CHAPTER 6
Improving calculation through solving studies
In my days as a chess player, I was not exposed to solving studies (or compositions) until I was very close to becoming International Master strength. Back then, I used to think of studies as positions that are not useful to improve our practical skills and are composed just for fun and creativity. I probably formed this impression because composers are not as well-known as players. If composers were as famous as the players were, probably we would regard them and their work with the seriousness they deserve. Another reason for this mindset could be the lack of good books or databases on studies back then.
Subsequently, I found that most top players around me were keenly interested in solving studies as and when they could access them. Once I started my career as a coach, I started using all possible training methods to improve my students’ calculation skills. Solving studies very soon became one of my favourite methods.
Whenever I feel my student’s calculation skills are not up to the mark, I will make them solve studies for three to four hours a day for around three to five days in a row. Usually, the students will show significant improvement in their calculation skills. Choosing the appropriate level of studies is critical in this regard.
In studies, each unit on the board has relevance; otherwise, they would not be present. By solving studies, we will learn to appreciate using every unit in the position in our analysis. No small detail is ignored.
I have seen that many coaches are hesitant to employ study-solving as a training method (at 1500 to 2200 levels) for various reasons:
1. Suppose the coach gives studies that are too difficult for the student. In that case, it could severely demotivate the student, and he can lose confidence in his calculation skills.
2. Suppose the coach gives studies that are too easy for the student. The student will not find it challenging enough and could lose interest in study-solving.
3. Choosing the correct level of study for the student is challenging and needs to be done with care. One good way to do this is by presenting a certain position to a different set of students. From the students’ reactions, the coach can establish the difficulty level of the study.
4. The time to be taken to solve a study poses a very tricky challenge. Too little time can make the player feel rushed, and too much time can make the player unproductive with boredom!
5. While the player is solving a study, it might appear to an outsider that the coach is simply giving unproductive work to the student and wasting time during the class.
6. I have seen that solving a study can take anywhere from 5 to 40 minutes, depending on the study and the player’s abilities.
7. While solving studies, importance should be given to getting the correct solution, rather than solving them quickly.
8. Once a player learns to solve studies correctly, his speed will naturally get better as he solves more studies.
How to teach calculation skills to our students?
Young kids must learn how to calculate variations and spot tactics (sacrifices) quickly. Without being good in tactics and calculation, it is impossible to become a good chess player. While calculating variations, not all moves will be complex. There will be one or two critical moves/complex moves/not-so-apparent moves. Such challenging moves can come up anywhere in our analysis: either at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of a variation. Being alert throughout gives us a better chance of catching them as they appear.
Give the students simple puzzles during class and ask them to write down the solution, and the coach can check them individually.
Essential tips in this regard are:
1. Students should not move pieces while solving puzzles.
2. Give students enough time to think and analyse and do not rush them and put pressure on them.
3. A coach should know how much time will be required by a student to solve the position of a particular difficulty level. Once that time limit is reached, ask the student to write down whatever he has analysed until then and present it. Give situations that are easy at first and then slowly increase the difficulty level.
4. Many kids get only the first move correct, but not the subsequent moves. This habit should be discouraged. Tell the kids that getting the answer right until the end is very important.
5. By giving the same position to different groups of kids, the coach can learn how difficult it is for other players.
6. We should teach students to visualise the position in their mind while solving. If they find it difficult after a few moves, ask them to repeat the moves from the beginning verbally. Usually, they get the position clearly in their mind after this. As they solve more puzzles without moving pieces, their visualisation improves.
7. Teach students to consider forcing moves before quiet moves. Forcing moves are: 1) Check 2) Capture 3) Threat/attack 4) Pawn breaks. In any position, teach them to list all the checks first. If checks do not work, ask them to list the captures in the position. Then analyse each capture one by one and see if they are good. If captures also do not work, ask them to list all threats/attacking moves in the position. Analyse them one by one, and so on. If the children learn to see forcing moves first, they will calculate very well, not only for the first move in the position but for all subsequent moves, also.
8. Many times, students will miss good moves or the best defence for the opponent. Teach kids to find the best moves for the opponent as well.
9. Teach students to make a list of moves before analysing any position (candidate moves). In this way, they will learn to see more than one move at every turn.
10. Many times, students stop their analysis in the middle of a variation. Encourage them to continue further until the forcing moves come to an end.
I have seen many players and coaches struggle to find the correct difficulty level of studies for their current strength.
A few suggestions for players solving Level 1 and 2 studies:
1. You have to believe that you will be able to solve these positions with a good effort. If you start solving with self-doubts, it will make the whole journey less worthwhile.
2. Improvement is possible when we believe in ourselves. We should not have doubts that we can learn and improve with proper effort.
3. When you have completed the analysis of a position, try to see it only as the first round of analysis or the preliminary analysis. At the upcoming player level, their efficiency in effort will not be good in general.
4. Once you have completed the preliminary analysis, realise that this is just a starting point and not the end.
5. Check each and every one of the opponent’s moves (in studies, this is usually moves for Black) for mistakes. Try other alternatives for the opponent in this way. If there is a good, not so obvious defence available for the opponent, we should catch it at this point and refute it as well.
6. Write down the analysis if required, but in general it is not required. During a tournament game, we do not write down the analysis we do. It is better to remember all the analysis in our head and not forget it!
7. Whenever you feel you are forgetting the position or it is not so clear in your head, try to start from the initial position and go through the analysis slowly until the current position. As you go through the moves, imagine the pieces also moving accordingly. In most cases, this will solve the problem.
8. Please do not worry about how long it takes to solve the studies. In my experience I have seen that it can take anywhere from 5 to 40 minutes to solve studies, depending upon the strength, the experience in solving studies and the concentration level of the player.
9. As we solve more and more studies correctly, the solving speed will automatically improve. If we focus on time at the initial stage, we are likely to compromise on the quality of our analysis.
10. It is very important to get the correct solution in the first attempt. Try not to develop the habit of solving in a hurry with a half-hearted effort, looking at the solution immediately, realise that you have missed a few details, and move to the next position as though nothing wrong has happened! Expect the best from yourself, as you deserve the correct solution through your fantastic solving effort!
Game 111 Level 1
Leonid Kubbel
Study, 1928
White to play and draw
1.♖e8+ ♕d8
Material-wise, White is completely lost. Hence, to make a draw, he has to either reach a drawn king and pawn ending or try for a stalemate! In studies, in most of the positions that end in a draw this is because of stalemate, although it is very rare in a practical game.
2.♖g8! a5
It will be good if the players at this level find the 2.♖g8! stalemate idea and also the defensive resource 2...a5 for Black, and the subsequent continuation that earns White the draw.
2...♕xg8 stalemate is the main idea behind the position.
3.♖xd8+ ♔xd8 4.♔b5
This wins the pawn and gets an easy draw.
4...♔d7 5.♔xa5 ♔c6 6.♔b4
½-½
Game 112 Level 1
Alexey Troitzky
Study, 1896
White to play and win
1.♗e6!
The presence of the rook pawn and wrong-coloured bishop means Black can make an easy draw if he gets his king to the g7- or the h8-square. From this, it is clear that White’s objective should be to prevent this at any cost and then bring his king forward. The bishop move takes control of the f7- and g8-squares.
1...♔e7!
Black wants to gain a critical tempo by attacking the bishop and reach the g7-square quickly if he can.
1...♔f8 will lose quickly to 2.h6 when White has managed to create a wall to prevent Black’s king from getting to the drawing zone of the g7-/g8-/h7-/h8-squares.
2.h6 ♔f6
Threatening 3...♔g6 next.
3.♗f5!
White sticks to his objective of not letting Black’s king anywhere near the drawing zone.
3...♔f7
Threatening to play 4...♔g8.
4.♗h7 ♔f6
Black is threatening to play 5...g4 followed by 6...♔g5.
5.♔g3 ♔f7 6.♔g4 ♔f6 7.♔h5! ♔f7 8.♔xg5 ♔f8 9.♔f6 1-0
The rook pawn will promote soon.
From this example, we can see an important advantage of study-solving. White’s moves were mostly dictated by Black’s ideas. White cannot win this position if he does not pay attention to Black’s threats. By solving studies, one can learn to pay attention to the opponent’s threats and ideas.
Game 113 Level 1
Leonid Kubbel
Study, 1904
White to play and draw
Since this is White to play and draw, we already know that stalemate could be one of the possible means to make a draw, if nothing else works.
1.♔g6
White is threatening to play 2.♔f5, followed by h3-h4, to make a draw.
1...♔e6 2.♔h5
Threatening to play 3.h4, exchange the last pawn, and make a draw.
2...♔f5 3.h4
White persists anyway.
3...g4 ½-½
Stalemate it is!
Game 114 Level 1
Leonid Kubbel
Study, 1905
White to play and draw
1.♖c1!
Material-wise, Black has complete superiority. White has to take extreme measures and do it now to avoid ending up on the losing side.
1.♖c3+?? ♕xc3 2.♖c1 ♕xc1 3.d5+ ♔xd5. I am giving this variation to show that paying attention to the move order is very important while trying to execute our ideas. We can see that the same idea of giving up the two rooks to create a stalemate works only in a particular move order.
1...♕xc1 2.♖c3+!
Luring the queen to c3, which is very important, as we shall see.
2...♕xc3 3.d5+ ♔b5 ½-½
Stalemate and a draw. In the initial position, it is tough to foresee that the game could end in stalemate.
Game 115 Level 1
Leonid Kubbel
Study, 1911
White to play and win
Looking at this position, we can see that both the black queen and king are oddly placed. White hopes to exploit this to his advantage. In this example, we can see the importance of employing forcing moves in the calculation.
1.♖c8!
By sacrificing his rook, White lures the black queen to move to a place from where it can be won by a fork with the knight.
1...♕xc8
1...♕g7 2.♖g8! ♕xg8 3.♘g4+ ♔d5 (3...♔f5 4.♘h6+; 3...♔e4 4.♘f6+) 4.♘f6+. In all cases, the queen is lost.
2.♘c4+ ♔e4
A) 2...♔d5 3.♘b6+;
B) 2...♔f5 3.♘d6+.
3.♘d6+ 1-0
Game 116 Level 1
Nikolay Grigoriev
Study, 1928
White to play and win
1.b5+! cxb5+ 2.♔b4
Now Black has two options:
2...f5
2...e6 will lose much faster. This obviously should not be our main line while solving: 3.e4 f6 4.exf6 e5 5.♔b3+-.
3.exf6 exf6 4.e4 f5
Playing for stalemate.
5.e5 f4 6.e6 f3 7.e7 f2
8.e8♘!
The critical point! Those who have less experience in solving studies will find it a little tough initially to find concepts like underpromotion or stalemate. These are very common in studies and we should start looking for them!
8...f1♕ 9.♘c7#
Game 117 Level 1
Nikolay Grigoriev
Study, 1931
White to play and win
As it turned out, the composer had missed a minor detail in the solution. I did not want to remove this position from the book, despite this minor error. I always believe in the philosophy that the human effort is worth more than the outcome. Hats off to the composer for imagining the creative concept back in 1931!
1.f5 h4 2.f6 h3 3.f7 h2 4.f8♘
It was not too late to equalise with 4.f8♕.
4...h1♕
Unexpectedly, with the brilliant resource 4...b3!!, it is Black who is winning, which was missed by the composer.
Despite this mistake, it does not take away the beauty of the composition in any way.
Let us take this position as the initial position for solving for practical purposes. White to play and win.
5.♘d7 b3
5...♕h8+ 6.d4+-.
6.♘c5+!
Accuracy is important, and it should be learnt at this level.
6.♘b6+ ♔b4 7.c3+ ♔c5, and Black’s king escapes.
6...♔b4 7.♘a6+ ♔a4 8.cxb3#
Game 118 Level 1
Ernest Pogosyants
Study, 1961
White to play and win
1.♖h8!
1.♔g4? ♔e6 2.♖h8 ♘f6+=; 1.♖h7? ♔e6=.
1...♔g7
The critical position. White has to find the most important move in the whole study.
2.♔g5!!
For many upcoming players, giving up material (sacrificing) is something they cannot do easily. Sacrificing should be learnt as early as possible by upcoming chess players in their careers. Otherwise, they will value material over more important things, like king safety, activity of pieces, attack, etc.
2.♖xg8+ ♔xg8 3.♔g5 ♔g7.
2...♔xh8
2...♘f6 3.♖d8 ♘e4+ 4.♔f4 ♘xd6 5.♖xd7+ ♘f7 6.♔f5 ♔g8 7.♔f6 ♘h6 8.♔g6+-.
3.♔g6!
Black has to give up material and loses the pawn ending eventually.
3...♘h6 4.♔xh6 ♔g8 5.♔g6 ♔f8 6.♔f6 ♔e8 7.♔g7 ♔d8 8.♔f7 ♔c8 9.♔e7 1-0
Game 119 Level 1
Ernest Pogosyants
Study, 1961
White to play and win
1.♘f8+
1.♔h6 ♔e6, and Black equalises comfortably.
1...♔e8 2.♔h5!
The critical move in the study. It can be easily missed if we are not alert. Like under-promotion and stalemate, losing a tempo is something that will not come easily for new solvers, but here it is the way to go!
2.♔h6?? ♔xf8-+.
2...♔xf8 3.♔h6 ♔e8 4.♔g7 ♗h7 5.♔xh7 ♔d7 6.♔g8!
We should not fall for 6.♔g7?? ♔e6 !
6...♔e6 7.♔g7 1-0
Game 120 Level 1
Ernest Pogosyants
Study, 1962
White to play and win
1.g7 ♗f7!
1...b2?! 2.g8♕ b1♕ 3.♕g7#.
2.♔xf7 b2 3.g8♘+!
Again the underpromotion!
The natural 3.g8♕? does not win for White: 3...b1♕=.
3...♔h7
3...♔h5 4.♗xb2. It is very well possible that for many players at this level, this is not a ‘winning’ position... however, theoretically this is won for White, so let’s leave it at that!
4.♗g7 b1♕ 5.♘f6#
Game 121 Level 2
Leonid Kubbel
Study, 1983
White to play and win
The pawns are in contact with each other for both sides, and on the verge of promotion too. Another factor to observe is the dodgy position of Black’s king on a4 where it can run into mating ideas.
1.gxh7
1.♔c3? hxg6!= 2.♔xc4? ♗g2!-+. A funny echo of what will eventually happen in the main line.
1...fxe2! 2.♗xe2 ♗e4+ 3.♔c3 ♗xh7
Black has an extra pawn in the endgame, but due to the cornered position of Black’s king and bishop, White has a clever way to exploit both features to his advantage:
4.♗h5!
Threatening a mate on e8 and gaining a very vital tempo for caging in Black’s bishop on h7 is the key to this position.
4...♔b5
4...g6 does not solve Black’s problems: 5.♗g4 ♔b5 6.♗e6, and the bishop is dominated on h7, whereby White is almost a piece up.
5.♗e8+ ♔c5 6.g6! ♗g8 7.♗f7 1-0
Forcing the exchange and the promotion of White’s pawn.
Game 122 Level 2
Leonid Kubbel
Study, 1983
White to play and win
In a position with a bishop and three pawns for each side, it is far-fetched to think of a zugzwang or a mating threat. But the improbable seems to happen by a cute series of forcing moves. In some ways, this position is similar to the previous study. It makes use of mating ideas with a bishop check against a king in the corner and using this to achieve a favourable exchange, which leads to a pawn promotion.
1.♔b3!
Exploiting the tricky position of Black’s bishop to drive Black’s king to the corner.
1.bxa6 ♔b6=.
1...♗b4 2.bxa6 bxa6 3.♗e3+ ♔b5 4.c4+ ♔a5 5.♗g5!
Threatening mate and already envisaging the final zugzwang.
5.c5? ♔b5 lets the king out of the cage.
5...♗c5 6.♗d8+ ♗b6 7.♗c7! 1-0
The final nuance. Black has to accept the exchange offered and let White queen his pawn.
Game 123 Level 2
Leonid Kubbel
Study, 1907
White to play and win
Black’s king is a bit too far away from the main scene of the action. Nominally, White has a couple of pawns to compensate for the exchange. But the most important factor is the advanced pawn on c6 and White’s effort to promote it.
1.b5
Boxing in the rook is the way to go.
The direct approach with 1.d4 ♖xb4 2.d5 ♔f3 3.d6 cxd6 4.c7 ♖c4= does not work.
1...♔f3 2.d4 ♔e4
2...♔f4 3.d5 ♔e5 4.d6+-. This is a recurring theme: either a knight fork or paving the way for the promotion of the c-pawn.
3.♘c8!
Once the king reaches the e4-square, the fork and pawn promotion idea presents itself again.
3...♖xb5
3...♔xd4 4.♘xb6 ♔c5 5.♔b7+-.
4.♘d6+ cxd6 5.c7 1-0
The knight gave itself up for the pawn promotion. A nice study once again, based on the simple theme of forks, but well-executed in varied settings.
Game 124 Level 2
Leonid Kubbel
Study, 1909
White to play and win
1.b7
1.♔g7? would let Black stop the passed pawn immediately with 1...♗c8-+.
1...♖xc3
1...♖d1 2.b8♕ ♖h1 3.f4+! (White needs this resource to protect his knight on h4) 3...exf3 (3...♔f6 4.♕f8++-) 4.♕b4+-.
2.♔g7!
2.b8♕? fails to 2...♖c8+.
2...♖b3
The critical moment in the study.
2...♖c8 3.♘g6+ ♔f5 4.♘xe7+; this fork decides the outcome. White will capture the rook with his knight and promote his passed pawn.
3.f4+! exf3 4.♘xf3+ ♔e4
4...♔f5 5.♘d4++-.
5.♘d2+ 1-0
White’s passed pawn was very important, and various knight fork ideas were instrumental in paving the way for the passed pawn.
Game 125 Level 2
Leonid Kubbel
Study, 1909
White to play and draw
Black has two passed pawns (one on the sixth rank and the other on the seventh). White’s lone bishop and knight need to deal with them. As in the previous study, we see that knight forks will come in handy as a fighting technique. But this example is relatively more complicated, and more ingenuity is required to save the game for White. In one of the lines, the stalemating idea is striking, and in other lines, the white pawn on a6 plays its part in keeping Black at bay.
1.♗c5+ ♔xa6
If Black refrains from taking White’s passed pawn, White can use it as a means of counterplay: 1...♔c6? 2.♗xf2 d2 3.a7 ♔b7 4.♘c7!, and White even ends up winning! 4...♔xc7 5.a8♕ d1♕ 6.♕a5+! ♔d6 7.♗g3! ♕c2+ 8.♔a3 ♕c1+ 9.♔a4! ♕a1+ (9...♕c6+ 10.♔b4+-) 10.♔b5, and White should win this eventually.
2.♗xf2
2.♘c7+? ♔b7-+.
2...d2 3.♘c5+!
To fight against Black’s impending pawn promotion, White needs to use various tactical themes, such as discovered check, fork and even stalemate!
3...♔a5
3...♔b5 4.♘e4, and the fork on c3 saves White. Now he draws Black’s king to a new forking range:
4.b4+! ♔xb4
4...♔b5 5.♘e4, and again the fork on c3 saves White.
5.♗e1!!
This is the key idea of the whole study. White sacrifices one of his minor pieces, and at the same time draws the opponent to queen his passed pawn! This is followed by sacrificing his only remaining piece to draw the game by stalemate.
5...dxe1♕ 6.♘d3+ ♘xd3 ½-½
An amazing line of defence.
Game 126 Level 2
Leonid Kubbel
Study, 1911
White to play and draw
Black has two connected passed pawns on the sixth rank. On top of this, he has a bishop too! This means White’s material deficit is too large, and how can a lone rook fight against all this? Normal ideas won’t do, so White saves himself by means of stalemating ideas!
1.♖c1+ ♗b1 2.♔b3! g2 3.♔a3 h2 4.♖c2!
Since White cannot stop Black’s pawns from queening, his only saving idea is to play for stalemate. There exist different stalemating ideas that he needs to visualise.
4...g1♕
4...♗xc2 is the first and relatively simple stalemating idea; 4...♗a2 5.♖xg2 h1♕ 6.♖g1+ ♕xg1 is another variation also based on stalemate that White needs to calculate.
5.♖a2+ ♗xa2 ½-½
The third stalemating idea, although clearly everything is connected.
Game 127 Level 2
Orrin Frink
Study, 1923
White to play and win
A fine study with a number of finesses. The idea of the position is quite simple: White tries to stop Black’s king from reaching the h8-square, which will result in a draw because of the wrong-coloured rook pawn.
1.♗d7!!
An absolutely amazing first move, with a clear visualisation of the final position in mind.
Another try would be 1.♗g4 ♔e3 2.h4 ♔f4! (Black gains a crucial tempo here by attacking the bishop) 3.h5 (3.♗h5? ♔g3) 3...♔g5, and Black’s king reaches h8 on time.
1...♔e3 2.h4 ♔e4
2...♔f4? 3.♔d4! drives Black’s king away from the h-pawn.
3.h5 ♔e5 4.h6 ♔f6 5.♗e8!! 1-0
White needs his bishop here to keep Black’s king away from the critical h8-square. White would also win with the bishop on h5 in this final position, but there is no way to reach that (check the note to the first move).
Game 128 Level 2
Nikolay Grigoriev
Study, 1928
White to play and win
A king and pawn ending in which the pawns on both sides are placed similarly on the third ranks. So, to win this, White needs to use the fact that a2 is a checking square for the g-pawn when it promotes. But in doing so, he also should take enough care to not let Black gain a tempo for his b-pawn promotion based on a check to White’s king.
1.♔c3!
The start of a very fine dance of White’s king to induce Black’s monarch to step into a check when White queens his g-pawn.
The direct approach with 1.g4 does not produced the desired result: 1...b5 2.g5 b4 3.g6 b3+ 4.♔c3 b2 5.g7 b1♕ 6.g8♕+ ♔a1 leads to a draw.
1...♔a3 2.♔c4 ♔a4 3.g4 b5+ 4.♔d3!
Nimble footwork! White’s king wants to reach the c2-square without allowing Black to gain a tempo with a check.
If 4.♔c3? ♔a3 and Black will queen his pawn because he gains a tempo with the ...b5-b4 check.
4...♔a3
4...b4 5.♔c2 ♔a3 6.♔b1+-.
5.g5 b4
Had White played 4.♔c3, this pawn move would have come with a check.
6.g6 b3 7.g7 b2
8.♔c2!
With this move, White’s king completes his dance and has coaxed his counterpart to fall into a check at the very end!
8...♔a2 9.g8♕+ 1-0
White won with almost magical play! Let us try to break this down into an understandable proposition.
Why did White move his king on c2 and take four moves and come back to c2? Black too was forced to move his king from a2 and come back to the same square, taking four moves. So, both sides have not lost time here, but a deeper look shows that the path taken by White’s king has prevented Black’s tempo-gainer with the ...b4-b3 check!
Game 129 Level 2
Richard Réti
Study, 1928
White to play and draw
This is a classic Réti study that highlights the geometry of the chessboard. To be more specific, on a chessboard, the straight line is not the shortest space between two squares. Counter-intuitively, walking across a diagonal and making an angle takes the same number of moves to reach a certain square for a king:
1.♔e7!!
The king blocking the path of the passed pawn seems counter-intuitive.
1.♔g7? g5 2.♔g6 g4-+.
1...g5
Otherwise, White was threatening to play 2.♔f6 and stop the pawn.
2.♔d6 g4 3.e7 ♗b5 4.♔c5!
This gains a crucial tempo to come back and stop the g-pawn from queening.
4...♗e8
4...g3 5.♔xb5 g2 6.e8♕=.
5.♔d4 g3 6.♔e3 ½-½
The king’s path taken in this game teaches us an important geometry of the chessboard, as explained earlier. To be more specific: the route f8-e7-d6-c5-d4-e3-f2 takes the same time as f8-f7-f6-f5-f4-f3-f2.
Game 130 Level 2
Tigran Gorgiev
Study, 1929
White to play and win
Black’s knight is pinned against his bishop. This, in combination with White’s attacking force of rook and bishop, is the key to the position. White needs to use tactical themes like double attack to win material.
1.♗f6+!
1.♖g5 ♔h7 2.♖e5 ♘c6!, and Black escapes.
1...♔h7 2.♖g7+ ♔h6 3.♖f7 ♔g6
3...♘c6 4.♗xd8 ♘xd8 5.♖d7 ♘e6 6.♖d6 picks up the pinned knight.
4.♖f8 ♘c6! 5.♗xd8
It is not over yet for Black, as he still has one last trick up his sleeve:
5...♔g7! 6.♖e8 ♔f7! 7.♖h8 ♔g7 8.♗f6+!
The key move that had to be spotted in the initial position.
8...♔xf6 9.♖h6+ 1-0
A double attack decides the game once again.
Game 131 Level 2
Tigran Gorgiev
Study, 1929
White to play and win
White’s advantage is his advanced h-pawn. Black’s counterplay is associated with creating mating threats with his advanced king. White deals with this by using tactical ideas.
1.h7
The natural move 1.♖xg4? gives Black just enough time to survive: 1...♖a6 2.♔h2 ♔f3 3.♔h3 ♖xh6 4.♖g8 ♔f4 and Black draws because the couple of files cut off will not be relevant in the case of a rook pawn.
1...♖a3!
The best practical defence for Black.
2.♖f6+ ♔g3 3.♖a6!
A fantastic resource.
3...♖d3 4.♖a3!
White keeps sacrificing his rook to draw his counterpart to the a-file from where he cannot deliver a mate, as the a1-square will be controlled by White’s new queen.
4...♖xa3 5.h8♕ 1-0
Game 132 Level 2
Ernest Pogosyants
Study, 1961
White to play and win
White needs to take care of Black’s b-pawn. Black plans to use it as a decoy to force the exchange of White’s last remaining pawn on the board. White fights against this by using all possible resources, and surprisingly this includes checkmating ideas with no pawns remaining for him! The initial few moves seem simple:
1.♗a5 b2 2.♗c3+ ♔g5 3.♗xb2 ♗f5+
This is the best practical defence: Black wants to trade off the last pawns and reach a simple draw.
4.♔g2! h4
But this is Black’s point: how does White avoid the exchange of his only remaining pawn? Does it mean that the game is steering towards a draw?
5.♗c1+ ♔h5
5...♔g4 6.♗f3#.
This is the most critical position in the study.
6.g4+!
A very pretty blocking sacrifice that wins Black’s bishop or mates him.
6...♗xg4
6...♔xg4 7.♗f3#.
7.♗e8#
This study displayed simple yet beautiful mating patterns.
Game 133 Level 2
David Gurgenidze
Study, 1975
White to play and win
1.♘f6!
Initially, it does not look like a long shot to stop a passed pawn on the 6th rank with a knight and rook. However, the placement of the white king, blocking the c-file, makes the position very tricky, requiring accurate calculation and visualisation.
1...c2
Black’s only hope to save himself.
2.♘e4+ ♔d3!
If Black’s king moves anywhere else, White’s knight will reach c3 with a tempo and then go to e2 to stop the c-pawn, for instance 2...♔d1 3.♘c3+ ♔d2 4.♘a2+-.
At this point, we do not need to find the win, but only to find moves that continue the fight one more move. There is no way to stop the pawn at this point, so all White should do is eliminate what cannot be done and continue with what can be done, even if that move does not lead us to our objective immediately.
3.♘f2+
This is the only option, because everything else does not work.
3...♔c3
Again, the only move, since we have eliminated the other options: 3...♔d2 4.♖d8+ ♔e2 5.♘d3+-.
4.♖e3+ ♔d2 5.♖d3+ ♔e2 6.♖c3 ♔d2 7.♘e4+ ♔d1
7...♔c1 8.♔d4 (8.♖h3 ♔b2 9.♖h2 ♔b3 10.♘d2+ ♔c3, and Black is in time to draw) 8...♔b2 9.♘c5!+-.
8.♖d3+ ♔e1 9.♖e3+! ♔d1 10.♘c3+ ♔d2 11.♔d4 c1♕ 12.♖e2#
A pretty mating idea is the final twist!
Game 134 Level 2
David Gurgenidze
Study, 1976
White to play and win
White has a huge material advantage. However, under these extreme circumstances, he has to step away from stalemate and still not lose his rook for the opponent’s pawn.
1.♖g1 ♔h2 2.♖f1!
To meet 2...g2 by pinning the pawn on the second rank.
2...g2 3.♖f2
You can reach this point by the elimination of alternatives.
3...♔g1
3...♔g3 4.♖f3+ ♔h2 5.♗f1! wins as in the main line; 3...♔h1 4.♗f3+-.
4.♖f3 ♔h2 5.♗f1!
This is the fine idea that White had to visualise from the beginning. Finally, Black is allowed to promote his pawn, but in the process he is forced to run into a pretty mating idea.
5...g1♕ 6.♖h3#
Game 135 Level 2
David Gurgenidze
Study, 1977
White to play and win
This time, White’s rook and bishop need to take care of two pawns on the seventh rank. So, by definition this is more complicated than the previous study.
White needs to take care of both the pawns by giving up his bishop to retain the minimum possible mating material.
There are a few domination and underpromotion themes that make this position quite lively.
1.♗d3
Using a discovered check as a threat to get the rook back to the first rank.
1...♔a5 2.♖c1 ♔b4 3.♖a1!
3.♗c4 f1♕ 4.♗xf1 ♔b3!, and Black is in time to draw!
3...♔b3
The critical test. The other alternatives lose in a straightforward manner:
A) 3...f1♕ 4.♗xf1 ♔b3 5.♗c4+!+-;
B) 3...♔c3 4.♖xa2 ♔xd3 5.♖xf2+-.
4.♗b1!!
This is the only way to stop Black from collecting White’s rook for his a-passer.
4...f1♘+!
The best way to keep fighting. Other attempts lose directly:
A) 4...♔b2 5.♖xa2+ ♔xb1 6.♖xf2+-;
B) 4...f1♕ 5.♗xa2+ ♔b2 6.♖xf1+-.
5.♔h3!
Care is still paramount.
A) 5.♔g1? would throw away the win, as can be seen after 5...♘d2! (5...♔b2 6.♖xa2+ ♔xb1 7.♖e2 ♘g3 8.♖e5+-) 6.♗xa2+ (6.♖xa2 ♘xb1 and the black knight being in the vicinity of the king ensures a draw) 6...♔b2 7.♖d1 ♔c2!=; the king and knight dominate White’s rook on the first rank!;
B) 5.♔g2 ♘e3+ 6.♔f3 axb1♕ 7.♖xb1+ ♔c2 and again, the knight joins the king and defends the position.
5...♔b2
5...♘d2 6.♗xa2+ ♔b2 7.♖d1+-.
6.♖xa2+ ♔xb1 7.♖e2
This traps the helpless knight on f1 and wins the game.
7...♔c1 8.♖e1+ 1-0
Game 136 Level 2
David Gurgenidze
Study, 1977
White to play and win
White’s task in this position is to shepherd the pawn to a queen by dominating Black’s rook with his bishop. Of course, there is a very important role for the king.
1.c7+ ♔d7 2.♗e8+!
It is important to force the king back to c8.
2...♔c8 3.♗f7 ♖e3 4.♗c4!
A highly accurate move. White retains the flexibility to check from both sides (e6 and a6), while at the same time keeping Black’s rook from checking White’s king.
The other tempting move 4.♗d5? does not work, due to 4...♖e8 5.♗b7+ ♔d7 6.♗c6+ ♔c8 7.♗d5 (7.♗xe8 stalemate is Black’s defence) 7...♔d7=.
4...♖e8 5.♔c6! 1-0
This forces mate. Pure domination with limited material and a stunning finale! White found a line that forces mate no matter what in a mere 5 moves from the starting position, which is quite a feat!
Game 137 Level 2
David Gurgenidze
Study, 1979
White to play and win
Black’s king position in the centre looks precarious, because he has only a few squares to go to. Also, Black’s queen is badly placed in the corner and blocked by its own pawns. Since White cannot go for mate (with his material inferiority), he needs to use his tactical resources skilfully to dominate the opponent’s queen with his rook and knight. Forks are a common theme when we have knights, and especially so when fighting against the mighty queen!
1.♖h4! ♕g8
1...♕xh4 2.♘xg6++-.
2.♖h8
Chasing the queen all the way!
2...♕f7 3.♖f8 ♕d7
3...♕xf8 4.♘xg6+.
4.♘xg6+ ♔e6
4...♔d5 5.♖f5+ ♔e6 (5...♔c6 6.♖c5+! dxc5 7.♘e5++-) 6.♘f8++-.
5.♖f6+ ♔d5 6.♖f5+ ♔c6 7.♖c5+!
This time, White’s sacrifice cannot be declined.
7...dxc5 8.♘e5+ 1-0
White sacrificed his rook at various places of the board to ensure a knight fork. Black kept avoiding the sacrifice for quite a few moves, until he was forced to accept it, resulting in White winning the queen with a knight fork.
Game 138 Level 2
Vladimir Kovalenko
Study, 2007
White to play and win
White is down in material and also a few of his pieces are hanging. So, he has to look for tactical themes to win back some material.
1.g4+!
To block the g4-square from the black king’s access.
1...fxg4 2.♖h2+ ♘h4 3.♖xh4+ ♔xh4 4.♘f5+
White has used a nice idea to win Black’s queen. But things do not end here, as Black still remains with two dangerous passed pawns on the verge of promoting:
4...♔h3! 5.♘xd4 f2 6.♖f5 g3 7.♖f3 ♗e3!
7...f1♕+ 8.♖xf1 g2+ 9.♔g1 ♗e3+ 10.♖f2 ♗xd4 11.e3! ♗xe3 stalemate!
8.♖xg3+!
The alternative 8.♘f5? does not work due to 8...f1♕+ 9.♖xf1 g2#.
8...♔xg3 9.♘f5+ ♔f4 10.♘g3!
10.♘xe3? ♔xe3 11.♔g2 ♔xe2-+.
10...♔xg3 1-0
White used a knight fork to win Black’s queen. Later, he was forced to contend with another pawn on the seventh rank. He sacrificed most of his remaining material and made use of a stalemate trick to draw the game!
Game 139 Level 2
Jaroslav Moravec
Study, 1913
White to play and win
White needs his king to ultimately stop Black’s passed h-pawn from collecting White’s rook by threatening to promote. Although this is the ultimate goal, there are some fine nuances on the way. Besides, it looks that White is perhaps missing a tempo, especially considering that his king is on h8!
1.♔h7!!
An incredible move, the point of which becomes apparent only on the very last move of this given main line.
1.♔xg7? h4 2.♔g6 h3 3.♔g5 h2=, and White is way short in terms of tempos!
1...h4
1...g5 2.♔g6 g4 3.♔g5! (White keeps the h-pawn alive to prevent stalemating ideas; 3.♔xh5? g3 4.♔g4 g2 5.♔g3 ♔h1 6.♖xg2 stalemate; 3.♔f5 also wins) 3...g3 4.♔h4! g2 5.♔h3 ♔h1 6.♖xg2. Now Black loses because of his available pawn move!
2.♔g6 h3 3.♔g5 h2 4.♔g4 h1♕
4...h1♘ 5.♔f3 (usually in such endgames, Black loses with his knight on h1, and the presence of an extra pawn for Black does not change the assessment here) 5...g5 6.♖d2 (6.♖a4 ♔h2 7.♖g4 ♔h3 8.♖xg5 ♔h2 9.♖g7+-) 6...g4+ 7.♔xg4 ♘f2+ 8.♔f3 ♘h1 9.♖a2+- or 8...♘h3 9.♔g3+-.
5.♔g3! 1-0
With mate on a1, or winning the queen. This is only possible because of the presence of Black’s pawn on g7, which makes the otherwise working resource 5...♕h8 futile! It was interesting to observe the keen eye for detail when White refrained from taking Black’s pawns while bringing back his king.
In my limited understanding, studies with multiple solutions are generally frowned upon among composers. They are not considered to be perfect. But from a training perspective, if the variations involved are creative, tough to find and interesting, and if they can challenge a player, I am fine with using them in my training. Anything to make the player think with intense effort!
Game 140 Level 3
Friedrich Amelung
Study, 1896
White to play and draw
1.h6!
The first solution, which is kind of obvious once the core idea is found. In many positions, the right idea or the path to be taken is not obvious at the beginning at all. We get attracted to an idea, spend time analysing it, hit a roadblock, try to overcome it, and give up on the whole idea. At this point, some players get dejected so much that they are unable to come up with alternative ideas that are worth analysing. They kind of freeze, and their mind goes blank.
To avoid this scenario, it makes sense to have identified interesting alternatives to our original idea before we embark on the analytical process. We can easily be affected by the outcome of our analysis, especially if it is not positive or to our liking.
We should not underestimate the role of emotions during our analytical process. Some of the most difficult situations during a game are:
1. When the opponent plays a good-looking move that we have completely missed while playing our previous move. Unexpected moves from the opponent can unsettle even seasoned players.
2. While executing our move, we realise we have made a mistake in our analysis and notice the refutation. But we have already half-executed the move on the board!
3. The opponent plays a new opening variation in our game, which we completely did not expect, and coincidentally it is an opening variation where we have less experience and understanding, and plenty of doubts!
4. We have some doubts about our capabilities in certain areas of the game; for example, we do not like to come under a dangerous-looking attack, and that is precisely what happens against an opponent who is known for his attacking skills. Can you imagine a worse situation than this?!
5. An uncomfortable opponent, poor form, self-doubts, lack of time in a tough position on the board, etc.
6. You can book a room, sit alone, and imagine all kinds of worse situations and put yourself right in the middle of them...
A) 1.♖xg7 ♗c3;
B) 1.♔f3+!. I believe this is not the intended solution! If the player has found the other solution, the helper can suggest trying to make 1.♔f3! work for White: 1...♔b1 2.♖xg7! (White is threatening to advance his rook pawn, so it is logical to expect the bishop to come to the a1-h8 diagonal at some point; 2.♖b2+?? ♔xb2 3.♔g2 h3+ 4.♔xh1 ♗g3 5.h6 g5 6.h7 ♗e5-+) 2...♗c3 3.♖b7+ ♔c2 4.h6 ♖g1
analysis diagram
5.♖b5!! (it’s time for White to put his rook behind the passed pawn! 5.h7?? ♖g6!-+, followed by rook behind the passed pawn, and blah blah blah...) 5...♖g3+ 6.♔e4 ♔d2 7.♖h5 h3 8.♔f4 ♖e3 9.♔g4=, assuming White knows how to draw with a rook against rook and bishop!
One advantage of being a coach is that you have the liberty to expect your students to know these minor technicalities, even if you do not know them yourself.
1...gxh6
Already, one would have guessed where the future is going!
1...g5 2.h7 ♗c3 3.♖xg5 h3 4.♔f3 (4.♖g8?? h2-+) 4...h2 (4...♖f1+ 5.♔e4 (5.♔e2 h2-+; White does not have 6.♖g2 check here) 5...h2 6.♖g2+=) 5.♖h5=.
2.♔f3+
Step 1: open the gate.
2...♔b1 3.♖b2+!!
Step 2: let the horse out.
3...♔xb2 4.♔g2 ½-½
Step 3: trap a new elephant in the cage! As usual, the engines give this position as completely winning for Black without tablebases.
Game 141 Level 3
Alexey Troitzky
Study, source and date unknown
White to play and win
Despite being short of a minor piece, there is something working in White’s favour. Once you find it, go all out to exploit it!
1.♘f3!
From here, the knight has multiple routes to give a check to Black’s king: via e1, d2, e5 or d4, depending upon how Black reacts.
1.♘e4? (this is the problem we saw under point 15 in Chapter 2. White wants to deliver checkmate with his knight and is embarking on a journey that looks similar to 1.♘f3 and likely to lead to the same conclusion. However, White is compromising here by not spending time to understand if it makes any difference to implement the same idea with 1.♘f3) 1...♗a5!-+ (a 2040 USCF player missed this completely; 1...♗c7? 2.♘d2 ♘e5 3.♔a1+- was the solution provided by the student, missing the resource 1...♗a5).
1...♗xf2
Preventing 2.♘e1 and keeping control of the d4-square.
1...♗a5 2.♘d4 – this is the difference. From c2, the knight controls the b4-square as well, which did not happen with 1.♘e4. A good chess player should be curious about such apparently minor details that make a major difference in the outcome of our analysis.
2.♔a1!
The key move to solve this study. Black’s pieces are well placed to meet White’s threats, but they have to make a costly compromise and allow White’s knight access to one of the key squares e1/d2/d4/e5, with mate on the next move. In other words, Black is in zugzwang now.
2.♘d2? (threatening 3.♘c4 and also 3.♔a1 followed by 4.♘b1) 2...♘e3! (2...♘e5? 3.♔a1, followed by 4.♘b1 mate) 3.♔a1 ♘c2+, and Black just about escapes with a draw.
2...♘e3
Threatening 3...♘c2 check.
2...♗e3 3.♘e1; 2...♗e1 3.♘xe1 ♘e3 4.♔b1.
3.♘d4! 1-0
Game 142 Level 3
Alexey Troitzky
Study, 1895
White to play and draw
At first look, it appears that the g2-pawn cannot be stopped, and there is not much counterplay for White against this deadly threat. However, White can play for a draw due to a concept that is very common in studies but not as common in practical games:
1.♖f5+!
1.♖d8+? ♔f7 2.♖d7+ ♔f6 3.♖d6+ ♔f5 4.♖d5+ ♔e4 5.♖g5 ♗xg5+ 6.♔h3 g1♘+!-+. If Black knows how to checkmate with a bishop and knight, this is a won position for Black!
1...♔e7
1...♔g7 2.♔h3! (2.♖f3! is another path to the same destination: 2...♗e1+ 3.♔h3 g1♕ 4.♖f7+! ♔g8 5.♖f8+, White’s rook keeps giving check from the side, and White makes a draw due to a stalemate trick) 2...g1♕ 3.♖g5+! and either capture by Black is an immediate draw by stalemate.
2.♖e5+!
The white rook should reach the e-file before sacrificing itself.
2...♔f6 3.♖e1!
Luring the bishop closer to the white king’s reach.
3...♗xe1+ 4.♔h3 g1♘+!?
4...g1♕=.
5.♔g2 ♘e2 6.♔f1 ½-½
A nice fork towards the very end earns the draw for White.
Game 143 Level 3
Alexey Troitzky
Study, 1896
White to play and win
The key features of this position are the placement of Black’s king, which can come under an attack, and the odd placement of Black’s queen.
1.♖d7
Threatening 2.♖f7 check, followed by a discovered attack on Black’s queen, forcing Black to hide his queen behind the pawns.
1.g5+? ♔e7-+.
1...♕xc3
A) 1...e4? leads to immediate mate: 2.g5+ ♔e5 3.♖d5#;
B) 1...fxe3? 2.♖f7+ ♔e6 3.♖a7+ was the threat behind White’s first move. Now the rook on f7 cannot attack the queen with discovered check, but...
2.g5+
A) 2.♗d5? (threatening 3.♖f7 checkmate) 2...e4!-+;
B) 2.♖f7+? ♔e6 and White has no serious threats at this point.
2...♔f5 3.♖d3!!
The critical move of the whole study, gaining a crucial tempo. This also sets up a mating net around Black’s king, as we shall see soon.
A) 3.e4+? wins the queen, but nothing more: 3...♔xe4 4.♗h7+ (4.♗d5+? ♔d4-+) 4...♔e3 5.♖d3+ ♕xd3 6.♗xd3 ♔xd3 7.g6 f3! 8.g7 f2 9.g8♕ f1♕ 10.♕d5+ ♔c3 11.♕xc5+ is good enough only for a draw;
B) 3.♗d5? e4-+, clearing the e5-square for the black king;
C) 3.♗h7+? ♔e6, and the king escapes.
We have to try to make all the interesting moves work in our favour. While trying such alternatives, we can eliminate most of them quite easily, thereby narrowing our options. This is one good way to find the correct move in most positions.
3...♕xd3
3...♕a5 4.e4+! (4.♗h7+ ♔e6) 4...♔xe4 5.♗h7#. A fantastic checkmate right in the middle of the board.
4.♗h7+ 1-0
Game 144 Level 3
Moritz Lewitt
Study, 1896
White to play and win
The critical aspect in this position is Black’s king placement. Can White do something about it? One interesting point to note is that Black’s moves are more or less forced in most of the variations. White will have to always choose between the options before him. Such positions can be used to train on the candidate moves concept with upcoming players.
1.b5
Such moves should be given priority in our calculations, as they force Black to play only moves that are easy to take to their logical conclusion quickly.
A) 1.g3? hxg3 2.hxg3 b5=;
B) 1.h3!? leads to a forcing long variation, but it is not too difficult to calculate, as the moves for both sides are pretty straightforward. Upcoming players should use such opportunities to improve their visualisation skills by calculating them to the end. Subsequently, they can try calculating long variations where they will have to find some tough moves too: 1...b5 2.♔xf6 b6 3.♔e6 ♔g6 4.♔d5 ♔f5 (both kings are going after the queenside and kingside pawns, respectively. Eventually it will in a pawn race in which Black holds his ground) 5.♔c6 ♔f4 6.♔xb6 ♔g3 7.♔xb5 ♔xg2 8.♔c5 ♔xh3 9.b5 ♔g2 10.b6 h3 11.b7 h2 12.b8♕ h1♕ 13.♕a8+ ♔g1 14.♕xh1+ ♔xh1 15.b4 h5 16.b5 h4 17.b6 h3 18.b7 h2 19.b8♕ ♔g1 and we reach a well-known theoretically drawn position;
C) 1.b3? b5.
1...h3 2.g4+
2.gxh3!? ♔h4 3.♔xf6 ♔xh3 4.♔g6 ♔xh2 5.♔xh6 ♔g3 (both kings are now rushing to the other side to do the same as they did on the kingside) 6.♔g5 ♔f3 7.♔f5 ♔e3 8.♔e5 ♔d3 9.♔d5 (9.♔d6 ♔c4) 9...♔c2 10.♔d6 ♔b3!= (10...♔xb2?? 11.♔c7 ♔c3 12.♔xb7 (12.♔xb6 ♔b4=; I wouldn’t be surprised if many upcoming players fell into this trap and came to the incorrect conclusion that Black draws even with 10...♔xb2) 12...♔c4 13.♔xb6+-) 11.♔c7 ♔b4 12.♔xb6 ♔c4 13.b3+ (13.♔a5 ♔b3= 14.b6 ♔c4) 13...♔b4!=. A picturesque final position!
This is a very important detail that should not be missed. If the player did not see this variation and solved the main line, the helper can ask him to calculate 2.gxh3 to its end. Basically, the helper should encourage the player to calculate as many variations as possible, not just the main lines, while training at home. As I have mentioned repeatedly, training should be harder than the actual battle. The training we do should build our capabilities, empowering us to handle the tough situations that inevitably every player will have to face time and again in their games. While training at home, for at least one hour per day, we should use maximum energy, effort and concentration to build our capabilities and accustom ourselves to a stage of such intense concentration, effort, energy and alertness levels regularly. It should become a part of our system that can be brought out when required during a game.
2...♔h4
3.b3!
Following the simple logic in such endgames to keep as many pawn moves in reserve as possible, which can be put to good use subsequently. As we can see here, we should make use of logic, common sense, and apply chess principles along with brutal calculations. This is where our understanding of the game and evaluation skills also come to the fore.
3.♔f4? (3.g5 fxg5-+) 3...h5 and now:
A) 4.gxh5 ♔xh5 5.♔g3 ♔g5 6.♔xh3 ♔f5 7.♔g2 (7.♔g3 ♔e4 8.h4 f5 9.h5 ♔e3 10.h6 f4+ 11.♔h2 f3 12.h7 f2 13.♔g2 ♔e2) 7...♔g4 8.h3+ ♔f4=;
B) 4.g5 f5! (while solving the initial position, a player has to foresee such critical moments in the analysis. The more we see, the better it reflects our capabilities, alertness and concentration; 4...fxg5+?? 5.♔f3+-) 5.♔f3??. White should agree to a stalemate, but if he tries for more like this, he simply loses after 5...♔xg5.
3...h5 4.g5!
4.gxh5? throws away the advantage: 4...♔xh5 5.♔f4 ♔h4 6.b4 ♔h5 7.♔g3 ♔g5 8.♔xh3 (the logic behind going into this variation is that in most endgames, having an outside passed pawn is a distinct advantage) 8...♔f4 9.♔g2 f5 (here, it does not yield White the win, as Black’s king is too active and White’s outside pawn is not able to advance at all) 10.♔f2 ♔e4! (10...♔g4?? goes to the wrong side: 11.♔e3+- and Black does not have 11...♔g3) 11.h3 (11.h4?? ♔f4-+; 11.♔g3?? ♔e3-+ is the point of 10...♔e4!) 11...♔f4 12.♔g2 ♔e3 13.h4 ♔e2 14.♔g3 ♔e3 15.♔g2=. Here, we see the danger of applying logic, common sense, and chess principles while calculating long variations! Sometimes, brutal concrete variations triumph over this trio. At other times, it can work the other way too.
4...fxg5 5.b4
The reserve pawn move we saved earlier on the third move comes to our aid here.
5...g4 6.♔f4 g3 7.hxg3#
Game 145 Level 3
Henri Rinck
Study, 1906
White to play and win
1.♕b1!
1.♕f3? ♔b4, and Black escapes.
1...♔d4
1...h3? lets White execute his idea, a very cooperative attitude: 2.♕b5+ ♔d4 3.♕d5#.
2.♕b3!
In some positions, we have to find some tough moves to achieve our objectives. These tough moves could come at the beginning of the variation, in the middle, or right at the end of the variation. We need to maintain a good alertness level so as not to miss the bus. This is one such moment for White.
A) 2.♕g1+? ♔d3 3.♕e3+ ♔c2=;
B) 2.♔d6?? ♕h6-+.
2...♕xe4+ 3.♔d6
Wherever the queen moves, Black will have to face the consequences.
3...♕a8
3...♕g2 4.♕c3+ ♔e4 5.♕c6++-.
4.♕e3+
Guiding the black king to the danger zone.
4...♔c4 5.♕c3+ ♔b5 6.♕b3+ ♔a6 7.♕a4+ ♔b7 8.♕b5+ ♔a7
8...♔c8 9.♕d7+ ♔b8 10.♕c7#.
9.♔c7 1-0
Finally, the king does the honours.
Game 146 Level 3
Vasily Platov
Study, 1906
White to play and win
Despite being two minor pieces down, White can create more problems with his two advanced pawns than Black can solve.
1.c7 ♗e6!?
The best practical defence for Black; 1...♗b7 2.f6 ♘d5 3.f7+-.
2.fxe6
2.f6? ♘d5 3.c8♕ (3.f7 ♗xf7+ 4.♔xf7 ♘xc7=) 3...♗xc8 4.f7 ♘f4+ 5.♔f6 ♘e6 stops the pawn on time: 6.♔e7=.
2...♘d5
The knight is a tricky piece, under-estimate it at your peril!
3.c8♘!
It remains to be seen if Black can achieve the two main objectives to save the game: sacrifice his knight for the central passed pawn and capture the c-pawn. How effectively White handles these two threats, will determine if he wins the game.
3.c8♕? ♘e7+.
3...♘f4+
3...♔b4 4.♔f5 ♔c3 5.♔e5 (White is unable to save the c-pawn, but he is attempting to promote his central pawn without allowing the black knight to interrupt) 5...♘c7 6.e7 ♔xc2 7.♘b6 (there are other ways to win as well. Black’s king is too far away, and White is able to drive the black knight away from the pawns’ vicinity) 7...♔d3 8.♘d5 ♘e8 9.♘f6 ♘g7 10.♘h5 ♘e8 11.♔e6 ♘c7+ 12.♔d7 ♘d5 13.e8♕+-.
4.♔f7 ♘xe6
It appears Black is close to achieving his objectives, but the next two moves by White will shatter all his hopes.
4...♘d5 5.♘b6+ ♘xb6 6.e7 ♘c8 7.e8♕+ promotes with check!
5.♘b6+!
5.♔xe6? ♔b4!=.
5...♔b4
If 5...♔b5 6.♔xe6 ♔xb6 7.♔d5 wins.
6.♘d5+! ♔c4 7.♔xe6 1-0
The c2-pawn, which apparently had no role earlier and remained a mute spectator, actually ensures that White wins in the final position. Sometimes doing nothing is better than doing something bad!
Game 147 Level 3
Leonid Kubbel
Study, 1910
White to play and draw
The b2-pawn is far advanced, and at first sight it appears that White can do nothing about it.
1.♘d4+
1.♘c5? loses to the spectacular 1...♗e4!.
1...♔d3 2.♗f5+
A) 2.♘e2 ♗e4 (2...♔xe2 3.♗f5 ♔d2 4.♔b3 ♔c1);
B) 2.♘b3 ♗e4 3.♘c5+ ♔d4;
C) 2.♘b5 axb5+ 3.♔a3 ♔c2 4.♗f5+ ♔c1 5.♔b4 ♗h3 6.♗g6 ♗d7.
2...♗e4 3.♗xe4+ ♔xe4
It appears that nothing can stop the b-pawn now, but White still has some tricks left up his sleeve.
4.♘b5!!
It’s very easy to miss this brilliant idea (4.♘b3 ♔e3). White uses two factors to his advantage: a small window of opportunity to give a fork on c3 and...
4...axb5+ 5.♔a3! b1♕ ½-½
The cornered king position gives stalemate possibilities!
A) 5...b1♘+ 6.♔b4= as soon the sole pawn survivor in Black’s camp will fall as well;
B) 5...b1♗ 6.♔b4 ♗d3 7.a4=.
Game 148 Level 3
Leonid Kubbel
Study, 1924
White to play and win
This is a slightly tougher position and will require 20 to 30 minutes of thought, at least for many, without any guarantee that the solution will be found by those who have not worked much on their calculation skills.
1.♔b3!
1.♗f4+? ♔b2! 2.♗e5+ ♔a2-+.
1...e1♕
A) 1...e5 2.♗xc2! e1♕ 3.♗xb6! and there is no good way to stop ♗e3 check on the next move: 3...♔d2 4.♗a5++-, exploiting the drawback of 3...♔d2;
B) 1...♔b1 2.♗xc2++-.
2.♗f4+ ♔b1
2...♔d1 3.♗h5+!+-.
3.♗xc2+ ♔a1
It should not be too difficult for players at this level to come to this point, but the following move will take some effort. Finding the move and realising its strength require a good effort or a good understanding of the position and what is going on behind the scenes. It would not surprise me if many players reject this whole variation at this point, as there is no direct way to force checkmate or gain substantial material.
When we are able to determine that some variations are completely not working, it makes sense to focus on moves that also do not seem to work, but not to the complete extent as to reject them outright. Many times, we reject moves without a valid reason or for an incorrect reason, due to some mistake in our analysis.
4.♗d6!
A) With 4.♗e3? e5 5.♗xb6 White is taking too much liberty to try to come to the critical a1-h8 diagonal. It’s no surprise it does not work as well as expected: 5...♕e2 6.♗a5 ♕xb5+-+;
B) 4.f3? e5-+.
In the position after the text move, White plays to dominate the queen with his bishop pair and ultimately mate Black’s helpless king on a1. There is a battle in which the dark-squared bishop tries to come to the right diagonal and give a checkmate, and Black tries to counter it. We can already see that a few of the pieces have already reached their optimum position and cannot move further. So, it is a battle between the limited forces that still have options to move about. A few of the threats are ♗d6-b4-♗c3#, ♗d6-a3-♗b2#...
4...♕e2
4...e5 5.♗a3+-, exploiting the drawback of 4...e5, as the square is not available for the queen anymore to prevent 6.♗b2# next.
5.♗b4 ♕xb5
Now the black queen cannot move (other than to d5 with check), as it allows 6.♗c3 checkmate.
6.♗e4! e5 7.f3! 1-0
A brilliant zugzwang. Black has to move his queen and allow 8.♗c3 checkmate. A minor point to note is that there is no stalemate, since the black b-pawn can still move.
Game 149 Level 3
Leonid Kubbel
Study, 1924
White to play and win
Since White cannot stop the rook pawn from promoting, he needs to focus on weaving a mating web around Black’s king:
1.♗c5!
Many players at this level will struggle to find the first move, since its justification will be known only if the whole concept works.
A) 1.♗e5? fxe5 2.♖d6+ ♔e7 3.♖d1 (White’s rook manages to stop one pawn, but in the process has laid the foundation for the forward march of the rest of Black’s pawns) 3...e4 4.♖a1 f5 5.♖xa2 b5-+ (5...f4 6.♖a4=);
B) 1.♗c7+? ♔e8-+;
C) 1.♗b4? a1♕ 2.♖d6+ ♔e8 3.♔c8 ♕c1+-+. This move comes with a check, due to the position of the bishop.
1...a1♕ 2.♖d6+ ♔e8
2...♔e7? 3.♖xa6++-.
3.♔c8!
A quiet move that threatens mate in one. A minor point to note is that 3...♕c1 does not come with a check here, as in the case of 1.♗b4.
3...♕a5
The only move. One clue to find out if we are analysing in the right direction is that the opponent’s move will be forced in many places. That should motivate us to push forward with more energy.
4.♖d5!
A nice zugzwang with so many pieces on the board.
4...b5
The only available move for Black!
A) 4...f5 5.♖e5#;
B) 4...♕xc5+ 5.♖xc5 b6 (5...b5 6.♔b7) 6.♖c6 b5 7.♔c7 ♔e7 8.♔b6 and White’s rook and king will combine well to stop all the pawns.
5.♖d3! 1-0
An incredible picture of domination. Black cannot stop mate.
5.♖d4? f5 6.♗b4 ♕b6 7.♖d6 ♕xd6-+; 5.♖h5? ♕d8+-+.
Game 150 Level 3
Leonid Kubbel
Study, 1924
White to play and draw
1.♘c4! ♗xc4
1...♔a7 2.♘d6! h1♕ 3.♘c8+ ♔a8 (3...♔b8? 4.a7++-) 4.♘b6+ ♔a7 5.♘c8+=.
2.♖a1 ♗d5 3.e4!
Luring the bishop away from the b3-square, so White’s king gains quicker access to Black’s c5-pawn.
A) 3.♔a3? ♔a7!-+ (3...h1♕? is too hasty and allows White to do what he wants to do: 4.♖xh1 ♗xh1 5.♔a4 (5.c4 ♔a7) 5...♗c6+ 6.♔a5 ♔a7 7.e4=);
B) 3.c4? h1♕ 4.♖xh1 ♗xh1 5.♔c3 ♗e4 6.♔b3 ♔a7 7.♔a4 ♔xa6-+.
3...♗xe4 4.♔b3
White wants to give up his rook for the h-pawn and win Black’s c-pawn with his king. When Black tries to defend the c-pawn with his king, White’s rook pawn can be used to lure the king away.
4...♔a7
4...♗d5+ 5.♔a4 (5.c4 h1♕ 6.♖xh1 ♗xh1 7.♔a4 ♗c6+ 8.♔a5 ♔a7= stalemate!) 5...♗c6+ 6.♔b3=.
5.♔c4 ♔b6 6.a7
6.♖b1+ ♗xb1.
6...h1♕
7.a8♕! ♗xa8 8.♖b1+!! ½-½
A brilliant stalemating idea.
Game 151 Level 3
Leonid Kubbel
Study, 1925
White to play and draw
1.♗f2+
1.h7? does not work, due to 1...c2+ 2.♔h4 ♘f6 3.h8♕ c1♕-+.
1...♔h1 2.h7
A) 2.♗d5+? (going in the right direction, but not paying attention to the move order. Implementing the correct idea with the correct move order is more important than implementing the correct idea in the manner it comes into our mind) 2...cxd5 3.h7 (3.♗c5? ♖a8 4.h7 ♘f6-+) 3...c2+ 4.♗e3 ♖xe3+ 5.♔f2 ♘h6! (5...♖e6 6.h8♕++-) 6.h8♕ ♖e2+ 7.♔xe2 c1♕-+;
B) Neither does 2.♗c5 ♖xa2 3.h7 ♖h2 4.hxg8♕ ♖g2+-+ work.
2...c2+ 3.♗e3!
None of the alternatives work: 3.♗b3? ♖xb3+ 4.♗e3 ♖xe3+ 5.♔f2 ♖h3 6.hxg8♕ ♖h2+, preventing ♕g2. 7.♔f3 c1♕-+; 3.♔f4? c1♕+-+; 3.♔h4? c1♕ 4.hxg8♕ ♕f4+-+.
3...♖xe3+
3...♘h6 doesn’t give Black his win: 4.h8♕ ♖xe3+ 5.♔f2=.
4.♔f2
4.♔h4? c1♕ 5.hxg8♕ ♕e1+-+;
4.♔f4? c1♕ 5.h8♕+ ♖h3+-+.
4...♖h3
4...♖f3+ 5.♔xf3 c1♕ 6.hxg8♕=.
5.♗d5+!!
This is the brilliant point, and also incredible timing. 5.hxg8♕? ♖h2+ 6.♔f3 c1♕ 7.♗d5 ♕d1+! (this is the important difference compared to the main line) 8.♔e3+ cxd5-+.
5...cxd5 6.hxg8♕ ♖h2+ 7.♔f3 c1♕ 8.♕g2+! ♖xg2 ½-½
Stalemate! Bringing the black pawn to d5 was very important for this stalemating idea.
Game 152 Level 3
Leonid Kubbel
Study, 1926
White to play and win
1.e8♕!
This is a relatively simple option.
A) 1.♗g2? does not work because of 1...♗xg2 (1...fxe3? 2.♗xc6+ ♔a7 3.fxe3+-) 2.e8♕ fxe3 3.♕xe3 (3.♕b5 ♔a7 4.♕xg5 ♖c8+ 5.♔b2 exf2 6.♕xg2 ♖c5, this is a fortress) 3...♖c8+ 4.♔b2 ♖c5 5.f3 ♗f1 (5...♗h3 6.f4) 6.f4 gxf4 7.♕f3+ ♔a7 8.♕xf1 ♔b7 with a fortress;
B) 1.♖c3! is another option that works, but perhaps slightly more complex: 1...♗xa4 (1...♗b7 2.♗b5+-; 1...♗e8 2.♖c7 g4 3.♗d3+-) 2.♗g2+ ♔a7 3.♖c7+ ♔a6
analysis diagram
B1) 4.♗f1+? b5 5.♖d7 ♖e8 6.♗d3 g4! (6...♔b6? 7.♗g6 ♖c8+ 8.♔d2 b4 9.e8♕ ♖xe8 10.♗xe8 ♗xd7 11.♗xd7; Black is unable to exchange the kingside pawns and so is lost) 7.♗g6 ♖c8+ 8.♔d2 b4! 9.e8♕ ♖xe8 10.♗xe8 ♗xd7 11.♗xd7 g3=;
B2) 4.♗h3! ♗e8 5.♗c8+! (5.♖d7? ♖b7!; 5.a4? b5! 6.♖d7 ♔b6 7.♖d8 ♔c7=) 5...♔b5 6.♔b2! (Black’s king is cut off along the c-file and can come under a mating attack. If we look carefully, we can see that Black’s pieces are not able to do much either) 6...f3 7.♔b3 ♗f7+ 8.♔c3 ♔a4 (8...♗e8 9.♗e6 ♔a6 10.♔c4+-, threatening 11.♗c8+) 9.♔b2 ♔b5 10.♗d7+ ♔a6 11.a4!+-. An incredible dance in achieving coordination and cornering Black’s king.
1...♖xe8
1...♗xe8 2.♗g2+ ♔a7 3.♖e7+ ♔a6 4.♗f1+ b5 5.♖xe8!+-.
2.♗g2! ♖c8
2...fxe3 3.♗xc6+ ♔b8 4.♗xe8 exf2 5.♗b5; three pawns are no match for the piece here. White wins since he has the correct bishop colour.
3.♖e8! 1-0
A cute tactic! 3...♖xe8 4.♗xc6+ ♔b8 5.♗xe8+-; 3...♗xg2+ 4.♖xc8+ ♔b7 5.♖g8 ♗c6 6.♖xg5 ♗xa4 7.♖f5+-.
Game 153 Level 3
Abram Gurvich
Study, 1927
White to play and win
Despite White having an extra queen, Black’s pawn on the g-file is very advanced. White has to find a clever idea to win this position.
1.♘e4! ♘d3
1...g1♕+ 2.♘f2++-.
2.♕f2!!
2.♕xd3? g1♕+=.
2...♘xf2 3.♘g3+! ♔g1 4.♘g5!
A picturesque zugzwang! White mates on either h3 or f3, whatever Black does.
4...♘hg4
4...♘fg4 5.♘h3#.
5.♘f3#
Game 154 Level 3
Tigran Gorgiev
Study, 1929
White to play and win
The whole position rests on the advanced passed pawn on the e-file and how White manages to make use of it to his advantage:
1.♗g2+!
1.♘b6+? ♔b8 2.a7+ ♔xa7 3.♘c8+ ♔b8=.
1...♔b8!
1...♔a7? 2.♘d6! ♖xe7 3.♘c8++-.
2.a7+! ♔xa7 3.♘d6! ♗d1+!
An interesting defensive resource.
A) 3...♗b5 4.♘xb5+ ♔b8 (4...♔b6 5.♘d6+-) 5.♘d4! ♖xe1 6.♔d2+-; the rook has to step on a square where it will be forked!;
B) 3...♖xe7 4.♘c8++-.
4.♔xd1!
4.♔c3 ♗a4; 4.♔c1 ♖xe1 5.♔d2 ♖xe7.
4...♖xd6+ 5.♗d5!
The sacrifices of two minor pieces in a row to stop the rook from stopping the passed pawn is aesthetic! 5.♘d3? ♖e6! 6.♘b4 ♔b6 7.♗h3 ♖e5 8.♗d7 ♖xe7 9.♘d5+ ♔c5 10.♘xe7 ♔d6!=.
5...♖xd5+ 6.♘d3! ♖xd3+ 7.♔e2 1-0
Game 155 Level 3
Tigran Gorgiev
Study, 1929
White to play and win
White is about to lose his extra piece, but it is his turn to move. How can White exploit this fact?
1.♗c6!
Trying to create a dangerous passed pawn on the rook file.
1.♗xf7? ♔xf7 2.♘h4 ♔e6 3.g6 ♗xg6+ 4.♘xg6 c5=; the extra piece alone is not sufficient for White.
1...bxc6
1...♗xf3 2.♗xb7+-.
2.a6
A) 2.♘d4?? ♗g6+ 3.♔h6 ♗xe4-+, Black opens the h1-a8 diagonal with an eventual ...c6-c5;
B) 2.♘e5?? dxe5 3.a6 ♗g6+ 4.♔h8 ♗xe4 5.a7 c5-+.
2...♗g6+
This is the main defensive idea.
A) 2...♗xf3 3.a7 ♗xe4+ 4.g6!, gaining a crucial tempo. Black’s bishop cannot afford to leave the a8-h1 diagonal: 4...c5 5.a8♕+ ♗xa8 6.g7+;
B) 2...c5? 3.♘h4+-.
3.♔h8! ♗xe4
4.g6!!
But the two passed pawns prove too much for the bishop! The pawn advance clears the square for the white knight. The white knight is going to do all the damage from now on.
4...fxg6 5.♘g5! ♗d5 6.♘e6+ ♔e7 7.♘c5!
A brilliant blocking sacrifice that was planned by White with striking manoeuvres.
7.♘xc7 ♗h1-+, with ...c6-c5 coming next.
7...dxc5 8.a7 1-0
Game 156 Level 3
Tigran Gorgiev
Study, 1934
White to play and win
White has two far advanced passed pawns, but they are under control as of now. It will all come down to how well White combines his pieces to make good use of the pawns.
1.♘d5+ ♔d7 2.c8♕+! ♖xc8 3.♗g4+ ♔c6 4.♗xc8 ♗b7
Until this point, the moves were more or less forced. But at this critical moment, White has to find a difficult resource. Using the elimination technique can help in this regard.
5.♔d3!
This mysterious king move has a purpose. It blocks the pawns and does something more important, which will become apparent later.
White can’t win with 5.♘e7+? ♔c7+ 6.♗xb7 ♔xb7 7.♘c8 c4 (if 7...♔a8 8.♔d5 c4 9.♔c6 c3 10.♔b6 c2 11.♔a6 c1♕ 12.♘b6#; White mates just in time) 8.♔d4 d5 9.♔c3 ♔a8=. Black’s connected pawns keep the king at bay.
5...♗a8 6.♔c4 ♗b7 7.a8♕! ♗xa8 8.♗a6! ♗b7
8...♔d7 9.♘b6+.
9.♗b5#
Without pawns, the mating pattern that White weaves with his bishop and knight is very pretty.
Game 157 Level 4
Richard Réti
Study, 1922
White to play and win
A brief look at the position shows that White’s advantage consists of the precarious position of Black’s king on the edge of the board. This will be the central theme of the play, but there are nuances based on move orders, defences based on stalemating themes and some potential zugzwangs.
1.g3
White threatens mate in two beginning with 2.♖h4+.
After the direct 1.♖xd3 g4 2.g3, 2...♖d8!= is a stalemate trick (2...♖a8! 3.♖d5 ♖a5! is another way to play for stalemate)!
1...♖g8
Stopping 3.g4 check after 2.♖h4+ gxh4.
2.♖b4!
A completely counter-intuitive move. White is able to notice a very fine nuance: he needs the rook on the b-file. He also needs to keep the d-pawn alive to get rid of stalemating ideas, at least for the time being.
A) 2.a4? g4 3.♔xf6 (3.♖xd3 ♖a8 4.♖d5 ♖a6! (4...♖a5? 5.♔e6++-) 5.♖b5 (5.♖c5 ♖a5=) 5...♖d6 6.a5 ♖d5+=) 3...♖g6+ 4.♔f7 ♖g5 5.♖xd3 ♖f5+ 6.♔g7 (6.♔e6 ♖f3, and it is now White who has to be careful to stay in the game as Black wins the g-pawn: 7.♖d5+ ♔g6 8.♔e5!, and White will hold, but he still needs to show a lot of accuracy) 6...♖a5 7.♖d6 ♖a7+ 8.♔f6 ♖a6= is another stalemating idea;
B) 2.♖xd3? ♖a8! and Black is in the driver’s seat!;
C) 2.♖g4? d2 3.♖d4 g4! 4.♖xd2 ♖g5+ 5.♔xf6 ♖f5+!=;
D) 2.♖d5? ♖a8-+;
E) 2.♖e4? g4 3.♖e1 ♖g5+ 4.♔xf6 ♖g6+! 5.♔f7 d2! 6.♖b1! d1♕ 7.♖xd1 ♖f6+ 8.♔g7 ♖f5=.
2...g4! 3.♖b1!
3.♖d4? ♖a8=; 3.a4? ♖d8=.
3...♖g5+ 4.♔xf6 ♖g6+ 5.♔f7 d2
6.a4!! d1♕!
6...♖b6 7.♖xb6 d1♕ 8.♖b5++-.
7.♖xd1 ♖f6+ 8.♔g7 ♖f5!
A) 8...♖g6+ 9.♔h7+-. White escapes stalemate by hiding here;
B) 8...♔g5 9.♖d5+ ♖f5 10.♖xf5+ ♔xf5 11.♔xh6 leads to a winning pawn endgame.
9.♖b1!
It is clearly important for the rook to be on the b-file.
9.♖d6? ♖a5 10.♖xh6+ (10.♖b6 ♖a7+! 11.♔f6 ♖a6! (11...♖a5? 12.♖b7!+-) 12.♖e6 ♖c6=) 10...♔g5 11.♖b6 ♖a7+!, and Black escapes from White’s mating threats.
9...♔g5
9...♖g5+ 10.♔h7 ♖f5 11.♖b5+-.
10.♖b6!!
An incredible idea based on zugzwang.
10.♖b5 h5 11.♖xf5+ ♔xf5 12.a5 h4.
10...♖e5
10...h5 11.♖g6#; 10...♔h5 11.♖b5+-.
11.♖b5 1-0
White has gained a crucial tempo. Either Black has to exchange on b5 and give up a tempo, or he has to move back to f5 and once again lose a tempo. Either way, that single tempo gives White the win.
Game 158 Level 4
Tigran Gorgiev
Study, 1934
White to play and win
Black’s c-pawn is not that dangerous because it’s well- blockaded and can be captured when the time is right. The battle will clearly centre around Black trying to capture the h-pawn and White doing something about it, to either stop it or win material after allowing it.
1.♘d3!
A) 1.♘h3? c2! 2.♗xc2 ♗h2!= (2...♗c5? 3.♘f4 ♗d6 4.♘g6 ♔h5 5.♔f3 ♗c7 6.♗f5 ♗d6 7.♔g2 ♗c7 8.♔h3+-) 3.♔f2 (3.♔f3 ♔h5=; 3.♘g5 ♗g3 4.♘f3 ♔h5=) 3...♔h5 4.♘g5 ♗c7 (4...♔xh4 5.♘f3+ ♔h3 6.♗f5#) 5.♘f3 ♔g4 (5...♗d8 6.♔g3 ♗c7+ 7.♔h3 ♗d8 8.♗a4 ♗f6 9.♗e8+ ♔h6 10.♔g4; White consolidates and wins) 6.♔g2 ♗d8=. Black wins the h-pawn without conceding anything;
B) 1.♘e4 c2 2.♗xc2 ♔h5 3.♘g5 ♗b6 4.♘f3 ♗d8.
1...c2!
1...♔h5 2.♔f1+ and due to the presence of the ♗d1, White is able to play this discovered check and win the piece.
2.♗xc2 ♔h5
Now we can see the point of 1...c2. White does not have the ♔f1 discovered check anymore. White has a big challenge now, how can he defend the lone rook pawn?
3.♘e1!
To begin with, White stops Black’s king from taking the pawn by means of a fork threat.
3.♘e5? ♗b6 4.♘g6 ♗d8, and Black wins the last pawn without White getting anywhere in return.
3...♗b6 4.♘g2!
The right way to defend the pawn; 4.♘f3? ♗d8=.
4...♗d8!
If 4...♔g4 5.♗e4 ♗d8 6.♗f3+ ♔g3 7.h5 White manages to hold on to his pawn and win.
It looks like the h-pawn is lost now, but White comes up with a brilliant concept:
5.♗d1!
White threatens to play ♔e2-f2-g3, defending his pawn.
5...♗xh4! 6.♔e3+
By giving up the pawn, White has forced the black king to not move too far away from the bishop!
6...♔g5 7.♔f3!
A nice position of zugzwang. The bishop on h4 is dominated and falls!
7...♔h5 8.♔f4+ 1-0
White understood that he would lose the h-pawn at some point, and prepared himself excellently using some tactical ideas based on domination to win Black’s bishop.
Game 159 Level 4
Genrikh Kasparyan
Study, 1955
White to play and win
In this position, White would ideally like to protect his d-pawn with his bishop and knight, since his king is a bit far from the scene. Black will fight to win White’s remaining pawn, and in case he achieves this, White needs some other non-standard idea!
1.♗f5!
A) 1.♔a5? ♗c2 2.♗c4 ♔d4! (2...d5? 3.♗b5 ♔d4 4.♘e6+! (4.♘f5+ ♔c3!=) 4...♔e3 5.♘c5+-) 3.♘e6+ ♔e3! (3...♔c3? 4.♘f4+-) 4.d4 (White is threatening to play 5.d5, when it will be over for Black) 4...d5! 5.♗xd5 ♗f5 6.♔b4 ♗xe6 7.♔c5 ♗g4. Black should draw this ending without much fuss. For example, 8.♗c6 ♔f4 9.d5 ♔e5 10.d6 ♔e6=;
B) 1.♗c4? d5 2.♗a2 ♗b5+=.
1...♔d4 2.♘e6+!
A) 2.♗e4 ♗c2;
B) The other approach by the knight with 2.♘h5? does not work as the following lines show:
B1) 2...♗c2? 3.♘f4 ♔e5 4.♘e2 ♗d1 (4...♔xf5 5.♘d4++-) 5.♘c3 ♗c2 6.♘b5! ♔f4 (6...♗d1 7.♗h7+-) 7.♘a3!. The knight completes a brilliant dance. Finally, both the knight and bishop have come to the queenside to support the d3-pawn. On the queenside, they can be protected by their king: 7...♗d1 8.♗h7+-;
B2) 2...♗d1 3.♘f4 ♔e5 4.♘g2 ♔xf5 5.♘e3+ ♔e5 6.♘xd1 ♔d4 7.♘f2 ♔e3 8.♔b6 ♔xf2 9.d4 ♔e3 10.♔c6= (10.d5?? ♔e4 11.♔c6 ♔e5; Black would even win in this case).
2...♔e5
2...♔e3 3.♘c7! ♗c2 4.♘d5+ ♔d4 5.♘b4 and once the knight reaches the safe haven of b4, White wins easily.
3.♗h3!
3.♗g4? ♗b3! (3...♗d7? 4.d4+ ♔f6 5.d5 ♔e5 6.♔b6+-) 4.♘d8 ♔d4 5.♗f5 ♗c2 6.♘c6+ ♔c3!=. The bishop being on f5 is a problem, since the d3-pawn is pinned.
3...♗c2
A) 3...♗b3 4.d4+ ♔e4 5.♗g2+! ♔e3 (5...♔f5 6.d5 ♔e5 7.♘c7+-) 6.d5 ♔f2 7.♗h1+-;
B) 3...♗d7 4.d4+! (4.♘f4? ♗xh3 5.♘xh3 ♔d4 6.♘f2 ♔e3 7.♔b6 ♔xf2 8.d4 ♔e3 9.d5 ♔d4 10.♔c6 ♔e5-+) 4...♔d5 5.♘f4++-.
4.d4+! ♔d5 5.♔b5! ♗h7 6.♔b4! ♗g8 7.♔c3! ♗xe6 8.♗g2#!
This is the pretty finish that White was aiming for: a checkmating pattern right in the centre of the board!
The problem with giving diagrams at interesting moments in a game is that it can easily become a clue to readers who want to solve the study without any help! Pardon me if that is the case here.
Game 160 Level 4
David Gurgenidze
Study, 1975
White to play and draw
Black has a very advanced king position. Besides that, he has connected passed pawns that seem to be impossible to contend with.
1.g6!
The other approach with 1.♖d2+! also works, but is a more complex variation: 1...♔c1 2.g6! ♖e6 3.e5 fxg6 4.f7 ♖xe5 5.e4 ♖e6 6.f8♕! (6.e5? ♖xe5 7.e4 ♖e6-+) 6...♖f6+ 7.♕xf6 exf6 8.♖d6! and now:
A) 8...a5 9.♖c6+ ♔b1 10.♖xf6 a3 11.e5 a2 12.♖xg6 ♔c2 13.♖c6+ ♔b2 14.e6 a1♕ 15.e7 ♕h1 16.e8♕ ♕xh2+=;
B) 8...a3 9.♖xa6 ♔b2 10.♖xf6 a2 11.♖a6 b3 12.e5 ♔c3 13.e6 b2 14.e7 b1♕ 15.e8♕ ♕f5+ 16.♔g3 ♕g5+=;
C) 8...b3 9.♖c6+! (9.♖xf6?? a3! 10.♖xa6 a2 11.e5 b2-+) 9...♔d2 10.♖xf6! a3 11.e5! b2 (11...a2 12.♖xa6=) 12.♖b6 ♔c3 13.e6=.
1...fxg6
1...♖e6 2.e5 fxg6 3.f7 transposes.
2.f7 ♖e6 3.e5!
A) Again, 3.♖d2+! ♔c1 4.f8♕ (4.♔e1 ♖f6 5.♖d1+ ♔c2 6.♖d2+ ♔c3 7.♖d3+ ♔b2) 4...♖f6+ 5.♕xf6 exf6 6.♖d6;
B) 3.f8♕! ♖f6+ 4.♕xf6+ exf6 5.♖d6 a3 6.♖xf6 a2 7.♖xa6 b3 8.e5 ♔c3 9.e6 b2 10.e7 b1♕ 11.e8♕ ♕f5+=.
3...♖xe5 4.e4 ♖e6 5.e5!
White could also go for 5.f8♕! ♖f6+ 6.♕xf6+ exf6 7.♖d6 a3 8.♖xf6 a2 9.♖xa6 b3 10.e5 a1♕ 11.♖xa1 ♔xa1 12.e6 b2 13.e7 b1♕ 14.e8♕
.
5...♖xe5 6.e4! ♖e6 7.e5 ♖xe5
8.♖h1!!
This is the incredible concept for which White sacrificed all his pawns. He wants to shut his rook on h1 and go for a stalemate!
8.f8♕ ♖f5+ 9.♕xf5 gxf5-+; 8.♖d2+ ♔c3.
8...a3 9.f8♕ ♖f5+ 10.♔g1! a2 11.♕f6+!
11.♕h8+?? ♖f6-+.
11...e5!? 12.♕xa6! ½-½
White will sacrifice the queen on the next move, ending in stalemate.
The main line has a unique and pretty stalemating idea. However, along the way White also had a couple of other alternatives that could have ultimately maintained equality.
Game 161 Level 4
Leonid Kubbel
Study, 1941
White to play and win
Black’s f-pawn is very advanced, and White’s minor pieces look too far away to do anything about it. Moreover, White’s advanced pawn on e7 is firmly blocked by Black’s knight. How does White win here?
1.♘c7!
When normal moves do not work, we should consider abnormal moves or desperados a little more seriously to reach our objective. For many upcoming players, this is very difficult to do. When normal things do not work, they also reject the abnormal attempts to reach the objective – for no apparent reason, or for simplistic reasons; for example, a temporary loss in material, or a dangerous-looking attack from the opponent, etc.
1...♘xc7
A) 1...f2?! 2.♘xe8 f1♕ 3.♘f6++-;
B) 1...♘xg7 2.♔xg7 f2 3.e8♕ f1♕ 4.cxd6+-.
2.cxd6 f2
2...♘e8?! 3.d7+-.
3.dxc7 f1♕
Now White has a not so tough choice to make. In such situations, where we are faced with multiple choices to consider, the first step is to realise that we have a choice. This may look too obvious for experienced players, but upcoming players usually think one line at a time, and as a result their analysis goes in a straight line without branches along the way. In such cases, they analyse the move they have seen first and naively believe it is the only move in the position. This habit has to be broken at the early stages of a player’s career.
4.c8♕!
4.e8♕? ♕h1+ 5.♕h5 (5.♔g5 ♕c1+ 6.♔h5 ♕xc7=) 5...♕c1+ 6.♔xh7 ♕xc7=; White loses his last pawn without anything in return for it.
4...♕f4+
4...♕h1+ 5.♔g5 ♕g2+ 6.♕g4++-.
5.♔xh7
5.♔h5?? could even lose! 5...♕f7+ 6.♔h4 (6.♔h6 ♕g6#; 6.♔g5 ♕xg7+ 7.♔h4 ♕xe7+-+) 6...♕xe7+-+.
5...♕h4+ 6.♔g6!
6.♔g8 ♕xe7.
6...♕xe7
It appears that Black has equalised by removing White’s last pawn from the board. However, now comes the real idea of the whole composition:
7.♗f8! ♕a7
7...♕h4 8.♕c4+.
8.♗c5! 1-0
Watch how beautifully the white units are coordinating to trap the queen in an unexpected domination!
In studies, each and every unit will have a concrete purpose to serve. Imagine the creativity involved to visualise the final position, and then finding a creative way to reach it by creating the starting position!
As a young player, I knew Timman only as a player from books, but subsequently I came to know that he is also a famous composer. I like the following study very much.
Game 162 Level 4
Jan Timman
Study, 1973
White to play and win
A complex position with a cute mating theme in one of the simple lines. In the other lines, White uses tactical ideas with his own passed pawns and create domination in various lines.
1.♖xe5+!
A) 1.♗xe5? ♗xd5+!-+;
B) 1.♗d4+? ♔f4 2.♘f2 ♗e4-+;
C) 1.♗c1+?! ♔e4 2.♘f2+ ♔f5 3.♖xe5+! ♔xe5 4.♘d3+ ♔d6! (4...♔e4? 5.♗xg5 hxg5 6.h6+-) 5.♗f4+ ♔e7! (5...♔d7? 6.♗xg5 hxg5 7.♘e5++-) 6.♗xg5+!? (6.d6+!? ♔e6! 7.♗xg5 hxg5 8.d7 ♔e7! (8...♔xd7? 9.♘e5++-) 9.h6 ♗e4=) 6...hxg5 7.h6 (7.a5? ♗e4! (7...bxa5? 8.b6!; 8.♔c5 ♗e4 9.♘e1 a4 10.♔b4 ♗xd5-+ or 10.b6 ♔d7-+) 8.♘e1 bxa5 9.b6 ♔d7-+) 7...♗e4 8.♘e1 ♔d6 9.♔d4 ♗g6 and Black survives the danger.
1...♔f4
A) 1...♔d2 2.♗c3+ ♔c2 3.♖xg5+-;
B) 1...♖xe5?! 2.♗c1+ ♔e4 3.♘g3#, a nice mate in the centre!;
C) 1...♗e4 and now:
C1) 2.♖xe4+? ♔xe4 3.♘f2+ ♔f3 4.♘d3 ♔e4 5.♘f2+= (5.d6?? ♖d5 6.♘f2+ ♔f5-+);
C2) 2.♗c3 ♖xe5;
C3) 2.♗d4+ ♔f3 3.♖xe4 ♔xe4 4.♘f2+ ♔f5 5.♘d3 ♔e4 6.♗xb6 ♖xd5 7.♘e1 ♖d1 8.♗f2 ♖a1 9.♔b4 ♔d5+-; White blockades Black’s passed pawns with his minor pieces and will slowly start to push his queenside passed pawns;
C4) 2.♗c1+ ♔f3 3.♖xg5! e1♕ (3...hxg5 4.♗d2+-) 4.♖g3+ ♕xg3 (4...♔e2 5.♖e3++-) 5.♘xg3 ♔xg3 6.♗xh6 ♔g4 7.♗e3+-.
2.♘f2 ♖xe5 3.♘d3+
3.♗xe5+? ♔xe5 4.♘d3+ ♔d6-+.
3...♔e4
3...♔f5 4.♗xe5+-.
4.♗xe5 e1♕ 5.♘xe1 ♗e2+ 6.♔b4!
A) 6.♘d3? ♗xd3+ 7.♔c3 ♔xe5 8.♔xd3 ♔xd5 9.♔e3 ♔c5 10.♔e4 ♔b4 11.♔f5=;
B) 6.♔c3? ♔xe5 7.a5!? bxa5 8.b6 ♗a6 9.♘d3+ ♔xd5=.
6...♔xe5 7.a5!
It looks like 7.♘g2? is also possible,
analysis diagram
but 7...♗d3! (7...♔d6? 8.♘e3 (8.a5? bxa5+ 9.♔xa5 ♗xb5=) 8...♗xh5 9.a5! bxa5+ 10.♔xa5, White’s knight clearly dominates the bishop. White wins like in a pawn endgame!) refutes this effectively: 8.♘e3 f5=.
7...bxa5+
7...♔xd5 8.a6+-.
8.♔c5! ♗xb5
8...a4 9.b6 ♗a6 10.♔c6+-.
9.♘f3+ ♔e4
10.♘g5+! ♔e5
10...♔f5 11.♔xb5 ♔xg5 12.d6 ♔f6 13.♔c6+-.
11.♘xf7+ ♔f6 12.♔xb5 ♔xf7 13.♔xa5! 1-0
A nice endgame based on the domination theme.
Game 163 Level 4
Leonid Kubbel
Study, 1950
White to play and draw
White needs to stop the two black pawns on the verge of promotion. He cannot do that without reaching the first rank, but he clearly has no time for this. What else can be done?
1.♖c3! e2 2.♖c7+ ♔g8 3.♔g6! ♔f8 4.♔f6!
4.♖f7+?? ♔e8 5.♔g7 c1♕-+.
4...♔e8 5.♔e6! ♔d8
This looks like the end for White...
6.♖xc2!
White uses the particular configuration of the pawns and the position of Black’s queen to show that there is not a single check for Black. Moreover, Black cannot save himself from perpetual check!
6...e1♕ 7.♖g2!!
Accuracy is still required. 7.♖h2? does not work because of 7...♕e4 8.♖h8+ (8.♔d6 ♕b4+) 8...♔c7, and there is no check on the 7th rank.
7...♕e4 8.♖g8+ ♔c7 9.♖g7+ ½-½
Game 164 Level 4
Eliyahu Zakon
Study, 1953
White to play and win
1.♔a1!
The first move is special already. White actually creates space on b1 for his queen! Basically, White wants to capture the pawn on h7 and block Black’s check on g1 by interposing on b1.
1...♔h1 2.♕e4 ♔h2 3.♕e5+ ♔h1 4.♕d5 ♔h2 5.♕d6+ ♔h1 6.♕c6!
White employs a staircase manoeuvre to win Black’s h-pawn and then transpose into a won pawn endgame.
6...♔h2
Once the pawn goes to h6, the queen has to block Black’s check on c1. Hence, the king is needed on b1: 6... h6 7.♔b1! ♔h2 8.♕d6+ ♔h1 9.♕xh6 g1♕+ 10.♕c1!+-.
7.♕c7+ ♔h1 8.♕xh7 g1♕+ 9.♕b1! 1-0
Winning Black’s h-pawn and interpolating a queen check to force the trade was the theme of this study. Despite its apparent simplicity, it creates a fine artistic impression.
Game 165 Level 4
Viktor Matdinov
Study, 2013
White to play and win
Three minor pieces against two rooks is a rare imbalance. White’s advanced passed pawn is the key factor to his advantage. We also observe that Black’s rook on a7 is completely lacking coordination, especially because of the placement of his queenside pawns. White will use various tactical ideas to go with these positional factors in striving for victory by checkmate:
1.♗d5! ♖d4!
1...b6+?! 2.♔d6 ♖d4 3.♘c6 ♖xd2 4.♘xa7+-.
2.e7+! ♖xd5+ 3.♔e6 ♖e5+!
3...♖a8 4.♔xd5 ♔f7 5.♔d6! (5.♗g5? ♖g8 6.♗h4 ♖h8=) 5...♖e8 6.♗g5+-.
4.♔xe5 ♔f7
4...♖a8 5.♘xb7 ♔f7 6.♗g5+-.
5.♘c4!!
5.♗b4? b5 6.♘c6 ♖d7! 7.♗d6
analysis diagram
7...b4! (giving his pawns to set up a stalemate; 7...a5? 8.♔d5! a4 (8...♔e8 9.♔e6 b4 10.♘e5 ♖b7 11.♘g4+-) 9.♘e5+) 8.♗xb4 (8.♔d5 b3=) 8...a5! 9.♗d6 a4! 10.♔d5 ♔e8 11.♔e6 a3 12.♘b4 a2! 13.♘xa2 ♖xe7+ 14.♗xe7=.
5...♔xe7 6.♘b6!
Dominating the black rook.
6...♔d8 7.♗a5 ♔c7 8.♔d5! ♔b8 9.♔d6 ♖a8 10.♘d7+ ♔c8
10...♔a7 11.♗b6#.
11.♗c7 b5 12.♔c6 ♖a7 13.♘b6#
Game 166 Level 4
Filip Bondarenko
Study, 2016
White to play and win
White’s extra bishop is severely limited by his own pawns, especially those on the f-file. Initially, it appears to be a race between White’s passed pawn on the queenside and Black’s on the kingside. But after calculation, that approach does not seem to lead us to our goal. Perhaps we need to conceive of something else...
1.♗h1!
White lets the h2-pawn live, not out of love but out of a self-preservation instinct! Note that the h2-square is no longer available for Black’s king.
A) The direct approach with 1.c4? does not work, because of 1...h1♕ 2.♗xh1 ♔h3 3.c5 ♔h2 4.♔xb7 ♔xh1 5.c6 h4 6.c7 h3 7.c8♕ h2 8.♕xf5 ♔g2 9.♕xf4 (9.♕g4+ ♔xf2 10.♕h3 ♔g1=) 9...h1♕ 10.♕g3+ ♔f1=;
B) 1.♔c5?? h1♕ 2.♗xh1 ♔h3 3.♔d4 ♔h2 4.♔e5 ♔xh1 5.♔xf4 (5.♔xf5 ♔g2 6.♔g5 ♔xf3 7.♔xh5 ♔xf2) 5...♔g2-+.
1...♔h3
2.c3!!
An absolutely amazing concept! White is actually playing to, believe it or not, checkmate Black!
The seemingly more natural 2.c4? leads only to a draw after 2...h4 3.♔a7 b5 4.c5 b4 5.c6 b3 6.c7 b2 7.c8♕ b1♕=, supporting the f5-pawn!
2...h4
2...♔h4 3.c4!. Now White has gained a very valuable tempo compared to the 2.c4 variation, and that is just enough to ensure victory. For example, 3...♔h3 4.c5 h4 5.♔a7!+-.
3.♔b5! b6 4.♔c4! b5+ 5.♔d3 b4 6.♔e2 bxc3 7.♔f1 c2 8.♗g2#
Everything falls in place by a single tempo. A lone bishop checkmating the king, assisted by both our and the opponent’s pawns is a spectacle!
Gurgenidze’s famous pet theme is a king walk and Afek’s theme is underpromotion.
Game 167 Level 4
Yochanan Afek
Study, 1978
White to play and draw
1.e7!
The white king is stuck in the corner, and all Black has to do is give one check and it’s over.
1...♖bb8
A) 1...♖bxd7? 2.fxg8♕ ♖xg8+ 3.♔xg8+-;
B) 1...♔xf7 (threatening to play 2...g6#) 2.exd8♘+! (the only way to stop 2...g6#) 2...♔f8! (2...♔g6? – with the king on g6, Black cannot get to g6 with the pawn, can he? 3.♘xb7 ♗f6 4.♔xg8+-) 3.♘e6+!, (anything to stop 3...g6#) 3...♗xe6 4.d8♕+ ♔f7 5.♕g8+ (if White does not force things, Black has a material superiority and can simply advance the b-pawn. White will then not only have to worry about the king, but also about the material imbalance) 5...♔f6 6.d7! (6.♕f8+? ♖f7 7.♕d8+ ♔e5 8.♕xg5+ ♔xd6-+) 6...♖xd7 (6...♗xg8?! 7.d8♕+ ♔e5 8.♔xg8, and now Black does not have such a large material superiority) 7.♕xg7+! ♖xg7, and it ends in a stalemate!;
C) 1...♗xf7+ 2.exd8♕ ♔h6! (2...b4? 3.♕e8+-) 3.♕xg5+ ♔xg5 4.d8♕+ ♗f6 5.♕c8! (the double attack forces Black’s next move) 5...g6+ (5...♔h6? 6.g5+! ♔xg5 7.♕xb7+-) 6.♔h7 ♗d5+ 7.d7⇆; White is threatening 8.♕c1 check and gets sufficient counterplay, with the mate threats guarded against and the d7-pawn alive and disrupting the coordination of Black’s pieces.
2.e8♗!!
2.e8♕? ♗xf7-+. White will be forced to move the queen, and there are no stalemate ideas anymore, only checkmate.
2...♗h7!
The only way to keep chances to play for a win.
2...♗xf7 is stalemate already.
3.f8♖+!!
3.f8♕+? ♔h6 4.♕f6+ g6!. Here again, the white queen will be forced to move, and there are no more stalemate ideas: 5.♕xc3 ♖xe8+-+.
3...♔h6 4.♖f6+ g6 ½-½
Afek must have put in a lot of effort to compose such a beauty, with so many underpromotions culminating in a stalemate.
Here is another fantastic study by the same composer.
Game 168 Level 5
Yochanan Afek
Study, 1991
TASK 1: White to play and draw. Time to think: 15 to 20 minutes.
1.♘d1!
A) 1.h7? f1♕ 2.h8♕ ♖xb2!. Black simply has too much extra material, and does not have to force things to win: 3.♕h5+ ♔e4 and Black will win this eventually;
B) 1.♔h8? f1♕! 2.g8♕ ♕f4! (this is not the only way, but it’s the most efficient) 3.♕f7+ ♔g5 4.♕xf4+ ♔xf4 5.♔g7 ♗xc2-+;
C) 1.♘c4? (trying to block the a2-g8 diagonal for the bishop and possibly gaining a tempo to promote the g-pawn) 1...♖xa4 and now:
C1) 2.♔h8. Now Black has to play accurately to win: 2...♖a8+ 3.g8♕ ♖xg8+ 4.♔xg8 ♗a2 (4...f1♕? 5.♘e3+=) 5.♔g7 (the point, to prevent Black from promoting the pawn and taking the knight with his new queen; 5.h7 will lose even more quickly: 5...f1♕ 6.h8♕ ♕xc4+ 7.♔h7 ♕h4+ 8.♔g7 ♕f6+ 9.♔h7 ♕g6#) 5...♗xc4 6.h7 f1♕ (now Black’s pieces can combine well to deliver mate to the cornered white king) 7.h8♕ ♕g1+ 8.♔f8 ♕c5+! 9.♔g7 ♕e7+ 10.♔h6 ♕g5+ 11.♔h7 ♕g6#;
C2) Including the intermediate check before playing ♔h8 does not help: 2.♘e3+ ♔g6 3.♔h8 ♗a2 4.c4 ♗xc4 5.h7. It looks like the g-pawn cannot be prevented from promoting with check, but Black has an unexpected key resource: 5...♗g8!, exploiting the cornered white king position to weave a mating net around it: 6.♔xg8 (6.hxg8♕ ♖h4+, and Black wins easily) 6...♖a8#.
D) 1.♔h7? is the most attractive option before White, other than the solution. It comes very close to making a draw, but falls just short: 1...♖xb2! 2.g8♕ ♖b7+ (driving the white king to the corner) 3.♔h8 f1♕! 4.♕f8+ (4.♕d5+ ♔g6 5.♕g8+ ♔xh6 transposes)
analysis diagram
4...♔g6! (Black’s king will have to go forward with the threat of mate, before going backward later to avoid checks; 4...♔g5? 5.♕xf1+-) 5.♕g8+ (5.♕e8+ ♖f7 6.♕e4+ ♕f5 7.♕g2+ ♔xh6 8.♕h2+ ♕h5) 5...♔xh6 6.♕e6+ ♔g5 7.♕d5+ ♕f5 8.♕xb7 ♕f8+ 9.♔h7 ♗xc2+ with mate on the next move.
1...f1♕!
A) 1...♖xc2 2.♔h8! ♗a2 3.h7 is a draw;
B) 1...♔g6 is an interesting attempt to win, but White has a fantastic resource to save the game: 2.♘xf2 ♖xa4 3.♔h8! ♗a2 4.h7 ♗g8!. Again Black has this resource, which we saw earlier in the 1.♘c4 variation.
B1) Queening by 5.hxg8♕?? loses everything with check: 5...♖h4+ 6.♕h7+ ♖xh7+ 7.♔g8 ♖xg7+ 8.♔f8 ♖f7+-+;
B2) But here, White escapes with an ingenious underpromotion: 5.hxg8♘!? ♖h4+ 6.♘h6 (the point; Black cannot capture the g-pawn and the knight together) 6...♖xh6+ 7.♔g8=.
C) 1...♖xa4 2.♔h8! ♗a2 3.h7 ♖h4!? (3...♗g8? does not work here, as the black king is too far away: 4.hxg8♕ ♖h4+ 5.♕h7++-) and now:
C1) 4.c4? ♗xc4 5.♘xf2 ♔g6 6.g8♕+ ♗xg8 7.♔xg8 ♖xh7. This position without the c2-pawn is lost for White. There are mating threats against the white king in the corner. More importantly, the white knight is separated from the white king, and it will be lost soon against the combined power of rook and king. For example: 8.♘d3 ♖a7 9.♘e5+ ♔f5 10.♘f7 ♖d7-+;
C2) 4.♘xf2! ♔g6 5.g8♕+ ♗xg8 6.♔xg8 ♖xh7 7.♘d3! (because of the c2-pawn, White’s knight cannot be trapped, even though it is separated from the king) 7...♖a7 8.♔f8 and the king will simply walk around without worrying about the abandoned knight.
2.♘e3+ ♔g6 3.♘xf1 ♖xa4
3...♖xc2 4.♔h8=.
4.♔h8 ♗a2
It looks like the white king is cornered, and Black’s pieces are combining well, but:
5.c4!
A) 5.g8♕+ ♗xg8-+;
B) The immediate 5.h7? loses in the most instructive way:
analysis diagram
5...♖h4! (5...♗g8? 6.hxg8♘! ♖h4+ 7.♘h6 draws as we have seen before) 6.g8♕+ ♗xg8 7.♔xg8. Despite the presence of the c2-pawn, White loses this position, as the knight is not in time to get into the protection of the c2-pawn. More importantly, the absence of the g7-pawn means the black rook can move to threaten mate and attack the knight at the same time: 7...♖xh7 8.♘g3 ♖e7! (dominating the white knight) 9.♔f8 ♖e3 10.♘h1 ♖h3 11.♘f2 ♖f3+, eventually winning the knight.
5...♗xc4 6.h7 ♗g8!
An interesting winning attempt.
7.hxg8♘!
7.hxg8♕? ♖h4+ 8.♕h7+ ♖xh7+ 9.♔g8 ♖xg7+ 10.♔h8 ♖e7-+.
7...♖h4+ 8.♘h6 ♖xh6+ 9.♔g8 ♖h3
9...♖h7 10.♘e3! ♖xg7+ 11.♔f8 ♖d7 12.♘c4=. Even 12.♔e8 is sufficient to make a draw here, although it’s risky: 12...♖d4 13.♘c2! (this is a peculiar position, where the white knight is hopelessly away from the king, but White still manages to salvage a draw; Black is unable to keep the knight away from the king for long) 13...♖d5 14.♔e7=.
10.♘d2! ½-½
The knight will reach the safety of the king’s protection soon.
10.♔f8? ♖f3+ 11.♔e7 ♔xg7 12.♘d2 ♖e3+ 13.♔d6 ♖d3+-+.
Game 169 Level 5
Oleg Pervakov
Study, 1993
White to play and win
White is down a rook, but has a few things in his favour. The black king is in a spot of bother, and the pawn on g7 is far advanced.
1.♘f8
White looks to be winning already, as there is no easy way for Black to stop the g-pawn from promoting. But looks can be deceiving.
1...♗b5!?
Black finds an interesting resource to keep fighting. The black rook becomes active. It hopes to create trouble for the white king, and also to keep an eye on the g-pawn.
1...♗c6 2.♖a5+ ♔b8 3.g8♕ (it is not over yet) 3...♖xd2+ 4.♔b3 ♖h3+ 5.♔c4 ♖c2+ 6.♔d4 ♖d2+ 7.♔e5. Now it is, as the king will soon escape from the series of checks, and White wins the game.
2.♖xb5 ♖xd2+ 3.♔b3 ♖h3+ 4.♔c4 ♖h4+
The best practical defence for Black.
A) 4...♖g2 5.♖a5+ ♔b8 6.♘d7+ ♔c8 7.♘f6 ♖h4+ 8.♔d3 ♔b8 9.♖e5, and it will be mate soon;
B) 4...♖g3 5.♖e5 ♖c2+ 6.♔d5 ♖c8 7.♘e6! ♔b8 8.♖g5+-.
5.♔c3 ♖g2!
Black has managed to put up a good fight. He has the rook behind White’s passed pawn and has created a few mating threats around White’s king too. White has to play accurately to find a win. As of now, the white pieces are scattered all over the board and they need to coordinate well to have any chance to win this position.
6.♖e5!
This is the best square for the rook, as will be apparent soon.
A) 6.♖c5? ♖g3+ 7.♔b2 ♖h2+ 8.♔b1=; White cannot block the checks with his rook, when one of Black’s rooks is safe on the g-file and the other rook is the one giving the check: 8.♖c2? ♖xc2+ 9.♔xc2 ♖xg7 and the win for White is gone for sure;
B) 6.♖d5? ♖g3+ 7.♖d3 (blocking with the rook makes sense now, as the g-pawn is safe after the rooks are exchanged) 7...♖hh3! 8.♔c4! ♖g4+ 9.♖d4 ♖hh4! 10.♔c5 ♖g5+ 11.♖d5 ♖hh5!=. White’s king has nowhere to escape from the harassing rooks.
6...♖g3+ 7.♔c2
7.♔d2 also leads to the same continuation as in the game.
7...♖h2+ 8.♔d1 ♖g1+ 9.♖e1
The general rule of thumb is that when Black gives check with the rook on the g-file, White can block with his rook, as the g-pawn is not hanging after the rook exchange.
9...♖hh1!?
This resource for Black should be identified in the initial position by the solver.
9...♖hg2 10.♘e6! ♔b8 11.♖xg1 ♖xg1+ 12.♔e2! (12.♔d2? ♔c8 13.♔e3 ♔d7 14.♔f2 ♖g4 15.♔f3 ♖g1=) 12...♔c8 13.♔f2! (this is a very important gain of tempo) 13...♖g4 14.♔f3 ♖g1 15.♔f4 ♔d7 16.♘g5+-.
10.♔d2! ♖g2+
10...♖h2+ 11.♔d3 (as was seen earlier, White cannot block the checks with his rook when Black’s other rook is safe on the g-file; 11.♖e2? ♖xe2+ 12.♔xe2 ♖xg7) 11...♖h3+ 12.♔c4 ♖h4+ 13.♔b5. The king will hide from the side checks on the a-file.
11.♖e2 ♖hh2! 12.♔d3 ♖g3+
12...♖h3+ 13.♔c4 ♖h4+ 14.♔b5+-.
13.♖e3! ♖hh3! 14.♔d4 ♖g4+ 15.♖e4 ♖hh4 16.♔d5 ♖g5+ 17.♖e5 ♖hh5 18.♔d6 ♖h6+ 19.♖e6! 1-0
Game 170 Level 5
Emilian Dobrescu
Study, 1995
White to play and win
An interesting composition that contains a few hidden concepts, as will become clear once we begin to solve the position.
1.♗b7!
White has to lure the black rook away from the 8th rank to gain a crucial tempo.
A) 1.♗e4?? ♔b6 2.f6 g6-+;
B) The direct approach to g8 with the bishop does not work, as Black is able to open the a1-h8 diagonal in time: 1.♗d5? e4!? 2.♗e6 (2.♗xe4?? g5 3.fxg6 ♖xc7-+) and Black can maintain the balance in multiple ways. One example: 2...♔b6!? 3.♗xc8 g5 4.fxg6 ♔xc7=.
1...♖xc7 2.♗d5!
Threatening a pawn promotion and in case Black stops it with the rook, the bishop will block it with ♗g8.
2.♗e4 ♖c8-+.
2...♖c8!?
2...♗b4+!? is an interesting defensive attempt from Black:
A) 3.♔d1? ♖c8!? (this is more entertaining than the alternative; 3...♖d7!? 4.h8♕ ♖xd5+ 5.♔e2 ♖d7 6.♕c8 ♖e7 is a nice fortress; Black should draw this comfortably) 4.♗g8 (it looks like Black has no hope, as the h-pawn is going to promote on the next move) 4...♖d8+! 5.♔c1 (the only move; 5.♔e2?? ♖d2+ 6.♔f3 ♖h2-+) 5...♗d2+! (5...♖c8+?? 6.♔b1+-) 6.♔c2 ♗h6 (Black has created a temporary cage and caught the newly-born white queen in it) 7.h8♕ ♔b4!. Now all the black pieces combine to create a cage for the white king, and there is no escape from perpetual checks. For example: 8.f6 ♖d2+ 9.♔c1 ♖d6+ or 9.♔b1 ♖d1+=;
B) 3.♔b1!. White has to be careful, as the alternative does not work in his favour, as we saw in A: 3...♖d7!? 4.h8♕ ♖xd5. This is not a fortress, as White wins the g7-pawn and wins easily with 5.♕xg7.
3.♗g8
For practical purposes, White should win easily as the pawn promotion cannot be stopped, but Black puts up a brave fight henceforth. While solving this position, this defensive resource should also be found and refuted.
3...e4!? 4.h8♕ ♗e5+
A) 4...e3 5.♔d1+-;
B) 4...♗f6+ 5.♔d1 (5.♔d2 ♗g5+ 6.♔e2 ♗f4!=) 5...♗g5 does not work, as White’s queen comes out of the cage: 6.♕xg7 ♖c1+ 7.♔e2 ♖c2+ 8.♔f1 ♖c1+ 9.♔g2+-. White’s king too escapes the cage through the kingside.
5.♔b1!
White has to do some magic with his king to win in this position.
5.♔d1? ♗f4!, and White cannot prevent the perpetual check that follows.
5...♖b8+ 6.♔c2
6.♔a2? ♔a4! 7.♗b3+ ♖xb3 8.♕e8+ ♖b5=; 6.♔c1 ♖c8+ transposes to the main line.
6...♖c8+
6...♖b2+ 7.♔c1 ♖h2 (7...e3 8.♗c4 e2 9.♕d8+ ♔b4 10.♗xe2 ♖xe2 11.♕d3=) 8.♗h7 ♗f4+ 9.♔b1 and the white queen will come out soon with decisive effect.
7.♔b3!
7.♔d2? ♗f4+=; 7.♔d1? ♗f4=.
7...♖c3+
7...e3 8.♕h1+-; 7...♖b8+ 8.♔a3! e3 9.♕h1+-.
8.♔a2 ♖c2+ 9.♔a3!
Now Black is running out of checks, but he has other attempts to try to salvage something out of this position.
9.♔b1? ♖h2 10.♗h7 ♖b2+ 11.♔c1 ♖b8 12.♗g8 ♖c8++-. We reach a similar position as after 6...♖c8.
9...♖h2
9...♖c3+ 10.♗b3+-; the point of going to a3 with the king on the previous move.
10.♗h7 ♖h3+ 11.♔a2 ♖h2+ 12.♔b3! ♖b2+ 13.♔a3
13.♔c4 ♖b8 14.♗g8+-.
13...♖b8 14.♗g8 1-0
The white queen will come out via h7, and the win is, as the elders say, ‘a matter of routine technique’.
Game 171 Level 5
Yochanan Afek
Study, 1982
White to play and win
1.e3+!
A) 1.♗h4? g1♘+!-+;
B) 1.e4+? ♔g1 2.♔g3 ♔h1!, and Black even wins!
1...♔g1 2.♗h4! h1♕
2...♔h1?! 3.♗e4! g1♕ 4.♔f4+ ♕g2 5.♗g3! ♔g1 6.♗xg2 ♔xg2 7.♗xh2+-.
3.♗f2+ ♔h2 4.♗g3+ ♔g1 5.♔g4!
The white pieces have dominated the black queen. But is this enough to win the game?
5...♕h2 6.♗e4! ♕h1 7.♗d5
Whenever White moves his bishop away from the a6-f1 diagonal, Black keeps shuffling the king to f1-g1. If the white bishop remains on the a6-f1 diagonal, Black’s queen will shuffle between the h2- and h1-squares. White should find a creative way to win against this simple defensive idea from Black.
7...♔f1
7...♕h2? loses to 8.♗xh2+ ♔xh2 9.♗xg2.
8.♗c4+ ♔g1 9.♗e2 ♕h2 10.♗f3 ♕h1 11.♗e4!
Compare this with the position on the 5th move. The main difference is the position of the light-squared bishop.
11...♔f1 12.♗d3+ ♔g1
Comparing the position with the 5th move again, the main difference is that here it is White to play, whereas it was Black to play on move 5.
Basically, White has gained a critical tempo with his clever manoeuvre.
13.♗c4!
13.e4 ♕h2 14.e5 ♔h1 15.♗e4 ♕g1.
13...♕h2 14.♗d5!
White abandons the a6-f1 diagonal when the black queen is on h2, which prevents him from playing ♔f1, his usual reaction earlier.
14...♕h1 15.e4! ♕h2
15...♔f1 16.♗c4+ ♔g1 17.e5 ♕h2 18.♗d5+-.
16.e5
And White wins.
Game 172 Level 5
Yochanan Afek
Study, 2007
White to play and win
In 2009, the Indian Junior team (below the age of 20) went to The Netherlands to play in a few International Open tournaments. I was sent as the coach for the team consisting of the top 6 players each from the Indian Juniors boys and girls championships. In one such tournament, WGM Padmini Rout had finished her game early, and we were analysing her game in the mini-bar adjacent to the playing hall. World-renowned composer IM Yochanan Afek was visiting the tournament, and he gave this position to us for solving. We tried for a couple of hours but got nowhere close to solving it. He mentioned that most grandmasters he had given this position to had not solved it either; some consolation that was!
1.♖e3!
The difference with placing the rook on the other files is not apparent now, but will become clear soon:
A) 1.♖d3? b2 2.♖d8+ ♔g7 3.♖b8 a3 4.f5 a2 5.f6+ ♔f7 6.♖b7+ ♔f8 7.♖b8+=;
B) 1.♖c3? b2 2.♖c8+ ♔f7 3.♖c7+ ♔f8=.
1...b2 2.♖e8+! ♔f7
2...♔g7 3.♖e1! a3 4.f5! a2 5.f6+ ♔f8 6.g6! b1♕ 7.g7+ ♔f7 8.♖e7+ ♔xf6 9.g8♘+! ♔g6 10.h5#.
3.♖e1! a3 4.f5!
4.♔f5? ♔g7! 5.g6 ♔h6! 6.♔f6 a2 7.♖e8 ♔h5 8.♖h8+ ♔g4 9.g7 a1♕ 10.g8♕+ ♔h3.
4...a2 5.g6+! ♔f8
White also wins after:
A) 5...♔f6 6.♖e6+ ♔g7 7.♔g5! b1♕ 8.f6+ ♔f8 9.g7+ ♔f7 10.♖e7+ ♔g8 11.♖e8++-;
B) 5...♔g7 6.♔g5! b1♕ 7.f6+ ♔f8 8.g7+ ♔f7 9.♖e7+ ♔g8 10.♖e8++-.
6.f6! b1♕ 7.g7+ ♔f7 8.♖e7+! ♔xf6 9.g8♘+! ♔g6 10.h5#
We are so lucky to have such creative minds enriching our beautiful game. I have used Afek’s studies extensively with my students to improve their calculation skills.
Through this book, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all the wonderful composers for enriching our game and making it even more beautiful than it already is! Special thanks to Yochanan Afek, who has a special place in my heart, for kindly agreeing to use his studies in this book.