Mihail Marin:

Rook and pawn(s) against

bishop and knight in positions
with middlegame character
According to the circumstances, a rook and
one or two pawns should be nominally
equivalent in strength with a knight and a
bishop. But the sides involved in this
indirect material balance are incompatible to
such an extent that several abstract aspects
should be mentioned before starting the
concrete examining of some typical
situations.
The rook is a very strong piece, almost as
strong as two minor pieces taken together.
The possibility of instantly transferring it
from one side of the board to another is
likely to induce dramatic changes in the
dynamic balance. If the minor pieces are
unstable or poorly coordinated, they may
well become comfortable targets for the
rook. The rook is well suited for attacking an
exposed king or sustain a dangerous passed
pawn.
But the strength of the rook could also turn
into an indirect weakness. Having five
nominal units gathered in just one piece
without the possibility of "splitting" induces
certain limitations if none of the
aforementioned ideas is available. From this
point of view, the group bishop + knight is
more balanced in strength than the rook and
pawn(s) patrol. Defending the minor pieces
with pawns would ensure their stability,
making them immune to the rook's attacks.
The same solution is not available to the
rook, which in most of the cases has to avoid
(or evacuate) any square attacked by its
nominally less strong enemies.
If the fight takes place on an extended area,
the minor pieces may well have to migrate
FIDE Surveys Mihail Marin

according to the concrete requirements of

each moment, thus abandoning their stable
outposts. In such cases, it is most welcome
to have a "coordinator" defending them
directly or indirectly. This part is best played
by a queen or rook, like some sort of elder
brother guiding and protecting them.
In his article published this same month,
GM Karsten Mueller mainly examines
positions in which the player with a bishop
and a knight does not have any major pieces
left. In such endings, the only possible
coordinator of the minor pieces is the king,
with its obvious limitations, due to its
reduced mobility.
In my article I have selected positions in
which the minor pieces enjoy the help of a
major piece. Even if no other piece is left on
board, I believe that it would be improper to
consider these positions as endings, since
middlegame elements such as attacking the
king are an important issue.
Getting a position with our thematic material
balance frequently is more than just a simple
exchange operation. Therefore, in some
cases I have inserted the sequence preceding
the thematic starting point of the fragments.

A) The player with a bishop and a knight

stands better.
We will start with a classical example,
illustrating the attacking potential of the
minor pieces sustained by the queen.
Capablanca J. R. : Alekhine A.
Buenos Aires 1927

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With the queens off, Black's position would
be preferable already, due to his outside
passed pawns. True, White could hope to
keep things under control by placing the
knight on d4 and centralizing the king (to
d3, for instance), but this would be mainly a
surviving effort. In the presence of queens,
the minor pieces enjoy higher mobility
under safe circumstances while the attack is
very dangerous.
26.Qc6
Unpinning the knight and initiating a phase
of slow manoeuvring phase with an
ambitious goal: mating the king!
26...Rf8
The line 26...Rd8 27.Bc7 Rc8 28.Nd4 is
suggestive about the kind of domination the
minor pieces can achieve if sustained by
their coordinator.
27.Nd4 Kh8?!

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Too passive. Instead of trying to coordinate

his pieces spread all over the board,
Alekhine increases the dsorder reigning in
his camp.
The paradoxical 27...Rd8 threatening ...Qd5
(not available one move earlier) would have
offered better defending chances. 28.e4 h6
(For hidden reasons, 28...h5 is too
hazarduous: 29.Be5 Qd2 30.Bg7! Rd4
31.Bf6 Rd8 32.Qb5! With the pawn on h6,
the g5 would be defended in the similar
line.) 29.Be3 Qa1 30.Nf5 Qe5 31.f3 h5
32.Nh6.
28.Be5
Threatening Bg7, with a mating attack.
28...f6 29.Ne6
Once again, the queen's help is priceless.
29...Rg8 30.Bd4

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Black has to look for desperate measures
against Ng7.
30...h6!?
30...Qa5 31.Ng7! Rg7 32.Qa8 Rg8 33.Bf6#;
30...a5 31.Ng7 Rg7 32.Qf6 Qg8 33.h4 b5
34.h5+.
31.h4!
A very accurate move, taking the g5square
under control and increasing the strength of
the threatened sacrifice, for instance: 32.Ng7
Rg7 33.Qf6 Qg8 34.Qh6+ or 32...Kg7
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33.Qf6 Kh7 34.Qf5 Rg6 35.Qd7 Kg8

36.Qe8, followed by mate.
The immediate 31.Ng7 Rg7 32.Qf6 (If there
is no Pawn on h6, this manoeuvre wins by
h4h5h6) is not really bad, but it allows
Black continuing the fight with: 32...Qd5
33.Kg1 Qg5.
31...Qb1
The queen desperately tries to approach the
threatened wing, but it is too late.
32.Ng7!+ Qg6
32...Rg7 33.Qf6 Qe4 34.Kg1 Qb7 35.Qh6
Kg8 36.Qg7 Qg7 37.Bg7 Kg7 38.Kf1!+.
The white king will block the enemy pawns
easily, while the white massive phalanx will
be unstoppable.
33.h5 Qf7 34.Nf5
The rest is pure agony.
34...Kh7 35.Qe4 Re8 36.Qf4 Qf8 37.Nd6
Re7 38.Bf6 Qa8 39.e4 Rg7 40.Bg7 Kg7
41.Nf5 Kf7 42.Qc7 1:0.
In the next game the main issue will be the
superior cordination of the minor pieces,
sustained by pawns and major pieces.
Cori D. : Marin M.
Benasque 2012

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FIDE Surveys Mihail Marin

Few moves earlier White had initiated a

forced tactical operation, culminating with
the next move, aimed at retrieving part of
the material.
20.b3 Qf5 21.Bh6 Bd3 22.Rc3
22.Bf8 is concealing the f4square too soon:
22...Kf8! (Unpinning the knight.) 23.Rc3
Nf4 with strong threats.
22...Bb1!
Sustained by the queen, the bishop paralyzes
the a1rook, at least temporarily.
23.Bf8
23.Rf3 Rfe8!+.
23...Rf8 24.h4
It is instructive that the bishop and queen
ensure eachother's stability. White is best
adviced not to attackthe queen with 24.Rf3?
due to 24...Qc2! threatening to get the rook
with ...Qb2.
24...h5 25.Re3 Rc8 26.Re1 Be4

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White has managed to retrieve his
coordination, but the black pieces dominate
the position. The vulnerability of the black
king is only seeming.
27.f3
27.Rac1!?
27...Bd3 28.Re5 Qf4 29.Qf4 Nf4
Finally White has managed to exchange
queens, but the active black rook is prepared
3

for replacing Her Majesty in the part of

coordinator.
30.g3 Ne2 31.Kf2!
The exclaim mark attached to this obvious
move is for my young opponent's whole
concept: White can balance the position only
by including the king into the fight.
31...Rc2 32.Ke3 Bg6 33.g4
White's only chance is to create kingside
threats. 33.Rd5 Ng3 leaves the white
structure helplessly weakened.
33...hg4

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34.fg4?
The correct move order was 34.h5! Bh7
35.fg4 Be4 36.Re8 Kg7 37.Rf1 with
adequate counterplay. The following nice
tactical variation leads to approximate
equality: 37...Nc1 38.Re7 Re2 39.Kf4 Kf6
40.Re4 Re4 41.Kg3 Kg5 42.Rc1 Rg4
43.Kf3, followed by Rc7.
34...Nc3
The queenside is in big danger and as will
soon be revealed the kingside counterplay
fails tactically.
35.h5? f6!
Suddenly, the rook is trapped. If 36.Re7
Re2.

FIDE Surveys Mihail Marin

36.hg6 fe5 37.de5 Nb5 38.Rf1 d4 39.Kf4

Re2 40.a4 Nc3 41.Rf3 Kg7 42.Kg5 Re5
43.Kf4 Re3 44.Rf1 Nd5 0:1.
B) The side with rook hasan advantage.
Based on the fact that the pawns' strength (or
importance) increases with the
simplification, there is such a rule: in the
endgame a bishop and a knight are
equivalent with a rook and a pawn, while in
the middlegame two pawns are needed to
allow the rook keeping the balance even.
Personally, I have the feeling that the latter
is on the edge of favouring the side with a
rook.
In the next example the weakened position
of the white king will be a telling factor.
Adams M. : Karpov A.
Las Palmas 1994

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The strategic plot gravitates around the e5
pawn. Adams thought he had found a way to
avoid its loss, but probably misevaluated the
consequences of the following forced
sequence:
17...Bf3 18.Bf3 Be5 19.Qe4 c6 20.Rd7
Bb2!

An important intermediate grabbing move.

Black gets the second pawn and weakens the
white king.
21.Kb2 Rd7 22.Qe3
Black's pawns are not too dangerous yet, but
they control lots of squares, reducing the
white bishop to the part of a spectator. On
top, the knight which was optimally placed
when the fight for the e5square was still on,
now remained far from the main theater of
events.White will be too busy to defend his
king to try taking advantage of Black's
kingside weaknesses.
22...Rhd8!
Typical for Karpov. Before strating the
attack, he completes his development.
As indicated by Karpov himself, 22...Qb4
would be premature, due to 23.Qb3 Qd4
24.Qc3.
23.a3
Defending the b4square - please refer to the
discussion about 28...h6 and 28...h5 in the
first example. 23.Qa7 Qb4 24.Kc1 Qc3!+
(Karpov). A first effect of the weakening of
the white king's residence.
23...Rd4 24.g3 Qc5 25.Re1 Rc4!

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An esssential decision. As will become clear
soon, White will face bigger problems
defending his quenside with the queens off.
FIDE Surveys Mihail Marin

As explained by Karpov, his last move is the

best way of exchanging quens.
25...Qb5 26.Qb3 Qa5 27.Qc3! (27.Re3
R4d5! 28.Bd5 Rd5+) 27...Qc3 28.Kc3.
26.Qc5 Rc5 27.Re2 Rd1!
With the minor pieces far away, White can
do little against Black's simple threats.
28.Nf4
28.Re6 Rd2 29.Re8 Kc7 (29...Kd7?
30.Nf6) 30.Re7 (30.Be4 Rh5+) 30...Kb6.
28...Rb5 29.Ka2 Rbb1
The most direct way. Karpov also analyzes
29...Rf1!? 30.Bg4 (30.Bh5 Rf4; 30.Re3
Rfb1) 30...Kc7.
30.Bh5
Remarcably enough, the knight is not able to
protect the king: 30.Nd3 Ra1 31.Kb3 Rdb1
32.Nb2 a5! 33.a4 b5! (Karpov) 34.Bc6 b4!
+. The first moment in which the black
pawns show their strength.
30...Ra1 31.Kb3 Rdb1 32.Kc4 Ra3 33.Bf7
Rg3 34.Be6 Kc7 35.Nd3 a5

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The position has calmed down. Black has
adangerous passer while the c6 and b7
pawns safely protect the king. In the absence
of a passed pawn of his own, White has not
enough counterplay.
36.Rf2 Re3 37.Rf7 Kb8!+
37...Kb6?! 38.Bc8.
5

38.Re7
38.Bf5 a4 39.Kd4 a3!, Karpov.
38...Re4 39.Kc3
39.Kc5? Rb5 40.Kd6 Rd4, Karpov.
39...Rb5!
39...a4?! 40.Ba2, Karpov. 0:1.
The next game illustrates the other possible
trump of the side with a rook - a strong
passed pawn. This will prove such an
important element that it will make Black's
theoretical material advantage irrelevant.
Karpov A. : Nikolic P.
Monte Carlo 1997

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Black seems to have an excelent position.
Many of his pieces are active and his centre
looks strong. The only (apparently
temporary) problem is the bishop's presence
on d8. Should Black be allowed to play
...Bb6, his position would surely be good.
But even in a rapid blindfold game Karpov
managed to spot an original way of using the
favourable moment with a complex
exchange operation.
26.Bd5!! Bd5 27.Rd5 Rc3?!
Nikolic cannot refrai from "winning
material". 27...Nd5 28.Qc4 Nb6 would have
offered better chances to defend.
FIDE Surveys Mihail Marin

28.Nc3 Qc3

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Only ashes have remained from Black's
centre. The weakness on d5 prevents him
from consolidating with ...Nd5, followed by
...Bb6 (and possibly ...Nb4). The rook is not
in time to fight for the open files which will
soon be under white control.
29.Rd6
The paradoxical (and, possibly, even
stronger) regrouping move 29.Rdd1!? must
have been a bit too much for a blindfold
game: 29...Bb6 30.Rbc1 Qb4 31.Rc6.
29...Qc7 30.Rbd1 Be7 31.Rc6 Qb7 32.Qc4
White has achieved overwhelming activity.
Black's minor pieces do not have stable
squares in the centre, which prevents them
from fighting for the blockade of the bpawn.
32...h5 33.h4 Kf8
Hoping for a rapid centraliztion in the
endgame, but the endgame is far ...
33...Bb4? 34.Rc7+.
34.b6 Rb8 35.Rb1 Qd7
Given the superior activity of White's entire
army, we should not wonder that the
desirable 35...Bb4? could run into two
different winning lines: 36.Rb4! (The simple
36.Rc7 Qd5 37.Rc8 Rc8 38.Qc8 Ke7 39.b7
is also good. Black will have to give one of
6

his pieces for the passed pawn.) 36...ab4

37.a5. White has only one pawn for the
knight, but his pawns are far too advanced
while the permanent threat of Rc7 makes the
winning picture complete.
36.Rc7 Qf5 37.Rb2 Ne8 38.b7 Bd6 39.Rc8
Qd7 40.Qb5 Ke7 41.Rb8 Bb8 42.Qa5
In the middlegame White had only one extra
pawn, which was equivalent with being
down on the material scale. The game gets
close to the ending now and he has gotten
the second pawn. Needless to say, the game
is over.
42...Qc6 43.Qb4 Nd6 44.a5 Ke6 45.Qb3
Kf6 46.Rc2 Qa6 47.Qd5
Combining the queenside pressure with
threats against the king.
47...Ke7
47...Qb7 48.Qb7 Nb7 49.Rb2+.
48.Rc6 Qa7 49.a6 Kd7 50.Rc8 g6 51.Qc6
Ke7 52.Rc7 Ke6 53.Qd7 Kd5 54.e4 Ke4
55.Qd6 1:0.
The examples examined above offer us four
different patterns. This suggests that it is
hard to offer a simple criteria for evaluating
this type of positions. One has to take in
account the elements mentioned in the
introduction and try to get the right equation
aout of them.The last mention is about the
sometimes unexpected character of the
complex tactical operation leading to our
thematical material balance. One should be
permanently aware of such possibilities in
tense positions.

FIDE Surveys Mihail Marin