[Event "Corus A"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"]
[Date "2008.01.14"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Radjabov, T."]
[Black "Van Wely, L."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D43"]
[WhiteElo "2735"]
[BlackElo "2681"]
[Annotator "Mihail Marin"]
[PlyCount "170"]
[EventDate "2008.01.12"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 e6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 dxc4 7. e4 g5 8. Bg3 b5
9. Be2 Bb7 10. O-O Nbd7 11. Ne5 Bg7 12. Nxd7 Nxd7 13. Bd6 a6 14. Bh5 Bf8 15.
Bxf8 Rxf8 16. d5 cxd5 17. exd5 Nf6 18. dxe6 Qxd1 19. Bxf7+ Ke7 20. Raxd1 Rfd8
21. Ne2 Be4 22. f4 b4 23. fxg5 hxg5 24. Ng3 Rxd1 25. Rxd1 Bh7 26. Nh5 c3 27.
Nxf6 Kxf6 28. bxc3 bxc3 29. Rc1 c2 30. Kf2 Rd8 31. Ke2 Rd4 32. h3 Be4 33. Bh5
Kxe6 34. g3 Ke5 35. h4 gxh4 36. gxh4 {#Black has been pressing for a long time,
but now he allows his opponent an unexpected transposition to a theoretical
endgame.} Rd5 $2 ({
Garry Kasparov pointed out that van Wely missed an "elementary" win with} 36...
Bf5 {. John Nunn, who had all the necessary tablebases installed, confirmed
that it was "elementary".}) 37. Bf3 $1 Rd1 38. Bxe4 Rxc1 39. Kd2 Rg1 40. Bxc2
Kd4 41. Bd3 a5 42. a4 Rh1 43. Bb5 Rh2+ 44. Kd1 Ke3 45. Kc1 Rxh4 {#This is an
important theoretical position. The evaluation and the recommended methods of
play have varied along the decades. Of course, things have been settled from
theoretic point of view after the creation of the 6 men tablebases, but in
many cases one does understand very little about the endgame by learning that
a cople of moves draw, while all the others lose in 38 moves or less.  In the
subsequent analysis, I have mainly relied on the lines provided by Averbakh in
his 5-tomes endgame manual (the best ever published, in my humble opinion). It
is remarkable that his analysis does not contain "real" mistakes. Although the
tablebases sometimes recommend lines that win with... 1 or 2 moves earlier (36
instead of 38, for example), I have stuck to the human lines, because they are
easier to explain as a part of the same general plan. (In fact, there is a lot
to be explained, because Averbakh's lines have huge instructive value, but
only if you draw the rules yourself, because the verbal explanations are
rather restrained.) Computer lines sometimes rely on casual tactics, which are
nice, but are more difficult to remember if you get this endgame in an
over-the-board game.  Among other things, chess is supposed to be an exciting,
educative and entertaining game, or, to put it briefly, just fun. By watching
the "cold" recommendations of the tablebases, one risks getting a feeling of
false strength, similar to that of driving a BMW at 200 kms per hour, which
has nothing to do with one's physical condition. It tends to generate
exaggerated criticism of top GMs, who sometimes overlook "such an obvious win".
The notion of "fun" is basically related with the pure human effort in
difficult and complex situations; the current position is complex enough, as
we shall convince ourselves soon.   Here is a small episode that illustrates
quite well what I mean. When this endgame was reached, none other than Garry
Kasparov became enthusistiacally involved in the evaluation of the position,
mentioning the crucial game Salwe-Rubinstein (see below) and also two of his
own games (against Pinter and Jussupow, both played in 1993; more about these
games later). The great champion tried to remember how or if at all it could
be won, what were the best chances, etc. rather than simply connecting to the
tablebases. A human effort from a great player who loves chess passionately...
Let us return to our analysis now. To start with, the diagrammed position is
drawn.  Black's only winning chance consists of sacrificing the exchange for
the a4-pawn, but he cannot achieve this under favourable circumstances. Things
would be different if the pair of pawns would be placed on any other file, but
it is known that rook pawns offer additional saving chances in pawn endings. 
However, in order to reach the desired result, White has to avoid 3 (!) main
situations. 1) His king has to avoid being pushed onto the b-file or further.
2) His king has to avoid being pushed onto the 5th rank or further. 3) His
king has to avoid being trapped in the immediate neighbourhood of the pawn!
The first two points are easy to explain. In case of an exchange sacrifice,
the king has to be in time to reach the b1-square. However, the latter aspect
is far from obvious and, for many decades, remained unnoticed by theoreticians.
Let us move on now and take contact with the mentioned situations as they
arise in some of the sidelines and with the methods of achieving (or, on the
contrary, avoiding) certain situations.} 46. Kc2 Rh7 47. Ba6 Rc7+ {#} 48. Kd1
$1 ({The only good move!} 48. Kb2 $2 {would lead to the situation
corresponding to point 3), which was met (with reversed wings) in a famous
game Salwe-Rubinstein, Prague 1908, quoted in most ending books. Rubinstein
managed to win the game, but only by a... mistaken method! He chased the king
away from the dangerous zone and eventually succeeded in pushing it until the
5th rank, after which the win was relatively easy. In 1954, Baranov discovered
that Black can avoid being pushed too far and that the logical result would
have been a draw. His conclusions are valid up to this moment, but only for
the case when the defending king escapes the zone surrounding the pawns. Later,
the renown endgame expert Maizelis (who was one of Averbakh's collaborators
for the first edition of his books, published in the late '50s), discovered
the dangers facing the king in the neighbourhood of the pawns. Lysytzin's
famous endgame manual, first published in 1956, only mentions Baranov's
conclusions, without showing how Rubinstein could have won... without the help
of his opponent. Anyway, after} Kd2 49. Kb3 Rc6 50. Bb5 Rc3+ 51. Kb2 {
we reach a position from Maizelis' analysis.#Black's pieces are not optimally
placed yet. In order to win, he has to carry out a major regrouping. His king
should reach b4, in order to restrict the bishop's mobility, but the enemy
king should not be allowed to escape from the dangerous zone at the sametime!}
Rh3 52. Bd7 Rh4 53. Be8 Rb4+ 54. Ka3 Kc3 {
Black has strengthened his domination, but the b4-square is not available yet.}
55. Bf7 Rb1 {#} 56. Ba2 $5 ({White stubbornly keeps his king on a3, keeping b4
defended, but his bishop will not be able to return to the b5-e8 diagonal
under favourable circumstances. The voluntary retreat} 56. Ka2 {
leads to a crucial position after} Rc1 57. Be8 Kb4 58. Kb2 Rc5 {#Black has
leted his regrouping and White will get in successive zugzwang positions. It
is typical for such endings that the rook restricts both enemy pieces at the
same time. The next step is to push the enemy king on the back rank.} 59. Bb5
Rc8 {Apart from king retreats, which is precisely what Black aims to provoke,
White has only one move:} 60. Bd7 {, but this places the bishop on a
vulnerable square, allowing the rook to switch to lateral attacks, without
letting the king escape from the corner! This will be an important element in
several phases of the line actually played in the game Radjabov-Van Wely.} Rd8
$1 61. Bb5 Rd2+ 62. Kc1 Kc3 {Black has made further progress and now the same
method as on the previous step ensures him the win.} 63. Kb1 Kb3 64. Kc1 Rd8 {
#White is in zugzwang again. The only move that maintains the pawn defended
and avoids mate in oneis} 65. Bc6 {but this loses the bishop to} Rc8) {
Let us go back to the position after 56.Ba2.} 56... Rc1 ({Avoiding the trap} 
56... Ra1 $4 {with complete domination and... draw by stalemate!}) 57. Bb3 Ra1+
58. Ba2 Kd4 {The king retreats in order to enable lateral attacks of the rook.
With the a4-pawn vulnerable now, White cannot save the game.} 59. Kb2 Re1 60.
Bf7 ({A desperate attempt to return with the bishop on the b5-e8 diagonal.} 60.
Bb1 {leaves the c4-square undefended, allowing a relatively easy win after} Kc4
61. Bf5 Kb4 62. Bd7 Rd1 63. Bb5 Rd2+ {
and so on, like in the variation starting with 56.Ka2 above.}) (60. Bb3 {
keeps the c4-square defended, but deprives the own king of the b3-square and
places the bishop on a vulnerable square.} Kc5 $1 61. Kc3 Re3+ $1 {With the bis
hop on a favourable square, the white king could escape now to the right wing,
but here this is impossible.} 62. Kb2 Kb4 63. Bd1 Rg3 64. Bc2 Rg2 65. Kc1 Kc3 {
and it is all over.}) 60... Re7 61. Bh5 ({Or} 61. Bg8 Kc5 62. Kc3 Re3+ 63. Kb2
Kb4 {with a familiar position.}) 61... Kc4 62. Bf3 Kb4 63. Bc6 {#Finally, the
bishop has returned on the "good" diagonal, but Black has carried out his
essential regrouping in the meanwhile.} Rc7 64. Be8 Rc5 65. Bb5 Rc8 {and we hav
e reached a familiar zugzwang position.  I will return now to the
aforementioned games of Kasparov. In both cases, the situation was slightly
different: the defending part had an advantage of space (here, this would mean
that pawns are on a5 and a6). If the king is free, the attacker has to push it
one file further than in our current game, namely untill the opposite edge of
the board. In Kasparov's game against Pinter, the Hungarian GM managed to
avoid this and achieved a draw. Of more interest is the Jussupov-game. Just
like in the lines above, the king was trapped in the surroundings of the pawns.
Apparently, this should be less dangerous, because the king has more space
available, but on the other hand the bishop's "good" diagonal is shorter!
Curiously, the evaluation remains the same: the side with a rook should win by
successive zugzwang positions. For a while, Kasparov conducted his attack in
the best way, but then let the enemy king escape, with inevitable draw...})
48... Rc6 49. Bb5 Rc3 50. Ba6 Ra3 51. Bb5 Ra2 {#} 52. Kc1 $1 ({We can notice
an important element. Being a long-ranged piece, the bishop, too, can act on
both wings. Here, the control of the d3-square is as important as the defence
of the pawn. For instance, the careless} 52. Bc6 $2 {would lose to} Rd2+ $1 53.
Kc1 (53. Ke1 {allows} Rc2 {with a double (and deadly) threat.}) 53... Kd3 {
followed by ...Kc3.}) ({However,} 52. Be8 {is playable, too. After} Rd2+ 53.
Ke1 $1 {the bishop is safe on e8, because the interposition of the black king
on the e-file prevents the double attack ...Re2+.}) 52... Kd4 53. Kd1 Kc3 54.
Ke1 Rd2 55. Ba6 Rd4 56. Bb5 Kc2 {#Finally, Black switches plans. He will try
to push the enemy king as far as possible.} 57. Ke2 Re4+ 58. Kf3 Re7 59. Kf2
Kc3 60. Kf3 Kd4 61. Ba6 Re3+ {#} 62. Kf2 $1 ({One important defensive method
is the diagonal opposition. In case of the careless} 62. Kf4 $2 {
Black achieves the situation from point 1) with} Re6 63. Bb5 Rf6+ 64. Kg3 {when
} Kc3 {followed by the exchange sacrifice on a4 ensures an elementary win.})
62... Ke4 63. Bb5 Kf4 64. Ba6 Re4 65. Bb5 Re6 66. Bc4 Re4 67. Bb5 Rd4 68. Ke2
Rd6 69. Bd3 Rh6 70. Bb5 Ke4 71. Bd3+ Kd4 72. Bb5 Rh2+ 73. Kf3 Ra2 74. Bd7 Ra3+
75. Kf2 Kd3 76. Kf3 Kd2+ {#} 77. Kf4 $1 ({The king has to approach the
dangerous 5th rank in order to maintain the diagonal opposition.} 77. Kf2 $2 {
loses to} Rd3 78. Bb5 Re3 {with zugzwang. If the bishop moves, it will be
attacked by the rook, followed by a check on the c-file, while} 79. Kf1 Rf3+ {
immediately drives the king into the forbidden zone.}) 77... Re3 {#} 78. Bb5 $1
({
Again, the control of the d3-square is essential. After a careless move such as
} 78. Bc6 $2 {Black establishes a frontal opposition with} Kd3 79. Bb5+ Kd4 {
, forcing the king to go upper than he would have wished.} 80. Kf5 (80. Bd7 {
is met by the familiar manoeuvre} Re7 81. Bb5 Rf7+) 80... Re4 81. Bc6 Re5+ $1
82. Kf6 ({Or} 82. Kf4 Re6 $1) 82... Re3 83. Kf5 {
and now Black starts his decisive attack on the opposite wing with} Kc5 84. Bb5
Kb4 85. Kf4 Ra3 86. Ke4 Rxa4 87. Bxa4 Kxa4 88. Kd3 Kb3 {winning.}) 78... Re7
79. Kf3 Kc3 80. Ba6 Kd4 81. Bb5 Re6 {#} 82. Kf2 $1 ({
Radjabov deals correctly with the last dangerous moment for White in this game.
} 82. Bd7 $2 {loses to} Re3+ 83. Kf2 Kd3 {and so on.}) 82... Re5 83. Kf3 Kc5
84. Kf2 Kb6 85. Bd3 Kc5 {and, having convinced himself that Radjabov knows
"everything" about this endgame, Van Wely resigned himself to the inevitable.}
1/2-1/2

[Event "Prague"]
[Site "Prague"]
[Date "1908.05.18"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Salwe, Georg"]
[Black "Rubinstein, Akiba"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C49"]
[PlyCount "198"]
[EventDate "1908.05.18"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "21"]
[EventCountry "CZE"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Bb4 5. O-O O-O 6. d3 d6 7. Bg5 Ne7 8. Ne2
Ng6 9. Ng3 h6 10. Be3 c6 11. Ba4 d5 12. c3 Bd6 13. Bc2 Re8 14. Re1 Be6 15. d4
dxe4 16. Bxe4 exd4 17. Bxd4 Nxe4 18. Nxe4 Bf8 19. b4 b6 20. a3 Qc7 21. Nfd2 f5
22. Ng3 c5 23. Qf3 Qf7 24. Rxe6 Qxe6 25. Be3 Nh4 26. Qh5 Qf6 27. Rc1 Rad8 28.
Nf3 Nxf3+ 29. Qxf3 g6 30. Ne2 Qf7 31. h4 Kh7 32. g3 Bd6 33. Kg2 Qe6 34. Rd1 Qe4
35. Qxe4 fxe4 36. Rb1 Re7 37. a4 cxb4 38. cxb4 Rc8 39. a5 bxa5 40. bxa5 Bc5 41.
Bf4 Rd8 42. Rb5 Bd4 43. Nxd4 Rxd4 44. Be3 Ra4 45. Rd5 Kg7 46. g4 Rc4 47. Bd4+
Kf7 48. Be3 Ke6 49. Rb5 Rh7 50. a6 Ra4 51. Rb7 Rxb7 52. axb7 Rb4 53. Bxa7 Rxb7
54. Be3 h5 55. Kg3 Rf7 56. Bf4 Rf8 57. f3 Kd5 58. gxh5 gxh5 59. fxe4+ Kxe4 60.
Bg5 Rf7 61. Bh6 Rf3+ 62. Kg2 Rd3 63. Bg5 Kf5 64. Kf2 Kg4 65. Ke2 Rf3 66. Bh6
Kg3 67. Bg5 Rf8 68. Ke3 Re8+ 69. Kd3 Kf3 70. Kd4 Re6 71. Kd5 Re4 72. Bf6 Kf4
73. Bd8 Kf5 74. Bg5 Rg4 75. Be7 Rg7 76. Bf8 Rd7+ 77. Kc6 Rd4 78. Be7 Ke6 79.
Kc5 Rd5+ 80. Kc4 Rf5 81. Bd8 Kd7 82. Bb6 Rf4+ 83. Kd3 Rxh4 84. Ke2 Ke6 85. Kf3
Rg4 86. Bf2 Kf5 87. Bg3 h4 88. Bh2 Rb4 89. Kg2 Kg4 90. Be5 Ra4 91. Bd6 Ra2+ 92.
Kh1 Kh3 93. Bc5 Ra1+ 94. Bg1 Kg4 95. Kh2 Ra2+ 96. Kh1 Kg3 97. Bc5 Rh2+ 98. Kg1
Rd2 99. Kh1 h3 0-1

[Event "FRA-chT"]
[Site "Auxerre"]
[Date "1993.??.??"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Pinter, Jozsef"]
[Black "Kasparov, Garry"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A65"]
[WhiteElo "2580"]
[BlackElo "2805"]
[PlyCount "227"]
[EventDate "1993.??.??"]
[EventType "team"]
[EventRounds "12"]
[EventCountry "FRA"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1994.03.01"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Bd3 O-O 6. Nge2 c5 7. d5 e6 8. O-O
exd5 9. cxd5 Re8 10. h3 Nbd7 11. Ng3 a6 12. a4 Rb8 13. a5 h5 14. Bg5 b5 15.
axb6 Qxb6 16. Ra2 Ne5 17. Be2 Nh7 18. Be3 h4 19. Nh1 g5 20. Qd2 Qd8 21. Qc2 Nf8
22. Qc1 Bf6 23. f3 Nfg6 24. Nf2 Rb6 25. Rd1 Nf4 26. Bf1 Nh5 27. Qc2 Ng3 28. b3
Re7 29. Nb1 Ng6 30. Nd2 Nf4 31. Nc4 Rb4 32. Nd3 Ng6 33. Ra3 Rc7 34. Qd2 Rb8 35.
e5 dxe5 36. d6 Rc6 37. Nxc5 Bf5 38. Qd5 Rxc5 39. Qxc5 e4 40. fxe4 Bxe4 41. Qc7
Nf4 42. Qxd8+ Bxd8 43. Bxf4 gxf4 44. Bd3 Bb7 45. Re1 Bf6 46. d7 Bc6 47. Re8+
Rxe8 48. dxe8=Q+ Bxe8 49. Rxa6 Bd4+ 50. Kh2 Bb5 51. Rd6 Bf2 52. Rd8+ Kg7 53. b4
f5 54. Rb8 Ba4 55. Nd2 Kf6 56. Ra8 Bd7 57. b5 Ke7 58. Ra6 Be6 59. Ra4 Bd5 60.
Ra1 Be4 61. Bf1 Kd6 62. Nf3 Kc5 63. Rc1+ Kb6 64. Bc4 Kc5 65. Bf1+ Kb6 66. Ne5
Bd4 67. Nd7+ Ka5 68. Rd1 Nxf1+ 69. Rxf1 Kxb5 70. Nf8 Kc4 71. Ng6 Bf6 72. Rxf4
Bg5 73. Rf1 Kd3 74. g3 Ke2 75. Ra1 f4 76. Ra2+ Ke3 77. Ra3+ Kf2 78. gxf4 Bh6
79. Ra2+ Kf1 80. Ra1+ Kf2 81. Rg1 Bxg6 82. Rxg6 Bxf4+ 83. Kh1 Bg3 84. Rg4 Kf1
85. Rg5 Kf2 86. Rf5+ Ke3 87. Kg2 Ke4 88. Rf7 Kd5 89. Re7 Kd6 90. Re2 Kd5 91.
Kf3 Kd6 92. Kg4 Kd7 93. Kf5 Kd6 94. Re8 Kd7 95. Re6 Kc7 96. Ke4 Kd7 97. Kd5 Kc7
98. Re7+ Kb6 99. Rf7 Bh2 100. Rf2 Bg3 101. Rc2 Kb7 102. Rc6 Bf4 103. Kc5 Bg3
104. Kd5 Bf4 105. Rc2 Bg3 106. Ke6 Kb6 107. Kd7 Kb5 108. Rc6 Bh2 109. Rc2 Bg3
110. Ke6 Kb6 111. Kf5 Kb5 112. Ke4 Kb6 113. Kf3 Kb5 114. Kg4 1/2-1/2

[Event "Linares 11th"]
[Site "Linares"]
[Date "1993.??.??"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Kasparov, Garry"]
[Black "Jussupow, Artur"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D35"]
[WhiteElo "2805"]
[BlackElo "2645"]
[PlyCount "236"]
[EventDate "1993.02.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[EventCategory "18"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2004.01.01"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Be7 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bf4 Nf6 6. e3 Bf5 7. Nge2 O-O 8.
Ng3 Be6 9. Bd3 c5 10. dxc5 Bxc5 11. O-O Nc6 12. Rc1 Bd6 13. Nh5 Be7 14. Nb5
Nxh5 15. Qxh5 g6 16. Qf3 Rc8 17. Rfd1 Qd7 18. h3 Rfd8 19. Qg3 Nb4 20. Nc3 Nxd3
21. Rxd3 Bf5 22. Rd2 Qe6 23. Rcd1 h5 24. h4 Rc5 25. f3 Qc6 26. e4 Rxc3 27. bxc3
Qb6+ 28. Kh2 dxe4 29. Rxd8+ Bxd8 30. Be3 Qa5 31. Qb8 Qc7+ 32. Qxc7 Bxc7+ 33.
Kg1 exf3 34. gxf3 b6 35. Kf2 Kf8 36. Rd4 Ke7 37. Bf4 Bxf4 38. Rxf4 Kd6 39. Ke3
Kc5 40. Rd4 Be6 41. a3 a5 42. Ke4 b5 43. Ke5 a4 44. f4 Kc6 45. Kf6 Kc5 46. Rb4
Bc4 47. Ke7 Be6 48. Re4 Kd5 49. Rd4+ Kc6 50. Kd8 Bf5 51. Ke8 Be6 52. Kf8 Kc5
53. Kg7 Kc6 54. Kg8 Kc5 55. Kf8 Kc6 56. Kg7 Kc5 57. Kh8 Kc6 58. Kh7 Kc5 59. Kh6
Bf5 60. Kg5 Be6 61. Kf6 Kc6 62. f5 Bxf5 63. Kxf7 Kc5 64. Kf6 Bc2 65. Ke7 Bf5
66. Kd8 Kc6 67. Rf4 Kd6 68. Rb4 Kc5 69. Kc7 Bd3 70. Rd4 Be2 71. Kb7 Bf1 72. Ka7
Be2 73. Re4 Bd3 74. Rb4 Bc4 75. Ka6 Kd5 76. Ka5 Ke5 77. Rb1 g5 78. hxg5 Kf5 79.
Rg1 Kg6 80. Kb4 h4 81. Kc5 h3 82. Kd4 Be6 83. Ke5 Bd7 84. Kf4 Bc6 85. Kg3 Kxg5
86. Rd1 h2 87. Kxh2 Kf4 88. c4 bxc4 89. Rd4+ Ke5 90. Rxc4 Kd5 91. Rb4 Kc5 92.
Kg3 Bb5 93. Kf4 Kb6 94. Ke3 Ka5 95. Kd4 Be2 96. Rb1 Bh5 97. Re1 Bf7 98. Kc5 Bb3
99. Re8 Ka6 100. Kc6 Ka7 101. Kb5 Kb7 102. Re7+ Kc8 103. Kc6 Kd8 104. Rd7+ Ke8
105. Kc7 Bc2 106. Rd2 Bb3 107. Re2+ Kf7 108. Kd6 Bc4 109. Re7+ Kf8 110. Re4 Bb3
111. Kd7 Kf7 112. Rf4+ Kg6 113. Kd6 Kg5 114. Ke5 Kg6 115. Rf3 Kg7 116. Rf6 Bc4
117. Kf5 Bb3 118. Kg5 Bc2 1/2-1/2

