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 Rook endgamesAt first - nothing interesting: V. Topalov - L. Aronian, XXVII Linares Linares/Spain (8), 21.02.2010 White move: 42.Re7+ Kf6 43.Rxb7 Ra5 44.Rb2 |
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Note to previous message |
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It is surprising.... Here is the first: the game that put an end to my beginning winning run on GK. The game had been a Dragon Defence in which black had repulsed White's attack by giving up a piece for three pawns. after Black's 46th move (46...Kc5-b4) the following position had been reached: White: ionadowman Black:feyenoord w I couldn't see that White had any winning chances at all - and in the face of 4 connected passed pawns, drastic measures were called for. In fact, for the last two or three moves I had been angling for this position: 47.Nxe6! fxe6 48.Rxe6 Kxa4 Lone Rook vs R+2P. Is the game salvageable? The main idea is to pick up one of Black's extra pawns. 49.Rg6 Rf4 50.Rg5 Kb4 The only way to immediately save the d-pawn was 50...d4. Then what? White plays 51.Kd3 Kb4 52.Rd5 g3 53.Rg5 Rf3+ 54.Kxd4 Kb3 55.Ke4 Rc3 56.Kf4 and Black's remaining pawn falls. 51.Rxd5 Kc4 52.Rd8? ... Played with some idea of cutting off the White K. At the time I thought this was OK, but it might have led to a loss. Black could now have played 52...g3! and won the game, as after 53.Rg8 Rf2+ 54.Kd1 g2 White is faced with an imminent ...Rf1+ followed by ...g1=Q. White can try checking, but that resource won't last forever. After 52...g3, the alternate defence 53.Rd1 also won't do: 53...g2 54.Rg1 Rf2+ 55.Kd1 Rf1+ etc. Finally, a counterattack by 53.Rc8+ also fails in the long run: 53...Kd4 54.Rg8 Rf2+ 55.Kb3 g2, after which the BK will work his way to f1 when promotion is inevitable. The correct move was the more obvious one: place the rook behind the pawn: 52.Rg5!! After that, Black's winning chances would have diminished appreciably. 52...Rd4? Again, I thought this good at the time ... but it is far inferior to ...g3. 53.Rg8 Kd5 54.Kc3 Ra4 55.Rg5+ Ke6 56.Kd3 Kf6 57.Rg8 Kf5 58.Ke3 Ra3+ 59.Kf2 Ra2+ 60.Kg3 ... Draw agreed. Final position: b Black can no longer break through. Rather a lucky draw, but I shouldn't have needed any luck had I played 52.Rg5! Cheers, Ion |
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Topalov,V - Gelfand,B, 2010 White's move (33th), [Notes by Anish Giri]: 33.Rxf6 Rxe3 34.Rxd6 Kf7. Maybe Topalov missed the fact that the pawn ending after 35.Rd7+ is drawn. At this stage I was thinking how remarkable it was that Grischuk had won Linares twice... when I checked the game again and saw that Topalov had kept some winning chances alive with his doubled c-pawns against Grischuk's one on the a-file. 35.Kc2 Re2+ 36.Kb3 Ke7 37.Rd4 c5 38.Rd3 b6 39.Ka3 Rc2 40.Rd5 a5 41.Rd3 Rh2 42.b3 Rc2 43.Ka4 Rxa2+ 44.Kb5 Rb2 45.Kxb6 a4 46.Kxc5 Rxb3 47.Kc6 a3 48.c5 I thought that Topalov still had some winning chances here, but my engines said that the position was drawn in no less than five different ways. Gelfand chose a sixth, which was one of the losing ones however... 48...Ke8?! made it difficult. 48...a2! 49.Rd7+ Ke6 50.Ra7 Rb2 51.Kc7 Kd5! was one of the possible draws, but the position is very tricky and complicated. Still I must say I expected Gelfand to find a draw, since he had a lot of time on the clock. 49.Rh3 a2? was logical, but most likely the losing move. After this there were no more ups and downs, and Topalov went on to win the game and the tournament! 50.Rh8+ Ke7 51.Ra8 Rb2 52.Kc7 Rc2 53.c6 Rb2 54.c4 Rc2 55.Ra6 Rb2 56.c5 Ke6 57.Ra5! On Playchess someone pointed out that 57.Kc8? leads to a draw: 57...Kd5 58.c7 Kxc5 and White can no longer win. 57.Ra5 was an "only move". 57...Rc2 58.Kb7 Rb2+ 59.Kc8 Ke7 60.c7 Ke8 61.Rxa2! Pretty. 61...Rxa2 62.Kb7 1-0. |
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Bu Xiangzhi - McShane,Luke J, 2010 Black's 39th move [Notes of Karsten Mueller] 39. ... Rb6 40.a4 Rb8 41.Kf3 c6 42.Rc4 Kd6 43.Rc5 Rh8 44.Ra5 h4 45.gxh4 Rxh4 46.Ke2 e4 47.Kf2 Rh2+ 48.Kg3 Rc2 49.Kf4 Rxc3 50.Rxa7 Rb3 51.Rb7 Ra3 52.a5 c5 53.bxc5+ Kxc5 54.Ra7 Ra4 55.Kf5 Kd6 56.a6 Ra5+ 57.Kxe4 Ke6 58.Ra8 Kf7 59.Kd4 Kg7 60.Kc4 Kf7 61.Kb4 Ra1 62.Kb5 Rb1+ 63.Kc5 Rc1+ 64.Kb6 Rb1+ 65.Ka7 Rb3 66.Rb8 Rxe3 Barriers and bodychecks These are both important weapons in rook endings because they are directed against the opposing king, whose activity can not infrequently decide the day or secure the draw: 67.Rb5? In principle it is correct to limit the freedom of the black king and to create more free space for his own one. But this decision should have been delayed. [67.Kb7! Rb3+ 68.Ka8 Ra3 69.a7 and now White can react flexibly, according to what Black will do: 69...Ke6 (69...Kg6 70.Kb7 Kf5 71.a8Q Rxa8 72.Rxa8 Ke4 Now White can demonstrate good technique with the following intermediate check: 73.Re8+ Kd4 74.Rf8 Ke5 75.Kc6 f5 76.Kc5 Ke4 77.Kc4 f4 78.Re8++- ; After 69...f5 the king is shut off with 70.Rb6 .) 70.Rb5! Once the black king has decided to go through the centre, this barrier is the correct procedure. 70...f5 71.Kb7 Kf6 72.Rb6+ Ke5 73.Ra6 Rb3+ 74.Kc7+- ] 67...Kg6! Luke McShane steps around the barrier. 68.Kb6 Re6+ 69.Ka5 Re7 70.Kb4 Re4+ 71.Kc5 Re5+ 72.Kb6 Re6+ 73.Ka5 Re7 74.Rb7 Re5+ 75.Kb4 Re4+ 76.Kc5 Re5+ 77.Kd6 Ra5 78.a7 f5 79.Kc7 Ra1!? Luke McShane cleverly avoids endgames with a queen against a rook and pawn.. [79...f4? 80.Rb6+ Kf5 81.Rb5+ Rxb5 82.a8Q is theoretically lost. After 82...Re5 83.Kd6 White will mate in 66 moves according toTablebase.] 80.Kb6 f4 81.Rb8 Kf5! It is important to able to deeliver a bodycheck later. 82.a8Q Rxa8 83.Rxa8 Ke4 84.Ra4+ Ke3 85.Ra3+ Ke2 [85...Ke4 86.Kc5 f3 is also playable.] 86.Kc5 f3 87.Kd4 f2 88.Ra2+ Kf3!? This bodycheck is a good practical decision. [88...Ke1?! 89.Ke3 f1N+ 90.Kd3 Ng3 is of course also a draw, but naturally a lot more painstaking.] 1/2-1/2 |
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Topalov-Gelfand... But then, although the defender's drawing chances a pawn down are very good with all the pawns on one side of the board, it's by no means a 'gimme'. The stronger side has all the few winning chances going, and he's entitled to make the best of them he can. |
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I have a R & P ending for you! This one is, I think, a knife edge, do you agree? Were we right to split the point here? A full annotated form of the game will appear shortly.  game You the jury decide. Have a nice day. Bye for now. Joanne |
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I agree... w Now: 38.c6! Ke6 39.b5! ... Not 39.c7? The pawns need to reestablish contact. 39...Kd6 40.c7 Rf8 41.Rb7! Kd7 42.b6 a3 43.Rb8! Rc8! 44.b7! Rxc7 45.Rd8+ Kxd8 46.b8=Q+ Kd7 47.Qb3! ... White wins the a-pawn (47...Ra7?? 48.Qf7+) and has very good prospects of winning the game. |
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High tricky Rooks: Romanov vs Vescovi Black 46th move. Notes by Karsten Mueller 46.... Kf7 47.Rb5 Kxf6 48.Rxa5 Rxc3 49.Rc5 Kg5 50.a5 Ra3 51.Rxc4 Ra2+ 52.Kg3 Ra3+ 53.Kg2 Rxa5 54.Rb4 Ra2+ 55.Kg3 Ra3+ 56.Kg2 Re3 57.Ra4 Re2+ 58.Kg3 Re3+ 59.Kg2 Re4 60.Ra3 Rg4+ 61.Kf2 h5 62.Kf3 Kh4 63.Ra5 Kg5 64.Ra8 Rf4+ 65.Kg2 Rb4 66.Rg8+ Kf4 67.Rh8 Rb2+ 68.Kh3 Ke3 69.Rxh5 f4 70.Re5+ Kf2 71.Kg4 f3 72.Rf5 Rb4+ A rook which is full of tricks In general the there is quite a large possibility of a draw in rook endings. But sometimes astonishing accuracy is required. 73.Kg5? In principle the idea is to play actively. But Romanov has overlooked a venomous trick After [73.Kh3! he could hold the draw: 73...Rb8 (73...Rb3 74.Ra5 Re3 75.Ra2+ (But not 75.Kg4? Kg1 76.h4 f2 77.Rf5 Re4+ 78.Kg5 Re5!-+ ) 75...Kf1 76.Kg4 f2 and now White's counterplay with the h-pawn come in in good time, because no tricks on the part of the black rook can affect it: 77.h4 Kg1 78.Rxf2 Kxf2 79.h5= ) 74.Ra5 The rook goes for as great a checking distance as possible. 74...Rh8+ 75.Kg4 Kg2 76.h4 f2 77.Ra2 Rg8+ 78.Kf4!! (After 78.Kf5? the black rook can work wonders: 78...Ra8 79.Rxf2+ (79.Rxa8 f1Q+ and the queen will have the upper hand. But Black will have to win the queen versus rook endgame by technical means, bceause the white king can reach its rook: 80.Ke6 Qc4+ 81.Kd6 Qf4+ 82.Kd7 ) 79...Kxf2 80.h5 Kg3! This diversion wins. The rook pawn can still promote, but unfortunately only to a helpless knight: 81.h6 Kh4 82.Kg6 Ra6+ 83.Kg7 Kg5 84.h7 Ra7+ 85.Kg8 Kg6 86.h8N+ Kf6-+ ) 78...Ra8 79.Rxf2+ Kxf2 80.h5 The black king is being bodychecked, so the position is drawn.] 73...Kg2 74.h4?! [The surprising 74.Rf8!? sets a trap: 74...Rd4 Black must force White into zugzwang. The direct (74...f2? , on the other hand, allows 75.h4 Kg3 76.Rxf2 Kxf2 77.h5= ) 75.Rf5 Rd8 76.h4 Rg8+ 77.Kh6 f2 78.h5 Rg3 79.Rxf2+ Kxf2 80.Kh7 Kf3 81.h6 Kf4 82.Kh8 Kf5 83.h7 Kg6 84.Kg8 Ra3-+ ] 74...Kg3! This retreat prepares the decisive intervention of the rook. 75.h5 Rg4+ 76.Kh6 [Nor does 76.Kf6 help, because after 76...Rf4 77.Rxf4 Kxf4 78.h6 f2 79.h7 f1Q 80.Kg7 the black king is in the winning zone. (80.h8Q Qa1+-+ ) 80...Qg2+ 81.Kf8 Qa8+ 82.Kg7 Qb7+ 83.Kg8 Qc8+ 84.Kg7 Qd7+ 85.Kg8 Qe8+ 86.Kg7 Qe7+ 87.Kg8 Kg5 88.h8Q Kg6-+ ] 76...f2 and Romanov resigned in view of 77.Rxf2 Kxf2 78.Kh7 Kg3 79.h6 Kf4 80.Kh8 Kf5 81.h7 Kg6 82.Kg8 Ra4-+ 0-1 |
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Difficult choice White has a difficult choice to make. In the game followed 58. a8Q and White lost after Black's exact reply 58...e1Q+! 59. Rxe1 Rxa8 60. Re7 h5 61. Re5 Kxg3 62. Rg5+ Kxh4 63. Rxg6 Rd8 64. Rg1 Rd5 65. Rg8 Kh3 66. Rg1 h3 67. Rg8 Rd4 68. Rg1 Rg4 69. Re1 Rg3 70. Re4 Rf3 71. Re8 Kg2 and White resigned. Could White have saved the game from the diagrammed position? |
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baronderkilt 04-Mar-10, 14:17 |
58. h5 |
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Perhaps 58.Ke1 instead will hold things together for White. This would prevent 58. ... e1Q+. It seems to have a real chance of success at a draw. But this is a bit of Monday morning quarterbacking. I probably would have played 58.a8Q anyway in an over-the-board game and might have lost it too. |
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My opinion is that any drawing combination would have to start with 58.Ke1. But I don't have confidence that it will work. |
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It's pitty White's move. Can he save the game? |
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Looks unlikely... 1.g4 d4 2.g5 hxg5 3.Rxg5 d3 4.Rg2 ... (4.Rg3 d2 5.Rd3 Rd6 is hopeless for White) 4... Kc5 5.h4 ... (what else is there? Useless is 5.Rd2; Kc4) 5...Kc4 6.h5 Kc3 And Black wins comfortably. I haven't been able to find a better plan for White. |
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I should have mentioned... |
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Tiny subtleties often determine White's 37th move (notes of Karsten Mueller): 37.Ke1 Kd5 38.Kd2 Rb8 39.b6 Kc6 40.Kxd3 Rd8+ 41.Kc4 Kb7 42.Rb2 f4 43.f3 Rd1 44.Kc5 Rh1 45.Re2 Rc1+ 46.Kd5 Kxb6 47.Re6+ Kc7 48.Rxh6 Rg1 49.Rh7+ Kc8 Technique in rook endings In rook endings subtleties often spell the difference between victory and a draw. In the following endgame Wolfram Heinig displays good technique and takes the scalp of a strong grandmaster: 50.Kc6! [50.h4? gxh4 51.Rxh4 Rxg2 52.Rxf4 Kd7 would, on the other hand, only be a draw.] 50...Rc1+ [50...Kd8 51.Kd6 Rd1+ (Fleeing further with 51...Ke8 doesn't help because White can then simply dispose of the pawns: 52.Ke6 Kf8 53.Kf6 Ke8 (53...Kg8 54.Rg7+ Kh8 55.Rxg5+- ) 54.Re7+ (54.Kxg5?! Rxg2+ 55.Kxf4 does also win, because the black king is cut off on the 8th rank, but it would be bad technique.) 54...Kf8 55.Re2+- ) 52.Ke6 Rd2 53.g4 fxg3 (53...Rd3 54.Kf6 Rxf3 55.Kxg5 Ke8 56.Rh6 Rf1 57.Rf6 f3 58.h4+- ) 54.hxg3 Ra2 55.Kf5 Ra5+ 56.Kg4 Ke8 57.Rg7+- ] 51.Kd6 Rd1+ 52.Ke6 Rg1 53.h4! Now the white king has a big enough lead over its counterpart. 53...Rxg2 54.hxg5 Rxg5 55.Rf7 Rg6+ [55...Kd8 56.Rf8+ Kc7 57.Rxf4 Rg8 58.Rd4 Re8+ 59.Kf7 Rh8 60.f4 Rh4 61.Kf6 Kc6 62.Kg5 Rh8 63.f5+- ] 56.Ke7! An important bodycheck. 56...Ra6 57.Rf8+ Kc7 58.Rxf4 Ra1 59.Rc4+ Kb6 60.f4 Kb5 61.Re4 Ra7+ 62.Kd6 Ra6+ 63.Ke5 Kc6 64.Rd4!? The barrier represents good technique! 64...Ra8 65.f5 The pawn crosses the middle of the board and the game is decided. White will reach the winning Lucena position because the checking distance of the black rook is no longer big enough. 65...Re8+ 66.Kf6 Kc5 67.Rd1 and Prusikin resigned. One sample line goes: [67.Rd1 Rf8+ 68.Ke6 Re8+ 69.Kf7 Re2 70.f6 Kc6 71.Kg7 Rg2+ 72.Kf8 Rf2 73.f7 Kc7 and now White wins by building a bridge: 74.Rd4 Rf1 75.Ke7 Re1+ 76.Kf6 Rf1+ 77.Ke6 Re1+ 78.Kf5 Rf1+ 79.Rf4+- ] 1-0 |
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Why does 114.f7 not win? 36th White's move (notes by Karsten Müller): 36.Rxc5 Ra3+ 37.R5c3 Rxc3+ 38.Rxc3 f5 - Rook ending... 39.Rc7+ Kg6 40.Rc6+ Kg7 41.Rc4 fxe4+ 42.Rxe4 Rf5+ 43.Ke3 Ra5 44.Rd4 Re5+ 45.Re4 Ra5 46.h3 Ra3+ 47.Ke2 Ra2+ 48.Kf3 Kf6 49.h4 gxh4 50.Rxh4 Kg5 51.Rb4 Ra3+ 52.Kg2 Ra2 53.Rf4 Ra1 54.Rf8 Kg6 55.Kh3 Ra4 56.Rg8+ Kf7 57.Rg4 Ra2 58.Rf4+ Kg6 59.Kh4 Ra5 60.Rg4+ Kf6 61.Rb4 Ra2 62.f3 Ra3 63.Kg4 h5+ 64.Kf4 Ra6 65.Rd4 Rb6 66.Ra4 Rc6 67.Ra5 Rc4+ 68.Ke3 Kg6 69.Ra6+ Kf5 70.Ra5+ Kg6 71.Rd5 Rc6 72.Ke4 Re6+ 73.Kd4 Re1 74.Rd6+ Kf5 75.Rh6 Kg5 76.Rh8 Ra1 77.f4+ Kg6 78.Rg8+ Kf6 79.Ke3 Ra3+ 80.Kf2 Ra2+ 81.Kf3 Rh2 82.Rh8 Kg7 83.Re8 Kf6 84.Re5 Kg6 85.Re6+ Kf7 86.Re2 Rh1 87.Kg2 Ra1 88.Kh3 Rh1+ 89.Kg2 Ra1 90.Re5 Kg6 91.Rg5+ Kh6 92.Rb5 Kg6 93.Rb6+ Kg7 94.Re6 Rb1 95.Kf2 Ra1 96.Rd6 Rb1 97.Ke3 Rb3+ 98.Rd3 Rb1 99.Rd5 Kg6 100.Rg5+ Kh6 101.Re5 Rb3+ 102.Kf2 Kg6 103.Re6+ Kf5 104.Rh6 As a general rule activity is the guiding principle for rook endings. If the defending side develops a lot of counterplay, then this is hard to overcome. 104...Ke4? The king heads off in the wrong direction. However, the refutation of this move is extremely hard to find. [After 104...Kg4 105.Rg6+ Kh3 it is hard to overcome the active black forces, e.g. 106.Rg5 (106.f5 h4 107.g4 Rb2+ 108.Kf3 Rb3+ 109.Kf4 Rb4+ 110.Ke5 Rxg4= ) 106...h4 107.gxh4 (107.g4 Rb2+ 108.Kf3 Rb3+ 109.Ke4 Kg3= ) 107...Kxh4 108.Rg8 Ra3 109.f5 Ra5= ; 104...Rb2+? 105.Kf3 Rb3+ 106.Kg2 Rb2+ 107.Kh3+- ] 105.Kg2! The king has to play its part too. [On the other hand, the greedy 105.Rxh5? Rb2+ 106.Kg1 Kf3 107.Rg5 Rb1+ 108.Kh2 Rb2+ 109.Kh3 Rb1 spoils things and leads only to a draw.] 105...Rb2+ [105...Rb5 106.Kh3 Kf3 107.Kh4 Rb1 108.Rxh5+- ] 106.Kh3 Kf3 107.Rxh5 Rg2!? sets a trap. 108.Rg5? Here the rook is getting in the way of its own king. [The only way to win is by the immediate activation of the king with 108.Kh4!! , because after 108...Rxg3 109.Rg5 Black cannot avoid the exchange of rooks.] 108...Rg1 109.Kh2 Rg2+ 110.Kh1 Rf2 111.Rg6!? White is now threatening to set his pawns going in the typical fashion by f4-f5. There is only one antidote to that. 111...Ra2? [The king must retreat immediately with 111...Ke4 so that White cannot push forward. Then White can make no progress, e.g. 112.Kg1 Ra2 113.Rb6 Kf3 114.Rb3+ Kg4 115.Kf1 Rc2 116.Re3 Ra2 117.Re2 Ra3= ] 112.f5 Ra5 113.f6 Rf5 [After 113...Ra8!? too, White must first improve the position of his king before he can set his pawns in motion. 114.Kg1 (QUESTION OF SUBJECT: 114.f7? fails to 114...Rf8 115.Rg7 Kf2!= ) 114...Rb8 115.f7 Rf8 116.Rg7 Ke4 117.g4 Ke5 118.g5 Ke6 119.g6 Kf6 120.Rg8+- ] 114.Kg1! Now the advance of the linked passed pawns decides the day in White's favour: 114...Ke4 115.g4 Rf4 116.Kg2 Ke5 117.g5 Kf5 118.Rg7 Ke6 119.Kg3 Rf1 120.Kg4 1-0 ------------------------------------------ QUESTION OF SUBJECT: Why does 114.f7 not win? fen=""r7/8/5PR1/8/8/5kP1/8/7K w - - |
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I'll put up the diagram... |
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maca 10-Apr-10, 05:23 |
How does 115. ...Kf2 secure a draw? Regards, MaCa. |
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loreta 10-Apr-10, 07:03 |
Deleted by loreta on 10-Apr-10, 07:04.
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maca: How does 115. ...Kf2 secure a draw? maca: Black treatens checkmate, so only moves are: 116. Rh7 Kxg3 and 116. Rg8 Rxf7 - both - with drawish position... |
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When doing it to fast www.chessgames.com The future world champion got winning position But than the chess veteran used his trick of old masters – started talking, complain to old age and his blunders… And really, after the War it happened for him to go to sleep during a game. 59. … b2 – and there the veteran revived… Smyslov was wining in the simple way: 59...Ke4 60.Rb4+ Kd5 61.Rxf4 Rh1 62.Rb4 b2 , but he decided to do all things at once. 60.Rxb2! – and there Vasily realized 60...Rh2 61.Kf3! Rxb2 – Stalemate 60...Kg4 61.Kf1. – the draw, ½-½ |
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Strange moves... 40. Rxh7 - (40.e7!? Kf7 41.Kc4 Rc8 42.Kd5 Rc2 43.e8 Kxe8 44.Rxh7 Re2! is ok for Black) 40... Rxe6 41.Rh5 Kg7 (41. ... Re3 42.Kc2 Ke7 43.Kd2 Rf3 44.Rxf5 Rh3, =) 42.Rxf5 - the Draw, 1/2-1/2 [Vladimir got difficult position but was able to save the game.] Maybe, the most interesting move in the game was 25. ... Be6!? 25. ... Be6!? 26. Kf2!? - unexpected! |
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It looks as though... Here's something that might be of interest from my own GK archives: White: ionadowman vs sago Position after Black's 28th move: w Instead of protecting the K-side pawns, I decided to attck in the centre: 29.Kc4! Rxf2 30.Kd5 Rxg2 The plan was to force Black to give up Bishop for the d-pawn, with the hope that with White's own bishop to help, the remaining flank pawn would be able to overcome the Black trio. Notice that this plan would not have been viable had White's bishop stood upon a light-coloured square! Can you guess why? 31.Ke6 White is much more aggressively placed now! 31...Rc2 32.d5 Rc8 33.d6 Re8+ 34.Kd5 Rb8 35.Ra7 Rd8 36.Kc6 h6 Something has to give: Black in under close investment. w 37.Rc7 Bxd6 38.Bxd6 Now everything hinges on the survival of White's lowly h-pawn. If Black can capture it - even at the cost of all three of his own - the game will be drawn. 38...g5 39.Be5 Ra8 40.Kd5 Ra6 41.Bd4 f4 42.Ra7 Rxa7!? A mild surprise, but the alternative, ...Rg6 is none too appealing after 43.Ke5; 44.Kf5 etc. Once the rooks went, I really began to fancy my chances. 43.Bxa7 Kf7 44.Ke5! A crucial finesse, I thought at the time. 44.Ke4 seemed to lead to a draw, with Black's pawns, assisted by the King, swarming down upon white's lone hero. b 44...Kg6 45.Bf2 h5 46.Ke4 Kf6 47.Bb6! ... The threat is 47...Kg6 48.Bd8! and now: [a] 48...Kh6 49.Kf5 or [b] 48...h4 49.h3 f3 50.Bb6 Kh5 51.Kf5. All Black's pawns will fall. Instead, he cut to the chase: 47...Ke6? 48.Bd8 (1-0). |
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ionadowman 24-Apr-10, 16:08 |
Deleted by ionadowman on 24-Apr-10, 16:08.
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Ooops... w |
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I forgot... In an effort to make amends, here is another from my archives. In this, I had once again to defend a rook endgame a pawn behind. This was a Team Game from my 'Fighting Warriors' days. White agmac Black ionadowman Here is the plot after White's 27th move (27.f4) b 27...Ne7!? Black hopes to manoeuvre the knight to d4, but figures that White will almost certainly exchange minor pieces to avoid that. On the whole I thought the 'pure' rook ending offered the better chances for Black to hold. 28.Bxe7 Kxe7 29.g4 ... At the moment, White's extra pawn is backward. This move seeks to undermine Black's centre by 30.f5. Hence Black's reply. 29...g6 30.h3 h5 Rather counter-intuitive at first sight, but had White played 30.h4 last move this would still have been played. It is weakening, but it also blunts White's attack for the moment. 31.gxh5 gxh5 32.Kc2!? Rd7 33.Kd3 Rb7 34.Rc6 Rb3 35.Rc3 Rb1 His attack on a3 having been repulsed, Black tries a raid behind enemy lines. Note that Black is not in the slightest interested in exchanging rooks. The resulting pawn endgame would be just about a 'gimme' win for White. 36.Rc7+ Ke8 37.Rc6 Rb3+ 38.Rc3 Rb1 All very cagey. But White has achieved this much: the BK has been driven back. 39.Ke4 ... Setting up for an assault upon the Black centre. What resources can Black now call upon? 39...Re1+ 40.Re3 Rd1! This move stops the advance of both the d- and f-pawns! 41.Rd3 Re1+ 42.Kf3 .... White looks for a new plan, going after the h-pawn. Black finds a new counter-attack. 42...Rb1 43.Kg3 a5! 44.Kh4 a4! Black's idea is that if 45.Kxa5 Rb3! and it will be White seeking the draw. Note the timing. Suddenly Black desires a rook exchange in order to obtain a winning pawn endgame. 45.d5! ... White reverts to Plan A: the assault upon the centre. 45...exd5 46.Rd4! ... A fine finesse. After 46.Rxd5? Rb3 Black picks up the a-pawn and obtains good drawing chances. 46...Rb3 47.Rxa4 d4! White doesn't have much choice but to take this pawn... 48.Rxd4 Rxa3 49.Kxh5 Rxh3+ White's King had to take on h5: that was the only move available to it! Now that both flanks have been cleared, White has to rely on what remains: his centre majority. However, all the foregoing has at least eliminated Black's centre. But Black's defensive task is also simpler. His plan here is to bring the rook well over to the Q-side, and his King to the K-side - yielding a 'book draw' position. 50.Kg5 Ke7 51.Ra4 Rb3 52.Kf5 Rc3 53.Rb4 Rc7 A position very like this appears in Levenfisch and Smyslov's Batsford book "Rook Endings" (P94, Diag. 149), the only difference being the White rook is shown at b6 rather than b4: w It was this position for which I had been aiming for the last 4 moves. Why? "book" draw! 54.Kg5 Rc5 55.Rg7+ Kf8!! The key to Black's defence. White would have won after 55...Ke8? or 55...Ke6? [a] 55...Ke8? 56.f5 Rxe5 (say) 57.Kf6 Rc5 58.Rb8+ Kd7 59.Rf8 should win; [b] 55...Ke6 56.f5+ Kxe5 57.Re7+ Kd6 58.Rxf7 and wins. With the text move, the King heads for the 'short' side. 56.f5 Rxe5 This looks drawish, don't it? But Black cannot save his f-pawn. How, then, can this be drawn when the previous note indicated losses when the f-pawn fell? The difference is the proximity of Black's King. In those lines, he was driven off to the Q-side. Here he keeps close by aiming for the King's. 57.Kf6 Re1 58.Rxf7+ Kg8 59.Rg7+ Kh8 I think 59...Kf8 was safe enough, but I allowed myself to be guided by my mentors, Messrs Levenfisch and Smyslov. 60.Rg4! ... Still probing. This might be a 'book draw' but White was making me work for it. L&S gave only 60.Rb7 Rb8 (=) here.\ 60...Ra1 "Checking distance"! The rook is best as far from the K as possible, with the idea that the K can not appoach the rook without abandoning its guard upon the f-pawn. OK would have been 60...Rb1, but not 60...Rc1?? 61.Re4 Kg8 62.Re8+ Kh7 This looks dangerous, but there isn't much Black can do about it. On the other hand, White finds he can't make much more progress. 63.Kf7 Ra5 64.f6 Ra7+ 65.Re7 Ra8 Draw. w The final position. The White pawn will reach f7, and no further. One of my best rook endgame defences, against strong opposition, too. |
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