Lichess game from 2017 03 22 - Pawn Race in the rook endgame

Online game played on my phone; for analysis - see https://lichess.org/eODwgzVonWbL

Improve your Rook And Knight Endgames

My Rook and Knight Endgames - Strategy and Tactics (now also available in paperback format) book looks at endings with rook + knight Vs. rook + knight. This material balance occurs quite frequently in tournaments, and some classical ideas and endgames have become well-known. Nonetheless, there is some lack of discussion of this topic in chess literature. The book covers both the strategic themes, and gives the reader a chance to practice their tactical skills. Mikhail Botvinnik was well known for his great technique in this type of endings; the book includes several relatively unknown examples from his career to illustrate the typical ideas, but also games by other famous players such as Korchnoi, Morozevich and Anand are featured.
Here are some examples of positions that the reader would get a better understanding of by working through this book.
Scroll Down to see solutions

Petrosian, Tigran - Bannik, Anatoly, 1958

White's turn

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Haba, P. - Dautov, R., 1995

Black's turn

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Sutovsky, Emil - Bacrot, Etienne, 2003.11.09

White's turn

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Raaste, Eero J - Tseitlin, Mikhail S, 1980

Black's turn

Solutions

Petrosian, Tigran - Bannik, Anatoly, Ch URS, 1958

18. Bc5

A lot has been written about this move in different books. In this famous position Black suffers from weak light squares and lack of space. Petrosian found a brilliant way to consolidate his positional advantage... I mainly see the explanation in the common strategic idea of trading off bad bishop which protects good pawns. Now the pawn chain 'e5-f6-g5' becomes much more vulnerable. Also the white knight's domination over his black colleague becomes more apparent, as now the white knight can access an important 'c5' square.

18. ... Rxd1+ 19. Rxd1 Bxc5 20. Nxc5 Re8 21. Ne4 Re6 22. g4 a5 23. Rd3 Nd7 24. Kc2 b6 25. Rf3 Kd8 26. a3 c5 27. Kc3 Ke7 28. Rd3 Rc6 29. Rd5 Nf8 30. Ng3 Ne6 31. Nf5+ Ke8 32. e3 Nc7 33. Rd1 Ne6 34. Kd3 Rc7 35. Ke4

Another aspect of the exchange of bishops is that now the advance of the white king is more dangerous for Black than before.

35. ... Rc6 36. Nd6+ Ke7 37. Nf5+ Ke8 38. Nd6+ Ke7 39. Nf5+ Ke8 40. a4 Nd8 41. Nh6 Ne6 42. Ng8 Nf8 43. Rd2 Kf7 44. Nh6+ Ke8 45. Nf5 Ne6 46. Rd6 Rxd6 47. Nxd6+ Kd7 48. Nb5 Ng7 49. h6 Ne8 50. Kd5 f5 51. Kxe5 fxg4 52. Nc3 Ke7 53. Ne4 Kf7 54. Kf5 g3 55. fxg3 g4 56. Ng5+ Kg8 57. Ke6 Nc7+ 58. Kd7 Na6 59. e4 Nb4 60. e5 Nd3 61. e6 1-0

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Haba, P. - Dautov, R., Deutschland, 1995

30. ... Nxh4+! 31. Kf1

( 31. gxh4 Rxf4 -+ )

31. ... Nf3 -+ 32. Rd8 Nd4 33. Rh8 Rf5 34. Rxh5 Nxb3 35. Rxf5 exf5 36. Ke2 Na5 37. Kd3 b3 0-1

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Sutovsky, Emil - Bacrot, Etienne, EU-ch Internet fin, 2003.11.09

26. Nxa6! Ra8

( 26. ... bxa6 27. Rd6+ Kg5 28. Rxc6 +- )

27. Nc5 Ne5 28. Rxb7 +- Rd8 29. Kc2 Nc4 30. b3 Rd2+ 31. Kc1 Rxf2 32. bxc4 Rxg2 33. Nd3 Rg3 34. Kd2 Rxh3 35. c5 Rh2+ 36. Ke3 Ke6 37. Nf4+ Ke5 38. c6 Kd6 39. c7 Kd7 40. Nd5 Rh4 41. Nb6+ 1-0

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Raaste, Eero J - Tseitlin, Mikhail S, Makarczyk Memorial, 1980

32. ... Rxa2! 33. Nd6

( 33. Kxa2 Nc3+ 34. Kb3 Nxd5 also gave Black good winning chances. )

33. ... Rd2! 34. Ne8+ Kc6! 35. Rxd2 Nxd2+ 36. Kc3 Ne4+ 37. Kd4

37. ... Kd7!

Black either wins the second pawn, or transposes into a winning pawn endgame. White chose the latter option, but resigned a couple of moves later.

38. Kxe4

( 38. Ng7 Nxg3 -+ )

38. ... Kxe8 39. Kd5 Ke7 40. b5 Kd7 0-1

How to study chess tactics on your phone - best combinations of 2016 collection

This is a screencast from my smartphone, illustrating how to solve chess puzzles in the Kindle app, reading through an ebook  https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Chess-Combinations-November-Quarterly/dp/1520868243 that contains over 140 best combinations played by strong chess players in tournaments that took place in the fourth quarter of 2016. The highlights/arrows in the video are a bit clumsy, but they are obviously only there because there is now other way to point at things when making a video on the phone.

More of Best Combinations of 2016 - October, November, December 2016

My ebook Modern Chess Combinations: October, November, December 2016 is now also available in paperback format, so you can order a physical copy and have it delivered to you like most chess books you probably already own. Here is a sample set of exercises for you to get the taste of it. The highlight of this edition are the games from the World Championshop match between Karjakin and Carlsen, and World Rapid and Blitz Championship. The combination played by Magnus Carlsen in the last game of the tie-break - was found by him instantly and was a worthy finish to the tough match. It proved yet again, that being able to spot tactics quickly and effortlessly is an essential part of being a strong player.

Scroll down to see the solutions:

Rakhmanov, Ale - Domogaev, S.
   2016.10.04   

White's turn

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Dreev, A. - Lugovskoy, M.
   2016.10.04   

White's turn

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Shaposhnikov, E. - Vitiugov, N.
   2016.10.04   

White's turn

Solutions

Rakhmanov, Ale - Domogaev, S.
ch-RUS Blitz 2016   2016.10.04   

24. Rxf5

Black resigned in view of

24. ... gxf5 25. Qg5 1-0

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Dreev, A. - Lugovskoy, M.
ch-RUS Blitz 2016   2016.10.04   

37. Qxh6+

Black resigned in view of

37. ... Bxh6 38. Rh7# 1-0

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Shaposhnikov, E. - Vitiugov, N.
ch-RUS Blitz 2016   2016.10.04   

32. Qxd4

Black resigned in view of

32. ... exd4 33. Rc8+ Bd8 34. Rxd8+ Qe8 35. Rxe8# 1-0

Replayable games from The Break - Learn From Schlechter, Botvinnik and Kramnik

The link to Sample Games from the Break Book gives the first 20 unnotated games from my book The Break - Learn From Schlechter, Botvinnik and Kramnik. Get the book from amazon to see the entire 70+ example games and puzzles.

Typical IQP tactical breakthrough from Lichess game

Here is a rapid game example I could have included into my IQP ebook/paperback:

Find the best move for White after Black made a typical mistake.

 

Exchange Slav – Sample Puzzles from new PaperBack Book

My ebook Exchange Slav – Strategy and Tactics is now available in paperback format, so you can order a physical copy and have it delivered to you like most chess books you probably already own. Here is a sample set of exercises from the “Pressure on c6” chapter. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see solutions.

Kramnik, Vladimir - Anand, Viswanathan
   2007.11.21   

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 cxd5 5. d4 Nc6 6. Bf4 a6 7. Rc1 Bf5 8. e3 Rc8 9. Be2 e6 10. O-O Be7?!

( 10. ... Bd6! )

11. Qb3

11. ... Na5?

( Correct was 11. ... Qd7! 12. Na4 Na5! 13. Rxc8+ Qxc8 14. Qb6 Nc4 15. Qa7 although White still maintains some pressure. )

12. Qa4+ Nc6

White's turn

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The following examples have colors reversed, as it is Black who is putting pressure on 'c3'.

Babu N Sudhakar - Sriram, Jha
   2002   

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 cxd5 5. Bf4 Nc6 6. e3 Bf5 7. Nf3 e6 8. Bb5 Nd7 9. O-O Be7 10. Rc1 Rc8 11. Ne5 Ndxe5 12. Bxe5 O-O 13. Bg3 Qb6 14. Qe2 a6 15. Ba4 Bg6 16. Bd1 Nb4 17. Qd2 Qa5 18. Be2 b5 19. a3?

Black's turn

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Khropova, Larisa - Shumilina, Alexandra
   2008   

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. cxd5 cxd5 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Bf4 a6 7. e3 Bg4 8. Be2 e6 9. O-O Be7 10. h3 Bxf3 11. Bxf3 O-O 12. Rc1 Rc8 13. Qd2 b5 14. Qd3 Qb6 15. Rfd1 Rfd8 16. Be2 Na5 17. Qb1 Nc4 18. Bd3 h6 19. b3 Na3 20. Qb2 Qa5 21. g4 Bb4 22. Ne2 Qb6 23. Kg2 Qb7 24. Kg1 a5 25. Bg3 Ne4 26. Bh2 Ng5 27. Kg2 Nc4 28. Qb1 Nd2 29. Qb2 Rxc1 30. Rxc1 Ndf3 31. Nc3 Rc8 32. Bg3?

Black's turn

 

 

Solutions

Kramnik, Vladimir - Anand, Viswanathan
Wch Blitz 3rd   2007.11.21   

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 cxd5 5. d4 Nc6 6. Bf4 a6 7. Rc1 Bf5 8. e3 Rc8 9. Be2 e6 10. O-O Be7?!

( 10. ... Bd6! )

11. Qb3

11. ... Na5?

( Correct was 11. ... Qd7! 12. Na4 Na5! 13. Rxc8+ Qxc8 14. Qb6 Nc4 15. Qa7 although White still maintains some pressure. )

12. Qa4+ Nc6

13. Bxa6! Ra8

( After 13. ... bxa6 14. Ne5 Qb6 15. Ne2 Qb5 16. Qxb5 axb5 17. Rxc6 +/- White remains up a pawn. )

14. Bxb7 Rxa4 15. Bxc6+ Kf8 16. Nxa4 Ne4 17. Bb7 Nd6 18. Bxd6 Qxd6 19. Rc6 Qd7 20. Rc8+ Bd8 21. Ne5 1-0

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Babu N Sudhakar - Sriram, Jha
Chhattisgarh Trophy   2002   

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 cxd5 5. Bf4 Nc6 6. e3 Bf5 7. Nf3 e6 8. Bb5 Nd7 9. O-O Be7 10. Rc1 Rc8 11. Ne5 Ndxe5 12. Bxe5 O-O 13. Bg3 Qb6 14. Qe2 a6 15. Ba4 Bg6 16. Bd1 Nb4 17. Qd2 Qa5 18. Be2 b5 19. a3?

19. ... Na2 20. b4

( 20. Rcd1 Nxc3 21. bxc3 Bxa3 would have left Black up two pawns, as the 'c3' pawn is also going to fall. )

20. ... Nxb4 21. axb4 Bxb4 22. Ra1 Bxc3 23. Rxa5 Bxd2 24. Rxa6 b4

Black came out of complications with an extra passed pawn and is winning here.

25. Rb6 Rc2 26. Bd6 Rfc8 27. Ba6 R2c6 0-1

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Khropova, Larisa - Shumilina, Alexandra
Moscow-ch   2008   

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. cxd5 cxd5 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Bf4 a6 7. e3 Bg4 8. Be2 e6 9. O-O Be7 10. h3 Bxf3 11. Bxf3 O-O 12. Rc1 Rc8 13. Qd2 b5 14. Qd3 Qb6 15. Rfd1 Rfd8 16. Be2 Na5 17. Qb1 Nc4 18. Bd3 h6 19. b3 Na3 20. Qb2 Qa5 21. g4 Bb4 22. Ne2 Qb6 23. Kg2 Qb7 24. Kg1 a5 25. Bg3 Ne4 26. Bh2 Ng5 27. Kg2 Nc4 28. Qb1 Nd2 29. Qb2 Rxc1 30. Rxc1 Ndf3 31. Nc3 Rc8 32. Bg3?

32. ... Ne1+ 33. Rxe1 Bxc3 34. Qe2 Bxe1 35. Qxe1 b4 -+ 36. Bd6 Rc3 37. Qe2 Ne4 38. Bxe4 dxe4 39. Bc5 e5 40. Kh2 exd4 41. Bxd4 Qc7+ 42. Kg2 Rd3 43. Bb2 Qc6 44. Kg1 a4 45. bxa4 Qxa4 46. Bd4 Ra3 47. Qc4 Qd1+ 48. Kh2 Qf3 0-1