ Kf6

[FEN"1K6/4R3/P4k2/5p1p/7P/8/r4P2/8 w - - 0 8"]

"Dvoretsky judged this position mistakenly as drawn" (Micawber) 8.Rh7!! "New discovery by Poghosyan - this move wins." (Micawber) 8...Kg6 9.a7 Kxh7 10.a8Q Rxa8+ 11.Kxa8 f4 12.f3!+–; B) 4.Ra8 Kf4 5.Kb6 Rb2+ 6.Ka7 "( 1.. .g5!? (DEM p. 197; Kantorovich Black to move) after 2.Kd4 gh 3.gh Ra5 4.Kc4 Ke5 5.Kb4 Ra2 6. Kb5 Rb2+ 7. Kc6 Rc2+ 8.Kb6 Rb2+ 9.Kc7 Ra2 10. Ra8 Kf4 11.Kb7 Rb2+ 12.Ka7 (DEM, p. 197). This position is rightly considered as a draw but there are some flaws in the analysis in DEM:" B1) 6...Rxf2 7.Rg8 f5 8.Ka8

[FEN"K5R1/8/P7/5p1p/5k1P/8/5r2/8 b - - 0 8"]

8...Ke3!! "New: Found by both Poghosyan, who published it first, and by Micawber independently. DEM considers only ...Rb2? (DEM, p.197) and ... Ke5? (DEM, p.198) which lose" (Micawber) 9.a7 f4 10.Kb7 (10.Re8+ Kd3 11. Kb7 Ra2=) 10...Ra2 11.Re8+ Kd3 12.Re5 f3 13.Rxh5 f2 14.Rf5 Rb2+ 15.Kc6 Ra2 16.Rxf2 Rxa7=. B2) "Not 6...Kg4? !? According to DEM, p.197, 7.Rb8 Rxf2 8.Rb4+ Kg3 9. Kb6 Ra2

[FEN"8/5p2/PK6/7p/1R5P/6k1/r7/8 w - - 0 10"]

10.Kb5!! (DEM considers only Rb5 (DEM, p.197) which draws!)" (10.Rb5?= (Dvoretsky)) 10...f5 11.Ra4! Rb2+ 12.Kc6 Rb8 (12...Rc2+ 13.Kd7 Rd2+ 14. Ke7 Re2+ 15.Kf7 Rd2 16.a7+–) 13.a7 Ra8 14.Kb7 Re8 15.a8Q Rxa8 16. Rxa8!+– (not 16.Kxa8? F4=). B3) 6...f5= 7.Rg8 Kf3= (7...Rxf2! "? according to DEM" 8.Ka8 Ke3!! "is also possible"; "Transposition to the line starting with 6...Rxf2" (Micawber)) Micawber continues the line with 8.Rb8 Rxf2 9.Rb5 (9.Rb4 f4=) 9...Re2!=; 2. hxg5+ Kxg5 3.Kc5 Kg4 4.Kb5=

[FEN"8/R4p2/P7/1K5p/6k1/6P1/r4P2/8 b - - 0 4"]

"(transposition to 9.158 of DEM (p. 199-200) after 1... Ra4! 2. Kd3 g5! 3. hxg5+ Kxg5 4.Kc3 Kg4 5. Kb3 Ra1 6. Kb4 Ra2 7.Kb5; Kantorovich position Black to move Dautovs method)" 4...Rxf2 5.Ra8 Rb2+ 6.Kc4 Ra2 7.Rg8+ Kf3 8.Kb5 Rb2+ 9.Kc6 Ra2 10.Kb7 Rb2+ 11.Ka8 f5! "Mueller/2003" (Micawber) 12.Rg5 f4! 13.gxf4 h4! 14.f5 Kf4 15.Rh5 Kg4 16. Rh8 Kxf5 17.Rxh4 Ke6= "(DEM, p. 200; "In this technical position Black reaches c7 just in time with his king if White decides on a7–Rh8–Rb8" (Micawber); 2.f3 gxh4 3.gxh4 Ra5 4.Kc4 Ke5 5.Kb4 (5.f4+ Kxf4 6.Rxf7+ Kg4 7.a7 Kxh4=) 5...Ra2! (or 5... Ra1=) 6.Kb5 Rb2+ 7.Kc6 Rc2+ 8.Kb6 Rb2+ 9.Kc7

[FEN"8/R1K2p2/P7/4k2p/7P/5P2/1r6/8 b - - 0 9"]

9...Ra2! (Micawber) A) 10.Kd8 f5 11.Re7+ Kf4= (Micawber); B) 10.Ra8 Kf4 11.Rf8 (11.Kb7 Kxf3=) 11...Rxa6=; C) 10.Kb8 f6 11.Re7+ Kd6 12.Rf7 Ke6 13.Ra7 Ke5= (Micawber) 2...g4!

[FEN"8/R4p2/P4k2/3K3p/6pP/6P1/r4P2/8 w - - 0 3"]

"New. The only move to draw. After 2..g4! White can try different plans: 1. the 1. Ra8–Ka7 setup, 2. exchanging the a6 pawn with the f7 pawn and trying eventually to take the g4 and h5 pawns and 3. Kings transfer to h7 trying to exchange the a-pawn for Black's kingside pawns. But Black has apparently sufficient defensive resources." 3.Kd6 "Black has many ways to reach a draw – 3...Rd2+, 3...Re2 and 3... Ra3. Let's take 3....Rd2+ as the main line." To make it shorter I will give only Poghosyan's main line defense 3...Rd2+. 3.Kc4 is met by 3...Ke6!= (Not 3...Ke5? 4.Rxf7! Rxa6 5.Rh7+–). Against 3.Ra8, Black has two options:

[FEN"R7/5p2/P4k2/3K3p/6pP/6P1/r4P2/8 b - - 0 3"]

A) But not 3...Kg7? "When the Black king is on g7 or f6, then the Ra8–Ka7 setup is effective, but not, when the Black King is on e7, e6 or nearer to the apawn" 4.Kc6 Kf6 (4...Rc2+?! 5.Kb6 Rb2+ 6.Ka7 Rxf2 7.Rb8+–) 5.Kb7 Rb2+ 6.Ka7! Rxf2 7.Rb8 Ke7 8.Rb5 Rd2 (8...f5 9.Kb7+–) 9.Kb7 Rd7+ 10.Kb6 Rd6 + 11.Ka5 Rd2 12.a7+–. B) 3...Ke7! 4.Kc6 Rc2+ 5.Kb7 Rb2+ 6.Ka7 Rxf2!=. C) 3...Kf5! 4.Kc6 (4.Rf8 Rxa6 5.Rxf7+ Kg6=) 4...Ke4 (4...Rxf2? 5.Rb8 Rc2+ Micawber: 6.Kb6 Rb2+ 7.Ka7 Ra2 8.Rb4+–) 5.Kb7 Kf3= "Transposition to main line: sideline 8.Ra8 iso 8.Ke8". 3.Kc6 must be answered by 3...Ke6! 4.Kb6 (4.Kb7 Rxf2 5.Ra8 Rb2+ 6.Ka7 Rb3=) 4...Rb2+=. Not 3...Ke5? 4.Kb5 Rb2+ (4...Kf6 5.Rc7+–) 5.Kc4 Ra2 (5... Rxf2 6.Re7+ Kd6 7.a7 Ra2 8.Rxf7 Kc6 9.Kd4 Ra5 10.Rh7 Kb6 11.Ke4 Ra4+ 12.Kf5+–) 6.Rxf7 Rxa6 7.Rh7+–. 3...Rd2+ 4.Kc6 4.Kc5 Rc2+ 5.Kb5 Rb2+ 6.Kc4 Ra2! 7.Ra8

[FEN"R7/5p2/P4k2/7p/2K3pP/6P1/r4P2/8 b - - 0 7"]

7...Ke6!! "Dvoretsky considered in 2003 only 7...Kf5? which loses." 8.Kb5 Rb2+ 9.Kc6 Rc2+ 10.Kb7 Rb2+ 11.Ka7 Rxf2 12.Rb8 (12.Rh8 Rf3 13.Rxh5 Rxg3=) A) 12...Kd7 13.Ka8 (13.Rb3 Rf3!= (Micawber)) 13...f5 14.a7 Kc7! 15.Rb7+ Kc8 16.Rb5 Kc7 17.Rc5+ Kd6 18.Rc3 Rb2=. B) 12...Kd6! 13.Rb5 Kc6 14.Rxh5 Rf3 15.Rh6+ (15.Rh8 Rxg3 16.h5 Rh3 17. Rc8+=; 15.Rh7 Rxg3 16.Rxf7 Rf3 17.Rxf3 gxf3 18.Kb8 f2 19.a7 f1Q 20.a8Q + Kd6=) 15...Kc7 16.Rh7 Kc6 17.h5 Rxg3 18.Rxf7 Rd3= (18...Rf3=) 19.Rf6+ (19.h6 g3 20.h7 Rd8 21.Rf6+ Kb5 22.Rb6+ Kc5=) 19...Rd6 20.Rg6 g3 21. Kb8 (21.Rxg3 Rd7+ 22.Kb8 Rd8+=) 21...Rxg6 22.hxg6 g2 23.a7 g1Q 24.a8Q + Kd7!=. 4...Rc2+ "Black draws also with 4...Ra2! 5.Kb6 Rb2+= See the main variation after 5... Rb2+".; Not 4...Rxf2? 5.Rb7+–. 5.Kb6 5.Kd7 Ra2 (Not 5...Rxf2? 6.Rb7 Ra2 7.a7+–) 6.Ra8 Ke5!=. 5.Kb7 Rxf2= "Transposition to the main line 7.Kb7 Rxf2." Not 5...Ke5? 6. Ra8! Rb2+ 7.Ka7 Rxf2 8.Rh8! Ra2 (8...f5 9.Rxh5 Rf3 10.Rh7 Rxg3 11.Kb8 Rb3+ 12.Rb7+–) 9.Rxh5+ f5 10.Kb7 Rb2+ 11.Ka8 Ke4 12.a7+–. 5...Rb2+ 6.Kc7

[FEN"8/R1K2p2/P4k2/7p/6pP/6P1/1r3P2/8 b - - 0 6"]

6...Rc2+ (6...Ra2 draws as well.) 7.Kd8 7.Kb7 Rxf2 8.Ra8 Rb2+ 9.Ka7 Rb3 10.Rh8 Rxg3 11.Rxh5 Ke6 (11...Rg1=; 11...Rh3=) 12.Rh8 (12.Rg5 f5 13.h5 f4=) 12...Rg1 13.h5 g3 14.h6 Rh1 15.h7 g2 16.Rg8 Rxh7 17.Rxg2 f5+=. 7...Ra2! 7...Rc6? 8.Ke8 Re6+ (8...Kg6 9.Kf8 Rf6 10.Ra8 Rxf2 11.Rb8 Ra2 12.Rb6+ f6 13.Ke7+–) 9.Kf8 Kg6 10.Ra8 (10.Rxf7? Rxa6!=) 10...Kf6 (10...Rf6 11.a7! +– (Micawber)) 11.Kg8 Kg6 12.Kh8 Kf6 13.Kh7 Ke7 14.a7 Ra6 15.Rb8!+– "see the variation 9...Ra3? after 14... Ke7." 8.Ke8 After 8.Ra8, the counterattack is quick enough: 8...Kf5! (8...Rxf2? 9.Rb8! Ra2 10.Rb6+ Ke5 11.Kc7 f5 12.Rb5+ Ke4 13.Kb6 f4 14.Ra5 Rb2+ 15.Kc7 Rc2+ 16.Kd7 Rd2+ 17.Ke7 Rc2 18.a7!+– (Micawber)) 9.Kc7 Ke4 10.Kb7 Kf3 11.Rh8 Rb2+ 12.Ka8 Kxf2 13.Rxh5 Kxg3 14.a7 Kh3 15.Rh7 g3 16.Rxf7 g2 17.Rg7 Kxh4=. 8...Kg6! 9.Kf8 (9.Ra8 Rxf2!=) 9...Rxf2! 9...Ra3? 10.Ra8 Ra2 11.a7! Ra5 (11...Kf6 12.Kg8 Ra6 13.Kh8 Ke7 14.Kh7 Kf6 15.Kh6 Ra5 16.Rb8+–) 12.Kg8 Ra6 13.Kh8 Kf6 14.Kh7 Ke7

[FEN"R7/P3kp1K/r7/7p/6pP/6P1/5P2/8 w - - 0 15"]

15.Rb8! Rxa7 16.Kg7 Ke6 17.Rb6+!? Ke5 18.Rf6! Rb7 (18...Ke4 19.Kh6 Ke5 20.Kg5 Rb7 21.Rf4 Rb8 22.Rxf7+–) 19.Rxf7 Rb6 20.Rf4 Ra6 21.Rb4 Kf5 22.Rb5+ Ke4 23.Rxh5 Ra7+ 24.Kf6 Ra6+ 25.Ke7 Ra7+ 26.Kd8 Ra8+ 27. Kc7 Ra7+ 28.Kb6 Rf7 29.Rg5 Rxf2 30.Rxg4++–. 10.Ra8 10.Rb7 f5 (10...f6 draws as well.) 11.Rb6+ (11.Kg8 f4 12.Rg7+ Kf6 13.Rf7+ Ke5 14.gxf4+ Ke4 15.a7 Ra2 16.f5 g3 17.f6 Kf5 18.Kh7 g2 19.Rg7 Kxf6 20. Rxg2 Rxa7+=) 11...Kh7 12.Rf6 (12.a7 Ra2 13.Rb7+ Kg6 14.Kg8 f4!=) 12... Ra2 13.Kf7 (13.Rxf5 Kg6! 14.Rg5+ Kh6=) 13...f4! 14.gxf4 Ra5 15.f5 g3 16. Ke7 g2 17.Rg6 Rxf5 18.Rxg2 Ra5=. 10...Ra2 11.a7

11.Ke7 Kf5! (11...f5=) 12.Kxf7 Ke4= (Micawber). 11...Ra3 12.Kg8 Ra6! 13.Kh8 Kf6 14.Kh7 Ke7!

[FEN"R7/P3kp1K/r7/7p/6pP/6P1/8/8 w - - 0 15"]

Poghosyan ends here. Micawber adds the following: 15.Kg7 Rg6+ 16.Kh8 (16.Kh7 Ra6=) 16...Rh6+!=

[FEN"R6K/P3kp2/7r/7p/6pP/6P1/8/8 w - - 0 17"]

"The most simple defence. If the White king is on g7/g8 or h8, Black keeps checking with his rook. If White plays Kh7 Black answers Ra6 and white is in a kind of Zugzwang" (Micawber)Chess really is an amazingly rich game! 132.02: 1.Kd4 g5 2.Kd5 gxh4? After 1.Kd4 g5!! 2.Kd5, it is surprisingly that 2...gxh4? is a losing mistake upon 3.gxh4:

[FEN"8/R4p2/P4k2/3K3p/7P/8/r4P2/8 b - - 0 3"]

3...Rd2+ 3...Kg6 4.Kc6 (4.Ra8? Kf5 5.Kc6 Kg4=) 4...Rc2+ (4...f5 5.f4 Rc2+ 6.Kd6 Rd2 + 7.Ke7 Re2+ 8.Kf8 Ra2 9.Rg7+ Kf6 10.a7 Ke6 11.Rf7 Kd6 12.Rf6+ Kd5 13. Rxf5+ Ke4 14.Rf7 Ra5 15.f5 Ra1 16.Kg7 Kf4 17.f6+–; 4...Re2 5.Rc7+–) 5. Kb6 Rb2+ 6.Kc7 Rc2+ 7.Kb8 Ra2

[FEN"1K6/R4p2/P5k1/7p/7P/8/r4P2/8 w - - 0 8"]

Mark Dvoretsky checked Poghosyan's work and found a mistake in this position. Fortunately, it does not affect the verdict as Dvoretsky also gave another move that wins: A) 8.f3? is refufed by Dvoretsky's 8...Ra4! 9.Kc7 (9.Kc8 Rxh4 10.Rc7 Ra4 11. a7 f5=) 9...Rxh4 10.Ra8 Ra4 11.Kb6 Kg5 12.Rg8+ Kf4=. B) 8.Ra8! Rxf2 9.Ka7 f5 10.Rf8 f4 11.Kb7 Rb2+ 12.Ka8 Rb4 13.a7 f3 14. Rxf3 Rxh4 15.Rb3+–; 3...Ra5+ 4.Kc6 (4.Kc4? Ke5= "transposition to DEM, 9.152 after 3...Ra5 4. Kc4 Ke5"). A) 4...Ra1 5.Ra8 Kf5 (5...Ke7 6.Kb7 Rb1+ 7.Ka7 Kd6 8.Rh8+–; 5...Ke5 6. Re8+ Kf4 7.Kb7 Rb1+ 8.Ka8 Kf3 9.a7 Kxf2 10.Rb8 Ra1 11.Rb5 Kg3 12. Rxh5 f5 13.Rh8 f4 14.h5 f3 15.h6 f2 16.h7+–) 6.Kb6 Rb1+ 7.Ka7 Kf4 8.Rb8 Ra1 9.Kb7 Rb1+ 10.Ka8 Ra1 11.a7 f5 12.Kb7+–. B) 4...Ra3 5.Ra8+–. C) 4...Ra2 5.Ra8 C1) 5...Kf5 6.Kb6 (6.a7? Kf4=; 6.Kb7 Rb2+ 7.Ka7+–) 6...Rb2+ (6...Rxf2 7. Rb8 Rb2+ 8.Ka7 Rg2 9.Rb5+ Kf4 10.Kb6+–) 7.Ka7 Kg4 8.Rb8 Rxf2 9.Rb4+ Kg3 10.Kb6 Ra2 11.Kb5+–

[FEN"8/5p2/P7/1K5p/1R5P/6k1/r7/8 b - - 0 11"]

"See DEM, 9–153, variation A), 12...Kg4!? - White wins with 16.Kb5!"; C2) 5...Rc2+ 6.Kb7 Rb2+ 7.Ka7 Rxf2 (7...Rb4 8.Rb8 Rxh4 9.Rb6+ Kf5 10. Kb7+–) 8.Rb8+–. C3) 5...Ke5 6.Kb7 (6.Kd7? Kf4 7.a7 Kf3=) 6...Rb2+ (6...Kf4 7.Rb8 Rb2+ 8. Ka8 Rxf2 9.a7 Kg3 10.Kb7+–; 6...Rxf2 7.Re8+ Kf4 8.a7+–) 7.Ka7 Rxf2 (7... f5 8.Rb8 Rxf2 9.Rb5+ Ke4 10.Kb6 Ra2 11.Ra5+–; 7...Kd6 8.Rh8+–) 8.Rh8!

[FEN"7R/K4p2/P7/4k2p/7P/8/5r2/8 b - - 0 8"]

C3a) 8...Ke4 9.Rxh5 f5 10.Rh6 f4 11.Kb7 Rb2+ 12.Rb6 Rxb6+ 13.Kxb6 f3 14.a7 f2 15.a8Q++–. C3b) 8...Kd4 9.Rh6 (9.Rxh5? f5 10.Rh6 f4 11.Kb7 Rb2+ 12.Rb6 Rxb6+ 13. Kxb6 f3 14.a7 f2 15.a8Q f1Q=) 9...f5 10.Kb7+–. C3c) 8...f5 9.Rxh5 C3c1) 9...Kd4 10.Rh8 f4 11.h5 f3 12.h6 Rh2 13.Kb7 f2 14.Rf8 Rxh6 15.Rxf2 +–. C3c2) 9...Ke4 10.Rh6 f4 (10...Rb2 11.Rb6+–) 11.Kb7+–. C3c3) 9...Rb2 10.Ka8+–. C3d) 8...Ra2 9.Rxh5+ f5 10.Kb7 Rb2+ 11.Ka8+–; 3...Kf5 4.Rxf7+ Kg4 5.a7 Kxh4 6.Rg7+–; 3...Rxf2 4.Rc7 Ra2 5.a7 Kf5

[FEN"8/P1R2p2/8/3K1k1p/7P/8/r7/8 w - - 0 6"]

6.Kc4 "Similiar to the move of Steckner Kc4 but in better circumstances because White has already exchanged the g3-pawn against the g6-pawn." 6... Kg4 (6...Ra1 7.Kb5 Rb1+ 8.Kc6 Ra1 9.Kb7 Rb1+ 10.Kc8 Ra1 11.Kb8 Kg4 12.Rc4+ Kg3 13.a8Q Rxa8+ 14.Kxa8+–; 6...f6 7.Kb5 Rb2+ 8.Kc6 Ra2 9.Kb7 Rb2+ 10.Kc8 Ra2 11.Kb8+–) 7.Kb3 Ra6 8.Rc4+ Kg3 "In the Steckner position Black has a g6-pawn." 9.Ra4+–. 4.Kc6 Rc2+ (4...Rxf2 5.Rb7+–) 5.Kb6 Rb2+ 6.Kc7 Rc2+ 6...Ke5 7.Rb7+–; 6...Ra2 7.Ra8+–. 7.Kb8

[FEN"1K6/R4p2/P4k2/7p/7P/8/2r2P2/8 b - - 0 7"]

7...Ra2 7...Rc6 8.Kb7 Re6 9.f4 Re1 (9...Re7+ 10.Kb6 Re6+ 11.Kb5 Re1 12.Rc7+–; 9...Kf5 10.Ra8 Re7+ 11.Kb6 Re6+ 12.Ka5+–) 10.Ra8 Rb1+ 11.Ka7+–. 8.Ra8 Rxf2 8...Ra4 9.Kb7 Rb4+ 10.Ka7 Rxh4 11.Rc8 Rb4 12.Rb8 Re4 13.Kb7+–; 8...Re2 9.Kb7 Re7+ 10.Kb6 Re6+ 11.Kb5 Re5+ 12.Kb4 Re4+ (12...Re2 13.Rh8 Rb2 + 14.Ka3+–) 13.Kb3 Re1 (13...Re6 14.Rh8+–; 13...Re6 14.Rh8 Kg7 15.a7 Kxh8 16.a8Q+ Kg7 17.Qa5+–) 14.Rc8

[FEN"2R5/5p2/P4k2/7p/7P/1K6/5P2/4r3 b - - 0 14"]

A) 14...Rb1+ 15.Ka4 A1) 15...Ra1+ 16.Kb5 Rb1+ (16...Kf5 17.Rc5+ Kg4 18.Kb6+–) 17.Ka5 Ra1+ 18.Kb6 Rb1+ 19.Kc7 Rc1+ 20.Kb7 Rb1+ 21.Ka8+–. A2) 15...Kf5 16.Rc3+–. B) 14...Ra1 15.Rc6+ B1) 15...Ke5 16.Kc4 Ra2 (16...f5 17.Kc5 Kf4 18.Kb6+–) 17.Kc5 f5 18.Kb6 +–. B2) 15...Kf5 16.Kc4+–. B3) 15...Ke7 16.Kb4 Kd7 (16...Kd8 17.Kb5 Rb1+ 18.Ka5 Ra1+ 19.Kb6 Rb1+ 20.Ka7 Kd7 21.Rb6 Rc1 22.Rh6 Rb1 23.Rxh5 Rb4 24.Rh7 Ke6 25.h5 Rf4 26. Ka8 Rxf2 27.a7+–) 17.Rf6 Kc8 18.Kb5 Rb1+ 19.Ka5 Ra1+ 20.Kb6 Kb8 (20... Rb1+ 21.Ka7+–) 21.f4 Rb1+ 22.Kc6+–; 8...Kg7 9.Ka7 Rxf2 10.Rb8 Rf4 11. Rb6+–; 8...Ke5 9.Ka7 Rxf2 10.Rh8+–. 9.Ka7

[FEN"R7/K4p2/P4k2/7p/7P/8/5r2/8 b - - 0 9"]

9...Rh2 9...Ke6 10.Rh8 (10.Rb8 wins as well.) A) 10...Rb2 11.Rb8+–. B) 10...Kd5 11.Rxh5+ Kc6 12.Rh6+ Kc7 13.Rb6 B1) 13...Rh2 14.Rb4 Kc6 (14...Rh3 15.Rc4+ Kd6 16.Kb6+–) 15.Rc4+ Kd5 16. Rf4+–. B2) 13...f5 14.h5 f4 15.h6 Re2 16.h7 Re8 17.Rf6 Rh8 18.Rxf4 Rxh7 19.Rc4+ +–. C) 10...Kd7 11.Rxh5 f5 (11...Rf4 12.Kb6+–; 11...Kc6 12.Rh6++–) 12.Rh8 Kc7 13.h5 Re2 (13...f4 14.Rf8 f3 15.h6 Rh2 16.Rxf3 Rxh6 17.Rc3++–; 13... Rh2 14.h6 f4 15.Rh7+ Kc6 16.Kb8+–) 14.h6 Re6 15.h7 Re7 16.Rb8 Kc6+ 17. Rb7 Re8 18.Rb6+ Kc7 19.Rf6 Rh8 20.Rxf5 Rxh7 21.Rc5++–. D) 10...Kd6 11.Rxh5 f5 (11...Rc2 12.Kb6 Rc6+ 13.Kb7 Rc7+ 14.Kb8+–) 12. Rh6+ Kc7 13.h5 f4 14.Rf6 D1) 14...Kd7 15.h6 Ke7 16.Rf5 Rh2 (16...Ke6 17.Rh5+–) 17.Rxf4+–. D2) 14...Rh2 15.h6 f3 16.Rxf3 Rxh6 17.Rc3+!+–. E) 10...f5 11.Rh6+ Ke5 12.Kb7+–. F) 10...Ra2 11.Kb7 Rb2+ 12.Ka8 Kd7 13.Rxh5 Rb4 14.Ka7 Kc7 (14...Kc6 15. Rh8 Rd4 16.h5+–) 15.Rc5+ Kd6 16.Rf5 Ke6 17.Ra5 f5 18.h5 Kf6 19.h6 Kg6 20.h7 Kxh7 21.Rxf5+–; 9...Kf5 10.Rb8+–. 10.Rh8! Ke5 10...Kg7 11.Rxh5 Rb2 12.Ka8+–; 10...Kg6 11.Kb7 Rb2+ 12.Ka8 Rb4 (12... Rh2 13.a7 Rxh4 14.Kb7+–; 12...f5 13.a7 f4 14.Rb8 Re2 15.Kb7+–; 12...Rb5 13.a7 Kg7 14.Rb8+–) 13.a7 f6 A) 14.Rg8+ Kf5 15.Rb8 Rxh4 16.Rb5+ Kg6 17.Kb7 Ra4

[FEN"8/PK6/5pk1/1R5p/r7/8/8/8 w - - 0 18"]

18.Kb6! The threat to interfere with Ra5 wins valueable time. A typical theme. (18.Rb6? Rxa7+ 19.Kxa7 h4=) 18...Rxa7 19.Kxa7 f5 20.Kb6! Kg5 21. Kc5!+–. B) 14.Rb8 Rxh4 15.Kb7 Ra4 16.a8Q Rxa8 17.Rxa8+–; 10...Rxh4 11.Kb6 Rh1 (11...Ra4 12.Rxh5 Re4 13.a7 Re6+ 14.Ka5 Re8 15.Rb5+–) 12.a7 Rb1+ 13.Kc5+–; 10...Kf5 11.Rxh5+ Kg4 12.Rg5+ Kxh4 13.Rf5+–. 11.Rxh5+ (11.Kb7? Rxh4=.) 11...f5 11...Kd6 12.Kb6+–; 11...Kf4 12.Ka8 Kg4 13.Rh8 f5 14.a7 f4 15.Kb7+–; 11... Ke4 12.Rb5+–. 12.Kb7 Rb2+ 13.Ka8

[FEN"K7/8/P7/4kp1R/7P/8/1r6/8 b - - 0 13"]

13...Ke4 13...Kf6 14.a7 f4 15.Rh8 Kg7 16.Rb8 Ra2+–; 13...Rb6 14.a7 Rb1 15.Rh8+–. 14.Rh8 f4 15.h5 f3 16.h6 f2

[FEN"K6R/8/P6P/8/4k3/8/1r3p2/8 w - - 0 17"]

17.Re8+ 17.Rf8 Rd2 18.Kb7 (18.h7? Rd8+=) 18...Rd7+ 19.Kc6 Rh7 20.Rxf2 Rxh6+ 21.Kb5+–. 17...Kd5 17...Kd3 18.Rf8 Rb6 19.a7 Rxh6 20.Rxf2+–. 18.Rf8+– I want to end this column with two recent rook endings: A) Rook Checks Without End This is a typical defensive method, when the attacking king has no shelter: 132.03 Prohaszka, P (2553) – Horvath, P (1901) TCh-HUN 2011–12 Szombathely (3), 13.11.2011

[FEN"r7/P7/8/8/3k1KP1/4p3/R7/8 b - - 0 76"]

76...Rf8+? Black plays the main trump too early. The king had to start the counterplay with 76...Kd3! 77.Ra3+ (77.Kf3 Rf8+ 78.Kg2 e2=) 77...Kd2 78.Rxe3 (78.Ra2+ Kd3=) 78...Rf8+

[FEN"5r2/P7/8/8/5KP1/4R3/3k4/8 w - - 0 79"]

White's king cannot escape from the rain of checks without losing the rook: 79.Ke4 Re8+ 80.Kd4 Rd8+ 81.Kc5 Kxe3 82.Kc6 Rg8 83.Kb7 Rg7+ 84.Kb6 Rg8=. 77.Kg3! Ra8 78.Kf3 Rf8+?! Now 78...Kd3!? is just too late: 79.Ra5 Rf8+ 80.Rf5 Re8 (80...Rxf5+ 81.gxf5 e2 82.a8Q e1Q 83.Qd5+ Kc2 84.Qe4++–) 81.Rd5+ Kc4 82.Re5 Rxe5 83.a8Q e2

[FEN"Q7/8/8/4r3/2k3P1/5K2/4p3/8 w - - 0 84"]

White will win: 84.Qa2+ Kc5 85.Qa5+ Kd6 86.Qe1 Ke6 87.Kf4 Kf6 88.g5+ Ke6 89.g6+–. 79.Kg2 Ra8 80.Kf1 A nice zigzag route.

80...Kd3 81.Ke1 1–0 White has reached the ideal distribution of forces: the rook is behind the most dangerous passed pawn and the king stops the enemy passer. So Black resigned. One sample line runs 81...Rc8 82.Ra3+ Ke4 83.a8Q+ Rxa8 84.Rxa8 +–. B) Backwards or Forwards that is the Question Pawn races are always difficult to assess: 132.04 Gyimesi, Zoltan (2646) – Firman, Nazar (2517) German Bundesliga 2011–12 Hockenheim (4.4), 11.03.2011

[FEN"3R4/8/3P4/4p3/7P/5k2/7K/3r4 b - - 0 63"]

63...e4? This race is lost. Black had to play 63...Rd2+ 64.Kh3 Rd1 65.Rf8+ followed by bringing his king back:

[FEN"5R2/8/3P4/4p3/7P/5k1K/8/3r4 b - - 0 65"]

A) 65...Ke4 draws as well: 66.Rf6 Rh1+ 67.Kg4 (67.Kg3 Rg1+ 68.Kf2 Rg7=) 67...Rg1+ 68.Kh5 Kd5 69.d7 Rg8 70.Rf1 Ke6 71.Rd1 Rd8 72.Kg6 Rxd7 73. Rxd7 Kxd7 74.h5 e4=. B) 65...Ke3 66.Rf6 (66.Rd8 Kf3=) 66...e4 67.Kg4 (67.h5 Kd4 68.h6 Ke5 69. Rg6 Kf5=) 67...Kd4 68.Kf5 Kc5 69.Kxe4

[FEN"8/8/3P1R2/2k5/4K2P/8/8/3r4 b - - 0 69"]

69...Rd4+! The h-pawn must be taken. (69...Rxd6? 70.Kf5 Rd1 71.h5 Rf1+ 72. Kg6 Rg1+ 73.Kf7+– The cut off decides.) 70.Ke5 Rxh4 71.d7 (71.Rf1 Rh5+ 72.Ke6 Rh6+ 73.Ke7 Rh7+=) 71...Rd4 72.Ke6 Kc6 73.Ke7+ Kc7=. 64.d7! Ke2 64...Kg4 65.Rg8+ Kxh4 66.d8Q+ Rxd8 67.Rxd8 Kg4 68.Kg2+–. 65.h5 e3 66.h6 Rd6 66...Kf3 67.Rf8+ Ke4 68.d8Q+–; 66...Kd3 67.Re8 Kc4 68.d8Q Rxd8 69.Rxd8 e2 70.Re8+–. 67.Kg3!

[FEN"3R4/3P4/3r3P/8/8/4p1K1/4k3/8 b - - 0 67"]

Gyimesi's point – this king move wins the pawn race. 67.h7? Rh6+ 68.Kg3 Rxh7 69.Kf4 Kf2 70.Kg5! Rf7 71.Kg6 Rxd7= (71...e2? 72.Kxf7 e1Q 73.Rf8+–) 67...Rxh6 67...Rg6+ 68.Kf4 Rxh6 69.Re8! Rd6 (69...Rf6+ 70.Ke5+–) 70.Rxe3+! (70. d8Q? Rxd8 71.Rxd8 Kf2! 72.Rh8 e2 73.Rh2+ Kf1 74.Kf3 e1N+ 75.Ke3 Ng2 +=) 70...Kd2 71.Re7 Kd3 72.Ke5+–; 67...Kd2 68.h7 e2 69.Re8 Rxd7 70.h8Q e1Q+ 71.Rxe1 Kxe1 72.Qe8++–. 68.Rg8! 1–0 Black resigned because of 68...Rd6 69.d8Q Rxd8 70.Rxd8 Kf1 71.Rf8+ Ke1 72.Kf3 e2 73.Re8+–. C) Passed Pawns Must be Pushed But guidelines should never be used too automatically: 132.05 Csiba, D (2357) – Szabo, Krisz (2546) TCh-HUN 2011–12 Komarom (4), 27.11.2011

[FEN"6r1/8/3P4/P7/5p1R/1P2k3/8/7K w - - 0 50"]

50.d7?

Now Black's king cannot be driven away. 50.Rh7!? uses the rook in a flexible way; e.g., 50...f3 51.Re7+ Kf2 52.Rh7 Kf1 53.d7 f2 54.Kh2! (54.a6? Ke2 55.Re7+ Kf3 56.Rf7+ Kg3–+) 54...Rg2+ 55.Kh1=. 50...f3! Passed pawns must be pushed. 51.Rh6 51.Rg4 is met by 51...f2 52.Rxg8 f1Q+ 53.Kh2 (53.Rg1? Qh3#) 53...Qf2+ 54. Rg2 Qh4+ 55.Kg1 Qd4–+; and 51.Rc4 runs into 51...Rh8+ 52.Kg1 f2+ 53. Kg2 Rg8+–+. 51...f2 52.Re6+ Kf3 53.Rf6+ Kg3

[FEN"6r1/3P4/5R2/P7/8/1P4k1/5p2/7K w - - 0 54"]

White is defenseless. 54.d8Q 54.Rxf2 Kxf2–+; 54.Rg6+ Rxg6 55.d8Q f1Q#. 54...Rxd8 55.Rg6+ Kf3 56.Rf6+ Ke2 57.Re6+ Kf1 58.Rh6 After 58.Kh2 Rh8+ 59.Kg3 Kg1 60.Rf6 f1Q 61.Rxf1+ Kxf1 62.Kf4 Rb8, White is just too slow: 63.Ke5 Rxb3 64.Kd6 Ra3 65.Kc6 Rxa5–+. 58...Rf8 0–1 D) White's King on Wheels The drawish tendency of rook endings even shows itself in the following race, but Black has to act very precisely: 132.06 Komljenovic, Davorin (2451) – Pushkov, Nikolai (2395) 21st World Senior Chess Championship Opatija (7.3), 22.11.2011

[FEN"1K1R4/6kp/1P2p3/8/8/8/8/2r5 b - - 0 51"]

51...Rb1? Loses valuable time. Black had to start the race directly with 51...h5 52.b7 h4 53.Ka7 (53.Rc8 Rb1 54.Rc4 h3 55.Rh4 Rb3 56.Kc7 Rc3+=) 53...Ra1+ 54.Kb6 Rb1+ 55.Kc6 Rxb7 56.Kxb7 Kf6 57.Kc6 Kf5 58.Kc5 (58.Kd6 h3 59.Rh8 Kg4 60.Ke5 Kg3 61. Ke4 h2 62.Ke3 Kg2=) 58...e5 59.Kc4

[FEN"3R4/8/8/4pk2/2K4p/8/8/8 b - - 0 59"]

59...h3 The pawn marches on. 60.Kd3 Kf4 61.Ke2 h2 62.Rh8 Kg3 63.Kf1 e4= and the next one secures the draw by advancing. 52.b7 Kf6?! 52...Kf7!? closes the road via e8, but White wins in a tricky way nevertheless: 53.Rh8 e5 (53...Kg7 54.Rc8 Kf7 55.Kc7 Rc1+ 56.Kd6 Rd1+ 57.Ke5+–; 53... Ke7 54.Kc7 Rc1+ 55.Kb6 Rb1+ 56.Kc5 Rxb7 57.Rxh7++–) 54.Kc7 Ke6 55. b8Q Rxb8 56.Rxb8 Kd5 57.Rd8+ Kc5 58.Kd7 e4 59.Ke6 e3 60.Rd3+–. 53.Kc7 h5 After 53...Rc1+ 54.Kd7 Rd1+, the king escapes via e8: 55.Ke8 Rb1 56.b8Q Rxb8 57.Rxb8 h5 and is just back in time: 58.Kd7 Kf5 59.Kd6 h4 60.Rh8 Kg4 61.Ke5 h3 62.Ke4 Kg3 63.Ke3 Kg2 (63...h2 64.Rg8+ Kh3 65.Kf2 h1N+ 66.Kf3+–) 64.Ke2 h2 65.Rg8+ Kh1 66.Kf2 e5 67.Ra8 e4 68.Ra1#. 54.b8Q Rxb8 55.Rxb8 Kg5 56.Kd6

[FEN"1R6/8/3Kp3/6kp/8/8/8/8 b - - 0 56"]

56...h4 56...Kf4!? 57.Rh8 (57.Kxe6? h4= Bodycheck!) 57...e5 (57...Kg4 58.Ke5 h4 59.Ke4 Kg3 60.Ke3+–) 58.Rxh5 e4 59.Kd5 e3 60.Kd4 e2 61.Re5 Kf3 62.Kd3 +–. 57.Ke5! 1–0 Black resigned because of 57...Kg4 58.Ke4 Kg3 59.Ke3 h3 60.Rg8+ Kh4 61. Kf2+–.

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Rook Endgame Technique II Rook endgames are the most frequent type of endgame that arise in practical play, so you should be familiar with several important motifs and guidelines.

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A) The Rain of Checks A1) A Stalemate Trick

Endgame Corner

The attacking king often has problems finding shelter from the checks of the defending rook. 133.01 Muzychuk, A (2562) – Zatonskih, A (2506) SportAccord WMG Blindfold wom Bejing CHN (3), 15.12.2011

Karsten Müller

ECE: Pawn Endings by Chess Informant

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[FEN "8/8/6p1/R6p/5k1K/5r2/8/8 w - - 0 62"]

62.Ra6! The right way to play for stalemate.

Chess Informant 113 by Branko Tadic

62.Ra4+? loses as Black's keeps both pawns; e.g., 62...Ke3 63.Ra3+ Ke2 64. Ra2+ Kf1 65.Kg5 Rg3+ 66.Kh4 Rg4+ 67.Kh3–+. Of course not 62.Rf5+?? gxf5–+ (62...Kxf5?? stalemate). 62...g5+ 62...Kf5 runs into 63.Rf6+ Kxf6 stalemate. Play through and download the games from ChessCafe.com in the ChessBase Game Viewer.

63.Kxh5 Rh3+ 64.Kg6 g4 64...Rg3 65.Ra4+ Kf3 66.Kf5 g4 67.Rf4+ Kg2 68.Rxg4=. 65.Ra4+ Kf3

1000TN!! by Chess Informant

[FEN "8/8/6K1/8/R5p1/5k1r/8/8 w - - 0 66"]

66.Kg5? Too early. First Black's king must be driven to g3: 66.Ra3+! Kg2 67.Ra2+ Kg1 68.Ra1+ Kh2 69.Ra2+ Kg3

[FEN "8/8/6K1/8/6p1/6kr/R7/8 w - - 0 70"]

70.Kg5!= Now the king can close the door. (70.Ra3+? Kh4–+) 66...g3 67.Ra3+ Kg2

[FEN "8/8/8/6K1/8/R5pr/6k1/8 w - - 0 68"]

68.Ra2+ 68.Kg4 is met by 68...Kh2 69.Rb3 Rh8 70.Rxg3 Rg8+–+. 68...Kh1 69.Kg4 After 69.Ra1+, Black's g-pawn will shelter the king: 69...Kh2 70.Ra2+ g2–+. 69...g2 70.Kxh3 g1Q 71.Ra4!? Qf1+ 72.Kh4 Qe1+

[FEN "8/8/8/8/R6K/8/8/4q2k w - - 0 73"]

73.Kh5?! Loses the rook immediately.

After 73.Kh3, Black must win the endgame queen against rook; e.g., 73...Qe3 + 74.Kg4 Qe6+ 75.Kf4 Qf7+ 76.Kg5 Qe7+ 77.Kh6 Qe3+ 78.Kh7 Kg2 79.Rg4 + Kf3 80.Rg7 Kf4 81.Kg6 Qe6+ 82.Kh5 Qf5+ 83.Kh6 Qf6+ 84.Kh7 Kf5 85. Kg8 Qe5 86.Kh8 Kf6

[FEN "7K/6R1/5k2/4q3/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 87"]

87.Kg8 Qh5–+ Zugzwang. 73...Qe8+ 0–1 A2) Activity Counts In the following example Black missed the way to give saving rook checks: 133.02 Romanov, Evgeny (2627) – Plat, Vojtech (2425) 48th Groningen Open NED (8.4), 29.12.2011

[FEN "1r6/4P2R/5k2/5p2/8/5KP1/5P2/8 b - - 0 69"]

69...Re8? Too passive. After 69...Rb3+ 70.Ke2 (70.Kg2 Rb8 71.Kh3 Kg6 72.Rh4 Re8 73.Ra4 Rxe7 74.Ra6+ Kh5=) 70...Rb8, White's king is not quick enough:

[FEN "1r6/4P2R/5k2/5p2/8/6P1/4KP2/8 w - - 0 71"]

A) 71.Ke3 Kg6 72.Rh4 Re8 73.Kf4 (73.Rd4 Rxe7+ 74.Kf4 Re6=) 73...Rxe7 74.f3 Ra7=.

B) 71.Kd3 Re8 72.Rh6+ (72.Kd4 Kg6=) 72...Kxe7 73.Ke3 Ra8 74.Kf4

[FEN "r7/4k3/7R/5p2/5K2/6P1/5P2/8 b - - 0 74"]

Black draws with 74...Ra2 (but not 74...Ra5? 75.Kg5 Ra2 76.Rf6 Rxf2 77. Rxf5+–) 75.f3 (75.Kxf5 Rxf2+ 76.Kg6 Rg2=) 75...Ra5 76.Rb6 (76.Kg5 Ra3=) 76...Rc5 77.Kg5 Rc3=. 70.Rh6+! The sting of the scorpion. 70...Kxe7 70...Ke5 71.Rh1 Kf6 72.Re1 Rxe7 73.Rxe7 Kxe7 74.Kf4 Kf6 75.f3 Kg6 76. Ke5 Kg5 77.f4+ Kg4 78.Kf6 Kxg3 79.Kxf5+–; 70...Kg5 71.Re6+–. 71.Kf4 Ra8

[FEN "r7/4k3/7R/5p2/5K2/6P1/5P2/8 w - - 0 72"]

71...Rf8 72.Ke5 f4 (72...Rf7 73.Re6+ Kf8 74.Rf6+–) 73.Re6+ Kd7 74.gxf4 Rxf4 75.Kxf4 Kxe6+–. 72.Rh5! The greedy 72.Kxf5? runs into the amazing defense 72...Rf8+ 73.Kg6 Rf6+!

[FEN "8/4k3/5rKR/8/8/6P1/5P2/8 w - - 0 74"]

Again rook checks save Black. 74.Kg7 Rf7+ 75.Kg8 Rf8+ 76.Kg7 Rf7+ 77. Kg6 Rf6+ 78.Kg5

[FEN "8/4k3/5r1R/6K1/8/6P1/5P2/8 b - - 0 78"]

78...Rxf2 Only now! 79.g4 Kf7 80.Rh7+ Kg8 81.Kg6 Ra2 82.Rg7+ Kh8 (82... Kf8? 83.g5 Ra6+ 84.Kh7+–) 83.Rf7 Ra8= Against a knight's pawn passive defense is sufficient. 72...Kf6 73.Rxf5+ Kg6 74.Kg4 1–0 A3) The Middle of Nowhere The defending king can sometimes even hide behind his rook: 133.03 Biliskov, V (2338) – Berczes, D (2555) 18th Zadar Open CRO (1.16), 11.12.2011

[FEN "8/8/R1k5/6K1/5p2/6P1/p7/r7 b - - 0 73"]

73...Kb7? Now Black's king can not approach the a-pawn and is caught in the middle of nowhere. 73...Kb5 shortens the checking distance and wins: 74.Ra3 fxg3 75.Rb3+ Ka4 (75...Kc4? 76.Rb2=) 76.Rxg3 Rb1–+; 73...Kd7? is answered by 74.Ra4 fxg3 75.Rd4+ Kc6 76.Rd2= and White defends as in the game. 74.Ra3 fxg3 74...f3 75.Rb3+ Kc6 76.Rb2 Kd5 77.Kf4 Kd4 78.Rf2=. 75.Rb3+! Kc6 76.Rb2

[FEN "8/8/2k5/6K1/8/6p1/pR6/r7 b - - 0 76"]

The pawn g3 acts as umbrella to shelter White's king from the check. 76...Kd5 77.Kg4 Kd4 78.Rg2 Ke4 78...Rf1 79.Rxa2 Rf2 80.Ra4+ Ke3 81.Kxg3=. 79.Kxg3 Ke3 80.Kg4 Kd3 81.Kg3 Kc3 82.Kg4 Kc4 83.Kg5 Kb3 84.Rg3+ Kc2 85.Rg2+ Kd3 86.Kg4 Kc4 87.Kg5! Kd4 87...Kb3 88.Rg3+ Kb2 89.Rg2+ Kb3 90.Rg3+ Kb4 91.Rg4+ Kc5 92.Rg2=. 88.Kg4 Ke4 89.Re2+ Kd5 90.Rg2 Ke6 91.Re2+ Kf6 92.Rf2+ Kg7 93.Kf5 Kf7 94.Ke4+ 94.Kg5+ Ke6 95.Rg2 also draws. 94...Ke6

[FEN "8/8/4k3/8/4K3/8/p4R2/r7 w - - 0 95"]

95.Re2? White is now too close to the queenside and caught in the middle of nowhere as he can neither run to the queenside nor to the kingside. 95.Kf4 draws as Black's king finds no shelter when approaching his a-pawn: 95...Kd5 96.Kf5 Kd4 97.Kf4 Kd3 98.Kf3 Kc3 99.Kf4!

[FEN "8/8/8/8/5K2/2k5/p4R2/r7 b - - 0 99"]

This gives White enough checking distance: 99...Kb3 100.Rf3+ Kb4 101. Rf2=. 95...Kd6 96.Rd2+ Kc5 97.Kd3 97.Re2 Kc4 98.Ke3 Kb3–+. 97...Kb5 98.Kd4 98.Rb2+ Kc5 (98...Ka4?! 99.Kc2 Rc1+ 100.Kxc1 a1Q+ 101.Kc2 Qa3 wins but is bad technique of course.) 99.Rd2 (99.Kc2 Kc4 100.Rb8 Rh1–+) 99... Kb4 100.Kd4 Kb3 101.Rd3+ Kc2 102.Rc3+ Kb2 103.Rd3 Rc1–+; 98.Kc3 Rc1 +–+. 98...Kb4 99.Kd3 99.Rb2+ Ka3 100.Kc3 Rc1+–+. 99...Kb3 100.Kd4 Rc1 101.Rd3+ Kb4 0–1 A4) The Rook Belongs Behind the Passed Pawn Berczes had another fascinating ending, which I want to bring as well. It is not a rook endgame, but illustrates one important guideline. Pawn Races always must be calculated very carefully. 133.03A Denisov, I (2348) – Berczes, D (2555) XLI Rilton Cup 2011–12 Stockholm SWE (5), 01.01.2012

[FEN "8/K7/2P5/4k3/p6R/1r3p2/2N5/8 w - - 0 90"]

90.c7? Passed pawns must be pushed is another endgame guideline, but here 90.Rc4! has priority: 90...f2 91.c7 f1Q 92.c8Q

[FEN "2Q5/K7/8/4k3/p1R5/1r6/2N5/5q2 b - - 0 92"]

White will win the fourth phase of the game as Black's open king can not find shelter: 92...Qf7+ 93.Rc7 Qf2+ 94.Rc5+ This countercheck decides the day. 94...Kf4 (94...Kd6 95.Qc7+ Ke6 96.Qe5+ Kf7 97.Nd4

[FEN "8/K4k2/8/2R1Q3/p2N4/1r6/5q2/8 b - - 0 97"]

All White's pieces enter the attack according to the famous rule: "Invite everyone to the party". 97...Qf6 98.Rc7+ Kg6 99.Qe4+ Kh5 100.Rh7+ Kg5 101.Qh4+ Kg6 102.Qh6#) 95.Qf8+ Kg3 96.Qd6+ Kg2 97.Nd4 Qf7+ 98.Rc7 +– 90...Rc3! Of course now Black's rook moves behind the passed pawn. 91.Kb7 Rxc2 92.Rxa4 f2 93.Ra1 Ke4 94.c8Q ½–½ A5) Friendly Pawns Shield the King This is typical standard technique. 133.04 Solak, Dragan (2629) – Bakre, Tejas (2509) XLI Rilton Cup 2011–12 Stockholm SWE (5), 01.01.2012

[FEN "8/2p1k2p/1p6/2p3PK/2P2r1P/ 1P6/8/3R4 w - - 0 50"]

50.Rh1! The rook frees the king for the decisive invasion. 50...Kf7 51.Kh6 Kg8 52.h5 Rd4 53.Re1 Rd6+ 54.g6

[FEN "6k1/2p4p/1p1r2PK/2p4P/2P5/ 1P6/8/4R3 b - - 0 54"]

The pawn acts as shield in typical manner.

54...hxg6 55.hxg6 Rd8 55...Kf8 56.Kh7 Rd7+ 57.Kh8 c6 58.Rf1++–. 56.Re7 Rc8 57.Rg7+ Kh8 58.Rh7+ Kg8

[FEN "2r3k1/2p4R/1p4PK/2p5/2P5/ 1P6/8/8 w - - 0 59"]

59.g7! Black is powerless as he has no check. 59...Kf7 60.Rh8 Rg8 61.Rxg8 Kxg8 62.Kg6 c6 63.Kf6 b5 64.Ke6 bxc4 65. bxc4 Kxg7 66.Kd6 1–0 B) Active or Passive Defense? Usually, activity is the order of the day in rook endgames, but in chess there is no guideline without exception. 133.05 Szablowski, P (2433) – Simonian, H (2468) FSGM December 2011 Budapest HUN (7), 09.12.2011

[FEN "3r4/8/p1k5/PP6/2P2Kp1/1R6/8/8 b - - 0 57"]

57...Kc5? Surprisingly, the active way leads to disaster here. The passive 57...Kb7!? draws as the rook can be activated after 58.Rc3 (58. Kxg4 Rd4+ 59.Kf5 Rxc4=) 58...Rc8 (58...axb5 59.cxb5 Rd4+ 60.Kg3 Ra4 61. a6+ Kb6 62.Rb3 Ra1 63.Kxg4 Rf1 64.Ra3 Rf8=) 59.b6 Rc5

[FEN "8/1k6/pP6/P1r5/2P2Kp1/2R5/8/8 w - - 0 60"]

Usually this is most important in rook endgames: 60.Kxg4 Rxa5 61.c5 Rb5 62. c6+ Kc8 63.b7+ Kc7 64.Kf4 a5 65.Ke4 a4 66.Kd4 a3 67.Rxa3 Kxc6=. Even 57...axb5?! 58.cxb5+ Kb7 59.Kxg4 Rd4+ 60.Kf5 Ra4 61.a6+ Kb6 is drawn:

[FEN "8/8/Pk6/1P3K2/r7/1R6/8/8 w - - 0 62"]

Black's king is in the hole of the pawns; e.g., 62.Ke6 Rd4 63.Ra3 Rd8 64.Ke7 Ra8 65.Kd7 Kxb5 66.a7 Kb6 67.Rb3+ Kc5 68.Ra3 Kb6=. 58.b6 Kxc4 58...Rg8 59.b7 Rb8 60.Rb6+–; After 58...Rb8 59.b7 Kc6, White can enter the pawn ending: 60.Kxg4 Rxb7 61.Rxb7 Kxb7 62.Kf5 Kc6 63.Ke4 Kc5 64.Kd3 Kc6 65.Kd4 Kd6 66.c5+ Kc6 67.Kc4 Kc7 68.Kd5 Kd7 69.c6+ Kc8

[FEN "2k5/8/p1P5/P2K4/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 70"]

And finally win by the typical triangulation: 70.Kc4 Kd8 71.Kd4 Kc8 72.Kd5 Kd8 (72...Kc7 73.Kc5+–) 73.Kd6 Kc8 74.c7 Kb7 75.Kd7 Ka7 76.Kc6 Ka8 77. c8Q+ Ka7 78.Qb7#; 58...Kc6 59.b7 Rb8 60.Kxg4 Rxb7 61.Rxb7 Kxb7 62.Kf5 +– transposes to 58...Rb8. 59.Rb1 Rg8 59...Kc5 60.b7 Rb8 61.Rb6+–. 60.b7 Rb8 61.Kxg4 Kd5 62.Rb6!

[FEN "1r6/1P6/pR6/P2k4/6K1/8/8/8 b - - 0 62"]

The decisive cut off. Black is utterly helpless. 62...Ke5 63.Kg5 Rg8+ 64.Kh6 1–0 C) The Clumsy Rook Rook endings have a large drawish tendency, but only when the defending rook can be activated. 133.06 Volokitin, Andrei (2695) – Dominguez Perez, Leinier (2712) Donostia KO GpA San Sebastian ESP (6.2), 04.01.2012

[FEN "8/4ppk1/pB1p1b2/1p1Pr3/6Pp/ P1PK3P/1P6/5R2 w - - 0 36"]

36.Bd4! The deep and decisive simplification. 36.Rf5? Re1 is certainly not better for White. 36...Rxd5 37.Ke4 Rg5 38.Bxf6+ exf6 39.Rf5! Volokitin's point. Now he wins as Black's rook is too clumsily placed and can not be activated in time. 39...Rg6 39...Rxf5 can be met by 40.Kxf5+– (or by 40.gxf5 Kh6 41.b3 Kg5 42.c4 bxc4 43.bxc4 a5 44.a4+–) ; and 39...Kg6 runs into a fatal zugzwang after 40.b3 Rxf5 41.gxf5+ Kg5 42.c4 bxc4 43.bxc4 a5 44.a4+–. 40.Kd5 Rh6 40...Rg5 41.Kxd6 Rxf5 42.gxf5 Kh6 43.b3+–. 41.Kxd6 41.Kc6 Rh8 42.Kb6 wins as well. 41...Rh8 42.Kd7!!

[FEN "7r/3K1pk1/p4p2/1p3R2/6Pp/ P1P4P/1P6/8 b - - 0 42"]

Beautiful domination! Volokitin stops the activation of Black's rook. 42...Rb8 43.Rh5 Rb6 43...f5 is met by the typical zwischenschach 44.Rg5+ Kf6 45.Rxf5+ Kg6 46. Rh5+–. 44.Rxh4 Re6 45.Kc7 Re2 Playing to enter a pawn endgame with 45...Kg6 46.Rh5 Re5!? runs into (46... Re2 47.Kb6 Rxb2 48.Kxa6 Rb3 49.Rc5! The c-pawn is very valuable. 49...f5 50.gxf5+ Kg5 51.Ka5 Rxa3+ 52.Kxb5+–) 47.Kc6!? Rxh5 (47...Re2 48.b4 Ra2 49.Kb6 Rxa3 50.Rc5+– transposes to the game.) 48.gxh5+ Kxh5 49.Kd5 f5 50.b3 Kh4 51.Ke5 Kg5 52.c4 f6+ 53.Kd4 bxc4 54.bxc4 Kf4 55.c5 Kg3 56. c6 f4 57.c7 f3 58.c8Q f2 59.Qg4+ Kh2 60.Qf3 Kg1 61.Qg3++–. 46.b4! Ra2 46...f5 47.gxf5 Ra2 48.Kb6 Rxa3 49.Rd4 Rxc3 50.Kxa6 Rc4 51.Rg4+ Kf6 52. Kxb5 Rc3 53.Rc4 Rxh3 54.Rc5+–. 47.Kb6 Rxa3 48.Rh5 Kg6 49.Rc5 f5?! Dominguez desperately tries to create counterplay, but it does not work out. Passively waiting with 49...Kg7 is also insufficient; e.g., 50.h4 Ra1 51.Rc8 Rh1 52.Kxa6 Rxh4 53.c4 bxc4 54.b5 c3 55.Rxc3 Rxg4 56.b6 Ra4+ 57.Kb5 Ra8 58.b7 Rb8 59.Kc6 f5 60.Kc7 Re8 61.Rc6 f6 62.b8Q Rxb8 63.Kxb8 Kg6 64.Kc7 f4 65.Kd6 Kf5 66.Kd5 f3 67.Rc2+–. 50.gxf5+ Kg5

[FEN "8/5p2/pK6/1pR2Pk1/1P6/ r1P4P/8/8 w - - 0 51"]

51.h4+! The sting of the scorpion. 51...Kxh4

51...Kf6 52.Rc7 Kg7 53.h5+–. 52.f6! Kg4 53.Rc7 Kf5 54.Rxf7 Ke6 55.Ra7 Kxf6 56.Rxa6 Rxc3 57.Kxb5+ Ke7 58.Rc6 Rb3 59.Ka5 Kd7 60.b5 Ra3+ 61.Kb6 Rb3 62.Ka6 Rb1 63.Rc2 1–0 Exercises (Solutions next month) E133.01 Giri, A (2714) – Ivanchuk, V (2775) 54th Reggio Emilia ITA (6), 02.01.2012

[FEN "2r5/3k1p2/R4p2/2pP3p/5K1P/ 4P1P1/5P2/8 w - - 0 42"]

Anish Giri played 42.Rc6. Was this a good choice? E133.02 Mirzoev, A (2510) – Georgiev, Kir (2666) V Stadium Casablanca Open Zaragoza ESP (9.1), 31.12.2011

[FEN "8/8/4pp2/6pp/4P2k/4rP1P/5R1K/8 b - - 0 58"]

Can Black to move win?

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Comment on this month's column via our Contact Page! Pertinent responses will be posted below daily.

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Seventh Heaven Two rooks on the seventh are a very powerful attacking force, but they usually need at least one helping hand to win.

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134.01 Tomashevsky, Evgeny (2740) – Nisipeanu, Liviu Dieter (2647) 11th Aeroflot Open A Moscow RUS (4.5), 10.02.2012

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

Vishy Anand: World Chess Champion by Viswanathan Anand & John Nunn [FEN "4k3/5RR1/r7/p6K/8/7P/r4P2/8 w - - 0 45"]

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45.Rh7!? Good technique! But 45.f4 also wins, as 45...Rg2 can be met by 46.Rh7 Rg3 47.h4 a4 48.f5+. 45...Rb2 46.f4 a4 After 46...Rbb6 47.Rc7 Kd8 48.Rcg7 Re6 49.f5 Re8 50.Rd7+ Kc8, White has made so much progress, that he can trade down into a technical rook ending: My Most Memorable Games by Boris Gelfand

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[FEN "2k1r3/3R3R/r7/p4P1K/8/7P/8/8 w - - 0 51"]

51.Ra7 Rxa7 52.Rxa7 Re5 53.Kg6 Kb8 54.Rh7 a4 55.f6 a3 56.f7+ 47.f5 Rb3 48.h4 a3?! 48...Rb5 does not help in the long run: 49.Kg5 a3 50.Rfg7 Kf8 51.Rc7 and sooner or later the f-pawn will lend its helping hand: 51...Kg8 52.Rhd7 Rb8 53.Rg7+ Kh8 (53...Kf8 54.Rh7+–) 54.Rh7+ Kg8 55.Rcg7+ Kf8 56.f6+. 49.f6 1–0

A Rock-Solid Repertoire by Viacheslav Eingorn

[FEN "4k3/5R1R/r4P2/7K/7P/pr6/8/8 b - - 0 49"]

Nisipeanu resigned as White's reserves have entered the attack; e.g., 49...Ra5+ 50.Kh6 Re3 (50...Rb8 51.Re7+ Kf8 (51...Kd8 52.Rh8#) 52.Rh8#) 51.Rb7+–. With two rooks, weaving a mating net is often an important theme. 134.02 Ernst, Sipke (2606) – Potkin, Vladimir (2684) 74th Tata Steel GMB Wijk aan Zee NED (6), 20.01.2012

[FEN "8/8/p3r1p1/pb1p2k1/5R2/ 2R3KP/5P2/8 w - - 0 55"]

55.Rc7! 55.Rc8? allows the king to escape with 55...Kh6. 55...Kh6 There is no escape from White's mighty rooks: 55...Bd3 56.Rf8 A) 56...Kh6 57.f4 g5 (57...Re3+ 58.Kh4+–) 58.f5+. B) 56...Rf6 57.f4+ Kf5 58.Re8+. 55...Re4 56.h4+ Kh6 57.Rff7+

[FEN "8/2R2R2/p5pk/pb1p4/4r2P/ 6K1/5P2/8 b - - 0 57"]

It seems that the attack comes from all angles.

56.Rh4+ Kg5 57.Rf7 1–0 Potkin resigned because of 57...Rf6 58.Rg4+ Kf5 59.Rf4++–. In the following example the rooks even beat dangerous passed pawns: 134.03 Adler, B (2167) – Alvarez Marquez, J (2398) Gibraltar Open Caleta ENG (2.57), 25.01.2012

[FEN "4r1k1/1R6/3p2P1/8/2pb2P1/ 1p6/7P/5R1K w - - 0 42"]

42.Rf4! Re1+ 42...c3 43.Rxd4 Rc8 44.Rd1 b2 45.Rf1 Ra8 46.Kg2 Ra1 47.Rf3 Ra2 48.Rf2 Ra7 49.Rb6

[FEN "6k1/r7/1R1p2P1/8/6P1/ 2p5/1p3RKP/8 b - - 0 49"]

Now Black can only choose between a technically lost single rook endgame and a mating attack: 49...Ra6 (49...Ra1 50.Rbxb2 cxb2 51.Rxb2+–) 50.Rb8+ Kg7 51.h4 Kxg6 52.h5+ Kh6 53.Kg3 Ra7 54.Kh4 Kh7 55.g5+. 43.Kg2 Re2+ 43...b2 44.Rxd4 b1Q 45.Rxb1 Rxb1 46.Rxc4 leads to a technically lost single rook ending:

[FEN "6k1/8/3p2P1/8/2R3P1/8/6KP/1r6 b - - 0 46"]

46...Kg7 47.h4 Kxg6 48.Rd4 Rb6 49.Kg3 Rc6 50.Kf4 Ra6 51.h5+ Kh6 52. Rd5 Rc6 53.Kg3 Rb6 54.Kh4 Rc6 55.g5+ Kg7 56.Kg4+. 44.Kf1! Rd2 45.Rff7 1–0 Black resigned, as the threat Rb8 mate cannot be parried in a satisfactory way. Sometimes the two rooks are stronger than the queen, but this depends of course a lot on the position. The queen needs targets and the rooks stability. 134.04 Sasikiran, Krishnan (2700) – Hou, Yifan (2605) Gibraltar Open 2012 (5.5), 28.01.2012

[FEN "8/5pk1/p5p1/1p1q3p/1P3R1P/ 5RP1/5P1K/8 w - - 0 47"]

47.Rf6! Sasikiran blocks the f-pawn and forces Black to act quickly. 47...Qa2? This way Black cannot start real counterplay. The retreat 47...Kg8? is met by 48.Kg2 Qe4 49.Rxf7 Qxb4 50.R3f4 and Black should also be lost despite her passed queenside pawns:

[FEN "6k1/5R2/p5p1/1p5p/1q3R1P/ 6P1/5PK1/8 b - - 0 50"]

50...Qc5 51.R7f6 a5 (51...Kg7 52.Rxa6 b4 53.Rff6 Qd5+ 54.Kh2 Qd3 55. Rfb6 Kh6 56.Ra2 Qc3 57.Rb7 Qd4 58.Rc2+–) 52.Rxg6+ Kh7 53.Rg5 Qc6+ 54.Kh2 a4 The rooks just continue their attack: 55.Rf7+ Kh8 56.Rxh5+ Kg8 57.Rf4 a3 58.Rg4+ Kf7 59.Rf5+ Ke7 60.Rg7+ Ke8 61.Rh5 Kf8 62.Ra7 Qf6 63.Kg1 b4 64.Rb5+. The only way to fight on was the direct 47...a5! 48.bxa5 b4, when White has the choice between a queen endgame with an extra pawn or two rooks against queen:

[FEN "8/5pk1/5Rp1/P2q3p/1p5P/ 5RP1/5P1K/8 w - - 0 49"]

49.R3f4 (49.Rxf7+ Qxf7 50.Rxf7+ Kxf7 51.a6 b3 52.a7 b2 53.a8Q b1Q with a queen endgame which should be tenable.) 49...b3 50.Rb6 Qxa5 51.Rxb3 Qd5 52.Rb6 f5 and White can fight on but Black has practical drawing chances. 48.Kg2!

[FEN "8/5pk1/p4Rp1/1p5p/1P5P/ 5RP1/q4PK1/8 b - - 0 48"]

Preparation for the simplification. Sasikiran wins an all important tempo for the pawn endgame. 48.Rxf7+? violates the endgame principle do not rush: 48...Qxf7 49.Rxf7+ Kxf7 50.Kg2 (50.f3 Ke6 51.Kg2 Kd5 52.Kf2 Kc4 53.g4 Kxb4 54.f4=) 50... Ke6 51.Kf3 Kd5 52.Ke3 Kc4 53.f4 Kxb4 54.g4 Kc5 55.f5 Kd5 56.fxg6 Ke6 57.gxh5 Kf6=. 48...Kg8 Now it is too late for 48...a5 because of 49.bxa5 Qxa5 (49...b4 50.a6 b3 51. Rxf7+ Kh6 52.Rb7 Qxa6 53.Rff7+–) 50.Rxf7+ and White's attack is too quick:

[FEN "8/5Rk1/6p1/qp5p/7P/5RP1/ 5PK1/8 b - - 0 50"]

50...Kh6 (50...Kg8? 51.Rf8+ Kg7 52.R3f7+ Kh6 53.Rh8#) 51.Rb7 Qa6 52. Rff7 Qc6+ 53.Kh2 g5 54.Rh7+ Kg6 55.Rbg7+ Kf5 56.Rxg5++.

49.Rxf7! Qxf7 The pawn endgame is lost, but 49...Qd5 50.R7f6+ also offers no real hope. 50.Rxf7 Kxf7

[FEN "8/5k2/p5p1/1p5p/1P5P/ 6P1/5PK1/8 w - - 0 51"]

51.Kf3! The king comes first to stop Black's queenside counterplay based on the breakthrough ...a6-a5. Afterwards, White's kingside majority will decide the day. 51...Ke6 After 51...a5 52.bxa5 b4 53.Ke4+, White's king is in the square and Black's king is not. 52.Ke4 Kd6 53.f3 Kc6 54.g4! This advance wins the resulting races. 54...Kc7 The breakthrough 54...g5 backfires because of 55.gxh5 gxh4 56.h6 h3 57.h7 h2 58.h8Q+. After 54...Kb6 55.gxh5 gxh5 56.f4 a5 57.bxa5+ Kxa5 58.f5 b4 59.f6 b3, White must deal with the b-pawn:

[FEN "8/8/5P2/k6p/4K2P/1p6/8/8 w - - 0 60"]

60.Kd3! (60.f7? b2 61.f8Q b1Q+=) 60...Ka4 61.f7 b2 62.Kc2 Ka3 63.f8Q++. 55.gxh5 gxh5 56.f4 Kd6 57.f5 Kd7 58.Ke5 Ke7 59.f6+ 1–0 Hou Yifan resigned because of 59...Kf7 60.Kf5 a5 61.bxa5 b4 62.Ke4!+– and White's king stops the b-pawn. But not 62.a6? b3 63.a7 b2 64.a8Q b1Q+=. In the following game Harikrishna can even sacrifice a piece to get his rooks into the attack: 134.05 Nyzhnyk, I (2568) – Harikrishna, P (2665) 74th Tata Steel GMB Wijk aan Zee NED (9), 24.01.2012

[FEN "r5k1/pB3pp1/n6p/1bN5/3p4/6P1/ PP2rP1P/2R1K1R1 w - - 0 21"]

21.Kd1? Surprisingly, Black can not use the battery after 21.Kf1!! Rxb2+ (21...Rb8 22. Bxa6 Bxa6 23.Nxa6 Rbxb2 24.Rg2 d3 25.a3 Rec2 26.Rd1) 22.Kg2 Nxc5 (22...Re8 23.Bxa6 Bc6+ 24.Kf1 Rxa2 25.Bd3) 23.Bxa8 Nd3 24.Rc8+ Kh7 25. Be4+ g6 26.Ra1 Bd7 27.Rc7 Nxf2 28.Rc2 Rxc2 29.Bxc2 and White is for choice in all cases. 21...Rb8 22.Bxa6 Bxa6 23.Nxa6?! Now Black's rook will rule the board in seventh heaven. 23.b3 Rxa2 24.Re1 offers better practical chances. 23...Rbxb2 24.Rc8+ Kh725.Nb4?! 25.Rb8?! Rbd2+ 26.Kc1 Rxa2 27.Nc5 Rac2+ 28.Kd1 Red2+ 29.Ke1 Rxf2 30. Nd7 h5+; 25.a4 is relativly best but still insufficient; e.g., 25...Rxf2 26.Rb8 Rxb8 27.Nxb8 Rb2 28.Re1 Rb1+ 29.Kd2 Rxb8 30.Re7 a5µ; 25.Rd8? Rxf2 26. Kc1 Rxa2+. 25...Rxf2 26.a3 a5!

[FEN "2R5/5ppk/7p/p7/1N1p4/P5P1/ 1r3r1P/3K2R1 w - - 0 27"]

Forces the knight to leave its proud post. 27.Nd5 27.Nd3 is met by 27...Rbd2+ 28.Kc1 (28.Ke1 Rfe2+ 29.Kf1 Rxh2 and White is lost as 30.Ne1?! runs into 30...Rhf2#) 28...Rxd3+. Of course not 27.Nc2?? Rb1#. 27...Ra2 28.Re1 Now the d-pawn joins Black's rooks which decides the day: 28...d3 0–1 Nyzhnyk resigned because of 29.Ree8 Rfd2+ 30.Ke1 (30.Kc1 Rxh2 31.Kd1 d2+) 30...Rxh2 31.Kd1 d2 32.Nf4 Ra1+ 33.Kc2 d1Q+ 34.Kc3 Rc1#.

Solutions to last month exercises E133.01 Giri, A (2714) – Ivanchuk, V (2775) 54th Reggio Emilia ITA (6), 02.01.2012

[FEN "2r5/3k1p2/R4p2/2pP3p/5K1P/ 4P1P1/5P2/8 w - - 0 42"]

Anish Giri played 42.Rc6. Was this a good choice? 42.Rc6! This does indeed win. 42...Rxc6 43.dxc6+ Kxc6 44.g4 c4 45.e4! 45. gxh5? is also better for White, but not nearly as clear as the game: 45...c3 46. h6 c2 47.h7 c1Q 48.h8Q Qb2 49.Qh5 Kd6 (49...Qxf2+? 50.Qf3+ Qxf3+ 51. Kxf3 Kd6 52.Kf4 Ke6 53.e4 f5 54.exf5+ Kf6 55.h5 Kg7 56.Ke5! Kh6 57.Kf6 Kxh5 58.Kxf7+–) 50.Kg3 Qb1 51.Qf3 Ke6 52.h5 Ke7 with still two results possible: a white win or a draw. 45...Kd6 After 45...hxg4?! 46.h5+, Black's king is not in the square of the h-pawn. 45...c3 46.Ke3+. After 45...Kc5, White stops the counterplay first: 46.Ke3! Kb4 47.Kd2! Kb3 48.Kc1!+. 46. f3!! Giri's brillant point. After 46.gxh5? Ke7, Black's running king is quick enough: 47.Ke3 Kf8 48.Kd4 Kg7 49.Kxc4 Kh6 50.Kd5 Kxh5 51.Kd6 Kxh4 52.Ke7 Kg5 53.Kxf7 Kf4 54.Kxf6 Kxe4 55.Kg5 Kf3=. 46.Ke3? hxg4 47.Kd4 (47.h5 Ke7 48.Kd4 Kf8=) 47...f5 48.exf5 c3 49.Kxc3 Ke5=. 46...Ke6 47.Ke3! Ke5 47...hxg4 48.fxg4 Ke7 49.Kd4+. 47...f5 48.gxf5+ Ke5 49.f4+ Kd6 50. Kd4+. 48.gxh5 f5 49.h6 f4+ 50.Kd2 Kf6 51.h5 1–0

[FEN "8/5p2/5k1P/7P/2p1Pp2/5P2/ 3K4/8 b - - 0 51"]

Sooner or later he will fall into deadly zugzwang, so Ivanchuk resigned. E133.02 Mirzoev, A (2510) – Georgiev, Kir (2666) V Stadium Casablanca Open Zaragoza ESP (9.1), 31.12.2011

[FEN "8/8/4pp2/6pp/4P2k/4rP1P/ 5R1K/8 b - - 0 58"]

Can Black to move win? Black won with 58...g4! 59.hxg4 59.fxg4 Rxh3+ 60.Kg2 Rg3+ 61.Kh2 Rxg4 62.Rxf6 Rxe4+. 59...hxg4 60.fxg4 Kg5! Black must keep his very valuable f6pawn. 61.Rc2 Rxe4 62.Kh3 Re3+ 0–1

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A Reader's Reactions I do not receive much feedback, but when I do it is usually well founded. Recently, John-Paul Fenwick sent me several points on many examples:

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06.06 Pelikian – Sunye Neto Sao Paulo zt, 2000

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

Slay the Sicilian! by Timothy Taylor

[FEN "8/8/4p3/1p1pP1K1/1Pk5/4p3/ 8/4B3 b - - 0 73"] Translate this page

73.Kg5!? is called for, as now only White can play for win. In the game White played the dubious 73.Kxe6?! d4 74.Kf5 d3 75.e6 d2 76. Bxd2 exd2 77.e7 d1Q 78.e8Q, which is drawn, but difficult to defend overthe-board. 78...Qd5+ 79.Kg6 Kxb4 80.Qe1+ Kc5 81.Qe3+ Qd4 82.Qc1+ Kb6

Brooklyn Daily Eagle by Hermann Helms

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[FEN "8/8/1k4K1/1p6/3q4/8/8/2Q5 w - - 0 83"]

Now he wanted to reach the drawing zone directly with 83.Kh7? overlooking 83...Qd7+ and so he resigned. One move that draws is 83.Qe1. 73...d4 74.Kf4 Here I made a mistake in my analysis in Endgame Corner #06, as 74...Kd3? loses. 74...Kd5= draws according to Fenwick, as White has too many defensive duties. 75.Kf3 e2

ChessBase Magazine 148 by ChessBase

[FEN "8/8/4p3/1p2P3/1P1p4/3k1K2/ 4p3/4B3 w - - 0 76"]

76.Kf2? Now my mistakes cancel each other out. However, 76.Kf4! wins; e.g., 76... Kc2 77.Ke4 d3 78.Ke3 Kd1 79.Bc3 e1Q+ 80.Bxe1 Kxe1 81.Kxd3 Kf2 82. Kd4 Kf3 83.Kc5 Ke4 84.Kxb5 Kxe5 85.Kc6+-. 76...Ke4 77.Kxe2 Kxe5 78.Kd3 Kd5 79.Bh4 e5 80.Be7 e4+ 81.Kd2 Kc4 82. Bc5 e3+ 83.Kc2 d3+ 84.Kd1 e2+ 85.Kd2= 0-1 The following example also shows the fight of a bishop against pawns: 14.03 Aarefjord – Nordahl Oslo, 2001

[FEN "8/8/1Pk5/1bP1p3/1P2P1p1/8/ 5K1P/8 b - - 0 54"]

54...Bd3?! Fenwick gives 54...Ba6 55.Kg3 Bc8 as route to draw; e.g., 56.Kh4 Kb5 57. Kh5 Bb7 58.Kxg4 Kxb4 59.Kf5 Kxc5 60.Kxe5 Kxb6 61.h4 Bc6 62.h5 Be8 63. h6 Bg6 64.Kd5 Kc7 65.e5 Kd7=. 55.Kg3 Bxe4 56.Kxg4 Kb5 57.h4

[FEN "8/8/1P6/1kP1p3/1P2b1KP/8/8/8 b - - 0 57"]

57...Kxb4? In view of Fenwick's discovery, this seems to be another mistake.

I have not found a way to win against 57...Kc6, as White's king must stay in the square of Black's e-pawn; e.g., 58.h5 Kb7 59.Kg5 Bd3 60.h6 Bh7 61.b5 e4 62.Kf4 Bg6=. 58.h5? Here Aarefjord (and I) missed 58.c6! "when Black will not be able to stop both the b- and h-pawns" (Fenwick); e.g., 58...Bxc6 59.h5 e4 60.Kf4 Kc5 (60...Kc3 61.Ke3+-) 61.h6 Kxb6 62.h7+-. 58...Kxc5 59.b7?? Mistakes always seem to come in pairs. 59.Kg5 Kxb6 60.Kf6= saves the day. 59...Bxb7 60.Kf5 Kd4 0-1 In the next example the presence of knights makes matters more complicated: 14.05 Kraidman – Luboshitz Saint Vincent, 2001

[FEN "5n2/1N6/1n6/2p1k3/1p4B1/ 1P1K3P/8/8 b - - 0 51"]

51...c4+!? 52.bxc4 Nxc4? This is too early. 52...b3 53.c5 Nd5 is called for as given in Endgame Corner #14. 53.Kxc4 Ng6 54.Nc5? The knight does not yet know where to go. 54.Kxb4 wins according to the endgame tablebase. 54...Kf4 55.Kxb4

[FEN "8/8/6n1/2N5/1K3kB1/7P/8/8 b - - 0 55"]

55.Bh5 "might be a better try but Black should be able to hold the draw with 55...Ne7." (Fenwick)

55...Kg5?? "This is not commented on, but is the real culprit. Black can hold the draw with 55...Kg3 The point is that Black maintains control of f4 and will pick up the h3-pawn." (Fenwick) 56.Ne4+ (56.Ne6 Nf4 57.Nxf4 Kxf4 58.Kc5 Ke5 59. h4 Kf6=) 56...Kh4 57.Kc5 Nf4 58.Nf2 Nxh3 59.Bxh3 Kg3=. 56.Ne6+ Kh4 57.Kc5 Ne5 58.Bf5 Nf3 59.Kd5 Ng5 60.Nxg5 Kxg5 61.Ke6 Kh6 62.Kf6 Kh5 63.Kg7 Kg5 64.Bg4 1-0 In the following exercise, Fenwick found a much better solution then the one I had given. E19.03 van Haastert, E – Hoffmann, M Enschede, 2002

[FEN "8/1p6/5p1p/7P/bPk2PB1/ 4K1P1/8/8 w - - 0 57"]

57.Bf5! "In the game White played 57.b5? which is awarded an "!" but White may encounter some difficulties after 57...b6!" (Fenwick): A) In the game Black played 57...Kc5 58.Be2 f5? (58...b6 is still called for.) 59.Bd3 and lost after some further moves. B) 57...b6! I continue Fenwick's analysis with 58.Be2+ Kd5 59.g4 Ke6 60. Kd4 Bc2 61.Bd3 Bd1 62.Bf5+ Kd6

[FEN "8/8/1p1k1p1p/1P3B1P/3K1PP1/ 8/8/3b4 w - - 0 63"]

Black seems to be able to defend, as 63.g5 can be met by 63...fxg5 64.fxg5 Ke7 65.gxh6 Kf7=. 57...Kd5 57...Kxb4 58.Kd4!+- Bodycheck! 58.g4 b6 59.g5 fxg5 60.fxg5 Ke5 61.gxh6 Kf6 62.h7 Kg7 63.Kd4+- 1-0 In the following example, I had underestimated the difficulty to break Black's defense.

15.03 Ponomariov – Lutz Yerevan, 2001

[FEN "8/4k3/6p1/2bB1p1p/n4P1P/ p5P1/P1K5/4B3 b - - 0 72"]

72...Nb6! "This moved is questioned with the comment 'Why not 72...Nb2?' In fact, Lutz is correct because the knight will be forced to b6 anyway under less favourable circumstances; for example, 73.Bg8 Kf8 74.Be6 Ke7 75.Bd5 Na4 76.Kb3." (Fenwick) 73.Bg8 Nd7 74.Kb3 Nf6 75.Bc4 Ne4? "This passes without comment. Correct was 75...Ke8! to meet 76.Bb4?! with 76...Bf2." (Fenwick) 76.Ka4? 76.Bb4! uses Black's mistake: 76...Kd6 77.Kxa3 Nxg3 78.Kb3 and it "looks winning." (Fenwick) 76...Ke8 77.Kb5 Bd4

[FEN "4k3/8/6p1/1K3p1p/2BbnP1P/ p5P1/P7/4B3 w - - 0 78"]

78.Kc6 "Now as noted Black could have played 78...Nc3 which should hold easily." (Fenwick) In the game Lutz played 78...Bc3? and lost later. "Here a long analysis is given" (Fenwick) and I may add Bent Larsen famous aphorism "long analysis, wrong analysis." 25.02 Shinkevich – Mirovshchilov Aeroflot Open Moscow, 2002

[FEN "4k3/8/2nB3p/2p2p2/p7/8/P4PPP/ 2K5 b - - 0 30"]

30...c4 In the game Black played 30...Nb4 and lost later. 31.Bc5 Kd7 32.Kb2 Ke6 33.Ka3 "Stronger is 33.Be3! h5 and then 34.Ka3; for example, 34...Ke5 35.Kxa4 f4 36.Bc1 c3 37.Kb3 Kd4 38.a4 which looks winning." (Fenwick) 33...c3 34.Kxa4 Kd5 35.Be3 Kc4 36.Bxh6 Nb4 37.h4

[FEN "8/8/7B/5p2/Knk4P/2p5/P4PP1/ 8 b - - 0 37"]

The position seems to be won for White, so in this respect I was right. But my lines contain mistakes: "And now line A1) is 37...Nd3 In line A2) 37...Nxa2 38.h5 c2 39.Ka3 Nc3 40.Kb2 Ne4

[FEN "8/8/7B/5p1P/2k1n3/8/1Kp2PP1/ 8 w - - 0 41"]

Now 41.Be3!+- (In the original analysis 41.Bf4? was given but this allows 41...Nxf2! 42.Kxc2 Ne4 when Black must be close to drawing for example 43. Bc1 Nf6 44.h6 Nh7 45.Kd2 Kd5 46.Kd3 Ke6; 41.Bc1! is also good." (Fenwick)) 38.h5?

Here I can add 38.Ka3, when White should win in the long run:

[FEN "8/8/7B/5p2/2k4P/K1pn4/P4PP1/ 8 b - - 0 38"]

38...c2 (38...f4 39.Bg7 c2 40.Bb2 Nxf2 41.h5+-; 38...Nxf2 39.h5 Ne4 40.Be3 Kd3 41.Bf4 c2 42.h6 Nd2 43.Kb2+-) 39.Bd2 Kd5 40.h5 Ke6 41.Ka4 c1Q 42. Bxc1 Nxc1 43.a3 Ne2 44.Kb4 Nf4 45.h6 Kf7 46.a4+-. 38...f4 39.Bf8

[FEN "5B2/8/8/7P/K1k2p2/2pn4/P4PP1/8 b - - 0 39"]

"Now 39...Nb2+! In the analysis only 39...c2? was given leading to a white win. 40.Ka3 Kd3 This saves the day. 41.h6 Or 41.Bh6 Nc4+ 42.Kb3 Nd2+. 41...c2 42.h7 c1Q 43.h8Q Nd1+ 44.Kb4 Qc4+ 45.Ka5 Qxa2+= "(Fenwick) In the following example, my conclusion also seems to be right, but the analysis contains a mistake. 25.03 Alvarez – Berg Bermuda, 2002

[FEN "8/3k3p/7B/P5p1/2K3P1/6n1/8/8 w - - 0 56"]

56.Kd5!? In the game 56.Kb5 was played and it was later drawn. 56...Kc7? "As the text move seems to lose, Black needs an alternative 56...Ne2 seems to be the best chance, for example 57.Kc5 Kc7 58.Bxg5 Nc3 59.Bf4+ Kb7 60. Be5 Ne4+ 61.Kb5 Nf2 62.g5 Ne4 I haven't been able to find a win for White in this line." (Fenwick); I can add that 56...Kc8 57.Bxg5 (57.Kc6 Ne4=) 57... h5 draws as well. 57.Bxg5 Kb7 58.Bf4 Nh1 59.Be3 Ng3 60.Ke5 Ka6 61.Bd2 Ne2

[FEN "8/7p/k7/P3K3/6P1/8/3Bn3/8 w - - 0 62"]

62.Ke4!! Beautiful centralization and domination. "And now White is winning as the knight is trapped in the original analysis 62.Kf6? Nd4 leads to a draw." (Fenwick) 62...Kb5 63.Kd3 Ng3 64.Bf4 h5 64...Nh1 loses the knight. 65.g5 Nf5 66.Ke4 Nh4 67.Bg3 Ng6 68.Kf5 Ne7+ 69.Ke6+31.03 Mueller, M – Hajenius, W 19th Open Bad Woerishofen, 2003

[FEN "4r1k1/1p2q1pp/p3r3/8/2B1p3/ 1QP5/PP4PP/3R3K w - - 0 26"]

"This looks like a classic case of "do not hurry" which means that White should prepare for the endgame by centralizing the king. Therefore, 26.Kg1!? seems correct, as in the likely resulting rook endgame the king will be close enough to the weak e-pawn to cause Black significant difficulties In the game White played 26.Bxe6+? leading to a lost pawn endgame." (Fenwick) I add 26...Qxe6 27.Rd8? Qxb3 28.Rxe8+ Kf7 29.axb3 Kxe8 and Black won later. 33.02 Grischuk – Shirov Russia vs. Rest of The World Moscow, 2002

[FEN "8/pp6/4pk2/5pp1/7p/8/PP1K4/ 5R2 w - - 0 46"]

"Here instead of the game continuation the following line is analyzed: 46.Rh1 46.Ke2? was the move played in the game and Shirov won later. 46...f4 47.Ke2 e5 48.b4 b5 49.Kd3 Kf5

[FEN "8/p7/8/1p2pkp1/1P3p1p/ 3K4/P7/7R w - - 0 50"]

50.Rh2?

To survive White needs to play 50.Ke2! e4 51.Kf2=. 50...e4+ 51.Kd4 e3 52.Kd3 With the comment that Black cannot make progress. In fact, Black is winning quite comfortably: 52...Kg4; for example, 53.Rg2+ Kh5 54.Ke4 h3 55.Rg1 Kh4-+" (Fenwick) 36.06 Nijboer – Sadler Sonsbeek SNS Arnhem, 1999

[FEN "8/8/8/KPkn1n2/5P2/8/8/8 w - - 0 63"]

63.Ka6 63.b6 was the move played in the game. 63...Nc7+ 63...Nb6 64.Ka5 Nc4+ 65.Ka6= was my original faulty analysis, which is wrong of course. This mistake is difficult to explain as Black's f-pawn is safely blockaded behind the Troitsky-Line. 64.Ka5 Nxb5 "With a win for Black as per the tablebase" (Fenwick). The f-pawn is blockaded on the Troitsky-Line and in this case the attacker even always wins with respect to the fifty-move rule. Many thanks to John-Paul Fenwick for allowing me to use his analysis. He has found even more mistakes and I will deal with them in a later column.

© 2012 ChessCafe.com. All Rights Reserved.

A PDF file of this month's column, along with all previous columns, is available in the ChessCafe.com Archives.

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Strong Knights and Knightmares Part One The knight seems to have two faces in the endgame. He can be strong and versatile or slow and clumsy depending on circumstances. I begin with nightmares:

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A) The knight's worst enemy

Endgame Corner

A rook's pawn can be very difficult to deal with, as the knight is restricted near the edge of the board: 136.01 Blübaum, M (2407) – Tabatt, H (2296) German Championship Osterburg GER (1), 02.03.2012 Chess Informant 114 by Branko Tadic (ed)

Karsten Müller

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[FEN "3K4/8/7n/3Pk1pP/4B3/8/8/8 w - - 0 65"]

65.Ke7!!

Brooklyn Daily Eagle by Hermann Helms

This breaks Black's blockade for good. 65.Ke8 wins as well: 65...Kd6 (65...Kxe4 66.d6 Ng4 67.h6 Nf6+ 68.Ke7 Nd5 + 69.Kf7+–

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Paul Morphy by Geza Maroczy

[FEN "8/5K2/3P3P/3n2p1/4k3/8/8/8 b - - 0 69"]

Domination!; 65...g4 66.Bg2+–) 66.Kf8 g4 67.Kg7 Ke5 68.Bh1 (68.Kxh6? Kxe4=) 68...Nf5+ 69.Kf7 g3 70.Bg2 Nh4 71.h6 Nxg2 72.h7 Nf4 73.h8Q+ Kxd5 74.Qh7 g2 75.Qf5++– 65...Kxe4 66.d6 Nf5+

[FEN "8/4K3/3P4/5npP/4k3/8/8/8 w - - 0 67"]

67.Kf6! The only safe square. 67.Kf8? Nxd6 68.h6 g4 69.h7 g3 70.h8Q g2 71.Qh2 Kf3 is only drawn. 67...Nxd6 67...g4 does not help; e.g., 68.d7 g3 69.d8Q Ne3 (69...g2 70.Qa8++–) 70.h6 g2 71.Qg8 Kf3 72.h7 Ng4+ 73.Qxg4+ Kxg4 74.h8Q g1Q 75.Qg7++–. 68.h6

[FEN "8/8/3n1K1P/6p1/4k3/8/8/8 b - - 0 68"]

Black cannot stop the coronation of White's last pawn. 68...g4 After 68...Ne8+, White can even play 69.Kxg5 Nd6 70.Kg6+–

[FEN "8/8/3n2KP/8/4k3/8/8/8 b - - 0 70"]

Domination! 69.h7 Kf3 69...Ne8+ 70.Kg6+–

[FEN "4n3/7P/6K1/8/4k1p1/8/8/8 b - - 0 70"]

Domination! 70.h8Q

[FEN "7Q/8/3n1K2/8/6p1/5k2/8/8 b - - 0 70"]

The queen will win sooner or later. 70...Ne4+ 70...g3 71.Qh5+ Kf2 72.Qc5+ Kf1 73.Qxd6 g2 74.Qf4+

[FEN "8/8/5K2/8/5Q2/8/6p1/5k2 b - - 0 74"]

The queen always wins against a knight's pawn no matter how far away the attacking king is: 74...Ke2 75.Qg3 Kf1 76.Qf3+ Kg1 77.Kg5 Kh2 78.Kh4 g1Q 79.Qh3#. 71.Ke5 Nf2 71...g3 72.Qf8+ Ke2 73.Kxe4 g2 74.Qg7+–. 72.Qa8+ 1–0 Black resigned because of 72...Kg3 73.Kf5 Kh2 74.Kf4 g3 75.Kf3 g2 76.Qb8 + Kh1 77.Qh8+ Kg1 78.Qd4 Kh1 79.Qh4+ Kg1 80.Qxf2+ Kh1 81.Qxg2# B) The untouchable knight Stalemate is a paradoxical resource in many reduced endgames, but White can

catch the steed in the end: 136.02 Pruijssers, Roeland (2475) – Kolbus, Dietmar (2325) German Bundesliga 2011/12 (12.8), 17.03.2012

[FEN "8/1kn5/8/1PB5/P1K5/8/8/8 b - - 0 65"]

65...Na6!? 65...Ne6!? also sets a trap: A) However, 66.a5?? runs into 66...Nc7 67.b6 Kc6!!

[FEN "8/2n5/1Pk5/P1B5/2K5/8/8/8 w - - 0 68"]

Black's blockade cannot be broken: 68.Bf2 (68.bxc7 Kxc7 69.a6 Kb8=) 68... Na6 69.Bg3 Nc5 70.Bh2 Na6 71.Bd6 Kxd6 72.Kb5 Nc7+!=. B) 66.Bd6 Kb6 67.Kb4 Kb7 68.a5 Nd4 69.a6+ Kc8 70.Kc5 Ne6+ 71.Kd5 Nd8 72.b6+–. 66.Bd6 Corralling the knight. 66.bxa6+?? blows it because of 66...Ka8= as the bishop does not control the queening square of the a-pawn. 66...Kb6 67.Kd5 Kb7 68.a5 Ka8 69.Kc6 Ka7

[FEN "8/k7/n1KB4/PP6/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 70"]

70.Ba3 Pruijssers wants to invade with his king first. Besides the direct 70.b6+ Ka8 71.b7+ wins as well: 71...Ka7 72.Bf8 Nb8+ 73. Kc7 Na6+ 74.Kc8 Nb8 75.Bc5+ Ka6 76.Kxb8+– 70...Nb8+ 70...Ka8 71.Kb6 Nb8 72.Kc7 Na6+ 73.Kc8 Nc5 74.b6 Nb7 75.a6 Nd6+ 76. Kd7 Nb7 77.Kc7 Nd6 78.b7++–. 71.Kc7 Na6+ 72.Kc8 72.bxa6?? Ka8=. 72...Ka8 73.b6 Nc5

[FEN "k1K5/8/1P6/P1n5/8/B7/8/8 w - - 0 74"]

74.a6 However, not 74.Bxc5?? stalemate. 74...Nxa6 75.b7+ Ka7 76.Bc5+! White avoids the last trick: 76.Bd6? Kb6=. 76...Nxc5 77.b8Q+ Ka6 78.Qb4 1–0 C) The long march The activity of the king is a crucial factor in many endgames: 136.03 Krylov, M (2503) – Aldokhin, I (2375) Moscow Championship Final RUS (6), 15.03.2012

[FEN "8/3b1pkp/6p1/3P4/pp1N4/ 5P2/P4KPP/8 b - - 0 33"]

White's knight is no match for Black's bishop. 33...Kf6! 34.Ke3

This loses the d-pawn. However, the alternatives do no help either: 34.f4 Ke7 35.Ke2 (35.Ke3 Kd6 36.Ke4 can even be met by the beautiful breakthrough 36...a3 37.Nb3 Bf5+ 38.Kd4 Bb1 39.Nc1

[FEN "8/5p1p/3k2p1/3P4/1p1K1P2/p7/ P5PP/1bN5 b - - 0 39"]

39...Bxa2 40.Nxa2 b3–+) 35...Kd6 36.Nc2 Kc5 37.d6 b3 38.axb3 axb3 39. Ne1 Kxd6–+; 34.Ke2 Ke5 35.Nc2 b3 36.axb3 axb3 37.Ne3 Kd4 38.Nd1 Kxd5–+. 34...Ke5 The king just marches on. 35.Nc6+ This loses directly, but good advice is hard to give as 35.Nc2 runs into 35...b3 36.axb3 axb3 37.Na3 Kxd5 38.Kd3 Be6 39.Nc4 Kc5 40.Nb2 Kb4 41.Kd4 Bd7 42.Kd3 Ka3 43.Kc3 g5–+. 35...Bxc6! Not the greedy 35...Kxd5? 36.Nxb4+ Kc4 37.a3 Kb3 38.Kd2 Kxa3 39.Kc3

[FEN "8/3b1p1p/6p1/8/pN6/k1K2P2/ 6PP/8 b - - 0 39"]

When Black should probably win in the long run, but convincing proof will not be easy to give. 36.dxc6 Kd6 37.Kd3 Kxc6 38.Kc4 b3 39.axb3 a3! This distant passed pawn will decide the day. The recapture 39...axb3? runs into the wall 40.Kxb3 Kd5 41.Kc3=. 40.Kc3

[FEN "8/5p1p/2k3p1/8/8/pPK2P2/ 6PP/8 b - - 0 40"]

40...Kb5! 41.h4 f5 42.f4 42.b4 a2 43.Kb2 Kxb4 44.Kxa2 Kc3–+. 42...h5 43.g3 Ka5! 0–1

[FEN "8/8/6p1/k4p1p/5P1P/pPK3P1/ 8/8 w - - 0 44"]

Black's point, which puts White in fatal zugzwang. Black's king really has walked a long way from g7! 43...Ka5 A) 44.Kc2 Kb4 45.Kb1 Kxb3 46.Ka1

[FEN "8/8/6p1/5p1p/5P1P/pk4P1/ 8/K7 b - - 0 46"]

46...a2 The typical "imprisoning technique." (Besides, the normal 46...Kc3 wins as well of course.) 47.g4 hxg4 48.h5 g3 49.hxg6 g2 50.g7 g1Q#. B) 44.b4+ Ka4 45.b5 Kxb5 46.Kb3 Kc5 47.Kxa3 Kd4–+. D) The Blockade Knights are very concrete and tactical pieces and it is very easy to overlook a fork: 136.04 Müller, Oli (2327) – Schulz, Kar (2289)

German Championship Osterburg GER (4), 05.03.2012

[FEN "8/8/2n5/1p1NP3/k7/p1K5/8/8 w - - 0 60"]

60.e6? This advance runs into a tactical refutation. 60.Nb6+ Ka5 61.Nd5 draws:

[FEN "8/8/2n5/kp1NP3/8/p1K5/8/8 b - - 0 61"]

White's blockade cannot be broken: A) 61...Nxe5 62.Kb3 Nc4 63.Nc3 Kb6 (63...b4 64.Kxc4 bxc3 65.Kxc3 Ka4 66.Kc2 Kb4 67.Kb1=) 64.Kb4 (64.Nb1? runs into the typical 64...b4 65.Kxc4 a2–+) 64...Kc6 65.Nxb5 a2 66.Nd4+ Kd5 67.Nc2 Ne3 68.Kb3 Nxc2 69. Kxa2=. B) 61...b4+ 62.Nxb4 Nxb4 63.Kb3 a2 64.Kb2

[FEN "8/8/8/k3P3/1n6/8/pK6/8 b - - 0 64"]

Black can win the e-pawn, but not the game; e.g., 64...Kb5 65.Ka1 Kc5 66. Kb2 Kd5 67.Ka1 Kxe5 68.Kb2 Kd4 69.Ka1 Kc3 stalemate. 60...b4+

[FEN "8/8/2n1P3/3N4/kp6/p1K5/8/8 w - - 0 61"]

61.Nxb4 Desperation, but the alternatives do not help either: 61.Kc4 a2 62.e7 Nxe7 63. Nxe7 a1Q–+; 61.Kc2 Nd4+–+ (61...b3+? is met by 62.Kb1= and Black surprisingly cannot win.) 61...Nxb4 62.Kd2

[FEN "8/8/4P3/8/kn6/p7/3K4/8 b - - 0 62"]

One last joke. The king tries to dominate the knight, but Black just wins by stopping the e-pawn. The direct 62.e7 runs into 62...Nd5+–+. 62...Nd5 Of course, Black does not fall for 62...a2?? 63.e7 a1Q 64.e8Q+=. 63.Kc2 Kb4 64.Kb1 Kb3 0–1 White resigned as the knight has the last word after 65.Ka1 a2 66.e7 Nb4 67. e8Q Nc2#.

© 2012 ChessCafe.com. All Rights Reserved.

A PDF file of this month's column, along with all previous columns, is available in the ChessCafe.com Archives.

Comment on this month's column via our Contact Page! Pertinent responses will be posted below daily.

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Strong Knights and Knightmares Part Two Now the knight shall appear in his shining armor.

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E) Stamma's Mate A lone knight cannot force mate, of course. But if the opponent still has a far advanced rook's pawn, then matters can be different.

Endgame Corner

137.01 Donchenko, Alexa (2309) – Onischuk, V (2516) 13th EICC Plovdiv BUL (4.107), 23.03.2012

Karsten Müller

Aron Nimzowitsch by Per Skjoldager & Jørn Erik Nielsen

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[FEN "8/8/8/3p1k1p/8/3K4/7P/5N2 w - - 0 68"]

68.Ne3+ The alternative approach 68.Kd4 wins as well; e.g., 68...Kg4 (68...Ke6 69. Ne3 h4 70.h3+–) 69.Kxd5 Kh3 70.Ke4 Kg2 71.Kf4 Kxf1 72.h4 Ke2 73.Kg5 Kf3 74.Kxh5 Kf4 75.Kg6+–. However, not 68.Ng3+? Kg4 69.Ke3 Kh3 70. Nf1 Kg2 71.Ke2 d4=.

ChessBase Magazine 149 by Rainer Knaak

68...Kf4 69.Nxd5+ Kf3 70.Ne3! h4 71.Kd4 h3 71...Kf4 72.Nf1 Kf3 73.Ke5 Kg2 74.Kf4 Kxf1 75.Kg4 Kg2 76.h3+–. 72.Kd3 Kf2 73.Ke4 Play through and download the games from ChessCafe.com in the ChessBase Game Viewer.

The Torre Attack: Move by Move by Richard Palliser

[FEN "8/8/8/8/4K3/4N2p/5k1P/8 b - - 0 73"]

73...Ke2 This allows White to win the h-pawn. But taking White's h-pawn leads to Stamma's famous mate:

73...Kg1 74.Kf3 When Black can choose between the following: A) 74...Kh1 75.Kf2 (75.Kg3 wins as well of course.) 75...Kxh2 76.Ng4+ Kh1 77.Kf1 h2 78.Nf2#. B) 74...Kxh2 75.Kf2

[FEN "8/8/8/8/8/4N2p/5K1k/8 b - - 0 75"]

75...Kh1 76.Nf1 h2 77.Ng3# and Stamma's mate is on the board! 74.Ng4 1–0 F) The Andersson Endgame I suggest calling endgames of rook and knight against rook and bishop, where the knight has the advantage, The Andersson Endgame, because the Swedish grandmaster handles the knight like no other. In this case, White has an extra pawn and Black's bishop must passively protect the weak pawn g4. Furthermore, White's strategic initiative on the dark squares cannot be stopped in the long run. 137.02 Azaladze, Shota (2419) – Iordachescu, Viorel (2644) 13th EICC Plovdiv BUL (2.88), 21.03.2012

[FEN "8/7k/4b3/r3N1R1/6pK/6P1/7P/8 w - - 0 58"]

58.Ng6! The knight shows his power. The greedy 58.Nxg4? runs into the pin 58...Ra4 and White cannot win; e.g., 59.h3 Rc4 60.Rh5+ Kg8 61.Kg5 Bxg4 62.hxg4 Kg7=. 58...Ra8!? Both 58...Rxg5 59.Kxg5 Kg7 60.Ne5 Bc8 61.Nxg4+– and 58...Ra2 59.Nf8+ Kh8 (59...Kh6? 60.Rg6#) 60.Nxe6 Rxh2+ 61.Kxg4+– are weaker. 59.Nf4! Bc8 59...Bd7 60.Nh5 Kh6 61.Nf6+–. 60.Rc5!?

[FEN "r1b5/7k/8/2R5/5NpK/6P1/7P/8 b - - 0 60"]

White prepares to attack Black's king and aims at the bishop to keep Black passive. 60...Kg7 60...Kh6 61.Rc6+ Kg7 62.Nd5 Bf5 63.Kg5 Be4 64.Rc7+ Kf8 65.Ne3+–. 61.Kg5 Kf7 62.Nd5 Be6 62...Bd7?! can be directly refuted by the amazing computer line 63.Rc7 Rg8+ 64.Kf4 Ke6 65.Rxd7 Rf8+ 66.Nf6 Rxf6+ 67.Kg5 Rf8 (67...Rf2 68.Rh7+–) 68. Rh7 Rg8+ 69.Kf4 Kf6 70.Rh4+–. 63.Rc7+ Kf8 64.Nf4 Bc8 65.Ng6+ Ke8 65...Kg8?! runs into the mating attack 66.Kh6 Bd7 67.Rxd7 Ra7 68.Ne7++–. 66.Ne5 Kd8 67.Rc2 Ra5 68.Re2

[FEN "2bk4/8/8/r3N1K1/6p1/6P1/4R2P/8 b - - 0 68"]

68...Rd5 Going to the kingside with 68...Ke7!? 69.Kh4 A) 69...Kf8 70.Rf2+ Kg7 (70...Kg8 71.Nc6 Rc5 72.Ne7+ Kg7 73.Nxc8 Rxc8 74.Kxg4+–) 71.Rf7+ Kh6 72.Nxg4++–. B) 69...Ra4 70.Nxg4+ Kf7 71.Rf2+ Kg7 probably offers more resistance, but White should win after 72.Rf4 Ra2 73.h3 Ra6 74.Rc4 Be6 75.Rc7+ Kf8 76. Ne5+–. Protecting the pawn with 68...Ra4 does not help in the long run as White can often exchange rooks or minor pieces; e.g., 69.Re1 Be6 (69...Ra2 70.Nxg4 Bxg4 71.Kxg4 Rxh2 72.Kf5 Rf2+ 73.Kg6 Rf8 74.g4 Rg8+ 75.Kf5 Rf8+ 76.Kg5 Rg8+ 77.Kf4 Rf8+ 78.Kg3 Rg8 79.Re4 Kd7 80.Kf4 Rf8+ 81. Kg5 Rg8+ 82.Kf6+–) 70.Kf6 A) 70...Bc8 71.Rd1+ Kc7 (71...Ke8 72.Nf7 Ra6+ 73.Rd6+–) 72.Rc1+ Kd8 73. Rc4 Ra2 74.Nxg4 Bxg4 75.Rxg4 Rxh2 76.Re4+–. B) 70...Ra6 71.Nc6+ Rxc6 72.Rxe6 Rc2 73.Kg5 Rxh2 74.Kxg4 Kd7 75.Rf6 Ke7 76.Kg5 Rh8 77.g4 Rg8+ 78.Rg6 Ra8 79.Kh6 Kf7 80.Rg7+ Kf8 81.g5

Ra1 82.Rb7 Rh1+ 83.Kg6 Rg1 84.Rb8+ Ke7 85.Rg8+–. 69.Kh4 Rc5 70.Nxg4 Rc4 1–0

[FEN "2bk4/8/8/8/2r3NK/6P1/4R2P/8 w - - 0 71"]

Black should indeed lose in the long run, but the resignation is quite early; e. g., 71.h3 Bd7 72.Rf2 Ke7 73.Rf4 Rc8 74.Nh6 Rc3 (74...Rh8 can be met by 75. Kg5! as 75...Bxh3 runs into 76.Rh4! Be6 77.Nf5++–) 75.g4 Ra3 76.Rf7+ Ke6 77.g5 Ra4+ 78.Kg3 Ra3+ 79.Rf3 Rxf3+ 80.Kxf3 Ke5 81.h4 Ba4 82.Kg3 Be8 83.Kg4 Bd7+ 84.Kh5 Be8+ 85.g6 Kf6 86.Ng8+ Kg7 87.Ne7 Kf6 88.Nd5+ Kg7 89.Nf4 Kf6 90.Kh6 Ba4 91.Nd5++-. G) The Knight Reloaded Sometimes a knight fork forces a pawn to promote to a knight. 137.03 Dittmar, Hans-Joachim – Heimers, Remy Villinger Vereinsturnier 2011–12 (4), 09.12.2011

[FEN "8/2p2p2/p5pp/4k3/1PP1p3/3n3P/ 2NK1PP1/8 w - - 0 42"]

The analysis of this example is based on Remy Heimers work. 42.f3!? A last desperate trick. 42...exf3 Heimers decides to enter the complications. The simple 42...Nf4 wins as well and might be even easier; e.g., 43.Ne1 Kd4 44.fxe4 Kxc4 45.Ke3 g5 46.h4 Kxb4 47.g3 Nh5 48.Nd3+ Kc3 49.hxg5 hxg5 50.Ne5 a5–+. 43.Kxd3 43.gxf3 Nf4 44.Ke3 Nxh3–+. 43...fxg2 44.Ne1

[FEN "8/2p2p2/p5pp/4k3/1PP5/3K3P/ 6p1/4N3 b - - 0 44"]

44...g1N! Heimers had his knight back. Of course not 44...g1Q?? 45.Nf3+. 45.h4 Kf4 46.Kc3 Nf3 47.Nd3+

[FEN "8/2p2p2/p5pp/8/1PP2k1P/ 2KN1n2/8/8 b - - 0 47"]

47...Ke4 It was also possible to exploit the fact that the rook's pawn is the worst enemy of the knight: 47...Kg4! 48.Nc5 g5 49.hxg5

[FEN "8/2p2p2/p6p/2N3P1/1PP3k1/ 2K2n2/8/8 b - - 0 49"]

49...h5! That's it! Black just gives a pawn to get an unstoppable rook's pawn. 50.Nxa6 (50.Kd3 h4 51.Ke3 Nxg5 52.Nxa6 h3 53.Kf2 Ne4+ 54.Kg1 Kg3

[FEN "8/2p2p2/N7/8/1PP1n3/6kp/ 8/6K1 w - - 0 55"]

White is now even mated! 55.Nxc7 h2+ 56.Kh1 Nf2#; 50.Ne4 h4 51.Nf2+ Kg3 52.Ne4+ Kg2 53.Nf6 h3 54.Ng4 Kg3 55.Ne3 Nxg5–+) 50...h4 51.Nxc7 h3–+. 48.Nc5+ Ke5 49.Nxa6 Kd6 50.b5 50.h5 gxh5 51.Kd3 h4 52.Ke4 Nd2+ 53.Kf4 h5–+. 50...Nxh4 51.c5+ Kd7 52.Nb8+ Kc8 53.Nc6

[FEN "2k5/2p2p2/2N3pp/1PP5/7n/ 2K5/8/8 b - - 0 53"]

53...Nf5? Now Black runs into a knight fork and cannot win anymore against White's active army. 53...g5 54.Ne7+ Kb7 55.c6+

[FEN "8/1kp1Np2/2P4p/1P4p1/7n/2K5/ 8/8 b - - 0 55"]

A) It is not too late to spoil matters with 55...Kb6? 56.Kb4 Ka7 (56...f5?? 57. Nc8#) 57.Kc5 g4 58.Nd5 Kb8! The only move to draw. (58...g3? 59.Nxc7 g2 60.b6+ Kb8 61.Na6+ Kc8 62.b7++–) 59.b6 cxb6+ 60.Kxb6 Ng6 61.c7+ Kc8 62.Kc6 Ne5+ 63.Kd6 Nc4+ 64.Kc6 Na5+=. B) 55...Kb8! 56.Kd4 h5 57.Nd5 Ng6 58.Nf6 h4 59.Ke4 Ka7 60.Kf3 Kb6 61. Kg4 Kxb5 62.Kxg5 Kxc6–+.

54.Ne5! g5 55.Nxf7

[FEN "2k5/2p2N2/7p/1PP2np1/8/2K5/ 8/8 b - - 0 55"]

55...Kd7 Now White's queenside majority gives him the draw. The last practical chance was 55...g4 56.Kd3 g3 (56...h5 57.Ne5 Ng7 58.Ke4 Ne6 59.c6 Kd8 60.Ng6 Ke8 61.Nh4 Kf7 62.Kf5=) 57.Ke2 h5 58.Kf3 h4 59.Ng5 Nd4+ 60.Kg2 Nxb5 61.Nf3 Kb7 62.Nxh4 Kc6 63.Kxg3 Kxc5 with a tablebase draw. 56.Kd3 Ke6 57.b6 cxb6 58.cxb6 Kd7 59.Ne5+ Kc8 60.Ke4 Nd6+ 61.Kd5 Nf5 62.Ke6 Nd4+ 63.Kf6 Nf3 A last joke. 64.Nxf3 Kb7 ½–½ H) Petrosian's Pawns I started with the theme that a rook's pawn is the worst enemy of the knight and in a way I also end with it. 137.04 Petrosian, Tigran (2643) – Arutinian, D (2553) 28th Cappelle Open FRA (4), 05.03.2012

[FEN "8/5n2/2N5/4pp2/2Pk3P/5KP1/ 8/8 b - - 0 54"]

54...Kxc4? This greedy capture runs into a hammer-blow, as Black's king is just too far away. 54...Kc5!! saves the day, since Black's king is back in time now: 55.Nxe5 (55. Ne7 Nd6! 56.h5 Kxc4 57.h6 Nf7 58.Nxf5 Kd5 59.Kg4 Ke6 60.h7 Kf6 61.Nd6 Nh8 62.Kh5 Kg7=) 55...Nxe5+ 56.Kf4

[FEN "8/8/8/2k1np2/2P2K1P/6P1/8/8 b - - 0 56"]

56...Nxc4 (56...Kd6 draws as well: 57.c5+ Ke6 58.Kg5 Nf3+ 59.Kg6 f4=) 57. Kxf5 Kd6 58.Kf6 Nd2 59.h5 Ne4+ 60.Kg6 Ke6 61.h6 Nf6 62.g4 (62.h7 Nxh7 63.Kxh7 Kf5 64.Kh6 Kg4=) 62...Nxg4 63.h7 Ne5+ 64.Kg7 Nf7=. 54...Kd3? is wrong because of 55.Nxe5+ Nxe5+ 56.Kf4+–. 55.Nxe5+!! Nxe5+ 56.Kf4

[FEN "8/8/8/4np2/2k2K1P/6P1/8/8 b - - 0 56"]

Black cannot save himself despite having a knight against a pawn. Really amazing! 56...Kd5 57.Kxf5 Kd6 57...Nf7 58.h5 Kd6 59.Kf6 transposes. 58.h5 Nf7 58...Nd7 59.h6 Nf8 60.Kf6+–. 59.Kf6!

[FEN "8/5n2/3k1K2/7P/8/6P1/8/8 b - - 0 59"]

Petrosian's king divides Black's forces. 59...Nh6 60.Kg6 Ng4 60...Ng8 61.h6 Nxh6 62.Kxh6 Ke5 63.g4+–.

61.h6 Ke7 62.h7 Ne5+ 63.Kg7 Nf7 64.g4 1–0

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More Reader Reactions I want to continue the discussion from Endgame Corner 135 with more examples from John-Paul Fenwick.

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45.03 Aseev – Vaulin 54th Russian Ch Elista, 2001

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

What It Takes to Become a Chess Master by Andrew Soltis

[FEN "8/k4b2/Pp3p2/1K1p3p/3P3P/5P2/2B5/8 w - - 0 61"] Translate this page

White's king penetrates with decisive effect, but matters are not as easy as I thought. 61.Kc6 Kxa6 62.Kd7 Kb5 63.Ke7 Bg8 64.Kxf6 Kc4

Complete Slav I by Konstantin Sakaev

[FEN "6b1/8/1p3K2/3p3p/2kP3P/5P2/ 2B5/8 w - - 0 65"]

Play through and download the games from ChessCafe.com in the ChessBase Game Viewer.

The retreat 65.Ke5? is surprisingly too slow. The direct and greedy 65.Kg7! wins, as Fenwick demonstrates: 65...Be6 (65... Kxd4 66.f4!+-) 66.f4 and even after Black sacrifices his bishop for the fpawn, White has enough time to collect the h-pawn. For example, 66...Kxd4 67.f5 Bd7 (Or 67...Bxf5 68.Bxf5 Ke5 69.Kg6

Capablanca: Move by Move by Cyrus Lakdawala

[FEN "8/8/1p4K1/3pkB1p/7P/8/8/8 b - - 0 69"]

I continue the line as follows: 69...b5 70.Bc2 b4 71.Kxh5 Kf6 72.Kh6 Kf7 73. Kh7 d4 74.h5 Kf8 75.h6 Kf7 76.Bb3+ Kf8 77.Kg6+-) 68.f6 Be6 69.Bd1 Kc3 70.Bxh5 d4 71.f7 Bxf7 72.Kxf7+-. 65...b5 66.Bg6 b4 67.Bxh5 b3 68.Bg6 b2 69.Bb1 Bf7 70.f4 Kc3 71.f5

[FEN "8/5b2/8/3pKP2/3P3P/2k5/ 1p6/1B6 b - - 0 71"]

71...Kd2?! Fenwick gives "71...Be8! with the idea 72.Kxd5 (White can't make progress after 72.f6 Kc4=) 72...Ba4 73.f6 Bc2 and Black survives."

[FEN "8/8/5P2/3K4/3P3P/2k5/1pb5/1B6 w - - 0 74"]

This is correct, but over-the-board not easy: 74.Bxc2 Kxc2 75.f7 b1Q 76.f8Q

[FEN "5Q2/8/8/3K4/3P3P/8/2k5/1q6 b - - 0 76"]

Now the only way to draw is 76...Qb3+! (76...Qb7+? 77.Ke5 Qc7+ 78.Qd6 Qg7+ 79.Kf5 Qf7+ 80.Kg5+-) 77.Ke5 Qe3+!=. 72.f6

[FEN "8/5b2/5P2/3pK3/3P3P/8/1p1k4/ 1B6 b - - 0 72"]

72...Ke3? Only this is the final mistake, as I see now. The direct 72...Kc1? is also wrong because of 73.Bh7 Bg8 74.Bf5 Bf7 75.h5 Bxh5 76.Kxd5+-. But the amazing 72...Kc3!! still holds the draw: 73.h5 Bxh5 74.Kxd5 Bf7+ 75. Kc5 (After 75.Ke5, the black king returns to help the defense with 75...Kc4=) 75...Bc4 76.d5 Bd3

[FEN "8/8/5P2/2KP4/8/2kb4/1p6/1B6 w - - 0 77"]

Black's counterplay saves the day: 77.f7 (77.Ba2 is met by 77...Bc4=) 77... Bxb1 78.f8Q Bd3 79.Qf6+ Kc2 80.d6 b1Q 81.Qf2+ Kb3 82.d7

[FEN "8/3P4/8/2K5/8/1k1b4/5Q2/1q6 b - - 0 82"]

Black's queen returns just in time: 82...Qc1+ 83.Kd6 Qh6+ 84.Kc7 Qg7=. 73.h5 Bxh5 74.Kxd5 Bf7+ 75.Ke5 Bc4 76.d5 Bd3 77.f7 Bxb1 78.f8Q Bc2 79.Qa3+ 1-0 In the following example I completely agree with Fenwick's points:

53.01 Beckhuis – Hübner German Bundesliga 1993/4

[FEN "r3r1k1/3R1p1p/4np2/p7/1p5N/1P4P1 4PPKP/2R5 b - - 0 25"]

25...Rec8 "I prefer 25...a4! 26.bxa4 Reb8 when Black has sufficient counterplay." (Fenwick) 26.Rxc8+ Rxc8 27.Nf5

[FEN "2r3k1/3R1p1p/4np2/p4N2/1p6/ 1P4P1/4PPKP/8 b - - 0 27"]

27...Rc7? As noted in the comments 27...Nc5 should lead to a draw. 28.Rxc7 Nxc7 29.Nd4? "This is awarded an exclamation point, but ultimately should lead to a draw. Stronger seems 29.Nd6! Ne6 (29...Nd5 30.Nc4 Nc3 31.Nxa5 Nxe2 transposes) 30.Nc4 Nd4 31.Nxa5 Nxe2 32.Kf3 Nc1 33.Ke4 which looks winning, as White will collect the b-pawn." (Fenwick)

[FEN "6k1/5p1p/5p2/N7/1p2K3/1P4P1/ 5P1P/2n5 b - - 0 33"]

In the game Hübner later even managed to win (see Endgame Corner 53).

I annotate the following example without regard to the threefold repetition rule, as Black did not claim it. 54.03 Evokimov – Amonatov Russian Ch Sochi, 2005

[FEN "6R1/8/8/3KN2k/5p1p/5Pb1/4r1P1/8 b - - 0 71"]

71...Rxg2? After 71...Kh6 72.Ke6 Kh7 73.Rg5 Ra2, White has all the fun, but Black should be able to save the draw. 72.Ke6 Ra2 73.Kf5 Ra6 74.Rg5+ Kh6 75.Ng4+ Kh7 76.Nf6+ Rxf6+ 77. Kxf6 Kh6 78.Rg6+ Kh7 79.Rg7+ Kh6 80.Rg6+ Kh7 81.Kg5 Bf2

[FEN "8/7k/6R1/6K1/5p1p/5P2/5b2/8 w - - 0 82"]

82.Re6?! It is more precise to keep Black's king confined to the north east corner: 82. Rc6!? Bg3 83.Rc7+ Kg8 84.Kf6 h3 85.Rg7+ Kf8 86.Rh7 wins quicker.

[FEN "5k2/7R/5K2/8/5p2/5Pbp/8/8 b - - 0 86"]

For example, 86...Kg8 87.Rxh3 Bf2 88.Rh5 Be3 89.Rd5 and Black is in zugzwang: 89...Bc1 90.Rg5+ Kf8 91.Rc5 Bb2+ 92.Kf5 Bd4 93.Rc8++-. 82...Bg3 83.Re7+ Kg8 84.Kf6 Kf8 85.Rh7 Ke8 86.Ke6 Kf8 87.Kf6 Ke8 88. Re7+ Kf8 89.Re5 Bf2 90.Rh5 Ke8 91.Rh7 Bg3 92.Re7+ Kf8 93.Rb7 Ke8

[FEN "4k3/1R6/5K2/8/5p1p/5Pb1/8/8 w - - 0 94"]

"We have now reached a critical position, but what is remarkable is the neither player recognised that Black could have claimed triple repetition twice – the position is the same after Black's eighty-fifth, eighty-seventh, and ninetyfirst moves; and also after Black's eighty-fourth, eighty-eighth, and ninetysecond moves! 94.Ra7 Here the comment is made that "Black will inevitably fall into zugzwang," but I'm not so sure about this. Black's next move is a clear error as once the pawn is forced to h2, the bishop can't move. 94...h3?! 94...Kd8 95.Ke6 Bf2 96.Rd7+ Ke8 97.Rd2 Bg3 98.Kf6 h3 99.Rd5 h2 100.Rh5 +-. "It is not clear to me how White can make progress after 94...Bf2" (Fenwick)

[FEN "4k3/R7/5K2/8/5p1p/5P2/5b2/8 w - - 0 95"]

It is difficult, but White can make progress; e.g., 95.Ra2 Bg3 96.Rd2 h3 97. Rd5 h2 98.Rh5 Kd7

[FEN "8/3k4/5K2/7R/5p2/5Pb1/7p/8 w - - 0 99"]

Now an amazing dance of the kings starts: 99.Ke5 Kc6 100.Ke6 Kc7 101.Ke7 Kc6 102.Ke8 Kd6 103.Kf7 Kd7 104.Rh6 Kc8 105.Ke6 Kc7 106.Ke7 Kb8 107. Kd8 Kb7 108.Kd7 Kb8 109.Kc6 Ka7 110.Rh8+- and finally Black has indeed fallen into zugzwang. But I admit that I should have elaborated on my

comment in Endgame Corner 54. 95.Re7+ Kd8 96.Rh7 h2 97.Ke6 Kc8 98.Kd6 Kb8 99.Kc6 Ka8 100.Kb6 Bf2 + 101.Ka6 Kb8 102.Rxh2 Be3 103.Rc2 1-0 On the next point I fully agree with Fenwick: 62.01 Hamdani – Chokshi Dubai, 2004

[FEN "6k1/1Q3pp1/4r2p/4P3/6P1/P6P/5r2/7K b - - 0 30"]

"Remarkably, according to EC and the databases, Black put his rook en prise with 30...Rf3?? and White failed to notice! More likely is that White's twentyninth move was 29.Qb5 rather than 29.Qb7" The following exercise was flawed, as the game move wins as well: E62.01 Beikert – Godard French Ch, 2003

[FEN "8/8/8/5k2/4qp1p/7P/1K6/1R1R4 b - - 0 75"]

75...f3 "This move is questioned, but the real error looks to be just before the draw was agreed." My solution of the exercise went 75...Qg2+ 76.Kc1 (76.Ka1 Qxh3 77.Rb5+ Kg4 78.Rg1+ Qg3 79.Rbb1 h3 80.Kb2 h2 81.Rh1 f3-+) 76... Qxh3 77.Rb5+ Kg4 78.Rg1+. Now 78...Qg3! 79.Rxg3+ fxg3 80.Kd2 g2 81. Rb8 Kg3 82.Rg8+ Kh2 83.Ke2 g1Q 84.Rxg1 Kxg1-+. 76.Rh1 f2 77.Kc3 Qe3+ 78.Kc4 Kf4 79.Rbd1 Qe2+ 80.Kc3 Kf3 81.Rd3+ Kg2 82.Rdd1

[FEN "8/8/8/8/7p/2K4P/4qpk1/3R3R b - - 0 82"]

82...Qe4! "Black's plan has to involve pushing White's king far enough away from the kingside and then exchange the queen for a rook and the h-pawn or queen for rook followed by winning the other rook for the f-pawn. In the game a draw was agreed after 82...Qe3+?! 83.Kc4." Fenwick gives the following sample line: 83.Ra1 Kf3! 84.Rac1 Ke2 85.Rc2+ Ke3 86.Rcc1 Qd4+ 87.Kb3 Ke2 88.Rc2 + Kf3 89.Rcc1 Kg3

[FEN "8/8/8/8/3q3p/1K4kP/5p2/2R4R w - - 0 90"]

90.Kc2 (90.Rcd1 Qxd1+! 91.Rxd1 Kxh3-+) 90...Kg2 91.Rcd1 Qc4+ 92.Kd2 Kf3 93.Rc1 Qd4+ 94.Kc2 Ke2 95.Kb3 Qd5+ 96.Kc3 Qc5+ 97.Kb2 Qb4+ 98.Kc2 Qd2+ 99.Kb1 (Or 99.Kb3 Qxc1 100.Rxc1 f1Q-+) 99...Qd5 100.Rc2 + Kf3 101.Rcc1 Qd3+ 102.Kb2 Kg2

[FEN "8/8/8/8/7p/3q3P/1K3pk1/2R4R w - - 0 103"]

"Followed by ...f1Q" (Fenwick).

© 2012 ChessCafe.com. All Rights Reserved.

A PDF file of this month's column, along with all previous columns, is

available in the ChessCafe.com Archives.

Comment on this month's column via our Contact Page! Pertinent responses will be posted below daily.

[ChessCafe Home Page] [Book Review] [Columnists] [Endgame Study] [The Skittles Room] [ChessCafe Archives] [ChessCafe Links] [Online Bookstore] [About ChessCafe.com] [Contact ChessCafe.com] [Advertising] © 2012 BrainGamz, Inc. All Rights Reserved. "ChessCafe.com®" is a registered trademark of BrainGamz, Inc.

Re-examining the Riddle of Bird vs. Morphy I have dealt with the following famous classic in Endgame Corner 23, Endgame Corner 128, and the ChessCafe Puzzle Book 1. Now, in his excellent thought provoking work, The Enigma of Chess Intuition (New in Chess 2012), Valeri Beim has claimed that Black can win with Morphy's amazing blow. As his argument is based on a fascinating endgame, I come back to the riddle now. But let us first enjoy the game again.

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

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139.01 Bird, Henry – Morphy, Paul London m5, 1858 Philidor Defense [C41] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Nc3 fxe4 5.Nxe4 d5 6.Ng3 e4 7.Ne5 Nf6 8.Bg5 Bd6 9.Nh5 0-0 10.Qd2 Qe8 11.g4 Nxg4 12.Nxg4 Qxh5 13.Ne5 Nc6 14.Be2 Qh3 15.Nxc6 bxc6 16.Be3 Rb8 17.0-0-0

Paul Morphy by Geza Maroczy

Translate this page

[FEN "1rb2rk1/p1p3pp/2pb4/3p4/3Pp3/ 4B2q/PPPQBP1P/2KR3R b - - 0 17"]

Black has an extra pawn, but the position is quite sharp as the kings are on different wings. Now Morphy started an amazing combination:

Paul Morphy: The Pride and Sorrow of Chess by David Lawson

17...Rxf2?! "I raise my hat to the great chess artist, but the crude 17...Bg4! was correct." (Kasparov in My Great Predecessors, Part 1, p.38, Everyman 2003) 18.Bxf2 Qa3!! Play through and download the games from ChessCafe.com in the ChessBase Game Viewer.

A beautiful, geometrical, and paradoxical move from one end of the board to the other. 18...Ba3? is met by 19.Qe3!. 19.c3! The only defense. 19.Qg5? Rxb2 20.Qd8+ Kf7 21.Bh5+ g6-+; 19.bxa3?? Bxa3#. 19...Qxa2! 19...e3? is refuted by 20.Bxe3 Bf5 21.Qc2!!. 20.b4 Qa1+ 21.Kc2 Qa4+

Paul Morphy: Genius and Myth by ChessBase

[FEN "1rb3k1/p1p3pp/2pb4/3p4/qP1Pp3/ 2P5/2KQBB1P/3R3R w - - 0 22"]

Black's attack proceeded nicely until this critical point. 22.Kb2? Bird crumbles under the pressure and loses quickly. This position makes a good tactical exercise, which is solved by Morphy easily. 22.Kc1! is the only move. Whether Black can win against best defense or not has been hotly debated. My try in Endgame Corner 23 to win with 22...a5 was convincingly refuted in Endgame Corner 128. Beim based his argument on the alternative 22...Bf5. 22...Bxb4! Black's king hunt flows nicely. 23.cxb4 Rxb4+ 24.Qxb4 24.Kc1? Qa1+ 25.Kc2 Qb2#. 24...Qxb4+ 25.Kc2 25.Ka2 c5 26.dxc5 e3 27.Be1 (27.Bxe3 d4 28.Bxd4 Be6+ 29.Ka1 Qa3+ 30. Kb1 Bf5+-+) 27...Qe4 28.Bg3 Qc2+-+. 25...e3 26.Bxe3 Bf5+ 27.Rd3 Qc4+ 28.Kd2 Qa2+ 29.Kd1 Qb1+ 0-1 So the critical position arises after 22.Kc1:

[FEN "1rb3k1/p1p3pp/2pb4/3p4/qP1Pp3/ 2P5/3QBB1P/2KR3R b - - 0 22"]

Beim bases his claim on the natural developing move 22...Bf5!? Let's first look at 23.Be1?:

[FEN "1r4k1/p1p3pp/2pb4/3p1b2/qP1Pp3/ 2P5/3QB2P/2KRB2R b - - 0 23"]

23...e3!? (Beim gives 23...Qa1+ 24.Kc2 Qa3, which is also good for Black. Though I am not sure if he can really win after Beim's main line 25.Qc1 e3+ 26.Rd3 Qa2+ 27.Kd1 a5 28.Qc2 Qa3 29.Rf1 Be4

[FEN "1r4k1/2p3pp/2pb4/p2p4/1P1Pb3/ q1PRp3/2Q1B2P/3KBR2 w - - 0 30"]

Beim ends here and gives Black good winning chances, but after 30.Qc1 matters are not completely clear.) 24.Qb2 a5 "gives Black dangerous play," as I stated in Endgame Corner 128.

[FEN "1r4k1/2p3pp/2pb4/p2p1b2/qP1P4/ 2P1p3/1Q2B2P/2KRB2R w - - 0 25"]

Now I want to give more details: A) 25.Bd3 e2 26.Bxe2 axb4 27.c4 (27.Rf1? b3 28.Rxf5 Ba3 29.Rd2 c5 30. dxc5 d4 31.cxd4 Bxb2+ 32.Rxb2 Qa1+ 33.Rb1 Qxd4-+) 27...Re8 28.Bd3 Bxd3 29.Rxd3 Bf4+ 30.Bd2 dxc4 31.Bxf4 cxd3 32.Bd2 Re2 33.Kb1 h6

[FEN "6k1/2p3p1/2p4p/8/qp1P4/ 3p4/1Q1Br2P/1K5R w - - 0 34"]

Black should be able to win because of his activity. Some sample lines run 34. h3 (34.h4 Kf7 35.Rf1+ Ke6 36.Re1 Kd5 37.Rxe2 dxe2 38.Bxb4 Qd1+ 39.Ka2 Qxd4-+) 34...Kf7 35.Rf1+ Ke6 36.Re1 Kd5 37.Rxe2 dxe2 38.Bxb4 g5 39. Qc3 Qd1+ 40.Ka2 Qxd4-+. B) 25.Rf1 Be4 26.Bd3 axb4 27.Bg3 Bxd3 28.Rxd3 Qa6 29.Qb1 Bxg3 30. hxg3 b3 31.Kb2 Ra8 32.Qa1 Qb7 33.Rxe3 Ra2+ 34.Qxa2 bxa2+ 35.Ka1 h6-+

[FEN "6k1/1qp3p1/2p4p/3p4/3P4/ 2P1R1P1/p7/K4R2 w - - 0 36"]

Black's queen should be able to defeat the rooks here, as Black can play for ... c5 or mobilization of his kingside majority. C) 25.Rg1 axb4 26.c4 b3 27.c5 Bxh2 28.Rg2 Bf4 29.Bc3 g5 30.Rf1 Bg6-+

[FEN "1r4k1/2p4p/2p3b1/2Pp2p1/q2P1b2/ 1pB1p3/1Q2B1R1/2K2R2 w - - 0 31"]

Black's pawns and attack are stronger than the rook. After 23.Qe3?, I think that Black has a choice between 23...a5 and Beim's attacking approach 23...Qa2. The endgame after 23...a5 24.Kd2 axb4 25.Ra1 Qb3 26.Rhc1 bxc3+ 27.Ke1 c2 28.Qxb3 Rxb3 29.Rxc2 e3 30.Rxc6 exf2+ 31.Kxf2 Rb4 32.Ke3 g5 should give good winning chances:

[FEN "6k1/2p4p/2Rb4/3p1bp1/1r1P4/ 4K3/4B2P/R7 w - - 0 33"]

23...Qa2 24.Rhg1 a5 25.Rd2 Qa1+ 26.Kc2 Qa4+

[FEN "1r4k1/2p3pp/2pb4/p2p1b2/qP1Pp3/ 2P1Q3/2KRBB1P/6R1 w - - 0 27"]

I agree with Beim's claim that Black's attack is strong. One sample line runs 27.Kb1 axb4 28.Rb2 b3 29.Bd1 g6 30.Qg5 Kf8 31.Be3 Ke8 and Black's king is safe, which cannot be said about White's. I now think that 23.Be3! is forced: 23...Bxb4 24.cxb4 Rxb4 25.Qc2 Qa3+ 26. Kd2 Rb2 26...Rxd4+ 27.Ke1 Qxe3 28.Rxd4 Qxd4 29.Qxc6=. 27.Qxb2 Qxb2+ 28.Ke1

[FEN "6k1/p1p3pp/2p5/3p1b2/3Pp3/ 4B3/1q2B2P/3RK2R b - - 0 28"]

Here I stopped in Endgame Corner 128 with "and Black has many pawns, but they are not very mobile. So it seems that Morphy's amazing sacrifice does not win objectively. Is this the last word or can a reader change the picture?" Valeri Beim thinks that Black is winning or has at least very good practical winning chances. I agree that Black is playing for two results and has practical winning chances, but "computer-like defense" should hold for White. So let us go into even more detail of this fascinating endgame with queen and many pawns against two rooks and bishop.

28...Qb4+ 29.Kf2 Qd6

[FEN "6k1/p1p3pp/2pq4/3p1b2/3Pp3/ 4B3/4BK1P/3R3R w - - 0 30"]

White has a choice. The rook moves 30.Rc1 and 30.Rb1 look most logical, but 30.Ke1!? might also be interesting. 30.Rb1 I like the active approach 30.Rc1 a5 31.Rc5 a4 32.Ra5 a3 33.Ra8+ Kf7

[FEN "R7/2p2kpp/2pq4/3p1b2/3Pp3/ p3B3/4BK1P/7R w - - 0 34"]

Now 34.Rc1!? to defend actively on the queenside first and then come back to the kingside; e.g., 34...Qxh2+ 35.Ke1 Qg3+ 36.Kd2 Qd6 37.Rc5 Qh2 38.Rc1 Bg4 39.Rf1+ Bf3 40.Rf2 Qg3 41.Rxa3 g5 42.Rc3 h5 43.Rc1, and White should be able to hold:

[FEN "8/2p2k2/2p5/3p2pp/3Pp3/ 4Bbq1/3KBR2/2R5 b - - 0 43"]

30...c5 31.dxc5 Qf6 32.Rhd1 Bg4+ 33.Ke1 Bxe2 34.Kxe2 Qf3+ 35.Kd2 Qh3

[FEN "6k1/p1p3pp/8/2Pp4/4p3/4B2q/ 3K3P/1R1R4 w - - 0 36"]

Intuition suggets that White should be able to defend with his active army. Valeri Beim gives Black good practical winning chances, which also has a point of course. Nevertheless, computer-like defense should hold in my opinion. 36.Bd4!? Qxh2+ 37.Kc1 Qa2 38.Rd2 Qc4+ 39.Kd1 h6 40.Rb8+ Kh7 41. Rf8 Qb3+ 42.Ke1 Qg3+ 43.Kd1

[FEN "5R2/p1p3pk/7p/2Pp4/3Bp3/ 6q1/3R4/3K4 b - - 0 43"]

Here I ended the draft of my analysis with the evaluation that White's active defense holds. I sent it to Valeri Beim, and he continues the line as follows: 43...Qg5! 44.Rdf2 44.Kc1? runs into 44...e3 45.Re2 Qg4-+. 44...Qg4+! 45.Re2 For 45.Kc1? e3!! 46.Bxe3 Qb4 47.Bd2 Qxc5+ see below. 45...Qg6!

[FEN "5R2/p1p3pk/6qp/2Pp4/3Bp3/ 8/4R3/3K4 w - - 0 46"]

46.Ref2 This move I do not like and suggest 46.Kd2.

46...e3! 47.Bxe3 d4 48.Bd2 Qb1+ 49.Ke2 Qb5+ 50.Ke1 Qxc5

[FEN "5R2/p1p3pk/7p/2q5/3p4/8/ 3B1R2/4K3 w - - 0 51"]

"It looks like Black still can hope for success." (Beim) So the mystery still remains, yet my intuition still suggests that Black cannot win the endgame after 28.Ke1. Many thanks to Valeri Beim for allowing me to share his analysis!

© 2012 ChessCafe.com. All Rights Reserved.

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Same-Colored Bishop Endings In general same-colored bishop endings have a large drawish tendency, but not as large as pure opposite-colored bishop endings.

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140.01 Heimers, R – Bosshard Germany, 2006

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

Beating 1.d4 Sidelines by Boris Avrukh

[FEN "2k5/8/6Bp/1p1p4/p1pP2bP/ P1P5/1P6/2K5 w - - 0 1"] Translate this page

This is won for White, as Remy Heimers claimed in his analysis in Schachmagazin 64, February 2012, p.36f, but matters are more complicated than they seem. At first I thought that Black can draw by activating his bishop, but White can prevent that: 1.Bf7 Bf3 2.Be8 Bg4 3.Kd2! 3.Bxb5? Bd7 even loses as Black will invade in the pawn ending: 4.Bxd7+ Kxd7 5.Kd2 Ke6 6.Ke3 Kf5 7.Kf3 h5–+.

Chess Endgames 11 by Karsten Müller

3...Bd7 3...Kd8 is met by 4.Bc6!+– (Heimers). 4.Bf7 Bc6 5.Ke3 Kd7 6.Kf4 Ke7 7.Bh5 Kf6

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Russian Endgame Handbook by Ilya Rabinovich

[FEN "8/8/2b2k1p/1p1p3B/p1pP1K1P/ P1P5/1P6/8 w - - 0 8"]

Now comes the critical moment. 8.Bg4? This allows Black to activate his bishop. After 8.Bf3 Ke6 (8...Bb7 9.Bg4 Ba8 10.Bd7+–) 9.Bg4+ Kf6 10.Bc8+–, White wins by zugzwang, as in the game.

8...Be8 9.Bh3 Bc6? Black misses the chance to activate his bishop: 9...Bg6! 10.Bd7 Be4 11.Bxb5 Bc2

[FEN "8/8/5k1p/1B1p4/p1pP1K1P/P1P5/ 1Pb5/8 w - - 0 12"]

White cannot invade with his king; e.g., 12.Bd7 (12.Bc6 Ke6 13.Kg4 Bd1+=; 12.Ke3 Kf5 13.Bd7+ Kf6 14.Bc6 Ke6 15.Kd2 Bb3 16.Bb7 Kd6 17.Ke3 Ke6 18.Kf4 Bc2 19.Bc8+ Kf6 20.Bg4 Bg6 21.Bd1 Be8=) 12...Bd1 13.Bf5 Bh5 14. Bc2 Be8 15.Kg4 Bd7+ 16.Kh5 Kg7 17.Bd1 Kh7 18.Bf3 Be6=. 10.Bc8 This puts Black in fatal zugzwang. 10...Be8 10...h5 11.Bh3 Be8 12.Bg2 Bf7 13.Bf3+–. 11.Bb7 Ke6 12.Kg4

[FEN "4b3/1B6/4k2p/1p1p4/p1pP2KP/ P1P5/1P6/8 b - - 0 12"]

Black cannot keep all roads protected 12...Bf7 13.Bc6 Bg6 14.Bxb5 1–0 In the following example Black faces a crucial decision: 140.02 Heimers, Remy – Altimira, Jordi Trossingen City Championship (9), 26.04.2012

[FEN "8/5p2/1kp4R/3br1p1/1P1K1p2/ 3B4/2P2PP1/8 b - - 0 39"]

39...Re6? It is wrong to exchange the active rook, as the dark squares in Black's camp are too weak. 39...Re1 40.c4 Be6 41.Rh5 g4 (Heimers)

[FEN "8/5p2/1kp1b3/7R/1PPK1pp1/ 3B4/5PP1/4r3 w - - 0 42"]

Black should be able to defend. 40.Rxe6 Bxe6 40...fxe6

[FEN "8/8/1kp1p3/3b2p1/1P1K1p2/ 3B4/2P2PP1/8 w - - 0 41"]

This runs into 41.f3 and Black's bishop is almost caught; e.g., 41...Ba2 42.c4 Bb3 43.Ke5 c5 44.b5 Bd1 45.Kxe6 g4 46.Be4 g3 47.Kf5 Be2 48.Bd5 Bf1 49. Kxf4 Bxg2 50.Kxg3+– In this case, White put all his pawns on light squares to restrict Black's bishop. In the game, White will put them on dark squares to complement his bishop. 41.Ke5

[FEN "8/5p2/1kp1b3/4K1p1/1P3p2/ 3B4/2P2PP1/8 b - - 0 41"]

The invasion of White's king decides. 41...c5 42.c3 cxb4 43.cxb4 Kc7 44.Kf6 Bd5 44...g4 45.Ke5 f3 (45...g3 46.f3 Bh3 47.Bf1+–) 46.g3 Kc6 47.Bf5 Bc4 48. Bxg4 Be2 49.Bh5 Kb5 50.Bxf7 Kxb4 51.g4+– (Heimers). 45.Kxg5 Bxg2 46.Kxf4

[FEN "8/2k2p2/8/8/1P3K2/3B4/5Pb1/8 b - - 0 46"]

46...Bd5 46...Kd6 does not help: 47.Bc4 A) 47...Ke7 48.b5 Bh3 49.Kg5 Bd7 (49...f6+ 50.Kg6 f5 51.Bd3+–) 50.b6 Kd6 51.Bd5+–. B) 47...f6 48.Kf5 Ke7 49.b5 Bh3+ 50.Kg6 B1) 50...f5 51.Bd3 Ke6 (51...f4 52.Be4+–) 52.b6 Kd6 53.Bxf5 Bg2 54.Bc8+–. B2) 50...Bg2 51.f4 Be4+ 52.f5 Bf3 53.b6 Bb7 54.Bb5 Bc8 55.Bc6+– (Heimers). 47.Ke5 Be6 47...Bb3 48.f4 Kc6 49.f5 Ba2 50.Be4+ Kb5

[FEN "8/5p2/8/1k2KP2/1P2B3/8/b7/8 w - - 0 51"]

White wins with 51.f6 Kxb4 52.Bd5+–. 48.f4 Kd8 49.Kd6 Bc8 50.Be4 Ba6 51.Bd5 Ke8 52.Bc6+ Kd8 53.b5 Bc8 54. b6 Ba6 55.b7 Bxb7 56.Bxb7 Ke8 57.Bd5 Kf8 58.Ke5 Ke7 59.Bxf7 Kxf7 60. Kf5 Kg7 61.Ke6 Kg6 62.f5+ Kg7 63.Ke7 1–0 I want to thank Remy Heimers for allowing me to use his analysis. The next example is also about activity: 140.03 Shulman, Y (2571) – Seirawan, Y (2643) ch-USA 2012 Saint Louis USA (3), 10.05.2012

[FEN "8/p5p1/1p1kb2p/2p3P1/4KP1P/ P7/1P2B3/8 b - - 0 37"]

37...Bg8? The bishop should stay on the other diagonal with 37...Bd7 and White cannot win: 38.h5 (38.gxh6 gxh6 39.f5 Bc6+ 40.Kf4 a5 41.Bg4 Bd5 42.f6 Bf7=; 38. f5 hxg5 39.hxg5 b5=) 38...b5 39.f5

[FEN "8/p2b2p1/3k3p/1pp2PPP/4K3/P7/ 1P2B3/8 b - - 0 39"]

This try to break through is dangerous, but Black can defend: 39...Bc6+ (But not 39...hxg5?? 40.f6 gxf6 41.h6 f5+ 42.Ke3 f4+ 43.Ke4 Be8 44.Kf5+–) 40. Kf4 (40.Ke3 Ke7 41.f6+ Kf7 42.fxg7 Kxg7 43.g6 Kf6 44.Bf3 Bd7=) 40...hxg5 + 41.Kxg5 Ke7 42.Kg6 Kf8 43.f6 Be4+ 44.Kg5 c4 45.fxg7+ Kxg7 46.Kf4 Bc2 47.Ke3 a5 48.Kd4 Kh6 49.Kc5 Bd3=. 38.gxh6 Bh7+ After 38...gxh6, White's king invades directly with 39.Kf5 Bh7+ 40.Kf6+–. 39.f5 gxh6 40.Bc4!

[FEN "8/p6b/1p1k3p/2p2P2/2B1K2P/ P7/1P6/8 b - - 0 40"]

Shulman closes the prison door. 40...Ke7 40...a6 can be taken, as the escape of the black bishop can be stopped by 41. Bxa6 (41.Kf4 b5 42.Be6 wins as well.) 41...Bg8 42.Kd3!

[FEN "6b1/8/Bp1k3p/2p2P2/7P/P2K4/ 1P6/8 b - - 0 42"]

Black's bishop can run away: A) 42...Ke5 43.Bc4 Bxc4+ (43...Bh7 44.Be6+–) 44.Kxc4 Kxf5 45.Kb5 Kg4 46.Kxb6 Kxh4 47.a4+–. B) 42...Bb3 but White can invade nevertheless. 43.Bc4 Ba4 44.f6 Bc6 45.Ke3 b5 46.Bg8 c4 47.Kf4 Bd7 48.Ke4+–. 40...b5, on the other hand, is best met by 41.Be6

[FEN "8/p6b/3kB2p/1pp2P2/4K2P/P7/1P6/8 b - - 0 41"]

Black's bishop is kept under lock and key; e.g., 41...a5 42.b3 a4 43.bxa4 bxa4 44.h5 Ke7 45.Ke5+–. 41.Ke5 Kf8 42.Kf6 1–0 Black resigned due to 42...Ke8 43.Bd3 (43.Be6!?) 43...Kf8 44.h5 Bg8 45.Kg6 +–.

While the last one is about building a fortress: 140.04 Seirawan, Yasser (2643) – Karpov, Anatoly (2615) Match Saint Louis USA (2), 11.06.2012

[FEN "8/p4k2/1pb2p2/3p1Bp1/3P3P/ P3K1P1/1P6/8 w - - 0 39"]

39.h5 This makes Black's job relatively easy. 39.Kf3 is met by 39...Ba4 40.Kg4 Bd1+=. But 39.b3!? is a better chance to fight against Black's bishop before White's king tries to invade: 39...a5 40.Ke2 (40.Kf3 a4 41.b4 Bb5=) 40...a4

[FEN "8/5k2/1pb2p2/3p1Bp1/p2P3P/PP4P1/ 4K3/8 w - - 0 41"]

Now White has a choice: 41.b4 (41.bxa4 Bxa4 42.Kd2 Kg7 43.h5 Kh6 44.g4 Bc6 45.Kc3 Bb5 46.Kb4 Be2 47.Be6 Bc4 48.a4 Kg7 49.a5 bxa5+ 50.Kxa5 Kh6 51.Kb4

[FEN "8/8/4Bp1k/3p2pP/1KbP2P1/ 8/8/8 b - - 0 51"]

Now Black is saved as White's pawns are blocked on light squares: 51...Be2! 52.Kc5 Bf3 53.Kd6 Kg7 54.Ke7 Bh1 55.h6+ Kxh6 56.Kxf6 Be4 57.Ke5 Bf3=) 41...Bb5+ 42.Kf3 Bc4 43.Bb1 Bb3 44.Kg4 Bd1+ 45.Kf5 Bh5!

[FEN "8/5k2/1p3p2/3p1Kpb/pP1P3P/ P5P1/8/1B6 w - - 0 46"]

The point of Black's defense. White's bishop will be dominated and Black draws: 46.Ba2 Bf3 47.hxg5 Be4+ 48.Kf4 b5!

[FEN "8/5k2/5p2/1p1p2P1/pP1PbK2/ P5P1/B7/8 w - - 0 49"]

Black closes the cage. 49.gxf6 Kxf6 50.g4 Ke6 51.g5 Bg6 52.Kg4 Be4 53. Kh5 Kf7 54.Kh6 Ke6 55.g6 Kf6 56.g7 Kf7 57.Bxd5+ Bxd5 58.Kh7 Ke7 59. g8Q Bxg8+ 60.Kxg8 Kd6 61.Kf7 Kd5 62.Ke7 Kxd4 63.Kd6 Kc4 64.Kc6 Kb3 65.Kxb5 Kxa3 66.Kc4 Kb2 67.b5=. 39...Kg7

[FEN "8/p5k1/1pb2p2/3p1BpP/3P4/ P3K1P1/1P6/8 w - - 0 40"]

Karpov's king comes to close the kingside. 40.g4 40.Kf3 Be8 41.Kg4

[FEN "4b3/p5k1/1p3p2/3p1BpP/3P2K1/ P5P1/1P6/8 b - - 0 41"]

This is met by 41...Ba4 42.Bc8 Bd1+ 43.Kf5 Bxh5 44.Bb7 Bf7=; not 41... Kh6? 42.Be6 Bxh5+ 43.Kf5 Kg7 44.Bxd5 Bg6+ 45.Ke6+–. 40...Kh6 41.Be6 a5 42.Kd2 b5 43.Kc3 Kg7 44.b4

[FEN "8/6k1/2b1Bp2/pp1p2pP/ 1P1P2P1/P1K5/8/8 b - - 0 44"]

44...a4! Karpov closes all inroads and can now just wait with his king forever. 45.Kd3 ½–½ Exercises (Solutions next month) E140.01 Fressinet, Laurent (2693) – Smeets, Jan (2607) German Bundesliga 2011/2012 (11.2), 26.02.2012

[FEN "4B3/6K1/5P2/3bk3/8/8/8/8 b - - 0 104"]

How can Black to move reach Centurini's draw? E140.02 Rajlich, Iweta (2428) – Majdan-Gajewska, Joanna (2387) Polish-ch (women) playoff Warsaw (1), 26.02.2012

[FEN "6B1/4k1P1/2b4K/3p4/3Pp3/ p3P3/8/8 w - - 0 61"]

White to move and win.

© 2012 ChessCafe.com. All Rights Reserved.

A PDF file of this month's column, along with all previous columns, is available in the ChessCafe.com Archives.

Comment on this month's column via our Contact Page! Pertinent responses will be posted below daily.

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Few Pawns and Big Problems The German chess trainer Burkhard Treiber sent me one of his games that was deeply analyzed by he and his student Moritz Gentemann. I have checked, edited, and expanded on their work, and I start a bit earlier:

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141.01 Treiber, Burkhard (2037) – Obert, Fritz Guenter (1984) Daehne-Pokal 7th Hannover (2.1), 30.06.2012

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

World's Most Instructive Amateur Game Book by Dan Heisman

[FEN "6k1/1B2pp1p/6p1/R7/P2r4/ 3n2P1/1P3P1P/6K1 w - - 0 35"]

Translate this page

35.Rd5?! This move makes the win extremely difficult, as only pawns on one wing remain. After 35.b3! Rb4 36.Bd5, White must be winning because of his connected passed pawns on the queenside. 35...Rxa4! 36.Rxd3 Rb4 37.Rd7 Kf8!?

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[FEN "5k2/1B1Rpp1p/6p1/8/1r6/6P1/ 1P3P1P/6K1 w - - 0 38"]

Keeping the pawn on e7 is good, as White's king cannot approach easily now. White will try to provoke ...e6. 38.Bc6 Rxb2 39.Kg2

Simple Attacking Plans by Fred Wilson

How I Became World Champion by Garry Kasparov

[FEN "5k2/3Rpp1p/2B3p1/8/8/6P1/ 1r3PKP/8 b - - 0 39"]

This endgame must be won for White. But matters are not easy, as Black does not have many weaknesses. 39...h6 40.h4 40.Rd3!? Rb6 41.Bd5 Rb5 42.Bb3 Kg7 43.Rf3

[FEN "8/4ppk1/6pp/1r6/8/1B3RP1/ 5PKP/8 b - - 0 43"]

A direct way to force Black to advance a pawn. 40...Rb6 41.Rc7 Rb2 42.Be4 Rb4 43.Kf3?! White does not follow the plan to provoke ...e7-e6 first. 43...Ra4 44.Bd3 Rb4 45.Ke3 Ra4 46.Rb7 Ra3 47.Rb6

[FEN "5k2/4pp2/1R4pp/8/7P/r2BK1P1/ 5P2/8 b - - 0 47"]

47...Kg7! Black just stops the threat without moving a pawn. After 47...Ra2?, Treiber had planned 48.Bxg6 (The undermining 48.h5 is also very strong.) 48...fxg6 49.Rxg6 h5 50.Rg5+-. 48.Ra6 Rb3! Of course not 48...Rxa6? 49.Bxa6, as Black will fall into zugzwang sooner or

later; e.g., 49...g5 50.h5 Kf6 51.Ke4 Ke6 52.g4 Kf6 53.Kd5 Kg7 54.Kc6 Kf6 55.Bc4 e6 56.Kd6 Kg7 57.Bxe6 fxe6 58.Kxe6+-. 49.Ra8 h5 50.Ra7 Kf8 51.Ra5 Kg7 52.Rd5 Ra3

[FEN "8/4ppk1/6p1/3R3p/7P/r2BK1P1/ 5P2/8 w - - 0 53"]

White has not managed to provoke ...e6 and now rushes. 53.f4? This changes the pawn structure in such a way that further advances are difficult and the pawn g3 needs constant protection. White should provoke e6 first; perhaps starting with 53.Kf3 Rb3 54.Kg2 and then regroup his rook to f3. 53...e6! Now Black plays this advance to, of course, prevent the undermining blow f4f5. Waiting with 53...Rc3? loses to 54.f5 gxf5 55.Rxf5+-. 54.Rd8 The direct 54.Rd7 leads to critical positions for Black, but it seems that his defense is always just in time; e.g., 54...Rb3 55.Kd4 (55.Kf2 Rb2+ 56.Kf3 Rb3 57.Kg2 Rb2+ 58.Kh3 Rd2 59.Bb5 Rc2 60.Rb7 Kf8=) 55...Ra3 56.Rc7 Kf6 57.Bb5

[FEN "8/2R2p2/4pkp1/1B5p/3K1P1P/ r5P1/8/8 b - - 0 57"]

57...Ra8! Passive defense is forced. (57...Rxg3? 58.Be8 is lost; e.g., 58...Kf5 59.Rxf7+ Kg4 60.Rf6 Rb3 (60...Rf3 61.Ke4+-) 61.Ke4 Rb4+ 62.Ke5 Rc4 63. Rxg6+ Kf3) 58.Kc5 Ra3 59.Be8 Rc3+ 60.Kb6 Rb3+ 61.Kc6 Rc3+ 62.Kb7 Rb3+ 63.Kc8 Kf5 64.Rxf7+ Kg4 65.Rf6 Kxg3 66.Rxg6+ Kxf4 67.Rxe6 Rh3 68.Bxh5 Rxh4=. 54...Kf6 55.Kf2 55.Rd7 Rb3

[FEN "8/3R1p2/4pkp1/7p/5P1P/1r1BK1P1/ 8/8 w - - 0 56"]

One radical try is 56.f5!?, but Black should be able to defend: 56...exf5 (56... gxf5 57.Kf2 Kg6 58.Be2 Rb2 59.Rd8 f6 60.Rg8+ Kf7 61.Rh8 Kg7 62.Ra8 (62.Rxh5 Rb8 63.Bf3 Kg6) 62...Kg6 63.Ke1 f4 64.gxf4 Rb4 65.Kf2 Rxf4+ 66. Kg3 Rb4 and both cases are probably drawn.) 57.Kf4 Rb4+ (Of course not 57...Kg7?? 58.Rxf7+ Kxf7 59.Bc4++-) 58.Kf3 Rb3 59.Kg2 (59.Ke3 Rb4 60. Rc7 Rb3 61.Kd4 Ra3 62.Rc6+ (62.Bc4 g5=) 62...Kg7 63.Ke3 Rb3 64.Rd6 Ra3 65.Rd4 Kf6 66.Kf4 Kg7=) 59...Rb2+ 60.Kh3 Rb4 61.Rc7 f4 62.Bc4 fxg3 63.Rxf7+ Ke5 64.Rc7 g2 65.Kxg2 Kd6 66.Rc8 Kd7 67.Ba6 Rxh4=. 55...Ke7 56.Rd4 Ra2+ 57.Kf3?! 57.Ke3 Rg2 58.Kf3 Rd2=. 57.Be2!? was the last real chance to continue the fight for the full point. 57...Rd2! 58.g4 hxg4+ 59.Kxg4 Rg2+ 60.Kh3 Rd2 61.Kg3 Rd1 62.Kh2 Rd2 + 63.Kh3 Rd1 64.Kg2 Rd2+ 65.Kh3 ½-½ After this endgame Treiber and his student made a deep investigation of the whole complex. They started with the plan f2-f3 and g3-g4. But this plan, like f2-f4, also seems to be inadequate, if applied directly. 141.02 Romero Holmes, Alfonso (2460) – Izeta Txabarri, Felix (2380) Salamanca (6), 1990

[FEN "r7/1R3pk1/4p1p1/1B5p/5K1P/ 6P1/5P2/8 w - - 0 38"]

38.f3? This is too early. 38...Rc8 39.Ke4 Kf8 40.Ra7 Rc5 41.Rb7 Rc3 42.Kf4 Rc5 43.g4 hxg4 44. fxg4 Rd5 45.Bc6 Rc5 46.Be4 Kg7 47.Ra7 Rc1 48.Bd3 Rc5 49.g5

[FEN "8/R4pk1/4p1p1/2r3P1/5K1P/ 3B4/8/8 b - - 0 49"]

White has now reached one target position of the plan f3, followed by g4, but with an active rook, Black should be able to defend. 49...Kf8 50.Rb7 Rd5 51.Be4 Rc5 52.Ra7 Rb5 53.Ke3 Rb3+ 54.Kf4 Rb5 55. Rc7 Ra5 56.Bd3 Rd5 57.Be2 Rd4+ 58.Kg3 Rd5 59.Rb7 Rc5 60.Rb5 Rc2 61.Bf3 Rc3 62.Kf4 Rc4+ 63.Be4 Rc1 64.Ke5 Kg7 64...Ke7? runs into 65.Rb7+ Kf8 66.Bxg6 fxg6 67.Kf6+-. 65.Rb4 Rd1 66.Bc6 Rd2 67.Rf4

[FEN "8/5pk1/2B1p1p1/4K1P1/5R1P/ 8/3r4/8 b - - 0 67"]

67...Rd8? Black's rook retreat is too passive. After the active 67...Re2+ 68.Kd6 Kf8!, Black is probably able to defend:

[FEN "5k2/5p2/2BKp1p1/6P1/5R1P/ 8/4r3/8 w - - 0 69"]

69.Be4 (69.Ra4 Rh2) 69...Rd2+ 70.Ke5 Kg7, but matters are not completely clear. 68.Rf3! White's rook retreat puts Black in deadly zugzwang.

68...Rb8 68...Rd2?! 69.Be8+-; 68...Kg8?! 69.Kf6+-; 68...Kf8?! 69.h5 gxh5 70.g6 f5 71. Kf6+-. 69.Kd6 Rb6 70.Rf4 Ra6 70...Kf8 is overrun by 71.Rf6 Ra6 72.h5 gxh5 73.g6 Kg7 74.gxf7+-. 71.Kc7 71.Kc5!? Ra5+ 72.Kb6 is a bit quicker. 71...Ra7+ 71...Kf8 72.Ra4+-. 71...Ra3 72.Bd7 Kg8 73.Kb6 Rb3+ 74.Kc6 Rc3+ 75.Kd6 Ra3 76.Be8 Ra7 77. Kc6 Kf8 78.Kb6 Re7 79.Bc6 Kg7 80.Kc5 Ra7 81.Ra4+-. 71...Ra1 72.Bd7 Ra5 a) 72...Rc1+ 73.Kd6 Ra1 (73...Rd1+ 74.Ke7+-) 74.Ke7+-; b) 72...Kg8 73.Kd8 Ra8+ 74.Ke7 Ra7 75.Ra4 Rb7

[FEN "6k1/1r1BKp2/4p1p1/6P1/R6P/ 8/8/8 w - - 0 76"]

Now White wins by the amazing 76.Kf6 Rxd7 77.Ra8+ Kh7 78.Rf8 e5 79. Rxf7+ Rxf7+ 80.Kxf7 e4 81.h5+-; 73.Kd8 Kg8 74.Be8 Ra7 75.Ra4 Rb7 76. Kc8 Re7 77.Bd7+-. 72.Kd8 72.Kb6!? Re7 73.Kc5 Ra7 74.Ra4! Rc7 75.Kd6 Rc8 76.Ra8+-. 72...Kf8

[FEN "3K1k2/r4p2/2B1p1p1/6P1/5R1P/ 8/8/8 w - - 0 73"]

72...Ra6 73.Be8 Ra7 74.Ra4 Rb7 75.Kc8 Re7 76.Bd7+-.

73.Ra4! Re7 74.Be4 Re8+ 75.Kd7 Re7+ 76.Kd6 1-0 A defense with the king on e7 and an active rook should be playable as well, but care is required because of possible mating motifs. 141.03 Mamedov, Rauf (2627) – Kulakov, Viacheslav (2360) Wch U20 Gaziantep (5), 06.08.2008

[FEN "2R5/4kp2/4p1p1/6P1/2BK3P/8/ 7r/8 w - - 0 78"]

78.Ke5! Kd7? 78...Rxh4?? runs into 79.Bb5; 78...Rc2! 79.Rc7+ (79.Bxe6? Re2+=) 79...Kf8 80.Kf6 Rf2+ 81.Ke5 Rc2

[FEN "5k2/2R2p2/4p1p1/4K1P1/2B4P/ 8/2r5/8 w - - 0 82"]

Black is probably able to hold. Treiber compares this whole endgame to the pawnless case rook and bishop against rook, where the theoretical result is often a draw, but the attacker has practical winning chances. 79.Rh8 Rb2 79...Ke7?! 80.Bb5+-. 79...Rf2 does not help:

[FEN "7R/3k1p2/4p1p1/4K1P1/2B4P/ 8/5r2/8 w - - 0 80"]

80.Bxe6+ fxe6 81.Rh7+ Ke8 82.Rg7 Rh2 83.Kxe6 Kf8 84.Kf6 Rxh4 85.Kxg6

+-. 80.Kf6 1-0 So White should bring his king to d6 first and only afterward touch his kingside pawns, as the analysis of Treiber and Gentemann proves. 141.04 Educative Example Hannover, 2012

[FEN "8/r4pk1/4p1p1/7p/7P/5BP1/5PK1/ 5R2 w - - 0 0"]

1.Rc1 Ra3 2.Be2 Ra2 3.Bc4 Ra3 4.Kf1 Kf6 5.Ke2 Kg7 6.Bd3 Ra2+ 7.Rc2 Ra3 8.Ke3 Ra4 9.Bc4 Kf6 10.Kd4 Ra5 11.Rb2 Kg7 12.Bb5 Kf6 13.Kc5 Ra1 14.Rd2 Rc1+ 14...Ke7 15.Rd7+ Kf6 16.Bc4 Ra3 17.Rd3 Ra5+ 18.Kd6 Ra7 19.Bb5+-. 15.Kd6

[FEN "8/5p2/3Kpkp1/1B5p/7P/6P1/ 3R1P2/2r5 b - - 0 14"]

White has reached his first aim. 15...Ra1 16.Rd4 Ra7 16...Ra2 17.Rf4+ Kg7 18.Ke7 Ra7+ 19.Bd7+-; 16...Kg7 17.Ke7+-. 17.Bd7 Ra6+ 18.Bc6

[FEN "8/5p2/r1BKpkp1/7p/3R3P/6P1/ 5P2/8 b - - 0 17"]

18...Ra2 18...Ra7?! 19.Rf4+ Kg7 20.Ra4+-; 18...Kg7 19.Ra4 Rb6 20.Ra7 Kf6 (20... Rb2 21.f3 Rg2 22.Be8+-) 21.Rb7 Ra6

[FEN "8/1R3p2/r1BKpkp1/7p/7P/6P1/ 5P2/8 w - - 0 21"]

White can finally advance his pawns: 22.f3 Kg7 23.Rc7 Kf6 (23...Kf8 24.Kd7 Ra3 25.Rc8+ Kg7 26.Ke8+-) 24.Kd7 Rb6 (24...Kg7 25.Ke8+-) 25.Bb7 Rb1 (25...Rb2 26.Ke8+-) 26.Ke8 Rg1 27.Rxf7+ Ke5 28.f4+ Kd4 29.Bc8 Rxg3 30. Bxe6 Rg1 31.Rf6 Ke4 32.Kf7 Rh1 33.Kxg6 Rxh4 34.f5+-. 19.Rf4+ Kg7 20.Ke7 Ra7+ 21.Bd7 Kg8

[FEN "6k1/r2BKp2/4p1p1/7p/5R1P/6P1/ 5P2/8 w - - 0 21"]

And only now can White set his pawns into motion. 22.f3 Of course not 22.Rxf7? Rxd7+ 23.Kxd7 Kxf7=. 22...Rb7 23.g4 hxg4 24.fxg4 Ra7 25.g5

[FEN "6k1/r2BKp2/4p1p1/6P1/5R1P/ 8/8/8 b - - 0 24"]

With White's king already on e7 there can be no doubt about the final result. 25...Rb7 26.Rf6 Ra7 27.Kd6 Ra6+ 28.Kc7 Ra7+ 29.Kc8 Ra8+

29...Kg7 30.Kd8 Kg8 31.Bxe6! fxe6 32.Rxg6++-. 30.Kb7 Rd8 31.Kc7 Ra8 32.Bc6 Ra1 33.Be8 Ra7+ 34.Kb6 Re7

[FEN "4B1k1/4rp2/1K2pRp1/6P1/7P/ 8/8/8 w - - 0 34"]

35.Bc6 35.Bxf7+ Rxf7 36.Rxg6+ wins as well. 35...Kg7 36.Rf1+Many thanks to Burkhard Treiber and his student Moritz Gentemann for allowing me to use their analysis! In the last example the defending rook can work wonders: 141.05 Friedel, J (2523) – Troff, Kayden (2279) North American Open Las Vegas USA (2), 27.12.2011

[FEN "8/2R2pk1/6p1/6P1/5K2/3B4/ 6r1/8 b - - 0 65"]

65...Rd2? Only the amazing step to the edge 65...Kh8!! saves the day: 66.Rc2 (66.Bc4 Rf2+ 67.Ke4 Rf5 68.Rxf7 Rxg5=) 66...Rg1 67.Rc8+ Kg7 68.Bc4 Rc1!

[FEN "2R5/5pk1/6p1/6P1/2B2K2/8/8/ 2r5 w - - 0 69"]

Now the rook must pin White to prepare the following defense. 69.Rc7 and again only 69...Kh8! Works; e.g., 70.Ke5 Rc2 (70...Rg1? runs into 71.Kf6+-) 71.Kf6 Rf2+ 72.Ke7 Rf5 73.Kf8 (73.Bd3 Rxg5 74.Kxf7 Rg3 75.Be2 Rb3 76. Kxg6 Rb6+=) 73...Rxg5 74.Bxf7 Rf5 75.Rc1 Kh7=. However, John-Paul Fenwick remarks correctly: "I have just read through the interesting Endgame Corner 141 and I think there is a correction to be made in the analysis of 141.05 Friedel – Troff. From the first diagram you give 65... Kh8 as saving, but after 66.Rc2 Rg1 67.Rc8 Kg7, instead of 68.Bc4, White simply plays 68.Rc7, taking advantage of the fact that the black rook can no longer move to the f-file. If 68...Rg2, then White transposes back to the game with 69.Bc4 Rf2 70.Ke4 etc." 66.Bc4 Rf2+ 67.Ke4 Rf5

[FEN "8/2R2pk1/6p1/5rP1/2B1K3/ 8/8/8 w - - 0 68"]

67...Rg2 68.Rxf7+ Kh8 69.Kf4+-. 68.Rxf7+! The winning simplification. 68...Rxf7 69.Bxf7 Kxf7 70.Kd5!

[FEN "8/5k2/6p1/3K2P1/8/8/8/8 b - - 0 70"]

Diagonal opposition. 70...Kg7 71.Ke6 The king has reached a key square. 71...Kh8 72.Kf6 Kh7 73.Kf7 Kh8 74.Kxg6 The king has reached a key square. 74...Kg8 75.Kh6! 1-0 75.Kh6 Kh8 76.g6 Kg8 77.g7 Kf7 78.Kh7+-. But not 75.Kf6?! Kh7 76.g6+?? (Repeating the position with 76.Kf7 Kh8 77. Kg6 Kg8 and then 78.Kh6 still wins.) 76...Kh8 77.Kf7 stalemate.

Solutions to last month's exercises E140.01 Fressinet, Laurent (2693) – Smeets, Jan (2607) German Bundesliga 2011/2012 (11.2), 26.02.2012

[FEN "4B3/6K1/5P2/3bk3/8/8/8/8 b - - 0 104"]

How can Black to move reach Centurini's draw? 104...Bc4? Black's king must cross over to protect g6: 104...Kf4! 105.Bf7 (105.Kf8 can be answered by 105...Bc4 106.Ke7 Ke5=) 105...Bf3 106.Bc4 Bh5 107.Bd3 Kg5!=

[FEN "8/6K1/5P2/6kb/8/3B4/8/8 w - - 0 108"]

As both stopping diagonals have at least four squares the position is drawn according to Centurini's rule. 104...Kf5? runs into 105.Bf7 Bf3 106.Bg6++-; 104...Bg8? 105.Bf7 Bh7 106.Ba2+-. 105.Bf7 Be2 106.Bb3 Bh5 107.Bc2 1-0 Black resigned as he can not prevent Bg6. E140.02 Rajlich, Iweta (2428) – Majdan-Gajewska, Joanna (2387) Polish-ch (women) playoff Warsaw (1), 26.02.2012

[FEN "6B1/4k1P1/2b4K/3p4/3Pp3/ p3P3/8/8 w - - 0 61"]

White to move and win. 61.Bh7? This misplaces the bishop, which is needed as a shield for the king. 61.Be6!! a2 (61...Kxe6 62.g8Q++–) 62.g8Q a1Q 63.Bg4 wins, as Black's king cannot escape:

[FEN "6Q1/4k3/2b4K/3p4/3Pp1B1/4P3/ 8/q7 b - - 0 63"]

White's king is not only safe, but also participates in the attack: 63...Qh1+ (63...Kd6 64.Qd8+ Bd7 65.Qxd7#) 64.Kg7 Qh4 65.Qf8#; Against 61.Bf7? a2 62.g8Q a1Q 63.Qg6 Black defends with 63...Qc1 64.Qe6+ Kd8 65.Qd6+ Kc8 66.Kg7 Qc4 67.Qe6+ Kb7 68.Qxe4 Qa2 and Black should be able to survive. 61...a2 62.g8Q a1Q

[FEN "6Q1/4k2B/2b4K/3p4/3Pp3/4P3/ 8/q7 w - - 0 63"]

63.Qg5+ Allows Black's king to escape directly to the queenside. 63.Qg3!? is more dangerous, but Black can defend nevertheless: 63...Qa3 64.Qe5+ Kd8 65.Bf5 Qf8+ 66.Kg5 Qe7+ 67.Qf6 Bb5 (67...Qxf6+? 68.Kxf6 Kc7 69.Ke5+–) 68.Be6 Bc4 69.Kf5 Qxf6+ 70.Kxf6 Kc7 71.Ke5 Kc6=. 63...Kd7 64.Bf5+ Kc7 65.Kg7 Qa3 66.Kf7 Kb6 67.Be6 Qd6 68.Qe7 Qh2 69.Qb4+ Kc7 70.Qe7+ Kb6 71.Qc5+ Kc7 72.Qa7+ White can not escape from the checks after 72. Bxd5 Qh5+ 73.Ke6 Qg6+ 74.Ke5 Qg5+ 75.Kxe4 Qg2+ 76.Ke5 Qg5+=. 72... Bb7 73.Qa5+ Kb8 74.Qd8+ Ka7 75.Ke7 Qh6 76.Qa5+ Kb8 77.Qd8+ Ka7 78.Kd6 Qxe3 79.Qa5+ Kb8 80.Qc7+ Ka7 81.Qc5+ Kb8 82.Bxd5 ½-½

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Endgame Corner by Karsten Müller A Light Initiative Weighs Heavily In endings with rook and knight against rook and knight activity is very important as both pieces do not like permanent passivity. So a light initiative often counts for a lot. A) Matlakov's Mighty Knight Even when play is only on one wing careful defense is often called for: 142.01 Matlakov, Maxim (2665) - Vitiugov, Nikita (2691) St. Petersburg Rapid Cup 2012 RUS (9.4), 07.10.2012

[FEN "1r4k1/3Rn1p1/5p1p/5P2/5NP1/ 7P/7K/8 b - - 0 42"]

42...Re8? Passive defense will not do. The active 42...Rb2+ 43.Kg3 Rb3+ holds; e.g., 44.Kh4 (44.Kf2 Rb2 + 45.Ke3 Rb3+ 46.Kd2 Rb2+ 47.Kc3 Rf2 48.Ne6 Kf7 49.Nxg7 Rf3+=) 44...Re3=. 43.Ne6 Kf7 44.Kg3

[FEN "4r3/3Rnkp1/4Np1p/5P2/6P1/ 6KP/8/8 b - - 0 44"]

44...Rc8 44...h5 is met by 45.Nf4! hxg4 46.Ng6 when the knight dominates: 46...gxh3 47.Kxh3 Kg8 48. Rxe7+-. 45.Nxg7 Rc3+ 46.Kh4 Kxg7 46...Ra3 47.Ne6 Rf3 48.Rd8 Nxf5+ 49.gxf5 Rxf5 50.Rd6+-. 47.Rxe7+ Kg8 48.Kh5 Rxh3+ 49.Kg6 Kf8 50.Rf7+ Kg8 51.Rb7 Kf8 52.Kxf6 Ke8 53.Rb8+ 1-0 Black resigned because of 53...Kd7 54.Kg7 Rg3 55.Rb4 h5 56.f6 Rxg4+ 57.Rxg4 hxg4 58.f7 g3 59.f8Q+-. B) Anand's Active Defense In the next example world champion Vishy Anand shows how to do it: 142.02 Caruana, Fabiano (2773) - Anand, Viswanathan (2780) 5th Final Masters Sao Paulo BRA/Bilbao ESP (3), 26.09.2012

[FEN "8/5pk1/5N2/2n1PPp1/r6p/6P1/ 6PK/4R3 b - - 0 52"]

52...Nd3!? 53.Re2 Ra5 54.gxh4 gxh4 55.Nd7 The alternatives also do not win: 55.e6 is met by the exchange sacrifice 55...Kxf6 56.e7 Ra8 57. e8Q Rxe8 58.Rxe8 Kxf5 and Anand's active army cannot be defeated:

[FEN "4R3/5p2/8/5k2/7p/3n4/6PK/8 w - - 0 59"]

59.Rh8 Kg5 60.Rg8+ Kh5 61.Rf8 Kg6 62.Kh3 Nf4+=. 55.Ng4!? is a dangerous try, but Black can defend: 55...Ra1 (55...Ra4? runs into 56.e6 fxe6 57. fxe6 Ra8 58.e7 Re8 59.Ne3 Nb4 60.Rb2 Nc6 61.Nd5 Nxe7 62.Rb7 Kf8 63.Rxe7 Rxe7 64.Nxe7 Kxe7 65.Kh3 Kf6 66.Kxh4 Kg6 67.Kg4+-) 56.Re3 Nf4 57.e6 fxe6 58.fxe6

[FEN "8/6k1/4P3/8/5nNp/4R3/6PK/r7 b - - 0 58"]

58...Ra8 (Even 58...Nd5 is playable: 59.e7 Nxe3 60.e8Q Nxg4+ 61.Kh3 Nf6 62.Qe7+ Kg6 63. Kxh4 Ra4+=) 59.e7 Re8 60.Re4 Nd5 61.Ne3 Nxe3 62.Rxe3 Kf6 63.Kh3 Kg5 64.Re2 Kf4=. 55...Nc5 56.Nxc5 As rook endings have a very large drawish tendency it is an idea to keep the knight on the board with 56.Nb6!? but Black should be able to hold; e.g., 56...Nd3 57.Nc4 (57.e6 fxe6 58.fxe6 Re5 59.Rxe5 Nxe5 60.Nd5 Nd3 61.Kh3 Ne1=) 57...Ra1 58.Nd6 Nf4

[FEN "8/5pk1/3N4/4PP2/5n1p/8/ 4R1PK/r7 w - - 0 59"]

59.Re4 (59.Rd2 Re1 60.Rd4 Rf1 61.Re4 Nd3 62.g3 hxg3+ 63.Kxg3 Rd1) 59...Nd3 60.Ne8+ Kf8 61.Nc7 Rf1 62.f6 Rf4 63.Rxf4 Nxf4 64.Nb5 Nd3 65.Kh3 Nxe5 66.Nd6 Nd7 67.Ne4 Nb6 68.

Kxh4 Ke8 and in both cases White's extra pawn can probably not be converted. 56...Rxc5 57.Re4 (57.Kh3 Rc4=) 57...Rc3!

[FEN "8/5pk1/8/4PP2/4R2p/2r5/6PK/8 w - - 0 58"]

58.e6 58.Rxh4 is parried by 58...Re3 59.Rg4+ Kf8 (59...Kh6 60.e6 Re5 is playable as well.) 60.f6 (60. Ra4 Rxe5 61.g4 Re3=) 60...Rxe5 61.Kg3 Ra5=. 58...fxe6 59.fxe6 Kf8 60.Rxh4 Re3! The rook belongs behind the passed pawn. 61.Rh8+ Kg7! 61...Ke7? loses because of 62.Rh6+-. 62.Re8 Kf6 63.g3 Re4 64.Kg2 Re3 65.Kh3 Re4 66.g4 Re1 67.Rf8+ Kg7 68.Re8 Kf6 69.e7 Kg7 70.Kh4 1/2-1/2 C) Kramnik's Knight In the following case the attacker is winning, but matters are tactically tricky: 142.03 Kramnik, V (2801) - Tomashevsky, E (2738) 7th Tal Memorial Moscow RUS (6), 14.06.2012

[FEN "8/4r1pp/R4pk1/6P1/3NnP1P/ 4PK2/8/8 w - - 0 42"]

42.h5+?! Kramnik's solution probably wins in the long run as well, but makes it very complicated because of the reduced winning potential. He had two better options: The direct simplification into a winning knight ending with 42.Re6 Rxe6 43.f5+ Kh5 (43...Kf7 44. fxe6+ Ke7 45.Kxe4+-) 44.fxe6 Nd6 45.gxf6 gxf6 46.Kf4 and Black cannot defend:

[FEN "8/7p/3nPp2/7k/3N1K1P/ 4P3/8/8 b - - 0 46"]

46...Kg6 47.Nf5 Ne8 (47...Nxf5 48.h5++-) 48.Ne7+ Kg7 49.Kg4 Kf8 50.Nf5 Nc7 51.e7+ Kf7 52. Kh5 Ne8 53.Kh6 Kg8 54.e4 Kh8 55.Nd4 Kg8 56.Nc6 Kh8 57.Nd8 Kg8 58.Kh5 Kg7 59.Kg4 Kg6

60.h5+ Kg7 61.Kf5 Kh6 62.Ke6 Kxh5 63.Kd7 Ng7 64.Ne6+-. Or Oliver Reeh's suggestion to start a mating attack with 42.f5+ Kh5 (42...Kf7 43.Ne6+-) 43.Ne6 Nd2+ 44.Kf4 Kxh4 (44...Rb7 45.Nxg7+ Rxg7 46.Rxf6+-) 45.gxf6 gxf6 46.Ra2

[FEN "8/4r2p/4Np2/5P2/5K1k/4P3/ R2n4/8 b - - 0 46"]

46...Rd7 47.Nd4+-. 42...Kxh5 43.Nf5 Nd2+ 44.Ke2 Rd7 45.gxf6 gxf6 46.Rxf6 46.Nd6? runs into the amazing 46...Kg4!! 47.Kxd2 Kf3= as given in Chess Today 4237. 46...Kg4 47.Nh6+ Kg3 48.Rf8! Ne4 49.Rg8+ Kh3 50.Ng4! Kh4 51.Ne5 Ra7

[FEN "6R1/r6p/8/4N3/4nP1k/4P3/ 4K3/8 w - - 0 52"]

52.Nf3+? Now White seems to be one tempo too slow in his advance. The maneuver 52.Kf3! Nd2+ 53.Kg2 Ne4 54.Rg4+ Kh5 55.Kf3 Nd2+ 56.Ke2 Ne4 57.Rg1+/- gives him excellent winning chances. 52...Kh5 53.Kd3 53.Rg1 should be tenable for Black as well; e.g., 53...Ra2+ 54.Kd3 Nf2+ 55.Kd4 Ra4+ 56.Kd5 Nh3 57.Rh1 Ra5+ 58.Kd4 Ra4+ 59.Kc5 Kg4 60.Ne5+ Kg3 61.f5 Kg2 62.Rd1 Ng5=. 53...Nf2+ 54.Kd4 Ra4+ 55.Kd5 Ra5+ 56.Ke6 Ng4 57.e4 Ra6+ 58.Ke7 Ra7+ 59.Kd6

[FEN "6R1/r6p/3K4/7k/4PPn1/5N2/8/8 b - - 0 59"]

59...Ra6+ The stalemate trick 59...Nf6 60.Rg5+ Kh6 61.Ke5 Nxe4!! 62.Kxe4 Ra4+= is easier, as given in Chess Today 4237. 60.Kc7 h6 61.e5 Nf6!

[FEN "6R1/2K5/r4n1p/4P2k/5P2/ 5N2/8/8 w - - 0 62"]

62.Rd8 62.exf6 can even be met by the beautiful 62...Rc6+ (62...Rxf6 draws as well.) 63.Kd7 Rd6+ 64. Ke7 Re6+ 65.Kf7 Rxf6+ 66.Kxf6 stalemate. 62.Rf8 Nh7 63.Rh8 Nf6 64.f5 Nd5+ 65.Kd7 Kg4 66.Nd4 Kf4 67.e6 Ke5=. 62...Kg4 63.Nd4 Ra7+ 64.Kd6 64.Kb8 Rd7 65.Kc8 Kxf4 66.exf6 Rf7 67.Rd6 Ke5 68.Re6+?! Kxd4 69.Kd8 Kd5 70.Ra6 Ke5=. 64...Ne4+ 65.Kd5 Nc3+ 66.Kc4 Kxf4 66...Rc7+? is the wrong order of moves because of 67.Kd3 Kxf4 68.Ne6++-. 67.e6 67.Kxc3 is met by 67...Rc7+ (67...Kxe5?? 68.Nc6++-) 68.Kd3 Kxe5=. 67.Nc6 Rc7 68.Kxc3 Rxc6+ 69.Kd4 h5=. 67...Rc7+ 68.Kd3

[FEN "3R4/2r5/4P2p/8/3N1k2/2nK4/8/8 b - - 0 68"]

68...Ke5? Exhausted from the long fight Tomashevsky blunders. 68...Na4 saves the day as the knight will return in time after 69.Rf8+ (69.Rd5 Nc5+=) 69...Ke5 70.Rf7 Rxf7 71.exf7 Nc5+ 72.Ke3 Nd7=. 69.Rd7! 69.e7? Rxe7 70.Nc6+ Ke6 71.Nxe7 Kxe7 72.Kxc3 Kxd8=. 69...Nd5 69...Rc8 70.e7 Kf6 71.Rd8 Kxe7 72.Rxc8+-. 70.e7 Rc3+ 70...Nxe7 71.Rxc7+-. 71.Kd2 Rc8 72.Nc6+ Of course not 72.Rd8? Nxe7= 72...Ke6 73.Rxd5 Rxc6 Everything works out for White, as 73...Kxd5 is met by 74.Nd8!+-. 74.e8Q+ Kxd5 75.Kd3 Re6 76.Qb5+ Kd6 77.Kd4 Ke7 78.Qf5 Rf6 79.Qh7+ Kf8 80.Ke5 Ra6

81.Qb7 Rg6

[FEN "5k2/1Q6/6rp/4K3/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 82"]

82.Qh7! Necessary precision as Black is closer to the draw as it might seem; e.g., 82.Qd7? leads to a known fortress after 82...Kg8 83.Kf5 Rg5+ 84.Kf6 Kh8=. 82...Ra6 83.Qd3 1-0 Black resigned because of 83...Ra5+ (83...Rb6 84.Qd8++-) 84.Kf6+-. D) Leko's Lethal Weapons An attack on two wings is often successful when the defender is tied down: 142.04 Leko, Peter (2737) - Ivanchuk, Vassily (2769) 1st FIDE GP London 2012 ENG (2), 22.09.2012

[FEN "R7/2r1k1p1/2n1p2p/3pP2P/1p6/ 4KN2/1PP3P1/8 w - - 0 30"]

30.g4! Leko brings another attacker forward. 30...Nd8 31.Nd4 Nc6 32.Nf3 32.Rg8!? Nxe5 33.Rxg7+ Nf7 34.Rg6 e5 35.Nc6++- is also very strong. 32...Kf7?! The king is not safe here. But good advice is hard to give; e.g., 32...Nd8 33.Nd4 Nc6

[FEN "R7/2r1k1p1/2n1p2p/3pP2P/

1p1N2P1/4K3/1PP5/8 w - - 0 34"]

34.Rg8 Nxe5 (34...Kf7?? 35.Rxg7+ Kxg7 36.Nxe6+ Kf7 37.Nxc7+-) 35.Rxg7+ Nf7 36.Rg6 e5 37.Nc6+ Kd7 38.Nxb4+- (Baburin in Chess Today 4337); 32...Ra7 33.Rc8 Nd8 34.Nd4+/-. 33.g5!

[FEN "R7/2r2kp1/2n1p2p/3pP1PP/1p6/ 4KN2/1PP5/8 b - - 0 33"]

Now White's initiative brings direct dividends. 33...hxg5 33...b3 34.c3 Ra7 35.Rc8 Ra6 36.g6+ Ke7 37.Rc7+ Kf8 38.Rf7+ Kg8 39.Kf4 Ra4+ 40.Kg3 Ra6 41.Rc7 Kf8 42.Rc8+ Ke7 43.Rg8+-. 34.Nxg5+ Ke7 35.Rg8 Nxe5 36.Rxg7+ Kd6 37.Rxc7 Kxc7 38.Nxe6+ Kd6 39.Nf4 Kc6 40.Nd3 Ng4+ 41.Kf4 Nf6 42.Kg5 1-0 E) Aronian's Attack The following case again illustrates the importance of activity: 142.05 Aronian, Levon (2805) - Kamsky, Gata (2732) 74th Tata Steel GMA Wijk aan Zee NED (4), 17.01.2012

[FEN "8/4k3/p2R3p/2P1N1p1/1P3n2/ 1r5P/6P1/6K1 b - - 0 48"]

48...Rb2? 48...h5! gives Black more counterplay; e.g., 49.Rxa6 g4 50.hxg4 hxg4 51.Kf1 (51.Nxg4 Rxb4 52. Ne3 Rb5 53.c6 Kd6) 51...Rb1+ 52.Kf2 Rb3 53.g3 Nd5 with practical drawing chances in both cases. 49.Rxa6 Rxg2+ 50.Kf1 Rb2 51.Rxh6 Nd5 The knight will not be able to pose real problems, so 51...Kd8!? was called for; e.g., 52.h4 g4 (52...gxh4 53.Rxh4 Ne6 54.Ke1+/-) 53.Rd6+ Ke8 54.Nxg4 Rxb4 55.Ne3+/-; Of course not 51... Rxb4?? 52.Nc6++-. 52.Rd6!

[FEN "8/4k3/p2R3p/2P1N1p1/1P3n2/ 1r5P/6P1/6K1 b - - 0 48"]

52...Ne3+ 52...Nc3 53.Nc6+ Kf7 54.Rd3 Na2 (54...Nb5 55.Rd8 Nc3 56.Ne5+ Ke7 57.Rb8+-) 55.Rg3 Nxb4 56.Nxb4 Rxb4 57.Rxg5+-. 52...Nxb4?! runs into the deadly pin 53.Rb6 Rb1+ 54.Ke2 Rb2+ 55.Kf3 Rb3+ 56.Ke4 Rxh3 57. Rxb4 Rh4+ 58.Kd5 Rxb4 59.Nc6++-. 53.Ke1 Nc2+ 54.Kd1 Nxb4 54...Na3 55.Rd2 Rb1+ (55...Rxb4? 56.Nc6++-) 56.Ke2 Nb5 is more tenacious but still insufficient of course. 55.Rb6! A deadly pin. 55...Kf8 After 55...Rc2 56.Nc6+ Ke8 57.Nxb4 Rxc5 58.Ke2 Rc3 59.Nd3, White takes control and will win in the long run. 56.Rb8+ Kg7 57.Nc4 Rb3 58.c6 1-0 Kamsky resigned, as the tactics work Aronian's way: 58...Rd3+ 59.Ke2 Nxc6 60.Rb7++-.

F) Passed Pawns Must be Pushed This guideline is valid in the next example: 142.06 Sengupta, Deep (2562) - Haydon, David L (2296) Hastings Masters 2011-12 Hastings ENG (9.6), 05.01.2012

[FEN "8/p6r/4N2k/5p1n/8/KP6/ 2P5/7R w - - 0 42"]

42.c4! The direct liquidation 42.Nf4? Kg5 43.Nxh5 Rxh5 44.Rxh5+ Kxh5 45.c4 spoils it: 45...f4 (45... Kg6 draws as well.) 46.c5 f3 47.c6 f2 48.c7 f1Q 49.c8Q Qa1+=. 42...Rh8 Unfortunately, the only way to escape the bind. 42...Kg6?? runs into 43.Nf8++-. 43.c5 Rc8 44.Nf4

[FEN "2r5/p7/7k/2P2p1n/5N2/KP6/ 8/7R b - - 0 44"]

44...Kg5! The best way to continue the fight as rook and knight do not cooperate well in the resulting endgame so White still has a lot of technical work to do. 45.Nxh5 Rxc5 46.Ng3 Kg4 46...Re5 is met by the amazing 47.Rg1 Kh4 48.Nh1!!

[FEN "8/p7/8/4rp2/7k/KP6/8/6RN b - - 0 48"]

48...Re2 49.Rf1 Re5 50.Nf2 Kg3 51.Nd3 Re3 52.Nf4 and White should win in the long run.

47.Ne2 f4 48.Kb4 The direct 48.Nxf4? violates the endgame principle do not rush and spoils it because of 48...Kxf4 49.Rh7 Ra5+ (But not 49...a5? 50.Ka4 Ke4 51.Ra7+-) 50.Kb4 Ra1=. 48...Re5?! An inaccuracy as White now gains time with checks. But Black should be lost anyway in the long run; e.g., 48...Rc7 49.Nd4 Kg3 50.Rf1 Rf7 51.Rf3+ Kg4 52.Kc4 Rc7+ 53.Kd3 Rf7 54.Rf1 Kg3 55.Ke4 Re7+ 56.Kd5 Rf7 57.Rf3+ Kg4 58.Kc6 Rf6+ 59.Kc5 Rf5+ 60.Kc4 Rf8 61.b4 White is making slow but steady progress. 61...Rc8+ 62.Kb5 Rb8+ 63.Ka5 Rb7 64.b5 Rd7 65.Rd3 Rf7 (65...f3 66.Nxf3 Rxd3 67.Ne5++-) 66.Ka6 Re7 67.Rc3 Re4 68.Rc4 Re7 69.Nc6 Rh7 70.Ne5+ Kg3 71.Rc3+ Kh4 72.Ng6+ Kg5 73.Nxf4 Kxf4 74.Rc8 Ke5 75.Ra8 Kd6 76.Rxa7+-. 49.Rg1+! Kf3 50.Nd4+ Kf2 50...Ke3 51.Kc4+-. 51.Ra1! Re7 51...Rd5 52.Kc4 Rd7 53.b4 f3 54.Ra3 Rf7 55.Nxf3 Rxf3 56.Rxa7+-. 52.Ra2+!

[FEN "8/p3r3/8/8/1K1N1p2/1P6/ R4k2/8 b - - 0 52"]

An important zwischenschach.

52...Kg3?! A tactical blunder, but Black is lost in any case; e.g., 52...Kf1 53.Kc4 Rf7 54.b4 f3 55.Nxf3 Rxf3 56.Rxa7+-. 53.Nf5+ 1-0 Exercises (solutions next month) E142.01 Papaioannou, Ioannis (2597) - Ashwin, Jayaram (2476) 21st Kavala Open A Kavala GRE (5), 28.07.2012

[FEN "1r5k/2R4p/4N3/1p6/1P6/ 3n4/6PP/6K1 w - - 0 36"]

How to exploit White's activity? E142.02 Erker, T (2162) - Bluebaum, M (2413) 24th Staufer-Open Schwaebisch Gmuend GER (5), 04.01.2012

[FEN "1r5k/2R4p/4N3/1p6/1P6/3n4/ 6PP/6K1 w - - 0 36"]

How to break White's defenses? Copyright 2013 Karsten Müller and BrainGamz, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Endgame Corner by Karsten Müller Tricky Pawn Endings Despite the reduced material pawn endings are by no means easy to handle, as any small mistake is often fatal. So simplifications into pawn endings are a very important theme and I will also deal with a few cases in the following. A) Karjakin's King Rook endings have a large drawish tendency, but in pawn endgames a small advantage can be decisive: 143.01 Karjakin, Sergey (2779) – Potkin, Vladimir (2646) 65th ch-RUS Tiebreak Moscow RUS (1), 13.08.2012

[FEN "5kr1/5p1R/6p1/p2pPpP1/ 5P2/2P1K3/P7/8 w - - 0 35"]

35.e6!! Karjakin opens the gate. 35.Kd4? Ke7! gives Black good drawing chances:

[FEN "6r1/4kp1R/6p1/p2pPpP1/3K1P2/ 2P5/P7/8 w - - 0 36"]

36.Kxd5 (36.Rh1 Rc8 37.Rb1 Rc4+ 38.Kxd5 Rxf4 39.Rb7+ Kf8 40.e6 fxe6+ 41.Ke5 Re4+ 42. Kf6 Ke8 43.Kxg6 f4 44.Rf7 Ra4 45.Kg7 Rxa2 46.Rxf4 a4 47.g6 a3 48.Kf6 Kf8 49.Ra4 Rf2+ 50. Kxe6 a2=) 36...Rd8+ 37.Kc4 Rc8+ 38.Kd3 Rd8+ 39.Kc2 Rc8 40.Kb3 (40.Rh3 Rc4 41.Rf3 Ke6 42.Kb3 Kd5 43.a4 Rc6 44.Re3 Rb6+ 45.Kc2 Kc4=) 40...Ke6 41.a3 (41.c4 Rb8+ 42.Kc3 Rb1 43. Rh8 Rf1=; 41.a4 Rc7 42.c4 Rb7+ 43.Kc3 Rb4=) 41...a4+ 42.Kb4 Kd5 43.Kxa4 Rxc3 44.Rxf7 Rc4+ 45.Kb5 Rxf4 46.a4 Rf2 47.a5 Rb2+ 48.Ka4 Ra2+ 49.Kb4 Kxe5 50.Rf6 f4 51.Rxg6 f3 52. Rf6 f2 53.Rf8 Rd2 54.g6 Rd4+ 55.Kc5 Rf4 56.Rxf4 Kxf4 57.g7 f1Q 58.g8Q Qf2+=. 35...fxe6 35...Rg7 36.Rxg7 Kxg7 37.e7+-. 35...Ke7 is met by 36.exf7 Rf8 37.Kd4 Ke6 (37...Rxf7 38.Rxf7+ Kxf7 39.Kxd5+-) 38.Rg7 Rc8 39.f8Q Rxf8 40.Rxg6+ Ke7 41.Kxd5+- and with two extra pawns the rook ending is winning. 36.Kd4 And White's king will invade with decisive effect. 36...Rg7 36...Ke8 37.Ke5 Rf8 38.Ra7 a4 39.Ra8+ Ke7 40.Rxf8 Kxf8 41.Kxe6+-. 37.Rxg7 Kxg7 38.Ke5 Kf7 39.Kd6 a4 40.a3 1-0

Black resigned as he is in zugzwang. A possible finish is 40...e5 41.Kxe5 Ke7 42.Kxd5 Kd7 43. Kc5 Ke6 44.c4 Kd7 45.Kb5 Kd6 46.Kb6 Kd7 47.c5 Kc8 48.Kc6 Kb8 49.Kd7+-. B) Bai's Knightmare Usually a bishop is stronger than a knight on an open board, but sometimes miracles do happen. 143.02 Fauzan, M – Bai, Jinshi (2252) 2nd Indonesian Open Jakarta (9.38), 17.10.2012

[FEN "5b2/2k1N3/4K3/3P4/8/8/8/8 b - - 0 52"]

52...Kd8? This is very unfortunate. There are many ways to draw among them is 52...Kb7 53.d6 Bh6 54.d7 Kc7 (Baburin in Chess Today #4363) 55.Nc6 Bg5 56.Ne7 Kd8=. 53.d6! 1-0 Suddenly Black has no way to deal with White's d-pawn and so he resigned: 53...Bxe7 53...Bh6 54.Nc6+ Kc8 55.d7+ Kb7 56.d8Q+-; 53...Ke8 54.d7+ Kd8 55.Nc6+ Kc7 56.d8Q++-. 54.dxe7+ Ke8

[FEN "4k3/4P3/4K3/8/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 55"]

With White to move this position is won. 55.Kd6 Kf7 56.Kd7+-. C) Timman's Timing Pure bishop endings have a large drawish tendency so a simplification into a pawn ending must be calculated carefully: 143.03 Van Kampen, R (2570) – Timman, J (2578) 16th Unive Open Hoogeveen NED (9), 27.10.2012

[FEN "8/8/4b3/p1p1k1P1/P7/4P3

/2B2K2/8 b - - 0 56"]

56...Bf5!? The position is drawn anyway, but this activation is strong as Timman's timing is just right. 57.Bxf5 57.e4 is met by 57...Bh7 (Of course not 57...Bxe4?? 58.Bxe4 Kxe4 59.g6 c4 60.g7 c3 61.g8Q c2 62.Qg6++-) 58.Kf3 c4 59.Ke3 Bg6=, and White cannot make any progress. 57...Kxf5 58.Kf3 Kxg5 59.Ke4

[FEN "8/8/8/p1p3k1/P3K3/4P3/8/8 b - - 0 59"]

59...Kg4! Timman's point. Now his king will always be just in time. However, not 59...c4? 60.Kd4 Kf5 61. Kxc4 Ke4 62.Kb5 Kxe3 63.Kxa5 Kd4 64.Kb6+-. 60.Kd5 Kf3 61.Kxc5 (61.e4 c4=) 61...Kxe3 62.Kb5 Kd4 63.Kxa5 Kc5 64.Ka6 Kc6 65.a5 ½-½ Finally, three pawn endings to finish this Endgame Corner: D) Milliet's Missed Chance Usually, passed pawns must be pushed, but the following case is an exception.

143.04 Bauer, Ch (2664) – Milliet, S (2421) Trophee Karpov Preliminary 2012 Cap d'Agde FRA (11), 31.10.2012

[FEN "8/p7/1p6/1k6/5KP1/8/8/8 b - - 0 56"]

56...a5? Now the race is drawn as both sides will queen at the same time. 56...Kc5!! wins as Black's pawn will queen with check and then Black will always be able to exchange queens: A) 57.g5 Kd6 58.Kf5 a5 59.Kf6 (59.g6 Ke7 60.Kg5 Kf8 61.Kh6 Kg8-+) 59...a4 60.g6 a3 61.g7 a2 62.g8Q a1Q+ 63.Kf5 Qe5+ 64.Kg4 Qe6+-+. B) 57.Ke5 a5 58.g5 a4 59.g6 a3 60.g7 a2 61.g8Q a1Q+

[FEN "6Q1/8/1p6/2k1K3/8/8/8/q7 w - - 0 62"]

White cannot escape and must allow the exchange of queens sooner or later; e.g., 62.Kf5 Qf1+ 63. Ke5 (63.Ke4 Qc4+-+) 63...Qe2+ 64.Kf6 Qf2+ 65.Ke7 Qh4+ 66.Kd7 Qa4+ 67.Ke7 Qe4+ 68.Kf6 Qf4+ 69.Ke7 Qd6+ 70.Kf7 Qd5+-+. 56...Kc6? only draws because of the bodycheck 57.Ke5!

[FEN "6Q1/8/1p6/2k1K3/8/8/8/q7 w - - 0 62"]

57...a5 (57...Kd7 58.Kf6=) 58.g5 Kd7 (58...a4 59.g6 a3 60.g7 a2 61.g8Q a1Q+ 62.Ke4=) 59.Kf6 Ke8 60.Kg7 a4 61.g6 a3 62.Kh7 a2 63.g7 a1Q 64.g8Q+ Ke7=; Finally 56...Kc4?? even loses because of 57.g5 Kd5 (57...a5 58.g6 a4 59.g7 a3 60.g8Q++-) 58.Kf5 Kd6 59.Kf6 Kd7 60.g6 Ke8 61.g7+-. 57.g5 a4

[FEN "8/8/1p6/1k4P1/p4K2/8/8/8 w - - 0 58"]

Both kings cannot reach the square, so a drawn queen ending will result. White's square must be drawn from g6 as it is his move. 58.g6 a3 59.g7 a2 60.g8Q a1Q 61.Qd5+ Kb4 62.Qd6+ Kb5 62...Ka5 63.Qd5+ Kb4 64.Qd6+=. 63.Qd5+ ½-½ E) Chernyshov's Counterblow Pawn endings often require very precise calculation: 143.05 Singer, C (2325) – Chernyshov, K (2532) 16th OIBM 2012 Bad Wiessee GER (9.11), 04.11.2012

[FEN "8/8/3kp3/1p3p2/1P4p1/2P1K1P1/ 5P2/8 w - - 0 61"]

61.c4! White must act immediately to get rid of his backward c-pawn. 61...bxc4 62.Kd4

[FEN "8/8/3kp3/5p2/1PpK2p1/6P1/ 5P2/8 b - - 0 62"]

62...c3! Chernyshov's counterblow. 62...e5+? runs into 63.Kxc4 f4 64.Kd3 Kd5 65.b5 f3 66.b6 Kc6 67.Ke4 Kxb6 68.Kxe5 Kc5 69.

Kf4 Kd4 70.Kxg4 Ke4 71.Kh3 Kd3 72.g4 Ke2 73.Kg3+-. 63.Kxc3 Kd5 64.Kd3 e5 65.Kc3! (65.b5? Kc5-+) 65...f4! The right advance. However, not 65...e4? 66.Kd2 Kc4 67.Ke3 Kxb4 68.Kf4 Kc4 69.Kxf5 Kd3 70. Kf4! Ke2 71.Kxe4 Kxf2 72.Kf4+-. 66.gxf4 Surprisingly, 66.Kd3? even loses to 66...f3 and Black's far advanced pawns will win:

[FEN "8/8/8/3kp3/1P4p1/3K1pP1/ 5P2/8 w - - 0 67"]

A) 67.Kc3 e4 68.Kd2 (68.b5 e3 69.fxe3 f2-+) 68...Kc4 69.Ke3 Kxb4 70.Kxe4 Kc3 71.Ke3 Kc2-+. B) 67.b5 Kc5 68.Ke4 Kxb5 69.Kxe5 Kc4 70.Kf4 Kd3 71.Kxg4 Ke2 72.Kh5 Kxf2 73.g4 Ke3 74. g5 f2 75.g6 f1Q 76.g7 Qf7+-+. 66...exf4 67.Kd3 ½-½ F) F for forward In the following example, one white f-pawn should advance, but which one? 143.06 Iljushina, Olga (2354) – Romanko, Marina (2420) 62nd ch-RUS HL w Tyumen RUS (2), 17.06.2012

[FEN "8/5p2/1k4p1/1p1K2P1/3P1P2/ 8/5P2/8 w - - 0 56"]

White played 56.f3? and Black resigned. But now the position is drawn. 56.f5! wins the resulting fight for the opposition: 56...gxf5 (56...b4 57.fxg6 fxg6 58.Kc4 Ka5 59. Kb3 Kb5 60.f4 Ka5 61.f5+-) 57.f4 b4 (57...Ka5 58.Kc5 b4 59.d5 b3 60.d6 b2 61.d7 b1Q 62.d8Q + Ka4 63.Qa8+ Kb3 64.Qb7+ Kc2 65.Qxb1+ Kxb1 66.Kd6 Kc2 67.Ke5 Kd3 68.Kxf5 Ke3 69. Ke5+-) 58.Kc4 Ka5 59.d5 b3 60.Kxb3 Kb5 61.Kc3 Kc5 62.d6 Kxd6 63.Kd4

[FEN "8/5p2/3k4/5pP1/3K1P2/8/8/8 b - - 0 63"]

Now White has the opposition and will penetrate to the key squares. But matters are still not easy; e.g., 63...Ke6 64.Kc5 f6 (64...Kd7 65.Kd5 Ke7 66.Ke5 f6+ 67.gxf6+ Kf7 68.Kxf5+-; 64...

Ke7 65.Kd5 Kf8 66.Ke5 Kg8 67.Kxf5 Kg7 68.Ke4 Kg6 69.Ke5 Kg7 70.f5 f6+ 71.Ke6 fxg5 72. Ke7+-) 65.g6 Ke7 66.Kd5 Kf8 67.Ke6 Kg7 68.Kxf5+-. 56...b4 57.Kc4 Ka5 58.d5 58.Kb3 Kb5 59.f5 gxf5 60.f4 Ka5 61.d5 Kb5 62.d6 Kc6 63.Kxb4 Kxd6

[FEN "8/5p2/3k4/5pP1/1K3P2/8/8/8 w - - 0 64"]

Diagonal opposition 64.Kc4 Kc6= Opposition. 58...b3 59.Kxb3 59.d6 Kb6 60.Kxb3 Kc6 61.Kc4 Kxd6 62.Kd4 Ke6 63.Ke4 f5+=. 59...Kb5 60.f5 (60.Kc3 Kc5=) 60...gxf5 61.f4 Kc5 62.d6 Kxd6 63.Kc4 Kc6! 64.Kd4 Kd6=

[FEN "8/5p2/3k4/5pP1/3K1P2/8/8/8 w - - 0 65"]

Black draws as she has the opposition. Exercises (solutions next month) E143.01 Djuraev, Sokhib (2354) – Solomon, Stephen (2378) 40th Olympiad Open Istanbul TUR (9.21), 06.09.2012

[FEN "3R4/4P3/2b1K3/8/2p5/2k5/8/8 w - - 0 58"]

Djuraev played 58.Rd7. Was this a good choice? E143.02 Ni, V (2228) – Foisor, S (2364) ch-USA w 2012 Saint Louis USA (8), 17.05.2012

[FEN "8/8/7p/4k1pK/8/7P/5P2/8 w - - 0 67"]

Ni played 67.f3. Was this a good choice? Solutions to last month's exercises Knight Attack Out of the Blue In endgames with rook and knight against rook and knight often a small initiative weighs heavily: E142.01 Papaioannou, Ioannis (2597) – Ashwin, Jayaram (2476) 21st Kavala Open A Kavala GRE (5), 28.07.2012

[FEN "1r5k/2R4p/4N3/1p6/1P6/ 3n4/6PP/6K1 w - - 0 36"]

How to exploit White's activity? 36.Nc5! White has good chances to convert his extra pawn because of his activity. 36...Nxb4? This runs into a mating attack. 36...Nxc5 37.Rxc5 should be lost in the long run as Black's rook is doomed to passivity.; 36... Ne5!? was probably the best practical chance, but White is clearly for choice after 37.h3!+/-. 37.Nd7! A deadly double threat. 37...Na6 37...Nd5 is refuted by 38.Rc5 Rd8 39.Rxd5 b4 40.Nb6+-, as given in Chess Today #4293. 38.Ra7! Rd8 38...Rc8!? sets a trap as 39.Nf6? can be met by (But 39.Rxa6 wins easily of course.) 39...Rc1+ 40. Kf2 Nc7=. 39.Nf6

[FEN "3r3k/R6p/n4N2/1p6/8/8/6PP/6K1 b - - 0 39"]

Again a double threat. 39...Rd1+ 40.Kf2 Rd2+ 41.Ke1 1-0 Now it is even a triple threat, so that Black resigned. The Monster Knight In the following endgame Black's knight is really impressive: E142.02 Erker, T (2162) – Bluebaum, M (2413) 24th Staufer-Open Schwaebisch Gmuend GER (5), 04.01.2012

[FEN "1r5k/2R4p/4N3/1p6/1P6/3n4/

6PP/6K1 w - - 0 36"]

How to break White's defenses? 35...Rf8!! Not the only way to win but certainly the most beautiful and best. Black threatens 36...Rxa2+ and so 36.Rxc2 is forced. 36.Rxf8? loses directly to 36...Rxa2#. After 36.Rf6+ Ka5 37.R6f2 Black can improve with the collinear move 37...Rf3!! 38.g5 Rcxf2 39.Nxf2 d3 40.Kb2 d2-+. 36...Rxf1+ 37.Kb2 37.Rc1 is met by 37...Rf3 38.Nb2 Rf2 39.h4 (39.a3 Rxh2 40.g5 Rg2-+) 39...b4 40.g5 d3 41.g6 (41.Nxd3 Rxa2#) 41...d2 42.Rb1 Nxb1 43.Kxb1 Rh2 44.g7 Rg2-+; and 37.Nc1 runs into the promotion trick 37...d3 38.Rxc3 d2 39.Kb2 d1Q-+. 37...Rb1+ 38.Ka3 a5

[FEN "8/8/1k6/pp1p4/3p2P1/K1nN4/ P1R4P/1r6 w - - 0 39"]

Black closes the mating net.

39.Rb2 There is no escape as 39.Nb2 is answered by 39...b4+ 40.Kb3 Ne4 41.g5 d3 42.g6 (42.Rg2 Nc5#) 42...a4+ 43.Kxb4 dxc2 44.g7 c1Q 45.g8Q Qxb2+ 46.Kxa4 Qxa2#. 39...Rd1 40.Nf4 Rf1 41.Nd3 Rf3 0-1 White resigned as after 42.Ne5 Nb1#, the monster knight has the last word. Copyright 2013 Karsten Müller and BrainGamz, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Endgame Corner by Karsten Mueller Tablebase Revolution Compared to opening theory, endgame theory is relatively constant. Old fortresses are not often broken. Yet with help of six-man tablebases one old fortress can indeed be broken in a very surprising way. This seems incredible to the human eye. I have already dealt with this theme in Endgame Corner 70 and followed the old wisdom that it is a fortress: 144.01 Tiviakov, S (2480) - Korsunsky, R (2390) Frunze op, 1989

[FEN "8/1k6/p7/1pb2K1R/8/P7/1P6/8 w - - 0 45"]

Yet White can win. Either by invading with his king to c6 (this winning aim was known to human theory) or, and this is truly amazing, by exchanging pawns with a3-a4 at the right moment: 45.Ke4 Bf2 46.Rf5 Bg1 47.Rf1 Bc5 48.Kd5 Be3 49.Rf7+ Kb6 50.Rf3 Bg1 51.Rf1 51.Rf6+ Kb7 52.Rf4 Kb6 is more direct. Now White should amazingly exchange pawns:

[FEN "8/8/pk6/1p1K4/5R2/P7/1P6/6b1 w - - 0 53"]

53.a4!! bxa4 54.Rxa4 Be3, when White's rook wins a very long domination duel; e.g., 55.Ra1 Bf2 56.Rf1 Be3 57.Rf6+ Kb7 58.Rf3 Bg1 59.Kd6 Bh2+ 60.Ke6 Kc6 61.Rf1 Bg3 62.Kf5

[FEN "8/8/p1k5/5K2/8/6b1/1P6/5R2 b - - 0 62"]

This is truly amazing! White's king moves to f5 to win the domination fight. Chess really is a rich game! 62...Bd6 63.Rc1+ Kb6 64.Ke4 Bc5 65.Kd3 Kb5 66.Ra1 Kb6 67.Kc4 Be3 68.Ra3 Bg1 69. Rg3 Bf2 70.Rf3 Bg1 71.Kb4 Bd4 72.Rb3 Be5 73.Ka4+ Ka7 74.Ka5 Bf6 75.Kb4 Kb6 76.Ka4+ Ka7 77.Rb4 Be5 78.Kb3 Bd6 79.Rg4 Be5 80.Re4 Bg3 81.Kb4 Kb6 82.Rg4 Bd6+ 83.Kc4 Bb8 84. Rg6+ Kb7 85.Kd5 Bf4 86.Rg4 Bb8 87.Kc5 Ba7+ 88.Kd6 Bb8+ 89.Kd7 a5 90.Ke6 Kc6 91.Rc4+ Kb5 92.Kd5 a4 93.Rc5+ Kb6 94.Kc4 Bf4 95.Rb5+ Ka6 96.Kc5 Be3+ 97.Kc6 Bc1 98.Rb8 Ka5 99.Kc5 Be3+ 100.Kc4 Ka6 101.Ra8+ Kb6 102.Rxa4+-. 51...Be3 52.Ke4 Bg5 53.Rf5 Bc1 54.Rf2 Bg5 55.Kd4 Bc1 56.Re2 Ka5

56...Bg5 57.Re6+ Kb7 58.Kc5 Bd8 59.b4 Bh4 60.Rb6+ Ka7 61.Kc6+-. 57.Kc3 Kb6 58.Kd4 Ka5 59.Rc2 Bh6 60.Rg2 Bc1 61.Rc2 Bh6

[FEN "8/8/p6b/kp6/3K4/P7/1PR5/8 w - - 0 62"]

62.Rc7?! This allows Black to get back in his house. 62.Rg2 wins quicker: 62...Bc1 (62...Bf8 63.Kc3 Kb6 64.Rg6+ Kb7 65.b4+-; 62...Ka4 63.Rg6 Bc1 64.Kc3+-) 63.Re2 Kb6 (63...Bh6 64.Kc3 Bg7+ 65.Kb3 Bf6 66.Re6 Bd4 67.Ka2 b4 68.axb4+ Kb5 69.Kb3+-) 64.Kd5 Bg5 (64...a5 65.Kd4 a4 66.Kd5 b4 67.Rc2 Be3 68.axb4 Kb5 69.Rc8+-) 65.Re6+ Kb7 66.Kc5

[FEN "8/1k6/p3R3/1pK3b1/8/P7/1P6/8 b - - 0 66"]

White's king invades to c6. 66...Bd8 67.b3 Bg5 68.Rb6+ Ka7 69.Kc6+-. 62...Kb6 63.Re7 Bc1 63...Bg5 64.Re6+ Kb7 65.Kc5 Bd8 66.b3 Bh4 67.Rb6+ Ka7 68.Kc6+-. 64.Re6+ Kb7 65.Re2 Even 65.Kc5 is playable: 65...Bxb2 66.Re7+ Kb8 67.Re3 (67.Kb6? Bd4+ 68.Kxa6 Bc5=) 67... Kc7 68.Rf3 Kb7 69.Rh3 Kc7 70.Rh7+ Kb8 71.Kb6+-. 65...Kb6?!

[FEN "8/8/pk6/1p6/3K4/P7/1P2R3/2b5 w - - 0 66"]

Now the bishop is dominated. 65...Bg5!? 66.Kc5 Bh4 was more tenacious; e.g., 67.a4 bxa4 68.Kb4 Bg3 69.Kxa4 Bc7 70.Kb4 Bb6 71.Kc4 Kc6 72.Re6+ Kb7 73.Kd5 Bf2 74.Rf6 Bg1 75.Rf1 Be3 76.Rf3 Bg1 77.Kd6 Bh2+ 78. Ke6 Kc6 79.Rf1 Bg3 80.Kf5

[FEN "8/8/p1k5/5K2/8/6b1/1P6/5R2 b - - 0 80"]

White wins as shown above.; 65...Bf4?! 66.Re7+ Kb6 67.Re6+ Kb7 68.Kc5 Bg5 69.Rb6+ Ka7 70.Kc6+-. 66.Kd5 Bg5 66...a5 67.Kd4 a4 68.Kd5 b4 69.Rc2 Be3 (69...bxa3 70.Rxc1 axb2 71.Rb1 a3 72.Kc4+-) 70.axb4 Kb5 71.Rc8+-; 66...Ka5 67.Rc2 Be3 (67...Bf4 68.Rc6+-) 68.Rc6 b4 69.axb4+ Kb5 70.Rc8 Bf4 71.Rc5+ Kb6 72.Kc4+-. 67.Re6+ Kb7 68.Kc5 Bd8 68...Bh4 69.Rb6+ Ka7 70.Kc6+-. 69.b3 Bh4 70.Rb6+ Ka7 71.Kc6

[FEN "8/k7/pRK5/1p6/7b/PP6/8/8 b - - 0 71"]

White's king has reached the key square c6 and it is over. 71...Bf2 72.Rb7+ Ka8 73.Rf7 Bg1 74.Rf4 Ka7 75.a4 bxa4 76.Rxa4 Bf2 77.b4 Be3 78.b5 Kb8 79.Rxa6 1-0 Since finishing this column, Burkhard Treiber brought to my attention that Jonathan Hawkins indicated the white win in Amateur to IM, Mongoose Press 2012 on page 105. The following position is indeed a fortress, but the winning chances of the rook are larger than they seem at first sight. 144.02 Gelfand, Boris (2733) - Ivanchuk, Vassily (2779) Amber-blindfold 20th Monte Carlo (8), 20.03.2011

[FEN "6k1/2R5/4K1p1/7p/8/6P1/1b5P/8 w - - 0 54"]

54.Rc2 54.h4 A) 54...Bd4? is a typical mistake, which often occurs in practical play: 55.Rc4 Bb2 56.g4 hxg4 57.Rxg4 Kh7 58.Kf7 Kh6 59.Rxg6+ Kh5 60.Rg2

[FEN "8/5K2/8/7k/7P/8/1b4R1/8 b - - 0 60"]

White wins the domination duel; e.g., 60...Bc3 61.Rh2 Be1 62.Kf6 Bg3 63.Rh1 Bf2 64.Kf5 Be3 65.Rh2 Bg1 66.Rg2 Bb6 67.Rb2 Bc5 68.Rc2 Be3 69.Ke4 Bh6 70.Rh2 Bg7 71.Kf4 Bf8 72.Kf3 Ba3 73.Ra2 Be7 74.Re2 Bf6 (74...Bxh4 is met by 75.Rh2 Kg5 76.Rh1+-

[FEN "8/8/8/6k1/7b/5K2/8/7R b - - 0 76"]

Very beautiful!) 75.Kf4 Bd8 76.Rc2! Be7 77.Rd2 Bb4 78.Rd8 Bc3 79.Kg3+-. B) 54...Ba1=. 54.h3 Ba1 55.g4 hxg4 56.hxg4 Bb2 57.g5 Ba1 58.Rf7 Bb2 59.Rf6

[FEN "6k1/8/4KRp1/6P1/8/8/1b6/8 b - - 0 59"]

This is just met by the calm 59...Kg7!=. 54...Ba1 55.Rg2 Kg7 56.g4 hxg4 57.Rxg4 Bc3 58.Rc4 Ba1 59.Rf4 Bb2 60.Rf1 Bd4 61.Rf7+ Kg8 62.Rf4 Bc3 63.Rg4 Kg7! (63...Kh7? 64.Kf7+-) 64.Rg2 Bf6 65.Rc2 Ba1 66.Rc7+ Kg8 67. h4 Bb2 68.Rc2!?

[FEN "6k1/8/4K1p1/8/7P/8/1bR5/8 b - - 0 68"]

68...Bd4! Now this is the only move. Black must indeed by very careful, when defending this fortress. 69.Rd2 69.Rg2 Kh7 70.Kf7 Kh6 71.Rxg6+ Kh5 72.Rc6 Bf2 73.Kf6 Kxh4!=. 69...Bc3 70.Rd3

[FEN "6k1/8/4K1p1/8/7P/2bR4/8/8 b - - 0 70"]

70.Rg2 Kh7 71.Kf7 Kh6 72.Rxg6+ Kh5 73.Rg3 Be1 74.Rg1 Bxh4=. 70...Be1! Again Ivanchuk is up to the task and finds the only defense. 70...Bb2? 71.Rg3 Kh7 72.Kf7 Kh6 73.Rxg6+ Kh5 74.Rg2 loses as seen in the line 54.h4 Bd4?. 71.Kf6 71.Rd4 Kg7 72.Rg4 Kh6 73.Kf6 Kh5 74.Rxg6 Kxh4 75.Kf5 Bd2=. 71...Bxh4+ 72.Kxg6 Kf8 73.Rh3 Bd8 74.Rh7 Ke8 75.Kf5 Kf8 76.Ke6 Bg5 77.Rf7+ Kg8 78. Rd7 Kf8 79.Rd5 Bc1 80.Rd1 Bb2 81.Rf1+ Kg7 82.Rf7+ Kg6 83.Rf2 Bc1 84.Rg2+ Kh5 85. Kf5 Kh4! 86.Rc2 Be3! 87.Ke4 Ba7 88.Ra2 Bb6 89.Kf4 Bc7+ 1/2-1/2

In the next case case Eiko Bleicher's program Freezer found the solution: 144.03 Mamedov, Rauf (2624) - Manea, Alexandru (2381) 13th EICC Plovdiv BUL (1.72), 20.03.2012

[FEN "8/5p2/2k5/1p4R1/1PbK4/8/8/8 b - - 0 66"]

66...Kb6? 66...Kd6! is the only move according to Freezer. 67.Rh5 f6

[FEN "8/8/3k1p2/1p5R/1PbK4/8/8/8 w - - 0 68"]

Now all inroads are controlled and White can't win. 67.Rh5?!

67.Rc5 wins quicker. 67...Kc6 68.Rh8?! 68.Ke5 wins quicker. 68...Kb7 69.Re8?! 69.Kc5 wins quicker. 69...Be6?! This retreat allows White to cut off Black's king in a cage. The bodycheck 69...Kc6! is better, but White will win nevertheless as Freezer proves:

[FEN "4R3/5p2/2k5/1p6/1PbK4/8/8/8 w - - 0 70"]

70.Ke5 Kd7 (70...Bf1 71.Rd8 Kc7 72.Rd2 Bc4 73.Kf6 Be6 74.Ke7 Kc6 75.Rd4 Bc4 76.Rd6+ Kc7 77.Rf6 Bd5 78.Rh6 Be6 79.Rh5 Bc4 80.Rc5+ Kb6 81.Kd6 Kb7 82.Re5 Kb6 83.Re8 Kb7 84. Kc5 Kc7 85.Re7+ and White wins as in the game.; 70...Kc7 71.Re7+ Kc6 72.Ra7 Kb6 73.Rd7+-) 71.Ra8 A) 71...Kc7 72.Ra6 Kd7 73.Rb6 Kc7 (73...Ke7 74.Rb7++-) 74.Rd6 Bb3 75.Rd2 Be6 76.Kf6 Bc4 77.Ke7 Kc6 78.Rd6+ Kc7 79.Rh6 Be6 80.Rh5 Kc6 81.Rc5+ Kb6 82.Kd6+-. B) 71...Bb3 72.Rb8 Kc6 73.Rd8+-.

C) 71...Ke7 72.Ra7+ Kf8 73.Kf6 Ke8 74.Rb7 Kd8 75.Ke5 Ke8 76.Kd6 Kf8 77.Rb6 Kg7 78.Ke7 f5 79.Rf6 Bd3 80.Ke6+-; 69...Kc7?! 70.Kc5 Kd7 71.Re1 f6 (71...f5 72.Re3 Bf1 73.Rf3 Bc4 74. Rxf5+-) 72.Re3 f5 73.Re5 Be6 74.Kd4 f4 75.Re4 f3 76.Rf4+-. 70.Kc5! Bc4 71.Re7+ Kc8 72.Kd6 Kd8 73.Rb7 Kc8 74.Ra7

[FEN "2k5/R4p2/3K4/1p6/1Pb5/8/8/8 b - - 0 74"]

74...f5 74...Kb8 allows White to cut the king off in the dangerous corner: 75.Rc7!?

[FEN "1k6/2R2p2/3K4/1p6/1Pb5/8/8/8 b - - 0 75"]

75...f5 76.Kc6 Bd5+ (76...f4 77.Re7 f3 78.Re8+ Ka7 79.Kc7 f2 80.Re3 f1Q 81.Ra3#) 77.Kb6 Be4 78.Rc5 Bb1 79.Rxb5 Kc8 80.Rd5 Be4 81.Rd6+-.

75.Rc7+ Kb8 75...Kd8 76.Rc5 Bd3 77.Rd5+-. 76.Rc5

[FEN "1k6/8/3K4/1pR2p2/1Pb5/8/8/8 b - - 0 76"]

76...Kb7 76...Bd3 is refuted by 77.Rd5 when Black loses a pawn: 77...Be4 78.Rxb5+ Kc8 79.Re5 Kb7 80. Kc5 Kc7 81.Re7+ Kd8 82.Rh7 Kc8 83.b5 Kd8 84.Rf7 Kc8 (84...Ke8 85.Rc7 f4 86.Kd6 f3 87.Re7 ++-) 85.Kb6 Kd8 86.Ka7 Ke8 87.Rh7 Kf8 (87...f4 88.Rh4+-) 88.b6 Kg8 89.Rc7 Kf8 90.b7 Bxb7 91.Kxb7 f4 92.Rc4 f3 93.Rf4++-. 77.Rxf5 Kb6 78.Rf8 Kb7 79.Re8 Bf1 80.Kc5 Bc4 81.Re7+ Kc8 After 81...Ka6?!, Black's king is even caught in a mating net: 82.Kc6 Bf1 83.Re3 Ka7 84.Kc7+-. 82.Kc6 Kd8 83.Rc7 Mamedov prepares to simplify into a won pawn ending. Playing for zugzwang with 83.Re1!? wins as well. 83...Bf1 84.Kb6 1-0

Black resigned because of 84...Bc4 85.Rc5 Kd7 86.Rxb5 Bxb5 87.Kxb5+-. Solutions to last month exercises Solomon's Surprise E143.01 Djuraev, Sokhib (2354) - Solomon, Stephen (2378) 40th Olympiad Open Istanbul TUR (9.21), 06.09.2012

[FEN "3R4/4P3/2b1K3/8/2p5/2k5/8/8 w - - 0 58"]

Djuraev played 58.Rd7. Was this a good choice? A rook is usually much stronger than a bishop in the pure endgame, but in the race of dangerous passed pawns care is always required: 58.Rd7? This is beautifully refuted by Black. White should play the domination game with 58.Kd6 Bb5 59.Kc5 Ba4 60.Rc8 Bd7 61.Ra8 (Baburin in Chess Today 4322) 61...Kb3 62.Kd6 and the diagonal is too short because of 62... Bb5 63.Rb8+-. 58...Bxd7+ 59.Kxd7 Kd2!!

[FEN "8/3KP3/8/8/2p5/8/3k4/8 w - - 0 60"]

An amazing surprise as White cannot win now. 60.e8Q c3 61.Qe5 After 61.Kd6 c2, White's king is just outside the winning zone, which is quite large as the defending king is on the wrong side of his bishop's pawn. 61...c2 62.Qb2 Kd1 63.Qd4+ Ke2 64.Qc3 Kd1 65.Qd3+ Kc1 66.Kc6 Kb2

[FEN "8/8/2K5/8/8/3Q4/1kp5/8 w - - 0 67"]

White's king is clearly outside the winning zone. 67.Qd2 Kb1 68.Qb4+ Ka2 69.Qc3 Kb1 70.Qb3+ Ka1 1/2-1/2

The spare tempo E143.02 Ni, V (2228) - Foisor, S (2364) ch-USA w 2012 Saint Louis USA (8), 17.05.2012

[FEN "8/8/7p/4k1pK/8/7P/5P2/8 w - - 0 67"]

Ni played 67.f3. Was this a good choice? In pawn endings every tempo counts: 67.f3? White wastes her valuable pawn move. Only after 67.Kxh6 Kf6, (67...Kf4 68.Kg6 g4 69.h4 Kf3 70.Kg5 Kxf2 71.Kxg4+-; 67...Kf5 68. Kg7 g4 69.h4+-) can she play 68.f3

[FEN "8/8/7p/4k1pK/8/7P/5P2/8 w - - 0 67"]

With a win by encirclement, the typical method to exploit the opposition in this case: 68...Kf5 69. Kg7 Kf4 70.Kf6 Kxf3 71.Kxg5+-. 67...Kf5! Now Black takes the opposition and draws as White has no spare tempo. Of course not 67...Kf6? 68.Kxh6+-; 67...Kf4? is also wrong because of 68.Kxh6 Kxf3 69.Kxg5+-. 68.Kxh6 Kf6 1/2-1/2 A draw was agreed because of 69.Kh7 Kf7! 70.Kh8 Kf8=. But not 70...Kg6? 71.Kg8 Kf6 72.Kf8 Kg6 73.Ke7 Kg7 74.Ke6 Kg6 75.Ke5

[FEN "8/8/6k1/4K1p1/8/5P1P/8/8 b - - 0 75"]

White wins, as Black cannot keep the opposition; e.g., 75...Kg7 76.Kf5 Kh6 77.Kf6 Kh5 78.Kg7 Kh4 79.Kg6 Kxh3 80.Kxg5+-. Copyright 2013 Karsten Mueller and BrainGamz, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Endgame Corner by Karsten Mueller Rooks and Races Even a single pawn has drawing chances against a rook, if the attacking king is far enough away, so great care is often required in such pawn races. A) To queen or to improve the rook first that is the question When a passed pawn can queen, it is often worth taking a second look as to whether this can be done in even more favorable circumstances. 145.01 Meribanov, Vitaly (2409) - Svetushkin, Dmitry (2612) Moscow Open A RUS (5.5), 06.02.2013

[FEN "4K3/4RP2/2k5/2p5/8/1r6/8/8 w - - 0 53"]

53.f8Q? Now Black is always just in time to draw. 53.Re5!? Rb8+ (53...c4 54.f8Q Rb8+ 55.Kf7 Rxf8+ 56.Kxf8 c3 57.Re3+-; 53...Kd6 54.f8Q+ Kxe5 55.Qxc5+ Kf6 56.Qd6+ Kg7 57.Qf8+ Kg6 58.Qf7++-; 53...Rf3 54.f8Q Rxf8+ 55.Kxf8 Kd6 56.Rh5+-) 54.Ke7 Kb5 55.Kf6 wins the all important tempo in the following fights:

[FEN "1r6/5P2/5K2/1kp1R3/8/8/8/8 b - - 0 55"]

(55.f8Q? is still too early because of 55...Rxf8 56.Kxf8 Kc4 57.Ke7 Kd4 58.Kd6 c4 59.Rd5+ Ke3 60.Kc5 c3 61.Kb4 c2 62.Rc5 Kd2 63.Kb3 c1Q 64.Rxc1 Kxc1=) 55...Rf8 56.Re8 Rxf7+ 57.Kxf7 Kc4 (57...c4 58.Ke6 c3 59.Kd5 Kb4 60.Kd4 c2 61.Rc8 Kb3 62.Kd3+-) 58.Ke6 Kd4 59.Rd8+ Ke4 60.Kd6 c4 61.Kc5 c3 62.Kb4 c2 63.Rc8 Kd3 64.Kb3+-. 53.Re6+ Kd5 54.Rd6+ Kxd6 55.f8Q+ Kc6 56.Qf6+ Kb5 57.Kd7 wins as well, but is more complicated. 53...Rb8+ 54.Kf7 Rxf8+ 55.Kxf8

[FEN "5K2/4R3/2k5/2p5/8/8/8/8 b - - 0 55"]

55...Kd5!

The right way to proceed. Black's king prepares to give the white king a bodycheck. 55...c4?? loses because of the deadly cut off 56.Re5+-. And 55...Kb5? runs into 56.Kf7 Kc4 57.Ke6 Kd4 58.Rd7+ Ke4 59.Rc7 Kd4 60.Kf5 c4 61.Kf4 Kd3 62.Kf3 c3 63.Rd7+ Kc2 64.Ke2 Kb2 65.Rc7 c2 66.Kd2+-. 56.Rd7+ Ke4

[FEN "5K2/3R4/8/2p5/4k3/8/8/8 w - - 0 57"]

57.Ke7 The usual zwischenschach 57.Re7+ does not help here because of 57...Kd3 58.Rd7+ Ke3 59.Rc7 Kd4 60.Ke7 c4 61.Kd6 c3= Bodycheck! 57...c4 58.Kd6 c3 59.Rh7 c2 60.Rh1 Kd3 61.Kd5 ½-½ The next case is similar. 145.02 Djokic, V (2299) - Trifunovic, M (2305) TCh-Central Serbia 2011 Kraljevo SRB (1), 17.09.2011

[FEN "1R6/5P2/4K3/8/2p5/p1P5/k4r2/8 w - - 0 62"]

62.f8Q? White rushes. The typical 62.Rb5! wins as White saves a lot of time:

[FEN "8/5P2/4K3/1R6/2p5/p1P5/k4r2/8 b - - 0 62"]

62...Rxf7 (62...Ka1 63.Rf5 Rxf5 64.Kxf5 a2 65.f8Q Kb2 66.Qb4+ Kc2 67.Qa3 Kb1 68.Ke4 a1Q 69.Qxa1+ Kxa1 70.Kd4+-; 62...Re2+ 63.Re5 Rf2 64.Rf5+-) 63.Kxf7 Ka1 64.Rb4 a2 65.Rxc4 Kb2 66.Ra4 Kxc3 67.Rxa2+-. However, not 62.Rb4? Ka1 63.Rxc4 a2 64.Ra4 Kb2 65.c4 a1Q 66.Rxa1 Kxa1 67.c5 Re2+ 68. Kd7 Rf2=. 62...Rxf8 63.Rxf8 Kb3 64.Kd5

64.Ra8 a2 65.Rxa2 is met by 65...Kxc3!! (65...Kxa2? 66.Kd5 Kb3 67.Kd4+-) 66.Kd5 Kb3 67. Rh2 c3 68.Kd4 c2 69.Rh1 Kb2=. 64...Kxc3 65.Rf3+ Kb2 65...Kb4 draws as well. 66.Kxc4 a2 67.Rf2+ Ka3!

[FEN "8/8/8/8/2K5/k7/p4R2/8 w - - 0 68"]

Bodycheck! Of course not 67...Kb1? 68.Kb3 a1N+ (68...a1Q 69.Rf1#) 69.Kc3+-. 68.Rf3+ Kb2 69.Rf2+ Ka3 70.Rf1 Kb2 ½-½ B) The rook belongs behind the passed pawn This good guideline is valid here as well. 145.03 Ahvenjarvi,Jani (2210) - Houska, Jo (2398) Oslo GM Open 2012 NOR (2.9), 01.10.2012

[FEN "5R2/4r3/8/8/2K5/1P2kp2/8/8 w - - 0 54"]

54.Kc5? This loses an important tempo. The passed pawn must advance immediately: 54.b4 Re4+ 55.Kc5 Rf4 56.Re8+ A) 56...Kd3 57.Rd8+ Kc3 (57...Kc2 58.Rh8 Kc3 59.b5 Rf5+ 60.Kc6 f2 61.Rh1 Kc4 62.Rc1+=) 58.b5 f2 59.Rd1 f1Q 60.Rxf1 Rxf1 61.b6=. B) 56...Kd2 57.Rh8 f2 58.Rh1 f1Q 59.Rxf1 Rxf1 60.b5 Rc1+ 61.Kd6 Rb1 62.Kc6 Kc3 63.b6 Kb4 64.b7 Ka5 65.Kc7=. 54...Re5+ 55.Kc4

[FEN "5R2/8/8/4r3/2K5/1P2kp2/8/8 b - - 0 55"]

55...Re4+! The valuable f-pawn must be preserved, as 55...f2? runs into 56.Rxf2 Kxf2 57.b4 Ke3 58.b5 Ke4 59.b6 Re8 60.Kc5 Rc8+ 61.Kd6=. 56.Kc5 Rf4 57.Re8+ Kd2 58.Rh8 f2 59.Rh1 Rf5+ 60.Kd4 60.Kc6 is met by 60...f1Q (60...Kc3 wins as well: 61.Rf1 Kxb3 62.Kd6 Kc3 63.Ke6 Rf8 64.Ke5 Kd3-+) 61.Rxf1 Rxf1 62.b4

[FEN "8/8/2K5/8/1P6/8/3k4/5r2 b - - 0 62"]

Now the typical zwischenschach 62...Rc1+ 63.Kd6 Rb1 64.Kc5 Kc3 65.b5 Kb3 66.b6 Ka4 67. Kc6 Ka5 68.b7 Ka6-+. 60...f1Q 61.Rxf1 Rxf1 62.b4 Rf4+? The rook again belongs behind the passed pawn: 62...Rb1 63.Kc5 (63.Kc4 Ke3 64.b5 Ke4 65. Kc5 Ke5 66.Kc6 Ke6 67.b6 Rc1+-+) 63...Kc3 64.b5 Kb3 65.b6 Ka4 66.Kc6 Ka5 67.b7 Ka6-+. 63.Kc5 Kc3 64.b5 Rf5+ 65.Kc6 Kc4 66.b6 Rf6+ 67.Kc7 Kc5 68.b7 Rf7+ 69.Kc8 Kc6

[FEN "2K5/1P3r2/2k5/8/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 70"]

70.b8N+! The knight draws despite the restricted space as it can stay near its king. 70...Kd6 71.Na6 Ra7 72.Nb8 Rc7+ 73.Kd8 Rc4 74.Nd7 Ra4 75.Kc8 Rc4+ 76.Kd8 Rc7 77.Nf8 Ra7 78.Ke8 Re7+ 79.Kd8 Rg7 80.Ke8 Ra7 81.Ng6 Ke6 82.Nf8+! After 82.Kd8?, Black can separate the knight from its king with 82...Ra8+ 83.Kc7 Ra4:

[FEN "8/2K5/4k1N1/8/r7/8/8/8 w - - 0 84"]

And the rook will catch the steed sooner or later; e.g., 84.Nf8+ (84.Kd8 Kf6 85.Nf8 Ra8+-+) 84... Ke7 85.Ng6+ Kf6 86.Nf8 Ra7+ 87.Kc6 Ra6+ 88.Kb7 Rd6 89.Nh7+ Ke6 90.Ng5+ Kf5 91.Kc7 Rh6 92.Nf3 Ke4 93.Nd2+ Kd5 94.Nb3 Ra6 95.Nd2 Ra2 96.Nf3 Rf2 97.Ng5 Rf5 98.Nh3 Ke4 99.

Kd6 Ke3 100.Ke6 Rh5 101.Ng1 Rh1-+. 82...Ke5 83.Nd7+ Kd6 84.Nf8 Re7+ 85.Kd8 Re1 86.Nd7 Rh1 87.Ke8 Rh8+ ½-½ The next example is study-like. 145.04 Bulmaga, Irina (2304) - Foisor, Cristina Adela (2416) ROU-Superliga Wom Brasov ROU (5.3), 12.10.2011

[FEN "8/5PR1/k2K3p/pp6/P7/8/5r2/8 w - - 0 51"]

51.Ke7? White's king must hide on the queenside and start the march with 51.Ke5! Re2+ (51...bxa4 52.Rg6 + Kb5 53.Rf6 Rxf6 54.Kxf6 a3 55.f8Q a2 56.Qa3+-) 52.Kd5 Rd2+ (52...Rf2 53.Rg6+ Kb7 54. Ke6 Rxf7 55.Kxf7 bxa4 56.Ke6+-) 53.Kc6 Rc2+ 54.Kd7 Rd2+ 55.Kc8 Rc2+ (55...Rf2 runs into 56.Rg6+ Ka7 57.axb5 Rxf7 58.Ra6#) 56.Kb8

[FEN "1K6/5PR1/k6p/pp6/P7/8/2r5/8 b - - 0 56"]

Finally, White's king has arrived. The pawn b5 shields it from the rain of rook checks. 56...Rf2 57. Rg6+ Rf6 58.Rxf6#. 51.axb5+? Kxb5 52.Ke7 a4=. 51...Re2+? This loses an all important tempo. The pawn f7 had to be eliminated immediately: 51...Rxf7+! 52.Rxf7 bxa4 53.Kd6 Kb5 54.Kd5 a3! (54...Kb4? 55.Kd4 Kb3 56.Kd3 a3 57.Rb7++-) 55.Kd4 a2 56.Rf1 Kb4 57.Kd3 Kb3 58.Rh1 Kb2 59.Rh2+ Kb3 60.Rh1=. After 51...bxa4? 52.Rg6+ Kb5 53.Rf6 Re2+, White's king can seek shelter in the shadow of Black's king: 54.Kd7 Rd2+ 55.Kc7 Rc2+ 56.Kb7+-. 52.Kd8 Rf2 53.Rg6+!

[FEN "3K4/5P2/k5Rp/pp6/P7/8/5r2/8 b - - 0 53"]

The decisive zwischenschach. 53...Kb7 54.Ke7 Rxf7+ 54...bxa4 55.Rf6 Re2+ 56.Kd6 Rd2+ 57.Kc5 Rd8 58.f8Q Rxf8 59.Rxf8 a3 60.Rf3 a2 61.Ra3+-. After 54...Re2+, the rook can be used as shield with 55.Re6+-. 55.Kxf7 bxa4 56.Ke6 Kc6 57.Ke5+ Kc5 58.Ke4 Kc4 58...a3 59.Kd3 a2 60.Rg1 Kb4 61.Kc2 Ka3 62.Rh1 h5 63.Rh3+ Kb4 64.Kb2+-. 59.Rc6+ Kb3 60.Kd3

[FEN "8/8/2R4p/p7/p7/1k1K4/8/8 b - - 0 60"]

Bodycheck! 60...a3 60...Kb2 61.Rb6+ Kc1 62.Rxh6 a3 63.Rh2 Kb1 64.Kc3 a2?! 65.Rh1#. 61.Rb6+! Ka2 61...Ka4 62.Kc2 h5 63.Rh6 a2 64.Kb2+-. 62.Kc2 a4 63.Rxh6 1-0 C) The fourth phase of the game After the opening, middlegame, and endgame comes the fourth phase of the royal game: when both sides have queened. The most important guideline is that whoever gives the first check wins as king safety plays an extremely important role: 145.05 Sarana, A (2118) - Duzhakov, I (2330) Chigorin Memorial St. Petersburg RUS (3.82), 29.10.2012

[FEN "8/2R5/7r/P5K1/8/3p4/1k6/8 b - - 0 53"]

Black wins as White's king is in the middle of nowhere. 53...Rd6!?

The rook belongs behind the passed pawn. 53...d2? spoils it because of 54.Rd7 Rh2 55.a6 Kc2 56. a7 Rh8 57.Rc7+=. 54.Rb7+ Kc3 55.Rc7+ Kd4 56.a6 56.Rc1 Rd5+ 57.Kf4 Rxa5-+. 56...d2!? This is quickest. 56...Rxa6 wins as well of course. 57.a7 d1Q 58.a8Q

[FEN "Q7/2R5/3r4/6K1/3k4/8/8/3q4 b - - 0 58"]

And now Black has the all important first check. 58...Qg1+ 59.Kh5 Qh2+ 60.Kg5 Qe5+ 0-1 White resigned because of 61.Kh4 Rh6+ 62.Kg4 Rg6+ 63.Kf3 (63.Kh4 Qh2#) 63...Qe3#. The next case is more difficult. 145.06 Van Mechelen, J (2194) - Ris, R (2394) TCh-BEL 2012-13 Belgium (1.4), 23.09.2012

[FEN "8/4R1P1/6r1/8/8/8/5p1K/5k2 b - - 0 86"]

Black tried one last trick. 86...Rh6+ 87.Kg3 Kg1!? 88.g8Q 88.Rf7? Rg6+ 89.Kh3 f1Q+ 90.Rxf1+ Kxf1-+. 88...f1Q

[FEN "6Q1/4R3/7r/8/8/6K1/8/5qk1 w - - 0 89"]

White has no check, but he can survive nonetheless. 89.Re1!

89.Qf7? Qh3+ 90.Kf4 Rh4+ 91.Ke5 Qe3+ 92.Kd6 Rd4+ 93.Kc7 Qc3+ 94.Kb8 Rd8+ 95.Ka7 Qa5 + 96.Kb7 Qb5+ 97.Kc7 Qb8+ 98.Kc6 Rd6+ 99.Kc5 Qb6+ 100.Kc4 Rd4+ 101.Kc3 Qb4+ 102. Kc2 Rd2+ 103.Kc1 Qb2#. 89...Rh3+! 89...Qxe1+? 90.Kf3+ Rg6 91.Qxg6+ Kf1 92.Qg2#. 90.Kg4 Qxe1 90...Kg2 91.Rxf1 Rg3+=. 91.Kxh3+ Kf2 92.Qg3+ Ke2 93.Qxe1+ ½-½ Exercises (Solutions next month) E145.01 Lutz, B (2348) - Wirz, H (2161) Hilton Master Open 2013 Basel SUI (3.20), 02.01.2013

[FEN "8/6PK/8/8/5k2/7R/6rp/8 b - - 0 73"]

Find Black's only move to draw! E145.02 Fernandez, Daniel (2370) - Illingworth, Max (2360) Istanbul ol (Men) 40th (10.4), 07.09.2012

[FEN "8/8/3R4/5K2/r7/2p1P3/2k5/8 b - - 0 55"]

Black to move and win! E145.03 King, Daniel (2503) - Emms, John (2520) Simpsons 175th London (5), 01.09.2003

[FEN "R7/8/7p/4K3/1k2P3/6P1/p1r5/8 w - - 0 64"]

Where shall Daniel King's king go? E145.04 Melkumyan, Hrant (2628) - Andreikin, Dmitry (2689) 13th EICC Plovdiv BUL (6), 25.03.2012

[FEN "8/8/8/8/3k4/5K2/2pr2P1/2R5 b - - 0 67"]

Black to move and win. Copyright 2013 Karsten Mueller and BrainGamz, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Endgame Corner #146 by Karsten Mueller The Last Pawn Revisited In pawnless endings usually a very large material superiority is needed to win. So the last pawn is often worth its weight in gold. I continue the discussion from Endgame Corner 121. 146.01 Womacka, Mathias (2442) - Sandipan, Chanda (2590) 11th Gibraltar Masters Caleta ENG (3.16), 24.01.2013

[FEN "B7/6pk/4p3/4P2p/3p3P/8/8/4K3 b - - 0 37"]

White is winning, but he must be careful: 37...g5!? 38.hxg5? This loses one all important tempo. 38.Ke2 is called for: 38...gxh4 (38...Kg6 39.Be4++-) 39.Bg2 Kg6 40.Bh3 White has reached a more active blockading set up and wins; e.g., 40...Kg5 41.Kd3 Kf4 42.Kxd4 Kg3 43.Bxe6 h3 44. Bd5+38...Kg6 39.Ke2 39.Bg2 is met by 39...Kxg5 40.Bh3 Kf4=.

39...Kxg5 40.Kd3 Kf4 41.Kxd4 h4

[FEN "B7/8/4p3/4P3/3K1k1p/8/8/8 w - - 0 42"]

Black has become so active that the draw is secured. 42.Bg2 Kg3 43.Bc6 43.Bf1 h3 44.Bxh3 Kxh3 45.Kc5 Kg4=; 43.Bh1 Kf4 44.Bd5 exd5 45.e6 h3 46.e7 h2 47.e8Q h1Q=. 43...Kf4 44.Bd7 Kf5 45.Bb5 h3 46.Bf1 h2 47.Bg2 Kf4 48.Be4 Kg3 49.Ke3 49.Kc5 Kf4 50.Kd4=. 49...Kg4 50.Bg2 Kf5 51.Kd4 Kf4 52.Bh1 Kf5 1/2-1/2 As two knights alone can't force mate difficult problems can arise: 146.02 King, Daniel (2517) - Rudd, Jack (2291) BCF-chT 0405 (4NCL) West Bromwich (4.3), 21.11.2004

[FEN "8/8/6N1/6K1/1k2bP2/4N3/8/8 w - - 0 63"]

White must be winning of course, but it is an amazingly long way to prove this: 63.Kf6 Of course not 63.f5?? Bxf5=. 63...Kc5 64.Nh4 Kd4 65.Nhf5+ Kc5 66.Ke5 Bd3 67.Nd6 Bg6 68.Nd5 Bh7 69.Nf6 Bc2 69...Bg6 70.Nd7+ Kc6 71.Nf8 Bd3 72.Ne4+-. 70.Nfe4+ Kc6 71.f5 Bb3 72.f6 Bg8 73.Ng5 Kd7 74.Nf5 Bc4 75.Ng7 Bg8 76.N7e6 1-0

[FEN "6b1/3k4/4NP2/4K1N1/8/8/8/8 b - - 0 76"]

And Black resigned here. 76...Kc6 76...Ke8 77.Kd6 Bf7 78.Nxf7 Kxf7 79.Ke5+-. 77.Nf8 One amazing line after 77.Kf5 runs 77...Kd5 78.Kg6 Ke5 79.Kg7 Kf5:

[FEN "6b1/6K1/4NP2/5kN1/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 80"]

80.Nf3 and Black is dominated or will fall into zugzwang sooner or later: 80...Kxe6 (80...Bxe6 81.Nd4++-) 81.Ng5+ Ke5 82.Nf7+ Ke6 (82...Kf5 83.Nh6++-) 83.Nh6 Bh7 84.f7+-. 77...Kb7 78.Ng6 Kc7 79.Ne7 Ba2 80.Nd5+ Kd7 81.f7 Bxd5 82.f8Q+-. The next example is much more difficult: 146.03 Eryshkanova, Anastasiya (2143) - Tarasova, Viktoriya (2273) Moscow Open B 2013 RUS (3.5), 04.02.2013

[FEN "8/2K5/1P6/n2NN1k1/4n1P1/ 8/8/8 w - - 0 69"]

69.Nc6? This allows Black's knights to force an underpromotion of the pawn. 69.b7? is met by 69...Nxb7 70.Kxb7 Nf2 71.Ne3 Nxg4=. And 69.Nb4? runs into 69...Nc3 70.Nbc6 (70.b7 Nxb7 71.Kxb7 Ne4 72.Nd5 Nf2 73.Ne3 Nxg4=) 70...Nd5+ 71.Kd6 Nxb6 72.Nxa5 Kf4 73.Nac6 Nc4+ 74.Ke6 Ne3=. There is essentially only one way to win the domination dance: 69.Ne3! Nc3 (69...Nc5 70.N3c4 Nxc4 71.Nxc4 Kxg4 72.Kc6 Ne6 73.Na5 Kf5 74.Kd6 Nd8 75.Ke7+-; 69...Kf4 70.N5c4 Nb3 71. Kc6 Nbc5 72.Nd2 Kxe3 73.Nxe4 Nxe4 74.b7+-) 70.Nc6 Nb3 (70...Nb5+ 71.Kd7 Nb7 72.Nd8 Nc5+ 73.Kc6+-) 71.Kd6 Ne4+ 72.Ke7

[FEN "8/4K3/1PN5/6k1/4n1P1/1n2N3/ 8/8 b - - 0 72"]

White's king has left the sphere of influence of the knights and White wins, e.g. 72...Nbc5 (72... Nec5 73.Nd8 Kf4 74.Ne6+ Kxe3 75.Nxc5 Nxc5 76.g5+-) 73.Nd4 Nb7 74.Ne6+ Kg6 75.Nc4 Kh6 76.Kd7 Kg6 77.Kc6 Kf6 78.Kxb7 Kxe6 79.Kc6+-; 69.Nd7 is playable, but after 69...Nf2 (69... Nd2 70.Ne3 Nb1 71.Ne5 Nc3 72.Nc6 Nb3 73.Kd6+-; 69...Kxg4 70.N7f6+ Kf3 71.Nxe4 Kxe4 72. Nb4 Kf5 73.Nc6 Nb3 74.Kd6 Nd2 75.b7 Nc4+ 76.Kc5 Ne5 77.Nxe5 Kxe5 78.b8Q++-; 69...Nd6 70.Kxd6 Nc4+ 71.Ke6 Nxb6 72.Ne5 Na4 73.Kd6 Nb2 74.Ne3 Kf4 75.Kd5 Kxe3 76.g5+-) 70. Ne5 Ne4 White must play 71.Ne3+- anyway. 69...Nc4 70.b7 Nc5 1/2-1/2 The draw was agreed as 71.b8N Kxg4 72.Nd4 should be drawn as given by Baburin in Chess Today 4472; e.g., 72...Ne5 73.Kd6 Ncd3 74.Na6 Nf3 75.Nb5 Nh4 76.Nb6 Nf5+ 77.Ke6 Kf4 as three knights against two should usually be defendable. But three knights against one is won for the three knights, if a direct draw cannot be forced. Typical problems also arise, when the attacker has rook, bishop and a few pawns against rook and pawns (see also Endgame Corner 141): 146.04 Burg, Twan (2492) - Peralta, Fernando (2617) 75th Tata Steel GpC Wijk aan Zee NED (9.5), 22.01.2013

[FEN "7r/6k1/6p1/6P1/1b2K1RP/8/8/8 w - - 0 58"]

58.Kd5? Burg's king leaves his burg without good reason. After 58.Kf3 Rb8 (58...Bd6 59.Rd4 Be7 60.Kg4=) 59.Rg3 Bd6 60.Rh3 Rf8+ 61.Kg4 Rf4+ 62. Kg3, Black has no way to exploit the battery, so the position is theoretically drawn. But practical winning chances remain of course after 62...Bc7 63.h5 gxh5 64.Rxh5 Kg6 65.Rh4=. 58...Be1! 59.Ra4

[FEN "7r/6k1/6p1/3K2P1/R6P/8/8/4b3 b - - 0 59"]

59...Rd8+!

The refutation of White's concept, which was based on 59...Bxh4?? 60.Ra7+=; 59...Rxh4?? 60. Ra7+=. 60.Ke6 Re8+ 61.Kd5 Re2 62.Ra7+ Kf8 63.Ra4 63.Rh7!? is more tenacious, but Black will win in the long run, as the ending rook and bishop and wrong rook's pawn against rook is winning; e.g., 63...Rd2+ 64.Ke5 Bg3+ 65.Ke4 Rh2 66.h5 gxh5 67.Kf3 (67.g6 h4 68.Kf5 Rf2+ 69.Kg5 Kg8 70.Kg4 Rf6 71.Kg5 Rf4 72.Ra7 h3 73.Ra8+ Rf8-+) 67...Be5 68.g6 Kg8 69.Ke4 Bf6 70.Rf7 Re2+ 71.Kf3 Re1 72.Kf2 Re6 73.Kg2 Bg5 74.Kh3 Rxg6+. 63...Kf7 64.Rf4+ Kg7 65.Ra4 Bf2 66.Rb4 Re7 67.Rf4 Be1 68.Ra4 Rb7

[FEN "8/1r4k1/6p1/3K2P1/R6P/8/ 8/4b3 w - - 0 69"]

69.Rc4 One sample line after 69.Re4 runs 69...Bg3 70.Rg4 Rb3 71.Ra4 Rb5+ 72.Ke6 (72.Kc4 Rb1 73. Kd5 Rd1+ 74.Ke6 Rd6+ 75.Ke7 Rd5 76.Rg4 Re5+ 77.Kd7 Bxh4-+) 72...Re5+ 73.Kd7 Bxh4 74. Rxh4 Rxg5 75.Ke6 Ra5 76.Rf4 g5 77.Rf5 Ra6+ 78.Ke5 Kg6 79.Rf8 Ra4-+. 69...Ra7 70.Ke6 Bg3 71.Rg4 Ra3 72.Re4 Rd3 73.Ra4 Rd6+ 74.Ke7 Rd5 75.Ra7 75.Rg4 Re5+ 76.Kd7 Bxh4 77.Rxh4 Rxg5-+. 75...Re5+ 76.Kd8+

76.Kd6+ Kf8 77.Ra3 Re3+-+. 76...Kf8 77.Ra6 Rd5+ 78.Kc8

[FEN "2K2k2/8/R5p1/3r2P1/7P/6b1/8/8 b - - 0 78"]

78...Rd6? Amazingly Burg's king is now just in time to reach his safe castle in the south east corner. 78...Kf7 79.Ra7+ Ke6 80.Rg7 (80.Ra6+ Rd6-+) 80...Kf5 81.Rf7+ Kg4 82.Rg7 (82.Rf6 Rd6-+) 82...Rd6 83.Rh7 Bxh4-+. 79.Rxd6 Bxd6 80.Kd7! Bg3 81.Ke6 Kg7 81...Bxh4 82.Kf6=. 82.h5! gxh5 83.Kf5 Bc7 84.g6 Kh6 Preserving the h-pawn with 84...h4 does not help as White's king reaches the saving corner in time: 85.Kg4 Bg3 86.Kh3=. 85.g7 Kxg7 86.Kg5 1/2-1/2 The next example is even more complicated: 146.05 King, Daniel (2535) - Rogers, Ian (2600) BCF-chT 9697 (4NCL) England (7.1), 22.02.1997

[FEN "8/4k3/5R2/3pP3/2r1bP2/4K3/8/8 b - - 0 58"]

58...Bc2? This is the wrong diagonal. 58...Bh1! wins; e.g., 59.Rh6 (59.Kd3 Re4 60.Rh6 Bf3 61.Rh4 Be2+ 62.Kd2 d4 63.Rh6 Bc4-+) 59...Re4+ 60.Kd3 (60.Kf2 Rxf4+ 61.Ke3 Rf1-+) 60...Bf3 61.Rf6 Be2+ 62.Kd2 Bb5

[FEN "8/4k3/5R2/1b1pP3/4rP2/8/ 3K4/8 w - - 0 63"]

Black's d-pawn is now ready to advance sooner or later: 63.Rb6 (63.Kc3 Rc4+ 64.Kd2 Rc6 65. Rf5 d4 66.e6 Bc4-+) 63...Bc4

A) 64.Rb7+ Ke6 65.Rb6+ Kf5 66.Rf6+ Kg4 67.e6 d4-+ (67...Rxf4-+). B) 64.Rf6 d4 65.Rc6 d3 66.f5 Re2+ 67.Kc3 Rc2+ 68.Kb4 d2 69.Rd6 Be2 70.Re6+ Kd7 71.Rd6+ Kc7 72.f6 d1Q 73.Rxd1 Bxd1 74.f7 Rf2 75.e6 Kd6-+. 59.Rd6 Re4+ 59...Be4 60.f5 Rc3+ 61.Kd4 Rd3+ 62.Kc5 Bxf5 63.Rxd5=. 60.Kf3 Bb3 61.Kg4 Re1 62.Kf3 Bc4 63.Rc6 Rf1+ 63...Bd3 64.Rd6 Be4+ 65.Kg4 Rg1+ 66.Kh5 Bf3+ 67.Kh6 Re1 68.Kg5=. 64.Ke3 Rd1 65.Rd6 Rd3+ 66.Kf2

[FEN "8/4k3/3R4/3pP3/2b2P2/3r4/ 5K2/8 b - - 0 66"]

66...Ra3 The alternatives are also insufficient: 66...Rd1 67.Ke3 Ke8 (67...Rf1 68.Rf6=) 68.Kf2 d4 69.f5 d3 70.f6 Kf7 71.Rd7+ Kg6 72.Rg7+ Kh6 73.Rd7 Rd2+ 74.Kg3 Re2 75.Rd4 d2 76.Kf3 Rh2 77. Ke3=; 66...d4 67.f5 Rd1 68.f6+ Kf7 69.Rd7+ Kg6 70.Kg2 d3 71.Kf2 d2 72.Ke3=. 67.f5 Ra6?! After the rook exchange the draw is clear, but Black can not win anyway: 67...Ra1 68.f6+ (68. Kg3 Re1 69.f6+ Kf7 70.Rd7+ Kg6 71.f7 Kg7 72.Kf4 Kf8 73.Kg5 Rg1+ 74.Kh5=) 68...Kf7 69.

Rd8 Rh1 70.Ke3 Rh4 71.Kf3 d4 72.Kg3 Re4 73.Kf3 Rxe5 74.Rxd4=. 68.Rxa6 Bxa6 69.Ke3 Bf1 70.Kd4 Bg2 70...Bc4 71.f6+ Ke6 72.Kc5=. 71.Kc5 Bf3 72.Kd4 Be4 73.Kc5

[FEN "8/4k3/8/2KpPP2/4b3/8/8/8 b - - 0 73"]

73...Kd7 73...Kf7 is met by 74.Kd4 (74.Kd6? d4 75.e6+ Kf6 76.e7 Bc6 77.Kxc6 Kxe7-+) 74...Kg7 75.Kc5 Kh6 76.e6 Kg7 77.e7 Kf7 78.f6=. 74.Kd4! 74.f6? Ke6 75.Kd4 Bg6 76.Kc5 Kxe5-+. 74...Kc6 74...Ke7 75.Kc5=. 75.f6 Kd7 75...Bg6 76.e6 Kd6 77.f7 Ke7 78.Kxd5=. 76.f7 Ke7 1/2-1/2

Solutions to last month exercises E145.01 Lutz, B (2348) - Wirz, H (2161) Hilton Master Open 2013 Basel SUI (3.20), 02.01.2013

[FEN "8/6PK/8/8/5k2/7R/6rp/8 b - - 0 73"]

Find Black's only move to draw! Black's only defense is 73...Kg4! when White can force a draw, but not more. 74.g8Q+ 74.Rxh2 Rxh2+ 75.Kg6 Kf4 76.g8Q Rg2+ 77.Kf7 Rxg8 78.Kxg8=; 74.Rh6 Kf3 75.g8Q Rxg8 76. Kxg8 Kg2=. 74...Kxh3 75.Qe6+ Kg3 76.Qe3+ Kg4 77.Qe4+ Kh3 78.Qf3+ Rg3 79.Qf1+ Kg4 80.Kg6?! 80.Qh1 draws easier. 80...Rg1 81.Qf5+ Kh4+

[FEN "8/8/6K1/5Q2/7k/8/7p/6r1 w - - 0 82"]

82.Kh6? The king should hide with 82.Kf6 h1Q and White draws by perpetual check: 83.Qh7+ Kg3 84. Qc7+ Kf2 85.Qc2+ Kg3 86.Qg6+ Kf3 87.Qd3+ Kf4 88.Qf5+ Ke3 89.Qc5+ Kd2 90.Qd4+=. 82...h1Q 83.Qf4+ Kh3 84.Qe3+ Kg2+ 0-1 84...Rg3 wins even quicker. E145.02 Fernandez, Daniel (2370) - Illingworth, Max (2360) Istanbul ol (Men) 40th (10.4), 07.09.2012

[FEN "8/8/3R4/5K2/r7/2p1P3/2k5/8 b - - 0 55"]

Black to move and win! Black must use a lot of tricks to win the resulting fights rook against pawn. 55...Kb3! 55...Rc4? 56.e4 Kb3 57.Rd1 c2 58.Rc1 Kb2 59.Rxc2+ Kxc2 60.e5 Kd3 61.e6 Re4 62.Kf6 Kd4 63.e7 Kd5 64.Kf7=. 56.Rd1 56.Rd3 Ra1 57.e4 (57.Ke4 Kb2 58.Rd8 c2 59.Rb8+ Kc3 60.Rc8+ Kd2 61.Kd4 c1Q 62.Rxc1 Rxc1 63.e4 Ke2 64.e5 Kf3 65.e6 Re1 66.Kd5 Kf4 67.Kd6 Kf5 68.e7 Kf6-+) 57...Kc4 58.Rd8 Now Black uses his rook as shield in typical style: 58...Ra5+ 59.e5 c2 60.Rc8+ Rc5-+. 56.e4 c2 57.Rc6 Rc4-+. 56...c2 57.Rh1 57.Rc1 is refuted by 57...Kb2 58.Rh1 Ra1 59.Rh2 Kb3 60.Rxc2 Kxc2 61.e4 Kd3 62.e5 Kd4 63. e6 Kd5 64.e7 Re1 65.Kf6 Kd6-+. 57...Ra5+?! 57...Rc4 wins quicker; e.g., 58.e4 c1Q 59.Rxc1 Rxc1 60.Ke6 (60.e5 Kc4 61.e6 Kd5 62.e7 Re1 63. Kf6 Kd6-+) 60...Kc4 61.e5 Kc5 62.Kd7 Rd1+ 63.Ke7 Kd5 64.e6 Re1-+. 58.Ke6

[FEN "8/8/4K3/r7/8/1k2P3/2p5/7R b - - 0 58"]

58...Rc5? Then White's counterplay is just in time. Black must win one tempo first: 58...Ra4 59.Kd5 Ra8 60.e4 Rd8+ 61.Kc5 Rd1 62.Rh3+ Ka4 63.Rc3 c1Q 64.Rxc1 Rxc1+ 65.Kd6 Kb5 66.e5 Kb6 67.e6 Rd1+-+. 59.Kd6? This loses valuable time. The e-pawn should advance as quickly as possible with 59.e4 c1Q 60. Rxc1 Rxc1 61.e5 Kc4 62.Kd6 Rd1+ 63.Kc6 Re1 64.Kd6 Kb5 65.e6 Kb6 (65...Rd1+ 66.Kc7=) 66. e7=. 59...c1Q 60.Rxc1 Rxc1 61.e4

[FEN "8/8/3K4/8/4P3/1k6/8/2r5 b - - 0 61"]

61...Rd1+! Only the zwischenschach wins. 62.Kc6 Re1 63.Kd5 Kb4 64.e5 Kb5 65.Kd6 Kb6 66.e6 Rd1+ 67.Ke7 Kc7 68.Kf7 Rf1+ 69.Ke8 Kd6 70.e7 Re1 0-1 E145.03 King, Daniel (2503) - Emms, John (2520) Simpsons 175th London (5), 01.09.2003

[FEN "R7/8/7p/4K3/1k2P3/6P1/p1r5/8 w - - 0 64"]

Where shall Daniel King's king go? 64.Kf6? Daniel King chooses the wrong square for his king. Only 64.Kd6! draws: 64...Kb5 (64...Kb3 65.e5 Rc4 66.e6=; 64...Rd2+ 65.Kc6 Kb3 66.e5 Re2 67. Kd6 Kb2 68.e6 a1Q 69.Rxa1 Kxa1 70.e7=) 65.Kd5!

[FEN "R7/8/7p/1k1K4/4P3/6P1/p1r5/8 b - - 0 65"]

The point. (65.e5? Rc6+ 66.Kd7 Ra6-+; 65.Rb8+? Ka6 66.Ra8+ Kb7 67.Ra3 Rc6+ 68.Kd7 Ra6+) 65...Rc5+ (65...Rd2+ 66.Ke6 Rc2 67.Kf5 Rc5+ 68.e5=; 65...Kb4 66.Rb8+ Kc3 67.Ra8 Kb2 68. e5 a1Q 69.Rxa1 Kxa1 70.e6=) 66.Kd4 Rc4+ 67.Kd5 Ra4 68.Rb8+ Ka6 69.Ra8+ Kb5=. 64...Rc6+? 64...Kb3! with the idea 65.e5 (65.Rb8+ Kc3 66.Rc8+ Kb2 67.Rb8+ Kc1 68.Ra8 Kb1 69.e5 a1Q 70.Rxa1+ Kxa1 71.e6 Rf2+ 72.Kg6 Rg2 73.e7 Rxg3+ 74.Kxh6 Re3-+) 65...Rc4 wins:

[FEN "R7/8/5K1p/4P3/2r5/1k4P1/p7/8 w - - 0 66"]

66.Rxa2 (After 66.e6 Ra4 67.Rxa4 Kxa4 68.e7 a1Q+-+ Black queens with check.) 66...Kxa2 67. e6 Re4 68.e7 Re3 69.g4 (69.Kf7 Rf3+ 70.Ke6 Rxg3 71.e8Q Re3+-+) 69...Re4 70.Kf7 Rf4+ 71. Ke6 Rxg4 72.e8Q Re4+-+.

65.Kf7 Rc7+ 66.Kg6 Kb3 66...Rc6+ is met by 67.Kg7 Kb3 68.Rb8+ Kc2 69.Ra8=. 67.Kxh6 Rc4 68.Rxa2 Kxa2 69.g4 Rxe4 70.g5 Kb3 71.g6 Kc4 72.g7 Rg4 73.Kh7 Kd5 74.g8Q + Rxg8 75.Kxg8 1/2-1/2 E145.04 Melkumyan, Hrant (2628) - Andreikin, Dmitry (2689) 13th EICC Plovdiv BUL (6), 25.03.2012

[FEN "8/8/8/8/3k4/5K2/2pr2P1/2R5 b - - 0 67"]

Black to move and win. 67...Kd3? Now Black can't use his rook directly against the g-pawn. 67...Kc3! was called for: 68.g4 Rd4!

[FEN "8/8/8/8/3r2P1/2k2K2/2p5/2R5 w - - 0 69"]

This deadly cut off was given by Golubev in Chess Today 4156. As White cannot advance his gpawn his king must start a long march on the kingside, which just lasts too long: 69.Kg3 (69.g5 Kd2 70.Ra1 c1Q 71.Rxc1 Kxc1 and Black wins because of the cut off no matter, where his king is: 72.Kg3 Kd2 73.g6 Rd6 74.g7 Rg6+-+) 69...Kd2 70.Ra1 c1Q 71.Rxc1 Kxc1 72.Kh4 Kd2 73. Kg5 Ke3 74.Kf5 Rf4+ 75.Kg5 Kf3-+. 68.g4 Rd1 69.Rxc2 Kxc2 70.Ke4!

[FEN "8/8/8/8/4K1P1/8/2k5/3r4 b - - 0 70"]

This bodycheck is the only defense. 70.Kf4? is refuted by 70...Kd3 71.g5 Kd4 72.Kf5 Kd5 73.Kf6 Kd6 74.g6 Rf1+ 75.Kg7 (75.Kg5 Ke7 76.g7 Kf7-+) 75...Ke7 76.Kg8 Rg1 77.g7 Kf6 78.Kh8 Kf7-+.

70.g5?? runs directly into the cut off 70...Rd4 71.g6 Rd6 72.g7 Rg6-+. 70...Rg1 71.Kf5 Kd3 72.g5 Kd4 73.g6 Kd5 74.Kf6 Kd6 74...Rf1+ is met by the bodycheck 75.Ke7= (However, not 75.Kg7? Ke6 76.Kh7 Rh1+ 77.Kg8 Kf6 78.g7 Rg1 79.Kh8 Kf7-+). 75.g7 Kd7 76.Kf7 Rxg7+ 77.Kxg7 1/2-1/2 Copyright 2013 Karsten Mueller and BrainGamz, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Endgame Corner #147 by Karsten Mueller Good Knight, Bad Bishop Redux A) Socko's Octopus With blocked pawns a knight often wins against a bad bishop. However, the following position should be drawn because of the very reduced winning potential. 147.01 Blomqvist, Erik (2448) - Socko, Bartosz (2631) XLII Rilton Cup Stockholm SWE (6.2), 02.01.2013

[FEN "8/8/3p4/2pP4/2P5/1BK1k1n1/8/8 w - - 0 100"]

100.Ba2? The bishop is too passive here. The only rescue is 100.Ba4! Ne4+ 101.Kc2!

[FEN "8/8/3p4/2pP4/B1P1n3/4k3/2K5/8 b - - 0 101"]

As now White's counterattack is always just in time. (Not 101.Kb3? Kd4 102.Bc6 Nd2+ 103.Ka4 Nxc4 104.Kb5 Ne3+) 101...Kd4 102.Bb5 Ng3 103.Kb3 Ne4 104.Kc2 Ng3 105.Kb3 Kd3 (105...Nf1 106.Kc2 Ne3+ 107.Kb3 Kd3 108.Ba6 Kd4 109.Bb5=) 106.Ka4 Ne4 107.Ka5 Nd2 108.Kb6 Nxc4+ 109.Kc6 Kd4 110.Bxc4 Kxc4 111.Kxd6=. 100.Bd1? is met by 100...Ne4+ 101.Kc2 Kd4 102.Be2 Ng3 103.Bd3 Nh5!!

[FEN "8/8/3p4/2pP3n/2Pk4/3B4/2K5/8 w - - 0 104"]

And the knight will dominate the bishop sooner or later: 104.Bf1 (104.Be2 Nf4 105.Bf1 Ke3 106.Kb3 Kf2 107.Ka4 Kxf1 108.Kb5 Ke2 109.Kc6 Kd3 110.Kxd6 Kxc4-+; 104.Kd2 Nf4 105.Bf1 Ke4 106.Kc3 Ke3 107.Kb3 Kf2-+) 104...Nf4 105.Kb3 Nd3 106.Kc2 (106.Be2 Nc1+-+) 106...Ne5 107.Kb3 Ng4 108.Be2 Ne3 and White is in fatal zugzwang; e.g., 109.Ka4 Nxc4 110.Kb5 Ne3 111.Kc6 Ke5-+. 100.Bc2? runs into 100...Ne2+ 101.Kb2 Kd4 102.Kb3 Nc1+ 103.Kb2 Nd3+ 104.Kb3 Ne5-+. 100...Ne2+ 101.Kc2 Now it is over anyway as White cannot start counterplay with 101.Kb3, because of 101...Nc1+ 102.Kb2 Nxa2 103.Kxa2 Kd3 104.Kb3 Kd4-+. 101...Kd4

[FEN "8/8/3p4/2pP4/2Pk4/8/B1K1n3/8 w - - 0 102"]

102.Bb3 102.Kb2 Nf4 103.Kb3 (103.Bb1 Kxc4 104.Be4 Nxd5-+) 103...Nd3 104.Ka4, and now 104...Nc1 decides: 105.Kb5 Nxa2 106.Kc6 Kxc4 107.Kxd6 Nb4-+. 102.Kd2 Nc3 103.Bb3 Nb1+ 104.Kc2 Na3+-+. 102...Nf4 103.Kb2 Nd3+ 104.Ka3 Nc1 105.Bd1 Kxc4 106.Bf3 Nd3 107.Ka4 Nb4 0-1 B) The King Comes First Remy Heimers sent me the following two examples, together with a detailed analysis, and kindly allowed me to use his work.

147.02 Heimers, Remy - Rapp, Hubert Club Championship SK Villingen 2012-13 (6), 08.02.2013

[FEN "2kr4/ppp4p/5b1P/7R/4Np2/ 1P1K1P2/P1P5/8 w - - 0 31"]

31.Ke2 This was a very difficult decision. I guess that 31.Kc4!? Be7 (31...Rd4+? 32.Kc5 only helps White.) 32.Rf5 is even slightly stronger. 31...Rf8?! This allows an exchange of rooks, which plays into White's hand. 31...Be7 32.Rf5 Bf8 33.Rxf4 Bxh6 34.Rh4 Bc1 35.Rxh7 Rf8 is more tenacious. 32.Rf5! The following simplification into a minor piece endgame should win in the long run as Black loses a pawn. 32...Be7 33.Rxf8+ Bxf8 34.Nf6 Bxh6

[FEN "2k5/ppp4p/5N1b/8/5p2/1P3P2/ P1P1K3/8 w - - 0 35"]

35.Nxh7? This violates the important endgame principle do not rush. Albert Rait has found that White should improve his king first with 35.Kd3! Kd8 36.Ke4 and, as 36...Ke7? now runs into 37.Ng8+!+-, White wins the pawn f4.

35...Kd7 Heimers now brings the knight back. 36.Nf6+!? Otherwise it is in danger of being trapped: 36.Kd3?! Ke6 37.Ke4 b5 38.b4 c6 39.a3 a6 40.c3 Ke7 41.Kd4=, but White still holds as 41...Kf7?! can be met by 42.Kc5 Kg7 43.Kxc6 Kxh7 44.Kb6 Bg7 45.Kxa6 Bxc3 46.Kxb5 Kg6 47.a4 Bd4 48.a5 Kg5 49.a6 Kh4 50.Kc6 Kg3 51.b5 Kxf3 52.b6 Bxb6 53.Kxb6 Ke2 54.a7 f3 55.a8Q f2=

[FEN "Q7/8/1K6/8/8/8/4kp2/8 w - - 0 56"]

And White's king is outside the winning zone. 36...Ke6 37.Ne4 Bf8 38.Kd3 b5? This weakens many squares and pawns on the queenside. If Black waits with 38...Kd5, White cannot win: A) 39.Nc3+ Ke5 40.Nb5 a6 41.Nxc7 Kd6 42.Ne8+ Ke7 43.Nc7 Kd6=. B) 39.Nf6+ Ke6 40.Ng4 Kd5 41.c4+ Kc5 42.Nf6 Bd6 43.Nd5 a5 (43...c6?? 44.b4#) 44.Ke4 b6 45.Nxf4 Kb4 46.Nd3+ Ka3 47.Kd4 Kxa2 48.Kc3 Kb1 49.c5 Be7 50.cxb6 cxb6 51.Kc4 Kc2=. C) 39.a4 c6 40.Nc3+ Ke5 41.Kc4 b6 42.b4 a6 43.b5 axb5+ 44.axb5 cxb5+ 45.Nxb5 Bc5= (Heimers). 39.Nc3!

[FEN "5b2/p1p5/4k3/1p6/5p2/1PNK1P2/ P1P5/8 b - - 0 39"]

39...a6?! 39...b4 is more tenacious, but after 40.Ne2! White should win in the long run. (However, not 40.Nb5? c6! 41.Nxa7? Kd7 and the knight is caught (Heimers).) 40...Ke5 (40...Kf5 41.Kd4 c6 42.Kc4 Kg5 43.Nd4 Kh4 44.Kd3 c5 45.Ne2 Kg5 46.Ke4 Bd6 47.Kd5 Be7 48.Ke5 Bd8 49.Kd6 a5 50.Kxc5 Bc7 51.c4 bxc3 52.Nxc3 Kh4 53.Ne2 Kh3 54.Kd5 Kg2 55.Ke4+-) 41.Kc4 a6 (41...c6 42.Nc1 Kf5 43.Nd3 Kg5 44.Ne5 c5 45.Nd3 Be7 46.Kd5+- (Heimers); 41...a5 42.Nc1 Kf5 43.Kd5 Bd6 44.Ne2 Kg5 45.Nd4 Kh4 46.Nf5+ Kh3 47.Ke4+-) 42.Nc1 Kf5 43.Nd3 Kg5

[FEN "5b2/2p5/p7/6k1/1pK2p2/1P1N1P2/ P1P5/8 w - - 0 44"]

And now the second front is opened with 44.c3! bxc3 (44...c5 45.cxb4 cxb4 46.Kd5 Kf5 47.Ne5 Bg7 48.Nc6 Bc3 49.Kc4 Kg5 50.a4! This pawn is White's trump. 50...Kh4 51.Kd3 Kg3 52.Ke4 Bd2 53.Nb8 a5 54.Nc6+-) 45.Kxc3 Bd6 (45...Kh4 46.Nxf4 Kg3 47.Nd5 Bd6 48.Nb4 a5 49.Nc6 Kxf3 50.Nxa5 Ke4 51.Kc4+- (Heimers)) 46.Kd4 Kh4 (46...Kf5 47.b4 c6 48.a4 Ke6 49.Nc5++- (Heimers)) 47.Ke4 Kg3 48.b4 c6 49.a4 Bc7 50.a5 Bd6 51.Nc5 Bxc5 52.bxc5+(Heimers). 40.Ke4 Kd6 41.Nd5 41.Kxf4 Kc5 42.Ke4 should win as well, as 42...Kb4?! runs into 43.Nd5+ Ka3 44.Nxc7 Kxa2 45.Nxa6+- (Heimers) 41...a5 41...Bg7 42.Nxf4 Bc3 is met by 43.Ne2 Bh8 44.Nd4 and White wins in the long run. 42.Nxf4 c5?! This makes White's job relatively easy. Yet, White wins in any case as he can keep full control; e.g., 42...Bg7 43.c4 bxc4 44.bxc4 a4 45.Nd3

[FEN "8/2p3b1/3k4/8/p1P1K3/3N1P2/

P7/8 b - - 0 45"]

White controls all inroads and will win in the long run: 45...Bc3 46.f4 a3 47.Nc1 Kc5 48.Kd3 Bb2 49.Nb3+ Kb4 (49...Kd6 50.Ke4 Bc3 51.Kf5 Bb2 52.Kg6 Ke7 53.f5 Be5 54.Nd2 Bb2 55.Ne4+-) 50.Nd2 Kc5 51.Ne4+ Kc6 52.Nc3 Bc1 53.f5 Bg5 54.Ne4 White has dominated Black and now his king can invade: 54...Bf4 55.Kd4 Kd7 56.Kd5 c6+ 57.Kc5 Be3+ 58.Kb4 Bc1 59.Ka5+-. 43.c4!

[FEN "5b2/8/3k4/ppp5/2P1KN2/1P3P2/ P7/8 b - - 0 43"]

Heimers stops all counterplay and fixes the weaknesses on Black's queenside. 43...Kc6 44.a4! bxa4 45.bxa4 Kd6 46.Kf5 Bg7 47.Nd5 Bd4 48.f4 Kd7 49.Nf6+ Ke7 50.Ne4 Be3 51.Ke5 Bd4+ 52.Kd5 Be3 53.f5 Bg1 54.Nxc5 Kf6 55.Nb3 Kxf5 56.Nxa5 Kf6 57.Nc6 Kf7 58.a5 Ke8 59.a6 1-0 C) Counterplay Counts The following fight is also very close. 147.03 Baur, Sebastian - Vogel, Wolfgang Club Championship SK Villingen 2012-13 (7), 22.02.2013

[FEN "8/2b5/p1N1pkp1/7p/3PK3/1P5P/ 1P4P1/8 b - - 0 33"]

33...g5? This closes the roads for counterplay and makes it easy for White. White should also be winning against 33...Kg5, but I have not managed to construct fully convincing proof. A few

sample lines run as follows: 34.Nb4 a5 35.Na6 Bd6 36.Nc5 Kf6

[FEN "8/8/3bpkp1/p1N4p/3PK3/1P5P/ 1P4P1/8 w - - 0 37"]

37.Kf3!! This preserves White's valuable winning potential and keeps all options open. A) 37...Be7? 38.Ne4+ Kf7 (38...Kf5?? runs into the beautiful 39.g4+ hxg4+ 40.hxg4#) 39.g4 Bb4 40.Ke3 Ke7 41.Kf4 hxg4 42.hxg4 Be1 43.Kg5 Kf7 44.Nd6+ Ke7 (44...Kg7 45.Kf4 Kf6 46.Kf3 Bb4 47.Nc4 Kg5 48.Ne5 Bd2 49.Nd3 Kf6 50.b4 axb4 51.Ke2 Bg5 52.Nxb4+-) 45.Nc4 Kf7 46.Kf4 Kg7 47.Kf3 Kf6 48.Ne5 Bd2 (48...Kg5 49.Nd3 Bd2 50.Nc5+) 49.Nd3 Ke7 (49...Bg5 50.b4+-) 50.Ke2 Bh6 51.Ne5 Kf6 52.Nc6 Kg5 53.Kf3 Bg7 54.Nxa5 Bxd4 55.b4 Kf6 56.b5+-. B) The pawn ending is lost after 37...Bxc5? 38.dxc5 Ke5 39.h4 Kd5, as White has 40.b4 axb4 41.c6 Kxc6 42.Ke4 Kc5 43.b3 Kd6 44.Kd4 e5+ 45.Kc4 e4 46.Kxb4+-. C) 37...Ke7 38.Nd3

[FEN "8/4k3/3bp1p1/p6p/3P4/1P1N1K1P/ 1P4P1/8 b - - 0 38"]

C1) 38...Kf6? 39.g4 hxg4+ 40.hxg4 Be7 (40...Kg5 41.Nc5+-) 41.Kf4 Bd6+ 42.Ne5 Bc7 43.g5+ Kg7 and now again the strong retreat 44.Kf3 Bd8 45.Kg4 Bb6 46.Nc6 Kf8 47.Kf4 Ke8 48.Ke4 Bc7 49.b4 axb4 50.Nxb4 Bd8 51.Kf4 Bc7+ 52.Kg4 e5 53.Nd5 Bd6 54.Nf6+ Ke7 55.d5 Bb4 56.Ne4+-. C2) 38...Kd7 39.Ne5+ Bxe5 40.dxe5 Kc6 41.Kf4 Kd5 42.h4 Kd4 43.g3 Kd5 44.Kg5 Kxe5 45.Kxg6 Ke4 (45...Kd4 46.Kxh5 e5 47.g4 e4 48.g5 e3 49.g6 e2 50.g7 e1Q 51.g8Q) 46.Kxh5 e5 47.g4 Kf3 48.g5 e4 49.g6 e3 50.g7 e2 51.g8Q e1Q and both queen endings are much better for White, but it is not totally clear, if he is winning. 34.Nb4 34.g4+- is also very strong.

34...a5 35.Nc6 h4 35...g4 36.hxg4 hxg4 37.b4 axb4 38.Nxb4+- (Heimers). 36.b4 axb4 37.Nxb4 Ke7 38.d5 Bg3 39.dxe6 Kxe6 40.Nc2 Bd6 41.b4 Bf4 42.Nd4+ Kf6 43.b5 Bc7 44.Nf3

[FEN "8/2b5/5k2/1P4p1/4K2p/5N1P/ 6P1/8 b - - 0 44"]

44...g4?! This just loses a pawn. But Black is lost in any case; e.g., 44...Ba5 45.Ne5 Ke6 46.Nc4 Bc7 47.b6 Bf4 48.Nb2 Bh2 49.Nd3 Bg3 (49...Bd6 50.b7 Kd7 51.Kf5 Kc7 52.Kxg5 Kxb7 53.Kxh4+-) 50.b7 Kd7 (50...Bh2 51.Nc5+ Kf6 52.Na6+-) 51.Kf5 Kc6 52.Kxg5 Kxb7 53.Nf4 Kc6 54.Ng6+-. 45.hxg4 Bg3 46.Kd5 1-0 D) Fridman's Fortress The following fight is again very complicated. 147.04 Fridman, D (2667) - Caruana, F (2757) 1st GRENKE Chess Classic Baden Baden GER (10), 17.02.2013

[FEN "8/8/5p2/p2k1p2/PbNP2p1/1P2P3/ 4K3/8 w - - 0 64"]

64.Kd3? Passive defense will not do, as Black can open roads on the kingside with help of zugwang and the well timed advance ...f5-f4.

But counterplay with 64.Nb6+! Ke4 65.Nd7 Be7 holds the draw:

[FEN "8/3Nb3/5p2/p4p2/P2Pk1p1/1P2P3/ 4K3/8 w - - 0 66"]

(65...f4 66.Nxf6+ Kf5 67.Nd5 f3+ 68.Kf1 g3 69.Nxb4 axb4 70.d5 Ke4 71.d6 Kxe3 72.d7 g2+ 73.Kg1 Ke2 74.d8Q f2+ 75.Kxg2 f1Q+ 76.Kh2 Qf2+ 77.Kh1 Qf3+ 78.Kh2 Qxb3 79.a5=) A) 66.Kf2? g3+ 67.Kxg3 Kxe3-+. B) 66.Nb6? f4 67.exf4 f5 68.Nc4 (68.d5 Bb4 69.Kf1 Kd4 70.Kg2 Kc5 71.Nc4 Kxd5 72.Kg3 Ke4 73.Ne5 Be1+ 74.Kg2 Bc3 75.Nf7 Kxf4-+) 68...Bb4 69.Ne3 Bc3 70.d5 Bb4 71.Nc2 Bc5 72.Ne1 g3 73.Ng2 Bd6 74.Ne3 (74.Kf1 Kxd5 75.Ne3+ Ke4 76.Nc4 Bxf4 77.Nxa5 Kf3-+) 74...Bxf4 75.Nc4 Bb8 76.d6 f4 77.Nd2+ Kd5 78.d7 Bc7 79.Kf3 Kc6 80.Ne4 Kxd7-+. C) 66.b4!! This holds the draw: 66...f4 (66...axb4 67.a5 Kd5 68.a6 Kc6 69.a7 Kb7 70.Nb6 Kxa7 71.Nc8+ Ka6 72.Nxe7 b3 73.Nd5 b2 74.Nc3=; 66...Bxb4?? 67.Nxf6#) 67.bxa5 (67.Nc5+? Kd5 68.exf4 axb4 69.Nb3 Bd6 70.f5 g3 71.Kf3 Kc4 72.a5 Kxb3 73.a6 Bb8 74.d5 Kc2 75.d6 b3 76.d7 b2 77.d8Q b1Q-+) 67...f3+ 68.Kf1 g3 69.a6 Kxe3 70.a7 g2+ 71.Kg1 Ke2 72.a8Q f2+ 73.Kxg2 f1Q+ 74.Kg3 Qf2+ 75.Kg4 Qxd4+ 76.Kh5 Qxd7 77.Qe4+ Kd2 78.Kg6

[FEN "8/3qb3/5pK1/8/P3Q3/8/3k4/8 b - - 0 78"]

And, amazing as it may seem, Black cannot convert his large material advantage; e.g., 78...Qe8+ 79.Kf5 Qc8+ 80.Qe6 Qc2+ 81.Qe4 Qc5+ 82.Ke6 Qd6+ 83.Kf7 Bd8 (83...Qe5 84.Qb7 f5 85.Qxe7 Qxe7+ 86.Kxe7 f4 87.a5=) 84.a5 Bxa5 85.Qg2+ Kc3 86.Qf3+ Kb4 87.Qxf6=. 64...g3 65.Ke2

[FEN "8/8/5p2/p2k1p2/PbNP4/1P2P1p1/ 4K3/8 b - - 0 65"]

65...Ke4? Caruana's king will be forced back. So he had to advance the kingside pawns first to open more roads: 65...f4 66.exf4 (66.Kf3 fxe3 67.Kxe3 g2 68.Kf2 Kxd4 69.Kxg2 Kc3 70.Kf3 Kxb3 71.Nxa5+ Bxa5 72.Ke4 Kxa4 73.Kf5 Bc3-+) 66...Kxd4 67.Kf3 Kc3 68.Kxg3 Kxb3 69.Nxa5+ Bxa5 70.Kg4 Kxa4 71.Kf5 Bc3-+. 65...g2 wins as well; e.g., 66.Kf2 f4 67.Kxg2 (67.exf4 Kxd4 68.Kxg2 Kc3 69.Kf3 Kxb3 70.Nb6 Bc5 71.Nd7 Be7 72.Nb6 Bd8 73.Nd7 Kxa4-+) 67...fxe3 A) 68.Nxe3+ Kxd4 69.Kf3 (69.Nc4 Kc3 70.Kf3 Kxb3 71.Nxa5+ Bxa5 72.Ke4 Kxa4 73.Kf5 Bc3-+) 69...Kc3 70.Nd5+ Kxb3 71.Nxf6 Kxa4 72.Ke2 Kb3 73.Nd5 Bc5 74.Nf4 a4 75.Nd3 Be7 76.Kd1 a3 77.Nc1+ Kb2 78.Nd3+ Kb1 79.Nc1 Bb4 80.Nd3 a2 81.Nxb4 a1Q-+. B) 68.Kf3 Kxd4 69.Nxe3 Kc3 70.Ke4 Kxb3 71.Kd3 Kxa4 72.Kc4 (72.Kc2 Kb5-+) 72...Bd6 73.Nd5 Be5 74.Nb6+ Ka3 75.Kb5 Bc3 76.Kc4 Bb4 77.Nd5 f5 78.Nf4 a4 79.Ne2 Ba5 80.Kb5 Bc7 81.Kc4 Kb2 82.Nc3 a3 83.Nd1+ Kc2 84.Ne3+ Kb1-+. 66.d5! This active counterblow saves White. The passive retreat 66.Kf1? is refuted by 66...Kf3 67.d5 g2+ 68.Kg1 Be1-+. And 66.Nb6? runs into 66...f4 67.exf4 Bc3 68.Nc4 Bxd4 69.Kf1 Kf3 70.Nd2+ Kxf4 71.Kg2 Bc3 72.Nf3 f5 73.Ng1 Kg4 74.Nf3 f4 75.Ng1 Bb4 76.Nf3 Kf5-+. 66...Kxd5 66...f4 is too late now because of 67.exf4 Bc5 68.Kf1 (Even 68.d6 g2 69.d7 g1Q 70.d8Q is playable.) 68...Kf3 69.Nd2+ Kxf4 70.Kg2 Ke5 71.Nc4+ Kxd5 72.Kxg3 Bb4 73.Kf4=. 67.Kf3

[FEN "8/8/5p2/p2k1p2/PbN5/1P2PKp1/ 8/8 b - - 0 67"]

67...Be1 67...g2 also does not win, because of 68.Kxg2 Ke4 69.Kf2 Kd3 70.Kf3 Kc3 71.Kf4 Kxb3 72.Nxa5+ Bxa5 73.Kxf5 Bc3 74.a5=. 68.Nb2 g2 69.Kxg2 Ke4 70.Nc4 Bc3 71.Kf2 f4 72.exf4 Kxf4 73.Ke2 f5 Now White's knight is always in time to deal with Black's active options. But Black cannot win anyway; e.g., 73...Ke4 74.Nd6+ Kd5 75.Nc4 Kc5 76.Kd3 Bb4 77.Ke4 Bc3 78.Kf5 Kb4 79.Ke6 Kxb3 80.Nxa5+ Bxa5 81.Kxf6=. 74.Kd3 Bb4 75.Ne3 Bc5 76.Nc4 Bb4 After 76...Kg3 77.Nxa5 f4 78.Nc4, White's knight is back in time: 78...f3 79.Nd2 f2 80.Ne4+ Kg2 81.Nxf2 Bxf2=. 77.Ne3 Bd6 78.Nc4 Bc7 79.Ne3 Bd8 80.b4!? axb4 81.Nd5+ Kg3 82.Nxb4 f4 83.Ke2 Kg2 84.Nd3 f3+ 85.Ke3 Kg3 86.Ke4 Bb6 1/2-1/2 Exercises (Solutions next month) E147.01 Geske, Julian (2401) - Gasthofer, Alexander (2441) Bundesliga 2012-13 Eppingen GER (10.8), 24.02.2013

[FEN "b7/k7/5p1p/5K2/4p1N1/6P1/ 7P/8 w - - 0 46"]

How to exploit the absence of Black's king? White to move and win. E147.02 Kuling, L (2246) - Deviatkin, A (2569)

Groningen Open A Groningen NED (1.5), 22.12.2012

[FEN "8/8/8/2p5/4P3/k3Knp1/8/ 5B2 b - - 0 77"]

Where shall Black's knight go to? E147.03 Molina, Rob (2418) - Marrero Lopez, Yan (2304) X Regina Helena Marques Prol Santos ARG (4.2), 12.12.2012

[FEN "8/3N4/3K1p2/5P2/3b2P1/3k4/ 8/8 w - - 0 67"]

White has only one move to win. Can you find it? Copyright 2013 Karsten Mueller and BrainGamz, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Endgame Corner #148 by Karsten Mueller The Andersson Endgame Endgames with rook and knight against rook and bishop, where the knight has the advantage are sometimes called Andersson endgames because of the many famous victories of the Swedish grandmaster with this material configuration. The knight wants full control to have time for its slow maneuvers. Further good signs are if the bishop is bad or hits upon air, a broken pawn structure with good outpost squares for the knight, or a weak color complex that the bishop cannot control. A) In Andersson's hands I want to start with an example by the Great Swede himself. 148.01 Andersson, Ulf - Padevsky, Nikola Sverige (m/3), 1976

[FEN "1b2k3/1p6/3r2p1/1Pp2p1p/2P1p2P/ 2N1P1P1/R3KP2/8 w - - 0 52"]

White is better as Black's bishop has no real targets and Black has no really quick counterplay. The only option is ...g6-g5, but this is difficult to organize as White always threatens to invade on the queenside. 52.Nd5 Rd8 53.Kd2 Kf7 54.Kc2

[FEN "1b1r4/1p3k2/6p1/1PpN1p1p/2P1p2P/ 4P1P1/R1K2P2/8 b - - 0 54"]

54...Re8?! Padevsky prepares to start counterplay with g5, but he does not have time for this. The direct 54...g5!? is more dangerous, but should not defend: 55.hxg5 Kg6 56.Nf4+ Bxf4 57.exf4

[FEN "3r4/1p6/6k1/1Pp2pPp/2P1pP2/6P1/ R1K2P2/8 b - - 0 57"]

White should win the rook ending, but matters are not totally clear: 57...h4 (57...Rd4 58.Ra7 Rxc4+ 59.Kd2 Rd4+ 60.Kc3 Rd7 61.Kc4 h4 62.gxh4 Rh7 63.Kd5 Rxh4 64.Ke5 Rh7 65.Ra8+-) 58.gxh4 Rh8 59.Kd2 Rxh4 60.Ke3 Rh3+ 61.Ke2 Rf3 62.Ra7 Rxf4 63.Rxb7 Kxg5 64.Rc7 and White should win. 54...Ke6 55.Kb3 Kd7 56.Ra1 Bc7 57.Rd1 Bd6 58.Nf4

[FEN "3r4/1p1k4/3b2p1/1Pp2p1p/2P1pN1P/ 1K2P1P1/5P2/3R4 b - - 0 58"]

White's strategical initiative is long lasting: 58...Rg8 59.Rd2 Ke7 60.Nd5+ Ke6 61.Ra2 Be7 62.b6 g5 63.Ra7 Rb8 (63...gxh4 64.Rxb7+-) 64.Nxe7 Kxe7 65.Ka4 gxh4 66.gxh4 Ke6 67.Kb5 Kd6 68.Ra1 Rg8 69.Rd1++-. 55.Kb3 g5 56.b6? The direct 56.hxg5 wins as White is much quicker on the queenside than Black on the kingside: 56...Kg6 57.Ra8 Kxg5 58.Ka4 Rc8 59.Ka5 Bc7+ 60.Nxc7 Rxc7 61.Kb6 Rd7 62.Rb8 Rd2 63.Rxb7 Rxf2 64.Kxc5+-. 56...gxh4 57.gxh4

[FEN "1b2r3/1p3k2/1P6/2pN1p1p/2P1p2P/ 1K2P3/R4P2/8 b - - 0 57"]

57...Be5? This makes the coming invasion easier. 57...Bh2 was called for to organize counterplay quicker; e.g., 58.Rd2 (58.Ra7?! Rb8 59.Ka4? spoils it because of 59...Bg1=) A) 58...Bg1 59.Ka4. B) 58...Be5 59.Ka4 Rd8 60.Kb5 Bf6 61.Rd1 f4 (61...Bxh4 62.Rh1 Bxf2 63.Rxh5 Kg6 64.Rh2 Be1 65.Kxc5) 62.Rh1 f3 63.Kxc5. C) 58...Rg8 59.Nc3 Ke6 60.f4 Bg1 61.Rd5 Bxe3 (61...Rf8 62.Nd1) 62.Re5+ Kd6 63.Rxf5 Rg6 64.Nxe4+ Ke7 65.Rxh5 Rxb6+ 66.Kc2 and White has good winning chances in all cases, but matters are not totally clear of course. 58.Ra7 Rb8

[FEN "1r6/Rp3k2/1P6/2pNbp1p/2P1p2P/ 1K2P3/5P2/8 w - - 0 59"]

Now it is time for the king to enter Andersson's attack. 59.Ka4! Bh2 60.Kb5 Bd6 60...Bg1 61.Ra2 Rc8 62.Nc3 Ke6 63.Na4 Kd6 64.Rd2++-. 61.Nf4

61.Nc3!?+- with the idea Na4 is also very strong. 61...Be7 62.Nxh5 Bxh4 63.Ra2 Rd8 64.Nf4 Rd1

[FEN "8/1p3k2/1P6/1Kp2p2/2P1pN1b/ 4P3/R4P2/3r4 w - - 0 65"]

64...Be7 65.Nd5 Bd6 66.Ra7 Rd7 67.Nc7 Bxc7 68.Rxb7+-. 65.Nd5! Strong central power play. Now Black is lost as White's rook will invade with decisive effect. The greedy 65.Kxc5? spoils it completely because of 65...Be7+ 66.Kb5 Rb1+=. The direct invasion 65.Ra7? Rb1+ 66.Kxc5 Be7+ 67.Kd5 Rxb6 68.Ke5 Bh4 69.Kxf5 Bxf2 70.Nd5 Rb1 71.Kxe4 is still better for White, but not as good as the game of course. 65...Rf1 65...Ke6 66.Kxc5+-. 65...f4 can even be met by 66.Ra7 f3 67.Rxb7+ Kg6 68.Nc3 Rf1 69.Nxe4 Bxf2 70.Nd2+- White's knight is really mobile! 66.Ra7 Bxf2 67.Rxb7+ Kg6 68.Ra7 Rb1+ 69.Kc6 1-0 Black resigned as White's b-pawn will decide the day: 69...Bxe3 70.Nxe3 f4 71.Nd5 f3 72.Ra2 Kg5 73.b7 Kg4 74.Nb6+-. B) Power Play on the Dark Squares When the color complex that the bishop cannot control is weak and the bishop just hits the air, the knight can often win in the long run. 148.02 Avrukh, Boris (2572) - Golod, Vitali (2573) ch-ISR 2013 Acre ISR (7.4), 12.04.2013

[FEN "2k5/1p2r1p1/p1b1p2p/P1N1P3/ 2P3PP/4K3/1R6/8 w - - 0 46"]

46.Rd2! White has a large most probably winning advantage as Black has no real counterplay and the weaknesses on b7 and e6 will be exploited sooner or later. 46...Rf7 Golod activates his rook as passive defense will not hold; e.g., 46...Be8 47.Rd6 Bf7 48.Rb6 Bg8 49.Kd4 Bf7 50.g5 hxg5 51.hxg5 g6 52.Rb1 Be8 53.Rf1 Bf7 54.Ne4+-. 47.Nxe6 Bd7 48.Rd6 Re7 White is just too active in the rook ending after 48...Bxe6 49.Rxe6; for example, 49...Rc7 50.Kd4 Rf7 51.Kd5 Rf4 52.Re8+ Kd7 53.Rb8 Rxg4 54.e6+ Kc7 55.Ra8+-. 49.Nc5

[FEN "2k5/1p1br1p1/p2R3p/P1N1P3/ 2P3PP/4K3/8/8 b - - 0 49"]

49...Bxg4 49...Rxe5+?! is met by 50.Kd4 Re7 51.Rxd7 Rxd7+ 52.Nxd7 Kxd7 53.Kd5 and White wins the pawn ending: 53...g5 54.h5 Kc7 55.Kc5 Kd7 56.Kb6 Kc8 57.c5 Kb8 58.c6 bxc6 59.Kxc6 Ka7 60.Kc7 Ka8 61.Kb6+-. 50.Kf4 Be2 50...Rc7 51.Rd5 Be2 (51...Bh3 52.e6+-) 52.Ne6 Rxc4+ (52...Rd7 53.Ke4 Bxc4 54.Rc5++-) 53.Ke3+-.

50...Bh3 51.e6 Bf1 52.Rd4 Kc7 53.Ke5 Bh3 54.Rd6+-. 51.Na4 Rf7+ 52.Ke3 Bg4 52...Bxc4?? 53.Nb6++-. 53.Nb6+ Kb8 54.Nd5 Rd7 55.Kf4 Bh3 55...Rxd6 56.exd6 Bh3 57.h5 Kc8 58.c5 Kd7 59.Ne3 Ke6 60.Kg3+-. 56.c5 Be6 57.Nb4

[FEN "1k6/1p1r2p1/p2Rb2p/P1P1P3/ 1N3K1P/8/8/8 b - - 0 57"]

57...Rf7+ The alternatives do not help either: 57...Rxd6 58.cxd6 Kc8 59.Nd3+- followed by knight c5. 57...Re7 58.Ke4 Kc7 59.c6 bxc6 60.Nxa6+ Kc8 61.Rxc6++-. 58.Ke4 Bf5+ 59.Kd5 Bg4 59...Bc8 60.e6 Rf5+ (60...Rf1 61.Ke5 Re1+ 62.Kf5 g5 63.hxg5 hxg5 64.Nd5 g4 65.Rd8 Rxe6 66.Rxc8+ Kxc8 67.Kxe6 g3 68.Nf4+-) 61.Kd4 Rf4+ 62.Ke3 Rxb4 (62...Rf5 63.Nd3 Rf6 64.e7+-) 63.e7 Rb1 64.Kd2 Rb2+ 65.Kd3 Rb3+ 66.Kd4 Rb4+ 67.Kd5+-. 60.e6! Avrukh breaks the line of defense. 60...Rf5+ 61.Kd4 Rf4+ 62.Kc3

[FEN "1k6/1p4p1/p2RP2p/P1P5/1N3rbP/ 2K5/8/8 b - - 0 62"]

62...Re4 White's king escapes after 62...Rf3+ with 63.Kd2 Rf2+ 64.Kd3 Rf3+

[FEN "1k6/1p4p1/p2RP2p/P1P5/1N4bP/ 3K1r2/8/8 w - - 0 65"]

65.Ke4! and the tactics work in White's favor: 65...Rb3 (65...Rf1 66.e7 Re1+ 67.Kf4 Rxe7 68.Nd5+-) 66.Nd5 Bf3+ 67.Ke5 Bxd5 68.Kxd5 Rd3+ 69.Ke4 Rxd6 70.cxd6 Kc8 71.h5+-. 63.Nd5 b5 63...Rxe6 runs into the attack 64.Rd8+ Ka7 65.Nb6+- and Ra8 mate will follow. 63...Bxe6 64.Rd8+ Ka7 65.Nb6+-. 64.e7 b4+ 65.Kb2 65.Nxb4 wins as well. 65...Bh5 65...Bf3 66.Rd8+ Kb7 67.e8Q Rxe8 68.Rxe8 Bxd5 69.Re7+ Kc6 70.Rxg7 Kxc5 71.Rg6+-. 66.c6 Re2+ 67.Kb3 Bf7 68.c7+ Kb7 69.Rb6+ 1-0 C) Bad Bishop Rook and knight can form a dangerous attacking combination, when they coordinate well.

148.03 Zoler, Dan (2553) - Postny, Evgeny (2635) ch-ISR 2013 Acre ISR (3.3), 08.04.2013

[FEN "B7/p1k5/P1P2p2/5n2/8/4p3/5r2/ 1R4K1 b - - 0 60"]

White's bishop is very bad here. 60...Nd4 61.Rb7+ 61.Kh1?! Nf3 62.Rb7+ Kd6 63.Rh7 e2-+. 61...Kc8! Against 61...Kxc6?, White can defend by 62.Rb3+ Kd6 63.Rxe3, and he should probably be able to hold, as now the bishop is very strong. 62.Rh7 Nf3+ 63.Kh1

[FEN "B1k5/p6R/P1P2p2/8/8/4pn2/ 5r2/7K b - - 0 63"]

63...Rh2+!! Postny's point. 63...Rc2? runs into 64.Bb7+ Kd8 (64...Kb8?? 65.c7+ Rxc7 66.Rh8+ Rc8 67.Rxc8#) 65.c7+ Rxc7 66.Rh8+ Ke7 67.Bxf3=. 64.Rxh2 Nxh2 65.Kg2!?

65.Kxh2 is met by 65...e2-+. 65...Kc7! 0-1

[FEN "B7/p1k5/P1P2p2/8/8/4p3/ 6Kn/8 w - - 0 66"]

A beautiful final move! White's bishop is imprisoned forever, so that Postny's passed pawns will decide the day. Of course not 65...e2?? 66.Kf2=. D) Counterplay Counts The bishop usually needs counterplay. 148.04 Iturrizaga, Eduardo (2650) - Predke, Alexandr (2480) Moscow Open A RUS (5.11), 06.02.2013

[FEN "7r/7N/2k1pbPK/p7/5P2/8/8/3R4 b - - 0 63"]

The dangerous outside passed a-pawn can compensate plenty of material here. 63...Bb2? Black does not have time for this. The passed a-pawn must advance immediately with 63...a4! 64.g7 a3!? (64...Bxg7+ draws as well; e.g., 65.Kxg7 Ra8 66.Ng5 a3 67.Nxe6 a2 68.Ra1 Ra7+ 69.Kg6 Kd5 70.f5 Kc4 71.f6 Kb3 72.f7 Rxf7 73.Kxf7 Kb2=) 65.gxh8Q Bxh8 A) 66.Rc1+ Kd5 67.Kg6 (67.Rc2 Bb2=) 67...Bb2 68.Rd1+ Kc4 69.Nf6 a2=. B) 66.Kg6 and now 66...Bb2! (as 66...a2? runs into 67.Nf6+-) 67.Ng5 a2 68.Nxe6 a1Q 69.Rxa1 Bxa1=.

64.Rd2!

[FEN "7r/7N/2k1p1PK/p7/5P2/8/1b1R4/8 b - - 0 64"]

The bishop is dominated on the long diagonal. 64...Ba1 Now it is too late for 64...Bf6 65.g7 Bxg7+ (65...a4 66.gxh8Q Bxh8 67.Kg6 a3 68.Nf6 Kc5 69.Rh2+-) 66.Kxg7 Ra8

[FEN "r7/6KN/2k1p3/p7/5P2/8/3R4/8 w - - 0 67"]

67.Ng5 a4 68.Nxe6 a3 69.Ra2 Ra4 (69...Kd6 70.Kf6+-) 70.f5 Kd5 71.Kg6 Ke5 72.Kg5 Ra8 73.Nf4 Kd6 74.f6 Kc5 75.f7 Kb4 76.Nd3+ Kb3 77.Nc1+ Kb4 78.Rf2+-. 65.Ra2 Bd4 66.Ra4 66.Rxa5 wins as well. 66...Kd5 66...Bc3?! 67.Rc4++-. 67.Rxa5+ Ke4

[FEN "7r/7N/4p1PK/R7/3bkP2/8/8/8 w - - 0 68"]

68.Kg5! White keeps his valuable winning potential. Of course not 68.g7?? Bxg7+ 69.Kxg7 Rb8 (69...Rxh7+? 70.Kxh7 Kxf4 runs into 71.Ra4+! Kf5 72.Kh6 e5 73.Kh5 e4 74.Kh4 Kf4 75.Kh3 Kf3 76.Ra8 e3 77.Rf8+ Ke2 78.Kg2+-) 70.Ra4+ Kf5 71.Ng5 e5 72.fxe5 Kxe5=. 68...Kf3 69.Ra3+ 1-0 Black resigned because of 69...Ke4 69...Ke2 70.Nf6 Rh1 (70...Rf8 71.Nh5 Rf5+ 72.Kg4 Rf8 73.Ra6+-) 71.Rg3 Kf2 72.Rg4+-. 70.Nf6+ Bxf6+ 71.Kxf6 Kxf4 72.Ra4+ Ke3 73.Kxe6+-. Solutions to last month exercises E147.01 Geske, Julian (2401) - Gasthofer, Alexander (2441) Bundesliga 2012-13 Eppingen GER (10.8), 24.02.2013

[FEN "b7/k7/5p1p/5K2/4p1N1/6P1/ 7P/8 w - - 0 46"]

How to exploit the absence of Black's king? White to move and win. 46.Kf4! Geske keeps full control. 46.Kxf6? is met by 46...Kb6 47.Ke5 Kc5 48.Ne3 h5 49.h4 Bc6 50.g4 Be8! (50...hxg4? 51.h5 Be8 52.h6 Bg6 53.Nxg4+-) 51.g5 Bg6

[FEN "8/8/6b1/2k1K1Pp/4p2P/4N3/8/8 w - - 0 52"]

White cannot win because of the reduced material: 52.Kf6 Kd4 A) 53.Ng2 Bh7 54.g6 (54.Kg7 Bf5=) 54...Bg8 55.Kg5 e3 56.Nf4 (56.Kxh5 e2 57.Kg5 Bd5 58.Ne1 Kc3 59.g7 Kd2=) 56...Ke5 57.g7 Bc4=. B) 53.Kxg6 Kxe3 54.Kxh5 Kd2 55.g6 e3 56.g7 e2 57.g8Q e1Q 58.Qd5+ Kc2 59.Qc4+ Kb2=

[FEN "8/8/8/7K/2Q4P/8/1k6/4q3 w - - 0 60"]

Black's king has reached the main drawing zone in the corner, which is furthest away from the queening square h8. 46.Nxh6?? e3-+ even loses. 46...Kb6 47.Nxf6 Kc5 47...Kc7 48.Nxe4 Kd7 49.Nf6+ Ke6 50.Ng8 h5 51.Kg5 h4 52.Kxh4 Kf7 53.Nh6+ Kg6 54.Ng4+-. 48.Nxe4+ Kd5 49.Kf5 Kd4 50.Nf6 Ke3 50...Bf3 51.g4 Bd1 52.h4 Bb3 53.h5 Ke3 54.Kg6 Kf4 55.Kxh6 Ke5 56.Kg7+-. 51.h4 Bc6 52.g4 Bf3 53.Kg6 h5 53...Kf4 54.Kxh6 Bxg4 55.Nxg4 Kxg4 56.h5 Kf5 57.Kg7+-. 54.Kxh5 Kf4 55.Kg6 1-0 E147.02 Kuling, L (2246) - Deviatkin, A (2569) Groningen Open A Groningen NED (1.5), 22.12.2012

[FEN "8/8/8/2p5/4P3/k3Knp1/8/ 5B2 b - - 0 77"]

Where shall Black's knight go to? In pawn races every single tempo counts. 77...Nh4? Deviatkin deviates from the central track and runs into an amazing refutation. The blockading 77...Ne5! wins as Black's pawns will win all races: 78.Kf4 (78.Kd2 Kb3-+) 78...c4 79.Kxe5 (79.Bxc4 g2-+; 79.Kxg3 c3-+) 79...c3 80.Kf4 c2-+. 78.e5 g2 79.Bxg2 Nxg2+ 80.Kd2!!

[FEN "8/8/8/2p1P3/8/k7/3K2n1/8 b - - 0 80"]

The king dominates the knight. However, neither 80.Ke4? Nh4 81.Kd5 Kb4 82.e6 Ng6-+, nor 80.Kd3? Kb3-+. 80...Nf4 80...Kb2 is answered by 81.e6 c4 82.e7 c3+ 83.Kd3 c2 84.e8Q c1Q 85.Qb5+=. 81.Kc3!

[FEN "8/8/8/2p1P3/5n2/k1K5/8/8 b - - 0 81"]

Kuling's king really works wonders! 81...Ne6 82.Kc4 Ka4 83.Kd5 Kb3 84.Kxe6 c4 85.Kf7 c3 86.e6 c2 87.e7 c1Q 88.e8Q Qc4+ 89.Qe6 Qxe6+ 1/2-1/2 E147.03 Molina, Rob (2418) - Marrero Lopez, Yan (2304) X Regina Helena Marques Prol Santos ARG (4.2), 12.12.2012

[FEN "8/3N4/3K1p2/5P2/3b2P1/3k4/ 8/8 w - - 0 67"]

Far advanced connected passed pawns are very dangerous and often allow for combinations. 67.Nxf6!! The only winning move. 67.Ke6? Ke4 68.Nxf6+ Kf4 (Baburin in Chess Today 4426) 69.Kf7 Kg5=; 67.Kd5? Ke3 68.Nxf6 Bxf6 69.Ke6 Bc3 70.g5 Kf4 71.g6 Kg5=. 67...Bxf6 67...Ke3 does not defend because of 68.Ne8 Kf4 69.f6 Bb2 70.Ke6 Ba3 71.Nd6 Bb2 72.f7 Bg7 73.Nf5 Bf8 74.Kd7 Kxg4 75.Ke8 Bb4 76.Ne7+-. 68.Ke6 Bg5

[FEN "8/8/4K3/5Pb1/6P1/3k4/8/8 w - - 0 69"]

69.f6? Now Black is back in time. The amazing retreat 69.Ke5!! gives Black a bodycheck, which wins the all important tempo: 69...Ke3 70.f6 Kf3 71.f7 Be7 72.Kf5 (Baburin) 72...Kg3 73.g5 Kh4 74.g6 Bf8 75.Kf6 Kh5 76.g7+-. 69...Ke4! 70.f7 Bh6 71.Kf6 Kf4 72.Kg6 Bf8 73.g5 Be7 74.Kh5 Kf5 75.g6 Bf8 1/2-1/2 Copyright 2013 Karsten Mueller and BrainGamz, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Endgame Corner

One weapon of the attacker in same-colored bishop endings is the invasion of the king. 149.01 Salgado Lopez, Ivan (2598) – Stachowiak, Kamil (2468) 14th Euro Indiv 2013 Legnica POL (6.56), 10.05.2013 San Remo 1930 by Robert Sherwood

Karsten Müller

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Translate [FEN "8/1p3k2/p3p1p1/P3P1Kp/ 1PB2P2/6P1/2b5/8 w - - 0 54"]

54.g4! Exchanging the pawns shortens the path of White's king from kingside to queenside and vice versa.

The Complete Kalashnikov by Matthieu Cornette & Fabien Libiszewski

54...hxg4 55.Kxg4 Be4 56.Kg3 Ke7 56...Bd5 57.Bd3 Kg7 58.Kg4 Kh6 59.Kh4 Bf3 60.Bc4 Bd5 61.Bxd5 exd5 62.Kg4+-. 57.Kf2 Kd7 58.Ke3 Bf5 59.Kd4 Kc6 60.Be2 Bb1 61.Bf3+ Kc7

Encyclopedia of Chess Combinations by Chess Informant

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Now White's king can invade on the kingside.

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61...Kb5 62.Kc3 b6 63.Be2+ Kc6 64.Bxa6+-. 62.Ke3 Bc2 63.Kf2 Bd3 64.Kg3 b6 65.Kf2 Bc4

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After 65...Bf5 66.Be2 Kb7 67.Kg3+- (Baburin in Chess Today #4567), White's king will continue his march:

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67...b5 68.Kh4 Kc6 69.Bf3+ Kc7 70.Bg4 Kc6 71.Bxf5 gxf5 72.Kg5 Kd5 73.Kf6+-.

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66.Be4 Bb3 67.Ke3 Bd1 68.Bxg6 Kc6 69.Be4+ Kb5 70.Bd3+ Kc6 1-0 Black resigned because of 71.Bxa6 b5 72.Bc8 Bg4 73.a6 Kb6 74.Kd4 Bh3 75.Bd7 Kxa6 76.Kc5+-. Sometimes it is not easy to decide, which invasion route the king should take. 149.02 Morozevich, A (2758) – Karjakin, Sergey (2786) Renova FIDE GP Zug SUI (4), 21.04.2013

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34.Ke3? This is the wrong way. The queenside option must be kept open: 34.Kc3! A) 34...Bf7 35.Ba4 Kh7 36.Bb3 Bg8 (36...Kxh6 37.Bxf7 Kxg7 38.Be8 c5 39.Kc4 Kf8 40.Ba4 Ke7 41.Kxc5 Ke6 42.Kd4+-) 37.f3 c5 38.Bd5 a4 39.Kc4 a3 40.Bxg8+ Kxg8 41.Kb3+-; B) 34...g4 35.Ba4 Kh7 36.Bb3 Bg8 37.Kc2 c5 38.Bd5 Kxh6 39.Bxg8 Kxg7 40.Be6+-; C) 34...c5 35.e5 fxe5 36.Be4

[FEN "6k1/6P1/4b2P/p1p1p1p1/4B3/2K5/ 5P2/8 b - - 0 36"]

Black will fall in zugzwang sooner or later: 36...g4 (36...c4 37.Kb2 Bf7 38.Ka3 Be8 39.Bf5 c3 40.Kb3+-) 37.Kb2 c4 (37...a4 38.Ka3 Bb3 39.Bf5 Kf7 40.Bh7 Kf6 41.g8Q Bxg8 42.Bxg8 e4 43.Kxa4+-) 38.Ka3 c3 39.Ka4 c2 40.Bxc2 Bd5 41.Kb5 a4 42.Kc5

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White's king is always just in time: 42...Bb3 (42...a3 43.Kxd5 a2 44.Bb3 a1Q 45.Ke4+ Kh7 46.g8Q+ Kxh6 47.Kf5 Qb1+ 48.Kf6+-) 43.Bf5 Kf7 (43...e4 44.Bxe4 a3 45.Kb4 a2 46.Kxb3 a1Q 47.Bd5+ Kh7 48.g8Q+ Kxh6 49.Qf8++-) 44.Bh7 Kf6 45.g8Q Bxg8 46.Bxg8 a3 47.Kb4 Kg6 (47...e4 48.Kxa3 e3 49.fxe3 g3 50.Bd5+-) 48.h7 a2

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49.Bxa2 (The underpromotion 49.h8N+ wins as well.) 49...Kxh7 50.Be6+-. 34...Kh7 35.e5+

[FEN "8/6Pk/2p1bp1P/p3P1p1/8/4K3/ 2B2P2/8 b - - 0 35"]

35...f5 35...Kxh6 draws as well; e.g., 36.Bf5 (36.exf6 a4 37.Bxa4 Kg6 38.Bxc6 Kxf6 39.Bd7 Bg8=) 36...Bg8 37.e6 Kxg7 38.e7 Kf7 39.Be6+ Kxe7 40.Bxg8 a4 41.Ke4 Kf8 42.Ba2 Kg7 43.Kf5 Kh6 44.Kxf6 Kh5 45.Kf5 Kh4=. 36.Kd4 Kxh6 37.Bxf5 Bd5 38.Bc2 38.e6 Kxg7 39.Ke5 a4 40.e7 Bf7 41.Be6 a3 42.f3=. 38...Kxg7 39.Kc5

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The king continues his long march, but Black will managed to exchange all the pawns. 39...g4 40.Kd6 Kh6 41.e6 Bxe6 42.Kxe6

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42...g3 Karjakin manages to exchange the last pawn. 42...Kg5 is also playable, e.g. 43.Ke5 Kh4 44.Kf4 Kh3 45.Bf5 Kg2 46.Ke3 g3 47.Be4+ Kh3 48.f4 a4 49.f5 a3 50.f6 a2 51.f7 a1Q 52.f8Q=. 43.fxg3 Kg5 44.Bd1 a4 45.Bxa4 Kg4 46.Bxc6 Kxg3 ½-½ In the next case roads must be opened first. 149.03 Bacrot, Etienne (2705) – Tiviakov, Sergei (2659) German Bundesliga 2012-13 Schwetzingen GER (14.3), 06.04.2013

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55.b5!! Bacrot uses his b-pawn as battering ram. 55...axb5 55...cxb5?! runs into 56.Bxb5 Bf5 57.Bc4 Bd7 58.f3 Bc6 59.Bb3 Kg7 60.Kg5 Bxf3 61.Bc2+-. 56.Bxb5

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56...Bf5!

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Relatively best as otherwise the pawns will queen; e.g., 56...cxb5? 57.c6 bxc6 58.a6+- or 56...Ke6? 57.Bxc6 bxc6 58.a6+-. 57.Bf1 Bd7 58.a6 bxa6 59.Bxa6 Be6 60.Bf1

[FEN "8/8/2p1bkp1/2P4p/5K1P/8/ 5P2/5B2 b - - 0 60"]

60...Bc8?! 60...Bd5!? is more tenacious, but still insufficient; e.g., 61.Bd3 Bg2 62.Bc2 Bf1 (62...Bd5 63.Ba4 Ke6 64.Kg5 Be4 65.Bb3+ Ke7 66.Bd1 Ke6 67.f3 Bf5 68.Bb3+ Ke7 69.Ba4+-) 63.Be4 Bb5 64.Bh1 Ba4 65.Ke4 g5 66.hxg5+ Kxg5 67.Ke5 Kg6 68.Be4+ Kg7 69.f4 Kf7 70.Kf5 h4 71.Kg4+-. 61.Bg2 Bd7 61...Bb7 62.Bh1 Ba8 63.Be4 Bb7 64.Kg3 g5 (64...Kf7 65.f4 Kg7 66.Kf3 Kf6 67.Ke3 Kf7 68.Kd4 Kf6 69.Kc3+-; 64...Ke5 65.Bxg6 Kd4 66.Kf4 Kxc5 67.Ke5+-) 65.hxg5+ Kxg5 66.f4+ Kf6 67.Kh4 Ba6 68.Kxh5 Be2+ 69.Kh4 Bb5 70.Kg3 Ke7 71.Kf2 Kf6 72.Ke3 Ke7 73.Kd4 Kf6 74.Kc3 Ke7 75.Kb4 Kd7 76.f5 Be2 77.Kc3+-. 62.Bf3 Be8 63.Be4 Bd7 64.Bg2 Be8 65.Bh3 Bf7 66.Bd7 Bd5 67.Be8

[FEN "4B3/8/2p2kp1/2Pb3p/5K1P/8/ 5P2/8 b - - 0 67"]

Deadly zugzwang. Black must open a way for White's king sooner or later. 67...Kg7 67...Bg2 68.f3 Bh3 69.Bxc6 Bc8 70.Bd5 Bd7 71.c6 Bc8 72.c7 Ba6 73.Bc4 Bc8 74.Bf1 Kf7 75.Ke5 Ke7 76.Bc4 Kd7 77.Be6+ Kxc7 78.Bxc8 Kxc8 79.Kf6+-. 68.Kg5 Be4 69.f4 Kh7 70.Kf6 Kh6 71.Ke5 Bg2 72.Kd6 1-0 In the following example pawn breakthrough is the major theme. 149.04 Berkes, Ferenc (2679) – Piorun, Kacper (2520) German Bundesliga 2012-13 Eppingen GER (10.1), 24.02.2013

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76.b5!! cxb5 76...axb5 is met by the typical 77.Bxc6 bxc6 78.a6+- and 76...Bd5 runs into the breakthrough 77.Bxd5 cxd5 78.c6 bxc6 79.bxa6+-. 77.Bxb7 b4 78.Bxa6 Bd5

[FEN "8/8/B4k1p/P1Pbp3/1p4PP/ 4K3/8/8 w - - 0 79"]

79.Bd3 79.Bb5!? is easier; e.g., 79...b3 80.Kd3 e4+ 81.Kc3 e3 82.a6 Ke5 83.a7 Kf4 84.Kb2 Kf3 85.c6 e2 86.Bxe2+ Kxe2 87.a8Q+-. 79...b3 80.Bb1 Bb7 81.Kd3 e4+

[FEN "8/1b6/5k1p/P1P5/4p1PP/1p1K4/ 8/1B6 w - - 0 82"]

82.Kd4? White does not have time for this retreat. The direct 82.Kc3+- wins analogous to the game. 82...Ke6? 82...b2! saves the day because of 83.Kc3 e3 84.Kxb2?? e2-+. 83.Kc3 Kd5 83...e3 84.Bd3 (84.Kd3? Be4+ 85.Kxe3 Bxb1 86.Kd2=) 84...Bf3 85.Bc4+ Bd5 86.Be2+-. 84.h5!?

[FEN "8/1b6/7p/P1Pk3P/4p1P1/1pK5/8/ 1B6 b - - 0 84"]

Berkes prepares the second breakthrough. 84.g5 wins as well; e.g., 84...hxg5 converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

85.hxg5 Kxc5 86.Kxb3 e3 87.Kc3 Kb5 88.Kd4 Kxa5 89.Kxe3+-. 84...Kxc5 84...Ke5 85.Kxb3 Kf4 (85...Kd4 86.g5 e3 87.Kc2 Be4+ 88.Kd1 Bxb1 89.c6 hxg5 90.c7 Bf5 91.a6+-) 86.Kc3 Kxg4 87.Ba2 Kxh5 88.Bc4 Bc6 89.a6 Kg4 90.a7 e3 91.Be2+ Kg3 92.Kb4 Kf2 93.Bh5 e2 94.Bxe2 Kxe2 95.Ka5 h5 96.Kb6 Bf3 97.c6 Bxc6 98.Kxc6 h4 99.a8Q h3 100.Kc5+-. 85.g5 Bd5 85...hxg5 86.h6 e3 87.h7 e2 88.Kd2+-. 86.gxh6 e3 87.h7 1-0 Lastly, one example with additional rooks. 149.05 Aronian, L (2809) - Vachier Lagrave, M (2722) Alekhine Mem Paris/St Petersburg FRA/RUS (9), 01.05.2013

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Levon Aronian won the Alekhine Memorial as he found a shelter for his king. 34...Rd4? Vachier Lagrave wants to give perpetual check, but Aronian can prevent it. 34...Re4! draws as the queen can not win after 35.d7 (35.a4 c4 36.Kf1 Rf4+ 37.Ke2 Re4+ 38.Kd1 Bb4 39.Rc7 Re1+ 40.Kc2 Re2+=; 35.Ra8 Rd4= (Golubev in Chess Today #4558)) 35...Rxe7 36.d8Q Rxa7 37.Qd5 Bf6 38.Qc4 Bd4+ 39.Kf1 Ra3=. 35.d7 Rd1+ 36.Kf2 c4

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37.g3!! Now Aronian's king can escape the rain of rook checks. 37.d8Q?? runs into 37...Rxd8 38.Bxd8 Bd4+ and 37.Rc7? is met by 37...Rd2+ 38.Ke3 Rd3+ 39.Ke4 Rd4+ 40.Ke3 Rd3+=. 37...Rd2+ 37...Bd4+ 38.Ke2 Bxa7 39.Kxd1+-; 37...h5 38.Kg2+-. 38.Kf3 Rd3+ 39.Kg2 Rd2+ 40.Kh3 Bf6 41.d8Q Rxd8 42.Bxd8 Bxd8 1-0

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Order Endgame Corner #149 (Ebook) by Karsten Müller In ChessBase, PGN, and PDF formats. Viewable in Ipad, Itouch, Kindle, ChessBase and other PGN and PDF viewers. All for only .99 cents!! © 2013 Karsten Müller & BrainGamz, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Comment on this month's column via our official Chess Blog!

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The Fischer Endgame

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

The endgame rook and bishop against rook and knight, when the bishop has the advantage, is often called the Fischer Endgame because of the many great victories of the 11th World Champion Robert James Fischer with this material balance. When the knight has the advantage it is called Andersson Endgame, see Endgame Corner 148. A) Magnus's Mighty Bishop

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In the first example I want to start a bit earlier. 150.01 Carlsen, M (2864) – Anand, V (2786) 8th Tal Mem Moscow RUS (5), 18.06.2013 Translate this page

The Complete Kalashnikov by Matthieu Cornette & Fabien Libiszewski

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22.d5! Magnus Carlsen directly heads for a very favorable Fischer endgame. 22...cxd5 23.Qxd7 Rxd7 24.Nxe6 fxe6 25.Bh3! The Andersson Endgame by Karsten Müller

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[FEN "r5k1/p2r2pp/1p2pn2/3p4/4P3/ P5PB/1P5P/2R1R1K1 b - - 0 25"]

The point. Now Anand's defense is very difficult, as all White's pieces are active and the e-pawn can take on d5 or advance to e5. Furthermore, it is not easy to construct a solid blockade.

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25...Kh8?! 25...Kf8? runs into 26.e5 Ng8 27.Bxe6 Re7 28.Bxd5 Rd8 29.Rf1++-. Most tenacious is 25...Re8!? 26.exd5 Rdd8! 27.Bxe6+ Kh8

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Black is more active. 26.e5 The direct 26.Bxe6 is also very strong; e.g., 26...Rd6 (26...Rdd8 27.e5 Ne4 28.Red1 d4 29.Rc7 Ng5 30.Bg4 Re8 31.Rxd4 Rxe5 32.Rxa7 Rf8 33.Kg2+/-) 27.exd5 Re8 28.Re5 g6 29.Rc6+/-. 26...Ng8 27.Bxe6 Rdd8? This is too passive. The last chance was 27...Re7 28.Bxd5 Rd8, but Black is mostly likely fighting a lost cause:

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29.Bb3 g6 30.Rcd1 Rxd1 31.Rxd1 Kg7 32.Rd5 Rc7 (32...Nh6 33.h3 Kf8 34.Rd8+ Kg7 35.e6 Nf5 36.Kf2+/-) 33.Kf2 Ne7 34.Rd1 Rc5 35.Rd7 Rxe5 36.Rxa7+/-. 28.Rc7 d4 29.Bd7 1-0 Anand resigned because of 29...Ne7 30.Re4 d3 31.Rd4 Ng6 32.e6 Ne5 33.Kf2 Nxd7 34.e7 Rg8 35.Rcxd7 Rae8 36.Rxa7+-. B) The Most Dangerous Passed Pawn The following case also results in a dangerous passed pawn, which can be well supported by rook and bishop. 150.02 Giri, A (2727) – Morozevich, A (2758) Renova FIDE GP Zug SUI (5), 23.04.2013

[FEN "6k1/p5b1/5p2/1p1P3p/1P3p1P/ 5PP1/r4N2/4R1K1 b - - 0 39"]

39...f5! This both frees the bishop and restricts White's knight.

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39...fxg3? 40.Ne4 f5 41.Nxg3 Bd4+ 42.Kf1 Rf2+ 43.Kg1 Rxf3+ 44.Kg2 Rf2+ 45.Kh3 and 39...Bf8? 40.Rb1 are also better for Black, but White can offer more resistance. 40.Rd1 This is too slow, but the alternatives do not help either. 40.gxf4 is met by 40...Bd4 and the pin decides; e.g., 41.Rf1 Kf7 42.Kg2 Ke7 43.Kg3 Bxf2+ 44.Rxf2 Rxf2 45.Kxf2 Kd6 46.Ke3 Kxd5 47.Kd3 Kc6 48.Kd4 Kb6-+; 40.d6 fxg3 41.Re8+ Kf7 42.d7 Bf6 43.d8Q Bxd8 44.Rxd8 Rxf2-+. 40...fxg3 41.Nh3 41.Nh1 f4 42.d6 Ra1 43.Rxa1 Bxa1 44.d7 Bf6-+. 41...Bc3 42.d6 Bxb4

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43.Rd5 43.d7? runs into 43...Bc5+ 44.Kf1 (44.Kh1 Rh2#) 44...g2+ 45.Ke1 Bf2+ 46.Nxf2 g1Q#. 43...Ba5 44.d7 Bb6+ 45.Kf1 (45.Kh1? Rh2#) 45...g2+ 46.Ke1 Bd8 47.Rxf5

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47...Ba5+ Morozevich chooses the check from the queenside. He can also opt for the check from the kingside: 47...Bxh4+ 48.Kd1 Ra1+ 49.Kc2 Rh1 50.Rxh5 Bd8-+. 48.Kd1 Rd2+ 49.Kc1 Rxd7 50.Rxb5 Bb6 51.Rxh5 (51.Rg5+ Rg7-+) 51...Rg7 51...g1Q+ is also possible immediately because of 52.Nxg1 Bxg1 53.Rg5+ Rg7-+. 52.Kd2 Rg3 53.Rg5+ Rxg5 54.hxg5 Kg7 55.Kd3 g1Q Finally Morozevich cashes in. 56.Nxg1 Bxg1 57.f4 Kg6 0-1 Giri resigned, as he will fall in zugzwang sooner or later; e.g., 58.Ke4 Bb6 59.Ke5 Bc7+ 60.Ke4 Bb8 61.Kf3 Kf5-+. C) Karjakin's Knightmare Nakamura's passed d-pawn decides the issue. 150.03 Nakamura, Hikaru (2784) – Karjakin, Sergey (2782) converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

8th Tal Memorial Moscow RUS (3.4), 15.06.2013

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45.f4! Nakamura opens the gates forcefully. 45.Bc6 Ne6 46.f4 works as well. 45...gxf4 45...Nxd5?! runs into 46.Re8+-, while 45...Rd8?! is met by 46.Bc6 gxf4 (46...Ne6 47.fxg5+ Nxg5 48.Re8 Nf7 49.Kh3 Kg5 50.Bb5 a6 51.Bc6+-) 47.Re8+-. 46.g5+!

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46...Kg6 After 46...Kxg5, Nakamura planned the shot 47.Bg8!!

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(47.Bc6? Rd8 48.Re8 Nxe8 49.dxe8Q Rxe8 50.Bxe8 Kf5 is only drawn.) 47...Rxg8 48.Rg1++-. 47.Re5! Necessary precision, as 47.Kh3? is met by 47...Rd8=. 47...Rd8 47...Nxd5?! again runs into 48.Re8+-. 48.Be4+ Kf7

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49.Bf5 The direct 49.g6+ wins as well: 49...Kf6 50.Rf5+ Kg7 51.Rf7+ Kg8 (51...Kh6 52.Rh7+ Kg5 53.g7 Ne6 54.Rh8+-) 52.Kh3+-. 49...Rh8 49...f3 50.Kg1 Rg8 51.Kf2+-; 49...Rg8 50.Kh3 f3 51.Re3 f2 52.g6+ Kf6 53.Rf3+-. 50.Kg2 a5 A slight concession, but Black's position is hopeless in any case; e.g., 50...Rg8 51.Kf3+-. 51.Kf2 f3 52.Re1 1-0 Karjakin resigned because of 52...h3 53.Kxf3 h2 54.Kg2 Rg8 55.Kxh2+-. D) The Knight Wants Control The knight needs control to have time for its slow maneuvers. 150.04 Georgiev, Kiril (2645) – Marin, Mihail (2583) ESP-chT Div 1 final 1 Barbera del Valles (2), 14.08.2009

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53...e5! A strong dynamical solution. After 53...h5? 54.Ne3 (Marin in CBM131 Extra), White has full control:

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We have reached an Andersson Endgame (see Endgame Corner 148).

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53...c4!? 54.bxc4 Ra3 55.Kf2 g5= is also playable. 54.Nxh6? This capture is too greedy. The rook endgame after 54.Nxe5! Bxe5 55.fxe5 Ke6= (Marin) is clearly drawn. 54...exf4 55.g4

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55...Be5? This slow moves gives White time to save himself. The dynamic 55...c4! 56.bxc4 Ra3 gives Black good winning chances; e.g., 57.c5 f3+ 58.Kf2 Bf4 59.Rb2 Bxh6 60.Rxb4 Be3+ 61.Kxf3 Bxc5+ 62.Rb3 Rxa2. 56.Kf3 c4!?

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57.Re2! 57.bxc4? Ra3+ plays into Black's hand. 57...Ke6 58.g5? White should again head for the drawish rook ending. This time with 58.Nf7! Kxf7 59.Rxe5 c3 60.Re4 Rc8 61.Re1=. 58...c3 Marin builds a positional bind. As with the previous example, the two passed pawns will decide the issue, since the knight cannot establish a solid blockade. The tactical solution 58...cxb3!? 59.axb3 Ra3 60.Ng4 Rxb3+ 61.Kf2 (61.Ke4 f3-+) 61...Rb2+ (Marin) is even better. 59.Ng4 Ra5 60.Rc2 60.Re4 c2 61.Re1 Rc5 62.Nxe5 Rxe5 63.Rc1 Kf5 64.Rxc2 Re3+ 65.Kf2 Rc3 66.Rd2 Kg4-+. 60...Rd5 61.Re2 Kd6 62.Nf2 62.Ke4 Rd4+ 63.Kf3 Rd3+ 64.Ke4 Rd5 65.Kf3 Rc5 66.Rc2 Kd5 67.Re2 Bd4 68.Rc2 Bh8 69.Kxf4 Kd4 70.Ne3 Re5 71.Nc4 Re1-+. 62...Rd4 63.Rc2 63.Ng4 Rd3+ 64.Ke4 Rd5 65.Kf3 Rc5 66.Nxe5 Rxe5 67.Rc2 Rd5 68.Kxf4 Rd2 converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

69.Rc1 Rxa2-+. 63...Ke6 64.Ng4 64.Kg4 Kd5 65.Kf3 Bc7 66.Re2 Bd6 67.Rc2 Ke5 68.Kg4 f3+ 69.Kxf3 Rxh4-+. 64...Bg7 65.Re2+ Kf5 66.Nf2 Be5 67.Rc2 Rd5 68.Re2 Rd8 69.Rc2 Rd7 70.Re2 Rd5 71.Rc2

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Now comes the last regrouping. 71...Bb8!? 72.Re2 Ba7 73.h5 Bxf2 74.Rxf2 Rd3+ 0-1 E) Vachier's Vicious Bishop In the following fight on both wings Black's bishop is much superior. 150.05 Svidler, P (2747) – Vachier Lagrave, M (2722) Alekhine Mem Paris/St Petersburg FRA/RUS (5), 25.04.2013

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27...Re5! The resulting ending is winning for Black. After 27...Ree2? 28.cxb7+ Kxb7 29.Rxb5+ Ka6 30.a4

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30...Rxg2+ 31.Kf1, Black has nothing more then the draw by perpetual check. 28.Rxe5 Bxe5 29.Ne4 Rxb2 30.cxb7+ 30.a3 Re2 31.cxb7+ Kb8 32.Nc5 Bd4+ 33.Kf1 Rf2+ 34.Ke1 Rxg2-+. 30...Kxb7 31.Nc5+

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31...Ka8! Vachier Lagrave's point. Now Black wins the resulting races. 32.Rd1 32.Nd3 Bd4+ 33.Kf1 Rxa2 34.Rc6 a5 35.Rxh6 Kb7-+. 32...Bc7

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A strong prophylactical retreat to dominate the rook. 33.Re1 33.Rf1 a5 34.a3 Rc2 35.Rf8+ Ka7 36.Ne4 Rc4 37.Rf7 Ka6 38.Nd2 Rc3-+; 33.Rd7? runs into 33...Bb6 34.Rd5 Rc2-+. 33...a5 34.Re6 34.a3 Bd6 35.Rc1 Ra2-+; 34.a4 Rc2 35.Nd3 (35.Ne4 b4 36.Rb1 Ra2-+) 35...bxa4 36.Ra1 Rd2 37.Ra3 Ka7-+; 34.Kf1 Rxa2 35.Re6 a4 36.Rxh6 a3 37.Ra6+ Kb8 38.g3 Rc2-+; 34.Re7 Bd6 35.Re8+ Ka7-+. 34...Rc2 34...Rxa2 35.Rxh6 Rc2 wins as well. 35.Nd3 35.Na6 does not help, as the knight is dominated after 35...Rc1+ 36.Kf2 Bxh2 37.Rxh6 Bg1+ 38.Kf3 Kb7 and White's counterplay is too slow; e.g., 39.g4 Rc8 40.g5 Rg8 41.Kg4 Bb6-+; 35.Ra6+ Kb8 36.Ne6 Kb7 37.Nxc7 Rxa2 38.Rxh6 Kxc7-+. 35...h5 36.Rh6 Rxa2 37.Rxh5 37.Kf1 Rd2 38.Nc5 Rd5-+. 37...Rd2 38.Nc5 38.Rh3 a4 39.Kf1 Kb7 40.g4 a3 41.Nc5+ (41.Nb4 a2-+) 41...Kc6 42.Rxa3 Kxc5 43.Rc3+ Kb6-+. 38...a4 39.Rh6

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39...Rd6! 40.Rh8+ 40.Rxd6 Bxd6 41.Ne4 Bb4 42.Kf2 a3-+. 40...Ka7 41.Kf1 Rc6 0-1 White resigned. One sample line runs 42.Nd3 a3 43.Nb4 Rc4 44.Na2 b4 45.Rh3 Ba5 46.Rb3 Kb6 47.g3 Kb5 48.h4 Ka4 49.Rb1 b3-+.

Order Endgame Corner #150 (Ebook) by Karsten Müller In ChessBase, PGN, and PDF formats. Viewable in Ipad, Itouch, Kindle, ChessBase and other PGN and PDF viewers. All for only .99 cents!! © 2013 Karsten Müller & BrainGamz, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Comment on this month's column via our official Chess Blog!

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Racing Pawns

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

When both sides have or can create passed pawns in a pawn ending sharp calculation is required. A) Kasparov's King The rule of the square is often helpful in such races. 151.01 Kasparov, S (2470) – Carnic, S (2341) 6th ch-Cent SRB Int 2013 Paracin SRB (2.11), 06.07.2013

Garry Kasparov, Part II: 1985-1993 (Ebook) by Garry Kasparov

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Practical Endgame Play: Beyond the Basics by Glenn Flear

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70.f4! White's king is inside the square and Kasparov opens the path. 70.Kg4? offers practical winning chances, but theoretically it leads to a draw; e.g., 70...Kc5 (70...Ke5 71.f4+ Ke4 72.f5 d4 73.f6 d3 74.f7 d2 75.f8Q d1Q+ 76.Kg5 Qd5+ 77.Kh4 Kd3 78.g4 Kc3 79.g5 Kb2=) 71.f4 Kc4 72.f5 d4 73.f6 d3 74.f7 d2 75.f8Q d1Q+ 76.Qf3 Qd7+ 77.Qf5 Qg7+ 78.Kh4 Kb3 79.g4 Kb2=

Chess Developments: The Grünfeld (Ebook) by David Vigorito

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Black's king has reached the main drawing zone. After 70.g4?, Black queens first: 70...d4 71.g5 d3 72.g6 d2 73.g7 d1Q 74.g8Q Qxf3+=. 70...d4 70...Kc5 runs into 71.f5!

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White will queen with check; e.g., (71.Kg4? Kc4 72.Kf3 Kc3 73.Ke2 Kc2 74.Ke3 Kc3 75.f5 d4+ 76.Ke2 Kc2 77.f6 d3+ 78.Kf2 d2 79.f7 d1Q 80.f8Q is theoretically drawn.) 71...d4 (71...Kd6 72.f6 Ke6 73.Kg6 d4 74.f7 Ke7 75.Kg7 d3 76.f8Q++-) 72.f6 d3 73.f7 d2 74.f8Q++-. 71.Kg4 Kd5 72.Kf3 Kc4 73.Ke2 Kc3 74.Kd1 1-0

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Kasparov's king has done the job and so Black resigned. B) Promotion with Check It is not enough just to count the moves both pawns need to queen as a pawn can promote with check or the queen can start a mating attack. 151.02 Fantin, L (2261) – Flear, G (2456) 19th JCL Summer Masters 2013 Montpellier FRA (3.8), 09.07.2013

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51.Kc5! White must enter the race. 51...Kf4 52.Kb6 52.Kd6? is met by 52...Kf5 53.Kc6 Kxe5 54.Kb6 Kd4 55.Kxa5 e5 56.Kxa6 e4 57.b4 e3 58.b5 e2 59.b6 e1Q 60.b7 Qe5-+. 52...Kxe5

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53.Kxa6? Fantin takes the wrong pawn first. 53.Kxa5 A) 53...Kd5 54.Kxa6 Kc5 (54...e5 55.b4 e4 56.b5 e3 57.b6 e2 58.b7 e1Q 59.b8Q Qa1+ 60.Kb7=) 55.Ka5 e5 56.b4+ Kc4 57.b5 e4 58.b6 e3 59.b7 e2 60.b8Q e1Q+ 61.Kb6=. B) 53...Kd4 54.Kxa6 Kc3

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Now White has the amazing retreat 55.Ka5!! Kxb3 (55...e5 56.b4 e4 57.b5 e3 58.b6 e2 59.b7 e1Q 60.b8Q Kc4+ 61.Kb6=) 56.Kb5 Kc3 57.Kc5 Kd3 58.Kd6=. 53...Kd4 0-1 White resigned because of 54.Kxa5 e5 55.b4 e4 56.b5 e3 57.b6 e2 58.b7 e1Q+ 59.Kb6 Qe5 60.Ka7 Qa5+ 61.Kb8 Kd5 62.Kc8 Qa6 63.Kc7 Qa7 64.Kc8 Kc6 65.b8Q Qd7#. C) Race of the Kings Sometimes the kings must come back to fight against the passed pawns. 151.03 Kalinitschew, S (2433) – McGowan, D (2091) Werner-Ott-Open 2013 Berlin GER (4.3), 09.07.2013

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61...h4! 61...Kxa4? 62.f5 h4 63.Ke4 gxf5+ 64.Kf3+-. 62.Ke4 The king must come back, as 62.f5? runs into 62...h3 63.f6 h2 64.f7 h1Q+-+. converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

62...Kc4 Black's king must come back as well. 62...Kxa4? runs into 63.f5 gxf5+ 64.Kf3+-; and 62...h3? into 63.Kf3 Kc5 64.f5 gxf5 65.g6+-. 63.Kf3 Kd5! 64.Kg4 Ke4!

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65.f5! White must break through and the resulting queen ending is a direct draw by perpetual check. 65...h3 66.fxg6 66.Kxh3? Kxf5 67.Kh4 Kf4-+. 66...h2 67.g7 h1Q 68.g8Q Qf3+ 69.Kh4 Qh1+ 70.Kg4 Qf3+ 71.Kh4 Qh1+ 72.Kg4 Qf3+ ½-½ D) Bujisho's Breakthrough When both sides can create dangerous passed pawns precise calculation is called for. 151.04 Bujisho, B (2381) – Dussol, P (2181) 19th JCL Summer Masters 2013 Montpellier FRA (2.5), 06.07.2013

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43...d4? Black advances his pawns the wrong way around. 43...a4! wins: 44.Kb2 (44.g5 Kd6 45.Kb2 Ke6 46.Ka3 Kf5 47.Kxa4 Kxf4 48.Kb5 Kg3 49.Kc5 Kxh3 50.Kxd5 Kg4 51.c4 h3 52.c5 h2 53.c6 h1Q+-+) 44...d4 45.cxd4+ Kxd4 46.Ka3 Ke4 47.f5 gxf5 48.gxf5 Kxf5 49.Kxa4 Kf4 50.Kb3 Kg3 51.Kc2 Kxh3 52.Kd2 Kg2-+. 44.g5 Kd5

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45.c4+!? The best winning try. 45.cxd4? runs into 45...Ke4! when Black is even winning because of 46.Kb3 Kxf4 47.Kc4 a4 48.d5 a3 49.d6 a2 50.d7 a1Q 51.d8Q Qc1+ 52.Kb5 Qb1+ 53.Ka4 Qe4+ 54.Kb5 Kg3-+. After 45.f5 gxf5 46.c4+ Ke6 47.c5 a4, both sides queen and a draw results upon 48.g6 a3 49.c6 d3+ 50.Kxd3 a2 51.c7 Kd7 52.g7 a1Q 53.c8Q+ Kxc8 54.g8Q+=. 45...Ke4! 45...Kxc4? runs into 46.f5 Kd5 (46...d3+ 47.Kd2 a4 48.fxg6 a3 49.g7 a2 50.g8Q++-) 47.f6 Ke6 48.Kd3 a4 49.Kxd4+-

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And White wins. 46.c5

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46...Kd5? Now White's pawns will win the race. After 46...a4, the resulting queen ending is tenable: 47.c6 d3+ 48.Kd2 a3 49.c7 a2 50.c8Q a1Q

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White cannot win because of Black's counterplay; e.g., 51.Qe6+ Kf3 52.Qg4+ Ke4 53.f5+ Ke5 54.fxg6 Qb2+ 55.Kxd3 Qb3+ 56.Ke2 Qc2+ 57.Kf3 Qd3+ 58.Kf2 Qxg6 59.Qxh4 Qc2+ 60.Kg3 Qd3+ 61.Kg2 Qd2+=. 47.f5! a4 47...Kxc5 48.fxg6+-; 47...d3+ 48.Kxd3 gxf5 49.g6 Ke6 50.c6+-. 48.fxg6 Ke6 49.c6 1-0

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Black resigned as White will queen with check: 49...a3 50.c7 Kd7 51.g7 d3+ 52.Kxd3 a2 53.c8Q+ Kxc8 54.g8Q++-. Exercises (Solutions next month) The exercises deal with pawn endings in general not only pawn races. E151.01 Andersen, Alf (2202) – Todorovic, Radisa (1960) 6th ch-Cent SRB Int 2013 Paracin SRB (2.43), 06.07.2013

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How did Black defend all inroads? E151.02 Abel, Dennes (2437) – Zwanzger, Johannes (2326) Bundesliga 2012-13 Schwetzingen GER (13.4), 05.04.2013

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Where shall White's king invade? E151.03 Tereick, Benjamin (2398) – Kasimdzhanov, Rustam (2690) Bundesliga 2012-13 Trier GER (9.7), 23.02.2013

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Find White's only move to draw! E151.04 Gomez Esteban, J (2462) – Illescas Cordoba, M (2613) 33rd Benasque Open Benasque ESP (6.7), 09.07.2013

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White to move and win. E151.05 Bates, C (2205) – Rudd, J (2280) 3rd Big Slick IM Purley ENG (1), 22.06.2013

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White has two moves to draw. Find both!

Order Endgame Corner #151 (Ebook) by Karsten Müller In ChessBase, PGN, and PDF formats. Viewable in Ipad, Itouch, Kindle, ChessBase and other PGN and PDF viewers. All for only .99 cents!! © 2013 Karsten Müller & BrainGamz, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Two Different Worlds

Endgame Corner

Opposite-colored bishops live in two different worlds and the endings have two different characteristics. Pure opposite-colored bishop endings have a very large drawish tendency and the main theme is the construction of a fortress. When more pieces are on the board it favors the attacker as in the middlegame. A) Pure opposite-colored bishop endings

Karsten Müller

A1) Nakamura's King

Magnus Force (Ebook) by Colin Crouch

Positional themes are often more important than material:

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152.01 Nakamura, Hikaru (2772) – Cori Tello, Deysi (2434) FIDE World Cup 2013 Tromso NOR (2.6), 12.08.2013

Fighting Chess: Move by Move by Colin Crouch

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83.Bg6! The route of Black's king must be cut. 83.Bc2? can even be met by 83...Kf7 84.Kxg5 Bc1+ as the pawn g5 is not important. 83...Bb2 Garry Kasparov, Part II: 1985-1993 (Ebook) by Garry Kasparov

83...Ke7 84.Kg7!

Lewis Chessmen sets

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www.NorseAmerica.com … Chess set cast from the original pieces from 1100 AD. Buy online.

Invading with the king is more important than the pawn. (84.Kxg5? Bc1+ 85.Kf5 Kf8 86.g5 Kg7 87.h6+ Kf8 88.Kg4 Bd2 89.Kh5 Bc1 90.Bf5 Bd2 91.g6 Bc3=) 84...Bb2+ 85.Kg8+-. 83...Bf8+ is met by 84.Kh7 Bg7 (84...Ke7 85.h6 Ke6 86.Be8 Ke7 87.Kg6 Bxh6 88.Kxh6 Kxe8 89.Kxg5 Kf7 90.Kh6+-) 85.h6

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Free Arc Flash Handbook

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A) 85...Bh8 86.Bh5+- (86.Kxh8?? runs into 86...Kxg6 87.h7 Kf7 stalemate). B) 85...Bf8 86.Bh5 Ke7 (86...Ke6 87.Kg6 Ba3 88.Kg7 Bb2+ 89.Kg8+-) 87.Kg6+-. 84.Kh7 Ba3 (84...Ke7 85.Kg8+-) 85.Kg8 Bb4 86.Bf5 Bc3 87.h6 Ke7 88.h7 10 B) The principle of one diagonal This is very important in bishop endings, as the bishop is very efficient when all jobs are on one diagonal: 152.02 Kamsky, Gata (2741) – Lou, Yiping (2484) FIDE World Cup 2013 Tromso NOR (1.4), 13.08.2013

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72...Kf4? A step in the wrong direction. 72...Kd6 draws because of the counterplay on the queenside: 73.Kg4 Kc5 74.Bd7 Kxd5 75.h5 Ke5 76.h6 Kf6 77.Kh5 Bc5=. 73.d6!! Kamsky seizes the moment to break the blockade forcefully. 73...Bxd6 73...Bd8 is met by 74.Bc8 Ke5 75.d7 Kd6 76.Kg4 Ke5 77.Bb7 Kf6 78.h5 Kg7 79.Kf5 Kh6 80.Bf3+-. 74.Kg6 Ke5

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75.Bh3? This loses one all important tempo.

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75.Bc8! wins; e.g., 75...Kd4 (75...a5 76.bxa6 Bb8 77.h5+-; 75...Bc5 76.h5 a5 77.bxa6 b5 78.h6 Kd6 79.h7 Bd4 80.a7+-) 76.h5 Kc5 77.Ba6 Now Black's counterplay is stopped for good. 77...Kd5 78.h6 Ke6 79.Kg7+-. 75.Bc4? is also insufficient because of 75...Kd4 76.Bf1 Be5 77.h5

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77...Kd5! (After 77...Kc5? 78.h6 Kd6 79.Kf7 Bd4 80.h7 Be5 81.Kg8 Bd4 82.h8Q Bxh8 83.Kxh8, White wins as the bishop has everything under control on the all important diagonal f1-a6.) 78.Kf7 Bf4 79.Kg7 Be5+ 80.Kg6 Ke6=. 75...Bc5 76.h5 76.Bc8 Kd6 77.Kf7 a5 78.bxa6 b5 79.h5 Kc7 80.Be6 Kb6=. 76...Bd4 77.h6 Kd6 78.Kf7 Black's king is now in time after 78.Bc8 Ke7 79.h7 Kf8=. 78...a5!

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Black must get counterplay immediately to overload White's bishop. 79.bxa6 79.h7? even loses to 79...a4 80.Be6 Kc5 81.Ke7 a3 82.Ba2 Kxb5 83.Kd6 Kb4 84.Kd5 Bh8 85.Kc6 b5 86.Bg8 Ka4-+. 79...b5 80.h7 80.Bf1 Kc6 81.Ke6 b4 82.Bc4 Kb6 83.Kd5 Bh8 84.Ke4 b3 85.Kd3 b2=. 80...Kc7! The right path, as 80...Kc6? runs into 81.Bd7+ Kxd7 82.a7+-. 81.Bf1 b4!

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Now White's bishop cannot protect the a-pawn and stop Black's b-pawn on one and the same diagonal. 81...Kb6? 82.Bxb5 Kxb5 83.a7+-. 82.Ke6 82.Kg8 Kb6 83.h8Q Bxh8 84.Kxh8 b3 85.Bd3 b2 86.Kg7 b1Q 87.Bxb1 Kxa6=. 82...b3 83.Kd5 b2

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84.Bd3 84.a7 also does not win because of 84...b1Q 85.a8Q Qxh7 86.Kxd4 Qd7+=. 84...Bh8 85.Kc5 85.Ke6 Kb6 86.Kf7 b1Q 87.Bxb1 Kxa6=. 85...Bg7 86.Be4 Kb8 87.Kb6 Bd4+ 88.Kb5 Ka7 ½-½ C) Jakovenko's last pawn Pawns are very valuable winning potential, when the material is reduced: 152.03 Paragua, Mark (2565) – Jakovenko, Dmitry (2724) FIDE World Cup Tromso NOR (1.28), 11.08.2013

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52...a5!! This pawn must be preserved. It will win the game in the end. 52...axb5? 53.Bxb5 Bxa3 is only drawn; e.g., 54.Kf3 f5 55.Bd3 Kg5 56.Bc2 Kf6 57.Bd3 g5 58.Bc2 g4+ 59.Kg2 f4 60.Bd1 Kg5 61.Be2= And play has reached a well known book draw. 53.a4 Kg5 54.Ke3 f5 55.Be2 Be5 56.b6 Kh4 56...Kf6 wins as well. 57.b7 Black is also quicker after 57.Bd3 Kg4 58.Bc4 g5 59.Be6 Bd6 60.Kd4 (60.b7 Bb8 61.Bd7 Ba7+ 62.Ke2 Kf4 63.Kf1 g4 64.Kg2 Kg5-+) 60...Kf4 61.Kd5 Bb8 62.Kc6 g4 63.Kb7 Be5 64.Ka6 g3 65.Bd5 Ke3 66.Kxa5 f4 67.Kb5 f3 68.a5 g2 69.a6 g1Q-+. 57...g5

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58.Bd3 Passive defense with 58.Kf2 g4 59.Kg2 f4 60.Bd1 is broken by 60...Bb8 61.Be2 Kg5 62.Bd1 f3+ 63.Bxf3 gxf3+ 64.Kxf3 Kf5 65.Ke3 Ke5 66.Kd3 Kd5 67.Kc3 Kc5 68.Kb3 Kb6 (68...Kd4-+) 69.Kc4 Kxb7 70.Kb5 Bc7-+. 58...f4+ 59.Ke4 (59.Kf2 g4-+) 59...Bb8 60.Be2 60.Kf3 g4+ 61.Kg2 f3+ 62.Kf2 Ba7+ 63.Kf1 g3-+. 60...g4 61.Bb5 Kg3 62.Kf5 62.Bd7 f3 63.Ke3 f2 64.Bb5 Kg2-+. 62...f3 63.Bc4 f2 64.Be2 Ba7 65.Kg5 (65.Bf1 Kf3-+) 65...Kg2 66.Kxg4 f1Q 67.Bxf1+ Kxf1 0-1 One possible finish is 68.Kf3 Ke1 69.Ke4 Kd2 70.Kd5 Kc3 71.Kc6 Kb4 72.Kc7 Kxa4 73.b8Q Bxb8+ 74.Kxb8 Kb5-+

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And finally Jakovenko's a-pawn will have the last say. B) Opposite-colored bishops and rooks Opposite-colored bishops favor the attacker, if an additional pair of rooks is on the board and the drawish tendency of pure opposite-colored bishop endings is much reduced: B1) Safarli's strong shots 152.04 Safarli, Eltaj (2660) – Amin, Bassem (2652) FIDE World Cup 2013 Tromso NOR (1.4), 13.08.2013

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It is very difficult for Black to defend because of White's activity:

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73...Rc7? Amin should keep the position static with 73...f6! 74.Ra7+ Kh8 75.Be6 Re5+ 76.Kd3 Rc5 and Black should be able to hold. 74.f6+!

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Safarli's strong shot. 74...Bxf6 74...Kh7? 75.Kd3 Rd7 76.Kc4 Rc7+ 77.Kb5 Rc8 78.Bxf7+-. 75.Rxa5 Re7+ 76.Kd3 Re5 77.Rb5 77.Kc4!? Rxh5 78.Ra7+- is more precise. 77...Rxh5 78.a5 Rh3+ 79.Kc4 Rc3+ 80.Kb4 Rc1 80...Rc7 81.Bc4 Be7+ 82.Ka4 Bc5?! 83.Rxc5 Rxc5 84.a6 Rc7 85.Kb5+-. 81.Rb7 Bc3+ 82.Kb5 Rf1 83.a6 Bd4 84.Bc4 Rf2 84...Rf5+ 85.Kc6 Rc5+ 86.Kd6 Kf6 87.Rxf7++-. 85.b4 Rf3 86.Bd5 Rf1

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87.Kc4! Bg1 87...Be3 88.Re7 Bg1 89.a7+-. 88.a7 Rc1+ 89.Kb5 Ra1 90.Rxf7+ Kg6

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91.Rf1!! 1-0 converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

Safarli's second strong shot. Kaidanov manages to drum up a mating attack in the following example: 152.05 Kaidanov, Gregory S (2577) – Zhou Weiqi (2616) Yinzhou Cup CHN-USA Ningbo CHN (5.3), 23.07.2013

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41.f4! Rb8 41...gxf4 is also playable because of 42.g5+ Kf5 (42...Ke7?? 43.Re8#) 43.Kf3 e5 44.dxe5 Kxe5 45.exf4+ Kf5 46.Rd8 Bxf4 47.Rxd5+ Be5 48.Bd3+ Ke6 49.Rxa5 Rb4 and Black should be able to defend. 42.fxg5+!? After 42.Rxg5?! Rh8, White's rook cannot break free anymore. 42...Ke7 43.Rg7 Kf8 44.Rh7

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44...Kg8? As this defense cannot prevent the invasion of White's rook, it is better to play 44...Rb6! 45.g6 fxg6 46.Ra7 Bb4 and Black should be able to hold. 45.g6! Rb7? Mistakes always seems to come in pairs. 45...Rf8 46.g5 Bb4 47.Be8 or 45...fxg6 46.Ra7 Rb6 47.Be8 are preferable, but White's attack continues in both cases. 46.Be8!

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Kaidanov forces Black to open the gate. 46...Rb2+ 47.Kf3 fxg6 48.Rd7 Bh2 converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

48...Bb4 49.Bf7+ Kf8 50.Bxe6 Ra2 51.Rf7+ Ke8 52.Bxd5 Rxa4 53.Rg7+-. 49.Bf7+ Kf8 50.Bxe6 Bg1 51.Bxd5 Rf2+ 52.Ke4 Rg2?! 52...Rf1 is more tenacious, but also insufficient in the long run: 53.Ra7 Re1 54.Rf7+ Ke8 55.Rf3+-. 53.Kf3?! White can repeat the position first, but ultimately he should opt for 53.Ke5! when his attack crushes through; e.g., 53...Rxg4?! (53...Rb2 54.Kf6 Rb6+ 55.Be6+-) 54.Kf6 Ke8 55.Bc6+-. 53...Rf2+ 54.Ke4 Rg2 55.Kf3? 55.Ke5+- was the last chance to win with a direct attack. 55...Rf2+ 56.Kg3 Re2? This runs into a tactical refutation. 56...Rf6! was called for: 57.g5 Rf1 58.Kg2 Re1 59.Rf7+ Ke8 60.Rf6 (60.Ra7 Bxe3 61.Be4 Bxd4 62.Bxg6+ Kf8 63.Rxa5 Bb6 64.Rf5+ Kg7 65.Bh5 Rg1+ 66.Kf3 Rf1+ 67.Kg4 Rg1+ 68.Kf4 Ra1) 60...Bxe3 61.Re6+ Kd7 62.Kf3 Bf2 63.Rxg6 Bxd4 and in both cases it is not clear if White can win. 57.Rf7+ Ke8 58.Rf1!

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A powerful blow that dominates the bishop. 58...Rxe3+?! 58...Bh2+ 59.Kf3 Rb2 60.Rh1 Ke7 (60...g5 61.e4 Ke7 62.e5 Rd2 63.Ke4+-; 60...Bd6 61.Rh6+-) 61.g5 Kd6 62.Be4+-; 58...Bxe3?! 59.Kf3+-. 59.Bf3 Rxf3+ 60.Kxf3 Bxd4 61.Ke4 Bc3 62.Rc1 Bd2 63.Rc7 1-0 Solutions to last month exercises

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How did Black defend all inroads? 66...Ke7! White cannot win, as his king has no access to the c4-square; therefore, he cannot transform the distant opposition into normal opposition. 66...Ke6? 67.Ke4 Kd6 68.Kf5 Ke7 69.Kg6 Ke6 70.Kxh6 Kf7 71.Kh7+-.

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66...Kd6? 67.Kd4 Ke6 68.Kc5 Ke5 (68...f5 69.gxf5+ Kxf5 70.Kxb5 Kg5 71.Kc4 Kxh5 72.b5+-) 69.Kxb5 Kf4 70.Kc5 Kxg4 71.b5 f5 72.b6 f4 73.b7 f3 74.b8Q+-. 67.Kd4 Kd6 68.Ke4 Ke6 69.Kf4 Ke7 70.Kf3 Kd6 71.Ke4 Ke6 72.Kd4 Kd6 73.Ke4 Ke6 74.Kf4 Ke7 75.Kf5 Kf7 76.Ke4 Ke6 ½-½ E151.02 Abel, Dennes (2437) – Zwanzger, Johannes (2326) Bundesliga 2012-13 Schwetzingen GER (13.4), 05.04.2013

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Where shall White's king invade? White wins by marching through the center in the right way: 78.Kf5 Kh7 79.h5? Now Black's counterplay is always quick enough. The king had to take the following route: 79.Ke4 Kh6 80.Kd5! (The square e5 must be avoided as 80.Ke5? Kg6= is reciprocal zugzwang.) 80...Kg6 81.Ke5 Kh5 82.Kd6 Kxh4 83.Ke7 Kg5 84.Kxf7+-. 79...Kh6 80.Kg4 Kh7 81.Kg5 Kg8 82.Kf5 Kh7 83.Kg5 ½-½ E151.03 Tereick, Benjamin (2398) – Kasimdzhanov, Rustam (2690) Bundesliga 2012-13 Trier GER (9.7), 23.02.2013

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Find White's only move to draw! Tereick found the small path to draw: 46.f3!! 46.Kf3? is met by 46...f5 47.e6 fxg4+ 48.Kxg4 d4 49.Kf3 Kf6 50.Ke4 g4 51.hxg4 h3 52.Kxd4 h2-+. 46...f6 46...f5 47.Kf2 f4 (47...fxg4 48.fxg4 Kf7 49.Ke3 Ke7 50.Kd3 Kd7 51.Ke3=) 48.Ke2 Kf7 49.Kd3 Ke7 50.Kc3 Kd7 51.Kd3=. 47.e6! 47.exf6? Kxf6 48.f4 gxf4 49.Kf3 Kg5 50.Kf2 d4 51.Ke2 Kf6 52.Kf3 d3 53.Kf2 Ke6 54.Kf3 Ke5 55.Kf2 Ke4-+. 47...Kg7 (47...f5?? 48.gxf5++-) 48.f4!

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Only now! 48...gxf4 48...f5 49.e7 Kf7 50.Kf3 fxg4+ 51.Kxg4 gxf4 52.Kxf4 Kxe7 53.Ke5=. 48...Kf8? 49.f5 Ke7 50.Kf3 Kd6 51.Ke3 Kc6 52.Kd4 Kd6 53.Kc3 Kc6 54.Kb4 Kd6 55.Kb5 d4 56.Kc4 d3 57.Kxd3 Kc6 58.Kc4 Kd6 59.Kb5 Ke7 60.Kc6 Ke8 61.e7 Kxe7 62.Kc7+-. 49.Kf3 Kf8 50.Kxf4 Ke8 50...Ke7 51.Kf5 d4 52.Ke4 Kxe6 53.Kxd4 f5 54.g5 f4 55.Ke4 f3 56.Kxf3 Kf5=. 51.g5 Ke7 52.gxf6+ Kxf6 52...Kxe6 53.Kg5 Kf7 54.Kxh4 Kxf6 55.Kg3=. 53.e7 ½-½ E151.04 Gomez Esteban, J (2462) – Illescas Cordoba, M (2613) 33rd Benasque Open Benasque ESP (6.7), 09.07.2013

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White to move and win. White found the narrow path to victory: 50.h4! 50.g4? Kg3=. 50.Kf6? Kxg2 51.h4 Kf3 52.h5 Ke4 53.h6 Kd5 54.Kg7 Ke6 55.Kxh7 Kf7=. 50...Kxg2 50...Kg3 51.h5 Kh4 52.g4 h6 53.Kf4 Kh3 54.g5+-. 51.h5 Kf3 51...Kg3 52.h6 Kh4 53.Kf6 Kh5 54.Kg7+52.h6! Now Black's king is in the bodycheck. 52.Kf6? allows 52...Ke4 53.Kg7 Kf5 54.Kxh7 Kf6=. 52...Ke3 53.Kf6 1-0 E151.05 Bates, C (2205) – Rudd, J (2280) 3rd Big Slick IM Purley ENG (1), 22.06.2013 converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

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White has two moves to draw. Find both! 65.Kg1? White has two ways to draw: 65.Nf6 g3 66.Nh5 g2+ 67.Kg1 Nh4 68.Ng3= (Baburin in Chess Today 4632). 65.Ke1 Ne3 (65...Ng3 66.Nf6=) 66.Kd2 (66.Ng7? g3 67.Ne6 g2 68.Nd4+ Kg3 69.Ne2+ Kh2 70.Kf2 Nf5 71.Kf3 Nd4+-+) 66...Kf2 67.Nf6 g3 68.Ne4+=. 65...Ng3 66.Nf6 66.Nxg3 Kxg3 67.Kh1 Kf2-+. 66...Ne2+ 0-1

Order Endgame Corner #152 (Ebook) by Karsten Müller In ChessBase, PGN, and PDF formats. Viewable in Ipad, Itouch, Kindle, ChessBase and other PGN and PDF viewers. All for only .99 cents!! © 2013 Karsten Müller & BrainGamz, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Comment on this month's column via our official Chess Blog!

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Domination Distance

Endgame Corner Karsten Müller

There are many typical configurations, where one piece dominates another. They are very important and can easily be remembered because of their specific geometry. Yet many of them have no name. Johan Hellsten calls such configurations "magic distance" in his excellent recent work Mastering Endgame Strategy (Everyman 2013). I like the idea to coin a term for this important phenomenon, but I like domination distance even more because of the alliteration and the more direct relationship to the domination configurations. I even want to suggest coining more terms in that direction.

Magnus Force (Ebook) by Colin Crouch

A) Knight check shadow The German term Springerschachschatten sounds even better. Translate this page

153.01 Karpov, An (2725) – Ftacnik, L (2590) Thessaloniki (ol), 1988

The Panov-Botvinnik Attack: Move by Move by Lorin D'Costa

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When the king is two squares away from the knight a typical configuration is on the board. As the knight needs at least three moves to give check it sounds good to call it knight check shadow. 84.Rf3+! Kg4 84...Kg2 85.Rc3 Na5 86.Kd5+- (Karpov in Informator 46/38).

The Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Move by Move by Cyrus Lakdawala

US Chess Federation Sales www.uscfsales.com/Shop … Save 10% On Your Next Purchase Over 5,000 Chess Products in Stock [FEN "8/8/8/n2K4/8/2R5/6k1/8 b - - 0 86"]

B) Karpov Distance This typical domination configuration, when the knight is three squares away from the king, could be called Karpov Distance, as Karpov was a real expert in knight hunting. 85.Rd3! Kg5 converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

85.Rd3! Kg5 85...Nb2 86.Rd2+- (Karpov).

Brain Training Games

86.Kd5 Nb6+ 86...Nb2 87.Rd4

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C) Rook in the knight check shadow Now White's rook 87...Kf5 88.Kc6 Ke5 89.Kc5! Ke6 90.Kb4 Kf5 91.Kb3! Ke5 92.Kc3+- (Karpov).

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A very beautiful zugzwang configuration. 87.Ke5 Nc4+ 88.Ke4 Nb6 89.Rd8

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The rook is in the knight check shadow. 89...Nc4 90.Rd4 Nb6 91.Ke5 Nc8 92.Ke6

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Knight check shadow. 92...Na7 93.Kd7 1-0 converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

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And finally Karpov's king is in the Karpov Distance and so Ftacnik resigned. D) Corralling Another very important domination distance is the so called corralling of a knight by a bishop. 153.02 Brunello, S (2587) – Caruana, F (2767) TCh-ITA 2012 Arvier ITA (3), 28.04.2012

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75...Bf4! 76.Nf1 Kg2 0-1

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And White's knight is dominated (corralled) by the black bishop. Exercises (Solutions next month) E153.01 Shabalov, Alexander (2534) – Sargissian, Gabriel (2679) Chicago Open Wheeling (6), 27.05.2012

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How did Black exploit the poor position of White's knight? E153.02 Sponheim, M (2073) – Holm, S (2256) 22nd ZMDI Open 2013 Dresden GER (9.30), 18.08.2013 converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

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White to move and win. E153.03 Kuling, L (2246) – Deviatkin, A (2569) Groningen Open A Groningen NED (1.5), 22.12.2012

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How did Kuling's king save the draw? E153.04 Rosen, E (2280) – Sadorra, J (2483) College Final Four 2013 Rockville USA (2), 06.04.2013

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Black to move and draw. E153.05 Wang, Hao (2731) – Nepomniachtchi, Ian (2733) 73rd Tata Steel GMA Wijk aan Zee NED (2), 16.01.2011

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Black to move and win. E153.06 Tesik, C (2299) – Chernyshov, K (2564) XXX Zalakaros Open Zalakaros HUN (9), 28.05.2011

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How to get rid off the annoying pin? With 70.Nxf7 or with 70.Rxg5+. E153.07 Gopal, G.N (2566) – Vallejo Pons, Francisco (2705) 11th Aeroflot Open A Moscow RUS (7.30), 13.02.2012

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Black to move and win. E153.08 Adams, Michael (2728) – Golod, Vitali (2591) Germany/Bundesliga 2010-2011 Germany (12), 19.03.2011

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White to move and win. E153.09 Hovhannisyan, R (2610) – Vorobiov, E (2598) Chigorin Mem Rapid St Petersburg RUS (7.5), 26.10.2012

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Where shall White's king go? E153.10 Battaglini, Gabriel (2452) – Fressinet, Laurent (2696) Corsica Masters KO 2011 Bastia FRA (1.2), 28.10.2011

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White to move and win.

Order Endgame Corner #153 (Ebook) by Karsten Müller In ChessBase, PGN, and PDF formats. Viewable in Ipad, Itouch, Kindle, ChessBase and other PGN and PDF viewers. All for only .99 cents!! © 2013 Karsten Müller & BrainGamz, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Comment on this month's column via our official Chess Blog!

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Domination Distance, Part Two

Endgame Corner

In this column I present the solutions to last month's exercises and highlight the domination distances on the way. E153.01 Shabalov, Alexander (2534) – Sargissian, Gabriel (2679) Chicago Open Wheeling (6), 27.05.2012 Magnus Force (Ebook) by Colin Crouch

Karsten Müller

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Translate [FEN "8/8/4b3/8/8/p7/1k1K4/2N5 b - - 0 102"]

How did Black exploit the poor position of White's knight? 102...Bc4 0-1

The Panov-Botvinnik Attack: Move by Move by Lorin D'Costa

White resigned as the bishop corrals the knight: 103.Kd1 Kc3 104.Ke1 Kc2-+. E153.02 Sponheim, M (2073) – Holm, S (2256) 22nd ZMDI Open 2013 Dresden GER (9.30), 18.08.2013

The Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Move by Move by Cyrus Lakdawala

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White to move and win. White must separate Black's forces with 82.Ke4! After 82.Ke5? Ke3!, Black's forces can connect; e.g., 83.Rc3+ Kd2 84.Kd4 Na4 85.Ra3 Nb2 86.Ra2 Kc2=.

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82...Ke2 83.Kd4

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Become Ordained Today Free Death Records Search [FEN "8/2R5/1n6/8/3K4/8/4k3/8 b - - 0 83"]

Knight check shadow. 83...Kd2 84.Rb7 1-0 E153.03 Kuling, L (2246) – Deviatkin, A (2569) Groningen Open A Groningen NED (1.5), 22.12.2012

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How did Kuling's king save the draw? Kuling's king saved the day with 80.Kd2!!

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The king dominates the knight with the Karpov distance. However, neither 80.Ke4? Nh4 81.Kd5 Kb4 82.e6 Ng6-+ nor 80.Kd3? Kb3-+. 80...Nf4 80...Kb2 is answered by 81.e6 c4 82.e7 c3+ 83.Kd3 c2 84.e8Q c1Q 85.Qb5+=. 81.Kc3! Kuling's king really works wonders! 81...Ne6 82.Kc4 Ka4 83.Kd5 Kb3 84.Kxe6 c4 85.Kf7 c3 86.e6 c2 87.e7 c1Q 88.e8Q Qc4+ 89.Qe6 Qxe6+ ½-½ E153.04 Rosen, E (2280) – Sadorra, J (2483) College Final Four 2013 Rockville USA (2), 06.04.2013

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Black to move and draw. Black saved himself with 81...Ke5!

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Bodycheck and knight check shadow. 82.Kd7 Kf4 83.Kd6 Kxg3 84.e5 Kf2 85.e6 ½-½ E153.05 Wang, Hao (2731) – Nepomniachtchi, Ian (2733) 73rd Tata Steel GMA Wijk aan Zee NED (2), 16.01.2011

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Black to move and win. Black won with 79...Kd3!

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The king dominates the knight by moving into the knight check shadow and gives a bodycheck. 80.Kb3 Be5 0-1 Black resigned; e.g., 81.Na3 f5 82.Nc4 Bd4 83.Nd6 f4 84.Nf5 f3 85.Ng3 f2 86.Kb4 Be5 87.Nf1 Ke2-+.

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E153.06 Tesik, C (2299) – Chernyshov, K (2564) XXX Zalakaros Open Zalakaros HUN (9), 28.05.2011

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How to get rid off the annoying pin? With 70.Nxf7 or with 70.Rxg5+. 70.Nxf7? runs into a beautiful refutation. 70.Rxg5+!? Kxg5 71.Nxf7+ Kf6 72.Nd6!

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Saves the day as the knight joins forces with its king. (But not 72.Nh6? Ke5! 73.Nf7+ Kd5

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The king moves into the knight check shadow and the dominated steed will be caught sooner or later; e.g., 74.Kb4 Rf8 75.Ng5 Rf5 76.Nh3 Kd4 77.Ng1 Ke3 78.Nh3 Rh5 79.Ng1 Rh1-+) 72...Rc6 73.Nc4=. 70...Rxg8 71.Nh6+ Ke6 72.Nxg8 g4

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A tragicomical picture. White's king is just outside of the square and his knight is just not in time to catch the pawn. 73.Nh6 g3 74.Ng4 g2 0-1

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E153.07 Gopal, G.N (2566) – Vallejo Pons, Francisco (2705) 11th Aeroflot Open A Moscow RUS (7.30), 13.02.2012

[FEN "1N6/4k3/8/6p1/2Pp2p1/8/1K6/8 b - - 0 60"]

Black to move and win. Black wins with 60...Kd6!

[FEN "1N6/8/3k4/6p1/2Pp2p1/8/1K6/8 w - - 0 61"]

Knight check shadow. 61.c5+ Kc7!? 61...Kxc5?! 62.Nd7+ Kb5

[FEN "8/3N4/8/1k4p1/3p2p1/8/1K6/8 w - - 0 63"]

Knight check shadow 63.Ne5 g3 64.Nf3 g2 65.Kc2 Kc4 66.Kd2 g4 67.Ng1 d3-+

[FEN "8/8/8/8/2k3p1/3p4/3K2p1/6N1 w - - 0 68"]

Now the pawns dominate the knight for a change. 62.Na6+ Kc8

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

[FEN "2k5/8/N7/2P3p1/3p2p1/8/1K6/8 w - - 0 63"]

Knight check shadow. 63.Nb4 g3 64.Nd3 g2 0-1 E153.08 Adams, Michael (2728) – Golod, Vitali (2591) Germany/Bundesliga 2010-2011 Germany (12), 19.03.2011

[FEN "8/8/5k2/6p1/3K2P1/7P/1n3B2/8 w - - 0 78"]

White to move and win. 78.Bg1!! The bishop leaves the knight's sphere of influence. 78...Ke6 78...Nd1 79.Kd3 Nb2+ 80.Kc3 Na4+ 81.Kb3+-; 78...Na4 79.Kc4 Ke5 80.Kb3 Kf4 81.Bh2+ Kf3 82.Kxa4 Kg2 83.h4+-. 79.Kc3 Na4+ 79...Nd1+ 80.Kc2+-. 80.Kb3 Kd5 81.Kxa4 Ke4 82.Bh2 Kf3 83.Bd6 Kg2 84.h4 1-0 E153.09 Hovhannisyan, R (2610) – Vorobiov, E (2598) Chigorin Mem Rapid St Petersburg RUS (7.5), 26.10.2012

[FEN "1R6/5p2/2P5/8/3n3k/5K1p/8/8 w - - 0 78"]

Where shall White's king go? 78.Kf4! Ne6+ 78...Nxc6?! 79.Rh8#. 79.Ke3!!

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

[FEN "1R6/5p2/2P1n3/8/7k/4K2p/8/8 b - - 0 79"]

Karpov distance. 79.Ke5? Kg3=. 79...h2 79...Kg3 80.Rg8+ Kh2 (80...Kh4 81.Kf2+-) 81.Kf2 Kh1 can even be met by 82.c7 Nxc7 83.Rc8 Ne6 84.Kg3+-. 80.Kf2 Kg4 A second knight also brings no rescue: 80...h1N+ 81.Kg2 Ng3 82.Rb4+ Kg5 83.Kxg3 Kf6 84.Rb7 Nd8 85.c7 Nxb7 86.c8Q+-; 80...Kh3 81.Rb3+ Kg4 82.Kg2 Kf5 83.Rb7+-; 80...Nf4 81.Rh8+ Kg4 82.c7 Nh3+ 83.Rxh3 Kxh3 84.c8Q++-. 81.Kg2 Kf4 82.Rb7 Nd8 82...Ke5 83.c7+-. 83.c7 1-0 E153.10 Battaglini, Gabriel (2452) – Fressinet, Laurent (2696) Corsica Masters KO 2011 Bastia FRA (1.2), 28.10.2011

[FEN "8/4k3/8/n2B1p2/5P2/2P1K3/8/8 w - - 0 51"]

White to move and win. In the fight of bishop against knight zugzwang and dominance often play a crucial role. 51.Kd4? Walks onto the mined square. Tiptoeing around it with 51.Kd3! wins: 51...Kd7 (51...Kd6 52.Kd4+- Zugzwang) 52.Kc2 Kd6 53.c4 Nc6 (53...Kc5 54.Kc3 Kb6 55.Kb4+-) 54.Bxc6 Kxc6 55.Kc3 Kc5 56.Kd3 Kc6 57.Kd4 Kd6 58.c5+ Kc6 59.Kc4 Kd7 60.Kd5 Kc7 61.Ke5+-. 51...Kd6 Reciprocal zugzwang with White to move. 52.Bg8 52.c4 opens the cage and allows a blockade on the dark squares: 52...Nb3+ 53.Kc3 Nc5 54.Kb4?! Nd3+=. 52...Nc6+ 53.Kc4 Ne7 54.Bh7 54.Bf7 Kc6 55.Kd4 Kd6 56.Be8 Nd5=. 54...Kc6

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

[FEN "8/4n2B/2k5/5p2/2K2P2/2P5/8/8 w - - 0 55"]

Now the knight dominates the bishop, which occurs only very seldom. 55.Kd4 Kd6 56.c4 Nc6+ 57.Kc3 Ne7 58.Kd4 58.Kb4 Kc6 59.c5 Nd5+=. 58...Nc6+ 59.Kc3 Ne7 60.Kd4 Nc6+ ½-½

Order Endgame Corner #154 (Ebook) by Karsten Müller In ChessBase, PGN, and PDF formats. Viewable in Ipad, Itouch, Kindle, ChessBase and other PGN and PDF viewers. All for only .99 cents!! © 2014 Karsten Müller & BrainGamz, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Comment on this month's column via our official Chess Blog!

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Endgame Corner

 

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Knights and Knightmares

Endgame Corner

The knight is a tactical piece, so concrete calculation is often called for to avoid unpleasant surprises. A) Morozevich's Miracle

Karsten Müller

A rook is usually much stronger than a knight in a pure endgame.



Grandmaster Preparation:

Endgame Play by Jacob Aagaard

155.01 Morozevich, Alexander (2727) – Van Kampen, Robin (2618)

19th European Teams Warsaw POL (8.3), 16.11.2013

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Grandmaster Preparation:

Attack & Defence by Jacob Aagaard



[FEN "8/1k2N3/8/6P1/2p5/6K1/8/r7 w - - 0 50"]

50.Nf5!?



The best chance to fight, as 50.g6?! runs into the direct 50...c3 51.g7 c2 52.g8Q Rg1+ 53.Kf2 Rxg8 54.Nxg8 c1Q-+. 50...c3 51.Ne3



Nimzowitsch: Move by Move by Steve Giddins

[FEN "8/1k6/8/6P1/8/2p1N1K1/8/r7 b - - 0 51"]

51...Rg1+?! 51...Ra2!? is much easier; e.g., 52.g6 c2 53.Nxc2 Rxc2 54.Kf4 Kc7 55.Ke5 Kd7 56.g7 Rg2 57.Kf6 Ke8-+. 52.Kf4 Kc6 53.Kf5 Kd6 54.g6 Rg3!

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Endgame Corner

[FEN "8/8/3k2P1/5K2/8/2p1N1r1/8/8 w - - 0 55"]

55.Nc2 55.Ke4 is met by 55...Kc5 56.Kd3 c2 57.Kd2 Rxe3-+, and 55.Kf4 by

55...Rxg6-+. 55...Rg2! 56.Ne3 56.Nb4!? is more tricky: A) 56...c2? is met by 57.Nxc2=. B) and 56...Ke7?? runs into 57.Nd5+=. C) 56...Kc5 works as well: 57.Nd3+ Kd4 58.Nc1 c2 59.Kf6

[FEN "8/8/5KP1/8/3k4/8/2p3r1/2N5 b - - 0 59"]

And now 59...Rg1 60.Ne2+ (60.g7 Rxc1 61.g8Q Rf1+ 62.Ke6 c1Q-+; 60.Na2

Ra1 61.g7 Rxa2 62.g8Q Ra6+ 63.Kf5 Ra5+ 64.Ke6 Re5+ 65.Kf6 c1Q-+)

60...Ke3 61.Nxg1 c1Q 62.g7 Qxg1-+. D) 56...Kd7 57.Kf6 c2

[FEN "8/3k4/5KP1/8/1N6/8/2p3r1/8 w - - 0 58"]

White is defenseless because of 58.Nxc2 (58.Nd3 Rg3 59.g7 Rxd3 60.g8Q

Rd6+! 61.Ke5 c1Q-+) 58...Rf2+! (58...Rxc2? 59.g7=) 59.Kg5 Rxc2 60.g7

Rg2+ 61.Kf6 Ke8-+; 56.g7?! Rxg7 57.Ke4 Kc5 58.Kd3 Rg3+-+. 56...Rf2+ 56...c2? is met by 57.Nxc2!!

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Endgame Corner

[FEN "8/8/3k2P1/5K2/8/8/2N3r1/8 b - - 0 57"]

And now either a body-check or an underpromotion follows: 57...Rf2+

(57...Rxc2 58.g7 Rg2 59.Kf6= Body-check!) 58.Kg5 Rxc2 59.g7 Ke7

60.g8N+=. 57.Ke4

[FEN "8/8/3k2P1/8/4K3/2p1N3/5r2/8 b - - 0 57"]

57...Ke6? White's passed pawn is not really dangerous anyway, so 57...c2! was called for: 58.g7 c1Q 59.g8Q

[FEN "6Q1/8/3k4/8/4K3/4N3/5r2/2q5 b - - 0 59"]

59...Qb1+! 60.Kd4 Rd2+-+ and Black wins the fourth phase of the game, as given in Chess Today #4758. 58.g7 Kf7 59.Kd3 Rf3 60.Kd4 Kxg7

[FEN "8/6k1/8/8/3K4/2p1Nr2/8/8 w - - 0 61"]

61.Nc2 The miracle has occurred. Black cannot free his rook, as he has to keep his c3pawn. 61.Kd3?? runs into 61...c2 62.Kd2 Rxe3-+.

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Endgame Corner

61...Kf6 62.Kc4 Ke5 63.Nb4 Ke4 64.Nc2 Rh3 64...Kf4 65.Nd4 Kg3 66.Ne2+= (However, not 66.Nxf3?? c2-+). 65.Nb4 Rg3 66.Nc2! 66.Kb3? Kd4 67.Na2 Rg2 68.Nxc3 Rg3-+. 66...Rf3 67.Nb4 Kf5 68.Nc2 Kg4 69.Nd4 Rg3 69...Rh3 70.Kb3 Kf4

[FEN "8/8/8/8/3N1k2/1Kp4r/8/8 w - - 0 71"]

This is met by 71.Kc2 (Of course not 71.Ne2+? Ke3 72.Nxc3 Kd4-+) 71...Ke4 72.Nb5=. 70.Kb3 Re3 71.Nb5 Kf4 72.Nxc3 Ke5 73.Kc4 Rh3 74.Nb5 Rh8 75.Nc3 Rc8+ 76.Kd3 Rd8+ 77.Kc4 Rd4+ 78.Kc5 Rd3 79.Kc4 Rxc3+ 80.Kxc3 ½-½ Morozevich certainly knew the following famous classic. 155.02 Lasker, Emanuel – Lasker, Edward

New York (6), 23.03.1924

[FEN "8/8/8/8/NK3k2/1p4r1/8/8 w - - 0 93"]

The knight can even draw against a knight's pawn. 93.Nb2 Ke4 94.Na4 Kd4 95.Nb2 Rf3

[FEN "8/8/8/8/1K1k4/1p3r2/1N6/8 w - - 0 96"]

96.Na4! 96.Nd1? Kd3 97.Kxb3 Kd2+-+. 96...Re3 97.Nb2 Ke4 98.Na4 Kf3 99.Ka3 Ke4 100.Kb4 Kd4 100...Kf3 101.Ka3 Ke2 102.Kb2 Kd2 103.Nc5 Re5 104.Nxb3+=. 101.Nb2 Rh3 102.Na4! Kd3 103.Kxb3 Kd4+ ½-½ B) Maxime's Miracle

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Endgame Corner

In endgames with rook and knight against rook and knight usually a slight initiative weighs heavily. 155.03 Kramnik, Vladimir (2784) – Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime (2719)

WorldCup 2013 (47.2), 27.08.2013

[FEN "1R3Nk1/5np1/8/6PP/8/6K1/8/7r b - - 0 57"]

57...Rg1+! The first check is right, as 57...Rxh5? 58.g6+- and 57...Nd6? 58.g6 Rg1+ 59.Kh2 Rc1 60.Ne6+ Rc8 61.Rb6 Nf5 62.Rb7 Re8 63.Kg2 Kh8 64.Kf3 Nd6

65.Rf7+- are both insufficient. 58.Kf4 The best try, as 58.Kf2?! runs into 58...Rxg5 59.Ne6+ Kh7 60.Nxg5+ Nxg5 61.Kg3 (61.Rb6 Ne4+ 62.Kf3 Nf6=) 61...Ne4+ 62.Kh4 Nf6 63.Kg5 Ne4+=. 58...Rf1+? But the second check is wrong, as the checks will run out soon. The only defense is 58...Nd6! 59.Ng6+ (59.Ke5 can even be met by

59...Rxg5+ 60.Kxd6 Rxh5 61.Ne6+ Kh7=) 59...Kf7 60.Ne5+ Ke6 61.Nf3 Ra1 62.Rb4 Ke7 when Black should be able to hold. 59.Ke3 g6 59...Nd8 60.Ne6 Re1+ 61.Kf4 Rxe6 62.Rxd8+ Kf7 63.g6+ Ke7 64.Rg8 Kf6

65.Rf8+ Ke7 66.Rf7++-; 59...Re1+ 60.Kf2 Rd1 61.Nd7++-. 60.hxg6! The right capture, as 60.Nxg6+? is met by 60...Kg7 61.Rb7 Rg1 A) 62.Kf4 Rf1+ 63.Ke4 Kg8=. B) 62.Nf4 Rg3+ 63.Kd4 (63.Ke4 Rxg5 64.Ne6+ Kf6 65.Nxg5 Nd6+=) 63...Rxg5 64.Ne6+ Kh6 65.Nxg5 Nxg5=. C) 62.Ne5 Rxg5 63.Rxf7+ (63.h6+ Kf6 64.Nxf7 Rh5=; 63.Nxf7 Rxh5=)

63...Kh6 64.Kf4 Rxh5=. 60...Kg7 60...Nd8 61.Nd7 (Of course not 61.Rxd8?? Rxf8 62.Rxf8+ Kxf8 63.Kf4 Kg7 64.Kf5 Kg8!=) 61...Kg7 62.Rxd8 Kxg6 63.Rg8+ Kh7 64.Rf8 Rxf8 65.Nxf8+

Kg7 66.Ne6+ Kg6 67.Kf4+-. 61.gxf7 Kxf7

[FEN "1R3N2/5k2/8/6P1/8/4K3/8/5r2 w - - 0 62"]

62.Ke4?

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Endgame Corner

Now White's pieces are too clumsily placed and Kramnik's king has no good shelter. Thus, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave can make a Houdini-like escape. Surprisingly the only move to win for White is 62.Nd7! Rf5 63.Rf8+ Kg6 64.Rg8+ Kf7

[FEN "6R1/3N1k2/8/5rP1/8/4K3/8/8 w - - 0 65"]

65.Ke4! The point, which was missed by Kramnik. 65...Ra5 66.Rf8+!? The smooth solution. (In this position the clumsy 66.Nf6 wins as well, e.g. 66...Ra1 67.Rd8 Kg6 68.Rd5 Re1+ 69.Kf4 Rf1+ 70.Ke3 Re1+ 71.Kf2 Ra1

72.Ne4+-) A) 66...Ke7 67.g6 Kxd7 (67...Rg5 68.Rf7+ Ke8 69.Nf6+ Kd8 70.g7+-) 68.g7+-. B) 66...Kg7 67.Kf4 Rd5 68.Nf6 Rxg5 (68...Rd4+ 69.Ke5 Kxf8 70.Kxd4+-) 69.Rg8+ Kxf6 70.Rxg5+-. C) 66...Kg6 67.Ne5+!! Kxg5 68.Rf5+ Kh6 (68...Kh4 69.Nf3++-) 69.Nf7+ Kg6 70.Rxa5+- (Heimers). 62...Re1+ 63.Kf3 Rf1+ 64.Kg3 Rg1+ 65.Kf4 Rf1+ 66.Ke3 Re1+ 67.Kf3 Rf1+ 68.Kg2 Rf5 69.Nh7 Kg6 70.Rb7

[FEN "8/1R5N/6k1/5rP1/8/8/6K1/8 b - - 0 70"]

70...Rf4 Of course not 70...Rf7?? 71.Rxf7 Kxf7 72.Nf6 Kg6 73.Ne4+-. 71.Kg3 Ra4 72.Re7 Rg4+ 73.Kf3 73.Kxg4?! stalemate. 73...Ra4 74.Rb7 Rh4 75.Nf6 Kxg5 76.Ne4+ Kf5 77.Re7 Rh8 78.Ke3 Rd8

79.Rf7+ Ke6 80.Rh7 Rd1 81.Nc5+ Kf5 82.Rf7+ Ke5 83.Nd3+ Ke6 83...Kd5?? runs into 84.Rd7+ Kc6 (84...Ke6 85.Nc5++-; 84...Kc4 85.Ne5++-) 85.Ne5++-. 84.Ra7 Rh1 85.Ke4 Rh4+ 86.Nf4+ Kd6 87.Ra6+ Kc5 88.Rg6 Kc4 89.Rc6+ Kb5 90.Rc1 Rh8 91.Ke5 Rh4 92.Rc8 Rh1 93.Ne6 Rh5+ 94.Kd6 Rh6 95.Rc1 Kb4 96.Kd5 Rh5+ 97.Ke4 Rh4+ 98.Nf4 Kb5 99.Ke5 Rh8 100.Rc2 Rh4 101.Rf2 Kc4 102.Ke4 Rh8 103.Rc2+ Kb5 104.Ng6 Rh1 105.Ne5 Re1+ 106.Kd4 Rd1+ 107.Nd3 Kb6 108.Rc3 Rb1 109.Kd5 Rb5+ 110.Nc5 Rb1 111.Nd7+ Kb5 112.Rd3 Rb4 113.Ne5 Rb1 114.Nc4 Kb4 115.Nd2 Rb2 116.Kc6 Rc2+ 117.Kb6 Rb2 118.Kc6 Rc2+ 119.Kb7 Rc3 120.Rd8 Rc5 121.Ne4 Rc4 122.Re8 Rc2 123.Kb6 Re2 124.Kc6 Re1 125.Nd6 ½-½ C) Knight Forks and Knightmares With a dangerous passed pawn, promotion combinations often occur.

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Endgame Corner

155.04 Rudolf, Anna (2281) – Kristinardottir, Elsa Maria (1819)

10th European Teams w Warsaw POL (2.9), 09.11.2013

[FEN "8/4N3/p7/P3np2/1P1K1pkp/

8/7P/8 b - - 0 45"]

45...f3!! A very strong push of the passed pawn. 45...Nf3+?! wins as well, but is much more complicated: A) 46.Kc5 Nxh2 47.b5 axb5 48.Nd5 (48.a6 f3 49.a7 f2 50.a8Q f1Q-+) 48...f3 49.a6 f2 50.a7 f4 51.a8Q f1Q-+. B) 46.Kc3 Nxh2 47.b5 axb5 48.Nd5 f3 49.Ne3+ (49.a6 f2 50.a7 f4 51.a8Q

f1Q-+) 49...Kf4 50.Kd2 f2 51.a6

[FEN "8/8/P7/1p3p2/5k1p/4N3/

3K1p1n/8 b - - 0 51"]

B1) Of course not 51...f1Q?? 52.Nxf1 Nxf1+ 53.Ke1 Ng3 (53...h3? 54.Kxf1 h2 55.Kg2+- even backfires completely.) 54.a7 h3 55.a8Q h2=. B2) 51...Ng4! 52.Nf1 Ne5 53.a7 Nc4+ 54.Ke2 Nb6 55.Ne3 Ke4-+. 46.Kxe5 46.Ke3 also does not defend; e.g., 46...f4+ 47.Kf2 Nd3+ 48.Kg1 Nxb4 49.Kf2 Nd3+ 50.Kg1 Ne5 51.Nd5 h3 52.Nc3 f2+ 53.Kxf2 Nf3 54.Nd5 Nxh2 55.Nb4 Kf5 56.Nxa6 Ng4+ 57.Kg1 f3 58.Nc5 h2+ 59.Kh1 f2-+. 46...f2?? Black rushes and overlooks the coming knight fork. A real knightmare. After 46...f4!!, there is no way to stop the forward f-pawn:

[FEN "8/4N3/p7/P3K3/1P3pkp/5p2/

7P/8 w - - 0 47"]

47.b5 (47.h3+ Kxh3 48.Kxf4 f2-+) 47...f2 48.bxa6 f1Q 49.a7 Qa6-+. 47.Nxf5!

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Endgame Corner

[FEN "8/8/p7/P3KN2/1P4kp/8/5p1P/8 b - - 0 47"]

Of course not 47.Nd5?? f4-+. 47...Kh3 47...f1N does not help because of 48.b5 Nxh2 49.bxa6 Nf3+ 50.Kf6 h3 51.a7 h2 52.a8Q h1Q 53.Qg8+ Kf4 54.Qc4+ Nd4 55.Qxd4+ Kf3 56.Qd5++-;

47...f1Q 48.Ne3+ Kh3 49.Nxf1+-. 47...Kf3 is met by 48.Nxh4+ Kg4 49.Nf5 Kf3 50.Ng3+-. 48.Ne3 Kxh2 49.Kf4 The direct breakthrough 49.b5 wins as well. 49...h3 50.Kg4 1-0 D) The Breakthrough One method to break a fortress is the creation of a passed pawn. 155.05 Schnegg, Anna Lena (2076) – Sikorova, Olga (2278)

10th European Teams w Warsaw POL (2.13), 09.11.2013

[FEN "8/8/8/7N/3n1pp1/5kPp/7P/5K2 b - - 0 74"]

74...Nf5? The direct way does not work as White can sacrifice her knight. 74...Ke4!! wins, as Black can always create at least one dangerous passed pawn: A) 75.gxf4 Nf3 76.Kf2 Nxh2 77.Kg3 Nf1+ 78.Kxg4 h2-+. B) 75.Kg1 Nf3+ 76.Kh1 Nxh2 77.Kxh2 f3 78.Kg1 Kd3! 79.Nf6 (79.Nf4+ Kd2 80.Nd5 Ke1 81.Ne3 f2+-+) 79...h2+ 80.Kxh2 f2 81.Kg2 Ke2-+. C) 75.Nxf4 Nf3 76.Kf2 Nxh2

[FEN "8/8/8/8/4kNp1/6Pp/5K1n/8 w - - 0 77"]

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Endgame Corner

In the next step Black's king wants to invade to f3 or f2. This cannot be prevented in the long run, as the passed pawn h3 is very dangerous: 77.Nh5 Kf5 78.Nf4 Ke5 79.Nd3+ Ke4 80.Nc5+ Kf5 81.Nb7 Nf3 82.Nd6+ Ke5 83.Nc4+ Kd4 84.Nd6 Ne5 85.Nf5+ Ke4 86.Nd6+ Kd5 87.Nf5 Nd3+ 88.Kg1 Ke4 89.Nd6+ Kf3 90.Nf5 Ne5 91.Kh2 Nc4 92.Kg1 Nd2 93.Kh2 Kf2 94.Kh1 Nf1-+. 75.gxf4 75.Nxf4? Nxg3+ 76.hxg3 h2-+. 75...g3

[FEN "8/8/8/5n1N/5P2/5kpp/7P/5K2 w - - 0 76"]

76.hxg3? The wrong capture. 76.Nxg3! Nxg3+ 77.Kg1! leads to a fortress; e.g., 77...Ne2+ 78.Kh1 Nxf4 79.Kg1 Ne2+

[FEN "8/8/8/8/8/5k1p/4n2P/6K1 w - - 0 80"]

80.Kh1!= (However, not 80.Kf1? Ke3 81.Ke1 Ng3 82.Kd1 Nf1 83.Ke1 Nxh2

84.Kd1 Nf3-+). 76...h2 0-1 Exercises (Solutions next month) E155.01 Agopov, Mikael (2435) – Arnaudov, Petar G (2448)

19th European Teams Warsaw POL (3.15), 10.11.2013

[FEN "3r3k/6bp/6p1/8/1BP1npP1/

7P/7K/1R1B4 b - - 0 47"]

How to continue Black's initiative? E155.02 Varley, Peter (2251) – Sipila, Vilka (2463)

19th European Teams Warsaw POL (7.18), 15.11.2013

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Endgame Corner

[FEN "8/3k3p/6p1/1P1b4/p2p3P/

B2B1PP1/6K1/3n4 b - - 0 44"]

Is Black's knight the best or worst minor piece on the board? Black is to move.

Order Endgame Corner #155 (Ebook)

by Karsten Müller In ChessBase, PGN, and PDF formats. Viewable in Ipad, Itouch, Kindle, ChessBase and other PGN and PDF viewers.

All for only .99 cents!! © 2014 Karsten Müller & BrainGamz, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Comment on this month's column via our official Chess Blog!



   



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The Sharp Endgame Weapon Zugzwang Ordinarily pure opposite-colored bishop endings have a very large drawish tendency, but in chess there is no rule without exceptions. I want to highlight one attacking method in particular:

Endgame Corner

156.01 J.Nunn



Grandmaster Preparation:

Endgame Play by Jacob Aagaard

Karsten Müller

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[FEN "8/2k5/2P1K3/6p1/5p2/2b2B1P/6P1/8 b - - 0 1"]

The position is based on an endgame, which John Nunn played in a simultaneous display in 1977. He analyzes it in detail in his excellent Secrets of Practical Chess, 2nd edition, Gambit 2007 and I use his analysis in the following:



Young Najdorf by T. Lissowski

1...Be1 2.Kf6 Bh4 3.Kf5 Kd6





Yelena Dembo's Chess Quiz:

Bishop Endings 1 by Yelena Dembo

[FEN "8/8/2Pk4/5Kp1/5p1b/5B1P/6P1/8 w - - 0 4"]

4.g3!! fxg3 4...Bxg3 is met by 5.Kxg5 Be1 A) Of course not 6.Kxf4? Ke7 7.Kg5 (7.c7 Kd7=) 7...Bg3 8.h4 Kf7 9.h5 Kg7=. B) 6.h4 Ke7 7.h5 Ba5 8.Kg6 Kf8

[FEN "5k2/8/2P3K1/b6P/5p2/5B2/8/8 w - - 0 9"]

And now 9.Bd5! f3 10.h6 f2 11.h7 f1Q 12.h8Q+ Ke7 13.Qe5+ Kf8 14.Qd6+ Ke8 15.Qd7+ Kf8 16.Qg7+ Ke8 17.Bf7+ Kd8

[FEN "3k4/5BQ1/2P3K1/b7/8/8/8/5q2 w - - 0 18"]

18.c7+! Bxc7 19.Qf8+ Kd7 20.Be8++-. 5.Bg2

[FEN "8/8/2Pk4/5Kp1/7b/6pP/6B1/8 b - - 0 5"]

Black is in fatal zugzwang. 5...Kc7 6.Ke5 Again zugzwang is used to force a concession. 6...g4 6...Kc8 7.Kd6 Kd8 8.c7+ Kc8 9.Bd5 g2 10.Kc6 g1Q 11.Be6#. 7.hxg4+Magnus Carlsen also uses this sharp weapon successfully in the

following example: 156.02 Carlsen, Magnus (2775) – Pelletier, Yannick (2569)

41st Biel GM (1), 20.07.2008

[FEN "5k2/8/1p4p1/2p2p2/P1B2P1P/

1P1K2P1/1b6/8 w - - 0 50"]

First he invades with his king. 50.Bd5 Ba3 51.Kc4 Bb4 52.Kb5 Ba5 53.Bc4

[FEN "5k2/8/1p4p1/bKp2p2/P1B2P1P/

1P4P1/8/8 b - - 0 53"]

Now Black has to be very careful to avoid falling into zugzwang. 53...Ke7? The wrong direction. After 53...Kg7!, White cannot win: 54.Kc6 Kh6 55.Be2 Kg7 56.h5 gxh5 57.Bxh5 Kf6 58.Be2 Ke6 59.Bd3 Kf6=. 54.Kc6 Kf6 55.Bd3

[FEN "8/8/1pK2kp1/b1p2p2/P4P1P/

1P1B2P1/8/8 b - - 0 55"]

Zugzwang. Whatever Black does Magnus Carlsen will undermine his kingside. 55...Kf7?! 55...Ke6 is met by 56.g4! fxg4 (56...Kf6 57.gxf5 gxf5 58.h5 Ke6 59.h6 Kf6 60.Bxf5+-) 57.Bxg6 Kf6 (57...Bd2 58.Kxb6 Bxf4 59.Kxc5 g3 60.Be4+-) 58.Be4

[FEN "8/8/1pK2k2/b1p5/P3BPpP/1P6/

8/8 b - - 0 58"]

Black falls into zugzwang time and again: 58...Kg7 59.Kb5 Kf6 60.h5 g3 61.Kc6 Kg7 62.f5 Kg8 63.Bd5+ Kg7 64.Kb5 Kf6 65.h6+-. 56.h5! gxh5 56...Kg7 57.hxg6 Kxg6 58.g4 Kf6 59.Bxf5+-. 57.Bxf5 Kf6 57...Be1 58.Kxb6 Bxg3 (58...Bf2 59.Kb5 Ke7 60.a5 Kd6 61.a6 Kc7 62.Be4 Kb8 63.Bf3 Ka7 64.Bxh5 Bxg3 65.f5+-) 59.a5 Bxf4 60.a6 Be3 61.Kc6 c4 62.bxc4 Ba7 63.Kb7 Be3 64.a7 Bxa7 65.Kxa7+-. 58.Be4 Kg7 (58...Ke6 59.Bg6+-) 59.Bf3 Kh6 60.Kb5 Kg6 61.Bd1 Kh6 62.Be2 Kg6 63.Bf3 Kh6 64.Bc6 1-0 Black resigned because of the following line: 64...Kg7 64...Kg6 65.Be8+ Kf5 66.Bxh5 Ke4 67.Kc6 Kf5 (67...Kd4 68.Bf7 Ke4 69.Bd5+ Kd4 70.g4+-) 68.Bf3 Kf6 69.g4+65.Be8 Kh6 66.Bf7

[FEN "8/5B2/1p5k/bKp4p/P4P2/1P4P1/

8/8 b - - 0 66"]

Decisive zugzwang 66...Kg7 (66...h4 67.gxh4+-) 67.Bxh5 Kf6 68.g4 Ke6 69.Bg6 Kd6 70.f5 Kc7 71.f6 Bc3 72.f7 Bg7 73.g5 Bf8 74.Be4 Bg7 75.Bc6 Bf8 76.g6 Bg7 77.a5 bxa5 78.Kxc5 Kd8 79.Kb5+-. The final example is more complicated. 156.03 Kryvoruchko, Yuriy (2701) – Esen, Baris (2565)

World Teams 2013 Antalya TUR (5.2), 30.11.2013

[FEN "5k2/7p/1p2Bp2/p1pPq1p1/2Pb4/

1P3QP1/P5KP/8 b - - 0 37"]

37...Qe3? Without queens White's king can penetrate with decisive effect. After 37...Kg7, Black's blockade cannot be broken. 38.Qxe3 Bxe3 39.d6!

[FEN "5k2/7p/1p1PBp2/p1p3p1/2P5/

1P2b1P1/P5KP/8 b - - 0 39"]

This advance opens the road. 39...Bd4 39...h5 40.Kf3 Bg1 41.h3 Ke8 (41...Bd4 42.Ke4 Be5 43.Kd5 Bxg3 44.Kc6 Ke8 45.d7+ Kd8 46.Kxb6 g4 47.hxg4 h4 48.g5 fxg5 49.Kxa5+-) 42.Ke4 Bh2 43.Kd5 Bxg3 44.Kc6 Kd8 45.d7 Bc7 46.Bf5 g4 47.hxg4 h4 48.g5 fxg5 49.Bg4+-

[FEN "3k4/2bP4/1pK5/p1p3p1/2P3Bp/

1P6/P7/8 b - - 0 49"]

Even Black's extra pawn does not save him because of the fatal

zugzwang. 39...Ke8 is met by 40.Kf3 Bg1 41.h3 h5 42.Ke4 Bh2 43.Kd5 Bxg3 44.Kc6 Kd8 45.d7 Bc7 46.Bf5

[FEN "3k4/2bP4/1pK2p2/p1p2Bpp/2P5/1P5P/P7/8 b - - 0 46"]

Zugzwang 46...g4 47.hxg4 h4 48.g5 fxg5 49.Bg4 Be5 50.Kxb6 Bc3 51.Kxc5 Kc7 52.Kb5 Bb4 53.Ka4 Kd8 54.a3 Bc3 55.c5 Kc7 56.b4+-. 40.Kf3 Be5 40...h5 41.Ke4 Bg1 42.g4 hxg4 43.Bxg4 Bxh2 44.Kd5 Ke8 45.Kc6 Kd8 46.d7 Bc7 47.a4 Bf4 48.Kxb6 Bd2 49.Kxc5 Kc7 50.Kd5 Bb4 51.c5 Be1 52.c6 Bf2 53.Kc4 Be1 54.Kb5 Bb4 55.d8Q+ Kxd8 56.Kb6 Bd6 57.Kb7 Bc7 58.Bf5 Be5 59.b4+-. 41.d7 Ke7 42.Ke4 Kd8 42...h5 43.Kd5 h4 44.gxh4 gxh4 45.Kc6 Kd8 46.h3 Bc7 47.Bf5+-. 43.Kd5 Kc7 44.Bg4 h6 44...a4 45.bxa4 A) 45...Bc3 46.Bf5 h6 (46...h5 47.Ke6 Kd8 48.Kd6 h4 49.Kc6 Ba5 50.gxh4 gxh4 51.h3+-) 47.Ke6 Kd8 48.Kd6 h5 49.Kc6 Ba5 50.h3 Ke7 51.g4 hxg4 52.hxg4 Kd8 53.Kb7+-. B) 45...h6 White can blow open the door with 46.d8Q+ Kxd8 47.Kc6 Bc7 (47...h5 48.Bf5+-) 48.Bf5

[FEN "3k4/2b5/1pK2p1p/2p2Bp1/P1P5/

6P1/P6P/8 b - - 0 48"]

to use zugzwang again and again: 48...h5 49.Kb7 h4 50.gxh4 gxh4 51.h3 Be5 52.Kxb6 Bc7+ 53.Kc6 Ba5 54.Kb5 Bd2 55.Kb6 Bf4 56.a5 Bc7+ 57.Kb5 Bb8 58.Kc6+-. 44...h5 45.Ke6 Kd8 46.Bxh5+-. 45.Ke6 Kd8 (45...a4?? 46.Ke7+-) 46.a4 Bd4 46...Bb8 47.Kd5 Kc7 48.Bh3 h5 49.Bf5 Kd8 50.Kc6 Bc7 51.Kb7 h4 52.gxh4 gxh4 53.h3+-; 46...Bc7 47.Kd5+-. 47.Kd6

[FEN "3k4/3P4/1p1K1p1p/p1p3p1/

P1Pb2B1/1P4P1/7P/8 b - - 0 47"]

White's king crosses over to the queenside to win the pawn b6 first. Afterward the sharp endgame weapon zugzwang will decide the day. 47...Bg1 47...h5 48.Bxh5 f5 49.Bg6 f4 50.gxf4 gxf4 51.Be4 Bf6 52.Bf3 Bh4 53.Kc6 Be1 54.Bg4+-. 48.h4! gxh4 48...Bf2 49.h5! Bxg3+ 50.Kc6 Bc7 51.Bf5 Be5 52.Kxb6 Bc3 53.Kxc5 Kc7 54.Kd5+- (Baburin in Chess Today 4771). 48...h5 49.Bxh5 Bf2 50.hxg5 Bxg3+ 51.Kc6 fxg5 52.Bg4+- This wins analogously to the game as White's bishop has everything under control on the h3-c8 diagonal. 49.gxh4 h5 49...f5 50.Bxf5 h5 51.Kc6 Bf2 52.Kxb6 Bxh4 53.Kxa5 Kc7 54.Kb5 Be7 55.a5 Kb7 56.Bh3 h4 57.a6+ Ka7 58.Bg2 Kb8 59.Kb6 Bd8+ 60.Kxc5+-. 50.Bxh5 Bf2 51.Bg6 Bxh4 52.Bf5

[FEN "3k4/3P4/1p1K1p2/p1p2B2/P1P4b/

1P6/8/8 b - - 0 52"]

The bishop controls everything on one and the same diagonal. An

important principle in bishop endings. 52...Be1 52...Bg3+ 53.Kc6 Bc7 54.Kb7+-. 53.Kc6 Bd2 54.Kxb6 Bb4 55.Kb7 Bd2 56.Kc6 Bb4 57.Kb6

[FEN "3k4/3P4/1K3p2/p1p2B2/PbP5/

1P6/8/8 b - - 0 57"]

The king puts Black in fatal zugzwang. 57...Bd2 57...Ke7?! 58.Kc7+-; 57...Ba3?! 58.Kxa5 Kc7 59.Kb5 Bb4 60.a5+-. 58.Kxc5 Kc7 59.Kb5 Be1 60.c5 Bd2 61.c6 Be1

[FEN "8/2kP4/2P2p2/pK3B2/P7/1P6/

8/4b3 w - - 0 62"]

62.d8Q+ The d-pawn is less important than breaking Black's blockade. 62...Kxd8 63.Kb6 Bf2+ 64.Kb7!? The following breakthrough wins beautifully. The greedy 64.Kxa5 works as well. 64...Bg3 65.b4 1-0

[FEN "3k4/1K6/2P2p2/p4B2/PP6/

6b1/8/8 b - - 0 65"]

Black resigned because of 65...axb4 (65...Bc7 66.b5+-) 66.a5 b3 67.a6 b2 68.a7 b1Q+ 69.Bxb1+-. Solutions to last month exercises A) Arnaudov's Attack

Mating attacks do occur in the endgame. E155.01 Agopov, Mikael (2435) – Arnaudov, Petar G (2448)

19th European Teams Warsaw POL (3.15), 10.11.2013

[FEN "3r3k/6bp/6p1/8/1BP1npP1/

7P/7K/1R1B4 b - - 0 47"]

How to continue Black's initiative? 47...Bc3! And White is defenseless against the coming invasion of Black's rook. 48.Bf3 48.Bxc3+ Nxc3 49.Rc1 Rd2+ 50.Kg1 Nxd1 51.c5 f3 52.c6 Rg2+ 53.Kf1 Ne3+ 54.Ke1 Re2#. 48.c5 Rd2+ 49.Kg1 Bxb4 50.Rxb4 Rxd1+-+. 48...Rd2+ 49.Kh1 49.Bg2 is met by 49...Bxb4 50.Rxb4 f3-+. 49...Ng3+ 50.Kg1 Bd4# 0-1 B) Sipila's Strong Shot Black must get his passed pawns going quickly or White's bishops will secure the draw. E155.02 Varley, Peter (2251) – Sipila, Vilka (2463)

19th European Teams Warsaw POL (7.18), 15.11.2013

[FEN "8/3k3p/6p1/1P1b4/p2p3P/

B2B1PP1/6K1/3n4 b - - 0 44"]

Is Black's knight the best or worst minor piece on the board? Black is to move. 44...Bc4!! The right way to break White's blockade. The immediate 44...Ne3+? allows White's king to join the blockading forces: 45.Kf2 Bc4 46.Be4 Bxb5 47.Bc5 Nd1+

48.Ke1 Nc3 49.Kd2 Nxe4+ 50.fxe4 d3 51.g4 Ke6 52.g5 Ke5 53.Ke3=. 44...Kc7? 45.Bc5 Nb2 46.Be4 Bxe4 47.Bxd4 Bd5 48.Bxb2 Kb6 49.Kf2 Kxb5 50.Ke3=. 45.Bxc4 45.Be4 Bxb5

[FEN "8/3k3p/6p1/1b6/p2pB2P/B4PP1/

6K1/3n4 w - - 0 46"]

White's king needs too much time because of the cut off: 46.f4 d3

47.Kf3 Nc3 48.Bc1 a3 49.Bxa3 Nxe4 50.Kxe4 d2-+. 45...Ne3+ 46.Kf2 Nxc4 47.Bc5 d3

[FEN "8/3k3p/6p1/1PB5/p1n4P/3p1PP1/

5K2/8 w - - 0 48"]

Now Black's mighty knight dominates the whole board and Black is always just in time to win the pawn races. A real knightmare for White. 48.g4 a3 49.Bd4 49.Bxa3 Nxa3 50.Ke3 Nxb5 51.Kxd3 Ke6-+. 49...a2 50.f4 50.b6 is met by 50...h5 51.Ke1 Kc6-+. 50...Ke6 50...h5 wins as well; e.g., 51.gxh5 gxh5 52.b6 Nd6 53.Ke1 Nf5 54.Ba1 Kc6 55.Kd2 Nxh4 56.Kxd3 Nf5 57.Ke4 h4 58.Kxf5 h3-+. 51.Bg7 51.Ba1!? runs into 51...h5! 52.b6 Nxb6 53.f5+ gxf5 54.gxh5 Nd7 A) 55.h6 Nf8 56.Ke3 Kf7 57.Kxd3 (57.h7 Nxh7 58.Kxd3 Nf8 59.h5 Ne6 60.Ke2 Kg8 61.Kf2 Kh7 62.Kg3 Kh6 63.Kh4 Ng7-+) 57...Kg6 58.Bg7 Ne6 59.h5+ Kh7-+; B) 55.Ke3

[FEN "8/3n4/4k3/5p1P/7P/3pK3/p7/B7 b - - 0 55"]

B1) 55...f4+? plays this trump too early because of 56.Kxd3 Kf5 57.h6 Nf8 58.Kd2 Kg4 (58...Kg6 59.Ke2 Kxh6 60.Kf3 Ne6 61.Kg4=) 59.Bd4 f3 (59...Kxh4 60.Kc2 f3 61.Kb2=) 60.Ke1 Kg3 61.Kf1 Nh7 62.Be5+ Kxh4 63.Kf2 Kg4 64.Bg7 Kf5 65.Kxf3 Nf6 66.h7 a1Q 67.h8Q=. B2) 55...Kf7!

[FEN "8/3n1k2/8/5p1P/7P/3pK3/p7/B7 w - - 0 56"]

Black's king must take the long way to Rome: 56.Kxd3 Nc5+ 57.Ke3 (57.Kc2 f4 58.Kd1 f3 59.Ke1 Ne4 60.Kf1 Kg8-+) 57...Ne6 58.Kd2 Kg8 59.Kc2 f4 60.Kd3 Kh7 61.Ke4 Kh6 62.Kf3 Kxh5 63.Bf6 Nc7 64.Be5 Nd5 65.Ba1 Kxh4-+. 51.b6 Nxb6 52.Ke3 Nd5+ 53.Kxd3 Nxf4+ 54.Kc2 Ng2 55.h5 Ne3+ 56.Kb3 g5 57.Kxa2 Nxg4-+. 51.Kf3 h5 52.gxh5 (52.f5+ Kd5 53.Bc3 hxg4+ 54.Kxg4 d2-+; 52.g5 Kf5 53.b6 Nxb6-+) 52...gxh5 53.b6 Nxb6 54.Ke3 Nd5+ 55.Kxd3 Ne7 56.Ke4 Nf5-+. 51...Kd5

[FEN "8/6Bp/6p1/1P1k4/2n2PPP/3p4/

p4K2/8 w - - 0 52"]

52.Kf3 52.Ba1 also does not defend; 52...Ke4 53.b6 Nxb6 54.f5 gxf5 55.gxf5 Nc4 56.f6 Nd6 57.Bb2 Nf7 58.Bc3 Nh6 59.Ke1 Ke3 60.Bd2+ Kd4-+. 52...Kc5 53.f5 gxf5 54.g5 (54.gxf5 Nd6-+) 54...f4 0-1

Order Endgame Corner #156 (Ebook)

by Karsten Müller In ChessBase, PGN, and PDF formats. Viewable in Ipad, Itouch, Kindle, ChessBase and other PGN and PDF viewers.

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Endgame Corner #157 by Karsten Mueller Queens, Knights, and Knightmares The material distribution queen and knight against queen and knight is not so well dealt with in the rich literature of the royal game. I want to demonstrate the guideline that a slight initiative weighs heavily, as with the endgame rook and knight against rook and knight. A) Magnus mighty queen The queen and knight duo can be very strong when they cooperate well. 157.01 Carlsen,M (2881) - Agdestein,S (2628)

2nd Norway Chess 2014 Stavanger NOR (9), 13.06.2014

[FEN "8/2q2p2/p1k1p1p1/1pp1Pn1p/

2P1NP2/PK1QP2P/5P2/8 w - - 0 42"]

42.Nc3!? Magnus increases his pressure on the light squares to provoke the opening of inroads. 42...bxc4+? Now Black cannot stop the invasion of the queen. After 42...Qa5! it is more or less equal, as the following sample line illustrates: 43.Qe4+ Kb6 44.Qa8 bxc4+ 45.Kxc4 (45.Kb2 Kc7 46.Qa7+ Kd8 47.Qb7 Ne7=) 45...Qxa3 46.Qb8+ Kc6

47.Qe8+ Kb6 48.Kd3 Qa1=. 43.Qxc4

[FEN "8/2q2p2/p1k1p1p1/2p1Pn1p/

2Q2P2/PKN1P2P/5P2/8 b - - 0 43"]

Black cannot defend all inroads. 43...Qb6+?! 43...Qb7+ 44.Kc2 Kd7 might be more precise, but White is still much better after 45.Qe4+/-. 44.Kc2 Qa5 45.Qe4+ Kc7 46.Qa8 c4? Black does not have time for this advance. 46...Kd7! was called for, but White keeps good winning chances after 47.Qb7+ Ke8 48.Qb8+ Kd7 49.Kb3 c4+ 50.Kb2+/-. 47.Qf8!

[FEN "5Q2/2k2p2/p3p1p1/q3Pn1p/

2p2P2/P1N1P2P/2K2P2/8 b - - 0 47"]

This invasion is stronger than 47.Qa7+? Kd8 48.Qxf7?, which is answered by 48...Qxa3 49.Qb7 Ne7! and Black has practical drawing chances. 47...Kd7?! 47...Nh6! was much more tenacious, but still insufficient because of 48.Qe7+ (48.Qxh6? Qxa3 49.Qg7 Qb3+ 50.Kd2 Qb2+ 51.Kd1 Qxc3 52.Qxf7+ Kb8 53.Qxe6 Qd3+ 54.Ke1 Qb1+ 55.Ke2 Qd3+ 56.Kf3 c3 57.Qb6+ Kc8 58.e6 Qb5 59.Qd4 Qc6+ 60.Ke2 Qxe6 61.Qxc3+ Kd7 is not so clear.) 48...Kb8 49.Ne4 Qa4+ 50.Kd2 Qa5+ 51.Ke2 c3 52.Nd6

Qc7 53.Qe8+ Ka7 54.Qa4 Kb6 55.Qb3+ Ka7 56.Kd3+-. 48.Ne4!

[FEN "5Q2/3k1p2/p3p1p1/q3Pn1p/

2p1NP2/P3P2P/2K2P2/8 b - - 0 48"]

Magnus’s knight joins the attack, which decides the day. 48...Qa4+ 49.Kc1 Qc6 50.Qxf7+ Kc8 50...Ne7 51.Nf6+ Kd8 52.Qf8++-. 51.Nd6+ Kd8 (51...Nxd6 52.Qxe6++-) 52.Qf8+ Kc7 53.Qc8+ Kb6 54.Qb8+ 1-0

[FEN "1Q6/8/pkqNp1p1/4Pn1p/

2p2P2/P3P2P/5P2/2K5 b - - 0 54"]

Agdestein resigned because of 54...Kc5 55.Qb4+ Kd5 56.Qd2+ Kc5 57.Qa5++-. B) King safety The following example also illustrates the guideline that a slight initiative weighs heavily. 157.02 Bruzon Batista,L (2689) - Kiewra,K (2422)

41st Annual World Open Arlington USA (4.8), 05.07.2013

[FEN "8/2q2k1p/pp2p1p1/2n5/2P2N1P/

6P1/P4P2/3Q2K1 w - - 0 31"]

31.Qf3 White spotlights the insecure position of Black's king. 31.h5!? was strong as well. 31...Qb7? Exchanging queens would be good for Black, but Bruzon Batista can avoid it. The centralising 31...Qe5! almost equalises. 32.Qc3!?

[FEN "8/1q3k1p/pp2p1p1/2n5/2P2N1P/

2Q3P1/P4P2/6K1 b - - 0 32"]

Bruzon values his initiative in this endgame higher than the extra pawn in the knight ending after 32.Nd5+ Ke8 33.Nf6+ Kf7 (33...Ke7? 34.Qf4+-) 34.Nxh7+ Qxf3 35.Ng5+ Kf6 36.Nxf3 Ne4 37.a3 This is remarkable. 32...Nd7? 32...Qa8 was called for, but after 33.Qd4 Qf8 34.h5 White's initiative is still difficult to deal with. 32...Qe4?! 33.Qh8 h5 34.Qh7+ Kf6 35.a3 with a strong initiative. 33.Qh8

[FEN "7Q/1q1n1k1p/pp2p1p1/8/2P2N1P/

6P1/P4P2/6K1 b - - 0 33"]

33...Nf6? Black cracks under the pressure. 33...Nf8! was forced: 34.Nh3 Ke8 35.Ng5 Qd7 36.Qc3 Qd1+ 37.Kh2 h6 38.Ne4 Qe2 39.Qe5 Qd3 40.Kg2 and White has winning chances, but matters are not completely clear. 34.Nh3! 1-0

[FEN "7Q/1q3k1p/pp2pnp1/8/2P4P/

6PN/P4P2/6K1 b - - 0 34"]

In this exceptional case the knight on the rim is not dim, but gives White the win. The next example is similar: 157.03 Paunovic,Dragan (2504) - Perez Garcia,Rodney Oscar (2449)

13th Elgoibar (7.5), 09.12.2003

[FEN "8/8/qn1p2pk/2pPp2p/4P2P/

6P1/3N1PK1/3Q4 w - - 0 37"]

Black's weak king is a real problem. 37.Nf3 Nd7 38.Ng5?! 38.Qc1+!? is more precise: 38...Kg7 39.Ng5 Nf8 40.Qb1 Qa7 41.Qb5 Qe7 42.Qb8 Qd7 43.Qa8 Qe7 44.Qc8 Kf6 45.f4+-. 38...Nf6! 39.Qb1 Nh7? 39...Qa7! was forced; e.g., 40.Qb5 Kg7 41.Qc6 Qd7 42.Qb6 Kf8 43.Qb8+ Ne8 44.Ne6+ Ke7 45.Kf3 and White is better, but it is not clear if he can win. 40.Ne6

[FEN "8/7n/q2pN1pk/2pPp2p/

4P2P/6P1/5PK1/1Q6 b - - 0 40"]

What a knight! A real knightmare for Black. 40...Qc8 41.Qc1+ g5 42.Nxg5 42.hxg5+ Kg6 43.f4+- was even stronger. 42...Kg6 43.Nxh7 Kxh7 44.Qg5 c4 44...Qe8 45.Kf3 c4 46.Ke2 c3 47.Qf5+ Kg7 48.Kd3+-. 45.Qxh5+ Kg8 46.Qg5+ Kh8 47.Qh5+ Kg8 48.Qg6+ Kh8 49.Qxd6 c3 50.Qxe5+ Kg8 51.d6 c2 52.Qd5+ 1-0

C) The exchange of queens The defender wants to exchange attacking potential: 157.04 Cosma,E (2335) - Rendi,E (2116)

ch-ROU w 2014 Targu Mures ROU (2.3), 27.04.2014

[FEN "5k2/3q1p2/1p4p1/pP5p/P2Nn2P/

4PQP1/5P2/6K1 b - - 0 55"]

55...Nc5? This runs into a direct blow. 55...Qg4! is forced, when Black is not worse: 56.Qe2 (56.Qg2 Qd1+ 57.Kh2 f5 58.f3 Nc3=; 56.Qxg4 hxg4 57.Ne2 Ke7 58.Kg2 Nd2 59.Nd4 Ne4 60.Ne2=) 56...Qxe2 57.Nxe2 Ke7 58.f3 Nc5 59.Nc3 Kd6 60.Kf2 Nd3+ 61.Ke2 Nb2 62.Kd2 Kc5 63.Kc2 Nc4 64.Kd3 Nb2+ 65.Kc2 Nc4=. 56.Qf6!

[FEN "5k2/3q1p2/1p3Qp1/pPn4p/

P2N3P/4P1P1/5P2/6K1 b - - 0 56"]

White's attack cannot be parried. 56...Nxa4 56...Qc7 57.e4 Ke8 58.Qh8+ Ke7 59.Nc6+ Kd7 60.Qf8 Ke6 61.Qe8+ Kf6 62.Qh8+ Ke6 63.Qd4 Nd7 64.Qd5+ Kf6 65.Qg5+ Kg7 66.Qe7 Qc8 67.Nd8+-. 57.Nc6 Qd1+ 58.Kh2 1-0 Exercises (Solutions next month)

E157.01 Volokitin,Andrei (2666) - Acs,Peter (2518)

Bundesliga 0506 Germany (12.1), 11.03.2006

[FEN "2KQ4/5p1k/3N2pp/4P3/7P/

1q1n2P1/1P6/8 w - - 0 55"]

How to convert White's advantage? E157.02 Carlsen,Magnus (2872) - Aronian,Levon (2812)

Zurich Chess Challenge (2), 31.01.2014

[FEN "8/2Q2ppk/1p3n1p/1P2p3/8/

2N1P1PP/5PK1/2q5 b - - 0 35"]

Aronian solved his problems with one precise move. Can you do the same? E157.03 Hellsten,Johan (2495) - Ostenstad,Berge (2465)

75th Asker (2), 23.11.1997

[FEN "8/4k2n/1p2p3/p1p1q1p1/P3N1P1/

1P3P2/4P1K1/2Q5 w - - 0 38"]

How did Hellsten make progress? E157.04 Sandipan,Chanda (2609) - Kaczmarczyk,Dennis (2358)

Gibraltar Masters 12th Caleta (7), 03.02.2014

[FEN "6k1/p1q1pp2/PpNp2p1/1PnQ3p/

5P2/4P2P/6P1/6K1 w - - 0 34"]

How to storm Black's castle? E157.05 Short,N (2683) - Howell,D (2640)

5th Classic GpD 2013 London ENG (1.2), 11.12.2013

[FEN "8/4Qnk1/2q3p1/ppN1p1P1/

8/1P3P2/4K3/8 b - - 0 55"]

Find Black's only move to draw! E157.06 Kobalia,Mihail (2633) - Dominguez Perez,Leinier (2757)

RUS-chT 21st Loo (5.1), 11.04.2014

[FEN "8/5pk1/4p1pp/4P3/1pQ5/1Pn3PP/

1q3PKN/8 b - - 0 57"]

What did Dominguez play? Copyright 2014 Karsten Mueller and BrainGamz, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Endgame Corner #158 by Karsten Mueller Race of the Passed Pawns Races and pawn breakthroughs should always be calculated carefully and sometimes a retreat is the real point. 158.01 Hou Yifan (2629) - Ding Liren (2717)

ch-CHN 2014 Xinghua (5), 15.03.2014

[FEN "8/8/5kn1/5B2/1pppKP2/1P6/2P5/8 w - - 0 55"] 55.Bxg6! However, not 55.bxc4? d3! and Black survives:

[FEN "8/8/5kn1/5B2/1pP1KP2/3p4/2P5/8 w - - 0 56"] 56.Kxd3 (56.cxd3? b3-+) 56...Kxf5 57.c5 Nxf4+=; 55.Kxd4? cxb3 56.cxb3 Kxf5 57.Kc4 Nxf4 58.Kxb4=. 55...d3 55...Kxg6 56.Kxd4 c3 57.Kc4 Kf5 58.Kxb4 Kxf4 59.Kxc3+-. 56.Ke3!!

[FEN "8/8/5kB1/8/1pp2P2/1P1pK3/2P5/8 b - - 0 56"] This retreat breaks the wave of pawns. 56.cxd3? cxb3-+. 56...Kxg6 56...dxc2 57.Bxc2+-. 57.bxc4 57.cxd3? cxb3 58.Kd2 Kf5 59.Kc1 Kxf4 60.Kb2 Ke3 61.Kxb3 Kxd3 62.Kxb4=. 57...dxc2 58.Kd2 Kf5 58...b3 is met by 59.c5 Kf5 60.c6 Ke6 61.f5+ Kd6 62.f6 Kxc6 63.f7+-. 59.Kxc2 Kxf4 60.Kb3 Ke5 61.Kxb4 Kd6 62.Kb5 1-0 A retreat is also the point in the second example. 158.02 Velikanov,A (2252) - Sharma,Arun1 (2383)

23rd Chicago Open 2014 Wheeling USA (7.18), 25.05.2014

[FEN "1k6/8/8/6P1/1p2K2P/1Bp5/3r1P2/8 w - - 0 52"] 52.Ke3!!

This surprising retreat is not only the only move to win, but also the only move that does not lose. In the direct races Black is quick enough: 52.g6? c2 53.g7 c1Q 54.g8Q+ Ka7 55.Qf7+ Kb6 56.Qe6+ Qc6+ 57.Qxc6+ Kxc6 58.Ke3 Rd6 59.h5 Kd7-+; 52.f4? c2 53.Bxc2 Rxc2 54.g6 b3 55.g7 Rc8-+. 52...Rb2 White's passed pawns also prevail after 52...Rd8 53.g6 for example 53...Rc8 54.Kd3 (54.h5?! c2 55.Bxc2 Rxc2 56.g7 Rc8 57.h6 b3 58.h7 b2 59.g8Q b1Q 60.Qxc8+ Kxc8 61.h8Q++- wins as well, but is very bad technique of course.) 54...c2 55.Bxc2 Rd8+ 56.Ke4+-. 53.g6 c2 53...Rxb3 54.g7 c2+ 55.Kd2 Rc3 56.g8Q++-. 54.Kd2! 1-0

[FEN "1k6/8/6P1/8/1p5P/1B6/1rpK1P2/8 b - - 0 54"] This second retreat stops Black's play for good. Exercises (Solutions next month) E158.01 Ni,Viktorija (2206) - Eswaran,Ashritha (1979)

ch-USA w 2014 Saint Louis USA (1.5), 08.05.2014

[FEN "8/8/8/4P3/2b5/5kpp/2R5/6K1 b - - 0 79"]

Black to move and win. E158.02 Houska,Jovanka (2410) - Lillevold,Frode (2182)

Fagernes GM Open 2014 Fagernes NOR (3.5), 15.04.2014

[FEN "3R4/8/8/8/6K1/6P1/3pr3/4k3 w - - 0 57"] White to move and draw. E158.03 Buhmann,R (2582) - Belezky,A (2455)

Bundesliga 2013-14 Eppingen GER (14), 05.04.2014

[FEN "8/8/8/2p1P3/2k2K2/8/8/8 b - - 0 71"] Black to move and draw. E158.04 Carlsen,M (2881) - Aronian,L (2815)

2nd Norway Chess 2014 Stavanger NOR (5), 08.06.2014

[FEN "8/7P/4R1K1/3p4/3P2r1/4p3/1k6/8 w - - 0 85"] White to move and win. Solutions to last month exercises E157.01 Volokitin,Andrei (2666) - Acs,Peter (2518)

Bundesliga 0506 Germany (12.1), 11.03.2006

[FEN "2KQ4/5p1k/3N2pp/4P3/7P/1q1n2P1/1P6/8 w - - 0 55"] How to convert White's advantage? 55.Nxf7! The decisive blow. 55...Qc4+ 55...Qxf7 56.Qxd3 Qe8+ 57.Qd8 Qxe5 58.Qc7++-. 56.Qc7 Qa6+ 56...Nxb2 57.Nd6+ Qxc7+ 58.Kxc7 Nd3 59.e6 Nb4 60.e7 Nd5+ 61.Kd8 Nxe7 62.Kxe7+-. 57.Kd8 Qa8+ 58.Qc8 Qxc8+ 58...Qa5+ 59.Qc7 Qa8+ 60.Ke7 Kg7 61.Nd8 Qe4 62.Ke8+ Kg8 63.Qf7+ Kh8 64.e6 Ne5 65.Qf4+-.

59.Kxc8 Kg7 60.e6 Kf6 61.Kd7 Nc5+ 62.Kd6 Nxe6 63.Nxh6 Nd4 64.b4 g5 65.h5 1-0 E157.02 Carlsen,Magnus (2872) - Aronian,Levon (2812)

Zurich Chess Challenge (2), 31.01.2014

[FEN "8/2Q2ppk/1p3n1p/1P2p3/8/2N1P1PP/5PK1/2q5 b - - 0 35"] Aronian solved his problems with one precise move. Can you do the same? 35...Ne4! This forces White to give perpetual check. 35...e4? 36.Qe5 Qc2 37.Nd5 Nxd5 38.Qxd5 Qd3 39.Qc6 Qd8 40.Qxe4++/-. 36.Qxe5 Nxc3 37.Qf5+ Kg8 38.Qc8+ Kh7 39.Qf5+ Kh8 40.Qc8+ Kh7 ½-½ E157.03 Hellsten,Johan (2495) - Ostenstad,Berge (2465)

75th Asker (2), 23.11.1997

[FEN "8/4k2n/1p2p3/p1p1q1p1/P3N1P1/1P3P2/4P1K1/2Q5 w - - 0 38"] How did Hellsten make progress? 38.Qh1! Qg7 38...Nf6 39.Qh8 Kf7 40.Qxf6+ Qxf6 41.Nxf6 Kxf6 42.Kf2 Ke5 43.Ke3+-; 38...Nf8 39.Qh6+-. 39.Qh2 e5 40.Ng3 Qg6 41.Nf5+ Ke6 42.Qh1 e4 43.Qh2 exf3+ 44.exf3 Kd7 45.Kf2 Nf8 46.Qe5!

[FEN "5n2/3k4/1p4q1/p1p1QNp1/P5P1/1P3P2/5K2/8 b - - 0 46"] The centralised white forces dominate Black. 46...Qh7 47.Ke3 Ng6 48.Qd6+ 1-0 E157.04 Sandipan,Chanda (2609) - Kaczmarczyk,Dennis (2358)

Gibraltar Masters 12th Caleta (7), 03.02.2014

[FEN "6k1/p1q1pp2/PpNp2p1/1PnQ3p/5P2/4P2P/6P1/6K1 w - - 0 34"] How to storm Black's castle? 34.Qg5! Kf8? Now the undermining f4-f5 is very strong. 34...Kg7! is more tenacious, but White's initiative remains strong; e.g., 35.f5 Ne4 36.Qf4 Nc5 (36...Nf6 37.e4) 37.Qh4 35.f5 gxf5 36.Qxh5 Ke8 37.Qxf5 Nxa6 38.Qh7 Nc5 39.Qg8+ Kd7 40.Qxf7 Kc8 41.h4 e5 42.Qe8+ Kb7 43.Nd8+ 1-0 E157.05 Short,N (2683) - Howell,D (2640)

5th Classic GpD 2013 London ENG (1.2), 11.12.2013

[FEN "8/4Qnk1/2q3p1/ppN1p1P1/8/1P3P2/4K3/8 b - - 0 55"] Find Black's only move to draw! 55...Kg8! 55...Qd6? 56.Ne6+ Kg8 57.Qe8++-. 56.Ne6 Qc2+ 57.Ke1 Qc1+ 58.Ke2 Qc2+ 59.Ke1 Qc1+ 60.Ke2 ½-½ E157.06 Kobalia,Mihail (2633) - Dominguez Perez,Leinier (2757)

RUS-chT 21st Loo (5.1), 11.04.2014

[FEN "8/5pk1/4p1pp/4P3/1pQ5/1Pn3PP/1q3PKN/8 b - - 0 57"] What did Dominguez play? 57...Nd5! 58.Qh4? 58.Qd3 is the lesser evil, but Black has a solid extra pawn after 58...Qxe5. 58...h5 59.g4 Nf4+ 60.Kg1 60.Kg3 Qxe5 61.Nf3 Qc7-+. 60...Qc1+ 61.Nf1 Ne2+ 0-1 Copyright 2014 Karsten Mueller and ChessEdu.org. All Rights Reserved.

Endgame Corner #159 by Karsten Müller Deep Domination Duel Heinrich Rolletschek has made an amazing discovery regarding the famous bishop ending Pinter-Alterman, Beersheba 1991, and he has kindly allowed me to publish his findings. I also want to thank Harald Grafenhofer for his help. Now

to hand over the microphone to Heinrich Rolletschek. 159.01 Diagram 1

[FEN "8/8/2B2k2/1p3p2/1Pb2P2/8/6K1/8 w - - 0 99"] Diagram 1 shows a position from the game Pinter-Alterman, Beersheba 1991, which had previously been analyzed by the winner, Pinter, in Encyclopedia of Chess Endings, in Nunn’s Chess Endings, and in Fundamental Chess Endings by Müller and Lamprecht. All these authors conclude that Black could have drawn with correct defense. The goal of this article is to show that Diagram 1 is already winning for White. In fact White always wins with the white king on d4, the black king on d6, and bishops on light squares, unless of course Black to move can capture the white bishop. (In Diagram 1 the kings will immediately move to d4 and d6, respectively.) 159.02 Diagram 2

[FEN "8/8/B1bk4/1p3p2/1P1K1P2/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"] In order to consider the most complex case, we start with Diagram 2, where the white bishop is temporarily trapped in

the upper left corner region, and where some effort is needed to set it free. Once this is accomplished, it is clear that White can reach Diagram 3, which is actually a natural starting point for the analysis. 159.03 Diagram 3

[FEN "8/3b4/3k4/1p3p2/1P1K1P2/3B4/8/8 w - - 0 1"] If it is Black to move in Diagram 3, then he loses a pawn right away, but at first White can reach this position only with White to move. As preceding analysis by Nunn and others shows, White wins if he manages to get his bishop to the central square d5; in this case Black cannot prevent the loss of a pawn, no matter where his bishop is placed. Black’s best defence is to answer the move Bd5 by Bd7, reaching Diagram 4. 159.04 Diagram 4

[FEN "8/3b4/3k4/1p1B1p2/1P1K1P2/8/8/8 b - - 0 125"] In the game Alterman resigned when the loss of a pawn was imminent, and Nunn says nothing as to how White should go about realizing the extra pawn. Indeed, at this point it is justified to assess the game as won for White on general

grounds; after all, the pawns are sufficiently far apart, and Black’s remaining pawn is still blocked on a white square. Even so, it seems that the win is still not entirely trivial and that it is worthwhile investigating how play may continue. (Of course, this ending is also covered by the recently constructed tablebase for seven-piece endgames.) 159.05 Diagram 5

[FEN "8/3b4/3k4/1p6/1P1K1P2/3B4/8/8 w - - 0 1"] Consider Diagram 5. (If Black gives up the Pb5 rather than Pf5, the winning procedure is similar.) We will describe a winning method which is certainly not the only one but absolutely reliable. White starts with the move f5, then moves

the king towards g5 and threatens to support the passed pawn. This forces the black king to move in front of the Pf5, allowing White to break through to the pawn b5 and reach a position akin to Diagram 6. 159.06 Diagram 6

[FEN "8/3b4/8/1pK1kP2/1P6/3B4/8/8 w - - 0 1"] Here White still has to work a little bit, since 1.Bxb5? Bxf5 does not win. However, after an appropriate preparation a pawn exchange does win. As a matter of fact, the main variation starting from Diagram 2 does not lead to Diagram 6,

but to a related position which is reached from Diagram 6 after the moves 1.Bc2 Be8 2.Bb1 Bd7 3.Bd3 Kf6 4.Kd5 Ke7 5.Be4 The preceding discussion indicates that the winning procedure in Diagram 2 consists of the following five stages: Stage 1: White gets the bishop out of the upper left corner region and reaches Diagram 3, first with White to move. Stage 2: White gets the bishop to the central square d5. (This is the intermediate goal which, according to earlier authors, White is unable to accomplish.) Stage 3: White forces the win of a pawn, typically after reaching Diagram 3 with Black to move. Stage 4: After winning the Pf5, White makes a bypass maneuver, threatening to support the passed pawn, and thus

forces a breakthrough to the Pb5. Stage 5: White exchanges the Pf5 for Black’s Pb5 such that a winning endingB+P v˙B is reached. Stage 3 is dealt with in detail by previous authors, and there is no need to repeat their analysis; we will give only one main line for this part of the winning procedure. Stages 1 and 4 are fairly straightforward and may be dealt with without considering many different lines; it is not hard to establish that White can always achieve the respective intermediate goals. Stage 5 is not complicated either, but it involves the kind of play where concrete analysis is called for. Not surprisingly, the central part of our analysis concerns Stage 2. As noted, previous authors claim that White cannot achieve the specified intermediate goal, so what about it? Nunn writes: "You will often find attempts in endgame books to analyse such positions based on the kind of corresponding-squares analysis we saw in ...In this type of analysis, the

various positions of the bishops are examined to see which form reciprocal zugzwangs. The trouble with this method is that play is often not restricted to bishop manoeuvres; for example, in ... a triangulation by the white king played a crucial role in one line and without this White would not be able to win. Therefore the assumption that king manoeuvres will play no part may not be justified and can give rise to incorrect conclusions." With this remark Nunn refers to his analysis of Stage 3, but, as it turns out, it also provides the hint for Stage 2! For this stage earlier analysis did not consider a temporary retreat of the white king, but with bishop manoeuvres alone White is indeed unable to achieve his goal. At first glance it may seem surprising that a temporary king retreat is the key to White’s success during Stage 2. Given that bishop manoeuvres are not sufficient, it may appear that Black can defend himself by the following strategy: answer any bishop move by a bishop move as if the kings remained on d4 and d6. answer a retreat of the white king by a retreat of the black king. when the white king moves in the background, then move the black king in the background while keeping contact with the square d6. when the white king moves back to d4, then move the black king back to d6. However, this defence strategy fails for a subtle reason. The point is that whenever the black king moves to a white square, it causes some damage to the defence: sometimes the black bishop is obstructed, and sometimes the black king

is exposed to a bishop check, which may likewise upset the balance. On the other hand, if the black king only moves on black squares, then he can return to d6 only in an even number of moves, and this allows White to apply triangulation. In spite of the above remark by Nunn, we feel that it makes sense to consider corresponding squares in this ending, as applicable for Stage 2. Of course, the meaning of corresponding squares has to be defined appropriately; they are

characterized as follows. Suppose that the white king is on d4, the black king on d6, the white bishop on a square X, and it is White to move. Then the following assertions hold: (1) If the black bishop is not standing on one of the squares corresponding to X, then White can at least finish Stage 2 with bishop moves alone; in some cases White can even directly win a pawn or reach some position which occurs

during Stage 3 in the main variation. (2) If the black bishop is standing on one of the squares corresponding to X, then White cannot achieve any of the goals specified under (1) without a temporary retreat of the king. With kings on d4 and d6, it is always Black’s best defence to move his bishop to a corresponding square. Similarly, with kings one move away from d4 and d6, respectively (and not on d5), Black should either move the bishop to a

corresponding square or else play Kd6, otherwise White achieves his goal after playing Kd4, forcing Kd6. Thus knowledge of corresponding squares provides valuable help for the analysis. Moreover, we may immediately stop analysis in any secondary line as soon as a position is reached with kings on d4 and d6, White to move and Black’s

bishop not on a corresponding square, provided that assertion (1) above has been established for the case in question. The following are the most important pairs of corresponding squares: d3 v. d7

e2 v. c6

f1 v. e8

f3 v. c4

g2 v. f7

h3 v. g6 During Stage 2 the white bishop will not move to any square other than d3, e2, f1, f3, g2 and h3 until d5 is occupied, except for one line where a pawn is won directly. This is not a coincidence: for every other position of the white bishop there exists more than one corresponding square, and moving the bishop to such a position is not the right way to challenge the defence. A complete list of all corresponding squares may be used for a proof of assertion (2) above, but

this plays no role for our analysis. Let us now prove assertion (1) for the corresponding squares in our table. Trivially, d7 is the only square corresponding to d3. Next, assume that the white bishop is on g2. In order to keep it from d5, the black bishop must be on the diagonal a2-g8, but if it is not standing on f7, then White can win a pawn

immediately. For instance, with the black bishop on c4 there follows 1.Bh3 Be6 2.Bf1 Bd7 3.Bd3. With the white bishop on f1, it is clear that a corresponding square can only be c6 or e8. However, with the black bishop on c6 there follows 1.Be2 Be8 2.Bf3 Bf7 3.Bg2, and the black bishop must leave the corresponding square. This line

also shows that c6 is the only square corresponding to e2. With the white bishop on f3, c4 is clearly the only square where the black bishop covers d5, is ready to answer Bg2 by Bf7, and where it prevents the move Be2. If the black bishop were on a2, b3, e6 or g8, then 1. Be2 would win a pawn right away. Finally, consider the white bishop on h3. The black bishop must be on d7 or g6, in order to protect the Pf5 and answer Bf1 by Be8. However, with the black bishop on d7 there follows 1.Bg2, and Black must let the bishop to d5, since

1...Be6?! would lose a pawn after 2.Bf1 Bd7 3.Bd3. Let us now turn to a detailed analysis of the ending, starting from Diagram2. 159.02 Diagram 2

[FEN "8/8/B1bk4/1p3p2/1P1K1P2/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"] 1.Bc8 Be4 2.Ke3 At this point White can only make progress by means of a king maneuver, of course, since the bishop can only return to a6. The idea is simple: by making a little round tour and returning to d4 in an odd number of moves (namely five),

White passes the move to Black, assuming that the black king moves between d6 and e7 so as to keep the white bishop trapped in the upper left region.

At move four Black will also have the option of moving the king to d5, threatening to penetrate White’s camp, but here, too, he will be forced back to d6 immediately. Otherwise every other move by Black allows the white bishop to get free more quickly. At the moment Black cannot play 2...Kd5?, of course, since the resulting pawn ending would be lost immediately (3.Bb7+ Kc4 4.Bxe4 fxe4 5.f5 Kd5 6.f6 Ke6 7.Kxe4 Kxf6 8.Kd5). Instead of the text move, 2.Kc3 would be less accurate, as after 2...Ke7 3.Kd2 Kd6 White cannot play 4.Ke2?? Kd5. Instead White can transpose to the main line by 4.Ke3. 2...Ke7 3.Ke2 Kd6 4.Kd2 Kd5 4...Ke7 makes no difference. 5.Kc3 Kd6 Obviously, any bishop move would be answered by 6.Bb7+, and 5...Kc6 by 6.Be6. 6.Kd4 Kc7 After 6...Bc2(b1) 7.Bb7 the white bishop also gets free, while other moves would even lose the Pf5 right away. 7.Be6 Kd6 8.Bb3

[FEN "8/8/3k4/1p3p2/1P1KbP2/1B6/8/8 b - - 0 8"] 8...Bb7 Black already has to play accurately: the text move is the only one which forces White to go through Stage 2 of the winning procedure. After 8...Bb1?!, the white bishop can already occupy d5, while other moves along the diagonal a8h1 allow White an immediate win of a pawn: 8...Bc6?! 9.Bc2 Bd7 10.Bd3, or 8...Bf3?! 9.Bc2 Bg4 10.Bd3. 9.Bc2 Bc8 10.Bd3 Bd7 Now Diagram 3 has been reached. At this point we regard Stage 1 as finished, although the white bishop actually got free four moves ago. 11.Bf1 Be8 It was shown above that e8 is the only square corresponding to f1, and how White gets through Stage 2 after 11...Bc6. Now a suitable moment has arrived for White to apply a king maneuver in the rear. 12.Kd3!

[FEN "4b3/8/3k4/1p3p2/1P3P2/3K4/8/5B2 b - - 0 12"] 12...Kd7 All things considered, this is the most tenacious defence for Black. There are numerous alternatives, but they all prove insufficient: (a) After 12...Bg6 or Bh5, there follows 13.Ke3 Be8 14.Kd4. White has successfully applied triangulation, and the black bishop must leave the corresponding square. (b) After 12...Bf7?!, White can again proceed as in line (a), but in this case he can win even more quickly by 13.Bh3 Be6 (13...Bg6? 14.Kd4 Bh7 15.Bf1) 14.Kd4 Bd7 15.Bg2, and Black must let the white bishop to d5, since 15...Be6?

16.Bf1 Bd7 17.Bd3 would lose a pawn right away. (c) After 12...Bc6 13. Bh3 Be4(d7) 14.Kd4 the black bishop cannot get to g6. (d) 12...Bd7 is the most tenacious of the bishop moves, but again White answers 13. Bh3, intending to win with 14.Kd4 as in line (c). Black can prevent this only by 13...Kd5, but after 14.Bg2+ Kd6 15.Kd4 he must let the white bishop to d5, as in line (c). If he plays 14...Ke6 instead of 14...Kd6, then the white bishop also reaches d5 after 15.Kd4. (e) 12...Kd5(c6) 13.Bg2+ Kd6?! 14.Bh3 loses a pawn after 14...Bg6 15.Kd4 Bh7 16.Bf1 or 14...Bd7 15.Kd4 Be6 16.Bf1 Bd7 17.Bd3. Therefore it is better for Black to move the king to a different square on move thirteen (13...Kd5-e6 or

Kc6-c7), but this allows the white bishop again to reach d5. (f) 12...Ke6 is again answered by 13.Bg2, intending to get the bishop to d5 after 14.Kd4. Black can be prevent this only by 13...Kd6, which leads to line (e), or by 13...Bf7, which also loses a pawn after 14.Bc6. This is yet another example where a black king move to a white square obstructs the bishop. (g) 12...Kc7 or 12...Ke7 is answered by 13.Kc3!, putting Black in zugzwang. Black can no longer play 13...Kd7, and after 13...Kd6 14.Kd4 or 13...Bd7(c6) 14.Kd4 Kd6 White has successfully applied triangulation: the black bishop must

leave the corresponding square or has left it already. It remains to consider 13...Kc7-c6 or 13...Ke7-e6, but these moves lead to lines (e) or (f), respectively; here the fact that the white king is placed on c3 rather than d3 plays no role. 13.Be2 White takes advantage of the fact that the black bishop cannot move to the corresponding square c6. 13...Kd6 This is now the only move which requires further consideration. In every other case there follows 14.Kd4, and after

14...Kd6 the black bishop would be on the wrong square. Now, however, Black would be fine after 14.Kd4?! Bc6. 14.Kc3 White tries to apply triangulation, taking advantage of the fact that the black king has already returned to d6 in two moves. After 14...Bc6 15.Kd4 or 14...Kc6 15.Kd4 Kd6 the goal has been achieved: the black bishop has left or must leave the corresponding square. 14...Bd7 Black tries to respond by bishop triangulation: after 15.Kd4?! Bc6 White would have to start over again. After 14...Bc6 or any king move other than 14...Kd5 there follows 15.Kd4, as shown in the preceding note. Thus it only remains to consider 14...Kd5, which is answered by the obvious reply 15.Bf3+. Now 15...Ke6 16.Kd4 allows the white bishop to reach d5, while after 15...Kd6 16.Kd4 the black bishop cannot move to the corresponding square c4. 15.Bf1!

[FEN "8/3b4/3k4/1p3p2/1P3P2/2K5/8/5B2 b - - 0 15"] The bishop returns to f1 so as to frustrate bishop triangulation by Black. Now 15...Bc6 is answered by 16.Bh3 Bd7(e4) 17.Kd4, and the black bishop cannot bet to g6. 15...Kd5 This allows White to finish Stage 2 as in line (e) in the note on move 12. However, Black has no better alternative. After any other king move there follows 16.Kd4 Kd6 17.Bd3, and any bishop move other than 15...Bc6 is likewise answered by 16.Kd4, whereupon the black bishop cannot move to e8. 16.Bg2+ Kd6 17.Kd4 Be8 17...Be6?! 18.Bf1 Bd7 19.Bd3 would lose a pawn right away. 18.Bd5 Bd7 We have reached Diagram 4, so Stage 3 of the winning process begins. As noted earlier, this stage was analyzed in detail by previous authors, so we only show one main line. 19.Bb3 Bc8 20.Bf7 Bb7 21.Be8 Ba6 22.Kd3 Ke7 23.Bc6 Kd6 24.Bf3 Bc8 25.Kd4 Bd7 26.Bd1 Be8 27.Bc2 Bd7 28.Bd3

[FEN "8/3b4/3k4/1p3p2/1P1K1P2/3B4/8/8 b - - 0 28"] The end of Stage 3 is reached, and Black cannot keep his pawns any longer. We only consider a line where Black gives up the Pf5, for in the other case the winning procedure is similar. 28...Be8 Obviously it would be worse to play 28...Kc6, since after 29.Ke5 White gains not only a pawn but also an active king position. 29.Bxf5 Bc6 30.Bd3 Bd7 31.f5 Bc6 32.Be2 Be8 33.Ke4 Bd7 34.Kf4

[FEN "8/3b4/3k4/1p3P2/1P3K2/8/4B3/8 b - - 0 34"] 34...Be8 There was hardly any need to consider other options for Black during the preceding moves: clearly White can always move the king to g5, threatening to support his passed pawn, which ensures an easy win unless Black can get his king

to f8 in time. The only thing White has to watch out for is a counterattack against the Pb4, and indeed, after 34...Kd5 (instead of 34...Be8) Black threatens 35...Bxf5 36.Kxf5 Kd4, eliminating White’s last pawn. However, in this case there follows 35.f6, when 35...Ke6 36.Bg4+ or 35...Be8 36.Bxb5 loses immediately, while 35...Kd6 36.Kg5 is also hopeless. 35.Bf1 This is a waiting move: after 35.Kg5 Ke7 White finds it more difficult to make further progress. In this case 36.f6+ Kf8 leads to a position similar to the well-known endgame Santasiere-Kashdan (Boston 1938), where minor details decide about win or draw. Generally speaking, White can win more safely if he leaves the pawn on f5, where the white bishop

can protect it and at the same time attack the Pb5. After the text-move a counterattack is again insufficient for Black, for instance 35...Kd5 36.Kg5 Kd4 37.f6 Kc3 38.Bxb5 Bf7 39.Be8 Bxe8 40.b5, and one of the white pawns will promote. This line shows why White played 35.Bf1 rather than 35.Bd3. The bishop sacrifice 39.Be8 is not the only way to win, but the quickest one. If in this line Black plays 36...Ke5 (instead of 36...Kd4), then there follows 37.f6 Ke6 38.Bd3! Kd6 39.Kf5, and Black no longer has any reasonable move. 35...Ke7 Black’s retreats the king and gives up the square e5, but this is now his best course. The alternative 35...Bd7?! also does not prevent White from breaking through with the king to the Pb5, this time by threatening to support his passed pawn: 36.Kg5 Ke7 37.Kg6 Kf8 38.Kf6. With the king marching along the sixth rank, the win is straightforward: 38...Be8 39.Ke6 Bc6 40.Bd3 Be8 41.Kd6 Kf7 42.Be4 Kf6. In the main line this position will be reached two moves later, and the win requires one more slight subtlety. 36.Ke5 Bd7 37.Bd3 Bc6 38.Be4 Bd7 39...Be8 40.Kd5 leads to the position which is reached three moves later in the main line. 39.Kd5 Be8

[FEN "4b3/4k3/8/1p1K1P2/1P2B3/8/8/8 w - - 0 40"] Now Black has reached the best defensive setup against the current arrangement of White’s pieces. White has to pass the move to Black by means of triangulation with the bishop. 40.Bd3 Bd7 After 40...Kf6 White can transpose to the main line by 41.Kc5, when Black must reply 41...Bd7, but slightly quicker is 41.Kd6 Bh5 42.Bxb5 Kxf5 43.Bd7+ or 41...Kf7 42.Be4 Kf6 43.Bc6. In both cases the main line is again reached, but

play is shortened by two or four moves, respectively. 41.Bc2 Be8 Again Black has nothing better: 41...Kf6 42.Kd6 Be8 43.Bd3 or 41...Kf7 42.Kd6 Be8 43.Be4 leads to the preceding note. 42.Be4 Bd7 After 42...Kf6 43.Kc5, the move Bd7 just leads to a transposition, while in the case of 43...Ke5 44.Bc6 Bh5 45.Bd7! White wins the Bb5 without giving up the Pf5. However, in the latter line White must avoid 45.Bxb5? Kxf5 46.Bd7+ Kf6, and even though White can advance his last pawn, Black draws. The reason is that the white king is not placed

well enough on c5; with the king on d6 White would win easily, as it ultimately happens in the main line. 43.Kc5 Kf6

[FEN "8/3b4/5k2/1pK2P2/1P2B3/8/8/8 w - - 0 44"] Black is again in zugzwang. Other king moves are also answered by 44.Kd6, followed by Bc6 or f6, while in the case of 43...Be8 there follows of course 44.Bc6. 44.Kd6 Be8 Or 44...Bc8 45.Kc6 etc. 45.Bc6 Bh5 46.Bxb5 Kxf5 47.Bd7+ No further analysis is needed: by pushing the pawn White wins without any further problem. A really amazing piece of work by Rolletschek! I want to end the column with the actual game. 159.07 Pinter,Jozsef (2565) - Alterman,Boris (2465)

Beersheba, 1991

[FEN "8/8/3kb3/1p3p2/1P1K1P2/5B2/8/8 b - - 0 122"] 99.Bb7 Bd3 100.Kf2 Ke7 101.Bc8 Kd6 102.Ke3 Be4 103.Kd4 Kc7 104.Be6 Kd6 105.Bf7 Bc6 106.Bh5 Bd5 107.Bd1 Bb7 108.Bb3 Be4 109.Bd1 Bb7 110.Be2 Bc6 111.Bf1 Be8 112.Bg2 Bf7 113.Bf3 Be8 114.Bd5 Bd7 115.Bg8 Bc6 116.Bh7 Bd7 117.Bg6 Be6 118.Kd3 Bd7 119.Bh5 Be6 120.Kc3 Kd5 121.Bf3+ Kd6 122.Kd4

[FEN "8/8/3kb3/1p3p2/1P1K1P2/5B2/8/8 b - - 0 122"] 122...Bf7?! 122...Bc4 is more tenacious, but also insufficient. 123.Bg2 Be8 124.Bb7 Bd7 125.Bd5 Be8 126.Bb3 Bd7 127.Bd1 Be6 1-0 Solutions to last month exercises E158.01 Ni,Viktorija (2206) - Eswaran,Ashritha (1979)

ch-USA w 2014 Saint Louis USA (1.5), 08.05.2014

[FEN "8/8/8/4P3/2b5/5kpp/2R5/6K1 b - - 0 79"] Black to move and win. Usually a rook is stronger than a bishop in a pure endgame, but here Black is too quick. 79...Be2! 80.Rc3+ 80.e6 h2+ 81.Kh1 Kf2 82.Rxe2+ Kxe2 83.Kg2 h1Q+ 84.Kxh1 Kf2 85.e7 g2+ 86.Kh2 g1Q+ 87.Kh3 Qg3#; 80.Rxe2 Kxe2 81.e6 h2+ 82.Kg2 h1Q+ 83.Kxh1 Kf2 84.e7 g2+ 85.Kh2 g1Q+ 86.Kh3 Qg3#. 80...Kg4!

[FEN "8/8/8/4P3/6k1/2R3pp/4b3/6K1 w - - 0 81"] The rook is dominated. 81.e6 h2+ 82.Kg2 82.Kh1 Bf3+ 83.Rxf3 Kxf3 84.e7 Kf2 85.e8Q g2+ 86.Kxh2 g1Q+ 87.Kh3 Qg3#. 82...Bf1+!!

[FEN "8/8/4P3/8/6k1/2R3p1/6Kp/5b2 w - - 0 83"] The bishop really works wonders. 83.Kh1 83.Kxf1 h1Q+ 84.Ke2 Qe4+ 85.Re3 Qc2+ 86.Ke1 Qf2+ 87.Kd1 Qxe3-+. 83...Kh3 0-1 E158.02 Houska,Jovanka (2410) - Lillevold,Frode (2182)

GM Open 2014 Fagernes NOR (3.5), 15.04.2014

[FEN "3R4/8/8/8/6K1/6P1/3pr3/4k3 w - - 0 57"] White to move and draw. Andreas Huss suggested to coin the term anti-bodycheck to describe the bodycheck avoidance of the attacking king: 57.Kf5? Now White's king will be caught between a rock and a hard place. 57.Kg5! was the only way to draw: 57...d1Q 58.Rxd1+ Kxd1 59.g4 Kd2 (59...Rf2 60.Kh6 Ke2 61.g5 Kf3 62.g6 Kg4 63.g7 Rh2+ 64.Kg6 Rg2=) 60.Kf6 (Baburin in Chess Today 4908) 60...Rf2+ 61.Ke6 Rg2 62.Kf5 Ke3 63.g5 Kd4 (Here Black's try to play for anti-bodycheck (to avoid White's bodycheck) with 63...Kf3 64.g6 Kg3 is too slow because of 65.g7 Kh4 66.Kf6 Kh5 67.Kf7=) 64.g6=

[FEN "8/8/6P1/5K2/3k4/8/6r1/8 b - - 0 64"] And White's king gives a bodycheck. 57...Rf2+! 58.Ke5 After 58.Kg5 d1Q 59.Rxd1+ Kxd1 60.g4 Ke2 (Baburin), White's king is cut off and can not give a bodycheck.

[FEN "8/8/8/6K1/6P1/8/4kr2/8 w - - 0 61"] 61.Kg6 Ke3 62.g5 Ke4 63.Kg7 Kf5 64.g6 Rg2-+; 58.Ke4!? is most tenacious: 58...Rg2 59.Kf3 Rg1 60.Re8+ Kd1 61.Kf2 (61.g4 Kc2 62.Rd8 d1Q+ 63.Rxd1 Kxd1 64.Kf4 Ke2 65.g5 Kf2!-+ transposes to the game with the only difference that Black's rook is on g1, which does not change matters.) 61...Rh1 62.Rc8 Re1! 63.g4 Re4 64.g5 Re5 65.g6 Rf5+ 66.Ke3 Ke1 67.Rd8 d1Q 68.Rxd1+ Kxd1 69.Ke4 Rg5-+. 58...Rg2 59.Kf4 d1Q 60.Rxd1+ Kxd1 61.g4 Ke2 62.g5

[FEN "8/8/8/6P1/5K2/8/4k1r1/8 b - - 0 62"] 62...Kf2! Black's king prepares the anti-bodycheck. 62...Kd3? runs into the bodycheck 63.Kf5 Kd4 64.g6=. 63.Kf5 Kg3 64.g6 Kh4 65.Kf6 Kh5 0-1 E158.03 Buhmann,R (2582) - Belezky,A (2455)

Bundesliga 2013-14 Eppingen GER (14), 05.04.2014

[FEN "8/8/8/2p1P3/2k2K2/8/8/8 b - - 0 71"] Black to move and draw. 71...Kb3!! Black must opt for the counterplay with his c-pawn. 71...Kd5? runs into 72.Kf5 c4 73.e6 A) 73...Kd6 74.Kf6 c3 75.e7 c2 (75...Kd7 76.Kf7 c2 77.e8Q++-) 76.e8Q c1Q 77.Qd8+ Kc5 78.Qc7++-. B) 73...c3 74.e7 c2 75.e8Q c1Q 76.Qd7+ Kc4 77.Qc6++-; 71...Kd3? 72.e6 c4 73.e7 c3 74.e8Q c2 75.Qe3++-. 72.e6 c4 73.e7 c3 74.e8Q c2 White can not exploit that Black's king is still on b3 and his own king is just outside the winning zone. After 74...Kb2?? 75.Ke3 c2, White's king would be just inside the winning zone:

[FEN "4Q3/8/8/8/8/4K3/1kp5/8 w - - 0 76"] 76.Qb5+ Kc3 77.Qe5+ Kb3 78.Qa1+-. 75.Qe1 Kb2

[FEN "8/8/8/8/5K2/8/1kp5/4Q3 w - - 0 76"] Now White's king is just outside. 76.Qb4+ Ka1 77.Qc3+ Kb1 78.Qb3+ Ka1 79.Qxc2 ½-½ E158.04 Carlsen,M (2881) - Aronian,L (2815)

2nd Norway Chess 2014 Stavanger NOR (5), 08.06.2014

[FEN "8/7P/4R1K1/3p4/3P2r1/4p3/1k6/8 w - - 0 85"] White to move and win. Carlsen's king won the fight as follows. 85.Kh5 Rg1 85...Rg3 is met by 86.Kh4 Rg1 87.Rxe3 Rh1+ 88.Rh3+-. 86.Rxe3 Rh1+ 87.Kg6 Rg1+ 88.Kf7 Rh1 89.Kg8 Rg1+ 90.Kh8 Rg4 91.Re5 Rxd4 92.Kg7 Rg4+ (92...Rh4 93.Rxd5+) 93.Kh6 1-0 Aronian resigned as Carlsen can use his rook to shield his king from the rain of rook checks. Download Endgame Corner #159 (Ebook) in ChessBase, PGN, and PDF formats. Viewable in Ipad, Itouch, Kindle, ChessBase and other PGN and PDF viewers.

Copyright 2014 Karsten Müller and ChessEdu.org. All Rights Reserved.

Endgame Corner #160 by Karsten Müller More Deep Duels It is a coincidence that not only FM Dr Heinrich Rolletschek has sent me a deep analysis of a same colored bishop ending, which was published in Endgame Corner #159, but also GM Efstratios Grivas and Harald Fietz. I want to thank them that they have given permission to publish it in my column. I want to start with another example: 160.01 Onischuk,Alexander (2668) - Naroditsky,Daniel (2543)

ch-USA 2014 Saint Louis USA (10.4), 18.05.2014

[FEN "8/1b4k1/3p3p/p1pP4/PpP2PK1/1P1B4/7P/8 w - - 0 51"] White's extra pawn can be converted, but care is required as White's king can not invade easily: 51.Bf5!? The direct 51.f5? violates the endgame principle do not rush because of51...Bc8 52.Kh5 Bd7 53.f6+ Kxf6 54.Kxh6 Bh3 55.Kh5 Ke5 56.Kh4 Kd4 57.Bg6 Bf1 58.Kg5 Bh3 59.Kh4 Bf1=. 51...Kf6 52.Be6? A very unfortunate square for the bishop. 52.Bd7! wins as White's king can invade sooner or later, e.g. 52...Ba6 (52...Kg6 53.Kh4 Ba6 54.Bg4 Kf6 55.Kh5 Kg7 56.h4 Bb7 57.f5 Ba6 58.f6+ Kxf6 59.Kxh6+-) 53.Kh5 Kg7 (53...Bxc4 54.bxc4 b3 55.Be8 b2 56.Bg6+-) 54.Bf5 (54.f5? Kf6 55.Kxh6 Bxc4-+) 54...Kf6 55.Bg4 Kg7 56.Bd7 Bb7 57.Bg4 Ba6 58.f5 Bb7 59.f6+ Kxf6 60.Kxh6 Ke5 61.Kg5+-. 52...Ba6!

[FEN "8/8/b2pBk1p/p1pP4/PpP2PK1/1P6/7P/8 w - - 0 53"] The counterblow ...Bxc4 saves Black. 53.h4 53.Kh5 Bxc4 54.bxc4 b3 55.Bg8 Kg7 56.Be6 Kf6=; 53.Bd7? Bxc4 54.bxc4 b3 55.Bf5 h5+-+. 53...Kg6 53...Bxc4? is now refuted by 54.bxc4 b3 55.h5 b2 56.Bf5+-. 54.Kg3 Kf6 55.Bh3 Bb7 56.Bd7 Ke7 57.Be6 Kf6 58.Kg4 Ba6 59.Bd7 Ke7 60.Bf5 60.Kh5?? Kxd7 61.Kxh6 Bxc4 62.bxc4 b3-+. 60...Kf6 61.Be6 Kg6! 61...Bb7? 62.Kh5 Kg7 63.f5 Ba6 64.f6+ Kxf6 65.Kxh6 Bb7 (65...Bxc4 66.bxc4 b3 67.Bg8+-) 66.h5 Ba6 67.Bd7 Ke7 68.Bh3 Kf6 69.Bg4 Bb7 70.Kh7 Kg5 71.h6 Kxg4 72.Kg7 Bxd5 73.cxd5 c4 74.h7 cxb3 75.h8Q b2 76.Qh7+-. 62.Kf3 Kf6 63.Ke3 Ke7 64.Ke4 Kf6 65.Bd7 Ke7 66.Bh3 Kf6 67.Kf3 Bb7 68.Bd7 Ba6 69.Kg4 Ke7 70.Bf5 Kf6 71.Bc2 Bc8+ 72.Kh5 Kg7 73.f5 Bd7! 74.Kg4 1/2-1/2 The following example is by Efstratios Grivas from his forthcoming book The Grandmaster Program. I hand the microphone over to him: 160.02 Example 1 - Bishop Ending

Athens, 26.02.2007

[FEN "6k1/2b2pp1/7p/p3p3/Pp2P3/1P6/1B3PPP/6K1 w - - 0 1"] This type of endgame is always very pleasant for White. Black's bad bishop and his weak a5- and e5-pawns make his life miserable and put him in long defensive duties. White is not risking at all losing (only if he overdoes it!) but of course the main question is if he can win. In such endgames it is 'hard' to claim that White is better; it must be proved that he either wins or draw. In my opinion White has good chances, following a four-step plan: 1. Activate his king and place him in c4-square, from where he will threat to penetrate Black's camp, through the weak lightsquares. 2. Activate his bishop. 3. Move his king to the kingside, trying to penetrate. 4. Use his kingside pawns to breakthrough in the kingside. Let's examine it in practice: 1.Kf1 Kf8? The first two versions of this ending was published back in early 2007 (February & May). But in July 2014, GM Gilberto Milos was kind enough to support the ending with some extra and very valuable analysis. Here he proposed 1...f6! , with the idea is to prevent the coming white f4 advance. The main, joined analysis, runs as: 2.Ke2 Kf7

[FEN "8/2b2kp1/5p1p/p3p3/Pp2P3/1P6/1B2KPPP/8 w - - 0 3"] Now it looks like the white king will penetrate: A) 3.Bc1 is not doing much: 3...Ke6 4.Be3 Kd6 5.Kd3 (5.f4 exf4 6.Bxf4+ Kc6=) 5...Kc6 A1) 6.h4 h5!=; A2) 6.g3 g5 7.Kc4 Bd6 8.f3 h5 9.h3 Be7 10.f4 exf4 (10...g4=) 11.gxf4 g4 12.hxg4 hxg4=; A3) 6.Kc4 Bd6 7.g4 g5 8.f3 Be7 9.Bf2 Bd6 10.h4 Bf8 11.h5 Bd6 with a draw. If White becomes too

optimistic with 12.Bb6? , he loses after 12...Kxb6 13.Kd5 Bc5! (13...Bf8? 14.Ke6 Kc5 15.Kf7 Bd6 16.Kg7 Kd4 17.Kxh6 Kc3=) 14.Ke6 Kc6 15.Kxf6 Kd6; B) 3.Kd3! Bb6! 4.Kc4! (4.f3 Ke6 5.Kc4 Be3! (the point of Black΄s defence) 6.Kb5 Kd6 7.Kxa5 Kc5= as White cannot improve his position; his bishop is out of play...) 4...Bxf2 5.Kb5 Bd4 6.Bc1 f5! (Black is obliged to get active: 6...Ke6? 7.Kxa5 Bc3 8.g4+-) 7.exf5 e4

[FEN "8/5kp1/7p/pK3P2/Pp1bp3/1P6/6PP/2B5 w - - 0 8"] B1) 8.Kxa5 leads to a draw after 8...e3 9.Kxb4 Ke8! (or 9...Ke7) ; B2) 8.Kc4! B2a) 8...Bg1? 9.g4 g6 (9...Bxh2 10.Kd5+) 10.Bxh6 gxf5 11.gxf5 Kf6 12.h4 Kxf5 13.Kb5 e3 14.Bxe3! (14.Kxa5? e2 15.Bd2 Ke4 16.Kxb4 Be3 17.Be1 Kd3 18.Kb5 Bd2 19.Bf2 Be3 20.Bg3 Bf4=) 14...Bxe3 15.Kxa5+-; B2b) 8...Bb6! 9.g4 (9.Bb2 g6 10.g4 gxf5 11.gxf5 e3

12.Kd3 h5 13.Be5 Ke7 14.h3 h4 15.Bf4 Kf6=) 9...g6! (9...Ba7? 10.Bb2 Bg1 11.h4+-) 10.fxg6+ Kxg6 11.Bf4 B2b1) 11...Bg1 B2b11) 12.h4 h5! 13.gxh5+ Kxh5 14.Bg5 (14.Bc7 Kxh4 15.Bxa5 Kg3 16.Bxb4 e3 17.a5 e2 18.a6 Kg2=) 14...Bf2 15.Bd8 Kg4 16.Bxa5 Bxh4 17.Bxb4 e3 18.a5 e2 19.a6 Bf2 20.Kd3 Kf3 21.Be1 Be3=; B2b12) 12.h3 Bf2! is just transposing - the black bishop should stand on f2 - its only good square!; B2b2) 11...h5 12.h3 (12.gxh5+ Kxh5 13.Kd5 e3 14.Ke4 e2 15.Bg3 Kg4 16.Be1 Bc5 17.h3+ Kxh3 18.Kf3 Bb6 19.Kxe2 Kg4 20.Kd3 Kf3 21.Bh4 Bc7 22.Kc4 Ke4 23.Kb5 Kd3=) 12...hxg4 13.hxg4 B2b21) 13...Ba7? 14.Bc7 Kg5 15.Bxa5 Kxg4 16.Bxb4+-; B2b22) 13...Kf6?

14.Kb5 Bf2 (14...Bd8 15.Kc5! Ke6 16.Kd4+-) 15.Kxa5 e3 16.Kxb4 e2 17.Bd2+- .; B2b23) 13...Bf2!

[FEN "8/8/6k1/p7/PpK1pBP1/1P6/5b2/8 w - - 0 14"] And White cannot improve: B2b231) 14.Kb5 e3 15.Kxa5 e2 16.Bd2 Be3! (16...e1Q? 17.Bxe1 Bxe1 18.Kb5+-) 17.Be1 Kg5 18.Kxb4 Kxg4 19.Kc4 Kf3 20.a5 Bf2 21.Bc3 Kg2! 22.b4 Kf1 23.b5 Be1 24.Bxe1 Kxe1 25.a6 Kd2 26.a7 e1Q 27.a8Q Qf1+=; B2b232) 14.Bc7 Kg5 15.Bxa5 Kxg4 16.Bxb4 e3 17.a5 Kf3 18.a6 e2= . So Black can achieve a draw, after many only-moves and just for a tempo... Obviously the white b2-bishop is not in its ideal position. 2.Ke2 Ke7

It seems that 2...f6 is too late now because of3.Kd3 Bb6 4.Kc4 and White wins.. 3.Kd3 Kd6 4.Kc4 Kc6

[FEN "8/2b2pp1/2k4p/p3p3/PpK1P3/1P6/1B3PPP/8 w - - 0 5"] Forced. Allowing the white king to enter the queenside is an instant lose: 4...g6 5.Kb5 f5 6.Bc1 f4 7.f3 Kd7 8.Bd2 Kd6 9.Be1 Kd7 10.Bf2+-. 5.f4! The first breakthrough. It is important for White to create some more weakness in Black's camp. This can only be the g7-pawn, so White planned f4-f5 to fix it as a target of his darksquared bishop. 5...f6 5...exf4 loses in a 'quick' fashion: 6.Bxg7 h5 7.e5 Bb6 8.Bh6 Be3 9.Bg5! Bb6 (9...Bd2 10.Bd8) 10.Bxf4 Bc7 11.Kd4 . Then White will create a passed pawn on the kingside. 6.f5 Fixing the new weakness, the black g7-pawn, as well the light square weaknesses in the kingside. Now all the black pawns are placed as potentional targets of the darksquared white bishop. 6...Bb6 7.Bc1 Bg1 8.h3 Bf2 8...h5 is the proposal of Karsen Müller. But after 9.g4 hxg4 10.hxg4 Bf2 11.g5 we have a transposition to a position below - see (TP1). 9.g4 White is preparing the second breakthrough: g5. 9...Bc5

[FEN "8/6p1/2k2p1p/p1b1pP2/PpK1P1P1/1P5P/8/2B5 w - - 0 10"] Black cannot keep his bishop in the e1-h4 diagonal: 9...Bg3 10.Be3 Bf4 11.Bc5+- , as Black cannot protect his a- and gpawns at the same time.. 10.Kd3! It is too early to advance the kingside pawns with 10.h4? Bf2 11.g5 and now: A) 11...fxg5? 12.hxg5 hxg5 (12...h5 13.f6 g6 14.f7 Bc5 15.Bb2+-) 13.Bxg5 Bb6 14.Be7+- .; B) b. 11...Bxh4? 12.gxh6 gxh6 13.Bxh6 Bg3 14.Bg7 Bh4 15.Bf8 Bg5 16.Be7 Kd7 17.Bc5 Kc6 18.Bf8 Bh4 19.Kd3 Kd7 20.Ke2 Kc6 21.Kf3 Kd7 22.Bg7 Ke7 23.Bh6 Kd7 24.Be3 Kc7 25.Kg4 Be1 26.Kh5+- .; C) 11...hxg5? 12.hxg5 (TP1) C1) 12...Bh4 13.g6 Bf2 14.Bh6+- or; C2) 12...Bg1 [the most stubborn defence] 13.Bd2! Bf2 (13...Bd4 14.Kd3 Kd7 15.Ke2 Ke7 16.Kf3 Kf7 17.Kg4 Bf2 18.Kh5 Bg1 19.Be1 Be3 20.Bh4 transposes to the main line) 14.Kd3 Kd7 15.Ke2 Bg1 16.Be1 Ke7 17.Bh4+-; C3) 12...Bc5 C3a) (now, as there is not much hope in the queenside, the white king starts his journey in

trying to enter the critical g6 square. After 13.g6? Black is holding as there is no entrance for the white king in the kingside. The same applies for; C3b) 13.gxf6? gxf6 14.Bh6 C3b1) 14...Be7? 15.Bg7 Bd8 16.Bf8+- or; C3b2) 14...Bf2? 15.Bf8 Bh4 16.Kd3 Kd7 17.Ke2 Bg5 18.Kf3 Bh4 19.Bc5! (19.Kg4? Bf2 20.Kh5 Ke8 21.Bd6 Kd7 22.Bf8 Ke8=)

19...Kc6 20.Be3 Be1 21.Kg4 Kb7 22.Kh5 Kc6 23.Kg6 Bh4 24.Kf7 Bg5 25.Ba7 Bh4 26.Ke6 Bg5 27.Bf2+- .; C3b3) 14...Bd6! 15.Bg7 Be7 . White should avoid an early exchange in f6 at any cost; C3c) 13.Kd3! Be7 14.Ke2 C3c1) 14...fxg5 is not helping: 15.Kf3 Kd7 16.Kg4 Ke8 17.Bxg5 Bc5 (17...Bxg5 18.Kxg5 Kf7 19.Kg4 Kf6 20.Kh5 Kf7 21.Kg5 Ke7 22.Kg6 Kf8 23.f6+-) 18.Kh5 Bb6 19.Kg6 Kf8 20.f6 gxf6 21.Kxf6 Bd4 22.Ke6+- . The same goes on for; C3c2) 14...Kc5 15.Be3+ Kc6 16.Kf3 Kd7 17.Kg4 Ke8 18.Kh5 Kf7 19.Bb6; C3c3) 14...Bc5 (Karsten Mueller) 15.Kf3 Kd7 16.Kg4 (16.Be3? Bxe3 17.Kxe3 fxg5 18.Kf3 Kd6 19.Kg4 Kc5 20.Kxg5 Kd4 21.Kg6 Kxe4-+) 16...Ke8 17.Bd2 Ke7 18.Kh5 Kf7 19.Be1 is also analysed below - (TP2); C3c4) 14...Kd7 15.Be3 Bd8 16.Kf3 Ke8 17.Kg4 Kf7 18.Kh5 Bc7 19.Bc5! Bd8 20.Bd6 Bb6

[FEN "8/5kp1/1b1B1p2/p3pPPK/Pp2P3/1P6/8/8 w - - 0 21"] White succeeded in entering with his bishop in the critical a3-f8 diagonal. Why this diagonal is so critical? Because from there the white bishop can attack the weak g7-pawn (in case the black king goes to the queenside) and in the same time the d6-pawn (in case of a future ...fxg5) or the a-pawn (in case the black bishop leaves the a5-d8 diagonal). This means that the white king is free to act: 21.Kg4! (returning to the queenside!) 21...Ke8 ((alternatives as 21...g6 22.gxf6 Kxf6 23.fxg6 Kxg6 24.Bxe5+- or; 21...Bd8 22.Kf3 g6 23.gxf6 Bxf6 24.Bc7+- are easily losing)) 22.Kf3 Bd8 (22...Kd7 23.Bf8 fxg5 24.Bxg7) 23.Bc5! (putting Black into zugzwang. Wrong would be the 'attractive' 23.g6? Be7 24.Bc7 Bd8=) 23...Bc7

[FEN "4k3/2b3p1/5p2/p1B1pPP1/Pp2P3/1P3K2/8/8 w - - 0 24"] (unfortunately for Black he cannot go on with the bishop's exchange: 23...Be7 24.Bxe7 Kxe7 25.Kg4 and the pawn ending is won for White, as now his king can enter the g6 square) 24.gxf6! gxf6 25.Ke3 Kd7 26.Kd3 Bd8 (26...Kc6 27.Be7) 27.Kc4 Kc6 28.Bf8!

[FEN "3b1B2/8/2k2p2/p3pP2/PpK1P3/1P6/8/8 b - - 0 28"] And Black is in zugzwang. Either he will lose his f6-pawn or he will allow the entrance of the white king. In both cases White will easily win. It must be noted that even if it was White's turn to play, Black could not avoid defeat: 29.Bh6 Bc7 30.Bg7 Bd8 31.Bf8. The above analysis is very important, as it will guide us to the winning process, used in the correct line with 10.Kd3.; D) d) 11...h5! the alternatives are: (this saving resource cannot be underestimated. The white king loses his entrance in the kingside) 12.g6 Bc5 13.Bh6 Bf8 14.Be3 Be7= . But now, after 10.Kd3, the white king intents to enter h5-square, from where he will help the advance of his kingside pawns. 10...Be7 'Forced', as after 10...Bf2? 11.Be3! Bxe3 (11...Bg3 12.Kc4 Bf4 13.Bc5+-) 12.Kxe3 White wins the pawn ending as he has kept two tempos in hand (h4 and h5).. 11.Be3 Bd6 12.Ke2 Bf8 13.Kf3 Be7 14.Kg3

[FEN "8/4b1p1/2k2p1p/p3pP2/Pp2P1P1/1P2B1KP/8/8 b - - 0 14"] 14...Bc5 The key to this ending lies in controlling the important g1-a7 diagonal. If White gets it, he is winning. So, Black's try is understandable. 15.Bf2!

[FEN "8/6p1/2k2p1p/p1b1pP2/Pp2P1P1/1P4KP/5B2/8 b - - 0 15"] 15.Bd2 seems also to be winning: 15...Kd7 (15...Bd4? 16.Kh4 Kd6 17.Kh5 Ke7 18.Kg6 Kf8 19.h4+-) 16.Kh4 Ke7 17.Kh5 Kf7 18.h4 Bd4 19.g5 hxg5 20.hxg5 A) 20...fxg5 21.Bxg5 Bb6 22.Bh4 Bc7 23.Bf2 Bd8 24.Be3 Bc7 25.Bc5

Bd8 (25...Kf6 26.Ba7 Kf7 27.Kg4 g6 28.Bf2 Bd8 29.Kf3 Bc7 30.Bh4 Bb6 31.Bg5 Bc7 32.Ke3 Bb6+ 33.Kd3 Bc7 34.Kc4) 26.Bd6 Kf6 27.Kg4 and the white king comes back to c4, entering the queenside; B) 20...Bc5 (TP2) 21.Be1 Be3 22.Bh4 Bc5 23.Kg4 Ke7 24.Kf3 Bb6 25.Ke2 Bd8 B1) 26.gxf6+? gxf6 B1a) 27.Bf2 Kd6 B1a1) 28.Kf3 Bc7 29.Kg4 Ke7 30.Kh5 Kf7 31.Bc5 Bd8 32.Kg4 Ke8 33.Kf3 Kd7 (33...Be7 34.Bb6 Bd8) 34.Ke2 Be7 35.Bb6; B1a2) 28.Kd3 Kc6 29.Kc4 Be7 30.Be3=; B1b) 27.Ke3 Kd7 28.Kf3 Ke7 29.Bf2 Bc7 30.Bc5+ Kd7 31.Ke3 Bd6=; B2) 26.Ke3!

[FEN "3b4/4k1p1/5p2/p3pPP1/Pp2P2B/1P2K3/8/8 b - - 0 26"] putting Black into zugzwang: (26.gxf6+? gxf6 27.Ke3 (27.Bf2 Kd6 28.Kd3 (28.Kf3 Bc7 29.Kg4 Ke7 30.Kh5 Kf7 31.Bc5 Bd8 32.Kg4 Ke8 33.Kf3 Kd7 (33...Be7 34.Bb6 Bd8) 34.Ke2 Be7 35.Bb6) 28...Kc6 29.Kc4 Be7 30.Be3=) 27...Kd7 28.Kf3 Ke7 29.Bf2 Bc7 30.Bc5+ Kd7 31.Ke3 Bd6=) 26...Kd7 27.Kf3 Ke7 28.Bf2 and we get one of the wellknown winning positions, examined previously.. 15...Bd6 Black cannot keep his bishop in this diagonal anymore: 15...Bd4 16.Kf3 Kc5 17.Be3 Kc6 18.Ke2 Bc3 19.Kd3 Bb2 20.Kc4 Bc3 21.Bc5+- or; 15...Kd6 16.Kf3 Bd4 17.Ke2+- .. 16.Kh4 Bc5 17.Bg3! Kd7 18.Kh5 Ke8 19.Kg6 Kf8 20.h4

[FEN "5k2/6p1/5pKp/p1b1pP2/Pp2P1PP/1P4B1/8/8 b - - 0 20"] Now White is ready for the g5 breakthrough. 20...Be3 21.g5! hxg5 22.hxg5 Bxg5 23.Bxe5 1-0 And White wins. I have to thank GMs Gilberto Milos & Karsten Müller for their kind contribution to this very difficult endgame. Many thanks Efstratios! The last example is from a correspondence game and was sent by Harald Fietz: 160.03 Maedler,Manfred - Berliner,Hans Jack

W-ch5 sf01 corr6265, 1962

[FEN "8/p1p1k3/8/2pPpb2/8/P1P1K3/4B3/8 w - - 0 41"] Amazingly Black is always winning, but it is very deep. 41.Bb5 41.Ba6 is more tenacious and for some time this even looked like a way to draw. But German correspondence expert Dr. Egon Erker from Osnabrück showed the way to win in 2000: 41...c4!!

[FEN "8/p1p1k3/B7/3Ppb2/2p5/P1P1K3/8/8 w - - 0 42"] Now White has two options. He can take the pawn or try to play around it. A) 42.Bxc4 Kd6 A1) 43.Bb3 a5 44.a4 Bg6 45.Kf3 Bf7 46.Ke4 Bg8 47.Ba2 (47.Bc4? c6!-+) 47...Bh7+ 48.Ke3 Bc2-+; A2) 43.a4 a5 44.Bb3 Bg6 45.Kf3 Bf7 46.Ke4 Bg8 47.Ba2 Bh7+ 48.Ke3 Bc2-+; B) 42.Bb7 "Black can only win with great difficulty. " (Dr. Erker) 42...Kd6 43.Ba8 Bc2 44.Bb7 White fights against Black's winning idea to transfer the king to a5 and the bishop to a4. 44...Kc5 45.Bc6 Kb6 46.Kd2 Bh7 47.Ke3 Ka5 48.Kd2 Bg6 49.Bd7 Kb6 50.Ke3 Kc5 51.Bc6 Bc2 52.Ba8 Kb5 53.Bc6+ Ka5 54.Be8 a6 55.Bd7 Ba4 56.Bg4 Be8

[FEN "4b3/2p5/p7/k2Pp3/2p3B1/P1P1K3/8/8 w - - 0 57"] A critical position for the final stage of Black's plan. B1) 57.Bd1 Bg6 58.Kf2 Be4 59.Ke3 Bxd5 60.Bc2

[FEN "8/2p5/p7/k2bp3/2p5/P1P1K3/2B5/8 b - - 0 60"] Black can also break this set up by precise manovering, e.g. 60...Bg2 61.Kf2 (61.Bd1 Kb5 62.Bc2 Bf1 63.Bd1 Bd3 64.Kd2 Ka5 65.Kc1 e4 66.Kd2 Bb1 67.Ke3 Ba2 68.Kxe4 Bb3-+) 61...Bc6 62.Ke3 Ba4 63.Be4 Kb5 64.Kd2 Bb3 65.Kc1 Ka4 66.Kb2 Bd1 67.Bc6+ Ka5 68.Kc1 Kb6 69.Bd7 Bf3 70.Ba4 Ka5 71.Bc2 Be2 72.Be4 Ka4 73.Kb2 Kb5 74.Kc1 Bd3-+; B2) 57.Be2 Ka4 58.Bxc4 a5 59.Ke4 Kxa3 60.Kxe5 Kb2 followed by a4.; B3) 57.Ke4 Ka4 58.Kxe5 Kxa3 59.Kd4 Bb5 60.Be2 Kb3 61.Bd1+ Kb2 62.Be2 a5 63.Kc5 Ba6 64.Kc6 a4 65.Kxc7 a3 66.d6 a2 67.d7 a1Q 68.d8Q

[FEN "3Q4/2K5/b7/8/2p5/2P5/1k2B3/q7 b - - 0 68"] Black can convert his initiative with 68...Qa5+ 69.Kd7 Qd5+ 70.Kc7 Qc5+ 71.Kd7 Bb5+ 72.Ke6 Qe3+-+. 41...Kd6 42.c4?! 42.Bc6 is more tenacious, but Black wins with 42...c4 analogously to the 42.Ba6 lines by Dr Erker. 42...a5 43.Ba4 43.Bc6 Ke7 44.Bb7 Kf6 45.Bc6 Kg5 46.Bb7 (46.Kf3 Bd3 47.Bb5 e4+ 48.Ke3 Kg4-+) 46...Kg4 47.Bc6 Kg3 48.Bb7 Bc2 49.Bc6 e4 50.Kd2 Kf2 51.Kxc2 e3-+. 43...Ke7 44.Bd1 Kf6 45.Bf3 Kg5 46.Bg2 Kh4 47.Be4 47.Kf3 Bd3 48.Ke3 (48.Bh1 Kg5 49.Ke3 Bxc4 50.Ke4 Kf6-+) 48...Bxc4 49.Ke4 Kg3 50.Bh1 Kf2 51.Kxe5 Ke3 52.Ke6 Be2 53.Kd7 c4 54.Kxc7 c3 55.d6 Bg4-+. 47...Kg4 48.Bf3+ Kg3

[FEN "8/2p5/8/p1pPpb2/2P5/P3KBk1/8/8 w - - 0 49"] 49.Bd1 49.Be4?! Bxe4 50.Kxe4 Kf2 51.Kxe5 Ke3-+; 49.Bh5 Kg2 50.Ke2 Bb1 A) 51.Ke3 Kf1 52.Bg4 (52.Be2+ Ke1 53.a4 Bc2-+) 52...Ke1 53.Bh5 e4 54.Bg6 Bd3 55.Bxe4 Bxe4 56.Kxe4 Kd2-+; B) 51.Bf3+ Kg1 52.Bg4 (52.d6 cxd6 53.Bd5 e4-+) 52...Ba2 53.Ke3 Bxc4 54.Ke4 Kf2 55.Kxe5 Be2 56.Bf5 Ke3 57.Ke6 c4 58.Kd7 c3 59.Kxc7 Bd3 60.Bxd3 Kxd3 61.d6 c2 62.d7 c1Q+-+; 49.Bh1 Bc2 50.Kd2 (50.Bf3 Bd3-+) 50...Bb3 51.Ke3 (51.Kc3 Bd1 52.Kd3 Bf3-+) 51...Bxc4 52.Ke4 Be2 53.Kxe5 Bf3-+; 49.d6 cxd6 50.Bd5 Bc2 51.Bc6 e4 52.Bd5 Bd3 53.a4 Kg2 54.Bxe4+ Bxe4 55.Kxe4 Kf2 56.Kd5 Ke3 57.Kc6 Kd4 58.Kb5 d5 59.cxd5 Kxd5 60.Kxa5 Kc6-+. 49...Kg2 50.Ba4 50.Be2 Bg6-+ Zugzwang. 50...Kf1 51.Bd1 (51.Kd2 Kf2-+) 51...Ke1

[FEN "8/2p5/8/p1pPpb2/2P5/P3K3/8/3Bk3 w - - 0 52"] 52.Ba4 52.Bh5 Bb1 53.Bg4 e4 54.Bf5 Bd3 55.Bxe4 Bxe4 56.Kxe4 Kd2 57.d6 cxd6 58.Kd5 Kc3 59.Kxd6 Kxc4-+. 52...Bg6 53.Bb3 Bb1 54.Ba4 e4 55.Bb3 Bd3 0-1

[FEN "8/2p5/8/p1pP4/2P1p3/PB1bK3/8/4k3 w - - 0 56"] White resigned. Hans Berliner gave the following line in his letter: 56.Ba4 Bxc4 57.Kxe4 Kd2 58.Ke5 Ba2! 59.d6 cxd6+ 60.Kxd6 c4 61.Kc5 c3 62.Kb6 Bb1 63.Kxa5 Bc2 64.Bd7 Bd1 65.Bf5 Be2-+. Download Endgame Corner #160 (Ebook) in ChessBase, PGN, and PDF formats. Viewable in Ipad, Itouch, Kindle, ChessBase and other PGN and PDF viewers. Copyright 2014 Karsten Müller and ChessEdu.org. All Rights Reserved.

Endgame Corner #161 by Karsten Müller Tarrasch's Tempo Ronald Wieck wrote in to say, "I believe you will be interested in a discovery by IM Bernard Zuckerman." Of course I was very interested, as an old and famous rook ending was concerned. He had talked to Bernard Zuckerman on the phone: "Bernard and I were talking about rook endings and right before we hung up, he asked me if I was familiar with Rubinstein's draw with Tarrasch at San Sebastian, 1911. Proudly, I announced that I was. He pressed on with, "but did you ever wonder what happens if Tarrasch gains a tempo?" And indeed Zuckerman, who did not use a computer, seems to be right. Tarrasch could have won: 161.01 Tarrasch,Siegbert - Rubinstein,Akiba

San Sebastian (6), 28.02.1911

[FEN"8/7p/1R6/5pk1/4p3/2P5/PP1r1P1P/5K2 w - - 0 35"] 35.Ke1?! Still playable, but already a step in the wrong direction. 35.a4 f4 (35...Kg4 36.Ke1 Rc2 37.a5 Kf3 38.a6 Re2+ 39.Kd1 Kxf2 40.Rf6 Rxb2 41.Rxf5+ Ke3 42.Ra5 Kd3 43.Kc1 Rb8 44.a7 Ra8 45.Ra3 Ke2 46.Ra2+ Kd3 47.Rd2+ Kxc3 48.Rd7 h6 49.Kd1 Kc4 50.Ke2 Kc5 51.Ke3 Kc6 52.Rh7 Kd5 53.h4 Ke5 54.h5+-. 35...Rc2 36.a5 f4 37.a6 f3 38.Ke1+- transposes to the main line. 35...Rd1+ 36.Ke2 Ra1 37.Rb4 Kf4 38.c4 Ke5 39.Rb5+ Kd4 40.a5 f4 41.f3 Kxc4 42.Rf5+-) 36.Ke1 Rc2 37.a5 f3 38.a6 Re2+ 39.Kd1

[FEN"8/7p/PR6/6k1/4p3/2P2p2/1P2rP1P/3K4 b - - 0 39"] This was given by Zuckerman and indeed it wins for White: A) 39...Rxf2 40.a7 Rf1+ 41.Kd2 Ra1 42.Rb7 Kf4 (42...f2 43.Rf7 Rxa7 44.Rxf2 Kg4 45.Ke3+-) 43.Rf7+ Ke5 44.Ke3 h6 45.Re7+ Kd6 46.Rxe4+-. B) 39...e3 40.fxe3 Rxe3 41.h4+ Kxh4 42.Kd2 Re2+ 43.Kd3 Re1 44.Rf6 Kg3 45.b4 f2 46.b5+-. 35...Rc2 36.Rb5? White does not have time for this rook retreat. It is not too late for 36.a4, which wins similar to 35.a4:

[FEN"8/7p/1R6/5pk1/P3p3/2P5/1Pr2P1P/4K3 b - - 0 36"] 36...Rc1+ 37.Kd2 Ra1 38.Rb4 Kf4 39.Ke2

[FEN"8/7p/8/5p2/PR2pk2/2P5/1P2KP1P/r7 b - - 0 39"] Black has difficulties to organise his counterplay. 39...Rc1 (39...h5 40.c4 h4 41.c5 Rc1 42.Rb5 Rc2+ 43.Kd1 Rxf2 44.c6 Rf1+ 45.Kc2 e3 46.c7 e2 47.c8Q e1Q 48.Qxf5++-) 40.Rd4 Ra1 41.h3 h5 (41...Ke5 42.Rb4 Kf4 43.c4 Ke5 44.Rb5+ Kd4 45.a5 f4 46.f3 Kxc4 47.Rf5 Kd4 48.Rxf4 Rxa5 49.Rxe4++-) 42.h4 Kg4 (42...Ke5 43.Rb4 Kf4 44.c4 Kg4 45.c5 Rc1 46.Rb5 f4 47.Kd2 Rc4 48.b3 Rd4+ 49.Ke1 Rd3 50.a5 e3 51.Rb7 Rc3 52.fxe3 Rc1+ 53.Kd2 Rxc5 54.b4 Rd5+ 55.Ke1 fxe3 56.a6 Kf3 57.a7 e2 58.Rf7+ Ke3 59.Re7++-) 43.f3+ Kf4 (43...Kg3 44.fxe4 f4 45.Rd3+ Kxh4 46.Rd7 Rxa4 47.Kf3+-) 44.fxe4 fxe4 45.Rd1 Rxa4 46.Rf1+ Kg3 47.Ke3 Kxh4

[FEN"8/8/8/7p/r3p2k/2P1K3/1P6/5R2 w - - 0 48"] Now Black's king is too badly placed: 48.Kf4 e3+ 49.b4 Kh3 50.Re1+-. 36...Kg4 37.h3+ Kxh3 38.Rxf5 Rxb2

[FEN"8/7p/8/5R2/4p3/2P4k/Pr3P2/4K3 w - - 0 39"] Black is too active now. 39.Rf4 39.a4 Kg4 40.Rf7 h5 41.a5 Ra2 42.Ra7 h4 43.a6 h3 44.Rg7+ Kf4 45.Rh7 Kg4 46.a7 e3 47.fxe3 Kg3 48.c4 h2 49.Rg7+ Kf3 50.Rf7+ Kxe3 51.Re7+ Kf3 52.Rf7+=. 39...Rxa2 40.Rxe4 h5 41.c4 Kg2 42.Rf4 Rc2 43.Rh4

[FEN"8/8/8/7p/2P4R/8/2r2Pk1/4K3 b - - 0 43"] 43.Kd1 Rxf2 44.Rxf2+ Kxf2 45.c5 h4 46.c6 h3 47.c7 h2 48.c8Q h1Q+=. 43...Kf3! The king must come back into the action. Of course not 43...Rxf2?? 44.Rh2+ Kxh2 45.Kxf2+-. 44.Kd1 Rxf2 45.c5 Ke3 46.Rxh5 Kd4 1/2-1/2 Exercises (Solutions next month) E161.01 Tarrasch,Siegbert - Lasker,Emanuel

World Championship 08th Germany (14), 24.09.1908

[FEN"8/8/8/1r2BK2/7k/8/6R1/8 b - - 0 119"] Lasker found the only way to draw. Can you do the same? E161.02 Winawer,Szymon - Tarrasch,Siegbert Budapest Budapest (1), 05.10.1896

[FEN"4k3/1R6/5K2/1p2P3/8/8/8/6r1 b - - 0 73"] Was the game continuation 73...Rh1 a good choice? What would you play with black? E161.03 Tarrasch,Siegbert - Janowski,Dawid Markelowicz

Ostend (4), 1907

[FEN"8/8/8/5P2/r5P1/4K3/1k6/8 w - - 0 80"] White to move and win. E161.04 Von Bardeleben,Curt - Tarrasch,Siegbert

Leipzig (7), 07.12.1888

[FEN"8/2kP4/8/8/1P2K3/8/8/8 w - - 0 81"] White to move and win. E161.05 Lasker,Emanuel - Tarrasch,Siegbert

St Petersburg preliminary (9), 03.05.1914

[FEN"8/6K1/8/ppp2k2/8/1P6/1P5P/8 w - - 0 40"] White to move and draw. E161.06 Tarrasch,Siegbert - Johner,Paul F

Teplitz Schoenau (2), 03.10.1922

[FEN"R7/7r/P7/8/4k3/2K5/8/8 b - - 0 55"] Black to move and draw. Download Endgame Corner #161 (Ebook) in ChessBase, PGN, and PDF formats. Viewable in Ipad, Itouch, Kindle, ChessBase and other PGN and PDF viewers. Copyright 2014 Karsten Mueller and ChessEdu.org. All Rights Reserved.

Fortresses and Shadows by Karsten Müller Theoretical rook endings are often difficult to defend. 162.01 Heinemann,Thies (2467) - Zelbel,Patrick (2419)

BL 1415 Hamburger SK - Hansa Dortmund (6.8), 07.12.2014

[FEN "6k1/5pp1/R6p/8/7P/P5P1/r4P2/5K2 b - - 0 39"] The position is drawn, but Black must act actively. 39...g6?! 39...h5! 40.Kg2 Kh7 41.Kf3 f6 42.Ke3 g5= is much easier. 40.g4! White marks the f- and h-pawn as weaknesses in typical style. 40...Kg7 41.Kg2 Ra1 42.a4 Ra3 43.g5 h5 44.Ra7 Kg8 45.a5 Ra4 46.Kg3 Rg4+ 47.Kh3 Ra4 48.a6 Kg7 49.f4 Ra3+ 50.Kg2

[FEN "8/R4pk1/P5p1/6Pp/5P1P/r7/6K1/8 b - - 0 50"]

Now only a miracle can save Black. 50...Ra2+? Black will end up on the wrong side of the reciprocal zugzwang due to this check. [After 50...Ra4 51.Kf3 Kf8 I could not find a win, e.g. 52.Ra8+ (52.Ke3 Kg7 53.Kd3 Rxf4 54.Re7 Rxh4=) 52...Kg7 53.Ke3 Kh7 54.Kd3 Rxf4 55.Rf8 Kg7 56.a7 Kxf8 57.a8Q+ Kg7 58.Qa1+ Kg8 59.Qe1 Rg4=

[FEN "6k1/5p2/6p1/6Pp/6rP/3K4/8/4Q3 w - - 0 60"] Black's fortress cannot be broken. 51.Kf3 Ra4 52.Ke3

[FEN "8/R4pk1/P5p1/6Pp/r4P1P/4K3/8/8 b - - 0 52"] Black is in deadly zugzwang. 52...Kg8 53.Kd3 Kg7 53...Rxf4 54.Rb7 Ra4 55.a7+-.  54.Kc3 Rxf4 55.Rb7 Rxh4 56.Rb4 Rh3+ 56...Rxb4 57.Kxb4 h4 58.a7 h3 59.a8Q+-.  57.Kb2 Rh2+ 58.Kb3 Rh1 59.Ka2

59.Ka4? h4 60.Kb5 h3 61.a7 Ra1 62.Ra4 Rb1+=.  59...Rh2+ 60.Ka3 Rh1 61.Ra4 Ra1+ 62.Kb4 Rb1+

[FEN "8/5pk1/P5p1/6Pp/RK6/8/8/1r6 w - - 0 63"] 63.Kc5? Now the defending rook has a check at the decisive moment. The king had to move into the shadow with 63.Ka5! Rb8 64.Rc4 Rh8!? (64...f5 65.Rc7+ Kg8 66.a7 Ra8 67.Rb7+-; 64...f6 65.a7 Ra8 66.Rc7+ Kg8 67.gxf6 h4 68.Rb7+-; 64...h4 65.Rxh4 f6 66.Rb4+-) 65.a7 h4 66.Rxh4 (66.Rb4? Ra8 67.Ka6 h3 68.Rb2 Rc8 69.Rb8 h2 70.Rxc8 h1Q 71.a8Q Qa1+=) 66...Rxh4 67.a8Q

[FEN "Q7/5pk1/6p1/K5P1/7r/8/8/8 b - - 0 67"] This time the fortress does not hold, e.g. 67...Rf4 68.Qd8 Rf5+ 69.Kb6 Rf1 70.Qd4+ Kg8 71.Kc6 Rf5 72.Qe3 Kg7 73.Kd6 Rf1 74.Qc3+ Kg8 75.Ke7 Rf5 76.Qc8+ Kg7 77.Qf8+ Kh7 78.Qxf7++-. 63...Rb8 64.Rf4

[FEN "1r6/5pk1/P5p1/2K3Pp/5R2/8/8/8 b - - 0 64"] 64.a7 Ra8 65.Kb6 f6=; 64.Rd4 h4 65.Rxh4 f6 66.Rb4 Rc8+=. 64...Rb1? This gives White another chance. [64...h4! 65.Rxh4 f6 66.Rb4 Rc8+ 67.Kb6 fxg5= draws. 65.Ra4? The rook does not belong behind the pawn yet. This guideline leads to many mistakes in practical play. The passed pawn must be pushed with 65.a7! Ra1 66.Kb6 and Black is lost:

[FEN "8/P4pk1/1K4p1/6Pp/5R2/8/8/r7 b - - 0 66"] 66...h4 (66...Ra2 67.Rc4 Ra1 68.Rc5 Rxa7 69.Kxa7 h4 70.Kb6 h3 71.Rc3 f6 72.gxf6+ Kxf6 73.Rxh3 Ke5 74.Kc5 g5 75.Re3+ Kf4 76.Kd4 g4 77.Re8+-) 67.Rxh4 f6 68.gxf6+ Kxf6 69.Rh8+-. 65...Rb8 66.a7 66.Rd4 h4 67.a7 (67.Rxh4 f6 68.Rb4 Rc8+=) 67...Ra8 68.Kb6 h3 69.Kb7 Re8 70.a8Q Rxa8 71.Kxa8 h2 72.Rh4 f6 73.Rxh2 fxg5 74.Kb7 Kf6 75.Kc6 Ke5!=. 66...Ra8 67.Ra6 h4 68.Kb6

[FEN "r7/P4pk1/RK4p1/6P1/7p/8/8/8 b - - 0 68"] 68...f6 69.gxf6+ Kf7 70.Kb7 Rxa7+ 71.Rxa7 71.Kxa7 does not help due to 71...h3 72.Ra3 Kxf6 73.Rxh3 g5 74.Kb6 Ke5 75.Kc5 g4 76.Rh8 g3=. 71...Kxf6 72.Kc6 Ke5!?

[FEN "8/R7/2K3p1/4k3/7p/8/8/8 w - - 0 73"] Bodycheck. 73.Rg7 Kf4 74.Rxg6 h3 75.Kd5 h2 76.Rh6 Kg3 77.Ke4 Kg2 78.Rxh2+ Kxh2 1/2-1/2 Solutions to last month exercises E161.01 Tarrasch,Siegbert - Lasker,Emanuel

World Championship 08th Germany (14), 24.09.1908

[FEN "8/8/8/1r2BK2/7k/8/6R1/8 b - - 0 119"] Lasker found the only way to draw. Can you do the same? Lasker played 119...Rb3! and as Black has reached Szen's draw (see Fundamental Chess Endings 8.13), the point was split, e.g. 120.Rg8 [120.Rg4+ Kh3! 121.Rg8 Ra3=] 120...Rf3+ 121.Bf4 Kh3 122.Ke4 Ra3 123.Be3 Kh4 124.Kf3 Ra5!= 1/2-1/2 E161.02 Winawer,Szymon - Tarrasch,Siegbert Budapest (1), 05.10.1896

[FEN "4k3/1R6/5K2/1p2P3/8/8/8/6r1 b - - 0 73"] Was the game continuation 73...Rh1 a good choice? What would you play with black? 73...Rh1? Was not a good choice due to 73...Re1 74.Ke6 Kf8 75.Rb8+ Kg7 76.Rxb5 Kf8 77.Rb8+ Kg7 78.Re8 Ra1 79.Rd8 Re1 80.Kd6 Kf7=; 73...Rf1+ 74.Ke6 Kf8 75.Rb8+ Kg7 76.Ke7 Ra1=; Even 73...b4?! is playable due to 74.Rb8+ (74.Rxb4 Re1 75.Ke6 Kf8 76.Rb8+ Kg7 77.Re8 Ra1=) 74...Kd7 75.e6+ Kd6 76.Rd8+ Kc5 77.e7 Rf1+ 78.Kg5 Re1 79.e8Q Rxe8

80.Rxe8 b3 81.Kf4 Kd4 82.Rb8 Kc3 83.Ke3 b2=. 74.Rb8+! Kd7 75.e6+ Kd6 75...Kc7 76.e7+- (76.Rxb5+-). 76.Rd8+ Kc5 77.e7 Re1 78.e8Q Rxe8 79.Rxe8 b4 80.Ke5 Kc4 81.Ke4 Kc3 82.Ke3 b3 83.Rc8+ Kb2 84.Kd2 Ka1

85.Kc3 b2 86.Ra8+ Kb1 87.Rb8 Ka1 88.Kc2 b1Q+ 89.Rxb1+ 1-0 E161.03 Tarrasch,Siegbert - Janowski,Dawid Markelowicz

Ostend (4), 1907

[FEN "8/8/8/5P2/r5P1/4K3/1k6/8 w - - 0 80"] White to move and win. Only the direct 80.f6! does the job. 80.g5? can be met by 80...Rg4 81.g6 Kc3 82.Kf3 Rg1 83.Kf4 Kd4 84.f6 Rxg6 85.Kf5 Rg1 86.f7 Kd5 87.Kf6= and 80.Kf3?? even loeses due to 80...Kc3 81.f6 Kd4 82.Kf4 Kd5+ 83.Kf5 Kd6 84.g5 Kd7 85.Kg6 Ke6 86.Kg7 Ra7+-+. 80...Ra1 80...Rxg4 81.f7 Rg3+ 82.Kf2+-. 81.g5 Rf1 82.Kd4 Kb3 82...Rf5 83.Ke4 Rxg5 84.f7 Rg4+ 85.Ke3 Rg3+ 86.Kf2+-. 83.Ke5 Kc4 84.g6 Re1+ 85.Kd6 Rd1+ 86.Ke6 Re1+ 87.Kf7 1-0 E161.04 Von Bardeleben,Curt - Tarrasch,Siegbert

Leipzig (7), 07.12.1888

[FEN "8/2kP4/8/8/1P2K3/8/8/8 w - - 0 81"] White to move and win. White wins the fight for the key squares of the b4-pawn with 81.Ke5 81.Kd4+- wins as well.; 81.Kd5? Kxd7 82.Kc5 Kc7 83.Kb5 Kb7=; 81.d8Q+? Kxd8 82.Kd4 Kc8 83.Kc4 Kb8!=. 81...Kxd7 82.Kd5 1-0 Black resigned due to 82...Kc7 83.Kc5 Kb7 84.Kb5

[FEN "8/1k6/8/1K6/1P6/8/8/8 b - - 0 84"] 84...Kc7 85.Ka6 Kb8 86.Kb6 Ka8 87.b5 Kb8 88.Ka6 [88.Kc6?! Ka7 89.Kc7! Ka8 90.Kb6 Kb8 91.Ka6+-] 88...Ka8 89.b6 Kb8 90.b7 Kc7 91.Ka7+-. E161.05 Lasker,Emanuel - Tarrasch,Siegbert

St Petersburg preliminary (9), 03.05.1914

[FEN "8/6K1/8/ppp2k2/8/1P6/1P5P/8 w - - 0 40"] White to move and draw. Amazingly White's king is in time on the queenside: 40.h4 Kg4 41.Kg6!! Kxh4 42.Kf5 Kg3 42...c4 43.bxc4 bxc4 44.Ke4 c3 45.bxc3 Kg5 46.Kd3 Kf5 47.Kc4 Ke4 48.Kb5 Kd3=.

43.Ke4 Kf2 44.Kd5 Ke3 45.Kxc5 Kd3 46.Kxb5 Kc2 47.Kxa5 Kxb3 1/2-1/2 E161.06 Tarrasch,Siegbert - Johner,Paul F

Teplitz Schoenau (2), 03.10.1922

[FEN "R7/7r/P7/8/4k3/2K5/8/8 b - - 0 55"] Black to move and draw. Black's king hides with 55...Kd5 56.a7 Rc7+ 57.Kb4 Kc6 1/2-1/2 Download Endgame Corner #162 (Ebook) in ChessBase, PGN, and PDF formats. Viewable in Ipad, Itouch, Kindle, ChessBase and other PGN and PDF viewers. Copyright 2015 Karsten Mueller and ChessEdu.org. All Rights Reserved.

Stalemate By Karsten Müller At first it seems to be paradox that a player, who can not move anymore is rewarded with half a point. Indeed there are many other games, where this leads to a loss like Nin Men's Morris or Checkers. But in chess it makes sense as it adds another valueable element to the game. Many defensive techniques are based on this motif and the attacker must be careful to the end: 163.01 Bodnaruk,A (2411) - Girya,O (2457)

ch-RUS Superfinal w 2014 Kazan RUS (9.2), 07.12.2014

[FEN "8/8/p7/P2K4/k1p5/1p6/1P6/4B3 w - - 0 59"] White is winning, but it is not easy. 59.Kd6 Of course neither 59.Kc6? c3 60.Bxc3 stalemate; nor 59.Kxc4?? stalemate. 59...Kb5 60.Kc7 Ka4 After 60...c3 61.Bxc3 Ka4 62.Kb7 Kb5, White wins by giving up the bishop:

[FEN "8/1K6/p7/Pk6/8/1pB5/1P6/8 w - - 0 63"]

63.Bb4 Kxb4 64.Kxa6 Kc4 65.Kb6 Kd3 66.a6 Kc2 67.a7 Kxb2 68.a8Q+-. 61.Kb7 Kb5 62.Bd2 Ka4 63.Kxa6 c3

[FEN "8/8/K7/P7/k7/1pp5/1P1B4/8 w - - 0 64"] 64.Bc1! 1-0 The final point. Examples of typical important theoretical stalemate defenses follow: 163.02 Milliet,Sophie (2231) - Anic,Darko (2455)

FRA-chT Gp-B France (5.7), 04.04.2003

[FEN "8/r4KP1/8/5k2/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 73"] 73.Kg8!? Against a knight's pawn this stalemate defense is the easiest. 73.Kf8?! Kf6 74.g8N+= is much more difficult. 73...Kg6 74.Kh8 Rxg7 1/2-1/2 Sometimes the timing is important: 163.03 Balje,J (2217) - De Jong,M (2345)

Atlantis Open 2014 Groningen NED (6.3), 31.08.2014

[FEN "8/8/4k1KP/8/8/8/8/5r2 w - - 0 70"] White must choose the right moment: 70.Kg7! 70.h7? Rg1+ 71.Kh6 Kf7 72.h8N+ Kf6-+. 70...Rg1+ 71.Kf8! The right direction. The direct 71.Kh8? is too early:

[FEN "7K/8/4k2P/8/8/8/8/6r1 b - - 0 71"] And runs into 71...Kf6 72.h7 Re1 73.Kg8 Re8#. 71...Rh1 72.Kg7 Ke7 73.h7 Rg1+ 74.Kh8 1/2-1/2 Only now can White use the stalemate defense.   The following second rank defense looks scary, but it holds: 163.04 Swinkels,R (2493) - Mons,L (2416)

30th ECC Open 2014 Bilbao ESP (4.10), 17.09.2014

[FEN "8/2R1K3/2b4r/4k3/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 74"] 74.Kd8!? Kd5 74...Kd6 75.Rd7+!= This is the point. 75.Ke7 Ke5 75...Kc5 sets the relativly best trap:

[FEN "8/2R1K3/2b4r/2k5/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 76"] 76.Kd8? (76.Kf8 and; 76.Rc8 draw.) 76...Rh8+ 77.Ke7 Kb6-+. 76.Kd8 Kd6 77.Rd7+ Kc5 78.Rg7 Re6 79.Re7 Rd6+ 80.Kc7 Bd5 81.Rd7 Ra6 82.Re7 Be6 83.Kd8 Kd6 84.Rd7+ Bxd7 1/2-1/2 Usually a queen wins against a rook, but there are exceptions: 163.05 Meins,Gerlef (2439) - Feygin,Michael (2488)

BL 1415 SV Muelheim Nord - Werder Bremen (3.7), 08.11.2014

[FEN "5k2/5r2/4pQ2/8/8/8/8/7K w - - 0 67"] 67.Qxe6? Now Black's rook can act as desperado and force a draw. 67.Qd8+ wins, e.g., 67...Kg7 68.Kg2 Kg6 69.Kg3 Kf5 70.Kf3 Rf6 71.Ke3 e5 72.Qd5 Rg6 73.Qf3+ Ke6 74.Ke4 Rf6 75.Qb3++-. 67...Rh7+ 68.Kg2 Rg7+ 69.Kf3 Rf7+ 70.Kg4 70.Ke4 runs into 70...Re7=. 70...Rg7+ 71.Kh5 71.Kf5 Rf7+ 72.Kg6 Rg7+ 73.Kf6 Rg6+ 74.Kxg6 stalemate. 71...Rh7+ 72.Kg5 Rg7+ 73.Kh6

[FEN "5k2/6r1/4Q2K/8/8/8/8/8 b - - 0 73"] 73...Rh7+! 74.Kxh7 1/2-1/2 Stalemate. The most famous draw is a rook's pawn and a bishop, which can not control the queening square: 163.06 Erenburg,Sergey (2575) - Cheparinov,Ivan (2621)

EU-ch 6th playoff qual Warsaw (1.2), 02.07.2005

[FEN "8/8/3b3p/7P/8/8/5k1K/8 w - - 0 72"] 72.Kh1! 72.Kh3?? leaves Rauser's drawing zone for the white king: 72...Bg3 73.Kg4 Kg2 74.Kf5 Kf3 75.Kg6 Bf4 76.Kf5 Be3 77.Ke5 Kg4 78.Ke4 Bb6 79.Kd3 Kxh5 80.Ke2 Kg4 81.Kf1 Kf3-+. 72...Kf3 73.Kg1 Kg4 74.Kh1 Bg3 75.Kg1 Bh4 76.Kh1 Kxh5 77.Kg1 Kg4 78.Kg2

[FEN "8/8/7p/8/6kb/8/6K1/8 b - - 0 78"] Despite extra bishop and pawn Black can not win. 78...h5 79.Kg1 Bg3 80.Kh1 Kh3 81.Kg1 Bc7 82.Kh1 Kg3 83.Kg1 h4 84.Kh1 h3 85.Kg1 Kf3 86.Kh1 Ke2 87.Kg1 Bg3 88.Kh1 Kf3 89.Kg1 Kg4 90.Kh1 Kh5 91.Kg1 Kh4 92.Kh1 Bf2 93.Kh2 Kg4 94.Kh1 Bg1 95.Kxg1 Kg3 96.Kh1 Kf3 97.Kh2 Kg4 98.Kh1 Kg3 99.Kg1 h2+ 100.Kh1 Kh3 1/2-1/2 But there are exceptions: 163.07 Timman,J (2566) - Ipatov,Alexander (2587)

75th Tata Steel GpB Wijk aan Zee NED (8), 20.01.2013

[FEN "2B5/5p2/6p1/3p4/5k1p/8/3K2PP/8 b - - 0 39"] 39...g5?! I want to look at the following variation: 39...f5!? 40.Ke2 d4 41.Ba6 Kg4 42.Kf2 Kf4 43.Be2 Ke4 44.Bf3+ Kf4 45.Ke2 Ke5 46.Kd3 Kf4 47.Bd1 Ke5 48.Be2 Kd5 49.Bf3+ Ke5 50.Bb7 h3 51.g3 f4 52.g4 Kf6 53.Kxd4 Kg5 54.Bf3 Kh4 55.Kd5 g5 56.Bd1 f3 57.Ke4 Kxg4 58.Bxf3+ Kh4

[FEN "8/8/8/6p1/4K2k/5B1p/7P/8 w - - 0 59"] And the extra pawns are Black's undoing: 59.Bd1 g4 60.Kf4 Kh5

[FEN "8/8/8/7k/5Kp1/7p/7P/3B4 w - - 0 61"] A) Of course not 61.Bxg4+? Kg6= (61...Kh4? 62.Bf5 Kh5 63.Ke5 Kh6 64.Kf6 Kh5 65.Bxh3 Kh6 66.Bf5+-). B) 61.Ba4 The hunt begins. 61...Kg6 62.Be8+ Kg7 63.Kg5 Kf8 64.Bh5

[FEN "5k2/8/8/6KB/6p1/7p/7P/8 b - - 0 64"] 64...Kg7 (64...Ke7 is met by 65.Kg6 Kf8 66.Kh7 Ke7 67.Bxg4 Kf6 68.Bxh3+-) 65.Bg6 Kg8 66.Kf6 Kh8 67.Kf7

[FEN "7k/5K2/6B1/8/6p1/7p/7P/8 b - - 0 67"] 67...g3 68.hxg3 h2 69.Be4 h1Q 70.Bxh1+-. 40.Ke2 g4 41.Ba6 f5 42.Bc8 Ke4 43.Bd7 Kf4 44.Kd3 Ke5 44...g3 45.h3 Ke5 46.Ba4 f4 47.Bd1+-. 45.Bc8 Kf6 45...h3 46.g3 f4 47.Bxg4 fxg3 48.hxg3 h2 49.Bf3 Kf5 50.Ke3 d4+ 51.Kf2 d3 52.Kg2+-. 46.Kd4 Kg5 47.Kxd5 f4 48.Ke5 g3 49.hxg3 1-0 Exercises (Solutions next month) E163.01 Genocchio,D (2407) - Altini,N (2394)

74th ch-ITA 2014 Boscotrecase ITA (1.3), 23.11.2014

[FEN "8/6pk/4Q2p/p7/P2pN1P1/3Pbq2/8/4K3 w - - 0 33"]

White to move and draw E163.02 Dusthageer,I (2168) - Sethuraman,S (2582)

52nd ch-IND National B 2014 Dharamshala IND (2.2), 10.05.2014

[FEN "7R/6k1/p1r5/Kp3p1P/1P6/8/8/8 w - - 0 47"]

Was 47.Rh6 a good choice? E163.03 Grgic,N (1935) - Krmpotic,Klara (1532)

TCh-CRO w 2014 Bol CRO (7.3), 10.10.2014

[FEN "6k1/8/3p3P/3P1p2/rp2pP2/2R5/p7/K7 b - - 0 41"]

Can Black to move win? E163.04 Glasser,Abraham (1987) - Qu,Zhi

136th ch-New York State Albany USA (6), 01.09.2014

[FEN "8/5k2/5P2/8/2p5/bb2B3/2p5/K1N5 w - - 0 71"]

White to move and draw E163.05 Delorme,Ax (2494) - Valles,M (2398)

20th Chambery GM 2014 Chambery FRA (5.3), 30.07.2014

[FEN "8/3k4/4n1P1/5P2/6P1/2K5/8/8 b - - 0 57"]

Black to move and draw Download Endgame Corner #163 (Ebook) in ChessBase, PGN, and PDF formats. Viewable in Ipad, Itouch, Kindle, ChessBase and other PGN and PDF viewers. Copyright 2015 Karsten Mueller and ChessEdu.org. All Rights Reserved.

Zwischenschach by Karsten Müller Zwischenschach is German for in-between-check, which is an important technique in the rook endgame. 164.01 Fabian,Jaroslav (2275) - Pinter,Erik (2196)

SVK-chT3B 0001 Slovakia (9), 2001

[FEN "8/8/8/5K2/8/6P1/r7/1k6 b - - 0 52"] Black must play the zwischenschach 52...Rf2+! But not the other check 52...Ra5+? 53.Kf6 Kc2 54.g4 Kd3 55.g5 Ke4 56.g6 Ra6+ 57.Kf7 Kf5 58.g7 Ra7+

[FEN "8/r4KP1/8/5k2/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 59"] And now the stalemate defense 59.Kg8!? Kg6 60.Kh8 Rxg7 stalemate is the best technique. 53.Ke5 Rg2! 54.Kf4 And only now Black's king can come: 54...Kc2 55.g4 Kd3 56.Kf5 Kd4 57.g5 Kd5 58.Kf6 Kd6 59.g6 Rf2+ 60.Kg7 Ke7 0-1

Black resigned because of 61.Kg8 Kf6 62.g7 Rg2 63.Kh8 Kf7-+ 0-1 In the following example the checks do not help. 164.02 Batsiashvili,N (2450) - Khurtsidze,N (2455)

72nd ch-GEO w 2015 Tbilisi GEO (4.3), 13.01.2015

[FEN "8/8/K7/1R3p2/4k3/8/8/8 w - - 0 90"] 90.Rb4+ Ke3! 90...Ke5? 91.Kb5! f4 92.Kc4 Ke4 93.Kc3+ Ke3 94.Rb8 f3 95.Re8++-. 91.Rb3+ Ke2 92.Rb2+ Ke3 93.Rb3+ Ke2 94.Kb5 f4 95.Rb2+ Ke3 96.Kc4 f3 97.Rb3+ Ke2 98.Kd4 98.Rb2+ is met by 98...Ke3!= 98...f2 99.Rb2+

[FEN "8/8/8/8/3K4/8/1R2kp2/8 b - - 0 99"] 99...Kf3!? This bodycheck is good technique. 99...Ke1?! 100.Ke3 f1N+ draws as well, but is more difficult of course.

100.Rxf2+ 1/2-1/2 The following example is very deep and difficult. 164.03 Kulaots,K (2568) - Sulskis,S (2556)

Baltic Zonal Vilnius 2014 Vilnius LTU (1.5), 19.11.2014

[FEN "8/8/4K3/3R4/3p4/p7/Pk6/8 w - - 0 56"] 56.Ke5? The king is too slow now. Only the zwischenschach 56.Rb5+! wins: 56...Kc2 a) 56...Kxa2 57.Kd5 d3 58.Kc4 d2 (58...Ka1 59.Kc3 d2 60.Rd5 a2 61.Rxd2 Kb1 62.Rd1#) 59.Rd5 Kb1 60.Rxd2 a2 61.Kb3 a1N+ 62.Kc3+-. b) 56...Kc3 57.Rb3++-. 57.Kd5 d3

[FEN "8/8/8/1R1K4/8/p2p4/P1k5/8 w - - 0 58"]

58.Rc5+! again only the zwischenschach wins: 58...Kb2 (58...Kd1 59.Kc4 d2 60.Kb3+-) 59.Kc4 d2 (59...Kxa2 60.Kc3 d2 61.Kxd2 Kb2 62.Rb5+ Ka1 63.Kc3 a2 64.Rd5 Kb1 65.Rd1#) 60.Rd5 Kc2 61.Kb4 d1Q 62.Rxd1 Kxd1 63.Kxa3 Kc2 64.Kb4+-; 56.Rxd4? is too greedy: 56...Kxa2 57.Rb4 Ka1 58.Kd5 a2=.

56...Kxa2 57.Kxd4 Kb2 57...Kb1?? 58.Kc3+-. 58.Rb5+ Kc2 59.Ra5 Kb2 60.Rb5+ Kc2 61.Kc4 a2 62.Ra5 Kb2 63.Rb5+ Kc1 64.Rh5 a1Q 65.Rh1+ Kb2 66.Rxa1 Kxa1 1/2-1/2 Black must be careful in the next case. 164.04 Naiditsch,A (2719) - Wang Jue (2353)

Qatar Masters Open 2014 Doha QAT (5.63), 30.11.2014

[FEN "8/6PK/R7/5k2/7p/8/6r1/8 b - - 0 85"] 85...h3? Black misses a tactical trick. The dangerous g-pawn must be eliminated immediately with 85...Rxg7+! 86.Kxg7 h3 87.Ra4 Kg5= (Baburin in Chess Today 5144). 86.Ra5+! The first blow. 86.Rh6? Rxg7+ 87.Kxg7 Kg4=; 86.g8Q? Rxg8 87.Kxg8 Kg4=. 86...Kf4 86...Kf6 87.g8Q Rxg8 88.Kxg8 h2 (88...Kg6 89.Ra3+-) 89.Rh5+-. 87.Ra4+!

[FEN "8/6PK/8/8/R4k2/7p/6r1/8 b - - 0 87"]

This second zwischenschach decides the day. 87...Kf3 87...Kf5 88.Rh4 h2 89.g8Q Rxg8 90.Kxg8+-. 88.Ra3+ 1-0 The following deep study is really a festival of zwischenschachs. It is based on ideas Herbert Bastian developed together with Philipp Schlosser in 2000. He worked on it in 2008 and finally it was published in Die Schwalbe, Heft 266, Band XXXI, April 2014, No. 15891. I want to thank Herbert for allowing me to publish it with his annotations, which I have translated and shortened. 164.05 Bastian,Herbert

Die Schwalbe 2014, 2014

[FEN "1K6/R2P3p/6k1/8/8/8/8/3r4 w - - 0 1"]

White to move and win with 1.Kc7!! Only like this, which threatens a cut off with Ra5. Not 1.Kc8? Only 1...Kf5!! draws: a) 1...h5? 2.Ra5! Rc1+ 3.Kb7 Rd1 4.Kc7 Rc1+ 5.Kd6 Rd1+ 6.Rd5+-.

b) 1...Kg5? runs into 2.Ra1!! Rxd7 (2...Rxa1?! 3.d8Q++-; 2...Rd2 3.Rg1+! Kf5 4.Rh1! Rc2+ 5.Kd8 Kg6 6.Re1 Kf7 7.Re7+ Kg6 8.Ke8 Rd2 9.d8Q Rxd8+ 10.Kxd8 h5 11.Re5!+-) 3.Kxd7 h5 4.Ke6 h4 5.Ke5 Kg4 6.Ke4 Kg3 7.Ke3 Kg2

8.Ra2+ Kg3 9.Ra8+-; 2.d8Q (2.Ra5+? Kg4 3.Ra4+ Kg3 4.Ra1?? Rxa1 5.d8Q Ra8+-+) 2...Rxd8+ 3.Kxd8 h5 4.Ra5+ Kg4=; Another false track is 1.Ra6+? Kf5! (or 1...Kg5) 2.Kc7 to use the rook as shield:

[FEN "8/2KP3p/R7/5k2/8/8/8/3r4 b - - 0 2"]

But Black defends with 2...Rxd7+! 3.Kxd7 h5 4.Ra5+ (4.Rh6 Kg4 5.Ke6 h4 6.Ke5 h3 7.Ke4 Kg3 8.Ke3 Kg2! 9.Ke2 (9.Rg6+ Kf1!=) 9...h2 10.Rg6+ Kh1 11.Kf2 stalemate.) 4...Kg4 5.Ke6 h4 6.Ra4+

[FEN "8/8/4K3/8/R5kp/8/8/8 b - - 0 6"]

6...Kg5!! This saving idea is known from a study by Mitrofanov (Shakhmaty (Riga) 1990). (The automatic 6...Kg3? loses to 7.Kf5 h3 8.Ra3+ Kg2 9.Kg4 h2 10.Ra2+ Kg1 11.Kg3 h1N+ 12.Kf3+-) 7.Ke5 h3 8.Rb4 h2 9.Rb8 Kg4=. 1...Kf5! Without doubt the best defense. 1...h5? runs into 2.Ra5+-; and 1...Rxd7+? is met by 2.Kxd7 Kf5 3.Ra5+ Kg4 4.Ke6 h5 5.Kf6! h4 6.Ra4+ Kg3 7.Kg5

[FEN "8/8/8/6K1/R6p/6k1/8/8 b - - 0 7"]

White always wins when the king has contact to the pawn. 7...h3 8.Ra3+ Kg2 9.Kg4 h2 10.Ra2+ Kg1 11.Kg3 h1N+ 12.Kf3+-; Finally 1...Rc1+ is refuted by 2.Kd8! Kf5! 3.Ra5+! Kf6 4.Ra6+ Kf7 5.Rh6 Kg7 6.Re6 Kf7 7.Re7+ Kg6 8.Ke8+-. 2.Ra5+!! The zwischenschach is the only way to win. 2.Ra6? is met by 2...Rxd7+ 3.Kxd7 h5=. 2...Kg4

[FEN "8/2KP3p/8/R7/6k1/8/8/3r4 w - - 0 3"]

Again White must give a zwischenschach: 3.Ra4+!! This forces Black to choose between Scylla and Charybdis: 3...Kg5 3...Kg3 4.Ra1!? (4.Ra6! h5 5.Rd6 wins as well.) 4...Rxa1 (4...Rxd7+ 5.Kxd7 h5 6.Ke6 h4 7.Kf5 h3 8.Ra3++-) 5.d8Q

[FEN "3Q4/2K4p/8/8/8/6k1/8/r7 b - - 0 5"]

There is a drawing configuration in this endgame with Black's pawn on h6, rook g5, king g7 and White's king in the rectangle a1-f1-f4-a4, but Black can not reach this here, e.g. 5...Rc1+ 6.Kb6 Rh1 7.Qg5+ Kf2 8.Qf4+ Kg2 9.Qe4+ Kg1 10.Qf3! Rh2 11.Kc5 Rf2 12.Qg3+ Kf1 13.Kd4 Rd2+ 14.Ke3 Re2+ 15.Kd3 Ra2 16.Qh3+ Kg1 17.Qf5! Ra3+ 18.Ke2

Ra2+ 19.Ke3 Ra3+ 20.Kf4 Ra4+ 21.Kg5 h6+ 22.Kh5 Ra1 23.Qc5+ Kg2 24.Qd5+ Kh3 25.Qb3+ Kg2 26.Qb2+ Kf3 27.Qxa1 Ke3 28.Qe5+ Kd2 29.Qc5 Kd3 30.Kxh6 Ke4 31.Kg5 Kd3 32.Kf4 Kd2 33.Ke4 Ke1 34.Qc2 Kf1 35.Kf3 Ke1 36.Qc1#; 3...Kf5 4.d8Q! (4.Rh4! wins as well but is longer.) 4...Rxd8 5.Kxd8 h5 6.Ke7 Kg5

[FEN "8/4K3/8/6kp/R7/8/8/8 w - - 0 7"]

7.Ra5+!! This zwischenschach is neccessary to give the king access to f6. (7.Ke6? h4=) 7...Kg4 (7...Kg6 8.Ke6 h4 9.Rb5!?+-) 8.Kf6 h4 9.Ra4+ Kg3 10.Kg5+-] 4.Ra1!!

[FEN "8/2KP3p/8/6k1/8/8/8/R2r4 b - - 0 4"]

The decisive gain of tempo. 4...Rd2!? 4...Rxd7+ 5.Kxd7 h5 6.Ke6 h4 7.Ke5 Kg4 8.Ke4 Kg3 9.Ra3+ Kg4 (9...Kg2 10.Kf4 h3 11.Ra2++-) 10.Ra8 Kg3 11.Ke3 h3 12.Rg8++-; 4...Rxa1 5.d8Q+ Kg6 6.Qd3+ Kg5 7.Qd5+ Kg6 8.Qe6++-. 5.Rg1+!! Another zwischenschach. 5.d8Q+? Rxd8 6.Kxd8 h5=. 5...Kf6 6.Rh1 Rc2+ 7.Kd8 Kg6 8.Re1! Kf7 9.Re7+ Kg6 9...Kf8 10.Rxh7+-. 10.Ke8 Rd2 11.d8Q Rxd8+ 12.Kxd8 h5 13.Re5! 1-0

[FEN "3K4/8/6k1/4R2p/8/8/8/8 b - - 0 13"] Finally the horizontal cut off decides. A really magnificient festival of zwischenschachs.

Solutions to last month exercises E163.01 Genocchio,D (2407) - Altini,N (2394)

74th ch-ITA 2014 Boscotrecase ITA (1.3), 23.11.2014

[FEN "8/6pk/4Q2p/p7/P2pN1P1/3Pbq2/8/4K3 w - - 0 33"] White to move and draw. White forces stalemate with 33.Ng5+!? Bxg5 33...hxg5 34.Qg6+ Kg8 35.Qxg7+ Kxg7 stalemate. 34.Qg6+ Kg8 35.Qxg7+ Kxg7 1/2-1/2 E163.02 Dusthageer,I (2168) - Sethuraman,S (2582)

52nd ch-IND National B 2014 Dharamshala IND (2.2), 10.05.2014

[FEN "7R/6k1/p1r5/Kp3p1P/1P6/8/8/8 w - - 0 47"] Was 47.Rh6 a good choice? 47.Rh6? This was a mistake as Black can refuse the gift now. White should get rid off the h-pawn first and only then use his desperado rook, e.g., 47.Rd8!? Rf6 (47...f4 48.h6+ Kh7 49.Rd7+ Kxh6 50.Rd6+ Rxd6 stalemate) 48.h6+ Kh7 (48...Kxh6 49.Rh8+ Kg5 50.Rg8+ Rg6 51.Rf8 Rg7 52.Kxa6 f4 53.Kxb5=) 49.Rd6

[FEN "8/7k/p2R1r1P/Kp3p2/1P6/8/8/8 b - - 0 49"]

49...Rxh6 50.Rd7+ Kg6 51.Rg7+ Kh5 52.Rg5+= (Baburin in Chess Today 4945); 47.h6+?? Kxh8 48.h7 Rc4-+. 47...Rf6! 0-1 E163.03 Grgic,N (1935) - Krmpotic,Klara (1532)

TCh-CRO w 2014 Bol CRO (7.3), 10.10.2014

[FEN "6k1/8/3p3P/3P1p2/rp2pP2/2R5/p7/K7 b - - 0 41"] Can Black to move win? A lot of moves win, but not 41...bxc3? One sample win is 41...Kh7 42.Rc7+ Kxh6 43.Rc6 e3 44.Rxd6+ Kh5 45.Re6 b3 46.Rxe3 b2+-+. 42.h7+ Kxh7 1/2-1/2 E163.04 Glasser,Abraham (1987) - Qu,Zhi

136th ch-New York State Albany USA (6), 01.09.2014

[FEN "8/5k2/5P2/8/2p5/bb2B3/2p5/K1N5 w - - 0 71"] White to move and draw. 71.Nxb3 71.Ne2? Kxf6 72.Bc1 Bd6 73.Nc3 Be5 74.Kb2 is no fortress:

[FEN "8/8/5k2/4b3/2p5/1bN5/1Kp5/2B5 b - - 0 74"]

Black can break it by marching round with his king, e.g., 74...Ke6 75.Bd2 Kd6 76.Be3 Kc6 77.Bd2 Kc5 78.Be3+ (78.Kc1 Kd4 79.Ne2+ Kd3 80.Nf4+ Ke4 81.Ne2 Bd6 82.Bh6 Ba3+ 83.Kd2 Bb4+ 84.Kc1 c3-+) 78...Kb4 79.Bd2 c1Q++. 71...cxb3 72.Bc1! White's point. 72...Bxc1 1/2-1/2 72...Bd6 73.Kb2=. E163.05 Delorme,Ax (2494) - Valles,M (2398)

20th Chambery GM 2014 Chambery FRA (5.3), 30.07.2014

[FEN "8/3k4/4n1P1/5P2/6P1/2K5/8/8 b - - 0 57"] Black to move and draw 57...Ke7 Even 57...Kd6 is playable. 58.fxe6 58.Kc4 Ng7 59.Kd5 Ne8 (59...Kf6? 60.Kd6+-) 60.g5 Nc7+ 61.Ke5 Ne8 62.f6+ Kf8 63.Ke6 Ng7+=. 58...Kxe6 59.g5 Ke7 60.Kd4 Kf8 61.Ke5 Kg7 62.Kf5

[FEN "8/6k1/6P1/5KP1/8/8/8/8 b - - 0 62"] 62...Kg8! The right retreat. 62...Kf8? 63.Kf6 Kg8 64.g7 Kh7 65.g8Q+ Kxg8 66.Kg6+-. 63.Kf6 Kh8 64.g7+ 64.Kf7 stalemate. 64...Kg8 65.g6 1/2-1/2

Download Endgame Corner #164 (Ebook) in ChessBase, PGN, and PDF formats. Viewable in Ipad, Itouch, Kindle, ChessBase and other PGN and PDF viewers. Copyright 2015 Karsten Mueller and ChessEdu.org. All Rights Reserved.

Good Knight, Bad Bishop Redux By Karsten Müller In a pure endgame the knight is usually better than the bishop if it has full control. Then the knight has time for its slow maneuvers. A) Shirov's strong knight 165.01 Shirov,Alexei (2675) - Van Foreest,Jorden (2467)

German Bundesliga (8.3), 31.01.2015

[FEN "2k5/1pp2b2/p4Ppp/2p5/6P1/1PN4P/P1P5/3K4 w - - 0 30"] Shirov stops Black dynamic options with 30.g5!? 30.h4?! allows 30...Kd7 31.g5 hxg5 32.hxg5 Ke6= and Black is too active and draws easily. 30.Ne4 gives Black the additional option 30...g5 31.Nxc5 b6!? 32.Nxa6 (32.Ne4 Kd7=) 32...c5 33.Kd2 (33.b4 Kb7 34.b5 Bxa2=) 33...Kb7 34.Nxc5+ bxc5 35.Ke3 Bg6 36.c3 Kc6 37.b4 Bf7 38.a4 Bd5 39.b5+ Kd7 40.a5 Ke6 41.b6 Bb7= 30...h5? Now White should be winning as the configuration on the kingside is too advantageous. 30...hxg5! is forced. I have not managed to find a win for White, e.g., 31.Ne4 Kd8 32.Nxg5 (32.Nxc5 Bd5 33.c4 Bf3+ 34.Kd2 Ke8 35.Ne6 g4 36.Ng5 a5 37.c5 Kd7 38.Ke3 Bd1 39.Kf4 gxh3 40.Nxh3 Bc2 41.Kg5 Ke8 42.Nf4 b6 43.cxb6 cxb6 44.Nd5 Bb1 45.a3 Ba2

46.Nxb6 Bxb3 47.Kxg6 Kf8 48.Nd7+ Kg8=) 32...Ke8 33.c4 a5 34.a4

[FEN "4k3/1pp2b2/5Pp1/p1p3N1/P1P5/1P5P/8/3K4 b - - 0 34"] 34...Kf8 (34...b6? 35.Kd2 Kf8 36.Ke3 Be8 37.Kf4 Bd7 38.h4 Bf5 39.h5+-) 35.Kd2 Be8 36.Ke3 Bd7 37.Ke4 Bf5+ 38.Kd5 Bc2 39.Kxc5 Bxb3 40.Kb5 Ke8 41.c5 b6 42.cxb6 cxb6 43.h4 Bc2 44.Kxb6 Bxa4 45.Kxa5 Bd1= and the winning potential is so reduced that this is drawn. 31.Ke2 Kd7 32.Kf3 Be6 32...a5 33.Kf4 c4 34.Ne4 cxb3 35.cxb3 b6 36.Nd2 a4 37.Nf3 axb3 (37...Ke8 38.bxa4 Bxa2 39.Ne5 Bb1 40.h4 Bc2 41.Ke3 Bb1 42.Kd4 Bc2 43.Kd5 Kd8 44.Kc4 Ke8 45.Kb4 Bf5 46.a5 c5+ 47.Kb5 bxa5 48.Kxa5+-) 38.Ne5+ Ke8 (38...Ke6 39.axb3 Be8 40.h4 c6 41.Nc4 b5 42.Na5 c5 43.Nb7 c4 44.bxc4 bxc4 45.Nd8+ Kd5 46.f7 Bxf7 47.Nxf7+-)

39.axb3 Bxb3 40.Nxg6 b5 41.Ne5 b4 42.g6 Bd5 43.f7+ Ke7 44.Kg5 b3 45.Kh6 Bxf7 46.gxf7 b2 47.Kg7 b1Q 48.f8Q+ Ke6 49.Qe8+ Kd5 50.Qxh5 Qa1 51.Qf7+ Ke4 52.Qf3+ Kd4 53.Qf6 Ke4 54.h4+32...Ke6 33.Kf4 b6 34.h4 a5 35.Ne4 Bg8 36.Nd2 Bf7 37.Nc4 Be8 38.a4 Bf7 39.Ne5 Be8 40.c4 Bf7 41.Nxf7 Kxf7 42.Ke5+33.h4

[FEN "8/1ppk4/p3bPp1/2p3Pp/7P/1PN2K2/P1P5/8 b - - 0 33"] 33...Bg4+ 33...Bf5 can even be met by 34.Kf4 as White's knight is so powerful: 34...Bxc2 35.Nd5 Ke6 36.Nxc7+ Kd6 37.Nd5 Ke6 38.Nb6 Kd6 39.Na4 c4 40.Nc5 cxb3 41.Nxb7+ Kc7 42.axb3 Bxb3 43.Nc5 Bc4 44.Ke5 Kd8 45.Kd6 a5 46.Nb7+ Ke8 47.Nxa5 Ba2 48.Nc6 Bb1 49.Nd8 Kf8 50.f7 Bf5 51.Ke5 Ke7 52.f8Q+ Kxf8 53.Kf6+- And White wins the pawn g6

first and the game later. 33...a5 34.Ne4 b6 35.c4 a4 36.Nc3 axb3 37.axb3 Bf5 38.Kf4 Bc2 39.Nd5+34.Kf4 Ke6 After 34...Be6 35.Ke5 Bf7 36.Nd5, Black is too passive:

[FEN "8/1ppk1b2/p4Pp1/2pNK1Pp/7P/1P6/P1P5/8 b - - 0 36"] 36...Bg8 (36...b5 37.c4 bxc4 38.bxc4 Bg8 39.a3 Bf7 40.Nf4 Kd8 41.Ne6+ Ke8 42.Nxc5 Bxc4 43.Kd4 Be2 44.Nd3 Bg4 45.Ne5 Bf5 46.Kc5 Kf8 47.Kb4 Ke8 48.Ka5+-; 36...b6 37.c4 a5 38.a4 Kd8 39.Nf4 Ke8 40.Nd3 Kd7 41.Ke4 Ke6 42.Ne5 Be8 43.Kf4 c6 44.Ke4 b5 45.Kf4 b4 46.Ke4+-) 37.Nf4 Bf7 38.c4 b5 39.Nd3 bxc4 40.Nxc5+ Kc6 (40...Ke8 41.bxc4 Bxc4 42.a3 Kf7 43.Kd4 Bf1 44.Nd3+-) 41.Nxa6 cxb3 42.axb3 Bxb3 43.Nb8+ Kb7 44.Nd7 Kc8 45.Nf8 Bf7 46.Nxg6 Bxg6 47.Ke6 c5 48.f7 Bxf7+ 49.Kxf7 c4 50.g6 c3 51.g7 c2 52.g8Q++35.Nd5 c6 35...Kxd5?! 36.f7+36.Nb6 Bf5 37.c3 Bb1 37...Kd6 38.Nc4+ Kd7 39.Ke5 Bb1 40.Na5 Bxa2 41.Nxb7+38.a3 Bc2 38...Kd6 39.Nc4+ Ke6 40.Na5+39.Na4 b6 40.Nxb6 Bxb3 41.Ke3 Kd6 42.c4 Ke6 43.Kd2 a5 44.Nc8

[FEN "2N5/8/2p1kPp1/p1p3Pp/2P4P/Pb6/3K4/8 b - - 0 44"] 44...Ba4 44...Bxc4 runs into 45.f7 Kxf7 46.Nd6+ Ke6 47.Nxc4 Kf5 (47...a4 48.Ke3+-) 48.Nxa5 Kg4 49.Nxc6 Kxh4 50.Ne5 Kxg5 51.a4 h4 52.a5 h3 53.a6 h2 54.Nf3++45.Ne7 Kf7 46.Kc3 1-0 B) The breakthrough Sometimes the knight can start dynamic actions: 165.02 Georgiadis,N (2490) - Galmandakh,Badrakh (2240)

Gibraltar Masters 2015 Caleta ENG (4.57), 30.01.2015

[FEN "3b4/8/5p1p/p1k4P/5PP1/1P6/2K2N2/8 w - - 0 63"] 63.g5!! The direct breakthrough is strong as the resulting passed pawn is very far advanced. 63...fxg5 63...f5 64.gxh6 Bf6 65.Nd3+ Kd4 66.Ne5 Ke4 67.Ng6+64.fxg5 Kd5

64...Bxg5 65.Ne4+ Kd5 66.Nxg5 hxg5 67.h6+After 64...hxg5 65.h6 the h-pawn can not be stopped: 65...Kb4 (65...Bf6 66.Ne4++-; 65...Kd5 66.Ng4 Bb6 67.Nf6+ Ke6 68.h7+-) 66.Ng4 Bb6 67.Kd3

[FEN "8/8/1b5P/p5p1/1k4N1/1P1K4/8/8 b - - 0 67"] The bishop is dominated. 67...Kxb3 68.h7+65.g6 65.gxh6 wins as well. 65...Bf6 66.Ng4 Bg7 67.Kd3 Bf8 68.Ke3 Ke6 68...Kc5 69.Kd3 Kb4 70.Kc2 a4 71.bxa4 Kxa4 72.Kc3 (Even 72.Nxh6!?+- is playable.) 72...Kb5 73.Kd4 Kc6 74.Ke5 Kd7 75.Kf6 Ke8 76.Nxh6 Bxh6 77.g7+69.Ke4 Bg7 70.Ne3 Bc3 71.Nf5 Bd2 72.Nd4+ Kf6 73.Kd5 Be3 74.Ne6 Bd2 75.Nd4 Bc3 76.Ne6 Bb2 77.Kd6 Ba3+ 78.Kd7 Bb2 79.Kd6 Ba3+ 80.Nc5 Bb2 81.Kd5 Kf5

[FEN "8/8/6Pp/p1NK1k1P/8/1P6/1b6/8 w - - 0 82"] 82.Ne6?! 1/2-1/2 Not most precise, but the position is still won, so maybe the result should be 1-0?

82.Nb7!? wins quicker, e.g., 82...Kg5 83.Ke6 Kxh5 84.Kf5 Kh4 85.Nxa5 Kg3 86.b4 h5 87.b5 h4 88.b6 h3 89.b7 Be5 90.Kxe5 h2 91.g7 h1Q 92.g8Q++82.Ne6?! Kf6 83.Nd8 Bc1 (83...Kg5 84.Ke6 Kxh5 85.Kf5 Kh4 86.Nc6 Bg7 (86...h5 87.Ne5+-) 87.Nxa5 Kg3 88.b4+-) 84.Nc6 Bd2 85.Kc4 Be1 86.Kd3 Kg7 87.Nd4 Kf6 88.Nf5+C) The long march If the knight has full control long maneuvers can take place: 165.03 Yilmaz,Goktan (1982) - Karaokcu,Erkin (2150)

Turkish Cup 2015 Manavgat TUR (10.9), 06.02.2015

[FEN "8/1p2k3/2b5/2P1p2p/p3P2P/2N1K3/1P6/8 w - - 0 47"] The position should be drawn, but Black has to defend precisely: 47.Ne2!? White plans to regroup the knight to g3 and then to invade with the king on the queenside. 47...Kf6? Now the king is too far away from the queenside. 47...Ke6 48.Ng3 Be8 49.Kd3 Kd7 50.Kc4 Kc6 defends: 51.Kb4 Bf7 52.Nf5 Be8 53.Ne7+ Kd7 54.Nd5 Kc6 55.Nb6 Bg6 56.Nc4 Bxe4 57.Nxe5+ Kd5 58.Nc4 Kd4 59.Nd6 Bc6= 48.Ng3 Kg6 48...Be8 is also met by a king march to the queenside, e.g., 49.Kd3 Ke7 50.Kc4 Ke6 51.Kb4 Kd7 52.Kxa4 Kc6 53.Kb4 b6 54.cxb6 Kxb6 55.Nf1 Bg6 (55...Bc6 56.Nd2 Ba8 57.Kc4 Bb7 58.b4 Bc6 59.b5 Ba8 60.Kb4 Kc7 61.Kc5 Bb7 62.Kc4 Kb6 63.Kb4 Ba8 64.Nc4+ Kc7 65.b6+ Kc6 66.Kc3 Kc5 67.Kd3 Bc6 68.Nxe5 Bb5+ 69.Ke3 Kxb6 70.Nd3+-) 56.Nd2

Kc6 57.Kc4 Bf7+ 58.Kc3 Bg6 59.Kb4 Kb6 60.Kc4 Bf7+ 61.Kc3 Kc5 62.b4+ Kb5 63.Nf3 Bg6 64.Kd3 Kxb4 65.Nxe5+49.Kd3

[FEN "8/1p6/2b3k1/2P1p2p/p3P2P/3K2N1/1P6/8 b - - 0 49"] The king starts the long march. 49...Bb5+ 50.Kc3 Bc6 51.Kb4 Kf7 52.Ka5 Ke6 52...Ke7 is also met by 53.Kb6 Kd8 54.Nf5 Bxe4 55.Nd6 Bg2 56.Nxb7+ Kd7 57.Na5 and White should be winning. 53.Kb6 Kd7?! Now White wins easily as the h-pawn just falls. 53...Kf7 was more tenacious: 54.Nf5 Ke6 55.Nd6 Kd7 56.Nxb7 Bxe4 57.Na5

[FEN "8/3k4/1K6/N1P1p2p/p3b2P/8/1P6/8 b - - 0 57"] White is winning, but matters are more complicated as Black has some counterplay, e.g., 57...Ke6 58.c6 Bf5 (58...Kd5 59.Nb7 Bf5 60.Nc5 e4 61.Nxa4 e3 62.Nc3+ Kc4 63.Kb7 Kb3 64.c7 Bg4 65.c8Q Bxc8+ 66.Kxc8 Kxb2 67.Nd1+ Kc1 68.Nxe3 Kd2 69.Nf5 Ke2 70.Kd7 Kf3 71.Ke6 Kg4 72.Kf6 Kf4 73.Nh6+-) 59.Nc4 e4 (59...Bh3 60.Kc5 e4 61.Ne3 Kf6 62.c7 Ke5 63.Nc4+ Kf4 64.Kd4 Bc8 65.Nb6 Bb7 (65...e3 66.Nd5+ Kf3 67.Nxe3 Kg3 68.Ke5 Kxh4 69.Kf4 Ba6 (69...Kh3 70.Nf5 h4 71.Nd6 Bd7 72.Kf3+-) 70.Nf5+ Kh3 71.Nd6 Kg2 (71...h4 72.Kf3 Kh2 73.Kf2 Kh1 74.Ne4 Kh2 75.Nc5 Bc8 76.Nxa4+-) 72.Kg5 Kf3 73.c8Q Bxc8 74.Nxc8 Ke4 75.Nb6 Kd3 76.Nxa4 Kc4 77.Nc3 Kb3 78.Nd1+-)

66.Nxa4 e3 67.Nc3 Kf3 68.b4 e2 69.Nxe2 Kxe2 70.b5 Kf3 71.Kc5 Kg4 72.Kb6 Bc8 73.Kc6 Kxh4 74.b6+-) 60.c7 Ke7 61.Kb7 Be6 62.c8Q Bxc8+ 63.Kxc8 Ke6 64.Kc7 Kf5 65.Kd6 Kf4 66.Kc5 Kg4 67.Kd4 Kxh4 68.Nb6 Kg3 69.Ke3 h4 70.Nxa4 h3 71.Nc3 h2 72.Nxe4+ Kg2 73.Nf2+54.Nxh5 Ke6

54...Bxe4?! 55.Nf6++55.Ng3 Kd7 56.h5 Ke6 57.Kc7 Kf6 58.Kd6 Be8 59.h6 Bc6 60.Nf5 1-0

[FEN "8/1p6/2bK1k1P/2P1pN2/p3P3/8/1P6/8 b - - 0 60"]  Black resigned as 60...Bxe4 is met by 61.h7+-. D) The fortress D1) The gates are closed At first sight the following position seems to be an easy win for Black, but closer inspection shows that matters are much more difficult: 165.04 Blagojevic,Tijana (2245) - Drazic,S (2437)

20th HIT Open 2015 Nova Gorica SLO (3.7), 31.01.2015

[FEN "3B4/4n3/8/5p1p/4p1pP/1k2P3/3K2P1/8 b - - 0 62"] 62...Nd5 62...Ng6 is met by 63.Bf6 g3 64.Bg5 63.Bg5? After 63.g3!, I have not managed to find a win:

[FEN "3B4/8/8/3n1p1p/4p1pP/1k2P1P1/3K4/8 b - - 0 63"] 63...Nc3 (63...Nb4 64.Bf6 Nd3 65.Bg7 Nf2 66.Ke2 (66.Bd4? Nh3 67.Be5 Ng1 68.Bf6 Nf3+ 69.Kd1 Kc4 70.Kc2 (70.Ke2 Nh2 71.Be5 Kb4 72.Kd1 Kb3 73.Bd4 Nf1 74.Ke2 Nxg3+ 75.Kf2 f4 76.Be5 Nf5-+) 70...f4 71.exf4 e3-+) 66...Nh3 67.Kf1=) 64.Bf6 Nb1+ 65.Kc1 Na3 66.Kd1 Nc4 67.Bd4 Nd6 Black can try to maneuver first. (The direct 67...f4 is met by 68.exf4 Nd6 69.f5 Nxf5 70.Be5 Kc4 71.Ke2 e3 72.Bf6 Kd5 73.Kd3 Nxg3 74.Kxe3=) 68.Kd2

[FEN "8/8/3n4/5p1p/3Bp1pP/1k2P1P1/3K4/8 b - - 0 68"] But now I see nothing better than 68...f4 69.exf4 Kc4 70.Bf2 Nf5 71.Ke2 e3 72.Bxe3 Nxg3+ 73.Kd2 Nf5 74.Bf2 g3 75.Bb6 Nxh4 76.Ke2 Nf5 77.Kf3 h4 78.Kg2 Kd3 79.Kh3 Ke4 80.Bc5 Kxf4 81.Bb6= a) 68.Bg7? f4 69.Be5 Nf5 70.Bxf4 Kc3 71.Ke2 Kc2 72.Bc7 Ne7-+ b) 68.Be5? Nf7 69.Bg7 Kc4 70.Ke2 Kd5 71.Bf8 b1) 71.Bf6 f4 72.exf4 (72.gxf4 Nd6 73.Bc3 Nf5 74.Bf6 Kc4 75.Kd2 g3 76.Ke2 g2 77.Kf2 Kd3 78.Kxg2 Kxe3-+) 72...Nd6 73.Bd8 Nf5 74.Bb6 Nxg3+ 75.Kf2 Nf5 76.Bd8 e3+ 77.Ke2 Ke4-+ b2) 71.Kd2 f4 72.exf4 Nd6-+ 71...Ne5 72.Bg7 Nf3 73.Kd1 Kc4 74.Ke2 Nh2 75.Bf6 Kb3 76.Be7 Kc2 77.Bc5 Nf3 78.Bb4 Ne5-+ 63...Nb6 64.Bh6 64.Bf6 Nc4+ 65.Ke2 Kc2-+

64...Nc4+ 65.Kd1 Kc3 66.Ke2 Kc2 67.Bg7 Nb6 68.Bf8 Nd5 69.g3 Nc3+ 70.Ke1 Kd3 71.Bc5 Nd5 72.Kf2 Kd2 73.Bd6 Nc3 74.Bf4 Nd1+ 75.Kf1

[FEN "8/8/8/5p1p/4pBpP/4P1P1/3k4/3n1K2 b - - 0 75"] 75...Kd3! 0-1 Black avoids the last trap and now e3 will finally fall. Of course not 75...Nxe3+?? 76.Kf2+D2) The gates are blown open The next example is much easier: 165.05 Kiremitciyan,Ari (1909) - Kaplan,Cem Azad (1726)

Turkish Cup 2015 Manavgat TUR (7.70), 04.02.2015

[FEN "6b1/8/pk2p1p1/1pNpPp1p/1P1K1P1P/P2P2P1/8/8 w - - 0 49"] 49.Nxa6! Kxa6 Refusing the gift 49...Bf7 does not help due to 50.Nc5 Kc6 51.Nb3 Be8 52.Nd2 Bd7 53.Nf3 Be8 54.Ng5 Bd7 55.Nh7 Be8 56.Nf6 Bf7 And White has an improved pawn ending, e.g., 57.Kc3 Kb6 58.Kb3 Ka6 59.a4+50.Kc5 Bf7 50...Kb7 51.Kd6 Kc8 52.Ke7+-

51.Kd6 Be8 After 51...Kb6 52.Ke7 the bishop is hunted with 52...Bg8 53.Kf8 Bh7 54.Kg7+52.d4 Kb7 53.Kxe6 Kc7 54.Ke7 Bc6 55.e6 Kc8 56.Kf6 Kc7

[FEN "8/2k5/2b1PKp1/1p1p1p1p/1P1P1P1P/P5P1/8/8 w - - 0 57"] 57.e7? 57.Kf7+57...Kd6? Black misses the moment for a study-like draw with 57...Be8! 58.Kg7 Kd6 59.Kf8 Kd7

[FEN "4bK2/3kP3/6p1/1p1p1p1p/1P1P1P1P/P5P1/8/8 w - - 0 60"] 60.a4 bxa4 61.b5 g5 62.b6 Bg6 63.hxg5 a3 64.Kg7 Be8 65.Kf8 Bg6= 58.Kf7 Bd7 59.e8Q Bxe8+ 60.Kxe8 Ke6 61.Kf8 Kf6 62.Kg8 g5 63.hxg5+ Kg6 64.Kf8 1-0 D3) The battering ram In the last example the f-pawn is used as battering ram in typical style: 165.06 Sundararajan,K (2431) - Fuchs,G (2191)

18th Lienz Open 2015 Lienz AUT (2.7), 08.02.2015

[FEN "8/5kp1/7p/b4K1P/5N2/6P1/5P2/8 w - - 0 57"] 57.Nd3 Bc3?! 57...Bb6!? is much more tenacious, e.g., 58.f3 Bg1 (58...Bd4 59.Ne5+ Kg8 60.Nc6 Bf2 61.g4 Kf7 62.Ne5+ Ke7 63.Kg6 Kf8 64.f4+-) 59.Ne5+ Kg8 60.Ng4 Kh7

[FEN "8/6pk/7p/5K1P/6N1/5PP1/8/6b1 w - - 0 61"] 61.f4 (The direct 61.Ke6 Kg8 62.f4? rushes matters too much due to 62...Bb6 (62...Bd4? 63.f5 Kf8 64.f6 gxf6 65.Nxf6 Kg7 66.Ne8+ Kf8 67.Nd6 Be3 68.Kf6+-) 63.f5 (63.Ke7 Bc5+ 64.Ke8 Bg1 65.f5 Bc5 (65...Bd4? 66.f6 gxf6 67.Nxh6+ Kh7 68.Nf5 Bb2 69.Kf7 Bc3 70.g4 Be5 71.Ne7 Kh6 72.Kg8 Kg5 73.Nf5 Kxg4 74.h6 Kxf5 75.h7+-) 66.f6 gxf6 67.Nxh6+ Kh7 68.Nf5 Kg8=) 63...Kf8 (63...Bc7? 64.f6 gxf6 (64...Bxg3 65.f7+ Kf8 66.Ne3 Bf4 67.Nd5 Bd6 68.Nb6+-) 65.Nxh6+ Kh7 66.Nf5 Be5 67.g4 Bc3 68.Kf7 Be5 69.Ne7 Kh6

[FEN "8/4NK2/5p1k/4b2P/6P1/8/8/8 w - - 0 70"] 70.Kg8 Kg5 71.Nf5 Kxg4 72.h6 Kxf5 73.h7+-) 64.f6 gxf6 65.Nxh6 Bd4 66.Nf5 Ba1 67.g4 Bc3 68.Nd6 Kg7 69.Ne8+ Kh6 70.Kf5

[FEN "4N3/8/5p1k/5K1P/6P1/2b5/8/8 b - - 0 70"] White can win the pawn f6, but not the game, e.g., 70...Be1 71.Nxf6 Bd2 72.Ne4 Bc1 73.Nd6 Ba3 74.Nf7+ Kg7 75.Ke6 Bc1 76.g5 Bxg5 77.Nxg5 Kh6=) 61...Bb6 62.Ne5 Bf2 63.g4 Be3 64.Nd3 Bd4 65.Ke6 Kg8 66.Ke7 Bc3 67.Ne5 Bb4+ 68.Ke8 Bc5 69.Ng6 Be3 70.Ne7+ Kh7 71.f5 Bg5 72.Kf7 Bf6 73.Ng6 Bd4 74.Nf8+ Kh8 75.Ne6 Bc3 76.Nxg7 Bxg7 77.f6+58.f4 Bd4 59.Ne5+ Kf8 60.Kg6 Bc3 61.Nd3 Bd4 62.f5 Kg8 63.g4 Bf6 64.Nf4 Bg5 65.Nd5 Bd2

[FEN "6k1/6p1/6Kp/3N1P1P/6P1/8/3b4/8 w - - 0 66"] 66.f6 The battering ram knocks at the gate. 66...gxf6 67.Nxf6+ Kh8 68.Ne8 Be3 69.Nd6 Bd2 70.Nf7+ Kg8 71.Nxh6+ Kh8 72.Nf7+ Kg8 73.h6 1-0 Download Endgame Corner #165 (Ebook) in ChessBase, PGN, and PDF formats. Viewable in Ipad, Itouch, Kindle, ChessBase and other PGN and PDF viewers. Copyright 2015 Karsten Mueller and ChessEdu.org. All Rights Reserved.