The Trojan Horse
The first one is my favorite due to the amazing role of White's knight.
[Event "41st Olympiad Women 2014"] [Site "Tromso NOR"] [Date "2014.08.04"] [Round "3.4"] [White "Padmini, Rout"] [Black "Davletbayeva, Madina"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2318"] [BlackElo "2289"] [Annotator "Karsten Mueller"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "1R6/7k/4bP1p/4N1p1/3pr3/1P6/3K4/8 w - - 0 54"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "2014.08.02"] [WhiteTeam "India"] [BlackTeam "Kazakhstan"] [WhiteTeamCountry "IND"] [BlackTeamCountry "KAZ"] {With a knight it is always important, how it cooperates with the rest of the forces:} 54. Rb7+ $1 ({After} 54. f7 $2 Bxf7 55. Nxf7 g4 56. Rb7 Kg6 $11 { White's forces do not cooperate and Black's counterplay leads to a draw.}) 54... Kg8 (54... Kh8 $6 55. Ng6+ Kg8 56. Rg7#) 55. Rg7+ Kf8 56. Ng6+ Ke8 57. Re7+ Kd8 58. Kd3 Re1 59. Rxe6 $1 Rxe6 (59... Rf1 60. Ne5 $18) 60. f7 Rf6 61. f8=Q+ Rxf8 62. Nxf8 Ke7 63. Ng6+ $1 {Diagram [#] The Trojan Horse in the middle of Black's burg can not be taken and is able to stop Black's pawns. A fantastic picture!} Kf6 (63... Ke6 64. Kxd4 $18) 64. b4 $3 {White's point.} ( 64. Kxd4 $4 Kxg6 65. b4 Kf7 66. b5 Ke6 67. Kc5 Kd7 68. Kb6 g4 69. Ka7 g3 70. b6 g2 71. b7 g1=Q+ $19) 64... h5 (64... Kxg6 {is refuted by} 65. b5 g4 66. b6 g3 67. b7 g2 68. b8=Q g1=Q 69. Qg8+ $18) 65. Kxd4 h4 (65... Kxg6 66. b5 h4 67. Ke3 h3 68. Kf2 h2 69. Kg2 $18) (65... g4 66. b5 g3 (66... Kxg6 67. b6 g3 68. Ke3 g2 69. Kf2 $18) 67. Nh4 (67. Ke3 $2 Ke6 $3 68. Nf4+ Ke5 69. b6 Kd6 70. Kf3 h4 71. Nd5 Kc6 $11) 67... Kg5 68. b6 Kxh4 69. Ke3 Kh3 70. b7 g2 71. Kf2 Kh2 72. b8=Q+ $18) (65... Kf5 66. Ne5 h4 67. b5 Ke6 68. Nf3 g4 69. Nxh4 Kd6 70. Nf5+ Kc7 71. Kc5 $18) 66. Ke4 h3 (66... Kxg6 67. b5 h3 68. Kf3 $1 $18) 67. Ne5 Ke6 (67... h2 68. Ng4+ Ke6 69. Nxh2 $18) 68. Ng4 Kd6 69. Kd4 Ke6 70. Ke4 Kd6 71. Nh2 Kc6 72. Kd4 Kb5 73. Kc3 Kc6 74. Kc4 Kd6 75. b5 Kc7 (75... Ke5 76. b6 Kf4 77. b7 Kg3 78. b8=Q+ $18) 76. Kc5 Kb7 77. b6 Kb8 78. Kc6 Kc8 79. b7+ Kb8 80. Ng4 {Now the Trojan Horse works as a source of tempi and so Black resigned.} 1-0
Naiditsch's Knight
Beating a reigning World Champion is always something special and when he is an endgame
specialist then beating him in an endgame is sweeter still.
[Event "41st Olympiad Tromso 2014 GER"] [Site "Tromsö"] [Date "2014.08.09"] [Round "7"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Naiditsch, Arkadij"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E20"] [WhiteElo "2877"] [BlackElo "2709"] [Annotator "Karsten Mueller"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "8/8/4p1k1/8/2n1K1p1/p1B3P1/5P2/8 w - - 0 49"] [PlyCount "28"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] [EventCountry "NOR"] 49. Kf4 $2 {This loses valuable time, which is exploited in style by Naiditsch. } ({The direct} 49. f3 $1 {draws according to the computer, e.g.} Nd6+ (49... gxf3 50. Kxf3 Kf5 51. Ke2 e5 52. g4+ Kxg4 (52... Ke6 53. g5 e4 54. g6 $11) 53. Kd3 Kf3 54. Kxc4 e4 55. Kb3 $11) 50. Kf4 gxf3 51. Kxf3 Kf5 (51... Nf7 52. Ke4 $11) (51... Kg5 52. Ke2 Nb5 (52... Ne4 53. Bd4 Nxg3+ 54. Kd3 $11) 53. Ba1 Na7 54. Kd3 Nc6 55. Bh8 e5 56. Kc3 e4 57. Kb3 e3 58. Kxa3 e2 59. Bc3 $11) 52. g4+ Kg5 53. Bd4 Nb5 54. Ba1 Na7 55. Bc3 Nc6 56. Bd2+ Kf6 57. Ke4 Kg6 58. Kd3 e5 59. Bc3 Kg5 60. Kc4 Kxg4 61. Kd5 Kf3 62. Kxc6 e4 63. Kd5 e3 64. Kc4 e2 65. Kb3 $11) 49... Kh5 50. f3 {Now it is too late.} (50. Ke4 Kg5 51. Kd4 (51. Ba1 Nd2+ 52. Ke5 Nb3 53. Bc3 a2 (53... Nc5 $5 $19) 54. Kxe6 a1=Q 55. Bxa1 Nxa1 56. Ke5 Nc2 57. Ke4 Ne1 $19) (51. f4+ Kg6 $19) 51... Nb2 52. Ke4 Na4 53. Bd4 a2 54. Ke5 Nc5 55. Ba1 Nd3+ 56. Kxe6 Nxf2 57. Bf6+ Kg6 58. Ba1 Nh1 59. Ke5 Kg5 $19) (50. Ba1 a2 51. Bc3 Nb6 52. Ba1 Nd5+ 53. Ke5 Nb4 54. Kxe6 Nc2 55. Bf6 a1=Q 56. Bxa1 Nxa1 57. Kf5 Nc2 58. Kf4 Ne1 $19) 50... e5+ $1 {A powerful tactical blow.} 51. Ke4 Nd6+ 52. Ke3 (52. Kxe5 $6 gxf3 53. Kxd6 f2 $19) 52... Kg5 53. fxg4 (53. f4+ exf4+ 54. gxf4+ Kf5 $19) (53. Bxe5 $6 Nc4+ 54. Ke4 Nxe5 55. f4+ Kf6 56. fxe5+ Ke6 57. Kd4 a2 $19) 53... e4 54. Kd2 Nb5 (54... Kxg4 {wins as well:} 55. Kc1 e3 (55... Kxg3 $2 56. Be5+ Kf2 57. Bxd6 a2 58. Kb2 e3 59. Bc5 $11) 56. Kb1 Nb5 57. Be1 e2 58. Ka2 Kf3 59. Kb3 Nd4+ 60. Ka2 Nc2 61. Bc3 Kxg3 62. Kb1 Ne3 63. Ka2 Nc4 64. Kb3 Kf2 65. Kxc4 a2 66. Kb3 a1=Q 67. Bxa1 e1=Q $19) 55. Be5 Kxg4 56. Ke3 Kf5 57. Ba1 Nd6 $1 {The valuable e-pawn must be preserved of course.} ( 57... a2 $2 58. g4+ Kxg4 59. Kxe4 $11) 58. Kd2 Kg4 59. Ke3 a2 60. Bc3 (60. Be5 Nc4+ 61. Kxe4 Nxe5 62. Kxe5 a1=Q+ $19) 60... Kxg3 61. Ba1 Kg4 62. Kd2 (62. Bh8 Kf5 63. Ba1 Nc4+ 64. Kd4 e3 65. Kxc4 (65. Kd3 Kf4 66. Ke2 Ke4 $19) 65... e2 66. Bc3 e1=Q 67. Bxe1 a1=Q $19) 62... Kf3 (62... Kf3 63. Ke1 Nc4 64. Bg7 e3 65. Bc3 e2 66. Bd4 Ne3 67. Bxe3 a1=Q+ $19) 0-1
Magnus's mighty knight
With a far advanced passed pawn often tactical motifs crop up.
[Event "41st Olympiad Open 2014"] [Site "Tromso NOR"] [Date "2014.08.11"] [Round "9.1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Solak, Dragan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A11"] [WhiteElo "2877"] [BlackElo "2632"] [Annotator "Karsten Mueller"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "6k1/2P4p/7r/1p3b2/4R3/pP6/K2N4/8 w - - 0 44"] [PlyCount "33"] [EventDate "2014.08.02"] [WhiteTeam "Norway"] [BlackTeam "Turkey"] [WhiteTeamCountry "NOR"] [BlackTeamCountry "TUR"] {[#]} 44. Nf3 $3 {This amazing blow is the only winning move. Magnus's mighty knight will work wonders.} (44. Re5 $2 Rh2 45. Rxf5 Rxd2+ 46. Kxa3 Rc2 47. Rxb5 Rxc7 $11) (44. Kxa3 $2 Rc6 45. Re5 Bg6 $11) (44. c8=Q+ $2 Bxc8 45. Re8+ Kf7 46. Rxc8 Rh2 47. Rd8 b4 48. Kb1 Rh1+ 49. Ka2 Rh2 $11) 44... Bh3 (44... Rc6 45. Nd4 Rxc7 (45... Bxe4 $6 46. Nxc6 Bf5 47. Ne7+ $18) 46. Nxf5 Rc5 47. Nd4 b4 48. Re8+ Kg7 49. Rb8 Kf6 50. Rxb4 $18) (44... Ra6 $5 {is more tenacious, but White's passed pawns should win in the long run:} 45. Nd4 Bd7 (45... Bh3 46. Re3 Bd7 47. Re7 $18) 46. Re7 Bh3 47. Nxb5 h5 (47... Rc6 48. Kxa3 $18) 48. Nd4 h4 (48... Ra8 49. b4 $18) (48... Rd6 49. Re4 Kf7 50. Ne6 $18) 49. Re4 Bd7 50. Rxh4 Ra8 51. Rh2 Rc8 52. Rc2 Kf7 53. b4 $18) (44... b4 45. Rxb4 $18) 45. Ng5 Bf5 46. Re5 Bg4 47. Ne6 $1 {The knight strikes again.} Rh2+ (47... Bxe6 48. Rxe6 Rh2+ 49. Kxa3 Rc2 50. Re8+ $18) 48. Kxa3 Rc2 49. Rg5+ Kf7 50. Nd4 Rxc7 51. Rxg4 Rb7 52. Kb4 Kf6 53. Nf3 h5 54. Rf4+ Kg6 55. Kc5 b4 56. Rxb4 Rxb4 57. Kxb4 Kf5 58. Kc3 Kf4 59. Nh4 Kg4 60. b4 (60. b4 Kxh4 61. b5 Kg3 62. b6 h4 63. b7 h3 64. b8=Q+ $18) 1-0
The miracle escape
Sometimes a rook ending is drawn even three pawns down, but first Magnus missed a way to win
[Event "2nd Sinquefield Cup 2014"] [Site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2014.09.05"] [Round "9.2"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D56"] [WhiteElo "2877"] [BlackElo "2805"] [Annotator "Karsten Mueller"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "8/6k1/R7/P6P/8/r1pK3P/8/8 b - - 0 45"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2014.08.27"] [SourceDate "2014.10.03"] 45... Kh7 ({I had assumed that} 45... Rb3 {draws, but it is refuted by a shot by Ian Rogers:} 46. Rg6+ Kh7 47. Kc2 Rb5 (47... Ra3 48. Ra6 $18 {and the regrouping of the rook is stopped.}) 48. a6 Ra5 49. Kxc3 Rxh5 50. Rb6 $18) 46. h6 $2 {This is a mistake as Alejandro Ramirez has pointed out.} (46. Kc2 $1 { stops the regrouping of Black's rook and wins, e.g.} Kg7 47. h6+ Kh7 48. h4 Kh8 49. Ra7 Kg8 50. a6 Kh8 51. h5 Kg8 52. Rg7+ Kh8 53. a7 Ra2+ 54. Kb3 Rb2+ 55. Ka3 $18) 46... Rb3 $1 47. Kc2 Rb5 $1 {The rooks moves into position to force White's rook to stay in front of the a-pawn. The resulting draw is called Vancura's position - in this case with two additional h-pawns.} 48. Kxc3 Rf5 49. Ra8 Rb5 50. Kc4 Rf5 51. Kb4 Rf4+ 52. Kc5 Rf5+ 53. Kd4 Rb5 54. Ke4 Rc5 55. Ra6 Rb5 56. h4 Rc5 57. Kd4 Rb5 58. Kc4 Rf5 59. Kb4 Rf4+ 60. Kc5 Rf5+ 61. Kb6 Rf6+ 62. Kb7 Rf7+ 63. Kc8 Rf8+ 64. Kd7 Rf5 65. Ra8 Rd5+ 66. Ke6 (66. Kc6 Rf5 67. a6 Rf6+ 68. Kb5 Rf5+ 69. Kc4 Rf4+ 70. Kd3 Rf6 $11) 66... Rb5 67. Kf6 Rc5 68. Ra7+ Kxh6 69. Kf7 Rb5 70. a6 Rb6 $1 71. Kg8 Rb8+ 72. Kf7 Rb6 $1 73. Ke7 Kg6 74. Kd7 Rf6 75. Ra8 Kg7 76. Kc7 Rf7+ 77. Kd6 Rf6+ 78. Ke5 Rb6 79. Ra7+ Kg6 ( 79... Kg8 $11 {works as well.}) 80. h5+ Kh6 $1 ({After} 80... Kxh5 $2 81. Ra8 { Black's king does not reach the drawing zone in time:} Kg6 82. a7 Ra6 83. Rg8+ $18) 81. Kf5 Rc6 82. Re7 (82. Ra8 Kg7 83. h6+ Kh7 84. Kg5 Rg6+ 85. Kf5 Rb6 $11) 82... Rxa6 83. Re6+ Rxe6 84. Kxe6 Kxh5 1/2-1/2
The wizard and the apprentice
In the pure endgame the rook usually is far superior to the bishop, but here Black must act extremely precisely to convert as only one friendly pawn is left.
[Event "Final Russian Cup 2014 Men"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"] [Date "2014.11.21"] [Round "3.1"] [White "Goganov, Aleksey"] [Black "Jakovenko, Dmitry"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E15"] [WhiteElo "2609"] [BlackElo "2745"] [Annotator "Karsten Mueller"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "4r3/8/3BP3/4K3/5pk1/8/8/8 b - - 0 65"] [PlyCount "17"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] [EventCountry "RUS"] 65... Rc8 $3 {The wizard rook works wonders.} (65... f3 $2 66. Bc5 $1 Kg3 ( 66... Kg5 67. Ke4 Rxe6+ 68. Kxf3 $11) 67. Kf6 f2 68. Bxf2+ Kxf2 69. e7 $11) ( 65... Kg5 $2 66. e7 f3 67. Bc5 Rxe7+ 68. Bxe7+ Kg4 69. Bc5 $11) 66. Kd5 f3 67. Bc5 Kf5 $1 {Jakovenko's king works as apprentice to help his wizard rook.} ( 67... Rxc5+ $2 68. Kxc5 f2 69. e7 f1=Q 70. e8=Q $11) (67... Kg3 $2 68. e7 Kf4 69. Kd6 Kf5 70. Kd7 $11) 68. e7 Re8 69. Kd6 Kf6 70. Bd4+ (70. Kd7 Kf7 $19) 70... Kf7 71. Ke5 Ra8 $1 {The wizard rook must again be used in an original way.} ({The direct} 71... Rxe7+ $2 {is met by} 72. Kf4 Rd7 73. Be3 $11) ({and after} 71... Kxe7 $2 72. Kf4 Rf8+ 73. Kg3 Ke6 74. Kf2 Kd5 75. Bb6 Ke4 76. Ba7 Rg8 77. Bb6 Rg2+ 78. Kf1 $11 {White has reached the Del Rio fortress.}) 72. e8=Q+ (72. Kd6 Ke8 $19) 72... Kxe8 $1 (72... Rxe8+ $2 73. Kf4 Rd8 74. Be3 $11) 73. Ke4 (73. Bf2 Ra2 74. Bg3 f2 $19) 73... Ra4 (73... Ra4 74. Ke3 Rxd4 75. Kxd4 f2 $19) 0-1
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About the author
Born in 1970, GM Karsten Müller has a world-wide reputation as one of the greatest endgame experts. He has, together with Frank Lamprecht, written a book on the subject: “Basics of chess endgames” in addition to other contributions such as his column on the website ChessCafe as well as in ChessBase Magazine. Mueller’s ChessBase-DVDs on endgames, in Fritztrainer Format, are bestsellers. Karsten has a PhD in mathematics and lives in Hamburg, where he has also been hunting down points for the HSK in the Bundesliga for many years.
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