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www.gambitbooks.com

In this companion volume to

Fundamental Chess Endings,

MOiler and Pajeken focus

on the practical side of playing endgames. They cover all aspects of strategic endgames, with particular emphasis on thinking methods, and ways to create difficulties for opponents over the board. Using hundreds of outstanding examples from modern practice, the authors explain not only how to conduct 'classical' endgame tasks, such as exploiting an extra pawn or more active pieces, but also how to handle the extremely unbalanced endings that often arise from the dynamic openings favoured nowadays. All varieties of endgames are covered, and there are more than

250 exercises

for the reader, together with full

solutions. Major topics include: •

•

Basic Principles and Methods Activity

•

•

The Bishop-Pair in the Endgame Domination

•

Schematic Thinking

•

The Fight for the Initiative

•

Typical Mistakes

•

Prophylaxis and Preventing Counterplay

•

Rules of Thumb

•

The Art of Defence

Grandmaster Karsten Millier is a world-renowned expert on all aspects of endgame play. He is co-author (with Frank Lamprecht) of the acclaimed

Endings

Fundamental Chess Endings. He finished third Championship in 1996. and was runner-up in 1997. and

Secrets

of Pawn

in the German

Wolfgang Pajeken is a FIDE Master from Hamburg who plays frequently in the German Bundesliga, and other team and individual championships. He is also a chess trainer. organizer and arbiter. Other chess titles from Gambit include:

£18.99

$34.9S

ISBN-13:

978-l-90�bOO-8b-2

ISBN-10:

l-90�bOO-8b-7

Contents

Foreword by John Nunn Authors' Preface Introduction Symbols

8 10 12 13

1

Activity

15

A) AI) A2) A3) A4) A5) B) C)

King Activity An Endgame is Not a Middlegame Cutting Off the King Barriers The BOdycheck The Reti Manoeuvre Rook Activity Activity in General

15 15 24 29 30 32 33 36

2

The Art of Pawn Play

39

A) AI) A2) A3)

Passed Pawns Outside Passed Pawns Protected Passed Pawns Connected Passed Pawns Passed Pawns Must be Pushed! Blockade Creating a Passed Pawn Mobilizing a Pawn-Majority Pawn Breakthrough Eliminating Enemy Pawns The Minority Attack Undermining Pawn Power

39 39 41 43 44 45 48 48 52 56 57 59 60

3

Do Not Rush!

65

A) B) C) D) E)

Preparatory Measures Subtle Technical Moves Repeating Moves The Art of Manoeuvring Playing with the Whole Army

65 67 68 69 72

A4) AS) B) Bl) B2) B3) C) D) E)

How TO PLAY CHESS ENDGAMES

4

Too Much of a Rush

73

4

The Right Exchange

76

A) B) C) D) E) EI) E2) F) G) H) I)

The Importance of Exchanges in the Game of Chess Critical Moments in the Endgame Exchanging into a Pawn Ending Exchanging into a Rook Ending Exchanging a Pair of Rooks The Attacker Wants to Exchange a Pair of Rooks The Defender Wants to Exchange a Pair of Rooks Simplification into an Endgame The Defender Exchanges Pawns, the Attacker Pieces Eliminating the Last Pawn The Defender of a Weakness Must be Exchanged Transformation What is Important is What is Left on the Board, Not What Disappears Avoiding an Unfavourable Exchange

76 78 82 86 89 89 91 93 96 97 98 100 102 102

5

Thinking in Schemes

106

A) B) C) D)

Target Positions Make a Wish! Improving the Position of a Piece and Makogonov's Principle Plans

106 107 108 110

6

Weaknesses

114

A) AI) A l a) A l b) A l c) Aid) A2) B) C) D) E) F) G)

Pawn- and Square- Weaknesses Pawn Weaknesses Isolated Pawns Doubled Pawns Backward Pawns A Pawn that has Advanced Too Far Weak Squares A Complex of Weak Squares Creating and Fixing a Weakness Manoeuvring The Principle of the Second Weakness The Exploitability of a Weakness Fatal Passivity with Structural Weaknesses

114 114 114 liS 116 116 118 118 121 123 129 131 132

7

The Fight for the Initiative

135

A) B) C)

The Importance of the Initiative Passed Pawns and the Initiative Psychology

135 137 138

F)

J) K) L)

CONTENTS

D) E) F) G)

Sacrificing Structure for Initiative Sacrificing Material for Initiative Opposite-Coloured Bishops When the Queen is in her Element

5

139 140 141 141

8

Prophylaxis and Prevention of Counterplay

145

A) B) C)

Foiling the Opponent's Plans Mysterious Rook Moves Preventing Counterplay

145 147 148

9

The Bishop-Pair in the Endgame

151

A) B) C) D) E) F) G) H) I) Il) 12) I3)

Steinitz's Method of Restriction Transformation Control Opening the Position for the Bishops Supporting Passed Pawns Attack Two Bishops against Rook and Minor Piece The Bishop-Pair as a Drawing Weapon Fighting against the Bishops Blockade Total Sealing of the Position Support-Points for the Knight

151 153 155 157 160 161 163 166 168 168 169 171

10

Zugzwang

173

A) B) C) D)

A Powerful Endgame Weapon Theoretically Important Endings Reciprocal Zugzwang Triangulation and Spare Moves

173 177 179 180

11

Fortresses

183

A) B) B1) B l a) Bib) B l c) B2) B2a) B2b) B3) C) D)

Elementary Fortresses A Secure Camp Fortresses against a Bishop Averbakh's Barrier The Bishops Inhabit Different Worlds The Well-Entrenched Knight Fortresses against a Rook The Knight Fights Well in a Confined Space Typical Drawing Fortresses with Bishop against Rook Fortresses against the Queen Pawn-Barriers Incarcerating Pieces

183 190 190 190 191 192 194 194 196 199 200 204

How TO FlAY CHESS ENDGAMES

6

Dl) D2) E) EI) E2) E3) F)

A n Incarcerated King Pieces Shut Out of Play Tied and Pinned Pieces Tied to a Pawn Tying A Dangerous Passed Pawn Pinning A Typical Mistake

12

Stalemate

216

A) B) C) D)

The Last Chance Theoretically Important Stalemate Positions Desperado Underpromotion to Avoid Stalemate

216 217 219 219

13

Mate

222

A) B) C) D) E) F)

An Incarcerated King The All-Important First Check Rooks in Seventh Heaven Attacking with Opposite-Coloured Bishops The Knight in the Attack Long-Term Mating Attacks

222 223 225 227 231 233

14

Domination

235

A) B) C) Cl) C2) C3) C4)

Total Domination Theoretically Important Endings Methods of Restriction Restricting a Bishop Restricting a Knight Restricting the Whole Enemy Force Incarcerating a Piece

235 237 238 238 239 241 242

15

Converting an Advantage

245

A) AI) A2) A3) A4) B) BI) B l a) B2) B2a)

Transforming One Advantage into Another Bishops are Generally Easier to Exchange Transforming a Static Advantage into a Dynamic One Returning Material Basic Considerations Practical Examples Space Advantage Widening the Operational Front Material Advantage An Extra Pawn

245 246 246 248 249 250 250 254 255 255

E4)

204 208 210 210 210 211 212 213

CONTENTS

7

B2b) Converting the Advantage of the Exchange

256

16

The Art of Defence

259

A) B) C) D) E)

Defend Actively Prophylaxis in Defence Maintaining a Blockade Defensive Sacrifices Fight to the Death

259 260 260 261 262

17

Typical Mistakes

265

A) B) C) D) DI) E) F) G) H) I)

J)

Deficient Knowledge of Endgame Theory Carelessness / Loss of Concentration Playing to the Gallery Premature Resignation Trusting the Opponent / Shock after an Unexpected Move Passivity Inappropriate Activity Don't Play on the Wing where Your Opponent has the Advantage Unnecessarily Giving up Material Greed Following Rules of Thumb Too Mechanically

265 270 273 274 275 275 276 277 277 278 280

18

Rules of Thumb

281

A) B)

20 Golden Rules of the Endgame Rules of Thumb

281 281

Solutions to the Exercises

284

Bibliography Index

345 347

Foreword by John Nunn

In these days of computer-assisted preparation, opening work has become a fairly mechanical pro­ cess. You sit down with a database and a strong engine, and you just work your way through your repertoire one line at a time. The main limitations are the time you have available and your memory capacity. Additionally, there is a huge literature available on the openings, which enables players of all standards to rapidly acquire a good knowledge of virtually any line. In open tournaments, it is not unusual to see masters and grandmasters discomfited by much lower rated opponents who have sprung a piece of opening preparation on their unsuspecting opponents. Mastery of the endgame is another matter entirely. To be sure, there is some memory work in­ volved and a knowledge of basic positions is an essential prerequisite for endgame proficiency, but the amount of information which needs to be memorized is much smaller than that involved in opening preparation. A far more important factor is to have a 'feel' for the endgame. It has been truly said that the endgame is the part of chess which most clearly distinguishes the master from the amateur, but why should this be? Certainly natural skill plays a part, and the great endgame players of the past, such as Rubinstein, Capablanca and Smyslov, clearly had an exceptional talent for this part of the game. A second factor is that many players devote relatively little attention to the endgame. They long for a quick kill and spend hour after hour studying openings, ignoring the endgame more or less completely. Memorizing a few innovations in the opening may seem more exciting than learning how to win a rook ending with an extra pawn, but the latter will earn more points in the long run. Finally, we come to the important point that endgame literature is very sparse compared to that devoted to opening theory. If you have the talent of Capablanca, you probably don't need a book to tell you how to play endings, but for the rest of us some guidance is a great assistance and can help avoid many painful lessons over the board. Just as some opening books offer a detailed coverage of an opening, while others focus more on plans and ideas, so the same distinction can be made with endgame books. The majority of endgame books adopt an encyclopaedic approach, offering a comprehensive coverage of some part of endgame theory or, if the authors are ambitious, the whole of endgame theory. Fundamental Chess Endings by Karsten MUller and Frank Lamprecht (Gam­ bit, 2001) is a good example of this genre. I must admit to liking this type of book, and I have written three myself in the encyclopaedic style. However, the second type of endgame book is just as important; the type that explains how to play the endings, and tries to help develop that all-important but elusive 'feel' for the endgame. This book fills a gap in endgame literature by offering a systematic point-by-point overview of the general methods of endgame play. There are a lot of misconceptions about endgame play. Per­ haps fuelled by stories of how players such as Capablanca just 'knew' where to put their pieces, there is a general feeling that endgame play is mainly about intuition and that calculation plays a relatively small part. This is far from the truth. Capablanca clearly had a good feel for the best squares for his pieces, but you can bet that he did plenty of calculation as well. Tactics play as im­ portant a role in the endgame as in the rest of the game. Mating attacks may be less common in the endgame than in the middlegame, but in the endgame there are tactical ideas which rarely occur in other phases of the game, such as promotion combinations and zugzwang. Thus endgame play is a mixture of strategy and tactics, with some similarities to the rest of the game but also possessing distinctive features. Getting the tactics right is often a critical matter, as while a middlegame position

FOREWORD

9

may be assessed as 'slightly better for White' or 'clearly better for Black', endgame positions can often be evaluated in more deflnite tenns as 'win', 'draw' or '}oss'. Moreover, if something goes mildly wrong in the middlegame, there may still be a chance to play yourself back into the game, but in an endgame this rarely happens; the first mistake in an endgame may very well be the last. Reading this book brought home to me the close connection between the endgame and other parts of chess. Many of the topics discussed, such as the bishop-pair (see Chapter 9) and the preven­ tion of counterplay (see Chapter 8) are also relevant in the middlegame and in fact these topics are often more easily explained in an endgame situation, where the key points are not obscured by ex­ traneous details. Thus the study ofthe endgame not only benefits your play in that part of the game, but promotes better general chess understanding in all phases of chess. If you want to improve your endgame play, you can't do better than start with this book since MUller and Pajeken deal with every aspect of endgame play, strategic, tactical and psychological. After that, look at the classic games of the great endgame players; you may see them in a new light. Go back over your own endgames, especially where you feel that you may have given away a point or half-point, seeking to understand where you went wrong. Finally, view the endgame with more confidence in your future games. With the background gained from this book, the endgame should be something to be embraced rather than feared. John Nunn

Chertsey, November 2007

Authors' Preface

Many endgame books deal mainly with theoretical endings. These are for the most part categorized according to the material balance and feature endings with very little material which have been analysed to a finish. Of course it is essential for ambitious players on the way to chess mastery to familiarize them­ selves with the most important of these positions. But the number of positions to be learnt pre­ cisely, by heart, is not so huge. Many of these endings arise so infrequently in practice that from a practical viewpoint it is just not worth cluttering the limited storage capacity of the human brain with their complex and lengthy analysis. In many cases, all that the tournament player needs is knowledge of the possible result with correct play and familiarity with the correct methods and plans for handling such positions successfully. But if merely studying theoretical endings ceases at a certain point to bring you any measurable progress in your chess, what do you then need to improve your endgame play significantly, Of even achieve mastery in this discipline? We have tried to provide an answer with this book! Just as in the other phases of a game of chess, in the endgame there are special principles and guidelines which not only make it easier to adapt one's play to the requirements of the situation on the board, but can sometimes also enable you to work out the right way to proceed. Practically every chess-player is familiar with the most important principles of the opening themes such as rapid development, occupation of the centre, or protecting the king by castling at the right moment. Most players have also heard of such important middlegame themes as the im­ portance of the seizure of open files, the control of weak squares or the weakness of a backward pawn. However, the principles of endgame play are generally much less well known. Are you aware, for instance, that themes such as the right exchange and prophylactic thinking are fundamental components of successful strategy in the endgame? Do you know when you can defend an endgame purely passively by means of a fortress, or when, on the other hand, you must sacrifice one or more pawns in order to conduct a defence based on the greatest possible activity? Do you know that in many endgames the ideas of mate and stalemate play an important role? Do you know which are the endgames where you should not rush and which are the endgames where it is vital to act dynamically in a fight for the initiative? Do you know how to saddle your opponent with weaknesses and then take advantage of them? Do you know that the ideas of zugzwang and

domination are particularly important in the endgame? Do you know that the bishopRpair is a powerful weapon in the endgame and do you know how to handle it? Are you familiar with all the important rules of thumb of endgame play? Do you know what is meant by thinking in schemes in the endgame? Are you familiar with all the principles of the art of pawn play? Do you know which are the typical mistakes that continually crop up in endgames, and how to avoid them? Do you know which rules you must follow in converting an advantage? If you answered 'no' to any of these questions, then you are definitely holding the right book. Each of the words or phrases printed in bold in the above questions is actually a chapter heading (or part of one) in this book. But even if you answered 'yes' to most or all of the questions, you should still definitely not cast this book aside. You will find in this book not only positions with simple, elementary demands but also positions of the highest degree of difficulty.

AUTHORS' PREFACE

11

In this book we have set out to systematize all known endgame principles and aU the fundamen­ tal strategic endgame ideas and to explain their essential importance for successful endgame play. For each of these themes we have analysed many practical examples of different types of ending and provided them with detailed annotations and rules to remember. Also, in every chapter we give you the chance to test and consolidate your (newly acquired) knowledge by means of training exer­ cises. Despite our taking great care and scrupulously checking our analysis with the help of the latest computer programs, it is inevitable in such a large work that there will be some mistakes. We thank you in advance for any corrections, suggestions and improvements. At this point we should like to thank all those who have contributed to the production of this book. Our special thanks go to Rustem Dautov and Claus Dieter Meyer, who made their analyses available to us; Hanon W. Russell of ChessCafe.com for allowing us to use analyses from 'End­ game Corner', ChessBase, without whose programs such a project would be hardly practicable, and last but not least John Nunn and Graham Burgess of Gambit for their patience and exemplary cooperation. We very much hope that you will derive as much pleasure from reading this book as we did in writing it, and we wish you good luck and the greatest possible chess success from your study of endgame strategy. Karsten Milller, Wolfgang Pajeken Hamburg, November 2007

Introduction

Before we plunge into the wonderful world of endgame strategy, we should like to give you some hints on how to use this book. We have endeavoured to structure each chapter in the best and most systematic fashion. Never­ theless, the theme of this book is so complex that it is hard to avoid some overlap between sections. So, for instance, the topic of 'exchanging the last pawn' might be found not only under 'The Right Exchange' (Chapter 4), but also under 'The Art of Defence' (Chapter 16) and with a bit of imagina­ tion even in 'The Art of Pawn Play' (Chapter 2). If you do not find a topic where you would expect it, then please consult the contents list. The more you work independently on your game, the more your chess will improve. We recom­ mend therefore that you conscientiously study all the examples provided in this book. You should first of all set up the positions in each section on a chess board and then attentively play through at least the main variations printed in bold. In connection with this, you should try to solve the train­ ing exercises independently, also sitting calmly at a chessboard. In each case, look up the answer only when you have definitely reached a firm conclusion. A typical mistake when working on such training exercises is to look up the solution when all you have done is find the first move of one variation. There are in fact a few exercises in which the key move is very easy to find, but for a com­ plete answer to the question a very substantial continuation has to be worked out. To avoid the dan­ ger of self-deception in this respect, it is best to write your answers down. To polish your technique further we recommend that you play through both grandmaster games and your own games and always place emphasis on themes in the chapters of this book. You will be very surprised to find what new knowledge and insights this brings. Naturally you should study the endings of the great virtuosi, such as Capablanca, Andersson, Karpov and Kramnik. You will notice that many players are particularly strong in some of the stra­ tegic areas that we deal with; for example, Smyslov in the sphere of exchanges, Petrosian in pro­ phylactic thinking and hindering counterplay, Fischer in the use of the bishop, and Kasparov in piece activity. To particularly ambitious players we further reconunend looking for additional positions and in­ structive examples for each section and storing them as future training material. However, mere knowledge and training are no substitute for real play. This brings us to our most important piece of advice: you should in no way limit yourself to the study of this book - you need to play, play and keep playing. In this respect we reconunend that you play out your endgames, and on no account agree an early draw in a rich position. You will only be able to develop your endgame skills quickly if you combine your newly acquired knowledge with sufficient practical play.

Symbols

+-

White is winning

±

White is clearly better and should win

;t

White is slightly better, but the advantage should not be enough to win The position is equal or drawn

'j'

Black is slightly better, but the advantage should not be enough to win

+

Black is clearly better and should win

-+

Black is winning

+

check

++

double check

#

checkmate a strong move

!!

a beautiful and strong move

1?

a gross blunder

!?

an interesting move

a bad move

?1

a dubious move

Ch

championship

Cht

team championship

Ct

candidates event

Wch

world championship

Wcht

world team championship

Ech

European championship

Echt

European team championship

ECC

European Clubs Cup

tt

team event

jr

junior event

worn

women's event

OL

olympiad

rpd

rapidplay game

adv

advanced chess (man+machine)

eOIT.

correspondence game

1-0

the game ends in a win for White

liz-liz

the game ends in a draw

0-1

the game ends in a win for Black

(11)

nth match game

(D)

see next diagram

Beneath the diagrams in the exercises you will find signs such as***/. This signifies that this exer­ cise, with White to move, has a degree of difficulty of3 stars. The sign/'* indicates that Black is to play, with a difficulty of 2 stars. The stars signify: easy **

moderately difficult

How TO PLAY CHESS ENDGAMES

14

***

difficult

****

very difficult

***** extremely difficult In a few of the exercises, you are asked to consider the position with both sides to move. A marking such as **1*** indicates the difficulty in each case.

Abbreviations CBM

ChessBase Magazine

NiC

New in Chess

1 Activity

A young man has the genius of activity, a ma­ ture one that for spending his powers wisely. The one's strength lies in enterprise, the other's in economy. He who wastes neither force nor opportunity is the victor. EMANUEL LASKER

A) King Activity In the middlegame the king is a mere extra; in the endgame, on the other hand, one of the prin­ cipals. ARON NIMZOWITSCH

When there are only a few pieces left on the board, the activity of each piece acquires much greater importance. Whereas in the middlegame the unfavourable position of a piece can be compensated by the activity of other pieces, in the endgame there are simply not enough other pieces available to make up for a badly-placed colleague. For a better illustration of this rule, picture the following: if a player on a soccer team is sent off and can take no further part in the game, then it is still possible that the rest of his team can bring the game to a successful conclusion by each playing harder. But if in a doubles match in tennis one player had to retire hurt, then his remaining team-mate would stand no chance against the opposing pair. Thus the old positional principle that one should always improve the position of the worst-placed piece is particularly applicable in the endgame. Here there is also the rule of thumb that the strongest piece should always be activated. And, in marked contrast to the opening and middlegarne, the king should be fully involved. The order of priority in which the pieces should be activated is generally: queen> rook> king > minor piece. Owing to its great practical importance, we shall focus our discussion here on the activity of the king and the rook. Both these pieces play a special role in the endgame and it is fre­ quently worth sacrificing one or more pawns to activate them. For examples of the activity of the knight and the queen, see Chapter 7 (,The Fight for the Initiative'). With these two pieces it is generally less a question of which is the more active than which is in the driving seat.

AI) An Endgame is Not a Middlegame In most endgames the position of the king is a significant factor in the assessment of the posi­ tion. Whereas in the opening and the middle­ game the king generally has to hide from the opposing pieces, as the number of pieces on the board goes down the king gains in attacking power and, since there is no danger of being mated, it can often venture deep into the enemy camp. There is the following rule of thumb: the fewer the pieces on the board, the more impor­ tant is the position of the king for the evaluation of the position. In pawn endings this can often be the most important factor in the assessment of the position. Therefore in your own end­ games always consider whether you can im­ prove the position of your king. Now we shall illustrate the more active king by means of some practical examples from ac­ tual master play. It is truly amazing to see what a mighty weapon the king can be in the endgame. In the typical Griinfeld endgame on the fol­ lowing page, Kramnik shows excellent tech­ nique. He no longer has any worries about king safety and is able to assert his advantage in the centre by means of a king-march. l\l;>f2! The immediate I eS? fails to I...�b4+. l...e5 2 �c5! "The exchange of bishops brings White several advantages. The blockading bishop is replaced by a less suitable piece (the rook) and

16

How TO PLAY CHESS ENDGAMES

V.Kramnik - P.Leko Budapest rpd (1) 2001 the white rook can penetrate at c7. The loss of the f4-pawn is relatively unimportant. Such deep positional pawn sacrifices are Kramnik's trademark." (Krasenkow in CBM). 2,..�xc5+ 2 ... exf4 3 �xd6 .!l:xd6 4 �f3 g5 5 h4 h6 6 hxg5 bxg5 7 .!l:h5 f6 S �c4 �d7 9.!l:chI .!l:fS 10 .!l:h6 b5 11 e5 +-. 3 .!l:xcs exf4 4 �f3 The influence of his majesty in the struggle against the blockade is already apparent. 4...�d7 4...g5 5 h4 h6 6 hxg5 bxg5 7 .!l:h5 f6 S e5 (Krasenkow) 8...�f5 9 exf6�f7 10 J::lxg5 �xf6 11 �xf4 ±. 5 �d3 .!l:ac8 6 .!l:hc1 (D)

6...gs

The active white king also prevails after 6....!l:xc5 7 .!l:xc5 .!l:cS S .!l:xcS+ �xcS 9 �xf4: a) 9...�f8 10�e5 �e7 11 d6+ �dS 12 �f6 �e6 13 a4 (Krasenkow) 13...�b3 14 e5 h5 15 �g7 �e6 16�fS a617aS�d5 IS�e2�d719 �f3 +-. b) 9...f6 10 h4 h6 (lO...�f7 II g4 a6 12 g5 +-) II e5 g5+ 12 bxg5 hxg5+ 13 �e4 �f7 14 e6+�e7 15 g4 a6 16�f5 b5 17 a3 (zugzwang) +-. 7 'fl.c7 .!l:xc7 7...ZleS S.!l: l c2.!l:xc7 9Zlxc7 �cS IO�c4 h5 11 d6 �g4+ 12 �f2 .!l:xe4 13 h3 �f5 14 �b3! +-. 7...�g7? overlooks White's threat: S Zlxd7 +-. 8 .!l:xc7 �a4 (D) 8...�cS 9 e5 a6 10 �e4 b5 11 �e2 �d7 12 �h5 +-.

W

9 �g4! The activation of the king is the top priority here. 9...h6 10 .!l:xb7 .!l:d7 11 .!l:b4 �dl+ 12 �fs �g7 l3 h4 f6 14 hxgs bxgs After 14...fxg5 15 e5 .!l:xd5 the king assists in the mating attack in a typical manner: 16 .!l:b7+ �fS 17 �f6.!l:dS IS �c4 +-. 15 e5! fxes 15 ....!l:xd5 16 .!l:b7+ �h6 17 �bl' .!l:dS IS e6 �h5 19 �xf6li:hS 20 �d3 g4 21 e7 f3 (2l ...g3 22 �e4 +-) 22 g3 as 23 .!l:b2 .!l:cS 24 .!l:h2 +-. 16 �xes The culmination of White's concept. De­ spite the reduced material, Black's situation is

17

ACTIVITY

absolutely hopeless in view of the strong passed d-pawn. 16...f3 17 gxf3 bf3 18 d6 );1d8 19 �f5 �c6 19... );1e8+ 20 �e6 �c6 2 1 I&f5 );1d8 22 d7 +- (Krasenkow). 20 d7! );1f8 21 ad4 1.. 0 ..

w

In the following position the activation of the king plays an equally vital role:

B

flashy 6 ...liJc2+? 7 );1xc2 );1xc2 8 a8'1¥1 );1xh2 9 'I¥Ia6, when Black cannot win. 5...e2 6 h3+ 61&f2 e3+ 71&ell&f3 -+. 6...I&f57 � 2 e3+ 8 l&el l&e4! 9 ab4l&d3! 10 );1xd4+ I&xd4 11 1iJb4 l&c4 12 IiJc21&c3! 13 I&xe2 13 liJxe31&d3 -+. 13...l&xc2 14 f5gxf5 151&xe3 );1a8 16 1&f4 );1xa6 17 �5 );1g6! 18 �41&d3 0..1 1.02

C.D'Amore - Zso.Polgar Rome 1989

Owing to her dangerous passed pawns and more active pieces, Black is better. But a win­ ning plan is not obvious, since White threatens to distract the black rook with his a-pawn and use the time gained to improve his pieces. Since the remaining pawns would then be all on one wing, White would have real drawing chances. However, Zsofia Polgar grasps the essence of the position perfectly. She realizes that her king is the only piece which is not in play and de­ cides to activate it. It is truly amazing to see the effect of the black king's advance over the next few moves. 1...I&g7! 2 a4 1&f6! 3 as 3 g4 g5! 4 );1b6+ I&n -+. 3...l&f5! 4 a6 4 h3 e2+ 5 1&el e3 6 a61&e4 7 a71&f3 -+. 4..,l&g4! 51&g2 5 a7 is met by 5 ...1&f3! (D). After 61&e I, Black should play 6 ..);1a8, win.. ning in a straightforward fashion, and not the

Sometimes it is even worth sacrificing mate­ rial to activate the king.

w

1.03

V.Smyslov - M.Fulier Copenhagen 1980

Smyslov shows impressively why he is re­ garded as one of the greatest endgame special­ ists. 1 e5!! +-

How TO PIAY CHESS ENDGAMES

18

I IiJc3? IiJxc4 2 b6? IiJxb6 3 IiJbS IiJc8 4 IiJxd6liJxd6 S l';l;xd6 as plays into Black's hands. 1 dxeS Or: l ...l';l;e8 2 e6 l';l;e7 3 �xb6 axb6 4liJc3 +-; l ...liJxc4 2 exd6liJe3+ 3 'iii'f 3liJxdS 4 d7 l';l;d8 S l';l;xa7 +-. 2'iii>f3 liJxe4 2 ...l';l;f8+ 3 'iii'e4 l';l;f2 (3 ... l';l;f7 4 d6 IiJxc4 S 'iii'd S +-) 4liJc3 l';l;c2 S 'iii'd3 +-. 3 'iii'e4 l';l;d8 4liJe3 l';l;d7 5 l';l;e6 'iii'g7 6 l';l;xeS IiJd6+ 7 'iii'xeS 'iii'f7 8liJe4liJxe4 9 'iii'xe4 l';l;e7+ 10 WfS 1-0 •••

Naturally we must include the following mas­ terpiece on this theme:

for the win; for example, 8...l';l;g3+ 9 'iii'hS b3 10 l';l;xdS b2 II l';l;bS 'iii'g 7 12 l';l;xb2 l';l;xg6 13 l';l;c2 l';l;d6 (13...l';l;gl 14 l';l;xc7+ 'iii'f 6 IS l';l;cS l';l;g2 16 l';l;gS l';l;d2 17 dS +-) 14 l';l;c4 'iii'f 6 IS 'iii'g4 l';l;d7 16 fS l';l;d6 17 'iii'f4 c6 18 'iii'e4 'iii'f 7 19 l';l;b4 l';l;d7 20l';l;b6 l';l;c7 21 'iii'eS l';l;e7+ 22 'iii'd 6l';l;e4 23 l';l;b4 +-. 4 g6! l';l;xf4 + 5 'iii'g S �e4 S ... l';l;xd4 6 IiiIf 6 We8 7 l';l;h8+ 'iii'd7 8 'iii'xfS +-. S...l';l;g4+ 6 'iii'f6! +-. This method of shelter­ ing behind an enemy pawn was christened the 'umbrella' by Dvoretsky. You should definitely memorize it, since it occurs frequently in prac­ tice. We shall be looking at several examples of the 'umbrella' idea. 6 'iii'f6 'iii'g8 7 l';l;g7+! (D)

W B

1.04

J.Capablanca - S.Tartakower New York 1924

1 �xfS! gxfS 2 'iii'g3! Capablanca sacrifices two pawns to activate his king with decisive effect! 2 l';l;d7? l';l;xc3+ 3 'iii'e2 c6 4 l';l;xa7 l';l;c4 S 'iii'd3 cS is clearly drawn. 2...l';l;xe3+ 3 'iii' h4! l';l;f3?! Or: a) 3...cS 4 g61 cxd4 S 'iii'g S d3 6 l';l;d7 l';l;cS 7 'iii'h 6+-. b) 3...l';l;cl 4 'iii'hS! +-. c) 3...a6! is definitely the toughest defence: 4 g6! (after 4 l';l;d7?! l';l;f3 a similar position to the game arises, but the a-pawn is nO longer on its second rank and so Black can put up greater resistance; also after 4 'iii'hS?! bS Black has seri­ ous counterplay) 4...bS S axbS axbS 6 'iii'g S b4 7 l';l;f7+ 'iii'g8 8 l';l;xfS and White must still work

Good technique. Before White captures the enemy pawn, he first weakens the position of the enemy king. 7...liiIh8 8 l';l;xe7 l';l;e8 9 WxfS Otherwise the f-pawn runs and then passive defence is sufficient for Black against White's knight's pawn. Passive defence fails against a bishop's pawn. 9...l';l;e4 9... a6 10 l';l;b7 bS 11 axbS axbS 12 l';l;xbS l';l;d8 13 'iii'e6 +-. 10 'iii'f6 l';l;f4 + 11 'iii'eS l';l;g4 12 g7+! 'iii'g 8 13 l';l;xa7 l';l;gl 14 'iii'xdS �c1 1S 'iii'd6 l';l;e2 16 dS l';l;c1 17 l';l;e7 l';l;al 18 'iii'e6 l';l;xa4 19 d6 1-0 Knowledge of such classics is sometimes of direct help in one's own practice:

19

ACTIVITY

w

B

1.05

1.06

W.Pajeken - C.Wagner Pardubice 2000

U.Andersson - R.Sanguinetti Riel IZ 1976

1...l:tb3 + 2 We2l:tb4 3 We3 l:tb3+ Black was expecting 4 We2 with a draw by repetition. But by activating his king, White can make a last attempt to win without any risk to himself. 4 Wf4! ? .rd3 S Wg4 .rxd4 + 6 WhS WgS?! Objectively this move spoils nothing. But it voluntarily weakens the position of his own king and even forces White to improve the posi­ tion of his rook slightly - behind the b-pawn. 6 ...b4, for example, was a safer way to draw: 7 Wg6 (7l:tb7 .rf4 S Wg6 l:txh4 9 Wxf6l:th6+= and Black has reached a sort of Philidor posi­ tion) 7...b3 S Wxf6 WgS 9l:tb7l:tb4 10 Wg6 .brg4+=. 7 .rb7 l:tf4 ? ! A loss of tempo. More precise was 7... b4!? S .rxb6 Wf7 9l:tb7 + WfS 10 Wg6l:txh4 l l Wxf6 l:th6+ with a Philidor position. SWg6 l:tg4+ 9 Wxf6 l:txh4 10 l:tbS+Wh7 11 l:tb7+ WgS I2 l:tbS+ Wh7 13 Wf7 l:te4 ?! 13...d4! was the safest way to draw. 14l:txb6 d3 15l:txbS .ra4 14l:txb6l:te7+ 15 Wf6l:teS 16 l:tb7+Wg8 ? ? After l 6 ...Wh6! White cannot make any fur­ ther progress. 17Wg6 Now the typical outflanking manoeuvre wins for White. 17...d4 1S f6 d3 19 l:tg7+ 1-0

White must involve his king: 1 f3!? gxf3 +? 1...liJdS! was necessary, to enable the queen to become active: 2 fxg4 fxg4 3 �f1 �a3 4 �bl 1iJf7 SliJf4liJgS 6liJd3 �fS 2 If;xf3 IiJdS 3 IiJfS We7 4 Wg2 WeS 4...bS!? 5 Wh3 Wb7 6 Wh4We7 7 WhS WeS S Wh4 (D) =.

B

=.

Sometimes the road is very long and stony.

S...We7 ? This move is too passive. Revealingly, Black too should have activated his king here and in this way he could have mounted a successful defence; after S...bS 9 axbS Wb7 the activity of his king ensures him sufficient counterplay. 9liJg6 '&d7 Or:

20

How TO PlAY CHESS ENDGAMES

a) 9 ...lit>cS 10ill eS bS II Wig7 (not II axbS? Iit>b7 12 Wig7+lit>b6 131it>gSlit>xbS 141it>f61it>b4 with strong counterplay) II...bxa4 12 bxa4111c6 13111d3 ±. b) 9...bS 10 llle5 bxa4 II bxa4 lll c6 12 Wig7+ lit>cs (12... Wie7+ 13 Wixe7+ lll xe7 14 Iit>gS +-) 13111d3 ±. 10 IDes 'i!¥h7+ 1O...WieS 11 Iit>gS Iit>d6 (11...WigS+ 12 Iit>h6 lll c6 13 Wig7+ +-) 121it>h6 WigS (12...lllc 6 13 Iit>g7lll e7 14 WifS +-) 13 "lJlig7 "lJlieS 14 "lJlia7 Wif8+ ISIit>h7 +-. lllit>gs lit>cS 12 Wig6 Wie7+ After 12...Wihs 13 Wif6 Wih3 (13...WigS+ 14 Iit>h6 "lJlieS IS Iit>g7 Iit>c7 16 WifS +-) 14 Wie7 Wixg3+ ISIit>h6 WigS (D) (1S..."lJlixe3+ 16\t;h7 Wih3+ 17 Iit>gS \'!Yg3+ IS 1it>f8 Wic3 19 Wid7+ +-) Black is in a sort of zugzwang position, yet all White's pieces are also optimally placed.

a) 13...WifS+ 14 Wig7 WieS ISIit>gSlllb7 16 Iit>f6111d6 17 Wia7111e4+ ISIit>g7 +-. b) 13...lit>bS 14 Wig7 WieS (14...Wid6 ISIit>g6 lll c6 16 Iit>f6 llldS 17 Wie7 +-) IS Iit>gS bS (1S...111b7 16111 d7+lit>a7 171it>f6+-) 16111d7+ Iit>c7 (16...lit>cS 17lllcs bxa4 IS bxa4111f7+ 19 Iit>g6 lll d6+ 20 Iit>f6llle4+ 21 lit>eS lllxcs 22 dxcS Wixa4 231it>d6 +-) 17111c s+Iit>b6 IS axbS \t;xbS 19 Wic7 WihS 20 Wid7+ 1it>b4 21 "lJlia4+ Iit>c3 22 WixaS+ Iit>c2 23 Wiel lll f7+ 24 Iit>g6 '&gS+ 2Slit>f6111gS 26 b4 ±. 14 Wig7 lit>d6 14...lllc6 IS lll xc6 Wixg7+ 161it>xg7Iit>xc6 171it>f S ! +-. 15 Wixe7+ Iit>xe7 16 1it>g7 111b7 17 111f 7Iit>eS IS Iit>f6 Iit>d7 19 lll e s+ Iit>d6 20 Illg6 illds 2 1 lllf8 1-0 Black resigned due to the fatal zugzwang. As clearly shown in the preceding example, an active king can also play an important role in defence.

W

B

However, this assessment fails to take into ac­ count the white king: 16Iit>hS!! '{igt,S+ (16...\t;bS 17111d7+ lit>cs Islllxb6+ Iit>bS 19i1ld7+ lit>cs 20 Illes Iit>bS 21 b4 +-) 17Iit>g6 WigS+ IS Iit>f6 Wih8+ 191it>gS 'iii'gS+ 20Iit>f4WihS 21Iit>g3 'iii'gS+ 221it>f2 '&hs 23lit>e I WigS 241it>d2 f4 (24...Wig2+ 25 Iit>c3 \'!YgS 26 b4 f4 27 bxaS bxaS 2S Wid7+ Iit>bS 29 \'!YbS+Iit>cS 30 Wia6+Iit>bS 31 WixaS +-) 25 exf4 'iii'g2+ 261it>c3 'iii'g3+ 271it>b2 "lJlig2+ 2S 1it>a3 "lJligS 29 Wid7+ Iit>b8 30 Ill g6 Wixg6 31 WixdS+ Iit>b7 32 Wid7+ Iit>bS 33 Wic6 +-. 13 lit>h6 Iit>c7?! This allows the exchange of queens, but oth­ erwise White's activity will prevail sooner or later:

1.07 S.Dolmatov - M.Drasko Sochi 1988

This position was fIrst analysed in detail by Nikolai Grigoriev, and then a half-century later by Sergei Dolmatov (see School of Chess Ex­ cellence 1 by Dvoretsky). In the game, Black defended passively with l ...il.gS ?! and after 2 lllb 71it>c6 3illd 6 il.h7 4\t;a6 il.gS slit>aS il.h7 6 lll f 7 il.gS 7111 h 6 il.h7 SIit>a61it>c7 91it>bSIit>b7 10 lit>cs Iit>c7 II lllf 7 il.gS 12 illd 6 il.h7 13 llle S+ he lost more or less without a fIght.

21

ACTIVITY

The following scenario is also typical:

However, the active try 1",lii c6! would have been a good practical chance, since after the di­ rect 2 IZlb7? given by Dolmatov, Black has a tremendous resource: 2...lii b5! 3 1Zld6+ Iii b4 4 1Zlxf7 lii c4 (D)

1.08 I.Lipnitsky - V.Smyslov USSR Ch (Moscow) 1952

Surprisingly, Black's counterplay is sufficient to draw. 5 lii b6 5IZlhSliixd4 6IZlxg6liie4 ; 5 ...liixd4 6 Iiic6 6Iiib5liie3 7liic5liie4 (7 ...d4? SIZld6 d3 9 IZlc4+liie4 10Iiid6 +-) SIiib4liie3 ;. 6...liie3 7 Iii d6 Or 7 Iiic5liie4 SIiib4liie3 91ZldS, and then: a) 9...liif4? 10IZlc61&oxg5 (1O . Iiie4 l Iliic5 d4 12IZlxd4Iiixe5 13liic4 +-) l lliic 5liif4 12 I&od6 g5 131Zld4 +-. b) 9 ...liie4 10IZlc6 d4 11 Iiic4 d3 12 1iic3 IiidS 13IZldSliixe5 14liixd3Iiif4 151Zlf7 e5 with a draw. 7...d4 8 liixe6 d3 9 1Zl d6 lii d4 10 1ii f6 d2 1 1 e6 dl'iii' 12 e 7 '&f3+ 1 3 Iii xg6 '&c6 1 4 e 8 '& '&xd6+ 1 5 1ii g7 lii c3 1 6 g6 lii b2 ; The black king is within the drawing zone. .

. .

However, 1 ...lii c6! should not in fact be suf­ ficient to draw. White should not rush (there is more on this important endgame principle in Chapter 3: 'Do Not Rush!') and should retain complete control with 2 �a6! thus preventing the black king from becoming active: 2...lii c7 3 IZlb7 �e8 4 1&oa7 �f7 5 IZld6 �g8 6 lii a6 Iii c6 7 lii a5 �h7 8 IZlf7 �g8 9 IZlh6 �h7 10 lii a6 +- (Grigoriev).

Black must activate his king, to create coun­ terplay at the right moment. 1...lii g 6!? 2 1&ob2 .l;!xg3 3 a5 1ii h 5! 4 a6 .l;!g6 5 a7 5 .l;!a4 .l;!b6+ 6 Iiic3 .l;!bS 7 a7 .l;!aS S Iiid4 Iiixh4 9liie5liig4 10 .l;!al g6; (Smyslov). 5 ....I;!a6 6 .l;!d7 g6 ! (D)

w

Smyslov ensures that his king remains active. 7 .l;!xh7 + Iii g4 8 Iii b3 .l;!al 9 Iii b4 1ii xf4 10 Iii b5 Iii g3 11 Iii b6 f4 12 h5 gxh5 13 .l;!xh5 f3 14 .l;!g5+ Iii h2 15 .l;!a5 .l;!xa5 16 lii xa5 f2 17 a8'& n'& '12_'12 But activating the king is not always the top priority.

22

How TO PLAY CHESS ENDGAMES

B

1.09 A.Onishchuk - A.Riazantsev Russian ChI (Sochi) 2004

In this type of endgame, the king should as a rule blockade the enemy passed pawn, so that the rook can remain active. Incidentally, this consideration matches the order of priority for activating the pieces that we gave in the intro­ duction to this chapter: an active rook is usually even more effective than an active king. 1,.,1;te6! 2 1i1f2 2 as 1;ta6 3IiIf21i1e6 4 liIe3IiId5 � (Ribli in CBM). 2. 1;ta6 3 liIe3 We6 4 1i1d4 1;ta5 5 IiIc4 1i1d7 6Wb4 1;te5! Now� since the king is now close enough to the a-pawn, the rook can take up an active role once more and Black holds the draw effort­ lessly. 7a5 1i1cS S a6WbS 9 1;tc1 �e2 10 a7+ liIaS! 1O . liIxa7? I 1 �xc7+ Wb6 12 1;txg7 ±. 11 1;txc7 '12_'12 ..

.

.

Of course it can also happen that a king ad­ vances too far into the enemy camp and is sub­ jected to a sacrificial counter-attack. as in the following diagram. With his dangerous passed pawns and active king. White has a clear advantage. He proceeds impeccably: 1 bS i.b7 2/Zld5 f6 +!'! With the idea that after 3 /Zlxf6 /Zlxf6 4 IiIxf6 i.xg2 5 i.f5 the white bishop does not control the queening square of his h-pawn and so Black has the possibility of giving up his

1.10 N.Short - A.Beliavsky Linares 1992

bishop for the b-pawn. Actually White need not be afraid of this variation, since the posi­ tion should be an easy win with sound tech­ nique. Short, however, treated his opponent's defensive idea with a degree of respect and de­ cided that he should first make his king even more active. The king paid for it with his life. The game continued: 3 1i1e6?? i.cs# (0-1) Such oversights are by no means unusual in the endgame and happen time after time. The reason is obvious: in view of the reduced mat�­ rial and the well-centralized king, it is hard for our brain to conceive a possible mating pattern. So watch out for this ! In the position on the following page, for ex­ ample, it is not clear how to assess the situation of the.black king. Some circumspection is re­ quired, since there is still quite a lot of material left on the board. 1 ...1;tbcS! Excellent! Black must seek to ease the pres­ sure through exchanges. The more pieces that disappear from the board, the better it will be for his king. 2 �XCS 1;txcS 3 �xa6 Now Black must make a vital decision: 3 ,�dS! Once again Svidler reacts carefully. Counter­ play is what is required just now! However, the M-pawn is shielding the black king: 3...l&xh4? would just open the floodgates; for example, 4 ••

ACTIVITY

23

13...'iiUd6+ 14 J:l:c5+ f5 15 'iiUgl Wxh4 16 a5 J:l:c2 17 h4 'iiUd 3+ 0-1 B

Exercises

(Solutions on page 284)

1.11

A.Morozevich - P.Svidler Sail Luis FIDE Weh 2005

J:l:a7 Wg3 5 J:l:a4 'iiUxf3 6 'iiUe l + Wo2 7 J:l:h4 5 8 1 1 'iiU 2+ Wf) 12 'iiUd3+ e4 13 'iiUd 7+ +-. 4 'iiUe2 'iiUf4 5 'Eia7 Wh6! Important prophylaxis, to free the queen for act1OTI. 6 'Eic7 J:l:d2 7 'iiUel 7 'iiUe4 �xe4 8 fxe4 f5 with counterplay. 7 J:l:d3 8 Wa2 'iiUxf3 9 'iiUc 1+ Wh5 (D)

J:t.,,� 'iiUf4 9 �gl + Wf3 10 'iiUf l + i>e4

�

E 1 .0 1

...

B

10 a41 Now it is the white king that becomes a tar­ get. 10 'iiUc4 was necessary, since 10...'iiUd5?? . would fail to II J:l:h7#. IO"'�d5+ 11 J:l:c4 II 'iiUc4 'iiUx c4+ 12 'Eixc4 f5 -+. 11...e4 12 h3 J:l:d2+ 13 Wa3 13 J:l:c2 e3 14 Wa3 'iiUd6+ IS J:l:c5+ f5 -+. .

. WhIte to play and win.

****/

24

HolV TO

Pur

CHESS ENDGAMES

In the very first example one king is perma­ nently incarcerated: B

B

E1.03 /** How do you assess trus position, with Black to move? 1.12

LNaumkin - A.Khalifman USSR 1984 IV

Opposite-coloured bishops generally favour the attacker. Nevertheless in this position Black can allow the exchange of queens without suf­ fering any diminution of his initiative. The rea­ son lies in the miserable position of the white king. He can be condemned to life imprison­ ment, whereas his opposite number can slowly but surely move into action. 1 .'&g4! 2 'liifxg4 hxg4 3 .!;!.al .!;!.d2 4 .!;!.gdl g3! Closing the cell door. S .!;!.xd2 .ltxd2 6 cS? 6 .l;!.aS+ @g7 7 .!;!.cS .ltxb4 S .!;!.xc7+ @f6 9 .!;!.xb7.1tc5 IO .!;!.bl is far more tenacious. 6 .ltxb4 7 c6 7 .!;!.as+ @g7 S ZlcS dxc5 9 Zlxc7+ @f6 10 .!;!.cS ( l O.!;!.xb7 c4 1 1.1tfl'!;!'f4 12 h2.!;!.xe4-+) 1O...b5 II .ltxb5 (II .!;!.c6+@g5 12 d6 c4 13 d7 .lta5 -+) l l...lixe4 12 .!;!.f8+@g7 13 .!;!.fj .!;!.d4 -+. 7 bxc6 8 dxc6 .!;!.f4 9 .!;!.bl Exchanging rooks is no help to White, as the fcl1awing variations demonstrate: a) 9 .!;!.a7 '!;!'f2 10 .!;!.a2 lixa2 II .ltc4 + @g7 12 .ltxa2 .ltc5 13 .ltc4 @h6 14 .ltb3 @g5 15 .ltf7 .1tb6 16 .ltc4 (16 .lteS d5 17 exd5 e4 IS d6 cxd6 19 .ltf7@f6 -+) 16...@f4 17 .ltd3 g5 IS .ltc2 .1tf2 19 .ltd3 @e3 20 .ltbl Wd4 21 .ltc2 Wc4 22 .ltbl Wb5 --r. ••

El.04 **/ Is the black king strong or weak? Find the best move for White.

A2l Cutting Off the King Restricting the mobility of the opposing pieces is an important endgame principle. In the fol­ lowing section we shall therefore consider some examples in which one player keeps the oppos­ ing king away from the main area of struggle, or even cuts it out of the game completely. If you can keep the enemy king out of play you usually gain a great advantage. In many cases it is as if one side is playing 'a piece up', as it were, since an important enemy unit is not tak­ ing part in the baule.

•..

.•.

25

ACTIVITY

b) 9 Jan �cs 10 laxf4 (waiting is no use ei­ ther: 10 laf3 �f2 II �bl Wg7 12 �d3Wf6 13 �c2 gS 14 �bl We7 IS �d3 laM 16 .itbl g4 17 ll:b3 gxh3 18 �d3 dS -+) 10...exf4 lieS dxe5 12 �xg6Wg7 13 �e4 �f2 14 �f3Wf6 IS �e4We6 (zugzwang) 16 M (16 �f3 WfS -+) 16 ...Wf6 17 �d3Wg7 18�e4Wh6 19 �f3 Wg6 20 hS+WgS (zugzwang) -+. 9... �c5 10 ll:bS+ 10 lab7 would be answered by 10...laf2 II �c4+Wh8 -+, and 10 lan by 10 ...�f2 II labl ll:f8 -+. 10...Wg7 11 lab7 laf7 1l...�b6? 12 laxb6 cxb6 13 c7 laf8 14 �a6 bS ISl.1Igl ±. 12 �c4 (D)

B

Now it is time to land the decisive blow: 12...d5 ! ! 13 exd5 laf4 ! 14 �e2 14laxc7+Wf6 1S �d3 lad4 16 �c2lad2 -+. 14... lae4 15 lab2 lad4 16 lab3 Or: a) 1611bl laxdS 17 ladl �d4 18 �f3 ll:cS 19 ll:fl Wh6 20 �e4WgS 21 lael �f2 22 laal ll:c4 23 �dS lab4 2411c1 e4 -+. b) 16ll:b7ll:d2 17ll:xc7+Wf618lab7ll:xe2 19 l1:bl lac2 -+. 16...ll:d2 17 �g4 �f2 IS lab7Wf6 19 d6 ll:c2 0-1 White resigned in view of 20 ll:bI cxd6 2 1 �f3 I.1IfS 2 2 �dS e 4 -+. In the following game Peter Svidler impres­ sively demonstrates how the opposing king can. little by little, be pushed out of play.

W

1.13

P.Svidler - G.Kaidanov Moscow 2003

1 g4! laeS l...ll:xa2 ? 2 �cS ll:e8 3ll:bl lac2 4ll:bb7 +-; l...hS? 2 lad I +- (Postny in CBM). If l ...lahb8 then with 2 lafcI White keeps a firm grasp on the initiative. 2 ladlWg6 3 a4 lab4 4 lad4 as 5 Jaxb4 �xb4 S... axb4? 6 as �f6 7 a6 b3 8 a7 b2 9 lab7 +­ (Postny) and the intervention of the white king is decisive. 6Wg2 ladS (D)

7 h4! h6 7...hS 8 gxhS+ WxhS 9 laxg7 lad3 10Wf3 laa3 II lagS+Wh6 12 laeS+ and White should win. S h5+Wh7 Here the king is practically incarcerated, but 8...Wf6 was no better: 9Wf3 ladS 10We4

26

How TO PLAY CHESS ENDGAMES

;l;\e5+ l lllid3 kd6 12];ia7 l'J:d5+ 13llic4 and again White wins. 91lif3 l'J:dl l0llie4 l'J:gl 11 f3 l'J:e1 121lid3 l'J:dl + 13llic2 l'J:f1 14 f4 kd6 14...l'J:f3 ISIlid3 kd6 ( l S...l'J:g3 16 g5 hxg5 17fxg51lig8 18 g6 +-) 16l'J:c4l'J:g3 17 gS hxg5 18 fxgS Ilig8 19 g6 Ilif8 20llie2 e2 \1;>f6 4 \1;>d l \l;>eS S a7 +-. 3 :E'ia2 ! ? 3 a7 d2 3 :E'ie7! 4 "d2 :E'ie6 '12_'12 •••

=.

..•

In the following example too, everything de­ pends on how dangerous the central passed pawn is:

27

10 axb4 axb4 11 h5 :E'ia2 12 h6 :E'ia7 13 g4 :E'ib7 14 :E'idS+ \l;>e5 15 :E'icS \l;>d4 16 :E'idS+ \l;>e4 17 :E'ieS+ \l;>d3 IS :E'idS + \l;>c2 19 :E'id4 c3 20 h7 "xh7 21 :E'ixb4Wd3 22 :E'ib8 :E'id7 23 1i;>f2 c2 24 :E'icS :E'id4 0-1 It often happens that when the opposing king

. confined against the edge of the board it is in IS danger of being mated. The following example is quite typical:

B

1.17 E.Berg - L.McShane Bundesliga 200213 Y.Griinfeld - M.Stean Skara Echt 1 980

1 e6? After this Black is clearly better. White's only real trump is the passed pawn on e6, but now the black king can neutralize it. I :E'if! ! ! was necessary: 1 . . .:E'id2 ( 1 .. .:E'idS 2 :E'ifS as 3 h4 c44 hS b4 S axb4 axb4 6 :E'if4 ; 1... ..e4 2 :E'ifS followed by activating the king gives White good counterplay) 2 e6 :E'ie2 3 :E'ifS c4 4 a4 bxa4 (4...b4 S :E'icS \I;>fS 6 :E'ixc4 :E'ixb2 7 :E'ic6 ) S :E'if4 :E'ixb2 6 :E'ixc4, and then: a) 6 ... a3?? 7 :E'icS+ \l;>h7 S e7 +-. b) 6 ... \I;>fS 7 :E'ic6 as S :E'icS (S ll:a6?? :E'ibS -+) S ...a3 9 :E'ixaS a2 10 \l;>h2 \l;>e7 1 1 :E'ia6 c) 6 ... :E'ie2 7 :E'ixa4 :E'ixe6 S \l;>f2 and White should be able to hold. 1...\I;>fS 2 "fl + 2 :E'ieS c4 3 a4 b4 4 :E'iaS :E'id2 S :E'icS :E'ic2 -+. 2...\I;>e7 3 "f7+ \l;>xe6 4 l:l:xg7 ll:d2 5 .:E'ig6+ \l;>d5 6 :E'ixh6 ll:xb2 7 .:E'ihS c4 S .:E'icS as 9 h4 b4

1...\I;>d4! McShane rightly seeks his chances in an at­ tack on the white king in a rook ending. 2 :E'ixe3 \1;>xe3 3 .:E'ixe6 M3! 4 :E'ic6 :E'id5 5 :E'icl e3 (D)

=

=

=.

6 b4

HOW TO FLAY CHESS ENDGAMES

28

6 :!i:fl + We2 7 Wg2 f4 8 gxf4 :!i:d7 9 :!i:c1 (9 :!i:al :!i:dl 10 :!i:a2+ Wd3 I I Wf3 :!i:fl+ 12 Wg4 e2 -+) 9...:!i:g7+ 10 Wh3 Wd2 -+. 6 f4! "Obviously a mUlti-purpose pawn move (line-closing, line-opening, passed-pawn for­ mation, deflection), which has been repeatedly looming as a possible threat. However, without the inclusion of the move ...f4, 6 ... e2?? would be a real blunder: 7 :!i:c3+ :!i:d3 8 �xd3+ We4 9 Wf2Wxd3 10 WeI +-." (C.D.Meyer in CBM). 7b5?! 7 gxf4 :!i:d8! 8 Wfl (8 as? :!i:g8+ 9 Whl e2 1 0 a 6 :!i:d8 -+) 8 ...:!i:d2! 9 aS lhh2 1 0 W g I :!i:g2+ l l Whl e2 12 a6 Wf2 13 :!i:c2 :!i:g6 -+ (Meyer). 7...e2! 8 :!i:c3+ :!i:d3 ! ! The fantastic point. 9 :!i:xd3+ We4 10 :!i:b3 10 Wf2 Wxd3 ! l WeI f3! 12 b6 We3 13 b7 f2#. 10...e1 'li!i+ UWg2 'li!ie2+ 12Wh3 'li!ih5+ 13 Wg2 f3+ 0-1 •••

El.06

/** Black to play and win.

Exercises

(Solutions on pages 285-7)

El .07 **/ How can White save the game?

W

El .05 /* How should Black defend?

El .08 ****/ How can White polish off his opponent?

29

ACTIVITY

/

El.09

***

/

El.12

*

White found the only winning move.

At first sight Black seems to have

Can you?

sufficient counterplay. But what is the truth of the situation?

..11

w

II

',]

II

A3) Barriers Naturally it is not only the major pieces that can restrict the enemy king. Sometimes the other pieces can erect an impenetrable barrier. We shall deal with pawn-barriers in Chapter 11 (,Fortresses'). Therefore here we shall examine only the capabilities of the knight and bishop.

El.lO

/

***

White to play and win.

1.18 V.Chekhover 1938 The entire c-file and the b3-square are

El.ll

/

**

Is Black (to move) lost?

'mined', so that Black can make no progress.

For example, 1•••Wb3 2itle4 f53itlg3 f4 4itle2

f3 5itld4+

=.

How TO

30

PLAY CHESS ENDGAMES

W

W

1.19

Black's barrier e7-d7-d6-d5 gains the tempi needed for the draw. I \lieS I \lIf7 \lIg3 2 \lIe8 \l1f4 3 \lId8 \lIe5 4 Wc7 lLla8+ 5 Wb7 \lId6 6 \lIxa8 Wc7 stalemate. 1.. Wg3 2 Wd4 Wf4 3 \lieS lLlaS 4 \lIc6 1!teS 5 \lIb7 \lId6 6 \lIxaS \lIe7 stalemate. .

Exercises

(Solutions on page 287)

E1.14 **/ Is the black king close enough to the safe corner?

A4) The Bodycheck Now let us look once again at the king's active possibilities. By 'bodycheck', in chess we mean a manoeuvre by which one king becomes active and simultaneously denies the opposing king access to important squares. This method plays a fundamental role in the endgame of rook against pawn as well as in pawn endings.

W W

1.20

E1 . 1 3 */ How can White prevent the black king from heading towards the corner square aI ?

Ermeni Cvetkovic Skopje 1991 -

White must act precisely: 1 Wa7! The game continued I eS'/i!I?? litxe8 2 \lIb7 \l1c5 3 a6 lite7+ 0-1.

ACTIVITY

1...:!l:eS l ...lilc7 2 a6 :!l:hS 3 eS1IU :!l:xeS stalemate. 2 1&b6! The flrst bodycheck, to prevent the approach of the black king. 2...:!l:xe7 3 a6 :!l:e1 4 1&b7! 4 a7? :!l:bl + 5 lila6 1ilc7 6 aSlZl+ Iilc6 7 1ila7 :!l:b2 -+. 4 lilc5 Or: 4 ... :!l:bl + 5 1ilcS! �; 4... l&d7 5 a7 :!l:bl + 6 l&aS 5 a7 :!l:e7+ (DJ ••.

�.

31

From the very first move, Black must hinder the approach of the white king. 1...lilc5!! Not: a) 1...a5? 2 :!l:h5! and the barrier is abso­ lutely deadly, since 2 ...a4 fails to 3 Iilf7 a3 4 :!l:h3 a2 5 :!l:a3 +-. b) l ...lilb5? 2 1ilf7 a5 3 1ile6 a4 4 1ild5 (this is the point; after 1 ...lilc5 this approach is not possible) 4...1&b4 5 Iild4 Iilb3 6 1ild3 a3 7 :!l:bS+ +-. 2 1ilf7 as 3 1ile6 a4 4 :!l:aS Iilb4 5 1ild5 a3 6 Iild4 Iilb3 7 Iild3 7 :!l:bS+ Iilc2! 7...lilb2! 7 ... a2? S :!l:bS+lila3 9 I&c2al11U l O :!l:aS++-. S :!l:bS+ Iilc1 The black king again prevents its opposite number from reaching the c2-square. 9 :!l:cS+ Iilb2 10 :!l:c2+ Iilb3 11 :!l:c7 Iilb2! �.

�

6 1ila6! This flnal bodycheck by White ensures the half-point. �

1.21 M.Dvoretsky Technique for the Toumament Player, 1995

Exercises

(Solutions on page 287)

E1.l5

f* Can Black win?

32

How TO PLAY CHESS ENDGEMES

AS) The Reti Manoeuvre

W

The king frequently has several routes to his des­ tination, but usually they are not all of equal value. It is often possible to give the opponent another bodycheck, or head for two destinations simultaneously. The following masterpiece il­ lustrates this principle excellently:

E1.16

**/

How can White exploit his extra piece?

W 1.22 R.Reti Kagans Neueste Schachnachrichten, 1921 At first sight this looks hopeless for White, since it is not possible to stop the h-pawn by

E1.17

*/

Is the black king close enough to help

normal means. However. there is a saving re­ source. 1

the bishop?

Wg7! h4 2 Wf6 (D)

Suddenly the king threatens to support its own pawn. This threat enables the king to gain time to catch the h-pawn.

E1.18

***/

How should White organize a bodycheck?

ACTNlTY

2. ..Wb6 2 ... h3 3 @e7 h2 4 c7 Wb7 S Wd7 =. 3We5!! The king is now "chasing two hares". as the study composer Gurvich put it. 3...h3 After 3... Wxc6 White can enter the square of the h-pawn: 4Wf4 =. 4Wd6 h2 5 c7 hI'/¥!6 cS'/¥!=

33

B) Rook Activity The importance of rook activity in the endgame is well-known. The rook was not created to blockade enemy passed pawns or protect its own pawns. Instead, it excels in the attack, spreading fear and trepidation among unpro­ tected enemy pieces and forcing the king to seek shelter from checks.

Exercises (Solutions on pages 287-8) B

IV

••

1.23

V.Kramnik - A.Grishchuk Wijk aan Zee 2005

[1.19

/

**

It looks as if White is hopelessly lost. But appearances are deceptive...

IV

[1.20

/

***

White to play and win.

Black will lose unless he moves his rook into the heart of the action right away. 1 ...l::!d6!! Not: l ...e3? 2Wd3l::!e6 3We2Wg44 a6+-; l ...Wg4? 2 Wd4WfS 3 We3l::! g6 4Wf2l::!a6 S l::!a4WeS 6We3 Wd5 7 l::!d4+ +-. 2.6 2 WcSl::! d3! (once again activity is the only correct way; the passive 2...J:la6? fails to 3Wd4 WfS 4 We3 (the king is the ideal blockader here) 4...l::!g6 S Wf2 l::! a6 6 l::!a4 WeS 7 We3 Wd5 8 g4 +-) 3l::! a4 (3 l::!alWg4 4 a6Wxg3 S a7 l::!d8 =) 3...e3 4l::!e4wfS Sl::!e 8 (D). Now Black seems to be in a bad way, but there is one salvation. If only the white rook can be dislodged from its optimal position, then Black's rook will be able to deal with the a­ pawn: 5 . ..Wf6 6 Wc4 l::!a3 7 Wb4 Wf7 8 !!e4 !!d3 and the checking distance is really too short but the rook can give check on the d-file and from behind, so that it can cope: 9 a6l::!d6

How TO PiAl' CHESS ENDGAMES

34

3...bS4 b4J:l:d4Sll:b3hS6 IliIg21liIf7 71li1f3 7 f4!? was simpler, as Lukacs showed in CBM: 7...lliIe6 8 IliIf21li1fS 9 1liIf3 J:l:e4 lO J:l:c3

B

J:l:xb4 11 b3 =.

lO IliIbS J:l:d3 11 a7 rta3 IzIliIb6 J:l:b3+ 13lli1c7 = since the white king's only shelter from the checks is in front of the a­ pawn . 2...e3 3 a7 e24 a8\N' e1'i1i1 White's own pawn prevents him from win­ ning, even though he can give the important first check: 5 J:l:aS+ IliIg4 6 \N'g8+ 1li>f3 7 '&f7+ For the rest, see exercise E13.03. J:l:c3+ 141li1b7 J:l:b3+

7 ...J:l:c4 81li1e3 gS! Following the principle of two weaknesses, Sokolov seeks activity on the kingside as well, to complicate White's task further. 9 f4?! This move creates a lot of holes and weak­ nesses, yet the margin of the draw in rook end­ ings is so great that even this does not overstep it. It would have been much better to create a passed pawn of his own and become active: 9 hxgS fxg5 lO f4 gxf4+ 11 gxf4lliIe6 12 J:l:d3 J:l:xb4 13 b3 Ili>fs 14 J:l:d5 + IliIg4 IS J:l:gS+ IliIh4 16 J:l:gl J:l:xb3+ 171li1e4 = (Lukacs). 9 ...gxh4 10 gxh4 IliIg6 11 J:l:c3! J:l:xb4 12 rtcS! Textbook active defence. 12...J:l:b3+ 13lli1e4J;l;xb214 fS+ IliIh61SJ:l:c6 J:l:b4+(D)

In rook endings it is often justifiable to give up a pawn in order to activate the rook.

B

1.24 E.van den Doel - I.Sokolov Dutch Ch (Leeuwarden) 2004 l...J:l:d8! 2 J:l:xa7 rtd3 3 rta3

161li1f3? But now White displays fatal passivity. 16 1liId5! was necessary: 16...J:l:xh417 J;l;xf6+lliIgS 18 J:l:f8 J:l:hl 19 f61li1g6 20 lliIeSJ:l:el + 211li1f4b4 22 rtb8 J:l:fl + 231li1g3 J:l:bl 24J:l:b6 =. 16•••J:l:xh4 17 J:l:xf6+ IliIgS 18 J:l:g6+ 18 rtb6 J:l:f4+ 19 IliIg2 rtxf5 -+. 18...lliIxfS19 J:l:b6 rtb4 O·1

The roles of the rooks have been completely

It is also very important in the endgame of

reversed, but it is not so easy for White to re­

rook against two minor pieces for the side with

lease his rook from its passive role.

the rook to seize the initiative and play actively,

ACTIVITY

35

so that the minor pieces are unable to stabilize the position in their favour.

7 ladS .lte6Slad6Wf69 laxa6li:Jc4 10 lac6 li:JeS1ll:tb6 1/2_1/2

1.25

G.Kamsky - V.Anand Sanghi Nagar FIDE Ct (2) 1994

Naturally the timing of any activity is impor­ tant.

The rook must immediately find a new role:

1l:te3! Passive defence loses without a prayer: 1 l:td2? .ltc4 2 ft d l li:Jf7 3 d6 We6 4 d7 We7 5 l:td2 .lte6 -+.

1....ltxdS 2 l:teS .ltb7 3 l:txcs li:Jc4 4 l:tc7 li:JxaS 5 l:th7Wg6 6l:td7(D)

1.26

E.Kolesnikov - D.Bocharov Russian Cht (Sochi) 2004

Against a single g-pawn, passive defence would suffice. Against doubled g-pawns, how­ ever, the defence must be active, but not imme­ diately. ll:tbS? The rook dominates the enemy anny almost single-handedly and frustrates any hopes of a win by Black.

6....ltcS ( D) 6....ltc6 7 l:td6+ Wg7 8 Wf5 .ltb7 9 l:tg6+ Wh7 10 Wf6 .ltd5 11 l:tg7+ Wh8 12 l:td7 and White's activity ensures the draw.

Now both white pieces will be driven into fa­ tal passivity on the back rank. 1 l:tb7? is also bad, because after 1...l:ta2+ 2 Wg1 Wh3 3 laxg7 Wg3 4 Wf1 laal + 5 We2 l:tgl ! -+ Black will reach the Lucena position. White must first wait until the g-pawn ad­ vances to g3: 1 l:tb2! l:ta4 2 lac2 g5 3 l:tb2 g3

36

How TO PLAY CHESS ENDGAMES

(3...];if4 4 ];ib8 g3 5 ];ia8 Ili2+ 6 W g l Wh3 7 ];ih8 + =) 4 ];ib8

=.

1•••];ia2+ 2Wg1 Wh3 3];ib3+ g3 4];ib1 ];ia3 S];ic1 gS6 ];ib1 g4 7 ];ic1 g2 8 ];ib1 ];if3 0-1 White resigned in view of 9 ];i a l ];if! + 10 ];ixfl gxf!l'i¥+ 11 W xf ! Wh2 -+.

B

Exercises

(Solutions on pages 288-9)

E1.23

1**

E1.24

1***

Black to move and hold the draw.

E1.21

1****

In an almost hopeless position,

Black found a way out. Can you?

At first sight it seems that White has

everything under control. How did Black show that this was not the case?

C) Activity in General To end this chapter, we shall look at another game which shows not only that active pieces are generally better than passive ones, but also that it is important to keep sight of the big picture.

1.27 M.lonescu - V.lordachescu Bucharest 2003

E1.22

1***

How could Black have saved the game here?

1 1i:lf3 Ii:lf6 2 c4 e6 3 g3 dS 4 d4 dxc4 5 jcg2 jcb4+ 6 jcd2 jce7 71'i¥a4+ jcd7 81'i¥xc4 jcc6 9 Ii:lc31i:le4!

ACTIVITY

37

In view of White's space advantage, Black strives to exchange as many pieces as he can and to hold up White's advance in the centre for

B

as long as possible, until it can be dealt with sat­ isfactorily.

10 .tf4IiJxc3 11 '&xc3liJd7 12 0-0 IiJf6 13 :!:lfdl 0-0 14 a3 IiJdS 15 '&d2 1iJxf4 16 '&xf4 aSI(D)

w

engaged in almost exclusively passive roles; in fact this is illusory.

2S...g6 26 h4 :!:ld8 After 26...c5?, with the idea of opening the position for the bishop, the energy lying dor­ mant in the white forces would be released with a single blow: 271iJe5! ±.

27 .!l:c4 '&a6 Black is fully mobilized, but it is not easy to Black will become active on the queenside

improve his position or open the position fa­

later. unless White weakens himself by playing

vourably. So, for instance, 27... e5? would re­

a4.

bound after 28 dxe5 Zlxd2 29 '&xd2 l";"\xb2 30

17 e4 �bS

l";"\c2 lhc2 31 '&xc2 ile7 32 '&xa4, owing to

The direct 17 . .f5?! is certainly active but

White's chances on the kingside.

creates light-squared weaknesses that White

28 :!:ldc2 .!l:b3 (D)

could highlight by 18 '&e5 '&d6 19 dS.

28...e5 29 dxe5 .txe5 30 Zlb4 gives White counterplay.

18.tfl?! Now Black takes over the initiative. But it seems that Black has fully adequate counterplay after the consistent 18 d5; for example, IB ....tc5 19 dxe6 '&e7 20 '&g5 '&xg5 2 l liJxg5

W

fxe6 22liJxe6 .txf2+ 23 Wh lll:f7 24 IiJd8ll:e7 25liJxb7 �c6 26 e5 ilxg2+ 27 Wxg2 ilb6

=.

18...�xfl 19 Wxfl c6 20 Wg2 a4 21 '&d2 :!:laS 22 :!:lac! fibS 23 :!:lc2 ilf6 24 '&e2 '&b6 Slowly but surely, Black activates his entire army.

25 :!:ldd2 (D) White's apparent passivity is deceptive. Black must constantly keep in mind that, in the ab­ sence of Black's major pieces, White's space advantage might well be converted into an at­ tack on the kingside. Furthermore the a4-pawn

291iJd21:!b6 30 IiJf3Wg7?!

requires constant protection. It is not a serious

Now White takes over the initiative on the

problem for White that his pieces are currently

kingside. Once again 30...�b3 was indicated.

How TO PLAY CHESS ENDGAMES

38

36...'Ii!IbI37 'Ii!Ic1?

31 h5 White probes. Here 31 'Ii!Ie3!? also came into

Probably in time-trouble, White wants to ex­

consideration; for example, 31...J;l:b3 (Black

change the most dangerous black piece. But he

must watch out that the side-lining of his ma­

is jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. 37

jor pieces does not bring about his downfall:

'Ii!Ic3 J;l:hl 38 We3 was necessary, with an un­

3l...J;l:bS? 32 'Ii!If4 'Ii!Ia7 33 eS iLe7 34 hS Elb3 3S

clear position.

IiJgS iLxgS 36 'Ii!IxgS with a strong attack for

37...'Ii!Ixc1 38 J;l:xc1 J;l:xb2+ 39 We3 iLe7!

White) 32 'Ii!If4 'Ii!IbS 33 liJeS iLxeS 34 'Ii!IxeS+

The rook stands offside at a4.

'Ii!IxeS 3S dxeS and White's activity gives him a slight advantage, which in a rook ending should not be underestimated.

31 'Ii!Ib5 32 hxg6?! 32 eS iLe7 33 'Ii!Ie3 is far more dangerous. After the text-move there is a great risk that Black will benefit more than White from the opening of the h-file. 32...hxg6 33 'Ii!Ie3 (D) ..•

40 J;l:dl (D) Also after 40 J;l:c3 Black can increase the pressure; for example, 40... J;l:h l 41 J;\a7 J;l:al 42 liJeS iLb4 43 J;l:d3 J;l:aa2 44 J;l:xb7 iLd2+ 4S J;l:xd2 J;l:xa3+ +.

B

B

40...J;l:h5! The second rook is also activated via the fifth rank. Very original!

41 J;l:a8 J;l:hb5 42 Eld3 J;l:a2 43 a4? 33...'Ii!Ih5!? Black rates activity and attacking chances more highly than the a4-pawn! Of course, it is important to ensure that this is not just a flash in the pan. The initiative can quickly peter out, whereas the sacrificed pawn is lost forever. 34 J;l:xa4 J;l:h8 35 W!1 'Ii!Ihl+ 36 We2 After 36IiJgl!? J;l:bS 37 eS iLe7 38 'Ii!If3 'Ii!Ih2 39liJe2 J;l:d8 40 IiJf4 iLgS Black's activity gives him sufficient compensation.

Now it is all over. The last chance lay in acti­ vating the knight: 431iJd2 J;l:bb2 44 eS +.

43....(bb2 44 J;l:e8 The desirable relief operation with 44 Eld2? would fail to 44 iLgS+ -+. ...

44... iLb4 45 e5lhf2 46 J;l:b8 g5 47 We4

47 g4? J;l:fe2#. 47 ... g4 48 J;\xb7 J;l:xa4 48... J;l:xf3!? 491iJg5 Wg6 50 We3 J;\aa2 51 J;l:b31&xg5 0-1

2 The Art of Pawn Play

[pawns1 are the very Life of this Game. F"ANxf4 ktg7 11 It>fS d5 12 kte3+ It>d2 13 ktg3 c3 14 c&f6 c2 IS It>xg7 c11'iff -+. b) 6 kte2 O! 7 ktd2+ 1t>e4 8l:txd6l:txb2+ 9 It>g3 c3 10 kte6+ (10 ktc6 c2 II b7 f2 12 It>g2 It>d3 13 ktd6+ It>e2 14 kte6+ It>d2 IS ktd6+ c&c1 16 It>xf2 It>bl -+ Shipov) 1O...lt>dS 11 ktel f2 12 ktcl It>c4 13 It>o c&d3 14 ktdl+ It>c2 IS ktfl l:txb6 16 ktxf2+ It>d3 17 It>g3 (D).

2.23 P.Leko - V.Kramnik

Brissago Wch (13) 2004

the g-pawn to advance: 4 gS!? ktxb2+ S It>o It>eS 6 b6 c3 7 kte8+ It>fS 8 ktf8+ It>xgS 9 ktxf4 dS 10 ktd4 4...lt>e4 4...ktxb2+!? S It>o c3 6 b7 (6 It>xf4?l:txb6! -+) 6...lt>d4 7 ktd8 ktxb7 8 ktxd6+ It>cs 9l:tdl ktf7 10 gS It>c4 11 g6 ktg7 12 ktd6 c2 13 f1c6+ It>b3 14 ktb6+ It>c3 IS ktc6+ It>d2 16 ktd6+ It>cl 17 kte6 (17 It>xf4? ktc7 18 It>gS It>bl 19 ktb6+ It>al 20l:ta6+ It>b2 21 ktb6+ It>c3 -+). 5kte8+ ? (D) Now the g-pawn should be set in motion: S gS! ktxb2+ 6 It>el c3 7 g6 ktbl + 81t>f2 c2 9l:tc8 f1b2 10 It>fl ktxb6 11 g7 ktb8 12 ktxc2 =.

=

=.

Now Black takes advantage of his lead in the race with the typical 17...ktb4!! 18 c&h4 c2 19 ktxc2 It>xc2 20 It>gS It>d3 21 It>fS ktbS+ 22 It>f4 It>d4 23 gS ktb I 24 It>fS It>dS 2S It>f6 It>d6 26 g6 ktf l + -+. 6kte2! The counterplay with the g-pawn ensures Leko the draw. 6...d5 6...lt>d4 7 b7 f1xb7 8 It>f3 ktf7 9 gS 71t>f3d48g5c3 8 ...ktxb6 9 ktg2 9bxc3dxc31 0 ktg2 ktb2 1O...c2 11 ktxc2 It>xc2+ 12 It>xf4 ktxb6 13 It>fS It>d3 14 g6 11 b7ktxb712c&xf4ktb213ktgl c214ktc1 ktb1 15 ktxc2 It>xc2 16 g6 It>d317 It>f5 ktb5+ 18It>f6ktb6+ 191t>f7 ktxg6 20 c&xg6 '12_'12 =.

=.

=.

5...lt>d3? Allowing the following defence. S...lt>d4! would have won:

.

To conclude this subsection, we should like to show that a pawn breakthrough does not al­ ways have to be aimed at the creation of a passed pawn. In the following example White

How TO PLAY CHESS ENDGAMES

56

succeeds, with help of a pawn breakthrough, in opening new avenues of attack for his pieces:

2...liId6? 3 axb611.c6 (3...liIc6? 4 11.xcS+-) 4 1I.cs .!l:hS S b7 IiIc7 6 1I.xcs 1I.xb7 71I.xb7 IiIxb7 s1I.xb4 ±. 3 .!l:a1 a4?! After 3...1I.d7!? 411.xcS+IiIdS S.!l:xaS1I.xfS 6 exfS b3 the passed b-pawn still gives Black counter-chances. 411.xcS+ IiIf7 S1I.xb411.e7?! 611.c311.d6 7 .!l:b1 a3 S .!l:b7+ IiIf6? S...liIfS 9 .!l:a7 .!l: h l lO.!l:aS ±. 9 .!l:b6 liIe7 10 c5 1I.xc5 11 .!l:e6+ IiIdS 12 .!l:xeS+ lilxeS 1311.g6+ 1-0

83) Eliminating Enemy Pawns 2.24 Tseitlin - Szilagy Hungary 1985

1 b4!? Opening a second front, to be able to take ad­ vantage of the greater mobility of the white forces (the closely-related principle of the sec­ ond weakness is covered in Chapter 6). But with best defence this should not lead to a win. 1...axb4 l ...cxb4? 2 1I.xb6 1I.xa4 (2...l:ih2 31I.xaS l:ib2 4 cS1I.xa4 S IiIc4 b3611.c3l:if2 7.!l:al .!l:a2 S 1I.g4 ±) 31I.xaS b3 4 .!l:al b2 S l:ibl l:ih2 6 1I.d2 g4 7 1I.xg4 1I.c2+ S IiIxc2 1I.gS 9 IiIxb2 IiId6 IOIiIb3±. 2aS(D)

B

The third possibility of creating passed pawns is based on eliminating the opposing pawns. This generally occurs either by means of a piece sacrifice (usually of a bishop or a knight) or by infiltrating the enemy camp (mostly with a rook or king). For both cases let us show an example.

W

2,25 V.Anand - A.Shirov Leon adv 2000

2...bxaS

11iJxgS! I 1I.xgS also wins; for example, 1. ( l ...hxgS 2 IiJxgSIiJxb3 3 IiJxf7liJcl+ 41i1c2 liJe2 S gS IiJxd4+ 6 IiIb 2 IiJfS 7 g6 d4 S IiJd6 +-) 211.e3liJai 3 h41i1b6 4 gS hxgS (4 ...h5 S g6 fxg6 6liJgS also wins for White) S IiJxgS b3 6 1I.cl +-. 1...hxgS 21I.xgS IiJxb3 3 h4 liJa1 (D) 411.c1!

THE ART OF PAWN PlAY

57

3...Wh7 4 a4 J:l:h3 After 4...gS?! (4...eS?! S J:l:a6 J:l:a3 6 h4 ±) S J:l:a6 J:l:a3 White clearly has the whip hand.

W

S hS gS 6 We2 e5? 6 ...J:l:b2+ 7 Wd3 J:l:xg2 is necessary and should give Black sufficient counterplay.

7 Wd2 f6 After 7 ...J:l:b2+ White's king is now close enough: 8 Wc3 J:l:xg2 9 a5 J:l:a2 10 Wb3 J:l:al 11 a6 and the queenside pawns are decisive.

8 Wc2 J:l:h4 9 Wc3 J:l:d4 10 J:l:a6 Wg6 11 J:l:xb6 J:l:xa4 12 J:l:a6 J:l:d4 13 b6 1-0

Do not rush! 4 hS? b3 S S1.el (S h6 b2 -+)

C) The Minority Attack

S...S1.h6! -+.

4 itlb3 S S1.e3itlaS 6 gSitlc4 7 S1.c1 1-0 •••

More often than not, you want to get your own pawn-majority moving. But it can also be ad­ vantageous to operate against the other wing in­ stead, in order to open lines there and weaken the enemy's compact structure.

W

W

2.26 A.Alekhine - M.Euwe The Hague Wck (27) 1935 The natural activation of the pawn-majority with 1 c4?! J:l:c8 2 J:l:el Wf8 3 cS? bxcS 4 bxcS We7 does not work here, since the black king helps to stop the c-pawn. So Alekhine decides

2.27 J.Capablanca - D.Janowski New York 1913 With the typical g4-g5 Capablanca opens in­

on the plan of capturing the black queenside

vasion-routes for his pieces and creates targets

pawns:

on the kingside:

1 J:l:d7! J:l:c8 2 J:l:xa7 J:l:xc3 3 J:l:a8+

1 g4! b6 2 b4 Wb7 3 Wf2 bS 4 a4!?

The suggestion by Levenfish and Smyslov of

Capablanca proceeds according to the prin­

3 We2 can be parried by, for example, 3 ...J:l:c2+

ciple that you should not rush and first he fixes

4 Wd3 J:l:xg2 S Wc4 gS 6 WbS g47 fxg4 J:l:xg4,

the queenside as favourably as possible, before

throwing a spanner into White's works, whilst

resuming his attack on the kingside.

Black can gain counterplay with his own passed

4...);!.d4 S J:l:b1 J:l:eS 6 We3 J:l:d7 7 as J:l:e6 8 J:l:bfl J:l:de7 (D)

pawn: 8 a4 fS 9 J:l:e7 f4 10 J:l:xe6 f3

=.

58

How TO PLAY CHESS ENDGAMES

8 ...h6 9h4J:tde7 togShxgS l l hxgSfxgS12 J:txgSJ:th6 13 J:tfgl J:th3+ 141i1d4 +-. W

A.Karpov - J.Lautier Dortmund 1995 9g5! The typical line-opening of the minority at­ tack. 9...fxg5 10 J:txg5 J:th6 11 J:tg3 J:the6 12 h4 g613 ktg5h6?! 13...liIc8 is more tenacious, but should not be sufficient; for example, 14 J:tg41i1d7 IS d4 IiId6 16 eS+ IiId7 (16...liIdS 17 IiId3 +-) 17 liIe4 J:tg7 18 J:tf8 J:te8 19 J:tf6 J:te6 20 J:tgf4 J:tge7 21 J:tf8 J:te8 22 J:t4f7+ J:t6e7 23 J:txe7+ IiIxe7 24 J:tf61i1d7 2S IiIf4 J:te7 261i1gS +-. 14J:tg4! Prophylactically stopping ...cS followed by ...liIc6xcS. 14...J:tg7 Now after 14...cS IS bxcS IiIc6 16 d4 the e4-pawn is overprotected. 15 d4 liIe8 16 J:tf8+ IiIb7 17 e5 g5 18 liIe4 J:tee7 19hxg5hxg5 Now Capablanca gathers in the harvest: 20 J:tf51i1e821 J:tgxg5J:th722 J:th51i1d723 J:txh7 J:txh7 24 J:tf8 J:th4+ 25 IiId3 J:th3+ 26 IiId2 e527bxe5J:ta328d5 1-0 Since this theme is also very commonly ap­ plicable in the middlegame, here is another ex­ ample of it (seefollowing diagram): First White acts on the queenside with a4 and b4-bS, to open lines and to isolate the black c-pawn: 1 b4tiJg62 a4a63�e3'/!!ig54�d4�xd45 tiJxd4 �d5?! 6e4?!

6 tiJdfS! followed by f4 was stronger. 6...�e67tiJf3'&f48b5axb5 9axb5 tiJe5 9...�xh3? to eS ±; the tactical computermove 9...c5!? came strongly into consideration; for example, 10 '/!!ixcs �b3 11 tiJe2 tiJxe4 12 '/!!ib4 '&f6 13 '&xb3 tiJcS 14 '/!!ic3 '&xc3 IS tiJxc3 tiJxd3;. 10 tiJxe5'/!!ixe5 11 bxe6bxe612 J:tael (D)

B

White has achieved his strategic goal: the c6-pawn is very weak. Now he sets about mobi­ lizing his own majority. 12...J:td6 13 '1!l'e3 tiJd7 14 �e2 J:txdl+ 15 �xdl '&xe3 16J:txe3J:te8 17f4f6 18tiJe2 e5 19tiJd4�f7? 19...liIf7 was necessary, after which the white advantage is kept in bounds. 20 �g4kte821 tiJb5 tiJb6

THE ART OF PAWN PLAY

59

2 l...h1e7 22/iJd6 .lte6 23 .lth5 ±.

22/iJd6/iJa4? 22...h1d8 23 /iJxf7 Wxf7 '24 h1xc5 ± was more tenacious.

23 h1a3 h1a8 24 e5 .ltd5 25 e6 1-0 Lautier resigned in view of 25 ..WfS 26 h1e3 h1a7 27/iJc8 +-.

D) Undermining By undennining, we mean that the head of the pawn-chain can be separated from the rest. Say, for example, White has a f3-g4-h5 pawn-chain

2.30

and can be forced to play gxfS, leaving the h5-

P.Svidler - V.Topalov MoreliaiLillares 2006

pawn loose. Of course, outposts can also be Un­ dermined:

1 a4! Creating squares for the white rook to be­ come active on a new front, whilst Black is rather tied up On the kingside.

1...bxa4 l .. ..ltd6 2 :!;tal b4 3 cxb4 axb4 4 as We6 5 h1el + Wf7 6 h1cl +-.

2 h1e5 c5 3 .ltf4 h1h8 4 .ltg3 Zugzwang.

4....lth6 5 h1e7+ Wc6 6 .ltf4 .ltxf4 7 Wxf4 h1h5 8 h1e5 :!;txb4+ 9 Wg5 :!;th5+ 10 Wxg6 h1xe5 11 f7 h1e6+ 12 Wg5 :!;te5+ 13 Wg4 .!l:e4+ 14 Wg3 .!l:e3+ 15 Wf2 a3!? 16 f8� (D)

2.29 J.Polgar - V.Kramnik Wijk aan Zee 1998

B

1...a4! 2 bxa4 2 hxg5 a3 3 h1f2 f3 4/iJh4 h1e2 S WgI h1b2 -+.

2 ...h1e4 3 Wgl Or: 3 hxg5 h1xc4 4 h1d3 h1c5 -+; 3 :!;tc3 h1xc4 4 :!;txc4 .ltxdS+ S WgI .ltxc46 hxg5 .ltd5 7 Wf2 f3 -+ (Kramnik in InfomIator).

3...h1xc4 4 :!;td3 g4 5 as g3 6 h1dl f3 7/iJe7 f2+ 8 Wfl .Itb5 9 Wg2 h1c2 0-1 Undermining can sometimes also take place even if itis not absolutely desirable in the struc-

16...axb2 16...a2 17 �c8+! (17 �h6+? WbS 18 � h l

tural sense, yet one's own pieces gain n e w tar-

h1h3! 19 �al a4 20�xa2 h1 h l!

gets thereby.

queen is trapped; more On this theme in the

=

and the white

How TO PLAY CHESS ENDGAMES

60

chapter on fortresses) 17 ..,ltib5 18'ii11d7+ Itib6

1.....d1 1 ! 1·0

19'ii1a 1 4 �h3 20 'iiIIxa2ltib5 21 'iilllb +- (Postny

White resigned in view of 2 �xdl c2 3 �f1

inCBM),

cl'iill-+,

17'ii1e 1 S+ Itib5? ! After 19'ii11xb2?? �f3+

White cannot es­

cape the desperado, More on this theme in the

The following sacrifi ce to create such a pawn-roller is absolutely typical:

chapter on stalemate,

19 ltia3 20 'iillb5 a4 21 'iiIIxc5+ Itib3 22 'iiIIb4+ ltie2 23'ii1x1 a4+ Itixe3 24'ii11a5+ ltie2 25 'iiIIf5+ ltie1 26 'iiIfI l + 1·0 .••

W

E) Pawn Power Without pawns nothing works, ALEXANDER KOTOV

Although the pawn is the weakest piece on the chess board, it actually contains a lot of venom and vitality, so that from time to time it can play a very powerful role, In the endgame its

2.32

importance increases considerably, since pro­

H.Zoebisch - A.Diickstein Austrian Ch (Lienz) 1981

motion to a queen always beckons, and the number of pieces that can engage it is con­ stantly diminishing, Sometimes therefore the

1 gxc5! dxc52 �xc5

creation of one or more dangerous passed pawns

Black's position is already very difficult.

can even be worth great material losses, In this

2,.,a6 3 �a5�a7 4c5ltie7 5e6liJeS 6 c4 liJd6?

section we waut to demonstrate a few especially impressive achievements of the mighty pawn, In the first example the great endgame expert Averbakh shows the power of his pawn-mass:

It is essential for the king to move in front of the pawn: 6..,ltid6 7 c5+ Itic7 and Black still has some drawing chances.

7c5liJb5Sltic4�aS9 �a1liJd4 "Other moves are also insufficient, since the white rook either penetrates on the f-file after the pawn moves h4, g5 and g6, or can even be sacrificed for the knight on d4 if the black rook is on a7," (Zoebisch),

10d6+ White's pawn avalanche can no longer be stopped,

10,..ltie6 11 c7liJb5? 1 Lltid7 12ltid5 +-, 12"xa6! A further reason for the extraordinary power of the pawn in the endgame lies in the fact that

2.31 E,Geller - Y,Averbakh USSR Ch (Kiev) 1954

it can often be helped by the king on the way to promotion, In the following example, Roman· ishin wins with a typical combination and also

THE ART OF PAWN PLAY

profits from the better situation of his king, among other things:

61

enabled the defending king to participate ef­ fectively in the struggle against the passed a­ pawn: 4 .lic5 Wf? 5 Wd4 WeS 6 Wd5 Wd7 = and White cannot break through. 3 a6 We6 4 a7 l:!d8 5 We4 Wd6 5...l:!aS 6 .lie3 (zugzwang) 6...We7 7 Wd5 Wd7 S .lid4 +- (Ribli in CBM). 6 .lie3 l:!a8 7 .lif4+ Wc6 8 .lib8 1-0 Sometimes a strong passed pawn can even compensate for a piece:

2.33 O.Romanishin S.Smagin Essen 2001 -

White can act immediately, since his king is well placed to reach the queenside more quickly. 1 l:!xb5! axb5 l ...l:!xd4+ 2 Wc3 l:!xg4 3 l:!b6+ Wg5 4 l:!xa6 ::!xg3+ 5 Wc4 h5 6 l:!aS h4 7 a6 +-. 2 We3? (D) 2 Wd3! would have prevented the favourable transfer of the rook to e6.

2...Wf7? Also after 2...l:!d6? 3 .lic5 the black king cannot reach the queenside in time, nor is his counterplay on the other wing quick enough: 3 ...l:!e6+4Wd4Wg55Wd5l:!a66.1ib6Wxg4 7 ;&c6 +-.But 2...l:!e7 +! 3 Wd3l:!e6! would have

2.34 M.Neubauer B.Thorfinnsson Antalya Ech 2004 -

1 l:!a1 This pin looks deadly at first glance, but all that glitters is not gold. 1...Wc6!! An amazing move! 1. ..lZlxb3? 2 l:!xa6+ ±. 2 l:!xa5 Jaxa5 31Zlxa5+ Wb6 41Zlb3 b4 Now we have been unable to find any win for White . Most remarkable! 5 g5 Also after 5 Wg3 Wb5 6 f4 exf4+ 7 Wxf4 hxg4 S Wxg4 Wc4 9 IZlc1 Wc3 10 Wf4 Wc2 II lZle2 Wd3 12 wn (D)Black can hold: 12...g5! I (sheer witchcraft!) 13 h5 g4+ 14 Wxg4Wxe2 15h6b316h7b217hS'&bl'&=. 5...fxg5 6 hxg5 Wb5 7 IZld2 7 f4 exf4 8 Wg2 Vc4 9 lZla5+ Wd410 wn h4 11 Vxf4 h3 12 Wg3 Wxe4 13 Wxh3 Wf5 14 Wh4 Wf4 15 IZlb3 We4 16 Wg4 We3 171Zla5 We4 IsIZlc6 b319 1Zla5 b2 20 IZlc4 b l lZl 7... Wc5 8 Wg3 Wd4 9 f4 h4+ 10 Wxh4 =.

62

How TO PLAY CHESS ENDGAMES

1 cSt lZle6 1...dxcS 2);td71Zle6 3);te7 +-. 2 cxd6! IZlxdS 3 dxc7 IZlb7! 4cS);t! IZlxaS S );tcS IZlb7 6 );tc6#

B

Exercises (Solutions on pages 289-92)

10 1t>f3 exf4 11 It>xf4 (11 IZlb3+ 1t>e5 12 lZlaS h3 13 IZlc6+ It>d6 14 IZlxb4 h2 IS It>g2 \!IeS=) ll...h312eSh2131Zlf3+lt>c314IZlxh2 b31Se6b216e7bII':l'i17e8'iil''ifil' S+=. 10••.exf411lt>g4?! I I eSlt>xeS121t>g4 b3 131Zlxb3 f3 141Zld2 f2 IsIZlfllt>e4 =. 11••.1t>03 Now White must even force the draw. 12eSt It>xd213e6 b31407 b21S eSI':l'i bl'iil' 16 It>xf4I':l'ifS+ 171t>g3 I':l'ixgS+ IS1t>f3 'iil'f S+ 191t>g3 gS 20 'i!!!dS+1t>01 21 'iil'd4'iil'f4+ 'Iz·l1z Naturally the power of the pawn has also at­ tracted the interest of study composers. The following study was considered by Selezniev himself as his best achievement.

W

E2.01

/

*

Who is better?

w

2.35 A.Selezniev Deutsche Schachzeitung, 1919

E2.02 */ How does White demonstrate good technique?

THE ART OF PAWN PLAY

E2.03

/**

How can Black convert his advantage?

63

E2.06

***/

Vagaruan found the win for White. Can you see it too?

E2.04

****/

If you are prepared to do some calculation here, you can immediately force a win.

E2.05

/*

E2.07

**/

Can White save the game?

E2.08

***/

What has White overlooked with

Structures with doubled pawns sometimes offer

his last move, ltc3-c5?

breakthrough possibilities. Exploit this!

How TO PlAY CHESS ENDGAMES

64

E2.09

1***

E2.12

1***

At first sight, things are not looking good for

Black to play and win.

Black. But there is still a way out - find it!

E2.10

1*****

This is one of the most beautiful demonstra­

E2.13

****1

tions of the power of a far-advanced pawn.

How can White create a dangerous

How did Black manage to queen a pawn?

passed pawn on the queenside?

E2.11

**1

Is the outside passed pawn decisive?

E2.14

****1

How did White exploit his space advantage?

3 Do Not Rush!

Insufficient patience is probably the most com­

too long, because the opponent will naturally try

mon reason for a lost game.

to eliminate his weaknesses. Hence we should

BENT LARSEN

like to emphasize once again that proceeding

I reject the misconception that each move must

first and foremost to less dynamic positions, in

according to the principle 'Do not rush' applies immediately achieve something; waiting moves

which the opponent does not really have any

and quiet moves also have their right to exist.

counterplay and in which his weaknesses are of

ARON NIMZOWITSCH

a permanent nature.

In positions with a penn anent advantage, in which the opponent has no real counterplay and

A) Preparatory Measures

you have everything well under control, good endgame technique consists of not trying to

The following position is easy to understand:

force matters prematurely. Committal decisions, such as pawn moves or piece exchanges, should always be delayed until you are completely sure that you have strengthened your position

w

to the maximum in every respect. Innumerable winning endgames are not in fact won, simply because the side with the advantage wants to force the win as quickly as possible and lacks the necessary patience to strengthen the posi­ tion as much as possible before taking decisive action. This principle is also valid even if you can­ not calculate any concrete benefit from improv­ ing your position in this manner. You never know how useful a small improvement to your position might be in the further course of the game. However, such a leisurely way of pro­ ceeding often brings other advantages along

3.01 V.Anand - R.Ponomariov Wijk aan Zee 2005

with it: this way of playing often exerts psycho­

White has a clearly winning position. In ad­

logical pressure in particular, lulling the oppo­

dition to being a protected passed pawn up,

nent's vigilance, or disguising what is in fact

White also has the more active pieces and the

the only plan. Sometimes the opponent will

possibility of creating a second passed pawn on

also lose patience and weaken himself volun­

the queenside. It is clear that the decisive break­

tarily, or mistakenly try to force matters him­

through will come with the c4 advance. But

self.

Anand would not be Anand if he did not effect

However, we should caution you against

this advance in the best possible conditions.

misunderstanding this principle. In every situa­

With a beautiful technical manoeuvre he first of

tion you must be prepared to act energetically,

all improves the position of his knight and only

and in certain positions you should not wait for

then lands the· winning blow:

How TO PLAY CHESS ENDGAMES

66

1 �e3�d6 2 ge2 �e7 3 gd3�d6 4�f3 �e7 5�g4 Now the g5-pawn is protected and White can move his knight. 5 ...tilfS 6tilgltilh7 7tilf3�d6 Now the black king is also tied to the protec­ tion of the e5-pawn. S �g3geS 9�f2 ge6 10�e3 gd7 11 e4 bxe4 12 gxe4 geS 13 a4 gb7 14 as geS 15 gd3! 1-0 Another good technical move. Of course 15 b5 also wins. but then 15...�c5 would have to be taken into account. Anand wants to play b5 only on the next move and thus deprive Black even of this slight hope. Ponomariov saw the writing on the wall and resigned.

16 ...gxf5? 17 �xf5tilc7 IS gg7 tileS 19 ghS (zugzwang) +- (Ribli).

17 gfS gd31S ge7+�e7 19tile3�eS 20 �g4�e7 21�h5tilg7+ 22�h6tileS 22...tilf5+? fails because of the boxed-in black king: 23 tilxf5 gxf5 24 gxf6 +-. 23 h4 Before undertaking any concrete action, White improves his h-pawn's position, so that if it comes down to a pawn-race the h-pawn will have less distance to cover. 23...�eS 24 h5�e7 25tilg2�eS? Under pressure, Illescas makes an error. Since the king's best square is c7, he should have made a waiting move with the bishop, such as 25...gc2. 26tilf4ge2 (D)

The next example is substantially more com­ plicated:

All White's pieces are now in their best posi­ tions and the time has come to act decisively.

3.02 V.Kramnik - M.IIIescas Dos H e1771anClS 1997

However, Kramnik selects the wrong piece sac­ rifice: 27 gxf6? 27 tilg61 (Nunn) 27...hxg6 2S hxg6 �c7

First White should improve his knight, hence his king must protect c4:

1�d2! ge4 2 gel gg2 3�e3 gfl 4gh6 gg2 5 gf4gfl Now the knight can be transferred to e3. where it defends c4: 6tilb2tile7 7 tildl gg2 Stile3ge4 9 gh6 tileS Next the king moves back to the kingside: 10 �d2 tile7 11�e2 tileS 12 I&f2 tile7 13 �g3 gd3 14�g4tileS 15�f4 gbl 16tilf5+ I&dS

(2S...gd3 29 g7tilxg7 30�xg7 gxc4 31 gxd6 gxb5 32 �fS +-) 29 g7tilxg7 30 �xg7 gd3 31 �7 gxc4 32 gdS+ �b7 (32...�cS 33 e7 gxb5 34 eS\\!!' gxeS+ 35 �xeS b5 36 gxf6 b4 37 �e7 +-) 33 �xf6 gxb5 34 �e7 c4 35 �xd6 c3 36 gf6 c2 37 gg5 �cS 3S �e7 +-.

27...tilxf6 2S�g7tileS+ 29�f7tile7 30 e7 h6 30...gd1!? 31 h6 �d7 32 �fS gc2 33tile6 tileS 34 �f7 gg6+ 35 �fStilf6 36tilf4 geS 37 tile6 tilg4 3S tilg7 gg6 39 eS\\!!'+ gxeS 40

Do NOT RUSH!

lZlxeS lZlxh6 41 lZlf6+ IiIdS 42 lZlxh7 lZlg4 43 IiIf7 lZleS+ 44 liIe6 lZlxc4 4S lZlgS leads to a draw.

31lZle6.l1.dl! 32 IiIg6lZle8 33lZlf8 .l1.e2 34 IiIxh6 .l1.xc4 35 IiIg6 .l1.xdS?! 3S ....l1.d3+! 36 '7lf7 c4 37 IiIxeS c3 3S IiIf7 .l1.xbS 39 h6 c2 40 h7 c1'ilY 41 hS'ilY 'ilYf4+ 42 'ilYf6 .l1.eS+ (Ribli in CBM). =

36 h6 e4 ? 36...lZlc7 37 lZle6 .l1.xe6 3S h7 IiId7 39 hS'ilY IiIxe7 (L.B.Hansen in Secrets of Chess End­ game Strategy) was the last hope of setting up a fortress. 37 h7 .l1.e4+ 38 IiIf7 .l1.xh7 39 '7lxe8 .l1.g8 40 lZld7 e3 1-0

B) Subtle Technical Moves Before implementing your real plan, it is often worthwhile to probe with a preparatory move or a zU'ischenzug. For instance, before a rook moves to a certain square, it can sometimes ha­ rass the opposing king with a zwischenschach (i.e. a zwischenzug that is check):

67

S...1:(e7 61:(h6+ ! Once again the zwischenschach puts Black in an awkward situation. 6....l1.g67 1:(h4 .l1.fS? This walks straight into White's central ad­ vance. 7.. Jig7 was more tenacious; for exam­ ple, S IiIg3 hS 9 IiIf4 .l1.eS 10 lZld31:(gl II lZlcs 1:(b1 12 lZlxb7 1:(xb4 13 lZlcs JabS 14 lZlxa6 JaxaS IS lZlcs ±.

8 e4 dxe4 S ...liIgS? fails tactically: 9 exfS IiIxh4 10 f6 +-. 9 fxe4 .l1.g610 1:(f4+! Another strong zwischenschach which forces the black king to commit himself. 10...'7le611 '7le3 First of all Flohr calmly improves his king, before embarking on the decisive regrouping with lZld3-cS. 11 ...1:(g7 12 lZld3 IiId6?! 13 lZleS 1:(e7 14 1:(f8 liIe7 15 eS1:(e8 ?! Now it is all over. You should always think very carefully before exchanging a pair of rooks (see Section E of Chapter 4). However, Black's position was already very difficult. 161:(xe8 .l1.xe8 17 IiIf4 b6 (DJ

3,03 S.Flohr - I.Bondarevsky Leningrad/Moscow (training) 1939

1 Eth6+! .l1.g62 .!!hl .l1.fS3 1:(c1 The threat of a6 forces Black to fix his queen­ side pawns on light squares. 3 a64 1:(hl1:(g7 S1:(h2!? ••.

A strong waiting move that places Black in a

sort of zugzwang.

18lZla4! Flohr stops any counterplay and targets a6 as a weakness. The rest is just death throes. 18 ...bxaS19 bxaS.l1.f7 20lZleS.l1.e4 21 IiIgS .l1.e2 22 IiIh6IiId8 23 IiIxh7 liIe7 24 IiIg6 .l1.f1 25 IiIfS .l1.h3+ 26 liIe4 .l1.g2+ 27 liIe3 .l1.f1 28 '7ld2 '7lf7 29 &e3 IiIg6 30 IiIb4 IiIfS 31 lZlb7 1-0

How TO PLAY CHESS ENDGAMES

68

Naturally the queen can also make subtle technical moves.

3.05 A.Beliavsky

V.Korchnoi

Paks 2004

3.04 U .Andersson U. Kunsztowicz w.German open Ch (Dortmund) 1973 -

Here the Swedish virtuoso demonstrates his fantastic technique with a subtle zwischenzug:

1...Widl+ 2 Win Here the great fighter Alexander Beliavsky chose, probably instinctively, the only playable move.

2...Wie2 3Wig2 Widl+

1 \l!YdS!

But now he wanted to avoid the repetition:

Black is hopelessly lost due to the mate threat.

41i1h2?

In contrast, 1 Wixc7? at once would be prema­

However, he was severely punished for this:

ture because of L.. '!!I'xd3 2 '!!I'xd6 '!!I'xe4+ 31i1h2

4...Wid35 WiaS+ IiIh7 0-1

'!!I'D 41i1g1 e4 5 Wie5 g5 with drawing chances.

1...g5

In the next example we join the game some­

l...Wixd3? 2 Wih8+ IiIg5 3 Wih4#.

what earHer, so that we don't miss seeing how

2 Wixe7 Wih4

Khalifman first stops any counterplay:

L'!!I'xd3 3 Wixd6+ IiIh7 4 '!!I'xe5 +-.

31i1h31i1g64Wid7 '&e5 5 '&f5+IiIh661i1g4 '!!I'e7 7 Wixg5+ I&h7 8'&h5+IiIgJ 9 '&eSlilh7 10 '!!I'e6 Wid8 11 Wib7+ IiIg8 12 1iIf3 IiIhS 13 liIe2 IiIgS 14IiId2 IiIfS 15 liIe2 IiIg8 161i1b3 �8171i1a41i1g81SIiIb5 1-0

C) Repeating Moves By repeating moves you can show who is boss. You also give the opponent the hope that he is perhaps going to be let off with a draw, only to dash an his hopes with your next move. You can also get closer to the time-control and if the time-limit includes an increment per move you can even gain extra thinking time for yourself. In the following case, Korchnoi profits from Beliavsky's uncompromising will to win:

1 exb5!

69

DO NOT RUSH!

I ibxf7? would be premature because of ..bxc4 2 bxc4 ab2. 1...cxb5 2ibxf7�eS 3 Wf1! Once again Khalifman calmly prevents the activation of the black rook. 3....ltc3 4ibh6+ WhS 5 g4! With the idea of playing g5. drawing the net tighter round the black king. 5 ... axb3 5...�el +?! 6 Wg2 �e2? 7 ad8+ 'tig7 8 g5 +-. 6 axb3 rus 7 g5 �eS (D)

in view of possible stalemate defences Kbalif­ man must calculate everything very precisely. 32...;i;(xdS 33 ibf7+ Wg7 34 ibxdS .ltc3 35 Wf5 .ltd2 36ibe6+ Wf7 37ibf4Wg7 3sibd5 'tif7 39 h6! WgS!? 40ibf6+ WhS (D)

w

41ibe4! Eliminating the danger of stalemate. Both 41 g6? hxg6+ 42 Wxg6 .ltxh61 and 41 Wg4? i.xg5! would be premature. 41....ltc1 42 'tig4 WgS 43 ibf6+ WhS 44 ibd5 .ltd2 45 Wh5 WgS 46g6 1-0 Van Wely resigned because after 46 ...hxg6+ 47 Wxg6 .ltel 48 h7+ Wh8 49 ibe7 .ltg3 50 ibe6 +- he cannot protect b4, d8 and e5 all at the same time. =

=

Now Kbalifman makes repeated use ofibt7+ and ibh6+ in order to reach the time-control and also exert psychological pressure. After that he can calmly set about activating his king and his kingside majority. S ibf7+ Wg8 9 ibh6+ WhS 10 h4 b4 11 ibf7+ 'tigS 12 ibh6+ 'tihS 13 Wg2 afS 14 ibf7+ WgS 15ibh6+ WhS 16 f4 Now White is close enough to the time­ control to start advancing, especially since he can again use the knight checks. 16....ltb2 17ibf7+ 'tig8 ISibh6+ WhS 19 Wf3 .ltc3 20ibf7+ 'tigS21ibh6+Wh8 22Wg4 .ltg723�b7.ltc324ibf7+WgS25ibh6+WhS 26 f5 gxf5 + 27ibxf5 .ltd2 2S�d7 28 h5? would be premature due to 28... �g8. The bishop must first be dislodged from the c l-h6 diagonal. 2S....ltc1 29 �dl! .ltb2 30 h5 ag8 31 ibh6 ];(eS32 �dS! The exchange of a pair of rooks will deprive Black of any chances of counterplay. However,

D) The Art of Manoeuvring An important advantage, if you have everything under control and don't rush, lies in the fact that the opponent often experiences extra psycho­ logical pressure and loses patience, doing your job for you. So, for example, he might allow an unfavourable exchange, mistakenly open the position, or create fresh weaknesses for the sake of active counterplay. In the following position, the skilful Rus­ sian grandmaster Konstantin Aseev (prema­ turely deceased) gradually outmanoeuvred his young opponent. libb2! Prophylactically preventing the lever ...a5a4 and thus depriving Black of any counterplay.

70

How TO PlAY CHESS ENDGAMES

1l...g5? He should wait with, for example, II ..ge7.

12 hxgS hxg5 13 Wf3 Wg7 14 We4 14Wg4Wg615l:!hl ge716f3l:!h817);1dh2 l:lxh2 18 �xh2 ± (Stohl) also came strongly into consideration.

14",ge7 15 l:lht �hS 16 l:!ddl Wg6 17 l:!xh8l:lxhS ISl:!c1 gd8 19 �bl!? (D)

K.Aseev - E.lnarkiev Russian Ch (Elista) 200] 1.. .iDd4 5 Wfl gaS 6 h4l:!a7 7 ge3 h6?! Every pawn move creates weaknesses and represents a commitment, since a pawn cannot be moved back. S gxd4 exd4 9 eS! White seizes the chance to break up the black bishop-pair. 9 . Ms 9 ...gxg2+ 10 Wxg2 gxe5 II );Ie2 gf6 12 �xe6 Wf7 13 l'tdel l:!e7 14 l:!xe7+ gxe7 IS iDd3 gd6 16Wf3 10 gxaS �axaS 11 We2 (D) . .

This mysterious rook move in the time­ trouble phase is a shrewd one. White would like to implement his pawn-breaks a3 or f4 as favourably as possible and hopes that Black will do something rash.

19. "gb6 19 ...ge7 20 );Iall:!f8 21 iDd3 ± (Stohl); the opening of the second front with a3 follows.

20 Jafll:!h2 21iDd3 ga7 22 Wf3 gb6?! It would be better to move his rook back to h8.

23l!ig4 ga7 24l:!gl gb6 (D)

Now lnarkiev commits a typical error and plays on the wing where he is weaker, which in the end only leads to an opening of the position favourable to White:

DO NOT RUSH!

71

25 J;;(al! Very strong; White threatens to open a sec­ ond front with a3, so that Black has to take on additional weaknesses.

25",il.a7 26 a3 bxa3 27ll:xa3 il.b6 2S J;;( al ll:hS (D)

48 ...l1;oc7 49liJe5Wd8 50 Wc6 il.c7 51 e7+ +- (Stohl).

49Wc6 il.dS 50 fue5 d3 51 fud3Wxe6 52 liJe5+We5 53liJb7 il.e7 54 fua5Wd4 55Wb5 il.d6 56 b4 We3 57 c5 il.f4 5S liJe4 Wd4 59 IiJb6 il.g3 60 e6 il.d6 61liJaS 1-0 Now Aseev switches to concrete action. 29 f4? However, in accordance with the principle of

In the following example you should pay particular attention to the manoeuvres of the white rook.

'do not rush', White should first have made one further preparatory move: 29 J;;(f l! il.a7 3 0 f4 gxf4 31 J;;( xf4 +- and, in contrast to the position in the game at move 31, Black would be unable to undertake any direct active counter-measures.

29",gxf4 30 fuf4+Wf7 31ll:flll:gS+? 3L,il.a7, to make counterplay with .. JJ:b8 possible, was far more tenacious.

32Wf3 il.e7 33liJd3 In the next phase, White will try to exchange the rooks, in order to deprive Black of any counter-chances. In the long run, Black has no good way of avoiding this, since otherwise the white rook would penetrate decisively. 33...ll:g5 (D) 33 ...il.b6 34ll:hl J;;(g7 35J;;(h6 +-. 34 J;;(e l J;;(h5 35 Wg2 Aseev does not rush, since he can easily push the black pieces back. 35".J;;(g5 36 ll:e4 il.b6 37 J;;(f 4+Wg7 3SI1;of3 ll:h5 39 ll:f6ll:f5+ 40 J;;(xf5 exf5 41 g4! fxg4+ 4l ...Wg6 4211;of4 +-. 42 Wxg4Wf7 43Wf5 il.a7 44We411;oe6 45 11:lf4+ We7 46 Wd5I1;od7 47liJd3 il.b6 4S e6+ We7

3.08 H.Kaliio V.Dinstuhl Bermuda 2003 -

ll1;of3! Provoking the pawn move that will spell doom for Black.

1."h5 2 l1;oe3 IiJh7 3 J;;(e2 WdS 4 b4 IiJfS 5 J;;(f2We7 6 g3liJh7 7 ge2WdS Sll:c1!? A typical situation for this strategy: Black does not know precisely what he should do,

HOw TO PLAY CHESS ENDGAMES

72

consumes time on the clock and experiences psychological pressure. S../i:ifS 9 kifl We7 10 h4!?

E) Playing with the Whole Army

Of course, manoeuvring won't work on its own, so Kallio now takes more concrete mea­

If you have everything under control, it is often

sures and fixes the weakness at hS.

a good idea to bring all your forces into position

10 gxh411 gxh4(D) •••

and only then proceed with concrete action.

B

11../i:ig6?

3.09 V.Kramnik - P.Leko Budapest Ipd (9) 2001

A bad decision. It was essential for Black to eliminate the monster at b6: l1...Ii:id7! l2li:ixd7 Wxd7 13 kif7+ Wd8 14 kih7 kic8 was far more tenacious.

Black has no active counterplay and in the next phase Kramnik does all he can to keep it

12 kicl kif8 (D)

that way, so that he can allow all his pieces and

l2 ...Wd8 13 kiglli:ixh4 l4kig7 +- with total

pawns to participate in the attack.

domination.

l..te2..te6?! This walks straight into f4·f5, which White wants to play anyway. 1. ....tc6 is more tena­ cious.

2 f4g6 3..td3..tc8 4kie7 Wg7?! 4 ...kid7 is better, trying at least to relieve the pressure to some degree.

5..tbSWf6 6 kic7 kid6 7 kiec3 kidd8 8 kie3 kid6 9 a4 kidd8 10 mf2 kid6 11 g4 kidd8 12 Wg3 gS13 fS! Total domination. The pawns are also an important part of your army. Treat them well!

13...hS14kiee7 hxg415 hxg4Wg7 Now the king is introduced, to decisive effect:

13 kic7+ Wd8 14kid7+ l&e8 15 kixb7 kif4 l5...li:ixh4 16 b5 +-. 16 bSl·0 Black resigned in view of 16 ..axb5 17 a6.

16 Wf3 Wf6 17 We3 1&g7 18 Wd3 Wf6 19 �c31&g7 20 Wb4Wf6 21 Wa3 Wg7 22 b4Wf6 23 as (D) This allows the exchange of the weakness at b6 but this is unimportant, since there is no way of taking advantage of it. The really important

Do NOT RUSH!

73

on principle to put this pawn on a light square, since this reduces White's control of the dark squares. The g4 advance should be made only if

B

it brings clear benefits. The prophylactic I -ite4 would have won sooner or later; for example, I ...-ite I 2 g4 hxg4+ 3 hxg41ilxe4 4 Wxe4 Wh6 5 Wxe5 Wg5 6 We4 +-.

1...hxg4+ 2 hxg4 Wh6! This activation of the king saves the day. Now White can no longer win, since 3 );(xf6? can be answered by 3 ...e4+.

3 -ite4 Wg5 4 );(e6 -itd4 5 -itc2 -itc3 6 Wg3 -ite1+ 7 Wh3-itc3 SWg21ilxg4 9 -itxg6Wf4 10 -ithS lile3+ 11 Wf21ilf5 12 );(f6 'iz_'iz thing is the decisive penetration of the black camp by the white king.

In the following example we see even a

23•..bxaS 24 bxaS Wg7 25 Wb4Wf6 26 Wc5 Wg7 27 -ite2 J::( deS 2S );(xeS );(xeS 29 -itf3 1-0

F) Too Much of

a

world-class player acting too hastily.

Rush

It often happens that rash pawn moves spoil the win, since by definition pawns cannot move backwards.

A.Shirov - V.Anand Wijk aan Zee 2001 1 );(bS? This allows the activation of all Black's forces. Instead, White should first simply im­ prove his position, since his rooks are able to contain Black's counterplay: I b3 );(c2 2 );(d2

3.10 A.Bisguier - E.Mednis USA Ch (NelV York) 1969 1 g4? Now. thanks to a tactical trick, Black is able to set up a fortress. Also it is of course not good

);(c6 3 );(2d4 f5 4 );(c4 );(b6 5 );(cc8 -ite7 6 );(d7 -itd6 7 f4 h5 8 Wg2

+-.

1...);(c2 2 );(bb7 -itc5 3 );(xf7+ I&g6 4 );(xh7 -itxf2+ 5 wn );(xb2 6 );(h4 -itcS! 7 );(c4 -itfS S J::(cS -itd6 9 );(c6 -iteS 10 );(xa6 Wf5 11 );(bb6 We4 12 J::(xe6 );(xh2 13 J::( xf6 liz_liz

How

74

TO

PLAY CHESS ENDGAMES

Exercises (Solutions on pages 292-4)

E3.03

*/

What finesse did White exploit here?

E3.01

***/

White has a great space advantage, whereas Black must protect his weak d6-pawn and is practically reduced to shuffling his king be­ tween f7 and f8. It is obvious that in the long run White can only make progress with the breakthrough gS. Can you see a way for White to improve his position fIrst?

E3.04

1*

Find the best move for Black.

E3.02

**/

How should White make use of his initiative?

E3.05

1*

Which subtle technical move would have brought Black victory?

DO NOT RUSH!

75

�.� �'W' �.��� � � �, AWI • • W.: A • • �'l� .�.�.".'lIf U . � .� • • II i0i jI! �.� .�i0i n � � � ��.i0i � .i0i .i0i� � � � .

.

"u ."

E3.06

/

***

Can White breach the wall?

E3.07

/

*

White can take the a-pawn immediately, but then the technical task will be very tricky be­ cause of the defensive power of the bishop. How does he solve the problem?

4 The Right Exchange

Bobby Fischer has no bad pieces - he exchanges

Nirnzo-Indian game in which on the nnd move

them. Only his opponents have bad pieces.

Black captures the doubled white pawn on c4,

WISE SAYING OF A RUSSIAN CHESS TRAINER

which White had voluntarily accepted on the fifth move. In the course of a game we carry out

The right exchange is actually one of the most

many exchanges which are obvious to us. They

difficult positional themes in a game of chess.

do not substantially change the character of the

By this we mean the relative gain of material or

position and therefore we generally don't think

positional value and ultimately this is what the

about them for long. Other transactions involv­

game of chess is all about. Whereas in the open­

ing an exchanging manoeuvre are in practice

ing or in the middlegame an erroneous ex­

dictated by knowledge of opening theory and

change can sometimes be put right, with every

so we don't pay them any special attention. In

reduction in material, exchanging correctly ac­

order to stimulate readers into greater aware­

quires ever greater importance. The fewer pieces

ness of this theme, we have deliberately com­

there are left on the board, the more serious the

mented on these (generally considered trivial)

consequences of a bad exchanging decision usu­

situations in the annotations to the following

ally are.

game.

A) The Importance of Exchanges in the Game of Chess

4,01 M.Taimanov W.Uhlmann Belgrade (USSR-RoW) 1970 -

1 d4liJf6 2 c4 g6 3liJc3 dS

Exchanging is the soul of chess. GEORG KJENINGER

White is confronted for the first time in the game with the problem of the right exchange. Should White occupy the centre with 4 cxd5

Before we examine concrete exchanging situa­

IiJxd5 5 e4 or will he maintain the tension and

tions in the endgame, we should like to demon­

exert pressure on the centre with further devel­

strate to our readers, by means of a complete

oping moves? Here, this is a matter of taste, and

illustrative game, the importance of exchang­

White chooses the latter option.

4i..gS

ing for the whole game. It is a very good train­ ing method for improving your feel for the right

Now Black is posed the question about the

exchange if you study your own games, or

right exchange: can he support his centre by

games by stronger players, in the light of the

means of 4 ...c6 or does he have to give up the

exchanging problem. From this it will soon be­

centre with the immediate 4... dxc4?

come clear that you need to take responsible ex­

4",liJe4!

changing decisions practically throughout the

The is the correct decision; after 4 ...c6?!

whole game and you will become especially

White would be able to head for a favourable

aware of the interconnections between the par­

position with an exchange: 5 i..xf6 exf6 6 cxd5

ticular stages of the game.

cxd5 7'i&b31iJc6 8 e3 ±; if 4 ...dxc4?! then 5 e4

Many an exchanging decision made in the

±.

opening or in the middlegame has an effect

Now once again White must make an impor­

only in the endgame; for example, consider a

tant exchanging decision. 5 tiJxe4?! dxe4 would

THE RIGHT EXCHANGE

77

be a particularly faulty exchange here, since the e4-pawn would considerably hamper the harmo­ nious development of the white pieces. 5 kh4! White preserves his bishop from possible ex­ change. After 5 cxd5?!IDxg5 6 h4IDe4 7IDxe4 '&xd5 8 IDc3 '&a5 the exchanges would bring about the first material imbalance; Black would have the bishop-pair. Theory evaluates the re­ sulting position as favourable to Black. 5 05 6 cxd5! IDxc3 6 ...'&a5 7 '&d3 ±. 7 bxc3 '®'xd5 8 e3 (D) ...

20...hlf7?! Black does not take advantage of his oppor­ tunity. After 20...lDxb7 21 �xb7 (21 hlxd7? �f7 22 �xf7 Wxf7 23 �c1 kf6 leads to equal­ ity) 21...kc6 22 �xa7 hla8 23 �xa8 hlxa8 24 lbc1 b5 t he has legitimate hopes of a success­ ful defence. 21 ka6ka4 22 �bc1kf8 23 �lc4 �c7 24 �c7IDc6 25 kc4 (D)

B

Question: should Black play 8 ...cxd4? 8...cxd4?! Black answers the exchanging question in­ correctly. He seeks simplification, but this does not always bring any real relief. 8...lDc6!? or 8...kg7!? should be preferred. 9 '&xd4! '&xd4 10 cxd4 IDc6 11 kb5 kd7 12IDf3 kg! 13 0-0 e6 14 �ab 1 0-0 15IDd2! White transfers the knight to the queenside, to provoke weaknesses there. 15...f5 16IDb3 b6 17 �fc1 �ac8 18 ka6 hlce8 l 8...�b8? 19 kg3 e5 20 kb5 ±. 19 kb7IDd8 (D) 20 �c7?! This time it is White who makes the wrong exchanging decision. It is understandable that he wants to invade the seventh rank as quickly as possible, but in doing so he allows the ex­ change of his important light-squared bishop. He should have played 20 kf3! ± first.

What should Black play here? 25...kg!? 25 ...liJb4! is the best move - pawn exchange as a defensive strategy! If Black manages to ex­ change the a2-pawn his drawing chances will increase quite considerably; for example, 26 hlxa7 b5 27 k f l IDxa2 28 IDc5 kxc5 29 dxc5 �c8 30 ke7 (30 kf6 J:l:xc5 with counterplay) 30...lDc3 31 kd3 � (31 �b7 lDe4 32 kxb5 IDxc5 33 kc4 kd7 =). 26J:l:c8

78

HOW TO PLAY CHESS ENDGAMES

This exchange is fine, since it wins the im­ portant e6-pawn. But 26 .ltg3!? would have

49 .lte5+ Wg6 50 Wf4 .lte6 51 .lta4! .ltf8 (D)

kept the active rook on the board and this was possibly even stronger: 26....ltf6 27li:ld2 li:lb4 2Sll:xa7 b5 29 .ltb3 .ltxb3 30li:lxb3 ±.

26 ll:xc8 27.ltxe6+Wf8 28 .ltxc8 li:lb4 29 li:lc1 Wf7 30.ltg3 .ltfS 31 .It b7? •••

This loses valuable time, since White cannot directly capture the a7-pawn anyway. 31 .ltbS We7 32 g4 was more accurate.

31...We6 32.ltb8Wd7! 33.ltf3 33 .ltxa7? Wc7 +.

33 .ltb5 34.ltdl as 35 a4.ltc4 36 g4! •••

White would like to create a basis for play on the kingside.

36 b5 37 gxf5 gxf5 38 .lte5 li:lc6 39 .lth8 .lta3 40 axb5 (D) •••

Why not now continue with the exchanging manoeuvre 52 .lteS+ .ltf7 53 .ltxf7+ Wxf7 54 I&xf5?

52 e4 52 .lteS+? would be a serious mistake; after 52 ....ltn 53 .ltxf7+ Wxf7 54 Wxf5 a4 ttie a­ pawn guarantees Black vigorous counterplay.

52....lth6+ 53Wg3 fxe4 54 fxe4.ltd2 55 d5 .ltel+ 561&f3.lth3 57 .lte8+ I!;>h6 58.ltf6 1·0

B) Critical Moments in the Endgame We start with a classic example in which Capa­ Black faces a very difficult decision: should he capture on c 1 or on b5?

40 .ltxc1?! .••

blanca was successful because he did not just take the exchanging problem into consideration, he even based his strategy on it. His opponent

After 40....ltxb5 41 li:lb3 We6 Black keeps

was, however, intent upon exchanging as many

better control of the play on the light squares;

pieces as quickly as possible, thinking that this

for example. 42 li:lc5+ .ltxc5 43 dxc5 a4 44

was the easiest way to force a draw. At this

.ltb2li:le5.

point we should like to warn readers against

41 bxc6+ Wxc6 42 .lta4+ Wd5?

such a course of action. Any such measures

A mistake, as White benefits from the pres­

normally involve maki.ng concessions and the

ence of the light-squared bishop. Black should

opponent gradually accumulates small advan­

have immediately broken the blockade of the a­

tages.

pawn with 42 ... .ltb5; for example, 43 .ltc2 a4 44

The diagram position on the following page

.ltxf5 .ltc4 and Black still has drawing chances.

looks easy - dead drawn, wouldn't you say?

43 .ltc2 We6 44 Wg2 .lta3 45 .lte5 .ltf8 46 .ltc7.ltd5+ 47 f3 .ltb4 48Wg3Wf6

tages which he can build on. His rooks are ac­

4S ....ltd6+ 49 .ltxd6 Wxd6 50 Wf4 .lte6 51

tively placed on both the half-open files and

e4 +-.

But be careful. Black has some tiny advan­

his pawn-structure is both more compact and

THE RIGHT EXCHANGE

79

error. The exchange on e5 improves the black position, strengthens his pawn-structure in the centre and allows him to attack on both wings.

4...fxe5 5 l:'ld3 b5 6 l:'lfd2 c5 7 Wf2l:'la4 8 We3Wf7 9l:'ldllge6 10Wd2?! White should take measures against the im­ minent minority attack on the kingside with 10 M.

10...l:'lb8 11l:'lc3 g512 h3 h513l:'lh1l:'ld4+ 14We2l:'lg8 15l:'ld3l:'la4 16l:'lhd1 g4 17 hxg4 hxg4 18We3?! (DJ This gives up the open h-file for nothing. Kasparov's IS l:'lhl! gxf3+ 19 gxf3 l:'lg2+ 20 Wdl b4 21l:'lb3 is active and better.

4.02 I.Kan

-

J.Capablanca

Moscow 1936

more dynamic. But of course, with sensible

B

play, White should be able to hold this posi­ tion - at least in theory. In practice, though, Capablanca's world champion class plays the vital role.

1.....ic8 ! A good plan. His opponent is in possession of the bishop-pair and therefore Capablanca wants to exchange one of the enemy bishops. Since his knight is well-placed on e5, Capa­ blanca would rather give up his hitherto some­ what passive light-squared bishop for the white bishop on d3 and he now plans .....ia6.

2 ..if1?! White docilely allows Capablanca to carry out his planned exchange. If he had sufficiently appreciated his great opponent's intentions, he

18...l:'lh8 ! 19l:'lb3 19 fxg4?l:'lgS 20 g5 (20Wf3?l:'lfS+ 21We3 l:'lf4 -+) 20 ...l:'lxg5 21 Wf3l:'laS +.

19...l:'lh2 20 Bd2 l:'ld4 21l:'le2 c6 22 l:'lc3? Now White is easily crushed. 22 fxg4 was

would surely have managed to find 2 l:'l a l ,

necessary.

which prevents .....ia6. In contrast, 2 f4?' i s pre­

22...g3 23 l:'ld3 l:'lh1 24 f4 l:'lfl! 25 f5+Wf6 26 c3 l:'lxd3+ 27Wxd3 d5!

mature, since after 2...li:lxd3 3 cxd3 d5 Black has a dangerous initiative, helped by the very

"Black's pawn-avalanche begins moving,

important factor of opposite-coloured bishops.

sweeping away everything in its path." (Kas­

2.....ia6 3 ..ixa6?! Once again White answers the question of the right exchange incorrectly. 3 l:'ld4! would have forced the exchange of the active black rook. White has not realized that his own rooks have little to do, whereas the black rooks are well posted on both half-open files.

parov).

28 b3 c4+ 29 bxc4 bxc4+ 30 We3 l:'la1 31 Wf3l:'lxa3 32Wxg3l:txc3+ 33Wh4l:'lc1 34 g4 hih1+ Nipping any counterplay in the bud.

35Wg3 d4 36l:'la2 d3 37Wg2 l:'le1 38 Wf2 hixe4 39 I9f3 0-1

3...l:'lxa6 4 ..ixe5? Whereas the preceding white moves were

After exchanges and combinations in which

merely small inaccuracies, this move is a serious

many pieces have disappeared from the board,

How TO FLAY CHESS ENDGAMES

80

and thus the character of the position substan­ tially alters, it is essential to assess the newly­

6...£!.b3+ 7 'i!c5 18 Iilc4 a4 19 'it>f4 il.xc4 20 bxc4 b3 21 axb3 a3 0-1

w

•••

w

Black first centralizes his king. With the bishop-pair and an open centre this is gener­ ally not difficult to achieve. 9 'it>f4 Now Black must destroy the ideal white de­ fensive set-up of d3-knight plus e4-bishop. This will be achieved by playing ...fS at an opportune moment.

4.30 V.Loginov - V.Orlov St Petersburg 1996

White has not only an extra pawn, but also a great positional advantage, since the black king position is considerably weakened. How should White continue? 1 '&dl! Excellent. White must absolutely avoid the exchange of queens, since the simplest way to exploit the weakened black king position is to use the queen to attack it. After I '&xe4? hlxe4 2 );1bl Black's hopes of a draw would still be very much alive. Without the queens, the weakness of the black king position would no longer be relevant and rook endings are sometimes very drawish. With 2... a5!?, for example, Black could try to exchange the queenside pawns, after which the position would be an easy draw. 1".);1e8 2 );1d4

104

How TO PLAY CHESS ENDGAMES

One is perhaps first inclined to play 2 J:l:d2, to exchange the active rook. But Loginov under­ stands the position better. To begin with he re­ tains all the major pieces on the board, to be able to take maximum advantage of the weak­ ened black king position. After 2 ll:d2? ll:el 3 ll:xel Wxel + 4 Wxel ll:xe I + 5 Wg2 ll:e4 Black has legitimate hopes of a successful defence. 2.. \'!lI , f5 6 ll:dl (D)

1l ll:g4+ Illl:e4!? ll.., WhB 1 l...l!?f8 12 \'!lIh7! +- (12 ll:e4!? Wg5 13 \'!lIh7 Wg7 14 Wxg7+ I!?xg7 15 ll:e7 +- wins also). 12 ll:e41&'fB 131&'f6+ WgB 14ll:e7 ll:bB 15 ll:c7 Zugzwang. 15.. W , eB Wh3 \'!lIxf3 19 ll:c5 1-0 In the next game, Yusupov skilfully prevents exchanges.

6.. ll: , el+? An erroneous exchange. Now Black needs this rook for defence. 6...ll:e6 ±. 7 ll:xel \'!lIxel+ BI!?g2 In view of Black's weakened king position and passively-placed pieces, White should win. B..,\'!lIe7 8...ll:e7 9 Wf5+ g8 10 ll:g4+ I!?f8 II \'!lIh7 +-. 9 a5 ll:dB 10 \'!lIf5+ I!?g7 (D)

1 e3! White does not want to exchange any pieces, in order to retain his full attacking potential. 1...ll:d6 2 h4 h6 3 ll:e4 ll:fdB4 �h3! Preventing the exchange of rooks. 4.. , 4...e5?! 5 I!?g2 ll:dl 6 ll:xdl ll:xdl 7 �c8 ± (Yusupov in [nformator). 5 1!?g2 Enabling the activation of the f l -rook with­ out allowing an exchange by means of ...ll:d I+. 5...ll:eB6ll:c1 ! ? ll:e7 7 ll:c2 b6? This deprives the knight of its secure sup­ port-point and makes an unprovoked weakness of the light squares. 7...ll:ed7 8 ll:c5 a6 9 h5 t. Bll:f41!?g6 8 ...l!?g81 94:ld2 e5 10 ll:fc44:ld8 114:le4±.

THE RIGHT EXCHANGE

9 g4! �al 9...lLleS?! 10 gS and then: a) IO...hxgS? 11 hxgS ILld3 12 gxf6lLlxf4+ 13 exf4 �xf6 (13...gxf6? 14 fS+! +-) 141LlgS +-. b) IO...lLld3 II .!!.g 4 (II hS+!?) 1 l ...�b2 (l l ...�al 12 �hl ±) 12 hS+ �f7 13 �g3 ±. 10 .!!.c l �b2 11 '!!'c2 �al 12 a4!? ILleS 13 ILlxes+ White can no longer avoid the exchange, but his attack continues unabated. 13...�xes 14 .!!.f 8.!!.d d7?! 15 f4 'fI.c7 (D)

w

105

B

Now there is nothing to be done against the white attack. Only 20 ...g6 still offered any chance. 21 �f3 .!!.f 7 22 .!!.b8 es23 �g4 exf4 24.!!.d s! With the fatal threat of �hS#. 24...fxe3+ 25 �g3 1-0

Exercise

(Solution on page 304)

16.!!.d2 White evades the exchange, so as not to di­ minish his attacking potential. 16... �c3 17 .!!. d61&b7 18 gs bxgs? Further resistance was possible only with 18 ... g6. 19 bxgs �b4? An error, but his position was already very difficult. 20 .!!.dd8? (D) Missing a forced mate: 20 g6+!! Wh6 21 �fS exfS 22 .!!. h8#. 20...l&g6?

E4.39

**/ Is I bS a good choice?

5 Thinking in Schemes

I know at sight what a position contains. What could happen? What is going to happen? You figure it out. I know it! JOSE RAUL CAPABLANCA

Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise be­ fore defeat. SUN Tzu On the one hand, chess is a very concrete game, in which even the smallest alteration to a posi­ tion can have important repercussions; on the other hand it would be hardly possible for hu­ mans to master the game if they could not make use of certain schemes and rules of thumb. In the endgame, a schematic way of thinking is particularly appropriate. By this we mean the ability to recognize desirable positions and piece set-ups, and then work out a plan to reach them. If you ask a grandmaster about the as­ sessment of an endgame position, you won't generally hear any concrete variations at first, but rather phrases such as "If White succeeds in exchanging the rooks he should win" Or "If Black manages to put his bishop on the long di­ agonal, he has a certain draw". Typical themes and issues that lend themselves to schematic thinking are, for example: how to match the pieces with the pawn-struc­ ture optimal deployment of the pieces Or improv­ ing the piece set-up consideration of the right exchange fortresses weak squares knight outposts pure opposite-coloured bishop endings Of course, when applying this way of think­ ing, it is absolutely essential not to think about the position in too static a manner - on no ac­ count should you neglect the dynamic factors.

A) Target Positions If you have everything under control, but are at a loss how to make progress, it is sometimes beneficial just to visualize desirable target posi­ tions and only then to examine whether and how you can achieve them.

5.01 M.Karttunen - V.Rasik Rethymlloll ECC 2003

In view of the wrong rook's pawn, White cannot allow his knight to be eXChanged. But then how can he win? If you try to find a win here by concrete calculation alone, you will im­ mediately realize that this is by no means easy. Instead of wasting time on difficult computa­ tions, it is much more sensible here for White to think about the best possible arrangement for the pieces. Black's bishOp is already restricted as much as possible; the knight will need to support promotion threats, so the idea comes of sticking the king on bS and the knight on dS. In fact, once this set-up has been achieved, the win is quite easy. 1.."ila8 2 'iild 5 'iil b7 3 .td4'iila8 4121g5 'iil b7 5 l2le6 .th2 6 'iilc4 .tg3 7 'iilb5 .th2 8 .tb6

THINKING IN SCHEMES

�g3 9 liJc5+ l&a8 10 liJe4 �h2 llliJc3 'i!:lb7 12 �d4 �g3 13liJa4 �h2 14 �f2 �f4?! This makes it easy for White. 14... �c7! 15 liJc3 (D) and now the black bishop can twist and turn all it likes, but there is no escape, as Hecht showed in CBM:

107

22 �d4 'i!:lc8 23 �a7 'i!:ld8 24liJd5 The first step on the W; the knight will end up on g7, via e7-f5, each time preventing the black king from heading back to the safe as­ corner. From e7 the knight controls c8 and from g7, e8. 24...'i!:le8 25 'i!:ld6 'i!:lf7 26liJe7 'i!:lf6 27 �e3 'i!:lf7 28 �d4 'i!:le8 29 'i!:le6 'i!:ld8 30 �b6+ 'i!:le8 31liJf5 'i!:lf832 �c7 'i!:le833liJg7 + 'i!:lf834'i!:lf6 'i!:lg8 35 �d6 'i!:lh7 36liJf5 'i!:lg8 37 'i!:lg6 'i!:lh8 38 �c5 1-0

B) Make a Wish! This theme is closely related to the last section on target positions, only in this case you allow your creativity completely free rein.

a) 15...�h2 16liJd5 �d6 ( l 6...�e5 17liJb6 is similar) 17liJb6 'i!:lxa7 I SliJcS++ +-. b) 15... �e5 16liJdS �h2 17'i!:1a5 (zugzwang) +-.

c) 15...�dS I 6liJdS �g5 (16 ... 'i!:laS 17'i!:1a6 +-) 17liJc7 +-. 15liJb6 'i!:lxa7 16liJd5+ 'i!:lb7 17liJxf4 'i!:lc7 18 �c5 'i!:lb7 19 liJd5 'i!:lb8 20 'i!:lc6 'i!:la8 21 liJc7 + 'i!:lb8 (D)

5.02 N.Vlasov - D.Sokolov Alushta 1994

Now we have achieved the standard posi­ tion, in which the famous 'W-manoeuvre' of the white knight comes into effect (incidentally, this is also very schematic).

At first sight White's defensive set-up seems impregnable, but we should not give up so eas­ ily. Which black piece could still be improved? That's right: the king. But where would the king go if he had a free choice of any square on the board? Obviously: to a5, since then the b5pawn would fall. From this a clear plan can be formed, one which is achievable: 1...'i!:le4 2 �d3+ 'i!:le3 3 �fl �e6 4 �d3 �g4 5 �g6 �e2 6 �e8 �fl 7 �c6 Also after the more tenacious 7 �d7!? there is a way through: 7 ...'i!:le2 S 'i!:lc2 �g2 9 �f5 'i!:lel 10 �g6 �f3 II 'i!:lcl (II �f5 �dl+ 12

HOW TO PIAY CHESS ENDGAMES

108

I!1c3 .l1.e2 13 .l1.d7l!1dl -+) II....l1.e2 12 .l1.e8 .l1.d3 13 .l1.c6 so far Vlasov and Shipov in Illfarmatar. Our analysis continues 13...'liIe2 14 .l1.d71i>e3 15 .l1.c61i>d4 161!1b2 c4 17 .l1.e8 c3+ 18 Ii>b3 .l1.e4 19 .l1.h5 I!1d3 20 .l1. d l Ii>d2 -+. 7 li>e2 8 Ii>c2 .l1.h3 9 .l1.e8.l1.fS + 10 I!1c3 Ii>dl 1 1 .l1.h5 + 1!1c1 12 .l1.e2l!1bl 13 .l1.c4 13Wb3 .l1.e6+ 141!1c31i>a2 -+. 13 l!1aI 14I!1b3 .l1.bl ! IS I!1a3 I51i>c3 .l1.a2 16 .l1.d3 .l1.d5 intending ... li>a2a3-a4-a5 -+ and 15 .l1.e2 .l1.a2+ 16131a3 .l1.d5 17 .l1.d3 .l1.e6 (zugzwang) 18 .l1.e4 .l1.c4 19 .l1.c6 I!1bI -+ are both lines given by Vlasov and Shipov. IS .l1.c2 16 .l1.e21i>b1 17 .l1.fl The stalemate trick 17. .l1.dI!? is answered by I7...li>cI!. 17 l!1cl I8.l1.c4 .l1.dl 19 .l1.e6 .l1.e2 20 .l1.d7 Ii>c2 21.l1.c61!1c3 22 .l1.d7 c4 23 .l1.c61!1d2 0-1 •••

6 1!1h6 White has reached the haven of his dreams and can now set the b-pawn rolling. 6...EldS 7 b4 7 1;1b7+ 1!1f6 8 lLle7 1;1d3 9 ILlxg6 li:xg3 10 ILlf4 +-. 7....l1.dl (D) 7....l1.f5 8 b5 .l1.e4 9 1;1b7+ Ii>f6 10 1;1b81i>f7 11 b6 1;1b5 12 1;1b7+ I31f6 13 1;1d7 +-.

•.•

•••

•••

8 bS .l1.a4 9 lLla7 .l1.c2 10 Elc6 .l1.e4 11 b6 11 ILlc8 would have won more quickly. 1l...li:d812 1;1c8li:d3 13 lLlc6 il.xc6 14li:c7+ .l1.d7 15 b7 1;1b3 16 1;1xd7 + li>e6 17 1;1g7 1!1fS 18 1;1xg6 1;1xb7 19 1;1gS+ I!1f6 20 I!1xhS 1-0

C) Improving the Position of a Piece and Makogonov's Principle 5.03 Av.Bykhovsky - M.Roiz Israeli Cht 2004

The white king would very much like to sup­ port the attack, without being harassed by the enemy rook. But before the king can set off for g5 or h6. the knight must be posted in a more central position: l 1Lld4 1;1dl 2 1i>e3 1;1el+ 3 1!1f4 1;1dl 41Llc6 li:fl+ S l31 gS 1;1f5+? Only the bold 5 ...l!1e6!! held out any promise of salvation, based on the activity of Black's pieces.

If there is no question of a race, and jf there is no obvious candidate move, then Makogonov's Principle, that you should improve the position of your worst-placed piece, can come in very useful. You could even get into the habit of ex­ tending this to sounding out all your pieces. to check whether they are happy and have options for the future. If a piece is in a very flexible po­ sition and can quickly come into action, any­ where on the board, then generally this piece is well-placed. But if a piece is going to be tied down for a long time performing a not So impor­ tant function, then it should always be regarded

THINKING IN SCHEMES

as a candidate for improvement. Quite often improving the knight is the key to solving the problem of the position.

109

7 ...lZlxc5 8 lZlxc5 l:(a8 was more tenacious, but of course Black is strategically busted. SlZlb4 �b7 9 lZlxb7 l:(bxb7 10 l:(xc6 as 11 l:(xb6 axb4 12l:(xb7 l:(xb7 13l:(xb4 1-0 In the next example too, things very much tum on the prospects of both sides' knights.

B

In this 'Karlsbad' pawn-structure, d3 and d6 are ideal squares for knights, since from there they can be redeployed quickly and flexibly on both wings. 1 lZlel! �eS 2 lZld3 l:(bS 3 f3 l:(e7 4 �f2 lZlfS S l:(b3 lZld7 6 g4 bS? If Black remained passive with, for example, 6...�d8, then White could open a second front on the kingside, when the d3-knight would again render good service: 7 h4 as 8 lZlb6 lZlxb6 9 l:(xb6 l:(a8 IO lZlf4 �d7 11 g5 ±. 7lZlacS (D)

B

7, lZlb6? ••

5.05 Em.Lasker - J.Capablanca St Petersburg 1914

1...�b7? Now the e6-square and the d6-pawn will be very weak. Instead it was much better to keep the pa'!Vn-structure as it is and bring all the pieces to good squares, as Capablanca indi­ cated after the game: 1...�xf4! 2 l:(xf4 c5' 3 l:(d I �b7 4 l:(f2 l:(ad8 5 l:(fd2 l:(xd2 6 laxd2 lZlc6 7 l:(d7 l:(c8 and in view of his activity and the great e5-square for his knight Black stands no worse. This schematic evaluation works well here. Of course, you should still always verify this with some concrete variations. 2 �xd6 cxd6 3lZld4l:(adS? 3... �c8 was necessary. Capablanca underes­ timates the power of the knight landing on e6. 4lZle6l:(d7 S l:(adl lZlcS 6 l:(f2 bS 7 l:(fd2 l:(de7 S b4 �f7 9 a3 �aS?! 9 ...l:(xe6 10 fxe6+ l:(xe6 was by far the least of the evils, even though White retains good winning chances. 10 �f2l:(a7 11 g4 h6 12l:(d3 as? Ultimately the opening of the a-file just helps White, whose forces can more easily exploit it owing to his space advantage.

IIO

HOW TO PlAY CHESS ENDGAMES

13 h4 axb4 14 axb4 laae7 15 Ii>f3 lagS 16 Ii>f4 g6 17 lag3 g5 + IS Ii>f3Iilb6 19 hxg5 hxg5 20 lah3! lad7 21 Wg31i>eS 22 ladhl �b7 (D)

5.06 Original

23e5! A beautiful clearance sacrifice, which allows the last white piece to join in the attack power­ fully via e4. 23... dxe5 24 lile4 Iild5 25 1il6c5 �cS 26 Iilxd7 �xd7 27 lah7 lafS 2S laal d7 S Ii>eS Ii>c6 61i>e61i>c7 7 Ii>xdS +-. 3 1ilfS + Wd7 41i>e5 �e45 1ile3 1i>c6 61i>e6 �f3 7 Iilf5 �g4 S We51i>d7 Now both black pieces are out of position and 9 1ile3 +- is decisive. Endgames with rook vs bishop are similar to knight vS bishop endgames where the side with the knight is in control.

D) Plans Developing very elaborate long-term plans in the opening and in the middlegame is generally inappropriate, since too much depends on what the opponent does. In the endgame, however, it can be a very different story, especially if the opponent has no real counterpJay. In the following diagram, White's winning plan consists of the following steps: Step 1: knight to fS; Step 2: king to eS; Step 3: king to e6; Step 4: threaten to transfer the knight to e7, which leads to the diversion of both defenders and consequently to the win of the dS-pawn which, with the active white king, will decide the game. l 1ilg6 �g2 2 1ilh4 �hl The pawn ending after 2 ... �h3 3 IilfS+ is hopeless for Black, since after 3 ... �xfS 41i>xfS the white king is on a key square with respect to

5.07 J.Speelman - I.Nataf Esbje/g 2001

Speelman's plan is as follows: first he fixes the enemy pawns on dark squares, and then he keeps using the same zugzwang-based scheme over and over again to force back the black king:

THINK I NG IN SCHEMES

1 f4! gxf4 2 Wf3 ke5 3We4We7 4flbl Wf6 5 flxb6We6 6 f3 (D)

111

Wh7 20 Wf7 kd4 21 flxd6 ke3 22 flg6 kf2 23 Wf6 ke3 24 WgS kd2 25 fld6 ke3 26 fld7+ Wg8 271i?f6 kb6 28Wg6 1-0 Of course, a plan can also be very long-tenn and include many intennediate goals.

Now, owing to White's light-squared domi­ nation and zugzwang, Black will be forced fur­ ther and further back. The underlying scheme is typical of the struggle of a rook against a bishop which lacks targets. 6...l&f6 7 flc6 We6 8 fla6 Wf6 9 Wd5 Wf7 10 fla7+ Wf6 11 fld7 Wg5 12 fld8 (D)

B

12...Wh4 12...Wf6 13 fle8 Wf7 14 £(e61&f8 15 We4 Wf7 16 Wf5 Wf8 17 I&g6 (zugzwang) +- was given by Hazai in CBM. We continue the analy­ sis as follows: 17...kc3 18 flxd61&e7 ( l 8...ke5 19 fld5 kc7 20 fld7 ke5 21 1i?f5 +-) 19 fldI l&e6 20 I&g5 ke5 21 1;(el Wd5 22Wf5 kc7 23 fle4 +-. 13 flg8Wh5 14 flg4Wh6 15 We6 Wh5 16 I&f5 Wh6 17 flg2 I&h7 18 flg6 Wh8 19 We6

5.08 N.Rashkavsky - A.Orlav St Petersburg 1999

1 W'b5! White should exchange all the major pieces, so that his king can then penetrate the queen­ side unhindered. In contrast, the minor pieces should all remain on the board, at least for the time being, so that White's space advantage can play its part. 1...W'xb5 2Ii:lxb5Ii:lb6 Also after 2...ke7 31i:lc4 ± Black would not be able to delay the exchange of rooks for long. 3 flxa81i:lxa8 41i:lc4 ke7 5 Wf21i:lac7 (D)

How TO PLAY CHESS ENDGAMES

112

6121a7! Naturally White declines to exchange, since the black pieces are treading on each other's toes. In fact this example could also have ended up in the section 'Converting an Advantage (Space Advantage)'. 6 h5 6...121f6 7'>!1f3 �f8 8 �d2 h5 9 �a5 121ce8 10 h3 ±. 7 '>!Ie2 '>!If7 8 IiId3 l2la6 9 l2lc8 l2lac7 10 �d2121h5 11 l2la5 l2lf6 1 l...121ec7 12 l2lc6 �f8 13 �a5 l2le8 14 l2ld8+ '>!If6 15 121e6 �e7 16 c3 (zugzwang) +­ (Alterman in CBM). 12 l2lh7 l2le8 13 �a5 l2ld4 14 c3 c4+ 15 '>!Ixc4 l2lc2 16 '>!Ih5 l2le3 17 '>!Ic6 l2lxg2 18 l2lhxd6 + l2lxd6 19121xd6+ '>!If6 20 l2lc4 g5 21 d6 g4 22 dxe7 '>!Ixe7 23 l2lxe5 l2le3 24 �c7 l2lo 25 I2lg6 + '>!If6 26 l2lh4'>!1g5 27 I2lg2 1-0

B

•.•

E5.02 /* How did Black demonstrate to his opponent the hopelessness of his situation?

In conclusion, we should once more like to give you a warning: 1) No amount of thinking in schemes can completely rule out the need for concrete calcu­ lation. 2) You should not think in too static terms and should never rule dynamic possibilities out of consideration.

Exercises

(Solutions on pages 305-7)

E5.01 **/ How should White make progress?

E5.03 **/ How can White further improve his position?

E5.04 ***/ Work out a winning plan for White.

THINKING IN SCHEMES

E5.05 /*** Which concept did Black employ to breach White's defences?

E5.06 /**** The position hangs in the balance; find the right way for Black.

113

6 Weaknesses

Try to saddle your opponent with the sort of pawn-formation that will give him problems. ARON NIMZOWlTSCH

A weakness is a defect in the position which is of a long-term nature. As a rule, weaknesses consist of squares, pawns or whole complexes of squares which can no longer be defended by their own pawns. However, the opponent must, at least in the long term, be in a position to take advantage of the weakness; otherwise the tefm is inappropriate. But you should not fool your­ self: it is not enough for you just to follow an active plan, to which the opponent must keep reacting. with the result that your weakness is not directly noticeable at first. As soon as the initiative runs out and the dynamic possibilities diminish, any static weakness generally be­ comes all the more significant.

A) Pawn- and Square­ Weaknesses AI) Pawn Weaknesses Ala) Isolated Pawns A pawn on a half-open file with no friendly pawns on the two neighbouring files is called an isolated pawn. Since such a pawn always needs the protection of pieces, it tends to be­ come a weakness, and especially quickly in the endgame. In the following example, first White prevents any counterplay and then he takes aim at the black pawn weaknesses one by one, espe­ cially the isolated c-pawn, condemning the black pieces to passivity: 1 .!l:c1 c5 2 \l;>e3 \l;>f7 3 .!i:c4l:!d7 4l:!a4h5 5 lla6.!i:c7 5 c4 6 .!i:c6 .!i:d3+ 7\1;>e4 .!i:xh38iZld4 .!i:h2 9 .!i:c7+ \l;>e8 10 iZlxe6 +-. ...

6 iZlc3 c4 7 iZlb5 .!i:d7 7....!l:b7 8 a4 +-. 8 \1;>e41 Black can no longer hold his weak pawn. 8...±c5 9 .!i:c6 a6 10 iZld6+ ±xd6 11 exd6 \l;>f6 12 \l;>d4 as 12...\I;>f5 13 \l;>xc4 \l;>xf4 14 \l;>c5 e5 15 .!i:c7 .!i:d8 16 d7e4 17 \l;>d6 +-. 13 \l;>xc4.!i:b7 14.!i:c81-0 By the way, it is absolutely typical that posi­ tions with many pawn weaknesses are particu­ larly suitable for knights, since in that case they have more secure bases and can frequently gain the upper hand, at least if the opponent has few or no dynamic possibilities available. However, with an unweakened structure, the side with the bishop can operate more easily against the knight, as, for example, in 9.01 Englisch-Stein­ Hz.

Further examples of a weak isolated pawn in the endgame, as well as the techniques of blockade and siege, are 4.29 Fischer-Petrosian and 17.09 Rublevsky-l utier.

115

WEAKNESSES

Alb) Doubled Pawns

9... 1:IbS 9. ,1:Ic8 1Oc4 cS I I bxc61:1xc6 12cS bxcS 13 1:IxcS l'!xcS 14 IiJxcs IiJc6 IS IiJb7 +- (Yusu­ pov), IOc4 Now the opening of a second front can no longer be prevented. 10...eS llliJxeS II .Yl.xcS! bxcS 12 IiJxcs J::td8 13 IiJb3 was probably a simpler win, ll.. ,bxcS 12 .Yl.xcS IiJd8 13 .Yl.d6 1:Ib7 14 l'!dl IiJde6 15 bxe6 IiJxc6 16 .Yl.cS l'!b2+ 17 li:d2 J::tb3 IS 1:Id6 liJe7 19 .Yl.b61iJg6 20 .Yl.xaS IiJf4+ 21 1£Id2liJxg2 22 cS 1iJe3 23 .Yl.dS+ 1£If7 241:1d3liJc4+ 2S Wc21:1b8 2S.. ,1:Ixd3 26 I£Ixd3liJb2+ 27 I£Ic2liJxa4 28 .Yl.b6 +- (Yusupov), 26 e6 WeS 27 e7 1:IaS 2S 1:Ic3 IiJb6 29 as l'txa5 30 eS'!!\' 1-0 .

Isolated doubled pawns are especially weak,

6,02 A,Vusupov L,Christiansen Las Palmas 1993 -

First White brings all his pieces into better positions for a siege: 1 1iJel! liJeS 2 IiJd3 IiJd6 3 .Yl.f2 b6 4 .Yl.g3 IiJf7 5 a4 as ? This gives White a potential pawn-break to open a second front. S..,l£If6 was indicated, 6 £:tel! Wf6 7 b41:1dS (D) 7.. ,axb4 8 cxb4liJd4+ 9 l£Ie3 c6 10 as bxaS II bxaS 1:Ia7 12liJxeS IiJxeS 13 .Yl.xeS+ I£IxeS I41:1cS+ +- (Yusupov in [nlonnator),

If the doubled pawn is part of a compact pawn-mass, things are generally not so simple, since they often provide support-points for pieces; the pawns themselves have great resil­ ience and do not constitute a static weakness. However, only rarely do they exhibit any dy­ namism.

6.03 S.Rublevsky V.Gelier Russian Ciit (SocII i) 2004 -

S bSliJe7 9 .Yl.f2 ! Important prophylaxis, since the immediate 9 c4? could be answered by 9. ,cS! 10 bxc6liJxc6, .

The black structure is still compact, but he must watch out for White eventually playing bS, 1...l'!eS?!

116

How TO PLAY CHESS ENDGAMES

Black should instead give urgent priority to activating the passive rook on b7: 1...'i.i?c7 2 iiJd4 Wb8 (Postny in CBM) with the plan of ...ac7-c8-e8, and White's advantage is only slight. ZiiJd4 h5 3 iiJb3 );(e7 4iiJc5 );(c7 5 h4 White is in no rush and first fixes the king­ side favourably for his bishop. Next he will ac­ tivate his king. 5 );(e5 6 );(a6 );(e8 7 .Il.eZ We5 8 WeI d6 9 iiJd3+ We6 10 a4);(b8 (D)

W

•••

W

11 b5! A decisive undennining of Black's structure. 11...l:l.b6 After 11...cS 12 .Il.f3 d4 13 .Il.c6 (Postny) White dominates the position. IHla5 White rightly avoids the exchange of rooks, which with this distribution of material is gen­ erally correct, since the white rook is operating virtually as the conductor of the minor pieces. lZ...cxb5 13 axb5 abb7 14 .Il.f3 );(c3 15 WdZ);(b3 Now White can round off the game with a fine combination: 16 .Il.xd5+! Wxd5 17 b6+ Wc418 );(a4+ 1-0

Ale) Backward Pawns A backward pawn is a pawn on a half-open file that can no longer be protected by another pawn and the square in front of which can not be protected either. Such a pawn therefore has a strong tendency to become a weakness.

6.04 Em.Lasker - H.Pillsbury Paris 1900

1 iiJbl! Lasker sends his knight on its way to act as a blockading knight on eS, which will keep the backward pawn securely blockaded and se­ verely cramp Black. 1...aae8 l ...eS 2 dxeS );(ae8 (2...);(xeS? 3 );(f7 +-) 3 ctJd2 is a transposition to the game. ZiiJd2 iiJh6 The following serves as an illustration of a 'siege' of the weaknesses caused by the back­ ward pawn. In the game Pillsbury dissolved his backward pawn immediately with 2...eS!? but in return had to accept the activation of the white knight: 3 dxeS );(xeS 4 iiJf3 );(e3 S iiJgS );(xg3?! 6 hxg3 h6 7 iiJf7+ Wg7 8 iiJd6 );(e7 9 iiJxb7 and Lasker prevailed in the end. 3 iiJf3 iiJf5 3... iiJf7? 4 );(h3 h6 S iiJh4 +-. 4);(g5 );(g8 5 );(xg8 + Wxg8 6 Wd2 ag7 7 g3 iiJd6 8 iiJe5 .Il.e8 9 af6 ae7 10 );(h6 ± Black is paralysed.

AId) A Pawn that has Advanced Too Far Sometimes a far-advanced pawn secures a space advantage, which can then slowly but surely be increased (more about this in Chapter IS). But things can tum out quite differently; the unit that has strayed far from its base can sometimes be surrounded, besieged and finally captured.

WEAKNESSES

117

8...liJc3? 9 .ll.xc3 bxc3 l O IiJb4 ± (Karpov in lnformator), since the c3-pawn is too far ad­ vanced and is likely to be very weak. 9 .ll.xd3 We7 10 Wf2 Wd6 11 .ll.d21iJd7 12 .ll.c41iJ7b6 13 We2 h5 14 Wd3 Wc6 15 g3 g6 (D)

6.05 A.Karpov U.Andersson Skelleftel11989 -

1 :&c6? An amazing error of judgement for an end­ game virtuoso of Andersson's stature. Presum­ ably he thought that, with only one weakness, he would be able to hold the position. In con­ trast, 1...bxa3 2 bxa3 '&c6 3 '&xc6 .ll.xc6 of­ fered very good drawing chances. 2 '&xc6 .ll.xc6 3 axb4 axb4 A single weakness is usual1y not much of a problem, provided that it can be comfortably de­ fended. Hence the great importance of the prin­ ciple of the second weakness, which we shall consider in Section E of this chapter. But some­ times even a single weakness can prove fatal. 4 IiJf4 IiJb6 5 b3 IiJfd5 6 IiJd3 .ll.b5 7 .ll. c2 Wf8 8 .ll.el (D) ••

8....ll.xd3

Now White reaps the harvest: 16 .ll.xd5+ IiJxd5 17 Wc4 f5 18 h3 Wb6 19 .ll.xb4 IiJe3+ 20 Wd3liJd5 21 .ll.d2 Wb5 22 g4 IiJf6 23 .ll.g5 IiJd5 24 gxh5 gxh5 25 .ll.d2 IiJf6 26 We3 IiJd5+ 27 Wf2liJe7 (D)

In view of the strong light-squared blockade it is now hard for White to breach Black's defences. Here too the principle of the second weakness retains its importance. After Kar­ pov's next move it should definitely be drawn; however, it remains doubtful whether he had a significantly better continuation at this pOint. 28 .ll.g5?! IiJc6

118

How TO PLAY CHESS ENDGAMES

2S ...iiJd5? 29 I1;>g3 I1;>M 30 I1;>h4 I1;>xb3 31 I1;>xh5 I1;>c4 3211;>g611;>xd4 33 h4 +- (Karpov in Infarmatar). 29 �f6 f4? 29 ...iiJa5 30 M (30 I1;>g3 iiJxb3 3111;>h4 iiJd2 32 f4 iiJe4 33 �e5 iiJf2 also leads to a draw) 30 ...l1;>xM 31 I1;>g3 iiJb3 32 I1;>h4 iiJd2 33 f4 iiJe4 34 �e7+ I&c4 35 I&xh5 I&xd4 3611;>g6 e5 30 l&e2 11;>b4 31 I&d3 I&xb3 32 11;>e4 I&c4 33 �e5 iiJe7 34 �xf4 iiJc6 35 �e5 iiJe7 36 h4 iiJd5 37 �S! iiJe7 3S �g7 iiJg6 39 M6 iiJfS 40 11;>e5 1-0

A2) Weak Squares A square that can no longer be defended by a friendly pawn is weak.

iiJxd4 3 iiJxd4 �b7 4 ll:hc1 I1;>d7 5 ll:c4 a5 6 ll:ac1 ±. 2 ll:acl �d7 3 ll:c5 ll:hcS 4ll:hc1 f6 4 ... iiJa7 5ll:xcS ll:xcs 6ll:xcS iiJxcs 71&e3 iiJb6 S I1;>d4 �b5 9 iiJc l ± M.Kreuzholz­ F.Kuczera. W.German U-1S Ch (MUnster) 1990. 5 11;>e3 iiJa7?! 6ll:xcS iiJxcs 7 iiJed4 iiJa7 S h4! ? A strong waiting move which impedes a later ... g5 break. S...ll:cS 9ll:xcS �xcS?! Now the a7-knight stands offside, since it should not really be exchanged for a white knight. 10 iiJd2 �d7 11 iiJ2b3 fxe5 12 fxe5 iiJc6 13 iiJxc6+ �xc6 14 g3 White does not rush. 14...�a4 15 I&d4 �b5 16 a3 bxa3 17 bxa3 I1;>f7 IS iiJc5 as 19 iiJb7 I&g6 20 iiJxa5 11;>f5 21 iiJb7 �a6 22 iiJc5 �cS 23 a411;>g4 24 a5 11;>xg3 25 iiJxe6! I1;>xh4 26 iiJxg7 I&g5 27 11;>xd5 1-0

B

B) A Complex of Weak Squares One weak square often turns into a whole com­ plex of weak squares. This is especially often the case if the pawns are fixed on squares of one colour and the bishop of the opposite colour has been exchanged. 6.06 Reefat bin Satter - E.Hossain Dhaka 1999

White will abstain from playing d4 and in­ stead will use the important d4-square as a tran­ sit-point for his pieces. 1 l&e7 1...a5 2 ll:ac1 I1;>d7 3 iiJed4 iiJxd4 4 iiJxd4 �a6 5 l&e3ll:hcS 6 iiJb3ll:c7 7ll:xc7+ I&xc7 S ll:c 1+ I1;>b6 9 iiJd4 ± T.KUhn-LKJemm, Ham­ burg U-IS Ch 1994. On principle, even 1...d4 comes into consid­ eration, to enhance the prospects of the bishop and to be able to take advantage of the d5square. In the present case, however, the com­ pensation should not be sufficient: 2 iiJexd4 •••

6.07 M.Adams - C.Lutz Leon Ech! 200 I

WEAKNESSES

Black sorely misses his dark-squared bishop, or at least a knight, as we shall see, 1 c4! ! This move completely changes the situation. l",bxc4 After L,dxc4 the rooks penetrate directly: 2 :Eid6+Wg7 3 't!.e7 ± and the king soon follows, 2 Wc3 't!.bS 3 J:l:el :!'i:b5 (D)

4 f4! Before he transfers the struggle to the b-file, White prophylactically prevents any counter­ play, Good technique! 4, 8 't!.dl Wg7 9 :!'i:dbl Wf6 10 J:l:bS 't!.a7 11 J:l:lb7 :!'i:a6 12 J:l:dS J:l:c6 13 Wd4 1-0

119

First White exchanges the annoying knight: l1Lle2 ILlxe2 2 �xe2 �c6 Then he brings all his pieces into position: 3 �f3 h4 4 J:l:d2 Wd7 5 J:l:hdl J:l:hdS 61Llc4 Wc7 (D)

Now comes the vital breakthrough which, as often happens, takes place not on the dominant colour-complex but on the other: 7 c3 ! bxc3 S J:l:c2 "Black is in a lost position. His weak pawns and his endangered king tell their own story." (Wahls), S. . d5 9 exd5 e4 10 �xe4 10 dxc6? exf3 II J:l:xd8 J:l:xd8 12 gxf3 �b4 + (Ftacnik in CBM), 10...�b4 11lLlxa3 �b5 (D) IL�xa3 12 J:l:xc3 J:l:b6 13Wc2 +-,

6.08 N.Short - P.Popovic Moscow OL 1994

12 ILlxb5 + J:l:xb5 13 :!'i:d4 Wd6 14 't!.c4 J:l:eS 15 't!.e2 't!.e5 16 Wc2 't!.bxd5 17 J:l:xb4 1-0

How TO FlAY CHESS ENDGAMES

120

The black king has reached the destination of his dreams. White cannot withstand the pres­ sure for much longer. 21 �eS �gS! 22 .!l:dl �h6 23 �hl �f8 24 �b8 �e7 0-1

B

The following example is even clearer, since the attacker also has the bishop-pair (more on this mighty weapon in Chapter 9):

6.09 B.Belotti - A . Miles Forti 1991

Black has a pleasant advantage, although one that should not be sufficient for victory against precise defence. He is clearly superior on the light squares and can easily activate his king. l...liig7 2 �c2 �ah8 3 h3 f4 4 �d2 �f6 5 �fc1 gS 6liiflliig6 7 �b4liifS 8 �d6 .!l:g8 9 �c8 �hh8 10 .!l:xg8 �xg8 11liie2 g4 12 hxg4+ l:i:xg4(D)

6.10 L.Portisch - M.Krasenkow Jakarta 1996

Black is hopelessly lost, since his queenside is full of light-squared holes. IlZlbS �fd8 2 b4lZlf6 3 f3lZle8 4�f2 .!l:db8 5 �d7 lZlac7 6 �al (D)

131iif l? This passive move allows the black king to penetrate. 13 �gl �g8 (13 ...liie4 14 lZld2+ Iiixd4? runs into 15 .!l:c1) 14liid3 was necessary. 13. ..�g8 14 .!l:c21iie 4 1S .!l:e2 + 15 b3 a6 +. Is .liid 3 16 .!l:d2+ Iiic4 17 �eS �e7 18 g3 fxg3 19 �xg3 �f6 20liie2liib3 ..

Thanks to his light-squared superiority, White is able to seize the a-file. 6.. .�xal 7 �xal �d2

WEAKNESSES

121

7. ..IiJxb5 S �xb5 �d2 9 J:l:a4 i1:Jc7 10 �c6 b5 11 J:l:a7 i1:JeS 12 J:l:xf7 + +- (Ftacnik in CBM). 8 i1:Jxc7 i1:Jxc7 9 b5 Wg8 10 );(a7 i1:Je8 11J:l:a6 i1:Jf6 12 �c6 �a5 13 wn Wf8 14 We2 We7 15 Wd3J:l:c8 16 );(a7+ Wf8 17 Wc4J:l:b8 18 Wb3 �d2 19 lila6 We7 19 ... �aS 20Wa4We7 21 J:l:a7+WfS 22 J:l:xaS bxaS 23 �a7 J:l:dS 24 b6 +-. 20 �xb6 i1:Jd7 21 �f2 i1:Jc5+ (D)

6.11 J.Ehlvest - L.Christiansen New York 2003

2J:l:d5 �f8 Or: 2...J:l:a6 3 J:l:cc5 +-; 2...J:l:e6 3 J:l:c7 b6 4 J:l:b7 +-. 3 �b6 �h6 4 J:l:c7 J:l:xc7 5 �xc7 J:l:c8 6 �xa5 J:l:c1+ 7 Wg2 J:l:c2 8 �b6 �g7 9 J:l:d8+ 1-0 Now comes a neat trick, based on the power of the far-advanced passed pawn. 22 Wc4! �h6 22... i1:Jxa6 23 bxa6 +-. 23 ga7+ Wf6 24 �a3 �f8 25 �e3 Wg7 26 lila7 Wg8 27 �d2 f5 28 exf5 gxf5 29 �g5 e4 30 fxe4 fxe4 31 �f4 i1:Jd3 32 �e3 i1:Jc5 33J:l:a8 1-0

C) Creating and Fixing a Weakness Often it is a matter of fixing pawns on the col­ our of the opponent's bishop. 1 a4! White fixes the queenside, intending to tar­ get the black pawns. At the same time, White prevents Black from relieving his position by pawn exchanges. 1...h5 Active counterplay with 1...�b2 does not help either, since after 2 gc2 �a3 3J:l:d5 �b4 4 �g5! �el+ 5 Wg2 J:l:bl 6 J:l:c7 ± (Postny in CBM) both white rooks would be active.

6.12 M.Taimanov - von Eist USSR 1953

First White fixes f5 as a weakness, which si­ multaneously restricts the bishop. After that he wins by opening the queenside, which is a typi­ cal application of the principle of the second weakness. 1 f4 h6 2 b4 J:l:e7 3 Wf2 �d7? 3... c5 4 i1:Jc2 �e6 5 �fl b6;1;,

HOW TO PLAY CHESS ENDGAMES

122

4 l;\bl f3ll:xh4 9 g4 Zlh3+ 10 I1;>g2 Zlh8 11 Zlel 11 Zldl +l1;>e6 12ll:el