Lesson of the Week

Last week and this, most of my students are seeing a number of positions where correct play leads to a draw. Some are composed; several are from recent games. This one may be the most difficult. It was composed by Herman Mattison and published in Wiener Neueste Nachrichten (1931).*

White to move

The next one is of a different character. After the first move, variations are not forcing. Nonetheless, Black should be able to hold. It arose in a game that I played last week. To confirm that it is indeed drawn, I played the position against Stockfish 16 this morning. The position arose at move 47 and the game against Stockfish ended with a repetition at move 128. In the actual game, we repeated at move 113. My opponent, who had White, was critically short of time.

Black to move

I also used this one, which is derived from a composition by Gioachino Greco that appears in the Orsini (1620) and Lorraine (1621) manuscripts. I’ve reversed colors.

White to move

Several basic pawn endings and rook endings were among those my students were presented to solve. This important position appeared in Gligoric,S.--Fischer,R., Candidates Tournament 1959. It is the first endgame position in Thomas Engqvist, 300 Most Important Chess Positions (2018).

Black to move

As always, if you post answers in the comments, I will respond.

Clicking on the tag "Problem of the Week" takes you to posts about what I've been teaching in after school chess clubs over several years.

*I did not check the original source, but both Yochanan Afek, Anthology of Miniature Endgame Studies (2022) and Harold van der Heijden Endgame Study Database VI (2020) list the source and date.

A Memorable Lesson

What are the plans for both sides?

White to move

Whenever an occurrence of a bishop on the wrong color squares in a pawn ending occurs, I recall a game I played in 1996. It was the first round of my second USCF rated tournament and I nearly beat one of the strongest players in my local chess club.* In the end, I had four pawns to two and opposite colored bishops. I was looking at this game anew a few weeks ago because I wanted to use it in the first of a series of lessons for some of the chess classes I'm teaching this month. These classes are organized by other people who supply me with students. They create a different theme each month, but I am at liberty to develop the theme as I see fit.

The February theme mentioned pawn structure and "lesser pieces", which I opted to make bishop and knights. I began with some elementary positions, such as one finds in Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual (2003).

Black to move

During the first session, I invited students to think through the plans for White from positions that arose in my 1996 game with Gary Younker. I make the point that I pursued a faulty plan because whatever the state of my understanding of the elementary position above, I failed to understand it well enough to deter me from futile efforts to promote my a-pawn.

From the diagram at the top of the post play continued:

55.Kg3 Bc6

After explaining to one group what White's plans should have been and demonstrating what seemed a plausible win, I tried against Stockfish. Here the silicon beast demonstrated that Black's resources were adequate after 55...Kd7

56.Kf4 Kb7?

White to move

57.g3?

Today, I would play 57.Kg5 with nary a thought. But, in 1996 I was obsessed with promoting my a-pawn.

57...b4 58.Ke5 Kc7 59.Ke6

59.Kf6 seems better.

59...b3 60.h4 b2 61.Bxb2 d4?

Gary was pleased with this move. After the game, he taught me some important lessons, criticizing my early c4-c5 in the opening because it "released the tension" and explaining that he sacked this pawn to create the fortress that ensued.

White to move

62.Bxd4??

Remarkably, I still had a winning position until this error. About half of my students who have seen this position have suggested 62.exd4, which creates a more useful passed pawn.

62...Bxf3=

The game went on another 14 moves with an exchange of my e-pawn for Black's f-pawn and my futile and even silly efforts to trap Black's king on a8.

I finally replied to a draw offer from many moves earlier with assent after 76...Bg4.

White to move

The Game's Final Position

*Although I began playing chess with some seriousness in the 1970s, played some high school matches and at the Spokane Chess Club, and entered a couple of USCF correspondence events, I did not have a USCF OTB rating until I returned to active play in the mid-1990s following completion of graduate school.

Exchange into Rook Ending?

Is it time for White to exchange bishops? In a rook ending, Black's king is perfectly positioned to avert the customary tactical shots. Does White have a way of forcing a win?

White to move

From Damljanovic,B -- Esen,B, Warszawa 2013.

Winning?

Does Black have a winning advantage?

Black to move

This position is from an online blitz game where White made an obvious blunder in time pressure. I am not certain that Black could have broken down White's effort to construct a fortress without the error.

Twelve Blitz Games

A few days ago, I bemoaned my rating woes--the constant, often futile quest to maintain an online blitz rating above 1900. At the same time, I highlighted the need for an attitude adjustment. Chess should be fun (see "Attitude"). Serious chess play means not worrying about rating, but approaching each game as an eager learner. In that post, I offered light, but extensive annotations to an entire game.

After more than a week, I rose back above 1900 last night. I cannot say that I have been free of rating-obsessed frantic blitz since Friday's post. However, self-consciousness of this counter-productive attitude has moderated it. Mostly, I've been trying to enjoy and learn from each game.

In this post, I offer brief highlights of the critical positions in my last twelve blitz games.

On the Black side of an exchange French, Black already has equality.

White to move

My opponent abandoned the game. Perhaps he or she has a life apart from chess.

I had Black again in the next game, This time, my opponent played the Steinitz variation against my French. Happily, I'm reasonably comfortable in the Steinitz after having gone through every single C11 game ever published in Chess Informant.* Alas, I had no better than an equal position.

White to move

31.a4?

Now I am winning. My opponent resigned one move from checkmate ten moves later.

I outplayed my opponent from the White side of a Queen's Gambit Declined. I had eleven seconds remaining in this position.

White to move

Either 70.Qb1 or 70.Qb7 will drive the king to a2 for 73.Qb2#. Instead, feeling the time pressure in a game I cannot lose, I played 70.Qc4? Stalemate.

In the next game, I dropped a pawn in the opening after my French Defense transposed into a Sicilian Alapin. I salvaged the game with a drawing combination.

Black to move

Instead of forcing the repetition and escaping with a draw, I played 18...Nf2? thinking that I had an attack. I lost.

I played a mainline of the Catalan that I usually avoid and found myself down a pawn. When my opponent advanced the extra pawn without adequate protection, I blockaded it and should have been equal.

White to move

I had planned 36.Kd2, but stumbled and played 36.Nb6?

The game continued 36...d2-+ 37.Rc7+ Ke8 38.Nd5

Here Black wins easily with 38...Rxd5 39.exd5 d1Q.

Instead, my opponent played 38...d1Q?

White can force a draw. 39.Nxf6+ Kf8 40.Nh7+ Kg8 41.Nf6+.

My opponent found a way out of the draw and lost.

41...Kh8? 42.Rh7#.

I had the White side of the Philidor Defense in the next game. I traded two minor pieces for a rook, but left my opponent's rook pinned for many moves before finishing the exchange. I was able to gobble a few pawns and should have been looking forward to a long endgame in which I might be better. However, my opponent blundered with 34...Nfd7?

White to move

After 35.Nc7+, my opponent resigned.

My next opponent turned the table quickly on my effort to play the Catalan in the next game and won a rook for a bishop. Queens came off and I netted a pawn, playing on with a bishop pair against a rook and bishop.

Black to move

My opponent went after my kingside pawns. 40...Rh3? 41.Bb6? (41.Be6+ wins the rook) 41...Rxg3?? 42.Be6+ Kb8 43.c7+ Kb7 44.c8Q#.

Another game went badly, and I was down a couple of pieces. However, my pieces found good coordination.

White to move

27.Rf2 probably leads to a draw by repetition, but my opponent played 27.Bf4? It took me  few seconds to see 27...Qg2#.

The next game also went badly and I was down a piece.

White to move

White needs to activate his king and the win should be in hand. Alas, technical wins require some time on the clock and my opponent had none. I won on time.

An insanely complicated game left me in an objectively lost position, but not without resources.

Black to move

My opponent probably wins easily after 43...Be4+, but there was nothing wrong with 43...Ra8. The game continued  44.Rxc7 Rxa4 45.Rd7 Rxc4 46.Rxd6 and here Black needs to step out of the pin with 46...Kg5. Instead, 46...Rd4? was played and after 47.c7, my opponent resigned.

I opted for the London System as White in the last game. Both sides had chances and made errors. We reached this position, which offered me a simple win.

White to move

The finish is instructive as well, as the errors continued.

63.Rg7+ Rxg7 64.fxg7 Kxg7 Kf2?

The king needs to head towards c5. After 65.Kd2 Kf7 66.Kc3 Ke7 67.Kb4 Ke6 68.Kc5 Kd7, white can fail with 69.e6+? Kxe6 70.Kxc6 Ke7 71.Kxd5 Kd7 and Black seizes the opposition to hold a draw. However, 69.Kb6! assures the win, as White will get both Black pawns.

65.Kg6 66.Ke3 Kf5 67.Kd3 Kf4?

67...c5! 68.dxc5 Kxe5 draws.

68.e6 and we played a few more moves, but White's queen makes my victory easy enough that further errors should be inconsequential.


*ECO Code is a trademark of Chess Informant.

Rule of the Square

Earlier this week, I taught a class called "Six Most Important Pawn Endings" in Inland Chess Academy's June chess camp. I sought to highlight six principles that occur with some frequency. The rule of the square, also called the square of the pawn, was one of these principles. The basic illustrative position is presented in my post "Simple to Complex" (June 2012). There is further discussion in "Square of the Pawn" (January 2014).

In the camp, I also presented an illustrative position from a recent online blitz game where an ill-advised capture transformed a simple draw into a simple win for the opponent.

White to move

Despite an extra pawn, Black can make no progress without help. Almost any move here holds the draw. However, my opponent played the inexplicable 57.Rxg5?? Perhaps he was frustrated that I was playing on in a dead draw after he had offered a draw.

57...Rb6+ 58.Kf5 Rb5+ 59.Kf4 Rxg5 60.Kxg5

White's king is outside the square.

Black to move

61...a5-+.

Today, in a 15 10 game online, a different opponent missed a draw through failure to recognize the rule of the square.

White to move

I played 28.h4 because creation of a passed h-pawn seemed my best chance for advantage in this opposite color bishops ending. As Black's kingside pawns are on light squares, the bishop has difficulty stopping the pawn. Indeed, a few seconds of calculation confirmed that Black's bishop will fail.

28...Be8?

28...Kd7 or Kd8 stops the future passed pawn by moving into the square.

29.f5 gxf5?

29...exf5 30.gxf5 Kd7 should hold.

30.gxh5??

30.h5+-

30...exf5 31.Kf4 Bd7?

31...Kd7 was still possible

32.h5+-

Black to move

Perhaps my opponent saw this position a few moves back and found a way for his bishop to cover h8.

32...f6 33.exf6

I spent over one minute on this move. It was clear that the bishop cannot stop both pawns, but the king is in the square of the f-pawn. Alas for Black, the tempi that must be spent by the bishop leave the king unable to participate.

33.h6 was sufficient, however.

33...Be6 34.h6 Bg8 35.f7 1-0

With an overworked bishop, my opponent resigned.