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59. Kh5
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This stops 59...Bf4 with mate to follow.
59.Rb5 would also stop 59...Bf4 , but then Black has 59...Ra8! with the deadly threat of Rh8#. |
 
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59... Ra1
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Once you've realized that you're within moves of reaching the key position (or a form of it), the first step to winning is to threaten back rank checkmate (in this case the back rank is the h-file).
The bishop's control of g7 and g3 make the mate threat effective, and White's king is trapped. |
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60. Rb4
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This is the only way to stop mate |
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60... Rg1
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This position is another form of the key position, where your pieces are on their key squares corresponding where the enemy king is trapped, and the enemy king cannot move because of mate threats. Looking at this position should tell you how to determine the key squares for your pieces based on which back rank the enemy is trapped on.
The winning process of the key position consists of getting the White rook in zugswang so that it can no longer defend against mate. The White king is already trapped, so now we focus on the enemy rook. |
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61. Ra4
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The rook must move along the 4th rank to maintain the defense against Rh1 . If White tries 61.Rh4, then the rook is too passively placed to defend against newly created mate threats, so Black wins by threatening mate with 61...Rg8 |
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61... Rg7
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Now Black has another mate threat, which can only be defended by Ra6. Black's array of mate threats help to eventually put White in zugswang. |
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62. Ra6
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There are different ways Black can win based on how White plays the ending. If White tries 62.Kh6, then Black's array of mate threats continue starting with 62...Rg8 63.Ra7 Rg3 64.Rf7 (if 64.Kh7 then Rh3 Kg8 Rh8 Kf7 Rh7 wins the rook) 64...Bf6 (Black's threatening Rh3#) 65.Kh7 Rh3 66.Kg8 Rh8# |
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62... Bc7
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The next step of zugswanging the rook is to make a waste-move with the bishop while preventing the rook from checking. |
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63. Rc6
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63.Rc6 preserves the defense against Rh7
If White had tried 63.Kh6, then 63...Rd7 (threatening forced mate Bf4 ) 64.Kh5 Rd3 and White has different ways of answering the mate threat.
65.Kh4 Bd8 forces mate quickly
65.Kh6 Be5 66.Kh7 Rd8 and White has no more defenses to Black's array of mate threats.
65.Ra4 Bd8 66.Kh6 Rd7 and there is no effective defense against 67...Bg5 68.Kh5 Rh7 |
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63... Bf4
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Notice how ever since the key position was reached, Black's moves have mostly been mate threats, eventually turning into a forced mate. At the beginning of this endgame study, Black had an in-depth forced mate taking 50 moves to carry out. All White can do is play moves that stall the mate the longest. |
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64. Rc5+ Be5
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This key position is probably the easiest to remember.
If White plays Kh6, then Rg8 has the deadly threat of Rh8 |
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65. Rc6 Rg5+
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Now begins the process of pushing the enemy king toward a square where the enemy rook no longer has a move to stop back rank mate. If White plays Kh4 here, then Rg2 has the deadly threat of Rh2# |
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66. Kh6 Rg1
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The rook can also move to g2 or g3, since all three moves create the Rh1 mate threat |
2 comments
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67. Kh7 Rg7+ 68. Kh6 Rd7
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This important move threatens Bf4 forced mate, and White's only defense is to pin the bishop. White has to give up the rook to stop mate, and Black wins easily. |
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69. Rc5 Rd8
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Now, after all those mate threats and careful calculations and tactics, Black has finally won. There is no way White can stop Rh8# without giving up his rook. Playing this endgame takes extreme precision and complicated analysis. Getting this endgame is rare, but the concepts and ideas mentioned here can help in other endgames involving rooks and bishops. I will probably make some more endgame studies after this. |
1 comment
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