Rook and Knight endgames – Tactics part 1

Rook and Knight Endgames - Strategy and Tactics 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 sample tactical positions (scroll down for solutions):
Arnason, Jon L    --    Adams, Michael
Manila ol (Men)   1992     1-0

# White's turn 1-0

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Zelcic, Robert    --    Gleizerov, Evgeny
Montecatini Terme op   1997.08.08     1-0

# White's turn 1-0

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Apicella, Manuel    --    Vaisser, Anatoli
FRA-ch Final stage   1999.08.28     1-0

# White's turn 1-0

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Reinderman, Dimitri    --    Chuchelov, Vladimir
Mondariz zt 1.1   2000.09.05     1-0

# White's turn 1-0

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Solutions:
Arnason, Jon L    --    Adams, Michael
Manila ol (Men)   1992     1-0

# Solution: 37. Rxg4 Rh2

( 37. ... Rxg4 38. Nf6+ Ke7 39. Nxg4 +- leaves White with two extra pawns. )

38. Ng7+ Ke7 39. Nf5+ Kf6 40. b3 +- a5 41. Rg8 Ke5 42. Rf8 Nd6 43. Nxd6 Kxd6 44. Rf4 b5 45. a3 Ke6 46. Rg4 Ke5 47. Rg6 Rxh4 48. Rxc6 Kd4 49. a4 bxa4 50. Rc4+ Ke3 51. Rxa4 Rh5 52. Kb2 Rg5 53. Rc4 Rh5 54. Ka3 Re5 55. Ka4 Kd2 56. Rc8 Kc1 57. c4 Kb2 58. Rb8 Kc3 59. Rb5 1-0

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Zelcic, Robert    --    Gleizerov, Evgeny
Montecatini Terme op   1997.08.08     1-0

# Solution: 39. Rc7+! Kxc7 40. Nxe6+ Kd7 41. Nxf4

With the pseudo sacrifice not only has White regained the pawn, but he also achieved a knight endgame, which is winning for him due to the dangerous 'a' pawn, and more active placement of pieces.

41. ... Nc6

( Defending the 'd' pawn allows White to collect both pawns on the kingside. 41. ... Kc6 42. Nxh5 +- )

42. Nxd5 Nxe5+ 43. Ke4 Nc6 44. Nxb6+ Kc7 45. Nd5+ Kd6 46. Nf4

Black resigned as his kingside pawns cannot be defended.

1-0

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Apicella, Manuel    --    Vaisser, Anatoli
FRA-ch Final stage   1999.08.28     1-0

# Solution: 34. Nd8+! Kd7

( 34. ... Nxd8 35. a7 +- )

35. Nxc6 Kxc6 36. Rxf6+ Kc5 37. a7 Rg8 38. Ra6 +- Ra8 39. Kf2 Kd5 40. Kf3 h5 41. h4 Ke5 42. Ke3 Kd5 43. Kf4 Rf8+ 44. Kg5 Ra8 45. Kf5 Rf8+ 46. Rf6 Ra8 47. Rf7 Kc6 48. Kg6 Rh8 49. Rh7 Ra8 50. Kxh5 Kb6 51. Kg6 Ka5 52. h5 Ka4 53. h6 Kxa3 54. Rb7 Kb3 55. Rxb5+ Kxc3 56. h7 1-0

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Reinderman, Dimitri    --    Chuchelov, Vladimir
Mondariz zt 1.1   2000.09.05     1-0

# Solution: 34. Nxa5! g5

( 34. ... Rxa5 35. Rd8# )

35. Nc6 +/- gxf4 36. gxf4 Ra6 37. Nd4 Rd6 38. Rg1+ Kf8 39. Nxc2 Rd2+ 40. Ke3 Rxc2 41. Ra1 Rc3+ 42. Kd4 Ke7 43. a5 Kd6 44. a6 Rc8 45. a7 Ra8 46. Kc4 Kc6 47. Kxb4 Kb6 48. h4 h5 49. Ra2 f6 50. Ra5 Kb7 51. Kc5 e5 52. fxe5 fxe5 53. Kd5 Rd8+ 54. Kxe5 Ka8 55. Kf6 Rd3 56. Kg6 1-0

Uhlvestad Variation in Two Knights Defence - Full Repertoire Video Tutorial

To wrap up the year of 2016, I have completed the video series dedicated to a full defense for Black against White's 4.Ng5 in the Two Knights Defense. The video covers material similar to what I included into my e-book "How to Study Chess Openings", which now also has an experimental paperback (print on demand) version. I believe the actual demonstration of walking through a full opening repertoire should nicely complement the book's suggestions for how to build your opening files (also see these 3 videos for the related software/data organization guide.)

Best Chess Combinations of 2016 (Modern Chess Tactics) video

Several instructive tactical ideas from recent games by top chess grandmasters. These are taken from Modern Chess Combinations volume 7 ebook.

Modern Chess Combinations–Volume 7

Modern Chess Combinations: July, August, September 2016 is now out with over 120 puzzles for you to solve. It is available on Amazon. The Kindle free sample contains dozens of combinations, so you can first practice those positions and see if you like the selection. This publication is a collection of over 120 best combinations played by strong chess players in tournaments that took place the third quarter of 2016. I first filtered the correct combinations with various computer-assisted approaches, and then manually went through the entire collection to select only the puzzles useful to practical chess players.

The highlight of this edition are the games from the Chess Olympiad, where the USA team won the gold medal in the main tournament. Here are a couple of samples:

Heberla, B. - Ali Marandi, C.
TCh-TUR Super League 2016   2016.08.05 , B13

White to move

Solution: 30. Re1!!

Putting the rook under attack, but the bishop must guard the d8 square.

30. ... fxg5

( 30. ... Bxe1+ 31. Kxe1 fxg5 32. d8=Q+ )

31. Re8+ Kf7 32. Nd6+ Kf6

33. fxg5+

The final blow, since the pawn must be captured.

33. ... Kxg5 34. Nf7+ 1-0

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Indjic, A. - Cruz, Cr
42nd Olympiad 2016   2016.09.08 , E38

White to move

Solution: 32. Bxe5+!?

The first move suggest itself, but the correct follow up is harder to find.

32. ... Kxe5

33. Qb2+!!

( The obvious 33. Qh2+? fails to 33. ... Ke4 )

33. ... Kd6

( 33. ... Ke4 34. Qd4# )

34. Qh2+!

With the king on d6, the check along the h2-b8 diagonal is deadly.

34. ... Kc5 35. Qc7+

35. ... Bc6 36. Qxc6# 1-0

History Does not Repeat itself–Two Grischuk Endgames

A curious mistake that Mark Dvoretsky would have included into his book – happened in the following game, where White voluntarily exchanged into a hopeless pawn endgame:

Robson, R. - Grischuk, A.
42nd Olympiad 2016   2016.09.10 , C67

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. Nc3 Ne8 10. Nd5 Bd6 11. Re1 c6 12. Ne3 Bc7 13. Nf5 d5 14. Ne7+ Kh8 15. Nxc8 Rxc8 16. g3 Qf6 17. Bh3 Rd8 18. d4 Nd6 19. Bf4 Bb8 20. Be5 Qh6 21. Bg2 Nc4 22. Bxb8 Rxb8 23. b3 Nd6 24. Qd3 Qg6 25. Qd2 Rfe8 26. Re5 f6 27. Rxe8+ Rxe8 28. Qb4 f5 29. Re1 Rxe1+ 30. Qxe1 Qf6 31. Qe3 g5 32. f4 h6 33. a4 a5 34. Kf1 Ne4 35. c4 Kg7 36. c5 gxf4 37. gxf4 Qh4

38. Bxe4?

( 38. Bh3!? )

38. ... fxe4 39. Qf2?!

The position is objectively lost, but trading queens makes things too easy for Black.

39. ... Qxf2+ 40. Kxf2 Kf6 41. Kg3 Kf5 42. h3

42. ... h5 43. h4 e3 44. Kf3 e2 45. Kxe2 Kxf4 46. Kd3 Kg4

0-1

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Interestingly, it was pointed out to me that Grischuk had lost a pawn endgame that was a complete mirror of this position only three years earlier:

Le Quang Liem - Grischuk, Alexander
   2013 , D87

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 c5 8. Ne2 Nc6 9. Be3 O-O 10. O-O b6 11. Qd2 Bb7 12. Rfd1 Rc8 13. Rac1 e6 14. Bh6 cxd4 15. cxd4 Qh4 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. Qe3 Rfd8 18. h3 Qe7 19. Bb5 Qb4 20. Rb1 Qe7 21. Nf4 Nb4 22. d5 Nc2 23. Qg3 e5 24. Ne2 Na3 25. Rb3 Nxb5 26. Rxb5 Ba6 27. Rb2 Bxe2 28. Rxe2 Qd6 29. Qd3 Rc5 30. Rc2 Rdc8 31. Rdc1 Kf8 32. Qa3 Qe7 33. Rxc5 Rxc5 34. Rxc5 Qxc5 35. Qxc5+ bxc5 36. Kf1 Ke7 37. Ke2 f5 38. f3 Kd6 39. Kd3 f4 40. h4 Kc7 41. Kc4 Kd6

42. Kb5

The protected passed pawn decides matters as Black is unable to defend c5 pawn in the long run and is falling into Zugzwang.

42. ... h6 43. Kc4 a6 44. a3

1-0

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'History doesn't repeat itself but it often rhymes' as Mark Twain supposedly has said ...

Carlsen–Karjakin – Game 5 with opposite coloured bishops

Karjakin’s d5-d4 pawn break in today’s game really reminded me of the move that I played almost 10 years ago in a position with similar material (bishops of opposite colour) and ideas:

Carlsen–Karjakin match, 2016 – Game 5
Karjakin played 42…d5-d4! with initiative

Jiganchine – Trotchanovich, Keres 2007
White to move.

I also analyzed this game in the book Spanish Opening - Strategy and Tactics, here is the full analysis:

Jiganchine, Roman - Trotchanovich, Pavel
Keres Memorial 2007   2007.05.20 , C80

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Nxe4 7. d4 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. Nbd2 Nc5 10. c3

10. ... Nxb3?!

This is a positional mistake, as now White's control over d4 and c5 becomes very firm. Black instead had 3 main moves: 10... Bg4, 10... Be7, and 10... d4, the last of which was played in the Karpov-Korchnoi game.

11. Nxb3 Be7 12. Nfd4! Nxd4

( 12. ... Nxe5 is considered dangerous - Black is likely to lose material 13. Re1 Ng6 14. Nxe6 fxe6 15. Nd4 e5 16. Ne6 Qd7 17. Qxd5! Qxd5 18. Nxc7+ Kf7 19. Nxd5 +/- )

13. cxd4 O-O 14. Be3

White won the majority of the games that arrived at this position. Black's pieces are rather passive, and he has no compensation for the weaknesses along the 'c' file. However to exploit his position, White would have to build up pressure on both sides of the board and only then execute a breakthrough. His plan is roughly as follows:

1. establish a knight on 'c5' and control the 'c' file
2. advance pawns on the kingside and resolve the pawn structure there
3. activate the dark squared bishop to the a3-f8 diagonal
4. use the third rank for manoeuvres of heavy pieces and build pressure on both sides of the board
5. once Black pieces are tied up - either engineer a pawn break, or open a file and invade with heavy pieces.

Of course, depending on how the opponent acts, White would have to modify his plan accordingly.

14. ... Rc8

( 14. ... f6 was a bit more active, but did not fundamentally change the evaluation of the position. )

15. Rc1 c6 16. Nc5 Bxc5 17. Rxc5 a5 18. Qc2 Bd7 19. f4

Not only White is putting pressure on the queenside, but he also wants to advance with f4-f5-f6, so Black has to prevent that somehow.

19. ... f5

A committal move, as now the 'e' pawn will need to be continually watched by Black.

( Also possible was 19. ... g6 20. f5! Bxf5 21. Qd2 and White has great compensation for the sacrificed pawn, as Black's dark squares are very weak. 21. ... Qd7 22. Bh6 Rfe8 23. Bg5 h5 24. Bf6 Kh7 25. Qg5 a4 26. Rf4 a3 27. b3 and White can continue to build up pressure, with possible sacrifices either on 'f5' or on 'h5'. Black's position cannot be saved. )

20. Rf3 Qe7 21. Bd2 a4

Black has completely surrendered the dark squares, tying all hopes to passive defence. Such positions however are very unpleasant to defend as White can combine threats on both sides of the board. The game goes on for quite a while from here, but Black is always struggling due to the weaknesses of his position.

22. Bb4 Qf7 23. Rcc3 Rfe8 24. Rh3 Re6

Black manages to trade off one pair of rooks, which is probably to his advantage.

25. Rcg3 Rg6 26. Rxg6 Qxg6

Now my main risk is that Black will trade off the second rook the same way, so I tried to go back and forth, hoping to tie up the black rook to be guarding e6 or the a file.

27. Rg3 Qf7 28. Ra3

One of White's ideas is to play b2-b3, and invade on the 'a' file. This has to be timed very carefully, of course.

28. ... Qe8 29. Re3

( With his last move Black made sure that he is prepared to meet 29. b3 axb3 30. axb3 with 30. ... Ra8 )

29. ... Qe6 30. Qe2 Re8 31. Ra3 Ra8 32. h3 Qe8 33. Kh2 Be6 34. Rg3

With the queenside threats, White forced Black to put the rook to 'a8', and now Black is unable to quickly transfer the rook to g6.

34. ... Kh8 35. Bd6

White is preparing to play e5-e6 and Be5 with pressure on g7 at the right time.

35. ... Qf7 36. Rc3 Qe8 37. Qf2 Ra7 38. Qh4 Ra8 39. Rg3 Qf7 40. Rc3 Bd7 41. Qg5 Qg6

42. Qe7

( 42. Qxg6 hxg6 would only give small winning chances, for example - opposite colour bishop endgame has some promise if white brings king on b6 and takes on g7 with bishop, and creates passed pawn on kingside - but there is only a remote chance of that happening. )

42. ... Qe8 43. Qh4 Rc8 44. Rg3 Qf7 45. Qg5 Re8 46. b3

Going back to the idea of generating play on the queenside. It is essential in the Spanish opening to play on both sides of the board, especially if White wants to convert his spacial advantage into a win.

46. ... axb3 47. axb3

47. ... Kg8

( It would be logical for Black to take over the 'a' file, but then I was hoping to generate enough pressure on kingside: After 47. ... Ra8 there was a brilliant (but predictable ) sacrifice: 48. e6!! Bxe6 49. Be5 Rg8 ( 49. ... Ra7 50. Bxg7+ Qxg7 51. Qd8+ Bg8 52. Rxg7 Rxg7 53. Qf6 +- ) 50. h4!! and Black is completely helpless against h4-h5-h6 50. ... Qg6 ( 50. ... Bd7 51. h5 and Qg6 is no longer an option ) 51. Qxg6 hxg6 52. Rxg6 with double threat Rxe6 and Rh6 mate! 52. ... Kh7 53. Rxe6 +- )

48. b4 Kh8 49. Ra3 Qe6 50. Ra7 Kg8 51. h4 h6 52. Qg3 h5 53. Qg5 Qf7 54. Kh3 Kh7

55. Bc5 Re6

56. Kh2?!

( White was winning immediately after 56. Bf8! Qxf8 57. Rxd7 Rh6 58. g3 with zugzwang! 58. ... Rg6 59. Qxh5+ Rh6 60. Rf7! Rxh5 61. Rxf8 with a completely winning rook endgame for White. )

56. ... Re8

57. e6!?

White gives up the pawn to free up the e5 square for his bishop and to disrupt the coordination of the black pieces.

57. ... Qxe6

( 57. ... Rxe6? 58. Qd8 +- )

58. Qxh5+ Kg8 59. Qg5 Kh7 60. h5 Kh8 61. Rc7 Rc8 62. Ra7 Rg8

63. Qg6 Rc8?

( 63. ... Qe1! +/- was the best chance. )

64. Qxe6 Bxe6 65. Re7 Bg8 66. h6! Rd8

Black tries to prevent Bd6

( 66. ... gxh6? 67. Bd6 Bh7 68. Be5+ Kg8 69. Rg7+ Kf8 70. Rxh7 +- )

67. Rxg7 +-

With the king in the corner, Black clearly has no chance to save this endgame. Opposite colours of the bishops do not help Black because there are still rooks present on the board.

67. ... Bh7 68. Rc7 Rg8 69. Rxc6 Rg6

70. Rc8+ Bg8 71. Bf8 Re6 72. Rb8 Re4 73. Bg7+ Kh7 74. Be5 Be6 75. Rb6

It took a lot of moves for White to win the game, but the entire course of the game gave Black very little hope of escaping from the strategic bind.

1-0

Blast from the past - Carlsen outplays Karjakin in a tricky endgame - video

As Carlsen and Karjakin are battling out in New York this month, here is a good reminder of why Carlsen is considered the favourite - a game from 2013 that he won in good style:


This game and analysis is taken from my E-book about endgames with bishops of opposite color.