Endgame Play

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Chris Ward

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First published 1 996 ©Chris Ward ISBN 0 7 134 7920 5

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data. A catalogue record for this book is

available from the British Library.

Typeset by Petra Nunn and printed in Great Britain by Redwood Books, Trowbridge, Wilts for the publishers,

B. T. Batsford Ltd, 4 Fitzhardinge Street, London WIH OAH

Dedication: Today my thoughts are with all those whose lives are affected by Cancer. I dedicate this book to my mum, Elizabeth, for absolutely everything.

A BATSFORD CHESS BOOK

Editorial Panel: Mark Dvoretsky, Jon Speelman

General Adviser: Raymond Keene OBE

Specialist Adviser: Dr John Nunn

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Symbols

+ Check ++ Double Check # Mate Good move ! ! Excellent move ? Bad move ?? Serious blunder ! ? Interesting move ? ! Dubious move 1 -0 White wins 0- 1 Black wins 1f2-1'2 _Draw Ch Championship

Echt European team championship

Wch World championship

Wcht World team championship

OL Olympiad

z Zonal

IZ Interzonal

Ct Candidates event

corr Correspondence game

(n) nth match game

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Preface

To be honest, so far this year has been the worst time of my life. Ordi narily, playing chess with a book deadline approaching and the editor often on your case (sorry Graham, you do a great j ob really !) is tricky enough as it is. Unfortunately though, with my Mother being diagnosed as having an advanced case of throat cancer, my own career has been brought to a virtual standstill.

The few games in which I have been involved have severely lacked concentration and it seems as if my function on these rare outings has been purely to make up the numbers ! [Chris was of course writing before

his victory in the 1996 British Cham

pionship, scoring 911 1 for his final

GM norm - editor's note.]

Nevertheless, during this difficult period I have remained amazingly focused on the completion of this book. Not surprisingly, I am thinking that things could be a lot better right now. However I will always take pride in my writing and am very happy with the content of Endgame Play. I can only hope that this will be as instructive to the reader as I be lieve it should.

Chris Ward

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1 _{Introducing Endgame Play}

In the introduction to Opening Play, I explained the attraction of opening textbooks. Middlegame literature, although often very instructive, is generally less appealing. The prob lem is that, depending on which openings one has in one's repertoire, certain middlegame positions will just never occur. Although all such books are good in terms of general chess knowledge, the fact is that most King's Gambit players, for ex ample, tend to have little interest in learning about queenside play or 'minority' attacks ! Consequently -rightly or wrongly - large chunks of these books become comparatively redundant.

The beauty of studying endings is that whatever the opening is and however the middlegame is played out, it is not at all unusual to arrive at

similar positions in the latter stages of totally different games. Of course it is true that there are endgames which we will reach only rarely, or perhaps not at all. I am only too aware that - particularly with quick play finishes now common in tour naments - 'close' endgames are not so frequent. It would be impossible to cover all the permutations of piece and pawn deployments and, anyway, that is not the aim of this book.

I believe that when they do occur, endgames form the most serious weakness of the average club player; juniors especially are often com pletely at a loss for a plan when their queen has been exchanged and no easy pawn promotion is in sight!

Most endgame texts tend to stick to the rigid layout of king and pawn, rook and pawn, bishop and pawn and so on, and clearly this format makes it easy for the reader to find a specific ending that he may be searching for. Nevertheless, here I have opted to try to fill this book with useful advi�e in the form of principles and helpful hints (as was the case with Opening

Play). It is therefore my suggestion

that you read the whole of the book in order to become proficient in each type of ending. There is a quick ref erence index at the back, but I would

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8 _{Introducing Endgame Play}

advise you to work through each sec tion systematically. I have made sure the book is not monotonous and there are regularly scattered ques tions and answers associated with each topic.

My experiences lecturing at chess clubs, and coaching juniors in par ticular, have supplied me with an armoury of common endgame posi tions which I know are often misun derstood and frequently assessed inaccurately. As well as having to cover some of the basics, my inten tion has been to encourage the reader to apply common sense and a little analysis in order to correct otherwise erroneous thinking. Once the princi ples and general advice have been absorbed, then a more logical and higher standard of endgame play should result.

At the beginning of a chess game each player has 1 6 pieces. I doubt that there are many players who are not guilty of agreeing a draw simply because most of these pieces have been traded off and the position seems absolutely level ! In this book I demonstrate how apparently equal situations can be transformed with more aggressive plans. In particular I

concentrate on converting into wins what are ostensibly only small ad vantages and, conversely, how and when to engage in active defence in order to try to hold inferior positions. Specifically, all that follows has a very practical flavour. Dare I suggest that you should try to become the S teve Davis of chess and play with mass piece liquidation in mind, to better demonstrate your technique .. . For best results please work right through the book as suggested; it is OK to move backwards and for wards through the sections as long as nothing is missed out in the long run. I have assumed the reader has a basic understanding of chess (e.g. the abil ity to mate with at least a king and rook vs king), and although to start with some of the more simple things are covered, as the book progresses there is plenty for everyone to learn (i.e. for most levels of play). My main difficulty was deciding upon the most logical order in which to cover the topics, thus reducing any over lapping. I hope that I have achieved this so that any repetition is more of a useful revision than a chore.

And that's it really. Have fun, good luck and goodbye for now !

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2

_{His Majesty}

1 ) The Colossal King

'The king is a piece, so use it! ' . How many times do we (and will we) hear this piece of advice, and what ex actly does it mean?

We begin a game of chess, bring our pieces out, exchange some of them and move others around, etc. So exactly when is the right time for our one priceless, royal piece to en ter the action?

I remember once, as a junior play ing in a weekend congress, being paired with a computer for the first time. The game had a rather cautious character and after a couple of hours' play I found myself in the position of being in an endgame with king and seven pawns each. Well, I remem bered what I had been taught and im mediately brought my king into play. As there were no enemy pieces of even minimal firepower around, I had no problems with this plan, and over the next few moves I pro ceeded gleefully to take any avail able pawns. The computer appeared to be taking no steps with its own king to interfere with my rather bla tant strategy - indeed, it seemed quite happy simply to move the king to and fro between h8 and g8. This somewhat passive policy attracted a

reasonably sized crowd which was also present when, destined to lose a third pawn, the machine suddenly jumped into action. However, by this time resistance was futile, and I sup pose the fact that I completely hu miliated it by obtaining six( !) passed pawns (much to the joy of myself and onlookers alike) before its op erator opted to save power by pulling the plug, is irrelevant!

The computer had won all its games until our meeting and, not surprisingly, its tactical play had been virtually faultless. The major problem seemed to be when to bring the king out. Humans can be taught that the time is right when it 'feels' OK, but the poor computer was es sentially having to cope with 'keep the king safe until you have less than six pawns' as advice ! Of course the owner immediately set about updat ing his rather simple contraption, and these days chess programs are significantly more advanced. How ever in this basic element alone, it is clear that there is considerable room for judgement.

Throughout this book I will be stressing how participation of the king is vital and how, more often than not, the relative positions of the two kings prove to be the decisive

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JO His Majesty

factor. Take a look at the diagram above and you will see just why. How many other pieces have the ability to move in any direction, con veniently covering each and every surrounding square? The answer is: only the queen. And many still be lieve that an endgame is not really an endgame with the queens still on the board? (Does this mean an endgame becomes a middlegame in the event of promotion?)

Q. Below, which one of the routes (a, b or c) takes the white king the fewest moves to get to the square h4?

-%

-A. They are all the same. If you count you will see that these routes -and, indeed, many others - all take seven moves. This is visually decep tive, but extremely useful. It will cer tainly pay to remember that a king can get from 'a' to 'b' in a variety of ways, each taking the same time. However, some may have the advan tage of restricting the opponent's op tions. Do not worry ! We will return to tli'is soon.

When I was nine years old in a tournament I was once reprimanded by an arbiter for placing my fingers on the board in order to deduce whether or not my king would be able to prevent an opponent's pawn from promoting (I found this dis turbing because I could not see what I was doing wrong). I had to revert to the rather laborious task of counting to see if I would make it in time, and this method seemed fraught with problems. First there was confusion as to whether I would capture the pawn on the 7th rank, the 8th or not at all. Secondly, the calculation proc ess became very difficult to maintain halfway through, and I had to start again if there was the slightest dis traction.

To conclude, counting can be a most unreliable system, which is why I would like to bring to your at tention a technique known as the 'square' (no prizes for originality !).

In the diagram position Black must establish whether or not he can stop the white pawn from promoting

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- or capture it as soon as it achieves its ultimate aim in life. Rather than counting the amount of moves it talces both the pawn and the king to reach a8, there is a far more simple option.

Draw an imaginary diagonal line from where the passed pawn stands to the end of the board (here from a3 to f8).Then complete the corners of a square (like in mathematics at school), leaving a box (here with comers at a3, a8, f8 and f3).

If the king has the move and can enter this square, then (providing that there are no interfering pieces) it will achieve its goal. If however, it cannot move into the box, then chas ing the pawn is a lost cause and any alternative plan should be introduced immediately. Note that with each ad vance of the pawn the 'square' be comes smaller. So, if a chasing king cannot enter on a given move, it never will.

In our example, with Black to play he will - if required - be able to stop the pawn becoming a queen on a

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permanent basis with either 1 ...

�g3-f3 or 1 ... �g3-f4. Both these moves

enter the square and as we have al ready seen there are a variety of six move routes to reach a8.

However, if White could move first, then with 1 a3-a4 the new square would have corners at a4, a8, e8 and e4, and the king would be too far away.

S omething else worth remember ing is that on their first move, pawns have the option of advancing one or two squares. This should be kept in mind when considering the size of a square which a king may have to en ter. In addition, and on a more ad vanced note, though most competent players are capable of 'counting' to a good degree of accuracy, there is no doubt that implementing the 'square' theory is more practical and can save the game in certain situations (such as time-trouble).

I would now like to discuss two examples which illustrate nicely the points which we have just discussed. First we have a position which is a good demonstration of 'Shielding Off':

As White, an eager player might continue: 1 a2-a4 2 a4-a5 3 a5-a6 4 a6-a7 �f3-e4 �e4-d5 �d5-c6 �c6-b7 And the pawn is doomed ! Of course it was evident to us that as soon as 1 a2-a4 was played, Black was able to enter the square with corners

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12 His Maj esty

at a4, a8, e8 and e4, thus deciding the outcome. On the other hand we have:

1 �g5-f5!

Preventing the black king from re treating along the f3-a8 diagonal where it is able to intercept the pawn.

1 ... �f3-e3

2 �f5-e5

Maintaining the ' shielding off' policy which stops the black king getting back to his own half of the board.

2 �e3-d3

3 'itr>e5-d5 'itr>d3-c3

4 �d5-c5

And Black can resign. If 4 . . . �c3-b2 White answers with 5 a2-a4, and the pawn has a clear run to promo tion. Instead 4 ... �c3-d3 5 a2-a4 �d3-e4 theoretically keeps the black king in the square, but the presence of the white king in a dominating role means that the vital path to a8 is now closed. A king can not move next to a king !

Unless you already knew of the famous ' Reti' position below you could easily be forgiven for thinking

Black's cause to be a lost one. In a straight race he clearly has no hope of catching White's a4-pawn, whilst any attempt to promote his own pawn is apparently futile. Watch and learn !

1 �al-b2

Note that in an endgame position such as this there would never be any point in moving the king to a2. From b2 it can go to any of the squares that a2 has to offer, and more besides.

2 a4-a5 �b2-c3

Now we begin to see a point be hind the black king opting for a di

agonal retreat. 2 ... f3-f2 would achieve

nothing as 3 �h3-g2 rounds up the pawn, but now Black has the threat of ... �c3-d2/d3 followed by bring ing the king to e2 to guarantee his own pawn's promotion. Therefore White's next.

3 �h3-g3 'it>c3-d4

Superb ! Although the king seems to be deviating from the hunt for the a-pawn, in reality this is not the case. Here, not unlike the feint of a rugby

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player, we see the black king in hot pursuit of White's pawn while simul taneously offering support to his own.

4 a5-a6

White has no time for 4 <it>g3xf3 since 4 . . . �d4-c5 sees Black's king enter the square.

4 5 a6-a7 6 a8-a81W

<it>d4-e3 f3.f2 White has nothing to gain by in serting the moves 6 <it>g3-g2 �e3-e2.

6 ... f2-fl'ir'

lf2.1'2

White has no way of winning the queen and neither king is unfortu nately placed.

To finish this section, and once again to bring up the qualities of the king in action, I would like to draw your attention to the position below:

If we eliminated the a- and b-files and changed the. aim of the game so that Black will succeed by ultimately giving checkmate and White by capturing all of Black's army, who

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would stand better? This may bring up the rather hypothetical question of: which is better - a king or a knight?

Obviously this seems to be a ri diculous question as there are always two kings on the board, so I might begrudgingly bring back the a- and b-files and ask: White to move - who stands better?

If the reader plays these positions out, then several interesting conclu sions may be reached. First, you will appreciate that although it is rather slow, the king is extremely good at both attacking and defending nearby pieces and pawns. The knight, on the other hand, is not comfortable with simply defending - try setting up 'a position in which the knight protects the pawns and the pawns protect the knight (don't try for too long, though). Perhaps we should not be too critical - a bishop could easily protect its fellow pawns, but in a king versus bishop game it would have somewhat limited attacking possibilities due to its inability to op erate on both dark and light squares.

2) Explaining and

expand ing on King

and Pawn versus King

There is no more basic a position than one with just the two kings and a solitary pawn. Twenty-nine pieces have been eliminated one way or the other, and the question is: will

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14 His Maj esty

the remaining pawn promote to a queen (or rook) enabling checkmate, or will it eventually be blockaded or lost, resulting in a draw?

To some, learning this simple endgame may feel like a chore, espe cially when we consider how rarely such a position may occur. However, it is absolutely vital to have an un derstanding of what follows.

In a simultaneous display I once gave at a local chess club, I had had an extremely tough battle with a player of BCF grade 1 20 (Elo 1560). He had played very well and, al though he had had his chances, as Black, he finally conceded defeat in the following position:

B

Needless to say I was astonished. Obviously I did not want to embar rass him in front of all his clubmates, but I was amazed that someone who had played so well had no under standing of the basics which are second nature to your average up and-coming eight-year-old player.

This is how the game should have concluded:

1 ... 'iPd6-d7

Black is forced to give way. As we will soon see, it is generally wise in such situations to retreat straight back. However, as a critical stage has not yet been reached, either of the other legal moves would have been OK.

2 �d4-e5

As the position is almost symmet rical, it is logical and correct to as sume that the outcome would be effectively the same with 2 'iPd4-c5.

2 ••• 'iPd7-e7

Make no mistake, this is the only satisfactory move here. Black pre vents the white king from advancing, so the pawn shuffles nearer, living in hope.

3 d5-d6+ 'iPe7-d7

4 �e5-d5

Now Black must make a decision. As previously mentioned, the side ways retreats will suffer an identical fate.

4 ... 'iPd7-d8!

Again, following the rule of re treating straight back. Even if some one is uneducated in the simple endgames, this precise (and only ! ) move could b e arrived a t b y analys ing just a few moves ahead. I say this because I have seen good players spend time on a similar retreat, knowing it is correct but checking it anyway ! Likewise I have also wit nessed confused beginners make . the wrong choice after very little

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thought, claiming later that they had thought their move followed the rule.

If, for example, Black instead played 4 . . . �d7-e8?, then 5 �d5-e6 �e8-d8 6 d6-d7 wins for White be cause Black is forced to abandon his blockade with 6 .. . 'iti>d8-c7, when 7 '1ite6-e7 helps the pawn home.

5 <iPd5-e6 'iPd8-e8

6 d6-d7+

I guess the truth is that when you have two players who essentially know what they are doing in these positions, White will not commit himself to pushing the pawn just yet. However, as long as Black sticks to retreating straight back when having to concede ground, then any ma noeuvring of the white king by the side or behind his pawn is in vain.

6 ... 'iPe8-d8 ( D)

. � �-� �-�

-� - .efid �

B BLSB B

. -�- .

• • • •

Now with White to play, he must either lose his pawn or play 7 'iPe6-d6, which results in stalemate. In either instance the game is drawn. In fact, in the above position, what

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White really wants to do is pass the move over to Black, so that after the moves 7 . . . 'iti>d8-c7 8 '1ite6-e7, as we saw earlier, the pawn has the re quired support.

Of course, 'Passing ' (i.e. making no move whatsoever) is not allowed and, if it were, then Black could have done the same in this example, leav ing neither side any better off.

However, if, for instance, White had a knight on f2, then one random move from this piece (e.g. 7 lllf2-h l ) would perform this 'Passing' func tion. Similarly, if instead of a knight White had another pawn on d2, then both 7 d2-d3 and 7 d2-d4 would achieve this same aim. Note that nei ther the knight (moving anywhere) nor the extra doubled d-pawn would in their own right control the queen ing square, rather the mere fact that they exist at all enables them to waste a move which in turn forces the black king to abandon its block ade.

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16 His Maj esty

Exceptions in chess often appear with the presence of rook's pawns, the above position being typical. The first observation is that 1 h6-h7 pro duces stalemate since Black cannot play l .. .�h8-i7 (!) allowing 2 �g6-g7 (with 3 h7-h8'ii' to follow). In this respect (i.e. there being only one side to the pawn), a- and h-pawns can be clearly distinguished from pawns on the other six files. In order to win this position, it becomes apparent that by simply passing White will make no progress. He must force the black king away from the h8-square. Alas, he has no pieces (or pawns) which are able to carry out this task. By all means try this one out for yourself, but any attempt to make progress re sults in stalemate. What White needs is a piece which is able to operate on the dark squares so that he can con trol h8 and follow up with advancing the pawn to h7 (in turn covering g8). Here a knight or a dark-squared bishop would be the minimum re quirement in place of the virtually useless light-squared bishop. Simi larly a dark-squared bishop would be equally useless in evicting the enemy king from a8 if White had one or more a-pawns instead.

Note the emphasis here on the de fending king being able to blockade the pawn. In the following position, with careful play White can prevent such a defence.

1 i.d4-a7!

Halting the black king's progress to a8.

. . .

-. �,� -. -.

�· . . .

- . . .

� � . .

_� _-

_{� d}

• • • •

. - . .

w 1 <J;c7-c6 2 �b4-a5 �c6-c7 3 �a5-b5 <J;c7-c8 4 <3;b5-c6 <3;c8-d8

Notice how the bishop combined well with the pawn to cover the squares b6, b7, and b8, but since then it is the white king that has forced its counterpart to give ground. Now White can continue simply 5 i.a7-b8 with a pawn promotion to follow (or he could accentuate Black's help lessness with 5 'iti>c6-b7).

Returning to the idea of 'shielding off' the enemy king which was men tioned in section 1 , take a look at the position below:

None of the pawns is going any where and, though White has a men acing king, it would appear that, defensively speaking, the black king has the situation under control. This is a very common misconception with which (hopefully) the reader should now be coming to grips. At the moment the black pawns seem quite safe, but in reality Black can do

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nothing to keep his opponent's king at bay. 1 2 3 �c6-c7 <J;c7-d6 �d6-d7 rJi;e7-e8 '&ii>e8-t7 rJ;;f7.f8 What else? As we now know only too well, Black must move.

4 <J;d7xe6 '&ii>f8-g7

Now White can win with 5 <J;e6

-d7, after which the e-pawn queens. Alternatively there is the cruel (and unnecessary) 5 <iti>e6-e7 with the in tention of capturing the remaining pawns in the same way that the e6-pawn fell.

Note that in the previous diagram, even if Black had the move his king would still be forced to abandon his pawns.

I have frequently witnessed end games reached (often in the quick play finish stage of a game) with one side having a king and two con nected pawns against a lone king. Usually the aggressor pushes for ward with both pawns, often becom ing puzzled over which pawn he should advance at any given point.

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This policy should b e successful, al though disaster occasionally strikes in the form of an accidental stale mate. We now know that it is suffi cient to advance just one of the pawns (provided it is not a rook's pawn) along with the king. Then when it comes to the critical situ ation in which you would normally be forced to give stalemate, you sim ply 'waste' a move with the pawn you left behind (thus effectively passing).

Let us now move on to situations in which the attacker forces a win with just the king and a pawn against a king:

w

The diagram above features a standard textbook position. Inevita bly one might question the likeli hood of such a position arising in a game, but what follows is applicable should the pawn be on any of the six more 'central' files.

We know that if White starts with 1 e2-e4 and brings up his king in

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18 His Majesty

support he will have no problems ad vancing it safely to the sixth rank. However as was seen at the start of this section, if Black is alert and se lects the correct king retreat (i.e. straight back) when the time comes, then the game will be drawn.

1 �el-d.2

1 �e l -f2 would be equally satis factory. White's intention will soon be made clear. He advances in front of his pawn, clearing a path for it.

1 �e8-e7

2 �d2-e3 rJ;e7-e6

3 �e3-e4 (D)

And now for a piece of technical j argon in its most blatant form: here we say that White has the 'opposi tion'. The two kings are directly op posite each other but it is Black's tum, and it is Black's obligation to give way which means that White has the opposition. If it were White to play then Black would have the opposition, although White could regain it by simply advancing his pawn.

3 ••• �e6-d6

So the black king commits itself. Prolonging the decision of whether to go left or right by retreating a rank will come to the same thing as White would merely advance his own king. Doing so in 'sync' is the most consis

tent, e.g. 3 . .. �e6-d7 4 �e4-d5, al

though with pawn moves in hand to help regain the opposition later, this is not strictly necessary.

4 �e4-f5

The point. Whichever way Black goes, White goes forward and to the side. If now 4 .. . �d6-d5, White has 5 e2-e4+. The white king would then support the pawn's further advances.

4 ... 'ili>d6-e7

Black tries to stay in the path of the pawn, but White's next move sees him regain the opposition a rank further up than on move 3.

5 �f5-e5 �e7-r7

6 �e5-d6

Once more: forward and to the side. 6 7 �d6-e6 8 e2-e4 �-e8 �e8-d8 The consistent policy may have appeared to be 8 �e6-f7. However the white king has reached a totally dominant position and now the time is right for the pawn to make an ap-pearance.

8 ... 'ili>d8-e8

9 e4-e5 (D)

White clearly has the opposition because Black must once more give way. This works out very nicely and

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everything fits into place, although the truth is that once you get your king on the sixth rank in front of your pawn (as long as it is not a rook's pawn !), then you win who ever it is to move. For example if it were White to move in the above po sition, then though technically Black is the one with the opposition, White wins with, for instance, 1 'iii>e6-d6 'iii>e8-d8 2 e5-e6 'iii>d8-e8 3 e6-e7 . Compared to the lines at the begin ning of this section, it is as though Black has effectively retreated to the wrong square for he must now allow

the white king into d7 (with 3 ...

'iii>e8-f7), rather than obtaining the stale mate he so craved.

9 ... 'iPe8-d8

Or 9 .. . 'iPe8-f8 10 'iPe6-d7 and the

pawn will promote. 10 'iPe6-t7 11 e5-e6+ 12 e6-e7+

'iPd8-d7 'iPd7-d8 And the pawn promotes on its next move.

Q. It is White to play in the posi tion below. Can he win?

His Majesty 19

A. Because of stalemate problems preventing the advance of the white king, this appears to be quite a tricky one. However with the exception of doubled rook's pawns, one thing this section should have taught you is that when two pawns up, you are vir tually always going to win ! The win is actually quite simple:

1 'iPb5-c5

With the same idea in mind, 1 'iii>b5-a5 would also work.

1 ••• 'iPa8-b7

2 a7-a8'i'+!

The point. Without the a-pawn on the board Black to move would re treat to b8 with a draw. Giving up this pawn forces him to do other wise, putting the king on an inferior square.

2 ... 'iPb7xa8

3 'iPc5-c6

Or 3 'iPa5-a6 had White selected 1 �b5-a5 . 3 4 b6-b7 5 'iPc6-c7 White wins. 'iPa8-b8 �b8-a7

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20 H is Majesty

3) Tempo: Is Time of

the essence?

In the opening it is fairly clear that to be given an extra move here or there would be a real blessing. You try to get your pieces out early and if your opponent does not do the same there is a chance that you may punish him. If you study grandmaster games, then you will notice that when both sides have completed their develop ment, there often appears to be a lull in the middlegame. Do not worry, because generally there is ! If nothing spectacular is available then the players engage in slower plans in volving improving piece deploy ments. Pieces may well revisit the same squares in a sort of jostling for position, and nothing much seems to happen while the players await the development of weaknesses in the opposing camp.

Perhaps this is a little harsh on my part, but it is nevertheless true that on entering the endgame, the speed fac tor regains more importance.

We know that the king is a vital piece in the endgame. It is very well suited to a dominating role at the centre of the board. From here it can reach anywhere fairly rapidly and may prevent the enemy king from approaching. We tend not to bring our kings out too early as there is a danger of being checkmated ! How ever, as soon as the more powerful pieces are traded off (or at least

enough to render the board safe) the respective kings race to the centre. If in an endgame you are having diffi culty finding a plan, this centralisa tion of your king is generally a good idea.

In the position above the white king is indeed wonderfully posted, whereas the black king is nowhere to be seen. Black's queenside pawns can only watch as the enemy king comes to capture them. This may be just a king and pawn ending, but if you start adding a bishop, rook or knight to the position White still re mains big favourite to win.

Time is almost always extremely important in the endgame. If you had some extra time on your hands, you could send your pieces in search of enemy pawns. You might be able to promote a passed pawn before your opponent promotes his, or you might be just in time to stop his pawn queening at all. Note the word 'tempo' simply refers to the unit of time taken up by a move - one might

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'save a tempo' in a quest to promote an a-pawn by playing a2-a4 rather than a2-a3 .

On the other hand it may prove useful to be able to 'lose a tempo'. This is effectively similar to the 'passing' which we saw earlier and is illustrated well in the following ex ample:

If it were Black to play here, White would win easily as he could bring his king to b6 and capture the a6-pawn. Consequently with White to play he needs to lose a move. However, he has no other pieces or pawns with which to force Black to have the move in this position, so to achieve his aim he must engage in a manoeuvre known as tr iangulation.

1 �c5-d5 'it>c7-c8

This exact retreat would be neces sary without the presence of the a pawns and it is necessary with them.

2 �d5-d4 �c8-d8

After 2 .. . �c8-c7 3 'iii'd4-c5 White has already managed to return to the same position but with Black to

His Maj esty 21

move, thus making an infiltration on b6 inevitable. How has this hap pened? Well, quite simply because whilst Black took two moves to re turn to the same square, White will have taken three. If you like, White will have ' tr iangulated'.

3 �d4-c4 'iii>d8-c8

4 'iii>C4-d5

Black is in big trouble. Now 4 . . . 'iii>c8-c7 loses to 5 �d5-c5 as

above, and 4 ... �c8-d8 5 �d5-d6

'it>d8-c8 6 c6-c7 lit>c8-b7 7 'it>d6-d7 wins (but not with 7 . . . �b7-a7 8 c7-c8'1W?? stalemate - preferable are 8 'it>d7-c6, 8 'iii>d7-d8 or 8 c7-c8.l:t).

Black's problem was that his king had to remain in contact with both c7 and c8. The two squares from which this was possible, b8 and d8, were separated from one another. White, however, needed to stay in touch with c5 and d5 ; this was possible from the adj acent squares c4 and d4. In chess, the ability to analyse ahead is a necessary attribute. No matter how lazy one is or how diffi cult it may seem, there can be no doubt as to the value of practising your advanced thinking (if he goes there, I go there, he goes there, I go there, etc.). Even a bit of blindfold chess - or at least studying a position without the help of a board and pieces - helps to train the mind.

Endgames, of course, are associ ated with a decreasing number of remaining pieces. With limited re sources it is important that one tries to maximise their capabilities. One

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22 His Maj esty

simple miscalculation and you may have lost the opportunity to stop an enemy pawn queening. In section 1 , the concept of 'the square' was intro duced. This is a useful technique to help you cut comers . However, it cannot be used for everything and in this respect there can be no substitute for good old-fashioned 'counting' . This crops up all the time and I will end this section with a simple test of forward planning. No cheating !

Q. Below, in his quest to promote the g-pawn, should White play a) 1 h2-h4 or b) 1 h2-h3? Study the posi tion, but don't move the pieces !

A. You have clearly been warned that there is a big difference in the two choices, although in a real game many would casually play one or the other, unaware that there is any dif ference or that this decision will have a decisive relevance to the outcome.

The fact that the h-pawn can move either one or two squares means that White is in possession of a 'reserve tempo' . You will occasionally find it

extremely useful to have stored up the odd pawn move which could at some critical stage gain you the op position. It is important that you do not just casually throw such moves away as White does in option 'a':

a) 1 h2-h4 2 h4-h5 3 g5-g6 4 h5xg6 'iitg8-h8 'iii'h8-g8 h7xg6 As we know, in king and pawn vs king, retaining a rook's pawn pro vides little or no dividends.

4 ... 'iitg8-h8 s g6-g7 + �h8-g8 with a draw. b) 1 h2-h3 'iitg8-h8 2 h3-h4 'iii'h8-g8 3 h4-h5 'iii'g8-h8 4 g5-g6 h7xg6

It is probably worth Black trying the trick 4 . . . 'iith8-g8, when White should not fall for 5 g6xh7+?? 'iii'g8-h8, but persevere with 5 g6-g7 as in the text.

S h5xg6 'iii'h8-g8

6 g6-g7 White wins.

So 'b' is the right answer. 1 h2-h4 would have been the correct choice had the black king started on h8 in stead. Similarly, leave the black king on g8, but nudge the g5-pawn back to g4, and again the solution would have been 1 h2-h4 (or 1 g4-g5 'iitg8-h8 2 h2-h4). There are many vari ations on the theme and the only way to find the answer is to calculate.

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4) Swap off and win !

1broughout the course of a game di rect confrontations inevitably occur and decisions must be made regard ing the exchange of pieces. Later I will go into more detail about which pieces to exchange just before and later during the endgame, but for the time being let us take a look at the casual advice that tells us to trade pieces when leading in material.

As a junior this seemed a very logical if somewhat dull approach to chess. You win a pawn, swap every thing else off and then with your ac quired technique of the 'opposition' you queen a pawn!

Of course things never really turned out that way ! But the princi ple was there, or was it? It later oc curred to me that, given a random king and pawn vs king position (just arrived at through actual play), the likelihood of you being able to ob tain the opposition was not actually that great. Either you needed your opponent's king to be out of the way somewhere or you needed your own king in front of your remaining pawn with him to play, etc. Not very likely. In addition, if you had failed in your task of liquidating all of the pieces and a pair still remained, then with the defending king in the path of your pawn a draw would be the ex pected result.

In the following position, without the mystery pieces 'X' on either side, White would win whoever is to

His Maj esty 23

move because the opposition can be easily obtained. However, with a queen, a rook, a knight or a bishop each, the black king could never be removed from the path of the pawn. If 'X' were either minor piece, then to make things worse for White, he has to watch out for a 'kamikaze' as sault on his pawn, and if 'X' were a bishop, then the black king could never be dislodged at all !

Now with or without a piece each, if you add an extra pawn to both sides, the chances of victory im prove. Look at the two similar posi tions overleaf:

We know in 'a' that as long as Black plays sensibly, it is an easy draw since the white king will never make it in front of the pawn; but 'b' is different:

1 c3-c4

Were it Black to play in our start ing position then he would still lose, for example 1 . . .�e5-d5 2 �e3-f4 �d5-d6 3 ..ti>f4-e4 ..ti>d6-e6 4 c3-c4 �e6-d6 5 �e4-f5 �d6-c6 6 �f5-e5 and through the 'nudging away'

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24 His Maj esty

a

principle, the black c-pawn will soon be lost.

1 ... 'iPe5-f5

If Black retreats with his king then White should aim to obtain the op position, e.g. l . . .�e5-e6 2 'iPe3-e4 ! or l . . .'it>e5-d6 2 'it>e3-f4 ! (known as the 'diagonal opposition', which

straightens itself out later) 2 . ..

'iPd6-e6 3 'iPf4-e4.

2 d3-d4 c5xd4+

We know that if White obtained an extra (even doubled) pawn he

would win, but after 2 ... 'iPf5-e6

White could be forgiven for taking the other simple option of obtaining a supported passed pawn with 3 d4-d5+ (as opposed to the also success ful 3 d4xc5), e.g. 3 ... 'iti>e6-e5 4 <it>e3-f3 'iPe5-d6 (Black could try to retain the opposition with 4 ... 'it>e5-f5 5 'it>f3-g3 'it>f5-g5, but after 6 'it>g3-h3 the black king can no longer follow for fear of being out of the square of the passed d-pawn) 5 �f3-e4 �d6-d7 6 �e4-e5 rt;d7-e7 7 d5-d6+ 'it>e7-d7 8 'it>e5-d5 and the black c-pawn is about to leave the board.

3 rt;e3xd4 4 'it>d4-c5 5 <it>c5-b6 6 'it>b6-c6 etc., etc. ! 'it>f5-e6 'it>e6-d7 �d7-c8

Don't get me wrong, when the three pawns are together as in 'b' , positions of this sort are not always winning. However, not only are the chances of converting the whole point vastly improved over the 'one against none' situation, but place the two extra pawns elsewhere and the win often becomes trivial (D):

Whether it is White to move or Black to move, the outcome will be the same. The c-pawn can be used as a decoy so that White can win the black g-pawn. Then his king will be in a dominant position and the black king will be misplaced. I almost do not want to insult the reader by giv ing a demonstration, but for the sake of 'completeness' :

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2 c.Pe3-e4 �d6-e6

3 c4-c5 'itte6-f6

4 �e4-d5

Now we have an alternative sce nario to the one suggested above. White intends �d5-c6-b7, aiming instead to promote the c-pawn. Of course sticking to the original plan by means of 4 c5-c6 is equally good, but this position enables me to zoom off on a tangent (as will be common in this book) for the exercise of the section:

Q. If the highlighted pawn sud denly disappeared into the Bermuda

His Majesty 25

triangle, would White still be win ning, irrespective of who is to play? A. No, but at the critical point Black must be accurate. White has no trouble pushing the black king away from the g5-pawn and captures it easily. Then his king will be in front of his own g-pawn (but directly in front of it, remember, so he has no spare tempo to 'waste' ). However, if Black makes sure that he gets the op position, then he can draw. He does this by meeting the inevitable �xg5 with . . . rtig7. Hence with White to play from the previous diagram, we may have: 1 'ittd5-d6 2 'ittd6-e6 3 'itte6-f5 4 �f5-f6 5 c;i;>f6-f5! ? �6-g6 �g6-g7 'ittg7-h6 �h6-h7 Sneaky ! 5 �f6xg5 �h7-g7 gives Black the opposition and thereafter his draw. So White sets a trap, al though he is only playing games.

5 ... �h7-h6

Also 5 . . . �h7-h8 and 5 . . . �h7-g8 are both waiting to meet 6 �f5xg5 with the required defence 6 . . . �g7, but 5 . . . 'itth7-g7?? would be disas trous as 6 �f5xg5 leaves White with the opposition and a winning posi-ti on. 6 'ittf5-f6 7 �f6xg5

lf2.lf2

�h6-h7 . �h7-g7!

So we have seen how in a king and pawn ending, two pawns versus one will generally offer more winning

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26 His Maj esty

chances than one versus none. Thus it follows that three versus two is better still, up to the point where, given that the kings are equidistant from the action, the aggressor (i.e. the side with the extra pawn ) has an overwhelming advantage. If there are any pieces present, it still follows that as far as wanting a win goes, the more pawns around, the better. This is logical because not only does it mean that an enemy piece cannot sacrifice itself for what might be the last remaining pawn, but in the event of a successful decoy plan, with the opponent's king lured to the other side of the board, there will be more pawns to take elsewhere!

In conclusion, this general rule should more accurately read:

'When ahead in material, ex· change pieces, not pawns!'

On the other hand, should you find yourself defending a position with a pawn down, remember that not only can a bare bishop or knight

not checkmate you, but also they

cannot promote! Therefore:

'When behind in material, ex· change pawns, not pieces!'

To end this section I would just like to add that it is precisely this concept of being material up lead ing to a simplify-and-win scenario which is responsible for the famous but baffling phrase:

'A pawn is a pawn' !

This statement usually crops up in post-mortems. Two players might be

analysing their game. One of them has the chance to grab a 'hot' pawn (i.e. one which, upon its capture, will lead to some difficulties for the ma terialistic side) yet the opponent will have some compensation for the 'sacrificed' material, but if the storm can be weathered, then this extra ma terial could prove to be the decisive factor.

This is not an exaggeration. All other things being equal, if a pawn is won in the middlegame and an endgame is approaching, then the side with the material advantage should generally be expecting to win. Essentially this book aims to instruct the reader in converting such material or, indeed, positional pluses, while suggesting techniques for holding draws when we are on the defending side.

5) Stopping Passed

Pawns

Just to eliminate any confusion, a 'passed' pawn is a pawn that has a clear route to its promotion square without any enemy pawns being able to hinder its progress. In other words for a pawn to be passed, there must be no enemy pawns ahead of it on the same file or either of the adjacent ones. If there were no pieces around to stop it, then it could just stroll to the end of the board and become a queen or any other desired piece.

Passed pawns are clearly useful, but it is not necessarily true that it is

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better to have a passed pawn than to have a pawn majority. Take, for ex ample, the position below:

White does not actually have a passed pawn, although it is clear that with a two against one majority he is easily able to create one. So to whose advantage is it that the b-pawns ex ist? Well, if Black had a bishop on d4 or his king already on c5, then it is definitely in his favour. He would be able to win both of the white pawns and simultaneously preserve his own. The fact that he has this one pawn means that he could then win.

Having a more dominant king means

nothing if you have no potential checkmating piece.

In fact in the above position it is White who greatly benefits from the b-pawns being present. Without them it is clear that since the black king is in the c-pawn's 'square ' , a sprint for the 8th rank would be unsuccessful for White. Moreover, the white king is so far away that it could protect the c-pawn at best but not be able to

His Majesty 27

help the pawn promote by getting in front of it. 1 c4-c5 2 c5-c6 3 b5-b6! 'it>g6-f6 b7xc6 (D)

The point. White has the option of having a passed c-pawn (with 3 b5xc6) or a passed b-pawn as in the text. The black king would have been in the 'square' of the c-pawn, but it is too far away to catch this newly passed b-pawn. The fact that material is now level and Black has his own passed pawn is irrelevant as White promotes too quickly; the c6-pawn has too far to travel.

3 ... �f6-e6

4 b6-b7 White wins. So near, yet so far!

Returning to the topic of solitary passed pawns, it should be observed that in the opening/middlegame these are not considered to be too dangerous . If we make a compari son with football (or soccer for the

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28 His Maj esty

American readers), Arsenal spring to mind. They are renowned for getting a lot of men behind the ball, and if the opposing side fails to attack, then goals are few and far between. To start in chess each side has their pieces in their own half of the board and, although pieces are developed and moved around, it is usually a while (if at all) before this 'each to their own' situation is radically transformed.

In other words, with plenty of pieces in one's own camp there are always satisfactory options to block an enemy passed pawn should the need arise (as a last line of defence we begin with two rooks and a queen along our back rank). It might only be as the game unfolds and pieces are traded off that preventing an en emy passed pawn from actually queening really begins to pose a problem. Alternatively, and perhaps more common, is that it might only be later on in the game that passed pawns are actually created, and thus it is only then that the problem of how to stop them and/or win them actually becomes an issue.

Previously we have seen how kings are good at blockading pawns. Once firmly entrenched in the path of an enemy pawn, the king can be difficult to evict, particularly when you consider that the pawn itself is already having to be protected. The problem with a king being used to stop a passed pawn is that it is a slow

piece, and marching from one side of the board to the other is a very time consuming exercise.

Here we have no fewer than four passed pawns. The white king can never capture the h3-pawn since the g2-pawn then promotes, but Black's pawns can be monitored comfort ably. On the other hand Black is fighting a losing battle in his endeav ours to hold back the tide.

1 f4-f5

Using the same stretching tech nique, 1 a5-a6 �d5-c6 2 f4-f5 would also be winning. 1 2 f5-f6 3 a5-a6 cii>d5-c6 cii>c6-d7 White wins. Stopping both pawns is simply impossible.

The long range power of bishops is demonstrated well in their ability to keep enemy pawns under control. Q. With Black to play, which of the above 'kingless' positions poses any problems for the bishop?

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a

-. -. -. �,�

d d d

" �

w� m m m

m.t.m m m

-c

His Maj esty 29

A. In 'a' Black has 1 ... .i.a6-b7,

when none of the pawns can advance without being taken.

In 'b' 1 ... .i.c6-d7 watches over

the three passed pawns. If then 2 b4-b5 .i.d7xb4-b5 3 g3-g4, the g-pawn will make it to g5 . However, as long as Black then manoeuvres his bishop to e8 or e4, the pawns will again be un der his control. After 2 g3-g4 .i.d7xg4 the connected passed pawns look dangerous but are halted easily, e.g. 3 c5-c6 .i.g4-e2 4 c6-c7 .i.e2-a6 5 b4-b5 .ta6-b7.

The right answer is 'c' because af

ter 1 ... .i.c4-d3 the bishop finds itself

overworked after 2 a5-a6. Notice that there is only one light square be tween where the h-pawn is now and where it would promote. Hence the bishop cannot allow itself to be de flected away from the bl -h7 diago

nal as it is with 2 ... .i.d3xa6. As both

a6 and a8 are light squares, there are two opportunities for the bishop to stop the a-pawn queening, so 2

h6-h7? would lose to 2 ... .i.d3xh7.

Although faster than a king, knights can also be exposed as cum bersome pieces. The logic is the same - they can take a while to catch up with a passed pawn and must then remain to prevent it advancing fur ther, a policy which can take a piece out of the action.

Many believe that as a pawn gets nearer to the eighth rank it becomes more valuable. It is clear that in the late endgame the threat of promotion

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30 His Majesty

may tend to outweigh the fact that an advanced pawn can become weaker (by being further away from the other pieces and therefore more dif ficult to defend) when deep in enemy territory.

Generally, we know that knights like outposts, and it is also true that knights are not really suited for open space where they must inevitably be looked after by other pieces (com pared with knights, bishops are quick to remove themselves from the firing line). As they would prefer one of their own pawns to protect them, this is hardly possible when blockad ing a passed pawn.

Usually knights can stand in the way of a centrally placed passed pawn and still have an influence on the rest of the game, but the further the passed pawn is from the centre of the board the less appealing the post is for a knight.

Here are a few examples:

With his king so far away from the other pieces, Black's only problem

here is whether or not the knight will be able to give itself up for the dan gerous pawn.

1 <iite5-e6 <iii>hl-g2

2 <iii>e6-t7 lLie8-c7

The answer in this instance is that it can. Also adequate is 2 . . . .!be8-d6+ 3 <iii>f7-e6 .!bd6-e8, which leads us to the conclusion that if the e-pawn were a knight's pawn instead (i.e. on b7 or g7) with the knight blockading it, then Black could also hold the draw.

Now with a rook's pawn . . .

1 <iii>d5-c6 <iii>hl-g2

2 r;Pc6-b7 White wins.

An absolutely lost cause. Black's only hope for a draw in this type of situation would be if his own king were sufficiently near so that he could meet <iii>b7xa8 with . . . <iit(d6 or d7)-c7(or c8) with stalemate.

Let's face it, knights are pretty hopeless at stopping passed rooks' pawns. However, I will leave you

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with one slight ray of hope which is applicable in apparently desperate positions:

The dreaded rook's pawn again, though this time the knight has been able to stop it a rank earlier.

1 �c5-b6 llla7-c8+

2 'iti>b6-b7 lllc8-d6+

3 �b7-c7 llld6-b5+

4 �c7-b6 lllb5-d6!

The sneaky part ! Black does well to remain on this a7-c8-d6-b5 circuit.

5 a6-a7 llld6-c8+

6 'ili>b6-b7 lllc8xa7

Phew !

Knowing the above examples is very useful, but we must not forget that these are skeleton positions which become rather more compli cated when other pieces and pawns are added. Often certain squares which may have previously been available to the defending knight (or, to a lesser extent, a bishop) are re moved, making the defence more de manding. Alternatively, other factors

His Majesty 31

may mean that a winning position will be achieved when the 7th rank pawn is traded for a minor piece.

In the following game of mine from the 1 993 British Champion ship, White had just played 56 llld4-c2.

Quillan -Ward

My opponent had been confident about reaching this position as the outcome was predictable. He would concede his knight for my a-pawn and then, despite my three vs two kingside pawn maj ority, he would win because his king would easily be the first over there and all of my pawns would disappear.

I had other ideas ! In this position I considered my a-pawn to be more valuable than the knight and played:

56 ••. g6-g5!

Not falling into line with 56 . . . a2-al °jW?.

0-1

That's right - after some consid eration White understood his error of

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32 His Maj esty

judgement and resigned. The point is that the knight is rooted to c2 and the white king must in turn stay on d3, d2, or d 1 to protect it. With these two pieces tied up White has not the re sources to stop what will soon be a passed f-pawn.

The best pieces for stopping passed pawns are rooks. Whereas in the opening and middlegame we are constantly reminded that rooks like open files and the 7th rank, in the endgame the vital rule is that:

'Rooks belong behind passed

pawns.'

In endgames rooks come into their own and essentially this is just an extension of the concept that rooks should be active rather than passive.

Knights and bishops can block pawns and still cover other squares in the normal way - the fact that a bishop blocks a pawn in no way hin ders the four diagonals that it can move along. The same cannot be said of a rook.

If Black could place a rook on either gl or g8 with White to play in the position below, which should it be?

It may or may not surprise the reader to hear that forced into a snap decision, many opt to place the rook on g8.

I think this is based on an inherent feeling of comfort that one derives when a passed pawn is actually physically blockaded.

In fact with the rook on g8, Black is in trouble:

1 �f5-e6 'it>e8-d8

2 f6-f7 White wins.

Or 2 'it>e6-f7 - both moves expose the rook as being horribly passive. By having the rook blockading the pawn all rook moves along the g-file are impossible because the pawn is restricting its activity. It is the king, not the rook, which wants to be ob structing the pawn(s), but here the black king is in the way without ac tually being where it wants to be.

The trick is in appreciating that a rook can move one square or seven

squares, and that as _{long as it stands}

on the same file as a pawn the rook is covering it, be it one square or seven squares away.

If the black rook starts on gl, he wins easily: 1 'it>f5-e6 .C.gl-el+ 2 'iii>e6-f5 'it>e8-f7 3 'it>f5-g5 .:.e1-n 4 'iii>g5-h6 l:.fixf6+ s 'iii>h6-h7 .:.r6-g6

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Again behind the passed pawn:

6 'itih7-h8 :g6-h6#

Not 6 ... :g6xg7 stalemate. It should be noted that any other rook move along the g-file would have won the g-pawn in a perfectly satisfactory manner.

This rook-behind-passed-pawns rule really cannot be understated. On numerous occasions I have wit nessed juniors halt passed pawns in the above sort of position with:

1 . . . :b3-b8?

Of course l . . . .::r.b3-g3 ! rounds up the pawn immediately !

2 <t>d4-e5 .::r.b8-g8

Consistent if nothing else. One thing is for sure, there will be no white queen, even on a temporary basis. Nevertheless, bringing the king back (the logical choice) will now be too slow.

3 �e5-f6 :g8xg7

Better to be safe than sorry ! If a rook is good at restraining en emy passed pawns, then naturally it

His Maj esty 33

follows that a queen will be too. Probably the most useful technique to know is how to win with a king and queen against a king and a pawn on the 7th rank. This actually occurs quite often, so if you do not yet know it, pay attention !

Obviously there are numerous po sitions in which it could occur, but the theme is the same. Here Black must not only prevent the pawn from queening, but he must win it. In or der to do this, his king must be brought into play and the only time in which he can afford to move his king is when the white king is in front of his own pawn:

1 ... 'ti'd4-e5+

2 'i;e7-f7 •e5-d6!

No matter how many checks you have made in order for your queeri to approach, you must always be on the lookout for this 'quiet' move. Note that a quiet move is one that is not a check, and such moves are notori ously harder to find.

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34 His Maj esty 4 'it>e8-d8

This undesirable move is forced if White wishes to keep his pawn.

4 ... 'it>b2-c3

5 'it>d8-c7

Since the pawn would be pinned after 5 'it>d8-c8?, Black would be able to bring his king a square nearer without any manoeuvring.

5 . • . 'i'e6-e5+

There are several different ways to achieve the same aim. This ap pears to be the most accurate move but 5 . . . 'i'e6-c4+ 6 <i;c7-b7 'it'c4-d5+ 7 �b7-c7 'i'd5-c5+ 8 �c7-b7 'it'c5-d6 ! is effectively the same.

6 �c7-b7

If 6 'it>c7-c6 Black could abandon his intended method (as described above) in favour of 6 . . . 'i'e5-b8 or 6 . . . 'i'e5-a5 . Both of these moves guarantee Black the chance to plant his queen on the promotion square. Then the black king is free to ap proach at leisure. 6 7 8 9 <i;b7-c8 <i;c8-d8 <i;d8-e7 'i'e5-d6 'i'd6-c6+ <i;c3-d4 'ii'c6-c5+ Again I will remind you that the idea is the important thing. An addi tional check here or there would not jeopardise the position.

10 <i;e7-f7 'ii'c5-d6 11 �t7-e8 'ii'd6-e6+ 12 <i;e8-d8 �d4-d5 13 <J;d8-c7 'ii'e6-c6+ 14 �c7-d8 �d5-e6 15 <J;d8-e8 'i'c6xd7+ 16 �e8-f8 'ii'd7-t7#

With the attacking king far from the 7th rank pawn, but with the de fending king supporting it, the de fending side loses if the pawn is a knight's pawn or a 'centre' pawn (i.e. if it is on the b-, g-, d- , or e-file). However, if it is a bishop's pawn or a rook's pawn (on the c-, f-, a-, or h file) then a draw should be the out

come as _{in the two examples below:}

1

2 <J;b7-c7

'iie2-b5+ 'i'b5-a6 Employing the usual quiet move in order to force the king in front of the pawn.

3 <i;c7-b8 'i'a6-b6+

4 <J;b8-a8 'i'b6-d8+

Now we see the problem. White is unable to advance his king because this results in stalemate.

5 'it>a8-b7 'ii'd8-d7+

6 �b7-b8!

This looks natural, but it is the only move. White cannot allow the black queen to place itself on a8.

6 ••• 'iid7-b5+

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OK, if not agreed, a draw would eventually have to be claimed by White using the 'fifty move rule' (either side can claim a draw if 50 white moves and black moves pass without a pawn being moved or any piece or pawn being taken) or the 'three-fold repetition rule' (a draw can be claimed if the exact same po sition is reached or is about to be reached for a third time, with the same player having the move).

1 2 �b7-a7 3 �a7-b8 4 �b8-a8! 'iie2-b5+ 'i'b5-c6 li'c6-b6+ The key saving move. Normally this is unplayable because the queen could just capture the pawn, but since the pawn is a bishop's pawn, the result of taking it when the en emy king is in the corner is stale mate ! 4 5 �a8-b8 6 �b8-a8 7 �a8-b8 'i'b6-c6+ •c6-b6+ 'i'b6-a6+ •a6-b6+

His Maj esty 35

And at this stage White should write the move 8 �b8-a8 down on his scoresheet and, before playing it, announce that the same position will have been reached for a third time and then claim a draw. This will ter minate the game immediately, al though he need not make this claim here if he is happy playing on and demonstrating his defensive tech nique. With best play he can't lose.

S omething I always used to be puzzled about in this type of queen vs pawn example is why the attack ing king always seems to start off at the other end of the board. It ap peared that perhaps a point needed to be made regarding the wonderful skills of a queen acting alone (and as we saw in our first two examples, creating the time to bring up the king). However, I later came to real ise that such positions tend to be reached at the end of pawn races where both kings had been required at opposite ends of the board to re move enemy pawns, thus clearing a path for their own.

When the attacking king starts nearer the 7th rank pawn then many more winning chances present them selves (for example, in the previously drawn rook's and bishop's pawn situations). This is because another theme comes into play in the form of allowing the opponent to promote:

1 ... �b4-b5!

2 �b8-a8

The point is that after 2 c7-c8'it', White has no satisfactory way to

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36 His Maj esty

guard against mate after 2

.

. . �b5-b6.

White is trapped on the edge and the commanding black queen covers White's checking options.

The text at least is a sneaky move.

Now 2

..

. 'iie7xc7 ? is stalemate, and

2

..

. 'it>b5-b6? (hoping for 3 c7-c8'ii

'iie7-a7#) runs right into 3 c7-c8lll+ ! forking the king and queen.

2

...

'i'e7-e8+

Again I believe that there are pos sibly a few methods to win this, but 2 . . . �b5-a6? 3 c7-c8'ii+ �a6-b6 is not one of them as White has 4 'ii c8-b8+ �b6-a6 5 'iib8-c8+.

3 �a8-b7 'i'e8-c6+

4 �b7-b8 'it>b5-b6

5 c7-c8'i' (D)

Promoting to a knight would be just a temporary annoyance as 5 c7-c8lll+ �b6-a6 is very effective.

5 'ii'c6-d6+

6 �b8-a8 'i'd6-a3+

7 'it>a8-b8 'iVa3-a7#

As a newly promoted defending queen would be even less useful stuck in the corner, it follows that

similar ideas are applicable when the 7th rank pawn is on the a- or h-file. I will not give any more examples of this but I would like to finish this section with another bold point.

We have just seen how a king and queen take on a king and a pawn on its 7th rank. If the pawn has not even made it to the 7th rank, then the at tacker should definitely win. Let me just set up what might appear to be a tough task:

=

-LS m m m m

-- -- --

-·-- -·-- -·-- -·--'ii

This one was not prepared earlier ! However, it should not be too tricky. A simple plan is to bring the queen

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around to where the action is. If the white king is forced in front of the pawn this time, then it is not stale mate, and after a move with Black's own king, the pawn will fall. There must be countless satisfactory ways to achieve our aim and just one con tinuation might be:

1 ... 'i'hl-bl+

2 �b8-c7 1Wbl-c2+

In fact 2 . . . 1i'bl -e4 3 'iti>c7-b8 (this is forced or Black gets in 3 . . . 'ii'e4-a8) 3 . . . 'i'e4-b4+ would be quicker, but let's persevere with the (slower) me thodical approach. 3 �c7-b7 4 �b7-c7 5 �c7-b7 'Wc2-b3+ 1Wb3-c4+ After 5 �c7-b6, again there are several winning ideas : 5 . . . 'i'c4-d5 6 'iti>b6-a7 (preventing 6 .. . 1i'd5-a8) 6 .. . 'i'd5-b5 ; or 5 . . . 1i'c4-b4+ 6 �b6-c7 'i'b4-a5+ 7 ��b6-c7-b7 'i'a5-b5+ as in the text.

5 ... 'ii'c4-b5+

6 'iti>b7-a7 �g2-f3

All according to plan. 7 rl;a7-a8 is the only move, met adequately by 7 ... 'i'b5xa6+.

6) Blocking, Deflecting

and Push ing Off

This section and the next introduce the reader to a little bit of technical jargon. This is not just so that you can sound impressive. I do not re member ever telling my opponent 'Unlucky, my bishop has encircled your knight' . But I do feel that the

His Maj esty 37

following techniques are useful if only to demonstrate how much one can achieve with so few pieces.

I do appreciate that there will be a temptation to think (neither for the first nor last time) that this is all very well but we may never reach such a position. I have included these sec tions for a reason, although I would first like to share with you my one reservation for doing so. We are es sentially still following a passed pawn motif, though here we are more concerned with helping them to promote. Despite the success that is achieved in defeating the enemy piece which is trying to stop the pawn, I urge the reader not to get an inflated view of pawns when com pared to pieces. I will cover this vast area in more detail a little later, but for the time being please just keep my warning in mind.

w

The black bishop seems to be per forming an admirable task. It pre vents White's a-pawn advancing and

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38 His Majesty

even if White's king made it to b7 (supporting the a6-a7 push), it would have no qualms about sacrificing it self to secure the draw. As there is lit tle material left on the board this solitary pawn takes on a greater im portance, so White's intention is to smuggle the pawn home, and he does so with ingenious simplicity:

1 ltJe7-c8!

After 1 &!Je7-c6 all Black need do is retreat his threatened bishop to a safe square along the gl-a7 diagonal. If Black has seen through White's plan, then he might like to place his bishop on a7 now, but of course the knight covers this square too.

1 . . . lfi>e4-d5

2 &!Jc8-b6+ White wins.

The knight has blocked out the bishop, leaving 3 a6-a7 next on the agenda. After 2 .. . .td4xb6 3 lfi>b5xb6 Black's king is too far from the rele vant corner.

Clearly a restriction for the de fender here was that the pawn being on a rook's file left the bishop with fewer diagonals along which to hin der the pawn's advance. The a7-b8 diagonal is so short that on b8 the bishop can easily be chased away (e.g. by a king on b7). Two further examples of this are illustrated be low:

1 .th7-g8 .tc4-d3

As far as stopping the passed h pawn goes, the a2-g8 diagonal is vi tal. The black bishop has been forced

from this diagonal as I . . . _{.tc4xg8 2}

�h8xg8 leaves White just needing a king move to promote the pawn.

2 .tg8-a2

Or to d5 or b3 for that matter. Note the white king prevents 2 ... .td3-h7.

White wins.

Here Black's last line of defence is his rook. The h-pawn wants to queen, but the king must escape from in front of it.

1 l:ta8-g8

Contesting the key file and effec tively pushing away the black rook.

1 l:tgl-fi

Endgame Play - Ward

Endgame Play

Chris Ward

Contents

Symbols

Preface

1

Introducing Endgame Play

2

His Majesty

1 ) The Colossal King

2) Explaining and

expand ing on King

and Pawn versus King

. � �-� �-�

B BLSB B

. -�- .

• • • •

• • • •

• • • •

• • • •

• • • •

. . .

-. �,� -. -.

�· . . .

- . . .

� � . .

� d

• • • •

• • • •

. - . .

3) Tempo: Is Time of

the essence?

4) Swap off and win !

lf2.lf2

5) Stopping Passed

Pawns

-. -. -. �,�

d d d

w� m m m

m.t.m m m

.

..

..

...

=

-LS m m m m

-- -- --

-·-- -·-- -·-- -·--'ii

6) Blocking, Deflecting

and Push ing Off

_{Introducing Endgame Play}

_{His Majesty}

_{� d}