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Chess related: Creativity in Endgames...
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algol 30-Aug-09, 19:47 |
 InterestingInstead white needs to obtain a zugzwang position with 1. Rd2(or Rd3) d4 2. Rd1! Kd5 3. Kd7 and the white king waits for black to chose a direction and then approaches the pawn via the other adjoining file. 3. .. Ke5 4. Kc6 Ke4 5. Kc5 d3 6. Kc4 and the pawn falls. |
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blake78613 30-Aug-09, 21:13 |
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maca 01-Sep-09, 05:15 |
Ionadowman [a] The problem I see with 25...Rc2 is that white can then dislodge my rook by playing 26. Kd3 (and if 26...Rc1 then naturally 27. Kd2). After that, my rook needs to go back to the far-Q-side into a passive position, or take an alternatively passive position at the K-side. The K-side pawns didn't seem vulnerable to a rook attack at this point due to the fact that the white K is still very close to them (e.g. white K can very easily cover the distance between c3 -pawn to f2 -pawn... This is one of the things that made winning this ending somewhat difficult to me). Therefore, 25...Rc2 does not seem to gain anything for me. I think 25... Ra5!(?) was a very critical move in this position, as it's the only one that allows me to activate my rook into the central lines. Without it, I'm not sure if I could have won this. Also, in your proposed line, I don't like the idea of giving a passed pawn to white, even if I have 3 of my own at the K-side. [b] 28.R c8+ probably gives the best counter-play. I would have probably taken my king to g7 with the idea of f5 and Kf7/6. With 28. Rc5?, my opponent allowed me to execute my plan to activate my king. [c] If 42. Rf5 then 42...a5! just seems like a simple idea to win. I wouldn't have gone after his c-pawn, the h-pawn seemed too dangerous for me. Regards, MaCa. |
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maca 01-Sep-09, 05:21 |
A correction After 27... Rxf2 28. Rxc7 Rxh2 29. Rxb7 the c3-pawn still seemed kinda dangerous to me, and my rook is still passive. I don't know, maybe I'm just not a risk-taker in endgames, then? Regards, MaCa. |
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blake78613 01-Sep-09, 07:31 |
One of the subvariations ends in the following position (Black has just played Rf6+) Muller ends the analysis of the subvariation here with "=". I don't doubt that this is a draw but it seems Muller could elaborate. I have "Queen v. Rook/Minor Piece Endings" by Avebakh, Chekhover and Henkin; and will be looking there for explanations. But it would be nice if some would provide some guidance on this position. |
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blake78613 01-Sep-09, 08:28 |
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nyctalop 01-Sep-09, 09:44 |
Q vs R+P The winning method is pretty long and intricate. For example, it takes about 60 moves to win the following position. The first step of the winning plan is to get behind the pawn with the Queen. It should be noted that the general plan is to force the weaker side to advance the pawn in order to capture it. 1.Qa6 Rb5 (so it will be possible to block the future checks with the Rook and not lose the good position of the King.) 2.Qa8 Kd7 3.Qa3 Kc7 (Black has to stay passive if he intends to draw this endgame) 4.Qe7+ (Now we can see the point behind the lengthy Queen maneuvers. The Black King must the brought in front of the pawn) Kc8 5.Qd6 (White has to threaten the pawn in order to force it to advance) Ra5+ 6.Kb3 (The second part of the plan is the bring the White King behind the pawn) Rb5+ 7.Ka4 (but first the fifth rank must be passed) Kb7 8.Qd7+ Kb6 9.Qc8 (These kind of non-threatening moves are difficult to see and understand if you're unaware of the path to victory) The first part of the plan is complete, the Queen has been brought behind the pawn. 9...Ra5+ 10.Kb4 Rb5+ 11.Kc4 Rc5+ 12.Kd4 Rd5 13.Ke4 Rb5 (Now the Rook must be dislodged from the fifth rank or the Black King must be forced to block it so the White King can reach the back of the pawn.) 14.Qb8+ Ka6 15.Qc7 (Now Black cannot defend from b6 or advance the pawn since the White King passes the fifth rank) Rc5 16.Kf4! (Black is in zugzwang) 15...Rc3 16.Ke5 (the second part of the plan is complete, the King has succeeded in getting behind the pawn) Kb5 17.Qf7 Kc5 18.Qf4 (limiting the Rook's moves and also threatening Qd4+) Kb5 19.Kd6 Rd3+ 20.Kc7 (The third part of the plan is complete. The White King is behind the pawn. Now White can force Black to advance it or capture it directly.) 20...Rc3 21.Qd4 Rc5 23.Qb2+ Kc4 24.Kd6 winning the pawn. If instead 20...c5, then 21.Qf5 Rc3 22.Kd6 Rc4 23.Qf1 Kb4 24.Kc6 Kb3 25.Kb5 Rc2 26.Qb1+ Kc3 27.Kxc5, again winning the pawn. Now that the winning method is presented you should understand why lateral pawns are better than center pawns and why 7th or 2nd rank pawns are better than 6th or 3rd rank pawns. The Queen cannot get behind the pawn and force the weaker side's King in front of it because it lacks space to maneuver. |
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algol 01-Sep-09, 20:44 |
Blake |
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maca... It has its risks, I agree, but with careful play, Black ought (in my view) to able to stop the pawn comfortably enough and then push home his own pawns. One possibility is that Black gives up his rook for the c-pawn (once the c-pawn is well advanced, of course, in the meantime Black's own K-side pawns having also made significant advances), then the WR finds itself unable to stem the flood. The line you give ends at this point: b 29...Rg2 30.Ra7 Rxg3+ 31.Kd4 h5 32.c4 Rg5 33.c5 Ke8 and already I fancy Black's chances. As for the later line, you are right, as I mentioned at the time: 42...a5 is a much better winning chance than going after the c-pawn. But I mentioned the latter idea in the context of putting up as tough a defence as possible. Sometimes, in the absence of any effective defensive resource, it comes down to offering your opponent as many ways as possible to go wrong. You and I would both play 42...a5 as a matter of course. Many players might not. There wasn't very much else to say about your game, maca. You outplayed your opponent across the board, and won comfortably. One might point out your opponent's mistakes - you made none. You can't say better than that! |
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Queen versus Rook and Pawn... Let my pal Paul Keres take up the tale. In his chapter on "How to defend difficult positions" (in "The Art of the Middle Game") he cited the instance of the game Samisch vs Prins from the Hastings Christmas Tournament 1938-9. This position was reached with White to play: w Even though all the material is on one wing, a successful defence for Black seems unlikely, with just R and N to compensate for Q and P. OK, White's first plan is to create a passed pawn - nothing else will do: 1.g4!? ... The fact is, Black's situation was desperate, but in his desperation, came up with a plan to make White's life as difficult as possible. But White could have avoided this, as it transpired had he played 1.Qh8 first, and then 2.g4. But who can see what Black had in mind? 1...hxg3 e.p. 2.fxg3 Ng5 Black has to execute his plan at once. Any delay and White plays h4, end of story... 3.Qf5 Nxh3+!! 4.Qxh3 Rc6 What has Black achieved? Not a draw game - not yet at any rate. Apparently taken completely by surprise, White played indifferently enough in the sequel to allow Black to set up this position: w This position is a draw, for much the same reason as given in a similar position in an earlier posting. Black has "fortress", and there is no way White can break through if Black's king just shuffles about the g7,g8,h7,h8 squares. Now that ought to tell us what White's plan ought to have been: to bring the Queen ASAP to h8, then bring up the reserves. The position White ought to aim for was something like this: w ... and there is no way Black can stop it after (taking up from the game position after 4...Rc6): 5.Qh4+ Ke8 6.Qh8 Rg6 etc. Black can do no more than make waiting mioves as White's scheme unfolds. From our third diagram position, White wins with this remarkable line; 13.Qb8! Rg6 Not 13...Rd6 14.Qc7+ and whether Black plays 14...Rd7 or 14...Ke6, White can force off the remaing pawns, Q vs R being a "book" win. 14.Qb4+ Ke8 Any other K move leads to 15.Qf8 and the loss of the f-pawn; 14...Rd6 15.Qb7+ and transposes into the previous move's note. 15.Qe4+ Re3 If instead 15...Kf1 then 16.Qxg6! fxg6 17.Kxg6 with the standard K+P vs K win; 16.Qxe6!! fxe6 17.Kh6 and wins. Cheers, Ion |
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Piece vs pawns Some years ago, in a pickup game, this situation turned up after my 45th move. Playing Black, I had won a piece early in the game, but played indifferently thereafter, missing a quick win, and allowing White back into the game. I still had the piece, but White had gradually picked up three pawns for them; material was approximately level. w The game continued: 46.b5 Be4 47.Qxf6+! ... The first crisis. Taking with the King leads to an instant loss, but taking with the pawn gave White two widely separated and advanced passed pawns. Can Black survive? At the time, I wasn't sure I could. 47...gxf6! 48.b6 Kd6 There's no choice. 49.g7 Bh7 The pawns have been stopped, and Black threatens to reel them in. How can White progress? 50.e4!!? ... Extraordinary sac which will yield 4 passed pawns for White. But Black will have two of his own. More circumspect would have been 5.Kc3, dropping the b-pawn, but picking up Black's a-pawn in exchange. A draw seems likely in that line. 50...dxe4 51.d5 e3 White's d-pawn is inviolable, and standing on d5, stops the BK from reaching the pawn at b6. Black tries a counterattack. 52.Kc3 f5! 53.Kd3 f4+ 54.Ke2 Bg8 Now that the WK has been contained by Black's advanced pawn couple, I could turn my attention to White's passed pawn triplet. The threat to take on d5 (which would have maintained watch over the g8-square) forces White's hand. 55.c4 Kd7! The key move. The direct route to b6 being cut off, the king takes a long detour. White finds he can make no further progress e.g. 56.d6 Bxc4 wins for Black. 56.Kf3 Kc8 57.Ke2 Kb7 58.c5 Bxd5 White's infantry assault has been stopped, but can Black achieve anything more? The bishop is somewhat limited in its scope by the advanced g-pawn, and the King dare not stray far from White's Q-side pawns... 59.Kd3 Bg8?! Inaccurate. Better was 59...Bf7. 60.Ke2 Kc6 61.Kd3 Bf7 Black's 60th was a waiting move to bring about the position that would have been reached after 59...Bf7. 62.Ke2 Bxh5+ The point of Black's manoeuvres. The h-pawn is taken with check, giving the bishop one move's law to escape from this raid and continue to hold back the g-pawn. 63.Kf1 Bf7 Of course, 63...e2+ would be premature! 64.Ke2 h5 65.Kf3 h4 66.Ke2 h3 There's no cure for this pawn. Black's centre pawns hold back the White King. White played on a little longer, but the game was already decided: 0-1. |
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algol 09-Sep-09, 20:03 |
Ion Excellent play after 50. e4, very powerful bishop you had there! Thanks for this interesting game. |
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algol... |
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blake78613 13-Sep-09, 04:02 |
After the following position: Cox writes "42. Kg3 tries to play against the knight, but the fortunate positioning of king and bishop enables Black just so save himself with 42...b5 43.axb5 cxb5 44.cxb5 a4 45.b6 Kd7 46.f5 gxf5 47.h4 Nd4 48.h5 a3, when both sides queen (49.Kf2 Nb5!) and in the resulting position Black's king is too exposed to give him any chances. " Did Cox mean that "White's" King was too exposed? |
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blake78613 13-Sep-09, 08:45 |
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The quotation does read oddly... What gives some credibility to this view is that, as one who has annotated games before, I find it very easy to write "White' for 'Black' and vice versa. In case readers are sceptical, I have encountered similar inversions of west/east and right/left in history and military history writing. It is very easy to do. But it is possible that the original text was written as is, and it does make sense, if oddly expressed. Oddly? Well, Black is said 'just' to save himself by the sequence played, and (but?) in the final position his 'King is too exposed to give him any chances.' Now, does this mean 'chances of a draw' or 'chances to win'? Clearly, if Black 'just' saves himself, the latter is intended. The way the thing is expressed ('and' instead of 'but') is normally what you would use if you were demonstrating that a particular colour (Black) was lost with best play. Just to confuse the issue, both kings are too exposed in the final position to give either side winning chances. That Black queens first allow him to get the checks in first, which finally persuades me that 'White' was intended in that last clause. However, if Black gives a non-check, White is able to check Black's King indefinitely as well, which means the original wording was at least possibly intentional. The position is a draw. |
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algol 13-Sep-09, 18:27 |
In the position after the promotions, it seems to me that Cox is indeed saying that Black does not have any chances of winning because his king is too exposed. And I think Ion is right about the draw. Optically, black looks somewhat better to me as the b6 pawn seems weak, which may give black an edge because of his c5-passer. But after for instance re-centralizing the black queen with 52. ... Qa1-d4+ black does not seem to be able to get the b6-pawn... For example 53. Kf1 Qd5 (to cover b7, protect e6 prior to attacking b6 and to make d4 available for the knight) now 54. Qb8 is strong, threatening b6-b7. And direct attack 53. .. Kc6 54. Qc8 Kxb6 55. Qxe6+ gives white an edge. Another way of attacking the b6 pawn is with 52. ... Qa1-b2+ 53. Kf1 Nd4 54. Qg7+ Kc6 55. Qc7 Kb5 56. b7 and now black has at least a draw with 56. ... Qe2+ and 57. ... Qxe1+ but may have more in view of the good cooperation between queen and knight. So may be white should avoid 56. b7 and try to keep giving check. 56. Qd7+ Kc4 56. Qa4+ Kd3 57. Qa6+ c4 and the white king is suddenly in some trouble. I'm sure that this is not the strongest line, but it is white who is in danger of losing. This may indicate the meaning of Cox' last sentence... |
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blake78613 13-Sep-09, 18:38 |
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algol 13-Sep-09, 18:45 |
Blake How do you like the book for its opening coverage? |
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blake78613 14-Sep-09, 00:54 |
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algol 14-Sep-09, 05:42 |
Blake |
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nyctalop 15-Sep-09, 11:55 |
A cute little gem White to move and win. The material is dead even, both sides have Queen and pawns, both pawns are one step away from promoting. Tempting it is to try and promote since we have the move, but that leads only to misery. 1.h8Q f1Q+ 2.Ke4 Qe2+ 3.Kd4 Qb2+ picking up White's freshly promoted Queen. What is there to do then? What becomes apparent at a closer look is the fact that White's King is ideally placed for a potential matting net. So let's try checking 1.Qc8+. The only move is 1...Kh2. Now, we must keep checking. But where? 2.Qb8+ looks most natural, so as to keep the possibility of Queening. But after 2...Kh1, queening doesn't yield anything and neither does winning the pawn with 3.Qb1+ Kh2 4.Kxf2, which leads to a theoretical draw. That leaves the only other possible check, 2.Qc7+. 2...Kg1 loses to 3.Qg3+, so that leaves, 2...Kh1. Apparently we've come to a standstill. The Black Queen, protects c1 and h8 and we're out of checks. But in truth, the Black Queen is overloaded and we can sacrifice one Queen to promote another and mate. 3.Qc1+!! Qxc1 4.h8Q+ Kg1 5.Qg7+ Kf1 6.Qg2+ Ke1 7.Qxf2+ Kd1 8.Qxe2# The unfortunate position of the Black Queen created a very original matting net for White. |
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Sweet... By the way, I looked a bit further into the promotion attempt: 1.h8=Q f1=Q+ 2.Ke4 Qe2+ 3.Kd5 and Black wins a queen by 3...Qh5+! There's no perpetual available for White. Cheers... |
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Looking through an old 'Informator' today... From Ioffe vs Rau USSR 1973 (Colours reversed, and the Black King moved one square): w White to play: what result? At first sight, one might imagine that White would have a dour and protracted fight to hold the draw. But you might notice that, as well as the White Q being 'en prise', Black is threatening mate at once at b2, and if b2 is defended, Black switches the threat to a2 and wins. Nor has White many checks available: 1.Qg3+ Ka7 2.Qg1+ (or 2.Qe3+) b6 3.Qg7+ Kh6 and there are no more checks. Does that mean White is lost? I'll leave the thing here as a puzzle. Can White save the game? As an extra puzzle, you might then add a White pawn at h2, and then ask yourself, what would be the result? Have fun... |
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I can see you're all agog... I'll give it here (diagram in the previous posting). White has to play extremely actively: 1.Rc8+!! ... Now, if Black takes the rook, this happens: 1...Kxc8 2.Qxb7+! and whichever capture Black makes gives Stalemate, but 2...Kd8 3.Qxb4 wins for White, so: 1...Ka7 2.Ra8+! Kg3 Because 2...Kxa8 3.Qxb7+ and wwhatever Black plays gives Stalemate. 3.Qxb7+!! Kxb7 4.Rb8+ Kc6 Because 4...Kxb8 Stalemate 5.Rxb4 ... and neither side can progress. Draw. One of the most spectacular Stalemate combinations I've ever seen. |
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Oh... I forgot... |
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blake78613 26-Sep-09, 11:15 |
E101.01 Kurnosov,I (2658) - Lalic,B (2508) Black to move in draw. The answer can be found here: www.chesscafe.com |
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blake78613 26-Sep-09, 11:18 |
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Very unexpected solution... I'll leave it up to others to find it for themselves... |
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nyctalop 29-Sep-09, 10:07 |
Difficult endgame. White to play. The material is very scarce but still a lot of things can still happen for both sides. The very tempting move is 1.Ke5, with a dream variation like this: 1...Kc5 2.Kf6 Kc4 3.Kxg6 Kb3 4.f5 Kxa3 5.f6 b4 6.f7 Ka2 7.f8Q b3 8.Qb4 a3 9.Ne4 b2 10.Nc3+ Ka1 11.Qxa3#. However, things are not so cut clean. Black has a much better first move. 1...b4!! and now White is the one in danger of losing. The forced line goes like this 2.axb4 a3 3.Ne6 Kb5 4.Nd4+ Kc4 5.Nc2 a2 6.b5 Kxb5 7.Kd4 h4. So, what does White play in the initial position then? He can't force Black into a zugzwang so White must think of something active to play. The general rule in a superior material position is to use that material to gain more material so that the small initial advantage becomes decisive. White has a Knight for two pawns, which theoretically should give him the edge and entitle him to play for a full point. So let's use that Knight to seize material. 1.Nf3! Now the direct threat is 2.Ne5+, winning a pawn. So Black's best answer is the move the King, 1...Kd6. But now 2.Nh4 still wins a pawn. It looks hopeless for Black now. If he stays on the Q-side, White will simply advance the f-pawn after capturing Black's g-pawn. And if Black goes to the K-side, White will munch all of the pawns on the Q-side, create a passer and sacrifice his Knight for Black's h-pawn and win. However, things are again not so clear cut. Black a very hidden way to play for a draw based on something that isn't so obvious at first. Let's play a few more moves and see what happens. 2...Ke6 3.Kc5 It seems that White can't really capture the g-pawn, since that runs into Kf5, with an immediate draw. Here are the moves to demonstrate it: 3.Nxg6 Kf5 4.Nh4+ Kxf4 5.Kc3 Kg4 6.Ng2 h4 7.Nxh4 (forced) Kxh4 and even though it seems Black is very far away from a8, he makes it just in time to hold off White's a-pawn. 8.Kb4 Kg4 9.Kxb5 Kf5 10.Kxa4 Ke6 11.Kb5 Kd7 12.Kb6 Kc8 and White either allows Black to reach a8 or hold a lateral opposition. Let's return to 3.Kc5. Now the best and obvious move is 3...Kf6, defending the g6 pawn. White starts munching the pawns: 4.Kxb5 g5!. The only move that poses a serious question to White. There are two obvious moves here. 5.fxg5+ and 5.Ng2. They aren't that different in nature and they allow Black to use that hidden motif I was talking about earlier and hold the draw. We'll just look at 5.fxg5+ since it suffice to prove my point. 5...Kxg5 6.Ng2 Kg4 A textbook position. White can't hold the h-pawn with the Knight because it's a Rook's pawn. Let's look at the similar position that illustrates the huge difference between a Rook's pawn and any other kind of pawn. It looks like almost the same thing but in this case, White wins. 1.Kxa4 Kf3 2.Kb4 Kf2 3.Nd2! Ke3 (3...g4 fails to 4.Ne4+) 4.Kc3 g4 5.a4 Kf4 (again 5...g3 fails the Knight check Nf1+) 6.Nf1! (very important, 6.a5 allows 6...g3 and a draw) Ke5 (what else?) 7.Kc4 Kd6 8.Kb5 Kc7 9.Ng3 Kb7 10.a5 Ka7 11.a6 Kb8 12.Kb6 Ka8 13.Nf5 and now Black must play g3 or a allow a faster mate with 13...Kb8 14.Nd6 g3 15.a7+ Ka8 16.Nb5 g2 17.Nc7#. I showed that very basic ending to show why a Rook's pawn is stronger against a Knight than any other pawn. The simple difference is that the Knight can't use both sides of the pawn to control the queening square, with the Knight on h1, Black can play Kg2 and win the Knight. But it won't even get to that, in the previous position, the Black King simply won't allow the Knight to even reach h1 and force it to either keep moving, get captured or allow the advance of the h-pawn. Pretty straightforward draw, right? Well think again, because just like Black had some devilish tricks, so does White. But where can we improve? The whole line looks forced for both sides, doesn't it? At the first glance, it does, but White has a much stronger 5th move at his disposal, namely 5.Nf3!!. At first it doesn't make sense, does it? I mean, if Black can draw with one lone h-pawn, surely he can draw with an extra pawn, right? Black's best move is to recapture on f4 and after 6.Kxa4 the following position has appeared on the board. Things are still complicated but Black can still hold a draw by the edge of his teeth. 6...Kf5 7.Kb5 Kg4 8.Nd2 h4 9.a4 h3 10.Nf1 Kf3 11.a5 Kf2 12.a6 Kxf1 13.a7 h2 14.a8Q with a theoretical draw, Black only needs one of the pawns for a draw. |
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