Chess Endgame Training Bernd Rosen Foreword by Karsten Miller Translated by Marc Becker AMBIENTSecond German edition published in Germany under the title Fit im Endspiel by ChessGate AG 2001 First English edition published in the UK by Gambit Publications Ltd 2003, Copyright © ChessGate AG 2001, 2003 English translation © Mare Becker 2003 ‘The right of Bernd Rosen tobe identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, Allrights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form, of binding or cover other than that in which itis published and without a similar con. dition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. A copy of the British Library Cataloguing in Publication data is available from the British Library. ISBN | 90460001 8 (nd German edition ISBN 3 935748 01 9) DISTRIBUTION: ‘Worldwide (except USA): Central Books Ltd, 99 Wallis Rd, London E9 SLN. ‘Tel +44 (0)20 8986 4854 Fax +44 (0)20 8533 5821 mail: orders@Centralbooks.com ‘A: BHB International, Inc., 302 West North 2nd Street, Seneca, SC 29678, USA. U For all other enquiries (including a full list of all Gambit chess titles) please contact the publishers, Gambit Publications Ltd, PO. Box 32640, London W14 ON. E-mail: info@ gambitbooks.com Or visit the GAMBIT web site at http://www.gambitbooks.com Edited by Graham Burgess ‘Typeset by John Nunn Printed in Great Britain by The Cromwell Press, Trowbridge, Wilts Cover image by Wolff Morrow 10987654321 Gambit Publications Ltd Managing Director: GM Murray Chandler Chess Director: GM John Nunn Editorial Director: FM Graham Burgess German Editor: WEM Petra Nunn Contents Symbols Prefaces Foreword Introduction 1 King and Pawn vs King: Basic Themes ‘The Rule of the Square ‘The Obstacle ‘The Opposition ‘The Waiting Move Key Squares Further Examples 2 The King's Typical Fighting Methods Triangulation ‘The Zigzag ‘The Body-check Play on Two Wings Further Examples 3. Typical Pawn Structures in Pawn Endings (1) ‘The Protected Passed Pawn Connected Passed Pawns Outside Passed Pawn Further Examples 4 Typical Pawn Structures in Pawn Endings (2) Pairs of Isolated Passed Pawns Space Advantage Further Examples. 5 Typical Pawn Manoeuvres in Pawn Endings The Spare Tempo The Blockade 12 12 16 16 17 7 18 21 21 25 25 26 27 29 29 33 34 34 39 390 44 45 48 484 CHESS ENDO ME TRAINING Breaking Up Breakthrough Further Examples 6 The Rook’s Pawn ‘The Key Squares of the Rook’s Pawn Rook’s Pawn and Minor Piece Further Examples 7 Knight Endings Knight vs Pawn(s) Knight and Pawn vs Knight Strategy in Knight Endings, Further Example 8 Bishop Endings Bishop vs Pawn(s) Bishop and Pawn vs Bishop Opposite-Coloured Bishops Good and Bad Bishops Further Examples, 9 Knight vs Bishop Endings Knight and Pawn vs Bishop Bishop and Pawn vs Knight Knight or Bishop? Further Examples 10 Rook Endings (1) The Cut-Off King ‘The Extended Square Rook vs Connected Passed Pawns Further Examples 11 Rook Endings (2) The Bridge Manoeuvre ‘The Philidor Position The Karstedt Manoeuvre Further Examples 52 52 33 57 57 61 63 65 65 70 70 a 73 7 1 78 80 80 84 84 88 89 90 93 93 7 9 103 103 107 109 109 CONTENTS 12. Rook Endings (3) ‘The Frontal Attack ‘The Rook's Pawn ‘Typical Tactics in Rook Endings Further Examples 13 Rook Endings (4) Maxim 1: Rooks belong behind passed pawns, Maxim 2: Play as actively as possible! Maxim 3: Prevent counterplay Further Examples 14. Queen Endings (1) The Staircase Manoeuvre ‘Winning Zones with Rook's and Bishop's Pawns Purther Examples 15 Queen Endings (2) Queen and Pawn vs Queen Strategy and Tactics in Queen Endings Basic Ideas in Queen Endings Further Examples 16 Endings from Easy to Difficult 17 Advice for Teachers General Advice Advice on the Individual Chapters How to Deal with Errors, Bibliography Index of Composers and Analysts 113 113 117 118 119 122 126 127 128 132 132 136 138 141 141 144 147 147 150 163 163 164 169 172 174 176Symbols + check a double check x capture # checkmate brilliant move good move " interesting move 1 dubious move 2 bad move n blunder White is winning, equal position Black is winning championship team championship world championship candidates event olympiad junior event correspondence game the game ends in a win for White the game ends in a draw the game ends in a win for Black nth match game see next diagram White to move Black to move then with Black to move. BW The position should be considered first with Black t move, then with White to move. ‘The position should be considered first with White to move, Preface to the First German Edition In recent years so many new chess books have been published that one needs compelling arguments and a good portion of confidence to add yet another one to this legion. The subject of the endgame has also been examined from various an- gles. Nevertheless, this book offers something new Whoever tries to prepare endgame training material for a chess group soon finds out that one is left alone here despite the overwhelming wealth of material. The classic works by Averbakh, Chéron, Euwe and Keres are too comprehensive and dry. Furthermore, these books lack examples which allow a topic to be prac- tised by repetition. It is true that collections of studies offer interesting positions but usually they are too difficult and they do not offer a systematic coverage. Books about teaching chess usually address much stronger chess-players. Per- haps Kostiev is an exception; his book Schach lehren leicht gemacht particularly addresses teachers bat offers very little material that goes beyond an introduc- tion, In this book, I will present 15 lessons that you can use immediately, either for coaching or for self-instruction. The material will be complemented by a coll tion of exercises which will revisit all subjects dealt with; these could function ei- ther as an assessment in the beginning of a training course or as a means of measuring success at the end of the course. In the years 1987-8 I developed this course while acting as a trainer at the Katernberg chess club, Later I refined it after testing it at clubs, at chess groups in companies and last but not least at training courses for the North Rhine- Westphalia chess federation. ‘The encouragement to present this endgame course in a book also developed from these training courses because I saw that chess teachers constantly found it necessary to reinvent the wheel. Individual lessons were published in the news- letter of the North Rhine-Westphalia chess federation and these also met with a positive response. My chess friend Karlheinz Bachmann had the task of a critical review of the manuscript. I am grateful to him for many valuable hints on both the chess as- pects and the layout and organization of the material From a technical point of view, this book probably would not have been real- ized without the support of Rolf Schlisser. My gitlfriend Beate also actively assisted in the preparation of the text, Fur- thermore, especially in the last phase of this work, she encouraged me to carry on and thus her contribution to the fact that I actually crossed the finishing line was crucial8 CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING Lam very much indebted to all the people mentioned above. Without their en- ccouragement and support, the present work would never have gone beyond the planning stage Berd Rosen Essen, August 1995 Preface to the Second German Edition More than five years have passed since the publication of the first German edi- tion of Chess Endgame Training. Despite being an optimist by nature, 1 am still surprised by the positive reception of this book. With regard to the first edition, I have received a few (fortunately not so many!) comments about mistakes or inaccurate variations. These have all been corrected for this second edition. | am indebted to all readers who have bothered to draw my attention to such flaws. Especially I have to name GM Karsten Miiller from Hamburg who turned out to be an extremely attentive reader and user of Chess Endgame Training. This second edition particularly profits from my correspon. dence with him, Beyond these corrections, I have made several comments more detailed in or- der to mention additional side variations. This particularly takes into account the needs of the less able among the readers. Bernd Rosen Essen, June 2001 Foreword by GM Karsten Miller ‘The lessons of the legendary chess schools of the old Soviet Union widely prac: tised the method of starting at the end, i.e. with endings that only include kings and pawns. Based upon that, each piece can be introduced in turn to move to- wards more complex endings But which books are available in order to learn the basic principles of the endgame? The classic works by Yuri Averbakh, André Chéron and Max Euwe consist of several volumes; these encyclopaedias of chess endings are indispens able reference books but for practical use in chess instruction they are too volu- minous and too dry. This is the problem Bernd Rosen wants to tackle with his book. He has struc- tured the matetial into 16 chapters which are all organized in more or less the same way. After an introductory example, which is used to explain the most important basic principle, he presents exercises and detailed solutions. together with rules and concepts. Thus the teacher can start immediately without any fu ther preparation, and self-instruction is also made a lot easier. The space that is allocated to each type of ending depends on its significance in practice; for exam- ple, itis completely justified that four full chapters are dedicated to rook endings, which occur very often — only pawn endings, which are the basis for all the other endings, occupy more space, Despite this, knight, bishop and queen endings are not neglected. wish you a lot of fun with Chess Endgame Training, whether you intend to use it for teaching or for self-instruction Karsten Miiller Hamburg, August 2000Introduction ‘The famous German grandmaster Siegbert Tarrasch — one of the strongest play- ers of his time ~ recommended learning the game of chess by starting with the endgame. His still very readable teaching book Das Schachspiel is structured ac- cordingly. After an explanation of the rules, he begins with the endgame, then demonstrates typical tactical procedures in the middlegame, and only in conclu- sion does he give an overview of the opening, Leading grandmasters of the past and the present share his view about the ex traordinary significance of the endgame. Despite this, the endgame knowledge of most chess-players is surprisingly poor. Young players especially prefer opening knowledge and brilliant combina- tions. This book is designed to counterbalance this bias. It covers some important and basic principles, presents elementary positions and manoeuvres and last but not least tries to convey a sense of the endgame’s beauty. ‘The reader is assumed only to have the most basic endgame knowledge (espe- cially the mating of the “lone king’). Usually each topic starts with the simplest basic positions. If you come across something familiar, you may take it as a posi- tive sign that you already possess some knowledge and that something learned before has not been forgotten. ‘The selection of topics is based on two main points. I have dedicated five chapters to pure pawn endings as they form the basis of all other endings (possi ble simplifications to a pawn ending have to be evaluated again and again in al- most every other ending). The topic of rook endings covers four chapters, as rook endings appear most often in practice. Endings with minor pieces occur less of ten and so are afforded less detailed coverage, Thaven’t included endings with minor piece(s) vs took and endings with vari ‘ous pieces vs queen. From my point of view stich endings with a complicated balance of material could be the subject of a additional course which focuses even more on endgame principles. Readers could refer to the more advanced book Endgame Strategy by Shereshevsky. Those who wish to use the material in this book for chess instruction will find recommendations for the design of the lectures at the end of the book. For those who wish to use the material for self-instruction, here are a few tips. At the beginning of each chapter you will find an example to introduce the topic (diagram x.1). Next isa ‘standard program’ (generally exercises x.2 0 X.7) which INTRODUCTION u covers the most important aspects. In any case, these examples shoulld be solved independently. The more seriously you solve the positions yourself, the more you will learn! Only afier a serious attempt at a solution should you consult the Solution part for help. The subsequent examples (given in the text as “further ex- amples’) are often more complicated but illustrate the topic in more depth, Here again independent solutions increase the learning effect, If you don’t find your own solution in the text it isn’t necessarily incorrect — it could be a side variation which isn’t mentioned in the text. Every attempt has been made to include the most important lines and check them for accuracy, but possible errors can’t be totally ruled out, From this viewpoint I recommend that you read the final section of Chapter 17, ‘How to deal with errors’. And now I wish you a lot of fun with Chess Endgame Training! Bernd Rosen1 King and Pawn vs King: Basic Themes ‘Square * Obstacle * Opposition * Waiting Move * Key Squares The Rule of the Square If the defending king can step into the square of the pawn, then he can stop the pawn. If not, the pawn can pro- mote. We call the square that encloses the pawn’s diagonal to the promoting rank the ‘square of the pawn’ If the pawn is still on its starting square, then the square rule must be applied to the square in front of the pawn If White is to play, then he can win the game by simply advancing his pawn: Lads The pawn on ad has the square a4- 4-e8-a8, The black king is not able to catch it any more: 1..Sef4 2 a5 SeS 3 a6 sed6 4 a7 She7 5 a8 With Black to move, his king steps into the square of the pawn and se cures the draw: 1..Sef3 1h purpose. 2ad shed 3 a5 dedS 426 see6 5 a7 B76 aBii+ soxaB viously serves the same KING AND PAWN VS KING: BASIC THEMES BKING AND PAWN VS KING: BASIC THEMES CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING ava N 8 se 8 $8 Sas 85 Sasaoe | ‘Secs we16 CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING The Obstacle 12 Although the black king is ‘actu- ally’ close enough, his own d5-pawn prevents him from stepping into the square of the a5-pawn, After Lud4 2 26 d3 3 a7 d2 4 a8iti+ + he is one step too late! The Opposition In many endings the possession of the opposition is crucial, especially when the kings are fighting about the pro- ‘motion of a pawn. ‘The kings ‘oppose’ each other when all the comers of the square around the kings are of the same colour (see be~ low). Whoever in this ‘The kings directly face each other. Distant Opposition The two kings face each other on a vertical or horizontal line but further apart. Diagonal Opposition Ifitis Black to move, White has the dB 2 a7 opposition and wins: B73 eT + KING AND PAWN VS KING: BASIC THEMES 7 B16 eB 3 deeb WB 4 ked7 HATS eS + 15 ‘The pawn will queen if it reaches the seventh rank ‘silently’ (1e. without check). 14 Black has the opposition because he is not to move. 1 sas ha7 1 ,.42{62? voluntarily abandons the opposition — Black loses: 2 a6 (2 54+? is wrong because then Black achieves a draw again: 2...%e7 3 e6 ‘es! 4 kd6 keds! 5 e7+ Hes 6 Leb 2..Gf7 3.05 Hes 4 deeb dts 5 ha7 2 €5 e7 3 e6(D) The kings are placed on the same diagonal. 13 1d7+ If the pawn moves to the seventh rank with check, then promotion can’t be forced: 1...sed8 2 sed6 stalemate 3.ckeB! 3..sted8? 4 dd6 eB 5 €7 (without check!) 5.27 6 Wd7 +, 4 d6 ea 5 e7+ With check! S.uitteB 6 Heb = {flack is to move, he has to aban- lon the opposition and loses: 1.847 1. S217 2 sed6 +~ is symmetrical) 2 When the king reaches the sixth rank before his pawn then the pawn will promote, no matter who is to move: 1 £6 S28 2 €6 We8 3 e7 Ld7 407 +. 16 Here Black has to be very careful. It is again the opposition which helps him out of a dangerous situation: 1..sked8! Thus Black wins the distant opposi- tion. All other moves lose: 1...e7? 2 Be5! +; 1..6ed772 dS! +; 1.827? 2dedS eT 3 eS +; 1.F872 ds sbf7 3 has +. 2 das 2 dheS weeT! =. 2.cedT! Shifting to the close opposition which is already familiar to us. 3cbeS eT! = The Waiting Move 17 If it were Black to move he would have (o abandon the opposition and lose. White can profit from the fact that his pawn is still on e3 to win with the waiting move 1 edt: 1.872246 BeB 3 eG wis 4 shd7 +-. Key Squares In the previous examples quite a lot of important rules have been explained18 CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING that can be summarized by the term “key squares’: If the king manages to step on one of the marked key squares in front of his pawn then promotion is secured, independent of the right to move. Note: this does not apply for rook’s pawns ~ more about this topic later on, particularly in Chapter 6. Further Examples 18 Salvioli 1887 Black must not give away the a6- pawn too easily because then White ‘would force the promotion of the b- pawn (king in front of the pawn on the 6th rank), Last ‘The alternative 1...8eb8 2 db6 a5! works as well 2 bxaS 2 bS ib8! (2.047 3 eT a3 4 b6+ 806 5 67 a2 6 sil al W 7 Wa8s +93 19 White wins if his king can step on one of the squares a5, 65 or e5 without advancing the pawn first, These are the key squares of the b3-pawn. 12! Only the a5-square is so far away from the black king that he cannot stop the white king from going there. 1 He? dT 2 she3 HT! (the black king takes the distant opposition) 3 shbd depo =. ia 1.807 2 a3! eb 3 Bad + KING AND PAWN VS KING: BASIC THEMES v Now White has the opposition and -2..e5 3 ha! xed wins. 3..oxh4 4 f6! =, 4.6 4 cog! sxh4 4..dea6 5 eS 4. 4.004 5 nS =. SctaS + SiS = 1.10 1.12 Leb! Duclos White takes advantage of the obsta- cele theme. Ldxe6 2 a5 d5 3 a6 + al Gorgiev Azvestia, 1928 It seems as if White is going to lose, as he cannot stop the black pawn. However, if he uses his two passed pawns skilfully he can achieve a draw: I gd+! Th4?c5 2 p44 doxhd! 3 dig6 dexed .sbgs! Lsbxgd 2 g6 05 3 hd}! of (after 3..sexh4 4 shfS = the king is in the square) 4 5 €3 5 h6 c2 6 h7 cl 7 he =. 2bg7! (D) Dhde7 dexhd 3 hg6 dhxed +. Ge 2a D & Sportzeit, 1903 ‘This position provides another il- lustration of the key squares theme. ‘The d5-pawn is lost, and if it were to be captured at d5, the black king would be on a key square of his ¢7-pawn. Thus: 146! After 1 2b3? he5 2 8c3 (2.6 now does not help either: 2..,€exd6! 3 Sed sdec6 —+) 2...caxd5 3 ded3 dees 4 dc3 the waiting move 4...06 is decisive. exd6 2 deh3 eS 3 ee3 dS 4 ‘bd3 = White maintains the opposition 1.13 Krank - W. Lange Bad Oeynhausen 1940 Black's only advantage is his active king, Is this sufficient for a win? 1acigQt ‘The black king takes the distant op- position (a distance of three squates!), with the help of which he will invade the white position: 2 she3 Gr! With other moves Black would lose the opposition again: 2..<82f3? 3 a3; 2..9127 3 a2. 3 ded? ra! Black reaches the close opposition. 44320 CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING 4bdl &e3 5 Hc2 He2 6 Hel Hd3 7 deb2 ded2 8 dbl dec3 9 dea? dee? 10 ska3 cebl —+. 4...hel! 5 hed Hd2 6 SAS &c3 7 cheb Gexb3 8 LDS dhe3 9 dexb6 wb4 O-1 1.14 The second pawn offers White two winning variations: 147. This is the most straightforward way. | sef5 d2f7 2 sees S18 3 deeb Wek 4 17+ LABS £5 +— also wins; in the end the waiting move is decisive hei 1skoxf7 2 efS 4 115 In this position a fierce fight breaks out over the opposition: 1 eb! ska (D) 1,..82b8 2 deb6 eB 3 eT + (si- lently). 2 Sa5! Lab 3 hab! 3 deb6? eb8 4 c7+ (with check) 4. Bec8 5 Heb = 3...b8 4 Lb6 Les 5 7 +— 1.16 Once again an impressive demon- stration of the opposition’s power: 1. First Black takes the distant opposi- tion. His aim is to prevent the white king from invading his territory 2 See3 2hS dy5 3 de3 doxhs 4 dois soho! Scbxgd seg6 =. ude 3 Ld3 kdS 4 deed eS! (D) Diagonal opposition. Of course the black king must not leave the square of the h4-pawn: 4, .see52? 5 hS + 5 bd hdd 6 kad heat Distant opposition 7 EbS dS 8 sebo skd6 9 sea7 BeT Na-Ma 2 The King’s Typical Fighting Methods Triangulation « Zigzag * Body-check » Play on Two Wings © Opposition Triangulation If it were Black to move in the dia- uram position he would immediately lose after 1...slec7 2 &c5 &c8 3 kb6 + oF 1...ded8 2 sed6 we8 3.c7 + In such situations, triangulation is the right way to pass the right to move to the opponent. 1edat The direct way does not lead to sue- ess yet: 1 Sed6 sed 2 74? wee8 3 “ie6 stalemate; 1 Sic5 sec7. However, 1 hed! dad8 2 ded4! heck 3 dics + also wins — this is just a change of move-order, and itis typical that there is more than one way tocarry outa ti- angulation. 1.8 1..ee7 2 decS Bec8 3 bs +. 2 deed deeB 2.87 3 dee +, 3 ed! (D) ‘Thanks to the triangulation White has achieved his aim and passed the burden to move to Black. Now the ‘two winning variations that were men: tioned in the comments to the first move will be realized: 3..2d8a CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING Tue Kina’s TYPICAL FIGHTING METHODS 23 3.8807 4 ac5 4. 4 Sed6 she 5 07 + ‘This example has often been cited as a game Fahmi-Alapin, but the de- {ails of this game are unclear, S s x i Ren 2 ee 2 eS x aS & A Is Top. . sh = : <8CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING THE KING’S TYPICAL FIGHTING METHODS 25 2.2 1...a8 2 e6t ad Herberg 2.202 3 dS =, Deutsche Schachzeitung, 1936 3 ked5t a3 1be3t 3..kb2 4 decd sexa2 5 decd 03 6 White cannot make any progress in skc2 =, a direct way: 1 sbf4? dexh4 2 dexfs. Asked! teb2 5 did3 texa2 6 ke2= 193 = 1 h3? f4 = L..slayhd 2 td + The Zigzag 23 a7! Apart from this winning move, White also has a way to draw and a possibility to lose at his disposal: 1 \4d6? skbS —+, when Black not only captures the c5-pawn but he also gets, his king to one of the key squares b4, 4 or da; 1 sheS eas! 2 shed web4 3 sledd deb5 4 ded dexe5 5 dkc3 =— here the opposition just saves White half a 4~ the white king manages to get to the 6th rank in front of his pawn — pro- ‘motion is therefore secured. 2ked6 + In this kind of position the side that can attack the pawn from further be- huind has the advantage, 24 Prokes Prace, 1947 ‘This study illustrates very well what the term zigzag means 1 &eb7t 1 a7 a5 2 dea6 a4 3 seas a3 4 ad sub 4. In Chapter 6 we will get to know ‘more about the special features of the rook’s pawn, The Body-check 25 ‘Schlage ~ Ahues Berlin 1921 1 ske6 see3 (D) |_ w 2 dae? White gives away halfa point! Like the text-move, 2 ed5! also approaches, the a7-pawn but at the same time blocks the black king. Like in ice hockey, the white king tries to make himself as broad as possible so as not to let the opponent past. 2...%b4 (no better is 2..st2d3 3 ob ded 4 4eb7 eS 5 xa Heb 6 Lbs +) 3 web ha5 4 2b7 sebS 5 dexa7 dc6 6 Lbs ia26 CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING Dauskedd 3 06 eS! Now Black is in time to trap the white king at the edge of the board. 4 &eb7 hed 5 skexa7 see7 = ‘This example also shows us that in positions with a rook’s pawn, different rules often have to be applied com- pared to other pawns, More about that in Chapter 6. Play on Two Wings 26 Réti Kagans Neueste Schachnachrichten, 1922 This is probably the most famous pawn-ending study: the black pawn seems to be unstoppable but White can skilfully combine the fight against the black pawn with the support of his own 1 weg?! eb6 Lhd 2 def6 h3 3 dee6 2 4 €7 =. 2 soft h4 3 seeSt (D) owe Here the king’s effect in two differ- ent directions becomes very cleat. Bouh3 3...dexcb 4 sb 4 ed6 h2 5 €7 7 6 ed7 = If one looks at the route of the king in more detail then he has _moved along the h8-al diagonal so long as he could approach both his pawn and his ‘opponent's at the same time. This is a typical idea in pawn endings: for a king, the zigzag path may not be lon- ger than a linear route 27 Neustad! International Chess Magazine, 1890 We have already become familiar with one of the king’s fighting meth- cds in Chapter I: the opposition. Here is another example of this important theme: 1 gg ag Ba a ent ‘The distant opposition saves. the draw for White, Not: a) 1 oeFL? ded2 2 sef2 ded3! (per- sistent: White would have to move to £3 in order to keep the oppositi however, his own pawn is in the way and thus White has to lose the opposi- tion) 3 teg3 dhe3 4 seg? (4 seg et2 5 THe KING'S TYPICAL FIGHTING METHODS 7 dongs dext3 —+) 4...dee2 5 deg3 11 6 4eh3 wef? 7 dps dog? —+. b) 1 g3? del! (diagonal opposi- tion) 2 seg? dee? 3 eg3 she} 4 det wD. Lsbel! 1..g4 2 dog? =; 1.. deed 2 deg? deed 33. Dikeglt g4 3 deg2t = 3 fxg? ed 4 Set? eda! —4; 3 set2? edd 4. Further Examples 28 Rinck Schweizerische Schachzeitung, 1922 In contrast to the Reti study, the king is on h2 instead of h3 here. This proves to be the decisive difference: 1 ad seb3 2 a5 seed ‘The black king tries to play on two wings. 3a6 kad 3..Sed3 4.07 £25 abit FW (without check) 6 Wa6+ +— 4 dog deed 5 sett +— 29 Réti Narodny Listy, 1928 This time the play on two wings even leads to a successful defence inst three White pawns: 1thb3 2 a4 2 hyd soxb2 3 ext dexc3 also Isto a draw. 2...8ixb2 3 a5 exc} 4 a6 4 hg ida! 5 06 (5 ext she: Saeed 48d = te 2.10 Dobias Narodny Listy, 1926 In this deceptively simple position, only a timely body-check leads to a win: 1 saat (D) 1 ske5? shed 2 def6 edd 3 dexge ed =; 1 £47 decd 2 Hes edd 3 fo hed =; 1 dS? deb4 2 hdd Hb3 3 f4 (3 dB sebd 4 £4 dee =) 3...ee2 =, 1.6, 1..ab4 2 4 +. 2 deeS deeS 3 £41 ed 4 16 + 241 Moravec Ceske Slovo, 1940 White’s task is to win the black pawn without losing his own, This can only be done by I Seba! (1 82c3? ead 2 shad seta 3 coxds see’ =) L..ckgd 2 heS fd 3 dedat +-. 2.12 Salvioli Trattato Completo dei Finali di Partita, 188828 CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING A short repetition of the key squares topie: 1gst White can win the black pawn in any case but only if he captures it on the g6-square will it lead to a win: | ke6? g5! 2 WES GIT 3 dxg5 eT =. 1.8017 2 07 408 3 dee6 skg7 4 skeT sog8 5 det6 2h7 6 07 eh8 7 exg6 seg8 8 cho Lh8 9 26 + 2.13 ‘Sackmann Deutsche Schachblatter, 1924 This example presents the power of a vigzag in shining colours: dns! 1 $2f8? loses a key tempo: 1.6! 2 digs dees 3 deg7 sheds 4 set she3 5 shes skb2 6 skdd dixa2 7 de3 wbI 1.6 2 teh7! 2 dig8? shes + leads to the va tion given inthe note tothe first move. 2.505 3 deg6 edd 4 HefS ee3 S shed seh? 6 Sed3 xa? 7 ed = Here again a reference to Chapter 6 is appropriate 2.14 Bianchetti LOpinio, 1926 White succeeds by paying close at- tention to the opposition 1h! After 1 3 25 = Black has the opposition; 1 dg4? a6 (here again White has fost the opposition to Black) 2 sbfd set 3 hed Heeb 4 sed b3! 5 exb3 ded6 6 decd she6 7 debd debs =. Leg 2 dhgd f6 3 sets deb 4 shed ed6 5 ddd b3 5.6 6 seed b3 7 exb3 kbd e-. 6 exb3 e6 7 wed ebb 8 vebd He6 9 seas + 206 8 2.15 ‘Adamson The Chess Amateur, 1915 The themes of opposition and body- check complement each other very well in White’s winning manoeuvre. Moreover, at some points White needs a waiting move. Iske7t 1 sed7? seb6 2 dee6 dees 3 sets has 4 dog6 ee. L...ea6 2 see! staS 3 sheS ead 4 shed a3 5 see3 dea? 6 wee? dead 7 gt ‘A waiting move. 7 24? isa mistake due to 7..deb4 8 sed3 sec5 9 seed sed6 10 ef5 h5! 11 gxh5 e7 =. The possibility to make a waiting move when necessary is called having a spare tempo. 7...8b4 8 Ld3 HeS 9 Led Ld6 10 SbfS sed 11 gat +— This is in one sense a waiting move, since the black king now has nothing useful to do, and it also parties Black’s threat to draw by playing ...ded4. Not 11 g6? wed 12 sbxho &t3 =. After the text-move, White wins in straightforward fashion 3 Typical Pawn Structures in Pawn Endings (1) Protected Passed Pawn * Connected Passed Pawns '* Outside Passed Pawn The Protected Passed Pawn White wins with the aid of the pro- tcoted passed pawn on bS. 1 cha SedS 2 deed dees 3:03 ded 3.42852 leaves the square of the bS-pawn and White wins by pushing the pawn: 4 06 +. 4 fd e065 shed dee6 6 sad edo 7 shed dhe7 8 seeS Skb7 9 sedst Beware the trap: 9 b6? S2a6 10 Sc6 stalemate. Another winning possibility 19 ed6 shb6 10 see6! Sea7 11 eT! 9.... 3 a7 4 5.11 Grigoriev 64, 1933 ‘The black pawns have no more moves whereas the €2-pawn still has two spare tempi. If White uses both correctly, he will decide the game in his favour: 1¢3!(D) 1 cd? carelessly gives away one of the two spare tempi — and also half a point: 1..2d8 2 feb eB 3 b6 exb64 ‘sexb6 (4 dexd6 bS 5 cxbS deb7) 4...d5! Ye 1.828 2 he6 We8 34! WHE 4 b6 €xb6 5 GxbG dS 6 exdS eB 7 Hes eds 8 sed6 + 5.12 Capablanca - Conde Hastings 1919 Black is relying on his protected passed pawn. The white majority on the kingside seems to be devalued by TYPICAL PAWN MANOEUVRES IN PAWN ENDINGS 55 the doubled pawns while the white queenside seems to be safely blocked. Nevertheless, with the help of pawn breakthroughs White can create an unstoppable pair of isolated passed pawns: 1 b4! axb4 Luexbd 2 dxd4 shd6 3 95 fixe5 4 fags hxgs 5 hxgs + 2 g5! fxgs 3 fxe5 hygs 4 hxgs b3 5 - 5.13 Rosen 1989 ‘Well’, one inevitably asks oneself, isn't this a familiar position?”. If we look at it in more detail we will recog nize that itis different from the study by Cozio (5.5) in that the black king, is inside the square of the e-pawn, Therefore White has to work hard to save the game because otherwise the black king will capture his. pawns. Again a pawn breakthrough comes to his aid: 16! (D) Ji i na ne | ee a aw "ao aA Lexb6! 1..axb6? loses to 2 6 bxc6 3 a6 ++ the black king cannot reach that far! 2axb6! 2.36? is wrong due to 2...bxa6 3 6 sbe6 ~+, but White has a second draw- ing option in 2 cxb6 a6 3 @f2 wed 4 dog3! dhds 5 dof todd 6 dFS = steed? 7 e6 dibS 8 sed soxas 9 ac7 seb 10 Bxb7 a5 11 eT ad 127 03 13 DSW = 2.naXb6 2.05? 3.c6 + 3 exb6 sheS 4 whe2 sds 5 eds eS 6 see3 exb6 7 subd = Once again we have reached the mother of all drawn positions! 5.14 Grigoriev (end of study) Shakhmaty v SSSR, 1938 Apart from his better king position White can also count on the spare tempo of the g2-pawn, 1...807 (D) 1..e7 ultimately leads to the same picture: 2 sic6 Se6 3 g3! eT 4 dac7 ske6 5 ded8 def7 6 S27 transposes to the main line J56 CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING 2 hedS de7 3 ees et7 4 tds St6 5 a7 7 6 93! (D) ©) 1 657 dxeS 2 bxe5 (2 b5? exdd+ 3 shxdd c5+ 4 dd5 &f3 5 treo 04 6 6 The Rook’s Pawn Key Squares of the Rook's Pawn Rook's Pawn and Minor Piece bxb6 c3 7 tab c2 8 b6 clW -+) 2oubxeS 3 dxeS d) 1.d5? 5! (1..cxd5? 2 sada! dxed 3 doxcd of3 4 ded +-) 2 bxe5 bxeS 3 shb3 dn3 4 duad deed 5 kbs Bad 6 deb dexcd 7 bxd6 debd 8 he7 o4 =. The Key Squares of the Rook's Pawn If Black is to move, he manages to get his king to the key square g2 and forces the promotion of the h5-pawn 1...dag3 2 deed dag? + White gains the opposition. 6.888 6.816 7 eR theo 8 eis S16 9 shg8 Sze 10 sg7 is also winning for White Tie6 og] 8 doeT segh 9 6 GN7 10 E47 seh6 11 eg8 + 5.15 Kok De Schaakwereld, 1940 This position is certainly not_as straightforward as it appears at first glance because the black king is ready to support his own pawns, if neces- sary. Moreover, White's space advan- tage is not as big as in the study by Cozio (5.5) since his pawns are only on the 4th rank. 1 sea2! (D) Not a) 1 bS? @5! 2 dxe5 dxeS 3 dic2 13 4 shea3 deta —+. by 1 seb2? 12 2 €5 bxeS 3.4573 dxc5 =) 3..cxd5 4 b5 d4 5 66 d3 6 b7 2.7 b8w TH —+ Ls Other moves do not help either: 1..b52.d5 exd5 3 exbS +=: 1d 2b5 4-5 Laue 2 dxeS dxeS 3 bxe5 bxe5 4 shes 2eSt dxeS 2uabxe5 3.d5 exd5 4.65 +. 3bS! exbS 4 dS +— 5.16 Halberstadt 64, 1930 A seemingly hopeless position for White, but the game is saved by a hid- den stalemate idea: 1 gS! hxgs 2 e6! dxe6 2.fxe6 3 dxe6 dxe6 4 £6! exf6. 3 fxe6 3 d6? exfS+ —+. Buude6 4 d6! exd6 = Many of the rules of Chapter 1 can not be applied to positions with a sook’s pawn, The diagram shows the citical position: only if Black man- ses to get his king to one of the key Squares gh or g2 can he force the pawn’s promotion If White is to move, he can prevent this and secure the draw: 1 shed dogs 2 ett hd Or 2..80h2 3 12 hd 4 seEL h3 5 S22 deh 6 SFT H2 7 deR2 stalemate, 3 legt h3 4 debt hz and this time it is White who is stalemated.THE ROOK'S PAWN CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING is “s — gle eS Soa ee aA 8 aeCHESS ENDGAME TRAINING THE ROOK's PAWN 61 Rook's Pawn and Minor Piece 6.2a ‘The possibility of stalemate pre- vents White from exploiting his big material advantage: the black king ays in the comer and the approach of the white king leads to stalemate: 1 ed5 G7 2 hd6 a8 3 eT stale- 166+? gives away the win: 1.. dea8! 27+ (with another pawn 2 s&c7 leads to a win but with the knight's pawn only toa stalemate) 2...5kb8 3 b6 is, a stalemate we are already familiar with. 1L..ska8 2 b6 2.b6? is again stalemate. 2.i8b8 3 a6! (D) Only when the white king moves to ‘The same principle holds when the knight defends the pawn from c6. White's king cannot defend the a7- pawn without giving stalemate. 6.2¢ Here again the approach of the white king leads to a stalemate: 1 a5 eb7 2 skbS das 3 dee6 stalemate. Rook's Pawn + Bishop In positions with a rook’s pawn and a bishop against a lone king, the promo- tion of the pawn cannot be forced if the opponent's king reaches the pro- wotion square and the bishop cannot control it. In such a case we talk about the wrong bishop. 6.3 It is true that we do not have a sook’s pawn in this instance, but there © some similar ideas because the pawn’s proximity to the edge of the board provides drawing possibilities. White must play very accurately even with a knight's pawn: 1 he7 A a l AA BG: mate. the edge can he force a win, 3 #6 ‘a7! repeats the original postion 6.16 B Ge 3auckad 3.7 4 shea? +, 46 4b8 5 b7 +— With the king at a6, the black king can escape via c7 and so there is no stalemate, White wins. and knowing it could save some half points. Black can block the white king in the comer but he has to choose the right square L.he8! 1...s8e7? 2 Ab6 (2 Dd6 also wins) 2...88xb6 3 eb8 +.62 CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING 2 Dbo+ eT 3 DAT eB 4 Des eT = ‘The knight cannot prevent the king from moving up and down on the squares 7 and c8. Rook's Pawn + Knight In positions with the pawn on the sev- enth rank in which the defending king blocks the opposing king in the corner, his should choose the square that has the same colour as that occupied by the enemy knight, 65 The white bishop is so badly placed that it cannot move without abandon- ing the protection of the g7-pawn. When the white king tries to approach, the game ends once again in stale- mate 1 eS Sg8 2 de6 stalemate Note that the same position would be easily won for White when pushed one file to the left: Black can do nothing against the manoeuvre d5-e5-f5, Sh5 followed by Sg6xg7. 6.6 Troitsky Novoe Vremia, 1895 Without the e7-pawn the position is a draw (see 6.5) — with it, White wins the game! 18+ 1 the5? 06 2 shd6 e5 3 shxes gs = 4 eb stalemate. 1...Sexg8 2 deb ths 3 67 Without the e7-pawn Black would now be stalemated, but in this case there is: 54 igTt 67 Stalemate ideas also play a role in this ending: Ital Bcd 2 2431 LaS 2.,.8ixd3 stalemate. 3 Ses! a2 (D) 4 ert White keeps the black king pinned down on the edge. 4.b3 After other moves White continues the pursuit of the bishop. § Sixb3! Saxb3 = THE ROOK’S PAWN 63 Black is left with a ‘wrong bishop” 5...axb3 is stalemate. Further Examples 68 Here itis easy to go wrong: 1 ses 1 6? stalemate. 1..sog7 2 hell! Without this sacrifice no win is pos- sible because Black has occupied the comer. 2 Se6 Sh8 3 F7 is stale- mate, 2.c8ixhB 3 516 gS 4 g7 + 69 The proximity of the edge prevents white win, When the pawns are one rank less advanced, White has an easy win, as we have already seen (see 3.1). 1 G2 skb7 2 skb3 Eb8 3 ed Lub7 4 Sea5 Seb8 5 see6 a8 6 b7+ 6 <8c7 stalemate, 6..cbeb8 = 6.10 We already know that White cannot win with the h4-pawn alone, so the only try is to sacrifice this outside passed pawn and to rely on the a- pawn: 1 hS sef6 2 seh7 £7 3 6 IB 4 Lig6 Sag8 5 £6 Lh 6 es sixh6 7 06 96 8 Lieb 26 9 Lb6 eG 10 JixaS sed7! 10.8206? 11 $26 + 11 £b6 eB = Black controls the key b7-square in time. 6.11 A knight alone cannot mate? In the case that the king is blocked in and the ‘opponent has a rook’s pawn that takes away an important escape square, he 1...DgS+ 2 Gh8 S837 DTH 6.12 Rosen ~ Brunner Berlin 1987 White easily forces a draw against a rook's pawn and a knight: 70 Saxgdt This is the easiest solution. 1.n.Dxgd 71 sigs h2 72 sig? ts 73 Sahl shed 74 Seg? Nate Be careful: a stalemate can easily become a checkmate: 74 1522 13 75 £6 seg3 76 £7 DA2#. 6.13 Troitsky Shakhmaty Ziurnal, 1896 Due to the wrong bishop. White has to prevent the black king from reach- ing the comer square h8 because that would mean an elementary draw. Yh Wa64 CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING 1.7 1.5818 2 h6 +, Zhe! tt6 2..8xe6? 3 h7 3st After 3 Sig8? 6 4 h7 seg7 = the king has arrived exactly where be needs to be to secure the draw. 3.ckf7 4 Sh7! 4 Seed dogs 5 dogs he = Now the bishop and pawn form a e barrier, and after. 4.06 S set the problem is solved because the black king's access to the h-file has been definitely blocked. Sick 7 6 ES SAB 7 EE6 +— 6.14 Loyd The Chess Monthly, 1860 Here a sharp fight flares up about the promotion square hl: 1 S.c64 sgl! (D) 1. Df3+ 22 n1W 3 2x13+ gl 4 Qxhl Sxhl =. ‘After other moves, ...2g2 will lock out the bishop; for example, 2 245 Dg2s +. DunfDg2+ 3 eed seh 4 eft = White moves to a light square, be- cause the black knight is also on a light square, Not 4 $212? e3 —+. 6.15 For the sake of completeness, here is a normal win with a knight plus a rook’s pawn, When the pawn has not yet reached the seventh rank, every thing works very smoothly 1 hdd ea 2 de dea 3hb5 tas 4 tbo db8 5 a5 5.a7+?, however, is still premature: 5...aB =. Sch a8 6 DeT+ SB 7 a+ + 6.16 Mendheim Aufgaben fur Schachspieler, 1832 The giant black knight is a match for no fewer than four pawns L..AbS 2 €6 2d4 Dndd 3 a7 He7 4 ha8 DS transposes to the text. 2.87 344 Dxdd 4 seaT DbS+ § ka8 de8 6 €7 kexeT! 7 a7 Dd6 8 dS Ded 9 b6+ Axb6# This chapter completes the topic of pawn endings for now. The last six ex- amples served as a foretaste of end- ings with minor pieces, Many rules and principles valid for pawn endings also serve as a valuable ‘guide for the correct treatment of other endings. 7 Knight Endings Knight vs Pawn(s) * Knight and Pawn vs Knight © Strategy in Knight Endings Due to its special way of moving, the knight is particularly adept at dou- ble attacks. Although by nature it op- crates over short distances, itcan often considerably extend its range with the help of such forks. It can also use this possibility in the fight against a far sudvanced passed pawn. Even under the unfavourable circumstances of the above diagram it still manages to stop the pawn, For example: 186 DBs 2 eT 2 Lb7 Dd6+ 3 ske7 Dbs+ 4 6 6! S.a7 De& and Black eliminates the pawn, 2..Ba7 32b7 DbS 4 &b6 Dao S a7 De8+ 6 Lb7 DxaT = However, ifthe rook’s pawn is al- ready on the seventh rank then the knight will be trapped in the comer and be captured. 1bb7+—66 CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING Ye | Cota a 4 @ a ae Beat A w Va Q w Zea @ | 14 w 1s w KNIGHT ENDINGS 67CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING How should 1...xc4+ be evalu- ated? KNIGHT ENDINGS 0 Knight vs Pawn(s) ‘The knight on its back rank is helpless against an attack from an enemy pawn. on its seventh rank. ‘The knight faces particular difficul- ties when it has to stop a rook’s pawn. 7.2 A basic example: 1 Exb8+ 2xb8 2 T+. 73 Here the knight has to hurry in o- der to catch the pawn. 127, 1 Dg6r h3 2 4 h2 —+. 1.h3 2 Dd6+ ‘Thanks to this check, the knight just manages to control the hl-square in time. 2.86! 2.85 3 Ded+ edd 4 O22 5 Ske7 makes it simpler for White to achieve the same draw as in the main line. 3 Deth24 D2 $06 (0) White starts a zigzag that ultimately leads to Black's king being locked up in the corner. 5.806 6 &bT7 He 6..sbe5 7 Ded, 7 he6 Gets 8 SdS h4 9 baa bt3 10 Dhl eg? 11 He3 Sxbt 12 S42 stalemate 74 Chekhover 1955 Normally the knight is not able to draw by itself against two connected passed pawns. In this position, how- ever, it makes good use of a great num- ber of forks: 1 De6t gd 2 Dg7! £4 2.93 3 Oxf5 g2 4 Ded =, 3 Dns! £3 4 Df6! ¢3 (D) 4.12 5 Dxgd £1 6 Ded+ also leads to a draw. 5 Dedt g2 6 Dd2+ hd3 7 Oxt3 ‘The knight can stop any pawn ex- ‘cept the rook’s pawn if it can control the promotion square; this appties even if the pawn has already reached the seventh rank. The opposing king is70 CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING unable to force it away from the pro- motion square of the pawn: Tuciee3 8 Del Sf2 9 Dh3+ kegs 10 Dgh deh? 11 De3+ shg3 12Dg1 = Knight and Pawn vs Knight In this ending the aim of the weaker side is to sacrifice his knight for the pawn. Usually this can only be pre- vented by the attacker if the defender's king or knight is placed offside or if the pawn is already very far advanced. 7.5 A draw is possible against a pawn ‘on the seventh rank only in excep- tional cases. 1 DMS! 26 2 Dhos kegs 3 Dgst es Deflection is the attacker’s most important idea in the fight for the pro- motion square. 76 Averbakh Lehrbuch der Schachendspiele, 1979 If the pawn is still on the sixth rank then a draw can be achieved most of the time: 1.897 2 We8 Dh6! 3 De7 3e7 As. 3.0016 4 Sed7 dhg7 5 Dds Des = White is unable to make any prog- ress Strategy in Knight Endings 77 Chigorin - Marshall Karlsbad 1907 Many of the themes that are valid for pawn endings can also be applied to knight endings. In this position White has three advantages: 1) The outside passed bS-pawn. 2) The more active king. 3) Space advantage on the king- side. 12451 (D) wy le Ys 1.47 1.-2xd5?2 dixd5 + and the black king does not get into the square of the bS-pawn 2g8t This blocking move fixes Black's kingside. Quh6 3 DE DE 4 h4 bxgs § hixgs def8 6 sieS Dade 7 dO! Sig7 7...b6 8 DAT +=. 8 web S18 9 b6 Dxb6 10 skxb6 sbe7 Black’s last hope is to exchange the last white pawn. 11 seeT et 11...$e6 12 ded8 5 13 Db7 also wins for White 12 sed sig? 13 eT deh8 14 De8 shg8 15 £6 1-0 KNIGHT ENDINGS 7 An outside passed pawn is as im- portant in a knight ending as it is in a pawn ending, Further Examples 78 ‘Once again the white knight has to extend its range with the help of a fork 1De6t 1 Bas? 203 —+ Ltt 1.1922 44 gif 3 On3+=; 1.kees 2Dg5 g2 3 Dh3 =. 2Ddd+t 2 Dg5+? dogs +. 2.812 2..d8e3 3 DMS+ 3 4 Dxg3 =. 3 Debt = 79 This very simple example shows that a rook’s pawn often cannot be stopped L..h3 2 sbf2h2—+ In the end the knight is even in the king’s way, 7.10 ‘A typical drawn position against a rook’s pawn that is still on the sixth rank: 1 De3 h2 2. Dt1+ seg? 3 Dxh2 = 7AL Grigoriev 1932 This example is a little bit more complicated: 1Dgst 1 224? hed 2 Dhi w3 3 kas shy? +. ‘The point is that the knight creates a barrier against the black king, which can move neither to €3 nor to d2 be- cause a fork on fl would follow. In or- der to attack the white knight, the king must travel via ¢2-dl-elf2, In the meantime, however, the white king moves closer: Laske2 1..skd2 2 41+ =31 se3 2 Ot 2shd6 ddl 3 hes wel 4 etd = 712 Selezniev Shakhmatny Listok, 1930 Even with the check on f the knight cannot stop the pawn. Nevertheless White is able to draw: 126+ deh8 2 DAS! €2 3 D4! (D) 3.018 4 Dxges th7 5 Df8+ = The saving perpetual check! 7.13 As the white pawn has already pro- ‘gressed to the seventh rank, Black has72 CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING to play accurately in order to secure the draw: 1..De8et 1. De6+? 2 hes Dds 3 Dds De6 4 Dadi (the white knight uses defle- tion manoeuvres) 4...d8 5 eT 7 6 5+ she 7 Dho! + 2 eB DaG+ 3 see7 Dede 4 sees 6 = ‘The d7-pawn falls and thus a draw is inevitable. 7.14 Chéron Nouveau Traité complet d’Echecs, 1952 It istrue that the pawn is only on the sixth rank but in return White’s pieces have been pushed to the comer; his knight doesn’t have a single move. Black uses this fact to win Lidl 2 a2 del 3 wad ebIt 3..De2+? 4 hb3! =, 4Skib4 2 5 ded De2.6Db3(D) 6 hed3 xal 7 exe? 2 OH 6.62 7 sabd Ddat 8 Dest tbl 8.1? 9 Dade =. 9 Dd3 De6+ 10 e3 Dest —+ 7.15 Averbakh 1955 In knight endings containing sev- ral pawns, an extra pawn is almost al- ways sufficient for a win, In this case White wins very easily thanks to his protected passed pawn: the plan is just to activate his king 1 bd5 dig8 2 de6 ef8 3:47 segs 3...Db8 4 De5. 4 e7 Dns The knight had to move into the 5 D5 +— Averbakh gives three eases where an extra pawn is not sufficient for a win: 1) A passed pawn cannot be cre- ated. 2) ‘The passed pawn cannot be sup- ported 3) The king cannot attack the op- 7.16 Strobel - Bachmann Treuen 1960 Ldixed+? ‘This wins a knight but it underesti- mates the danger of White's queenside pawns: 2 sbxed Ded+ 3 sebS Daf 4 seb6 De3 § kexb7 Ded 6 6 Dd6+7 Lb6? 7 ske6 wins comfortably. Tone DeB+? 7...Sed7 pats up a far better de- fence. 8Eb7? D1d6+? 9 b8 Dbs 10 a7 Qyxa7 11 exa7 1-0 8 Bishop Endings Bishop vs Pawn(s) * Bishop and Pawn vs Bishop * Opposite-Coloured Bishops « Strategy The Bishop: Strong and Weak 81 Ww Loyd American Chess Nuts, 1868 Here we have a very strong bishop White draws against eight pawns be- ccause the stopping squares of the d- to hh-pawns lie on a single diagonal. The white king stops the e-pawn and si- multaneously contains the black king at the edge of the board. 1 Sd7+! After | 2g2? sbbS —+ the ava- Janche of black pawns gets under way (£6, ..d5, ete.) 1.03 2 206 The ideal square for the bishop. It controls the a8-hl diagonal and the ad-and bS-squares, shutting the black king's cage. If Black lures the bishop away from c6 to try to activate his king, the bishop always returns to c6 with gain of tempo: 2..h18f 3 S.xbl bad 4 S.c6+ =. Playing 2..va2 3be2 = also does not improve Black's posi tion, Otten (end of study) Boy's Own Paper, 1892 Here, in contrast, the bishop does not manage to control the stopping square a7 in time: 1 shed! Not | a6? Se3 =. Lhd 20314 CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING BISHOP ENDINGS 75 wg ag A76 CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING BisHop ENDINGS 7 Bishop vs Pawn(s) Stopping Squares Stopping squares are squares which a passed pawn has to cross on its way to promotion and which need to be con- trolled by the bishop, By itself, the bishop can only con- tain two (or more) passed pawns if their stopping squares lie on one diag- onal 83 Hedlinger - Dossenbach 1958 White missed the following possi- bility to win (later the game ended in a draw) 1 Qxb6! Axb6 2 a5 Ste7 (D) gap 3S! axbS 3.ndExa5 4 bxa is the sami cannot stop both of White’s passed pawns. 426 The stopping squares a7 and ¢7 do not lie on one diagonal, and therefore Black’s bishop is unable to stop both pawns Bishop and Pawn vs Bishop Again, in this ending the weaker side tries to sacrifice his bishop for the en- ‘emy pawn. This may be difficult if the pawn is already far-advanced and the attacker's king controls the promotion square. The defender’s task becomes even more difficult if the pawn is near the edge of the board. 8.4 Centurini 1856 12nd st White's winning idea becomes ob- vious in the following variation in which Black plays passively: 1...f4? 2.82 &h23.8a71 244 bos bes 5 Qh2 a7 6 Xgl! +. The basic plan is to force a decisive deflection. 2 G82 ast (D) Black is alert: he prevents the ma- oeuvre s2a7-b8, 3.Best This waiting move forces the h2- bishop to move. In the end this makes the crucial win of a tempo possible. 378 cues .d4? is weaker because then Black plays 3...d.d6!, and after 4 £6 5 5 dB skc6 6 Ge7 g3 White has not made any progress as he cannot play eS 2g34 Be7 GbS The black king hurries back to.c6 to prevent £d8-c7. 5 2d8 dc66 Bhs! Now White wins the decisive tempo to get the bishop to a7. 6... 7 2£2 The black king does not reach a6 in time and White achieves the defle tion that was already planned at the first move: To f4 8 La7 239 Lb8 2£2 10 Oh? Ba7 11 Belt +— In this ending the weaker side can only survive if his bishop has at least three squares on both stopping diago- nals (the diagonals on which the stop- ping square is situated), 85 If White wants to win, he has to push the bS-bishop away from the DGAME TRAINING stopping diagonal a4-e8. In order to accomplish this, the bishop has. to move to e6 because on d7 it would be obstructing its own pawn. 1f3 ead 1. fhe 2.206 +-, 2 Be6 + When Black is to play, he has to prevent the manoeuvre 52.f3-c6: L.sedat 1.85 does the same job. When in doubt the king should always move to squares which cannot be controlled by the opposing bishop. 2 SEB hes Black has arrived in time to contro! the critical square ¢6, 3 gd A last attempt Buddad 4 247 BAL Now the white bishop is blocking its own pawn. 5 he8 dgd= Opposite-Coloured Bishops 8.6 IF there are opposite-coloured bish- cops, then many positions are drawn. In the diagram position the connected passed pawns only guarantee the win when they can advance to light squares (the colour of the opposing bishop): 1 gst! Alter 1 f6+? &f7 = White cannot break through Black’s domination of the light squares. 1 e6? is the correct idea but it must be prepared first: Lnckxe6 2 feb Sexe6 LET BisHoP ENDINGS 9 Also after 1.8207 White’s king par- ticipates decisively in the fight for the light squares: 2 £4! (2 £67 set 2a? 3 Bhd! B17 4 hes dee7 5 bho+ Sd7 6 kg7 Lod 7 HFG + (White is ready to play e6) 7.63 8 26+ eB 9 eS Sed 10 Bet 2b3 11 Ribs Bed 12 £6 2b3 13 7+. 2shad Now the white king approaches from the other side. 2uSdad 2...S€2 abandons control of e6: 3 eG eB 4 eS d3 5 16 2266 .2h6 3..dib1 3..b3 4 sho a2 5 06+ + 406+ be8 5 16 6 5...da2 6 £7+ (White can still fail: 6 e777 B£7 =) 6.8 7 Bh6+ +. 6 Gh6 NS 7 LdG 296 8 wes hs 9 tS +— With opposite-coloured bishops, ‘two connected passed pawns only win if they can advance on squares of the colour of the opposing bishop. 8.7 Kotoy ~ Botvinnik USSR Ch (Moscow) 1955 Here we sea typical winning theme in endings with opposite-coloured bishops: the creation of a pair of i 60 hxg5 h4 61 2d6 245 62 26 (oth- erwise Black's h-pawn goes through) 62...Sixg6 63 15 Lxf5 64 dxb3 Ge? —. 60...d4+! 61 exd4 Gg3 62 2a3 &xh4 (D) 63 ska3 An instructive situation arises after 63 96 bed 64 g7 hd 65 Sado SF White is helpless: he has to give up bis bishop for the h-pawn and afterwards watch passively while the black king collects his pawns. The ideal placing of the e6-bishop is crucial; it defends the b3-pawn as well as controlling the stopping squares of White's passed pawns, which are all situated on one diagonal 63..sirxgs 64 eed hd 65 f3 Sd5+ on80 CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING Here is a possible variation: 66 8212 14.67 Scl+ Wed 68 2b2 h3 69:kr3 Re6 70 Gh2 Sd3 71 d5 BAT! —+ ‘Once again the stopping square d7 and the h3-pawn lie on the diagonal of the bishop, Good and Bad Bishops 8.8 Rosen — Daub Enger-Spenge 1979 White's advantage is based on two factors: 1) The more active king. 2) The more active bishop. Black's bishop is bad because the h6- and g5-pawns are fixed on the same colour squares as the black bishop. 49 Qc5! Qd6! 50 Sb4 50 Bxd6? dexd6 51 ds a5 =. 50...dL¢7 SL £8 eS (D) 51...8f6 52 Oxh6 Rd6+ 53 seas she g6 54 Bixg5 dexgs 55 dixab deh4 56 depS dexh3 57 g5 dehd 58 g6 eS 59.05 EhS 60 a6 +-. The stopping squares are on different diagonals 52 Sixh6 sts 52...dd6+ 53 aS Gif6 54 dexas kyo 55 Bxgs dexgs 56 a5 eh4 57 skb5 kxh3 58 a6 Lb8 59 g5 + S3 hd! cexgd $4 Sxgs ses $5 eS aS 56 Le6 23 57 iab6 a5 58 kebS Sel 59 248 dig 60 SxaS Axhd 61 Abd 212 61...Rd8 62 Sc5 ES 63 2b6 +-. 62a5 2a7 63 LS 2b8 64 ¥e6 + In order to increase a bishop's activ- ity, friendly pawns need to be placed ‘on squares which are not controlled by the bishop. In such a case we talk about a good bishop. ‘A bishop that is obstructed by its own fixed pawns is called a bad bishop. Further Examples 8.9 Rosen 1989 ‘The bishop's freedom of movement is restricted by its own pawn, Never theless, Black manages to achieve a draw: 1.05 2 e3 23 3.43 This is the only place where White controls the squares g2, £3 and ef However, the king’s position on the di- agonal allows a litle tactic 3uSfL! 4.07 edt 5 a8 RAS+ 6 WrdS exd5 7 wee3 8.10 Heudcker Neue Freie Presse, 1930 The eS-pawn causes Black some problems as it greatly restricts the d4- bishop. BISHOP ENDINGS 81 1 &a7! Bat 1..S4¢3 2 dee? only shortens the so- lution, 2deb1 e3 3. he2 Lal (D) w 4 Add! Qxdd 4.exdd 5 2d3 +—. 5 ed3 Bal 6 Bed! + Not 6h7? e4+ = 8.11 Pola’ek Pruboi, 1986 Here the bishop is fightingagainsta pair of isolated of passed pawns with stopping squares on different diago- nals. 1de7! 107 Bed 2 de7 is just a transposi- tion of moves; 1 #e5? HS 247 2133 heb bef =; 1 £57 RxfS 2 HeS 2h3 3 a7 Bg? = 1. dhed 2 a7 deg7 3 £5! 4-— The bishop is overloaded and can- not stop the pawns. 8.12 A basic example. If Black were to move, he would lose immediately, so... 1ags This wins, as does any other wait- ing move of the bishop on the c8-h3 diagonal, | £243?! &c8, however, pro- longs Black's suffering. L.deb5 2 Se2+ + 8.13 Black wins very easily by pushing away the ¢4-bishop from the stopping diagonal a6-f1. White’s king is placed badly as it does not control the critical square 13. 1...2g2 2 2b5 Itis true that the position of the king ‘on dI makes the defence 2 2e2 possi- ble, but after 2.263 3 xf3 dext3 4 el e2 we can demonstrate our know! edge of pawn endings: the pawn si- lenily advances to the seventh rank and thus queens. Dee SRfl —+ Had the white king been on £4, sim- ply xfi followed by xe3 would have been possible. 8.14 Here the critical square is £6, con- trol of whieh is vital for Black. White has a thematic win 1 eT Bel 2223 Bhd By playing his bishop to £6, White can push the black bishop away from the stopping square e7 3 Bb? ded 4 2F6 + Black has to bring his king into con tact with the f6-square to prevent his bishop from being pushed away from the stopping square e7,82 CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING 1..ee5? is a concrete case in which one should not expose the king toa po- tential bishop check: 2 &e7 Bel 3 Ri6e +. 7 w a Wh 2Me7 Rel 3 La3 Bh4d Sb2 GAs The king has arrived in time and White cannot improve his position, 8.15 Sillve — Karakas Sinaia 1960 Black's pawns are correctly placed on the same coloured squares as the ‘opponent's bishop: the c6-bishop con: trols the promotion square hl, which ‘means that White cannot draw by giv- ing up his bishop for the g-pawn. 1...ig3! 1...h3?2.h2 =, Black cannot break through the dark-squared blockade. 2 Rete 2 Bxg5 h3 +. 2...8ih3 3 GAD 94 4 died 93 5 sed 2b7 6 2d6 La8 7 BcT 228 Ad6 h2 9 gd h3 10 Ghd BEF 11 BUS glW! 12 Qxgi+ hg2! 13 aBW xa8 14 gd QE3+ 15 Ghd Sal 0-1 Now White is definitely in zug- wang, 8.16 If you do not know exactly what a bad bishop is, the black bishop in this, position is a particularly sad example of its species. Other important details are: + White possesses the more active king. + The d8-bishop controls the promo- tion square of the h5-pawn, 1 Be7! A waiting move immediately puts Black into zugzwang, 1...dh4 (D) Otherwise the f6-pawn is lost with- out compensation w 24! exfd 3 05 White exploits the pin of the f6- pawn. 3 3..fxe5 4 Sxhd +-. White collects the black pawns one afier the other: Afterwards he queens the h-pawn be- cause the bishop controls its promo: tion square, BIsHoP ENDINGS 83 A exi6+ 2xf6 44 a5! +~ would have shortened 4..9ch7 517 +, Black's suffering considerably. 5 Oxf6+ kh7 6 2dd + 8.17 Rosen ~ Tschendel B Essen 1988 Apart from being a pawn down, Black also suffers from his bad bishop. White has an easy win: 404 Fixing another pawn on a dark M0. 018 41 dd? O97 42 a8 2b 42..tpxa5 43 x05 B18 44 Bc7 + 4B a6 44...018 45 212 207 46 Rel 268 White increases his space advan- 47 3 e7 tage. 47...2.d6 48 eS + 43....297 44 203 (D) 48 LeS 2d8 49 Lbs 1-09 Knight vs Bishop Endings Basic Endings with Knight vs Bishop « Bishop or Knight? Knight and Pawn vs Bishop Averbakh Lehrbuch der Schachendspiele, 1979 Here the bishop can stop the pawn without the support of its king: 1 ske6 Qbs Of course Black could also ap- proach with his king, but we want to demonstrate how to draw independ- ently of the black king position. 2 he7 2.06 3hd8 Lbs 4 kee7 Now the king is in the right place to Jock out the bishop with a knight on c6 4..chgl $ Ad3 Lh1 6 DeS Le8 6..