into the Endgame

The Realization of a Material Advantage

The Realization of a Positional Advantage 26

Transition from the Middlegame to the Endgame With

the Object of Defence 65

The Exchange of Queens and Pawn Structure in the

Endgame 83

The Exchange in the Endgame 102

Positional Preconditions for the Exchange in the

Endgame 107

Transition from a Complex to a Simple Endgame With

Material Equality 125

The Exchange in Endgames With Material Inequality 149

167
1 Transition into the Endgame
The experienced chess master as
well as the beginner will face the
problem of the correct evaluation
of the position before transposing
into the ending. Which criteria
determine whether it is worth
going in for simplification? Which
pieces should we retain, which
ones should we exchange? What
kind of pawn structure will be the
most profitable for a particular
type of ending? We run up against
these complex questions quite
often.
The absence of any systematic
investigation into this subject is
explained by the difficulty of some
sort of generalization. Even in
Nimzowitsch's brilliant 'book of
general principles', My System,
these questions are practically
untouched.
One may propose two aspects
of classification of the subject of
transition from the middlegame
into the endgame. The first one is
based on a variety of strategic
objectives. We note the principal
ones:
(I) The realization of a material
advantage (neutralization of the
opponent's counterplay; guidance
of the game into well known tech­
nical positions, etc.);
(2) The increase in significance
of specific positional advantages
(the presence of passed pawns; the
emergence of an endgame with a
strong centralized knight against
a bad bishop, etc.);
(3) The facilitation of defence in
a difficult position.
Such a classification, consistent
with a methodological point of
view, has been employed by other
authors in their exposition of the
material. However, in order to
simplify the systematization of the
material, it is also worth consider­
ing a classification based on the
type of ending that emerges
(pawns, rooks, etc.).
By 'transition' we mean a forced
elimination of the majority of the
pieces, thereby causing a qualitative
leap in the course of the game. Such
an abrupt transformation is the
very climax of the middlegame and
the evaluation of the resulting end­
ing must be carried out in depth
and with accuracy, long before its
emergence. The problems associ­
ated with this evaluation are highly
complex. The fact is that the diffi­
culties of such evaluations are so
great that intuition starts to play an
increasing role, and then, without
any doubt, theoretical knowledge.
2 Transition into the Endgame

Larsen-Gligoric pawns, his king is near the black

Moscow 1956 b-pawn and is able to capture it,
regardless of whose move it is.
35 c4 g6
36 g4
White fixes his opponent's
pawns on the king's flank.
Another way of achieving the
same result would have been 36
h3, and now if 36 .. . g5, then 37
g4, or 36 . . . h5 37 h4.
36 h5
37 gxhS gxh5
38 h4
It is to White's advantage to
A correct evaluation of the advance his h-pawn, since Black
pawn endgame brought victory to could immediately move towards
Larsen. it and stop it from queening, 38
28 iiJ'xf7+ iiJ'xf7 c5 + ? would lead to a draw: 38 . . .
29 Jtxf7 + 'f!ixl7 'i;l1xc5 39 wxe5 'i;l1c4 40 <;t>e4 h4!
30 !!,xiS+ 'i!rxl8 38 lf,>c6!
31 'i!rxf2 'i!re7 Black searches for a final
32 >�< e3 'i!rd6 chance to save the game. The im­
33 'i!re4 mediate 38 \!i'c5 loses-39
The normal course of events 'i;l1xe5 'i;l1xc4 40 'ilre4.
should lead to a win for White, 39 \!i'xeS <;trcS
since he has the opportunity to It is remarkable that after the
create a passed pawn, in which 'natural' 40 'i!re4 'ilrxc4 41 we3
case the game might continue in \!i'd5, the game is drawn- Black's
the following manner: 33 . . . 'i;11e6 h-pawn can reach the queening
34 c3 'i!rd6 35 b3 'i!re6 36 h4 h5 37 square in time. White wins due to
c4 bxc4 38 bxc4 'i!rd6 39 g3 g6 (39 the fact that the d5 square is not
. 'i!re6 40 c5) 40 c5 + 'ilrxc5 41 available to the black king.
wxe5 and 42 'i!rf6. 40 wf5! wd4
Gligoric tries to prevent this 41 ltlf4 \ticS
plan with h is next two moves. 42 \!i'e5 ltlxc4
.33 b4 Forced. The rest is clear-the
34 c3 b3 black pawn advances only as far
Thus White obtains a protected as h3.
passed pawn-a powerful force in 43
pawn endings. White is also 44
helped by the circumstance, that 45
after the exchange of the c- and e- 46
 Transition into the Endgame 3

47 o;Wc3 series of elegant exchanges, White

Bla ck resigned. transposes into an endgame,
where his material advantage pre·
The Realization of a Material vails quickly.
Advantage 25 <t)d6!
An interesting double blow­
As already noted, simplification the beginning of a series of
of the position is a very important exchanges.
method of realizing an advantage. 25 §l.xd6
Transition into the endgame with If 25 . . . !;( xd6 26 'lifxe7, and
a material advantage is of particu­ Black loses material.
lar significance. In many cases the 26 'ltfe8+ lf;>h7
exchange of the majority of the 27 'lifxc8 'lifxc8
pieces leads to technically well Without his light squared bishop
investigated endings. It is advan­ Black has no hope of an organized
tageous to simplify in positions attack.
where the opponent is behind in 28 .!!xeS §l.eS
material, but has compensation in 29 get §l.f6
the activity of his pieces. In these 30 '!J.c7
cases a transition into the end­ In the ending the two white
game is the simplest and most rooks create decisive threats. The
logical way of neutralizing the op­ material superiority is now quite
ponent's initiative. overwhelming.
30 aS
31 :!!xf7 o;W g6
Barkovsky-Kampfkhenkel
32 )i(b7 .!ld2
Carr. 1980-2
33 )!!e6 o;WfS
34 :!!a6 §l.d4
35 )lixaS+ o;Wg4
36 !!(xg7+!
An effective finale. The black
king is forced into a mating net.
36 §l. xg7
37 o;Wg2
Black resigned.

Suttles-Smyslov
Venice 1974

Black has sacrificed the The Canadian master Suttles

exchange, calculating that he can played the Vienna Game and sac­
utilize the weakened white rificed a pawn in an original way
squares. However, by means of a for the initiative. A tense situation
4 Transition into the Endgame

30 J;!dl €\xd6
31 •2lxd6 'iifxd6
32 'iifxd6 )j;xd6
33 )!xd2 )'!lb6!
Exploiting the weakness of
White's first rank, Smyslov frees
his pieces by means of this move
and retains his pawn advan t a ge.
34 .id4
The attempt to move his king
emerged; both players concen­ would have led to the loss of yet
trated many of their pieces in the more material: 34 <;fig I g bl +.
centre of the board and it 34 )llbl +
appeared as if a sharp struggle 35 .igl <2)c3
would be imminent. However, White's pieces are paralysed
Smyslov quickly deprived his op­ and his only hope-the c3 passed
ponent of such illusions. pawn-is firmly blockaded.
29 <2)17 36 h3 Wil7
It is clear that the position of 37 lt;>h2 g5
the threatening white knight is 38 gd7+ lt;g6
fragile. As recorded by the ex­ 39 'gc7 €\e2
World Champion in his notes for 40 §tf2 Mfl
the game, Black breaks the ten­ 41 JJ.a7 hS
sion by the exchange of minor Black's pawn advantage on the
pieces. If now 30 <2)xf7, then 30 king's flank has become import­
<arxf7 31 j0j'd3 <tlb4 32 ant and gives a somewhat unex­
iii·xd7+ !!(xd7 33 :gdl <2) xc2 34 pected character to the endgame.
,ic3 ii(d3 35 ,ixd2 <E:�e3! and Black has skilfully entangled his
Black regains the piece, maintain­ opponent's king in a mating net.
ing his material advantage. In The threat is 42 ... g4.
case of 30 'iii'd 3 <2)xd6 3 I 'iiJ'xd5 + 42 g4 fxg3+
(Black also has the advantage 43 W�g2 )gel
after 31 <2)xd6 'iiJ'xd6 32 'i>!'xd2 White resigned.
<E:�e3 33 j0j'xd6 M xd6 34 g cJ The comparative value of a
«lxc2) 31 ... <tlf7 32 i!i'Xd7 )ilxd7 material advantage will increase
33 ad! <tlg5 34 ,ic3 <Zle4! and as pieces are eliminated from the
Black has an extra pawn in the board.The advantage of even one
endgame. All of these variations modest little pawn, often neg­
show that the outwardly simple 29 lected in the heat of the struggle,
.. . .a f7 required accurate calcula­ can he completely decisive in the
tion, since it was necessary to con­ ending.
sider the pin on the bishop on the Alekhine pointed out that
d-file. whilst the loss of a pawn in the
 Trans ition into the Endgame 5

opening stages of the game can be As noted by Alekhine, the

compensated for easily by skilful shortest way to simplification
manoeuvres on both flanks and would have been 23 . .. e5! and if
by very deep strategic and combi­ 24 h5, only then 24 . . . <l:)d4.
national complications, in the Black would win also on 24 §J.xe5
majority of endings a material ad­ .Sxe5 25 'iil'xe5 ):ie8 26 'iii'b2
vantage (other things being equal) §J.xf3.
will have a decisive effect on the 24 §J.xd4 cxd4
outcome of the game. An inaccuracy, after which
Naturally, transition into a White could try for a draw.
pawn ending will be profitable to Necessary was 24 . . . §J.xf3 25
the player with the extra pawn. JJ. xc5 bxc5 26 exf3 'iii'xf3 27 ):! d2
Isn't a pawn an important man in c4! with a clear advantage.
a pawn endgame? Nevertheless, it 25 M xd4 §J.xf3
does not follow that complicated 26 J;lf4 lilh5
problems do not arise in such 27 J;lxf8+?
transitions. Pawn endings are very The moment of transition from
insidious and their evaluation de­ one phase into the next requires
mands deep and accurate calcula­ special attention; it is a difficult
tions. phase even for the holders of the
highest chess titles. Both players
Euwe--Alekhine overlooked the prospect of a
Game 24, Match 1935 drawing variation: 27 g xf3!
'iil'xg5 28 g xf8+ ll;>xf8 29 hxg5
b5 30 f4 a5 31 �ttf2 a4 32 we3 c5
33 �ttd3 �tte7 34 e4 �ttd 6 35 g4
with a subsequent f4-f5. Ther­
eafter, in contrast to the actual
game, White would have
managed to prevent the penetra­
tion of his opponent's king to the
queenside.
27 wxf8
28 lilf4+ 'lf!f7
29 -;;;·xf3 '/l;'xf3
Black has an extra pawn but he 30 exf3 e5!
has to 'liquidate' White's initia­ This move should lead to a win,
tive on the kingside. Naturally, since Black has anticipated the
the World Champion resorts to a advance f2-f4 and thus prevented
well-tried device-exchange of the the possibility of the formation of
opponent's active pieces. a passed pawn for his opponent
22 £xdl on the king's flank.
23 g xdl .Sd4 31 �ttfl b5
6 Transition into the Endgame

32 l!re2 c5?
A mistake, forfeiting the win.
After 32 ... a5 Black wins easily:
33 l!rd3 a4 34 ��rc3 c5 35 g4 'i/ie7
36 'i/id3 is bad for White (pawn
moves such as 36 g5 would allow
the black king to the f5 square,
whilst 36 h5 would give access to
the f4 square, after which ... e5-
e4 would be decisive) 36 ... l!rd6
37 'i!fc3 ��;>d5 38 a3 �e6 39 l!rd3
l!i>d6 40 l!i>C3 �d5 41 'i/id3 b4 42 Rubinstein accomplishes
axb4 cxb4 43 'il;>c2 <;\oc4 44 \19 b2 (if most interesting manoeuvre.
44 h5, then 44 . 'il;>d5) 44 ... 42 'iifc6!
a3 + 45 'il;>a2 ll;>c3. Black is ready to return the
33 'i/ie3 exchange, since this would lead
White now succeeds with 34 f4, into an endgame with similarly
avoiding doubling his pawns. coloured bishops and with two
Drawn. extra pawns: 43 "iifxc6 !\l xc6 44
In the last example, the player f,xc6 l!!(xc6.Naturally, White did
with the pawn majority forced a not accept this transaction.
transition into a pawn ending 43 -;;td3 'iifc2
with the purpose of rea lizing this The pursuit of the white queen
material advantage. In practice continues.
we also come across positions in 44 1i;'d5 'i!i'C4!
which the player with a strong The transition into the end­
material advantage returns the game is now inevitable.
excess material and forces an 45 l!l"xc4 !i(xc4
exchange, then proceeds into an 46 ll.xg6
ending favourable to himself. A final job-only a recollection
Such a method is often encoun­ of White's threats.
tered in the realization of the ad­ 46 )!.4c7
vantage of an exchange. 47 f4 f,c3
48 §J.e4 a3
49 .lidS )';ic4!
Yates-Rubinstein
Baden Baden /925 50 )1(xd6 a2
51 ll.xc4 l!!xc4
Black has a large material ad­ There is material equality on
vantage. However, White has board, but the passed a-pawn
conducted the game with surpris­ forces Black to give up the rook.
ing resourcefulness and it seems White resigned.
that his pieces have substantial A curious case of zugzwang fol­
activity. lowed by transpositions into a
 Transition into the Endgame 7

pawn ending occurred in a game

between two Leningrad masters.

Tseitlin-Lukin
Leningrad 1970

forces a transition into a won

pawn ending.
30 gxc3 + !
31 bxc3 !!xeS+
32 1Wd2 gxel
33 \Wxel IWdS
There is material equality on
the chessboard, but the black king
Black has a big material advan­ is significantly more active than
tage and Lukin found a quick and his decentralized colleague, and
elegant way for its realization. this decides the game.
38 bxc3! 34 wd2 'lfc4
39 �xb8 + w,>h7 3S hS b6
40 bxc3 36 \frc2 gS
Otherwise White loses his 37 h6 f4
knight. 38 g4 aS!
40 §Le3 Black forms a distant passed
White resigned, as he cannot pawn. Naturally, Fischer foresaw
avoid a hopeless endgame: 41 this when he decided to transpose
-&b2 g5 42 c4 (otherwise he can­ into a pawn endgame. The a­
not release the pin) 42 . . g4 43 c3 pawn is used as a diversion and
-&xcl + 44 -o;·xc l §Lxc l 45 \Wxcl the black king then rushes to his
g3 and the pawn advances to opponent's pawns on the
queen. kingside.
39 bxaS bxaS
Lombardy-Fischer 40 1Wb2 a4
US Ch. 1960-1 41 \Wa3 'lfxc3
42 wxa4 lf.'d4
Black has won the exchange for 43 �b4 � e3
a pawn, but in this case the real­ White resigned.
ization of the material advantage In the above ending we met the
is not simple. Naturally Fischer transformation of a small mater­
exploits the opportunity and ial superiority (the exchange for a
8 Transition into the Endgame
pawn) into a decisive positional
advantage, after transposing into
a pawn endgame. Leading roles
were played here by such factors
as the positions of the kings (the
black king was much more active
than the white king) and the plac­
ing of the pawns (the possibility of
making a passed a-pawn).
Both of these factors require
careful consideration before
deciding to transpose into an end­
ing, and in particular a pawn end­
ing.
Having familiarized ourselves
with one of the technical methods
of realizing the advantage of the
exchange, let us turn to the ques­
tion of cases in which it is to the
advantage of th e stronger side to
t ranspos e from the midd\egame
into an endgame with material
equality.
Bogoljubow-Rubinstein
San Remo 1930
White went into this position
early with the object of forcing a
queen exchange and to transpose
the game into an ending.
58 'iii'c l 'lil'xd
Black cannot retain the queen,
since after 58 . . ill'b 6 59 f5 his
king is in a dangerous situation.
59 ;Wxcl <'i\xf4
One may form the impression
that the transposition into the
endgame did not promise White
any particular benefits. Black has
two connected passed pawns in
the centre, whilst White's douhled
pawns on the h-line are clearly
safe. However, White has accur­
ately assessed all the factors of the
position. In the present case it
appears that the more important
factor is the position of the kings
rather than the pawn structures. It
is evident that the passed central
pawns, supported by the knight
and the king, could form a power­
ful mobile grouping and would be
more than a match for the op­
ponent's rook. But the point is
that the black king is cut off from
his pawns, and t his factor is deci­
sive.
60 g g4!
The rook has occupied a fine
position on the fourth rank. It
hinders the advance of t he pawns
and limits the mobility of the
knight. The move 60 . .. .;oxh3 is
evidently not possible because of
61 l:!.h4+.
60 o2le6
61 lt>d2 lt>h6
62 lt>e3 wh5
63 g gS
Now, once the passed pawns
are safely blockaded by the king,
the rook can abandon its position
and operate at the rear of the
enemy. The distant manoeuvres
 Transition into the Endgame 9

of the white rook are very instruc­ 'ili'xe4 .ii:J b6, for instance 71 ,!id6
tive. Its object is to drive back the 'i:Jc4 (the knight could not be
knight in such a manner as to saved in the variation 71 . . . t;:,c8
make f4 available for the white 72 )!:e6 t;:,a7 73 ��;>d5 .ii:Jb 5 74
king, after which the opponent's l!;>c4 .ii:Ja 3+ 75 l!;>b4 .ii:Jc2+ 76
king falls into a mating net. l!;>c3 .ii:Ja3 77 )!:b6) 72 J;d4! 'i:Jb6
63 l'l1h4 (or 72 ... €)a5 73 l!rd5 €)b3 74
The attempt to win a pawn by l!b4 €)cl 75 .!!b2+ l!;>g3 76 !!:c2
63 f)g5 would result in the and White wins) 73 ll;>e5 €)c8 74
loss of the knight after 64 '<!lf4 '<!le6 €)b6 75 g b4 €1c8 76 .!!:b7,
-E\xh3+ 65 \'l1f5. with the subsequent 77 l!rd7.
64 gg6 t;:, c7 The battle of the rook against
But now the hunt for the pawn the knight in this endgame is very
would lead to the problem-like instructive and deserves special
finish 64 . . . -E\g5? 65 );! h6 mate. study.
Also bad is 64 .. . oE�c5, in view of 70 'i!i'l3 llrxh2
65 iii h6 + 1'11 g5 66 g d6, and The outstanding Polish chess­
White wins. player Akiba Rubinstein went
65 )q,c6 -E\c8 down in the history of chess as a
66 g c8 f) d6 classical scholar of endgames. In
After 66 ... €)f6 White would this difficult ending he managed
still aim for a win, but now, in to win the game. The black king
order to achieve it (and since after managed to capture both of the
67 .. . €1h5+ 68 l!;>f5 't:Jg7+ 69 white pawns and yet the sep­
<;!rg6 Black has the unpleasant aration of the black pieces was
choice of losing his knight or exploited in a decisive manner.
being mated) 67 ll;>f4 l!;>xh3 68 71 l!(c5 'i!i'd2 +
g f8! is required (a hasty check, 68 Grandmaster Yuri Averbakh
!!: h8 +, would lose the winning showed that 71 €)d6 would
chance: 68 . . . 'i!i'g2 69 !!:h6 e3! 70 have been more resourceful,
llixf6 e2 71 .!!:e 6 11;>f2 72 h4 d4 or although in this case, after 72
71 !!: xe2+ ll;>xe2 72 <;!reS ll;>f3) 68 gh5+ 'ili' g l 73 1'!1e3 the black
. . . t;:,h5 + 69 l!;>e3 and Black is in knight, far from his king, is
zugzwang, or 68 . . . .ii:Jd 7 69 l!f[d8 doomed. The method of winning
t;:,f6 70 !;!d6 t;:,e8 71 )l[h6+ 'ili'g2 in similar positions is examined in
72 h4 and White wins. detail in textbooks on the theory
67 :; d8 f)c4+ of endgames. Taking only one ex­
68 1!1f4 'i!i'Xh3 ample: 73 . . . '<II g2 74 lei d5 i2lc4 +
69 JgxdS e3 75 'i!i'd3 oE�b6 76 ,!:;d6 €)a4 77
Commenting on this game, the 'i!i'C4 ll;>f3 78 '<!rb4 €)b2 79 $b3
tournament representative P. (or 76 ... €)c8 77 ae6 'i!i'f3 78
Romanovsky showed a winning 1!1d4 and with the subsequent
plan in case of 69 . . 'iii xh2 70 'i!i'c5 the knight is lost).
10 Transition into the Endgame

72 l!;>xe3 <dfl + on the king's wing, so Botvinnik

73 1!;>1'2 Ng3 decides to exchange queens.
At last the black pieces are 31 jlfc3 jlfxc3
united, but the black king is in an 32 bxc3 .il.bS
unfortunate position and cannot 33 gfel <de4
break out from the fatal h-file, 34 J;!cl Mbc8
leading to catastrophe. 34 ... g ec8! was stronger, so
74 ge5 <dhl + that the b 7 pawn would have
75 \1<13 <dg3 remained defended. We mention
76 .!!gS <Elfl that in this game both players
77 1!;>1'2 were in time trouble during the
and Black resigned. transition process from the mid­
On the basis of the above end­ dlegame to the endgame.
ing we can make the conclusion, 35 <da5 .iJ.xe2
that a transition into the endgame 36 !!,xe2 <dxc3
with rook against knight is par­ 37 !!,xc3!
ticularly advantageous to the Botvinnik anticipated precisely
stronger side if he succeeds in cut­ this tactical possibility.
ting off the opponent's king from 37 !!\xc3
his pieces. 38 <dxb7 g exe3
Nevertheless it is necessary to More stubborn would have
bear in mind in such transitions been 38 ... g bS 39 <dd6 !l, d3.
that a knight with a well-ad­ 39 :!\xe3 )!!xe3
vanced passed pawn. or, even 40 <dxd6 J'iid3
more so, with two passed pawns,
can fight the rook successfully,
even without the help of the king.

Botvinnik-Tal
Game 8, match 1960

The game was adjourned in this

position. After half an hour's de­
White has two extra pawns, but liberation the World Champion
Black can create specific threats wrote down his sealed move.
 Transition into the Endgame 11

Analysis of this position aroused Fischer-Unzicker

great interest among chess enthu­ Zurich 1959
siasts. In similar situations, it is
possible for the knight to fight
against an active rook (given that
Tal has a dangerous passed a­
pawn). Everything seemed to
depend on Botvinnik's sealed
move.
After the obvious (but in this
case not the strongest) move 41 b7
)4b3 42 <2)f7+ \ilh7! 43 <2\d8 a5
44 d6 a4 45 d7 a3 46 <2)c6 a2,
White would have lost.
The game would have ended in
a draw on 41 lilf2 g xd5 42 b7
)gd2+ 43 \!;>e3 );!b2 441¥1d4\ilh7 White has an extra pawn on the
45 \ilc5 \ilg6 46 l!;>c6 1¥1h5 47 queenside which can be set in
<2)xf5 g c2 + 48 �i�b6 �xh2! motion with the help of an ice­
However, Botvinnik found a breaker such as the queen. More­
study-like way to a win. His over, the open position of the
sealed move was 41 0 f7+ ! and black king also suggests that the
Black resigned without resuming queen could be useful to While,
play. Home analysis showed that and yet the young American
after 41 .. . \ilg7 (in case of 41 . . champion intends to exchange
\¥1 h7 there follows 42 d6! and one queens.
of the pawns goes on to queen) 42 First, he creates a passed pawn.
b7 l1l b3 43 <2)d8 a5 (Black would 45 b4! cxb4
not be saved by 43 . . . 1¥1f8 44 h5 46 cxb4 <2\g4
1!1e8 45 h6 \ilxd8 46 h7 and the 47 -&cS 'iii'xc5
third passed pawn decides the Forced, since after 48 . . . 'iii'd 8
outcome of the game) 44 d6 a4 45 49 iL e2 Black loses the e5 pawn.
d7 a3 46 <2)e6 + and White wins. What influenced Fischer to go
Considerable problems arise into a minor piece endgame?
with regard to the question of First, it is well-known that a
transition into a minor piece end­ queen and a knight often prove to
ing with unequal numbers of be stronger than a queen and a
pawns on the two sides. A transi­ bishop; the player with the knight
tion into the endgame with dissi­ has opportunities to create threats
milar minor pieces is of particular against the opponent's king. This
interest when the dife
f rent charac­ ending clearly fell within that rule.
teristics of the bishop and the In the second place, White has
knight are clearly illustrated. undoubtedly studied the specific
I2 Transition into the Endgame

characteristics of the bishop and 51 <;l;>e6

the knight. The long range of the
bishop to both flanks (and pre­
cisely such a battle is in prospect)
clearly outweighs the cunning,
leaping knight.
48 \ljlf7
49 f4
White now beings to play on
both flanks. The passed c-pawn
does not win the game alone, es­
pecially as the white king is far in
the rear and cannot support it. It
is necessary to form yet another
passed pawn. The black knight is
then literally 'torn to pieces' and
we can begin to sta rt speaking
about the superiority of the more
efficient bishop.
49 <iie7
50 11;>13 �f6
The knight cannot be safe­
guarded in its active position. On
50 ... h5 there would have fol­
lowed 51 iLc4 <iid7 52 il.f7 and
Black would not be able to hold
the while pawns back on the
kingside. This variation is very
characteristic of the struggle
between the bishop and a knight.
Naturally, Fischer anticipated
this possibility in his evaluation of
the transition into a minor piece
ending. His opponent's pawns,
placed on white squares, are easy
prey for the bishop.
51 il.b5!
The black king and knight are
prevented from approaching
White's passed pawn. 51 fxe5
would be a mistake, since on 51
�d7 the White pawns lose
their threats.
52 iLc4+ <;l;>e7
As before, the d7 square is not
available for the black king: 52 ...
<;l;>d7 53 fxe5 and the knight is
prevented from reg ai ning the
pawn by his own king.
53 c6!
Again, the black king cannot
approach the c-pawn: 53 ... <;l;>d6
54 fxe5 l!;>xc5 55 c7.
53 !i)e8
Black would not be saved by a
preliminary pawn exchange: 53
... exf4 54 gxf4 !?leB 55 e5 .;:Jc7 56
\lie4 <Ele8 (in case of 56 ...h5, the
white king would change his route
57 1110. breaking through to his
opponent's weakened pawns. The
centralized king plays well on
both flanks!) 57 il. g8 wf8 58
il.xh7 <;l;>g7 59 il.xg6 wxg6. The
bishop sacrifices itself for two
pawns, but soon the c-pawn wins
the black knight. Such a transfor­
mation o f a minor piece endgame
into an ending with three pawns
against a minor piece is a typical
method of realization of an ad­
vantage. 60 f5 + <;l;>g5 61 f6 <;l;>g6
62 wd5 ;!117 63<;1;>c5 \lle 6 64 1!1b6
and White wins.
54 fxe5 h6
55 we3 .;:Jc7
56 �d4 h5
The white king sets out to sup­
port of the passed pawn and
Black tries to take advantage of
this to form his own passed pawn
on the opposite flank. But
Fischer's king is not dogmatic.
After the weakening of the black
pawns, he changes hiw route
 Transition into the Endgame 13

unexpectedly and sharply to anni­ Boleslavsky-Kotov

hilate them. Zurich 1953

57 �e3! g5
58 .ii_ e2 As a result of an effective com­
A fine example of the bishop bination, White has gained a
working on both flanks. pawn. However, Black's pieces
58 lt4 are well developed, and his two
59 gxh4 gxh4 bishops, aiming at White's
60 il.c4 ees kingside, could become a definite
61 l!;>f4 �d8 compensation for his pawn defi­
62 ;frg4 tftc7 cit. But Grandmaster Bolevslasky
63 .il.f7 4;\g7 has evaluated the position accur­
64 �xh4 �xc6 ately and forces a transition into
At last the dangerous white the endgame.
pawn is captured. But at what 20 .il.f4 _axt3
price! The black knight falls into a Unsatisfactory is 20 . . . g e8 21
trap. ,il:xd6 );!xe6 22 )i(xb6 l!.xb6 in
65 �gS view of 23 .$lc7.
Black resigned. 21 g xd6 :!;!xd6
If Black had not resigned, we 22 �xd6 �xd6
would have been able t o observe 23 .$lxd6 l!.e8
yet another transition into a 24 :!;!xeS+ exeS
'pawn' endgame: 65 . l\'d7 66 25 .$le5!
�f6 .jje8 + 67 ii.xe8 ;frxe8 68 The point of White's plan! Of
\We6. course, it was necessary to foresee
We examine a transition into a this move when transposing into
minor piece ending from the mid­ the ending. After 25 gxf3 exd6
dlegame, in which a battle is to the two pairs of doubled pawns
take place between bishop and clearly devalue White's material
knight, complicated by the pres­ advantage. In this situation the
ence of yet another minor piece presence of opposite coloured
on each side. bishops by no means signifies a
14 Trans ition into the Endgame

draw. With the last move the After 26 , , , €)f6 27 il_xf6 gxf6
white bishop took up an ideal the ending is hopeless for Black.
position and hindered the mo­ 27 f3 '0!1h7
bility of his opponent's knight 28 41)e2 gS
25 il_c6 29 'i!lf2
26 b4! In this ending it is necessary to
centralize the king.
29 h4
30 g3 hxg3+
31 hxg3 \fr g6
32 g4 il_b7
33 'il;>e3 il_c6
34 «Jc3 il_b7
35 41)e4 il_dS
After 35 , , , il_xe4 36 'il;>xe4
Black is defenceless, since 36 . . ,
€l f6 + 37 jlxf6 leads to a hope­
Jess pawn endgame, but Black is
Having fixed his opponent's unable to bring his knight into the
pawns on white squares, Boles­ battle in any other way, and the
lavsky thereby restrains his op­ white king annihilates his op­
ponent's white coloured bishop. ponent's queen's flank without re­
An interesting endgame emerges. straint
The adversaries have a similar 36 €)c5 wn
pair ofpieces. Is it possible to talk 37 «Jxa6 w e6
about the battle of the opposite 38 jlc3 11.a8
coloured bishops? Or do we apply 39 41)c5 + l!?f7
here an evaluation characteristic 40 41)e4
of a knight ending? It appears that The knight concludes his
it is neither this nor the other. voyage to the a6 pawn and then
This endgame comprises rather of returns to his central base, tying
two other basic elements-single down his opponent's king to the
combat of the c3 knight against defence of the g5 pawn.
the c6 bad bishop, and (already 40 lf;> g6
familiar to us from the previous 41 jj_eS il_dS
example) a duel of the strong e5 42 <2)d2 'il;>f7
bishop against a hobbling knight Black resigned, not waiting for
on e8. White's obvious answer, 43 ltrd4,
These two factors (both giving since after 43 , , . lf;>e6 44 <2)e4 he
a plus sign to White), not even is forced to either give up yet
speaking of the extra pawn, give another pawn on g5 or, in the end,
him in sum a decisive advantage. to exchange his only hope-the
26 hS opposite coloured bishop: 44 . , .

il_xe4 45 \11xe4 which leads to a
hopeless ending.
It is well known that in rook
endgames the exploitation of a
pawn majority is not that easy.
Hence the significance of the re­
mark: 'All rook endgames are
drawn'.
In the transition into a rook
ending it is necessary to remember
that the evaluation of such factors
as the activity of the rooks, the
possession of open lines, the op­
portunity of seizing the seventh
rank (for White) or the second
rank (for Black) is of decisive sig­
nificance.
Let us examine the technical
and elegant way Anatoly Karpov
realized his advantage in the fol­
lowing endgame.
Karpov-Kuzmin
Leningrad 1973
35 'iiie7!
The World Champion-to-be
forces an exchange of queens, tak­
ing into consideration the oppor­
tunity of creating a powerful rook
battery on the seventh rank.
35 'iiixe7
Transition into the Endgame 15
Forced, as he cannot proceed
by 35 ... 'iiixc3 in view of 36 !!,e3!
(the immediate 36 !!,e5? would be
a mistake because of 35 ...
!!,h3+!) 36 . .. 'iiib 2 37 !!,e5 and
the irresistible threat of check on
f6 is decisive.
36 !!,xe7 !!,d3
37 l!i.c7 4:)b3
38 l!i'g4
On the knight's departure
White prepares a decisive inva­
sion o n the seventh rank.
38 lll:f8
39 lHe7
The threat is 40 !!,xf7 +! gxf7
41 gxf7+ l!i'xf7 42 4:)e5+ and
White easily wins the knight end­
game with the two extra pawns,
and on 39 . . . !!,dl the simple 40
€\e5 decides, as f7 is indefensible.
Black resigned.
Two rooks on the seventh rank
possess an extremely strong de­
structive power and in a transition
into a four-rook ending this must
always be borne in mind.
As already noted, a great role is
played in the decision whether to
transpose the game into an end­
ing, by the assessment of the ac­
tivity of such pieces as the rooks.
In this respect, examples from the
creative games of the great master
of the endgame, ex-World Cham­
pion Vasily Smyslov, are most
instructive. In his book In search
of harmony he writes: 'Already in
the first tournament encounters, I
did not avoid transition into the
ending, since this is an investment
in the technical realization of an
advantage. Therefore I did not
16 Tra11sitioll i11to the E11dgame

strain the position without neces­

sity and did not strive to effects,
but played, as they say, "accord­
21 f5!
This continuation prevents the
transfer of the black knight to f5
I
-�

1
ing to the position". I play in this and clearly dimirrishes the defen­
way now'. sive possibilities of his opponent.
As an epigraph to his book 21 f6
Smyslov quotes a line from the 22 !ild3 !ildS
remarkable Russian poet A. 23 !ilf4
'
Maikova 'Harmony and calm, In order to prevent the penetra­
mysterious secrets ...'. Develop­ tion of Black's knight to e6, White
ing this image, it may be said that forces yet another exchange.
Smyslov, in his creations, revealed 23 !i:Jxf4
important secrets of chess har­ 24 §J.xf4 §J.d6
mony in the transition from mid­ Black tries to go over into a
dlegame into the endgame. 'clean' rook endgame, notorious
for its drawing tendencies.
Smyslov-Konstantinopolsky 25 iL xd6 cxd6
Moscow 1939 26 lil'f2

Already in the opening White Thus there emerges a rook end­

has won a pawn.Moreover he has game, desired by both compet­
good prospects on the kingside. itors. The pawn majority has no
The majority of players would se­ significance for the time being.
lect here the move 18 it c2, in the Konstantinopolsky with his fol­
hope of setting up an attack on lowing move underlines exactly
the hostile king. But Smyslov, the very essentials of the posi­
believes his own words: 'I never tion-the activity of the rooks:
turn away from a transition into a 26 b4!
favourable ending'. 27 gel
18 il.xd5 � xd5 After 27 cxb4 ge4 28 :i!dl
19 �f3 �xf3 lit b8 29 a3 a5 Black acquires his
20 J>xf3 !i:Je7 desired activity, which to some
 Transition into the Endgame 17

degree would compensate him for not succeed: 35 . .. gd8+ 36

the two pawn deficit. ll;>c4 g d2, in view of 37 c6! 'itle7
27 liiab8 38'iflc51!1d839 lt1b611;>c840 )i!e l
On 27 . .. bxc3 White planned and White wins.
28 lil,cxc3 )i(e4 29 j!c7! A motif 36 Ael + 'ii> d7
well-known to us-penetration to 37 ll;>dS li!bS
the seventh rank. In rook endings The black king has managed to
pawns arc very expensive. take the opposition and the
28 c4 passed pawn is pinned. Should
White prepares to give back the Smyslov consider sacrificing the
pawn in order to enable him the pawn?
more quickly to form a passed Certainly not. The passed pawn
pawn on the queenside. is strong not only when it irresist­
28 [l.e4 ibly breaks through into a queen;
29 )i!d3 !!if4 + it is even more important due to
30 'it/e2 )i(xfS its ability to tie down enemy
In case of 30 ... j!e8+ 3 1 ge3 forces, and thus it acts as a con­
is strong. siderable distracting factor.
31 cS dxcS It is necessary to examine the
32 dxcS transition into the ending in these
We have material equality on circumstances. In the given case
the chessboard, and yet White's the black pieces are forced to
advantage is obvious. His passed watch over the white c-pawn on
pawn is a menacing force; morew the queenside. They are being
over, the comparative activities of diverted from the opposite section
the pieces are clearly in his favour. of the front by this pawn. The ex­
32 ll.eS + World Champion foresaw this
33 !l;e3 g xe3+ pecularity of the position. Aban­
It seems that the exchange of doned to the mercy of fate, the
one pair of rooks complicates an black pawns on the kingside
already difficult problem facing become a fine target for the white
Black. Having lost his only active rook, and Smyslov highlights this
piece-the rook on f5-Biack with his subsequent move:
gives a dominating position to the 38 Jile4! g6
white king in the centre of the 38 . . . gaS fails to 39 Iii xb4
board and allows him to support gxa2 40 li!b7 + with a decisive
his passed pawn freely. Black invasion of the seventh rank by
should have considered 33 the rook.
l.ild5. 39 h4 rs
34 'iflxe3 W¥f7 40 li!f4
35 �i>d4 'it/e6 The threat is 41 h5.
An attempt to penetrate to the 40 b5
second rank with the rook would 41 :M4
I8 Transition into the Endgame

Now, while the base of the

pawn triangle, g6, is fixed on the
sixth rank, the white rook aims
for the d6 square.
41 W/c7
42 b3 )!!b8
43 wc4 ge8
Black has managed to activate
his rook, resultin g in a massive
pawn exchange, but White's
pride-the c-pawn, supported by middlegame. Nevertheless, in an
the king provides him with a de­ endgame, one of these pawns­
cisive advantage. the c3 pawn-could play a deci­
44 li!d6 li(e4 + sive role, and the future tourna­
45 W/d5 1!,xh4 ment winner forces a transition
46 J;xg6 .!!g 4 into a rook endgame.
47 gxa6 �xg2 27 -;;;-xc4!
48 )!a7+ �b8 28 dxc4
49 .lth7 £xa2 After 28 bxc4 i!.h6 29 :i! f3
50 J!;xh5 .!!c 2 g b8 White is threatened by
51 W/t6! l'll b2 + and loss of a piece.
Very accurate. Suddenly the 28 i!.h6
black king finds itself in danger. 29 )!f3 );1d8
The threat is 52 �b6. Threateni ng 30 g d2 + .
51 <;ta7 30 wf2 il.xe3 +
52 Wib5 31 l!lxe3 B.d2+
53 1;\h7 + 32 'i!lif3 !,l;xe3 +
54 wb6 jiieS 33 <;txe3 wg7!
55 c6 f4 The situa ti on has clarified: the
56 !l.b7 + wcs c3 pawn constrains White's
57 J!;a7 opportunities. With the last
Black resigned. moves Levitina forces her oppon­
This game by a leading Soviet ent's rook into a passive position,
woman developed into a sharp since after 34 get g h2 Black
and unusual position. wins easily.
34 ggt g xa2
Gurieli-Levitina 35 l!id3 c2
Niko/aev 1978 36 <;tc3 h4
37 b4
Grandmaster Irina Levitina has The immediate 37 <;!!;>d3 l ose s
an extra pawn, but the c-pawn because of 37 . . g b2.
configuration is definitely not or­ 37 cxb4 +
namental to the position in this and Black won.
 Transition into the Endgame 19

Transition into a technical end­ The white bishop and the a5

game is a very important method pawn completely paralyse the
of realization of material advan­ black knight and on the following
tage in various unusual material move he must give it up for the
relationships. pawn, so Black resigned.

Belyavsky-Miles
Karpov-Polugaevsky Salonika 1984
Game 8, match 1974

White has a material advant­

White has a clear material ad­ age. He has two pieces for a rook;
vantage-queen and two pawns moreover, the passed a-pawn is
against two rooks. However, such very dangerous. But the situation
an unusual force relationship is not as simple as it appears to be
often makes the task of the at first glance. The point is that
stronger side more difficult. the white knight has fallen into a
Hence the future World Cham­ trap at the edge of the board and
pion makes the most clear-cut de­ cannot be rescued; furthermore,
cision. He forces a transition into the position of the white king is
the endgame-the quickest way not safe in the presence of the
to a win. black queen on the chessboard.
34 lifxc5! 4:)xc5 The Soviet Grandmaster makes
35 jj_xb8 jj_xc3 the only correct decision-he
36 bxc3 4:)fxe4 forces the exchange of queens.
The mist clears. White has a 32 '/<i'g4! '/<i'xg4
spare passed pawn which will cost Avoiding of the exchange does
Black a knight. not succeed; on 32 .. . 'fife? there
37 c4 4:)d7 would follow 33 'flfxg7 + 'flfxg7 34
38 jj_c7 g6 4:)xg7 �t>xg7 35 jj_c6! �f7 36 a6
39 jj_e6 4::\ec5 /;/,a? 37 jj_b7 �t>f6 38 ot;>c2 ot;>e5 39
40 jj_xd7 4:lxd7 �t>c3 and Black loses the c-pawn
41 jj_d6 and with it the game.
20 Transition into the Endgame

33 j_xg4 g6 SO <�.r c l 1!1 b3

34 j_d7! 51 €le4! li! h l +
White forces the transition into 52 <ird2 e4
the endgame, disregarding the 53 il_e2
material loss. After 34 . . . gxh5, a And soon Black considered
thematic ending would emerge, in himself to be lost, and resigned.
which White is helpless, in spite of In this chapter we have examined
the advantage of the exchange: 35 the outcome of positions in which
j_c6 'l!f7 36 a6 ;!i a7 37 il_b7 'ltg7 the material balance bas already
38 <�.rc2 'lff6 39 <�.rc3 \tre5 40 1!1c4 been disturbed and the stronger
etc. side tries to realize this advantage
34 ;!i a8!? by means of simplification.
Comparatively the best de­ Games in which material ad­
cision. vantage is acquired as if en route
35 €lxf4 l!i xaS from the middlegame into the
36 'lfc2 endgame are of great interest.
Thus, White retains his pieces Combinational transitions are
and his material advantage. How­ sometimes discussed, resulting in
ever, highly technical play was some sort of advantage in
still required from White in order strength, with a simultaneous
to win. abrupt simplification of the posi­
36 'lrg7 tion.
37 il_e6 \trf6 Often inexperienced players,
38 il_gS ;!i a8 having the initiative or having
39 j_c4 'IreS started an attack against the
40 €}e6 1!1d6 enemy king, wish, at any price, to
41 €lg5 Ill eS crown the engagement with an
42 il_d3 l!! a7 effective mating finish; having
43 il_e4 <ird4 overestimated their position, they
44 €}e6 + ! end up being no better off than
White finds an interesting plan before. It must be remembered
for the realization of his advan­ that the consequence of an attack,
tage. He lures the black king to its logical conclusion, need not
the queen's flank, and only after necessarily be a mating combi­
this does he set about the annihi­ nation. A transition into an end­
lation of the black pawns on the game with material superiority
king's flank. can be effected, but it should also
44 �trc4 be effective. ln the last century
45 h4! l!i a l such a pragmatic approach would
46 j_d3 + 1!1 h4 have encountered numerous critics.
47 €}g5 !l.hl However, our modern times have
48 €}xh7 l!ixh4 their own aesthetic criteria. This
49 €lf6 �h2+ may be a good or a bad thing, but
 Transition into the Endgame 21

the reality is based on the direc­ 25 'i¥fxe2 +

tion of contemporary chess. Fur­ 26 \f;>xe2 §l.d3+
thermore, technical combinations 27 ��;>d2 §l.xfl
employed in transposing play into 28 1/!Xfl §l.c5!
the endgame can be very elegant. Black did not conclude his at·
tack with an effective mating fin­
Gheorghiu-Smyslov ish, but does that make Smyslov's
Petropolis 1973 combination of lesser aesthetic
value? In case of 29 li! xf7 M, h2
and Black regains his advantage
immediately.
29 b4 M,h2
30 bxcS g xg2 +
31 lf;>d3 €) d8!
Black prefers to keep the propi­
tious knight. Moreover, after 31
li,xb2 32 J;; xf7, White would
be compensated somewhat in the
rook endgame for his material
Black has played the Exchange loss.
Variation of the Ruy Lopez very 32 §l.cl g xg4
energetically and has already 33 lilfS e4+
created, in the opening stages of 34 ll';>d4 l'l;>d7
the game, serious threats against Black needs to centralize his
his opponent's king. king first of all, in order to neut­
The unfortunate disposition of ralize the activity of his oppon­
the white pieces suggests the pre­ ent's pieces. The knight on the
condition for a 'modest' combi­ eighth rank is by no means out of
nation, leading to Black enforcing play. It protects, indirectly, the g5
a transition into the endgame, pawn.
winning en route two pawns. 35 §l.e3 ��;> e7
21 l! xd2! 36 li! fl
22 "i!i'Xd2 36 §l.xg5? is not possible
"i!i'Xf3 +
23 ��;>el because of 36 . . . )'!; xg5 37 J;; xg5
The immediate 23 l'l;>gl loses €)e6 + .
because of 23 . . .il..c5 + .
. 36 €) 1'7
23 'l!\'xe4+ 37 iii bl \f;>e6
24 'i¥fe2 §l.b4+ 38 )'!; xb7 €) h6!
25 c3 As if in gratitude for not being
25 ll';>d I would lead to consider­ exchanged, the knight returns the
able material losses: 25 l'l;>d 1 kindness-it provides the passed
'i¥fd5 + 26 ll';>cl !!. h2 27 l!l. g l pawn with decisive support and
§l.c5. destroys White's blockade.
22 Transition into the Endgame

39 ll;>c4 �f5 26 a4
40 il.d4 e3 Precisely this move must have
41 'i!;>d3 gg2 been in White's mind i n his calcu­
42 g bl gd2+ lations of the ending. The point is
White resigned. that after the natural 26 Jtxa6
In combinational transitions M aS 27 c4 !'l xa6 28 cxd5 !e[ a5 29
into the endgame, precise calcula­ a4 'i!i>f8! Black would have
tions are required both for this received good chances for a draw.
highly tactical operation, as well The move 26 ;g d I would have
as for the penetration into the been unsuccessful because of 26
subtleties of the ending. . . il: e8.
26 l!(d6
Keres--Geller The move 26 . . . a5 would have
Budapest 1952 led to the loss of a second pawn:
27 g d l a!e8 28 g xd5 )1( xe2 29
g3 )]\ c2 30 g c5.
27 iii, d l 'i!i>f7
28 aS

23
B

The game has only just emerged

from the opening, but White, by
means of a combinational oppor­
tunity, enforces a transition into It was necessary to fix the pawn
the ending, gaining a pawn in the at a6. Without this the transition
process. into a pawn endgame would not
18 �x17! 'i¥\'xf7 have promised White a win: 28
19 itb3 �c4 gxd5 ii xd5 29 Jtc4 11;>e6 30 ll;> f l
20 �xc4 bxc4 ll;>d6 3 1 il.xd5 11;>xd5 32 11;>e2 l!>c4
21 Jtxc4 �d5 33 'i!;>d2 ��;>b3, with a draw. It is
22 it xe7 Wfxe7 worth paying particular attention
After 22 . . . M xe7 23 W�d2 to this variation as it is directly
White recaptures the piece and associated with our theme- the
retains his extra pawn. problem of simplification.
23 exd5 Wfxe2 In the given case the transition
24 g xe2 g xe2 from a complex endgame into the
25 il.xe2 Jtxd5 ending with bishops of the same
 Transition into the Endgame 23

colour (in the presence of a pawn defence has become more active,
majority) demands a definite more inventive. Fifty years ago
preparation-the fixing of the even an experienced player lost
weak pawn. his self-confidence on losing a
28 Mc6 pawn or the exchange, and the
29 jj_fl game went quickly downhill, it
An instructive decision. White would seem, into an inevitable
is preparing to go into a bishop defeat; whereas now the defend­
ending rather than a rook ending, ing side shows excellent fighting
bearing in mind the drawing tend­ qualities and erects many ob­
encies of the latter (and also the stacles to his adversary's path to
active disposition of his oppon­ victory.
ent's rook!). For instance: 29 This method-the creation of
)!!xd5 J1: xe2 30 '8;> f l M a2 31 l!l c5 maximum difficulties for the op­
'8;>f8 with chances for a draw. ponent-as observed accurately
White cannot win a second by Grandmaster Alexander
pawn with 29 i!_xa6 because of 29 Kotov, is taken from life. Perhaps
. . il_b3. the method consists of raising the
29 maximum amount of obstacles to
30 !'l d7 + the realization of a material ad­
31 '!!, xc7 )'4 c5 vantage-the basis of contempor­
32 g c6 l1!: xa5 ary instruction practice. It is pre­
33 .!!: b6 cisely because of its application as
Accurate to the end. After 33 a method of liquidating these ob­
;;;; xa6 !! c5 Black would win the stacles that transition into the
important c-pawn. endgame has become particularly
33 il_c2 topical.
34;:il xa6 l![ c5
35 ;i;i a3 ii! d5 Yap--Pinter
36 f3 � d1 Szirak 1985
37 '8112 li,cl
38 h4 i!_ g6
39 i!_ c4 '81e7
40 g4 h6
41 il_d5
Black resigned.
Current practice gives numer­
ous examples of the utilization of
such methods as the transition
into the endgame for the realiza­
tion of a small material advan­
tage. It is necessary to note that in White has succeeded in winning
recent years the technique of a pawn. However, the Hungarian
24 Trans ition into the Endgame

player, with his last move 33 Played with the idea of exchang­
h5!, created a serious obstacle to ing rooks and transposing into a
the realization of the material ad­ won knight ending with 46 g d2.
vantage. Now the threat is 34 . . . 45 \!reS
<E) g4. 46 <E)d3+ 'l\>d6
34
'i!i'g5! 47 c5+!
White can make himself feel Narrowing the Black king's
comfortable only by exchanging opportunities, White fixes his op­
queens and transposing into an pom:nt's weakness on the queen­
endgame. side and his advantage becomes
34 <E) g4 tangible.
Because of the threat 35 g cfl 47 'ilfe6
this was a practically forced con­ 48 ,2l f2 €)d7
tinuation. 49 �c2 g b4
35 'i!Oxe7 + !! xe7 50 '2l d3 Jl( d4
36 g ftl <E)e6
More active was 36 . . . <E)e3,
since further simplification only
plays into White's hands.
37<E) xe6+ g xe6
38{11'2 {)f6
And now 38 . _ . <Ele3 was pos­
sible, although after 39 g fel g d2
40 g xe3 g xf2 41 g d l White
retains a definite advantage.
39 lil fd1 lil ed6
40 J!! xd6 J!! xd6 51 i![d2!
41 Jilc2 g d4
42 J!! e2 \!117
43\!rgl \!re6 An excellent example of 'am­
In spite of considerable simplifi­ bush'. The threat is 52 <Elf4 + !,
cation, Black, as before, has defi­ exchanging rooks and winning yet
nite compensation for the pawn. another pawn.
Now 43 . . . <Elg4! would have been 51 \!rf6
much more stubborn, since on 44 The other retreat of the king
\lrl3 Black has a curious drawing would lead to new material losses:
opportunity: 44 . . . <Elh2 + 45 'l\>e3 51 . . . \!re7 52 €l xe5.
<El fl + , and it is not easy to win a 52 14 1'2 +
pure rook ending. 53 >2)f4 +
44 'l\>f3 'l\>d6 54 >2)el +
45 \lre3 Black resigned.
 Transition into the Endgame 25

Miles-Timman A beautiful positional pawn sac­

Ti/burg 1985 rifice, securing a dominant posi­
tion for the rook on the fifth rank.
38 bxc6
39 l!lc2 lc8
40 l!: cS
Inaccurate. 40 '1;>b3! c 5 4 1 'l;>c4
with the subsequent 42 a6 would
have decided immediately.
40 o;11 e6
41 '1;>b3 '#Jd6
42 !ii: gS!
The greater part of the advan­
tage would have been lost by the
The English Grandmaster has a tempting 42 'l;>xb4 ;g b8 + 43 l!ic4
pawn majority in a complicated lit b2 44l!lxd4 ;g xf2.
major piece ending. White is faced 42 cS
with a dilemma: whether to trans­ 43 fS! f6
pose into a queen ending or a An interesting chance. Black, in
rook ending. a difficult position, creates maxi­
33 'iii' XbS mum obstacles to the realization
In time trouble, White chooses of the advantage. White would
the most natural continuation. The win easily after 43 . . . gxf5 44
move 33 gd5! would have led to ll!,xf5 lii: a8 45 a6! 111 e6 46 !l:xc5
the objective more quickly, since ll!, xa6 47 l!ixb4 lii: a2 48 ;g xh5
after 33 . . . 'iii' Xc4 34 dxc4 the rook )A xf2 49 111 c4 ;g g2 50 lii: g5 f6 51
ending (and even more a pawn ;g g8 1!1 e5 52 h5 etc.
ending) is hopeless for Black, and 44 !ll: xg6 l!ieS
33 . . . ;g xd5 34 'iii'xd5 'iii'b4 (alto­ Again, the best chance. Less
gether bad is 34 . . . 'IIJ'xd3 35 'iii'xb7 stubborn is 44 . . . g a8 45 ;g xf6 +
with subsequent 36 c6) 35 g4 would �e5 46 ;g b6 ;g xa5 47 f6 ;g a3 +
secure White a decisive advantage 48 l!ic4 ;g c3 + 49 1!1 b5 ;g xd3 50
in a queen ending. f4 with a subsequent 51 f7.
33 axbS 45 ;g g7 ,!!. aS
34 'l;>fl 'l;>f6 46 l!la4 c4!
35 f4 b4 A beautiful example of modern
36 'illo'e2 ;gd8 active defence in a difficult position.
Transition into a pawn ending 47 dxc4 ;gd8
would have led to a quick defeat: 48 !ll: e7 + l!id6
36 . . . 'ge7 37 ;g xe7 '#ixe7 38 c6! After 48 . . . \!ixf5 49 f3! the
37 �d2 lil,a8 black king would be cut off from
38 c6! the scene of the struggle.
26 Transition into the Endgame

49 l;!e2 <;!;>cS this principle can also be applied

so <;!;>b3 d3 to a large extent to a positional
51 ll.d2 ll. d7! advantage. This could be the pres­
52 g4! ence of passed pawns, unfavour­
Careless is 52 a6? !!. d6! 53 a7 able placing of the opponent's
iii a6 and the situation would pieces, or an irreparable defect in
become more tense. his pawn structure-all of these
52 hxg4 positional factors manifest them­
53 hS <;l;>d4 selves very clearly in the ending.
54 h6 g3
55 fxg3 <;l;>e3
The Dutch Grandmaster h as
activated his forces to the maxi­
mum, but the passed pawns are
more important in this position.
56 !!: d 1 �tt e2
57 l:! a 1 d2
58 wxb4 dl('i!i')
59 1!!!, xd1 g xdl
60 a6
Despite the transformation in the This position arose after the 1 3th
material balance, the white pawns move in a game between the future
decide the outcome of the game. World Champion Alexander Alek­
60 g dS hine and Max Euwe from a tourna­
61 a7 'll;> d3 ment in London in I 922.A mistake
62 <;!;>bS <;l;>d4 in the opening by the Dutch
63 cS l!f d5 Grandmaster resulted in a clear
64 \ll b6 !!( h8 positional superiority for White.
65 h7 The position of the black pieces is
The two white pawns on the edge passive (the bishop on g7 has a
of the seventh rank produce an particularly unpromising future);
artistic impression. Black resigned. his doubled e-pawns do not give a
pretty effect to his position. The
The Realization of a Russian player makes the most
Positional Advantage logical decision in the given situa­
tion: he transfers play into an end­
Having studied the previous game, in which his opponent will be
chapter it is possible to come to the deprived of any counterp!ay.
conclusion that a material advan­ 14 €lde4! €l xe4
tage acquired in the opening or in 15 '/i;'xd8 ji exd8
the middlegame is most easily rea­ 16 €lxe4 b6
lized by means of a timely transi­ 17 a fdt 1!1f8
tion into the endgame. However, 18 <;l;>fl!
 Transition into the Endgame 27

Naturally, White is not tempted passive defence in the absence of

lo win pawns by 18 <2!g5, since any clear counterplay gives an
after 18 . . . 'file? 19 <2!xh7 .il. h6 20 impression of doom in the play of
h4 e4! Black has good drawing a very strong player. 22 . . . .il. f8
chances. would have been much more stub­
18 <t; e7 born. By means of an elegant ma­
Black threatens 1 9 . . . c4 to noeuvre Alekhine now forces a
secure the d5 and d3 squares for decisive intrusion of the rook.
his rooks. After White's last move 23 a4!
this was not possible in view of 1 9 Alas, 23 . . . a5 is not possible in
o?Jd6 winning a pawn, but now view of 24 !! b3, winning a pawn.
White succeeds in depriving Black 23 g c8
once and for all of this possibility, 24 :!! b3 <t; d7
at the same time freeing the third 25 aS <t; c6
rank for rook manoeuvres. It is clear that this is the lesser
19 c4! h6 of two evils. On 25 . . . bxa5 there
20 ��?e2 � xdl would follow 26 :!! b5, annihilat­
21 ;!! xdl li! b8 ing the black queen's flank;
A critical moment! Black can­ 26 axb6 axb6
not go for a rook exchange, since 27 g a3 .il.g7
White would then have a simple 28 :!! a7 ;!! c7
winning plan: 21 . . . !! d8 22 Black wishes for an exchange,
� xd8 Wxd8 and now: but White considers that he will
( I ) 23 h4, then g4 and g5, forc­ win more quickly in the presence
ing black to play . . . h5, since an of the rooks.
exchange would give the h4 29 g aS ;!! e7
square to the White king; 30 :!! c8 + \l;>d7
(2) White places his king on e4 31 ;!! g8 \l;>c6
and knight on d3, forcing Black to 32 h4
play 'fll d 6 to defend the e5 Before the beginning of the
pawn; decisive manoeuvre White wishes
(3) f4! winning the e- or g-pawn to shut in the black bishop com­
and shortly after the game. pletely.
After establishing these facts it 32 \l;>c7
becomes perfectly clear that 33 g4 \l;>c6
White has a won endgame, 34 \l;>d3 !>, d7 +
because Black is forced to avoid 35 \l;>c3 �>. 17
exchanging rooks and cannot 36 b3 \l;>c7
avoid the penetration of the hos­ 37 \l;>d3 !>, d7 +
tile rook into his camp. 38 \l;>e2 :!! 17
22 il, d3 .il.h8? 39 <2!c3!
Yet another typical moment! The knight will also be well
The necessity of submitting to placed on b5.
 'i]j
28 Transition into the Endgame

39
40 g5
!!l e7
hxg5
'I
if
41 hxg5 '*c6
42 '*d3 M d7+
43 �e4 'g c7
44 Q�b5 'ft, e7 J
If 44 .
45
. . l;lf7 then 45 )'g c8 + .
f3
-_ :';�
Now Black's only answer, 45
�b7, is bad in view of 46
Q�d6 + and Qle8, winning a piece. retains some counter·chances,
45 * d7 associated in the first place with
46 !i!b8 <;1;>c6 operations against the hostile
47 l'l,c8+ �d7 king. Considering all the circum­
The move 47 . . . <;l;>b7 would stances, Keres decides to transfer
lose; 48 <t)d6+ <;l;>a7 49 ),!.g8 and play into an endgame, in spite of
there is no defence to 50 Qle8. the presence of rooks, which, it
48 li: c7 + �d8 seems, would ease White's prob­
49 l';l c6 l'l,b7 lems, a rook and bishop being
50 l'l, x e6 generally considered stronger
Only now did White obtain a than a rook and knight. This is
material advantage, but its real­ shown particularly strikingly in
ization was not in doubt. Black open positions. For the time being
resigned. the position is of a semi-open
A beautiful example of the ex­ character, but if Black wishes to
ploitation of a positional advan­ play for a win, sooner or later he
tage in the endgame. We note, will have to begin active opera­
however, that the answer to the tions, and then this circumstance
question of the strongest side was will have great importance.
facilitated in this example by the Nevertheless . ..
absence of any sort of counterplay 24 'i!i'd5!?
by the opponent. In such cases it 25 b3 h5
is most important to form the 26 i!i'e4
correct plan for the realization of Otherwise he loses a pawn.
the advantage. Black's problem is 26 i!i'xe4
considerably more complex in this 27 l';l xe4 f6
game between Averbakh and A typical positional man­
Keres, Moscow 1950. oeuvre. Black takes control of the
There are some positional ad­ black squares, restricts even more
vantages on Black's side: the weak his opponent's bishop and opens
isolated white pawn on d4 and the the king's way to the centre. In the
somewhat constrained situation meantime White holds on with
of the bishop. However, White waiting tactics.
 Transition into the Endgame 29

28 <;t;>fl <;t;>fl Black's attempt to play for a

29 §J.a5 b6 win was evidently related to the
30 §J.c3 gd8 preparatory . . . b6-b5. However,
31 il.b2 gd6 it is not simple to accomplish this.
32 g4 For instance, if White played 4 1
A useful move, hindering <;t;>e2, then o n 41 . . . b 5 h e could
f6-f5, but the exchange plays into follow with 42 a5!? b4 (possibly
the hands of the defending side. stronger than 42 . . . a6) 43 a6!
32 hxg4 with excellent counterchances, for
33 hxg4 )i! e6? example 43 . . . tt:Jc7 44 ltid3
A mistaken plan. Black wished tt:Jxa6 45 1Jic4, or 43 . . l!! a 5 44
to facilitate the approach of the d5! cxd5 45 g xb4.
king to the cherished square d5, And now 41 . . . b5 is not so
but, in the first place, White can­ dangerous for White. Also pos­
n o t approach the e6 square for the sible is 42 \t;>f2 bxa4 43 bxa4 g a5
time being and Black regroups his 44 d5! cxd5 45 g b4 with compen­
forces (as happens in the game); sation for the pawn in the form of
however the move 34 s xe6! the active placing of his pieces.
makes all that possible. After 34 Such devices are very character­
. . . <;t;>xe6 35 <;t;>e2 1Jid5 Black's istic in the endgame. Harmony in
pieces are placed beautifully, but the disposition of the pieces is
with an accurate (and not very worth more than material!
difficult) defence the endgame 41 '{l; e7
finishes in a draw. Similar posi­ 42 g5
tions often arise with opposite White takes the opportunity to
colours in the Queen's Gambit. develop activity, but the text
34 f3 move is unsuccessful. The simple
White does not risk a rook of 42 ;\>f2 would have been better,
exchange since then it is not obvious what
34 tt:Je7 Black gains by the king ma­
35 il.cl ti:Jd5 noeuvre started with his previous
36 il.d2 s d6! move. Also not clear is 42 f4 f5
Beginning a new regrouping of (otherwise White himself plays
forces. f4-f5) 43 gxf5 s xf5 44 );! e5 '(l;>f6
37 1Jie2 sd8 45 ;\1g4 g6. It is not easy for Black
38 ltif2 tt:Jc7 to find a winning plan in this
An unpleasant threat is emerg­ position. But after the text move
ing; 39 . . . tt:Jb5. White is forced Black acquires a great chance of
to weaken his queen's flank some­ winning, since after the forced
what. exchange of rooks his king is in a
39 a4 tt:Je6 strong position and White's pawn
40 il.e3 gds structure is weakened on both
41 1Jig3 flanks.
30 Transi1ion illlo lhe Endgame

42 f5! White has no useful

Naturally not 42 . . . fxg5 now. On 49 iJ.cl there follows the
because of 43 1!1 g4 simple 49 . . . c4
43 g eS <;Wd6 49 111b5 1!1e5?
44 jg xd5+ 'i!i>Xd5 Stronger would have been
45 g6! . . . c4 50 bxc4 + 'il1xc4 5 1
The only but alas, inadequate It b4 and the 'a' pawn decides the
chance. game.
45 aS 50 il.cl ® d4
Naturally, it is not easy to ad­
mit one's own mistake, but the
preferred move is 50 . . . ®d5!
51 il.h6 'il1f6
52 il.gS+ ®e6
53 il.h6?
A decisive mistake. After 5 3
i!,d8! Black would have
serious difficulties in his way.
path to victory would be 53
<;i<d7! 54 il.xb6 ®xb3 55 1!1g5
or 54 il.f6 <t)c6 5 5 il.e5 1!1c6
il.xg7 ®xg7 57 wg5 ®e8
Much stronger than the ordin­ <;Wxf5 �Wd6! Considerably
ary 45 . . . ®xd4 reckoning on 46
is the natural 53 . . . �xb3
1!;> f4 c5! White prepared 46 il.xd4!
wg5! with the threat 55 il. f6.
'i11 xd4 47 1!1f4 and the pawn end­
53 gxh6
game is a draw. For instance 47 ®c6!
54 'i11 xh6
. . . b5 48 axb5 cxb5 49 b4! lfic4 50 White did not anticipate this
�txf5 ®xb4 51 f4! a5 52 lfie4! a4 move! Now all is lost.
53 'i11 d 3 and a draw is ensured. 55 g7 �e7
Now 46 . . . ®xd4 is still a threat s6 wh7 <�t f7
and Black would have an extra 5 7 'i11 h6 ltlg8
tempo in the above variation. 58 f4 <!?f7
46 1!;>b4 ®xd4 White resigned.
Black need not have hurried A very complex game in which
with this capture, playing simply even grandmasters made mis­
46 . . . b5 with the idea of 47 . . . b4 takes.
47 il.h6! ®e6 In the examples we have exa­
Unclear is 47 . . . \:lxf3 + 48 mined the difficulty of the weaker
®h5 �e5 49 iJ.xg7 �xg6 50 side was largely due to the pres­
�txg6 f4 51 il.f6 with good ence of a bad bishop against his
chances of a draw. opponent's versatile knight. We
48 .fl.c3 c5 now consider an example in which
 Transition into the Endgame 31

the positional precondition sug­ chances of occupying the d-file,

gesting a transition into the end­ and the brilliant master of end­
game is the unsatisfactory situa­ games rushes to exploit these
tion of the opponent's knight. chances.
18 il! f2
Alapin-Rubinstein White cannot hold the d-file in
Prague 1908 any case, since on 18 .§. fdl there
follows the unpleasant 18 . . . i1! a4
18 !!l d7
19 1Qc2 !;1! ad8
20 !!: e 1
The move 21 d4! poses an inter­
esting threat, balancing out the
chances. The hasty 20 d4 would
lose because of 20 . . dxe4 2 1
)'!( e l exd4 2 2 1Qxd4 c 5 2 3 1Qe6
il! d l .
20 dxe4
21 dxe4 1Qc8!
Having seized the open line,
15 i!i'b6! Black hurries to activate his
Black enforces a queen knight, directing it to the queen's
and then a transition flank.
a ending. It is precisely 22 !!l fe2 b5
the endgame that it is easiest to 23 1Qa1 1Qb6
the unsatisfactory position 24 1Qb3 1Qa4!
knight at the edge of the This move has two aims: attack
board. on the b2 pawn and defence of the
16 i!i'xb6 axb6 c5 square.
17 c3?! 25 lti f2 c5
An inaccuracy immediately 26 )'!;c2 g6!
after the transition. Better was I 7 As remarked by the well known
121 bl attempting to improve the expert on the creative genius of
position of the knight without Rubinstein, Grandmaster Yuri
weakening the d3 square, Razuvayev, this continuation is
although in this case after 17 . . . highly characteristic of the mas­
b5 1 8 1Qd2 !;l! a4 1 9 a3 !;l! fa8 and ter. Rubinstein never loses an op­
White's defence would be very portunity to improve his position
difficult. anywhere on the chessboard.
17 i1! fd8 White could not now retain the f5
Another important basis for square: 27 g4 c4 28 IQc I !!: d 1 29
the transition was the possibility !;1! ee2 il! h l and the weakness of
that Black would have good the white pawns on the king's
32 Transition into the Endgame

flank would become explicit Naturally not 39 )!l xf6L.•

quickly. because of 39 . . . :!!; d3 + 40 <i>f2'K
27 fxg6 bxg6 €1xe4 + .
28 €lei 39 l;l d 3 +
'One piece stands badly, the 4 0 <i>f2 €1 xe4 +
game stands badly' said Tarrasch. Now Black has not only a posi­
The emerging ending is an excel­ tional but also a material advan- +
lent confirmation of these words. tage and the outcome of the game:.. }
Yet even more appropriate in this is in no doubt.
instance is another aphorism by 41 <i>el €1d6 • .

the great German theoretician: 'A 42 l;l a4 'i'c6

knight at the edge of the board is 43 l;l a8 <i>d5 .
always a shame'. The centralization of the king ··
28 c4 quickly decides the game. In simi- ·
29 <i>e3 lar endings the concentration into }
White somehow manages to a single striking force of the king, )ll
cover the field of intrusion, but his rook and knight possesses enor- . X
position is not a happy one. mons strength.
29 'i?f7 44 h4 €1f5
30 :g; n :g;dtt 45 l;lf8 €1e3!
The presence of four rooks on and White resigned after a few X
the board gives White some hope moves. .,
of counterplay with 31 l;l cf2; In the following example Keres �
managed to open up a position, :
hence Black forces the exchange
of one pair of them. inferior to White on this occasion, :·
31 )g xd1 1!. xdl into a bishop endgame.
32 <i>e2 l!.d7
33 <i>e3 €1c5
The weakness of the e4 pawn is 31
beginning to show. B
34 b3 <i>e6
35 bxc4
After 35 b4 €1 a4 White falls
into a zugzwang.
35 bxc4
36 l!.b2 l;l dl
37 gb6+
After 37 !!. c2 )g e l + 38 €1 e2
€1d3 White is helpless.
37 <i>d7 This position arose in a game
38 €1e2 <i><7! between Smyslov and Keres in
39 !t b4 Moscow 1 9 5 1 . The disposition of
 Transition into the Endgame 33

ihe black pieces is significantly 39 wg2 wrs

more active, the advantage of the 40 wf3 weS
lwo bishops not playing any role 41 a4
here. Keres was not tempted by Black could have enforced this
the mirage of an attack on the move much earlier by means of
king and he quite rightly pro­ the manoeuvre 41 .fl.a2,
ceeded to force a transition into threatening . . . a5-a4.
the endgame. 41 gS
33 cS Black begins a decisive advance
34 .ll.e3 €>xe3 with the pawns with the object of
35 i!fe3 i!fxe3 clearing a way for his king into
Thus, we have a bishop ending the enemy's rear. The battle could
on the board, well-known for its develop as follows: 42 wf2 we4
drawing tendencies. And yet 43 we2 f5 44 h4 (after 44 wd2 f4
Black went into this position on Black would soon capture the h­
the basis of an evaluation showing pawn) gxh4 45 gxh4 f4 46 gxf4
benefits to himself. What were the wxf4 47 wf2 .fl.e4 and White falls
factors which convinced him of into a decisive zugzwang.
these benefits? In the first place, After the text move Black could
all of White's pawns on the have chosen such a plan; however
queenside are on light-coloured he decided to enforce the advance
squares, and their defence forces of the g-pawn.
the white bishop to take up a 42 we2 .ll. fS
passive position; in the second 43 g4
place, Black will secure the strong The move 43 h4 was obviously
c5 square for his king. These ad­ not possible because of 43
vantages should be sufficient to .ll. g4 + .
ensure him victory. It is interest­ 43 i.bl
ing to follow how consistently the 44 wn fS
Estonian Grandmaster carries 45 gxfS
through his winning plan.
36 .ll. b 1!
White threatened to begin
building of a barricade with the
move 37 e4!, which case he would
have retained good drawing
chances. Black prevented this
plan, quickly bursting into the
enemy camp with his bishop.
37 a3 aS!
Fixing the white pawns and
t.· threatening 38 . . . .fl.c2. After 45 we2 f4 46 wf3 fxe3 47
,, 38 .ll.d 1 l\> g6 'l!xe3 i_e4 White is in zugzwang,
34 Transition into the Endgame
analogous to the position dis­
cussed in the note to Black's 41st
move.
45 wxf5
46 'it/fl Jl_e4
There is nothing to be gained
by 46 . . . we4 because of 47 1l_h5.
Black's move in the game pre­
pares the manoeuvre . . . 'it/ g6 and
" . h5.
47 'it/g3 'iti g6
48 'it/fl
White would not be saved by
the move 48 h4. Black would
answer 48 . . . h5 49 wh3 Jtd3 50
'it/g3 Jtf5! and White is in a zug­
zwang again ! The enormous con­
trast in the strength of the bishops
gives Black a decisive advantage.
48 hS
49 'iflg3 h4+
SO 'it/fl 1l_f5
51 'it/g2 'it/f6
Now, when the white king is
tied to the defence of the h-pawn,
his black colleague proceeds to
the centre.
52 'iflh2 we6!
A final subtlety. After the
forced moves 53 'iflg2 'it/e5 54
w h2 Jt b l 55 wg2 we4 56 wf2
wd3 further resistance is useless.
White resigned.
Amongst the examples quoted
above it is possible to note a cer­
tain similarity: in all cases the
stronger side possessed a better
pawn structure.
This factor often plays an im­
portant role in deciding the ques­
tion of transposition into an end­
game. The point is that the
presence of pawn weaknesses
forces the opponent to deploy
part of his forces to the defence of
these weaknesses. In an endgame,
where the number of pieces on the
board have been reduced, a diver­
sion of even part of the forces to
defensive purposes leads to a de
facto advantage i n strength, in
spite of formal material equality,
and the attacking pieces therefore
possess great dynamism. This
transformation of one form of an
advantage-better pawn struc­
ture-into another one, charac­
terized by greater activity of the
pieces, sometimes leads to an at­
tack against the enemy king, even
with a minimum number of oper­
ational forces.
Smyslov-Ribli
Game 1, match 1983
White has an extra pawn on the
queenside; moreover, the Black b­
pawn is weak. However, the black
pieces are placed very actively and
the evaluation of the position is
by no means simple.
The ex-World Champion
makes an unexpected but charac­
teristic decision.
 Transition into the Endgame 35

26 iitd7!? iil' c7 four-rook ending. White has to

27 iifxc7 I!( xc7 activate his forces to the maxi­
28 $l_d4 mum rather than hold on to
The transition into the end­ material.
game has highlighted the weak­ 38 fi)e6 I!(xc4
ness of the b6 pawn and makes its 39 I!(d7
defence more difficult. Despite a minimum of material
28 fi) c5 remaining on the board, the
Safer was 28 . . . j)_ c5, but evi­ experienced Grandmaster man­
dently the Hungarian Grandmas­ ages to create dangerous threats:
ter did not wish to part with his 40 I!(g7 + ""h8 41 !'!117 . Great
hishop pair. subtlety of play is required from
29 !l.bl Black.
Intensifying the pressure con­ 39 !ll. c6!
sistently on his opponent's weak- The only move. A draw would
ness. now result on 40 );. g7 + fr h8 41
29 f6 g117 Y. xe6 or 41 !!: gfl Y, xe6 42
30 il, xcS j)_xcS g xe6 $l.d5.
31 fi)d7 !!: e2 40 f3 $l.c2
A critical moment. Black car­
out a forceful operation,
onto the second rank
rook to seize the initia-
However, Smyslov has anti-
these complications.
32 fi) d4! g exa2
33 fi)xcS bxcS
34 fi)e6 !!:e7
35 l'!, b6!
The white pieces have acquired
E cnoJrmc)us activity and in spite of
resulting simplification, the
king is in danger. The threat 41 h4
36 gd8 + wfl 37 1!if8 mate. White brings fresh forces into
has to defend the eighth the struggle. The following tac­
urgently. tical play would result in a theore­
35 .!! aS tical draw: 4 1 JOt g7 + ""h8 42
36 fi) xe5 $l_e4 gxh7 + f;>xh7 43 fi)g5 + f;>h6 44
37 g xf6 !!: c7 g xc6 f;>xg5 45 g xc2.
White has won a pawn, but the After the text move the above
opportunities available would lead to a pawn capture,
his adversary are still high. since the knight on g5 would have
38 fi)xe4 leads to a drawish been defended. The game was
36 Transition into the Endgame

adjourned in this position and 49 )1i d7 gg8

after fifteen minutes of delibe­ so )4 e7 g as
ration, Ribli preferred the natural 51 42}c6
way of defending the rook. The knight transfers to e5.
41 g ac8 51 !;! a6
However, the correct move (as 52 ll, ee6 §LbS
pointed out by Averbakh) was 4 1 53 !leS!
<
. . . .H_b3!, sacrificing a pawn. In White is not afraid of simpli- -�
this case after 42 !! g7 + 11;> h8 43 fication. Thus 53 . . . g xe6 54 ·•

.!!, xh7 + lf;>xh7 44 42} g 5 + lf;>h6 45 a xe6 g e8 55 g f6! and Black is t

)1. xc6 Hlack finds a strong anti­ not relieved of his difficulties. For �
dote 45 . . . .!!. a2! and with his king example: 55 . . . It> g8 56 g f5 or 55 ;;'•
cut off, White's chances of success M g8 56 �h3.
would have been doubtful. 53 a a7
42 h5 f4 Yuri Averbakh, Smyslov's f
The threat was 43 !! g7 + �h8 second, assessed the situation as- �
44 gff7 .!!, x e645 s xh 7 + �g8 46 follows: 'It is possible that analy<.
.!!! fg7 + �f8 47 h6 with unavoid­ sis would show that with accurate:.•
able mate, and on 42 . . . gxh5 very play Black can hold this position,. f
strong is 43 f4! with the decisive but in practice the defence of such {'
threat 44 !;!g7 + �h8 45 .!!. h6. positions is hopeless'. No onei f
Ribli defends the h7 pawn with added anything to these words .. )
the bishop. But it should be ment.ioned that:' :
43 b6 §LfS precisely by means of the transi- t
44 s g7 + �t>h8 tion into the endgame did white_;
45 gfti gS succeed in obtaining such a stable - \
Black hopes for 46 .!!. xf5 ,14 xe6 advantage. ;!
47 g gxg5 .!!. xh6 48 .!<! xf4, after 54 !HS !;!b7
which it would not be possible to 55 !;; d6 jg a7
win the rook endgame. Smyslov 56 )!! b6 M,e7
tries to squeeze something more 57 !!. bf6 R ee8
out of the position. Having chained down his op-.
46 42}d4 :!! cl + ponent's forces to the maximurn· :
47 �h2 §Lg6 degree, White begins the decisive· �
48 !;! f6 l\!1c5 transfer of the knight to e4.
Black defends himself from the 58 42}c4! g4?!
immediate threat, but, as before, Black loses his nerve and make s�
he is forced to balance on the edge a desperate attempt to obtaiti-'
of a precipice, whilst at the same counterplay. On 59 lil, xh5? thd\·
time White has various ways of Hungarian Grandmaster could''.
strengthening the position of his win by 59 . . . g3 + ! 60 lf;>b3 g eL {.
pieces. 59 42\eS!
 Trans ition into the Endgame 37

A beautiful reply, refuting way. So the young Estonian mas­

Black's intentions. ter came to the correct decision.
59 gxf3 19 '/i!ic7!
60 )!: xhS ;;l xg2+ The white queen has no suitable
61 'i¥/h3 )i( g3 + square to go to and an exchange is
62 l¥/h4 12 practically inevitable.
63 .Iii xf4 );( gl 20 l!: acl .., xg3
64 g hfS! J:i: hl + 21 hxg3 \ti d7
On 64 . . . fl(Q) there follows 65 22 42\34 <;!;>d6
"'· xfl l::Xfl 66 )i( xfl Mxe5 67 And here are the first fruits of
''· f8 mate. the transition into the endgame.
Black resigned. The consistent The black king is already at the
and harmonious play of the centre of events.
veteran in this endgame made a 23 42\cS 'f1, e7
great impression. 24 a3 42\d4!
The isolated d3 pawn remains
Georgadze--011 in White's camp and immediately
Tbilisi 1983 Black occupies the square in front
of it with his knight: a typical
device of creating an 'everlasting'
knight, inaccessible to hostile
pawns.
25 lt>fl !i( h5
26 1¥/gl
The centralized black knight
does not release the white king
from his cage.
26 !i( c7
27 g4 g gS
28 b4 b6
Black has a clear positional ad­ The white knight is in an un­
vantage: he has a belter pawn pleasant pin. White tries to
structure. However� it is not sim­ exploit some tactical features of
ple to make use of this circum­ the position, but it is futile.
stance in the middlegame. An ad­ 29 g c4!? !i( eS!
vance of the pawns could lead to Very accurate. Naturally not 29
open lines in the centre and the . . . g xg4, because of 30 ;g xd4!
position of the black king would On 29 . . . dxc4 there follows 30
become insecure. On the other 42\e4 +, although here also Black
hand, in an endgame the black has sufficient advantage.
king could come into play quickly 30 :!! xeS dxc4
and take his part in a most active 31 l!! gS bxcS
38 Transition into the Endgame

32 dxc4 g6 pawn structure and his more ac­

White resigned. tive pieces become significantly
important.
Rubinstein-Duras 31 'g c7
Carlsbad, 1911 32 j!; xa6
As often happens with an
exchange of queens, a positional
advantage has been transformed
into a material one. White already
has an extra pawn.
32 l";! c2
This is Black's only hope-acti­
vation of his rook on the second
rank. But now White forces
another exchange, with the object
of exploiting his material advan­
White has positioned his pieces tage.
ideally, exerting pressure on 33 g 6xa2 ):;( xa2
Black's weak a6 and d6 pawns. 34 g xa2 .f<_c7
However, White also has a pawn 35 �f2 �f7
island-b3; moreover, the black 36 ;t�e2 �e8
queen is very active, pinning The battle cannot be fought
down the white knight. Rubin­ without the king.
stein finds a remarkable and para­ 37 �d3 �d7
doxical continuation: 38 ;t�c3 .f<.d8
27 '&'fl!! 39 €)c4
In preparation for a queen The defence of the pawn is now
exchange. clearly taken over by the white
27 monarch and the knight has more
28 €)d2 of an honorary mission.
29 '&'c4 39 .f<.e7
Black's most active piece is 40 b4
caught in the exchange and a The formerly weak white b3
black pawn becomes a victim to pawn is transformed in the
the white pieces in the transposi­ game into a powerful force-a
tion into the endgame. passed pawn.
29 'iij' xc4 40 .f<_d8
30 40 xc4 g ab8 41 g a6 .f<_ c7
31 €ld2 42 h4 .f<_d8
White protects his only weak Rubinstein 's gentle remark
pawn easily, whilst Black cannot this move was 'evidence of com�
save his pawn. With the transition plete doom'. More stubborn
into the endgame, White's better would have been 42 . . . h5.
 Transition into the Endgame 39

43 hS fl_ c7 A sharp opening battle in a

44 g4 a b7 game between Ermolinsky and
45 g aS <;WdS Polovodin, Leningrad 1979, de­
46 <;Wb3 ::i( bS veloped into a very tense situa­
47 )\\ xbS tion. White has a choice of two
White does not avoid simplifi­ continuations. The exchange sac­
cation. How to win the game with rifice 18 b4!? looks very tempting.
an extra pawn? The simplest However White preferred the
;onswer was given by Capablanca: other continuation, associated
'We must change the value of the with the transition into the end­
extra pawn to the very maximum game.
degree and queen it'. 1S !;l c2 .il.xb2
47 .il.xbS 19 .!! xb2 .,.,as
4S bS i:z:Je7 A practically forced decision.
Played with the idea of forming Any other move would achieve
a passed pawn on the king's flank. nothing to oppose White's superi­
49 b6 rs ority on the queen's flank.
50 gxfS i:z:JgS 20 b4 .,.., xa3
51 .il.f2! 21 .,..,a l .,.., xal
Refuting Black's witty but 22 !:( xa1
inadequate plan. Now all is fin­ It is clear that the sacrifice was
ished. opportune. The threat 23 b5 en­
51 forces the subsequent reply:
52 .il.h4 22 a6
Black resigned. 23 §l.xa6 g aS
Naturally, such a factor as a 24 bS i:z:JbS
better pawn structure plays an 25 l!, ba2 §l.xa6
essential role in the evaluation of Black retains his knight in or­
the endgame; however it often der to avoid a quick defeat. Indeed,
happens that an active disposition after 25 . . . i:z:J xa6? 26 bxa6 .il. c6
of the pieces, t.ogether with a 27 i:z:Jd4 l!Uc8 28 g b2 and with
passed pawn, outweighs the for­ the subsequent a7 Black is defen­
mer advantage. celess.

37
w
40 Transition into the Endgame
26 bxa6 !;!c8
27 !!(aS (38)
This is the position White had
in mind on making his 18th move.
White has two passed pawns and
his pieces are sufficiently active;
nevertheless, he cannot exploit
these advantages immediately.
Black only needs to bring his king
towards the queenside to prevent
further advance of the pawns.
Then these pawns, particularly
the c5 pawn, could change into a
weakness; and when the oppor­
tunity arises, Black's powerful
central pawn army can start
advancing. White's evaluation of
the position was correct. The
point is that the black pieces are
restricted by the necessity of hav­
ing to watch the white passed
pawns and cannot display any ac­
tivity. In contrast, the white forces
are mobilized. But as long as
Black's pawns remain where they
are, this advantage is not of great
importance. White's problem is to
disrupt the black pawns by means
of pawn and knight manoeuvres.
The subsequent moves of the con­
testants should now be under­
standable.
27 4;l c6
28 !!b5 wrs
It is dangerous for Black to try
to win a pawn or to try for a
repetition of moves by means of
28 . . . 4;la7. There would follow
29 !li b7! l!l xc5 30 t,::) e 5 <deS (after
30 . . . f6 3 1 €1d7 !!( b5 [otherwise
32 0 b6] 32 h4! and Black has no
more useful moves) 31 h4 (natur­
ally not 31 !li xf7 or 31 t,::) xf7
because of 31 . . . g xa6!) 3 1 . . .
4;ld6 (if 3 1 . . . f6, then 32 4;ld7
with the subsequent 33 a7) 32
J:i d7 f6 33 4;ld3 )1! c6 34 a7 and
White maintains strong pressure.
29 Mb6 w es
30 h4
It is obvious that nothing is
gained by 30 g b7 because of 30
. . . €1d8. The move made in the
game has two aims: to open the
king's little fortress and to begin a
pawn advance, the purpose of
which was discussed in the com­
ments to the 27th move.
30 '!!l c7
31 !i( abl wd7
32 h5 f6?!
Black does not stand fast. The
academic 32 . . . h6 was safer.
33 .:!)el
Now it is necessary to consider
both the transfer of the knight to
f4 as well as the manoeuvre -8-
c2-a3-b5. It is possible to play on
the other flank, having fixed the
h5 pawn, for example: -"\ -a3-g3.
The black pieces, as previously,
cannot undertake anything: if 33
. . . .;oe5, then 34 f4 .;oc4 3 5 4;ld3!
is quite possible. It is not possible
to take the exchange; after 35 . . .
!i( ca7 there follows 36 4;l b4, and
then 37 c6 + , and meanwhile
White has many opportunities of
creating new threats. Devoid of
any possibilities to bring his
pieces to life, by a hasty pawn
advance Black only simplifies
White's task.
33 e5?
34 f4
A timely breach of the centre!
 Transition into the Endgame 41

43 I;lxe4+ <;l;>d7
44 .£)xc6 g xc6
Naturally, the pawn endgame
after 44 . . . <;l;>xc6 45 g c4 + is
quite hopeless.
45 )ll a4!
A typical method of winning in
such positions.
45 !!: e8
46 a7 .!!( aS
47 <;l;>f2 lfic6
34 e4 48 \Jj>f3 �ii b7
Now the white knight comes 49 <;!1e4 g6
into play with decisive effect. It is On 49 . . . !\! e8 + 50 li!f5 li/a8
difficult to see any useful moves 5 1 h6! decides.
for Black. On 34 . . . \!ie6 very 50 hxg6 hxg6
strong is 35 fxe5 fxe5 36 €)d3 with s1 wds
the serious threat 37 €lb4. Now the pawns on the king's
35 €lc2 €)e7 flank perish. Black resigned.
This amounts to surrender, but Sometimes a space advantage is
35 . . . d4 would not help either, in a decisive positional factor in the
view of 36 €)xd4! €lxd4 37 i;. d l . endgame. A good example of the
The rook endgame i s completely exploitation of such an advantage
hopeless for Black. is the ending of a game between
36 !!i d6 + �tieS Petrosian and Mecking from a
In case of 36 . . . \frc8 37 <E)d4! tournament in Beverwijk in 1 97 1 .
Black cannot play 37 . . . g xc5
because of 38 €)e6.
37 1i, b7 )l\ a7
37 1! c5 would lose
quickly-38 g e6 I;l xc2 39
::a exe7 + l!if8 40 Ii: f7 + \frg8 41
1!\ xg7 + wf8 42 g xh7 wg8 43
)1. bg7 + l!if8 44 h6.
38 lii. xa7 .!!( xa7
39 €)b4 gc7
40 c6 l!.c8
41 g4 White has a positional advan­
The prelude to the king's deci­ tage, visible, as they say, to the
sive march. Black prefers to per­ naked eye. Petrosian proceeds in
ish in the rook endgame. the most logical way: he
41 d4 exchanges queens, simultaneously
42 l!l xd4 €)xc6 increasing his advantage in space.
42 Transition into the Endgame

32 '/jj'f6 + '/jj'x£6 45 ®d8

An attempt to avoid the 46 )!! h4 ®b7
exchange by 32 . . . 11>g8 is hardly 47 g a2 ®d6
appropriate, as the white queen 48 li!.hl ®b7
occupies a very strong position. 49 bS
33 exf6 + lf;> h7 49 g4!? seemed to be not bad,
34 �g2 g ae8 with the idea that on 49 . . . hxg4
35 £4 50 Ji!.xh8 + \!;'xh8 51 €)xg4 he has
White's plan is simple: transfer the irresistible threat 52 g h2 +
the knight to e5 and the king to ��;-gs s3 ®h6+ wrs 54 ®fS!
d4, after which it should be pos­ However, Black can answer 49 . . .
sible to prepare either b4 or g4; h4. With the move in the game
but first it is necessary to make White prepared a decisive breach
some preventative moves. in the centre.
35 !l( b8 49 ®cS
36 )!! eel ®b7 SO §l.c2 ®d7
I t would have been dangerous 51 !!l, a3 ®cS
for Black to take the rook away Nothing would have been
from h8 because of the possibility changed by 5 1 . . . ®xeS 52 <�;xeS
of a mating attack along the h-file !;l c5 53 l!;>d6.
after g4; however with his follow­ 52 c4 ®d7
ing moves the ex-World Cham­ Or 52 . . . dxc4 53 g c3.
pion compelled his opponent to 53 li( c3 ®xeS
immure his rook, and thus to the 54 lf;>xeS dxc4
end of the game it does not make 55 §l.e4 liteS
a single further move. 56 lf;> d6 h4
37 !!hl! l!;> g8 Black resigned, not waiting for
The threat was 38 !I( xh5 + . the obvious answer 57 <t;e7.
38 ®f3 ®d6 An unexpected (for the op­
39 ®eS §l.e8 ponent') transition of the game
40 §l.d3! into an endgame is a favourite
White prevents . . . b6-b5-the weapon of Anatoly Karpov. With
only active possibility for Black. its help Karpov has gained many
40 )!! c8 fine victories. The ending of the
41 ll;'f3 §l.c6 game Karpov-Pomar, Nice 1974,
42 !i:h2 §l.eS is characteristic in this respect.
There was nothing that Black White has the better position.
could do. He has taken more space, and
43 <�; e3 created tangible weaknesses in his
44 l!;> d4 opponent's position, on which his
45 b4! artillery is trained.
White restricts the mobility of As a consequence of these
the black pieces even further. pieces Black's position is ill-fated;
 Transition into the Endgame 43

31 l!xf6 g dg8
It is essential to annihilate the
g6 pawn: 31 :!! xd4 loses im­
mediately because of 32 il.fB!
g g8 33 il,xh6 :i! xc4+ 34 \t> b l
)1i xg4 3 5 g7, with a subsequent 3 6
l\l fB .
32 l! en £l; xg6
33 :!!: xg6 �xg6
The white rook now bursts into
his adversaries' camp.
even the apparently 'beautiful'
knight on g5 takes no effective
part in the game. However, it is
not obvious how to increase
White's positional advantage
straightaway. If he wished to take
of the concentration of
the hostile forces on the kingside
start playing on the opposite
of the board, then this would
� hig:hlight the weakness of his d4
For instance: 29 '(!fa4 � b8 34 :!!: f8+ \t>C7
. . . :!! xd4 is dangerous as 30
:i!xc4+ 31 � b l 'Ol'h7+ 32 Somewhat more accurate
with the strong threats 33 would have been 34 . . . lt>d7. The
and 33 :i!dl) 30 il,c5 b6 31 future World Champion now suc­
:!! xd4 32 '(!fxc6 '(!fd8 and the ceeds in mounting an attack
obtain some more against the king with only small
forces.
'i!fxg6 Naturally, the difference in ac­
to avoid the tivity of the pieces establish
way of 29 . . . 'l!fh8, White's superiority, but usually
30 )l! xe6 � g8 3 1 play in rook endgames is unhur­
exe6 3 2 'l!fxe6 + !l! d 7 33 ried, and the Spanish Grandmas­
:!! e8 34 'l!ff5 'l!fh7 or 31 ter correctly waited at first for
g xg6 32 � eS + 'i!fxe8 33 White to bring his king into play,
�d7 34 hxg6 It>xeS 35 then to begin his approach to the
It> xf7 brings White any queenside, etc. However, every­
gain. However, the simple 30 thing turned out differently. It is
leaves White with the ad van- precisely White's unusual strategy
which gives this game its special
hxg6 Y!l, g7 interest.
44 Transition into the Endgame

35 .ll_a5+ knight), and the excellent

As 35 . . '(tld7 is not possible operation with the rook. It is
because of 36 g d8 + <file? 37 known that the bishop is
g aS a6 38 g a?, Black's answer is than the knight in endings
forced. passed pawns, when ns 1orog ran:ge
35 b6 plays a decisive role;
36 .ll.d2 � e4 some closed type of positions,
Other moves, e.g. 36 . . . c5 or succeeds in tying down the
36 . . . M: g7, do not help Black. to the defence of weak points
37 il.f4+ '(tl b7 its own camp, then the side
38 !H7+ <fii aS the bishop should be able to
39 li! fS + '(tl b7 An instructive example on
40 b4 subject is the 4th game of
White is not troubled by the match between Fischer and
loss of a pawn and begins to spin manov, where the
a mating net. Grandmaster demonstrated
40 a xg4 remarkable skill. q: 'I o
41 g f7 + If/aS
42 \tlc2 h5 Fischer-Taimanov
More appropriate would have Vancouver 1971
been 42 . . . �g5 43 1H8+ �b7
44 a4 a5, securing his king from
danger, though in this case
White's advantage is again indis­
putable.
43 a4 h4
Incomprehensibly carelessness.
Necessary was 43 . . . a5.
44 <fii d3 <EJ g5
45 li! fS + <;trb7
46 �bS+ '(tla6
47 .ll.d2!
The net is closing! On b5 + , In this position there
mate is indefensible. unexpectedly, a transition into
47 !l( g3 + minor piece ending, giving rise
4 8 <;trc2 a most instructive example
Black resigned. exploitation of an advantage
From a careful analysis of this such positions.
ending, it is not difficult to come 43 ll:d3 <;trc7
to the conclusion that a large con­ 44 !l( xd6 <;trxd6
tribution to White's victory was 45 <;td3 ii:J e7
made by his active bishop (clearly The threat was 46 .ll.xc6
superior to the opponent's the pawn endgame is won for
 Transition into the Endgame 45

White, for example: 45 . . . wc7 46 64l!rxc5 .fi:\e7

,:1 xc6 wxc6 47 wc4 l!rd6 48 l!rb5 65 b4 axb4
{l,·c7 49 wa6 l!rc6 50 c4 ��rc7 5 1 66 cxb4 .fileS
·fl./ a? \!lc6 52 <(I; b8 etc. 67 aS .fi:\d6
46 iJ.eS 6S b5 .fi:\e4
Having tied the black knight to 69 l!rb6 ��res
the defence of the pawns, the duel 70 l!rc6 l!rbS
of the kings begins. 71 b6
46 l!rd5 Black resigned. A classic end­
47 il. f7 + �ird6 ing!
48 l!rc4 w c6 A similar situation emerged in
49 iJ.eS + l!r b7 the following game.
50 �trb5 <deS
The whole of Black's defence is Miles-Dzhindzhihashvili
this mating Tilburg 1978
"'"',"''lll'l- ... <2)d6 mate.
1J.c6 + l!rc7
iJ.d5 <2) e7
il.f7 l!r b7
il.b3 w a7
The only move, temporarily
the breakthrough by

There followed a transition into

��ra6 <dgS the ending.
il.d5 <2) e7 39 !l[ xd7 + 'ilixd7
1l.c4 wc6 The queen exchange cannot be
iJ.f7 W;c7 avoided. After 39 . . . .fi:\xd7 40
iJ.eS 'iJid6, Black has no useful moves
except 40 . . . e5, upon which,
however, there follows 41 f4! and
White has a strategically won
�ir dS position.
.fi:\xg6 40 'iJixd7 + .fi:\ xd7
41 iJ.c7 aS
pieces are Otherwise White has the un­
against the advance of pleasant a4-a5.
white pawns. The situation differs somewhat
63 l!rd7 from the position in the Fischer-
46 Transilion into the Endgame

Taimanov game. In the first place with the subsequent king

there is an extra pair of pawns on sion) 49 wf2 h5 50 g3 fxg3 +
the chessboard; in the second wxg3 and then f4 etc. In all
place it is difficult for the white these variations the duel of
king to penetrate into the enemy kings finishes in White's
camp. Nevertheless, White's which is not
chances of a win are high and the always has a spare tempo at
English Grandmaster exploits disposal jlc7-<l8--;:;7, whilst
them successfully. hobbling knight cannot take
42 1Wf2 g5?! in the battle.
It is evident that Black wished 46 ;t;>h3 %>h6
to be freed from the embarrassing If 46 . . . e5, then 47 g3 with
pawn at h5, though the medicine subsequent 48 f4 + .
was worse than the ailment! Now 47 li\>h4
l!lg6
a weak pawn at h6 has been 48 il.d8
li\>h6
formed in Black's camp, and the Black is defending tentaciom;ly;. (;l
chances of a breakthrough by the not giving way to White's
white king have increased in the tempts to provoke him to
opened position. pawn advance.
43 hxg6 + wxg6 49 1Wg3 1Wg5
44 %>g3 li\>g5 50 li\>h3 wh6
45 e4 h5 51 il.c7 li\>g6
Despite an apparent simplicity, 52 g3 1Wh6
there is a large 'underwater vol·
cano' in this endgame. Even after
careful analysis it is not easy for
Black to find an absolutely safe
plan. Thus 45 . . . e5 is unfavour­
able because of 46 f4 + ! li\>g6
(altogether bad is 46 . . . exf4 47
jlxf4 + li\>h5 48 jlc7 li\>g5 49
IWD h5 50 g3 and by means of
zugzwang the white king pene­
trates via f5 to g6 or e6) 47 li\>g4
h5 + 48 'i!ig3 'i!ih6 49 li\>h4 and
the threat of 50 f5, winning the h5
pawn, forces Black to play 49 . . .
exf4, transposing into the varia·
tion already examined.
Also 45 . . . f5 is dangerous his main trump card on the
because of 46 il. d 8 + 'i!ig6 47 53 g4!
;t;>f4! e5 + 48 we3 f4 + (if 48 . . . Nothing would have
h5, then 49 exf5 + wxf5 50 g3 on 53 . . . li\>g5 54 ;t;>g3, since
 Transition into the Endgame 47

. . f5 is not possible because of 55 Now, making use of the passed

...r5 exf5 56 gxh5 �t;>xh5 57 wf4
\l\'g6 58 §1.d8 and Black falls into
11 decisive zugzwang.
54 fxg4 \flg6
Again, 54 . . . w g5 is bad
hccause of 55 lt;>g3 f5 in view of 56
.f.l.d8 + <,Wg6 57 exf5 + exf5 58 g5!
55 wgJ wg5
56 \flf3 lt;>h6
An interesting manoeuvre
lead to victory for White
56 . . . e5 57 \flg3 �t;>g6 58
59 §l.d8 (but not the
59 g5? fxg5 + 60 wg4
§1.d8 because of 61 . . .
62 §l.xf6 W�f6 63 wh5 g4!
wxg4 'il\>g6 with a draw) 'il\>g6
fxg5 + (60 . . . f5 61 ef5 +
62 wh5) 61 §l.xg5 ef8
the pawn endgame after 61
. . -l:l f6 52 §l.xf6 lflxf6 63 Wlh5 is
61 kd8 -l:ld7 65 lflg4
However, there is a waiting
at White's disposal here: 60
putting everything in its
pawn as a distracting factor,
White breaks through with his
king in all variations after 63 'ill' h4
wh7 (63 . . . e5 64 <;Wg4) 64 W�h5
11rg7 65 il. d8 wh7 66 g6 + W�g7
67 wg5 etc. Black resigned .
It has already been noted that
one of the most important factors
in the appraisal of endgames is the
position of the king. The king, an
object of attack in the middle­
game, becomes one of the strong­
est pieces in the endgame. The
importance of improving the posi­
tion of one's own king (striving to
take it to the centre of the board)
is emphasised by all experts on
endings. A centralized king is
equivalent in strength to a minor
piece.
Conversely, a passive king is
exposed to attack in the endgame,
and allows the opponent to win
important tempi etc.
In the following example it is
precisely the positions of the kings
which decided the outcome of the
struggle in White's favour.

lt;> f4 lt;>g6
e5!

pawn on

fxe5 +
§l.xe5 lt;>f7
§l.c7 lirf6 White has some space advant­
g5 + 'l/ f7 age. However, there are no weak­
'it;>g4 \flg6 nesses in Black's position, there is
48 Transition into the Endgame

little material on the board, and it 39 dxc6 §Lxc6

seems that the game will quickly
end in a draw. lt is therefore inter­
esting to follow how White plays
for a win. For a start, he offers an
exchange of queens.
24 iii' e3 iil'xe3 +
Black has no reason to avoid an
endgame.
25 �xe3 � f7
26 �d4 �·7
27 �d1 §Le8
28 �·3 g6 The positions on the board ar d
Thus White has centralized his nearly symmetrical. However, the.,
king and strengthened the posi­ better position of the white king ;
tion of the knight, but has not and the circumstance that the' ;
made any real gains as yet. It is black pawns are fixed on the same·'
quite clear that the only active coloured squares as their bishop {
plan of the position seems to be a gives White definite chances.
pawn advance on the queenside. 40 h4 §Le8
29 a3 .il.d7 41 �dl �d7
30 b4 axb4 42 �b2 �b8
31 axb4 §Le8 43 §Lb7 .il.c6?
'Now what?' Black may well A draw would have followed on•'
ask. 43 �c6! + . After 44 §Lxc6>
32 c5 bxc5+ .il.xc6 45 �c4+ \!i'e6 46 �e5.�
33 bxc5 dxc5+ .il.e8 47 �c5 the white pieces pen-A1
The move cS-<:6 cannot be etrate into the adversaries' camp. t
allowed. For instance: 47 . . . \!i'e7 48 �J�d5 ,
34 IJi xc5 �d7+ .il.f7 + 49 �c6 (but not 49 �xf?.':
35 \!i' d4 �xf7 and Black has the opposi·?
Naturally not 35 �c6?? in view tion!) 49 . . . §Le8+ 50 �c7 l!i>f6.
of 35 . . . �e5 + + . (After 50 . . . §Lf7? 51 �xf7! IJixf7',
35 �b6 52 IJid7 and White wins: 52 . . . t
36 h3 hS �f6 53 �e8 �e6 54 \!i'f8 1!1f6 55 .·,
White threatened 37 g4. Now it �g8 etc.) 51 �d6 §La4. However, <
seems that the weakening of the Black's defence of his territory is J
position allowed by Black is not unassailable. He keeps the bishop. t
significant; nevertheless it is pre­ on the a4-e8 diagonal, not allow-, E
cisely that which played a fatal ing the opponent's king to pass i
role afterwards. through to his rear. White can 'c
37 .il.e2 �d6 take his king to e5, but then his
38 .il.a6 c5+ black counterpart manoeuvres to ::
 Transition into the Endgame 49

c7 and fl. The desired e7 square is If 55 . . . 4:l d 5 + , then 56 ;te6

inaccessible to the white monarch. 4:le3 57 4:ld2!, cutting off the hos­
Having assessed this endgame tile king from its forces.
incorrectly, Black submits himself 56 '8;>e6 4:lf6
to the dangers of an insidious 57 4:ld4 4:lg8
knight ending. We note that a 58 4:lb5 4:lf6
pure bishop endgame with such 59 l:i:Jc7 4:lg8
pawn structures should be a draw, Naturally, it is a pity to run
but after 43 . . . §lfl 44 4:ld3 4:ld7 such a tiring journey and watch
45 <Se5 <2)xe5? 46 fxc5 + Black with envy one's gambolling col­
risks losing, since the way e3-f4- league, but the e4 route is forbid­
g5 is open to the white king. den to the black knight: 59 . . .
44 4:lc4+ ;te6 4:le4 60 <;l;>e7! 4:lxg3 6 1 4:le6+
45 §lc8 + §ld7 <;�;>h6 (61 . . . 'il!/h7 62 ;tfl 4:le4 63
46 §lb7 §lc6 4:lf8 + ;th6 64 4:l xg6 4:l d6 + 65
47 §lxc6 4:lxc6+ 'il!/e6, winning the f5 pawn) 62
48 ;tc5 4:le7 'il!/fl 4:le4 63 ;tg8! 4:lf6+ 64 ;th8
49 4:le5 <;�;>f6 4:le4 65 4:lg5! 4:ld6 66 ;tg8 4:l �
One begins to think of zug­ 67 <i:lfl mate!!
zwang-the chief weapon of at­ Surprising strategy for such a
tack in a knight ending. minor piece endgame! Hence the
50 ;t d6 4:lg8 importance of the disparity in the
It was possible to take a gamble activity of the kings.
at once on 'guerilla warfare' - 5 0 60 4:le8 +
4:l c 8 + 51 <;!;>d7 4:l b 6 + 52 61 4:lf6
4:l a4, trying to g o v i a c 3 t o e2 The black pieces are completely
However, this would merely cramped. 61 . . . 4:le7 would lose:
more quickly to the kind of 62 4:ld7 + ;te8 63 4:le5 ;tf8 64
position that White now <;l;>f6.
20 moves to achieve. 62 4:l d7 + ;tg7
51 4:ld7 + ;tfl 63 ;te7 4:lg8+
52 4:le5 + <;�;>f6 64 ;te8 4:lh6
53 <;!;>d7 'il!/g7 65 4:lf8 '8;>f6
54 4:lf3 4:lf6 + If 65 . . . <i:lfl, then 66 ;te7!
55 <;l;>e7 4:lh6 (66 . . . 4:ld8 67 4:le6 +) 67
squeezes his opponent 4:le6+ <;�;>h7 68 ;tf8 4:lg8 69
methodically. Now it became 4:lg5+ ;th6! (the last hope: 70
that Black's 43rd move was ;txg8?? stalemate!) 70 ;tfl! 4:lf6
71 4:le6 4:lh7 (leads to a variation
of a draw, but in the known to us: 71 . . . 4:le4 72 ;tg8!)
game it is very unpleasant 72 4:l f8 with a won game.
Black to defend the position. 66 4:lh7 + ;tg7
55 4:lg8 + 67 4:lg5 4:lg4
50 Transition into the Endgame

On 67 €)g8 there would

have followed 68 €)e6+ 'i!;>f6 69
'i01f8 €)e7 70 €)c7 and Black is
helpless.
68 <�re7 €112
69 -2le6+ 'i01g8
We already know what would
have fol lowed in case 0f 69 .
'i!;>h6 or 69 . . . 'i01h7.
70 'i!;>f6 <2!e4+
71 'i01xg6 <2! xg3
72 <2id4 d-pawn and White can
Now Black loses a pawn, and expected to proceed with a
shortly after another one. We can ard type of operation: 1 3
now bring down the curtain. with the aim o f firmly occ:up:yinJ�
.
·;lJ
72 'i01f8 the important d4 square.
73 €i xf5 <2! e2 However, in this case, due
74 'i!;>gS 'i01 f7 the presence of all the pieces
75 <2id6+ <�re6 the board and to the absence
76 <2!e4 <2!gl any other weaknesses on
side, � :

r ���:�:�:�:�:�:� ����:� ri
77 <;!9g6 <2!e2
78 <2!g5 + 'i!;> e7 e
of play between the
79 rs \1918 Petrosian finds a much
80 <2ie6 + <�re7 continuation, the main
81 'lrg7 <2!g3 associated with the transition
82 <2)d4 <2)e4 the endgame.
83 €ie2 <2id6 13 <21 xdS! .fLxf2+
84 <2!g3 <21e8+ The bishop tries to sell his
85 'lrg6 <�rfS dearly. Naturally, bad is 1 3
86 <2i xh5 <2id6 €ixd5 14 )g xeS.
87 <2!f6 <2! f7 14 g xf2
88 <2!g4 <2id6 IS <E:leS
89 'ltf6 <2! f7 Other continuations are
90 -2le5 <2id6 ficantly weaker. Thus, a
91 <�rg6 <2!e4 would result on 15
And, not waiting for the because o f 1 6 €ixf7! .fLxf7
obvious 92 h5, Black resigned. )1( xf7 <�rxf7 1 8 .fLxd5 + >t,>g6
'iif d3 + l!.>h6 1 7 g c4. Also bad
A. Petrosian-Panchenko 15 €ixe5 1 6 }g xcS .fLxc8 1 7
Vilnius 1978 'iifxd5 'iif xd5 1 8 .fLxd5 and it
not clear how to defend the f7
The position is of a typical square. But now a whirlwind of
character-Black has the isolated exchanges liter�lly sweeps the
 Transition into the Endgame 51

hoard clear of nearly all the pieces Having induced an important

and the game transposes into an weakness in his opponent's posi­
ending in which the two bishops tion, the white king hurries to the
nrc clearly stronger than the black queen's flank. It is difficult for
k nights. Black to oppose this simple plan.
16 llj'xd8 €)xd8 28 €)fe6
17 €)xg4 )';l xc l + 29 \frb4 <;l?d6
18 jtxcl €)xg4 30 <;!;>aS \fJC7
19 s fl €)c6 31 .$!.b6 + 'i!;>c8
Naturally not 1 9 g xe2 32 jtxd8
because of 20 .$1.0. An advantage of the two
20 )i( d1 )!! d8 bishops is that one can always be
Refusal of the rook exchange exchanged when necessary! In this
not help Black's position. minor piece endgame, zugzwang
21 )!! xd8+ €)xd8 decides the outcome of the strug­
the emergence of the gle.
desired by White. The 32 €) xd8
of the two bishops is of 33 'i\>b6 \frh8
importance to the given 34 jtdS!
Petrosian exploits his A colourful position!
in a technical way: 34 h6
.$l. f4 <;l?f8 3S e3 <;l?c8
.$l. f3 €)f6 36 a4 'i!;>b8
ll? f2 <;l? e7 37 aS <;l?c8
<;l? e3 38 e4 \frb8
The white king proceeds to the 39 eS <;l?c8
unhindered. At the same 40 b4 <;l?b8
the strength of the two 41 h4 'i!;>c8
is manifested by their per­ 42 hS <;l?b8
corltainment of the oppon­ 43 jte4
king. There is nothing the A decisive manoeuvre. The
king can undertake at the pawn endgame in case of 43 .
'i!;>c8 44 .$l. f5 + €le6 45 .$l.xe6 +
€)d7 fxe6 is won in view of 46 b5 axb5
<;t;>d2 €lf8? 47 \frxb5 '{;; c7 48 <;l?c5 \frd7 49
was necessary to secure a <;l?b6 \f;>c8 50 a6 bxa6 51 'l!/ xa6
point in the centre for the <;l?c7 52 lfJb5 <;t;>b7 53 �t�c5 �t�c7 54
by means of 26 f6. g4!, and Black loses the opposi­
placing all the pawns on tion. An analogous variation also
squares Black might have results after 44 . . . lfJ b8 45 .$!. d7
able to save the game. €)e6 46 jtxe6 fxe6 47 <;l?c5 lfrc7
27 .$!.e3 a6 48 b5.
28 \fJC3 43 f6
 -·:%
52 Transition into the Endgame . �;��
.
44
45
e6
ilxb7
0xe6
£5
Unsatisfactory would be 24 . .
0d4, not because of 25 c3 0df5•�
. j�
;
_;;]

46 ilxa6 f4 26 0xf5 0xf5 27 ilxc6 lei ac8 24-'s·l

47 gxf4 §Lxb5 .st xc2 with good counter<'�,:
Black resigned. play for the pawn, but in view of)�
A beautiful example of the ex­ the quiet but strong 25 g d !!/&�
ploitation of such an important maintaining the threats. Black's �
positional factor as passed pawns problems are also difficult after 24· �
is shown in a game between . . il, ac8 25 a4! ·.·it!
'
.

Gufeld-5myslov An
25 a4!
opportune thrust. No\\' i �·1�
Riga 1975 Black is facing the difficult prohiiix
Iem of how to defend the queen 's� j
flank. Realizing that 25 . . . bxa4'J!
would be futile, he counter�(�
attacks:
��
j�...�.
25 b4
;� :�:
. . •

lcl d4

Naturally, Black would hav�(; j

profited from 27 §J.xc6 lei c8 witli'l!
a subs;iue�� : . . €)xf4
28
29
0xc6
\\>xf2
g
xf4
l!! xf2
i! f8 +
.t�
)·
{:
The situation on the board is . Smyslov's brilliant positional};
very complex. Both kings are Judgement gives preference to:.· ·
almost without pawn protection. maintaining activity at the cost ofL
In this residual situation from a a pawn rather than defending pas!'
sharp middlegame battle it might sively by means of 29 . . . a5; thg\
have been expected that White game might then have continued\:
would prepare the advance f4-f5. 30 i:el 0f4 31 il.f3 with the;;
However, White evaluated the threats 32 0xb4 and 32 !l( e5. )
chances of the two sides in the 30 �gl 0f4 ··;
ending correctly, bearing in mind
the weakness of Black's queenside
pawns and the strength of his
;\ !�
It i m ant to retain th \
strong bishop. The Black pawn��
it
bishop on g2. Play continued: are doomed anyway. ,:;\�
23 \ii" f2 iii" xf2 + 31 0f5 t
Black does not have time to .
In the event of 31 . . g c8 3i''
withdraw, since the c6 pawn is €)xb4 a5 33 0d3 White would;
under attack. retain his extra pawn. :'i;
24 ll\ Xf2 g d6 32 t.:) xb4 0d4
 Transition into the Endgame 53

33 gdt ® 1'3 + 42 iz.xg2 ® xg2

34 '1;>1:2 43 :!( e7 + <;f;>f6
Bad is 34 <�;>hi in view of34 . . . 44 aS
Ah8 + . The complications after 44
34 ®e5 g xa7 ®e4 + would have been
34 ®h2 might have been unpleasant for White.
tried, and if 3 5 itc4, then 35 . . . 44 .!l: f4
·::!l d 3 + + 36 <;f;>g3 ®xb4 37 'l;>xh2 45 c5!
-2)xc2 38 J!!: d7+ <�;>h6 39 .!l:xa7 Worse was 45 b6 axb6 46 axb6
WI g5 and despite the menacing ®e4 + . White finds an unusual
white pawns, Black retains method of realizing his advan­
chances of saving the game. tage, sacrificing the exchange.
35 <;f;>e3 ®g4+ 45 ®e4+
36 \t,?d2 gS 46 l1( xe4 .!l: xe4
37 ®c6 ®12 47 b6
It's a race against time. Who A tempo is more important
will be quicker to use his trump than a pawn! White tries to clear
- card? the way for the a-pawn, the fur­
It seems that Black has thest from the black king.
sufficient counterplay. 47 l1(e8
iN ••.,.rtheleoo Gufeld, in an origi­ If 47 . . . axb6, then 48 cxb6
demonstrates the super­ ®e3 49 b7 g es 50 a6 €lc4+ 5 1
of his position. <�;>d3 ® d 6 52 b8(Q) .!l: xb8 53
38 !l! el g4 ®xb8 and White wins easily.
39 b4 g3 48 ® xa7
40 bs g rs Naturally not 48 bxa7 because
4 0 . . . g 2 was not possible for of . . . .!1: aS! A draw would result
time being, in view of 4 1 iz.xg2 on: 48 b7 'lte6 49 b8(Q) .!l:xb8 50
42 lil g I, winning back the ®xb8 'ltd5.
48 ®e3
e4! The black king would not have
White by-passes the trap 4 1 a5 time for 48 ' ' ' 'lte6 49 b7 wd7 50
42 iz.xg2 !!i xb5 and simul­ a6 wc7 51 €lb5 + 'ltc6 52 ®d6
takes control of the im- g d8 53 a7, and the pawn goes on
to queen.
g2 49 a6 ® c4 +
41 . . . ® g4 was worth consider­ Alas,Black would not be saved
with the idea of . . ® h2. by 49 . . . 'lte6, in the hope of 50
, it was difficult to anti­ 'It xe3 'ltd5 + . White would vir­
White's subsequent bril­ tually conclude the game by sacri­
i
manoeuvres in an endgame ficing his last piece-50 ®c8! md
such an unusual material the pawns are irresistible.
50 <�;>c3 ® e5
54 Transition into the Endgame

51 b7 1!1e6 the endgame is complicated and

52 c6 White must be very careful.
If now 52 l!rd6, then 53 25 f6
<l:)c8 + l!rc7 54 a7 wins. A very subtle move, indicating,
52 l!i>d5 a deep insight of the position. His
53 c7 idea will become clear in a few
Black resigned. A triumph for moves. Under conditions of time
the white pawns! shortage, White's waiting and .
The following position arose answering moves only helped
after White's 25th move. Black to accomplish his plans.
26 1Wh2?
Geller-Larsen White could have played 26
Monaco 1967 jj_a3, with the threat 27 <l:)xf6 + .
Black would have parried i t with
26 . . . jj_f7, and after 27 <l:)xf6 +
exf6 28 gxd6+ <�;>e8 29 ,!ilxf6
Black's chances would have been
better, since White's pawns are
not particularly dangerous. But if
White continues with his waiting
tactics, then . . . f6-f5 may follow:
nevertheless, with accurate play
White's position is quite defe
ible. White's last move allows
Black to accomplish a series of
It is possible to evaluate the exchanges, taking the game into
position as being approximately profitable ending.
equal. However, Black's pawn 26 jj_xdS!
structure is more flexible, result­ 27 M xdS
ing in a potential disruptive cap­ Forced, since after 27
ability by means of . . . a5--a4 and <l:)b4 the pawn is
. . . f7-f5. In order to prevent the charge'.
first of these threats, White has 27 )! xdS
already placed a rook in an 28 exdS <l:) b4
exposed position. As a result of 29 )!l xaS
the second threat, two essential The alternative was 29 jj_a3 i
weaknesses could be formed in the hope of 29 . . !l!, c2? The roo
White's position: an isolated endgame after 30 jj_xb4 axb4 3
pawn at e4 and a weak square at )!l xb4 gxa2 32 gd4 g b2 33
g4. As long as there are other has a drawish character. H.o
pieces in the board, opposite col­ ever, stronger is 29 . . . <l:)d3! 3
oured bishops do not by any li( d4 (the position after 30 !i:xa
means guarantee a draw. Hence !i: c2 will be examined later) 30 .
 Transition into the Endgame 55

-2\e I! The black pieces develop nificance of the 25 . . . f6! is now

great activity and White cannot clear-the f7 square is available
avoid material loss: 31 iitd2 !ii c2! for the black king, otherwise
32 )!!: xc2 <2\xc2 33 il.cl <2\b4 White would obtain a draw by
34i1_d2 <2\xa2 35 i1_xa5 <2\cl 36 b4 repetition of moves in the varia­
c:;)c2 37 b5 <2\f4 38 b6 <;�;>c8 or 3 1 tion 30 i1_a3 <2\d3 31 lit a7 + <;�;>d8
!;l e4 <2\c2 3 2 il.b2 <2\b4; but i f the 32 g a 8 + etc.
compactness of the black pawn 30 lil xb2!
mass and the absence of any clear An interesting moment. Also
counterplay on the part of his very strong is 30 . . <2\d3. After
opponent are taken into con­ 3 1 il.al <2\f4 Black would win the
sideration, then the outcome of g2 pawn, but White would then
the game is not in question. The have definite counterchances
withdrawal of the white king from associated with an advance of the
the struggle plays not an inconsid­ pawns on the queenside, leading
erable role here, since it does not to a sharp endgame. It is clear
give White a chance at exploit his now why Larsen chose the other,
pawn advantage on the queen­ more promising, alternative de­
side. priving his opponent of any coun­
29 iitc2 terplay and forcing him into a
30 a3 difficult rook endgame.
31 axb4 iit xb3
32 iit a7 +
White is not saved by 3 2 g b5,
because of 32 . . . 19Tc?! There are
no more moves left for the white
rook and one of the white pawns
is doomed. Transfer of the black
rook to e3 with the threat . . . e7-
e5 would be very unpleasant
( g a5 is answered by � b6). The
weakness of the white pawns and
Geller finds the best defence. the passive positions of the white
he disposition of the white pieces play a decisive role.
Jicces would have been extremely Another pawn would be lost on
mfortunate after 30 i1_a3 <2\d3 3 1 32 b5.
i 4 <2\f4 3 2 I!Tg3 g5 3 3 hxg5 fxg5 32 �·8
ltg4 g xg2+ 35 ltf5 <2\xd5! 33 g aS +
I so hopeless is 30 iL d4 !!! xa2. And now the f7 square i s avail-
fter the exchange of rooks the able for the king.
5 pawn is lost, also 31 lit b5 does 33
t save him in view of 31 . . . 34 gb8
xd5!! (32 lilxd5 �c6). The sig- 35 )l!b5
56 Trans ition into the Endgame

36 *g3 g5! In case of 50 � h4 Black

Beginning a pawn advance and also continue 50 . . . exd5!
at the same time opening the way The connected passed
for the king to e5 via f6. In answer brought an easy victory for
to the desperate 37 h5 Black has Their strength lies in the fact
time to capture the pawn cut off the white rook cannot attack
from its base, since after 37 . . . queening pawn from the
M h4 3 8 g b8 )!xh5 39 b5 .!!. h440 since it has to cover the
b6 g b4 41 b7 h 5 42 * 1'2 h4 43 g4 pawn.
(or else Black plays . . . *g7, . . . 50
f5 and . . . g4, winning) 43 . . . 51 b5
ll! b2 + 44 ll;>gl ll;>g7 45 ll;> h l h3 The attempt 51 ��;>h4
46 * g l h2 + 47 ��;> h i * f7 White after 51 . . !!! d2.
falls into zugzwang and after an 51
exchange of passed pawns he loses 52 i(b8
the d5 pawn. After 52 b6 the pawn is
37 hxg5 fxg5 dered harmless by 52 . . . );!. b4
38 *1'2 g d2 + b7 �e5 followed by . . . '8fd5, . .
39 ll;>g3 b5 e5 and . . . ��;>c6.
40 ��;>b3 i!! d3 52
41 ll;>g3 *f6 53 !;l h6 +
42 *1'2 i!! d2 + 54 l!! xh5
43 *g3 !!: d4 55 g4
Black also wins by 43 . . . h4 + , The b-pawn is lost. The
then . . . .i!!'. d2�2--e5 . over.
44 *b3 g4 + 56 ges
45 fxg4 :!; xg4 57 *h4
46 iil: b8 ll( d4 58 );( el
47 i!! b5 1!,e4 58 g5 would only hasten the
48 iil: b8 :!l.e5 end: 58 . . . !i:b4+ 59 ��;>h5? l.J:e4!
49 iil: b5 60 g xe4 dxe4 61 �g4 e5.
White tries to provoke the ad­ 58 d4
vance of the pawn, . . . e6, in order Black places the
to make the e6 square inaccessible his passed pawns.
to the black king. It is precisely 59 iil: al ��;>f6
through the e6 square that the 60 ii;\a8 gds
king's route lies in the event of 49 61 ��;>g3 d3
b5 !!! xd5 50 b6 ii;! b 5 51 b7 '8fe6. 62 !!,a l �e5
However, Black now forms two 63 111 1'2 \f;> d4
connected passed pawns. 64 ii;l a7 eS
49 e6 65 gS e4
50 lH8 66 g a4+ *• 5
 Transition into the Endgame 57

White resigned. 23 ge8

From the large number of ex­ 24 !!,xeS 'il;'xe8
amples presented, it might be pos­ 25 <�rh2
sible to come to the conclusion White's advantage in the end­
that a transition into the endgame ing is not great, but it is persistent.
is bound to be associated with an He has the better pawn structure
automatic exchange of queens. and his queen is more active. The
llut then the obvious question realization of these positional ad­
arises: why do we have queen end­ vantages is a highly technical
ings? operation, but they were sufficient
Ulf Andersson is a masterly for the Swedish Grandmaster.
specialist in endgame play. If he 25 aS
has even just a slight positional On 25 .i\l. e6, instead of
advantage, he does not hesitate to exchanging bishops, White would
exchange; on the contrary, he have an opportunity of improving
goes for it eagerly. his queen's position: 26 'life5!
.i\l.d7 27 'i!!f c7 'life& 28 jlj-d6!, but
Andersson-Tal on 26 . . . 'ifi h7 White would force
Malmo 1983
a transition into a won pawn end­
game: 27 .i\l. xe6 'lifxe6 28 'lifxe6
fxe6 29 1Jig3 �Jig6 30 <�rf4!
26 'lifc7 'life4
Ex-World Champion Tal is not
a lover of defensive play and tries
to activate his queen with the idea
that on 27 'i!!f xd7 he would give
perpetual check: 27 . . . jlj-f4 + 28
'8r g l jlj-cl + etc. However, White
finds a tactical opportunity of
transposing into a queen ending.
27 .i\l.xli + !
Recalling the words of Grand­
master Razuvaev ' . . . a "good"
bishop can be sacrificed, but a
"bad" bishop can only lose the
4:)xe4 game'.
g xe4 '/ii'f8 27 wxti
'/ii'f4! 28 'lifxd7 + <t/g8
As before, White's pressure is 29 ltrg3!
�i apJpreciable and Black is forced to Despite the presence of queens,
in order to break the the game is clearly an endgame,
and, naturally, the situation
58 Transition into the Endgame

should be appraised by use of queen endgame-at the cost of

endgame criteria. And in the end­ pawn, a transition
game the centralized king is a pawn ending.
strong trump card. 46 l!Oxb3
29 'i!i-d3+ 47 l!Od3+ li0Xd3+
30 f3 'i!i-d2 48 wxd3
31 b3 b5 Particularly accurate play
Black does not gain anything required in this pawn endga
by 3! . . . 'ii't g5 + , since after 32 since all the pawns are on
l!Og4 the transition into a pawn flank.
endgame is hopeless for him. 48 111 g6
32 'ii\' e6 + 111 h8 49 111 e4 <;1rf6
33 ...,e8 + 111 h7 50 f4 h5
34 ...,e4 + 'i!;>h8 51 f5!
35 'ii'f e8 + It is still not too late to fall int
The object of repeating of an intricate trap: 51 g4 h4 5
moves was to gain time-a com­ g5 + ? 'i!;>g6 53 <;1re5 <;1rh5! 54 we
mon device in time pressure. g6! and Black is stalemated.
35 111 h7 Black resigned.
36 ...,e4 + 111h8 Transition into a queen endi
37 a4 can also occur by means of
With the help of checks, White combination:
centralized his queen to the max­
imum and sets about forming a Kir. Georgiev-Gheorghiu
passed pawn. Heracles 1985
37 'ii'f c3
38 ...,e8 + 111 h7
39 ...,e4 +
A device already familiar to us.
39 <;1rh8
40 axb5 cxb5
41 ...,e8 + 111 h7
42 ...,xb5 ..., xd4
43 ...,xa5
White has won yet another
pawn, and in return Black can
only give a few checks.
43 ·& d6 +
44 'i!/12 'ii'f d4 + Black could simply exchatlge /: 11
45 'i!;>e2 'ii\' b 2+ both pairs of rooks on the open c­
46 ...,d2! line. However, in addition to the
A typical method of the realiza­ queens that would also leave the
tion of material advantage in a knights, whose position on the
 Transition into the Endgame 59

hoard makes them of unequal White also tries to take his king
value. The black knight on the into the battle. An attempt to
edge of the board does not have exchange the f4 pawn, hindering
any particular prospects. At the his opportunities, would result in
same time the white knight is ac­ a hopeless endgame for White: 35
t i vely placed and it also blockades g3? fxg3 36 fxg3 'Oii' f5!
Black's protected passed pawn. 35 \!1'31 +
Whilst this passed pawn is not 36 <8Yh2 \!l'd4!
particularly dangerous at the mo­ White is placed in zugzwang.
ment, in an endgame it can tip the 37 g3 fxg3+
scales. The Romanian Grandmas­ 38 '8Yxg3
ter finds an effective solution to 38 '!!l'xg3 + would be bad since
problem. after 38 . . . 1!1f5 a queen exchange
25 <E)f4! is unavoidable, when the white
Beginning of a series of king could not get into the square
White cannot allow of the c-pawn. On 38 fxg3, either
knight into the heart of 38 . . . h4 or 38 . . . c3 is possible.
position (the d3 square) and so 38 c3
has no choice. And here Black 'forgets' about
26 'Oii'xf4 �xel + the exchange. Most accurate
27 !:l xel g, xel + would have been 38 . . . '!!l' d3! 39
28 wxel '/li'xc3 + h4+ (or 39 'Oii' xd3 cxd3 40 <8Yf3
29 'i!il'd2! >Wh4 and Black wins} 39 . . . <$>g6
A beautiful reply. An exchange 40 \!I'Xd3 cxd3 41 1!1f3 '81 f5 42
the last pieces on the chess­ we3 <li g4 with victory. Whilst the
would lead to a draw: 29 text move does not lose the ad­
'i!il'xd2 + 30 wxd2 wf7 31 f4 vantage, it will require from Black
the most subtle, almost study-like
play.
'Oii' e5 + ! 39 'ii!l f7 h4+
wn f4 40 <big2 'iii' e 4+
'iii' dl h5! 41 f3
Black constrains White's posi­ On 41 </igl , Black intended 41
on the king's flank to the . . . c2! and if 42 f4 + \!l'xf4 43
"'"''""lXI''"um and does not allow the 'Oii' g8 + ! (nothing is gained by 43
'!!l' g 7+ <lih5! 44 \!l'h7 + \!l'h6 45
\!l'xc2 \!l'g6 + ! and in spite of the
loss of the c-pawn, Black has a
won pawn endgame after
exchanging queens) 43 . . . <$>f6 44
'Oii' e6 + 1!1g7 45 '!!l'd7 + 'iit f7 46
\!I'C8 (on 46 'Oii' c6, decisive is 46 . . .
35 >Wgl 'i!il'f5!, with the subsequent 47 . . .
60 Transition into the Endgame

'iii'g5 + ) 46 '/<1g6+ 47 �¥?12 games in which

'iii' e4! 48 'iii' d7 + � f6 49 'iii' xd6 + exchange of queens, mi<ldl,egam �JI
� f5, winning. motifs are carried over into
41 'iii' g6! plicated endings. The
42 '/ii f8! Champion, Gary Kasparov,
White is defending very resour­ won many such sharp
cefully. After the natural 42 . . . c2
43 f4 + whs + 44 �WI2 'iii' g3 + 45 Belyavsky-Kasparov
� e2 c l ('tl) + , in spite of the extra Moscow 1983
knight Black would lind it diffi­
cult to exploit his advantage, on
account of the unfortunate posi­
tion of his king.
42 'i!i'f6!
An unexpected and most accur-
ate decision.
43 'iii' c8 1Wf4
44 'i!i' g4+ �¥?e3
45 '/ii e4 +
The attempt to exchange
queens in a way favourable to
White does not work: 45 'iii' e6 + In a sharp variation of
and now, of course, not 45 . . Samisch system Black has
'iii'xe6?, but 45 ... '0\'eS! 46 ceeded in gaining the ini·tiat.i ve�il
-;;;- x eS+ dxeS 47 d6 c2 48 d7 He has two bishops and a
cl ('&) 49 d8('&) '/l;'d2+ and the passed d-pawn. Under
exchange of the newly born White naturally tries ex<:hang1i n ��
queens decides the issue. queens. However, as we
45 \i;>d2 Kasparov's initiative does
46 \¥112 \¥1Cl! stop in a bishop ending.
The last subtlety. The hasty 46 25 'iiJ' xg3
. . . c2?? would boomerang: 47 26 hxg3
·�e3 + � d l 48 'l;>·e l mate. Evidently, the preliminary
47 \ii> e2 c2 �f6+ �ii> h8 was more precise.
48 �ii> d3 1ii> b2 26 !;l e5
The black king's long journey 27 g4
from g8 to b2 is most impressive. The defence against we m m ' r•g;, 'l
49 -;;;- e2 threat could also be acc,omtplishe q]l
And as a consequence of the by 27 <E)xe3; however after
variation 49 . 'i«c3 + 50 �¥?e4 dxe3 28 )i; fe l il. xe4, 29 l!,xe3
·�<�e5 + , White resigned. not possible because of 29
In contrast to the above ex­ §J.xg2 + !
amples, we shall also examine 27 h5!
 Transition into the Endgame 61

The exchange of queens has not 38 bxc4 !;! xc4

weakened Black's attack. His 39 M, xe3
1 ooks, with the support of the two As a result of the above simpli­
bishops, are ready to sweep away fications, a complex endgame
n i l obstacles on the way to the with mid<!legame motifs has been
monarch. With his last transformed into a commonplace
Kasparov widens the technical ending with an extra
bri<igeheald for the attack, open- passed pawn for Black; i.e. one
h-line kind of advantage (attack against
28 4ilf6+ <t;; g7 the king) was transformed into
29 gxh5 )lih8! another one (passed pawn).
30 g3 39 )li b4
The white king opens his cage. 40 M,b3 e3+
the weakness of the 41 l!;>fl .iiJ.bS+
diagonal can be 42 life} aS
fC:<Iwwn,strated by such variations 43.iiJ. e4 M, xb3
. . . .iil. g5 31 4Qd5 f5! 32 exf5 And now the exchange-the
)l! ae l M,he8 33 4i)c7 fxe4) 32 shortest way to the realization of
io! xd5! 33 f6 + <t;; f8 34 cxd5 the material advantage.
35 <t;; g l .iiJ. e3 + 36 g f2 44 axb3 l!;>f6
45 \l;>dl g5
46 l!;>c2 l!;>e5
White resigned.
We finish this section with a
transition into a classical rook
4Qxh5 ending.
<t;; g2
)!; ael Alekhine-Spiebnann
With the idea of returning the New York 1927
�ij(c:xcl1ange and 'spoiling' the black
the centre. More stub­
was 33

.iiJ.bl )ii( c5!

The black rook has surprising
and already it is creating
on the queenside.
35 b3 b5 The opening struggle turned
36 g xe3 dxe3 out to be clearly in White's
37 M,el bxc4 favour. His pieces are very active
62 Transition into the Endgame
and he has possibilities of play on
both flanks. Nevertheless, there
are no weaknesses in Black's posi­
tion for the time being, and if he
succeeds in consolidating
forces the game may be heading
for a draw.
Realizing this, Alekhine im­
mediately transposes into a rook
ending.
16 jJ: eS! f6
Evidently a forced move. After
16 . . . �t�c8 1 7 §Lxc6 bxc6 1 8
l!, he1 1W d 7 1 9 h3! ( 1 9 <2\ h 5 would
have been hasty because of 19 .
f6 20 11( 5e3 §Lg4! and although
White retains a big advantage in
the knight versus bishop ending,
it's implementation would not be
easy) there are no useful moves
for Black.
17 � xe6 ll: xe6
18 «:�xe6 \W xe6
19 §Lxc6 bxc6
What is White's advantage in
the resulting rook endgame? In
the process of transition into the
ending, a transformation
place of one form of a positional
advantage (active disposi lion of
pieces) into another one (better
pawn structure). Endings
which, in addition to the king and
pawns, there is one other piece (in
this case a rook) need to be ex­
amined in the light of a possible
transposition into a pawn end­
game. It is precisely the evalu­
ation of the pawn ending, after
exchange of the last piece, which
is the most important criterion of
appraisal of the present endgame.
Thus we must answer the q
tion: 'who will benefit from a r
exchange in the given situatio
i.e. we should imagine the pa
his endgame.
Evidently, after fixing t
pawns on the king's flank (to d
prive his opponent of an
counterplay), the white king wi
proceed to the opposite side of
board, where Black's pawn c
figuration is compromised. In t
case events could develop in t
following manner:
. . 20 l!, e l + 1Wd7 21 ):!; e3 !!,e8
g xe8 \Wxe8 23 \We3 'l!re7 24 g4
(or White could equally well pi
f2-f4) 25 f4 \We6 26 fxg5 (f4-
also wins) fxg5 27 \Wd3 l!;>d7
\t/C3 \WC8 29 \Wb4 \!;>b7 30 \W
h6 3 1 b3 a6 (if 31 . . . \W a8, then
\Wa6 '{fib8 33 a4 \Wa8 34 b4 'lfi
35 b5 cxb5 [35 . . . wa8 36 b6 w
37 a5] 36 axb5 wa8 37 b6 wi
easily) 32 a4 wa7 33 b3! 1Wb7 3
b4 \Wa7 35 b5 axb5 36 axb5 cxb
(36 . . . wb7 37 b6 cxb6 38 cxb
took 1Wb8 39 l!;>a6 c5 40 dxc5 d4 41 b
d3 42 wb6 d2 43 c6 d l (iif) 44 c
mate!) 37 \li'xbS 1Wb7 38 c6
'\Wa7 39 wcS �t�a6 40 wxd5 �t�b
in 41 we6 wxc6 42 d5 + l!;>c5 4
we5! ;tc4 44 d6 cxd6 45 \Wxd
'&d4 46 �t�e6 and White wins. A
instructive pawn ending.
In this manner, we have esta
lished that Black must avoid t
rook exchange, though this al
has unpleasant consequen
namely the greater activity of t
white rook by manoeuvring o
the third rank, it inevitably eithe
 Transition into the Endgame 63

penetrates into the black camp, or 27 W;d2

enforces a weakening of his pawn
structure, after which the king ap­
pears on the scene. Such is the
general outline of the winning
plan, and it is not obvious how
Now the threat is 28 ii: a3
against which neither of the fol­
lowing helps: 27 . . . �c8 28 g a3
\fi> b7 29 g e3 and then 30 !!( e8; or
27 . . !ii f8 28 ii\ a3 )!l( b8 (or 28 . . .
.

Black can prevent it. )i! a8 29 g a6) 29 b3 .!i(b7 30 g a6

20 g el + and Black shortly falls into zug­
A typical device in rook end­ zwang.
ings-the king is driven back 27 'g e7
from the central squares. After 28 8 a3?
such a check it is not easy to Inaccurate. The natural and
decide which flank should be his logical move was 28 g e3!, giving
residence. Thus 20 . . . W. n loses White a decisive advantage.
at once because of 21 )i! e3! li!b8 28 il( e4
22 o;t>c3, after which there follows 29 g a4 �c8
a2-a3!, o;t>c3-c2, f2-f3! and :g b3 30 f3 gh4
with a decisive breakthrough into After this move the position of
his opponent's camp (on . . . !!( e8 the white rook becomes more
there follows 'ii1 d2). hopeful.
Spielmann finds a more stub­ 31 h3 W;b7
born defence and transfers his 32 lf1e3 f5!
to the defence of the queen's An instructive way of freeing
the rook.
lfj>d7 33 li(b4+ lfj>c8
34 a4 g5?
o;t>c3 would A mistake. Necessary was 34
to a transposition of moves, . . . f4 + 35 lflf2 Ji<hS 36 )!l( b3 g fs
21 li! e8? results in losing 37 g d3 gn 38 )!l( d2 [4e7, and
game-as we already know. now the threat is 39 . . .g e3 with
21 gb8 quite sufficient counterplay, while
22 !ii e3 lil: f8 the pawn endgame after 39 ge2
23 :g g3! iii xe2 + 40 o;t>xe2 aS! should fin­
White starts to worry the op- ish with a draw.
on the king's flank. 35 aS
23 ii: n Now, apart from 36 a6, there is
24 W; b4 g e7 also the threat 36 lflf2! with the
25 \fi>c3 idea that after \fi> f2-g3-h2 the
25 lf1a5? Jg e2! move . . . f5-f4 is forced, exclud­
ing the black rook from play (oth­
gn erwise g2-g3). Black now finds his
g h3 h6 best chance.
64 Transition into the Endgame

35 g4! 44 gaS+ '1!1d7

36 hxg4 fxg4 45 f4 1,!. a4
37 a6 46 a7!
White would reach his objective There are no rules withou
with the rook penetration to b7. exceptions! Often this mov
37 gxf3 proves to be unprofitable, since i
37 g3 would not help deprives the rook of mobility·
because of 38 f4. though in the given situation it ·

38 gx f3 ghl the only way to victory. Now t

39 g b7 gel + black rook cannot abandon the
39 g al would lose: 40 file and he cannot play 46 . . .
g xa7 �b8 41 gb7+ <;!;>c8 42 since 47 <;!;>e4 h5 48 b3 g a l 49
g b3! g xa6 43 ga3 �b7 44 f4! 111 e7 50 <;!;>xd4 h4 51 <;!;>e5 and t
40 <;!;>f4! f-pawn brings White victory.
On no account should White 46 h5
play the passive 40 <;�;>d2. After 40 47 b3
. . . g e7! 41 g xa7 111 b8 42 g b7 + An excellent move. The a
'1!1a8 White's extra pawn would square was an ideal position r.
not guarantee him a win. the black rook; now it has to
40 gdl back, which gives White the
41 Ill eS g el + portunity to move his king to
42 '1!1f5 gdl important e5 square. The esse
43 g xa7 of the position is that the onl
danger for White is the d-paw
he should detain it with his kin
and then it is time for the decisiv
advance with the f-pawn. The i
mediate 47 <;!;>e5 would be usele
on account of 47 . . . g e4 + .
47 gal
48 Ill eS gel +
49 '1!1 f6 ii! al
SO 'i!feS g el +
51 \Wd4 gdl +
52 'i!Tc3 M al
53 fS
Now 54 f6 is the threat. Black
A new pbase of the battle has only one answer.
begins. The white king works very 53 �e7
hard to achieve victory: he has to 54 \Wd4
shadow his opponent's passed The movements of the Whit
pawns and help his own f-pawn. king are very interesting. Havi
43 g xd4 gained time for the move f4-f5,
 Transition into the Endgame 65

sets out on a long march for the h- the endgame, and from the games
pawn. of famous masters we have satis­
54 h4 fied ourselves, that an opportune
55 'i!/e5 g el + transition into the endgame can
In the case of 5 5 . . . h3, the be a dangerous weapon.
game is decided by 56 g h8 lll. xa7
57 ll( xh3 g a l 58 f6 + 'tlf7 59 Transition from the
).:( h7 + lf,lf8 60 g xc7. Middlegame into the Endgame
56 'i!if4 g at With the Object of Defence
57 \1/gS l! gl +
A difficult decision, but it does We have seen that an opportune
not save Black. We already know transition from the middlegame
the consequences of 57 . . . h3, and into an advantageous ending is a
57 d4 58 f6 + \lif7 59 !;l d8 very effective method of realizing
g xa7 60 !;l d7 + lf;>f8 61 'i!ig6 a material or positional advant­
would result in a quick disaster. age. However, we must not forget
58 'i!/xlt4 ,!i al that simplification often helps the
59 'i!ig5 defending side, even saving him in
Having done his business, the a difficult position.
king can come back. In order to defend a difficult
59 ggl+ position successfully, it is neces­
60 lf;>f4 )!! at sary first of all to recognize the
61 )ll el + critical moment in the game when
62 g at one must abandon ambitious
63 g a3 plans and go over to the defence.
delay the inev- The ability to see an imminent
threat in good time is an import­
'i!ib2 1!\ a6 ant characteristic of the game; it is
b4 'tl f7 often intuitive in character, but,
lf,lb3 )g al on the whole, it is based on ex­
f6 perience, an objective appraisal of
prepares a decisive the position and an elevated
!ll%.• breal<throttgh with the aid of a acuteness of thought. In practical
play a great number of mistakes
):! a6 are made at this critical momenl
cxb5 of transition from one stage of the
game into another. To some de­
follows, gree it is true to say that 'inertia'
of thought is the cause of these
mistakes. If in the transition stage
of the game this inertia is asso­
ciated with a change in the criteria
required for the evaluation of the
66 Transition into the Endgame

position, then going over from

attack to defence this inertia is
mainly of a psychological charac­
ter. A highly developed 'sense of
danger' was characteristic of the
creative games of the famous mas­
ter of defence and counter-attack,
World Champion Tigran Petro­
sian. As Kotov pointed out, 'it is
not easy to develop such a sense in
ourselves, possibly harder than
development of other qualities,
because in addition to a general <E\xe5 (17 . . . il.e6 is bad because
understanding of chess, it also re­ of 18 'iiJ xb7) 18 <E}e7+ <;ll;> f8 19
quires strong willpower and self <E}xc8. However, in spite of the
control'. simplification, there would be no
There are many ways of pro­ improvement in Black's position,
ceeding in difficult positions. since, apart from positional fac­
These consist of setting up the tors, White's extra pawn would
maximum of difficulties for the become increasingly more import­
opponent in the accomplishment ant. Such simplifications only
of his attack, preparations (some­ help the stronger side. Neverthe­
times highly disguised) for a coun­ less Black has an interesting de­
ter-attack on the other side or fensive resource. By means of a
centre of the board, and finally, tactical device he forces a trans­
simplification of the position position into the endgame.
(transition into the endgame, 16 il.e6!
exchange of the opponent's active 17 J': xa5
pieces, etc.). Other moves are not satisfac­
Naturally, we shall be inter­ tory. After 17 l!lxd8 + ? 1!ixd8
ested in the latter, very common White loses material.
method-transition into the end­ 17 il.xb3
game. 18 i>! a3
This i s the only satisfactory
Cebalo-Nogueiras square for the rook.
Taxco 1985 18 il.e6!
This bishop must not be
There is a tense situation at the exchanged.
edge of the chessboard. The black 19 il.g3 M d2
queen is under attack and an 20 il.f3 J;;; c8!
exchange of rooks and a pair of Again, accurate play. Careless
minor pieces is suggested by would be 20 . . . l!l xb2 since after
means of 1 6 . . . l.ii xd5 17 <E}xd5 21 il.xc6 Jl.c5 (naturally, bad is 2 1
 Transition into the Endgame 67

bxc6 22 !;! xa6 and White 27 g cxc6 bxc6

wins) 22 J;i a5! _tb4 23 .txb7 28 �xc6 aS
il xc3 (after a preliminary rook The game has now passed into
exchange 23 _txa5 24 _txa8 a technical endgame with material
_txc3 25 h4 the advantage is on equality and opposite-coloured
White's side) 24 :g xa6 (also pos­ bishops. Naturally, the game fin­
sible is 24 il_xa8 _txa5 25 _td5 h5 ished quickly and peacefully.
26 _txe6 fxe6 27 h3 J;i, xa2 28 29 )!: a6 a4
i!,c6)24 . . . )l.xa6 25 _txa6 � xa2 30 _td6 "'h7
26 il_d3 would lead to the oppon­ Drawn.
ent's advantage. It is possible to distinguish
21 -de4 between two types of transition,
It was worth considering 21 h4 differing in their basic character­
i;; xb2 22 .Eld5. istics. In the first case the oppon­
21 ii xb2 ent's advantage is of a dynamic
22 .El d6?! character and perceptible only in
Within the last few moves there the middlegame; then, with the
has been a metamorphosis on the help of a transition into the end­
chess board. The game has passed game, his advantage is neutra­
from a tense middlegame into a lized. In the other, more complex
complex endgame. Black has case, the advantage is of a stable
managed to activate his pieces character (this could be material
and to win back the pawn. White advantage, for instance an extra
was clearly not ready for such pawn), but the weaker side has a
abrupt changes and with his last better chance of saving the game
move he finally lost his chances of in the ending.
success. It would have been neces­ We take an example in which
sary to make a fortress with 22 h4 transition into the endgame arises
;,;. xa2 23 g xa2 _txa2 only now from a completely natural desire
24 .Eld6. of one of the players to protect his
22 _tcS! king from attack.
Exploiting the weakness of
White's first rank, Black inflicts a Hecht-Larsen
double thrust and exchanges the Teesside 1972
dangerous knight.
23 g d3 il_ xd6 The position arose after Black's
24 g xd6 ii xa2 32nd move. In spite of simplifica­
25 h4 h6 tions, the position is still of a
26 il_xc6 g xc6 Sicilian configuration. Black has
26 . . . a5 would have resulted in repelled the opening charge of his
equality: 27 «i�h2! (threatening 28 adversary and intends to go into a
jl.e4) 27 . l! xc6 28 l;! xc6 bxc6 counter-attack, combining opera�
29 2, xc6 a4 30 g a6 a3 31 D etc. tions against the insufficiently
68 Transition into the Endgame

42 b3 f5 +
43 �t�e5 )!i e l +
44 1Wd5 f( e3
45 c4
Now 45 . . . lil xb3 is dangerous
for Black, because of 46 c5. He
therefore decides to force a draw.
45 f( d3 +
46 �t�e5 !i( e3+
47 W;d5 :;;! d3 +
protected king with an attack 48 ;t,>e5
against the queenside pawns. Drawn.
Black has a considerable advan­ By means of a beautiful tactical
tage in the middlegame, and the manoeuvre the former World
German player makes the correct Champion Anatoly Karpov
decision: he transposes into an brought about a simplification in
endgame. a game against a well known
33 'ill' e2 'ill' xe2 Hungarian grandmaster.
Black cannot avoid the
exchange, since on withdrawing Portisch-Karpov
his queen, there would follow 34 Milan 1975
'ilJ'e8 + .
34 ii( xe2 �f6
Black maintains a slight advan­
tage in the endgame, but Hecht
quickly brings his king into play
and neutralizes his opponent's ad­
vantage.
35 h5
36 wg7
37
The situation finally clarifies
into a draw. In this undoubtedly more
37 42lxe4 favourable position, Portisch at­
38 !1: xe4 !i, d2 tacks, and it seems that the game
39 !<! e2 )'! d l will quickly come to a decisive
The pawn ending would have conclusion.
been drawn. 21 i!_xg6 fxg6
40 !i( f2 22 ,;;- c4 +
White cuts off his opponent's It would also have been pos­
king from the centre. sible to continue 22 !!( e6, with a
40 g5 strong attack, but Portisch tries to
41 �·4 \W g6 set a trap.


 Transition into the Endgame 69

22 'tll g7 30 Ci:Jd8!
23 ,il.f4 ,il.a6!! 31 ge3 \\>f6
A splendid counter-blow, 32 '810 'tle6
which was not anticipated by
White in his calculations. Now
play passes into an ending in
which White's extra pawn is not
sufficient for a win. There remains
only an appreciation of the far­
sightedness of the then World
Champion.
24 1ii'c3 + .il.f6
25 ,il.xc7 ,il.xc3
26 g xe8 g xe8
27 bxc3 ,il.e2!
Once again a brilliant man­ The black pieces have taken up
oeuvre! It seems that Black should fine positions and a draw is
put his hopes in the opposite col­ approaching.
oured bishops; however, in that 33 g3
case White would have retained Played in order to free his king
some chances associated with the (33 '81e2 Cilf4+ ). But now Kar­
precarious position of his oppon­ pov creates a spatial advantage on
ent's king. Precisely with the dis­ the king's flank.
appearance of the bishops White 33 gS
loses any hopes for success, leav­ 34 h3 Ci:JcS
ing him with the weak pawns on 35 Cild2 gd7
the queenside. However, 28 36 '81e2 gdS
!! d7 + ge7! 29 g xe7 + Cil xe7 37 c4 gd4
also clearly leads to a draw. 38 !! e8 h4!
28 g el gc8! White has activated his rook,
The weakness of White's first but the simultaneous injury on his
rank is exposed in the variation 29 king's flank immediately leads to
,il.e5 + Cilxe5 30 Cilxe5 g xc3. If a draw.
he tries to retain his bishop, then 39 g f8 + '81e7
after 29 . . . ,il.xf3, his pawn army 40 gh8 hxg3
would resemble an invalid. White 41 fxg3 g d3
can only follow the trail blazed by The pawn is regained. Drawn.
his opponent. In the following game-a clas­
29 g xe2 g xc7 sical example of the unexpected
30 ge6 transition into an endgame-the
Trying to set up some counter­ remarkable Cuban demonstrated
play against the g6 pawn, but the his amazingly deep understanding
World Champion is on the alert. of the position.
70 Transition into the Endgame

Marshall-Capablanca Instead of 25 l!l: xeS + , it is also

New York 1918 possible to force a draw at once
with 25 !! b7 !!,e7 26 1:! b8 + etc.
Marshall probably did not antici­
pate Capablanca's subsequent
moves.
21 g e8
22 eS
If 22 f3, then 22 . . . f5!
22 gS
Black opens the 'fortress' for
his king, at the same time prevent­
ing the move f2-f4.
23 h4
Marshall also does not waste
Black's position seems difficult. time, but the doubled h-pawn will
Naturally, he cannot take the a2 subsequently turn out to be a bat­
pawn because of losing his queen tering ram, destroying the white
after 19 !!, a l . Further, on 18 . king's cover. But already it is dif­
'*'d7 there follows 19 4!l f5 f6 20 ficult to see any good moves for
'*'g3 �h8 21 !!, cd l ! '*' f7 22 h4, White; after 23 . . . iJ. xc6 24 g xc6
with a dangerous initiative for .!! xeS Black intends to burst in
White. with the two rooks on to White's
18 '*'eS!! second rank, which inevitably
19 4!lxc6 would lead to material gain.
There is no other move. 23 gxh4
19 '*'xc3 24 l! e1
20 )£ xc3 Md2 Inconsistent. It was necessary
Black is fully compensated for to continue 24 f4 and on 24 . . .
the loss of a pawn by the active !!, e6 25 !!, bel . Now it would be
position of his rooks, his long­ unprofitable for Black to play 2 5
range bishop and the unsatisfac­ . . . g xb2 because of 2 6 f5 g xc6
tory position of the white king. 27 g xc6 iJ. xc6 28 g xc6 and in
21 )\! b1? view of the threat f5-f6 White's
Confused by the unexpected chances are no worse. 26 f5 is
turn of events, the American always a serious threat. Black
Grandmaster evaluates the posi­ does not have time to prepare the
tion incorrectly. Necessary was 21 move . . . !!, g6 (it is impossible to
4!le7+ �t;>f8 22 !i( c7 Jg e8 (worse is make this move immediately
22 . . iJ. xe4 because of 23 f3) 23 because of 4!le7 + ). However,
l:!xb7 l\l xe7 24 ll. b8 + !!,e8 25 Black would have the excellent
l:!xe8 + �xe8 26 Mbl with a move 25 . . . h3! In this case 26 f5
probable draw. would lose: 26 . . . l\lxg2+ 27
 Transition imo the Endgame 71

1$? h l (27 'if;>fl §J.a6 + 28 <;$? e l h2) 31 e6 )l! xe6

27 . . . )l! xc6! 28 :!!( xc6 ll! xb2 and As before, there are no moves
after . . . h3-h2 White's position is left! There will have to be material
completely hopeless. There re­ concessions.
mains 26 gxh3 .!!, g6 + 27 1f,> h l (27 32 g4
'if;>fl? §J. a6 + 28 lf,> e l )l! e2 + with 32 <!ld8 would have been bad-
mate) 27 . . . l!if8! (27 . . . )l! gg2 is 32 . . . h2+ 33 'olixh2 ll! h6+ 34
not possible because of28 i!i( g l !), 'o!i g l ll! h l mate.
with the threat of 28 . . . ll! gg2. 32 :!! h6
The only defence is 28 b4! and 33 f3
White retains a chance of holding 33 g5 would have led to a situa­
on. tion similar to the one examined
24 in the annotations to White's 24th
25 );! eel move 33 . . . h2 + 34 l!i h l :!!( xc6
Not 25 <i\xa7 because of 25 . . . 35 :!!( xc6 ll! xf2.
ll! g6. 33 !i! d6!
25 lf,>g7 Preparing the decisive invasion.
Preparing for :!! eg6. 34 <i\e7 ll! d2
26 b4 b5 35 <i\f5 + l!if6
Otherwise White equalizes with 36 <i\h4 lf;>g5
27 b5. All the pieces participate in the
27 a3 ll!g6 attack!
28 'if;>fl li( a2! 37 <!lf5 :!!( g2 +
38 lf;>fl h2
39 f4 + <�;>xf4
White resigned.
In all the games we have ex­
amined, the advantage of the
stronger side in the middlegame
was of a dynamic character,
which tended to vanish to an
extent proportional to the elim­
ination of the majority of pieces
from the board.
There has been a big change on When the advantage is of a
the chessboard in the last ten more stable form (an extra pawn,
moves. The black pieces have the presence of a pawn weakness
taken up active positions. White etc.), another defensive device is
has practically no useful moves at often used-transition into an
his disposal. ending in which the character­
29 'o!igl h3 istics of the remaining forces give
The h-pawn has proved useful! rise to a situation well known for
30 g3 a6! its drawing tendencies.
 72 Transition into the Endgame

We now examine a very well Mistakenly, White hastily

known method of defence-trans­ snatches a material advantage.
ition into an endgame with op­ The quiet 20 <;trg2! would have
posite-coloured bishops. given some difficult problems for
his opponent; e.g. on 20 . . . b6 he
Korolev-Ermolinsky could continue 2 1 .!:!. c7! with
Leningrad 1979 material gain (21 l!c8 22
j}_xb6; 21 . . . !;! d7 22 j}_c6!). The
only defence would have been 20
. <Ele6!
20 �e2+
21 lf;>g2 �xf4
22 gxf4 g6!
Black opens a safety square for
the king and prepares for f4-f5.
There is greater hope of success
for White with 23 j}_ d5.
23 .!:Lc6 g xd1
24 gxd1 !;.d8
It is clear that White cannot
In this situation there is no easily avoid the rook exchange.
doubt of White's advantage-the On 25 !! e I there follows 25 . . .

two bishops and the greater ac­
tivity of his pieces. There is also
the unpleasant threat 17 il. eS.
Consequently, Black tries to re­
solve the problem by means of a
tactical device.
16 �e4!
17 <E)xd5
The basic position, associated
.!:!. b4 26 l! e2 f5, with a subse­
quent ll!. d2, otherwise Black, by
taking the d2 square with his
rook, could even obtain a better
game-White has too many weak
pawns on the kingside.
25 !;! xd8 + Axd8
26 f5
If he allows his opponent to

,
with the transition into the end­ play f5, then the king will forever
ing. After 17 <E)xe4 dxe4 18 -;;;- xe4, be chained to the defence of the f4
either 18 . . . <E)xd4 or 1 8 . . . icf6 pawn. The longer Black hesitates

I
19 $l_e5 j}_xe5 20 dxeS -;;rxdl in taking the pawn, the easier it is
would give Black an acceptable for White to move his king to­
game. Also, in case of 1 7 ,g e l wards the centre and to obtain

I.
''
$l_ b 4 Black's position i s satisfac-
tory.
17 J;;' xd5
good chances of a win.
26 gxf5!
Precisely so! The black king will
i 18 J;;' xe4 'i!(xe4 be there in time.
19 $l_xe4 <E)xd4 27 il.d7 f4
20 $l_xb7? 28 lf;>f3 il.b6

J

A typical device in endings with
opposite-coloured bishops-leav­
ing one's own pawns unprotected,
but attacking the enemy's. White
is forced to waste time.
29 \tre2 l!;> g7
30 f3 lt1f6
31 \trd3
\tr gS
32 <;t,>e4
il.e3
Nothing can now prevent Black
from moving his king to g3 and
his pawn to h4. If now White,
having placed his bishop on g4,
moves his king to the queen's
wing, then f5 would give Black a
passed pawn. Therefore, a draw
was agreed.
In general, there are many ex­
amples in tournament practice
similar to the one shown above.
An instantaneous, explosive tran­
.
sition into the end game at the cost
of a small material concession is a
basic weapon in the technique of
defence.
After a transition into an end­
ing with no particular compensa­
tion for material loss, the weaker
side often places his hopes in the
drawing tendencies of rook end­
games.
Kivlan-Kochiev
Leningrad 1972
In this position Black does not
have any compensation for the
missing pawn, and has practically
no opportunity for active play in
the middlegame; on the
hand, he may have a chance to
save the game in a rook ending.
Hence, he followed up with:
Transition into the Endgame 73
28 'il'fe2
29 -;li'xe2
Taking into consideration the
above reasoning, it might have
been preferable perhaps for White
to avoid the exchange by 29 'iii c 3.
He could have attacked in the
middlegame in two sectors-on
the kingside, weakened by the ab­
sence of the h-pawn, and on the
pawn weakness on the queenside.
Generally speaking, if the
stronger side manages to ensure
the safety of his king, then the
presence of all the heavy pieces on
the board often facilitates the
realization of his extra pawn ad­
vantage, though naturally, when
the struggle is still of a middle­
game character, there are difficul­
ties for both sides.
29 g xe2
30 )'! lc2
30 b4 comes into consideration,
in spite of the fact that after 30 .
a a2 31 g 5c3 g ee2! Black would
force either the exchange of rooks
or the stationing of a white rook
other on the passive fl square.
Kochiev succeeds in forcing the
necessary exchange.
30 );!. xc2
74 Transition into the Endgame

31 )!!: xc2 )'ll e1 + 39 b4 i:i,b2

32 l!rh2 b4! Naturally not 39 . . . axb4?? 40
Black did not have time to pre­ b6 and the white pawn cannot be
pare this advance with the pre­ stopped.
liminary 32 . . . aS?, since 33 !!; cS 40 bxaS
� e2 34 !!; xbS !!( xf2 3S \flg3 !!( c2 After 40 g xaS !!. xb4 the unfor­
36 a4! and the white king's trip to tunate position of White's rook
the queen 's flank must end with deprives him of any hopes of a
success. Nevertheless, it is clear win, whereas Black achieves his
that this advance is sufficiently objective; having caused a
strong even without the prelimi­ transfer of the white passed pawn
nary preparation. White has one to the a-file, he can easily secure a
answer only. draw.
33 axb4 g e4 40 ll: xbS
34 .!l, c8 + 41 h4 gb4
Perhaps White should have 42 lf1h3 g a4
brought his king quickly into 43 .!!, a8 fS
play: 34 'i!rg3 )g, xb4 3S 'i!r f3. Black has a simple plan of
Black would not be able to defence: he advances the pawns
exchange pawns: 3 S . . . aS 36 'i!re3 on the kingside and then waits
a4 37 l!rd3, so subsequent play until the opponent's king sets off
would have been forced: 3S . . . f6 towards his passed pawn. Then he
36 l!re3 'i!r f7 37 'i!rd3 \t;>e6 38 l!rc3 captures the g- and h-pawns, and
aS, but after 39 ll: d2 the white although he will have to give up
pieces are more harmoniously his rook for the a-pawn, his coun­
placed than in the actual game. terplay will be fully sufficient for a
34 111 h7 draw.
35 )g c7 f6 44 g a6 g a3 +
36 !! b7 l!,e2 45 1!1 h2 g6
37 bS 46 g aS <i!1h6
The only move. In case of 37 47 a6
lf;?g3 ll(xb2 38 lf;?f3 aS 39 bS a4 White decides to advance his
the headlong race of the black pawn to a7, but then his king will
pawn forces White to liquidate it be unable to shelter from the
at the cost o f his own passed pawn checks.
and to go into a theoretically 47 f4
drawn ending. 48 a7 111 g7
37 aS 49 'i!r gl g a2
Considerably stronger than 37 50 'i!rfi 1!1 h7
. axbS 38 g xbS g xf2 39 'i!rg3 51 l!re1 lfl g7
after which White has a good 52 lf;?d1 111 h7
chance of a win. 53 lf;?c1 1!1g7
38 )g a7 ll: xf2 54 'i!rbl JJ; a3
 Transition into the Endgame 75

55 ltlb2 )& a4 19 <i2)xd5

56 �t� b3 gal Assuming that the game is
57 ltlb4 !i(bl + already safe, Ljubojevic chooses
58 \ti CS g al the most direct continuation. In­
59 �t�dS !;l.a2 cidentally, 19 jl_xd5 would have
60 �t� e4 ga4+ given White a material advantage
61 <&> eS gal in a considerably better position.
62 �xf4 19 <i2) xd5
The loss of this pawn is of no 20 g xdS
importance. 20 jl_xd5 is evidently bad
62 l!( fl + because of 20 . . . g ad8.
63 �t� e3 gel+ 20 !!! xdS
64 ltl d2 gal Nothing is gained by the 'nice'
65 lt/ C3 !;l. a2 move 20 . . g ad8? expecting 21
66 �d4 lf:l al )!l xf5?? )i! d l + in view of 21
Draw. "iif x d7! with an extra tempo for
The following game has a very White.
interesting ending. 21 "iif xdS 'Ol'xdS
22 jtxdS l!(d8
Ljubojevic-Marjanovic 23 jtg2
Yugoslavia 1978 23 jte4 would be unprofitable
because of 23 . . . il_f6 24
g bl
.ixb2!, and after 23 g d l jte6 24
il_b3 )!l xd l + 25 il_xdl the a2
pawn is lost.
23 iJ_g4
24 f3
In case of 24 il_f3!? Black has
the choice between the exchange
of bishops or 24 .il.h3. In
either case it is not clear whether
White can exploit his material
advantage.
By the means of a theoretical 24 jte6
novelty in the opening, White has 25 b3(66)
acquired a significant advantage. It seems as if everything is
How to defend the d5 pawn? It going well for White. On 25
seems that Black has an insoluble .!! c8 there follows 26 !;l. c l and
problem, but he embarks on an after the rook exchange White's
interesting plan. He does not even chances of exploiting the extra
try to protect the pawn, hoping to pawn are retained. However,
save the game in the ending. Black makes an unexpected move:
18 gd7!? 25 .il_cS!
76 Transition into the Endgame

This allows Black to establish

material equality quickly, but,
already, there is nothing that
White could accomplish.
30 i!_xe3
31 111 xe3 i!_bl
32 111 d4 a5
32 . . . il,xa2? would have been
a blunder because of 33 wc3
g xb3 + 34 111 c2 )i! a3 35 111 b2,
26 111 1'2 winning a piece.
After 26 i!_xc5 bxc5, with the 33 e4
subsequent 27 . . . i4 d2, Black's 33 111 c3 would rebound by 33
pieces become active and he is . g c2 + .
comparatively safe after the 33 il.xa2
exchange of pawns on the queen­ 34 il,c4 il.bl
side. However, the text move does But not 34 . . . il. xb3? 35 111 c3.
not prevent Black's penetration to 35 il.d5 111 f8
the second rank with his rook. 36 111 c4
26 li! d2! Nothing is gained by 36 g4
27 f4 :@. d 2 + 37 'i11 C4 g d l !
It is not easy for White to disen­ 36 f5
tangle himself, for example, 27 And at this point the contest­
i!_ xeS bxc5 28 111 e3 g b2 29 iL fl ants agreed to a draw.
g5. Now on 30 111 d 3 there follows In the following example a
30 . . il_f5 + , and on 30 g4 30 course of action based on the fun­
c4 is still good; 3 1 bxc4 1/. xc4 32 damental principles of end­
a3 a6 33 g e l i!_b5 34 ii!,c3 >! a2, games-centralization and co­
and as before, the white pieces are ordination of all the pieces­
in a tangle. enabled White to neutralize his
27 i!_g4 opponent's material advantage.
28 1/.fl
After 28 ,B.f3 .B. xf3 29 111 xf3 Nesis--Simonov
i!_xe3 30 'i11 xe3 g b2 the rook Corr. 1973-4
ending is fully acceptable to
Black, thanks to the active posi­ Despite being a pawn down and
tion of his rook. despite the precarious position of
28 a b2 his king, White does not lack
29 h3 some strength. By means of the
White does not have any better following move he creates the un­
moves at his disposal. pleasant threat <t�c3--e4-f6 and
29 il_ f5 practically forces the queen
30 <i11 f3 exchange.
 Transition into the Endgame 77

33 �eS+
33 <l/f7 would lead to a
draw: 34 !!( d 5 \li> f6 35 �e8 +
l!re6 36 �c7 + .
34 <Srf4 �c4
35 li( dS
White has succeeded i n his ob­
jective by starting complications
before the entry of the enemy king
into the struggle.
35 g xd6
27 'i!i'fS! i!1 f4 35 . . . b6? would not be success­
Perhaps Black, with the extra ful: 36 b3! �xd6 37 �e8 \li>f7 38
pawn, also wished to go into the !!1 xd6 'i!!/ xe8 39 );! xb6 and
endgame; nevertheless, the subse­ White's chances of a draw are not
quent development of the game in the least worse.
showed that White's appraisal of 36 .!!. xeS �xb2
the position was more accurate. 37 <SrxfS
28 'i!i'xf4 €l xf4 Suddenly White threatens to
29 <ll f2 start an attack by 38 �e6.
In the first place, it is necessary 37 li(d2
to centralize the king. 38 �d5(68) g f2 +
29 fS
Black places a barrier in the
way of the white king, otherwise
the d-pawn could become very
dangerous. However, this weak­
ens the e6 square.
30 l!rf3 €lg6
The position has the character
of a race. If Black manages to
bring his king to the centre, his
material advantage would quickly
become significant. It is clear that the activity of
31 €)bS a6 White's pieces fully compensates
Forced. If 31 . . . W.f7, then 32 him for the pawn. On 38 . . . g xh2
�xa7 !;!a8 33 �b5 !!( xa2 34 there would follow 39 !!( c7. Black
�d6 + with mutual pawn losses. hurries to take his king out of the
32 �c7 !!(d7 danger zone.
33 d6 39 <�� •6
White sacrifices his pride-the 40 !i( c7 +
passed pawn-in order to free his 41 h4
king. Yet another piece enters play.
78 Transition into the Endgame

41 €)d3
Black brings up the reserves. In
case of 41 . . . J!"i e2 + 42 <;t.>d6, the
threat 43 €lf4 + would not permit
Black to retain his extra pawn.
Now the b7 pawn is indirectly
defended.
42 hS+ I!Jg5
42 'iii xh5 results in an
immediate draw: 43 )!( xh7 + l'!lg6
44 l!"i h3 J!"i e2 + 45 )!! e3 or 44 . . .
€\c5 + 45 1!Jd6 €)e4 + 46 <tff c7. an opportunity to start a direct
43 l[i xh7 lil xa2 attack against the recklessly dar­
Black has acquired connected ing enemy monarch. White only
passed pawns, but the distracting needs to open the position-the
force of the h-pawn allows White undermining moves c4 and g4 are
to secure a draw. part of his plan. How is Black to
44 h6 iiit h2 defend himself? He evaluates the
45 );ith8! lii: Xh6+ situation carefully-in view of the
The threat was the simple 46 bad position of his king an at­
h7. tempt at counterplay would be
46 !!; xh6 'i!Jxh6 very risky; it would force him
The black king is again far from (initially) into a passive defence in
the scene of the action and the the endgame.
centralized white pieces deal with 34 'li\'g5!
the enemy pawns perfectly well. 35 'li\'xgS+
47 'i!Jd6 bS It is evident that White can
48 'i!Jc6 b4 avoid the exchange, if only by 35
49 €)xb4! €)xb4+ tife5 + ; however, there is no
50 'i!Jb6 obvious reason for this, since,
There is no defence against 51 outwardly, the endgame looks
<;ta5. Draw agreed. good for White.
Black is faced with some diffi­ 35 <tJ¥xg5
cult problems in the following 36 g3 €)g6
position. 37 l'!lh2 hS!?
A crucial move. The weakness
Monin-Ermolinsky of the h-pawn is now more per­
Leningrad 1979 ceptible. Nevertheless Black must
prevent the opening of the game
Without doubt White has the at all costs, since the threat g4 is
advantage. His heavy pieces are again imminent.
aiming at his opponent's chief 38 il.dl
weakness, the e6 pawn, ready for White begins the siege immed-
 Transition into the Endgame 79

iately. 38 h4 is not possible

now because of 39 g4! and Black's
position would collapse.
38 !!: h8
39 B_f3 1!1f6
For the time being White has
no immediate threats. The with­
drawal of the king has probably
caused an unwillingness on his
opponent's part to make the move
h4, which would have benefited 42 h4
Black. 43 g4
40 !ii fe2 )ii hh7 43 gxh4? would have been a
All of Black's pieces are tied to mistake in view of 43 . . . g xh4
the defence of his weaknesses for and 44 . . . �f4, when the black
the time being and he has no pieces are revived.
opportunity for any kind of active 43 f4
play: 40 . . . h4 41 g4 � f4 42 ;g e3 44 g5 +
g g8 43 l!. fl with the threat 44 An aggressive move, but would
gxf5 exf5 45 'i!!, xe7 <t>xe7 46 B_hl ; the quiet 44 ;g 3e2 be a stronger
or 4 0 . . . e5? 4 1 B_xd5 (41 dxe5 + move?
li( xe5 42 )ii xe5 �xeS 43 B_xd5 44 <t>f5!
!! d8 with counterplay) 41 Black lures the hostile bishop to
exd4 42 B.e6 + B, xe6 43 !;!xe6+ g4 in order to lift the blockade of
<ti g7 44 c4! In both cases White's his f-pawn. 44 . . . <t>xg5 would be
advantage is indisputable. bad, because of 45 g xe6 etc.
41 b3 45 g xe6 ;g xe6
Notification of 42 c4! 46 B_g4+ 1!1xg5
41 b5 47 B_xe6
Yet another difficult decision. Black would try for an interest­
Now Black has prominent weak­ ing draw in case of 47 !;!xe6.
nesses all over the board. How­ There would follow 47 . . . ;g c7 48
ever, unexpectedly, this move ;gd6 �e7 49 ;g d7 g xd7 50 B_xd7
turns out to be linked to a posi­ 13! 51 l!l g l 1!1f4 52 1!1f2 �g8 53
tional trap. B_g4 � f6 54 B_xf3 �e4 + ! 55
42 l!( e3? B_xe4 <fixe4 56 'i!\>e2 aS. In spite of
White prepares the manoeuvre White's extra pawn, the pawn
43 a4 bxa4 44 b4, with a subse­ endgame is a draw.
quent 45 ); a ! , anticipating an 47 !;! e7
early counterattack on the c3 Black seizes the e-file!
pawn. That is all fine, but it 48 !;! gl + 'i!\>f6
should have followed the prelim­ 49 B_xd5 l!, e3
inary move 42 h4! 50 B_c6
80 Transition into the Endgame

Naturally, the passive 50 )i! c l Petrosian-Keres

would not bring White any suc­ Zurich 1953
cess, nor would 50 c4 because of
50 . . . lfi:oe7 (but not 50 . . . g xb3
51 c5, nor 51 . . . g d3? 52 )?.( xg6).
50 lfi:o e7!
And now the knight manoeuvre
turns out to be the strongest con­
tinuation. Considerably weaker
would have been 50 . . . )?.( xc3 5 1
.ll.e4! lii:o e7 52 )?.(g4. B y the sacri­
fice of a second pawn Black ac­
tivates his pieces to the maximum.
51 .ll. xb5 13
White is a pawn down, but
bishops of opposite colour by no
means guarantee a draw as long
as there are other pieces on the
board. The only deficiency in
Black's position is some back­
wardness in development. Mak­
ing use of this circumstance,
Petrosian forces a transition into
an endgame.
t9 wr5
It is clear that after 19 . . . 'iij' xf5
An astonishing position! White 20 exf5 the white bishop enters the
has two extra pawns, but Black's game with great force and Black
counterplay is so strong that he cannot retain his material advant­
prefers to force a draw. age. 20 . . . f6? would be altogether
52 .ll. a4 l!!, xc3 bad: 2 l g xc6! bxc6 22 .ll. xc6 +
53 li! g4 iii:o f5 ltlf7 23 .ll.d5 + ! and White wins.
54 )?.( f4 \tig5 There is no advantage in avoiding
55 )i! g4 + 'i);>f6 the exchange. On 19 . . . 'iij' d6, 20
56 g f4 ltl g5 f4 is very strong (20 . . . g6 2 1
57 li! g4 + fxe5).
Drawn. 19 .ll. d6
Exchanges often lead to modifi­ This way Black retains his
cations of the pawn structure in material advantage, but his pawn
which it is not possible to exploit a structure turns out to be so com­
material advantage. The follow­ promised that he has practically
ing game is a good illustration of no chances of a win.
this theme. 20 \i;'xe6 + fxe6
 Transition into the Endgame 81

21 •3 'll/ d7 40 . . . b4 is not possible because

22 .il.fl of 41 axb4 il.xb4 42 M c4, but
The passed pawn is safely Black has no other plans of play.
blockaded. 41 g et >!( eS
22 a4 A draw was agreed.
23 €)cl In the following game Black
Preventing the manoeuvre . . demonstrated the splendid art of
<Elc6-a5-b3 (23 .. €)a5 24 defence in an encounter between.
il.b5 + ).
23 �aS Alekhine-Reti
24 )g e2 g eS Vienna 1922
25 g ael
White takes control of the c­
tile. His chances are not in the
least worse.
25 €)e7
26 � xeS E\ xeS
27 il.e4 il.e7
28 0d3
It is not worthwhile for White
to win back Black's 'extra' pawn
by means of 28 §J.xe6 + \f1xe6 29
14 xeS, since this may give Black 24 'ff. e7
some chances after 29 . . . g b5 30 By this move a transition into
;!l c2 g b3. The knight makes way the ending is forced, otherwise
for the bishop to move into an Black's counterplay against the g2
active position and then returns to square could become very danger-
his post. Objectively speaking, it ous.
is already possible to sign for 25 'i<fd4 'i<!Xd4
peace. 26 cxd4
2S €)d6 But how is it possible to save
29 f3 <E:�xe4 such an endgame? Black cannot
30 )f;( xe4 il.d6 just snatch back two pawns. It is
31 lf112 ;g a6 interesting to follow how skilfully
32 l!;>e2 gS the Czech Grandmaster creates
33 \fldl ;!J. a8 counterplay.
34 'll/ e2 h5 26 li! adS
35 !!( el :!! hS Clearly, on 27 c3 Black can win
36 g bt h4 back a pawn with 27 . . . b4!
37 g4 bS 27 fS
3S ll!, el g b8 Intending, after 27 . . . g xd4 to
39 \fldl l!. b6 play 28 f6 with good chances of an
40 g e2 !il bS attack. But Black is in no hurry to
82 Transition into the Endgame

take the pawn; he takes precau­ 42 'il\>h2 )ticS

tionary measures. 43 g a4 M cbS
27 f6! 44 h4 i!! Sb6
28 !!( ael 45 'i>\'h3 8! b8
An attempt to retain the full 46 g3 fS!
material advantage would not be 47 g aS )il c8
profitable for White: 28 g f4 M g7 White tries to transfer his at­
29 ilfl g c8 30 £! c l g c3 and the tack to another objective, but
black pieces have taken the key Black is on the alert.
positions. White therefore decides 48 a f3
to give up one pawn and then to After 48 a3 it is quite feasible to
exchange Black's strong bishop. continue 48 . . . a c3! 49 Mxb4 (49
28 g g7 !i( xc3 bxc3 50 )4 c5 g b3) 49 .
Naturally not 28 . . . )'! xe 1 29 l!! xb4 50 axb4 )ii b3 51 g b5 f4 52
;tel xe l )'5 xd4? 30 ge8+ and !'l g5 + �h6! 53 h5 fxg3 54 'i>\'g2
g e7 + , winning the bishop. 'iir h7 and it is difficult for White to
29 §J.e4 )'5 xd4 strengthen his position. For ex­
30 §J.xb7 g xb7 ample, 55 'il\>h3 'i>\'h6 56 E; c5 'il\>g6
31 k(e6 <&g7 57 g c6 + �h5 5 8 b6 g2 + 59
32 g xa6 g c4 'i>\'xg2 'i>\'xh4 60 'i>\'f2 'i>\'g5 61 'il\>e2
32 )!! a4 would have been �f5 62 �d2 �e5 with a draw.
more decisive. 48 g f6
33 li\ f3 g xc2 49 w g2 )!;c3!
34 h3 50 l'( a8
The weakness of the first rank On 50 g xc3 bxc3 the queenside
does not allow White to intercept pawns would disappear, which
the initiative. Now Black manages would quickly lead to a draw.
to parry the threat to the f6 pawn 50 !l: xf3
with a counter-attack against the 51 'il\>Xf3 g c6
f5 pawn. 52 g b8 g c4
34 'il\>f7! Naturally not 52 . g a6? in
35 g g3 g f2 view of 53 wf4.
36 g g6 g xfS 53 g b6 +
37 )ii xh6 <&g7 54 hS
38 !), h4 b4 55 g c6! i.[ e4
After this move, creating a con­ 56 ;;J; g6 +
stant threat of exchanging the Having constrained his op­
queenside pawns, White's chances ponent's rook to the maximum,
of a win have been reduced to a White makes a last attempt, but
minimum. again it does not lead to success.
39 ici g4 + <& f7 56 wn
40 /if g3 !HbS 57 g4 :S xg4!
41 g b3 'il\>g6 An immediate draw is ensured.

58 "' xg4 fxg4 +
59 wxg4 wg7
Drawn.
It is easy now to convince one­
self that the black king can reach
the c8 square in time.
The Exchange of Queens and
Pawn Structure in the
Endgame
In the study of exchanges leading
to a transition into an endgame, it
is convenient, from the methodo­
logical aspect, to classify simple
endings according to the nature of
the remaining material-knights,
pawns, etc.
However, an exchange of
queens in practice usually leads to
various complex endings, and
because of their diversity, there
has been little study of the theory
of such endings.
After the elimination of the
queens from the board the power­
ful, long-range rooks begin to
play an important role and their
comparative activity determines
the evaluation of the position.
In complex rook endings
(including such material relation­
ships as two rooks against a rook
and a minor piece or two rooks
against a rook and two minor
pieces, etc.) the part played by the
rooks predetermines the identity
of some methods of play.
The character of the pawn
structure is also a very important
factor in the evaluation of the
position, particularly the presence
or the possibility of creating
passed pawns.
Transition into the Endgame 83
The following example, from
the final game of the 49th USSR
Championship in 1 98 1 , illustrates
these concepts.
Psakhis-Romanishin
Frunze 1981
As a result of a subtle strategic
struggle, Psakhis has won the
exchange, but the exploitation of
this material advantage is not sim­
ple. The presence of the two
bishops makes Black's position
sufficiently solid. Consequently,
Psakhis makes use of a procedure
already familiar to us- he returns
the exchange, thereby acquiring
important positional advantages.
45 '/li'g3!
Apparently a mistake, but in
fact this move starts an instructive
exchange operation.
45 '/li'cl +
46 ;;!el '/li'xel +
47 �xel §J.xg3
48 fxg3
Thus, material equality has
been restored. What does White's
advantage consist of and why did
he strive for this position?
84 Transition into the Endgame

Let us compare the activity of on the type of the actual or emerg­

the rooks. It is evident that the ing (as a result of exchanges)
White rook has more possibilities. pawn structure.
It immediately threatens 49 !il b8, As an example of such an ap­
winning a pawn. This superiority proach, we shaU examine posi­
is of a dynamic character, though, tions on the subject of 'connected
and the pawn structure is a more passed pawns'.
important factor in the appraisal The formidable strength of far­
of this position. The two white advanced connected passed
pawns on the king's flank hold the pawns is well known, and even
three black pawns. At the same such a powerful piece as a rook
time, White has a clear advantage cannot always succeed in dealing
on the queen's flank (two pawns with them.
against one) and he can easily A classic example of this theme
form a passed pawn. This decides is the final game from the match­
the outcome of the game. tournament for the title of the
48 §J_ b7 Absolute Championship of the
49 1!l xg8+ USSR, 194 1 .
Psakhis parts with his active
rook without regret. A one pawn Smyslov-Botvinnik
superiority is quite sufficient for USSR Ch. 1941
victory.
49 'of;>xg8
50 a4 \f;>f8
51 aS bxaS
52 bxaS
A passed pawn has been pro­
duced. Now it is only necessary to
bring the king into action.
52 \f;>e7
53 \f,?d2 \f,?d6
54 \f,?c3 \f,?c6
55 �b4 §J_c8
56 g4 56 g xb6!
A zugzwang. Both sides have advanced their
56 §J_ b7 passed pawns, but Black, at the
57 a6 cost of a rook, succeeds in dis­
Black resigned. rupting White's pawn duet. At the
Bearing in mind that exchanges same time, Black's coordinated
lead to various forms of endings, pawn trio quickly decide the out­
a classification is proposed which come of the game.
is not based on formal values, but 57 !i( xb6 d3
 Transition into the Endgame 85

58 li\ g l d2 Yurgis-Botvinnik
59 !l: c7
!!: xf6 Leningrad 1931
Naturally not 59 . . . c2?, after
which the two rooks would
demonstrate their ability to force
a draw by repetition of moves: 60
li\ !7 + llrh8 61 !l: f6, and in case
of 61 . . . gc7 they would show
their teeth and even force a win
using the remaining white passed
pawn: 62 !!t h 6 + g h7 63 a7! and
White wins.
60 1i;\fg6 dl('il\')
White resigned. Black is the exchange down for
Endings with passed pawns can a pawn, but he is compensated for
be divided into two categories, the material deficiency with inter­
based on the dynamic character­ est by the presence of the passed
istics of the passed pawns-free c-pawn and by the active disposi­
and blockaded passed pawns. tion of his pieces.
If exchanges lead to a position Taking into consideration the
of the first type, then, in the first possibility of the formation of
place, the consequences of simpli­ connected passed pawns, the fu­
fication must be clearly evaluated, ture World Champion forces a
since as a rule, subsequent play queen exchange:
will be of quite a forceful charac­ 30 'i!i'd4!
ter. 31 'ili'xd4 g xd4
Other problems arise when sim­ 32 .il.fl
plifications lead to endings with White does not anticipate his
blockaded passed pawns. The opponent's intentions, though his
evaluation of such endgames is position is already difficult. For
considerably more complex, since instance, on 32 .il.f3 the continua­
play is less clear or dynamic and tion could be 32 . . . .il,c5 33 �g2
here we cannot rely on bare calcu­ c2 34 !!: cJ !!: c4', with the same
lations. idea as in the game.
Free passed pawns 32 c2
In transition into endings with 33 g el
free passed pawns, it is always 33 g xc2 loses, in view of
necessary to remember that in .il,xc2 34 g xd4 .il,c5.
such endgames the decisive criter­ 33 .il,xfl
ion for the evaluation of the posi­ 34 g cxfl
tion is not by any means the On 34 !!t fxfl, !l: d2 35 !!t fe l
material balance. .il,c5 + 36 llr h l .il,d4 and White
86 Transition into the Endgame

has no satisfactory defence

against 37 . . . ilb2. Also bad is 34
IY/xfl in view of 34 . )l! d l + .
In all these variations we
should pay particular attention to
the comparative activities of the
white and black rooks. The white
rooks are literally chained to the
first and second ranks, whilst the
black rook occupies a dominating
position on the board. should therefore have retained
34 l'! c4!! queens by means of 38 g e2.
The point of Black's plan. The game continued as follows:
35 bxc4 38 '10te2 '10txe2
After 35 l:; c l White's play 39 l;l xe2 ilbS
would be less effective: 35 . . . ilc5 40 1;\ e l c4
36 <;t;>g2 il xf2 37 IY/xf2 � c3 . Black begins to advance his
35 .ll.c5 pawns. Unfortunately for White,
36 <;t;>g2 .ll.xfl his pieces are unable to take part
37 I'!Jxfl b3 in the struggle against his oppon­
Black's passed pawns cannot be ent's passed pawns. For example,
stopped. White resigned. on 41 il_fl, there follows 41 . . . c2
It is not uncommon for one (threatening 52 . . M, d l ) 42 g e l
side, having a material advantage, cxb3 4 3 axb3 ii!. d l , and White
to simplify hastily, overlooking loses his bishop.
his opponent's opportunity of 41 1;!cl aS
forming connected passed pawns. 42 �gl cxb3
As already noted, a material ad­ 43 axb3 a4
vantage is not always decisive in 44 bxa4 §J_xa4
endings in the presence of con­ The objective has been
nected passed pawns. achieved. The advantage on the
queenside of four pawns against
Zagoryansky-8tein two has been transformed into a
Moscow 1956 pair of connected passed pawns.
White tries to improve the coord­
White has a piece for two ination of his pieces in subsequent
pawns and his wish to simplify the play, but it is too late.
position is understandable. How­ 45 <2)e5 c2
ever, it is precisely in the endgame 46 ilf3 b3
that Black has an excellent oppor­ Naturally, this is stronger than
tunity to combat White's extra 46 !!: d l + 47 ilxdl
piece-the formation of con­ cxd i('IOt) + 48 g xd l ilxd l 49
nected passed pawns. White <2)d3 b3 50 *f2.

47 €\c4 il_c6!
Making use of the fact that
White's bishop must guard the d l
square, Black forces it t o e 2 and
then puts a decisive pin on the
knight along the diagonal.
48 il_e2 il_b5!
Threatening il_xc4 and
gdl + .
49 €\b2 il_xe2
50 <ll1 1'2 )!l dl
Black resigned.
A queen exchange can occur at
a critical moment in the course of
the game and it is not in the least
surprising that immediately after
the exchange a great number of
mistakes are made, even by lead­
ing players.
In the game between Zagory­
ansky and Stein we examine a
case in which the very decision to
transpose into an ending was a
mistake. In the game from the
World Championship in 1935 the
mistake was committed immedi­
ately after the exchange of queens.
Euwe-Alekhine
Game 26, Match 1935
White's powerful central
grouping of pieces is more than
Transition into the Endgame 87
sufficient compensation for the
exchange. He forces a queen
exchange.
36 �e5 '/ii' xe5
37 fxe5 :i! f5
Black misses an opportunity of
creating serious problems for his
opponent in the realization of his
advantage in the rook endgame
by means of 37 . . . 8 xe6 38 dxe6
8 f5! After 39 i;! e l <;l;>g8 White
cannot continue with the natural
40 </l1g2 'i!;>f8 41 8 fl -the black
king would succeed in capturing
the doubled e-pawns and in main­
taining the opposition. As Euwe
pointed out, the only way to win
would have been 40 )!l e3! <ll1 f8 41
§ a3 !!: xeS (41 . . . a5 42 8 b3) 42
:ii[ xa7 :ii[ xe6 43 b3! !,! e2 44 )l( xh7
g xa2 45 8 b7.
33 g el
Also an inaccuracy. Both con­
testants were under time pressure
after some stormy complications
in the middlegame and they failed
to adapt themselves sufficiently to
the new system of evaluation, ap­
propriate to the endgame. Now 38
8 g5! was necessary. As a rule,
with a material balance of two
rooks against a rook, knight and
pawns, exchange of the only rook
makes the advance of the pawns
more difficult. But there are no
rules without exceptions. In the
given situation the pair of con­
nected passed pawns would have
received sufficient support from
the active knight for a quick ad­
vance, due to the unsatisfactory
position of the black king and
rook. After 38 . . . M xg5 39 €\xg5
88 Transition into the Endgame

W¥g7 40 d6 )l( xe5 41 d7 � e l + 42

llll g2 M d l 43 d8('/ii ) :!!, xd8 44
<£)e6 + White wins.
The text move once again gives
Black the opportunity to give
back the exchange, and, as shown
in the comments to the previous
move, after 38 . g xe6 39 dxe6
�g8, very accurate play would
have been required from White to
achieve victory. However, Black
misses this practical opportunity. quite natural: 32 ... g b5 33
38 h6 'I!O'xf7+ ·iif xf7 34 Mxf7+ W¥g6,
39 €ld8! after which it would be very diffi­

A decisive move. The white cult for White to exploit his extra

pawns cannot be stopped. pawn. However, Alekhine finds

39 an opportunity of transposing
g fl
into an ending, in which, accord­
Naturally not 3 9 . g fxe5 40
ing to his interpretation, White
!!(xeS !!(xeS because of 41 <£)f7 + .
will have better chances. Hence
40 e6 gd2
the lesser of two evils for Black
The game finished as follows:
would have been 32 . . W¥g8!;
41 flc6 g e8
weaker is 32 . . . W¥g7, in view of
42 e7 b5
33 'ii\' e5 + , with a subsequent 34
43 <2ld8 W< g7
d5.
44 €lb7 W¥f6
32 li! b5
45 )l(e6+ W¥g5
33 !;i xf7 + ! 'i11 g8
46 €ld6 g xe7
34 g f6 + ,!! xd5
47 <1:)e4+
An interesting tactical device­
Black resigned.
exchanging queens by means of
In this game, the connected
the discovered check.
passed pawns advanced forcefully
35 )i! xg6+ W¥h7
without any support from the ;;! xd4
36 :!! b6
king. As a rule, however, a safe
The passive defence 36 . . . g d7
advance of the pawns requires ac­
is clearly doomed to failure.
tive participation of the king. 37 )ll xb7 + \ilg8
The black king is now cut off
Alekhine-Eliskases from the seventh rank, but after
Buenos Aires 1939 37 . . W¥g6 3 8 OJ b6 + White wins
yet another pawn.
Black's position is insecure and 38 gb6 )f; a4
his wish to exchange queens is 39 ;!! xh6 g xa2
 Transition illlo the Endgame 89

Play reaches the rook endgame, In the following example, coun­

as intended by the World Cham­ terplay hinders the advance of the
pion. The two connected passed connected passed pawns and com­
pawns, advancing with the sup­ plicates the problems of the
port of their king, will eventually stronger side.
spin a mating net around the op­
ponent's king. Nimzowitsch-Marshall
40 wrg2 as New York 1927
41 � a6
In accordance with principle,
the rook attacks the enemy passed
pawn from the rear. The advance
of the a-pawn gradually restricts
the activity of the black rook.
41 a4
42 ria7
The black king is cut off again.
We should note the comparative
activities of the white and black
rooks.
42 a3 White centralizes his forces,
43 g4 \ll> f8 after which Black saves the game
44 gS with the help of a queen exchange.
As a rule, connected passed 24 1ij'e5! il.xh3
pawns should advance together. 25 il.xdS 'i!i'g6
However in this case the pawn is 26 il_e4 'i!i'f6
more useful on f2. For example: As a result of White's occupa­
44 \ll> g3 :§\a I 45 <& f4 a2 46 f3 \ll> g8 tion of the key central squares,
47 'l/i>f5 ::HI 48 l;i xa2 l!l xf3 + 49 Black is presented with the oppor­
\l1g6 .ii f8 leads to a drawish end- tunity of a queen exchange.
ing. 27 'ili'xf6 g xf6
44 ltrg8 28 g gl il_fS
45 \tt g3 gal 29 )ii dg2
46 'l/j>g4 !;l gl + White has managed to set up
On 46 . . . a2 White would also considerable pressure on his op­
continue 47 <&f5. ponent's kingside, but Black
47 'i!rfS )l! g2 could have maintained equality,
48 f4 a2 as pointed out by Alekhine, by
49 'i!rf6 means of 29 . . . g5! 30 fxg5 hxg5
Black has managed to activate 31 )ll xg5 il_xe4 32 dxe4 g f2.
his rook, but the mating net is Marshall exchanges bishops, with
ready. Black resigned. less favourable consequences, and
90 Transition into the Endgame

allows his opponent to form a Black has managed to place his

strong pawn pair in the centre. king in a domin_;;.!ing position and
29 §l.xe4 to acqulre chances of serious
30 dxe4 !i(d3 counterplay.
31 g xg7 g xe3 39 !i( xh6 aS
Both passed pawns are under 40 !!l h7 !;!c2
attack, but the white rooks are the After 40 . . . ll9c6 41 15 e7 b5 42
first to burst into the enemy camp. b4 !!( e3 + 43 lf;>b2 axb4 44 f5 the
With the help of a timely rook white king would slip out of the
exchange White succeeds in keep­ danger zone, and the pawn pair
ing his trump cards. could receive his decisive support.
32 !;! g8 + 'i!rd7 41 'f!, c7 bS
33 !;! lg7+ 'i!rC6 Black threatens 40 . . . c6
34 � g6 !i( d6! mate in two moves. For
A witty response! The rook 41 f5? c6 42 b4 ll9c4, and
exchange has been forced by wins.
White, but does the exchange 42 b4 a4
work to his benefit? Now if 35 A serious inaccuracy,
g xd6 + , there follows 35 could have painful COilSe,�ue:ne<,s; <I
cxd6, and the e-pawn is no longer Better was 42 . . . axb4 +
a passed pawn. On the other 'f!. c4 + 44 ll9xb5 c6+ and 45
hand, the black rook cuts off the !!! xf4 with drawing chances.
white king from the d-file and 43 fS cS
from the important squares. 44 f6
35 eS !l. el + A natural, but un>;atisfactory
36 'i!rb2 lile2+ move. As Nimzowitsch
37 l!ra3 !!l xg6 after 44 e6! White wins. For
38 )!! xg6+ ll9d5 stance, 44 . . . g c3 + 45
46 ii\ d7+ lf,?c6 47
f6.
44
45 'i!rb2 cxb4
Drawn, in view of the variation
46 f7 a3 + 47 ll9 b l gf3 48 e6
gn + 49 lf,?c2 !!l f2 + 50 l!rd3 b3
51 axb3 a2 52 '{!, a? lf;>xe6.
When both sides have con­
nected passed pawns, the struggle
develops into particularly com­
plex endgames.
White has retained his strong
pawn pair in the centre, but their
advance is not possible, since
 Transition into the Endgame 91

Gligoric-Stein iiit g7+ �c6! (bad is 47 . . . �c8,

Lvov 1962 because of 48 .ll.g3! with the
threat of 49 d7 + !) or 43 .ll.e3 �e6
44h7 .ll.f6 45 g g8 g f7! 46 ge8 +
�d5.
After the black king's unfortu­
nate retreat, White should have
swiftly advanced his own pawns
instead of blockading the
enemy's: 43 c6! bxc6 44 bxc6 .ll. b6
45 c7! d2 (45 . . . .ll.xf2 46 d7) 46
.ll.xb6, and the white pawns can­
not be stopped.
At this point the game was
adjourned and Stein sealed the
strongest and only move:
As a result of complications, a 43 f2!
surprising situation has developed 44 !!: 0 .ll. aS!
in this game. In the middlegame Black's plans are set by these
Black has three connected, far­ moves. As Gufeld pointed out,
advanced passed pawns. White 'neither side can develop activity
also has an opportunity of form­ with impunity'. Black could set a
ing a pair of passed pawns on the trap by 44 . . . !i:£645 �g2 !i! g6 +
sixth rank (by means of cS-<:6). 46 �xf2? .ll.h4 mate, but after a
First, he forces a queen exchange. preliminary advance, h2-h4-h6,
41 1<1i'h6 1<1i'xh6 White would take control of the
42 gxh6 + '#;h7? g6 square, and his king would
43 .ll.e3? gain freedom of movement and
Immediately after the exchange finally capture the f2 pawn.
of queens, both players make a 45 c6?
mistake. The reason is not only a Two moves earlier this would
sharp change in the situation, but have won the game, but now it
also, having been under mutual should only lead to a draw.
time pressure both players were Necessary was 45 d7! .ll. d8 (bad is
still playing quickly. 45 . . . d2 because of 46 .ll.xd2
Black should have started to .ll.xd2 47 gxf2!) 46 �g2 !i! g8 +
move his king towards the queen­ 47 � h 3 gf8! 4 8 �g2 and a draw
side to stop the opponent's passed by repetition of moves.
pawns with 42 . . . '#;f7! As indic­ 45 bxc6
ated by the following variations, 46 bxc6 .ll.b6!
the h-pawn is Jess dangerous. For A 'problem' idea! On 47 c7
example, 43 c6 bxc6 44 bxc6 .ll. b6! .ll.xe3, 48 d7 there follows 48 . . .
45 c7 �e6 46 !i!g6+ �d7 47 g g8 and Black mates first.
92 Transition into the Endgame

47 il_xb6 axb6
48 ll( xfl
It seems as if White is winning
the race; however, with the help of
distracting rook sacrifices, Black's
pawns are victorious.
48 e3!!
49 � xf8 d2

24 -&cS
25 fxg6 -&xe3+
26 i/_ xe3 c3
Black overestimates
strength of his pawns and to all
intents and purposes allows the
formation of a pair of white
passed pawns on the king's flank.
Better would have been 26
This unique position deserves a hxg6 27 :§! xf6 <;l;>g7.
diagram. White's rook is power­ gxh7 +
27 <;l;>xh7
less against his opponent's con­ 28
gd3
nected pawns. The game con­ Threatening il_f4 with a
tinued 50 c7 d l (-;;t ) + 51 �Wg2 quent transfer of the rook to
'&g4+ 52 �Wfl -&c4+ 53 <;l;>g2 e2 king's flank.
54 <;l;>f2 -&e6 55 <;l;>el -&xd6 56 28 <BcS
!!lth8 + (on 56 c8('&), 56 Black forces an endgame with a
-&dl + is decisive -57 <;l;>f2 pair of passed pawns on both
e l ('iif ) + with a quick mate) 56 . . sides.
1W g6 57 g g8 + 1W h5. White 29 J,l xc3 <E}xe6
resigned. 30 gxc7+ <E}xc7
31 ).;: xf6 <E}dS
GeUer-Ilivitzky 32 �h6+ 1Wg7
Kiev 1954 33 il_gS!
This is an interesting and most
In this position there are oppor­ unusual ending. In the following
tunities for both sides. Black has struggle it is important to com­
three connected passed pawns, pare the relative strengths of
but they are not far advanced; bishop and knight in this
furthermore, White is attacking. and minor piece ending
Hence Black initiates an exchange passed connected pawns. With
of queens. last move White cut
 Transition into the Endgame 93

king can be a strong blockading

piece.
The move 41 !!1, a6! was written
down and Black resigned without
any further play, since after 41 . . .
a3 42 g5 a2 43 l!,a7 + <&>g8 44 h6
the black king falls into a mating
net.
Stopping the advance of passed
pawns
from the kingside and threatens to How should one fight against a
force it back further with 34 l!! d6. pawn chain (and against the part­
33 )!! e8 icular case of connected pawns)?
34 )!!( d6 l!( eS The question was answered by
3S h4 aS Nimzowitsch clearly and as
36 *f2 bS always, emotionally: 'The opera­
37 g4 b4 tion consists of . . . exclusively to
38 .ll. c l prevent the advance of the enemy
In the struggle on both flanks, pawns. In what manner we
the superiority of the bishop achieve this objective-with
begins to show. It manages to pawns or pieces, whether we
support its own pawns and to blockade the hostile pawns or de­
hinder the black pawns. tain them with long range
38 €)c3 pieces-is entirely immaterial, the
39 <&>f3 a4 essential thing is to prevent the
40 hS !;IdS advance of the pawns'.
41 iii, a6! We should remember those
A characteristic moment: words of the creator of the theory
White avoids the rook exchange. of the blockade when deciding the
The point is that in the presence question of exchange in positions
of a passed connected pawn pair with connected passed pawns, and
on both sides, the pawns which evaluate precisely the obstructing
advance against the opposing king resourses available to the oppon­
are more dangerous, since in addi­ ent.
tion to approaching the 8th rank,
they also create threats to the Dyin-Zhenevsky-Ragozin
enemy monarch. This principle is 1929/30
only valid when there are rooks
presen t on both sides; the rook Black has a pair of connected
takes an active part in setting up a passed pawns in the centre, but
mating threat against the oppos­ their advance is hindered by the
ing king. On the other hand, in a actively positioned white queen.
purely minor piece ending, the Naturally, Black tries to exchange
94 Transition into the Endgame

30 I!Jxf4 W.e6
31 il.d4 g g8!
If now 32 g3, there follows 32
. . . i.!.g5 + .
32 g4 il.d6+
33 I!Je3
The white pieces return to their
blockading positions, but their
'journey' proves to be clearly un- J
fortunate.
�
E !;�l
23 <!te7!
queens or force the hostile queen
to withdraw and then advance his
pawns. 36
�
lii: xg1
·�
24 .,;;- xe7 White cannot allow the
Comparatively best. After 24 exchange of his blockading
<!tg4 iJ.c5 + 25 \W h l d4 26 il.el bishop. For example: 36 ��Je2
� xb2, the black pawns are irre­ i.!.xd4 37 11( xd4 � g2 + and Black
sistible. wins.
24 iJ. xe7 36 gxg1
25 �d1 �d8 37 a6 hS
26 \lif2 I!Jg8 38 a7 g g8
27 ��Je3 W.f7 39 b4 h4
27 il.d4 40 bS h3
Thus, the pawns are safely 41 i.!.eS
blockaded by the white pieces; With the idea of queening the
Black tries to distract them with b-pawn with check. However, the
the help of a pawn sacrifice. power of the connected passed
28 gS pawns, supported by the king, is
29 il.xa7? such that they can even set up a
A decisive mistake. After the mating threat for the opponent's
correct 29 f5! White would have king in the middle of the board.
maintained his blockade and 41 ��res
Black could not exploit his ad­ 42 b6 11.g2!
vantage easily. Nimzowitsch There is no defence against 43
wrote that a blockading piece is . . . d4 mate. White resigned.
truly on 'holiday' if the 'journey is In practice we more often meet
promising' and can be made on a examples in which one side, by
'fast train'. In this case the ab­ means of a combination, is pre­
sence of the white bishop is pared to accept material loss in
exploited successfully by his ad- order to acquire such
versary. 'trump cards' as <oonnec:ted
29 gxf4 + pawns.
 Transition into the Endgame 95

Spassky-Kholmov black pieces could not easily con-

USSR Ch. 1957 tain it.
29 �d2 ggS
30 J!l( g6 §!.e8
31 §!.d3
White refuses to capture a fifth
pawn, since after 31 §!. xf6 + <ii) xf6
32 g xf6 � g7 the black pieces are
activated.
31 §!.xg6
32 hxg6 ill\ xd4!
The right decision! In case of a
simple withdrawal of the rook,
there would follow 33 gxh7 and in
An attempt simply to double spite of the two exchange advan­
rooks on the h-file would not be tages, the powerful central white
successful, since after 20 g h2 grouping would sweep aside
�g7 21 J!l( ghl J!l( h8 Black would everything in its path.
neutralize his opponent's pressure 33 cxd4 <ii) f8
and the weakness of the g4 pawn 34 c5 bxc5
would become appreciable. Con­ 35 dxc5
sequently Spassky accomplishes a White has succeeded in forming
forced operation with the object
of transposing the game into an
ending with connected passed
pawns. The exchanges play a most
important role in this com­
bination.
20 :!! h5! <ii) xh5
21 gxh5 <ii) f8
22 <ii) xe4 'lii' xe4
23 'lii' xe4 ;!! xe4
24 §!. xd6 g be8
25 J!l( xg5 + �h8 a pair of connected passed pawns.
26 §!.xeS f6 Their formidable power is demon­
Bad is 26 . . . b6 27 §!.d4 + �h7 strated by the variation: 35 . . .
28 :!! g7 + with decisive threats. <ii) xg6 36 §!.xg6 J!l( xg6 37 c6 J!l( g8
27 :!! g3 b6 38 c7 � g7 39 d6 and the pawns
28 §!.d4 <iil h7 cannot be stopped.
The resulting position is unbal­ Because of this threat, it is most
anced. White has four pawns for a instructive to follow the method
rook. If the pawn armada were to used by Kholmov to obstruct the
start moving on a single front, the menacing passed pawns.
96 Transition into the Endgame

35 €ld7! dangerous as their underestima­

36 c6 €lb6 tion and it is sometimes the rea­
37 e4 �g7 son for unjustified entry into sim­
Black is ready to transfer the plifications and exchanges.
knight into the blockading pos­ In this sharp position Black has
ition by way of €)c8-<16. White chosen an interesting but risky
hinders this manoeuvre by his continuation, based on an over­
subsequent moves. estimation of the importance of
38 1l.a6 <j>xg6 passed pawns.
39 a4 �f7 11 €)xc2 + ?!
The black king captures the g­ 12 'iO'XC2 'O;'xb2
pawn, constraining his move­ 13 'O;'xb2 €)xd3 +
ments, then moves towards the 14 �n
struggle with the connected The best. After I4 � dI
passed pawns. €)xb2+ 15 �c2 €lc4 Black's
40 aS €)a8 plans would be fully justified.
41 1l.c4 11td8 14 1l.xb2
The game was adjourned in this 15 l!t b1 1l.e6?!
position, and because of the varia­ Too risky. The bishop should
tion 42 f4 �e7 43 e5 fxe5 44 fxe5 have returned to g7 and Black
€)c7 45 d6 + g xd6 46 exd6 + would then have remained with
*xd6, a draw was agreed. three pawns for a piece.
16 1l.c3!
Smyslov-Bronstein A beautiful reply. Evidently

USSR Ch. 1951 Black counted on 'natural play'

The last example shows that
one can and must fight in the
endgame against connected
passed pawns. An overestimation
of the role of such pawns is as
1 6 l!txb2 €lxb2 I7 1l.c3. In this
case after 17 . . . <fi) d l 18 1l.xh8 f6
19 1l.g7 1l. xa2 the resulting situa­
tion would have been of an
unusual pattern and material rela­
tionship. White would not have a
single piece on the queen's flank
and in spite of his superiority in
strength, it would have been not
easy to fight against the pawn
armada of his adversary.
16 1l.xa2
It is not easy to reproach the
most original chessplayer of our
times, Grandmaster Bronstein, in
the subsequent implementation of
his plans. However, looking at the
position objectively, the ordinary
 Transition into the Endgame 97

16 . . . il_xc3 17 42:\xc3 would have king, the three white minor pieces
been stronger, though in this case are considerably more dangerous
too White's chances would be than a black rook and four
better. pawns.
17 § xb2 4')xb2 21 lt1 d7
18 §J.xb2 22 M, d1! aS
As before, an attempt to gain With the help of the passed a­
an advantage in the middlegame pawn Black is trying to divert his
after 1 8 il_xh8 f6 would be risky. opponent's pieces from particip­
It is significantly more important ating in the attack. Nevertheless,
to retain the active bishop, hind­ White's threats quickly become
ering the advance of the black decisive.
pawns in the main part of the 23 42:\eS+ lf1c7
struggle-the queenside. In case of 23 . . . 'il;>e6 24 f5 +
18 M g8 gxf5 25 exf5 + �txf5 26 g4+ and
19 lf1f2 §J.c4 the black king is in the crossfire of
20 42:\f3 §J.xe2 all the hostile pieces.
An attempt to advance the 24 42:\xf7 a4
pawns immediately would not be 2S eS a3
successful: 20 . . . b5 21 4ild2 26 §J.a1 i\! ge8
il_xe2 22 'il;>xe2, and the white Black cannot hold the d6
pieces quickly enter the fray. square by 26 . . .g a6 in view of 27
21 lf1xe2 exd6 + exd6 28 42:\xd6 :!! xd6 29
iJ. e5 and White wins.
27 42:\gS g aS
28 40e6+ \f1 d7
29 §J.d5 a2
An attempt to unite the passed
pawns would not succeed: 29 . . .
b5 30 42:\xc5 + dxc5 3 1 §J.f7 + and
Black would lose a lot of material.
30 g4
Having stopped his opponent's
pawns on the queenside, White
We have an amazing position goes over to the offensive on the
on the chessboard. Black has kingside, and the game is soon
retained all his eight pawns into won.
the endgame, though he has not 30 gc8
succeeded in bringing them into 31 42:\gS � f8
action. Although there is a formal 32 fS gxfS
material equality, one cannot talk 33 gxfS h6
about a balanced position. Given 34 §J.e6 + �tc7
the unsafe position of the black 3S exd6+ exd6
98 Transition into the Endgame

36 €le4 .!>l a3
37 fl xd6 J!!, xh3
38 .$l.e5
The attack by the white pieces
is irresistible.
38 .!>laS
39 €lc4+
Black resigned in view of the
unavoidable mate.
Black's misfortune in the above
example was due to the dynamics
of the position which only strong pressure on the a- and b­
emerged after the combinational files. In such positions it is charac­
exchanges; he was not allowed to teristic for Black to try to
advance his powerful pawn exchange queens (in spite of being
grouping in a united front. More­ a pawn down). The point is that
over, the white pieces hindered the queen is white's only active
the black passed pawns, not piece and with its exchange
mechanically, but indirectly, in Black's pressure will increase.
an effective manner-creating 18 'iil' a4!
threats on the opposite flank and 20 'iil'xa4 !! xa4
in the centre. 21 l!!, a2
Having examined various cases White is trying to complete his
of exchanges in relation to the development and to retain his
existing pawn structure, we turn pawn at the same time, but this is
our attention to typical pawn ar­ not easy. In his following moves
rangements characteristic for Black fixes the b2 pawn and act­
various opening systems. We ivates his knight.
could show numerous games in 21 c4
which exchanges lead to pawn 22 Afl €lc5
structures and give rise to a stra­ 23 f3 €la6
tegic plan, in the opening stages of The beginning of a unsuccessful
the game. manoeuvre, at the end of which
Black falls into an interesting
Kotov-Giigoric trap. Necessary was 23 . . li b3
Stockholm 1952 with subsequent 24 .. €ld3,
maintaining sufficient compensa­
The position on the board is tion for a small material loss.
typical for one of the variations 24 !!:d2 €l b4
arising out of the King's Indian 25 )!!. a1 c3
Defence or the Benko Gambit. 26 !! g2 €l xd5?
Black is a pawn down but in com­ Black falls into a prepared trap.
pensation he is able to apply Approximate equality would have
 Transition into the Endgame 99

resulted on 26 . . . cxb2 27 .li. xb2 passed connected pawns do not

�c2! compensate Black for his material
27 b3! loss.
This intermediate move 36 .li.c4 ll(c8
escaped Gligoric. Now Black 37 .li.d3 hS
loses a piece. 37 . . . f6 comes into considera­
27 !!: xb3 tion with the subsequent . . . e6-
28 exdS g aS e5, with the idea of forming three
29 ii.c4 )1t b8 passed connected pawns, though
30 g c2 :!! cS White would have been able to
31 .li.e2 blockade them.
Bad is 3 1 .li.a2, in view of 3 l . . 38 �e2 gd8
g b2! 32 .li. b l !!; xd5 and the 39 .li.c4 )1t c5
white pieces are paralysed. 40 .li.d3 !l( a5
31 i\i xdS The game was adjourned in this
32 ll;>f2 !l( a5 position. Analysis showed that
33 f4 dS White can activate his pieces and
34 g aa2 e6 his material advantage would pre­
35 a4 vail. However, the game did not
In Grandmaster Kotov's opin­ go smoothly by any means. The
ion, 35 il.d3 was more accurate, subsequent moves are most
trying for a rook exchange by 36 instructive.
!l(al, 37 �ca2 and 38 gbl. 41 !l( a1 eS
35 d4 42 )1tca2 fS
43 fxeS .li.xeS
44 � 13 !l(b8
45 l!:b1
White accomplishes the first
part of the plan easily-an
exchange of one pair of rooks.
Now it is necessary to move the
king to the blockade of the passed
pawns, after which White's passed
a-pawn would become a danger­
ous threat.
45 !i( xb1
Thus, as a consequence of the 46 .li.xb1 � f7
mistake made immediately after 47 .li.d3 �e6
the exchange of queens, the situa­ 48 .li.c4 + �d7
tion has changed sharply in com­ 49 .li.bS+ �d6
parison with the previous dia­ 50 ii. a3 +
gram. White has a bishop for two White deviates from the orig­
pawns, and even the pair of inal plan and the black king
100 Transition into the Endgame

becomes very active. 50 'il;>e2 resulting in a catastrophe. To de­

il.xg3 51 <;\>d3 would have Jed to lay the advance of passed pawns
victory. in dynamic positions can be fatal.
50 \'lidS 53 <;\>xb5
51 il.b4 54 <;\>e2
'il;> c4
As often happens, one inaccur­ 55 M a4 + \!i b3
acy leads to a serious mistake. It seems as if the black pawns
Necessary was 51 iL e7! By means are irresistible, but White has time
of a sacrifice of the exchange, to take his rook on to the d-file.
Black now obtains serious coun­ 56 ):l aS 'il\>c2
ter chances. 57 !idS
51 8 xb5! On 57 )ii[ xe5, the game would
52 axb5 <;!1 c4 have ended in a draw. For in­
53 il.e7 stance: 57 . . . d3 + 58 'il;>e3 d2 59
!i: d5 d l('ili') 60 !i!: x d l 'il;>xdl 61
'il;> f4 c2 62 il.a3 c l ('Oii' ) 63 il. xcl
wxc I 64 wg5 <;!1d2 65 h4 <;\>e3 66
\fixg6 f4 or 65 wxg6 h4!
57 il. g7
58 h4 il.h8
59
il.d8 il.e5
60 il.b6
The pawn pair is doomed and
after a few more moves Black
resigned.
The reader will be convinced
As a! ready mentioned, the pres­ from the majority of the examples
ence of connected passed pawns shown in this chapter, that there
often compensate for a material can be two possible results of a
loss with interest. After the cor­ struggle with two connected
rect 53 . . . d3! the evaluation of passed pawns: either they ad­
the position would have changed vance, sweeping everything in
again, radically, since even with a their path aside, or they are
rook advantage, it is not easy to stopped by the opponent's pieces
fight the passed pawns. According (by blockading, hindering, separ­
to Kotov's analysis, in this case ating, etc.) and then they are anni­
only 54 g a8! c2 55 !i: c8 + <;\>b3 hilated. In practice, the outcome
would have saved the game of such a struggle is not so
(already there is no talk of a win). straightforward . Sometimes, as a
However, Black wishes to ad­ consequence of an exchange or a
vance his pawns at his own conve­ more complicated forcing opera­
nience and loses important tempi tion, in which the exchange is a
in capturing the white pawn, component, one of the players
 Transition into the Endgame 101

creates a connected passed pawn forming this form of positional

pair with the objective of trans- advantage into some other form.
2 The Exchange in the Endgame
The theoretical study and explor­
ation of simple technical endings
began simultaneously with the
appearance of the first treatises
on the principles of chess. With
the development of chess, a much
greater number of games reached
an endgame. And even in times of
passion for impressive and ro­
mantic chess, there were always
inquisitive and persistent invest­
igators, working for months and
sometimes for years, painstak­
ingly analysing a bishop or a
queen ending. We have such zea­
lots in our times as well. We are
indebted to their work for the
appearance of an enormous
number of reference and text
books available to all chess
lovers. Naturally, it is not pos­
sible to assert that there are abso­
lutely no unexplored areas left in
the theory of endings. We need
only to think of the well-known
endgame, queen and pawn
against queen, to remind our­
selves how cumbersome is the
analysis of endings with even
such a small number of pieces on
the board. And rook endings?
How much there is still to be
investigated!
However, if even after such
studies of technical endgames
there remains so much mystery
that we regard the subject as
'Terra incognita', how much
more remains to be investigated
in the theory of complex multi­
piece endgames. However, there
is nothing surprising in this. The
principles in such endgames are
as complex as those in the mid­
dlegame. The great diversity in
character and material relation­
ship of such endings makes their
study and systematization ex­
tremely difficult. Whereas the as­
sessment of the position in a sim­
ple endgame is usually conclusive
and verdicts of 'a win' or ' a
draw' are claimed, the assessment
of complex endings, even by
experienced chess players is of a
more indistinct character: 'White
stands better', 'Approximate
equality', etc. But if the reader
has managed to be present at the
analysis of games by masters and
grandmasters, he has probably
heard such assessments as 'If the
minor pieces are removed, it's a
win for White' or 'Without the
rooks Black could draw'. In this
kind of analysis, experienced
 The Exchange in the Endgame 103

chessplayers consciously or not, last move 15 �g5 he has set up

interpolate the evaluation of direct threats against his oppon­
complex endings with the evalu­ ent's king. With the object of
ation of well-investigated simple liquidating these threats Black
endings. But how can one reduce embarks on a series of exchanges.
such complex endings down to 1S _ili.xgS
simple ones? How can we 're­ 16 il_xgS <axeS!
move' the minor pieces? And here 17 jl)xeS �xeS
the objective exchange comes to 18 li\ xeS f6
our aid. 19 _ili.xf6 l;! xf6
In words devoted to the prob­
lems of simplification, the im­
portant role of the exchange in
the course of the game is often
emphasized. The exchange is not
only a means of solving some
strategical or tactical problem,
but it is also a natural evolution
of the game, transposing play
from one stage into another.
There are many examples where
the exchange is literally the very
essence of the game. As a result of these defensive
combinations the game has trans­
Podolsky-Nesis posed into a complex ending. As
USSR Carr. Ch. 1977-8 before, White retains some advan­
tage, but it is not as menacing
now as it was in the middlegame.
Nevertheless, very accurate play is
required from Black to secure a
draw.
20 ii_c4 \Wf7
21 gd1 �W e7
22 ade1 jj_c8
By attacking the weak e6 pawn
White succeeds in tying down his
opponent's forces to a maximum.
However, Black retains some
In the popular modern varia­ chances of defence. The com­
tion of the Sicilian Defence I e4 c5 plexity of the exchange operations
2 c3, White succeeded in obtain­ was such that it required more
ing a promising position. With his than just an evaluation of the
104 The Exchange in the Endgame

emerging, superficially unattrac­ transfer his kingside rook to c7

tive position. In this difficult situ­ and deploy his pieces on the
ation simplifications were under­ queenside.
taken not so much to liquidate the 29 g e3
opponent's superiority, but with White guesses his opponent's
the object of its transformation. In plans; however, with this last
such cases it is necessary not only move he gave up control of the
to make an absolute evaluation of fifth rank; by means of a pawn
the complex ending, but also to advance Black expands his living
make a comparative evaluation of space and, significantly, frees the
the possibility of neutralizing the b6 square for his queenside :ook.
adversaries's advantage in the On 29 h4 Black would continue
middlegame and the endgame. with 29 . . . *f6.
23 g4 �d6 29 bS!
24 !1, 5e4 g5! 30 gb4 a6
An important and imaginative 31 a4
move. Black not only blocks the
advance of White's kingside
pawns, but also forms the import­
ant bridgehead f4 for a rook
exchange. The point is that the
plan of defence is as follows:
exchange one pair of rooks,
transfer the bishop to d7; whilst
the king and bishop protect the e6
pawn, the queenside rook would
exert pressure along the c-file, and
the chances would be equal.
Naturally, White is hindering the Both players were trying to
accomplishment of such a perfect reach this position. On first
plan. impressions White could shatter
25 gd4+ �·7 all of his opponent's pawn but­
26 J;e5 h6 tressess and Black would not be
27 .ll dS gb8 able to avoid material losses.
28 .11. c6!? 8 li! However at this critical moment
White succeeds in paralysing Black, with the help of the the­
his opponent's bishop by means matic exchange of one pair of
of an original manoeuvre. How­ rooks, achieves part of his stra­
ever, the pressure on e6 is conse­ tegic plan of defence and also
quently relieved and Black im­ carries out a tactical ruse, based
mediately takes advantage. The on the fact that White cannot
idea of this last skilful move was defend the g4 pawn.
that after 29 . . . ltif6, Black would 31 )i! f4!
 The Exchange in the Endgame 105

32 axbS § xb4 In current chess, with the

33 cxb4 axbS general evolution of chess cul­
34 ;.(e5 § b6! ture, and in particular, with the
A final delicacy. On 35 it.xb5 improvement in the technique of
'ii1 d 6 36 g c5, Black has the un­ defence, it is very rare for a game
pleasant reply: 36 it.d71 37 not to reach the endgame. Hence,
kxd7 § xb4! and White is forced Capablanca's sixth command­
to concede to a draw. ment sounds even more typical:
35 g cS eS 'If a game is considered to be
36 f3 .fu.e6 resolved in the endgame, think
37 it. xbS 'ii1 d6 which are the pieces it is neces­
White manages to win a pawn, sary to retain and which are the
but it is expensive. His pieces have ones for exchanging'.
lost their mobility and one of a In my teaching experience I
variety of positional draws arises have found that it is not easy to
on the board. instil this commandment into
38 'iil f2 kdS young and aggressive chess­
39 l'/ie3 players. Therefore it is particu­
A draw. larly pleasing when one of the
The role of the exchange in the students takes this principle into
endgame is widening. With a practice. For example here is one
limited amount of material, the of the creative games of my stu­
elimination of even one pair of dent, twice youth champion of
pieces abruptly transforms the the USSR and European Junior
situation on the chessboard. Champion, Alexander Khalif­
Moreover, the consequences of a man.
hasty or badly planned exchange
in the endgame cannot usually be Naumkin-Khalifman
corrected. Sochi 1984
In his last lectures Jose Raoul
Capablanca recollected his long­
standing controversies with one
of the strongest grandmasters of
the beginning of the century.
David Janovsky, who remarked
that 'a well-played game must
not reach the endgame . . .' The
great Cuban pointed out that this
mistaken view not only cost
Janovsky many lost games, but
also-much more importantly­
many weaker chessplayers, who We have a complex King's
took his words as a revelation. Indian middlegame on the board
106 The Exchange in the Endgame

and it seems as if the endgame is

still a long way off. Nonetheless,
the exchange of a pair of minor
pieces was carried out with an
assessment of the balance of the
approaching ending.
23 .il_xe4!
An excellent and delicate de­
cision! The knight will be signi­
ficantly more important in the
impending struggle than the
bishop. After the more natural 23 29 "iii' g4!
<Elxe4 24 fxe4 White would The young master again
have no problems. demonstrates his deep under­
24 fxe4 standing of the problems of the
In case of 24 .il. xe4 the knight exchange. This move is not only
would not have been spared, effective, but it also required a
since after 24 . . . <Elxe4 25 fxe4 precise evaluation of the result­
£! f4! Black's initiative would be ing ending. The weakness of the

appreciable. first rank removes the likelihood

24 of a draw in the presence of op­

<El g4
posite coloured bishops.
25 h3
30 "iii' xg4 hxg4
This weakening move was un­
31 :!!, al !!i d2
necessary; however, the Black
32 g gdlg3!
knight's intrusion on e3 could
The White king's cage is shut
not be avoided. For instance, 25
forever! An attempt to win a
l';! xf8 + -;;, xf8 26 � fl -;;, c 8! and
pawn would have been a mistake:
then 27 . . . <Ele3
32 . )'!( xd l + 33 i;! xd l gxh3?,
25 <Ele3
because of 34 g3!, and the black
26 l'! gl � f4
rook has fallen into a trap.
27 -;;,e t!
33 2 xd2 .il_xd2
The strongest continuation.
34 c5
White would quickly lose on 27 A paradoxical situation! There
.il.g3 !H3! 28 gxf3 -;;,d7 or 27 .il.e l is material equality on the board
-;;,d7 28 .il.d2 l'!f3!
with bishops of opposite colour,
27 -;;, d7! and the white rook can burst into
28 "iii' xe3 li\xh4 the seventh rank with great
29 -;;, g3 energy. And yet . . . things are
One's first impression of the bad for White. For instance, 34
position is that Black did not l'! a8 + 'l!lg7 35 l§i c8 .il.xb4 36
anticipate this situation. But li\xc7 + ll;>h6 3 7 li\ xb7 .il_c5 38
 The Exchange in the Endgame 107

g f7 � g5! and Black effectively Positional Preconditions for

has an extra piece-the king! the Exchange in the Endgame
34 il_xb4
35 c6 bxc6 Rozhdestvensky-Nesis
36 dxc6 ).;l f4 Corr. 1982-3
37 );( bl il.cS
38 lii. b8+ wg7
99
39 ll. b7 g f7
B
40 jic4
Spectators, trainers and even
other participants of the tourna­
ment clustered round the two
contestants, who were under time
pressure. It seemed that after the
straightforward 40 g e7 the
game would finish with a draw.
But the control move was a sur­
prise to everyone. Black has a positional advantage
in a complex ending, due to the
40 dS!
41 exd5 greater activity of his pieces; his
!ii f4!
control of the c-file is of particular
42 il.e2 !ii e4
importance. However, the white
43 g b2 )! d4
cavalry safely control the import­
44 1i'. b3 g d2
ant squares on the c-file and pre­
The astonishing dance of the
vent the penetration of the enemy
black rook made a striking
rook into White's camp. The
impression.
exchange of even one of the
45 il.g4 il.f2
knights would clearly favour
46 !;i b7 �f6
Black and his next move leads to
47 d6 l;!c2!
such an exchange.
White resigned. 28 iid5!
I admit, perhaps not quite sen­ It may appear that the bishop
sibly, that l could not restrain could make a career on c4. But he
myself and hugged my pupil. I has a more noble wish and is
was gratified not only by his prepared to sacrifice himself in
outstanding play in this game, exchange for a white knight.
but also by his comprehension of 29 .!!. dl il_xb3
the method of positional evalu­ 30 .!!, xb3 g dc8
ation of the situation consequent Black has firm control of the c­
to the exchange, and this is a true file and with the knight exchanged
indication of the stature of a he can now penetrate into his op­
master. ponent's camp.
108 The Exchange in the Endgame

31 ;?,d6 gel + 37 :ll. d2 g xc3

32 11<1'2 ;:;; 8c2 + 38 )il xb2 ;,; xc3
33 <;t< g3 Z)b6! 39 k;la2 l;! b3
Thus, after a series of
exchanges, we have a rook end­
game with the same material rela­
tionship as would have occurred
in the variation shown in the com­
ments to Black's 35th move, but
now the white rook's position is
absolutely without any prospects.
In such a situation the realization
of an extra pawn is not difficult.
40 11;1'2 ltlf6
41 h4 h5
A knight sacrifice with a mating 42 g al <;�;f5
idea is rare in an ending. The 43 i;i a2
penetration of the rooks along the White is virtually in zugzwang
open line and seizure of the first and the black king comes into
and second ranks provides Black play in a decisive manner.
with an opportunity of setting up 43 e4
a unique mating net. 44 fxe4 + ll; xe4
On 34 li\ xb6 )! g l and White is 45 ll,e2 + <;�;f5
defenceless. For instance, 35 f4 White resigned.
g gxg2+ 36 <;�;f3 f5' 3 7 e4 ;ii cf2 + In the above example Black's
38 <;t<e3 g e2 + 39 <;t<d3 fxe4 + 40 control of the open file was the
<;�;c3 l H3 mate or 35 h3 ill cxg2 + precondition for the exchange of
36 <;t<h4 g5+ 37 ltlh5 §! h2 with bishop for knight. The exchange
mate. of knights and transposition into
White tries to give up a pawn a technical rook endgame was a
and pass into a rook ending. more complex tactical man­
34 gc3 :;\ xc3 oeuvre. Prior to the exchange of
35 <(2)xc3 Z)c4! knights the drastic threat of a
Black arranges for a knight mating net was also used by
exchange, but under conditions Black. In addition to a pawn cap­
beneficial to himself. The immed­ ture, the absence of any counter­
iate exchange of knights would play following the exchange was
naturally not favour Black, since also very significant.
after 35 . . . ji\xc3 36 g xb6 )i:xa3 In this chapter we examine
White would be compensated for positions in which one of the con­
the loss of a pawn by the activity testants has an opportunity of
of his rook. improving his strategic situation
36 ll! d3 <E:\b2 by means of an exchange. We
 The Excfwnge in the Endgame 109

shall depart from clear-cut formal the given position this is an infer­
exchanges based on material, i.e. ior approach and leads to a quick
the result of the exchange will not catastrophe.
be a 'clear' rook or bishop ending. 2 ll: xa6 ;s xa6
We shall not so much be inter­ 3 �xa6 Jiic3
ested in material relationships but 4 it d5 �d4
rather in the positional pre-con ­ 5 it xf7 ;tg7
ditions for the realization (or the 6 ite8 ;Wf6
opportunity) of exchanges. More­ 7 �c7
over, we shall not only be con­ Black resigned.
cerned with exchanges with the Could Black have created
object of exploiting some pos­ greater problems for his opponent
itional advantage, but also with in the realization of his advant­
exchanges undertaken with the age? Let us return to the position
object of saving a difficult pos­ shown in the diagram.
ition, or at least setting up prob­ After I ll. d6 Black missed an
lems to the opponent in the imple­ important defensive oppor­
mentation of his positional tunity-the exchange of White's
advantage. strong knight:
1 .fd.e7
The game may have continued
lvkov-8inesh as follows:
Yugoslavia 1982
2 iii b6
Naturally not 2 );! xa6?, in view
of 2 . . . .fd.xc5.
2 .fd.xc5!
The basic exchange-after a
realistic and objective evaluation
of the position. White's knight is
exchanged even at the high price
of giving him the passed c-pawn.
3 bxc5 <i;le6
4 c6 ;tg7!
After 4 . . . Ji!, e7 White wins
handsomely: 5 Ji!, xa6 <i;lc5 6 c7!
ii!, xc7 7 ii!, c6 !l( xc6 8 .fd.xc6 b4 9
In this position White has a defi­ fl. d5! and the superiority of the
nite advantage; his rook breaks bishop in this position is quite
into the enemy camp along the clear. Or 5 . . . <i;lc7 6 ii!, a7 ii!, xe4 7
d-line with gain of tempo. M, xc7.
l ll: d6 �e6? 5 .fd.d5 ;tf6
Black prefers to maintain 6 f4! 8 a8
bishops of opposite colour, but in 7 .fd.xe61
110 The Exchange in the Endgame

This is White's only chance of

winning-transposition of play
into a rook ending by means of an
exchange.
7 fxe6
s w f3 w e7
As previously, White has a big
advantage, but very accurate play
is required from him in order to
win. Grandmaster Ivkov, for in­
stance, gives the following study­ Not a bad decision! It is diffi­
like variation: 9 ;te4 ;td6 10 cult to force himself to exchange
<;td4 ;tc7 II ;te5 !a d 8 12 s xa6 such a beautiful knight for a bad
llt d3 13 ;g b6 l!( xg3 14 g xb5 bishop, but the American Grand­
;txc6 1 5 llt b6 + ;tc7 1 6 g xe6 master made his move without
8g4 1 7 )l:e7+ ( 1 7 a6 wb8! with hesitation. This is a clear example
a draw) 1 7 . . . ;tb8 18 lii: g7 wa8 of the theme of transformation of
19 a6 ;tb8 20 we4!! wa8 21 wf3 a positional advantage by means
;tb8 22 we3 wa8! 23 we4 '(lrb8 of an exchange. In place of the
24 '(IreS '(lra8 25 a? ll(gl 26 ;tf6 'beautiful' knight White receives
g g4 27 /lt xg6 !1( xf4 + 28 \Y1g5 an open line. This is the funda­
etc. mental precondition of this unex­
Thus, Black did not utilize in pected exchange. Moreover,
this game such an important de­ Black has lost any counterplay for
fensive resource as the exchange, which he hoped for in case of the
and he was unable to offer any inferior 22 a4 .ii. c6! with a subse­
resistance to his opponent. But it quent 23 . . . <tld7.
is precisely the ability to utilize 22
such practical opportunities in 23 !i( cl
difficult positions which is one of 24 s c7
the most important characteristics Exploiting his control of the
of the game. open c-file, Fischer bursts in with
his rook to the seventh rank.
Fischer-Petrosian 24 <tld7
Buenos Aires, 1971 25 )!e2 g6
I n diagram I 02 White's advan­ 26 1!1f2!
tage is evident-he has an extra Having 'primed' all his pieces
pawn on the flank controlling the for work, White brings his king
c5 square, Black's a6 pawn re­ into the struggle.
quires constant protection. In 26 h5
such positions Fischer always 27 f4 h4
plays artistically. Already Black has no more use­
22 <tJxd7+ ful moves left and soon he will be

forced to allow the second white
rook to move to the seventh rank.
He may still have had some
chances on 27 . . . -db6 28 gee?
;;. f6.
28 '8113 fS
29 '81e3 d4+
Black's position would have
been quite hopeless if he allowed
the white king to the dominant
square, d4, but now the white
bishop has far greater scope.
30 '(!rd2 <Elb6
31 ll, ee7 <EldS
32 !1. 17 + '(IreS
33 !l.b7 <Elxb4
34 il.c4!
The bishop comes into play
with decisive force. After 34 .
<Elc6 35 !l. h7 !l. f6 36 g h8 + !!l.f8
37 il.f7 + Black is mated. Black
resigned.
The ending gave Fischer a
breather. Commentators acknow­
ledged this game as the best achie­
vement of the American grand­
master in the match against the
ex-world champion.
An important positional pre­
condition for embarking on
exchanges in the endgame is the
presence of a passed pawn .. As a
rule, with the elimination of the
pieces from the chessboard, the
role of the passed pawn increases,
aggravating the opponent's need
to block or control such a pawn
with one of his pieces, often tak­
ing it out of play. With a mini­
mum amount of material on the
board, the passed pawn therefore
becomes decisive in the appraisal
of the position. The creation of
The Exchange in the Endgame Ill
such a pawn is an important and
sometimes difficult problem.
Experienced players often make
serious concessions in the middle­
game, with the object of creating
such an 'infantryman', and then
hope, by means of simplifications
and exchanges, to guide the game
into a more favourable ending.
Furthermore, sometimes a player
is fortunate in combining the
pleasant with the useful-forming
a passed pawn by an exchange (or
creating threats, enforcing the
exchange).
Polugayevsky-Kavalek
Lucerne 1982
Black's position is cramped. The
white king is very well placed in
this unusual situation. However,
the f5 passed pawn is safely block­
aded and cannot make any pro­
gress for the time being. Polu­
gayevsky tries to form yet
another, more effective, passed
pawn and he succeeds by means
of a threat which enforces an
exchange.
65 il.c61
It is very difficult to parry the
threat 66 §Lb7, since after 65 . .
.
112 The Exchange in the Endgame

jj_c8 there follows the other the­ situation of the adversary's king
matic exchange 66 jj_xe8 + <ii) xe8 can be an important positional
67 <ii) d 8 + �f8 68 f6 (threatening pre-requisite for embarking on
69 .il.h6 +) and unexpectedly, the exchange operations.
'drowsy' passed f-pawn becomes a
queen after the forced 68 . . . <ii) c7 Ambroz-Honfi
69 .il.h6+ <111 e8 70 f7 + . There Trnava 1982
remains nothing for Black but to
exchange bishops and allow his
adversary to form yet another,
very dangerous passed pawn.
65 jj_xc6
66 dxc6 d5
The only way to detain White's
c-pawn. 66 . . . �e7 would not
save Black, in view of 67 <ii) g7!
<ii) c7 68 <ii) h5 <ii) e8 and again the
general thematic exchange decides
the issue: 69 <ii) xf6 <ii) xf6 70
j'j_xf6 + 1!1xf6 71 c7 and the pawn In spite of the limited material,
is promoted to a queen. White's position is preferable
67 c7 <ii) d6 because of the possibility of an
68 <ii:! d 8+ �e7 attack against the king. White's
69 <ii) b7! <iil c8 immediate problem is tile
70 1!1 g7 �d7 exchange of the chief defender of
71 jj_xf6 �xc7 black's fortress-the f6 knight,
72 jj_xeS + �xb7 and thereby opening the f-file for
73 f6 an attacking operation.
Black resigned. l <ii) hS! <ii) eg8
A most important positional A weak attempt to hold on to a
precondition for undertaking ac­ hopeless defensive position. Also
tive operations is a precariously bad is I . . . <ii) xe4, because of 2
situated opponent's king. Natur­ jj_d3 d5 3 �f8 + <ii) g8 4 �b8.
ally, this factor is very important We note that the advance I . . .
in the middlegame, where an at­ d5 would lead, after 2 jj_xd5!
tack on the king is one of the <ii) xd5 3 exd5 cxd5 4 �f8 + <ii) g8 5
natural and effective ways of �b8 to a position occurring in the
achieving victory. In the endgame actual game.
this method of evaluating the 2 j'j_xg8!
position is just as valid, despite This opens the f-file. 2 <ii) xf6
the sharp reduction of the number would be a mistake because of 2
of pieces. In the final stages of the . . . <ii) xf6 and Black can hold the
game� an uneasy or precarious position.
 The Exchange in the Endgame 113

2 -2\xgS interesting attempt to hold the

3 wf8 position would have been 1 . . .
The exchange achieves the -2\xhS!? 2 '/li'f8 + w h7! However,
desired result. The line is opened Black missed this interesting op­
and the White queen completely portunity.
ties down the opponent's forces.
The weak b7 and d6 pawns are Yudasin-Hjartarson
indefensible now. Leningrad 1984
3 d5
4 exd5 cxd5
5 ·;;;·b8 iii' l7
6 -�;·xeS+ 1Wh7
Making use of the unfortunate
position of the black king, White
captures a pawn and the game
enters the stage of the realization
of the material advantage.
7 lflh2 :Z:,e7
s wh3 wg6
9 e4 !')c6 The position on the board
10 'i!i'd6+ wh7 could certainly not be regarded as
1 1 exd5 :Z:, e7 an endgame. However, White
12 ""'e5 4:)g6 accomplishes a transition into an
13 '/li'f5 endgame intending, by means of
Black resigned. an eventual exchange of minor
In the above example a prof­ pieces, to exploit the unfortunate
itable exchange led to White's situation of the black king in the
seizure of a large expanse of space resulting rook ending.
and a simultaneous attack against 42 exf5! 'IO'xg6
the king and the weak pawns on 43 fxg6
the queenside, thereby restricting White has obtained the desired
the mobility of the black pieces. position. With the help of the
The question arises, could Black exchange, the e4 pawn passed on
himself, in this difficult defensive to g6 and closed the cage of the
position have made use of such a Black king. The weakness of the
defensive resource as the eighth rank is now a decisive fac­
exchange? tor in the evaluation of the posi­
Let us return to the position tion.
shown on diagram 104 after 1 43 <Eld4
40 h5! With the move 1 . . . €legS 44 JiLxd4 cxd4
Black allowed the exchange, bene­ 45 ll( xd4
ficial to White, also retaining his In the resulting rook endgame
very strong Knight on h5. An White's advantage is not so much
114 The Exchange in the Endgame

the extra pawn, but rather the is difficult to single out any spe­
unsafe position of the black king. cific individual factor. Often such
45 aS preconditions are entangled with
46 h4 8 aS each other and it is necessary to
47 Jl: a4 1t1 g8 examine them as a whole. In the
In case of 47 . . . h5 the white example from the game between
king moves to g5 unhindered and Ambroz and Honfi, White
captures the black pawn. Now the exploited both the precarious
white pawns advance. placing of the opponent's king
48 h5 I!Jf8 and the presence of pawn weak­
49 g4 '8';e7 nesses. The exchange also plays
50 f4 1!Jd6 an important role in positions
Black succeeds in centralizing where the insecure position of the
his king, but at what cost? After king is combined with the pres­
appropriate preparations White's ence of passed pawns.
breach on the king's flank cannot
be averted. Andrianov-Efimov
51 '8'; g2 )il a6 USSR 1982
52 ltlf3 �t�e6
53 we4 1![ a8
54 I!Jd4 '8';d6
55 wc4 1![ c8 +
56 1!Jd3 8 c5
57 !l: d4+ I!Je7
58 )il c4!
Exploiting the threat of a trans­
ition into a won pawn endgame,
White forces the black rook back
from its active position.
58 )il d5 +
59 '8';e4 !!( d7 There is a tense endgame on the
60 J!! c8 J!! a7 board. White has a strong passed
61 lli g8 I!Jd6 pawn in the centre, but Black has
62 f5 a4 two passed pawns on the queen­
63 f6! side and a material advantage.
And now-a decisive breach. And yet the decisive factor in
63 gxf6 evaluating of the position is the
64 g7 )'!( d7 precarious situation of the black
65 lflf5 king. However, it is only with the
Black resigned. help of an exchange that this cir­
In the study of the problems of cumstance can be emphasized and
the positional preconditions for exploited. In order to eliminate
exchange in complex endgames, it the Black king's defences, White
 The Exchange in the Endgame 115

embarks on a plan associated with 11 gf7!

the exchange of light-coloured A worthy ending!
bishops. Black resigned.
I ;,se6! 21 d7 It seems as if in one moment a
I . . . k; xe6 loses quickly, since profitable exchange has demol­
after 2 dxe6 the knight is lost, and ished Black's reliable defensive
if the Black rook moves away, fortifications. White has utilized
there follows the thematic 2 ice4! the advantage of the two bishops
2 .ii_ e4! g g8 in the well-known way: one of the
The exchange of rooks is unac­ bishops can always be exchanged.
ceptable for Black: 2 .g xe6 3
dxe6 for instance, 3 . . . 21c5 4 Hort-Hodgson
.ii. xg6 + wxg6 5 h5 + ! l'!lg7 6 Lugano 1983
h6 + or 3 . . . 21 e5!? 4 e7 21 f3 + 5
\'!lg2 .ll_e8 6 icxh7 c3 7 .ii.e4! <i'ld4
8 g6 and White wins.
3 .ii. xg6+ 8 xg6
4 ';!e7 �f8
5 & f7 &g8
After the exchange of bishops
the black rook is forced to work
hard. With the disappearance of
the light-coloured bishops from
the board, both of White's ad­
vantages (the passed d-pawn and
the compromised placement of We examine another interesting
the black king) are significantly example on the same theme.
enhanced. White has the passed d-pawn and
6 i.d6! the situation of the black king is
A decisive blow . The black compromised. Nevertheless, it is
forces are clearly overloaded by not easy to find the best continua-
cares and they suffer material loss. tion.
6 wxh4 40 g h6!
7 );( xf8 3 g7 A paradoxical decision! We are
After a rook exchange the black piously told to believe that an
king is unable to catch the passed active rook's place should be on
pawn: 7 . . g xf8 8 .ii.xf8 wxg5 9 the seventh rank, and that it is
d6. difficult to think of a better place
8 .ii.eS jg d7 for it. And yet the exchange of
9 g6! g3+ this rook is the key which opens
Naturally not . . . hxg6 10 the black box .
.ii.f6 + and I I )!( h8 mate. 40 );l xh6
10 .ii. xg3+ \WgS 41 il_xh6 g eS
116 The Exchange in the Endgame

42 .E.f4 ltlb7 Black cannot exchange rooks,

It would have been more cun­ and on 55 . . . g d8 the g-pawn's
ning to try 42 . . . €\d5, hoping for march is decisive. Black resigned.
43 M xe6 !! xe6 44 d7 €\xf4 45 d8 In previous examples we have
( "ill' ) !;! e l + 46 <;trf2 €\d3 + 47 already seen that a weakness in
<;trf3 €\xb4, after which the battle the opponent's pawn structure
is still ahead. However, White can be an important pre-con­
would have had strong dition for an exchange in com­
answer-43 .E.g5! bination with other factors. We
43 !;!h2 'ifrcS shall examine the final part of a
One can understand that Black well-known game, in which the
wants to bring his king into the pawn weaknesses in the oppon­
battle as quickly as possible, and enfs position was the main incen­
yet 43 g d8 would have given
. tive for embarking on an
him more chances of defence . exchange operation.
44 !! h7 €\d7
45 <;trg2! Gligoric-Stahlberg
Beginning of the victorious Zurich 1953
march of the white king.
45 a6
46 l!;>h3 l!;>dS
47 l!;>h4 lf;>cS
White's passed pawn is
blocked, but Black is virtually
helpless. Two pieces are deployed
to block the pawn-the king and
the knight, thereby diminishing
the effective fighting forces; this of
course is a prohibited luxury.
48 lf;>gS 'ifrdS
49 <;trh6 lf;>cS The position of Black's pawns
50 <;t? g7 is reminiscent of the ruins of a
The final objective o f the white collapsed fortress, but material
king's march is the f7 square. equality leaves him with some
Black embarks on a desperate at­ measure of hope. However, the
tempt to free himself, but this following exchange combination
leads to a quick catastrophe. deprives Black of any such illu­
50 eS sions.
51 dxeS €1 xeS 25 €\e4! €1 xe4
52 l!;>f6 €\d7+ 26 !!. xd7
53 \f;>xfS gf8+ A double blow. The b7 and g4
54 l!;>e6 )!eS+ pawns cannot be defended simul­
55 'i!, e7 taneously.
 The Exchange in the Endgame 117

26 -t)c5
27 'g, c7 <2)e6
28 'g, xb7 <2)d6
29 ::i,d7 8 b6
30 b4
White acts with great energy.
He threatens the pawn advance
c4-<;5 etc.
30
31 <E!c4
32 <2)xe5
White gives up the c-pawn, but plusses on Black's side should not
in return completely annihilates be underestimated. He also has a
his rival's kingside. passed d-pawn, a well placed
32 g xc2 bishop, and the position of the
33 §J_xb5 axb5 white king is not absolutely safe.
34 <2)xl7 wrs It is this last circumstance which
35 <2)xh6 suggests to White the idea of
Black was relieved' of his pawn exchanging one pair of rooks. The
weaknesses by their loss, and after classicar postulate-exchange the
a few more moves he resigned. rival's active pieces without 'spill­
From the preceding examples ing' one's own advantage is rele­
we may draw the conclusion that vant here to the fullest degree.
the object of an exchange in the 53 l';! 6c5! §Le3+
endgame is to enlarge those posi­ 54 19ih2 )lxc5
tional advantages which were a Black cannot avoid the
pre-<:ondition to the exchange. exchange of his active rook, since
However, not infrequently, there 54 . . . g f6 is followed by 55 1!. h5
are cases where the opponent has with the double threat of 56
a trump card of his own which � h8 + and 56 1!. xh4
enables him to equalize or to par­ 55 I! xc5 \l;>d7
tially neutralize this advantage. In 56 g3
such situations a purposeful In this way the white king ac­
exchange can be carried out in quires the desired activity.
order to suppress the opponent's 56 hxg3 +
counterplay. 57 \l;>xg3 .itd2
The best chance. Black is pre­
Torre--Ribli pared to give up his bishop for
Alicante 1983 White's pawns on the queen's
flank at the first opportunity,
White's advantage is shown by after which the realization of the
the menacing passed pawns on the material advantage would be
queen's wing, but some positional more difficult.
118 The Exchange in the Endgame

58 gd5+ 11re6 The reason for such mistakes is

59 ;g b5! the difficulty of evaluation and
After 59 g xd4 Black would calculation in a complex ending.
carry through his idea: 59 The prevalence of these mistakes
§txb4 60 ;g xb4 .!! xaS with draw­ and careless slips is a negative but
ing chances. highly objective proof of the im­
59 lt;>d6 portance of the subject under ex­
60 i\e5 §tel + amination.
Considerably more stubborn
would have been 60 . . . lt;>e6, try­ Polugayevsky-Malaniuk
ing to guide the game into an USSR 1983
ending already examined. For in­
stance 61 �c4 §tc3 62 'il;>f3 d3 63
lt;>e3 d2 64 i\xd2 §txb4! 65 g xb4
:!!( xaS.
61 111 13 f6
62 i\c4+ 1t;>c6
The black king tries to fight the
passed pawns alone but he gets
into trouble. On 62 . . . 'il;>e6 White
would have faced some difficult
problems.
63 ,!! cS + 'il;>b7
23 €l e6?!
64 i�d6+ lt;>a6
65 !! c6 + Clearly White wishes to
Unexpectedly Black falls into a exchange from the open c-file,
mating net. where it could be pinned. And yet
65 'il;>a7 the move, deriving from both of
66 g c7 + 1t;>a6 these two considerations, was un­
67 ,!! c 6+ 'il;>a7 satisfactory: 23 e4! was necessary,
68 a6! g d8 blocking Black's e5 pawn and
The pawn cannot be taken: 68 denying activity to his dark col­
. . . §txb4 69 i� b S + 'il;>b8 70 !!: e6! oured bishop. Analysis of the
with a convincing finish. position shows that after 23 e4
69 ilb5 + 11!/aS Black would not have succeeded
70 g c7 in exploiting the precarious posi­
Black resigned. tion of the knight on the c-file.
We may find examples in the For instance, 23 f3!? 24 g3
games of good chess players, even §th3 25 !!: hi l\l ac8 26 :!!( xh3
masters, of exchanges made in §xeS + 27 �t;> b l and White's
error (or omitting the exchange in position is preferable.
error) resulting in the loss of half 23 §txe6
a point. 24 §txe6 e4!
 The Exchange in the Endgame 119

This pawn advance seals ever­ since the remaining white rook
thing. White has perhaps under­ will be needed to defend the weak
estimated this move. The opposite g3 pawn constantly, it being on a
coloured bishops are to Black's black square.
advantage and his far advanced 37 .!!, xeS 1lxe5
pawns can cause a lot of trouble 38 )! el !;l e7
for White. 39 !;l e3 'il;>f6
25 1Ld5 l!l ae8 40 <19a2 !i: d7
26 exf4 !;l xf4 41 1ld3
27 lll de1 White does not allow his op­
The b7 pawn cannot be taken: ponent's rook on to the second
27 1!.xb7? g b8 28 g d7 e3 29 f3 rank, but the black rook works
;! b4! well on the sixth rank.
27 g4 41 i! d6!
28 g3?! 42 'il;>b1 hS
But now it is worth trying the 43 'i!;>c2 il\c6+
apparently dangerous 28 il_xb7!, 44 <�Ybl !!'. b6
since on 28 . g b8 29 ll. xe4 and
. . 45 b4 !)( c6!
White is holding on. Black skilfully creates a new
28 H
i S! weakness in the white position, the
29 il_b3 c3 square, and his rook takes it.
Alas, now both black pawns are 49 1le4 !i:c3
poisoned. After exchange of rooks the g3
29 i;! xh5 pawn is lost. This exchange illus­
30 )! e2 )i;; he5 trates the theme 'realization of
31 g fe1 .!l.f6 material advantage'.
The black bishop leaves the White resigned.
long diagonal for some more im­
portant work. Suetin-Gulko
32 'i!;>bl 1lg5 Moscow 1983
33 1lc2 e3
34 fxe3 1L xe3
35 a3 <�Y g7
It is necessary to bring up the
king. The exchange of the four
rooks would have been prema­
ture: 35 . . . 1Lf4 36 8 xe5 )!( xe5 37
i;! xe5 1Lxe5, because of 38 1lf5
h5 39 1lg6 with a drawn bishop
ending.
36 i! fl 1lf4!
But now the exchange of one Black's small advantage is
pair of rooks is useful for Black, defined chiefly by the superiority
120 The Exchange in the Endgame

of the knight over his rival's Avoiding the worst, White

bishop and by the activity of his offers a rook exchange, and Black
rook on c5. After the correct 27 has no reason to refuse it.
;g c4! <i)e5 28 g xc5 dxc5 White 35 lflxc4 i HS
would have a fully defensible Triumph for Black's strategy.
position. However, he does not He wins the a5 pawn.
make use of such defensive re­ 36 il_c2 g eS +
sources as the exchange of his 37 ltid3 ):4 xa5
opponent's active piece. 38 !1!.bl
27 we3? <i)e5 An instructive moment-
White is now deprived of the exchange of rooks would lead into
move 28 g c4, moreover 28 a technically won minor piece
<i)c6 is threatening, and White endgame. Naturally, White
must take measures to defend the avoids such an exchange.
a5 pawn. 38 h6
28 ):! al .;;) c6 39 I!Pd2 gdS+
29 ;g 4a4 14 18! 40 \tle2 aS!
After the tiresome duty of 41 /!l hl ii! bS
guarding the b7 pawn the second 42 b3 !!, cS
black rook hurries to develop ac­ 43 ltid2 bS
tivity on the kingside. 44 h4 b4!
30 �trd2 rs And now having fixed the
31 c3 g bS! weakness on b3, Black weakens
Black stretches his rival's the dark squares in his opponent's
defences skilfully. The immediate position in a decisive manner.
31 . . . !!: e5 would be answered by 45 cxb4
32 .il_c2. The text move forces Or 45 c4 .;;) d4 46 hxg5 hxg5 47
White to place his king on the c2 i<i h 7 + lf!f6 threatening the de­
square. cisive 48 . . . d5.
32 lf!c2 geS! 45 axb4
33 I!Pd3 46 hxgS hxgS
It is curious that Black's threats 47 � h7 + �trf6
can only be repelled with the help 48 ):! b7
of the king, since the rest of his 48 !!, h6 + would be bad 48 . . .
pieces are burdened with defens­ �J�e5 49 g g6 I!Pf4 and 50 l!, xe6? is
ive functions. All of this is a not possible because of 50
consequence of the activity of the g xc2 + .
black pieces, and in particular of 48 .;;) d4
not exchanging the black rook in 49 §l.dl gbS
time, which is now placed beauti­ 50 li(h7
fully on the fifth rank. A familiar motif. White does
33 fxe4 not consent to a rook exchange on
34 !!,xe4 g xe4 any account.

50 ;;d5
51 g b7?
Losing a second pawn, and
with it the game, but the better 5 1
lfi e l €lb5 52 .il_e2 €)c3 5 3 .il_c4
f!,dl + 54 11;> !2 d5 would still not
save White.
51 €)xb3 +
White resigned. In case of 52
\l»el €)c5 he could not play 53
.!!. xb4? in view of 53 . . . €)d3 + .
In the presence of important
positional pre-conditions, not
only the exchange but also the
threat of an exchange can be de­
cisive. 'The threat is stronger than
its execution'-this classicial aph­
orism is very appropriate in chess
circles.
Often it is not possible to cate­
gorize events on the chessboard.
One of the protagonists dictates
his will during a struggle, utiliz­
ing, though not always realizing, a
series of strong threats. The ar­
senal of such threats is very wide
in chess: sacrifice of bishop on h7
or the formation of an isolated
pawn in the rivars camp, penetra­
tion of the seventh rank with the
rooks, or the prevention of coun­
terplay. In the endgame in par­
ticular, the threat of transposing
into a technica lly won ending by
means of an exchange is often
effective. In avoiding such an
exchange the opponent is forced
to go into still greater material
and positional concessions.
Naturally no skilled chessplayer
allows an exchange leading to
catastrophe. Hence, sometimes a
move made during the course of
The Exchange in the Endgame 121
the game seems incomprehensible
to inexperienced players. Why did
the master avoid the exchange,
though this is clearly bad? Natur­
ally, the experienced player knows
that this is 'bad', but he does not
wish to go down submissively in a
hopeless, well-known ending.
Hebert-Portisch
Rio de Janiero 1979
The bishop in this position is
clearly stronger than the knight. It
discharges X-rays through the
weak e4 pawn on to the white
king. These positional pre-con­
ditions suggest the subsequent
move.
$.1 d4
A queen exchange is threatened
followed by transition into a
pawn endgame. For instance, 2
<;!;> f3 'ii\' xd3 + 3 cxd3 .il_xa4 4 bxa4
b3 and Black wins. A queen
exchange by White is also hope­
less for him: 2 'iij·xd4 exd4 3 ltif3
d3! 4 cxd3 .il_ xa4 5 bxa4 b3, and
the pawn cannot be stopped. The
above varia lions explain White's
'strange' decision.
2 'ii\'e2 .il_xe4+
122 The Exchange in the Endgame
<A>fl .§.fS
and White resigned.
Studying the problem of pos­
itional pre-conditions
exchange in an ending, we cannot
leave out a discussion of the no­
torious question: 'which piece is
the stronger, the bishop or the
knight?'
Except for personal taste, in
evaluating the strength of the
minor pieces it is necessary to
study the specific peculiarities of
the position objectively. Begin­
ners of chess are accustomed to
compare the strength
pieces with pawns. On this par­
ticular scale the strength of the
bishop or knight is approxim­
ately equal to that
pawns. This is an absolute and
invariable calculation
strength of the minor
However, in addition to these ab­
solute constants, there is also the
relative strength of every piece,
which is much more important,
and which is dependent on a
whole series of factors. First and
foremost one should consider the
'impact' of the piece (i.e.
number of squares it controls), its
safety (the independence of the
square it occupies),
(proximity to the main struggle),
mobility (i.e. agility of the piece,
ability to quickly transfer from
one part of the board to another),
and finally, coordination
other pieces. In the expressive
terms of the well-known Len­
ingrad master and theoretician
Lisitsin, these five factors give a
·correction coefficient' to the ab­
solute strength of the pieces. It is
understood that the strength of a
for the minor figure changes in accord­
ance with the character of the
position. Nevertheless it is pos­
sible to indicate some general
principles. In open positions the
bishop placed on diagonals free
of pawns is generally stronger
than the knight. It is particularly
superior to the knight when there
are passed pawns present, since
the bishop can support the ad­
vance of his pawns from afar,
of the and at the same time control the
situation on the other flank.
Again in a battle with enemy
pawns, the bishop is more fre­
of three quently stronger than the knight.
The superiority of the knight
of the over the bishop is apparent in
pieces. closed positions, in which free­
dom of movement of the bishop
is limited by pawn chains.
Although the knight is not so effi­
cient, it can block the opponent's
passed pawns beautifully. More­
over it cooperates very well with
the queen and sometimes together
the with the rook it can set up mating
threats for the enemy king.
These general considerations of
activity the relative strength of knight and
bishop are useful to us in the
section dealing with the transition
from a complex ending into a
technical endgame of 'knight
with against bishop'. However, in a
study of the positional pre-con­
ditions, the exchange of the
knight for the bishop must always
be taken into consideration.
 The Exchange in the Endgame 123

Svenningsson--Maeder minor pieces on the board gives

lOth Corr. World Ch.
We have a complex King's
Indian endgame on the board. Let
us compare the relative strengths
of the minor pieces. Comparing
the same pieces, the strength of
the knights is approximately
equal. At first glance the li!ack
White the opportunity of holding
on to equality. In order to high­
light White's disadvantages,
Black only needs to set his bishop
against his adversaries' knight.
This consideration suggested the
far from obvious decision of the
German student. The exchange of
the formidable black bishop is
fully justified in this case.
22 iJ.xc3
23 bxc3 �a6
24 ll: gl �c7
25 g4
White hurries to activate his
rook, but in doing so he concedes
the important f5 square, which is
soon occupied by the black
knight. The preliminary 25 h3 is
too slow because of 25 . . 8 e4!
.

knight is placed somewhat more 25 fxg4

actively, but the white kight fulfils 26 8 xg4 !!, e4
extremely important functions; it 27 ltt f3 l!i c4
protects the a2 and d5 pawns and 28 .®.d3 �e8
controls the weak e4 square. 29 il.cl
Moreover it has good prospects in Maeder remarked jokingly that
conjunction with the threat 23 the black knight's opposite
.£) b5 (22 . a6 is bad since 23 a3
. . number made only two moves in
and the black knight is lost). A this game, there and back, and
comparison of the relative then returned to its original
strengths of the bishops is clearly square.
in Black's favour, since the white 29 �g7
bishop, constrained by its own 30 l!! g5 !H6
pawn at f4 and by the hostile Black covers the g6 square so
pawn c5, only fulfils defensive that after driving back the white
functions. Thus in every indi­ rook, his knight can move onto
vidual comparison of strength we the domineering f5 square.
find a small plus on Black's side. 31 we2 h6
But chess is not about such ele­ 32 li! g4 'l;>h7
mentary arithmetic, and two 33 h3 �fS
small pluses do not always give a The Odyssean black knight
big one. The presence of four finishes the game triumphantly.
124 The Exchange in the Endgame

His decisive superiority over the 24 €)b6

white bishop is not in question. 25 ee2 f5
34 <;!;>dl !Jl a4 White is deprived of the oppor­
White is unable to defend his tunity to gain a tempo by means
pawn weaknessess. 35 a3 is an­ of 26 €)g3
swered by 35 . . . c4 and the im­ 26 l!;>el
portant d5 pawn is lost. Also bad 27 g c2
is 35 >'I g2, in view of 35 . . . c4 and 28 Qlg3?
the ferocious knight wins a rook: White's position is definitely
36 !!: f3 Qlh4 or 36 g dd2 Qle3 + . worse, but with this passive
White resigned. his game is finally ruined.
chances would have been
Euwe-Reshevsky after the active 28 Qlc3! with the
Moscow 1948 idea that 28 Ql xc4 could
answered by 29 Ql xe4.
28 l!;>e6
29 'Zlfl ll. d3
30 Qlg3 gS
The start of a pawn storm on
the kingside. White does not even
have a small chance of
this attack.
31 �·2
32 '2lg3
33 'Zl fl
34 f3
22 1l,c3
White does not wish to
White put definite hopes into to passive play and opens
this move. After the 'obvious' 22 game, but this only plays
. . . e b6 the white bishop retreats Black's hands.
to e I, and a black rook would be 34 Ii b3
tied down to the defence of the a 35 fxe4 fxe4
pawn, and the d2 square would be 36 l;! f2 tzlb2
safely covered. But the 'not Black does not allow his op­
obvious' followed: ponent the use of the open f-file,
22 e xc3! since on 37 )4[7, 37 . . . Qld3 +
23 )!i xc3 e4 wins.
24 Qlgl 37 li(c2 Qld3 +
In case of 24 Q) e l the knight is 38 l!;>e2
l:i\ 1'8
placed even worse than in the Now the second rook bursts
game and Black would continue into the white camp.
as in his actual text move, 24 . . 39 '2ld2 a f2 +
Ql b6 followed by 25 . . . g ad8 40 l'll d l gb2

41 g xb2 €)xb2+
42 'i!icl !l; xg2
and White resigned.
Transition From a Complex to
a Simple Endgame With
Material Equality
Having familiarized ourselves
with the basic positional pre-con­
ditions for exchanges into com­
plex endings, we move to the
question of transition from a
complex multi-piece endgame
into a simple, technical one.
But before going into the ex­
amination of such examples, clas­
sified by the resulting ending
(rook, bishop, etc.), it is necessary
to note that such a transition is
not easy to accomplish by a series
of simple exchanges. In a game
between highly skilled chess
players, such simplifications are
usually accomplished by a com­
bination of general strategic plan­
ning and preliminary careful
preparations. Complex trans·
itions must be examined objec­
tively, in the light of all the rele­
vant factors of the situation, and
sometimes taking into account
circumstances outside the boun­
daries of the chessboard. The hid­
den psychological make-up of the
protagonists, personal styles, the
amount of time remaining on the
clocks, the stage of the tourna­
ment and a whole host of other
factors have a bearing on the cho­
sen continuation, leading to
changes in the course of the game.
The Exchange in the Endgame 125
We begin with a complex and
dramatic struggle.
Tukmakov-Kovacevic
Hastings 1982-3
This multi-piece position could
be classified as an endgame based
on the one criterion-the absence
of queens. Black's position is not
easy. His opponent has two
strong bishops and considerable
pressure on the queenside. How­
ever, subsequent events develop
with cinematographic speed.
18 h61
With this modest move Black
enforces simplification, but in
point of fact, play is transposed
from the middlegame into a com­
plex endgame. We should note
that Black cannot move 18 . . .
€) b6? in view of 1 9 axb5 §l.xh3 20
bxa6!
19 §l.xf6+
Forced; withdrawal of the
Bishop would cost his light col­
oured colleague: 19 §l.f4 g5! with
the idea of 20 . . . g4. Such a
tactical nuance permits the ac­
complishment of an important
126 The Exchange in the Endgame

exchange and changes the whole Black has strong counterplay

strategic pattern of the game. on the kingside. In time pressure,
19 <Elxf6 such positions are difficult
20 il.xc8 )il exc8 both players-one faulty
The position has simplified, could be irreperable.
which is a definite achievement 30 exd5
for Black. White plays with cir­ It is worth considering: 30
cumspection. The hasty 21 ax5? dxe4! 31 <Elxe4 g fl with sharp
would give the initiative to Black: play.
21 . . . axb5 22 !;! xa8 g xa8 23 30 <Elxd5
g xb5 lil a! + 24 !!; b l l\la2 25 31 <El xc4 !;l f2 +
g bl ll!c2 26 <Elbl <Ele4. 32 <;19d3 !i! xg2
21 f3! li! cb8 3,3 <Ele3
22 1Wf2 A crucial decision. With
Black would have gained a exchange of knights the endgame
pawn in the variation: 22 axb5 becomes treache.rous. The White
axb5 23 g xa8 g xa8 24 )i, xb5 knight could have been useful in
!!( a2 25 <El b l ll\e2. the struggle against the passed
22 bxa4 pawns. After 33 g aS <El f4 + 34
23 g xb8 l!'( xb8 \!ie4 g xh2 35 <Ele5 <Ele2 the game
24 li;>e2 would quickly finish in a draw.
In case of the immediate 24 33 <2)xe3
!!; xa4 !!: b2 25 'i!;>e2 ;gl. c2 26 g a3 34 <;19xe3 );! xh2
g c I a position would arise with 35 <;19e4?
double-edged chances. A decisive mistake. Necessary
24 <Ele8! was 35 c4 g4, though even here
A strong manoeuvre. The c7 very accurate play would have
square is the best place for the been required from White. On 35
knight. d5, strong is 35 . . . lii h3 + 36
25 )l! xa4 <Elc7 <;19d2. The white king could not
26 <i!idl have moved on the fourth rank
On 26 e4 Black has a strong and (in contrast to his coJieague)
answer-26 . . . <Elb5! would not have been able to take
26 f5 part in the battle with his oppon­
This move leads to complete ent's passed pawns. The foJiowing
equality, but White continues to variation may have occurred: 36
play for a win. . . . h5 37 d6 <;19f7 38 d7 li;>e7 39
27 \!ic2 !!; d4 li;>e8 40 c4 g h4.
Or 27 e4 fxe4 28 fxe4 g5! and 35 ft., f2!
Black has counter chances. Cutting off the king from the
27 g5 passed pawns.
28 e4 fxe4 36 )! xa6 g4
29 fxe4 !US 37 c4 h5!
 The Exchange in the Endgame 127

Black could still have made a Guik<r-Vasyukov

mistake-37 . . . g3? 38 g a3 g2 39 Moscow 1983
!'i g3 + .,f6 40 .,e3 >;c2 4 1 <;Wf3
draws.

38 cS g3
39 <;We3 g f8
A t this moment White's Hag
fell and he conceded defeat. The
game may have finished with the
following piquant ending: 40
i:!, a l h4 41 g g ! \ilg6 42 d5 \ilg5
43 c6 \ilg4 44 d6 h3 45 c7 h2 46
� fl ! l!l e8 + ! 47 lild2 g2 48 d7
:.4 e2 + ! White has the advantage of the
I t is interesting and instructive two bishops, but in the presence
to note how each exchange led to of the two beautifully placed
an improvement in the position black rooks, this is negligible.
of the black pieces and to their 23 il_aS!
increased activity. The move leads to the exchange
In endings with an open centre of one pai r of rooks. It is i mport­
the bishop is, as a rule, stronger ant for White to deprive the black
than a knight. The advantage of pieces of the opportunity to
two bishops against two knights become active.
is particularly notable. In prac­ 23 l!l d7
tice we do not meet with such a The only move; bad is 23
material relationship very often. 1',c8 in view of 24 )l( ac l , and
The presence of two pieces some­ Black loses material.
times levels out this superiority. 24 !:! adl! !:! xdl
If we also have queens on the It is necessary to note that with
board, then the strategic pattern this exchange, Black gives his
of the contest is reminiscent of heart away, conceding the d-file to
the middlegame, and the main White and condemning himself to
factor in evaluating the position a prospectless defence. But there
is the safety of the kings. In com­ were no alternatives.
plex rook endings, particularly 25 !:!xdl <2l b5
with four rooks, often the deci­ The battle between the two
sive criteria of evaluation is the bishops and the two knights is
activity of these powerful long­ very instructive.
range pieces. The question of the 26 il_fl a6
realization of the advantage of 27 ll.dS ll. b8
the two bishops over two knights 28 <;t;>g2 <2l f6
recedes in to a second plan. 29 !:!dl e e4
128 The Exchange in the Endgame

30 !;! dS .Sf6 bishops but he now has

31 g cS .S e4 menacing passed c-pawn and
32 !;! c4 pieces are more active than
White unhurriedly regroups his of his opponent. Is this
forces in the best possible manner, for victory?
not giving a chance to the black 37
knights of activity. Without con­ Evidently expecting 38
trol of the central squares Black Then after 38 8 c8 39
has difficulties in reorganizing his Q)e5 there would indeed be
knights. lity. But White has a
32 i,gi e8 answer. Black should ha•ve ]Jla:yed
The essence of the position is
that Black must avoid exchanging
his remaining rook, since the two
bishops would then be stronger
than the two knights in the end­
game. Hence 32 . . . <£) bd6? would
be bad, since after 33 !;! b4! g xb4
34 il_xb4 <£) b5 35 1¥10 White has cS!
more chances. � c8 +
33 il_d3 Qlf6 c6
34 g cs The situation is now
The hasty 34 l! c6 Qld4 35 !;! b6 in White's favour. The
Qld7' would allow Black a satis­ of the second bishop
factory defence. knight decides the game.
34 g bS 41 il_xb6! g xb6
35 il_c4 Qla3! 42 \Wf3 aS
36 li(c6 43 \We4 a4
White is prepared to give up a 44 1¥;>d5
bishop for a knight in order to Black resigned.
obtain a passed pawn. In case of The variation 44 . . . )! a6 45
36 il_xa6 g xb3 37 g c8 + �¥rh7 38 g a5 + 46 \Wc6 a3 47 g d8 a2
!!( f8 the struggle would be limited c8('101') al ('ili') 49 l!( h8 Mate
to the kingside and after 38 . . fully convincing.
Qlc2 threatening 39 ... g a3 In our view the above ending
Black has a chance of saving the a very good example
game. complex multi-piece
36 <£\ xc4 which the exchange of one
37 bxc4 rooks followed by th<: ex:ch;art!�e C>f
This forced exchange of minor
pieces has significantly trans­
formed the position. White has
lost the advantage of the two a transition into

rook endgame. Thus White rea­
lized an apparently insignificant
positional advantage.
In the last two examples we met
with complex multi-piece end­
games, in which exchanges led to
an eventual transition into rook
endings. We should point out that
in spite of the existence of numer­
ous reference and handbooks on
the theory of rook endgames,
there is such a wide variety and
high degree of technical com­
plexity associated with these end­
ings that they are very difficult to
manage in practical play. There is
a very wide range of various tech­
nical resources in rook endings
and the ability to utilize these
resources has always been the
hallmark of the highest class of
professional chessplayers. Capa­
blanca and Rubinstein, for in­
stance, were the classical great
past masters of the rook endgame.
Statistics of numerous competi­
tions show that approximately
half of all endgames finish in rook
endings. Their study is therefore
of great practical importance.
However, we do not propose to
enter into an investigation of such
endings. Our aim is to teach the
reader to guide complex multi­
piece endings into a profitable
rook ending, for instance, a rook
ending with an advantage which
can be exploited in further play,
or in the case of defending in a
difficult situation, to guide play
into a position with specific draw­
ing tendencies. We have already
emphasized the radical changes
The Exchange in the Endgame 129
which take place when transpos­
ing play from one stage of the
game into another, illustrated in
examples of transitions from mid­
dlegamc into the endgame. We
shall now be interested in techni­
cal exchanges resulting in transi­
tions into pure rook endgames,
i.e. we introduce a formalization
of such examples based on the
material remaining on the chess­
board.
Karpov-Hort
Tilburg 1979
Black's last move 56 . . g6? was
a mistake and the world cham­
pion demonstrates this convinc-
ingly. The Czechoslovakian
Grandmaster should have
avoided the exchange of his
knight, playing 56 . . . 'lil b8, with a
chance of a successful defence.
57 il.xd7!
Having evaluated the situation
objectively, Karpov exchanges his
strong bishop for his opponent's
knight, securing for himself a
good chance of winning the rook
endgame.
57 )'! xd7
58 g fl <;¥;>b8
130 The Exchange in the Endgame

59 !H6
The weakening of the f6 square,
caused by the advance of the
black pawn to g6, is used by Kar­
pov as the 'thread' to unravel the
'tangle' of the position?
59 '#ia7
60 h5 l!ra6?!
Black probably did not anti­
cipate White's next move, but also
after 60 . . . gxh5 61 gxh5 �¥ra6 his
position is grave. pawns are weak and
61 g5! hxgS become convenjent targets for
62 h6 <;W xa5 attack. Black's advantages would
63 h7 become significant in a rook end­
White has created a passed game, hence the following move:
pawn surprisingly quickly and 37 §ce5!
easily. 38 §e xeS?
63 g d8 What is good for Black cannot
64 8 xl7 bS be advantageous for White.
65 cxb5 <;WxbS should have retained the bishop.
If 65 . . . cxb5, 66 we4 wins. But how to avoid the rook end­
66 ll( b7 + ! game? Where could the
Hindering . . . c5. go? Black threatens 38 .
66 l!ra6 An interesting possibility would
67 l'! g7 iit h8 have been 38 §cd2! Now the pawn
Now everything is clear. Hav­ cannot be taken 38 . . .
ing deprived Black of any coun­ because of 39 §cxh6 + , and on
terplay, Karpov confidently takes i3 b5 there follows 39 b4,
the game to victory. White is out of trouble.
68 l!re4 <;�;>b5 38 dxe5
69 <;Wf3 l!rc4 39 'i11 h2
70 !l( d7 <&d3
71 l!r g4 8 xh7
72 l!( xh7 l!rxd4
73 !l! d7 + ! would have been more promising.
Black resigned. 39 M b5
40 l¥/g3 .!i\ xa5

Popovic-Razuvayev 41 <&h4 g al !
Novi Sad 1982 The black rook bursts i n to the
first rank with great strength and
Black has the advantage. He after a few more moves White
has an active rook, the white resigned.
 The Exchange in the Endgame 131

Polugaevsky-Vaganian the text move, White demon­

USSR 1983 strates a clear-cut way to a draw.
41 wf2 g d3
42 w e2 ;,i d2 +
43 wf3 g d3 +
44 we2 g d2 +
45 wf3 g c2
46 l#, c7 g el
47 we2 �t>g7
48 wd3 c2
49 !!l c6!
Naturally, Polugaevsky avoids
the trap 49 ; gc2? g xc2 50 wxc2
wf6 51 wd3 wf5 52 we3 wg4 53
we4 f6! and Black wins.
49 lt>h6
Black has the advantage due to 49 . . f5 does not bring victory:
his far advanced passed c-pawn 50 �c8 �t>h6 51 � h8 + .
and because of the active disposi­ 50 f5!
tion of his pieces. However, the Very precise; worse is 50 �- c5
small amount of material on the f5!
board somewhat facilitates 50 gn
White's defence. His problem is to 51 t;t xc2 )!l xf5
find an opportunity of exchanging 52 we3
knights (even at the cost of losing and after a few more moves the
a pawn), taking the game into a Grandmasters agreed to a draw.
drawn rook endgame. In earlier examples we drew the
37 e4! � a4 reader's attention to the evalu­
Black does not continue with 37 ation of the position arising after
4':l xf4, since after 38 � xc3 an exchange. Here is a further
� e2 39 � f3 g5 he would have example illustrating such a situa­
retained only an insignificant ad­ tion. By means of carefully
vantage. Vaganian tries to achieve planned exchanges, White trans­
more with the text move. poses a multi-piece endgame into
38 Q)f3 a won rook endgame.
The knight is aiming for g l in
order to exchange his opponent's Levitina-Melashvili
active knight. Alma-Ala 1980-1
38 M xe4
39 Qlgl Q)xgl Two bishops and the weakness
40 �t>xgl )!l e3 of the black e4 pawn define the
After 40 . . . i!l xf4 41 l#, xc3 it is world title candidate's advantage.
not possible to win, but even after We follow the realization of this
132 The Exchange in the Endgame

manoeuvre
threatened. However, an
pleasant surprise awaits
she should therefore have
sidered 27 . . . !ii a7
28 .$!.xe4!
29 .$l.xc6!
Now the black knight is at a
crossroad; it has four posst,ble ·:�
choices, none of which Pr<lmtses ·�
any good. For instance:
advantage. We point out immedi­ �xbl 30 .$l. xa8 -tlc3 31
ately, that 24 .$l. xe4? is a mistake �xa2 32 I!Te2 �c3 + 33 <;Wd3
because of 24 . . . � f6. 34 .$!.0! or 33 . . . �d I 34 f4!;
24 )ii xaS! . . . !ii xa2 30 g b3 -tl d l 3 1 f4
After this move play is forced 32 e4 or 3 1 !elf2 32 .$l . g2-
and literally with almost every White retains her extra pawns
move a pair of pieces is eliminated the kingside; 29 . ifi c8 30
from the board, and subsequently l!! c7 31 i!; b3 with
a new situation arises, in accord­ game continued:
ance with White's calculations. 29
All of this was evaluated by White 30 .§l.xbS
to the end. The brilliant combina­
tional skill and the accuracy of the
tactical calculations of Irina Levi­
tina is the envy of many male eliminated six rival pieces.
chess masters. 30 li! aS
24 !! xaS 30 .. . iii b6 would lead
25 .$l.xa5 g aS another tactical pin: 31
26 .$!.c3! � xb5 32 a4.
Black faces a problem of choice 31 jij cl!
. . which piece to exchange? 32 g cS
26 .$l.xc3 It was necessary to foresee
It can be shown that Black above variation long ago,
would be worse with opposite col­ with the manoeuvre 24
oured bishops: 26 . . . �xc3 27 Now the game changes into
bxc3 g xa2 28 .$l.xe4 ga7 29 commonplace rook ending.
!! b3, and White's pawn advan­ 32 \W g7
tage on the kingside is decisive. 33 a4 §xa4
27 bxc3 bS 34 :li: xbS
At first glance, Black's position Two extra pawns in the
has improved. The c3 pawn is ing-this is the result of w!,ae'< ·:'11
under attack, furthermore, the magnificent play. The cottchtdiltg
 The Exchange in the Endgame 133

moves were; 34 . . . Ma6 35 �g2 Threatening the d4 pawn with

�f6 36 g4 gc6 37 h4 g5 38 �g3 29 ... jlc3, Black forces the
g e6 39 hxg5 + hxg5 40 g b3. exchange of the dark-squared
Black resigned. bishops.
29 )3;b2 jLaS
The hasty 29 . . . i!.c3 would be
Ershov-Nesis
answered by the unpleasant pin 30
Corr. 1977-8
i;! c l .
30 jLd2 il_c3!
Forcing the exchange into an
advantageous situation. The rook
on c3 will be very actively placed.
31 jlxc3 g xc3
32 l;id2 jlc6
33 jle2 M dS!
The threat 34 g a5 forces
White to exchange the light­
squared bishops.
34 il. f3 )! aS
3S jlxc6 8 xc6

Black has acquired a clear posi­

tional advantage. White's a4 and
d4 pawn weaknesses are imper­
ceptible for the time being; they
have sufficient protection from
the bishops and White's position
appears to be solid. In order to
win, Black needs an accurate plan
to strengthen the position of his
pieces. First of all it is necessary to
activate his dark-squared bishop
and to centralize his king. Then, The transition into a four-rook
by exchanging bishops, the game ending has intensified White's
will transpose into a four-rook problems. Despite material equal­
endgame in which it should be ity, Black's better pawn config­
possible to attack White's pawn uration and the activity of his
weaknesses. rooks ensure his superiority.
27 �d8 36 �e3 g c4
Threatening complete control 37 il,da2 !IdS
of the c-file on the doubling of his 38 adt
rooks. Black has obtained an ideal
28 jla6 il.b4 situation-all three of White's
134 The Exchange in the Endgame

pieces are forced to defend the the best way to realize a pm;iti<m al/;'1
pawns. Now the decisive word advantage.
belongs to the black monarch.
38 <B;>f8 Azmaiparashvili-Yurtaev
39 <B;>e4 � e7 Pavlodar 1983
40 g3 <B;>d7
41 !!d3 <B;>c6
42 b3 )§: aS! 123
w
It was necessary to take pre­
cautions against a white pawn ad­
vance on the kingside. 42 . . . 'iW b7
would have been answered with
43 g4 with mutual chances.
43 );( da3 act
44 �e2
White cannot risk exchanging
one pair of rooks, since after 44
!i a l g xa l 45 g xa l , 45 . . . �d7! White has a small ad•vartta!se. ,':11
is strong, with the inevitable His pieces exert pressure
b5. his opponent's queenside.
44 � b7 apparently Black is not
45 g4 hxg4 ened by anything dangerous.
46 hxg4 J:! gl! appears that after the natural
This manoeuvre immobilises �xc6 1J.xc6 25 1J.xc6 axc6
White's pawns and deprives him game is transferred into a
of any hopes of counterplay. rook endgame. However,
47 gS )!( cl young Georgian player has
48 iii h2 i!dS a hidden nuance in the position.
49 gb7 :!<[d7 24 1J.xc6!
Defending the pawn and also In the opinion of K.ttolrno•t, ,\if
threatening 50 . . . f5 + . such a decision is a credit to
50 <B;>f3 gdl chessplayer. Indeed, after
Now the d4 pawn is lost, after unconventional exchange
which the endgame is hopeless. has serious difficulties� since
White resigned. white knight cramps all of
White's pawn weakness was activity. In this case a transition
exploited only as a consequence into a pure rook ending would
of exchange of bishops and trans­ neutralize White's positional ad­
ition into a four-rook endgame. vantage, since the beautifully
It does not follow from the placed knight is stronger than his
above examples, however, that a adversary's bishop.
transition into a rook endgame is 24 1l.xc6
 The Exchange in the Endgame 135

25 g el _ii_ d7 37 bxa4
25 . . . jj_e4 looks more active. 3S bxa4 e5
Indeed after a careless exchange 39 fxe5 fxe5
of one pair of rooks by 26 g xc8 40 .£)f3!
g xc8 the black rook would ac­ By means of this manoeuvre the
quire great activity. For in­ white knight completely protects
stance-27 f3 g e l + 28 1?1f2 _ii_ f5 the position from the centralized
29 e4 _ii_ e6 30 ii, c2 g h l 3 1 h4 h6 black pawns.
32 8 c7 w f6 3 3 8 b7 1.! h2 + 34 40 e4
\l;e3 8 g2 35 sxb5 8 xg3 with an 41 aS + '#;a6
unclear position. However, on 25 42 .£)d4
. . . _ii_ e4 White has the clear cut The knight returns triumph­
answer 26 g ddl , prohibiting antly to the ideal square in the
Black's seizure of the open c-file centre of the board. Now the
and maintaining his positional ad­ threat is 43 e3 with the subsequent
vantage. decisive manoeuvre Ql b3--c5 and
26 g de2 e6 transfer of the white king to the
27 \l;fl wf6 kingside pawns. Black hinders the
2S 1?1el d5 accomplishment of this plan, but
Black carelessly places his in so doing he loses a pawn.
pawns on white squares, obstruct­ 42 e3
ing the mobility of his bishop. 28 43 .£)e2 jj_b5
. . . '#;e7 should have been taken 44 .£) xe3 iL xe2
into consideration. Now White 45 Qlxd5 \\'lb7
exchanges all four rooks and 46 .£)f6 h5
transposes the game into a tech­ 47 h4 w e6
nical ending with a strong knight 48 we3
against a bad bishop. After 48 . . . 1?1b5 49 .£)d5 and
29 g xeS !;! xeS the black pawns are doomed.
30 );! xeS if. xeS Black conceded defeat.
31 wd2 jj_d7 An instructive example of a
32 w e3 we5 transition into a minor-piece tech­
33 Qle2 nical ending. This theme is the
The knight frees the way for his subject of our further discussion.
king and heads for the dominat­ In the following fragments of
ing central d4 square. games, mistaken exchanges by
33 '#;d6 one of the players results in some
34 �b4 �e6 fascinating battles between the
35 Qld4+ '#;b6 bishop and knight. But we
36 f4 f6 emphasize once more, we are
37 a4 interested in that moment of the
White creates a passed pawn. game when the exchange takes
136 The Exchange in the Endgame

place, that qualitative change (with a passed pawn on either

which introduces a process lead­ flank) is superior to the knight.
ing to the concluding stages of the The Hungarian grandmaster does
game; and also the nuances of the not miss his chances in the subse­
endgame struggle in technically quent struggle.
specified positions-another 36 <A>c2 hS
theme . . . 37 €le2 gS
38 f3 a4
Mednis-Adorjan 39 e4
Riga 1979 White must hurry with counter-
play in the centre.
39 .ll. b4
40 €lc3 dxe4
41 fxe4 a3
42 €le2 .§J.d6
43 �b3 g4
Fixing his opponent's pawns on
dark squares. Black now forcibly
acquires a passed pawn on the
king's flank.
44 <A>a2 'lf e7
35 :l! xaS? 45 <A>b3 '1i d7
The American player commits 47 <A>a2 <A> c7
a mistake, having evaluated the 47 €lc3
arising minor-piece endgame Forced, otherwise the black
incorrectly. He should have tried king takes the b-pawn and breaks
to force Black to exchange on a2; into the centre.
whilst an exchange of his b-pawn 47 .§J.xg3
for Black's a-pawn would have 48 €ld5+ <l/ b7
enabled White to place his rook 49 €l xf6 .ll. xh4
on the seventh rank. White's SO €lxh5 �b6
chances would have been no 51 <I/Xa3 <1/xbS
worse. And after overcoming some
35 bxaS technical difficulties, Adorjan
What was White's mistake? He brought the endgame to victory.
gave his opponent an opportunity The above example demon­
to fonn a passed pawn, even strates once more how carefully
though this is a doubled pawn. In we should approach the problem
conjunction with the possibility of of exchanging from one type of
creating a passed pawn on the endgame (in the given case of a
kingside this gives Black signific­ rook and minor piece) into
ant chances of success. The another (minor piece). As a rule a
bishop in this type of position mistake here cannot be corrected.
 The Exchange in the Endgame 137

Aseev-M. Gurevich 25 c3 <We8

USSR 1983 26 g4!
White carries out his plan in the
endgame very consistently, fixing
the black pawns on white squares.
26 wd7?
Black does not sense danger; he
should have continued 26 ...
0 d7.
27 lli>g3 c6
Still underestimating his op­
ponent's plans. Better was 27 . . .
<i()e8
The position appears to be in 28 Ad4!
White's favour. He has a spatial Once again we repeat the
advantage and the two bishops. maxim: ' . . . one of the advantages
Nevertheless there are no weak­ of two bishops is that one of them
nesses in Black's position and his can always be exchanged' .
pieces are placed harmoniously. A 28 0e8
mistake made by a very exper­ 29 Axg7 0xg7
ienced and strong master is there· A typical ending with a 'good'
fore more instructive. bishop against a 'bad' knight.
22 'i!i'bS? Black's pieces lack mobility and
Why? In the resulting minor­ have difficulty in repelling White's
piece ending Black will have a increasing threats.
hard and hopeless defence. In 30 wf4 h6
contrast, after a reorganization of 31 h4 <i()e8
his pieces by a plan line . . . aS . . . 32 Ag2?
b6 . . . 'i!i'd8, with an eventual Alas, White also makes a mis­
transfer of the knight to c5 would take and deprives himself of the
have given Black a 'playable' opportunity of reaping the fruits
position. Is it possible that there is of his own efforts, furthermore,
a psychological explanation to 22 failing to punish Black for his
'i!i'b5? But it could be careless play. After the correct 32
simpler-the player did not wish g5! hS 33 we4! with the subse­
to enter into a complex struggle quent 34 wd4, White could have
and preferred the way of simplifi­ placed his bishop on e4, securing
cation. Who knows? the decisive advance of the f-
23 'i!i'xbS pawn.
Naturally, White has no reason 32 <i()c7
to refuse the queen exchange. Black's knight comes into play
23 axbS and White is forced to release the
u b4 w f8 pawn tension in the centre.
138 The Exchange in the Endgame

33 dxc6 bxc6 2 ii:d2 l!xd2+

34 h5 � e6 + 3 <t�xd2 g4
The white pawn disappears and The situation has changed. It is
the e6 square becomes available clear that the outcome of the bat­
for the black knight. Black is now tle will depend on whether White
over the worst. succeeds in blocking Black's
35 l</e4 we7 menacing passed pawn. But the
36 hxg6 bg6 grandmaster anticipated all possi­
37 f4 l</f6 bilities open to his adversary. The
38 b3 knight proves to be powerless
A last attempt to play for a win. against the long-range bishop.
White wishes to form a passed 4 .£lg6 il.g7!
pawn on the queenside-how­ 4 . . . il.f6? would have been a
ever, Black refutes this plan. mistake in view of 5 <t�e2 <t�d5 (5
38 d5+ . . . il.g5 6 i\e5) 6 �f4 + l</e4 7
39 we3 g5! i\d3 and the winning move 7 . . .

40 f5 �f4 il.f8 is not available for Black.

41 il.fl <tieS 5 <;td3
42 c4 Accurate play would have been
Draw. required from Black on 5 <t�e2
<t�d5 6 �f4 + W�e4 7 �d3 il.f8! (7
Lukin--Dolmatov . . . g3? 8 €lxb4 il. f8 9 i\d3 g2 10
Kislovodsk 1982 �f2+ <t�f4 I I <2)h3+ <l;>g3 12
i\gl leads to a draw) 8 h6 il.xh6 9
�xb4 g3 10 �d3 il.e3, winning.
5 W/ d5
The hasty 5 . . . g3? would cost
half a point after 6 il f4; the
passed pawn is blockaded, but
there is no zugzwang.
6 ilf4+ W�e5
1 <2le2 wrs
8 h6 il.e5!
But not 8 . . il.f6? in view of 9
.

As a rule, in the presence of h7 W;>g6 10 €lf4+ W;>xh7 I I �d5

passed pawns on both sides, the 9 h7 l</g6
bishop is stronger than the knight. 10 W�e4 W;>xh7
However, the participation of the 11 �c1 g3
rooks in the struggle give White White resigned, since after 12
some counter chances, hence wf3 <t�h6 13 �d3 il. d6 14 �el
Black transposes play into a prof­ <t�hS 1 5 �d3 <t�h4 16 <t�g2 <t�g4 a
itable minor-piece endgame. zugzwang situation would have
1 !U2 + arisen.
 The Exchange in the Endgame 139

This example shows that the use a lot of time to advance the h
transition from a complex into a pawn further, and White has clear
simple ending is a very crucial counterplay, though he would still
step. be one move short: 7 . . . Wl f5 8
l!lb4 wxg5 9 c5 b5 (9 . . . bxc5 + ?
Kotov-Stahlberg leads to a draw) 10 d 5 cxd5 l l
Zurich 1953 <11 xb5 Wih4 1 2 c6 g5, and the
black pawn reaches the pro­
motion square first.
127
4 bxaS
B
Exploiting White's inaccuracy.
Further resistance is useless; it can
only be explained by time trouble.
5 l!ld2 h3
6 W/e2 h2
7 f3 !l: h7
8 8hl exf3 +
9 l!lxf3 a4
White resigned.
The black knight is appreciably Thus, it is possible to exchange
stronger here than the white a strong piece for a weak one,
bishop, the latter being restricted obtaining by this means some
by its own pawns. Strangely, how­ other positional advantage.
ever, the best way of realizing the
given advantage is by exchanging
this piece. We see a typical
Ljubojevic-Smyslov
method of transforming one form
London 1984

of an • advantage into another:

Black obtains a strong passed /28
pawn, which decides the outcome B
of the game.
1 <2\xgS!
2 hxgS l!le6
3 aS
White is trying to acquire some
counterplay.
3 h4
4 gal
White misses a last oppor­
tunity, associated with counter­ In this position of a game from
play on the queen's wing: 4 axb6 the grand event, named The
axb6 5 g a l h3 6 :!!, hi !!l h7 7 Match of the Century', the game
!'; h2. Black would now have to was adjourned and the ex-world
140 The Exchange in the Endgame

champion having written down involving bishop against knight,

his move, resigned, without i.e. technical endings of the strug­
resuming further play. gle between different minor
There is material equality on pieces. In these games the contest­
the chessboard. Smyslov's sealed ants were obliged to evaluate not
move was: only the nominal face value of the
42 <2) b7 minor pieces, but also their 'mar­
The Yugoslav grandmaster ket value' (using Botvinnik's ap­
gives the following convincing propriate expression). It is not
variation: simple to determine these 'market
43 ll.xb7! values'; this problem requires a
A decisive exchange. White deep insight into the secrets of the
does not spare his powerful cen­ position.
tralized bishop. The transition The value of the same pieces is
into a bishop technical endgame by no means identical. In many
proves to be the shortest way to cases it depends on the pawn
victory. structure (particularly in knight
43 \l'ixb7 endings), coordination of the
44 bxa7 \l'i xa7 minor pieces with the king and a
45 \l'ic4 whole series of other factors.
Despite the limited amount of In the following diagram a
material, Black's position is hope­ young Soviet player utilizes the
less. His badly placed king is de- more active disposition of his
cisive. pieces admirably, preven ting any
45 ll.e3 counterplay for his opponent and
46 lti b5 ll.f2 forcing him to transpose the game
47 Jl.b6+ into an inferior ending. Black's
lti b7
48 Jl. xc5 g3 play in the concluding stages is
49 ll.b4 most convincing.
and now by exchanging off the
Mortensen-Salov
bishops White wins. The white
Leningrad 1984
king moves to e2 by the route IJI­
c4-d3-e2, after which ll.el fol­ White's pawn weakr.esses give
lows, forcing the exchange and Black the basis of play in the
transposing into a won pawn end­ endgame-it is precisely in the
game. This is why spectators did ending where White's inherent
not see any further play in this deficiency will manifest itself most
game. prominently.
In the above examples, showing 28 1iJd5!
successful or mistaken transitions The centralized black queen is
into multi-piece endings, we have very strong. The pawn capture by
been dealing with endgames 28 . . . 1iJxg2 + 29 \l'ixg2 <2)e3 +
 The Exchange in the Endgame 141

35 !! c1
Hoping that Black has no ob-
jections against a rook endgame!
35 'iJ, b4!
36 �c5 �e3
37 �d3 'iJ,b3
38 !;\c3
Having declined a hopeless
rook endgame, White himself is
forced to offer the rook exchange
and alas, he is not saved.
30 \flf3 �xf5 would allow
38 l!l( xc3
White's pieces into play-31 �c5,
39 bxc3 �c4
attacking the b7 pawn; 31 . . . 'fl,c7
40 lflf2 �xa5
would be bad because of 32 e6.
In the remaining play Black
29 '/i\'1"3
realized his advantage convinc­
Black's previous move enforces
ingly.
White into this queen exchange;
the knight is attacked, and after
Polugayevsky-Mecking
its retreat into the corner, 29 . . .
Mar del Plata 1971
�xg2 is good. The white knight
would be virtually out of play.
29 '/il'Xf3
30 gxf3 \lrf8
31 g d1
It is curious that the formal
initiator of the exchange was
White, yet he clearly acts 'under
orders' from his adversary.
Although he expects a difficult
ordeal in the knight endgame, it is
the lesser evil. Black was ready for
a decisive manoeuvre: 3 1 \W g l , a4
l!l( c6! 32 lflf2 l!l( d3 33 � a l �d4! White has an indisputable ad­
and White is in a bad way. vantage due to Black's isolated
31 'iJ, xd1 + pawn d5 being placed on the same
32 litxd1 \fle7 colour as his bishop. With his last
33 f4 g6 move the Soviet grandmaster is
34 \flg1 gc4 striving to seize space, and pos­
After a little introduction the sibly to fix the a6 and b7 pawns.
decisive operation begins-ex­ 1 '/il' C7
ploitation of White's pawn weak­ Black is too optimistic in his
nesses. evaluation of his chances in the
142 The Exchange in the Endgame

arising minor-piece ending. He If the black bishop were to

should have played 1 . . . a5 abandon this diagonal, White
2 "iitf xc7 tz:,xc7 would move his bishop to f3 or
3 aS! <;l;>f8 g2, then, after withdrawal of his
4 <;l;>fl 'lfle7 black colleague to f7, White
5 we2 g6? would follow with e4.

It is difficult to understand this 17 .ii.e2 .ii.g2

move. A chessplayer of the high­ 18 .i'l.g4 .ii.e4
est class consciously moves his 19 .ii_c8 'ffl c7
pawn on to a white square, the 20 .i'l.e6 <;�;>d6
same colour as his bishop . . . 21 .ii.g8 b6
Naturally, more preferable was 5 22 .i'l.f7!
. . . h6 Black is in zugzwang and is

6 wd2 tz:,e6? forced to place yet another of his

pawns on a white square.
A typical example of a mis­
taken exchange; Black evaluated 22 hS
the resulting bishop endgame 23 il.e8
incorrectly. He should have The bishop works wonderfully
retained his knight, though he well in this game, threatening to
would still have faced consider­ transfer to b3.
able difficulties. 23 Jil.c2
7 tz:Jxe6 fxe6 24 iL f7 .ii.e4
Black no longer has an isolated 25 f5! il.xf5
pawn, but this does not make his 26 j_xd5 il.c8
position any easier. 27 e4
8 f4 eS The crux of the ending­

9 g3 'lf!d6 White's extra passed pawn; the

10 'lflc3 .i'l.e6 rest is simple: 27 . . . we? 28 we5

g5 29 hxg5 h4 30 g6 h3 31 g7 h2 32
11 'lflb4
g8("iitl) h l ("iitl ) 33 "iiti f7 + 'lfld8 34
There appears a postttve
>!rf8 + and Black resigned.
threat- 1 2 fxe5 + 'lflxe5 1 3 wc5
In the concluding discussion of
11 exf4?
the transition into minor-piece
Black's best chance was 1 1 . . . ending with undisturbed material
d4, 1 2 exd4 exd4 l 3 .i'l.c4 1l.d5 1 4 equality, we examine an ending in
g4, although h e would have had a which the contestants retain two
difficult defence. minor pieces, a knight and a
12 gxf4 bishop. The method of play bor­
13 'lf!C3 ders on that of simple technical
14 'lfld4 endings, though it cannot be
15 h4 regarded as such; it is of definite
16 b4 interest to us.
 The Exchange in the Endgame 143

Sunye--Van Riemsdijk his adversary, in accordance with

San-Paulo 1983 military principles, obtains an ad­
vantage on the opposite front­
the kingside.
31 w xe6
32 f5 + we7
33 ii.e3 0b8
Black must guard the a6
square. In case of 33 . . . wd8, the
white king penetrates to the
kingside with decisive results.
34 w f3 w f7
35 wg4 wgs
36 wh5 wh7
White has a definite positional 37 h3 ii.a8
advantage. He has two bishops 38 g4 ii.b7
and an active knight, threatening 39 h4 ii.a8
his oppcnent's queenside. Black The latter moves do not require
must watch this very carefully. In any comments-Black is forced to
this type of ending one of the await passively the course of
main threats facing the defender is events, whilst White organizes a
the opportunity for his opponent breach on the king's flank.
to exchange one of the pieces per­ 40 g5 hxg5
forming an important defensive 41 hxg5 ii.b7
function. After the exchange it 42 ii.f2!
becomes difficult to protect the After 42 gxf6 gxf6 43 ii. h6
weak squares and their occupa­ <E)d7! Black would obtain some
tion by the enemy pieces. counterplay.
30 <E)c6? 42 <E)d7
This mistake allows White to The black knight leaves his sen­
carry out a profitable exchange. try post. On 42 . . . fxg5 43 ii.e3 g4
Black should have resorted to 44 <&>xg4 c6 45ii. gS cxb5 46 cxb5
waiting tactics, e.g. 30 . . <El f8 <E)d7 47 ii.e7 d5 48 exd5 and
and White could not have easily White wins.
turned his advantage to anything 43 il.h4 ii.a8
tangible. 44 <Ela6 c6
31 il.xe6! 45 <E)c7 .ii. b7
As a result of this exchange the 46 ii.f2!
pcsition is changed into a techni­ Changing over to attack the
cally won minor-piece endgame. new pawn weakness.
The constant threat of penetra­ 46 cxb5
tion by the knight on a6 or c6 will 47 <E)xb5 .ii. c6
tie down the black forces, while 48 <E) xd6
144 The Exchange in the Endgame
At last White has acquired a
material advantage and a winning
position; we give the remaining
part of the game without notes: 48
. . . il.a4 49 d4 il. dl + 50 wh4
exd4 51 il.xd4 '*g8 52 g6 il.b3 53
'81g3 '8118 54 '* f4 '81e7 55 e5 il.a2
56 <t)c8 + wd8 57 e6! Black
resigned.
Discussing simplifications in an
endgame, we must, once more,
remind ourselves of the particular
subtleties of a pawn ending. It
seems as if nowhere else in the
game is it so easy to evaluate the
position so completely and to
realize one's advantage; and yet it
is precisely in such simple endings
that we may encounter the great­
est of surprises, the consequences
of which it may not be possible to
calculate or to correct when in
time pressure. Moreover, as a re­
sult of play in a pawn endgame,
new complications may arise,
associated with a transition into a
queen endgame-one of the most
difficult and least studied of all
endings.
Aronin-Smyslov
USSR 1951
There is no doubt that White
has the advantage and he must
win; I )>! xc6 wins easily, and so
should the text move, li: g8. White
has calculated that after exchang­
ing pieces the resulting pawn end­
game would be decided quickly
and 'cleanly'. However, the
course of events took an unfore­
seen turn
t s g8 wh7
2 ).::. xg7+
It was still not too late to return
to c8, but White was convinced of
the correctness of his calculations.
Every exchange must be con­
sidered carefully-we never tire of
repeating this maxim! This is par­
ticularly true when transposing
into a treacherous and complex
pawn endgame. A mistake here
cannot be corrected!
2 e xg7
3 � xg7 '8/xg?
4 g4
A move in accordance with
plan. Now Black's pawn advance
f6-f5 and all counterplay on the
kingside is prohibited, and it
seems that the forced variation 4
. . '8;>f7 5 we2 we6 6 wd3 wd6 7
.
wc4 a5 8 f3 wd7 9 wc5 we? 1 0
c3 bxc3 I I bxc3 '8;>b7 1 2 <81d6
<;Wb6 1 3 c4 <;Wb7 14 c5 is suffi­
ciently convincing and not too
complicated for a high class chess­
player. But Smyslov has a dif­
ferent opinion and he creates a
truly study-like pawn endgame.
4 hxg3
Most unexpected! Now White
has an opportunity of organizing
 The Exchange in the Endgame 145

a passed pawn on the h-file. What Alekhine-Yates

is the idea? Hamburg 1910
5 fxg3 g4!
Soon everything becomes clear.
6 b4 cS
7 �·2 o;t,>h7
8 o;t,>d3 1!1h6
·
How should White play? 9 �c4
perhaps? But then the grand­
master's brilliant idea would be
fully accomplished 9 f5! I 0
exf5 e4! and Black would even
win; the white king would be
imprisoned. White would not be An accurate appraisal of the
saved by I 0 o;trd3 f4 I I gxf4 exf4 position (a basic principle!) gives
12 1!1e2 �h5 13 e5 1!1g6 either. one answer-the key to the pos­
One must suppose that White ition is the exchange of the last
silently reproached himself after 8 remaining piece and transition
. 1!1h6 for going into a pawn
. . into a pawn endgame. The game
endgame. The game continued: continued:
9 c3 aS 40 !!;eS! g xeS
10 cxb4 axb4 41 fxeS 111 e7
A draw. 42 �d3 1!1d7
To sum up-vigilance and even 43 e4 f4
more vigilance is needed when 44 �e2!
transposing into a pawn endgame! It is not difficult to find this
It is well known that in an move, but Alekhine undoubtedly
average game the role of pawns realized the relationships of the
increases sharply in the endgame squares in this situation and con­
in comparison with the opening. sidered this possibility when
Indeed, the problem in the end­ transposing into a pawn end­
game is not the mating of the game.
king, but the conversion of the 44 111 e6
pawn into a queen. So if in the 45 111 12!
opening we boldly sacrifice a Obviously not 45 111 f3? 1!1e5.
pawn, and in the middlegame we Black resigned.
do not consider material in an The exchange of the last pieces
attack on the king, in the end­ on the board is a most crucial
game pawns become important decision; even prominent chess­
active material and our attitude players sometimes go astray in
towards them changes, particu­ transposing play into a fatal pawn
larly when there are no other endgame. Often such mistaken
pieces left on the board! exchanges are due to tiredness,
146 The Exchange in the Endgame

associated with a difficult defence 39 <£)a6

in the course of a long game and a White gives up a pawn on the
desire to reach a draw by simplifi­ kingside, but in return he sets up
cation after a wearisome and diffi­ threats to the black pawns on the
cult struggle. opposite side of the board. One of
the black pawns is doomed.
Karpov-Polugayevsky 39 ii)gxfS
Tilburg 1983 40 §J.b8 W�e6
41 §L xa7 ii)d6 +
42 W/d3 ii)dS
43 a4 rs
44 b4 f4
45 aS bxaS
46 bxaS
Black is faced with a definite
problem due to White's well-ad­
vanced passed pawn.
46 <ti d7
47 f)c5+ 1trc6
White's position is superior, 48 f)b3 ii)b4+
since in the impending battle the 49 'if¥e2 ltrbS
bishop will be stronger on the two 50 l\'f3 f)c6
Ranks than the knight; exchange 51 §J.b6 f)c4
of rooks is practically inevitable. It seems that Black has secured
29 !). adS a draw, but precisely here he
The white rooks are very dan­ unexpectedly falls into a trap.
gerous on the open d-file and 52 §J.c7
Black is forced into this exchange.
30 gxd8 g xd8
31 g xd8+ <£\cxd8
32 �tre3 'lifT
33 f4 g6
34 rs
Karpov is in his element! He
already has a small positional ad­
vantage, but he strives to impede
his opponent's forces to the maxi-
mum.
52 <2)4xa5?
34 gxf5
35 gxfS ii)g7 The transition into a pawn end­
36 'if¥ e4 ii)c6 game is a bad mistake. After 52
37 §J.d6 ii\e7 ltrb4 the game would have
38 ii)c5 b6 ended in a draw.
 The Exchange in the Endgame
53 .Sxa5 .SxaS
54 JJ.xaS \11 xa5
55 \!1Xf4 ll!bS
56 ll!gS Ill eS
57 ll!h6
and the white pawn went on to
queen. Black resigned.
In the concluding discussion of
the exchange into endings with
material equality, we should con­
sider the psychological aspects
associated with this problem. The
point is that an exchange of just
one pair of pieces into an ending
with a limited amount of material
remaining on the board can result
in a significant and sometimes
quite radical change in the
required evaluation of the posi­
tion. Often one of the players is
not ready for such a swift meta­
morphosis and cannot adjust him­
self psychologically to the new
situation.
Mallee-Nesis
lith ICCF World Cup 1977-81
White's position is slightly pre­
ferable. The weakness of the black
pawns on the queenside is ap­
preciable, being placed on light
147
squares. On the other hand Black
has a strongly centralized knight,
placed in front of the isolated
pawn, in accordance with good
chess principles.
21 JJ.xdS?!
A dubious decision. White re­
moves the dangerous knight, but
at what cost? Black's pawn confi­
guration is corrected and in the
absence of minor pieces White
can hardly utilize his pawn super­
iority (two against one) on the
queens flank.
21 cxdS
22 �cl '@'b8!
In the changed situation Black
offers a queen exchange, since in a
rook endgame the weakness of
White's central pawn d4 would be
appreciable.
23 '@'c3 aS!
Black again prepares for a
queen exchange, which will not be
easy for White to avoid. For ex-
ample, on 24 a4, 24 . . . '@'b6 is
good, with the idea of25 . . I! b8,
.
and on 24 'ijfxa5 '@'xb2 25 g d I
!! c8, Black's heavy pieces acquire
great mobility; they would also be
in possession of the open lines,
which was White's intention on
exchanging the minor pieces.
24 !! c2 'ilf b4
25 'ijfxb4 axb4
The evaluation of the resulting
rook endgame is essentially dif­
ferent from the evaluation of the
original position.
The formerly weak a6 pawn is
now placed in an excellent posi­
tion on b4 and it levels out
White's pawn advantage on the
148 The Exchange in the Endgame

queenside; Black's other weak worse position, which is not to his

pawn at c6, is converted into the liking.
central d5 pawn and could play an 33 \Wxg5
important role. White should now 34 Jac7 g xa2
reorganize himself and lead the 35 � b7
game into a draw. However, the In case of 35 gxf7, Black could
force of psychological inertia is play 35 . . . !!:b2 36 h4+ '/li>g6 37
very strong and consequently !!: b7 g xb3+ 38 'llr f4 'llr f6 39 g4
White continues to play as if he !i: h3 ! 40 gxh5 � xh4+ 41 '/li>e3
were winning. b3! and Black wins. Hence White
26 \tift li\ a8 prefers to wipe out enemy number
27 b3 one-the b-pawn.
This move improves Black's 35
position significantly. The white 36 !l.xb4
pawns on the queen's flank are 37 '/li>f.Z
now completely valueless. As before, we have material
27 � g7 equality on the chessboard. More­
28 we2 �f6 over, White has a passed pawn,
29 �tre3 h5 and yet he is in a worse posi­
30 g3 )!:a7 tion. The black pieces are very
Black intends to move his king active.
to f5 and create a passed pawn in 38 )g b7 \We4!
the centre by means of . . . f6 and A decisive burst by the black
. . . e5. However, it is useful to king.
prevent the white rook's intrusion 39 ! hf7 1!1,c2 + !
on the seventh rank. Moreover, Pushing the white king back
White is in a peculiar zugzwang, even further. Weaker is 39
and further pawn moves could ll. xb3 because of 40 a f4 + .
create new weaknesses. 40 'llr fl \Wxd4
31 f4 g5 At last the d-pawn is taken and
32 �trf3 l;l,a8 the way is open for the centralized
33 fxg5+ black forces.
White cannot bear the tension, 41 b4 e5
gives up the e5 square in order to 42 g4 hxg4
burst in with his rook on to the 43 hxg4 e4
seventh rank and to clarify the White also has two passed
situation. He should have pawns but, in the first place, they
reverted to waiting tactics for the are uncoordinated and, in the
time being, by means of 33 '/li>e3. second place, Black advances for­
But it should be pointed out that ward simultaneously creating
until quite recently White had the threats to the comparatively im­
advantage and now he is in a mobile white monarch.

44 g5 we3
45 l:! h7
A final chance, but the lateral
check would not achieve the ob­
jective. However, White would
also lose a pawn race. For in­
stance, 45 b5 d4 46 g6 ii,l c l + 47
,;;, g2 ]5 c5 ! 48 g7 g g5 + 49 wh3
d3 50 b6 d2 5 1 J.4 d7 !'\ xg7!
45 !.i: f2 +
46 l\'1 g l d4
White resigned.
Here again the black pawns are
first to reach the promotion
square. There is an interesting
variation: 47 g6 d3 48
we2 49 M h4 l'l f l + ! 50 wg2 d2!
51 g xe4+ wd3 52 l\'1xfl d l ('iii' )
53 M e l 'iii' D + and Black wins.
The Exchange in Endgames
With Material Inequality
It has been pointed out on numer­
ous occasions, that simplification
of the position is a most import­
ant method of realizing a material
advantage. If we accept this pos­
tulate for the middlegame, from
which we transpose by means of
exchanges into the endgame with
an increased role of the material
advantage, then this proposition
is even more applicable to end­
game type of positions. In many
cases the exchange leads to well
investigated technical
where the realization of a material
advantage does not present any
difficulties.
The Exchange in the Endgame 149
In the middlegame it is most
profitable to simplify in positions
where the opponent's material
deficiency is balanced out by
greater activity of his pieces. In
this case the exchange of these
pieces is the simplest way to liqui­
date the opponent's initiative.
Similarly in the endgame, it is
important to try and exchange the
adversaries' active pieces. But in
endings in which the exchange of
pieces results in a theoretically
and technically won game, the
exchange takes on even greater
1\ h3 + importance.
Thus in the middlegame the
exchange facilitates and prepares
the realization of a material ad­
vantage, whilst in the endgame its
realization is directly accom­
plished.
An exchange from the middle­
game into the endgame in con­
ditions of material inequality can
also be undertaken for totally op­
posite reasons, i.e. for defensive
purposes. Thus, whilst in the mid­
dlegame the weaker side strives
with the help of exchanges to
neutralize his opponent's initia­
tive (in particular when the king is
under attack), in the endgame, in
conditions of material deficiency,
the fundamental objective of the
exchange is to guide the game into
positions which are theoretically
drawn, or at least to transpose
endings, into endings characteristic for
their drawing tendencies (e.g. end­
games with bishops of opposite
colour).
150 The Exchange in the Endgame

Khalifman-Bareev The white king will protect this

Sochi 1984 pawn on his own, but to make it
inaccessible for his opponent's
bishop, it must be placed on a
white square.
49 Wt e7
50 ji.b5 �d6
The same motive. However,
White again avoids the exchange
in order to strengthen his position
to the very maximum.
50 �·8 ji.d4
51 aS
This breach was only possible
White has a big material advan­ in the presence of the queens.
tage-two extra pawns in the end­ White now acquires a passed
ing. However, Black offered a pawn.
queen exchange by means of his 51 bxa5
last move 47 . . . !ii f6!? What is the 52 jii x a5+ ;ll> b8
idea of the weaker side, having 53 ·ll(d2 jiieS
such a material deficiency, striv­ 54 ji.c6 ji.b6
ing for the exchange? The young 55 b4 il. c7
Master from Moscow, not long 56 f4 '(i:i·d6
the under 16 World Champion,
Evgeny Bareev already had a lot
of experience and naturally real­
ized that his best chance in such a
difficult situation was to transpose
into an endgame with opposite
coloured bishops; even if not
drawn, the characteristics of the
game would then be of a drawish
tendency and White's problems
would be maximized.
48 'l!fd5 + !
White refuses the queen Let us compare this situation
exchange for the time being. The with the original position.
point is that the badly placed, Exploiting the presence of queens,
unprotected black king's position White has created a passed pawn
can only be exploited in the pres­ on the queenside and forced the
ence of the queens. black king away from the centre.
48 W;c7 By means of these manoeuvres the
49 f3! situation will be a little more
 The Exchange in the Endgame 151

favourable for White after a square for a rook and a pawn and
queen exchange. Precisely due to force a transition into a won pawn
the absence of queens, the end" endgame.
game can be won more easily with 45 8f6
opposite coloured bishops, since 46 h3 a fl
White would quickly form a 47 we4 g f6
passed pawn on the kingside. The 48 g4!
game finished: The pawn exchange is in ac"
57 -;;;· xd6! j)_xd6 cordance with White's plan, hast"
58 bS wc7 ening play into a pawn endgame.
59 wt3 48 hxg4
and Black resigned. 49 hxg4 )i fl
50 j)_c4!
Suba-D. Gurevich Forcing the rook on to f6,
Ek�io 1982 whereby White gains a tempo
with the advance of the g pawn.
50 !H6
51 g5 8 f5
White is now ready for whole­
sale exchanges on f7 with a trans"
ition into a won ending.
52 l'[ xf7 + ! !.i, xf7
53 iL xf7 l'!r xf7
54 wd5!
Black has a lost game in the
pawn ending.
In the following example it is
White has the advantage of a instructive to see how each player
piece for a pawn, but due to the offers and then declines the
small amount of material on the exchange of bishops, each striving
board and to the colour of the to simplify into a strategically
corner square h8, Black retains more favourable situation. In the
some hopes of a draw. In this end White, whose material ad"
position 45 l4 b3 was played and vantage naturally plays a decisive
White was required to play with a role, 'forces' his opponent into the
lot of effort to secure a win. After final exchange. . .
the game the Romanian Grand­
master demonstrated a clear"cut Ftiicnik-Henley
way to victory. Hastings 1982-83
45 ii!. b7!
This is not simply an attack on At the moment there is material
the f7 pawn. White intends to equality on the board but White,
exchange both his pieces on the f7 with his next move, forcibly tries
152 The Exchange in the Endgame

35 weS
140
w 36 i!J4 + 111 f6
37 .§.dS!
Now White offers a bishop
exchange, but it is declined. What
is Black's answer?
37 k d7
The American grandmaster
refuses the exchange. On 37 . . .
§J.xd5 38 cxdS, the game could
to bring about an eventual rook continue: 38 . . . b5 39 a4 bxa4 40
exchange, wins a pawn and trans· bxa4 §J.gl 41 ll;>c4 .£l.xh2 42 ll;>b5
poses play into a most interesting and Black is saved. If he plays
and unusual four-bishop (!) end· immediately 37 . . . .£l.gl, then
game. White first exchanges bishops: 38
28 :!!: d6 :!! e8 §J.xe6 'lfxe6 and then plays 39
Naturally forced, since Black llre2! and capture of the h2 pawn
has to keep his bishop on e6 would cost Black his bishop.
29 .§.c6 .§.eS 38 il.e3 ,W e5
And here Black does not have With motives already familiar
any choice. 29 . g e7 is bad in to us.
view of 30 itg5. 39 1l.f4+ wr6
30 .§.xe8 .§.xd6 40 1l. e3 ��;>eS
31 .§.xg6 41 a3
As a result of the forced opera­ The extra pawn on the queens
tions White remains with an extra flank obliges . . .
pawn. 41 il.e8
31 'l?g7 42 b4! .£l.xe3
32 .§.e8 'lff6 Thus White enforced the
33 .§.c6 .§.c5 exchange of the dark coloured
The first offer of an exchange. bishops with a favourable rear­
Black wishes to exchange his rangement o f the pieces. Or 42 . . .
dark-squared bishop on c5. This axb4 43 axb4 1l,xb4 44 .§.xb6 and
would make i t much more diffi­ the passed pawn is decisive.
cult for White to realize his mater­ 43 l¥/xe3
ial advantage. White cannot Black was 'forced' to exchange
avoid the exchange because of the precisely where it was profitable
pin, but prefers it to take place on for his opponent. The rest is a
the favourable e3 square. matter of technique, as they say.
34 'lfe2 aS 43 a4
35 'lfd3 44 1l.b7 il.f7
Both players are consistent in 45 cS bxcS
their intentions. 46 bxc5 .£l.a2
 The Exchange in the Endgame 153

The pawn endgame after 46 controls this square) and now 36

.il_d5 47 .il_xd5 'itrxd5 48 'itrf4 is a �d7! -White allows the enemy
win for White. rook into his camp, but after
47 il.c6! .il_ b3 exchanging his knight for the
48 11.d7 il.c2 black bishop he wins the rook
49 c6 'itrd6 endgame: 36 . . . g f2 37 '!)xf8
50 'itrf4 111 xf8 38 bl; e l ! g xc2 39 d6 g d2 +
and after a few more moves 40 'itfc5 b4 41 b3! g5 42 ge4 a5 43
Black resigned. ""c6 g c2 + 44 'itrb7 g d2 45 'itfc7
g c2 + 46 g c4! Black has also
Nunn-Garcia correctly evaluated the possible
Lugano 1983 consequences and hence the game
continued:
35 il.g7 +
36 111 e4 il.xb2
Why did Black still make this
move? 36 . . . g f6 loses: 37 i;! d l
g f2 38 d 6 g xc2 3 9 d 7 il.f6 40
g fl ! g d2 41 �d3.
37 ;i;fl
) + );l f6
38 li,bl
It is not difficult to see that all
of these moves were forced. Now
White, with an extra pawn, Black himself exchanges his
offers his opponent the exchange wandering bishop for the white
of his centralized knight for the knight, but this does not save him
black bishop with transition into in the ensuing rook endgame.
a rook endgame. The reader is 38 il.a3
assured that the English grand­ 39 lii. xbS iL xeS
master took his crucial step only 40 i;i xcS M a6
after an evaluation of all the tact­ 41 wes we7
ical nuances, since in a rook end­ 42 l;lc7 + wd8
game Black's drawing chances 43 g g7!
would disappear. White concludes the game ac­
35 �cS curately, making use of a tactical
It should be understood that nuance: 43 . . . gxa2 44 c4 !! c2 45
White did not expect Black to c5! g xc5 46 wd6. Black resigned.
accept the exchange 35
il.xc5 +?, with an easily won end­ Tukmakov-Agzamov
ing. The important variation Moscow 1983
which he was obliged to evaluate
would have occurred after 35 . . . White has very good chances of
1H6! (the white knight no longer a successful defence. He could
154 Tire Exchange in the Endgame

Black could then win; for ex­

guide the endgame into a position
of rook and knight against rook,
with an unavoidable draw, or try
to reach a rook endgame without
pawns-also a theoretical draw.
ample: 65 . . . g6 66 h5 f5 + and
now 67 wg3 gxh5 68 �h4 -l')g7 69
kf8 f4 70 kxg7 f3 71 �g3 �e3
72 2,d4 + ! with a draw, or 71 . . .
h4 + 72 �f2 h3 73 ke5! also with
a draw.
65 g6
66 kaS
66 h5 would not be good because
of 66 . . . f5 + 67 �g3 g5!-with
the bishop on d6 this move would
be bad, in view of h5--h6 and
Black would not have at his dis­
posal <2)f8. Now on 68 h6
there would follow 68 . <df8,
. .

Black makes use of perhaps his then the black king moves behind
best chance-by means of an un­ the h6 pawn and captures it.
expected tactical manoeuvre he 66 f5 +
enforces a rook exchange and 67 l!\>g3 <Elf4
transposes play into a minor-piece 68 kd2 <Elh5+
endgame. Although White still 69 1Wf2 -l'lf6
has a draw, it is not simple to Black is playing this ending
reach it-great precision is very forcefully, confronting his
required. opponent with a problem with
60 8 d4! literally every move, but here
Black utilizes the placing of the there would have been a stronger
pieces and gives White two move: 69 . . . f4! with the idea of
choices: exchange rooks or allow moving the knight via g7 to f5 and
further activation of his oppon­ constraining White completely.
ent's pieces. 70 .li.g5 <2ld5?!
61 J;lxd4 -l')e2+ Correct was 70 . <2lh5, pre-
62 wf2 <2) xd4 venting the white king from mov­
63 �g3 �·4 ing to g3.
64 l!\>g4 -l')e6 71 \Wg3 f4 +?
Black takes control of the g5 72 �f2?
square and presents White with a Under time pressure, both
problem-on which diagonal players make a mistake. White
should he place his bishop? misses a miraculous escape by 72
65 kb6 2,xf4! <2)xf4 73 ll?g4 and one can­
Stronger would have been 65 not see how Black could win.
2,d6! and it is not evident how 72 <2)e3
 The Exchange in the Endgame 155

73 .ii.d8 -2)c4 queen exchange and not giving

74 .ii. c7 <;t;f5 Black a chance for 43 . . . .ii.e4
75 wf3 -8 d2 + ! exchanging bishops. Then on 43
Very accurate. The black king 'i<;·xe}?l 44 fxe3 d2 45 iLd I
can now move to g4. .ii.d3 46 111 f3 and White would
76 we2 -2:lb3 draw, whilst after 43 . . ·;<;·a5
n wd3 White would have good chances
On 77 1W f3, 77 . -8d4+ and of saving the game-his queen is
the white king cannot move to the active, the 'guard' on f3 is in his
knight. place. After the text move events
77 wg4 take another turn.
White resigned. 42 '@' e5
43 ·�)d2 .iLe4!
Romanishin-Karpov The exchange of bishops is an
Moscow 1983 important link in Black's strategic
plan.
44 ·ii\'e3 il.xf3 +
It might appear that stronger is
44 . . . f5 45 gxf5, but after 45 . . .
il xf3 + 46 ..,xf3 '@'e2 White has
the excellent reply 47 \Wg3!
45 '@'xf3
On 45 \li> xf3, 45 .. iii·d5 +
wins.
45 ·;;;> b5!!
A beautiful move, certainly
foreseen by Karpov much earlier.
The ex-World Champion plays All other moves give White defi­
this type of ending extremely well. nite chances of saving the game
In order to advance his passed due to the insecure position of the
pawn, Black needs to exchange black king. The rest of the game is
bishops, after which, though not a good illustration of the realiza­
without technical difficulties, he tion of an extra pawn in a queen
should win. endgame. But, as they say, this is
42 il\M?! a different matter. We give the
This plays into Karpov's ending in brief; 46 '@'e4+ 1!1h6 47
hands. White's hurry to take con­ 'ii\' d4 '0c6 + 48 \!1g3 'ii\'c7 + 49
trol of the e4 square and to simul­ \!1g2 'il'fc2 50 \ii e4 ..,c3 5 1 ·ij;·d5 d2
taneously cover d2 is understand­ 5 2 -;;;- xf7 \iic 6 + 53 f3 1!1h7 54
able, but
significantly stronger Iii' b3 \ii d 6 55 lii c2 + If;> h6 56 'ii!d I
would have been 42 ..,d2, so that '@'d3 57 111 f2 1!1g6 58 w g2 w f7 59
on 42 . . . ..,e5 43 iil'e3! offering a 111 f2 1!1f8 60 \li>g2 \li>e7 61 111 f2
156 The Exchange in the Endgame

<ard6 62 <arg2 <arcS. White 33 jixc6 jig7

resigned. 34 b4 it.f8
35 bS axbS
Nesis-B. Vladimirov 36 axbS jid6
Leningrad 1978 Black's difficulties in this posi­
tion are twofold -the struggle
against the passed pawn and the
defence of his weak d5 pawn, for
which he has to use the light-
coloured bishop.
37 <Elel
The immediate 37 b6 was also
possible.
37 Jl_c7
38 <Eld3 it.b6
More persistent would have
been 38 . . . <t<f7 39 <bc5 <t<e7
White has an extra pawn, but 39 -2\cS 'l;f7
Black, attacking the white bishop
with his last move 27 . . <Eld6,
intends, after withdrawal of the
bishop, to seize the c-line, activate
his knight, with definite counter­
play.
28 jixd6!
The possession of the c-file is so
important that White is prepared
to give his opponent the advant­
age of the two bishops.
28 g xd6
29 !;l cl hS It seems that Black has suc­
30 !'!c7 gb6 ceeded in patching up the holes in
31 a4 a6 his position. But with his next
32 jj!.c6! move White threatens an
It is time to exchange rooks. Of unavoidable and decisive
course, the white rook is signifi­ exchange:
cantly more active than his black 40 jid7!
counterpart, but White is ready to It is clear that after 40 . . . jixd7
form a passed pawn on the queen­ 41 <bxd7 Black loses, either after
side. Moreover, his opponent the simple 41 . . . jixd4 42 b6 <jl1e7
needs time to bring the dark­ 43 b7, or with the more subtle 41
squared bishop into play. . . .ll.c7 42 b6 <jl1e7, because of 43
32 !;l xc6 <bxf6!
 The Exchange in the Endgame 157

Black resigned. pawn, supported by rook and two

The exchange in the endgame is minor pieces, represents a menac­
an important method of realizing ing force) 37 g bl g e6 38 1\! bb7
a material advantage such as a c3' (and in spite of White's occu­
rook against a minor piece. As a pation of the seventh rank with
rule the advantage becomes much his two rooks, the black pawn will
more significant (in the presence queen) 39 1<\ hf7 + l!re8 40 <£)a5 c2
of pawns) with the exchange of 41 <tlb3 g e l and Black won.
other pieces. The German student Anton
was familiar with the above game
and finds a clear-cut plan for real­
Anton-Lekrok
izing his material advantage. The
2nd ICCF World Cup 1977-81
important problem for White is to
find a way to exchange rooks,
after which the advantage of his
remaining rook over Black's
minor piece should become more
positive.
30 !<l a7! fS
31 )'l: fal <£)e4
32 );[ aS!
White reached his objective.
The c3 pawn cannot be taken of
course: 32 . . . <£) xc3? 33 1<1 xd8 +
.il,xd8 34 !< a8 and White wins.
White has the advantage of rook 32 ;,! xaS
against bishop but it is not easy to 33 )\! xa8 + l!rf7
evaluate the position. The black 34 <£)a3!
pieces are very active, White's c3 A difficult move. It is not easy
pawn is very weak, his d5 passed to win the ensuring ending with
pawn is under attack. In order to the limited amount of material
demonstrate Black's significant remaining on the board. White is
counter-chances in this situation, striving for an endgame of rook
we only have to look at the game against knight with equal number
between Knaak-Postler (West of pawns, which promises a
German Ch. 1977), which from greater chance of success than
the same position continued: 30 rook against bishop.
<tlb4 <tle4 3 1 \l'rh2 <tlxc3 32 )4 a7 34 <£) xc3
f5! 33 h4 JJ. f6 34 <tlc6 1<\ d6 35 35 d6 l!re6
)'l: e l \l'rf8 36 I<\ Xh7 <£)xd5 (Black 36 <£)xc4 <£)e4
has captured his opponent's 37 )l( e8 +
passed pawn with gain of a The black king is forced to move
tempo, whilst his own passed to the unsatisfactory d7 square,
158 The Exchange in the Endgame

since 37 . . . wd5 is bad, in view of 55 wf3 �e8

38 d7 wxc4 39 d8('ill' ) il.xd8 40 56 h4 gxh4
!! xd8 and the black king is too 57 g b5
far from his base. Both black pawns are doomed
37 �ird7 and the French student conceded
38 l!lh8 <E;f6 defeat.
After 38 . . . <E;xd6 39 Et xh7 + An exchange with the objective
and Black loses the g6 pawn. of realizing a material advantage,
39 <E; eS + ! l!re6 in conjunction with transposition
As before, the pawn cannot be into a technically won ending,
taken: 35 . . . wxd6? 40 <E;f7 + . often demands long preparation.
40 d7
The white d-pawn has per­
Uhlmann-Lukin
formed a miracle, advancing for­
Leningrad 1984
ward under fire of the enemy
forces. Its life would again cost
Black a piece: 40 . . . <E;xd7 41
g e8 + !
40 §l.e3 +
41 lirfl il.b6
42 <E;xg6 hxg6
43 d8('i!1) Jl.xd8
44 !J[xd8
White has reached the ideal
force relationship. The remaining
endgame is of a technical charac­
ter.
44 ��res
45 we2 <E;e4 White has an extra pawn; more­
46 'i11 e3 <E;gS over, the black pawns resemble an
47 g e8 + archipelago, consisting of four
White brings his king into play separate islands. It is easier to
and starts a decisive manoeuvre. exploit such an advantage in the
47 wr6 endgame with bishops of opposite
48 li aS ��res colour. However, after prepara­
49 !\ a6 <E;e6 tion, there is a profitable rook
50 g4 f4 + exchange.
51 l!rf2 gS 42 f4
52 l;l a5 + wf6 In the first place, White strives
53 g dS to constrain his opponent's king
Zugzwang. to the maximum extent, threaten­
53 <E;c7 ing 43 12! e5.
54 gfS+ wg6 42 ��r r5
 The Exchange in the Endgame 159

43 g3 f6 and bishops of opposite colour,

44 iJ.e6 + ! the stronger side tries to retain the
As already noted, White in­ rooks.
tends to exchange rooks, but it is But there are no rules without
important at first to limit the exceptions . . .
black king's activity, which at the
moment is in a most favourable
MoUekens-Nesis
position; after the exchange of
lith European Carr. Ch.
rooks the weak d-pawn is
doomed. Naturally, 44 . . . f:; xe6'!
is prohibited in view of 45 g4 + .
44 <;W g6
45 g4 .& f3
46 .&f5 + <;Wf7
The black monarch is forced
away from the centre. Now the
decisive action begins - intrusion
of the white rook into his advers-
ary's position.
47 )Ac2 iJ.dl
48 6 c7 + wgs
49 E[ b7!
Tactics in service of strategy. 49 Black has an extra pawn, but

. . . .&xb3 is bad because of 50 a5 his powerful pawn grouping in the

and Black is helpless. centre cannot advance until the

49 h5 rooks are exchanged, since the

50 gxh5 .&xh5 white rooks are clearly more ac­

51 i2\ d7! tive than their black colleagues

and could set up unpleasant
The apotheosis of White's
threats against the black king
plans. After laborious prepara­
tions the German grandmaster along the h-file. Moreover Black

forces the exchange of rooks, with has to consider the possibility of

disastrous consequences for his White sacrificing the exchange by

opponent in a hopeless bishop means of g xb5 with subsequent

endgame, whilst on 51 . . . El,c6 52 advance of the passed a- and c­

\t xd4 play would be senseless. pawns.

Black resigned. 41 i!hS
In the above example we fol­ 42 & xhS
lowed the preparation and accom­ Otherwise the black rook pen­
plishment of exchange of rooks etrates on the open h-file to the
and transition into an endgame centre.
with bishops of the same colour. 42 1!1xh8
As a rule, in endings with rooks 43 g e3
160 The Exchange in the Endgame

43 g h3 + would be followed Miles-Portisch

by 43 . . . M h7 and White would Plovdiv 1983
either have to concede the h-file or
exchange rooks, which would
have been favourable for Black.
43 e5
44 gc3 <&g7
45 g3 <tlif7
46 t;!cl <;�re6
47 ghl
White seizes the h-file, but
Black activates his rook on the
other open b-file, which was not
possible in the presence of two
pairs of rooks. Black has an extra pawn. The
47 l!l b7! double b-pawns could become
48 ghS .ll_c6 very dangerous in the endgame,
The threat of the intrusion of but for the time being they are
the black rook onto the second safely blockaded by White's bis­
rank with subsequent advance of hops. The main obstacle for the
the pawn annada forces White to realization of Black's advantage is
exchange the second pair of the white queen, firmly pinning
rooks. down his bishop. In order to cut
49 !!;b8 g xb8 this Gordian knot it is necessary
50 .ll_xb8 f5 to exchange queens; the exper­
The white bishop is cut off from ienced Hungarian Grandmaster
his forces and cannot hinder the does not miss his chance.
black king from capturing the 34 � d7
white pawns. 35 -&xd7
White resigned. Alas, forced. The threat of 35
In complex endings, particu­ . . ·;;;- d2 leaves White with no
larly in the presence of queens, the alternatives.
exploitation of a material advant­ 35 J!.xd7
age can often be hindered by the With the help of the exchange
opponent's counterplay or by the Black's first problem is solved­
creation of specific threats against the freedom of his bishop.
the stronger sides' king. Usually 36 e4
in these cases the most important This pawn advance cramps
way to deal with the problem is to White's light coloured bishop
exchange queens and transpose abruptly. But it was necessary to
into a rook or minor-piece end­ free the e3 square for the king,
game. since the manoeuvre .ll_d7-b5--d3
 The Exchange in the Endgame 161

threatened the unavoidable lifting 44 il.g4

of the blockade. 45 il.f2 il. f3
36 il.b5 46 il.d4 b5
37 <i/;'e3 il.fl Black is not tempted to try to
38 g3 <11;> 18 win with just one pawn, since this
Black begins to activate his would mean transposing into an
king, which was impossible in the endgame with oppositely col­
presence of the queens. oured bishops.
39 il.d4 111 e8 47 il.bl h4
40 wdz The ring tightens relentlessly.
Transition into the endgame Black prepares to move his knight
with bishops of the same colour to c3.
by way of 40 il.xc5 would have 48 il.d3 <E)a4
been hopeless for White, since he 49 il.bl
would virtually have been minus White is not saved by 49 il.c4
two pawns. b2 50 il. d3, since after 5() . . . b3 he
40 111 d7 is in zugzwang. For instance: 5 1
41 h4 �W e i <E) c 5 5 2 il .b l �Wb5; 5 1 il. b l
The white king has to protect �Wb5; 5 1 il.e3 <E)c5; 5 1 �e3 il.dl
the d3 square; otherwise Black and in every case the black king
enforces exchange of light­ breaks through to his pawns.
squared bishops with . . il. d3!;
. 49 \l>b5
for example: 41 �c3 'i11 c6 42 �Wb4 50 il.d3 + �WaS
il.d3! 43 il.xd3 <E)xd3 + 44 \l>xb3 51 il. c4 b2
<E)c5 + and White has a hopeless 52 il.d3 b3
pawn or minor-piece endgame. Now b4 is free for the black
His only chance of saving the king.
game is to avoid exchanging his 53 il.bl 'i11 b4
bishops. But this is not easy. 54 il.d3 g6!
41 'i11 c6 And again Black makes use of a
42 il.e3 §L h3 zugzwang. Thus on 55 il. b l there
43 g5 h5 would follow 55 . . . '/l!c4 56 il.f2
First of all Black freezes his Qlc3, winning the key c3 square.
opponent's pawns and thereby 55 il. f2 <E)c3!
completely neutralizes White's The threat 56 . . . b l ('/l!) en­
advantage on the kingside (five forces the exchange and transition
pawns against four). into the endgame, but now with
44 il.d3 bishops of the same colour!
Offering a transition into the 56 il.c5 + '/l!XC5
endgame with opposite-coloured 57 'ili'xc3 il.e2!
bishops. Naturally Black ignores 58 il.bl il.dl
this offer. 59 '/l!xb2
/62 The Exchange in the Endgame

Thus, there is material equality

on the board, but black virtually
has an extra passed pawn, and
more importantly, his king is far
more active than white's. This cir­
cumstance decides the outcome of
the game. If White had refused
this free gift of a pawn, then he
would have been faced with a
hopeless pawn ending: 59 il_d3
$J.c2 60 jixc2 bxc2 61 �t;>xb2 �t;>d4 hands with the last move 29 . . .
62 Iii xc2 Iii xe4 etc. il_a4!. It is evident that White is
59 Wid4 trying to simplify the position, but
60 'iii cl il_O how to accomplish this with a
White resigned. profitable result? There are two
The exchange in a multi-piece possibilities-3D ,Sf5 + and
ending, with the object of realiz­ <E)c6 +. The Leningrad Grand­
ing a material advantage, does not master chose the former, more
always result in a technical end­ complex move, suited to her com­
game by any means. Sometimes binational style.
the exchange operation leads to a 30 .Sf5+
complex ending in which max­ In the opinion of Levitina's
imum effort is required from both trainer, the Leningrad master A.
players. We illustrate the com­ Ermolensky, whose analysis we
plexity associated with simplifica­ will follow in this ending, the
tion in a multi-piece ending with other method of simplification
an endgame from the semifinal would have been much more pro­
match of the Candidates for the fitable: 30 42)c6 + ! JLxc6 31 JLxc6
Women's World Championship. gxd2 + 32 ;!, xd2 .i{. c5 (if 32 . . .
Play is tense and far from being il_d8, then 33 g d7 + 'iii e6 34
without any mistakes. /!\ d6 + Wie7 35 b4 etc.) 33 g d7 +
W;>e8 (bad is 33 . . . <Q,>e6, in view of
Levitina-Aleksandria 34 /,!.c7) 34 ii. b5! � b6 35 !itd5+
g xb5 36 b4 we7 37 g xeS and
Dubna 1983
White wins.
The situation is extremely 30 lil f8
tense. Moreover, both players are 31 il_b7
short of time. White has an extra After the intermediate move 3 1
pawn and if she could consolidate b3, Black would have answered 3 1
her position, the material advan­ . . . ):! xd5! 32 g xd5 il_c6 3 3 �ii h3
tage may become decisive. How­ il.xd5 34 !!;xd5 g6 with a subse­
ever, the experienced Georgian quent 35 . . g xa3 and a draw.
player forces her opponent's 31 il_xdl
 The Exchange in the Endgame 163

32 !!:xd8 + .ill. xd8

33 §Lxa6
It is possible to summarize the
exchange operations. The pos­
ition has simplified, but Black is
freed from her exposed rook on
a6, whilst the two bishops control
the whole board and White's
extra pawn is almost of no signi­
ficance. However, the resulting
position cannot be classified as a
minor-piece technical endgame. definitely turn in White's
As before, there is still a lot of favour-42 <£)e6 .ill_ d3! (bad is 42
play left in the game. Both players . . . g6 because of 43 <£)d4 .ill_ e4 44
are in time trouble; play con­ €lc6 + forcing the exchange of
tinued: the bishop for the knight and
33 .ill_ b6 transition into a won endgame, in
34 §Lc4 §L c2 spite of the presence of 'opposite­
35 <i)d6 .ill_ d4 coloured' bishops) 43 .ill_ d5 (but
36 b4 .ill_ b2 now the exchange 43 §Lxd3 l!;?xe6
37 <i:\xl7 §Lxa3 would lead to a draw) 43 . . . g6
Has Black profited by the (the continuous chasing of the bis­
exchange of pawns? Naturally hop is unprofitable: 43 . . . §Le4 44
any pawn exchange helps the .ill_ b3 §Lc2 45 €ld4!) 44 €ld4 .ill_ c 5
defending side. But the above 45 €lf3! (this is stronger than the
exchanges were in White's favour. tempting 45 €lc6+ , in which case
The point is that the battle de­ Black would hold on with 45 . . .
velops into a narrower front, l!;?d7! 46 e6 + l!;?e8 47 €le5 §Lc2
where the knight is not inferior to 48 €Jf7 h5 49 gxh5 gxh5 50 1!rh4
the bishop. §Lg6 51 €le5 §Le7 + ). Now risky
38 bS _ke4+ is 45 . . . .ill_ xb5 because of 46 f5,
39 1Wh3 w e7 and if g6-g5 is prepared by means
40 -E)gS .ii c2 of 45 . . . .ill_ e3, then interesting of
The game was adjourned at this 46 €\ e l l? .ill_ b l 47 l!fg3 followed
stage and Levitina sealed her by transfer of the knight via e l­
move. g2-e3.
41 g4 However, subsequent play took
What is the conclusion of a a different course.
painstaking horne analysis of this 41 .ill_ b2!
situation? We give Ermolensky's An accurate decision. The fact
analysis: is that after the hasty 42 €le6
The result of the analysis shows .ill_ d3! (again this thematic
that on 41 . . h6 the game would exchange) 43 .ill_ xd3 1!r xe6 44
164 Th e Exc hange in the Endgame
iJ. xh7 g5 45 iJ.g8 + <�?e7 46 <�?g3
gxf4 + 47 <�?xf4 iJ.cl +, despite
the two extra pawns, the game
would conclude with a draw in a
bishop endgame; the king would
be unable to support the advance
of the g-pawn, and if it is
exchanged for the a-pawn, again
the result would be a draw, since
the separation of two lines
between the passed pawns, one of
which being the knight's pawn, is
not sufficient for victory. If the
exchange is carried out by way of
43 iJ.d5, then after 43 . . . g6 the
knight is deprived of the d4
square, whilst Black threatens
with the simple 44 . . iJ.xb5.
. A blunder in a hopeless posi­
42 €l f7 iJ. d4?!
An unfortunate decision.
Necessary was 42 . . . h6! threaten­
ing 43 . . . g5! For instance: 43
<�?g3 g5! 44 f5 iJ.d3 or 43 <�?h4
g5 + ! 44 fxg5 hxg5 45 Wlxg5 iJ.d3
with the familiar drawn endgame.
43 \f1g3 iJ.d3
The thematic exchange of the
bishop for the knight runs
through the whole of this end­
game, with the transition into a
drawn opposite coloured bishop
ending.
44 €ld6 iJ.cZ
But now a bishop-knight end­
game would not work out for
Black.
45 <Wf3 h6
46 iJ.e2 <�?d7
Necessary was 46 . . . l!;>e6! 47
€lc4 g5! and if 48 €)e3, 48 . . .
iJ. xe3 (and in this case the conclu­
sion is beneficial for Black even in
an ending with bishops of the
same colour.) 49 <;t>xe3 gxf4 + 50
\f1xf4 and Black has constructed
an impregnable fortress.
47 €)c4 iJ.c3
48 €)e3 iJ.b1
49 iJ.c4 g6?!
Black cannot bear the tension
and weakens her position even
more.
50 iJ.f7 iJ.d4
51 €ld5
Avoiding the exchange of the
knight-it has a better future.
51 iJ.cS
52 €lf6 + \f1e7
53 iJ. c4 <;t>f8?
tion.
54 €ld7+
Black resigned.
The above example leads us to
the conclusion, that the exchange
at material inequality could be
beneficial not only to the stronger
side. On the contrary, in many
variations simplification was
shown to be beneficial to the side
with the material deficiency.
Everything depends on the factual
conditions (the activity of the
pieces, the pawn configurations)
and in particular on the residual
material on the board after the
exchange operations. Thus, Black
struggled to exchange bishop for
knight, even at the cost of losing
yet another pawn, since the result­
ing endgame with opposite-col­
oured bishops is characteristic for
its drawing tendencies. Hence, the
exchange is a very important

weapon in the hands of the
weaker side. This applies as much
to the exchange of a piece-aim­
ing for an improved material rela­
tionship (with a view of securing a
draw) as to pawn exchanges with
the object of a simple decrease in
the quantity of material on the
board, which also often makes the
realization of a material advant­
age more difficult.
P. Nikolic-Cebalo
Vr:i ac 1983
Black is a pawn down, with no
visible compensation-White's
pieces stand firmly, there is no
evident weakness in his position.
Often in such positions the
weaker side 'goes under'. Let us
follow how resourcefully and
instructively Black conducts the
ensuing struggle.
23 -deS
A chessplayer with a material
deficiency very often fearfully
avoids simplification, since every
exchange seems to diminish his
drawing chances.
Alas, a widespread, and fimda­
mentally incorrect reasoning. The
The Exchange in the Endgame 165
only objective approach to the
correct procedure is by means of
an examination of the dynamics
of the position and the qualitative
changes resulting from the
exchange.
Let us return to the game in
question. the white knight is
beautifully placed on d3. Apart
from its other functions, it con­
trols the important e5 square,
where Black would like to place
his bishop-an ideal place for
covering both of his opponents
flanks. Evidently this was the sort
of reasoning of the Yugoslav in­
ternational master, playing with
the black pieces; he was not afraid
of simplifications on playing 23
. . . E)e5!
24 <i'lxeS
In view of the threat 24
<i'lg4, White is practically forced
to exchange knights.
24 iJ.xeS
Black exchanged with gain of a
tempo-the g3 pawn is attacked.
25 o;l;g2 8 h5
Without wasting time to defend
the a7 pawn, Black hurries to
place his rooks on the h-file.
26 il_xa7 Ji; dh8
27 ii._xe6 + ?
Black's active defence bears its
psychological fruits. His sudden
counterplay causes White to make
a mistake. Stronger would have
been 27 �f3, and if 27 . . Ill g5,
.
then 28 g g l il_g4+ 29 �e3 and
White is standing well. With the
exchange on e6 White tried to
liquidate his adversary's attacking
166 The Exchange in the Endgame

chances, but now the weakness of Black's most hopeful course is

his central pawns is becoming transition into a 'pure' rook end­
apparent (in addition to his weak game. Correct evaluation of the
g3 pawn). emerging endgame results in a
27 fxe6 draw, without causing any par­
28 £�. afl ticular anxieties to Black. On the
Black's position would also other hand, the seemingly more
have been strong after 28 lj,?f3 active 32 . . . g a5 would lead to
gf8 29 lf;>g4 ;axf2 30 .ll.xf2 g h2. unnecessary complications, mak­
28 .ll. xb2 ing it more difficult for Black to
White cannot answer with 29 reach a draw, for instance 33
g xb2? g h2 + , and White is now g c7 + W�b6 34 )iii e7 )! xa2 35
left with four isolated pawns )!xe6+ lf;>c5 36 lj,?f3 <;t;>xc4 37
29 )! f8 + g xf8 g b6. It is clear that there would
30 )iii xf8+ lf;>d7 have been difficulties in this varia­
31 g f7 + lf;>c6 tion, associated with a 'mixed'
32 .ll. b8 ending. Thus, the way to a draw is
achieved by means of an
exchange.
33 .ll. xeS g xe5
34 lf;> f3 g5
We show the concluding part of
the game in brief, mentioning
only that Black displayed excel­
lent endgame technique: 35 '{! e7
b6 36 'l;>e3 W�d6 37 g b7 <;t;>c6 38
g a7 ac5 39 W/d4 e5 + 40 <;t;>d3
g4! 41 i;!g7 )iii a5 42 ll! xg4 !;!a3 +
43 lf;>c2 )! xa2+ 44 W�b3 l!\e2.
32 .ll. eS! Draw.

Total for Book: 20 lu·s 33min

Index of Players

Adorjan 1 3 6 Gulko 1 19, 127

Agzamov 1 53 Gurevich, D. 151
Alapin 31 Gurevich, M. 1 3 7
Alckhine 5, 26, 62, 8 1 , 87, 88, 145 Gurieli 1 8
Aleksandria 162
Ambroz 1 1 2 Hebert 1 2 1
Andersson 57 Hecht 68
Andrianov I 1 4 Henley 1 5 1
Anton 1 57 Hjartason 1 1 3
Aronin 144 Hodgson l i S
Aseev 137 Honfi 1 12
Averbakh 28 Hort 1 1 5, 129
Azmaiparashvili 134
llivitzky 92
Bareev ISO llyin·Zhenevsky 94
Barkovsky 3 Ivkov 109
Be1yavsky 19. 60
Bogoljubow 8 Kampfkhenkel 3
Boleslavsky l 3 Karpov 15, 19, 43, 68, 1 29, 146, 155
Botvinnik 1 0 , 84, 85 Kasparov 60
Bronstein 96 Kavalek I l l
Keres 22, 28, 32, 80
Capablanca 70 Khalifman 105, 150
Ceba1o 66, 165 Kholmov 95
Kivlan 73
Dolmatov 138 Kochiev 73
Duras 38 Konszantinopolsky 16
Dzindzhihashvili 45 Korelov 72
Kotov 13, 98, 139
Efimov 1 1 4 Kovacevic 125
Eliskases 88 Kuzmin 1 5
Ermolinsky 39, 72, 78
Ershov 133 Larsen 2 , 54, 68
Euwe 5, 26, 87, 124 Lekrok 157
Levitina 18, 1 3 1 , 162
Fischer 7, I I , 44, L 10 Ljubojevic 75, 139
FtiCnik 1 5 1 Lombardy 7
Lukin 7, 138, 158
Garcia 153
Geller 22, 54, 92 Maeder 123
Georgadze 37 Malaniuk 1 1 8
Georgiev, Kir. 58 Mallee 147
Ghcorghiu 21, 58 Marjanovic 75
G1igoric 2, 9 1 , 98, 1 1 6 Marshall 70, 89
Gufe1d 52 Mecking 42, 1 4 1
168 Index of Players

Mednis l36 Tukmakov 1251 153

Mclashvili 131 Uhlmann 158
Miles 19, 25, 45, 160 Unzicker l l
Mollckens 159
Monin 78 Vaganian 1 3 1
Mortensen 140 V a n Riemsdijk 143
Vasyukov 127
Naumkin 105 Vladimirov, B. I 56
Ncsis 77, 103, 107, 133, 147, 1 56, 159
Nikolic, P. 165 Yap 23
Nimzowitsch 89 Yates 6, 145
Nogueiras 66 Yudasin l l 3
Nunn 153 Yurgis 85
Yurtaev 134
Oll 37
Zagoryansky 86
Panchcnko 50
Petrosian, A. 50
Petrosian, T. 42, 80, 1 1 0
Pinter, 23
Podolsky l 03
Polovodin 39
Polugaycvsky 19, l l l , 1 1 8, 1 3 1 , 1 4 1 , 146
Pomar 43
Popovic 130
Portisch 68, 121, 160
Psakhis 83

Ragozin 94
Razuvayev 130
Reshcvsky 124
RCti 81
Ribli 34, 1 1 7
Rozhdestvensky 107
Romanishin 83, 1 5 5
Rubinstein 6 , 8, 3 1 , 38

Salov 140
Simonov 77
Sincsh 109
Smyslov 3, 16, 21, 32, 34, 52, 84, 96,
139, 144
Spassky 95
Spielmann 62
Stahlberg 1 1 6, !39
Stein 86, 9 1
Suba 1 5 1
Suetin 1 19
Sunye 143
Suttles 3
Sveningson 123

Taimanov 44
Tal 10, 57
Timman 25
Torre 1 1 7
Tscitlin 7
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