CHAPTER 2

Calculation training with students

In this chapter, I would like to share a few games and positions that I have used to train my students at various points in time. This chapter aims to recreate the training session for the reader and show the students’ typical mistakes. We can learn by comparing our analysis with the students’ analysis and learn from the process. The positions, being diverse and rich, are good examples for study in their own right. Additionally, they also contain the experiences and viewpoints of different levels of students. I hope readers will find this instructive and exciting.

For a player to be good in calculation, he has to meet these five criteria:

1. He should look as deeply as possible into the position and thus see more moves in his calculation.

2. It is not enough to see one straight main line. It is essential to see as many branches as required. We should see multiple variations as per the requirements of the position.

3. There should be no or few mistakes in the variations seen in our calculation. Analysing deeply with multiple branches but with many errors does not serve the purpose.

4. All the above should be done with as little time/energy/effort as possible.

5. The evaluation of the critical positions and the final outcome should be correct. We see all the correct variations and come to the wrong conclusion due to errors in evaluation. We should avoid this.

Game 34 Analysis with students

Alexandr Grin

Study, 1989

White to play and draw

Using this position and the subsequent analysis made by a student, let us identify some typical mistakes made in calculation.

1.♘b5

1.♘d5? a2 2.♘b6+ ♔d8.

1...a2 2.c6

The student gave the variation 2.♘a7+? ♔c7 3.c6 a1♕?= after a few minutes of thought and was convinced he got the correct solution, despite being asked to check his answer thoroughly before giving the solution to me.

When I pointed out that 3...♔b6! wins for Black, as the a2-pawn promotes on the next move, the student became upset upon realising his mistake. He struggled for an inordinate amount of time after that and finally got the correct solution. Let us try to understand his thought process and the kind of mistakes he made.

1. He saw an idea involving a beautiful stalemate concept and immediately ‘allowed’ himself to be carried away by it.

Suggestion: Keep calm throughout the analytical process, to the extent possible. Do not allow yourself to be carried away, no matter how brilliant your idea appears to be. It could either be a brilliant idea or it could just appear to be so! In the process of calculating variations, we come across all kinds of moves and ideas. Some of them appear to be correct and others appear to be incorrect. Do not be deceived by the look of the moves. Whenever you realise you are allowing yourself to become emotional or get carried away by your intelligent-looking idea or move, remind yourself to be calm and not lose objectivity.

2. When I asked this student to check his analysis for possible mistakes, he did not understand the importance of this tool in the analytical process and did a cursory checking of his analysis. It’s no surprise that he missed the mistake in his variation.

Suggestion: First of all, we should realise that the analysis we have made after a few minutes of initial thought is only a preliminary analysis and the process is not complete yet. We should be ready to go through our analysis multiple times, looking for any missed opportunities for our opponent or ourselves at every move in the variation. If we have achieved our objective in our analysis (here: finding a draw), we should pay special attention to every move by the opponent in our variation. It is very much possible that we have found some inaccurate moves for our opponent and because of this, we achieved our objective in the analysis. This is a very common problem with many players – finding sub-par moves for the opponent in analysis.

3. Not paying attention to details, especially to move orders in the variations. The concrete variations are more than the way we try to implement our ideas. Minor changes in move orders can have completely different outcomes.

4. Seeing only one variation or possibility. The moment we see an interesting move, we should confirm if it is the only move or not. If it is not the only move or a forced move, we can either make a list of moves there and then, or come back to this moment to look for other alternatives when our main move does not work.

5. Getting too emotional and upset when things do not go the way we want them to. When we analyse a variation and for some reason it does not work, we should check it once more to see if it is not working due to some mistake we made in our analysis or the move/idea itself is incorrect. Once we confirm that our move is incorrect, we simply consider the other candidate moves we had kept in reserve.

2...a1♕+ 3.♘a7+ ♔d8 4.c7+! ♔xc7 ½-½

Game 35 Analysis with students

Ladislav Prokes

Study, 1948

White to play and draw

1.♖h3? ♖xh3 (1...g1♕ 2.♖g7 transposes) 2.♖g7. Most students give this variation as the solution and are quiet content with their effort. This line is refuted by 2...♖h8+! 3.♔b7 ♖h7! 4.♖xh7 g1♕ 5.d5 ♕c5.

Let me approach the problem-solving process from a coach-student viewpoint. First of all, while solving studies/compositions, we should be liberal with the time taken to solve them. When the student feels he is ready to give his version of the solution, he can either write it down and show it (in case of a group session) or verbally give the solution (in case of a one-to-one session).

1. After the student gives the solution, and before looking at the solution and giving your reaction, ask him to check the solution for mistakes on his own.

2. Even after checking the analysis, if the solution provided by the student contains mistakes, ask him to find out why his solution is incorrect and find the exact moment where he went wrong. Once they come up with the refutation of their own incorrect solution, ask them to approach the position with fresh eyes or try to use the information they obtained from their previous analysis to make changes in their analysis and get the correct solution.

3. Basically, try not to give more information than necessary, like which move is incorrect or where they should make changes in the analysis. This should be done only after they have attempted to find the solution on their own three or more times.

4. In this way, we teach students that they are on their own when it comes to handling their problems over the board, and they will have to rely on no one except themselves. This will make them responsible while analysing.

5. To the extent possible, students should find the complete solution on their own. They should learn to check their own analysis for mistakes, and identify and correct them.

6. Giving clues often while solving will encourage students to put in a half-hearted effort and give half-baked solutions, since they know the coach will eventually give clues and they can pick up the analysis from that point onwards.

7. The coach encourages and motivates students to go through this tough process of analysing, re-analysing, discarding moves that do not work, trying different ideas, etc., and finally finding the correct path. They should be led on the path to become self-reliant.

1.♖dg7 g1♕ 2.♖h3 ♕b1+ 3.♖b7 ♕xb7+

3...♕e1 4.♖b3+.

4.♔xb7 ♖xh3 5.d5 ♖h6 6.♔c7 ½-½

Game 36 Analysis with students

Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa 2608

Oleg Rychkov 2407

chess.com 2020 (10)

TASK 1: Find the defence for Black – until the end, of course. Time to think: 10 to 15 minutes.

I gave this position to five players during an online class. Their Elo ratings were 2115, 2050, 1900, 1830 and 1470. The session time was 90 minutes.

I will use the ratings of the players, instead of their names, to indicate the moves they suggested. This way the readers can compare themselves with the players’ analysis and draw appropriate conclusions.

38...♔g8?

This loses immediately:

39.♗xe6 fxe6 40.♕h7#

A) 38...d4? 39.cxd4 ♗d5 was suggested by the 1900 player, which is a good start. He is looking for ways to create active counterplay. But this idea is refuted by 40.♗g2!+-;

B) 38...♘d7? 39.♕xc6 ♘xf6 was suggested by the 1830 player. This is refuted in multiple ways, like 40.exf6+ ♔xf6 41.♕xa6+-;

C) 38...♕d7! 39.♕a8!.

analysis diagram

Although this puts the white queen in an odd place, Black has to solve many problems to find peace:

C1) 39...♖c7? 40.♗xe6+-;

C2) 39...♖cc8 40.♗xe6+-;

C3) 39...♕c7? 40.♖e3? (the 2115 player completely missed 40.♗xe6! fxe6 41.♘xe6+ ♖xe6 42.♖xe6+-. When I asked him to refute 39....♕c7, he found 40.♗xe6! after a couple of minutes of thought. This kind of correcting of our own mistakes is very important. Initially, it is alright if the coach has to give indications where such corrections need to be made. But after a period of time, the player should be able to identify such critical moments to do the correction themselves. I then asked other players who were thinking about some other variations at that point to find the refutation of 39...♕c7, which everyone did within a few minutes. In this way, interesting ideas given by a player can be used for training purposes with the other students in the group) 40...♘d7?

analysis diagram

TASK 2: Time to think: 3 to 5 minutes.

C31) 41.♘xe6+? fxe6 42.♖xf8 ♘xf8-+ was given by the 2115 player;

C32) 41.♖xf7+? ♖xf7 42.♘xf7 ♔xf7 43.♕h8, with the idea of 44.♖f3+, was suggested as a refutation by the 2115 player. I then asked him to find the defence for Black after 43.♕h8. He could not find the ...♗b3-c2-f5 idea. He simply forgot there was a bishop on b3. Forgetting certain pieces or pawns during analysis is quite common for an untrained mind: 43...♗c2! (43...♔e7? 44.♖f3? (44.♕g7+ ♔d8 45.♕g8+ ♔e7 46.♖f3+-) was given by the 2115 player, missing 44...♕xe5) 44.♖e2 ♗b1 45.♖e1 ♗d3 46.♖e3 ♗c2=;

C33) 41.♗xe6? ♘xe5!-+ was missed by the 1830 player, which is understandable (41...♘xf6? 42.exf6+ ♔g8 43.♗xf7+ ♕xf7 44.♕xc6 ♕xf6 45.♕xf6 ♖xf6 46.♖e6+-);

C34) 41.♕xf8+! ♘xf8 (41...♔xf8 42.♖xf7+ ♔e8 43.♗xe6+-) 42.♖ef3!+-.

C4) 39...d4! 40.cxd4 and now:

C41) 40...♕xd4?

analysis diagram

TASK 3: Time to think: 3 to 5 minutes.

41.♖f4! (41.♗g2 ♖c7! 42.♖f4 ♕d2=; 41.♘xf7?! ♕c3!∞) 41...♕d8 42.♕a7! ♕c7 43.♕e3 ♖c3 44.♕d2 ♖c2 45.♕d1 ♖c3 46.♕a1!;

C42) 40...♖c3? 41.♗xe6+-;

C43) 40...♗d5! (exploiting the odd position of White’s queen and at the same time centralising his bishop) 41.♗g2 (otherwise, the white queen will be in trouble. At this point, the 1830 player could not find this move for White. This is another common problem for untrained players; when the opponent has a threat, they are unable to find resources to counter such threats effectively) 41...♗xg2 (41...♖c1? 42.♖xc1 ♗xa8 43.♗xa8 wins for White, for example 43...♕e7 44.♗e4 ♘d7 45.♖c7+-) 42.♔xg2 ♕d5+:

C431) 43.♔g1? ♘d7 (43...♖c1? 44.♖xc1 ♕xa8 45.♖c7+-);

C432) 43.♔h2!? ♘d7 44.♕b7 ♘xf6 45.exf6+ ♔g8!= (45...♔xf6? was given by the 1900 player, with the assessment that Black is winning. But he missed the follow-up. When asked to refute 45...♔xf6, he found 46.♖e4!+-, which is very good);

C433) 43.♖f3 ♘d7 44.♕b7 (44.♕a7 ♖fc8 45.♖e4 ♖8c7 46.♖xf7+ ♔g8 47.♕a8+ ♖c8 48.♕b7 ♖8c7=):

C4331) 44...♖fc8?

analysis diagram

TASK 4: Time to think: 3 minutes.

45.♖c1! ♖xc1 46.♕xd5 exd5 47.♖xf7+ ♔g8 48.♖xd7+-;

C4332) 44...♖b8 45.♕a7 ♖bc8 (45...♖c3 46.♖ee3). The d4-pawn prevents White’s queen from escaping, enabling Black to make a draw: 46.♔h2 ♖8c7 47.♖xf7+ ♔g8 48.♕a8+ ♖c8=.

The following position could have arisen in a game played by GM Praggnanandhaa against GM Bosiocic. Pragg chose a different move earlier in the game, so what we are about to see is only our analysis. I used this position in an online group session with a few of my students from the USA. There were four players with ages 11 to 14. The USCF ratings of the students were 2125, 1900, 1850 and 1735, respectively.

On the screen, the students can see only the initial position (some students use a physical chessboard with the initial position) for the full 90-minutes session. The analysis is done without moving pieces on the board, and the students send their analysis on the private chat window. The feedback is also given in the same way. No one knows what the other students have sent in. Each student is on his own. Throughout the session, each student is analysing a completely different position in their mind. The students are at different phases of the analysis throughout the session and the feedback is given by the coach to their individual suggestions. This way, every student is getting considerable individual attention during a group session.

If a student completes the analysis of a position, he can be given the next position while others are still working on the previous position. This way, during the same group session, different students can be made to analyse different positions. It also means the coach should be able to give correct feedback under the challenging circumstances. It will also motivate the students to analyse quickly (the coach should ensure that the quality is not compromised in the process!) and go ahead of others in their analysis, improving the competitiveness. I would suggest the reader to do the same with all the positions in this book. Do not make any move on the board to the extent possible while you are analysing. Initially, this will be tough. At times it will be confusing, frustrating, and testing our patience a lot. Try to persist and you will improve your analytical skills permanently.

I have tried to give a clear picture of how the students were thinking, and of the kinds of mistakes they made in analysing these variations. From this, we can hopefully learn useful lessons that can guide us to make necessary corrections in our thinking process.

Game 37 Analysis with students

Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa 2515

Marin Bosiocic 2628

Gibraltar 2018 (9)

TASK 1: Time to think: 10 minutes.

White has an extra pawn and a pair of bishops, and the knight on a6 is misplaced. All White needs is time to get his undeveloped pieces into the game. Then it will all be over for Black. This means Black has to act quickly before White can implement his plan.

18...♘xf2!

18...cxd4? 19.♗xe4 (after we remove this centralised knight, Black does not have sufficient compensation for the pawn deficit) 19...dxe4 (19...dxc3 20.♕xd5 cxd2 21.♗xd2+-) 20.♘xe4.

None of the students considered 18...cxd4 as a serious alternative in their analysis. They were all drawn to the obvious 18...♘xf2! sacrifice. In some ways, it is a good sign that they went for the most critical move in the position. Our mind should learn to be drawn towards the critical lines while analysing – like magnets to iron.

In other ways, it is also important that we do not exclude other possibilities in our analysis when we are attracted by one particular move or idea, however tempting it may be. Our likes and dislikes and our personal preferences should not dictate which move we will analyse and which one we will not (at least until we have reached a level where our analytical skills and intuition are very well developed or when we are running short of time). Sometimes, a move that we do not like could be exactly what the position needs.

19.♖xf2 ♖xf2 20.♔xf2 cxd4

Since the white rook and bishop on the queenside are not yet developed, and the white king position is temporarily exposed, Black has a short time window to keep White engaged in the defence by making constant threats and not allowing White’s undeveloped pieces to get back into the game.

21.cxd4

TASK 2: Time to think: 5 minutes.

Until now, the moves were more or less forced and obvious to all the students. The 1735 student got stuck here, and was not sure if he should continue. I suggested to him to keep looking for ways to continue the fight. An important point to note here is that he was given no clue whatsoever about the direction he should be looking in.

21...♘c5!

21...♘b4? was the first reaction from all the students, which is understandable. We have already invested some material and we would want to get something in return with the remaining units left on the board. 22.♕c3.

The 1850 student missed this move and considered only 22.♕b1?? when 22...♕xd4+ wins for Black. This is understandable again. He was probably doing this kind of training for the first time and was not sure whether there was a pawn on c3 or not. While everyone was considering 21...♘b4, the c3-pawn disappeared. After 21...♘b4 was played in the mind, it reappeared and 22.♕c3 was not possible anymore. At some places it is there, and suddenly it disappears. Players without good visualisation skills suffer from this a lot; pawns and pieces keep appearing and disappearing all the time and the position is very hazy.

Now we have two choices. We can give up, accept our current limitations and remain with average analytical skills throughout, or we can try to overcome our current limitations by pushing ourselves harder, try to do those that appear difficult with our current set of skills and grow stronger in the process. Trying to get better through our own effort is the key to growth.

So we play 22.♕c3, and now 22...♘c2!? 23.♕xc2 ♕xd4+ 24.♔f1 ♗xg3 25.♘f3+-. The 1735 student saw this variation, which is fantastic in my opinion. What is important while analysing is that we come up with ideas and try to make them work. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t. We keep trying different ideas and keep the effort going. In the process, we will make many mistakes, but we keep pushing. This is the process to grow in my opinion. I have seen many players go through this process and gradually become strong players.

Instead of the mistake 21...♘b4, 21...♗xg3+? 22.♔xg3 ♕d6+ 23.♔f2+- was found by the 1850 student. When inexperienced players begin to analyse a complex position without moving pieces, they initially come up with such ‘too creative’ suggestions. It is the excitement finding an outlet! Once they start doing this kind of training on a regular basis, this will go away and they will be able to calculate variations without mistakes.

22.dxc5 ♗xc5+ 23.♔f1 ♗g1!

23...♗f2? 24.♘f3 ♗xg3. The 2125 student stopped here, concluding that this position is winning for Black. He missed ♕c2 or ♕d2, defending against Black’s threat. We can see two problems faced by the player. One is the difficulty in visualising the position as we go deeper into the lines. The position starts becoming hazy in our head and we lose track of the pieces and pawns. This makes it tough or impossible to either find the moves or evaluate them properly. If we show this position to the player on the board, he will be able to find the 25.♕c2 or 25.♕d2 defence. To see it from afar is tough, but possible with regular training.

The 1850 student stopped here, concluding that Black is winning.

TASK 3: Time to think: 5 minutes.

24.♕f3

24.♕f5!? ♗h2 and now:

A) 25.♘f3?? – the 2125 student got stuck here. Me: ‘In this line Black has a win, so find it.’ He only gave 25...♗xg3? 26.♕c2+- and missed 25...♕a6+, which is winning for Black. This was mainly because the position was not clear in his head. Someone with better visualisation capabilities would be able to spot the winning continuation effortlessly since the move itself is not difficult to find: 26.♔f2 ♕e2#;

B) None of the students saw the defensive resource 25.♗e4!. If we don’t see a move like 24.♕f3, we will be required to find such tough resources, which is not easy. In this instance, it is not so bad to miss the resource 25.♗e4!, since we had an easier-to-find alternative that fortunately works for us.

25...dxe4 26.♘xe4 ♕g1+ 27.♔e2 ♗xg3 28.♔f3! (this king walk is psychologically tough to find; 28.♗e3?? ♕xa1 29.♘xg3 ♕xb2+, and White will lose most of his pawns) 28...♗h4 (28...♕f1+?? 29.♔g4+-) 29.♗h6! ♕xa1 30.♗xg7+ ♔xg7 31.♕d7+ ♖e7 32.♕g4+ and White survives with perpetual check.

24...♗h2!

Black is winning according to the 1900 student.

24...♕b5+? 25.♔xg1 ♖e1+ was suggested by the 1850 student. He completely missed 26.♘f1 or 26.♔h2 for White. The visualisation becoming tough is the main reason. Moreover, when we do this kind of training without moving pieces on the board, it will be very tough for the player initially. That is why it is better to start with easy ones and gradually move on to tougher ones. The choice of positions for this kind of training is critical. A position that is too tough will demotivate the student. If a position is too easy, the player will not find it challenging enough.

TASK 4: Time to think: 5 minutes.

Most of the students got stuck here. The 2125 player got desperate and said 25.♗e3, which is an illegal move, forgetting that White’s knight is still on d2! When we make such mistakes during this kind of training, it is important that the player is not ridiculed and such mistakes are accepted without passing judgement. Players make different types of mistakes in training. What is more important is that the effort from the student is good enough and it gets the appreciation it deserves.

Nothing motivates a student like timely praise from the coach, parents or others. I have seen many coaches who are hesitant to praise their students, as they fear that it will go to their heads and the students will begin to think they do not have to raise their efforts any further, since their current efforts are already appreciated. But it works the other way in practice. When players are praised, deservingly, it motivates them to raise their effort from then on to meet the new standards they set themselves. Most coaches keep harping on the negatives and weaknesses in their students, and it simply reinforces those perceived weaknesses in their students.

25.♘e4!

The 2125 and 1850 players did not find this move for a long time.

The 1850 player suggested 25.♕f2?, missing 25...♕b5+-+.

25...dxe4

The 1900 player considered only 25...♕g1+?, missing 25...dxe4. There could follow 26.♔e2 ♖xe4+ (26...dxe4? 27.♕f2+-; the 2125 player claimed Black was winning after 27.♕f1 ♕d4, missing 27.♕f2 completely) 27.♗e3 (27.♔d2? – the 1900 player missed 27.♗e3 – 27...♕e1+ 28.♔c2 ♖e2+?? 29.♔b3 ♕b4+).

The 2125 player to me: ‘I don’t see a continuation for Black here. I am lost what to do at this point.’ Me: ‘25...♕g1+ was the mistake; find something else for Black.’

We can observe a few pertinent things here: the player sees a variation, it does not work, and he gets stuck, not knowing what to do. This may sound all too familiar to many of us. Why does this happen and what should one do when this happens?

It happens because the player is not sure whether the moves that went before the moment he got stuck were correct or not. It also happens because the player did not have any alternatives pre-identified. When he saw 25...♕g1+, before committing himself to analyse it in detail, he should either have told himself that this move is not forced and he would come back to this exact moment to look for alternatives, or identify alternatives then and there, and then started analysing 25...♕g1+. Had he done this, when he realised that 25...♕g1+ does not work, he could have looked at the alternatives instead of feeling lost.

27...♖xe3+ 28.♕xe3 ♕xg2+ and now:

A) 29.♔d3 ♕e4+ 30.♕xe4 dxe4+ 31.♔xe4 ♗xg3+-. Me: ‘Find where Black made a mistake in this line.’ 1900 to me: ‘Black is slightly worse and has two pawns for the exchange’ (Black is completely lost and has only one pawn for the exchange);

B) 29.♕f2 ♕e4+ 30.♔d2 ♕b4+ 31.♔d1 ♗xg3 32.♖c1+-.

26.♕e3

The 1850 and 2125 players missed this and considered only 26.♕f2 here. The students took 90 minutes to come to this point.

26.♕f2? was given without any assessment by the 1850 player. Me: ‘Find out why 26.♕f2 is losing.’ 1850 to me: ‘When you do the calculation, are you able to see the new locations of the pieces clearly in your mind?’ Me: ‘This is what we are trying to improve by solving without moving pieces. When you forget where the pieces are, start from the beginning and go over the variation slowly in your mind. You will get better, so don’t worry.’ 1850 to me: ‘Looks like I have to be careful of what moves I say or else I’ll have to find the counter also!’ 26...♕b5+ 27.♔e1

analysis diagram

TASK 5: Time to think: 3 minutes.

27...e3! 28.♗xe3.

1850 to me: ‘How is Black better here?’ Me: ‘Find it!’

A) 28...♕d3?! looks very tempting, but it is not the best continuation. Looks can be very deceiving in chess! 29.♕d2 ♖xe3+ 30.♔d1 ♕xd2+ 31.♔xd2 ♖xg3 32.♗f1;

B) 28...♕b4+? is bad...

B1) due to the simple 29.♔f1+-. Now: 29...♖f8. 1850 to me: ‘I thought this was winning for Black’, missing 30.♗f3 completely;

B2) 29.♔d1? – 1850 to me: ‘Not sure what is going on here.’ He could not conclude that probably 28...♕b4 was the mistake, since both 29.♔f1 and 29.♔d1 do not win for Black: 29...♖d8+ 30.♗d2 ♕xb2 31.♖c1 ♗xg3 32.♕e3 ♕xa2∞.

C) 28...♗g1! 29.♕xg1 ♕d3 – Black’s attack finally crashes through!

26...♖f8+

26...♕a6+? 27.♔e1.

During this 90-minute online session with a group of students, we can see many interesting pointers to how players in a certain rating range think, what issues they face, how it affects them, and so on. After a few days of similar traning, all these players will be able to visualise much better than when they began. This also means they are now in a position to find moves in positions that are further away than the current one on the board. This gives a player a distinct advantage over the board. We will see subsequently the practical problems players face while calculating variations and some suggestions on how they can be overcome.

27.♔e2!

27.♔e1? ♕d6!.

27...♕a6+!?

27...♕b5+ would transpose to similar variations as after 27...♕a6.

28.♔d1 ♖d8+ 29.♔c2

29.♔e1? ♖d3-+.

29...♕c4+

29...♗g1? 30.♕xe4+-.

30.♔b1

30.♕c3? ♕e2+-+.

30...♖d1

Despite being a piece down, Black has sufficient compensation, mainly due to the odd position of the ♖a1 and Black’s active pieces.

31.a3!

A) 31.♕c3? ♕d3+;

B) 31.b3?! ♕d3+ 32.♔b2 ♗xg3 33.♕c5 ♕e2+ 34.♔b1 (34.♔a3? ♗d6-+) 34...♕d3+=.

31...♕d3+

31...♗xg3? 32.♗xe4 ♖xc1+ (32...♗f2 33.♕f4) 33.♕xc1 ♕xe4+ 34.♕c2 ♕e6 35.♕d1+-; 31...♗g1 32.♕c3+-.

32.♔a2 ♕c4+ 33.♕b3 ♖xc1

33...♕xb3+ 34.♔xb3 e3 35.♗f3 ♖e1 36.♔c3 ♗xg3 37.♔d3.

34.♖xc1 ♕xc1 35.♗xe4 ♕c7

Black should be able to make an easy draw here.

Let us now see an interesting endgame where Black missed a simple drawing mechanism and paid the price for it. One reason to choose this position is to showcase that even in so-called ‘boring’ endgames, there are infinite hidden possibilities, waiting for a capable mind to unravel them all.

One of the mistakes many players make is to not identify the critical moments in the game and instead play moves that look logical. While defending slightly worse positions, it makes sense to keep looking for opportunities that can give us what we want in a forceful manner, rather than prolonging the game unnecessarily and giving us more chances to go wrong later and even lose the game in the process, as happened in this game.

One reason why players miss critical moments is that identifying and analysing critical positions in detail requires the player to spend more time/energy/effort. Hence, it is tempting and easier to play a move that apparently does not lose immediately and maintains the status quo. The problem with this approach is that, when we miss critical moments early on, the position will gradually deteriorate in small doses, and we will soon reach a point when the player has to start finding only moves, which will be much harder to find and analyse. Most players falter at this stage and lose the game eventually.

Game 38 Level 5

Konstantin Sakaev

Ramesh RB

Linares 2001 (2)

TASK 1: Time to think: 3 minutes.

32...bxa4?!

32...♖b6! leads to a simple draw for Black. Just keep attacking the bishop, force White to take on b5, and reach a drawn rook and pawn ending: 33.♗c8 ♖b8 34.♗a6 (34.♗d7 ♖b7 35.♗e8 ♖b8) 34...♖b6 35.axb5 ♘xb5 36.♗xb5 ♖xb5 37.♖xc4 (37.♖c2 ♖b3 38.♔f1 f6 39.♔e2 ♔f7 40.♔d2 ♔e7 41.♔c1 ♖b4 42.♖e2+ ♔d6=) 37...♖xb2=.

33.♖xc4 ♘xf5

33...♘b3? 34.♖c7 (threatening 35.♗c4) 34...♘a5 35.♖c5! ♘b3 36.♖d5!. The rook dominates the ♘b3, which indirectly keeps the b2-pawn from coming under attack and at the same time gives White time to improve the position of his bishop.

34.♖c8+! ♖xc8 35.♗xc8 ♘d6

After Black’s incorrect 32nd move, this position is reached more or less by force. The resulting ending is practically very difficult to hold for Black.

36.♗a6!

After 36.♗d7? ♘c4 37.♗xa4 ♘xb2 38.♗b5 ♘d1, the knight escapes and it will be a draw.

TASK 2: Try to save this position for Black. Time to think: 10 minutes.

36...♔f8?!

A) 36...f5! and now:

A1) 37.f4 gxf4 38.gxf4 ♔f7 39.♔f3 ♔e6 40.♔e3 (40.♗d3 ♔d5) 40...♔d5 41.♔d3 g6=. Surprisingly, if Black can park all his pawns in this manner (on the same colour as the opponent’s bishop), his chances to save the game increase! Although the pawns become weak, they fix the opponent’s pawns on black, and they cannot be easily defended by White when they are attacked;

A2) 37.♔f3 ♔f7 38.♔e3 and now:

A21) The move order is very important; after 38...♔e6?? 39.♔d4! g4, it looks like Black has achieved his objective on the kingside with his pawn placement, but it is White’s turn and he is able to exploit the cracks in Black’s position with pinpoint play.

analysis diagram

TASK 3: Time to think: 3 to 5 minutes.

40.♗c4+!, driving the king away: 40...♔f6 41.♗d3! (threatening 42.♔d5; if 41.♔c5 ♘e4+) 41...♔e6. In this position, White will want to attack the a4-pawn with his bishop from c2 or with his king. If the white king goes after the a4-pawn, Black will try to create counterplay with ...♔e6-e5-d4 ideas, combining with either ...♘e4 or ...♘c4, attacking White’s weak pawns on f2 and b2. If White tries to attack the a4-pawn with ♗c2, he should take care of ...a4-a3 followed by ...♘b5 check, winning back the pawn.

A211) 42.♔c5? allows Black to activate his own king in return and get decent counterplay: 42...♔e5! 43.♗c2 (43.♔b4 ♔d4 44.♗c2 ♘c4 (44...g6? 45.♔xa4+-) 45.♗xf5 ♘xb2 and the kingside pawns will soon fall, ending in a draw) 43...♘e4+! 44.♗xe4 (44.♔b4 ♘xf2 45.♔xa4 g5=, as Black manages to create his own passed pawn) 44...♔xe4 45.♔b4 ♔f3 46.♔xa4 ♔xf2 47.b4 g5 48.b5 f4 49.b6 f3 50.b7 ♔g1 51.b8♕ f2 52.♕b6 ♔g2, making a comfortable draw;

A212) 42.♗c2 a3!? (42...g6 43.♗xa4 ♘e4 44.♔e3+-) 43.bxa3 ♘b5+ 44.♔c5 ♘xa3 45.♗d3 (trapping the unfortunate knight in the corner) 45...♔e5 46.♔b4 ♔d4 47.♗xf5. This is possible because Black does not have a pawn on g6. That is why it was important for Black to have started with ...g5-g4, ...f7-f5 and ...g7-g6 earlier, instead of bringing his king forward on move 38.

analysis diagram

White has won a couple of pawns, but he should be careful to not allow Black access to his pawns, and bring his king to the scene of action at the earliest: 47...♘c4 48.♗xg4 ♘d2 (48...♘d6 49.♗f3!+-; 48...♘e5 49.♗e2+-) 49.♗f5!+- (49.♗e2? ♘e4 50.f4 ♔e3=), for example 49...g5 50.h3 ♘f3 51.♔b5 ♔d5 52.♗g4 ♘d2 53.♗c8 ♔d4 54.♗b7, and eventually White will bring his king to the kingside and win.

A22) 38...g4! and now:

A221) 39.♗d3 ♔e6 40.♔d4 g5? (this unnecessarily ties down one of his pieces to the defence of the f5-pawn; 40...g6! is a better move order) 41.♗c2 a3 42.bxa3 ♘b5+ 43.♔c5 ♘xa3 44.♗d3 ♔e5 45.♔b4 ♔d4 46.♗xf5 ♘c4 47.♗xg4

A2211) 47...♘d6 48.♗f3+-;

A2212) 47...♘e5 48.♗f5! (48.♗e2 g4!=) 48...g4 49.♔b5! ♔d5 (49...♘d3 50.♗xd3+-) 50.♔b6 ♔d6 51.♗e4+-;

A2213) 47...♘d2 48.♗f5+- is similar to the line we saw earlier.

A222) 39.♔d4

analysis diagram

TASK 4: Time to think: 3 to 5 minutes.

A2221) 39...♘e4! is possible but quite risky: 40.♗b5 ♘xf2 41.♗xa4 ♔e7! (keeping the e6-square vacant for the knight; 41...♔e6 42.♗c2! is also risky but Black can hold with accurate play; 41...♘e4?? 42.♗c2+-; 41...g5? 42.♔e5 f4 43.♔f5!+-) 42.♗c2 g6 43.♔e5 ♘h3! (the knight is en route to f3) 44.b4 ♘g1 45.♔f4 ♘h3+ 46.♔e3 ♘g1 47.♗d1 ♔d6=;

A2222) 39...♔e6? 40.♗c4+! ♔f6 41.♗d3+-, we have seen this earlier;

A2223) 39...g6! gives the ideal pawn structure for Black on the kingside. It’s not easy to attack the base pawn on g6, while it is easy for Black to attack either the b2- or f2-pawn with his knight: 40.♗d3 ♔e6!

A22231) 41.♗c2

analysis diagram

TASK 5: Time to think: 3 minutes.

41...a3! 42.bxa3 ♘b5+ 43.♔c5 ♘xa3 44.♗d3 ♔e5 45.♔b4 ♔d4=. Here we can see the usefulness of including ...g7-g6 on move 39, as ♗f5 is not possible anymore;

A22232) 41.♔c5 ♔e5! 42.♔b4 ♔d4, and the king activity saves the day for Black: 43.♗e2 (after 43.♗c2? ♘c4, Black could even play for more) 43...♘e4 (the drawback of 43.♗e2) 44.♔xa4 (44.f3 gxf3 45.♗xf3 ♔e3 46.♗d1 g5 47.♔xa4 f4 48.gxf4 gxf4 49.♗h5 f3 50.♗xf3 ♔xf3 with an easy draw) 44...♘xf2 (the simplest way to make peace; 44...♘c3+!? is a clever but slightly risky way to make a draw: 45.bxc3+ ♔xc3 46.f3 gxf3! 47.♗xf3 ♔d3! (47...g5?? 48.♔b5 ♔d4 49.♔c6 ♔e3 50.♗h1 g4 (50...♔f2 51.h4+-) 51.♔d5 f4 (51...♔f2 52.♔e5) 52.♔e5! f3 53.♔f5+-) 48.♔b4 ♔e3 49.♗g2 ♔f2 50.♗h3!? f4 (50...♔g1?? 51.♗xf5! gxf5 (51...♔xh2 52.g4+-) 52.h4+-) 51.gxf4 ♔e3 52.♗g4 (52.f5 gxf5 53.♗xf5 ♔f4=) 52...♔xf4 53.h3 g5=) 45.b4 ♔e3 46.♗a6 ♘e4 47.b5 ♘c3+ 48.♔b4 ♘xb5 49.♗xb5 ♔f3, and this should end in a draw soon.

B) In the position of TASK 2, 36...g4!? is another way of getting the g4/f5/g6 set-up, which helps Black to achieve the draw easily. With all these different move orders, I am also trying to show that not everything that looks similar is the same. There are tiny nuances and move order tricks we need to be aware of while analysing. Paying attention to details should be second nature, which we can cultivate by deeply analysing many interesting positions. The aim is also to show that there are many hidden resources in most positions, and it is a question whether our capabilities are sufficient or not to bring out all those resources into the open.

37.f3

analysis diagram

TASK 6: Time to think: 5 minutes.

B1) The obvious drawback of 37...f5? is that the black pawns become too loose and separate from each other. But it still requires White to be accurate: 38.fxg4 fxg4 39.♔f2 ♔f7 40.♔e3 ♔e6 and now:

B11) Directly going after the g4-pawn with 41.♔f4? lets Black escape by counterplay on the other side of the board: 41...♔d5 42.♔xg4 ♔c5 43.♔f3 (43.♔f4?? ♘c4-+) 43...♘c4 44.♔e2 ♘xb2 45.♔d2=;

B12) 41.♔d4!. White goes after the a4-pawn. Black is not able to attack the h2-pawn as the g4-square is taken away by Black’s own pawn and the f1-square is under the white bishop’s control, which simply means no counterplay: 41...♘f5+ 42.♔c5 ♘e3 43.♔b4 ♘d1 44.♗e2!+-.

B2) 37...♘f5? 38.♔f2!+-;

B3) 37...gxf3+! 38.♔xf3 and now:

B31) 38...♔f8!? is good enough to draw but requires more accuracy;

B32) 38...g5? 39.♔e3 ♔g7 (39...f5 makes White’s job easy: 40.♔d4 ♔f7 41.♔e5 ♔e7 42.♗d3+-) 40.♔d4 ♔f6 41.♔d5 ♘f5 (41... ♔e7 42.♗d3 and again the bishop is dominating the knight, e.g. 42...f5 43.♔e5+-)

analysis diagram

TASK 7: Time to think: 5 minutes.

42.♗e2! is very important (42.♗d3? ♘e3+ 43.♔c5 (43.♔e4 ♘d1=) 43...♘d1!? (43...♔e5!?=) 44.♗e2 ♘xb2 45.♔b4 ♔e5! 46.♔a3 f5 47.♔xb2 ♔e4=): 42...♘e3+ 43.♔e4. Now we see the benefit of playing the bishop to e2 instead of d3, as the knight is dominated: 43...♘f5 44.♗d1 and the a4-pawn is lost;

B33) 38...f6!? 39.♔e3 ♔f7 40.♔d4 ♔e6 41.♗d3 (41.♔c5 ♘e4+ 42.♔b4 f5 43.♔xa4 ♘c5+ 44.♔b5 ♘xa6 45.♔xa6 g5 46.♔b5 ♔d5 47.♔b4 ♔d4 48.h4!=) 41...f5 42.h4 g6 (Black has achieved his objective) 43.♗c2 (43.♔c5 ♘e4+ 44.♔d4 (44.♗xe4?? fxe4-+) 44...♘xg3 45.♗c2=) 43...a3! 44.bxa3 ♘b5+ 45.♔c5 (45.♔e3 ♘xa3 46.♗d3 ♔f6 47.♔f4 ♔f7 48.♔e5 ♔e7=) 45...♘xa3 46.♗d3 ♔e5! (46...♔f6 47.♔b4) 47.♔b4 (47.♗e2 ♘c2) 47...♔d4 (47...f4!? 48.g4 f3 49.♔xa3 (49.♗xg6?? ♔d4!-+) 49...♔f4 50.g5 ♔g4=) 48.♗xf5 gxf5 49.♔xa3 ♔e5 (49...♔e3?? 50.h5+-) 50.♔b3 f4! 51.gxf4+ ♔xf4, and Black just about survives.

37.♔f3 ♔e7 38.♔e3 ♔d7 39.♔d4 ♔c6 40.♗d3

TASK 8: Time to think: 3 minutes.

40...f6?

With 40...g4!, Black could still reach his ideal structure on the kingside, but Black is still not aware of the problems in the position or does not have the skill to solve them: 41.♗e2 (41.♔e5?? ♔c5-+) 41...f5 (41...♘b5+ 42.♔e5 ♘d6 43.♔f4 ♔c5 44.♔xg4?? ♘c4-+) 42.♗d3 g6=.

41.h3!?

41.♗c2+-.

41...♘f7 42.♗g6 ♘d6

42...♘e5 43.♗e8+.

43.h4?

This could have spoiled everything had Black used the opportunity that came his way. 43.♗c2 would have won easily, e.g. 43...♘b5+ 44.♔c4 ♘d6+ 45.♔b4+-.

43...gxh4 44.gxh4

TASK 9: Time to think: 5 minutes.

44...♔b6?

The final mistake in the game.

44...f5! and now:

A) 45.f4 ♔b5 46.♗h5 ♔b4 47.♗d1 ♘e4 48.♔e5 ♘f2 49.♗c2 ♘g4+ 50.♔d4 ♘f6=;

B) 45.♗h5 ♔d7! 46.♗e2 (46.♗d1 ♘b5+! 47.♔c5 a3 48.bxa3 ♘xa3=; 46.♗f3 a3 47.bxa3 ♘b5+=) 46...♔e6=;

C) 45.h5 ♔d7! 46.♔d5 ♔e7 47.f3 ♔d7⇆.

45.♔d5 ♔c7 46.♗c2 1-0