Karjakin's King
Rook endgames often require exact calculation:
![](/portals/all/_for_legal_reasons.jpg)
[Event "65th ch-RUS"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2012.08.10"] [Round "7"] [White
"Karjakin, Sergey"] [Black "Alekseev, Evgeny"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E32"] [WhiteElo
"2785"] [BlackElo "2673"] [Annotator "Müller,Karsten"] [PlyCount "142"] [EventDate
"2012.08.03"] [Source "Chess Today"] [SourceDate "2012.08.10"] 1. d4 Nf6 2.
c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 d6 7. Nf3 Re8 8. g3 Qe7 9. b4
e5 10. dxe5 dxe5 11. Bb2 Nc6 12. Bg2 Nd4 13. Nxd4 exd4 14. Qd2 Bg4 15. f3 Be6
16. Bxd4 Bxc4 17. e4 Nd7 18. Qc3 b5 19. Bxg7 f5 20. Bh6 fxe4 21. O-O-O a5 22.
bxa5 Nc5 23. Bf1 Nb3+ 24. Kb1 Nxa5 25. Bc1 Qe5 26. Qxe5 Rxe5 27. fxe4 Bxf1 28.
Rhxf1 Nc4 29. Rd7 Rxe4 30. Rff7 Nxa3+ 31. Bxa3 Rxa3 32. Rg7+ Kh8 33. Rxh7+ Kg8
34. Rdg7+ Kf8 35. Rxc7 Rb4+ 36. Kc2 Rc4+ 37. Kb2 Rxc7 38. Rxc7 b4 39. Kb1 Rb3+
40. Kc1 Ra3 {Karjakin's King Rook endgames often require exact calculation:}
41. Rc2 $1 {White can win despite the reduced winning potential by subtle manovers.}
Kg7 (41... Re3 42. Rb2 Re4 43. Kd2 Rg4 44. Kd3 Kf7 45. Rc2 Rg8 (45... Kf6 46.
Rc4 $18) 46. Kc4 Rc8+ 47. Kb3 Rb8 48. Rc4 Rh8 49. h4 Rg8 50. Rf4+ Ke6 51. g4
Rh8 52. g5 Ke5 53. Rxb4 Kf5 54. Kc3 Kg6 55. Rf4 Kh5 {In this case White can
break through despite Black's blockading king, e.g.} 56. Kd4 Ra8 57. Ke5 Re8+
58. Kd6 Re1 59. Rf8 Kxh4 60. g6 Rg1 61. Rh8+ $18) (41... Ra1+ 42. Kb2 Ra3 43.
Kb1 $18) ({Running to the queenside with} 41... Ke7 {is met by} 42. Rb2 Rc3+
43. Kb1 Rc4 44. Ka2 Kd6 45. Kb3 Re4 (45... Kc5 46. Rc2 $18) 46. Rf2 Kc5 47.
Rf5+ Kc6 48. Rf4 Re2 49. Rh4 Kc5 50. Rh5+ $18) 42. Rb2 Rf3 (42... Rc3+ 43. Kb1
Rc4 44. Ka2 Kg6 45. Kb3 Re4 46. Ka4 $18) 43. Kb1 b3 (43... Rf1+ 44. Ka2 Rh1
45. Kb3 Kg6 46. Kxb4 Kg5 47. Rf2 Kg4 48. Rf4+ Kh3 49. Rh4+ $18) 44. Re2 Kg6
45. Kb2 Kg5 46. Ka3 $1 {Karjakin's king really performs miracles!} Kg4 (46...
Rd3 47. Rb2 Kg4 48. Rxb3 Rd8 49. Rb4+ Kf3 50. Rh4 $18) 47. Re4+ $1 (47. Rb2
$2 Kh3 48. Rxb3 Rf8 49. Rb2 Rc8 $11) 47... Kf5 (47... Kh3 48. Rh4+ Kg2 49. Kb2
Rd3 50. g4 Re3 51. g5 Re5 (51... Re7 52. Kxb3 Rg7 53. Rh5 Kf3 54. h4 Kg4 55.
Rh6 $18) 52. g6 Rg5 53. h3 Rxg6 54. Rg4+ Rxg4 55. hxg4 $18) 48. Rb4 Rf2 (48...
b2+ {is met by} 49. Ka2 Rf2 50. Rxb2 $18) 49. h4 Rg2 50. Rb5+ $1 {A very important
zwischenschach as} (50. Rxb3 $2 {allows Black's king to blockade the pawns with
} Kg4 $1 $11) 50... Ke4 51. Rxb3 Rc2 (51... Rg1 52. Rb4+ Kf5 53. Rb5+ Kf6 54.
Rg5 $18) (51... Kf5 {must be met by} 52. Rb5+ $1 $18 {to protect the pawns from
g5.}) 52. Rb4+ Ke5 53. Kb3 Rf2 54. Rb5+ Kf6 55. Kc4 Rg2 56. Rg5 Rd2 57. Rg8
Kf7 58. Rg4 Kf6 59. h5 Rh2 60. Rg6+ Kf7 61. g4 Rd2 62. Rg5 Rd1 63. Rd5 Rg1 64.
Rf5+ Kg7 65. Rg5+ Kh6 66. Rg6+ Kh7 67. Kd5 Re1 68. g5 Ra1 (68... Rg1 69. Ke6
Ra1 70. Rf6 Ra6+ 71. Kf5 Ra5+ 72. Kg4 Ra4+ 73. Rf4 Ra7 74. Rd4 Rb7 75. h6 $18)
69. Rc6 Rg1 (69... Ra5+ 70. Rc5 $18) 70. Rc7+ Kg8 71. g6 Rg5+ ({After} 71...
Rg5+ 72. Ke6 Rxh5 73. Kf6 $18 {Karjakin's king closes the mating net.}) 1-0
Karjakin's King II
Rook endings have a large drawish tendency, but in pawn endgames a small advantage
can already be decisive:
![](/portals/all/_for_legal_reasons.jpg)
[Event "65th ch-RUS Tiebreak"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2012.08.13"] [Round
"1"] [White "Karjakin, Sergey"] [Black "Potkin, Vladimir"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO
"C11"] [WhiteElo "2779"] [BlackElo "2646"] [Annotator "Müller,Karsten"] [PlyCount
"79"] [EventDate "2012.08.13"] [EventType "tourn (rapid)"] [EventRounds "5"]
[EventCountry "RUS"] [EventCategory "19"] [Source "Chess Today"] [SourceDate
"2012.08.13"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7.
Be3 a6 8. Qd2 b5 9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. Bd3 Qb6 11. Bf2 b4 12. Na4 Bxf2+ 13. Qxf2
Qxf2+ 14. Kxf2 Ke7 15. Rac1 Bb7 16. Rhe1 Rhc8 17. h4 h6 18. g4 a5 19. g5 hxg5
20. hxg5 g6 21. Rh1 Ba6 22. Ke3 Nd8 23. Nd4 Nc6 24. Nb5 Bxb5 25. Bxb5 Rab8 26.
Be2 Nb6 27. Nxb6 Rxb6 28. Bd3 Rg8 29. Rh7 Kf8 30. c4 bxc3 31. bxc3 Ne7 32. Rb1
Rxb1 33. Bxb1 Nf5+ 34. Bxf5 exf5 {Karjakin's King Rook endings have a large
drawish tendency, but in pawn endgames a small advantage can already be decisive:}
35. e6 $3 {Karjakin opens the gate.} (35. Kd4 $2 Ke7 $1 {gives Black good drawing
chances, e.g.} 36. Kxd5 (36. Rh1 Rc8 37. Rb1 Rc4+ 38. Kxd5 Rxf4 39. Rb7+ Kf8
40. e6 fxe6+ 41. Ke5 Re4+ 42. Kf6 Ke8 43. Kxg6 f4 44. Rf7 Ra4 45. Kg7 Rxa2 46.
Rxf4 a4 47. g6 a3 48. Kf6 Kf8 49. Ra4 Rf2+ 50. Kxe6 a2 $11) 36... Rd8+ 37. Kc4
Rc8+ 38. Kd3 Rd8+ 39. Kc2 Rc8 40. Kb3 (40. Rh3 Rc4 41. Rf3 Ke6 42. Kb3 Kd5 43.
a4 Rc6 44. Re3 Rb6+ 45. Kc2 Kc4 $11) 40... Ke6 41. a3 (41. c4 Rb8+ 42. Kc3 Rb1
43. Rh8 Rf1 $11) (41. a4 Rc7 42. c4 Rb7+ 43. Kc3 Rb4 $11) 41... a4+ 42. Kb4
Kd5 43. Kxa4 Rxc3 44. Rxf7 Rc4+ 45. Kb5 Rxf4 46. a4 Rf2 47. a5 Rb2+ 48. Ka4
Ra2+ 49. Kb4 Kxe5 50. Rf6 f4 51. Rxg6 f3 52. Rf6 f2 53. Rf8 Rd2 54. g6 Rd4+
55. Kc5 Rf4 56. Rxf4 Kxf4 57. g7 f1=Q 58. g8=Q Qf2+ $11) 35... fxe6 (35... Rg7
36. Rxg7 Kxg7 37. e7 $18) (35... Ke7 {is met by} 36. exf7 Rf8 37. Kd4 Ke6 (37...
Rxf7 38. Rxf7+ Kxf7 39. Kxd5 $18) 38. Rg7 Rc8 39. f8=Q Rxf8 40. Rxg6+ Ke7 41.
Kxd5 $18 {and with two extra pawns the rook ending is winning.}) 36. Kd4 Rg7
(36... Ke8 37. Ke5 Rf8 38. Ra7 a4 39. Ra8+ Ke7 40. Rxf8 Kxf8 41. Kxe6 $18) 37.
Rxg7 Kxg7 38. Ke5 Kf7 39. Kd6 a4 40. a3 {Decisive zugzwang.} (40. a3 e5 41.
Kxe5 Ke7 42. Kxd5 Kd7 43. Kc5 Ke6 44. c4 Kd7 45. Kb5 Kd6 46. Kb6 Kd7 47. c5
Kc8 48. Kc6 Kb8 49. Kd7 $18) 1-0
Svidler's Surprise
In endings with opposite colored bishops and rooks the initiative counts for a
lot:
![](/portals/all/_for_legal_reasons.jpg)
[Event "65th ch-RUS Tiebreak"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2012.08.13"] [Round
"5"] [White "Jakovenko, Dmitry"] [Black "Svidler, Peter"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO
"D97"] [WhiteElo "2736"] [BlackElo "2749"] [Annotator "Müller,Karsten"] [PlyCount
"100"] [EventDate "2012.08.13"] [EventType "tourn (rapid)"] [EventRounds "5"]
[EventCountry "RUS"] [EventCategory "19"] [Source "Chess Today"] [SourceDate
"2012.08.13"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Qb3 dxc4 6. Qxc4 O-O
7. e4 Be6 8. Qd3 c5 9. d5 Bc8 10. Be3 b6 11. h3 e6 12. dxe6 Bxe6 13. Qxd8 Rxd8
14. Ng5 Nc6 15. Nxe6 fxe6 16. Bc4 Kf7 17. O-O Ne8 18. Rad1 Nd6 19. Bd3 Nb4 20.
Bb1 Nc4 21. Bc1 a6 22. Kh2 Bd4 23. Rfe1 Ra7 24. b3 Rad7 25. Bg5 Nb2 26. Bxd8
Nxd1 27. Rxd1 Rxd8 28. f4 Ke7 29. Ne2 e5 30. f5 b5 31. Nc3 Rf8 32. Ne2 Rd8 33.
Nc3 Rd6 34. Nd5+ Nxd5 35. exd5 c4 36. fxg6 hxg6 37. Be4 Rf6 38. Rd2 g5 39. g3
Rf1 40. Re2 cxb3 41. axb3 a5 {Svidler's Surprise In endings with opposite colored
bishops and rooks the initiative counts for a lot:} 42. Ra2 $2 {This runs into
a surprisingly strong breakthrough. White is slightly worse, but can defend
in various ways, e.g.} (42. Kg2 Ra1 43. h4 gxh4 44. gxh4 a4 45. bxa4 bxa4 46.
h5 a3 47. h6 a2 48. d6+ Kxd6 49. h7 Rg1+ 50. Kh2 a1=Q 51. h8=Q Rh1+ 52. Bxh1
Qg1+ 53. Kh3 Qxh1+ 54. Rh2 $11) (42. Bd3 Rf3 (42... a4 43. bxa4 bxa4 44. Rxe5+
$11) 43. Bxb5 Rxb3 44. Bc6 {also should be tenable.}) 42... a4 $1 43. bxa4 b4
$1 44. Rc2 $6 {The following counterattack loses directly. But the alternativs
do not inspire confidence either:} (44. Re2 b3 45. Kg2 Ra1 46. Kf3 b2 47. a5
(47. Kg4 Rxa4 48. Kxg5 Ra3 49. Kh4 Ra1 50. g4 b1=Q 51. Bxb1 Rxb1 52. g5 Kd6
$19) 47... Rxa5 48. Re1 Rc5 49. Rb1 Rc3+ 50. Kg4 Re3 51. Bh1 Kd6 52. h4 gxh4
53. gxh4 Rb3 54. Be4 Be3 55. Bc2 Rb4+ 56. Kf3 Bc1 $19) (44. Bd3 Rd1 45. Bc4
Rc1 46. Bb3 Re1 47. a5 Re3 48. a6 Rxb3 49. a7 Bxa7 50. Rxa7+ Kd6 $19) (44. Kg2
b3 45. Re2 Ra1 $19) 44... Re1 $1 {Svidler breaks the blockade.} 45. Bd3 b3 46.
Rc7+ ({The defense} 46. Rc6 {is broken by} b2 47. Re6+ Kd7 48. h4 gxh4 49. gxh4
Re2+ $1 { and Black's pawn will queen:} 50. Kh1 (50. Kg3 Re3+ $19) (50. Bxe2
b1=Q $19) 50... e4 $3 51. Rxe4 (51. Bxe4 Rxe4 52. Rxe4 b1=Q+ $19) 51... Rd2
52. Rxd4 Rxd3 53. Rxd3 b1=Q+ $19) 46... Kd6 47. Rc6+ (47. Rb7 b2 48. h4 e4 49.
Bc2 Re2+ $19) 47... Kxd5 48. Rc8 b2 49. Rd8+ Kc5 50. Rb8 e4 (50... e4 51. Bc2
Re2+ $19) 0-1
![](/portals/all/_for_legal_reasons.jpg)
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