Karsten Müller: Olympiad Endgames

[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 Müller"] [PlyCount "159"] [EventDate "2014.08.02"] [WhiteTeam "India"] [BlackTeam "Kazakhstan"] [WhiteTeamCountry "IND"] [BlackTeamCountry "KAZ"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 h6 11. b3 b6 12. Ne4 c5 13. Bf4 Bb7 14. Rfe1 Nd4 15. Nxd4 cxd4 16. Bd2 a5 17. a4 Bb4 18. Bxb4 axb4 19. Ng3 g6 20. Ne2 c5 21. Nf4 g5 22. Nd3 Ra5 23. f4 Ke7 24. Kf2 Rha8 25. f5 Bc6 26. g4 Rc8 27. Ke2 Rh8 28. Kf2 Rc8 29. Rab1 Bb7 30. Rbd1 Ba6 31. Nb2 b5 32. Ra1 Ra8 33. Rad1 Bb7 34. axb5 Ra2 35. Na4 Ra5 36. Ra1 Rxc2+ 37. Re2 Rxe2+ 38. Kxe2 Rxb5 39. Rc1 c4 40. Rxc4 Rxe5+ 41. Kd2 Bg2 42. Rxb4 Re3 43. Nc5 Rc3 44. Nd3 Bxh3 45. Rb7+ Kf6 46. Rb6+ Kg7 47. f6+ Kh7 48. Ne5 Re3 49. Rb5 Re4 50. Nxf7 Bxg4 51. Ne5 Be6 52. Rb7+ Kg8 53. Rb8+ Kh7 {The Trojan Horse 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 {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 {[%cal Gb5e8,Gb5e5,Ge5e8,Gb5b8,Gb8e8]} 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 {[%cal Gb5b8,Gb5e8,Gb5e5,Ge5e8,Gb8e8]}) (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 {[%cal Gb8h2]}) (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 {[%cal Gb5b8,Gb5e8,Gb5e5,Ge5e8,Gb8e8]}) 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 source of tempi and so Black resigned.} 1-0

[Event "41st Olympiad Open 2014"] [Site "Tromso NOR"] [Date "2014.08.05"] [Round "4.3"] [White "Rocha, Sergio"] [Black "Almasi, Zoltan"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C20"] [WhiteElo "2392"] [BlackElo "2690"] [Annotator "Karsten Müller"] [PlyCount "140"] [EventDate "2014.08.02"] [WhiteTeam "Portugal"] [BlackTeam "Hungary"] [WhiteTeamCountry "POR"] [BlackTeamCountry "HUN"] 1. e4 e5 2. Bb5 Nf6 3. d4 c6 4. dxe5 Nxe4 5. Bd3 Nc5 6. Nf3 d5 7. O-O Be7 8. h3 O-O 9. Nc3 Nbd7 10. Ne2 f6 11. exf6 Nxf6 12. Ned4 Nxd3 13. Qxd3 Ne4 14. Ne5 Bd6 15. f4 Bxe5 16. fxe5 Rxf1+ 17. Qxf1 c5 18. Nf3 Be6 19. Bf4 Qb6 20. Qc1 Rf8 21. Kh2 d4 22. a4 c4 23. Ra3 Qc5 24. c3 d3 25. Qe3 Qd5 26. Ra1 Bd7 27. Nd2 Nxd2 28. Qxd2 a5 29. Bg3 Re8 30. Bf4 Bc6 31. Bg3 h6 32. Bf4 Re6 33. Rf1 Bxa4 34. Rf3 Rg6 35. Rg3 Rxg3 36. Bxg3 Bc6 37. Bf4 g5 38. Be3 Qxe5+ 39. Kg1 Qg3 40. Qf2 Qxf2+ 41. Kxf2 Kh7 42. g3 Kg6 43. Bb6 Kh5 44. Be3 Bd7 45. h4 gxh4 46. gxh4 b5 47. Ke1 b4 48. cxb4 axb4 49. Kd2 {A beautiful breakthrough Opposite colored bishop endings have a large drawish tendency, but sometimes the fortress can be taken: } c3+ $1 {A beautiful breakthrough.} (49... Kxh4 $4 50. Bxh6 Kg4 51. b3 cxb3 52. Kc1 Kf3 53. Bd2 Ke2 54. Bxb4 $11) 50. bxc3 (50. Kc1 $6 d2+ $19) 50... b3 $1 51. Kc1 (51. Kxd3 Bf5+ 52. Kd2 b2 $19) 51... Be6 52. c4 {Rocha gives the c-pawn directly as it is of no use anyway, e.g.} (52. Bd2 Kg6 53. Kb2 h5 54. Bg5 Kf5 55. Bd2 Kg4 56. Bg5 Kf3 57. Kc1 Ke2 58. Bh6 b2+ 59. Kxb2 d2 60. Bxd2 Kxd2 $19) 52... Bxc4 53. Bd2 Kg6 54. Bc3 Kf5 55. Bg7 h5 56. Bh8 Kg4 57. Bf6 Ba6 58. Kd2 (58. Bg5 Kf3 59. Bh6 Ke2 60. Bg5 d2+ 61. Bxd2 b2+ 62. Kc2 b1=Q+ 63. Kxb1 Kxd2 $19) 58... b2 59. Bxb2 Kxh4 {[%csl Ge3,Gf3,Gg3] Black's passes pawns are three files apart and can not be stopped on one and the same diagonal, so they win as a rule and this is no exception.} 60. Ke3 Kg4 61. Bf6 h4 62. Bc3 Kg3 63. Be1+ Kh3 64. Bf2 (64. Kf3 $5 Kh2 ({The fantastic} 64... Bb7+ 65. Ke3 Be4 66. Kxe4 $6 Kg2 67. Kxd3 h3 $19 {is a line of the tablebase.}) 65. Bc3 Bc8 66. Ke3 Bf5 67. Kf2 Be4 68. Bd2 Kh3 $19 {[%cal Gh3g4]} (68... h3 $2 69. Bf4+ Kh1 70. Bd2 $11)) 64... Kg4 65. Bg1 h3 (65... Bb5 $5 66. Bh2 Kh3 67. Be5 Kg2 { [%cal Gh4h1] wins quicker.}) 66. Bh2 Kf5 67. Bc7 Ke6 68. Bh2 Kd5 69. Bg1 Kc4 70. Kd2 Bb7 (70... Bb7 71. Bh2 Kd4 72. Bg1+ Ke4 73. Bh2 Ba6 74. Ke1 Ke3 75. Bg1+ Kf3 $19 {[%cal Gf3g2]}) 0-1

[Event "41st Olympiad Open 2014"] [Site "Tromso NOR"] [Date "2014.08.05"] [Round "4.4"] [White "Mihajlov, Sebastian"] [Black "Aguiar, Cristiano"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D53"] [WhiteElo "2305"] [BlackElo "1993"] [Annotator "Karsten Müller"] [PlyCount "125"] [EventDate "2014.08.02"] [WhiteTeam "Norway 3"] [BlackTeam "Angola"] [BlackTeamCountry "ANG"] 1. d4 e6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. e3 c6 7. Bd3 dxc4 8. Bxc4 b5 9. Bd3 a6 10. O-O Bb7 11. e4 c5 12. e5 cxd4 13. Nxb5 Bxf3 14. Qxf3 Nxe5 15. Qxa8 Qxa8 16. Nc7+ Kd7 17. Nxa8 Nxd3 18. Nb6+ Kc6 19. Nc4 Bc5 20. Rad1 Kd5 21. b3 Nb4 22. a3 Nc6 23. Ne3+ Kd6 24. f3 Nd5 25. Nc4+ Kd7 26. b4 Ba7 27. Kh1 f6 28. Bd2 Rc8 29. Rc1 e5 30. Rfe1 Nce7 31. a4 Rb8 32. Rb1 Nc3 33. Bxc3 dxc3 34. Rec1 Nd5 35. b5 axb5 36. axb5 Bd4 37. b6 Kc6 38. Na5+ Kc5 39. b7 Ne7 40. Rb3 Kd6 41. Rcxc3 Bxc3 42. Rxc3 Kd7 43. Kg1 Nf5 44. Nb3 Nd6 45. Nc5+ Ke7 46. Kf2 Nxb7 47. Rb3 Nxc5 48. Rxb8 f5 49. g4 Ne6 50. gxf5 Nd4 51. Ke3 Nxf5+ 52. Ke4 Ke6 53. Re8+ Ne7 54. h4 h5 55. Ra8 Ng6 56. Ra5 Kf6 {The wild hunt Knights can sometimes be hunted:} 57. f4 $5 {A good try to blow open the doors of Black's burg. The alternatives also do not win, e.g.} (57. Rb5 Nxh4 58. Rxe5 g5 59. Ra5 Kg6 $11) (57. Ra6+ Kf7 58. Kf5 Nxh4+ $11) 57... Nxf4 (57... exf4 {is playable as well:} 58. Rxh5 f3 59. Kxf3 Ne5+ $11) 58. Rxe5 (58. Ra6+ Kf7 59. Kf5 g6+ 60. Kxe5 Nd3+ 61. Kd4 Ne1 62. Ke4 (62. Ra4 g5 63. hxg5 Nf3+ 64. Ke4 Nxg5+ 65. Kf5 Nh7 66. Ra7+ Kg8 67. Kg6 Nf8+ 68. Kxh5 Nh7 $11) 62... Ng2 63. Ke5 Nxh4 $11) 58... Ne2 $2 {Now the knight can not return.} ({After} 58... Ng6 $1 59. Rxh5 Ke6 {Black's burg can not be taken, e.g.} 60. Kf3 (60. Rh7 Kf6 61. h5 Nf8 62. Rh8 Ne6 63. Kf3 Ng5+ 64. Kg4 Nf7 65. Rf8 g6 $11) 60... Kf6 61. Kg4 Ne5+ 62. Kg3 (62. Rxe5 Kxe5 63. Kg5 Ke4 64. h5 Kf3 65. Kg6 Kg4 66. Kxg7 Kxh5 $11) 62... Ng6 63. Ra5 Nf8 64. Kg4 Ng6 65. Ra6+ Kf7 66. Kg5 Nf8 67. Ra7+ Kg8 68. h5 Nh7+ 69. Kg6 Nf8+ 70. Kf5 Nh7 71. Ke6 Ng5+ 72. Ke7 Kh7 73. Ra6 Kg8 74. Rg6 Nf7 75. Rg1 Nh6 $11) 59. Rf5+ Ke6 (59... Kg6 60. Rc5 Ng3+ 61. Kf4 Nf1 62. Rc2 $18) 60. Rf3 (60. Rg5 $18 {wins as well.}) ({However, not} 60. Rxh5 $4 Ng3+ {but White is also not losing:} 61. Kf4 Nxh5+ 62. Kg5 Nf6 63. Kg6 Ne8 64. h5 Ke7 65. h6 $11) 60... Nc1 (60... g5 61. hxg5 h4 62. Rf6+ Ke7 63. Rh6 Kf7 64. Kf5 Ng3+ 65. Kg4 Ne4 66. Kxh4 $18) 61. Kd4 Kd6 ({The knight is also caught after} 61... Ne2+ 62. Kd3 Nc1+ (62... Ng1 63. Rg3 $18) 63. Kc4 Ne2 64. Re3+ Kf5 65. Rxe2 Kg4 66. Rg2+ Kxh4 67. Rxg7 Kh3 68. Kd3 h4 69. Ke2 Kh2 70. Kf2 h3 71. Rg3 Kh1 72. Rxh3#) 62. Re3 {White tightens the net.} g6 63. Kc4 (63. Kc4 Na2 64. Re1 Kd7 65. Ra1 Ke6 66. Rxa2 g5 67. hxg5 Kf5 68. Rg2 $18) 1-0

[Event "41st Olympiad Open 2014"] [Site "Tromso NOR"] [Date "2014.08.06"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Vovk, Ilja"] [Black "Ahmed, Abuzied"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A14"] [WhiteElo "2289"] [BlackElo "2154"] [Annotator "Karsten Müller"] [PlyCount "147"] [EventDate "2014.08.02"] [WhiteTeam "Estonia"] [BlackTeam "Sudan"] [WhiteTeamCountry "EST"] [BlackTeamCountry "SUD"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. g3 e6 3. Bg2 d5 4. Nf3 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. b3 d4 7. Bb2 c5 8. e3 Nc6 9. exd4 cxd4 10. Re1 Qb6 11. d3 Rd8 12. Nbd2 a5 13. Ne5 Nxe5 14. Rxe5 Bd7 15. Rb1 Bc6 16. Bxc6 bxc6 17. Qf3 a4 18. bxa4 Rxa4 19. Ba3 Qc7 20. Bxe7 Qxe7 21. Qxc6 Rxa2 22. Ne4 Ng4 23. Reb5 Qe8 24. Qxe8+ Rxe8 25. Rg5 h5 26. Rb7 Rea8 27. h3 Ne3 28. Rgb5 Ra1+ 29. Kh2 R1a2 30. Rb2 Nd1 31. Rxa2 Rxa2 32. Kg1 f6 33. Rb1 Nb2 34. Nc5 Kf7 35. Nb3 Nxd3 36. Nxd4 e5 37. Rb7+ Kg6 38. Ne6 Kf5 39. Nxg7+ Ke4 40. Nxh5 Kf3 41. Rb3 e4 42. Nxf6 Ra1+ 43. Kh2 Rf1 44. Ng4 Ke2 45. c5 Rc1 46. h4 Rxc5 47. Kg2 Ne1+ 48. Kh3 Nd3 49. Kg2 Ne1+ 50. Kh2 Nd3 51. Ra3 Kf3 52. Kh3 Rb5 53. Ra2 Nb2 54. Ne5+ Kxf2 55. Nc4 e3 56. Rxb2+ e2 57. Ra2 Rb3 58. Kh2 Rc3 59. Ne5 Kf1 60. Ra1+ e1=Q 61. Rxe1+ Kxe1 62. Kg2 Ke2 63. h5 Ke3 64. h6 Rc7 65. Ng4+ Kd4 66. Kh3 Ke4 67. Nf6+ {Shall the King advance or retreat? With a knight still on the board careful calculation is often needed:} Kf3 $2 {Now the pawns will decide the day.} ({After} 67... Kf5 $1 {Black has everything under control, e.g.} 68. h7 Rc1 (68... Rc8 $2 69. Ng8 Rc1 70. Nh6+ Kg6 71. h8=Q $18) 69. Kg2 (69. g4+ Kg6 70. Kg2 Rc8 71. g5 Rh8 $11) 69... Rc2+ 70. Kf3 Rh2 71. Nh5 Rxh5 72. g4+ Kg6 73. gxh5+ Kxh7 $11) 68. h7 Rc8 (68... Rc1 {is met by} 69. Ng4 $1 ({However, not} 69. Kh4 $2 Rh1+ 70. Kg5 Rxh7 71. Nxh7 Kxg3 $11) 69... Rc8 ( 69... Rh1+ 70. Nh2+ $18) 70. Ne5+ Ke4 71. Ng6 Rc1 72. h8=Q Rh1+ 73. Kg4 Rxh8 74. Nxh8 $18) 69. Kh4 Rh8 (69... Rc1 70. Kg5 Rh1 71. Nh5 $18) 70. g4 $1 Kf4 71. g5 Kf5 72. Kh5 Ke5 (72... Ra8 73. Ng8 Ra1 74. Nh6+ Kf4 75. h8=Q $18) 73. Kg6 Kf4 74. Kg7 (74. Kg7 Rxh7+ (74... Kxg5 75. Ne4+ Kf5 76. Kxh8 $18) 75. Nxh7 $18) 1-0