Understanding Rook Endgames [Paperback ed.] 1910093815, 9781910093818

Citation preview

u

n � ru ,.

rst · nding Rook

n i� '., Ed

m· s

First published in the UK-by Gambit Publications Ltd 2016 C:opyright ©Karsten Mi.iller and Yakov Konoval 2016 fhe right of K arsten Mtiller and Yakov Konoval to be identified as the authors of this work has been 1sserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

f3 82 'tt>g 5 f!:a5+ -+.

81...g3 0-1 A cut-off by two files wins with a bishop's pawn:

1.12 1 lld2'tt>e 5!

Black waits the 1ight way. Instead, l ...@e7? is met by 2 Jld4, when White's king can ad­ vance: 2...We6 (2...fid8 3 ltxd8 Wxd8 4 Wa4 @c7 5 'it>a5 'it>b7 6 'it>b5 +-) 3 Wc4 llc8+ (3 ...'it>e5 4 l:l.d5+ 'tt>e6 5 b5 ncs+ 6 "fJ..c5 Wd7 7 b6 . .l:.xc5+ 8 @.xc5 Wd8 9' Wd6 Wc8 10 Wc6 'it>b8 l l b7 Wa7·12 'it>c7 +-) 4'it>b5 'ii?e5 5 llh4 'it>d6 6 :i.h6+ Wd7 7 Ith7+ 'it>d6 8 Wa6 laa8+ 9 Wb7 .l:.al 10 b5 +-. l ...J::l'.b7? also loses: 2 �c4 l1d7 3 ktxd7 Wxd7 4 'it>b5 'itic7 5 'tt>a 6 +-. 2 Wc4 "fJ..c8+ 3 WbS J::l'.b8+ 4 Wc5 l:.!.c8+. 5 Wb6 l:rb8+ 6 was l:ra8+ 7 WbS J::l'.b8+ 8 Wa4

J::l'.a8+ 9 Wb3 l::i:b8 =

Sometimes the attacking rook can shorten the checking distance as in the following exam­ ple:

w

1.11 1 Wb4 l:[b8+ 2 rt>as :cs 3 'it>bS l:[b8+ 4 Wa6

This square is important.

4 Jlc8 5 l:[cI We6 6 Wb7 :tcS 7 'it>b6 "fJ..c8 8 ••

c5 'it>d7 9 c6+ +-

With a knight's .pawn, even the cut-off by two files is insufficient:

1.13

A. Adamski - Lachut Polish Ch, Katowice 1961

60 �e8! 'it>d6 61 Wf4 Wd7 62 llel .lag8 63 gS l:[f8+

16

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

63 ...kre8 is met by 64 .l:e5 ! .l:!.xe5 65 'it>xe5 'it>e7 66 g6 '>ii>e8 67 '>ii>e6 'it>f8 68 'it>f6 'it>g8 69 g7 Wh7 70 @f7 +-.

64 'it>g4.l:f2

WIB

64 ...lle8 65 ltxe8 Wxe8 66 'it>h5 Wf7 67 'iith 6 'ft>g8 68 'it>g6 'it>h8 69 'it>f7 +-.

65 g6 .l:i.g2+ 66 'it>h5 1-0

A horizontal cut-off is usually even better than a vertical one, because not only can the rook shield the king and protect the advancing pawn, but the defending king is also iess able to help.

Nunn

1.15

Secrets ofRook Endings, 1992

2 'itib5! l:tb8+ 3 @as l:ta8+ 4 lta6 ltb8 5 b5 @c5 6 lic6+ Wd5 7 Wa6 liaS+ 8 Wb7 Jia5 9 b6 l'i1.a1 10 .Uc2 +-

B

If Black is to move, he can, surprisingly, save himself by eliminating both ofWhite's winning moves: 1.. .:.a8!! 2 .Ug6 lia1 3 b5 Wc5! 4 b6 .Ub1+ = .

1.14

Tarrasch Deutsche Schachzeitung, 1908

w

White wins easily:

1 .Uc8 •••

1....l:d8 2 b5 Jid5 3 ltxd5+ Wxd5 4 -'itib4 'it>d6 5 Wa5 rJilc7 6 'it>a6 rJilb8 7 Wb6 +-.

2 b5 .!Ic5 3 lih4+ Wd5 4 Wb4 klc8 5 lih6 5 'it>a5 +-.

5 licl 6 'it>a5 lial+ 7 Wb6 .Ubl 8 'it>a6 .:al+ 9 'it>b7 .:_gl 10 b6 Wc5 1 1 @a7 +•••

With the king cut off on its third rank, mat­ ters are different. In the following position, White only wins if he moves first (see next dia­

gram): 1 Wa4

Or 1 �a6 +-.

1 l:ta8+ ••.

l...Wc4 has the idea 2 lih4+? Wc3! 3 l'i1.h3+ (with a bishop's pawn, c5 would win easily now, but in this position 3 b5?? lia8# is unfortu­ nate! ) 3. ..@c4! =, but 2 lk6+ Wd5 3 b5 +­ wins.

1.16 It is already clear that if Black is to move, he draws ',Vith 1...Il.c8. Bµt_ with a c:entre pawn, White can't even win with the move:

1 'it>c4 l:i.c8+ 2 'it>d5

2 Wb5 rJile4 =.

2 . l:.a8! . .

Here is the difference: Black's rook has sufficient space for annoying checks.

3 Wc5 l:r.a5+ 4 Wc4 4 Wc6?? lia6+ -+.

4...lia4+ =

17

ROOK AND PAWN \IS ROOK

Exercises (solutions: page 245)

B

w

El.01 : Can Black (to move) survive?

El.04: Here White made

B

B

EL02: Black to play and win.

lEl.05: Black has two moves to draw. Find one

w

w

El.03: How didWhite rescue himself?

El.06: How shouldWhite defend?

Can you do better?

a

mistake and lost.

of them.

18

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

B

w

El.07: Ulf Andersson (Black) found the only

El.10: White to play and draw.

B

B

El.08: Black to play and draw.

El.11: How can Black win?

w

B

El.09: How can White save himself?

El.12: Find the only way for Black to draw.

winning move. Can you do the same?

ROOK

AND

PAWN

\IS

19

Roar
b6tlh6+6@b7, when the checks have run out and White wins as the rook can be activated after 6...I\J6 7 .l:k8 +-.

4 'it>b6 4 Wcl4 must be met by 4... Iif6! = (since 4... Iif4+? runs into 5 'it>e5 ktf6 6k!.g8+ +-).

El.13: Find the only way for White to win.

4 ... .!:rf6+

White's king finds no shelter on the queen­ side. s r:Jila7 ktJ7+ 6 c;t>b8 .i.:rf8+ 7 Wb7 I{f7+ 3

Wc6 �f'6+ 9 Wd5 (D) With a rook's pawn, the drawing chances are much better. The most important defensive set-up in practical play is even one where the defending king is far away:

:s:m

'--�-�w�B . .

B

��

B m@m m

RR R B . - - m B R B

w

.

9 .l:i b6 ..•

1.17

• • •

Vancura position,

1924

-

- -

9...k!f5 + draws as well, but after 10 We4, Black should play IO ....!lf6 =, reaching the standard drawing set-up. 10...�a5 ? would be a mistake because of 11 Wd4 'it>f6 12 Wc4 llal (12... c;t>e613 a7 +-) 13 'it>b5 llbl +14 Wc6.l:i:al

--------1 s-@b7-Itbt=1--i-o-wa1-we1�11-EI:b8-J.::t-a-1-i-s-@b7The defence is based on the passivity of White's rook in front of the passed a-pawn. Black's rook ties it to the defence of the pawn and Black's Icing stays in the drawing zone g7 and h7 : 1 wes .l:lb6 The rook forces White's rook to defend the pawn.

2 WdS

2 lla7+Wg8 3 Wd5 nf6 4 Wc5 nfs+ 5 Wd6 l{f6+ 6 �e5 lib6 7 �a8+Wg7 =. 2...nr6 2...@f7? loses in a typical way: 3 a7 &ta6 4 .Uh8 Il.xa7 5 :.i.h7+ +-. This is the reason why the drawing zone for the black king is g7 and h7

JJ.b1+ I 9 c;t>a8 lia1 20 a7 Wd6(see also 1.20) 21 kt Wb7!.{bl+22 Wc8.ilcl+23 Wd8 nhI.24 b6+ @c5 25 lic6+ Wd5 (25 ... Wb5 26 Jlc8 -�-)·26 .l:ia6 +-.

10 a7

Now Black's rook can move behind the passed pawn as White's king has no shelter any more. 10...la a6 11 @cs kl al 12 'i¥fb6 kibl +13 'it'c7 Ilcl+ 14 @d6 � dl+ lS @cs .lac!+ 16 'it>b4 hr bl+ 17 Wc3 I{ al 18 Wb2 l:l. a6 = Vancura's draw is also possible against two rook's pawns - see 2.10. ·

Often the defendin� rook must be regrouped:

20

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

The followiµg check is a typical attacking motif:

B w

Radjabov - Nakamura Shamkir 2014

1.18

58 lt>g7! ..•

The king moves into position for Vancura's drawing. set-up. After 58 ...@e7? 59 a7 Black's king would be caught in no man's land between the drawing zones c7 and g7fh7: 59 ...@d7 60 llh8 l:!.xa7 61 l:th7+ +-.

59 @e4.l:.b5

The rook also prepares to move into position on the same rank as the white pawn. 59 ...llc5 draws as well. . All other moves lose; for example, 59 ...llg5? 60 lla7+@f6 61 'it>d4 'it>e6 62 lla8 @d7 63 a7 +- or 59 ...@f7? 60 @d4 Wf6 (60...@e7 61 a7 +-) 61 @c4 @f7 62 'i!?b4 l:tal 63 @b5 llbl+ 64 @c6 .:tel+ 65 @b7 llbl+ 66@a7 @e7 67 llb8 Itel 68 @b7 llbl + 69 @a8 lid 70 a7 Wd6!? (see also 1.20) 71 @b7 !!bl+ 72 @c8 llcl + 73 @d8 llhl 74 llb6+ @c5 75 l:f.c6+! 'it>xc6 (75 ...@dS 76 l:f.a6 +-; 75 ...@b5 76 l:.c8 .l:r.h8+ 77 @c7 l:.h7+ 78 Wb8 @b6 79 a8� +-) 76 a8�+ +-.

1.19

Anand - Shirov Wijk aan Zee 2004

53I!a7+!

After 53 @c3? .Uh6! 54 .Ua7+ Wg8 55 @d4 .Ub6 = Black has reached a version of Vancura 's draw. 53 a7? is met by 53 ....Ua4, when Black draws directly in typical style. 53...Wf6 53 ...@g8?! 54 .Ub7 lla4 55 a7 'itlf8 56 l:lb8+ +-. 54 'itlc3 .Ue4 54 ...:a4 55 .l:.a8 @g7 56 @b3 .Ual 57 'itlb4 +-.

55 .Uh7 Ita4 56 a7 1-0 Now we want to deal with a few important winning positions:

60 .l:.a7+

After 60 l:.c8 the rook simply returns to the a-file: 60...l:f.a5! 61 :c6 @f7 62 @d4 @e7 63 'it?c4 @d7 64 .Uh6 @c7 65 @b4 llal =.

WIB

60 @g6! 61 'itld4 •..

61.l:.b7.l:ta.S-62 a7 @f6 63@d4@e6 64@c4 @d6 65 @b4 @c6 66 .Uh7 llal =.

61.. ..Ub6 62 @e5 .Uc6 63 .Ua8 @g7 64 .Ua7+

Or: 64 'itld5 .Uf6 65 @c5 llf5+ 66@b6 .Uf6+ 67 Wb7 �f7+ 68 @c6 llf6+ 69 'it>d5 llb6 =; 64 a7 :a6 65 @d5 llal 66 @c6 .l:r.cl+ 67 @b6 l:tbl + 68 Wa5 .Ual + 69 @b4 .Ubl+. 70 @a3 .Ual+ 71 @b2 .Ua6 =.

64...'it>g6 65 .Ue7 l:txa6 66 l:te6+ .Uxe6+ 67 @xe61h-1h

1.20 A four-file cut-off is enough to win:

1 l:f.cl 'itle7 2 l:f.c8 @d6!?

ROOK AND PAWN \IS ROOK 2. ..Wd7 3 �b8 1'ta2 4 b7 �b2+ 5 �i'a6 .lJa2+ 6 c5 +-. 3 Etb8 .l:la2 4 'it>b7 Zib2+ 5 b7 li!.b3+ 7 @c8 Yc3+ 8 @cJ8 llh3 9 .!1b6+ @cs 10 l!{c6+ 'it>xc6 11 a81&+ @d6 12 'lWb8+ @dS B Wb'b7+ 'it>eS 14 Wc7+ @e4 lS Vf!Ie7+ @f4 and the rook can't be won directly. The win­ ning process with queen against rook can be found in many books; e. g., Fundame11tal Chess Endings by Miiller and Lamprecht or Secrets of Pawnless Endings by Nunn.

21

l. .. h3? 2 Zla2+ ttlgl 3 Wf4 Jlg2 4 .l:Ial+ Wh2

s @f3 =. 2 l:!g8+

2 k.ta2+ .Uf2 3 .f4a8 h3 4 �g8+ Wfl 5 @e3 h2 6 h!h8 @gl 7 1lh7 �g2 -+. 2...\t>f2 3 l:Ia8 h3 4 l:!a7 @g2 4... h2?? 5 lla2+ Wg3 6 kixh2 =. s .l!rh7 llg3 0-1

The next example also shows that a horizon­ tal cut-off is very favourable:

B

.•.

Carlsen - Caruana

1.22

Moscow 2013

53...Wg4! 5 3...h4? 5 4 l:!g8+ Wh5 5 5 Wf 5 =. 54 li!.g8+ 'i£i>f3 ss Iif8+ Wg3 S6 .B'.g8+ Wh2 s1 @rs h4 ss ktbs 5 8 .l1g4 l:[xg4 5 9 Wxg4 h3 6 0 @f3 Wgl -+. 9 Black's king hides on h4: B 5 9 .. .Wg3 60 lib3+ 'iirh 4 61 .lib2 .lital 6 2 .l:ib4+ j -- �@ 3+@g2 64 .litb2+@gl -+. 9 � The rook comes closer to shelter the king . 60'i!i>f5 6 0 k(b2+ c;i;>g3 6 1 .l:ib3+ 'it>g2 6 2 l:rb2+ @f3 -+. 60 J!e2 61 ggs 6 1 Wf4 'itig2 6 2 li!.g8+ @fl -+. 61 .:ctg:i! 62 .l:td8 Lautier - Salov 1.21 6 2 l:i'.h8 'ii?g 3 -+. Madrid 1993 62 l:{f2 + 0-1 White resigned due to 6 3 @e4 Wgl6 4 gg8+ Black uses his rook in both directions: @fl 65 'ii?e3 h2 6 6 Irh8@gl 6 7 llh7 .Ug2 -+. L.lif3 ! ! Another important winning technique is to use the rook as a shield:

__

B B B B B B B

__• __ __• ,• __•

������ .U��! � �� ��

B -�- �I

• •

�� •••• •. • �� •• ,

B B B

••

•..

•..

22

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

Exercises (solutions: page 247}

B

B

El.14: Should Black defend with 67 .. l:.fl+ or 67 l:.hl here? Which of the moves loses and why?

El.17: How should Black break White's defen-

w

w

El.15: Find White's only winning move.

El.18: Find White's only move to draw.

w

B

El.16: Find White's only way to draw.

El.19: Black to play and draw.

.

...

ce?

ROOK AND PA WN VS ROOK

30 @f2! .l!rh3 3I e3 !Wa6 32We2! Il.h8 33Wd3! 1ld8+ 34 'it>c4 Jle8 35 Wd4! Bd8+ 36 'i&c5! .&tc8+ 37 Wd5 ! 'it>a5 38 .!:ib2 llc18+ 39 Wc6 Jlc8+ 40Wd6! .t:!e8 4I l!e2! Ite4 42 Wd5! �g4 43 e4!Wb6 44 li.c2 l:tg8 45 e5!1ld8+ 46 c3! lk8+ 10Wb3! .Ub8+ 11 'it>a4! .ttc8 I2 .lle2! Wf6 13 Wb5 htb8+ 14 'it>c6 lic8+ I5 Wd6! Wf7 16 Wd7! lic4 I7 llf2+! 'it>g7 I8 'ii?d6! l:f.c8 I9 Wd5! l:td8+ 20 'it>e6 l:f.c8 21 'ii?d6! Wg6 22 Wd5! l:Id8+ 23 We6! .lic8 (D)

= �-= ,=-w-m == �,=--= --· f - - � - ------=-=,=--= = � �·-� m.es.m • � a - -LS· • w ·---) ·- · 1.23

Longest Win: Centre Pawn White wins in 59 moves

IWb6!! l:!b3+ 2Wc7!! .l:!b7+ 3Wd8ltb8+ 4 We7 lib7+ 5 'it>f6 llb6+ 6 Wf5! Wb7 7 :h3!! lib5+ 8 Wf6!! lib6+ ·9 We5! lib5+ IO 'it>d6! lib6+ I I @d7! lib4 I2 .Ud3 ! Ir.e4 13 lid2!! lib4 I4 Wd6! lte4 15 lic2! lie8 I 6 Wd7! .Ue4 I 7 Ir.b2+! Wa7 I8 Wd6! Ir.e8 19 'it>d5! lid8+ 20 'it>e6 lie8+ 21 Wf6 Wa8 22 'it>f5! Il.f8+ 23Wg5 .l:.g8+ 24 Wf4! .i:rf8+ 25 \ii>g3 lig8+ 26 'i£7f2! lif8+ 27Wel ! .l:.e8 28 llb3 lilh8 29 Ir.b4! Wa7

. -�-·­ ..- mmm B . - . �� • ' •• • � LS • � �,

.- .-

24 Ilg2+! 'it>h7 25We5Wh6 26 \t>d4! lid8+ 27 'it>e3 lie8+ 28 Wd2! lid8+ 29 Wc I ! lic8 30 ligI ! 'it>h5 3 I Wd2 Ir.d8+ 32 Wc3! .l:tc8+ 33 Wb3! .l:tb8+ 34 Wa4! l:i'.a8+ 35 Wb5! I!b8+ 36

24

UNDERSTANDJNG ROOK ENDGAMES

'i!?a6 ! l:ta8+ 37 'i!?b7 ! l:ta3 38 'IJ.g7 .§.a4 39 l1c7 l:tb4+ 40 'it>a6! l:ta4+ 41 'i!?bS! l:ta3 42 c4! 'i!?g6 43 cS WfS 44 c6 l:tb3+ 4S @a6 l1c3 46 l:tc8 .lla3+ 47 'it>b7 .l:Kb3+ 48 'i!?c7! 'i£;ie6 49 l1e8+ @f7 SO .l:l.b8 .!:ic3 Sl l:tb6 We7 S2 @c8! .lJ.f3 S3 c7 .B.f8+ S4 @b7 @d7 SS l:f.c6 l1c8 S6 l1d6+ r;t/e7 S7 @xc8 +-

1.25

Longest Win: Knight's Pawn White wins in 60 moves

1 @c2 !! @b8 2. 'it>d3!! @c7 3 @e4!! 'it>d6 4 r;t/fS!! l:thS+ S @g6 l1h8 6 @g7! l:thS 7 l1e2! :S.fS 8 r;t/h6!! l:f.f6+ (D)

w

2s 'it>f2! l1f8+ 26 'i!?e3! .U.g8 27 'i!?f3! :1f8+ 28 'i!?e4! l1e8+ 29 @f5 ! .U.f8+ 30 'i!?e6 ! l:ig8 31 g3! l:tgS 32 l1e3 'i!?c8 33 @f6! £rg8 34 'i!?fS! l1f8+ 3S 'iittgS! 'i!?cl7 36 g4! l:tg8+ 37 'it>h4 l1h8+ 38 'i!?g3! l1g8 39 l:te4! @d6 40 @f4!! @dS 41 .B.eS+! 'it>d6 42 gS ! .B.f8+ 43 .l:.fS!! l:tg8 44 l1f6+ @e7 4S 'it>fS! l1h8 46 'ii?g6! .l:tg8+ 47 'iit>h6! l:f.h8+ 48 Wg7! l:ths 49 g6 £rgs so l1b6 .U.g4 s1 l:f.b7+ We8 S2 'i!?f6! £rf4+ S3 'itle6! l:te4+ S4 'i!?fS! l1el SS £rb8+! @e7 S6 g7! l:f.fl + S7 'i!?e4! l:f.el + S8 @f3 l:f.fl + S9 'it>g2 l1cl 60 g8'14V +-

- . - m� m�,,_,,m au � �.A�_ rz d m ,,,,,,, , , - - - mmm a - - - mm.:m�� - - - __

.. ,,

.. ,

9 @gs!! Itf8 IO l:ta2! l1c8 11 Wf6!! l1g8 12 l:f.a6+! @d713 l:ta7+! 'it>d614 l1a2! @d7 l S Wf7! llgS 1 6 Ii.ct2+! 'it>c7 1 7 'i!?f6 l1g8 18 'i!?fs! l:f.f8+ 19 'i!?gS £rg8+ 20 @f4! £rf8+ 21 'i!?e3! l1g8 22 'i!?f2! £rf8+ 23 @gl ! £rg8 24 l1d3! l1e8

1.26

Longest Win: R.ook's Pawn White wins in S 1 moves

1 'i!?b6!! l1bl + 2 Wc7 l:f.cl + 3 'i!?d7 Ii.dl + 4 'iit>e7 £re l + S @f7! £rhl 6 l!h6!! l:tbl 7 .U.c6! .l1b4 8 .l1c2 l:th4 9 l:f.b2 Wa7 10 Wg6! l:f.h8 11 @gs! .l1g8+ 12 'it>hs I1h8+ 13 @g4! l:f.g8+ 14 'it>f3! .l1h8 l S 'i!?g2! .l1g8+ 16 'it>hl! .l1h8 17 l:f.bl ! .l1c8 18 Jlb4! 'i!?a6 19 h3! 'i!?aS 20 l1b2! l:f.c4 21 'i!?h2 'i!?a4 22 'i!?g2! l1d4 23 'i!?g3 l:i'..d3+ 24 'i!?g4! l1ct4+ 2s @gs £tcts+ 26 'i!?f6! .l1ct6+ 21 'i!?eS! l:f.dl 28 .l1h2! £tel + 29 @f4! l:lfl+ 30 'it>g3! l:f.gl + 31 .l1g2! £rbl 32 h4! l:tb3+ 33 'it?g4 .l1b4+ 34 'i!?gs .l:Ibs+ 3S 'i!?h6! 'it>b3 36 hS 'i!?c4 37 .l1h2 'it?d3 38 'iilg6! .l1b6+ 39 @gs l1b5+ 40 @g4 l1b7 41 h6! 'i!?e4 42 l1h4! ll.h7 43 'it>gS+! 'i!?f3 44 l:tf4+ Wg3 4S .l1f6! '!J.e7 46 Wg6! l:f.e4 47 h7 .l:.g4+ 48 'i!?f7 l:i'..h 4 49 'i!?g7! l:f.g4+ so J;tg6! Wf2 s1 l1xg4! +-:-

In this chapter and the next, we examine the two most important six-man endings with rooks and pawns. These are not only important in their own right, but a knowledge of them will be vital back­ ground knowledge when we come to study the seven-man endgame in Chapter 4. As you would expect, with .la+2.0. vs .ii the attacker usually has good winning chances. In our sta­ tistics 72% of the games are decisive (and the defender should not win too many games here of course). The main exceptions are h- and f-pawns and two rook's pawns, where schematic drawing set-ups exist, and these configurations occur often in practice. With e+h pawns, it is surprising that only 61 % of the games· are won, so we take a closer look there as well. As the six-man tablebases are still relatively new, older endgame texts were unable to give au­ thoritative assessments for many li+2.0. vs_:. positions. One modern text that also dives very deeply into this ocean is Nwm's Chess Endings Volume 2. 2.1: 1\vo Connected Passed Pawns 25 2.2: Two Isolated Pawns 30 2.3: Doubled Pawns 44 2.4: Longest Wins 46

2.1) Two Connected !Passed !Pawns

is no prize for the quickest win in such end­ ings.

2 lifl+ •..

2. .'it>h5 3 lies+ +-. .

This configuration is usually winning, but there are a few exceptions worth knowing. We start with the won case:

3 Wg4 l:!.a1 4 llb4 l:!.a3 5 hS+ Wh6 6 llb6+ Wh7 7 �h4 lic3 8 g4 lies 9 lif6 Wg7 10 Ii.fS 1Ic4 n WgS .Ua4 12 .UbS lic4 13 h6+ Wh7 14 llb7+ Wg8 15 WhS .UcS+ 16 gS .UaS (DJ

So far it has not been too difficult. Now some care must be exercised: White wins, but must be a bit careful:

I h4+ Wg6 2 .Ue4

White proceeds with circumspection. 'Do not rush' is usually a good approach since there

17 l:!.e7!

The rook moves in closer to shield the king. After 17 h7+?? Wh8, facing various stalemate ideas, suddenly White would have to give up

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

26

The following winning technique is also worth knowing. We shall refer to it as 'autopi­ lot':

her h-pawn, with a draw: 18 'it>h6 (18 .Ub8+ Wxh7 19 .Ub7+ @g8 20 @h6 .Ua8 =) l 8...l1a6+ 19 g6 (19 @h5 .Uh6+ =) 19 ....Uxg6+! =.

17 bl.b5

.

.•.

17 ... .l:!.a6 18 .Ue8+ @h7 19 g6+ +-.

18 'it>g6 .Ub6+ 19 @f5 .l:1.b5+ 20 Wf6 l:lb6+ 21 IZ.e6 .l:.bl? !

B

21...l:lb8 22 g6 .l:.a8 23 l:ld6 (advancing the h-pawn to h7 is always risky, but here it works as well: 23 h7+ Wh8 24 'it>g5 l:la5+ 25 Wh6 l1h5+ 26 @xh5 +-) 23... l:lf8+ 24 @e7 lla8 25 .Ud8+ +-.

22 .Ue8+ 1-0

You should practise this endgame against a computer or a fiiend until you are really sure that you can win it.

Salimaki - Sisatto Helsinki Ch 2005

2.03

The following mistake occurs quite frequently:

65 h4 66 .llc7+ cj;;b S 67 .l:th7 g5 68 Wc6 l1g3 •.•

Now the whole black k ingside formation has advanced one rank. This will r'epe�t itself until the pawns queen, interrupted only by rook checks to parry White's mating _threats. The way the rook and pawns advance looks like a tortoise, advancing slowly but surely.

B

69 l:l.b7+ @as 70 .l:th7

70 .l:tb5 h3 71 .l:ta5+ 'it>b8 72 l1b5+ '*'c8 73 .l:ta5 .l:tc3+ 74 Wd5 h2 75 1:1.a8+ Wd7 76 l1h8 l1c2 77We4 g4 78 'it>f4 l:f.g2 -+.

2.02

70 h3 71 .l:thS+

Bae - Grubert Gausdal 2001

•••

71 'it>b6 l:f.b3+ 72 'it>a6 'it>b8 -+.

71. 'it>a7 72 l:f.h7+ ••

72 'it>b5 g4 73 .l:th7+ 'it>b8 74 'it>b6 I:r.b3+ 75 cj;;c6 .l:.b2 76 .l:th8+ Wa7 77 l:th7+Wa6 78 l:1.h8 .l:I.c2+ 79 cj;;ct5 h2 80 cj;;e 4 l1g2 -+. 72 @a6 73 .l:th8 'i¥i>a5 74 Wc5 Wa4 75 l:1.h5 75 cj;;c4Wa3 -+.

75 'it>el? •••

Now Black is too clumsily placed. One sys­ tematic win runs 75...'it>c3 76 .Uc8+ Wd4 77 l:ld8+Wc5 78 l1c8+Wd6 79 l:ld8+ cj;;c 7 80 l:ld1 Wc6 81Whl Wc5 82Wgl cj;;c4 83 cj;;hl 'i¥i>c3 84 Wgl Wc2 85 .l:tal Wb2 86 .l:tdl 1:1.c2 -+ followed by ....l:tcl, liquidating to a won pawn ending. -- - - · ·····

76 l:f.hS?

-

76 .l:td3! draws due to stalemate resources: 76... h2+ (76....l:tg2+ 77Whl wn 78 .l:tf3+ 'it>e2 79 .l:te3+ =) 77 'it>hl g2+ (77...'iii>f 2 78 l1f3+ =) 78 @xh2 wn (78... 'it>f2 79 .l:tdl =) 79 l:l.dl + Wf2 80 .l:tgl Wf3 81 .l:tal = and White has a back-rank defence. 76 l:lg8? loses to 76... g2 77 .l:th8 .l:te3 -+. 76 h2+ 77 Whl g2+ 78 'it>xh2 wn 0-1 •••

..•

·

75 g4 76 'it>d4 l:lg2 77 'it>e4 h2 78 f3 49 @gl (49 Wel We3 50@dl Wd3 51 'it>cl 'iit> c3 52 'it>bl 'it>b3 53 Wcl 'it>c3 =)49...'flg2+ 50'i!thl Wf2 and Black draws as 51 h5?? 'tlg4 -+ even loses.

Kling and Horwitz, 185 1

But not all such positions are drawn:

B

47 @f2 �a2+ 48 'it?e3 .U.a3+ 49 Wd4 .li!.aS SO @c4 'fleS Sl 'it?b4 lids S2 'it>c3 .l:tc5+ 53 Wd3 nas S4 Wd4 'flb5 SS g6 'ii?f6 S6 hS 'ii?g7?!

This allows White to regroup his pieces eas­ ily. 56...l:i.b7!? is much more tenacious; e.g., 57 .l:!.h8 '!J.e7 58 l:lf8+ Wg7 59 .l:!.d8 Wf6 60 'it>c5 l:le5+ 61 Ild5 .l:!.e8 62 Wb6 llel 63 litd7 Ir.bl + 64 Wc7 l:k 1+ 65 Wd8 lial 66 We8 I!a5 67 Ilf7+ 'iit>g5 68 'f1e7 Wf6 69 'iii>f8 .&!.xh5 70 g7 Ilg5 71 lif7+ +-.

2.06

S7 llh7+ 'it>g8 S8 We4 .l:taS S9 Wf4 llbS 60 'it>g4 .l:tb4+ 61 'it>gS liibS+ 62 Wh6 lib8 63 nd7 l:Ia8 64 lidS lib8 6S WgS lia8 66 h6 .i:tb8 67 h7+ 'ii?g7 68 .Ud7+ Wh8 69 'ii?h6 ktb7 70 g7# ( 1-0)

Naiditsch - Bologan Poikovsky 2009

94 ...'!J.bS!

Bologan activates his rook. 94 ...Wf3? can be met by 95 'fle7 l'1b8 96 'iit>b3 c4+ (96 ...l'1f8 97 l:[e-5-.U.c8-98-wc4-Jlo8-99-wb"3-ltb5-100-'ic i? 4.Ua5 1 01 Zle8 =) 97 'it>xc4 b3 98 llel b2 99 I:l.bl 'it>e2 1 00 Wc3 =.

---

The main exceptions arise when the defend­ ing king manages to get into the 'hole' of the pawns (seefollowing diagram):

9S Wb3

95 Wxc5 b3 -+. 9S....Uf8 96 'it>c4 :rs 97 .l:te8 'it>f3 98 .l:tel �gs 99 l:!:e8 @r4 100 Ziel 'flhS!?

1 I1d4 .l:tb6 2 Itd8 lib4+ 3 @es .U.b7!?

This is an important move that is worth know­ ing. Black loses after 3...'it>xg5?? 4 h7! +- or 3...l:r.g4? 4 lig8+ 'it>h7 5 'it>f5 +-. 3....l:tb5+?! draws as well, but is more complicated; for ex­ ample, 4 .l:Id5 .l:tbl 5 We6 .l:I.al 6 'iit>e7 'f/1a7+ 7 l:!.d7 l:!:al 8 lld6+ (8 Wf8 lia8+ =) 8...@xg5 9 'ii?f7 'fla7+ =.

4 llg8+ 'it>h7 s .l:Id8 @g6! 5...lia7? 6 l:[d6 +-. 6 @f4.l:I.b4+=

White hasn't made progress.

Zugzwang is the best option.

lOJ .l:Ie2.l::!: eS

Now that the checking distance has been re­ duced, Bologan can break the cut-off.

102 htr2+ @e3 103 lih2 :rs

The direct 103 ...l:ie4+ 1 04@xc5 @d3! -+ wiiis as well. .

.

J.04 'flb2 l:thS lOS .lir.c2 llgS 106 Itb2 .&!.fS 107 l:{c2 .l:!f2 108 'flcl @d2 109 l:!:al Itr4+ 0-1

28

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

White resigned due to 110 'it>xc5 b3 -+ and 110 'it>b3 l:rf3+ 111 'it>c4 ac3+ -+. An additional friendly pawn can also be the defender's undoing:

w

Black's forces are not in f1.1ll harmony. 51 ll.d6+! 51 '>ii> f4? loses in the long run after 5l ...h5 52 @g3 (52 l:rd6+ 'it>e7 53 ll.a6 ll.d5 -+) 52...l:tc5 53 'it>h4 'it>e5 54 ll.a4 l:rcl 55 'it>xh5 g3 56 ll.g4 Wf5 57 '>ii>h4 lihl + 58 'it>xg3 ligl + -+. 51. ..'>i?g7 52 'it>f4 Now Black cannot connect his forces.

52...'it>h7

52... g3 53 l:ldl 'it>g6 54 ligl =.

53 'it>g3 h5 54 '>i?h4 lig6 55 l:rd5 g3 56 lld l (D) 56 l::r.xh5+? f4? c3 59 ac6+ allows Black's king to find shelter with 59 ...'it>h5! 60 'it>f5 (60 axc3 ll.f7+ =) 60 ...ll.f7+ 61 'it>e6 'it>g6 62 lixc3 ll.a7

58...l:tai

58...ll.a6 is met by 59 llc7 +-. 59 Jlc6+! 'it>h7 60 Jlc7+ '>i?g8 61. '>ii>h5 c3 62 Jlxc3 ll.a6 1-0 Problems for the attacker can also arise when one pawn has advanced too far:

56...e4 l:r.c5 ss !!a6 'f:l..b S S6 h4 £1.c5 s1 'it>d4 litbS S8 'it>e4 ms S9 @b4 'f:l..r4+ 60 'it>c5 :rs+ 61 @b6 l:tr6+ 62 Wb7 l:tf7+ 63 'it>e8 .U.f8+ 64 'it>d7 :rs 6S .l:!.a8 l:tdS+ 66 We6

·

ROOK AND Two PA WNS vs ROOK

66 Wc6 fl.f5 67 a6 .flf6+ 68 Wb5 k.tf5+ 69 @c4 !if4+ 70 'it>d3 l:!f6 =. . 66 ... '!l.bS 67 @f6 ftcS 68 na7+ Wxh6 69

Wf7 �b5 70 a6 .)lb6! 71 Wg8 llb8+ 72 @f7 lib6! 73 We7 Wg6 74 Wd7 .llf6 75 Eta8 @g7 76 rtlc7 �f7+ 77 Wd6 .llf6+ 78 We5 .!:lb6 79 .l:Ia7+ 'it>g6 79 ... 'it>g8 = works as well.

80 hS+ (D)

a) After 60 'it>c4 a6 61 Wb4 a5+ 62 Wa4 h5 63 klf5 White's king is cut off: 63�:.E{h164 'tt>a3 h4 65 Erf4 h3 66 �f3 (66 kt)l4 Wc5 67 Wb2 'tt>d5 -+) 66 ... h2 67 !lh3 .li{a lf -+. . b) 60 Wb2 ,'.gh5 61 @b3 a6 62 '/1g7. No Black's rook can break free: 62 . . .�b5+ 63 'tt>c3 h5 64 k!g6+ 'it>a5 65 �h6 l:!c5+ 66 'tt>d 4 (66 Wb3 'ltb5 -+) 66 ...Wb5 67 '!l.h8 'it>b4 68 �b8+ .l:!.b5 -+.

�

60 Wa3!?

- - - ��� . • . • � • �� � - - ··-� � � . � . m - - - . - - - - - . . • - -

B

31

.

80...Wh6!

After 80. . .Wxh5? 81 .l:ra8 Black's ldng does not reach the drawing zone in time: 81.. .Wg6 82 a7 '!l.a6 83 llg8+ +-.

81 Wf5 Jlc6 82 Jle7

82 �a8 rt.tg7 83 h6+ 'it>h7 84 Wg5 .l:rg6+ 85 Wf5 !;tb6 =.

82....laxa6 83 .l:re6+ .l:Ixe6 84 Wxe6 Wxh5

llz.l/z

The Icing moves out of checks on the b-file and now White has a Vancura drawing set-up. 60 lirg7?! h5 61 Jlg5? runs into 6 1 . . ..ll b4+ 62 'it>c3 h4 -+.

60...Wc6 61 Jla7 WbS 62 .l:rb7+ Wc6 63 fta7 wb6 64 J;!,f7 &rhl 65 Wb3 Wc6 66 '!l.a7 'it>b6 67 l:rf7 h6 68 '!l.f6+ wcs 69 .1:1f5+

69 Wb2 is the standard Vancura drawing move.

69...Wd4 70 Jlxa5

70 Wb2 is the only other move to draw. 70 'it>a2? fails to 70... I!.el 71 Zixa5 Jle5 72 .lla4+ Wd3 73 lla3+ We2 -+. 70....li!d. 71 :Ih5 !!c6 72 lllllll. 'it>tl3 73 Jlh3+ 'it>e4 74 Jlh1 'it>B 75 @M 'ltf2 76 Wb5 Jlg6 77 'it>c4 Wg2 78 Jlh5 llg4+ 79 Wd3 .l:.g3+ so We4

'!l.h3 81 .l:!.xh3 i1z.11z

There are more drawing scenarios like the following:

There are some very cemplicated wins:

2.13 2.12

Gelfand - Grishchuk Russia-World rapid, Moscow 2002

59...aS?

59... .l:Ih3+ wins:

Elianov - Van Wely Wijk aan Zee 2008

54 .llb7+ We8 55 We6 .l:Ie4+ 56 Wf5 I!.M 57 .l:Ia7! a4

57....!:ib5+ 58 We6 Wd8 (58 ...Wf8 59 �f6 .l:Xb6+ 60 Wg5 =) 59 Wd6 'it>c8 60 'it>c6 'it>b8 61 Jlh7 .:S:g5 62 �b6 =.

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDG;lMES

32

58 c;!i>e6 WdS 59 \t>d6 @cs 60 \t>c5!

An important resource as 60 Wc6? is met by 60 . \t>b8 61 lith7 h4 -+. .

Exercises · (solutions.: page 249)

.

60 ... l:Ih4 61 \t>c6 Wb8 62 lib7+ \t>a8 63 lib5 \t>a7 64 :b7+ Wa8 (D)

·- - - . m:m m m m@m m • � mA m -

w

la �- �- ��--·- �- �- ., :�- - ·

- -

65 l:!b5!

-

-

E2.07: Find the only drawing move for Black.

65 l:ih7? a3 66 lith8+ Wa7 67 .l:ih7+ Wa6 68 .l:ih8 Wa5 69 Wc5 'ita4 -+.

65 l:tc4+ 66 Wb6 h4 67 lih5 .llb4+ 68 'ita5 lig4 69 \t>b6 lib4+ 70 Wa5 lig4 71 Wb6 lig6+ 72 @b5 .l::tg4 lf2-lh •.•

But if the defender cannot reach a Vancura set-up and has no direct drawing plan, then the attacker usually wins:

E2.08: Find the only drawing move for White.

w

2 . 2.2) Rook's a n d Bishop's Pawn

2.14

If the defender is reasonably placed, this end­ game is usually drawn, but great care is required. 2.20 (Gligoric-Smyslov) is a very good example for the defence. 2.2.2. 1 : The Defender's King is Cut Off 32 on its Back Rank 2.2.2.2: The Drawing Defence 34

Kraselikow Gustafsson -

Berlin (teanz event) 2003

43 a4 Wc5 44 .l:Ig4 'itd5 45 a5 'it>c6 46 a6 Wb6 47 .l.1a4! After 47 .l::tg6+? \t>a7 48 11h6 .l.1£2 49 h5 lif5 = Black reaches a Vaneura set-up. 47 'ita7 48 '.tel .llg2 49 @dl 11112 50 Wel •.•

lig2 5 1 @fl l:lh2 52 \t>gl .l.1b2 53 h5 lib5 54 :b4 Wxa6 55 h6 1-0 ·

2.2.2. 1 ) The Defender's King is Cut Off on its Back Rank

In this case the attacker usually wins (see fol­

lowing diagram):

1 f6 llal 2 .l.1g7+ Wh8

..

2 .Wf8 3 h6 and the h-pawn runs through.

3 Wg6 .l.1gl+ 4 @f7 l:lal 5 l:lgS+ 'itlh7 6 lites lia7+ 7 @£S li!.al S f7 11a2 9 Ite6 lit.as+ 10 @e7

·

ROOJ( AND TWO PAWNS 11S ROOK

33

In order to win, White!s king now starts a long march:

5 @es &te2+ 6 @d6 �d2+

6...I!.f2 7 k[e8+ 'it>h7 8 'it>e6 +-.

7 'itie6 '!J,,e2+ 8 d7 Jil.d2+

8... hrf2 9 '!J,.e8+ Wh7 (9... Wf7 10 h7 +-) 1 0 We6 +-.

9 we8 .llr2 10 .lle5 @h7 I O ... .l:l.fl 11 'i!te7 +-.

11 Wf7

2.15

Maizelis

11 We7?@xh6! 12 Wf7 Ita2 13 f6 '!J,.a8 14 l:i:e6 'it>h7 =.

11 ...Wxh6 (D)

Slzakhmaty, 1939

'J.a7+ 11 Wf6 l!a8 12 .li1.d6 .lib8 13 We7 @g7 14 h6+ Wh7 15 .l:td8 l:!.b7+ 16 'itie8 +-

w

With Black to move, much more care is re­ quired:

1...�al !? 2 h6 1:1.gl+

2...I{a6 3 f6 .l:.al 4 k{b8+ @h7 5 f7 '!J,,f l 6

.l:1.b7! (6 f8Wf? '!J,,xf8 7 l:i.xf8 stalemate) 6 ...@h8 7 'it>g6 lii.g l+ 8 Wf6 .l:tfl+ 9@e7 .:.el+ 10 'it>d8 Ilfl 11 'it>e8 .l:r.f5 12 .l:rb5 +-.

3 @f6 Ita1

This is an important position to remember. . 3....lihl 4 .l:1.g7+ Wf8 (4...@h8 5 .l:1.e7 .l:1.xh6+ 12 .l:1.e6+! Wh7 13 f6 £1.a2 14 Wf8! 6@f7 ! .l:1.a6 7 f6 ! Wh7 8 Wf8+ ! 'it>g6 9 f7 ! .l:ra8+ 14 .lae8? Ji:[a7+ 15 !ie7 l:a8 16 lle6 'it>h6 is 10 .lae8 .l:!a7 11 .lae6+! +-) 5 Wg6 .lagl+ 6@h7 only a draw. .li1fl 7 'IJ,.a7 l:Igl (7...li.xf5 8@g6! .litfl 9 i:la8+ We7 10 h7 +-) 8 f6 .l:l.g2 9 :l.g7 .l:r.f2 10 'it>g6 .!il.fl 14....litaS+ 15 i:le8 'lJ,.a7 16 f7 Wg6 17 l:Ie6+ 11 h7 llgl + 12@f5 'lJ,,h l 13@e5 +-. @h7 18 .l::tf6 Ita8+ 19 We7 +3 ....l1.f1 4 Itg7+@h8 (4...Wf8 5 J:'lg5 .l:.hl 6 Wg6 Wg8 7 f6 .l:!h2 8 f7+@f8 9 h7 +-) 5 '!J.e7 There are some exceptions to the guideline, Wg8 6 .lite8+@h7 7 We6 :al (7 ... Wxh6 8 f6! if the attacldng king can be cut off on the rook's -ne-1+9-WtT.l.iGirro-IIli8+ �g5Tl-'it>g7! +-rs-file: f6 .lia6+ 9 Wf5 !ia5+ 10 '!J,.e5 +-.

4 'IJ,,e7 .i:ia2 (D) B w

2.16

Dive - Damaso Turin Olympiad 2006

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

34

Normally when the defending king is cut off on its back rank, the attacking side wins. B ut this is an exception because the h-pawn is so far back. 78 @f8? 78... .l:tgl + 79 'it>h5 (79@f6 .l:tg3 80 h4 l:lg4 81 f5 'tJ.xh4 82 .Ub8+ 'it>h7 83 @f7 'tJ.a4 =) 79. ..l:lg3 80 h4 l:[gl and White cannot win; e.g., 81 f5 'tJ.g2 82 'it>h6 .'S.gl 83 h5 (83 f6@f8 84 .Ug7 'tJ.fl 85 'it>g6 .l:.gl + =) 83...'tJ.g2 84 l:rb6 (84 f6 @f8 85 .l:tg7 'tJ.xg7 86 fxg7+ 'it>g8 =) 84...'it>f7 ! 85 lig6 .:l.f2 86 'it>g5 l:lg2+ 87@f4 l:rh2 88 h6 .l:thl 89 .l:ta6 :n + =. 79 fS l:lgl+ 80 'it>f6 'it>g8 81 .l:tb8+ 'it>h7 82 l:lb4 .l:tal 83 Ilh4+ 'it>g8 84 'it>g6 .Ua7?! 84....l:ta3 85 'tJ.h6 .l:la6+ 86 f6 'tJ.a7 87 .l:th4 l:lg7+ 88@f5 l:la7 89 llg4+ 'it>h7 90 .l:te4 +-. 85 f6?! 85 .l:!.g4 +85 lir.g7+ 86 @fS 'tJ.a7 87 .:l.g4+ 'it>f8?! 87...'it>h7 88 Ir.e4 Wg8 89 h4 'it>f7 90 h5 'fJ.a5+ 91 lir.e5 'tJ.al 92 'tJ.e7+ 'it>f8 93 h6 l:lfl + 94 'it>e6 l:lel + 95 'it>d7 'tJ.dl + 96 'it>c8 l:ld6 97 h7 lld8+ 98 'it>c7 l:lc8+ 99 'it>d7 l:lc7+ 100 We6 llc6+ 10 1 :f5 'tJ.xf6+ 102 'it>g5 'itJxe7 103 h8i¥ •.•

.

•••

+-.

88 'it>g6 @gs 89 'tJ.d4?! 89 h4 +-. 89 'tJ.g7+ 90 Wf5 lla7 91 We6? Now White oversteps the limit. 91 l:lg4+ +-: 91 ... l:la6+ 92 litd6 .:as 93 l:[d7 (D) ••.

White misses the moment for 94 h4 'tJ.e8+ (94....l:l.a6+ 95 l;.d6! +-) 95 'fle7 .Ua8 96 .Uf7+ . 'it>g8 97 .Ug7+ 'it>f8 (97...'it>h8 98 l:lc7 'it>g8 99 hS l:te8+ 100 'i/,.e7 'i/,.a8 101 h6 .Ua6+ 102 'it>f5 .!:!.al 103 h7+ Wh8 104 f7 .Ufl + 105 'it>e6 'it>g7 106 f8�++ +-) 98 h5 'tJ.a6+ 99 'it>fS .l:!.a5+ 100 'it>g6 l:Ial 101 h6 l:lgl + 102 WfS l'!hl 103 h7 l:lh2 104 'it>es +94 ... Wg8 95 .'S.b7 'it>f8 96 llh7 .Ua6+ 97 Wf5 lial 98 .'S.h4 Wf7 99 l:th7+ Wf8 100 l:r.b7 l:lfl+ 101 @gs .Ugl + 102 Wh5 .l:!.fl 103 l:tb6 Wf7 104 'it>gS llgl+ 105 @hS l:tfl 106 'it>gS 1/z-1/2 .

2 . 2 .2.2) The Drawing Defence The defender's rook should usually be near the corner that is furthest away, so that it can give checks from behind and from the side. But the difficult question for the defender is where to p ut the ldng. There are two schools of thought here. One favours in front of the rook's pawn and the other in front of the bishop's pawn. The problem here is that the attacker can force this latter decision in several cases. So it is better to master both set-ups; overall we feel that the de­ fence with the Icing in front of the bishop's pawn might be slightly preferable. First we shall show some examples where the attacker can force this decision:

B B

2.17 93 @fS? White's h-pawn is so far back that 93...l:e8+ draws; e.g., 94 WfS (94 'tJ.e7 'tJ.a8 95 h4 'tJ.a6+ 96 WfS l:tal =) 94 ... l:le3 95 h4 llf3+ 96 Wg6 l:lg3+ 97 'it>h6 l:lf3 98 l:lg7+ f8 99 'it>g6 .rl.g3+ 100 Wh7 .l:r.f3 =. 94 l:tf7+?

Wang Rui

-

AI Modiahki

Asian Ch, Hyderabad 2005

•••

65...l:[dS!? 65...a4+ must be met by 66 'it>c3 ! (as after 66 'it>a3? c4 White loses in similar fashion to the game) and 65...c4+ must also be met by 66 'it>c3 ! =. 66 l:rg3

ROOK AND Two PA WNS vs ROOK If White wants Lo defend by putting his king in front of the a-pawn, then 66 lith8!? is called for: 66 ...a4+ (66 ... c4+ 67 'it:i>a3 =)67@a3 !Id3+ 68 'it>b2! (68 Wa2? 'it>b4 69 llb8+ 'it>c3 70 'it>a3 c4 71 'it>xa4 'i!i>c2 72 �h8 c3 73 �h2+ 'it>bl -+) 68 ... 'it>b4 69 5;1b8+ 'it>c4 70 1th8 =. 66 ...a4+ 67 Wa3? Now the king must move in front of the c­ pawn: 67 'i!i>c3 ! c4 68 l:l.g8 �d3+ 69 Wb2 a3+ 70 'iba2 Wb4 71 .lib8+ Wc3 72 .l:!c8! = (see the note to White's 84th move, after 85 .l!!.c8). 67....ii.td l? Black misses his chance: 67... c4 ! 68 .litg8 c3 69 llc8 lk5 70 l:tb8+ @c4 71 .l:!h8 @d3 72 ild8+ We3 73 �e8+ Wd2 74 lld8+ Wcl -+. 68 .lig4 .lld3+ 69 Wb2 !Id2+ 70 cba3 lld4 71 �gs lld3+ 72 'it>b2 Wb4 73 llb8+ Wc4 74 !Ih8 Ii.b3+ 75 Wa2 i:ie3 76 Wb2 lld3 77 Iig8 .lid2+ 78 Wa3 l:f.dl 79 l:tg4+ Wb5 80 !Ih4 .lild3+ 81 Wb2! a3+ 82 Wa2 c4 83 .lah8 Wb4 (D)

w

35

89 .iaxa3 Iib2+ 90 'al �b8 -+. 89 'it>e2 90 l!rc8 ZKd3? . 90 ... .ti:d I + 9 1@a2 (9 1 Wc2 a2 -+) 9 L:tl.d3 92 'it>xa3 Wdl 93 'it>b3 c2+ 94 Wb2 B:d2 -+. 91 Wc2 a2 92 Iie8+ fie3 93 hia8 ©el 94 .Ua7 Wf2 95 Wb3 'it>e2 96 !Ixa2+ 96 Wc2 !Id3 97 l:Ie7+@f2 98 !!a7 =. 96...Wd3 97 .l:i.a8 97 .lilh2!? is easier. 97 Wd2 98 .!dc8! Jid3 99 'i1c7 hid8 (D) .•.

•.•

w

100 Irc6? 100 Ilh7 .li{b8+ (1 oo. ..c2 10 I llh2+ cbd3 102 Ii.h3+ =) 10 1 Wa2 lle8 102 .:th2+ .:te2 103 llhl c2 104 Wb2 =. 100...l:lb8+ 101 Wa2 c2 102 r.l.d6+ 'iit>cl 103 l1c6 lta8+ 104 cbb3 'iit>b1 0-1 In the following configuration, the defend­ ing king should move in front of the a-pawn:

84 l:th2? This is too passive. For the defence with the -lillig infront of1Iie a-pawn it isimportant to know the following line: 84 .i.;[b8+ ! Wc3 85 1tc8! Wd4 (85 ... !Id4 86 Wxa3 =; 85...!Idl 86 l:lh8 Wd3 87 Wxa3 c3 88 llh3+ Wc2 89 l:lh2+ lld2 90 .l:Ihl =) 86 l:ld8+ cbe3 87 !1c8 c3 88 @xa3 Wd2 89 Wb3 l:ld7 90 llh8 l:l.b7+ 9 1 'it>a2 c2 92 'f1h2+ =. 84 .. J:td4 85 l:lh8 lild2+ Now White's king will be cut off on its back rank. 86 Wbl c3 87 .l:Ib8+ Wc4 88 z:i.a8 Wd3 88..J�.b2+!? 89 Wal (89@cl a2 --+) 89....l:l.b4 is easier; for example, 90 !Ic8+@b3 91 Wbl a2+ 92@al c2 93 'lJ,.c7 z:i.c4 94 .l:l.b7+ Wc3 95 l:Cb3+ @d4 --+. 89 .l:Id8+

B

2.18

Sandipan - Sareen

Asian Ch, Hyderabad 2005

50...'it>a6! 50...@c6? loses to 51 a6 I:th4+ 52@b3 (52 c4? takes away the important c4-square from

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

36

· White's king: S2 ...1Ihl S3 a7 '!J.a:l S4 :e6+ 'it>b7 SS :e7+ 'it>aS =)and now: a) S2...@b6 S3 a7 :hS S4@b4@a6 SS c4 @b6 S6 cS+ 'it>a6 (S6...@c6 S7@aS +-) S7 c6 @b6 SS :b7+@xc6 S9 :bs +-. b) S2 ... :hs S3 a7 :as S4 @b4 :a1 SS :n .Ubl + S6@c4 lial S 7@d4 :as SS c4 'it>b6 S9 'tJ.g7 :al 60 '!J.e7 liaS 6 1 1if7. Zug­ zwang forces Black's rook to regroup to its back rank, but matters are still very deep; e.g., 6 1...f!al (61...'it>c6 62 'fJ.fS '!J.xa7 63 l:.f6+ 'itlb7 64 1if7+ 'it>bS 6S 1ixa7 'it>xa7 66 'it>cS @b7 67 'it>d6 +-) 62 'it>eS :el + 63 @f6 .l:.eS 64 'it>fS .l:.hS 6S :h7 :gs 66 'i:.e7 'it>c6 67@f4 'itlcS 6S 'it>eS .l:.hS (6S . ..@xc4 69 .l:.b7 ltaS 70 @d6 +-) 69 1ic7+ 'it>b6 70 1ih7 .l:.dS 7 1 l':.d7 :cs 72@d6 llc6+ 73@e7 l:.cS 74 .UdS :c7+ 7S@d6 :xa7 76 cS+ 'itlbS 77- 'tJ.bS+ 'it>c4 7S c6 +-. 51 c4 l:.hl 52 @cs For S2 :e6+!? Wb7! S3 a6+ (S3 WbS f!bl+ S4 WcS .lil.hl =) S3...@a7 S4 cS :bl + SS Wc4 .l:.cl + S6 'it>bS l:.bl + S7 Wc6 lthl SS .l:.eS (SS Ild6 Wxa6 =) SS ...l:.gl S9 IidS see 2.19. 52....l:i.hS+ 53· @d6 :xa5 54 cS .l:.al 55 c6 !idl+ 56 @c7 :bl 57 1ie2 :h7+ 58 Wd6 :h6+ 59 :e6 :h7 60 Ile7 :h6+ 61 'it>d7 :hs 62 :ei :h7+ 63 :e7 l:l'.hS 64 'tJ.e6 Wb6 65 l:.e7 :gs 66 :h1 :rs 112.112

a) 124 l:tfS? We3 ! 12S l:i.aS (12S 'itixh3 f3 126 :es+@f2 127 :as .l:.hl + 12S 'it>g4 'it>g2 -+) 12S ...f3 126 :a3+ Wf4 127 l:l.a4+ :e4 12S :as f2 129 :fs+ 'itle3 130 'it>g3 :g4+!! 131 @xg4 h2 -+. b) 124 .Ub3+? @f2 12S :b2+ (12S 'itlxh3 :e3+ -+) l 2S ...Wfl 126 'it>xh3 l:i.e3+ 127@h2 kf.e2+ 12S 'iilh l f3 129 .l:tbl+ fl.el 130 :b2 f2 13 1@h2 Ires 132 .Ubl + 'it>e2 133 :b2+ Wf3 · 134 1ib3+ .l:te3 -+. 124 cJ/f2 124...l:l'.e3 12S cJ/xh3@f2+ 126 'it>h2 f3 127 It.al ! =. After l 24 ...:e7! ? White must continue to wait in the northwest comer: l 2S l:tbS 'it>f2 126 'iilxh3 f3 127 :b2+ :e2 12S :bl =. 125 Wxh3 :e3+ 126 'it>h2@fl 127 :at+! :el (D)

The following position shows the last line of defence:

12s :a3! The only defence. 128 l:.e2+ 129 cJ/hl :e3 130 :al+ @f2 131 'it>h2 .l:.el 132 .i::la4 f3 133 l:l'.a2+ :e2 134 :at kte3 135 .Ubl l:i.e7 136 :b2+ l:.e2 137 It.bl .l:tel 138 l1b2+ We3 139 l:l'.b3+ @f4 140 :b4+ l:l'.e4 141 l;b8 :e2+ 142 @g1 112 11z

..•

� -

W

-

••

·

-��.. . %. ·-

.•.

w

2.19

.

Bondarevsky

-

Kan

USSR Ch, Leningrad 1939 124 :as White must wait in the northwest comer. Committing the rook loses:

Regarding the defence with the king in front of the bishop's pawn, the following defensive effort by endgame virtuoso Smyslov is highly impressive. D voretsky even thinks that fm: a practical player, studying it is sufficient to un­ derstand this whole ending. 1 :g6+ Or: a) After 1 fS Black can give checks from be­ hind: i ...:bl 2 h6+ 'it>h7 3 WgS .l:tgl + and then: al ) 4 'iilf6 .l::tbl (4 ...Wxh6? S We7+ cJ/h7 6 f6 Ir.bl 7 f7 ltb7+ S @f6 ltbS 9 lte6 +-) S lte6 Wxh6 6 cJ/f7+ 'iilh7 7 f6 ltbS! =.

ROOK AND TWO PAWNS VS ROOK

37

w

w

2.20

Gligoric - Smyslov Moscow 1947

preferable to Smyslov's l...Wf7. Black now has to find 2...Jlbl ! (2 ... lla5? 3 Zl.g3 llal 4 h6 1lhl + 5 Wg5 blal 6 f5 .l:ibl 7 .l:Ig4 .!:.al 8 :!.h4 .li.gl + 9 'iitf4 llfl + 1o 'itg4 .llgl + 11 'it>f3 �g8 12 h7 +-) 3 'itg5 .l:Igl+ 4 Wf5 (4 Wh6 .litfl 5 Ilg7+@f6 6 Jlg8@f7 7 llg4 Jlh1 =) 4 ...'fJ.h 1 5 :!.g5 Jlal 6 h6 l:Ka5 + 7 'it>g4 llal 8 h7 llgl+ 9 'it>f3 l:i'.hl 10 .i:Ia5 'itg6 11 l:i'.a7@f5 =. 2 llbl! The southwest comer is the right place for the rook. It can give check from the side or be­ hind depending on White's winning attempts. 3 Jlc5 After 3 h6 Black must wait in the southwest comer: 3...llal ! (3 ...llgi +? 4@f5 llhl 5 llg7+ @f8 6 Wg6 .l:.gl + 7 'ii?h7 l:tfl 8 :!.a7 Jlxf4 9 @g6 l:tg4+ 1o Wf6 :!.f4+ 11 'it>g5 :I.fl l 2 lla8+ Wf7 13 h7 +-) 4 h7 (4 lih5 'iitg8 5 h7+ 'it>h8 6 f5 �a4+ 7 'itg5 I!a6 =) 4 ....l:!gl + 5 'it>f3 I!hl 6 lla5 'itig6 7 I!a7 'iiff5 =. This is another impor­ tant drawing position. 3 'iitf6 4 llc6+ (D)

a2) 4@f4 llfl + 5 We5 l:lel + 6@f6 and now the immediate 6...@xh6? runs into 7 Wf7+! 'ith7 8 i!ta2 llhl (8...'ith6 9 f6 !!bl 10 .ll h2+! 'it>g5 11 Wg7 +-) 9 f6 +-. Black should prefer 6....!:!bl ! 7 lle6 'itxh6 =. · b) 1 lle6 is also interesting; e.g.: bl) 1...llbl 2 f5 (2 h6+@h7 3@g5 llgl+ 4 'itif5 llal =) 2...ligl+ 3@f4 llfl+ 4 'it>e5 llel+ 5@d6 :!fl 6 h6+ (6 'fJ.g6+@f7 =) 6 ...'iith7 7 @e5 i!tel+ 8 'it>f6 'fJ.fl! =. b2) l ...lla5 2 f5 l:!al 3 h6+ 'iit h7 4 Wg5 llgl + 5@f6 and here Black has only one move, which is worth knowing: 5...llfl ! 6 We5 (6 lle5 Wxh6 7@f7 llal 8 f6 lla7+ 9 'fJ.e7 !la8 10 lle6 @h7 =) 6...llal =. 1 'it>f7 l...@h7 draws here as well. Black must often take the h-pawn with his kfo.g and then bring his rook back to a8: a) 2 :l.g5 llbl 3 lle5 llgl + 4 'itf5 Wh6 5@f6 �:!.e6+ 'it>xh5 6 'it>f6 @h6 7 f5 lla!8---�� -wI�7+---��� 'it>h7 9 f6 :!.a8! =) 5....l:.al 6 f5@xh5 7@f7 Wg5 8 f6+@h6 9 lle6 lla8! =. B b) 2 f5 ltbl and now: bl) 3 :!.e6 must be met by 3...Wg7! and after 4 .lii.g 6+ both 4 ...Wf7 and 4...Wh7 are playable. b2) 3@g5 ltgl + 4 Wf6 llal 5 llg7+@h6 6 'fle7 lla6+ 7 Wf7 Wxh5 8 lle6 (8 f6 Wh6 9 llel lla7+ 10 lle7 'fla8 =) 8 ...l:i'.a7+ 9 Wf8 .l:ta8+ 10 'iiff7 Wg5 11 f6 'it>h6 =. We now return to l...Wf7 (D): ...

...

•••

2 llg5

In Batsford Chess Endings, Speelman draws attention to Kopaev's idea 2 Wh4!?, planning llg3 to cut Black's king off from the h-pawn. Therefore he argues that l...Wh7 might even be

4 'it>g7! This decision is of crucial importance. After 4 ...'it>f7? Black's king is driven to its back rank: 5 'it>g5 llgl+ 6 'it>f5 llhl 7 Jlc7+ +- (see 2.15). •.•

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

38

·. 5 'it>gS 'JJ.gl +! 6 @f5 'JJ.a l 7 .Uc7+ 'it>h6 8 'JJ.e7 'JJ.b l 9 .liie8 @g7 ·10 'JJ.eS 'JJ.al 11 'JJ.dS 'JJ.fl 11...'iJ.bl

=.

12 'JJ.d4 'JJ.al 13 'JJ.d6 'JJ.aS+ 14 @g4 .lla l

14 .. � 'JJ.b5!? 15 .l:tg6+ and the position after 1 l:lg6+ arises again.

back rank and can stay on g7. until White plays llg6+ or h6+. . After li.g6+ both ... @h7 and ... @f7 draw, as seen in the game, but h6+ forces him to go to h7. The rook is often well placed in the southwest corner and sometimes only a waiting move there draws.

15 'JJ.e6 .l:tgl+ 16 @f5 'JJ.a l 17 h6+ (D) We shall end this section with a textbook de­ fence from modem times:

B B

17 Wh7! •••

Now Black's king has to go on the h-file to take the h-pawn when the appropriate time has come.

2.21

18 llcll6 lla2 -19 @gs llg2+ 20 @f6 @xh6! 21 @e7+ @h7 2 1 ...'i!tg7 22 f5 lle2+ 23 lle6 llf2 ! 24 f6+ @g6 ! (24 ... g8? 25 lle5 +-) 25 l:td6 (25 f7+ @g7 ! =; 25 'JJ.el 'JJ.a2 26 'JJ.gl + 'it>h7 27 f7 lla7+! =) 25....!:tfl =.

22 fS 'JJ.e2+ 23 lle6 l:ta2 24 f6 . 'JJ.a8! 25 @f7 h6 26 'JJ.el lla7+! 27 'JJ.e7 lla8 (D)

27 . ..llal 28 'it>f8 'it>g6! 29 f7 @f6! 30 'i!tg8 .l:tgl + ! =.

R.adjabov - Grisbchuk London Candidates 2013

62 'JJ.a l!? ••.

Grishchuk activates his rook immediately.

63 .lhb6+ @f5!?

This active set-up represents the best defence. 63... 'i!tg7?! 64Wg4 'JJ.gl + 65Wf5 Ital draws too as the rook is in the southwest comer, but this is much more difficult to hold.

64 llb5+

64 h5 l:thl 65 Ila6 'JJ.h 3+ 66 'i!tg2 llxh5 =.

64 Wf6 65 'ii?g4 l:tgl+ 66 'i!th5 .l:r.hl 67 lla5 .l:!.h2 68 l:ta8 llhl 69 .l:tg8 @f7 70 .l:r.g4 @f6 (D) ..•

m

w

•

-· � d·· • ·M

w

mmm m

-

-

- .

28 .!:td7 h7 29 .l:.dl lla7+! 30 'i!te6 .!:ta6+ 31 1ld6 !ta8 32 .!:td4 'it>g8 33 .l:.g4+ 'it>rs 112-112

You should study the role of Black's king in detail. He has to avoid being confined to his

71 llg8

ROOK AND Two PAWNS 71 Wh6 can be met by 7 1 . . .Wf5 72 f.rg5+ 'it>xf4 73 h5 �al 74 llg7 @f5 75 Iif7+ We6 76 1lf2 .ligl 77 'it>h7 rJde7 78 h6 ll.g3 =.

71 ...@f7 72 �c3 Wf6 73 �c5 brh2 74 k!g5 .lihl 75 @g4 f!.gl+ 76 'iirf3 !!n+ 77 'it>g3 �gl+ 78 ffif2 Ei'.hl 79 h5 I!h4 so 'li?g3 Ilhl 81 .llas Zigl+ 82 'it?f2 lihl 83 'li?g2 !l:h4 84 'it>f3 .l;lhl 85 h6 llxh6

vs

ROOK

39

w

Finally White's rook's pawn is taken.

86 f!a6+ 'i&fS! Grishchuk's beautiful point. Not, of course, 86. . . Wg7? 87 .l:txh6 'i&xh6 88 We4 Wg6 89 @e5 Wf7 90 Wf5 +-. 87 .lirxh6 (stalemate) 112.112 Grishclmk really defended in great style!

EJcercises (solutions: page 250)

E2.11: How should White defend?

B

w

lE2.12:

How should Black defend?

E2.09: This situation occurs quite often in prac­ tice. How should White defend?

B

w

JE2.13: Aronian (Black) did not find the only defence and lost. Can you do better?

Smirin (White) found the only way to draw. Can you do the same?

E2.10:

2 . 2 .3) Roo�c's Pawn and! Another Pawn The case of the rook's and nearby bishop's pawn has already been discussed. There the de­ fender had clear drawing set-ups. This is not

40

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

the case with the -other pawns. Nevertheless the win is often not automatic and sometimes even impossible. 2.2.3. 1 : Rook's Pawn and Bishop's 40 Pawn on the Other Wing 2.2.3.2: Rook's Pawn and Knight's 41 Pawn on the Other Wing 2.2.3.3: Rook's Pawn and Close Central Pawn 42

2 . 2 .3 . 1 ) Rook's Pawn and Bishop's Pawn on the Other Wing This is usually won as the bishop's pawn can deflect the defending king. But the following problem is worth knowing:

w

A. Ferreira - N. Rodrig�es

2.22

Vila Nova de Gaia 2002 White can win. SS l:ih8? However, this direct try is a mistake. 55 f6 wins: 55 ...l:ta5 56 lirh8 'flxa7 57 lith7+ +-. 55 We3 is playable as well due to 55 ...@g7 56 f6+ (the typical deflection) 56 ...@f7 57 lah8 +-. SS Jba7 S6 @gs The point is 56 .lith7+ Wf6 57 'J:l.xa7 stale­ mate. .. S6 ��a6 S7 l:th7+ @g8 58 'i:l.b7 lk6 S9 @f4 l:ta6 60 @es @rs 61 'IJ.c7 l:!aS+ 62 Wf6 l:ta6+ 63 'it>gS l'lb6 64 .lla7 'lJ.c6 6S f6 !!cl 66 :as litgl+ 67 @rs :n+ 68 'Ei?e6 lite!+ 69 :es !txe5+ 1h-1h

B

Anand - Shirov

2.23

Wijk aan Zee 2004 Shirov keeps the wrong cut-off. 40 ...'IJ.g8 draws; e.g., 41 .litb5 lag4 42 a5 'it>g5 43 Wh3 l:tgl 44 l:td5 Wf6 45 Wh4 lag2 46 a6 lita2 = (Anand in lnformator 89). 41 Wg3 l:r.c4 42 @f3 litb4 43 @e3 lag4 44 'it>d3 .llf4 4S .l:.a8!? @g7 46 'J:l.a7+ @f6 47 .i:l:aS lith4 48 'it>c3?! :r.r4 49 rtJd3 lilh4 Now White can give up the f-pawn, but has to be careful that Black can't reach Vancura's draw. 50 I:ta8 @xf5 51 as Wg6 52 a6 @g7 S3 Jaa7+! Necessary precision as 53 @c3? l:.h6 54 'it>b4 .llf6 = (Anand) leads to Vancura's draw. S3 @f6 S4 'it>c3 .lite4 54 . . Ji[a4 55 l:ta8 @f7 56 @b3 l:tal 57 'it>b4 +- (Anand). SS .llh7 l:ta4 S6 a7 1-0 ..•

Also in the next example the attacking king is too passive:

•.

B

••

If the defender is very active, he can some­ times draw (see following diagram). White cannot break the cut-off of his king. 39 l:tg4!? 40 a4 .litb4? ••.

2.24

Gelfand - Anand

World Ch rapid playoff (3), Moscow 2012

ROOK AND Two PA WNS vs [WOK

SO ... .llc3! SI 'ff.c7 WfS? The best defence is 5 1 ...'i¥?h4 ! , with the idea 52 Wg2 .l!\.xc5 53 'fJ.xc5 stalemate. 5 1 . . .Wf4 draws as well. S2 c6? Great precision is required to win this end­ game: 52 Eic8 ! .!Ic2+ (52 ... We6 53 c6 .l1c4 54 'it>g3 +-) 53 'it>g3 If.c3+ 54 @M 'it>e6 55 'fJ.c7 Wf5 56 b!c6 .li1.e3 57 l:rc8 �c3 58 c6 @e6 59 Wg4 ltc4+ 60 Wg5 .lic5+ 6 1 'it>g6 llc4 62 �f8 Wd6 63 ilf6+ 'ii?c7 64 'it>g5 lic5+ 65 .llf5 �xc6 66 )ld5 :!c l 67 h4 'it>c6 68 lid3 .l:l.gl + 69 Wh6 ct>c5 70 h5 Wc6 71 'it>h7 'it>c7 72 h6 !tg2 73 Wh8 ilgl 74 h7 .l:!g2 75 lia3 'it>d7 76 Jla8 'it>e6 77 Jlg8 +-.

s2...@e6?

52 .. Jif.c2+ ! 53 Wg3 �c3+ 54 @M must be played first, and only then 54 . . . 'it>e6 55 .a'.c8 'it>d6 56 Wg4 .a'.c4+ 57 'it>g5 llc5+ 58 'it>g6 llc4 59 l:tf8 .a'.h4 60 Ilf6+ W�7 6 1 .l:f3 Wxc6 62 Wg5 Zlh8 63 .i:td3 (63 h4 llg8+ 64 Wh5 Wd7 65 i:!.f4 d6 S4 ltc8 ll.a3 S5 Wg2 &te3 56 Wh2 .lir.a3 57 Wg2 lie3 58 h5 lle5 S9 M .Uh5 60 l!h8

41

.Ugl + 68 'it>h8 .&\fl 69 h7. .@e6 70 'it>g7 +..,.. ( 1 . 20). 61 ... 'it>d6! 62 Wg3 'it>e6 63 Wg4 Ilh l 1/z-1/z A draw was agreed due to 64 'fJ.a7 Wf6 65 h7 'it>g6 =. This draw was very important as Anand kept his lead, drew the next rapid game with White and so won the world championship match.

2.2.3 .2) Rook's Pawn and Knight's Pawn on the Other Wing With a distant knight's pawn, it is much more difficult as the rook's pawn cannot simply ad­ vance to its seventh rank.

B

'ii?xc6 (D)

Dvoretsky

2.25 w

1 ... @h7 2 'it>h5

Now 2 a7? is just met by 2 ... .!:ia6 3 g6+ Wg7 =. Black can ignore a g-pawn, unlike an f­ pawn. 2 .l:.h6+ 3 @g4 i���-3gxlf6?Sfiil'em � ate.�������� 3 .l:.b6 4 WfS libS+ s @f6 lib6+ (j �es .l:l.c6 7 WdS ktb6 8 @cs .l:l.e6 8 ...Itg6 9 .l:.a7+ 'it>g8 10 'it>d4 +- and "the 61 k!h7? ldng marches to h5; White then plays g6 and . 'it>h6. "If you need living proof of the maxim 'Chess is a tragedy of a single tempo', look no further. 9 ll.a7+ @g6 Gelfand managed to improve his position to a 9 ...@g8 1 0 @d5 l:tg6 1 1 'it>e4 l:txg5 12 :b7 winning rook endgame, but sheer nervousness +-. has lured him into losing a precious tempo with 10 Wb5 (D) this absurd move." (Ftacnik). 61 h7? also fails to Now the black rook's checking distance is win: 6 1 ...Wb7 =. too short. 10 .l:.e5+ 11 Wc6 .l:l.e6+ 12 @cs l:te5+ The direct 61 @g3 ! wins: 6 1 ...lihl (61...@d6 62 h7 'il?e7 63 .lla8 +-) 62 Wg4 .a'.gl + 63 @f5 12 ... 'il?xg5 13 lia8 .i:lg6 14 'it>b5 (14 a7? lig7 ! .a'.fl + 64 'il?g6 .!:i'.gl + 65 Wh7 'it>d7 66 .llg8 .!:i'.fl =) 14 ...l:g7 1 5 llc8 +-. (66 ... .!:i'.hl 67 Itg6 'ii?e7 68 'il?g7 +-) 67 'ii?g7 13 Wd6 l:txg5 ..•

•••

•••

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

42

84 @f3 ! ? h3 (84 ...I\f8+? ! 85 'ii?g2 l:1.f5? 86 'it>h3 I\f3+ 87 'ii?g2 �g3+ 88 'ii?f2 @f5 89 .l:!xh4 =) 85 l:I.g4+ (85 'ii?g3 h2 86 'ii?xh2 'it>f5 -+ is · similar to the game) 85 ...Wf6 (85 . . .@f5? 86 l:!'.h4 e4+ 87 We2 l:!.a8 88 l:!.xh3 =) 86 l:1.h4 l'la8 87 l:.xh3 l:.a3+ 88 'ii?g2 l:.xh3 89 Wxh3 @fS 90 Wg3 'ii?e4 91 'ii?f2 'ii?d3 -+.

B

84 h3 ss @r2 h2 86 'ii?g2 bl WH+ 87 \t>xhl @rs 88 Itel l1g8! .••

The cut-off decides.

89 'it>h2

89 '1:.gl lixgl + 90 Wxgl We4 91 'iiff2 Wd3 -+. .

89 'ii?r4 90 .U.fl+ 'it>e3 0-1

1 3 ...l:tb5 14 l:1.b7 +-.

•••

14 l:tb7 +-

2.2.3.3) Rook's Pawn and Close Central Pawn Here the winning chances are relatively low only 61 % of the games are won according to our statistics. We start with a won case and then show typical problems.

But with the attacker's pieces in front of the pawns, problems can easily arise:

B

B

2.27

Brodsky - Yakovenko Russian Team Ch, Sochi 2004

S2 l:!'.cl+! •••

Carlsen - Ivanchuk

2.26

London Candidates 2013 Black can win as White is not sufficiently ac­ tive.

76 l1c7 •••

The computer move 76 ... e4+ decides more quickly: a) 77 We3 l1c3+ 78 'iife2 (78 @f4 llf3+ 79 'ii?g5 e3 -+) 78 . ..h4 -+. b) 77 11xe4?! runs into 77 ...l1c3+ 78 Wxc3 'ii?xe4 79 'ii?d2 @f3 80 'ii?e l 'ii?g2 -+.

77 llh4 .l:r.b7 78 'ii?e3 We6 79 'ii?e4 l1h8

Ivanchuk uses zugzwang in a typical way. so 'ii?e3 @rs 81 'ii?e2 @gs 82 .Ue4 lies 83

'ii?e3 h4 84 'ii?e2

White cannot break through, since he can no longer free his rook. S3 @b6 l:.bl+ S4 'it>a7 54 @a5 l:.dl 55 d6 l:.d5+ =.

S4.�.l:.bS SS d6

55 a4 l:!'.b4 56 a5 l:.b5 =.

SS l:!'.b3 S6 a4 l:.b4! S7 as l:lbS •••

57 ...l:.bl ? 58 l:.b6 l:.al 59 a6 'ii?c 8 60 d7+ 'ii?xd7 61 @67 licl 62 a7 l:1.c7+ 63 'ii?a6 l:.c8 64 lib8 +-. ss @as @e6 112-112 So the attacker should free his rook, if possi­ ble (see following diagram):

66 eS+?

White should seize his chance with 66 lif'.3 ! ? 'ii?e6 (66...'ii?g6 67 h4 .U.h2 68 l:.g3+ 'ii?f6 69 e5+ We6 70 'ii?g5 'ii?xeS 71 h5 'ii?e6 72 'ii?g6 lif2 73

ROOK AND Two PA WNS vs ROOK

43

1 .. Jdgl 2 'it>f3 2 !l.e6+ 'it>h5 3 Ihe5+ 'it>g4 ! -+. 2 .lltl + 3 'it>g3 �fS 4 h1.b8 4 Wg4 .llf4+ 5 'it>g3 @rs 6 �f8+ 'ft>e4 7 .tlg8 ,gf3+ 8 ©g2 (8 'it>g4 hlfl -+) 8 ... �f7 -+. 4 .. .Wg5 5 .l:te8 @f6 6 �f8+ We6 7 �e8+ @f6 S .&\.f8 + 'it>e6 9 l'!e8+ Wd5 10 2la8 J:l.f7 11 Wg4 '!4e7 12 Ir.as+ @e6 13 Ila6+ Wf7 14 'i¥7f3 �e6!? Geller keeps his forces connected, which is often called for. 14 . . .e4+? ! is bad technique, but wins nevertheless: 15 'it>e3 g6 (15 ...g5 ? 16 l:tb6 g4 i 7 �bl Wf6 1 8 Wf4 =; 15 ....l:Ie6? 16 h1.xe6 Wxe6 17 'it>xe4 =) 16 ��fol 'i¥7g7 17 .l:r.gl Jae5 1 8 .!:{g4 Wf"6 1 9 .l:\f4+ Wg5 20 :if! Wh6 2 I Wd4 ,l;!e8 22 �h 1 + 'it>g7 23 'it>e3 g5 24 �gl 'it>g6 25 !I.al I{e5 26 Wd4 .l:!.f5 27 Wxe4 g4 28 I{gl Wg5 -+. 15 !.ta8 15 .i'a.a7+ Wf6 16 'it>e4 .l:.d6 17 �a8 :Id4+ 1 8 'it>f3 l:rb4 1 9 §.f8+ @g5 20 l:\.g8 �b7 2 1 l;Xe8 !.lb3+ 22 We4 Wg4 23 �xe5 g5 -+ (Speelman in Batsford Chess Endings). 15...e4+ 16 We3 gS 17 i:tal Wg6 18 .l:!.bl kl'.eS 19 Wd4 Wf6 (D) .

w

••.

Berrios - F. Viia Siegen Olympiad 1970

2.28

h6 �f6+ 74 'ftlg7 �f7+ 75 'it>g8 +-) 67 h4 .lil.h2 68 'it>g4 ki'.g2+ 69 lig3 fi:e2 70 @f4 �f2+ 7 1 'itlg5 'i¥?e5 72 ki'.g4 B'.f8 73 h 5 .l:.g8+ 74 'it>h4 kih8 75 �g6 'it>xe4 76 'i!?g5 'ftle5 77 h6 +-. 66 We6 67 Ith6+ 'itle7 68 1:!.h7+ 'it>e6 69 l:th6+ We7 69 ...'it>f7? 70 .l:.f6+ We7 71 h4 +-. 70 h3 l:1f2+ 71 'it>e4 Ite2+ 72 'it>f5 1:rf2+! 73 'it>e4 �e2+ 74 Wf4 l:rf2+ 75 'it>e3 l:1h2 76 h4 kIM 77 h5 �el+ 78 Wf4 ki'.fl + 79 Wg5 .llgl + 80 wrs :n+ 81 'it>g6 !l.gl+ 82 @b7 l:1g5 83 e6 @es 84 l:1g6 l:1xh5+ 85 @g7 i1z_11z .••

2.2.4) The General Case

w

Without a rook's pawn, the attacker's chances are usually good. Two extra pawns are a lot of potential, after all.

B

Black will now win with the g-pawn sooner . or later. 20 l:Iel Or: 20 l:1fl + l:1f5 21 ligl l:1f4 22 'e3 Wf5 23 :&al l:1f3+ 24 We2 g4 -+; 20 We3 @f5 21 Zifl + Wg4 22 Wd4 .Ua5 23 'it>xe4 'ftlg3 24 l!f3+ Wg2 25 l:!.f5 l:1a4+ 26 We3 g4 ...:.+. 20..J:ta5! 21 &txe4 21 'ito>xe4 .l:1.e5+ -+. 21 ... WfS! Not 21...l:1a4+?? 22 We3 l:1xe4+ 23 Wxe4 \t>g6 24 Wf3 Wh5 25 Wg3 and White escapes with a draw. 22 lte8 Wgli 23 We3 @g3 0-1 ·

2.29

Fischer - Geller

Cura�ao Candidates 1962 Black's pawns are still a long way back, but Geller managed to win convincingly:

44

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

Exercises (solutions: page 2 5 1 ) B B

E2.17: Anand (Black) managed to defend. Can you do the same?

E2.14: Short (Black) missed the chance to save himself. Can you do better?

2.3) Dou b!ed !Pawns This configuration is usually drawn, as long as the defending king is in front of the pawns.

B

E2.15: Black to play and win.

w

Rubinstein - Vidmar

2.30

Semmering 1926 Even this last line of defence holds:

67 :b3 .l:rd2

B

67 ...f3 68 l:.xf3 (68 l:.b4+ @g3 69 l:tg4+ works as well) 68 ...l:tcl + 69 Wg2 :gl + 70 . 'ii?xf2 =.

68 ::ta3 l:tb2 69 l:tc3 @rs '70 l:ta3 Wg4 71 l:[cJ lh-1/z

So creating a doubled pawn is a good defen­ sive technique (see following diagram):

77 gS+!? 78 hxg5+ 'it?g6 79 .l:.a6+ 'it?g7 80 l:te6 l:tb5 81 .l:.e7+ 'i!?g6 82 .l:e6+ 'i!?g7 83 l:te5 .l:.bl 84 .l:.e7+ 'i!?g6 85 l:te6+ @g7 86 g6 l:tb5!? •.•

E2.16: What miracle did Black make happen?

Even 86 ... l:tfl+?! works: 87 @g5 l:tf2 88 l:te7+ Wg8 89 l:tf7 l:th2 90 l:tb7 :hl 91 g7 l:tcl

ROOK AND TWO PAWNS VS. ROOK

.·.

., .,

45 .

Now Black wins with a typical technique, .··'

69 Jla3 70 Jlcl gS 71 E!bl g4 72 �cl g2 73 .llbl .l:[f3 0-1 •.

B

White resigned due to 74 .lilal lafl + 75 �xfl gxfl'lli'+ 76 'it>xfl 'it>h2 -+. If the defending king is cut off, the draw is only possible under favourable circumstances.

B

Esen - Potkin

2.31

European Ch, Warsaw 2005 92 @h5 Z'.tc5+ 93 g5 ;gc6 94 g6 .l:l.c5+ 95 'iii>h6 ;gh5+ 96 @xh5 stalemate. 87 .Ua6 hies 88 Wg3 litgS 89 'iii>h 4 :rxg6 90

!i.a7+ 'iii>g8 91 'iii>hS ;gb6 92 'B.c7 'fl:.a6 93 lic3 @g7 94 :c7+ 'it>g8 9S g5 .lab6 96 g6 'fl.bl lfi.lh

2.33 Against far-advanced pawns, care is required:

G. Ginsburg - 1'imoshenko Ukrainian Ch 1992

1 .i:Id1!? 2 :g,f4 llg1+ 3 @11'3 .i:Ia1?! This makes the draw very deep and diffi­ cult. 3 ...i:tfl + first is called for; ·e.g., 4 'it>e2 .l:!al 5 Wd3 (5 e5 lla5 6 :If6+ 'it>g5 7 'it>d3 .l:.xe5 8 l:td6 'iii>f5 =) 5 ... .laa3+ 6 'it>d4 .laa4+ 7 'it>c5 lla5+ 8 'it>c6 Il.a6+ 9 'it>b5 l:ta8 = (Timoshenko in lnfonnator 56). •.•

w

4 eS ':S.a7?

This retreat does not work. 4 ...lla5? is also wrong, due to 5 e6 +-. Black can draw with 4 ...'iii>g5 5 ..e6 :as 6 e7 -·i---11-es-1-.lit:4-'it>f5 =, 4�Ilf1-,..-s-'i&?e4-lia-i-i-6-e6;ga6 7 We5 ,g{a5+ 8 'it>d6 lia6+ = or 4 ...R trh�.1- ..� ti«Hih1

s @g4! :as

5 ...@g7 6 ltf6! 1Ia3 7 e4 lita8 8 Wf5 lih8 9 \t>e6 .i:Ie8+ IO @d6 i:ta8 1 1 @e7 .l:.a7+ 12 'it>e6 ,g{a6+ 13 'ifiif5 llal 14 e6 ltfl+ 1 5 @e5 llxf6 1 6 e7 +-.

6 llf6+ 'it>g7 7 'ifiifS llal 8 lib6 8 .lilc6? @f7! 9 l!{c7+ 'it>e8 =.

8 l!{bl 9 lif6! .l:.h3 10 'it>e4 .••

10 e4? l:.h4! = (Timoshenko). 10 l:.hl 11 !:i.f5 l:.h6 12 'it>d5 !:i.b3 13 e4 13 e6? l:.xe3 14 :es !i.a3 =. ••.

13...!i.a3 14 e6 l:.a5+ 15 @d6 !i.a6+ 16 @es .:as+ 17 'ii?f4 !:{a8 18 'it>g5 Iib8 19 e7 lle8 20 �p_i; @f7 21 @f5 1 -0

.46

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

Exercises (solutions: page 252) w w

E2.18: How should White organize the stalemate defence?

B

E2.19: Should Black exchange rooks or not?

2 .4) l!l)ngest Wins For 11+2.0. vs 11 the longest win in the DTC (dis­ tance to conversion) metric is 86 moves. Here we shall give three positions with a DTC of at least 70 moves. There are three different pawn configurations with wins in 70 moves or more, so we give one position for each. In these 'longest win' sections we shall use a different annotation convention from normal. ' ! !' marks a unique winning move and ' !' signi­ fies that is the only move with the minimum DTC value, but not the only move to win.

w

w

2.34

Longest Win: g+h

·

White wins in 86 moves

E2.20: White can win, but it involves giving up the forward pawn. Can you see how?

1 .l:[fl .Ud2 2 llf4+! ! @c3 3 l:f3+! ! 'iiiic2 4 l:[a3 ! ! .li!.dS 5 .l:.a2+! Wc3 6 lle2 'iiiib3 7 ll.b2+! @c3 8 'itibl ! l:f.fS 9 .l:f.e2 ! .l:f.f3 10 Wa2! lif6 1 1 .l:f.e3+! @d4 1 2 !ib3 ! llh6 1 3 .li!.b2 ! @c3 14 llf2! .l:f.h7 15 �bl ! Wd4 16 l:i.c2 @e4 17 Wb2! 'iiifi 3 18 @b3 l:i.d7 19 Wb4 '1.b7+ 20 'it>aS ! .li!.b8 2 1

ROOK AND Two PAWNS vs ROOJ(

'it>a6! Wg4 22 .l.:!.c4+ wf3 23 blh4! llc8 24 Wb7 Jlg8 25 ffic7 .lila8 26 I!d4 �a2 27 .l1f4+ ! Wg2 28 Irh4 ! ! Wf3 29 �h8 ! @g4 30 'it>b6 ! I:lc2 3 1 'it>b5 ! Wf3 32 ffib4! I:ld2 33 'it>c5 ! kta2 34 ffid6! Wg4 35 ki.h4+ ! @f3 36 g4! Xf.a6+ 37 'itic5 ! .ll a8 38 h3 ! ! @f4 39 Jl.h6 ilc8+ 40 Wd4 Jld8+ 41 Wc3 ! �e8 42 Jlh5 bre3+ 43 'it>d4 �e4+ 44 Wd5 ! lla4 45 Wd6 .lla6+ 46 Wc7 ! lla4 47 g5 @f5 48 h4! ! @g6 49 lith6+! Wg7 50 'ii?b 6! lii.c4 5 1 h5 ! Ziel 52 ,g{g6+ 'tt>h8 53 �f6 .l:Ihl 54 ilh6+ ! ! 'it>g8 55 'it>c5 ! �al 56 .l:.tg6+ Wb8 57 .ll.b 6! .t{fl 58 .&i.d6! lilh l 59 Z!h6+! ! 'it>g8 60 @d6! !l.gl 61 .l:rg6+! ! 'itif7 62 llf6+! @g7 63 &1.f5 ! &thl 64 g6 ! ! 1:1.dl + 65 .ll d5 Jlel 66 ktc5 lidl+ 67 'itie6 &!.el+ 68 'it>f5 .llfl + 69 'it>g4 Jitgl + 70 'lt>f3 ! El.fl + 7 1 Wg2! .l.:!.f8 72 ilc7+! 'it>f6 7 3 g 7 lig8 7 4 h 6 ! ! Wg6 75 i:!c6+! ! Wf7 76 Wh3 ile8 77 'it>g4! .llct 8 78 .ll.e6 ! .l.:!.c8 79 \t>f5 ! lic5+ 80 l:.e5 ! .l:l.c8 8 1 'itig5 ! Wg8 82 @f6 ! Wh7 83 'it>f7 ! lid8 8 4 Ilg5 llg8 85 .llg6 .l:i'.a8 86 g8%V+! +-

w

4 7.

Zih4 43 'itid3 ! l'lb4 44 e4 ! h'lb3+ 45 We2 ! ! �b2+ 46 'it>e3 ! �b3+ 47 Wf2 ! k!b4 4 8 .tlf5+! Wg6 49 Wf3 ! bl:b3+ 50 Wg4 ! ! �e3 5 1 �f4 ! Zlel 5 2 h4! &tgl + 53 Wh3 zthl + 5 4 'lt>g3 l!{gl + 55 'it>f2 ! l:rhl 56 e5 ! .l'ib l 57 &i.f6+ ! 'lt>g7 58 h5 ! &thl 59 I!f5 ! ! ladl 60 'tt>g3 l!e l 61 Wf4 &{fl+ 62 'it>e4! liel + 63 Wd5 ! 5ld l + 64 'tt>e6 ! .l:l.cl 65 llg5+ @ril 66 h6 �hl 67 kig6 ! �h5 68 'itid6 l!h4 69 e6 lid4+ 70 'it>e5 ! .l:Ih4 7 1 'it>f6 ! �f4+ 72 'it>g5 ! l:l.e4 73 h7 ! .lii.e 5+ 74 Wh6 'itie7 75 h8°W +-

w

2.36

Longest Win! e+g

White wins in 70 moves

1 Wb5 ! ! Wc2 2 Jir.al ! ! Wd2 3 .l:l.a2+ ! ! 'lte3 4 Wc5 ! ! Jld4 5 Ila3+ ! ! 'it>e4 6 g3 ! ! .&l.d8 7 .l:Z.b3 ! ! .l:Z.e8 8 Ilf3 ! ! .&l.d8 9 Wc6 ! (mutual zugzwang) 9... Xf.dl 1 0 Ilf8 ! ! ilgl 1 1 .&l.g8 ! ! @es 1 2 Wd7 ! ! @f6 1 3 .l:!.f8+ ! ! We5 1 4 .l:i'.e8+! @f6 1 5 l:!e3 ! .l:i.dl + 1 6 Wc6 ! i:td8 17 Wc5 ! 'iii>f5 1 8 'ii?c 4! Wg4 2.35 19 'it>c3 ! Wh3 20 .llg5 38 Wf3 ! Wf7 ! ! l:ib2 1 1 .lah6 ! ! 'ii? f5 1 2 .l:.tf6+! ! 'ii?g5 1 3 l:tfl + 39 We4! .llg l 40 .lif8 ! .l:f.el 41 e3 .l:f.cl 42 l:tg8+ ! Wf6 43 .ll.d8 .ll.e l 44 Wf4 .ll n + 45 'it>g4 ! l:.e6! .l':tb3 1 4 e3 ! ! .llb7+ 1 5 .l:Z.e7 ! ! .l:ib2 1 6 h 3 ! ! lif2+ l 7 Wg7 ! ! l:.c2 1 8 lid7 ! Ile2 19 Ild3 ! .!:.el .l::.e l 46 l:.f8+! 'it>g7 47 l:.f3 ! 'it>g6 48 'it>f4! .lld l 20 lia3 ! .ll.e2 21 Wf7 ! .ll.f2+ 22 We6! l:if6+ 23 4 9 e4! l:.d8 50 l:.e3 .l:i.f8+ 5 1 Wg4 ! l:.g8 52 e5 ! We5 ! flf8 24 .ll. a2 ! .l:i.e8+ 25 Wd4 ! ! .ll. h 8 26 �7+ 53 Wf5 1:.f8 54 g4! 'it>e7+ 55 'it>g5 ! .l::.g8+ .ll.g2+ ! 'it>f5 27 l1f2+ ! ! We6 28 J;1h2 ! ! .ll. h4+ 29 56 'ii?f4! nm+ 57 Wg3 ! l:!g8 58 e6! l:!g6 33 .ll.g l + Wf5 34 .ll fl .ll.e4 35 Wg3+ Wg6 Wh5 ! ! 1:.hl+ 64 Wg5 ! lilgl+ 65 Wh6! lilhl+ 66 36 lif3 ! 'it>g5 37 @f2! .l:f.b4 38 .ll.f7 .l:lh4 39 lilh5 ! .l:lgl 67 'it>h7 ! 'ii?f8 68 e7+! 'it>e8 69 g7 ! Wg3 ! .lle4 40 .llf3 ! 'itih6 4 1 Wf2 ! Wg5 42 We2! 'ii?d7 70 g8Vi' +---·--··-- -

This is another important ending whose mysteries were finally umavelled with the construction of six-man tablebases.Again we shall focus on the most important points for practical players, and those positions that will be most relevant with respect to our study of the seven-man ending .i:t+2� vs .i:t+� in the next chapter. As races often force the defender to give up his rook for the attacker's pawn, it makes sense first of all to review briefly the theory of .i:t vs £!,. 48 3.1: Rook vs Pawn 3.2: Rook and Pawn vs Rook and Pawn 52

3. Jl) Rook vs Pawn Despite the large material superiority of the rook, the defender often has drawing chances. There are many motifs worth knowing: 1) Defence by stalemate with a knight's pawn on its seventh rank or by underpromotion to a knight if it is not a rook's pawn. A knight usually draws against a rook, as long as it is not too far separated from its king. 2) Cutting off the defending Icing is a strong weapon at the rook's disposal. It often proves decisive if Black's king is .cut 'off along its . fourth rank by White's rook (see 3.02). 3) Zwischenschach (in-between check) is . another typical weapon of the rook . 4) Bodycheck is by far the most important motif. We start with the stalemate and underpromo­ tion defences:

w

1 .i:th2+ 'Et>bl! ?

This i s the best defence. 1...� c1 ? ! 2 'itc3 bltll+ ! 3 'itd3 tlla3 4 l:ta2 tllb l ! = draws as well, but would be unpleasant to defend over the board. 2 '.tb3 '.tal! 3 .i:txb2 stalemate

w

3.02

Cut-off

White wins by a fifth-rank cut-off no matter how far away the white king is:

1 .1::1.gS! c3

1 ...'c6 Wf4 5 Wd5 g4 6 Wd4 g3 =.

1 . .'it>g6 2 'it>b7 g4 3 Wc6 @gs 4 Wd5 g3 5 litf8 'it>g4 6 'it>e4 1-0 .

The second method is for the attacldng king to move around the file the rook is controlling, which might be called an 'antibodycheck' , as Andreas Huss has suggested.

3.08 1 .l:teS+ Only this wins, as 1 'iit?c 3? is met by l ...f3 2 1:1e8+ Wdl =. 1...'iit?d2 2 :rs 'it>e3 3 @c3 f3 4 Iles+ 'it>f2 s 'iit?d2 Wg2 6 :rs f2 1 'lt>e2 +-

We end our discussion of 1:1 vs £!:, with an example by the famous Russian trainer Mark Dvoretsky, where very deep thought is required:

B B

3.07

J. Houska Lillevold

][)voretsky 3.09 Technique for the Tournament Player, 1995

-

Fagernes 2014

62 ...'iii>f2!

62 ... 'it>d3? runs into a bodycheck: 63 Wf5 . 'iit?d4 64 g6 =.

63 'i!tf5 'it>g3

Black's king crossed through to the other side - a typical technique.

64 g6 'iii>h4 65 'it>f6 'it>bS 0-1

1 ...'iit?cS! ! Black has to think of 'shouldering away' right from the start. Black loses after l ...a5?? 2 l::th5 ! +- or l ...Wb5? 2 'it>f7 ! a5 3 'iit?e6 ! 'iit?c4 (3 ...a4 4 'it>d5 ! +-) 4 .l:i.a8 'it>b4 5 'it>d5 a4 6 'it>d4 'iit?b3 7 Wd3 a3 8 l:%b8+ +-. 2 'iii>f7

2 l:th5+ 'iit?b4! 3 'iit?f7 a5 ! 4 'it>e6 a4! 5 Wd5 and now:

ROOK AND PA WN VS ROOK AND PA WN

a) 5 . . .'i¥?b3? 6 'it>c5 a3 7 ldh3+! @b2 8 'it?b4! (8 'it>c4? a2! 9 nh2+ 'ii?a3 ! ! =) s . . . a2 9 l%h2+ ! .'i£i>bl 10 Wb3 ! allLi+ ( 1 0 ...al'IW 1 1 ]',(hi#) I I 'it?c3 +- . b) 5 ... a3 ! 6 Wd4 a2 7 £rhl ! 'i&b3 ! =. 2 aS! 3 We6 a4! 4 @es a3 5 �as 'it?b4! 6

51

w

•••

@d4 Wb3! 7 Wd3 (DJ

B

E3.02: White found the right square for his long. Can you do the same?

7...'it?b2!

An important move to remember, as with the rook's pawn 7 ...a2?? doesn't work, because of 8 Ilb8+! Wa3 9 'it?c2! allLi+ 10 'it>c3 +-.

B

8 lib8+ @c:D.!

8 ...'it>al ? 9 Wc3 a2 10 lih8 'it>bl 11 lihl #.

9 lia8 'it>b2 10 'it?d2 a2 11 li!b8+ 'it>al! =

JE3.03: Find Black's only drawing move.

!Exercises (solutions: page 252)

w

B

E3.01: Black missed a win. Can you do better? ·•

E3.04: Find the only way for White to win.

52

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES in the following examples should be studied in detail.

w

w

E3.05: This is very difficult. How should White avoid Black's bodychecks? Burn

3.10

Spielmann San Sebastian 1911 -

63 l:.xc6+?

w

This greedy capture violates the endgame principle 'do not rush ' . White's king must be activated first: after 63 l:.g8+! �d7 64 Wb7 !, Black is defenceless; e.g., 64. . .l:tel 65 l:.g7+ Wd8 66 Wxc6 l:.e6+ 67 Wb7 l:tel 68 l:.g8+ Wd7 69 c6+ +- or 64....l:th7 65 l:.�8 l:.h6 66 l:.c7+ Wd8 67 .Uxc6 l:.h7+ 68 \t>b8 .l:th5 69 l:.c7 l:.hl 70 c6 .l:.cl 71 l:.d7+ We8 72 Wb7 +-.

63 'i£7b8! •••

E3.06: Finally an example with two pawns.

Bologan (White) missed the, win. Can you do better? ·

63 ...�d8? 64 Jl.h6 +-.

64 Ji:th6 l:tb7+! 65 Wc6 l:tc7+ 66 Wd6 Wb7 67 l:.h8 l:tc6+! 68 Wd5 l:.g6 69 l':!.h7+ Wc8 11z.11z

3 .2) Rook and Pawn vs

In the following case the attacker can't win:

!Rook and Pawrn This material configuration is not so well dealt with in the literature. One exception is John Nunn's excellent Nunn's Chess Endings Vol-

ume 2.

3 .2. 1 : No Passed Pawn 3 .2.2: Passed Pawns

W

52 56

3 .2 . 1 ) No Passed Pawn There are two cases to consider: pawns on the same file, and pawns on adjacent files. We shall deal with the former first. Here a good knowledge of the endgame ii+� vs l:. is required and the role of the kings

3.11

Malakhov - Volkov ' Khanty-Mansiisk 2007

105 Wg4!

ROOK AND PA WN VS ROOK AND PAWN

Activity is the order of the day. Not 105 We3? 'it>gl 106 kla2 i:tf2 -+. 105 l:i.f7 106 E!a2 '1rf2 107 Z!a3 Surprisingly, even 107 'il.a8 draws, due to 107 ...'il.xg2 (107 ... 'it>xg2 108 .!aa3 =) 108 b.(h8+ Wgl 109 l:Ia8 'iii>h l 1 10 'iiif3 'it>h2 1 1 1 Il.h8+ 'it>gl 1 12 Il.h3 =. 107 1:.xg2 108 'iSth4! 108 'il.b3? l!{a2 109 'il.xg3 .lla4+ -+. 108....13.gl 109 �b3 .laal 110 llxg3 'il.a4+

53

71 hixb6 f{g5 72 ti'.h6 Wc5 72...1lxb5 73 k'.1h4+ 'itic5 74 lih5+ +-. 73 b.tc6+ 1-0

.•.

The next example is more difficult:

.

•..

w

llz.llz The next case is also about the role of the kings:

w

3.13

Kariakin - Volokitin Istanbul Olympiad 2012

69 Wa6!? Playing against Black's king is more impor­ tant than the pawn. 69 @xa4 69...1:.h6 70 1:.c8 'it>xa4 7 1 .l:.c4+ 'it>b3 72 1:.c6 +-. 70 klb8 'it>b4 (D) 70 ....!Igl 7 1 li!.xb6 labl 72 .l:.b8 +-.

46 lte4!! Now White's active king will decide the day. Both 46 'il.f7? @d6 47 Wxf6 -'lf4+ 48 �g6 'il.xf7 49 Wxf7 We5 = and 46 'il.e3 ? 'it>d6 47 Wxf6 .li{f4+ 48 Wg5 .l:!'.f8 ! = are insufficient. 46 li!hS Or: 46 ... 'il.xe4?! 47 fxe4 Wd6 48 'it>xf6 +-; 46 ....!Ih3 47 f4 Wd5 48 lia4 .!Ih6 49 I!a6 +-; 46...li:h6 47 We6 'it>c5 (47...'il.h8 48 1:.c4+ @b5 49 lirc l kie8+ 50 Wf5 1:.f8 5 1 f4 +-) 48 f4 f5+ C48 ...l:tg6 49 f5 l:th6 50 @f7 +-) 49 'ii7xf5 l',!h8 50 c;i;>g6 'it>d5 5 1 .!Iel +-. 47 1:.d4 c;i;>c5 48 i:rd3 J.:!a8 48 ....l:!'.h3 49 Wxf6 Wc4 50 lta3 Wb4 5 1 lte3 C4-5T�fS-'it>a4_53_l:re4+ �as-s-4-ltes+�ao 55 f4 l:rh8 56 'it?g6 +-. 49 f4 (D)

w

B

Kamsky - Yilm111z Baku 2009

3.12

•••

.•.

UNDERSTANDING R OOK ENDGAMES

54

The following example is also drawn:

49....Ua4

The passive 49 . .Iif8 does not help due to 50 @e6 f5 51 l:td5+ 'it>c6 52 :1xf5 .l::.e8+ 53 Wf7 :!e4 54 :if6+ WdS 55 Wg6 +-. .

50 .l:r.d7 Wc6 51 :if7 Wd6 52 l:txf6+ @e7 53 Wg6 :!al 54 :if7+ @e8 55 f5 :gl+ (D)

W

55 ...J:l.a6+ is met by 56 @g7 +- (but not 56 f6?? Iial , when White's king has no shelter from the checks).

w

3.15 Shirov - Milos FIDE Knockout (rapid), Groningen 1997 52 'it>a3

52 :!f4 can be met by 52 ...l:tf6!? 53 Iixf6 'it>xf6 54 Wa3 We5 55 'iitia4 @d4 56 'it>a5 @c4 57 'itixa6 @b3 = (Ribli in CBM 63).

56 @f6 :!fl 57 :!a7 l:tf2 58 .lla8+ Wd7 59 Iif8! .l:.h2 60 Wg7 .l:Ig2+ 61 Wf7 l1a2 62 f6 .l:Ia7 63 .l:Ie8 B'.a6 64 .U.el 1-0 With pawns on adjacent files, the drawish tendency is very large:

3.14

lP'onomariov - Anand Sofia 2005

Black's king could even be cut off on the a­ file here:

50 .l:.cl @bS

Even 50...Wa5?! 5 1 .l:.bl Wa4 is sufficient to hold the draw.

51 @e4 g5 52 .l:.fl l:txf4+ 53 .l:.xf4 gxf4 54 'it>xf4 11z-11z

52...@£7 53 .l:.c4 @e7 54 Wa4 Wd7 55 @as .l:.h6

Not, of course, 55 ... f!c6?? 56 ktxc6 'it>xc6 57 'iitixa6 @c5 58 Wa5 +- (Ribli). 56 b4 ktg6 llz.1f2 But not all positions are easy draws of course.

3.16

Bareev B. Lali� World Team Ch, Lucerne 1997 -

Black must defend very accurately:

49...I:l'.hl+

49....l:.d4 draws as well; e.g., 50 kth6 Wb5 5 1 :!xh5+ @c6 5 2 .Ue5 .Ud8 53 g4 Wd6 5 4 :!el :ig8 =.

SO @g2 :idl 51 Wh3 B'.hl+ 52 @g2 l:.dl 53 Iih6 :f.dS 54 Wh3 l:r.gS! ss .Ub6

!WOK AND PA WN \IS ROOK AND PAWN

55 @h4 is met by 55 .. JJg4+ 55...Jdg4 56 11f6 (D)

55

64 'it>e6 65 'rt>h5 1If8 66 g5 'it>f5 67 g6 We6 68 'i&g5 1:1.fl 69 lla7 .llhl 70 g7 �gl+ 71 Wh6 \t>f6 72 @h7 J:!ht+ 73 @g8 .Ugl 74 Wf8 l-O

=.

..•

- - - m B B B B, B D B m B B BA •B B B i. � • • • "n u� • B B B n - B B B

B

-

Exercises (solutions: page 253)

B

56 Jitg5? Now Black's ldng is too far away. Only the inunediate 56... Wb5! draws: 57 I!.f5+ 'it>c6 58 �xh5 �g8 59 l:l.e5 (59 g4 Wd6 60 g5 We6 61 'it>g4 Wf7 62 'it>f5 e6 61 WM Wf6 =) 59 ...Wd6 60 !le3 'it>d5 61 'it>h4 Wd6 62 g4 C62 M .l:ie5 (D) 58 ...Ji.g8 59 'it>xh5 l:!h8+ 60 'it>g6 l1g8+ 61 rJif7 l1g4 62 'it>f6 rJic6 63 @f5 l1g8 64 g4 +-. .•

E3.07: How did Shirov (Black) save himself?

•.•

w __

B - - - B B -

a,,,, - -

Ai B -·.� d .� . d� ,0. �, "... d m m m .: �J m m m a

,,,

-

,

-

-

--

E3.08: Black only has a narrow path to the ·draw:-ean-you-findit?

-

59 lic3 59 .l:f.f6 ffic5 60 11h6 l:!el 61 'it>xh5 ·.Uh1 + 62 'it>g5 wins as well. 59... Wb6 60 l::tc8! Wb7 61 l1h8 Wc6 62 .lixh5 :ie8 63 g4 Wd6 63 ... ffid7 64 llh7+! We6 65 Wh5 +-. 64 11h7! The horizontal cut-off decides.

E3.09: How should White win Black's pawn?

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

56

3.2.2.2: The Attacking Rook Swings Behind the Pawri 3 .2.2.3: The Cut-Off 3 .2.2.4: The Rain of Rook Checks 3.2.2.5: The Fourth Phase of the Game 3 .2.2.6: Typical Mistakes

57 58 58 59 59

3 . 2 .2 . 1 } The Umbrella

•

Before we deal with pawn-races, one special case should be dealt with, that is where the de­ fender's pawn is a liability instead of an asset.

E3.10: Can Black win?

B w

,­

•

E3.11: Can White win?

B

3.17 Ki. Georgiev - Gyimesi European Team Ch, Porto Carras 2011 White's pawn is his undoing as it shields Black's king from the rain of rook checks: 9t...'ii!r4 92 'ii!n 'it?g3 The king hides from checks behind the 'um­ brella' .

93 el 93 l:.e8 l1dl+ 94 .l:.el .l:.xel+ 95 'it?xel 'ii!g2 96 g5 f2+ 97 'iifd2 fl'WI -+.

93 .l:.e2+!? •••

The zwischenschach is good and typical technique.

94 'iild l

94 @fl .l:f.a2 -+ .

94...l':.e7 0-1-

E3.12: Find Black's only drawrng move.

3 . 2 .2} Passed Pawns Here the activity of the kings often plays a cru­ cial role. Furthermore, good knowledge of the often resulting l:i. vs £:, endings is helpful. 3.2.2. 1 : The Umbrella 56

Black wins after 95 l1f8 f2 96 'iifd 2.l:i.el 97 g5 fl 'WI 98 l':.xfl .l:.xfl 99 g6 .l:i.f6 100 g7 .l:.g6 -+.

In the next example, the presence of White's pawn makes his defence difficult (seefollowing

diagram):

56 .l:.hS

The only other drawing move is 56 .l:.g5 =. After 56 g5? .l:.h7+ 57 'ii!g l g3 White's pawn

57

ROOK AND PA WN VS ROOK AND PA WN

Wg6 73 @f8 �fl+ 74 Wg8 �f2 75 Wh8 }!{112+ 76 'itig8 �h7 -+.

61 ... f2 62 .t{bl!

w

62 .l.Xb2? Zlf3 63 g5 'itih3 64 Jlxf2 �xf2 65 @h7 Wg4 66 g6 '!1h2+ 67 'itig8 wg5 68 g7 'itig6 69 ffi>f8 �f2+ 70 @g8 llfl 71 Wh8 li{h l + 72 'it>g8 x:lh7 -+. ·

62 ... '!1hl 63 !lb2 Wg3 64 '/1xf2 Wxf2 65 g5 @g3 66 @f7 llfl+ 67 'it>e7 '!1el+ 68 Wf7 �fl+ 69 'it>e7 WM 70 g6 Jlgl 71 Wf7 b5 72 g7 .lifl+ 73 'it>e7 '!1gl 74 Wf7 'it>h6 75 g8.:i:! Finally White gets his rook back!

-

75...lil.xgS 76 Wxg8 11z.11z

King Milller

3.18

Bundesliga 200011

is an umbrella: 58 g6 '/1a7 59 Wfl II.al+ 60 We2 f3+ 61 Wd2 .Ua6 62 g7 'tla7 63 .'.!if8 '/:.xg7 64 lt>el Wg2 -+.

56...Wf2 57 @h3 .Ua3+ 58 @h4 'it>g2 59 !i.b8 �h3+ 60 Wg5 f3 (D)

w

'

�- � . . . .

3 .2 .2 .2) The Attacking Roo� Swings Behind the Pawn This is an important technique as the attacldng king is very slow and this kind of rook ma­ noeuvre usually speeds up the process of win­ ning the defender's rook:

�-----'

B mmm m B B B

.

�

. � .

mi �

- - - �­ B m mAm.1 - - -·- - - -

61 'it>g6

B

_

o_ o_ v_ vi 3 ._ 61 .Ubl = is the other drawing,-'-' r_ es-=-ou-"rc'c..:.c 19 e. JR _o_ m_ an_ -_ Ves _c_ __ Moscow 2010 61 Wf6? runs into 6 1 ...f2 62 .Ubl .Uf3+ and White loses: 63 We6 (63 Wg6 Wh3 64 g5 fl WI 65 gxn .Uxfl 66 Wh7 Wg4 -+) 63 ... Wh3 64 g5 74...Wg3! . .l:le3+ 65 Wf6 �el 66 J:.b3+ Wg4 67 J:.b4+ Wh5 Black prepares to activate his rook. After 68 .l!if4 fl'W -+. the direct 74 . . . f2? 75 .l!ixf2+ (not 75 h5? .Ub5 61 Irb2+? f2 62 .Ubl (62 Wf6 .Uf3+ 63 'it>e6 -+) 75 . . . Wxf2 76 h5 = Black's king is too far Wh3 64 ltxf2 I!xf2 65 g5 litg2 66 @f6 @h4 67 away. g6 Wh5 68 g7 Wh6 -+) and now: 75 h5 .Ug4+ 76 @b6 a) 62 ...l:.hl 63 .Ub2 .Uh3 (not 63 ... Wf3? 64 76 @f6 does not help .due to 76 ....!:.f4 77 .Uxf2+ Wxf2 65 Wf6 Wg3 66 g5 @h4 67 g6 .Uxf4 Wxf4 78 h6 f2 79 h7 fl� 80 'it>g7 (80 .lafl + 68 We7 and White draws) 64 @g6 .laf3 65 h8ViY '&'al+ -+) 80...\'i'g2+, when Black's Icing g5 'i£fh3 66 .l:l.xf2 Iixf2 67 Wh7 @g4 68 g6 is inside the winning zone; e.g., 8 1 Wf8 \'i'a8+ l:.h2+ -+. 82 @g7 'l'i'b7+ 83 Wg8 'l'i'c8+ 84 'it>g7 'l'i'd7+ 85 b) 62 ...l:rg3 63 Wh5 n \!iY 64 .Uxfl @xfl 65 Wg8 \!We8+ 86 @g7 'l'i'e7+ 87 @g8 'it>g5 88 h8\l!V g5 'iii>g2 66 Wg6 Wh3 67 @h5 .l:rg2 68 g6 .Ugl 69 Wg6 -+. @h6 lii>g4 70 g7 Wf5 71 Wh7 .Uh l+ 72 Wg8 76...f2 0-1 _ _ _

_ _ _ _

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

58

Romanov resigned due to 77 .Uxf2 Wxf2 78 'it>h7 Wg3 79 h6 'it?f4 80 'iilh 8 'it>f5 81 h7 'ii!g6 82 Wg8 l:ta4 -+.

B

3 . 2 . 2 .3) The Cut-Off

. · � • · ,���-��-�.B.i: :B B B

,,,,,,�

�

�

�....,,;

�

B B BA • B B . B • • • •

This is an important fighting technique for the attacker's rook:

�

w

55.. Jih8

3.20

After 55 ....l:txa7+ 56 'ii!xa7 Black loses as his ldng is cut off above the middle of the board: 56...g3 57 l!b3 g2 58 l:tg3 +-. 56 .l:tb8 l:thl 57 l:tb6+ 1-0 Black resigned due to 57 ... 'iilg7 58 a8'1W lial+ 59 Wb7 l:txa8 60 'it>xa8 g3 61 .l:!.b3 g2 62 .l:tg3+ +- and 57 ...'ii!g5 58 .tlb5+ Wf4 59 a8%'/ lial+ 60 lia5 +-.

R.adjabov - JBruzon Trams@ Olympiad 2014

3 . 2 . 2 .4) The Rain of Rook Checks

51 l:!.b5! The rook is used in optimal fashion. 5 1 l:tb6? runs into 5 1 .. ..ID3 (5 1 ...g4 draws as well) 52 Wb7 l:f7+ 53 \t>a8 l:f8+ 54 l:b8 lii.f6 55 a7 'it?g6 56 \t>b7 l:tf7+ 57 'it?b6 l:tx S8 \t>xa7 'it>f5 59 'it?b6 g4 60 Wc5 We4 = (bpdycheck). .

This is one of the defender's main weapons, especially when his own pawn is quick enough.

a7

51 @f6

·

w

••.

Or: a) 5 1 .. .g4 52 l:tg5+ 'it?f6 53 l:txg4 We7 54 Wb6 (White's rook can shield the king; not 54 l:td4? l:!.b3 =) 54...l:tb3+ (54 ... 'it>d7 55 a7 l:tb3+ 56 Wa5 l:ta3+ 57 l:ta4 +-) 55 'it>a5 l:ta3+ 56 .l:!.a4 +-. b) 5 1 ...'itrg6!? is met by 52 Wb6! l:th8 53 a7 'itrh5 54 l:ta5 (54 Wb7? takes White' s king too far away: 54...Wg4 55 a81/i' l:xa8 56 'ii!xa8 'iilf4 3.21 Ivanchuk - J. Polgar =} 54...l:ta8 (54... 'it>g4 55 a81i' lixa8 56 l:txa8 lvl.exico City 2010 Wf3 57 l:tf8+! We3 58 .ii[g8 +-) 55 b7 l:!.xa7+ 56 lixa7 ! Wg4 57 'it?c6 Wf3 58 l:tf7+! (an im­ 111 lid8! portant zwischenschach) 58 ...We3 59 l:tg7 Wf4 The rook moves into position. Instead, 1 1 1 60 Wd5 g4 6 1 Wd4 Wf3 62 'it>d3 g3 63 l:tf7+ Wb3? is met by 1 1 1 ...lif3 -+, while the direct 'it?g2 64 'it?e2 'it>gl 65 l:tg7 g2 66 'it>f3 Whl 67 1 1 1 b5? runs into 1 1 1 ...g3 1 12 b6 g2 1 1 3 b7 Wf2 +-. . ( 1 1 3 l:!dl l:!.f6 1 14 b7 l:[b6 -+) 1 13 ...gl%'/ 1 14 52 'iii>b6 g4 53 a7 lih8 b81W, when the first check decides, as is usual in 53 . . .l:ta3 54 l:ta5 +-. the 'fourth phase of the game' (i.e. after both 54 \t>b7 l:th7+ 55 Wa6 (D) sides promote in an ending - see the next sec­ Now the cut-off of Black's king is decisive. tion): 1 14 ...'iWcl+ 1 1 5 'iilb3 �bl+ -+.

ROOK AND PA WN \IS ROOIC AND PA WN

59

111 g3 .•.

After l l l ...�f5 1 1 2 llh8+ 1lh5 1 1 3 Xixh5+ 'it>xh5 1 14 b5 = White's pawn queens just in time.

112 �h8+ @g4 113 g3 is more tenacious as after 60. . .�g5+ 61 Wh3 �h5+ 62 ..t>g2 '&g4+ 63 .&tg3 nb2+ 64 1i!Yf2+ kixf2+ 65 Wxf2 Black must win with queen against rook.

60 1l!Yg5+ 61 'it>h3 '&l'h5+ 62 d3 ·59 :.f3+ Wc4 60 f7 .l:If8 61 .l:If2 Wb3 62 l:tf3 'it>b2 White can activate his rook in time: 63 :.f6 c2 64 Itb6+ 'it>cl 65 .:b7 .l:td8 66 .litd7 .&tb8 67 .llb7 =.

58 f7 cl\W 59 fS°iV \!Wd2+ (D)

Black has the first check and this is decisive with both kings open.

3.23

Meribanov - Svetushkin Moscow 2013

53 f8'Wi?

Now Black is just in time to draw. White should prefer 53 .l:!e5 ! ? .l:!b8+ (53 ....i:i.f3 54 f8W/ .l:!xf8+ 55 'it>xf8 @d6 56 .lith5 +-; 53 ...c4 54 f8'&' .&tb8+ 55 Wf7 .litxf8+ 56 'it>xf8 c3 57 1Ie3

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

60

+-; 53 ... 'it>d6 54 f8'1W+ 'it>xe5 55 'ii'xc5+ @f6 56 �d6+ @g7 57 �f8+ 'it>g6 58 �f7+ +-) 54 We7 'it>b5, and then: a) 55 f8�? is still too early due to 55 ...l:f.xf8 56 @xf8 @c4 57 @e7 @d4 58 'it>d6 c4 59 l:f.d5+ @e3 60 @cs c3 61 @b4 c2 62 .l:f.c5 Wd2 63 @b3 c l '/ill 64 l:f.xc 1 Wxcl =. b) 55 @f6 wins the all-important tempo in the following fights: 55 ... l:f.f8 56 l:re8 Uxf7+ 57 @xf7 @c4 (57 ... c4 58 We6 c3 59 @d5 Wb4 60 Wd4 c2 6 1 Uc8 @b3 62 @d3 +-) 58 @e6 @d4 59 l:rd8+ We4 60 @d6 c4 61 @c5 c3 62 Wb4 c2 63 Itc8 @d3 64 @b3 +-. 53 .lie6+ @d5 54 Ud6+ Wxd6 55 f8�+ @c6 56 irf6+ Wb5 57 Wd7 wins as well, but is more complicated.

53 I1.b8+ 54 @f7 .l:t.xf8+ 55 W:xf8 (D)

applied without thinking. While it is often correct, there are .certainly.exceptions.

B

3.24

Lenderman - Berndt Bundesliga 2012113

••.

45 l:rf4? ••.

In this case the rook cannot stop White from behind. 45 ... 'fJc6+? 46 @g7 +- is also wrong, but 45 ... a5 46 l:[a7 a4 defends as the - rook is flexible now; e.g., 47 .Ua8+ @d7 48 Wf7 .Ilf4 49 f6 @c6 so Wg7 'it>b5 51 f7 Wb4 =.

B

46 .Ua7 l:rfl 47 l:rxa6 l:rf2 48 1:1.a8+ cJ?d7 49 .llf8! The typical technique. 49 l:rfl 50 @gJ .llg l+ 51 'it>f7 .Ilfl 52 f6 •••

55...@d5! The right way to proceed. Black's king pre­ pares to give White's a bodycheck. Instead, 55 ...c4?? loses due to the deadly cut-off 56 .lie5 +- and 55 ...Wb5? runs into 56 Wf7 Wc4 57 @e6 Wd4 58 .l:ld7+ We4 59 .l:lc7 @d4 60 Wf5 c4 61 Wf4 'it>d3 62 @f3 c3 63 .l:t.d7+ Wc2 64 @e2 Wb2 65 l:rc7 c2 66 @d2 +-.

l:[f2 53 Ita8 .lifl 54 .lla2 .Uf3 55 .lld2+ Wc7 56 We7 1-0

Exercises (solutions: page 2 54)

56 l:[d7+ We4 57 'it>e7

The usual zwischenschach 57 'fJe7+ does not help here due to 57 ...Wd3 58 l:[d7+ We3 59 l:rc7 @d4 60 c6, which is finished. These tools are highly efficient and shortest in the DTM metric, looks odd to the human eye. nothing else - apart from computing power and time - is needed to construct all seven­ The next position is mate in two and conver­ man tablebases. Many important tablebases have been constructed by Marc: on his home sion in one: computers (from time to time he gets new computers of course) since 2005. The time to calculate a single seven-man tablebase varies from several hours to one w month, and the size of each tablebase ranges from 1 to 150 gigabytes. Our tablebases use the measurement DTC distance to conversion (i.e. capture and/or pro­ motion of a pawn), unlike Nalimov tablebases, which use DTM - distance to mate. You may also come across tablebases that use DTZ - dis­ tance to zero, meaning the number of moves beforethe fifty-move 'cfock' is set to.zero by ii · capture or a pawn move. 4.1.02 :OTM is better Basically the measurement type is a second­ ary consideration - a win is a win, however it is l llgl is DTM-optimal and the human move. measured. Using DTM will highlight the move 1 WJ/g7+ is odd, but DTC-optimal. that forces mate most quickly, but this may not be the quickest or most natural way to win in Like in Nalimov tablebases, in our table­ practice, as most games do not get played out bases the en passant capture is considered, but all the way to mate. For example, if \t>+WJ/ vs \t> castling possibilities are not. Also we do not is reached, the opponent will most likely resign. consider the 50-move rule - see below.

ROOK AND Two PA WNS vs ROOK AND PA WN

At the end of 2006, we started constructing tablebases for seven-man endings with pawns. At the outset, we faced an important decision about the method of construction. When mak­ ing tablebases, it is possible to include pawn promotion to the full range of pieces, or to re­ strict it to, e.g., queen and knight. The latter op­ tion makes the process faster in endings such as 1!.+2£!. vs �+£!., as there is less need to construct additional tablebases (with bishops and extra rooks). Naturally, if you limit the range of promo­ tions there is no absolute guarantee of accuracy of results, but in at least 99.99% of cases, it is enough to consider only promotion to queen and knight. Generally speaking, the only objec­ tive reason to underpromote to a bishop or rook is to avoid stalemate, a very rare (though not impossible) event in this ending given that the defender still has at least a rook and a pawn. On the other hand, the only reason not to construct tablebases with all promotions is to reduce the time taken and the disk space re­ quired. All six-man tablebases constmcted by us, and used in this book, take into account all promotions. Here is a good example of the importance of the knight promotion:

w

- - - -

••••••••

- - - -�

65

'it>e2 ltl.b3 70 krg l �b2+ 7 1 Wd3 'it>g5 72 We3 I!h3+ 73 Wf2 'it>f4 74 Ug2 1l h l 75 We2 ll.h3 76 �gl b'Ih2+ 77 Wd3 X!h3+ 78 Wd4 Wg5 79 'it>e4 �a3 80 Z'!hl @xg4 81 h6 !la8? (8 1 .. .l:Za4+! 82 We5 �a5+ ! 83 'it'd6 hra6+! 84 Wc7 h.{a8 85 h7 �h8 86 'it>d7 'it>f5 ! { not 86. . . Wg5? 87 We6 ! Wg6 88 l:tgl + 'it>xh7 89 @f7 ! +- } 87 'it>e7 'it>g6! 88 Il.gl+ '*1f5 ! { 88 . . . 'i:tixh7 89 Wf7 +-l 89 �hl 'it>g6! =) 82 h7 Z'!h8 83 'itie5 'iilg5 84 'it>e6 'it>g6 85 hrgl+ 'it>h6 86 'it>f7 1 -0. Instead after 58 I1.g7+ Wf4! 59 Wh4 e3 ! 60 1lf7+ 'it>e4 ! 61 Wg3 �e5 ! 62· h6 'it>d3 ! 63 llf3 1:!.e7 ! 64 g5 We4! 65 6tf8 'it>d5 ! 66 .:.n We6! 67 g6 e2! 68 .!'J.el Wf6 ! 69 g7 Wf7 ! 70 Wf3 .l!\.e6! 7 1 .:.gl (D) we reach the following position:

,

B

Only a !might underpromotion leads to a draw: 7 1 ...el lll+ ! =. If we had been using tablebases that didn't consider promotions to a knight, the result for this ending would have been reported incorrectly.

Now some words about longer wins and the --1-----Jft,. - ---·-, 50-move rule.Before (fie construction of seven• B�B • man tablebases, the longest known endgame �iWJ win was one in 243 moves (distance to conversion - DTC) in the ending li\.+tt:J vs 2liJ, found 8 8 8o• by Lewis Stiller in 199 1 . Later it was established � � L,� � � that the maximum distance to mate (DTM) in this class of endgame is 262 moves. 4.1.03 lllubinetti - Silva It is no surprise that in seven-man endings Sii.o Paulo Zonal 1993 there are longer wins. A win in 290 moves in the ending 2l1+tt:J vs 211 was the first of them to 55 @h2? be discovered. In May 2006 a position with a Only 55 h6 ! +- wins. win in 5 17 moves was found in the ending 55...l1a5 56 g4 'iii>f4 57 Wh3 Wg5 '/W+tt:J vs 11+.t+lll. The game continuation was now 58 l1xe4 li\.a3+ 59 @g2 Il.b3 60 Wf2 l1h3 61 J!f.e3 :h4 62 In general, in many pawnless endings more than 50 moves before conversion may be neces­ llg3 l1h2+ 63 :g2 !ih3 64 !lg3 llh2+ 65 Wgl sary for a win, and this is also true for a number l:h4 66 Wg2 @f4 67 Wf2 l:!h2+ 68 :g2 l1hl 69

�. �fi.�� �. �q,�q,z�.��q,,� • m • m - m �,"ai,

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

66

of six-man and five-man endings, including even 'i4'+.U vs VJI/. · In these situations the 50move· rule, in Yakov Konoval' s opinion, re­ quires modification; otherwise it disrupts the logic of the chess stru gle. In chess composi­ tion, this rule it is not taken into consideration at all. Karsten Muller thinks that for human over-the-board play, the 50-move rule should remain unchanged, as humans do not play per­ fectly and if the defender has managed to sur­ vive 50 moves then a draw is deserved. Two interesting results were achieved by us in 2009, albeit of limited direct significance to over-the-board play. The first of them was the construction of several eight-man tablebases without pawns in which one of the sides has two dark-squared and two light-squared bish­ ops. The most interesting of them is the table­ base 4� vs 2.l:t. It has appeared that generally the four bishops win, and more than 50 moves are needed to win. The second result is the usage of the idea about restricted promotions for finding posi­ tions in which two underpromotions into differ­ ent pieces are · needed to win. This approach was suggested by the well-lmown mathemati­ cian and chess composer Noam Elldes and was implemented by Marc and Yakov. Thi;is the computer acts in a role of a composer of end­ game studies; the human needs oi:µy to analyse the positions found and to decide whether they

g

are suitabl� stµdies, and if desired to add addi­ tional moves. In fac:: t ,· two such studies 'by computer' have already been published and ac­ cording to experts in chess composition (Oleg Pervakov and others) they are of good quality. In 2012 a team from the Moscow State Uni­ versity (Vladimir Makhnychev and Viktor Za­ kharov) constructed seven-man tablebases using the supercomputer Lomonosov in the DTM format. Now their tablebases are available on­ line (for some payment) and it's possible to ver­ ify online any seven-man position (except six pieces vs lone king), but in our book we use a lot of utilities developed by Marc Bourzutschky and Yakov Konoval which allow us to find many interesting positions automatically from various tablebases.

4.2) Statistics There are 144 different pawn-configurations for the ending l1+2l!. vs .U+l!. and we have di­ vided them into ten groups and thus ten sec­ tions in the book: 4.3 : No passed pawns; connected 4.4: No passed pawns; isolated 4.5: One passed pawn; connected 4.6: One passed pawn; isolated; near 4.7: One passed pawn; isolated; far 4.8: All passed pawns; connected; near

Win

Section

Con.figs

Total

4.3

7

24007

1 3 144

55%

10863

45%

4.4

3

4487

2753

61%

1734

39%

4.5

6

12358

5478

44%

6880

56%

4.6

25

255 1 0

1 3962

55%

1 1548

45%

26

36677

17017

46%

1 9660

54%

4.7 ..

Draw

..

..

4.8

9

121 16

3716

31%

8400

69%

4.9

6

15788

4781

30%

1 1007

70%

4.10

16

13383

7288

54%

6095

46%

4. 1 1

14

13902

7326

53%

6576

47%

4.12

32

5765

3869

67%

1 896

33%

Total

144

163993

79334

48%

84659

52%

ROOK AND TWO PA WNS VS ROOK AND PA WN ·

4.9: 4.10: 4. 1 1 : 4. 12:

All passed pawns; connected; far All passed pawns; isolated; near All passed pawns; isolated; far Doubled pawns

The specific configuratig8 f5 (61 ...l:bl 62 .l:.a3 f5 63 .l:.a6 +-) 62 .l:.a7+ @f6 63 Wf8 .l:.gl 64 l:ta6+! 'it>e5 65 Wf7 l1xg7+ 66 Wxg7 f4 (66 ... 'it>e4 67 l:te6+ Wd3 68 i:[f6 +-) 67 l1f6 We4 68 Wg6 +- (Golod).

56 g6+ Wf6

4.3 .3) f- and g-Pawns vs g-Pawn Here the winning chances are better than in the previous section (4.3.2) and the defender must be very accurate when the attacker has ad­ vanced far:

56 ... We7 57 .l:.g8 Wf6 58 J:lf8+ transposes to the game.

57 J:lf8+ We5 (D)

B

Now comes the deep study-like point:

58 f6!!

4.3.17

Golod Wiersma Bad Wiessee 2003 -

Both 58 Wg5? .l:.bl 5 9 .l:.e8+ Wd6 = an d 58 l:tf7? J:lbl 59 f6 (59 l:txg7?? 'it>f4! -+) 59...l:thl+ 60 Wg4 l:tgl + = (Golod) fail to win.

ROOK AND Two PA WNS \IS ROOK AND PA WN 58 ... !!xf6 59 !'i'.f7 (D)

- - - p • a .: � • -

B

B B il LS m B B m B@

The following . example was analysed by Petar Genov in Informator 83:

w

- - - . - - - . - - - - -

59 @e6 •..

59 ....lii'.f5+ 60 Wg4 'fJ.f6 61 Wg5 ! '!J..a6 (or 61 ...We6 62 .!:ixf6+ gxf6+ 63 Wh6 +-) 62 'fJ.e7+ Wd5 63 'fJ.xg7 +- (Golod). 60 'fJ.xg7 litl 61 'fJ.a7 .lii'.h l+ 62 Wg5 .Uh2 63

g7 .lii'.g2+ 64 Wh6 .l:Ih2+ 65 'it>g6 'fJ.g2+ 66 Wh7 'fJ.h2+ 67 'it>g8 I:tf2 68 kia6+ We7 69 Wh7 1-0· In the following configuration, the usual de­ fensive pawn sacrifice does not work:

77

4.3.19

- -. . -

Milanovic - Genov Yugoslavia 2001

1 £!f6?! Contrary to Genov's opinion, this move is sufficient to draw, but the direct 1 g3 !? f3 2 .l:b8 = is probably easier. l Wg5 2 .l1f8 '!J..g6 3 .l:If7 .l:l.a6 4 .l:Ig7+ Wf5 s .l:l.f7+ We5 6 l:te7+ Wf6 7 .l:b7 l:Ia2+ 8 'iii>fl •••

Wg5 9 .l:!b4?

Only this move is a decisive error. The draw­ ing moves are 9 .U.h7 = and 9 g3 =.

9 @M 10 llxf4

w

•••

After 10 .l:Ib3 ! ? Genov correctly gives the line 10....lii'.a l + 1 1 Wf2 (1 1 We2 f3+ 12 gxf3 g3 -+) l l ...g3+ ( 1 1 ...f3? 12 gxf3 g3+ 1 3 Wg2 .l:.t.a2+ 14 Wgl Wh3 1 5 .lii'.bl l:Ig2+ 1 6 Whl .llh2+ 17 Wgl g2 1 8 Wf2 'fJ..h l 19 llgl =) 12 'it>f3 .l:.fl+ 13 We4, and now: a) 13 ...llf2? 14 .l:Ib8 =. -1--'h -- )-13-:-:-:'i£?g4?-M-.l:lb8-'fJ..e-I-=i--l5-c;t>ds-l:!;gI� but here Genov's 1 6 l:!g8+? is a mistake ( 1 6 We4 leads to a draw) due t o 1 6 ...'iii>f5 .17 'fJ..f8+ Franco - lRobatsch 4.3.18 'iii>g6 18 i:Ig8+ Wh7 19 .l:Ig4 .Uxg2 20 .Uxf4 Buenos Aires Olympiad 1978 'itig6 -+. c) 13 ... f3 14 .l:Ixf3 (14 gxf3 g2 -+) 14 ....lii'.f2 74 g3+? -+. Now this move is incorrect. 74 .!:ia4 =, 74 10 @g3 11 l:tb4 l:tal + 12 We2 .llgl 13 l:ta4 llh3+ = and 74 l:tf3 = hold.

. -'•:

·m .1m

•••

74 @g4? .••

.l:Ixg2+ 14 @n l:tb2 15 J:r.a8 15 l:ta3+ Wh2 -+ (Genov).

74 ... fxg3+! 75 Wg2 l:tb2+ 76 @gl Wh3 (with White's rook on a8, the position would be a draw) 77 .l:tal g4 78 iic1 .llb3 (78 ... g2?? 79 .llc3+ g3 80 .llxg3+ =) 79 .!:[al g2 80 'fJ..c l .Uf3 81 Ital llfl+ -+.

15....Ubl+ 16 @e2 @g2 17 l:tg8 g3 18 '!1g7 l:tbS 19 '!J..e7 l:tfB 20 lle6 @gl 21 '!J..g6 g2 22 '!J..e6 l:th8 23 '!J..a6 �h2 0-1

75 gxf4 llb2+ 76 @fl gxf4 77 .l:lc3 .llh2 78 l:ta3 llhl+ 79 @f2 11z.11z

The attacker usually wins if his king can in­ vade to h3:

78

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

B

4.3.20

Cheparinov - Carlsen Khanty-Mansiisk 2005

57...&te2+! Th cut-off is necessary as 5i ..Ir.e4? 58 .l:tb2 is only a draw. 58 'it>gl .l:ta2 59 llc3 'it>h3 60 .l:!.f3 lla5 61 'it>n g4 62 Irb3 l:1.a2 63 :b5 63 litc3 litg2 64 llc5 \tixg3 65 .l:!.xf5 .l:!.a2 66 llg5 !:la!+ 67 'it>e2 l:r.gl -+. 63...'it>xg3 64 llxf5 l:!.al+ 65 'it>e2 'it>g2 66 llf2+ 'it>h3 67 .l:tf8 g3 68 .UhS+ 'it>g2 69 lites 'it>gl 10 .Ugs g2 .71 .i:tg7 litas 12 .l:!.h7 lites+ 0-1 The defence is also difficult when the attack­ ing pawns are further back:

bl) 44 �xg5 .l:txf2 45 li!.b7+ 'it>g8 46 \tig6 · and now Biack should play 46 ...l:f.f8 ! =, since passive defence is sufficient against a g-pawn. But not 46 ...@f8? 47 g4 I\.a2 48 llb8+ 'it>e7 49 g5 llg2 50 llg8 ! +-. b2) 44 f3 l:ta3 45 'it>g4 lla5 ! (45 ... .l:tc3? 46 llb5 Wf6 47 .l:!.f5+ 'it>g6 48 l:txg5+ wins for White) 46 llh6 and now Black has two drawing options: 46 ...lla3 47 llh5 @f6 48 .l::!.xg5 llxf3 49 'it>xf3 'it>xg5 = and 46 ....l:te5 47 .Uh5 'iii>f6 48 f4 gxf4 49 llxe5 'it>xe5 50 gxf4+ 'iii>f6 =, but not 46 ... 'it>g7? 47 llh5 'it>g6 48 f4 +-. 43 llb6+! The sting in the tail. Not 43 .l:!b5? .l:ta2 and Black draws. 43...@fS Or: 43 ...'it>g7 44 .l:tg6+ +-; 43 . . .'it>e7 44 'it>g5 lia2 45 llf6 +-; 43 ...'iii>f7 44 'it>g5 lia2 45 l:If6+ 'it>g7 46 llf4 +-. 44 .IibS 1-0 Ivanchuk resigned due to 44 ... 'iilf6 (44...lic4 45 llf8+ 'it>e5 46 'it>g5 IIa4 47 lif4 +-) 45 lif8+ 'it>e5 (45 ...'it>g7 46 .l:tf4 +-) 46 'it>g5 lib4 47 lif5+ 'it>e6 48 .l:!f4 +-. Black's pawn should also remain on g5 in the next case:

B w

4.3.21

Grishchuk - Ivanchuk Khanty-Mansiisk 2011

4.3.22

43 g4? After 43 ...'it>d7 ! Black's king arrives just in time on the kingside; e.g., 44 'iii>h3 1:1.f5 45 'it>g4 .Uxf2 46 'it>xg5 'it>e7 =. 44 .l:te6? White missed a long win by 44 lig6 ! l1b4 45 l::tf6 'it>d7 46 'iii>fl ! li.b5 47 'it>e2! 'it>e7 48 .:S.f4! llg5 49 'it>e3 ! 'it>e6 50 .2:.f8 ! 'it>e5 (50...'it>e7 5 1 •••

41 'it>g4 .l:ta4+ 42 'it>h5 g4? Ivanchuk exposes his g-pawn. The active 42....l1.a2! saves the day; e.g., 43 llb6+ and here: a) 43 ...'it>g7 ! ? is the easiest way: 44 f3 .l:ta3 45 lib7+ (45 'ii?g4 lita5 =) 45 ... 'it>f6 46 :b8 Wg7 47 'it>g4 l:ta5 48 llb6 .l:tc5 49 'it>h5 .l1.c3 =. b) 43 ... 'iilf7 and now:

Bannik - Vistaneckis Vilnius 1949

!WOK AND Two PA WNS llS ROOK AND PA WN Wf4 +-) 5 1 ila8 Ilg7 52 �a5+! 'itie6 53 We4 ! �g8 54 £{e5+ (this typical check throws the de­ fender off balance) 54...@f6 (the analogous po­ sition with pawns on g2 and h3 vs h4 is drawn, but here White can enter a winning five-man ending with a g-pawn after 54...Wd6 55 @f4 ng7 56 Zlg5 &{f7+ 57 'it>xg4 �xf2 58 lif5 lig2 59 c;t>h4 'tt>e6 60 g4 .t{h2+ 61 Wg5 .llh8 62 Jlf6+ @e7 63 Wf5 .t{hl 64 @g6 +-) 55 Wf4 lirg6 56 lla5 b!g8 57 �f5+ 'i:t>e6 58 .a:g5 .a:r8+ 59 @e3 .l:If3+ 60 'it>e2 +-. 44....b(M? 44. . .'it>d7 =; 44...lil.g5 =. 45 lle2? The last en-or. 45 Jlf6 wins - see the note to White's 44th move. 45 ... 'ii?d6 46 f3 gxf3+ 47 'it>xf3 :rbs 48 g4 lif8+ 49 'it>g3 �g8 50 lie3 Wd5 51 liel 'it>d6 52 .lie4 Wd5 53 llf4 @es 54 ,l;!f5+ 'it>e6 55 Wf4 lla8 56 .l:l:b5 �f8+ 57 We4 z:!fl 58 Jlb6+ lfz-1/z In the following example it is even more dif­ ficult to exploit the exposed black pawn:

w

79

w

Kiilaots - Pavasovic 4.3.24 European Team Ch, Gothenburg 2005 58 l:i:b3 Wd4 59 llb4+ llc4 60 :bs! .l!!c3+ 61 rltf2 l:rc5 62 .l!!b2 We5 63 .l:l.b3 We4 64 Jlb4+ Wd5 65 Ub8 We5 66 .l:id8? This move does not parry Black's threat. The drawing moves are 66 Jlb2 =, 66 l:!b3 =, 66 .lae8+ = and 66 Iif8 =. 66...@e4? Black misses his chance to give a decisive check: 66 ....l:Ic2+ ! 67 Wf3 (67 @fl We4 -+) 67 ... .l:l.c3+ 68 Wf2 !'l.g3 -+. 67 .lae8+ :es 68 :as @d4 69 1:1.d.8+ .l:ld5 7® l1e8 @cs 71 .l:Ia8 Wdl6 72 Jla3 @es 73 'it>B l:r.bS 74l l:Id3? (D) Again the rook is in an unfortunate position on the d-file. 74 @f2 would have held things to­ gether.

B 4.3.23

Kurnosov - Fiere Santos Moscow 201 1

36 .l:Ld4? White misses a lengthy win: 36 Wa2 ! Ir.g3 37 ll:d3! l1g4 38 @b3 Wb6 39 li!.h3 'it?b5 40 Ir.h5+! @b6 41 'it?a4! i;[g2 42 llh6+! 'it?b7 (42 ...'it?c5 43 1:1.h8 +...:.) 43 'it?b3 ! l:tg4 44 .l:Ih2! .l:If4 45 'it?a4! 'it?b6 46 b3 ! llg4 47 l:r.h6+! 'it?c5 48 .i:!h8 ! @d6 49 �b8 llg2 50 l'k8 .l:!.g4 5 1 .l:!c4 +-. 36 b3 37 Jlc4+ 'it?d6 38 cxb3 WdS and the game was later drawn. .•.

If the attacker has a protected passed pawn, careful defence is required:

74 .l:!.bl 75 .l:!.a3 Or: 75 Wf2 .i:!hl -+; 75 'it?g2 We4 76 .l:!.a3 .i:!b2+ 77 'it?h3 .lld2 78 .lla5 .lld3+ 79 Wh2 .i:!d5 80 .l:!.a4+ 'it?f3 8 1 Wh3 .lld3 82 .i:!a5 'it>f2+ 83 'it>h2 1:1.g3 84 .l:!.xg5 l:r.g2+ 85 Whl (85 Wh3 Wgl 86 .lla5 .i:!h2#) 85 ...f3 86 !ia5 'it?g3 87 g5 .l:!.h2+ 88 'it?gl f2+ 89 wn ilhl + 90 'it?e2 fl 'MV+ -+. •••

80

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

75...�gl 76 �as+ 'it>f6 77 lta6+ @e7 78 'it'e4 l:'bg4 79 WeS f3 80 lta7+ �d8 0-1 ·

Exercises (solutions: page 257)

B

w

JE4.3.10: Gelfand (Black) resigned. Was this decision justified?

E4.3.13: Can White still defend himself?

w

B

E4.3.11: Firid White's only drawing move.

E4.3.14: What had White missed? Black to play.

w

w

E4.3.12: White did not find the saving resource and lost. Can you do better?

E4.3.15: How should White defend?

ROOK AND Two PAWNS vs ROOK AND PA WN

B

B

E4.3.16: Was 100...lirf5+ a good choice?

4.3.26

4.3 .4) f- and g-Pawns vs f-Pawn

Ag�n the attacker must be well placed to have serious winning chances.

B

81

A. Zaitsev - Hilbner Biiswn 1969

l!tf4 62 Jld8+ 'it>h7 63 .a'.f8 l!\a4 64 .a'.e8 .laf4 65 @e6 Wg7 =. 58 Wh5! litgl 59 g5! fxg5 60 f5! ! The g5 'umbrella' must remain on the board to shield White's ldng. 60...\t>rs 61 f6 1-0 In the next configuration, the defender can just stay on his second rank:

B

4.3.25

Nalbandian - Pashikian Annenian Ch, Erevan 2006

53 f3+ 53. ..�g5T5"4-l:ta8-iSOnlyorawn. 54 @gl l:tbl+ 55 'it>b2 l:tb2 56 \t>gl \t>h3 57 llal g3 58 ilfl 58 fxg3 @xg3 59 .l:r.c l .a'.g2+ 60 @fl .l:l.h2 6 1 @gl f2+ 62 @fl l:thl + 6 3 We2 l:txcl -+. 58....a'.c2 59 fxg3 59 .a'.al gxf2+ 60 'iiff l Wg3 6 1 .l:lbl llc8 62 .a'.al .a'.h8 63 .a'.a7 .a'.h 1 #. 59..J!g2+ 60 'itihl f2 0-1 .•.

-

The creation of an 'umbrella' is a typical theme when the defending pawn is on its third rank (see following diagram). 57....l:f.bl? 57 ...l:ra5 is the simplest drawing move; e.g., 58 f5 l:Ial 59 @h5 l3.gl 60 'it1g6 :Xg4+ 61 'i¥lxf6

4.3.27

l!vkov - Bukic Sarajevo 1964

87....l:1a4? Black should wait with 87 .. J:tb7 =, but not 87 ... .a'.e7? 88 g5 ! l3.f7 89 g6!, with a win in 21 moves. 88 l3.d7+ @g8 89 .l:l.b7? White misses the chance to create an um­ brella with 89 g5 ! fxg5 90 'iitg6, when Black is defenceless; e.g., 90...l3.a8 91 f6 g4 92 l3.g7+ @f8 93 l3.h7 'it>g8 94 f7+ 'iiff8 95 .l:!.h8+ +-. 89...l:lf4! (D) The only move.

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

82

w

B

90 .U.a7 90 g5 ilxf5 91 Wg6 .U.xg5+ =. 90...Wf8! Again the only defence. 91 .U.a6 9 1 g5 is met by 9 1 ...Iixf5 92 'it>g6 llfl 93 gxf6 .U.gl+ =. 91...@g7 92 .:l.b6 Wf7 93 llc6 Wg7 94 llc2 Wf7 95 TJ,.c7+ Wg8 96 .:l.b7 Wf8 97..Wg6 llxg4+ . 98 Wxf6 'it>g8! 99 Itb8+ Wh7 i12.112

4.3.29 B .:H. Wood J. Enevoldsen Oldenburg 1949

.

Surprisingly, even the following position is drawn:

B

4.3.28

A. Khasin - Liublinsky Moscow 1949

· 51 ....U.c2 52 llh3 1I:i2 53 .l:.b5 lla4 54 Wg2 ll.b4 55 'it>gl? The wrong way to wait. 55 X;[h3 =; 55 Wf2 =. 55...Wxf3 0-1 White resigned due to 56 llxg5 ll.g4+ 57 .:!.xg4 fxg4 58 Wh2 Wf2 59 Whl Wg3 60 Wgl �h3 -+. .

The defender must be careful when the at­ tacking king is threatening to invade:

-

65....!if4? 65 ....!ial !? might be best, to answer 66 Wh5 with 66 ...TJ,.fl 67 l:!.b3 @f7 =. 65 ....l:Ia5?! is also playable, but quite prec;arious due to 66 f4 f5 (66 ....U.a4? 67 f5+ We5 68 Wh5 Wf4 69 .l:.b6 +-) 67 l:tb6+ We7 68 g5 lla4 69 g6 I:txf4+ 70 wg5 llg4+1 1 �li6 en wxf5 :g1 12 l1b8 .ttg2 = }7 1 .·.�f4 72 g7 f3 73 l:i.g6 l:i.xg6+ 74 Wxg6 f2 -. Not 65 ... f5? 66 Wg5 +-. 66 'itg3? . The only winning move is 66 .U.b3 ! lia4 67 'i£i>h5 ! l:.a8 68 Wg6 .U.g8+ 69 Wh7 .U.g5 ·70 .U.b7 Wd6 7 1 '1:1..g7 .U.a5 72 f4 J:la4 73 f5 We5 74 .U.e7+ @f4 75 Wg6, and then: a) 75 ...:S.a6 76 lle8 �xg4 (76 ... llb6 77 X;[f8 We5 78 g5 fxg5+ 79 Wxg5 +-) 77 .l:.f8 'it>f4 78 lixf6.:S.a8 79 .U.b6 �g8+ 80 Wf7 +-. b) 75 ...Wxg4 76 '1:1..e l .U.a8 (or 76 .. Jla6 77 £1.e4+ Wf3 78 .l:i.e6 +-) 77 .U.gl + (77 Wxf6? . .l:i.a6+ 78 .U.e6 lla8 79 'it>g6 .U.g8+ 80 Wf7 Wxf5 =) 77 ...Wf4 78 l1fl+ We5 79 Itbl lla6 80 Itel+ Wf4 (80.. :Wd5 81 Wf7 .U.b6 82 lle6 +-) 81 l:le6 · l'la8. Even now the win is not trivial; e.g., 82 ll.b6 (82 ll.xf6? Il.g8+ 83 Wf7 l:ta8 =; 82 Wxf6? i:tf8+ =) 82 ... llh8 83 .U.b4+ We5 84 ll.b5+ Wf4 85 'lt'xi6 l:.h6+ 86 f7 .!:!li5 87 w�6 �g4 88 . l:!.bl +-. 66 ll.a4! 66 ...ll.c4? 67 f4 f5 68 .U.b6+ We7 69 g5 ll.c3+ 70 'it>f2 .l:tc2+ 7 1 We3 l:tc3+ 72 'iitd4 +-. 67 f4 f5! 68 llb6+ 'it>e7! 69 gxf5 After 69 g5 Black has additional checks on the a-file: 69 ... .l:ta3+ 70 @f2 l:ta2+ 7 1 We3 . .U.a3+ 72 Wd4 '1:1..a4+ 73 We5 .U.a5+ =. 69...l:i.a8 70 Wg4 Wf7 •..

ROOK AND TWO PAWNS VS .ROOK AND PA WN

and the game was drawn after some further moves.

83

One winning motif is significant when the defending bishop's pawn is weak:

With the pawn on its fourth rank, the follow­ ing configuration is important:

B w

Ilyin - JPanarin Russia Cup, Se1pukhov 2007

4.3.31

Kireev - Khusnutdinov Pardubice 2012

4.3.30

The position is won for Black, but he should know how to win the five-man ending. 54 .l:.e4 55 Wf3 l1e5 56 .!lg7 Wd5 57 .laxb7 Wxc5? Now White's rook has enough checldng dis­ tance to draw. Black should play 57 ...El.el ! ! 58 .l:Lb2 (58 Wf2 .l:.e6 ! ! -+) 58 ... Wxc5 59 .l:!.c2+ Wb5 60 .U.b2+ Wa4 61 litc2 .Ue6 62 .l:.c1 Wb4 63 .Ubl+ Wc3 64 .li!cl + 'it.>d3 65 Wg3 (65 Wf2 .Ue2+ 66 Wf3 llc2 67 .!ld l+ Wc3 -+) 65 ....!le3+ . (65 ... l;tf6? 66 Wg4 =) 66 Wf4 l:1.e4+ 67 Wf3 .Uc4 68 .lld l+ Wc2 69 Ild6 c5 70 .lic6 Wb3 7 1 We2 El.c2+ 7 2 'it.>dl c4 73 .l:.b6+ Wc3 7 4 .Uc6 .Uh2 75 .l:.c8 .Uhl + 7.6 We2 .lic l -+. 58 .l:.bl! d6 59. .l:.dl+ We6 (D) •••

54 WM

White can also defend with 54 Wg2 Wh6 55 Ilb6 Wh5 56 .&tc6 =.

54 llf3 55 l:!b4 Wh6 56 �a4 Iib3 57 lla8 .l:Ibl 58 .l:r.h8+? •.•

The decisive e1TOr. 58 .l:!a2 =, 58 .:l.a3 =, 58 Wg3 = and 58 Wh3 = are all playable: 58 @g7 59 .l:ra8 l:l.gl! (D) The point. Not 59... li1hl +? 60 Wg3 (60 Wg5?? l;th5#) 60 ....llg l + 61 Wf2 l:tg4 62 Wf3 =. •••

w

:m m m a - · �·� �----1 --9 --' �---· �--d� • • • � •A� - m m a w

·.·.·��·� - - - - - ·

� . . �-----�. � -

-

60 wh3 l:tg4 61 :a4 wh6!

Black must bring his king to h5 first to avoid rook checks after ...g5.

.-,·�·.· �- �-�- - �- �-

.

· -�· · · .

- - - ·

a m:m a

60 .l:td3 !i.d5 61 .l:Lc3 c5 62 We3 ,l;[h5 63 Wd2 and the game was later drawn . 62 li!.b4 Wh5 63 .l:.a4 g5 64 .l:.a8 .:l.xf4 65 .!lh8+ Wg6 66 llgS+ Wf6 67 l1f8+ Wg7 68 .!las l:tf3+ 69 Wg2 lte3 70 .!la6 Wf7 71 Wf2 l:te6 72 . With a protected passed pawn, matters can get very deep: ,l;[35 g6 0-1

84

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGA1\IIES 81 11f8 'itic4 S2 ki.cS+ Wd,S S3 lldS+ WeS S4 .l:i'.eS+ WdS SS .J:i.dS+ @eS S6 l:Ie8+ @rs S7 'fl.e7 .Ud8 88 .i:i.a7 .l:thS? After this error, the position is drawn. 89 .l:i'.aS+ c;£;>e6 90 .l:\.a6+ WdS 91 llaS+ Wc6 92 lla6+ Wes 93 .l:.aS+ Wb4 94 :rs llh4 9S .l::tfS 'ii>c3 96 .l:kS+ Wd4 97 Jld8+ @es 9S J:i.eS+ @r6 99 .ttrs+ dS ? 66 WfS ! =) .66 l:If8 .l'k4 67 Wh3 gl 'it>c3 87 .:tMj:[d1+ 88 Wg2 .l:.d4 89 :ie8 .l::td2+ 90 @h3 .Uh2+ 91 Wg4 g2 -+. 62 Wa4 63 'it>g4 @b3 64 Wh3 .l:.c4 6S l:lbS+ 'itic3 66 @g2 'it>d4 67 .l:tdS+ @es 6S l:leS+ 'itir6 69 l:le2. l:IcS 70 .l::ta2 l:icS 71 Zib2 @es 72 .l:.e2+ @dS 73 l:td2+ 'it>c4 74 l'l.dS J:i.dS 7S l:Ic8+ @d3 76 .i:i.f8 l:r.d4 77 l:ta8 @d2 78 .lae8 'itidl 79 .:.rs @d2 so l:.r7 'itid3 (D)

Exercises (solutions: page 258}

w

.•.

E4.3.17: What had Black missed? White to play.

w w

E4.3.18: Should White exchange or not?

!WOK AND Two PA WNS \IS ROOK A ND PA WA'

85

games are won (and the side with the single pawn has probably not won many games in this configuration). We start with the attacking king on the kingside:

B

B

E4.3.19: Was 56 ....li!.fl + a good choice?

4.3.33 Shamkovich - M. Ginsburg USA 1976

B

ECE gives this as one of the most typical po­ sitions. The main ideas for White and Black are shown, but the analysis contains a few fl aws. It was. also analysed by Shamkovich in lnformator 23. We have added some comments. 1 llc5!? Black should just wait like this, which is the only move besides l . ..f6+? ! - that very risky JE4.3.20: In the game Black missed the only move was played in the game; see below. drawing move. Can you do better? 1 ....l:.bl ? 2 l:ta7+ and now the best defence is 2...@f8 ! ? (ECE only gives 2...'it>e8? ! 3 f5, when White wins; e.g., 3 ..Jlb6 4 .l:.a8+ 'i'Ee7 5 f6+ 'it>d7 6 .l:.f8 'it>e6 7 .l:re8+ 'tt>d5 8 e6 l:lxe6 9 .l:.e7 ��� m .lieS+ IO 'it>h6 +-) 3 f5 .l:.h l 4 :ib7 (now Black w " � is in zugzwang; not 4 f6? ? l!gl + 5 @f4 :!fl + 6 , •. m -wr ·---WeT.liteI+ =r4-:-:-:l!nT(4-:-:-:'it>es-s-r6-:n6-=i--6'it?g7 .l:.h5 7 ii{xf7 :gs+ 8 'it>h6 +-; 4 ...'it>g8 5 • • ?'Q;.-, Wf6 lih6+ 6 'it>e7 'it>g7 7 .llb l :1is 8 .l:.gl+ 'i'Eh7 9 Wf6 +-) 5 f6 l:tg2+ 6 'it>f4 'it?e8 (6...�fU 7 � � � � 'it?e3 +-) 7 :bs+ @d7 8 l:!.f8 'it>e6 9 l:te8+ @dS IO .l:.d8+ 'tt>c6 (IO. . .@e6 1 1 :id6#) 1 1 llf8 +-. 2 l:ta7+ 2 'it?h6 ! ? is. another dangerous try: 2... l:tc l 3 E4.3.21: White won nicely. Can you see how? lf.a7+ 'it?f8 4 f5 .llg l 5 .lla 8+ 'it>e7 6 f6+ 'it>e6 7 .lle8+ Wf5 8 'it>h7 l:!.g2 9 l:te7 (9 .l:l.g8 .l:ta2 IO xf6 = (ECE) . When the attacking pawns are far advanced, the . 2 f5 .is met by 2 ....l:l.xe5 3 l:ta7+ 'it>f8 (ECE), defender needs to know the main motifs. Other­ when the draw is clear; e.g., 4 'it?f6 llel 5 wise it is very difficult to hold in practice, llxf7+ 'ittg 8! =. which is confirmed by our statistics: 49% of the •..

__

• B@B • B • • �····� � . � � -·�- lFr d� B �B B �• � �- �• �- � . • • • � • - •

UNDERSTANDING

86

2...'it>f8! This retreat is correct. The active 2... 'it>e6? runs into 3 f5+ @xe5 4 l:te7+ @d6 5 l:txf7 +­ (ECE), while 2 ...We8? is met by 3 f5 l:r.xe5 4 @f6 .:l.b5 5 l:ta8+ 'it>d7 6 l:tf8 +-. 3 fS 3 @h6 Il.c6+ 4 @h7 f6 = (ECE). 3 ktxeS 4 @f6 .Uel 5 l:txf7+ @g8 6 .Ua7 l:lfl !? = (ECE).

ROOK ENDGAMES

w

•••

In the game Ginsburg chose a very risky move: 1...f6+?! 2 'it>g6 fxeS 3 rs .U.b6+ 4 'it>g7 (DJ

4.3.34

Pritchett - Speelman London (Lloyds Bank) 1977

@g3 'it>e2 (8 1 ...l:tgl + 82 Wf4 l:tg2 83 l:ta3+ We2 84 @xe4 l:txf2 85 l:te3+ =) 82 l:ta2+ @f1 83 @f4 @g2 84 Wxe4 lir.el + 85 @f4 (85 Wd3? 'iti>fl -+) 85 ... l:te2 86 .Ua3 l:txf2 87 @g4 .l:ifl 88 l:tb3 f2 89 l:tg3+ @h2 90 l:th3+ =. 79 @d2! 80 l:la8 80 .i:r.a4 is met by 80...f3 81 lid4+ Wc3 82 l:txe4 (82 l:tdl is best met with 82...l:td2! ? -+; otherwise Black's win is very long) 82...l:tbl + 83 Ilel .:l.xel+ 84 @xel @c2 -+. 80 l:tbl+! 81 Wg2 (D)

B

••.

•••

4! l:tbl 4... e4? runs into 5 l:ta4! +- (Sharnkovich). 5 f6+ 'itiie6 6 l:te8+ 6 l:ta6+! ? is trickier. 6 ...'it;if5 7 f7 and now: a) 7 ....l!{b8? loses to 8 I:.f6.f ! 'lt'g4 9 Zle6 @f4 1 0 :U.e8 l:[b7 1 1 'iti>f6 llxf7+ 12 'iti>xf7 e4 13 @e6! e3 14 'it>d5 +- (Shamkovich). b) 7 ...l:i.b7 ! 8 l:tf6+ @g4 9 :U.e6 'iti>f4! (not 9 ...@f5? 1 0 l:te8 e4 1 1 \ti>g8 +-) 1 0 \ti>g8 l:txf7 1 1 @xf7 e4 = and White doesn't have @e6. 6 @fS 7 f7 l:tb7? The wrong side. The rook should use the kingside with 7 ....:l.gl + 8 @!8 l:thl ! = (Shamko­ vich). 8 Wg8 !lxf7 9 Wxf.7 e4 10 :!Ie7!! \ti>f4 1 1 @e6! e 3 1 2 'iti>dS 'it>f3 1 3 @d4 1-0 •••

B

•.•

Next the attacking king comes from the queenside (see following diagram). 79 l:ta3+? This allows Black's king to cross the barrier. The right defence is 79 l'!a8 l:tbl + 80 @g2 f3+ (80 ...We2 8 1 l:ta4 f3+ 82 Wg3 !lgl+ 83 'iti>f4 'iti>xf2 84 !la2+ Wfl 85 Wxe4 f2 86 'iii>f3 =) 8 1

81 @e2? 8 1 ...'iti>el ! ! 82 :U.a2 (82 :U.e8 .l:tb4 83 .l:tc8 lib2 84 :U.cl + 'iii?e2 85 :U.al :U.c2 86 l:tbl .lla2 87 .l:tcl e3 88 fxe3 fxe3 -+; 82 :U.a4 e3 83 l:txf4 e2 84 litd4 lir.dl 85 l:te4 Wd2 -+) 82...l:tdl 83 :U.b2 lid2 84 libl + 'iite2 85 l:tal l:[c2 86 l:[bl lia2 87 z.tcl e3. With White's rook on al (and Black's on b2) the position is drawn, but with bl or cl it's lost due to 88 fxe3 fxe3 89 l:[bl @d3+ 90 Wf3 @d2 9 1 Wg2 We2 (zugzwang) 92 Wg3 I:ta8 93 :U.b2+ Wd3 94 l:tb3+ 'iitd2 95 .:l.b2+ 'iii>c3 96 .:I.bl Wc2 97 llb7 lie8 98 .i:r.c7+ Wd2 99 l:[d7+ Wel -+. •••

87

ROOK AND TWO PA WNS VS ROOK /\ND PA WN

82 kra2+? 82 l:!.a4! f3+ 83 @g3 ligl + 84 'it>f4 'it>xf2 85 .bia2+ 'it>fl 86 'tt>xe4 f2 (86 ....lag3 87 \t>f4 Jlh3 88 Wg4 =) 87 'i!?f3 =. 82...'ftlel 83 .t!c2 lldl 84 �a2 �d2 85 bral+ We2 86 !!a4 86 Elbl �a2 87 J1c l e3 -+. 86...f3+! 87 'it>g3 e3! 88 kie4 .a:d3! 89 �es 'it>fl 90 .l:th8 With victory in reach, Speelman now spoiled matters with... 90...exf2? 90 ... 'it>gl ! would have won. Not, of course, 90 . .,e2?? 91 rlhl#. 91 .'i:thl+ 'it>e2 92 I\.h:l 1/i-1'2 The defender must be careful even if the at­ tacker's pawns are further back:

B

B

4.3.36

..

Szabo - Kapu Hungarian Ch, Budapest 1951

55. .llb5 Black has many ways to draw. One of them is 55 .. .f5+ 56 exf5 llal 57 Wg5 It.a6 58 f6 l'1al =, when the additional f4-pawn is useless. 56 .lid5 .l:!.b6? Now White's king can invade. Black has two ways to draw: a) This time passive defence by 56 ...l:!.b7 ! ? 57 'ittf5 @f7 = is sufficient - and probably best as White cannot really improve his position. b) The active defence 56....llb l 57 'it>f5 .i:.fl ! draws as well; e.g., 58 l:td6 (58 l:.d7 I\.f2 59 .l:th7 11fl 60 l:.h6 We7 ! 61 It.xf6 l:txf4+ =) 58 ...Wg7 ! 59 Ilxf6 I(xf4+ =. 57 'it>f5 Wf7 58 .l:t.d7+ WfB (DJ

4.3.35 Dzagnidze Zhukova European Clubs Cup (women), Kallithea 2008 -

· � .� � �· � � � � iL.�

• . M, . • 62... .'i:ta6? �-• -� L__m �-�,�Passive defence loses. 62 ....'i:tctio3e5ag7--- i. � 64 :��!�: 65 @f5 r!a6 =. • ��n 6 � · � � L,,1'! • �� 5 6 ·· 4 • • • • 66 �����5: :� ; �a� 6�rhft8g � �9 i�: @f8 70 llh8+ +-) 66 l1d7 lab6 67 :d6 �b7 68 • • • @f6 I:tb8 69 e6 fxe6 70 fxe6 'iirf8 71 .'i:td7 +-. • B • 64 'iilg5 w

�

,,,,,

,..t,...

,..t,...

Even the immediate 64 f5+ 'iirxe5 65 'iirg5 +wins. 64...llal 65 f5+ 'iirxe5 66 .'i:te7+ 'iird6 67 .'i:txf7 .'i:tfl 68 lla7 'iireS 69 l:!e7+ 'it>d6 70 f6 llgl+ 71 Wh6 llg2 72 llel 1-0

59 .'i:ta7 Simpler is 59 lih7 .'i:ta6 60 .'i:th6 'iirg7 6 1 .'i:tg6+ 'iirf7 62 e5 +59 ... :c6 60 Wg6 .'i:te6 61 �a4 llb6 62 fS 'Ftle7 63 'iirg7 .l::i.b 7 64 lla6 l:ib4 65 .'i:te6+ 1-0

With the defender's pawn on its third rank, his defence is easier, as long as he is circumspect:

When the attacking f-pawn is further ad­ vanced, careful defence is required:

.

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

88

w

lle2 78 !!al l:l'.e8 79 @g5 llg8+ 80 @f5 llf8+ 8 1 @e4 .Ub8 -82 l:l'.a3 l:l'.e8+ 83 @f5 l:l'.e3 84 .Ual l:l'.b3 85 'it>e4 l::tb4+ 86 @f5 @xf3 87 litfl + @g3 88 l:l'.gl + @f2 89 l:l'.g4 'it>e3 90 llh4 l:l'.b8 9 1 .Uh3+ f3 9 2 Wg4 @e2 -+. 75 lla4 l:l'.e2 76 l:l'.al+ Wf2 77 .Ua5 e4 78 @xf4 e3 79 @g4? Only 79 .Ue5 ! l:l'.el 80 ..Uh5! holds the draw, because 80 ...e2?? 8 1 ..Uh2+ even wins for White. 79 i:.h5 ? loses to 79 ....Ud2 80 i1h2+ @gl 8 1 'it>xe3 .Uxh2 -+. 79. ..Ud2! 80 ..Ue5 e2 81 f4 ..Ud3! The threat of .. J:'Le3 achieves the decisive gain of time. 82 .Uxe2+ 'it>xe2 83 f5 .l:1f3 84 @gs We3 85 f6 @e4 0-1 .

4.3.37

Porat - R. Kaufman Leiden 2010

n :a4+? White can hold with 72 ..Ua3 lle2 73 .Ua4+ (73 @g4 llg2+ 74 @f5 i:tg8 75 .Ub3 =) 73 ...@e3 74 l:[a3+ @f2 75 'it>g4 'it>g2 76 ..Ub3 'it>h2 77 .l:.b5 Ilg2+ 78 @h4 e4 79 fxe4 f3 80 .l:.f5 f2 81 ..Uxf2! l:[xf2 82"'ii?g4 Wg2 83 e5 .l:.e2 84 Wf5 =. Even 72 @g4? ! .llg2+ 73 @h4 I!.g3 74 .Ua3 = is playable. 72 @e3? 72...Wd3 ! ! 73 xf5 54 Ilf7+ @g6 55 e6 .l:l.a4! = (Krasenkow in CBM 112). 5:H. @g7 s2 :c1 @rn Not, of course, 52 ...@f7?? 53 f6 +-. JE4.3.25: Donner (Black) missed the draw. Can 53 'i!tf4?! 53 'i!?d5 !? is a better try: you do better? a) 53 .. Jlb6? loses to 54 l'k6 +-. b) K.rasenkow gave only 53 ... llb5+?, which loses as it transposes to the note to Black's 55th move below (the position after 55 ...'i:i.b5+). c) After 53 . . .l:ta3 Black can prevent the B white king from invading to e6. Besides, he has �-�tneimportant resource ... eo,wliicfi;n:owever, only works in situations where Black can im­ mediately attack the white Icing from the rear after White plays f6. 54 'i!te6 "B,.a6+ 55 �d7 @f7 56 '!1c8 .l:!.a7+ 57 Wc6 1!1.a6+ 58 'it>b7 .1Ia5 59 e6+ @g7 60 Wc6 .llxf5 61 @d7 .1Ia5 62 @xe7 'i:i.a7+ 63 Wd6 Ita6+ 64 @d7 l1a7+ 65 '/1c7 .lia8 66 e7 @f7 =. d) 53 ... @e8 = is also playable. JE4.3.26: Should Black take the e5-pawn or not? 53. .libl 53 . . .l:[b4+! ? 54 @e3 (54 Wg5 '/1e4 55 e6 4.3 . 6) e- and f-Pawn vs e-Pawn l:[el 56 .l!tc8+ @g7 57 Ii.e8 .l:!.gl + 58 @f4 .lift+ 59 @e4 .l!tel + 60 @d5 ltdl+ 6 1 @c6 @f6 =) Winning chances mainly arise when the de­ 54..."B,.a4 55 .l!td7 @e8 56 "B,.d4 Ii.al 57 Ii.b4 @f7 fender's pawn is weak or the attacker can in­ = (Krasenkow). vade. But the theoretical drawing margin is 54 @e4 (D) arrnin auite large. In his monograph on rook •••

..

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

90

B

B

54.. Jib6? After this move, the position is won for White in 29 moves. Enlarging the checking distance by S4....l:.al draws: SS 'it>dS .l:.aS+ S6 'it>e6 .l:.a6+ S7 'it>d7 'it>f7 SS .l:.cS .l:.a7+ S9 'it>c6 .l:.a6+! (S9 ... .l:.a5? 60 e6+ 'it>f6 6 1 lifS+'it>eS 62 'it>d7 +- Krasenkow) 60 @d7 .l:ta7+ 6 1 'fJ.c7 .ttaS =. S4...e6 �S f6 .li[el + (Krasenkow) is also play­ able, but Black must be careful; e.g., S6 @f4 l:i.fl + S7 WgS ligl + SS 'it>hS .tte l ! (very accu­ rate; not SS ...l:thl+? S9 @g4 l:tgl+ 60 @f3 l:i.fl+ 6 1 @e2 llfS 62 licS +-) S9 .UcS lle4 60 'it>gS @f7 6 1 llc7+ @f8 62 lla7 liel 63 liaS lie4! = . 55 'it>d5 e6+!? The best try, but still insuffici�nt. ss ....:.bs+ S6 @e6 .ttb 6+:57. '$d7. 'it>f7 ss 'fJ.cS lib7+ S9 'it>c6 lla7 (S9:.".l:tbl. 60 e6+ @f6 6 1 llfS+ 'it>eS 62 'it>d7 llb7+ 63 @es "/J,,a7 64 Il.f7 @d6 6S @fS llaS+ 66 'it>g7 libS 67 f6 exf6 6S 'it>xf6 'fJ.hS 69 litd7+ 'it>c6 70 l:tdl +-) 60 e6+ 'it>f6 (60...'it>g7 6 1 llc7 +-) 6 1 .Uf8+ 'it>eS 62 llf7 'fJ.a6+ 63 'it>d7 .l:.a7+ 64 'it>eS 'it>d6 6S 'it>fS It.as+ (6S ...llb7 66 f6 ! liib S+ 67 'it>g7 llb7 6S lifS 'it>xe6 69 liieS +-) 66 'it>g7 'it>eS 67 l:i.fS Ital 6S Wg6 .l:ta2 (6S ... .l:.gl + 69 'it>f7 WxfS 70 Wxe7+ 'it>eS 7 1 llhS llg7 + 72 @fS +-) 69 liib S l:ta7 70 llbS+ 'it>d6 71 f6 ! +- (Krasenkow). 56 c;.ti>cs S6 f:x.e6? spoils everything of course. 56 .l:.bl 57 f6 litdl 58 'it>b6 (D) 58...lld5?! Krasenkow's suggestion SS ....l:tel !? is more resilient, but it doesn't lead to a draw: S9 l:IcS 'it>f7 60 'it>c7 lle2 61 .UaS .!:el 62 'it>c6 llcl + 63 'it>d6 lld l+ 64 'it>cs .Ucl + 6S 'iitd4 lldl + 66 'it>e3 litel + 67 'it>d2 :!'.e4 6S 'it>d3 llel 69 llbS (zugzwang) 69 ... 'it>g6 70 'it>d4 llc l 7 1 .l:.b3

:!'.dl+ 72 @e4 liel+ 73 @f4 lifl+ 74 .Uf3 Ital 7S .l:.g3+ @f7 76 Ilg7+ @f8 77 :!'.e7 Ila6 7S @gs +-. 59 :!'.c5 Ildl S9 ...l:tdS 60 lic6 @f7 61 Ilc7+ 'it>g6 62 'it>c6 @fS 63 li.td7 liaS 64 'it>d6 +- (Krasenkow). 60 llc8+ 'it>f7 61 .l:tc7+ 'it>g6 62 .l:f.g7+ 1-0

•••

If the defending pawn is weak, there are some typical configurations that are worth knowing:

- !a i. !a �

-

�-� - � - -

B

4.3.39

- -

-

Kovalenko - Kantans Latvian Ch, Riga 2014

A very tricky case: 66 l:i.e7 67 'it>d4 lie8? •..

Black overlooked a complicated draw here: 67 ... .litd?+! 6S 'it>c:S :as+! ! (a very important check: White's king must be forced to move from its optimal post; 6S ... i:tdS? 69 .lhe6 .ID'S 70 lie7+! 'it>g6 71 e6 lixf4 72 l:ta7 ! +-) 69 'it>b6. Now Black has to be very careful: 69 ....litd7 ! ! (69...lidS? 7 0 'it>c7 ll.d4 7 1 'it>c6 +- and we have reached a mutual zugzwang with Black to move) 70 'it>c6 ll.d4 and White is to move in the mutual zugzwang: 7 1 'it>cS .l:.d5+ 72 'it>c4 lid7 73 ll.xe6 lif7 =.

ROO!( AND Two PA WNS VS ROOK AND PA WN

91

68 @cs 11d8 69 'i&c6? 69 .U.xe6 ! &i.f8 70 ge7+ 'it>g6 71 e6 .l:rxf4 72 ll.a7 +-'--. . 69...Jld4!! Mutual zugzwang. 70 Wc7 (D)

B

4.3.40

Madsen - Brix Hansen 1974

4 l:iaS .IlJS S li{bS f6 -+. 4 l:if5 5 I1.e3 'iii>g6 Black wins because the white king is cut off from the pawn. 6 l:r.e2 Wg7 7 l':te3 @rs 8 .U.e2 We7 ECE ends here. Black is winning; e.g., 9 Wg4 Wd7 10 .l:r.d2+ Wc7 1 1 lla2 'it>c6 12 .li{aS Wb6 1 3 Jlal l:txeS -+. •••

In the next example White could have drawn:

The following configuration can also feature some very deep ideas (see following diagram). This example from ECE shows · the winning idea for Black: l @g3 1 lib7?! WxeS 2 li{xf7 .l:If4+ -+. 1...llg4+ 1 ...lte4?! 2 .l:Ib7 Jlg4+ 3 Wf3 .l:If4+? (3 ... litg7 still wins due to 4 l:ibS llgl 5 Wf2 llg4 6 @f3 .l:tf4+ 7 @g3 @gs -+) 4 @e3 =. 2 Wf3 l:if4+ 3 'iii>g3 3 We3?! l:[e4+ 4 @d3 :l.xe5 -+. 3...'i!?gS! 4 :b3

4.3.41

Ponomariov - Carlsen Nice rapid 2010

72 .l:tg8+? As we learnt in the previous example, White should keep his king near the eS-pawn: 72 Wf4! llh4+ 73 We3 WfS 74 .li{c7 li{h7 (74....l:te4+ 75 'it>d3 =) 75 @d4 =. 72...'iii>h7 73 .li{a8 .l:{fl! Black wins due to the cut-off. 74 li{a2 Wg6 75 li{g2 li{f5 76 Jie2 i:Jilg7 77 @g3 Wf8 78 .l:i[e4 @e7 79 @g4 Wd7 80 .li{d4+ 'ii?c6

UNDERSTANDING

92

.

80 . .'it>c7 !?. 81 .l:Ld6+ 'it>c7 82 l:idl White's defence with 82 .l:1.a6 is broken by 82 ... @d7 83 l:ta5 'it>e7 (or 83 . . .'it>c6 -+) 84 l:tb5 @f8 85 l:ta5 @g7 86 l:tb5 @g6 87 l:ta5 f6 -+. 82...1:!.xeS 83 lifl rs+ 84 @gs 'it>d6 8S @f6 Ite4 86 lidl+ @cs 87 lid8 f4 88 @gs es 89 @g4 l:te3 90 .1:1.dl @c4 91 lid2 f3 92 'it>g3 e4 93 @f2 .l:Ld3 94 .l:La2 'it>d4 9S lla4+ @es 96 'it>g3 .Ud2 97 .l:LaS+ @d4 98 lia4+ @e3 99 .l:.a3+ 'it>e2 100 @f4 f2 0-1 Another example that shows the difficulties of this configuration in practice is the follow­ ing:

ROOK ENDGAMES

0

• · . - - ·-

0

B B B B B B B•m

W

- • - ��� ­ • u

B B ! B@m n • . B�-- -�n.• B 'B �-·- ., �- � •

%

47 l:tfS i:l:b8 48 .l:Lf4 l:teS 49 'it>g3 @gs so @g2 .l:1.e7 Sl @fl l:te8 52 @e2 'JJ.e7 S3 'ftid2 l:td7+ S4 @c3 l:td3+ 55 'it>c2 .l:.a3 S6 'it>b2 l:td3 S7 @c2 .l:La3 58 'it>d2 'JJ.a4 59 @e2 .l:Lb4 60 @fl .l:La4 61 @g2 .l:Lb4 62 f4 ! ,l:r.b2 47 �g5+! @f6 48 l:tg2 ! ! llb4 49 lih2 l:ta4 50 lih5 .l:1.b4 (50...l:ta2 5 1 l'lh6+ @e7 52 ..l:.h2 lia4 53 @e5 +-) 5 1 l:lf5+ 'it>g6 52 @g4 .l:r.b8 (52 ....l:.a4 53 11£4 l:ta2 54 'it>g3 l:ta4 55 f3 +-) 53 l'lf4 l:te8 54 'it>g3 +- followed by moving around to the queenside like in the game. 46 l:tb2? (D) 46...@f6 ! seizes the chance: 47 @f4 (47 lif5+ 'it>e6 48 It.f4 l:ta4 49 f3 @e5 =; 47 'JJ.e8 @£7! =) 47 ...lir.b2 48 l:tf5+ 'it>e6 =. •••

·

4.3.43

Drasko - Gleizerov Saint Vincent 2001

60 'tl,.c7? 60 l:lf5 ! ! Wc4 (60....l:.e7 6 1 f3 +-; 60 ....l:.c8 61 I!f4 l:tc2+ 62 Wfl I!c4 63 f3 ! exf3 64 @f2 ! ! +-) 6 1 f3 exf3+ 62 'it>xf3 @d3 63 'tl,.d5+ @c4 64 e4 and White wins due to the horizontal cut-off; for example, 64.....l:.£8+ 65 'it>g4 l'le8 66 @f4 l'lf8+ 67 l:tf5 I!h8 68 l:tf6 1Ih4+ 69 @f5 llh5+ 70 'it>g4 l:th8 7 1 l'ld6 I!.g8+ 72 'it>f5 l:tf8+ 73 .l:Lf6 l:te8 74 e5 'it>d5 75 I!d6+ @c5 76 l:tdl +-. After 60 l:tg5? 'it>c4 61 f3 exf3+ 62 @xf3 Black can defend with 62...:£8+ ! 63 'it>e4 .l:!.h8 ! ? 64 @f4 l:th4+ 65 @f3 l:th3+ 66 @e2 lith8 =. 60 'it>b5 61 @n lig8 62 .l:r.e7 .l:.g4 63 l'lf7 lig8 64 1Ic7 lig6 6S 1Ic8 .l:.g7 66 'it>e2 I:.e7 67 •••

ROOK AND TWO PA WNS \IS ROOK AND PA WN

@d2 'lJ,.f7 68 'Etiel 'l1e7 69 Wfl flg7 70 @el 'fle7 71 \t>dl brd7+ 72 'it>e2 'i1e7 73 @fl 'Jlg7 112.112 When the attacker's pawns are one square further advanced, matters are completely dif­ ferent:

93

When the pawns are not yet blocked; new motifs appear:

B

w

4.3.45 Trepp - Hjartarson World Junior Ch, Mexico City 1981

4.3.44

Godena - King Swiss Team Ch 1998

With the white rook on g4, the position would be drawn, but with the rook on h4 the position is won for Black because of one tactical feature: 45 �WeS 46 'it>f2 '1b3? 46...'1b4 47 l:Ih5+ (47 Wf3 f5 -+; with the rook on g4, White could play simply exf5, but . here he is lost) 47 ...'it>f4! 48 I!.h7 (48 .U.h4+ 'it>g5 49 :Ih7 llxe4 50 llxf7 '1f4+ -+) 48 ...f6 49 llf7 (49 llh4+ 'iti>g5 -+) 49 ... .l:!b2+ (or the tricky tactical win 49...:xe4 50 lixf6+ 'it>g5 5 1 'it.>f3 l:Iel -+) 50 Wel We5 -+. 47 We2? (D) 47 lig4 = and 47 l:th7 f6 48 Ilh6 = draw. .•

56 'it>f3? Now passive defence with the rook on the e­ file holds, so 56 li[b6 l:Ifl (56 ...l:Ia3+ 57 Wf2 l:th3 58 :a6 .l:Ih6 59 Wf3 =) 57 'fJ.b3 l:If4 58 ge3 was called for; e.g., 58 ...'it>g6 59 .l:.el Wf7 60 l:te2 'it>e6 6 1 .l:.el 'it>d6 62 l:tdl+ Wc6. There is no double step by the f-pawn now; so White can play 63 '1d2 '1xe4 64 '1f2 =. 56...:t.a3+ Black wins in 28 moves. �� The main line is long but comprehensible: 57

- - - . • - • -

::;��e;8:���:�g��g��� :�5:�-�-�-�!----=B'----'�.��-" �� �� ��

'it.>f2 Wf4 65 l:ta2 llf3+ 66 Wg2 '1e3 67 '1a6 f!g3+ 68 Wf2 .llg 6 69 '1a4 l:Ig4 70 l:Ib4 Wg5 7 1 ;ga4 f5 72 'it.>e3 '1f4 73 '1b4 'it>g4 74 lla4 'it.>g3 75 :Ib4 Jlg4 76 we2 f4 -+. : � ses his chance. 57 ...Wf4! 58 l:tb6 lia2+ 59 Wd l (59 Wd3 runs into the break 59 .. .f5 60 exf5 e4+ 6 1 Wd4 '1d2+ 62 Wc3 l:td3+ 63 'it>c2 Wxf5 -+) 59...Wg5 60 '1b4 '1h2 61 Jlc4 llg2 62 .lit.a4 Wf4 63 .tla6 (63 .tlb4 We3 -+) 63 ...'fJ.g6 64 '1a4 We3 65 Wc2 '!J.g4 66 .lit.a6 llf4 67 lla4 llxe4 -+. 58 'fJ.b6 .l;l.g3 59 lta6 '1h3 60 '1b6 .l:tc3 61 lla6 '1b3 62 '1c6 Wf4 63 llxf6+ Wxe4 64 lla6

m

� � ::J:

112.11z

• - %�.�� � - - t::i m n mxm - - -�- • - - - -

__

��

47 '1c3? 47... lib4! 48 '1h5+ 'it>f4 49 lih4+ 'it>g5 -+. 48 'iilf2? lic4 0-1 At last the correct move, which made White resign; e.g., 49 We3 f5 -+, 49 .l;l.h7 lixe4 50 '!J.xf7 '1f4+ -+ or 49 .l;l.h5+ 'it>xe4 50 l:lh4+ Wd5 -+. •..

94

UNDERSTANDING

Of cases with a protected passed pawn, we only deal with the following configuration:

w

4.3.46

ROOK ENDGAMES

70 l:t.a3? Allowing B.Iack to cut White's king off. 70 .lle l = and 70 @e4 = draw. 70....Ue2! 71 .Ud3 :es+ 72 'iPf4 @f6?! 73 :ct1 l:!.h5? (D) Black allows White to move his king to the queenside. He should send his own king to the queenside instead: 73 ...@f7 74 .Ud2 We8 75 l:!.dl Wd7 76 .Ud2 @c7 77 llc2+ @b6 78 l:!.c6+ @b7 79 l:!.cl llxd5 80 .Uel e5+ 81 @e4 l:!.d4+ -+.

T. Georgadze - Beliavsky USSR Spartakiad, Moscow 1983

Black is winning as he can activate his rook and force White's into passivity: 53 l:!.g8 l:!.f7+ 54 @e4 l:!.f6? Now White's rook can stay active. The cor­ rect winning plan is 54...l:!.e7+! 55 @d3 l:!.el ! 5 6 Wc4 l:!.dl ! 57 l:!.h8+ @g6 5 8 l:!.g8+ @f7 59 l:!.g4 @f6 60 l:!.h4 Wf5 -+, when White is in zugzwang and must allow ...l:!.d4+, winning the d5-pawn. 55 l:!.d8 Wg7 56 Wd3 @f7 57 @c4 @e7 58 l:!.h8 l:!.f5 59 llh7+ @dS 60 l:!.g7 l:!.h5 61 .l:tf7 l:!.e5 62 llh7 @e8 63 llg7 l:!.e7 64 l:!.g6 . @d7 65 @b5 l:!.h7 66 .llgl lfz.1/z

and the game was later drawn. With a protected passed pawn, some very deep ideas can arise, though our first example is relatively easy:

4.3. 7) d- and e-IPawns vs d-IPawn This configuration is very similar to the previous one.

B

4.3.48

Khmelniker - Markus European Ch, Warsaw 2005

63 .l:.g3+ 64 @e2? For the right defence, 64 @f2 ! .l:.g6 65 .l:.h4 ! e4 66 @e3, see the game. 64 .l:.g6 65 .l:.h4 e4? ••.

•.•

ROOK AND Two PAWNS \IS ROOK AND PA'WN

Black misses the chance for 65 ...llg2+ ! 66 We3 Jil.g3+! 67 We2 e4! -+. . 66 'itie3 .&i.g3+ 67 Wd4 .ll.d3+ 68 'it>c4 ftdl 69 l:ih6 e3 70 Xl.e6 Wf4 71 b{f6+ Wg4 72 .lile6 Wt3 73 l1f6+ 'it>g3 74 kte6 'it>f2 75 l1f6+ @el 7o b{xd6 e2 77 i!te6 Wf2 78 Wc5 l:rcl + 79 Wb6 l'ibl+ 80 'itic7 .ti.cl+ 81 'itib6 iitdl 1/z. 1'2

95 �al Wd4 96 Jlel Xi.d3+ 97 @c2 b!.c3+ 98 'it>b2 lilh3 99 d6 'it>cS 1001:!.dl .k{h8 101 d7 Z1d8 102 'i!?c3 'it>c6 103 'i!?c4 lixd7 104 htxd7 'it>xd7 105 'i!?ds 'itid8 106 'it>d6 �es 11z.11z

Exercises {solutions: page 260)

The next position is deep and won for White:

B B

4.3.49

Fedorowicz - Alburt Philadelphia 1992

JE4.3.27: Black has two drawing moves. Find one of them.

76...1:1112+ 77 'it>e3 l:th3+ 78 @f2 :1u2+ 79 'it>f3 l:!h6 80 .&las I1f6+ 81 'it>e3 Iib6 82 l:!a7+ B 'it>d6 83 Wd3? White's previous moves were good, but here he makes an error. The win is long; but very in­ structive. One sample line runs 83 l:!a8! @d7 84 l:!a3 'it>e7 85 @d3 l:!g6 86 :a7+ 'it>e8 87 l1h7 l1g3+ 88 'it>e2 l:lg2+ 89 'it>f3 llg5 90 .lith2 @f7 91 l:la2 �g6 (91 ...Wf6 92 lia7 Ilgl 93 .:a6+ 'it>f7 94 !te6 l1g5 95 'it>e3 l1h5 96 @d3 l1g5 97 -2 --'it>c4 l1h5 98 'it>c5 l1g5 99 Wd6 +-) 92 :-g=li!.f6+ 93 'itie3 @e7 94 l:lg7+ 'it>d6 95 .l:.aT.iil.f l JE4.3.28: Find Black's winning plan. 96 .'aa6+ @c5 97 lle6 .l1el + 98 @d3 l1dl + 99 @e2 +-. 83...I!b3+ 84 We2 'it>c5? 4.4) NOJ !Passed] Paw!nls a !nld This activity runs into an amazing refutation. !Pawlnls � so�atedl 84....l:.b2+ = and 84....l:.b4 = draw. 85 'it>f2? White could still win by 85 l:!c7+! @d4 86 Here the motifs are similar for the various pawn d6 ! ! ; e.g., 86 .. Jitb8 87 d7 .l:.d8 88 @n@d3 89 configurations, so we deal with them together. l:l.c5 .l:.xd7 90 .l:.xe5 'itid4 9 1 @f4 I:i.d8 92 l:!f5 Even when the defending king is cut off, the +- or 86...@xe4 87 .l:.c4+ Wf5 88 d7 .l:.b2+ 89 win is not clear, especially with h- and f-pawns 'it>dl .l:.bl+ 90 'it>c2 .l:.b8 91 l1c8 +-. (see following diagram). 85 @d4 86 :a4+ @cs 87 .!:.a8 Wd4 88 68 Itel? l:la4+ Wc5 89 Wg2 l1e3 90 @f2 I:i.b3 91 @e2 Now White can, surprisingly, defend. The l1h3 92 l1a8 @d4 93 l1a4+ 'it>c5 94 @d2 .l:.g3 immediate 68 ....l:.e4 ! ! wins; e.g., 69 I:i.hl (69 •••

•••

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

96

B

w

� . - - ·B · m 1. · - A - - ., -·- - - � -�· � - - - �- f' � ��� �

•..

4.4.01

Bondarevsky - Kan USSR Cli, Leningrad 1939

4.4.02

.lhe4 fxe4+ 70 Wxe4 Wg4 -+) 69 ...Wg4 70 !th4+ (for 70 l:'ifl l:!.a4 see the game) 70 ... @xg3 71 .l:lxh5 .l!r.e5 72 Wd4 .l:la5 73 llg5+ Wf3 -+. 69 .l!r.f4? The rook must break free with 69 l:!.a4 .Ue4 70 l:!.a8, when Black cannot win; e.g., 70 ...Wg4 7 1 .Ug8+ Wf3 72 l:!.g5 .l!r.e5 73 Wd2 Wf2 74 Wd3 l:!.d5+ 75 Wc4 .lia5 76 Wd3 .lia3+ 77 'itid2 h4 78 gxh4 f4 79 ,l;tf5 f3 80 h5 l:!.a4 81 h6 l:!.h4 82 .f:tf6

69 l:!.e4! The rook frees the way for the king. The di­ rect 69 ....l':tgl ? 70 We2 l:hg3 7 1 l1a4 f4 72 Wf2 'itig4 73 .li!a8 = does not win (see 2:20 for more details on this six-man ending) . ·.·· 70 llf3 70 '1xe4 fxe4+ 7 1 Wxe4 'itig4 -+. 70 Wg4 71 l:!.fl .l:la4 72 We2 lta2+ 73 We3 l:la3+ 74 We2 l:!.xg3 -+ . Black is now winning as White cannot reach a reliable defensive set-up. Brit the game ended in a draw later as Black made an error in this six-man ending. For the very end of this classic, see 2.19. .••

. .

·

'h

Nybiick - Miezis Jyviiskylii. 2006

Black could seize his chance with 56... c.? -+ or 56 .. Jld4 -+. 57 JJ.c4! This is the right way to activate the rook be­ cause 57 l:!.hl ? runs into 57 ...Wb4 58 l:!.h6 l:!.c5 (58 ...'itixb3 wins as well due to 59 .li!xc6 a4 60 nb6+ 'ii?c3 61 If.a6 'itib4 62 l:!.b6+ 'itia5 63 l:!.b8 a3 -+) 59 .l:i.h3 .l:i.c3 -+. 57 c5 58 JJ.a4? But now 58 l:!.h4 !td4 59 l:!.h8 Wb4 60 JJ.b8+ Wc3 61 JJ.b5 was called for. 58 lld4! 59 JJ.al 'itib4 60 .l:la4+ Wxb3 61 .l:txa5 c4 62 JJ.a8 c3 0-1 •••

•.•

The attacker must choose the cut-off very carefully indeed:

.••

w

The defence is il!ci�.�cl ciiff!c;ult, which can also be seen in the next example (seefollowing

diagram). 56 'it>e2?

The rook must be activated instead: 56 llc4 c5 57 l:!.h4 .l!r.d4 58 Iih8 'itib4 59 .l:lb8+ Wc3 60 .l:lb5 = or 56 .liI.hl Wb4 57 l:!.h6 c5 58 l:!.c6! (the only move; 58 .liI.b6+? Wc3 59 Iib5 l:!.e7+ 60 Wf2 Yia7 61 We3 c4 62 bxc4 a4 --+) 58 ....li!d5 59 l:!.b6+ 'it>c3 60 .l:tb5 =. 56 l:!.d5? •.•

4.4.03

Matulovic - Jansa Sarajevo 1972

53 .lJ.d7+? 53 l:!.a5 l:!.gl + 54 'itif3 l:!f1+ 55 'itig3 l1gl+ 56 Wf2 l:i.hl 57 'itig2 JJ.bl 58 :i.e5 l:!.b2+ 59 'ii?g3 :i.bl 60 h3 .Ufl 61 'it>g4 llgl + 62 'iiih4 i .Ufl 63

97

ROOK AND TWO PAWNS FS ROOK AND PA WN

'it>g5 Wd4 64 lae6 hig l+ 65 Wh6 hifl 66 !1f6 @e4 67 Wxg6 krgl + 68 @h5 hrg2 69 h4 blg1 70 f5 e5 7 1 .l:!.f8 ktg2 72 ..t>h6 +-. . 53 'tl.e7 Wd4 54 b{e5 wins as well. 53 We4 54 bte7+ @d4? The king must escape the horizontal cut-off with 54 . . . 'it>d5 ! 55 .s'.e5+ Wd6! 56 Wg5 kigl + 57 @f6, when Black can defend, but it is very diffi­ cult: 57 ...�fl ! (57 ....!1.g4? 58 hre4 Wd7 59 @f7 @d6 60 h3 .l!l.g3 61 Jd.e6+ +-) 58 .ile4 Wd5 59 .l:!a4 .l:!gl 60 We7 �g4 61 h3 5lg3 62 Wf6 Itgl 63 :ta5+ e4 64 I'rg5 .ilal 65 .ilg4 l:Ia6+ 66 'it>g5 'it>f3 67 Wh6 �f6 68 krxg6 .l:.xf4 69 g5 .l:.a4 70 h4 !lg4+ 7 1 Wh5 .l:la4 =. 55 1!e5! llgl+ 56 Wf3 l:tfl+ 57 g3 !t.gl+ 58 Wf2 Ii.al 59 .i:!:e6 lla3 60 Wg2 .&!a2+ 61 'it>f3 Wd5 62 .l:!xg6 llxh2 63 Wg4 1-0

.lle8 ! :&:rg3+ 79 'li?f5 )lf3+ 80 Wg4 52.fl 8 1 +-. 71...�gl+ (D)

- - . .. .- - - i · � � � � � *� � � . -

•..

Even with the defending king cut off hori­ zontally, the win can be very deep and difficult:

w

h5 !

w

m m m D �

� · im • • � • �·'.· !:-! � . . .. " � � .� • � 0

..

72 Wh6? Aronian misses a very deep win: 72 @f4 ! Wg2 73 .l:!.a5! ! Wh3 (73 ... .l:!.bl 74 Wg4 kl.b4+ 75 f4 kl.b6 76 .E:.a2+ @fl 77 h5 +-; 73 ... .ilhl 74 g4 Wf2 75 1:.a6+-) 74 h5! Wh4 75 h6 llbl 76 h7 llb8 77 .ilal .l:!.f8+ 78 We5 Wg5 79 llh l Ite8+ 80 Wd6 llh8 8 1 We6 'itlf4 82 @f6 g5 83 .llh3 +-. 72 'itig3 73 Wxg6 @xM+ 74 @rs .ilM. 75 .ila5 Wh5 76 f4 @h6 77 .lita7 11.bS+ 78 Wf6 Itb6+ 79 @f7 llb5 80 .il.a6+ Win5 81 .illf6 !las 82 'it>g7 l!a7+ 83 @f8 'itlg4 1h-1h

� � � �

•.•

Even when the ldng is far away and cut off vertically, the win is often difficult and some­ times even impossible. 4.4.04

Aronian - Carlsen

Zurich 2014 65 Wg3 Wd3 66 'it>g4 We3 67 .l:!.e4+ @r2 68 .l:!.a4 68 f4 !? .l:!.b3 69 h5 :lg3+ 70 Wh4 Wf3 (or 70 ... gxh5 7 1 f5 l:If3 72 .l:!.e5 +-) 7 1 Iie3+ ! +- is the fastest way to win. 68....l:!.bl 69 .l:f.a2+ We3 70 .il.a3+ Wf2 71 @g5?! Now the winning line is long. 71 Wf4 ! ? is preferable; .e.g., 7 1 ...@e2 (7 1 ....l:!.b5 72 lla2+ @n 73 'it>g4 +-) 72 Wg5 ! .l:!.gl + 73 Wh6 ! llg3 (73 ...Wf2 74 f4 llg4 75 h5 gxh5 76 f5 h4 77 Wh5 .l:!.f4 78 'it>g5 llb4 79 .l:!.h3 +-) 74 .l:!.a6 Wxf3 (74 .. J!h3 75 Wxg6 l:!xh4 76 Wg5 .l:!.h8 77 f4 +-) 75 1ixg6 .l:!.h3 76 'it>g5 We4 (76...1!g3+ 77 Wf5 1ih3 78 .l:ig4 +-) 77 1!e6+! @d5 78

4.4.05

Ilincic - Porat

Budapest 2008 45....U.a5+ 46 'it>e4? Amazingly, the position is now drawn. The win is forced as follows: 46 'tt>e 6! .W-5 47 h5 (47

98

UNDERSTANDING

�fZ also wins with Black's king on b7: 47 ...@c5 48 h5 .l:.xh5 49 @f6 +-) 47 .. J:txh5 48 ltg2 ltf5 (48 ...llh6 49 @f7 @c7 50 lhg6 llh7+ 5 1 't1..g7 +-) 49 !'lxg6 i:[xf4 50 'it>e5+ +-. 46...'t1..h 5! 47 .l:.g2 To defend this, deep lmowledge of the six­ man ending with h- and f-pawn is required. 47...'t1..h6? Too passive as White will win the pawn any­ way. The king had to cross over directly with 47 ...@c7 48 't1..xg6 @d7 ! , when Black defends as the h4-pawn is threatened; e.g., 49 f5 (49 l:tg4 We6 =) 49 ...'t1..xh4+ 50 @e5 @e7 5 1 .l:lg7+ Wf8 52 @f6 Ith6+ =. 48 't1..g4 Wc7 49 We5 @d7 50 @f6 g5+ 51 @xgS 11a6 52 hS We7 53 h6 Wf7 54 Wh5 lta5+ 55 Itg5 't1..a1 (D)

ROOK ENDGAMES

w

4.4.06

M. Cuellar - E. Jimenez Havana 1966

61 l:te5+ 61 lifl ? .l:la4 -+. 61 ...@f6 62 .l:.g5 @f7 63 1tg4 @f6 64 e8 S6 @g4 eS S7 @gs l:1xf4 (S7 . . .exf4 S8 kifS +--) S8 kixf4 exf4 S9 @h6! +- (Kramnik). 55 @g4 :cs 56 l1f7+ @es 57 rs 1-0 •••

If the attacking pawns are :fufther back, there can be some very deep lines:

ROOK ENDGAMES

with S6 ... l:1hS = or S6 ... J:if6 S7 g4 l:r.f4 S8 Wg3 .l:lb4 s9 'JJ.e7 'tlb6 60 f4 @t'8 6 1 'tla7 llb l 62 @h4 l:Id l 63 @gs .l!!.d4 =. 57 g4! The only move, but the winning line is very long (44 moves). 57 ...l:Ih4?! After this move the winning line is much shorter ( 17 moves). According to the tablebase the main line is S7 ...'tlf6 S8 'tt>g 3 ! eS S9 f3 ! with a very complicated win; e.g., S9 . . . l:Ig6 60 .l:[h7 lif6 (60....l:[e6 61 l:.thS +-) 61 l:thS 'tle6 62 l:.fS+. White has achieved the first step. The further plan depends on the choice of Black's king: a) 62 ...@e7 63 gS 'ii?d6 64 'it>g4 l1e8 6S g6 We6 66 'it>gS .l:ig8 67 l:If6+ @e7 68 WfS +-. b) 62...@g7?! 63 @g2 @h7 (63 ...e4 64 f4 e3 6S �eS +-) 64 'it>fl e4 (otherwise White's king comes round to e4) 6S f4 l1g6 66 lihS+ @g7 67 gS .l:.a6 68 'iiiig2 l:la3 69 'JJ.h3 l1al 70 'it>g3 e3 7 1 @f3 l1a3 72 l:lh6 @£7 7 3 l1f6+ @e7 74 l:lfS +-. c) 62...Wg8 ! ? 63 @g2 Wg7 (White needs 1 4 more moves to win this position than h e would with Black to move) 64 @fl e4 6S l1gS+! @h6 66 f4 l:if6 67 l:IhS+ 'it>g7 68 fS .l:i.a6 69 llgS+! @f7 70 @£2 l:la3 71 .l:i.g6 +--. 58 f3 kih6 59 'iii>g3 l:lf6 S9 ...l:lhl 60 'iiiif4 l:lfl 6 1 'JJ.a3 1H2 62 @gs We7 63 f4 l:ld2 64 'JJ.a7+ +- (Pinter). 60 .litb7?! Not the best continuation, as it allows Black to play ...eS. 60 f4 wins in 9 moves. 60...WeS?! 60 ... eS is more. tenacious. 61 @f2? 6 1 f4 +-. 61 ;.l:i.f4! 62 Wg3 (D) ••

4.5.13

Pinter - Portisch

Hungarian Team Ch 199819 Pinter analysed this ending in lnformator 74. 56 @g2 @f8? Surprisingly, this is a losing error as Black has problems with his rook now. He can hold

ROOK AND TWO PA WNS VS ROOK AND PA WN

107

62 llf6? The last error as the rook is too clumsily placed now. It should be activated with 62...I!a4 63 g5 (63 'it>h4 l:!f4 64 1.i'.b3 Wf7 65 @g5 e5 =) 63 ...Wf8 64 f4 .l!al 65 Wg4 .llgl + 66 Wh5 llfl =. 63 f4 'i!?f8 64 :lbs :llf7 6S l:f.b8+ 'it>g7 66 l'!e8 'it>f6 66...l'1f6 67 g5 :lg6 (67 ...@f7 68 gxf6 c;t>xe8 69 'it>h4 Wf8 70 Wh5 +-) 68 'itrg4 +- (Pinter). 67 gs+ wrs 6s @n 1-0 ..•

When the defending pawn has advanced fur­ ther, care is still required:

B

4.5.15

-

H. de la Vega L. Bronstein Argentine Ch, Buenos Aires 1975

S6 l:f.b8+? 56 .llf4 ! ! draws: 56 ...lld3 57 lifl 'itrg7 58 @c4 Jld7 59 'it>c5 and Black cannot profit from the cut-off; e.g., 59 ... Wh6 (59 ... g5 60 .l:.f6 =) 60 Wc6 .l:I.a7 61 Wd5 g5 62 'it>e4 @h5 63 .llh 1 + �g4 64 l!{gl + 'it>h4 65 'it>f5 =. S6 'if?g7 57 'it>d4 57 Jlbl is met by 57 ....lag4 ! ! , when the verti­ cal cut-off decides; e.g., 5 8 .l:I.fl 1:.a4 59 Wd5 g5 60 l1f2 g4 61 E!.f5 Ira6 62 :in Jlb6 63 We4 'it>g6 64 @f4 (64 l'!al f5+ -+) 64...f5 -+. 57 l:t.f3? Black should occupy White's first rank by' 57 ... l:rgl ! and then win as in the previous exam­ ple. S8 'itre4? 58 l:tbl ! =. 58 l'!fl S9 llb7 (D) •••

4.5.14

JIIellers - Rozentalis Malmo 1997

•••

62...:lb7? Surprisingly, this careless move costs the game. 62...d6 �-J Or: 65 ....l:Ig7 66 'iffh 3 .l:f.h7+ 67 'ii?g4 .l:tg7+ 68 , � ,.{>., .-6-, 1 + 7 3 a 1 g5 +-) 68 .l:ie8+ 'iii>d4 69 @f4 +-. 66 'iii>h3· e3 67 fxe3 :lxe3 68 'it>h4 �e7 69 l:tfl l:f.b3 70 g4 lab8 71 llf4 .a:h8+ 72 'itrgS �e6 73 'it>g6 @es 74 :rs+ 'iPe4 75 :r6 l:rg8+ 76 S9 gS? 'it>hS l:rh8+ 77 llh6 l:if8 78 gs �es 79 :la6 1-0 This rushes too much as Black's king can now be cut off. 59 ...Wh6 ! wins. This configuration certainly contains some 60 l:tb6 g4 61 :la6 fS+ 62 exf6+ Wg6 63 f7+ subtleties: �xf7 64 'iii>e3 •tz-•!z .••

� l8 . �

·

·

- - ---• • • - - -A• B - B � � -� � • @' •

;ri�� ;; 1� �i . :�����\��4��i ��

m m m m

- - - M

- - m .1. -

•..

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

108

If possible, 1he defender should keep his pawn on its fourth rank:

B w

E4.5.08: Black (to play) has an amazing de­ fence. Can you guess what it is? 4.5.16

A. Kim Zhang Pengxiang Moscow 2004 -

61 e5? 61 'it>d4 l1el 62 'it>e5 .fl.fl 63 Wd4 'it>g7 64 We3 g5 65 We2 l1f6 66 lial Wg6 67 ligl l1a6 68 'iii>f3 fl.a3+ 69 'iii>f2 f6 70 'iiiei 2 .l1h3 71 Wf2 Wh5 72 l:!al 'iii>g4 73 .l:a6 .l1f3+ 74 Wg2 l1f4 75 li[b6 'iii>h5 76 Wg3 Wg6 77 e5 =. 61 . Itd 62 ·.l1a2 l:.d1+ 63 We4 l:.f1 64 WdS Wg7 65 .l:g2 WM 66 Wd6 66 .fl.h2+ 'it>g5 67 lig2+ Wf4 -+. 66...gS 67 e8 8 1 'fl.h2 ildl+ 82 rr'Ec7 .krc1 + 83 'F.t?b7 .llc5 84 krh8+ Wf7 85 llh7+ We8 86 !\e7+ @d8 87 'it>a6 l!c l 88 l!h7 'it>e8 89 .llh 8+ 'i&f7 90 z:l.d8 .l:!d 1 9 1 lt>b6 br.d5 =. 74...lla4? loses to 75 �f6 (75 Ilh6? bld4 76 1'1h7+ ffif8 77 wgs 'it>g8 78 'fl.e7 Wf8 =) 75 ...JXcl4 (75 ... Xi.a8 76 llh6 ilg8 77 .a'.g6 �f8+ 78 'it>g5 +-) 76 'it>g6 -i-. 75 £rh6 &rr2 76 .t(h7+ we8 77 @gs �n 78 rs .&!al 79 'it>f6 1-0 The defending king should usually stay with the pawn:

B 4.5.17

Raicevic - Mednis Sambor 1974

73 �al 73 ... .ttb6 also draws: a) 74 'it>g5 .l:tbl = (but not 74...We6? 75 I:!.dl .:i:tb2 76 !'rd6+ @e7 77 .l:[h6! +-). 4.5.18 JE. Torre Condie b) White's trap 74 kl.d6 .liixd6 75 exd6+ is met by 75 ...'it>xd6 (75 ...@f7 76 Wg5 @g7 = is. Dubai Olympiad 1986 also possible) 76 @f6 rtlc6 = (or 76...Wc7, but 57 @g7? certainly not 76 ... @dS? - or 76 ... @cS? - 77 f5 +-). Allowing White to cut off the black Icing. Black loses after 73 ...ne6? 74 Wg5 .!:.a6 75. 57 ...@e7 and 57 ...@e8 draw. !;tdl 'it>e6 76 f5+ bS ! .l:Id2 (59 ... dS 60 e5 d4 6 1 'it>c4 d3 62 74 .l:ld6 .l:.h8 75 'it>g5 +-. 'it>c3 d2 63 Wc2 ktfl 64 lif6+ We7 65 @xd2 74 .:i:td6 (D) ·-B -ll -66-WeHH4-6'.7-rtle3-�f-1-68-We4-.lit.e-1+-69'it>f4 II.fl+ 70 @gs l:tgl+ 71 Wh6 .l:rfl 72 Wg7 ktgl+ 73 .ttg6 +-) 60 'it>c6 J:td4 6 1 rtld7 e4 rtld5 l:icl 65 Wd4 .l:[hl 66 'it>d5 :ct 67 f6+ 'it>d7 .liih l 77 f5 !tel+ 78 'it>d5 .!:.fl 79 f6+ 'it>f7 80 ••.

-

•••

-----

•••

UNDERSTANDING ROOf( ENDGAMES

110

67 ... Wxf6 68 @xd6 llal 69 11f3+ Wg7 draws aswelL 68 11f3 .l:rcs+ 69 @d4 'it>e8 70 1:1a3 Wf7 71 l1a6 We6 72 f7 Wxf7 73 l:l.xd6 It.as 74 .Ub6 'it>e7 1/z-1/z ·

B

49...l:l.b4? .. . Only after 49 .. J:lal 50 Wf4 should Black's rook move to its fifth ranlc: 50...l1a4! 51 f6 (5 1 Wg5 l1xe4 =) 5 1 ...d5 =. 49 ... lla3+ similarly holds: 50 Wf4 (50 Wd4 l1a5 =) 50 ...l1a4 =. 50 l1a7? 50 f6 l:la4 51 l1e7+ f8 55 Wd5 Wg8 +-) 52 Wf4 l1a5 53 lie6 Wd7 54 f7 Wxe6 55 f8� +-. 50...llc4? 50... libl =; 50... llb3+ =. 51 f6 l1b4 52 lle7+ Wf8 53 .l:td7 lib6 54 Wf4 . 'it>e8 55 lle7+ Wf8 56 Wf5 llb5+ 57 Wg6 Ii.bl 58 l1d7 llgl+ 59 wrs 1-0 When the pawns are further back, it is usu­ ally drawn, but care is required:

4.5.19

:Dlugy - Campora

Amsterdam 1987 This position is lost for Black although it looks safer than the previous game. Black's rook needs to be on the dl-square, but it doesn't have time to get there: 48...l:Ia4 48 ...l1bl 49 Wf4 1:1dl 50 Wg5 'it>e7 51 l1h7+ We8 52 f6 l1el 53 Wg6 lixe4 54 . . f7+ We7 55 l1h8 +-. 49 lih7? (DJ This gives Black the time he needs to re­ group his rook. 49 l1h8+ seiZes the chance: 49...We7 50 l1h7+ We8 (50...Wf6 51 l1d7 l:!a3+ 52 Wf4 :d3 53 l1xd6+ l:r.xd6 54 e5+ +-) 51 f6 l1al 52 'it>f4 lif1 + 53 'it>g5 Itel 54 Wg6 lagl + 55 Wf5 l1el 56 l:la7 lae2 57 e5 lixe5+ 58 Wg6 +-.

B

B

4.5.20

Mititelu - Botez

Romanian Ch, Bucharest 1966 Against correct defence, White shouldn' t be able to win the d5-pawn and save both the e3pawn and the f2-pawn. 63..Jic3? Black should play 63 .. Jic2 64 f3 lic3 65 Wf4 We7 =, 63 .. J1b5 = or 63 ...We7 =. 64 Wg3? 64 Wf5 ! seizes the chance: 64...I!.c2 (64 ... d4 65 It.a7+ Wf8 66 exd4 llf3+ 67 We6 lixf2 68 .lir.a8+ Wg7 69 d5 +-) 65 lla7+ Wf8 66 f3 l:tc3 67 'it>f4 We8 68 l:r.a5 l1d3 (68 ...l:!c4+ 69 We5 .ll.c3 70 Wd4 +-) 69 lla4 .lir.b3 70 l:id4 l:!b5 7 1 We5 (7 1 l:td3 Wd7 7 2 e 4 +- wins without any tactics) 7 1 .Jlb3 72 Wxd5 .i::txe3 73 1ie4+ 1ixe4 74 Wxe4 +-. 64...We7 65 f4 1ixe3+ 66 Wf2 l:!b3 67 'it>e2 l:!.c3 68 'it>d2 d4 69 f5 1ie3 1h-1h.

ROOK AND Two PA WNS vs ROOK AND PA WN

.

111

Exercises (solutions: page 263)

B

w

E4.5.11: Black has a very difficult and long win. How should he start?

E4.5.14: Should White defend actively with 55 \t>f4 or passively with 55 We2 here?

w

B

JE4.5.12: Where should the white king go?

E4.5.15: How should Black regroup?

w

w

E4.5.13: Where should White's rook go?

JE4.5.16: White to play and win.

112

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

4.5 .4) e- and d-Pawns vs f-Pawn

Much depends on whether the attacking king can invade in the long run. If the doors · can be closed, then the draw is near. Even the follow­ ing configuration is defensible:

w

B

4.5.21

4.5.23 Jolodovsky - Gerola

Buenos Aires 1999 53...f6? Black should just wait with 53 ....l:.f5 54 @e4 lifl 55 lia7 and now 55 ... .l:.f2 =, although 55 ... .l:.el+ 56 @f5 .l:tfl+ 57 'i!i>g5 'i!i>e8 (but not 57 ... .l:tf2? 58 .l:.e7, when White wins) draws as well. 54 e6 .Udl 55 .l:td7+ 11z.11z?? A draw was agreed, but White is winning: 55 ...'i!i>e8 56 We4 Itel + 57 Wf5 .l:.fl+... 58 · @g6 .l:r.g1+ 59 @xf6 :n+ 60 we5 :e1+ 61 'i!?d5 .l:r.dl + 62 Wc6 .l:tcl + 63 Wb7 .l:tbl + 64 'i!i>c8 .l:tcl+ 65 "fJ..c7 +-.

· Then there are the following type of triangu­ lar set-ups:

w

4.5.22

This is drawn as White's ).cing cannot cross over. 1 'it>f3 Itel 2 'i.t>g4 l'!e5 3 @f4 .Ud5! 4 liid7+ @e8 =

Now White wins: ' 1 Wc4 f5 2 @d4 Itel 3 @dS .l:r.d1+ 4 · @e5 ' ,. ·. .l:.el+ S @f6 f4 6 .l:ta7 +· d4! -+. 66 lie7+ 'it>d5 67 'it>fl? 67 l:tc7 ! =.

4.5.29

G. Jones - Alsina

Hastings 2013

•••

Daniel Alsina annotated this endgame in de­ tail in CBM 153. 64 .lifS? This is too passive and loses. ..

ROOK AND TWO PA WNS VS ROOK AND PA WN

64 ... lld l ! ? 65 e5 (65 �f6 !? can be met by 65 ...Itc 1 ! 66 @f4 c5 ! 67 d5 Jlfl + 68 'itie5 �xf6 69 Wxf6 c4 =) 65 ...llcl ! 66 We4 'it>e7 ! . ''This set-up was proposed by my friend, Italian GM Daniele Vocaturo. The idea of these two moves is that with the king on e7 Black prevents all in­ vasions by the white king. He would have to go so far (to the h- or a-files) that a simple attack on d4 would then make an immediate draw. I don't see any dangerous winning try for White now, so this defence seems simple and univer­ sal (it works no matter on which file the pawns are, also with the much better-known f- and g­ pawns against h-pawn)." Later Alsina added: "Today I had the opportunity to check Nunn 's Chess Endings Volume 2 and I found there the scheme with ...@e7 and ... �cl that I hadn't found in your book (Fundamental Chess End­ ings) or in Dvoretsky's (Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual), so after all it was nothing new.".

65 J:.gl?!

This preserves the win, but makes it more difficult. The rook is already well placed for 65 e5, when White wins; e.g., 65 ... .l:.h8 (65 ... .l:rfl 66 Jld6+ 'it>c7 67 d5 cxd5 68 It.xd5 .l:rf8 69 'itie4 I!d8 70 e6 +-) 66 .lid6+ @c7 67 @f4 I1.h4+ 68 @gs .l:rh8 69 d5 +-. 'itie6 (D)

74 'it>f6 �f4+ 75 We7 c5 76 e6 Wc7 77 'ilf7 l'.le4 78 'it>f8+ 'it>d6 79 e7 c4 80 e81lli' h.i:xe8+ 8 1 Wxe8 'i&d5 =) 72...krel ! (72...!id2? 73 htd6+ Wc7 74 @e6 +-) 73 Ji.{g7+ 'itic8 ! Alsina gives the fol­ lowing lines: 74 Jif7 ! ? (74 Wd6? ! .l:rxe4 75 @xc6 �xd4 =; 74 Wf5 !? !ldl 75 e5 k!xd4 76 @f6 :Sf4+ 77 'ite7 c5 78 e6 @c7 79 &l.f7 l.:i:e4 80 @f8+ Wd6 81 e7 c4 82 e81ID' :Sxe8+ 83 'itixe8 Wd5 84 'llc7 Wd4 85 'itid7 c3 86 'it>c6 c2 87 Wb5 'itid3 88 'itb4 'tt>d2 =) 74...�e2 75 @f5 .l:l:.d2 76 e5 ·�xd4 77 'i¥;>f6 (77 e6 @d8 ) 77 ...Wd8 ! 78 lif8+ 'tt>c7 79 e6 �f4+ 80 'itie7 l'!e4 and now: a) 8 1 .ilf5 It.el (8 1 . . .Wb6? 82 'itid6 lld4+ 83 We5 .litdl 84 e7 llel+ 85 'itid6 c5 86 .l!{e5 +-) 82 l:!.f2 c5 83 @f7 c4 84 e7 'itid6 85 e8WU l!xe8 86 'itixe8 'itid5 87 'itid7 c3 8 8 Wc7 Wc4 =. b) 81 I!fl c5 82 'itif7 c4 83 e7 'itid6 84 e8\MI' .trxe8 85 'it>xe8 Wd5 86 'itid7 c3 87 li.cl Wd4 88 'itid6 'itid3 89 Wc5 'itid2 =. c) 81 @f7 l:If4+ 82 'it>e8 1:!'.e4 83 e7 'itid6 84 l:If6+ 'itid5 85 'itid7 Irxe7+ ! (85 ...c5? 86 ltd6+ @c4 87 .Ue6 +-) 86 'itixe7 c5 87 �d6+ (87 Jlf5+ 'itid4 88 Wd6 c4 89 Jlf4+ 'itid3 90 @cs c3 9 1 .lif3+ @d2 92 'it>d4 c2 93 .l:.f2+ 'itidl 94 @d3 dli'i+ =) 87 ...'itie4 88 .Uc6 Wd4 89 Wd6 c4 =. ''This reaches a fascinating position: exactly the same as the final position of the game, but with the rook on c6 instead of c8. This prevents the only winning move for White: 'it>c6!" (Alsina). =

65 I!hS 66 li[g7+! 67 .l:rg6+@d7 :,;.:,� :Er�:�f�;�!���h�=�f!f, •••

w

115

-� -� -� -� -� --·-- �-�-6---·----

- �

7...,,�.

-

�

,m ,m m ,• m m m m

68Wf4?

Again the time is ripe for 68 e5 .l:.h3+ 69 'ite4 I1.h4+ 70 'itid3 l:Ih3+ (70 ....l:lh l 7 1 l:Id6+ 'itc7 72 @e4 +-) 71 'it>c4 'itic7 72 lig7+ @b6 73 e6 lie3 74 e7 l:Iel 75 'itid3 I!e6 76 d5 cxd5 77 lig6 +-. ... I!hl

--w-

�--� --�� -� - ---£ ,�- a m m m

- D -�· - - - - . �

-

"Now it is clear that it will be I! vs /:},_ I had a brief feeling of hope now because it seemed to me that I was making a draw there, but:"

68 69 l:tg7+ 'itie6 70 lig6+ ffiid7 71 80.l:lg7! @f511h4?

The final and fatal mistake. After the active 7 1 ...11.dl ! 72 'itie5 (72 I!g7+ 'itic8 73 e5 I!xd4

-

�

"Great precision from Gawain ! I didn't con­ sider this move." (Alsina).

116

UNDERSTANDING

80 k!.e4 wins in much more difficult fashion: 80...@d5 81 .tlel 'i!?xd4 and now: a) 82 e7? c5 83 .tldl+ 'i!?e4 84 .tlcl @d4 85 e81/kV (85 .tlhl ! ? k!.a8 86 .tldl + 'it'e4 87 llal .tlh8 =) 85 ... .llxe8 86 'i!?xe8 c4 =. b) 82 .tldl+! 'i!?e5 (82...'i!?c4 83 e7 c5 84 .tld8 ! .tlh7+ 85 'i!?f6 'fl.xe7 86 @xe7 'i!?b3 87 @d6 c4 88 llb8+! 'it>c2 89 'i!?c5 c3 90 Wc4 'i!?d2 9 1 Wb3 c2 92 .l:Id8+ +-) 83 e7 c5 84 .tlhl ! ! .tla8 85 e8�+ l:[xe8 86 @xe8 c4 87 Wd7 c3 88 Wc6 Wd4 89 Wb5 c2 90 Wb4 +- (Alsina).

80 'i!?dS •..

(D)

80... lla8 8 1 e7 @d7 82 .l:Ig5 l:i.h8 83 l:i.e5 l:i.e8 84 l:!.e2 +- (Alsina).

ROOK ENDGAlvlES

50 'it>d2 .

50 'it>e2? .l;e3+ 5 1 @d2 (5 1 Wf2 'i!?c4 52 .l:.c6+ 'it>d3 53 i1a6 e5 54 l:K.a3+ We4 also wins for Black) 5 l . . .'i!?d5 52 .tla8 'it>e4 53 .tld8 kl.d3+ ! 54 'it>c2 .tlc3+! 55 Wd2 llc6! 56 llf8 .tlb6! 57 llf6 lla6 ! ! (mutual zugzwang with White to move) 58 'i!?e2 d3+ 59 'it>d2 lla2+ 60 'i!?d l e5 61 fxe5 'it>e3 -+.

50 .tle3 51 Wc2? 51.55. 'it>Wd3 d5 52e5Wd256 .l:t.llfa36+53Wd5l:Ia5+57'it>.tld6a5+54 We2 llxf4 58Wf4Wc462 'it>'it'cf54 59e4 llal63 Wd4.l:tf3llf260 @d564 .tld3el 61.tle2'it>.tld65e6l 'i!?g3 66 llf8 d2 0-1 .•.

The rook must be activated with 51 lla5+ Wc4 52 lla8 Wd5 53 Ii'.d8+ 'i!?e4 54 .l:Id6 =. 5 1 .tla7 = and 5 1 .l:ta8 = are also sufficient.

llfl+

w

Even the following scenario is still drawn:

B

81 e7 Wxd4 82 llgS! . xe7 .cs 85 S2 7 83 We6 .tl x e7+' S4_ l:K.1-d08+! 86 kl.cs @d4 87 'it>d(j SS @c6! 4.5.31 Kovacevic ukic 72. ..tldt? Not, of course, 82 e8\!Hf? l:[xe8 83 @xe8 c5 =. l:[h + ¢' 'it>e3 c4 ••.

With the defending pawn further advanced, it is also mostly about the inroads of the attack­ ing king:

w

V. -J Croatian Team Ch, Poree 1998

Now the white king can advance. It must be cut off with 72....tlal 73 We2 lla3 ! and after 74 @d2 Black can defend actively with 74 ... f4! 75 exf4+ (75 e4 f3 76 d5 Wf4 77 d6 f2 78 lif6+ @xe4 =; 75 lie5+ @g4 76 .l:te4 Iixe3 77 .U.xe3 fx.e3+ 78 Wxe3 Wf5 :::) 75 ...Wxf476d5 Ila5 77 d6 \t>f5 78 lih6 lld5+ 79 @c3 We5 =.

73 'it>e2 .tlal 74 Wd3 f4 exf4+79 'iit>f5'it>76f6lies80 Iidl + 77@c4 'i!?xf'it>4 78f7 d58275Wf5 d6 Iicl + 81 Wb6 d7l:tItbl+ S3 'it>IixdS a5 lial+S7 Iixd8 84 @b4l-O.tlbl+ 85 dl 86 d8\%¥ Otherwise White's Icing can usher the d­ pawn forward, but the resulting Ii+� vs Ii end­ ing is hopeless.

4.5.30 Sergeev -Minasian V.

Cappelle la Grande 1998

@c5

Wc3

ROOT( AND TWO PA WNS VS ROOK AND PA WN

.

11 7

Exercises (solutions: page 264)

w

w

E4.5.17: How should White defend?

E4.5.20: How should Whit� proceed?

w

B

lE4.5.18: How can White win?

E4.5.21:'Black to play and draw.

4.5.5) g- and f-IPawns vs h-Pawn

B

E4.5.19: To which side should the black Icing go?

Usually the defender .has good drawing chances, but when the defending pawn is on its second rank, passive defence on the second ranlc iE· insufficient (see following diagram). 65 Jlh2? White must activate the rook: 65 1If8 Jlg2+ (65 ... c3+ 66 Wc2 Jlg2+ 67 bl Jlb2+ 68 al 'it>c4 69 :lh8 =) 66 bl Wc3 67 :f3+ @d2 68 Wb2 b4. Only now does passive defence on the back rank hold: 69 llfl ! d3+ 70 Wbl c3 7 1 .l::th l d2 7 2 Jlcl lle2 7 3 Jlc2+ Wd3 74 :!xe2 Wxe2 75 Wc2 'it>e3 76 a3 =. 65...'it>a4? The nice winning line is 65 ...c3+! 66 Wbl Wa3 ! 67 :lh8 (67 Jlhl. b4 68 lifl b3 -+)

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

118

54....:l:.a8+ 55 We7 lif8 56 @e6 l:ta8 57 �g7+ @h8 58 .l:id7. (58 @f5 .Ua5+ 59 'itig4 .Ua4+ 60 'itih5 llal =) 58 ...'it>g8 59 @e7 llf8 60 lld8 .1:.xd8 61 'it>xd8 62 'it>d7 h6 =.

50 l:i'.g7+! @h8@f751 'fl.e7 1-0

w

Black resigned due to 5 l .. .l:lf2+ 52 @e6 :S.e2+ 53 @£7 +-. With the defender's pawn on its third rank, a lot depends on who controls the second rank. If the defending rook is established there, then the defender can usually draw:

4.5.32 Bobotsov -Yukhtman USSR-Bulgaria; Kiev 1964 67 ....l:rg l+! 68 'it>c2 lig2+ ! ! 69 'iitxc3 b4+ 70 'it>c4 llg4+ -+.

M? 67&tb2+ llf8 c3+71 @al68 'i¥i>b3bl72Ilgl+ 'i¥i>c662l:lllf2? g2+70@bl &ta8+69 Ilh8? @b4 73 l:lb8+ 'i¥i>c4 74 axb3+ @d3 75 .l:!.79d2!llg376lid8l:th3+80@c2l:lgl+772:1.d@a2l 81@cl+ 78 4.5.34 Raabe Hoffmann @al c2 .l:!. g 2 llel 82 llg8 'i¥i>d2+ 056 fld3 57 lla5+ @g6 58 .Ua6+ 58. .'iith5 59 lla8 .l:.d2+ .l:!.h608! 'iii>f3 lih2 61 l:th8+ @g6 62 l:lg8+ 'i¥i>f6 63 . 6764-!ih5l:te@el 8+ 'iit68d4l:l65xg5.l:.l:tdx8+h3+'iii>c3 66 .l:.h638 Wd2 4.5.33 Inkiov 49 :t:I.e2? 1.. .l:.g3+ 2 c2 76 ..l:!.h8 =. ·1s

- JP'.

•.•

Bergisch Gladbach Ch 1996

]_

.••

With the pawn on its originalsqtiare, the de., fender must be very careful irideecf: ·

56 ...'iite4 57 .l:.e2+ @f5 58 :a2 repeats the position.

58 h4 draws as well, but is more complicated.

B

59 ... llg3+ 60 @h2 @g6 61 l:i'.£8 =.

This is another typical draw. Not 63 'it>g4? .l:.g2+ 64 'i¥i>h5 'iilf7 65 lita8 f3 66 I!a3 f2 67 l:tf3+ @e6 -t-. .'it>eS 11z.11z

- Maze

Paris 2004

•.•

Just waiting is insufficient. He should play 49...:t:I.fl + 50 'i¥i>e6 .lle l+ 5 1 'i¥i>d6 lidl+ 52 @e7 &tel+ 53 @d8 llal 54 @e8 (54 lig7+ 'ii/f8 =)

If the defender has no control over his sec­ ond rank, then the attacker often wins (see fol­ lowing diagram). The analysis of this ending by Jon Speelman in Informator 34 is excellent and very instruc­ tive. We have abbreviated his notes.

ROOK AND TWO PA WNS VS ROOK AND PAWN

B

Wedberg - Speelman

Gothenburg I 982

119

1 1 F1.f5 f2 12 '*'g3 �e3+ 1 3 c;t>g4 ( 1 3 ©h2 @el 1 4 @g2 k{e2 -+) 13 . . .'it>g2 1 4 h4 llg3+ ! ·-+. 11 �d5 f2 12 &.id2 lae8 13 lla2 (13 'i&g3 .lie3+ 14 Wg4 and now 14 ... 'it>gl ! -+ or 14 ... 'itiel 15 �a2 ftd3 ! -+) 13 ... ©el 14 'it>g3 fl\1!W 1 5 .Ual + @e2 1 6 .llxfl 'it>xfl 17 h4 (17 'it>g4 Wg2 -+) 1 7 ... �e4! -+. n . f2 12 'fJ.a2 .lld l! 13 @g3 Ird3+ 14 'it>g4 ©el! Winning the critical tempo. Not 14 . . .@gl ? 15 llal + ! fl'& 1 6 Jlxfl + 'it>xfl 17 h4 =. .

4.5.35

.

.

n-1

When the pawns are further back and the at­ 3 lia8 lle2+ 4 @gl f3 5 .l:!a4 .l:Ig2+ ! (5 . . . lle4? tacker has the choice, the Icing should advance 6 'fi.a2 @f4 7 Wf2 1'le2+ 8 l.1xe2 fxe2 9 h4 ! =) 6 before the pawns: @h l (6 @fl &rh2 7 l:!a5+ @g6 8 1:!.a3 .lii'.xh3 9 @f2 @h5 -+) 6. . . g4 ! (Black creates an um­ brella) 7 hxg4+ (7 1:1.xg4 l:l.xg4 8 hxg4+ @xg4 -+) 7 . . .Wg5 ! 8 l:l.al .l:!e2 ! (8 . . . @h4? 9 'fl.fl ! B @g3 10 .l:!gl ! @f2 11 .l:lal =; 8 ...@f4 9 g5 @g3 10 .llg l @f2 11 .l:Ial 'fi.g4 ! 12 !ta2+ @g3 13 @gl l:Ib4 14 l:l.al l:l.b2 -+) 9 �fl (9 l:!gl @f4 10 g5 f2 -+; 9 @gl @f4 10 g5 @g3 11 g6 l:i.g2+ -+) 9 . . . @f4 10 g5 'it>g3 I l .l:.g l + 'it>h3 12 lf.fl f2 -+. 3 ...'it>e4 4,.l:Ig8 4 .ll e8+ Wf3 5 'fJ.g8 'f1e2+ and then: a) 6 'it>gI l:!g2+ 1 @fl c1 @hl · g4 1 -+) 7 . . . .l:.h2 8 Wgl I!xh3 9 .l:!.xg5 llg3+! -+. 4.5.36 E. Cohn - Tartakower b) 6 @hl @e3 7 l:l.e8+ @f2 8 .l:!.g8 f3 9 @h2 Vienna 1908 (9 l:l.xg5 l:l.e l + -+) 9 . . .@e3+ -+. 4..J:l'.e2+ 5 Wgl 'tt>e3! 6 l:l.xgS lf.e1+ 7 @b2 46 f5? 46 . . . @h5! 47 .l:ta4 f5 48 Jlf4 'f1e2! 49 'it>hl f3 8 lies+ Wd2 -s::-:@f2n-9-I:'(a5.-=-. --------I&e4·!-5 0-l:tf-2- 'it>h4-5-1-Wh 2-&ia4-puts-Whi te-i n9 ltfS @e2 10 l'!eS+ @fl ! (D) zugzwang; e.g., 52 .l:!.g2 g5 53 .i::1.f2 f4 54 'l1g2 f3 55 litf2 .l:!.a3 56 litb2 g4 57 hxg4 I:l.e3 58 @gl Wg3 59 @fl .l:.a3 60 l:!bl .a'.a2 61 g5 hiii2 -+. 47 ilg3? White missed the important drawing resource w 47 Jith4+! @g5 48 .l:th8 @f4 49 l1g8 g5 50 'f1g7. This is another main drawing position due to 50.Ji[c3 51 Wh2 ! l::l'.g3 52 '4a7 .l:!.e3 53 'fi.g7 =. 47 @hS 48 'fi.f3 @h4 49 Whl .!lc4 50 @g2 f4 51 .l:!.d3 g5 52 .l:!.d8 litc2+ 53 @f3 .l:!.c3+ 54 @e4 Wxh3 0-1 •..

..•

With the defending pawn on h4, there are two main drawing positions: 56 .l:la4?

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

120

:S.llgSe576+64II.�h7bllhll :·61a.!itsa'it>. SS8b6S3'itl:g7ht 4 'it62.!ittbg68l:f.S966eSItel:r3l1g4.l:!.Wh6 63gS!Itel6760 rs 68 e2 1 05 'it>h2 f3 106 gxf3 'it>xf3+ 1 07 'it>h3 e2 -+ or 104 @fl 'it>c2 1 05 .l:tb8 �f2+ 1 06 Wgl f3 1 07 gxf3 'fJ.xf3 1 08 .llc8+ Wd2 109 ild8+ 'ft>el 1 1 0 iila8 .l:tg3+ -+.

1041 .t'Ib3+? 104 'i:t>dl4 ll.05 gxf3 k[xf3 106

1 04 gxf3 11xf3 1 05 'fJ.al ! = is forced. Wg2 Now Black could have won by 106 ...e2 107 !!bl 'fJ.b3 1 08 !!al l:!.a3 1 09 !!bl 'it>e3 1 10 Wg3 Jl.c3 1 1 1 !!al l:l:c8 1 1 2 Ela3+ Wd2 1 1 3 . .!:l:a2+ l:l'.c2 -+. Instead both players repeatedly overlooked c •.•

�� :��;;:ro���:.��:.��;1�; .l.1a3�e2! �.:;:: 108 llal? 108 @d3?

109 r!a3+Wc2110=i=-)-.ll:U.Hal?-ll!a3'!-­ 'it>d2 112 .l:ra2+U4'it>e.3.@c3? 113 .l:ra3+ 'it>d41 U4 Ital? 115 !!bl? U5 @c2116 !!al117 l:l:Wb2? el 'it>c3

( 1 08 .li1.a4+ =) (108 ...'fJ.a7 -+) -----============== �========'----I\;a2+-=)-HO;;;Wd3·?-(-l-l0;-;:-.ia9 �L.J

B • .cJ?.

4.5.41 Skripchenko -H. Hunt 90 '!J.g7 @e4 91 ile7+? 91 'it>d3 92 'fJ.d7+ 'iilc2? 93'fJ.a7? 75 'fJ.cl? 93 94 'f:. d 7+ Wcl 95 'fJ. a 7 'fJ. f 2+ 96 @gl l:i.d2 97 @fl 'fJ.c2 98 'f:.a8 99 l:l'.al European Team Ch (women), Leon 2001

The king must close the door with 9 1 Wel ! .tf.b6 92 @e2 'iilf5 93 r!g8 lig6 94 '!J.xg6 'it>xg6 95 g3 =.

..•

(110

(1 14 .S:a4+ =) (l 1 4...l:l:a7 1 1 5 .llbl 'it>d3 1 1 6 Wf2 'fJ.f7+ 1 1 7 Wg2 'it>c2 1 1 8 .tta l '/J;,a7 -+) (this gives away the maximum checking distance; 1 15 'fJ.a3+ =) ( 1 1 6 ...J!ta7 -+ was the last chance) •.•

1/z-1/z.

•••

92...'i.1?c3 93 'f:.g7 'ii?d2 94 'f:.d7+ @c l -+.

Again only 93 Wel l draws: 93 ...llbl+ 94 W_e2 l:!gl 95 'i:l.g7 =. Not 93 rj;e2? Wcl + 94 Wfl ilf2+ 95 @gl f3 -+. 'it>d2 @dl + ••.

With the e-pawn on its fourth rank, the de­ fending rook should be on its third rank, to pre­ vent the enemy rook from using this rank (see

following diagram): ••.

75 ...l:l'.c6 ! ! 76 e5 (76 .l:lb7+ Wf8 77 Wf4 g6 =) 76 ...l:!cl 77 .!:.b7+ Wf8 78 'i:t>f4 '!:.fl+ 79 We4

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

124

When th� . attacking rook .is already estab­ lished on its six.th rank, the picture is radically different:

B

4.S.42 Anastasian -Kuzubov Moscow 2007

l:.dl ! (now Black must take the d-file) 80 e6 l:.g 1 8 1 'itre5 We8 =.

76 l:lb7+! 76. .'iitfS 77 'iiff4 :cs

More resilient is 77 ... lit.dl 78 We5 l:.d8 79 l:.b6 @e7 80 :e6+ Wf7 8 1 l:ld6 l1e8+ 82 @d5 .lla8 83 e5 .Jita5+ 84 We4 .l:ta4+ 85 li!.d4 lita7 86 l:.c4 Wf8 87 l:.c8+ @e7 88 litc5 lita4+ 89 Wd5 "/J.a7 90 .Jitb5 @f7 91 litb8 .l:ta5+ .92 @d6 lita6+ 93 'itrd7 lita7+ 94 Wc6 .Jita6+ 95 .l:tb6 l'1a8 96 .!i!b7+ Wf8 97 e6 .Jita3 98 'itrd7 .l:td3+ 99 @c8 !'!a3 100 Wd8 lia8+ 101 Wd7 lite8 1 02 .l:tb6 'fla8 1 03 1J..a6 "!J.b8 1 04 'f/,.a7 .l:teR 1 05 'iitd6 .Jitb8 1 06 l:.f7+ 'it>g8 107 'iitc7 a& ' 1 of:.d7 . +-.

It

(D)

.

.

H.

Beverwijk 1965

Now White wins in 38 moves.

78.Jitd7!

4.5.43 Miiller -Karaklajic 62l'1c8

.

The position is lost for White in 40 moves.

The main line begins with 62 l:.e2 ltb5 (White is in zugzwang) 63 litel £[b2+ 64 @fl 'ittf5 65 .Jitdl .Jita2 (White is in zugzwang again) 66 l?.d8 @e4 67 l:.dl lita3 68 We2 l:te3+ 69 'itrf2 !td3 70 litel+ @f5 7 1 !te2 e4 72 lta2 (72 Wei lita3 73 litb2 e3 74 l:tb8 l:tal + 75 'itre2 .Jita2+ 76 @fl We4 -+) 72 ... .Jitdl 73 !ta5+ Wf6 74 l:.a6+ We5 75 .li!a5+ Wd4 76 We2 J:kl 77 l:.a4+ litc4 78 'fla2 .Jitb4 (one more zugzwang for White) 79 Wf2 .libl 80 l:.a4+ Wd3 81 lita3+ 'ittd2 82 lita2+ Wc3 83 :a3+ .l:r.b3 84 .l:'t.al l::tb2+ 85 'it>fl e3 86 lita8 Wd2 87 :l:.d8+ 'i!tc l 88 1:!a8 @dl 89 lilal + @d2 90 Itel ltb3 91 l:r.al .l:r.a3 ! ! 92 litbl 'fla2 93 .l:'t.el @d3 94 .Jitbl .l:r.f2+ 95 Wgl 'itrc2 96 'flal .Jitd2 -+.

62. .litb2+

B

A very important zwischenschach as now

e4 .Jitbl lta6+ Sl WdS8S .l:t'itbdt 7S6782.:as.l:.l:.acSS6779li[lies+ a6eS83Ital'it>Wc5f7SOltalS7'itre6+S4@d6 @f6e7 ltSSa6+:rs+92 WeS S9 @c6 'fl a 7 90 .:C7 lt a S 91 'it96dt 'it?7 :as d8 1-093 :rs lia7+ 94@eS@d6 9S f6 'it?e6 The d-file is very important.

the path for Black's king to the queenside can­ not be blocked. Not 62... !ta3? 63 :f8 ! =. After 62...@f5? 63 . . - 'flc5 ! Black's kirig can cross over, bufBlack cannot really break free, although matters are very close; e.g., 63 ...We4 64 litc4+ @d3 65 'flc8 (the only drawing move - again the maximal distance is very important; 65 1J..c7? loses in 39 moves and the critical variation is very deep: 65 ...e4 66 .Jitd7+ @c3 67 lilc7+ Wd2 68 !te7 lite3 69 .Jitd7+ !td3 70 .l:'t.e7 .Jitd4 7 1 'fl.a? .l:'t.d8 72 .l:'t.a4 Wd3 73 lila3+ Wd4 74 'tl,,a7 li[b8 75 l'1d7+ Wc5 76 :c7+ Wd5 77 .l:'t.d7+ @e6 78 .Jitd4 @e5

ROOK AND Two PAWNS vs ROOK AND PA WN

79 lld7 e3+ 80 'it>f3 Jlb2 8 1 Z!e7+ 't&f5 82 l1f7+ 'i&g5 83 �g7+ 'it>f6 -+) 65 . . .e4 (65 ...Jab2+ 66 Wf3 e4+ 67 Wxf4 tlf2+ 68 @g3 e3 69 l:ta8 �c2 70 'it>f3 =) 66 �d8+ 'it>c3 67 .t!c8+ 'it>d2 68 .lile8 �e3 (68 . . . e3+ 69 Wf3 e2+ 70 Wf2 �e3 7 1 lld8+ lid3 7 2 Z\.e8 1le3 73 Ei'.d8+ Wc3 7 4 Wel =) 69 .lad8+ .lld3 70 .UeS l:ld4 71 .l:ra8 (mutual zugzwang) 7 1 ...l1c4 72 Zid8+ Wc2 73 g3 f3 74 We3 =. We now return to 62 ...I!b2+ (D):

125

Elel I:lh8 -+) 79 ...�a2 80 11.el Wd3 8 1 li.tb l �f2+ 82 Wgl 'iirc2 83 �al I!d2 -+. b) 68 .l!ta5 e3 69 i:Xa6+ Wf5 (69 ... @e5? 70 I{g6! =) 70 .l:!.a5+ @e4 71 �a4+ @d3 72 g,{a3+ @c2 73 �a5 @cl 74 �al + @b2 75 ga4 l:Xf2+ 76 'it>gl hlc2 77 @fl Wcl -+.

68 Jlg8! .l:tc5 69 .l:f.e8+ @d5 70 Jad8+ @e5 71 .l:Ke8+? This careless check allows an invasion by Black's king. 7 1 .!:td7 =; 71 @e2 =. · ·11 . Wd4 72 lld8+ @e3 73 .l:Idl f3 74 .l:rel + @f4 75 gxf3 @xf3 76 .Ual e3 0-1 . .

m .: m m m - - - - - - - - �-f¢. • • a • . . d d .. �

w

If the attacking pawns have not yet advanced, the defender can often advance the g-pawn:

•a• •m't� - - - ,,,,,,!';

B

63 @fl @f5! 64 �c4 After 64 l:{d8 the win is still long: 64. .'iire4 65 I!dl kl.b3 66 'itie2 I!e3+ see the note to White's 62nd move above (after 68 ....Ue3+) . 64 .. "fJ.dl 65 kl.a4 e4 66 l1a5+ (D) .

-

.

4.5.44

Jiliesco - !Pilnik Argentine Ch, Buenos Aires 1946

- - 45 @f7? B - - - �This loses in 34 moves. Now was a good mo- - - a ment for 45 ... g6! =. ��� d • ••• '-�� • • 46 l:rb7+ @f6 47 l:rb6+ -B"--s--Fir t-White-o-ccupies-tlfe-i:l:nporta:nrnixth-rank:--- ·-----i.••

-

-

-

-

-�. �,.,,,,-� • - - - �•

66 'ii?e6 A false track is 66 ...'iirg4? 67 I!e5 e3 68 l1e8 .l:f2+ 69 'iirg l @f5 70 l:te7 =. 67 .l:tg5 Iid5? 67...'itif6! forces White's rook t o make a decision: a) 68 Iig8 'it>e5 69 l1a8 Wd4 70 l:r.al 'it>e3 7 1 •.•

!!el+ @d3 72 lial .l:itc2 73 lldl+ @c3 74 !!'.al

@d2 75 @f2 l:tb2 (White is in zugzwang) 76

@fl e3 77 I!el lib8 78 llal lia8 79 libl (79

47.@f7 48 @f5 ? Th·1:s allows Black to correct his nu'stalce. 48 We5 ! wins; e.g., 48 ...Irh5+ 49 f5 l:l.h3 50 e4 l:ra3 5 1 I!b7+ @f8 5 2 l:rd7 .l:a6 53 .l:(d6 +-. 48 l:rh5+ 49 @g4 g6 50 "fl.b7+ 'ii?e6 51 I!b6+ 'itif7 52 Iib7+ @e6 53 lJ,.g7 Wf6 54 "fl.c7 l:thl 55 Wf3 .l:al 56 .l:c6+ @f7 57 We4 57 e4 .U.gl 5 8 e5 We7 is a typical drawing set-up; e.g., 59 I!c2 @e6 60 lJ,.g2 Iixg2 61 'iirxg2 g5 =. 57...Iia5 58 Wd4 g5 59 Iic7+ @e6 60 fxg5 Iixg5 1/z.1'2 .••

Even the following position is drawn, but Black must change his defensive set-up:

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

126

@e7 10'itg7 @e8 11 llf7 8 llh4 13 e6

9 10 ... Wd7 1 1 �f7 @d8 12 e6 +-. @d Ii @rs +...

B

The defensive set-up with the king on the h­ file was also missed in ECE's analysis of the following position:

4.5.45 Lyskov -Selezniev 1. 2e5+

B

USSR 1956

.litbl Just waiting with l.. ..litc6? is refuted by 2 e5+ We6 3 'il?g5 'il?f7 4 .lita7+ Wf8 (4 ... 'il?e8 5 l:l.g7 +-) 5 lld7 .lita6 6 .litd6 +-. ..

2 lla6+ Wg7 3 e5 l:lfl ? (Black has many moves to draw, among them 3 ...'il?h6!? to meet 4 f5 with 4 ... llgl + 5 Wh3 l:[g5 =) 4 l:[a7+ Wh6 5 e6 g5 (5 ... Ilel 6 e7 .i:r.e6 7 'iit>f3 .litel 8 i:r.b7 l:te6 9 f5 gxf5 10 llb6 +-:-) 6 ! ! (according to ECE this nice move was discovered by Kasparov, but it was known as long ago as 1959 and was prob­ ably found by Kopaev) 6 .. Jixf4+ (6...gxf4 7 e7 . .litel 8 Wf6 f3 9 lla3 +-) 7 We5 .litfi (7 ...'iit>g6 8 :a8 llfl 9 .litg8+ 'ii?h5 1 0 e7 1:lef+l) @f6 litfl+· 12 'il?g7 .litel 1 3 e8'i'+ llxe8 14 .litxe8 g4 15 'il?f6 +-; 7 ....litf8 8 e7 lle8 9 @f6 'iit>li5 JO l:[d7 'il?g4 1 1 lld8 'r/,.xe7 12 'il?xe7 'il?f3 13 llf8+ 'il?e4 14 llg8 'il?f4 1 5 'il?f6 g4 16 'iit>g6 g3 1 7 'iit>h5 'iit>f3 1 8 'il?h4 +-) 8 e7 .i:r.e1+ 9 'il?f6 llfl+ 10 'il?e6 1:[el+ 1 1 Wf7 :n + 12 Wg8 .lle l 13 l:la6+ 'il?h5 14 Wf7 'r/,.xe7+ 1 5 Wxe7 g4 1 6 'il?f6 g3 1 7 Wf5 g2 1 8 .litg6 +-.

'itf5

2 @e6?

4.5.46 . .lita5 2 Ir.e4?

Analysis of Harandi-Vaganian, Rio de Janeiro Interzonal 1979

1 Sooner or later the king must be regrouped to h3: 2 llb2 f5 3 .litb8 e4+ 4 @g2 ! .lita2+ 5 @h3! @f6 (5 ...e3 6 .litbl ! =) 6 .l:le8 = or 2 @g2 f5 3 @h3 ! ! =. llh4 Now a nice tactical finish follows: Ir.a2+ @f3 -+ . .

2 f5 3 Ir.a3+ 4 'il?f2 f4 5 l:lh3 5 6 e4+ 7 @xe4 'il?g4 •••

•••

With the defending rook on the d-file, the de­ fence with ...@h6 does not work:

w

..•

Black must change his set-up with 2 ... 'il?g7 ! 3 lla7+ 'iit>h6! . Surprisingly, White can.not win; e.g., 4 e6 (4 'iit>f3 .!:tel =) 4.. :llb8 ! and -n:ow 5 @f3 lle8 =, 5 f5 .litb4+ 6 Wf3 gxf5 =, 5 llc7 lla8 = (but not 5 ... :e8? 6 f5 +-), or 5 .litf7 .litb3 6 l:[d7 l:Ib8 7 e7 .l:te8 8 Wh4 'il?g7 9 'il?g5 Wf7 10 llc7 Wg7 =. 3 'il?f7 4...'il?f8 5 @g5 .litb6 6 lld7 +-.

'r/,.a6+ 4 .lita7+ We6 4.5.47 Yusupov -Drasko 5@d7@gs! llgl + 6 Wh6 llg4 7 lla6+ 'il? e 7 .lit f 6 9 @h7!? 49e5+ 8

White will use zugzwang.

Sarajevo 1984

ROOK AND TWO PA WNS VS ROOK AND PA WN

·

127

49 Jla6+? can be met in two ways: 49...'it;>g7 This runs into a bodycheck and the game 50 kta7+ @h6 = and 49...@f7 50 e5 'fl.gl+ 5 1 was later drawn - see E3.04. Only backtrackinrr 0 . 'it>f3 @e7 =. h65l Jlg3rlf6 69.llg°it>8+h662 'i£i>Wh2e2?!Wf2 67 70 �e7+?! 70 71 l!f7 71. Jlg2+ 72 'it>hl 'it>f2?? . 55 f6?

70 .Ua7 llg2+ 7 1 Whl 'it>f2 72 J:i.f7 lirg8 73 'it>h2 �e8 74 �a7 'it>n 75 .l:Ial + lil.el -+. @fl 7 1 .l:Ie4 f2 72 llxh4 l1g2+ 73 'it>h l llgl + 74 'it>h2 °it>e2 -+. ..•

This careless move gives away the fruits of the long hard labour. Black can win by 72 ... Ilgl + 73 'it>h2 l1g3 74 .litf8 f2 75 .lle8 .li!.d3 76 .li!.e4 �d2 77 .lle 8 lie2 78 iaa8 l:re3 79 l:ral + We2 80 .lita2+ 'it>f3 8 1 llal .&1.el 82 ll.a3+ We4 -+.

73 .llxf3+

i1z.11z

In situations like the next, the defender often has to sacrifice his h-pawn:

White rushes. The king must invade first: 55 We6 ! 'tl,.a7 56 ll.dl ! .l:ra8 57 'it>e7 Wg8 58 llgl+ 'it>h7 59 �el Wg8 60 J:{e6 .l!!a l (60 ... Il.a7+ 61 �6 ltf7+ 62 'it>g6 l:tg7+ 63 °it>xh6 .llh7+ 64 �g6 .Ug7+ 65 @f6 �f7+ 66 'it?g5 .ll a7 67 h6 Wh7 68 lie5 +-) 61 lig6+ Wh7 62 .l!!d6 'it>g8 63 lid8+ Wh7 64 f6 .lla7+ 65 l:i'.d7 .l:Ia8 66 @f7 l:i'.b8 67 .l:!e7 l:i'.a8 (due to the stalemate defences it is still not easy) 68 l:i'.e6 l:i'.b8 69 'it>e7 l1b7+ 70 'it>f8 l:ib8+ 7 1 :!.e8 l,ib7 72 lie7+ Wh8 73 f7 .!ib8+ 74 .l:!.e8 l:rb7 75 lie6 Wh7 76 .l:Id6 +-. (D)

55 .l:!.a7 56 Jldl

B

••.

4.6.02 Istratescu -Bancod 53. .ll.f7? Biel open 1993

This error, which loses in 27 moves, has also occurred in many other games. Black should sacrifice the h-pawn and then use the defence with ...Wf7 (compare 2.17-2.20): 53 ...Jla6 54 iitd7+ Wg8 55 iitd6 .t:i.al 56 .litxh6 Wg7 57 l:rg6+ 'it>f7! (57 ...'it?h7? 58 .l:td6 .l:tel+ 59 'it?f6 nn 60

56 lla2? ••.

The king must be activated with 56...Wg8 ! ! 57 'it>e6 (57 .l:Igl + Wf8 5 8 Wf5 ll.a5+ 5 9 Wg6 l:i'.e5 60 Wxh6 'it>f7 =) 57 ... lla6+ 58 l:i'.d6 l:!.a8 59 'it>f5 lia5+ 60 'it>g6 l:i'.g5+ 6 1 Wxh6 ligl 62 lid7 @f8 ! =.

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

130

2+ 58'it>gf87 62.Ue5lle8+59 l:.'it>d7h7.Ue63l 60f7 "tJ,..llee577l+l:!.64'it>ale661d115eWe6+ 67fSll1-0 .1:1.dl 65 'it>e4 I1el+ 66 'it>d3 I1fl +

w

Even the following position is still drawn:

w

4.6.04 de Firmian Andersen -

D.

Copenhagen 2007

4.6.03 Smirnov -Zviagintsev 59 I1fl?

Russian Team Ch, Olginka 2011

This is too passive and loses in 22 moves. White is almost in zugzwang, but 59 .Ucl ! holds the draw; e.g., 59 ....Ud2 60 l:tal .Ud3 61 .l:ta2+ e3 62 Ital 'it>f4 63 .Ua4+ g3 . 64 litg4+ xh3 65 .Ug8 .1:1.d2 66 @fl =.

59..l:r.l:Idbl!S 6360 lif2+ Ii.ed33!61 l1a2l:tai.l:r�e2 bl+! 6562 Ii. a 3+ .l:l.ae2+3+?l1d2 66 l:i.al @f2 67 .l:rbfl:i.3.2 68 .Ucl 69.l:[email protected]:l.g707 .Uc8!te2'it>74g3:S.71.UgS+ 75.x.Ug7+ h3 72 @fl f 7

g 3 Wf4 76h2!tf7+80 .Uh3+ g4 77g.1:1.4g817+.Uh8Wh5.Ud278 !tf7S2 .Ug8+ h3 79 .Uxf3 Wf5 83 Ir.f8+ g6 84 .lihS 89c6 + 89. ..Ug6+ 90 d7 :tgS 91 c6 91. .l:!.cS 92 .l:re5 .l:rc7+ 93 d6 1-0??

Black resigned, but the position is drawn due to 93 . . .lic8 ! 94 .Ue7 (94 Iib5+ a8 95 r:Jild7 .Uc7+ 96 d6 l:l.xc6+ 97 'iitixc6 stalemate) 94 . . ..Ud8+ 95 .Ud7 .Uh8 96 .Ub7+ Wa8 97 .Ue7 'i£i>b8 98 'it>d7 .llc8 =. The last two examples of this section deal with the difficult pawn endings that can arise from this configuration after a rook exchange.

B

6tf

Wh2

·

This allows the white Icing to regroup. After 68 ...lite2 ! , Black wins as in the previous exam­ ples.

i1z.11z

The next position is, surprisingly, drawn as well (see following diagram). ·

89 .l:Ie8+ c7 90 l:.a8 .1:1.bl l:.xa7 ];!.cl + 93 Wd4 .Uxc5 =.

9 1 'it>c4 c6 92

9 1 l:Ie8+? ! .Uxe8 92 xe8 c7 93 e7 'iitic6 94 d8 xc5 95 Wc7 d5 96 b7 d6 97 r:Ji/xa7 c7 =.

4.6.05 Simagin -Kasparian · ·v.

Tula 1950

Even the outstanding study composer Kas­ parian did not manage to defend here:

74. .l:i.xd6+?

The pawn endin.g is lost as White can trian­ gulate. 74... .Ual 75 .Ud8+ Wh7 76 .Ud7+ g8 77 e7 Itel+ 78 Wf6 !tfl 79 g6 l:tgl + 80 'it>xh6 .l:.g2 8 1 f6 @f8 =.

'ii?e754 @esxd679@f7'it>f4 76@rssoe5 ee57 1-077 f6+ 'it?f8 78 Due to 80 ... e8 81 e6 f8 82 f7 g7 83 e7 Wh7 84 f6 h8 85 f8�+ h7 86 'filg7#.

ROOK AND TWO PA WNS VS ROOK AND PA WN

131

The next game also shows the importance of knowing the pawn ending f+h vs h:

E4.6.02:

4.6.06 Balogh -Stocek 38 fS? 39lig3+? C.

Pardubice 2002

•.•

38 ....tl.d7 39 lig3+ @f6 40 @c3 @f5 ! -+(and not 40 ... h5? 4 1 h4 ! =) . . White misses the chance for 39 'it>c3 ! ! .lird8 40 lid3 .l:t.xd3+ 41 Wxd3 'it>f6 42 'it>e3 'it>e5 43 Wf3 f4 44 'it>f2 'it>e4 45 'it>e2 f3+ 46 'it>f2 'it>f4 47 @el (White follows Bab.r's colour rule: Black's h-pawn is on a dark square so the Icing retreats to a dark square) 47 ... @e3 48 Wfl f2 49 h3 h5 50 h4 =.

In the game White missed the best de­ fence and Jost. Can you do better?

4.6.2) e- and g-Pawns vs g-Pawn

� this configuration there are a surprising num­

ber of deep draws when the defender gives up the g-pawn.

.w

39 'it>f6 40 h4 f4 0-1 •••

4.6.07 Uhlmann -Jansa

Czechoslovak Ch, TrenCianske Teplice 1979

This position has occurred many times in practice and often the defender has failed to find the correct way to draw: li Avoiding 64 .l:l.g8? l:txg3+ 65 Wf2 l:i.f3+ 66 @g2 'it>f5 67 lif8+ We4 68 .l:l.a8 'it>e3 69 lia3+ Wf4 -+ and 64 We4? .lirxg3 65 lie8+ Wf6 ! 66 :e6+ ! ? (66 .tl.xe5 lif3 -+; 66 lif8+ Wg7 67 lif5 Wg6 68 .l:l.xe5 -1-) 66 ... 'it>g5! 67 l:txe5+ Wh4 ! -+. ...wf6 65 lif8 ! The critical position. All the previous moves look obvious, but now the drawing move is very tricky.

62 .l:l.c8! J:i'.g2 63 �f8+! 'it>e6 64 eS+!

E4.6.01:

How should Black defend?

64 66lib8?

lif3! + 'it>e7

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

132

66 .Uf5? also loses: 66 ...'it>e6! 67 .l:l.g5 .Uxg3+ (this six-man ending is won in 28 moves) 68 @f2 (68 'it>e4 Wf6 ! 69 .Uf5+ @g6 70 .Uxe5 .Uf3 ! -+) 68 . . .Wf6 ! 69 llg8 .Uf3+ 70 Wg2 'it>f5 -+. The correct move is 66 .Ug8 ! ! .Uxg3+ 67 @f2 (67 We4? Wf7 68 .Ug5 'it>f6 69 .l:l.xe5 .l:l.f3 70 .l:l.a5 .Ufl -+) 67 .. Jlf3+ 68 Wg2! .Uf4 69 Wg3. Now the six-man ending is drawn, in an analogous way to the defence in the ending with m+M: 69 ...We6 70 .Ua8 Wf5 7 1 .l:.f8+ (71 'it>h4 'it>e4 72 .l:!.a4+ Wf3 73 .Ua3+ Wg2 74 .Ua2+ .l:l.f2 75 lia3 =) 71 ...'it>e4 72 .l:.a8 It.fl (72 ...Itf3+ 73 Wxg4 .Ud3 74 .Ua4+ .Ud4 75 llal We3+ 76 Wg3 =) 73 lla7 (the rook just stays in the northwest comer) 73 . .J:rdl 74 l!a8 'it>e3 75 'it>xg4 e4 (75 ... l:.gl + 76 @f5 e4 77 .l:l.a3+ =) 76 lla3+ .l:l.d3 77 .l:l.a2 =.

B

4.6.09 Georgadze -Anikaev S4 @e8? 66 . . Itxg3+ 67 'it> e 4 'it> f 6 68 �f8+ 'it> g 6 69 l:[email protected] 74'it>.Ue6g6 71lifllig8+7S 'it>l:!df76 72.l:l.f6.Uh876 .:.ds 'it>g6 0-1 .Uf8+ .Uf3

@g7

In the next example the sacrifice is less deep:

w

T.

Tbilisi 1976

•..

The rook must break free with 54....Ub6 ! : a) 55 We5 .l:l.b5+ 5 6 'it>d6 (56 'it>e6 l:lb6+ =) 56 ... llxg5 57 e5 .Ugl 58 .Ua8+ 'it>g7 59 e6 .Udl + 60 'it>e7 g5 61 .l:d8 l:tel 62 Wd7 g4 63 e7 Wf6 64 e8'1W l:txe8 65 li!xe8 Wf5 =. b) 55 l:ld7 'it>e8 56 l:i[d5 'it>e7 57 'it>e5 .Ue6+ 5 8 @d4 Ita6 59 Itb5 'it>e6 60 .l:b7 .Ua4+ 6 l 'it>e3 llal 62 li!g7 'it>e5 (62...l:r.el + also draws, as in 4.6.07, Uhlmann-Jansa) 63 .l:Ixg6 (63 .Ue7+ Wd6 64 .Ue8 l:!gl =) 63 ... �a3+ 64 @f2 'it>xe4 =. 54... 'it>g8? 55 e5 �b6 56 'it>e4 l1b5 57 .Ua6 (57 e6 'it>f8 58 .Uf7+ @g8 59 l:.d7 @f8 60 l1d5 .l:l.bl 6 1 @es It.fl 62 .Ud8+ We7 63 .l:l.d7+ We8 64 .l:l.f7 +-) 57 ... @f7 58 l:lf6+ Wg7 59 e6 li!xg5 60 e7 +-.

SS.Ub6+.l:l.bS96 S6 @e4.l:l..l:Iblb604+'[email protected]:r.61bS+Wd6SS Wd6 :XgS 62 e6 Wf8 63 .l:l.a7 .l:l.gl 64 liaS+ 1-0 e5

4.6.08 Liebstein -Najdorf s6 .l:l.g4+ @rs s1 .UgS?

'it>cS

The next case is even trickier:

Mar del Plata 1943

White must keep the cut-off: 57 li!b4 l:r.a2+ 58 We3 .Uxg2 59 Wf3 l:r.gl 60 l:r.b5 ! and Black cannot win; -e.g., 60 ...'it>e6 61 l:r.b6+ @d5 62 l:r.b5+ Wd4 63 l:r.b4+ @c3 64 .l:.e4 =. @fl

S7.UglWf461SS'it>d@e23 e4+l:r.a622+�d4S9 .tldl+.Ual+63 @c460 We2 .Ud2 :rs+ xg2 66@el'it>dS70l1li!d2+gS 67 @es1164 :rs+ g2 68'it>:r2.1,;{eg3S0-16SWf2It.e69s 'fJ..Uf8+

W

••.

@n

With the defending king on its back rank, care is required:

=·='�=���

4.6.10 Janosevic -Botvinnik Belgrade 1969

ROOK AND Two PA WNS \IS ROOK A.ND PA WN

Surprisingly, Whi te cannot win : 7 9 We5 ,g:xg5+ 79 ... 6!g4 draws as well; e.g., �O lld6 (80 Wf6 Jlxe4 8 1 'it>xg6 1'1e8 =) 80 . . . @f7 (80. . . .lixg5+? 81 Wf6 tlgl 82 e5 'i&h7 83 e6 }lfl + 84 We7 Wg7 85 Wd7 I{el 86 .lld2 g5 87 e7 'it>f6 88 1lf2+ Wg6 89 i!i'.fl fre3 90 e8'M!'+ !Ixe8 91 Wxe8 +-) 81 �d7+ 'it>g8 ! =. 80 Wf6 I!gl? Surprisingly, this move loses in 19 moves and the difference is very tricky to spot. The correct path is 80 ...&tg2 ! ! 8 1 e5 1:1.f2+ 82 rt:fe7 stJg7 83 Wd6+ @f8 84 .a'.d8+ stJg7 85 e6 &rd2+ 86 Wc7 Xic2+ 87 Wd7 lld2+ 88 We8 ile2 89 ltd7+ @f6 90 Ilf7+ Wxe6 ! ! (90. . . @g5? 91 e7 Wh4 92 �f6 g5 93 Wf7 Ii.xe7+ 94 Wxe7 g4 95 We6 g3 96 Wf5 g2 97 .l:Ig6 Wh3 98 'it>f4 Wh2 99 .lih6+ +-) 91 'JJ.e7+ Wf5 92 .l!!xe2 g5 93 Wf7 g4 =. With the white rook on el, White would win, but as matters are, it is a draw. 81 es 11f1+ 82 We7 gs 82 . . . Wg7 83 Wd6+ Wf8 84 .a'.d8+ 'i!lg7 85 e6 .a'.dl+ 86 rj;;c7 .l:.cl + 87 Wd7 .l:td l + 88 'it>e8 i![el 89 l:td7+ @f6 90 l:tf7+ Wxe6 (90 ...'it>e5 91 e7 J;[hl 92 .l:rf3 g5 93 Wd8 ktdl + 94 @c7 'JJ.c l + 95 Wb6 &.1.c8 96 .s'.f8 +-) 91 .lie7+ Wf5 92 .a'.xel g5 93 Wf7 g4 94 l!gl ! Wf4 95 'it>g6 g3 96 ffih5 Wf3 97 WM g2 98 'it>h3 +-. 83 e6 Wg7 (D)

Black misses his chance. 84 . . .@f6 ! 85 '1f7+ (85 e7 kral =) 85 . . .@xe6 86 �xfl ffie5 ! 87 'it>e7 g4! =. 8S e7 lael 86 �dS?! The immediate promotion 86 e8'!4Y'+ ! is called for: 86 .. JJ.xe8+ 87 Wxe8 Wf5 88 Ug7 g4 89 Wf7 Wf4 90 ©g6! g3 91 Wh5 'it>f3 92 ffih4 g2 93 h3 +- (Janosevic in Infornzator 8). 86...WhS?! . &6 . . . Wf7 ! ? 87 Ii:d7 Wf6 88 e8'/M>' .t{xe8+ 89 Wxe8 g4 90 lid5 ! +- . 87 e8W+ Itxe3+ 88 @xe8 WM 89 @f7 g4 90 Wg6 g3 91 .l:tgS Wh3 92 @rs g2 93 Wf4 Wh2 94 �hS+ 'lt>gl 95 rt:fg3 r;t;n 96 Ii:fS+ Wgl 97 l!f8 :ll.-0 With the defending pawn on its fourth rank, some deep ideas are involved:

w

4.6.U w

133

Janjgava - G. Georgadze

Ankara Zonal 1995

With the white rook on a7 (instead of b7) the ---po -siti.on wouICr6e won. 52 g4 Wf8? The correct way to draw is the hidden idea 52 . . . .a'.f4 ! 53 Wd6 :d4+! ! 54 d7 @f7 =; 56 'it>tl6+ Wf6 57 .a'.f7+ 'it>g6 5 8 White must be very careful now to win the .a'.f8 .a'.a6+ 59 'it>d7 l:ta7+ 6 0 Wc6 l:ta6+ =) 56 ... Wg6! 57 .a'.d5 .l:r.a7+ 58 Wd6 .a'.a6+ 59 We5 resulting ii[ vs £::, position. .a'.a8 60 e7 r.i?f7 61 l:td8 lia5+ 62 Wd6 l:ta6+ =. 84 Wd8+? 53 l:tb8+ Wg7 S4 'it>e7 .a'.f4 84 l1d5 ! ! Wg6 85 Wd7 ! forces Black's Icing 54 ...l:tf7+ 55 Wd6 l:ta7 56 .!:td8 .a'.a6+ 57 to go the long away around: 85 ... Wh5 86 e7 11el @e7 !Ia4 (57.Jlal 58 e6 +-) 58 e6 l:!xg4 59 87 e8'&¥+ 11xe8 88 'it>xe8 'it>g4 89 Wf7 'it>f4 90 l:td5 ! ! (a very important 'only' move) 59 ...Wg6 Wg6 g4 91 Wh5 g3 92 Wh4 g2 93 .a'.g5 d5 +-. The first step in the wrong direction. Now the win is long - 24 moves. 56 Wd8 ! wins in 8 moves; e.g., 56 . . .Wf6 57 e7 .Ud4+ 58 We8 Wg7 59 l:td8 llxg4 60 Wd7 +-. 12:. +

llc567 l:ta8a760 l:t57c5 l:r.Wd6a7+l:r.61a6+Wd658l:t.Wd7a6+ 62.Ua7+We5?59 •..

This oversteps the limit. The winning line is very interesting: 62 .l:.c6 .Ual 63 Wd7 l:r.a8 64 We7 Wg6 65 l:r.d6 ! , with mutual zugzwang, and winning in 19 moves. We examine the varia­ tions in detail below in the note to White's 75th move.

62 Wg6 63 llb5 l:ta4 64 .Uc5 .Ua6

.l:.b7+ 77 'it>d6 l:r.b6+ 78 'it>e5 l:r.b5+ 79 l:r.d5 :bl 80 l:ta5 .Udl 81. ..l!Ia8 l:.el + 82 Wd6 l:tdl + 83 We7 Wg7 84 We8 .lid4 85 e7 l:txg4 86 Wd7 +-) 76 .Ud8 l:r.a7+ 77 Wd6 lla6+ 78 We5 l:r.a5+ 79 .l!Id5 l:ta8 80 Wf5 .Ue8 81 l::td7+ Wh6 82 l:r.f7 £ta8 83 l:r.f6+ Wg7 84 Wxg5 +-.

l:r.d755 l:r.al:r.6a7+ 76 Wd6 l:r.a6+ 77 'it>e5 l:r.a5+ 78 •..

1/z-I/2

The defending king should usually stay with the g-pawn to avoid an invasion on the king­ side:

w

•.•

64. . .llxg4? 65 llc8 .Ugl 66 e7 l:r.el + 67 Wd6 :.dl + 68 'it>c6 l:r.c l+ 69 Wb7 l:r.bl+ 70 Wa6 Itel 71 e8'i'+ .l:.xe8 72 .Uxe8 Wf5 73 Wb5 Wf4 74 l:tf8+ 'it>e3 75 .Ug8 'it>f4 76 Wc4 g4 77 'it>d3 +-.

6865l:tc.l:l7 c.l:.8a.Ua5+ S 69 'it>66e7Wd6 :a6+ 67 Wd7 .Ua7+ 4.6.12 Naroditsky -lEhlvest 11 - - --­ 56We3? •.u, }f.!m � • . • • 56 g5? · ·w � �(D)

�·

B

·�

USA Ch, St Louis 2011

� ,�

56 Wg3 g5 57 !i.f8+ 'it>e5 58 llg8 l:tf5 59 Wg4 Wd4 60 .l:le8 =. Even 56 Wgl = draws.

-

- - - . � - - - .

�- �- -

•••

This blocks the invasion road and allows an instructive draw. 56 ... e5 ! leads to a long win in 32 moves; e.g., 57 g3 (57 l:tf8+ Wg5 58 l:r.e8 Wf5 59 llf8+ 'it>g4 60 Ite8 .l:.f5 61 l:r.a8 'it>g3 62 l:r.g8 g5 63 We4 l:r.f4+ 64 'i¥i>xe5 g4 -+) 57 ... l:ta4 58 Wf3 @f5 ! 59 :ts+ 'i¥i>g5 60 :e8 l:r.a3+ 6 1 Wg2 'i¥i>f5 6 2 Wh3 e 4 63 Wh4 Ii.a5 ! 6 4 g4+ Wf4 65 .li1.f8+ We3 66 Wg3 Wd3 67 :b8 g5 -+ as Black's rook is on the a-file.

69 'it>g7? 70Wd6+? 574+!:rs+gxf4+·�ie615 ss·We4:gs@f5 59 l:tf8+ 'it>g4 60 l:t xf 'it>g707? 'it>g6 71 'it>d7 'it>f6 72 g6 73 'it>e7 74 l:r.d7 75 lld8? •..

69 ...:a4 70 Wd8 Wf6 7 1 e7 l:ta8+ 72 Wd7 Wf7 = and 69 ...lla6 = draw. 70 It.c6 and 70 l:r.d7 win in 20 moves. .Ub7 W •••

73 ...lla4 74 Wd8 Wf6 75 e7 .Ua8+ 76 Wd7 Wf7 =. 'it>g6 75 :d6! ! (mutual zugzwang) wins in 1 9 moves; for example, 7 5. . .Wg7 (75. . ..:.a4 76 We8 Wg7 77 e7 lixg4 78 Wd7 +-; 75 ....l!Ib8 76 .l!Id8

11z_11z A draw was agreed due to 6 1 ...Wg3 62 We5

Wxg2 63 Wxf4 = (Naroditsky).

ROOK AND Two PA WNS vs ROOK AND PA WN

135

Exercises (solutions: page 267)

w

n

E4.6.03: move?

Should Black play 89 g4 or another ...

E4.6.06: Fischer quickly played 42 Wf2?. Why was this a mistake? What should he have done instead?

B

w

E4.6.04: How should Black defend?

E4.6.07: Is 57 e7 a good choice?

w

w

E4.6.05: Should White just wait with the rook?

E4.6.08: How should White defend?

136

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

ell/i'+ 82 l:i:xel+ 'it?xel 83 Wg4 @f2 84 h5 'it?e3 85 h6 'it?e4 86 'it?g5 We5 87 h7 =. c) 73 'it?f3 l:i:a3+ 74 'it?g2 (74 @g4? lig3+ 75 'it?xh4 l:i:g8 ! 76 'iti>h5 e4 77 lia6 e3 78 l:Ia2 'it?e4 79 h4 Wf3 80 'it?h6 e2 -+) 74. . . .Ug3+ 75. 'iti>h2 e4 76 .l:.xh4 lig8 77 l:tg4 =.

B

73. 77.@e4!@f274e3+!!xh4+78 @f3'it>d3 75@el e4 76e2.l:rh808 Ital+ + 79 Wg4 :ld8+ 'it>ds 84@c4wrs81:.t.l:rhte80-el1 82 !ixel Itxel 83 h4 VW

E4.6.09:

How should Black start the invasion?

1:1.fl

The next example from ECE illustrates the difficulties of the Wf3 defence:

4.6.3} e- and h-Pawns vs h-Pawn If the attacker is well-placed, the path to the

w

draw is very narrow. Sometimes even the de­ fender's pawn has to be sacrificed, as in 4.6. 16. In the first example this is not the case, but of­ ten the attacker's h-pawn has to be taken at the right moment:

4.6.14 Tukmakov -lLputian 89 :as l'!d4 90 .l:.h8 lad2+ 91 'it>f3

w

USSR Ch, Minsk 1987

4.6.13 Rosselli -Nimzowitsch Zurich 1934

White can defend, but it is far from straight­ forward:

9 1 @fl draws as well due to 9 1 . ..'it?f4 92 l:.xh4+ @f3 93 Wel l:.a2 94 l:.h8 e4 95 Ite8 =. Amazingly, even 91 Wgl 'it?g5 92 l:.f8 works, albeit barely: 92 . . .e4 93 .l:lf7 .:d3 94 Wg2 l:.g3+ 95 @h2 l:tf3 96 .llg7+ 'it?f5 97 'it>g2 @e5 ! 98 l:ih7 llf4 99 lia7 ! .W-6 1 00 .l:.h7 ! e3 and now White has IO I Ith5+ ! ! 'it>d4 1 02 Itxh4+ 'it>d3 1 03 I:f.a4 e2 104 Z!a3+ =.

91. .l:id3+

68 @f2 .l:Ia2+ 69 @gt :ld2 s 94 f!g8+ 'it?flih84 95 'it?d70l?l:th6 Itd4 71 @f2 .l:ra4 72 .l:la2+ 73 :rs+92 'it?'it>ge23l:i96g3+lih8!93 'it?wnh297'it>gms+ We2 98 99 ms+! 'it>e2100 llh8 @f2 101Itf8+? Or: 69 ...'it?e4 70 .l:lg4+ Wf3 7 1 l:Ixh4 =; 69 ... e4 70 l:tg4 e3 71 Wfl =. @e2 .

White's king shouldn't go to the queenside. It can choose el, fl or f3 : a) 73 @el =. b) 73 @fl @e4 74 Itxh4+ @f3 75 'it>gl e4 (75 ...@g3 76 .l:.g4+ =) 76 Ith8 e3 77 .l:rf8+ @e2 78 .l:le8 'it>d2 79 h4 e2 80 'it>f2 Wdl 8 1 @g3

After 9 1 . ..e4+ 92 'it>e3 l:.d3+ Black wins the white pawn, but not the game due to 93 @e2 .1Ixh3 94 I:i.f8+ ®g4 95 llg8+ @f4 96 ilf8+ @g3 97 l:g8+ 'it>h2 98 .l:lg4 e3 99 'it>d3 and Black's pieces are trapped on the h-file.

@fl

(D)

101 lixh4 draws; e.g., 101...lig2+ 1 02 Whl l:tgl + 1 03 @h2 Ziel 104 l:Ia4 e4 105 h4 e3 106 :as lidl 107 l:.t.f8+ 'it>el 108 'it>g3 e2 109 @g4

ROOK AND Two PAWNS VS ROOK AND PA WN

- - -------

137

'i&g2 68 Wg4 h2 69 lld2+ Wgl 70 Wg3 hlll:i+ 71 'it>f3 +-. a + w 56 e6 It.fl+ 57 We7 11.el 58 Wd7 h5 59 e7 \t>f7 60 Wd8 Wg6 =. m m m m� Jlfl+ . . . - - - � llfl - - -� �J�t:: . . .!:!at \t> i1z. 11z · � � - � With the defending pawn on h5, the follow­ Wd2 1 10 .!Ie8 1i!'.gl + 1 1 1 'it>f5 Jlg3 1 12 l:lxe2+ ing set-up is still drawn: Wxe2 1 13 h5 =Black missed an instructive win by 101...l:lf3! 102 l:la8 e4 103 .!:la2+ ffie3 104 l:Ia3+ 'i.t>f4 105 B .l:!a2 lig3 106 .&tf2+ 'tt>e3 107 1la2 ffif3 108 lia8 e3 109 .l:lf8+ We2 110 lif7 (1 10 lif4 Wd3 111 :xh4 e2 also wins for Black) 1 10...Wel 111 llf8 e2 -+. Wfl

53. ..U.hl 54 e5 It.xh5 55 'it>f6 kihl 56 � 8 We762 .l:i:Ilbld6+ Wg5 59 lld863 \t>Wf7g567 60. .Wh7@es+ 6457h5Wg7e661gele7 �g66558Itg6+ lixe7+g36711Wxe7wrsh4g682 .!Ia6 h3 69@r4@f666h2ffi70f7

101.. We3?

l:I8f3104 ffigl:t2:rs105 .l:.ffihg10262 'tt>Z;tI!h8ge2S+109e4103 106lle6lixh4 l:t d 107 h4 e3 hS dl+ 108 UO

1/z-1/z

In a blitz game, Kasparov missed a deep way to win a tempo against passive defence: w

. .�-p,-p,BiB " ' "�-•""-• • ",/"- ' �-- � �0 • �

4.6.:B.6 Smirnov -Musakaev s9But notffies?this way, The entry of White's king Khanty-Mansiisk 2011

••.

must be stopped with 59 ...ffig7!. Now the defenders are well coordinated and there is no way � � A e . + e 6 :a o; £1 ;6 6� il��}�l� i � � ;7 � e � � ! c � g di�� �• .,=i---tance ofBlaclC's roo.Kis sufficient:63-:-:-:I.ta6T6_4_ ,__ - • • B • B ffic7 l:ta7+ =) 60 ....l:taS+ 61 ffif4 lia4+ (61..Jil.al - - - 62 l:txh5 Wf6 63 l:th6+ Wg7 =) 62 @g5. Now White can win the pawn, but not the game; e:g,, - - - i. 62 ...l:r.g4+ 63 Wxh5 lie4 64 l:tf?+ Wg8 65 l:tf6 Wg7 66 l:tg6+ @f8 67 'it>g5 We7 68 h5 Jle5+ 69 J[)Jugy Wh6 @f8 70 llf6+ we7 71 \t>g6 Jlxh5 =. Saint John blitz 1988 59 ...Wg8? also loses to 60 Wf6 +-, Now Black is just in time. 53 l:td7 ! wins: 60...Jlh7 61 Jla4 (or 61 Wg6!? Jle7 62 lie4! 53 ...l:thl (53 ...Iif2 54 \t>e6 :n 55 e5 ll.f2 56 +-) 61...l:th6+ 62 @es 'it>f8 63 l;Ia8+ We7 64 ffie7 l:[f7+ 57 \t>d6 Jlfl 58 e6 +-) 54 ffif6 l:txh5 lla7+ 'i.t>f8 65 lif7+ We8 (65 ...Wg8 66 Wf5 +-) 55 e5 l:l'.h 1 56 e6 .llf l + 57 \t>e7 \t>g7 and now 66 @d6 l'ig6 67 lah7 +-. White has 58 'it>d8+ Wg6 59 e7 Jlel 60 e8�+ Itxe8+ 61 Wxe8 'it>f5 62 Wf7 h5 63 .)![d5+ Wg4 64 'it>g6 h4 65 lid4+ 'it>g3 66 'i.t>g5 h3 67 l:ld3+

__

-��-[f-

4.6.15 Kasparov 53We6?

60 'i.t>f6! Jlal

61lith:rs2 65:thll:lgS 62�2+.i:tx66hsWg7 :n+'it>63e7.i:t67rsh6llhl'iii>x64e6 . h568h710

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

138

lia8 78 'fJ.e5 ;h8+ 79 Wg5 li[g8+ 80 'it>f4 'fJ.e8 81 Wf3 Wh2 82,@f2 'it>h3 83 l:te4 +-. 55 +. 55 ...Wg6 56 h5+ Wxh5 57 @f6 ltf4+ 58 Wg7 l:r.e4 59 Wxh7 +-. Wg4 '!J.b4+ 59 Black resigned due to 61 li[b6+ ( 61 e81/W also wins as Black cannot get rid of the desperado rook due to 61....l:tf7+ 62 Wxf7 Wh5 63 Wg7#) 61...Wh5 62 e8'&'+ +-. And finally the next deep draw:

Another deep draw is as follows:

e6 l:ta7 e7 56l:l.aWf87 60l:tWf8a8+Wh657 Wf71-0 58 Wh5 .

4.6.17 Alekseev -Yuzhakov 53 na4? This allows White to seize the sixth rank.

.

Tiumen 2012

w

•..

Af­

ter 53 ...:a6! 54 e6 (54 li[bl Wf5 55 :el :e6+ 56 Wf7 .l:ixe5 57 llxe5+ Wxe5 58 h5 h6 59 Wg6 We6 60 Wxh6 Wf6 =) 54...h5 Black draws; e.g., 55 .l:!b5 (55 li[d7 li[a4 56 We8 l:txh4 57 e7 :e4 58 Wd8 Wg5 59 e8\!!¥ :xe8+ 60 Wxe8 h4 =; 55 Wd7 l:ta8 56 e7 Wf7 57 Wd6 l:ta6+ 58 Wd7 l:ta8 = and Black has reached a version of the back­ rank defence) 55 ...l:ta7+ 56 Wd6 (56 Wf8 lla8+ =) 56...Wf6 57 !txh5 (57 .l:ib6 'fJ.e7 58 Wd5 'fJ.a7 . =) 57...'fJ.a6+ 58 @d7 l:r.a7+ =. . 53 ...h5 54 l:tb6+ @g7 55 �b4 @g6 56 'fJ.f4 · .lia7+ draws as well, as does 53. ..l:th3 54 ft.b6+ Wg7! 55 .l:ib4 h5!. 54 e6? spoils everything due to 54...:xh4 55 Wf8 .llf4+ 56 'fJ.f7 'fJ.e4 57 e7 h5 58 e8\!!¥ :xe8+ 59 @xe8 h4 =. 54...Wg7 is much more tenacious, but sooner or later White will achieve the e6 advance; e.g., 55 h5 lta7+ 56 We6 l:.al 57 Wd6 (57 .lib2 Wh6 58 .l:if2 Wxh5 59 Wf5 +-) 57....l:ia7 58 .l:ib8 'fJ.a6+ 59 We7, and now: a) 59 ...l:la7+ 60 We8 l:ta6 61 lib7+ Wh6 (or 61...Wg8 62 We7 @g7 63 e6 h6 64 Wd7 lial 65 e7 lidl + 66 We8 +-) 62 Wf7 +-. b) 59 .. J:ta5 60 h6+ Wg6 61 lab6+ Wg5 62 e6 (finally the time has come) 62...Wg6 63 .l:id6 lia8 64 !tc6 @xh6 65 @f6 llf8+ 66 We5 Wg5 67 !tel h5 68 ligl + Wh4 69 e7 lla8 70 We6 Wh3 71 Wf7 h4 72 'fJ.g8 l:ta7 73 Wf6 :a6+ 74 Wf5 l:ta5+ 75 Wg6 lta6+ 76 @h5 li[a5+ 77 'fJ.g5

54.l:ib6-i-! 54 @f5?! .•.

4.6.18 Kotov -K.rogius 65White's .l:ih2?rook should stay on hl; e.g., 65 'fJ.el USSR Ch, Riga 1958

Wxh5 66 l:r.xe6 = or 65 Wd3 @g4 66 l:r.el ! =. Not 65 We3? Wg4! 66 We4 .l:ib5 67 li[h2 .l:ic5 (67...Wg3? amazingly spoils it due to 68 l:ta2!! li[xh5 69 llal ! ! as after 69...Wg2 70 lla2+ Wg3 71 llal li[b5 72 ligl+ @f2 73 'fJ.g6 lib4+ 74 Wd3 Black's rook has not enough checking dis­ tance: 74...l:.b3+ 75 Wc2 =) 68 'fJ.hl :as (the rook 'triangulates', or at any rate loses. a tempo - now White is in zugzwang) 69 .llh2 Wg3 70 l:r.h 1 Wg2 71 libl (71 lth4 '!J.a4+ -+) 71...li[xh5 with a complicated win m 36 moves; e.g., 72 l:lb2+ Wg3 73 li[bl l:r.a5 74 llgl+ Wf2 75 l:tg6 l:ta4+ 76 Wd3 lla3+ 77 We4 h5 -+. The main line is 66 'fJ.e2 lld5+! 67 Wc4 'fJ.d6 68 l:te5 (the key point is that after 68 Wc5 'fJ.d 1 ! ! 69 ft.xe6 Wxh5 -+ White doesn't have !tel) 68 ...Wf4 69 .l:tel e5 70 litgl @f5! -+. l:r.hl l:lbl lixh5 This win in 35 is difficult.

65 Wg4 66 We4 •.•

66. .@g3 67 'it>g2 68

ROOK

69 Zlhl 70 @f4 ktb6

AND Two PA WNS ''S ROOK AND PA WN

139

(D)

-0, 80, - B, . r.-· - -

B

- � - �i�.rl#� .���. 3-m_ m m m B, m. m m � m, m_ m•a B m m mx

70 .l:.el? ..•

Amazingly, 70. ,,'it>h3 ! ! wins; e.g., 7 1 .litxe6 Itfl + 72 'iii>e5 Jlel + 73 'iii>f5 .llxe6 74 'it>xe6 'it>g4 -+ or 7 1 Wf3 .1:lfl + 72 We2 .litf6 73 ltb5 Wg4 -+.

m_ m, m m B B m :m_ m r:::i m=�-0. B;lt 8_ m mr.li ,, B, m m m B, B. m B B B m m B a m m

71.a'.b2+? 71'it>'it>g3h753 72.llb.!i!.3+b3+'iii>g4'iii>76h4.1:l73b8.1:l.l:l:be2l+.a'.77fl+Wd374 @e4 h5 78 .1:lg828+l:.\t>h5+f4 79Wd6llf838+'iii>'it>fe35h38084.1:lhWg38 .1:lhe51 8581 @e3 .l:I.l:Igh8G+89'it>.1:lda5386Wd4.1:la906 .1:l.1:lga14++ 87'it>eWxh3 e41a7 88 .1:l92a2 lE4.6.12: 3 91.1:l llf7+ 'it>el [email protected]:l97e7�d7e3 94I{g5.1:la0-71Wf2 95 .1:lf7+ B

The magical way to draw is 7 1 .1:lb5 ! ! e5+ 72 'it>f5 h5 73 J:'(b2+ 'it>f3 74 .1:lh2 e4 75 .!i!.h3+ wg2 76 .1:lxh5 e3 77 @f4 =. •••

M

wf3

Black to play and draw.

4.6.4) e- and h-Pawns vs g- Paw01

With the defending pawn on its initial square' the draw is very difficult:

_E>_cercis_e_s_(s_olutiDns:_p_age_2_6_9)

B

E4.6.10:

better?

m. m m ..

--�-:ffe2 102 J:.fS

Smejkal Lucerne Olympiad 1982

102 '1.e8 .l:id4+ 1 03 WfS @f3 1 04 lites k.!.a4 (Nunn) 1 05 &te8 l:!.aS+ 1 06 Wf6 i:ta3 -+ .

WM? I1.h2+ 98 WgS I1.g2 99 'it>M We3 1 00 lla6 e4 1 0 1 lia3+ Wf2 -+ (Nunn). 97 l:te6 = and 97 litfl = draw as well. 97 'ii?d3 98 lixh5? This is too greedy. White must sooner or later liquidate by playing g4: a) 98 g4 ! ? hxg4+ 99 'ii?xg4 e4 1 00 Jla6 l:tg2+ 1 0 1 'it>f4 llf2+ 1 02 'ii?g3 llf8 1 03 I1.a3+

1 09 . . . 'it>f2 1 1 0 gS Wg2 1 1 1 '*1g4 Wh2+ 1 1 2 Wh4 Jlg2 1 1 3 WhS Wg3 -+ (Nunn). 106 Wf2 107 :rs+ 'it>e3 lOS l:te8+ Wd3

Nunn

---102;;;-�gl-103-'it>h4-'iii>d2-1041-�d8�[email protected] g4 e2 106 g5 Or 1 06 WgS Wf2 1 07 '1.e8 el 'W 1 08 .llxel Avoiding 97 g4? hxg4+ 98 Wxg4 l:!g2+ 99 Wh3 l:tg8 -+ (Nunn in lnfonnator 34) and 97 Wxel ! 1 09 Wf4 ( 1 09 '*1fS '*1f2 1 10 gS 'it>g3 -+) 97 Ilh6

...

b) 98 l:ta6 e4 and now not 99 l:ta3+? We2 1 00 'iilg2 e3 101 '1.al Wd3+ 1 02 @fl ( 1 02 Wf3 ? ! l:tf2#) 1 02... 'ii?e4 1 03 'ii?e l 'it>f3 1 04 lita5

..•

109 'it>hS el¥&'!

However, not 109 ... Jlg3? 1 1 0 &!.xe2 Wxe2 1 1 1 Wg6! (1 1 1 g6? 'it>f3 1 1 2 'it>h6 'it>f4 1 1 3 g7 @fS -+) 1 1 1 ...'iilf3 1 1 2 WfS ! = (Nunn). UO l:txel l:txel Ul 'ii?g6 lit1! ! Smejkal avoids a bodycheck. 112 Wh7 'it>e4 113 g6 'ii?f5 114 g7 Uhl+ 115

'ii?g8 'ii?g6 116 wrs Un+ 117 @gs l:lal 118

WhS l:thl+ 0-1

142

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

In a pawn-race; a lot depends on the placement of the defending forces:

Exercises ·(solutions: page 269)

w B

4.6.22

lKarpov - Sadvakasov Hoogeveen 1999

White is winning, but there are some very deep points: 65 .llg6! 65 We5? is met by 65 ....llh4!, when Black defends; e.g., 66 Wd5 (66 Wf5 li!.f4+ 67 \t>xg5 .l:Ixe4 =) 66...g4 67 e5 .l:Ihl 68 e6+ We7 69 .l:I.h7+ Wf6 70 llf.7+ @g5 71 e7 .l:Idl+ 72 @c6 .l:Ic l+ 73 'itd7 .l:Idl+ 74 @e8 @xh5 75 'itf8 .l:Iel -.

E4.6.13: In this rapid game, Black did not find the defence. Can you do better?

B

65...l:.gl 66 We5 f!g4 67 .l:If6+ .We7 68 l:.a6

.l:IM 69 f!a7+ @e8 70 f!h7 @f8 71 @f6?!

For 71 h6 ! +-, see the next. note.'. 7L..l:If4+ 72 Wg6? Karpov missed the tricky win 72 @es!! .l:Ih4 73 h6! 'ltg8 74 f!g7+ @f8 75 .l:lg6! g4 (75 ...'itf7 76 Wf5 f!xe4 77 lig7+ +-) 76 'it>f4 c;t;f7 77 'ltg5!! lihl 78 :f6+ 'it>e7 79 Iif4! g3 80 l:.g4! +-. 72...g4 72...lixe4? runs into 73 l1h8+ @e7 74 h6 +(Hecht in CBM 74). 73 lih8+ @e7 74 l:!g8 74 h6 g3 75 h7 l:!h4 76 l1a8 g2 = (Hecht). 74�.�g3 75 @h6 .l:If6+ 76 @h7 f!f7+ 1/z-1/2

lE4.6.14:

Black to play and draw.

ROOK AND Two PA WNS vs ROOK AND

B

PA WN

143

69 r:li?e7 ! wins the single decisive tempo: 69 . . . h5 70 lla8+ r#dg7 7 1 'it>d6 kt.d4+ 72 e5 lidl 73 e7 flel + 74 Wd6 Wf6 75 e8� .§.xe8 76 £1.xe8 +-. 69. ;lifl 70 £!a8+ c?;;g7? 70 . . . .l!f8 ! forces White to advance the king so that Black can still hang on; for example, 7 1 'fl.a7 �fl 72 @d6 !i. d l + 7 3 rtle7 Wg7 (73 . . . .Uel 74 Wd7 h5 75 I!.a8+ r/Bg7 76 e7 'it>f6 =) 74 r/Be8+ @f6 75 e7 h5 76 ffif8 .lle l 77 e8WU (77 .li!.al ·11xe7 78 .§.fl+ r/Eg5 79 @xe7 h4 80 r/Be6 h3 8 1 r/Be5 r/Bg4 82 r/Be4 'it>g3 83 r#de3 h2 =) 77 . . . .l:rxe8+ 78 Wxe8 @g5 79 'i&f7 h4 80 'it>e6 h3 81 r/Be5 @g4 82 'it>e4 'it>g3 83 &I.g7+ (83 Jla3+ 'it>g4 =) 83 ... ffif2 =. .

E4.6.16: Black missed a very deep defence here. Can you do better?

4.6.5) e- and g-Pawns vs h-Pawn The play here is usually quite subtle as many close races between the e-pawn and the h-pawn can result. A typical draw is as follows:

71 e7 'fl.el+ 72 'it?d6 h5

72. . . l!td l+ 73 Wc5 liel 74 e8'lli' llxe8 75 .:1:1.xe8 @f6 76 r/Bd4 +-. · 73 e8� l:.xe8 74 llxe8 'i£?f6 75 l:1.h8 'i£?g5 76

@e5 1-0

The next example, which is from ECE, has similar themes:

w

w

4.6.23 Fomina - Mednikova World Seniors Ch (women), Arco 2010 ---- ' ·--··---

65 @rs l:.g5+? The rook leaves its defensive post on its third rank too early. Only after 65 ...llb6 66 e5 can Black's rook be activated: 66 ... .l:.bl (66 ....l:tc6? 67 .li[b7 'it>g8 68 Ild7 lia6 69 e6 +-) 67 Wg6 llgl (67 ...llb6+? 68 'it>h7 'fl.e6 69 'f!..g7 lixe5 70 'it>xb6 +-) 68 llf7+ 'i&e8 69 lif4 llh l 70 @f6 Wf8 ! 7 1 llf5 (71 e6 We8 =) 7 1 ...ligl 72 'i&e6+ Wg7 73 l:H4 .l:r.al 74 l:td4 @g6 75 We7 ·lla7+ 76 I!d7 .l:ta4 77 e6 lixg4 78 Wd8 .lle4 79 e7 'it>g5 80 e81lW ilxe8+ 81 Wxe8 h5 =. 66 @f6 'i&g8 67 e5 llxg4 68 e6 68 .l:[a8+ 'iii>h7 69 e6 .llg6+ 70 'i&e5 llg5+ 7 1 Wd6 lig6 7 2 @d7 h5 73 e7 llg7 7 4 'i&e6 +-. 68 ... .llf4+ 69 'it>e5?

4.6.24

D. Cramling - Lengyel Eksjo 1982

56 Wc5 .l:r.al ?

56 ... Wc7 57 d5 .1:tal 58 d6+ @d7 59 l:1.b7+ and now: a) 59 ...'it>c8? 60 'i&c6 :cl+ 6 1 'it>b6 .l:r.al 62 .llh7 and then 62... libl 63 d7+ Wd8 64 lih4 @xd7 (the trick is that after 64 ... .!:Ial 65 'it>c6 'fl.cl+ 66 'it>b7 l1al White has 67 'fl.h6!) 65 'it>xa6 +- or 62 . . .@d8 63 d7 (this is White's winning plan) 63 ...l:ta2 64 'it>b7 'fl.al 65 lirh6 a5 66 l:l.a6 l:Ibl (66 ... a4 67 b5 'it>xd7 68 b6 Wd6 69 l:l.a5 a3 70 'it>a8 +-) 67 b5 llxb5+ 68 Wc6 .l:1.b8 69 llxa5 +-.

144

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

b) 59 . . . @d8 ! 60 'it>c6 .l:.c l + 6 1 �b6 'flal 62 .l:'th7 .l:.bl 63 .l:.h4 .U.al 64 @c6 .l:.c l + 65 'it>b7 .S:al =.

Black needs h�s h-pawn: 6 L.l:Ih2 ! 62 Wf6 (62 'fJ.f7 .l:.g2 �) 92....ll.g2 63 l:la3 .ll.f2+ 64 @g6 llh2 65 .l:.a5 and nowgreat precision is required: 65 . . . h4! (65 ... .ll.h 3? 66 @f6 +-; 65 . . . .l:.g2? 66 Wf6 .l:.f2+ 67 lif5 "!1h2 68 llg5 .ll.f2+ 69 @g6 'it>e7 70 .ll.xh5 �xe6 7 1 g4 .ll.f6+ 72 @g5 .l::l.f8 73 'flh6+ @e7 74 'flh7+ We6 75 @h5 +-; 65 . . ..l:.e2? 66 llxh5 It.xe6+ 67 Wg7 fie7+ 68 @g8 .l:.e4 69 .l:!g5 @e7 70 @g7 We6 7 1 g4 .l:.a4 72 @h6 @f7 73 .l:.g7+ @f8 74 g5 .l:.a6+ 75 �h7 +-) 66 g4 .ll.g 2 67 @f6 .l:.f2+ 68 @gs h3 69 .l:.a7 h2 70 .l:.h7 @f8 7 1 'F!tg6 'it>e8 72 g5 @f8 73 .l:.h8+ We7 74 'F!tg7 'f!txe6 75 g6 @e7 76 l:.h3 .l:.g2 77 Wh7 @f6 =.

57 .l:.h6?

57 .Ub7 !? wins; e.g.: a) 57 ... aS 58 b5 a4 59 'fla7 Wc8 60 @b6 @b8 6 1 l:Ib7+ @c8 (61 ...@a8 62 .l:.e7 +-) 62 @a7 a3 63 b6 a2 64 l:lc7+ Wd8 65 l:lc2 +-. b) 57 . . .@c8 58 'it>b6 l:la4 59 Wc6 l:ial 60 l:lc7+ Wb8 61 l:'Lh7 .l:.a4 62 d5 l:Ixb4 63 .Uh8+ rtia7 64 d6 .l:!c4+ (64 ... Il.b6+ 65 Wd5 1:.b5+ 66 We6 llb6 67 rtfe7 a5 68 d7 .l:.b7 69 @d6 +-) 65 'it>d5 .l:.cl 66 d7 .l:.dl+ 67 @e6 +-. 57 @c6 also wins, but takes four moves lon­ ger. 57 @c7 57... llcl + 58 Wd5 .l:.bl 59 @d6 @c8 60 'it>c6 .Ucl+ 6 1 @b6 .l:.bl 62 .l:.c6+ @d8 ! ! (ECE only gives 62 . . . Wd7? 63 .l:.c4 .Ual 64 .l:.c7+ @d6 65 ll.a7 +-) 63 'flc4 l:lal 64 Wb7 .l:.a4 65 d5 @d7 66 @b6 Wd6 =.

62 'F!txh5 @xe6 63 g4 l:.h2+ 64 @g6 .l:.h8 65 g5 llgS+ 66 Wh6 .l:.h8+ 67 'F!tg7 It.h4 68 g6 .l:.g4 69 'iilh7 It.h4+ 70 @g8 llg4 71 g7 1-0

..•

The next case features some very profound lines:

58 .l:.h7+ @c8 59 @b6 ..l:.a4?

59 . . . l:tbl 60 It.c7+ @d8 61 .l:.c4 .l:i.al 62 Wc6 ECE ends here with +-, but the position is drawn: 62 . . . @c8 63 d5 Ii.a2 64 Wd6+ @b7 65 @d7 l:th2 66 'fle4 @b6 67 d6 Jlh7+ 68 'fle7 'flh4 69 lle8 lih7+ 70 Wc8 "/1a7 7 1 1:.e7 (71 lle6 l:ta8+ 72 @d7 .l:.h8 =) 7 1 . . .Ii.a8+ 72 @d7 .l1.h8 73 .l:.e6 @b7 =.

B

60 Wc6 Wb8 61 d5 llxb4 62 It.Ii$+ rtia7 63 . d6 llb6+ 64 @d5 1-0

The defender's.task is also difficult when his pawn is on its fourth rank:

4.6.26

Bronstein - Benko Budapest 1949

38 .l:.f6+? •••

B

· ·

4.6.25

Kamsky - Ivanchuk Tilburg 1992

59 .l:'tf2+ 60 @g5 !ig2 61 Ii.f3 @e7? .•.

38 . . .l:le7 39 llg5+ (39 l:ta6+ 'F!tg7 40 e5 h4 4 1 Wf5 llf7+ 42 .l:.f6 .l:.a7 43 lig6+ Wf8 44 .l:.h6 Ii.a2 45 @f6 Ii.f2+ 46 'f!te6 .l:r.xg2 47 :xh4 l:le2 also leads to a draw) 39 ... @h6 40 l:lg8 'F!th7 4 1 .l:ig3 l:te8; Now Black's rook has full checking distance and defends; for example, 42 e5 'it>h6 and now: a) 43 l:le3 lH8+ 44 @g3 (44 @e4 l:la8 45 e6 'F!tg7 46 @fs Wf8 47 @f6 li.a2 48 g3 l:lf2+ 49 'i!ig5 l:lh2 =) 44 . ..@gS 45 e6 h4+ 46 'F!th3 .l:.e8 47 e7 @f4 48 .Ue2 'f!lg5 =. b) 43 'f!tf5 l:lf8+ 44 'f!te6 h4 45 l!.g4 'F!th5 46 J:l..g7 'F!th6 47 l:lf7 lla8 48 :t2 (48 @f6 l:la2 49 e6 l:lxg2 50 e7 lle2 5 1 W-8 l:lxe7 52 Wxe7 Wg5 =)

ROOK AND TWO PAWNS VS ROOK AND PA WN

48 ... @gs 49 %!c2 (49 .lld2 k!e8+ =) 49 . . ..&ta6+ SO 'it>d7 @fs S l e6 !ia7+ =. . 38 . . . �e8 = and 38 . . . 't&h6 = also encl in a draw. 39 �fS! '1a6? ! The main line is 39 ....bi:e6 40 �gS+ ! xe4 Wxg8 44 @fS +-) 43 �g3 ! �f7+ 44 @e6! Itf4 4S 'it>eS ! ! (4S eS? h4! 46 l:rgS 'it>h6 47 .lag8 'it>h7 ! ! =) 4S . . .lif2 46 'it>dS ! lld2+ (46 . . . Wh6 47 eS h4 48 l:!g8 +-) 47 'it>e6 ! I!e2 48 eS ! +-. 40 �gS+! Wh6 (D)

145

11a6+ d7 l:!.a7+ 72 'JJ. c7 Jla8 73 e7 �f7 74 l:l.b7 '2'.e8 7S 'it>d6 !fa8 76 @d7 J;{e8 11z.11z Even pawn-races can be very subtle:

w w

41.6.27

'JI'a rasov

-

N. JKopyfov

Leningrad 1949 41 l'Ig3? 41 g4 ! ? is the easiest way. 4 1 . ..hxg4 (4 1 .. .h4 S2 l'If5 l'Ih7 53 .l:!hS @f3 54 1:1f5+ 'it>e4 55 42 l'IhS+ @g6 43 .l:!xh4 .:.r6+ 44 @es �a6 4S .l!f.h5 @f4 56 @e2? !:{h8 .ll a5+ 46 @f4 .l:!al 47 .l:!g8+ @f7 48 '2'.b8 S6 @el (or S6 'it>d2) S6 ...e4 S7 'it>e2 ! ! is mu+-) 42 .:.xg4 !:{f6+ 43 @es .l:!f8 44 'it>d6 .l:!d8+ tual zugzwang with Black to move; e.g., S7 ... g3 4S 'itie7 �d4 46 @f6 @hS 47 .l:!gS+ Wh6 S8 .l:th4+ @gS S9 .l:!xe4 I!f7 60 h7 .l:!xh7 61 @f3 . 48 eS .l:!f4+ 49 f!fS f!a4 SO e6 +-. S6 e4! 41 .l:!g8 wins as well. 41. ...l:!aS?! Now we have the same mutual zugzwang but -41-::-:llf6+! Tissimpler: 42-@eS-(ztZWe3-I1a6----i-W th-Wliiteto move. 43 eS �a4 =) 42 .. Jlf8 43 f!e3 h4 44 Wd6 .S'.f2 = 57 Wf2 e3+ 58 'it>e2 g3 S9 @fl Wg4?! (N.Davies). For 59 . . .l'Ie7 ! , see line 'b' of the nex1· note. 42 es .l:!f8+ 43 We4 .l:!b8 44 'iilfS !IfS+ 45 60 .l:!e5 .l:!f7+? We6 h4 46 .l:!g4 WhS 47 .l:!g7 Wh6 48 lif7 l'Ie8+ The wrong way to activate the rook. 60 . . .�f4! 49 @d6 .!:Id8+ 50 @e7 I.rd2? and now: The direct counterattack SO . . . .!:Ig8 draws; for a) 61 li{e6@f3 62 .!:If6+ @g4 63 .l:!e6 Wh3 64 example, 5 1 .l:!f2 Wg6 S2 e6 l'Ia8 S3 l'Id2 Ila7+ .!:Ixe3 (64@gl l'Ia7 6S @fl g2+ -+) 64...Wh2 65 54 .l:!d7 !':.a2 5S Wd8 .l:1xg2 56 e7 l'Ie2 57 .l!f.dS .lile2+ @h l 66 l'Ig2 Jl.f7+ -+. 'iilf7 58 .�.f5+ 'it>g6 59 .S'.f3 .l:!xe7 60 Wxe7 'it>g5 b) 61 l:!h5 .ll e7 ! (now the time is right) 62 :h4+ @f3 63 h7 e2+ 64 Wel g2 65 .lilh3+ �g4 -. 66 l!h4+ Wg5 67 .l:'!h5+ 'itig6 68 lirh6+ Wf7 69 51 .lirf8! @gt 5 1 ....l:!xg2? ! 52 I.rh8+ @g7 53 lirxh4 +-. h8lll+ ! ? (69 lirf6+ @g7 -+) 69...Wg8 70 l:.tg6+ 52 l'If4! laxg2 53 .laxh4 Wg6 54 e6? I.rg7 71 Wxe2 .!:Ixg6 72 lllxg6 gl 'WI -+. Missing a win. White should first play S4 61 �g2 l:!f2+ 62 @gl Wf3 63 lirf5+ We4 64 .l:1a4, when S4 ....lirb2 (or 54 ... WfS 55 e6 +-) 5S h7 Ilh2 65 lirf7 e2 66 .!:Ie7+ 1/z -1/z .

•..

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

146

typical style:. 62 ... f5! ! 63 g5 .(63 gxf5 ligl+ -+) 63 ...f4! 64 l:.c3 f3 65 l:.e3+ 'ii?d7 66 .l:.d3+ 'it>e6 67 l:!.d2 We5 68 Wf7 .:_gl 69 lixc2 .:.xg5 Here we shall not continue sorting by precise -+. pawn configuration, but instead highlight sev­ 61 'ii?e4 'ii?d7 62 .:.c4 �d6 63 'it>d3 @dS 64 eral important motifs. .l:.a4 We6 65 l:!.a5 Wf7 66 g5 1h-1h 4.6.6.1: The Attacking Rook in 146 4.6.6.2) The Defending King is Front of the Passed Pawn 4.6.6.2: The Defending King is Cut Off 146 Cut Off 4.6.6.3: The Attacking King Needs an Inroad 147 This is another typical scenario: 4.6.6) The Attacker Has a Central or Bishop's Passed Pawn

4.6.6. 1 ) The Attacking Rook in !Front of the Passed Pawn

w

The attacker has two main winning plans. Ei­ ther the ldng can make imoads, or the pawn can advance to its seventh rank, provided the rook can then give check. But only in this case should the pawn advance that far, as otherwise this destroys the Icing's potential shelter in front of the pawn.

4.6.29 Macieja - C. Bauer European Clubs Cup, Rethynznon 2003

w

46 .l!te5! 'iirf6 47 c4 .l!te2+ 48 @d4 .l:.d2+ 49 'it>e3?!

4.6.28

Sultan Khan - lKashdan Prague Olympiad 1931

60 Wf5?

·

60 l:ic7+ We6 and now: a) Not 61 .:.c6+? as now Black's king can cross over: 61...Wd5 62 .l:.c8 Wd4 (62 ... c2 also wins as White's king has no shelter) 63 .l:.d8+ Wc4 64 .l:.c8+ Wd3 65 .:.d8+ Wc2 -+. This shelter is the reason why the pawn should not advance unless doing so wins immediately. b) 61 We4 'it?d6 62 .l:.c8 c2 63 Wd3 @e5 64 .l:.c4 =. 60...We7? 60...c2! 61 .l:.c7+ We8! 62 @g6 and now Black wins by removing the pawn-shelter in

·

49 @c5 is easier as now the c-pawn wins; e.g., 49 ...l:if2 50 .l:.e4 @f5 51 @d5 .l:.d2+ 52 l:id4 +- (Macieja in Infonnator 88). 49....l:.dl 50 l:!.d5 .l!tcl 50 ...l:ixd5?! 51 cxd5 g5 52 fxg5+ 'it>xg5 53 @d4 Wf6 54 @c5 'ii?e7 55 'ii?c6 +-. 51 'it?d3 g6 52 .l!td4? 52 .l!te5 ! l:ifl 53 @e4 l:lel + 54 'ii?d5 .litfl 55 l:r.e4 .l:.dl+ 56 l:ld4 +-. 52...'ii?e6? Black misses the regrouping 52...'ii?e7!! 53 Wd2 (53 'iire4 'it?e6 =) 53 ... .l:r.gl (or even 53 ...l:.hl 54 C5 Iih3 55 c6 l:!:h8 56 We3 .l:tc8 57 l:c4 @d6 58 @e4 .l:.c7 59 .l:i.cl l:.e7+ 60 'iirf3 'it?c7 61 'i!?g4 !te2 62 'ii?g5 l:g2+ 63 @f6 l:g4 =) 54 c5 g5 ! ! 55 c6 (55 'ii?c3 gxf4 56 l:!:xf4 'it?d7 =) 55 ... gxf4 56 c7 l:g8 =. 53 'it>d2! l:gl 54 c5 l:al 54... g5 55 c6 gxf4 56 c7 l::r.g8 57 l:d8 +­ (Macieja). 55 'it?c3 'it?e7 56 'it?M l:r.bl+ 57 'it?a5 :I.cl 58 'it?b6 Iic2 59 c6 .l:.cl 60 c7 l:ibl+ 61 'iti>c5 1-0

!WOK AND Two PA WNS VS ROOK AND PA WN

141

4 . 6 . 6 . 3 ) The Attacking King Needs

an Inroad The role of both kings is very important:

B

4.6.31

4.6.30

Nenashev - Yudasin Kemerovo 1995

49 ...kif4+?

White's king will be cut off, but Black's also has difficulties entering the game. 49...litd3+ ! 50 'it>e2 .:rg3 ! 51 'it>f2 @h4 ! is the right way as now Black's king can enter the game; e.g., 52 l!!.d7 .l:td3 53 We2 .i:i.d4 54 We3 'flg4 55 'it>f2 'flf4+ 56 'it>gl .l:td4 57 Wh2 l'id3 58 lld8 'it>g4 59 .U.d7 l'f.dl 60 .l!i'.d8 d4 61 rl.d7 @f4 62 .l:i.f7+ We3 63 �e7+ 'it>d2 64 \t>g3 d3 65 'it>g4 l!el 66 'fla7 l:!.e5 -+.

50 'it>g3!

50 'it>e3? 'it>g4 51 l:!.g8 l!f5 -+.

50 ... d4 51 'flh7+?

f6 =) 66 ... @fS ! =, when White's king cannot advance.

- 65 .i:I.e4 l:id7?

With Black's ldng on g5, this move loses. 65 ... 'f1b7? also loses, to 66 'it>e3 ! +-. The only drawing move is 65 ....l:ra7 ! 66 'it>e3 .i:I.a3+ 67 'i:i?d4 .l:f.a4+ 68 'it>d3 'fla3+ =.

66 .l:re5+! Wf6 67 'itif4

Now White wins in 23 moves according to the DTC metric. The faster way to win is · 67 We4! (win in 17) 67 ... .l:f.a7 68 f4. One sample line (not DTC optimal) runs 68 ...i:.a4+ 69 @e3 .i:I.a6 70 Wd4 .l:f.a4+ 71 'i:i?c5 'f1xf4 72 'f1el ID2 73 d6 'f1d2 74 'i:i?c6 'it>g5 75 d7 f5 76 lie8 �f4 77 d8WU 'f1xd8 78 .i:I.xd8 'i:i?e3 79 Ile8+ Wd3 80 IDS We4 8 1 Wc5 +-.

67 ...ll,,a7 6S .i:I.fS+! We7 (D)

5 1 .l:.g8 l:i.e4 52 'flh8+ 'it>g6 53 'f1f8 ! .i:I.e3+ 54 Wg4 d3 55 l:!.d8 Wf6 56 .i:I.d5 'ite6 57 Ild8 'it>e5 58 Wxg5 'itie4 59 g4 =.

---�-__��-51 ...Wg6 52 'fld7 'i:i?f5 5 3 'f1d5+ @e4! 54 lixg5 d3 55 .l:.g8 'f1fl

Not, of course, 55 ... 'itie3? 56 .i:I.e8+ 'fle4 57 .i:I.xe4+ 'it>xe4 58 'it>f2 'it>d4 59 'it>el 'it>c3 60 'itidl

56 lites+ Wd4 57 'f1d8+ Wc3 ss lies+ Wb3 59 .l:f.dS 'it>c2 60 'it>h4 d2 61 g4 dl'li 62 .i:I.xdl Ilxdl 63 g5 Wd3 64 g6 .l:rgl 0-1 In the next case, White's king wants to invade (see following diagram). 63 wn @rs Or 63 ... @gS = as Black must prevent Wf4.

64 'f1f4+ @gs

The other way to draw is 64 ...Wg6 65 l:te4 .l:rd7 ! (65 ... lia7? 66 'itif4! +-) 66 !ld4 (66 .i:I.e5

Svidler - Giri Khanty-Mansiisk 2015

a-m m-•

�---� � �·�;,-£-----� ·z

w

� ·111

, , , ,- - - ·-�- -

a a � a .: a

. . �� . a a a a . . �-� .� a a a m �

"""�

69 Wg5?

Svidler chooses the wrong road. The path to victory is tricky: 69 We5 ! .i:I.a5 70 .i:I.f3 i:ta2 7 1 d6+! We8 72 .i:I.f5 ! ! .l;.e2+ 7 3 'it>d5 'f1a2 74 f4 .l:ra5+ 75 We4 'f1a4+ 76 We5 !ta6 77 'flg5 Wf8 78 Wd5 .i:I.a5+ 79 'ii?c6 (finally White's king has

148

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

invaded) 79 ....l:.a6+ 80 Wc7 .l:.a7+ 8 1 Wb6 .l:.al 82 .l:.e5 +-.

69 ....l:.a6?

Now White wins in 22 moves. Black can hold with 69 ....l:l.a2 (or 69 ... .l:.a3 or 69 ....l:.a4) 70 .l:.e5+ 'it>f8 ! 7 1 f3 .l:.d2 (this ties White to the de­ fence of the d5-pawn) 72 Wf5 (72 Wf6 .l:.d3 73 f4 .l:.d4 74 .l:.f5 �e4 =) 72... 'it>g7 73 We4 Wg6 74 'it>e3 .l:.dl =. Butnot69 ... Ii.al ? (loss in 25 moves) 70 Ile5+ Wf8 7 1 Wf5 .l:.dl 72 We4! +-.

w

70 .:S.e5+! 'it>d7

More resilient is 70... Wf8 7 1 l:re2 .l:td6 72 .:S.d2 @e7 73 f4 .lig6+ 74 Wf5 .l:.f6+ 75 We4 .:S.h6 7 6 .1Ia2 +-.

71 .l:.e2 .l:.g6+ 72 Wf5 .l:.a6 73 f4 l:I.a4 74 Wg5 f6+ 75 @rs Wd6 76 1le4 .:S.aS 77 'it>xf6 Wxd5 78 l:tes+ 'it>d4 79 .l:.e6 :rs+ so @gs IlgS+ 81 l:I.g6 .1Ie8 82 f5 We5 S3 .:S.g7 1-0

E4.6.19: How should White make progress?

B

Exercises (solutions: page 270)

E4.6.20: This is very deep. How should Black (to play) avoid White's trap?

E4.6.17: How should Black deal with White's

w

f-pawn?

w E4.6.21 : How should White defend?

4.1) One Outside Passed Pawn E4.6.1S: White (to play) can just draw. How?

The winning chances are not bad here; accord­ ing to our statistics: 54% of the games are won.

149

ROOK AND Two PA WNS VS ROOK AND PA WN

This includes wins by the single pawn, but the number is quite high in any case. 149 4.7.1: a- and h-Pawns vs g-Pawn lSO 4.7.2: a-and h-Pawns vs h-Pawn 1S4 4.7.3: b-and g-Pawns vs g-Pawn 1S6 4.7.4: a- and f-Pawns vs f-Pawn 1S8 4.7.S: a- and f-Pawns vs g-Pawn 4.7.6: c-and h-Pawns vs h-Pawn 160 4.7.7: b- and g-Pawns vs h-Pawn 162 4.7.8: a- and g-Pawns vs g-Pawn 163 4.7.9: a- and g-Pawns vs h-Pawn 16S 4.7.10: b- and h-Pawns vs h-Pawn 166 4.7.ll: c- and g-Pawns vs g-Pawn 167 168 4.7.12: c- and g-Pawns vs h-Pawn 4.7.13: b- and f-Pawns vs g-Pawn 168 4.7. 14: b- and g-Pawns vs f-Pawn 171 4.7.lS: APassedPawn andTwo Pawns on Neighbouring Files 173

• • • • • • • • �•· � ,B .: m � a m � � � ,,,,, ,

B

•· B � B .i £ B•B B a

• � m: � . � � · ­ � • � · 0 · � � . . . -

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,,,,,,!?

59 @b5 60 .lla8 �d5 61 �b8+? ••.

This move is the real error and leads to a long win for Black in 31 moves. One of the drawing moves is 61 .:lh8 hS 62 'it>e4! l.tcS (62...l:IgS 63 'it>d3 'it>b4 64 Wc2 .l:.g2+ 6S 'it>bl l1h2 66 \ta2 h4 67 .l:tb8+ 'it>c4 68 Wa3 lihl 69 l:[b4+ @cs 70 'it>xa4 =) 63 'it>d4 'it>b4 64 'it>d3 IibS 6S 'it>c2 =. 61 'it>e4 l:id6 62 l:ic8 = also draws. 4.7 . 1 ) a- and h-Pawns vs g-Pawn 61 @c4! 62 licS+ 'it>b4 63 Itc2 As a rook's pawn's winning potential is limited, More resilient is 63 lih8 hS 64 .Ue8 .l:rgS 6S the play here can be very subtle: 'it>d3 .l:tg4! 66 l!.b8+ 'it>cS 67 kf.c8+ 'it>d6 68 .lla8 h4 69 £raS 'it>e6 70 .l:ta6+ @as 71 .Ua5+ 'it>d6 (again a triangulation puts White in zugzwang) 72 l:la8 .l:tf4 73 l:ib8 l:if3+ 74 'it>e4 l:rg3 ! 7S Ilh8 Ilg4+ 76 'it>d3 @es 77 'it>e3 l1b4 78 .l:thS+ @f6 79 'it>d3 h3 80 'it>c2 l:lb3 81 l:ih4 'it>gS 82 l:rxa4 1If3 83 .l:!a8 .l:tf4 84 'it>c3 h2 -+. 63...'it>b3 64 l:ih2 h5 65 'it>e4 l:lg5 66 'it>e3 l:rg3+ 67 @f4 .l:tg4+ 68 @f3 lic4 69 'it>e3 h4 70 •••

'it>d3 E!g4 71 'it>e3 h3 72 'it>d3 l:ih4 73 'it>e3 l1c4 74 'it>d3 )i{c8 75 .l:tf2 .l:td8+ 76 'it>e3 .l:tg8 77 l:[h2 .l:tg2 78 l:ixh3 'it>xb2 79 .l:th8 a3 80 .l:tb8+ @cl 0-1 -- · - ---·------

4.7.01

!Radulov - Keres Budapest 1970

White draws, but care is required: 59 l:ia6?! (D) Keres claims in /nformator 9 that this loses. While that isn't true, it is a step in the wrong di­ rection. S9 l:ic6+ 'it>b4 (S9 ...'it>b3 60 l:ib6+· 'it>a2 61 llb4 1ta5 62 'it>d3 hS 63 'it1c2 =; S9...@bS 60 l:if6 11h2 61 'it>d3 l:ixb2 62 11xh6 'it>b4 63 l:ib6+ 'it>a3 64 l1a6 'it>b3 6S l:ib6+ 'it>a2 66 l:ia6 a3 67 'it>c3 =) 60 l:ib6+ 'it>aS 61 l1f6 .l:.h2 62 'it>d3 hS 63 'it>c3 h4 64 lifS+ 'it>b6 6S 'it>b4 l:ixb2+ 66 'it>xa4 h3 67 .l:thS h2 68 'it>a3 =.

Exercises (solutions: page 27 1 )

• • • •

B

·- ···· ·� · �

. ,. . ·'� .\t. • • �

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-

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� - B B .i m . . . -

E4.7.01:

How should Black make progress?

150

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

w

w

E4.7.02: Black resigned after 60 a6? in a drawn position. In fact, the diagram position is won for White. How?

w

4.7.02

Lagunes - Benoit French Ch, Le Touquet 1977

46 llg6 'it>d7 47 l:.h6 @c7 48 llg6 llc5 (not 48 ...@b7? 49 llg5 =) 49 .lag5 l:txg5+ 50 hxg5 'it>d7 -+. 46 ... Wd7 47 @g3 @c7 48 @g2 'it>b7 49 l:tg6 l:tbS SO 'it>h3 a4 Sl l:tf6 a3 S2 J:!f7+ @b6 S3 .l:f3 a2 S4 .f.tf6+ @as SS • .Uf8 lii.b3+ S6 'itig2 l:ta3 0�1 So Black must take action when his ldng is cut off:

.B E4.7.03: Which defensive set-up holds for White (to play)?

4. 7 .2) a- and h-Pawns vs h-Pawn Again many surprising draws and deep wins abound (see following diagram): 44 'itg2? The key defence is 44 lle6! @f7 45 l:te4 !. This method was also missed in a few other g�rnes - Black'i> Icing c::itn't cross the e�fil� wit4out freeing White's king. 45 .. �r;!;f6 (45 ...llf6 46 lle5 lla6 47 lixh5 a4 48 llf5+ Wg6 49 llf2 a3 50 �a2 lla4 5 1 'it>f3 =) 46 l:te8 lii.e5 47 lia8 c;£te6 48 Wf4 lic5 49 @e4 @d6 50 lia6+ Wc7 5 1 Wd4 lif5 52 'itc3 'it>b7 53 lig6 .l:if3+ 54 Wc4 rlf4+ 55 @b3 .iaxh4 56 llg5 =. 44 'it>f7 4S 'itg3 'ite7 This set-up is won for Black as White's king is cut off. 46 'it>g2 •.•

4.7.03 S. Cvetkovic - V. Kovacevic Yugoslavia 1986 3S lla3+? The drawing line runs 35 ...lle2 ! ! 36 a5 (36 'itif3 lle5 37 lir.e4 l:ta5 38 'it>e3 'iii>f6 39 @d3 @f5 40 l:tb4 We6 41 'it>c3 'it>d6 42 .lld4+ Wc6 43 :r.c4+ Wd5 44 'ii?b3 Il.a8 45 .l:Ib4 Iif8 46 .l:Ib5+ 'ii?c6 47 l:th5 l:r.f4 48 Itxh7 Wb6 =) 36 ....iaa2 37 .�.f5 and now Black must avoid 37 ...:a4? 3 8 h5 ! +-. It's very important not t o let White play h5 with his rook on f5, so he should choose 37 ... 'ii?g 6 =, 37 ....l::!.a 3+ = or 37 ...h5 38 Itxh5 •••

ROOK AND Two PA WNS VS ROOK AND PA WN

1la3+ 39 Wf4 Z:.a4+ 40 'iile3 'ii'g6 41 Itg5+ 'i&f6 = . 36 @f2 @g6 37 ffie2 h5 38 wd2 This set-up is won for White. 38 ... l:!.g3 39 Wc2 'iiii>g7 39 ...llg4? ! 40 �xg4+ hxg4 41 Wd2 wins for White. 40 1Ib4 'itif6 41 Wb2? Now Black's Icing is quick enough on the queenside. White should play 41 a5 ! .!:!a3 42 .llb5 Wg6 (42 ...!ta4 43 �xh5 'itig6 44 .litc5 .Uxh4 45 Wb3 +-) 43 'lt>b2 kKa4 44 Wb3 .l:.xh4 45 a6 :hl 46 Wb4 .l:{al 47 i:la5 l':.bl + 48 Wc5 llb8 49 a7 lla8 50 Wb6 +-. 41 ...We6 42 a5 Wd6 43 .llbS 'iiici> 6 44 Zlxh5 gh3? Black misses 44....llg4 45 nh7 'iiib i> 5 46 h5 Wxa5 47 h6 'itib6 48 l:!.h8 Wb7 49 Wc3 .l:!.g6 = with Vancura's draw. 45 wc2 1-0 The following ending is also very compli­ cated and both players made a lot of errors. The initial position is drawn:

151

This move leads to a draw. The winning line is 58 ... .llb5 59 "1g8+ @h3 60 Etc8 Wh2 61 kl.c2+ 'it>hl 62 .lic4 .llb4 63 !:ic2 �f4+ 64 We2 'it>g2 65 We3+ ©g3 66 )lcI .ilf3+ 67 'i&e4 h3 68 k!gl + Wf2 69 il.bl J1a3 70 Wf4 ktxa2 -+. 59 Ilc8! The only drawing move. 59...We3 60 a4? The only way to draw is 60 �c4 ! ; for exam­ ple, 60...I'ih5 (60 ... f!f5+ 61 'itig2 klf4 62 .6[xf4 Wxf4 63 Wh3 Wg5 64 a4! =) 6 1 @g2 'itid3 62 .:l.f4 h3+ 63 Wh2 Wc3 64 brf3+ 'it>b2 65 a4 hrh4 66 k!.f5 l:Ixa4 67 Wxh3 =. 60 ... .!i(g4 61 .llc5 h3! 6 1 .. ..litxa4? 62 Wg2 = is Vancura's draw. 62 1:.eS+ 62 :ic3+ Wd2 63 llxh3 lha4 64 1:1.h2+ �d 1 ! 65 .!:!h5 l:If4+ -+ (Timman in Informator 45). 62 ...Wf3 63 .l:!.h5 'iiii>g3 64 Wg1 .l:txa4 65 l1g5+ Wh4 66 l'lc5 ,l;lg4+ 67 Wh2 a4 68 l:Ic3 l:Ig2+ 69 Whl (DJ

- - - . • - - - - - - - - &!1 R m m - g - RA

B

- - - w - - � m M • -� - �- :�·�·--,,,� �- �.� ��,,,, .im m mxm m . - . � . � � . -� . - - - . t!:i - -�- 69 1ig4? ----· � - - - ----Accordingtoeliessgames.com tlie c01Tect .

.

.

•.•

-

4.7.04

_

Timman - Karpov Belfort 1988

53 .Ua3? The way to draw is 53 l:.l.c4 h5 54 a4 h4 55 'it.>e3 ! h3 56 litc8 ! Wg4 57 l:Ig8+ 'iiih i> 4 (57 ...litg5 58 lixg5+ Wxg5 59 Wf3 ! =) 58 lith8+ @g3 59 .l:!.g8+ Wh2 60 l:.g4 = (mutual zugzwang; not 60 litg7? l:.c5 ! -+; 60 .!:!a8 = also holds). 53...'it>g4 54 li!.c3 h5 55 l:.l.c8 h4 56 l:.g8+ l:.g5 57 l:.a8 'iiig i> 3 The shortest way to win is 57 ...l:.b5 58 .l:tg8+ Wf4 59 l:.f8+ Wg3 60 ltg8+ 'itih2 -+. 58 Wfl 'it.>f3?

move 69 ...1ig3 was played and White resigned, but according to Informator45 the version given here is correct. 70 'iiii>h2? Both players missed the stalemate trick 70 l:Ixh3+ ! ! 'iiig i> 5 71 .l:if3 ! =. 70....!:!g2+ 7 i Whl .l:ig3 72 .l:ic4+ litg4 73 .!:!c3 litb4 74 lita3 litg4? 75 l:lc3? 75 lit:xh3+ =; 75 @h2 =. 75...'it>g5 76 'iiitn i> 2 .!:!M 0-1

The next ending is very instructive and has been analysed in many sources (see following

diagram) : 56 l:Ig4

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

152

• • � m . ·. • �� m@m - - - .].-.-�--14-. fj . • �--"� ··- - - fj .

,

w

w

m m m m

4.7.05

. - - -

58 'it>g6?

Marshall - Capablanca New York (9) 1909

After this error the position is drawn again. Averbakh starts with this position, so his analy­ sis is correct, but the previous interesting errors are missing. This position has been discussed in several endgame books. After 58 We6 (or 58 Wf6) 58 ....l:.b7 59 We5 fl.b4 60 .laxb4+ axb4 6 1 a5 Wc3 62 a6 b3 63 a7 b2 64 a81&' bl WH 65 '&Yf3+ ! +- White forces the exchange of queens and wins.

The shortest way to win is 56 .11f4 l!el 57 h4 l!hl 58 Wf6 l!h2 59 l1g4 l1hl 60 Wg5 .11c l 61 h5 l!c5+ 62 Wh4 l!c6 63 l1f4 .11c l 64 h6 l1dl 65 'it?g5 l!d7 (65 ... k!d5+ 66 l!f5 +-) 66 l!h4 l!d5+ 67 Wf6 .1:1.d6+ 68 We5 +-. But not 56 Wf6? l!e3 ! =.

56 ... l!c5 57 l!f4?

White does not have time for this. He should play 57 We6 ! ? l!c6+ 58 Wd5 l!f6 59 h4 l!f5+ 60 'it>e6 :n 61 l!e4 .1:1.f2 62 We5 :n 63 .l:.f4 llal 64 Wf5 l!h l 65 Wg5 .l:.gl + 66 l1g4 .11c l 67 h5 +-. 57 h4 wins as well: 57 ...l:.c6 58 Wg7! (58 h5? .lah6 59 .11h4 Wa3 60 Wg7 Itxh5 6 1 .laxh5 Wxa4 =) 58 ....l:.c7+ 5 9 Wf6 .lac6+ 60 We5 .l:.c5+ 61 Wd6 :S.f5 62 l!e4 Wa3 63 . @e6 +-; compare the 57 We6 ! ? line. 57...fl.c7+? Dvoretsky and Al.Panchenko start with this position and give ' ! ' to the losing move 57 ...'tJ,,c7 instead of '?' according to the tablebase. In the 3rd edition of his 'Endgame Manual' Dvoretsky gives the correct evaluation of this position. The only way to draw is 57 ...:S.c6 ! ! , with the same idea of bringing the black rook to b4, but avoiding the queen exchange after 5 8 h4 .lab6! 59 Wg7 (the trick is that after 59 h5 fl.h6! 60 l:.h4 Wa3 ! 61 'itig7 (otherwise Black plays ... Wb3-a3 } 6 1 .. .fl.xh5 62 fl.xh5 Wxa4 = White can't move his rook to the b-file and is short of one tempo - if the white king were already on f7 he would win by 63 We6! !) 59 . . ..lab4 60 .l:.xb4+ axb4 6 1 a5 Wc3 62 a6 b3 63 a7 b2 64 a8WU bl'&' =. It's interesting that with the pawn on h5 instead of h4, White would win in 58 moves. We now return to 57 ...l!c7+? (D) :

58 .lab7!! In Fundamental Chess Endings, 5 8 ...l:k6+? •..

·

was given a ' ? ! ' , based on the view that even though Black is malting life harder for himself, he can still draw: 59 Wg5 lk8 60 h4 .l:.g8+ 6 1 Wf5 fl.f8+ 62 'it>g5 fl.g8+ 6 3 Wh6 l!g2 64 h5? fl.gl 65 Wh7 l:tg2 66 h6 Itgl 67 Wh8 fl.g2 68 h7 .l:.gl 69 l:tf7 Wxa4 70 fl.g7 .lahl =. However, White does not need to let his king become im­ pdsoned on the h-file. The winning method is quite instructive: 59 Wf5 .l:.c8 60 h4 .laf8+ 6 1 @g4 llg8+ 6 2 Wf3 l::th8 6 3 l:.e4 l:.f8+ 6 4 Wg4 fl.g8-h65 Wf5 .l:.f8+ 66 Wg6 .l:.g8+ 67 Wf7 l:tgl 68 h5 +-.

59 h4 .lab4! 60 Wg5 @xa4 61 h5 Wa3 62 h6 .l:.b8 63 h7 a4 64 .lah4 .lah8 65 @g6 @b3 66 @g7 .li!.xh7+ 67 Wxh7 a3 112.112 With blocked rook's pawns on h5 and h6, matters are very deep as well (see following di­

agram) :

The position is lost for Black in 30 moves.

46....lab6

The main line is very interesting: 46 . . . We8 47 .li!.e2+ Wd8 48 Wf7 .laa7+ 49 Wg6 .li!.a6+ 50 @g7 (this triangulation puts Black in zugzwang) 50 ....l:tb6 (50 ... Wd7 5 1 Wf7 ! +-) 5 1 a4 .l:!.a6 52 .li!.e4 Wd7 53 Wf7 .laa5 54 .li!.d4+ 'it?c7 55 'it?g6 Jil.a6+ 56 'it>g7 Wc8 57 a5 'it>c7 58 .l:i.dl 'it?c8 59

ROOK AND TWO PA WNS VS ROOK AND P1l WN

B

4.7.06

Arkell - 1'. Seymour London 2010

!I.d5 Wc7 60 Wf7 Ilc6 61 Ii:e5 .l!l.a6 62 We7 Jlc6 63 Jab5 (Black is in zugzwang) 63 ....1itcl 64 a6! ktal 65 Ub7+! \t>c6 66 lrd7 ! llel + 67 \t>d8 +-; e.g., 67 ... \t>b6 68 a7 .lla l 69 We7 Wc6 70 lld6+ Wc5 7 1 .ll x:h6 .llxa7+ 72 Wf6 Wd6 73 .llh8 .lla l 74 h6 llfl + 75 'tt>g5 .llg l + 76 \t>f4 .l:.fl + 77 Wg3 .llh l 78 h7 We7 79 lia8 .llxh7 80 .a:a7+ +-.

After 53 ...I{a5 !? it is much harder to make progress. Nevertheless, White can still win; for example, 54 lld4+ Wc7 55 'Et>g6 .lia6+ 56 cJJg7 \t>c8. The barrier has been re-established, and White has still to play accurately; for example, 57 a5 \t>c7 (57 ... I\.xa5 58 Wxh6 kral 59 Wg6 .ligl + 60 \t>f6 krh l 61 'i&g5 Zlgl + 62 .lig4 kldl 63 h6 +-) 58 lld5 Wc6 59 �e5 \t>d6 60 Wf6 Wd7+ 6 1 Wf7 \t>c7 and we have transposed to the note to Black's 46th move above, where af­ ter 62 \t>e7 !ic6 63 B'.b5 +- Black is in zug­ zwang.

54 Jle7+! Wd8 55 kZ.e6 lld4

55 ...ki:d5 56 .llxh6 Wd7 57 llh8 Wc6 58 a5 .lld7+ 59 We8 .lla7 60 llh6+ Wc5 61 kZ.f6 @d5 62 a6 We5 63 !lb6 +-.

56 .l:'!xh6 llxa4 57 .l:ld6+ Wc7 58 B'.f6 .l:!M 59 h6 Wd7 60 Jlg6 lif4+ 61 Wg7 We7 62 h7 1-0

!Exercises (solutiorns: page 2 7 1 )

47 l:r.e2+

The simplest way to win is 47 .l:f7+ We8 48 lilf6 +-.

47 Wd.7 48 a4 .lla6 49 .lle4? •.•

49 .llg2 ! ! is forced so that White's king is sheltered after 49 .. J!xa4 50 \t>xh6 We6 51 Wg6 We7 52 Wg7 +-.

w

49 @dS? •..

49...Wd6 ! ! 50 .llg4 We5 51 .llg6 .llxa4 52 Wx:h6 Wf5 =.

50 'itif7 lia7+ 51 Wf6 .lla6+ 52 Wg7. Wd7 53 Wf7 (D) JE4.7.04: How should White use his rook?

B w

53...lid6?!

Black wants to retain the horizontal barrier along his third rank. But after this White can liquidate to a win in relatively simple fashion.

153

E4.7.05: How should White use his king?

1 54

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

4.7.3) b- and g:Pawns vs g-Pawn Here the winning chances increase a lot. We start with cases where the attacking Icing sup­ ports the passed pawn:

B

B

4.7.0S

4.7.07

Mednis ...: Z. Djukic NiS 1977

1.. .1:.aS+ •

l . . .g3 2 b7 .l:.f8 3 .l:.b2 .l:.f2 4 b8� +-. 2 @bS g3 3 b7 .l:.f8!? 4 .l:.c2? Surprisingly, this · throws away the win. The iight way was found by John Nunn (without tablebase assistance): 4 li.a2 ! ! l:rf2 5 !la4! ! .l:r.f8 6 @c6 @xg2 (6 ....l:r.f6+ 7 \t>c5 lif5+ 8 Wc4 .l:r.f4+ 9 'it>b3 Ii.fl 10 .l:.a2 .l:.f2 1 1 b8� +-:-) 7 lia8 .l:.f6+ 8 Wc5 .l:.f5+ 9 \t>c4 lif4+ 10 @c3 .l:.f3+ 1 1 @d2 l:!.f2+ 12 @e3 .l:.f3+ J3 .'it>e4 l:.tb3 14 b8\\IV !i.xb8 15 .l:.xb8 'it>h2 16 @f'3 g2 17 lth8+ @gl 1 8 !i.g8 'ii?h l 19 @f2 +-. 4....l:.f2! 5 li.c4 Or: 5 b8� :xc2 6 \!Wa8 .l:.xg2 =; 5 .l:.xf2 gxf2 6 b8�+ 'it>xg2 =. s...:rn 6 :cs :r2 7 bS\\lV .l:.b2+ 8 'it>c4 .l:.xbS 9 .l:.xbS 'it>xg2 10 'it>d3 'it>f2! 11 :rs+ 1 1 .l:.b2+ @f3 ! =. 11 ...'it>el ! 112-112 The following position from ECE is also a difficult win (see following diagram). 53....l:.f6 53 ... 'it>h7 also wins in 26 moves. 53 ... .1:.fl or 53 ...lif4 leads to a long win in 35 moves after 54 .l:.d5 @f8 ! 55 lid7 .l:.f7 ! 56 Jid2 l:If5 ! -+. 54 .!itdS The main line begins with 54 @c4 lid6! 55 .l:.gl g6 56 .l:.g2 'it>g7 57 .l:.gl l:Id7 ! 58 liel lic7+ 59 'it>b4 lif7 ! 60 ligl l:If5 61 lig2 g5 -+.

A. Sokolov - I. Novikov Leningrad (team event) 1982

54 ....l:.e6? This wastes precious time. Black should mobilize his g-pawn with 54 . . . g6 ! 55 ltg5 (55 Jid7 g5 56 lic7 g4 57 l:tc6 'it>g7 -+) 55 ...@f7 56 Ilgl l:!.f5 57 'it>c4 g5 58 lig2 \t>e6 59 lie2+ lie5 60 .l:r.g2 (60 .l:th2 lic5+ 61 'it>b4 lif5 62 .l:.h8 g4 63 .l:.b8 g3 64 .l:.xb6+ @f7 65 11b7+ 'it>g6 66 .l:.b8 'it>g7 67 .Ub7+ .l:.f7 -+) 60 ...l:.c5+ 61 'it>b4 .l:.f5 62 l:.e2+ .l:.e5 63 .l:.g2 .l:.e4+ 64 @c3 g4 65 .l:.h2 'it>f5 66 .l:r.f2+ .l:r.f4 67 .l:lg2 Jif3+ 68 'it>d4 g3 -+. 55 'it>c4! The only move . 55...'it>f7 56 .l:r.d7+ 'IJ.e7 57 .l:r.d6 .l:r.e6 58 .l:r.d7+ @f6 (D)

w

59 .l:r.dl 59 'it>d5 also draws due to 59 ... g5 60 'f1h7 @f5 61 .l:r.hl .l:r.g6 (61 ..J:tf6 62 .l:.fl+ @g6 63 'fJ.gl =) 62 .l:.fl + 'it>g4 63 @e5 @g3 64 @f5 l:Ig8, when White can create counterplay as follows: 65 We4 ! ! g4 66 .l:.f6 ! .l:.b8 67 wd5 wh2 68 \t>c6 g3 69 @c7 .l:.g8 70 'it>xb6 g2 71 :!f2 =. 59 ... gS 60 'it>d5 @e7 61 .lithl?

ROOK AND TWO PA WNS VS ROOK AND PA WN

This is the wrong way to activate the rook. 6 1 Xial ! i s correct: 6 1 ... g4 62 k!a7+ Wf6 6 3 1la4 hieS+ 64 Wc6 g3 6S Wxb6 g2 66 �al ! =. 61...�g6 62 WeS 'J'J.g7'? Black misses the typical trick 62 . . . g4 ! ! 63 .trh7+ We8 64 @fs g3 ! ! -+. 63 lih6? The activation 63 J;lcl ! draws: 63 ...g4 64 .!itc7+ @f8 6S l:!.c8+ @f7 66 Wf4 We6 67 If.c6+ was 68 'it>g3 ! =. 63 g4 64 lle6+ Wf7?! 64... We4 'it>cS 66 Wd3 'fJ.b4 67 @c3 '1xg4 68 llxb2 &i.g3+ -+. 6S 'i&d7 66 Wg6 'it>e6 67 'it>h6 'it>d6 68 'it>g6 'it>c6 69 'it>h6 @b6 70 Wg6 was 71 'it>f6 'i&a4 72 Zlxb2 .lrl.xb2 73 'it>xgS 'it>b5 74 Wf6 'it>c6 The typical 74 ...�f2+ ! ? is not necessary here, but in general better technique: 7S @e6 .l:rg2 76 WfS 'it>c6 -+. 7S gS Wd7 76 g6 0-1 .•.

..•

Therefore the attacker should use his rook in a different way:

•.•

One typical draw occurs when the defending ldng can blockade the passed pawn. So the e­ file is often of crucial importance:

B

4.7.10 Timoshchenko - JLjubojevic

USSR-Yugoslavia Under-18, Moscow 1969 S3 l:rcS? The only way to win is S3 ...@fS ! ! S4 @f3 Iid3+ ss 'it>f2 ktb3 S6 ilf8+ Wg4 S7 l:td8 .l:.b2+ S8 Wgl r;J;;g3 S9 .l:.d3+ 'it?f4 60 'it?h2 b4 61 ©h3 WeS 62 l:tg3 b3 63 lixgS+ Wd4 64 I{g4+ Wc3 6S .l:.g3+ Wb4 66 l:tg4+ 'it>a3 67 'fJ.g8 l:te2 68 g4 b2 69 .l:.a8+ (69 'it>h4 l:!e4 -+) 69...@b3 70 'J'J.b8+ Wc2 7 1 'it>h4 (7 1 .l:tc8+ 'it>dl 72 'fJ.bB l:ie3+ 73 'it>h4 Wc2 -+) 71...l:te3 72 l:ixb2+ @xb2 73 'it>gS .l:.f3 -+. S4 l:ib6? White missed his chance here: S4 g4 ! ! WdS SS Wd3 'it>c6 S6 We4! rllc7 S7 .l:.e8 b4 S8 Wd4 libs S9 'it>c4 l:!b6 60 Wb3 =. S4 WdS SS Wd3 @es S6 We3 g4 S7 g3 More resilient is S7 @f2 @f4 ! S8 .l:.tf6+ 'it>gS 59 'fJ.b6 .l:.tc2+ 60 Wg3 .l:.tb2 61 .l:.tc6 .llb 3+ 62 ••.

4.7.09

.]fansa - Marsalek

Czechoslovak Ch, Jablonec 1962 53 Wf3? Now White's king is imprisoned. He should play S3 :e6 ! ? .l:.d5 (S3 ...@b7 S4 @f3 Wa6 SS @e4 Ires S6 l:tf6 was S7 Wct4 l:tbS S8 :rs =) S4 r;J;;f3 bS ss We4 l:tcs S6 'it>ct3 b4 S7 Wct4 ! (S7 Jle4? .l:.bS S8 'it>c4 l:tb8 ! S9 Wb3 Wd6 -+) S7 ...l:tbS S8 Wc4 l:!b8 S9 Wb3 =. Now White has reached a safe drawing set-up with the king blockading the passed pawn and the active rook cutting Black's king off. S3...l:teS! S4 .l!tg6

•••

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

156

'i!th2 b4 63 l:tc5+ 'i!/f4 64 l:Ic4+ 'i!/f5 65 l:Id4 g3+ 66 'i!th3 'i!te5 67 l:tg4 'i!/d5 68 .l:f.g5+ Wc4 69 l:tg4+ 'i!tb5 --+. 57 ... Iic3+ 58 Wd2 l:txg3 59 l:txb5+ @f4 60 'i!te2 l!f3 61 .tib8 @g3 0-1

w

Exercises (solutions: page 272)

B

� B . � - - - 0.

m m m m - • ,� I "··- �m,Lrm

- - - -�- - • . • . • . ¥i'�- '�"

E4.7.06: Why was 67...l:ig3 ? a mistake? What else should Black do?

B

4.7.11

Alatortsev - Chekhover USSR Ch, Tbilisi 1937

63 ... l:ih8 64 'i!tb7 l:th7+ 65 'i!tb6 l:Ih8 66 l:ic2 @fl 67 'i!tb7 l:Ih7+ 68 @b8 J;{h8+ 69 .t;lc8 1:ixc8+ 70 'i!txc8 Wxf2 71 a8VIJ/ +-. 64 'i!tb7 1:ie7+ 65 'i!tb6 .l:te8 65 ... l:te6+ 66 'i!tc5 .l:!e8 67 a8VIJ/ l:Ixa8 68 litxa8 'i!/xf2 69 'i!td4 +-. 66 l:r.c2! 'i!tg2 Even now White has to be careful: 67 'i!tb7? 67 'i!tc7 ! 1:ie2 68 l:r.xe2 fxe2 69 a8°W+ wins for White. 67.. JJ.e7+? 67 ...l:te2 ! ! surprisingly draws: 68 a8°W Ilxc2 = or 68 :Xe2 fxe2 69 a8VIJI el VIJI =. 68 @bS! .l:te8+ 69 .l:!c8 +and White went on to win. If the defender is more active, the drawing chances increase:

E4.7.07: How should Black defend?

B

4.7.4) a- and f-IPawns vs f-Pawn -· ·

-

This is similar to the previous section. White wins with precise play in the follow­ ing position: 61 'i!tc5! 61 'it>b5? 'flxa7 62 .l:txa7 'i!txf2 63 @c4 'i!te3 64 l:!.a3+ @e2 65 @d4 f2 66 l1a2+ @f3 =. 61 ...licS+ 61 ..Jlxa7 62 l1xa7 @xf2 63 'i!td4 @g2 64 'i!te3 f2 65 l:ta2 +-. 62 @b6 .l;LeS 63 @c6!! @n

4.7.12

Boguszlavszkij - Bagi 'Za.lakaros 2014

7S...@b4?

ROOK AND TWO PA WNS \IS ROOK AND PA WN

157

This opens a road for White's king. 75 . . . @b3 blocks the way and defends; e.g., 76 Wd3 �d7+ 77 We2 llh7 78 We3 Wc3 =.

76 'it>d3! Wb3

76 ... JJ.d7+? ! 77 Wc2 'flh7 78 'it>b2 �a4 79 'i&c3 +-.

77 @d2?

The winning line is 77 !lh2 @b4 78 �hl !, putting Black in zugzwang. 78 ...'iitb3 (78.�.l:E.d7+ 79 'iife4 '1h7 80 'iitd5 .lld7+ 8 1 'iitc6 .lah7 82 1;ih4 +-) 79 .:.bl+ 'it>a4 80 'iitc3 ! (80 .l:.b6? 'it>a5 8 1 .Uc6 'iitb4 ) 8 0. . . 'it>a5 8 1 llhl 'iitb6 8 2 �h5 Wc6 83 'it>d3 +-. 77 'f1d7+ 78 �e3 'f1h7 79 'itid3 Jld7+ 80 =

4.7.14

••.

'it>e3 llh7 81 'it>e4 'i&xc4 82 @f5+ @b3 83 'it>g6 hth8 84 'iilg7 l:tc8 85 Jah3+ 'it>b2 1h- 1/2 In this configuration, the pawn can often ad­ vance to a7 with the rook in front:

Hochstrasser - Papa Swiss Team Ch 2012

58...@f6? Bl�ck must prevent White from playing f4. 58 ...f4+ 59 'iitg4 @f6 (59 ... 'it>g7? 60 @f5 'itih7 6 1 'iitg5 'iilg7 62 Ila7+ 'iitg 8 63 'iitg6 'iilf8 64 Ila8+ 'iite7 65 a7 'it>d7 66 .llf8 +-) 60 'iilh5 .ll a5+ 61 @h6 .ti.al 62 'it>h5 .l:.a5+ 63 'it>g4 l:[a4 64 a7 @g7 65 'it>f5 'it>h7 =. 59 f4!

w

The following winning line with zugzwang is very typical.

59 @g6 60 a7 @gJ 61 @f3 .Ua3+ 62 'it>e2 'itih7 63 'it>d2 'iitg7 64 'it>c2 @lh7 65 'it>lb2 .Ua6 66 'it>b3 'it>gl 67 'iitc4 Ira5 68 @M Ital 69 'iilcS If.cl+ 70 Wd6 .:.a1 71 @es .:.as+ 72 'it>e6 •..

Black is in zugzwang.

4.7.13

Zurakhov - Vaisman USSR 1966

--Wliite can will,buriris not easy:

1 lile8?

72...'it>h7 73 ®f6 l:[a1 74 'it>xf5 'it>g7 75 ®g5 .l:tgl+ 76 'it>h4 .l:Ial 77 f5 .llh l+ 78 @g3 1lg1+ 79 Wh2 �al so f6+ :o.-o -- - -- - -

The beautiful win 1 @f7 ! l:[a6 2 c7 @g7 5 'iitb7 lial 6 .Ub8 +-) 4 l:[c8 .Uxa7 5 .llc7+ 'flxc7 6 'it>xc7 'iifh6 7 @d6 Wh5 8 We7 'iilg5 9 We6 +- was found by Dolmatov.

!Exercises (solu�ior:i�_:_�age 272)

B

1 .ilxa7 2 !te7+ @b8!! 3 @f7 .•.

3 .llxa7 ? ! stalemate. 3 J:ia6 4 'itig6 If.as 5 @xf6 'it>g8? 5 ... .l:ra6+ ! 6 .l:i.e6 .ti.al 7 'it>f7 .Ua7+ 8 .Ue7 .Ual 9 f6 'it>h7 10 @f8+ 'it>g6 1 1 f7 @f6 =. ••.

·

6 'it>g6 +-

In the following case it is mostly about White's option of playing a7:

E4.7.08: Which square should the black king retreat to?

158

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

White cannot stop Black's king: 78 .l:.aS+ 78 1Ia4 \t>d5 ! 79 @f7 ®c5 80 \t>g6 @b5 8 1 l:!.a8 @b4 8 2 .l:[a6 '1t>b3 8 3 .l:r.b6+ Wc2 84 l:la6 'iii'bl 85 .l:[b6+ \t>al ! 86 Wh5 (86 l:lb4 .'S.b2 87 l:lf4 l:lb6 -+) 86 ...f5 87 g5 .l:[h2+ 88 ®g6 f4 -+. 78.. Wf4 79 \t>xf6?! After 79 l:la4+ !? \t>g3 80 \t>h6 !? the win is still complicated, the only wirming move being 80...Wf3 ! ! (80....i:f.fl ? 81 .'S.xa2 \t>xg4 82 l:la4+ ! ! .i:f.f4 83 .i:f.al f5 84 \t>g6 1If3 85 l:lgl + Wf4 86 @£6 =) 81 Wg6 We3 -+. Furthermore after 79 .i:f.a4+ \t>g3 80 Wg7, 80... al'IW?? is premature due to 8 1 .i:f.xal @xg4 82 @g6 f5 83 l:lgl + Wh3 84 Wg5 f4 85 Wf5 f3 86 Wf4 .i:f.g2 87 lihl+ =. Black should play 80. . .llfl ! 8 1 l:lxa2 Wxg4 82 l:.a4+ Wg5! -+. 79 'it?xg4+ 80 \t>e6 .l:i.d2 0-1

w

.

E4.7.09: White to play and win.

w

•..

With the bishop's pawn on its second rank, some deep ideas are involved as the counterplay is quicker:

B lE4.7.10: In the game White missed the right defence. Can you do better? .. . . . ·

4.7.5) a- and f-Pawns vs g-Pawn

This can be very deep. If the attacking rook is well placed it is usually won when the bishop's pawn is on its third rank:

4.7.16

52 .l:.g2 0-1?? White resigned, but the position is drawn: 53 Ir.as \tbs 54 .l:i.a3 \t>b4 55 .l:i.a7! . 55 .U.a8? Wb3 ! -+. 55 'it?b3 56 .l:i.b7+ Wc2 57 l:tc7+ @bl 58 I:i.b7+ 'it?al 58 ....l:i.b2 59 litxf7 al 'lW 60 Ir.fl+ =. 59 \t>h6! .l:.f2 60 @g7 l".f.fl 61 �h6!! The king clears the road in the right way. Not 61 \t>h7? f5 ! ! 62 g6 l".thl+ 63 \t>g8 Ir.bl 64 l:[f7 @b2 -+. 61 fS 62 g6! .!Ibl 62...!thl+ 63 \t>g5 =. •••

w

.•.

4.7.15

Callergard - Schipkov Miskolc 1989

Ftaenik - Avrukh Bundesliga 200718

.•.

ROOJ( AND Two PA WNS vs ROOK A ND PA WN

63 g7! ! .llgl 64 'it>h7 f4 65 gSW .lixg8 66 'i!>xg3 f3 67 rlb3 f2 68 �f3 @bl 69 ki.xf2 al 'WI 70 !'1.fl+ =

159

B

Therefore the attacker should put the bishop's pawn on its third rank, if possible:

w

4.7.18 Surprisingly, the position is drawn. The analy­ sis in ECE contains a few mistakes. 1 Jla3+ 2 'ii?cM ,g[a4+ 3 Wes .1la1 4 Wd6 4 f6 is met by 4 ...'ii?g6 5 Wd6 'it>f7 ! and again Black draws. 4...'tJ.a2? Black's Icing must hide behind the f-pawn: 4 ...ga6+ 5 'it>e7 'ii?f4 and White cannot win; e.g., 6 Wf7 'ii?xf5 7 'ii?xg7 Wg5 8 'it>f7 'ii?f5 9 We7 'it>e5 10 'it>d7 Wd5 1 1 'ii?c7 Wc5 12 Wb7 'tJ.b6+ =. 5 'ii?e7? This misses 5 f6 ! ! Wg6 6 We7 ! .l:f.e2+ (6...'tJ.al 7 f7! +-) 7 'it>f8 'tJ.a2 (7 ...Wxf6 8 .l:Ib8 'tJ.h2 9 · 'it>g8 +-) 8 fxg7 ! .l:f.f2+ 9 Wg8 .l:tf7 10 'it>h8 &i.xg7 1 1 'tJ.g8 +-. 5....l:Ia5? 5 ...Wf4 ! ! =. 6 f6 'it>g6 7 f7 .l:l.eS+ 8 'ii?d6 +••

4.7.17

Malakhov - M. Rodshtein Plovdiv 2010

56 'ii?d2? The main line is 56 f3 ! 'ii?e5 57 'ii?d2 'ii?d5 58 'ii?c2 'ii?e5 59 'ii?b2 .l:.a6 60 Wb3 .lif.al 61 'ii?c4 'ii?f4 62 .&'l.f7+ Wg3 63 'ii?b5, with a position from the first note to 4.7. 15, Callergard-Schipkov (after 8 1 ...Wb4, colours reversed). 56 WeS? This loses precious time. Sending the king to the ldngside with 56 .. '.g4! draws: 57 'it>c2 Wg5 58 'B.f7 (58 'ii?b2 'tJ.a6 59 'it>c3 @h4 60 Wb4 Wh3 61 @b5 B'.a2 =) 58 ...Wh4 59 Wb2 .l:.i.a6 60 JJ.c7 JJ.a5 (not, of course, 60...Wh3? 61 li{c3+ Wg2 62 .l:f.a3 '§.xa7 63 JJ.xa7 Wxf2 64 .l:If7+ 'ii?e2 65 -'§.g7Wf3otiWc2 gT67Wd2gT68-'ii?e1+=)-6-C 'it>c3 .l:i.a6 62 'it>b4 .l:ra2 63 Wb5 Wh3 =. 57 Wc2 g4 58 Wb2 .l:Ia6 59 'tJ.g7? White loses a decisive tempo. 59 Wb3 ! wins: 59 ...Wf4 60 .Ub4+ Wf3 61 li{a4 l:!:xa7 62 llxa7 Wxf2 63 l!f7+ We2 64 °§.g7 Wf3 65 Wc2 +- or 59 ... JJ.al 60 'it>b4 Wf4 61 'it>b5 'it>f3 62 &i.f7+ Wg2 63 'it>b6 JJ.bl + 64 'it>c7 'tJ.c l + 65 'ii?b 8 .l:Ibl + 66 &i.b7 .l:Ial 67 :l.b2 +-. 59 'it>f6 60 Jith7 'it>es 61 'it>c3 'ii?f4 62 I!f7+ 1-0?? Black resigned, but the position is drawn: 62...Wg5 ! ! 63 Wb4 'ii?h4 64 'it>b5 .l:f.a2! =. •.•

The following motif is worth knowing:

•..

With the attacking rook in front of the passed pawn, matters are different:

Harika :Oronavalli Kovalevskaya Russian Team Ch (women), Dagomys 2008

4.7.19

160

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

S6 �h2+? 56 Ilh6 ! ! a3 57 f5 ! saves the day due to 57 ... a2 58 .l:th2+ Wb3 59 .l:txa2 .l:txa2 60 fxg6 @c4 6 1 @f6 @d5 62 g7 =. S6 ... Wb3 S7 !lh3+ Wb4 SS l:th4 'it?cs S9 .l:!.hl a3 60 .l:tcl+ Wd4 61 l:.dl + @c3 62 lital @b2 63 ktel a2 64 lte2+ @c3 6S l:.xa2 l:.xa2 66 '>i?xg6 @d4 0-1 A win in this configuration can be quite deep:

49 a6 f4 ! 50 a7 and now with the white king on b7 Black has two drawing plans: 50... .i:[h7+ !? = (the easy way) and ·50 ... fxe3 ? ! = (the hard way). 49 .i:.xg3 SO .Ug7+ @f4 Sl l1xg3 Wxg3 S2 a6 f4 S3 a7 f3 S4 a8'iY' f2 1h..1h. A draw was agreed as White can't play �hl . ..•

Exercises {solutions: page 273)

w w

4.7.20

Robatsch - 'folnai Austrian Team Ch 199415

41 Wb3! �a8 42 a4 @g4 43 @b4?! White's king should go to a3: 43 Wa? ! ? Wh3 44 l:.f3 Wg4 45 .l:f.f4+ Wg5 46 l:Id4.Wf647 .i:.d3 @g5 (47 ...We5 48 '>i?b4 @e4 49 l:Ia3 @d5 50 a5 Wc6 5 1 a6 Wb6 52 a7 +-) 48 @b4 . l:.b8+ 49 'it>c5 l:.a8 50 .i:.a3 @g4 5 1 a5 +-. 43...l:!.bS+ 44 @cs l:IcS+ 4S @b6 l:Ib8+ 46 @c6? White's king must not step onto the h l -a8 di­ agonal. 46 @c5 ! ! wins. 46....i:.cS+? 46 ...l:!.h8 ! ! 47 a5 l:.h3 ! ! (a similar tactical idea was also missed in the previous game, 4.7.19, Harika-Kovalevskaya) 48 a6 f4 ! 49 a7 fxe3 ! ! 50 a8� Wxg3 = -car 50 . ..eT=). 47 Wb7? 47 Wb5 (or 47 Wb6) 47 ...l:.b8+ 48 Wc5 ! .i:.c8+ 49 @b4 l':tb8+ 50 Wa3 l:!.a8 5 1 l:.c3 l:!.a7 52 l:Id3 l:.a8 53 :.te3 (the rook 'triangulates', leaving Black in zugzwang) 53 ...Wh3 54 l:[f3 ! Wg4 55 l:tf4+ Wg5 56 .i:[d4 ! :es 57 lld3 l:!.e5 58 .i:[b3 Wg4 59 Wb4 l:!.e4+ 60 Wb5 lle5+ 61 'ii.?c6 .i:[e6+ 62 'it>d5 l:.a6 63 lla3 +-. 47 .l!t.h8!! 48 as .i:[b3!! 49 l:Ie7 .•.

JE4.7.11: White can win in the long run. Which are the steps?

·B

E4.7.12: Black to play and win.

4. 7 .6) c- and h-Pawns vs h-Pawn With the kings far away, an important factor is whether the attacker can be cut off (see follow­

ing diagram) : 49...Wf6?

The only winning move is 49 ...h5 ! with a win in 36 moves due to 50 'it>g3 .i:[f5 ! 5 1 l:Ia4 Wf6! 52 .i:[e4 .i:[e5! -+, when White lacks the single tempo he needs to draw - see below (i.e.

ROOK AND Two .PA WNS VS ROOK AND PA WN

B

4.7.21

Ma. Tseitlin - Reshko Leningrad 1977

the game after 56 ... kie5!) for the continuation of the winning line. 50 ll.a8! h5 51 'iii>g3 'fJf5 52 'fJe8! l:d5 53 llh8 @g7 54 .llc8 . Only not 54 l'Ie8? @f7 ! 55 lile4 Wf6 56 Wf4 'tl.f5+ 57 @g3 .:es -+. 54 lif5 55 'fJe8! Wf6 The critical position. 56 lie4? With the black pawn on b5 (instead of c5) White would lose because of zugzwang, but now he has 56 Wg2! !l.e5 57 rla8! We6 58 Wf3 Wd5 59 'iii>f4! 'iii>d4 60 lia4+! =. 56 'fJe5! 57 lia4 (D)

1 61

.lixc2 73 'itif4 'itic5 74 h6 'itid6 75 �f5 @e7 76 h7 lih2 77 Wg6 Wf8 -+. b) 64 'itig5 l'!d5+ 65 'itif4 'itib5 66 'it>e3 Wc4 67 l:th7 'itic3 68 'tl.g7 'fJe5+! 69 'itif4 wd4 70 l:rgl &!.d5 ! 71 I!.d l + 'itic4 72 �gl @c3 73 �g5 @d4 74 'tl.g2 c4 -+. 58 'iii>f3! l:re6 59 J:l.a8 @e5 60 �h8 .li(f6+ 61 @e3 llf5 62 kre8+ WdS 63 l'!d8+ 'itie6 64 .a:e8+ Wd7 65 llg8 'fJe5+ 66 Wd3 'itie6 67 'itic4? 67 &ra8, or any other normal move, leads to a draw. 67 .)!{e4+ 68 Wxc5 &txh4 Black wins in 35 moves. 69 t\.e8+ Wf5 70 l'!h8 @g5 71 J.lg8+ 'itif4 72 Wd4 'itif3+ 73 Wd3 l:i.f4 74 �h8 0-1 ..•

The following position features some deep ideas as Black can often give up his a-pawn:

..•

w

.••

4.7.22

57 @fS? This only leads to a draw. The winning line in 32 moves is long but comprehensible: 57 ...We6 ! 58 @f4 lif5+! 59 'itie3 lid5! 60 Wf4 Wd7 ! (60... Wd6? 61 l:!.a6+ =) 61 :la6 l:i.d6 62 lia8 Wc6 63 .l:.h8 :id4+ and now: a) 64 Wg3 c4! ! 65 l:txh5 c3 ! 66 It.h8 It.d7 67 'fJc8+ '!Jc7 68 '!Je8 c2 69 l:i.el Wb5 (69 ...'itid5? 70 .l:.cl =) 70 .l:.cl &!.c4 71 h5 Wb4 72 I!xc2 •..

Anand - Shirov Wijk aan Zee 2004

36 f4· This move does win, but White needs to find the right follow-up. 36 f3 ! ? 'fJf8 37 'it>g3 E!.f7 (37 ... .Ug8+ 38 'itif2 'fl.g7 39 f4 +-) 38 'f4 +- (Anand in Informator 89) is the safer ap­ proach to keep the attacking forces closer to­ gether. 36 l!g8 37 f5? This move is the real error. White can win using the nice and typical idea 37 'fJe5 ! ! .l:ig4 38 'fJe4! @d5 39 Wh3 ! ! ; for example, 39 ...lig8 40 .l:ie7 a6 41 l:i.e5+ 'itid6 42 @h4 lig2 43 a4 ligl 44 '!Jg5 +-. 37 @e7 38 .l:ixa7+ @f6 39 l:ta5 Now the position is drawn, but Anand later won. For the rest of the game, see 2.23. •..

..•

162

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

4. 7 . 7) b- and g� Pawns vs h-Pawn This is one of the few configurations where a passive set-up is the main defence.

B

56 ...l:r.b2? Now White can give up the a�pawn to reach a draw. The rook had to be improved first: 56 ...l:i:bl + ! 57 'it>g2 ltb2+ 58 Wgl b5 ! 59 lld3 b4! (59 ...Jlxa2? 60 llb3 I:!a5 61 Wg2 =) 60 lle3 lha2 61 ltb3 lla4 62 Wg2 'it>g5 63 .l:tb2 'it>f4 64 llb3 'it>e4 65 llg3 'it>d4 -+. 57 Wfl? 57 l:tc3 ! .l:.xa2 (57 ...b5 58 a3 ! is a drawing set-up due to 58 . . . g3 59 llc8 Wg4 60 lig8+ 'it>f3 61 klf8+ 'it>e4 62 llg8 l:tb3 63 lla8 Wd4 64 Wg2 'it>c3 65 lla5 Wb2 66 'iit>h3 =) 58 .l:I.b3 lla6 59 Wg2 = ; Black is too passive. 57 b5 58 'iii> gl b4 59 .l:ta8 'ii?g3 60 @fl 1'1.bl+ 61 'it>e2 Wg2 62 'it>d2 g3 63 Wc2 l1fl 0-1 •..

4.7.23

Knaak - Muse Bundesliga 199314

47 llb3+ 48 'it>f2? The main defensive idea is not to allow . . . Wh3: 48 Wg2! Wh4 49 l:tc5 and now: a) 49 ...l:!b2+ 50 'it>gl g4 5 U !c3 ! g3 (5 1...l:ta2 52 l:tb3 l:txa4 53 l:txb7 Wh3 54 ltbl =) 52 llc7 b6 53 llc6 Wh3 54 lth6+ Wg4 55 llc6 'it>f3 56 llc3+ Wf4 57 llc4+ We5 58 :tg4 ltb3 59 a5 =. b) After 49 ...g4 50 ltc2! ! White .has reached the main defence and Black cannotwin; e.g., 50...l:!a3 (50 ... llb4 51 a5 llb5 52 ' .llai =) 5 1 '1b2 b 6 5 2 .l:[xb6 Jla2+ 5 3 'iii>g l Wh3 5 4 llbl =. 48...'ii?h4 49 lla8 llb2+ 50 'iit>f3 g4-i- 51 'it>f4 llb4+ 52 Wf5 Wh3 0-1

When the attacking king is much closer to the defending pawn, the attacker often can win, but the lines may be very long:

•..

In the next example the defending a-pawn is further back and there is a fight for the fortress:

B

4.7.24

Ja. Bolbochan - Engels Buenos Aires Olympiad 1939

w

4.7.25 Bouwmeester - Van der Sterren Wijk aan Zee 1980 45 'it>c3?! Now White wins in 35 moves. After 45 Wc4 ! 1tg2 46 'iit>b5 ! !:[a2 47 'Ji..a7 ltb2 48 'it>c4 l:l.c2+ 49 @d4 Jab2 50 @c3 Jaa2 White can regroup more quickly: 5 1 lif7+! Wg8 52 Jad7 'it>f8 53 l:tg8 50 Wa3 ! .llxg6 51 ltf5 ! +-) 50 'Ji..f6 ! llg2+ 5 1 Wc3 ! lag3+ 52 'iit>c 4! l:!.g5 53 'iit>d3 'it>e7 54 1tb6 .llg 3+ 55 'it>c4! @d7 56 lla6 li:tg4+ 57 Wc5 .l:i.g5+ 58 Wd4 .l:i.g4+ 59 We3 'it>e7 60 Wd3 .l:i.g5 6 1 Wc4 'it>f8 62 lab6! l!gl 63

ROOK AND Two PAWNS vs ROOK AND PA WN

'it>bS ! �al 64 .ldb7 ! J!la2 6S !ia7 and after 20 moves we have reached a position that was ana­ lysed in the note to White's 4Sth move (posi­ tion after 47 kia7). 46 I!a7 @gs 47 �d7 a4 48 b4 k!.a3+ 49 'it?c4 llal 50 �d2 Wg7 51 �g2 .li{a3 52 'i!?b5 .tta l 53 'it?a5 @rs 54 b5 a3 55 'tt>a6 @g7 56 b6 !lbl 57 �a2 1-0 Sometimes the 'near' knight's pawn can even be sacrificed:

163

4. 7 .8) a- and g- Pawns vs g- Pawn If the attacking rook protects both pawns from the side, it all depends on the activity of the kings:

B

B

4.7.27

Rubinstein - Ahues Liege 1930

57...'!4e3? The right route to the rook's fourth rank is S7 ...1Ib3 !? S8 .laa8 .li[bS S9 l:Ie8 .lleS 60 .!1d8 'i!?e4 61 Wg4 lads 62 .l:ra8 'it>d4 63 'i!?hS 'it>c4 64 4.7.26 JParlker - Spraggett g4 'it>b4 6S .!1b8+ l1bS -+. British League (4NCL) 200314 58 Jlf8+ 'it>g6 59 .l:l.g8+ 'it>h6 60 Wg4 .l:re5 53 @e7? Now the black rook is on its fourth rank, but S3 ...We6 ! ! is the only way to win as Black is Black's ldng is too passive. just quick enough: S4 l:lg6+ @fS SS Jlxb6 g4. . 61 lla8 'i!?g6 62 k!a6+ Wf7 63 @h5 We7 641 Black wins the resulting races; e.g., S6 .l:!:bS g4 Wd7 65 Jla8? JlxbS S7 axbS g3 S8 b6 g2 S9 b7 glVW+ -+ or S6 An unbelievable error by the great endgame artist Akiba Rubinstein. Waiting on the sixth lib3 l:f.c4 S7 Jla3 @f4 S8 Wb2 g3 S9 @b3 g2 60 rank draws; e.g., 6S l:Ib6 Wc7 66 l:a6 'i!?b7 aiid .l:l.al .l:re4 6 1 aS Wg3 62 a6 @f2 63 aT l:le8 64 Wb4 .l:r.a8 6S 'it>bS .l:txa7 -+. now 67 .:.f6 a4 68 lilfS llxfS 69 gxfS @c7 70 f6 -54-.l:l.g6-l:la5-55-'it>b2-@f�/-56-11xb6-�xa4l-(-D)-Wd'7-7+�g6- . 65 @c6 66 }i[a6+ @b5 67 Jlf6 a4 68 �f5 l:!c5 69 'it>xg5 a3 70 'it>g6 l:!xf5 71 gxf5 a2 72 lf6 al'&' 73 f7 11i'h8 0-1 •.•

••.

w

57 'it'c3 lle4 58 'it>d3 k!e5 59 .l:ic6 'it>g7 60 Itb6 Jle7 61 lic6 1/z.1'2

The cut-off on the d-file is worth knowing for the defender (see following diagram). 45 ...@f6? Now White wins by crossing over with his king to the queenside. The cut-off 4S ....l:td2 ! ! 46 Wel l:tdS 47 Wf2 Wf6 4 8 We3 'i!?f7 leads to a draw; for example, 49 lld4 llaS SO Wd3 We6 S 1 Wc3 @es S 2 lib4 l:Ia8 S 3 Wb3 .l:.a7 S4 llc4 WdS =. 46 Wet 'it>f7 47 Wdl Wf6 48 'i!?cl llf2 49 Wbl! iir.d2

1 64

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

Usually the rook belongs behind the passed pawn, but this guideline should not be followed blindly as it is also very important for the rook to be flexible:

B

B

4.7.28

Gipslis - Inldov Jurmala 1985

49 ...l:if4 50 l:ixf4+ gxf4 5 1 'i!?c2 +- (Gipslis in lnformator 40). 50 as l:id6 Sl 'i!?c2 1-0 These configurations can be quite deep:

w

4.7.29

Wong Meng Kong - Suba Lucerne Olympiad 1982

White draws, but he must be very careful: 47 'i!?g6 l:dS 48 lac4 'i!?d6 49 'i!?f6 li[cS SO l:ia4? 50 l:tg4 ! ! 'i!?c6 5 1 'i!?e6 Wb6 52 'i!?d7 'i!?b5 53 'i!?d6 ! ! with mutual zugzwang. - SO ;@c6 Sl l:ial 'i!?bS S2 l:ibl+ 'i!?c4 53 litc1+ 'i!?d4 S4 l:ial 'ii?d3? 54 . . .'i!?e4! -+. SS g4 'i!?c2 56 l:ta4? 56 'it>g6 ! ! 'it?b2 57 .l:r.fl a4 58 .l:.f5 leads to a draw, as in the famous game 4.7.05, Marshall­ Capablanca. S6...'it?b3 S7 I1e4 a4 SS l:ie3+ 'it?b4 S9 'it>g6 a3 60 l:ie2 .:as 61 l:ie4+ 'it>c3 62 .l:r.e2 a2 63 I1xa2 l:ixa2 64 'ii?xgS 'it>d4 65 @f6 We4 0-1

4.7.30

R. Bogdanovic - T. Taylor Lone Pine 1978

61...l:i:a7? Only after 6 l ...'it?g7 ! 62 @f4 can Black com­ mit the rook with 62 ...lla7 63 @g5 a4 64 l:b6 .fl.a5+ -+. 62 !1a2? White missed the tricky tactical draw 62 Wf6! .fl.a6+ 63 Wg5 a4 64 l:ib8+ 'it?e7 65 l:tb7+ 'it?e8 66 l:tb8+ Wd7 67 ll.bl ! a3 68 Wh6! We7 69 g5 ! (now the black king can't cross its third - rank) 69...a2 70 lial @f7 7 1 I1fl +! 'it>g8 72 .fl.al , when it is mutual zugzwang with Black to · move. 62... a4 63 l:ia3 'it?e7 64 WdS @f6 6S 'it?c6 @gs 66 'it?b6 .fl.as 67 'it?b7 .fl.f8 68 l:txa4 .fl.f4 69 .fl.al 'ii?xg4 70 'ii?c6 gS 71 'it?dS 'it?h3 (D)

••

72 @es :rs 73 lila3+ 'it>M 74 .fl.a7 g4 7S We4 'it?h3 76 'it?e3 g3 77 'it>e2 'it?h2 78 .fl.g7 g2 79 l:ih7+ 'it>gl 80 'f:lg7 I1e8+ 81 @d2 Iles 0-1

1 65

ROOK AND TWO PA WNS VS ROOK AND PA WN

4.7.9) a- and g- Pawns vs h- Pawn

_ The defender has several motifs at his disposal as the knight's pawn can be attacked or lured to the rook's file:

B

w

'faimanov - Averbakh Moscow 1947

4.7.32

4.7.31

Uhlmann - Hilbner Leningrad Interzanal 1973

64 ... Wc4 65 @g6 'it>b4 66 l1g3 a3 67 �g2 li\.c7 ! (Averbald1; 67 . . . a2? 68 l:lxa2 l:rxa2 69 Wxg7 =) 68 Wh7 ltc5 ! 69 Wg6 Wb3 70 Jlg3+ Wb2 7 1 1'!.g2+ .ilc2 72 llgl l:!h2! 73 l:!.g5 a2 74 .lab5+ 'it>cl 75 lta5 l:!.g2+ 76 Wh7 Wbl 77 k!bS+ lirb2 78 Ita5 (78 Jags llh2 79 l:tb5+ @c2 80 .!:i.a5 litxh5+ -+ Dvoretsky) 78 ... .ilb7 -+ (Aver­ bakh). Another nice way to win is 64...WeS 65 Wg6 'it>e4, when White is in zugzwang: 66 l:tal a3 67 l:la2 @f3 68 .ilxa3+ Jlxa3 69 Wxg7 Wg4 70 h6 'itig5 71 h7 .l:\.a7+ 72 Wg8 Wg6 73 h84J+ Wf6 -+. 65 @rs 'it>c4?! After this move, the win is complicated. 65 ...Wc5 ! 66 ?lg3 .:Ia7 67 'itig6 a3 ! is an easier win due to 68 ?lxa3 .laxa3 69 'itixg7 !lg3+! -+. 66 .l:!g3! (D)

61 h5 .l:td + 62 'i!?dS l:Ibl 63 .lah7+ 63 ltf6 .ilxb4 (63 ... a5 ! ? = is probably simpler) 64 h6 l:rh4 65 'it>e6 Wb6 66 Wf7+ 'it>b5 67 Wg6 a5 68 llf5+ Wb4 69 &rh5 .ilg4+ 70 Wf7 lif4+ (Uhlmann in Infonnator 15) 7 1 'itie7 .ile4+ 72 Wd7 .l:.f4 73 h7 .llf8 74 h8� .:xh8 75 l:!.xh8 a4 76 Wc6 a3 =. 63 Wb6 64 .l'ith8 'it>b7 65 Wc4 EI.cl+ 66 Wd3 l:rdl+? Now White, amazingly, can regroup and win. 66...a5 ! ? again was the simplest way to draw as after 67 bxa5 .l::lc5 ! Black reaches a Vancura draw. 67 c3 -- '! 1d- ·- -nb6 72 h6 a5 73 Wg6 a4 74 h7 a3 75 l1h5 +-. 67...l:tc1+ 68 Wb2 l:tc4 69 'it>b3 l:rh4 70 'itic3 a7 71 lih6 Wb7 72 Eih7+ Wb6 73 h6 'ii?b5 74 l:th8 l:th3+ lf2.lf2 •••

�

_ __

·

- -

-

· · · �

� �J • • '� J!_�/p ,i .��. •��. • � • ••• • • �• �• �• . �• . �• �(a, �� B • • • • -

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-

-

-

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ii%'@

�% �% �l"-�o

The following game was annotated in detail by Dvoretsky in his 'Endgame Manual', but the quickest way to win was not shown (seefollow­

ing diagram). 64 l:ta6!? •••

66 l:tf6+?! Black should play 66 ... l:ra7! 67 Wg6 Wb4 68 l:tg4+ Wc5! 69 ltg5+ 'it'c6 70 ltg2 a3 7 1 k!a2 (71 .l:!c2+ 'it'b5 72 ltg2 l:{c7! -+) 7 1 . ..WcS ! 72 ltal a2 73 Wh7 Wd5 74 Wg6 Wd6 ! (Dvoretsky) •••

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

1 66

75 Wh7 'it>e5 76 'it>g6 lia6+ 77 Wxg7 Wf5 78 h6 l:l.a7+ -+.

67 'it>eS? !

In spite of Averbakh's opinion, 67 'it>g5 ! ? gives n o draw due t o 67 ....!:ta6! 6 8 Wf5, repeat­ ing the position from the game after White's 66th move, so Black can win by 68 ...l:!a7 !, etc., as above.

B

67...Jlh6?

67 ...l1f7 ! still wins.

68 llg4+ 'it>b3 69 lig3+ 'it>c2 70 .l:g2+ 'it>d3 71 .l:g3+ 'it>c4 72 l1g4+ 'it>bS 73 .l:xg7?

73 Wd4! = draws as now the a-pawn is under control.

73 ... a3! 74 .l:a7 Ita6 7S Itb7+ 'it>a4 76 't:.g7 .:as+ 77 @r6 a2 78 lig4+ 'it>b3 ! 79 .lil.g3+ Wc4! 80 llg4+ Wd3 81 .l:g3+ 'it>e4 82 Ug4+ 'it>e3 83 llgl l':i.xhS 84 l:l.g3+ Wd4 8S .l:a3 lih2 86 @rs Itr2+ 87 @g4 'it>c4 88 'it>g3 .l:f.c2 -+ and White resigned soon.

Exercise (solution: page 273)

4.7.33

Ka. Lehmann - Espig Krumpa 1972

lih8 @g6 65 l:tb8 .l:tf5 66 .l:.e8 Wf6 (White is in zugzwang) 67 .l:l.e4 .l:te5 68 l:[d4 We6 69 @f4 Itd5 70 .l:tb4 @d6 7 1 .l:b 1 @c5 72 .l:.c l + 'it>b4 73 @e3 .l:tc5 74 l:b l + Wa4 75 Jlal+ @b3 76 lia5 (76 .l:tbl + 'it>a2 77 lib4 'it>a3 78 llbl b4 -+) 76...Wb4 77 Jlal .l:f.c4 -+.

ss l:td4 b4 S6 'it>g3 l:!b3+ 57 'it>g2 @g6 ss .l:tg4+ @rs S9 lih4 WgS 60 lig4+ WhS 61 Wh2 .l:f.bl 62 @g2 b3 63 lib4 b2 64 Wh2 @gs 6S 'it>g2 wrs 66 'it>h2 11i.11i The rook is sometimes even not well placed behind the passed pawn:

B

w

E4.7.13: Black to play and draw.

4. 7 . 1 0) b- and h-Pawns vs h-Pawn

The attacker often wants to protect both pawns - -4�7,34 with his rook (see following diagram):

·- ··

S4 llb1? .••

The rook is not well placed in front of his own passed pawn. Black must regroup with 54 ...lif3 ! ! 55 .l:f.g8 .l:f.f5 ! 56 .l:.g4 .l:f.g5 57 lid4 'it>g6 58 l:Id6+ 'it>g7 ! 59 h4 .l:!f5 ! 60 'it>g3 h5 ! (a very important typical position; Black wins in 28 moves) 61 .Ue6 (with a black pawn on a5, c5 or e5 - instead of b5 - this configuration is drawn) 6 1 ...Wf7 62 .l:f.e4 Wf6 63 l:te8 lk5 ! 64

Lantier - Kramnik Khalkidhiki 1992

S3 .l:.b2?

The main winning line is 53 b4! l:ib3 54 .l:i.g4 h5 55 lif4! @g7 56 h4 +-. White has reached a standard win - see 4.7.33.

S3 .l:f.a5 S4 b4 libS SS @g3 Wg7 S6 @r4 @r6 S7 @e4 @e6 SS @d4 Wd6 S9 @c4 .l:f.bS 60 lib3 'it>c6 61 lif3 lih4+ 11i.11i •••

ROOK AND Two PA WNS vs ROOK AND PA WN

Exercises (solutions: page 273)

167

56 llb7?

Now Black's king can break free. After 56 b(d7 ! Black can't make progress: 56 ... kl.e6 57 Wf5 or 56 ...ilh6 57 Wg4 (57 'tl,.c7? .lld6 -+) 57 ... .l:\;hl 58 b!d6 .llg l+ 59 @f5 1:l.g6 60 l1d7 =.

B

56 l1d6 57 Wf4 ffif6 58 l!b8 'it>e6 59 �b7 f6 60 'fJ.c7 11d4+ 61 'it>e3 lil.cl5! 62 liic6+ 1'1.d6 63 l1c7 WeS 64 'fJ.e7+ 'it>dS 65 'IJ.c7 .lle6+ 66 'it>f4 �e4+ 67 'it>f3 fS 68 l:rc6 Ite6 69 'fJ.cl .lah6! 70 'it>g3 . 'it>e5 71 'IJ.el+ 'it>d4 72 .llc l krd6 73 l:I.c6 wes 0-1

E4.7.14: How should Black defend?

B

.•.

B

4.7.36

lEtalashov - Lputian USSR Team Ch, Azav 1991

At first it seems that Black is in zugzwang.

62 'it>f4? •.•

However, after 62...l':1.e8 ! ! 63 c5 lite4 ! White cannot win; e.g., 64 'it>d3 'it>e5 ! ! 65 c6 .li!d4+ 66 'itrc3 (66 @e3 b!c4 =) 66... 'fJ.d6 = or 64 'it>b3 4. 7 . 1 1) c- and g-Pawns vs g-Pawn 'it>e6 65 l:ldl lites 66 .lii.d6+ 'it>e7 (66...f5? 67 Here we want to emphasize especially the role c4 xg5 68 !l.d5 +-) 67 c4 'fJ.xg5 68 @b5 -of the- defending-wok:--·- --- - · --- -·---�·g1-69-b6-�bt=i--7 0-'it>c7-�c-i-n-c6-g5-72.!ig6 'fJ.gl 73 c8 'itrf7 74 ;g,d6 e7 75 Erh6 g4 76 c7 g3 77 !l.g6 g2 =.

E4.7.15: Black to play and draw.

63 d4 l:Id8+ 64 'it>cS l:Ic8+ 65 'itrdS l:!.fS 69 @h6! !l.xc4 70 llfl+ @g4 71 .laf6! l:Ic8 72 .lla6 lilb8 72...l:Ig8 73 Wh7 .!ib8 74 @xg6 +-. 73 xg6 l:Ig8+ 74 @h6 .!ih8+ 75 Wg7 !l.b8 76 g6 1-0

w

The defence can be so difficult that even Kasparov failed to hold in the following case

(see diagram overleaf). 44 .!ig4+ 45 'it>b3 l1gl 46 'itrb4 litbl+ 47 c4 @e6 48 l1a6+ @rs 49 g6 l:gl so @bS We5 51 c4 'fJ.bl+ 52 Wc6 'fJ.gl? •••

4.7.35

R.akic - Bukic

Belgrade 1968

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

168

-� -�,�B

g ,_%

•Qi'il! .

..! �.

.

4.7.37

• �'� 7,,,,,�. -•

-� -.

··· ··�· ·:·.·

�

� /:

,,,,,,)

.

Rublevsky - Kasparov European Clubs Cup, Izmir 2004

This allows White's king to cross over to the kingside. 52 ...l:!.c l draws; for example, 53 Wc5 l:!.gl (not 53 ... Wf5? 54 l:!.d6 and White wins) 54 l:!.d6 Ilg4 55 litd5+ (55 l:r.b6 :lgl 56 Wb5 libl + 57 'it>c6 lic l 58 c5 Wf5 59 @d5 lidl+ 60 Wc4 Ilc l+ 61 'it>b5 l:!bl+ 62 Wa6 l:'!c l 63 c6 Wxg6 64 Wb7 Wf5 65 c7 l:!.xc7+ 66 'ii?xc7 g5 67 'ii?d6 g4 68 Wd5 g3 =) 55 ...@f6 56 Wb5 We6 57 Ilc5 .l:.gl 58 l:!c6+ We5 59 Wb6 .Ubl+ 60 'ii?c7 'ii?f5 6 1 f!d6 .l:.c l 62 l:!d5+ 'ii?e6 63 Ik5 l:r.c2 64 l:!c6+ We5 65 'ii?d7 Wf5 66 @e7 Wg5 67 Wf7 Wh6 68 c5 lixc5 69 l:!xc5 stalemate. 53 Wd7 l:'!dl + 54 'ii?e7 l:!bl 55 .:.�s+'ii?d4 56 wrn l:!.b7 57 l:!fS 1-0

White is - or should be - just too quick: 53 @d5? This moves the king to a very unfortunate square. The immediate 53 c4 ! wins; for exam­ ple, 53 ... Wg4 (53 ....Uc l 54 Wd5 @f6 55 c5 We7 56 Wc6 +-) 54 Wd6 Iixg3 55 l:r.xg3+ Wxg3 56 c5 h5 57 c6 h4 58 c7 h3 59 c8� h2 (59...Wg2 60 'i'g4+ Wh2 61 @e5 +-) 60 'l!Wc6 +-. 53 hS 54 c4 Wg4 55 c5 l:r.xg3 56 l:!xg3+ 56 l:!.d4+ Wh3 57 c6 h4 (57 ....l:lc3? 58 lic4 +-) 58 c7 .l:lg8 59 We4 .Uc8 60 l:r.d7 Wg3 61 .l:lg7+ 'itth2 =. 56...Wxg3 57 c6 h4 58 c7 h3 59 c8'&! h2 •.•

If2.lf2

Not only is the white king outside the win­ ning zone, but it also gets in the way of its own queen on the long diagonal. Next the defending king deals with the passed pawn as sometimes the defending rook can hold the wing pawn on its own:

B

4.7 . 1 2) c- and g-Pawns vs h-Pawn Our first example features an active defending king. Here the counterplay must be calculated precisely:

w

4.7.39 Sundararajan - Humpy Koneru Indian Ch, Visakhapatnam 2006 _ 54...a3? 54 ....l:lb4 55 Wa2 Wg7 ! 56 Wa3 .l:lb3+ ! ! = and White cannot win the a4�pawn. 55 .l:Ixa3 wxr7 56 1te3! llf6 57 wc2 .l:Ie6?! 58 lh:e6 Wxe6 59 Wc3 a7 65 b5 'ii?b8 66 'ii?b6 1-0

4.7. 13) b- and f-Pawns vs g-Pawn 4.7.38 A. Mijovic - Soylemez European Clubs Cup (women), Kerner 2007

Here we start with the attacking rook behind the passed pawn. There can be surprisingly difficulties:

ROOJ< AND TWO PA WNS VS ROOJb2 l'l.b8 67 @b3 @dS 68 5:r.cS+ @d6 69 .laxgS .iars 70 l'l.g6+ Wc7 71 l:tg3 .a'.r4 72 'it>a4 b6 73 l:tg6+ 'it>b7 74 Ilg3 Wb6 75 'it>b3 c6 76 @c3 Wb6 77 Ilh3 c6 78 l:Ig3 'it>b6 79 Wd3 Itxb4 80 Ilg4 Ilb3+ 81 @e4 Wc6 82 r4 d6 83 @rs 'it>e7 84 Wg6 @rs 85 rs l:tb6+ 86 r6 litbl 1/z-1/z ••.

ROOK AND Two PAWNS \IS ROOK 1lND PA WN

Exercises (solutions: page 273)

1 71

4.7. 14) b- and g-Pawns vs f- Pawn · We start with the kings near the passed pawn. When the defender is actively placed, he can draw as follows:

B

E4.7.16: Should Black take the pawn or not? 4.7.44

Em. Lasker - Steinitz World Ch (14), Moscow 1896

54 I!.e2+ 55 li,{d2 Ile4 56 ltf2 l:[g4 57 @b2 .ll e 4 w . Even 57 ... .Ug3 draws; e.g., 58 I!.f4+ @b5 59 Il.xf5+ @b4 60 Ilf4+ g3 ! =. S9....l1fl+! 60 'itig3 After 60 We3 Black has 60 .. J!txf4 ! 61 llb5+ 'it>g4 -+.

60 ... .l:.bl! 61 Wf3 b3! (D)

w

4.7.4S

Donner - Euwe The Hague (2) 1950

White can draw this position with careful de­ fence.

49 Wg2!

For example, 49 .l:.h6? loses in 27 moves: 49 ... Wf5 ! 50 Wfl l:td3 5 1 we2 .1:.d5 52 .l:.h4 g5 53 .l:.b4 We5 54 We3 Wd6. This is won as the black forces can advance slowly; e.g., 55 We4 .l:.e5+ 56 Wd4 .l:.f5 57 .l:.bl .l:.f4+ 58 'it>e3 b4 59 .l:.gl .l:.f5 60 We4 .l:.c5 61 .l:.bl .l:.c4+ 62 Wd3 Wc5 63 .l:.gl g4 64 .l:.bl .l:.c3+ 65 Wd2 .1:.f3 66 @e2 b3 67 .l:.gl b2 68 .l:.bl .l:.b3 -t. = 49 . .1:.cJ SO .l:.f7 .l:.c6 Sl f3+! @gs S2 llb7! . .

llcS S3 'it>g3 @rs (DJ

:

:

A far-from-obvious mutual zugzwang with White to move.

62 .l:.bS+ 'it>e6! 63 'it>g2 �d6 64 @f3 Wc6 6S .l:.b8 @cs 66 Ir.cs+ Wb4 67 .l:.b8+ \tia3 68 .l:.a8+ Wb2 69 .l:.a6 llfl+ 70 'it>e3 llel + 71 Wf2 .l1e41 72 'it>f3 .l:.b4 73 .l:.xg6 Wc3 0-1

White resigned due to 74 !!.c6+ llc4 7 5 .l:.b6 b2 76 llxb2 Wxb2 77 'it>g4 'it>c3 78 Wf5 Wd4 79 'it>e6 We4 80 f5 .l:.c6+ 8 1 Wd7 llf6 -+.

.' .

Even the next position is drawn and again a mutual zugzwang is extremely important:

w B

S4 f4 This advance is not necessary, but is play­ able. S4. ..l:.c3+ ss 'it>f2! .l:.b3 S6 .l:.b6 b4 S7 We2! llbl 58 'it>e3 li:tel + 58 ... b3 59 Wf3 ! is mutual zugzwang with Black to move. S9 Wf3?

4.7.46 Gershman - Al. Panchenko Kiev Ch 1986

.

73 @M 74 .l:.b4? •••

74 l:!a4 (or 74 llc4 or 74 l::.td4) 74...Wh3 75 llb4! l:!c3 76 .l:.b5 'it>g2 77 llb4 l::tc2+ 78 We3

ROOK AND Two PAWNS \IS ROOK AND PA WN

b2 79 I!:xg4+ c&>n 80 llb4 Ilxf2 81 'it>d3 'it>el 82 �c3 c&>dl 83 �xb2 =. 74...c;t>h3! (D)

1 73

4.7 .15.3: Zugz\vang Fight to Imprison the Defending King

174

4.7 . 1 5 . 1 ) The Cage This is an important attacking technique:

w B

This position is mutual zugzwang with White to move. 75 'it>el .)lc3 76 Wdl Now after 76 J:l.b8 Wg2 77 l:ib4 Black has 77 ...Wf3 ! -+.

76...Wh2 77 Wd2 �c2+ 78 Wd3 Wh3 79 l:r.f4 !!cl 80 Ilb4 .!:.(fl 81 'iii>e3 .!:!bl 82 'it>d3 b2 83 .S:b3 Wg2 84 'it>e2 litfl ss li!'.g3+ Wh2 86 xfl b11&'+ 87 We2 11Wc2+ 88 We1 �e41+ 0-1

Lisitsyn - JLilienthal

4.7.47

Leningrad 1938

55...k!.e5?

This inaccurate move gives White an addi­ tional tempo to play d4. After 55 ... Il.e8 56 li!f4 Wh6 ! the position is drawn as the defending White resigned due to 89 @fl 'lil'f3 -+. king can blow open the kingside cage by 57 d4 g5 58 hxg5+ \t>xg5 59 l:i.e4 .i:1.d8 60 'it>e3 c;i;if5 6 1 !Exercise (solution: page 273) l:te5+ Wf6 62 We4 li:a8 (62.. 'it>f7? 6 3 d 5 kte8 64 d6 +-) 63 Wd5 lla5+ 64 'it>d6 i:ra6+ =. 55 ...l:r� l ? loses to 56 i:f.e4! �al (56...Iidl 57 m m We2 l:.al 58 l:.f4 ! Wh6 59 We3 ! g5 60 hxg5+ . Wxg5 6 1 .Iii.f8 ! +-) 57 .l:!f4!, when the defendB 0 0 ing king is in a cage: 57 ...liel 58 d4! Wh6 59 lle4! .l!thl 6 � ! � �-� Wd3 +-. • 8 _ ----•-•-•-- - ---·- - - ---56-.l!te4? .

-•-.

- ,

�. i�.J £ -�-1m �"'- ��f�-· �. - �- �- ----�- �

E4.7.19: Is 54 ...l!tf3+ a good choice? .

4.7. 1 5) A Passed Pawn and Two Pawns on Neighbouring files Here we shall discuss a few general principles. 4.7. 1 5 . l : The Cage 173 4.7. 15.2: The Passed Pawn has not Crossed the Middle of the Board 174

� � � J.!

_____

After 56 .li(g4! .l!ta5 (56...Ild5 57 We4!) 57 l:lf4 ! White wins. The immediate 5 6 I!f4 .!ire8 57 d4! also wins, but it takes four moves longer.

;::::::;;

57 d4 Wf6 = doesn't allow White to build a cage.

57 d4?

57 .l!tf4! wins.

57 @f6 58 We3 Ilh8 59 .ID'4+ We6 60 We4 .l!th5 61 .l!tg4 We7 62 Wd3 Wd7 63 Wc4 @c7 64 d5 Wd6 65 l:lxg6+ Wd7 66 .l!tg7+ Wd6 67 .l!tg6+ Wd7 68 cS .l!txh4 69 .l!tg7+ d8 70 Wc6 We8? •••

70 ...lld4 =.

71 .l!tg8+ f7 72 IldS?

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

1 74

66 .:e5+ @d6 67 't¥?f6 I:tfl 68 Ite4?! For 68 f5 ! , see the next note. 68 ... @c5 69 l:'!e5-i- @d6 (D)

72 Ir.as +-. 72 l:.c4+? 72 . . .We7 ! =. 73 Wd7 l:ra4 74 .l:.c8 !!a7+ 75 "IJ,,c7 l:ta5 76 d6 .l:.a8 77 .l:.c8 l:Ial 78 Wc7 "IJ,,cl+ 79 Wd8 .l:.al ••.

80 d7 .l:.a7 81 .l:.cl 1-0

w

4.7 . 1 5.2) The Passed Pawn has not Crossed the Middle of the Board The centre line is often a crucial barrier. If the passed pawn can cross it, then the winning chances are much greater:

70 .l:f5?

B

White misses 70 f5 ! libl 7 1 lie2 .l:i:xb5 72 li!d2+ 'it>c5 73 We6 l:'!b8 74 f6 .l:l.h8 75 f7 Wb4 76 .l:.g2 .litf8 77 "IJ,,g 8 l:'!xf7 78 Wxf7 c5 79 We6 c4 80 d5 c3 8 1 'itid4 Wb3 82 Wd3 +-.

70 .. J%bl?

70 ...l:'!f2 =.

71 Wg6?

7 1 .l:l.e5 ! +-.

71 ..J:tb4 72 Wf7 .l:i:bl 73 @es .Uhl!

4.7.48

V. lP'etrovs - !Keres

Estonia-Latvia, Tallinn 1 938

55 We6! 56 .l:.g5 .l:.d7? •••

.

.

The simplest way to draw is 56 ....l:.h7+ 57 Wg4 .l:.h8 58 .l:.e5+ @d6 ! , when White cannot achieve the f5 advance under favourable cir­ cumstances; e.g., 59 .l:.g5 .l:.b8 60 f5 l:lxb5 61 f6 .l:.b8 62 Wf5 c5 63 Wg6 c4 64 f7 We6 65 @g7 l:b7 66 li!g6+ 'itd5 =.

57 Wg4?

After 57 .l:i.e5+! White wins in 1 8 moves: 57 ...Wf6 (57 ...Wd6 58 .l:.e8 Wc5 59 .l:.b8 'it>d6 60 Wg5 We7 61 lk8 li!d5+ 62 f5 Wd7 63 l:lb8 +-) 58 Wg4 l:h7 59 Wf3 li!h3+ 60 'ite4 l:f.b3 61 Wd4 l:.bl 62 Wc5 "IJ,,c l + 63 Wd5 .UcZ-64. l:'!e4 l:tb2 65 Wc6 .l:.c2+ 66 'it>b7 kf.cl 67 l:e5 li!c4 68 Wc8 'it>f7 69 Wd7 Wf6 70 l:te6+ 'it>f5 71 li!c6 Itb4 72 l:c5+ Wxf4 73 Wxc7 +-. 57 .l:.d4 58 li!g6+ Wd7 59 lig7+ Wd6 60 •.•

l:'!g8 l:'!c4 61 l:'!g6+ 'it>d7 62 l:h6 l:'!b4 63 l:'!h5 'it>d6 64 l:'!f5 .Ubl 65 'it>g5 'it>e6?

Black allows White to advance his f-pawn. 65 ... l:r.gl+ 66 Wf6 l:f.g4 67 'itif7 l:'!h4 68 @g6 li!g4+ 69 Wh5 l:'!g8 70 l:'!e5 .1:1f8 7 1 Wg4 l:.b8 =.

·

White went on to win this drawn position. A sample line runs 74 l:'!f6+ Wc5 75 l:'!c6+ Wxb5 76 .l:.xc7 l:h8+ 77 We7 l:'!h7+ 78 Wd6 TJ.xc7 79 'it>xc7 Wc5 80 Wd7 Wd5 8 1 We7 We4 =.

4.7 . 1 5.3) Zugzwang Fight to I m­ prison the Defending King As it is so difficult to attack the defender's pawn, deeper methods may be required to force concessions (see following diagram).

n :c5?

The win is tricky: 72 h6 Wg8 73 We5 'it?h8 74 We6 'itg8 75 'itd6 (a triangulation to bring about zugzwang) 75 ...Wh8 76 .l:i.c6 Wg8 77 Wc7 .l:.dl (With Black's king oh h8, the position would be drawn) 78 'it>b6 d4 (78 .. Jkl 79 l:'!c7 Wh8 80 Wb5 Wg8 8 1 Wb4 ![bl+ 82 c5 .Udl 83 .:g7+ Wh8 84 .Ud7 l'.:td3 85 Wb4 l'.:tdl 86 'it>b3 l:r.d2 87 h7 +-) 79 c4 d3 80 Wc5 d2 8 1 l'.:tg6+ (this is the trick; 8 1 li[d6? Wh7 ! = is mu­ tual zugzwang) 8 1 .. .Wh8 82 l:g2! +-.

72 Wh7 73 Wc6 'it>h6 74 Wb5 l:'!h3 75 l:c8 .l:.d3 76 .Uc5 l:h3 77 Wb6 l'.:td3 78 Wc6 Wh7 79 'it>b5 Wg7? •••

ROOK

AND

TWO PAWNS VS ROOK 1lND PA WN

1 75

64 'it>f5 11.fl + 65 @e4 k!e 1 + 66 @f3 Lrfl + 67 @g2 -'rlf4 68 'i!?g3 Jlfl 69 �c4 �al 70 Wf4 )i{fl+ 7 1 'it>e4 (Black is in zugzwang) 7 1 ...hif2 72 &tel :a2 73 'Et>f4 )i{b2 74 �c4 lil.f2+ 75 'it>g3 .)!{a2 76 :c6 +-.

w

59 '1td5! �c4 60 Jlf5 ik6 61 �f4 'it>d7 62 c8'&+ �xc8 63 �xf6 'it>c7 64 gS �h8+ 65 'it>g6 .lags+ 66 'it>h6 1-0 Exercises (sol utions: page 274)

4.7.49 Gavrikov - Van dcr Stcrrcn Amsterdam 1987 Black should play 79 ...Wh6 80 @c6 Wg7 = or 79 ...!'th3 80 'it>b4 i:{h4+! 8 1 Wb5 l:.h3 ! 82 �b4 lih4+! 83 @b3 .iaxh5 =.

B

80 i:ic6! �h7 81 'it>b4 li!.h3 82 h6 .lig3 83 fl.d6 i:{d3 84 �b3 i:{d2 85 .ilf6 Black is in zugzwang. 85 .Ith2 85 ...c;i;>g8 is met by 86 Itf5 �h7 87 :h5 'ii?g8 88 h7+ Wh8 89 .li{hl d4 90 c4 +-. ..

86 JifS Wxh6 87 :xdS Wg6 88 c4 Wf6 89 c5 l:f.M 90 fl.d7 Wc6 91 c6 &rg4 92 lid8 1-0

E4.7.20: Which set-up for Black draws?

Often the attacking rook must be regrouped first:

B B

E4.7.21: How should Black defend? 4.7 .50

Asrian - JBologan European Ch, Warsaw 2005

57...Wb7?

This loses in 22 moves. 57 ... .l:tfl draws; e.g., 58 i!f7 i!f4 59 'it>h4 El.fl 60 Wg3 @b7 =.

58 lld7! Wc8

The main line is 58 ... Itfl 59 Jid5 El.bl+ 60 @g6 Elg1 61 i!d4 fl.fl 62 l:!.c4 Wc8 63 l:rc5 Elg!

4.8) Arn Passed IPaiwrrll s p (C0)!1'D ll1lectedl amdl (C�(Q)se f«:»geUnew This gives very good winning chances due to the potential of the connected passed paV{ns. Our statistics show a very high number of 69%

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGA.Jv!ES

1 76

decisive games. But here the side with the sin­ gle pawn may also have winning chances if it is far-advanced while the connected pawns are not. 4.8. l : The Attacking Rook is in 176 Front of the Passed Pawns 4.8.2: The Defender's Rook is Behind its Passed Pawn 177 4.8.3 : The Attacker's King is 177 Far Away or Cut Off 4.8.4: The Pawns are Not Far-Advanced 178

3...'itig6 4 l:ra6+ @h5 5 .l:.al (D)

B

4.8. 1 ) The Attacking Rook is in Front of the Passed Pawns The question is whether the passed pawn can create enough counterplay.

w

5 ....l:.g2?

5 ...@g4? 6 e6 h2 7 e7 .l:.gl 8 'itid3 ! ! .l:.xal (8 ... h l 'Wi 9 .l:.xgl+ Wilxgl 10 e8'Wi =) 9 e8'*1 :l.a3+ (9 ... hl'/W 10 'liYe6+ @g3 1 1 '1Wd6+ 'itif2 12 Wifc5+ @fl 13 'liYf5+ 'itiel 14 '1We5+ =) 10 @e2 hl'iV 1 1 'i¥e6+ @g3 12 Witd6+ @g2 1 3 Wifc6+ @h2 14 Wifh6+ l:rh3 15 'liYd6+ .l:.g3 16 'liYh6+ = (Shneider and VI.Gurevich in Informator 44). 5 ...:tg4+! ? wins: 6 @e3 rl.f4! 7 :!.el lif5 ! 8 'it>d4 .l:.f8 9 e6 .l:.e8 10 'itie5 @h4 1 1 'it>f5 g4 1 2 lie4 h2 1 3 .l:!.xg4+ @h3 14 .l:!.g7 lith8 15 e7 hl� 16 .t!.h7+ lixh7 17 e8Vi' i¥d5+ -+. 5 ...lib3 (or 5 ...llc3) also wins, but talces a lit­ tle longer.

6 @e3! @g6

4.8.01

A. Shneider - Yudasin · · Norilsk 1987

1 lia7+ @f8 2 lia8+ Amazingly, 2 @f5 also draws; e.g., 2 ...g4 3 e6 h2 4 lia8+ @e7 5 lia7+ @d6 6 lla6+ Wd5 7 .l:tal ligl 8 e7 h 1 'liY 9 e8WU and Black cannot win the 4th phase of the game.

6 ...h2 7 e6 'itig6 8 lifl ! = (Shneider and VI.Gurevich). 7 .l:.fl! l:ra2 8 e6 .l:.a6 9 'itif3 :l.xe6 10 @g4 h2

11 'itig3 .l:.ei 12 .l:.al .l:.b2 13 :hl @hS 14 llal

=

These races can be really close:

2 wg7 3 lia7+? •..

Now Black's king can escape the danger zone. 3 @f5 ! leads to a draw: a) After 3 ... g4 4 .l:1.a7+ @f8 5 .l:.a8+ @e7 6 lia7+ Wd8 7 lia8+ @c7 8 e6 h2 9 .l:.a7+ @b6 10 lial ligl 11 e7 it seems unbelievable, but the po­ sition is drawn: 1 1 ....l:.xal (1 1 ...hl 'liY 12 .l:lxgl =) 12 e8WU h I 'WI 13 'Wid8+ with perpetual check. b) 3 ...h2 4 lla7+ @h6 5 lia8 Wg7 6 .l:'!a7+ @f8 7 lia8+ @e7 8 :l.a7+ @d8 9 .l:.a8+! (9 .l:.h7? .l:tg2! 10 .l:.h8+ @e7 1 1 .l:th7+ @f8 12 e6 g4 13 lih8+ We7 14 .l:.h7+ @d6 15 e7 Wd7 -+) 9 ...@c7 1 0 l:ra7+ 'itib6 1 1 .l:.h7 =.

B

4.8.02

Zapata - Milos Santos 2003

ROOK AND TWO PA WNS \IS ROOK AND PA WN

70 �g2? •.•

70 ....l:lhl ! is the only winning move; e.g., 7 1 Wf2 .l:iel ! ! 72 'tt>g3 .l:Ie3+ 73 Wh2 g4 74 .Ue8 @g7 7S e7 �e2+ 76 Wgl g3 77 @fl Ele6 -+. 70 ... Wf6? is met by 7 l l'Ih7 Wxe6 72 @f3 =.

71 ges?

7 1 llh7 ! ! enables White to draw by sacrific­ ing his rook: 7 1 .. .'it>xh7 72 e7 �gl 73 'it>f2 h2 74 e8'?4¥ h l 'fil' 7S Wif7+ with perpetual check.

71. ..Wf6 72 l:th8 g4 73 .Uh6+ @e7 74 @r4 h2 7S @es lle2+ 76 @f4 .llg2 77 @es g3 78 .l:!h7+ Wf8 79 e7+ We8 80 We6 80 'it>f4 llgl -+.

so...l1e2+ 81 Wd6 g2 82 l'!h8+

82 llxh2 gl WI! 83 llh8+ rtJf7 84 :l.f8+ @g7 -+.

82...rtJf7 83 llh7+ 'it>g6 0-1

1 77

S8 ...f3 S9 llb7+

S9 'ttid6 f2 60 l1g8+ (60 �f7 lld3+ 6 1 'i&cS E\.f3 :-+; 60 c7+ 'it>b7 -+) 60 ...'i!?a7 6 1 �g7+ Wa6 62 c7 Wb7 -+.

S9 Wc8 .•.

S9 ... Wa8? 60 .l:lb2 �gl (60 . . .Iig2? 6 1 c7 .l:f.xb2 62 c81&+ @a7 63 1&Vxg4 +-) 61 c7 �c l 62 @f4 =.

60 .l':l.f7 ktgl! 61 Wd6 I!.dl+ 62 @cs g3 63 �f8+ Wc7 64 .l:lf7+ Wd8 6S c7+ 6S Jirf8+ We7 66 .l:1xf3 g2 -+. 6S @c8 66 @c6 llcl + 67 @b6 g2 -+ .•.

4 . 8 . 2) The Defender's Rook is Behind its Passed Pawn

Even here the defender must be careful:

In the next case the counterplay is sufficient, but precision is still required:

w

4.8.04

JP'ortisch - JRaclovici Ploesti 1957

4.8.03 M. Kaminski - C. Horvath -

-

-

S6 @e6 .l:lc3 57 f4 l:1.e3+?

Krynica Zonal 1998

-

- -- -- -

-

-

--- - -

-

- -

S7 c6 S7 WdS ! ? might be easier; e.g., S7 .. .f3 S8 .lag8+ Wa7 S9 c6 @b6 60 &i.b8+ @c7 61 l:tb7+ Wc8 62 Z:.f7 =.

S7 g4

S7 .. .f3 S8 @e3 ! g4 S9 'i¥tf2 .l:f.g2+ 60 wn g3 61 J:f.f7 .i;:tf2+ 62 @gl =. •••

ss we5?

SS @cs ! J:f.c3+ S9 Wb6 defends; for example, S9 ... l'tb3+ 60 @cs g3 6 l l'.Ig8+ Wc7 (6 1 .. .@a7 62 c7 l:tc3+ 63 Wd6 f3 64 llxg3 Wb7 6S J:f.g8 ll.xc7 66 l:tf8 =) 62 &\.g7+ Wd8 63 c7+ Wc8 64 Wc6 J:f.c3+ 6S Wb6 =.

0-1

White resigned due to:

·

Black could make a nice draw by S7 . . .Wc7 ! --- tenoi -.-:-:@d8fS8- eT'i!?cO! @ ng withtheiClea (in ...@dS; e.g., S9 fS @dS 60 f6 l'lc7+ =.

S8 @f6?

S8 Wf7 ! llc3 S9 fS ! wins; e.g., S9 ...WdS '60 f6 WeS 6 1 g4 @f4 62 @g7 Wxg4 63 f7 +-.

58...l'lc3 59 g4 @ds?

The last mistake. The king has to take the northern road: S9 ...@d7 ! 60 @f7 @d6 61 gS llc7+ 62 @f6 Wd7 63 fS 'it>e8 64 g6 Wf8 6S 'it>gS Wg8 66 f6 &i.c6 =. 60 fS &i.c6+ 61 @g7 &i.c7+ 62 Wg6 1-0

4 .8.3) lf'he Attacker's King is Far Away or Cut Off Often the right cut-off must be chosen:

1 78

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

We4 5 1 d5 �e3 52 l:!'.e6+ @d4 53 d6 +-) 50 @fl (Black is in .zugzwang) 50. . .l:r.a2 51 d5 :.d2 52 l:r.e6+ @f7 53 .l:.e5 @f6 54 11h5 @e7 (54. . .@g6 55 c6 +-) 55 d6+ @d7 56 l:r.f5 @c6 57 'iii>g 2! (57 l:r.xf2? l:r.d l+ 58 @e2 .l:f.d5 =) 57 ... l1c2 58 .:!.d5 ! Wd7 59 Wfl (Black is in zugzwang again) 59 ...@c8 60 d7+ e5 56 �c7+ @f5 =.

51 Wd6 52 @xf2 l:tc3 53 'iii>e2 l:.h3 54 Ild3 .Uhl 55 @e3 (D) •••

53...l:r.a3+?

Now White's king can invade. Black also loses after 53 ...l:r.b4?? 54 e7 +- or 53 ...f7 l1a7+ 7 1 'iii>g8 .U.a8+ 72 lilf8 l1a7 73 .U.f7 Ila8+ =.

70 'iitf7 Ile7+ 71 @gS? l1e8+? 72 'iitg7 l:laS 72...'!J,.e7+ 73 lif7 +-. · ··· 73 :rs i-o

45 ... l:!'.c4! 46 l:td5 (46 lith4 e7 47 l:!'.e5+?

Such endings are very complicated (seefollow­

58 l1f2! •••

The only drawing move.

59 l1a8 f5?

ROOI< AND TWO PA WNS

\IS ROOI< AND PA WN

1 79

Be8 Wf7 64 �e4 +- and Black's king cannot hunt the rook on the e-file forever. 62...E'.c2? Now the defending Icing can stop the re­ grouping with 62 ...@f6 ! 63 r.l.c8 c6 l:1.b4 70 c5 't/.e4 71 I!xe4 �xe4 72 b7 el'fJJ 73 b8V&' 'it>d4 74 'ID'f4+ 'it>c3 75 Wd6 V&dl+ 76 Wc7 'lmd5 77 c6 �b3 78 'itib6 1-0

4.8.07

Suetin - Polugaevsky USSR Team Ch, Moscow 1959

This allows White to cut Black's Icing off. 59 ...'itc5 ! 60 '1d8 f5 6I 't1d2 llf3 62 'it>e2.lic3 =. 60 'it>c1? 60 II.c8 ! affords White a long win in 32 moves: 60 ... .l:l.g2 61 l:!c4 'it>b5 62 �c l &1.gl + (62 ....l:tf2 63 'it>b2 f4 64 'it>c3 f3 65 'it>d3 +-) 63 'it>d2 .li[g2+ 64 'it>d3 Ilg3+ 65 'it>e2 lig8 66 'Jlc7 'it>b6 67 X!c3 'itib5 68 'it>e3 'itib4 69 l:.c4+ �b5 70 'tl.c7 Wb6 71 !ic3 .lag4 72 l:Ic8 l:Ie4+ 73 'it>d3 l:If4 74 �c4 l!f1 75 'itie3 l:.el + 76 Wf4 Zifl + 77 'it>g5 Iif2 78 c3 l:If3 79 b4 +-. 60 f4 61 li{c8 l:lg2 62 .l:If8 lif2 63 'itib2 @cs 64 :r.irs+ 'itid4 65 .:.rn f3 66 1:1.ds+ 'it?e3 67 'it?cJ l:le2 68 b4 f2 69 .l:!.e8+ Wf3 70 i:i.f8+ 'it>e3 71 ?Ie8+ @f3 72 1If8+ 11z_11z

IE)(ercises {sol utions: page 274}

B

•••

The following motif is worth knowing:

E4.8.01: How should Black defend?

180

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

4.9) All Passed Pawns, B

E4.8.03: How should Black continue the race?

Connected and Fa r Apa rt The attacker has good winning chances here: 70% of the games are decisive according to our statistics (the single pawn is likely to win some games of course, but the percentage is so high that this should not affect the conclusion), but certain drawing techniques are worth knowing. 1 80 4.9. 1 : a- and b-Pawns vs h-Pawn 1 84 4.9.2: a- and b-Pawns vs g-Pawn 1 88 4.9.3: a- and b-Pawns vs f-Pawn 1 89 4.9.4: b- and c-Pawns vs g-Pawn 191 4.9.5: b- and c-Pawns vs h-Pawn

4.9 . 1) a- and b-Pawns vs h-Pawn B

4.9. 1 . 1 : The Defender's King is in Front of the Passed Pawns 4.9. 1 .2: The Defender's King Supports its Passed Pawn

1 80 1 82

4.9. L l ) The Defender's King is i n frent of the Passed Pawns If the attacking king is far away, then fortresses can arise:

E4.8.04: Black has two ways to di-aw. Find one of them.

w

B

4.9.01

Sveshnikov - lnkiov Athens 1983

58 g6?

E4.8.05: In a correspondence game Black did not find the way to draw. Can you do better?

Now Black can draw against the two passed pawns. The correct way to win is 58 h6! Ji[bl 59 £1.xa2 l:.b5 60 £1.g2 ! as 60 ...Wh7 can be met by 61 g6+! (61 Wh3? 'i£?g6 =) 6 1 . .. 'i£?g8 (61...Wxh6 62 g7 +-) 62 .l:r.g3 .l:r.h5+ 63 .l:r.h3 .l:r.g5 64 h7+

ROOK AND Two

PAWNS vs ROOK AND PAWN

lth8 65 flg3 '1.h5+ 66 lt>g2 Wg7 67 bih3 k{g5+ 68 Wf3 'it>h8 69 �g3 !'!f5+ 70 We4 +-. 58 ... labl 59 11xa2 �b5 60 Ila8+ Wg7 61 lil.a7+ Wg8 62 �h7 J;lb3! 63 ©g2 X:i.a3 (D)

181

So usually the defending rook is not so well placed il). front of the pawn, which makes the following draw very important:

B

w

64 °it>f2 kih3 65 'itie2 �g3 66 wn �f3+ 67 @el .lle3+ 68 Wdl ktd3+ 69 @c2 Il.g3 70 'it>b2 .l:r.h3 71 @cl .l:r.c3+ 72 @d2 kl.h3 73 We2 .Ug3 74 Wf2 .S:h3 75 h6 .S:h2+ 76 Wf3 Ubl 77 Wf4 .S:fi+ 78 'itig5 llgl+ 79 Wf6 �fl+ 80 'itie6 �el+ 81 Wd7 li[dl+ 82 @c7 .Ucl+ 83 Wd6 llgl 84 l:.g7+ Wh8 85 'itie7 .Ue1+ 86 Wf7 .S:e7+ i1z.11z Forh·ess construction can be more important than the passed pawn:

w

• • • B""' flj•• •, •• •.B l:. �, � • • 1$#�� • · B B p p� db.-� � ----%.��'?,�---,::..� - - - - - . - - - ,

4.9.02

. .

Ruan Lufei - Lahno Rostov-on-Don (women) 2011

46 l:!.g2! .••

The rook moves to a better position. In the game the rook stayed in front of the pawn with 46....l:r.hl ? and White won: 47 Wb4 h2 48 .s'.h7 .S:gl 49 .S:h6+ 'itib7 50 .l:lxh2 1-0.

47 M llt2 48 WM �f2 49 .Uh6+ Wb7 50 'itia.41 'itic7!

This position is very important. The black rook has only two drawing squares - f2 and g2, so if it's Black to move in this position then the only drawing move is ... .S:g2! (and with the · rook on g2, the only drawing move is ...l:lf2!). .

5l a6

.

·- --

4.9.03

Or: 5 1 'rii>b5 l:lf5+ 52 Wa6?! �f6+ .S:h7+ .Wc6! 52 .lah6+ Wc7 ! =. _51 J:f,f6.I =

__ _ ___

V. Milov - Van Wely European Team Ch, Batumi 1999

••

___ _ _ _ _ __ __

-

--

- -

- - -

B

43 h5?

After 43 'rii>c4 ! l:.a4+ 44 'rii>b3 l:tb4-i- 45 Wa3 b5 the position is drawn. Even 46 ./!!.d7 Wxh4 47 f!d5 ! = is possible.

43 llb3! 44 'rii>d5 'itig5 45 h6 'itig6 46 .Uh8 a.4 47 .U.a8 �b4 48 f!h8 b5 •.•

·

and Black's rook and pawns win by 'autopilot'.

4.9.04

C. Bernard - Benoit French Ch, Courchevel 1979

=;

51

--

182

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

Black loses here If the rook moves to the dfile, as he needs more checking distance:

69 .l:td.2? ..•

69 ...l1b2 70 g4 @f7 = is called for.

w

70 g4 .l:tb2

70...@f7 7 1 @g5 l:td5+ 72 Wf4 l1d4+ 73 '>t>f5 l1d5+ 74 @e4 l'1d2 75 @e5 @g7 76 @f5 l:td5+ 77 We4 l'1d2 78 g5 l'1g2 79 l'1a7+ Wg8 80 @f5 +-.

71 h6+ 'iti>h7 72 WhS l:th2+ 73 @gs l'1b2 74 .l:f.a7+ 'iti>g8 7S 'iti>hS lk2 76 gS ltb2 77 g6 .llh2+ 78 @gs l'1g2+ 79 @rs l:f2+ 80 'iti>e4 1-0 4.9 . 1 .2) The Defender's King Supports its Passed Pawn Such races can be very close. Often the defend­ ing rook has to act precisely:

B

4.9.06

Matsuura C. Toth -

Sii.o Paulo 2010 l:txh2+ l:[xh2 49 b5 Wf3 50 b6 l:[b2 leads to a draw.

4S b3?

45 Wa3 ! seizes the chance as White's king now has shelter: 45 ...h2 46 b4 l'1f3+ 47 Wa4 l:th3 48 l:thl @g3 49 a6 Wg2 50 l'1xh2+ l:txh2 51 b5 'iti>f3 52 b6 aS l'Ifl SS bS ltf8 S6 b6 1-0 4.9.0S

Nijboer - Vaganian European Ch, Istanbul 2003

Matters can be so deep that even a former world correspondence chess champion can miss the win:

46 :iaS? •••

This is just too slow. Amazingly, 46 ...a2 47 :n l:tg5 ! 48 Wg3 'iti>a3 ! draws: 49 Wf4 l:tb5 ! 50 Ital l;{b4+! = or 49 h6 .llg6 50 l:[hl Wb4 51 h7 l:[h6 52 :xh6 al "ff 53 h8'&' '&'el+ 54 Wf4 'i'/d2+

w

47 h6 l:[a8

47�.-.a2 48-!tn al i'l 49 :xal �xal 50 g5 +­ (Psakhis in CBM 96).

48 gS lib8 49 @g3 a2 SO tlfl 'iti>c4 Sl l:tal lia8 S2 h7 1-0

The attacking king needs shelter from the checks (see following diagram). 44 ltcl :t'2? This is not the right way to use the rook. 44. ..h2 45 @a4 .l:lh5 46 l:thl '4?g3 47 b4 'lttg2 48

4.9.07

Rittner - Marcussi corr. 1982-6

SO Wb3? 50 b4! and 50 l1dl win.

ROOK AND Two PAWNS vs ROOK AND PA WN

183

50 ... lih8 51 k!h2 Wf'5 52 Wc4 'i&g4 53 b4 @g3 S4 .1tlhl (D)

S9 &1.h2 Wf6 60 a6 h!h8 61 a7 l:la8 62 .l!rxh3 We6 63 ilh6+ Wd7 64 Iia6 Wc7 6S 'it>a3 'it'b7 66 �as .llxa7 67 Wb4 1-0

B

!Exercises .{solutions: page 275)

B

S4...'it>g2?

Black misses a draw by 54...l:.h4+! 55 'itib5 (55 @c3 'it>g2 ! =) 55 ...l!!h5+ 56 'it>a4 'it>g2 57 .l:i.al h2 58 a6 hl\l!V 59 .l:i.xhl .!ii:xhl 60 'itib5 @f3 61 @b6 'itie4 62 a7 l1al 63 b5 @d5 64 'it>b7 'it>c5 65 b6 .l:i.a2 =.

E4.9.01: How should Black use his h-pawn?

Sometimes the Icing should cross over to the passed pawns:

B

ss Irxh3 .lhh3 56 bS .l:i.h4+ S7 @cs l:.hS+ 58 'itic6 1-0

B

4.9.08

lUbilava - Ermolinsky Telavi 1982

B

S8....a'.h4?

Now Black cannot coordinate his defence. 58 ...@f7 ! 59 .l:i.h2 .a'.f3 ! draws, though Stock­ fish, one of the strongest chess engines for end­ games, doesn't see the draw without tablebases. 60 b4 @e6 61 a6 @d6 62 a7 litf8 ! 63 lixh3 lita8 64 .:h6+ Wd5 ! 65 .a'.a6 @c4! 66 lla4 Wb5 67 'it>b3 'it>b6 68 @c4 .a'.c8+! 69 'itid5 l:.d8+! 70 �e6 @b7 ! =.

E4.9.03: How should Black defend?

UNDERSTAND/NG ROOK ENDGAMES

184

Other moves do not help either: 38 . . ..Uh5+ 39 Wg2 b5 40 g4 l:lg5 41 �g3 +-; 38 ...Wf7 39 g4 We7 40 Wh4 Wd7 41 l:lf6 Wc7 42 g5 .Ub2 43 'l!?g3 b5 44 h4 +-.

w

39 g4

Now White's connected passed pawns will decide the day by advancing together with the king. 39 b5 40 Wg3 .Ub3+ 41 WM 41 'iii>f4? throws away the win due to 4 l ....Uh3 42 .Uc2 Wg6 =. .•.

E4.9.04: Find White's only drawing move.

41 ... b4 42 .a:.b6!

The rook belongs behind the passed pawn.

42....l:l.b2 43 h3!

The important h-pawn must be preserved as 43 Wg5? .Uxh2 44 .Uxb4 l:ta2 45 .Ub7+ Wg8 46 Wg6 l:.a6+ = leads to a version of Philidor's fa­ mous drawing position.

w

43 b3 ••.

After 43 ... l:rb3 White just continues the ad­ vance in the same spirit as before: 44 g5 +-. 44 Wg5 l'l.bl 45 h4 b2 46 h5 Wf7 47 .l:Ib7+ @f8 48 h6 l-O So the defender must be very active, as in the next position from ECE:

E4.9.05: White to play and draw. 4.9.2) a- and b-Pawns vs g�Pawn

If the defender is not well placed, it is usually lost:

B ·

4.9.10

Kostic - Janosevic Yugoslav Ch, Ljubljana 1951

56 h5+ Wf6!?

4.9.09

Ju Wenjun - lKovanova

Russia-China (women), St Petersburg 2012

38 .Ub2 ••.

The game featured 56...Wh6?: a) 57 g4? .Ud2? (57 ...:1c5! 58 l:lxb2 Wg5 59 .Ub3 :1a5 ,,;,) 58 'iii>h4 Wg7 59 .Ub6 'iii>f7 60 Wg5 +- and White went on to win the game. b) Correct is 57 Wh4 ! .Uh2+ 58 @g4 l:tg2 59 l:tb7 ! with mutual zugzwang: bl) 59 .. J:tc2 60 .l:Ib6+ 'iii>g7 61 Wh4! 'iii>f7 62 g4! +-. With a black pawn on a2, a black rook

ROO!( AND Two PAWNS vs ROOK AND PAWN

on b2 and a white rook on a6, the position is drawn because Black has the drawing move ... .l:tc2 (still with enough checking distance), but now it's a position of mutual zugzwang. b2) 59....l:!d2 60 Il.b6+ Wg7 61 @gs B':d5+ 62 Wh4 i!d2 63 g4 @f7 64 @gs Jld5+ 65 @f4 �d4+ 66 @f5 .lld5+ 67 We4 .lld2 68 @e5 l:[e2+ 69 @f5 l:1.f2+ 70 @g5 .l:rc2 71 Erbi+ ©g8 72 h6! +-. 57 @h4 @f7? (D) Black can draw by 57 ... .l:.d2 58 .l:{b6+ @f7 59 g4 nc2 (mutual zugzwang), transposing to the position after Black's 59th move below.

185

61...I\.c3+ 62 'i&f4 !!c4+ 63 ©e3 1!th4 64 h6 .l:Ig4 65 h7 @g7 = also draws; a third drawing move is 61...rlc2 .

62 g6+ ©g7 63 .llb7+ Wh6 64 .!:Ih7+ @gs 65 .l:!b7 Wxh5 = (BCE).

Usually the attacker must be very careful to avoid his passed pawns becoming blockaded:

w

w

4.9.11

-

41 !tc2!

58 g4? The main-line win in 27 moves is 58 .l:{b3 Wf6 59 l!b6+! Wg7 (59 ...Wf7 60 g4! with mu­ tual zugzwang - see line 'bl ' above) 60 g6 45 'ii?b3 .l:te4 46 g6 s2 b4? ••

Now the only way to win is 52 .l:'l.gl ! Ir.f2 53 a4 .l:'l.f4 54 Wa3 .l:Lf3+ 55 b3 l:rf5 56 b4 .l:'l.f3+ 57 Wb2 .l:'l.f2+ 58 Wb3 .l:'l.f3+ 59 'i!?c4 l:rf4+ 60 'i£?b5 .l!t.f5+ 61 @a6 .l:'l.f6+ 62 'iii>a5 l1f5+ 63 b5 +-.

S2 @fiS? •••

-

.

After 52...Wf5 ! 53 :S.gl g4! the position is drawn, as Black's king is in time on the queen­ side; e.g., 54 b5 g3 55 b6 'i!?e6 56 b7 lif8 57 .l:r.xg3 llb8 58 llb3 Wd6 59 a4 Wc6 60 a5 l:!.xb7 = or 54 a4 g3 55 a5 @e6 56 a6 @d6 57 a7 litf8 58 llxg3 @c6 59 @b3 Wb7 60 llg7+ @a8 =.

S3 llgl g4 S4 bS g3 SS a4 \t>h4 S6 b6 @h3 S7 b7 llf8 S8 as @h2 S9 l:rxg3 Wxg3 60 a6 liib 8 61 Wb3 @f4 62 @c4 \t>es 63 WcS 1-0

ROOK AND TWO PA WNS VS ROOK AND PAWN

Exercises (solutions: page 275)

Even Bobby Fischer missed a win in such a race:

B

4.9.13

Fischer - Benko USA Ch, New York 1959160

E4.9.06: Black to play and draw.

47 Wb4?

47 b4! wins: 47 ... g5 48 b5 I[e6 49 .l:.a4 .S'.e3+ 50 Wb2 :r.e2+ 51 Wc3 We6 52 lila6+ Wd5 53 a4! Jle4 54 Wb3 g4 55 .llc6 g3 (55 .. J!e6 56 .l:.c3 .li{el 57 Wb4 .llb l+ 58 Wa5 +-) 56 lilg6 Wc5 (56 ... Jle3+ 57 'tt>b4 +-) 57 .llxg3 Jlb4+ 58 Wa3 llbl 59 lilg6 +-.

B

47 g5 48 l:la7+ 'it>f6 49 a4 g4 50 :id.7 g3 51 lld6+ Wf7 52 lld7+ 'it>f6 53 Ii:dl g2 54 :Igl lilg6 55 a5 @e7 56 a6 (D) •.•

56...I!b6+?

B

Benko enters the wrong five-man ending. 56 ...I!xa6 ! 57 !rxg2 Wd7 58 :ic2 .l:a8 (Black's king would need to be cut off two files further away for White to win) 59 .li!c3 .S'.b8+ 60 Wa5 Ita8+ 61 'ot>b6 l:lb8+ 62 @a7 .l:i.b4 63 'it>a6 !'lb8 =.

57 Wa5 Jlxb3 58 l:rxg2 l:ra3+ 59 'it>b6 l:rb3+ 60 WcS .l:l.a3 61 a7 'it>e6 62 'JJ.g7 Jlal 63 @c6 Jla2 64 Wb7 Jlb2+ 65 @c8 Jla2 66 Wb8 Jlb2+ 67 Jlb7 Jlh2 68 a8'&Y Jlh8+ 69 Wa7 1-0

E4.9.08: How should Black defend?

187

188

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

Black's king must lead its forces: 5S . . .\t>a4 ! 59 f81&' .l:.xf8 60 .l:.xfS and then: a) After 60 ... a2? 61 .l:.aS+ 'iii>b3 62 @f5 White's king is in time and a typical draw re­ sults: 62...b4 63 We4 'iii>b2 64 \t>d3 b3 (64...ali'l 65 l:r.xal 'ittxal 66 @c4 =) 65 Wc4 \t>c2 66 .lla7

B

b) 60 ...b4 6 1 .l:.aS+ (61 @f5 b3 62 \t>e4 b2 63 .l:.bS a2 -+) 6 I ...@b3 62 Wf5 @a2 63 @e4 b3 64Wd3 b2 65 l1bS bl'li1+ 66 .l:!xbl Wxbl -+. 59 @rs .lafl+ 60 We6 ll.xf7 61 @xf7 b4 62

E4.9.09: How should Black use his rook?

.lla8+ Wb5 63 \t>e6 \t>c4 64 @d6 b3 65 .lla4+

65 .laxa3 b2 66 l1a4+ Wb3 67 .laaS bl� 6S .llb S+ =.

4.9.3) a- and b-Pawns vs f-Pawn

65 @c3 66 .l:.xa3 \t>c2 67 .l:.xb3 11z.11z

Here we start with pawn-races and a typical motif: ·

The following fight is more complicated:

•..

B w

4.9.14

4.9.15 Ulybin - Shengelia Vienna 2011

Szabo - Ivkov Lugano Olympiad 1968

52 litel+? .•.

58 Ile8?

The rook has to be used in another way: 5S .lla 7+! Wb4 59 .i;r.a6 ! Wb3 (59 ... .llxf7 60 Wxf7 Wb3 61 'it>e6 b4 62 Wd5 Wa2 63 'it>c4 b3 64 Wb4 =) 60 .l:.f6 .l:.xf6+ 61 Wxf6 a2 62 fS'1¥1 al '1¥1+ 63 \t>g6 =. Black keeps practical winning chance� qf coµrs� . .

58 .l:.gl+? ••.

This check improves White's king. 5S ... a2? is also wrong, due to 59 llaS+ @b4 60 llxa2 =, as is 5S ... b4? 59 lle5+ 'itta4 60 llf5 llgl + (60 ....l:.xf5? 61 'iii>xf5 a2 62 fS'iW ali'l 63 i'laS+ +-) 61 .l:.g5 (after 61 Wf6? a2 62 fS'1¥1 al'li1+ Black wins in the resulting 4th phase of the game as he gives the first check and his b-pawn provides shelter; e.g., 63 Wf7 i'la2+ 64 @e7 .l:.el + 65 WdS 'l':We6 -+) 61 ...llfl 62 .l:.f5 =.

52 ... .l:.fl ! 53 l1g5+ \t>c4 54 l:.f5 litel + 55 \t>f4 .l:.eS 56 f7 .l:.f8 57 Wg5 b5 -+ (lvkov in Infor­ mator 6). 52... a3? also only draws after 53 f7 .l:.el + (53 ...:n 54 .l:.g5+ ! \t>c4 55 .l:.f5 ! =) 54 'ii?d3 lifl 55 \t>c2! .l:.xf7 56 l:[g3 =.

53 \t>dS

53 'ii?d4 =; 53 @f5 =.

53 .l:.fl 54 We6 a3 55 Ilg2! 'ittc4 56 f7 .l:.el+ •..

56...b5 is met by 57 ,l;[g4+! Wb3 5S .l:.g3+ Wa4 59 l:l.gS ! b4 (59 ... a2 60 fS1&" .llxf8 61 l:r.xf8 b3 62 .l:.aS Wb2 63 @d5 b4 64 \t>c4 =) and now not 60 .llaS+? @b5 ! 61 \t>e7 Wc4 62 fSi'l llxfS 63 @xf8 b3? (63 ...@b3 ! -+) 64 Il.a4+ ! ! = (lvkov), but 60 f81&"! .l:ixfS 61 .l:.xf8 =. 57 Wd6 .l:.fl 58 @e6 :tel+ 59 @d6 i!fl 60 \t>e6 1'2-1'2

ROOK A ND Two PA WNS VS IWOK AND PA WN

Finally one example where the pawns are fmther back:

Exercises (solutions: page 276)

B

w

4.9.16

189

E4.9.10: How should White start the race?

Gligoric - Romanishin Erevan 1989

56..."IJ.es+ 57 Wf3 lif5+ 58 Wg4 l:If2 The other drawing move is 58 ... �d5, to meet 59 h4 with 59... ltd2! 60 g3 c4 61 h5 (61 .l:!c5 .l:!d4+ 62 Wg5 'it>d6 63 .l:!c8 'it>d7 =) 6 1 ...c3 62 .l:!c5 c2 63 h6 'it>d6 64 l:!.c8 lte2 65 h7 .U.h2 66 Zixc2 ltxh7 67 lie2 lig7+ 68 'it>f3 lin+ 69 'it>g2 "IJ.g7 =.

B

59 'it>g3 :c2?

The rook is not well placed in front of the pawn. 59 .. Jlf5 ! is forced; for example, 60 h4 @d6 61 'it>g4 .Uf2 62 g3 c4 and White cannot win.

E4.9.11: Black to play and win.

60 h4 'it>e6 61 .l:f.a8 c4

The main line is 6 I ...Wf5 62 .l1f8+ ! Wg6 63 lif4 Wh5 64 'it>h3 .l:!c3+ 65 g3 lic l 66 g4+ 'it>g6 67 .l:tf5 c4 68 l:!c5 and White wins; for example, _68 ...c3 69 .lilc6+ Wf7 70 h5 c2 71 'it>h2 +-.

62 .lilc8?

This loses an important tempo in the race. 62 h5 ! .lilcl 63 h6 .l:.hl 64 Wf4 c3 65 .l'J.c8 Wf7 66 Wg5 lih2 67 g4 c2 68 .l:f.c7+ 'it>e6 69 'it>g6 Wd6 70 .l:tc3 'it>d5 71 h7 'it>d4 72 .lilxc2 +-. 62...c3? White's rook must first be forced to leave its good post behind the enemy pawn: 62...Wd7 63 Jlf8 I!c3+ 64 l%.f3 ? ! .lib3 ! = (Gligoric in

4.9.4) b- and c-Pawres vs g-Pawn _

This is similar to the :erevious cases, so ".'�limit this section to one example:

w

·

lnformator 47). 63 hS @rs 64 .l:f.c5+ 'it>f6 65 Wh3! We6 66 g4 'iirt'6 67 'it>h4 .l:!h2+ 68 Wg3 .l:tc2 69 .:.rs+ 'it>e6 70 'it>h4 "IJ.d2 71 .l:f.c5 c2 72 h6 @f7 73 .l:!c7+ @g6 74 li.c6+ Wf7 75 WhS .l:!h2+ 76 @gs li.d2 77 .lilc7+ 'it>g8 78 'iii>g6 ltd6+ 79 'it>hS .l:d2 80 g5 1-0

4.9J.7

Serper - Shabalov Philadelphia 1997

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

190

1 .l:.g4+!?

The other drawing move is 1 .l:.a4.

1 Wh6 2 .l:.gl? .•.

2 litf4 f6 3 b4 lit.a6 4 b5 llb6 5 Wc4 g5 6 .l:.fl Wg6 7 Wc5 .l:.b8 8 b6 g4 and now White must switch the roles of his pieces as the king, rather than the rook, should fight against the passed pawns: 9 .l:.bl (9 @c6? f5 -+) 9 ...f5 10 Wd4 @g5 1 1 @e3 f4+ 12 Wf2 l'Lb7 13 l'Lb4 =.

2...gS 3 b4 .l:.a6?

g3+ 14 @fl {14 @xg3 f2. 15 b7 fl� 16 b8'il' 'il'f2.+ 17 @h3 lih6#) 14...@g4 ! 15 b7 l:ld6 ! 16 libl g2+ 17 @f2. l:1d2+ -+.

12 l:1hl+ @gS 13 @g3 l:1e2 14 l:1h2 l:iel lS b6 l:igl+ 16 @f2 l:lbl 17 @g3 Jlxb6 18 .lib2!! l:1f6 19 l:lbl?!

Serper claims that this loses, but the real er­ ror comes one move later. 19 l:1b5+ .l:.f5 20 l:r.b 1 = (Serper) is easier.

1 9 rs 20 l:ial? •••

The right idea, but the wrong move-order. The winning line is 3 ...f5 ! and only after 4 .l:.bl can Black play 4...l'l.a6! 5 b5 l:lb6 6 We3 @g6 7 .l:.b2 @f6 8 l'Lbl @e5 9 .l:.b2 f4+ 10 @f3 @f5 1 1 l:lbl g4+ 1 2 @f2 @g5 1 3 .l:tb2 'it>h4 1 4 l'Lbl f3 15 .l:rhl + @g5 16 Iibl lit.d6 17 b6 .l:rd2+ 1 8 el l'!e2+ 19 @fl g3 20 b7 .l:th2 -+.

20 .i::tb5+ @e4 21 l:1b4+ @d3 and now 22 .l:C.b2 ! ! = rescues White.

This configuration is now lost. White must free his rook with 5 @c4 so that it can stop Black's pawn advance; e.g., 5 ...f5 6 .l:thl + @g6 7 .l:.al @h5 8 l:lh l + @g4 9 Iigl + =. s g4 6 e3 gs 1 itir2 rs s g3 f4+ 9 @r2

!Exercises (solutions: page 277)

f3 10 .l:.b3

B

20 l:r.e6 21 l:ta4 l'Le4 22 l'l.aS+ @f6 23 .l:.al @es 24 l'l.aS+ @d4 2S lir.a4+ @d3 26 Iia3+ @e2 27 .l:!.a2+ @fl 28 l:r.al+ .l:C.el 29 .lir.a2 @gl 30 l'Lf2 Jle2 0-1 •.•

4 b5 l'Lb6 5 It.bl?

•.•

10 @g3 l:1h6 ! 1 1 b6 .l:.h3+ 12 f2 Iih2+ 13 @e3 lite2+ 14 @d3 g3 15 b7 .l:.e8 16 b81i' .lixb8 17 lixb8 g2 and White doesn't have @e3 be­ cause of promotion with check. 1 8 lir.g8+ @f4 -+ (Serper in lnformator 70).

10 @h4?! •••

This receives only a ' ? ! ' rather than a ' ?' be­ cause Black can still win after a repetition. In­ stead, 10...l:1h6? runs into 1 1 b6 .l:!h2+ 12 @gl ! =. 10 ...l:1f6 ! wins - see the next note.

H l:Ibl (D)

B

E4.9.12: How should Black use the cramped situation of White's rook?

·

B

u.. .l:.e6? The only winning move is l l ...@g5 ! with the idea ofmeeting 12 l'l.b3 with l 2...l:1f6 ! 13 b6 .

E4.9.13: How should Black use his passed b­

pawn?

ROOK AND TWO PA WNS VS ROOK AND PA WN

4.9.5) b-

and c-Pawns vs h-Pawn

Further motifs are shown in this section.

191

B

B

4.9.19

4.9.18

Euwe - E. G-riinfeld Vienna 1921

This is a well-known theoretical position.

48 WgS? .•.

Black's king should not move in front of the pawns. One sample win is 48...f5 49 a7 'iirg7 50 Wg3 g5 5 1 'iirf3 Ila3+ 52 Wg2 g4 5 3 'iirf2 f4 54 lib8 .l:ixa7 55 .l:Ib4 l'la2+ 56 Wgl 11al+ 57 Wf2 g3+ 58 'iirg2 l:!.a2+ 59 'iirg l llf2 -+.

Analysis of Marjanovic-Cebalo, Yugoslav Ch, Vrbas 1982

a) 3 b5? and ECE ends with 3 ... Jlh3?, but then White wins by 4 .:tal 'iird 8 5 c7+ @d7 6 'fJ.dl+ +-. Black can draw by 3 ...l:rh7 4 1:1.al (4 11fl Wd8 =) 4 ...'iirb8 = or 3 ...Wb8 4 11fl �h8 =. b) 3 .l:i.fl ! @d8 (3 ...J1h8 4 .l:tal 'iirb 8 5 c7+ +-) 4 Wb7 .!lh7+ 5 'iirb 8 'f:!c7 6 '!J.dl+ +-. So the defending king should head in front of the passed pawns:

49 a7! @rs so Wg3?

This curious error also occurs in Dvoretsky's 'Endgame Manual' (though corrected in the 4th edition), Levenfish and Smyslov's famous rook endings book and several practical games. The correct line is 50 'iirg2 lla2+ 5 1 'iirg3 g5 52 'iirf3 lla3+ 53 c;a;.g2 Wg4 54 l:!.f8 l:!.a2+ 55 Wgl llxa7 56 'fJ.xf6 'it>g3 57 Irfl =.

W

50...rla3+?

After 50 . . .Ira2 ! , with mutual zugzwang, Black wins; e.g., 51 Wf3 g5 52 Wg3 g4 53 llb8 .l:1.a3+ 54 'iirf2 l:!xa7 -+.

51 wr2 '!J.a2+ 52 Wg3 'iirgS 53 'iirf3 f's 54 'iirg3 l'la3+ ss 'it>g2 f4 56 @r2 Wg4 57 l:!.g8 l:!.a2+ 58 Wgl '!J.xa7 59 l!xg6+ Wf3 60 .:.r6 I.tat+ 61 'iirh2 Jlel 62 l:rf8 .!le4 63 'iirgl .!lel+ 64 'iirh2 .l:ifl 65 Jla8 1/z-1/z The defender can also draw in the following diagram:

1 ...l:!g6+? .

1...ilf2 2 c6 'iirb8 3 .l:iel .!lf8 4 .l:!al ilf7 5 llel !tf8 =.

2 c6 .:th6 Now:

--- ----­

4.9.20

Alekhine - Euwe World Ch (13), Amsterdam 1935

54 'it>d4 Wg6 ss ffieS?

55 We3! f5 56 Wf4 Jla4+ 57 'iire5 g3 (or 57 ....!le4+ 58 Wd5 lite8 59 .l:i.b7 l1a8 60 'iit>e5 g3 6 l llb3 =) 58 .l:.c3 f4 59 a8� llxa8 60 'iirxf4 =.

55 f6+? .•.

Now White's Icing can blockade the pawns. It had to be cut off with 55 ... .lita4 ! 56 c;a;.d5 (56 llc5 ll.xa7 57 'iirf4 f5 58 Jlc6+ Wh5 59 Wxf5 llf7+ -+) 56 ...f6! (56 ...f5? 57 We5 =) 57 Wc5 g3 ! -+ (but not 57 ...'iirg 5? 5 8 'iirb6 =).

56 Wf4 '!J.a4+ 57 'iirg3 f5

192

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

57 ... Wg5 58 .l:.g7+ 'iiif5 59 a81/M/ 1:.xa8 60 .l:l.xg4 1:.a3+ 6 1 'it?M 'it>e5 62 1:.b4 1:.e3 63 !'!.b5+ 'it?f4 64 1:.bl f5 65 %:!.al 'it?e4 66 1:.a4+ @f3 67 'it?h3 =.

S8 'it?h4 @f6 S9 1:.b7

w

lf2.lh

Races can also result of course:

4.9.22 Moiseenko -Le Quang

w

Khanty-Mansiisk 2013

4.9.21 Minibock -Beliavsky 54 l:!.eS+? 54 'iitd4 SS %:!.as a2? Vienna 1986

54 f5 ! 'it?d4 55 1:.a.5 'it?c3 56 f6 'it?b4 57 IZ.f5 a2 58 f7 1:.bl 59 f81&'+ +-.

Black loses a tempo in the race, and this al­ lows White's king to arrive in time. 43 ... g4 ! wins; e.g., 44 a6 l:.te8 45 Wb5 'iitg5 46 a7 g3 -+. 'it?cS

3 g4 4S49a6We3l:tef4+7 46SOl:.taWf23 .l:'La'it?7h474 Sl l:.tafS4 48f3 S244'iitdl:tl:.t4ac@gs S g3+ S3 g2 S4 Wxg2 'it>g4 112.112 @xf3

Finally one game with connected passed cen­ tral pawns:

.••

Now Black is just in time if he pl�ys 55 ...'it?c3 56 f5 'it?b4 57 .U.a8 .l:.fl 58 'it?g5 'it?J:>3 5�J6 a2 60 g4 al 1/M/ 61 1:.xal .l:.xal 62 f7 .l!!.f l 63-Wg6 'it?c4 64 'it?g7 'it?d5 65 f81/M/ 1:.xf8 66 'it?xf8 . 'it?e� 67 g5 'iiif5 =.

w

S6'it?fS?

56 f5 ! 'it?c3 57 f6! 'it?b2 58 1:.b5+! 'it?c3 59 lilf5 ! 1:.bl 60 f7 al \!W 61 f81i' and White wins despite it being Black's move; e.g., 6 1 . . ..l!!.b4+ 62 Wg5 i&'cl+ 63 Wg6 1:.b6+ 64 'it?f7 l:.tb7+ 65 'it?g8 +-.

gS!iell:!.g+l 62S9 WdS 'it?e6 4.9.23 Geller -Larsen .l!.l:.!.edS6ll++ 6063Wc3WdS'itrS7eS 1:.1:.g4dell'it?++b61643 S8@es @!6 l:r.e4 686S c;ti:xa2xgS . :xi4+ 66 'iir e s J:. g 4 �fS-lhgS+ 'iitxa2112.112 43'it?b4? S81:.el 43 1:.el? .•.

Monte Carlo 1967

61

In the following diagram, the white king should try to keep both options open:

Now the king is too far away from the king­ side. 43 a6 ! .U.a5 (43 ... g4 44 lk4 ! =) 44 'iitb 4! l:.tal 45 'iitb5 g4 46 l:tc4 'it?g5 47 1:.a4 =. •.•

Larsen made a number of errors in his analy­ sis of this ending in his famous book La.rsen 's Selected Games ofChess, 1948-69, which goes to show that these endings are very tricky in­ deed. 58 g5 ! ? is a more challenging try: a) 58 ...1:.b4+ and here: al) 59 'it?g3 .i:[b6? (59 .. Jlbl -+) 60 'iiif4? (60 1:.el ! =) 60... 'it?g6? (60...l:tbl -+) 61 l:.tel ?

ROOK AND TWO PA WNS VS ROOK AND PAWN

193

(61 Wf3 =) 61...blb4+ 62 'it>e5 Wxg5 63 'it>xe6 62 �al 63 @h3 .l:la4 64 'it>h2 b!e4+ -+. The other way to draw is 64 ki.b8 lixa7 65 . a2) After 59 @h5 Larsen gives 59 . .lie4? �b2+, when Black's king finds no safe shelter. but White surprisingly draws with 60 .lixe4 64 Jia3 6S 'it>hl? dxe4 61 'itg4 e5 62 Wg3, when there is no way White's rook cannot remain passive for ever, to win; e.g., 62...c;t>e6 63 @f2 = or 62 ...@g6 63 so 65 Wh3 'it>fl 66 Elb8! = orthe immediate 65 l:lb8 is called for. 'it?g4 =. b) The main winning line is 58 ... Xtbl 59 6S Jla2! 66 'it>h2 @fl+ 67 'it>hl ge3 @e7 60 k{g3 d4 61 ffih5 lilh 1 + 62 @g6 �h8 67 Wh3 f2 68 Wh2 h3 transposes to the game. 67...f2 63 l:ra3 &!.d8 64 �d3 .litd7 65 ffih6 e5 66 g6 e4 67 g7 Wf7 -+. This is the critical position. It was already S8 ... d4! S9 l:lal 'it>f6 60 l:ra8 .a'.dS 61 @g3 d3 known from a study by Paul Keres in Chess, 62 Jlal @es 63 Wf2 'it>d4 64 'tJ,,a7 es 6S gS e4 1940. Black wins. 68 Wh2 66 .l:la4+ @es 0-1 68 1:.b8 @e2 69 lite8+ 'it>f3 70 k!f8+ 'it>g3 71 .li{g8+ @h3 -+. •..

..

•..

•.

4. 1 0) AUacker 's Pawrns

68...h3! ! (D)

Passed! , � so�ated a D11 dl C�ose Together

Here only 46% of the games are won according to our statistics and as this includes wins by the single pawn, the drawing chances of the de­ fender are generally quite good. 4.10.1: a- and c-Pawns vs Passed Pawn 193 4.10.2: b- and d-Pawns vs Passed Pawn 195 4.10.3: Passed Pawns Two Files Apart 196 vs One Passed Pawn

w

69 Whl

4 . 1 0. 1 ) a- and c-Pawns vs Passed Pawn

69 Wxh3 is refuted by the famous Lasker manoeuvre: 69...Wgl ! 70 l:.g8+ Whl 71 1:.f8 To win, the attacker must be very favourably 1:.a3+ 72 Wh4 Wg2 73 1:.g8+ Wh2 74 lif8 placed as sometimes the defender can even sac- 1:.a4+ 75 Wh5 Wg3 76 .l:.g8+ Wh3 77 J:.f8 - i'i.fice liis own pawn: - - - -:a5+7s--@li6- WgT 79-:&tg8=i--'it?n4!-80- -.iarn .laa6+ -+ 69 l:!a6 70 Wh2 .laal! 71 .li!.b8 71 Wxh3 @gl ! -+. ----

- -

-

- --

· -

.

•.•

71 lixa7 72 .l:.bl + We2 73 .l:tb2+ We3 74 ilb3+

B

••.

Now Black wins by marching down the board with his king back and forth.

74 We4 75 li[b4+ @es 76 '1b5+ We6 77 .lab6+ We7 78 .labl li[a3 79 Itb7+ We6 80 .lab6+ 'it?es 81 l:!.b5+ 'iti>e4 82 .!:ib4+ 'it>f3 •.•

4.10.01

Tukmakov - Smejkal Leningrad Interzanal 1973

0-1 Regarding the following diagram, the notes by Matanovic and Dvoretsky in Informator 22 are perfect: so .@h7! 51 1lc7+ ..

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

194

61 f6? The winning line is instructive: 6 1 kl.a? ! llal 62 1:1.a5 ! lla2 (62...a2 63 :l:.a7 Wh6 64 .:a8 Wh7 65 Wf6 Ubl 66 .:xa2 .l:tb6+ 67 'ii?g5 l:.b7 68 l:.e2 @g7 69 h5 Wf7 70 li!.a2 !!bl 71 lla7+ +-) 63 f6 ! Wh6 64 l:!a8 ! 'ii?h7 65 h5 ! Ual 66 'iii>f8 a2 67 .l:ta7+ Wh8 68 f7 ! +- with an already known position - see 4. 10.01, Tulanakov-Smejkal (po­ sition after 67 ...f2, colours reversed).

B

61...l:!al 62 l:ta5 'it>h6 63 Wg8 l:tgl+ 64 Wf8 !!bl 65 l:.a6 a2 (D) 4.10.02

Petrosian - Karpov USSR Ch, Moscow 1976

w 5 1 f7 llal 52 llxc2 l:!a8+ =.

51...'iii>h 8!

5 1 ...Wh6? 52 f7 Wh7 53 h6 Wxh6 54 'ii?g 8 l:tgl + 55 Wh8 llfl 56 .l:tc6+ Wh5 57 'iii>g7 .lil.gl + 58 Wh7 .lil.fl 59 .l::tc5+ WM 60 Wg7 llgl+ 61 Wh6 !!fl 62 l:tc4+ 'ii?h3 63 'iii>g 6 l:tgl+ 64 'iii>h 5 :n 65 l1c3+ +-.

52 f7

The position is very similar to the previous game but now Black has a very nice stalemate idea.

52... llal! 53 11xc2

53 'ii?e7 llel + 54 'ii?f6 11fl + 55 Wg6 .l:[gl + 56 Wh6 c l'IW+ ! 57 .l:[xcl l1g6+ ! =. > ;

53 ... 1Ia8+ 54 We7 1Ia7+ 55 Wf6. l1a6+ 56 Wg5 .l::ta5+ 57 Wg4 lita4+ 58 �g3 . .:.a3+ 59 Wg2 Wg7 60 :r2 'ii?f8 61 l1f5 lta6! · ·. 61.. ..l:[a?? 62 h6 lhf7 63 h7 +-. 62 'iii>g3 llh6 63 @g4 llh7 112.112 ·

66 f7+ Wh7 67 !!xa2 llb8+ 68 @e7 l:.b7+ 69 'ii?e6 l:.b6+ 70 We5 .'&f.b5+ 71 Wf6 !ib6+ 72 Wg5 l:tb5+ 73 @g4 .'&f.b4+ 74 Wg3 Wg7 75 l:tf2 l:tb8 76 h5 !!f8 77 Wg4 !!xf7 78 h6+ 'ii?g6 1h-1h Races can feature some deep points:

w

The next position is lost for Black:

w

4.10.04

B. Socko - Krasenkow Bundesliga 200213

47 !!f2+? 4.10.03 G. Meier - N.V. Pedersen European Ch, Plovdiv 2008

The only way to draw is 47 a5 h3 48 Wb6 Wg4 (48 .. J;[d6+ is met by 49 Wb5 ! =, and not 49 'ii?b7? Wg4! -+) 49 a6! f5 50 !!e8 ! ! (50 a7? l:i.xa7 5 1 Wxa7 f4 52 Wb6 f3 53 lle8 h2 54 llg8+

ROOK AND TWO pl\. WNS \IS ROOK AND PA WN Wf5 55 11.f8+ wg6 -+) 50...h2 51 '1h8 'ii?g3 52 Wt2 �gs+ . 53 l:IhS 'ii?g2 54 �g8+ Wh 1 55 f!.f8 . 47...Wg4 48 lig2+ Wh5 49 .l:!g7 (DJ .

-.

B

4· 1 °·2> b- and d-Pawns vs Passed Pawn

!Exercises (solutions: page 277)

195

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

196

6...@c3 7 g7 "IJ,.c7 :....+

Exercise (solution: page 277)

With an active rook, the defender may draw, but the Icing must also be active:

B w

E4.10.04: Is 55 ... @xg5 a good choice? 4.10.06

Nayer - lliushin European Ch, Warsaw 2005

87 l:.g7+ @d8?

4. 1 0.3) Passed Pawns Two files Apart vs One Passed Pawn

This is too passive. 87 ... @e6 = and 87 ...@d6 draw; e.g., 88 @c8 l::.c2+ 89 'it>d8 .i:tb2 90 .i:tg6+ @d5 91 @c7 Ik2+ 92 @b6 .i:tb2+ =.

We present here only two examples: one where the defending passed pawn does not play a large role and one where it secures the draw more actively.

Now only Black is in zugzwang. With White to move in this position, only d6 !, with mutual zugzwang, wins.

B

88 d5!

88 lla5 •.•

.

Or: 88 ... .i:tc2 89 @a7 lla2+ 90.@b6 .i:tb2+ 91 'it>c6 +-; 88 ... 'it>e8 89 @c7 .l:tc2+ o @d6 .l:tb2 9 1 .l:.g8+ @f7 92 .l:.xg2 .:S.xb7 93 @c6 .l:1.a7 94 d6 .l:.a6+ 95 @c7 l:.a7+ 96 @b6 +-.

9

89 .l:txg2 l:tal (D)

w

4.10.07

Andersson - Anand Novi Sad Olympiad 1990

Without the b6-pawn, Black would be lost. As things stand, he can save the half-point by precise defence:

54....l:tgS+?

90 .:S.g3 'it>d7 91 llg6 .l:ta2 92 .l:tg7+ @dS 93 .l:1.g5 @d7 94 d6 llal 95 .l:tg7+ @d8 96 d7 .i:ta2 97 .:S.g8+ @xd7 98 .:S.g7+ @d8 99 litg4 .:S.d2 100 .:S.a4 1-0

54 ... litcl 55 h5 .l:tgl + saves the day; for example, 56 @h4 .l:thl + 57 @g5 Ilgl + 58 @h6 Ilg3 59 .l:f.g5 .l:txe3 60 @g7 Ilf3 ! 61 h6 Ilf7+ 62 @g6 .:S.f6+ =. 54 ... b5? is met not by 55 Ilxb5? !:!.c4+ 56 @g5 .l:te4 57 .:S.b3 @f7 58 h5 .:S.e5+ 59 @g4 @g7 =, but 55 h5 ! b4 56 h6 @e6 (56...b3 57 .:S.b5 .l:.h8

ROOK AND TWO PA WNS VS ROOK AND PA WN

58 'it>h5 +-) 57 e4 li:b8 58 'it>g5 ! lig8+ 5 9 'it>h5 6lg2 60 h7 b3 61 li'.f6+ ! We7 62 XIb6 +-. SS @f4? 55 .&l.g5 ! wins as Black's b-pawn does not play a real role: 55 ...l:tc8 56 e4 !le1 57 h5 @f6 58 e5+ Wf7 59 Jlg6! �gl + 60 'it>f5 .[{fl+ 61 @g5 �gl + 62 @h6 krel 63 e6+ @f8 64 Z!.f6+ 'it>g8 65 @g6 x;IgI+ 66 Wf5 Jlf1 + 67 'it>e5 �e1 + 68 @d6 l:l.dl + 69 'tt>c6 rt/g7 70 �f7+ 'it>g8 71 h6 +-. SS ...Jlgl S6 hS .l1f1 + 57 �gS �gl + S8 'it>h4 Jlhl+ S9 'it>g3 We6 60 e4 @e7 61 @f4 @e6? (D) 6 1 . . .l'!h4+? also loses: 62 @g5 �xe4 63 h6 +-. The draw was there for the taking by 6 1 . .. ltfl + 62 @g5 Jlg 1 + 63 'it>h6 .a:g4 64 llg5 lixe4 65 r:tlg7 Jlf4 ! =.

197

64 ... )lf2 ! 65 b7 Wd6 =; White can't free his Icing. 6S b7 l'!b2 65 ... 'i!td6 66 'ii?c8 Iec2+ 67 'it>d8 +-. 66 @c7 )lc2+ 67 Wb6 )lb2+ 68 'it>c6 )lc2+ 69 'i¥7dS .lld2+ 70 Wc4 r!d8 71 'i&cs 1-0

Exercises (solutions: page 2 78)

w

w E4.10.0S: How should White (to play) deal with the passed pawns?

62 �gs i':tgl+ 63 @h6 �el 64 'it>g6 �xe4 6S JlgS 1-0

B

In the next case the passed pawn should se­ cure the draw:

B

4. 1 li ) Attacker's Pawrns !Passed , � so�ated and IFar Apia r� 4.10.08

Korchnoi - Borisenko USSR Ch, Moscow 1961

64...I!a2?

Statistically, 47% of the games are won and, as this includes wins by the single pawn, the draw­ ing chances are quite good. There are too many cases to discuss them all separately, so we only deal with a few important motifs.

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGANIES

198

The defender's rook is usually not well placed in front of an enemy passed pawn, but there may nevertheless be drawing chances if the attacking pawn is not so far advanced:

w

B

4.11.02

Hamdouchi - Tkachev French Ch, Belfort 2010

switch roles after 43 @f2 Wg7 44 We3 Wf6 45 Wd4 We6 46 Wc4 'it?d6 47 Wb4 l:!.g5 48 .l:.d3+ Kholmov - A. Khasin 4.11.01 Wc7 49 g3 ltg4+ 50 Wa3 'it>b6 =. 42 lta3 'it>g7 43 as lta7 44 'it>f2 Wf6 Spartak Ch, Minsk 1962 After 44...lta6 White's king breaks the block­ ade with 45 'it>e3 Wf6 46 'it>d3 We5 47 Wc4 Wd6 47 Wg7? This allows the a-pawn to make one all­ 48 Wb5 +-. 4S a6 'ii?eS 46 'ii?e3 'ii?dS 47 lla4 'ii?c6 48 important further step. 47...lia5! is forced: 48 Wf4 h5 49 We4 Wg7 50 Wd4 h4 51 Wc4 h3 52 'ii?d3 'ii?b 6 49 'it>c4 llg7 so a7 1-0 'it>b4 lih5 53 l:!.al h2 54 lihl .l:th4+ 55 'it>b5 lth5+ 56 @b6 .l:rh6+ 57 Wb7 lih5 =. Sometimes even a blockading rook on its back rank can defend, as long as the attacking 48 a5 'it>f6 49 @f4 @e6 SO 'it>e4 hS Sl @f4 Wf6 S2 'it>g3 'it>gS S3 lia4 king cannot deal with the defender's passed White has the right distribution ofroles and pawn on its own: wins as the a-pawn has crossed ilie riddle·of the board. 53...'it?g6 53 ...M+ 54 Wh3 lif6 55 a6 .l:[f3+ 56 Wg2 B lif8 57 a7 lia8 58 @h3 Wh5 59 l:!.a5+ +-. .••

·

S4 'it>h4 Wh6 ss f3 1-0

With thatin mind, we can see that it might be wrong for the attacker to regroup his rook be­ hind one of his passed pawns. Sometimes the rook works better defending the pawn(s) hori­ zontally (see following. diagram). . 41 l1g3? . . White's rook must stay on its fifth rank. The main winning line is 41 a5 llf4 42 Wh2! .l:ta4 43 Wh3! Wh7 44 g4! ltc4 45 Wg3 Wh6 46 l:!.f5 c5 47 WM Wg6 48 ltg5+ 'it>f6 (48 ...'it>h6 49 .lir.d5 +-) 49 'it>h5 Wf7 50 'it>h6 lta4 51 ltg7+! 'ii?e6 52 a6! +-. 41. cS? Now White is too quick. 41...li!f5! 42 lita3 .lir.a5! holds the draw, as Black's pieces can .•

4.11.03 Prohaszka - Pe. Horvath Hungarian Team Ch 201 1112 76 .:rS+? .•.

Black plays his main trump too early. The king had to start the counterplay with 76 ...Wd3 ! 77 lla3+ (77 'it>f3 li!f8+ 78 Wg2 e2 =) 77...Wd2 78 I:txe3 (78 li!a2+ Wd3 =) 78 ...li!f8+, when White's king cannot escape from the rain of

ROOK AND TWO PA WNS VS ROOK AND PA WN

checks without losing the rook: 79 @e4 �e8+ 80 Wd4 Zi.d8+ 81 @cs 'it>xe3 82 @c6 �g8 83 @b7 �g7+ 84 Wb6 .llg8 =.

77 Wg3! Eras 78 @f3 .ltlf8+?!

78 ...Wd3 ! ? is just too late now: 79 �aS .l:.f8+ 80 !1.fS .lle8 (80 . . .J:ixfS+ 81 gxfS e2 82 a81lli' el'& 83 'llfd f S+ Wc2 84 '&e4+ +-) 8 1 .b{dS+ Wc4 82 Ii.es .UxeS 83 a8\!!ll e2 84 i&'a2+ WcS 8S '/Was+ @d6 86 'ill'e l @e6 87 Wf4 Wf6 88 gS+ 'it>e6 89 g6 +-. 79 Wg2 Jla8 80 Wfl 'it>d3 81 'it>el l-0 White has achieved the ideal distribution of roles: the rook is behind the more dangerous of his own pawns, while the ldng halts the enemy passed pawn.

1 99

SI WcS hl.d3 S2 1'1al Wg4 ! ? (we can add that S2...e3 = and S2... hid 8 = draw as well) S3 a6 Wxg3 S4 a7 �d8 SS a8'8V .:&rxa8 S6 �xa8 e3 S7 �e8 Wf2 = (Kramnik in Informator 92).

51..�e3 52 a7 e2 53 aS'&

S3 J:ial !td8 S4 @bS 'i&g4 SS Zlel @f3 = (Kramnik).

53 ...el\%1' (DJ

W

But usually the defender's rook is not well placed in front of the pawn:

Surprisingly, White cannot win this 4th phase of the game as Black's king can use the g3pawn as an umbrella.

w

54 .l:[a5+ S4 '1Wg8+ l!.g6 ss \%1'd8+ Itf6 S6 l:tas+ Wg4 S7 '1Wd4+ @h3 S8 .UhS+ (S8 '&Vh4+ Wg2 S9 .l:Ia2+ l:.f2 60 .Uxf2+ VkYxf2 =) S8 ...Wg2 S9 Vi'xf6 'ID'e2+ 60 Wb3 'WxhS = (Kramnik).

54 Wg4 55 1&¥g8+ Wt'3! 56 1W/f7+ Wg2! 57 .Ua2+ (DJ ••.

4.11.04

Kramnik - Grishchuk Wijk aan Zee 2005

- - - B ---� �-·- · �� ,,,,,,, � • IJ . • . m .

� @� B --- -Amazingly;this-is an-error;-S O-@c3! ! -lld6-s-i --- - - - - - -a Wc4 leads to a mutual zugzwang with Black to move; e.g., 5 1 .. ..l:Ia6 s2 Wd4 @fs S3 'ite3 .Ug6 54 Wf2 .l:ra6 SS .l:f.a4 WeS 56 We3. Now White has everything under control in typical style B B and wins; e.g., 56. . .Wf5 S7 g4+ 'it?xg4 58 Wxe4 WgS 59 Wd5 Wf6 60 Wc5 We7 61 Wb5 .Ua8 62 B a6 'it?d7 6 3 a7 Wc7 64 Wa6 +-.

-- · ·

---

--

- --

--

mwm - -

50 l:Ld6!! •••

The rook breaks free and now White is in zugzwang. Other moves lose: 50 ... e3? 51 Wd3 'it?g4 52 Wxe3 @xg3 53 l:La4 Wh3 54 Wf3 +-, 50. . . .i;.e6? 51 Wd4 'it?g4 S2 We3 Wxg3 53 a6 +­ or 50 . . .Wg4? SI Wd4 gl! 58 iYa7+ @fl 59 Wi/f7+ 'it>gl 60 'lH/a7+ @fl 61 l:1.al l:Ldl 62 °Wf7+ 'it?gl 63 'lil'a7+ Wfl 64 l:Lxdl 'ID'xdl 65 ViVd4 1W/a4+ 66 Wd3 \!.Wb3+ 67 'il'c3 °'&Vds+ 11z_11z •••

Nunn calls the following motif a 'hesitation check' in Nunn's Chess Endings Volume 2:

-

200

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

A typical defensive set-up with the passed pawn far advanced is the rook protecting horizontally: ·

4.11.05

Gavrikov - Gulko USSR Ch, Frunze 1981

47...It.b7?

Black's rook travels from bl to b7, but must give one check on b2 in between, so that the ' white king cannot deai with the passed d-pawn: 47 ... It.b2+ ! 48 @f3 It.b7 ! 49 g6 Wc2 50 It.e2+ 'it>c3 5 1 a6 JJ.a7 52 It.a2 d3 = and White doesn't have \t>el .

48 g6 Itg7 49 a6 \t>c2 50 'it>el Wd3 51 It.b8 Il.a7 S2 .l:.d8 l:K.g7 S3 Wf2 Wc2 54 a7 1-0

4.11.07

D. Gliksman - Parma Sarajevo 1969

ss \t>e4? .•.

On f4 the pawn is not far enough advanced. After 55 ...f3 ! 56 b4 \t>e5 57 b5 Wd6 58 Wf2 l:th3 a positional draw is reached as Black's forces have the right roles.

Sometimes even a pawn sacrifice can be jus­ tified to get the right distribution ofdefending forces:

56 \t>g2 !tb6 57 l:i.e7+ \t>d5 58 b4 l:tln4 59 'it?f3 \t>c6 60 'it>e4 Wb5 61 l:!b7+ \t>c4 62 bS \tics 63 b6 Wc6 64 l:tf7 \t>xb6 65 @rs \tics 66 Wg6 1-0

B

It is often important that the defending king deals with the second passed pawn and makes way for the rook:

·

w

4.11.06

- -·

Adhiban - Rozentalis Oslo 2013

62...c4!! The immediate 62...l:ta5? is met by 63 l:tc4 Wf7 64 \t>d5 \t>g6 65 Wc6 +-.

63 l:!.xc4 JJ.as+ 64 Wf4 Wf7 6S 'it?g4 'it?g6 66 WM It.as 67 l1g4 l:.a7 68 Wg3 .ru1 69 \t>g2 .ilf8 70 l:tg3 JJ.a8 71 Itg4 :rs 72 'it>g3 fl:f7 73 WM .l:b7+ 74 \t>g3 fl:f7 11z.11z

4.11.08

Cbeparinov - Bacrot Ba/cu 2008

61 \t>cl? 61 a3 ! Wd3 62 l:td6+ We3 63 fl:e6+ d2 64 .s'.d6+ @el and now 65 .l:.b6 = is an important

ROOJC AND TWO PA WNS \IS ROOK AND PAWN

move because 65 Wa4? runs into 65 ...ilhl , when Black wins. 61...Wd3 62 .1'1d6+ We3 63 Ile6+ Wf2 64 ilf6+ Wel 6S @c2 as Now White cannot deal with the a-pawn any more. 66 \t>b3 llh4 67 @a3 �hl 0-1

201

B

The defender often aims for a set-up like the following one:

4.11.10

B

Shamkovich - Liberzon Moscow 1968

S2 l:!.a3+ S3 'it>e4? This leaves the white king cut off from the h-pawn. 53 We2 .l:!.a2+ 54 @fl l:!.al+ 55 Wg2 Wh4 56 a7 (now the a-pawn can advance as White's f-pawn forces Black to leave his shel­ ter) 56 ...ila2 57 Wgl Wh3 58 f4 .l:tal + 59 Wf2 iila2+ 60 We3 lia3+ 6 1 Wd2 1Ia2+ 62 Wc3 Wg4 63 1i:g8+ Wxf4 64 a8'& .l:txa8 65 .!:.xa8 h4 66 Szabo - Fmp '1t>d2 +-. Prague (5) 1955 53...lia41+? 53 ... Wg6 54 f4 h4 55 f5+ Wf7 56 a7 h3 57 60..Jlcl+? Ith8 h2 58 .l:txh2 'it>g8 =. This just loses time, with the sad conse541 Wd3 'it>h4 S5 'it>e3? quence that Black's rook can no longer regroup. This is too slow. 55 a7 ! lia3+ 56 We2 wins After 60... 'it>d7 ! 61 b5 We7 62 :ts We6 63 lirf8 compare the lines above. We7 64 lia8 f3 65 lia2 Black's rook regroups SS ... l:Ia3+ 56 We4 lia4+ 57 Wf5 :as+ S8 successfully: 65 ... l:Icl+ 66 Wb6 @£6 67 1i:f2 We6 'i¥?g4? This is not the right moment to leave the .l:Ic3 68 Wa5 @f5 69 Wb4 .l:te3 70 b6 Wg4 71 b7 shelter. 58 ....l:Ia4? 59 a7 Wh3 60 f4 h4 61 f5 Itel 72 Wc5 libl 73 Wc6 :1.cl+ 74 Wd7 lidl+ 75 Wc7 .l:Icl+ 76 Wb8 Wg3 77 .liib2 Wxh4 78 .l:Ie4+ 62 Wd5 lie7 63 f6 !Ib7 64 @e6 +- is no --waTlic7 =.-- - · --g�o�otl-forBlack -eitlrer;-but-h-e-can-draw-by58 ...Wh3 ! ! 59 a7 h4 60 f4 Wg4 61 llg8+ @xf4 61 WbS :!fl 62 h5 f3 63 llf7+ Wc8 64 Wb6 f2 6S .l::tf8+ Wd7 66 b5 1-0 62 a8'1¥1 llxa8 63 .U.xa8 h3 =. S9 a7 lia6+ 60 @es l::l.a5+ 61 We4 .l:l.a4+'62 We3 .l:Ia3+ 63 We2 Jla2+ 641 Wfl Wln41 6S f4 When the attacking rook is in front of a far­ lias 66 We2 lla2+ 67 Wd3 .l:f.a3+ 68 Wc4 Wg4 advanced passed pawn, the defending king must 69 .l:Ig8+ Wxf4 70 a81/11/ :1.xa8 71 .l:!xa8 h4 72 find a place to hide (see following diagram): Wd3 h3 73 we2 1-0 48...:r.g4+ 49 Wf3 Ita4 More resilient is 49 ... litg8, although White A typical attacking set-up is when the rook still wins by 50 .l:Ia7+! Wg6 5 1 llb7 ' Itf8+ 52 protects both pawns horizontally. Usually the Wg2! lif5 53 a6 lig5+ 54 Wh3 Jla5 55 Ita7 ! defender should try to disrupt it by advancing lla3+ 56 Wg2 Wg5 57 l:Ia8 WM 58 a7 lia2 59 Wfl Ital+ 60 We2 lla2+ 6 1 We3 lla3+ 62 Wd4 his pawn (see following diagram): 80 :1.h6+? .l::ta4+ 63 Wc5 lial 64 f4 +-. 80 We4! b4 8 1 f5 is called for: 8 1 ...b3 82 50 .l:Ia8 Wg6 Sl a6 WgS 52 We3 l1c8+ Wb5 83 lib8+ Wc4 84 f6 lic7 85 Wf5 h4 52 a7 wins faster. .•.

202

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

.l:!.d3+ 79 @e2 l::f.d8·80 b7 .l:!.b8 81 'it>f3 'it>d6 82 hS 1-0 w

The attacldng king should not allow itself to be cut off:

B

4.11.11

G. Orlov - Dolmatov Belgrade 1988

86 We6 h3 87 f7 l!xf7 88 @xf7 h2 89 llc8+ Wd3 90 l!cl b2 9 1 l!hl =.

80...@d7?

80...Wc7 ! 8 1 'it>e4 b4 82 Wd4 l1b5 83 Wc4 b3 ! 84 'ttxb5 b2 85 l!h7+ Wd6 86 lih6+ We7 -+. 81 'it>e4 b4 82 f5 h4 83 'it>d4 l:Ib5 84 .l:f.xh4

lf2.1f2

The next case is more complicated:

4.11.13

P. Stefanov -Stoica Bucharest 1983

1...a4? The wrong move-order. l . ..J:;l.f4! 2 Ii.h8 a4 3 l!g8+ 'it>f5 -+ wins as Black's king can cross over to the queenside. 2 llg6+ Wh5 3 lla6 llf4 4 lla5+ (D)

B

4.11.12

Melkumian - Bok Biel 2012

7L.@r6? - -

Black's king commits too early. 7 1 ...l!a3 ! 72 'it>c2 :as 73 b5 (now Black's king will advance via h5 ; after 73 'it>b3 it uses e5: 73 ...'it>f6 74 b5 We5 75 .l:tb4 f4 76 Wc3 .l:f.d8 77 b6 f3 78 .l:tb2 Wf4 79 b7 .l:tb8 80 'itid2 Wg3 8 1 d3 We5 76 'tte3 f4+ 77 'iii>f3 Ii.d6 78 b6

4...'itig6

___ _

Q±L::: (Stoicli ii:! {nformator 35). 5 f3 l1c4 6 'itf2 l:tb4 7 'itig2?!

4 ·���g4 5

7 @e3 ! ? is easier; e.g., 7 ...h3 8 Wf2 Wf6 9 'it>g3 llh4 10 Wh2 We6 1 1 f4! litxf4 1 2 g3 .:c4 14 'it>f3 'itic6 15 d3 = (Stoica).

7 @f6 8 !:1.h5? •••

White had to disrupt the set-up with 8 'it>f2! 'it>e6 9 'tte3, and now: a) 9 ... h3 10 l:r.h5 a3 1 1 llxh3 l1a4 (1 l ...a2 12 ft.h6+ 'it>d5 1 3 lla6 =) 12 llhl a2 1 3 .l:.al =.

ROOK AND Two PA WNS VS ROOK AND PA WN

b) 9 . 'it>d6 1 0 f4 h3 1 1 Wf3 Jlb3+ 1 2 @f2 a3 13 Wgl We6 1 4 Wh2 (White draws as he has achieved the right distribution of forces) 14 . . .h.tf3 1 5 f5+ 'itif6 16 'iiih l Wg5 1 7 'iiih 2 =. .

203

.

w

8...@e6 9 liih6+ wds 10 lihS+ Wc4 11 1'.-txh4+ 'itib3 12 llhl a3 13 Wg3 a2 14 f4 Wc3 lS .llal Wb2 16 .liel alWV 17 rlxal Wxal 18 'itig4 Wb2 19 wrs Wc3 20 Wes !lbs+ 21 'it>e4 'it>c4 22 rs Ubl 23 Wes Wes 24 'itie6 Wc6 2s f6 kiel+ 0-1

E>eercises (solutions: page 278)

E4.11.03: White to play and win.

w

w

JE4.U..01: How should White (to play) use his

E4.H.04l: How did White win?

rook?

B

E4.11.02: Black (to play) missed fence here. Can you do better?

a

deep de·

E4.11.0S: How should White deal with Black's d-pawn?

204

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

w

E4.11.06: Which study-like motif did White use against the famous study composer Afek?

4. JI. 2) Doubled Pawns vs Pawn According to our statistics, only 33% of the games are won and, as this includes wins by the single pawn, the drawing chances are clearly very good. Good knowledge of the endgame with just doubled pawns (see Section 2.3) helps a lot. We start with scenarios where the defending pawn is far back:

'it>e6 h5 65 l:.b5 h4 66 .i:.g5+ 'it>f8 67 l:i.h5 'it>gS 6S I:.xh4 'f},,a7 69 f7+ 'f1xf7 70 :hs+ WxhS 7 1 'it>xf7 +-. 59 l:.h2 60 .i:.b8+ Wh7 61 I:.b2 .l:r.hl 62 I:.b7+ Wg8 63 I:.b8+ Wh7 64 'it>e7 I:.al 65 I:.b7!? h5? Black must stop the attack with 65 ...'it>gS ! ! 66 l1b6 (66 I:.bS+ Wh7 and 66 .l:id7 l:.a5 67 wf6 l:.a6+ also lead to a draw) 66 ... h5 67 f!.g6+ Wh7 6S ©f6 h4 =. 66 ©e8+? 66 f6 ! l:.el+ 67 ©f8+ 'i!?g6 6S f7 Wh7 69 I:.b5 h4 70 l:.i.h5+ Wg6 7 1 .l:.xh4 @f6 72 I:.h6+ +-. 66...@gS 67 f4 lia6 68 We7 ©g7 69 I:.b3 h4 70 llh3 :1.a7+ 71 'i!?e6 'f1a6+ 72 'i!?e5 lil.a5+ .••

llz.llz Often the defender should try to deal with the pawns even at the cost of his own pawn:

B

w

4.12.02

68 I:.el? Now White wins due to his extra pawn as Black can only give up his rook for one of the pawns. After 6S ... ltal 69 I:.xh5 (69 d6 We6 70 d7 I:.aS =) 69 ...rJ;;.e7 White can't win as now his doubled pawns are completely under control; e.g., 70 l:lh6 .l::td l+ 7 1 Wc4 .l::tc l+ 72 Wb5 @d7 73 l:c6 .l:Idl =. 69 d6 .l:r.e8 Or: 69 ...We6 70 l:.e7+ +-; 69 ... .l:.dl + 70 'i!?c4 @e6 7 1 d7 +-. 70 c4 ©g6 70 ... ©e6 7 1 ©c5 .UcS+ 72 11c7 l:.xc7+ 73 dxc7 'i!?d7 74 @b6 ©cs 75 ©c6 h4 76 d5 h3 77 d6 h2 7S d7#. •..

4.12.01 Znosko,Borovsky ..,. H. Kramer Zaandam/Wonnerveer 1946 The h6-pawn makes the win more difficult, but not impossible: 58 I1b7+ Wg8 59 wf6? The king is now in the pawn's way. White should play 59 We6 ! lta3 (59 ...I!hl 60 litbS+ Wh7 6 1 f6 .l:.e1 + 62 wf5 .l:.fl 63 f4 +-; 59 ... f!.h2 60 l:.bS+ Wh7 6 1 f6 l:.xf2 62 f7 +-) 60 f6 lla6+ 6 1 we7 :as 62 f4 :rs 63 .l:i.bl :r7+ 64

Yusupov - Aloma Vidal Caleta 2013

ROO!( AND TWO PA WNS VS ROOK AND PA WN

71 '/J..c7 h4 7 1 . ..Wf6 72 @d5 llh8 73 !;[c l h4 74 lXfl+ ©g5 75 d7 +-. 72 d7 I!d8 73 Wd5 h3 73 ...Wf5 74 Wd6 h3 75 llc2 'it>e4 76 Irh2 I!h8 77 Wc7 Wxd4 78 d8�+ �xd8 79 Wxd8 'it>e4 80 Jrl.xh3 +-. 74 We6 �f8 74...h2 75 .!:!c l +-. 75 .!:Ic2 'ii?g7 76 l:th2 1-0

205

Black's king must escape the dange� zone with 65 ... �>f6! 66 m2+ @g5! 67 Wd7 Ji!.d4+ 68 'it>e6 d2 =. 66 llf2+ 'it>g7 (D)

w

In the next example Black should also be happy to shed his own pawn in order to get to grips with the enemy pawns, but must find the best way to do so:

B

4.12.03

JP.IHI. Nielsen - Aronian European Ch, Ohrid 2001

"Now White should pass the turn to move to the opponent." (Krasenkow). 67 'ii?d 7! .l:K.d4+ 68 'ii?c6 !te4 69 'iii>d6 Wg6 70 'ii?d7 Jld4+ 71 Wc6 .l:le4 72 Wd7 .lld4+ 73 'it>e8! If.h4 Or: 73 ... f6 =, 61 .!:Id8 d4+ 62 'itid6 (62 Wxd4 'iii>f6 =) 62....l:1.a6+ 63 'ii?e7 dxe3 = or � - ---61-Wd6-.l:K.a6+-62-WxdS-.l:K.aS+-=-(Krasenkow-in- -- -g CBM 84). 61 Wd6? w White should play 61 lle7+ @f8 62 llb7 % ILxe3+ 63 'it>d6 +- or 61 llb8 'iJa7 (61 ....l:K.xe3+ 62 'i£?d6 d4 63 e7 +-) 62 .Ud8 Wg6 63 .l:r.g8+ 'it>h7 64 .l:Ig3 +-. i ��.� 61 .l:K.xe3? �, � Again the white pawn is not important. After 6 1 ...lta6+! White's king finds no good hiding U mwq g , place; e.g., 6 2 'ii?xd5 (62 @e5 lla5 =) 6 2...Wf6 63 'iJf8+ 'iii>e7 64 litf7+ We8 65 e4 .!:!al 66 'ii?e5 Khairu11in - Timofeev 4.12.04 Ir.bl =. Russia Cup, Belgorod 2010 62 e7 d4 63 llf8 d3 64 .l:r.f2 .li[e4 65 If.g2+? 65 'ii?d7 ! +- transposes to the game. 66 ILf7 65 @f7? ••.

- - -

•••

-

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-

--

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• • � " • ,,,�.�-, , , , ,-�� 0 - -

•••

-

-

-

206

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

Crafty defence. The greedy 66 'f!xg7? runs into 66 ...'f!e2+ 67 'it>fl (67 'it>gl Wg3 68 'f!f7 '!:!el+ 69 '!:!fl 'f!xfl + 70 'it>xfl 'it>h2 -+) 67 ...'f!xb2 68 '!:!h7+ (68 'f!a7 'it>g3 69 '!:!al 'it>h2 -+) 68 ...'it>g3 69 :g7 .a'.bl + 70 'it>e2 'f!gl -+. 66 ... .l:i.g3+ 67 @fl? But this makes Black's passed g-pawn too dangerous. The only defence is 67 'it>hl ! ! 'f!f3 68 l:tc7 ! l:!.f2 (68 ...@g3 69 'it>gl =; 68 ...@h3 69 .l:i.c3 ! =) 69 'it>gl .l::.xb.2 70 'f!c3 = CS.Cvetkovic). 67 l:tb3? The amazing advance 67 ...Wh3 ! ! wins; e.g., 68 'tl.xg7 .l:[b3 69 'it>gl 'f!xb2 70 .l:lf7 l1bl + 71 .l:Ifl l1xfl + 72 @xfl 'it>h2 -+ or 68 'flc7 'f!g2 69 'f!c3+ Wh2 70 'f!c4 'f!gl + 71 @f2 g3+ 72 We2 'f!g2+ 73 Wf3 'f!f2+ 74 'it>e3 'f!xb2 -+. 68 'f!f2 Now White has everything under control again. 68 @h3 69 'it>gl g3 70 .l:.d2? But this passive protection is inappropriate. The active 70 ,gi.fs draws; e.g., 70 ...g2 71 .laa8 Wg3 (7 1 . ..'f!xb2 72 l:!.a3+ 'it>h4 73 @h2 =) 72 .laa3 = (S.Cvetkovic). 70...'f!e3 71 'f!dl g5 72 Jan g4 73 .:I.bl .l:I.e2 74 b4 .l:I.g2+ 75 @hl 0-1

60. .'f!c3! (D) .

w

•..

•••

Often the defender should not enter a race as the rook can only be sacrificed for pne of the doubled pawns and the king is needed ill the defence: ·

61 .l:I.dl?! 61 .lab2, as recommended in BCE, also loses: 6 1 . . .l'1c4+ ! 62 Wd3 (62 We5 Wc5 63 .l:I.xb3 .l:l.d4 64 d6 .l:I.d5+ -+) 62 ...Wc5 ! 63 .l:.xb3 Wxd5 64 'it>d2 'it>c5 65 .Ubl @b5 66 .:I.cl b3 -+. 61. ..b2 62 .l:lbl l:k2 63 d6 'it>c6 64 @es b3 0-1 Conversely, the attacker often should enter a race:

B

·

w

4.12.06

4.12.05 Polugaevsky - Korchnoi Candidates (4), Buenos Aires 1980 60 'it>d4? 60 @d2! is the correct way to draw; e.g., 60 ...@c5 61 d6! (61 @cl ? @c4! -+) 6 1 ...Wxd6 (61 ...'f!h2+ 62 'it>d3 @xd6 63 'it>c4 =) 62 @cl ! =.

Zhigalko - Andriasian Martuni 2011

47...'f!e3? Now White's king can cross over to the king­ side. 47 ... g4! wins; e.g., 48 .a'.dl g3 49 l:lgl Wg6 50 a5 Wg5 5 1 l:lal .l:h8 -+. 48 Wc2 g4 49 'fld3 .l:te2+ 50 @dl Ita2 51 @el @h6 52 .l:.d5 g5 53 l'1d2 lha4 54 @f2 'it>b5 55 .l:I.d8 'f!a2+ 56 @g3 'f1a3+ 57 @g2 g3 58 .l:td4 .l:b3 59 I.tc4 .l:.a3 60 'f!b4 g4 61 l:!.b8 Wg5 11z.11z Finally an example that would be drawn with­ out the defending pawn:

ROOK AND TWO PA WNS VS ROOK AND PA WN

20 7

w

B

4.12.07

A. Khasin - Shatskes

E4.12.02: Can White (to play) win?

Moscow Ch 1961 Without Black's pawn, one move to draw would be l ...Z!e5. But as matters are, Black cannot defend: 79 e4 80 c6+ �b8 81 'it>b6 !te6 82 .li[al e3 83 'iJ.hl �e8 84 'iJ.h7 .l:tf8 85 ,g[a7 litf6 86 lite7 l:i.f8 87 l:l.xe3 Wc8 88 'iJ.e7 'it>d8 89 lJ..a7 l:i.f6 90 lita8+ We7 91 Wb7 1-0 •.•

w

JE4.12.03: How should White (to play) defend?

Exercises (solutions: page 279)

JE4.12.01: Can Black (to move) win?

JE4.12.04: Morozevich (Black) missed the win­ ning move. Can you do better?

208

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

w

B

E4.12.05: Why is 46 We2? a mistake? What should White do instead?

E4.13.02: Where should Black's rook go? Calculate deeply.

B

4. 13) Studies The seven-man tablebase has revealed a num­ ber of errors in studies where 1!+2� vs lit+� arises. We present all the examples in this sec­ tion as exercises. ·

E4.13.03: Troitsky missed Black's drawing de­ fence. Can you do better? Black to play.

!Exercises (solutions: page 279)

B

B

E4.13.0l: Which study-like defence did Platov miss? Black to play.

E4.13.04: How can Black (to play) untangle?

ROOK 1lND Two PA WNS \IS ROOK AND PA WN

B

209

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- - - �- B B m -� R B -

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- B B B B B B B � �-� . . � � • '\. . .0

E4.13.08: The composer missed a study-like draw for Black here. Can you do better?

B

B

E4.13.06: Can you find the draw for Black?

JE4.13.09: Which king move draws for Black?

E4.13.07: How should Black make a draw?

JE4.13.10: Why does l ... Wg5? lose? How can Black draw?

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

21 0

4. 1 4) Com puter Games Modern chess engines are very strong; they play above grandmaster level. This strength is due to both powerful mqdern hardware and ma­ jor advances in programming techniques. How­ ever, the basic algorithm - a depth search means that they 'think' very differently from humans. There are many sources of computer games. The most popular are: 1. CCRL (Computer Chess Rating List) 2. CEGT (Chess Engines Grand Tournament) 3 . TCEC (Thoresen Chess Engines Compe­ tition) In this section we will show some weak sides of chess engines. This game, played by two of the strongest engines, shows problems with de­ tecting a fortress:

71 ... l:laS 72 @c4 .l!ta4+ 73 �bS .l:.g4 74 g6 @h6 7S 'ii?cS l:lgS+ 76 @d6 l1aS 77 .l:.g3 .l:.a6+ 7S @e7 l:la7+ 79 We6 .l::.a6+ SO �es .Uas+ Sl �d4 .laa4+ 82 f4 1/z-1h

Exercises (solutions: p�ge · 2 8 1 )

.•.

B

Computers tend to have problems under­ standing positional draws. In the following example neither player 'knows' the Vancura position (1 . 17):

E4.14.01: This typical position has already been analysed in the book. Was 1 70 ...Jii.e2 a good choice?

w

w

4.14.06

Hiarcs - Equinox

E4.14.02: Which draw did White (to play) miss?

CEGT 401120, 2013 92 Jii.d3? 92 Jii.£5 ! =. 92...l::th2+? 92 ...IJ.c4+ ! 93 Wb2 .l:l.b4+ ! 94 'i£i>c2 (94 Wa2 l'lb6! -+) 94 ...h4 95 .l:r.d6 a3 ! 96 Jii.a6 l1b2+ 97 Wcl .l:r.b3 98 Wc2 .l:l.g3 -+. 93 'it>cl? 93 ®bl ! h4 94 Jii.d4 =. 93 h4 94 l:l.a3 94 Jii.d4 now loses to 94 ... a3 95 @bl h3 96 IJ.d3 Jii.b2+ -+. 94 h3? . 94....l:r.g2 -+. 95 l:td3 :I.bl+ 96 'it>b2 h2 97 l:I.b3 'ittxd7 98 Jii.h4 a3+ 99 'itta2 and the game was later drawn. ..•

•.•

4. 1 5) longest Wins For the ending l1+28 vs Jii.+8, the maximal length of win in the DTC metric is 79 moves. There are six different pawn configurations with wins in at least 70 moves. We give one position for each coiifiguration. In these 'longest win' sections, ' ! ! ' marks a unique winning move and ' ! ' signifies the only move with the minimum DTC value, but not the only move to win. See next diagram. 1 @c5 ! ! 'itt a4 2 .l:l.e7 ! ! g6 3 :i.d7 ! ! IZ.a5+ 4 @d4 ! ! Jii.£5 5 'it>e3 ! ! 'it>b4 6 .l:.d6 ! ! :es+ 7 'it>d4 ! l:tf5 8 lib6+ ! Wa3 9 1Ia6+ @b4 10 We3 ! l:r.e5+ 1 1 @f3 ! .l:.g5 12 .l:.e6! 'itta3 13 lle2 @b4 14 Wf4! .l:l.g2 15 'itte 3!l:tgl 16 llc2! .l:.el+ 17 'itt f4! . .

.

ROOK AND Two PA WNS \IS ROOK AND PA WN

w

4.15.01

Longest Win: a+f vs g White wins in 79 moves

.ligl 1 8 f3 ! g5+ 1 9 We3! ! Jlel + 20 lle2! Jlc l 2 1 Jlg2 ! ! .l:tc5 22 .l:.b2+ ! ! @a3 2 3 .!Id2 I1f5 24 Jlc2 ! (mutual zugzwang) 24.. .'it>b4 25 Jlc7 ! ! Wb5 26 .!Ic8 ! ! (mutual zugzwang) 26 ... Jle5+ 27 Wf2 ! @b6 28 a4 ! ! 'i:!.d5 29 llb8+ ! 'it>c6 30 Wg3 ! ! Jlf5 3 1 .!Ie8 Wd7 32 l:te4! l:td5 33 'it>g4! Wd6 34 .ll.e8 ! Jlc5 35 Wh5 ! 11f5 36 .l:i.e3 ! ! l:ta5 37 .l:i.a3 ! Wd7 38 'i.t>g6! @e7 39 lia2 We8 40 'i.t>f6 ! @f8 4 1 .lla3 We8 42 .l:i.e3+! Wf8 43 l:te4! Wg8 44 'it>e7 Wg7 45 'it>d6! 'it>f6 46 'i.t>c6! l:ta8 47 'it>b5 ! l:tb8+ 48 'i!?c4! ! l:!c8+ 49 Wb4 �b8+ 50 'i.t>a3 ! l:th8 5 1 .lle3 ! ! .ll.h3 52 Jlb3 ! ! We7 53 a5 ! ! Wd8 54 'i.t>a4 ! ! l:th4+ 55 Jlb4 ! ! Wc8 56. a6! ! .ll.h6 57 @a5 ! ! l:rh7 58 .ll.b 6! .lag7 59 l:.tb7 ! ! llg8 60 l:tb5 'i:!g7 6 1 l:rb6! Jaf7 62 'it>b4 li[f4+ 63 'i!?b5 ! li[f5+ 64 Wc4! l:tf4+ 65 Wd5! 'it>c7 66 a7! 1la4 67 .l:!.f6! Wb7 68 Jlf7+! ! Wa8 69 We5 ! ! :a2 70 '4g7 .l:.g2 71 We4 .llg3 72 We3 ! lig2 73 'it>d3 ! li[f2 74 'i!?e4! li[e2+ 75 'it>f5 ! li[e3 76 'it>g4 ! ! Jle4+ 77 Wg3 ! lig4+ 7 8 'i.t>f2! Jlc4 7 9 .t'!xg5 +-

213

I e4+ ! ! @c6 2 d5+! ! 'it>d7 3 �a7+ ! ! iid4! Jad l+ 9 'i!?c5 ! �c l+ IO Wb6 lir.bl+ 1 1 @c6! �c l+ 12 Wb7 ! �bl+ 13 l:ib6 ! };;{e l 14 Jlb5! 'it>d7 15 I1c5! �bl+ 16 'it>a6! l::!e l 17 @b5 ! .ll.b l+ 18 Wc4! liCI+ 19 'it>d4 ! �d i + 20 @e4 E!el+ 21 'it>d3 ! @d8 22 Wd4! !!d i+ 2 3 'it>c4 ! Ji{bl 24 Jla5! .l:{el 25 'i.t>d4! '4dl+ 26 Wc5! .!te l+ 27 Wb6 llel 28 Z!c5 .l:!bl+ 29 @c6! �di 30 Jlc4 klh l 3 1 �c3 .l!tgl 32 Jlh3 &te l+ 33 @b6 'i:!el 34 'i!?c5 ! Ite4 35 .l:Ih7! :&.el 36 'i:!h4! 'i.t>d7 37 'i!?d4! Jld l+ 38 'i.t>e4 ne1+ 39 Wf4! lifl+ 40 'it>g4 ! Il.gl+ 41 'it>f3 ! !!fl+ 42 'it>e2 ! lif5 43 lle4 ! ! .ll.h5 44 Wd3 ! Jlh3+ 45 &te3 ! Jlhl 46 .llg3 ! l:td l+ 47 'i!?e2 ! I1d5 48 l:tg5 ! .ll.b5 49 @f3 ! @c6 50 'i!?g4 ! ! llbl 5 1 'it>h5 ! ! 11d l 52 'i!?g6! 'i!?d7 53 Jlh5! l:igl+ 54 @f6 ! lifl+ 55 'i!?g5 ! .l:!gl+ 56 Wf4! '4fl + 57 'i.t>e4 .l:!.el + 58 'i.t>f3 ! 11fl + 59 'i.t>e2 ! lif8 60 'i.t>e3 ! Iif7 6 1 Jlg5 l:th7 62 l:tg8 ! lif7 63 l:t.b8 l:tf5 64 'i!?e4! Ii'.g5 65 I!.b7+! 'i!?d8 66 l:te7 ! Jlg4+ 67 'i!?e3 l:!g6 68 'i!?d4! Jlh6 69 'i!?c5 ! Jlg6 70 'ii?c 6! .li!h6 7 1 l1f7 lih8 72 d7 llg8 73 'i!?d6 ! .l:th8 74 Wxe6! +-

w

w 4.15.03

4.15.02

Longest Win: d+e vs e White wins in 74 moves

Longest Win: d+e vs c White wins in 73 moves

The first moves of the winning sequence are very difficult. 1 Jlg5! ! Wb6 2 'it>c4 ! ! 'it>c6 3 Wd4 ! ! 'it>d7 4 l:ig7+ ! ! 'it>d6 5 Jlg6+ ! ! 'it>d7 6 'it>e5! .l:thl 7 .l:tg7+ ! ! 'it>c8 8 We6 ! l:th3 9 Jlg8+ ! ! 'i!?b7 IO .llg5 ! l:te3+ 1 1 Iie5 ! ! li[h3 1 2 d4! l:th6+ 1 3 Wf5 !

214

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

lic7 47 lih8 l::r.d7 . 48 @c4 lie7 49 @d4 ! lid7+ SO @cS ! lia7 S l @c6! eS S2 lie8! �a6+ S3 @bS ! lia7 S4 @cs ! i:tct7 SS lif8+ ! @g7 S6 .Ua8 ! @£6 S7 @c6 ! lig7 S8 WdS ! lid7+ S9 @e4! !id4+ 60 @f3 :!.d3+ 61 @f2 ! lih3 62 lif8+ \t>g7 63 lif7+ @g8 64 l:tfS ! ! e4 6S @g2! lid3 66 h6! lid2+ 67 @h3 lid3+ 68 @M lid2 69 lieS ! lih2+ 70 @gS ! ! lig2+ 7 1 @fS ! lif2+ 72 'it>xe4! +-

@c8 14 l1e8+! ! @d7 1S l:tg8 ! ! l:td6 16 e3 l:td5+ 1 7 @f4!! l:td6 1 8 l:tg7+! .@c6 19 l:tg3 ! l:td8 20 l1g6+! 'it>dS 21 l:tgS+! ! 'it>c6 22 l:tfS ! l:td7 23 l:tcS+! @b7 24 @gS ! Wc8 2S .l:[f"S ! c6 26 Wf6 ! ! @c7 27 l1a5 ! ! J!ld6+ 2 8 WeS ! ! l:td8 29 l:ta7+ ! ! @b8 30 lie7 ! l:td5+ 3 1 'it>f6 l:td8 3 2 @f?! lids 33 lie8+ @c7 34 lieS ! lid6 3S lie7+! Wb6 36 l:te6! lid7+ 37 @£6! lidS 38 lie8! @c7 39 I'le7+! @b6 40 IJ.f7 ! IJ.d6+ 41 'it>eS ! lir.d5+ 42 @e6! I'ld8 43 .Ue7 ! 'it>a6 44 Wf7! @b6 4S lie8! lid6 46 'it>e7 ! I'lh6 47 @d7 ! l:th7+ 48 I'le7! .l:.h449 'it>d6! l:th6+ so @es ! .l:.hS+ s 1 'it>e4! l:th6 s2 .l:.d7 l:th8 S3 @d3 ! l:th6 S4 e4! (this is a typical position from Section 4.S.4; compare example 4.S.29) S4 ... I'lh3+ SS @d2! cS S6 dS ! ! c4 S7 eS ! ! c3+ S8 Wc2! @cs S9 e6! @d4 60 e7 ! l:tl).2+ 61 @bl ! ! I'lb2+ 62 @cl ! ! I'le2 63 d6 ! ! @d3 64 @bl ! ! c2+ 6S @b2 ! ! l:tel 66 I'lc7 ! ! l:tbl+ 67 @a2! l:tb8 68 @a3 ! I'la8+ 69 b4! I'lb8+ 70 @a5 ! l:ta8+ 7 1 @b6! I'lb8+ 7 2 @a7 ! l::tb3 7 3 l1xc2 +-

w

4.15.05 w

·

4.15.04

Longest Win: c+f vs f White wins in 70 moves

1 @e2 ! ! l::r.c l 2 @d2! ! lifl 3 @e3 ! @d7 4 lib8 @e6 S We4 ! ! llcl 6 llb6+ ! ! @d7 7 lib2! @e6 8 Wf4 ! f6 9 lia2 ! ! .l::th l 10 1Ia6+! ! @e7 1 1 lic6 ! JIM+ 1 2 @f5 ! ! lihS+ 1 3 @e4 ! ! lieS+ 14 Wd4! I'le2 1S lic4 @f7 16 @d3 ! ! lif2 17 'it>e3 ! ! I1g2 1 8 c3 ! llc2 1 9 @d3 ! ! l:tf2 20 @e4! I1e2+ 21 @f4! @g6 22 l:td4 ! ! lie7 23 l:td2 l:tc7 24 11g2+ ! ! @f7 (D)

Longest Win: g+h vs e White wins in 72 moves

1 Wb3 ! ! lie2 2 l:td8+ ! ! @c7 3 .tt.h 8 ! ! @c6 4 @c4 ! ! l:td2 S @c3 ! ! lidl 6 h4 ! ! @d7 7 g4! ! @e6 8 hS ! ! @f7 9 lih7+ ! ! @f6 10 lih6+ ! ! @f7 1 1 @c4 ! lid2 12 lib6! lldl 1 3 lla6! Itd2 14 gS ! lih2 1s g6+ ! ! Wg7 16 lia5 ! ! @f6 17 @d4 Ithl 18 We3 ! .li!:el+ 19 Wd2! l:lbl 20 lia8! @g7 21 l:Ie8 ! l:tb7 22 Wc3 ! llc7+ 23 Wb4! lib7+ 24 @c4 ! l:tc7+ 2S @bS! l:td7 26 WcS ! lib7 27 @c6! 'fJ.a7 28 @b6! lid7 29 .1Ic8 ! l:Id6+ 30 llc6 ! ! .li!:dS 3 1 .li!:cS ! ! l::r.d8 32 l::r.fS ! ! l:Ih8 33 @bS ! e6 34 .li!:cS ! ! .li!:b8+ 3S @c4 ! ! @h6 36 Ir.es ! lie8 37 WbS Wg7 38 @cs ! @f6 39 Wd4! ! lid8+ 40 @e4 ! ! .l:K.a8 41 .tt.cS ! l:ta4+ 42 Wd3 ! f.(a3+ 43 @c2! .Ua2+ 44 Wb3 ! .1Ia7 4S llc8 ! litd7 46 lle8

w

2S .l:c2! ! l:tc4+ 26 'it>f5 ! ! l:tcS+ 27 @e4! llc4+ 28 @d5 ! .l:if4 29 llf2! ! .�.fS+ 30 @e4! l:teS+ 3 1 Wd4! !f.fS 32 c4! @f8 33 'it>e4 .l::teS+ 34 @f4! ll.cS 3S l:tc2! ! Wf7 36 l:tc3 We7 37 @e4 l:t.eS+ 38 'iiitd4 Wd6 39 i:t.d3 'it>c6 40 lie3

215

ROOK AND Two PAWNS VS ROOK AND PA WN

llf5 41 We4! �e5+ 42 ©f4 ! Jlg5 43 .&i.d3 ! 'it>c5 44 �d7 Wc6 45 1ld4! JAe5 46 'it>g3 ! .llg5+ 47 'it>f2! .lle5 48 Eif4 ! f5 49 'lt>g3 ! ! 'i£?d7 so '1d4+ ! We6 51 Wf4 ! �c5 52 We3 ! Ele5+ 53 @d2 ! I{c5 54 f4 .lla5 55 Wc3 ! Ii.a3+ 56 Wb4 ! £\a2 57 c5 ! �c2 58 �d6+ @f7 59 �d5 Wg6 60 .l.ie5 .l:.b2+ 61 @a5 Jlc2 62 'iit>b6 ! Jlb2+ 63 Wc7 ! .l:!c2 64 c6 lah2 65 �d5 brh3 66 @d6! l:i'.b3 67 c7 �b6+ 68 @e7 !k6 69 !id6+ @h5 70 Ii.xc6 +-

• • • •• B B B B

w

� � ��� � · B B -�­ r,,,,,�

'

B B B m B B B B• . . -�­ � .: � � � � � � � -

4.15.07 Longest Win {SO-move rule): f+g vs f White wins in 50 moves

w

When the 50-move rule is applied, this po­ sition is barely won for White - he needs ex­ actly 50 moves to win, with no pawn moves or captures in the first 49: I !if3+ @h4 2 c;i;>bl ! ! 'it>h5 3 'it>cl ! ! Wh6 4 Wdl ! 'it>g7 5 .1Id3 Wh6 6 :I.h3+ ! \t>g5 7 Itf3 ! ! @h6 8 Wei ! 'it>g7 9 I:!'.d3 Wh6 10 l:i'.h3+! Wg5 1 1 J!tf3 Wh6 12 l':.f2 ! l:i.g4 13 'it>e2 'lt>g7 14 Wd3 ! ! l:I.g3+ 1 5 Wc4! llgl 16 JLongest Win: d+h vs h 4.15.06 :I.d2 !!c l + 17 Wd5 J'lfl 1 8 We6 ! ! llel+ 1 9 White wins in 70 moves Wd6 ! ! Itfl 2 0 l:i'.d5 ! .libl 2 1 l:i'.c5 lldl + 2 2 We6 fl.el + 23 Wd5 ! fl.di+ 24 We4! l:Kel + 25 Wf4 !l.fl+ 26 We3 ! I:l'.el + 27 Wf2 ! .Ue8 28 Wg3 I d3 ! ! .lig7+ 2 Wc8 I:l'.g8+ 3 Wc7 ! lag7+ 4 Wh6 29 @f4! l:i.a8 30 ktc2 lla4+ 3 1 Wf3 !l.a7 @b6 ! 11b7+ 5 Wa6 ! ! I:\'.a7+ 6 'itb5 ! I.tb7+ 7 32 We4 ! .l!1.e7+ 33 Wf4 ! Wg7 34 llc6 ! .l:!.d7 35 !l.b6! .lld7 8 Wc4 ! ! .1Ic7+ 9 Wb3 ! ! l:i'.d7 10 Wc3 ! We4 !l.e7+ 36 Wd4 ! Il.d7+ 37 Wc5 ! l:i'.d8 38 llc7+ 1 1 Wd2! 'fJ.a7 12 .l:!.c6 ! I:\'.g7 13 .lie6 ! ! Wb7 14 �e2 ! �gl 1 5 We3 ! I:l'.hl 16 .l:rc2 ! ! b6 17 litd6 llc8+ 39 d5 l:i'.e8 40 l:i'.e6 lld8+ 4 1 Wc6! .U.c8+ 42 Wd7 ! fl.cs 43 lie7+ ! ! Wg8 44 'lt>e6! Wf4 Ii.di 18 We4! Ii.gl 19 Wd5! litg5+ 20 Wd4 ! .llg l 21 We4! z:!fl 22 d4! .l:!.f7 23 h3 ! 'f!g7 24 .lac6+ 45 Wd5 ! l:i'.b6 46 .Ud7 ! 1:.a6 47 I:\'.d6 ! gc3 ! I:l'.e7+ 25 Wf4 ! l:i:d7 26 llc4 ! lld8 27 Wf5 ! !l.a5+ 48 'it>e6! Wg7 49 lid7+! Wf8 50 \t>xf6 ! Wb5 28 .lic5+ ! ! Wb4 29 We4 ! ! lle8+ 30 lle5 ! ! +-l{h8-3-l- d5-@c5-32-.:.e6 ! !-llf8-33-!l.c6+! !-Wb)-··-· -- 34 Il.c3 ! Wb6 35 Wd4! I:\'.a8 36 .li[c4! Wb5 37 .l:rc5+ Wb6 38 l:!c3 ! l:'ie8 39 l:'ic6+! Wb5 40 .l:!h6! kiel 4 1 Il.h8! ! Wb6 42 .l:k8 ! Wb7 43 l:i.c4! !ie8 44 'it>d3 ! .l:!h8 45 'it>e4 Wb6 46 Wd4! llh6 w 47 'it>e5 ! l:i'.h5+ 48 We6 !l.h6+ 49 'it>e7 ! 'it>b5 so Jlc8 ! llh7+ 5 1 Wf6 l:th6+ 52 We5 ! kth5+ 53 Wd4 ! Wb6 54 d6 ! Il.h6 55 'it>e5 li:h5+ 56 We4! l:th7 57 Wf4! litf7+ 58 We5 ! l:th7 59 We4! Wb5 60 l:i'.c7 ! lith6 61 d7! .l:!.d6 62 We5! ! .l:r.d3 63 We6 ! ! �e3+ 64 Wf7 l:tf3+ 65 We8 .l:.{e3+ 66 Wd8 ! lla3 67 llc8 ! .l:id3 68 Wc7 ! .l:.tc3+ 69 Wb8 Wa4 70 :Ixc3 +-

The next two positions examine the role of the 50-move rule.

- - - ----

4.15.08

f+g vs f White wins in 5 1 moves

·

216

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

And this position; almost the same as the previous one, is drawn by the 50-move rule after 50...@f8 Black can claim a draw. 1 .l:!.fl ! ! .l:!.g2 2 l:'.rf3+ 'i!:lh4 3 @bl ! ! 'it>h5 4 'i!:lcl ! ! 'i!:lh6 5 'it>dl ! 'i!:lg7 6 .l:!.d3 'i!:lh6 7 .l:.h3+! 'i!:lg5 8 kl.f3 ! ! 'it>h6 9 'i!:lel ! @g7 10 .l:!.d3 'i!:lh6 1 1 .l:!.h3+! 'it>g5 1 2 !1f3 'i!:lh6 1 3 l1f2! l1g4 1 4 'i!:le2 Wg7 15 'i!:ld3 ! ! J:(g3+ 16 Wc4! l1gl 17 l1d2 l1cl+ 18 Wd5 l1fl 19 We6 ! ! .l:!.el+ 20 'i!:ld6 ! ! li.fl 21 li.d5! lr.bl 22 .l:!.c5 .l:l.dl+ 23 d5 l:!.e8 41 l:!.e6 lr.d8+ 42 Wc6! .l:!.c8+ 43 'it>d7 ! !tc5 44 l:!.e7+! ! @g8 45 e6 ,grg6 -+) 73 ...Jag4+ 74 @e3 Jl 3+ (but not 74 ... '&Yh3+? 75 Wilf3 .llg3 76 ilf8+ =) 75 @d4 'i£'dl + -+. 65 'it>e7 lld7+ 66 We6 bl'&I' (D)

B

w

4.16.03

Goncharov - Kazoks RCCA con: 2003

45....l:l.c2 46 a3 Wg7 47 .ti.a5 Ii'.c6 48 @gs 1-0?? The position is drawn.

4. 1 1) The f(()nnUn �hase 0>f �he Game example 3.22 we have already seen that the side who can give the first check usually wins. This means of course the side with the safer Icing: In

64... .litd5? This allows White a miracle escape. The im­ mediate 64... bl 'IW is called for: 65 g8'&¥ �e4 and White's pieces are too clumsily placed; e.g., 66 \!i'g6 (66 Wg7+ .lite8 -+) 66 ... l:!e8+ 67 @g7 'i&'d4+ 68 '&Vf6 '&l'gl + 69 'ii?h6 '&¥h2+ 70 'ii?g7 '&Vh8+ 71 'ii?g6 .litg8+ 72 @xf5 '&¥h5+ 73

m•m m m m mx m : �:� m m@m m m m mim m m a •­ m m a a

a a a m m'iVa a a

67 g8'&+? Now Black is back on track. 67 .litxd7 ! ! draws due to 67 ...'&'b3+ 68 .lad5 �e3+ 69 Wf7 = or 67 ...V&'e4+ 68 Wf6 Wxd7 69 g8'&' f4 70 '1Wf7+ Wd6 71 'ID'f8+ 'ii?d5 72 �a8+ Wd4 73 �al + @d3 7 4 'IWbl + =. 67....l:!d.8 68 'l!Ug3 '1Wb6+ 69 wxrs .litd5+ 70 'it>f4 '&l'd6+ 71 Wg4 '.We6+ 0-1 Matters can be very deep:

48 g5 a4 49 g6 a3 50 g7 a2 51 g8'&' al'llU+ The position is won for White as the f-pawn protects the Icing, but the win is difficult - 23 moves. 52 Wg6 '&Vgl+ 53 lig4! 53 'ii?f7? '&¥xg8+ 54 Wxg8 Wc5 is only a draw. 53 ... '&¥bl+ 54 Wg5 '&Vet+ 55 f4! .litb4

218

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAiV!ES

The main line is S5 ...'i'e3 S6 'ii?hS Vi'h3+ S7 lih4 'i'f3+ S8 'ii?h6 'i'c3 S9 :hs+ Wa6 60 'i'a8+ Wb6 61 'i'e8 'ii?a7 62 1&!1a4+! Wb6 63 Wg6! 1&!1c2+ 64 Wf6 'liVc3+ 6S :es :b4 66 'liVaS+ Wc6 67 1&!ldS+ 'it>b6 68 fS .ti:bl 69 Wg6 l:lb2 70 ne7 1&!lg3+ 7 1 'it>f7 +-. 56 1&!lb8+ Wa5 57 1&!fa7+ Wb5 58 �b7+ Wa5 59 1&!fa7+ 'ii?b5 60 1&!1d7+ Wa5 61 �d8+ Wa4 62 1&!1a8+ Wb5 63 'i'd5+ Wa6 (DJ

w

llz.I/z?? A draw was agreed here, but the position is still won for White· due to 64 1&!1a8+ WbS 6S 'it>h6 ! ! +-. The longest wins for 1&!1+.l:i+8 vs 'i'+li fol­ low:

'&tf4+! 'it>d8 20 'i'b8+ ! 'it>ct7 2 1 '&bS+ ! Wc7 22 'lJ,,g7+! Wd6 23 'i'a6+ WeS 24 \!WaS+ ! ! Wd6 2S 'i'c7+! WdS 26 .l:id7+! We4 27 1IIHb7+ WeS 28 'l{{{ds+ Wf6 29 �f3+! ! Wg6 30 '&g4+ 'it>f6 3 1 'l{{{g7+ ! WfS 3 2 lif7+ ! ! 'it>e4 3 3 l:la7 ! Wf4 34 �d4+! WgS 3S :as+ ! ! 'it>h6 36 'i'h4+ ! ! Wg7 37 lia7+ ! ! 'it>g6 38 'l{{{g3+ Wf6 39 '&'g7+! 'it>fS 40 liaS+! lies 41 g4+! We4 42 :a3 ! ! WlibS 43 1&!1f7 ! ! Wd4 44 °ill'f2+ ! ! 'it>dS 4S :a8 ! ! We6 46 lia7 ! ! l:te2 47 'lll/f7+ ! ! Wd6 48 1&!lf6+! WdS 49 1&11gS+ ! lieS SO 'i£'d8+ ! We4 S 1 1IIHd 1 ! ! :cs S2 'i'el+! WdS S3 1&!ld2+! We6 S4 °'lWh6+! WdS ss 'ltl'gS+ 'ii?c6 S6 \!i'f6+ c;i;>dS S7 \!Wf7+! 'ii?e4 S8 l:!.e7+! lieS S9 ViVfS+ ! ! Wd4 60 Vi'f4+! Wd3 61 Wfif3+ 'it'd2 62 'i'f2+ ! Wd3 63 l:!.a7 ! We4 64 l!a8 ! WdS 6S 'i'd2+! Wc6 66 11IHc2+ ! .l:tcS 67 Wlie4+! ! .ti:dS 68 WUe6+ ! WcS 69 '/£'e7+! 'it>d4 70 Vi'el ! ! :cs 7 1 'l'Wf2+ 'it>e4 72 l:!.e8+ ! lieS 73 W°fS+! 'it>d4 74 Wfif4+! 'it>d3 7S 1&!lfl+! 'it>c3 76 .l:.c8+! Wd4 77 .l:id8+! 'ii?e4 78 1&!1el + ! Wf4 79 W°f2+ ! @gs 80 lig8+ ! ! 'ii?h6 81 'ifh4+ lihS 82 'ltl'xhS+! +-

w

w

41.17.4:14 Longest Win: \%!l+.U vs 11W+li+8 White wins in 94 moves

4.17.03 Longest Win: Vi'+li+8 vs 1&!l+'C,. White wins in 82 moves 1 '1Wb8+ ! ! 1&!1e8 2 lig3+ ! ! 'ii?f7 3 :f3+ ! ! Wg8 4 1&!lg3+! 'it>h8 s 1&!lh2+ 'it>g7 6 lig3+! Wf6 7 1&!1h6+ !. ! WeS 8 1&!lg7+! ! We6 9 :g6+! ! 'ii?dS 10 1&11b7+ ! ! 'it>eS l l 'lWb2+ ! WdS 1 2 \1¥/d2+! WcS 13 :gs+ lies 14 \!We3+ WdS lS \!Wd3+! ! Wc6 16 lig6+! lie6 17 \1¥/e4+ Wd6 18 'li'd4+ ! Wc7 19

1 lic2+ ! ! WbS 2 .Ub2+ ! ! 'it>c4 3 \1¥/h4+! WdS 4 l:!.d2+! ! 'it>c6 S 1/IHhl + ! ! Wb6 6 l:tb2+ ! ! @cs 7 . 1&!lg1+ 'it>d5 8 .l:id2+! ! @66 9 \VVg2+ ! 'it>cs 10 lic2+! 'it>b6 1 1 .Ub2+! 'it>cs 12 'W/f2+! WdS 13 1&!1d2+! Wc6 14 \Wlc3+! Wd7 l S litd2+ ! ! We8 1 6 Wih8+ ! ! We7 17 'Wlh7+ We8 1 8 \1¥/hS+! 'ii?e7 1 9 1&!lgS+ 'ii?f8 20 lilf2+! 'it>e8 2 1 'WihS+ ! 'ii?e7 22 1&!1h7+! 'ii?d6 23 .Ud2+ ! ! 'ii?es 24 1&!lc7+! We4 2s 'l'Wc2+! 'ii?f4 26 lilf2+ ! ! 'ii?g3 27 l:tg2+ ! ! Wf4 28 1&!1t2+ ! 'ii?e4 29 1&!1el + ! 'it>ts 30 lilf2+ ! 'ii?gS 3 1 'Wid2+ ! 'ii?g6 3 2 \1¥/d3+ ! c;i;>h6 3 3 lilh2+! @gs 34 Wlig3+ ! WfS 3S \Wff3+! wes 36 1&!1c3+ ! Wd6 37

ROOK AND Two PA WNS vs ROOK AND PA WN

'&b4+! Wc7 38 .a'.c2+ ! Wd8 39 °ill'f8 +! \t>d7 40 'ld2+ ! ! 'it'c7 4 1 '8\'g7+ ! 'it>b6 42 llb2+ ! ! 'tt?c6 43 . lrc2+! Wd6 44 'hWc7+ ! \t>dS 4S '1Wb7+ Wd4 46 'fil'b4+! \ties 47 l:l:e2+ ! WdS 48 'IWbS+! Wd4 49 I!:d2+ ! ! \t>e4 SO �d3+! Wf4 S l Ii.f2+ ! \ties S2 !Ie2+ ! Wf4 S3 'hWd4+! 'iilfs S4 �f2+! 'it>gs ss 1/Wg3+ ! ! 1/Wg4 (D)

w

Ji - - - � . - - - - - • - . � m � � . - - -'ii ,.,.,,, . � � � . . ,� , itt m m 11 m � � . . . � � � .

S6 'iVeS+! ! Wg6 S7 '1!¥d6+! ! WhS S8 It.h2+! ! 'it>gs S9 'lib6+! Wf5 60 .l:f2+! We4 61 i&'h l+!! WeS 62 1&'h2+! ! We4 63 .l:Ce2+! Wd3 64 .!:.d2+!! 'it>e4 6S 'iVh7+! WlifS 66 1&'b7+! ! Wf4 67 '4f2+! ! We3 6 8 'iVb6+! ! We4 69 Vi'b4+! We3 70 V!Vel+! Wd4 71 Ild2+! WcS 72 Wl/e3+! Wc6 73 1&Vh6+! ! Wb7 74 It.b2+! 'it>c7 7S Vi'b6+! ! 'it>d7 76 �b7+! ! Wd6 77 .l:Cb6+! WeS 78 1lil'c7+! 'it>e4 79 llb4+! WdS 80 libS+! We4 8 1 1&'c4+! We3 82 .l:Cb3+! Wf2 83 1lil'h4+! We2 84 1&Vh2+! Vi'f2 8S llb2+!! Wd3 86 '&'d6+! 'it>c4 87 Wl/c6+! Wd3 88 Wilds+! 'i¥re3 89 Wl/e6+! 'itd3 90 .l:b3+! 'itd4 91 Iib4+! WcS 92 It.c4+ ! WbS 93 Wl/c6+! Wa5 94 It.a4#!

219

w

E4.17.02: Where should the white king go?

4 J . 8) The Song�e !Pawn us IP�aying f()) r a Wu n This situation seldom occurs, of course. We nev­ ertheless want to demonstrate a few typical mo­ tifs that are similar to ones we saw in Chapter 3. 219 4. 1 8 . l : The Cut-Off 220 4.1 8.2: The Umbrella 220 4.1 8.3: Checldng Distance 22 1 4. 1 8.4: Defending IGng Far Away 4.1 8.S: Longest Win 221

4. 1 8 . 1 ) The Cut-Off This is an important weapon against the de­ fending king:

4.18.01

Suetin Portisch Ljubljana/Portoroz 1973 -

1 l:ia4! Not 1 .. .d 11lf/? 2 Iixd l Wxdl 3 Wf4 .!:.xg2 4 f6 with a draw. •••

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

220

2 lihl Il.e4?! The direct 2... dl '&I? is met by 3 l:.xdl 'it>xdl 4 'it>f3 (4 f6? .Ua6 5 Wh4 .Uxf6 6 g4 'it>e2 7 g5 lifl 8 g6 .Ugl 9 Wh5 Wf3 1 0 'it>h6 'iii>f4 1 1 g7 @f5 1 2 'itih7 l:rh l+ -+) 4... @d2 5 f6 (5 g4? 'itid3 6 f6 Wd4 7 'it>f4 'itid5+ 8 'it>f5 'it>d6 -+ Neikirkh in ECE) 5 ... l:.a6 6 'itie4 l:1.xf6 7 g4 =. 2... l:tc4! wins the all-important tempo due to 3 f6 l:ic6 4 f7 .l:If6 5 l:h6 :!xf7 6 :!e6+ 'iii>fl 7 .l:Id6 l:tf2 -+ or 3 .l:Ibl l:1.cl 4 .l:.b2 l:1.fl ! 5 Wg4 'it>e3 6 l:1.xd2 Wxd2 7 Wg5 'itie3 8 f6 'iii>e4 9 'it>g6 'it>e5 1 0 f7 We6 -+. 3 l:1.al Wd3? 3 ....:.c4! still wins. 4 z:tdl? The only way to draw is 4 f6! .l:.el 5 .l:i.a3+! (after 5 f7? .l:Ixal 6 f8'11W dl'&V -+ White lacks a perpetual check) 5 ...'it>d4 6 f7 l:1.fl (6... dl\!W? 7 f8� +-) 7 .l1f3 l:r.xf3+ 8 gxf3 dl V¥! 9 f8\IW '&Vgl +

55 @f6 55 ...@h7 56 .UM+ 'it>g7 57 lixh3 a5 58 l:tg3+ 'it>h6 59 .l:Ig4 +-. 56 'it>f8 'it>fS 57 l:1.h4 l:1.f2 58 .l:.xh3 1-0 Due to 58 ...Wg4+ 59 Wg8 .l:Ie2 (59 ...'it>xh3 60 e8'&' +-) 60 .l:.h7 a5 61 @f8 +-. .•.

.

4. 1 8.2) The U mbrella Knowing rook endings can help at important moments. The 1 952 Interzonal was the best tournament of Alexander Kotov's career. He finished with 16'h points of 20( !). This game was played in the first round:

B

4...l:1.el 5 llxd2+ Wxd2 6 Wf4 Wd3 7 f6 'itid4 8 WfS WdS 9 g4 It.fl+ :n.o @g6 We6 11 gS :rs 12 'it>h6 'it>f7 0-1 The next case shows a typical error:

4.18.03

Kotov - Eliskases

Saltsjobaden lnterzanal 1952

B

4.18.02

Zviagintsev - G. Mohr Portoroz 1997

52 M? The rook belongs behind the passed pawn: 52 ...l:te2 ! 53 l:ia5 (53 'itid7 'it>f7 54 l:tf5+ Wg6 =) 53 ...h4 54 'it>f8 .l:!.f2+ 55 'it>g8 It.e2 56 lia6+ Wg5 57 'it>f7 h3 58 l:te6 lixe6 59 'it>xe6 h2 =. 53 lie5 'it>g7 53 . . .h3 54 'it>f8 +-. 54 .lle4! h3 55 l:tg4+ A deadly zwischenschach - or 'hesitation check' in Nunn's terminology. •••

45... 'itid7? This move loses. Black can draw by 45 ...l:1.fl : a) Only after 46 .l:.xg5 can Black continue 46...'it>d7 = as the 'umbrella' g-pawn has been taken. b) 46 'it>e6 is winning for White according to Kotov, but 46 . . . .l:Iel + ! leads to a draw after 47 'it>f5 .l:i.fl .t! 48 'it>g6 g4! = because White can't play 49 f7 ?? g3 50 f8'&V litxf8 5 1 .l:.xf8 g2 -+. 46 .l:tg7+ 'it>e8 47 .l1xb7 l:tf2 48 \t>e6 .:.e2+ 49 @(5 ' White's king will use the g-pawn as an um­ brella. 49...g4 50 Wg6 l:!.f2 51 f7+ @rs 52 l:!.b8+ 'it>e7 53 .:.es+ 1-0 - -

-

-

4. 1 8.3) Checking Distance Sometimes play can reach a won '&V vs l:1.+2.0scenario:

ROOK AND Two PA WNS

vs

ROOJ( AND PA WN

221

According to Levenfish and Smyslov White wins, but Black has a nice draw: 1 l:.tc6+ l . . .g4? 2 @xh6 g3 (2 ... �c6+ 3 �h7 @b8 4 £tf4 g3 5 Iag4 Ll.c3 6 @g6 +-) 3 .lag7 llc3 4 1'!g4 @a7 5 Wg5 +-. ...

2 @h7 Wb8

Other drawing moves are 2 ... l:td6 = and 2 ... g4 =.

. 3 l!tg7 @c8?

4.18.04

Olszewski - Thorfinnsson

European Ch, Warsaw 2005 49 �e5

49 gas+!? We4 50 1:1.d l e2! 5 1 fl.al is an­ swered by 5 1 .. . .l:ta7 ! , which robs White's rook of its maximum checking distance (we saw a similar theme in the later stages of 4.5.4 1 , Skripchenko-H.Hunt). 5 2 :xa7 (52 .l:tbl e3 53 .l:tb3+ Wd2 54 .l:tb2+ Wd 1 55 .l:lbl + Wc2 -+) 52...e l '/W+ 53 Wg2 '1We2+ ! 54 h3 'IWfl + 55 Wg4 W!if5+ 56 Wh4 W!id5 and the queen will win since the rook cannot reach the safe square f4; for example, 57 Wg4 We3 58 I1.e7+ Wf2 59 Wf4 W!fd6+ 60 .U.e5 Wg2 61 h4 Wh3 62 h5 W!fc7 63 h6 '&Vd6 64 h7 W#f6+ 65 Il.f5 \!Wd4+ 66 Wg5 W!lg7+ -+.

This move loses, as does 3 .. JJc7? 4 Wxh6 a'.xg7 5 Wxg7 g4 6 h6 +-. Black can hold by 3 ...g4 4 �xg4 Wc7 5 .li{g6 .l:.c5 ! ! 6 'it>xh6 'it>d7 ! = or 3 ... �d6 4 .li.g6 Wc7 5 'it>xh6 g4 6 Wh7 .l!{d7+ 7 Wg8 .U.d8+ 8 Wf7 Jld5 ! ! (Levenfish and Smyslov missed this tac­ tical nuance) 9 h6 .l!!d7+ ! ! 10 We6 l:rd6+ 1 1 Wf5 ltxg6 = and White doesn't have hxg6. The move 8 ...l:!d5 ! ! was also found by John Nunn.

4 Ji{g6 'it>b7 5 Wxh6 g4 6 Wh7 ltc7+ 7 Wg8 litc8+ 8 f7 ltc5 9 h6 ltc7+ 10 Wg8 l:tc8+ 11 Wh7 .l:.c7+ l 1...ltc4 12 .l:{g5 +-.

12 I1.g7 g3 13 Wh8! +-

4. 1 8.5) lcmgest Wi111 The record position is:

m, g ., • m, • • t§. • w :i - - a\ - - - � . - �.� · ·� · 4. 1 8.4) !Defending King Far Away ""� � � · · - - - --- ---- - -------- -- · - - ·· · - --- · - - -- ---- - --- - - - -- - -- - - -- --- - -· ·- - - � amm•a•B • B - �� . . 49...l:.tbl+ 50 Wg2 e2 51 Wf3 el'Nil 52 lixel l:Ixel 53 Wf4 Wd4 54 h4 Wd5 55 Wf5 !In+ 56 Wg6 .l:lgl 57 h5 ltxg3+ 58 Wf6 l:Ih3 59 Wg6 We6 60 h6 :g3+ 0-1

�

__

4.18.06 Longest Win: 1:[+8 vs l:f.+28 White wins in 41 moves

4.18.05

Levenfish and Smyslov

Teoria ladeinykh okonchany, 1 957

1 .litb8+ ! ! Wa4 2 @d2! ! .lita2+ 3 Wd3 li\.al 4 We4 .l:tcl 5 Wd5 ! ! lid l + 6 We6 Itel + 7 'it?d7 ltd l + 8 Wc7! a5 9 c6 ! ! .l:Icl 10 Wd7 ! :id l + 1 1 Wc8 ! lth l 12 c7 ! .l:.h8+ 13 'it>d7 lth7+ 1 4 Wd6 lih6+ 1 5 'itie5 li\.h5+ 1 6 We4 .lith4+ 17 Wd3 ! .lith3+ 18 Wc2! lth2+ 19 Wbl ! lihl + 20 Wa2! :h2+ 21 l:Ib2! lih8 22 l:Ib7! .l:Kh2+ 23 Wbl !

222

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

I:l.h8 24 @c2 I:l.h2+ 25Wd3 I:l.b3+ 26 @e4 I:l.h4+ 27 'it>f5 I:l.h5+ (D) B

w

E4.18.02: Black to play and draw.

28 'it>f4 ! I:l.h8 29 @g5 I:\.g8+ 30 'it>f5 ! I:l.h8 3 1 Wf4! I:l.h4+ 3 2 'it>g5 ! I:l.c4 3 3 @f6 a6 3 4 We5 ! l:(.c6 35 Wd5 ! l%c3 36 @d6! I:l.d3+ (D)

37 We7 lie3+ 38 Wd8 .lil.d3+ 3g'@c8 ! I:\.e3 40 Wb8 ! l%b3 41 l%xb3 ! +-

E4.18.03: How should Black deal with White's passed e-pawn?

Exercises (solutions: page 282)

B

w

E4.18.01 : How should Black defend?

E4.18.04: How should White deal with Black's passed c-pawn?

As the rook is such a powe1ful unit, it should usually not be used purely passively. If the at­ tacker can force the enemy rook into passivity, then it is a very good sign.

'it>g6 69 'it>f4 @f6 70 'it>e4 Wg6 (70 . . .@e6 7 1 k!h5 +-) 7 1 @d4 'it>f6 7 2 \tc5 +-.

. 66 lia2 l-O

The attacking rook also belongs behind the passed pawn in the following example:

w w

5.01

JKariakin - Nisipeanu

Medias 2011

V. Djokic - M. 'Frifmnovic Central Serbian Team Ch, Kraljevo 2011

5.02

65 l:k2! (D)

It is important to prevent Black's rook check. 65 l1c3? allows the enemy rook to get behind 62 f8'ID'? the passed pawn, which is a much more active Queening prematurely is a typical rnistalce. position: 65 ...l1f2+! 66 @g3 l:ta2 67 .lac6 .l:i.a5 62 l:rb5 ! wins as White saves a lot of time: 68 @f3 h5 69 gxh5 lixh5 70 @e4 l1a5 7 1 @d4 62. . .l1xf7 (62 ...l1e2+ 63 l1e5 EKf2 64 llf5 +-; @f7 72 l1h6 Wg7 73 .l:tc6 @f7 74 Wc4 we7 75 62...Wal 63 l:f.f5 l:txf5 64 wxf5 a2 65 f8W 'it>b2 Wb4 .:al 76 Wb5 @d7 =. 66 'lmb4+ Wc2 67 'l!Va3 @bl 68 We4 al'ID' 69 - - -- -- ----------------- -- - - - - - - --vwm-:i-- m -1 - a21-+-r6 rxtrwarM0 w w

B

m•- -¥&.'�-

-

.i %�.�� t0i - B - Wf

B

•

.

m . m m m B m t0i m, - - - -. 'Fi' B B .M D D

B D

- B - -

�� , "...

65...hS

After 65 .. J!ta7 66 l::la2 @g6 67 l1a5 ! the rook controls Black completely. 67 ...'it>f6 68 Wg3

ilb4 a2 65 .l:lxc4 Wb2 66 lla4 Wxc3 67 .!:xa2 +-. However, not 62 J:!b4? Wal 63 �xc4 a2 64 l:ta4 Wb2 65 c4 al 'ID' 66 llxal 'it>xal 67 c5 .l:Ie2+ 68

:��';i� �3

.:xrs b2 66 @xc4 a2 67

.:r2+ 'it>a3!

Bodycheck! Not, of course, 67 ...@bl ? 68 Wb3 al lb+ (68 . . . al'ID' 69 Jlfl#) 69 Wc3 +-.

68 l1f3+ Wb2 69 l1f2+ Wa3 70 l:Ifl Wb2

lfz.llz

224

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

The next example iS much more difficult and for a long time it was believed to be drawn:

2 'iii>b3 l:ta6 3 1'1.c4+ Wxg3 4 . .l:ta4 .l:!.xa7 5 .l:!.xa7 'iii>xh4 (D)

w

w

5.03

Steckner, 2003

White wins by threatening to bring his rook behind the passed pawn: l 'iii>c 4!! If the king takes the direct path with 1 'iii>c 5? it will be too far away: l...'iii>g4 2 'iii>b5 'iii>h3 3 1:1xf7 'iii>xg3 4 'iii>b6 Wxh4 =. 1 l:txf7+? also fails to win: l . ..Wg4 2 @c5 @xg3 3 Wb5 l:tb2+ 4 'iii>c6 lla2 5 Wb7 @xh4 6 1:1f6 llxa7+ = (Kan­ torovich). 1 ...@g4 Or: a) 1 . . ..l:!al 2 'iii>b5 l:tbl+ 3 'iii>c6 1'1. a1 4 @b7 l:tb 1 + 5 Wc8 l:tal 6 lhf7+ Wg4 7 IJ,.g?°.@xg3 8 l:txg6+ 'iii>xh4 9 @b7 lixa7+ 10 @xa7 @li3 1 1 . @b6 +-. . . ··. b) l ...lic2+ 2 @b4 lixc7 3 a81/W @�6 (3 ...l:te7 4 '1Wd5+ Wf6 5 '1Wd8 @e6 6 'iii>c5 f5 7 1/Wg8+ @f6 8 'iii>d6 lif7 9 11Wh8+ '!1.g7 1 0 'i'd8+ @f7 1 1 \ties +-) 4 'i'e4+ @d7 5 'lWf4 'iii>c8 6 'i'd6 lid7 7 'i'f8+ Wc7 8 @c5 'iii>b7 9 @c4 Wc7 10 'iii>b4 'it>b7 1 1 @c5 'iii>c7 ( 1 1 .. .lic7+ 12 Wd6 .l:!.c6+ 1 3 @d5 +-) 12 'i'e8 +-. c) l ...f6 2 @b5 .l:!.b2+ 3 @c6 l:!.a2 4 @b7 .l:!.b2+ 5 @c8 .l:!.a2 (this is an important moment as Black's couriterplay is fooking very real) 6 l:!g7 ! g5 (6 ... @g4 7 l:txg6+ 'iii>h3 8 'Jlg7 l:!a3 9 @b8 '!1.b3+ 10 .l:.b7 .l:.xg3 1 1 .l:!.b4 rlg8+ 1 2 @b7 'iii>g3 13 a8'i' !txa8 14 @xa8 f5 15 'ittb 7 f4 1 6 \t>c6 f3 17 Wd5 f2 1 8 libl +- ) 7 Wb8 J:rb2+ 8 lib7 l:te2 9 a8V!V .l:.e8+ 10 'iii>a7 l:!xa8+ 1 1 @xa8 Wg4 12 1:rg7 @xg3 13 hxg5 fxg5 14 .l:txg5+ 'it>h4 15 '!1.g8 'itth3 16 @b7 h4 17 Wc6 'itth2 1 8 'ittd5 h3 1 9 @e4 'itth l 20 Wf3 h2 21 lle8 Wgl 22 liel#.

6 Wc3 As the slower-moving piece, the king must advance first. 6 llxf7? is met by 6 ...Wg3 7 llg7 h4 8 lhg6+ Wf2 =. 6 ...@g3 6 .. .f5 7 'ittd2 g5 8 \t>e2 g4 9 'ittf2 'ittg5 1 0 l:!.g7+ 'ittf6 1 1 .l:.g8 h 4 12 'itte3 h3 13 'ittf4 +-. 7 'iii>d2 h4 s 'itte2 @g2 8 ... h3 9 wn h2 10 l:!a3+ @g4 1 1 'ittg2 +-. 9 1:1.xf7 h3 IO 1:1.f2+ Wg3 U llf6 gs 12 @fl h2 13 1:1.h6 +But the rook does not always belong behind a passed pawn, and flexibility is called for:

w

5.04

W. John - Alekhine Hamburg 1910

54 .li[f3?

The rook commits prematurely. It should remain flexible and the passed pawn should be pushed instead with 54 f6 ! c3 (54 ...llf5 55 l:tf3 =; 54 ... llg5+ 55 lig3 =) 55 .l:.h8 (55 f7? l:tb8 56 l:[f3 c2 57 lif2+ 'ittd3 58 l'If3+ 'ittd4 59

PRINCIPLES OF ROOK ENDINGS

�f4+ �d5 60 krf5+ We4 61 l'!c5 'it>d3 62 Wf3 l:!f8 63 'tlc7 'it>d2 64 kld7+ Wc3 65 llc7+ ©b3 66 Zlb7+ 'i!i>a4 67 'f1..c7 �xf7+ 68 Mxf7 c l '&Y -+) 55 ... c2 (55 . . . llb7 56 @g3 Iif7 57 �d8+ Wcl 58 .lld6 =) 56 ild8+ 'i!i>e2 57 .lle 8+ Wd3 58 ki:d8+ 'it>e3 59 £re8+ 'it>d2 60 �d8+ 'it>c l 61 f7 'it>b 1 62 h!c8 ! htf5 63 f8'kll' kl.xf8 64 .i,lxfS c 1 1&' 6 5 �fl =.

225

B

S4...c3 SS &rf2+ 'it>d3 S6 llf3+ 'it>d4 S7 f6

For a more detailed discussion of the follow­ ing phase, see 3.22. S7...c2! ss f7 en'&' S9 rnW# Black wins the resulting 4th phase of the game:

S9 ...�d2+ 60 �f2?! �gs+ 61 Wh3 '/j'hS+ 62 'i!i>g3 rl.gS+ 0-1 The defender should usually activate the rook:

S.06

Flohr - Vidmar Nottingham 1936

36....l:lb8?

Black should switch the role of the defenders with 36 . . . 'it>c7 ! 37 'it>c5 @b7 38 .laa3 l1e8 39 Wd6 g5 40 llc3 (40 g3 g4 41 fxg4 fxg4 42 .lac3 !:!.f8 =) 40...f4 41 exf4 gxf4 = (Dvoretsky in his 'Endgame Manual').

37 a3 �a8 38 e4!

Flohr opens a second front on the kingside to exploit the superior mobility of his forces.

B

38...fxe4 39 fxe41 dlxe4 410 @xe41 l'!a7?

Passive defence is rarely appropriate in rook endings. Black should still switch the roles of his pieces, starting with 40...Wc7.

41 Wf4 h6 42 h4 e6 43 'it>g4 l:!a8 44 hS gS?

s.os

Now Black has too many static weaknesses for passive defence to hold. This was the last moment to activate the rook by 44...l:tg8 ! , with practical drawing chances.

R. Grau - Palau Buenos Aires 1939

- - -57.-..-l:!.g5+-- - -

--·

---

-

- -

- - ·

57 ... lig8? 58 !:!.xf7+ 'it>g6 59 We6 h5 60 !:!.a7 h4 6 1 'itde7 +-.

SS @d6 @g6?

Now Black's pieces are too clumsily placed. The rook should be activated with 58 ... .laa5 59 l:txf7+ (59 e5 J;[a6+ 60 Wd5 Jla5+ 61 We4 11a4+ 62 @f5 l:ta7 63 l:te8 .:al 64 Jle7 @g8 =) 59. . .Wg6 60 Jlf8 Jla6+ 61 @e5 .l:ta5+ 62 @f4 lla4 =, when all White's pieces are tied down.

S9 eS .lahS 60 l1g8+ WfS 61 e6 Wxf6 62 e7 !teS 63 e81&Y 11xe8 64 lixeS hS 65 11h8 @gs 66 es @g4 67 We4 h4 68 llgS+ Wh3 69 Wf3 'it>h2 70 lih8 h3 71 r.t>r2 1-0 The rook should not defend pawns passively:

45 g3 !:!.a7 46 Wf3 lita8 47 We41 lita7 48 wd4 --Wd6-49-We4-We6-50-11es+-d6---

·- -·-

50...Wf6 5 1 !:!.c5 l'!c7 52 lita5 lita7 53 @d4 +-.

51 .lae8 c5 52 .lad8+ @c6

52 . . . @c7 53 !:!.hS cxb4 54 lith7+ 'it>b6 55 .laxa7 @xa7 56 axb4 Wb6 57 Wf5 Wb5 58 Wg6 @xb4 59 @xh6 a5 60 Wxg5 a4 6 1 h6 +(Flohr).

S3 !:!.cS+ @b6 S4 lixcS l:Ih7 55 .l:teS Wc6 S6 !te6+ @bS S7 Wf5 ltf7+ S8 �f6 1-0 The king, and not the rook, should blockade passed pawns (see following diagram).

50...lld6!!

The rook must break free immediately a s it is a very bad blockader. After 50...Wf5? 5 1

226

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

will be too slow .in the race. Rules of thumb are not there to be followed automatically - you should always calculate specific lines. Michael Hoffmann demonstrated the cor­ rect way to draw in the post-mortem analysis: 53 ... .l:.!.a8 !, when Black has enough checking distance; e.g., 54 f6 kih8+ 55 c,!;>g6 .l:.g8+ 56 Wf5 l1xg3 = or 54 .U.c2 .l:ih8+ 55 @g5 c,!;>e5 56 lle2+ (56 .l:ixc3 l:tg8+ =) 56 ... 'it>d4 57 f6 .l:ig8+ 58 Wf4 .l:ig6 =.

B

54 f6 "Clc7

5.07

Kramnik - Grishchuk Wijk aan Zee 2005

'it?d4 .l:id6+ 52 'it?e3 .l:ig6 53 @f2 l:!.a6 54 .l:.a4 'it?e5 55 'it?e3 White has the right distribution of tasks: the king blockades the passed pawn and the rook is behind the pawn, forcing Black's rook into passivity. 55: ..@d5 56 kid4+ +-.

51 a6 e3 52 a7 e2 53 a8'i' el\%'/

Surprisingly, the fourth phase can't be won by White.

54 .l:ia5+ 'it?g4 55 'i'g8+ 'iklf3! 56 \%'/f7+ 'it?g2! 57 .l:ia2+ Wgl! 58 \%'/a7+ @f1 59 1/M/f7+ @g1 60 1/M/a7+ @fl 61 .l:ial kidl 62 'fi/f7+ 'it>gl 63 \%'/a7+ @fl 64 lhdl \%'/xdl 65 'i'd4 \l!Ha4+ 66 Wd3 '&Vb3+ 67 \%!1c3 'i'd5+ 112.112 For a more detailed discussion of this ending, see 4. 1 1 .04. ··

·

The logical 54...c2 fails because the promo­ tion is with check: 55 f7 cl'm' 56 f8V/U+, and be­ cause the 4th phase of the game is mostly about the safety of the kings, Black is lost.

55 'it?g6?

After this, Black's plan still works. 55 g4 gains a decisive tempo for the following techni­ cal ending, because what is important above all is the checking distance of the defending rook, which will now always be too short. White wins after 55 ...c2 56 f7 .l:.xf7 57 .i:.xc2 +- (Van Delft) because the checks will run out: 57 ...kif8 58 g5 .l:ih8+ 59 c,!;>g6 l:!.g8+ 60 'itif6 .l:[f8+ 61 Wg7. 55 c2 56 f7 llxf7! 57 .l:.xc2 .l:[f8! (D) •••

w

.· · ·

The critical checking distance is thi:ee squares:

B

Now the distance is big enough and Black can hang on.

58 .!ir.d2+ 'it?e6 59 .l:.e2+ Wd6 60 'it?g7

60 g4 .l:f.g8+ 61 @6.l:ff8 + 62 c,!;>g5 Itg8+ 63 Wf4 l'if8+ 64 'iklg3 .l:tg8 =.

60....l:f.f5! 61 'it?h6 .l:f.f6+ 62 Wg7 .Uf5! 63 Wg6 .l:.f8 64 .li!.e3 .li!.g8+?

5.08

M. Hoffmann

Van Delft Bundesliga 2009110 -

53 .l:ic4? •••

The rule of thumb that rooks belong behind passed pawns does not apply here because Black

This allows White to shorten the checking distance decisively. Just then Merijn van Delft · realized that 64 ... Wd5 ! should have been played: 65 c,!;>g7 .li!.fl 66 Wg6 .l:[f8 67 g4 l:.g8+ 68 @f5 llf8+ 69 'it?g5 llg8+ 70 c,t>f4 .li!.f8+ 7 1 Wg3 llg8

PRINCIPLES OF ROOK ENDINGS

64 . . J!{h8 ? also loses. However, White has to make use of the whole board; e.g., 65 Wg7 l.1h5 66 .&ia3 �g5+ 67 'it>f6 �g8 68 hid3+ 'it>c5 69 'tii>e6 @c4 70 &ra3 ! 'it>b4 7 1 hif3 Wc5 72 Wf7 �g4 73 ffif6 @d5 74 ffi>fS .lag8 75 k!d3+ Wc4 76 .:i:{a3 ! @b4 77 �f3 �f8+ 78 @g4 llg8+ 79 'it>h5 @cs 80 g4 .&th8+ 8 1 Wg5 Iig8+ 82 @f5 !tf8+ 83 @e4 lig8 84 l'if5+ Wd6 85 g5 We7 86 'itlf4 .llf8 87 g6 +-. 65 'it>f7! .l:lg4 66 'it>f6 .l:lg8 67 .lle6+ Wd5 68 �e5+! 'itd4 68 . . . 'it>d6 69 Jlg5 6tf8+ 70 @g7 r!fl 71 g4 hif4 72 Z!g6+ We5 73 'itih6 J;tf8 74 Iia6 .)!(.h8+ 75 g6 Iia7 78 g5 +-.

B

. - • • • • m • � m • � m • �ll ��� � � � • • • •�..., • ••• m • • ••D • • • m • • • • .

��? After this White can restore the hannony to -his -position-:-After-72;-;f;-l:r 8 ! -73-g4- @f4- 74--gsl:!h8+ 75 @g7 Iia8 White cannot win because of the extremely unfortunate position of his rook. 73 Wh5 Iia3 74 g4+ Wf4 75 l:.!.f6+ @g3 76 g5 .l:.a5 77 lifl .l:b5 78 Wh6 Wh4 79 lif4+ Wg3 80 lia4 .l:tb6+ 81 g6 lic6 82 Wh7 1-0

An exchange of pawns can prove a useful de­ fensive idea (seefollowing diagram). · 51 e5! ! fxe5 52 @e4 'fJ.e7 After 52...b4 53 Wxe5 h3 the easiest way is 54 l:i.b3 ! ? (as 54 lih6?! !id3 55 We4? even loses due to 55 ...Wg7 56 .l:!'.h4 lia3 57 Wf5 h5 ! ! -+, when White's rook is in a tragicomic position)

Rapport

5.09

22 7

- Laznicka

European Ch, Aix-les-Bains 2011 54 ...h2 55 l'ih3 .l:d2 56 @f4 'it>g6 57 @g3 l:.d3+ 58 @xh2 =. 53 klh6 Wg7 54 :1xh5 Wg6 55 l:.hl! (D) The checking distance is large enough. Not, of course, 55 .l.'1xe5 ?? l:lxe5+ 56 @xe5 @g5 57 We4 Wg4 58 @e3 @g3 59 We2 @g2, when Black's king has occupied a key square: 60 We3 h5 61 Wf4 h4 62 Wg4 h3 -+ .

� · � m. � · · -

B

- ----- -

�• � -� m •• i • � m �m • �, �m • ,�, , , , ,m • �,;m -��-�- �-�. �m • • • • • • • • • - • l'l

55...h5 56 lig1+ Wh6 57 Wf5!? Iif7+ After 57 .,.e4 5 8 Wf6 Iie8 59 .litg6+ 'it'h7 60 .litg7+ Wh8 6 1 Ilg5 White wins the h-pawn fiist and the e-pawn later. 57 ...h4 58 l:.!.g6+ Wh5 59 .li!g5+ Wh6 60 lig6+ Wh7 61 l:Ig4 h3 62 lih4+ = is also safe. 58 Wxe5 h4 59 We4 Wh5 60 .l:tg8 h3 61 We3

lfz.l/z

A draw was agreed due to 6 L.Wh4 62 We2 (62 .l:th8+ is also playable, but not 62 .l:tg6? h2 63 .l:th6+ @g3 64 .l:tg6+ Wh3 65 lih6+ Wg2 66 :ig6+ wn 67 .l:th6 .l:tf2 68 :ih8 Wgl 69 .l:th7 l:.g2 -+) 62. . .h2 63 .l:th8+ Wg3 64 .litg8+ Wh3 65 'fJ.h8+ Wg2 66 .l:tg8+ Whl 67 l:.g6 =.

6

Theoretical Endgames

Here we want to demonstrate a few theoretical endgames that are worth knowing. We shall not go into too much detail and shall refer the reader to a manual such as Fundamental Chess Endings for more information. 6.1: Four Pawns against Three on One Wing 228 6.2: Three Pawns Each on One Wing and an Outside Passed Pawn 229

6 . 1 ) four Pawns against Three on One Wing Usually endgame books recommend the pawn set-up f7-g6-h5 for the defender, but f5-g6-h5 and even f6-g7-h6 are also good, as long as the defender knows how to hold them, as , the at­ tacker must exchange pawns in order to attempt to brealc through.

"The key move - White can't create a passed pawn on the e-file. Smyslov and Levenfish mentioned this plan when showing a game be­ tween Korchnoi and Antoshin." (Baburin). SS 1:!.e8 '[},,fl S6 eS fxeS S7 .l:.xeS .tU2 S8 'f},,e4 :n S9 We6 .l:.gl 60 rs Wg8 61 We7 I!g2 62 r6 gxf6 63 Wxf6 Wh7 64 :E.e7+ @hS 6S @rs .l:.gl llz.l/z The set-up f5-g6-h5 is even easier:

w

B

6.01

. J. Cobb - Aagaard

British League (4NCL) 2014115

s2 :e1

The plan 52 'i},,d7 'i},,b3 53 @g3 .l::r.b4 54 Wf2 l1a4 55 We3 £ta3+ 56 l:ld3 l1a4 5Tf4 Wg8 58 Wf3 Wf7 59 litd7+ Wf8 60 e5 also does not win due to 60 ... fxe5 61 fxe5 'i},,b4 62 'i},,d6 Wf7 63 lii.g 6 (63 I!d7+ @f8 64 e6 .l:.b6 65 .l:.d8+ @e7 66 l:tg8 Wf6 67 e7 @xe7 68 .l:.xg7+ 'iii>f8 =) 63 ... Wf8 64 e6 (the white rook is too pas­ sively placed) 64. . ..l:.b3+ 65 'iii>f4 1:r.b4+ 66 Wg3 .li!.b3+ 67 Wh4 'f},,e3 = (Baburin in Chess Today 5260).

s2 ...'it?g8 S3 @rs Wh7 S4 r4 l:tr3!

6.02 Harika Dronavalli - M. Muzychuk Women 's World Ch, Sochi 2015

61 'it?r6 62 I!d6+ @r7 63 Wg2 •••

63 Wf4 is met by 63 ....l:.Xf2+ -64 @g51:r.f3 65 .l:.f6+ 'iii>e7 66 .l:.xg6 .l:.xg3+ 67 WX:f5 rl.xe3 =. 63...@g7 64 00 @r7 6S 'iii>el .l:.al+ 66 @e2 l:f.a2+ 67 .litd2 'i},,a4 68 f3 .li!.a3 69 @r2 l:ta4 70

l1e2 @r6 71 .i:!.c2 @r7 72 @e2 l1a3 73 @r2 .l:.a4 74 Wg2 @r6 7S .l:.r2 l1a3 76 l:te2 l:ta4 77 'iii>h3 @r7 78 .i:!.d2 J;[a3 11z.11z

This draw helped Mariya Muzychuk to win the match and in the end gain the title of Women's World Champion.

THEORETICAL ENDGAMES

6.2) Three Pawns Each on One Wi ng and an Outside Passed Pawn 6.2. 1 : An Outside Passed Rook's Pawn 6.2.2: An Outside Passed Knight's Pawn

229 229

229

w

6.2 . 1 ) An Outside Passed Rook's Pawn Usually this is drawn, but the defender should know a few details:

6.04 B

6.03

JEfimenko - Miroshniche:nko Serbian Team Ch, Kragujevac 2009

One defensive plan is to be active and stop the attacking king:

31 ... .l:.d3 32 'il.a4 @es 33 l:ta8 .!la3 35 a5 .!la2 36 a6 .l:i.a3 37 @fl

@rs

34 a4

lKantorovich, Steckner and Poghosya:n

This position is very near the borderline be­ tween win and draw. Kantorovich had thought in 1989 that it is drawn and this indeed seems to be correct, but for a different reason. Steckner found an improvement in 2003 and until 20 1 1 the position was thought to b e won. But then Vardan Poghosyan found a new way to draw. Micawber and Dvoretsky have analysed it very deeply (see the 4th edition of Dvoretsky 's End­ game Manual). We only want to give some key details.

1 f8 'il.a6 50 @f7 :I.al 5 1 Wg7 'ila6 52 ®h6 'ilal 53 .l:tb8 (53 g4+ hxg4 54 fxg4+ e6 = 55 h5 gxh5 56 .l:i.g8+ +-) 53 ...llxa7 54 .i:tb5+ (Dvoretsky). If Black were to move in 6.04, he could play @e6 55 ®xg6 +-. l ...g5 immediately or start with Dautov's sugb) 39 ...Wf6 40 @d2 .l:r.xf3 41 'it>c2 'il.xg3 42 Wb2 'il.g4 43 Wb3 llgl 44 ®b4 .l:i.al 45 Wb5 g5 gestion l ...lia4, to follow up with ... g5. 46 l:th8 gxh4 47 l:txh5 'ilbl + 48 'it>c6 lial 49 ®b6 .11b l+ 50 1:tb5 lii.a l 51 lifa5 l:tbl+ 52 ®c7 6.2.2) An Outside !Passed �night's !kl+ =. Pawn

37....lira2 38 Wg1 l:tal+ 39 ®g2 ila3 40 .l:f8

@f6 llz.lh

The other plan is to play ... g5:

Here the winning chances are better as the at­ tacking king's route to support the passed pawn is shorter. In the next famous example it was

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

230

thought that the defei1der has two drawing set­ ups, but in 2008 Igor Yanvarev published a proof on the Chesspro website that one defence does not hold. Micawber found this independ­ ently and Dvoretsky deals with it in detail.

w

Or: a) 6 ...We6 7 'it>c2 i:tb6 8 'itic3 is winning for White. b) 6 ....l:r.b6 is met by 7 'itid3 ! +- (not the greedy 7 .l:.c6+?? l:txc6 8 b8WU Wg7!, when Black has a fortress). c) 6 ... g5 even happened in a game: 7 'it>c2 l:i.b5 8 hxg5+ 'iiixg5 9 li[xf7 Wg4 ! ? (9 ...Wg6 1 0 .l:tc7 Wg5 1 1 Wc3 'it>g4 12 .l:.c4+ Wxg3 13 .l:tb4 +-) IO J:[g7+ Wf3 1 1 Wd3 .l:.b4 12 Wc3 .l:.bl 13 Wd4 .l:.b5 14 Wc4 llbl 15 @d5 .i::ib6 16 @c5 :xb7 17 1J.xb7 Wxg3 1 8 li[g7+ 'it>f3 19 .l:th7 1-0 B.Socko-Zubarev, Polanica Zdroj 2000.

7 'iii>c2

7 k!xf7+!? 'iiig4 8 Wc2 .l::.b6 9 'f1.g7 +- trans­ poses.

7....l:.b6

6.05

Hollis .:... Florian

Corr. Olympiad 1972-9

1 'it>fl l:rb2 2 'it>el @f6 3 .Uxf3?

f3

.l:r.b3

4

Wd2

Until 2008 it was thought that this move draws, but this is not the case. Only Kantoro­ vich 's fantastic plan 4...@e6 ! ! 5 'iiic2 .l:.b5 6 Wc3 .l:.bl draws.

7 ...:bs 8 Wc3 Wg4 9 l:!.c4+ Wxg3 IO l:!.b4 · :xb7 1 1 1J.xb7 'it>xh4 1 2 .l:.xf7 +- (Yanvarev on Chesspro). 8 I:!.:xf7+! Wg4 9 .Ug7!? Wh3 10 Wc3 .Ubl (D)

w

5 .l:.c7!

This wins the all-important t�¢po. In the game Hollis played 5 Wc2?, wherr Black could have defended by 5 ....Ue3 (but he played in­ stead 5 ....l:.f5?, which was met by 6 .l:r.c7 and Hollis won after some further moves).

5....l:.b3

Or: a) 5 ...:S.a3 6 b7 ! .l:.b3 7 Wc2 li!.b6 8 'itid3 +-. b) 5 ...We6 6 b7 .l:r.b3 7 Wc2 1J.b6 8 Wc3 Wd5 ! ? 9 .Uxf7 @cs IO 1J.g7 @d5 1 1 @d3 .l:.b3+ 12 Wd2 @d4 13 .l:.d7+ @c4 14 We2 Wc5 15 .l:.g7 Wd4 16 .l:hg6 .l:txb7 17 llg5 ! I1h7 1 8 Wf3 .l::.f7+ 19 Wg2 llh7 20 g4! ! hxg4 21 h5 We4 22 cii?g3 .l::.h6 23 @xg4 .l:.h8 24 .l:r.g6 :as 25 h6 +-. c) 5 ...llxg3 6 Wc2! (Van Wijgerden/Averbakh) 6 ... llg2+ 7 Wb3 J:tgl 8 @b2 ! ! .l:ig4 (or 8 ....Ug2+ 9 .Uc2 .Ug4 IO 1J.c3 1J.xb4 1 1 Wa3 lle4 12 b7 l:f.e8 13 .l:r.c8 l:.e3+ 14 Wb2 J:te2+ 15 Wc3 J:te3+ 16 Wd2 l:.b3 17 b8'iY Z:.xb8 1 8 !ixb8 Wg5 19 We3 Wg4 20 'itif2 +- Averbalch) 9 I:r.c3! l:txb4 IO J:tb3 lle4 1 1 b7 lle8 12 b8WU :xb8 13 .l:r.xb8 +-.

6 b7 Wf5

Here Micawber and Yanvarev go different roads, but both lead to Rome: 11 Wc4 Yanvarev gives 1 1 .l:.d7 l:!.b6 (1 l ...Wxg3 12 .l:.d3+ Wxh4 13 .l:.d4+ +-) 12 Wc4 Wxg3 13 Ild3+ Wxh4 14 .l:.b3 li[xb7 15 .l:ixb7 +-

. ·-

.

ll.�.@xg3

1 l.. ..l:.b2 1 2 Wc5 Wxg3 1 3 .Uxg6+ Wxh4 14 .l:.b6 +-.

12 .Ud7!!

12 I:!.xg6+? Wxh4 =.

12...'it>g2

12...Wxh4 13 .l:.d4+ Wg5 (13 ...r.i?g3 14 .l:t.d3+ @g2 15 .l::tb3 +-) 1 4 1J.d5+ Wg4 15 1J.b5 +-.

13 Wc3!? Wgl 14 'itic2 Z:.b4 15 :S.dl+ 'it>g2 16 .l:!.bl +-

7 H �storic Ga mes Such a selection is always difficult. We used as our criteria historical significance (so a world champi­ onship game is preferred to a casual game), educational value, whether the game has appeared as an example in many textbooks, and if possible rich play in a seven-man ending. Nevertheless the selec­ tion is subjective of course. Further historically important games contained in this book are: 2.20: Gligoric-Smyslov - a very instructive example of how to defend .l1 vs l!t+h+f that is given in many textbooks. 2.24: Gelfand-Anand - a rapid game that in a way decided the world championship match in Anand's favour. 2.26: Carlsen-Ivanchuk, after which Carlsen's qualification for the world championship match was briefly in doubt. 2.29: Fischer-Geller, as iosses by Bobby were big news in those days. E2. 14: Kasparov-Short, where both players missed a draw for Short in their world championship game. 3.22 and 5.04: John-Alekhine - a very famous example of the '4th phase' of the game. E3.2 1 : Gashimov-Stellwagen - Azerbaijan won the European team championship due to this win. 4.7.05: Marshall-Capablanca - this famous classic is in many endgame manuals. 4.7.44 and 4.8.05: Lasker-Steinitz - two deep and difficult endgames from the world champion­ ship. 4. 1 1 .04 and 5.07: Kramnik-Grishchuk - 50...Zld6! ! is a good example that the rook is a bad blockader and should be activated. 5.06: Flohr-Vidmar - a very instructive demonstration that the defending rook should be acti­ vated. ·

The above list is not really complete of course. In this chapter we proceed in chronological order and start early in the development of endgame theory.

53 Wg3 Wc5 54 l:Kd2 a5 55 Wg4 a4 56

- - --�cJ.3?!

7.01 McDonnell - de Labourdonnais London (3rd match, 1st game) 1 834 White can win by regrouping his rook to h2, but has to be very accurate:

_ _____ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ - - - - ·- ----

This is DTC +24 (i.e. win in 24 moves). More accurate is 56 h5 (which is DTC + 16) 56...Wb4 57 .s'.h2 Wa3 58 Wf4 (not 58 116? .s'.xh6 ! =; 58 Wg5 wins as well; e.g., 58 ....s'.g7+ 59 Wf6 l:tb7 60 h6 'tl,.c7 61 We6 llh7 62 Wd6 +-) 58 ...'tl,.h6 (58 ...l:txh5 59 .l:Ixh5 Wxa2 60 @e3 'it>b2 61 @d2 a3 62 l:Kb5+ @al 63 @c3 a2 64 'f/,.d5 @bl 65 iiid l#) 59 @es liih 8 (59 ...@b4 60 l:Kh3 +-) 60 h6 .s'.h7 61 Wf4 'f/,.f7+ 62 Wg5 .l:Ih7 63 @g6 +-. 56...l::tb7? ! This makes the DTC go down to -18 (i.e. loss in 1 8 moves). 56...l:Kg7+ is more resilient: 57 @h3 ! l1h7 58 liid2 l1h8 59 l1b2 I:th7 60 @g4 'tl,.g7+ 61 @f5 .l:If7+ 62 @g6 I:tfl 63 I:th2 l::tg l +

232

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

64 'it>f5 .l:Ifl + 65 @e4 l1el + 66 Wd3 'it>b4 67 h5 +-. S7 hS l1b4+ (D)

78 'it>b2 l:t.h8 79 l:tb4+ @as 80 l1b7 @a6 81 l:tg7 @as 82 'it>c3 l:!:c8+ 83 Wd4 1!th8 84 .UgS+ 'it>b6 SS l!thS @c6 86 @c4 'it>b6 87 'it>b4 'ittc6 88 'it>xa4 @b6 89 l1h6+ @cs 90 'itta S?! lla8+ 91 1!ta6 .l:lb8 (D) ·

w w

The first critical position. S8 @g3? Here the king is in the way. White has only two winning moves: 58 @f5 .l:Ib2 59 a3 l1b3 60 'it>e4! 'it>c4 61 l:!.e3 llbl 62 l1h3 +- and 58 @h3 l1b2 59 a3 l1b3 60 l:t.g3 @d6 61 h6 .Ub8 62 .l:f.g4 . llh8 63 .Ug6+ 'iii>e5 64 \t>g4 +ss .l:f.bl? After 58 ...l1b2 59 h6 (59 a3 IZ.b3 ! 60 .U.f3 Wd5 6 1 h6 \t>e6 62 h7 l!tb8 =) 59 ...J:.b6! 60 h7 .U.h6! 61 l:td7 @b4 Black's counterattack is just in time: 62 'it>g4 Wa3 63 .tla7 1!txh7 ..64 l1xh7 @xa2 =. S9 1!td2 llgl+ 60 l1g2 l:r.hl 61 Ii'.h2 l:r.g:J+ 62 WM .Ug8 63 h6 Wb4 64 @h5 'it>a3 65 h7 l:t.b8 66 @gS l!tbS+ 67 @f4 Ii'.b8 (D) .

••.

.

.

··

The second critical position. 92 a4? 92 'it>a4 'it>c4 93 1!tc6+ @d5 94 .l:f.h6 +-. 92 1!tc8? Now Black ends up on the wrong side of the reciprocal zugzwang. After 92...l:td8 93 .Ua7 l!tc8 ! ! it is White to move in the reciprocal zug­ zwang: 94 'it>a6 'it>c6 ! = . 93 1!ta7! .l:.b8 94 l:tc7+ 'it>d6 95 J!tcl l:ta8+ 96 'it>b5 l!tb8+ 97 'it>a6 1!ta8+ 98 'it>b7 .l:r.h8 99 l!thl 1-0 ••.

The next game is a real classic analysed in many sources and is one of the gems in Akiba Rubinstein's crown:

w

B

68 @e4 68 h8'i¥ wins directly due to 68 ...l!txh8 69 l!txh8 'it>xa2 70 'it>e3 ! a3 71 Wd2! +68 1!te8+ 69 Wd3 Ii'.d8+ 70 @c2 1!th8 71 @bl @b4 72 1!th4+ @c3 73 .Uh3+ 'it>c4 74 @b2 Wb4 7S a3+ 'it>c4 76 .l:f.h4+ Wb5 77 @c3 1!tc8+ .

7.02

Spielmann - Rubinstein St Petersburg 1909

•••

White has four pawn-islands, while Black has only two, so White must be careful.

HISTORIC GAMES

40...IlaS!? The greedy 40....U.b3? 41 Yla2 'f1d3 42 a4 'flxd4 43 a5 �c4 44 a6 �c8 45 a7 Xl.a8 46 'it>g3 plays into White's hands.

41 .l!i:c3 Ita4 42 Yld3 We7 43 'it>g3 'it>e6 44 'it>f3?! "In my opinion this is an obvious positional error tha.t was somehow left unnoticed by the annotators. Letting the black king pass to d5, White condemns himself to a passive defence that, as we know, forebodes gloom in rook­ and-pawn endings." (Dvoretsky). 44 .)i{e3+! Wd7 (44...Wd5 45 Yle7 !Ixa3+ 46 'it>g2 =) 45 .li!d3 (or 45 "flf3 !? f6 46 d5 lld4 47 Ylb3 I!xd5 48 1'1b7+ We6 49 Jlxg7 g5 50 Yla7) 45 ...Wc6 46 .l:rc3+ Wd5 47 'f1c7 Itxa3+ 48 Wg2 We6 49 d5+ Wf6 50 !id7 Jda6 5 1 h4 = (Dvor­ etsky).

44...Wd5 45 'it>e2?!

White should stop Black's kingside expan­ sion with 45 h4 (Dvoretsky).

45 g5!? •.•

A typical move to fix White's weak h3-pawn. 45 ...Ylxd4?! is met by 46 We3 =.

46 !ib3 (D)

46 f6! ? •••

A strong move to keep Black's structural ad­ vantage. Other moves are less promising: a) 46 ...Ylxd4?! 47 I:r.b5+ We6 48 .iixg5 leads to a draw. b) .46 ...Wxd4 ?! is not met by 47 f!b7? f6 48 'il..xg7 litxa3 49 h4 gxh4 50 'il..g4+ Wc3 5 I Jlxh4 Yla2+, when Kasparov correctly claims that Black wins, but by 47 _:g3 ! ? f!a5 48 a4 Dvoretsky.

47 'ii?e3

Here passive defence is right because 47 ltb7? is refuted by 47 ....iixa3 48 .iixg7 .l:[xh3 49

233

l!g6 (49 J;lf7 'it>e6 50 t.rf8 g4 5 1 krg8 f5 52 .llg6+ 'it>d5 53 Z1f6 nf3 -+) 49 ...@e6 50 .l:Ig8 'flh4 5 1 'i&e3 'tt>d5, when White's pawns are too weak; e.g., 52 l!g6 .lcl.e4+ 53 @f3 I!e6 54 @g4 'iirxd4 55 @f5 l'!e2 ! 56 ffixf6 Ylxf2+ 57 'it>e6 Z!e2+ 58 Wxd6 !te5 -+ (Kasparov).

47 'i.t>c4 •..

Not, of course, 47 ...Ylxd4?? 48 .llb5+ 'it>c6 49 'it>xd4 Wxb5 50 Wd5 +-.

48 lid3 d5 49 'it>d2 �a8 50 Wc2 �a7 51 Wd2 Z!e7!?

White is close to being in zugzwang, but Spielmann finds an active way out.

52 i:ic3+

52 a4 is the alternative; e.g., 52 ...Yla7 53 1Ia3 Wb4 54 Itc3 Uxa4 55 rl.c7 !ia2+ 56 We3 .l.:[a3+ 57 'it>e2 llxh3 58 f3 11h2+ 59 Wd3 Ylf2 60 !lb7+ Wa4 61 We3 'l1g2 62 l1d7 =.

52 Wxd4 53 a4 .l:la7 54 lta3 Yla5! .•.

"The pawn must be stopped as soon as possi­ ble. Black intends to approach it with his Icing: either simply for winning it or for blocking it and releasing the rook from its passive posi­ tion." (Dvoretsky).

55 II.al Wc4 (D)

56 We3?

Only this seems to be the losing mistake. Af­ ter 56 l:!.cl + ! Wb4 57 llbl + ! Wxa4 58 Wd3 Levenfish and Smyslov analysed 58 ...:c5 59 Wd4 .li!.c2 60 f!b7 lixf2 61 ltxg7 with drawing chances. Kasparov continued with 6 1 ...Yld2+ 62 Wc5 Wb3, but Dvoretsky proved that 63 .iif7 ! (Bezgodov) 63 ... Wc3 64 l:txf6 d4 65 .!:ia6 ! d3 66 .iia3+ Wb2 67 Wb4 'il..d l 68 f!b3+ 'ii?c2 69 Wc4 d2 70 Ii'.c3+ Wb2 71 lib3+ Wa2 72 Wc3 = does indeed draw.

56 d41+ 57 Wd2 llf5 58 'ii?el .•.

Or:

234

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

The following classic illustrates the impora) S8 a5 .Uxf2+ S9 Wei l:if3 60 a6 .Ue3+ 61 Wf2 .U.e8 62 a7 :S.a8 63 @f3 @cs 64 J:[a3 Wb6 tance of king activity: 6S �d3 :S.xa7 66 .U.xd4 @cs -+. b) 58 Itel+ 'it>dS S9 We2 We4 60 :S.c4 :es 61 �b4 .i:.cS 62 f3+ 'it>dS 63 .l:r.b3 Wc4 64 .l:f.a3 l:i.eS+ 6S Wd2 .l:!.fS 66 'it>e2 @b4 67 Ital Wa5 w -+. S8...@b4 The king crosses over to blockade the passed pawn. 59 @e2 was 60 l:!.a3 60 .l:.bl 'it>xa4 61 l:t.b7 g6 -+ (Dvoretsky). ·

60....l:.f4 61 Ita2 :S.h4 62 @d3 l:E.xh3+ 63 @xd4 l:h4+ 64 Wd3 l1xa4 65 l1e2 l:.f4 66 ®e3 Wb6 67 Irc2 'i!?b7 68 .l:i!.cl l:E.a4 69 1:1.hl Wc6 70 Ith7 'fla7 71 We4 Wd6 72 @f5?! g6+ 73 @xg6 1:.xh7 74 Wxh7 We5 75 'itlg6 g4 0-1

7.04

Capablanca - Tartakower New York 1924

Spielmann resigned due to 76 WhS Wf4 77 'itg6 fS 78 @f6 'it>e4 79 ®gs wes 80 WhS ®d4 35 Wg3! :Xc3+ 36 wh4 .l:r.f3?! 81 Wh4 Wd3 82 ®gs ®e4 83 Wg6 f4 -+. White's f-pawn is not important. 36...a6! is the best defence, but White can break through Emanuel Lasker was a very tenacious de­ nevertheless: 37 Wh5 b5 (37 ... Wg8 38 :d7 b5 fender: 39 axb5 axb5 40 .l:.xd5 b4 41 'ith6 b3 42 g6 .l:r.h3+ 43 Wg5 .l::tc3 44 :S.b5 'i¥?g7 45 Wxf5 :S.h3 46 .l:r.b7 l'lh5+ 47 'ite6 +-) 38 Wg6 and then: a) 38 ...b4 39 .l:.h8+ 'it>e7 40 'it>xf5 b3 41 :S.b8 +-. B b) 38 ...Wg8 39 l:.g7+ 'it>f8 40 l:!.f7+ 'i¥?g8 (40...We8 41 axb5 axb5 42 .l:r.xf5 b4 43 .l:.e5+ · Wd7 44 Wf6 b3 45 g6 b2 46 g7 bl� 47 g8'i' +-) 41 I:r.f6 +- (I.Zaitsev). c) 38 ...bxa4 39 'itxf5 and now: cl) 39...a5 40 l:.h8+ 'it>g7 41 lla8 a3 42 .l:r.xa5 .l:r.b3 43 l:.a7 +-. c2) 39 ..J:lc6 40 lith3 @f7 41 :S.a3 .lac4 42 'it>e5 c6 43 .l:.h3 .rl.c2 44 Wf5 c5 45 l:!.h7+ Wg8 7.03 46 'IJ,,c7 a3 47 Wf6 +-. Schlechter - lEm. Lasker c3) 39 ..'..�fc440WeS a3 41 .l:.h3 a2 (41.. ..l:.a4 World Ch (1), Vienna 1910 42 'it?f6 +-) 42 .l:r.a3 .ll.c2 43 l:txa6 +-. c4) 39...a3 40 .l:r.h6 a2 41 I!xa6 l:tc2 42 We5 54...l:.e4!! 7 4 t i c t c4 Wf7 43 Wxd5 !te2 44 f5 lig2 45 WeS .t:f.e2+ 46 e 5 a t . i A � ��� �_ _ -� _y_.N� i :::�. � � 1x_ 5__ wf4l:t2+ -.!§!.o;01 a3. +_ 5_v6_� '8'1·4 �c3 5 7 hS a4 5 8 .!§!.a6 a3 5 9 'Et 47@e4:g24if!ta'r:xg5(48...:e2+ _ f .l:.xg3 60 WeS :S.h3 61 l:!.a7+ Wh6 62 Wd4 and 49 @f3 .l:r.c2 50 d5 'it>e7 51 .l:.a6 'it>f7 52 d6 cxd6 53 .rl.a7+ 'itg8 54 g6 +-) 49 :xa2 is a won White wins. 55 .l:.c5 Wf6 56 .l:.xaS .rl.c4 S7 .l:.a6+ We5 S8 seven-man ending; e.g., 49 ...'it?e7 50 .rl.h2 .rl.gl l:taS+ @f6 S9 :S.a6+ WeS 60 l:taS+ Wf6 61 l:ta2 51 l:th7+ 'it>d6 52 .l:r.h6+ Wd7 53 WdS Itel 54 'it>eS 62 .rl.b2 l1c3+ 63 Wg2 'it>f6 64 Wh3 .l:r.c6!? .rl.h7+ ®e8 55 'ite6 .rl.c6+ (55 ...l:r.el+ S6 Wf6 64... f4? 6S .l:.b3! .i:txc2 66 l:i.f3 +- (Schlech- +-) 56 We5 .rl.cl 57 Wf6 l:.c6+ 58 Wg7 +-. 37 g6! lhf4+ 38 WgS .l:r.e4 ter). 65 .l:r.b8 .l:r.xc2 66 i:r.b6+ Wg7 67 hS ii:i.c4 68 38 ....l:.xd4 39 Wf6 'it>g8 40 i:r.d7 +-. __

l:tg6+ Wh7 69 l:.f6 .i:.cS tf2-1'2

__

39 Wf6 (D)

HISTORIC GAMES

235

Now follows a game from the 1957 world championship match. A win for Botvinnik in this game would have levelled the score in the match.

B

w

The king has found a safe shelter behind the umbrella. 39 @gS 40 Zig7+ 'it>h8 41 '!J.xc7 I!e8 42 'it>xfS I!e4 43 @f6 Itf4+ 44 'it>eS .lag4 45 g7+ 'it>g8 45 ...llxg7 46 J:.xg7 Wxg7 47 'it>xd5 @f7 48 'it>c6 +-. 46 lixa7 llgl 47 'it>xdS llcl 48 'it>d6 llc2 49 dS licl 50 '!1c7 Ital 51 Wc6 .laxa4 52 d6 1-0 •..

The following seven-man ending is from a women's world championship:

7.06

Botvinnik - Smyslov World Ch (15), Moscow 1 957

1 @gs lfa6 2 h4 llc6? 2...1:1.al =; 2...'it>e6 =. 3 h5? The winning move 3 l:tf5+! ! was analysed neither in ECE nor by Botvinnik in his book about his matches with Smyslov. 3 ...'it>e6 4 c5 ! 'it>e7 5 I!e5+ ! Wd7 6 h5 lla6 7 'it>f4 .l:Ih6 8 .lag5 Ith7 9 @f5 +-. 3 c5? is met by 3 ... g6! (not 3 ... 'it>e6? 4 llf5 ! +-) 4 llc4 Wd5 5 llcl @e5 6 llel+ 'it>d5 7 .l:!e8 Wxc5 8 Jlg8 Wd5 9 krxg6 lie! 10 h5 'it>e5 I I Wh6 'it>f5 =. 3 we6 4 Wg6 wes+ s @gs We6 11z.11z ••.

Our next example is one of the most famous - · --- - -adjoumeu -gmnes:-- - - -- - --- -- - - 7.05

R.ubtsova - Rudenko Women 's World Ch, Moscow 1956

55 Wd6 56 h4 cS 57 .l:Ig3 c4 58 l:tc3 @eS 59 g4 Wd4? In the direct race Black is too slow. White's king must be driven away first of all with 59... llc7+! 60 Wh6 l!c6+ 61 Wg5 (61 Wh5 Wf6 62 g5+ Wg7 63 Wg4 'it>g6 64 h5+ 'it>g7 65 @f5 Ilc5+ 66 Wf4 llc8 67 'it>e5 .l:Ic5+ =) 61....l:i.c5 62 .!Icl (62 h5?? Wd4+ -+) 62... c3 63 h5 'it>e4+ 64 'it>h4 'it>e5 65 l:tc2 'iii>f6 =. 60 Ir.cl 'it>d3 61 gS 'it>d2 62 ligl c3 63 g6 c2 64 g7 cl'liV 65 lixcl 1-0

B

.•.

7.07

Botvirnnik - JFischer Varna Olympiad 1962

236

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

Fischer had sealed: .. 45....l:!c5 46 .llf7 l:r.a5 47 llxh7 The Soviet team had analysed abnost all night long and established that Geller's fantas­ tic idea was sufficient for a draw. This concept of :fighting against Black's queenside pawns had escaped Fischer's attention. 47...l::txa4 48 h4+ 'iilf5 49 l:tf7+ 'iile5 50 l:r.g7 :al 51 @f3 b5?! After 5 1 .. .'iild4 52 Itxg6 b5 53 h5 b4 54 h6 b3 55 krg4+ 'iilc5 56 Ii.g5+ 'iilc6 57 .Ug6+ 'iilb7 58 It.g7+ 'iila6 59 l:tg6+ 'iila5 60 l:tg5+ 'iila4 61 .l:I.g4+ 'iila3 62 l:th4 b2 63 h7 b l 'i' 64 h8'i' 'i'b3+ 65 'iile2 'i'dl + 66 'iile3 l:lbl , Fischer claimed that Black wins in My 60 Memorable Games. But Botvinnik found that 67 Vi!lf8+ 'iila2 68 l/M/c5 draws and the 13-year-old Garry Kas­ parov even found a second drawing method in a session ofthe Botvinnik school: 67 .l:!.c4! =. 52 h5! l:ta3+ 53 'iilg2 gxh5 54 l:tg5+ c3 .l:.h4 =. S9 Wc6! 'it>b8 59....l:!d4 60 lirxb3 a4 61 .l:.b5 lirh4 (61 ...lirf4 62 lla5 Wb8 63 Wd7 llxf5 64 c6! +-) 62 lla5 'it>b8 63 'it>d7 'it>b7 64 We6 +-. 60 llxb3+ (D)

w

Typical technique and the only move to win. 47 l.td8 Wc5 48 llc8+ c3 S2 l!a3+ Wb4 S3 Ital d4 54 l:Icl d3 SS llc8 d2 56 Jlb8+ Wc3 57 .l:!.c8+ Wd3 58 l:ld8+ Wc2 S9 l:.c8+ 'it'd! 0-1 Our final example in this chapter is also very famous (seefollowing diagram). By win- ning-this -game�· -Jforchnoi-levelled- the-match -score at 5-5 (i.e. 5 wins each, draws not count­ ing), though Karpov won the next game and so kept his title. S8 b3? 58 .li.{c4? loses as well due to 59 c6 'it>d8 60 c7+ 'it>e7 61 lle3+ a5 a3 69 llb4+ Wc3 70 Wa4 a2 7 l llxb3+ Wc2 72 Ita3 b8 67 llxa3 lirxfS 68 l;[g3 .l:U6 69 lirg8+ Wc7 70 .l:Ig7+ Wc8 71 lirh7 1-0

8 Dou ble- Rook Endi ngs xf8 108 h4 'it>g8 ! 109 'it>g5 'it>g7 =. 106 'f!g8+ @f6? Here the king is too exposed. It should stay on the kingside with 106...«t?h7 107 WM (107 Ilh8+ Wg6 108 .:.ag8+ llg7 =) 107...'f!fb7 108 g5 l:tb4+ 109 'it>h5 'f!M+ 1 10 'it>xh4 l:tb4+ = because the desperado rook can't be shaken off. 107 g5+ 'it>f5 108 l:ta5+ 'it>e4 109 l:!e8+ •..

54 J:txc6+? This loses as Black can't reach Vancura's drawing set-up. 54... Ilhl draws as the a-pawn . does - not-provide enm.igh- shelter -for Whlte's••

king; e.g., 55 a5 'f!e5 56 'it>b7 llbl + 57 !:lb6 li.tal 58 a6 lle7+ 59 Wb8 'it>f8 60 Ila7 l:te8+ 61 'it>b7 lle7+ 62 'it>a8 lle8+ 63 Il.b8 l:ta2 64 'f!xe8+ 'itixe8 65 Wb7 b7 litf5 58 'it>c6 (58 a5? Wg7 = leads to Vancura's draw) 58 ...l:tf6+ 59

..

-

.

DOUBLE-ROOK ENDINGS

239

This drives Black's king out into the middle of nowhere, while the g-pawn shields White's king. 109...wd4 no 'iflg4 ilfl 111 �a4+ @d5 112 I{f4! l!{gl + 1 1 2. . .l:Ixf4+ 1 1 3 @xf4 .labl 1 1 4 'ii?f5 nn + 1 1 5 Wg6 +-.

58 rrtle7 .l:Ig7+ 59 'it?dS iia4 60 WcS l:laS+ 61 Wb7 !ld8 62 �b6+ 'itia5 63 Zld6 @b5 64 !id5+ Wb4 65 Wc6 Elgg8 66 1lb7+ @c4 67 Ildl .l:.i.h8 68 'itic7 'it>c5 69 .l::tb2 1-0

1 1 7 ....&td6 1 1 8 l:!.c l �g2 1 1 9 l:Ibl+ Wa6 120 lie5 (120 '!J.cb5 +-) 120 ...�d8 (120 ... Jaf2+ 121 'it>g4 �g2+ 1 22 Wh3 �gd2 123 1:\e3 na2 1 24 �eb3 �d7 125 g6 llg7 126 ,)j,b6+ Wa7 127 .l::l.f6 '!J.a4 128 .l::tbfl +-) 121 'it?f6 .l:[f2+ 122 'it>g7 '!J.d7+ 123 Wh6 �h2+ 124 Wg6 &td6+ 125 'iflf7 .llh7+ 126 Wg8 'IJ.c7 1 27 Wf8 .l:rc2 128 .lle3 l:Ia2 1 29 'ifle7 lid5 1 30 g6 Il.g5 1 3 1 'iflf6 I!gg2 1 32 Wf7 .li!af2+ 133 Wg7 lla2 134 .l::te6+ Wa7 1 35 l:Hl +-. 118 Wg4 .llgl+ 119 Wh5 kl.bl+ 120 llh4

w

113 Wf5 '!J.b2 114 Eid8+ Wc6 115 Itc4+ 'it>b7 116 ild5 '!J.b6 117 �dc5 .lltl+

.l::tgl 121 .llcc4 .l::te6 122 .l::th2 .l:..b6 123 .l::thh4 Ile6 124 .l::tcg4 �dl 125 g6 Ildd6 126 Wh6 .l:ld8 127 Wh7 li{ee8 128 g7 )!!d 7 129 l1g6 @c7 130 @h6 Ilg8 131 'IJ.f4 �dd8 132 Ilf7+ 1-0 Sometimes a mating attack can be drummed up with ve1y reduced material:

Another example follows:

8.04

Petursson - Tiviakov Moscow 1989

55 .l::tcl?

55 :h8+ We7 56 We5 '!J.f7 57 '!J.b5 '!J.g7 58 .l:i.b7 l1g5+ 59 Wf4 +-.

55...l1f8?

55 ...l!cf7 ! saves the day; e.g., 56 c7+ Wc8 =.

56 l!al! litcf7 57 Wc5 Wc7 58 .l:ta7+?

58 )!!d5 ! puts Black in zugzwang due to the mating line 58 ....l:Ifl 59 .l:i.d7+ Wb8 60 Ir.b7+ Wc8 6 1 Il.a8#.

58...'it>b8 59 l:txf7 .l:!xf7 60 Wd6 Ilf6+ 61 'ifld7 i1z.11z The technical phase can be very long and · ··difficult:- -- · ·· - - - ··

8.03

Morozevich - Kasimdzhanov

w

Wijk aan Zee 2002

57 '!J.c7?

Surprisingly, the d-pawn can be given up by 57 l:Ke8 .l:xd7 58 llb8+ @a4 59 llcl +- as White's attack crashes through. 57... iildf4+? 57 ...lith4! draws due to 58 r#iie7 '!J.h8 59 lib7+ r#iic5 60 'B.a7 Ildl , when the defensive set-up cannot be broken.

8.05

-

--

·

240

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

62 'tl..h6 White must win the h-pawn as 62 'tl..xe4+? is met by 62...ll.xe4+ 63 ll.xe4+ @g3 64 ll.e3+ @f4 6S ll.h3 'it>g4 66 .Uhl h4 -+. 62...Wg4 63 Ithxh5 63 ll.exhS draws as well. 63 ...ll.el 64 'i£tb3? After 64 .UefS ! Black has no good solution to the problem of where to put his king. If both rooks are needed to shield it, then he cannot ex­ pect to generate winning chances; for example, 64 ....Ubl + 6S Wa3 e3 66 .UhgS+ Wh4 67 llhS+ 'it>g3 68 .UhgS+ Wh2 69 l:i.eS .Uc3+ 70 Wa2 ll.dl 71 @b2 lii'.cd3 72 l:i.hS+ @g2 73 l:tegS+ Wf2 74 lifS+ @el 7S .Uhl+ Wd2 76 ll.h2+ e2 77 l:i.eS llel and now 78 .l:l.cS ! = secures the draw. 64 ..1:tc7 65 @b2 @f4? Now Black's ldng can again find no really good shelter. 6S ...1:.e2+ ! wins in 3S moves. 66 1:.e8 .l:l.e2+ 67 Wb3 iitd7 68 1:.h4+ @f3 (D)

Black successfully advances his pawn only on move 1 13 - a full SO moves after the last cap­ ture, so there are problems with the SO-move rule here. 70 .lil.fS+! Wg3 71 l:.ff4! lkl+ (D)

w

•.•," 'a•�

� ?i'.,,,�%."��,,,, �-�-�-%�.��. - �� - -

.

w

- - - . - - Ji - - - - .

72 'i£tb3? 72 @bS ! e3 73 l:!.hg4+ =. 72...ll.b7+! 73 'it>a2 1:.c2+! 74 @al e3 75 i:Lhg4+ 'it>h3 76 l:.h4+ Wg2 77 l1hg4+ @h2 78 ID6 l:tg2 79 lle4 l:!.d7 80 ll.b6 .'adl+ 81 1:1.bl llxbl+ 82 'it>xbl e2 83 'it>cl 'it>gl 84 'it>d2 @fl 85 ll.f4+ ktf2 0-1 Let's move on to the longest win with this material balance.

w

69 'i£tc4? This loses in 79 moves. 69 .l:.h3+ is called for; e.g., 69... Wg2 70 1:.h4 e3 71 @c3 :el 72 .Ug8+ @f3 73 ilh3+ @f4 74 ilh4+ 'it?fS 1s .l:lf8+ @gS 76 .li!e4 1:.dS 77 ilfe8 =. 69.. Jitel? The winning line is very long and shows the difficulty-of rliis -endmg:- 69:��l!c7+ 10 - c;t>b3 l:te3+ 7 1 'it>b2 l:td7 72 ilh2 l:td4 73 Itf8+ 'it>g3 74 .li!fh8 ll.f3 7S llhl .l.1.c4 76 l:t8h4 @f2 77 .l:t4h2+ 'it>e3 78 l:i.el+ 'it>d4 79 Ildl+ l:td3 80 .Ual l:tg3 8 1 1:.dl+ 'it>eS 82 llhS+ @f4 83 :el .Ug6 84 Wb3 lagc6 8S ll.h8 l:i.c3+ 86 @b2 lac2+ 87 @bl l:.2c4 8 8 llf8+ b7 19 ll.lc7+! @a6 20 @gS ! ! .lii.g2+ 21 @hS ! la.d2 22 :as+ ! @bS

241

DOUBLE-ROOK ENDINGS

23 Iic3 ! ! htb7 24 'it>g5 ! ! llg2+ 25 Wh6! ! Iih2 26 !!b3+ ! ! 'i!?c6 27 !ta6+ ! ! 'i!?c7 28 :c3+ ! ! 'i!?d7 29 .l:Ic4! ! klbb2 30 .l:i.g4 ! ! l'.i.bg2 3 1 I:ld4+ ! ! @e8 32 Ile4+! Wf7 33 .lilf4+! ! @e7 34 li[a7+! Wd6 35 h5 ! lig8 36 'it>h7 ! ! �e8 37 Wg7 ! ! Iig2+ 38 Wf7 ! ! �h8 39 l:lf6+! ! 'it>e5 40 Iia5+ ! 'iite4 41 .l:te6+! 'iitd4 42 .lag6! I:!f2+ 43 Wg7 ! .llff8 44 .l:Ca4+ ! 'it>c5 45 X!a7 ! l:.1.fg8+ 46 @f6 ! ! l:!.f8+ 47 Wg5 ! 11f2 48 .l:!a5+! 'Etb4 49 .!i!.e5 ! ! .l:{hf8 50 Wh6! �h8+ 51 'it>g7 ! J:i.ff8 52 l:i.el ! Wc5 53 .Uh l ! 'iifd4 54 Iia6! Iifg8+ 55 'iiff7 ! ! l:!f8+ 56 'iitg6 ! llhg8+ 57 'iifh 6! We5 58 .lael+! 'iitd5 59 .l:{e7 ! I!b8 60 llf7 ! 'iild4 6 1 .l:{f4+! 'iite5 62 .l.:ff6 ! We4 63 Iia5 ! .lag 1 64 Iig6 Zlc 1 65 .l::i. a4+ We3 66 Zie6+! @f3 67 ktf6+! ! We3 68 1:.1.M! .l:{b5 (D)

Now we shall present a few examples with more pawns. 1\vo rooks on their seventh rank are usually very strong if the defending king is cut off by them on its back rank, but in order to win the game, they still need some extra assis­ tance. In the following position, the d-pawn lends its helping hand.

w

w

Jflumpy Koneru - Galliamova Women 's World Ch, Sochi 2015

8.07

36 .l:.a7! After 36 Wg2?? .li[xd6 White's rooks can force a draw with 37 1la7 Wb8 38 1lgb7+ Wc8 39 Il.g7, but cannot achieve any more than that. 69 'iifh7 ! ilb7+ 70 Wg6! ilgl+ 71 Wh6 ! ! ltb5 72 l:!h3+ ! ! We4 73 1lg6 ! l'lfl 74 1lh4+ ! ! We5 75 1la4! 1lf5 76 ilga6 ! ! .l.:f8 77 Wg6!ilg8+ 78 @h7 ! ! Iigb8 79 .l:.g6! ! ll5b7+ 80 '\t>h6 ! ! 1lb4 81 ild ! libl 82 1la5+! Wf4 83 :1a4+ ! Wf3 84 ID6+ ! 'it>e3 85 ilh4! lla8 86 ilf7! ila6+ 87 Wg5 ! ! ilgl+ 88 ilg4 ! ! l:l.hl 89 l:!g3+ ! ! We4 90 Ilf4+!-We5-·9l-ilf5+!-'iti>e4-92-.l:Ig4+!-'iti>d3 -93 ild5+! We3 94 .lif.b5 ! l:i.a8 95 Wf6 ! .!:!.h8 96 ilg3+! Wd2 97 .lad5+! we2 98 l:!e5+! Wd2 99 ltg2+ ! 'it>d3 100 l:!gg5 ! ilfl + 101 ilef5 II.bl 1 02 .li[b5 ! .i:tn+ 103 'iitg 6! ilc 1 104 l:tg3+! We4 1 05 .lif.b4+ ! ! We5 106 ilg5+! ! We6 1 07 1lb6+! We7 1 08 l:!b7+! 'it>e6 109 h6 ! l:!.g8+ 1 10 .!:l.g7 ! ! ilf8 1 1 1 .lith5 ! l:i.al 1 1 2 .llh3 llf6+ 1 1 3 Wh7 ! .!:!.a6 1 14 ilh5 ! l:!d6 1 15 ilhl ! 1la6 1 16 ildl ! .lita3 1 17 Zlel+ ! °it>d6 1 1 8 l:!hl ! .lla4 1'19 1lg8 ila7+ 1 20 Wh8 ! 'it>e5 1 2 1 h7 l:!ff7 1 22 l:.1.e8+! ! Wd5 123 l'ld l + 'it>c4 1 24 1lc8+ ! ! Wb3 125 l:!hl ! ilfe7 1 26 l:!h4! Ited7 1 27 llg8 ! Wc2 128 .l:{h3 ! l:!.d l 129 .!:!.h2+ Wc3 130 Iig3 + ! Wc4 1 3 1 llh4+ ! Wd5 1 32 .!:l.g5+ We6 1 3 3 llh6+! Wf7 1 34 l1.g7+ ! Wf8 1 35 llxa7 ! +-

36 @b8 •••

36 ... l:!xd6? ! 37 1la8#.

37 1lgb7+ 'it>c8 38 d7+ 1-0 Isolated pawns are very weak:

B

8.08

Junior

Kasparov New York (4) 2003 -

Kasparov tied both of the computer's rooks to the passive defence of the b-pawn:

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

- 242

49....l:tc6! 50 .l:r.db5 hS 51 Wf2 i:[e6!

White's king is cut off and the result is clear.

52 f4 g6 53 Wg3 Wg7 54 Wh4 Wh6 ss .l:r.lb4 .l:r.d6 56 g3 f6 57 g4 Not, of course, 57 i:[bl ?! .l:[bxb6 58 .l:.xb6?? g5+ 59 fxg5+ fxg5#.

57...hxg4 58 hxg4 Wg7 59 Itb3

29....l:lcc2 30 :n .l:t.a2 31 Wf3 llcS 32 g4?! hS! (DJ

w

59 f5 g5+ 60 Wh5?? .l:[b8 61 b7llh8#.

59....l:r.c6 60 gs rs 61 .:!.bl

1/z-1/2

Ulf Andersson's play in the following game is so instructive that we start sorne moves be­ fore the double-rook ending arises: A typical lever.

33 .l:Igl

B

33 g5 is rnet by 33 .. .lic4 34 Wg3 l:!.g4+ 35 Wh3 .l:t.a4, when Black keeps practical winning chances.

33.�.Wg7 34 gxhS .l:[xbS

Black has achieved a lot. He has only one pawn-island, while White has three. 35 .l:[g4 l'lfS+ 36 :r4 llaS 37 l:le4 Wf6 38 .l:[f4+ 'it>e6 39 l:!.dd4 l:!.2xa3 (DJ

8.09

Giardelli - Andersson Pinamar 2001

19 aS! •.•

w

A typical minority attack to create weak­ nesses and inroads on the queenside'.

20 ];[d2 l:lb4! 21 .tdS i.xdS 22 l:!.xdS a4 23 lad3?! 23 bxa4 l:ixa4 24 Itd2 (Ribli in CBM 82) is

the lesser evil as die d2-rook also has active op­ tions.

23 l:[c2 24 @fl Ite4! ••.

This provokes the rnove e3, after which White's king feels less safe.

25 e3 l:ib4 26 h4 iib2 27 bxa4 Itxa4 28 a3 l:tc4! 29 'ittg2 - --- --·

-····· ·-·-

·-

-·····--- ·

29 a4? is rnet by 29...l:Lcc2 30 f4 l:th2 3 1 Wgl l:!.bg2+ 32 Wfl l:!.xg3 33 liaa3 llgg2 34 a5 l:!.b2 35 Wgl , when Black's rooks in seventh heaven reign supreme; e.g., 35 ...i.thg2+ 36 Whl (36 Wfl h5 37 a6 .li[gf2+ 38 Wgl .l:.fc2 39 l:tdl ];[g2+ 40 Whl .l:.h2+ 41 'i£.>gl .l:.bg2+ 42 Wfl l:ta2 43 ];[xa2 l:txa2 -+) 36 ....l:.a2 37 .l:.db3 (37 l1xa2 lixa2 38 Zid5 l:ta3 -+) 3 7. . .Wg7 38 a6 ];[ge2 -+.

40 l:!.de4+ .l:.eS 41 l:!.xeS+ dxeS 42 Itb4 f6 43 l:tb7 43 h5!?, to get rid of the weak h-pawn, comes - into corisideration_as_weu: -43 l:la4 44 Wg3 fS 45 l:!.b6+ Wf7 46 Wh3 ·· · · · -- ·-

---·--

- - -- ·

••.

l:tg4 47 f3?

This pawn move just creates additional weaknesses and now White is lost. He should wait with a rnove like 47 l:!.b5, when it is not clear if Black can win.

47 !ic4 48 l1b3 e4 49 fxe4? ! •••

49 f4 is more tenacious, but still insufficient due to 49 ... l'k2 50 Wg3 ];[d2 51 l:Lb6 ];[e2 52

DO UBLE-ROOK ENDINGS

�b3 We6 53 �a3 (53 .lab6+ Wd5 54 .llxg6 llxe3+ 55 'it>g2 krf3 56 h5 .t{xf4 57 h6 '1h4 58 Wg3 flh5 -+) 53 ...Wd5 54 h5 (54 bic3 e6 55 ..t>h3 .l:!f2 56 'i¥?g3 ki.f3+ 57 Wg2 Wd6 58 .lia3 ..t>e7 59 Ilb3 Wf7 60 ga3 'i¥?g7 61 I!b3 Wh6 -+) 54... gxh5 55 Wh4 Wc4 56 Wg5 e6 57 Wxh5 Wb4 58 .lil.a6 .llxe3 59 h!xe6 .lil.a3 -+. 49....lil.xe4 (D)

w

so �a3 Wg7 0-1 Black's king will invade on the h-file.

243

B

ES.02: How should Black defend?

w

JE8.03: Can White (to play) win?

B

w

ES.01: How did Black force the draw?

JE8.04: How should White continue his attack?

244

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

w

w

E8.05: White to play and win.

ES.07: Pia Cramling (White) missed the win. Can you do better?

El.06

El.01 1...I!.hl! The checking distance is only two squares, but Black survives nevertheless. Not 1 ....l:ffl ? 2 «i?e7 llh1 3 llf8 +- or 1...lae2? 2 @f7 llh2 3 .llg8 Ith7+ 4 '!J.g7 llh8 5 @e7 lid8 6 e6 .l:!h8 7 'fJ,J7 'tt>c6 8 �f8 l:{h7+ 9 'it>f6 ll.h6+ 10 'it>f7 llh7+ 1 1 'it>g6 �a7 12 .l:rd8 +-. 2 'it>f7 ?!h7+ 3 'it>g6 Wd7 4 'it>xh7 �xe8 S 'it>g6 We7 6 @rs Wf7 7 e6+ We7 8 ©es �e8 9 Wf6 Wf8 10 e7+ 'itie8 11 We6 stalemate

Tvarijonas - Teterev

European Clubs Cup, Bilbao 2014

87 ?!bl+! Black's king must be driven away from its dominant position. Such a zwischenschach is a typical technique. White must avoid 87 Wg2? e2 88 l:rd8+ 'it>el 89 lid? r!a8 90 .l:l.d6 llg8+ 91 ffih2 .llg5 -+ and 87 .l:{d8+? @el 88 .l:rb8 e2+ 89 Wg2 ffid2 90 k!'.b2+ 'it>dl 91 llbl + Wc2 92 l:[el Wd2 93 Wf2 .llf3+ 94 Wxf3 Wxel -+. 87 'it?c2 88 .l:l.b8 llc3 88 ...e2+ 89 Wf2 .lle3 90 Wel =. 89 'it?f3 Wdl 90 llbl+! Wd2 91 llb2+ Wd3 92 .!:re2 Wd4 93 .t(el I!a3 94 .t(dl + l:td3 95 1:1.el .llb3 96 l:'.!.dl+ Wes 97 .:tel 'it?d4 98 .lld1 + .l:!.d3 99 Iitel .lld2 100 ktxe3 ki.d3 101 ?!xd3+ 'it>xd3 lfz.l/z •..

El.02

Spielmann - Duras

Karlsbad 1907

99 WgS! 0-1 Spielmann resigned due to 100 k!.xf5+ Wxf5 1 0 1 ©e3 ©g4 102 Wf2 Wf4 103 We2 'itig3 104 ©fl f5 1 05 @gl f4 106 wn Wf3 107 ©gl We2 -+. •.•

JE1.07 El.03

A. Smirnov - Steadman

Katerineholm 1999

67 lld4!! Only th� horizontal cut-off does the job. Not 67 ... Wc6? 68 We4 b5 69 Ii'.cl+ 'it?b6 70 .l:rbl =; 68 WeS lla4 69 WdS Wa6 70 Wc6 .l:I.c4+ 71 WdS b5 72 I!.al+ 'it>b6 73 lla2 llh4 74 lla8 M 75 .l:l.b8+ @as 76 @cs Wa4 77 ltg8 'it>a3 78 lla8+ @b2 79 1Ia4 Wc3 0-1

Australian Ch, No11h Geelong 2011112

••.

56 lia2! lib6 S7 ltg2+ fxg2 1/z-1/z El.04

Borriss - W�ls

Bundesliga 200112

S4 .llbl+? 54 .l:r.dl ! Wc4 55 .!:rcl+ Wb3 56 lidl =. 54 ©c3 ss l:tc1+ 'it>d2 0-1 - -White-resigned-due-to-56-1Ia1-d4-5'7--lla'2.+ Wc3 58 lla3+ Wc2 59 .lla2+ Wb3 60 lld2 'iti>c3 6 1 lla2 d3 62 .lla3+ Wc2 63 lla2+ 'it>b3 64 .a'.d2 'it>c3 -+. •.•

El.OS

Taimanov - Larsen

Palma de Mallorca Interzonal 1970

63 @eS? This can only be played after the zwiscben­ schach 63 ... .l:r.h8+ 64 'it>g3. The two drawing op­ tions are 63 ...'it>f4 64 .l::ta4+ Wf3 65 Wh5 .lith8+ 66 Wg6 .&tg8+ 67 Wf5 llf8+ 68 we6 .l::tg8 = and 63 ... .l::th8+ 64 Wg3 (64 Wg5 llg8+ 65 Wh5 llh8+ 66 Wg6 llg8+ =) 64 ...'it>e5 (64 ... llgB? 65 I!a5 +-) 65 .l:r.a6 and now 65 ... .l::th l = or 65 ...1Ih7 =. 64 lla6! Wf4 65 llf6+ @es 66 gs 1-0 •.•

Laveryd - Andersson

-

- - ---

El.08

- - - - - �--- - - - - · - -

Sax - J. Ashwin

Kecskemet 2012

--

- -

-· - ­

73 llc8! 74 11.fS 74 g5 l:tf8 =. 74 ©e6 7S �f4 llg8 76 ffih4 llh8+? A typical mistake (see 1 . 10). Only 76 ... 'it>eS ! 77 llf5+ We6 draws. 77 Wg5 We7 77...@e5 78 l:ta4 We6 79 Wg6 &tg8+ 80 Wh7 .litb8 8 1 i:.f4 +-. 78 Wg6 llg8+ 78 ...llh4 79 llf7+ We8 80 g5 +-. 79 Wh7 llg5 80 Wh6 i:.e5 81 g5 liel 82 g6 .l::thl + 83 Wg7 .!::tel 84 l:th4 .l::tgl 85 :l.e4+ 'it>d7 86 ffih7 1:1.hl+ 87 'iilg8 .l::tgl 88 g7 .&thl 89 @f7 •••

•..

246

UNDERSTANDING ROOK ENDGAMES

5 1 ...Wf5?!, 5 L.Wh5?! and 5 1 ...Wh6?! also preserve the win. 52 .l:ifl Or: 52 l:tel lixel 53 'itixel 'it>h5 54 'it>f2 Wh4 55 'it>g2 'it>g4 -+; 52 'itid3 g4 (52 ...'it>f5 53 Wd4 lile4+ 54 Wd3 g4 55 l!fl + l:If4 56 We2 g3 -+) 53 cJi>d4 lile8 54 .l:ib5 l!el 55 lla5 'it/f6 56 l!b5 g3 -+. 52 ... 'it>hS 53 llhl + 'it>g4 54 'it>dl cJi>f4 55 llh5 lle7 56 llhl g4 57 litgl Wf3 58 lil'.tl+ 'it>g2 59 l!f6 g3 60 llg6 Wf2 61 llf6+ 'it/gl 62 lilg6 g2 63 .l:lgS lle4 64 Wd2 cJi>f2 65 llfS+ 'it>g3 66 k!g5+ l!g4 0-1

l!fl + 90 'it>g6 l!gl+ 91 Wf6 k!g2 92 l:te5 l1f2+ 93 'it>g6 l1g2+ 94 :gs 1-0 El.09

Chadziotis Bergraser Tel-Aviv Olympiad 1964 -

61 l!hl? 61 l:i'.b2? also loses: 6 1 ...Wb7 62 l1c2 Wa6 63 l!c8 Wa5 64 l!a8+ Wb4 65 l:Xh8 b5 66 l:th4+ Wa5 67 l1h8 l!g4 68 Wc5 .l:rc4+ 69 'it>d5 l!cl -+. White's king must be freed immediately with 61 l!cl+! 'it>b7 62 l!c4! 1:ra3 63 lib4 lk3 (63 ...'it>a6 64 Wc4 =) 64 Wd4 l!cl 65 .l:r.b2 =. 61 ...Wb7 62 libl @a6 63 @c6 1:rc4+ 64 'it>d5 l!h4 65 'it>c6 bS 66 .l:r.al+ 66 lixb5 l!h6+ 67 'it>c5 l1h5+ -+. 66...l1a4 67 llbl llc4+ 68 WdS @as 69 lial+ l1a4 70 l:f.hl l1a3 71 @cs b4 72 litbl .l:r.c3+ 0-1 El.10

Zhao Xue Y. Khamrakulova Asian Team Ch (women), Visakhpatnam 2008

El.12

77 llbS? This retreat allows White time to regroup. Checking with 77 ....li[b5+! draws as White's king has to leave the danger zone to find shel­ ter; e.g., 78 'it>g6 (78 We6 :!b6+ 79 Wd5 .i:{b5+ 80 'it>c6 llb8 8 1 cJi>d7 .lib7+ =) 78 ...l:ib6+ 79 'itih5 llb5+ 80 'it>h4 .S'.b8 8 1 'it>h5 llb5+ 82 'it>h6 .lib6+ =. 78 'itig6? 78 llg6 creates a shelter on h6 and wins: 78 ...llb5+ (78 ... 'it>h7 79 llb6 +-) 79 cJi>f4 llb8 80 Wg5 'it>h7 (80...llb5+ 8 1 'itih6 llb8 82 Ite6 +-) 8 1 l!b6 llxb6 82 f8'iV .l:.g6+ 83 Wf4 +-. 78..Jab6+ 79 WhS llb8 80 Wh6 lia8? Again checking with 80...litb6+ is forced. 81 .l:itg6 :!b8 82 .Jae6 1-0 •..

Ziiger Honourable Mention, SV March-Hofe-75, 2012

1 Wd3 Not: I l:If2? f3 2 Wd3 Wf4 3 'it>d2 Wg3 4 'it/el l!a8 -+; I It.e2+? Wf5 2 Wd2 Wg4 3 Wei l:[h8 4 @fl (4 l!g2+ 'it>f3 5 l:f.f2+ Wg3 6 wn f3 7 'it>gl l!hl+ -+) 4 ... l!hl+ 5 Wg2 f3+ 6 Wxhl fxe2 -+. l ...l!d8+ 2 'it>c3 . < .· Avoiding 2 Wc2? l!d4 3 Wc3 .l;t¢4.:4 Itf2-Wf5 5 Wd3 .l!e8 6 l!e2 .lid8+ -+ and 2 We2? f3+ 3 'it>e3 l!xd2 4 'it>xd2 Wd4 5 Wdl 'it>d3 6 Wei 'it>e3 7 'it>fl f2 8 'it>g2 We2 -+. 2....l:1.h8 2 ...lixd2 3 'it>xd2 Wd4 4 We2 'it>e4 5 Wf2 f3 6 'it>fl =. 3 Wd3 'it>fS 4 'itie2 It.h2+ 4...'itig4 5 l:td3 llh2+ 6 'it>fl =. 5 Wf3 1:rxd2 stalemate ..

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z. Nagy - Berta

- iiufiiarian-Tea c in h 20061J

51 ...lleS!? An important move to free Black's king. 5 1 ...g4? is met by 52 !tel ! =; 5 I ...l:[e8?! and 5 1 ...lle7?! preserve the win as 52 @d3 can be met by 52 ... g4 ! 53 l:ib5 g3 54 litb2 (54 Wd2 g2 55 .l:ibl 'it>h5 56 ligl .l:.g8 { or 56 ...:S.g7, in the 5 1 ...l:Ie?? ! case} 57 'it>e3 Wh4 58 Wf2 'it>h3 -+) 54 ... Wg5 55 lie2 l!xe2 56 cJi>xe2 Wf4 57 'it/el 'itie3 -+.

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El.13

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Negi - K. Grigorian

Dubai 2012

45 Ita7+? This allows Black's king to get in front of the passed pawn. The only move to win is 45 l:tb5 ! with the point that after 45 ...We7 (45 ...l:rh8 46 llb7+ Wf6 47 c6 lld8+ 48 Wc5 'it>e6 49 l!h7 -!::::} _�§_ �'2§ liC.hL(1§�,��-1?_6A'Lc_:;x:b