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ANNOTATED GAME
Complicated Endgame Study No. 2
rook (5) vs. rook and bishop (8)
Annotated by: byakuugan3 (1200)
Chess opening: English (A10), Jaenisch gambit
rook (5) vs. rook and bishop (8)
Annotated by: byakuugan3 (1200)
Chess opening: English (A10), Jaenisch gambit
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This is my second endgame explaination for those of you who would like to improve your endgame attacking ideas. Please ignore the first un-annotated chunk of the game, I wasn't sure if you could start an annotation from a non-starting position, so I just made a bunch of moves to reach the position of the endgame I want to study. | ||||||
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1. c4 b5 2. Qa4 bxc4 3. Qxa7 c3 4. Qxa8 cxb2 5. Qxb8 bxa1=Q 6. Qxc7 Qxa2 7. Qg3 Qxb1 8. Qxg7 Qg6 9. Qxg8 Qxg2 10. Qxh7 Qxg1 11. Qxf7+ Kxf7 12. f4 Qc5 13. e4 Qxc1+ 14. Kf2 Qxd2+ 15. Kf3 Qd3+ 16. Kg4 e5 17. fxe5 Ke6 18. Bxd3 Ba6 19. Bxa6 d6 20. exd6 Bxd6 21. Rc1 Rxh2 22. Rc8 Rf2 23. Rxd8 Rf4+ 24. Kg5 Rxe4 25. Kg6 Ra4 26. Kg7 Rxa6 27. Rb8 Ra4 28. Rb2 Rf4 29. Ra2 |
This is the starting position of the endgame study, just ignore all the moves before this. In the case of a lone rook vs. a rook and bishop, the game is usually a draw. In this case, Black can win this game because White's king is under attack by Black's remaining pieces. If White's king was in the center or Black's pieces weren't well coordinated, then White can fight and get a draw. | |||||
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29... Be5+ |
It's important that Black keep the pressure on the king, before the White rook can come in to try to save the king. Studying winning endgames with a slim amount of material is a good way to improve your overall endgame, and work better with your pieces. Even in positions that are draws, a lot of players suck at endgames, and you can outplay them for the win. | |||||
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30. Kh6 |
Black's job is to use his rook to get White's king trapped on one rank or file of the board (the 8th rank, 1st rank, h-file, or a-file). The bishop defends the king against possible rook checks, while also combining in the attack against the king. It doesn't matter where White moves, Rg4 seals the king's escape route in any case. | |||||
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30... Rg4 31. Re2 |
White's best chance to draw is to pin the bishop here, because after moves that are not Kf5, White can disrupt the Black attack and escape into a drawn position, Kf5 secures the win by not letting White's rook disrupt the attack | |||||
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31... Kf5 32. Rf2+ Bf4+ |
The bishop demonstrates it's power to both defend and attack. Bishops show their full power in extremely open positions like this. White has a much better chance of drawing if the bishop was a knight, since knights aren't as powerful in open positions. | |||||
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33. Kh7 |
White would lose quicker after 33.Kh5, because Rg1 threatens mate with Rh1 thanks to the bishop cutting off White's escape. White would have to sacrifice his rook for Black's bishop to stop immediate mate, but a king and rook vs. a king is a very simple win. | |||||
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33... Kf6 |
In this position, Black threatens to play Kf7 and White's king is dead because of the Rh4 threat. White's rook needs to get to a square where Black can be checked after Kf7. | |||||
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34. Rb2 |
Now Kf7 would draw, because Rb7 disrupts Black's attack. | |||||
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34... Rg7+ 35. Kh8 Rg1 |
The winning process is complicated, but it gets simpler once you reach a key position explained later. Black's rook effectively restricts White to the h-file, but it needed to be moved because of White's Rb6 threat that wins the Black rook, and then it's Black who is fighting for the draw. Now that the rook serves its purpose restricting the king, it's time for the bishop and king to position accurately to reach the key position. | |||||
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36. Rf2 |
White's rook needs to be as annoying as possible to make Black work the hardest for the win, otherwise Black has an easier time setting up the key position. | |||||
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36... Rg4 |
Other ways of defending the bishop disrupt Black's formation. Defending with the rook still restricts the White king, without having to change the position of the king and bishop. If you ask, "why not just play Rg4 immediately instead of Rg1?" then the answer is that the position of White's rook makes a huge difference in the position and how Black needs to finish the attack. Black has to make sure that the rook isn't in a position to mess up his formation, and it takes a lot of patience. | |||||
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37. Rb2 |
Black was threatening Kf7, which would've mated White very quickly, so White puts the rook in a position to mess up Black's formation if Black tries Kf7. | |||||
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37... Be3 |
This bishop move prevents any rook checks, while also getting one step closer to reaching the key position. If all of this seems complicated to you, don't worry, this is a very complicated endgame, and studying it and reviewing it will help you to play endgames like this, and using the ideas will improve your overall endgame, even if it doesn't seem like it will. | |||||
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38. Rb3 Re4 |
In this position, Black wants to play Kg6 with a quick Re8 mate in mind. The bishop is excellent in stopping rook checks, and White's king is still cornered despite the rook's absence on the g-file. | |||||
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39. Rc3 |
This move makes Black's win the most complicated since the rook threatens a check. Ra3 also threatens a check, but Black mates quickly with Kf7 and the bishop defends the rook check. Rb1 is another move that threatens a rook check, but Kg6 stops the rook check and Black has an easier time setting up the key position. | |||||
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39... Bf4 |
This critical move defends the c7 and g3 squares, so now Black can play Kg6 or Kf7 against a passive move, which heavily increases the pressure on White's king while not allowing rook checks. | |||||
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40. Ra3 |
White must make Black work for the win, so he threatens potential rook checks on the a-file. | |||||
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40... Re8+ |
If White had tried Rc8 a move ago, preventing this check, then Kf7 wins easily and Black just needs to find a quick mate. | |||||
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41. Kh7 Be5 |
When a king is trapped on a back rank or rook file, then the bishop is usually strongest when it's on the central rank or file corresponding to the rank or file the king is trapped on. For example, if the king was trapped on the a-file, then the bishop would be strongest on the d-file. If the king was trapped on the 1st rank, then the bishop is strongest on the 4th rank. The key position of this endgame is where your king is on the 3rd rank, 6th rank, c-file, or f-file, in front of the bishop, and Black is threatening to acheive the key position | |||||
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42. Ra2 |
Other defensive attempts lose faster. Ra6 allows Kf5, reaching the key position where White cannot effectively stop Rh8#. Rf3 allows Kg5, where White still cannot effectively stop Rh8# Ra7 allows Kf5, where Black reaches the key position, and I'll explain the winning process later, when Black forces White into the key position. White can still stall Black's win for longer with the move played, since 43.Rf2 is threatened if 43...Kf5 is played, drawing the game since Black's formation is disrupted. | |||||
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