Andrew Soltis - Grandmaster Secrets, Endings

5/19/2018 Andrew Soltis - Grandmaster Secrets, Endings

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GDMT

BY

G

w St

Caricatures y Ro Long

.

Tinkers' Press, nc. Davenport IA u.s.a. 1997


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Grter Secre: Enn

Copyright by Andrew Sols

l gh reseed. No p of

work may be reproduced or rans-ted in any fo o by any means,electronic or mechanical, includingphotocopying and recording, or byany informaon storage or reeval

system, except may be eresslypemited by e CopyrightA or in wring om e pubisher

First Pnng: Janu

ISBN --Reques for peissions d repblicaon gh

shoud be addressed wrig to:Te' Press Ic.Editor, Bob LongPO Box 8

Davenpo 800008 U


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Grter Secre: Enin

CONENS

Wat Eve Grandmte Kows About e Endgame 72 Geng ed 5

Rules 4

Mismatches 67

Techniques 77

]ls

R(( 5

8 Queens 4

! nigh 6

Bishops 83

2 e ess ub 05

OColophon 4

e es' ess Caog 5


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Grter Secre

v


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Grter Secre: Endin

cA lot of readers are under the mistaken impression ta autors writecess books in one ui motion, moving from an idea to an ouline to a copleted manuscpt wiout interruption. No way-as e history of tis book sows.

My oginal idea for it ad been lurking around, undisturbed, in te back ofmy mind since e Ford Administration: I wondered if you could te a bookteaching te endgame by means of a Sorati dialogue

I visualized a conversation, punctuated b diagrams and simple analysis Itwas going to be a master talking at lengt with a young player who already newall the Trends In The atsisname Attack and who could improvise trougmost iddlegames-but wo suddenly collapsed in the endgame.

My idea was tat by means of Q&A te master and this endgaechallengedamateur could arrive at certain eteal trts about enings and understand whytey are tre I knew from enoug Class B players that ey ad heard aboutzugzwang or triangulation or e cecking distance of a Rook yet didn't appreci

ate how or why these things could work in their own gamesBut the idea was difcult to esh out. Aer all, a lot of smart people avebeen trying to capture the essence of Socratic dialoe since 399 B.C witoutsuccess. eventually realize tis project could tu out to be vey wordy, very


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v

Grter Secre: Endin

philosophic-and not very usel to someone trying to gure out why a Lucenaposition is not a Philidor position. ike a lot of my ideas, this one remained as abunch of scribbled notes on yellow legalsized pads at the back of a very deep le

cbinet for more an 15 yearsn the spring of 1993 was in between books when exchanged thoughtsw Bob Long about our next project. A really honest, downtoearth book onthe endgame would be worthwhile, wrote Bob, because "most people arebewildered by trying to gure out what they really need to know.

The problem with endgame books, Bob wrote in reply, is that they're usually"terribly designed and poorly written. The information presented is oen arcane, the type too small, the wording consing, the paragraphs too long, the

book just ugly. He wondered if had any idea for a format that would bothentertain and teach and yet say someting about endings that hadn't been saidbefore

And so Noah and Pat were bo (The names of the two characters camefrom my wfe Marcy Blame her.) revived the idea of a dialogue but, since Patwas your typical '90s junior, it was going to be a conversation with an attitude.Bob and worked up a plan for separating e analysis from the tak, for using alot of quote boxes and visual aids, and the rest fell into place. And the title? Wel,let's say there were several names on this book before we settled on this one

Andy SoltisNew York 1997


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Sce: chess lu the home e oj e etern rndmterNoh Tll.

Enter Pt Syre, eed, u young club mteur Syre

h just nshed gme W which begn

1. e4 c5 2. d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. xd4 f65. c3 a6 6. f4 e6 7. d3 e7 8. c6

9. xc6 bc6 0. b3 e5 11. f5 d5 2. b2 13. d cd5 14. 0-0-0 0-0 5. hld6 16. xd5!? xd5 17. e4 c5 18.a8 xf5 19. c6 20. xe5! c821. xc8t xc8 22. xe7 f5 23. e4!e3t 24. bl e2 25. xf6! xdlt 26.b2 d7 27. d3 g4 28. c4 f5 29.

b5 30. x 31. xt x

'

m

i

f

Ct

t1

[ l

l

F

.


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at DNo: You lost gin?at And from dedwon

gme shoud hve gotten tlest drw Let me show youon bod

No: Don't be so hrd onyoursef

at Why not? must be theonly idiot in e word whocn lose such position

No: At et you pyed the

Wat Ee Grter Kw

middlegme we at Well? ws crushing him

A * sc even

But then something hppened er I got his * bckI don't know wht my blunder ws

No: It wsnt just bundert took mny bd moves toose e win before you lostthe drw

You put your pwns on thewrong colorYou dilydllied with your

You left your psive

at And the worst prt is know ll never get y better just hate endges

No:el Youre no dierent om ybody ese Ateurs othe when e sgo o

32. b4?th 2 2 33 c4 hte

shou wn swy

32.

c4

33. ?


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45

46. b5?47. b5

48. Rei

b5h4!

h3

The h i prooes n wooves

Capte One

at It's not tht I'm so gret the mddege But therejust so much you need toknow bout e endng

No: Not tht you need toknow Don't beleve everythng you red n books keeuben ne's Basic ChessEis. Seventy percent ofthe nformton n them simpactical

at thought I w the onyone who found ne mpossble to red But wht do youmen by "mprctcl?

No: I me most of wht hecovers wll never occur your gmesIt's nce to mter the theory

of correspondng squres orbe be to ply


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Wat Ee Grter Kw

The Eed Od YuEver Going Bald if male ............................................ in .Ever Dying of a Heart Attack ....................................... in Ever Playing + + vs +\ .................... in 0eing Robbed This Year ........................................... in 00Playing Out + + vs. This Year ................ in ,000Being Diagnosed with Lung Cancer This Year

..... i ,00

Playig + + vs + This Year ............ i ,00Being Murdered This Year ................................... i ,000

0


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Arosz-CioceBai Herclne 1982

ie o Ply

1 a7!This shou end matters quickly

(I... a4 2 h8! a3 3. Wc4a44 . Wb3 xa7 5. h7 We66. xa7).

gx42. gft wx3. a8*t We74. *b7t Dra

After Back puts his at somesafe squae (g4, e5, f5) his fotress isimpregnabe.

But with 2. h8! ite wou

Chapter One

emerge a ce ahea ad wwihout much eort.

For exampe 2 .. . h3 3. Wd4h4 4. W5 a45. a8= xaH

6 xa8 g5 7 We4 Wg6 8. aan Back runs into zugzwg (8 . g4? 9 Wf4 o 8 . . . h4 9 W Wf510 a5 d 11. Wg4).

Pat: You mea like that youcan mte with W+2 v tblnot wit +24? Eve Iknow tht ort of stuNoah: Prhp. But you'd be

SlI ris(d hw eve veterasfntrntiplay err bady.

Hr's ae i poit (Diag.4) Wht as a choice betwe g a extra ori +* v. + .

He me a distrous choiceat: ot get it The dier-ee etwee * vs ad Nothig is about thesame.So why did Black draw?

No: a middlegame thediffereces are about the

same But ian edig withoe of your ow s e, *vs. can t out to be just 1piece vs. 1 piee.

1 1


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at So wht does it te towin?

No: n most cses, you needto be be to queen

at Spe for yoursef usully need etr or two

No: Wel, you do usuyneed to be hed to wiif you hve no pwnsBut of l endges

wil hve pwns f you cn

promote one, you'll probbly

nat How does it help to knowtht?

2

Wat Eery Grter Kw

No: As with most rues, thisone is most helpful whenmking tansitions, tht is,when chnging the nre ofthe struggle

at Like trding s?No: Yes, trding nything is trnsionn Digrm you see

song G throw wy hisst chnce to dvnce in the

cndidtes' mtches by forcing n endgme tht wn'tnealy s fvorbe s themiddegme he w in

at Becuse he didn't knowwht it tkes to win?

No: Becuse he went withthe instinct tht told him thtif you cpture the other guy's there is no endgme nstincts e dngerous to hvein the endgme

KorcoCaies mach p 1991

W to y

1. *tuch songe s 1. h , whh

pobaby wou have cause eae esgnaon.

1 *2. 3. *x6

Ofcouse, 3. *xg?? g7ses3. 4

e can ony y to wn nwby gabbng s an tyng to pooe hs own a o ! Back seup pegnabe fotess (/e7 ,

/f, /7):

6

hte paye anohe nnees befoe conceng a aw.


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ovDaugavpi 1978

Bk 1 . . . .2. *g3. xg.

*t*xgtg7f6

7

Back secres e es -poson efore he res o creae apsed i

S. 3 S6. fS7. 3 gS8 h3Or 8 W g 9


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4

"Don' ou ow t

drw? nk rrn ring irg in 1973

hinhi.

Wat Every Grater Kw at Well, do't have a world No Yo do't eed them.

champio as a teacher. Ad What yo eed to do is taecold't derstad ed stock of what yo kow adgames if they provided Cl do't kow abot the edig.Notes at I do't kow mch at all

"I ow i utI don'bee irn fr

n ring n 86 .

How mch do realy eed?Noah Wel, the edgamebooks usay ist a lot of "esseal st sch whe a*+ beats a + t o the7th rank ad whe it results

i stalemate.And the otorios bsiessabot the t ad wrogcolored t ca't be deiedthat these positios do arise,ad occasioaly alert defeder ca save himself, theway Back does i Diagram

8

This posiion (Diagram 8) haseen appearing in endge exsfor moe han a cenry. Black wins

becase is W decisively reachesg3 and wins e h . For exple8. W W 9 e 2 Wf (and 2 1 Wg3) or 2W W .


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irv-MMani 199Bk to y

1 5Oherwse Back des e way

mos pece-down players do fomzgzwang ( I. .. Wg6 2. e6 f4 3.We5 g7 4 Wf5 ec. .

2. x5 g3 hxg g5

DrnBecase afe gxf5 h3 ! 5 . gx3

xf5 he back W eaches h8 andcan be drven o.

Ce One

at So this is st yeed?

No Not t a o e-come a master by oy kig two basic positios of them occrig W++ v W+

at Why those?NoBecse + ede commo, ad they dp so oen i oe of the to

basic ositios, e key edigs e those with oe ad most of them ed peither i the wiig "Lcea ositio or the draw-ig "Phiidor positioWith a itte trig yo'

be be to visize we i

advace whether yo're get-tig ito Lcea or Phiidor

"Chess h thee hes:Te st wh one hes one h an

advante;Te second wh one beves one h an

advante;

the thid wh one nows one

goi to ose

vi rr

15


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"Bum all t book! Chess

sho ' be a sce"

-Davd Broei

16

Wat Every Grdter Kows .

Pat: here must have been aucena who discovered this.No: A 15th cenury Spid, as a matter of fact. Actuy this notorious positionwas discovered by someoneelse d it was ned erhim by miste 400 yes after he was dead That's chessfor you.Pat: he probem for me is a

these posions-Lucena, Philidor, whatever-ook these.

Luca-tpe posion

1

Wi tply

I 'h7! h2tBack h no other counterpayo preven g7g8=*

2 'g8! g23 g7 h2!

Otherwise h , ollowed by5 h7 and he i queens Foexampe, 3 g3? h 5h8 xg7 6 ! Kg6 7 g

d the alsThis is te inamous "LucenaPosion

4 e lt 'd7

Black must prevent the romgaining a igh squae ( 6? 5).

5. e4!

And this bulds the brdge whichenables White's o escapeFor example, 5 h 6 f

7 g6 g 8 h6 (wth athreat o e5-g5 h 9 g5g 10. g4 and queens

"Chs U' a sce."

-Hen Poicar


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M. Gurvi-RisTel Aviv 1989W t ply

1 5??O couse, . 4 heaenin

he unsoppabe (I . c6 2 5a4 3 W7) 2 W and 3. =wod have orced esinaion

1 a2 a5 a??

And Black rsi when hesaw 3 a7Wd ad7 5

W winsB2 . 4 woud have drawn

(3 7 4 4 W 4 5W6 We6 and bride buidin

Capter One

wh 5 5? ? x5 6 x5 e7woud even have os

"Of m easI havead at t tofoge most ofwhatI

have aed o ea

No O yo ea the ba-s pp oud snkn. T yo t ve o re-mn at

n g yo v heembarra 'xampl o thword's 1th rank


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"What are you thinkingabout? The position isdrawn, Capa told his 26ye old opponent. "Look inthe book!Flohr ooked and looked

and didn't see any draw forBlack So he got upset, seeda move and rushed to hishote room to analye.But he stil couldn't nd a

draw. He later admitted hewou have looked in "thebookbut he didn't have onewith him.

at But that was in the oddays, before databases anda the junk they have now.Way back then there prob-

ably wn't that much to leabout the endgame d noneof the mode technology tostudy it

Wat Eve Grter Kw

No Rubbish. There's always been too much to ea.The point is you rely get

punished for not knowingsome obscure "basic posi-tionHere's something Diagram

4 payed by a mode wordchampionwho also ked hisGM opponent: "Why e youcontinuing to play in this

drawn position?

ocMcw 935W toply

1. 2 !

12

Now 2 W h! 3 gxh f exf Wxf will eave ie wthony he h f sa daw even wihou he back f f

2 h3 5!hie couned on 2 We5?,

which allows wgae 3 Wd5 Wf We6 5 h!

3 5 h

W55 f 6Dra

ite can make no pogess,eg, 6 e fxe 7 xe f5 8 fW


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nr-rvrench Lee 1993

W to ply

I. f W62 g W73 Wf5 W6 8 W75 6 wc76 w W77 W5 wc78 7t W69 h2

1 g3And hite strugged another

7 moves before agreeing to a draw

Cape One

at Okay, so he knew t wadrawn and Wte ddn't. oethat mean shoud just brngots of reference works to every touament?

No No. Havng the rghtbook woud ony have savedWhte from havng to adjou.

at ou mean that asde fromwastng your tmeand your

opponent'st doesn't matterwhether you know the poston on the board s a wn or draw?

No Most of the tme? No.at But why?

a av

9


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No Because it doesn't teyou how to win it ake Diaa he books will tell you it's a

win with the black W/e 7, butonly a draw if it's on e6 or e .hat's the type of impracticainformation you nd all thetime in texts like Fine's andPaul eres.' hey give "ba-sic knowledge a bad name.

at Wouldn't a G M know in-stantly whether it's a win ornot

No obaby not But thatwould not aect his life atalluness he was hired as anadudicator.

at But why not

No good practical playerwould gure out the ony wayto win is to advce te Itwon't take more than two

20

Wat Every Grdmter Kw

minutes to reaize the best tryto do that is Wb. hat'strue whethe it a win o adaw

Pat But there must be timeswhen you really need to knowwhich it is

n exe a son who

h a the mtasthat can be in a v

naow i h

W toply

1 \Not d4 because d! 2

xd (ese th bac gets to thece) xd . Wb4 c! drawsby using the opposition, discussedater in this oo (4. c5 c7 5.W5 W7 6. c5 c7 etc.).

1 8t2 waS c8!3 \5 8t

wa6 c85 !

f the had been at e6 in theprevious diagram, Bac coud nowstop the pan with 5 .. . e5, forcing

te to give up he e or theprotection of the fBut here the f gets to he fh

ran (5 . . e6 6. W7 We5? 7 d5 or 6 .. c5 7 b6! c c5 eaching a etternown"boo won positonnot far fromucena.


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LnTLeniad 97Wi t ply

1 5t!Now on .. . d7 hite pays 2 and the wnnng pan ofg4 and f5-f6 cant be stopped.

1. Wf62 W3! 3

And wns because the ac s cu o e.g. 3 .. a4 4. c6 a6 5.

c a 6. c4 e6 7 d foowe by bb6 and c6-c7eadng nevtaby to "ucena

Capter One

No Surewhen you can se-cure a book draw (if you'relosing or a win by mingsome maor decision, like atrade of pieces or a sacrice

Here's a typica example(Diagr 7ite was one of the hf

dozen best payers in theworld, at the time, and neededa win to make sure of quaify

ing for the Candidatesmatches om an interzonalPat He must have knownwhether thwas a win

No Yeah, but that didn'ttell him how to win it Heactuay payed an error, 1.h5

Yet 1. e5winseasilysincethe black W h to choosebetween two osing sides ofthe board

In fact, ite had missedthe same kind of transitionsix moves earierand did itagain two moves after .h

2 1


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at: So you're saying I onyneed to know a handl ofpositions

Noah: Yes, because most ofthe time you can rely on genera principlesSure, somemes at doesn't

work For example, Diagram18, which w analyzed byAndr Philidormore 200yes ago.

at: Is this the famous "Phiidorposition I'm supposed toknow

Noah: Almost If it is Black'smove he draws by keepinghis g on his third rank untilthe pawn advances. the"Philidor you need to know.

at: So what happens on f6

Noah: er that, Black candraw ony ifhe keeps his a

22

Wat Every Granter Kw

's move away om hite's,and puts his g on the ele

It's a usel position to knowonly because it goes against acrucia genera principle ing endgames.Keep yo ebly placed possible.

at: his principle is so crucialthat it doesn't work

No: By putting the g one,

and giving up e chance forrank checks, Back violatesthe principle But he drawsbecause he can stop hite'sonly winning plan Stoppingthe plan was just more important hereBy the way, Philidor got the

anaysis all and concuded that Diagram 8 was aforced loss

W toply

1. Wf6!On e6 Bac draws wi .

a6! 2 Wf5 b6 and if e6en ... b since e cannoescape from cecs aong e es

1. . . . !No . a6? because of2. e6

reaenng mae and hen 2 . . d c7 4. W and hereaces "ucena.

And no f ? because of2. e6 Wmoves foowed by We 7 and e6 in eadedo "ucena.

2. w6!

8Oerwise e t can' advance

4 a e! 5. Wd6 W). a!

And draws 5 b a6 6f5 ! or 6. Wd7 a7 eg6)


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Dreev-BeyavskySvie ChampinhiP 1989

Wit toply

1. h4!Otherwise ... Wd3 wins

1 xh4?Not 1 Wd3 2 xg5 But there

wasa eaborate win in 1 g 12 We2 d3 3 d2 g2 4 d g4

2 xg5 3 d5!

Drawing (3 d3 4 c5 a laPhiidor)

3 . hlt4 2 h2t

Chapter One

5 wdl d36 cl! hlt7 b2 l

No better is 7 We3 8 c28 d8!

And a draw as agreed after 8 . e4 9 Wc 'e2 0 'c2

Pat:Yeah, it always seems thereae tos of stu like that in theboos Do they ever happeni ea f ?

No: t tme. A goodexamp of ow owing ithelps wa Dam 20. Bothpayers we o G Ms whowell knew t oo" of Diagram 1.But at cuc tme 20

only one of tem remem-bered it Black erred becausehe didn't recognize a bookdraw when e saw onePat: I see3 d5 is the samea .. e 1 in Diagram 18. lthat's happened is the coorshave been changed and

board's been reversedHow oen does a position

like that come up?

23


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No: You'd be surprised howoen the possbl arises Inthat same Larsen game thatwe ust ooked at, White

missed another winning tran-sition, in iagram 1He could have sacriced the

c t tobng about somethingalmost identical to the Phii-dor positionexcept thatBack's is so badly placed

that White wins.at: Badly paced on c5

24

Wat Every Granter Kw

No: Sad but true he pointis that even walking "bookencyclopedias c misuse eittle that they need to know.You need to not only knowa

few key positions You asoneed to be abe to gure outwhat to do in a sightly differ-ent positionWhite, who clearly knew

"Lucena, didn't look hard

enough to see a simple transi-tion to itat: I'll bet all this is a lot

harder than you're ming itNo: See for yourself End-

games aren't that scaryCome back to the cub to-

morrow and I can show you

what you shoud be doingInterested

at: Hmmm Lemme thinkabout it

Len-TeLeniad 97W t ply

1 g5!Not . c7? which hitepayed.

1 Otherwise 2 Wf6 and . h

aows hie o advance he f t to"ucena.

2 g6!Bac osesbecause he can'

pay 2 f ,

in Diagram I

2 cl3 h8t e7 f6t e6

6 And wins (6 ... Rg 5

Kg4 Rg 9 ec..


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In which Pt ler bout hpw nd drw ors ndconerti dntes-nd why the rst moe mny ndmsters mke in the enme with their et


27/224

at Okay, I'm back.No: I thought you might be.at Butjust to sas my curi

osity. Suppose I wanted to

reay get into endgames.Where woud I start

No:You begin with this nottobeforgotten wing

26

An ame not amdlegame

Geg Sed

at hat's a nobrainerNo: Not true Many players

don't realize or y appreciate that

In the endgame there arebig dierences in thinking.You have to readjust

at HowNo: You have to start think-ing dierently about speedd space, not to mention

pawn structure, and safetyYour whole sense of how toevaluate a move or a positionchanges instanty when thefs are removed from thebod.

at How do the G Ms beginthinking dierenty when the

endgame beginsNo: Some of them take awak.

at hey te a walk

Candidaes na 1989

W to ply

1 f? good posiiona move in hemiddegamebut an eor here.

ih J threatening to econtro on e4 hite has good winning chances ( f5 2. e e5 .b5 Wf6 4. d and c4).

1 f5! positiona emonin the mid

degame. The game was drawnafter 4 more moves beginningwith 2 a4 Wf6 . c5 b6 andeventuay ..e5


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Capter Tw

f"->

_w.

_

he eme he me) r J

;.

I

Speed counts. Oen the winner is theplayer who gets there "fastest with themostest.

Space counts cramped position isusually a bad position.

safety is a major priority. The easiest way to win is to accumu

late advantages. Center s are more vuable thanwing s

When deciding whether to exchangesomething, masters try to trade badpieces for good ones, to avoid losingtime, and to exchange s when thatopens lines for their pieces.

Haste makes waste. Repeang theposition is good technique. Losing atempo oen helps

Control of more space than youropponent is relavely unimportant.

are generally safe. acvi ismore important

The easiest way to win is to cnvertone advantage to another. Wing s-particularly if they arepassedare oen more valuable because they're easier to queen

rading priorities depend on whetheryou're winning or losing. Usually theplayer with the edge wants to trade

pieces but not s, and vice versa

f

27


29/224

No: It's old ussian idea,suggested in the 930s by amter named Sergei Bea-venets He said that soon

2

Geg Sed

as you trade you shouldstand up and walk around theplaying room to cam yournerves and clear your head

In this game (Diagram 4) ,White had hardly sat downwhen the went o But heneeded to reorient his think-ing aer 9 xb6 A strollthen wouldn't have hurt

at Okay, suppose I've traded

and had my walk WhatthenNo: First, gure out who'sbetter

One of the things that dis-tinguishes an ending from amiddegame is that it's usually much easier to see in ending whether you're play-ing for a win or just trying todraw

at For sure

KovacevcmrnZae 99

. f6 2. g5 3 f *a5t 5 f6 6

2 cx 7 3 *6 8*x c6

9 *xb6 60. ?

A ow prorty move. Better wa10. e4.

0. 5!. c7?

Payng for advantage n what snow an nferor poston Betterwas 11. d4.

11 5!

2. x6 And Back soon had an over

whemng ntatve ( 13 cxd4 e6!14. c5 d5 15. xe6 fxe6 16.c5 xd4! 1 xd4 exd4 and... e3/ .b4


30/224

-a n Z 988

W to y

1 Da acc??te wnnng f4 2 e5 nvadng, or

c8 2 g5 3 Wh6 andwn by zugzwang

For example, 3 b6 4 Wh7c8 5 a4! a6 6 c5! or 5 b66

c8 7 h4!

Black doe better wth 3 a6 4

c5 f6 but t long 5 h4 6 h7 7 a4! f6 8 Wg8Wf5 9 g4 10 e8 xh41. d7 Wg4 2 xc8 Wf5 3

Capter Tw

b7 e6 4 b6

"I ko

n

Noah: Yet it constantly shocksamateurs to see how oenmasters accept draws in winning positions, like Diram

5, or resigndrawabe onesPat: What shoud White be

thinking in that positiono:hat e as a very good

and Black has a limpinghat if he wins either of the

black pawns he'll win thegamehat he has excelent

chces for imposing zugzwangAnd, most important, that

with no visibe Back count-erpay, it costs White abso

utey nong to pay onPat: But don't you have toknow what you're doing nextto rese a draw oer

Noah: G Ms accept draw offers when they see how theycan lose not when they'reunabe to see how to win.

Pat: Okay, so you evauate theposition. hen what

o: hen you try to understand what kind of advantageit is

Pat: Usually that's obvious.ght

29


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No: Sometimes yes, some-times no.For instance, with the Ex-

change for two s, White

c't be entirely sure he hasany real edge in Diagram 6.Black's ng is closer to

White's side s andBlack's can ttack the side s

at: sense a "but coming up

No: White has the Ex-change A basic rule of thumb

you're up theExchange you want to

trade a pair of s.

hat's because a trade mag-nies the mismatch betweenthe remning v. piece.

at: It's weird that White can

0

Geg Sed

retreat the ike that and letthe Back in.

No: Yes, but very logical. A is superior to a only

when it n a like a hat is, only when it h

open les. o make such aled create a winning White had to force a trade.

"Fight the ywith the weapo

he lac. Fi aha

Aan uvv f Ruian ia

Hmn-RmannHersn 1989W toply

1 1 g5Or ... b 2. axb xb 3.hb c 4. b8 and the a- ifalls.

2 h WfNo better is 2 . . . xb I 3. xb

Wf4 4. xb7 x 5. a7 Wxe4. xa Wd5 a8 g5 8. a andwins.

3 x5 5

Better than 4. b 1 b4 5. cxb4Wx drawing chances forBlack.

Now the creates a winningpassed a i W . (not . xd?? b3 t e W c 10 and 11

so 7... g5 8. xb7 c5 9 xc7 e3 0. xc4 Wxg4 1. aWf4 2. c7 g4 13. a7 xa7 4.

xa7 Wxe4 15. g7 f5 . Wxb3W 1 c4 and wins.


32/224

ad-ndzSSR 1955W toply

Ths poston w adoued dhte resie bunder snce hecan draw by threatenng mate wth Wd6! and checkng.

For exampe Wc 2. c IWb73 b Wa6 4. Wc6! threao 5. a mate

Then 4 .. . W 5. Wc5 Wa4 6.Wc4 Wa3 Wc3 Wa2 8 ! and

snce .. . g2? ? loses the i wthcheck Back has nothng betterthan 8 h5 9 d3! and tedraws wth We2-J.

Capter w

at:What happens ifm worsewhen the endgame begins

No: Same sort of thing Youneed to know what your

opponent's advantage con-sists ofBut you aso have to recog-

nize where your own setsieand not to underestimatethem

at: You got an exampleNo:

Sure In Diagram 28White was so raid of theblack s that he completelyoverlooked the power of thestrongest piece on the bod,his own

at: Okay, suppose know have the edge d understd

what kind of edge it is WhatnextNo: good next step is togure out what speccally it

takes to win.at: You mean like winning a

or something elseNo:No, you generally don't

need to win ything in anending

at: You don't

o o o

3 1

S d


33/224

No: o. n the endgame thede preng for a wn uually ha ome knd of advtage already.

What a player need to do,lke Whte n Dagr 9, to convert one advtage ntoa more gncant one.

Pat:Seem lke Whte jut gveaway the Exchge for noth

2

Geg Sed

ng.No: Actually he elmnate

the only good black pece leto top the cpawn.

Aer xe6, Black mut try toblockade wth h -and a , a you'll lea, a terribleblockader.

So once Whte knew what ttook to wn, the ret wa eay.A winnng converon.

Pat:But what f you're playngfor a draw?

No:hen you need to knowwhat t wll tae for to wn

Don't y to gure out whatt te for you to draw.Uually there no uch

thng.Pat: ll beleve that. Okay,what' happenng n Dagram30?

dBvLres 199W topl

. !Theatening 2 xe6!, eg, h5 2 xe6 fxe6 3 c5 b4 4Wa3 b8 5. c6 g5 6 c7 c8 Wa4 and xa5b6b

. t2

Or 2 d7 3 e7.3 x6t! 6

d wins e.g. 4 f6 5 c6b8 6 c7 c8 7 a4 e5 8xa5 d4 9 c6 e3 0 f4

c3 d 2 Wb6Too ate is xc7 12 xc7

xg3 3 xg7 Wxf4 4 h7

Ch t T


34/224

MMiDerecen 199W tply

1 a! c62 c53 a6 c4 ??

30

ite wins wi 4 d3! ! eg4 c3 5. xe3 d I=* 6 xdxd d2 and 8. a7

Or 4 f4 5. xe3 xd3 6xd2

c3t5 xt x6 a7 c2

Da

Chapter Tw

Because e * ending sdead aer 7 a* d * 8.xe3 *gI 9 e2 *x2

No: A ange but not at allrare mundertandngWhte may have aked hmelf at the dagram I

better and, f o, why?he anwer would be "Of

coure, am-but becaue ofthe a- ot o uch becaue of the Exchange hatwould have gven hm thewnnng plan

Pat I gue that me eneNo: But when t wa cnch

me, at move four, he ed tokeep a he ddnt needntead of elmnatng the only couterplay Blackhad

Pat t ure mut help f you've

won th knd of poton before

33

G g S d


35/224

Geg Sed

No:ten, Pat, t hep moref you've lostth knd before

ow, take Dagram 31.What would you do here?

Pat: I'm not ure. But . xc3look rght

No: Why?No: Becaue t elmnate a

-and a pretty dangerou, t ook lke. And t avoda endgame aer xe4

No: When you've had moreexperence you'll know .xc3 a blunder radng ony enarge the advantage of the remanng overthe

Pat: I gue I ee that now hec n't runnng away andWhte' much more actve. But what about the

endng?No: Wth tme you'll aloapprecate how notoroulydrawih + endng are

Pat: What f you haven't a clueabout what' gong on n apoton?

No: hen a good way totart-after you've had yourwalk- to gure out whatpece you want to trade andwhch you don't.

Pat: For exple?

"It s no dce wheth ouwn o oseunt ou e

Ann

4

ov-ovMscw 199W to ply

2!Not 1 . c3? c3 2 c3c2 whch leave Black wt ecellent wnnng chance

For eaple, 3 Wd2 f5 4e3 h3 5 Wd4 g2 6 f4 W e5 e7 and 8 f6 Back akng progre

1 g72 3 g5Or 2 a4 3 c3 e4 4

fe4 f6 5 enoughcounterpay to draw

3 ! g g g5 x! xc2

Chapter Tw


36/224

Vaganan-Mn 199W to

??Passing such a 1 *a6 2 *a5! akes it hd forBack to ake progress

But ite counts on 1 *xc32 xc3 a4 3 d2 and 4 d4with a draw

a!And Back wns eg 2 d2

*xc3 3 Wxc3 xb3 4 Wxb3Wg6 5 a4 h5 6 b5 g4 Wc6 xf4 8 xd6 e3

Chapter Tw

No: For example, Dagram33 te concluded that hecol raw f he maged totrade the .

at: He wa wrong?No: No, the mnorpeceendng is drawn becauete can lqiate the de and eep Blac omcreatng a ped f .at he overlooed wa

that Black c force a \+ endngwhch wa quite lot

at: So ome ade are verygoo. .

No: . . d ome trade areut al Remember what Iad about the mportance oftraitio.

example of good tradeon both de Dagram 34

"Exchanng thesoul ofchess. g g

35

Geg Sed


37/224

at: at' happenng here?No: Yor bac plover

6

Geg Sed

eqal edge for te Heha the better A d h opponent ha e weaer get, at and c6

If he c trade h a forthe b8 , h remanngpece wll be mch betterthan Black', and he c eh me wth a plan of, ay,creatng a ped a , wb2b4

at: Bt Blac me h owngood trade, a bad pece for agood one-even f t loe ph trcture

No: Not o loed p In theend the f5 not mchwore th the one at g2 andb2 A draw me ene

at: Yo colda fooled me loe poton lke the onegranater agree to drawn

dn-ODs Heans 199

W to y

1 !A good ida 2 b3)1

Black also ss a good trad,.. f5

2 3 x3tBlack can avoid th trad with

2 . 8, but aftr 3 Wd2 to stop3 . it hav a big

dg 4 b7 r4 b6or3 . . .c7 4 bb5)3 x3 f5 5

it's bst chanc w 4 f1 4 5

hit can mak no progrss,.g., 5. c3 intnding 6. fb8 6 Wa3 g8 Mtr g3?

xg3 Black i s vn bttrA draw w agrd soon aftr 5.

c2 f4 6 b3 h5 7 d3 b8

Chapter Tw


38/224

Beov

toy

1

!Not .. . xd I ? 2. xc6 with

vry sim winning chancs.2 2 3 a2 f1 gS!

Back prpars to crat a psd t { ..f5f4}.

S 2

6 27. x8 wg9 wg2

fS!xttf6

Chapter Tw

Now 11... xf, crating a+ t nding, would win aily.

1 1 S f12

And Black won aftr 3. h4 14. h3 h5 15. c 6 5, .g., 68 3 fx3 fx3 18. b5 2!19. x2 g .

No: Wth experence you'llle what a drawable potion look lke Oen e exact ame poton-e ,

e < potion- a wnwth on the board or *onBut t may be a ea draw

with the aditon of a par of or a pr of Or vcevera

at: How do you know thevce from the vera?

No: By lookng ahead andeeng whch pece tuatonwould be the eaet to wnIn Dagram 35 Black can

ee that a trade of all thepece lead to a


39/224

at: You're talking a lot aboutpece, but what alway cone me in ending whereto put my .

mean, what' the deal withthe h?n jut about every GM

game 've ever een, t eemWhte play h2h4!? andBlack reple .. .h h5 !? .

No: here are reaon forthat. For one thng, it make thder for your opponent tocreate a paed , a Blackdoe n Dagr 3.

at: ee. f Whte had a ath4 then Black would havehad to trade two et of \ide , tarng wth ...f6

Geg Sed

and . . .g5 to create a pae .

No:Wth a likely draw. tme

A the game goe, Blackforce a favorable trade of becaue of the threat of 9 .. .h3.

n other game wth a mlar truce you may eeBlack winning by attackingtheenemy \de wth .. .\g4and ...hxg3.

at: there an ideal endgame formation?

No: hat uually dependon whether youre playng towin or draw.For example, in Diagram

39 Black end up with theexact ame \ide ucture hi opponent-and loe becaue of it.

VadRKrjc 195Bk ply

. gS!f Back had aowed 2 h4 hisadvtage would be microscopic

2. a3 2

hite h othig better. On 3 .h3 Black creates a psed i with .. . f5 ad ... h4.

3

3 fSS c2 !6 c3 t7 gS

8 2

8 h!9 ht

Oeise 9 .. . h3 folowed by

a6b6b I g g2

9 xhBlack wo after 10 e5 g5

d4 a4 2 . d3 f6 d...e5.

Chapter


40/224

Vaan-HeUeNew Y 199W topy

1 h b22 we63 3 f6

Psing s Black's only pocy g25 f b2

Thr folowd som mor manuvring as it prpard topush his passd !: . b g

f bg 10 e 11. b.

Chapter

11 f6??A bundr or psing, with

. b3 12 b8 Wf6 and W6f6 would draw.

12 b7t13 b8t1 615 5!16 c

h8g7b3

And Black loss bcaus his Wplays no rol: 16 f 1 b7Wh6 18 d7 b 19 Wc5 c120. Wd6 d 2. c7 c1 22Wd8 b 23 d6 0.

at: Let' do thi one lowy Iteem like ve een poitionlike thi a jillion time

No: Okay White tt by

retraining Black' g with h4 hat alo create achn, o he c protect all hiide pawn with a at e3

at: Why doe he tae hi timein puhing the b ?

No: Becaue that would low Black' to cut off hi by going to the ith rank likeon 2 b4? b3!

at: Okay, o White can movehi < to e3 and then puh hi t .

N:hat allow hi to goto f4 and protect hi entire

ide while the b advance.But it houldn't have beenenough to win.

at: y?

No: Becaue hi only winningplan would have been toadvance the to b6 anthen hi < to efend itBlack' woul have eatenmot of the


41/224

g

40

In which Pt lerns tht rules he exceptions tht some


42/224

p rules re exceptionl-nd tht no rule substitute rthinking

Read and Forget: les ld

do Basc Cess Enn"-

vs. + : when ie hass on he and es, wih ony one more, if acks is on he e he canusuay draw bu if it is on he e he wias a rule lose.Wih 3 conneced passed s agains a )

a win is possibe ony if al he s cansucceed in crossing he 4h rank excep forcerain specia cases)

coected vs. ifneiher i has reached he sixh rank his isalways a draw, bu if one is on he sixh andhe oher is on he fh, a win is possibleprovided here are no

-s

Re


43/224

at: I haven' forgoen whawe alked abou yeserdayye.u oday I'd like o move

on o anoher reason I haeendgameshe rles. Thereseems o be a million dier-en res you have o memo-ze

Noah: You mean like"*+


44/224

GurevicFroniLucee 1989W y

1 e3?ong aftr a i that h nosignicanc No bttr was 1 ?x 2 x f4 whch wnsboth rmaining whit s

But winning was 2 c3 Wf4 3 , g, 3 Wx4 a6 xg4 5 b4 and 6 c5

. g6Now 2 x 3 xa5 hdraws, as in th gam

2. xg5 h53. x

Dat's ony a draw bcaus th

rmaining whit l s ar iminatdaftr 4 WX hxg4 5 fxg4 W4 6c 1 g5 and W

s Inease inValue

as th Advance.

at: Wha oher kind?No: Closeness of a o is

queening square. The reonis explained by anoher rule:

s Inee in Value th Advance

In fac, a on he sixhrank is oen wice vauable one on he fourh,paricuary in minorpieceendings.

at: Why picuarly hose?No: ecause unlike heavier

wood, a or cno conrol more han one or wosquares in he pah of a aa given ime.

at: So?

No: So in Diagram 42 heony sque in he as pahha he conrols is donce i is kicked away, he

reaches a quicklyThen l Whie needed o

win w o drive he o heg a7 diagon and promoe.

The increed vue ha a picks up s i advances isillusraed bes by your oldfriend, he square.Even wih severa minor

pieces, you have o keep inmind wheher your < is inhe square o cach a passed .

at: Yeah, he square Tha'sone ofhe rs hings I leedabou endgamesand one ofhe few I remember.

43

Re


45/224

44

"Te od ofthe ame

the sed aw

ec

No:And you'd be urpriedhow much it gure in grand-mter ge.

It come up in many form,

ike Diagram 43 BecaueBlack' r i one tep out ofthe quare of the a , Whitecan win with an amazing two-piece acrice.

at Ye, pretty aming. E-pecialy ince White can wina , at leat temporiy with

c4No: But that allow the en

emy r ino the quare andcomplicate the win.A it goe, Back ct ac-

cept the econd piece acri-ce and the ret i ey.

at Okay, o, incree invalue a they advance i agood rule to know. But howdo I ue it?

ovHseiel 199

W y

1. xb5Too slow is 1 c4 d7 2 cxbcxb5 3 xb5

1. cxb52. xb5

And 2 axb5 oses to 3 a6because Blacks is out of thesquare and 3 e6 is met by 4b6

Black had to try somethingike but resigned soonafter x e

Capter Tree


46/224

sisViRsv n Dn 1993

W y

1 b2f you'r willing to calculat,

youl nd . xh8 b=* 2a* hit wns bcaus Backschcks stop aftr 2 . *f Wg*g 4. *g2! or .. *e 4h2

But not: . a8=* b=* 2xb ? xa8 which s drawn

1. 82. ! g53 4 Wf6

Or .. . f5 4. a e5 5. e4

Wf6 6. Wg4andtheg-fwil fall Noa: Once you realize theaftr Wg5 and 8 a6. power of a paed you'll

:! be aert to the opportunitie6 g5 c6 of trading into a won game,

7 x Rsis like Diagram 44.Bcaus of .. Wb6 8 a at: Thi look confuing.xa79 xa7xa7 Wf6 b7 EvebodyqueeningI I. Wx6 and wns No: It' actuay imple once

ade iecesW u'reAhead Matea

ade awnsW u're

Behin

you ee that White doen'thave to promote immediatelybut can get a paralyzing poition with 1. xb2 and 2

a2Since ite will win any

ending ariing fromb7 and . . xa7, Blackcan't do anything but pawith hi

at:But how doe White queen

the a ?No: Doen't need to. He'llrun the black and outof move, then pick up both

and, nally, win with thee

at: I like genera rule like increae in vaue . . Got

any more?No: You're probably familiar with thi one:

Trade eces u're Ahead Mate

Trade Paw You're Behin

at: I've heard omething likeit. What' the reoning?

45

Re


47/224

No: Remember what I aidabout what it take to win?

46

Pat: That generally you needto promote a .

No: Correct. Well, the morepiece you trade, the le en-

emy reitance to keep a from promoting.Pat: And the more you

trade?No: The fewer that canbe promotedand the fewertarget to go after.

In Diagram 45 Black, even

though two down ter ...g6/3... exd5, ha drawingchance. But he h none af-ter it become jut v

Pat: The ure look ickafter 5. x.

No: And White can pro-

mote either on the ide oride.That' another unique thing

about endgame.

deMueUeruesga 1991Bk y

1

e7?Black can aord o gve up a

n order o oban counerplay wh g6 2. 7 f5! , hreaenng . f4

Mer xd5 exd5 Black whhs own passed h excellendrawng chances

b6 c6?!

e should eeps s on heboard wh 2

c6 and possby

. d43 xc6 xc6

4 ! x5.xt

he won afer e .e e! (else he a advances) d

10 ! (ps) d 11. d ec

Chapter Three


48/224

ovdRquerune 199

Bk y

1

xg4?

h Blac wns qucly2 e2 xg4 . xg4 =* or .f f4 ec.

x!And he forces a draw afer

2. x c4 and 4 xb4 or he game wen e .


49/224

at: The rt one look prettyeay but I don't know about4

No: It' a clic example of

4

trying to n endgame withmiddlegame move

Intead of taking hi timeand crying out a lowbut

unbeatableplan, White im-plied with a hy tempo-rary acrice of a i

Remember, are cheapwhen you have eight ofembut prohibitively expenivewhen you have one or two.

at: I thi trading rule away

true?No: No, like mot rule, it i

onlygallyue Somemethere are higher law

at: ike what?No: ike Fne's La

If you are one i ahead, in

99 cae out of 100, the gamei drawn if there are ononly one ide of the bod.

at: And i that ue?

uer-Gruedalma e Marca 1989

W y

1 g4??he should wn wh h4

sealng he W-sde folowed bybrngng hs o c5.

1 hg4 g4 h6!

uch beer han 2 .. fxg4 e5. Now Bacs W ges o g5.

3 5 5

4 g3 g5And he wh only one lef, wll allow Blac o draw wh...c4. E.g

bx f and ..g6-f6(bu Blac blundered aer and los).

Chapter Three


50/224

eeoanaes Mach 1991

Bk t y

1 c7? 1 Bac should

raw f6 e5. t Wd64 7

And e won soon afer . e e .

Forexample xd4exd4and 9 a7 wns anoher i orrades

Or f he can aso

wn wh e6 9 d and now 10 e2 followeby 1 1 g4 and Bacs i evenuay as

No: Maybe not 99 out of100, but in an awl ot ofituation That' why Blackoe in Diagram 48

The minorpiece endgamewith only one paed , at e3er 1 b8!, i drawablebecaue Black' remaining e hard to attack thank toFne LawWhite would have a hard

time trying o promote hi e-

pawn after 2 xb8 and 3.xd5

Pat: But?

Ev le h

exceptio.

No: But played, Blackleave himelf with two weak and an inferior That lead to another rule of

thumb on rule:

Eve leh exceptio

Pat: I wa afraid you weregoing to ay that.

o: It' true. And ome-

time in che it eem thatthe exceon outnumber therule. ut like in life.

Pat: Uhhuh.

49

s


51/224

50

" Your o Ooe olor of

ur Biho"-Capaanca

No Some have more exceptions than others, likeCapabnca's Ru Yo s o

Oosi olo of Yo .In Diagram 0 Black threat

ens to put U his s on lightsquares and draw by keepingthe white W at bay and byblockading te side s.

But ite beats him to it,and eventually wins by pick

ing up the Black s on darksquares

But you were talking aboutexceptions. y isn't Capa-bnca '5 Ru ls true?

No Because there are always going to be specialcases-like when creating apassed or locking out theenemy W-when "bad moes work

BJay-AdamAdelide 9W to y

h3!Not W? e4 2. we2 g4! and

Wd5-c4 blockades1 Wd52 g4 f43 . f6

Or 3 Wc4 4 g7 Wxc3 5xh6 e7 6 b5 nd ns

4 fThe e ende oon afer 4

e4 e4t wxe4 6 b d 7 bwc 8. e7 9. c4 d8 and We4

Capter Tree

3 5 b C h k N T h B h


52/224

51

Lihuanian hampih 199

W y

1 b5!No c because L b ocks

he -sde.Now 1 d7 aows 2. c5 dxc

b6 c 4 . c4 foowed by .g whch rades a -sde t forhe back e6- t er xe6 hewns wh d and b6-b7.

1 We7 h5!

ere 2. g? h! seals he sde

7

3 c5! bxc54 b6 c85 g5!

The pon5. hxg5

6 h6 f67 c4 Wg68 xe6! b7

Of course no xe6 9 . b7.9 5 c8

10 b7 xb71 1 xb7 c41 c8 xh613 g4 Resis

n vew of he unsoppabe e-d2c and wns

"o our gam,ta osom ofour

advrsas oss for noing

Joseh Ben, 1735

at: Can you think of an example?

No: For example, in Diagram 51, the chromatically

correct move, c4c5 d g4g5, would alow Black toblockade he poition anddraw.

at: Even though he woud bemaking hi own bad andgiving White protectedpaed ?

No: True enough But theproper winning plan involvecreating two paed at b6and h6, and the only way to

do that it to me White' temporariy into a very bad by rt putng the atb5 and h5Thi how how endgame

theory change: HowardStaunton, in the betellingche book of the 19th cen

tury, aid if you have the inferior game you houd put your on the ame color youro you could protect themmuch better

"On Knh at th nd ofth gam, ga suor to on ho

o non, 1847

51

I j b d

Ru

Si b T h I '


53/224

at: I jut remembered a rue.I hed a ong time ago:

All +t Endis areDraw

Ateat they alwaytmoutthat way when I'm one or two up.

No:We owe that bit of irony

52

to Siegbert Tarrach. It' nota bad rulea ong a youreaize it doen't work a otof the time.

For exampe, in Diagram52, even at the cot of a ,White woud have won the + ending aer 1 .. . xe5

at: But he won in the ongrun ...

No: . becaue he ti man-aged to trade piece and cut

the back< o aong the ce.White' and b were

then a mimatch for the en-emy , and Back reignedwhen he aw he'd have tourrender it for the .If you're ooking for ue

rule, I'm ure you can cre-ate a few of your own.

at: Like what?

BeevIvcuLinres 1994W toly

1 e5! 7Bac mus begn o rerea be

cause he + f endng s los afer1.. Axe5 2. dxe5 Wxe5 b5a 4. b6 d6 5 b5 and 6. bn

. b5 d8Ese he f advances decsvely.

3. c6 4t

4. Wb3! 8Bes play by Bac bu5. xd8! xd86 c

Blacesedaer . 9 10 II.

Chapter Three

3 b5 wf N Oh h b t "It b3!)


54/224

Yudanies Mach 199

W y

1 xe3?ang easy or he h

I b! Blac can sll gh Eg, b6 W d6 We and 4 d7 or 2. d6 Wg7 c d 4d W6

2. d??Clearly wnnng s 2. c (con

rong he queenng squares Wg7 b5! eg b4 d6and5 d7or d 4. b6

2 wg7Now d7 d has he

3 b5 wf No: Oh, how about "It4 7t e 7 eier to promo a dntped

And he had nohng beer than a near one han 5 d d d

at: Isnt that obvious? Seems e

2 Bac drew hans ohs superor and W

Ofcours, som sa on to th a

wh th advant. And

som s a on toth on ti to draw

T

to me a on, say b4 or c4, isalways going to be easier toqueen than one on g4I mean, if both sides castled

sideNo:True, but even if they're

not on the same rank, thedistant oen has better

chcesor example, in Diagram

54 Black simplies the taskby permitting White to advance two s to the h rank,ensuring that one couldqueen He should have

stopped the distant one (1 . . .

b3!)at: Then where did White gowrong?

No: By ying to promote

the nearer If he hadpushed the b instead ofthe d , Black would havehad to commit his -andone of the s would havesailed rough.

at: Seems like you really enoy collecting endgame rules

No: You might too if yougave them a chance

Of course, some rules applyonly to the player with theadvantage And some rulesapply only to the one yingto draw

53

Pat: How does that work?

R

, 4 f5 5 ,d6)


55/224

Pat: How does that work?No: Well, something like

the last rule goes:Wen Defending, Go

Aer e Most DangeusEnemy i .Pat: That i too obvious.No: Not really In Diagram

55 with only a few s le onthe boad, Black took the ithat didn't threaten him in-stead of the one that did

And this w played by theNo. 3ranked player in theworld at the me in the closest thing to a world championship match

Pat: It seems like everyone hassome pesona rles they needto remember. Do you haveany?

No: Sure, my Three Com-mandments.

54

, 4. f5 5 ,d6) ,e7 \d 6 ,d8

Kv-SvCandites superna 1987

Blk oply

1. x4??Mter 1 xa4! White's ony

winning chance is to trap the by2. ,d4

But 2. .. \d6 followed by 3 ..c6 and 4 .. . c5 wil draw

2. \b5 c53. f!

Now ,d4? xa4! wouldhave drawn (4. \xa4 f5 5 ,e5g5 or 5 ,e \g4)

3. 7And Back resiged after

Capter Tree

Pat: Okay let me start wt know your opponent knows


56/224

k-VoS Smvec 1979

W oy

1 Rsigns?But 1. We2We52 Wd3Wd53.

c4t Wc5 4. Wc3 a5. Wd3! is a

aw ae allFo exampe 5 . f5 6 Wc 7

d We Wxc4 9 WxJb4 10. We xa4 1 1 d2 b1 c Wa2 and c2- -2 ec.

Pat: Okay, let me start wt know your opponent knowsCommandment No 1 . ow to wn Id never stop te

How ome I see GMs re loks n +v +, forsgnng all the tme n pos example

tons tat dont look lost to Sre, ts a book loss Butme? almost no one knows teNo: In some es ts a bookprde tg Tey dot watto play ot ugly postons nfront of spetators. But amateurs ant afford prdeIts far more embarrsng

to resgn prematrely As apratal matter, wheteryour postion s a fored losssould not affet you.Here, n Dagram 56 for

example, Wte sold playthe obvos 1. e2 and seewat appens

at: But wat f you knowts abook loss?

No: Never resgn ntl yo

"Let no man surrder so

long he unwoundedand can gh

Fid Mrs Mongor ois roos on v of

B of in.

55

at: Every GM must


57/224

6

ou Shalt Not Trade

Down to w UnlessYou Can Safely BetYour First-Bo Child

On e Resul

at: Every G M mustNo:Then why did Ljubomir

Ljubojevic play it out withthe against Gata Kamsky

at Lines 1991? Or NigelShort against alery Salov atBcelona 1989, in Diaa 5

In fact, Short played out+W v to the very end Ifthere's any doubt in yourmind that your opponent can

win, let him prove itat: I guess that makes sense.No: That leads to Com

mandment No 2:

ou Shalt Not TradeDown to + Unless

You Can Safl Bet Your

First-Bo Child On eResul

ov-oarcelna 1989W y

1 8+ Wh72. 8!

A zugzwangposon has beenn he boos or 00 years.

Ye, Blac payed on 2 10 #

Capter Tree

at: Thats perfect for me I promote the h Total 8


58/224

inGrozseereeme 1993Bk y

1 xe5??2 Wh3!

Black may have assumed 2xe xe5 xe5 Wxe5 4.g Wf5 5. Wh4 Wg6 dras

Or he may jus have mscounedha happens here no.

2 d53 xe5t xe54

xe5 xe5

5 h4 d5 xh5 wc4

7 h4 Resigns

at: That s perfect for me. I59 always nd + endings

hard.o: Yes good players mess

them up tooeven when theposition is largely a matter ofcounting like Dagram 58.

at: Counting?o: Sure If Black had seen

t's obvous after 7... Wxb4 .g6 9 h5 a4 10. h6 1 1 h

2. h3 a neat but simplegain of a tempo he couldhave said to himself: "Okay

Wen In DoubDon

all the pieces e going o ntwo moves ."The result is + s. But I

cant stop xh5. Thereforemy only chce is ...xb4.

at: So far Im with you.No: Well then he contin

ues: "ter 4 . xe5 t willtake White two moves to capture the h one to get the out of the way and ve to

promote the h Total 8moves.By the same count you c

see it also takes Black 8 moves

to queenbut White movesrst.That means 12 h8=*

comes n time to answer 12 .a=* with 13 *xa

at: I couldnt see all thato: Thats a corolly to

my second commandment

In Doub Don

Its nny how oen peoplerush headlong into lost ordrawn + endings longbefore theyve exhaustedtheir options such

1. .. d5

back in Dagram 58 Its theworst tradng decison youcan make

57

But don't peope make Vhat about 2 e4


59/224

"Nobody everdied/rom

playing a Kingandpawnendingbut

why ta achance?GM

But don t peope makeother bad trade, into ending or ending

o: Ye, but in practica

term there i nothing naa + Except maybedeathYou amot alway hae

ome way of compicatingyour opponent life whenhere wood on the boardYet in Diagram 60 Black

had an untoppable winningplan of 1 folowed bybngng hi to g7 and f6That win the g

Vhat about 2 e4o: Then Black lock up

the enemy with 2 f5d Vhite odd of urial

are about one in a milion Speaking of odd, I betthat game made an impreion on Back hel neer forget YusuovLjubojevc

Lire 199Bk toy

1 fS?hte assumes that 2. xf s

an easy n for Back (t s and that2. We4 xg5 s almost as good (tsn't.

2 W43 xgS4 S Wf4 W

xgSfWgt

the gae s ucky dranby f 3or 6. W W th dstantopposton.

Chapter Three

No:amatteroffact,Black


60/224

esLjuojeLire 19W toy

1 d4?2. d33. d5t4

c7t??g5f5

And hie dre afer W . ec

Only in he pos morem did akbizer poin ou ha 1. xd4 2xd4 g5 ins because hesoon runs ou of "passes ( We4a5 4 e5 b6 5 We4 f6 6. Wd5Wxh5 c6 f5.

No:a matter offact, Blackhad made a very smlar error n the se event fouryears before

In Dagram 61 he was offered a cold wn wth 1. xd4and gave t away

at: hats pretty embarrassng for a top

No: It was worse than youthnkhe dagram was an d

joued poston so Black lterally had hours to count outmoves lke 1. d4?

at: Ouch So why dd Whteplay 1 d4?

No: Smple He also blundered People get tred nendgames smply becausethey are the e of games

Pat: What f theres no chocebut to go nto + t ?

"Fatie makescowar of al

na eoge .aon J.

59

Res

No: Theres almost always 3 g4 f6


61/224

60

ya choiceIn Diagr62 White prob

ably thought he w at least

drawinguntil it w too late.Pat: Sure looks good aer 1.h1 Theres no way Blackcan save the h . Then atrade of s would leaveite with e outside psedf

No: But it remains the out

side for about a femtosecond-unl dIm always carel about

trading o my last Youcan te it o the bod butyou cant put it on.

at: hatever

Obov-brov 1991W toy

1 l??

he sees he can n the h- fand thnks hat mus be a dra.But f he calculaes t out he

ould force hmself to nd heacve defense 1 b ! h3 2 b 7and no 2 . We8?? 3. b8 and2 . g8?? 3 . g6 acually lose.

o he game should end n adra afer 2

! 3. g5! and

checks a b7 and b8 . 3. 6

4 x3 x35 x3 d5!

Rite s ou of the suare (6

cxd5 c4

Chapter Three

No: Thats other danger at: Ye, but usuly you


62/224

GrvDerecen 199W toy

1. g4??

t's ot etirey cear hat hiteis iig after 1 e4 ad e5e6 But there's a excele chaceof it particuarly if he reaches

1 xg4t2. xg4

The game as dra 22 movesater g d e 1 d de e e.

g y yin + endings: the margin see G Ms ust shing piecesof error is much smaller than back and forth for hours.other endings. Thats not hurrying. But what

at: Meing what? it?No: Meaning that one error No: Subterge. Somemes

is oen fat-and if youre its advantageous ust to renot winning, youre probably peat the position when anlosi opportnity arises.That brings up my third at: Why? Because you wt a

commandment: draw?

N Shalt ou Hu

at: What mes "hurry?No: Anything that rushesinto a signicant change inthe number of s or piecesor exple, in Diagram 63White should have tried to

exploit the tget at g beforehe traded o one of his tworemning s.

"Rashness oenccee. Still more

oen it fai.oon Bon

61

Re

No: No it gains time on the No: Usuay it's when you The ca move ( c6 46 f 6 b 6 6


63/224

cock and cores mindpointsPsychoogical warfare

Oen the side ghting for adrawwi me rther wenesses-to avoid repetitionbecause he starts doubtinghimselfIn Diagram 64 White un

derstood that the best winning pan was to sacrice theExchange at some point he

probem is guring out theright pointat: ow do you know when

it is right?

y ycan't signicantly improveyour position rther In thiscase White waited unti hehad exhausted a of thetempomoves Back coud usein the inevitabe w+ endng

Of course this applies bestto positions ike Diagram 64when the enemy has ite orno counterpay

at: As if you're paying without an opponent?No: Exactly White has that

uxury here, so he can waituntil the a has gone as faras it can go

"e most valuable commodi in the dgame

next to a proteed psed pawnpance. Anonu

62

GeerovParduice 199W toy

1. a4

No 1 d6 e7 2. xg6??xg6 xg6 e6 ad heres o (eg 4 e4 a

he oe o

1. e42 d6t e73

ll oo early ( xg6?? xg64 xg6 We6 S e4! a! ad Blackdras6 gS d7 fS c6 8WxeS xcS 9 bS!

3 a6

xg6 fS 4 a6 bxa6 S xa6ad he a- falls

4. x x5. x

d he s hrough heopposo: S e6 6 e4 -moves fS or 5 d7 6 fS c6 7xeS xcS 8 e4 bS 9 axb6 xb60 d6 ad he uees rs ads h checks a b8 ad a8

Chaper hree

g4g5g6 etc2 4

o:Rmmbr ha unss rushing his back o h


64/224

s-oseoepndence 198

W toy

1 W4

Not 1 xg4 xa6 2 Wf4 Wc7 J d6 4 g4 We7 5 g5 nd 6 Wg7 Back can then drast by movng hs forever Theg7 bockade can't be broken

1. . . . a7orse s 1 c7 2 a7 J

xg4 A move ke 1 bos 2 xg4 folloed by f4

g4g5etcAnd a move ke 1 d 1

os 2 xg4 c2 c8 and

2 xg4 xa3 Wb

t's a race but ths tme Black's loses

4 g45 g5. g7. wg5

Wdwec4

Black resed after because after 8 9 h6 Wg8the W can be drven o g8 by 0e4 W 11 h7 Wf6 12 h8

foloed by h7g8

h posiion has drioradino som mad t quningrac you can your imwih a manuvr or woorfour or vAso bcaus of h curious

naur of ndgams you cangain mpi by aking yourim

Pat: uh?o: ou hard m righ

And Diagram is a prfcxampl of iPat: Do his on slowy I hav

ral probms wih ndings vn simpl ons

o: Okay wha's happning is ha Whi can ong4 whnvr h wans.

And h ony way Back canhn draw is o m xg4wih xa folowd by

sidPat: Tha's a ong way o goo: Somims s ar sur

prisingy fas Anyway ifWhi aks on g4 immdialy Black gs his o g7in plny of im

Pat: Buo: Bu by aking his imwih 1 f4! Whi acuaygains wo movs Black hn

has o ry for a blockad on g8insad of g7 Bu g8 is a ighcoord squar and h can b drivn away byWhi's of h sam coor

Pat: I didn' hink hr washa much cculaion in hndgam

63

Noah: Someimes yo msb ll f

Re

at: ow's ha?N I h

1 movesN B h d d ' k

drawing posiion or he L


65/224

conb no generally fyo ke yor ime yo mayno have o s like Jos Capablanca d his endgeeyesCapa once came pon a

cople of amaers rying ogre o some cople ending like Diagram 68

Wiho even asking whose i was o move Capa

beg shing pieces ondnil he had ond a winningormaion or WhieThen he wen back o he

original posiion o see howo ge from poin A o poin B

at: Wha's he poin o hesory?

No: This-in an endgameVisug is oen mompot ang

64

No: In he opening yo cnge by on memory B henyo s cclaing In hemiddlegame i 's oen a maer of how well yo calclaeyor side atack as i raceso bea his * side aack oreple

at: And in he ending?No: Time is cheap B the

ability o visalize is oen

crucialere Whie is shooing for azgzwang posion-his ond and Black's on d

at: e can force hat canhe?

Noah: No b he c y Andby no hying he sets litleraps

at: Which Black evenllyfals ino-even thogh i es

No:Becase he didn' knowwha he los posiion lookedlike Whie did

at: Tha's wha yo mean byendgme eyes

Noah: Sre As I sd abohow a maser sees a ending wih one t and in moscases he can visalize-wiho really calclating-wheher i will reach he Philidor

cena nnng one.at: One hing I'm sre o

wasn bo wih endgameeyes

Noah: obody is a bo endgame player Bobby Fischerws already a twoime worldchampionship candidaewhen he decided o aserendgesby locing himself in a Manhaan hoel

room for hree months wihjs a se d a mess o booksat: hink Ill pass on ha

idea or a leas I won' hyNoah: There are beer wayshan Fischer's Come backomoow d I'll show yosomehing invalable yowon' nd in any book

Chapter hree

5. o a Bac has avoided al he

hie coiues 9 b3 adow 9 c6 1 c2 d7 1 1


66/224

er-ermeerSeva 1991

W toy

Because Bac's s ae o a

suaes hie has good wiig chaces

1 h5 d5 dl b7

Bac has ohe good passesch as 2 c4 ad i3 c2 e6

d3 he 4 dha hie is looig o is a

gzwag posiio hie /d3

acs /d7 ad Blac o move3. e c64. fl e8

o a Bac has avoided al heie aps Fo isace, 5 g6??woud acuay lose o 6 h3! adBlac is i zugzwag

Fo example 6 Wc6 Weo 6 We6 Wc5 o 6 h 7 f !

6.

Now he igh pass was 6 c46. . . e8??7. b7!

Hee 7 c7 8 d5 Wd6 alows he ey zugzwag posiiohe oe hie has bee payigo

ow 9 c6 1 c2 d7 1 1d o 9 d7! 1 d !! e6 e2 d7 2 d3!

The acua game ish was vey

simia7. .. . d78 d5! e8 b3 d7

1 dl !! e6Ad Bac esiged i view o

e2 d7 2 d3 ad:

7

N .

//h

:

.

hie ally eaches he wi

igposiio 12 We6 c o2 Wc6 1 We5

65

s


67/224

66

In which Noh expi why chess King like dieck in otll-nd tht in either gme two usuy e ({


68/224

g yone

O

l

c

Pat: Oay, whats this mysterious secret I wont nd in y

matche

White adds a sixth And ifBlac has one more defender

The d8piece is a Agai pomoio ca be pe


69/224

ous secret I won t nd in yboo?

No: Its the single most impoant principle of endgameplay- mh

Pat: The mismatch?No: Its other reminder

that endgame is not a middlegame Mismatches areuniue to the ending

Pat: How so?

No: In middlegames, thebod is lled with pieces andthe battle is lie a tugofwarWhite may have, say, ve

pieces attacing a d5 t but ifBlac has ve defenders, thesituation doesnt change unl

6

Blac has one more defenderits in balance again

Pat: d in the ending?No: Its more like handto

hand combat one pieceagainst otherAnd if you can mae it two

vs one, you have a favorableif not winning, mismatch

at: But it must depend onwhich o against which one

No: A bit But as you cansee from Diagram 7 even a cannot mae progressalone against a mere W+ t Against other single pieces

theW+ t c force progresseven against theoreticallystronger pieces

Pat: But creating a 2 vs situation only happens ifyoure ahead material, right?

vs Bk to o

ha happes iThe d8piece is a

Blac cao wi he i Thebes a uaided ca do is sop iom advacig e.g. d 2Wd4 b4 3. WeS cS 4. We6e3 ec.

The d8piece is a The i ca' be capued o

bocaded ad is pomoio ca'be sopped eg e8 2 WS d8 3. We6 e8 4. Wd7 ad S.d6 ec.

Agai pomoio ca be peveed. The ca sacice ieo he i ae . c

The d8piece is a The ca si sacice isel

e.g. b7 2 WS d6 3. We6c4!

The d8piece is a WThe i ca be haed oly by

opposiioad he oy becauseo saemae ( Wd7 2 WeS We7

3. d6 Wd7 4. WdS Wd8 . We6We8 6. d7 Wd8 Wd6.

Chapter Fou

Noah: Actuay sometimesyoucan createamismatchby


70/224

KovTmmaLinares 1992

W topy

1. e8t Wf

2 x6! Wx63 g5t Wf4 h6 Resis

For example, 4 .. . a4 (4 ... We6?1 h7) 5. We5 d 6. Wd6 b3 c a4 8. Wb6.

hite must create a wnningf : 9 .. . b5 9 a4! xa4 to Wxa6Qd7 1 b5 c8 12 Wa7 and b6-

7b8=*.

you can create amismatch bygiving up material

In Diagram 72 ite winsby ting theback W out ofthegame with moves 24

Pat: I see, because he mustprevent h 7h8*.

Noah: Precisey Back resigned when he saw therewas nothing to stop the Wom reaching the *-side d

creating a passed b-1 .Black must eventualy giveup the. for the 1 , on b5 orb7 ter which ite's tretus triumphanty to theW-side, where there's othermismatch.

Pat:That must be a pretty re

situation.

"Chess the movet ofpces eatin each other.

-Mcel Du

69

matche

No: Not eally It occusoen wen one paye gets

5 c5 \6. d6


71/224

"e fundamentalobje ofall milita combinations

to gain localsuPeriori con

centration. Re dra ed

aer

0

oen wen one paye getsis invoved in te gameong befoe its opposite numbe-as in Diagam 3.

It ooks ike Wite's soud ust win easiy buttee e tactica pobems( 1 e4 e).

at: But how can e get awaywit sackng the xcange?Wat's tat about?

No: It's basicay ust a tadeof one piece fo anotebutit aows a 2 vs. 1 mismatc todecide te game

at: Okay. I get you pointtat one guy as a big edgebecause is pays and teote doesn't. But in most

endings bot payes haves.

erooealnii 1988

W toy

1 c5!

hie makes o pogess by 1We4 e7 (2 W5? e51. 2. W4!

Now 2 g7 is bes2. xc5t?3 \xc5 ct

Ohewise he is jus ovewhemed ad he W is oo sow (3

4 d4Wg8 5 d6 6 Wc6We8 h5.

4. Wb6 c2

Back el o ime i a os posiio ae . d b4 d

Chapter F

Wg4. . re7

Noah: Ys, bu in most casshr is a an hra ofon

Back c us bary hodthforonhsidwhr


72/224

ovM Gureiel 1993

W toy

1 e4

No . Wc? g6 2 5? e51. . 2. h5 e3 e2!

aig: 3 Wc6 alows 4 We5!d 5 6 so 3 We6 4 4(ea o 67) c6 5 cWd6 6 W5 ad 5 W6 6 Wd5

3 54. 5!

Now 4 c3 5 c4 ad 6Wg6 o 4 e7 5 W6 ad 6

5. e5! 6so 5 c3 6 c xa2! ? 7

xc2 W 8 W6 ad e Bac Weve eaches h8 wie ie playsWg6x6g6 ad 5678

6 a4 t 5! c58 e6

so 8 b3 9 a6! d .g6 xe2 1 a7 ad quees

9 a6! Ri

hr is a an hra of onplayrs< to run to on wingor th ohr Tha's h casin Diagram 74

at: I don' g it Whi has apassd a bu h sts bygoing o h sid

Noah: H nds a scond winning p, such as winningh h . If Back hn shifshis W o h dfns of h6, h

aows a W+ vs imbc on h sidat: It's vn wors afr 5

5 I looks ik W+ vsnothing

Noah: Tha's whn Backrushs th back into acionbut its oo a Th g's

nish, d h simil 8

b

9. a6! in typical of mismachs

th for on h sid whrh h his xtra picbuth's hr mpi om salvation on th sid

at: So if mismachs ar hgras hing sinc h invnion of h mov, howdo I m hm?

Noah: You can wak ino aosing mismach of your ownmaking if you pay with ony

on pcat: or sur

71

No: But not always obvious. In Diagram 76 Black

matche

h6? c5).at: I get it. ter 2 c8 Black

4. cSt!No draw!


73/224

gplays a losing move becausehe thinks it will actually givehim the edge (... e3 2

72

g is playing without a . AndBack loses if he aowse6xd6 by paying . . . xb3.So the rest of the game . .

No: . .is another mismatchbetween his and the White+d.

at: Tell me, do mismatchesoccur in all endings?

No: No, you usuay need

s on both wings for a truemismatch. If all the s are onthe se side it's much easierfor a mismatched defender torush from one key square toanother one nearby.But with s on both wings,

particulary in + and

+ endings, it ends upmore like football th chess.

at: How's that?

BroeBUS Campiip 198

Bk toy

1 e

h 1. .. Wc5 Black's Wacivi esures a draw For isace 2.h6 e3 or 2 h7 b6 3 b7e3 (abeerry is 3 c7 Kb4 4c6 bu aer4 . Wxb35 xb6Wxc4 6. xd6 b4 boh sideswi have o give up heir s eveualy for he las eemy f

2 c8!

Now 2 xb3 3 We6 wis2 e5t


74/224

ee-GoHi 1988-89

W toy

1 dt! We7

s eier aer 1 . Wc7 2 d3whe Blacs W is cu o, leavigBlacs tiely yig o stop he rom advacig the e

d5! Oheise hie reverses di

recio ad advaces he b ae3 . Wd4! .

5 Wd7!

4 7t 65 4!Theateig o go bac o Pa

gd6 xb3 . c 1 ad eSe6 eadso ucea.

Otheise Pa B (9 Wc6 ad. bS) soo brigs about ucea.

9 e5! eTo sop . e6.

10 5Ad Bac esiged aer 10 11. 7 1. b6

IS. We7 o 13 ... Wd8 4. Wc6Wc IS. b7).

No: Wel, in Diagram 77,you can see that if White promotes a , he wins If hefais, it's a draw

at: I've had positions ike

thisd never gured outhow to get the two s movng

No:You don't need s,just one So White tries tostick his next to one

at: Where's the football comein?

No:Thin of Black's as afree sety He's the ast lineof defense

ballthat is, the enemy isat: So if White moves his to the side of the b

No: Black must folow suitOtherwise: touchdownIn this case, White con

stanty threatens to cut o theenemy until he nally isolates it It tus into + + against either with the b

or the e In the mnline Back has a choice between allowing Lucenawith the e or gettingmated with the b

at: So the secret to mismatches is to get your piecesghting weaker ones in a par

ticular section of the bod

73

No: Yes, but its not alwaysclear which are the weaker

Mimatche

Here the ony ce winningtry is a piece sacrice to set up

xb6! o 5 c5! xe6 daws4. 5 c8t5 7 7


75/224

ones.For example, Diagram 79

starts out with Back trying to

eiminate the *side as a factor.

at: Is it so clear that 2 axb4would have been a draw?

No: Usualy a endingwith only one is a draw

There are a few exceptions

youl le. But usually: draw.

74

y p pa + vs batte on the*side.

at: ute.

No: Oen a can stop a+ if only by commitingsuicide But Blacks bunderat move 3 was decisiveHe allowed a nal sacrice

of a , that le both his and on the wrong side of

the board.at: You said mismatches occur often in + s and+ s Why?

No: Both s and s can beoverpowered by s. e-member a unlike a isa shortrange piece that

moves sowly from one wingto the other.

at: Almost as slow as a .

eoBovSS.R. 1991Bk to y

1. 4!adad dawig saegy hie has oy oe Blac may

daw (2. axb4 axb4 3 xb4 e 74 d7 g6

Ad i 5 d5 g7 6 d8Bac has 6 e5! e7 c6

2 x4! 4 4 e7??

o avoid a mismach he h

o aac he b om behidha is 3 e5 4 b5 c4 5d7 b6 6 c6 c4 b6

5. c7 e7

d7!

so wiig is 6 b6 d5

d8W

d57. e7! xe78. Rei

Capter F

4. h5!5 W5

xh5 No: That's why the key to

A d i i (5 d6 6winning most + endings

from being carried outSomemes the key to win


76/224

rovHberMani 199W toy

1 a4! Wc7

O . .. We72 . Wd4 Wd6hieis wih . b2 ad 4. c4.Themai aleaive is 2 .. . W

e which hie ceaes a misach wih . xb6 xb6 4. Wc5d wis (4 . . d7 5. Wd b. Wc6 c4 d6 o 4 .. . a4 5.c6 e7 6. d6 Wd8 7 b6.

2 Wd4 d

Agai 2 .. . Wd6 . b2 ad 4.c4 wis we5! x5

Ad ie wis (5 .. . d6 6 .We6 b5 c5 or 5... Wd6 6.xb6Wc5 d7Wxd5 8. 6Wd4 9 xh5 We 1. We5.

g gis to create a mismatch.In Diagram 8 the threat of

a4b2c4 forces Black tochoose between putting hisr on the side, around f6or e7, or the side, aroundc

at: And whichever way hechooses, White runs the otherway Is that it?

No: Yesalthough it mayinvolve sacrices (2 f6 3.xb6! or, in the game, 3e5) for the to penetrate

at: If mismatches are such abasic winning technique, howcome I've never heard ofthem before?

No: Beats me. It aso pays amajor defensive role by pre-venng e only enemy reat

yningor drawingis to prevent your opponent fromcreating a mismatch

at: How's that?

75

Noah: Here's a case of winning by avoiding a mismatch

Msmathes

battle on either wing, withBlack's on the wrong side. 82

We6 nd ite emintes the atf by 6 d5 nd h8=!.}

2


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In Diagram 82 Black uses zugzwang to make sure the enemy goes in the same

direction as Black'sPat: Why is that good?Noah: Because White can

draw if he can get in a vs

76

Then White would be ableto sacrice his hi to get ridof the c5pawn

Pat: So how can Black win?Eventually he mutuse his to win the c i .No: True, but by that time

Black's i is on the sixth raand he can aord to give upthe Pat:

Not bad. But tel me, if Iace this mismatch businesswi I nally be able to understand what goes on in heending.No: Not sofast, my younggrossmeister. I said the mismatch is the ost important

technique in the endgame.But it ain't the only one-aswe' see next time.

Chrstansen-KensMani 1992

Blk toply

t ppers 1.. g5 wins-(2.

\d7 \d4! or 2 f4 with mismtch coming up}.But 2 W f4 3 e6! xg4

4 d5 e3 5 h6 xh6 6 xc5drws

1. Ae3!Zugzwng Now on 2 f4

3. h6 Bck hd 3 . g5! , whichleds to winning f ending,

4 h 7 d4 5 g8 ' xg4 or 4 ' e6xh6

(But not 3 xg4 4 h7 d4 5.

2


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Pat: Okay, Noah, I'm feeingsharp today. Like I'm ready

i ll h h k h

Tecnique

ners know how to win + vs. Y b bl l d i b

Ltte choce for Bck now5 g5 a5t


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to nai all the other key techniques you were talkingabout.

No: Good. Let's start byrecalling something one moretime ...

Pat: Lemme ess. n end-game is not a middlegame.

No: orrect. There e afew techniques which are

unique to endgames that youhave to leand zugzwangis at the top of the list.But you aready know a

good dea about zugzwg.Pat: I do?No: You must. Even begin

78

You probably leed it before you knew what aanchettoed or the aro-

ann Defense was.Pat: But I never saw that as

zugzwang.No: Zugzwang is actally amisnomer the way we use it.True ZZ is relatively rare andoccurs ony when neither side

has a benecial move.But zugzwang has come tomean when one player is runout of moves and it's such ausel term it hardly seemsworth correcting the error.ZZ is one of the relativey

mode contributions to end-

ge theory. In Philidor's dayhardly anyone understood it.

Pat: Even the great Andr?

W to o

te mkes no proess wth"threts, such 1 d (thetenng 2 h5 becuse of Wc5!

(or e5! And f 2 c, then 2 d5

1 a4!hs eds qucy to ft zug-

zwng (1 Wc5 2 51 e52. d3 f53 e3 g5

Bck contnues to be foced( e5 4 5

4. 'f h55 g3

a5tAnd hte repets the process

unt, sy, 8 8

Chapter Fie

No:Even him He gave Dia-a 84 as a mate in 8 IfPhiid h d i t d


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2 h7!And mtes next, thnks tozz (or Wb8 2 Wc6

W Wb6

Phiidor had appreciated he could have saved White 5or so moves

at: So sometimes you needzugzwang to win and sometimes it ust makes the winfaster?

No: You got it Zugzwangoccurs l e time in piece-up endings In fact, you oen

can't win even when a peceahead without ZZat: Why pieceup endings? I

thought they won themselves

Oer endgames acan' be won wiouzugzwang incude:

+ ' vs + 2s + ' vs + 2s

+ ' vs + + ' vs + + 2s vs

+ + vs

79

No: No, they e hd towin in other ways because ofthe nature of 2 vs battles

Tecque

gram 85 Nor can he count onusing his extra piece to crowdthe enemy out

f5 6 e7 g4 d6 J ndWg2

2. g2!


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the nature of 2vs battlesthat I mentioned yesterdayeven when it's two s vs one

The player with the extrapiece can't always count onpicking off the enemy suness he can force them toadvance, as in 2 d5 in Dia

80

the enemy outAfter 2 d5 there is no way

for Back to force the win of

any except by runningWhite out of movesAs Euel Lasker put it, a

right, in this case, the ght tomove, is aso an oligation

at: Sounds ike a high schoolgraduation speech

No: Well, Lasker thought was one of the few thingsthat didn't have a parale inreal lifeBut he was wrong There is

something in ife ike this zug-zwang: (see Bisguier pg 8)

at: ute But, tell me, how

does zugzwangthe chesskindhappen?Seems ike luck to me

jrGGal 1993Bk toy

he direct fS ows 2

e7 nd the d nd W oerhite serious counterpy Bckmust try to win s whie stopping

g3c we74 h4 !

ot 4 Wd7 becuse of 5 f5!

gxf5 6 h5 e4 d4! , drwingS. wc Wf!

ow 6 d6 Wf5 runs hiteout of use moves Zugzwng

6. 'c5 fSAnd here d6 We6 is nother

zugzwng since f5 gxf5 9 h5oses to 9 xh5 1 Wc6 e

7 Wd g2!And not Wxf4 8 We6! g4

9 Wf6 f5 1 d68 Wc5 4both dS-6-7 nd Wf6

1. e4! e re2. dS n view of 9 d6 h 0 Wc6

Or 2 cS e6 h4 J nd g

ite is out of movesf the white W temporizes (2

d7 fS d6 Bck cn begin queening rce, which he winsfter xf4 4 d5 gS S We6

Chapter Five

4 5 a5!6 g5

b7e7hxg5

Noah: Good players maketheir own luck. It takes only aminor slipupbyBlack inDia

zwang happening with somuch material on the boardNoah: Zugzwang actually oc


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RomansnBenjnGronien 1993Wt t ply

1 c7?

ith 1.. c4! Blac keeps actve and can lure hite into passivty (. c3? a!).

2 f6t! Wh8Not ... g7?? 3 e8 or 2 ..

W 3 xh7.3 g4! h64 h4

Nowg4-g5, rendering Black's

W useless, can't be avoidedMter 4 ... d7 hte wns a fwith 5. e8 b7 6 d6.

g7 hxg58 c59 a4

gwg7e4

The threat of a4aS and c8g8# quicly runs Black out ofmoves.

The game ended with 9 0. a6 2 b8 e! and Blac forfeited.

minor slipup by Black in Dia-gram 86 to alow White toparalyze him with simple

moves.Pat: Why should Black lose

such a position?Noah: There's nothing wrongwith it from a mateal orstructural view.But by allowing his pieces

to become psive, his options e slowly but steadilyreduced.Pat: I see. First he ties his tothe second rank. Then hec't move his from theside.No:Notice that Wite didn't

even need his to win thisending.

Pat: It's hd to imagine zug

Noah: Zugzwang actually oc-curs a ot more in pure 4endings or 1 endings, and

ess so with heavy pieces.Pat: Why is that?

"ZzUang ik geingtraed on a safe and inm ofa hhwa wh a

thundsto star. You don'want to move. But ou have to. "

-Aur Bisier

81

Techqe

No: Smy because wtbg wood tere's less cceto ru out of moves


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82

"at dlt about manver to ma the devious

route the most dire n

T A of a

stroyed the enymerely marches.

an n h 1805 Asagn

to ru out of movesYet t ca ae y

edgad wt ute a bt

at stake, as gr 8 sowsBors Sassky advced tos rst wold cosmatc wt te el of ZZ ts osto

at: Looks lke Wte coudgve t u mmedately He

does't ave a moveNo: So al Black eeded tocreate ZZ w to make tWte's m te same osto

at: NeatNo: Ad eve te foremostedge autores c mss

a as agram 88

1 Wd2hte h oy oe use move

2. a4 Wcow move og the e-eoses the c-

3 h d3!Ad with o move hte

must ow the f to dvce tovictory, 4 e 5 f e

Chapter Fie

at: Wat's aeg ere?No: Yur Averbak oe ofte est edgame alysts


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W toy

Wd7?Correct s d ! fter whch

Bck's W must gve wy, eg,

We4 2 d6 d Wc5 e 4Wc4 d2 5 cA better s d5! so tht

2 f6 We4! bocks the W out nddrws But 2 d7 ! wns (2 Wc4 e6 d 4 e5 etc

1 d3!2 c Wd43 W5

d drws (4 h Wc2 4 c b2

te est edgame alystsever oce gave 88 as a drawsayg d7 was te best

but sucetwg tryYet t's a ey w

at: I get t cever drec-to te black goes tewte goes te ooste

No: A commo teme te edgame

at:How do you kow weyou're close to zugzwag?

No:Tere are usuay cluesat: Lke wat?

Several Englh-language replacemen for zugzwang haveeen sueste Among them:

ove-oundlank walk

ovideSqueeze (a rie term)

83

No:Lke we you see yourooet as just about ruoutofgoodmoves, asTalad

Technique

peg ere?

Conterng the threat of* 1 xa2 with a gger threat of*h8

* t


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out of good moves, as Tal ad te revous examle.I agram 89 you ca

readly see tat Black's olygood "s wt te * s.. .*cWt a bt more exa

to, you ca see tat f tewte * reaces a7, were tattacks 3 s, oe wl fal.

at: So e just maeuvers utBlack rus out of usefumovesad tat aes after 2 . g ! It ooks a loteaser ta I tougt

No: It usualy takes more tow ta just radom maeuversaltoug t oe looks

exactly lke tat. Cosderagram 90Wat do you tk s a

84

at: Let's see. Wte oly astwo s le ad tey're bot

s. Ts must be ard to.

No: I fact, tere e someedgs wc s ebetter t ceter s. Remember, edgames .. .

at: . are ot mddegames.Eoug already! I got t.But wat's te wg a

ere?No: Te best la, sometmes, s o aor tscase, severa lasWte ws by sg back

d fort, attackg te a ad

c s wle treateg tobrg s to Black's c,at e4 or c4.

aekoGrabarkKawice 1991W toy

1 *e5!! h7

Zgzwang s relatively rare n*+ endings t here s one: 1 *c6 2 *8 g7 *a7 winning a eg *J 4 *xcS

2 wgl!Estalshingzgzwang snce 2

*c6 *e7 g7 4 *a7 is againlost and so s 2 g8 *e7 and4 *a

2 h3 *e7 *f54 *d8!

4 5 h2 *t!

*lt*2Rei

kBroeSan Francc 1991

W toy

1. a4 c72 Wd3 h5

Other moves lose the a or

permit the whte to go to e4/c43 aS g4Or h4 4 a4 and Black

give way (4 .. . e5 5. c4 4 6 Wxc5 d 7. c6).4 4 eS

hi d W f

Chapter Fie

91at: But e ca't seem to break

troug He just kees reeatg te osto

RealzgtatBack's s become rogressvely weerad were o dger of


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hites and W e too ft

r4 .. . e6 5. xa6 h4 6. e3.S 4t!

orcing a choice: On 5 .. . Wd5f e7 e6 a7itepickso a - .S fS c4 7 e3 weS

Also: .. h4 8. a4 g3 ses to

! hxg3 hxg3 10. W e5

xa6 d4 2. xg3 c4 3. .8 4 c79 4t! fS

And here 9 .. . Wd5 10. e7d6 1. h7 or9 . . . Wd6 1 Wd3e6 a4 c7 2 Wc4 andBack is ot ofgood pses ( 12 ... h43 Wd3! wins a W-side .

10 c4! 11 4

Back is lost ecase he mstmove ( 1 1... c7 2.

1 1 h412 x g313 g3 g314

And Black resigned soon after1 1 xg3 e4 1 and W

eatg te ostoNo: It oly looks lke reet-

tos No ostos occurs

more ta oceat: Ad yet after moves of

sg back ad fort wts W d ...

No: Wte ws trougzugzwag, pure ad mpe

at: Eve toug e startedwt oly two s Amg

No:But e ad eoug wg las I fact, e admore as ta sI ts case Wte ad tree

ways to w(a) by caturg te a ;(b) by elmatg al te -

sde s ; ad(c) byeetratgatc4re4wt s W

ad were o dger ofromotgeped Wte

at: But ultmately s "lwas just to go from oe w-g dea to aoter, uBlack w out of moves

No: True Ad somemescreatg zugzwag reuresaoter secal tecuetemo gg

at: Ad tere's also temolosg, rgt?

85

Andrew Soltis - Grandmaster Secrets, Endings

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