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CBM Blog: One diagonal, and to exchange or not to exchange?

by ChessBase

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5/28/2011 – Pure opposite colored bishop endings have a very large drawish tendency. If the defender is dug in on squares of his own bishop his fortress usually cannot be stormed. In his second example our resident GM endgame expert has a serious admonition: before trading down into a pawn ending you should calculate it to the end. Useful lessons for tournament success.

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The principle of one diagonal

Pure opposite colored bishop endings have a very large drawish tendency. If the defender is dug in on squares of his own bishop his fortress usually cannot be stormed. But no rule without exceptions: why did Negi resign without waiting for Black's answer?

Note that in the replay windows below you can click on the notation to follow the game.

To exchange or not to exchange, that's the question

Before trading down into a pawn ending, you should calculate it to the end:

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