Can you win this ending?

by Efstratios Grivas
6/3/2025 – Recently GM and international trainer Eftratios Grivas reminded us that the knight is a piece that cannot win/lose a tempo. In this series GM of studies he demonstrated the principles involved in using this fact to win, or to defend a dangerous position. Were you able to follow everything? Today you can find out if you really understand this endgame. Test your skills.
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First of all here are the solutions to the two studies in the previous article:

  • Horwitz 1885: 1.Nc3 Ba8 2.Na4 Bg2 3.Nc5 Ba8! The saving resource! 4.Nb7+ (4.Kxa8 Kc7!=) 4...Kd7 5.Kxa8 Kc8! ½-½
  • Guerbaus 1920: 1.Bf3 Nf4 2.Bh1! Ng2+ 3.Ke2 Nh4 4.Ke1 Nf5 (4...Kxh1 5.Kf2!=) 5.Ba8 Nh4 6.Bh1! ½-½

Here are some new studies to test your skills.

The diagram will defend, so you must find the correct moves. At the bottom of the page you will find all the solutions, didactically annotated and will full engine support. There you can really study this ending.

  • Prokop: This is a brilliant old study. You must show how White can prevail.
  • De Feijter: Once again it is not easy to find how White can prevail.
  • De Feijter: There is something wrong in the composer's analysis! This is not uncommon for old studies that haven’t been checked with our modern tools. Use the replayer at the bottom of the page to work everything out – the built-in engine will help.
  • Chekhover: Vitaly Chekhover an important 'discovery' – how to get to a favourable position here. But it was found by B. Horwitz many years earlier. There were no endgame databases in those times, so the eminent composer repeated the old finding!

And here for you to go through or download the above studies we present them in the replayer, where you can also start an engine to enhance your analysis.

XXX

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Efstratios (30.03.1966) is a highly experienced chess trainer and chess author. He has been awarded by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) the titles of International Chess Grandmaster, FIDE Senior Trainer, International Chess Arbiter and International Chess Organiser.
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