Active rook

I've talked previously about the value of good endgame technique. One 'rule of thumb' I gave for rook endings is that the active continuation is usually better than the passive. The following ending from round 2 at Hawick graphically illustrates that rule:


Roger Coathup - William Hulme, Hawick 2007.

Playing White, I'd given up a pawn in the opening, but received little in return. In this position (with Black to move) I was holding out some hopes of salvaging a draw after 1 ... Nc6; 2 Bb4 Nxb4; 3 ab.

Instead, Black played poorly:

1 ... Rc7?; 2 Bxa5 ba; 3 Rhc1!

And the threat of a back rank mate not only prevents Black from doubling rooks, but also forces him to concede the open file.

3 ... Rxc1; 4 Rxc1 Rb8; 5 Rc7

With an active rook and better king postion, White now has a clear advantage. Black's best try is probably 5 ... h5, stopping the mating threat and also looking to generate counterplay on the kingside by the manouevre Rb8-b2 x h2.

5 ... Kf8; 6 Kc2

Not the immediate 6 Rxa7 because of 6 ... Rb3+, followed by 7 ... Rxa3. I also avoided 6 Kc3, because of 6 ... a4! renewing the threat of ... Rb3 with gain of tempo. Kc2 also has the advantage of denying Black access squares on the b-file to activate his rook.

6 ... Ke7?!

Better is 6 ... a6 denying the White king access to the b5 square.

7 Rxa7 Rb5;

Attempts to go active now with ... Rb1, intending ... Rh1xh2, fail as White's a-pawn will advance too quickly.

8 Kc3 f6; 9 a4 Rd5; 10 Kc4 fe; 11 fe



The perfect illustration of the power of an active rook over a passive one. The rook on d5 has no moves, and Black has no good way to prevent Ra7-b7-b5 exchanging into a winning king and pawn ending.

11 ... Kd8; 12 Rb7! d6; 13 ed Rxd6; 14 Rxg7 h5; 15 Rg5 1-0


Recommended endgame reading (Amazon links):
Fundamental Chess Endings: A New One-volume Endgame Encyclopaedia for the 21st Century
Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge (Cadogan Chess & Bridge Books)

Bishop pawns: the solution

On Saturday I showed you a line in a bishop and bishop pawn vs. knight ending, reaching this position:



I then asked you to find the first 2 moves of Black's drawing solution from here.

The draw relies on a stalemate theme (bishop pawns are an interesting customer when it comes to stalemate themes). In this position, Black should play:

1 ... Ka8!

when 2 Kxc8 is stalemate

and if 2 Kc6 then 2 ... Nb6! and again any capture of the knight gives stalemate.

So, White can make no progress and the game is drawn.

Several of you spotted the first move, but finding the second ... Nb6 proved more difficult.

Whilst knight endings are relatively uncommon, it does pay to know some of the drawing (and winning) resources.

Best endgame guide

I've sung the praises of Averbakh's Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge more than a few times on Chess Tales, but have been reprimanded by one reader for not mentioning Karsten Muller's Fundamental Chess Endings.



The subtitle includes the word 'Encyclopedia' which usually makes me wary, but I have to say the reviews are outstanding and the blurb sounds enticing: firstly it's accessible to beginners (and experts!), providing tuition, principles, and practical play guides as well as reference, and secondly, it benefits from computer endgame tables and analysis to ensure the variations are sound.

Let me know your thoughts if you have a copy. Thanks!

Bishop pawns

One piece of advice I heard recently was:

"don't bother too much with the theory of knight endings"

Which is probably fair comment.

Knight endings don't occur very often and the manouevres required to force a pawn through to queen can be complex. However, it's still useful to have an idea whether a position should be won or lost, and 'fun' to look at the occasional solution.

Knights can usually defend against a bishop and pawn if you can get your king in front of the pawn, but fail when the king can't blockade the pawn. The typical win, in this case, involves manouevring the bishop to restrict the knight's mobility and then advancing the pawn. When the pawn is a bishop pawn though, the drawing chances (as usual!) increase.

Take a look at this position from Averbakh's Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge,



White carries out the first stage of the 'winning' manouevre, restricting the knight's mobility:

1 Kd7 Nc8; 2 Bd4 Ne7; 3 Be3 Nc8; 4 Bc5



Everything seems to have gone to plan, but can you see how Black salvages a draw (first 2 moves of the solution)?

Chess endgame puzzle

Paul Dargan noticed a puzzle on the excellent Chess Vibes blog, that shares a lot of similarities with the Capablanca - Lasker finish we looked at on Chess Tales.

The puzzle is in International Master Yochanan Afek's weekly post to the blog, it's White to play and win from the following position:



For endings, Chess Tales recommends Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge (Cadogan Chess & Bridge Books) and Endgame Strategy (Cadogan Chess).

See our full reviews and further recommendations.

Winning with opposite coloured bishops

I seldom read a chess book from cover to cover, but Averbakh's "Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge" looks like being an exception. It's also been a fertile source of positions and puzzles for the Chess Tales blog.

Everyone 'well-schooled' chess player knows that opposite colour bishop endings are drawn, but here is a great example from Alexander Kotov - Mikhail Botvinnik, Moscow 1955, that shows this is not always the case:





















Black is a pawn up, but the White king stops the b-pawn advancing and it appears that the White bishop can defend the king side pawns without a problem.

Botvinnik's winning plan involves creating a second passed pawn, his vision to achieve it, sacrificing his extra material is exceptional:

1 ... g5!!; 2 fxg5 d4+!

It's important to keep the advanced passed b-pawn. (Roger: the winning idea, 2 well separated passed pawns in an opposite coloured bishop ending is reasonably well known)

3 exd4 Kg3; 4 Ba3

4 Be7 Kxh4; 5 g6+ Kg4 does not help either.

4 ... Kxh4; 5 Kd3 Kxg5; 6 Ke4 h4; 7 Kf3 Bd5+ and White resigned.

Yuri Averbakh, Chess Endings: essential knowledge

Friday chess puzzle 3: the solution

The solution to last Friday's chess puzzle:



It was White to play and force mate, with the catch: you can only move your rook once.

I asked, can White play any king move and still win? Or, has White only got one move that wins in this position? Is so, show me the winning line and how Black draws against the other moves.

The answers:

No, White has to find the correct move to win. If Black can get the opposition, starting with the distant opposition, he draws.

1 Kg7 fails to 1 ... Kg1; and 1 Kg8 fails to 1 ... Kg2

So the only move to win is 1 Kh7!

Congratulations to everyone who got it correct; Paul Devisser gave the clearest description of the winning line

Interesting puzzle. I think the solultion is dependent on the White
king maintaining opposition, and would go as follows...

1 Kh7 Kh2; 2 Kh6 Kh3; 3 Kh5 Kg3; 4 Kg5 Kh3; 5 Kf4 Kg2; 6 Kg4 Kh2; 7 Kf3 Kg1; 8 Kg3 Kh1; 9 Rf1 mate

Any attempts by black to deviate would result in a faster mate, Paul Devisser

Note the use of the f-file to maintain the opposition, and if the king tries to run up the h-file, e.g. 7 ... Kh3 we have an alternative mate 8 Rh8#

Chris Wardle worked out an incredibly detailed solution using mathematics to solve it! Check out his game theory spreadsheet.

apologies to those who tuned in yesterday for the solution.

Winning with the wrong bishop

A copy of "Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge" by Yuri Averbakh landed on my doormat on Saturday and I can't put it down. I'd love to be able to say it was simply revision, but, despite a lot of years playing chess, I'm still learning new things in the 'simplest' positions. I'm also envisaging some extra points on the tournament table.

In last week's improvement tip we looked at bishop and rook pawn of the wrong colour. Here's some further knowledge from Averbakh:

The diagram on the left shows another 'drawing-trick', because of the unfortunate position of the bishop, White can make no progress. The diagram on the right though, shows how bishop of the wrong colour can sometimes create a win; a clever manouevre by the Bishop keeps the Black king away from the corner, and allows the pawn to queen:

1 Be6! Ke7; 2 h6! Kf6

(the bishop is immune, as capturing allows the pawn to queen)

3 Bf5! Kf7; 4 Bh7! Kf6; 5 Kf4 Kf7; 6 Kg5 Kf8; 7 Kf6 Ke8; 8 Kg7 etc.

Back in 1984, in his column in the short lived Chess Express, John Nunn showed an ending from Paulsen - Metger, Nuremburg 1888 that combines both of the above themes. Paulsen played wrongly and only drew:

Chess improvement #3: Your endgame databank

If you want to succeed at Chess, it's crucial to know how to play fundamental endgames, how to convert those final positions and get valuable points on the tournament board. Equally important, a knowledge of fundamental endings will help you earlier in the game, enabling you to spot opportunities to simplify into positions you know are won, or to create drawing chances when all seems lost.

Kasparov referred to this as "investing in your own bank of endgames": the more endgames you know, the more points you will chalk up on the tournament board. This advice is applicable to all players from beginner to World Champion. The number and complexity of the endgames might increase, but the basic principle holds fast.

In this article, I'll introduce you to some of the 'basic' endings, those that I think it is essential for a novice to learn, and that a club player should know (it's amazing how many don't, even very good ones). I'm going to assume that you know how to checkmate with K+Q vs. K, K+R vs. K, K+2B vs. K; if you don't, then make that your starting point instead (see the book recommendations later).

I won't give variations, instead consider it a checklist of positions to test yourself against. If you need advice for any of these positions, post a comment and I'll happily show you the best continuations. Alternatively, look them up in your endgame book; if you don't have one, it might be time to invest. I'll recommend some at the end of the article.

King and Pawn vs. King



Is this a win or draw for White? Well, the answer depends on whose move it is. Can you play it out with both Black or White to play, and know how it finishes with best play? This is the first ending any chess player should learn and essential to master; consult your endgame book, learn it and also about the concept of "the opposition".

To some of you, this may seem trivial, but here's how Scotland's top woman player at an Olympiad handled it:



Seeing that she was going to lose her pawn on d5, she incredibly resigned! Of course, the position is completely drawn: she simply has to ensure that she meets Kxd5 with Kd3 gaining the opposition and drawing.

If the pawn is a rook pawn, then the ending is almost always drawn. Again check your endgame book to discover the additional drawing resources.

By knowing these basic positions you can make much more informed decisions when determining the best continuation earlier in the game.

King, Rook and Pawn vs. King and Rook
Rook endings are the most frequently encountered ending. They are full of complexities and subtleties that would take several lifetimes to master. A rule of thumb is "the active continuation is usually better than the passive continuation", and as for basic endings, there are two that are essential to know how to play.

The first is how to win this position:



The solution was first published by Lucena over 500 years ago, and involves the concept of "building a bridge"

And the second is how to draw this position, first published by Philidor in 1777:




Other essential endings
Do you know how to play King and Queen vs. King and Pawn on the 7th rank? I used it to good effect in the second round at the recent Edinburgh Chess Congress, sacrificing an extra pawn in order to win the race to Queen and reach this won ending (with Black to move):



Knowing this position was won was essential to being able to determine the winning continuation earlier in the game. I was amazed that my opponent, a strong and rapidly improving junior (around 1800 rated), didn't know this ending and questioned me afterwards about whether he could have drawn the position. Do you know how to win from here?

It's also essential to know that this ending with a Rook Pawn or Bishop Pawn is not winning (unless your King is very close). Do you know the defensive resource that gains the draw with the Bishop Pawn?

The final ending I want to show is the Bishop and Rook Pawn of the wrong colour:



Despite the extra material, White cannot win this position. Black simply moves his King between a8 and b7 and the best White can do is deliver a draw by stalemate. Play it out if you are not familiar with this ending.

Knowledge of Bishop and Rook Pawn of the wrong colour has saved me many half points on the tournament table, by directing games into the ending, e.g. by exchanging off more dangerous pawns.

My concluding advice is:

1. Build your 'endgame databank' by learning these basic endings (and how to recognise a won, drawn or lost position)
2. Whatever your strength, work to keep expanding your 'databank' by learning further endings

And the book recommendations:

Averbakh's Chess Endings Essential Knowledge is definitely the place to begin; a guide to handling all the fundamental endings I've discussed and many more.

For endgame reference and some training, then
Practical Chess Endings by Paul Keres remains the best.

And finally, for the strong player looking to improve, you might want to give serious consideration to Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual.

Chess: rating psychology and exhaustion

Chess can be mentally and physically exhausting; and this is especially true for a lower rated player facing higher rated opposition.

I've already written, in Beating Grandmaster Danny Gormally, about how a difference in reputation and ratings often leaves a player psychologically beaten even before a piece has been moved. A game I played earlier this week in the Northumberland County Championship illustrates some further factors:

My opponent, Chris Wardle, has had a good season and is improving, but nonetheless he is rated some 50 BCF points (about 400 Elo points) lower than me. So, despite the fact it was a dead game in terms of the Championship, there was no way I could allow him an easy game.

The lack of easy games, i.e. games missing a competitive edge or games that may be agreed drawn early (after a level opening or middle game) between players of similar ratings, is one of the factors that makes it more difficult for the lower rated player. Not only do they have to raise their game and match you through the opening and the middlegame, but invariably they will have to maintain their concentration and competitiveness through long endings; Simply, they need to play more moves to earn their result.

In our game this week, Chris (as Black) battled hard, at least matched me through both the opening and middlegame, and reached the following ending where with the opposite coloured bishops a draw seemed the obvious result. I even have to be a little careful as Black's king is well centralised and his d-pawn quite advanced.





















My thought process on reaching this position was:

Quick check that I wasn't actually in any danger of losing. OK, 2 solutions: I can bring my king across to stop the d-pawn on the light squares, or I can exchange off Black's g-pawn, sacrifice my bishop for the d-pawn, and I'm fine because Black's bishop is the wrong colour to queen the h-pawn.

The bigger problem was how on earth could I drum up any winning tries. An idea came to mind based around enticing Black's king out of play, i.e. by giving up my bishop for Black's d pawn when it queens, in which case, Black's king on d1 wouldn't be able to assist his bishop in stopping my pawns. I would then be winning if I had captured both Black's king side pawns and had my g and h pawns vs. Black's bishop, or if I had outside passed pawns on the a and h file vs. Black's bishop.

This is the second factor, the stronger rated player will avoid the lines that lead to simple equality and instead be continually examining the weaker player with testing plans.

Of course, in this position, Black can defend in a number of way and none of these tries should be sufficient. In the game though, Chris failed this final examination, he didn't spot any danger and instead played into White's hands by following the 'logical plan' and forcing his d-pawn through to queen:

Play went:

1. Ba4 Kc5 2. Kg2 Kd4 3. Kf3 Kc3 4. Kg4 d4 5. Kh5 Bc1 6 Kxh6 Be3 7 Bd1 d3 8 Kg6 Kd2 9 Bg4 Kel??

Even now, Black could have held the game by retreating 9. ... Kc3, winning White's a pawn in exchange for his d pawn with a simple draw by giving up his Bishop for White's final pawn on the king side.

10. h4 gh 11. gh d2 12. h5 d1=R 13. Bxd1 Kxd1 14. h6 reaching the position below:




















Only at this stage did Black realise that his position was lost, and after 14. ... Kc2 15. h7 he resigned.

As I thought about this post, I was reminded of a couple of quotes (probably mis-quotes):

On the subject of reputations, Kasparov (I think) during his first world championship match with Karpov said:

"before I'm able to win against him, I first have to prove that I'm able to draw against him"

And Karpov himself, when asked in the early 70's what English players could do to improve, had asked what we do now. When he received the reply: "I don't know, I guess we play a lot and study the openings a lot", he said

"do the opposite, study the endings"