The Practical Endgame / Instruction Rook Endings
Each month GM Naroditsky will present two problems taken from actual games that illustrate the theme of this month’s column and whose solution is hinted at by the subtitle above. Your task is to find the best line of play. Problem I should be solveable by a player at roughly a 1500 rating and Problem II by a player roughly at a 2000 rating.
See the solutions on page 71. BLACK TO MOVE
52. d7 Ra8 53. Re1! is devastating. For instance, after 53. ... b4 (there is not much else; 53. ... Kf5 54. Rxe4 Rd8 55. Re7 loses immediately) 54. cxb4 c3 55. bxc3 b2 and now the “plebeian” but extremely strong 56. Rb1! seals the deal.
51. Kxe5 Kg5
Rxd8 g1=Q 56. Rg8+), but now after 54. Ke6 Kg4 55. Ke7 Black’s rook is attacked, and he must waste another tempo to elim- inate the d-pawn: 55. ... Rxd7+ 56. Kxd7 Kf3 57. Kc6 Ke2 58. Rb1 Kd2 59. Rg1! with an easy win.
In general, moves such as 53. Rd1 can
be found by thinking backwards: you find the general idea first (promoting the pawn), and then find its most accurate execution.
52. ... g3 53. Kc6 Rh6!? This is somewhat more accurate than
53. ... Kg4?!, after which Black would have to deal with 54. Kxb5 g2 55. Rg1 Kf3 56. Kxc4. In fact, Black still draws rather comfortably with 56. ... Kf2 57. Rd1 g1=Q 58. Rxg1 Kxg1 59. Kxb3 Kf2 (take my word on this one), but Bisguier’s move is even more convincing.
If Black had no pawn on b5, Bisguier
would have instantly resigned. Black has no chance whatsoever in the pawn race, so his only chance is to somehow exploit his queenside pawn superiority with a timely … b5-b4. Mednis, presumably after a period of intense calculation, decided that the first order of business was to eliminate the irksome b5-pawn:
52. Kd5? Bisguier’s inability to tackle the Her-
culean calculational task on move 49 is understandable, but this position is far more straightforward and Mednis was cer- tainly capable of exhaustively analyzing it at the board. 52. d7 suggested itself, when Black is forced to reply 52. ... g3. Now, after the hasty 53. Kd6? Kg4 54. Kc7? (54. Rg1 still draws) 54. ... g2 55. Rd1 Kf3 56. d8=Q Rxd8 57. Kxd8 White wins the pawn race, but loses the game after 57. ... Kf2 58. Kc7 g1=Q 59. Rxg1 Kxg1 60. Kc6 b4! and Black breaks through in the nick of time. However, White can save not one but two tempi with the Zwischenzug 53. Rd1!. Black is forced to block the pawn with 53. ... Rd8 (53. ... g2 fails to 54. d8=Q+ Rxd8 55.
54. Rd1 Kf4 55. Kxb5 g2 The point. Now, 56. Kxc4 is strongly
met by 56. ... Rxd6, and although both 57. Rxd6 g1=Q 58. Kxb3 (an idea we will see again) and 57. Rg1 Kf3 58. Kxb3 Kf2 59. Rc1 hold the draw, Black is clearly in the driver’s seat.
56. d7 Rh8 57. Kxc4 Sadly, this is forced. Mednis might have
been relying on 57. Kc6?? Kf3 58. Kc7 from afar, but White has wasted too many moves and Black wins the king race after 58. ... Kf2 59. d8=Q Rxd8 60. Kxd8 g1=Q 61. Rxg1 Kxg1 62. Kc7 Kf2 63. Kc6 Ke2 64. Kc5 Kd3 65. Kb4 Kc2 66. Ka3 Kb1 and White’s monarch is pushed off the cliff!
57. ... Rd8 The simplest. Black finally eliminates
the pernicious d7-pawn, forcing White to scramble for the draw.
58. Kxb3 Rxd7 59. Rxd7 There was no sense in asking for trouble
with 59. Rg1, although the computer indi- cates that 59. ... Kf3 60. Kc4! Kf2 61.
WHITE TO MOVE
Rxg2+ Kxg2 62. b4 is still a draw. Mednis allows Black to promote, but constructs an impenetrable fortress using his rook and two pawns.
59. ... g1=Q 60. Rd4+ Ke3 61. Kc2
Problem I: 1500 Level Paul van der Sterren Larry Christiansen Tjentiste, 1975
Problem II: 2000 Level IM Keaton Kiewra (2413) GM Daniel Naroditsky (2535) Santa Clara, 2014
Usually, in these types of positions it
is possible to force the rook onto a vul- nerable square using Zugzwang, but in this case, White’s king simply has too many squares. The game is essentially over.
61. ... Qg6+ 62. Kb3 Qf5 63. Ka2 Qc2 64. Ka3 Qb1 65. Kb3 Qa1 66. Kc2 Qa2 67. Kc1 Qa1+ 68. Kc2 Qa6 69. Kb3 Qb5+ 70. Kc2 Qf5+ 71. Kb3 Qc8 72. Kc2 Qa6 73. Kb3 Qb5+ 74. Ka3 Qc6 75. Kb4 Qb6+ 76. Ka3 Qa5+ 77. Kb3 Qa6 78. Kc2 Qe2+, Draw agreed.
This game truly epitomizes the mind-
bending complexity of practical rook end games. In my opinion, we must simply accept our imperfection: sometimes, ex - haus tive calculation is humanly impossible and tactical mistakes are inevitable. But finding one correct move, outfoxing your opponent in one particular instance, can be the difference between a win and a loss. As Edmar Mednis himself remarked, “once you are in the endgame, the moment of truth has arrived.”
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