Endgame Play - Ward

Endgame Play

Chris Ward

8. T. Batsford Ltd, London

First published 1 996 ©Chris Ward ISBN 0 7 134 7920 5 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, by any means, without prior permission of the publisher.

Typeset by Petra Nunn and printed in Great Britain by Redwood Books, Trowbridge, Wilts for the publishers, B. T. Batsford Ltd, 4 Fitzhardinge Street, London WIH OAH

Dedication: Today my thoughts are with all those whose lives are affected by Cancer. I dedicate this book to my mum, Elizabeth, for absolutely everything.

A BATSFORD CHESS BOOK Editorial Panel: Mark Dvoretsky, Jon Speelman General Adviser: Raymond Keene OBE Specialist Adviser: Dr John Nunn Commissioning Editor: Graham Burgess

Contents Preface Symbols

4 5

1

Introducing Endgame Play

7

2

His Majesty I T he Colossal K ing 2 Expanding on and explaining King and Pawn vs K ing 3 Tempo: ls time of the essence? 4 S wap off and win! 5 S topping Passed Pawns 6 Blocking, Deflecting and Pushing Off 7 Corralling and Encirclement

9 9 13 20 23 26 37 40

3

The Soldiers 8 The Outside Passed Pawn 9 T he Great Pieces versus Pawns debate JO Which is better, connected or isolated? 1 1 T ricky Pawn moves and structures 1 2 A lecture o n Rook a nd Pawn endings

45 45 54 61 64 68

4

Strengths and Weaknesses 13 Weak Pawns and Infiltration 14 A word or two on Pawnless Endings 15 Cutting off the K ing 16 Zugzwang!

81 81 87 96 98

5

All the King's Men 17 Knights or Bishops? 18 More scenes with Queens 1 9 T he value ofpieces and which ones to exchang e 20 Opposite-coloured bishops -Always D rawn? 2 1 Tactics in the endgame

Indexes

103 1 03 1 08 111 1 15 1 19

125

Symbols

+ ++ # !! ? ?? !? ?! 1 -0 0- 1 1f2-1'2

Ch Echt Wch Wcht OL z IZ Ct corr (n) (D )

Check Double Check Mate Good move Excellent move Bad move Serious blunder Interesting move Dubious move White wins Black wins Draw Championship European team championship World championship World team championship Olympiad Zonal Interzonal Candidates event Correspondence game nth match game Diagram follows

Preface

To be honest, so far this year has been the worst time of my life. Ordi­ narily, playing chess with a book deadline approaching and the editor often on your case (sorry Graham, you do a great j ob really ! ) is tricky enough as it is. Unfortunately though, with my Mother being diagnosed as having an advanced case of throat cancer, my own career has been brought to a virtual standstill. The few games in which I have been involved have severely lacked concentration and it seems as if my function on these rare outings has been purely to make up the numbers ! [Chris was ofcourse writing before

his victory in the 1996 British Cham­ pionship, scoring 911 1 for his final GM norm - editor' s note.] Nevertheless, during this difficult period I have remained amazingly focused on the completion of this book. Not surprisingly, I am thinking that things could be a lot better right now. However I will always take pride in my writing and am very happy with the content of Endgame Play. I can only hope that this will be as instructive to the reader as I be­ lieve it should.

Chris Ward Kent, May 1996

1 Introducing Endgame Play

In the introduction to Opening Play, I explained the attraction of opening textbooks. Middlegame literature, although often very instructive, is generally less appealing. The prob­ lem is that, depending on which openings one has in one's repertoire, certain middlegame positions will just never occur. Although all such books are good in terms of general chess knowledge, the fact is that most King's Gambit players, for ex­ ample, tend to have little interest in learning about queenside play or 'minority ' attacks ! Consequently rightly or wrongly - large chunks of these books become comparatively redundant. The beauty of studying endings is that whatever the opening is and however the middlegame is played out, it is not at all unusual to arrive at

similar positions in the latter stages of totally different games . Of course it is true that there are endgames which we will reach only rarely, or perhaps not at all. I am only too aware that - particularly with quick­ play finishes now common in tour­ naments - 'close' endgames are not so frequent. It would be impossible to cover all the permutations of piece and pawn deployments and, anyway, that is not the aim of this book. I believe that when they do occur, endgames form the most serious weakness of the average club player; juniors especially are often com­ pletely at a loss for a plan when their queen has been exchanged and no easy pawn promotion is in sight! Most endgame texts tend to stick to the rigid layout of king and pawn, rook and pawn, bishop and pawn and so on, and clearly this format makes it easy for the reader to find a specific ending that he may be searching for. Nevertheless, here I have opted to try to fill this book with useful advi�e in the form of principles and helpful hints (as was the case with Opening Play). It is therefore my suggestion that you read the whole of the book in order to become proficient in each type of ending. There is a quick ref­ erence index at the back, but I would

8

Introducing Endgame Play

advise you to work through each sec­ tion systematically. I have made sure the book is not monotonous and there are regularly scattered ques­ tions and answers associated with each topic. My experiences lecturing at chess clubs, and coaching juniors in par­ ticular, have supplied me with an armoury of common endgame posi­ tions which I know are often misun­ derstood and frequently assessed inaccurately. As well as having to cover some of the basics, my inten­ tion has been to encourage the reader to apply common sense and a little analysis in order to correct otherwise erroneous thinking. Once the princi­ ples and general advice have been absorbed, then a more logical and higher standard of endgame play should result. At the beginning of a chess game each player has 1 6 pieces. I doubt that there are many players who are not guilty of agreeing a draw simply because most of these pieces have been traded off and the position seems absolutely level ! In this book I demonstrate how apparently equal situations can be transformed with more aggressive plans. In particular I

concentrate on converting into wins what are ostensibly only small ad­ vantages and, conversely, how and when to engage in active defence in order to try to hold inferior positions. Specifically, all that follows has a very practical flavour. Dare I suggest that you should try to become the S teve Davis of chess and play with mass piece liquidation in mind, to better demonstrate your technique . . . For best results please work right through the book as suggested; it is OK to move backwards and for­ wards through the sections as long as nothing is missed out in the long run. I have assumed the reader has a basic understanding of chess (e.g. the abil­ ity to mate with at least a king and rook vs king), and although to start with some of the more simple things are covered, as the book progresses there is plenty for everyone to learn (i.e. for most levels of play). My main difficulty was deciding upon the most logical order in which to cover the topics, thus reducing any over­ lapping. I hope that I have achieved this so that any repetition is more of a useful revision than a chore. And that's it really. Have fun, good luck and goodbye for now !

2

His Majesty

1 ) The Colossal King 'The king is a piece, so use it ! ' . How many times do we (and will we) hear this piece of advice, and what ex­ actly does it mean? We begin a game of chess, bring our pieces out, exchange some of them and move others around, etc. So exactly when is the right time for our one priceless, royal piece to en­ ter the action? I remember once, as a junior play­ ing in a weekend congress, being paired with a computer for the first time. The game had a rather cautious character and after a couple of hours' play I found myself in the position of being in an endgame with king and seven pawns each. Well, I remem­ bered what I had been taught and im­ mediately brought my king into play. As there were no enemy pieces of even minimal firepower around, I had no problems with this plan, and over the next few moves I pro­ ceeded gleefully to take any avail­ able pawns . The computer appeared to be taking no steps with its own king to interfere with my rather bla­ tant strategy - indeed, it seemed quite happy simply to move the king to and fro between h8 and g8. This somewhat passive policy attracted a

reasonably sized crowd which was also present when, destined to lose a third pawn, the machine suddenly jumped into action. However, by this time resistance was futile, and I sup­ pose the fact that I completely hu­ miliated it by obtaining six( !) passed pawns (much to the joy of myself and onlookers alike) before its op­ erator opted to save power by pulling the plug, is irrelevant ! The computer had won all its games until our meeting and, not surprisingly, its tactical play had been virtually faultless. The maj or problem seemed to be when to bring the king out. Humans can be taught that the time is right when it ' feels ' OK, but the poor computer was es­ sentially having to cope with 'keep the king safe until you have less than six pawns ' as advice ! Of course the owner immediately set about updat­ ing his rather simple contraption, and these days chess programs are significantly more advanced. How­ ever in this basic element alone, it is clear that there is considerable room for judgement. Throughout this book I will be stressing how participation of the king is vital and how, more often than not, the relative positions of the two kings prove to be the decisive

JO His Maj esty

factor. Take a look at the diagram above and you will see just why. How many other pieces have the ability to move in any direction, con­ veniently covering each and every surrounding square? The answer is: only the queen. And many still be­ lieve that an endgame is not really an endgame with the queens still on the board? (Does this mean an endgame becomes a middlegame in the event of promotion?) Q. Below, which one of the routes (a, b or c) takes the white king the fewest moves to get to the square h4?

- % -

A. They are all the same. If you count you will see that these routes and, indeed, many others - all take seven moves. This is visually decep­ tive, but extremely useful. It will cer­ tainly pay to remember that a king can get from 'a' to 'b' in a variety of ways, each taking the same time. However, some may have the advan­ tage of restricting the opponent's op­ tions . Do not worry ! We will return to tli'is soon. When I was nine years old in a tournament I was once reprimanded by an arbiter for placing my fingers on the board in order to deduce whether or not my king would be able to prevent an opponent's pawn from promoting (I found this dis­ turbing because I could not see what I was doing wrong). I had to revert to the rather laborious task of counting to see if I would make it in time, and this method seemed fraught with problems. First there was confusion as to whether I would capture the pawn on the 7th rank, the 8th or not at all. Secondly, the calculation proc­ ess became very difficult to maintain halfway through, and I had to start again if there was the slightest dis­ traction. To conclude, counting can be a most unreliable system, which is why I would like to bring to your at­ tention a technique known as the 'square' (no prizes for originality !). In the diagram position Black must establish whether or not he can stop the white pawn from promoting

His Majesty 11

permanent basis with either 1 �g3f3 or 1 �g3-f4. Both these moves enter the square and as we have al­ ready seen there are a variety of six­ move routes to reach a8. However, if White could move first, then with 1 a3-a4 the new square would have corners at a4, a8, e8 and e4, and the king would be too far away. S omething else worth remember­ ing is that on their first move, pawns have the option of advancing one or two squares. This should be kept in mind when considering the size of a square which a king may have to en­ ter. In addition, and on a more ad­ vanced note, though most competent players are capable of 'counting' to a good degree of accuracy, there is no doubt that implementing the 'square' theory is more practical and can save the game in certain situations (such as time-trouble). I would now like to discuss two examples which illustrate nicely the points which we have just discussed. First we have a position which is a good demonstration of 'Shielding Off ': As White, an eager player might continue: �f3-e4 1 a2-a4 �e4-d5 2 a4-a5 �d5-c6 3 a5-a6 �c6-b7 4 a6-a7 And the pawn is doomed ! Of course it was evident to us that as soon as 1 a2-a4 was played, Black was able to enter the square with corners ...

...

- or capture it as soon as it achieves its ultimate aim in life. Rather than counting the amount of moves it talces both the pawn and the king to reach a8, there is a far more simple option. Draw an imaginary diagonal line from where the passed pawn stands to the end of the board (here from a3 to f8).Then complete the corners of a square (like in mathematics at school), leaving a box (here with comers at a3 , a8, f8 and f3). If the king has the move and can enter this square, then (providing that there are no interfering pieces) it will achieve its goal. If however, it cannot move into the box, then chas­ ing the pawn is a lost cause and any alternative plan should be introduced immediately. Note that with each ad­ vance of the pawn the 'square' be­ comes smaller. So, if a chasing king cannot enter on a given move, it never will. In our example, with Black to play he will - if required - be able to stop the pawn becoming a queen on a

12 His Maj esty

Black's cause to be a lost one. In a straight race he clearly has no hope of catching White's a4-pawn, whilst any attempt to promote his own pawn is apparently futile. Watch and learn !

at a4, a8, e8 and e4, thus deciding the outcome. On the other hand we have: 1 �g5-f5! Preventing the black king from re­ treating along the f3-a8 diagonal where it is able to intercept the pawn. �f3-e3 1 2 �f5-e5 Maintaining the ' shielding off' policy which stops the black king getting back to his own half of the board. �e3-d3 2 'itr>d3-c3 3 'itr>e5-d5 4 �d5-c5 And Black can resign. If 4 . . . �c3b2 White answers with 5 a2-a4, and the pawn has a clear run to promo­ tion. Instead 4 ...�c3-d3 5 a2-a4 �d3e4 theoretically keeps the black king in the square, but the presence of the white king in a dominating role means that the vital path to a8 is now closed. A king can not move next to a king ! Unless you already knew of the famous ' Reti' position below you could easily be forgiven for thinking ...

1 �al-b2 Note that in an endgame position such as this there would never be any point in moving the king to a2. From b2 it can go to any of the squares that a2 has to offer, and more besides. �b2-c3 2 a4-a5 Now we begin to see a point be­ hind the black king opting for a di­ agonal retreat. 2 f3-f2 would achieve nothing as 3 � h3-g2 rounds up the pawn, but now Black has the threat of ... � c3-d2/d3 followed by bring­ ing the king to e2 to guarantee his own pawn 's promotion. Therefore White's next. 3 �h3-g3 'it>c3-d4 Superb ! Although the king seems to be deviating from the hunt for the a-pawn, in reality this is not the case. Here, not unlike the feint of a rugby ...

His Maj esty 13

player, we see the black king in hot pursuit of White's pawn while simul­ taneously offering support to his own. 4 a5-a6 White has no time for 4 g3xf3 since 4 . . . � d4-c5 sees Black's king enter the square. 4 d4-e3 5 a6-a7 f3.f2 6 a8-a81W White has nothing to gain by in­ serting the moves 6 g3-g2 �e3-e2. 6 f2-fl'ir' lf2.1'2 ...

White has no way of winning the queen and neither king is unfortu­ nately placed. To finish this section, and once again to bring up the qualities of the king in action, I would like to draw your attention to the position below:

would stand better? This may bring up the rather hypothetical question of: which is better - a king or a knight? Obviously this seems to be a ri­ diculous question as there are always two kings on the board, so I might begrudgingly bring back the a- and b-files and ask: White to move - who stands better? If the reader plays these positions out, then several interesting conclu­ sions may be reached. First, you will appreciate that although it is rather slow, the king is extremely good at both attacking and defending nearby pieces and pawns. The knight, on the other hand, is not comfortable with simply defending - try setting up'a position in which the knight protects the pawns and the pawns protect the knight (don' t try for too long, though). Perhaps we should not be too critical - a bishop could easily protect its fellow pawns, but in a king versus bishop game it would have somewhat limited attacking possibilities due to its inability to op­ erate on both dark and light squares.

2) Explaining and expand ing on King and Pawn versus King If we eliminated the a- and b-files and changed the. aim of the game so that Black will succeed by ultimately giving checkmate and White by capturing all of Black's army, who

There is no more basic a position than one with just the two kings and a solitary pawn. Twenty-nine pieces have been eliminated one way or the other, and the question is: will

14 His Maj esty

the remaining pawn promote to a queen (or rook) enabling checkmate, or will it eventually be blockaded or lost, resulting in a draw? To some, learning this simple endgame may feel like a chore, espe­ cially when we consider how rarely such a position may occur. However, it is absolutely vital to have an un­ derstanding of what follows. In a simultaneous display I once gave at a local chess club, I had had an extremely tough battle with a player of B CF grade 1 20 (Elo 1560). He had played very well and, al­ though he had had his chances, as Black, he finally conceded defeat in the following position:

B Needless to say I was astonished. Obviously I did not want to embar­ rass him in front of all his clubmates, but I was amazed that someone who had played so well had no under­ standing of the basics which are second nature to your average up­ and-coming eight-year-old player.

This is how the game should have concluded: 1 ... 'iPd6-d7 Black is forced to give way. As we will soon see, it is generally wise in such situations to retreat straight back. However, as a critical stage has not yet been reached, either of the other legal moves would have been OK. 2 �d4-e5 As the position is almost symmet­ rical, it is logical and correct to as­ sume that the outcome would be effectively the same with 2 'iPd4-c5. 'iPd7-e7 2 Make no mistake, this is the only satisfactory move here. Black pre­ vents the white king from advancing, so the pawn shuffles nearer, living in hope. 'iPe7-d7 3 d5-d6+ 4 �e5-d5 Now Black must make a decision. As previously mentioned, the side­ ways retreats will suffer an identical fate. 'iPd7-d8! 4 ... Again, following the rule of re­ treating straight back. Even if some­ one is uneducated in the simple endgames, this precise (and only ! ) move could b e arrived a t b y analys­ ing just a few moves ahead. I say this because I have seen good players spend time on a similar retreat, knowing it is correct but checking it anyway ! Likewise I have also wit­ nessed confused beginners make . the wrong choice after very little •••

His Maj esty 15

thought, claiming later that they had thought their move followed the rule. If, for example, Black instead played 4 . . . � d7-e8?, then 5 �d5-e6 � e8-d8 6 d6-d7 wins for White be­ cause Black is forced to abandon his blockade with 6 . . . 'iti>d8-c7, when 7 '1ite6-e7 helps the pawn home. 'iPd8-e8 5 e8-d8 2 e5-e6 'iii>d8-e8 3 e6-e7 . Compared to the lines at the begin­ ning of this section, it is as though Black has effectively retreated to the wrong square for he must now allow the white king into d7 (with 3 . 'iii>e8f7), rather than obtaining the stale­ mate he so craved. 'iPe8-d8 9 . Or 9 . . 'iPe8-f8 10 'iPe6-d7 and the pawn will promote. 10 'iPe6-t7 'iPd8-d7 11 e5-e6+ 'iPd7-d8 12 e6-e7+ And the pawn promotes on its next move. Q. It is White to play in the posi­ tion below. Can he win? ..

..

.

A. Because of stalemate problems preventing the advance of the white king, this appears to be quite a tricky one. However with the exception of doubled rook's pawns, one thing this section should have taught you is that when two pawns up, you are vir­ tually always going to win ! The win is actually quite simple: 1 'iPb5-c5 With the same idea in mind, 1 'iii>b5-a5 would also work. 'iPa8-b7 1 2 a7-a8'i'+! The point. Without the a-pawn on the board Black to move would re­ treat to b8 with a draw. Giving up this pawn forces him to do other­ wise, putting the king on an inferior square. 'iPb7xa8 2 ... 3 'iPc5-c6 Or 3 'iPa5-a6 had White selected 1 � b5-a5 . 'iPa8-b8 3 �b8-a7 4 b6-b7 5 'iPc6-c7 White wins. •••

20 H is Majesty

3) Tempo: Is Time of the essence? In the opening it is fairly clear that to be given an extra move here or there would be a real blessing. You try to get your pieces out early and if your opponent does not do the same there is a chance that you may punish him. If you study grandmaster games, then you will notice that when both sides have completed their develop­ ment, there often appears to be a lull in the middlegame. Do not worry, because generally there is ! If nothing spectacular is available then the players engage in slower plans in­ volving improving piece deploy­ ments. Pieces may well revisit the same squares in a sort ofjostling for position, and nothing much seems to happen while the players await the development of weaknesses in the opposing camp. Perhaps this is a little harsh on my part, but it is nevertheless true that on entering the endgame, the speed fac­ tor regains more importance. We know that the king is a vital piece in the endgame. It is very well suited to a dominating role at the centre of the board. From here it can reach anywhere fairly rapidly and may prevent the enemy king from approaching. We tend not to bring our kings out too early as there is a danger of being checkmated ! How­ ever, as soon as the more powerful pieces are traded off (or at least

enough to render the board safe) the respective kings race to the centre. If in an endgame you are having diffi­ culty finding a plan, this centralisa­ tion of your king is generally a good idea.

In the position above the white king is indeed wonderfully posted, whereas the black king is nowhere to be seen. Black's queenside pawns can only watch as the enemy king comes to capture them. This may be just a king and pawn ending, but if you start adding a bishop, rook or knight to the position White still re­ mains big favourite to win. Time is almost always extremely important in the endgame. If you had some extra time on your hands, you could send your pieces in search of enemy pawns. You might be able to promote a passed pawn before your opponent promotes his, or you might be just in time to stop his pawn queening at all. Note the word 'tempo' simply refers to the unit of time taken up by a move - one might

His Maj esty 21

' save a tempo' in a quest to promote an a-pawn by playing a2-a4 rather than a2-a3 . On the other hand it may prove useful to be able to 'lose a tempo'. This is effectively similar to the 'passing' which we saw earlier and is illustrated well in the following ex­ ample:

move, thus making an infiltration on b6 inevitable. How has this hap­ pened? Well, quite simply because whilst Black took two moves to re­ turn to the same square, White will have taken three. If you like, White will hav e ' tr iangulated'. 'iii>d8-c8 3 �d4-c4 4 'iii>C4-d5 Black is in big trouble. Now 4 . . . 'iii>c8-c7 loses to 5 �d5-c5 as above, and 4 . � c8-d8 5 � d5-d6 'it>d8-c8 6 c6-c7 lit>c8-b7 7 'it>d6-d7 wins (but not with 7 . . . �b7-a7 8 c7c8 '1W ?? stalemate - preferable are 8 'it>d7-c6, 8 'iii>d7-d8 or 8 c7-c8.l:t). Black's problem was that his king had to remain in contact with both c7 and c8. The two squares from which this was possible, b8 and d8, were separated from one another. White, however, needed to stay in touch with c5 and d5 ; this was possible from the adj acent squares c4 and d4. In chess, the ability to analyse ahead is a necessary attribute. No matter how lazy one is or how diffi­ cult it may seem, there can be no doubt as to the value of practising your advanced thinking (if he goes there, I go there, he goes there, I go there, etc.). Even a bit of blindfold chess - or at least studying a position without the help of a board and pieces - helps to train the mind. Endgames, of course, are associ­ ated with a decreasing number of remaining pieces. With limited re­ sources it is important that one tries to maximise their capabilities. One .

If it were Black to play here, White would win easily as he could bring his king to b6 and capture the a6-pawn. Consequently with White to play he needs to lose a move. However, he has no other pieces or pawns with which to force Black to have the move in this position, so to achieve his aim he must engage in a manoeuvre known as tr iangulation. 'it>c7-c8 1 �c5-d5 This exact retreat would be neces­ sary without the presence of the a­ pawns and it is necessary with them. �c8-d8 2 �d5-d4 After 2 . . . � c8-c7 3 'iii'd4-c5 White has already managed to return to the same position but with Black to

.

22 His Maj esty

simple miscalculation and you may have lost the opportunity to stop an enemy pawn queening. In section 1 , the concept of 'the square' was intro­ duced. This is a useful technique to help you cut comers . However, it cannot be used for everything and in this respect there can be no substitute for good old-fashioned ' counting' . This crops up all the time and I will end this section with a simple test of forward planning. No cheating ! Q. Below, in his quest to promote the g-pawn, should White play a) 1 h2-h4 or b) 1 h2-h3? Study the posi­ tion, but don't move the pieces !

extremely useful to have stored up the odd pawn move which could at some critical stage gain you the op­ position. It is important that you do not just casually throw such moves away as White does in option 'a': 'iit g8-h8 1 h2-h4 'iii'h8-g8 2 h4-h5 h7xg6 3 g5-g6 4 h5xg6 As we know, in king and pawn vs king, retaining a rook's pawn pro­ vides little or no dividends. 4 ... 'iitg8-h8 s g6-g7+ �h8-g8 with a draw. a)

b)

A. You have clearly been warned that there is a big difference in the two choices, although in a real game many would casually play one or the other, unaware that there is any dif­ ference or that this decision will have a decisive relevance to the outcome. The fact that the h-pawn can move either one or two squares means that White is in possession of a 'reserve tempo' . You will occasionally find it

1 h2-h3 'iitg8-h8 'iii'h8-g8 2 h3-h4 3 h4-h5 'iii'g8-h8 h7xg6 4 g5-g6 It is probably worth Black trying the trick 4 . . . 'iith8-g8, when White should not fall for 5 g6xh7+?? 'iii'g8h8, but persevere with 5 g6-g7 as in the text. 'iii'h8-g8 S h5xg6 6 g6-g7 White wins. So 'b' is the right answer. 1 h2-h4 would have been the correct choice had the black king started on h8 in­ stead. Similarly, leave the black king on g8, but nudge the g5-pawn back to g4, and again the solution would have been 1 h2-h4 (or 1 g4-g5 'iit g8h8 2 h2-h4). There are many vari­ ations on the theme and the only way to find the answer is to calculate.

His Maj esty 23

4) Swap off and win ! 1broughout the course of a game di­ rect confrontations inevitably occur and decisions must be made regard­ ing the exchange of pieces. Later I will go into more detail about which pieces to exchange just before and later during the endgame, but for the time being let us take a look at the casual advice that tells us to trade pieces when leading in material. As a junior this seemed a very logical if somewhat dull approach to chess. You win a pawn, swap every­ thing else off and then with your ac­ quired technique of the 'opposition' you queen a pawn ! Of course things never really turned out that way ! But the princi­ ple was there, or was it? It later oc­ curred to me that, given a random king and pawn vs king position (just arri ved at through actual play), the likelihood of you being able to ob­ tain the opposition was not actually that great. Either you needed your opponent's king to be out of the way somewhere or you needed your own king in front of your remaining pawn with him to play, etc. Not very likely. In addition, if you had failed in your task of liquidating all of the pieces and a pair still remained, then with the defending king in the path of your pawn a draw would be the ex­ pected result. In the following position, without the mystery pieces 'X' on either side, White would win whoever is to

move because the opposition can be easily obtained. However, with a queen, a rook, a knight or a bishop each, the black king could never be removed from the path of the pawn. If 'X' were either minor piece, then to make things worse for White, he has to watch out for a 'kamikaze' as­ sault on his pawn, and if 'X' were a bishop, then the black king could never be dislodged at all ! Now with or without a piece each, if you add an extra pawn to both sides, the chances of victory im­ prove. Look at the two similar posi­ tions overleaf: We know in 'a' that as long as Black plays sensibly, it is an easy draw since the white king will never make it in front of the pawn; but 'b' is different: 1 c3-c4 Were it Black to play in our start­ ing position then he would still lose, for example 1 . . . �e5 -d5 2 �e3-f4 � d5-d6 3 ..ti>f4-e4 ..ti>d6-e6 4 c3-c4 � e6-d6 5 � e4-f5 �d6-c6 6 � f5-e5 and through the 'nudging away'

24 His Maj esty

White could be forgiven for taking the other simple option of obtaining a supported passed pawn with 3 d4d5+ (as opposed to the also success­ ful 3 d4xc5), e.g. 3 .. . 'iti> e6-e5 4 e3-f3 'iPe5-d6 (Black could try to retain the opposition with 4 ... 'it>e5-f5 5 'it>f3-g3 'it>f5-g5 , but after 6 'it> g3-h3 the black king can no longer follow for fear of being out of the square of the passed d-pawn) 5 �f3-e4 � d6-d7 6 �e4-e5 rt;d7-e7 7 d5-d6+ 'it>e7-d7 8 'it>e5-d5 and the black c-pawn is about to leave the board. 'it>f5-e6 3 rt;e3xd4 'it>e6-d7 4 'it>d4-c5 �d7-c8 5 c5-b6 6 'it>b6-c6 etc., etc. !

a

principle, the black c-pawn will soon be lost. 'iPe5-f5 1 If Black retreats with his king then White should aim to obtain the op­ position, e.g. l . . . �e5-e6 2 'iPe3-e4 ! or l . . . 'it>e5-d6 2 'it> e3-f4 ! (known as the 'diag onal opposition', which straightens itself out later) 2 . . 'iPd6e6 3 'iPf4-e4. 2 d3-d4 c5xd4+ We know that if White obtained an extra (even doubled) pawn he would win, but after 2 . . 'iPf5-e6 ...

.

.

Don't get me wrong, when the three pawns are together as in 'b' , positions of this sort are not always winning. However, not only are the chances of converting the whole point vastly improved over the 'one against none' situation, but place the two extra pawns elsewhere and the win often becomes trivial (D): Whether it is White to move or Black to move, the outcome will be the same. The c-pawn can be used as a decoy so that White can win the black g-pawn. Then his king will be in a dominant position and the black king will be misplaced. I almost do not want to insult the reader by giv­ ing a demonstration, but for the sake of 'completeness' : �e5-d6 1 c3-c4

His Majesty 25

2 c.Pe3-e4 �d6-e6 3 c4-c5 'itte6-f6 4 �e4-d5 Now we have an alternative sce­ nario to the one suggested above. White intends �d5-c6-b7, aiming instead to promote the c-pawn. Of course sticking to the original plan by means of 4 c5-c6 is equally good, but this position enables me to zoom off on a tangent (as will be common in this book) for the exercise of the section:

triangle, would White still be win­ ning, irrespective of who is to play? A. No, but at the critical point Black must be accurate. White has no trouble pushing the black king away from the g5-pawn and captures it easily. Then his king will be in front of his own g-pawn (but directly in front of it, remember, so he has no spare tempo to 'waste' ). However, if Black makes sure that he gets the op­ position, then he can draw. He does this by meeting the inevitable �xg5 with . . . rtig7. Hence with White to play from the previous diagram, we may have: �6-g6 1 'ittd5-d6 �g6-g7 2 'ittd6-e6 3 'itte6-f5 'ittg7-h6 �h6-h7 4 �f5-f6 5 c;i;>f6-f5! ? Sneaky ! 5 � f6xg5 �h7-g7 gives Black the opposition and thereafter his draw. So White sets a trap, al­ though he is only playing games. �h7-h6 5 ... Also 5 . . . � h7-h8 and 5 . . . �h7-g8 are both waiting to meet 6 �f5xg5 with the required defence 6 . . . � g7, but 5 . . . 'itth7-g7?? would be disas­ trous as 6 � f5xg5 leaves White with the opposition and a winning positi on. �h6-h7 . 6 'ittf5-f6 �h7-g7! 7 �f6xg5

lf2.lf2

Q. If the highlighted pawn sud­ denly disappeared into the Bermuda

So we have seen how in a king and pawn ending, two pawns versus one will generally offer more winning

26 His Maj esty

chances than one versus none. Thus it follows that three versus two is better still, up to the point where, given that the kings are equidistant from the action, the aggressor (i.e. the side with the extra pawn ) has an overwhelming advantage. If there are any pieces present, it still follows that as far as wanting a win goes, the more pawns around, the better. This is logical because not only does it mean that an enemy piece cannot sacrifice itself for what might be the last remaining pawn, but in the event of a successful decoy plan, with the opponent's king lured to the other side of the board, there will be more pawns to take elsewhere! In conclusion, this general rule should more accurately read: 'When ahead in material, ex· change pieces, not pawns!' On the other hand, should you find yourself defending a position with a pawn down, remember that not only can a bare bishop or knight not checkmate you, but also they cannot promote! Therefore: 'When behind in material, ex· change pawns, not pieces!' To end this section I would just like to add that it is precisely this concept of being material up lead­ ing to a simplify-and-win scenario which is responsible for the famous but baffling phrase: 'A pawn is a pawn' ! This statement usually crops up in post-mortems. Two players might be

analysing their game. One of them has the chance to grab a 'hot' pawn (i.e. one which, upon its capture, will lead to some difficulties for the ma­ terialistic side) yet the opponent will have some compensation for the 'sacrificed' material, but if the storm can be weathered, then this extra ma­ terial could prove to be the decisive factor. This is not an exaggeration. All other things being equal, if a pawn is won in the middlegame and an endgame is approaching, then the side with the material advantage should generally be expecting to win. Essentially this book aims to instruct the reader in converting such material or, indeed, positional pluses, while suggesting techniques for holding draws when we are on the defending side.

5) Stopping Passed Pawns Just to eliminate any confusion, a 'passed' pawn is a pawn that has a clear route to its promotion square without any enemy pawns being able to hinder its progress. In other words for a pawn to be passed, there must be no enemy pawns ahead of it on the same file or either of the adjacent ones. If there were no pieces around to stop it, then it could just stroll to the end of the board and become a queen or any other desired piece. Passed pawns are clearly useful, but it is not necessarily true that it is

His Majesty 27

better to have a passed pawn than to have a pawn majority. Take, for ex­ ample, the position below:

White does not actually have a passed pawn, although it is clear that with a two against one majority he is easily able to create one. So to whose advantage is it that the b-pawns ex­ ist? Well, if Black had a bishop on d4 or his king already on c5, then it is definitely in his favour. He would be able to win both of the white pawns and simultaneously preserve his own. The fact that he has this one pawn means that he could then win. Having a more dominant king means nothing if you have no potential checkmating piece. In fact in the above position it is White who greatly benefits from the b-pawns being present. Without them it is clear that since the black king is in the c-pawn's 'square ' , a sprint for the 8th rank would be unsuccessful for White. Moreover, the white king is so far away that it could protect the c-pawn at best but not be able to

help the pawn promote by getting in front of it. 1 c4-c5 'it>g6-f6 2 c5-c6 b7xc6 (D)

3 b5-b6! The point. White has the option of having a passed c-pawn (with 3 b5xc6) or a passed b-pawn as in the text. The black king would have been in the 'square' of the c-pawn, but it is too far away to catch this newly passed b-pawn. The fact that material is now level and Black has his own passed pawn is irrelevant as White promotes too quickly; the c6pawn has too far to travel. �f6-e6 3 4 b6-b7 White wins. So near, yet so far! ...

Returning to the topic of solitary passed pawns, it should be observed that in the opening/middlegame these are not considered to be too dangerous . If we make a compari­ son with football (or soccer for the

28 His Maj esty

American readers), Arsenal spring to mind. They are renowned for getting a lot of men behind the ball, and if the opposing side fails to attack, then goals are few and far between. To start in chess each side has their pieces in their own half of the board and, although pieces are developed and moved around, it is usually a while (if at all) before this 'each to their own ' situation is radically transformed. In other words, with plenty of pieces in one's own camp there are always satisfactory options to block an enemy passed pawn should the need arise (as a last line of defence we begin with two rooks and a queen along our back rank) . It might only be as the game unfolds and pieces are traded off that preventing an en­ emy passed pawn from actually queening really begins to pose a problem. Alternatively, and perhaps more common, is that it might only be later on in the game that passed pawns are actually created, and thus it is only then that the problem of how to stop them and/or win them actually becomes an issue. Previously we have seen how kings are good at blockading pawns. Once firmly entrenched in the path of an enemy pawn, the king can be difficult to evict, particularly when you consider that the pawn itself is already having to be protected. The problem with a king being used to stop a passed pawn is that it is a slow

piece, and marching from one side of the board to the other is a very time­ consuming exercise.

Here we have no fewer than four passed pawns. The white king can never capture the h3-pawn since the g2-pawn then promotes, but Black's pawns can be monitored comfort­ ably. On the other hand Black is fighting a losing battle in his endeav­ ours to hold back the tide. 1 f4-f5 Using the same stretching tech­ nique, 1 a5-a6 �d5-c6 2 f4-f5 would also be winning. cii>d5-c6 1 cii>c6-d7 2 f5-f6 3 a5-a6 White wins. Stopping both pawns is simply impossible. The long range power of bishops is demonstrated well in their ability to keep enemy pawns under control. Q. With Black to play, which of the above 'kingless' positions poses any problems for the bishop?

His Maj esty 29 A. In 'a' Black has 1 .i.a6-b7, when none of the pawns can advance without being taken. In 'b' 1 .i.c6-d7 watches over the three passed pawns. If then 2 b4b5 .i.d7xb5 3 g3-g4, the g-pawn will make it to g5 . However, as long as Black then manoeuvres his bishop to e8 or e4, the pawns will again be un­ der his control. After 2 g3-g4 .i.d7xg4 the connected passed pawns look dangerous but are halted easily, e.g. 3 c5-c6 .i.g4-e2 4 c6-c7 .i.e2-a6 5 b4-b5 .ta6-b7. The right answer is 'c' because af­ ter 1 .i.c4-d3 the bishop finds itself overworked after 2 a5-a6. Notice that there is only one light square be­ tween where the h-pawn is now and where it would promote. Hence the bishop cannot allow itself to be de­ flected away from the bl -h7 diago­ nal as it is with 2 . .i.d3xa6. As both a6 and a8 are light squares, there are two opportunities for the bishop to stop the a-pawn queening, so 2 h6h7? would lose to 2. . .i.d3xh7. ...

...

a

...

.

-

- - - - - . . . �,� d d d w� m m m m.t.m m m - - - - - - - - - "

c

�

.

.

Although faster than a king, knights can also be exposed as cum­ bersome pieces. The logic is the same - they can take a while to catch up with a passed pawn and must then remain to prevent it advancing fur­ ther, a policy which can take a piece out of the action. Many believe that as a pawn gets nearer to the eighth rank it becomes more valuable. It is clear that in the late endgame the threat of promotion

30 His Majesty

may tend to outweigh the fact that an advanced pawn can become weaker (by being further away from the other pieces and therefore more dif­ ficult to defend) when deep in enemy territory. Generally, we know that knights like outposts, and it is also true that knights are not really suited for open space where they must inevitably be looked after by other pieces (com­ pared with knights, bishops are quick to remove themselves from the firing line). As they would prefer one of their own pawns to protect them, this is hardly possible when blockad­ ing a passed pawn. Usually knights can stand in the way of a centrally placed passed pawn and still have an influence on the rest of the game, but the further the passed pawn is from the centre of the board the less appealing the post is for a knight. Here are a few examples:

here is whether or not the knight will be able to give itself up for the dan­ gerous pawn. 1 b6-b7 3 �b7-c7 llld6-b5+ lllb 5-d6! 4 �c7-b6 The sneaky part ! Black does well to remain on this a7-c8-d6-b5 circuit. 5 a6-a7 llld6-c8+ 6 'ili>b6-b7 lllc8xa7 Phew ! Knowing the above examples is very useful, but we must not forget that these are skeleton positions which become rather more compli­ cated when other pieces and pawns are added. Often certain squares which may have previously been available to the defending knight (or, to a lesser extent, a bishop) are re­ moved, making the defence more de­ manding. Alternatively, other factors

may mean that a winning position will be achieved when the 7th rank pawn is traded for a minor piece. In the following game of mine from the 1 993 British Champion­ ship, White had just played 56 llld4c2.

Quillan

-

Ward

My opponent had been confident about reaching this position as the outcome was predictable. He would concede his knight for my a-pawn and then, despite my three vs two kingside pawn maj ority, he would win because his king would easily be the first over there and all of my pawns would disappear. I had other ideas ! In this position I considered my a-pawn to be more valuable than the knight and played: g6-g5! 56 Not falling into line with 56 . . . a2al °jW?. 0-1 That's right - after some consid­ eration White understood his error of ••.

32 His Maj esty

judgement and resigned. The point is that the knight is rooted to c2 and the white king must in turn stay on d3, d2, or d 1 to protect it. With these two pieces tied up White has not the re­ sources to stop what will soon be a passed f-pawn. The best pieces for stopping passed pawns are rooks. Whereas in the opening and middlegame we are constantly reminded that rooks like open files and the 7th rank, in the endgame the vital rule is that: 'Rooks belong behind passed pawns.' In endgames rooks come into their own and essentially this is just an extension of the concept that rooks should be active rather than passive. Knights and bishops can block pawns and still cover other squares in the normal way - the fact that a bishop blocks a pawn in no way hin­ ders the four diagonals that it can move along. The same cannot be said of a rook. If Black could place a rook on either gl or g8 with White to play in the position below, which should it be? It may or may not surprise the reader to hear that forced into a snap decision, many opt to place the rook on g8. I think this is based on an inherent feeling of comfort that one derives when a passed pawn is actually physically blockaded.

In fact with the rook on g8, Black is in trouble: 1 �f5-e6 'it>e8-d8 2 f6-f7 White wins. Or 2 'it>e6-f7 - both moves expose the rook as being horribly passive. By having the rook blockading the pawn all rook moves along the g-file are impossible because the pawn is restricting its activity. It is the king, not the rook, which wants to be ob­ structing the pawn(s), but here the black king is in the way without ac­ tually being where it wants to be. The trick is in appreciating that a rook can move one square or seven squares, and that as long as it stands on the same file as a pawn the rook is covering it, be it one square or seven squares away. If the black rook starts on g l , he wins easily: 1 'it>f5-e6 .C.gl-el+ 2 'iii>e6-f5 'it>e8-f7 3 'it>f5-g5 .:.e1-n 4 'iii>g5-h6 l:.fixf6+ s 'iii>h6-h7 .:.r6-g6

His Maj esty 33

Again behind the passed pawn: 6 'itih7-h8 :g6-h6# Not 6 ...:g6xg7 stalemate. It should be noted that any other rook move along the g-file would have won the g-pawn in a perfectly satisfactory manner.

follows that a queen will be too. Probably the most useful technique to know is how to win with a king and queen against a king and a pawn on the 7th rank. This actually occurs quite often, so if you do not yet know it, pay attention !

This rook-behind-passed-pawns rule really cannot be understated. On numerous occasions I have wit­ nessed juniors halt passed pawns in the above sort of position with: :b3-b8? 1 Of course l . . . .::r.b 3-g3 ! rounds up the pawn immediately ! 2 d4-e5 .::r.b 8-g8 Consistent if nothing else. One thing is for sure, there will be no white queen, even on a temporary basis. Nevertheless, bringing the king back (the logical choice) will now be too slow. 3 �e5-f6 :g8xg7 Better to be safe than sorry !

Obviously there are numerous po­ sitions in which it could occur, but the theme is the same. Here Black must not only prevent the pawn from queening, but he must win it. In or­ der to do this, his king must be brought into play and the only time in which he can afford to move his king is when the white king is in front of his own pawn: 'ti'd4-e5+ 1 •e5-d6! 2 'i;e7-f7 No matter how many checks you have made in order for your queeri to approach, you must always be on the lookout for this 'quiet' move. Note that a quiet move is one that is not a check, and such moves are notori­ ously harder to find. 3 b2-c3 4 ... 5 'it>d8-c7 Since the pawn would be pinned after 5 'it>d8-c8?, Black would be able to bring his king a square nearer without any manoeuvring. 5 'i'e6-e5+ There are several different ways to achieve the same aim. This ap­ pears to be the most accurate move but 5 . . .'i'e6-c4+ 6 a8-b7 'ii'd8-d7+ 6 �b7-b8! This looks natural, but it is the only move. White cannot allow the black queen to place itself on a8. 6 'iid7-b5+ 11z.11z •••

His Maj esty 35

OK, if not agreed, a draw would eventually have to be claimed by White using the 'fifty move rule' (either side can claim a draw if 50 white moves and black moves pass without a pawn being moved or any piece or pawn being taken) or the 'three-fold repetition rule' (a draw can be claimed if the exact same po­ sition is reached or is about to be reached for a third time, with the same player having the move).

1 'iie2-b5+ 2 �b7-a7 'i'b5-c6 3 �a7-b8 li'c6-b6+ 4 �b8-a8! The key saving move. Normally this is unplayable because the queen could just capture the pawn, but since the pawn is a bishop's pawn, the result of taking it when the en­ emy king is in the corner is stale­ mate ! 4 'i'b6-c6+ 5 �a8-b8 •c6-b6+ 6 �b8-a8 'i'b6-a6+ 7 �a8-b8 •a6-b6+

And at this stage White should write the move 8 �b8-a8 down on his scoresheet and, before playing it, announce that the same position will have been reached for a third time and then claim a draw. This will ter­ minate the game immediately, al­ though he need not make this claim here if he is happy playing on and demonstrating his defensive tech­ nique. With best play he can't lose. S omething I always used to be puzzled about in this type of queen vs pawn example is why the attack­ ing king always seems to start off at the other end of the board. It ap­ peared that perhaps a point needed to be made regarding the wonderful skills of a queen acting alone (and as we saw in our first two examples, creating the time to bring up the king). However, I later came to real­ ise that such positions tend to be reached at the end of pawn races where both kings had been required at opposite ends of the board to re­ move enemy pawns, thus clearing a path for their own. When the attacking king starts nearer the 7th rank pawn then many more winning chances present them­ selves (for example, in the previously drawn rook's and bishop's pawn situations). This is because another theme comes into play in the form of allowing the opponent to promote: �b4-b5! 1 2 �b8-a8 The point is that after 2 c7-c8 'it', White has no satisfactory way to ...

36 His Maj esty

.

guard against mate after 2 . . �b5-b6. White is trapped on the edge and the commanding black queen covers White's checking options. The text at least is a sneaky move. Now 2 . 'iie7xc7 ? is stalemate, and 2 . 'it>b5-b6? (hoping for 3 c7-c8 'ii 'iie7-a7#) runs right into 3 c7-c8 lll+ !

..

..

forking the king and queen. 'i'e7-e8+ 2 Again I believe that there are pos­ sibly a few methods to win this, but 2 . . . �b5-a6? 3 c7-c8 'ii+ �a6-b6 is not one of them as White has 4 'iic8b8+ �b6-a6 5 'iib8-c8+. 3 �a8-b7 'i'e8-c6+ 'it>b5-b6 4 �b7-b8 5 c7-c8'i' (D) Promoting to a knight would be just a temporary annoyance as 5 c7c8 lll+ �b6-a6 is very effective. 5 'ii'c6-d6+ 'i'd6-a3+ 6 �b8-a8 7 'it>a8-b8 'iVa3-a7#

...

As a newly promoted defending queen would be even less useful stuck in the corner, it follows that

similar ideas are applicable when the 7th rank pawn is on the a- or h-file. I will not give any more examples of this but I would like to finish this section with another bold point. We have just seen how a king and queen take on a king and a pawn on its 7th rank. If the pawn has not even made it to the 7th rank, then the at­ tacker should definitely win. Let me just set up what might appear to be a tough task:

=

-

- - - - LS m m m m - - - - - - - - - - - -·- - - -'ii This one was not prepared earlier ! However, it should not be too tricky. A simple plan is to bring the queen

His Maj esty 37

around to where the action is. If the white king is forced in front of the pawn this time, then it is not stale­ mate, and after a move with Black's own king, the pawn will fall. There must be countless satisfactory ways to achieve our aim and just one con­ tinuation might be: 'i'hl-bl+ 1 ... 2 �b8-c7 1Wbl-c2+ In fact 2 . . . 1i' bl -e4 3 'iti>c7-b8 (this is forced or Black gets in 3 . . . 'ii'e4-a8) 3 . . . 'i'e4-b4+ would be quicker, but let's persevere with the (slower) me­ thodical approach. 3 �c7-b7 'Wc2-b3+ 4 �b7-c7 1Wb3-c4+ 5 �c7-b7 After 5 � c7-b6, again there are several winning ideas : 5 . . . 'i'c4-d5 6 'iti> b6-a7 (preventing 6 . . . 1i'd5-a8) 6 . . . 'i'd5-b5 ; or 5 . . . 1i'c4-b4+ 6 � b6c7 'i' b4-a5 + 7 � c7-b7 'i'a5-b5+ as in the text. 'ii'c4-b5+ 5 ... 6 'iti>b7-a7 �g2-f3 All according to plan. 7 rl;a7-a8 is the only move, met adequately by 7 ... 'i'b5xa6+.

following techniques are useful if only to demonstrate how much one can achieve with so few pieces. I do appreciate that there will be a temptation to think (neither for the first nor last time) that this is all very well but we may never reach such a position. I have included these sec­ tions for a reason, although I would first like to share with you my one reservation for doing so. We are es­ sentially still following a passed pawn motif, though here we are more concerned with helping them to promote. Despite the success that is achieved in defeating the enemy piece which is trying to stop the pawn, I urge the reader not to get an inflated view of pawns when com­ pared to pieces. I will cover this vast area in more detail a little later, but for the time being please just keep my warning in mind.

6) Blocking, Deflecting and Push ing Off This section and the next introduce the reader to a little bit of technical jargon. This is not just so that you can sound impressive. I do not re­ member ever telling my opponent 'Unlucky, my bishop has encircled your knight' . But I do feel that the

w

The black bishop seems to be per­ forming an admirable task. It pre­ vents White's a-pawn advancing and

38 His Majesty

even if White's king made it to b7 (supporting the a6-a7 push), it would have no qualms about sacrificing it­ self to secure the draw. As there is lit­ tle material left on the board this solitary pawn takes on a greater im­ portance, so White's intention is to smuggle the pawn home, and he does so with ingenious simplicity: 1 ltJe7-c8! After 1 &!Je7-c6 all Black need do is retreat his threatened bishop to a safe square along the gl-a7 diagonal. If Black has seen through White's plan, then he might like to place his bishop on a7 now, but of course the knight covers this square too. lfi>e4-d5 1 2 &!Jc8-b6+ White wins. The knight has blocked out the bishop, leaving 3 a6-a7 next on the agenda. After 2 . . . .t d4xb6 3 lfi>b5xb6 Black's king is too far from the rele­ vant corner. Clearly a restriction for the de­ fender here was that the pawn being on a rook's file left the bishop with fewer diagonals along which to hin­ der the pawn's advance. The a7-b8 diagonal is so short that on b8 the bishop can easily be chased away (e.g. by a king on b7). Two further examples of this are illustrated be­ low: 1 .th7-g8 .tc4-d3 As far as stopping the passed h­ pawn goes, the a2-g8 diagonal is vi­ tal. The black bishop has been forced from this diagonal as I . . . .t c4xg8 2 ...

�h8xg8 leaves White just needing a king move to promote the pawn. 2 .tg8-a2 Or to d5 or b3 for that matter. Note the white king prevents 2 . . . .td3-h7. White wins.

Here Black's last line of defence is his rook. The h-pawn wants to queen, but the king must escape from in front of it. 1 l:ta8-g8 Contesting the key file and effec­ tively pushing away the black rook. l:tgl-fi 1 2 l:tg8-g6 �d7-e7

His Majesty 39

3 �h8-g7 4 �g7-h6 5 l:[g6-g8 White wins.

:n-r7+ l:[f7.f'8

The third and final concept of this section is deflecting and I feel this technique is illustrated well in sim­ ple bishop endings. The position be­ low is typical:

Here White could remove the black bishop from the a6-c8 diago­ nal with 1 i. g4-c8. However as the bishop is then in front of the c-pawn, Black has time to re-route to another relevant diagonal, e.g. l . . . i. a6-e2 2 i.c8-b7 i. e2-g4. Actually from the starting posi­ tion a simple blocking idea with 1 i. g4-f3 intending 2 i. f3-b7 appears rather good, but the stunning text move has more entertainment value ! 1 i.g4-e2(!) Deflecting the bishop away from its task and leaving Black powerless to stop a new white queen emerging. White wins.

OK, so I know what some of you are thinking. You want your money back because what good are deflec­ tions when you could use blocks in­ stead. The answer is that both are useful in their own right and you will discover this if you get to the bottom of the following exercise (or of course if you cheat and look at the answer). You must apply all of the knowl­ edge obtained in this section in order to crack the famous ' Centurini' posi­ tion:

Q. White to play, how does he win? (As a tip, if you get stuck, come back to this later as it is probably the hardest test in the book!). A. This probably looks easier than it is . .if White could now move the bishop from d8 to b8, then it would be trivial. The black bishop would have to relocate itself to a7, i.e. with 1 . . . i. h2-gl . Then a simple deflec­ tion sacrifice would occur with, for example, 2 i. b8-g3 i. gl-a7 3 i. g3f2 ! . Unfortunately the bishop is not

40 His Maj esty

allowed to perform such a sideways (and jumping over the king) ma­ noeuvre and so life is not so simple: 1 .td8-h4 Intending .t h4-f2-a7-b8 . Black takes steps to intercept this plan. 1 ... �c6-b6! 2 .th4-f2+ 'iii>b6-a6 The point. 3 .t f2-a7 is prevented and if White directly set off with his bishop to get back to c7 , e.g. with 3 .tf2-h4-d8-c7, then Black would rush his king back to c6. 3 .tf2-c5! As the black king is immobilied (in view of 4 .t c5-a7), this forces the black bishop to move. It turns out that h2 and d6 are the only two 'safe' squares for the bishop on the b8-h2 diagonal . White's cunning choice of c5 means that Black's bishop has to abandon one safe square without be­ ing able to settle on the other. 3 ... .th2-g3 Both 3 . . .t h2-f4 and 3 . .t h2-e5 would suffer a similar fate. 4 .tc5-e7 �a6-b6 This or 4 . . . � a6-b5 , transposing, is necessary to keep the white bishop from doing a blocking job on c7 . 5 .te7-d8+ �b6-c6 (D) This diagram looks identical to the last, but there is one vital differ­ ence: the position of Black's bishop. 6 .td8-h4! Had Black selected 3 . . . .t h2-f4, then now White would play 6 .t d8g5 ! , and 3 ... .th2-e5 would have seen 6 .t d8-f6 ! . All are clearly deflection offerings which must be declined. .

. .

Had White allowed the bishop to d6 on move 3 , then 6 .t d8 -e7 would now be ineffective, as Black's king prevents the bishop moving to c5. .tg3-h2 6 ... 7 .th4-f2 Now the idea behind White's 6th move is clear. As Black was forced to waste a tempo with his bishop, the king does not get to stop White's bishop from getting to a7. 7 ... �c6-b5 Leaving the king where it is will not affect White's play. 8 .tf2-a7 �b5-a6 .th2-gl 9 .ta7-b8 10 .th8-g3 Moving the bishop to e5 or f4 would succeed in the same way. .tgl-a7 10 .. 11 .tg3-f2! and White wins. Clever ! .

7) Corralling and Encirclement Corralling is an odd term, referring to the trapping, usually of a knight

His Majesty 41

by a bishop. In this respect, one piece can effectively be seen to dominate another piece, supposedly of the same value. In the position below, at a glance many may consider that Black can hold the draw. Obviously the pawn is rather menacing, but it would appear that the queening square is well and truly blockaded. In fact Black would be right to be worried because he is totally help­ less:

1 i.g3-e5! t2Je8-g7 See how the bishop controlled all of the possible knight moves, and the knight can be captured wherever it goes. 1 . . . tLl e8-c7 meets with 2 i.e5xc7 - it is the white king's job to protect the pawn and support its advance. �f7xg7 2 .te5xg7 3 e7-e8'if White wins.

knight to be 'corralled' . In my pre­ vious book, Opening Play I demon­ strated why 'knights on the rim are dim' . Obviously a lot of the opening principles discussed there are no longer applicable here, where the board is significantly less crowded. In fact one or two of the concepts are actually turned on their head: 'Castle early-ish ! ' - if one has not yet castled as the endgame ap­ proaches the chances are that even if the king or the relevant rook have not moved, such a manoeuvre may be undesirable. We have seen how the king should play an important role in the endgame and tucking it away 'into safety' may be a critical error. 'No unnecessary pawn moves' I'm sorry, but I just cannot help men­ tioning the following true story: As a bit of a practical session, I was giving a few very young begin­ ners a sort of simultaneous game. On just playing his move a young boy immediately expressed great regret over it, recalling this useful opening principle (designed to encourage more piece development rather than irrelevant pawn moves, usually on the flanks). I could not help but see the funny side of it and informed the child not to be too hard on himself. The move was a2-a4, but with his king trapped and all of his pieces al­ ready taken, a pawn move such as this was perfectly acceptable !

It is definitely worth remember­ ing (if possible) not to allow your

Be it the opening, the middlegame or the endgame, the fact is that knights

42 His Maj esty

on the edge have fewer options avail­ able. Our famous ditty holds true throughout a game and Grandmaster John Emms was disgusted with him­ self for committing this cardinal sin, a time-trouble blunder in the follow­ ing position:

Emms Atalik Hastings Masters 1995 -

41 tLlg7-h5? John had been doing very well earlier on but in all fairness, in the position above, things have clearly gone wrong and he is objectively lost. Although White is not actually any material down, one theory is that the b2-pawn is only worth half of a pawn. Whether or not this doubled pawn concept is entirely correct, it is clear that there is no chance for White to create a passed pawn on the queenside, despite his majority. Meanwhile Black has an extra passed d-pawn and a bishop for a knight. More will be said later on this minor piece imbalance, but in this game in

particular it soon becomes clear which of the two dominates. Q. After the text move 41 tLlg7h5, suggest a simple route to victory for Black. A. OK, this was a bit of an unfair question. Obvious is 41 . . . .t xb2. I could hardly fault this since the plan of ... �d7-c6-b5xa5 looks good. This way Black might ultimately be able to create a passed a-pawn too and we know how poor knights are at stop­ ping such pawns . However, I am opting instead for the move played in the game: 41 ... .td4-e5! Black probably realises that his bishop is superior to White's knight, yet also knows that with both minor pieces off, he has a trivially winning king and pawn endgame. His solu­ tion then is to 'corral ' the white knight. It is exactly this move which White was annoyed about allowing (hence the ' ? ' assigned to his 4 1 st move). 42 g3-g4 �d7-e6 43 tLih5-f4+ Eventually this knight would have had to attempt a re-appearance, but White is unable to pull the wool over his opponent's eyes ! .te5xf4 43 h7-h6 (D) 44 �f3xf4 0-1 And White resigns in a position which provides us with a chance to revisit our old logic. To many, per­ haps the resignation seems a little

His Majesty 43

premature, but both players are only too aware of what will happen. Black will create a simple outside passed pawn and then use it as a deflection. The passed pawn will be an h-pawn and while White is preoccupied with stopping it, the black king will saun­ ter over to the queenside to consume the 'sitting duck' white pawns. The fact that the b-pawns are dou­ bled of course provides White with no aspirations for a passed pawn of his own. It simply means that Black must take an extra move to capture two pawns rather than one. Black must make sure that he can gain ac­ cess to these pawns, and this is why if the g- and h-pawns are traded off, Black is surprisingly unable to win. Both players know that more care would be taken and one possible continuation would be: 45 'itf4-f3 After 45 g4-g5 h6xg5+ 46 �f4xg5 Black would easily guide his d-pawn home with 46 . . . �e6-e5 . Note that after 46 . . . d5-d4? the game would then proceed quite differently, e.g.

47 'it g5-f4 � e6-d5 48 'it f4-f3 �d5e5 49 � f3-e2 �e5-e4 50 �e2-d2 d4d3 5 1 �d2-dl ! (recallin g our 'straight back' policy) 5 1 . . . � e4-e3 52 'itd l ­ el d3-d2+ 5 3 �e l -d l �e3-d3 stale­ mate, the point of all this being that the c3- and c4-squares were never available to the black king. �e6-e5 45 46 �f3-e3 d5-d4+ 47 'ite3-f3 White would suffer a similar fate to the text-move after 47 'it>e3-d3 'ite5-f4. d4-d3 47 d3-d2 48 �f3-e3 �e5-f4 49 �e3xd2 50 �d2-e2 It is a lost cause, but trying to cre­ ate a passed pawn of his own with 50 'it d2-d3-c4xb4 would be way too slow. �4xg4 50 �g4-f4 51 'ifi>e2-f2 'ifi>f4-e3 52 �f2-g2 'iti>e3-d2 53 'iti>g2-g3 And the white pawns are pretty much in the bag ! 'Encirclement' is pretty similar to corralling, with the essential differ­ ence being that it takes more than one piece to do the trapping. In the following position Black is blockad­ ing the pawn well. He would appear to be fairly safe, but that is before we remember that he will soon be forced to make a move when he would rather not. 1 �c3-b4!

44 His Majesty

w

Here we say that Black is in 'zug­ zwang . This is a German expression and refers to an 'obligation to move' (which we have seen before and will see again) in situations in which it is detrimental to do so. lLlb7-d8 1 The outcome is that Black must move and any move including the text will lead to defeat. 'ili>a8-b7 2 i.c7xd8 '

...

'ili>b7-b8 3 �b4-b5 A reminder of two rather obvious observations . First, without the presence of the white bishop Black could hold the draw with this usual straight-back retreat. Secondly, if in­ stead of this move Black did not have to move at all (i.e. he could 'pass' now and for the rest of the game) then the king could never be dis­ lodged. Technically then, Black was also in 'zugzwang' and was again forced into a move that will ulti­ mately contribute towards his down­ fall. 4 'it>b5-c6 'it>b8-c8 5 b6-b7+ As the pawn can control c8 and the bishop cover b8, White need not use any more zugzwang themes. 5 'it>c8-b8 6 i.d8-c7+ �b8-a7 7 b7-b8'1W+ �a7-a6 8 ft8-b6#

3

The Sold iers

8) The Outside Passed Pawn As a quick revision of what we have covered so far regarding such pawns, observe in the following instructive game the typical errors and misun­ derstandings that can occur:

D. Wilson - Sinden Kent Schools League 1996 The win should be fairly straight­ forward for White. He has an extra pawn and should obtain a passed one by moving his king over to c3 and then playing a2-a3 and b3-b4. Once the passed pawn has been created, then it can ultimately be used as a decoy while the white king wanders over to the kingside in the quest for black pawns. In other words the last

stage of the winning plan should in­ volve White demonstrating his two pawns vs no pawns technique on the kingside. However, these players have a slightly different outlook ! 35 a2-a4?? Worthy of a ' ?? ' as other than 35 b3-b4 ?? this is the worst move on the board ! With both the a5- and the c5pawns controlling the b4-square, this was not what the Doctor had or­ dered ! Although after this White can still obtain a passed pawn with the b3-b4 break, this will now obviously entail giving Black a dangerous passed pawn of his own. Assuming Black would be wise enough to cap­ ture with the c-rather than the a­ pawn, such a strategy could only be advised if the black king were on the h-file, with the white king no further to the right than the e-file (i.e. out or in of their relevant 'squares' ). 35 �f8-e7 36 �gl-f2 �e7-e6 37 �f2-e2 S ince 35 a2-a4, both sides have done as they are supposed to (i.e. centralised their kings) - until this move, that is ! Afterwards White ex­ plained that this is a subtlety as if now 37 . . . � e6-e5 White has 38 �e2e3 with the 'opposition' . This state­ ment is true, although its relevance is

46 The Soldiers

hardly great since Black's king could also hover around his third rank with the same idea in mind. �e6-d6 37 ... 38 �e2-d3 �d6-c6? Committing what should be a de­ cisive error. One can only wonder about the intentions Black had for his king on the queenside when clearly 38 . . . �d6-e5 would be more to the point. Then, assuming there are no more critical errors, a draw would be the most likely result. As you may recall, earlier I em­ phasised the point that being a pawn up (with several pawns around) should be enough to win. Unfortunately for White, from the starting position the blunder 35 a2-a4 drastically reduced the significance of the extra b-pawn. 39 'ili>d3-c3? Not to be outdone, White follows suit ! Winning is 39 'iti?d3-e4 'iti?c6-d6 40 � e4-f5 � d6-e7 (intending to de­ fend the g7-pawn) 4 1 �f5-e5, be­ cause the c5-pawn will soon leave the board. �c6-b6? 39 Incredible ! Black could have re­ deemed himself with 39 . . . �c6-d6 but instead allows White to scramble his king back to e4. This invitation is not taken up as White discovers an­ other amazing idea! 40 b3-b4?? (D) White's justification was that 'he wasn't getting anywhere' . Other than the fact that he could have won with 40 �c3-d3 (followed by 41 � d3-e4 ), even doing nothing would result in a •.•

draw. The text makes progress, but only for Black!

aSxb4+ 40 Black effectively sticks to the principle we are taught about recap­ turing with pawns towards the cen­ tre. If we assume for the time being that the more outside the pawn the better (in the endgame), then clearly this rule should be challenged. I guess the point is that in the opening we generally put our pawns in the middle. The logic behind this is to push our opponents back, as well as to allow ourselves freer de­ velopment. By transferring more pawns to the centre this also allows us to command more space through­ out the middlegame. In the latter stages of a game, with fewer pieces on the board, space is in abundance everywhere and passed pawns are more of a threat. We have seen how, in king and pawn end­ games, a passed pawn is stronger the nearer it is to the edge of the board (although with a bare king and pawn,

The Soldiers 47

it is not possible to win using the op­ position technique with a rook's pawn, with other pawns on, it pro­ vides an excellent decoy). Similarly in minor-piece endgames, such pawns are also especially dangerous (re­ member how effectively a knight is taken out of the game when forced to the side). With outside pawns in mind, coming up soon are queen and rook endings, but returning to our game I would say that 40 ... c5xb4+ would be better. The simple reason for this is that the passed pawn with which White would be left is on the c-file, rather than the less central a-file. We are about to see why 'supported passed' pawns are so good - firstly, such a pawn is supported, and sec­ ondly it is passed, as you might guess ! After 40 . . . c5xb4+, as in the game continuation, the b-pawn is ex­ cellent, only with this move instead, Black has access to the c5-square for his king. Black will win quite easily because an unstoppable winning game plan is: a) Trade the b-pawn for White's c-pawn in such a way that: b) Black can squeeze the white king away from protecting his a­ pawn. c) Capture the white a-pawn and then use it as a decoy to gain time to approach and capture White's king­ side pawns. Therefore play might go 4 1 'it>c3d4 � b6-c6 42 c4-c5 b4-b3 43 �d4c3 � c6xc5 44 � c3xb3 'it> c5-d4 45

� b3-b2 (kingside pawn moves are to no avail; Black could match them with his own pawns or oscillate his king between d4 and d3, waiting for White to run out of moves) 45 ... �d4c4 46 � b2-a3 � c4-c3 47 � a3-a2 �c3-b4 48 �a2-b2 �b4xa4. In other words, all according to plan ! 41 'it>c3-b3 Assuming there are no awful mis­ takes, White now has no hope of winning . He cannot capture the b­ pawn while it is supported by the pawn on c5 and he cannot attack the c5-pawn because his king must stay within the square of the troublesome b4-pawn. Many simplistically assume this sort of position to be drawn. With 40 . . . a5xb4, Black has made things more difficult for himself, but never­ theless the power of the supported passed pawn reigns supreme. �b6-a5? 41 This hardly looks like a bad move, but it serves to highlight how com­ plicated things can be in what appear to be simple positions. Instead Black could have won with 41 . . . 'it>b6-a6 ! . Ideally he wants to play . . . �(a6 or b6)-a5 when the white king will ultimately have to re­ treat from b3 (where it needs to be in order to protect the a-pawn). With this in mind, if there were no king­ side pawns present, 4 1 . . . 'it> b6-a5 would be the correct continuation, but as it is we must take into consid­ eration the waiting moves available on the other flank. ...

48 The Soldiers

For example, after 4 1 .. . 'iti>b6-a6 ! 4 2 �b3-b2 �a6-a5 43 'iti>b2-b3 h6-h5 ! White will run out of pawn moves firs t (e. g . 44 h2-h3 g7-g5 45 h3-h4 g5-g4). 42 h2-h4? White blows his chance now as he bows out with a whimper, inviting Black to run him out of moves . The saving line was 42 g3-g4 !. Then after both continuations 42 . . . g7-g5 43 h2h3 and 42 . . . g7-g6 43 h2-h4 ! h6-h5 44 g4-g5 , it is the black king that is forced to give way. So in either of the above vari­ ations White holds the draw with a little bit of care. Obviously he should move to and fro between a2 and b2, his king only advancing to b3 in the event of ... � (a6 or b6)-a5 . We can now see why 40 . . . c5 xb4+ was superior to 40 . . . a5xb4+. Unable to make progress by attacking the a4-pawn, Black would like to change tack and turn his attention to the c4pawn. Indeed with the black king on d4, this pawn could be in trouble. However this is not an option here because, although the king would be in the ' square ' , the two c-pawns ob­ struct his clear path back. Regarding the latter I should make one final important point. White must not advance his a-pawn unless it is destined for a successful promo­ tion, since it cannot be safely pro­ tected once it passes a5 (even on a5 it is weak, for putting the king on a4 would fall foul of a simple 'triangu­ lation' - the black king using a6, a7

and b7, while White's only has a4 and b3). 42 ... h7-h5! (D)

White's mistake on move 42, cou­ pled with this punishing reply, leave the first player having to move when obviously he would rather not. An­ other case of 'zugzwang' (note how - although here it is not going to be needed - Black has available another waiting move in . . . g7-g6). �a5xa4 43 'iti>b3-b2 'itta4-b3 44 'it;b2-bl 0-1 Well - a little bit later anyway. After a loss of mine vs Grandmas­ ter Keith Arkell was published in Piece Power (a book in this series by GM Peter Wells), I felt that somehow I would have to seek retribution. No doubt I will get my own back on Pe­ ter some other time, but here and now a marvellous opportunity presents it­ self. First the following encounter il­ lustrates the joys of having an (extra) outside passed pawn and, secondly (of course), revenge is sweet !

The Soldiers 49

Ward - Arkell British Championship 1995 With White to play, everything in the position seems to be in my fa­ vour. I have a passed pawn with a rook behind it (putting rooks behind passed pawns not only applies to stopping those of your opponent, but also to helping your own), and the pawn is far from the black knight (and king). Also the white bishop sits pretty on g2, from where it not only covers the a-pawn' s queening square, but controls other useful squares too, thus limiting the move­ ment of the enemy (in this case Keith's) pieces . I suppose I should have played the simple 30 a4-a5 . It is worth noting that even if Black could reach some­ thing like the following diagram, then he would still lose rather easily. Even though 1 i. g2xa8 l::rf8xa8 leaves the black rook hopelessly pas­ sive, more precise is 1 .i::t a l-bl with the intention of l:.bl -b8. This is an idea (i.e. using the pawn to protect

the rook) which is worth remember­ ing since it is often the best way to deal with defending rooks. Used here, Black will be lucky if he can even get the pawn for his knight. Returning to the game, I was rather short of time so I avoided any of the complications that might have resulted from 30 a4-a5 ttlf6-g4 or 30 . . . l:. f8-b8 (intending . . . l:. b2-bl + ). This seems like a poor excuse but, in my defence, I was 1 00% sure that I was winning with the text. 30 .i::te S-bS l:tb2xb5 31 a4xb5 ttlf6-d7 32 l:.al-a8 I have, needless to say, adhered to the principle of exchanging pieces when a pawn up, although I cannot deny that the rook could also have been used to trouble the knight. l:.f8xa8 32 ... 33 i.g2xa8 Later I was amazed to find out that the commentary team had informed the audience that I had 'blown it' by not going it alone with the a-pawn. Now, apparently, it was 'not so

50 The Soldiers

clear ' . However, after the game Keith (himself renowned for his end­ game prowess) agreed with me that Black is definitely losing here. A misleading factor is that the b­ pawn is halted on a square that can never be controlled by the light­ squared bishop . Does this mean that Black can simply remove his king­ side pawns from the evil grasp of this same bishop while simultaneously keeping the white king out with his own? The answer is a categorical 'NO' ! (but Black does try). �h8-g7 33 ... 34 f2-f4 This lets the king out and assumes some control of the dark squares. Throughout a game it is usually a good idea to move pawns onto the opposite colour of a friendly bishop. This way they complement each other rather than the bishop being obstructed. This game is no excepti on. 34 �g7-f6 35 �gl-f2 'iii>f6-e6 36 �f2-e3 h7-h6 37 �e3-d4 �e6-d6 38 .ta8-d5 t7-f6 39 .td5-t7 g6-g5 (D) 40 �d4-e4 The bishop is unable to capture any of Black's pawns, but it covers some important squares and the route is now clear for the white king. 'it>d6-e7 40 ... 41 .tt7-a2 Out of sight, but not out of mind ! Black no doubt expects a 'iite4-f5-g6

infiltration. However he cannot put his king on g7 as perhaps he would like since this would allow the white king to change direction and head for the queenside. The black king on g7 would then be too far away from White's kingside pawns for him to be able to sacrifice his knight for the b-pawn. Besides, the latter is not an option as the active bishop suggests an 'encirclement' is more likely, and the pawn will safely turn into a queen. �e7-d6 41 cltd6-c5 42 �e4-f5 43 .ta2-t7 (D)

The Soldiers 51

A neat although undoubtedly un­ necessary trick. 43 . . . 'ifi> c5 xb5 is not playable on account of the reply 44 .t t7-e8 . 43 g5xf4 ti.Jd7-b6 44 g3xf4 45 .tt7-e8 For the sake of simplicity the out­ side pawn is preserved in favour of taking the f-pawn. ti.Jb6-d5 45 ti.Jd5-e3+ 46 .te8-c6 47 �f5-g6 It is the h-pawn which I had my heart set on and, anyway, 47 'ifi> f5xf6 allows 47 . . . ti.Je3-g4+. ti.Je3-g4 47 48 h2-h3 ti.Jg4-f2 49 h3-h4 1-0 The black pawns are soon to fall, e.g. 49 . . . ti.J f2-g4 50 .t c6-d7 or 50 'it g6-h5/f5 . Moving ahead a little (ahead of the lecture which will soon follow on rook and pawn endings), the position below is a 'theoretical draw' .

I guess the word 'theoretical ' which often seems to be associated with endgame summaries - suggests 'with best play ' . Here the white rook i s superbly placed in contrast to Black's, which cannot move without losing the a­ pawn. This is a tremendous example of how effective rooks are at restrain­ ing passed pawns. Here the fact that it is an outside pawn means that the black king has further to go to offer support (here such a plan would be unsuccessful). The white king can do precious little to interfere as bringing the king to e3 or d3 allows . . . : a l -e l ( or d l )+ and ... a2-al 'ii', while the d2-square is no better in view of ... : al -fl with a skewer in mind after l:.a7xa2. However the white king can just sit tight, allowing his capable rook to do all the work. No matter how far out the black king ventures, : a7xf7 will never be possible since the black rook then moves to facilitate . . . a2al 'ii' . Nevertheless, as soon as the black king gets down to b3 (freeing the rook), White can just check him away and then return to the a-file (again tying down the rook). Queens are obviously different because they are able to move diago­ nally and consequently would not become stuck in front of a passed pawn in this same manner. In the next game Black misses a clear way to simplify. Despite this, an extra pawn is retained and some interest­ ing points, both old and new, feature.

52 The Soldiers

Westerinen - Ward Gausdal Troll Masters 1 995

Q. As Black to play (and again a little short of time), what is the sensi­ ble continuation that I should have found? A. Here we see that White has what is commonly recognised as 'the most deadly attacking force ' - a queen paired with a knight. Not great at halting outside passed pawns (any combination which includes a knight will not be), but often good at deliv­ ering checkmate ! I am not saying that Black is in serious danger in this respect, although the most logical move to kill off the game would be 40 ... .id4-e3!, when after the knight moves Black can follow up with 4 1 . . . 'i'c6-c l , forcing an exchange of queens. In the resulting ending the a-pawn would pose insurmountable problems in an even more blatant fashion than we saw in the previous game. However this simple solution was not used.

40 ... t7-f6 This is not such a bad move, of which the intention is clear. Black wants the white knight chased away in order to reduce any potential mat­ ing threats. 41 'ii'fl-dl White decides that withdrawing the knight to a significantly less threatening square would be too gen­ erous a concession at this particular juncture, electing instead to gain a tempo. We have seen before (and will again) just how good bishops are when there are pawns on both sides of the board. Coming back to the point that queen and knight form a particularly aggressive partnership, it would not be a surprise to see Black (unable to exchange queens) trading off minor pieces. Indeed, doing so now with 4 1 . . .f6xg5 42 ii'd l xd4 'i!Vc6xf3+ would even mean netting an extra pawn. However, the a-pawn is sufficient (a simple battle of this pawn and queen vs queen would result in a promotion) and the only difficulty Black might experi­ ence is finding a balance between supporting this pawn while simulta­ neously guarding against a perpetual check (White's best chance). The conclusion is that damaging the kingside pawns (as 4 1 . . .f6xg5 would do) merely removes essential cover from Black's king. .id4-b6 41 ... Careful to prevent 42 °ii'd l -d8+. The alternative 4 l . . .e6-e5 weakens

The Soldiers 53

Black on the light squares and on the a2-g8 diagonal . 42 ti:Jg5-e4 a7-a5 43 �hl-g2 Notice that the white king is not in as much danger from a queen and bishop combination. Remember also that White is happy with a draw and consequently must avoid only check­ ing sequences which force an ex­ change of queens ; he has no fear of a repetition/perpetual. a5-a4 43 f6-f5 44 'i'dl-d3 'i!Vc6-d5 45 tt:Je4-g5 Central domination with the queen is nearly always a good idea. The queen commands in the middle of the board and is able to reach any sector very quickly. 46 'i'd3-a6 'i'd5-d2+ Content with the safety of his own king, Black is now happy to trade minor pieces. Black only allowed the knight back to g5 because he had this sequence in mind. 47 cJtgl-h3 'i!Vd2xg5 48 'i'a6xb6 (D)

'i\Vg5-h6+ 48 ... Black has no desire to lose the e­ pawn as it provides extra cover for his king . Although the queen now stands on a less influential square there will be no problem relocating later thanks to the possibility of a check on d2. 49 'it>h3-g2 a4-a3 50 'i\Vb6-b3 'iht6-d2+ 51 �g2-h3 'i'd2-d6 The first stage is now completed. Everything is protected and Black's next task is to facilitate the further advance of the a-pawn to its ultimate destiny ! 52 'ii'h 3-a4 -Ji>g8-t7 Freeing the queen from the de­ fence of the e6-pawn. 53 'i\Va4-a8 The white queen continues to monitor the a-pawn, but is forced to take up position on the edge of the board due to the aforementioned central dominance of Black's queen. 'i'd6-d3! 53 Black allows White a spite check, for now it is the white king which could soon be in trouble . Bringing the king back to the safety of g2 only serves to present Black with checks which help the final advance the a­ pawn. 54 'i'a8-a7+ 'it>t7-f6 55 'i!Va7-a8 Preparing a more awkward check, but overlooking where the action is really at ! 'i'd3-fl+ 55 ... 0-1 .•.

54 The Soldiers

After 56 �h3-h4 g7-g5+ 57 �h4h5 'iVfl -h3+ it is mate !

9) The Great Pieces versus Pawns Debate In my view the most popular error in judgement that occurs in lower-level chess is that which sees pawns com­ pared favourably to pieces during the latter stages of a game. Having ob­ served countless junior games, I have Jost track of the number of times that a piece has been sacrificed for two pawns (and sometimes even one), the logic being that, not only can you not give checkmate with a king and a mi­ nor piece against a bare king, but also bishops and knights cannot be­ come queens ! Usually, when a pieces versus pawns situation is discussed in a text­ book, the debate is whether a king and knight (or bishop) can handle a king and three connected passed pawns ! This is not where I wish to start. Instead I would like to show you several positions and the mis­ conceptions and poor assessments which are associated with them. Hopefully, should the reader's initial feelings coincide with what is often the general opinion at a certain level, perhaps I can change your mind ! Opinion: White win or Draw Reality: Black win The above position is a favourite of mine (as far as pointing out flaws in thinking is concerned), particu­ larly with youngsters .

Throughout any discussions, the a7-pawn is often seen as being more valuable than the black bishop. This concept is ridiculous, particularly when it is 'understood' by all that the move g2-g3 (placing the pawn out of danger) will be necessary should the white king wish to ven­ ture far afield. Those who consider this to be a win for White do so because they feel that by the time the black king gets over to capture the 'menacing' a7-pawn, White will have captured Black's kingside pawns and will pro­ mote either the h- or g-pawn. Others may soon recognise that such a policy is unnecessary because if White sends the king over to force the win of the bishop for the a-pawn he will suffer a similar fate on the other flank when the black king storms the kingside pawns. Consequently everyone may be satisfied with the 'likely' outcome of a draw, based on the fact that both kings will remain on the kingside and nothing much will happen.

The Soldiers 55

This conclusion is half true . The reality, in fact, is that Black will eventually win one or both of the white pawns and thus queen one of his own. If White's king stays where it is, then the black king will at some point travel down to h3 . The key point in this instance (indeed, how­ ever White chooses to play) is that not only does the bishop - even from the corner - control some useful squares, but Black has a waiting move (with the bishop) any time he wants it, meaning that our old friend 'zugzwang' is inevitable.

Opinion: Draw Reality: Black win Another position which is liable to create confusion. Here White is actually ahead on material (four pawns for a bishop), but the quadru­ pled pawns (I concede, this is un­ common in practical play) are just lining up to be taken. Generally the mistaken view is that White will not lose all of these b-pawns, and many beginners find it inconceivable that

the h4-pawn which, after all, is on an opposite-colour square to the bishop, could possibly fall as well. Nevertheless the painful truth for White is that though the black king begins passively, with the help of the bishop (used both for waiting moves and controlling key squares) White's king will slowly be pushed back from each and every pawn until they are all captured. Actually, the only relevant factor is that the 'queening square ' for Black's h-pawn is the right colour for his bishop. As we have previously seen, if the bishop were unable to control this square, then the white king could draw by rushing to this corner for a last stand. For those of you who still have your doubts, let's give White the move and play ! 1 �c5-b6 J.g4-d7 The b3-pawn could have been sin­ gled out first, but I'm just trying to make a point. "'b8-c7 2 �b6-a6 3 b5-b6+ Or 3 �a6-a5 � c7-b7 4 "' a5-a4 �b7-b6 5 � a4-a3 i. d7xb5, etc. �c7-b8 3 4 b4-b5 J.d7-c8+ 5 �a6-a5 "'b8-b7 6 b3-b4 J.c8-d7 7 b2-b3 i.d7-e8 �b7xb6 8 �a5-a4 9 �a4-a3 �b6xb5 �b5xb4 10 �a3-a2 11 �a2-b2 i.e8-f7 I trust that you are convinced now !

56 The Soldiers

Black successfully promoting one of his pawns : 1 .l:.aS-al b3-b2 c3-c2 2 .l:.al-bl or 1 l:la8-b8 c3-c2 2 .:tb8-c8 b3-b2

Opinion: White win or Draw Reality: Black win Juniors in particular tend to get this position wrong, even after hav­ ing been warned about not under­ estimating pieces. Adults who have problems with this often do so due to misunderstanding previously read advice, for example - and I quote "Didn ' t Nigel Short say two con­ nected pawns defeat a rook?" I believe the fault stems from something like the position below:

Even with White to play there is nothing that he can do to prevent

In fact the rule concerning these types of position is that ' two con­ nected passed pawns on the sixth rank defeat a lone rook' . The impor­ tant issue here is the lone rook, im­ plying that the defending king is not sufficiently near to be able to hold up the pawns . Note that in this section I am stressing the power of pieces over pawns, but the (not unreason­ able) assumption is that the king partners the piece(s) in combined ac­ tivities. In the position below White wins easily:

�d7-c7 1 �d3-e3 c5-c4 2 �e3-f4 The white king was/is simply threatening to come to e5 so the

The Soldiers 57

pawns, which had originally pro­ vided a barrier, make a break for it. 3 f4-e5 Played anyway, though the visu­ ally more cautious 3 'it>f4-e3-d4 is more than adequate. 3 c4-c3 4 �e5xd5 c3-c2 5 l:.h6-c6+ Even if this were not check, get­ ting behind the passed pawn like this is more efficient than 5 l:. h6-h l ­ c l xc2. White won in the above example because his king was well placed. Were it on h8 instead, with the black king on e5 and with Black to play, then things would be far more tricky ! Returning to our initial position, Black wins by making the most of his rook:

win for White change their minds to a draw after observing that any pawn advance allows the black king to step up to a more dominant position. White intends to leave the pawns where they are unless Black attempts to bring his king around the side (a manoeuvre that worked before when the pawns were on the fourth rank and would also work if they were on the fifth rank, but fails when the pawns have reached the sixth rank). l:r.hl-el 2 �e5-d5 Black's plan, in contrast, is to force White to advance one of his pawns. 3 �d5-c6(!) This nice trick, in fact, serves only to prolong the game. Now after 3 . . . ltel xe6? White replies 4 'it>c6-c7 ! and Black will be forced to give up the rook for the remaining pawn be­ fore it promotes. �e8-d8 3 ... 4 'it>c6-d5 As an example of what happens if a pawr. advances, a sample line is: 4 e6-e7 + 'it> d8-e8 5 'it>c6-c7 lte l -c 1 + 6 'Wtt c7-b7 'it> e8-d7 7 � b7-b6 ltc l -d l 8 � b6-c5 .l:.d l -d2 ! (not 8 . . . l:.d l xd6? 9 e7-e8 'iV+ ! ) with 9 . . . l:f. d2xd6 to follow. 4 .. .C.el-e2! The waiting move which pro­ vokes a pawn advance. 5 e6-e7 + 'it>d8-d7 .l:.e2-e6 6 �d5-c5 Or 6 . . . lt e2-d2. Both white pawns will soon fall. When there is a rook (and king) battling against pawns, it is easy to .

1 lth8-hl If White had started in the dia­ gram position, a close inspection re­ veals that there is little constructive to be done. Those who may have originally thought the game to be a

58 The Soldiers

understand why the side with the rook may win. Checkmate is still at­ tainable. It is the 'preservation of a last pawn' concept which many find confusing, yet when the piece in­ volved is not a rook it is, of course, necessary for the attacker to keep one of his pawns on the board. Have a look at the following position with White to move:

l . . . � b6-a5 2 �b3-a3 , and the black king must give way. With the text move White is aim­ ing either to force back the enemy king or to provoke Black into ad­ vancing a pawn. Incidentally, after the terrible alternative 1 �b3-b4?? c6-c5+ Black eliminates the d4pawn, securing the draw immedi­ ately. �b6-b7 1 Now is a good time for me to talk about Black's pawn moves: The first, l.. .d6-d5, is quite straight­ forward to explain. Black threatens 2 . . . c6-c5 (forcing a trade of pawns), but this plan is thwarted by 2 � a4b4 . As Black must then give way with his king, White can simply en­ trench his own king on c5 and then manoeuvre his bishop to a4 or e8, from where it can take on c6 (and then d5). The second is l . . .c6-c5, and this involves some manoeuvring. It is clear that White must push with 2 d4-d5 and then set his sights on cap­ turing the d6-pawn. The king and bishop are indeed strong enough to force Black's king from the defence of the d6-pawn, and a possible con­ tinuation is 2 . . � b6-b7 3 �a4-b5 ci;b7-c7 4 �b5-a6 �c7-c8 5 �a6-b6 �c8-d7 6 �b6-b7 �d7-d8 7 �b7-c6 �d8-e7 8 �c6-c7 (any bishop move along the fl -a6 diagonal also forces the win of a pawn) 8 . . . �e7-f6 9 �c7xd6, etc. �b7-a7 2 �a4-a5 �a7-b7 3 i.e2-f3 ••.

Opinion: Draw Reality: White win To the nai:ve the black pawns may appear to provide an impenetrable barrier which keeps the white king at bay. Black has no ambitions to win, so he is obviously prepared to ex­ change both of his pawns for the d4pawn. However the reality is that, provided White is careful, Black will never have the opportunity to realise this aim, and thanks to the combined force of the white king and bishop a promotion is imminent. 1 �b3-a4 Even if Black had the first move the result would be the same, e.g.

.

The Soldiers 59

We have already seen how 3 . . . c6c5 4 d4-d5 would eventually lose. 4 i. f3-g2 A waiting move. Black does not want to concede with 4 . . . d6-d5 5 ..ti> a5-b4 (when the king is heading for c5), so he must allow the enemy king to invade. 4 �b7-c7 5 �a5-a6 'iti>c7-d7 Again the pawn move 5 . . . c6-c5 loses to 6 d4-d5 (as we shall see it is not important that the c-pawn is free to run because it will not get very far), and 5 . . . d6-d5 (hoping to get in . . . �c7-d6 and . . . c6-c5, or the cheeky . . . c6-c5, d4xc5 'iti>c7-c6) runs into the simple 6 � a6-a5 ! (with 'it>a5-b4 to follow). 6 �a6-b6 c6-c5 Black is finally forced to push or lose a pawn, and the text-move puts up more of a fight than 6 . . . d6-d5 7 'it>b6-c5, when i. g2-f3-d l -a4xc6xd5 is coming. 7 d4-d5 c5-c4 8 i.g2-e4 c4-c3 9 �b6-b7 White could bring his king back for the c-pawn, but he does not need to capture it in order to win. 9 �d7-e7 10 ..ti>b7-c6 'iti>e7-e8 11 'it>c6xd6 White wins. Even if the bishop and the black pawn were not on the board we know that White would win here because his king is on the sixth rank in front of the pawn. •••

S imilarly, from the previous dia­ gram, White would win if he had a knight instead of a bishop (perhaps you might like to try this one your­ self, remembering to be careful not to allow White's last pawn to be ex­ changed or lost). Indeed, when the pawns are all on the same side of the board, a knight is usually at least as effective as a bishop because it is able to capture enemy pawns on light squares and dark squares. When there are pawns on both sides of the board a bishop is more likely to be the stronger piece, as the following practical encounter dem­ onstrates :

B Gopi Krishna Murugan India 1991 -

Many players may even consider this position to be good for White, as the outside passed pawns may prove to be too much of a handful. More­ over, with all the white pawns stand­ ing on light squares while the black

60 The Soldiers

bishop must operate on the other col­ our, we could ask how Black could possibly win? Murugan shows us how, begin­ ning by arresting the advance of the h-pawn. 1 i.gl-f2! �- 2 �b4-c4 .tf2-g3 3 �c4-b4 .ig3-h4 4 'iti>b4-c4 .ih4-e7! Black would like to have a passed pawn of his own, which would hap­ pen after 5 'iitc4-b4 d6-d5 + ! . 5 a2-a3 (D) White responds with a waiting move, but the fact that he is using pawns for this purpose is indicative of his problem holding the position.

5 .ie7-h4 6 �c4-b4 i.h4-g5 7 'it>b4-c4 .ig5-e7! 8 a3-a4 i.e7-d8! The bishop stops both passed pawns at once, but Black has in mind another, even more effective role. i.d8-h4 9 �c4-b4 10 'iti>b4-c4

1 0 a4-a5 meets with 10 . . . .i h4el + 1 1 �b4-a4 �c6-c5, when the a­ pawn will soon be taken. .ih4-el ! (D) 10 ...

The point. From here the bishop not only prevents both pawns from advancing, but also deprives the white king of the vital b4-square. �c6-c5 11 rJ;c4-d3 12 �d3-e2 .iel-g3 A simple decision - the h-pawn is the one which the black bishop con­ tinues to monitor while his king is in the vicinity of the a-pawn. �c5-b4 13 �e2-d3 �b4xa5 14 a4-a5 �a5-b6 15 'ifii d3-c4 16 'iitc4-d5 The white king has found a route to the kingside . By making waiting moves Black has no problems finish­ ing the game. �b6-c7 16 �c7-c6 17 �d5-e6 �c6-d7 18 �e6-f5 .ig3-el 19 �f5-g4 e5xf4 20 f3-f4

The Soldiers 61

21 �g4xf4 �d7-e6 0-1 White will lose his e-pawn.

Q. Would you rather be White or Black in the hypothetical position below?

there they should find it difficult get­ ting that far in the first place. Black's winning plan here should be to capture the loose isolated pawns with the rook (although there is no hurry) and then deal with the connected pawns with the aid of the king, as we saw earlier. Easy as pie !

1 0) Which is better, connected or isolated ?

A. Well I do not know what you chose, but I prefer Black. White has six pawns for the rook, but several of them are defenceless. We now know (hopefully) the circumstances under which connected pawns are a match for a rook, and taking into considera­ tion the position of the black king, that is not the case here. Isolated pawns only prove to be a problem for a rook if supported by the king, and in the absence of a de­ fending king. Generally I would ad­ vise the side with the piece in these situations to keep your king approxi­ mately where the opponent's king is, so that passed pawns never become too much of a threat. Connected passed pawns on the sixth rank may defeat a rook, but without the kings

This question, referring to the de­ sired type of pawns, really depends on the pieces which remain in a par­ ticular position. Often it is recom­ mended that connected pawns are preferable. This comes from the gen­ eral rule (usually with the opening and middlegame in mind) that the fewer pawn 'islands ' the better. Indeed it does seem logical since connected pawns provide reciprocal support, whereas they may well be­ come easy targets when isolated. While I agree with the relevance of these guides to the earlier stages of the game, in the endgame - particu­ larly with reference to passed pawns - other factors take on significance. The king and pawn endgame in the diagram overleaf - at first glance at least - looks very good for Black. His connected passed pawns are unapproachable and if one of them advances neither can ever be taken. Indeed, Black to play wins with l . . . � b7-c6, netting the c5-pawn. But it is White to play, and the extra tempo makes a difference.

62 The Soldiers

1 a4-a5! Now the white pawns are both on the 5th rank which, as we will see, makes them immune to attack. 1 �b7-c6 2 a5-a6! �c6-c7 3 �-gl White must not overextend. After 3 a6-a7? �c7-b7 Black can catch the a-pawn and be back in time for its partner on the c-file. �c7-c6 3 . .. Black must also be aware of his limitations . Hunting down the a6pawn is disastrous, e.g. 3 . . � c7-b8 ? 4 c5-c6 and any king move allows one of the pawns a clear run to glory. 4 �gl-fl The game is a draw. Neither side can attempt to make progress. The fact that these isolated pawns were one file apart was beneficial to White because with each step for­ ward they denied the black king a re­ treat square. In fact being two files apart is less effective (by all means try this for yourself), but any more

than this stretches the king so much that the defensive task is impossible. We have also seen how minor pieces (particularly knights) prefer obstructing passed pawns which are closer together (even connected), so what is all the fuss about? The an­ swer is rooks. The existence of con­ nected passed pawns is like a dream come true to the attacker, and a nightmare to the defending rook. Q. In the position below, with his king so far away, will White be able to contain the threat of the black pawns?

.

A. S ince the black pawns are so close to promotion, it is clear that White has no winning chances. How­ ever we know that rooks are particu­ larly good at stopping passed pawns, and provided White plays actively, the danger of losing can easily be nullified. White should not play 1 l:. g8g3+? �d3-c2 2 l:. g3-g2+ �c2-c3 3 l:.g2-g3+? d4-d3 4 .l:.g3-g l ? d3-d2 as the black king is on hand to guide the

The Soldiers 63

pawns home. This would be playing too passively because (as we know by now) the rook belongs behind the passed pawns (from where it is eas­ ier both to monitor the pawns and to trouble the enemy king) . Correct is: 1 l:lg8-b8 'iti>d3-c2 2 l:.b8-c8+ A key idea is to check and sub­ sequently force the king in front of one of the pawns in order to attack the other. 'iti>c2-b2 2 'iti>b2-c3 3 l:lc8-d8 �c3-d2 4 l:ld8-c8+ 'iti>d2-c2 5 l:.c8-b8 �c2-b2 6 l:lb8-c8+ 7 l:lc8-d8 Black will never have the time to advance either pawn. We can conclude from this ex­ ample that White could give Black even more of a head start with these pawns as long as they are isolated like this. Connected passed pawns, however, are far more difficult for the defending rook to handle, for the attacking king can provide support to the pawns which in turn offer cover from spoiling checks. Similarly in the position below, even with the move, White is in big trouble: The outside passed pawns, which would be overwhelming in a king and pawn endgame and extremely useful in a minor piece endgame, prove to be only a minor annoyance to the black rook.

1 h4-h5 l:.c2-h2 2 l:.b8-h8 ..t>e5-d4 The black rook is superbly placed, observing the h-pawn, keeping the white king pinned down and ready to swing over to the a-file should the need arise. The alternative 2 . . . l:. h2-a2? runs into 3 h5-h6 !, when 3 ...l:.a2xa4? 4 h6h7 .J:. a4-al + 5 �e l -f2 l:. al-h 1 loses to 6 l:. h8-e8+ (allowing 7 h7-h8'ii'). 3 h5-h6 White' s rook is extremely pas­ sive, but he does have a plan. With the pawn on h7 at least White can force his opponent to leave his rook on the h-file and to keep his king sheltered by pawns, thus giving the a-pawn a free run to promotion. For­ tunately for Black he, too, has an ef­ fective strategy available, and this is the more dangerous of the two. �d4-e3 3 ... Black's king moves into a domi­ nant position and mate is threatened. It is this combination of king, rook and pawn providing this threat which prompted me to say earlier

64 The Soldiers

how extra centre pawns are generally better than outside pawns in rook and pawn(s) endgames . 4 �el-dl d5-d4 5 h6-h7 d4-d3 ( D) Again White must avoid mate, and in doing so his king will no longer be blockading Black's pawns.

pawns, but when they become passed they may easily provide more of a threat in king, queen (remember unlike rooks, queens can get out from in front of passed pawns) and minor­ piece endings. However, when rooks are involved in any endgame permu­ tation, connected passed pawns are preferable.

1 1 ) Tricky Pawn Moves and Structures With a title heading such as this I will have to begin with the old fa­ vourite 'breakthrough combination' :

6 �dl-cl .l:.h2-hl+ 7 �cl-b2 d3-d2 8 .l:.h8-d8 Obviously White does not want to part with his h-pawn, but the simple fact is that Black is threatening to queen. Black is happy to spend time digesting the h-pawn. 8 l:thlxh7 9 'iti>b2-c2 l:th7-c7+ 10 �c2-b2 I suppose 10 'it>c2-d 1 1:. c7-c l # would be less painful ! l:tc7-cl 10 ... Or 10 . . . 'it>e3-e2, both forcing the inevitable. Black wins. Conclusion: isolated pawns are obviously weaker than connected

At first glance the pawns appear to be locked in a kind of stalemate. Even with White to play the black king still holds the upper hand and the fifth rank pawns could soon be­ come easy prey. However, there is an ingenious solution at hand. 1 g5-g6! t7xg6 By symmetry l . . .h7xg6 loses in the same fashion : 2 f5-f6 ! g7xf6 3 h5-h6.

The Soldiers 65

2 h5-h6! g7xh6 Obviously 3 h6xg7 was a threat. 3 f5-f6 White wins.

Q. From our previous position we have seen how White wins if he has the first move. But with best play what would be the correct outcome if Black moved first? Hint: you will have to apply your knowledge ob­ tained from as far back as sections 1 and 2. A. A draw should occur, but accu­ rate play is required from both sides: 1 g7-g6! Absolutely necessary. First of all Black's king is too slow to return to the kingside since 1 . . . 'iti> a3-b4 meets with 2 g5-g6 ! (winning exactly as above) . Secondly, l . . .h7-h6? 2 f5-f6 ! and l . . . f7-f6 2 h5-h6 ! both result in the promotion of a white pawn. 2 h5xg6 White's 2nd and 3rd moves can be interchanged. h7xg6 2 3 f5xg6 It would be foolish for White not to exchange as many pawns as possi­ ble because the black king is nearer the kingside. t7xg6 3 . The g5-pawn is doomed but all is not lost for White. After the in­ evitable . . . W xg5 White must apply the 'opposition' theory. Specifically White must gain the opposition di­ rectly after Black takes the pawn, meaning the white king must follow ••.

Black's and then be ready to meet . . . � xg5 with � g3. Only this way will White be able to hold the draw. There exist several permutations of this 'breakthrough' theme, but from a practical point of view it is simply a matter of recognising when such a possibility presents itself. Ob­ viously the best policy is to put a lot of thought into any potentially sig­ nificant pawn advance. Pushing a pawn may create a dangerous pro­ motion candidate or may, on the other hand, leave the pawn weaker and more vulnerable the closer it gets to enemy territory. Much has already been said about outside, isolated and connected passed pawns, so now I want to in­ troduce the benefits of the 'sup­ ported passed pawn' .

•••

.

.

Two wonderful qualities of such a pawn (here the one on d5) are that it is supported and - yes, you have guessed it - that it is passed ! In king and pawn endings these pawns are simply excellent and in

66 The Soldiers

some ways just as good as two con­ nected passed pawns. With the d5pawn being central the black king has some flexibility in terms of stay­ ing in the ' square ' , though it cannot venture beyond its own fourth rank and the h-file is also out of range of the pawn's route. Earlier in the middlegame such pawns can still be useful, if generally less desirable. The reason for this is that the square immediately in front of the passed pawn (d6 in our ex­ ample) can be put to good use by, for example, a black knight, which ob­ serves some important squares from the safe outpost (from d6 a knight covers b5 , c4, e4 and f5) . Typically Black should seek to undermine the passed pawn, the thematic thrust . . . b7-b5 being the most logical plan in this case.

Indeed after the moves . . . a7-a6 and . . . b7-b5 , c4xb5 a6xb5 White is the one with the weaker (isolated) pawns . Without the c4-pawn it is clear that the d5-pawn is nowhere

near as powerful. Therefore . . . a7-a6 should be answered by a2-a4, after which Black must be careful because a timely a4-a5 is a possibility which could leave White with a superior pawn structure - the en passant rule prevents the b-pawn advancing (and even if it could, a sad-looking iso­ lated black a-pawn would result) and the b7- and c5-pawns are obvious targets. Black invariably has to take care with the preparatory . . . b7-b6 (before a4-a5 ) followed by a subsequent . . . b6-b5 break which, if successful, could leave the once strong d5-pawn under considerable pressure. Finally, something else to keep in mind about pawns is that, despite be­ ing ostensibly simple pieces, they move straight ahead and capture di­ agonally. Have a look at the follow­ ing example.

1 b6-b7! White wins. This may seem to be an extreme example, but a point is there to be

The Soldiers 67

made. After 1 b6-b7 Black is power­ less to prevent the mighty pawn from promoting. The rook would like to get behind this solo passed pawn, but it cannot simultaneously monitor both the b-file and the c-file. In this respect the knight (which, inciden­ tally, requires three moves just to land on the neighbouring square) is getting in the way. A more common theme along the same lines arose in an important rapidplay encounter:

Anand - Lantier London PCA rapid 1995 White appeared to hold a signifi­ cant advantage when the players first entered the endgame, mainly due to the powerful bishop pair. Black's last move (33 . . . tbd7-c5) appeared to many onlookers to have completely levelled the position. It seemed that with the light-squared bishop at­ tacked, 34 i. e4-d5 would occur, when after 34 . . . i. bl xc2 35 i.d5xc4 Black would have 35 . . .tDc5-d3+,

eliminating White ' s advantage of the two bishops (which will be dis­ cussed later) and increasing the pros­ pect of a draw. The players started the game with j ust 30 minutes to make all of their moves, and by this stage of the pro­ ceedings the final few minutes were fast approaching. All the more im­ pressive, then, that the talented Indian Grandmaster was able to provide the audience with the astonishing: 34 i.e4xb7! ! We have seen several times al­ ready just how inadequate knights are at stopping rooks' pawns . This clever tactic highlights the point once again. The bishop cannot be taken in view of 35 a5-a6 when nei­ ther the knight, the king nor the bishop (due to the obstructing pres­ ence of the c2-pawn) is able to catch the a-pawn. However, whether or not White' s bishop is taken, a5-a6-a7-a8 'ii' re­ mains a very strong threat which, un­ fortunately for Black, 34 . . . i. bl xc2 does nothing to curtail. �e8-d7 34 ... 35 i.el-b4! Absolutely relentless ! Now White demonstrates that the knight is not only useless in this particular situ­ ation, it may even be detrimental. Now after 35 . . . tb c5xb7 36 a5-a6 9i;d7-c7 37 a6-a7 the knight is on the square which the black king needs to get to. 9i;d7-c7 35 tbc5-a6 36 i.b7-d5

68 The Soldiers

ltJa6xb4 37 c2-c3 This leaves White with two strong connected passed pawns against one isolated pawn on the queenside, al­ though it must be said that Black's position is hopeless whatever hap­ pens. c4-c3 38 c3xb4 39 'iii> f2-e3 Adequately watching over the c­ pawn (Black's only hope). �c7-d6 39 ... 40 i.d5-f3 Actually this retreat is not strictly necessary as 40 a5-a6 begins an un­ stoppable sprint for home. h7-h5 40 ... Only after this move does Black notice that White's bishop controls the light squares along the h l -a8 di­ agonal, thus guaranteeing the pro­ motion of the a-pawn. Black should rush back directly with 40 . . . �d6-c7, hoping for 41 a5-a6? ! �c7-b6 with a blockade. White is still winning if he allows this, but 41 b4-b5 instead, in­ tending b5-b6+ followed by a5-a6a7, is easier. 1-0 41 a5-a6

the majority of the game. It was this consistent flaw which led me in Opening Play to suggest the princi­ ple ' Think of your rooks ' . B asically I suggested that one should always seek to generate a pawn break quite early so that at least one open or half­ open file could become available for one's rooks. Players are often satis­ fied with just moving them to and fro without necessarily improving the piece. Inevitably these ' five-point power blocks' tend to remain on the board longer than other pieces, ex­ plaining why rooks figure promi­ nently in many endings. Let us start at the beginning:

1 2) A lecture on Rook and Pawn Endgames

In these situations of rook and pawn vs rook, when the pawn in question is a rook's pawn or a knight's pawn (i.e. on the h-, g-, a- or b-file) Black can draw by keeping his rook 'passive' on the back rank. 1 .l:ta7-g7+ 'iii>g8-h8 This is the correct choice despite the irrational phobia many seem to have about placing their king in the

I thought that this type of endgame deserved at least one section of its own because the subject is so impor­ tant. Probably the most common characteristic which I have observed at beginner's level is the way rooks are left comparatively redundant for

The Soldiers 69

comer. In fact, rather than panicking about being checkmated, the fact that the king is trapped is good for the defender because in some cases it in troduces the possibility of stale­ mate. After 1 . . . � g8-f8 ? 2 �h6-h7 the bl ack king will soon be flushed out, cle aring the path for the pawn to pro­ mote. 2 ltg7 -h7+ 'iPh8-g8 While the black rook remains on the back rank White can make no progress. 3 lth7-a7 The suicidal 3 g6-g7 ?? allows 3 . J:b8-b6+ winning White's rook. ltb8-c8 3 . .

...

lf2.lf2

By the way, the fact that the pawn is on the 6th rank already makes no difference to the assessment of the position as drawn. White does not benefit from having the pawn further back. The reason why White can make no progress in the example above is because he cannot remove the black king with a check on the rank. While White is equally powerless with an a- or h-pawn, a more central pawn (c-, d-, e- or f-) prevents the same policy of passive defence. As is illus­ trated in the next example, moving the pawn (and kings) one file to­ wards the centre has decisive conse­ quences, and Black can no longer hold the draw: The slight but critical modifica­ tion of the position leaves White

with a useful file with which to at­ tack the enemy king. With White to play the win is triv­ ial: 1 lta7-h7 (threatening mate) l . . . �f8-g8 2 f6-f7+, etc. With Black to play White still wins, but the cor­ rect strategy must be demonstrated. �f8-g8 1 The only try. We will soon see why it is frequently important for the defender to maximise the activity of his rook. Unfortunately for Black 1 . . J � b8-b l , preparing a barrage of checks from behind, is impossible here due to 2 J: a7-a8+. In the pre­ vious example the black rook was content to defend on the back rank, but here such a placement is unsatis­ factory. 2 l:.a7-g7+! If White plays the immediate 2 l:l a7-h7 Black replies 2 . . . l% b8-b6, forcing White to return the rook and start again. 2 �g8-f8 Or 2 . . . � g8-h8 3 l:l g7-h7+ �h8g8 4 f6-f7+ � g8-f8 5 l:l h7-h8+, etc. Note in this line that Black still loses ...

...

70 The Soldiers

after 5 l:t h7-h8+ even if his rook stands on d8 . 3 l:tg7-h7 The purpose of the previous check is revealed - the threat of 4 l:.h7-h8+ gives Black no time for 3 . . . l:.b8-b6. 3 'iPf8-g8 4 f6-f7+ White wins. It is clear then that the cen­ tre/bishop 's pawn poses more prob­ lems, but it does not mean that drawing defences are unavailable. The defender simply has to work harder and be alert. ...

king has to zigzag back out of some checks, the e-pawn will soon achieve its lifelong ambition. Notice that 1 �f5-f6 ! is the only winning move. A comparison with the text reveals why 1 e5-e6? l:. a8al ! and 1 � f5-e6? l:t a8-a6+ ! offer White no more than a draw. l:.a8-a6! 1 This is the so-called 'Philidor' technique (or, at least, this move leads to the famous 'Philidor' posi­ tion). Maybe it is not important to re­ member famous names, but learning this key concept is terribly impor­ tant. The clever rook move prevents the white king from making a threat­ ening advance (e.g. 2 �f5-f6), thus encouraging White's next move. 2 e5-e6 The only try. Even if the white rook could manoeuvre to d6 in order to facilitate the progression of the king to the 6th rank, Black could trade rooks and enter a drawn king and pawn vs king ending. l:.a6-al 2 Once again Black must react rap­ idly. 2 . . . l:.a6-a5+? 3 �5-f6 is clearly bad for Black; nor is 2 . . . l:. a6-c6? 3 r.i? f5-f6 an improvement, as 3 . . . :. c6c8 4 l:. b7-h7 is final. The text move is the key to the whole defensive strategy : checking from behind. It is logical that the fur­ ther the rook moves away from the enemy king the better, although I suppose 2 . . . .l:. a6-a2 (even a3 or a4) would be OK, too. 3 �f5-f6 ...

...

White's king and pawn have been shifted back one rank which leaves Black, to play, an opportunity to im­ pede White's progress. With White to play in the above position the winning process starts with 1 �f5-f6 ! , when the black rook is once again tied to passive duties, e.g. 1 . . . l:ta8-al (attempting to defend as in the text) 2 l:.b7-b8+ �e8-d7 3 e5-e6+ cJi> d7-d6 4 l:tb8-d8+ �d6-c7 5 e6-e7 and whether or not the white

The Soldiers 71

Mate is threatened, but will we see Black stopping this with 3 . . . : at ­ a8? 3 :at-fl+ Absolutely not! The black rook now proceeds to make its presence felt with a series of checks designed to deny the white king an effective po st. 4 �f6-e5 l:f.fl-el+ Not necessary, but why not? 5 �e5-d6 :el-dl+ 6 �d6-e5 l:tdl-el+ 11z.11z The white king will have to retreat a long way to escape the checks, af­ ter which Black can attack and win the white pawn. .. .

From what we have seen so far it would appear that as long as he has time to get organised the defender can often survive when a pawn down. However, all of these exam­ ples have assumed the defender's king can blockade the queening square. If this is not possible defend­ ing is far more demanding:

Compared with before the black king no longer obstructs the pawn; indeed White's rook is doing a good j ob of cutting it off. Consequently Black's rook has twice as much work to do if the pawn is to be prevented from promoting. Clearly the pawn is able to advance, so Black's only hope is that the white king which supports the pawn may eventually get stuck in front of it. 1 �g6-h6 The pawn will advance whoever moves first. l:tgl-hl+ 1 2 �h6-g7 :bl-gl Black may keep his rook on the hfile, which comes to the same thing. l:tgl-hl 3 g5-g6 4 i;;t>g7-g8 :bt-gl 5 g6-g7 :gt-bl (D) ...

Black's last stand. White's pawn is so near to being promoted, yet apparently - so far. Should Black re­ quire any waiting moves he simply oscillates his rook between h 1 and h3 (or h2 if it becomes available) .

72 The Soldiers

While his rook keeps the white king off the h-file, Black's king aims to trap it from the other side. One solu­ tion for White would be 1 l:tf2-i2-i7h7, a manoeuvre which is only flawed by the absence of this 9th file ! Am I being silly? Yes, but this does dem­ onstrate that such a simple plan wins when all the pieces are moved a file or two to the left. As the position is, White must search for another idea, and 1 l:tf2a2-a7 + is not it because then Black would play . . . 'it> e7-e8 , which leaves White no better off. Clearly the an­ swer must involve checking the black king away from the e-file. Of course the winning process is not quite so straightforward, I will now introduce to you the all-impor­ tant technique required in this so­ called 'Lucena' position (in case it comes up in Trivial Pursuit or your local pub quiz machine - both of these positions are named after fa­ mous players). 1 l:tf2-e2+ 'iite7-d7 2 l:te2-e4! The key move. The problem with the immediate 2 'iti>g8-f7 can be seen in the line 2 . . . l:th l -fl + 3 �f7-g6 l:t fl - g l + 4 'iti> g6-f6 l:t g l -f l + 5 �f6e5 l:tfl-gl 6 'iii> e5-f6 l:tgl -fl +, etc. Clearly White's king and pawn both need protection, and this is pro­ vided by the text. Known as 'build­ ing a bridge' , the rook is able to offer cover while simultaneously cutting off the enemy king. :ht-h2 2 ...

:h2-f2+ 3 �g8-t7 l:tf2-g2+ 4 'iftt7-g6 5 'i!rg6-f6 l:tg2-gl The checking sequence cannot be maintained for very long, for ex­ ample 5 . . . l:t g2-f2+ 6 'it>f6-g5 l:.f2g2+ 7 l:.e4-g4. Taking into consideration the way White now applies the finishing touch, I suppose Black could try 5 . . . 'ift d7-d6, hoping for 6 l:.e4-e5 ? .:r. gl xg7 with a draw. Better is 6 .i::.e4e6+ ( 6 l:te4-d4+, forcing the king even further away, also looks good) which transposes to the text in the event of 6 . . . �d6-d7 7 l:.e6-e5, while 6 . . . 'it>d6-d5 7 l:.e6-e5+ (or 7 l:.e6-e8) 7 . . . 'ito>d5-d6 8 l:te5-g5 also wins. 6 l:.e4-e5 White wins. The decisive l:.e5-g5 is coming soon. I hope that the reader will have gathered from these lines that, al­ though these techniques (Philidor's and Lucena' s) are important, once you know and understand them there is always more than one way to dem­ onstrate the win or the draw. In other words, there is no need to learn all of these moves by heart when memo­ rising a few of the general principles will prove equally valuable. Any­ way, just to be sure, a revision test is rapidly approaching. First let us have a look at some more endings with pawns, still con­ cerning ourselves with the theme of one side having a material advan­ tage . Something which should be

The Soldiers 73

evident by now is that if you have to be a pawn down the chances are that a rook and pawn ending holds the best prospects of saving the game. It is true that opposite-coloured bishop endings - which we will look at later - are often drawish, but these are more difficult to arrange. The phrase ' all rook endings are drawn' is popular. Of course it is not exactly true, but the inference is there. Active rooks can work won­ ders. There is no doubt that the simple king and pawn ending below is win­ ning for White.

However, if a pair of pieces could be added Black would be wise to choose rooks. Then the resulting ending is a theoretical draw, though Black has to work for it, 1 . ..h7-h5! being the correct way to start. The logic behind this is simple and is based on White's having to create a passed pawn. For the e-pawn to come to e6 it needs the support of the f-pawn (f2-f4-f5), which in turn

needs the support of the g-pawn (g3g4), which (and here we see the point of l . . .h7-h5) means h2-h3 is neces­ sary to set the whole operation in motion ! Throughout we have stuck with the policy of ' when material down - exchange pawns and not pieces ' and this is Black's aim with l . . .h7-h5. In conclusion, we know that with a well-placed king Black can draw a rook and pawn vs rook situation, and this fact forms the foundation of Black's defence. Believe it or not, there are open­ ing variations which are analysed so deeply that Black works on the grounds that even if White makes the 'best' moves, then a rook and four pawns vs rook and three pawns end­ ing (with the pawns on the same side of the board) is the best the first player can hope for. This is why, as­ suming the endgame is defended with a certain degree of accuracy, a draw is practically prepared from the opening (remember that in high­ level chess, having the white pieces is considered to be a significant ad­ vantage). Admittedly it is naive to suggest that White could only win by creat­ ing a passed e-pawn as detailed above. A more sensible winning at­ tempt and the correct defence will be illustrated after Question Time: Q. With Black to play in the posi­ tion below, how would you continue? A. I like to think that the reader would have recognised this as a vari­ ation from 'Philidor's position ' and

74 The Soldiers

would have chosen the preventative 1 ... .l:.al-a6!. This prevents the ad­ vance of the white king, and after 2 f5-f6 Black could return his rook with 2 .. J:f.a6-al, preparing to harass the enemy king with plenty of check­ ing from behind. If you recall, the king would like to hide in front of its own pawn, but once the pawn reaches f6 this is not possible. Anyway, now is the time to tell you that there is a more sophisticated drawing technique: :at-fl 1 ... I know what you are thinking. I have shown you a simple method al­ ready, so why am I confusing the is­ sue? The reason is that it is very useful to know of another approach be­ cause when situations of two pawns vs one pawn are reduced there is not always sufficient time to arrange our preferred defence. The text monitors the passed pawn immediately, though it should be noted that this move is not critical yet. Also acceptable are the flexible

waiting moves l ... l:i.al-a2 and 1 ....1:.al­ c 1, but not 1 . . . l1al-gl +? ! 2 � g5-f6, which is awkward for Black, nor 1 . . . l: al -a5?, which runs into 2 �g5g6 ! . 2 �g5-g6 ltfl-f2 A waiting move. White is not ac­ tually threatening anything, for ex­ ample 3 ftb7-b8+ �f8-e7 and the advance of the f-pawn is covered. 3 �g6-f6 Definitely the trickiest continu­ ation. 3 f5-f6 threatens checkmate but 3 . . . l: f2-g2+ (the first of many) forces a draw. After 3 � g6-f6 Black has a critical 50/50 decision to make. His king must move, but should it go to the 'short' side of the pawn (the side with the fewer files) or the 'long' side? 3 ... �f8-g8! Which did you choose and what was your reasoning? The logic be­ hind the text will soon become clear, but I would suggest that the main reason why players select (incor­ rectly) 3 . . . �f8-e8? is, once again, the slightly irrational fear of being checkmated in the corner. 4 l:tb7-b8+ �g8-h7 5 ltb8-f8! A clever move. In response to 5 � f6-e6 (preparing f5-f6) Black has 5 . . . �h7-g7, but the text has 6 �f6-e7 in mind. l:tf2-a2! 5 ... Now we see how Black was justi­ fied in choosing the short side for his king - his rook has plenty of room to give the enemy king some sideways

The Soldiers 75

checks on the ranks, which is not possible with the black king in the way on d7 . l:a2-f2! 6 l:f8-e8 White's last move left him ready to block the checks but took the rook away from the support of the f-pawn, hence the return of Black's rook to the f-file. 7 l:e8-e7+ �h7-g8 l:f2-fl (D) 8 '/J.e7-a7 5 .l:f.f8-e8+ with 6 l:.e8-e7 complet­ ing a nice manoeuvre. At the moment the black rook is passively placed, so the best way to start the defence is to improve this piece. l:c7-c5! 1 Immobilising (temporarily) the white pawns. 2 l:b6-b7+ After 2 W g5-h6 (intending 'ifi> h6g7 to target the f7-pawn), Black should switch his rook to another ac­ tive post with 2 . . . l:c5-c l ! . Then, af­ ter 3 l: b6-b7+ �e7-f8 4 f4-f5 Black must separate the white king and pawns with 4 . . . l:c l -gl ! , e.g. 5 l: b7b8+ �f8-e7 6 f5-f6+ � e7-e6 7 l:lb8e8+ e6-f5 8 l: e8-e7 l:l gl -g6+ 9 �h6-h7 l: g6-g5 10 l:e7xf7 (or 10 e5-e6 'it>f5xf6 ! ) 10 ... 'it>fSxeS 1 1 l:lf7g7 �e5xf6 (illustrating why Black's rook went to g5) leading to an instant draw. 'it>e7-f8 2 3 f4-f5 3 'it> g5-f6 l:c5-c6+ drives the king back. ••.

White has made no progress. Expanding further, take a look at the following situation. The position may have arisen from a 4 vs 3, a 3 vs 2 or these may have been the only kingside pawns on the board for some time. Whatever the case Black must be careful, and it is not practi­ cal to wait for a rook and pawn vs rook position to develop. White is winning if he has the move. 1 f4-f5 threatens (after 1 .. Jk7a7, for example) not the basic 2 e5e6? but rather 2 f5-f6+ �e7-e8 3 l: b6-b8+ �e8-d7 4 l: b8-f8 'it>d7-e6

•.•

76 The Soldiers

l:[c5xe5 3 .:.es-et 4 lt>g5-f6 �-g8 5 l:[b7xt7+ Is this position familiar? Again the defender makes the correct deci­ sion. As we are well aware by now it is better to put the king on the short side of the pawn. 6 :t7-a7 :et-fl As has been demonstrated pre­ viously, the position is drawn. Now it is time to move on to an­ other common situation in which one player has an extra pawn which is away from the main group . I have already said that if you have to be a pawn down, then a rook ending gen­ erally offers best chances of survival. This is illustrated very well in the following example:

It is vital that the reader under­ stands the concept of the active rook. The above position is a theoretical draw only because the black rook, in contrast to its opposite number, is so active.

White has two main plans: a) He might try advancing his pawn to a7 with the intention of bringing his king up for extra sup­ port, hoping to free his awkwardly placed rook and then promote the pawn. The advantage of this method is that the black king cannot come out into the open (e.g . . . . 'it>e6 fails to l:[ a8-e8+ and a7-a8'ili , and . . . d7 runs into l:[ a8-f8, when . . . .l:. a2xa7 meets with l:[f8xf7+). Also, however tempting White' s kingside pawns may b e to the black rook, even with the white king away from them they are still safe. Indeed, it would appear that the defender's rook must stay behind the a-pawn at all times, but this is not actually true. When attacked by White's king the rook does move along the a-file, but when the king reaches the b6-square the active rook checks it away, re­ turning to its main task of covering the a-pawn once the danger has passed. b) The problem with the previous winning attempt is obvious. Al­ though it is clearly risk-free, White's rook is just too passive, and when the pawn is on a7 his king has no cover from the awkward checks . If White is to mount a serious challenge he must leave his pawn on a6. This leaves the vital a7-square for the king so that, with the pawn on a6, king on a7 and rook on a8 White has a manoeuvre such as .l:.a8-b8, : b8b6, �a8-b7, a6-a7 and a7-a8'ik .

The Soldiers 77

Black cannot afford to sit back and watch this happen. His king is fairly restricted because once it ven­ tures too far into the open White can push the a-pawn and bring the rook out of the corner with tempo. But there is hope for Black, for with the pawn still on the 6th rank White's kingside pawns are no longer im­ mune. As soon as White's king jour­ neys over to the queenside the black rook should attack these pawns be­ cause it is inevitable that it will be forced to give itself up for the a­ pawn. If White changes his mind and plays a6-a7 before his plan can be properly implemented, then Black can always return his rook to the a­ file as in 'a' . A very interesting situ­ ation may arise - by the time Black has been forced to give up his rook he may have two or three connected passed pawns on the kings ide, and with White's king far away on the other side of the board a spectacular race could occur. This would be very exciting, but I would rather have the pawns ! In other words, Black has winning chances if White becomes unjustifi­ ably ambitious. Looking at our origi­ nal position this may seem a little outrageous, but it does demonstrate the problems involved with over-rat­ ing a passed pawn when the accom­ panying rook is passive. I have often seen White lose such positions when Black has a pawn added (e.g. on e6). In such a situation Black really has the better chances . Ironically, we

know that White could then carry out an active defence without the a­ pawn, but if it is there and White is pre-occupied with it then he can eas­ ily end up neglecting his defensive duties, allowing his opponent to ad­ vance (king and pawns) with disas­ trous consequences. With the positions of the rooks re­ versed, as in the diagram below, the situation changes:

After: 1 l:.d4-a4! Adhering to the principle of plac­ ing rooks behind passed pawns, and then: 1 'iii>f6-e5 We reach a position from the fa­ mous game Alekhine-Capablanca, Buenos Aires Wch (34) 1927. Black is blockading the a-pawn passively with his rook while his king holds its ground in the centre . White's main winning plan revolves around forcing the black king to commit itself one way or the other. ...

78 The Soldiers

White can then concentrate on at­ tacking on the side of the board which is neglected. 'it>e5-d5 2 �e3-d3 �d5-c5 3 'it>d3-c3 4 l:ta4-a2! Demonstrating one of the chief advantages of having the rook in a more active position. Really the text is just a waiting move, White know­ ing that Black cannot do the same, because the white a-pawn will ad­ vance if the black rook leaves a6 . Frustrating for Black is the fact that even when his king attacks the a­ pawn he will be unable to capture it since this leads to a lost king and pawn ending. �c5-b5 4 A decision has to be made. On 4 . . . 'it>c5-d5 White goes the other way with 5 � c3-b4, answering 5 . . . �d5 c6 with 6 �b4-c4, when White has progressed a rank further. l:.a6-d6+ 5 �c3-d4 5 . . . l:. a6xa5 6 l:t a2xa5+ �b5xa5 7 'it> d4-e5 only leaves Black's remain­ ing pawns at the mercy of White's king. Instead Black tries to activate his rook, electing to blockade with the king. l:td6-e6+ 6 'it>d4-e5 �b5-a6 7 �e5-f4 l:.e6-e5+ 8 'it>f4-g5 l:teS-fS 9 �g5-h6 10 'it>h6-g7 Actually this was not played in the game (Alekhine chose 10 f'2-f4), but it is a more consistent approach. 10 ... :tf5-f3 ••.

The only move which avoids los­ ing a pawn or the advance of the a­ pawn. 11 l'ta2-d2! With White's own king perfectly placed he can now sacrifice his a­ pawn in search of new targets on the kingside. The threat is l:. d2-d6+ fol­ lowed by l:.d6-f6, when Black will lose pawns whether or not he ex­ changes rooks. 11 �a6xa5 12 l:td2-d5+ �a5-b4 White's idea is the same after 1 2 . . . � a5-b6 ( 1 3 l:t d5-d6+ and 1 4 l:.d6-f6). 13 J:.d5-d4+ �b4-c5 14 .l:.d4-f4 White will win enough of Black's pawns to secure victory. .••

OK, as a temporary refresher let us have a brief look at the following position:

Whoever has the move it is clear that White has no trouble winning. He just advances his f-pawn which

The Soldiers 79

is, in fact, immune to capture. Be­ cause of our now familiar skewer trick we know that the black king can venture neither to the 6th rank (al­ lowing a deadly check) nor to the f­ file ( . . . 1il g7-f7 , l:t a8-h8 ! ). The black rook must remain behind the a­ pawn, so the f-pawn advances unhin­ dered. However, the game is drawn with the pawn on g2 or h2 instead, as the black king's only safe squares are g7 and h7 . To try to make any progress White would have to jettison his a­ pawn in order to activate his rook, but even then Black is fine (as illus­ trated earlier). Drawing some conclusions from our examples I would say that if it is not possible to support an extra passed pawn from behind, then pro­ tecting it from the side is still better than from the front because the rook is free to perform other functions elsewhere. However, the only effec­ tive place for the defender's rook is behind the passed pawn, and it is this sort of activity which offers draw­ ing chances that would simply not exist in an equivalent minor-piece ending. With all this in mind I would like to offer a piece of advice that does seem to contradict many players' natural defensive inclinations: when a pawn up in a rook and pawn end­ ing it is better to have two extra pawns on one side and one fewer on the other than it is to have only one

extra on one side while being level on the other. I am well aware that certain play­ ers prefer the 'safety ' of just one ex­ tra pawn on one side, but we have seen how one solitary pawn is not such a threat when an enemy rook gets behind it (which is often the case). Two connected passed pawns, on the other hand, are for more diffi­ cult for a rook to handle. The following position should be easy for Black:

The white rook finds itself pas­ sively placed, while the black pawns provide the cover required to prevent any nasty white checks. Black's plan has nothing to do with trying to win the a-pawn but everything to do with advancing on the kingside to trouble the white king. Here is a sample con­ tinuation: 1 a6-a7 White cannot even dream of get­ ting his king up to help his a-pawn Black's pawns are too fast. Of course the text move restricts White's rook,

80 The Soldiers

but at least it presents Black with op­ portunities to make a mistake (e.g. l . . . � f6-e5 ?? 2 lt a8-e8+ wins for White). �f6-f5 1 ... 2 'it>f2-g2 As the white king is well placed to draw a king and pawn vs king posi­ tion, he would dearly love to trade his a-pawn for either of the black pawns. Note that 2 .l:ta8-f8 is not pos­ sible as 2 .. J !a3xa7 defends the f7pawn. 'iii>f5-f4 2 lta3-a2+ 3 �g2-f2 g5-g4 4 �fl-gl There is no reason whatsoever for Black to want to play 4 . . . f7-f6?, but he should avoid such a move anyway because White then has 5 l:.a8-f8 . 5 .:l.a8-b8 White is forced to concede that, with the crushing . . . 'iii>f4-f3 and . . . g4g3 threatened, he must give up his pawn for nothing in order to give his rook much needed defensive duties. Defeat is still inevitable. .:l.a2xa7 5 Black is free to advance his king and pawns at leisure. 6 l:.b8-b4+ 'iii>f4-g5 7 'it>gl-g2 t7-f5 .:!.a7-a2+ 8 .:l.b4-b8 Cruelly confining the king to the back rank as 9 �g2-g3 f5-f4+ is mate ! •.•

9 'it>g2-gl f5-f4 10 .l:.b8-h8 Hoping to stop . . . g5-h4-g3, but there are several other methods of winning. f4-f3 10 1 1 .l:.h8-b8 �g5-f4 12 l:tb8-b4+ f4-g3 13 .l:.b4-bl l:.a2-g2+ Engaging in the same winning manoeuvre as we saw earlier, but this time with an extra pawn. At the very least the g-pawn has provided shelter from what would normally be irritat­ ing checks from behind. .l:.g2-h2 14 gl-fi 15 'it>fi-gl f3-f2+ Black wins. The above was a simplified ver­ sion with a basic 1 pawn against 2 situation. Nevertheless my argument remains the same. If the attacker has a 4 vs 2 pawn maj ority on the king­ side, then it is reasonable to assume that he will be able to generate two connected passed pawns . Mean­ while, the opponent's 2 vs 1 queen­ side pawn majority will only reduce to a comparatively harmless single passed pawn, and this is only a prob­ lem in the unlikely event of the de­ fender managing to get his rook behind it, ultimately forcing the at­ tacker's rook to a passive position.

4

Stren gths and Weaknesses

1 3) Weak pawns and Infiltration The number 13, unlucky for some and rather difficult for me too as these are not the easiest subj ects to deal with. Various pawn structures have al­ ready been discussed, including the difference between apparently strong connected pawns and notoriously weaker isolated pawns. What is clear is that when two pawns are together, they at least have the ability to look after each other. I would suggest that it is not simply the fact that a pawn is isolated that makes it weak, but rather the resources often required to defend it. We have seen how it is far better to have active pieces, but as it is not always possible to casually give up pawns, having weak pawns often means obliging pieces to look after them. Worse still is when pieces are driven to clearly poor posts in or­ der to fulfil this passive role. When we use the word ' infiltra­ tion' in chess, generally this refers to a kind of invasion into enemy terri­ tory. Probably the most common is the placing of a rook or two on the 7th rank thanks to the domination of an open file. But remember that the king can be used actively, too. lndee.d,

when the king is being centralised there is always the possibility of in­ filtration. In most general middlegame text­ books the isolated pawn (particu­ larly the d-pawn) is investigated. The fact that many top grandmasters are content to have an isolated d-pawn when they also have lots of pieces is a testament to its attacking potential. But when an endgame arrives the situation changes for the worse.

In this position the d5-pawn threatens to become a burden for Black unless he manages to create some activity for himself. Black has two major worries. First there is a real danger that the white rooks will infiltrate after 1 l: a l -c l (intending l:c 1 -c7). Secondly White could sim­ ply focus his attention on the d-pawn

82 Strengths and Weaknesses

with the doubling up of his rooks on the d-file. Note here how the d4square is extremely well covered by White (indeed we are often told to blockade isolated pawns), rendering the simplifying . . . d5-d4 virtually im­ possible. White's doubling, with one rook on d4, is bad news for Black's d­ pawn. If Black relies on his two rooks to defend it (getting his king to e6 takes too much time), then unless they both manage to do so from the side, a later e3-e4 break will utilise the pin on the d-file to win the pawn. So, which of these two options should White choose? I suppose I would combine domination of the c­ file with bringing the king to d4, but others may play differently. In his book My 60 Memorable Games, ex-World Champion B obby Fischer gives three games against another ex-World Champion, Tigran Petrosian. Since the following game was played after he had written this book, we can only speculate whether it would have been memorable enough to be included in a follow-up volume, or whether it was just an­ other day at the office. After 15 moves of play the mate­ rial situation is still level but the po­ sition is far from balanced. Black has two isolated pawns, which Fischer is hoping to expose as genuine weak­ nesses, whereas White's two pawn islands are very solid. White can deal with any counterplay on the half-open b-file with b2-b3 (since the b-pawn

w Fischer - Petrosian Buenos Aires Ct (7) 1971

is not alone it can rely on the a2pawn for support). Black's pieces are tied down to protecting the two weak pawns which means that he will have trouble keeping White's pieces at a distance. Of the two open files it is the c-file which is the more inviting, although Black must keep an eye on the e-file, too, as White already has a rook there. 16 .ie3-c5 White's knight on the rim is not too dim, with the text clearing the way for a safe passage into c5 . Al­ though the immediate 16 : al-c l is also reasonable, the text has the ad­ vantage of forcing the exchange of Black's best minor piece, his dark­ squared bishop. Black has several holes in his position, and with ex­ change the weaknesses become more apparent. We must also remember that White is the one with a potential out­ side passed pawn thanks to his 2 vs 1

Strengths and Weaknesses 83

majority, so Black could be in big trouble in anything except a rook ending. 16 l:.fe8 17 j.c5xe7 l:.e8xe7 18 b2-b4 �g8-f8 19 tt:Ja4-c5 j.e6-c8 A necessary retreat to add further protection to the twice-attacked a­ pawn. White should now refrain from exchanging rooks immediately since this would allow the enemy king to come over to the centre. 20 t'2-f3 l:.e7-a7 21 l:r.el-e5 The first hint of the coming inva­ sion. White exerts pressure on the d5-pawn while toying with the idea of doubling rooks on the e-file. j.c8-d7 21 22 tLlc5xd7+ l:.a7xd7 23 l:.al-cl Black 's light-squared bishop was hardly that threatening, but White gave up his well-placed knight in or­ der to clear the c-file. l:r.d7-d6 23 ... As well as the nice tactic 24 j.d3xa6 l:.a8xa6 25 l:.c l -c8+, White also had the simple l:. c l -c6 in mind. The text prevents both of these but gives White's rook an entry point on the inviting 7th rank. tt:Jf6-d7 24 l:.c1-c7 Practically forced due to the threat­ ened 25 l:t e5-e7 . Black has tempo­ rarily managed to keep White at bay, but now all of his pieces are passive. 25 l:.e5-e2 g7-g6 h7-h5 26 liPgl-t'2

27 f3-f4 Note how both the b4- and f4pawns nicely complement White's light-squared bishop . Only the king is not doing very much, but Bobby has a plan to change that. One idea is an infiltration of the king with liP f2g3-h4-g5, when f4-f5 may follow. 27 ... h5-h4 Denying White access. However, Black's pieces are in such a mess that White has enough time to find a suit­ able square for his king. 28 �t'2-f3 f7-f5 (D)

29 �f3-e3 d5-d4+ This move is practically forced as Black cannot allow White to post his king on d4, from where it has easy access to either side of the board. The text does vacate the d5-square for potential occupation by the knight but, unfortunately for Black, it has also widened the scope of White's bishop. 30 �e3-d2 tt:Jd7-b6 During the last few moves Black has pushed pawns as his pieces have

84

Strengths and Weaknesses

been unable to leave their (passive) positions. Black's previous conces­ sion presented White with the plan of � d3-c4 and .l:. e2-e6, so Black sends the knight to the d5-square . However, White's next highlights the drawback of this knight sortie. 31 .l:.e2-e7! Infiltration ! 31 l2Jb6-d5 32 l:te7-t7+ 'it>f8-e8 33 .l:.c7-b7 l2Jd5xf4 34 i.d3-c4 1-0 White's pieces are incredibly well co-ordinated. A possible finish is a 'lawnmower' checkmate : 34 . . . .l:. a8c8 35 .l:. f7-h7 li d6-f6 36 .l:. h7-h8+ li f6-f8 37 .i. c4-f7+ 'it> e8-d8 38 .l:.h8xf8#. It is worth remembering that the characteristics of pawn structures can be used to aid in rook infiltra­ tions, as the following example illus­ trates:

The position is completely sym­ metrical, but we can establish that

whoever is to move has a big advan­ tage. The two open files are very im­ portant, but since all possible entry points on the e-file are protected it is clear that it is the c-file which has more significance. With White to play a typical mis­ take is 1 .l:.clxc8? as this gives this invaluable line to Black, while White is unable to profit from occupation of the e-file. Also unsuccessful is 1 lielxeS. This move, which hopes for 1 . . . lic8xe8? (or 1 . .. �t7xe8 ?? for that matter), runs into 1 . . . li c8xc l ! , when both rooks are active and a draw is the likely outcome. White has an excellent alternative in 1 :cl-c5! (with Black to move he should play 1 . . . .l:. c8-c4 !). Two en­ emy pawns are attacked and White threatens to double on, and take con­ trol of, the c-file. The point is that if Black exchanges rooks now with 1 . . . .l:. c8xc5 , then 2 d4xc5 improves White 's pawn structure. An isolated pawn will have become a supported passed pawn, which bodes well for White in a king and pawn ending. Consequently Black would then be forced to concede the e-file, leaving him very passive. The following encounter is one of my favourites. My opponent is a very amicable guy, but he had not played too ambitiously and with 16 f2-f4 he made his second draw offer. Many players may think that Black is worse here because he has

Strengths and Weaknesses 85

18 b2-b3 And now the same goes for the safety of Black's a-pawn, for White no longer has the option of bringing a rook in front of the a2-pawn. �e8-e7 18 19 �gl-f2 a7-a5 Intending 20 . . . a5-a4. Black is happy to offer this pawn if it means an infiltration of his rooks down the b-file may be possible. Of course White does not have to break his pawns by capturing on a4, but a timely . . . a4xb3 will still leave White with weaknesses on the queenside. 20 a2-a4 White puts a stop to Black's plan with an ugly-looking move. Note that the a5-pawn is still isolated, but no enemy minor pieces can attack it. The b3-pawn will continue to be a worry for White, who will find it dif­ ficult to manoeuvre his knight to b5, where it would effectively seal off the b-file. 20 ll:ic6-b4 21 i.e2-f3 :b8-b6 Throughout this game Black takes advantage of the fact that he has not moved his d-pawn to great effect. There may be some moving back­ wards and forwards, but nobody is perfect. With the text Black plans to infiltrate with a rook down the d-file. 22 i.f3xa8 .l:f.g8xa8 .l:f.b6-d6 23 �f2-e2 24 :n-cl White anticipates the arrival of the black rook to d3, making sure that it will not be allowed to c3 and then c2. •••

B J. Fries Nielsen Ward Copenhagen Open 1994 -

doubled f-pawns and two isolated rook's pawns. However, the rest of the game shows this to be a some­ what simplistic view. For the mo­ ment though, let me say that Black has compensation for his structural damage in the form of two very use­ ful half-open files. .:t.h8-g8 16 Clearly there is no point in cas­ tling as the king wants to be in the centre for this ending. Obviously this is because kings need to be central­ ised, but also Black would prefer to protect his d-pawn with his king rather than tie down any other piece in the event of White doubling rooks on the d-file. 17 g2-g3 White considered this necessary to avoid any problems on g2 (e.g. 1 7 ... ll:ic6-d4). However, Black now knows that his h-pawn is safe from a .l:f.fl-f3-h3 manoeuvre. 17 ... i.b7-a8 .•.

•••

86 Strengths and Weaknesses

l:td6-d3 24 l:ta8-b8 25 l:.al-bl l:.d3-d6 26 lZJd2-f3 Seeing that White was getting ready with 27 l:.c 1 -d 1 , Black chooses to retreat and live to fight another day. l:.d6-b6 27 l:.cl-c3 lZJb4-a6 (D) 28 ltbl-b2 The start of a wonderful journey which takes a while to accomplish but is nevertheless worth the time and effort.

32 g3-g4 White decides to take emergency measures, though this thrust is prac­ tically forced since . . . l:t b6-b4 (with a timely . . . .l:. b4xa4 in mind) and . . . lZJd6-e4 leaves White struggling to keep the rooks out. 32 ... f5xg4+ 33 �f3xg4 l:tb8-g8+ With the change to the kingside formation comes an opportunity for Black to try a new approach. 34 'iti>g4-f3 lZJd6-f5 35 �f3-f2 Anticipating Black's next, which aims to land a rook on g2. 35 lZJf5-h4 36 l:tbl-gl l:.g8xgl I guess White was anticipating 36 . . . l:tb6-b8, but then 37 l:tc3-c l al­ lows White to contest the g-file. 37 �f2xgl l:tb6-d6! Unexpectedly Black returns his attention to the d-file for what this time will be a genuine infiltration ! 38 lZJd.2-fi White is forced to concede access since 38 .l:. c3-c2? fails in view of 38 . . . l:.d6xd2 39 .l:.c2xd2 lZJh4-f3+. 38 ... ltd6-dl Not as nice as the 7th rank, but for Black the fun is just beginning. 39 �gl-f2 lZJh4-f5 .l:.dl-bl 40 f2-e2 Keeping the rook flexible and making sure that its opposite number does not suddenly become active. lZJf5-d6 41 .l:.c3-d3 42 lZJfi-d.2 .l:.bl-hl (D) ' 43 e3-e4 ';) .•.

29 lZJf3-d2 Here we see another problem with having to defend pawns passively with rooks . Black (coincidentally) threatened 29 . . . ltb6-b4, when White cannot defend both the b3-pawn and a4-pawn. lZJa6-c7 29 ... lZJc7-e8 30 l:tb2-b l If White had not found the knight's planned final destination before, he does now. The knight is heading for e4. lZJe8-d6 31 �e2-f3

Strengths and Weaknesses 87

It may seem silly of White to give up a pawn when he does not get any real piece activity to compensate. However a close inspection reveals that the h-pawn is doomed anyway. Often the final detail of invasion plans revolves around putting the opponent in zugzwang, and this is the case here. After either 43 tiJd2-f3 or 43 tDd2-fl , 43 . . . tDd6-e4 leaves White lacking a constructive move, 44 l:[ d3-d l being unplayable be­ cause of the fork 44 . . . tDe4-c3+. 1:.hlxh2+ 43 ... From Black's point of view it is pleasing to win a pawn while simul­ taneously confining the enemy king to the back rank. .:.h2-h4 44 �e2-dl f6-f5 45 l:td3-f3 tiJd6-e4 46 e4-e5 47 tiJd2xe4 f5xe4 �e7-f7 48 l:tf3-fi Here comes the king ! 49 �dl-e2 i;t;>f7.g6 i;t;>g6-f5 50 :n-d1 51 1:.dlxd7 �f5xf4 52 l:td7 -c7 l:th4-h2+

Black has five isolated pawns and consequently has no interest in cap­ turing the e5-pawn. Instead it is now his active king which wins the day. �f4-e3 53 i;t;>e2-dl 0-1 White finally puts an end to his suffering. He knows that he is in real danger of being mated and correctly sees no point in trying to put up any resistance. The game could have ended thus: 54 1:.c7xc5 � e3-d3 55 �d l -c l e4-e3 56 .:.c5-c8 e3-e2.

1 4) Pawn less Endings "No pawns?" I hear you ask, "And just how likely is that?". Well, let me tell you a story . . . Once upon a time i n the tourna­ ment where I achieved my first ever grandmaster norm, after 62 moves and 6 hours' play, I found myself (as Black) in the following rather unique position:

Savchenko - Ward Bern Open 1 993

88 Strengths and Weaknesses

I knew the theory regarding single and double combinations of pieces (a summary will follow), but of two rooks and bishop vs rook, bishop and knight I had no idea. I had never reached anything like this combina­ tion of pieces before and it is un­ likely that I ever will again ! My gut feeling was that, only an exchange down, I should be able to hold on for the draw. However, not least because I was playing a tough Russian, I expected having to utilise the 50 move rule (a draw can be claimed if 50 moves pass without a pawn move or a capture). As the game progressed and we entered the 'quickplay finish' phase, I became more and more concerned about the amount of pressure I was being put under. Soon we both en­ tered our last five minutes on the clock and I was faced with a di­ lemma. S hould I continue to write down the moves for when the re­ quired 50 moves have been played, or should I j ust get on with it and earn the draw in the 'blitz ' ? I opted for the latter when I realised that, when approaching the 50, my oppo­ nent could perhaps exchange rooks which would mean having to start counting all over again ! In fact he brought his king up to add extra weight to the attack and, just when I thought I was in trouble, I managed to turn the game around and (believe it or not) it was his king that was nearly mated, the final re­ sult being a draw.

Have no fear - I am not about to launch into an in-depth study of this freak endgame. Even now I am not entirely sure about it and I have never seen it in any books. Instead I would like to briefly cover the other, far more common, possibilities which readers would do well to understand and remember. Such knowledge is crucial when we consider the importance of any re­ maining pawns in an ending: "Can I let my last pawn go and still expect to win or if I sacrifice my knight for his last pawn, is it not a theoretical draw?" Queen vs Rook or Two Minor Pieces

The queen against rook situation is one which many players hope to deal with if and when it ever arises in a game. The novice's view of an out­ come ranges from an easy win to a draw. Although at top level a resig­ nation would not be out of the ques­ tion, the truth is somewhere in the middle. If you ever try to win a king and queen vs a king and bishop (or knight) ending, it is a fairly trivial procedure and can be achieved almost as if the minor piece is not there at all. With a rook this is not the case; essentially the technique revolves around luring the defender's rook away from its king. Although I sus­ pect that there are a number of ways to go about winning, I would like to

Strengths and Weaknesses 89

bring to your attention some of the pitfalls.

move is actually his only one, be­ cause 7 'ifc3-el# is threatened and 6 . . l:t a2-e2 loses the rook to the fork 7 'fic3-d3+. Remember it is this part­ ing of king and rook that tends to spell doom and gloom for the de­ fender. l:ta2-a3+! 6 ... 7 �b3xa3 The game is drawn. .

Obviously in order to achieve vic­ tory, the attacker will need to ap­ proach the enemy king with both his queen and king. However, the care needed when bringing the queen in close is highlighted above in a posi­ tion which is already drawn ! The big problem comes in the form of 'stale­ mate' . White is in check and must zigzag his king towards the action. 1 'iti>b8-a7 Of course the white king can never come to the c-file in view of . . . .:tb2-c2. .:tb2-a2+ 1 .l:.a2-b2+ 2 'iti>a7-b6 l:tb2-a2+ 3 �b6-a5 l:ta2-b2+ 4 �a5-b4 l:tb2-a2+ 5 �b3-a3 6 �a3-b3 Either White knows what is com­ ing or else he is in for a shock. Either way it was unavoidable since bring­ ing the king to b3 is the only way to stop perpetual check. Black's next

Note that with the queen on a3, there would also be stalemate dan­ gers, but Black could force nothing. White need only avoid capturing the kamikaze rook when it checks on d2. The reader should appreciate that the board being symmetrical means that these examples are applicable in all four corners of the board, and generally it is the corners where the defender will attempt to make his last stand. The logic behind this is that there are fewer directions from which the aggressor can attack. The attacking solution (i.e. a sim­ ple winning method) is to withdraw the queen a little - still leaving it monitoring key squares but remov­ ing the stalemate problems - and then bring the king in as illustrated in an­ other of Philidor's positions (hope­ fully you have not forgotten his drawing rook and pawn technique described in section 12). In the following position White to play wins by 'triangulating' with the queen in order to reach the same po­ sition with Black to play. 1 'irb5-d5+ �g8-h8

90 Strengths and Weaknesses

4 'it>g8-h8 Black could expect to receive the same treatment after 4 . . . ..tg8-h7 . 5 'ir'dS-hl+! Out of our nominated two squares White is homing in on the former. 5 ... �h8-g8 As seen before, 5 . . . l:t a7-h7 runs into an effective long diagonal queen move, 6 'ii'hl-a8 mate ! 6 'ji'Jtt.gl+! The king and rook are forked just as intended. By all means try putting the rook on other squares on the third move. The principle is the same: White should be looking, through a series of checks, to manoeuvre his queen to a square that performs the winning 'forking function' . Although I am not supposed to bring pawns into this section, the reader may be interested to learn that it is possible for a king and rook to draw against king and queen if the defender has an accompanying pawn on the second rank (not on the a- or h-file) . If the attacking king is kept on the other side of a rook barrier the defender can huddle his pieces to­ gether and oscillate the rook be­ tween the two squares controlled by the pawn. The pawn should be on the second rank so that the queen cannot operate behind it. As for pawnless endings with a queen against two minor pieces, I doubt you will ever reach one, but here is some help just in case you do. With queen versus two bishops or bishop and knight the queen should .•.

2 'ir'd5-hl+ 'it>h8-g8 2 .. J � g7-h7 3 'Whl -a8#. 3 'ir'hl-h5 The point is that now the rook is forced away from the black king. So where should it go? Logic dictates that with his king on a light square he should at least opt for a dark square in order to reduce straightforward di­ agonal forks (e.g. 3 . . . lt g7-g2 4 'ii'h5d5+ ), but the truth is that he will eventually lose it wherever he goes. 3 l:tg7-a7 Let us select this move and start work discovering a forced sequence which ends in the capture of the rook. Any 'quiet' move just gives Black the time to bring the rook back to his king, so checks are necessary. Ultimately the crucial check will be along a rank or file which permits the queen to simultaneously hit the rook along a diagonal. The only two squares that achieve both of these aims are gl and b8. 4 'ii'h5-d5+ The centre of the board is a good place to start the process. •••

Strengths and Weaknesses 91

win unless the defender has time to organise his forces in such a way that an impenetrable fortress that can be erected.

6 �-e7

lfz.l!z

i..g7-h8

Even when the white king ap­ proaches it cannot stay long enough to trouble Black. The ending of queen versus two knights is a very curious exception, since provided the knights are fairly well co-ordinated, they are able to keep the queen at bay. Rook vs B ishop or Knight

Above is one such set-up, with the black bishop and knight combining well to prevent the white king from coming too close. 1 'ii'f5-h5 i.. g7-h8! The knight controls the g6- and f7-squares, and the bishop stops White using the f6-square (as well as defending the knight). The important thing from Black's point of view is that he cannot allow White to disrupt his blockade. When forced to make a move, he should either move the bishop to and from g7 and h8, or do the same with the king between g8 and h7. After 1 . . . 'it> g8-f8? White has 2 W h5 -h7 , when Black is forced to move his knight. 2 �e6-e7 i.. h8-g7 3 'ii'h5-h3 i.. g7-h8 4 'ti'h3-c8+ �g8-h7 5 �e7-t'8 i..h8-g7+

Much earlier it was observed that it would be impossible to give check­ mate with a king and rook against a king if the defender had the option simply to 'pass' whenever he so de­ sired. It follows that a bishop or a knight can perform this passing role. This is generally true, but let us look at some problems which might oc­ cur, starting with the bishop:

Usually there is a greater chance of trapping a knight than a bishop because the latter is a long-range

92 Strengths and Weaknesses

piece. The diagram position illus­ trates the only problem for the de­ fender - when the king is trapped in the ' wrong' corner. The winning plan is quite simple - White aims to give a check on the back rank which can be met only by blocking with the bishop. Then White makes a passing rook move along the 8th rank, forcing the de­ fending king to abandon the bishop. 1 .l:f.c7-cl Black is lost wherever the light­ squared bishop stands, so bl seems to be the safest. White must remem­ ber to keep the black king locked in its current cage (i.e. with access to a8 and b8 only), and at some point an attack on the bishop will provide the tempo which allows the rook to de­ liver the deadly check. 1 i.bl-a2 Trying to stay hidden. Alterna­ tives lose more quickly, e.g. l . .. i. bl­ g6 2 .l:f.c l -gl i. g6-f7 3 .:r.gl-fl i. f7-e6 4 .: n -fs+. 2 .:c1-c2 i.a2-b3 White's intention is to squeeze the bishop out of the comer and into the open. 2 . . . i. a2-bl also meets with the same reply. 3 .:c2-b2 i.b3-e6 Unfortunately for Black 3 . . . i. b3c4 allows 4 � b6-c5+, winning the bishop. i.e6-d7 4 l:r.b2-e2 5 .:e2-f2 White need not chase the bishop now as 5 . . . 'it> b8-c8 runs into 6 .l:. f2f8+.

5 i.d7 -e6 6 .:f2.f8+ i.e6-c8 7 .:f8-h8 �b8-a8 The fact that this move is avail­ able may help to explain why this is the 'wrong' comer. With a king on a8 and a bishop on b8 a passing rook move leads only to stalemate. 8 .:b8xc8# Summary: should you succeed in eliminating your opponent's last pawn(s) and find yourself defending a king and rook vs king and bishop ending, then try to stay in the centre ! If for some reason you are forced back it is imperative that you head for one of the two corners with the squares of opposite colour to your bishop. Then, claustrophobia aside, you will have no trouble drawing.

...

The biggest problem with king and knight occurs when the two be­ come separated. Then, and with an­ other emphasis on 'knights on the rim are dim', there is a real danger of losing the piece. The following ex­ ample is typical. If White could now magic his rook to e7 the knight would be lost immediately, but with the white king dominating the centre it is only a matter of time until White catches up the with the knight. Meanwhile the black king cannot play any part in the proceedings. tbe8-g7 1 .:r.ct-c8 tbg7-h5 2 .:c8-g8 3 l:lg8-g5

Strengths and Weaknesses 93

Any other pawn promotion allows 3 . l:. a7-a8#. 3 . �g6-f6 4 �g8-f8 The knight has only two squares, and both are in Black 1 s hands. l:ta7-a8# 4 . .

.

..

..

Rook and B ishop/Kn ight vs Rook

And it is goodnight to a bad knight ! Of course there are some other rare exceptions, but the only other significant problem for the defender concerns knights and their incom­ patibility with corners . This is a hint to help you solve the following:

Q. Black to play. With White's pawn about to promote, how does Black win? A. Easily ! 1 l:ta8-a7+ 2 �g7-g8 �g5-g6! 3 h7-h8tiJ+

Actually we are only going to take a look at rook and bishop vs rook. I have twice had the unenviable task of trying to win with a rook and knight against a rook, and twice I made ab­ solutely no progress. In fact with a few exceptions this ending is a draw, as long as the defender is careful. As for rook and bishop vs rook, in recent years this has become a sci­ ence of its own. From a 'flat' posi­ tion (i.e. without any peculiarities) it is a theoretical draw, but many grandmasters - including our own Nigel Short - have failed to success­ fully defend. Despite this I have an international master friend who be­ lieves that it is not possible to win even from an apparently advanta­ geous position. In order to prove him wrong, and provide an example of how technical it can be, one instruc­ tive study is illustrated below: White has advanced to an aggres­ sive position and his well-placed bishop provides some useful cover for the king. Black's king is certainly uncomfortable on the edge of the board, but he still has the rook to

94 Strengths and Weaknesses

or not they are capable of defending a defensible position or of convert­ ing a promising one. Generally they hope to avoid this ending - I have kept my fingers crossed, and it has worked so far !

contribute to the defence. White still has some manoeuvring to do. �d8-e8 1 .:n-d7+ 1 . . . �d8-c8 loses instantly to 2 .:d7-a7, with mate to follow. e8-f8 2 .:d7-a7 Forced. f8-e8 3 .:a7-f7+ Again the only move, as 3 . . . 'it>f8g8 4 .:f7-f3+ is final. �e8-d8 4 .:f7.f4 The threat was 5 .t d5-c6+ 'it>e8d8 6 .:f4-f8+. The alternative 4 ... .:e3d3 pins the bishop but leaves Black unable to cope with 5 .:f4-g4 (in­ tending 6 .: g4-g8#). 5 .td5-e4 Blocking out the black rook with the aim of delivering mate with 6 .:f4-f8#. Now Black has no choice but to transpose to the previous los­ ing line. �d8-e8 5 �e8-d8 6 .te4-c6+ 7 .l:.f4-f8+ White wins. Tricky, but do not panic ! Even professionals worry about whether

If you are interested in learning the full truth about these pawnless endings, and the details of how to win with queen versus rook, or de­ fending with rook versus rook and bishop, I suggest you refer to John Nunn 's Secrets ofPawnless Endings, a 320-page tome devoted to this group of endings ! Two Minor pieces vs King

If you did not know already, two knights against a bare king is a draw. Mating positions are possible but to achieve them in practical play re­ quires a great deal of help from the defending side. Ironically it is a theo­ retical win if the defending king is accompanied by a pawn which has not advanced too far and which is blockaded by one of the knights. The method of achieving victory in­ volves using the free knight and king to drive back the king, calling the other knight into action later. With the pawn free to move it is possible to 'stalemate' the king and then de­ liver checkmate before or just as the pawn promotes. It has already been calculated where the pawn must be in order for the win to be possible, but not only does this extremely

Strengths and Weaknesses 95

complicated ending really exceed the range of this book, this is also supposed to be a pawnless section ! Two bishops against a king is fairly easy and the reader may like to spend some enjoyable time trying to give checkmate against a willing vic­ tim or computer. We are left with one other permu­ tation which is still rare but, when it does occur, certainly has a tendency to cause nightmares . Indeed it was watching a frustrated individual toil­ ing away (while his opponent was counting the allocated 50 moves) that led me to learn the mating tech­ nique for king, bishop and knight vs king at quite an early age. Perhaps it is a little advanced for this book, but it is nevertheless inter­ esting to see how these two minor pieces combine so well.

Just like completing a Rubik's Cube there are undoubtedly several ways to achieve a solution. The start­ ing position for mine is as above. Whichever method is used the reality

is that you can only force checkmate in the corners which are the same colour as the bishop. In our example, although White will be striving to mate Black in the a8 corner, the h l corner i s also O K . We start with the black king in a 'safe' corner with the last move (.i h7) ensuring that it will be sent on its way to the other side of the board. It is not difficult to force Black back from the middle of the board to the edge. If the defender is aware of the s afe and unsafe corners he will know where to try to hide. Hence the positioning of the pieces above. Were they all starting in more central positions on the back rank, then our wonderful sequence of two knight moves, two king moves and two bishop moves would be picked up somewhere in the middle. 1 �f8-e8 �e8-f8 2 li:if7-e5 Stubbornly refusing to be sent to the other corner. If the king opts to run for some open space, then the re­ ply is not as mechanical, but never­ theless shows some nice points, e.g. 2 . . . �e8-d8 3 �f6-e6 �d8-c7 4 li:ie5d7 � c7-c6 and just when the king thinks it has escaped we see a barrier formed with 5 .i h7-d3 ! �c6-c7 6 .i d3-e4 �c7-d8 7 �e6-d6 �d8-e8 8 .i e4-g6+ �e8-d8 9 .i g6-f7 �d8-c8 10 li:id7-c5, etc., as in the main text. 3 li:ie5-d7+ �-e8 �e8-d8 4 �6-e6 5 �e6-d6 �d8-e8 6 .ih7 -g6+ �e8-d8 7 .ig6-t7 �d8-c8 ...

96 Strengths and Weaknesses

�c8-d8 8 ltJd7-c5 9 ltJc5-b7+ �d8-c8 10 'itd6-c6 'it>c8-b8 1 1 �c6-b6 �b8-c8 12 i.f7-e6+ 'it>c8-b8 13 i.e6-d7 �b8-a8 With an excellent manoeuvre White has succeeded in caging the black king in the unsafe corner, and he now moves in for the kill. 'it>a8-b8 14 ltJb7-c5 15 ltJc5-a6+ �b8-a8 16 .i.d7-c6#

A. Perhaps the most instinctive move here is 1 �a8-b7, the logic be­ ing that with the black king close to its pawn, the white rook cannot cope alone. In this case the white king is too far away to make an impact, but there is a standard move here which wins on the spot: Ufa7-a5! . The aim of this move is to cut the connection between the black king and pawn. In fact the white king now has all the time in the world to come back be­ cause Black is unable to advance his pawn, e.g. 1 .g4 g3 2 l:.a5-a3 g3-g2 3 .l:.a3-g3. Note that in a couple of moves White will have to move his rook along the 5th rank so that his king can come by on the left of the rook. ..

1 5) Cutting off the king Throughout this book, starting with the first section, I have stressed the importance of the king 's role in the endgame. With this in mind it is clear ti1at it pays to restrict the freedom of the opponent's king, and a good way to do this is to put a rook on the 7th rank - usually hitting a pawn or two in the process. Q. What should White, to move, play in the position below?

-

Cutting off the king is a useful concept which the reader would do well to look out for. I would like to think that I would not miss such an opportunity again. I say this because, in the following critical game, I needed a win (which I thought I de­ served) in order to gain first place in the tournament. The more I look at it, the more disappointed I feel that I was such a fool ! I had actually arrived quite late for the game because they had moved the round forward by half an hour, and the only notification had been signs in German around the Ham­ burg tournament hall ! So I was rather short of time in the diagram position, but that is a poor excuse for my somewhat careless move 74 a2-a4 ? ! .

Strengths and Weaknesses 97

w Ward - K.Miiller Wichern 1 992

Oddly enough, the computer data­ base proves that this is actually a good move (the quickest way to win, in fact), but only with a very precise follow-up. From a practical view­ point it is a bad decision, for those without a silicon brain ! Instead, I would have done far better to play: 74 ltd4-e4! This move cuts off the enemy king one file further away than it al­ ready is. Play might have continued: 74 ... f6-f5 Sometimes when the defender's king is cut off like this it is possible for him to defend with the rook in front of the pawn (note this is in con­ trast to our usual principle of placing rooks behind passed pawns) . After 74 . . J:� h3-h8 75 a2-a4, if it were not for the fact that the white rook is de­ fending the a4-pawn, then Black could keep checking the king (on a8, b8 and c8). As it is the white king can just approach the rook.

.

75 l:te4-e8 .l:r.h3-h2 76 a2-a4 :h2-b2+ 77 �b4-c5 l:tb2-a2 78 �c5-b5 l:.a2-b2+ 79 �b5-a6 .l:r.b2-a2 Black persists in harassing the white king and pawn. Nevertheless they keep marching on. The only dif­ ficulty will be extracting the king from in front of the pawn in readi­ ness for promotion. 80 a4-a5 �f5-f6 81 'itiia6-b6 l:ta2-b2+ 82 �b6-a7 ltb2-a2 83 a5-a6 :a2-b2 84 'ifiia7-a8 �f6-t7 85 l:.e8-el Keeping the black king in the wil­ derness to prove the point, although 85 lte8-b8 immediately would work here, too. 85 ltb2-b3 86 a6-a7 ltb3-b2 (D)

Essentially this was the position I reached in the game, but with one major difference. My rook and the black king were each one file to the

98 Strengths and Weaknesses

left. It is not swprising that this makes a significant difference to the game's outcome. 87 nel-hl The white king and pawn have made it as far as is presently possi­ ble. Now the white rook sets out to force the black rook off the b-file. rJ;;f7-e7 87 cJiie7-d7 88 .l:.hl-h8 The alternative to letting the white king out to c5, as in the text, is to of­ fer him the c8-square with 88 . . . cJiie7d6. White then wins with 89 n h8-b8 ltb2-h2 90 � a8-b7 lt h2-b2+ 9 1 � b7-c8 .l:. b2-c2+ 9 2 ri;;c8-d8 n c2h2 93 .l:.b8-b6+ �d6-c5 94 l::t b6c6+ ! (intending to promote with check after 94 . . . cJiid6xc6) 94 . . . cJiic5b5 95 lk6-c8 . nh2-h2 89 .l:.h8-b8 .:th2-b2+ 90 �a8-b7 l::.b2-a2+ 91 �b7-a6 .l:.a2-b2+ 92 �a6-b6 1-0 93 �b6-c5 With spite checks running out, the a-pawn is destined to promote. .•.

1 6) Zugzwang! I gave the definition o f this German word earlier. This situation, in which a player's position goes from being OK to terrible simply because he has to make a move, is most often seen in the endgame stage (when fewer pieces mean less options) . In a tour­ nament in Denmark in 1 995 I had two incredible examples of it in suc­ cessive games !

B Jansa - Ward Hiller# Politiken Cup 1995 My opponent, a pawn up but his knight in trouble, had just retreated his king with 62 cJiid4-e3. This was an amazing tournament for me. Be­ fore round 1 I knew that I would need 7 out of 9 for a grandmaster norm, but I started disastrously with a draw and a loss in the first two games. I won in rounds 3 and 4 and I was eager to keep on a roll in the 5th round, despite the quality of my op­ ponent. Capturing the errant knight comes to mind, but this means losing my trump card (the f-pawn) and so de­ nies Black any winning chances (there is no win because the bishop is the 'wrong' colour for the pawn). As things stand, the knight is far away from the queenside on h2, so instead I concentrated on the fact that White has a chance of running out of moves in this position. �g3-g2 62 63 b2-b3

Strengths and Weaknesses 99

Already White starts to feel the strain. He is not able to move his knight because of . . . f2-fl 'ii , and the king must remain on either e3 or e2 in order to meet . . . �g2xh2 with ..t> (e2 or e3)xf2. Thus pawn moves are his only option, and we have al­ ready seen that there is a limit to the number of waiting moves which can be made by pawns. 63 a6-a5 64 a3-a4 This at least forces the bishop off of one of the two key diagonals. At present the bishop prevents both ..t> e3-e2 and c5-c6. The text tempo­ rarily stops this excellent long-range piece from fulfilling both of these objectives, but Black has plans to re­ group. The alternative 64 b3-b4 results in an even earlier arrival of 'zugzwang' , e.g. 64 . . . a5-a4 65 c5-c6 i.. b5xc6 66 �e3-e2 i.. c 6-b5+ 67 � e2-e3 i.. b5 c4. 64 i.. c6-e8 65 'iPe3-e2 i.. e8-b5+ 66 �e2-e3 i..b5-f3! ! (D) .••

With the black bishop once again performing two crucial tasks (hold­ ing back the c-pawn and denying White's king vital squares) we see that White is in total zugzwang ! 67 b3-b4 is futile in view of 67 . . . a5xb4, so instead White spoilt the party by continuing with 67 tl\h2xf3 f2-fl 'ii , resigning a few moves later. In round 6, playing White, I man­ aged to achieve a comfortable plus from the opening. With the queens off I was looking to convert this endgame:

B Ward - Ahlander Hiller¢d Politiken Cup 1995 While Black was contemplating his 13th move I considered myself to be half a pawn up. Black has doubled c-pawns and, in contrast, White has an effective pawn majority on the kingside. As rook endings tend to of­ fer more chances for the defender, I made it my aim to eliminate the rooks.

JOO Strengths and Weaknesses

B y move 30, after considerable manoeuvring, this goal had been at­ tained. Obviously a king and pawn ending is ideal, but I 'knew' that I should be able to win a minor-piece ending thanks to my structural ad­ vantage. In particular my potential for an outside passed pawn had to be realised by a kingside pawn advance, in conjunction with the usual cen­ tralisation of the king. With Black to make his 43rd move, we join the action with me feeling in a confident mood !

43

'it>d6-e5

Clearly the g-pawn is intended as a decoy, but Black will have to deal with it sooner rather than later. 44 llib3xc5 lbb7 -d6+ Going into a pawn ending would be suicidal for Black. He needs to preserve the knight to make things awkward for me. 45 'it>c4-b4 �e5-f4 46 �b4-a5 'it>f4xg4 47 �a5-a6 'it>g4-f4 48 �a6xa7 'iit f4-e5 49 llic5-b7 lbd6-e4 50 a4-a5 White sacrifices the c-pawn, pin­ ning all his hopes on the rook's pawn, encouraged by the fact that knights are poor at halting extreme wing pawns. 50 lbe4xc3 51 a5-a6 �e5-d5 52 a7-b6 lbc3-b5 (D)

The black knight is now rooted to this post, where it is required to stop a6-a7 (- a8 'ii'). White 's next task is to remove the defending knight. 53 llib7-c5 �d5-d6

Strengths and Weaknesses IOI

�d6-d7 54 lt:Jc5-a4 55 �b6-b7 A precautionary measure to stop Black's king coming to the rescue via c8 and b8. lt:Jb5-d6+ 55 lt:Jd6-b5 56 �b7-b8 57 lt:Ja4-c3 (D)

Offering a deflection sacrifice which cannot be taken. The result of this move is that White is now able to push the pawn a square nearer to pro­ motion. lt:Jb5-c7 57 �d7-d8 58 a6-a7 lt:Jc7-a8 59 lt:Jc3-e4 The point of this cheeky move is that after 60 � b8xa8 �d8-c8 6 1 tbe4-d6+ 'ifi>c8-c7 62 lt:Jd6-e8+ �c7c8 there is no way out for the white king. Even without the c-pawn the position is still drawn. 60 tbe4-c5 lt:Ja8-b6 lt:Jb6-a8 61 rJi>b8-b7 62 �b7xc6 Now Black is in big trouble. 62 . . . tb a8-c7 loses to 63 tbc5-e6+. I

was expecting 62 . . . � d8-e7, when after the simple continuation 63 lt:Jc5-a4 rJ;e7-d8 64 lt:J a4-b6 lt:J a8-c7 65 �c6-b7 Black has no moves. 62 �d8-c8 63 lt:Jc5-e6! (D)

1-0 Zugzwang ! The black king has no legal moves, leaving only the los­ ing 63 . . . lt:J a8-c7 64 lt:Je6xc7 and 63 ... tba8-b6 64 �c6xb6. Certainly these two examples have added a lot of weight to the argument that pawns become more valuable the nearer they are to promoting. Nevertheless, as I warned earlier the intention is not to give the reader an inflated idea of the value of pawns when compared with pieces, rather to remind you that these foot soldiers can sometimes win the battle. Perhaps it is my imagination, but in endgame texts today a certain term seems to be all the rage. So tell me ...

102 Strengths and Weaknesses

Q. What do you think is a 'Mutual Zugzwang' ? A . Well, zugzwang normally means that if you are compelled to move (as of course you are) then in certain critical positions you are heavily disadvantaged for having to do so. If such a zugzwang is mutual, then it applies to both players . As a basic example, take a simple king and pawn endgame. Whoever has the move will lose. After 1 �f5-g4 'it>d4xe4 Black wins because the white king is misplaced.

Similarly after 1. . 'ii>d4-c5 2 'ii>f5xe5 Black cannot get his king to e7. .

5 All the King's Men

1 7) Wh ich is better: K n ight or B ishop? What chess book would be complete without the age-old comparison of the two minor pieces? There is not really anything I can say that has not already been said before. Which of the two is the better depends on the position, although in general it is fair to say that bishops are held in higher esteem in the endgame. Weaker players tend to favour knights, not so much because they can jump but because they can oper­ ate on both light and dark squares. Of course this is a valuable asset, but as the king is always around to per­ form the same function, perhaps the long-range power of the bishop is a more important factor. With special reference to ' flat' po­ sitions with pawns on both sides, it has long been thought that the bishop is superior. The following old game is one such example of the bishop's power on a relatively open board. Even with Black to play, many players would assume that a draw should be the fair result. Watch and learn ! �g8-f8 1 As usual the first step for both sides is to centralise the king. It ...

B Stoltz Kashdan The Hague 1928 -

should be observed even at this stage that although the white knight occu­ pies a nice central square, its possi­ ble entry points are covered by the bishop. 'iitf8-e7 2 �gt-n rj;e7-d6 3 �fl-e2 �d6-d5 4 �e2-d3 The black king has been able to go one rank further in the centre, but as the white pawns can advance to dark squares, it will eventually be re­ quired elsewhere to attack them. Black's next aim is to force the white king to give way, and another of the bishop's attributes - its ability to gain (or lose) a tempo - will con­ tribute to this phase. The fact that the knight cannot 'pass ' prompts White

104 All the King 's Men

into having to bide time with pawn moves. i.d7-c8 5 h3-h4 Black's intention is to make the white king commit itself so that his own king can invade in the opposite direction. If both players then create passed pawns the bishop is capable of both aiding his own pawns while keeping an eye on the opponent's. The knight, on the other hand, takes longer to get from one side of the board to the other. i.c8-a6+ 6 tbd4-f3 h7-h6 7 'it>d3-c3 White seems to have decided to put his king on the queenside, so Black will now focus his attention on a kingside invasion. First he must keep the knight at bay. 8 tbf3-d4 g7-g6 9 tbd4-c2 �d5-e4 10 tbc2-e3 White attempts to erect a barrier. Black's pawns are on hand to facili­ tate the decisive breakthrough. t7-f5 10 1 1 ""c3-d2 f5-f4 12 tbe3-g4 h6-h5 13 tbg4-f6+ 'it>e4-f5 Black is happy to retreat his king from the centre because he has his eye on the h4-pawn. White now re­ lies on his knight to provide a counter-attack on Black's g-pawn, as g2-g3 merely creates another weak­ ness which cannot be defended. i.a6-c8 14 tbf6-d7 Forcing the knight to make a deci­ sion.

15 tbd7-f8 An unattractive choice which aims to distract Black' s king. After 1 6 tbd7-c5 'iP f5-g4 1 7 tb c5-d3, in­ stead of the immediate 1 7 . . . �g4xh4 (allowing 1 8 tb d3xf4) Black has 1 7 . . . i. c8-f5 . 15 g6-g5 Although this allows White to trade off the pawn that he feared los­ ing for nothing, Black now has big­ ger fish to fry. 16 h4xg5 'iPf5xg5 will result in the black king going back to attack the trapped knight. 16 g2-g3 g5xh4 17 g3xh4 'iPf5-g4 (D) •..

18 tbf8-g6 .i.c8-f5 19 tbg6-e7 i.f5-e6 Now the b3-pawn is under attack. Also possible is 1 9 . . . i. f5-e4. In or­ der to demonstrate the major princi­ ple in question, here is an illustrative sample variation: ( 1 9 . . . i. f5-e4) 20 tb e7 -c8 � g4xh4 2 1 tb c 8xa7 r.P h4h3 followed by 22 . . . �h3-g2, when there is no stopping the h-pawn (the bishop has the b-pawn under control).

All the King 's Men 105

20 b3-b4 'it>g4xh4 21 'iii>d2-d3 �h4-g4 22 cJi>d3-e4 h5-h4 23 lbe7-c6 i.e6-f5+ 24 �e4-d5 f4-f3 Efficient. Now 25 lbc6-e5+ meets with 25 . . . �g4-f4 25 b4-b5 h4-h3 26 lbc6xa7 h3-h2 27 b5-b6 h2-hl'ii' And Black soon won. .

It is in blocked positions that knights are better than bishops. In such endgames the knight demon­ strates its superiority with an ability to manoeuvre to all the good squares. A lot depends on just how obstructed by pawns the bishop is. Below is an example of 'good' knight vs ' bad' bishop.

w Averbakh - Panov Moscow 1950

White has a dream position. His knight is exceptionally well placed, combining with the kingside pawns

to produce an impenetrable barrier. Consequently the black king is un­ able to j oin in the game (the same is not true of White's king, which is ready to infiltrate the opponent's po­ sition). Black has a supported passed pawn on e5, but like the other centre pawns it is on the same colour square as the bishop. Therefore the terms ' good' knight and 'bad' bishop White has an attacking minor piece and Black a passive one. Note that the bishop cannot attack the white pawns. 1 g4-g5 Making way for a king invasion on f5 . Black is powerless to prevent this. �g8-g7 1 �g7-r7 2 �f2-f3 3 �f3-g4 i.f8-e7 4 �g4-f5 i.e7 -f8 The bishop must continue to pro­ tect the d6-pawn, and Black is deter­ mined to keep the enemy king out of the e6-square. h7-h6 5 lbe4-f6 6 g5xh6 6 g5-g6+ looks attractive, but White is aware that he must win an enemy pawn eventually. He knows that he will never be able to capture the d6-pawn while it is protected by the bishop because this leaves the e­ pawn free to make a sprint for pro­ motion. With this in mind he needs to create a distraction. i.f8xh6 6 i.h6-f8 7 lDf6-e4 i.f8xh6 8 h5-h6

106 All the King 's Men

Black must capture this pawn sooner or later, e.g. 8 . . . 'it>f7-g8 9 'iPf5-f6 g 8-h7 I O r.P f6-f7 i. f8xh6 1 1 �e4xd6. 9 �e4xd6+ d7-c6 12 13 'it>e5-e6 (D) With his king up in support White wants to go it alone with the d-pawn. Black will therefore need his bishop to cover the d8-square, but to say that this is not easy is an understatement. •..

Q. Can you find a safe route for the bishop to cover the queening square of White's d-pawn? A. No? Good, because neither can I! The central knight is so powerful it controls every relevant square - even on a fairly open board. With 1 3 d6d7 c.Pc6-c7 14 �e6-e7 coming next, it is no surprise that Black resigned earlier.

If a bishop is accompanied by a rook then the presence of a pawn or two fixed on the same colour square as the bishop is usually less of an in­ convenience because the activity of the rook should compensate. It is this sort of logic that has led several grandmasters to occasionally say that 'there is no such thing as a bad bishop' . I do not think that this should be taken literally, but the in­ ference is there. Players often under­ estimate the impact a bishop can have on the assessment of an end­ game. There is certainly no denying the power of the two bishops. When you have two strong bishops, particularly in an endgame where your opponent has another combination of two mi­ nor pieces, the bishops generally prove to be a dangerous team. The range of squares within your grasp is vast, and the logic is that if you have one ' bad ' bishop, then the other should be brilliant (I once managed to get two bad bishops, but we will not go into that!).

All the King 's Men 107

The position below is more like opening theory.

his queenside, and . . . a7-a6 creates a hole on b6. The text threatens simply to chase Black's rook off the c-file. 16 lDf6-d7 17 .tfi-h3 :cS-c7 (D)

w Polugaevsky - Ostojic Belgrade 1969

For years this position was de­ bated with many claiming that Black is comfortable. He has no obvious weaknesses and we could be forgiven for believing that a trade of dark­ squared bishops results in 'good ' knight vs 'bad' bishop endgame. In fact White's excellent handling of the game is one of the reasons why none of today's top players is willing to take Black in this position. 15 :ctxc8+! This appears to be the most accu­ rate treatment. White concedes the c­ file but he has every intention of winning it back. l:.a8xc8 15 16 g2-g3! Black's queenside pawns are weak. Although the immediate 1 6 .te3xa7 runs into 1 6 . . . l:tc8-a8 Black still must keep a careful watch over ...

18 :ht-cl! Were it not for the fact that his b­ pawn is en prise White may have considered 18 .t h3xd7 followed tak­ ing control of the c-file. As it is, he is happy to retain the advantage of the two bishops. 18 :c7xcl 19 rJi>d2xcl tDd7-b6 20 'ifi?cl-c2 �g8-f8 White can now win a pawn with 21 .t e3xb6? ! a7xb6 22 .t h3-c8, but this leads to an opposite-coloured bishop endgame which Black has ex­ cellent chances to draw. As you will discover later, these endings tend to be drawish. 21 b2-b3 'ifi?f8-e8 22 a4! (D) The black queenside is suddenly looking rather delicate.

108 All the King 's Men

Generally the prospects of win­ ning the game are excellent with either minor piece if you are a pawn up, although if there are pawns on both sides of the board a bishop is preferable, while a knight is stronger the closer the pawns become.

1 8) More Scenes with Queens 22 �e8-d8 lDb6-c8 23 a4-a5 24 .i.h3xc8 Only now is White prepared to break up his bishop duo, for this time he is about to emerge a clear pawn up in a same-coloured bishop ending. As we know, with sufficient pawns remaining on the board this usually means a winning advantage. Indeed after 24 . �d8xc8 25 i.e3xa7 White went on to win comfortably. . .

I hope that this section has helped you weigh up the pros and cons a lit­ tle. Obviously much depends on the specific position. Bishops are excel­ lent in that they can rest on one side of the board and still have a consid­ erable influence on the other. Having said that, it is also true that while a bishop controls more squares than a knight, some of these squares are often irrelevant. The knight is slow, but if there is sufficient time it can reach any square, whereas a bishop is permanently denied access to half of the board.

Have no fear, I am not about to tell the famous story of how a competi­ tor was ejected from the British La­ dies Championship after it was discovered that the player was in fact a man in 'drag ' . But I would like to add a few words about our prized possessions. Many believe that an endgame is not really an endgame if queens are involved and, even if it is, the outcome is bound to be a draw because there is no doubt that a per­ petual check should figure some­ where ! These people are wrong. Queens can be involved in endings and a suc­ cessful pawn promotion does not mean a return to the middlegame ! Obviously on a fairly open board with exposed kings and queens around, there is a lot of scope for checking. But this does not necessarily mean that the king should be kept safely tucked away. Indeed if it is just an enemy queen to deal with, often the king can venture out without any fear of being caught. Pawns usually provide some sort of shelter, and it is often difficult for a queen to keep

All the King 's Men 109

checking while guarding its own pawns. This is why the king can do a raid on some enemy pawns and then return to safety when the mission is completed. In the following recent encounter the exploratory king finds a nice ha­ ven:

B Sherzer I.Almasi Hungary 1 995 -

1 ... 'iVd4-gl+ 2 �g3-f3 The only move, as the alternative 2 � g3-h3 runs into 2 . . . g5-g4+ 3 �h3-h4 °ligl -h2#. 2 g5-g4+ 3 �f3-e2 'ir'gl-g2+ 4 'iii>e 2-el 'ilfg2-e4+ Throughout this game Black ap­ pears to enjoy toying with his oppo­ nent. Careless is 4 . . . °lig2xa2 because this leaves the queen offside, and consequently after 5 °lig8-d5+ it is difficult for Black to avoid perpetual check. 5 �el·f2 ..We4-f3+

6 �f2-gl 'iVf3-g3+ Initiating a little repetition, just to show who is in command. 'ir'g3-f3+ 7 �gl-fl 8 'it>fl-gl g4-g3 With this move the white king is very boxed in and mate is threatened. However, Black must be careful, for if White had no pawns a kamikaze queen sacrifice would lead to stalemate. 9 �g8-c8+ �f5-e4 10 ..Wc8-e6+ �e4-d3 11 ..We6-c4+ �d3-d2 12 �c4-d4+ �d2-c2 13 'iVd4-c5+ �c2-b2 14 'iWc5-e5+ 'iVf3-c3 Here 14 . . . 'it>b2-bl would also have been fine, but not 1 4 . . . 'iii>b2xa2? 1 5 'iie5-b2+ ! 'it;a2xb2 stalemate. 15 'ir'e5-e2+ �b2-a3 Now Black's king is no longer in the firing line. Obviously White can­ not allow a queen trade, so this rules out 16 � gl -g2 'lic3-b2. 16 ..We2-e6 'ir'c3-al+ 17 �gl-g2 'iia lxa2+ 18 'it>g2-h3 1 8 'iii> g2xg3 'ii'a2xb3+ wins for Black. After the text it is also possi­ ble to take the b-pawn. 'iia2-h2+ 18 19 �h3-g4 g3-g2 20 �g4-f3 I am not sure why White is playing on. Now Black makes a joke. g2-glliJ+ 20 'ii'h2-e2+ 21 'iti>f3-e4 'iie2xe6+ 22 �e4-f5 0-1

110 All the King 's Men

The trouble with queen endings is that a lot of patience is required and they are notorious for going well be­ yond 1 00 moves ! When hardly any­ thing remains on the board it is often necessary to use to your advantage the position of your opponent's king, and on this note I would like to pro­ vide an important and highly instruc­ tive example.

intends to bring his king back along the g-file so that the black queen will no longer be able to pin the pawn. Although his king can expect many checks, his plan is to be able to meet a check with a check. It is a brilliant concept which needs a little prepara­ tion. 6 1i'g3-gl+ �al-b2 7 'iig l-f2+ 'iii> b2-al Black's own king cannot assist in halting White's pawn so it stays out of the way in the corner, though White intends to use its exposure wherever it is. If the black king goes to the third rank, for example 7 . �b2a3 , then White reacts by retreat his king to g2. Then any black queen check is met by a check on the third rank. 8 'ii'f2-fl+ 'it>al-b2 9 �g7-h6 'ii'd7-e6+ 10 �h6-g5 'ii'e6-d5+ 11 �g5-g4 'ii'd5-e4+ 12 �g4-g3 ii'e4-g6+ 13 �g3-h2 '1Wg6-h6+ 14 �h2-gl (D) ..

White needs only to advance his extra pawn one more square. Although Black has no more checks at the mo­ ment since these allow a promotion, the onus is now on White to make the final progression. Impatient attempts to unpin the pawn merely result in more checks or pins elsewhere. In­ stead White needs a long-term plan, and he has an appropriate one in mind. 1 'ii'g6-g3 'iii>a2-al 2 �g8-g7 'ii'd5-d4+ 3 'iii> g7-h7 'ii'd4-e4+ 'ii'e4-e6+ 4 'iii> h7-h6 5 �h6-g7 'ii'e6-d7 After a little bit of manoeuvring, White's strategy can be revealed. He

All the King 's Men 111

The ingenious strategy is very close to completion. Note how any check allows White to block with a check of his own. Consequently, with f7-f8 'ir' still threatened, Black resorts to blockading - usually a sign that the game can no longer be held. 14 'ir'h6-f8 15 'ii'fl -f6+ rJi>b2-a3 16 �gl-fl! A final precautionary measure. White intends to get his queen to either e8 or g8, but he does not want the black queen to deliver a check. 16 ... �a3-b4 17 'i'f6-f4+ Aiming for either e8 or g8 with tempo. 17 �b4-c5 18 °ii'f4-e5+ 'itr>c5-c4 19 'ii'e5-e8 White wins. Black can retrieve his queen from f8, but with two white queens on the board, he can but dream of a perpet­ ual check.

1 9) The value of the pieces and which ones to exchange You may be wondering why this section comes so late in the book, but if this is the case, then I think that you might be expecting too much here. I am not going to radically alter the ' points ' system, nor can I pro­ vide an all-purpose super-formula for which pieces to exchange.

During a game it is standard pol­ icy to try to eliminate your oppo­ nent's well-placed pieces, preferably for your poorly placed ones . Obvi­ ously common sense must prevail you cannot simply give up an unde­ veloped queen for an enemy knight that just happens to be on a good out­ post ! Anyway, I have already pro­ vided plenty of principles. We know that once we have established a ma­ terial advantage it is better to swap off pieces rather than pawns, and that the nature of a position should be carefully assessed before trading a bishop for a knight or indeed before any exchange of minor pieces. We have seen how rook endings provide the active defender with the most drawing chances, whereas a minor piece or basic king endgame with several pawns is promising for the attacker. Thus it should be clear which side is more likely to want the rooks eliminated. Now we come to some of the more frequent piece imbalances. First let me start with a very thrilling game (see diagram on the next page). For the moment I want the reader to draw his own conclusions, so the game is not annotated. i.d5-c4 22 i.c4-e2 23 :d2-f2 �g8-g7 24 l:thl-cl 'itr>g7-h6 25 c2-c4 'itr>h6-h5 26 :ct-c3 �h5xh4 27 lk3-a3 g6-g5 28 :a3xa7 g5-g4 29 c4-c5

112 All the King 's Men

42 l:tf6-h6 l:ta2-a8 43 l:th6-b6 .:ta8-e8+ 44 We3-f4 l:te8-h8 45 �f4-e3 g4-g3 46 h2xg3 h4xg3 47 l:.t2xe2 f3xe2 48 �e3xe2 g3-g2 49 .l:.b6-g6 � Wh3-h2 I I �h2-hl 50 �e2-f2 51 l:.g6xg2 l:.h8-f8+ 52 'it>t2-e3 �hlxg2 53 'it>e3-d4 Wg2-f3 54 b4-b5 .1:.f'8-f5 55 �d4-c4 �f3-e4 56 b5-b6 l:tf5-fl 57 �c4-c5 We4-e5 58 b6-b7 l:tfl-bl 59 Wc5-c6 .l:.blxb7 .

B McDonald-Mestel London Lloyds Bank 1994 30 31 32 33 34 35 36

Wbl-c2 Wc2-d2 c5-c6 .:ta7-g7 .l:.g7-d7 l:td7-d4 l:td4xf4

h7-h5 f7-f5 f5-f4 .:tf'8-d8+ .:td8-c8 .l:k8xc6 .:tc6-d6+ (D)

37 38 39 40 41

�d2-e3 'it>e3-e4 b2-b4 �e4-e3 .l:.f4-f6

l:td6-d3+ l:td3-d2 l:f.d2xa2 'it>h4-h3 h5-h4

·

-

1f2.1f2 Q. Do you think that White was unlucky not to win this game? A. Certainly not. In the initial po­ sition Black was an exchange down, but it was he who made all the running. I watched the game being played; in the end Black was very short of time and only just managed to eliminate White's last pawn before his flag fell. He had been pressing hard for the victory and I would not be at all surprised to learn that at some stage he had missed a win which he might have found with more time (Mestel himself seemed to think so after the game). Did the material situation count for nothing in the previous example? To compensate for the exchange

All the King 's Men 113

Black certainly sprung his king into action quickly, but I do not think that tells the whole story. Once the frantic pawn-rush was under way Black's long-range bishop coped just as well as a rook. In particular the black rook and bishop forged an effective part­ nership, with the former performing both attacking and defensive tasks. In this respect Black's two pieces fared no worse than White's, indeed they could operate along ranks, files, and diagonals ! Moreover, Black's pawns eventually looked the more dangerous. Had the bishop been alone, then Black would have had more diffi­ culty controlling dark squares in general, so an exchange of rooks in a situation like this most definitely fa­ vours the player with two rooks. In this case, however, Black had too much space to be forced into such an unappealing exchange. I am the first to admit that there are always problems with making too many generalisations, but I would stand by the logic that if you have a minor piece and however many pawns for a rook, then it is in your advantage to retain the remaining pair of rooks - we know how strong rooks can be in the endgame, provid­ ing a means to create, hinder or help passed pawns (remember that knights and bishops are not so effective at this kind of job). I would also apply similar logic to those situations with two minor pieces for a rook and pawn(s). Suppose you

have a rook, knight and bishop vs two rooks (with equal pawns). Al­ though two rooks provide twice the fire-power of one, to a certain extent they may be duplicating. Only one square can be occupied at one time and twice as many rooks means that more care must be taken to avoid pins, forks or skewers ! These concepts and others are ig­ nored in the following game between juniors, one a 9-year-old talent for the future.

B Palmer - Rendle County U-18 match 1996 In a very materialistic manner, White has just sacrificed his fianchet­ toed light-squared bishop for two pawns in order to win the exchange. Although this puts him up on points (7 for 6), I would say that with so many pieces remaining this is quite a risky policy (it would have been an even worse idea if the other rooks were still on the board). 'iWf6-f5?! 19 ...

114 All the King 's Men

Not a good idea. The middlegame is the time when minor pieces tend to get the better of rooks (which are usually saving themselves for the endgame). Rooks are also not very good at defending the king, which is another reason why Black should preserve queens. After 1 9 . .. 'ii'f6-g5 Black can generate an attack against White's hole-ridden and relatively defenceless kingside. 20 liJd5xe7 + .i.d6xe7 21 'ii'd3xf5 .i.g4xf5 At least Black has two bishops in return for the rook and two pawns. 22 c2-c4 .i.e7-f6 .i.f6xd4 23 c4xb5 24 lLid2-c4 .tf5-e6?! Attacking the knight, but effec­ tively conceding the bishop pair. I prefer 24 . . . lLid7-e5 , as without the knights the bishops can more easily wreak havoc. .i.e6xc4 25 l:tal-dl .i.c4xb5 (D) 26 l:tdlxd4

Ignoring the fact that White now overlooks 27 l:td4-d5 ! (winning the

a-pawn), he still has the superior po­ sition. It is precisely in these latter stages that the rook really shines, and here the minor pieces are not work­ ing well together (they could do with the help of a rook). liJd7-f6 27 f2-f4? 28 b2-b4 a5xb4 29 a3xb4? ! Displaying a misunderstanding of the position. Stronger is 29 l:td4xb4, as White wants his passed pawn as far away from the black king as pos­ sible. Note that with an extra pair of rooks on the board Black would be able to combine kingside pressure with holding back a passed pawn. �g8-f8 29 30 l:td4-d8+ 'ifi>f8-e7 31 :d8-b8 .i.b5-d7 32 b4-b5 �e7-d6 33 b5-b6 'ifi>d6-c6 The black king seems to have suc­ cessfully made the journey over to the b-pawn. Nevertheless, because the king will soon be required on c7 his last move was unnecessary, so 33 . . . .i. d7-e6 ! (intending . . . lLif6-d7) is preferable. 34 b6-b7 �c6-c7 35 l:tb8-f8 Black's latest problem (now that his king has been lured to the queen­ side) is the safety of his kingside pawns, which are at the mercy of the rook. .i.d7-e8! 35 ... 36 g3-g4! �c7xb7 36 . . . g7-g5 makes things worse for Black after 37 f4xg5 h6xg5 38 h4 ! .

All the King 's Men 115

37 g4-g5 h6xg5 3S f4xg5 lDf6-e4? (D) Better is 3 8 . . . lDf6-h7 ! , transpos­ ing to the game. The text presents White with a tremendous opportu­ nity.

remaining pawn. Nevertheless the game was eventually drawn.

20) Opposite-Coloured Bishops: Always a Draw? Since these endings are charac­ terised by the players operating on (and dominating) different colour squares, it is logical that they are noted for their drawish tendencies.

39 l:.f8xe8?! Unfortunately for him, he imme­ diately misses it. The clever move 39 g5-g6 ! wins. In contrast to the game, this ensures that Black's pawn struc­ ture is shattered. After 39 .. t7xg6 40 l:.f8xe8 Black cannot defend the pawns. The alternatives 39 . . . lDe4-d6 and 39 . . lD e4-f6 run into the stand­ ard 40 l:. f8xe8 lDd6(or f6)xe8 4 1 g6xf7, when White promotes. 39 ... lDe4xg5 40 '1Pgl-g2 40 h2-h4 lD g5-f3+. 40 '1Pb7-c6 lDg5-e6 41 h2-h4 42 �g2-g3 �c6-d7 43 :es-as rt;d7 -e7 44 rt;g3-g4 '1Pe7-f6 Probably 44 . . . g7-g6 is more accu­ rate, encouraging a trade of White's .

.

White is a pawn down but he has no trouble holding the draw. If Black had a dark-squared bishop instead, then he could use his c-pawn as a de­ coy and infiltrate White's kingside pawns. As it is White's king cannot be dislodged, and his bishop ade­ quately defends his pawns. In fact the defender can often have a two pawn deficit and still be able to avoid defeat. In the position above, for example, White can draw com­ fortably without the f2-pawn - he ar­ ranges a suitable blockade by simply

116 All the King 's Men

moving the bishop up and down h2b8 diagonal. Generally, in order to be able to win in a basic two pawns vs none ending of this type, the pawns need to be at least two files apart. I knew this was the theory for a long time, but I always used to assume that con­ nected pawns would be an excep­ tion.

White' s king from coming to c7 to support the decisive pawn thrust. 2 i.a3-b4 Waiting in the hope that a foolish black king or bishop move will en­ able him to carry on with e5-e6+. 2 i.t7-g8! No such luck. In contrast to rooks, which are best behind passed pawns, here the defender's bishop has set­ tled on its perfect position in front of White's twosome. The point is that White cannot advance his e-pawn without his king supporting e6, but the king cannot leave the d5-pawn unprotected. 3 i.b4-c5 i.g8-f7 ! The position is drawn. ...

Let us now take a look at why the attacker benefits from his passed pawns being as far apart as possible. 1 i.h5-t7 ! However, I was wrong ! In princi­ ple White's winning technique in­ volves advancing the pawns in order to always control the squares of the opposite colour to his bishop . Had White had the first move, then 1 d5 d6? would allow Black a simple light-square blockade. However, 1 e5-e6+ ! wins for White, for example 1 . . . �d7-d8 2 d5-d6 i. h5-e8 3 i. a3c l i. e8-a4 4 i. c l -g5+ �d8-e8 5 � d4-c5 (5 d6-d7+? i. a4xd7 ! dem­ onstrates why the bishop is required along this diagonal) and White wins. The fact that Black is in zugzwang is irrelevant because he cannot prevent

At first glance this position may seem lifeless. If Black does 'nothing' there is no way for White to make progress, but we have already seen how difficult it is to 'pass' sometimes.

All the King 's Men 117

1 i.e5-f4 A waiting move, effectively eject­ ing the black bishop from its block­ ading post since 1 . . . 'iii> c 8-b7 loses to 2 �e7-d8 . 1 ... i.h3-fl 2 h2-h4! No, I have not forgotten the possi­ bility of en passant. This is all in ac­ cordance with the master plan of obtaining two passed pawns. g4xh3 2 i.fl -d3 (D) 3 g3-g4

Q. Can Black negotiate a trade of his pawn for one of White's? A. If he could, then he could then give up his bishop for the last white pawn in order to secure a draw. However, the fact that White has given Black a passed pawn is of little consequence here. It would only be important if Black could use it as a deflection in order to trade it for one of White's, but this is not possible in this case because White's bishop covers both c7 and h2 simultane­ ously. Since the black king is too far

from the g-pawn, the winning proc­ ess is simple. 4 g4-g5 i.d3-e4 5 �e7-f6 'iii>c8-d7 6 g5-g6 i.e4-d5 7 �f6-g7 Far more accurate than the imme­ diate 7 g6-g7 ? ! , when White will have difficulty bringing his king up to support promotion on g8. 7 i.d5-e4 8 g2-fi �6-e5 39 rJtfi-g2 g6-g5 l:td6-h6 40 rJtg2-fi 41 rJtfi-g2 .l:.h6-d6 42 �g2-fi l:td6-d8 43 �fi-g2 f5-f4 And now the screws are really be­ ing turned. White's next move looks

All the King 's Men 119

very ugly, but in view of the threat­ ened 44 .. .f4-f3+, who can blame him? e4-e3 44 f2-f3 l:.d6-d2! 45 g3-g4 Karpov is a positional genius. I would not be surprised if this is the continuation he had in mind at the beginning of this rook and opposite­ coloured bishop ending. 46 llc2xd2 Forced, but at least the rooks are off and we now have an ending re­ nowned for the defender's drawing chances ! e3xd2 (D) 46 ...

Black is now ready to attack White's queenside, and with the d2pawn constituting a major threat, the light-squared bishop has real trouble operating in what soon becomes clear is a rather confined space. �e5-d4 47 i.e2-dl 48 �g2-f2 'it>d4-c3 49 �f2-e2 �c3-b2 �b2-b l ! 50 'itte2-d3 Black is n o t interested i n grab­ bing the a-pawn if it means allowing

White 's king to take up a good de­ fensive post on c2. The text (still pre­ venting 5 1 �d3-c2) keeps Black's options open, and zugzwang is be­ coming a distinct possibility. Note that care must still be taken. After 50 . . . �b2-c l 5 1 �d3-e2 i.b4e7 ? ! 52 b3-b4 ! , White can keep his grip on the d i -square without losing the a2-pawn. �bl-cl 51 a2-a3 i.b4xa3 52 �d3-e2 53 b3-b4 The only move that does not im­ mediately lose a bishop. a5xb4 53 ... 54 i.dl-a4 i.a3-b2 Typical Karpov. The bishop heads for the best square from which to de­ fend the d2-pawn. With the bishop on e3 instead of c3, the black king has more freedom with which to sup­ port the recently created passed bpawn. i.b2-d4 55 i.a4-dl i.d4-e3 56 i.dl-b3 �cl-b2 57 i.b3-a4 b4-b3 58 'it>e2-dl 'iii> b2-al 59 i.a4-c6 0-1 Wonderful play, if rather tedious !

21 ) Tactics in the endgame 'Endgames are boring ! ' - according to most juniors, who usually prefer studying puzzles and tactics. So what of tactics in the endgame? Yes, they do occur, just like in the opening and

120 All the King 's Men the middlegame, the main difference being that there are fewer pieces left on the board. In a way tactics in the latter stages of the game are of the purest type . With a smaller army you must utilise your pieces to the maximum. The disadvantage (from an in­ structive point of view) with spe­ cially composed problems is that you are given a big hint that there is a good continuation at your disposal . But in tournament play no angel ap­ pears at a 'critical' moment to inform you that some extra effort here may be rewarded. More often than not a beautiful combination passes by, with both players completely oblivi­ ous to a delightful theme which may never appear again. I suppose the key is to endeavour to alert at all times during a game, and it is true that there is nothing like a bit of deep analysis. Take, for ex­ ample, the following simple position which arose between two juniors competing for their counties in the National U- 1 1 team championships.

With Black having just played . . . c4-c3, White paused for a short while - way too short, in fact - when he had plenty of time on the clock, reaching the conclusion that it was pointless retreating his king to pre­ vent the c-pawn promoting, because each of his king moves could be matched by an equally effective one from Black. Obviously it would be silly and unfair to expect too much from the youngster. However, when I later pointed out the flaw in his thinking (as well as the fact that at this important stage he had nothing to lose by taking his time) he was annoyed with himself and, needless to say, when set as a puzzle for his team-mates later, there was a 1 00% success rate ! Q. In fact, White, to play, can win this pawn ending . Can you discover what White missed during the game?

A. 1 �d4-d3! The game continuation instead saw the immediate 1 h6-h7, and after both sides promoted a draw was shortly agreed. �b4-b3 1 c3-c2 2 h6-h7 3 �d3-d2! �b3-b2 4 h7-h8�+ The whole point of White's king retreat is revealed - Black's king has been forced onto the a l -h8 diagonal so that White is able to promote with check. 4 . �b2-bl .

.

All the King 's Men 121

5 'ilt'h8-b8+ Just one of the numerous ways to win the pawn. �bl-al 5 ... 6 �d2xc2 White wins. So tactics do occur in endgames, and it is up to the player to ' feel ' when such possibilities are there. Remember - it is no good spending lots of time searching for a combina­ tion that does not exist. To finish here are some nice tac­ tics from my own games . Treat them as more problems if you wish, or try to put yourself in a game situation (pretend that it is your move and no­ one has told you that you may have a clever option available). To begin with we have something with which all players can identify tactics that lead to a win of material or even checkmate !

B G.Gross - Ward Metz 1 995

I knew that I had a good position. Material is level but my pawns are much stronger, my rooks more active and my king holds a dominant post. I felt that I should be winning, but you can imagine my delight when I spot­ ted the entertaining way with which to terminate the proceedings: .l:r.b5-bl+ 57 58 �el-d2 .l:r.t7xf2+! ! 0-1 After 59 .l:r.g2xf2, 59 ... e4-e3# ! It is all very well seeing good op­ portunities for yourself, but one must also be careful not to allow the oppo­ nent similar possibilities. The queen and knight are known to form a most deadly attacking force, but the fol­ lowing very tactical endgame taught me just how tricky the pairing of knights and rooks can be:

w Ward - M.Houska Surrey Open 1993 When I first entered this ending I was hoping to win by virtue of my

122 All the King 's Men extra pawn(s). I had certainly not expected the flurry of activity and excitement that actually occurred. Black is threatening the very danger­ ous 27 . . . b3xa2+. I knew that I had to prevent this, but I must confess to be­ ing far too casual. In fact I very nearly played 27 a2xb3?? before the alarm bells in my head started ring­ ing. Then I realised that although this removed, once and for all, the trou­ blesome invader, 27....:Z.a8-al+!! 28 c;Pbtxal l:c8-cl# was not exactly what I wanted ! 27 a2-a3! A better solution. The knight is not actually attacked in view of the same back-rank mate. Instead the a­ file is kept closed and the only imme­ diate threat, 27 . . . c!bb4-a2, entombs Black's own knight and the threat of 28 . . . :c8-c l# can be parried by 28 .:Z.d7-d l . l:.c8-c2!? 27 Black is looking for a back-rank check. He intends .. Jk2xf2-fl +. Still disastrous is 28 a3xb4 ?? l:.a8-al + 29 �bl xal ltc2-c l#. 28 c!bf3-g5! Emergency measures are required and, fortunately, White does have a counter. 28 ... c!bb4-a2 (D) With the threat of29 ...l:c2-cl#, but now it is too late for a passive white rook retreat since Black can simply double his rooks. Fortunately the active white rooks combine with the menacing knight to provide a deadly solution to the .••

problems facing White on the queen­ side. 29 ltd7xh7+ 'iti>h8-g8 �g8-f8 30 ltf6xg6+ 31 lth7-t7+ Winning a rook with the skewer 3 1 lth7-h8+ makes no sense when Black threatens immediate mate. 31 f8-e8 32 :g6-g8# Although certainly the most en­ j oyable kind, these instantly devas­ tating tactics are not the only ones that exist. Tactics which serve just to improve your position are also important. In the following game I found myself in a position with three pawns for the exchange, but as we know by now the existence of an­ other pair of rooks would have been helpful because a rook can combine well with the minor pieces to help the advance of the pawns. White's rook is passively placed, but in order to win Black needs to activate the king.

All the King 's Men 123

B Bronstein - Ward Maidstone Menchik mem 1 994 My next aim was to push the g­ pawn, a plan which requires some preparation as the awkwardly placed but useful bishop will need protecting. 57 ... t2Jc4-d6! The knight is superbly placed on c4 . There it controls several useful squares as well as preventing the rook from getting active on the b­ file. However, Black can simply re­ turn the knight once it has served its purpose on d6. Note that I did not like the idea of exchanging off White's compara­ tively poor bishop for my good knight. 58 i.e3-f2 g5-g4+! The whole point. White cannot capture the bishop as 59 �h3xh4 ? tiJd6-f5 i s mate ! 59 �h3-g2 i.h4-g5 The crucial breakthrough has been achieved. Black has been able to advance his g-pawn without having

to exchange pieces . From this point on Black can sit back and let the win come naturally. 60 i.f2-e3 i.g5-d8 61 i.e3-f4 tZJd6-c4 62 .:.e2-f2 h5-h4 63 i.f4-e5 A nice try, but with the f6-square covered, Black has absolutely no need to complicate things by captur­ ing this bishop. t2Jc4-e3+ 63 ... 64 �g2-gl i.d8-e7 S afety first ! White had managed to manoeuvre his rook to the open file, but the text move covers all of the entry points. Thus White is de­ nied the chance to create any prob­ lems by activating his rook. 65 i.e5-c7 g4-g3 66 .:.f2-e2 t2Je3-c4 67 �gl-g2 g6-f5 0-1 White's rook has been forced into passivity and the black king is finally ready to contribute to the winning process . The threat is . . . �f5 -g4 (in­ tending . . . h4-h3+ ), and after 68 �g2-h3 Black has 68 . . . e4-e3 and the entrance into White's position will come via the e4-square. The final type of tactic that I wish to discuss comes in a rather surpris­ ing form. However, before I spoil the fun, study the position below: The first feature of the position that we notice is the black king, which, despite the presence of the enemy queen, has journeyed up the

124 All the King 's Men

42 'ii'h3-g4+! ! The master plan. Black ignores the queen, but is only too aware that in the long run the capture of White 's last piece is unavoidable. �g5-f6 42 43 1i'g4-e6+ g5xg4 (D) ••.

w Ward - Plaskett Surrey Open 1993 board. However, my opponent had calculated that his king was in no danger because of my lack of influ­ ence on the light-squares. Indeed, it seems that there is even little chance of a perpetual check. I am the exchange and a pawn down and, more importantly, Black himself is threatening two check­ mates: 4 1 . . .'i¥f2xg2 and 4 1 . . .'ii'f2-gl . Fortunately, after having the advan­ tage earlier in the game I was still not ready to give up, and a few moves prior to this position a wonderful idea had found its way into my mind: 41 'iib6-h3+ 4 1 'ir'h6-e6+ is also possible, transposing to the game. + 3�

v

v v v v

v v

� lLi + 3�

65 29 29 66 29 10 11 13

'it> �+�

1 2 , 14, 1 5 , 1 7 , 1 8, 1 9, 23, 24 1 2, 25, 27, 102, 1 20

'it? + � + 2�

19 2 1 , 22, 24, 25, 27 28, 62

..ti> + � 'iti> + 3�

30, 3 1 1 7 , 64

� 2� i. 3� i.

Real Positions

One Point

'it> + � + �

v v

Two Points

+ 2� cit> + 2� � + 2�

v v v

Three Points

� + lt:'i + lb + £!. + .t + 8 'it + .t + 8 @ + lb + 8 'it + 48 � + 48

Five Points

� + .:. � + .:. � + .:. � + .:. 'it + .t + 2£!. @ + .t + 28 @ + lb + 2£!. 'it + .t + 2£!. cit> +lb + 28 cit> +.t + 28 � + 5£!. 'it + 5£!. 'its> + 5£!. Six Points 'it + .t + lb 'it> + .t + 3£!. � + .t + 3£!. � + lb + 3£!. 'it + .:. +8 'its> + lb + 3£!. � + 68 @ + lb + 3£!. @ + .t + 38

v v v v

v v v v

v

v

v v v v v v v v v v v v

v v v v

v v v

v v

cit> @ + 28 'its' + lb + .t cit> + lb + .t � + lb + 8 @ + 38 @ + 4£!.

16 58 101 37 4 1 , 44 38, 39, 40 1 00, 1 0 1 73 43 , 48

cit> + £!. @ + 2£!. � + lb � + .t 'it + .t cit> + 3£!. @ + .t + l!. 'it + .t + £!. 'it + 4£!. @ + 4£!. cit> + .t + £!. 'its> + 48 � + 5£!.

33, 96 32, 56, 57, 62 93 91 1 16 54 1 06 1 17 31 59, 60 55 45 , 46 20

� 'it � + .t + l!. .t + 2£!. 'it + .:. 'it + 5£!. 'its> + .:. @ + lb + 38 'it + lb + 3£!.

95 15 1 16 98, 99 38, 68, 69, 70, 7 1 , 74, 75, 97 13 61 1 00 104

Index of Material Balances 127

Seven Points

� w w w w 'it> w

+ : + 28 + .: + 28 + i. + 48 + i. + 48 + i. + 48 + .: + 28 + i. + 48 + i. + 48

Eight Points

w + l: + i. w + i. + lb + 28 w + lb + 58

Nine Points w w w 'it> w

+ 'iii + 'ilf + 'ii' + 'ilV + .: + 48

Ten Points

'1ii> + 'ilf + 8 @ + i. + lb + 48

Eleven Points

c;i;> + .: + i. + 38 'it + 2i. + 58

Twelve Points

w 'iii> 'iP c;i;>

+ + + +

� + 38 i. + lb + 68 2: + 28 l: + i. + 4�

v v v v v v v v

v v v

v v v v v

v v

v v

v v v v

+ : + l: + 8 � + lb + 38 @ + i. + 38 @ + lb + 48 @ + : + 28 'it> + lb + 48 w + i. + 48

78 73, 79 50 1 15 1 03 , 105 6 1 , 62, 73 42 1 19

'it> + : w + .: + 28 'it> + lb + 58

94 1 15 1 00

w+8 � + .: w + i. + lb @+� � + l: + 38

3 3 , 34, 35, 36 89, 90 91 36 5 1 , 76, 77

'1ii> + 'ii' @ + l: + 58

1 10 1 14

'it + .: + lb + 38 w + i. + lb + 58

49 67

'it + 'ii' + 2� 'iP + .: + i. + 3� °1ii' + 2l: + 2� 'iP + l: + i. + 48

1 09 1 23 121 118

128 Index of Material Balances

Thirteen Points

� + 2: + i. � + 2l: + 38 � + 'iW + 48 � + : + i. + 58 � + 2i. + 78

Fourteen Points

� + : + tti + 68

Fifteen Points � + 2l: + 58

Sixteen Points

� + 'i!f + i. + 48 � + 2: + 68

Seventeen Points

'ifi> + 2l: + i. + 48

Eighteen Points � 'ifi> � � �

+ 'i!f + l: + 48 + 2: + tti + 58 + 2: + tti + 58 + 2: + i. + 58 + : + 2i. + 78

Nineteen Points

� + 2: + tti + 68

Twenty Points

� + 2: + tti + 78

v

� + : + i. + tti � + : + i. + 38 'iii> + 'iW + 38 @ + : + i. + 28 'it> + i. + tti + 78

87 1 12 53 1 18 108

v

@ + : + tti + M

87

v

: + i. + 58

1 12

v v

'iif.? + 'if +tti + 38 � + 2l: + M

52 8 1 , 84

v

� + 2: + tti + 38

49

v

v

� + 'i' + i. + 38 'ifi> + 2: + tti + 38 � + 2l: + lti + 48 � + 2: + tti + 58 � + : + i. + tti + 78

1 24 1 22 121 83 1 07

v

� + 2: + tti + 68

99

v

'iii> + 2: + tti + 78

86

v v v v

v v v