mastering

thG�NFL�ndgame

EVERYMAN CHESS
Everyman Publishers pic www.everyman.uk.com
First published 2001 by Everyman Publishers plc, formerly Cadogan Books
plc, 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

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Con tents

- Bibliography 4

- Introduction 5

- 1. Learn from the Masters 9

- 2. Principles of Rook End games 30

- 3. Theory of Rook End games 53

- 4. Pawns and Queens 84

- 5. Minor Pieces 104

- 6. Rook vs. Minor Piece 140

- 7. Solutions to Exercises 161

Bibliography
A Pocket Guide to Chess Endgames, David Hooper (Bell 1970)
Alekhine 's Greatest Games of Chess, Alexander Alekhine, C.H.O'D Alexander
(Batsford 1989)
Basic Chess endings, Reuben Fine, (reprint Tartan 1974)
Bishop Endings, Yuri Averbakh (Batsford 1977)
Bishop u. Knight Endings, Yuri Averbakh (Batsford 1976)
Botuinnik's Best Games 1947-1970, Mikhail Botvinnik (Batsford 1972)
Encyclopaedia Of Chess Endings, (Sahovski Informator 1982-9)
Essential Chess Endings, James Howell, (Batsford 1997)
Improve Your Endgame Play, Glenn Flear (Everyman 2000)
Informator 1-80
Kasparou-Karpou: Battle of the Titans, Raymond Keene (Batsford 1991)
Knight Endings, Yuri Averbakh, Vitaly Chekhover (Batsford 1977)
Pawn Endings, Yuri Averbakh, I. Maizelis (Batsford 1974)
Queen and Pawn Endings, Yuri Averbakh (Batsford 1975)
Rook Endings, Grigory Levenfish, Vasily Smyslov (Batsford 1971)
Rook u. Minor Piece Endings, Yuri Averbakh (Batsford 1978)
Rubinstein's Chess Masterpieces, Hans Kmoch (Dover 1960)

The Games of Robert J.Fischer, Robert G. Wade, Kevin J. O'Connell (Bats­

ford 1973)
The Unknown Capablanca, David Hooper, Dale Brandreth (Batsford 1975)
Introduction

I wanted to write a challenging book, one that exposes my thinking on

the endgame and can be used by the reader for training or just en­
joyment. The book is self-sufficient, but it can be considered as a fol­
low-up to Improve your Endgame Play, which was published last year.
Readers who read that one thoroughly (and improved their endgames
as a result!) may be interested in further material of a slightly higher
level. In that book some of the aspects suggested in the method of self­
training were not fully developed, largely due to a lack of space, and I
hope to fill that gap in these pages. I like to think that readers of all
standards can benefit from the material herein but, if it proves a
shade difficult, then I recommend reading Improve your Endgame
Play first.

The Scope of this Book

This book is essentially a collection of endgames (and some transi­
tional middlegame examples that play like endings) of practical im­
portance . Either they are endings that occurred in over-the-board
play or analysis based on a real game . The theory that I investigate is
closely related to the practical examples.
The book is designed to be used as a self-training manual, but going
beyond previous works . I suggest a method to acquire increased com­
petence and consequently supply appropriate material for the reader
to follow it through.
To master the endgame the reader should gain insight from a study of
both their own games and those of the world's strongest players (both
past and present) . Games should be analysed and compared to stan­
dard endgame theory.
It is important to keep yourself in competition condition with training
exercises that test powers of logic and analysis, and then finally put
your wisdom into practical play. Self-training is an ongoing process,
continually checking your own play against the rigours of analysis

5
Mastering the Endgame

and established theory . It is no accident that the world's leading play­

ers publish work on their own games as well as those of other top
players of the past. Theory is full of examples of world champions
analysing their predecessor's endgames.
The first chapter looks at endings of top grandmasters and what les­
sons we can learn from them. The bulk of the book develops the proc­
ess of studying one's own games (Chapters 2 and 4-6) and comparing
with examples from master play and established theory (Chapters 3-
6) and follow . In my opinion, examples from our own experiences can
stimulate great research which is both interesting and educative .
Making the time to solve exercises is an important way to test how
well an idea has been understood, and these can be found in each
chapter.
Note that I have considered it helpful to cross-reference analogous
endgames, so the reader can develop the process of comparison within
these pages.
In Improve your Endgame Play I offered further advice :
Working on individual weaknesses is sensible but not an obvious area
for a book to deal with. The readers have diverse styles and qualities,
as well as frailties (and I mention a few of the typical ones) . Here I
have concentrated on some endgame themes that are relevant to
practical application, reminding the reader of important principles ,
a n d I have suggested some techniques t o combat persistent errors i n
endgame judgement. Take note o f the Tips, Notes a n d Warnings.
Quality not quantity means concentrating on examples of practical
relevance rather than learning all the detailed exceptions of obscure
rules. A work on any subject can only be so long and, once the final
page is read, the book closed and arranged in its place on the book­
shelf it can, if you wish, be considered the end of the story . However,
if you have enjoyed the time spent and been stimulated to investigate
endgames with a new vigour, then you are well on the way to master­
ing the endgame .
Before delving into the book here is a brief digression about my way of
thinking. Instead of classifying chess in three distinct phases (open­
ing, middlegame and ending), I sometimes, for training purposes, di­
vide chess games into six ! .
1 Pre-match preparation
2 The opening
3 Transition between the opening and middlegame (OTM: Opening­
to-Middlegame phase)
4 The Middlegame
5 Transition between the middlegame and endgame (MTE : Middle­
game-to-Endgame phase)

6
 Introduction

6 The E ndgame
In modern tournament practise Phase 1 is often the longest, and the
difference between strong and weak players is most apparent in
Phases 3 & 5! . Food for thought.
If we consider the endgame to be where either player has only one
piece (excluding the king) then this book is concerned with phases 5
and 6, the Middlegame-to-Endgame phase (or MTE) and the end­
game . In conclusion I have often started games from earlier than the
pure endgame in order to look at questions involving simplification
and the thinking involved at the moment of transition.

Glenn Flear
Baillargues, France , August 200 1

7
C hapte r O n e

Learn from the Masters

• Drawish, but n ot yet Drawn!

• Active P i eces

• Pat i e nt P lay

• T h e B e n efits of Stu dy

• T ry it Yo u rself
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 I found to be so enlightening that they
stuck in my memory. I have included ten of my favourites here and I
hope that the reader will enjoy them as much as I 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
D Cohn • Rubinstein
St. Petersburg 1 909

Diagram 1 (B) Diagram 2 (W)

White has slight pawn weaknesses Should White defend or attack?

Material is level but White has some slight weaknesses in his pawn
structure . Black could continue with l . . .e5 but after 2 Bd3 followed by
Rg l it is difficult to see how he can win by normal means against sen­
sible defence . Instead Rubinstein provokes further exchanges (his op­
ponent had clearly been playing for a draw from the very start) .
l...Nc4+ 2 Bxc4 Rxc4 3 Rcl?
An exchange too far! 3 f4, gaining space and putting a stop to any

10
 Learn from the Masters

ideas of . . . Rh4 , was more appropriate , although Black could still

maintain some pressure with 3 . . . Kf6 4 Kd3 b5 5 Rg 1 h6! , intending
. . . a5 or . . . g5 . White can only wait and defend.
Tip: With a sl ig htly worse position, rook endings are much easier to
d raw than pawn endi ngs.

3 ... Rxc1 4 Kxc1 Kf6 5 Kd2 Kg5 (Diagram 2) 6 Ke 2

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 is 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? Kc3-d4-c5-d6-c7xb 7xa7 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-h 1Q, this time only nine moves. Therefore Black appears
to be winning after 6 Kc3 etc.
However, do not j ust 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 . . . b 5 ! , 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 Kc3 b6 7 Kc4 a6, creat­
ing a barrier against the white king. This can 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 a6-pawn, thus beginning an­
other race ! If you want to know what happens , start counting!
Tip: Cou nting is a usefu l tool but use it only as a g uide, not to en­
tirely replace analysi s.

6 ... Kh4 7 Kfl Kh3 8 Kg1 e5!

Preventing 9 f4 , when White gains breathing space .
9 Kh 1 b5
Locking up the queenside and keeping a reserve tempo ( . . . a7-a6) up
his sleeve . White , tied down to his weak h-pawn, can only wait.
10 Kg1 f5 11 Kh1 g5 12 Kg1 h5 13 Kh 1 g4 14 e4
14 fxg4 is given in many books as a better defence but after 14 . . .fxg4
1 5 Kg 1 h4 16 Kh 1 e4! 1 7 Kg 1 g3 18 hxg3 hxg3 19 fxg3 Kxg3 20 Kf1
Kf3 2 1 Ke 1 Kxe3 things are straightforward.
14 ... fxe4 15 fxe4

11
Mastering the Endgame

O r 1 5 fxg4 hxg4 16 Kg 1 e 3 1 7 fxe3 e 4 1 8 Kh 1 g 3 1 9 hxg3 Kxg3 20 Kg 1

Kf3 etc.
15 ... h4 16 Kg1 g3 17 hxg3 hxg3 0-1
18 fxg3 Kxg3 19 Kf1 Kf3 20 Ke 1 Kxe4 is hopeless for White and 18 f4
exf4 19 e5 f3 20 e6 g2 2 1 e 7 Kg3 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.

Example 2
0 Kotov • Botvinnik
USSR Championship 1 955

Diagram 3 (W) Diagram 4 (B)

Can Black break through? Black needs a second passed pawn

0
N ote: Opposite-coloured bishop endings are notoriously d rawish
d espite the d isadvantage of a pawn.

White naturally avoids the pawn ending.

1 Bd4 Be4 2 Kg3 Kf7 3 h4 g6
Both sides put their pawns on squares that cannot be attacked by
their opponent's bishop .
4 Kf2 Ke6 5 Ke 2 Kf5 6 Kd 2 Kg4 7 Bf6 Kg3 8 Be7 Kh3 9 Bf6
Trading pawns with 9 Bxb4 Kxh4 would give Black an extremely
dangerous passed h-pawn as White's king is too far away.
9 ... Kg4 1 0 Be7 Bf5!
Botvinnik manoeuvres his bishop to e6, where it will indirectly defend

12
 Learn from the Masters

the b-pawn.
11 Bf6 K£3 1 2 Be7 b3 1 3 Kc3 Be6
The capture 13 . . . Kxe 3 leads to the advantage of two pawns but after
1 4 Kxb3 Kxf4 15 Kc3 Ke 3 16 Bc5+ Ke4 1 7 Be7! d4+ 18 Kd2 Black
cannot progress.
1 4 Bc5 (Diagram 4)
Better was 1 4 Kd2 ! , which should draw . Now Botvinnik finds an as­
tonishing win.
14 ... g5 ! !
After either capture Botvinnik obtains the desired second passed
pawn.
15 fxg5
After 15 hxg5 h4 16 Bd6 Bf5 1 7 g6 Bxg6 18 f5 Bxf5 19 Kxb3 Kg2 the
h-pawn costs White his bishop .
1 5 ... d4+!
Defending the b-pawn.
1 6 exd4
In the event of 16 Bxd4 Black has 16 . . . Kg3 1 7 g6 Kxh4 18 Kd2 Kh3 19
Bf6 h4 20 Ke2 Kg2! and the white bishop is overloaded.
1 6 ... Kg3 ! 1 7 Ba3
Pushing the g-pawn doesn't help as the g8-square is firmly under
Black's control .
1 7 ... Kxh4 1 8 Kd3 Kxg5 19 Ke4 h4 20 K£3 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 i n opposite­
coloured bishop endi ngs.

Active Pieces

Example 3
D Ettlinger • Capablanca
New York 1 907

Capablanca was well-known for his endgame play ; one major quality
that is quite evident in his games is his understanding of hov; 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.

13
Mastering the Endgame

Diagram 5 (B) Diagram 6 (B)

How can Black get his king in? Black needs a final breakthrough

l...Nc4! 2 Nxc4
2 Nfl allows 2 . . . Rf2 3 Ke 1 Rxfl + 4 Kxfl Nxd2+ 5 Kf2 Ne4+ 6 Kxf3
Nxc3 7 Ke 3 Kf6! and Black should win, for instance after 8 Kf3 Ne4 9
Ra4 Nd6 1 0 Rb4 Nc4 the d-pawn falls.
N ote : Two m i nor pieces generally outplay a rook i f they have good
squares and some weak pawns to attack, especially if the side with
a rook doesn't have any passed pawns.

2 ... dxc4 3 Rxc4 Kd5 4 Rc8

Following 4 Ra4 Ke4 5 Ra3 Rg2 6 Ke 1 Rxg3 Black's strong pieces and
advanced f-pawn will soon win the game .
4 ... Ke4 ! 5 Re8+ Kd3 6 Rxe2 fxe2+ 7 Ke 1
At first sight White looks as if he might be holding, but Capablanca
had prep ared a neat finish which eliminates all resistance .
7 ... Bc7 8 Bf4 Ba5 9 Bd2 (Diagram 6) 9 ... f4!
Decisively opening the e 1 -h4 diagonal.
1 0 gxf4 Bd8 0-1
The threat of . . . Bh4 causes White to resign.

0
Note: Many endings are decided by a king i nvasio n, for the king can
be a powerful attacking piece.

Example 4
0 Alekh ine • Yates
London 1 922

Black has potential holes on squares such as c5, c6 and, particularly,

14
 Learn from the Masters

e5, and his bishop is likely to be locked in by his rigid d5-e6-f5 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 c-fi le and e5 White has i nvaded !

1 Nb3 a4 2 Nc5 Nxc5 3 Qxc5

The exchange of queens is difficult for Black to avoid.
3 ... Qxc5 4 Rxc5!
It is important to keep open and control the c-file . Mter 4 dxc5 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 Rfc1 Ba6 6 Ne5 Reb8
The exchange of rooks with 6 ... Rec8 7 Rxc8+ Rxc8 8 Rxc8+ 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 f3 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 ... Rf8 1 1 Kg3 Rtb8
Now if Black exchanges all the rooks White puts his knight on c5, hit­
ting both a4 and e6.
1 2 Rc7
The rook invades on the seventh rank, an important moment in many
endings.

15
Mastering the Endgame

0
N ote: Rooks o n the seventh rank tie down a n opponent a s they
attack pawns both from the side and beh ind.

1 2 ... Bb5 1 3 R 1c5

Tying Black up and gaining time to double rooks on the seventh.

0
N ote: Doubled rooks on the seventh rank are a l most always a
powerful attacking force.

1 3 ... Ba6 1 4 R5c6 Re8 15 Kf4

White is in no hurry and prepares the decisive entry of his king.
15 ... Kg8 16 h5 Bfl 17 g3 Ba6 18 R£7 Kh7 1 9 Rcc7 Rg8 20 Nd7
Kh8 21 Nf6 (Diagram 8)
The knight cannot be captured due to mate .
2 1 ...Rgf8 22 Rxg7 ! Rxf6 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
D Fischer • Petrosian
Buenos Aires 1 971

Diagram 9 (W) Diagram 1 o (B)

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 !

16
 Learn from the Masters

1 Nxd7+
When considering exchanges there is a golden rule:

0
Note: It is not 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 c-file .
l ...Rxd7 2 Rc1 Rd6 3 Rc7 Nd7 4 Re2 g6 5 Kf2
Nudging the king closer to the centre , a particularly sensible policy
since Black can do nothing special.
5 ... h5 6 £4 h4 7 K£3 £5 8 Ke 3
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 c4 but, as a consequence, al­
lows doubled rooks on the seventh rank .
10 Ree7 Nd5 1 1 R£7+ Ke 8 1 2 Rb7 Nxb4 1 3 Bc4 1-0
Coming to c4 anyway . Black resigned as 1 3 . . . Nc6 1 4 Rh7 Rf6 1 5 Rh8+
Rf8 16 Bf7+ Kd8 17 Rxf8 is already mate .
Tip: Don't be afraid of exchanging off a wel l-posted piece for a poo r
one if this trade i mproves t h e prospects f o r t h e rest o f you r army.

Example 6
D Fischer • Taimanov
Buenos Aires 1 97 1

Diagram 1 1 (B) Diagram 1 2 (B)

The bishop g ives White a smal l edge White's bishop is domi nating

17
Mastering the Endgame

White's bishop i s a slightly better piece than the knight, permitting

the creation of play on both flanks . However, the pawns are symmet­
rical and the black position is solid.
l...b6 2 Bfl
Provoking a hole on b5.
2 ... a5 3 Bc4 Rf8 4 Kg2 Kd6 5 Kf3 Nd7 6 Re3 Nb8 7 Rd3+ Kc7 8 c3
Keeping the knight from b4 and d4 .
8 ... Nc6 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 11 h3
Black is j ust waiting so Fischer takes his time and gradually increases
his territorial advantage .
l l ... Nc6 1 2 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 .
1 3 Rd3+ Kc7 1 4 Rd5 f5
Another pawn on a light square and a weakening of e6 are the further
costs of competing for some space .
1 5 Rd2 Rf6 1 6 Re2 Kd 7 1 7 Re3 g6 1 8 Bb5 Rd6 19 Ke 2 Kd8
Black should really have tried to keep rooks on the board with
1 9 . . . Kc7.
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 ... Kc7 2 1 Rxd6 Kxd6 22 Kd3 Ne 7 23 Be8 Kd5 24 Bf7+ Kd6 25
Kc4 Kc6 26 Be8+
Gaining further ground.
26 ... Kb7 27 Kb5 Nc8
Warn i n g : Don't get so carried away with you r i ntricate schemes that
you forget the safety of you r own king!

The threat is 28 . . . Nd6 mate !

28 Bc6+ Kc7 29 Bd5 (Diagram 12) 29 ... Ne7
The alternative defence 29 . . . Nd6+ 30 Ka6 Ne4 31 Bf7 Nxg3 32 Bxg6

18
 Learn from the Masters

Kc6 is best met by 33 Be8+ Kc7 34 Kb5! , intending to invade on d5.

Then 34 ... Ne2 35 Bxh5 Nxf4 36 Bf3 Nh3 3 7 h5 Ng5 38 h6 leaves
White's passed pawn as the most dangerous, while after 34 . . . Kb 7 3 5
Kc4 Kc7 36 Kd5 Ne2 3 7 Ke 5 the king goes pawn hunting.
30 Bf7 Kb7 3 1 Bb3 Ka7 32 Bd1 Kb7 33 Bf3+ Kc7
After 3 3 . . . Ka 7 zugzwang results from 34 c4. The white king then
heads for the weakness on g6 : 34 . . . Ng8 35 Kc6 Nf6 36 Kd6 Ne4+ 3 7
Ke6 Nxg3 38 Kf7 Ne4 39 Kxg6 Nd6 4 0 b3 Kb8 4 1 Kxh5 etc.
34 Ka6 Ng8 35 Bd5 Ne7 36 Bc4 Nc6 37 Bf7 Ne7 38 Be8
Zugzwang! Black is stretched to the limit, defending his two weak
pawns.
3 8 ... Kd8 39 Bxg6!
A fine breakthrough. The knight is no match for the army of pawns.
3 9 ... Nxg6 40 Kxb6 Kd7 41 Kxc5 Ne 7 42 b4 axb4 43 cxb4 Nc8 44
a5 Nd6 45 b5 Ne4+ 46 Kb6 Kc8 47 Kc6 Kb8 1-0
Black did not wait for 48 b6 Nxg3 49 a6 Ne4 50 a7+ Ka8 5 1 b7+ Kxa7
52 Kc7 etc.

fiJ
Tip: I f you have an edge, but nothing definite, try to accum u l ate
s m a ll advantages and to obtain concessions from your opponent.

Patient Play

Example 7
0 Karpov • Kasparov
Moscow 1 984

Diagram 1 3 (B) Diagram 1 4 (W)

White has slightly better pieces White needs to enter with the k i ng

19
Mastering the Endgame

The symmetrical pawns offer Black reasonably good chances to draw .

However, White retains a nagging edge due to his slightly superior
minor pieces.

0
Note: A very small advantage c a n b e persistent if there is no
counterplay.

l...Ke 7 2 Na2
Probing the queenside .
2 ... Bc8 3 Nb4 Kd6 4 f3 Ng8 5 h4 Nh6 6 K£2 Nf5
The knight is well placed here but Karpov does not allow it to stay for
long.
7 N c2 f6 8 Bd3 g5
Kasparov tries to play actively but cannot avoid most of his pawns be­
ing stuck on light squares.
9 Bxf5 Bxf5 10 Ne3 Bb1 11 b4!
Fixing the pawns.
1 l ...gxh4 (Diagram 14)
If White recaptures on h4 with the pawn then there is no invasion
route into the black camp . Karpov, however, has a master stroke pre­
pared . . .
1 2 Ng2!
Investing a pawn for an entry square . Kasparov, 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 a re often sim ply missed by an oppo­
nent! This is beca use we are naturally accustomed to aggressive
gestures and attacking ideas as forward-moving (and not only in
chess).

1 2 ... hxg3+
After 12 . . . h3 13 Nf4, followed by Kf2-g1-h2, both h-pawns soon fall.
13 Kxg3 Ke 6 14 Nf4+ Kf5 1 5 Nxh5!
The simplest.
15 ... Ke 6 1 6 Nf4+ Kd6 17 Kg4 Bc2 18 Kh5 Bd 1 1 9 Kg6 Ke 7
Or 19 . . . Bxf3 20 Kxf6 Bg4 2 1 Nd3 Bh3 22 Nc5 Bc8 23 Kf7 and Black is
in zugzwang and has to give way - 23 . . . Kc7 24 Ke 7 Kc6 25 Kd8 etc.
20 Nxd5+ Ke6 2 1 Nc7+ Kd 7 22 Nxa6 Bxf3 23 Kxf6 Kd6 24 Kf5
Kd5 25 Kf4 Bh 1 26 Ke 3 Kc4 27 Nc5 Bc6 28 Nd3 Bg2 29 Ne5+ Kc3
30 Ng6 Kc4 3 1 Ne7 Bb7 32 Nf5 Bg2 33 Nd6+ Kb3 34 Nxb5 Ka4 3 5
Nd6 1-0

20
 Learn from the Masters

The win is clear after 35 . . . Kxa3 36 b5 Kb4 37 b6 Ka5 38 b 7 Bxb 7 39

Nxb 7+ Kb6 40 Nc5 .
Tip : To wi n against a poor minor piece you stil l need to invad e with
you r king.

Example 8
0 Kasparov • Karpov
Lyon 1 990

Diagram 1 5 (B) Diagram 1 6 (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 .
l ...Nf4 2 Rh4 Nd3 3 Bc3 e5 4 Kg3 d4 5 Bd2 Bd5 6 Rh5 K£7 7 Ba5
Ke6
Black has centralized his pieces well and White will have a tough task
in trying to find chinks in the armour.
S RhS Nb2 9 ReS+ Kd6 10 Bb4+ Kc6 1 1 ReS+ Kd7 12 Rc5 Ke6 1 3
Rc7 g6
Natural, but Kasparov suggests going active with 13 . . . Nc4 ! , when 1 4
Rxg7 d3 1 5 Rg6+ Kf7 16 Ra6 d 2 should draw .
1 4 Re7+ Kf6 1 5 Rd7 Ba2 1 6 Ra7 Bc4 1 7 Ba5 Bd3 (Diagram 1 6)
1 7 . . . Nd3 would avoid White's next move .
1 S f4 !
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

21
Mastering the Endgame

there will be only one pawn each on the board, which is generally a
drawish factor.
1 8 ... exf4+
1 8 . . . e4? allows 19 Bb6, winning the d-pawn.
19 Kxf4 Bc2 20 Ra6+ Kf7 2 1 Ke5 Nd3+
Kasparov intended to meet 2 l ...d3 with 22 Ra7+ Ke8 23 Kf6, when
Black should be mated quickly, e.g. 23 . . . Nc4 24 Re7+ Kf8 25 Bb4 Kg8
26 ReS+ Kh7 27 Bc3 d2 28 Kg5.
22 Kxd4 N£2 23 g5 Bf5 24 Bd2 Ke 7 25 Kd5
White hopes to 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+ Ke 8 27 Be3 Nc3+ 28 Ke5 Kd8 29 Bb6+ Ke8 30
Rc7 Ne4 3 1 Be3 Ng3 32 Bf4 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 ... Kf8
Trading on f4 loses as White will march his king to f6 and then simply
prepare to play Rg7 and Rxg6, as the pawn ending is winning.
34 Bh2 Ng7 35 Bgl Nh5 36 Bc5+ Kg8 37 Kd6 Kf8 38 Bd4 Bg4 3 9
B e 5 Bf5 40 R h 7 Kg8 4 1 R c 7 K f8 42 Kc6 Kg8 43 Re7 K f8 44 Bd6
Kg8 45 ReS+ Kf7 46 Re7+ Kg8 47 Be5 Kf8 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.
4 8 ... Bg4 49 Kd6 Bh3 50 Ra3 Bg4 51 Re3!
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 dB­
square , the significance of which will become clear.
5 1 ...Bf5 52 Kc7 Kf7 53 Kd8 Bg4 54 Bh2 Be6 55 Bc3
A zugzwang position. Black has no option but to allow the rook into
the e7-square .
55 ... Bf5 5 6 Re7+ Kf8 57 Be5 Bd3 58 Ra7 Be4 59 Rc7 Bbl 60 Bd6+

22
 Learn from the Masters

Facilitating the white king's arrival on e7. The net closes in on the
black monarch.
60 ... Kg8 6 1 Ke 7 1-0
Black did not need to be shown 6 1 . . . Ng7 (or 6 1 . . .Bf5 62 Rb7 Kh7 63
Kf8+) 62 Rc8+ Kh7 63 Be5 Nf5+ 64 Kf8 followed by 65 Rc7+. 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 !

0
N ote: The advantage of an exchange for a pawn may not be enough
to win with a l l the pawns on one side, particularly if the d efender
has a knight.

The Benefits of Study

Examp/e 9
D Botvinnik • Minev
Amsterdam 1 954

Diagram 1 7 (B) Diagram 1 8 (B)

Black's activity makes it tricky 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 .
l...a5 2 g4 Rc2+ 3 Kg3 Rxb2 4 g5 a4 5 g6
5 Ra 7 is well met by 5 . . . Ke4! (heading for the g-pawn), when in reply
to 6 g6 Kf5 7 g7 Rb8 8 Rf7+ Kg6 9 Rf8 Black has 9 . . Rb3+ and the g­
.

pawn falls .

0
N ote : Races are not j ust pushing pawns - the strategy of stopping or
delaying you r opponent's pawn should not be underesti m ated .

5 .R b 1 !
..

23
Mastering the Endgame

Black's rook targets the most effective square: behind the opposing
passed pawn.
6 Kh4!
Both supporting the pawn and hiding the king.
6 ... Rg1 7 Kh5 Kc4!
Black, too, needs to use his king to support his precious advanced
passed pawn, as 7 . . . a3? is clearly unsatisfactory after 8 Ra7 .
8 Rf4+ Kb5 9 Rf3!
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 Rf3
Not 1 1 Rg4 Rxg4 12 Kxg4 a3 13 g7 a2 14 g8Q a 1 Q which, as already
mentioned, is tough to win.
1 1 ...Kb4 12 Rg3 Rxg3 1 3 hxg3 a3 14 g7 a2 1 5 g8Q a1Q 16 Qg4+
Ka5 17 Qxe6 (Diagram 1 8)
Botvinnik's second experience with this ending! The first time he had
had queen and knight's pawn against queen was against Ravinsky in
1 944. 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 Botvin n i k's approach!

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.
1 8 ... Qc3 1 9 g4 Qd2
Or 1 9 . . . Qd3+ 20 Qf5+ with a winning cross-check.
20 g5 Qd4 2 1 Qf5+ Ka4 22 Kh5 Qh8+ 23 Kg4 Qh 1 24 Qf4+
Before advancing his pawn Botvinnik centralises his queen. From e5
the board is well surveyed.
24 ... Ka5 25 Qe5+ Ka4 26 g6 Qd l+

24
 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 Qd8+
Or 2 7 . . . Qc l + 28 Qf4+.
28 Kf5 Qc8+ 29 Kf4 Qc l+ 30 Qe3 Qc7+ 31 Qe5 Qc l+ 3 2 Kf5 Qc8+
3 3 Kg5 Qd8+ 34 Qf6!
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.
34 ... Qd5+ 35 Qf5 Qd8+ 36 Kh5 Qe8
Pinning can also be an annoying way to stop a passed pawn. Worse is
36 . . . Qh8+ 37 Kg4 Qg7 38 Qf7 Qc3 (he dare not give check) 39 g7 etc.
37 Qf4+ Ka5 38 Qd2+ Ka4 39 Qd4+
White aims for another central square before seeking further progress
with the pawn.
39 ... Ka5 40 Kg5 Qe7+ 4 1 Kf5 Qf8+ 42 Ke4
There are no worthwhile checks (42 . . . Qe8+ 43 Qe 5+) despite the cen­
tral location of the king!
42 ... Qh6 43 Qe 5+ Ka4 44 g7
Now , with one final wriggle to avoid checks, the pawn can metamor­
phose !
44 ... Qh l+ 45 Kd4 Qd l+ 46 Kc5 Qc l+ 47 Kd6 Qd2+ 48 Ke6 Qa2+
49 Qd5 Qe2+ 50 Kd6 Qh2+ 51 Kc5! 1-0
Using the position of the Black king to great effect.

Example 1 0
D Spielmann • Rubinstein
St. Petersburg 1 909

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 .

25
Mastering the Endgame

Diagram 1 9 (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.
l ...Ra8
Black can win a pawn with l...Rb 3 but White would then be too active
after 2 Ra2 Rd3 3 a4 Rxd4 4 a5 Rc4 5 a6 Rc8 6 a7 Ra8.
2 Rc3
White could have considered 2 Ra2, going behind the pawn, when af­
ter 2 ... Ra4 3 Kg3 Ke 7 4 Kf3 Ke6 5 Ke4 g5 6 Ra 1 f6 7 Ra2 f5+ 8 Kd3
Kd5 9 Kc3 Rc4+ 10 Kb3 Rxd4 1 1 a4 White will again obtain counter­
chances with the a-pawn.
2 ... Ra4 3 Rd3 Ke 7 4 Kg3
4 d5 delays the approach of Black's king, but after 4 ... g5 5 Kg2 Kf6 6
Rf3+ Kg6 7 Rd3 f6 followed by ... Kf5 Black's king is activated anyway.
4 ... Ke 6 5 K£3 Kd5 6 Ke 2
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 ... g5 7 Rb3 f6
A sensible consolidating move. Simplification with 7 ... Kxd4 8 Rb 7 f6
(8 ... Rxa3 9 Rxf7 Rxh3 10 Rxg7 must surely draw) 9 Rxg7 Rxa3 1 0 h4
gxh4 1 1 Rg4+ is not easy to j udge. 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.

26
 Learn from the Masters

8 Ke 3 Kc4 9 Rd3
Now 9 Rb 7 Rxa3+ 1 0 Ke4 d5+ 11 K£5 Rxh3 1 2 Rxg7 Rf3+ leads to a
comfortable win for Black.
9 ... d5 10 Kd2 Ra8 1 1 Kc2 Ra7 1 2 Kd2 Re7
White , who is virtually in zugzwang, is eventually forced to take ac­
tion. By checking immediately he can place his rook behind the a­
pawn.
1 3 Rc3+
13 Re3 helps only Black after 1 3 . . . Rb 7.
1 3 ... Kxd4 14 a4 Ra7 1 5 Ra3 Ra5
Stopping the pawn in readiness to bring the king over.
Tip: Always be on the lookout to l imit your opponent's options.

1 6 Ra1 Kc4 (Diagram 20)

A critical moment as White could have switched to active mode with
17 Rc 1 + ! Kb4 1 8 Rb 1 + Kxa4 1 9 Kd3 Rc5 20 Kd4 Rc2 2 1 Rb 7 Rxf2 22
Rxg7, which gives hopes of a draw as Black's king is so far away .
1 7 Ke 3 d4+ 18 Kd 2 Rf5 19 Ke 1 Kb4 20 Ke 2 Ka5
Keeping control. Instead 20 . . . Ra5 21 Kd3 Rxa4 22 Rxa4+ Kxa4 2 3
Kxd4 looks drawn.
21 Ra3 Rf4 22 Ra2
If White's king goes to help the h-pawn, the d-pawn becomes danger­
ous, e.g. 22 K£1 Rh4 23 Kg2 Kb4 24 Ra 1 d3 25 a5 d2 26 a6 Rh8 27 a 7
Ra8 2 8 K£3 Rxa7! (a common theme, the rook being overloaded) .
22 ... Rh4 23 Kd 3
2 3 Ra3 is met by 23 . . . Kb4 .
23 ... Rxh3+ 24 Kxd4 Rh4+ 25 Kd3 Rxa4 26 Re2 Rf4
Black wins a second pawn but still needs to be careful.
Warn i n g : Just because you may have a winning positi on on the
board it is no time to relax! Many players are very resourceful in
desperate ci rcumstances, so keep concentrating and a ntici pate your
opponent's tricks i n 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 Ke 3 Kb6 28 Rc2 Kb7 29 Rc1 Ra4 30 Rh1 Kc6 3 1 Rh7 Ra7 3 2
Ke4 Kd6 33 Kf5
Losing quickly, but otherwise Black tidies up with . . . Ke6 anyway.
3 3 ... g6+ 34 Kxg6 Rxh7 35 Kxh7 Ke 5 36 Kg6 g4 0-1

27
Mastering the Endgame

After 37 Kh5 f5 38 Kg5 Ke4 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 delve 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: I n many wal ks of l ife a l ittle extra short-term effort leads to
g reater long-term satisfaction.

28
 Learn from the Masters

Try it You rself

Exercise 1 (Black t o play) Exercise 2 {Wh ite to play)

Exercise 1: Can Black save this difficult ending?

Exercise 2: Can you find anything for White?

Exercise 3 (Black to play) Exercise 4 (Black to play)

Exercise 3: Can you find the way for Black's king to successfully in­
vade the White position?
Exercise 4: How does Black win? Careful - it's tricky!

29
C hapte r Two

Principles of Rook Endgames

• W h e n to g et Active

• Kee p i n g Co ntro l

• Tactics and u s i n g Zu gzwan g

• Mate rial is n't Eve ryth i n g

• Sav i n g Bad Pos iti o n s

• T ry it Yo u rself
 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 I 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
we come across an example in our own career. Indeed, when we arrive
at an ending one of our first thoughts should be: how 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 too many choices, our opponent's moves keep harass­
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-

31
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 so on 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 to 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 into 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 1 1
0 Bordi • Flear
Nice 2000

Diagram 1 (W) Diagram 2 (B)

Black has pressure on the d- and e-files Black must activate the king

32
 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 Qe4!?
Instead 26 Rfl Rd4 27 b3 Qd6 28 Rf2 Rd 1 + 29 Rfl Rd2 looks distinctly
unpleasant.
26 ... Qxe4 27 fxe4 Rd4 28 b3 Rxe4 29 Rd1 Re7
29 ... Rd4? leaves the d-pawn doomed after 30 Rxd4 cxd4 31 K£1 , and
29 . . . Re2 is a poor practical decision since after 30 Rd7 Rxa2 3 1 Rxb 7
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 u p, keeping pawns on both wings comp l icates the
d efence.

30 Kf2 f5 31 Kf3 b6 32 h3
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 34 g3 Re6
Nudging forward, step-by-step , in order to allow the king to move up
the board.
Tip: When i n contro l , don't h urry! Consolidate first and improve the
position slowly but surely.

35 Rd7 a5 36 Rb7 Rd6 37 Ke3 Kg6 38 Ke 2 f6 39 Ke 3 (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.
3 9 ... g4! 40 h4
40 hxg4 fxg4 undoubles the pawn, liberates the f5-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+ 4 1 Kf2
Note that 4 1 K£4? Re4 mate would be unfortunate for White !
4 l ...f4!

33
Mastering the Endgame

A temporary pawn sacrifice to activate the king. Black hopes to pick

off the £-pawn, leaving him with two connected passed pawns.
42 gxf4 Kf5 43 h5!
A better chance than 43 Kg3 Re3+ 44 Kf2 Kx£4 45 Rxb6 £5, 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+ 4 7 Kg2 Re2+ 48 Kfl Kf3) 46 . . . g3+ 4 7 Kfl Kf3 48 Rg6 f4 49 h6
Re2 White has no sensible moves (50 h7 Rh2 5 1 Ke l Rxh7 etc.).
4 3 ... Kxf4 44 Rg7 f5 45 Rg6 Re3 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 .
4 6 ... Rh3?!
Correct was 46 ... g3+! 4 7 Kfl Rf3+ 48 Ke 1 Rf2, cutting the king off on
the first rank and preparing ... Rh2, ... Kf3 and ... g3-g2 etc.
47 Kg2 Rh5
Playing for zugzwang. I underestimated my opponent, who now gen­
erated counterplay . . .
Warn i n g : Never underestimate your opponent!

48 a3 Rh4 (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 b4!
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 ... g3!?

34
 Principles of Rook Endgames

I couldn't see anything clear and decided that this was the best
chance but, frankly, I was flustered by the turn of events . The con­
tinuation 49 . . . axb4 50 axb4 cxb4 51 Rxb6 g3 52 Rxb4 Rh2+ 53 Kg 1
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 c5+ f4 55 c6 Rxh6 56 Rc4 Rh8 57 c7 ReS 58 Kg2 is only a
draw) 54 c5+ Kg5 55 Rc4 f4 56 c6 f3 57 c7 f2+ 58 Kg2 Rh2+ 59 Kxg3
fl Q 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!) to win without getting involved in such a tactical
mess.
Ti p : A slow but sure win is good enough; flashy but risky conti nu a­
tions should be avoided if a simpler and safer one is ava i lable.

Also possible was 49 . . . cxb4, when 50 axb4 a4 5 1 Rxb6 g3 also offers

winning chances, but White has protected passed pawns and I
couldn't calculate everything.
50 Rxg3
50 Rxb6 ! ? insists on complications . Then after 50 . . . Rh2+ 5 1 Kg 1
Black's best might be to capture twice on b4, as in the previous note .
50 ... Rxh6 5 1 bxc5 bxc5
It was such a relief to still have an extra pawn and winning chances ,
although i t w a s a s i f I had t o w i n the ending all over again.
5 2 Rb3
52 Rd3 keeps the black king from the queenside , but after 52 . . . Rb6 53
Rd5 Rb2+ 54 Kg 1 Rb 3 55 Rxc5 Rxa3 Black is well on top .
52 ... Ke4 53 Rb5 Kd4 54 Rxa5 Kxc4 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)
I like this move , cutting the white king from the c-pawn (now Black's
most dangerous) .
Tip: I n rook endings always be on the lookout for ways to use a rook
·
to create a barrier to a king, either on a rank or a file.

56 Ra8 Kb4 5 7 Kf3 c4 58 a5 Kb5

Quicker was 58 . . . c3 59 Rb8+ Ka3 ! .
5 9 Ke3 c 3 6 0 Rc8 Kb4 6 1 Rb8+ Kxa5 6 2 Rb3 f4+ 6 3 Kxf4 Rc6
The win is now trivial:

35
Mastering the Endgame

64 Rbl c2 65 Rei Kb4 66 Ke 3 Kc3 67 Ke2 Kb2 68 Kd2 Rd6+ 0-1

Timing the moment to go active is illustrated in the next example .

Example 1 2
0 S.Collas • Flear
Tunis 2000

Diagram 5 (B) Diagram 6 (W)

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...g5
In order to dislocate the e5-point from the f-pawn.
31 Rbl Ra4 3 2 Rb7+ Ke8 3 3 Rb8+ Ke 7 (Diagram 6) 3 4 Rh8? !
It is dangerous for White to chase such a distant target as the white
rook will be too far from the p assed 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 t o 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.
Mter 34 Rb3 Black has several tries but nothing looks convincing.
a) 34 . . . Kd7 35 Rb7+ Kc6!? (giving up the f-pawn to get the king up the
board) 36 Rxf7 Kd5 37 Rh7 Rxa3 38 Rxh6 Kxe5, but after 39 h4 White
will also have a dangerous passed pawn.
b) 34. . . g4 35 Kg2 h5 36 h3 Kf8 (or 36 . . . Kd7 37 Rb7+) 37 hxg4 hxg4 38
Re3! (equivalent to asking 'I'm waiting, how are you going to im-

36
 Principles of Rook Endgames

prove?' and much better than 38 Rb4? Rxb4 39 axb4 Ke 7 40 f4 Kd7 4 1

Kf2 Kc6 4 2 Ke3 Kb5, or even 38 f4?! gxf3+ 39 Kxf3 Kg7 40 Rc3 Kg6,
which leaves the e- and a-pawns exposed) 38 . . . Kg7 (38 . . . Ra5 39 Re4
Rxa3 40 Rxg4 Ra5 41 f4 Rc5 42 Rh4 a5 43 Rh8+ Kg7 44 Ra8 should be
drawn) 39 Rc3 Kg6 40 Rb3 .
H o w does Black improve? The g 4 , f7 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 4 1 Rb 7 a5 42 Rb5 a4 43 Ra5 and
40 . . . Ra5 4 1 Rb4 Kg5 42 Rf4 are not promising for Black) 4 1 Rb7 Kxe 5
42 Rxf7 Rxa3 43 Rf4 a5 44 Rxg4 a 4 45 Rg5+ Kd4 46 R a 5 a n d the g­
pawn should provide enough counterplay.
c) 34 . . . Kf8 35 Kg2 Kg7 36 h3 Kg6 37 Rc3 (37 g4! ? stops . . . Kf5 at the
risk of committing the kingside pawns) 37 . . .Kf5 38 Rf3+ Kxe 5 39 Rxf7
Rxa3 40 Rh7 a5 4 1 Rxh6 and Black's a-pawn is not fast enough to
win, for instance 4 1 . . . a4 42 h4 gxh4 43 Rxh4 Ra 1 44 Rh5+ Kd4 45 Ra5
a3 46 g4 Kc3 4 7 g5 etc.
3 4 ... Rxa3 35 Rxh6 Ra5 3 6 Rh5? !
Better is 36 f4 since 36 . . . gxf4 37 gxf4 Ra4 allows 38 f5! , breaking up
Black's pawns and, following 38 . . . Rg4+ (or 38 . . . exf5 39 Rf6) 39 Kh 1
exf5 4 0 Ra6, a draw is very likely. I n this line 3 7 . . . Rd5! offers winning
chances after 38 Rh3 (38 Rh8 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 .
3 6 ... Rxe5 37 h4 a5!
Positions with an extra outside pawn are common in rook endings
(see Examples 36-44) .
Black has good winning chances after 3 7 . . . Re l+ 38 Kg2 gxh4 39
Rxh4? but not after 39 Ra5! .
3 8 hxg5 a 4 3 9 f4 a3!
Going behind the passed pawn with 39 ... Ra5 is good, but the text is
decisive .
40 Kf2 R e 1 ! 4 1 g6
Objectively 4 1 Kxe 1 a2 42 Kf2 a 1Q 43 Rh6 lasts longer, but by going
for a direct attack on the opposing king Black forces the mate:
43 . . . Qd4+ 44 Kf3 Qd 1+ 45 Kf2 (or 45 Ke3 Qg4 46 Kf2 Kd6 47 Rf6 Kd5
48 Rxf7 Ke4) 45 . . . Kd6 46 Rf6 Kd5 47 Rxf7 Ke4 48 g6 Qd2+.
4 1 ... a2 42 g7 a 1 Q 0-1
Black mates quickly, for instance 43 g8Q Rfl+ 44 Kg2 Rgl+ 45 Kh3
Rh l+ 46 Kg4 Qd 1+.
My opponent lost a tenable ending because she was too impatient to

37
Mastering the Endgame

'go active'.

0
Note: Havi ng an extra pawn b u t facing an active rook c a n be hard
work.

Keepi ng Control

Example 13
D Flear • Su basic
Zenica 1 987

Diagram 7 (B) Diagram 8 (B)

White needs a plan Black is tied up

24 ... Rc7 25 Rf5

Intending Rf3 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 ... Rc3 26 a4 Rc4 27 Rb5 b6 28 Kfl Kh7 29 Ke l Rc2
Creating a barrier along the second rank. Perhaps I should have
taken the opportunity to put the king on the more active e2-square .
30 Rf5 Ra2
On 30 . . . Rb2 31 b5 Ra2 White holds everything together with 32 Rf4.
3 1 a5 bxa5 32 bxa5
The alternative 32 Rxa5 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 f3
A committal decision with the king still on the first rank, but on 33 h4

38
 Principles of Rook Endgames

Kg6 the rook is forced off its best square .

33 ... Ra2 34 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.
3 6 ... Kg8 3 7 Kd l Rg2 3 8 Kcl Re2 39 Kb l Rf2 40 Ka l !
Zugzwang! Black would like t o keep his king o n g 8 t o stop Rf7, and
his rook on f2 to both hit the f3-point and continue to hold back the
enemy king. However, he has to move something.
40 ... Rg2 41 Kb l
After 4 1 Rc5 Rf2 42 Rc7 Rfl+ 43 Kb2 Rf2+ 44 Kc l Rfl + 45 Kd2 White
achieves the exchange of his f-pawn for Black's a-pawn, thus creating
a passed pawn. With the text I intended to repeat so as to have more
time to check out this variation.
4 1 ...a6
Or 4 l . . .Rf2 42 Ka l ! Rg2 43 Rc5, as in the previous note .
42 Rc5 Rf2 43 Rc6 Rx£3 44 Rxa6 Ra3
On 44 . . . Rf4 45 Rg6 Ra4 White tidies up with 46 a6 .
45 Kb2 Ra4 46 Kb3 Rxg4
Black has won back his pawn but the kingside structure denies him
the chance of mobilising his majority.
4 7 Rb6 Rg5 48 a6 Ra5
Not 48 . . . Rxh5 49 a 7 Ra5 as 50 Rb8+ wins the rook
49 Kb4 Ral 50 Kb5 Kf7 51 Rc6!
5 1 Kc6 g6 would give unnecessary hope to Black.
5 1 ...Rbl+ 52 Kc5 Rcl+ 53 Kb6 Rbl+ 54 Kc7 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 .

0
Note: Slowly consolidating is an important task i n endi ngs. The ideal
i s to completely deny your opponent any positive cou rse of action in
order to improve your position at leisure (wh i l st he can only wait) .

Example 14
0 Korchnoi • Flear
Wijk aan Zee 1 987

Here I was a pawn down but believed that I had good chances to
draw.

39
Mastering the Endgame

Diagram 9 (B) Diagram 1 0 (W)

Good drawing chances? Black is active, but the b-pawn is strong

3 8 ... b4
The alternatives 38 . . . h5 and 38 . . . Kg6 allow 39 a4! bxa4 40 bxa4 Ra5
4 1 Ra3, and such positions with the rook behind the passed pawn are
known to be generally winning for White .
3 9 Rd4 Ra5 40 Rxb4 Rxa2 4 1 Rf4 Rb2 42 Rf3
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 4 3 h4 Black's king can­
not do any damage) 43 g4 Kg6 44 Ke 1 h5 (44 .. .f5!? is an interesting
try) 45 gxh5+! Kxh5 46 Kd 1 Kg6 47 Kc l Re2 48 b4 Kf7 49 b5 and
White has made progress. Instead White should avoid 45 Kd 1 ?! hxg4
46 hxg4 Rb 1+ 47 Kc2 Rg1 48 Rg3 Rfl 49 Rg2 due to 49 . . . Kf7 (49 .. .f5?
50 gxf5+ Kxf5 gives White's rook a target) 50 b4 Ke6, with excellent
drawing chances.
43 h4!
A strong move that stops 43 . . . g5 thanks to 44 hxg5 hxg5 45 Rxf5 .
43 ... Kg6 44 Ke 1 Kh5 45 Kd l Kg4
On 45 . . . Kxh4 there follows 46 Kc l Re2 4 7 Rxf5.
46 Kc l Re2 47 b4 Re5 (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.
4 8 Rb3 Kxh4 49 b5 Re7 50 b6 Rb7 51 Kd2 f4 52 Kd3 f3!? 53 gxf3
Kh3 54 Ke4 Kg2 55 f4 Kxf2

40
 Principles of Rook Endgames

55 . . . h5 is also forlorn: 56 Kd5 h4 57 Kc6 Rb8 58 b7 Kxf2 (58 . . . h3 59

Rg3+ !) 59 Rh3.
5 6 f5 Kg2 57 Kd5 g6
Logical but hopeless is 57 . . . h5 58 Kc6 Rb8 59 b 7 h4 60 Kc7 Rg8 6 1
b8Q Rxb8 6 2 Rxb8 h 3 6 3 Kd6 h2 64 Rb2+ Kg3 6 5 Rb 1 Kg2 6 6 Ke6
h 1 Q 67 Rxh 1 Kxh 1 68 Kf7 and White wins.
58 f6 h5 59 Ke6 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 f3 , and White's king rapidly comes to c l .

Tactics and U s i ng Zugzwang

Example 1 5
0 Flear • Rotstein
Orange 1 999

Diagram 1 1 (W) Diagram 1 2 (W)

Not easy for Wh ite 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 .
5 6 Kg2 Rdl 5 7 d7!
5 7 Kh3 fails to progress after 5 7 . . . Rh l+ 58 Kg2 Rd l .
5 7 ... Kg7!

41
Mastering the Endgame

After 57 . . . Ke 7, with 58 Re8+ Kxd7 59 Re5, White will pick up two

kingside pawns.
58 Kh2!
Zugzwang!
Ti p : When one player seems able to stop all d irect th reats but has
restricted scope for his pieces, look out for possible zugzwangs.

58 ... Rd2
It has to be a rook move as 58 . . . Kh7 59 Rf8 Rxd7 60 Rxf5 Kg6 61 Re5
leads to the loss of a second pawn, and 58 . Kf7 goes down to 59 Rh8
.

Rxd7 60 Rh7+ Ke6 6 1 Rxd7 Kxd7 62 Kh3 Ke 7 63 Kh4 Kf6 64 Kxh5 .

59 Kh3 R d 1 60 Kh4 K£6
Threatening mate . Will White have to go back?
61 R£8+! Kg6 (Diagram 1 2) 62 g4 !!
Releasing the mating trap and creating various threats . The game is
essentially decided.
62 ... Rxd7 63 gxh5+ Kh6 64 Rf6+ Kh7 65 Rxf5 Rg7 66 Rf4 Re7 67
Kg5 Kg7 68 Rf5 Re6 69 Kf4 Kh6 70 Re5 Rf6+ 7 1 Kg3 1-0

Material i s n 't Everyth i ng

Example 1 6
D Flear • Short
Wijk aan Zee 1 987

A two pawn advantage doesn't necessarily mean victory .

Diagram 1 3 (W) Diagram 1 4 (W)

Black has no chances White has an easy draw

42
 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.
3 8 Rb5 Rxb3 39 Rb7 Rbl 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-b l . Neither an h- or g-pawn get very far, either.
Ti p : Don't automatically push the king forward i nto battle. Look out
for safe shelters that avoid an noying checks.

4 1 ...h5 42 Kg2 Kf8 43 e5 g6 44 e6 Ke8 45 Kh2 Rb2+ 46 Kgl g5 47

Kh l h4 48 gxh4 gxh4 49 Kgl h3 50 Kh l Rbl+ 51 Kh2 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 e 8B+ Kxe8 54 Rb8+ Kd7 55 Rb7+ Kc6 56 Rb3 Kc5
57 Rb8 'i2-'i2
In 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
55-6 1).

Example 1 7
D Flear • D.King
London 1 990

Here is a good example of underestimating my opponent's counter­

play.

Diagram 1 5 (B) Diagram 1 6 (W)

Black must get active White's pawns are too weak

46 ... Kf6!

43
Mastering the Endgame

46 . . . Rb 7? is poor after 47 d6 Rd7 48 Ke4 Kf6 49 Kd5.

47 Ra2?!
Natural but, in fact, an error! Instead 4 7 Rd4! Rb 7 48 Ke4 was the
right way to maintain an advantage .
4 7 ... Rb7
4 7 . . . Ke 5 48 Re2+.
4 8 Rxa6+ Ke5 (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 Ke 2 Kxd6 52 Rxf7 Ke 6 53 Rf3 Rb2+
54 Kfl h5 55 Kg2 Ke 5 56 Kh3 Rb4 57 Rf8 Ke6 58 f4 Rb2 %-%
This game suggests that two extra unhealthy pawns are worth less
than a single healthy one !
Warn i n g : Don't just count the n umber of pawns - take other factors
i nto account.

Example 1 8
0 Flear • P.Wells
London 1 993

Diagram 1 7 (B) Diagram 1 8 (B)

Black heads for a rook endgame Difficult for White to prog ress

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.
6 1 ...Ne4 62 Bxe4
Not 62 Rxe4? as 62 . . . Rc l+ 63 Kg2 fxe4 64 Bxe4+ is not that clear.

44
 Principles of Rook Endgames

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 Kfl
64 Kg2 unfortunately allows 64 . . . e3! 65 Rxe 3 Rxc7.
64 ... Kxh4 65 Rxe4+ Kg5 66 Re7 Kf6 67 Rh7 Ke5
After 6 7 . . . Kg5 68 Kg2 Kg4 there follows 69 Rf7, forcing Black to give
ground (69 . . . Rc l 70 f3+ Kg5 7 1 K£2! liberating the king), while on
67 . . . Kg6 68 Rd7 Kf6 69 Kg2 Ke6 70 Rh7 Kd6 , simply 7 1 Kg3 is
comfortable for White .
68 Kg2 Kf4
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 . . . Rc l (if
the black king moves then Kg3 follows) 70 Rf7+ Ke 5 (70 . . . Kg5 7 1 Kf3!)
71 Kg3 Ke6 (or 7 l . . .Rc3+ 72 Kg4 !) 72 Rh7 Kf5 73 Kf3 ! , heading to­
wards the centre . Another way is 69 Rf7+ Kg4 70 Kf1 ! .
6 9... Rc3+ 7 0 Kh4 Kf5 7 1 f3 (Diagram 18) 7 1 ...Rc4+?
After an arduous defence Peter misses his chance : 7 l . . .Rc l ! gives
White a difficult - if not insurmountable - task of freeing his king, as
after 72 Kg3 Rc2 73 Rf7+ Ke6 74 Rg7 Kf5 75 Rh7 Kg6 76 Rd7 Kf5
White cannot progress. So the plan of trying to shuffle up the h-file is
wrong.
72 Kh5 Rc1 73 Rf7+ Ke 6 74 Kg6! Rg1+ 75 Kh6 1-0
If 75 . . . Kxf7 76 c8Q, or 75 . . . Rc 1 76 Kg7 Kd6 77 f4 etc.

0
N ote: Rook endings have a d rawish reputation because if the
d efence has wel l-placed pieces it can be very d ifficult for the side
with the advantage to implement his plans. This holds true even with
a two pawn advantage (see Examples 55-6 1 for rook and two
isol ated pawns vs . rook) .

Here is another example:

Example 19
D Mestel • Flear
Southampton 1 986

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

45
Mastering the Endgame

opponent needed to win to obtain the title outright - a draw only

would share first place with Speelman and Chandler.

Diagram 19 (B) Diagram 2 0 (B)

A typical practical endgame Stil l d ifficult for White

46 ... Kg7 47 Ra7+ K£6 48 Ra6+ Kg7 49 e5

49 Ke 5 ! ? Rh2 50 Ra7+ Kh6 51 Kd6 Rxh4 52 e5 Rd4+ leads to a fa­
vourable race which my opponent, however, j udged to be insufficient
to win.
49 ... Kf7 50 Ra4 Ke6 51 Re4 Rgl 52 Re2 Kf7?
Unnecessarily giving ground. Black can instead steer the game to­
wards a draw with the following continuation: 52 . . . Rh l 53 Kg5 Rg l +
54 Kh6 Rg3 55 Re4 Rg l .
5 3 e6+ Ke 7 5 4 Re3 Rg2 5 5 R e l
Now Black has t o give way on the g-file under inferior circumstances .
55 . . . Rf2 5 6 Kg5 Rg2+ 57 Kh6 Rg3 58 R e 5 ! Rx£3
58 . . . Rg l 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 6 1 Kh6 Rh8+
Frustrating the opponent's efforts to calmly support and advance the
h-pawn.
Tip: Harassment hampers high hopes.

62 Kg5 Rg8+ 63 K£5 R£8+ 64 Kg6 Rg8+ 65 Kh7 Rg4 66 h5

White can thus advance his h-pawn, but only at the cost of having his

46
 Principles of Rook Endgames

king locked in. Now White has to be careful .

66 ... Rgl 67 h6?
White can win by freeing his king with 6 7 Kh6 ! Rg2 68 Rg5 Ra2 (or
68 . . . Rh2 69 Kg7 Kxe6 70 h6) 69 Kg7 Kxe6 70 h6 Ra7+ 7 1 Kg6 Ke 7 72
h7 etc.
6 7 ... Rg2 68 Kh8 Rgl 69 h7 Rg2 70 Re l Rg3 71 Rfl Kxe6 7 2 R£8
Ra3!
A blow for Jonathan Mestel, who was expecting to win after 72 . . . Ke 7
73 RgS Rh3 74 Kg7 Rg3+ 75 Kh6 Rh3+ 76 Kg6 Rg3+ 7 7 Kf5 .
73 R£7!? V:!-V:!
73 Rfl 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
D Lane • Flear
Le Touquet 1 990

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 i s able to pick up the remaining pawn, but i n the meantime the
king rushes back to the kingside .
47 Rg8 Kd7 48 Rxg6 Ke 7 49 h5 K£7 50 Rg5 Ra6
A careful move . Instead 50 . . . Ra l ? 51 h6 Rgl+ (or 5 1 . . .Rh l 52 Rh5) 52
Kf5 Rh l 53 Rg7+ KfS 54 Kg6 allows rapid progress, e . g. 54 . . . Rgl+ 55
Kh7 Rfl (a position that the books give as winning, but without ex-

47
Mastering the Endgame

planation, so I begrudgingly had to work it out myself!) 56 Ra7! (56

Rg4? gets nowhere after 56 . . . Kf7) 56 . . . Rxf4 57 Kg6 Rg4+ 58 Kf6! Rf4+
(58 . . . Kg8 allows 59 Rg7+ Rxg7 60 hxg7) 59 Kg5 Rfl (59 . . . Rf7 fails to
60 Ra8+ Ke 7 6 1 h7! Rg7+ 62 Kf5 Rxh7 63 Ra7+) 60 Ra8+ Ke 7 6 1 h7
and wins .
5 1 Rf5+ Kg7 52 Kg5 Ral 53 Rd5 Rgl+ 54 Kf5 Ral 55 Rd6 R h l ?
Sloppy play . Instead 55 ... Ra5+! would probably have forced White to
go back to g4 as 56 Ke6!? Rxh5 57 Rd7+ (5 7 f5? Rh6+ is drawn imme­
diately) 57 . . . Kg6 58 Rd l Ra5 59 Rgl+ Kh7 60 f5 Ra6+ is only drawn .
5 6 R d 7 + Kh6 57 Rd6+ Kg7
57 . . . Kxh5 loses on the spot to 58 Rd8 .
58 Rd7+ Kh6 59 Kf6 Ral 60 f5 (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 6 1 Rh7+ Kg4 62 Kg6 . Correct is 60 . . . Ra5 ! to arrest White's
progress. Then 61 Ke6 (6 1 Rf7 Ra6+ 62 Ke 7 Ra7+ and the checks keep
coming) 6 1 . . .Kxh5 (6 1 . . .Kg5 ! ? 62 Rg7+ Kxh5 63 f6 Kh6 is also possible,
or even 6 1 . . .Ra6+ 62 Rd6 Ra8 63 f6 Kxh5 64 Kf7 Kh6 65 Re6 Rb8 66
ReS Rb6) 62 f6 (after 62 Rd5 Ra6+ 63 Rd6 Ra8 64 f6 Kg6 65 f7 Kg7 66
Ke 7 Ra7+ Black has a standard draw) 62 . . .Kg6 63 Rg7+ Kh6 64 Rgl
Ra6+ draws .
6 1 Kf7 ! Kxh5
6 1 . . .Kg5 62 f6! Ra6 63 Kg7 ! .
6 2 f6?
62 Kg7! wins because 62 . . . Kg5 63 f6 returns to the game and 62 . . . Ra l
is inadequate after 63 f6 Rgl+ 64 Kf8 Ra l 65 f7 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 59-6 1 . Time trouble and
fatigue don't help , but it is important to have a basic knowledge of
endings in order to be able to avoid such accidents.
Warn i n g : Time trouble is no excuse for poor handling o f the
endgame. The real reason is laziness i n learn ing basic techniq ue.

48
 Principles of Rook Endgames

Saving Bad Positions

There follow a couple o f games i n which I was able t o save poor posi­
tions .

Example 2 1
D Flear • Z.Varga
Nice 1 997

Diagram 23 (B) Diagram 24 (W)

The b-pawn looks overwhelming White to play and d raw

Some endgames, particularly promotion races, can be resolved only

with deep analysis.
45 ... Kc3
Natural is 45 . . . Rb5 46 Rxb 5 Kxb5 47 h5 b2 48 h6 b l Q, but after 49 h7
Black, curiously, cannot prevent White from queening!
46 h5 b2 47 h6 Rc7
4 7 . . . Rc6 48 h 7 Rh6 fails to perpetual harassment: 49 Rc8+ Kd2 50 Rb8
and Black cannot progress.
48 Kg3?
A mistake , as we shall see . 48 f4! was necessary.
48 ... Kc2? (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 . . .f4+! 49 Kg4 Kc2 50 Kf5 b l Q 5 1 Rxb l Kxb l 52 Kxe5 Rf7! 53 h7 (53
Ke6 Rf8!) 53 . . . Rxh7 54 Kxf4 Kc2 55 Ke 5 (or 55 Ke4 Kc3 56 f4 Kc4 57
Ke5 Kc5 58 f5 Kc6 59 Ke6 Kc7 60 f6 Kd8 61 f7 Rh6+) 55 . . . Rh5+! 56
Ke4 (no better is 56 Ke6 Kd3 57 f4 Ke4) 56 . . .Kc3 57 f4 Kc4 58 f5 Kc5

49
Mastering the Endgame

59 Ke 5 Kc6 60 Ke6 Kc7 6 1 f6 Kd8 62 f7 Rh6+ and Black wins just in

the nick of time .
49 £4!!
A good move , but even better if played a move earlier!
49 ... e4
The attack after 49 . . . Rc3+ 50 Kh4! Rb3 51 ReS+ Kd2 52 h7 b l Q 53
h8Q is not as dangerous as it looks , as 53 . . . Qh l+ 54 Kg5 Qg2+? 55
Kxf5 even favours White !
50 Kh4 b l Q 5 1 Rxb l Kxb l 52 Kg5
With the black pawn on f5 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 ... Kc2
Similar is 52 . . . Rf7 when, with precise play, White can hold: 53 Kg6
Rf8 54 Kg7 Ra8 55 Kg6 Kc2 56 Kxf5 Kd3 57 h7! Rb8 58 Kg6 Ke2 59 f5
Kxf2 60 f6 e3 6 1 Kg7 e2 62 f7 e l Q 63 f8Q+ Rxf8 64 Kxf8.
53 Kx£5 Kd3 54 Kg6 Ke 2 55 £5 Kx£2 56 £6 e3 5 7 f7 ReS 58 Kg7 e 2
59 f8Q+ Rx£8 60 Kx£8 e l Q 6 1 h7 'iVh

Example 22
0 Vaisser • Flear
Fuerteventura 1 992

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

50
 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, e . g. 53 Rxe 7 Kxe 7 54
Kg5 Kf7 55 Kh6 Kg8 56 h5 Kh8 57 g4! Kg8 58 g5 Kh8 59 g6 .
5 3 g4?
Trying to gradually advance makes no difference : 53 g3? Kd7 54 Re3
Kd8 55 Kf5 Kd7 56 h5 (or 56 Kf6 Rg4 57 Kf7 Kd6 58 Kf8 Kd5 59 h5
Rg5 60 Ra3 Ke4 61 g4 Kf4 62 Ra4+ Kg3 63 Kf7 Kh4 64 Kf6 h6 65 Kf7
Kh3 and White cannot progress) 56 . . . Kd8 57 Kf6 Rg4 58 Ra3 Ke8 59
Ra8+ Kd7 60 Rh8 Rxg3 61 Rxh7+ Ke8 62 Rh8+ Kd7 63 h6 Rf3+ 64
Kg6 Ke 7 65 Rg8 Rg3+ 66 Kh7 Rh3 6 7 Rg1 Kf7 with a book draw .
53 Ra2 ! is the right way. Then 53 . . . Rb 7 54 Kg5 Ke6 55 Kh6 Kf5 56
Ra4 Rc7 57 g4+ Ke 5 58 h5 Rb 7 59 g5 Kf5 60 Ra5+ Ke6 61 Ra 1 Rb5 62
Rfl leads to a win for White . Black can also try 53 . . . Ke6 54 Ra6+ Kf7
(54 . . . Kd5 55 g4 is decisive as Black's king is cut along the rank) 55
Ra7+ Kg8 56 Rxg7+ Kxg7 57 Kg5 h6+ (57 ... Kh8 58 Kh6 Kg8 59 h5
Kh8 60 g4! Kg8 61 g5 Kh8 62 g6, or 57 . . . Kg8 58 Kh6 Kh8 59 h5 Kg8
60 g3! Kh8 6 1 g4 Kg8 62 g5 Kh8 63 g6) 58 Kf5 Kf7 59 h5 Kg7 60 Ke6
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 .
5 3 ... Re7!
This is possible now due to the continuation 54 Rxe 7 Kxe 7 55 Kg5 Kf7
56 Kh6 Kg8 5 7 h5 Kh8 58 g5 Kg8 59 g6 hxg6 60 hxg6 Kh8 6 1 g7+ Kg8
62 Kg6 with a draw .
54 Rd2+ Ke6 55 Kg5 Rg7+ 56 Kh5 Rg6 57 Rf2 Ke 7 (Diagram 26)
Black's king cannot aid of he h-pawn, but White can no longer win.
58 Rfl
After 58 Ra2 Black scuttles back in time with 58 . . . Kf7 59 Ra 7+ Kg8 .
5 8 ... Ra6 59 Rf5 Rb6 60 Rf3 Ra6 6 1 Rf4 Rg6 62 g5 Ra6 63 Kg4
Rb6 64 Rf3 Rb4+ 65 Kh5 Rb6 66 Rf4 Ra6 67 Kg4 Rb6 68 h5 R b l
69 R a 4 'h-'h

My Advice
As rook endings occur most 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?

51
Mastering the Endgame

Try it You rself

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 to 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 1 994
30 Rd2 Rc4 31 f3 Ra4 32 Ra2 Ke6 33 K£2 £5 34 ex£5+ gx£5 3 5 Ke3
Kd 5 3 6 Kd3 e4+ 3 7 Ke3 Ke 5 38 Ra1 Rd4 39 £4+ Kd5 40 a4 Rd3+
41 K£2 Rd2+ 42 Ke 1 Rh2 43 Rdl+ Kc4 44 Rd2 Rhl+ 45 Ke 2 Ra1
4 6 Rc2+ Kd4 47 Rd2+ Kc4 48 Rc2+ 112-112

52
C hapte r T h ree

Theory of Rook En dgames

• R + 2 vs . R + 1 : C o n n ected Passed Paw n s

• R + 2 vs . R + 1 : Iso lated Passed Paw n s

• Extra O uts i d e Passed Pawn

Mastering the Endgame

Theory in rook endings is vast, so I 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 I 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 wi ns Example 24: White can stil l wi n

White wins by forcing a winning Lucena position, either with 1 Ke6

Rfl 2 Rb8+ Kc7 3 Rxb2 Rxf4 4 Ke 7 or:
1 e6 Kc8 2 e7 Re l 3 Rxb2 Rxe7 4 Kf6
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:

54
 Theory of Rook E ndgames

1 h4 Kh6 2 Kg4 Kg6 3 Ra6+ Kf7 4 Kh5

White can also win by using the g-pawn as a permanent shield: 4 Kg5
Kg7 5 Ra7+ Kf8 6 h5 Kg8 (or 6 . . . Rg 1 7 Rxa2) 7 Kg6 Kf8 8 h6 etc.
4 ... Kg7 5 g4 Kf7 6 Ra7+ Ke 8 7 g5 K£8 8 Kg6 Rh1 9 Rxa2 Rxh4 1 0
Ra8+ Ke 7 1 1 Kg7 etc.

Example 25

Diagram 3 (W) Diagram 4 (B)

Example 25: Tricky, but stil l 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) : l . . .Rb3+ 2 Kg4 Rb4+ 3 Kh3 Rb3+ 4 g3 Rb2 5 h5+
K£6 6 Kh4 Rh2+ 7 Kg4 Rb2 8 Ra6+ Kg7 9 Kg5 Rb5+ 10 Kh4 Rb2 1 1 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 ! Kf6 2 g4 Kg6 3 Kg3 Kf6 4 h3 Kg6 5 Kh4
The h-file offers protection from troublesome checks .
5 ... Kf6 6 Ra6+ Kg7 7 Kh5 Rb5+ 8 g5 Rb3 9 h4 Rb2 10 Ra7+ Kg8
1 1 Kh6 (Diagram 4)
and Black can resign.
Black could try and play more actively with his king with 6 . . . Ke5 (in­
stead of 6 . . .Kg7) 7 Kh5 Rh2 8 h4 Kd4 9 g5 Kc3 10 g6 Kb2 but it is
rather slow . Both rooks are sacrificed for passed pawns and White's
extra pawn wins the day: 1 1 g7 Rg2 1 2 Kh6 a1Q 1 3 Rxa 1 Kxa 1 14 h5
Kb2 15 Kh7 Kc3 1 6 h6 Kd4 17 g8Q Rxg8 18 Kxg8.
The counter-attack is not always doomed, see the next example.

55
Mastering the Endgame

Example 26

Diagram 5 (B) Diagram 6 (W)

Black's counterattack can succeed Black will be j ust in time

In a pawn race time is the key factor, and here Black has j ust enough.
l...Kc6 2 h4 Kb6 3 Ra8 Kb5 4 Kg4
4 h5 Kc4 5 h6 Kb3 6 Kg4 Rh 1 7 Kg5 a 1 Q 8 Rxa 1 Rxa 1 9 h7 Rh 1 1 0
Kg6 Kc4 1 1 g 4 Kd5 1 2 g 5 Ke6 1 3 Kg7 K£5 1 4 g 6 Kg5 1 5 Kf7 Rh2=.
4 ... Kb4 5 Kh5 Kb3 6 g4 Rg1 7 g5 a1Q 8 Rxa1 Rxa 1 9 g6 Kc4 (Diag­
ram 6) 10 g7 Rg1 1 1 Kh6 Kd5 12 Kh7 Ke6 1 3 g8Q+ Rxg8 14 Kxg8=

Example 2 7
0 Euwe • Alekhine
Match 1 935

Diagram 7 (B) Diagram 8 (W)

White's king cannot find shelter Nowhere to hide . . .

56
 Theory of Rook E ndgames

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.
l...Ke6!
Mter l . . .Kc4? 2 g6 Kb3 3 g7 Rc l 4 Kg2 White wins . l . . .Ke4? was
played in the game but this should lose because after 2 Ra5 Rc5 White
can win with 3 f3+ Kd3 4 Ra3+ Kd4 5 Kg4, supporting the pawns and
affording the king safety from the defending rook .
2 f4
2 Ra5 meets the familiar trick 2 . . . Rc5!
2 ... Kf5 3 Ra5+ Kg6 4 Kg4 Rg2+! 5 Kf3 Rb2 6 Ra6+ Kg7 7 f5 Rh2 8
Kg4 Rg2+ 9 Kf4 Rf2+ 10 Ke5 Re2+ 'h-'h (Diagram 8)
White's king is too exposed.

Example 28

Diagram 9 (W} Diagram 1 0 (B)

White's rook is too passive White is very active

In Chapter 2, Example 1 1 (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 rook may have to go pas­
sive . Here, for instance, White cannot win.
1 Kg4 Kg7 2 g6 Kf6
Blockading and drawing.

Example 29
D Reti • Kostic
Goteborg 1 920

57
Mastering the Endgame

(Diagram 10) This position is sharp. The white rook is active but
Black's passed pawn is only two squares from metamorphosis.
l...b2?
Natural but wrong, as Black can hold with l . . .Rb4+! 2 Kg5 (2 Kg3
Rb6) 2 . . . Rb5 . The defensive pin stops the f-pawn advancing to f6 and 3
Kh6 is met by 3 . . . Rxf5.
2 £6
The mate threats are sufficient for victory.
2 ... Rb8 3 Rg7+ Kf8 4 Rh7 Rb4+ 5 Kh5 Ke 8 6 Re7+ Kd8 7 g7 Rb5+
8 Kh4 Rb4+ 9 Kh3 Rb3+ 10 Kh2 1-0

0
N ote: I n m ost cases the connected pawns win. The defender's best
d rawi ng chance is to have the rook behind the pawn.

A rook on the side of an advanced pawn can draw if the stronger side
has problems finding shelter for the king, or if the defender's king is
conveniently placed for a pawn race . A rook in front of a pawn on the
seventh rank draws only in the rare circumstances when the defender
can time a rook move to force a pawn exchange , leading to a drawn
version of rook and pawn vs. rook.

Rook and Two vs. Rook and One: Isolated Passed Pawns
At the end of the Bordi endgame (Example 1 1) an ending with rook
and two isolated passed pawns against rook and one isolated pawn
was reached. We now turn to some instructive positions with these
features.

Example 30

Diagram 1 1 (W) Diagram 1 2 (W)

Split pawns make it harder Black has a strong passed pawn

58
 Theory of Rook E ndgames

(Diagram 1 1) Play from the diagram leads, surprisingly, to a draw !

1 Kc6 Rc2+ 2 Kb6
2 Kd6 Rg2 3 Rh8+ Kb 7 is similar to the game .
2 ... Rg2 3 Rh8+
Or 3 Ka 7 Ra2+ .
3 ... Kd 7 4 Kb7 Rb2 5 b6 Ra2 6 Kb8 Rb2 7 b7 Ra2 8 Rh7+ Kd6 9
Kc8 Rc2+ 10 Kd8 Rb2 etc.
Already we can make a preliminary conclusion.

0
N ote: With isolated passed pawns there are g reater d ifficulties to
win than with connected pawns.

Example 3 1
D llijevsky • N icevsky
Skopje 1 967

(Diagram 1 2) Here Black's passed pawn is supported by his king.

1 Rh8 Kb5 2 h6 c3 3 a7 Rxa7 4 h7 c2 5 Kd2 Rc7 6 Kc 1 Kc4 7
Kxc2 Kd4+ 8 Kd2 Rd 7?
Correct is 8 . . . Kc4! because Black's king then has time to get to the
safety zone a7-b7: 9 Ke 3 Kc5 10 Ke4 Kc6 1 1 Kf5 Kb7 12 Kg6 Rc6+.
The draw is achieved by giving checks until White approaches the
rook, and then switching the rook to behind the pawn.
9 Kc2?
The wrong way! Instead 9 Ke2! wins , e . g. 9 . . . Re7+ 10 Kf3 Ke 5 1 1 Kg4
Rg7+ 12 Kh5 Re 7 13 Kg6 Re6+ 14 Kf7 Rf6+ 15 Kg7 .
9. . . Rc7+ 10 Kd2 Kc4
Black is again on drawing territory .
Naturally, simplification to rook and pawn versus rook is common not
j ust here but in many rook endings. Indeed this scenario is possibly
the most common endgame after king and pawn versus king, and is
therefore an important one to know .
Ti p : Find different examples of rook and pawn against rook
throughout this book, and make sure you know them wel l enough to
maximize your chances in practi se.

I advise you to do the following: after you have read through Chapters
2 & 3 I recommend that you find the moment where R+P vs. R occurs
in Examples 1 1 , 19, 20, 22-24, 3 1 , 33-34, 37-38, 47-49, 52, 55-58 and
60-6 1 , in each case making sure you have understood what is going
on. Trust me, this is useful practise that you will thank me for when
you successfully navigate your next such tricky rook and pawn vs

59
Mastering the Endgame

rook experience !

Example 32

Diagram 1 3 (B) Diagram 1 4 (B)

White's pawn is not dangerous White's pawns are not tar advanced

(Diagram 13) Again the superior side has split pawns, but here the
defender's passed pawn is not so dangerous .
l...Rd6! 2 Ke 2
E qually insufficient is 2 Rg5 Rh6 3 Ke2 Kh3 4 Kf2 e3+ 5 Kxe3 g3 6
Kf3 Rf6+ 7 Ke3 g2 .
2 ... Kh3 3 Rfl g3 4 Rhl+ Kg4 5 h6 g2 6 Rb1 Rxh6 7 Kf2 Rh 1
and Black wins .

Example 33
D Spielmann • Capablanca
Berlin 1 928

(Diagram 14) A first impression suggests that the diagram position

does not look promising for Black, but since White's pawns are not too
advanced Black was able to hold the draw.
l. .. Rfl+ 2 Ke5 Rh1 3 e4 h4 4 Kf5 h3 5 e5 h2 6 Ke6 Kg8!
'Pass!'
7 Rg6+
7 Ke 7 is met by 7 . . . Re l .
7 ... Kh7 8 Rf6 Kg7
8 . Rg 1 ? fails in view of 9 Rh6+ Kg7 10 Rxh2 Rxg5 1 1 Rf2 Rg 1 1 2 Ke 7
. .

Kg6 13 Ra2! etc.

60
 Theory of Rook Endgames

9 Rf2 Kg6 10 Rg2 Kh7

An alternative route to a draw is 10 . . . Ra 1 ! 1 1 Rxh2 Ra6+ 1 2 Kd5 Ra5+
13 Kd6 Ra6+ 14 Kc7 Kf5 ! .
1 1 Ke 7 Kg7 1 2 e6 Kg6
This time 12 . . . Ra 1? falls short because after 13 Rxh2 Ra7+ 14 Kd8
Ra8+ 15 Kc7 Ra7+ 16 Kb6 Re 7 1 7 Re2 White prevents . . . Kf6.
1 3 Rf2 Kg7!
Preferable to 1 3 ... Kxg5? 1 4 Kf7 etc.
14 Rd2 Kg6 15 Kd7 Ra1 1 6 Rxh2 Ra7+ 17 Kc8 Re7 18 R e 2
Now Black holds with . . .
1 8 ... Kf5 ! 1 9 g 6 Rxe6 2 0 g 7 Rg6 'h-'h
Excellent defensive play from Black.

Example 34
D Jansa • Geller
Budapest 1 970

Diagram 1 5 (W) Diagram 1 6 (W)

Black's king is bad ly placed White's passed pawn is useful

(Diagram 1 5) Here Black's poorly placed king is the key.

1 f6 c3 2 Rb5!
2 Kf8 does not work after 2 ... c2 3 Rc8 Rxb4 4 Rxc2 Kg6 etc.
2 ... Kh6 3 Kg8! c2
Mter 3 . . . Rb 1 4 Rf5 Rg l + White has 5 Kh8.
4 Rc5 Rxb4 5 f7! Rg4+ 6 Kh8 Rf4 7 Rc6+ Kg5 8 Kg7

61
Mastering the Endgame

The analysis of this ending was by Kasparov! Yes, it is true that top
players don't j ust look at openings - they become top players by work­
ing at all aspects of the game . Here Kasparov analyses an ending that
he found interesting.

Example 35
D Ree • M iles
Wijk aan lee 1 979

(Diagram 1 6) White's king is not active but by placing his rook be­
hind the passed pawn Hans Ree is able to hold.
1 Rc1 Kf6
Getting into the 'square'.
2 Rc3
E gging on the b-pawn in order to deny Black the c2-square for his
rook.
2 ... b2 3 Re3
Remember that cutting off the opposing king is always an important
consideration.
3 ... g5 4 c5 Rh2 5 c6 g4 6 Rc3!
Not 6 Re8? Rh7 7 Rc8 Rg7! (Black's turn to get the rook behind a
passed pawn) 8 c7 Kg5 and the g-pawn rushes forward.
6 ... Rh8 7 Kxb2 Ke6 8 Kc2 Rg8 9 c7 Rc8
Here a draw was agreed as White has no problems (10 Kd2 Kd7 1 1
Ke2 Rxc7 1 2 Rxc7+ Kxc7 1 3 Ke 3 etc.). Interesting play, where plant­
ing the rook behind the passed pawn was an important theme.

0
N ote : A rook is well-placed beh ind a passed pawn if it forces
concessions or ties down the opponent.

Extra O utside Passed Pawn

One of the most important practical areas in rook endings features an
extra passed pawn on one wing with equal pawns on the other. It oc­
curs so often that there are many examples to be found.

Example 36
D Portisch • Parma
Teeside 1 972

(Diagram 1 7) 1 h5!
This fixes Black's pawns, creating considerable restriction should
White later part with his g-pawn (see Example 13 for his theme) .

62
 Theory of Rook Endgames

l. . Kf7 2 K£4 Ke 6 3 Rb6+ Kf7 4 g4 Rd4+ 5 Kf5 Rd5+ 6 Ke4 Rg5 7

.

K£4 Rd5 8 b4 Rd1

Mter 8 ... Rd4+ 9 Kf5 Rd5+ 1 0 Ke4 Rg5 11 Kf3 Rd5 12 Rc6 Rb5 1 3 Rc4
White achieves an ideal set-up , the rook covering both wings and the
king ready to march over to support the advance of the b-pawn. Note
that Black cannot create any mischief on the kingside .

Diagram 1 7 (W) Diagram 1 8 (B)

1 h5 ! - White fixes Black's pawns White can be driven back . . .

9 Ke5! Rg1 10 Rb7+ Kg8 1 1 Kf5 Rfl + 1 2 Ke 6 Rg1 1 3 Rc7 Rxg4 1 4

b5 Rh4 1 5 Rc5 Kh7 1 6 Kd6 g 5 1 7 hxg6+ Kxg6 1 8 Kc7 1-0
Black's king is cut off along the fifth rank so that after 18 . . . Rb4 19 b6
h5 20 b7 Rxb 7+ 21 Kxb7 h4 22 Kc6 White wins by returning to the
kingside (via b5), since Black cannot create any threats in view of
22 . . . h3 23 Rc3 .
In this ending conditions were good for the side with the advantage .
White's king and rook were well-placed, his passed pawn was a b­
pawn (closer for the white king's approach than an a-pawn) and the
pawn structure was favourable on the kingside .
In the next example White is less well placed.

Example 37
D Karpov • Yusu pov
Linares 1 983

(Diagram 1 8) l...Ra8! 2 Rb3

2 Rxh5+ is met by 2 . . . Kg8 .
2 ... Ra4 3 g3 g5
Now a draw was agreed in view of the continuation 4 hxg5 Kg6 5 Kg2
Kxg5 6 Kf2 h4 7 gxh4+ Rxh4 .

63
Mastering the Endgame

This time Black was able to pacify White's rook and quickly remove
the kingside pawns, a strategy that is more likely to work against an
a-pawn than a b-pawn since rook endings involving the former are
particularly drawish.

Examp/e 38
D Ftacnik • P.Littlewood
H astings 1 982/3

Diagram 1 9 (W) Diagram 20 (B)

White needs to get active M ission accomplished !

Black's extra pawn is an a-pawn but his rook conveniently defends

pawns on both wings. How does White counter the obvious plan of
marching the king to the queenside? An interesting point is that if it
were Black to play then l . . .a5 followed by 2 . . . Ra 7 would probably win,
as White would be forced to passively blockade with his rook and a
king march would then decide. Consequently White should first ad­
dress this threat.
1 Ral
1 K£2? fails to meet the threat and after l . . .a5 2 Ra l Ra7 3 Ra4 Kf6 4
Ke 3 Ke 5 5 Kd3 Kd5 6 Kc3 Kc5 7 Kb3 Kb5 8 Re4 Rc7 White would be
in danger of losing.
l ...Kf6 2 Kf2 Ke 5 3 Kg3 Kd6 4 Kg4
The white king takes up the most active role possible.
4 ... Kc6 5 Kg5 Kb6
Another try is 5 . . . Re5+ 6 Kf6 Rf5+ 7 Kg7 Rh5 8 Rxa 7 Rxh2 but White
has no problems after 9 g4 Kd6 10 K.f6 , and the immediate 5 . . . Re2 is
met by the drawish 6 g4 Rxh2 7 Rxa 7.
6 R b l+ Kc7 7 Ral Kb7 8 Rbl+

64
 Theory of Rook Endgames

8 g4? allows Black to progress with 8 . . . a6 9 Kh6 Kb6 10 Rb l+ Kc5 1 1

Ra 1 Kb5 1 2 Rb l+ Kc4 1 3 Ra 1 Ra 7.
8 ... Ka8 9 Kf6 (Diagram 20) 9 ... Re2
It is noteworthy that 9 . Rb 7 1 0 Ra 1 Rb2 1 1 Kg7 Rxg2 1 2 Kxh7 Rxh2+
. .

13 Kxg6 Rf2 14 Kg5 does not win. Although White is cut off from the
a-pawn (with a b-pawn Black eventually gets a winning Lucena posi­
tion) by five(!) files the rook will be needed to help the pawn advance
and White's king will be able to approach.
1 0 Rg1
Alternatively 10 Kg7 Rxg2 1 1 Kxh7 Rxh2+ 1 2 Kxg6 a6 1 3 Ra 1 Kb 7 14
Kf5 is also drawn, but (again) if Black instead had a b-pawn this
would be a win.
10 ... a6 1 1 h4 Ka7 1 2 g4 Rh2 1 3 Kg5 a5 1 4 h5 gxh5 15 gxh5 Rc2
Mter both 15 . . . Ka6 16 Re 1 a4 17 Re6+ Kb5 18 Re 7 and 15 . . . Rb2 16
Kh6 Rb 7 17 Rg7 White obtains sufficient counterplay .
1 6 Kh6 Rc7 1 7 Rg7 lf2-lf2
Simplification into pawn endings is an important consideration, as in
the next example .

Example 39
D Benko • Gereben
Hungary 1 951

Diagram 21 (B) Diagram 22 (W)

Black must get the timing right Black is very passive

The game continued as follows :

l . . . R a 1 ? 2 R e S ! Rxa7 3 R c 7 + Rxc7 4 Kxc7
White won the pawn ending thanks to the distant opposition. How-

65
Mastering the Endgame

ever, Black should have played l . . .Rd l+ 2 Ke6 Ra 1 , when after 3 Rd8
Rxa7 4 Rd7+ Rxd7 5 Kxd7 Kh7! White cannot progress because , this
time , Black has taken the opposition!

Example 40
D C.Hansen • Seitaj
Thessaloniki 1 984

(Diagram 22) Here White has his rook behind the extra passed
pawn. Black is tied down to a passive blockade .
1 K£3 K£8 2 Kg4 Ke 7 3 c7 Rc8 4 Kh5 Kf6
Black has no time to pick off the pawn: 4 . . . Kd7 5 f4 Rxc7 6 Rxc7+
Kxc7 7 f5 Kd7 8 f6 gxf6 9 Kxh6 Ke6 10 Kg7 and wins.
5 Rc6+ Ke 7 6 f4 Kd7 7 Rc2 Ke6 8 g4 Kf6 9 Rc6+ Ke 7 10 f5 Kd7 1 1
Rc2 Ke 7 1 2 h3
A move illustrating Black's helplessness - we now have zugzwang.
12 ... Kf8
Mter 12 . . . Kf6 White has 1 3 Rc6+ Ke5 14 f6 when Kxh6 soon follows.
1 3 f6 Kg8 14 Rc6 Kh7 1 5 fxg7 Kxg7 1 6 g5 hxg5 1 7 Kxg5 f6+ 18
Kf5 K£7 1 9 h4 1-0
The second passed pawn will be unstoppable .
Naturally, Black has better drawing chances with his rook behind the
passed pawn. Here is a typical example .

Example 4 1
D Lerner • Dorfman
U SSR Championship 1 980

Diagram 23 (B) Diagram 24 (B)

Activity for Black is again crucial A well-placed king is the key

66
 Theory of Rook Endgames

White has fewer winning chances here compared with a b-pawn (see
Examples 14, 43 and 44) as the king must travel further to provide
support.
l. .. Ra4+ 2 Kd5 Ra3 3 a6 Kf6!
An excellent move that prepares to activate the king. In the game
Black failed to appreciate the danger and played 3 . . . Rxf3? 4 Rb8 Ra3
5 Rb6 Rxg3 6 Kc6 Ra3 7 Kb 7, when White won thanks mainly to the
poor positioning of the black monarch.
4 Kc6 Rxf3 5 Rb8 Ra3 6 Rb6 Kf5! 7 Kb7 Kg4 8 a7 Rxa7+ 9 Kxa7
Kxg3
and the race is drawn.
Note: T h e wel l-known g u id e lin e that 'an extra a-pawn with the
defending rook beh in d is d rawn ' is true only if the defending king is
ready to leave the starting blocks.

This is an important aspect of such positions and thus deserves an­

other example .

Example 42
D Lipn icky • Smyslov
U SSR Championship 1 952

(Diagram 24) White threatens the deadly 1 Ra3 so there should be

no hesitation - Black must head behind the passed pawn.
l...Rc1 + 2 Ke 2 Ra1 3 Rd4
After 3 Rd8+ Kf7 4 Ra8 Black does best to try 4 . . . Kg6 , looking for
some activity .
3 ... Ra3 4 Kd2 Kf7!
Smyslov doesn't indulge in 4 . . . Rxg3, preferring first to ensure a well­
placed king. Remember that the g-pawn is not running away .
Tip: Don't automatically take a pawn - th i n k of the activity of you r
pieces.

5 Kc2 Kg6 6 Kb2 Rxg3 7 a5 Kh5 8 a6 Rg6 9 a7

9 Ra4 Rb6+ 10 Kc3 Rb8 1 1 a7 Ra8 12 Kd4 Kxh4 13 Ke 5 Kg4 14 Ra 1
g5 1 5 Rg 1 + Kf3 does not alter the result.
9 ... Ra6 10 Rd7 g6
Also possible is 10 . . . Kg4 1 1 Rxg7+ Kxf4 12 Rxh7 Kg4 1 3 h5 Kg5 14 h6
and now 14 . . . Ra4! (rather than 14 .. .f4? 15 Rf7 Kxh6 16 Rf6+) .
1 1 Rxh7+ Kg4 1 2 Kb3 Ra1 1 3 Kb4 Kxf4 14 Kb5 Kg3 1 5 K b 6 f4 1 6
h5 gxh5 1 7 Rxh5 f3 1 8 Rg5+ Kh2 1 9 Ra5 Rxa5 20 Kxa5 f2 2 1 a8Q
fl Q 'h-'h

67
Mastering the Endgame

Example 43
0 Serper • Alex. Ivanov
New York 1 996

Diagram 25 (W) Diagram 26 (B)

Black has space but White stil l wins Black must hamper White's kingside

Here White is successful with an extra b-pawn, despite Black having

a pawn as advanced as h4 .
1 f3 Kg7 2 Kf2 Kh7 3 Ke 2 Kg7 4 Kd2! Rxf3 5 Kc2 Rf2+
Grabbing the h-pawn is too slow : 5 . . . Rxh3 6 b7 Rh2+ 7 Kc3 Rh3+ 8
Kc4 etc.
6 Kc3 Rfl 7 Rd8 Rb1 8 Rd6 Kf7
In the event of 8 .. .f5 White has 9 gxf5 g4 10 hxg4 h3 1 1 Rg6+ Kh7 1 2
g5.
9 Kc4 Ke 7 10 Rc6 Rb2 11 Kc5 Rb3 1 2 Rd6! Rxh3
12 . . . Rc3+ does not help the cause , e . g. 13 Kb4 Rc 1 ( 1 3 . . .Kxd6 1 4 Kxc3
f5 1 5 gxf5 g4 16 f6 gxh3 1 7 b 7 Kc7 18 b8Q+ Kxb8 19 f7) 1 4 Rd3 etc.
13 b7 Rc3+ 14 Kb4 Kxd6 1 5 b8Q+ Rc7 16 Qd8+ 1-0

Example 44
0 Bukic • Janosevic
Yugoslavia 1 972

(Diagram 26) In Korchnoi-Flear (Example 1 4) Black lost despite be­

ing active with his king. In this game Black puts up little resistance ,
but probably misses his chance right at the beginning.
l...Ke7?
l . . . g5! , as pointed out by James Howell, would make it much more dif-

68
 Theory of Rook Endgames

ficult for White to safeguard his kingside pawns . In the game Black
was unable to create any action on the kingside .
2 h4! Rb2 3 f4 Rg2 4 Kf3 Rb2 5 Ke4
White's rook defends the b-pawn and the base of the kingside pha­
lanx, thus ruling out any counterplay.
5 ... Re2+ 6 Kd5 Kd 7 7 Rc3 Re 1 8 b4 h5 9 Ra3 Rdl+ 10 Kc5 Rcl+
11 Kb6 Rc6+ 1 2 Kb5 Rc8 1 3 Rd3+ Ke6 14 Ka6 1-0
N ote: With an extra outside a-pawn the defender has excellent
d rawi ng chances if his rook is behind the pawn and his king is well­
p l a c e d . I n the case o f an extra outside b-pawn B lac k is not favou rite
to hold even with the rook behind the pawn.

Rook and Two vs . Rook and One: No Passed Pawns

Example 45

Diagram 27 (W) Diagram 28 (W)

Dead drawn Black's g-pawn is very weak

(Diagram 27) A typical drawn position where Black's main problem

is keeping his concentration! For the defence the best approach would
be to play . . . g6 as the pawn is easily defended and there is less danger
of being squeezed short of space . White can win only if Black plays too
passively or allows something similar to the next diagram.

Example 46
D Y.Perez • L.Valdes
Cuba 1 997

(Diagram 28) A common enough situation: White has 2 vs. 1 on the

same side and pressurises the remaining pawn. This identical ending

69
Mastering the Endgame

occurred in a team discussion (analysis from one of the player's

games) in Montpellier and we eventually concluded that White could
win with some manoeuvring to finally put Black in zugzwang.
1 Rc6+ Kh7
After l . . .Kh5 2 Rf6 Rg7 3 Rf8 the threat of 4 Rh8+ wins the g-pawn.
2 Rf6
Stopping any annoying checks on the f-file .
2 ... Rg7
Black cannot resist for long after either 2 . . .Kh8 3 Rf5 Rg6 4 Rh5+ Kg7
5 Rg5 or 2 . . . Kg7 3 Kg5 Ra8 (3 . .Kh7+ 4 Kh5 Rg7 5 Rh6+ Kg8 6 Rg6) 4
.

Rf4 .
3 R£5 !
After 3 R f8 Rg6 4 Kf5 Rg7 5 Rf6 Rg8 White has nothing better than
repeating with 6 Kf4 .
3 . Kh6 4 R£8 Rg6
..

On 4 . . . Kh7 5 Kf5 we have zugzwang!

5 Rh8+ Kg7 6 Rh5 K£7
6 . . . Kf6 loses to 7 Rh4 .
7 Rg5 1-0
. . . and the pawn falls .
It is interesting that the game followed - very closely - an analysis of
Minev, who corrected the conclusion of the eminent Smyslov and
Levenfish that the ending was drawn. Even endgame theory is occa­
sionally improved upon! This is a good case of someone being uncon­
vinced by something, investigating further and consequently finding
something new . Such a questioning approach is useful in the devel­
opment of a serious chess player.
Ti p : If you are not persuaded by an author's analysis or conclusions,
a nalyse further you rself! You might not find anything d ramatic but
you will certainly gain g reater understandi ng.

Example 4 7
D Shamkovich • Ginsburg
U SA 1 976

The black pawn is not easy to attack but White has a significant space
advantage .
(Diagram 29) l...Rc5!
Waiting is best. In the game Black blundered with l . . .f6+? and White

70
 Theory of Rook Endgames

won with 2 Kg6! fxe5 3 f5 etc. Otherwise l . . .Rb 1?, allowing 2 Ra7+
Ke8 3 f5 , is bad for Black (see Example 48) .

Diagram 29 (B) Diagram 30 (W)

White's extra space is useful With care, Black draws

2 Ra7+
Only after 2 Kh6 does it make sense to come behind: 2 . . . Rc 1 ! 3 Ra7+
K£8 4 f5 Rg 1 (cutting off the king) 5 Ra8+ Ke 7 6 f6+ Ke6 7 Re8+ K£5 8
Kh7 Rg2 9 Re 7 (following 9 Rg8 Ra2 10 Kg7 Kxe 5 1 1 Kxf7 Black holds
with 1 l . . .Kf5 !) 9 . . . Rg5 ! (an instructive resource) and White gets no­
where with 1 0 Rxf7 Kxe5 1 1 Rg7 as Black's rook is defended after
1 1 . . .Kxf6 .
2 ... Kf8!
Instead 2 . . . Ke6? loses to 3 f5+ Kxe5 4 Re7+ Kd6 5 Rxf7 as Black's king
is cut off on the long side .
3 f5
3 Kh6 can now be met with 3 . . . Rc6+ 4 Kh7 f6
3 ... Rxe5 4 Kf6 Re 1 5 Rxf7+ Kg8 6 Ra7 Rfl! (Diagram 30)
Black still has to be careful but this is a drawn position. Try a few
ideas if you are not persuaded!
7 Kg6 Rgl+ 8 Kf6 Rf1 9 Ra8+ Kh7 10 Ra5 Kg8 1 1 Ke 6 R e 1 + 1 2
R e 5 Rxe5+ 1 3 Kxe5 Kf7 etc.
Here Black drew, but in the next example White is winning.

Example 48
D C hekhover • Kazakevic
U SSR 1 949

This is a good example to play through carefully as it will give you

71
Mastering the Endgame

some ideas as to how to win these common positions . The main points
are that Black has limited space and White's g-pawn is not far from
the queening square .

Diagram 31 (W) Diagram 32 (W)

White has too much pressure . . . White i s about to break through

1 Kh5
Now there are four defences, all of which fail.
a) 1 . . . g6+ 2 Kh6! gxf5 3 g6+ Kf6 4 Rb6+ Ke5 5 g7 Ra8 6 Rg6 Rg8 7
Kh7 Ra8 8 g8Q Rxg8 9 Rxg8 f4 10 Kg6 f3 1 1 Rf8 Ke4 12 Kg5 Ke 3 1 3
Kg4 f2 1 4 Kg3 and White arrives just i n time .
b) l . . .Ra 1 ? affords White an easy win with 2 Rb7+ Kf8 3 Kg6 Ra6+ 4
f6 gxf6 5 gxf6 Ra8 6 Rh 7 etc.
c) l . . .Ra6 2 Rb 7+ Kf8 3 Rb8+ (not 3 g6? Ra 1 4 Rb8+ Ke 7 5 Rb7+ Kf8
as White's king lacks shelter) 3 . . . Ke 7 4 f6+! (a breakthrough to obtain
an advanced passed pawn) 4 . . . gxf6 5 g6 Ra 1 6 g7 Rh l+ 7 Kg6 Rgl+ 8
Kh7 Rh 1+ 9 Kg8 Ra 1 (pushing the f-pawn doesn't help , either: 9 . . . f5
1 0 Rb7+ Ke8 1 1 Rb5 f4 12 Re5+ Kd7 1 3 Rf5 Rh4 14 Kf7) 1 0 Rb2 f5 1 1
Rb6 Rg1 ( 1 1 . . .Rh 1 fails to 1 2 Rb7+ Ke8 1 3 Rb 5 etc.) 1 2 Kh7 Kf7 1 3
g8Q+ Rxg8 1 4 Rb7+ Kf6 15 Kxg8 and, according to Timman, White is
wmnmg.
d) The game . . .
l...Rc7 2 Rb8 Ra7 3 g6+ Kf6
After 3 . . . Ke 7 White wins with 4 Rg8 Kd6 5 f6 gxf6 6 g7.
4 Rf8+ Ke 5 (Diagram 32) 5 f6!
The only way. If instead 5 Rf7?, then after 5 . . . Ra 1 White is battered
with checks.
5 ... gxf6 6 Kh6 Ra1 7 g7 Rhl+ 8 Kg6 Rgl+ 9 Kf7 1-0

72
 Theory of Rook Endgames

After 9 .. .f5 10 g8Q Rxg8 1 1 Kxg8 f4 12 Kg7 Ke4 13 Kg6 f3 14 Kg5 Ke 3

1 5 Kg4 f2 1 6 Kg3 the pawn is lost.

Example 49
D Flohr • Szabo
Budapest 1 950

Diagram 33 (B) Diagram 34 (B)

Black's king is cut off White hones in on the b-pawn

Here Black's problem is that his king is cut off, as in Example 22.
l...Ra5 2 a3 Ke5 3 Rd7! Ke6 4 Rd2 Rh5
Clearly 4 . . . Rd5 5 Rxd5 Kxd5 6 Kc3 is a comfortable win for White .
Having the pawn on b2 gives White tempi to obtain zugzwang (oppo­
sition) at will: 6 . . . Kc5 7 a4 b5 8 axb5 Kxb5 9 Kb3 Kc5 1 0 Ka4 Kb6 1 1
Kb4 Kc6 1 2 Ka5 etc.
5 Kb3 Rh4
White is temporarily restricted, but not for long.
6 Rd8 (Diagram 34)
Threatening 7 Rb8.
6 ... Ke 7 7 Rd5 Rg4 8 Kc3 Rh4 9 b3 Rg4 10 Rd4 Rg3+ 11 Kc4 Rg5
1 2 Rd5 Rg4+ 1 3 Kb5 Rg3 14 b4 Rg6 1 5 Ka6 Rh6 1 6 b5 1-0
Black resigned in view of a4-a5.
Note: Havi ng 2 vs. 1 on the same side is normally d rawn. Wi n n i n g
chances occur i n t h e fol lowing ci rcumstances:

1. The defending king is cut off from his pawn

2 . The attacking king and pawns are sufficiently advanced to create
mating and promotion threats .

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Mastering the Endgame

Rook and Two vs . Rook: Connected Pawns

Example 50
D Blackburne • Lasker
Petersburg 1 91 4

Diagram 35 (B) Diagram 36 (W)

Careful play wins easily Touchdown is imminent

Everybody knows that this position should be a win, but we tend to

get a bit nervous about messing it up ! The trick is to advance without
allowing a blockade of the pawns .
l . ..h5 2 Ra6 g6 3 Ra4 Kh6 4 Rc4 Rb5!
4 . . . g5? 5 Rc6+ may already be drawn!
5 Kg3 Kg5 6 Rc3
6 Ra4 can be met by 6 . . . h4+! 7 Kg2 Kh5 .
6 . . .h 4 + 7 Kh3 Kh5 8 Rc4 Rb3+ 9 Kg2 g 5 10 R a 4 Rb2+ 1 1 Kh 1
In reply to 1 1 Kh3 Black has 1 1 . . . g4+ 12 Rxg4 Rb3+.
1 1 ...h3 1 2 Rc4 g4 1 3 Kg1 g3! (Diagram 36)
The simplest, and definitely better than 13 . . . h2+? 14 Kh 1 g3 in view
of 15 Rh4+! .
1 4 Rc5+ Kg6 1 5 R c 1 Kf5 16 R a 1 Rd2 1 7 Re l Kf4 1 8 R a 1 Ke3
Another way is 18 . . . Rd4 19 Rb 1 Kg4 20 Kh 1 h2 2 1 Ra 1 Kh3 .
1 9 R a 3 + R d 3 20 Ra1 Ke 2 0-1
There follow two examples of the attacking side winning despite the
blockade .

74
 Theory of Rook Endgames

Example 51
D Tartakower • Aitken
Southsea 1 949

Diagram 37 (B) Diagram 38 (W)

Black can break the blockade Agai n , White can u ntangle

(Diagram 37) l...Ra4! 2 Kg2

Others also fail, e . g. 2 Kxh2 Rh4+ 3 Rxh4 Kxh4 4 Kg2 Kg4 5 Kh2 Kf3 ,
2 Rxh2 Ra3+ 3 Kg2 Ra2+ 4 Kg3 Rxh2 5 Kxh2 Kg4 6 Kg2 g5 or 2 Rh7
Rg4+ 3 Kf2 Rh4 .
2 ... Rh4 0-1
The following study by Cheron provides a few pointers as to how
White can grind down the blockade :

Example 52

(Diagram 38) 1 Kd6 Rd 1 +

l . . .RfS 2 Kd 7.
2 Ke5
Another instructive method is as follows : 2 Kc5 Rc l + 3 Kd4 Rd l+ 4
Kc3 Rc l + 5 Kd2 ReS 6 Kd3 RdS+ 7 Kc4 ReS+ S Kb5 RbS+ 9 Kc6 RaS
10 Kb 7 RfS 1 1 Rc6, and 12 ReS is coming.
2 ... Rd8
Alternatively 2 . . . Re l+ 3 Kf5 Rfl+ 4 Kg4 Rgl+ 5 Kh3 Rh l+ 6 Kg2 (run­
ning Black out of checks) 6 . . . Rh6 7 Kg3 Rh5 S ReS .
3 Kf5 Kh6 4 Re7 R £8 + 5 Rf7 R a 8 6 h8Q+! Rxh8 7 Kf6
Zugzwang brings White an immediate win.

75
Mastering the Endgame

In the following game Black is clearly unaware of this technique :

Example 53
0 Witkowski • Rakowiecki
Poland 1 979

Diagram 39 (B) Diagram 40 (W)

Black must be careful . . . White must be careful . . .

Black immediately went wrong with

l...Rg2+? 2 Ka l Rc2 ...
and after
3 Rd4!
had to agree a draw i n view of 3 . . . Ka3 4 Rd3+ o r 3 . . . Kb3 4 Rxb4+. In
fact he could have won with l . . .b3! 2 Rd4+ Kb5 3 Rd l Rg3 ! when we
return to Cheron's study in Example 52 (with reversed colours) .

Example 54
0 Degraeve • Flear
Montpellier 1 996

I was given a half-point gift from the diagram position.

(Diagram 40) 69 Rc5? Rh6!
Here my bemused opponent offered a draw . Pinter immediately
demonstrated how to win: 69 Rb6! Rh5+ 70 Kb4 ! and after a few spite
checks Black will be forced to return to the back rank, when White
wins with Rc6 (threatening Rc8) , e . g. 70 . . . Rh4+ 7 1 Kc5 Rh5+ 72 Kd4
Rh4+ 73 Ke5 Rh5+ 74 Kf4 Rh4+ 75 Kg5 Rh8 76 Rc6 Kb8 (or 76 . . . Rf8
7 7 Rc8) 7 7 Kf5 (time to come back to b6) 77 . . . Rh5+ 78 Ke4 Rh4+ 79
Kd5 Rh5+ 80 Kc4 Rh4+ 8 1 Kc5 Rh5+ 82 Kb6 and it isn't stalemate !

76
 Theory of Rook Endgames

Rook and Two vs . Rook: Split Pawns

Example 55
0 Fischer • Geller
Curar;ao Candidates 1 962

Diagram 41 (B) Diagram 42 (W)

Black will reach a ' Lucena' position White is too tang led : Black can hold

Two isolated pawns can be awkward to push, particularly if one is

blockaded and the other is a rook's pawn, as we saw in Mestel-Flear,
Example 19. In this example Geller shows good practical technique .
(Diagram 4 1 ) l...Re6 2 Ra8 e4+ 3 Ke 3 g5 4 Ra1 Kg6 5 R b 1
After 5 Rg 1 Re 5 6 Kd4 Kf6 7 Ke 3 Kf5 8 Rfl+ (in reply t o 8 Kd4 best is
8 . . . e3 9 Rfl+ Ke6 10 Re 1 e2 1 1 Kd3 Kf5) 8 . . . Kg4 9 Rgl+ Kh3 10 Kd4
White wins back a pawn, but the g-pawn is sufficient to win, e.g.
1 0 ... Ra5 11 Kxe4 g4 1 2 Kf4 Ra4+ 1 3 Ke 3 g3.
5 . . . Re5 6 K d 4 Kf6 7 Re 1 R a 5 ! 8 Rxe4
Or 8 Kxe4 Re5+, and on 8 Rfl + Black continues with 8 . Rf5 9 Re 1 Rf4
. .

1 0 Rxe4 Kf5 .
8 ... Kf5 9 Re8 Kg4 10 Ke3 Kg3 0-1
Sacrificing one pawn to reach a Lucena position is typical rather than
exceptional.

Example 56
0 Ravinsky • Bannik
U SSR 1 953

In Example 19, in a similar position, White had the rook on e5 and

could have won. Here the rook is on h6 and Black can draw .

77
Mastering the Endgame

(Diagram 42) 1 Kg8 Rh2 2 Rh7+ Ke8!

2 . . . Kxe6? was played in the game , but this loses to 3 h6 K£6 (or 3 . . . Rh l
4 Ra 7!) 4 Rf7+ Kg6 5 h7.
3 h6 Rh l 4 Rh8 Ke 7!
Poor is 4 . . . Rgl+? as White defends both pawns with the manoeuvre 5
Kh7+ Ke 7 6 Rg8 Rh l 7 Rg6 etc.
5 Kg7 Rgl+ 6 Kh7 Kxe6 and Black draws.
The rook can also be defending the pawn from the other side , as in the
next example, which follows Kopaev's analysis of a position from Bot­
vinnik-Naj dorf, Moscow 1956.

Example 57

Diagram 43 (B) Diagram 44 (B)

Again Black can hold Black's rook is worse: White wins

(Diagram 43) l...K£6! 2 Ra6

There are two other tries, namely 2 Rb l Rxe6 3 Rfl+ Ke 7+ 4 Kg7 Re 5
5 h6 Rg5+ and 2 e 7+ Kxe 7 3 Kg6 Re l 4 Kg7 Rg l+ 5 Rg6 Rfl 6 h6
Rf7+, but neither leads to a win.
2 ... Rf5 !
2 . . . Rc5? fails t o the instructive 3 Ra3! Kxe6 4 Kg6 Rc l 5 Re3+ Kd7 6
h6 .
3 Ra3
Or 3 Ra 7 Kxe6 4 Kg6 Rfl with a draw in sight.
3 ... Kxe 6 4 Kg6 Rf6+!
Here 4 . . . Rfl? is inadequate as the king is pushed too far away: 5 Re3+
Kd7 and now White has 6 h6.

78
 Theory of Rook E ndgames

5 Kg7 Rf7+ 6 Kg8 Rb7 7 R£3

E qually drawn is 7 h6 K£6 8 Ra6+ Kg5 9 h7 Rb8+.
7 ... Rb5 8 h6 Rg5+ 9 Kh8 Ke 7
The draw is clear.

Example 58

Kopaev showed that the position of the defending rook is crucial. Here,
in an analogous position, Black - even with the move - cannot draw .
(Diagram 44) l...Kf6
After l . . .Rg l White has a routine win in 2 Kh7 Rg2 3 h6 Rgl 4 Kh8
Rg2 5 h 7 Rg 1 6 Rb8 Kxe6 7 Rg8 etc.
2 Kh7 Rc7+ 3 e7+!
A clever trick !
3 ... Kxe 7 4 Kg7 Ke 8+ 5 Kg6
5 Kg8? allows a draw by 5 . . . Rc5 6 h6 Rg5+ .
5 ... R c 1 6 Rb8+ Ke 7 7 h6 Rgl+ 8 Kf5 Rfl+
On 8 . . . Rh l there is 9 h7! .
9 Ke5 R e l + 10 Kd4 Rdl+ 1 1 Ke3 R el + 1 2 Kf2 Rh 1 1 3 h7
White wins .

Example 59

Diagram 45 (B) Diagram 46 (B)

Drawn , but no fun for Black ! Black is holding

One of the most unpleasant endings to defend is rook, f- and h-pawn

against rook. The diagram position is analysis arising from Gligoric-

79
Mastering the Endgame

Smyslov, Moscow 1947.

As a general rule the rook is well-placed on a1, ready to defend from
behind or on the side , depending on circumstances .
(Diagram 4 5 ) l...Ra l !
Patient defence i s best. Instead l . . .Rh 1? 2 Rh5 R g l + 3 Kf5 i s inade­
quate and l . . .Rg l +? 2 Kf5 Rh 1 3 Rg7+ KfS 4 Kg6 Rg l+ 5 Kh7 Rfl 6
Ra7 Rxf4 leads to a win for White , as previously analysed in Example
20.
2 Rh5 Kg8! 3 f5
After 3 h7+ KhS 4 f5 Ra6 5 Kg5 Rb6 progress is impossible (6 f6 Rxf6!).
3 ... Kh7 4 Rh3
4 f6 Ra4+ 5 Kf5 Ra5+ 6 Ke6 should be met with 6 . . . Ra6+ ! , avoiding
tricks. The checks are effective as White has nowhere to hide .
4 ... Rgl+ 5 Kh5 Rfl 6 Kg5 Rgl+ 7 Kf6 Ral 8 Re3 Rbl 9 Re6 Rfl !
Now the draw will take the form o f the next example .

Example 60
D Bondarevsky • Keres
Moscow vs. Leningrad 1 939

(Diagram 46) l...Rg2

Also possible is l . . .Ra 1 2 Kg5 Rgl+ 3 Kf6 Rfl .
2 Ke 5 Ra2 3 Kd6
After 3 Kf6 Black should play 3 . . . Rf2 ! 4 Ke5 (after 4 Re 3 White is
thwarted by 4 . . . Ra2! 5 Re6 Rf2) 4 . . . Ra2! , but not give an obvious check
with 4 . . . Re2+? since after 5 Kd6 Ra2 6 Ke 7 Ra7+ (6 . . . KgS 7 Rd6 Re2+
S Kf6) 7 KfS RaS+ S ReS White wins . Instead 3 . . . Kxh6? 4 Kf7+ is
given as winning by ECE. As this wasn't at all obvious to me I exam­
ined it further: 4 . . . Kh7 5 KfS! (5 f6? RaS!) 5 . . . RaS+ 6 ReS! Ra6 7 Re7+
KhS S Re 1 RaS+ 9 Kf7! (better than 9 ReS Ra6 1 0 Kf7+ Kh7 1 1 f6
Ra7+ 1 2 Ke6 Ra6+ 1 3 Kf5 Ra5+ 1 4 Re5 RaS 15 Re 7+ Kh6 !) 9 . . . Ra7+
10 Kg6 Rg7+ 1 1 Kf6 Ra7 1 2 ReS+ Kh7 13 Re7+ and wins. This took
me a while and I have to say that the theory of rook and pawn versus
rook is far from straightforward!
3 ... Ra5!
Again routine checking pushes White where he wants to go, 3 . . . Ra6+?
losing to 4 Ke 7 RaS 5 Kf7 .
4 f6 Kg6
Also okay for Black is 4 . . . Kxh6 5 Ke 7 RaS.
5 ReS Ra6+ 6 Ke 7 Rxf6 7 Rg8+ Kh7 8 Rg7+ Kh8 9 Kxf6 'h-'h

80
 Theory of Rook E ndgames

Example 6 1
D Kaminski • Ehlvest
Polanica Zdroj 1 997

Diagram 47 (B) Diagram 48 (B)

Black must be precise Now White wins

White threatens Rd8+ (e .g. l . . .Kc7 2 a7). How should Black defend?
l ...Kc7?
The wrong choice . The correct defence is l . . .Ra5! 2 Kb4 Ra l (2 . . . Rxa6?
3 c7+) 3 Kb 5 Rb l+ 4 Kc5 Rc l+! (4 . . . Ka7? fails to 5 Rd7+ Kxa6 6 Rd8) 5
Kd5 Ka 7 6 Ke6 Kxa6 7 Kd7 Kb6 8 Rd2 Rh 1 9 Rb2+ Ka7 and Black is
drawing.
2 a7 Ra5
Or 2 . . . Rh8 3 Kc5 etc.
3 Rd5! (Diagram 48) 3 . Ral ..

3 . . . Rxa7 loses to 4 Rd7+ Kb8 5 Rxa 7 Kxa7 6 Kc5 Ka8 7 Kd6 .

4 Kb5 Rbl+ 5 Ka6 Rb6+ 6 Ka5 Rb2 7 Rd4
Building a bridge and winning.

0
N ote: Havi ng two extra pawns doesn't guarantee the win.

The easiest cases to win are connected pawns, when not blockaded, or
two isolated pawns if the stronger side can force the Lucena position.
The most drawish cases with connected pawns occur when they are
blockaded (by the defending king) and not too far advanced.
With isolated pawns, if at least one is a rook's pawn, the win may be
impossible .

81
Mastering the Endgame

My Advice
In your own games look at where simplification into theoretical rook
endings was possible , find these 'book' endings and revise them. Com­
pare the result and appropriate techniques with what you knew and
believed during the game . Were you right? If not, make sure you are
fully acquainted with that type of position for the next time . . .

82
 Theory of Rook Endgames

Try it You rself

Exercise 1 (Black t o play) Exercise 2 (Black to play)

Exercise 1 : Can you find the way for Black to draw?

Exercise 2: Here, with the connected pawns on the third rank, White
is able to draw . Can you see how?

Exercise 3 (White to play) Exercise 4 (White/Black to play)

Exercise 3: White is poised to force a win. How would you go about

it?
Exercise 4: White to play wins , whereas Black to play can draw . Find
the best play in both cases.

83
C hapte r F o u r

Pawn s an d Q u eens

• T h e M o m e nt of S i m p l ifi cat i o n

• T h e Potential O uts i d e Passed Pawn

• Q u ee n and Pawn vs . Queen

• T ry it Yo u rself
 Pawns and Queens

The principle aim in most pawn endings is to obtain a queen. How­

ever, it is often the case that both players have majorities, and thus
reciprocal chances to create passed pawns that become queens . In this
chapter I have concentrated on such pawn endings, going on to inves­
tigate the typical queen and pawn vs queen endings that often arise.

The Moment of S i m pl ification

Let u s start with a n important decision - the moment o f simplifica­
tion into pawn endings .
Tip: A material or positional advantage is often easier to convert i n a
pure pawn ending. Th is implies that the defender should be very
carefu l about exchanging the last pieces.

Example 62
D Rouchouse • Flear
Montpellier 1 997

Diagram 1 (W) Diagram 2 (W)

Can White head for a pawn endgame? White needs an accurate move

Exchanging off rooks into a pawn ending has to be carefully calcu­

lated. The alternative is for White to temporise , but the unwelcome
black rook ties down his forces and Black will be able to cause prob­
lems by sending the king to the queenside .
3 1 Rc3!
A good practical choice as the pawn ending appears drawish.
3 1 ...Rxc3 32 bxc3 Kf5 33 Kf2 Ke5 34 Ke 3 g5
Played in order to limit any expansion of White's majority . Now any
future g3 and f4+ will lead to White having an isolated f-pawn.
3 5 g3 c5 36 a3 d5 3 7 Kd 3 h5 38 Ke3 h4 39 Kd3 h3!?

85
Mastering the Endgame

Trying to create winning chances with the advanced h-pawn.

40 Ke3 Kf5 41 Kd3 Ke5 42 Ke3 c4 43 f4+!
The only move . Instead 43 g4 fails to the tempo-gaining temporary
pawn sacrifice : 43 . . . d4+! 44 cxd4+ Kd5 45 f4 gxf4+ 46 Kxf4 Kxd4 4 7 g5
c3 48 g6 c2 49 g7 c l Q+, while 43 Kd2? is hopeless after 43 . . . d4.
43 ... gxf4+ 44 gxf4+ Ke6!?
44 . . . Kf5 gets nowhere after 45 Kf3 .
45 Kd4 Kf5 (Diagram 2) 46 Kc5?
A crucial mistake! The right way was 46 Kxd5! Kxf4 47 a4! and the
race leads to a stone-cold draw : 4 7 . . . bxa4 48 Kxc4 Kf3 49 Kb4 Kg2 50
c4 Kxh2 5 1 c5 Kg3 52 c6 h2 53 c7 h l Q 54 c8Q. There are other ways
for White to go wrong. For example in this line 4 7 Kc5? (instead of 4 7
a4) is incorrect since after 4 7 . . . Kf3 48 Kd4 (48 Kxb5 is too slow)
48 . . . Ke2 ! 49 Ke4 Kd2 50 Kd4 Kc2 the c-pawn drops. Black should
avoid 48 . . . Kg2? here as 49 Ke3 Kxh2 50 Kf2 leaves his king locked in.
46 ... Kxf4 47 Kxb5 Ke3 ! 48 a4 d4 49 a5 dxc3 50 a6 c2 51 a7 c l Q 52
a8Q c3
The queen ending leads to an eventual win.
53 Qe8+ Kf2 54 Qg6 Qf4 55 Ka5 Ke2 56 Qc2+ Qd2 57 Qe4+ K£'2 58
Qh4+ Kgl 59 Qg3+ Kh l 0-1
Despite the result, due to an analytical error from White , I believe
that exchanging into the pawn ending was correct.

Example 63
D Grimberg • Flear
Belgrade 1 988

Diagram 3 (W) Diagram 4 (W)

What is White's best plan? Who stands better?

86
 Pawns and Queens

A drawish rook ending where White could consider b2-b4. All he

needs to do to draw in this rook ending is eliminate the queenside
pawns.
35 Re4+?!
A risky option.
3 5 ... Re6 36 K£4 Rxe4+ 3 7 Kxe4
White has the slightly more advanced king but, significantly, he also
has three pawn islands . My opponent could not believe that he was
worse, but I prefer Black! On the queenside White can create a passed
c-pawn but this is not far from Black's king and, furthermore , Black
retains a dangerous pawn on this flank. Over on the kingside White
has little influence since pushing his pawns may leave them exposed.
Black can almost certainly reduce this wing to a 2 vs. 1 majority, and
then to a lone passed pawn, not enabling White to have a long-term
potential passed pawn.
3 7 ... Kd6 3 8 a4 Ke6 (Diagram 4) 39 b4
39 f4 is another try, but this pawn is isolated and will require defence .
3 9 ... g5
Note that it is important not to exchange on b4 as White would create
a distant a-pawn and there would be no 'counter' passed pawn in the
making on the queenside .
40 Kd4 £5 4 1 bxa5 bxa5 42 c4 h5 43 c5 g4 44 fxg4 hxg4 45 c6 £4
46 Kc5
After 46 Ke4 f3 47 Ke 3 Kd6 48 h3 gxh3 49 Kxf3 Kxc6 50 Kg3 Kc5 5 1
Kxh3 Kb4 Black wins with his remaining queenside pawn!
46 ... g3 4 7 hxg3 fxg3 48 Kb6 g2 49 c7 glQ+ 50 Kb7 Qbl+ 0-1
This time the exchange into a pawn ending was unwise , my opponent
j udging that the exchange of rooks gave him the winning chances ! He
over-estimated the importance of his slightly more advanced king but
failed to appreciate that his majority was inferior.
Tip: In pawn endings look at the qual ity of majorities:

Where will the potential passed pawn be?

Is it possible to liquidate the opponent's minority?
How far away is the opponent's king?

Example 64
D Flear • Hergott
London 1 987

Black must be better as his passed pawn is well supported by his cen-

87
Mastering the Endgame

tralised pieces. Despite some practical problems in the minor piece

ending it may be tenable , but the pawn ending is losing for White .

Diagram 5 (W) Diagram 6 (B)

Can White try the pawn endgame? Can Black win?

42 Bxd5? Kxd5 43 g4 Ke5 44 a4 (Diagram 6) 44 ... h5?

Poor judgement. It is better to leave the h-pawns on the board as
White cannot so easily liquidate a 3 vs. 2 majority, so Black some­
times wins by retaining, and ultimately queening, his h-pawn. The
immediate 44 . . . d5! is correct, when after 45 Ke3 d4+ 46 Kd3 Kd5
White runs out of moves and is forced to allow Black into the king­
side : 47 a3 Ke5 48 h3 Kd5 49 h4 (or 49 Ke2 Ke4 50 Kd2 Kf4 5 1 Kd3
Kg3 52 Kxd4 Kxh3) 49 . . . Ke 5 50 h5 Kf4 51 Kxd4 Kxg4 52 Kc5 Kxh5 53
Kb 5 Kg4 54 Kxa5 h5.
45 h3 d5 46 Ke3 hxg4
46 . . . h4 falls short because if Black ever makes it to g3 with his king
White pushes the g-pawn.
4 7 hxg4 d4+ 48 Kd3 Kf4
48 . . . Kd5 49 g5 Ke5 50 f6 (dissolving the kingside) 50 . . . gxf6 5 1 gxf6
Kxf6 52 Kxd4 etc.
49 Kxd4 Kxg4 50 Ke4 Kg5 51 Ke5 Kg4 52 Ke4 'h-'h
Holding back the h-pawn is a fairly common theme. By doing so Dean
Hergott could have obtained a passed pawn where he originally had a
minority!

The Potential O utside Passed Pawn

In the following example White is able to use his potential outside
passed pawn as a decoy to facilitate a decisive invasion.

88
 Pawns and Queens

Example 65
0 Faibisovic • Gutman
U SSR 1 972

Diagram 7 (W) Diagram 8 (B)

The passed pawn wins easily Here Black has more activity

(Diagram 7) 1 h4 h6 2 a4 b4
After 2 . . . bxa4 3 bxa4 White is able to create problems on the kingside ,
e . g. 3 . . . g5 4 hxg5 hxg5 5 a5 Kc5 6 g4, or 3 . . . Kc5 4 g4 Kb4 5 h5! etc.
3 a5 Kc5 4 a6 Kb6 5 Kc4 Kxa6 6 Kd5
Also straightforward is 6 Kxb4 Kb6 7 Kc4 Kc6 8 b4 g5 9 hxg5 hxg5 1 0
b5+ Kb6 1 1 Kd5 etc.
6 ... e4 7 fxe4 fxe4 8 Kxe4 Kb6 9 Kd4 Kb5 10 Kd5
White wins the b-pawn and the game . There was nothing particularly
dramatic here, White's queenside majority being the most influential
factor.

Example 66
0 Smyslov • Averkin
U SSR 1 979

The pawn structure is very similar to the previous example but here
Black can put up a fight.
(Diagram 8) l...g4!
Limiting White's aspirations on the kingside . If instead l . . .e4+ 2 Ke 3
Ke5 (2 . . . Kc4 3 a5 bxa5 4 bxa5 Kb5 5 h4 and White prepares to invade)
3 a5 bxa5 4 bxa5 f4+ 5 Ke2! Kd5 6 h4! fxg3 7 fxg3 gxh4 8 gxh4 Kc5 9
Ke 3 White wins easily as he retains a pawn on the side where once

89
Mastering the Endgame

Black had the pawn preponderance .

2 Kc3 Kd6 3 Kc4 Kc6
Any premature pawn moves on the kingside would allow White to
switch back to a direct invasion in that sector.
4 a5
4 b5+ is also instructive: 4 . . . Kd6 5 Kb4 Kc7 6 a5 bxa5+ 7 Kxa5 f4 8
Kb4 (8 Ka6? fails to the breakthrough 8 . . . Kb8 9 Kb6 fxg3 10 hxg3 e4
1 1 Kc5 e3 12 fxe3 h4) 8 . . . e4! 9 gxf4 e3! 10 fxe3 h4 1 1 f5 g3 12 hxg3
hxg3 13 f6 and the resultant queen ending is drawn.
4 ... b5+ 5 Kd3
Here the protected passed pawn does not yield a winning advantage if
White is unable to cause damage on the other wing.
5 ... Kd6 6 Ke 2 Kc6 7 Kfl Kd6 8 Kg2 Kc6 9 f3 Kd6 1 0 fxg4 hxg4 1 1
h 4 gxh3+ 1 2 Kxh3 Kd5 1 3 Kh4!
My improvement on Minev's 1 3 g4 fxg4+ 14 Kxg4 Kc6 1 5 K£3 Kd5 16
Ke3 Kc6 17 Ke4 Kd6 with a draw .
1 3 ... e4 1 4 Kh3 Kc4 1 5 a6 e3 16 Kg2 Kd3 1 7 a7 e2 1 8 a8Q e 1 Q 1 9
Qd5+ Kc3 20 Qxb5 and White retains some winning chances in the
queen ending. This time Black's majority was used to create a barri­
cade in some lines and an advanced passed pawn in others .

Example 67
D Zu ravlev • Klovan
U SSR 1 970

Diagram 9 (W) Diagram 1 0 (B)

White can hold Black's king is much better

(Diagram 9) This position is similar to that of Example 62, where

90
 Pawns and Queens

Black had a d-pawn rather than an a-pawn. White has an additional

method of defence that was not available in that game .
1 Kd3
The immediate 1 f4+? serves only to create a weakness and conse­
quently invites a simple win after l . . . gxf4+ 2 gxf4+ Kf5 3 Kf3 a5 4 Ke 3
a4 5 Kf3 b4.
l...Kd5
1 . . .a5 2 Ke 3 b4 3 cxb4 cxb4 4 axb4 axb4 5 Kd3 Kd5 6 f4 leads to a
draw despite the presence of an outside passed pawn, e.g. 6 . . . gxf4 7
gxf4 b3 8 Kc3 Ke4 9 Kxb3 Kxf4 10 Kc3 Kf3 1 1 Kd3 Kg2 1 2 Ke2 Kxh2
13 Kf2 .
2 c4+! bxc4+ 3 Kc3 a6 4 a4 a5 5 f4!
Following 5 g4? Ke 5 a count indicates that Black arrives first and
WillS .

5 ... gxf4 6 gxf4 Ke4 7 Kxc4 Kxf4 8 Kxc5 Kf3 9 Kd4 ! �-�
And not 9 Kc5?, which loses.
When you research one of your openings you can always find identical
positions up to a certain point. With endings we occasionally find the
same thing but, generally, we have to be content with something simi­
lar. However the small differences between examples can be instruc­
tive and help the learning process. In Example 62, for instance , White
did not have this defensive idea available .

CJ
Note: ' H emmi ng in the attacking king' is a useful defensive ploy.

Example 68
D Suba • Koch iev
Hastings 1 978/9

With king and pawn endings the better placed king often determines
who has the most threatening majority. The diagram position is typi­
cal.
(Diagram 10) 1...£5
l . . .Ke3? is imprecise due to 2 b4 cxb4+ 3 Kxb4 f5 4 a4 g5 5 a5 f4 6 gxf4
gxf4 7 c5 f3 8 a6 bxa6 9 c6 with drawing chances for White .
2 Kd2
2 b4 cxb4+ 3 Kxb4 g5 4 Kc3 is met by 4 . . . Ke 3, holding off the white
king and thus preparing the winning advance .
2 ... g5 3 Ke 2 Kd4 4 Kd2 h6 5 h3 b6 6 a3 f4 7 gxf4 gxf4 8 h4 h5 0-1
Black wins the race after 9 Ke2 Kc3 etc.

91
Mastering the Endgame

Example 69
D Tal • Durasevic
Varna 1 958

Diagram 1 1 (W) Diagram 1 2 (B)

Who has the better majority? A tricky position!

We have already seen that a two vs. one majority is simpler to handle
than a three vs . two. This is essentially because it is then easier to
create a one vs. zero situation, therefore eliminating the defender's
potential counterplay on that wing. Here if Black's b-pawn were on b7
the ending would not be clear, but since it is advanced and thus closer
to the white pawns White is able to favourably reduce that wing.
1 Kd2 Kd7 2 Kd3 Kd6 3 c4 bxc4+ 4 Kxc4 e5
Tricky is 4 . . . g5 !?, when 5 fxg5 (5 g3 leads only to a draw after 5 . . . gxf4
6 gxf4 h5 7 h4 f6 8 b4 Kc6 9 a4 Kb6 10 b5 axb5+ 1 1 axb5 e5 etc.)
5 . . . hxg5 6 b4! (Diagram 1 2) is correct. (White's not touching the
kingside pawns leaves them less exposed to an early exchange)
Then after 6 . . . f5 7 a4 e5 (7 . . . f4 is similar - 8 Kd4 e5+ 9 Ke4 g4 10 b 5
axb5 1 1 axb5 Kc5 1 2 h 4 ! ) 8 b5 axb5+ 9 axb5 g 4 White has 1 0 h4. In
this line 6 h3? (instead of 6 b4) is an instructive mistake , as after
6 . . . f5 7 g3 e5 8 b4 f4 9 gxf4 exf4 Black has been able to reduce the
kingside to a 2 vs. 1 ; indeed White can only eliminate Black's threats
by trading off all the pawns.
5 fxe5+ Kxe5 6 b4 f5 7 b5 axb5+ 8 Kxb5 f4 9 a4 g5 10 a5 g4
After 1 0 . . . Kd6 1 1 Kc4 Kc6 12 Kd4 Kb5 1 3 Ke4 Kxa5 14 Kf5 Kb4 1 5
h 3 ! Kc3 16 Kg6 Kd2 1 7 Kxh6 Ke3 18 Kxg5 White also wins .
1 1 Kc4! 1-0
Black resigned in view of 1 l . . .f3 12 gxf3 gxf3 1 3 Kd3, when White's h­
pawn wins the day . Alternatively 1 l . . .Kd6 meets with 12 Kd4, while

92
 Pawns and Queens

after 1 l . . .Ke4 12 a6 White queens with check.

Example 70
0 Balashov • Tu kmakov
U SSR Championship 1 969

Diagram 1 3 (W) Diagram 1 4 (B)

Black needs the right plan M utual zugzwang

Black failed to draw in this example because he did not find the cor­
rect plan.
1 b3 g5 2 Kd3 c5?
The right method is implemented with 2 . . . g4 ! , exchanging the g­
pawns to devalue White's majority and allowing Black to obtain the
'hemming in' drawing resource. Then 3 a4 bxa4 4 bxa4 gxf3 5 gxf3
Kd5 6 Kc3 h5 (an important point - see later) 7 h4 Kc5 8 e4 fxe4 9
fxe4 Kd6 10 Kd4 c5+ 1 1 Kc4 Ke 5 12 Kxc5 Kxe4 1 3 Kb5 Kd5 14 Kxa5
Kc5 and Black can get back to f8 in time . This method works only if
the kingside consists of h-pawns and if the attacking side does not
have his pawn further advanced than the fourth rank . Play through
the following continuation and see the difference : 15 Ka6 Kc6 16 a5
Kc7 1 7 Kb5 Kb 7 18 Kc5 Ka6 19 Kd5 Kxa5 20 Ke5 Kb6 21 Kf6 Kc7 2 2
Kg6 Kd7 (if you now imagine the white pawn on h5 and the black
pawn on h6, then White would then win with 23 Kxh6 Ke 7 24 Kg7,
and Black is kept out of the corner) 23 Kxh5 Ke 7 24 Kg6 Kf8 and
draws.
3 Kc3?
White has not yet found the winning idea with 3 a4! .
3 ... Kd5
Still possible was 3 . . . g4! .

93
Mastering the Endgame

4 Kd3 Ke5?
Now 4 . . . g4! was necessary.
5 a4! c4+
No better is 5 . . . bxa4, e.g. 6 bxa4 Kd5 7 e4+ fxe4+ 8 fxe4+ Ke5 9 Kc4
Kxe4 10 Kxc5 Ke3 1 1 Kb5 Kf2 1 2 g4 and White easily wins the race .
We should also investigate 10 . . . g4 1 1 Kb5 Kd5 12 Kxa5 Kc5 1 3 g3 h6
1 4 Ka6 Kc6 1 5 a5 h5 16 Ka 7 Kc7 1 7 a6 (Diagram 14).
Now with White to play there is no win, but Black to play is in
zugzwang and must therefore free the enemy king so that after
1 7 . . . Kc8 18 Kb6 White mops up the kingside .
6 bxc4 b4
Black was pinning his chances on having a protected passed pawn,
but White wins by obtaining a second passed pawn, when Black can­
not stop both.
7 g3 h5 8 f4+ gxf4 9 gxf4+ Kd6 10 e4 fxe4+ 1 1 Kxe4 Kc5 12 Kd3
b3
Or 12 . . . Kd6 13 Kd4 Kc6 14 f5 Kd6 15 c5+ and so on.
13 f5 1-0
Black resigned as 1 3 . . . Kd6 14 Kc3 Ke 5 1 5 Kxb3 Kxf5 1 6 c5 is an easy
Wln.

Example 71
D Nedeljkovic • Volpert
Yugoslavia vs. U SSR 1 96 1

Diagram 1 5 (W) Diagram 1 6 (W)

White has a dangerous majority Time to go for it

In this example, analysed by Unzicker, White also has the more dan-

94
 Pawns and Queens

gerous majority . However, creating a passed b-pawn immediately

leads nowhere , so White anticipates the race on the queenside with a
preparatory pawn advance on the other wing.
1 Ke 3 Kb6 2 £5 ! a5!?
Passive defence is also doomed to failure : 2 . . . Kc6 3 f6 Kb6 4 Kd4 Kc6 5
Kc4 Kb6 6 a5+ Kc6 7 h3 with zugzwang, when both of Black's tries
lose :
a) 7 . . . d5+ 8 exd5+ exd5+ 9 Kd4 Kd6 10 h4 (zugzwang again!) 1 0 . . . Kc6
( 1 0 . . . Ke6 1 1 Kc5 Ke5 1 2 b5 d4 1 3 b6! and White queens with check) 1 1
Ke5 Kb5 1 2 Kxd5 Kxb4 1 3 Kd6 etc.
b) 7 . . . Kc7 8 b5 Kb 7 9 bxa6+ (9 b6? blocks off the whole position)
9 . . . Kxa6 10 Kb4 Ka7 1 1 Kb5 Kb7 12 a6+ Kc7 13 a7 Kb 7 14 a8Q+ Kxa8
15 Kc6 and wins .
3 b5 Kc5 4 £6 Kb6 5 K£3 !
Black must now wait patiently whilst White improves his h-pawn.
5 ... Kc5 6 Kg4 Kb6 7 h3 Kc5 8 h4 Kb6 9 h5 Kc5 1 0 h6 Kb6
It is time for White's king to come back (he has his eye on targets on
f7 and h7) to implement the race .
1 1 K£4 Kc5 1 2 Ke 3 Kb6 1 3 Kd4 Kb7 14 e5 d5
Or 1 4 . . . dxe5+ 1 5 Kxe 5 Kc7 16 b6+ Kxb6 17 Kd6 e5 18 Ke 7 e4 19 Kxf7
e3 20 Kg7 e2 2 1 f7 e 1 Q 22 f8Q and the h7-pawn is lost. With the g­
pawns offering cover for White's king the queen ending is an easy
Win.
1 5 Kc5 Kc7 16 b6+ Kb7 (Diagram 1 6) 1 7 Kd6!
Not 17 Kb5 thanks to 17 . . . d4 ! .
1 7 ... d 4 1 8 Ke 7 d 3 1 9 Kxf7 d 2 2 0 Kg8 d 1 Q 2 1 f7
Black arrives first but can do little with his extra time .
2 1 ...Qxa4 22 f8Q Qb3
22 . . . Qd7 23 Qg7! alters nothing.
2 3 Kxh7
White wins as the h-pawn queens before the a-pawn. The advanced
pawns on f6 and h6 yield a winning queen endgame .
Ti p : Before leaping i nto a race situatio n, check to see if it's at a l l
possible t o fi rst improve one's position.

Note that if White had provoked these complications with his pawn
only on h4, then he wouldn't be winning at the end.

95
Mastering the Endgame

Queen and Pawn vs. Queen

As we have seen in the early part of this chapter, many pawn endings
end in a race . If this race then leads to the ending of queen and pawn
against queen, how do we judge the resulting position? I have decided
to discuss the case where only one pawn remains on the board. This is
a useful guide , and some knowledge of the ending should help the
reader in the calculation of close races.
In a number of cases there is a clear perpetual, cross-check or the
pawn is on the verge of queening - that is easy enough, but much of
the time there is nothing concrete . Let's say the extra pawn is there
and the checks will run out eventually . Is there a rule to guide us in
our j udgement? I'm not sure what other authors think, but after play­
ing through a number of examples (and bearing in mind my own ex­
periences) I have come up with the following aide-memoire:
N ote: If the extra pawn is a central or bishop's pawn (c, d, e, f) the
ending is probably winning.

If the extra pawn is a knight's pawn (b , g) the ending is probably

drawn, although there are excellent practical chances to win.
If the extra pawn is a rook's pawn (a, h) the ending is probably drawn
but there are some hopes of winning.
First we examine the case of the defending king being close to a rook's
pawn:

Example 72
D Plaskett • Doncev
Plovdiv 1 984

Diagram 1 7 (W) Diagram 1 8 (W)

White's king is near and he can hold White's king is distant

96
 Pawns and Queens

1 Q£2+ Kh3 2 Qfl+ Qg2+ 3 Ke 1 !

White i s not afraid o f the pure pawn ending.
3 ... Kg3 4 Qf5 Kh2 5 Qf4+ Qg3+ 6 Q£2+ Kh 1 7 Kfl Qg4 8 Ke 1 h3 9
Qfl+ Kh2 10 Q£2+ Qg2 1 1 Ke 2 Kh 1 1 2 Ke 1 Qgl+ 1 3 Ke 2 Qg4+ 1 4
Ke 1 Qe4+ 1 5 Kd2 Qb4+ 1 6 Ke 2 Qb2+ 1 7 Ke 1 Qc l+ 1 8 K e 2 Qc2+
1 9 Ke 1 'h- ';1,
The defence employed in this example would not work against other
pawns as there the pure pawn ending would be decisive .

Example 73
0 G ligoric • Timman
Bugojno 1 980

(Diagram 1 8) Here is a case with the king further away. White has
to resort to persistent checks, pins and harassment of Black's king,
which has some difficulty in finding shelter and progressing. Never­
theless, Black won this game - between two of the world's best play­
ers . The notes to this ending are influenced by those of BELLE , a
chess computer specially programmed for tricky endgames. Alterna­
tives are given in the notes, sometimes with just a sign as it is not
reasonable to analyse each one in great detail, without upsetting the
editor! I have , however, tried to explain the most important aspects of
the ending.
1 Qc3 Qg3 2 Qc 1
2 Qf6+ =.
2 ... Qg4+ 3 Kc7 Qg7+ 4 Kb6 Qf6+ 5 Ka7
With the avoidance of cross-checks in mind, White puts the king out
of harm's way.
5 ... Qe5
A centralized queen covers more squares.
6 Qg1
6 Kb6=.
6 ... Kh3 7 Qh l+
7 Qg6=.
7 ... Kg4 8 Qdl+ Kf4 9 Qfl+ Kg5 10 Qg2+ Kf6 11 Q£3+ Ke 7
Black walks his king to the proximity of its opposite number. It then
becomes more difficult for White to continue giving checks due to the
likelihood of counter-checks.
1 2 Qa3+ Qd6 1 3 Q£3
13 Qe3+ Kd8 14 Qf2=, or 14 Ka8=.

97
Mastering the Endgame

13 ... Qd4+ 14 Kb7 h4 15 Qh5 Kd6 16 Qg6+ Kc5 17 Qc6+ Kb4 1 8

Qg2 Qc4 (Diagram 1 9)

Diagram 1 9 (W) Diagram 20 (W)

The checks are at an end Black is winning

19 Kb6
The checks run out anyway after either 19 Qd2+ Ka4, when any fur­
ther check loses instantly, or 19 Qb2+ Qb3 20 Qd4+ Ka3+ and Black
gives check .
1 9 ... Qc5+ 20 Kb7 Qd4 2 1 Kc6 Qc3+ 22 Kd7
I prefer the defence of leaving the king as far away as possible (22
Kb6=, or 22 Kb7=) .
22 ... Qd3+ 23 Ke6
23 Kc6=.
2 3 ... h3 24 Qh2 Kc3 25 Qe5+?
A check too far! White's problem is that his king is exposed to checks.
Black's most tricky placing of his king is on adj acent files to limit
checks from the opponent (as counter or cross-checks become more
likely) . The superior 25 Kf6, 25 Kf7 and 25 Ke5 are all level.
The correct path to victory after the text is the continuation 2 5 . . . Kd2!
26 Qb2+ (White now gives a few checks but Black finds safety for his
king on the kingside) 26 . . . Kd 1 27 Qa l+ Ke2 28 Qb2+ Kf3 29 Qf6+ Ke3
30 Qh6+ Ke2 3 1 Qh8 Qa3 32 Kd5 Kd2 33 Qh4 Qc3 34 Qf2+ Kd3 35
Qh4 Ke2 36 Ke6 Qc6+ 37 Ke5 Qc5+ 38 Ke6 Qc3 39 Qh5+ Qf3 40 Qb5+
Kf2 41 Qb8 Qg4+ 42 Kd5 Kg2 43 Qb2+ Kg3 44 Qe5+ Qf4 45 Qg7+ Kf3
46 Qc3+ Kg4 (Diagram 20) .
Now 4 7 Qg7+ is met by 4 7 . . . Qg5+ or 4 7 Qc8+ Qf5+.
Instead the game continued as follows:

98
 Pawns and Queens

25 ... Kc2? 26 Qh2+?

26 Qf4!=.
26 ... Kd 1 2 7 Qh l+ Kd2 28 Kf6 Qe3?
28 . . . Qd6+! .
29 Kf5?
29 Qh2+!=.
29 ... Qf2+ 30 Ke 5 Qe l+ 0-1
Black threatens to push the pawn and White has no useful checks.
Why so many errors in a game with such strong players? Well, who­
ever coined the phrase 'chess is not an easy game' may have been
thinking about such queen endings !
It is no easy task to analyse such variations to great depth, so before
moving on here are tips for the attacking player.
Ti p : Central ise the queen whi lst defend ing the pawn, this way m ore
squares are covered and the king is free to wriggle. If the king has
d ifficulty fi nding shelter from checks, approaching the other king
can create problems for the defender. The adjacent file or ran k l i m its
checks as there is the possibil ity of cross-checks.

Example 74
D Polovodin • Karasev
U SSR 1 985

Diagram 21 (B) Diagram 22 (B)

Black's king is badly placed Black's king is more favourably placed

(Diagram 2 1 ) In this example White is winning, Black's king being

poorly placed on the adjacent rank to White's.

99
Mastering the Endgame

L..Q£7+ 2 Ka6 Qa2+ 3 Qa5 Qc4+ 4 Ka7 Qd4 5 Qf5 Qa l+ 6 Kb7

Qg7+
Alternatively 6 . . . Kg7 7 Kb8 Qd4 8 b 7 Kg8 9 Qa5 Qf4+ 1 0 Ka8 Qe4 1 1
Qg5+ Kh8 1 2 Qh6+ Kg8 1 3 Qf6 ('passing' sometimes obliges the oppo­
nent to go to less favourable squares) 13 . . . Qa4+ 14 Kb8 Qd7 15 Qg5+
Kh7 16 Qe5 Kh6 17 Qc5 Kg6 18 Ka7 Qa4+ 19 Kb6 Qf4 20 Kc6 Qf3+ 2 1
Qd5 Qc3+ 22 Kb6 Qb4+ 23 Kc7 Qe7+ 2 4 Qd7 and wins .
7 Kc6 Qc3+ 8 Qc5 Q£3+ 9 Qd5 Qc3+ 10 Kd7 Qg7+ 1 1 Kd8 Qf6+ 12
Kc7 Qg7+ 1 3 Qd7 Qa 1
There are no useful checks.
1 4 Qd6+ Kh5 1 5 Qc5+ Kh4 1 6 b7 1-0
The win is similar to the note to Black's sixth move .
Compare this with the next example, which is based on further analy­
sis from the above game .

Example 75
D Polovodin • Karasev
U SSR 1 985

(Diagram 22) We are following analysis arising from Example 74.

Here Black's king is more favourably placed on h3 (i.e. out of the
way) .
L..Qa5+ 2 Kb8 Kg2 3 Kc7
3 b7 Qf5 4 Qc6+ Kh2 is considered by Faibisovic to be drawn.
3 ... Kh 1?
An imperceptible error. Black still has a theoretical draw after 3 ... Qf5,
3 . . . Qg5 or 3 . . . Qh5, in each case activating the queen ready for a bar­
rage of checks in the case of 4 b7.
4 Qh6+ Kg2 5 Qg6+ Kh3 6 Qh7+ Kg3 7 Qg7+ Kh3 8 Qd4 Kg2 9
Qb2+
White uses every opportunity to harass the opponent's king in order
to prepare for future 'cross-checks'.
9 ... Kg1 1 0 Kd6 Qa6 11 Qd4+ Kh2 1 2 Qe3 Kh 1 1 3 Qc5 Kh2 1 4 Kc7
Qa1 1 5 Qc2+ Kg3 1 6 Qd2 Qg7+ 1 7 Kc6 Qg4 1 8 Qd6+ Kg2 1 9 Qd5+
Kg1 20 b7
After delaying this advance until he is good and ready White first
snuffs out the checks by using his pawn as a shield.
20 ... Qa4+ 21 Qb5 Qe4+ 22 Kb6 Qe6+ 23 Ka7 Qa2+ 24 Qa6 Q£7
Averbakh shows that the final leg on the path to victory leads White's
king to traverse the board, using the vicinity of his opponent's king to

1 00
 Pawns and Queens

finally put a stop to the checks.

25 Qe2! Kh 1 26 Qe4+ Kg1 27 Kb6 Qb3+ 28 Kc5 Qc3+ 29 Kd5
Qb3+ 30 Ke 5 Qg3+ 3 1 Kf5 Qf2+ 32 Qf4 Qc2+ 33 Kg5 Qc5+ 34 Kg4
1-0
There are no checks and White queens next move .
Here are some tips for the defender:
Ti p : Keep the king wel l away from cou nter-checki ng territory.

Clearly, the defending queen should either give annoying checks or

stop the pawn advancing with a pin or threat of perpetual check.
Tip: Keep the queen as influential as possi ble.

Example 76
0 Radev • Spiridonov
Bulgaria 1 973

Diagram 23 (W) Diagram 24 (B)

The f-pawn advances quickly Black has no defence

White's f-pawn has yet to move, but Black loses quickly .

1 Qf5+ Kc4
Better than 1 . . .Kc6? in view of 2 Qf6+.
2 f4 Qgl+ 3 Qg5 Qb6+ 4 Kh5 Qc7 5 f5 Qh7+ 6 Kg4 (Diagram 24)
6 ... Kd5
Alternatively Black could try and stay on the queenside - 6 . . . Kb3 7
Qg6 Qh2 8 Qb6+ Ka2 9 f6 Qg2+ 10 Kf5 Qd5+ 1 1 Kf4 Qc4+ 1 2 Ke5
Qe2+ 1 3 Kd6 Qd2+ 14 Ke 7 Qg5 15 Qd4! (powerful centralisation that
undermines future checking prospects) 15 . . . Kb 1 16 Ke6 Qh6 1 7 Qgl+
Ka2 1 8 Qg3 Ka 1 19 Ke 7 Qh7+ 20 f7 Qe4+ 21 Kf6 Qc6+ 22 Kg7 and
White eventually wins, e . g. 22 . . . Qd7 23 Qe5+ Ka2 24 Qe4 Qc7 25

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Mastering the Endgame

Qe2+ Ka l 26 Qfl + Kb2 27 Qf2+ Ka l 28 Kg8 Qc4 29 Qf6+ Ka2 30 Kh8.

So moving away from the pawn (in the case of c, d, e and f-pawns) re­
sists for longer, but the result is inevitable .
7 Qd8+ Ke 5 8 Qe8+ Kf6 9 Qe6+ Kg7
Black tries to defend with his king in front of the pawn, a reasonable
try were the queen active . . .
1 0 Kg5 !
Black is suddenly in a mating net.
1 0 Qg8
...

lO . . . Qh l 1 1 f6+ mates.
11 Qxg8+ 1-0
The pawn ending is now winning - l l . . .Kxg8 12 Kg6 etc.

My Advice
From your own experiences in pawn endings : How well do you j udge
the result? Do you know typical book positions with only a few pawns?
Do you understand zugzwang and the opposition? Are you precise
when counting and calculating races? What about the resulting queen
ending?
Go through your games to see how competently you handled the pawn
majorities - and, for that matter, the minorities! Be honest with your­
self - if you have a weakness here , find some other examples of pawn
endings and races in order to broaden your erudition.

1 02
 Pawns and Queens

Try it You rself

Exercise 1 (Black t o play) Exercise 2 (White to play)

Exercise 1 : Find Black's best move .

Exercise 2: Is having the slightly more active king and the better
pawn structure enough to win? Analyse and find White's best con­
tinuation.

Exercise 3 (White to play) Exercise 4 (White to play)

Exercise 3: White's kingside majority seems the most dangerous.

How can he use it to win?
Exercise 4: White to play . What do you recommend?

1 03
C hapte r F ive

M inor Pieces

• Kn i g ht E n d games

• B is h o p vs . Kn i g ht

• B is h o p E n d games

• T ry it Yo u rself
 M inor Pieces

E ach combination of minor pieces (knight vs. knight, bishop vs. knight
and bishop vs. bishop) has individual characteristics, but what do
they have in common? Minor pieces are weaker than rooks in most
positions and so the king has to take on a more important role . The
ending of king and rook versus king is a win, but with king plus minor
piece against king it is drawn, so the stronger side has to hold onto at
least one pawn, while the defending side is often interested in giving
up his piece for one or more pawns .

Kn ig ht Endgames
Pure knight endings can be similar to basic king and pawn endings in
that just a small initiative can be enough to win.

Example 77
D Madjdpour • Flear
Antwerp 1 993

Diagram 1 (B) Diagram 2 (B)

Black has a tiny edge What is Black's priority?

Black, to play, is faced with what at first appears to be a likely draw .

However, White's pawns are slightly more exposed and this enables
Black to gain time to advance the king.
26 ... Nf4 27 Ne4
White could have considered h3-h4 and g2-g3 to dislodge the knight,
but the continuation 27 h4 Kf8 28 g3 Nd3 29 b3 Ke 7 30 Kfl Nc l 3 1 a3
Kd6 is still quite promising for Black.
27 ... Kf8 28 Nc5 b6 29 Nd7+ Ke8 30 Ne5 c5 31 h4 f6 32 Nc6 a5 3 3
N a 7 Kd7 34 N b 5 N d 3 35 b3 a4!
Avoiding 35 . . . Nc l 36 Nc3 Kd6 3 7 f4 when White seals off the points of
entry.

1 05
Mastering the Endgame

36 Nc3 axb3 3 7 axb3 Nc1 38 Nd5 Kc6 39 Ne7+ Kd6 40 Nd5

40 Nf5+ Ke 5 41 Nxg7 Nxb 3 is good for Black, whose queenside is by
far the most dangerous majority .
40 ... Nxb3 4 1 Nxb6 Nd2
The c-pawn is finally beginning to creak. White needs to generate
something on the kingside.
42 f4 (Diagram 2) 42 ... Kc6?
Natural, but I suspect that 42 . . . h5! is best, preventing White from re­
gaining a pawn on the other wing. Then after 43 Kf2 Kc6 44 Ke2 (on
44 Nd5 Nxc4 45 Ne7+ Kd7 46 Nf5 g6 47 Ng3 Nd6 everything is under
control) 44 . . . Kxb6 45 Kxd2 Ka5 Black wins . It appears I forgot a
golden rule !
Note: I n stead of provoking the natural forcing contin uatio n, check to
see if a preparatory move will improve the l i ne.

43 Nd5 Nxc4 44 Ne7+ Kd7 45 Nf5 g6 46 Nxh6 Ke6 47 Ng4??

Although 48 g5 Ne3 also leaves White in trouble - due to his mis­
placed knight - the precise 4 7 g4 f5 48 Kf2! should draw as Black has
no material advantage and 49 h5 is threatened.
4 7 ... Kf5 48 Nf2 Ne 3 !
Leaving White's king a spectator and avoiding 4 8 . . . Kxf4??, dropping
the c-pawn to 49 Nd3+.
49 g3 c4 0-1
Wait a minute , you may rightly ask, are you really saying that the po­
sition in the initial diagram is losing for White? It's hard to believe !
In both middlegame and endgame the following rule should not be
forgotten:

0
Note: I n a symmetrical position a sl ight i nitiative c a n be d ifficult to
neutralize as counterplay is not easy to create.

In an endgame with rooks this is less serious but in knight endgames

it can mean trouble ! In this example Black was able to use his king to
great effect but White never quite managed to find the time !

Example 78
D Flear • Rossiter
Hastings 1 993/4

However much one tries to retain control and win 'slowly and surely'
there are times when the only way to progress is to 'burn one's
bridges'. An extra pawn in a knight endgame is generally considered
to be a winning advantage but my opponent's active pieces had pre­
vented me from getting anywhere . For example 55 Nd4 Kc5 stops

1 06
 M inor Pieces

White getting his queenside going and the weakness of the f3-pawn is
annoying. If then 56 f4 gxf4 57 exf4 Ng6 58 f5 Ne 7 a draw looks very
likely . Consequently I made the decision to sacrifice a pawn in order
to create a dangerous outside passed pawn.

Diagram 3 (W) Diagram 4 (W)

How can White make progress? S hould White take the knight?

55 b4!
Exchanging a material advantage for a positional one .
Tip: A material advantage gives a player more options. However, it
is not always possible to retai n the advantage by stubbornly hang­
i n g onto it.

55 ... axb4+ 56 Kxb4 Nxf3 57 Kb5!

In order to keep the Black king away from the a-file . We now have a
good example of the strength of a wing pawn against a knight.
5 7 ... Nel
After 5 7 ... Nh4 simplest is 58 Nd4, but not 58 Nxh4?? gxh4 59 a5 Kd6 !
etc.
58 a5 Nc2 59 a6 Na3+ 60 Kb4 Nc2+
60 . . . Kc6 61 Kxa3 Kb6 62 Kb4 Kxa6 63 Kc5 and White wins despite
the reduced material.
61 Kb3 Nxe3 (Diagram 4) 62 a7!
It is fortunate that I had this move as 62 Nxe3+ Kc6 leads to a draw .
62 ... Nxf5 63 a8Q+
Black fights on but the result is inevitable .
63 ... Ke5 64 Qe8+ K£6 65 Qd8+ Kg6 66 Qg8+ Ng7 67 Kc3 K£6 68
Kd3 Nf5 69 Qd8+ Kg6 70 Ke4 Nh6 71 Qc8 1-0

1 07
Mastering the Endgame

After 7 l . . .Kf6 72 Qa6+ Kg7 73 Ke5 White's king is able to invade to

help deliver the knock-out blow .
Here White's sharp winning idea worked, but there is always an ele­
ment of risk in giving up material.

CJ
Note: ' B u rn in g bridges' is acceptable only if the alternatives don't
stand up to scrutiny.

Example 79
0 Hennigan • Flear
Hastings 1 987/8

Diagram 5 (B) Diagram 6 (W)

White is a pawn down, but active Can White draw?

In race situations unusual tactical points are common, and this is a

good example . White has an active king and a dangerous majority to
compensate for his pawn deficit.
43 ... Kf8 44 Ke5 Ke 7 45 Ng3 Ncl
The threat of mate slows down White's initiative .
46 K£4 b5 47 Kg5 b4 48 Nh5 Ne2
Instead 48 . . . Kf8 is too slow - 49 Nxg7! Kxg7 50 f6+ Kg8 51 Kh6 b3 52
f7+ Kf8 53 Kh7 b2 54 g7+ etc.
49 Nxg7 Nxd4 50 £6+ Kf8 (Diagram 6) 51 Nh5?
The wrong way . In fact White has an amazing draw with 51 Ne8! !
Kxe8 (5 1 . . . Ne6+ 5 2 Kf5, while even worse for Black is 5 l . . .b3? 5 2 g7+
Kf7 53 Nd6+ Kg8 54 Kg6) 52 Kh6 and Black has nothing better than
52 . . . Ne6 53 g7 Kf7 54 Kh7 Nf8+ 55 Kh8 Ng6+ 56 Kh7 Nf8+.
5 1 ...b3 52 N£4
Or 52 f7 Ke 7.

1 08
 Minor Pieces

52 ... b2 53 g7+ Kg8?!

A poor move which - fortunately for Black - does not alter the result.
Instead 53 . . . Kf7! wins easily .
54 Ng6 Ne6+ 55 Kh6 b 1 Q
Possible w a s 55 . . . Nxg7 5 6 fxg7 b l Q 5 7 Ne 7+ Kf7 5 8 g8Q+ Kxe 7.
5 6 Ne7+ Kf7 57 g8Q+ Kx£6 58 Nxd5+! Ke5!
An important move . Not 58 ... cxd5? in view of 59 Qg7+ ! ! Nxg7 stale­
mate !
59 Ne 7 Qc l+ 60 Kg6 Qg5+ 6 1 Kf7 Q£6+ 62 Ke 8 Ng7+ 63 Kd8 Qd6+
64 Kc8 Qxe 7 65 Qh7 N£5 66 Qh2+ K£6 67 Qb2+ Kf7 68 Kb8 Nd6
69 Q£2+ Ke8 0-1
You may get the impression that I have specifically chosen endgames
in which serious errors were made . Or is it that all my endgames are
like this?! In some cases the error was obvious to the players either
during or immediately after the game, but in other cases it is only af­
ter some extensive analysis that the correctness (or otherwise) of a
continuation can be proved. The endgames that I have chosen are
generally those in which the result is not initially obvious (clearly the
most interesting) and that at some point I have reviewed the game
and asked myself 'What if. . .?' - a good question to ask yourself during
and after your games.
Tip: Asking the question 'What if...?' stim u l ates o ne to d iscover hid­
den secrets.

Example BO
D lila • Capablanca
Buenos Aires 1 91 1

Diagram 7 (W) Diagram 8 (W)

Black has a poor structure The two outside passed pawns wi n

1 09
Mastering the Endgame

Black has a n extra pawn but his structure is broken and unwieldy.
1 Kd 1 Kb7 2 Kc1 Kc6 3 Kb2 Kd5 4 Ka3 Nb5+ 5 Kxa4 Nxc3+ 6
Kb4 Na2+ 7 Ka3 Nc1 8 c3 f6 9 Kb2 Nd3+?
Now Black should return the pawn to enter a standard 'outside
passed pawn equals win' pawn ending: 9 . . . Nb 3! 10 Nxb3 cxb3 1 1 Kxb3
a5 etc. If White avoids this with 10 Nb 1 , then after 10 . . . a6 (ruling out
any counterplay with Nb5) 1 1 Na3 Na5 Black invades with . . . Ke4.
Ti p : Always analyse t h e possi bil ity o f simpl ification into a king a n d
pawn endi ng. T h i n g s are generally much clearer t h a n with more
pieces on.

10 Kc2 a6?!
1 0 . . . a5 is recommended by Hooper and Brandreth . Black's last two
moves suggest that Capablanca believed he could win slowly by forc­
ing zugzwang and an inevitable king entry to e4 etc.
1 1 Nfl !
Threatening the c-pawn. Did Capablanca overlook this retreat? Now
Black has to try once more to win the game .
1 l...Ne l+
After 1 l . . .Kc6 12 Nd2 Kb5 1 3 Nb 1 White threatens Na3+ and after
the further 1 3 . . . Kc6 there is 14 Nd2 Kd5 15 Nfl etc.
12 Kd2 Ng2!
Voluntarily trapping the knight to avoid Ne 3+.
13 Ke2 a5 14 Nd2 h5 1 5 h4
If White heads for the knight Black invades decisively : 15 Kf2 a4 16
Nb 1 Ke4 17 Kxg2 Kd3 .
1 5 ... e5!?
A practical try since after 1 5 ... a4 16 Nb 1 White has a fortress. There
is no way through as 16 . . . Ke4 17 Nd2+ Kd5 18 Nb 1 illustrates.
T i p : When prog ress is u n l i kely b y normal means, a d rastic change in
the pawn structu re may confuse y o u r opponent.

16 dxe5 fxe 5 17 fxe5 a4 18 e6?

1 8 Nxc4 ! is best, when Black must try 18 .. .f4 ! , after which 19 Nb6+
Kxe5 20 Kf2 Ne3 21 Nxa4 Nf5 22 gxf4+ Kxf4 is completely drawn.
1 8 ... Kxe 6 1 9 Nxc4 f4 20 gxf4?!
20 Kf2 Ne3 21 Na3 is recommended by Hooper and Brandreth as
'drawn'. However, after 2 l . . .Nd l+ 22 Kf3 fxg3 2 3 c4 Ke5 24 Nc2 Nb2
Black retains some winning chances.
20 ... Nxh4! (Diagram 8)

110
 M inor Pieces

Here is an excellent example of the power of outside passed pawns.

Black has two and White's more central passed pawns are not dan­
gerous. Black wins comfortably .
2 1 Kf2 Nf5 22 K£3 Nd6 23 Na3 Kd5 24 Kg3 N£5+ 25 K£3 Kc5 26
Kg2 Kc6 2 7 Kf2 Kd5 28 K£3 Nd6 29 Kg3 N£5+ 30 K£3 Kc6
What's the hurry?
3 1 Kg2 h4 32 Kh3 Kd5 33 Kg4 Ke4 34 c4 Kd4 0-1
Black wins with . . . Kd4-c5-b4xc4 followed by winning the knight for
the a-pawn and returning to the kingside .

Example 8 1
D Mikenas • Zagoriansky
Vilnius 1 946

Diagram 9 (W) Diagram 1 0 (B)

White has a strong passed pawn How should Black defend?

Another example of the owner of an outside passed pawn being suc­

cessful. However, it seemed remarkable to me that White could pro­
gress on the queenside and keep Black's majority restrained. Knights
and kings are, after all, short-range pieces. The game seemed some­
what easy for White .
1 Ne6 Kg6 2 Nd4 (Diagram 1 0) 2 ... f5 3 Ke5 Nc4+ 4 Ke 6 f4 5 gxf4
gxf4
Or 5 . . . gxh4 6 f5+ .
6 N£3 Nb2
After 6 . . Na5 7 Ke5 the f-pawn falls.
.

7 Ne5+ Kg7 8 a5 Na4 9 K£5 Nc5 10 Kg5 Ne6+ 11 Kxh5

In the initial position one does not imagine that the win is obtained by

111
Mastering the Endgame

grabbing the h-pawn!

1 1 . .. Kf6 12 N£3 K£5 1 3 a6 Nc7 14 a7 Na8 1 5 Nd4+ Ke4 16 Kg4
Kxd4 1 7 Kx£4! Kd5 18 K£5 1-0
When I looked through this example it struck me that Black tried to
lash out with his majority at the wrong moment. Surely he should
wait until White is more involved with the a-pawn's advance, and
thus further away from the kingside? Consequently I set about ana­
lysing an alternative defence (one that is not mentioned by Averbakh
and Chekhover in their investigations) and concluded that Black
should draw .
As 2 . . . f5 leads to the loss of a pawn, let us see what happens if Black
bides his time and waits for a more opportune moment to begin this
advance , e . g. 2 . . . Nb 7! (i.e. 'passing' but leaving the king on g6 where it
threatens to come to f5 , if given the opportunity) 3 Kc6 (the direct 3
Nc6 Kf5 4 a5 Nxa5 5 Nxa5 Kg4 clearly isn't winning for White)
3 . . . Na5+ and now :
a) 4 Kb6 Nc4+ 5 Kb5 Nd6+ 6 Kc5 Nb 7+! (6 . . . Ne4+? fails to 7 Kc6 Nxg3
8 a5) 7 Kd5 Na5 (White has won a tempo but there seems no way to
use it) 8 Nc6 Nb 7 9 a5 Nxa5 10 Nxa5 Kf5 and again Black invades
and draws.
b) 4 Kb5 Nb 7 5 Kb6 (winning the knight is just too slow - 5 a5 Nxa5 6
Kxa5 f5 7 Kb4 f4 8 gxf4 gxh4 9 Kc3 h3 10 Nf3 Kf5 etc.) 5 . . . Nd6 6 Nb3
(covering a5 in order to push the a-pawn through to the queening
square) 6 . . . f5 (or 6 . . . Kf5 !?) 7 Kc6 (7 hxg5 Kxg5 8 Kc6 Nc8! 9 a5 f4 1 0
gxf4+ Kxf4 1 1 Kc7 h 4 and White i s not winning) 7 . . . Nc8 ! (not 7 . . . Ne4 8
a5 f4 9 a6) 8 Nd4 f4 9 gxf4 gxh4 10 Kc7 h3 1 1 Nf3 even favours Black
after 1 l . . .Na 7! 12 Kb 7 Kf5 13 Kxa7 Kxf4 .
In conclusion, despite White's wonderful centralization he cannot
'dominate the whole board' with short-range pieces in an open posi­
tion.
Tip: Don't always believe what you read - be sceptica l , and if you
suspect that there is a h idden improvement in the a nalysis, investi­
gate it until you a re satisfied.

There follows another example to reinforce an important point:

0
N ote: The i n itiative goes to the side whose king fi rst makes it to the
centre .

Example 82
D N i mzovich • Samisch
Copenhagen 1 923

In the diagram position White's king comes to the centre first and
targets the exposed c-pawn.

112
 Minor Pieces

Diagram 1 1 (W) Diagram 1 2 (B)

Black's c-pawn is exposed Can Black defend?

1 K£3 K£7 2 Nc3?!

Simplest is 2 Ke4 Ke6 3 g4 followed by Nc3.
2 ... Nd4+ 3 Ke4 Nb3 4 Kd5 Nd2 5 h3 f5
Black aims for counterplay against the kingside pawns.
6 Nd1 Kf6 7 Ne3 Ne4 8 Nxc4 Nxf2 9 b4 (Diagram 1 2) 9 ... Ke 7?!
Passive defence . The alternative was 9 ... Ne4 1 0 b 5 Nc3+ 1 1 Kc6 Nxb5
12 Kxb 5 f4 ( 1 2 . . . g4 is no improvement since after 13 hxg4 ! [ 1 3 h4? f4=]
1 3 . . .fxg4 14 Ne 3 Ke 5 15 Ng2 Ke4 16 Nh4 the knight holds the king­
side together) . After 12 . . . f4 Averbakh and Chekhover conclude that 'it
is most unlikely that White would be able to win' . In fact White is
winning: 13 g4 f3 14 Nd2 ! (14 Kc5? f2 15 Ne3 Ke5 leads to a draw)
14 . . . f2 15 Ne4+ Ke 5 16 Nxf2 Kf4 17 Kc4 Kg3 18 Ne4+ Kxh3 19 Nf6
and White wins despite the limited material.
10 b5 Kd7 1 1 b6 Ne4 12 Ne5+ Kc8 13 Kc6 Nf6 14 Nd3 !
With b 7+ and Nc5 threatened, Black has to go backwards.
1 4 ... Nd7 15 b7+ Kd8 1 6 Kd6 NbS 1 7 Nb4 Nd 7 18 Nc6+ Ke8 1 9
Kc7 ! 1-0
Yet again the endgame analysis in the books was not accurate .
Tip: S harpen up your analyti"cal ski l l s by picking holes in the au­
thor's analysis in this book!

Example 83
D Tegshsuren • Serper
Reno 1 999

A recent instructive example. Black has been able to centralize his

113
Mastering the Endgame

king ahead o f his opponent but has no obvious superiority i n terms of

structure . Time is of the essence and he has to react quickly before
White can organise . The initiative leads to Black obtaining the deci­
sive advantage of the outside passed pawn.

Diagram 1 3 (B) Diagram 1 4 (B)

Black must act quickly Where should the black king go?

l...e5! 2 Nb3
After 2 d5 f5 3 f3 Nf6 4 exf5 Kxd5 Black will pick off the b-pawn.
2 ... exd4 3 Nxd4 c5! 4 Nf5+ (Diagram 14)
Alternatively 4 Nxb 5+ Kc6 5 Na7+ Kb 7 6 Nb5 cxb4 7 Kf3 Kc6 8 Nd4+
Kc5 9 Ke3 Kc4 10 Nf5 Kc3 and the b-pawn is a problem .
4 . . . Kc7!
Sidestepping any awkward checks.
5 Kfl
Or 5 bxc5 b4 6 Nd4 Nxc5 7 Kf3 b3 8 Ke 3 b2 9 Nb5+ Kb6 10 Nc3 Ka5
1 1 Kd4 Kb4 and White can resign with a clear conscience .
5 ... cxb4 6 Ke2
6 Nxg7 b3 promotes by force .
6 ... g6 7 Nh6 f6 8 Ng4 Kb6 9 f4 Ka5 10 e5 fxe5 1 1 fxe5
1 1 Nxe 5 Nxe5 1 2 fxe5 Kb6 is similar to the game .
1 1...Nc5 1 2 Nf2 b3 1 3 Nd3
Slightly more resistant is 13 Kd2 Kb4 1 4 Kc l Kc3, but Black is still
w1nn1ng.
13 ... Nxd3 14 Kxd3 Kb6 0-1
In a pawn ending the outside passed pawn is even more deadly.

114
 Minor Pieces

Bishop vs . Kn ight
In the ending of bishop vs. knight the knight can have difficulties
when there is tension on both wings. In the first example it is instruc­
tive to start in the MTE phase . The moment of simplification proves
to be critical .

Example 84
D Flear • Vallin
Montpellier 2001

Diagram 15 (B) Diagram 1 6 (B)

White has a slight edge The black k i ng is forced to g ive way

White has slightly the better options as he has a passed pawn on one
wing and is holding up Black's majority on the other. In a practical
game Black has to decide whether White's pressure (and superior
pawn structure) is more significant here or in a simplified ending ­
not always an easy choice .
34 ... Rd8?!
This turns out to be a poor decision as the simplification helps White .
However, it is easier to criticise this move than offer a reasonable
alternative ! Perhaps Black should have tried 34 . . . Rc8 35 Rb l Nd7
with the intention of using the c-file for counterplay .
35 Nxe 6 Rxd l+ 36 Bxd l Kxe6 37 Be2
White could also consider an early a3-a4 to fix the queenside .
3 7 ... £4
White wins the race after 3 7 . . . a4 38 Kf2 Kd5 39 Ke3 Kc5 40 Kf4 Nc4
4 1 h4! etc.
38 Kf2 Kf5

115
Mastering the Endgame

Now 3 8 . . . a 4 can be met by 3 9 h4 K£5 4 0 h 5 Kg5 4 1 Ke l followed by

switching to the queenside . Black has well centralised pieces, but here
play on the flanks will be a most important factor. White's bishop can
operate oh both wings, thus complicating the defence .
Tip: If play is on both wings a bishop is generally su perior to a
knig ht.

39 Ke l Nf7 40 Kd2 Ke4 41 Bd3+ Kd4 42 h4

White has purposely delayed pushing the h-pawn until Black's king is
far away .
42 ... Ne5 43 Be2 Nf7 44 h5 Nh6 45 a4 Ke4 46 Bf3+ Kd4 47 Bc6 Nf5
48 Bd7 Nh6 49 Ke2 Ke4 50 Bc6+ (Diagram 1 6) 50 ... Kf5
Alternatively there is 50 . . . Ke5 5 1 Kd3 Nf5 (5 1 . . .Kd6 is no improve­
ment: 52 Bf3 Kc5 53 Ke4 Kb4 54 Bdl) 52 Bd7 Nh6 53 Kc4 Kd6 54 Bh3
Kc6 (or 54 . . . Ke5 55 Kb5 and the queenside falls) 55 Kd4 b5 56 axb5+
Kxb5 5 7 Ke4 and White will again win the race .
5 1 Kd3 Kg5 52 Bf3 Nf5 53 Kc4
Not 53 Ke4? as 53 . . . b5! simplifies to a draw .
53 ... Nd6+ 54 Kd5 Nf5
Equally hopeless is 54 . . . Nb 7 55 Kc6 Nc5 56 Kb 5! Kh6 5 7 B d l Kg5 58
Kxb6 etc.
55 Kc6 Nd4+ 56 Kxb6 Nxf3 57 gxf3 Kxh5 58 Kxa5 Kh4 59 Kb4
Kg3 60 a5 Kxf3 61 a6 Ke2 62 a7 f3 63 a8Q f2 64 Qg2 1-0
Black decides against 64 . . . Ke l 65 Kc3! Ke2 66 Qe4+ Kfl 6 7 Kd2 Kg l
68 Qg4+ Kh2 69 Ke2 etc.
Here the knight was no match for the bishop - despite the presence of
the wrong rook's pawn - as the knight cannot compete on both wings
at once . Perhaps with more experience my young opponent would
have rejected the game continuation on general considerations, keep­
ing rooks on, as then White would not have enjoyed such supremacy .
Here is another example of badly-j udged simplification:

Example 85
D Flear • Lafaurie
Beziers 2001

White's advantage is rather nominal and a more detailed analysis

shows that he should not win if Black plays sensibly . Yet look at my
opponent's next move . . .
(Diagram 1 7) l...Nh5?? 2 Bxh5 gxh5 3 h 4 f6 4 Kb3!
It is generally useful to keep the tempo move g2-g3 in reserve .

116
 Minor Pieces

Diagram 1 7 (B) Diagram 1 8 (W)

Any advantage is nomi nal A wi nning pawn endgame

4 ... e 5 5 fxe5 fxe5 6 Kc3 e4 7 Kd4 Kxb4 8 Kxe4 Kc5 9 Kf5 Kd6
(Diagram 1 8) 10 Kf6
White can also win with 10 Kg5 Ke 7 1 1 Kxh5 Kf7 12 Kh6 Kg8 1 3 h5
Kh8 1 4 g4 ! (the only move ; I will let the reader check why 1 4 g3 only
draws) 14 . . . Kg8 15 g5 Kh8 16 g6 Kg8 17 g7.
1 0 . Kd5 11 Kg7 1-0
..

Black resigned in view of 1 l . . .Ke 5 12 Kxh7 Kf5 1 3 Kh6 Kg4 1 4 g3

Kxg3 1 5 Kxh5 . Let's go back to the original position. If we look at the
bishop vs. knight ending we notice that White's bishop is not the same
colour as the h8-square , a positive factor for the defence . The b-pawn
is not going anywhere and Black's 4 vs. 3 majority is not easy to
breach with the white king. Mter checking with a few sample varia­
tions we can conclude that in all probability the ending is drawn, so
there is absolutely no need to make such a risky move as l . . .Nh5.
My preferred defence is l . . .Ne8! 2 Kd4 f6 3 g4 and now 3 ... h6 followed
by . . . g5 should lead to a draw . Also sensible is l . . .Nd7 2 Kd4 Kxb4 3
Bc6 Nb8 4 Be8 f6 5 g4 h6! 6 Bxg6 Nc6+ 7 Ke4 Kc5, not giving White
any serious winning chances. I am, however, suspicious of l . . .h5?! , as
the danger is that Black's pawns become fixed on the light squares af­
ter 2 g3 Ne8 (or 2 . . . Nd7 3 Kd4 Kxb4 4 Bc6 Nb8 5 Be8) 3 Kd4 f6 4 Be4.
N ote: T h e knight is a good defender if i t d oes not h ave t o cover too
wide a n area.

Here Black did not lose the game thanks only to a miscalculation -
my opponent's reasoning process towards this endgame was wrong.
The move l . . .Nh5 involves calculating a pawn ending when your gut­
feeling tells you that with an outside passed pawn White is winning.
Even if the position were an exception to this standard rule it is obvi­
ously a risky decision to play l . . .Nh5, especially when the alternatives

117
Mastering the Endgame

are pretty solid.

Tip: Take i nto account common sense and general considerations
as wel l as pure analysis.

Perhaps my opponent, after a period of prolonged pressure , was impa­

tient to force a draw rather than to continue to wait. So remember ­
when your opponent has nothing concrete . . .
Ti p : Patience i s a vi rtue!

Examp/e 86
D Flear • M.Richter
St. Vincent 2000

Diagram 1 9 (W) Diagram 20 (W)

The bishop is trapped - is White worse? All gone wrong !

White's bishop is trapped and about to be lost but he has the possibil­
ity of invading with his king. Who is better?
40 e4??
The last move before the time control and it proves to be a disastrous
one . Instead 40 Ke 5! (more precise than the immediate 40 Bxd5 as
Black's king is now further away) 40 . . . Kb8 4 1 Bxd5! (4 1 K£6 is inter­
esting but less convincing) is correct and White is the favourite in the
race , e.g. 4 1 . . .exd5 42 Kxf5 Nc6 (42 . . . Kc7 43 Kg6 Kd6 44 Kxh6 Ke 7 45
Kg6 [the h-pawn is ready to roll] 45 . . . Ne6 46 h5 N£8+ 4 7 Kg7 Ne6+ 48
Kg8 Ng5 and 49 h6 wins, while 42 . . . Nb 7 is also too slow : 43 h5 Nd6+
44 Kg6 Nc4 45 Kxh6 Nxa3 46 Kg6 a5 47 h6 axb4 48 h7 b3 49 h8Q+)
43 Kg6 Nxb4 44 Kxh6 ! (44 axb4?? a5) 44 . . . Nc6 (or 44 . . . Nc2 45 h5 Nxe3
and the knight is kept away with 46 Kg5) 45 h5 and White is on top ,
e . g. 45 . . . Ne 7 46 e4 a5 4 7 Kg7 dxe4 48 fxe4 Ng8 (otherwise White
queens with check) 49 Kxg8 b4 50 axb4 axb4 5 1 h6 b3 52 h7 b2 53
h8Q blQ 54 Qe5+ and White is winning, or 45 ... Nd8 46 Kg6 Ne6 4 7

118
 Minor Pieces

h6 a5 48 f4! , covering the g5-square and winning after 48 . . . b4 49 axb4

axb4 50 Kf7 .
40 ... fxe4 4 1 fxe4 Kb8 42 Bxd5 exd5 43 exd5
Black is now able to co-ordinate his pieces and squeeze out the win.
4 3 ... Kc7 44 Kf5 Kd6 45 Kg6 Kxd5 46 Kxh6 Ne6! (Diagram 20) 47
Kg6
47 h5 loses to 47 . . . Kxd4 48 Kg6 Nf4+ 49 Kg5 Nxh5.
4 7 ...Kxd4 48 Kf5 Kd5 49 Kf6 Nf4 50 Kf5 Ne2 0-1
Next up is 51 Kg4 Ke6 ! , heading for the corner, when the knight will
take care of White's queenside , or 51 h5 Ng3+ 52 Kg6 Nxh5.
A morale-sapping tragedy. Despite the win requiring some deep
analysis, 40 Ke5 is a more natural move than the one played in the
game . In all lines the king must capture the h-pawn. However, deep
analysis in races is obviously important.
I suggest a three-stage method of analysing these positions, all of
which can be applied to help find the right path.
Tip: When head in g for a pawn race, apply th ree types of calculation

1. Counting - how many moves it takes White to queen, how many

moves for Black .
2 . A general overview of tactical tricks that may now, or in possible
variations, play a role .
3 . Pure Analysis .
Remember that in a practical game you need to analyse only suffi­
ciently in order to decide upon your next move . This is all very well,
you may say, but what if you don't have time and have only seconds
remaining? (as in this example) . I have noticed that exceptional 'blitz'
and rapidplay specialists are not necessarily the most imaginative
players or deep tacticians, rather those who play natural, practical
moves quickly. Even in a sharp position, nine times out of ten a move
that improves a piece, creates threats or retains the initiative is a
good one . In our latest example, therefore , I believe 40 Ke 5 does this
better than 40 e4.
Tip: I n time-trouble, when detailed analysis is d ifficult, m a i nta i n i n g
pressu re is more practical t h a n ' burning bridges'.

Example 8 7
D D u bois • Steinitz
Match 1 862

Here the bishop operates well to stop White's pawns while support its
own. The knight, meanwhile , is no match.

119
Mastering the Endgame

Diagram 21 (W) Diag ram 22 (B)

The bishop crushes the knight S hould Black promote?

1 Nd4+ Kb2 2 g6 Bh6 3 h4 a5 4 h5 a4 5 Nc2 a3 6 Nd4

After 6 Nxa3 Kxa3 7 Kc2 Kb4 Black wins comfortably .
6 ... a2 7 Nc2 (Diagram 22) 7 ... Bg7!
Preferable to 7 . . . a l Q+?, which allows the draw after 8 Nxa l Kxa l 9
Kc2 Bg7 10 h6. However, it is much easier to 'pass' with a bishop than
a knight, so Steinitz avoids this trap and wins easily.
8 Na1 Kxa 1 9 Kc2 Bh6 10 g7 Bxg7 1 1 Kc 1 c2 1 2 Kxc2 Bh6 0-1

Example BB
0 Sherbakov • Averbakh
Moscow 1 950

Diagram 23 (W) Diagram 24 (W)

A double-edged race is in prospect Draw! - Black's pawn is too strong

1 20
 M inor Pieces

Another race , but this is more double-edged. Remember that piece

sacrifices are the rule rather than the exception in such situations .
1 g4!
A shock. White pushes his h-pawn as fast as possible .
Tip: Knights don't enjoy stopping h-pawns.

The more natural moves are slower and consequently fail : 1 Kxg6
Nxc l 2 h5 Nd3 3 h6 Ne5+ 4 Kg7 Kf5 5 h7 Ng6 6 g4+ Kg5, or 1 Bb2 b4
2 g4 (2 Kxg6 a4 3 h5 a3 4 Bg7 Nf4+ 5 Kg5 Nxh5 6 Kxh5 b3) 2 ... Nf4!
(holding up White's kingside) 3 Bel (3 h5 is no good after 3 . . . gxh5 4
gxh5 Nxh5 5 Kxh5 a4) 3 . . . b3 4 Ba3 a4 5 Bel Kf3 6 Ba3 Nh3+ 7 Kxg6
Kxg4 8 h5 Nf4+ 9 Kf6 Kxh5 10 Ke5 b2 1 1 Bxb2 Nd3+ 12 Kd4 Nxb2 1 3
Kc3 a 3 1 4 Kb3 Nc4 etc.
1 ... Nxc1 2 h5 gxh5 3 gxh5 b4
This is a race in which White is ahead, but trying to stop the h-pawn
is worse - 3 . . . Nd3 4 h6 Ne5 5 h7 Nf7+ 6 Kf6 Nh8 7 Kg7.
4 h6 b3 5 h7 b2 6 h8Q Nd3! (Diagram 24)
Not 6 . . . b 1 Q?? thanks to 7 Qh7+. A minor piece supporting a passed
pawn on the seventh rank can often hold off a queen.
7 Qh l+ Ke 3 8 Qb1 a4 9 Kf5 a3 10 Ke6 Kd2 11 Qa2 Nc1
It's only a draw ! One surprising (or inaccurate) move in a race can
turn the tables, as I bitterly discovered in my game against Richter
(Example 86) .

Example 89
D Reti • Rubinstein
Goteborg 1 920

Diagram 25 (B) Diagram 26 (W)

Black can probe White is rather cramped

1 21
Mastering the Endgame

Here probing on both wings is necessary to gradually increase the

pressure .
l. .. Ke 7 2 Ke 3 Ke 6 3 g4?
A critical moment. The choice for White is to loosen his pawns or al­
low . . . Kf5. Euwe suggested 3 d4! , intending 3 . . . Kd6 (3 . . .Kf5 is met by 4
Kf3 followed by Ne 1-g2-e 3+) 4 Kd2 Kc6 5 Ng2 Kb5 6 Ne 3, holding off
the first wave . Euwe's move 'feels' right, White guaranteeing some
space as the knight can come to the good defensive square e 3 . Black
also has his d-pawn fixed on a light square , limiting the scope of the
bishop and offering a target for the knight.
3 ... Kd6 4 h3 g6 5 Kd2 Bd7
Now the g- and h-pawns are on light squares and come under attack.
6 Nf3 Ke 7!
A prophylactic move . Less clear is the immediate 6 ... h5 as White can
complicate with 7 g5 Bxh3 8 gxf6 .
7 Ke3 h5 8 Nh2
If instead 8 gxh5 gxh5 9 h4, then 9 . . . Ke6 followed by . . .Kf5 is excellent
for Black.
8 ... Kd6 9 Kd2
9 d4 is again suggested by Euwe, but Fine then claims a win for Black
with 9 . . . Kc6 1 0 Kd2 Kb5 1 1 Kd3 ( 1 1 f5? is not sufficient after
1 1 . . .hxg4 12 fxg6 g3) 1 l . . .Bc8 (zugzwang) 12 Kd2 Kc4 1 3 dxc5 bxc5 14
Nfl d4 15 cxd4 Kxd4. However, I think that White can still resist with
16 gxh5 gxh5 1 7 h4 Bg4 18 Ng3 a5 19 c3+ but, in fact, Black can im­
prove with the intermediate 15 . . . hxg4 ! 16 hxg4 Kxd4, leading to the
quick win of a kingside pawn.
9 ... d4 (Diagram 26)
White now has several pawns stuck on light squares.
1 0 cxd4
The continuation 10 c4 hxg4 1 1 hxg4 leads to an instructive moment.
The reply 1 l . . . g5 was recommended by several strong players of the
day, but Fine shows that White can then draw as follows: 12 fxg5 fxg5
1 3 Kf2 Ba4 (or 1 3 . . . Ke 5 14 Kg3 Ba4 15 Nf3+ Kf6 16 Ne 1) 14 Nf3 Bxc2
15 Ke2 . He suggested the alternative 1 1 . . .Ke 7 ! followed by the plausi­
ble variation 12 Kd2 g5 13 f5 (or 13 fxg5 fxg5 1 4 Ke2 Kf6 15 Kd2 Ke 5)
1 3 . . . Kd6 14 Nf3 Bc6 15 Ke2 a6 16 Kf2 Bxf3 1 7 Kxf3 b5 18 Ke4 Kc6 19
Kf3 Kd7 20 Ke4 Kd6 21 Kf3 Ke5 22 cxb5 axb5 23 a3 Kd5 24 Kg3 c4 25
Kf3 c3 26 Kg3 Kc5 2 7 Kf3 b4 28 axb4+ Kxb4 29 Ke4 Ka3 30 Kxd4 Kb2
and Black is winning. An attractive variation.
1 0 ... cxd4 1 1 Kd2 hxg4 12 hxg4 Bc6 13 Ke2

1 22
 M inor Pieces

After 1 3 c3 dxc3+ 14 Kxc3 Bg2 White's knight is totally out of play .

Creating a passed pawn on the queenside is then decisive .
1 3 ... Bd5 1 4 a3 b5 15 Nfl a5
Also good is 1 5 . . . g5, obtaining e5 for the king.
16 Nd2 a4
With threats of . . . b 5-b4 and . . . g6-g5.
17 Ne4+ Bxe4 1 8 dxe4 b4 1 9 Kd2 bxa3 20 Kc 1 g5 ! 0-1
Black was able to win essentially because he created threats on both
wings .

Example 90
D Levenfish • Ragozin
Moscow 1 939

Diagram 27 (W) Diagram 28 (W)

White has a strong passed pawn Should White take the f-pawn?

In Example 85 the bishop and passed pawn should not have been
enough to win because the knight could have held up White's inva­
sion. Here we see a similar pawn structure but this time the passed
pawn and knight are on the same side .
1 c6 Kd8
After l . . .f5 2 gxf5 gxf5 3 Nc4 Bf6 4 Nd6+ Kd8 the elegant trick 5 c7+!
wins the bishop .
2 Ke4 Kc7 3 Kd5 £5
On 3 . . . h5 4 gxh5 gxh5 5 Nf3 f6 6 Nh4 White's knight - using its qual­
ity of being able to create threats on both colour complexes - causes
big problems in Black's camp .

1 23
Mastering the Endgame

4 gxf5 gxf5 5 Kxe5 Kxc6 (Diagram 28)

White can take the pawn at will but first holds off the return of the
black king.
6 Nb3 Bd6+ 7 Ke6 Bh2 8 Nd4+ Kc5 9 Nxf5 h5 1 0 Ng3 Kd4 11 Kf5
h4 1 2 Nh5 Bg1 1 3 £3 Bf2 14 Nf4 Be 1 1 5 Ng6 Kd5 1 6 Kg4 1-0
Note: When play is concentrated to a l i mited front a knight can
control more relevant squares than a bishop.

But what happens in cases where there is play across the whole board
and yet the superior side has the knight?

Example 9 1
D Eliskases • Flohr
Semmering-Baden 1 937

Diagram 29 (B) Diagram 30 (W)

White has a poor bishop Black is coming in . . .

Black has the superior minor piece due to the weakness o n e4 requir­
ing constant defence, but how can the knight create play on both
wings when White has a protected passed d-pawn?
l...b5 2 Kd2 a5 3 Kd3 Kf6 4 B£3 Ke 7
Black comes across to support the majority.
5 h4?
An imperceptible weakening of the g4-square . Perhaps White was
concerned about space but forgot that a defender should be wary
about touching his pawns without a good reason.
Preferable is 5 Bd l Kd8 6 a4, forcing Black to make an early decision
on the queenside , before the king comes to c5. Then 6 . . . bxa4 7 Bxa4
Kc7 8 Bc2 Kb6 9 Kc3 is similar to the game except that White is more

1 24
 Minor Pieces

flexible on the kingside . This leaves 6 . . . b4 7 Bb3 Kc7 8 Bc2 Kb6 9 Bb3
Nb 7 1 0 Kc4 Nc5 1 1 Bc2 g5 (White is zugzwanged on the queenside
and has to move his kingside pawns) 12 g4 h6 13 h3 b3 14 Bb 1 b2 1 5
Kc3 Nxa4+ 16 Kb3 Nc5+ 1 7 Kxb2 Kb 5 18 Kc3 and Black has no obvi­
ous way to break through to White's weaknesses (Averbakh) . Finally
there is the immediate 12 . . . b3, when 13 Bb 1 b2 14 Kc3 Nxa4+ 15 Kb3
Nc5+ 16 Kxb2 Nd7 1 7 Kc3 Nf6 18 h3 h5 19 gxh5 Nxh5 20 Bd3 Nf4 2 1
Bfl Kc5 can be met by 22 Kb3 Kd4 2 3 Ka4 Kxe4 24 d6 Kd5 25 d 7 Ne6
26 Kxa5 Kd6 2 7 Bb5 and White is able to hold the draw .
5 ... h6 6 Bd 1 Kd8 7 a4
The same idea as in the previous note , but now White can no longer
protect the g4-square .
7 ... bxa4?!
Better was the alternative 7 ... b4! 8 Bb3 Kc7 9 B d 1 Kb6, e . g. 1 0 Bb3
Nb 7 1 1 Kc4 c5 1 2 Bc2 h5 with zugzwang, while after 1 0 Bc2 Black is
able to show why 5 h4 was unwise : 10 . . . Nb 7 1 1 Kc4 Nc5 1 2 g4 g5 1 3
h 5 b3 14 Bb 1 b2 1 5 Kc3 Nxa4+ 16 Kb3 Nc5+ 1 7 Kxb2 Nd7 and . . . Nf6 ,
hitting g4 .
8 Bxa4 Kc7 9 Bc2 Kb6 10 Kc3 Kb5 1 1 Kb3 Kc5 1 2 Ka4 Nc4 (Dia­
gram 30) 13 Bb3?
White had to try 13 Bb 1 ! Nd2 (on 13 . . . Kd4 White has 1 4 Kb5 ! Na3+ 1 5
Kc6 Nxb 1 16 d6) 14 Bd3, keeping the knight away from the kingside
pawns.
13 ... Nd2 14 Bc2 Nf1 1 5 Kxa5 Nxg3 1 6 Ka4 Nh5
The win is now straightforward as the action is on a more limited
front.
17 Kb3 Kd4 1 8 Kb4 Nf6 1 9 d6 g5 20 hxg5 hxg5 21 Kb5 g4 2 2 Bd 1
g3 23 Bf3 Ke3 24 Bh 1 Kf2 25 Kc6 g2 26 Bxg2 Kxg2 2 7 d7 Nxd7 28
Kxd 7 Kf3
Black wins .
Tip: When defend i ng be careful about pawn moves. An unjudicious
pawn move on one wing can create the fatal weakness despite the
action apparently being limited to the other flank.

Bishop E n d i ngs

Example 92
D Jean • Flear
Marseille 2000

In bishop endings only the king can attack the other colour complex.

1 25
Mastering the Endgame

Diagram 31 (B) Diagram 32 (B)

What is Black's best plan? With only one weakness , White holds

4 1 ...g4?
A 'natural' mistake as after the exchange of light-squared bishops
White's pawns are fixed on dark-squares. However there are two
problems:
1. By blocking the wing it becomes impossible to create any entry
squares for the king.
2. Allowing White to play Bxd5 is not favourable, as we shall see .
Black should play 4 l . . .Bxc4+! 42 Kxc4 g4 since after 43 f4 (43 Bf2 gxf3
44 gxf3 f4 creates a passed pawn) he has 43 . . . e5! 44 fxe5 (44 Kb5 exf4
45 gxf4 h4 46 Bf2 h3 47 gxh3 gxh3 48 Bg3 Kg6 and Black's king in­
vades) 44 . . . Bxe5, e . g. 45 b3 Bxg3 46 Bb6 h4 4 7 Bxa5 h3 48 gxh3 gxh3
and wins, or 45 Kb5 Bxb2 46 Kxa5 Bc3.
4 2 Bxd5 exd5 43 f4 Ke6 44 b3 Kd6 45 Bd4 Kc6 46 Bf6 Bh6 4 7 Be7
Bf2 48 Bh4 lh-lh (Diagram 32)
Despite the chronic weakness on g3 White can hold as there are no
other threats to create zugzwang.
Tip: One poi nt of attack is generally not enough.

Here there were no pawn breaks in the position - clearly one of the
reasons why Bxd5 is not a favourable exchange for Black. The passed
d-pawn is easily blockaded and, in fact, hinders Black's king. Com­
pare this with 4 l . . .Bxc4+ 42 Kxc4 g4, where Black's kingside major­
ity, supported by the bishop , works as a unit to inevitably create a
dangerous passed pawn on the wing.
Tip: In bishop endi ngs, king i nvasions are particularly i m portant, as
bishops operate only on one colour and thus can attack only half
the squares.

1 26
 M inor Pieces

In the next two examples the participation of the king in creating

threats is an important factor - in Example 93 thanks to excessively
passive play, leading to zugzwang, and in Example 94 because of an
error that unnecessarily abandons control of an important square .

Example 93
D Blatny • Flear
Oakham 1 988

Diagram 33 (W) Diagram 34 (B)

White wins a pawn . . . . . . but does h e have winning chances?

Despite a neat trap to gain a pawn I couldn't believe that my oppo­

nent had winning chances.
39 Bxd5! Kxd5 40 c4+ Ke6 4 1 c5 Bc7 42 Bxd4 Kd5 43 Be3 (Dia­
gram 34)
White has a so-called 'bad bishop' with his pawns fixed on dark
squares, and the black king has a great square on d5. White's king
has no hope of finding an entry square . I concluded that there were no
winning chances but I had underestimated the power of zugzwang!
43 ... Bb8?!
With hindsight I know that Black should simplify the queenside with
43 . . . a5 44 Ke2 axb4 45 axb4, then later (when White's bishop is on f6,
for example) Black has ideas of . . . b6 or . . . b5, offering relief from a lack
of space .
44 Ke 2 Bc7 45 Kd2 Bb8?! 46 Kc2 Bc7 4 7 Kc3 Bb8?
I was rather bored here , waiting for my opponent to give up the
struggle - 'I've got better things to do than waste time on this clearly
drawn ending . . .'
48 a4! Bc7 49 a5

1 27
Mastering the Endgame

White's plan of putting further pawns on dark squares is not without

reason, as we shall soon find out . . .
49 ... Bb8 5 0 Kd 2 Bc7 5 1 Ke 2 Bb8 52 Bel Bc7
Or 52 . . . Kd4 53 Bb2+ Kd5 54 Ke3 etc.
53 Ke 3 Bb8 54 Bb2 Bc7 55 B£6
Black has very little space for the bishop but I had not seen any dan­
ger signals .
55 ... Ke6?
The final error. After 55 . . . Bb8 56 Bd8 Ke6 57 d4 Black has 57 . . . Kd5 58
Bf6 Kc4 . In fact, in order to win White needs to be able to play d3-d4,
Be5 and Kd3 . I most generously invited my opponent to do just that!
56 d4! Kd5 57 Be5! Bd8 58 Kd3
Now White covers the c4-entry square and forces Black to retreat.
58 ... Be7 59 Bh8!
White cedes a tempo to produce zugzwang.
59 ... Bd8 60 Bg7 Bc7 61 Be5 Bxe5
Following 6 1 . . .Bd8 62 Bd6 (ouch!) 62 . . . Ke6 63 Kc4 Kd7 64 d5 Black is
still going backwards .
62 fxe5 Ke 6 63 Kc4 £4 64 Kd3 K£5 65 d5!
An elegant breakthrough.
65 ... cxd5 66 b5 Kxe5
Or 66 ... axb5 67 c6 etc.
67 b6! 1-0
White queens after 67 . . . Ke6 68 c6 Kd6 69 cxb 7 .
Let u s summarise with a couple o f warnings.
Warn i n g : Don't underestimate the Power of Zugzwang!

Once everything liquidates to a drawish looking ending it is so easy to

drop one's guard, as I did against Blatny.
Warn i n g : Stay focused and keep concentrating.

Another typical error is that which is made j ust after the time control.
After the tension and drama of making the last few moves in time­
trouble, there is a tendency to continue playing quickly and make an
impatient 4 1st move .
Instead, once the time control is reached it is a good idea to get up
and take a few breaths of fresh air, perhaps wash your face and
hands, and return to the board with renewed energy and a determi-

1 28
 M inor Pieces

nation to play accurately. Two or three minutes are thus well-invested

to exorcise the ghosts of the time scramble . However, don't get in­
volved making arrangements with friends about where you are going
to eat after the game , and don't let yourself become preoccupied with
a time-scramble going on nearby . Be focused on your game .
Tip: Freshen up, then be determined - not distracted.

Example 94
0 Flear • Giddins
Birmingham 2000

Diagram 35 (B) Diagram 36 (B)

Can White make prog ress? Black has weakened his position

Ti p : When defending, always ask yourself this question : if I do noth­

ing h ow does my opponent prog ress?

Here my opponent failed to ask himself this key question.

White's king cannot attack any of Black's pawns as the only entrance
squares - d5 and g6 - are easily protected by the bishop . White's
bishop is unable to create any threats (therefore there's no hope of
zugzwang) and any pawn moves on the kingside are dubious . There­
fore by simply moving his bishop backwards and forwards, keeping an
eye on d5, Black would draw the game .
4 2 ... c4?
Weakening the d4-square .
43 Bb7 c3 44 Be4 Bc4 45 a3 Bb3 46 Ke3 (Diagram 3 6)
White threatens 4 7 Kd3 c2 48 Kd2, when the c-pawn falls
4 6 ... g5!?
This appears to be rather desperate but is, in fact, the best practical

1 29
Mastering the Endgame

chance .
47 fxg6
After 4 7 hxg5 hxg5 48 Kd3 c2 49 Kd2 g4 White cannot capture the c­
pawn.
4 7 ... Ke6 48 g7 Kf7 49 Kd3 c2 50 Kd2 Kxg7 51 Bxc2 Bd5
White has a clear extra pawn but the win is made more complicated
to achieve thanks to the presence of the 'wrong rook's pawn' - re­
member that the ending of light-squared bishop plus h-pawn against
bare king is drawn if the defender can make it to the h8-corner.
52 Ke3 Kf7 53 Kd4 Ba2 54 B£5 Bb3 55 Kc5 Ke 7 56 Kb5 a4 57 Kb4
Bd l 58 Kc5 Bb3 59 Kd4 Bdl 60 Bd3 Ke6 61 Bc4+ Ke 7 62 Kc3
Kd7 63 Kb4
There is no need to hurry .
63 ... Ke 7 64 Bb5
Creating a passed a-pawn at the expense of the e-pawn.
64 ... Ke6 65 Bxa4 Be2?
Losing routinely . A better chance was offered by 65 . . . Bh5! 66 Bb3+
Kxe 5 6 7 a4 (67 Kc5 is met by 6 7 . . . Be8) 6 7 . . . Kd6 68 a5 Kc6 69 Ba4+
Kb 7 (stopping the a-pawn, but White can still win by heading for the
other wing) 70 Bb5 Bf3 71 Kc5 Bg4 72 Kd6 Bf3 73 Ke5 Bg4 7 4 Kf6 Bf3
75 Kg6 h5 76 Kg5 Bdl 77 Be8 Ka6 78 Bxh5 Ba4 79 Be2+ Kxa5 80 h5
Bc2 8 1 h6 Kb6 82 Bh5 Bh7 83 Bg6 Bg8 84 Kf6 Kc7 85 Kg7 .
66 Bb3+ Kxe5 67 Kc5!
Keeping Black well away from the a-pawn.
67 ... Ba6 68 a4 Bc8 69 a5 Ba6 70 Bc4 Bc8 7 1 Kb6 Kd4 72 Bfl Kc3
7 3 Bg2 Kb4 74 Bc6 1-0
Zugzwang! If the black king moves then 75 Bb7 followed by the ad­
vance of the a-pawn is immediately decisive .

Examp/e 95
D Averbakh • Veresov
Moscow 1 947

The pawn structure is similar to that of the end of my game against

Giddins (Example 94). Here Black's pieces are more favourably placed
but he still loses.
(Diagram 37) l...Ba4
The lines after l . . .Be8 are also instructive : 2 Bf3 Kf5 3 Be2 (3 Kd4?
leads only to a draw after 3 . . . Kf4 4 Bd5 Kg3 5 Kc5 Kxh4 6 Bc6 Bxc6 7
Kxc6 Kg3 8 b5 h4) 3 . . . Ke 5 4 Bd3 Kd5 5 Kf4 Kd4 6 Be2 Kc3 7 Bxh5!

1 30
 M inor Pieces

Bxh5 8 b5 and the bishop cannot stop both pawns or, alternatively,
4 . . . Bd7 5 Bg6 Kd5 6 Bxh5 Kc4 7 Be2+ Kxb4 8 h5 Bf5 9 Bd3 Be6 10 h6
Bg8 1 1 Kd4 and the king goes directly to g7.

Diagram 37 (B) Diagram 38 (W)

Can Black hold? White triumphs with zugzwang

2 Bg6 Bd 1 3 b5 Kd5 4 K£4 Kc5 5 Kg5 Be2! (Diagram 38)

After 5 . . . Kxb5 6 Bxh5 Bc2 7 Be8+ Kc5 8 h5 Kd6 9 Kf6! White is
clearly winning.
6 Be8!
An excellent zugzwang move . Instead 6 Bxh5? fails to win against
6 . . . Bxb5 7 Bg4 Be8 8 Bf5 Kd6 9 Bg6 Ke 7! and the king is back in time .
6 ... Kb6 7 Bxh5
Now this works because Black was obliged (due to zugzwang) to move
his king an extra rank away from the h-pawn.
7 ... Bxb5 8 Bg4 Be8 9 Bf5 Kc7 10 Bg6 Kd8 11 K£6! 1-0
White decisively shuts out the enemy king.

Example 96
D Goglidze • Kasparian
Tbilisi 1 929

In this example White's bishop and 'wrong' rook's pawn make a poor
team and, despite winning the e6-pawn, the game is only drawn.
(Diagram 39) 1 Kd6 Bg4 2 Kd 7 Kg7 3 Ke 7 Bd1 4 Kxe 6 Bg4+
Note that 4 . . . Bb3+ 5 Ke 7 Bx£7? loses to 6 h6+ Kg6 7 h7.
5 Ke 7 Be2 6 Be8
6 e6 allows the basic 'wrong' rook's pawn draw with 6 . . . Bg4 7 Kd6

1 31
Mastering the Endgame

Bxe6, and after 6 h6+ Kxh6 7 Kf6 Bg4 8 Bg6 Be2 9 e6 Bc4 1 0 e 7 Bb5
1 1 K£7 Kg5 12 Bc2 Bc6 13 Kf8 Kf6 we are again in drawing territory.

Diagram 39 (W) Diagram 40 (B)

The 'wrong' h-pawn leads to a draw Accurate defence requ i red !

6 ... Bg4 7 Kd8

7 Kd6 Kh6 8 Bd7 Bxh5 9 e6 Kg7 10 e7 Kf6 is a book draw as the
bishop on h5 cannot be forced off the e8-h5 diagonal.
7 ... Kh6 8 Bd7 Bxh5 9 e6 Kg7 10 e 7 (Diagram 40) 10 ... Kf6!
Accurate defence is required; for instance 10 . . . Bg6? loses to 1 1 Be8
Be4 1 2 Bh5 Bc6 13 Bg4.
11 Be8 Be2 1 2 Bg6 Bb5
Black can now draw if he brings his king to d6, putting a stop to any
ideas of Bd7 by White . So . . .
1 3 Be8 Be2! 14 B f7 Bb5 1 5 Bh5 Ke 5!
Not, however, the blunder 1 5 .. Ke6? 16 Be8 Be2, due to 17 Bd7+ (with
check !).
1 6 Bg4 Kd6 '12-'12
Ti p : W h e n there are bishops on t h e board and the game is head i n g
towards an e n d i n g , always take i nto account the presence o f 'wrong'
rook's pawns.

Example 97
D Santasiere • Kashdan
Boston 1 938

Without the problem of a potentially powerless rook's pawn the end­

ing must be more promising for White .

1 32
 M inor Pieces

Diagram 41 (W) Diagram 42 (B)

White is very active The black king is held off

1 Ke 7
Averbakh points out a simpler win if the white bishop were on e4,
with 1 f5 threatening 2 Ke6 and 3 Kxf6 .
l...f5 2 Kf6 Bh3 3 Ke5
After 3 Kg5 Kc8 4 Be6+ Kb 7 5 Bxf5 Bg2 6 Bd3 Bh3 7 Be2 Kxb6 8 Bg4
Bfl 9 f5 Kc5 10 f6 Bc4 1 1 Kg6 Kd6 12 Kg7 Ke 5 1 3 Bh5 Kf4 ! Black
heads for g5 and a draw . It is common sense that in a similar varia­
tion with White's king on e5 the black king is held up in its retreat
towards the f-pawn.
3 ... Kc8
3 . . . Bg4 ! requires White to find an accurate win: 4 Bg2! Kc8 5 Kf6 ! Kb8
6 Kg5 Kc8 and now 7 Be4 ! , when 7 . . . Kb8 8 Bxf5 Bf3 9 Bh7 Kb7 10 f5
Kxb6 1 1 f6 Bd5 12 Kg6 Kc5 1 3 Kg7 Kd6 1 4 Bg8 wins . This subtle ma­
noeuvring is necessary to prevent Black from getting in . . . Bh5 (as in
Example 96), which arrests the pawn advance long enough for the
king to return.
4 Be6+ Kb7 5 Bxf5 Bfl 6 Be6 Kxb6
6 . . . Bd3? 7 Kd4 1-0 was the abrupt conclusion of the game as White
threatens both the bishop and Kc5.
7 f5 Kc7 8 f6 Kd8 9 Bf7! (Diagram 42)
Holding off the opposing king.
9 ... Kd 7 10 Kf5 Kd6 11 Kg6 Bb5 12 Kg7 Ke 5 13 Bg8 Be8 14 Bh7
Now White wins with 15 Bg6 etc. To achieve a drawn position Black
would have to play 14 . . . Kg5 but he is j ust too far away.
We can conclude that progress with 2 vs. 1 often means preparing a 1

1 33
Mastering the Endgame

v 0 bishop ending. However, the difference between success and fail­

ure is slim. Compare the next diagram with the previous one :

Example 98
Averbakh

Diagram 43 (W) Diagram 44 (W)

Now it's more difficult for White Black can d raw

All that has changed is the position of Black's bishop (Examples 9 7-

98) - we now have the bishop on d3 rather than g4. Yet Averbakh's
extensive analysis concludes that White is no longer winning! Why
does such a seemingly insignificant difference change the result?
Read on as we follow the logic of the great Russian endgame analyst.
1 Ke6 f5 2 Ke 5 Bc2 3 Be6
3 Kd4 can be met by 3 . . . Bdl 4 Bc4 Kb 7 5 Kc5 Bc2, or even 3 . . .Kc8 4
Bc4 Kb 7 5 Bd3 Bdl 6 Kc5 Bg4 7 Bc2 Kb8 8 Kd4 Kb 7.
3 Kb7 4 Bxf5 Bd1 5 Be4+ Kxb6 6 f5 Kc7 7 f6 Bh5 (Diagram 44)
...

The bishop finds a convenient diagonal and, as Black's king is close,

the draw is certain.
8 Kf5 Kd8 9 Kg5 Bf7 10 Bg6 Ke8
After the exchange of b-pawn for f-pawn it seems that the bishop de­
fends best from h5. In order to then shift the bishop from the diagonal
White will have to bring the king to g5 (intending to play his bishop to
g6), in turn allowing free access for Black's king to come across .

0
Note: If the d efend in g bishop is on a diagonal with at least four
squares (such as e8-h5) , then the only way to evict the piece from
the d iagonal is to i nterpose the attacking bishop.

1 34
 M inor Pieces

Example 99
D Nei • Kan
Moscow 1 952

Diagram 45 (B) Diagram 46 (W)

Black activates the king How can White defend?

Black's technique in the this game is exemplary.

l...Ke8
With an extra pawn and White having no chance to go active , Black
advances his king.
2 Ka3 Kd8 3 Kb4 Kc7 4 Be4 Kb6 5 Bg2 Bc2 6 B£3 Bb3 7 Be4 Bd 1
8 Bg2
Black cannot invade without giving up his precious a-pawn. However,
in return he forces the win of the d-pawn and his king becomes more
active . Averbakh demonstrates a clever win after 8 c4 a3 9 Bb 1 Bc2 !
1 0 Ba2 Bf5 1 1 Bb3 Bb 1 ! (forcing progress through zugzwang) 1 2 Kxa3
Kc5 1 3 Kb2 Kb4 ! (aesthetic!). Then desperate counterplay inaugu­
rated by 14 c5 j ust fails after 14 . . . dxc5 15 d6 exd6 16 Bxf7 Be4 17 B g8
d5 18 Bxh7 d4 19 h5 d3 20 Bxg6 d2! .
8 ... a3 9 Kxa3 Kc5 1 0 Be4 B e 2 (Diagram 46) 1 1 £5?
Exchanging off as many pawns as possible is, in general, a reasonable
plan, but here it ultimately fails. I prefer 1 1 Kb2! (not mentioned by
Averbakh) , bringing the king over to put a stop to Black's invasion
plans . Mter the further continuation 1 l . . .Bc4 12 Kc2 Bxd5 13 Bd3 Bc4
14 Be4 Bfl 15 Kd2 Kc4 the move 16 Bb 7! is annoying, or 14 . . . d5 1 5
Bf3 d 4 16 Kd2 Bd5 1 7 Be2 Be4 18 Ba6 and, here too, Black has prob­
lems strengthening his position. Alternatively after 13 . . . Bg2 14 Kd2
Kd5 15 Ke3 Black has yet to prove a win.
1 1 ...Bc4 12 fxg6 hxg6 13 B£3 Bxd5 14 h5 gxh5 15 Bxh5 Kc4 1 6

1 35
Mastering the Endgame

Kb2 Kd3 1 7 g6 fxg6 18 Bxg6+ Kd2

White's king is locked out of play and the e-pawn decides.
1 9 Be8 Bc4 20 Bh5 e5 2 1 Bg6 d5 0-1
The key to unlocking the secrets of such endings is the ability of the
stronger side to penetrate the opposing camp with his king. 'It is no
exaggeration to state that an active king equals a pawn in bishop end­
ings of the same colour' - Averbakh.

Example 1 00
D Fine • Kashdan
New York 1 938

Diagram 47 (W) Diagram 48 (W)

How can White break through? A pawn sacrifice does the trick!

It is not clear how White can invade as both wings seem watertight.
Nevertheless White was able to find a leak.
1 Kf2 Kd8 2 Ke 3 Kc7 3 Kd4 a5 4 Bd3 Be8 5 Bc4 Bd7 6 Bb3!
Black's next is forced.
6 ... Bc8
6 . . . Kb 7 allows 7 c6+ ! , when the pawn ending is lost after 7 . . . Kxc6 8
Ba4+ Kc7 9 Bxd7 Kxd7 10 Kc5 etc.
7 Ba4 Ba6!
After the game continuation 7 . . . Bb7? 8 Kc4 Ba6+ 9 Bb5 Bb7 1 0 Kb3
Black resigned because the a-pawn falls.
8 c6! Kb6 (Diagram 48) 9 c7!
Again we see the idea of temporarily sacrificing the passed pawn to
gain a couple of useful squares for the king. Once the c5-square is at-

1 36
 Minor Pieces

tained the a-pawn will eventually fall.

9 ... Bc8 1 0 Be8 Kxc7 11 Kc5 Ba6 12 Ba4 g5 1 3 Bb3 Bc8 1 4 Kb5
Bd7+ 1 5 Kxa5
The remaining moves lead to total paralysis .
15 ... Kb7 1 6 Ba4 Bc8 1 7 Kb5 Bd7+ 18 Kb4 Bc8 1 9 Kc5 Kc7 20 Bb3
Bd7 2 1 a4 Bc8 22 a5 Bd7 23 a6 Bc8 24 Bc4 Bd7 25 Bb5 Bc8 26
g4.

Example 1 0 1
D Petrosian • Zeinally
Leningrad 1 946

Diagram 49 (W) Diagram so (W)

How can White i nfiltrate? White needs a clever move . . .

Another position i n which it i s difficult to see how White intends to in­

filtrate with his king.
1 a6! bxa6
l . . .b6 is refuted by 2 a 4 Bc8 3 cxb6+ Kxb6 4 a5+ and the king comes to
c5.
2 Ka5 Kb7
The game continued 2 . . Bc8 3 h4 (zugzwang) 3 . Bd7 4 Bxa6 Be8 5 Bc8
. . .

Bf7 6 Bd7 Kb 7 7 a4 Kc7 8 Ka6! Kxd7 9 Kb 7 1-0. Black's bishop is so

limited that White could even afford to give up his own in order to en­
ter Black's position. Black cannot stop the a-pawn.
3 Bxa6+ Kc7 4 Bc4 Kb7!
The most robust defence . However, White now progresses through
zugzwang.
5 h4 Kc7

1 37
Mastering the Endgame

5 . . . Bc8 allows 6 Ba6+ and 5 . . . Ka 7 loses in similar fashion to the game

following 6 Ba6 Be8 7 Bc8 Bf7 8 Bd7 Kb7 9 a4.
6 Ka6 Bc8+ 7 Ka7 Bd7 8 a4 Bc8 9 a5 Bd7
White has managed to support the a-pawn's advance but now the king
blocks the path, so . . .
1 0 Ba6 Be8 (Diagram 50) 1 1 Bc8! Kxc8
Of course 1 l . . .Bf7 is met by 12 Bd 7 ! .
1 2 Kb6 Kb8 1 3 a6 Ka8
After 13 . . . Bd7 let us take the time to appreciate what happens: 14 a7+
Ka8 1 5 Kc7 Be8 16 Kd8 Bf7 1 7 Ke 7 Bg8 18 Kf8 Bh7 1 9 Kg7 (a delight­
ful bishop -hunt!) 19 . . . Kxa7 20 Kxh7 Ka6 2 1 Kxg6 Kb5 22 Kf6 Kxc5 23
Kxe6 Kd4 24 Kxf5 c5 25 e6 and the race is won.
1 4 Kc7 Ka7 15 Kd8 B£7 1 6 Ke 7 Bg8 17 Kd7!
The simplest win. Chasing the bishop leads to a favourable queen
ending with an extra pawn, but this is clearer ( 1 7 Kf8?! Bh7 18 Kg7
Kxa6 19 Kxh7 Kb5 20 Kxg6 Kxc5 21 Kxh5 Kd5 22 Kg6 c5 23 h5 c4 24
h6 c3 25 h7 c2 26 h8Q c 1 Q) .
1 7 ... Bf7
In the event of 17 . . . Kxa6 18 Kxc6 Bf7 White wins with 19 Kd7 Kb5 20
c6 Be8+ 21 Kxe8 Kxc6 22 Ke 7 Kd5 23 Kd7 .
1 8 Kxc6 Be8+ 1 9 Kd6 Kxa6 20 c 6 Kb6 2 1 c7 Kb7 22 Ke 7 !
White wins .
A bad bishop can indeed be dominated by a rampant king! From these
examples we can conclude the following:
Note: King i nvasion is often the key in bishop endi ngs. Of all types
of pieces, the bishop is the m ost l i kely to requ i re the aid of the king
i n order to attack enemy targets because it can operate on only one
colour.

My Advice
In your own minor piece endings: Do you find the right task for your
king? Are you aware of piece sacrifices? Do you know if it is the right
moment to exchange pieces? Are you correctly j udging the relative
strength of a bishop against a knight?

1 38
 M inor Pieces

Try it You rself

Exercise 1 (White to play) Exercise 2 (White to play)

Exercise 1: This is a famous position. Can you see how White broke
through to win?
Exercise 2: How should White continue, and what, in your opinion,
would constitute best play?

Exercise 3 (White to play) Exercise 4 (White to play)

Exercise 3: It is White to move . Who has the better minor piece?

What is the likely result? Why?
Exercise 4: White , to move, has a space advantage, but in such a
blocked position is it possible to win?

1 39
C h a pte r S i x

Rook vs . M i nor P i ece

• T h e M i n o r P i ece i s Bette r

• Roo ks N eed Open L i nes

• Roo k vs . Kn i g ht

• Roo k vs . B i s h o p

• T ry it Yo u rself
 Rook vs. M inor Piece

In many positions with pawns on both wings an extra exchange (rook

vs. minor piece) is a significant - if not decisive - advantage , the side
with the minor piece generally requiring at least one dangerous
passed pawn to have any hope. It pays to consider the following:
Note: With a clear, extra exchange, the simplest way to win is to
return the exchange to win a pawn .

If play is only on one wing the defender can sometimes create a for­
tress or eliminate the pawns . By concentrating on positions with lim­
ited material on one wing I have been able to highlight a number of
technical themes that are useful to know .
First we investigate a couple of rules that need to be borne in mind:

0
Note: Without pawns, rook versus m i nor piece is winning only i n
exceptional circumstances.

The next rule may seem odd until one plays through the examples:

0
Note: Rook a n d pawn versus m i nor piece is usually win n i n g , but
there are several d rawi ng positions.

In practical games it helps to be able to answer the following question:

Can this ending an exchange up be decisive with pawns on only one
wing?
If each side has two or three pawns then the side with the rook can
generally win. A draw is possible , however, if all weak points can be
protected (Example 1 1 8) , or the stronger side has pawn weaknesses
(Example 109).
Naturally, if the defender has an extra pawn as partial compensation
then the side with the rook may not be able to win. Furthermore , with
two extra pawns and all the play on one wing it is possible that the
side with the rook may not even be better. In Example 103, for exam­
ple, my opponent had two pawns and a knight for the rook. Here my
advantage was positional, based on the power of the rook to create
threats on both wings compared to the passive knight. However, later
in the ending, with only one pawn for the exchange but play concen­
trated on one wing, there were no longer any winning chances.

The M i nor Piece is Better

We begin this chapter with a rare case where the side with the minor
piece hopes to win. Indeed he should be winning with ease.

Example 1 02
D Flear • Morovic
Las Palmas 1 992

(Diagram 1) 49 Kf7 50 g4? !

...

1 41
Mastering the Endgame

Diagram 1 (B) Diagram 2 (W)

White wins easily with careful play White can stil l wi n

Loose play, unnecessarily weakening f4 and giving my opponent hope.

50 ... Ke6 5 1 Nf5 Ke5 52 K£3 Rd3+ 53 Ne3 Rd4 54 h4 Rf4+ 5 5 Kg3
Ke4 56 g5 R£3+ 57 Kg2 Rf8 (Diagram 2)
Although I had allowed my pawn structure to be compromised the
ending is still winning. Precise analysis is required, but I had become
flustered and consequently failed to find the appropriate continuation.
58 Ng4?!
Correct is 58 g6 ! Rh8 59 Ng4 ! Rxh4 (59 ... Kf5 60 g7 Ra8 61 Nh6+) 60
Kg3 Rh8 61 g7.
5 8 ... Kf4 59 Kh3?
59 Nh6 ! would still do the trick.
59 ... Ra8 60 g6 Ra3+ 6 1 Ne3 Ral 62 Kg2 Ra8 lh-lh
Ti p : When the win is near do not relax - your opponent is l i ke a cor­
nered a n i m a l , desperate - and prepared - to put maxi m u m effort i nto
a final pounce for freedo m .

Frankly, an embarrassing experience . I had done all the hard work to

obtain a winning ending and then threw it away! At first I became
complacent, then anxious, nervous and sufficiently confused to mix up
my variations - the rest is history. As I have already advised else­
where, after simplification into an ending, or at the time control, a
'time-out' of two or three minutes is advisable . By allowing ourselves
fresh air, a wash and some moments to file away the emotions of the
game thus far, we can clear the mind of unnecessary debris. Then it is
back to the board, hopefully with full concentration on the task in
hand.

1 42
 Rook vs. Minor Piece

Tip: A 'ti m e-out' is good preparation for renewed determ i n ation and
concentration.

Here my 50 g4 ?! was generous, a small imprecision that nonetheless

gives a great boost to the opponent, who suddenly gains renewed en­
ergy to fight on! Instead I should have advanced the pawns together,
avoiding any holes .

Rooks N eed O pen Lines!

Example 1 03
D Flear • Turner
Southend 2000

Diagram 3 (W) Diagram 4 (W)

Black's knight is poor How can White tie Black down?

Black ostensibly has sufficient compensation for the exchange (two

pawns, active rook, some weaknesses in the white camp) but his
knight is poorly placed.
3 6 e4!
An excellent move intending to open up a route into Black's camp and
attack the knight.
36 ... dxe4 3 7 Rdl
Threatening Rd8, so Black h a s to go into an inferior 'exchange- down'
ending.
37 ... Rd3 38 Rxd3 exd3 39 Rd2 Kf6 40 Rxd3 Ke 7 41 Re3+ Kd8 42
f4 Nd7 43 f5
A typical 'minority attack' idea designed to leave Black with a weak­
ness on g6 . The weak points on g6 and c6 are then difficult to defend.
Another idea is that the isolated f4-pawn is a source of potential coun-

1 43
Mastering the Endgame

terplay for Black, were he to place his knight on d5, for example.
43 ... Nf8
One could argue that 43 . . . gxf5!? 44 Rf3 Nf6 45 Rxf5 Ke 7 leaves the h­
pawn very weak, but Black can then instigate complications with 46
Kg2 Ke6 4 7 Rg5 Nd5 ! 48 Kf3 Nxb4 49 Rxh5 Nd5, when the result re­
mains in doubt.
44 Re5 Kd 7 (Diagram 4) 45 Kf2? !
Instead 45 fxg6 fxg6 4 6 Rg5 would tie Black down completely, being
unable to exchange off the white h-pawn and thus allowing White to
maintain excellent winning prospects . Here are some sample varia­
tions : 46 . . . Ke6 47 Kf2 Kd6 (47 . . . Kf6? 48 Rc5) 48 Ke 3 Ke 7 49 Ke4 Ke6
50 Rg 1 ! Kd6 5 1 Rfl Nd7 (5 l . . .Nh7? loses to 52 Rf7 but 5 l . . .Ke 7 re­
quires 52 Ke 5! Nd7+ 53 Kf4 Kf6 54 Rd 1 in order to force an entry into
Black's territory) 52 Rd l+ Ke6 53 Rc l and now after 53 . . . Nf6+ 54 Kf4
Nd5+ 5 5 Kg5 Nxb4 56 Kxg6 Kd5 57 Kxh5, or 53 . . . Kd6 54 Kf4 c5 55
bxc5+ Nxc5 56 Kg5, White appears to be a strong favourite .
45 ... Nh7 46 fxg6 fxg6 47 Ke3 Kd6 48 Kd4 Nf8!
Now the rook is denied access to g5.
49 Re8 Ne6+ 50 Kc3
Clearly 50 Rxe6+ Kxe6 51 Kc5 fails to 5 l . . . g5 .
50 ... g5
Eliminating the kingside . With all the pawns on one wing the knight
is an excellent defender and, consequently, White wa1s unable to make
genuine progress in the game .
5 1 hxg5 Nxg5 52 Rd8+ Kc7 53 Rh8 Ne6 54 Rxh5 Kd6 55 Rh6 Kd5
5 6 Rh8 c5 5 7 Ra8 cxb4+ 58 Kxb4 Nc7 59 Ra7 Kc6 60 Kb3 Kd6 6 1
Kc2 Kd7 62 R b 7 Kc8 63 Rb6 Nd5 6 4 Rh6 Ne3+ 65 Kb3 Nc4 6 6
Kb4 Kb7 67 Rh7+ Kb8 68 Rg7 Ka8 69 R e 7 Kb8 70 R h 7 Ka8 7 1
Kc5 Kb8 72 Rh8+ lh-lh
In Examples 109- 1 1 1 we examine some other rook against knight
endings with pawns on the same wing.

Example 1 04
D Flear • Maurer
Nice 2000

White is a clear exchange up and, frankly, during the game I consid­

ered the win to be straightforward. I was even shocked that my oppo­
nent had allowed simplification to such a dubious continuation. How
could he hope to defend with pawns all over the place? However, I ac­
tually struggled to win. Did I underestimate Black's strong centraliza­
tion and thus his chances? Possibly, but White's rook has difficulty

1 44
 Rook vs. Minor Piece

finding activity, as we shall see .

Diagram 5 (W) Diagram 6 (B)

Is White wi nning easi ly? Can Black hold?

34 Kf2 Ke4 35 g3 h5
I'm not sure about White's next few moves, but they are probably good
enough.
36 h4!?
36 h3!? was possible , denying the knight the g4-square and intending
Re2-e l -c l-c7, go ing behind the passed pawn.
3 6 ... a5 3 7 b3!?
Instead 37 Rxe3+ dxe 3+ 38 Ke2 Kd4 does not help White, but 3 7 Re l
Kd3 38 Rc l Kd2 39 Rc5 might be good.
3 7 ... Kd3 38 a3 Kc3 39 b4 axb4 40 axb4 Ng4+!
40 . . . Kxb4? loses trivially to 41 Rxe3 .
4 1 Ke l ! Kxb4 42 Kd2!
Ruling out any counterplay with the d-pawn as 42 Re6 Kc3 is less
clear.
42 ... Kc4 43 Re6 Kd5 44 Rxg6 Ke4 45 Rg5 (Diagram 6) 45 ... Nf6?
A relief! I was afraid of 45 . . . Kf3 ! , when I knew that with only the h­
pawn remaining Black would be close to drawing. I later went into
some detail in this ending, first with some other participants and
later on my own. However, it was only when preparing this book that
I finally reached a conclusion about the ending. By analysing the con­
sequences of 45 . . . Kf3 I learned a great deal about rook vs. knight and
rook and pawn vs. knight - play carefully through the variations and
you should do the same .

1 45
Mastering the Endgame

After 46 Rxh5 Kxg3 4 7 Rh8 Nf6 (Diagram 7) I can't find a win for
White :

Diagram 7 (W) Diagram 8 (B)

The position is a draw Now White can win

a) 48 h5 Kg4 49 h6 Kg5 50 Kd3 Kg6 51 Kxd4 Nh7 52 Ke 5 Kxh6 53

Rg8 (or 53 Kf5 Kg7 54 Ra8 Nf8 and draws) 53 . . . Ng5 54 Kf5 Nh7 55
Rg6+ Kh5 56 Rg1 Kh6 57 Rg8 Kh5.
b) 48 Rh6 Ng4 49 Rh5 Ne3! (defending the knight so the king is free
to pursue the h-pawn) 50 Rh8 Kg4 51 h5 Kg5 52 h6 Kg6 53 Kd3 Nf5
54 h7 Nh6 .
c) 48 Kd3 Kg4 49 Kxd4 Nh5 50 Ke5 Ng3 (not 50 . . . Kxh4? due to 5 1
Kf5) 5 1 Kf6 Nh5+ 5 2 Kg6 Nf4+ 5 3 Kf7 Nh5 and Black holds!
This is not the end of the story. Instead White can try 4 7 Kd3 ! (Dia­
gram 8) , which in some lines gains an important tempo on the imme­
diate 4 7 Rh8 .
Black now has five(!) defences :
a) 4 7 . . . Nh2 48 Rh8 Kg4 49 h5 Kg5 50 Rg8+ Kh6 5 1 Kxd4 Nf3+
(5 1 . . .Nfl 52 Kd3! Kxh5 53 Ke2 Nh2 54 Rh8+) 52 Ke4 Ng5+ 53 Kf5
Nh7 (or 53 . . . Nf7 54 Kf6) 54 Rg 1 Nf8 55 Kg4, and after protecting the
h-pawn the win is only a matter of time .
b) 4 7 . . . Nf2+ 48 Kxd4 Ng4 49 Rh8 Kf4 (49 . . . Nf6 is met by 50 Ke5) 50
Rg8 Nf6 51 Rg5 Ng4 52 Kd5 (or 52 Ra5) .
c) 4 7 . . . Ne3 48 Kxd4 Ng4 49 Rh8 Nf6 50 Ke5 Ng4+ 5 1 Kf5 etc.
d) 47 . . . Kf4 and now 48 Rb5 cuts off the king along the rank.
e) 4 7 . . . Nf6 48 Rf5 ! (48 Rh6 Ng4 49 Rh8?! Nf6 50 Kxd4 Kg4 5 1 Ke5
Nh5 only draws) 48 . . . Ng4 49 h5 Kh4 50 Kxd4 Nh6 5 1 Rc5 Nf7 52 Kc4
Nh6 53 Kb5 Nf7 54 Kc6 Nh6 55 Kd7 Ng4 56 Ke 7 Nh6 57 Kf8 Ng4 58
Kg7.

1 46
 Rook vs. M inor Piece

It appears that White can still win after . . . Kf3 ! , but it is clear that this
was a better choice than in the game .
See Examples 105- 1 08 for further discussion of rook and pawn vs.
knight.
Ti p : Trading a pair of pawns helps the defender in endings.

A sweeping generalization, perhaps, but it is true more often than

not. Less pawns means less options for the attacking side , and there
are more 'special case' draws with few pawns left on the board.
46 Rg7 Ng4 47 Rf7 Ne5
After 4 7 . . . Ne3 Black is gradually ground down with 48 Rf4+ Ke 5 49
Kd3 Nf5 50 Rf3 Ne 3 51 Rf8 Nf5 52 Rg8 etc.
48 Rf4+ Kd5 49 Rf5 Ke4 50 Rxh5 Nc4+ 51 Ke l d3 52 Rc5 1-0

Rook vs . Kn ight
We now consider the basic endgame situations of rook versus knight.

Rook and pawn versus knight

As one would expect, this is usually a win for the rook and pawn, but
it can be surprisingly tricky .

Example 1 05
Berger 1 921

Diagram 9 (B) Diagram 1 0 (B)

White can win Now the black king has more room: d raw

As in the notes to Example 104, White wins by dancing around the

rook, bringing the king to the aid of the pawn.

1 47
Mastering the Endgame

(Diagram 9) l...Na5
l . . . Nb4+ loses quickly to 2 Kd4! etc.
2 Ke 3 Kc3 3 Kf4 Nc4 4 Kg5 Kd3 5 Rh4 Kc3 6 Kf5 Na5 7 Ke6 Kb3
8 Kd5
White's king cannot be stopped.

Example 1 06
Averbakh

Here we have a knight's pawn, allowing Black to draw .

(Diagram 1 0) l...Nb5 2 Kf3 Kb3 3 Kg4 Ka4 4 Kf5 Na3 5 Ke5 Kb5
6 Kd5 Nc2
From here the draw is clear.
From these examples we see that the win with the rook protecting the
pawn from the side occurs only with a rook's pawn. With other pawns
the defending king can pass round the pawn to the blockading square .
Play with the rook behind the pawn is rather tricky . Here are two
cases that are of interest:

Example 1 07

Diagram 1 1 (W) Diagram 1 2 (W)

Tricky, but Black can draw Tricky, but White can win

(Diagram 1 1) 1 Rb4 Nd6?

Black can draw with l . . .Na5! (Frink's move). Then 2 Ke5 Kc5 ! 3 Rb 1
(3 b7 Nc6+) is comfortably drawn after 3 . . . Nc4+, so more testing is 2
Ke4, but after 2 . . . Nb 7 3 Ke5 Nc5 4 Kf5 Nd7 5 b 7 Kc7 6 Rb5 Nb8 7 Ke4
Kc6 8 Rb 1 Kc7 9 Kd5 Nd7 10 Rb3 Nb8 1 1 Kc4 Nd7 1 2 Rb5 Kb8 1 3
Kb4 Ka 7 1 4 Ka5 Nb8 White i s getting nowhere a s the pawn cannot be
protected with the king.

1 48
 Rook vs. M inor Piece

2 Ke5 Nb7 3 Ke 6 Nc5+ 4 Ke 7 Nb7

The alternative 4 . . . Kb 7 fails to 5 Kd6 Na6 6 Rb 1 Nb8 7 Kc5 Nd7+ 8
Kb5 Nb8 (8 . . . Nxb6 9 Kc5) 9 Rc l etc.
5 Rb1 Na5 6 Kd8 Kb7 7 Kd7 Nc4
Berger considered this position to be drawn but Cheron demonstrated
that White has a straightforward win:
8 Rb4! Nxb6+ 9 Kd6 Ka7 10 Kc6 Nc8 1 1 Kc7

Example 1 08
0 La Bourdonnais • Macdonnell
London Match 1 834

The game continued as follows :

(Diagram 12) 1 Kd5? N b 5 2 Rb3
2 Ra 1 Nc7+ etc.
2 Kxa6 3 Kc5 Na7 4 Rb8 Ka5 with a draw, as in some variations
...

analysed in Example 104.

However, Berger showed that 1 Ra4! leads to a win: l . . .Nc6 ( l . . .Kc6 2
Rb4 cuts off the king) 2 Kd5 Na 7 3 Kd6 Nb5+ 4 Kd7 Na7 (after
4 . . . Ka7 5 Kc6 Nc3 6 Rc4 the knight is driven away from the king to its
doom - 6 . . . Nb 1 7 Rc l Na3 8 Kc5, or 7 . . . Nd2 8 Kb5) 5 Ra 1 Nb5 6 Kc8
Ka7 (6 . . . Na7+ 7 Kb8 Nc6+ loses to the charming 8 Ka8 ! , e . g. 8 . . . Na7 9
Rb l+) 7 Ra5 Nd6+ 8 Kc7 Nc4 9 Ra2 Nb6 10 Kc6 Nc4 1 1 Kc5 Nb6 1 2
Kb5 Nc8 1 3 Rd2 and wins .
In conclusion, the rook's pawn offers better winning chances because
the defender is denied Frink's defence (see Example 107) .

0
Note: T h e knight is more l i kely t o defend successfully agai n st rook
and pawn if the pawn is not a rook's pawn .

Rook versus knight: all the pawns on one wing

With an equal number of pawns on the same wing the defender is

rarely likely to hold, but there are exceptions . In this example Black
has practically the most favourable set-up : good pieces and a weak
pawn to attack .

Example 1 09
0 Alekh ine • Fox
Bradley Beach 1 929

(Diagram 13) 1 Rb6+ Ke 7 2 Ra6

2 e6 is met by 2 . . . Nxh4 3 exf7 Kxf7 4 Ke5 Nf3+ and White's threats
are parried.

1 49
Mastering the Endgame

Diagram 1 3 (W) Diagram 1 4 (B)

White sacrifices to get active With care, Black can hold

2 ... Nxh4 3 Kd5 Ng2 4 Ra7+ K£8 5 Ke4 Nh4 6 e6!

White temporarily sacrifices a second pawn for tremendous activity.
6 ... fxe 6 7 Ke 5 Ng2 8 K£6 Ke8 9 Kg5 K£8 10 Ra2 Ne3 1 1 Kxg6 Ke 7
1 2 Rh2 Nd5 1 3 Kg5 N£6
Simpler is 1 3 . . . Kf7 ! , when 14 Rxh5 Nf6 1 5 Rh6 Ne4+ should draw
more easily than in Example 1 10 .
1 4 Re2 K £7 1 5 R e 5 Nh7+ 1 6 Kxh5 K£6 1 7 Kg4 N £8 1 8 R h 5 Kg6 1 9
Ra5 Nd7 2 0 K £3 K£6 2 1 Ra7 N £8 22 Kg4
White has won back the two pawns and, although recent analysis sug­
gests that Black should draw, it is no easy task - see below:

Example 1 1 0
Kasparov, Averbakh etc.

(Diagram 14) 22 ... Kg6!

Kasparov's improvement. Instead, Alekhine-Fox, Bradley Beach 1929
continued 22 . . . Ng6? 23 Rh7 Nf8 (after 23 . . . Ne 7 White progresses with
24 Rh6+ Kf7 25 Kg5) 24 Rh6 Ke 7 25 Kg5 Nd7 26 Rh7+ Kd6 27 Rh 1
Ke 7?! 28 Kg6 Nb6 29 Re 1 Kd7 30 Kf7 Nd5 3 1 Re4 Nc7 32 Rd4+ Kc8
33 Rc4 1-0. As Averbakh pointed out, slightly more resilient is
2 7 . . . Nb6 28 Re 1 Nd5 29 Re4 Nc3 30 Rc4 Nd5 3 1 Kg6 Ke 7 32 Re4 Kd6
33 Kf7 Kd7 34 Rc4 Kd6 35 Ra4 Kd7 36 Re4, transposing back to the
game after 3 1 Re4, or 32 . . . Kf8, when after 33 Rd4 Ke 7 34 f5 Nf6
White wins the game with a neat trick - 35 Rd 1 ! exf5 36 Re l + Ne4 3 7
Kxf5 .
23 Ra8 Nh7!
Now White is denied the g5-square for his king.

1 50
 Rook vs. M inor Piece

24 Rg8+ Kf7 25 Rh8 Kg6 26 K£3 Nf6 27 Ra8 Kf5 28 Ra5+ Nd5 29
Rb5 Kf6
This ending was considered to be winning for many years , but with
22 . . . Kg6 ! it seems that Black is able to hold.
It is refreshing to see that even the big guys spend time studying the
games of other great masters , analysing endgames and questioning
truths written in stone . The searching, analytical mind should be de­
veloped!

Example 1 1 1
0 Szabo • Trifunovic
Stockholm 1 948

Diagram 1 5 (W) Diagram 1 6 (B)

White's first plan is to gain space Black is very cramped

This represents a typical situation. An extra exchange but no particu­

lar pawn weaknesses.
White's winning technique is instructive: cramping the knight as
much as possible before going for the weak point on f7 .
1 Ke5 N h 7 2 R c 6 K f8 3 f4 Kg7 4 R d 6 Nf8 5 g 4 Nh7
Black dare not play 5 . . . Ne6 due to 6 Rxe6.
6 h4 Nf8 7 f5 (Diagram 16) 7 ... gxf5
7 . . . f6+ does not help : 8 Ke4 g5 (8 . . . Kf7 9 Ra6 and White threatens
Ra7+, while in the case of 8 . . . gxf5+ 9 Kxf5 Nh7, simply 10 Rd7+ wins)
9 h5 Kf7 10 Kd5 Ke 7 1 1 Kc6 Kf7 12 Kc7 Ke 7 13 Ra6 Kf7 14 Kd8 and
Black is squeezed dry.
8 gxf5 h5 9 Rd1 Nh7 10 Rg1+ Kh8
Or 10 . . . Kf8 1 1 f6 Ke8 12 Rg7 Nf8 13 Rg8.

1 51
Mastering the Endgame

1 1 Kd6 1-0
Black resigned in view of 1 2 Ke 7 .

Rook vs . Bishop
It is instructive to compare similar endings where the weaker side has
a bishop instead of a knight.

Rook and Pawn versus Bishop

Example 1 1 2
G u retsky-Corn itz

Diagram 1 7 (W) Diagram 1 8 (W)

White cannot make progress Agai n a d raw if Black is careful

The material advantage of rook and pawn against bishop would in

most cases lead to a win, but not always. Here the pawn is securely
defended but progress is not possible without losing the pawn.
1 Rh6 Ba3 2 d7+ Kxd 7 3 Kd5 Kc7 with a typical drawn position.
In Improve your Endgame Play I analyse positions with rook vs .
bishop (without pawns for either side) and the conclusion is that a win
is possible only in exceptional circumstances.

Example 1 13
0 Szabo • Botvinnik
Budapest 1 952

If the £-pawn were only on f5 White could win easily by putting his
king on f6 and thus flushing out Black's king. From the diagram posi­
tion, however, White cannot win if Black plays accurately .
(Diagram 1 8) 1 Rc7 Ba2

1 52
 Rook vs. M inor Piece

Also possible is l . . .Bd5, but not l . . .Bb3? 2 Kg6 . Black must not allow
White's king to install itself on either e6 or g6, so wrong is l . . .Bb5?
since after 2 f7 Kg7 3 Kf5 Ba4 4 Rb 7 Bd1 (4 . . . Bc6 loses to 5 Ke6 ! Bxb7
6 Ke 7) 5 Ke6 Bh5 6 Rc7 Bg6 7 f8Q+! Kxf8 8 Kf6 Black is doomed.
2 Rc1
2 f7 is here , and in most positions, met by 2 . . . Kg7! and later by ... Bxf7 .
2 ... Bd5 3 Kf5 Kf7 4 Ke5 Bb3 5 Rc7+ K£8 6 Rb7 Bc4 7 Rb4 Ba2 8
Kf5 Bd5
Getting ready to deliver check if the king ventures to g6 . Poor is
8 . . . Kf7? as there is no defence to 9 Rb 7+ Kf8 1 0 Kg6 .
9 Kg6 Bf7+ 10 Kg5 Bd5 1 1 Rh4 Bb3 1 2 Rh8+ Kf7 1 3 Rh7+ K£8 1 4
f7 Ke 7!
1 4 ... Bxf7? is unwise due to 1 5 Kf6, when there is no defence .
1 5 Kg6 Bc4
Not 15 . . . Bc2+? since after 16 Kg7 White queens the pawn.
16 Rg7 Bb3
Despite White's apparent progress there is no win.
17 f8Q+ Kx£8 1 8 Kf6 Ke8 1 9 Re7+ Kd8 %-%

Example 1 1 4

This commonly occurring example is probably the best known of these

exceptional positions .

Diagram 1 9 (W) Diagram 20 (W)

White has no chances at al l Agai n drawn with care from Black

With a dark-squared bishop the win is trivial, with a light-squared

bishop White cannot progress .

1 53
Mastering the Endgame

1 Rd7
Other tries are equally forlorn: 1 Rg7 Bc2 2 Kf6 Bd3 3 Kf7 Bc2 and
White is getting nowhere , or 1 h7 Bxh7 2 Kh6 Bg8 with a well-known
draw thanks to Black's use of stalemate to hold.
l. .. Bc2
Incorrect is l . . .Bh7?, for White can then win, e.g. 2 Rd8+ Bg8 3 ReS
Kh7 4 Re 7+ Kh8 5 Kg6 Bc4 6 h7 and there is no stalemate .
2 Kf6 Be4
White can do nothing. Black must avoid placing his bishop in the cor­
ner too early - see l . . .Bh7? in the previous note .

Example 1 1 5
D Morphy • Lowenthal
London match 1 858

If the 'wrong' rook's pawn is on the fifth rank there is also no win.
(Diagram 20) 1 Rh8+ Ka7 2 Rh7+ Ka8 3 Ka6 Kb8 4 Rb7+ Kc8!
In reply to 4 . . . Ka8? White has a useful-to-know technique that wins: 5
Rg7! Bh2 6 Rg8+ Bb8 7 Kb5 (avoiding stalemate) 7 . . . Kb7 8 Rg7+ Ka8
(on 8 . . . Bc7 White has 9 a6+ Kb8 10 a7+ Ka8 1 1 Ka6 Bd8 1 2 Rg6 ! , forc­
ing mate) 9 Kb6 Be5 10 Ra7+ Kb8 1 1 Rd7 Ka8 (after 1 l . . .Kc8 Black's
king is cut off by 12 Rb 7 Bd4+ 13 Kc6 Be3, when pushing the a-pawn,
starting with 14 a6, wins easily) 12 a6 Bh2 1 3 a7 Bgl+ 1 4 Ka6.
5 Rb1
Despite having cut off Black's king White can w i n only b y releasing
his own king from the a-file , i.e. getting it to the c-file . However, when
White plays Kb5 Black marches his own king back to the corner.
5 ... Be3
There is one trick that Black must avoid: 5 ... Bd4? loses to 6 Kb5 , as
6 . . . Kb 7 is met by 7 Kc4+.
6 Re 1 Bf2 7 Re8+
Or 7 Rc l + Kb8 8 Rb 1+ Kc8 etc.
7 ... Kc7 112-112
White really can't progress !

Example 1 1 6
G u retsky-Cornitz 1 863

With the pawn on only the fourth rank the game is won! Curious but
true . The main difference is that White needs to use the h5-square for
his king.

1 54
 Rook vs. Minor Piece

Diagram 21 (W) Diagram 22 (B)

Now White can win White needs h5 for the king

1 Kh6 Kg8
l . . .Be4 fails to 2 Re 7 Bd5 3 ReS+ BgS 4 Kg5 Kg7 5 Re 7+ KhS 6 Kg6
Bb3 7 Rh7+ KgS S Rc7 KhS 9 h5 and wins as already analysed in the
notes to Examples 1 1 4 and 1 1 5.
2 Rg7+ K£8
Again 2 . . . KhS loses to (the by now familiar) 3 Re 7 Bc4 4 ReS+ BgS 5
Kg5 etc.
3 Rg3 Bb1?!
3 ... Bc2 looks more accurate to me.
4 Rg5 Kf7
After 4 . . . Bd3 the most precise is 5 Kh5, threatening 6 Kg4, leaving the
black king cut off and freeing the h-pawn for its triumphal advance .
Black then has to react with 5 . . . Be2+, when 6 Kg6 (intending 7 Kf6,
leaving Black's king shut out again) obliges 6 . . . KgS, after which White
has 7 Rd5 Kf8 S RdS+ Ke 7 9 Rd2 Bf3 10 Kg7 etc.
5 Rg3
Why not 5 Kh5 followed by Kg4, I wonder? This would have been
avoided in the case of 3 . . . Bc2 .
5 ... Bc2
After 5 . . . Be4 6 Kg5 ! Kg7 White picks up the bishop with 7 Kf4+, while
5 . . . KfS leads to 6 Kh5 (using the all-important square) 6 . . . Kf7 7 Rg5
and Kg4 .
6 Kh5 (Diagram 22) 6 ... Kf6
The alternatives all fail:

1 55
Mastering the Endgame

a) 6 . . . B d l+ 7 Kg5 Kg7 8 Rc3 limits the bishop's scope. Then White

wins with the straightforward 8 . . . Be2 9 h5 Bb5 10 h6+ Kh7 1 1 Rc7+
Kh8 12 h7.
b) 6 . . . Bb 1 7 Rg5 Kf6 8 Kg4 etc.
c) 6 . . . Ba4 7 Kg5 Kg7 8 Rc3 and once the bishop is denied access to the
b 1 -h7 diagonal the advance of the h-pawn wins.
7 Rg5 Bd 1+
Here 7 ... Bf5 8 Kh6 Bc2 is refuted by 9 Rg2 Bd3 10 Rf2+, sending
Black's king away, and 7 . . . Bd3 by 8 Kg4 (revolving round the rook)
8 . . . Be2+ 9 Kf4 and the h-pawn is free to advance .
8 Kh6 Kf7
Following 8 . . . Bf3 9 Rg1 Be2 10 Rg2 Bd3 1 1 Rf2+ the black king is
again pushed away.
9 Rg7+ Kf6
In the event of 9 . . . Kf8 White has 1 0 Kg6, exploiting the fact that
Black's bishop is no longer on the b 1 -h7 diagonal, and after the fur­
ther 10 . . . Bh5+ 1 1 Kf6 Bf3 1 2 Rg5 White is poised to push the h-pawn.
1 0 Rg1 Be2 11 Rg2 Bd3 1 2 Rf2+ Bf5
Black's king remains cut off after 12 . . . Ke 7 while White can free his
own.
13 h5
White wins.
There a number of sub-variations but the difference between the
pawn being on the fourth and the fifth rank is as follows: White needs
the h5-square for his king to wriggle out and close out Black's king.
The addition of this threat allows White to win.

Rook versus Bishop: all the pawns on one wing

With 2 against 2 the result depends very much on the defender's
pawn structure .

Example 1 1 7
Fine 1 941

Here White wins by using the b6-weakness and pushing up the

queenside . The most convincing way of doing this is by first putting
the king on c7, with threats against b7.
(Daigram 23) 1 Kd6 Kb8 2 Rh8+ Ka7 3 Kc7 Bd5 4 a3 Bc6
4 . . . b5 fails to 5 Kd6 Bf3 6 Kc5 Be4 7 Re8 Bf3 8 Re7+ and Kb6 etc.

1 56
 Rook vs. M inor Piece

Diagram 23 (W) Diagram 24 (W)

The dark squares are weak - White wins Black has an ideal set-up - draw

5 Rh6 Bf3 6 Rb6 Be4 7 b4 Bg2 8 a4 Bf3 9 b5

Black's king now comes under attack.
9 ... axb5
After 9 . . . a5 10 Rf6 Bg2 (10 . . . Bd1 allows the study-like win 1 1 Ra6+!)
1 1 b6+ Ka6 12 Rf8 White mates, and 9 ... Be4 alters little in view of 1 0
R e 6 Bf3 1 1 b6+ etc.
10 axb5 Be4 11 Re6 Bd5
Or 1 l . . .Bf3 12 Re 3.
1 2 Re1
White wins.

Example 1 1 8
Averbakh

Here Black has the ideal set-up with a light-squared bishop and
pawns that protect the key dark-squares. White cannot win.
(Diagram 24) 1 Ke 5 Kc7 2 Rh7+ Kb8 3 Kd6 Bf3 4 a4 Be4 5 Rf7
Bg2 6 b4 axb4 7 Rf4 Kb7 8 Rxb4 Ka6 9 Kc7 Ka5 'h-'h

Example 1 1 9
Averbakh 1 962

With a dark-squared bishop Averbakh recommends the pawn struc­

ture in the Diagram 25.
(Diagram 25) l...Bf2!
l . . .Ba7? fails to 2 Rg7+ Kb6 3 Rxa 7 Kxa7 4 Kc6, and l . . .Bb6? is wrong

1 57
Mastering the Endgame

with the king so well posted on d5, e . g. 2 Rg7+ Kb8 (or 2 . . . Bc7 3 Kc5
Kb8 4 Kc6) 3 b3 Bf2 4 Kc6 Be3 5 b4 Bd4 6 Rg3 Bf2 7 Rf3 Bd4 8 a4!
bxa4 9 Ra3 Ka7 10 Rxa4 and the a-pawn falls due to the threat of b5.

Diagram 25 (B) Diagram 26 (B)

Another ideal set-up for Black The weakness on f2 will prove too much

2 Ke4 Bc5 3 Kd3 B£2 4 Kc3 Bc5 5 Kb3 B£2 6 Kb4 Bb6!
Now this is the correct square (with the king on b4) as the bishop cov­
ers both a5 and c5. The game is drawn since there is no way to pro­
gress.
Moving on to the case of three pawns each on the same wing, how­
ever, the stronger side almost always wins .

Example 1 20
D Speelman • Kasparov
Graz 1 98 1

The Achilles' heel i n White's position i s the f2-square , which eventu­

ally comes under intense pressure .
l...Rb3+ 2 Kg2 Kc3 3 Bf3 Rb5 4 Bc6 Rc5 5 Be8 Rc7 6 Kfl Kd2 7
Ba4 Rcl+ 8 Kg2 Ke 1 !
The ideal square , from where the king can attack f2 .
9 B b 3 Rc7 10 f4
A necessity as 10 Bd5 loses to 10 . . . Rc2 . Now the king needs to be re­
deployed to e3.
1 0 . . . Ke 2 1 1 B d 5 Ke 3 1 2 B a 8 f6
Instructive is the alternative idea 12 . . .f5 1 3 Bd5 (the active try 1 3 h5
gxh5 14 Kh3 Rc2 15 Bd5 is refuted by 1 5 . . . h4!) 13 . . . h5, following up
with . . . g6-g5! and then either .. .f5-f4 or . . . h5-h4, opening up the de-

1 58
 Rook vs. M inor Piece

fender's pawns for the king to mop up , e . g. 14 Kg 1 Rd7 1 5 Bc6 Rd6 1 6

Bb7 g 5 ! 1 7 hxg5 h 4 18 Kg2 hxg3 19 Kxg3 Rd4 and Black wins (as i n
Radev-Pribyl, Tbilisi 1 9 7 1 with colours reversed) . This suggests that
the side with the rook wins a 3 vs. 3 position, even if the pawns are
unfavourably fixed on the same colour as the bishop .
1 3 Kg1 Rg7!
A clever manoeuvre to get at the g-pawn.
1 4 Kg2 g5 15 hxg5 hxg5 1 6 fxg5 Rxg5 ! 0-1
The g3-pawn is lost since Black is able to either push .. .f5-f4 or play
. . . Kf2 .

My Advice
Look through your games where one player has an exchange more
and bear in mind the following considerations : Should one be looking
to give the exchange back at some moment? Is the advantage easier to
convert in an ending or MTE? In the ending, is it winning with pawns
only on one wing? Is there any chance of winning even if the remain­
ing pawns get exchanged?

1 59
Mastering the Endgame

Try it You rself

Exercise 1 (White to play) Exercise 2 (White to play)

Exercise 1: It is White to move . Is there a way to win?

Exercise 2: How does White break down Black's blockade?

Exercise 3 (White to play) Exercise 4 (White to play)

Exercise 3: Can White , who has the move , defend?

Exercise 4: It is White to play. Is there a way to win?

1 60
C h a pte r Seven
.
Solu t i ons to Exerc lses
Mastering the Endgame

C h a pter One: Sol utions

Exercise 1
D Petrosian • Geller
Amsterdam Candidates 1 956

Black can draw with

l...Nc5+!
The game instead continued l . . . Nb6? 2 a5 Na8 3 Kf7 (3 h4 is simpler)
3 . . . g5 4 K£6 g4 5 Kg5 Kb 7 6 Kxg4 Nc7 7 Kg5 Nd5 8 h3 Nc3 9 g4 Ne4+
10 K£5 Ng3+ 1 1 K£4 Ne2+ 1 2 Ke3 Nc3 13 g5 Nd5+ 14 Ke4 Ne 7 15 K£4
Nd5+ 1 6 K£3 Ne 7 1 7 h4 Kxa7 18 K£4 Ng6+ 1 9 Kg4 Ne 7 20 h5 Ka6 2 1
K£4 Kxa5 2 2 Ke 5 Kb6 2 3 Ke6 1-0.
2 K f7 K b 7 3 Kxg7 N e 4 4 Kxh7 Nd2!
Black wins one of the kingside pawns after both 5 g4 Nf3 and 5 h3
Ne4, and thus salvages a draw .

Exercise 2
D Spassky • Tal
U SSR Championship 1 958

Both players missed White's winning continuation.

1 g4 !!
Chekhover's discovery . This is a risky looking move, but the g-pawn
adds another unit to the attack and this outweighs the opening up of
his own king. The game continued 1 Qf8+ K£6 2 Re8 Re6 3 Qh8+ K£5 4
Qh6 K£6 but this yields no more than a draw. Spassky then stub­
bornly continued playing for a win and even lost: 5 Qh8+ (5 Rd8 Qc6 6
Qg5+ Kg7 7 Qxd5 wins a pawn but then Black obtains a winning at­
tack with 7 . . . Qc3 !) 5 . . . Kf5 6 Rd8 Qc6 7 Rc8? (7 Kg3) 7 . . . Qa6 8 Kg3
Qd6+ 9 Kh3 Re 1 (who has the weakest king now?) 10 g3 Rg 1 ! 1 1 f4
Re 1 1 2 Rc2 Qe6 1 3 Rf2 Rh l+ 14 Kg2 Qe4+ 1 5 Rf3 Kg4 1 6 Qc8+ f5 0- 1 .
l...hxg4
In the event of l . . .Re6 the continuation 2 g5 Rc6 3 Qf8+ Ke6 4 Re8+
Kf5 5 Re 7 Rc2+ 6 Kg3 Qd6+ 7 Re5+ wins for White .
2 Q£8+ Kf6 3 fxg4 Re6
3 . . . Ra6 lasts longer but after 4 Kf3! Ra 1 5 Qh8+ Ke 7 6 Qe5+ Qe6 7
Rc7+ Kd8 8 Qxe6 fxe6 9 Rg7 the rook ending with two connected
passed pawns is winning. Another try is 3 . . . Rc6 4 Re8 Rc2+ 5 K£3
Rc3+ 6 K£4 Qc7+ 7 Re 5, but White mates first.
4 Rc3 Re4 5 Rf3+ Ke6 6 g5 Qe 7 7 Qc8+ and White wins.

1 62
 Solutions to Exercises

In those situations when you are pressing for a win, time is ticking
away and nothing quite seems to work, ask yourself to be reasonable !
Ti p : Don't get flustered - ask you rself if the position offers objective
winning chances without risk or, if not, is this the moment to bail out
with a d raw?

Exercise 3
D Smyslov • Tal
U SSR 1 964

In order to hit the weaknesses on a4, d3 and h3 Black must bring the
bishop into White's position via e8-h5 etc. During this process White's
counterplay (activating his knight) must be taken into account.
l...Kg6 2 Kb3 Kg7 3 Ka3 Kf6 4 Kb3 Be8 5 Ng2
The attempt at counter-activity with 5 Nf3 Bh5 6 Ne5 has to be care­
fully dealt with: 6 . . . Bd1+ 7 Ka3 Ke6 8 Nc6 Bc2 9 Ne5 (here Black re­
quires a pawn move to force zugzwang - indeed in the initial position
Tal remarked that if the pawn were already on h6 then Black cannot
win!) 9 . . . h6! 10 g4 B d 1 and zugzwang.
5 ... Bh5 6 Kc2 Be2 7 Ne 1 Bfl 8 Nf3
8 h4 weakens g4 and Black wins by reversing roles again: Bfl -e2-h5-
e8-c6 and then Kf6-g6-h5-g4.
8 ... Bxh3 9 Ng5 Bg2 10 Nxh7+ Kg7 11 Ng5 Kg6 1 2 Kd2
If White goes back to defend the a-pawn then Black simply marches
his king to g3.
12 ... Bc6 1 3 Kc1 Bg2
Prudently played. 13 . . . Bxa4 allows 14 Nf3 followed by Ne 5+ with
chances to make a fight of it.
14 Kd2 Kh5 15 Ne6 Kg4 1 6 Nc7 Bc6 17 Nd5 Kxg3 18 Ne 7 Bd7! 1 9
N d 5 Bxa4 20 Nxb6 Be8
20 . . . Bc6! was simpler, when 21 Nd5 Kf3 22 Ne 7 Bd7 23 Nd5 a4 wins
comfortably for Black.
2 1 Nd5 Kf3 22 Nc7 Bc6 23 Ne6 a4 24 Nxc5 a3 25 Nb3 a2 26 Kc 1
Kxf4 27 Kb2 Ke 3 28 Na5 Be8 29 c5 f4 30 c6 Bxc6 3 1 Nxc6 f3 3 2
N e 5 f2 0-1

Exercise 4

Exercise 4
Marie's analysis from Smyslov-Tal, USSR 1 964

The familiar pawn structure from the previous exercise is due to the

1 63
Mastering the Endgame

fact that this is a possible variation from that game . The win starts
with a remarkable move .
l...Kd 8!!
Zugzwang! ! Black prepares a race by putting his king on a good
square (no disruptive checks and within range of both the f- and b­
pawns) and White , obliged to move , has to go to a less than ideal
square . Other tries don't quite win: l . . .b5? 2 cxb5 c4 3 f5 h4 4 b6 hxg3
5 b7 Kc7 6 f6 cxd3+ 7 Kxd3 g2 8 f7 g 1 Q 9 b8Q+ Kxb8 10 f8Q+ and in
view of the barrage of checks on Black's king it is only drawn; l . . .Kd6
2 Kf2! b5 3 cxb5 c4 4 dxc4 h4 5 c5+! (check !) 5 . . . Kxc5 6 f5 hxg3+ 7
Kxg3 d3 8 f6 Kd6 9 b6 d2 10 f7 Ke 7 1 1 b7 d 1 Q 1 2 f8Q+ Kxf8 1 3 b8Q+
and the draw is certain.
2 Kd2
2 Ke 1 b5 3 cxb5 c4 4 f5 h4 5 f6 h3 6 f7 Ke 7 7 Kf2 h2 8 Kg2 cxd3 9 b6
d2 10 b 7 h 1 Q+, when after 2 Kf2 b5 3 cxb5 c4 4 f5 (or 4 dxc4 h4 5 f5
hxg3+ 6 Kxg3 d3 7 f6 d2 8 f7 Ke 7) 4 . . . c3! 5 Ke2 c2 6 Kd2 h4 7 f6 hxg3
8 f7 Ke 7 9 b6 g2 10 b7 c l Q+ 1 1 Kxc l g 1 Q+ Black lands first.
2 ... b5! 3 cxb5 h4! 4 gxh4
4 f5 fails to 4 . . . h3 5 f6 h2 6 f7 Ke 7.
4 ... g3 5 Ke 2 g2 6 Kf2 c4 7 h5 c3 8 h6 c2 9 h7 g1Q+ 10 Kxg1 c 1 Q+
1 1 Kg2 Qd2+ 1 2 Kg1 Qe l+ 1 3 Kg2 Qh4 and Black wins .

C h a pter Two : Sol utions

Exercise 1

Black's pieces and pawns are ideally placed and he thus has maxi­
mised his drawing chances. If the white king were on the inferior e 1 -
square, rather than e3, then I believe Black could count o n a draw .
Compared to Example 4 1 Black's king is slightly better placed but,
more importantly, the b-pawn being closer than the a-pawn implies
that White's king has less distance to travel. The result is not totally
clear, but I suspect that White should win.
Here are some lines:
1 f3 !
In reply t o 1 Rb8 I suggest l . . .Kf5 ! , activating the king. Then 2 Kd4
(after 2 b7 Kf6 White cannot really do anything) 2 . . . Rxf2 3 Rf8 Rb2 4
Rxf7+ Kg4 5 Rf6 Kxg3 6 Rxg6+ Kxh4 looks equal. Possible is 1 Kd4
when l . . .Rxf2?! 2 Rc7 Rb2 3 Kc5 Rc2+ (otherwise 3 . . . Ke6 is met by 4
b7, threatening Rc6-b6, and 3 . . . Kf5 by 4 Rxf7+ Kg4 5 Rf4+ Kxg3 6
Rb4) 4 Kd6 Rb2 5 Rc6 is promising for White, but Black can try the
alternative l . . .Ke6! ? 2 Kc5 Rc2+ 3 Kb4 Rxf2 4 Rc7 Rb2+ 5 Kc5 f6 6 b 7

1 64
 Solutions to Exercises

Kf5, which looks playable .

l...Rb3+
After l . . .Ke6 2 Kd4 Rb3 3 Kc4 Rxf3 4 Rc7 Rfl 5 b 7 Rb l 6 Kc5 White
has made good progress, while there is also l . . .Rb4 2 Kd3 Rb3+ 3 Kc4
Rxf3 4 Rc7 Rfl 5 b7 Rb l 6 Kc5, since 6 . . . Kf5 is refuted by 7 Rxf7+ Kg4
8 Rf4+ Kxg3 9 Rb4 .
2 Ke4
2 Kd4 is less precise since after 2 . . . Rxf3 3 Kc4 (or 3 Rc7, when by
3 . . . Rxg3 4 b7 Rb3 5 Kc5 Kf5 Black secures sufficient counterplay)
3 . . . Rxg3 4 Rxf7+ (4 Rc7 Rgl 5 b7 Rb l 6 Kc5 Kf5 is less clear) 4 . . . Kxf7
5 b7 Rg4+ 6 Kc5 Rxh4 7 b8Q Rg4 the game is drawn.
2 ... Rb4+
Black could try 2 . . . Ke6 3 Rb8, or 2 . . . g5! ? 3 hxg5+ Kxg5 4 Rb8 , but in
both cases the stronger side has pressure .
3 Kd5 Rb3 4 Kc4!
Here I don't rate Black's defensive chances too highly. However, as I
have yet to work everything out my advice is to keep analysing and
try and improve , until you are fully convinced. Compare with Exam­
ples 14, 4 3 & 44, where White won this type of ending on each occa­
siOn.

Exercise 2
D Rosenfeld • Nei
Tallinn 1 955

White exploits the slightly tangled nature of Black's pieces to win

back a pawn.
1 Ra2+ Kg3 2 Ra3+ Kg4
Or 2 . . . Kf2 3 Ra2+ Ke3 4 Ra3+ Kd2 5 Rg3 .
3 Ra7 Kf3
On 3 . . . g5 White wins a pawn with 4 Kf6.
4 Ra3+!
4 Rxg7? loses the initiative and the game after 4 . . . Re4+ 5 Kf5 Rf4+ 6
Ke 5 h4.
4 ...Kg4 5 Ra7 Rhl 6 Rxg7+ and White draws comfortably.

Exercise 3

A position that has been analysed in some detail.

l. .. Rh8!

1 65
Mastering the Endgame

l . . .Ra 1? loses because there is insufficient space behind - 2 h5! Ra6

(2 . . . Rgl+ 3 Kh2 Ra 1 4 h6 Ra7 5 Kg3 Rh7 6 Rh4 Kg5 7 Rh 1 and Black
is going backwards) 3 Rh4 Rh6 and now.:
a) 4 Ra4 Rb6 5 Ra5+? (5 Rh4! Rh6 6 Rf4+! transposes to 4 Rf4) 5 . . . Kf6
6 Kg4 Rb4+ (better is 6 . . . Rb 1 7 Ra6+ Kg7) 7 f4 Rb 7? (7 . . . Rb 1 ! should
draw) 8 Ra6+ Kg7 9 Kg5 Rc7 10 f5 Rb7 1 1 h6+ Kh7 12 Re6 Ra7 1 3
Re 5! Rb 7 1 4 f6 Rb 1 1 5 Re 7+ Kh8 16 f7 1 - 0 , Rabinovic-Yates, Moscow
1925. This shows that passively leaving the rook on the same rank as
the king loses.
b) 4 Rf4+ Kg5 5 Rg4+ Kf5 6 Kh4 Rh8 (or 6 . . .Ra6 7 Rg5+ Kf4 8 Rg6
Ra 1 9 Rf6+ Ke 5 10 Rf8 and Black's king is cut off) 7 Rg5+ Kf6 (after
7 . . . Kf4 8 Rg7 Kf5 9 Rg6 Ra8 10 Rg5+ Kf6 1 1 h6 Ra 1 12 Rg3 Ra4+ 1 3
Rg4 Ra 1 14 Kg3 Black loses control o f the h-pawn) 8 Kg4 Kf7 9 Rf5+
Kg7 10 Kg5 Rg8 1 1 Rf6 Kh7+ 12 Rg6 Ra8 13 f4 Ra 1 14 Re6 Rg l + 1 5
Kf6 Rfl (after 1 5 . . . Rh 1 the win i s instructive - 16 f5 Rxh5 1 7 Re7+
Kh6 18 Re8 Kh7 19 Ke6 Rh 1 20 f6 Re 1+ 21 Kf7 Ra 1 22 Kf8, as ana­
lysed by Botvinnik) 16 f5 Rf2 17 Re 5 Rh2 ( 1 7 . . . Kh6 fails to 18 Kf7
Kxh5 19 f6+ Kh6 20 Re6) 18 Re7+ (18 Re8 Rxh5 19 Ke6 is winning as
above) 18 . . . Kh6 19 Re8 Kh7 20 Ke6 Re2+ 21 Kf7 Ra2 22 f6 Ra6 23
Ke 7 Ra7+ 24 Kf8 (without the h-pawn Black would draw with
24 . . . Kg6) 24 . . . Ra6 25 f7 Ra 7 26 Rc8 Ra 1 27 Ke 7 1-0, Keres- Sokolsky,
Moscow 1947.
2 Rg5+ Kf6 3 Kg4 Ra8 4 h5 R a1 !
Given as drawing by Botvinnik (the point is that the rook can now
successfully harass from behind) .
5 Rg6+ Kf7 6 Kg5 Rgl+ 7 Kf5 Rh1 8 Kg5 Rgl+ 9 Kh6 Rf1 1 0
Rg7+ Kf6 1 1 Rg8 K f7 1 2 Rg3 R h 1 13 Kg5 Kg7 and Black's king
will take care of the h-pawn.
The defence is not easy here, both games played from the initial posi­
tion seeing Black lose . It seems that the rook is well-placed on a 1
(ready to come behind) if there is sufficient distance between the rook
on gllh 1 and White's pieces.

Exercise 4
D Flear • Relange
Cappelle-la-Grande 1 994

White has the remarkable choice of putting his rook in front, behind
or at the side of the passed pawn!
30 Rd2?
The natural idea is to 'go behind' but this is not adequate to win. In­
stead 30 Rd6+! Ke 7 31 Ra6 ! is the best chance . The extra outside
passed pawn with 4 vs. 4 offers good prospects, with the usual plan of
moving the king towards the a-pawn. Black, even if he were to net

1 66
 Solutions to Exercises

White's f- , g- and a-pawns for his rook, may find it difficult to obtain a
dangerous passed pawn or to support it with his king, e.g. 3 l . . .Rc3 32
a4 (getting the a-pawn advanced quickly is simplest) 32 ... Ra3 3 3 a5
Kd7 (or 33 ... Ra4 34 Kf3 Ra3+ 35 Ke2 Ra2+ 36 Kd3 Rxf2 37 Kc4 Rf3 38
Kd5 , with excellent winning chances) 34 Ra7+ Ke6 35 a6 Kf6 36 Kf1
Ra2 3 7 Ke 1 Ra4 38 f3 Ra2 39 Kd 1 Rf2 40 Rc7 Rxf3 4 1 a 7 Ra3 42 Kc2
and White should win. 30 Rd3? ! , however, allows 30 . . . Rc4 3 1 Kf3 Ra4
32 Rb3 Ke6 3 3 Ke 3 f5 and Black is fine .
30 ... Rc4 3 1 f3 Ra4 32 Ra2
32 Rd3 Ke6 33 Kf2 f5 is active for Black
32 ... Ke6 33 Kf2 f5 34 exf5+ gxf5 35 Ke 3 Kd5 36 Kd3
After 36 Rd2+ Ke6 3 7 Rd3 e4 38 fxe4 Rxe4+ 39 Kf3 Ra4 White cannot
progress.
3 6 ... e4+ 3 7 Ke 3
Or 3 7 fxe4+ fxe4+ 38 Kc3 e3 39 Kd3 Rg4 40 Kxe 3 Rxg3+.
37 ... Ke 5 38 Ra1 Rd4 39 f4+
Following 39 fxe4 fxe4 40 a4 Rd3+ 4 1 Kf2 Rd2+ 42 Kg 1 e3 43 a5 e2
(not 43 ... Ke4? 44 a6 etc.) White has nothing better than 44 Re 1 Ra2
45 Kf2 Rxa5 with a book draw .
3 9 ... Kd5 40 a4 Rd3+ 4 1 Kf2 Rd2+ 42 Ke 1 Rh2 43 R d l +
My original intention of 43 Ra3 fails to 43 ... Kd4 44 a5 e3 45 a6 Rh l+
46 Ke2 Rh2+ 4 7 Kf1 Rh 1 + and White must accept the perpetual.
43 ... Kc4 44 Rd2 Rhl+ 45 Ke 2 Ra1 46 Rc2+ Kd4 47 Rd2+ Kc4 48
Rc2+ lf2 - lf2
The only clear improvement I can find is putting the rook in front of
the pawn! In conclusion, with the rook behind the pawn there is no
win. This is surprising, but with four pawns each on the kingside , and
the e4-pawn subject to attack, Black is able to either obtain counter­
play or force the exchange of many pawns . In the game the rook on a4
was hardly reduced to passivity, yet if it were further back then White
would have had every chance to win.
Warn i n g : Be aware of generalisations - they are mere guideli nes,
' not laws to be fol l owed at all times.
:><:
C hapter Th ree : Sol utions

Exercise 1
D Reshevsky • Alekh ine
AVRO 1 938

l...Kc6!

1 67
Mastering the Endgame

After l . . .Ke6 2 Kg3 K£6 3 h3 Kg6 4 Kh4 White will win as in Example
25.
2 Kg3
After 2 g5 Rb5 3 Ra6+ Kb 7 4 Rxa2 Rxg5 5 Rc2 Rg8, although Black's
king is temporarily stranded, White will need his rook to facilitate the
advance of the h-pawn, and Black's king will be able to reach the
kingside in time .
2 ... Kb6 3 Ra8 Kb5 4 h3
4 g5 is objectively best, although after 4 . . . Kb4 5 g6 Rb3+ 6 Kh4 Ra3 7
Rxa3 Kxa3 8 g7 a l Q 9 g8Q Black should draw - see Examples 72-73.
4 ... Kb4 5 Kf4
5 Kh4 also leads to a draw after 5 . . . Kb3 6 g5 Rb l 7 Kh5 a l Q 8 Rxa l
Rxa l 9 g6 Kc4 etc.
5 ... Rc2!
A clever trick, typical of such positions .
6 Rb8+
6 g5? misses the point: 6 . . .Rc4+ 7 K£5 Rc5+ 8 K£6 Ra5 and Black wins.
6 ... Kc3 7 Ra8 Kb4!
As White has nothing better than a repetition a draw was agreed. For
the record 7 . . . Kb2 also draws.

Exercise 2
D Euwe • G ru nfeld
Vienna 1 92 1

Black cannot advance very far without exposing one o f his pawns to
exchange .
l . . Ra3+ 2 Kf2 Ra2+ 3 Kg3 Kg5
.

Or 3 . . . g5 4 K£3 Ra3+ 5 Kg2 Kg4 6 Rf8! (as soon as a black pawn can be
put en prise, it's time to trade) 6 . . . Ra2+ 7 Kg l Rxa7 8 Rxf6 Kg3 9 Rfl !
and Black cannot progress.
4 Kf3 f5 5 Kg3 Ra3+ 6 Kg2 f4 7 Kf2 Kg4 8 Rg8!
Again it is important to exchange a pair of pawns .
8 ... Ra2+ 9 Kg1 Rxa7 10 Rxg6+ Kf3 and now White holds with 1 1
Rf6! '12-'12

Exercise 3
Zek

1 Rg7+

1 68
 Solutions to Exercises

Best, presenting Black with an unpleasant choice .

l...K£8
Or l . . .Kh8 2 Re 7 Rxh6+ 3 Kf7 Ra6 4 f6 Kh7 5 Kf8+ Kg6 6 f7 Kf6 7
Kg8 and the pawn queens, while after 2 . . . Kg8 3 Re8+ Kh7 4 Kf7 Ra 1 5
f6 Ra7+ 6 Ke6 Ra6+ 7 Kf5 Ra5+ 8 Re5 Ra8 9 f7 White wins (note that
here if there were no h-pawn then 9 . . . Kg7 would hold) .
2 Kg6!
2 Rg6 Rh2 should lead only to a draw .
2 ... Rg1+
In reply to 2 . . . Rh2 White has 3 f6 followed by h6-h7 .
3 Kh7 Rfl
3 . . . Rh 1 is met by 4 f6 Rfl 5 Kg6 Rg l+ 6 Kf5 Rfl+ 7 Ke5 Re 1 + 8 Kd4
and an eventual . . . Rh 1 runs into the merciless h6-h7 followed by
Rg8+ .
4 Ra7 Rg1
In the case of 4 . . . Rxf5, then 5 Kg6 gains an important tempo to allow
time for 5 . . . Rfl 6 Ra8+ Ke 7 7 h7.
5 f6 Rg2 6 Rg7 Rf2 7 Kg6
White wins.

Exercise 4
Levenfish/Smyslov

With White to move :

1 g6!
This immediately does the trick.
l...R£8
Or l . . .Ra8 2 gxf7+ Kxf7 3 Rc7+ Kf8 4 Kg6 .
2 Rc7! fxg6+
No better is 2 . . . Ra8 3 Rxf7 Ra5+ 4 Kg4 Ra4+ 5 Kg5 Ra5+ 6 Kh6.
3 Kxg6 Ra8 4 Rg7+ K£8 5 Rh7 Kg8 6 f7+
White wins .
With Black to move , however, l . . .Re 1 ! holds - 2 Rc8+ Kh7 3 Rf8 Rfl+
4 Ke5 Re 1 + 5 Kd6 Kg6 6 Rg8+ Kf5 7 Rg7 (7 Kd 7 Re2 8 Re8 meets
with 8 . . . Ra2 9 Ke 7 Ra7+ 10 Kf8 Kg6) 7 . . . Re2 8 Kd7 Re5 ! . The choice of
square is important as 9 Rxf7 Kxg5 10 Re 7 is successfully met by
10 . . . Kxf6 , but only because the rook is defended.

1 69
Mastering the Endgame

C h a pter Fou r: Sol utions

Exercise 1
D Balogh • Ortel
Hungary 1 973

Black's first move decides the outcome .

l...g5!
Others are no good:
l . . . g6?? fails to the well-known trap 2 g5 and l . . .f5? allows zugzwang
after 2 gxf5 exf5 3 f4 . This leaves l . . .f6?? 2 f4 e5, which leads to an in­
structive loss in the race : 3 dxe5 fxe5 4 fxe5 Kxe 5 5 Kc4 Kf4 6 Kxb4
Kxg4 7 Kc3 Kxh5 8 b4 g5 9 b5 g4 1 0 Kd3 Kh4 11 b6 g3 1 2 Ke2 Kh3 13
b 7 g2 1 4 Kf2 Kh2 1 5 b8Q+ and White queens with check.
2 Ke3
2 hxg6 fxg6 3 Ke 3 is met by 3 . . . h5, yielding an outside passed pawn,
and after 2 f4 f6 (not 2 . . . gxf4 ?? in view of 3 g5) 3 fxg5 fxg5 4 Ke3 e5 5
dxe 5 Kxe 5 Black has the opposition.
2 .. f5 ! 3 Kd3
.

3 gxf5 exf5 4 Kd3 f4 and White is in zugzwang.

3 ... f4
Black wins . A question of precise analysis : the correct first move wins,
the others lose !

Exercise 2
D Levitina • Sau nina
U SSR 1 970.

White has to accurately time a king march to the queenside .

1 Ke5!
Yudovic points out that 1 h4 Kf6 2 c4 b6 3 Kf3 Ke5 4 Ke3 leads no­
where .
l . .. Kg5 2 c3!
In the game White went terribly astray : 2 c4?? b6 3 Kd6 h4! (3 . . . f4? 4
gxf4+ Kxf4 5 Kxc6 Kg3 6 Kxb6 Kxh3 7 Kxc5 leads to favourable queen
ending for White) 4 gxh4+ Kf6 ! (probably the move that White over­
looked) 5 Kxc6 f4 6 Kxb6 f3 0- 1 . A whole point lost by White !
2 ... b5
2 . . . b6? loses to 3 c4 Kg6 4 h4.

1 70
 Solutions to Exercises

3 c4 b4 4 d4 cxd4 5 Kxd4 f4
Or 5 . . . h4 6 gxh4+ Kxh4 7 Ke5 Kg5 8 c5! and Black cannot retain his f­
pawn.
6 gxf4+ Kxf4 7 Kc5 h4 8 Kxc6 Kg3 9 Kb5 Kxh3 1 0 c5 Kg3 11 c6
h3 1 2 c7 h2 1 3 c8Q h1Q 14 Kxa5 and the queen ending is winning.

Exercise 3
D Adorjan • M .Kovacs
Budapest 1 970.

The obvious 1 f5 serves only to block the wing and make it impossible
for White to progress as there is no queenside invasion.
1 Kf3 ! a5
Other tries are no better: l . . .Kd4 2 fxg5 hxg5 3 h4 gxh4 4 g5 Ke5 5
Kg4 and the g-pawn will win the game for White, or l . . .c4 2 dxc4+
Kxc4 3 Ke4 gxf4 (3 . . . Kc5 4 f5 and White can infiltrate) 4 Kxf4 Kd5 5
Kf5 Kd6 6 h4 c5 7 g5 hxg5 8 hxg5 Ke 7 (8 . . . c4 9 Kf6!) 9 Ke 5 Kf7 1 0 Kd5
c4 1 1 Kc5 Kg6 12 a3 Kxg5 13 Kb6 etc.
2 fxg5 hxg5 3 h4! gxh4 4 g5 a4 5 Kg4 a3 6 b3
6 bxa3?? loses to 6 . . . c4.
6 ... Kd4 7 g6 Kxd3 8 g7 Kc2 9 g8Q Kb2 1 0 b4 c4 11 Qg7+ c3 1 2
Qd4 Kc2 1 3 Kxh4 Kb2 14 Kg3 1-0

Exercise 4
D Znosko-Borozovsky • Alekh ine
St. Petersburg 1 91 4.

White has reasonable drawing chances if he follows Botvinnik's

analysis .
1 b3!
Immediately launching the pawn majority . In the game 1 Kf3? was
natural but not sufficient in view of l . . .Kf6 2 Kf4 Ke6 3 b3 Kd5 4 Ke3
h4 5 a4 h3 and White resigned. Not a very impressive defence . After
the alternative 2 b3 (instead of 2 Kf4) Alekhine suggests 2 . . . Ke6 3 a4
bxa4 4 bxa4 Kd5 with an easy win. while Minev gives the line 3 c4
bxc4 4 bxc4 b5 5 d5+ cxd5 6 cxb 5 h4 7 b6 Kd6 8 a4 Kc6 9 a5 d4 and
the widely separated pawns win.
l...Kf6 2 a4! bxa4
Alekhine analyses 2 . . . b4 3 c4 Kf5 (3 . . . Ke6 4 Kg3 ! Kf5 5 Kf3 is no im­
provement) 4 Kf3 h4 5 a5 h3 6 Kg3 Ke4 7 d5 cxd5 8 c5 d4 9 a6! bxa6
10 c6 d3 1 1 c7 d2 1 2 c8Q d 1 Q 13 Qe6+ Kd3 14 Qc4+ Ke3 15 Qf4+ Ke2
16 Qe4+ Kf1 17 Qh l+ Ke2 1 8 Qe4+ with a draw .
3 bxa4 Kf5

1 71
Mastering the Endgame

3 . . . c5 also fails to win: 4 dxc5 Ke 5 5 c6 bxc6 6 Kg3 Kd5 7 Kh4 Kc5 8

Kxh5 Kb6 9 Kg4 Ka5 10 Kf4 Kxa4 1 1 Ke5.
4 Kf3 h4 5 c4 h3 6 a5 h2 7 Kg2 Ke4 8 d5 cxd5 9 c5 d4 1 0 a6 bxa6
1 1 c6 d3 12 c7 d2 13 c8Q h 1 Q+ 14 Kxh 1 d 1 Q+
Now Botvinnik concludes that Black has a slight advantage .
The ending of queen and a-pawn vs. queen is theoretically drawn with
best play, but offers winning chances in practise - see Examples 72-
73. Another example of a world champion analysing an ending of a
predecessor.

C hapter F ive

Exercise 1
D Pillsbury • Gunsberg
Hastings 1 895

The solution tests your tactical ability .

1 £5 ! g5
After l . . . gxf5 2 gxf5 exf5 3 Nf4 White wins the d-pawn.
2 Nb4 a5 3 c6! Kd6
3 . . . axb4 4 c7 and White queens by force .
4 fxe6! Nxc6
After 4 . . . axb4 then 5 e7 Kxe 7 6 c7 wins .
5 Nxc6 Kxc6 6 e4!
Two connected passed pawns ensure victory .
6 ... dxe4 7 d5+ Kd6 8 Ke3 1-0

Exercise 2
D Tarrasch • Lasker
Hastings 1 895

The ending was not well played. Did you do any better?
1 K£5?
1 Nxc3! is correct, when l . . .Kxc3 2 Kf5 Kb2 3 g5 Bxg5 4 Kxg5 Kxa2 5
h4 b5 6 h5 b4 7 h6 b3 8 h7 b2 9 h8Q b 1 Q leads to a drawish queen
ending (see Example 73).
l...Kd3??
A crucial loss of a tempo. Necessary was l . . .c2! 2 g5 Bxg5 3 Kxg5 Kd3
4 Nc l+ Kd2 5 Nb3+ Kd 1 6 a4 (or 6 h4 a5 7 a4 b5 8 h5 bxa4 9 Nc l
Kxc l 10 h6 Kb 1 1 1 h7 c 1 Q+) 6 . . . a5 7 Kg4 b5 8 axb 5 a4 9 b6 axb3 1 0 b 7

1 72
 Solutions to Exercises

c l Q 1 1 b8Q Qc4+ 12 Kg3 Kc2 and Black wins .

2 Nxc3 Kxc3 3 g5 Bb6
Now 3 . . . Bxg5 4 Kxg5 Kb2 5 h4 wins for White .
4 h4 Bd4 5 h5 b5 6 h6 b4 7 g6 a5 8 g7 a4 9 g8Q 1�
Funnily enough the game was played in the same tournament as the
. .

prevwus exercise .

Exercise 3
Kubbel 1 925

Occasionally the knight can dominate a bishop on an open board.

1 c6! bxc6 2 Kb3
White threatens 3 a4 and 4 Nc4+ and in all variations Black loses his
bishop .
2 ... Bc5 3 a4 Kb6 4 Nd7+
Black's main problem was his poorly placed king.

Exercise 4
D Estrin • lvashin
Correspondence 1 94 7

There is only one way to force entry by White's king.

1 b4!!
After 1 Bb5 Bxb5 2 axb5, on the other hand, the simple 2 . . . b6 blocks
everything off.
l...axb4
l . . .b6 2 bxa5 bxa5 3 Bb5 Kf8 4 Kb2 and Black is zugzwanged.
2 Bc2 Bc6 3 Kb2 b6 4 Kb3 Kf8 5 Kxb4 Ke8 6 a5
Black resigned in view of 6 . . .bxa5+ 7 Kxa5 Kd8 8 Kb6 Be8 9 Kc5 Kc7
1 0 Bd3, e.g. 1 0 . . . Bc6 1 1 Bxg6! or 10 . . . Kd8 1 1 Kd6 .

C h a pter S ix Sol utions

Exercise 1
D Taimanov • Bronstein
U SSR 1 946

White can win as analysed by Bronstein and Averbakh!

1 Ra7+ Kf8 2 Rd7!
In the game 2 f5? led to a draw .

1 73
Mastering the Endgame

2 Kg8
...

2 . . . Ke8 3 Rh 7 K£8 4 f5 .
3 Ke6! K£8
After 3 . . . Nxf4+ 4 Kf6 Black cannot organise his pieces properly and
ultimately loses: 4 . . . Nh5+ (4 . . . g5 5 Kxg5 transposes) 5 Kxg6 Nf4+ 6
Kg5 Ne6+ 7 K£6 Nf4 (7 . . . Nf8 8 Rd8) 8 Rd4 Ne2 9 Rg4+ K£8 10 Rc4 Kg8
1 1 Kg6 Kf8 1 2 Kg5 Ng3 1 3 Kg4 and the knight is lost (see the end of
Example 1 32) . Here 4 . . . Kh8 allows White to win with an unusual rook
manoeuvre : 5 Rd4 g5 6 Rd7 g4 7 Rd4 Ng2 8 Rxg4 Ne3 9 Re4 Nd5+ 1 0
K£7 .
4 Rf7+ Kg8
4 . . . Ke8 is refuted by 5 Rf6 ! Kd8 6 K£7 ! etc.
5 Ke 7 Kh8 6 Kf8 Ng3 7 Rg7 Nh5 8 Rxg6 and White wins .

Exercise 2
D Fridstein • Klaman
U SSR 1 954

White won using zugzwang:

1 Rb8 Ng3
l . . .Kh7 loses quickly to 2 K£6 .
2 Kd6 Nf5+
Following 2 . . . Nh5 3 Rb4 Kf8 4 Kd 7 White reaches e 7 .
3 Kd 7 Kh7
In reply to 3 . . . f6 White has 4 Ke6 fxg5 5 fxg5 Nd4+ 6 Kd5 Nf5 7 Rb 7+
Kg8 8 Ke6, when the further Kf6 and Kxg6 will lead to victory .
4 Ke8 Kg8 5 Rd8 Kg7 6 Rd7 Kg8
Defending with tactics but after . . .
7 Rc7!
.. .it's zugzwang.
7 ... Ng7+ 8 Ke 7 Nf5+
Or 8 . . . Nh5 9 Rc8+ Kg7 10 Rf8 .
9 Kf6 Nd6 10 Rc6 Ne4+ 1 1 Ke 7 Kg7
After 1 l . . .Ng3 the simplest way to win is 12 Rf6 Nf5+ 1 3 Rxf5 gxf5 1 4
Kf6 Kf8 1 5 Kxf5 Kg7 16 Kg4 K£8 (16 . . .£6 i s n o better - 1 7 Kf5 fxg5 18
Kxg5 Kf7 19 K£5 Ke 7 20 Kg6) 1 7 f5 Ke 7 18 Kf4 Ke8 19 Ke5 Ke 7 20 g6
fxg6 2 1 fxg6 Ke8 22 Ke6.
1 2 Rf6! 1-0

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 Solutions to Exercises

Exercise 3
D Bednarski • Hecht
Wijk aan Zee 1 973

Remarkably White can scrape a draw .

1 Bc6!
Analysed by Hecht as an improvement over the game continuation,
which went 1 Bd7? Rd2 2 Be6 (2 Bf5 loses the b-pawn after 2 . . . Rd5)
2 . . . Rd6 3 Bc8 Rd5! 4 b6 (after 4 Ba6 Rd1 + 5 Kg2 Rd2+ 6 Kg 1 Rb2 7
Kh 1 Kg5 8 Kg 1 Kf4 9 Kh 1 g2+ 10 Kh2 Kf3 1 1 Bb 7+ Kf2 1 2 Bxg2 Rxb5
Black is also winning) 4 . . . Rb5 5 b7 Rb2 6 Kh 1 Kg5 7 Kg 1 Kf4 8 Bd7
Rxb7 9 Bc6 Rb l+ 1 0 Kg2 Rb2+ 11 Kg 1 g2 ! 1 2 Kh2 ( 1 2 Bxg2 Kg3)
12 . . . Rb6 13 Bxg2 ( 1 3 Bd5 Rg6 14 Bxg2 Rh6+ etc.) 13 . . . Rh6+ 14 Kg 1
Kg3 0- 1 .
l...Rd2
After l . . . g2 2 Kh2 Kg4 3 Bxg2 Rxb5 4 Bc6 Rb2+ 5 Kg 1 Kg3 6 Kf1
White wriggles out.
2 Bb7! Rd8 3 Be4!
The diagonal is just long enough for the bishop to stop . . . Kh3 and to
maintain the b-pawn until Black tries . . . g3-g2. There is no zugzwang.

Exercise 4

Yes , and the technique is worth remembering.

1 b4!
An important idea. If Black is allowed to play . . . a 7 -a5 free of charge
then White is probably not winning, e . g. 1 Rf7? a5 and Black should
draw !
l ...B£3
Now l . . . a5 merely leads to the quick loss of a pawn after 2 bxa5 bxa5
3 Kc5 a4 4 Kb6 Kc8 5 Rc7+ Kd8 6 Rc4.
2 a4 Be4 3 a5 bxa5 4 bxa5 a6
4 . . . Bf3 5 a6 is clearly decisive .
5 Kc5 Bd3 6 Kb6 Kc8
Now White wins by forcing the king away from the queenside and
then timing Rxa6.
Here is a sample variation . . .
7 Rc7+ Kd8 8 Rc1 Be2 9 Rc2 Bb5 1 0 Kb7 Bfl 1 1 Rd2+ Ke 7 1 2
Kc7 Ke 6 1 3 Rd1 Bb5 1 4 Rd6+ Ke 7
Or 14 . . . Ke 5 1 5 Rh6 Kd5 16 Rh5+ Kc4 1 7 Kb6 Kb4 18 Rxb5+.

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Mastering the Endgame

1 5 Rd5 Bc4 1 6 Re5+ K£7 1 7 Kb7 Bd3 18 Re3 Bc4 1 9 Rc3 Bb5
E qually hopeless is 1 9 . . . Be2, for instance 20 Rc2 Bd3 2 1 Rd2 Bc4 22
Rd6 Ke8 23 Rxa6.
20 Rb3 Bc4 2 1 Rb4 Be2 22 Rf4+ Kg7 23 Rd4 K£7 24 Rd6 Ke 7 25
Rxa6
White wins. This was partially based on Minev's analysis of Klauser­
Martinez, Mexico 1 980 (reversed colours) .

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