An epic endgame battle

In-depth analysis by Wolfram Schön

Armenia obtained a remarkable second place at the historic edition of the Chess Olympiad played last month in Chennai. In a crucial match, the Caucasian squad defeated India 1 by the smallest of margins. In our round-8 report, we wrote:

Team leader Gabriel Sargissian delivered when it mattered most, as he defeated Fabiano Caruana and (now) Pentala Harikrishna after picking up four draws and a loss in previous rounds. Saturday’s victory over ‘Hari’ required plenty of resilience.

Wolfram Schön sent us copious annotations of the endgame, starting from the following position with three minor pieces and five pawns per side.

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Schön thus described what would follow:

An endgame with the duel of the bishop pair vs bishop and knight in a semi-open pawn structure. For more than 70 moves, the two players battled in a truly epic struggle over every detail.

Due to the complexity and the limited time of only 30 seconds per move from the increment, some inaccuracies must of course be recorded. With the position hanging in the balance between a draw and a white win for a long time, an overlooked detail caused the pendulum to swing in both directions several times.

A game at the highest level with many interesting strategic and tactical features.

Gabriel Sargissian dealing with the nuances during this very game! | Photo: Mark Livshitz

The full analysis

 

Sargissian, Gabriel2698

1–0

Harikrishna, Pentala2720

44th Chess Olympiad Open 2022 Chennai06.08.2022[Schön,Wolfram]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4 Be4 7.f3 Bg6 8.Qb3 Qb6 9.Nxg6 hxg6 10.Bd2 Nbd7 11.0-0-0 Qxb3 12.axb3 Bb4 13.Be2 0-0-0 14.Kb1 a6 15.Be1 Bd6 16.h4 g5 17.Rh3 gxh4 18.Bxh4 Rh6 19.Rdh1 Rdh8 20.Bf1 Nf8 21.g4 Ng6 22.Bf2 Rxh3 23.Rxh3 Rxh3 24.Bxh3 Kd8 25.Kc2 c5 26.Ne2 cxd4 27.Nxd4 dxc4 28.bxc4 Ne5 29.g5 Nfd7 30.Bf1

An ending with three minor pieces and five pawns each. Some points seem to indicate a slight advantage for White. The pair of bishops, a small space advantage on the kingside (g5) and the asymmetry on the queenside (c- vs a-pawn). However, Black has no pawn weaknesses or inactive pieces, so he is at least close to equality. 30...Nc6 At first sight this looks like a major and unnecessary concession by Black, as his queenside pawns will be split and White can keep his two bishops. In fact it is the start of a deep defensive concept by Hari, which will be revealed over the next moves and which in its core elements endures almost to the end of the game. 30...a5 One of at least four options of Stockfish labeled with the infamous 0.00. The idea is to keep all the pieces on their places for flexibility, while performing a prophylaxis against b2-b4, I suppose. However, White can develop an initiative. This might be only short-termed, but feels a bit unpleasant. 31.Be1 b6 32.f4 Ng6 33.Bd3 Ne7 34.g6 Ke8! 35.gxf7+ Kxf7 36.Nf3 and Black has to deal with splitted pawns on the kingside. Of course this is still 0.00 for Stockfish. 30...Bc5 I like this the most. An attempt to create some dynamic play as Black. Two examples: 31.Be2 31.f4 Ng4 32.Bg1 e5! 33.Be2 Nxe3+ 34.Bxe3 Bxd4 35.Bxd4 exd4 36.Kd3 Nc5+ 37.Kxd4 b6= Black can get enough control over the dark squares. 31...Nc6 32.Nxc6+ bxc6= The difference to the game is the set-up of the dark-squared bishops. Here the black Bc5 ties the white Bf2 to the e3-pawn. That is why I think the position is fully equal here, in human terms. 31.Nxc6+ bxc6 32.Be1! Gabi doesn't miss the chance to give this bishop a more active role. c5 The second component in Hari's strategy, Black takes early control of b4. But this pawn placement slightly restricts his bishop at the same time. 32...f6 33.b4 c5 As an alternative Black can wait for a white b2-b4, before pushing his c-pawn. 34.b5 axb5 35.gxf6 gxf6 36.cxb5 Nb6 Although White holds a passed pawn now, which is to the liking of the bishop pair, I consider this as almost equal, as Black's set-up is very compact. 33.f4 A standard move. Controlling e5, connecting the kingside pawns to a chain e3 to g5 and opening the long diagonal for the light-squared bishop. 33.Kb3 Trying to capitalise on the isolated black a-pawn immediately is fairly harmless. f6 34.gxf6 gxf6 35.Ka4 Kc7 36.Ka5 Kb7= 33...g6 Step three: Hari intentionally fixes the pawns on the kingside. 33...e5 We will see this pawn push in many variations from here on. It is an important dynamic resource. However, if it only opens up more space for the two white bishops in the end, then it is more harmful than useful. Here it is possible, but not optimal. 34.Bd2 34.f5 f6! 35.g6 Nb6 Black is going to erect a fortress. 36.Kb3 Nc8 37.Bg2 Ne7 38.Be4 Bc7 39.Ka4 Bb6 40.Ba5 Kc7! 41.b3 Ng8= 34...exf4 35.exf4 f5! Forcing White to exchange another pawn to prevent the kingside from being totally locked. 36.gxf6 Nxf6 37.Be2 g6 38.Kd3 33...Nb8 I think, Hari refrained from this here to deny White the following extra option. 34.g6 34.Bc3 Of course White can play a normal move like this, to force the pawn structure from the game. g6 35.Bg2 34...fxg6 34...f6 35.Kb3 Nc6 36.Ka4 Bc7 37.Bh3 with some pressure 35.Bc3 Nc6 36.Bg2 Nb4+ 37.Kd2 Be7 38.Bxg7 g5!= After getting rid of his weak g-pawn, Black is ok. 33...f6 This would be my preference again, as it is the last chance to avoid a passive defence. 34.gxf6 34.g6 Nf8 35.Bd3 f5 36.Bc3 Nxg6 37.Bxg7 Ne7= 34...gxf6 35.Bg2 f5 36.Bc3 Nb8 37.Kd3 Kd7= In a difference to the 33...e5-line Black's resulting pawn structure is more compact here, which shortens the paths for the defence. 34.Bg2 White doesn't have enough control over the position yet. So Gabi works with small improvements first. I think this is quite clever, as it gives Black several options to think about. 34.Bd3 Stockfish's slight favourite. It is not better or worse than the text-move, but a different concept. It makes one black option bad, namely the e6-e5 push. Nb8 34...e5?! 35.f5!± 35.Bc3 Nc6 36.Kd2 with a position similiar to the game. 34...Nb8! Hari's fourth and last step, a regroup of his knight. The control of b4 wasn't only to prevent a white expansion on the queenside, but also to create an outpost for this knight. Which is a very valuable asset when playing against the pair of bishops. As Black's bishop and c5-pawn are both dark-squared, consequently his knight outpost on b4 is also dark-squared. However, this actually reduces one of the advantages of the white bishop pair, the great flexibility to exchange one of them. If White plays BxNb4 in any moment a pure bishops of opposite colour ending will result. If White exchanges the dark-squared bishops, the black Nb4 and c5 are placed on the right colour, when fighting against White's remaining light-squared bishop. One small drawback: The outpost on b4 is a bit decentral, so White can play around it to some extent. In short: Black has created a stable defence, but because of its passivity White can do a lot of probing. 34...e5 Again Hari renounces this possibilty and rightly so in my mind. 35.Bd2 exf4 36.exf4 f5! 37.gxf6 Nxf6 38.Kd3 This is almost the same as at the end of the 33...e5-line. Whether White really has a slight advantage is clearly debatable. But the most important point is that Hari's concept is way easier to play for a human. 35.Kd3 35.Kb3 Kd7 36.Ka4 Nc6 and Black is in time to stop an invasion via a5. 37.Bxc6+?! Kxc6 38.Ka5 Kb7= b2-b4 is never a real option for White, as Black would get the outside passed pawn. A consequence of the asymmetry on the queenside at the start of this analysis. Many pieces - central pawns good, few or zero pieces - outside pawns good. 35...Kd7 35...Kc7 This way Black could gain a tempo compared to the game, if he wants to. 36.Bf3 Nc6 37.Bd1 Nb4+ 38.Ke4 However, this is quite irrelevant, as he has to play a waiting move here anyway. 36.Bf3! The most attractive square for this bishop is e8, so Gabi sends it on its way. Nc6 37.Bd1 Kc7 Hari decides to just wait. 37...e5?! In this moment this is fairly bad, as White is meanwhile in a good set-up to handle it. 38.Bg4+ Kc7 39.f5! gxf5 40.Bxf5 Be7 41.Bh4 Kd6 42.Bh3 Bf8 43.Ke4± Black has just weakened the light squares. 37...Nb4+ The black knight could occupy its outpost. 38.Ke4 38.Bxb4 is fairly harmless as expected. cxb4 39.Ba4+ Ke7 40.Kd4 f6! 41.c5 Bc7 42.gxf6+ Kxf6 43.Kc4 e5= 38...Kc7 39.Ba4 Nc6! But then Black should retreat and transpose back to the game. 37...Bc7 However, Black could improve the set-up for his bishop a little. From the d6-f8 diagonal to the a5-d8 diagonal. 38.Ba4 Bd8 The black bishop just waits for its chance to come to a5. 38...Kd6 39.Bc3 Ba5 Even this brute force method is possible. Giving up a pawn to enter an opposite-coloured bishop ending. 40.Bxc6 Bxc3 41.Be8 Bxb2 42.Bxf7 Here Black should prevent White from creating two connectors on the kingside, e.g. a5 43.Bxg6 a4 44.Ke2 a3 45.Bb1 Bc1 46.Kf3 Ke7 47.e4 e5!= 39.Bc3 Bc7 40.Ke4 Bd8 41.Bg7 Ba5 42.Bf8 Bb4 43.Bxc6+ There is not much else White can try. Kxc6 44.Ke5 Kd7! 45.Kf6 Ke8!= With a simple defence of the two weaknesses c5 and f7 for Black. 38.Ba4 Kb6 Unsurprisingly, Black's options are limited meanwhile. 38...Nb4+? 39.Bxb4 cxb4 40.Be8+- 38...e5?! 39.Ke4! exf4 40.exf4 Be7 41.Bf2± 39.Ke4 Kc7 40.Bc3

This concludes the set-up stage. White's pieces are optimally placed, he is in full control of the position. Which is a great and rare achievement. However, Black has chosen his formation voluntarily, relying on the fortress concept. So he just continues waiting and White has to find an answer on how and when to proceed. 40...Kb6 41.Kf3 Kc7 42.Bf6 Kb6 43.Bg7 Kc7 44.Kg4 e5?! All in all this is a bad move. The evaluation changes from "unpleasant" to "worrisome" for Black. Sure, to do something Gabi has transfered his king from e4 to g4, reducing his positional control somewhat. However, Hari has played so consequently from move 30 on to his fortress set-up and denied several opportunities for this pawn push earlier. Thus alone from a practical perspective his choice seems a bit strange. He took almost 20 out of his additional 30 minutes, given after move 40, so for sure he has worked out all the non-trivial tactical points. But if he would have just one minute left, I am sure, he would have opted for a neutral king move another time, instead of daring this adventure. 44...Kb6 So what happens if Black simply continues to play his waiting moves? 45.Bf6 Kc7 46.e4 Of course White can manoeuvre for any amount of time, if he wants to. But to go for e3-e4 and f4-f5 at some point seems to be his only chance to reasonably alter the position at all. Alas this weakens the squares d4 and e5, so Black must be ok and he has more than one way to respond. An exemplary line is Kb6 47.f5 Kc7 By keeping the pawns still, Black keeps the position as closed as possible in order to restrict the white bishops to the maximum. 48.fxg6 fxg6 49.Kf3 Kb6 50.e5 As otherwise White can't access the black g6-pawn, he might give this a try. Nxe5+ 51.Ke4 Nc6 Avoiding any unneccesary risk. 51...Nxc4 52.Be8 52.Bc2 Kc7 53.Ke3 Ne5 54.Bxe5 Bxe5 55.b3 Kd6 56.Bxg6 Ke7= In short: If Blacks stays in his fortress, there is nothing much White can do. 45.Bf6! Maybe Gabi's best move in the game. The explanation is in the side lines. 45.Bxc6?! First, let's do the homework and check the acceptance of Black's pawn sacrifice. Kxc6 46.Bxe5 46.fxe5 The bishop ending is nothing, as White remains with several weak pawns on the dark squares. Bc7 47.Kf4 Kd7 48.Ke4 Ke6= 46...Bxe5! 47.fxe5 Kd7 48.Kf4 Ke7! Opposing squares and one spare move each, so Black can hold. 49.Kf3 Kd7! 50.Ke4 Ke6! 51.b3 a5! 52.Kf4 Ke7= 45.f5?! This is the great temptation, even Stockfish is attracted by it for some time. As seen before, it is the thematic reaction on e6-e5. But here it runs into an instructive defence. e4! 46.fxg6 fxg6 47.Bc2 Ne5+! 48.Bxe5 48.Kf4 Nxc4+ 49.Kxe4 Nb6 is practically a bit better, but if now 50.Kf3 Nd7 51.Bxg6 Ne5+! with the same effect as in the main line. 48...Bxe5 49.b3 Bc3 50.Bxe4 Kd6 51.Bxg6 Black has lost, or better sacrificed, two pawns. However, with the principle of one diagonal (a1-h8) he has a simple defence here. a5 52.Bf5 Bd2 53.e4 Bc3 54.Kh5 Ke7 55.Kg6 Be5 56.Kh7 Kf8= 45.Bc2?! Having understood the previous side line, the next idea is to prepare f4-f5 by controlling e4 with the bishop first. exf4! 46.exf4 Nd4 47.Be4 Ne6!= An unpleasant knight fork, based on the loose Bg7. All of this explains Gabi's move now. Bg7-f6 is a preparation for Ba2-c2 and only then f4-f5. 45.Kf3! Kb6 46.Ke4 is an alternative to force the same pawn structure as in the game after exf4 47.exf4 45...exf4 To his displeasure Black has to exchange the pawn on f4 himself. 45...Kb6 merely delays the whole affair. 46.Bc2 46.Bd1 Kc7 47.Bf3 with the idea of Bf3-d5 is another way to force e5xf4. 46...Kc7? 46...exf4 as in the game 47.f5! Sufficient preparation already makes it a winner. e4 47...gxf5+ 48.Kxf5+- 48.Bxe4 Ne5+ 49.Bxe5 Bxe5 50.f6! This almost passed pawn is the coffin nail no1. Kd8 51.Bd5 Ke8 52.b4! cxb4 52...Bd6 53.b5+- 53.c5 Coffin nail no2. a5 54.Bb3 Kf8 55.Kf3+- 46.exf4

A new phase of the game, as the exchange of the pair of e-pawns has changed the situation. New central squares are available for the pieces. While Black can't make much use of d4 for now, occupying d5 becomes an additional option for White. 46...Bf8 46...Nd4? 47.Be8! Ne2 48.Be5!+- 46...Kd7 Also the former idea of improving the black bishop doesn't work here anymore, 47.Kf3 Bc7? 47...Kc7 48.Be5! Bxe5 49.fxe5 Kc7 50.Bxc6 Kxc6 51.Ke4+- because square d5 decides in White's favour. 47.Kf3! As so often in the endgame, centralizing the king is so simple, but so effective. 47.Bc2 Stockfish slightly prefers to go for the bishop on d5. Bd6 48.Be4 Ne7! However, here it agrees that there is nothing better for White than to adapt Gabi's plan and to reroute the bishop to a4 (Be4-c2-a4) and the king to e4 (Kg4-f3-e4). 47...Bd6 47...Kd6 doesn't make any difference, as 48.Ke4 transposes directly to the game at move 50. 48.Ke4 Bf8! Only move, as Black is almost in zugzwang. However, after the optimisation of his pieces White is faced with the same question as before. How to proceed? 49.Bc3 Kd6 50.Bf6 For the moment Gabi is content with one repetition of the position. Kc7 Removing the king immediately is the most natural. 50...Nb4 Stockfish sees no difference between the two moves. However, from a human point of view this line will be a bit unpleasant, as Black's king can't perform a simple pendulum manoeuvre, but has to move around a little. 51.Be5+ Ke6 52.Bd1 Nc6 53.Bg4+ Ke7 54.Bc7 Nb4 51.f5! But now Gabi goes for the most practical approach of altering the pawn structure. Theoretically this is no improvement, but it forces Hari to answer some new questions over the board. 51.Bd1 Without the pawn push, White's best idea is to try to manoeuvre the light-squared bishop to c8 to get a look at the weak black a6-pawn. Kd6 52.Bg4 Be7 53.Bc3 Kc7 54.Bg7 Kd6 Among other options, however, Black can simply let White have his way. 55.Bc8 Kc7! Using a trick defence. 56.Bxa6 Na7! 57.Bf6 57.b4 cxb4 58.c5 Bxc5 59.Bc4 Nc8!= 57...Bf8 58.f5 gxf5+ 59.Kxf5 Kb6 60.Bb5 Nxb5 61.Bd8+! A nasty counter-trick. Kb7 61...Nc7? 62.Kf6+- 61...Kc6 62.cxb5+ Kxb5? 63.Kf6+- 62.cxb5 Bg7 White has won a pawn, but in the end he can't win this same-coloured bishop ending, because of the weakness of his g5-pawn, e.g. 63.Bf6 Bf8 64.Ke5 Kc7 65.Kd5 Kb6 66.Kc4 Kb7 67.Be5 Be7 68.Bf4 Kb6 69.Be3 Kb7 70.Kd5 Kc7! 71.b3 Kb7! 72.b6 Kxb6 73.b4 Kc7 74.bxc5 Kd7= 51...gxf5+ Keeping his pawn on f7, instead of g6, is clearly the better defensive option for Black. 51...Kd6?! Stockfish says this is possible as well, but practically it is very dangerous. 52.fxg6 fxg6 53.b3! Zugzwang already. Thus Black has to change his system of defence, starting with a repositioning of his knight. Na5! 53...Kc7? 54.Kd5 Nb4+ 55.Ke6+- Taking profit from the missing black pawn on f7. 54.Be5+ Ke6 55.Bc3 Nb7 56.Bc6 Nd6+ In the vicinity of his king the knight is safe again. 57.Kf4 Be7! Ultimately the black position holds, but just so. For example 58.Bd5+ Kd7 59.Bd2 Nf5 60.Bf7 Bd6+ 61.Ke4 Nd4 62.b4 Ne6! 63.Bxg6 cxb4 64.Bf5 Ke7 65.Kd5 Nc7+ 66.Kc6 Ne6 Still this open position is extremely unpleasant for Black. 52.Kxf5

In this new pawn structure White can peek now on the f7-pawn via Ba4-d1-h5, an additional concern for Black. 52...Kd6 53.Ke4! Once more Gabi "just" exerts maximal positional control, to see how his opponent reacts. 53.Bd1 This impetuous approach would have allowed Black to immediately set up a different defence. Ne7+ 54.Ke4 Ng6 This new knight-outpost on g6 makes it easier to play waiting moves for Black. 53...Na5? A mistake, because White can fend off the attack on the c4-pawn with tempo and then disorganise the black pieces. At this point the players have only a few minutes left on the clock, so both are living off the 30-second increment, and the game has just passed the halfway point. After the disappearance of the two pawn pairs, the position is wide open, so that especially the bishops have a lot of space to manoeuvre. Easy for the engine, difficult for the human. So it is quite natural that the players no longer always play the best moves. However, their job is to score points, and that "only" means playing better than their opponent. My job as an analyst is to search for the theoretical optimum, in the hope that the reader can derive some benefit or pleasure from seeing what is right and what is wrong. 53...Nd4? Alas still not possible. 54.b4! Nc6 55.b5+- 53...Nb4 If it has to be a wait-and-see move by the knight, this or Nc6-e7 is it. 54.Be5+ Ke6 55.Bd1 Nc6 Transposing to the game after move 55. 53...Kc7! However, it is even more accurate to keep the control on e5 and continue to wait with the king. 54.Bd1 Kd6 55.Bh5 Ke6 56.Bg4+ Kd6 57.Bc8 Kc7 Not Stockfish's first choice, but we know about this principle defensive idea to ignore the attack on the a6 already. 58.Bxa6 Na7! 59.Kf5 Kb6 With the same position as in the 51.Bd1-line after move 59. 54.Be5+ Ke6 55.Bd1? With the threat of Bd1-g4+ and Ke4-d5. Right idea, wrong move order. If White inserts a zwischenzug it works. 55.Bc3! Nb7 Forced, but so the black knight has defenitely lost access to its beloved outpost on b4. 56.Bd1! Now White is already winning, but barely. The main point is that Black can't create a stable defence anymore and has to rely on tactical tricks, which will peter out after a while. One important line is Nd6+ 57.Kf4! Ne8 58.Bg4+ Kd6 59.Kf5 This is the difference to the 51...Kd6-line, where a black pawn was on g6. Be7 60.Be5+ Kd7 61.Bf4! Both white bishops are extremely mobile and switch sides as pleased to harass the black pieces almost at their will. a5 62.Ke5+ Kc6 63.Bh5 Bd6+ 64.Ke4 Bf8 65.Bf3 Kd7 66.Bd1! Nc7 67.Bg4+! Kd8 68.Bd2! Be7 69.Ke5 Na6 70.Bxa5++- Eventually White has won a pawn. Against the usual stubborn defence of the engine his way to victory will still be a long one, however. 55...Nc6! A happy homecoming for the knight and so Black is in the drawing zone again. 56.Bg4+ Ke7 The black king has lost access to c7, at least temporarily, so Bg4-c8 is in the air. First Gabi has a critical decision where to place his dark-squared bishop. 57.Bc3 57.Bg3?! Controlling d6 is desireable, but the black bishop can profit from this move for an active defence. Bg7 58.Kd5 Nb4+ 59.Kxc5 Nd3+ 60.Kd5 Nb4+! 61.Kc5 Nd3+ 62.Kb6 Bxb2 63.c5 Bd4 64.Bd6+ Kd8! 65.Bh5 Be3 66.Bxf7 Nxc5! 67.g6 Nd7+ 68.Kxa6 Bh6= 57.Bf6+ Kd6 58.Bc8 Kc7 With the same trick-defence, we have seen before, for example in the 53...Kc7-line. 57.Bh8 Stockfish recommends this to keep the most pressure. Kd6 58.Kf4 Na5 However, after this response White will come to a point of no progress soon. 58...Nd4?! 59.Be5+ After the game-move 57.Bc3 this detail is excluded. Ke7 60.Bc8 and Black has more problems. 59.Be5+ Ke7 60.Bf6+ Kd6 61.Be2 Ke6 62.Be5 Kd7 63.Bc3 Nc6 64.Bg4+ Kd6 57...Nb4 Slightly inaccurate. 57...Kd6! Returning with the king and keeping the option of Nc6-d4 is an easier way to defend for Black. 58.Bc8 58.Kf4 Nd4! Contrary to the 57. Bh8-line the white bishop is enclosed on c3 now and can't get to e5. 59.b4 Be7= 58...Be7 Reminding White that he has an isolated pawn on g5 as well. 59.Bd2 Nd4! 60.Bxa6 f5+! 61.Kd3 Nf3 62.Bf4+ Kd7 63.g6 Bf6= 58.Bf6+ Ke8 58...Kd6 In the end this makes not much of a difference, as the black king can be pushed back anyway. But it is more principled to keep the king most central and it gives White some additional work to do. 59.Be5+ Ke7 60.Bc3 Nc2! 61.Bf6+ Kd6 62.Bc8 Nb4 63.Be5+ Ke7 64.Kf5! Kd8 65.Bb7 Kd7 With a very similar situation to the game after move 67. 59.Bd1 Kd7 I suppose Hari wants his bishop to stay close to his king, to assist in its defence. However, within the next moves this concept becomes more and more problematic. 59...Bd6 Here is a first chance to change the diagonal of the black bishop from d6-f8 to d4-g1 for the protection of the c5-pawn. 60.Ba4+ Kf8 61.Kf5 Bg3 62.Bd7 Bf2 60.Kf5!

Another excellent practical move by Gabi. This takes e6 away from the black king and gives a lot of pressure to the defender. 60...Nc6! Hari stays alert and finds the only move. 60...Nd3? 61.Ba4+ Kc7 62.Be8+- 60...Kd6? 61.Bh5+- 60...Be7? Other than the two previous side lines this looks reasonable, but it fails to a pretty trick. 61.Bh5 Ke8 62.Bxf7+! Kxf7 63.g6+ Ke8 64.g7 Kf7 65.Bxe7 Nd3 66.Bf6+- 61.Bh5 61.Bh8 As before, Stockfish likes this most. But it is only to keep the status quo and deny Black one of his defensive set-ups. Nd4+ 62.Ke4 Nc6 63.Bg4+ Kd6 61...Ke8 Therewith the black king is pinned down on the 8th rank. 61...Ne7+! As in the side line 53.Bd1, transferring the knight to g6 gives the black defence more stability. 62.Ke4 Ng6 The black knight takes care for the f7-pawn, so the black king can act more freely. 63.Bg4+ Kc7 64.Kd5 Nf4+ 65.Ke5 Ng6+ 66.Ke4 Kd6 67.Bc8 a5 Admitted, here Black's a-pawn has to move as his knight is absent from the queenside. But White can't make much out of it. E.g. 68.Bc3 Be7 69.Bd2 a4 70.Bg4 Bf8 71.Bd1 Bg7 72.Bc1 Ne5 73.Bxa4 Nxc4= 62.Ke4 Nb4 63.Bg4 Nc6?! Understandably, Hari tries to stay in his defensive system. But with this Black has to make a bigger concession soon. 63...Bd6! To change diagonal is best, as after 64.Bc8 Bg3 65.Kf5 Bf2 the black king enjoys more space. Which will quickly prove to be essential. 64.Bc8 Nb4 64...a5 In general Black never wants to move his a-pawn, because it becomes more vulnerable to frontal attacks. Indeed, here White can win this pawn within a few moves. However, it is a very important line. 65.Bg4 As this bishop has done its job on c8 it moves back to a4. Nb4 66.Bd1 Kd7 67.Kf5! White has achieved the exact piece configuration from move 60, a very dangerous one for Black. Nc6! 68.Ba4 Kd6 69.Bxc6 Kxc6 70.Bc3 With two threats. Be7 70...a4? 71.Kf6+- 71.Bxa5 Thus White has squeezed out a same-coloured bishop endgame with an extra pawn. But as already seen in an earlier version, White's weakness of the g5-pawn and his unsound pawn majority on the queenside save Black. Kd7 72.Ke5 Kc6! 73.Bd2 Bd8! 74.Be3 Be7!= Black has just enough waiting moves. 65.Kf5! As in move 60, moving the king forward builds up a lot of pressure in a practical game. It is the start of an attack on the black king with a small army, Be7? At the latest here Hari has probably realised the dangers around his king. Although his move is natural, it is not the solution. 65...Bd6? Too late. 66.g6! fxg6+ 67.Ke6! Bg3 68.Be7+- Demonstrating White's key idea to weave a mating net. 65...a5! Now it is the only way, even if it is anything but obvious. Like a move before, Black loses this pawn, but his knight can come to the aid of his king. 66.Bb7 66.g6 Nc6! 67.g7 Bxg7 68.Bxg7 Ne7+= On this fork the entire black defence is built. 66...Kd7! 67.Bf3 Nc2 68.Bh5 Ke8 69.Ke4 Nb4 70.Bd1 With the same position as in the line starting with 64...a5 after 66.Bd1. Black can hold a same-coloured bishop ending a pawn down. 66.Bc3? Gabi doesn't believe in the exchange of the dark-squared bishops and releases some of his nicely built up pressure. 66.Bxe7? Immediately this is totally harmless, as Black gets counterplay by his knight. Kxe7 67.Bb7 Nd3= 66.Bb7! However, with the right preparation the exchange works. It is about the duel of light-squared bishop vs knight in the upcoming single-piece ending. a5 Trying to liberate the knight comes too late. However, the alternatives are all ugly too. 66...Bf8 67.g6! fxg6+ 68.Ke6! Bh6 69.Be4 Kf8 70.Be7+! Kg7 71.Bxc5+- 66...Bd6 67.g6! Kf8 68.Bd5! fxg6+ 69.Ke6! Bg3 70.Be7+ Kg7 71.Bxc5+- 66...Nc2 67.Bxa6 Bd6 68.g6+- 66...Kd7 67.Bxe7! Kxe7 68.Be4!+- With an even better version. 66...Nd3 67.Be4 Bxf6 68.Kxf6+- 67.Bxe7 Kxe7 68.Be4! Domination of bishop on the knight. So the latter is deprived an active role. Na6 69.Ke5! Nc7 70.Bf5 Na8 71.b3! 71.Kd5? Nb6+ 72.Kxc5 Na4+= 71...Nb6 72.Bd3! Preventing a5-a4 for an important moment. Kd7 73.Be4! a4 73...Ke7 74.Bc6!+- Zugzwang, allowing the white king access to either d5 or f6. 74.bxa4 Nxc4+ 74...Ke7 75.Bd3! Nxa4 76.Kd5! Kd7 77.Bf5+! Ke7 78.Kc6!+- 75.Kf6! In this new asymmetric pawn structure the black knight is too inferior. Nd6 76.Bc2 c4 77.a5 c3 78.a6 Kc6 79.Ke7 Nc4 80.Kxf7 Kb6 81.Kf6+- 66...Kd8 Hari takes the chance to kick back the second white bishop as well. 67.Bb7 Kc7 68.Bf3 So Gabi must make a new start. It is not exactly the same constellation as some moves earlier, as the black bishop is now on e7, which varies the tactical moments somewhat. Kd7! Defending against Bf3-h5 in the only way. 68...Kd8? 69.Bf6! Nc2 70.Ke5 a5 71.Bh5 Ke8 72.g6!+- 69.Bh5 Ke8 70.Bd1! Kf8! Hari avoids another pitfall and finds the best spot for his king. Relatively best, as it is even one more step away from the queenside. 70...Kd7? 71.Ba4+ Kd8 72.Bd2 Zugzwang, because all the black pieces are busy defending against Bd2-a5+, Ba4-e8 and Kf5-f6. a5 73.Bc3 Bd6 74.Bf6+ Be7 75.Ke4 Zugzwang again. Na6 76.Bxe7+ Kxe7 77.Kd5+- 70...Bd6 comes to the same after 71.Ba4+ Kf8! 71.Ba4 Bd6 72.Bf6 Kg8?! However, this is a valuable loss of time. 72...Bg3! As in move 63, switching the bishop to the d4-g1 diagonal immediately is much safer. 73.Bd8 Bf2 74.b3 Bd4 73.Bd1 As seen several times before, Gabi manoeuvres before taking irreversible action. May it be to gain time on the clock for himself or to set a deep trap or to induce an unforced error by his opponent. Kf8? Irronically, this natural reaction to move the black king back towards the queenside is incorrect. 73...Nc6! is the best here. 74.Ba4 Nb4 Transposing back to the game, without giving White an extra winning chance. 74.Ba4? Instead White has a win here, but it is based on several fine tactical points. Within their limited remaining time I think, both players had no chance to figure this all out over the board. 74.g6! Other than in the faulty 65...Bd6-line this is not about mate, but to gain decisive access to the black queenside. Kg8 74...fxg6+ 75.Ke6! Winning a tempo. That is the reason why this bishop should have left the vulnerable d6 square to settle for the d4-g1 diagonal in move 72. Bg3 76.Be7+ This check is the key problem of Hari's 73...Kf8. Kg7 77.Bxc5+- 74...Bg3 75.Be7+! Kg7 76.Bxc5 fxg6+ 77.Ke6+- 75.gxf7+ Kxf7 76.Bh5+ Kg8 77.Ke6 Bf4 78.Bg6+- In the near future we will see plenty positions with this pawn structure. For now I just state that this is a good constellation for White, so he is winning here. 74...Kg8?! Same positon as two moves before, so I have to evaluate this equally.

74...Bg3! 75.g6?! Again Gabi is correct that altering the pawn structure sooner or later is his only way to proceed. The idea is that after the disappearance of the last kingside pawns the white king arrives sooner on the queenside than its black colleague. With just two pawns each left the dynamics will increase even more, thus often the exact placement of the pieces is important. The understanding alone is difficult for humans. 75.Be8! But it is better to prepare g5-g6 with the bishop, so the white king gets a better start for its race. White is close to winning, but in the end it is not enough. Bg3 75...Kf8? Black's position can't take another lost tempo. 76.g6! fxg6+ 77.Bxg6 Nc6 78.Ke6 Bf4 79.Be4 Na5 80.Kd5 Kf7 81.Bh8!+- 76.g6 fxg6+ 77.Bxg6 Nd3! preventing Kf5-e6 78.Bh5 Bf2 79.Be2 Nc1 80.Bd1 Kf7 81.Bh5+ Kf8 82.Ke6 Nd3!± White has managed to get his king to e6, but the black one keeps pace on f8. However, Black's defence is not stable anymore and he has to rely on tactical ressources. Most importantly he has to concentrate on holding his c5-pawn, the a6-pawn is of lesser importance. One example 83.Bf3 Nf4+! 84.Kd6 Kf7 85.Bd8 Nd3 86.Bh5+ Kg7 87.b3 Nc1 88.Bd1 Kf7! 89.Bb6 Nd3! 90.Bc2 Bg3+! 91.Kd7 Ne5+! 92.Kc8 Bf2! 93.Kb7 Ke7 The white king has been driven from the c5-pawn, so the worst is over for Black. Even with a pawn down after losing the a6. 75...fxg6+ 76.Kxg6 76.Ke6 Bf4 77.Be7 Nd3= 76...Kf8! After a long time Stockfish is displaying 0.00 again. But in practise this is still very hard for Black against the two white bishops in an open position, especially with little time on the clock. 77.Kf5 Nd3?! This isn't stopping the white king at all. 77...Kf7?! Natural and a bit better, but it is also problematic. 78.Bd1 Be7 79.Bh5+ Kf8 80.Bc3 Bh4! 81.Ke6 Nd3± With play like in the 75.Be8-line. 77...Be7! Black can solve his problems, if he improves on the last side line and lets his bishop help out his king on its way to the queenside. 78.Bc3 Kf7! 79.Bd1 Ke8 80.Ke6 Kd8 81.Bd2 Bh4= 78.Ke6 Bg3? I think, it is less surprising that this natural move is losing, but it is more that Black still has a miracle save available instead. 78...Bb8! For humans this is already study-like. Black needs his knight flexible on f4, without the white bishop coming to e5. So the black bishop has to be on the lower side of the diagonal b8-h2. All points are not obvious and I hope the following lines help for a better understanding. This is by the way the same motive, we have seen before already once for White, when Stockfish pointed out 57.Bh8 instead of 57.Bc3. 79.Bc6 79.Bc2 Nf4+! 80.Kd7 Kf7! This is the moment White doesn't have Bf6-e5 because of the black bishop on b8. 81.Bh4 Be5! 82.b3 Bd4! 83.Kd6 Bg1!± Again with play like in the 75.Be8-line. 79...Nf4+! Black's knight disturbs the white king to secure his king the better square f7. 80.Kd7 Kf7! 81.Be7 Be5! But now it is high time to transfer the black bishop to the d4-g1 diagonal. 82.b3 Bd4!± Like in the 75.Be8-line, from here on Black has to rely on his flexible knight to prevent White from a simple gain of the c5-pawn. One important line continues 83.Bf3 Nd3! 84.Bd5+ Kg7! 85.Be4 Nc1! 86.Bc2 Kf7! 87.Bg5 Na2! 88.Bd8 Be3 89.Kd6 Bf2 90.Bb6 Bg3+! A very important trick. 91.Kd7 Bf2! 92.Bh7 Nc1! 93.b4 This way White can win the c5, but only at the price of doubled pawns. Nb3! 94.Kc6 Be1 95.bxc5 Bf2! 96.Kd6 a5! 97.Ba7 Ke8 98.c6 Bg3+! 99.Kd5 Kd8!± For more than twenty moves Black's life has been hanging on a thread. Although Stockfish is somewhat unsure about this tricky position, I don't see a way to win for White. Black's king can keep standing in front of the white double-pawn, somehow. 79.Be7+? 79.Bc2! White has to kick the black knight away from his b2-pawn first, before going for the c5-pawn. Nb4 79...Nf4+ 80.Kd7 Kf7 81.Be5! This possibility is the deep reason for 78...Bb8 being the correct move. Nd3 82.Bxg3 Nxb2 83.Be5 Nxc4 84.Bb3+- 80.Be4 On its old outpost b4 the black knight is stable, but the white Be4 is dominating it. So White can realise his winning set-up without interference. Bf2 81.Bd8! Demonstrating the white winning plan. This bishop will move into the back of the c5-pawn and the white king will go to d6 for a double-attack. Bd4 82.b3 Be3 83.Bb6 Ke8 84.Bg6+ Of course, White takes every chance to worsen the black king. Kf8 85.Kd6 Bf4+ 86.Kd7! Don't rush. 86.Kxc5? Be3+! 87.Kxb4 Bxb6= 86...Be3 87.Bb1 Kf7 88.Ba7! This time it is on White to display a study-like motive. Kf6 88...a5 89.Bb6+- 89.Kd6 Good things take time. Black could fend off White's first run on the c5, but not this one. Bf4+ 90.Kxc5! Be3+ 91.Kxb4 Bxa7 92.Ka5! The point of 88.Ba7. Ke5 Although Black is lost, White needs some care to prevent a blockade of his two extra pawns. 93.b4! 93.Kxa6? Bc5! 94.Kb5 Kd4! 95.b4 Bf8 96.c5 Kc3!= 93...Kd4 94.Ba2! Kc3 95.Kxa6! Be3 96.b5+- 79...Kg7? 79...Kg8! Winning a crucial tempo, as the white b2-pawn is attacked. Other than after the game-move. 80.Bf6 A rueful return, but now the black knight can use the given time. Nf4+ 81.Kd6 Bf2 82.Bc2 Kf7! 83.Bd8 Bg3 84.Kd7 Bf2± Once more I refer to a similar situation seen in the 75.Be8-line. 80.Bc2! 80.Bf6+ Kg8 81.Bc2! Stockfish prefers this to exclude the black defence pointed out in the next side line. But I don't think it makes much of a difference. Nf4+ 82.Kd6! Nd3+ 83.Ke7! Nb4 84.Be4+- Which is similar to the position from the game after White's move 81. 80...Nb4 80...Nf4+ All engines give this as more tenacious. Objectively this might be right, but in practice it simply costs the c5 immediately and I don't see a defensive concept for Black against the bishop pair thereafter. 81.Kf5! Kf7 82.Bxc5 Ne6 83.Be3 Ke7 84.c5! Kd7 85.Ba4+ Ke7 86.Bb3 Ng7+ 87.Ke4+- 81.Be4! Gabi gets it, the dominating distance of white Be4 vs black Nb4. Bf2 82.b3?! A prophylactic move. Gabi is right, that White has to play b2-b3 quickly anyway. In the next stage of the game he tries to bring his king to b6, while keeping his dark-squared bishop on the d6-f8 diagonal. With the idea to create a decisive double attack on the c5-pawn. Unfortunately his plan is just second best and not winning. 82.Bd8! As seen before in the 79.Bc2-line, White's winning procedure is to display the pieces the other way round. That is bishop to a7 and king to d6. Bd4 83.b3 Kf8 84.Bb6 Bf2 85.Ba7! Maybe Gabi missed this set-up trick. Very understandable with just about one minute left on his clock. 85.Kd6 Bg3+ and White has to return. 85...Na2 86.Kd6! Bg3+ 87.Kd7! Bf2 88.Kc6! Nb4+ 89.Kd6! Bg3+ 90.Kxc5! By a nice king walk White has induced all the pieces to be on the right spots, so he can finally capture the pawn. Bf2+ 91.Kxb4 Bxa7 92.Ka5+- 82...Bd4 Hari has found a new defensive system. His knight stays on the outpost b4, his bishop makes waiting moves on the d4-g1 diagonal and his king looks out for every chance to get closer to the queenside or the centre. Very practical, alas his set-up for the knight is not optimal. 82...Na2! Over here the black knight is better than on the static b4. On a2 it has the options of c1, c3 and back to b4. In this specific situation White still has a theoretical win. E.g. 83.Bd6 Before going over to a7 the bishop covers f4, a key square for Black's knight as seen in his defence in the 75.Be8-line. Be3 84.Bc7 Nc1 85.Bc2! Ne2 86.Bd1 Nf4+ 87.Ke7 Nd3 88.Bb6 Bg5+ 89.Ke6 Be3 90.Bc2 Nb4 So the black knight has been forced back where he didn't want to go. 91.Be4 Kf8 92.Ba7+- as seen before. 83.Bd6

In the next phase of the game, the play of the two actors might look silly in view of the many question marks that arise. But they stick to their natural plans and just overlooked the few details we just discussed. White: bishop to a7-b6, Black: knight to a2. With the game hanging in the balance between a draw and a white win, these little things sometimes have a decisive influence on the theortic evaluation. 83...Be3 84.Be5+ Kf8 84...Kh6 The other edge of the board is no better. 85.Bf6 Na2 86.Bd8 Kh5 87.Kd6 Kg4 88.Bb6 Kf4 89.Bg6 Nc1 90.Bc2!+- 85.Kd7?! This gives some ground to the black king. White is still winning, but it gets more complicated. 85.Bb8 Na2 86.Ba7+- 85...Kf7! 86.Bf5? 86.Bb1! The only theoretical way is to take a2 away from the black knight until the white dark-squared bishop is in a better position. For example Bf2 87.Kd6 Be3 88.Bg3 Bg1 89.Bh4 Be3 90.Bd8 Bf2 91.Be4 The light-squared bishop has to come out again to deal with the black king. Be3 92.Bd5+ Ke8 93.Bb6! Bf4+ 94.Ke6! Be3 95.Be4 Bf2 96.Bg6+ Kf8 97.Kd6+- For the further play see after 86.Kd6 in the 79.Bc2-line. 86...Bf2? 86...Na2! With the slightly improved black king on f7 the counterplay against the b3 is enough to hold for Black. His bishop on e3 is actually helpful, safeguarding c1 for his knight. 87.Kd6 87.Bb2 Nc1! as well 87...Nc1! 88.Bc2 Bf2 87.Kd6 Be3 87...Na2 Here White can prevent the counterplay via c1 and win with an accurate sequence of moves. 88.Bb2! Be3 89.Ba3! Nb4 90.Bb1! Ke8 91.Bb2! The black knight has been forced back to b4. Now White must take care of Black's king and kick it away, before starting the usual winning procedure. Kd8 92.Bf5! Bd4 93.Bc1! Ke8 94.Bg5 Na2 95.Bg6+ Kf8 96.Bd8 Nc1 97.Bc2+- 88.Be4? 88.Bb1+- 88...Bf2? 88...Na2! 89.Bb2 Nc1! 89.Kd7? 89.Bb1+- 89...Be3? 89...Na2! 90.Bb2 Be3! 91.Kd6 Nc1! 90.Bd6? This way Gabi releases the black king from its long-timed passivity. But I suppose, he has seen no other chance to realise his plan of Kb6 and Bd6. 90.Bb1!+- 90...Kf6! With his king over here Black has more options for counterplay and his survival is no longer dependent on tactical tricks solely. So he is almost ok. 91.Kc7 91.Bb1 Now this is no longer sufficient. Bf2 92.Bb8 Be3 93.Ba7 Ke5= Because of Black's active king. 91...Ke6 By keeping in contact with the white dark-squared bishop, the black king prevents the white Kc7-b6 by a simple measure. 92.Bh7 Na2!

Not mandatory anymore, but remarkable. After all the time Hari moves his knight to this crucial square. I am pretty sure the next side-line has given him the idea to do so in exactly this moment. 93.Be4 93.Bg8+ Gabi's idea of his last move, but Black can parry it. Kf5 94.Kb6 Nc1!= 93...Bd4 93...Nc1 is easier, as after 94.Bc2 Ne2! the black knigt is even more acitve over here. 95.Bf8 Kf7 96.Bd6 Ke6 97.Bh2 Nd4 98.Bd1 Kf5= 94.Bf8 Once more Gabi is just one step away from his dream set-up with Kc7-b6. Nc3?! Stockfish only gives a slight advantage to White after this. Because it already has Black's upcoming surprising rescue on its radar completely. In human terms the text-move makes it way more difficult to hold thereafter. 94...Kf7 A practical method is to keep harassing White's dark-squared bishop. 95.Bh6 95.Bd6 Ke6 96.Bd5+ Kf5 97.Kb6 Nc1= 95...Ke7 96.Kb6 The white king has finally made it to its destination, but the black king prevents the white dark-squared bishop from returning to the d6-f8 diagonal. Nb4 97.Bb7 Nc2! 98.Bxa6 Na1= 95.Bc2! This looks passive, but it is best to control a4. 95.Bf3?! a5! With the new idea of a5-a4 to equalise. 96.Bc6 Ne2 97.Kb6 Nc1 98.Ba4 Nd3 99.Kxa5 Bc3+= Black will control b4 forever. 95...Na2 95...Kf7 is slightly better. However, after 96.Bd6 Ke6 97.Kc6 Black desperately needs Karsten's defence, which will be explained in detail in the next side line. a5! 98.Bxc5 Bxc5 99.Kxc5 Ke5!= 96.Kb6 Since 76.Kxg6 the entire play revolved around the black c5-pawn. Now White will win this pawn, but very surprisingly Black can do without it. Nb4? In the end this is incorrect, because the black knight is worse on b4 than on a2. An important detail, even if it seems not very obvious for the moment. 96...a5! As Karsten Müller has pointed out on the Chessbase website, Black still has a miracle save at his disposal. The first idea is if White takes the a-pawn, Black can hold his c5-pawn and with the backward extra b-pawn White can't win. The second idea is if White takes the c5-pawn to errect a blockade on the dark squares. However, Black needs a number of tactics to work in his favour as well. 97.Bxc5 97.Kxa5 Kf7 98.Bd6 Ke6 99.Bf8 Kf7 100.Bh6 Ke7 As before, the job of the black king is to deny White's bishop the access to the d6-f8 diagonal. 101.Kb6 Nb4 102.Bb1 Bf2 103.Kb5 Bd4 104.Bd2 Kd6= White can win a second pawn, but not the game. 97...Bxc5+ 98.Kxc5 Ke5! Now White's most dangerous idea is to pin all his hopes on the passed c-pawn. He can do so in two different ways, which demand a slightly different handling from the black side, that is an asymmetric defence. 99.Kb6 99.Kb5 Kd4! 100.c5 Nc3+! 101.Kc6 Nd5! 102.Kd6 Nc3! 103.c6 Nb5+! 104.Kd7 Kc3= 99...Nb4! 99...Kd4? Here this loses. 100.c5 Nb4 101.c6 Nd5+ 102.Kxa5+- 100.Bh7 Kd4! 101.Bg8 101.c5 Nd5+!= 101...Nd3! 102.Kxa5 Kc5! Black has finally set up his blockade. It is not possible for the white bishop to control all the squares of the black knight on b4. 103.Bh7 Nb4 104.Be4 Na2!= 97.Bb1 a5! A lot of credit to Hari for this move. It is too late, but most stubborn and it shows that within a short time he has realised some parts of Karsten's defence. 98.Bxc5 Gabi stays on course. 98.Kxa5? This would spoil the win, as we know already. Kf7! 99.Bd6 Ke6! 100.Bf8 Kf7! 101.Bh6 Ke7= 98...Bxc5+ 99.Kxc5 Kd7?! But here Hari's resistance expires. Placing the black king in front of the white pawns has no chance. 99...Ke5! After this it is on White to find some tricky moves to ensure the win. 100.Bh7 The white bishop has to come from the back side to protect its b3-pawn. 100.Kb6? Kd4!= 100...Na2 101.Kb6 101.Kb5 Kd4 102.Bg8! a4 103.bxa4! Nc3+ 104.Kb4!+- 101...Kd4 101...Nc1 102.Bc2 Kd4 103.c5+- 102.Bg8! 102.c5? Nc3! 103.c6 a4! 104.Bg8 a3! 105.b4 Nd5+ 106.Bxd5 Kxd5 107.c7 a2 108.c8Q a1Q Queen+b4 vs queen, a tablebase draw. 102...Nb4 102...a4 103.bxa4 Nc3 104.a5!+- 103.c5! Kc3 104.Kxa5+- 100.Kb6 Kc8 100...Kd6 On this White can do almost everything except taking in a5 immediately. E.g. 101.Be4 Ke5 102.Kxa5 Na2 103.c5+- 101.Kxa5 Nc6+ 102.Kb6 The rest is a kinderspiel for a player of Gabi's quality, so Hari has to resign in this epic struggle. 1–0

Magical Chess Endgames Vol. 1 & 2 + The magic of chess tactics

In over 4 hours in front of the camera, Karsten Müller presents to you sensations from the world of endgames - partly reaching far beyond standard techniques and rules of thumb - and rounds off with some cases of with own examples.

Links

• Endgames from Miami: 1 | 2 | 3
• Endgames from Chennai: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
• Endgames from Madrid: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
• Notable endgames: Biel, Dortmund, Zagreb