Endgame Riddle Botvinnik vs Pachman - Solution

by Karsten Müller
11/7/2021 – A few weeks ago, Karsten Müller treated ChessBase readers to another endgame riddle. Charles Sullivan had come across an interesting endgame with opposite-coloured bishops that occurred in Botvinnik vs Pachman, Chess Olympiad Leipzig 1960, and Charles was curious whether Pachman had a draw with best play. The ChessBase readers came up with more than one answer.
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Endgame riddle solved: Pachman could have drawn

The last endgame riddle invited readers to take a look at a complicated endgame with opposite-coloured bishops that occurred in a game between Mikhail Botvinnik and Ludek Pachman, played at the Chess Olympiad 1960 in Leipzig.

 
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1.g3 d5 2.Nf3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.0-0 e5 5.d3 Ne7 6.Nbd2 0-0 7.e4 d4 8.a4 f6 9.Nh4 Be6 10.f4 Nd7 11.f5 Bf7 12.fxg6 hxg6 13.Bh3 Nc5 14.b4 Ne6 15.Nc4 Ng5 16.Bxg5 fxg5 17.Nf3 Bxc4 18.dxc4 Bf6 19.Qd2 Kg7 20.Ne1 a5 21.Nd3 b6 22.c5 Nc6 23.b5 Nb4 24.Nxb4 axb4 25.cxb6 cxb6 26.Qxb4 Be7 27.Qc4 Bc5 28.Kg2 Qd6 29.Be6 Rxf1 30.Rxf1 Rf8 31.Rxf8 Qxf8 32.Qd5 Kh6 33.Bg4 Qd6 34.Kf3 Kg7 35.Qxd6 Bxd6 36.Ke2 Bb4 37.Kd3 Kf6 38.Kc4 Be1 39.Kd5 Bb4 40.Bd7 Be1 41.Be8 Bc3 42.Kc6 1–0
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Botvinnik,M-Pachman,L-1–01960A07Leipzig olm1

Readers were asked to analyse the endgame with opposite-coloured bishops to find out whether Black was lost after the exchange of rooks or whether he could have saved the game.

Three solutions have reached me, and interestingly all three come to the same conclusion but are very different.

Charles Sullivan analysed the position in detail and Zoran Petronijevic fine-tuned these analyses and summed up the conclusions:

  • Though Botvinnik thought that White is clearly winning after the exchange of rooks, Black should be able to hold the position after 31…Qxf8 with best play. White is a pawn up, but the closed position and the opposite-coloured bishops give Black good chances to save the game.
  • 32…Kh6 does not lose but 32…d3! is an easier way to reach a draw though Botvinnik thought that 32...d3 would lose.
  • 33…Qd6? is a mistake and loses. After 33…d3! Black should be able to hold.
  • 34.Kf3? is a mistake which throws away the win. But after 34.Qxd6! White is winning. The opposite-coloured bishops ending is very instructive.
  • 34…Kg7 is a mistake after which Black is lost. With 34…Qxd5 or 34….Qf6, followed by ...d3 to activate the bishop on c5, Black should draw.
  • 35.Qxd6 leads to an instructive endgame with opposite coloured bishops.

Solutions and analyses

Analysis by Charles Sullivan and Zoran Petronijevic

 
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1.g3 d5 2.Nf3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.0-0 e5 5.d3 Ne7 6.Nbd2 0-0 7.e4 d4 8.a4 f6 9.Nh4 Be6 10.f4 Nd7 11.f5 Bf7 12.fxg6 hxg6 13.Bh3 Nc5 14.b4 Ne6 15.Nc4 Ng5 16.Bxg5 fxg5 17.Nf3 Bxc4 18.dxc4 Bf6 19.Qd2 Kg7 20.Ne1 a5 21.Nd3 b6 22.c5 Nc6 23.b5 Nb4 24.Nxb4 axb4 25.cxb6 cxb6 26.Qxb4 Be7 27.Qc4 Bc5 28.Kg2 Qd6 29.Be6 Rxf1 30.Rxf1 Rf8 31.Rxf8 Qxf8 32.Qd5 Kh6
Sources: 1. Baturinsky, Sakhmatnoe tvorcestvo Botvinnika III volume, Moscow FIS 1968. 2. Botvinnik, M. Analiticeskie i kriticeskie raboti, III Volume, Moscow, FIS 1986. 3.Khalifmann, A. (editor), Botvinnik 1951-1970 II volume, Chess stars, Bulgaria 2001. Probably OK for Black is 32...d3 33.Qxd3 Qf2+ 34.Kh3 Botvinnik (1, 2) Khalifman (3). In all sources Black is lost. However, Black can hold: Be7 35.Bg4 Qg1 36.Qd1 Qf2 37.Be2 Kh6 38.Qd3 Kg7 39.Qf3 Qd4 40.Qg4 Qf2 41.Bd3 Bf6 42.Qd7+ Kh6 43.Qc8 Kh7 44.Qg4 Kh6 45.Qe2 Qg1 46.Qf3 Be7 47.Bc4 Qd4 48.Qe2 Qg1 49.Qd2 Bf6 50.Kg4 Be7 51.Bd3 Kg7 52.Bc4 Kh6 53.Be6 Qf1 etc., drawish 33.Bg4 Botvinnik (1, 2) pointed out that 33.Qxe5? d3! is very good for Black. In fact, Black has a forced mate: 34.cxd3 Qf2+ 35.Kh3 Bd4 35...Qf1+ 36.Kg4 Qe2+ . At this point, Martin Beheim (Chess With the Masters, 1963) claims a perpetual check draw, but White actually gets mated: 37.Kh3 Bd4 38.Qxd4 g4+ 39.Bxg4 Qf1+ 40.Kh4 g5# 36.Qd6 Be3 Khalifman (3) sees the win for Black: 36...Qf1+ 37.Kg4 Qe2+ 38.Kh3 g4+ 39.Bxg4 Qf1+ 40.Kh4 Bf6+-+ Khalifman (3) 41.Qxf6 Qxf6+ 42.Kh3 Qf1+ 43.Kh4 g5# 37.Qe5 37.Qe7 Qf1+ 38.Kg4 Qe2+ 39.Kh3 g4+ 40.Bxg4 Qf1+ 41.Kh4 g5+ 42.Qxg5+ Bxg5# 37.Bc8 Qf1+ 38.Kg4 Qe2+ 39.Kh3 g4+ 40.Bxg4 40.Kh4 Bg5# 40...Qf1+ 41.Kh4 Bg5# 37...Qf1+ 38.Kg4 Qe2+ 39.Kh3 g4+ 40.Bxg4 Qf1+ 41.Kh4 g5+ 42.Qxg5+ Bxg5# 33...Qd6? Obviously a momentous decision. Black is a pawn down and has the further disadvantage of doubled pawns, but perhaps he felt that with queens off the board, the bishops of opposite color might be his salvation. Curiously, Botvinnik (1, 2) makes no comment at this point and neither does Khalifman (3). Black's only defense is the remarkable 33...d3! 34.Qxd3 Qf2+ 35.Kh3 Be7 36.Be2 Kg7 37.Qc4 Bc5 38.c3 Bf8 39.Qd3 Black is able to protect everything after Be7! 40.Bf3 Kh6 41.Bd1 Kg7 42.Qe2 Qg1 43.Bb3 Kh7 44.Kg4 Kh6 45.Kh3 Qh1 46.Bc4 Qc1 47.Qd3 Qg1 48.Be6 Kg7 49.Bg4 Kh6 50.Qf3 Kg7 51.Be6 Kh6 52.Bg4 Kg7 53.Qe2 Kh6 54.Qc4 Qf2 55.Qd3 Kg7 56.Be2 Bf6 57.Qf3 Qg1 58.Qg4 Kh6 59.Qc8 Kg7 60.Qd7+ Kh6 and White's precarious king's situation allows Black to hold. Losing is 33...Qf6? 34.Bf3 d3? Loses as well Black can avoid sacrificing the d-pawn, but he still will lose: 34...Qe7 35.Be2 Qf6 36.Qc6 Kg7 37.Bc4 Qf8 38.Qc7+ Qe7 39.Qxe7+ Bxe7 40.Kf1 Bb4 41.Ke2 Bc5 42.Kd3 Kf6 43.Bb3 Bd6 44.Kc4 Ke6 45.a5 bxa5 46.b6 Kd7 47.Ba4+ Kc8 48.Kd5+- Bb4 48...Bb8 49.Kc6 g4 50.Bb5 Kd8 51.Kb7 Bd6 52.Ka8 Ke7 53.Bc6 Kf7 54.b7 etc. 49.Bc6 Bc3 50.g4 a4 51.Bxa4 Kb7 52.Ke6 Kxb6 53.Kf6 Bd2 54.Kxe5 Bc3 55.Kd6+- etc. 35.Qxd3 Qe7 36.c3 Qf8 37.Qd5 Be3 38.Qd3 Bc5 39.Qd2 Qb8 40.h4 (suggested by Zoran Petronijevic) Be7 41.Bd1 Qc7 42.Bb3 Qd8 43.hxg5+ Bxg5 44.Qd5 Qe7 45.Kf2 Bc1 46.Qa8 Qf6+ 47.Ke2 Ba3 48.Qc6 Qf8 49.Qd7 Qa8 50.Qd5 Qf8 51.Qd2+ g5 52.Qd7 Bc5 53.Bf7 Kg7 54.Be8+ Kh6 55.Qe6+ Kg7 56.Qg6+ Kh8 57.Qh5+ Kg7 58.Qxg5++- and White is three pawns ahead, winning easily. Another losing move with some interesting subvariations is 33...Bd6? 34.Be2 Qf6 35.Bd3 Bb4 36.Qc6 Qf8 36...Qd8 37.Qe6 Qd6 38.Qh3+ Kg7 39.Bc4 Qd8 40.Qe6 Qf6 41.Qg8+ Kh6 42.Qc8 Kg7 43.Kh3 Kh7 44.Kg4 Bf8 45.Qe6 Qxe6+ 46.Bxe6 Be7 47.Kf3 Kg7 48.Ke2 Kf6 49.Bd5 Bc5 50.Kd3 Bf8 51.Kc4 Ke7 52.Bg8 Kd6 53.Bf7 Be7 54.Bxg6 Ke6 55.Bf5+ Kd6 56.Bg4 Bf6 57.Bh3 Bd8 58.Kb4 Bc7 59.Bc8 Bd8 60.Bg4 Bc7 61.h4 gxh4 62.gxh4 Bd8 63.h5 Bg5 64.Bc8 Be3 65.Kc4 Bg5 66.Bb7 Be3 67.Bd5 Ke7 68.Kd3 Kd6 69.Ke2 Bh6 70.Kf3 Be3 71.Kg4 Kc5 72.Kf5 Kb4 73.Bb3 Kc3 74.Kxe5 d3 75.cxd3 Kxb3 76.d4+- 37.Qe6 37.Qxb6?? g4 38.Be2 Be1 39.Kh1 Bxg3 40.hxg3 Qf2 41.Bc4 Qf3+ 42.Kh2 Qf2+ DRAW!! 37...Bd2 38.Kh3 Qf3 39.Qc8 Qf6 40.Kg4 Be1 41.Qc6 Kg7 42.Bc4 Bd2 43.Qc8 Kh6 44.Qg8 Be3 45.Qe8 Bd2 46.Bf7 Be3 47.Qf8+ Qg7 48.Qe7 d3 48...Qh7 49.Kf3 Bd2 50.Ke2 Ba5 51.Kd3 Bb4 52.Qe8 Qg7 53.Kc4 Bd2 54.Qe7 Be1 55.Kd5 Qh7 56.Qe6 Bc3 57.Be8 Ba5 58.Qh3+ Kg7 59.Qxh7+ Kxh7 60.Kxe5+- 49.cxd3 Kh7 50.Qe8 Kh6 51.Qe6 Kh7 52.Qe7 Qh6 53.Bd5+ Qg7 54.Qe6 Qf8 55.Qxe5+- 34.Kf3? Regarding this move, Botvinnik (1,2) again remains silent, as does Khalifman (3). Perhaps White was convinced that Black, having offered to exchange queens with 33... Qd6 would not withdraw the offer. White should seize the opportunity to rid himself of the pesky Black queen: 34.Qxd6! Bxd6 35.Kf3 Black's only chance is Preventing an immediate ...d3 with 35.Be2 is a good idea, as Wolfram Schön has pointed out; for example: Kg7 36.Bc4 Bb4 37.Kf2 Kf6 38.Ke2 Ke7 39.Bd5 Bd6 40.Kd3 Bc5 41.Bc6 Bb4 42.Kc4 Ba5 43.Kd5 Kf6 44.Kd6 Bb4+ 45.Kc7 Ba5 46.Be8 Kg7 47.Kd6 Kf6 48.Bxg6 Kxg6 49.Kxe5 Bc3 50.Ke6 Kg7 51.e5 Kf8 52.h4+- and Black cannot plug all the leaks in his position. Also winning is 35.Kf1 and, as Wolfram Schön points out, Black's only realistic play is d3! but White wins after 36.c3! Herr Schön gives this interesting variation: Bc5 37.Be6 Kg7 38.Bc4 d2 39.Ke2 Bg1 40.Kxd2 Bxh2?! 41.a5 bxa5 42.b6 Bg1 43.b7 Ba7 44.Kc2 Kf6 45.Kb3 Ke7 46.Ka4 Kd6 47.Kxa5 Kc7 48.Ka6 Bf2 49.g4 Kb8 50.Bf7 Be1 51.c4 Bf2 52.Bxg6 Kc7 53.Bf7 Kb8 54.Bd5 Kc7 55.Kb5 Be3 56.c5 Bd4 57.Bc6 Be3 58.Kc4 Bc1 59.Kd5 Bf4 60.Ke6 Bg3 61.Bd5 Bh2 62.c6 Bg3 63.b8Q+ Kxb8 64.Kd7+- 35...d3! 35...Kg7 36.Ke2 Kf6 37.Kd3 Bb4 38.Bh3 Ke7 39.Kc4 Bd2 40.Kd5 Kf6 41.Bg4 Ba5 42.Kc6 Kf7 43.Kd7 Bb4 44.Bh3 Kf6 45.Kd8 Bd2 46.Bd7 Ba5 47.Be8 Bb4 48.Kc7 Ba5 49.Kd6 Bb4+ 50.Kc6 Ba5 51.h3 Ke7 52.Bxg6 Kf6 53.Kd5 Kg7 54.Kxe5 Kxg6 55.Kxd4 Kf6 56.e5+ Kf7 57.c3 Kg7 58.h4 Kg6 59.hxg5 Kxg5 60.Kd5 Kg6 61.e6 Kf6 62.Kd6+- 36.c3! Not the hasty 36.cxd3? Bc5 37.Ke2 Bd4 38.Bd7 Kg7 39.Bc6 Kf8 40.Kd2 Ke7 41.g4 Ba1 42.Kc2 Kd6 43.Be8 Bd4 44.Bxg6 Bg1 45.h3 Kc5 46.Kb3 Bf2 47.Bf7 Be1 48.Kc2 Bg3 49.Bc4 Kd6 50.Bb3 Be1 51.Bg8 Bb4 52.Kd1 Bc5 53.Ke2 Ke7 54.Kf3 Kf6 55.Kg3 Bb4 56.Bc4 Bc3 57.Kg2 Bd4 58.Kf3 Bc3 59.Kg3 Bb4 60.Kf2 Bc3 61.Ba2 Ke7 62.Ke2 Bd4 63.Bc4 Bc3 64.Kf3 Kf6 65.Bd5 Be1 66.Bb7 Ba5 67.Ke3 Bc3 68.Bc8 Bd4+ 69.Kd2 Ke7 70.Ke2 Kf6 71.Bb7 Bc3 72.Bd5 Ba5 73.Bg8 Bb4 74.Bh7 Ke7 75.Bf5 Kf6 76.Ke3 Bc5+ 77.Kd2 Bd4 etc., drawish 36...Bc5 37.Be6 d2 38.Ke2 d1Q+ 39.Kxd1 Kg7 40.Ke2 Kf6 41.Bb3 Ke7 42.Bd5 Bg1 43.Kf3 Kf6 44.c4 Bc5 45.Bc6 Kf7 46.Kg4 Be3 47.c5 Bxc5 48.Kxg5 Be3+ 49.Kg4 Ke7 50.h4 Bd2 51.Bd5 Kf8 52.Kh3 Bh6 53.a5 bxa5 54.b6 Be3 55.b7 Ba7 56.Bc6 Ke7 57.Ba4 Kf7 58.Kg4 Kf6 59.Kf3 Ke7 60.g4 Kd8 61.Kg3 Bb8 62.g5 Ke7 63.Kg2 Kd8 64.Kf3 Ke7 65.Ke2 Bd6 66.Kd3 Kf7 67.Kc4 Bb8 68.Kb5 Ke7 69.Kxa5 Ba7 70.Ka6 Bb8 71.Kb5 Kd7 72.Kc4+ Ke7 73.Kd3 Kf8 74.Ke2 Ba7 75.Kf3 Bb8 76.Kg4+- 34...Kg7? Again, no word from Botvinnik (1,2). Khalifman (3) at least examines the obvious alternative: 34...Qxd5! 35.exd5 Kg7 36.Ke4 Bd6 37.Kd3 Kf6 38.c3 Other moves are no better. dxc3 39.Kxc3 Ke7 40.Kc4 Kf6! 40...e4 also leads to a draw Khalifman's (3) analysis leads to a White victory: 40...Ba3 41.Bf3 Bd6 42.Be4 Kf6 43.Bc2 Kf7 44.a5 bxa5 45.b6 Ke7 46.Kb5+- Khalifman (3). 41.Bf3 41.Kd3 Bb4 42.Ke4 Ba3 43.Be2 Bb4 44.Bd3 Be7 45.Bf1 Bd6 46.Kf3 Bc5 etc., drawish 41.a5 bxa5 42.Kb3 e4 43.b6 Ke5 44.Ka4 Kxd5 45.Kxa5 e3 46.Ka6 Kc4 47.Kb7! Kd3 48.Kc8 e2 49.Bxe2+ Kxe2 50.Kd7!= 41...Kf5! 42.Kd3 Bc5 43.Bg2 Kf6 44.Bh3 Ke7 45.Ke4 Kf6 46.Be6 Bd6= etc., drawish. Also making White regret that he did not exchange queens: 34...Qf6+ or 34...Qf8+ 35.Kg2 d3! 36.Qxd3 Qf2+ 37.Kh3 Be7 38.Be2 Kg7 39.Qf3 Qd4 40.Qg4 Qf2 41.Bd3 Bf6 42.Qe6 Kh6 43.Qd7 Qg1 44.Bc4 Qf2 45.Qd1 Be7 46.Qe2 Qd4 and White cannot make further progress. 35.Qxd6+- Bxd6 36.Ke2 Bb4 37.Kd3 Kf6 38.Kc4 Be1 39.Kd5 Bb4 Botvinnik (1,2): Black commits an inaccuracy allowing White's bishop to penetrate to e8 without any difficulty. He should play 39...Bc3 so as to answer 40.Bd7 with Ke7 . It is surprising that Botvinnik believes that Black has any hope in this position. The end might be: 41.Kc6 Ba5 42.Kc7 Kf6 42...Bc3 43.Kxb6! Kxd7 44.a5+- Kc8 45.a6 Kb8 46.a7+ Ka8 47.Ka6+- 43.Be8 Kg7 44.Kd6 Kf6 45.Bxg6 Kxg6 46.Kxe5 Kf7 47.Kf5 Bd2 48.h4 gxh4 49.gxh4 Be3 50.h5 Ke7 51.e5 Kd7 52.a5 bxa5 53.e6+ Ke7 54.b6 d3 55.b7 dxc2 56.b8Q c1Q 57.Qb7+ Kd6 58.Qd7+ Kc5 59.Qc7+ Kb4 60.Qxc1+- 40.Bd7 Be1 41.Be8 Bc3 42.Kc6 42.Kc6 Botvinnik (1,2): Black resigns in view of the following possible variation Ba5 43.Kc7 Kg7 43...g4 44.Bd7 Kg5 45.Be6 Kh5 46.Bc4 Kg5 47.Be2 Kh5 48.h3+- <<-- Botvinnik 44.Kd6 Kf6 45.Bxg6! This is where the weakness of the g-pawn shows itself. Kxg6 46.Kxe5 Bc3 47.Ke6 g4 48.e5 Bb4 49.Kd7 Kf7 50.e6+ Kf8 51.a5+- etc. Botvinnik (1, 2) 1–0
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Botvinnik,M-Pachman,L-1–01960A07Leipzig ol (Men) fin-A8.1

Wolfram Schön also had a close look at the endgame. Here are his findings and explanations.

 
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A queen + bishop vs queen + bishop ending, with opposite-coloured bishops. White is up a pawn on a4, which is backward. But the break a4-a5 is always a resource. Black's pawnstructure contains an additional weakness with the isolated doubled g-pawns. One of them has to stay on a white square (g6), a target for White's bishop. As long as the queens are on board, both kings are not completely safe. Their best squares are on h3 and h6 respectively. The big question is, what happens if the queens are exchanged. The answer is, as so often: It depends on the details. So we will see soon several pure opposite-coloured bishop endings, in slightly different constellations. Some are winning, some are not. Trying to understand the differences is the most interesting in my mind.
32.Qd5 Standard centralization. Still the best, although allowing Black an active defence. 32.Qf1?! Qe8 Black is ok as White's queen is too passive. 33.Bc4?! g4!? 34.Qd1 Qc8 35.Be2 Qa8 36.Bd3 Qc8= 32...Kh6 Trick defence of the e5. This was Black's first chance to go for an active defence by sacrificing a second pawn. 32...d3! 33.Qxd3 Qf2+ 34.Kh3 White's two extra pawns are backward and of no immediate effect. He can make a little bit of progress by handing over the control of f1 from the queen to the bishop. Black tries to keep an active queen to annoy White's king. But in some situations he must react very precisely. Overall it seems White can't succeed, although he can do a lot of probing. E.g.: Kh6 35.Bg4 Kg7 36.Be2 Be7! 36...Kh6? 37.Qf3 Qd4 38.Qf6 Qd7+ 39.Bg4 Qg7 40.Qxg7+ Kxg7 41.Kg2+- as we will see later. 37.Qf3 37.Qd7 Forces a transition to a queen endgame. But as White is busy safeguarding his king, Black will find compensation in form of a passed e-pawn. Qxe2 38.Qxe7+ Kh6 39.Qf8+ Kh7 40.c3 Qg4+ 41.Kg2 Qe2+ 42.Qf2 Qxe4+ 43.Qf3 Qc2+ 44.Kh3 e4= 37...Qd4 38.Qg4 Qf2 39.Bd3 Bf6! 40.Qe6 Kh6! 41.Qd7 Qg1 42.Qc8 Kg7! 43.Qe6 Qf2! 44.Bc4 Kh6! 45.Bd3 45.Qf7?! g4+! 46.Kxg4 Qxh2 47.Kf3 Qh1+= 45...Kg7 46.Qg4 Kh6 47.Qe2 Qg1! 48.Kg4 Kg7 49.Bc4 Kh6 50.Qd2 Qh1 51.Bd3 Qg1 52.Qe2 Kg7 53.Kh3 Kh6 54.Qf1 I don't see anything more, White could try with queens on the board. So he may try this transition to an opposite-coloured bishop ending, which he could have forced before already. g4+! 55.Kxg4 Qxh2 56.Qh3+ Qxh3+ 57.Kxh3 Be7 White could keep his two extra pawns, but Black could get rid of his double pawn. This is a quite good constellation for Black, who plays for a blockade on the black squares and some counterplay against White's g3. 58.a5 or 58.Bc4 Bb4 59.Bf7 Kg5 60.Kg2 Kf6 61.Be8 g5 62.Kf3 Be1 63.g4 Ke7 64.Ke2 Bb4 65.Bg6 Kd6 66.Kd3 Kc5 67.c3 Ba3 68.Bf7 Bc1= 58...bxa5 59.b6 a4! 60.Kg4 a3 61.Bc4 Bc5 62.b7 Bd6 63.Bb3 Kg7 64.c4 Kf6 65.c5 Bb8 66.Bd5 Bc7 67.Kf3 Kg5 68.Ke3 Kg4= 33.Bg4 A start to reroute this bishop to the better diagonal f1-c4. For illustration: 33.Qxe5?? d3! 34.cxd3 Qf2+ 35.Kh3 Bd4! 36.Qd6 Be3 37.Qe5 Qf1+ 38.Kg4 Qe2+ 39.Kh3 g4+ 40.Bxg4 Qf1+ 41.Kh4 g5+-+ 33...Qd6? Although it is quite natural to challenge White's strong queen on d5, this is a losing mistake. Trying to keep the status quo wasn't possible. Sooner or later Black will be pressed too hard, e.g.: 33...Qf6? 34.Bf3 Kg7 35.Qd7+ Kh6 36.Be2 Be7 37.Bc4 Bc5 38.Qc8 Bb4 39.Qh3+ Kg7 40.Qd7+ Kh6 41.Qc8 Kg7 42.Kh3 Kh6 43.Kg4 Kg7 44.Qg8+ Kh6 45.Bf7 Bd2 46.Qf8+ Qg7 47.Qe7 Kh7 48.Qe8 Be3 49.Bc4+- But Black had a second chance for: 33...d3! 34.Qxd3 Qf2+ 35.Kh3 with a position we have seen before after 32...d3. 34.Kf3? I suspect the idea was to first improve the king, before exchanging the queens. But this could have backfired in several ways. Immediately transferring to the pure ending with opposite-coloured bishops was winning. Although the details are very tricky. 34.Qxd6! Bxd6 35.Be2 The best way to handle the problem practically in my mind, minimizing Black's resources for resistance. 35.Kf3 Probably White's most natural move. Let's look at this first, as it will help our understanding of the position a lot. d3! With this amazing resource, Black tries to avoid the fate of the game, a more or less clear loss. Instead 35...Kg7?! 36.Ke2+- transposes to the game. 36.c3! The winning method. White passes by to pick up Black's d-pawn with a piece later. 36.cxd3? This line demonstrates Black's idea to hand over a second pawn. Now White's pawn d3 is an obstacle for his king on the way to d5, so Black gains some valuable time. But the most important point is that the diagonal c5-g1 is open for Black's bishop. A few moves later, we will see the effect. Bc5! 36...Kg7? allows White a nice resac, granting him a passed e-pawn. 37.d4! exd4 38.Ke2 Kf6 39.Kd3 Ke5 40.Bd7 Bc5 41.Be8 Kf6 This is the position White wants to have. But with Black to move, so in the following moves he will lose a tempo by some manoeuvring with the bishop. 42.Bc6 Ke6 43.Bd5+ Kf6 44.Bb3 Ke5 44...Ke7 45.e5 45.Bf7 Kf6 46.Be8 Here we are again, but now it is zugzwang for Black. g4 46...Kg7 47.e5+- 47.Bd7 Ke5 48.Bxg4 Be7 49.Bd1 g5 50.Bc2 Bf6 51.Ke2 Bd8 52.Kf3 Be7 53.Kg4 Bd8 54.h4 gxh4 55.gxh4+- 37.Ke2 37.d4 Bxd4 38.Ke2 Bg1= 37...Bd4! 37...Kg7?! 38.d4 Bxd4 39.Kd3 This line gives White more chances, as he can transpose to a set-up we will see later after 36.Ke3. 38.Bd7 Before sending over his king to the queenside, White places his bishop on e8 to get pressure on g6. If instead White rushes over with the king at once, Black's king will be in time. 38.Kd1 Kg7! 39.Kc2 Kf6 40.Kb3 Ke7! 41.Kc4 Kd6! 42.Bc8 g4!? Black can simplify his task with this trick. 43.Bxg4 Bg1 44.h3 Bf2 45.Bc8 Bxg3= 38...Kg7 39.Be8 Kf6 40.Kd1 Bg1! A key move. White's kingside pawns must be pushed away from the black squares h2 and g3 onto white squares. 41.h3 41.Kc2 Bxh2 42.a5 bxa5 43.b6 Bg1 44.b7 Ba7 45.Kb3 Ke7 46.Bxg6 Kd6= 41...Bf2! 42.g4 Be3 43.Kc2 Bd4 44.Kb3 Be3 45.Kc4 Ke6! White must not be allowed to play Kc4-d5. So Black loses a third pawn. 46.Bxg6 Kd6 All three white majorities are poor, because of the backward pawns on white squares each time. With his pawns still on h2 and g3 White would win, as he could create a passed h-pawn by h2-h4 now. That is why Bc5-g1-f2 was necessary. Which in turn was only possible by clearing the diagonal c5-g1 by d4-d3 in move 35. In my mind it is too early to call the resulting position a positional draw. Because with his three extra pawns, White has many chances to play for some resacs. One example for illustration to come, but it is unforced and Black has alternatives for his defence. 47.Bf5 Bf2 48.d4 Bxd4 49.h4 gxh4 50.g5 Be3 51.g6 Bh6 52.Kb4 Bd2+ 53.Kb3 Ke7! 53...Bh6? 54.a5! bxa5 55.Ka4+- 54.Kc4 Kf6 55.Kd5 Bc3 56.Kc6 Ba5= 36.Ke3? The refusual of Black's pawn sacrifice looks a bit silly, but White's king will make it to d5. Which is what he failed to do after 36.cxd3. It is a really close try and the most spectacular line in my mind. dxc2 37.Kd2 Kg7 Attacking the h2 is too slow this time. 37...Bc5 38.Kxc2 Bg1? 39.Kb3 Bxh2 40.a5! bxa5 41.Ka4! Bxg3 42.b6 Bf2 43.Kxa5+- 38.Kxc2 Bb4 39.Kb3 Ba5 40.Kc4 Kf6 41.Kd5 Bc3 42.Kc6 Ba5 This very much resembles the position at the end of the game. The difference is the missing pawn pair c2/d4, which helps Black. 43.Bd7 The bishop goes to e8 for the g6 once more. The other idea is to infiltrate with the king from the back side. 43.Kd7 Kf7 44.Be6+ Kf6 45.Bc4 Bb4 46.Ke8 Kg7! Black must not allow White's king to pass f8 for free. As he will reach h7 to win another pawn and the game. 46...Be1? 47.Kf8! Bb4+ 48.Kg8! Bc5 49.g4 Bb4 50.Bf7 Bd2 51.Be8 Bb4 52.Kh7 Bc3 53.Bxg6 Bd2 54.Kh6 Be1 55.Be8 Bd2 56.Bc6 Be1 57.Bd5 Bd2 58.Bc4 Be1 59.a5! Bxa5 60.h4!+- 47.g4 Kf6! 48.a5 Bxa5! 49.Kf8 Bb4+ 50.Kg8 Bc5 51.Bf7 Bg1 52.h3 Bc5 53.Be8 Bf2 54.Kh7 Bc5 55.Bxg6 Be3 56.Kh6 Bf4= 43...Ke7 44.Kc7 Kf7 44...Bc3? 45.Kxb6! Kxd7 46.a5+- 45.Kd8 Bc3 46.Be8+ Kf6 47.Kc7 Ba5 Now White can try, what we will see much later in the post-mortem to the game, a bishop sacrifice on g6. Before that he has to decide on the set-up of his kingside pawns. 48.h3 With h2 and g3 it is not so dangerous. 48.Kc6 Kg7! 49.Kd6 Kf6! 50.Bxg6?! Kxg6 51.Kxe5 Bc3+ 52.Ke6 g4! 53.e5 Kg7 54.Kf5 Kf7 55.Kxg4 Bxe5= 48...Kg7 49.Kd6 Also with h3 and g4 it doesn't cause much difficulites for Black. 49.g4?! Kf6 50.Kc6 Kg7 51.Kd6 Kf6 52.Bxg6 Kxg6 53.Kxe5 Kf7 54.Kd6 Bc3 55.e5 Bd4 56.e6+ Ke8= 49...Kf6! 49...Bc3? 50.Ke6+- 50.Bxg6 Doing it now with the pawns on h3 and g3 is critical. Kxg6! 51.Kxe5 Be1! 52.Ke6 Bxg3 53.e5 Kg7! 53...Bf4? 54.a5!+- 54.Kd6 Kg6! 55.Kc6 Bxe5! 56.Kxb6 Looks promising to a human maybe, but we are already in TB land. Kh5! 57.a5 Kh4! 58.a6 Kxh3! 59.Kc5 g4! 60.a7 g3! 61.a8Q g2! Somewhat unlucky for White that this is a non-win, but he can try something practically. 62.Qc8+ Kh2! 63.Kd5!? g1Q! 64.Qc2+ Kh3! 65.Qf5+ Kg2! 66.Qxe5 Queen and knight pawn vs queen. A theoretical drawn position. The defending king is already in the right corner. But it is similar to Botvinnik-Minev, Amsterdam 54, which Botvinnik won. All in all, this entire line is a 'miracle save' for Black. 36...Bc5 Here White's c-pawn is more valuable than his d-pawn in the other line after 36. cxd3. But the most important difference is the kingside. Now White will be able to preserve his pawns on h2 and g3. Some of the following lines will be very long, as it takes time to break Black's resistance by a blockade on the black squares. I will try to show a more or less systematic win, which consists out of four stages. Stage one: Winning Black's d-pawn, but defending the h2. Whenever Black's bishop will show up on g1, White uses two tricks. The first is to answer Bg1xh2 by Ke2-f2, which catches the bishop. The second is to use the breakthrough on the queenside, that is the sequence Bg1xh2, a4-a5 b6xa5, b5-b6. 37.Be6 Bg1 37...Kh5 38.Bc4 d2 39.Bb3 Bg1 40.Ke2 Kg4 41.Be6+ and Black's king has to go back. 38.Bc4 d2 39.Ke2! Kg7 A critical test: 39...Bxh2 40.a5! bxa5 41.b6 Bg1 42.b7 Ba7 43.Kxd2 Kg7 44.Kc2 Kf6 45.Kb3 Ke7 46.Ka4 Kd6 47.Kxa5 Kc7 48.Ka6 Bf2 49.g4! Kb8 50.Bf7 Be1 51.c4 Bf2 52.Bxg6 Kc7 53.Bf7 Kb8 54.Bd5 Kc7 55.Kb5 Be3 56.c5 Bd4 57.Bc6 Be3 58.Kc4 Bc1 59.Kd5 Bf4 60.Ke6 Bg3 61.Bd5 Bh2 62.c6 Bg3 63.b8Q+ Kxb8 64.Kd7+- 40.Kxd2 Stage two: White wants to improve the position of his pieces. King to g4, bishop to e8, c-pawn to c4. This will eventually safeguard the pawn on h2. Kf6 40...Bxh2 41.a5! bxa5 42.b6 Bg1 43.b7 Ba7 transposes to 39...Bxh2. 41.Ke2 Ke7 42.Kf3 Kf6 43.Bd5 Ke7 44.Bc6 Kf7 45.c4 Ke7 Although the following defence can be broken in a straightforward way, it is nevertheless important. Black tries to prevent White's bishop from coming to e8 by defending the g5 with his bishop. 45...Bc5 46.Kg4 Be3 47.c5! Bxc5 48.Kxg5 Be3+ 49.Kg4 Bd2 50.h4 Be1 51.Kh3 Bb4 52.g4 Be1 53.g5 Bd2 54.Kg4 Be1 55.h5 gxh5+ 56.Kxh5 Kg7 57.Kg4 Kg6 58.Be8+ Kg7 59.Kf5 Bc3 60.Ke6 Bd4 61.g6 Bc3 62.Bf7 Bd4 63.a5 bxa5 64.Kd6 a4 65.Kc7+- 46.Kg4 Kf6 46...Bxh2?! 47.c5 bxc5 48.b6 Kd6 49.Bd5 c4 50.a5 Bg1 51.Bxc4 Be3 52.Bd5 Kd7 53.Kf3 Bg1 54.g4 Bd4 55.Ke2+- 46...Be3 47.c5! Bxc5 48.Kxg5 Kf7 49.Be8+! Kxe8 50.Kxg6+- 47.Be8 Stage three: White's king goes over to the queenside to prepare a4-a5. This will force a concession by Black, as his king has to help defending the queenside. White will win one of Black's doubled g-pawns. Bc5 48.Kf3 Bg1 49.Ke2 Bc5 49...g4 50.Bd7 Kg5 51.Kd3 Bxh2 52.c5 bxc5 53.b6 c4+ 54.Kxc4 Bg1 55.Kb5+- 50.Kd3 Bg1 51.Kc3 g4 This line demonstrates that Black can't stand still: 51...Bf2 52.Kb3 Bg1 53.a5! bxa5 54.Ka4 Bb6 55.c5! Bxc5 56.Kxa5+- 52.Kb3 g5 52...Ke7 53.Bxg6 Kd6 54.a5! bxa5 55.Ka4 Bxh2 56.b6! Bg1 57.Kxa5 Kc6 58.Be8+ Kb7 59.Kb5 Bxb6 60.c5 Bd8 61.Bd7 Bg5 62.Bxg4 Be3 63.Bh5 Bf2 64.g4 Be3 65.Kc4 Kc6 66.Be8+ Kc7 67.Kd5 Bf4 68.Ke6+- 53.Bd7 Ke7 54.Bxg4 Stage four: Now all White's previous efforts pay out, as his majority with h2 and g3 is healthy and he can create a passed h-pawn. Supporting this pawn with the king, who swaps back to the kingside, will overstrech the defenders. Kd6 54...Bf2 55.h4 gxh4 56.gxh4 Bxh4 57.c5 bxc5 58.a5+- 55.h4 gxh4 56.gxh4 Kc5 57.h5 Be3 58.Be6 Kd6 59.Bd5 Kc5 60.Kc2 Bh6 61.Kd3 Bc1 62.Ke2 Kd6 63.Kf3 Ke7 64.Kg4 Kf6 65.c5+- 35.Be6 d3 36.c3! 35.Kf2 d3 36.c3! 35.Kf1 d3 36.c3! The last three alternatives of White in move 35 come to the same positions as after 35.Kf3 d3 36.c3 sooner or later. 35...Bb4 35...d3 Black can play this pawn sacrifice here as well, but White can immediately capture with a piece. Thus keeping the pawn on h2 is easier this time. 36.Bxd3 Bc5 Now White can directly aim for the Kg4, Be8, c4 set-up. 37.Bc4 Kg7 38.Be6 Kf6 39.Bd7 Ke7 40.Bc6 Kf7 41.Kf3 Bg1 42.c4 which is exactly the same position as in the line starting with 35.Kf3 d3 36.c3, after 45.c4. 36.Kf3 While always guarding d3 with a piece, White will improve his bishop to c6 and his king to c4. Kg7 37.Bc4 Kf6 38.Ke2 Ke7 39.Bd5 Bc3 40.Bc6 Bb4 41.Kd3 Be1 42.Kc4 Next White would like to put his king on d5 and his bishop on e8 again. Black is at the crossroads and has to make a concession. Kd6 This way White's king is blocked, but Black has to give up the g6. 42...Bd2 on the other hand permits White's king access to d5. 43.Kd5 Bc3 44.Bb7 Kd7 45.Ba8 zugzwang, White's bishop will reach e8. Ke7 46.Bc6 Kf7 47.Kd6 Kf6 48.Be8+- as we will see at the end of the game. 43.Be8 Bf2 44.Bxg6 Next White will create a passed pawn on the h-file. His king has to help a bit by chasing away Black's bishop. Be1 45.Kd3 Ke7 46.Ke2 Bb4 47.h4 Now White will improve the pieces by king to c4 and bishop to d5. gxh4 48.gxh4 Ba3 49.h5 Bc1 50.Kd3 Kd6 51.Kc4 Bh6 52.Bf7 Bd2 53.Bd5 The break a4-a5 and supporting the b-pawn with the king is on White's agenda. On the kingside White's outside passed pawn keeps Black very busy. Sooner are later the defenders will be overstretched. Ke7 53...Be3 54.a5 bxa5 55.b6 a4 56.Kb5 a3 57.Ka6+- 54.Kd3 Be1 54...Bc1 55.a5! 55.h6 Kf6 56.h7 Kg7 57.Bg8 Ba5 58.Kc4 Be1 59.Kd5 Bc3 60.a5! Bxa5 61.Kxe5+- 34...Kg7? Copying White's mistake of improving the king without clarifying the situation of his queen. Here Black had a thrid chance to keep the queens on and go for the active play, we have seen before. 34...Qf6+ 35.Kg2 d3! 36.Qxd3 Qf2+ see 32... d3. 34...Qf8+ 35.Kg2 d3! 36.Qxd3 Qf2+ produces the same as 34...Qf6+. But especially Black could and should have exchanged the queens now himself. I think this was his best chance the save the game in practice. 34...Qxd5! 35.exd5 Each side got a passed pawn in the centre, which are easily controlled both. Point is, the desired square for the white king d5 is now obstructed by his own pawn. White can set up with bishop on e4 and king on c4 or b3. However Black has a very solid and simple defence. Bd6 or 35...Kg7 36.Ke4 Kf6 because White's following try doesn't work. 37.d6 Bxd6 38.Kd5 Bb4! 39.Bf3 Be1 40.Be4 Bb4 41.Kc6 Ba5! 42.Kd7 Bc3 43.Kc7 Ba5! 44.Kc6 Kf7= 36.Ke4 Kg7 37.Bf3 Kf6 38.Kd3 Kf5 39.Be4+ Kf6 40.Kc4 Kf7 41.Kb3 Bc5! Now White has to try a pawn sacrifice, one way or the other. but not 41...Kf6? 42.a5! bxa5 43.b6 Bc5 44.b7 Ba7 45.Ka4+- 42.Kc4 42.a5 bxa5 43.Ka4 Bb6 44.d6 Kf6 45.d7 Kf7= 42.d6 Bxd6 43.Kc4 Kf6 44.Kd5 Bb4!= as seen before in the line after 35...Kg7. 42...Bd6 43.a5 bxa5 44.b6 a4! 45.b7 Kf6 46.b8Q Bxb8 47.Kb4 Ke7 48.Kxa4 Kd6 49.Kb5 g4 50.Kc4 g5 51.Bf5 Ba7 52.Bxg4 e4 This passed pawn balances the game. On top White's h-pawn has the wrong colour. 53.h4 gxh4 54.gxh4 d3 55.cxd3 exd3= 35.Qxd6! Bxd6 In this constellation Black is lost, as nothing can stop White's king from reaching d5. 36.Ke2 Bb4 37.Kd3 Kf6 38.Kc4 White's next job is to bring the bishop to e8 for the weakness on g6. Be1 According to Botvinnik, it was somewhat more stubborn for Black to use his king for controlling e8 and to defend the e5 with a trick. 38...Bc3 39.Kd5 Ke7 40.Kc6 Ba5 41.Bd7 Kf7 41...Bb4 42.Kxb6! Kxd7 43.a5 Kc8 44.a6 Kb8 45.a7+ Ka8 46.Ka6+- 42.Kd6 Bc3 43.Kc7 Ba5 44.Kd8 Bb4 45.Be8+ and the job is done eventually. 39.Kd5 Bb4 40.Bd7 Be1 40...Ke7 41.Kc6 Ba5 42.Kc7 Kf7 is the same we have seen after 38...Bc3. 41.Be8 Bc3 42.Kc6 Black resigned the adjournment without resumption. White can improve his position even more because of Black's weaknesses on b6, e5 and g6. Then White gets rid of the opposite-coloured bishops by sacrificing his own. This will give him dangerous passed pawns all and everywhere. The key line given by Botvinnik: 42.Kc6 Ba5 43.Kc7! A key zugzwang position. Kg7 43...g4 44.Bd7 Kg5 45.Be6 Kh5 46.Bc4 Kg5 47.Be2 Kh5 48.h3+- 44.Kd6 Kf6 44...Bc3 45.Ke6 the next zugzwang Kh7 46.Kf6+- 45.Bxg6! Kxg6 46.Kxe5 Bc3 47.Ke6 g4 48.e5 Bb4 or 48...Kg7 49.Kd5 Kf7 50.Kc6 d3 51.cxd3 Bd4 52.Kd5 Bc3 53.d4+- 49.Kd7 Kf7 50.e6+ Kf8 51.a5!+- 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Botvinnik,M-Pachman,L-1–01960Leipzig

Helmut Kahovec analysed this endgame with the help of Stockfish.

 
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Stockfish 14 NNUE uses 8 cores, 16 GB hash, and the complete 3 to 6 men Syzygy TB. [xx] indicates the ply depth while evaluating the next move. During an analysis the GUI sorts candidate moves from better to worse. While playing out a position under the time control 1/420+60 Stockfish 14 NNUE with 16 GB hash reaches ply depths of about 40 after only a few half-moves. Thus, for a reasonable single-step or block analysis of a played-out line, it is necessary to use a 16 GB hash, ply depths of about 40 or more, and at least two PVs. At this high level of play a difference of evaluation values of 0.10 between candidate moves may already be significant. 1.g3 d5 2.Nf3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.0-0 e5 5.d3 Ne7 6.Nbd2 0-0 7.e4 d4 8.a4 f6 9.Nh4 Be6 10.f4 Nd7 11.f5 Bf7 12.fxg6 hxg6 13.Bh3 Nc5 14.b4 Ne6 15.Nc4 Ng5 16.Bxg5 fxg5 17.Nf3 Bxc4 18.dxc4 Bf6 19.Qd2 Kg7 20.Ne1 a5 21.Nd3 b6 22.c5 Nc6 23.b5 Nb4 24.Nxb4 axb4 25.cxb6 cxb6 26.Qxb4 Be7 27.Qc4 Bc5 28.Kg2 Qd6 29.Be6 Rxf1? Black could have played much better in this position. [40] 0.74: 29...Rab8 [40] 0.74: 29...Rae8 [40] 0.74: 29...Qe7 [40] 0.74: 29...Rad8 [40] 0.74: 29...Kh6 [40] 0.97: 29...Kh7 [40] 0.97: 29...d3 [40] 1.22: 29...Rxf1 Immediately playing out this position by Stockfish 14 NNUE gives LINE 1: 30.Rxf1 Rf8 31.Rxf8 Qxf8 This is exactly Karsten Mueller's text position. 32.Qd5 Meanwhile, many data have been accumulated in the RAM and in the 16 GB hash. The ply depth has already reached 60. Thus, the playing strength has been boosted so much that Stockfish 14 NNUE easily finds all following decisive moves for both sides. Kh6 32...Qf6? This was the move in the original block analysis. 33.Bg4 d3 This is exactly the same position as that after 33... d3 instead of 33... Qd6 in the actual game between Botvinnik and Pachman. See below! 34.Qxd3 Qf2+ 35.Kh3 Be7 36.Be2 Kg7 37.Qc4 Kh6 38.Qd3 Kg7 39.Qd1 Kh6 40.Bd3 Bf6 41.Qe2 Qg1 42.Qd2 Kh5 43.Be2+ Kh6 44.Qd3 Be7 45.Qc4 Qf2 46.Qc8 Bf8 47.Bd3 Bg7 48.Qd7 Bf6 49.Qg4 Qg1 50.Be2 Qc5 51.Qe6 Qf2 52.Bc4 Kh5 53.Qg4+ Kh6 54.c3 During its play, after the last 40 half-moves and with ply depths of more than 60, Stockfish 14 NNUE realized that White cannot make progress by playing only with his king, queen, or bishop. Black would have built up a fortress. 54. c3 is the only pawn move for White that does not evaluate to 0.00. While computing the candidate moves from scratch it would probably require ply depths of 100+ and a much larger hash than 16 GB in order to come to the same conclusion. [60] 0.88: 54.Be2 [60] 0.82: 54.Qe2 [60] 0.82: 54.Bd3 [60] 0.82: 54.Qd1 [60] 0.82: 54.Qe6 [60] 0.14: 54.c3 [60] 0.00: 54.a5 [60] 0.00: 54.Qc8 54...Qg1 55.Be2 Qe1 56.Qf3 Be7 57.Kg2 Bc5 58.Kh3 Be7 59.Qe3 Kg7 This is one of the equally strong top three candidate moves. [40] 0.90: 59...Qb1 [40] 0.90: 59...Qh1 [40] 0.90: 59...Kg7 [40] 1.59: 59...Bf6 [40] 1.87: 59...Bc5 60.Qd3 Qf2 61.Bd1 Kh7 62.Qe2 Qg1 63.Bb3 Kg7 64.Kg4 Kh6 65.Bd1 Qc5 66.Qc2 Qe3 67.Kh3 Kg7 68.Be2 Kh6 69.Qd3 Qf2 70.Bf3 Bf6 71.Bd1 Be7 72.Be2 Kg7 73.Qf3 Qc5 74.Kg2 Qa3 75.Bd1 Qb2+ 76.Kh3 Qd2 77.Be2 Qa2 78.Qg4 Kh7 79.Qf3 Qe6+ 80.Qg4 Qa2 Subsequently, White sets up some traps for Black: 81.Bd3 Kh6 [40] 0.76: 81...Kh6 [40] 0.82: 81...Bf6 [40] 1.21: 81...Qxa4 82.Qc8 Bf6 83.Qf8+ Bg7 84.Qf1 Qxa4 85.Kg4 Kh7 [40] 0.85: 85...Kh7 [40] 19.40: 85...Bh8 86.Kxg5 Bh6+ 87.Kg4 Qa7 88.Qe2 Qa1 89.c4 This is one of the equally strong top two candidate moves. [40] 0.71: 89.Qc2 [40] 0.71: 89.c4 [40] 0.13: 89.Qf1 [40] 0.13: 89.Kh3 89...Bf8 90.Qf3 Kg7 91.Qf1 Qd4 92.Kh3 Bc5 93.Qe2 Qd7+ 94.Kg2 Qd4 95.Qf3 Qg1+ 96.Kh3 Qc1 97.Kg2 Qg1+ 98.Kh3 Qc1 99.Be2 Qh6+ 100.Kg2 Qc1 101.Bf1 Qd2+ 102.Be2 Qc1 103.Qd3 Qg1+ 104.Kh3 Qf2 105.Bg4 Bd4 106.Qe2 Qg1 107.Be6 Qc1 108.Qd3 Qg5 109.Qe2 Bc5 110.Qe1 Qf6 111.Bg4 Qd8 112.Qd1 Bd4 113.Be2 Qg5 114.Qd3 Qh6+ 115.Kg2 Qc1 116.Bg4 Qg1+ 117.Kh3 Qc1 118.Be6 Qg5 119.Qe2 Qh6+ 120.Kg2 Qc1 121.h4 During its play, after the last 63 half-moves and with ply depths of more than 60, Stockfish 14 NNUE realized that White cannot make progress by playing only with his king, queen, or bishop. Black would have built up a fortress. 121. h4 is the higher-ranked of two equally strong pawn moves for White. While computing the candidate moves from scratch it would probably require ply depths of 100+ and a much larger hash than 16 GB in order to come to the same conclusion. [40] 0.57: 121.Kh3 [40] 0.57: 121.Bd7 [40] 0.57: 121.Kf3 [40] 0.57: 121.h4 [40] 0.57: 121.Bd5 [40] 0.57: 121.Bc8 [40] 0.57: 121.Qf1 [40] 0.57: 121.h3 121...Kf6 This is the highest-ranked of the equally strong top eight candidate moves. [40] 0.57: 121...Kf6 [40] 0.57: 121...Qa1 [40] 0.57: 121...Qc3 [40] 0.57: 121...Qb1 [40] 0.57: 121...Be3 [40] 0.57: 121...Qe3 [40] 0.57: 121...Qg1+ [40] 0.57: 121...Bc5 122.Bd7 Kg7 123.Be6 Qg1+ 124.Kh3 Qh1+ 125.Kg4 Kf6 126.Bd7 Kg7 127.Qf3 This is one of the equally strong top six candidate moves. White forces Black to trade queens and hopes that his two extra pawns will be decisive in the endgame. [40] 0.49: 127.Bc8 [40] 0.49: 127.Be8 [40] 0.49: 127.Bc6 [40] 0.49: 127.Qd3 [40] 0.49: 127.Qf3 [40] 0.49: 127.Be6 127...Qxf3+ Black must now trade queens. [40] 0.50: 127...Qxf3+ [40] 6.78: 127...Qc1 128.Kxf3 Bc5 129.Bg4 Kf6 130.Bc8 Kf7 131.Bb7 Kg7 132.Bd5 Kh6 133.Be6 Kg7 134.Kg4 Bf2 135.Bd7 Kf7 136.Kh3 Bc5 137.Kh2 Kf6 138.Be8 Bf2 139.Bd7 Bc5 140.Bh3 Kg7 141.Bf1 Kg8 142.Bh3 Kf7 143.Bg4 Kg7 144.Be2 Kh7 145.Kh3 Kg7 146.Kg4 Bb4 147.Bf3 Bc5 148.Kh3 Kf6 149.Bg4 Bg1 150.Bd7 Kf7 151.Kg2 Be3 152.Kh3 Bc5 153.Bc6 Bd4 154.Bd5+ Kg7 155.Kg4 Bf2 156.Be6 Kf6 157.Kf3 Bc5 158.Bd7 Kg7 159.Bc8 Kf6 160.Kg4 Bf2 161.Bd7 Kf7 162.Bf5 Kf6 163.Kf3 Bc5 164.Bc8 Kg7 165.Kg4 Bf2 166.Kf3 Bc5 167.Kg4 Bf2 168.h5 During its play, after the last 79 half-moves and with ply depths of about 70, Stockfish 14 NNUE realized that White cannot make progress by playing only with his king or bishop. Black would have built up a fortress. 168. h5 is the higher-ranked of the two pawn moves for White. While computing the candidate moves from scratch it would probably require ply depths of 100+ and a much larger hash than 16 GB in order to come to the same conclusion. [40] 0.31: 168.Bb7 [40] 0.23: 168.Be6 [40] 0.23: 168.h5 [40] 0.23: 168.Kh3 [40] 0.23: 168.Ba6 [40] 0.14: 168.Bf5 [40] 0.02: 168.c5 [40] 0.00: 168.Kf3 168...Kh6 That is probaly not the best move for Black in this position. However, the alternative candidate move 168... gxh5+ also draws. It seems that during the play Stockfish 14 NNUE has reached a ply depth of exactly 68 at this move, since for any other ply depth 168... gxh5+ is the top-ranked candidate move. [68] 0.10: 168...Kh6 Top-ranked candidate move. [68] 0.10: 168...gxh5+ [68] 0.30: 168...Kf6 [68] 0.32: 168...Kf7 [69] 0.05: 168...gxh5+ Top-ranked candidate move. [69] 0.10: 168...Kh6 [69] 0.32: 168...Kf6 [69] 0.32: 168...Kf7 [70] 0.09: 168...gxh5+ Top-ranked candidate move. [70] 0.10: 168...Kh6 [70] 0.32: 168...Kf6 [70] 0.32: 168...Kf7 [71] 0.04: 168...gxh5+ Top-ranked candidate move. 169.Kxh5 Bxg3 170.c5 Bf2 171.c6 Bc5 172.Kg5 Bd6 173.Be6 Kf8 174.Kf6 Ke8 175.Bd7+ Kd8 176.Ke6 Bb8 Block analysis. Draw. [71] 0.10: 168...Kh6 169.Bd7 gxh5+ 170.Kf5 Kg7 171.Be8 Kf8 172.Bxh5 Bxg3 173.Kf6 Bf2 174.Kxe5 Ke7 Block analysis. Draw. [71] 0.32: 168...Kf6 169.h6 Be3 170.Kf3 Bxh6 171.c5 bxc5 172.b6 Bf8 173.Ke2 c4 174.b7 Bd6 175.Kd2 c3+ 176.Kxc3 [71] 0.05: Ke7 Block analysis. This is exactly the same position as that after 176... Ke7 in the next line below. [71] 0.32: 168...Kf7 169.h6 Be3 170.Kf3 Bxh6 171.c5 bxc5 172.b6 Bf8 173.Ke2 c4 174.b7 Bd6 175.Kd2 c3+ 176.Kxc3 [71] 0.05: Ke7 Block analysis. This is exactly the same position as that after 176... Ke7 in the previous line above. 169.hxg6 That is probably not the best move for White in this position. However, the top-ranked candidate move 169. Bd7 also draws. If the game has been decided then Stockfish 14 NNUE apparently does not spend too much time anymore in finding the absolutely best moves for either side. [60] 0.10: 169.Bd7 gxh5+ 170.Kf5 Kg7 171.Be8 Kf8 172.Bxh5 Bxg3 173.Kf6 Bf2 174.Kxe5 Ke7 Block analysis. Draw. 169...Kxg6 170.Be6 [60] 0.06: 170.Bd7 [60] 0.06: 170.Kh4 [60] 0.06: 170.Be6 170...Kf6 171.Bd7 Kg6 172.Bf5+ Kf7 [60] 0.06: 172...Kf6 [60] 0.06: 172...Kf7 173.Kh4 Kf6 174.Kh5 [60] 0.04: 174.Bg4 [60] 0.04: 174.Kh5 174...Bxg3 175.c5 Ke7 176.c6 That is the last pawn move in this LINE 1. White could not make any progress during the play. Black had set up a fortress. Kd8 177.Kg6 Kc7 178.Bh3 [60] 0.03: 178.Kf7 [60] 0.03: 178.Kh5 [60] 0.03: 178.Kf6 [60] 0.03: 178.Bg4 [60] 0.03: 178.Bh3 178...Be1 179.Bf1 Bd2 180.Be2 Bc1 181.Kf6 Bb2 182.Ke6 Ba1 183.Kf5 Bd4 184.Kf6 Kd6 185.Bg4 Bc3 186.Kg5 Bb2 187.Kf6 Bc3 188.Kf7 Bd4 189.Be2 Bb2 190.Kf8 Ba3 191.Bg4 Kc7+ 192.Kg8 Bc5 193.Bf5 Be3 194.Kg7 Bc1 195.Kf6 Bb2 196.Bh3 Ba1 197.Bf1 Bb2 198.Ke6 Ba1 199.Be2 Bb2 200.Bd1 Ba1 201.Bc2 Bb2 202.Bb1 Ba1 203.Ba2 Bb2 204.Kd5 Ba1 205.Bb1 Bc3 206.Ba2 Ba1 207.Bb1 Bb2 208.Bc2 Ba1 209.Bd1 Bb2 210.Bc2 Ba1 211.Bd1 Bb2 212.Bh5 Bc3 213.Kc4 Bb2 214.Kb3 Bd4 215.Bg6 Bg1 216.Bf5 Bf2 217.Bg6 Be1 218.Bf5 Bd2 219.Kc4 Bc1 220.Bh3 Bb2 221.Bf5 Ba1 222.Kd5 Bb2 223.Be6 Ba1 224.Kc4 Bb2 225.Bg8 Ba1 Game over, draw by 50 move rule after 226. Bd5. 30.Rxf1 Rf8 31.Rxf8 Qxf8 This is Karsten Mueller's text position. 32.Qd5 [40] 1.39: 32.Qd5 [40] 1.17: 32.Qb3 [40] 1.17: 32.Qe2 [40] 0.91: 32.Qf1 Immediately playing out Karsten Mueller's text position by Stockfish 14 NNUE gives LINE 2: 32.Qd5 Qf6? That is the first move by Black. No data could have been accumulated before. Seven minutes are clearly not enough time to compute the best move from scratch in this difficult position. [40] 1.42: 32...Kh6 [40] 1.42: 32...d3 [40] 2.32: 32...Kf6 [40] 2.34: 32...Bd6 33.Qd7+ Qe7 [40] 1.39: 33...Qe7 [40] 2.31: 33...Kh6 [40] 2.31: 33...Kf8 [40] 3.03: 33...Kh8 34.Qxe7+ Bxe7 Having been forced to trade queens so early is bad for Black. 35.Bc4 Bb4 36.Kf3 Ba3 37.Ke2 Kf6 38.Kd3 Ke7 39.Bb3 Bc5 40.Bg8 g4 [40] 4.56: 40...g4 41.Kc4 d3 42.Kxd3 Bg1 43.Ke2 Bd4 Block analysis. 41.Kc4 d3 [40] 4.70: 41...d3 42.Kxd3 Bg1 43.Ke2 Bd4 Block analysis. 42.Kxd3 Bg1 43.Ke2 Bd4 44.Bc4 g5 That is probably not the best move for Black in this position. However, the top-ranked candidate move 44... Kf6 also loses quickly. If the game has been decided then Stockfish 14 NNUE apparently does not spend too much time anymore in finding the absolutely best moves for either side. [40] 7.71: 44...Kf6 45.Bb3 Ke7 46.Bd5 Bc3 47.Bc4 Bb4 48.Kd3 Bc5 49.c3 Bg1 50.Ke2 Bc5 51.Kd2 Kf6 52.Ke1 Be3 53.Bb3 Kg5 54.Bd1 Bg1 55.Kf1 Bc5 56.Ke2 Kf6 57.Ke1 Kg5 58.Kd2 Bg1 59.Kd3 White now threatens to invade Black's position with his king by 60. Kc4 and 61. Kd5. Kf6 60.Bxg4 Ke7 Block analysis. 45.Kd2 Bg1 46.Ke1 Bc5 47.Be2 Bb4+ 48.Kd1 Kd6 49.Bxg4 Bc5 50.Kd2 Bb4+ 51.Kd3 Be1 52.Ke2 Bb4 53.h4 gxh4 54.gxh4 Ba3 55.Kd2 Bb4+ 56.Kd3 Ba3 57.Kc4 Bc1 58.c3 Bh6 59.h5 Bg7 60.Kb4 Kc7 61.a5 Bf8+ 62.Ka4 Kb7 63.a6+ Kb8 64.Kb3 Kc7 65.Kc4 Bh6 66.Kd5 Bg7 67.Bc8 Kxc8 68.Kc6 Kb8 69.Kxb6 Bh6 70.a7+ Ka8 71.Ka6 Be3 72.h6 Bxa7 73.h7 Kb8 74.h8Q+ Kc7 75.Qg7+ Kd8 76.Kxa7 Ke8 77.Kb6 Kd8 78.Qf7 Kc8 79.Qc7# 32...Kh6 [40] 1.42: 32...Kh6 [40] 1.42: 32...d3 [40] 2.32: 32...Kf6 [40] 2.34: 32...Bd6 33.Bg4 [40] 1.60: 33.Bg4 [40] 1.59: 33.Qd7 [40] 1.17: 33.Bf7 [40] 1.10: 33.Bd7 33...Qd6? Black could have played much better in this position. [40] 1.39: 33...d3 This is exactly the same position as that after 33... d3 in LINE 1. See above! [40] 1.43: 33...Qf6 [40] 1.44: 33...Qe7 [40] 1.46: 33...Bd6 [40] 1.57: 33...Kh7 [40] 2.08: 33...Qd6 34.Qxd6 Bxd6 35.Kf1 d3 36.c3 Bc5 37.Be6 Kg7 38.Bc4 d2 39.Ke2 Bg1 40.h3 Kf6 41.Kxd2 Bf2 Block analysis. 34.Kf3? White could have played much better in this position. [40] 2.19: 34.Qxd6 Playing out this position by Stockfish 14 NNUE gave LINE 3: Bxd6 After having traded queens the position was not too complicated for Stockfish 14 NNUE. Thus, seven minutes were enough to compute a good next move for White from scratch. Stockfish 14 NNUE could then quickly accumulate data and reached a ply depth of about 60 very soon. 35.Kf1 d3 36.c3 Bc5 37.Be6 Kg7 38.Bc4 d2 39.Ke2 Bg1 40.h3 Kf6 41.Kxd2 Bf2 This move was also the end of the original block analysis. 42.Bd5 Ke7 43.Ke2 Bg1 44.Bc6 That is the top-ranked candidate move for White in this position. The block analysis below indicates White's plan for winning the endgame. [40] 6.74: 44.Bc6 Bc5 45.g4 Kd6 46.Kd3 Bf2 47.Kc4 Bh4 48.Be8 Be1 49.Bxg6 Bf2 50.Bf5 Be3 51.Kb4 Bc5+ 52.Kb3 Bf2 53.a5 bxa5 54.Ka4 Block analysis. 44...g4 That is the top-ranked candidate move for Black in this position and it prevents White from carrying out his plan. [40] 7.94: 44...g4 45.h4 Bc5 46.Bb7 Kd7 47.Bd5 Ke7 48.Bb3 Block analysis. After 48. Bb3 we have the same position as that after 47... Bc5 during the playing out of LINE 3. However, in the former position Black and in the latter position White is to move. 45.h4 Kd8 46.Bd5 Ke7 47.Bb3 Bc5 See the end of the block analysis above! 48.Ke1 Kf6 49.Bd1 g5 50.h5 Ke6 51.Bxg4+ Kf7 52.Kd2 Ke8 53.Kd3 Bf8 54.a5 bxa5 55.Kc4 Bd6 56.b6 a4 57.Kd3 a3 58.Kc2 a2 That is the top-ranked candidate move for Black in this position. See below! The evaluation m20 means that White now mates in at most 20 moves. After other candidate moves White also mates in at most 20 or fewer moves. However, no human player would continue with 58... a2 in this position. [40] m20: 58...a2 59.Kb2 a1B+ 60.Kxa1 Bb8 61.b7 Ba7 62.Ka2 Kf8 63.c4 Ke7 64.Ka3 Kf7 65.Ka4 Bb8 66.c5 Bc7 67.Kb5 Kf6 68.Kc6 Bb8 69.Kb6 Ke7 70.h6 Kf6 71.c6 Kg6 72.c7 Bxc7+ 73.Kxc7 Kxh6 74.b8Q Kg7 75.Qe8 Kh7 76.Qf8 Kg6 77.Bf5+ Kh5 78.Qh8# 59.Kb2 a1Q+ 60.Kxa1 Ba3 61.Ka2 Bd6 62.b7 Kf8 63.Kb3 Ke8 64.Kc4 Bb8 65.Kb5 Bc7 66.c4 Ke7 67.h6 Kf7 68.c5 Kg8 69.Kc6 Bb8 70.Kb6 Kh7 71.c6 Bd6 72.c7 Bxc7+ 73.Kxc7 Kxh6 74.b8Q Kg7 75.Qe8 Kf6 76.Qf8+ Kg6 77.Bf5+ Kh5 78.Qh8# [40] 1.62: 34.Qa8 [40] 1.55: 34.Qc6 [40] 1.46: 34.Qg8 [40] 1.37: 34.Kf3 Qxd5 35.exd5 Kg7 36.Ke4 Kf6 Block analysis. 34...Kg7? Black could have played much better in this position. [40] 1.38: 34...Qxd5 Playing out this position by Stockfish 14 NNUE gave LINE 4: 35.exd5 This position was not too complicated for Stockfish 14 NNUE. Thus, seven minutes were enough to compute a good next move for Black from scratch. Bd6 Stockfish 14 NNUE could now quickly accumulate data and reached a ply depth of about 60 very soon. 35...Kg7 36.Ke4 Kf6 Those were the moves of the original block analysis. 36.Ke4 [54] 1.05: 36.Bc8 Kg7 [54] 1.05: 36.Bh3 Kg7 [54] 1.05: 36.Ke4 Kg7 [54] 1.05: 36.Be6 Kg7 [54] 1.05: 36.Bd7 Kg7 [54] 0.90: 36.h3 Kg7 37.Ke4 Kf6 38.Kd3 Be7 39.Kc4 Bd6 Block analysis. [54] 0.33: 36.c4 dxc3 37.Ke3 Bb4 38.Bd1 Kg7 39.Kd3 Bc5 40.Kxc3 Kf6 41.Bg4 Block analysis. [54] 0.32: 36.c3 dxc3 37.Ke3 Bb4 38.Bd1 Kg7 39.Kd3 Bc5 40.Kxc3 Kf6 41.Bg4 Block analysis. [54] 0.19: 36.Ke2 e4 [54] 0.19: 36.Kf2 e4 [54] 0.02: 36.h4 gxh4 37.gxh4 Kg7 38.Ke4 Kf6 Block analysis. [54] 0.00: 36.Kg2 e4 [54] 0.00: 36.a5 bxa5 37.Ke4 a4 38.Be2 a3 39.Bc4 Kh5 40.Be2+ g4 41.Bc4 Kg5 42.b6 Kf6 43.Kd3 Ke7 44.c3 dxc3 45.Kxc3 Kd8 46.Bd3 Kc8 47.Kb3 Kb7 48.Bxg6 Kxb6 49.Bf5 Kc5 50.Kxa3 Kxd5+ Block analysis. 36...Kg7 37.Kd3 Kf6 38.Ke4 Be7 39.Bf3 Bd6 40.Kd3 Ba3 41.Be4 Bd6 42.Kc4 Be7 43.Kb3 [56] 0.66: 43.Bf3 Bd6 [56] 0.64: 43.Bd3 Bd6 [56] 0.64: 43.Kd3 Bf8 [56] 0.64: 43.Kb3 Bc5 [56] 0.64: 43.Bh1 Bd6 [56] 0.64: 43.Bg2 Bd6 [56] 0.64: 43.h3 Bd6 44.Kb3 Bc5 45.Bd3 Kf7 46.Kc4 Bd6 47.Be2 Ke7 48.Bg4 Kf6 Block analysis. [56] 0.53: 43.g4 Bd6 44.Bh1 Be7 45.Bf3 Bd6 46.Kb3 Bc5 47.Bh1 Ke7 48.Kc4 Bd6 Block analysis. [56] 0.42: 43.a5 bxa5 44.b6 a4 45.Kb5 a3 46.Kc6 a2 47.b7 a1Q 48.b8Q Qa4+ 49.Qb5 Qa8+ 50.Qb7 Qe8+ 51.Qd7 Qa8+ 52.Kb5 Qb8+ 53.Ka6 Qa8+ 54.Qa7 Qc8+ 55.Qb7 Qc4+ 56.Qb5 Qc8+ 57.Kb6 Qd8+ 58.Ka7 Bd6 59.Qc6 Qb8+ 60.Ka6 Qb4 Block analysis. [56] 0.37: 43.d6 Bxd6 44.Kd5 Bb4 45.g4 Bc3 46.Bd3 Be1 47.Kc6 Ba5 48.Be4 Kg7 49.Kd6 Kf6 50.h3 Bc3 Block analysis. [56] 0.26: 43.c3 dxc3 44.Kxc3 Bc5 45.Kc4 Bg1 46.h3 Bf2 47.g4 Kf7 48.d6 Ke6 49.d7 Kxd7 50.Kd5 Bd4 51.Bxg6 Bc3 Block analysis. [56] 0.08: 43.h4 gxh4 44.gxh4 Bf8 45.Kb3 Bc5 46.Bd3 Kf7 47.Bf1 Kf6 48.Kc4 Bd6 49.Bh3 Bb8 50.Bd7 Ke7 51.Bg4 Bc7 52.Kd3 Kd6 53.Ke4 Kc5 54.Bf3 Kd6 55.Be2 Bd8 56.h5 gxh5 57.Bxh5 Bh4 58.Bf3 Be1 Block analysis. 43...Bc5 44.Kc4 Be7 45.Kb3 Bc5 46.Bd3 Kf7 47.Kc4 Bd6 48.Be4 Kf6 49.Kd3 Bb4 50.Ke2 Bd6 51.Kd1 Bb4 52.Ke2 Bd6 53.Kd3 Bb4 54.h3 During its play, after the last 37 half-moves and with ply depths of more than 60, Stockfish 14 NNUE realized that White cannot make progress by playing only with his king or bishop. Black would have built up a fortress. 54. h3 is the top-ranked pawn move for White. [58] 0.66: 54.h3 [58] 0.66: 54.Bf3 [58] 0.66: 54.Bg2 [58] 0.66: 54.Bh1 [58] 0.57: 54.g4 [58] 0.40: 54.d6 [58] 0.09: 54.c3 [58] 0.09: 54.c4 [58] 0.06: 54.a5 [58] 0.00: 54.h4 54...Bd6 55.Kc4 Kf7 56.Kb3 Bc5 57.Kc4 Bd6 58.Kd3 Kf6 59.Kd2 Bc5 60.Ke2 Bb4 61.Kf3 Be7 62.Ke2 Bb4 63.Bh1 Bc5 64.Bg2 Bb4 65.Be4 Bc5 66.Kd2 Ba3 67.Bf3 Bc5 68.Kd3 Bb4 69.Be2 Kf5 70.Bd1 Kf6 71.Ke4 Bd6 72.Be2 Ke7 73.Bf3 Kf6 74.Kd3 Kf5 75.Bg4+ Kf6 76.Kc4 Ke7 77.Kd3 The ranking of the candidate moves below shows that the pawn moves a5, c3, and h4 all draw. Thus, White continued playing with his king and bishop. [62] 0.69: 77.Kd3 Kf6 [62] 0.69: 77.Be6 Kd8 [62] 0.69: 77.Be2 Kf7 [62] 0.69: 77.Bd1 Kf7 [62] 0.61: 77.Bc8 Kd8 [62] 0.61: 77.Bf3 Kf6 [62] 0.00: 77.c3 dxc3 78.Kxc3 e4 79.Kd4 Bxg3 80.Kxe4 Block analysis. [62] 0.00: 77.h4 gxh4 78.gxh4 Bc7 79.Bf3 Kd6 80.Be4 Bd8 81.Bxg6 Bxh4 82.Be4 Bd8 Block analysis. [62] 0.00: 77.Kb3 e4 [62] 0.00: 77.a5 bxa5 78.Be2 a4 79.Bd3 g4 80.h4 Kf7 81.b6 Kf6 82.Be4 Kg7 83.b7 Kf6 84.Bd3 Kf7 85.Be2 a3 86.Kb3 e4 87.Bxg4 Kf6 88.Be2 Ke5 89.g4 Kxd5 90.h5 gxh5 91.gxh5 Kc6 92.Ba6 Kc7 93.h6 d3 94.cxd3 exd3 95.h7 Be5 96.Kxa3 d2 97.b8Q+ Kxb8 Block analysis. This position is a Syzygy TB draw. 77...Kf7 78.Bf3 Be7 79.Kc4 Bd6 80.Be4 Kf6 81.Bd3 Kf7 82.Be4 Kg7 83.Kb3 Bc5 84.Kc4 Bd6 85.Kb3 Bc5 86.Kb2 Kf7 87.Bd3 Kg7 88.Kb3 Kf7 89.Kc4 Bd6 90.Kb3 Bc5 91.Ka2 Kg7 92.Be4 Kf6 93.g4 During its play, after the last 77 half-moves and with ply depths of more than 60, Stockfish 14 NNUE realized that White cannot make progress by playing only with his king or bishop. Black would have built up a fortress. Apparantly, 93. g4 was the top-ranked pawn move for White in this position. Kg7 94.Kb3 Kf7 95.Kc4 Bd6 96.Kb3 Bc5 97.Kb2 Kf6 98.Kc1 Bb4 99.Kb1 Ba3 100.Ka2 Bc5 101.Kb2 Kg7 102.Ka2 Kf6 103.Bd3 Be7 104.Kb3 Bc5 105.Kc4 Bd6 106.Kb3 Bc5 107.Kc4 Bd6 108.Be4 Kf7 109.Kd3 Kf6 110.Bf3 Ke7 111.Be4 Kf6 112.Kd2 Bb4+ 113.Ke2 Be7 114.Bf3 Bd6 115.Kd3 Kf7 116.Kc4 Kf6 117.Kb3 Bc5 118.Bd1 Ke7 119.Be2 Kf7 120.Bf3 Ke7 121.Bh1 Kf6 122.Bg2 Ke7 123.Kc4 Bd6 124.Kb3 Bc5 125.Bf3 Kf6 126.Kc4 Bd6 127.c3 During its play, after the last 67 half-moves and with ply depths of more than 60, Stockfish 14 NNUE realized that White cannot make progress by playing only with his king or bishop. Black would have built up a fortress. Apparantly, 127. c3 was the top-ranked pawn move for White in this position. dxc3 128.Kxc3 Bc5 129.Be4 Bd4+ 130.Kc4 Bf2 131.Kd3 Bd4 132.Kc4 Bf2 133.Kd3 Bc5 134.Kc2 Bg1 135.Kd1 Bd4 136.Kc2 Bf2 137.Kd2 Bg1 138.Ke2 Bc5 139.Kf1 Be3 140.Kg2 Bc5 141.Kf1 Be3 142.Bd3 Bc5 143.Ke2 Bb4 144.Be4 Be7 145.Kd3 Bb4 146.d6 During its play, after the last 35 half-moves and with ply depths of about 70, Stockfish 14 NNUE realized that White cannot make progress by playing only with his king or bishop. Black would have built up a fortress. Apparantly, 146. d6 was the top-ranked pawn move for White in this position. Bxd6 147.Kc4 Kf7 148.Kd5 Bb4 149.Kxe5 Human players easily see that this position is a draw. However chess engines do not settle for a draw. They play until a mate occurs or until the game is a draw by the 50 move rule, by repetition of moves, or by insufficient material on the board. Kg7 150.Bc2 Bc3+ 151.Ke6 Ba5 152.Bb3 Bd2 153.Kd7 Bb4 154.Ke6 Bd2 155.Ke5 Bc3+ 156.Ke4 Bb4 157.Bc2 Bd2 158.Kd5 Be1 159.Bb1 Bd2 160.Ke6 Ba5 161.Be4 Be1 162.Bc2 Ba5 163.Kd5 Kf6 164.Kc6 Kg7 165.Be4 Kh6 166.Kc7 Kg7 167.Kd7 Bd2 168.Bd5 Ba5 169.Kc8 Kh6 170.Kc7 Kg7 171.Kc6 Kh6 172.Kc7 Kg7 173.Bh1 Kh6 174.Be4 Kg7 175.Bd5 Kh6 176.Be6 Kg7 177.Kb8 Kh6 178.Ka7 Kh7 179.Bc4 Kg7 180.Be2 Kf6 181.Bc4 Kg7 182.Be6 Kh7 183.Bd5 Kg7 184.Bc4 Kh6 185.Kb7 Kg7 186.Kc8 Kh7 187.Kc7 Kh6 188.Bb3 Kh7 189.Bc2 Kh6 190.Bd1 Kg7 191.Kc6 Kf6 192.Bc2 Kf7 193.Be4 Kf6 194.Bd3 Kg7 195.Bc4 Kf6 196.Bd5 Ke5 197.Bb3 Kf6 198.Bd5 Ke5 Game over, draw by 50 move rule after 199. Bg2. [40] 1.45: 34...Qf8+ [40] 1.45: 34...Qf6+ [40] 1.74: 34...d3 [40] 2.26: 34...Qc7 [40] 2.26: 34...Qe7 [40] 2.48: 34...Qb8 [40] 4.05: 34...Bb4 [40] 4.27: 34...Kh7 [40] 4.29: 34...Ba3 35.Qxd6 [50] 4.39: 35.Qxd6 Bxd6 36.Ke2 Bb4 37.Kd3 Block analysis. [50] 1.19: 35.Qc6 [50] 1.19: 35.Qe6 [50] 1.19: 35.Be6 35...Bxd6 36.Ke2 Bb4 37.Kd3 Kf6 [40] 5.04: 37...Bc3 [40] 7.08: 37...Kf7 [40] 7.08: 37...Kf6 38.Kc4 Be1 39.Kd5 Block analysis. [40] 7.08: 37...Be1 38.Kc4 Be1 39.Kd5 Bb4 [46] 7.68: 39...Bb4 [46] 7.68: 39...Bd2 [46] 7.68: 39...Ba5 [46] 7.68: 39...Bc3 40.Bd7 [40] 7.68: 40.Be6 [40] 7.68: 40.Kc6 [40] 7.68: 40.Bh3 [40] 7.68: 40.Bd7 40...Be1 [40] 8.22: 40...Ba5 [40] 8.23: 40...Bc3 [40] 8.25: 40...Be1 [40] 8.25: 40...Ke7 41.Be8 Bc3 42.Kc6 1–0
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Botvinnik,M-Pachman,L-1–01960Leipzig olm1

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Karsten Müller is considered to be one of the greatest endgame experts in the world. His books on the endgame - among them "Fundamentals of Chess Endings", co-authored with Frank Lamprecht, that helped to improve Magnus Carlsen's endgame knowledge - and his endgame columns for the ChessCafe website and the ChessBase Magazine helped to establish and to confirm this reputation. Karsten's Fritztrainer DVDs on the endgame are bestsellers. The mathematician with a PhD lives in Hamburg, and for more than 25 years he has been scoring points for the Hamburger Schachklub (HSK) in the Bundesliga.

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