mastering the endgame GLENN FLEAR l"P yCopyrighted Material First published 2001 by Everyman Publishers ple, formerly Cadogan Books: ple, Gloucester Mansions, 140A Shaftesbury Avenue. London WC2H 8HD Copyright © 2001 Glenn Flear ‘The right of Glenn Flear to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library, ISBN 1 85744 233 4 Distributed in North America by The Globe Pequot Press, PO Box 480, 246 Goose Lane, Guilford, CT 06437-0480. All other sales enquiries should be directed to Everyman Chess, Gloucester Mansions, 140A Shaftesbury Avenue, London WC2H 8HD tel: 020 7539 7600 fax: 020 7379 4060 email: dan@everyman.uk-com website: www.everyman.uk.com EVERYMAN CHESS SERIES (formerly Cadogan Chess) Chief Advisor: Garry Kasparov Commissioning editor: Byron Jacobs Typeset and edited by First Rank Publishing, Brighton Production by Book Production Services Printed and bound in Great Britain by The Cromwell Press Ltd., Trowbridge, Wiltshire Copyrighted MaterialCopyrighted Material Contents Bibliography 4 _/ Introduction 5 1, Learn from the Masters 9 2. Principles of Rook Endgames 30 3. Theory of Rook Endgames 53 4, Pawns and Queens 84 ’ 5. Minor Pieces 104 / 6, Rook vs, Minor Piece 140 7. Solutions to Exercises 161 Copyrighted MaterialCopyrighted Material Contents Bibliography 4 _/ Introduction 5 1, Learn from the Masters 9 2. Principles of Rook Endgames 30 3. Theory of Rook Endgames 53 4, Pawns and Queens 84 ’ 5. Minor Pieces 104 / 6, Rook vs, Minor Piece 140 7. Solutions to Exercises 161 Copyrighted MaterialChapter One Learn from the Masters 7, Drawish, but not yet Drawn! 7, Active Pieces YZ Patient Play 7, The Benefits of Study Y Try it YourselfCopyrighted Material Mastering the Endgame In my youth I particularly enjoyed playing through games collections, and I found that these were especially instructive when the games were analysed by the players themselves. The time spent generated my interest in certain openings and strategies and — importantly — the way in which world-class players thought. Consequently their ap- proach to the game became less mysterious. I saw how strong players handled simplified positions and this stimulated me to analyse their endings as well as my own, which in turn led to an interest in special- ised endgame works. There were some endings that | found to be so enlightening that they stuck in my memory. I have included ten of my favourites here and [ hope that the reader will enjoy them as much as! did, the moments where important practical decisions were made being particularly useful. Hopefully lessons on these pages will enable you to better make such decisions in your own games! Drawish, but not yet Drawn! Example 1 © Cohn ll Rubinstein St Petersburg 1909 Diagram 1 (B) Diagram 2 (Ww) White-has slight pawn weaknesses Should White detend or attack? Material is level but White has some slight weaknesses in his pawn structure. Black could continue with 1...e5 but after 2 Bd3 followed by Rgl it is difficult to see how he can win by normal means against sen- sible defence. Instead Rubinstein provokes further exchanges (his ap- ponent had clearly been playing for a draw from the very start). 1...Ned+ 2 Bxed Rxed 3 Rel? An exchange too far! 3 fa, gaining space and putting a stop to any Copyrighted MaterialCopyrighted Material Learn from the Masters. ideas of ..Rh4, was more appropriate, although Black could still maintain some pressure with 3.,.Kf%6 4 Kd3 b5 5 Rg! hél, intending .uft5 oF ..g5. White can only wait and defend. Tip: With a slightly worse position, rook endings are much easier to draw than pawn endings. 3..Rxel 4 Kxel Kfé 5 Kd? Kg5 (Diagram 2) 6 Ke? Both kings head for the isolated h-pawn. White could instead abandon the kingside to its fate and move to the queenside to try and make a queen of his own. In such circumstances analysing variations in which one’s mind’s eye is going backwards and forwards can be confusing, which 1s why stronger players ‘count’ moves in order to give them a clearer idea as to the winner of the race. This is how it works: from the diagram position, if White were allowed to queen his b-pawn how long would it take? Ke3-d4-c5-d6-c7xb7xa7 and then b5-b6-b7-b8Q, making a total of eleven moves. If, meanwhile, Black were queening his h-pawn, how long would that take? Kh4-h3xh2-g2 and then ...h7- h5-h4-h3-h2-h1Q. this time only nine moves. Therefore Black appears to be winning after 6 Ke3 etc. However, do not just leave it there — counting is merely a guide, not analysis. We must also take into account who moves first (White in this case) and look to see if anyone can gain time in the race. In fact when White gets to c7 Black can play ...b5!, which gains a further tempo for Black, so White is indeed too slow. The final piece of advice is not to get obsessed with the consequences of a race and miss other ideas, for example 6 Ke3 b6 7 Ked a6, creat- ing a barrier against. the white king. This ean then be met with the idea of pushing the a-pawn to a5. freeing the c5-square for the king to invade and subsequently capture the aG-pawn, thus beginning an- other race! If you want to know what happens, start counting! Tip: Counting is a useful too! but use it only as a guide, not to en- tirely replace analysis, 6...Kh4 7 Kfl Kh3 8 Kgl e5! Preventing 9 f4, when White gains breathing space. 9 Khi b5 Locking up the queenside and keeping a reserve tempo (...07-a6) up his sleeve. White, tied down to his weak h-pawn, can only wait 10 Kgi f5 11 Kh g5 12 Kg] ho 13 Khl g4 14 e4 14 fxg? is given in many books as a better defence but after 14..fxg4 15 Kgl h4 16 Khl ef! 17 Kgl g3 18 hxg3 bxg? 19 fxg3 Kxg3 20 KEL Kf3 21 Kel Kxe3 things are straightforward. 14... fxe4 15 fxed Copyrighted Material "1Copyrighted Material Mastering the Endgame Or 15 fxg4 hxgd 16 Kgl e3 17 fxed e4 18 Kh1 g3 19 hxg3 Kxg3 20 Kg] KES ete. 15...h4 16 Kg! g3 17 hxg hxg3 0-1 18 fxg3 Kxg3 19 Kfl Kf3 20 Kel Kxed is hopeless for White and 18 f4 exfd 19 e5 £3 20 66 g2 21 e7 Ke 22 e8Q f2 is mate. White was totally tied down, which enabled Rubinstein to advance his pawns and create a path for his king to capture the loose e-pawn. Note: A big space advantage against a passive set-up can often be enough to win. Exampie 2 CO Kotov ll Botvinnik USSR Championship 1958 Diagram 3 (W) Diagram 4 (8) Can Black break through? Black needs a second passed pawn Note: Opposite-coloured bishop endings are notoriously drawish despite the disadvantage of a pawn, White naturally avoids the pawn ending. 1 Bdd Bes 2 Kg3 KET 3 hd g6 Both sides put their pawns on squares that cannot be attacked by their opponent's bishop, 4 Kf2 Ke6 5 Ke2 Kfs 6 Kd2 Kg4 7 Bfé Kg3 8 Be7 Kh3 9 Bfé Trading pawns with 9 Bxb4 Kxh4 would give Black an extremely dangerous passed h-pawn as White's king ia too far away 9...Kg4 10 Be7 BES! Botvinmik manoeuvres his bishop to e6, where it will indirectly defend Copyrighted MaterialCopyrighted Material Lear from the Masters. the b-pawn. 11 Bf6 KES 12 Be7 b3 13 Ke3 Be6 The capture 13...Kxe3 leads to the advantage of two pawns but after 14 Kxb3 Kxfd 15 Ke3 Ke3 16 Bei+ Ke 17 Be7! d4+ 18 Kd2 Black cannot progress. 14 Be5 (Diagram 4) Better was 14 Kd2!, which should draw. Now Botvinnik finds an as- tonishing win. 14...g8!! ‘After either capture Botvinnik obtains the desired second passed pawn 15 fxg After 15 hxgS h4 16 Bd6 Bf 17 g6 Bxg6 18 f BxfS 19 Kxb3 Kg2 the ‘h-pawn costs White his bishop. 15...d4+! Defending the b-pawn. 16 exd4 In the event of 16 Bxd4 Black has 16...Kg3 17 g6 Kxh4 18 Kd2 Kh3 19 Bf6 h4 20 Ke2 Kg2! and the white bishop is overloaded. 16...Kg3! 17 Bad Pushing the g-pawn doesn't help as the g8-square is firmly under Black's control 17...Kxh4 18 Kd3 Kxg5 19 Ke4 ha 20 Kf3 Bd5+ 0-1 Black will pick off the d-pawn and march over to win the bishop for the b-pawn, returning to queen the h-pawn (the correct rook's pawn). Tip: Look out for ways to obtain a second passed pawn in opposite- coloured bishop endings. Active Pieces Example 3 CO Ettinger ll Capablanca New York 1907 Capablanca was well-known for his endgame play; one major quality that is quite evident in his games is his understanding of how to han- dle his king, and here is a good illustration. In a complicated position Capablanca finds a way to eliminate White's best defender and then invade with his king, at the cost of a modest. pawn. Copyrighted Material 13Copyrighted Material Mastering the Endgame 14 Diagram 5 (B) Diagram 6 (B) How can Black get his king in? Black needs a final breakthrough 1..Ne4! 2 Nxcd 2 Nfi allows 2..Rf2 3 Kel Rxfl+ 4 Kxfl Nxd2+ 5 Kf2 Ned+ 6 Kxf3 Nxe3 7 Ke3 Kfé! and Black should win, for instance after 8 Kf3 Ne4 9 Rad Nd6 10 Rb4 Ned the d-pawn falls. Note: Two minor pieces generally outplay a rook if they have good ‘squares and some weak pawns to attack, especially if the side with a rook doesn't have any passed pawns. 2..dxe4 3 Rxed Kd5 4 Re8 Following 4 Rad Ke4 5 Ra3 Rg2 6 Kel Rxg3 Black's strong pieces and advanced f-pawn will soon win the game. 4,..Ke4! 5 Re8+ Kd3 6 Rxe2 fxe2+ 7 Kel At first sight White looks as if he might be holding, but Capablanca had prepared a neat finish which eliminates all resistance. 7..Be7 8 BM Bad 9 Bd2 (Diagram 6) 9...f4! Decisively opening the el-h4 diagonal. 10 gxf4 Bd8 0-1 The threat of ..Bh4 causes White to resign. Note: Many endings are decided by a king invasion, for the king can be a powertul attacking piece. Example 4 (O Alekhine ll Yates: London 1922 Black has potential holes on squares such as cé5, ¢6 and, particularly, Copyrighted MaterialCopyrighted Material Learn from the Masters 5, and his bishop is likely to be locked in by his rigid d5-e6-£5 com- plex. Thus White aims to exchange the enemy knight, since then the e5-square will be his property Diagram 7 (W) Diagram 8 (B) White has the e-file and e5 White has invaded! 1 Nb3 ad 2 NeS NxeS 3 Qxc5 ‘The exchange of queens is difficult for Black to avoid. 3..Qx05 4 Rxc5! It is important to keep open and control the e-file. After 4 dxe5 White has a passed pawn but this is not that easy to queen and, further- more, Black will obtain counterplay with 4...e5. 4..b4 5 Rfcl Ba6 6 Ne5 RebS The exchange of rooks with 6...Rec8 7 Rxe8+ Rxe8 8 Rxe8+ Bxc8 does not help as 9 Nc6 wins at least a pawn. Three of White's four pieces are on dominating squares. so now is the moment to increase the pressure by introducing the fourth! 7 £3 b3 8 a3 Closing the wing rules out any hopes of counterplay. 8..h6 9 Kf2 Kh7 10 h4 Played to gain space and further control of the kingside, 10...R68 11 Kg3 RDB Now if Black exchanges all the rooks White puts his knight on c5, hit- ting both ad and e6. 12 Re? ‘The rook invades on the seventh rank, an important moment in many endings. Copyrighted Material 15Copyrighted Material Mastering the Endgame 0 Note: Rooks on the seventh rank tie down an opponent as they attack pawns bath from the side and behind. 12...Bb5 13 Ric5. ‘Tying Black up and gaining time to double rooks on the seventh. Note: Doubled rooks on the seventh rank are almost always a powerful attacking force. 13...Ba6 14 R5c6 Re8 15 Kf White is in no hurry and prepares the decisive entry of his king 15...Kg8 16 h5 BEL 17 g3 Baé 18 RET Kh7 19 Ree? Rg8 20 Nd7 Kh8 21 Nf6 (Diagram 8) The knight cannot be captured due to mate, 21...Rgf 22 Rxg7! Rxf6é 23 Ke5 1-0 Either rook to f8 allows mate with checks on h7 and g7. so the rook is lost. Black resigned in a position that amply illustrates the power of a pair of rooks on the seventh rank as well as that of an active, central- ized king. By gradually increasing control of the board Alekhine never gave his opponent a chance. Example 5 CO Fischer lll Petrosian Buenos Aires 1971 Diagram 9 (W) Diagram 10 (8) White has better pieces. White has much better pieces: White has a nice position as Black has passive pieces and two isolated pawns that require defending. The knight is well-placed on c5 and the bishop on d7 is potentially a ‘bad’ bishop, so White's next move may come as a surprise! Copyrighted MaterialCopyrighted Material Learn from the Masters 1 Nxd7+ When considering exchanges there is a golden rule: Note: It is mot what you exchange that counts, rather what is left on the chessboard! Fischer exchanges one of his opponent's ‘inferior’ pieces but can now use his rook on the e-file, 1..Rad7 2 Rel Rd6 3 Re7 Nd7 4 Re2 g6 5 Kf2 Nudging the king closer to the centre, a particularly sensible policy since Black can do nothing special. 5.uh5 6 f4 hd 7 KES £5 8 Ked Aiming for the perfect central square d4. Black avoids this but at the cost of weakening the a2-g8 diagonal. 8..d4+ 9 Kd2 (Diagram 10) 9...Nb6 This prevents the bishop from coming to ¢4 but, as a consequence, al- lows doubled rooks on the seventh rank. 10 Ree7 Nd5 11 Rf7+ Ke8 12 Rb7 Nxb4 13 Bed 1-0 Coming to e4 anyway. Black resigned as 13..Nc6 14 Rh7 Rf6 15 Rh8+ RES 16 Bf7+ Kd8 17 Rxf8 is already mate. Tip: Don't be atraid of exchanging off a well-posted piece for a poor one if this trade improves the prospects for the rest of your army. Example 6 (Fischer ill Taimanov Buenos Aires 1971 Diagram 14 (B) Diagram 12 (B) ‘The bishop gives White a small edge White's bishop is dominating Copyrighted Material 7Copyrighted Material Mastering the Endgame xa White's bishop is a slightly better piece than the knight, permitting the ereation of play on both flanks. However, the pawns are symmet- rical and the black position is solid 1...b6 2 BFL Provoking a hale on b5. 2...a5 3 Bed R68 4 Kg2 Kd6 5 Kf3 Nd7 6 Re3 Nb8 7 Rd3+ Ke7 8 c3. Keeping the knight from b4 and d4. 8...Ne6 9 Re3 Kd6 10 a4 Blocking Black's queenside pawns but keeping open a potential inva- sion route for his king (c4-b5). 10...Ne7 LL h3 Black is just waiting so Fischer takes his time and gradually increases his territorial advantage. 11...Ne6 12 h4 h5 Avoiding a big squeeze on the kingside with h4-h5 and g3-g4-g5, but fixing his own pawns on light squares in the process 13 Rd3+ Ke7 14 Rd5 5 Another pawn on a light square and a weakening of e6 are the further costs of competing for some space. 15 Rd2 Rf6 16 Re2 Kd7 17 Red g6 18 BbS Rd6 19 Ke2 Kd8 Black should really have tried to keep rooks on the board with 19...Ke7, 20 Rd3! ‘The exchange of rooks exposes the g6-pawn to attack. White's king is also free to threaten invasion and Black's knight has difficulty in cov- ering both flanks. 20...Ke7 21 Rxd6 Kxd6 22 Kd3 Ne7 23 Be8 Kd5 24 Bf7+ Kd6 25 Ked Ke6 26 Bes+ Gaining further ground, 26...Kb7 27 Kb5 Ne8 Warning: Don't get so carried away with your intricate schemes that you forget the safety of your own king! ‘The threat is 28...Nd6 mate! 28 Be6+ Ke7 29 Bd5 (Diagram 12) 29...Ne7 ‘The alternative defence 20...Nd6+ 30 Ka6 Ne4 31 Bf7 Nxg3 32 Bxgé Copyrighted MaterialCopyrighted Material Leam from the Masters. Ke6 is best met by 33 Be8+ Ke7 34 Kba!, intending to invade on d5, Then 34,,.Ne2 35 Bxh5 Nxf4 36 BE3 Nh3 37 hd Ng5 38 h6 leaves White's passed pawn as the most dangerous, while after 34...Kb7 35 Ke4 Ke7 86 Kd5 Ne2 37 Ked the king goes pawn hunting. 30 Bf Kb7 31 Bb3 Ka7 32 Bdl Kb7 33 Bf8+ Ke7 After 33.,.Ka7 ugzwang results from 34 ed. The white king then heads for the weakness on g6: 34...Ng8 35 Ke6 NfG 36 Kd6 Ne4+ 37 Ke6 Nxgd 38 KET Ned 39 Kxg6 Nd6 40 b3 Kb8 41 Kxh5 etc, 34 Ka6 Ng8 35 Bd5 Ne7 36 Bcd Nc6 37 Bf7 Ne7 38 Be’ Zugzwang! Black is stretched to the limit, defending his two weak pawns, 88...Kd8 39 Bxg6! A fine breakthrough. The knight is no match for the army of pawns. 39...Nxg6 40 Kxb6 Kd7 41 Kxc5 Ne7 42 bd axb4 43 exb4 Ne8 44 ab Nd6 45 b5 Ned+ 46 Kb6 Ke8 47 Ke6 Kb8 1-0 Black did not wait for 48 b6 Nxg3 49 a6 Ned 50 a7+ Ka8 51 b7+ Kxa7 62 Ke7 ete. Tip: If you have an edge, but nothing definite, try to accumulate ‘small advantages and to obtain concessions from your opponent. Patient Play Diagram 13 (B) Diagram 14 (W) White has slightly better pieces White needs to enter with the king Copyrighted Material 19Copyrighted Material Mastering the Endgame 0 The symmetrical pawns offer Black reasonably good chanees to draw. However. White retains a nagging edge due to his slightly superior minor pieces. Note: A very smail advantage can be persistent if there is no counterplay. L..Ke7 2 Na Probing the queenside, 2...Be8 3 Nb4 Kd6 4 £3 Ng 5 hd Nh6 6 Kf NfS ‘The knight is well placed here but Karpov does not allow it to stay for long 7 Ne? £6 8 Bd3 g5 Kasparov tries to play actively but cannot avoid most of his pawns be- ing stuck on light squares. 9 BxfS BxfS 10 Ne3 Bb1 11 ba! Fixing the pawns. 1L.gxh4 (Diagram 14) If White recaptures on hd with the pawn then there is ne invasion route into the black camp. Karpov, however, has a master stroke pre- pared... 12 Ng2t Investing a pawn for an entry square. Kasparay, who almost certainly missed this move, now has to sit and watch an instructive display of a good knight dominating a bad bishop. Tip: Strong retreating moves are often simply missed by an oppo- nent! This is because we are naturally accustomed to aggressive gestures and attacking ideas as forward-moving (and not only in chess). 12...hxg3+ After 12...h3 13 Nf, followed by K#2-g1-h2, both h-pawns soon fall. 13 Kxg3 Ke6 14 Nf4+ Kf 15 Nxh5! The simplest. 15...Ke6 16 Nfl+ Kd6 17 Kg4 Be2 18 Kh5 Bdl 19 Kg6 Ke7 Or 19...Bxf3 20 Kxf6 Bg4 21 Nd3 Bh3 22 Ned Be8 23 Kf7 and Black is in zugawang and has to give way — 23...Ke7 24 Ke7 Ke6 25 KdB etc, 20 Nxd5+ Ke6 21 Ne7+ Kd7 22 Nxa6é Bxf3 23 Kxf6 Kd6 24 KfS Kd5 25 Kf4 Bhi 26 Ke3 Ke4 27 Ne5 Be6é 28 Nd3 Bg2 29 Ne5+ Ke3 30 Ng6 Ked $1 Ne7 Bb7 32 NfS Bg? 33 Nd6+ Kb3 34 Nxb5 Kad 35 Nd6 1-0 Copyrighted MaterialCopyrighted Material Learn from the Masters The win is clear after 35... Kxa3 36 b5 Kb4 37 b6 Kad 38 b7 Bxb7 39 Nxb7+ Kb6 40 Ne5. Tip: To win against a poor minor piece you still need to invade with your king. Exampie 8 CO Kasparov il Karpov Lyon 1990 Diagram 15 (B) Diagram 16 (W) ‘White must be patient Time to make a break Not all endings flow comfortably, Some involve patient probing and meandering back and forth to test the defender's resolve. In the dia- gram position White has the advantage of the exchange for a pawn, but with few pawns remaining on the board the win will not be easy. 1...Nf4 2 Rh4 Nd3 3 Be3 e5 4 Kg3 d4 5 Bd? Bd5 6 Rh5 Kf7 7 Bad Ke6 Black has centralized his pieces well and White will have a tough task in trying to find chinks in the armour. 8 Rh8 Nb2 9 Re8+ Kd6 10 Bb4+ Ke6 11 Re8+ Kd7 12 Re5 Ke6 13 Re7 g6 Natural, but Kasparov suggests going active with 13...Nce4!, when 14 Rxg7 d3 15 Rg6+ KET 16 Ra d2 should draw. 14 Re7+ Kfé 15 Rd7 Ba2 16 Ra7 Bed 17 Bad Bd3 (Diagram 16) 17...Nd3 would avoid White's next move. ‘18 fa! Breaking up the central pawns and ultimately exchanging his f-pawn for Black's pair. The white king can then play a more active role but Copyrighted Material 21Copyrighted Material Mastering the Endgame there will be only one pawn each on the board, which is generally a drawish factor. 18..exf4+ 18...e4? allows 19 Bb6, winning the d-pawn. 19 Kxf4 Bo? 20 Ra6+ Kf7 21 Ke5 Nd3+ Kasparov intended to meet 21...d3 with 22 Ra7+ Ke8 23 Kf6, when Black should be mated quickly, e.g. 23...Ne4 24 Re7+ Kf8 25 Bh4 Kg8 26 Re8+ Kh7 27 Be3 d2 28 Kg5, 22 Kxd4 Nf2 23 g5 BfS 24 Bd2 Ke7 25 Kd5 White hopes ta harmonise his three pieces to create a mating net. First, however, he needs to push the black knight away from the cen- tre. 25...Ne4 26 Ra7+ KeS 27 Be3 Ne3+ 28 Kes Kd8 29 Bb6+ Ked 30 Re7 Ne4 31 Be3 Ng3 32 Bfd Nh5 33 Ra7 Black looks to have an impenetrable fortress. The squares e6, f6 and g6 are all protected, so White's king cannot easily contribute to a mat- ing net. 33...KB Trading on f4 loses as White will march his king tof and then simply prepare to play Rg7 and Rxg6, as the pawn ending is winning. 34 Bh2 Ng7 35 Bel Nh5 36 BeS+ Kgs 37 Kd6 Kis 38 Bd4 Bgd 39 Bes BfS 40 Rh7 Kg8 41 Re7 Kfs 42 Keé Kg8 43 Re7 Kfs 44 Bdé Kg 45 Re8+ Kf7 46 Re7+ Kg8 47 BeS K&S 48 Ra7 White has not progressed in the last few moves, against a stubborn defence, However, the longer one plays an ending such as this, the deeper one can delve into the position and, ultimately. find the solu- tion, Tip: Be patient and keep testing the defence. It is useful to remember that it is more stressful and tiring to defend such positions than it is to play risklessly for a win. 48...Bg4 49 Kd6 Bh3 50 Ra3 Bg4 51 Rea! ‘This is the key move of the winning plan. The rook controls the e-file, keeping Black's king on the kingside whilst the king heads for the d8- square, the significance of which will become clear, §1...Bf 52 Ke7 Kf7 53 Kd8 Bed 54 Bb2 Beé 55 Bed A zugzwang position. Black has no option but to allow the rook into the e7-square. 55...Bf5 56 Re7+ KfS 57 Be5 Bd3 58 Ra7 Be4 59 Re7 Bb1 60 Bd6+ Copyrighted MaterialCopyrighted Material Learn from the Masters Facilitating the white king's arrival on e7. The net closes in on the black monarch 60...Kg8 61 Ke7 1-0 Black did not need to be shown 61...Ng7 (or 61...BfS 62 Rb7 Kh7 63 KfS+) 62 Re8+ Kh7 63 BeS NfS+ 64 KS followed by 65 Re7+. Great endgame technique by Kasparov, who was rewarded for his persis- tence with a famous win. We have also learned from this example of the difficulty of winning with an extra exchange! Note: The advantage of an exchange for a pawn may not be enough to win with all the pawns on one side, particularly if the defender has a knight. The Benefits of Study Example 9 CO Botvinnik ill Minev Amsterdam 1954 Diagram 17 (B) Diagram 18 (B) Black's activity makes it tncky A theoretical position White has an extra pawn but Black has the more active king. The presence of passed pawns on both sides leads to a close race. 1.5 2 g4 Re2+ 3 Kg3 Rxb2 4 g5 ad 5 g6 5 RaT is well met by 5...Ke4! (heading for the g-pawn), when in reply to 6 g6 Kf 7 g7 Rb8 & RIT+ KgG 9 RB Black has 9...Rb3+ and the g- pawn falls, Note: Races are not just pushing pawns - the strategy of stopping or delaying your opponent's pawn should not be underestimated. 5...Rb1! Copyrighted Material 2BCopyrighted Material Mastering the Endgame Black's rook targets the most effective square: behind the opposing passed pawn 6 Kha! Both supporting the pawn and hiding the king 6..Rg1 7 Kh5 Kea! Black, too, needs to use his king to support his precious advanced passed pawn, as 7...a3? is clearly unsatisfactory after 8 Ra7. 8 Rfi+ Kb5 9 RGB! Botvinnik anticipates the likely outcome of the race and knows that queen and rook’s pawn versus queen would offer less winning chances than with the knight's pawn. He applies this knowledge to finding the best continuation. 9...Kb4 10 Rf4+ Kb5 11 RE Not 11 Red Rxg4 12 Kxgd a3 13 g7 a2 14 g8Q alQ which, as already mentioned, is tough to win 1L..Kb4 12 Rg& Rxg3 13 hxgd a3 14 g7 a2 15 g8Q a1Q 16 Qgat Kas 17 Qxe6 (Diagram 18) Botvinnik’s second experience with this ending! The first time he had had queen and knight's pawn against queen was against Ravinsky in 1944. In his notes Botvinnik admitted that he had not properly un- derstood the ending and that his play was criticized in print by Keres Since the last time, the world champion had done the following: 1, Analysed his own game against Ravinsky 2. Compared his ideas with those of other analysts 3. Reviewed similar endings from available material 4. Gained ten years of experience in general endgame play! Tip: Apply Botvinnik's approach! Y 17..Qh8+ 18 Kg6 Stopping any checks for the moment. The pawn advances when it can, otherwise Black aims for as many disruptive checks as possible, and White endeavours to avoid them. 18...Qe3 19 g4 Qaz Or 19,..Qd3+ 20 QfS+ with a winning cross-check 20 g5 Qd4 21 QfS+ Kad 22 Kh5 Qh8+ 23 Kg4 Qh] 24 Qfd+ Before advancing his pawn Botvinnik centralises his queen. From e5 the board is well surveyed. 24...Ka5 25 Qe5+ Kad 26 g6 Qd1+ Copyrighted MaterialCopyrighted Material Learn from the Masters White now wastes some time but he is not in a particular hurry. With his analyses of the two similar endings Botvinnik concludes that the white king is best placed on the same or adjacent rank to its black counterpart. White would then have threats of interposing his queen and giving cross-checks. 27 Kg5 Qa8+ Or 27.,,.Qc1+ 28 Qf, 28 Kf Qe8+ 29 Kfd Qel+ 30 Qe3 Qc7+ 31 Qe5 Qel+ 32 KFS Qe8+ 83 Kgs Qd8+ 34 Qfé! 34 Kh6 Qh4+ 35 Kg7 is less precise as the king tends to get in the way of its own pawn, and it is often easier for Black to give disruptive checks because interposing often merely decentralises the white queen. 84...Qd5+ 85 Qf Qd8+ 36 Kh5 Qes Pinning can also be an annoying way to stop a passed pawn. Worse is 36...Qh8+ 37 Kg4 Qg7 38 Q&T Qe3 (he dare not give check) 39 g7 ete. 37 Qf4+ Kab 38 Qd2+ Kad 39 Qda+ White aims for another central square before seeking further progress with the pawn. 39...Ka5 40 Kgs Qe7+ 41 Kf Qfat 42 Ket ‘There are no worthwhile checks (42... Qe8+ 43 Qe5+) despite the cen- tral location of the king! 42...Qh6 43 Qe5+ Kad 44 g7 Now, with one final wriggle to avoid checks, the pawn can metamor- phose! 44...Qh1+ 45 Kd4 Qd1+ 46 Ke5 Qcl+ 47 KdG Qd2+ 48 Ke6 Qa2+ 49 Qd5 Qe2+ 50 Kd6 Qh2+ 51 Ke5! 1-0 Using the position of the Black king to great effect. Example 10 (Spielmann ill Rubinstein StPetersburg 1908 ‘There are books now available that go into great detail about rook endings. Rather than reading vast amounts of theory there are sim- pler ways of studying to improve your play in the most commonly oc- curring endings of all. Find master games in which rook endings occur (preferably with notes), and pay close attention to those moments where there are options of simplifying or giving up a pawn for active play. By examining why one player chose one option and not another, your understanding will improve greatly. Copyrighted Material BCopyrighted Material Mastering the Endgame Diagram 19 (B) Diagram 20 (W) All White's pawns are isolated ‘Should White go active? ‘The present game is a good example to begin with. White has four iso- lated pawns and, despite one of them being passed, this fact offers Black the winning chances. 1wRad Black can win a pawn with 1...Rb3 but White would then be too active after 2 Ra2 Rd3 3.ad Rudd 4 a5 Red 5 a6 Re8 6 a7 Rab. 2Re3 White could have considered 2 Ra2, going behind the pawn, when af- ter 2..Ra4 3 Kg3 Ke7 4 Kf3 Ke6 5 Ke4 g5 6 Ral {6 7 Ra? {5+ 8 Kd3 Kd5 9 Kc3 Red+ 10 Kb3 Rxd4 11 ad White will again obtain counter- chances with the a-pawn. 2...Rad 3 Rd3 Ke7 4 Kg3 4.d5 delays the approach of Black's king, but after 4...p5 5 Kg2 Ks 6 RfS+ Kg6 7 Rd3 {6 followed by ...{5 Black’s king is activated anyway. 4..Ke6 5 Kf Kd5 6 Ke2 White's rook is passive but he avoids the loss of a pawn for the mo- ment in view of the trap 6...Rxd4? 7 Ke3! Rxd3+ 8 Kxd3 and, in the pure pawn ending, the outside passed pawn gives White the better chances. 6.95 7 Rb3 £6 A sensible consolidating move, Simplification with 7...Kxd4 8 Rb7 {6 (8...Rxa3 9 Rxf7 Rxh3 10 Rxg7 must surely draw) 9 Rxg7 Rxa3 10 hd exh4 11 Rgd+ is not easy to judge. If in doubt, the practical decision is to keep control and keep your advantages intact for the moment, as there will be other — probably more favourable — occasions to simplify. Copyrighted MaterialX@ Copyrighted Material Learn from the Masters 8 Ke3 Ke4 9 Rd3 Now 9 Rb7 Rxa3+ 10 Ke4 d5+ 11 KfS Rxh3 12 Rxg7 REB+ leads to a comfortable win for Black 9.05 10 Kd2 RaS 11 Ke2 Ra7 12 Kd2 Re7 White, who is virtually in zugawang, is eventually forced to take ac- tion, By checking immediately he can place his rook behind the a- pawn. 13 Re3+ 13 Re3 helps only Black after 13...Rb7. 13... Kxd4 14 ad Ra7 15 Ra3 Rad Stopping the pawn in readiness to bring the king over. Tip: Always be on the lookout to limit your opponent's options. 16 Ral Ke4 (Diagram 20) Accritical moment as White could have switched to active mode with 17 Rel+! Kb4 18 Rb1+ Kxa4 19 Kd3 Re5 20 Kad Re2 21 Rb7 Rxf2 22 Rxg?, which gives hopes of a draw as Black's king is so far away. 17 Ke3 d4+ 18 Kd2 Rf 19 Kel Kb4 20 Ke2 Kas Keeping control. Instead 20...RaS 21 Kd3 Rxa4 22 Rxad+ Kxad 23 Kxdd looks drawn. 21 Ra3 Rfd 22 Raz If White's king goes to help the h-pawn, the d-pawn becomes danger- ous, e.g. 22 Kfl Rhd 23 Kg2 Kbd 24 Ral d3 25 a5 d2 26 a6 RhS 27 a7 Ra8 28 Kf3 Rxa7! (a common theme, the rook being overloaded) 22..Rh4 23 Kd3 23 Rad is met by 23...Kb4. 23...Rxh3+ 24 Kxd4 Rh4+ 25 Kd3 Rxad 26 Re2 Rf4 Black wins a second pawn but still needs to be careful Warning: Just because you may have a winning position on the board it is no time to relax! Many players are very resourceful in desperate circumstances, so keep concentrating and anticipate your opponent's tricks in advance. Here Rubinstein’s next task is to avoid allowing his opponent's rook to the seventh and eighth ranks until his king can support his pawns. 27 Ke3 Kb6 28 Re2 Kb7 29 Rel Ra4 30 Rhi Ke6 31 Rh7 Ra7 32 Ke4 Kd6 33 KfS Losing quickly, but otherwise Black tidies up with ...Ke6 anyway. 33...g6+ 34 Kxg6 Rxh7 35 Kxh7 Ke5 36 Kg6 g4 0-1 Copyrighted Material aCopyrighted Material Mastering the Endgame After 87 Khé £5 38 Kg5 Ked we have zugzwang! My Advice Find annotated games of the strongest players (preferably those ana- lysed by the players themselves) and take careful note of their thoughts on strategy in the endgame. See how they patiently build up an advantage, improve their pieces, use the king to great effect and cut out the opponent's options. On the following page are the first set of exercises. The exercises in this book are rarely simple combinations. I have selected them to stimulate your interest and to help develop your powers of analysis by inviting you to delye deeply into the position (a good habit that's worth nurturing!). Frankly, I recommend you spend some time on these exercises before carefully comparing your notes with the an- swers, Tip: In many walks of life a little extra short-term effort leads to greater long-term satisfaction. Copyrighted MaterialChapter Two Principles of Rook Endgames When to get Active Keeping Control Tactics and using Zugzwang Material isn’t Everything Saving Bad Positions Try it YourselfCopyrighted Material Principles of Rook Endgames: After a tournament game and the resulting post-mortem we tend to make provisional conclusions. These can be general, such as ‘I played too passively’, I spent too long on the opening’ or ‘I underestimated his queenside play’. Otherwise conclusions may hinge on a more specific point, for example *...Rc8 before ... a6 was better’, ‘It's hard to. claim any advantage in this variation, so I'll try another line next time’, or ‘In this type of ending the rook belongs behind the passed pawn’. When we have more time, we may expand on these conclusions. Gen- erally this involves analysing a critical moment in the struggle, or one might compare the opening with recent master games, either to learn what went wrong or to be ready for next time. We then have a ten- dency to file away the game and essentially forget it So, what should we do about the ending? I believe that by spending a little extra time going through our endings and comparing them with similar positions (just as with openings) we can learn a great deal. Our own games are particularly useful as we have already spent con- siderable time making decisions at the board. Were we right to sim- plify? Complicate? Attack? Consolidate? Temporise? Push the pawn: (or not)? Did we choose the right moment? etc. Our decisions are es- sentially made depending on analysis and experience (what we can work out at the board and what knowledge we have). Players lacking a well-developed endgame culture are forever trying to analyse tacti- cal variations, whatever the position, Those who have developed their experience by play and study have an instinct for the best plan, piece positioning and what to aim for with their pawn structure. I have selected several of my own endgames that | have found in- structive over the years. These feature some endings that were well- played and others with serious mistakes. Funnily enough, the most memorable are often when I threw away a half-point or saved a seem- ingly lost game! Ideas mentioned in books tend not to become lodged in the mind until Wwe come across an example in our own career. Indeed, when we arrive at an ending one of our first thoughts should ow does this com- pare with my previous experience? Examples in the chapter are often linked in my mind — a particular ending reminds me of my game against so-and-so etc. We can add practical considerations to dry end- game theory: ‘Oh yes. this is. Because we are human we have emotions. We become tired and pressed for time, especially during the endgame phase. What looked straightforward in a dusty old endgame tome suddenly becomes con- fusing; we have tov many choices, our opponent's moves keep hara: ing our plans, variations seem to fail by a whisker... Instead of getting frustrated it is better to relax and simply improve — however slightly —our structure and our king, bringing pieces to superior squares and maintaining control. Indeed, the lack of direct threats gives an oppo- Copyrighted Material nCopyrighted Material Mastering the Endgame nent plenty of time to get worried and confused. In endgames prophylactic thought is very important: covering weak points, restraining the opponent's pieces, blockading a passed pawn and soon are typical. The role of the king is another key point. Books will tell you to ‘centralise’ the king but this is simplistic, since at some stage you may have te choose between the kingside or queenside, go- ing active or simply covering your opponent's entry squares. In simpli- fied positions where each side has a couple of pieces the king may be better hidden away (as in the middlegame) or, on the other hand, the best plan may be to bravely charge up the board to join in an attack, Not surprisingly, cutting the adversary’s king from the main scene of action is fundamental to many endings. I will go inte a number of technical aspects of increasing the pressure when one side can improve and the other can only wait and see. The timing of ‘going active’ or waiting for a better moment is something else that crops up frequently, Simplifying further is a feature that is of primary importance — knowing which reduced positions are likely to be winning or not helps us decide which pieces to trade, or whether to avoid exchanges altogether. We start with the most common endgame ~ rook endings. Here I fea- ture my experiences, while in Chapter Three I shall compare theory When to get Active Example 11 Cl Bordi Ml Flear Nice 2000 Diagram 1 (W) Diagram 2 (8) Black has pressure on the d- and e-files Black must activate the king Copyrighted MaterialCopyrighted Material Principles of Rook Endgames: It is somehow appropriate to start a chapter about practical endings with a queen exchange! My opponent didn't see any obvious way of negating the pressure (Black dominates the central files, has threats against the c4-pawn and is ready to invade on d2) and decided that his best chance was to transpose into a rook ending. This does involve the loss of a pawn but White is able to find active play with his rook, and the alternative means sitting passively while Black piles on the pressure. The correct decision depends on which option yields the best practical drawing chances, 26 Qedl? Instead 26 Rfl Rd4 27 b3 Qd6 28 Rf Rdl+ 29 Rfl Rd2 looks distinctly unpleasant. 26...Qxed 27 fxed Rd4 28 b3 Rxe4 29 Rdi Re7 29...Rd4? leaves the d-pawn doomed after 30 Rxd4 exdd 31 Kfl, and 29.,.Re2 is a poor practical decision since after 30 Rd7 Rxa2 31 Rxb7 White should be able to force the exchange of all the queenside pawns, when the rook and three vs. rook and two is drawn. Tip: When a pawn up, keeping pawns on both wings complicates the defence. 30 Kf2 f5 31 KfS b6 32 hs An alternative defence is to put the pawns on h4 and g3. Black may then find it difficult to use his extra pawn (note that it's doubled!) on the kingside. 32..Kg7 33 Rd6 g5 $4 g3 Reb Nudging forward, step-by-step, in order to allow the king to move up the board. Tip: When in control, don’t hurry! Consolidate first and improve the position slowly but surely. 35 Rd7 aS 36 Rb7 Rd6 37 Ke3 Kg6 38 Ke2 [6 39 Ke3 (Diagram 2) Now that Black has organized his forces as best as he can and, with his rook tied down to the defence of the b6-pawn, he needs to activate his king. Here the need for some precise variations arises 39...¢41 40 h4 40 hxgd fxg4 undoubles the pawn, liberates the {5-square for the king and also opens the h-file, thereby providing the black rook with a pos- sible entry route. For instance, Black could then aim to bring his king to-e5 and play ...f6-f5 and ...Rh6. with ideas of ...Rh3 or ..Rh2. 40...Re6+ 41 Kf Note that 41 Kf4? Red mate would be unfortunate for White! 41...f4! Copyrighted Material 33Copyrighted Material Mastering the Endgame A temporary pawn sacrifice to activate the king. Black hopes to pick off the f-pawn, leaving him with two connected passed pawns 42 gxf4 KfS 43 h5! A better chance than 43 Kg3 Re3+ 44 Kf2 Kxf4 45 Rxbé f5, when Black's attacking rook, king and two connected passed pawns force a quick win. Then after 46 h5 (46 Rb5? leads to a quick mate after 46...g3+ 47 Kg2 Re2+ 48 Kfl Kf3) 46...¢34 47 Kfl Kf3 48 Re6 f4 49 he Re2 White has no sensible moves (50 h7 Rh2 51 Kel Rxh7 etc.). 43...Kxfd 44 Rg7 £5 45 Rg6 Red 46 h6! Immediately pushing the h-pawn to create threats. Taking the b- pawn is too slow as one can see from the previous note. 46...Rh3?! Correct was 46...g3+! 47 Kf1 Rf3+ 48 Kel Rf2, cutting the king off on the first rank and preparing ...Rh2, ... Kf and ,..g3-g2 ete. 47 Kg2 Rho Playing for zugzwang. I underestimated my opponent, who now gen- erated counterplay... Warning: Never underestimate your opponent! 48 a3 Rhd (Diagram 3) Diagram 3 (W) Diagram 4 (W) What is White's best chance? ‘White's king is cut off from the c-pawn 49 bal 49 Rxb6? g3 leads instead to an easy win. The game suddenly involves sharp variations which are difficult to judge. Black has clearly lost control! 49...6312 Copyrighted MaterialCopyrighted Material Principles of Rook Endgames I couldn't see anything clear and decided that this was the best chance but, frankly, | was flustered by the turn of events. The con- tinuation 49...axb4 50 axb4 cxbd 51 Rxb6 g3 52 Rxbd Rh2+ 53 Kgl leads to a rook ending of two connected passed pawns against one passed pawn (see Examples 23-29), In general the two passed pawns: win, but there are exceptions, and this is obviously close: 53...Rxh6 (53.,..Kg4 54 5+ £4 55 06 Rxh6 56 Red Rh8 57 c7 Re8 58 Kg2 is only a draw) 54 c+ Kg5 55 Red f4 56 c6 {3 57 c7 (2+ 58 Kg2 Rh2+ 59 Kxg3 £1Q seems to win. However the point is that it is difficult to have con- fidence in such a tricky variation over the board, and it is preferable (for the nerves!) te win without getting involved in such a tactical mess. Tip: A slow but sure win is good enough; flashy but risky continua- tions should be avoided if a simpler and safer one is available. Also possible was 49..cxb4, when 50 axb4 a4 51 Rxb6 g3 also offers winning chances, but White has protected passed pawns and | couldn't calculate everything. 50 Rxgs 50 Rxb6!? insists on complications. Then after 50..Rh2+ 51 Kgl Black's best might be to capture twice on b4, as in the previous note, 50...Rxh6 51 bxe5 bxc5 It was such a relief to still have an extra pawn and winning chances, although it was as if I had to win the ending all over again. 52 Rb3 52 Rd3 keeps the black king from the queenside, but after 52...Rb6 53 Rd5 Rb2+ 54 Kg] Rb3 55 Rxc5 Rxa3 Black is well on top. 52...Ke4 53 Rb5 Kd4 54 Read Kxe4 55 a4 Hoping to exchange off the queenside, when the lone f-pawn will be insufficient to win (compare with some similar endings in Examples 30-35). 55...Rd6! (Diagram 4) [like this move, cutting the white king from the c-pawn (now Black's most dangerous), Tip: In rook endings always be on the lookout for ways to use a rook ‘to create a barrier to a king, either on a rank ora file. 56 RaS Kb4 57 Kf3 c4 58 a5 Kb5. Quicker was 58...c3 59 Rb8+ Ka3!. 59 Ke8 e3 60 Re’ Kb4 61 RbS+ Kxa5 62 Rb3 f4+ 63 Kxfd Reé The win is now trivial: Copyrighted Material ELCopyrighted Material Mastering the Endgame 64 Rbl c2 65 Rel Kb4 66 Ke3 Kc3 67 Ke2 Kb2 68 Kd2 Rd6+ 0-1 ‘Timing the moment to go active is illustrated in the next example. 2 © S.Collas Il Flear Tunis 2000 Diagram 5 (B) Diagram 6 (Ww) Black's rook and king are active Should White chase the h-pawn? Black is better as he has several points in his favour: his rook and king are more actively placed than their counterparts and the e5- pawn is exposed. 30...g6 In order to dislocate the e5-point from the f-pawn. 31 Rb1 Rad 82 Rb7+ Ke8 38 RbS+ Ke7 (Diagram 6) 34 Rh8?! It is dangerous for White to chase such a distant target as the white rook will be too far from the passed a-pawn. In fact White does best biding her time and waiting for a better opportunity to start counter- play. Tip: When the opportunity arises to go active, before committing yourself have a look to see if you will be able to do the same thing later under more favourable circumstances. After 34 Rb3 Black has several tries but nothing looks convincing. a) 34...Kd7 35 Rb7+ Ke6!? (giving up the f-pawn to get the king up the board) 36 Rxf7 Kd5 37 Rh7 Rxa3 38 Rxh6 Kxeb, but after 39 hd White will also have a dangerous passed pawn. b) 34...g4 35 Kg2 h5 36 h3 Kf8 (or 36...Kd7 37 Rb7+) 37 hxgd hxgd 38 Re3! (equivalent to asking ‘I'm waiting, how are you going to im- Copyrighted MaterialCopyrighted Material Principles of Rook Endgames prove?’ and much better than 38 Rb4? Rxb4 39 axb4 Ke7 40 f4 Kd7 41 ‘Kf2 Ke6 42 Ke3 Kbé, or even 38 f47! gxf3+ 39 Kxf3 Kg7 40 Red Kg6, which leaves the e- and a-pawns exposed) 38...Kg7 (38...Ra5 39 Red Rxad 40 Rxg4 Rad 41 £4 Red 42 Rh4 ab 43 RhB+ Kg7 44 Rad should be drawn) 39 Re3 Kg6 40 Rb3. How does Black improve? The e4, {7 and a7 pawns all present oppor- tunities for counterplay as soon as they are undefended: 40...Kf5 (oth- ers don't work either: 40...Re4 41 Rb7 a5 42 RbS a4 43 Rab and 40..Ra5 41 Rb4 Kg5 42 Rf are not promising for Black) 41 Rb7 Kxe5 42 Rxf7 RxaS 43 Rfd a5 44 Regd ad 45 Rg5+ Ke 46 Rad and the g- pawn should provide enough counterplay. ©) 34..KfS 35 Kg2 Kg7 36 h3 Kg6 37 Re3 (37 g4!? stops ..KfS at the risk of committing the kingside pawns) 37...KfS 38 Rf3+ Kxe5 39 Rxf7 Rxa3 40 Rh7 a5 41 Rxh6 and Black's a-pawn is not fast enough to win, for instance 4]...a4 42 h4 gxh4 43 Rxhd Ral 44 Rho+ Kdd 45 Rad a3 46 g4 Ke3 47 g5 ete. $4...Rxa3 35 Rxh6 Rad 36 Rh5?! Better is 36 f since 36,..gxf4 37 gxfd Rad allows 38 f5!, breaking up Black’s pawns and, following 38...Rg4+ (or 38...exf5 39 R46) 39 Kh] exfS 40 RaG, a draw is very likely. In this line 37...Rd5! offers winning chances after 38 Rh3 (38 Rh& is met by 38...Rd8 as Black dare not ex- change rooks) 38...a5 39 Ra3, either by bringing the king to the queenside to support the a-pawn or, alternatively, heading the other way to harass the white kingside pawns. 36...Rxe5 37 h4 ab! Positions with an extra outside pawn are common in rook endings (see Examples 36-44). Black has good winning chances after 37...Re1+ 38 Kg2 gxh4 39 Rxh4? but not after 39 Rad! 38 hxg6 a4 39 f4 a3! Going behind the passed pawn with 39...Ra5 is good, but the text is decisive. 40 Kf Rel! 41 g6 Objectively 41 Kxel a2 42 Kf2 alQ 43 Rh6 lasts longer, but by going for a direct attack on the opposing king Black forces the mate: 43... Qd4+ 44 Kf3 Qdl+ 45 Kf2 (or 45 Ke3 Qed 46 Kf Kd6 47 R&6 Kas 48 Raf? Ked) 45..Kd6 46 Rf6 Kd5 47 Rxf7 Ke 48 g6 Qd2+. 41...a2 42 g7 alQ 0-1 Black mates quickly, for instance 43 ¢8Q Rfl+ 44 Kg2 Rgl+ 45 Kh3 Rhi+ 46 Ke4 Qal+, My opponent lost a tenable ending because she was too impatient to Copyrighted Material 7Copyrighted Material Mastering the Endgame “go active’ Note: Having an extra pawn but facing an active rook can be hard work. Keeping Control Example 13 Flear Ml Subasic Zenica 1987 Diagram 7 (B) Diagram 8 (8) White needs a plan Black is tied up 24...Re7 25 RES Intending R#3 to defend both the a- and the f-pawns whilst cutting off the black king. White would then send his king into the game. 25...Re3 26 a4 Red 27 Rb5 b6 28 Kfl Kh7 29 Kel Rez Creating a barrier along the second rank. Perhaps [ should have taken the opportunity to put the king on the more active e2-square. 30 Rf Raz On 30...Rb2 31 bd Ra2 White holds everything together with 32 Rf4. $1a5 bxad 32 bxad The alternative 32 RxaS Rb2 could easily lead to the exchange of the last two remaining queenside pawns, Instead White intends to use his rook to defend the a- and f-pawns, freeing the king to walk to the queenside 32...Ra4 33 13 A committal decision with the king still on the first rank, but on 33 hd Copyrighted MaterialCopyrighted Material Principles of Rook Endgames Kg6 the rook is forced off its best square. 38...Ra2 84 h4 Kg6 35 g4 Kh7 36 h5 (Diagram 8) White's pawn chain ensures that all his pieces mutually protect them- selves, Now the king can come over to harass the rook, and Black's kingside pawns are held up almost indefinitely, as in Example 36. 36...Kg8 37 Kd Rg2 38 Kel Re2 39 Kbl Rf2 40 Kal! Zugzwang! Black would like to keep his king on g8 to stop Rf7, and his rook on £2 to both hit the £3-point and continue to hold back the enemy king. However, he has to move something. 40...Rg2 41 Kb1 After 41 Red Rf2 42 Re7 Rfl+ 43 Kb2 Rf2+ 44 Kel Rfl+ 45 Kd2 White achieves the exchange of his f-pawn for Black's a-pawn, thus creating a passed pawn. With the text | intended to repeat so as to have more time to check out this variation. 41...a6 Or 41..Rf2 42 Kal! Rg2 43 ReS, as in the previous note. 42 Reb Rf2 43 Re6 Rxf3 44 RxaG Rad On 44...Rf4 45 Rg6 Rad White tidies up with 46 a6, 46 Kb2 Rad 46 Kb3 Rug Black has won back his pawn but the kingside structure denies him the chance of mobilising his majority. 47 RBG RgS 48 a6 Ras Not 48...Rxh5 49 a7 Rad as 60 Rb8+ wins the rock 49 Kb4 Ral 50 Kb5 KE7 51 Reé! 51 Ke6 26 would give unnecessary hope to Black. 51..Rb1+ 52 Ke5 Rel+ 53 Kb6 Rb1+ 54 Ke7 Ral 55 Kb7 1-0 Once White had achieved an ending with an extra pawn his main task was to keep as much control of events as possible. Note: Slowly consolidating is an important task in endings. The ideal is to completely deny your opponent any positive course of action in order to improve your position at leisure (whilst he can only wait). Example 14 ( Korehnoi lll Flear Wik aan Zee 1987 Here I was a pawn down but believed that I had good chances te draw Copyrighted Material ®Copyrighted Material Mastering the Endgame Diagram 9 (8) Diagram 10 (W) ‘Good drawing chances? Black is active, but he b-pawn is strong 38...b4 ‘The alternatives 38...5 and 38...Kg6 allow 39 a4! bxa4 40 bxad Rad: 41 Ra3, and such positions with the rook behind the passed pawn are known to be generally winning for White. 39 Rdd RaS 40 Rxb4 Rxa2 41 Rf4 Rb2 42 RB So White has an extra b-pawn, a common ending considered to offer Black reasonable drawing chances. It is important to handle the king- side actively before White brings over his king. 42...£5 ‘The other main option is 42...g5 (after 42...h5 43 h4 Black's king can- not do any damage) 43 g4 Kg6 44 Kel h5 (44...f5!? is an interesting try) 45 gxh5+! Kxh5 46 Kdl Kg6 47 Kel Re2 48 bd Kf7 49 b5 and White has made progress. Instead White should avoid 45 Kd1?! hxga 46 hxgd Rb1+ 47 Ke2 Rgl 48 Rg3 RF1 49 Rg2 due to 49...Kf7 (49,,.£5? 50 gxf5+ Kxf5 gives White's rook a target) 50 b4 Ke6, with excellent drawing chances, 43 hd! A strong move that stops 43...¢5 thanks to 44 hxgS hxgS 45 Rxf5, 43...Kg6 44 Kel Kh5 45 Kdl Kg On 45...Kxhd there follows 46 Kel Re2 47 RxfS. 46 Kel Re2 47 b4 Red (Diagram 10) ‘Winning back a pawn but, more importantly, White gets his rook be- hind the passed pawn and Black's majority is not that dangerous. 48 Rb3 Kxh4 49 b5 Re7 50 b6 Rb7 51 Kd? f4 52 Kd £31? 63 gxfd KhS 54 Ke4 Kg? 55 f4 Kxf2 Copyrighted MaterialCopyrighted Material Principles of Rook Endgames. 55...h5 is also forlorn: 56 Kd5 h4 57 Ke6 Rb8 58 b7 Kxf2 (58...h3 59 Rg3+!) 59 Rh3. 56 5 Kg2 57 Kd5 g6 Logical but hopeless is 57...h5 58 Ke6 Rb8 59 b7 hd 60 Ke7 Rg8 61 bSQ Rxb8 62 Rxb8 h3 63 Kd6 h2 64 Rb2+ Kg3 65 Rb1 Kg2 66 Keé- h1Q 67 Rxh1 Kxh1 68 Kf7 and White wins. 58 £6 h5 59 Keé 1-0 After the game I was disappointed as I felt that the ending may have been drawn. Comparing this with other games with the same struc- ture (Examples 36-44, particularly the latter) suggests to me now that the ending was lost all along. It is not obvious how the rook can be evicted from £3, and White's king rapidly comes to e1. Tactics and Using Zugzwang Example 15 CO Flear Ml Rotstein Orange 1999 Diagram 11 (W) Diagram 12 (W) Not easy for White to get active Black threatens mate! After struggling to make progress I eventually found a solution based ‘on zugzwang and a neat tactical stroke. Here the extra d-pawn is ex- posed to attack and White has some difficulty advancing on the king- side. 56 Kg2 Rdl 57 d7! 57 Kh3 fails to progress after 57..Rh1+ 58 Kg2 Ral 57..Kg7! Copyrighted Material “aCopyrighted Material Mastering the Endgame After 57...Ke7, with 58 Re8+ Kxd7 59 Re5, White will pick up two kingside pawns. 58 Kh2! ‘Zugewang! Tip: When one player seems able to stop all direct threats but has restricted scope for his pieces, look out for possible zugzwangs. 58...Rd2 Tt has to be a rook move as 58...Kh7 59 Rf8 Rxd7 60 RxfS Kg6 61 Red leads to the loss of a second pawn, and 58 ..Kf7 goes down to 59 Rh8- Rxd7 60 Rh7+ Ke6 61 Rxd7 Kxd7 62 Kh3 Ke7 63 Kh4 Kfé 64 Kxh5. 59 Kh Ral 60 Kh4 Kfe ‘Threatening mate. Will White have to go back? 61 RfB+! Kg6 (Diagram 12) 62 g4!! Releasing the mating trap and creating various threats, The game is essentially decided 62...Rxd7 63 gxh5+ Kh6 64 Rf6+ Kh7 65 RxfS Re7 66 Rid Re7 67 Kg5 Kg7 68 Rf Re6 69 Kft Kh6 70 ReS Rf6+ 71 Kgs 1-0 Material isn’t Everything Example 16 Ci Flear il Short Wik aan Zee 1987 A two pawn advantage doesn't necessarily mean victory. Diagram 13 (W) Diagram 14 (W) Black has no chances White has an easy draw Copyrighted MaterialCopyrighted Material Principles of Rook Endgames Here White loses a pawn but has active pieces and a passed pawn of his own. This one turns out to be easily drawn, 38 Rb5 Rxb3 39 Rb7 Rb1 40 e4 b3 41 Kh3!? Putting the king on g2 and h2 is a good defence. Black has no chance of promoting his b-pawn by pushing it to b2. playing rook somewhere check and then ,..b2-bl. Neither an h- ar g-pawn get very far, either. Tip: Don't automatically push the king forward into battie. Look out for safe shelters that avoid annoying checks. 41..,h5 42 Kg2 KfS 43 e5 g6 44 e6 Ke8 45 Kh? Rb2+ 46 Kgl g6 47 Khi h4 48 gxh4 gxh4 49 Kgl h3 50 Kh RbI+ 51 Kh? b2 (Dia- gram 14) ‘This position is now drawn even without the white e-pawn, as Black will not be allowed to free his rook. 52 e7 Kf7 53 e8B+ Kxe8 54 Rb&+ Kd7 55 Rb7+ Ke6 56 Rbs Keds 57 RDB 4-'5 Tn fact there are a number of rook and two extra pawns vs. rook end- ings that are not easy to win and can even be drawn (see Examples 55-61). Example 17 CO Flear ll D.King London 1990 Here is a good example of underestimating my opponent's counter: play. Diagram 15 (B) Diagram 16 (W) Black must get active White's pawns are too weak 46... Kf6! Copyrighted MaterialMastering the Endgame Copyrighted Material xa 46.,.Rb7? is poor after 47 d6 Rd7 48 Ked Kfé 49 Kd5. 47 Ra2?t Natural but, in fact, an error! Instead 47 Rd4! Rb7 48 Ke4 was the right way to maintain an advantage. 47...Rb7 4 05 48 Re2+. 48 Rxa6+ Keb (Diagram 16) Instead of being a pawn down with a dubious position, Black is now two pawns down but with great activity. Both ‘b’ and d-pawns are soon lost. 49 d6 Rxb4 50 Ra7 Rb3+ 51 Ke2 Kxd6 52 Rxf7 Ke6 53 Rf Rb2+ 54 Kfl h5 55 Kg2 Ke5 56 Kh3 Rb4 57 R&S Ke6 58 f4 Rb2 '4-'4 This game suggests that two extra unhealthy pawns are worth less than a single healthy one! Warning: Don't just count the number of pawns - take other factors into account. Example 18 CO Flear Ml P.Wells London 1993 Diagram 17 (8) Diagram 18 (B) Black heads for @ rook endgame Difficult for White to progress Black has a two pawn deficit and is faced with the threat of c6-c7 fol- lowed by Bb7. Consequently Black tries his luck in the rook ending. 61...Ned 62 Bxed Not 62 Rxe4? as 62...Rel+ 63 Kg2 fxed 64 Bxed+ is not that clear. Copyrighted MaterialCopyrighted Material Priacipiet-of Rook Endgaress 62...fxe4 63 c7 It's important to keep the c-pawn as the ending of rook plus f- and h- pawn against rook is drawn. 63...Kh5 64 Kf1 64 Kg2 unfortunately allows 64.,.e3! 65 Rxe3 RxeT. 64...Kxh4 65 Rxed+ Kg5 66 Re7 Kfé 67 Rh7 Ke5 After 67...Kg5 68 Kg2 Ked there follows 69 RI7, forcing Black to give ground (69..,Re1 70 £3+ Kg5 71 Kf2! liberating the king), while on 67... Kg6 68 Rd7 Kfe 69 Kg? Ke6 70 Rh7 Kd6, simply 71 Kg3 is comfortable for White. 68 Kg2 Kft Black’s only hope of drawing lies in preventing White's king from do- ing anything positive 69 Kh3? ‘The king march up the h-file works in the game, but is it winning with best play? Instead 69 Rg7! with zugzwang is better: 69...Rel (if the black king moves then Kg3 follows) 70 RE7+ Ke5 (70...Kg5 71 KE3!) 71 Kg3 Ke6 (or 71...Re3+ 72 Kg4') 72 Rh7 KfS 73 Kf3!, heading to- wards the centre, Another way is 69 R&7+ Kgd 70 Kfl!, 69...Rc3+ 70 Kh4 Kf 71 £8 (Diagram 18) 71..Re4+? After an arduous defence Peter misses his chan Rel! gives White a difficult — if not insurmountable — task of freeing his king, as after 72 Kg3 Re2 73 Rf7+ Ke6 74 Rg7 Kf 75 Rh7 Kg6 76 Rd7 Kf White cannot progress. So the plan of trying to shuffle up the h-file is ‘wrong. 72 Kh5 Rel 73 R(T+ Ke6 74 Kg6! Rel+ 75 Khé 1-0 If 75...Kxf7 76 e8Q, or 75...Rel 76 Kg7 Kd6 77 f4 ete. Note: Rook endings have a drawish reputation because if the defence has well-placed pieces it can be very difficult for the side with the advantage to implement his plans. This holds true even with a two pawn advantage (see Examples 55-61 for rook and two isolated pawns vs. rook). Here is another example: Example 19 Cl Mestet il Flear Southampton 1986 One of those positions that arise all the time in practise. White has good winning chances but with best play I believe that Black should hold. This was the last round of the British Championship and my Copyrighted Materialc ighted Material the E ‘opyrighted Materi opponent needed to win to obtain the title outright — a draw only would share first place with Speelman and Chandler. Diagram 19 (B) Diagram 20 (B) A typical practical endgame Still difficult for White 46...Ke7 47 Ra7+ Kf6 48 Ra6+ Kg7 49 5 49 Ke5!? Rh2 50 Ra7+ Kh6 51 Kd6 Rxh4 52 eS Rdd+ leads to a fa- vourable race which my opponent, however, judged to be insufficient to win, 49...KE7 50 Rad Ke6 51 Red Rgl 52 Re2 Kf7? Unnecessarily giving ground. Black can instead steer the game to- wards a draw with the following continuation: 52..Rh1 53 Kgs Rel+ 64 Kh6 Rg3 55 Red Rg 53 6+ Ke7 54 Re3 Rg2 55 Rel Now Black has to give way on the g-file under inferior circumstances, 55...Rf2 56 Ke5 Rg2+ 57 Kh6 Rg3 58 Re! RxiS 58...Rg] is worse after 59 Rg5. 59 Kxg6 Rg3+ 60 Kxh5 (Diagram 20) Again White has two extra pawns, but Black is not yet ready to give up the fight. 60...Rg8 61 Kh6 RhS+ Frustrating the opponent's efforts to calmly support and advance the h-pawn. Tip: Harassment hampers high hopes. 62 Kg5 Rg8+ 63 KfS R&8+ 64 Kg6 Re8+ 65 Kh7 Red 66 HS White can thus advance his h-pawn, but only at the cost of having his Copyrighted MaterialCopyrighted Material Principles of Rook Endgames king locked in. Now White has to be careful. 66...Rg1 67 h6? White can win by freeing his king with 67 Kh6! Rg2 68 Rg5 Ra? (or 68. Rh2 69 Ke7 Kxe6 70 h6) 69 Kg7 Kxe6 70 h6 Ra7+ 71 Kg6 KeT 72 hT7 ete. 67.,.Rg2 68 Kh8 Rgl 69 h7 Rg2 70 Rel Rga 71 Rfl Kxe6 72 RES Raat A blow for Jonathan Mestel, who was expecting to win after 72...Ke7 73 Re’ Rh3 74 Ke7 Rgd+ 75 Kh6 Rh3+ 76 Kes Re3t 77 Kf. 73 RET t's 73 Rf] meets with 73...Rg3. while after 73 Kg7 Rg3+ 74 Kh6 Rh3+ 75 Kg6 Rg3+ White cannot go anywhere without losing the h-pawn. With two extra pawns White again went astray, Example 20 CO Lane Mi Flear Le Touquet 1990 Here follows an example of the defender going wrong in a theoreti- cally notorious ending. Diagram 21 (W) Diagram 22 (B) A highly theoretical endgame Drawn, but not easy... White is able to pick up the remaining pawn, but in the meantime the king rushes back to the kingside. 47 Rg8 Kd7 48 Rxg6 Ke7 49 h5 Kf7 50 Rg5 RaG A careful move. Instead 50...Ral? 51 h6 Rgl+ (or 51...Rh1 52 Rh) 52 KfS Rhi 53 Rg7+ KfS 54 Kg6 allows rapid progress, e.g. 54..Rgl+ 55 Kh7 Rf1 (@ position that the books give as winning, but without ex- Copyrighted Material aCopyrighted Material Mastering the Endgame Xa planation, so I begrudgingly had to work it out myself}) 56 Ra’! (56 Regd? gets nowhere after 56... Kf7) 56...Rxf4 67 Kg6 Red+ 58 Ki6! REd+ (58...Kg8 allows 59 Rg7+ Rxg7 60 hxg7) 59 Kg5 Rfl (69...RE7 fails to 60 Ra8+ Ke7 61 h7! Re7+ 62 Kf Rxh7 63 Ra7+) 60 RaS+ Ke7 61 h7 and wins 51 RE&+ Kg7 52 Kg5 Ral 53 Rd5 Rgl+ 54 KfS Ral 55 Rd6 Rh? ‘Sloppy play. Instead 55...Ra5+! would probably have foreed White to go back to g4 as 56 KeG!? Rxhb 57 Rd7+ (57 £5? RhG+ is drawn imme- diately) 57...Kg6 58 Rdl Rab 59 Rg1+ Kh7 60 fS RaG+ is only drawn. 56 Rd7+ Kh6 57 RdG+ Kg7 57...Kxh6 loses on the spot to 58 Rd8. 58 Rd7+ Kh6 59 Kfé Ral 60 { (Diagram 22) 60...Ra8? Black, in time trouble, makes a serious error (which should lose) but. alas. it was not to be the final one! Another mistake is 60..Kxh5? in view of 61 Rh7+ Kg4 62 Kg6, Correct is 60...Ra5! to arrest White's progress, Then 61 Ke6 (61 Rf7 Ra6+ 62 Ke7 Ra7+ and the checks keep coming) 61...Kxh5 (61,..Kg5!? 62 Rg7+ Kxh5 63 {6 Kh6 is also possible, or even 61...Ra6+ 62 Rd6 Ra 63 £6 Kxh5 64 Kf7 Kh6 65 Re6 Rb8 66 Re8 Rb6) 62 {6 (after 62 Rd5 RaG+ 63 Rd6 Ra8 64 £6 Kg6 65 £7 Ke7 66 Ke7 Ra7+ Black has a standard draw) 62...Kg6 63 Rg7+ Kh6 64 Rel Raé+ draws. 61 Kf7! Kxh5 61...Kg5 62 6! RaG 63 KgT!. 62 £6? 62 Kg7! wins because 62...Kg5 63 f6 returns to the game and 62...Ral is inadequate after 63 {6 Rg 1+ 64 KfS Ral 65 {7 Kg6 66 Kg8. 62..Kg5?? Based on a hallucination, but an atrocious blunder all the same. In- stead 62...Kh6! would now draw. 63 Kg7 1-0 My advice to the loser of this game (myself!) is to look at the relevant theory in Chapter 3, particularly Examples 59-61. Time trouble and fatigue don't help, but it is important to have a basie knowledge of endings in order to be able to avoid such accidents. Warning: Time trouble is no excuse for poor handling of the endgame. The real reason is laziness in learning basic technique. Copyrighted MaterialCopyrighted Material Principles of Rook Endgames Saving Bad Positions There follow a couple of games in which I was able to save poor posi- tions. Example 21 CO Flear Ml Z.Varga Nice 1997 Diagram 23 (8) Diagram 24 (W) ‘The b-pawn looks overwhelming White to play and draw Some endgames, particularly promotion races, can be resolved only with deep analysis. 45...Ked, Natural is 45...Rb5 46 Rxb5 Kxb5 47 h5 b2 48 h6 b1Q, but after 49 h7 Black, curiously, cannot prevent White from queening! 46 h5 b2 47 h6é Re7 47...Re6 48 h7 Rh6 fails to perpetual harassment: 49 Re8+ Kd2 50 RbS and Black cannot progress. 48 Kga? A mistake, as we shall see, 48 f4! was necessary 48...Ke2? (Diagram 24) Missing his chance, but to be fair my opponent was astonished that White could draw after this natural move. The win results after 48...£4+! 49 Ked Ke? 50 Kf b1Q 51 Rxbl Kxbl 52 Kxe5 R&7! 53 h7 (53 Ke6 R&S!) 53... Rxh7 54 Kxf4 Ke2 55 KeS (or 55 Ked Ke3 56 4 Kea 57 Ke5 Ke5 58 f Ke6 59 Ke6 Ke7 60 6 Kd8 61 f7 Rh6+) 55...Rh5+! 56 Ked (no better is 56 Ke6 Kd3 57 f Ked) 56,..Ke3 57 4 Ket 58 £5 Ke5 Copyrighted Material 49Copyrighted Material Mastering the Endgame 59 Ke5 Ke6 60 Ke6 Ke7 61 £6 Kd8 62 7 Rh6+ and Black wins just in the nick of time. 49 fal! A good move, but even better if played a move earlier! 49.04 The attack after 49...Re3+ 50 Kh4! Rb3 61 Re8+ Kd? 52 h7 b1Q 53 h8Q is not as dangerous as it looks, as 53..Qh1+ 54 Kg5 Qg2+? 55, Kxfo even favours White! 50 Kh4 b1Q 51 Rxbl Kxbl 52 Kgs. With the black pawn on f White's king protects the h-pawn and si- multaneously threatens Black's. In the note to Black's 48th move, above, White's king is less well placed and creating the passed f-pawn costs too much time. 52...Ke2 Similar is 52...R&7 when, with precise play, White can hold: 53 Kg6 RB 54 Kg7 Ra8 55 Kg6 Ke2 56 KxfS Kd3 57 h7! Rb8 58 Kg6 Ke2 59 £5 Kxf2 60 £6 e3 61 Kg7 e2 62 £7 e1Q 63 8Q+ RxfB 64 Kxf8. 58 KxfS Kd3 54 Kg6 Ke2 55 £5 Kxf2 56 £6 e357 [7 Re8 58 KgT e2 59 f8Q+ Rxf8 60 Kxf8 e1Q 61 h7 %-'4 Example 22 (0 Vaisser il Flear Fuerteventura 1992 Diagram 25 (B) Diagram 26 (W) Black's king is cut off ‘White can no longer win Rook and two against Rook and one on the same side occurs frequently in tournament play (see Examples 45-49), If Black’s king could return 2 Copyrighted MaterialCopyrighted Material Principles of Rook Endgames to the defence of the kingside then a draw would be logical, but being cut off by three files from his pawn poses serious problems. 52...Rg7 After 52...Re7? White wins the pawn ending, ¢.g. 53 Rxe7 Kxe7 64 Ked Kf7 55 Kh6 Kgs 56 h5 Kh8 57 gd! Kg8 58 g5 Kh8 59 g6. 53 ga? ‘Trying to gradually advance makes no difference: 53 g3? Kd7 54 Re3 Kd8 55 KfS Kd7 56 5 (or 56 Kf6 Red 57 Kf Kd6 68 Kis Kd 59 h5 RgS 60 Ra3 Ked 61 g4 Kfa 62 Rad+ Kg3 63 Kf7 Kha 64 Kf6 h6 65 Kf7 Kh3 and White cannot progress) 56...Kd8 57 Kfé Re4 58 Ra3 Ke8 59 Ra8+ Kd7 60 Rh8 Rxg3 61 Rxh7+ Ke8 62 Rh8+ Kd7 63 h6 Rf3+ 64 Kg6 Ke7 65 Rg8 Rg3+ 66 Kh7 Rh3 67 Rg] Kf7 with a book draw. 53 Ra2! is the right way. Then 53.,.Rb7 54 Ke5 Ke6.55 Kh6é Kf 56 Ra4 Re7 57 g4+ Ke5 58 h5 Rb7 59 g5 Kf 60 Rad+ Ke6 61 Ral Rb5 62 Rf1 leads to a win for White. Black can also try 53...Ke6 54 RaG+ Kf7 (54...Kd5 55 gd is decisive as Black's king is cut along the rank) 55. 7+ Kg8 56 Rxg7+ Kxg7 57 Kg h6+ (57...Kh8 58 Kh6 Kg8 59 hS Kh8 60 g4! Kg8 61 g5 Kh8 62 g6, or 57.,.Kg8 58 Kh6 Kh8 59 h5 Ke8 60 g3! Kh8 61 g4 Kg8 62 25 Kh8 63 g6) 58 KiS Kf7 59 h5 Kg7 60 Keé. and White manoeuvres to win the h-pawn. Not only does White need to cut off the Black king, but he needs the tempo-move available as the pawn is still on g2. 53...Re7! This is possible now due to the continuation 54 Rxe7 Kxe? 55 Kg5 KET 56 Kh6 Kg8 57 hd Kh8 58 g5 Ke6 59 g6 hxg6 60 hagG Kh8 61 g7+ Kes 62 Kg6 with a draw. 54 Rd2+ Ke6 55 Kgs Rg7+ 56 Kh5 Rg6 57 Rf Ke7 (Diagram 26) Black's king cannot aid of he h-pawn, but White can no longer win 58 Rf. After 58 Ra2 Black scuttles back in time with 58..KI7 59 RaT+ Kgs. 58...Ra6é 59 RE Rb6 60 Rf Raé 61 Rf4 Re6 62 g5 Raé 63 Ke4 Rbé6 64 RI Rb4+ 65 Kh5 Rb6 66 Rfi RaG 67 Kg4 Rb6 68 h5 Ri 69 Rad Y's My Advice As rook endings occur mast frequently they require special attention, Play through your own games, concentrating on questions involving the activity of the rooks: Did you find the correct way or moment to go active? Were you too passive? Could you have used the rook to pre~ vent the other king advance? Should you have gone behind the pawn? Copyrighted Material ot‘i Wéitnd Copyrighted Material Try it Yourself Exercise 1 (White to play) Exercise 2 (White to play) Exercise 1: This is a typical position with an extra b-pawn, and one that is worth playing out a few times. Is White, to move, winning? Exercise 2: This is not great for White, but is there a way ta hold? Exercise 3 (Black to play) Exercise 4 (White to play) Exercise 3: Another of these positions that is theoretically drawn but not easy to defend. Can you find the correct defence for Black? Exercise 4: White has an extra pawn but can he win? If'so, where did he go wrong in the game Flear-Relange, Cappelle-la-Grande 1994 30 Rd2 Re4 31 ( Rad 32 Ra2 Keé 33 Kf2 f5 34 exfS+ gxfS 35 Ked Kd5 36 Kd3 ed+ 37 Ke3 Ke5 38 Ral Rd4 39 f4+ Kd5 40 a4 Rd3+ 41 Kf2 Rd2+ 42 Kel Rh2 43 Rd1+ Kea 44 Rd2 Rh1+ 45 Ke? Ral 46 Re2+ Kd4 47 Rd2+ Ked 48 Re2+ '-'a 52 Copyrighted MaterialChapter Three Theory of Rook Endgames 7, R+2vs.R+ 1: Connected Passed Pawns 7, R+2vs.R +1: Isolated Passed Pawns 7, Extra Outside Passed Pawn 7, R+2vs.R+1: No Passed Pawns 7, R+2vs.R: Connected Pawns , ' Wy 77, R+2vs.R: Split Pawns 7) Try it Yourselfc ighted Material Mastering the Endgame BP arinac mare ‘Theory in rook endings is vast, 80 | have selected various themes that tend to crop up in my games (comparisons between the games in this chapter and those in Chapter Two are therefore common). I have con- centrated our investigations on the types of position that have practi- cal importance, which J believe is a realistic approach for a tourna- ment player wishing to learn how to handle the rook endings that he is likely to come across. Rook and Two vs. Rook and One: Connected Passed Pawns A commonly recurring theme, but not always a win. This section should indicate under what circumstances the defending side has drawing chances, Example 23 Diagram 1 (W) Diagram 2 (W) Example 23: White wins Example 24: White can still win White wins by foreing a winning Lucena position, either with 1 Ke6 Rfl 2 Rb8+ Ke7 3 Rxb2 Rxf 4 Ke7 or; 1 eG Ke8 2 e7 Rei 3 Rxb2 Rxe7 4 Kfé This seems clear enough, So when does Black obtain drawing chances? Read on! Example 24 Despite the fact that White has yet to touch his pawns, and with Black having again advanced his pawn to the seventh rank, there is ‘no stopping White's march. With a white pawn on the second rank Black cannot create any threats with his rook. The win is thus straightforward: Copyrighted MaterialCopyrighted Material Theory of Rook Endgames. 1h4 Kh6 2 Kge4 Kg6 3 RaG+ Kf? 4 Kh; White can also win by using the g-pawn as a permanent shield: 4 Kg5 Kg7 5 Ra7+ KiB 6 h5 Kg8 (or 6...Rg1 7 Rxa2) 7 Kg6 KiB 8 h6 ete, 4...Kg7 5 g4 Kf7 6 Ra7+ Ke8 7 g5 Kfs 8 Kg6 Rhi 9 Rxaz Rxhd 10 Ra8+ Ke7 11 Kg7 ete. Example 25 Diagram 3 (W) Diagram 4 (B) Example 25: Tricky, but still winning White wins With the black rook actively deployed by the side of his pawn White has more technical difficulties. For instance the natural 1 h4 only draws (Maizelis): 1..Rb3+ 2 Kgd Rbd+ 3 Kh3 Rb3+ 4 g3 Rb2 5 h5+ Kfé 6 Khd Rh2+ 7 Kgd Rb2 8 Ra6+ Kg7 9 Kg Rb5+ 10 Kha Rb2 11 g4 Kf7 12 h6 Rb6! (a neat trick). The problem for White in this line is the lack of adequate shelter ~ Black's rook is able to make a nuisance of itself. 1 Kh3! Kfé 2 g4 Kg6 3 Kgs Kfe 4 h3 Kg6 5 Kha ‘The h-file offers protection from troublesome checks. 5...Kf6 6 Ra6+ Kg7 7 Kh5 RbS+ 8 gb Rb3 9 h4 Rb? 10 RaT+ Kgs 11 Kh6 (Diagram 4) and Black ean resign, Black could try and play more actively with his king with 6...Ke5 (in- stead of 6...Kg7) 7 Kh Rh2 8 h4 Kd4 9 g5 Ke3 10 g6 Kb2 but it is rather slow. Both rooks are sacrificed for passed pawns and White's extra pawn wins the day: 11 g7 Rg2 12 Kh6 alQ 13 Rxal Kxal 14 hd Kb2 15 Kh7 Ke3 16 hG Kd4 17 g8Q Rxg8 18 Kxg8. The counter-attack is not always doomed, see the next example: Copyrighted Material 55Copyrighted Material Diagram 5 (B) Diagram 6 (W) Black's counterattack can succeed Black will be just in time In a pawn race time is the key factor, and here Black has just enough. 1..Ke6 2_h4 Kb6 3 Ra’ Kbs 4 Kgs 4h5 Ket 5 h6 Kb3 6 Ked Rh 7 Kg5 a1Q 8 Rxal Rxal 9 h7 Rhl 10 Kg6 Ket 11 g4 Kd5 12 g5 Ke6 13 Ke7 KfS 14 g6 Kg6 15 Kf7 Rh2=. 4..Kb4 5 Kh5 Kb3 6 g4 Rgl 7 <5 alQ 8 Rxal Rxal 9 g6 Ked (Diag- ram 6) 10 g7 Rgl 11 Khé Kd5 12 Kh7 Ke6 13 g8Q+ Rxgs 14 Kxg8= Example 27 CO Euwe il Alekhine Match 1935 Diagram 7 (8) White's king cannot find shelter Copyrighted MaterialCopyrighted Material Theory of Rook Endgames White's advanced g-pawn means that the race is hopeless for Black. However, there is a defence in view of White's inability to find the necessary shelter. 1...Ke6! After 1...Ked? 2 g6 Kb3 3 g7 Rel 4 Ke2 White wins. 1...Ke4? was played in the game but this should lose because after 2 RaS Re5 White can win with 3 £3+ Kd3 4 Ra3+ Kd4 5 Ked, supporting the pawns and affording the king safety from the defending rook. 2 fa 2 Rad meets the familiar trick 2...Rc5! 2,.KE5 3 RaS+ Kg6 4 Kgd Rg2+! 5 KES Rb? 6 Ra6+ Kg7 7 15 Rh2 8 Kgd Rg2+ 9 Kfa Rf2+ 10 Ke5 Re2t '-'4 (Diagram 8) White's king is too exposed. Example 28 Diagram 9 (W) Diagram 10 (B) White's rook is too passive White is very active In Chapter 2, Example 11 (note to Black’s 49th move) the defending side could have hoped for the rook behind the passed pawn. This often represents the best drawing chance as White's reok may have to go pas- sive. Here, for instance, White cannot win. 1 Kgd Kg7 2 g6 Kf6 Blockading and drawing. Example 29 CO Réti Ml Kostic Goteborg 1920 Copyrighted Material 57Copyrighted Material mastering the endgame In this ideal book for dealing with one of the most difficult phases of the Ce CU ee Une ee Rn co Ce Ree ee CL ee Ut oe CA UU eee eR ae | Ce ee UR Me Ra Re ee aed CWC a eee eo em eure eeu ela} Cee ue enn eum creed Cee Ee Bye eke ete Rate cam ord ge ae ea) CU on Meee area CU oe eco ane ec ee oa Se Ue Ra ee ee 1 Bd) Al Bea