Endgame of the Month 3

TURNING A SEEMINGLY COMPLEX POSITION INTO SOMETHING SIMPLE, PART TWO

Most successful attacks don't end in mate, but give the attacker some form of static advantage (material, weaknesses to attack, etc.). And, more often than you might think, a strong middlegame position is cashed in by trades leading to a winning endgame.

Of course, this becomes a major problem if you don't possess basic endgame skills. Thus, you can't be successful if you don't have endgame skills. It's that simple!

Here are two examples showing complex middlegame positions that suddenly become easy when an endgame arrives.

In the game Anand-Carlsen, Linares 2007, we arrive at the position in diagram one after the following moves:
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0 0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0 0 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Nd7 12.d5 Nb6 13.Nbd2 g6 14.b4 cxb4 15.cxb4 Nac4 16.Nxc4 Nxc4 17.Bb3 Nb6 18.Be3 Bd7 19.Rc1 Rc8 20.Rxc8 Bxc8 21.Qc2 Bd7 22.Rc1 Na8 23.Qd2 Qb8 24.Bg5 Bxg5 25.Nxg5 Rc8 26.Rf1 h6 27.Ne6 Kh7 28.f4 Qa7+ 29.Kh2 fxe6

In the actual game, Carlsen played 29...Be8 and went down in flames after 30.f5 gxf5 31.exf5 f6 32.Re1 Nc7 33.Rc1 Bd7 34.Rc3 e4 35.Rg3 Nxe6 36.dxe6 Be8 37.e7 Bh5 38.Qxd6, 1-0.

30.dxe6 Be8 31.f5 gxf5 32.exf5

BLACK TO PLAY

White is a piece down but his f- and e-pawns are extremely strong. One might think Black is going to get mated, but Anand (in his notes from NIC Magazine, issue 3, 2007) shows us that he expected to win the position by rushing into a King and pawn endgame where the basic concept of the Outside Passed Pawn assured him of victory!

His analysis: 32...Qd4 33.Qxd4 exd4 34.f6 Nb6 35.f7 Bxf7 36.exf7 Rf8 37.Be6 Nc4 38.Rd1 Ne5 39.Rxd4 Nxf7 40.Rf4 Kg7 41.Rxf7+ Rxf7 42.Bxf7 Kxf7 43.Kg3

IT'S OVER

"And White wins the pawn ending." -- Anand. He gave a few more moves for the endgame challenged: 43...Ke6 44.Kf3 Ke5 45.g4 d5 46.h4 d4 47.g5 hxg5 48.hxg5 Kf5 49.g6 Kxg6 50.Ke4.

Clearly, this is a trivial win thanks to an upcoming Fox in the Chicken Coup. If you missed our last article (on just this subject!) and thus don't know much about the Outside Passed Pawn or Fox in the Chicken Coup, please click this link: TURNING A SEEMINGLY COMPLEX POSITION INTO SOMETHING SIMPLE, PART ONE

Just imagine trying to decide whether or not you should enter such an endgame if you didn't have these two basic endgame building blocks. However, when you do have this knowledge, you can stop your analysis right away when you see that endgame appear in your head since you know that Black is doomed. No analysis necessary!

Next we see a blitz game (3 minutes for each side) where a student of mine (as White) faces an unknown grandmaster.

Sorme - Neveris, ICC 2007
1.d4 d6 2.e4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.h3 0 0 6.Be3 c6 7.a4 Qa5 8.Qd2 e5 9.Bc4 Nbd7 10.0 0 Re8 11.dxe5 dxe5 12.Rfd1 Nc5

SEEMS COMPLICATED

The position in diagram three seems to be heating up with Black now able to contemplate moves like ...Be6 or perhaps even ....Qb4 (of course, White's e-pawn isn't really hanging). To his credit, Sorme found a nice way to erase Black's activity and leave his opponent in a joyless position. How? By entering an endgame where various small advantages (queenside space and pressure against a7 and all the dark squares along the a7-e3 diagonal) leave Black with a very difficult defensive chore ahead of him.

13.Nd5! Qxd2 14.Nxf6+ Bxf6 15.Nxd2 Ne6 16.c3

Taking the d4-square away from Black's Knight.

16...Nf4 17.a5!

A KEY MOVE!

This fixes the queenside and leaves Black with a choice: keep on the pawn on a7 where it will have to be protected by the nursemaid Rook, or push it to a6 and give White's dark squared Bishop access to the b6-square.

17...Bd7

A poor move that's typical of blitz, but Black was already in serious trouble.

18.b4!

A thematic move that totally clamps down on the queenside.

18...Red8 19.Nb3

Heading for the delicious c5-square.

19...Be6 20.Bxe6 Nxe6 21.Nc5!

Another fine move. The exchange of Knights leaves Black hard pressed to hold onto the d-file.

21...Nxc5 22.Bxc5 a6

One can understand Black finally caving in and playing this move. However, 22...Bg5 was a better try, though White's advantage remains clear after 23.Kf1.

23.Bb6

WHITE WINS THE d-FILE!

Forcing the win of the d-file. Now White can target b7 by getting his Rook to the seventh rank.

23...Rxd1+ 24.Rxd1 Re8?

Black's position had somehow drifted from "complex with chances" to "dead in the water." It seemed that every time White traded a piece, Black's game sank a bit deeper in the slime.

After 24...Re8, the game becomes resignable. White continues to play very well, never giving his mighty opponent any chances at all.

25.Rd7 Re7 26.Rd8+ Kg7 27.Bc5 Re6 28.Bf8+ Kg8 29.Rb8 h5 30.Bc5+ Kg7 31.Rxb7 Re8 32.Bb6 g5 33.g3 g4 34.h4 Re6 35.Kf1 Rd6 36.Ke2 Kg6 37.Bc5 Rd8 38.Rb6 Bg7 39.Rxc6+ f6 40.Rxa6 Bh6 41.Rd6, 1-0.

Clearly, it doesn't take a lot to win a game. And even the mighty can fall before someone with good endgame skills!