ed a Endgame Training An experienced coach guides you through a practical training courseSecond German edition published in Germany under the title Fit im Endspiel by ChessGate AG 2001 First English edition published in the UK by Gambit Publications Ltd 2003 Copyright © ChessGate AG 2001, 2003 English translation © Mare Becker 2003 ‘ The right of Bernd Rosen to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, Alll rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar con- dition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. A copy of the British Library Cataloguing in Publication data is available from the British Library. ISBN | 904600 01 8 (2nd German edition ISBN 3 935748 01 9). 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Cover image by Wolff Morrow 100987654321 Gambit Publications Ltd Managing Director: GM Murray Chandler Chess Director: GM John Nunn ditorial Director: FM Graham Burgess rman Editor: WFM Petra NunnSeas SB 16 16 7 17 18 21 21 26 29 33 39 39. 454 CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING Breaking Up 52 Breakthrough 52 : Further Examples 53 6 The Rook’s Pawn 57 ‘The Key Squares of the Rook’s Pawn 57 Rook's Pawn and Minor Piece 61 Further Examples 63 7 Knight Endings 65 Knight vs Pawn(s) 65 Knight and Pawn vs Knight 70 Strategy in Knight Endings 70 Further Examples 7 8 Bishop Endings 73 Bishop vs Pawn(s) 71 Bishop and Pawn vs Bishop 7 Opposite-Coloured Bishops B Good and Bad Bishops 80 Further Examples 80 9 Knight vs Bishop Endings 84 Knight and Pawn vs Bishop 84 Bishop and Pawn vs Knight 88 Knight or Bishop? 89 Further Examples or) 10 Rook Endings (1) 93 ‘The Cut-Off King 93 The Extended Square 97 Rook vs Connected Passed Pawns 99 Further Examples 99 11 Rook Endings (2) 103 The Bridge Manoeuvre 103 The Philidor Position 107 The Karstedt Manoeuvre 109 Further Examples 109 ‘a IF i CONTENTS 12 Rook Endings (3) ‘The Frontal Attack ‘The Rook's Pawn ‘Typical Tactics in Rook Endings Further Examples 13 Rook Endings (4) ‘Maxim 1: Rooks belong behind passed pawns _ Maxim 2: Play as actively as possible! i: ‘im 3: Prevent counterplay _ Further Examples 14 Queen Endings (1) The Staircase Manoeuvre "Winning Zones with Rook’s and Bishop’s Pawns _ Further Examples Queen and Pawn vs Queen _ Strategy and Tactics in Queen Endings Basic Ideas in Queen Endings Further Examples 9 16 Endings from Easy to Difficult _ Advice on the Individual Chapters - How to Deal with Errors Bibliography of Players Index of Composers and Analysts 183 113 117 118 119 122 122 126 127 128 132 132 136 138 141 141 144 147 147 150 163 163 164 169 172 174 176Symbols check double check capture checkmate brilliant move good move interesting move dubious move bad move blunder White is winning equal position Black is winning championship team championship world championship candidates event olympiad junior event correspondence game the game ends in a win for White the game ends in a draw the game ends in a win for Black nth mateh game see next diagram White to move Black to move The position should be considered first with White to move, then with Black to move. The position should be considered first with Black to move, then with White to move.ae Preface to the First German Edition In recent years so many new chess books have been published that one needs ‘compelling arguments and a good portion of confidence to add yet another one to this legion. The subject of the endgame has also been examined from various an- gles, Nevertheless, this book offers something new, ‘Whoever tries to prepare endgame training material for a chess group soon finds out that one is left alone here despite the overwhelming wealth of material. The classic works by Averbakh, Chéron, Euwe and Keres are too comprehensive and dry. Furthermore, these books lack examples which allow a topic to be prac- tised by repetition. It is true that collections of studies offer interesting positions but usually they are too difficult and they do not offer a systematic coverage. Books about teaching chess usually address much stronger chess-players. Per- haps Kostiey is an exception; his book Schach lehren leichigemacht particularly addresses teachers but offers very little material that goes beyond an introduc- tion. In this book, I will present 15 lessons that you can use immediately, either for coaching or for self-instruction. The material will be complemented by a collec- tion of exercises which will revisit all subjects dealt with; these could function ei- ‘ther as an assessment itf'the beginning of a training course or as a means of measuring success at the end of the course. In the years 1987-8 I developed this course while acting as a trainer at the Katernberg chess club. Later I refined it after testing it at clubs, at chess groups in companies and last but not least at training courses for the North Rhine- Westphalia chess federation. ‘The encouragement to present this endgame course in a book also developed from these training courses because I saw that chess teachers constantly found it Necessary to reinvent the wheel. Individual lessons were published in the news- letter of the North Rhine-Westphalia chess federation and these also met with a __ positive response. My chess friend Karlheinz Bachmann had the task of a critical review of the ‘Manuscript. I am grateful to him for many valuable hints on both the chess as- pects and the layout and organization of the material. From a technical point of view, this book probably would not have been real- ved without the support of Rolf Schlésser. My girlfriend Beate also actively assisted in the preparation of the text. Fur- thermore, especially in the last phase of this work, she encouraged me to carry on ‘nd thus her contribution to the fact that T actually crossed the finishing line was enucial.CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING Lam very much indebted to all the people mentioned above. Without their en- couragement and support, the present work would never have gone beyond the planning stage. Bernd Rosen Essen, August 1995 Preface to the Second German Edition More than five years have passed since the publication of the first German edi- tion of Chess Endgame Training. Despite being an optimist by nature, I am still surpiised by the positive reception of this book With regard to the first edition, I have received a few (fortunately not so many!) comments about mistakes or inaccurate variations. These have all been corrected for this second edition. I am indebted to all readers who haye bothered to draw my attention to such flaws. Especially I have to name GM Karsten Milller from Hamburg who turned out to be an extremely attentive reader and user of Chess Endgame Training. This second edition particularly profits from my correspon- dence with him. Beyond these corrections, I have made several comments more detailed in or- der to mention additional side variations. This particularly takes into account the needs of the less able among the readers. Bernd Rosen Essen, June 2001—_— ee Foreword by GM Karsten Miller ‘The lessons of the legendary chess schools of the old Soviet Union widely prac- ised the method of starting at the end, i.e. with endings that only include kings and pawns. Based upon that, each piece can be introduced in turn to move to- wards more complex endings. But which books are available in order to learn the basic principles of the ‘endgame? The classic works by Yuri Averbakh, André Chéron and Max Euwe ‘consist of several volumes; these encyclopaedias of chess endings are indispens- ‘able reference books but for practical use in chess instruction they are too volu- ‘This is the problem Bernd Rosen wants to tackle with his book. He has struc- tured the material into 16 chapters which are all organized in more or less the same way. After an introductory example, which is used to explain the most important basic principle, he presents exercises and detailed solutions, together with rules and concepts. Thusthe teacher can start immediately without any fur- ther preparation, and self-instruction is also made a lot easier. The space that is Allocated to each type of ending depends on its significance in practice; for exam- pile, itis completely justified that four full chapters are dedicated to rookendings, ‘which occur very often —only pawn endings, which are the basis for all the other ‘endings, occupy more space. Despite this, knight, bishop and queen endings are ‘Wot neglected. I wish you a lot of fun with Chess Endgame Training, whether you intend to ise it for teaching or for self-instruction. Karsten Milller Hamburg, August 2000Introduction ‘The famous German grandmaster Sieghert Tarrasch — one of the strongest play- cers of his time — recommended learning the game of chess by starting with the endgame. His still very readable teaching book Das Schachspiel is structured ac- cordingly. After an explanation of the rules, he begins with the endgame, then demonstrates typical tactical procedures in the middlegame, and only in conclu- sion does he give an overview of the opening. [Leading grandmasters of the past and the present share his view about the ex- traordinary significance of the endgame. Despite this, the endgame knowledge of most chess-players is surprisingly poor, Young players especially prefer opening knowledge and brilliant combina- tions. This book is designed to counterbalance this bias. It covers some important and basic principles, presents elementary positions and manoeuvres and last but not least tries to convey a sense of the endgame’s beauty. ‘The reader is assumed only to have the most basic endgame knowledge (espe- cially the mating of the ‘lone king"). Usually each topic starts with the simplest basic positions. If you come across something familiar, you may take itas a posi- tive sign that you already possess some knowledge and that something learned before has not been forgotten. “The selection of topics is based on two main points. ! have dedicated five chapters to pure pawn endings as they form the basis of all other endings (possi- ble simplifications to a pawn ending have to be evaluated again and again in al- most every other ending). The topic of rook endings covers four chapters, as rook endings appear most often in practice. Endings with minor pieces occur less of- ten and so are afforded less detailed coverage Thaven’t included endings with minor piece(s) vs rook and endings with vari- ous pieces vs queen. From my point of view such endings with a complicated balance of material could be the subject of a additional course which focuses even more on endgame principles. Readers could refer to the more advanced book Endgame Strategy by Shereshevsky. Those who wish to use the material in this book for chess instruction will find recommendations for the design of the lectures at the end of the book. For those who wish to use the material for self-instruction, here area few tips. {At the beginning of each chapter you will find an example to introduce the topic (diagram x.1). Next is a standard program’ (generally exercises x.2 [0 X.7) whichINTRODUCTION il covers the most important aspects. In any case, these examples should be solved independently. The more seriously you solve the positions yourself, the more ‘you will learn! Only after a serious attempt at a solution should you consult the ‘solution part for help. The subsequent examples (given in the text as “further ex- amples’) are often more complicated but illustrate the topic’in more depth. Here again independent solutions increase the learning effect. Tf you don’t find your own solution in the text it isn’t necessarily incorrect — it could be a side variation which isn’t mentioned in the text. Every attempt has ‘been made to include the most important lines and check them for accuracy, but ¥ possible errors can’t be totally ruled out. From this viewpoint I recommend that You read the final section of Chapter 17, ‘How to deal with errors’. ‘And now I wish you a lot of fun with Chess Endgame Training! Bernd Rosen1 King and Pawn vs King: Basic Themes Square * Obstacle » Opposition * Waiting Move « Key Squares The Rule of the Square If the defending king can step into the square of the pawn, then he can stop the pawn. If not, the pawn can pro- mote. We call the square that encloses the pawn’s diagonal to the promoting rank the ‘square of the pawn’. If the pawn is still on its starting square, then the square rule must be applied to the square in front of the pawn. If White is to play, then he can win the game by simply advancing his pawn: lad+- The pawn on a4 has the square ad~ e4-e8-a8. The black king is not able to catch it any more: 1...2f4 2 a5 Se5 3 a6 Sd6 4 a7 Sc7 5 ash With Black to move, his king steps into the square of the pawn and se- cures the draw: 1..f3 = 1...22f4 = obviously serves the same purpose. 2ad bed 3 ad ddd 4 a6 Le6 5 a7 £b7 6 a8ll+ Sadves eT 2 | sce 8 @ x | o et | si eee i ae ee ) 21 S aw — ek 8 a 8 2 ck © ae i > oKING AND PAWN VS KiNG: BASIC THEMES16 CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING The Obstacle 12 Although the black king is ‘actu- ally’ close enough, his own dS-pawn prevents him from stepping into the square of the aS-pawn. After 1...d4 2 a6 d3 3 a7 d2 4 a8W+ + he is one step too late! The Opposition In many endings the possession of the opposition is crucial, especially when the kings are fighting about the pro- motion of a pawn. ‘The kings ‘oppose’ each other when all the comers of the square around the Kings are of the same colour (see be- low). Whoever in this position is not to move has the opposition. Close Opposition The kings directly face each other. The two kings face each other on a vertical or horizontal line but further The kings are placed on the same diagonal. 13 1d7+ If the pawn moves to the seventh rank with check, then promotion can’t be forced: 1.208 2 Sd6 stalemate_-Ifitis Black to move, White has thé ition and wins: 1.48 2 d7 3 Se7 +-. ‘The pawn will queen if it reaches ‘the seventh rank ‘silently’ (Le. without check). nia Black has the opposition because he is not to move. it Ised5 2a7 1.9862? voluntarily abandons the opposition — Black loses; 2 a6 (2 e547 is wrong because then Black achieves a draw again: 2..2e7 3 06 We8! 4 Ed6 ted8! 507+ hes 6 eo =) 2...5873 05 He8 4 eo S85 a7 + 205 $e7 3 06 (D) 3...Ge8! 3.,.2d8? 4 ed6 Wek 5 07 (without check!) 5...f7 6 €d7 +. 4 Ld6 2a8 5 7+ With check! 5...Se8 6 he6 = If Black is to move, he has to aban- don the opposition and loses: 1,..%47 ‘(1.87 2 Bd6 +— is symmetrical) 2 KING AND PAWN VS KING: BASIC THEMES 7 6 Ses 3 Le6 LAB 4 LAT LET 5 eS + 15 When the king reaches the sixth rank before his pawn then the pawn will promote, no matter who is to move: 1 £6 2£8 2 e6 Lek 3 e7 Sa7 4217 +-. 1.6 Here Black has to be very careful. It is again the opposition which helps ‘him out of a dangerous situation: 1..eed8t ‘Thus Black wins the distant opposi- tion. All other moves lose: 1...e7? 2 BeS! +; 1...2d77 2hd5! +=; 1.92877 2bd5 eT 3 es +-; 1...01872ba5 Bt7 3 do +. 2205 2 Be5 de! =, 2..edT! Shifting to the close opposition which is already familiar to us. 3Ge5 Se! = The Waiting Move 17 If it were Black to move he would have to abandon the opposition and lose. White can profit from the fact that his pawn is stil! on e3 to win with the waiting move 1 eff: 1..2f7 2d6. he8 3 hes hts 4 a7 4+. Key Squares In the previous examples quite a lot of important rules have been explained18 CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING that can be summarized by the term “key squares’: If the king manages to step on one of the marked key squares in front of his pawn then promotion is secured, independent of the right to move. Note: this does not apply for rook’s pawns — more about this topic later on, particularly in Chapter 6. Further Examples 18 Salvioli 1887 Black must not give away the a6- pawn too easily because then White would force the promotion of the b- pawn (king in front of the pawn on the 6th rank). Jaa! The alternative 1...2b8 2 2b6 a5! works as well. 2bxaS 2S G8! (2...a4? 3 Bc7 a3 4 DEL a6 5b7 a2 6 baw al W 7 Wak+ +) 3 cS =. 2.26 = 1.9 White wins if his king can step on one of the squares a5, b3 or c5 without advancing the pawn first. These are the key squares of the b3-pawn. 12b2! Only the a5-square is so far away from the black king that he cannot stop the white king from going there, 1 2? Sd7 2 c3 ke7! (the black king takes the distant opposition) 3 Sb4 bbe =. 1.247 2 Ga3! Sc6 3 Lad +- &b6(D) ¥ ee a rata a ca @ 2 neat a Oo 8 2 Ga | aa “ee © 4Sb4Now White has the opposition and White takes advantage of the obsta- cle theme. 1..dxe6 2. aS Ld5 3 ab + ML _ Itseems as if White is going to lose, as he cannot stop the black pawn. However, if he uses his two passed pawns skilfully he can achieve a draw: Lge! 1h4?c5 2 g4+ dexh4! 3: g6 dxgd sexed 2 g6 c5 3 hd! c4 (after 3...Sexh4 4 5 = the king is in the ) 4S 63 5h6 c2 6h7 c1W 7 2 BF eis Gekdingst KING AND PAWN VS KING: BASIC THEMES 19 2.05 3 hd! Sxgd 3...8exh4 4 6! = 4 &g6! Sxh4 4.04 5S = 525 = 1,12 Duclos Sportzeit, 1903 This position provides another il- lustration of the key squares theme. The d5-pawn is lost, and if it were to be captured at d5, the black king would be on a key square of his ¢7-pawn. Thus: 1d6! After 1 £3? Lc5 2 Hc3 (2 d6 now does not help either: 2...2xd6! 3 #4 heb +) 2...exd5 3 Bd3 cS 4 hc} the waiting move 4...c6 is decisive. 1...cxd6 2 Sb3 Sc5 3 Se3 dS 4 ed3 = ‘White maintains the opposition. 113 Kranki — W. Lange Bad Oeynhausen 1940 Black’s only advantage is his active king. Is this sufficient for a win? 1..8g2! The black king takes the distant op- position (a distance of three squares!), with the help of which he will invade the white position: 283 Sf! With other moves Black would lose the opposition again: 2...%ef3? 3 3; 2.82? 3 ded2. 3 Sd2 Sf2! Black reaches the close opposition. 4eq320 4Sd1 Ge3 5 kc2 He2 6 Hel Lad 7$b2 G2 8 LbI Bc3 9 har Lc? 10 a3 Sbl +. 4..eel! 5 Led Gd2 6 Ld5 S37 Lc6 Lxb3 8 Lb5 Lc3 9 kxh6 Lbs 0-1 1.14 The second pawn offers White two winning variations: Lf7+! This is the most straightforward way. 1 def5 St7 2 kes Sf8 3 Seb ‘Ge8 4 7+ BEB 5 £5 + also wins; in the end the waiting move is decisive In this position a fierce fight breaks out over the opposition: 1@b5! Sa7 (D) 1.588 2 b6 c8 3 c7 + (si- lently). (CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING 2 bas! ba8 3 Lao! 3 &b6? &b8 4 7+ (with check) 4.28 5 Bc6 =. 3..&b8 4 ebb de8 5 c7 +— 1.16 Once again an impressive demon- stration of the opposition’s power: 1...86! First Black takes the distant opposi- tion. His aim is to prevent the white King from invading his territory. 283 2hS gs 3 He3 dexhs 4 LF4 Hho! 5 Sxgd g6 =. 2..Be5 3 d3 kdS 4 Le3 Hes! (D) Diagonal opposition. Of course the black king must not leave the square of the h4-pawn: 4...c57? 5 h5 +-. ls We 5 &bd a4 6 Sad Lest Distant opposition. 7 Gb Gd5 8 Lb6 LaG 9 a7 He7! Y-th_ 2 The King’s Typical Fighting _ Methods Triangulation Zigzag ¢ Body-check © Play on Two Wings * Opposition also wins — this is just a change of move-order, and it is typical that there is more than one way to carry out a tri- angulation. 1.208 1.87 2 Bc5 Sc8 3 Sb6 +-. 2 Bed! Les 2..8c7 3 Bc5 +. 3d5!(D) position he would immediately after 1..2c7 2 cS de 3 keb6 or 1...2d8 2 ded6 Le8 3.07 +-. In such situations, triangulation is Thanks to the triangulation White has achieved his aim and passed the burden to move to Black. Now the The direct way does not lead to suc- two winning variations that were men- ‘yet: | d6 sd8 2 c7+? &c8 3 tioned in the comments to the first We6 stalemate; | cS @c7. However, move will be realized: Wed! bas 2 eas! See 3ecS+— 3 ead Y22 CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING 3. eT 4 Be5 +— 4 2d6 Sc8 $ c7 +— ‘This example has often been cited asa game Fahmi-Alapin, but the de- tails of this game are unclear.2.2 Herberg Deutsche Schachzeitung, 1936 10f3! , White cannot make any progress in if t way: 1 Sf4? Sexh4 2 dxt5 feed =; 1 h3? £4 =. -1.Sxh42 4 + ity to lose at his disposal: 1 @b5 —+, when Black not only the 5-pawn but he also gets to one of the key squares b4, d4; 1 Se5 kas! 2 et Sb4 3 4$d3 @xc5 5 ¥c3=—here ion just saves White half a s2b7 2 Ld6 Bb8 3 Sxc6 white king manages to get to tank in front of his pawn —pro- therefore secured, — kind of position the side that ck the pawn from further be- 5 the advantage. 05.2 Bab a4 3 has 03 4 had ‘ THE KING'S TYPICAL FIGHTING METHODS 25 1..a5 2 Se6t a4 2.2.2 3 b5 =. 3205! a3 ’ 3...8b2 4 he4 Sxa2 5 He3 a3 6 fe2=, 4 bed! S25 bd3 exa2 6 he2= In Chapter 6 we will get to know ‘More about the special features of the Took’s pawn. The Body-check 25 Schlage - Ahues Berlin 192] 2 bd6? White gives away half a point! Like the text-move, 2 $45! also approaches the a7-pawn but at the same time blocks the black king. Like in ice hockey, the white king tries to make himself as broad as possible pom to let the opponent past. 2...’ (no better is 2. eds 3 ob Ga 4 7 cS 5 Sxa7 He6 6 Lbs +) 3 cb Ba5 4:2b7 Sb5 5 Sxa7 Sc6 6 Hs =CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING 2.84 3 de6 Se5! Now Black is in time to trap the white king at the edge of the board. 4&b7 Ld6 5 bxa7 Le7 = This example also shows us that in positions with a rook’s pawn, different rules often have to be applied com- pared to other pawns. More about that in Chapter 6. Play on Two Wings 26 Réti Kagans Neueste Schachnachrichten, 1922 This is probably the most famous pawn-ending study: the black pawn seems to be unstoppable but White can skilfully combine the fight against the black pawn with the support of his own. 1 Sg7! Sb6 1...h4 2 f6 h3 3 He6 h2 4 c7 =. 2$f6! h4 3 Ge5! (D) Here the king’s effect in two differ- ent directions becomes very clear. 3...n3 3... exc6 4 Gf4 =. 4 Sd6 h2 5 ¢7 Sb7 6 ka7 = If one looks at the route of the king in more detail then he has moved along the h8-al diagonal so long as he could approach both his pawn and his opponent’s at the same time, This is a typical idea in pawn endings: for a king, the zigzag path may not be lon- ger than a linear route. 27 Neustad! International Chess Magazine, 1890 We have already become familiar with one of the king’s fighting meth- ods in Chapter 1: the opposition, Here is another example of this important 1¢hi! ‘The distant opposition saves the draw for White, Not: a) 1 @f1? Sd2 2 Se2 ka3! (per- sistent: White would have to move to £3 in order to keep the opposition: however, his own pawn is in the way and thus White has to lose the opposi- tion) 3 dg3 de3 4 dg? (4 Sed G25© Bkg5 x03 +) 4. hers hes 1 6 Gh3 £12 7 hes dg? +. % at Abel! 2sbgl! gd 3 shg2t = 3 204 4 bf2 Sa2! +: 3 S727 ns ‘to be the decisive difference: ee black king tries to play on two Sa4 6 gl e3 5 fl + Réti _ Narodny Listy, 1928 eads to a successful defence | three white pawns: 23.05 &xc3 4.06 THE KING'S TYPICAL FIGHTING METHODS _ b) 1 Sg3? Sel! (diagonal opposi- foe 2 tee et 3 bg3 he3 4 Sed 4 2 tig? =; 1.02 2 hg? Ge3 ty id3 4.07 £25 a8W £1 (without Wae+ +. Rad Gxb2 3 Sxf3 &xc3 also ne; Bee! 5 a6 (5 xf3 dc5 =) 2.10 Dobias Narodny Listy, 1926 In this deceptively simple position, only a timely body-check leads to a win: 1 dda! (D) 1 Ses? bea 2 S56 ed3 3 dxe6 1 £4? Sed 2 des a3 3 bt6 =; 1 bd57 dopa 2 Bas shp3 3 14 GB Bd3 Sb4 4 4 cs =) 3... Litt 2 4, 2 eS hes 3 fl hod 4 ts 4+ 2.11 Moravec Ceske Slovo, 1940 White's task is to win the black pawn without losing his own. This can only be done by 1 Sb4! (1 G3? Sed 2 G04 G4 3 Sxd5 We} =) 1.4 2 SeS Gt 3 Saat +. 2.12 Salvioli Trattato Completo dei Finali di Partita, 188828 CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING 'A short repetition of the key squares topic: igs! White can win the black pawn in any case but only if he captures it on the g6-square will it lead to a win: do6? g5! 2 Sf5 SFT 3 hxgs He7 =. 1.887 2 Sd7 E18 3 Seb Se 4 eer 5 &f6 oh7 6 &E7 &h8 7 bxg6 tgs 8: Lh6 Lh8 9 g6 + 2.13 Sackmann Deutsche Schachblittier, 1924 ‘This example presents the power of a zigzag in shining colours: 1@hst 1 87 loses a key tempo: 1...S2f6! 2 gh teed 3 deg? Gadd 4 defo Hc3 5 eS Hb2 6 dt bxad 7 Sc3 Hdl +. 1.6 2 2h7! 2 dg8? eS + leads to the varia- tion given in the note to the first move- 2..deeS 3 g6 Hdd 4 BES Le3 5 hed kh? 6 Ld3 txa2 7 Be2 = Here again a reference to Chapter 6 is appropriate. 2.14 Bianchetti L’Opinio, 1926 White succeeds by paying close at- tention to the opposition: 1@hd! After 1 3? dg5 = Black has the opposition; 1 &g4? @g6 (here again White has lost the opposition to Black) 2 def defo 3 ded Se6 4 Lad b3! 5 cxb3 d6 6 Sc4 Seb 7 kbd Sd6 =. 196 2 Ged LEG 3 Ltd Hes 4 bed dd 5 Hdd b3 §,.8c6 6 Het b3 7 cxb3 266 8 + 6 cxb3 c6 7 Sed Lb6 8 Sb4 deb 9 Gad +- 2.15 Adamson The Chess Amateur, 1915 ‘The themes of opposition and body- check complement each other very well in White’s winning manoeuvre. ‘Moreover, at some points White needs a waiting move. Adel! 1 d7? G6 2 Leb We5 3 ois shad 4 og6 ted =. 1...a6 2 Be6! das 3 eS Wad 4 bed dea3 5 c3 a2 6 Lez a3 7 ! ‘Awaiting move. 7 ¢4? isa mistake due to 7...@b4 8 Bd3. cS 9 Bet $d6 10 Sf5 5! 1) gxhS Be7 =. The possibility to make @ waiting move when necessary is called having a spare tempo. 7..c2b4 8 Sd3 Se5 9 Hed Sd6 10 BES Sd5 11 gAt +— ‘This is in one sense a waiting move, since the black king now has nothing useful to do, and it also parries Black's threat to draw by playing ...d4. Not 11 dg67 Hed 12 Sxh6 S13 ‘After the text-move, White wins in straightforward fashion.3 Typical Pawn Structures in Pawn Endings (1) Protected Passed Pawn » Connected Passed Pawns * Outside Passed Pawn , 9.207 10 &e6 Bb U1 Ld6 &b7 The Protected Passed Pawn ear 3dies as 142064 ‘Thanks to the protected passed pawn on BS, the black king must not leave the square bS-e5-e8-b8 and also can- not capture the trouble-maker. This enables White calmly to carry out the outflanking manocuvre d3-e3-f3- £4-c4, ete. Eventually, White will force the black king away from the a5-pawn and thereby win a second pawn. ! “ | @ Be am 2S a ve a (a 2 8 2 S “ oe = 8cl* @ 8 woe: ® a e<8 Bee mom a Sagan 2 s & a gS &31 : iPassed Pawns A pawn that cannot be hindered by an opponent's pawn on its way to the Bi, promotion square is called a passed pawn. If this pawn is protected by a "friendly pawn, then we talk about a _ protected passed pawn. If this second pawn is also a passed pawn, then we talk about two con- __ nected passed pawns. ‘A passed pawn that is far away r from the main mass of pawns is called "an outside passed pawn. » 32 ProkeS Ceskoslovensky Sach, 1946 Th6 28 The black: king has to step into the i TYPICAL PAWN STRUCTURES IN PAWN ENDINGS (1) 33 This procedure is called breaking- up and will be dealt with in more de- tail later. 5 gxf6 Sxh6 6 Sf4 25+ 6..2h7 7 Sog5 Sh8 8 Gh6! Sg89 hxg6 +. 7 $5 Gh7 8 Sxgs Lh8 9 Sh6t Never forget the opposition! 9,,.2 98.10 2e6 LEB 11 £7 +— Silently moving to the seventh rank. Connected Passed Pawns If one side has two connected passed pawns, then the power of the protected passed pawn is magnified. 3.3 1&f6 a8 1h 2 be7 h1W 3 d8W+ exc64 Wa8+ +. 2 Se6 h2 3 hd6 h1W 4 c7# 3.4 1.3! (D) dh eked eoseee 2e7h1G+ 3exhi eneae: 5 bh2 g1W+ 6 2h3 Wes#(CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING As we can see, fat-advanced con- nected passed pawns may give rise to mating themes. Outside Passed Pawn 3.5 This typical position illustrates the principle of the outside passed pawn very clearly: a4 dS 2 b5 axbS ‘After 2...a5 a protected passed pawn is created: 3 b6 ic6 4 dxed Sxb6 5 2d5 b7 6 cS a6 7 cb WaT 8 bs hb7 9 Gxa5 a7 10 keds S07 11 bc5 dc7 12 a5 Hb6 13 He5 and White wins. 3 axbS &c5 ‘We observe how the king is lured to the queenside by the outside passed pawn. Meanwhile the kingside will be casy prey for the white king. 4 Sxed Gxb5 5 65 Let 6 Hg6 $d3 7 Sxh6 +— ‘The starting position would also be won for White if Black were to move first. 3.6 This seemingly totally equal posi- tion is in fact won for White, as he possesses the outside passed pawn. Therefore White will be able to attack the opponent's pawns on the queen- side first. The game might continue as follows: 1 bg? g7 2 dg segs 3 hed StH 4h3 dg6 5 h4 Sh6 6 h5 £6 7 SES bxhS 8 &xf6 Sed 9 Les Lf3 10 bd6 ed 11 kee7 Ha? 12 Lexb7 Sc2 13 Sxcé Gxb2 1404 +— ‘The power of the outside passed pawn lies in its ability to deflect the opponent's king from the ‘main theatre of battle. Usually the outside passed pawn will be sacrificed for this pur- pose. 3.7 Nimzowitsch — Tarrasch ‘San Sebastian 191] Here again the outside passed pawn constitutes a decisive advantage. How- ever, Black has to proceed very ener- getically: 1..a5 2 be4 £54! This way Black neutralizes White's kingside pawns. 3ad4 ‘After 3 @xf5 the white king has stepped out of the square of the a5- pawn: 3...a4 —+. 3..f4! + Now Black's king. will definitely capture both white pawns while bis white counterpart is taking care of the a-pawn, After 3...247 4 g3! White has created a protected passed pawn. The game would then end in a draw: 4.296 5 Bc4 BhS 6 Sb4 Hat 7 sexad £4 (7.,.exg3 8 h5 £49 h6 £3 10 ‘7 £2 11 hBW FTW) 8 ext dexfd =. Further Examples 3.8 ‘Schuster Das Endspiel im Schach, 1975 White simplifies to a won pawn ending with an outside passed pawn: 1..2b5+ 2 Rot Bxed+ 3 bxed Axe? 4 Sxe2—+3.9 Apart from the outside passed pawn, _ Blackcan count on another advantage: his g5-pawn blocks the white pawns g4 and h3, so despite being a pawn Black can even win (more ‘about the subject of blockade in Chap- ter5).. Lad 2ed4 a3 3403 SxeS 42b3 White is able to boast an outside pawn, but it is outside the of the b-pawn and therefore will not be able to prevent Black capturing it. If the white king $ to capture the aS-pawn he steps of the square of the b-pawn and it queen in three moves. Therefore ck is winning. 06 2 ddd ed6 3 wed Leb 4 TYPICAL PAWN STRUCTURES IN PAWN ENDINGS (1) 35 The most stubbom defence. White wants to keep the black king away with the help of the opposition. Never- theless, Black can make progress be- cause the white king is tied to the square of the b-pawn. 7.0 g5 7.293 8 e3. 8 Se3 HFS 9 d3 Se5 10 Sd2 10 Se3 Hd5 11 Hd3 Sc5 also wins for Black. 10.204 11 Gc2 Sed 12 Sb2 edd! 12..:b3? 13 Bad =. 13 be2 He3 14 Sel Sd3 15 Sb2 Sd2! 16 Sb3 Sel! 17 Sa2 Sc2 18 Sal Sb3! + Not 18...b3?? stalemate! 3.1 Kyhle — Andersson corr, 1973 The queenside is obviously blocked, but how can White make progress? 115! gxtS+ 2 bt4 White has created an outside passed pawn by means of a pawn sacrifice. 2.6 3 hS Lf6 4 ho g6 § h7 ‘bxh7 6 &xf5 Sg7 7 Se6 Ly6 8 Ld7 S69 Sc7 Se6 10 Sb7 Ld6 11 bxa7 Se 11... 8c7 12 Ba6 Sb8 13 Sexds, 12 G26 1-0 3,12 Kling and Horwitz Chess Studies and Endgames, 1851 Lest The most elegant solution. Some readers of the first German edition of this book recognized that White can36 CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING also win with the simple 1 a2 €47 2 Sbxa3 deb 3 debt Gxe5 4 tec. Ludxe6 2 fa2 e5 3 &xa3 044 Lb3 035 de3 e2 6 Ld? LT 7 bxe2 Les 8 he3 SI7 9 Ses Hes 10 had S17 11 Se5 SES 12 £7 +— 3.13 Louma ‘Slovensky Narod, 1926 Both sides possess outside passed pawns and so the game is decided by a race of the passed pawns — this is a very typical situation in pawn endings: igd! Cautious players would probably prefer 1 €xa7?, butatter 1...h5!2 826 sbd2 3 hc5 de3 4 od SD 5 edd bxg2 6 hed hg3 7 hed Sxhd 8 S12 h3 9 sgl = they would have to be content with a draw. 1a 2 25 bxgS 2.04 3 gxho. Shs! 3 hxgs? a4 4 g6 a3 5 g7 a2 6 go al 7 Welt kb2 =. 3.94 3...04 4 h6 a3 5 h7 a2 6 h8w wins, although after 6...@b1 White has to play accurately to secure victory. More about this in Chapter 14. 46 g35h7 ¢2.6h8W gi 7 Wal+ eae 3.14 Grigoriev 64, 1930 1 ba! 1 e2? Le7 2 S13 Ses 3 exit $45 =. 1..beT! L...axb4? 2 a5. 2b5! Now White has a protected passed pawn. The alternative 2 bxa5 sbd7 is useless for White. 2..ded6 3 He2 deb 4 S43 Les 5 sbgd! hed! 5.,,.d5? 6 Sxf4 + is hopeless for Black. Therefore the black king has to leave the square of the b-pawn, hoping to save the day with his own passed pawn. 6 D6 £3 7 Sed Led 8 b7 129 SY f1W(D) White can now force the win of the a5-pawn and then the exchange of queens. Otherwise this exercise would belong in Chapter 15. 10 Bes+ Sd2 10...8d3? 11 Wb5+ +. 11 Wxa5+ S41 11.82 12 Wes+ dib3 13 Wbs+ - 12 Was+ ket 12...c2 13 Wg2+ +-. 13 WeS+ dl 14 Wad+ Le2 14.,.8c1 15 Wal+. 15 WR+ +3.15 ; i Horwitz The Chess Monthly, 1879 Bee ee 2 tie ay = Iends to a simple draw. 1 gxf6 gxh6 2 obs 47 =. “Lagsh6 2 ced te 3 E14 des 4 thes StS 5 Sd5 de7 6 ScS Le8 7 keds ets White now faces the problem of having to keep an eye on the h6-pawn. The white king must not leave the _piiwn’s square without good reason. | 8 sa7! (D) yhite sees some mating possibili- pawns. 8 Se6 D7 docs not ‘anywhere; then 9 #7? hS jing for him. NS 9 eG h4 (9...227 10 ded5) Bes ccstists hans ‘1146 bIW 14 £74 is a theme we al- TYPICAL PAWN STRUCTURES IN PAWN ENDINGS (1) 10 Se6! (D) ne ee © wen sm a a3 2 a ae 2 8 White hurries back into the square of the h6-pawn — and at the same time puts Black in zugzwang. 10...h5. 10...Sg8 11 Sxi6 +. 11 &d5 hd 12 Sed +— 3.16 Wotawa Wiener Montag, 1951 White's situation seems to be hope- ess: how can he stop the f5-pawn? 1b6! 1 Be7? WaT 2 thd7 debs +. 1.88 L...cxb6 2 Se7 +. 2 Seb! Sc8 2...f4 3 Sd7. 3b7+ 2b8 4 Sxf5 White has already achieved a lot: the f5-pawn is gone and he has created a powerfull protected passed pawn on v7. shat 5 Les Lbs 6 dS Sa7 85 7 Hxg6 hxg6 8 deb. 7 Sed &b8 8 SS La7 9 Sas Hb8 10 Sa6! (D)(CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING 18..ka7 19 e4 Sb8 20 dS Ga7 21 Se4 Sb8 22 HhS La7 23 was Now the black king has no more moves and Black has to weaken his pawns. 10..g5 11 bxg6 hxg6 12 &b5 @a7 12.95 13 tod 94 14 a4 9315 24.05 Bc3 d5 16 bE3. ‘Now the d-pawn is ripe for pluck- 13 ded dbs 14 5S a7 1S e6 i ee sca et ing: 25 bs dd 26 deed dra 27 Sxdd Bs 28 SAS a7 29 Les Lbs 30 Back to a6. Sd7 +—4 Typical Pawn Structures in Pawn Endings (2) Pairs of Isolated Passed Pawns © Space Advantage of Isolated Passed 4 fs! White has reacted in time by ad- -vaneing his f-pawn, this rendering the h-pawn immune. 4..0h6 5 Exa6 2g7 (D) Once again White must take care: 6hst 6 Sb6? S16 7 hS Sexi =. 6.5286 6..2h6 7 £6 +—. Th6 £7 8 Sb6 S16 Black can only watch helplessly as the white king steadily approaches. After 8.298 9 f6 Sf7 10 h7 +— the pawns even queen without the support of their king. 9 Se6 +—(CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING Oru | state Boe ss ew (B | a a aes nom mi a a ie “ © 2 eS as ol aoe “ a8 Ss el _ ee 8 ee Be Bet a B ee * | 0 a x anne a “a8 | ie «Ul x ca Doi oS Ase eeTYPICAL PAWN STRUCTURES IN PAWN ENDINGS (2) 41TYPICAL PAWN STRUCTURES IN PAWN ENDINGS (2) 43 42 If there are two files between the pawns, they can be captured by the op- posing king. 1.25 2 05 Lg6t 2... Sxh47 3 e6 +—, 32g2 3 -h5+ SexhS =, The king is still in the square of the e-pawn, 3.085 4 1S 4 bp3 BxeS 5 hed 16 6 hs deg7 =. See also Chapter 6, “The Rook’s Pawn’, 43 If the common square of two iso- Jated passed pawns reaches the eighth rank or further, then the pawns queen ‘without their king’s support, 1...8h6 2 06 Sg7 3 h6+ —+ 4.4 Rosen 1989 The black pawns are separated by three files. Thus the white king can- not capture them. However, the com- mon square of the pawns does not reach the eighth rank and if they are advanced incautiously, White will at- tack the front pawn and then win both of them, 1 deb! After | $26? c5 2 Se g5 the pawns are far enough advanced to queen in- dependently: 3 £f5 c4 4 Gxp5c3—+. Be8! 1...g5? 2 Bf5 05.3 exes c4 4 deta =. White cannot win after the capture of the c4-pawn either as Black can44 CHESS ENDGAME TRAINING save himself with a stalemate; for ex- ample, 4...c3 5 #e3 c2 6 ted2 1+ 7 excl Sb8 8 de2 L7 9 Hc3 Sb8 10 od b7 11 BcS Lb3 12 Seb Sa8 13 b7+ (13 Hec7 stalemate) 13... at 14 &c7 stalemate. 2 keS S71 (D) -eemesoae aH a8 S aan “sea Black uses the limited room al- Jowed by the bé-pawn to its full ex- tent. 3 hed ed6! 4 deed 5 5 deed gS With the help of their king, the black pawns have advanced decisively. Now their common square reaches the cighth rank and so they can promote independently. 6 wf c4 7 shed gt —+ Space Advantage 45 Helmert — Rosen 1976 We have already seen that far-ad- vanced connected passed pawns may create mating possibilities. In general, more advanced pawns are an asset as they provide a space advantage. In the li present position as well, Black's space adv: allows him an easy win: 44.23 45 Sel €3 46 fxe3 Sxe3 47 edi Sxd4 48 a2 Sed 48...d2e4. 49 e2 edd 49..b3+? gives away the win: 50 a2 had 51 e2 Hed 52 Ld? 4453 che2 d3+ 54 Gd? dd4 55 Gd! =. 50 did? dred 51 coed dd 52 Gel 52.b3d34 53 ddl We3 54: d2+ 55 Bdl Ged 56 dxd2 Had 57 Ber he3 58 Hcl Hd3 59 2 ha? 60 sb) &c3 61 Ba? Be2 +. 52...