Endgame riddle solved: 50 moves are just enough

by Karsten Müller
4/25/2021 – In the endgame riddle from 15 April ChessBase readers were invited to analyse an interesting and complicated endgame knight vs bishop. In the game E. Torre vs O. Jakobsen, Amsterdam 1973, from which the riddle was taken, the knight defeated the bishop, but Karsten Müller wanted to know whether the knight would also have won against best defense. Now, he has the answer.
Rules of thumb are the key to everything when you are having to set the correct course in a complex endgame. In this final DVD of his series on the endgame, our endgame specialist introduces you to the most important of these rules of thumb.

Riddle solved: Torre's 66th move was a mistake

This riddle was complicated and in some lines Black wins just before the 50-move rule would have led to a draw. It is amazing to see what the knight must do to outfox the bishop.

It was Charles Sullivan (USA) who proposed to have a closer look at this riddle, and as usual Zoran Petronijevic suggested a lot of lines and also formulated the conclusions, which Charles Sullivan then edited slightly:

The endgame in E. Torre-O. Jakobsen, 1973: Conclusions

1. The initial position after Black's 65th move should lead to a draw with best play from both sides though Black has more space for maneuvering.

2. White's 66th move is a premature attempt to trade pieces which could have led to a losing position.

3. ChessBase reader "malfa" suggested 67...c5 as a possible win for Black, and he is right!

4. After 74.Bf1? White is lost. Better was 74.Be2 which saves a draw. Of course, in a practical game it isn’t possible to find the difference between these two moves. Even in analysis it is hard to see a difference.  

5. After 78…Kxc5 Black has a won position but a huge problem: the 50-moves rule. If Black does not move a pawn or capture a piece in the next 50 moves, the game will be declared drawn.

6. 80…Ka5 is a mistake which allows White to make a draw due to 50-moves rule. After 80…Kc6, however, Black is winning in time.

7. The game move 82.Kd2 holds the draw and 82.Kc4 also leads to a draw.

8. 83.Be2 is the *decisive* mistake which loses. After 83.Kd3! White can draw due to the 50-moves rule!  It is interesting that Timman  mentions 83.Kd3 loses (in: Jan Timman, Power Chess With Pieces, New In Chess 2004.

9. 84.Bd1 is imprecise because it makes Black's task easier. After the better 84.Kd3 Black must play precisely to avoid a draw because of the 50-moves rule.

10. 88…Kd3 is imprecise. Better is 88…Kc4.

11. 90….Kd2 is not the best. Better is 90…Nb5.

12. 93…Nb1 is not the best. Better is 93…Kc2.

13. 103.Bb5 helps Black. After 103.Bc4 Black would need to play flawlessly to win within 50 moves.

In his book Power Chess With Pieces, mentioned above, Jan Timman told the following anecdote: "The impossibly tall Danish master was so proud of his endgame technique that he showed the final stages of the game to Spassky, who was playing in the Main Group and happened to be talking to me at the time. I remember that Spassky was hardly impressed. 'These manoeuvres are characteristic for this type of endgame,' he said matter-of-factly, leaving a rather disconcerted Jakobsen, who had spent countless hours analysing this endgame, in his wake." (p. 92).

It would be interesting to know Spassky’s opinion of this modern computer-assisted analysis, in which Black sometimes requires a really crazy knight maneuver to win and to avoid the 50-moves rule.

 
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Sources: FCE = Fundamental Chess Endings, Karsten Müller and Frank Lamprecht, 2001 Giddins = The Greatest Ever Chess Endgames, Steve Giddins, 2012 Timman = Power Chess With Pieces, Jan Timman, New In Chess, 2004 FinalGen = 600 gigabyte database generated in 5 hours by FinalGen computer program; FinalGen creator is Pedro Pérez Romero, 2012 66.Nc4+? The consensus opinion among Müller, Petronijevic, and Sullivan is that offering the exchange of pieces on this move is a mistake. White should first improve his king's position and then offer to trade pieces: 66.Kd3 Ke7 In this position, 66...c5 leads to a draw: 67.Nc4+ Nxc4 68.Kxc4 cxb4 69.Kxb4= (FinalGen Tablebase) 66...Nb5 67.Bd1 67.Nc4+? Nxc4 68.Kxc4 Kc7 69.Kc5 Nd4 70.Bd1 Kd7 and Black has a winning game, according to the Stockfish computer program 67...Nd4 68.Be2 and White is holding, although Black has a space advantage 67.Nc4 Nxc4 68.Kxc4 Ne6 69.Bd1 Kd7 70.b5 Kc7 70...cxb5+ 71.Kxb5= DRAW (FinalGen Tablebase) 71.bxc6 Kxc6 72.Kb4= DRAW (FinalGen Tablebase) 66...Nxc4 67.Bxc4 Kd7? Black fails to seize the moment and the game turns drawish. On 17 April 2021 at ChessBase website, "malfa" found 67...c5! 68.b5 Ne8 69.b6 Nf6 70.Bb5 Karsten Müller was the first to suggest Nh7! Zoran Petronijevic gave a defense that almost works: "malfa" first suggested 70...c4 , but White can draw after 71.Bxc4 Kc6 72.b7 Kxb7 (Now move 122 is key for the 50-moves rule.) 73.Bd3 Kc6 74.Kd2 Kc5 75.Kc3 Nh7 76.Bc2 Ng5 77.Bd1 Ne6 78.Be2 Nd4 79.Bf1 Kb6 80.Kd2 Kc6 81.Kd3 Kb5 82.Kc3+ Kc5 83.Kd3 Kb4 84.Be2 Kb3 85.Bd1+ Kb2 86.Kd2 Kb1 87.Be2 Ka2 88.Bd1 Kb2 89.Ke1 Kc3 90.Ba4 Kc4 one move less optimal is 90...Kd3 91.Bd1 Ke3 92.Kf1 Nb5 93.Ke1 Na3 94.Kf1 Kd3 95.Ke1 Kc3 96.Kf1 transposing 91.Bd1 Kd3 92.Kf1 Kc3 93.Ke1 Nb5 94.Ke2 Na3 95.Kf1 Nc4 96.Ba4 Ne3+ 97.Kg1 Kd2 98.Bb5 Ke1 99.Bd3 Nd1 100.Bf1 Nc3 101.Bd3 Na2 102.Bb5 Nb4 103.Ba4 Na6 104.Bc6 Nc7 105.Bd7 Ke2 106.Bc8 Ne8 107.Ba6+ Ke1 108.Bf1 Nd6 109.Ba6 Nf7 110.Bb7 Ng5 111.Bc8 Ke2 112.Bg4 Nf7 113.Bd7 Nd6 114.Be6 Ke1 115.Bd7 Nc4 116.Bc8 Nd2 117.Ba6 Nb3 118.Bf1 Nd4 119.Ba6 Kd2 120.Bc8 Ke2 121.Bg4 121.Ba6+?? Ke3 122.Bc8 Nxf3+-+ 121...Ke1 122.Bd7 Black's last chance under the 50-moves rule is Nxf3+ 123.gxf3 Ke2 124.Kg2= DRAW (FinalGen) 71.Be8 71.Ba4 Ng5 72.Bd1 Kc6 73.Kd3 Kxb6 74.Kc4 Kc6 75.Ba4+ Kd6 76.Bd1 Ne6 77.Kd3 malfa's original variation reached the same position one move later: 77.Bc2 Nd4 78.Bd1 Kc6 79.Ba4+ Kc7 80.Bd1 Kd6 , etc. 77...Kc6 78.Kc3 Nd4 (This position can also be reached after 71.Ke1) 79.Kc4 Kd6 80.Kd3 Nb5 81.Bb3 Na3 82.Kc3 Kc6 83.Ba4+ Kb6 84.Kb3 Nb1 85.Kc2 Ka5 86.Bd7 Na3+ 87.Kb3 Nb5 88.Kc4 Nd4 89.Bg4 Kb6 90.Kd5 c4 91.Kxc4 Kc6-+ and this wins, comfortably within the 50-move limit. Transposing to the 71.Ba4 subvariation is 71.Ke1 Ng5 72.Ba4 Ne6 73.Bd1 Kc6 74.b7 Kxb7 75.Kd2 Nd4 76.Kc3 Kc6-+ etc. 71...Ng5 72.Ba4 c4 73.b7 Kc7 74.Bd1 also losing is 74.b8Q+ Kxb8 75.Bd1 Kc7 76.Kd2 Kc6 77.Kc3 Kb5 78.Be2 Kc5 79.Bf1 Ne6 80.Bxc4 (The 50-move clock begins ticking. If White can complete his 130th move without an intervening capture, he will draw. But Black has just enough time to win.): Nd4 81.Bf1 We have transposed to a position in the game [see 79.Kc3]. In the game, Black fell into a draw position by losing 2 tempi with 80...Ka5(?). From this position, Black wins if he avoid mistakes. 74...Kxb7 75.Kd2 Kb6 76.Kc3 Kc5 77.Be2 Ne6 78.Bxc4 (Now Black has until move 127 to reset the 50-move clock. FinalGen shows us the way): Nd4 79.Bf1 Kb6 We have reached a game position [see 79...Kb6]. This is won for Black: 80.Kd2 Kc6 81.Kd3 Kb5 82.Kc3+ Kc5 83.Kd3 Kb4 84.Be2 Ka3 85.Bd1 Kb2 86.Kd2 Ka1 87.Ke1 Ka2 88.Kd2 Kb2 89.Ke1 Kc3 90.Ba4 Kc4 91.Bd1 Kd3 92.Kf1 Kc3 93.Ke1 Nb5 94.Ke2 Na3 95.Kf1 Nc4 96.Ba4 Ne3+ 97.Kg1 Kd2 98.Bb5 Ke1 99.Bd3 Nd1 100.Bf1 Nc3 101.Bd3 Na2 102.Bb5 Nb4 103.Ba4 Na6 104.Bc6 Nc7 105.Bd7 Ke2 106.Bc8 Ne8 107.Ba6+ Ke1 108.Bf1 Nd6 109.Ba6 Nf7 110.Bb7 Ng5 111.Bc8 Ke2 112.Bg4 Nf7 113.Bd7 Nd6 114.Ba4 Ke1 115.Bd7 Nc4 116.Ba4 Nd2 117.Bb5 Nb3 118.Bf1 Nd4 119.Ba6 Kd2 120.Bc8 Ke2 121.Bg4 Ke1 122.Bh3 Ne2+ 123.Kh1 Kf2 124.Bg4 Nd4 125.Bh5 Nc2 126.Bg4 Ne1 127.Bh5 Nxg2-+ Black avoids the 50-moves rule at the last possible second. 68.Kd3 Kc8 69.Kc3 Kb7 70.Kb3 Kb6 71.Kc3 Ne8 72.Be2 Nf6 73.Bd3 Nh7 74.Bf1? Now White is lost, a fact that other analysts have overlooked. 74.Be2! Ng5 75.Kc4 Ne6 75...Nf7 76.Kb3 Kc7 76...Ng5 77.Kc4= 77.Kc4 Kd6 78.b5 cxb5+ 78...c5? 79.Bd1 and White has the advantage. 78...Nd8 79.bxc6 Nxc6 79...Kxc6 80.Kb4= DRAW (FinalGen). 80.Bd1= DRAW (FinalGen). 79.Kxb5= DRAW (FinalGen) 75...Nh3!? 76.Bf1!= 76.b5! cxb5+ 76...Nd4 77.bxc6 Kxc6 78.Bd1= DRAW (FinalGen) 77.Kd5 Nd4 78.Bxb5 Kxb5 79.Kxe5 Ne2 80.Kf5 Kc6 81.e5= DRAW (FinalGen) Perhaps equally good is 74.Kc4 and if Ng5 then 75.Be2! transposes to the 74.Be2 variation. 74...Ng5 75.Kc4 Ne6 76.Kc3 Nd4 77.Kd2 c5 78.bxc5+ Kxc5 A significant moment -- Black's game is winning and he now has until his 128th move to defeat the 50-move rule. (From this position the FinalGen tablebase was generated.) 79.Kc3 Black will be able to improve his king's position by a series of triangulation maneuvers. Kb6 80.Kd2 Ka5? As Fundamental Chess Endings says, "The black king heads in the wrong direction. Completing the triangulation was of course better, especially to avoid problems with the fifty-move rule." By playing 80...Ka5, Black has lost two tempi, and that is enough to allow White to achieve a draw. According to the FinalGen tablebase, winning is 80...Kc6 81.Kd3 Kb5 82.Kc3+ Kc5 83.Kd3 Kb4 84.Be2 Ka3 85.Bd1 Kb2 86.Kd2 Ka1 87.Ke1 Ka2 88.Kd2 Kb2 89.Ke1 Kc3 90.Ba4 Kc4 91.Bd1 Kd3 92.Kf1 Kc3 93.Ke1 Nb5 94.Ke2 Na3 95.Kf1 Nc4 96.Ba4 Ne3+ 97.Kg1 Kd2 98.Bb5 Ke1 99.Bd3 Nd1 100.Bf1 Nc3 101.Bd3 Na2 102.Bb5 Nb4 103.Ba4 Na6 104.Bc6 Nc7 105.Bd7 Ke2 106.Bc8 Ne8 107.Ba6+ Ke1 108.Bf1 Nd6 109.Ba6 Nf7 110.Bb7 Ng5 111.Bc8 Ke2 112.Bg4 Nf7 113.Bd7 113.Be6 Nd6 114.Bd7 Ke1 115.Ba4 Nc4 116.Be8 Nd2 117.Bb5 Nb3 118.Bf1 Nd4 119.Ba6 Kd2 120.Bc8 Ke2 121.Ba6+ Ke3 122.Bc8 Nxf3+ 123.gxf3 Kxf3 124.Bf5 Ke2 125.Bc8 Ke3 126.Bb7 Kf3-+ 113...Nd6 114.Ba4 Ke1 115.Bd7 Nc4 116.Ba4 Nd2 117.Bb5 Nb3 118.Bf1 Nd4 118...Kd2 119.Ba6 Ke3 120.Bc8 Nd4 transposes 119.Ba6 Kd2 120.Bc8 Ke2 121.Bg4 121.Ba6+ Ke3 122.Bc8 Nxf3+ 121...Ke1 122.Bh3 Ne2+ 123.Kh1 Kf2 124.Bg4 Nd4 125.Bh5 Nc2 126.Bg4 Ne1 127.Bh5 Nxg2-+ 81.Kc3 Kb6 82.Kd2 As FinalGen points out, equally good at securing the draw (because of the 50-moves rule) is 82.Kc4 Kc6 83.Kd3 Kb5 84.Kc3+ Kc5 85.Kd3 Kb4 86.Be2 Kb3 87.Bd1+ Kb2 88.Kd2 Kb1 89.Ke1 Ka2 90.Kd2 Kb2 91.Ke1 Kc3 92.Ba4 Kc4 93.Bd1 Kd3 94.Kf1 Kc3 95.Ke1 Nb5 96.Kf1 Na3 97.Be2 Kd2 98.Ba6 Nc2 99.Bb5 Ne3+ 100.Kg1 Ke1 101.Bd3 Nd1 102.Bf1 Nc3 103.Bd3 Na2 104.Bb5 Nb4 105.Ba4 Na6 106.Bc6 Nc7 107.Bd7 Ke2 108.Bc8 Ne8 109.Ba6+ Ke1 110.Bc8 Nd6 111.Ba6 Nf7 112.Bb7 Ng5 113.Bc8 Ke2 114.Bg4 Nf7 115.Bd7 Nd6 116.Ba4 Ke1 117.Bc6 Nc4 118.Be8 Nd2 119.Bb5 Nb3 120.Bc4 Nd4 121.Ba6 Kd2 122.Bc8 Ke2 122...Ke3 123.Bg4 Ke2 124.Bh5 Ke1 125.Bf7 Ne2+ 126.Kh1 Kf2 127.Be6 127.Bg6 127.Be8 Ke1 128.Bf7 Nd4 127.Bh5 Ke1 128.Bf7 Nc3 127...Nd4 128.Bg4 Ke2= Draw, 50-moves rule 123.Bg4 Ke1 124.Bh3 124.Bc8 Ne2+ 125.Kh1 Kf2 126.Bg4 Nc3 127.Bh3 Nb1 128.Bf5 Nd2 124...Ne2+ 125.Kh1 Kf2 125...Nc3 126.Be6 Ke2 127.Bf5 Nd1 128.Bh3 Ke3 126.Bg4 Nd4 127.Bh5 Nc2 128.Bg4 Ne1= Draw, 50-moves rule 82...Kc6 83.Be2? The decisive mistake. By the narrowest of margins, Black now has a forced win, despite the 50-moves rule. According to the FinalGen tablebase, White can save one tempo and draw by causing the invocation of the 50-move rule: 83.Kd3 Kb5 84.Kc3+ Kc5 85.Kd3 Kb4 86.Be2 Ka3 87.Bd1 Kb2 88.Kd2 Kb1 89.Ke1 89.Be2 Ka2 90.Bd1 Kb2 91.Ke1 Kc3 92.Ba4 Kc4 93.Kf1 Kd3 94.Bd1 Kc3 95.Ke1 Nb5 96.Ba4 Na3 97.Ke2 Nc4 98.Kf1 Ne3+ 99.Kg1 Kd2 100.Bb5 Ke1 101.Bd3 Nd1 102.Bb5 Nc3 103.Bd3 Na4 104.Bc4 Nc5 105.Bd5 Na6 106.Bc6 Nc7 107.Bd7 Ke2 108.Bc8 Ne8 109.Ba6+ Ke1 110.Bf1 Nd6 111.Ba6 Nf7 112.Bb7 Ng5 113.Bc8 Ke2 114.Bg4 Nf7 115.Bd7 Nd6 116.Ba4 Ke1 117.Bd7 Nc4 118.Bb5 Nd2 119.Ba6 Nb3 120.Bc4 Nd4 121.Ba6 Kd2 122.Bc8 Ke2 123.Bg4 Ke1 124.Bd7 Ne2+ 125.Kh1 Kf2 126.Be6 Ng1 127.Bg4 Kf1 128.Bh5 Nh3 Black's 50th move, so DRAW 89...Kc1 90.Ba4 Kb2 91.Bd1 Kc3 92.Ba4 Kc4 93.Bd1 Kd3 94.Kf1 Kc3 95.Ke1 Nb5 96.Ke2 Nd6 97.Ba4 Nc4 98.Kf1 Ne3+ 99.Kg1 Kd2 100.Bb5 Ke1 101.Bd3 Nd1 102.Bf1 Nc3 103.Bd3 Na2 104.Bb5 Nb4 105.Ba4 Na6 106.Bc6 Nc7 107.Bd7 Ke2 108.Bc8 Ne8 109.Ba6+ Ke1 110.Bd3 Nd6 111.Ba6 Nf7 112.Bb7 Ng5 113.Bc8 Ke2 114.Bg4 Nf7 115.Bd7 Nd6 116.Ba4 Ke1 117.Bd7 Nc4 118.Bb5 Nd2 119.Bd3 Nb3 120.Bf1 Kd2 121.Bc4! (considered a sub-optimal move by FinalGen, but necessary to avoid defeat) The move that avoids checkmate the longest is 121.Ba6 but then Black can avoid the 50-move rule with Ke3 122.Bc8 Nd2 123.Bg4 Ke2 124.Bh5 Nf1 125.Bf7 Nh2 126.Bh5 Ke3 127.Bg6 127.Bg4 Nxg4 128.fxg4 Kxe4 129.g5 Kf5-+ 127...Nxf3+-+ 121...Nd4 122.Bf7 Ke2 123.Bh5 Ke1 124.Bg6 Ne2+ 125.Kh1 Kf2 126.Bf5 Ng1 127.Bg4 Kf1 128.Bh5 Nh3 (<<-- Black has made his 50th move, therefore DRAW) 129.gxh3 g2+ 130.Kh2 g1Q# 83...Kc5 The triangulating king marches on! 84.Bd1 (?) This mistake gives Black a little extra breathing room (3 extra moves, according to FinalGen) in his quest to beat the 50-moves rule. More optimal (by 3 moves) is 84.Kd3 when Black must play flawlessly to win: Kb4 85.Bd1 Nc6 86.Kc2 Kc4 87.Be2+ Kd4 88.Kd2 Na5 89.Ke1 Ke3 90.Bb5 Nb3 91.Ba4 Nd2 92.Bd1 Nc4 93.Bb3 Na3 94.Bd1 Kd3 95.Bb3 Kc3 96.Ba4 Nc4 97.Kf1 Ne3+ 98.Kg1 Kd2 99.Bb5 Ke1 100.Bd3 Nd1 101.Bc4 Nc3 102.Bd3 Na4 103.Bc4 Nb6 104.Ba6 Na8 105.Bc8 Nc7 106.Bd7 Ke2 107.Bc8 Ne8 108.Ba6+ Ke1 109.Bf1 Nd6 110.Ba6 Nf7 111.Bb7 Ng5 112.Bc8 Ke2 113.Bg4 Nf7 114.Be6 Nd6 115.Bd7 Ke1 116.Ba4 Nc4 117.Bd7 Nd2 118.Bb5 Nb3 119.Bd3 Nd4 120.Ba6 Kd2 121.Bc8 Ke2! 122.Bg4 122.Ba6+ Ke3 123.Bc8 Nxf3+-+ 122...Ke1! 123.Bh3 Ne2+ 124.Kh1 Kf2 125.Bc8 Nd4 125...Ng1 126.Bg4 Kf1 127.Bh5 Nh3 128.Bg4 Nf2# 126.Bg4 Nc2 127.Bc8 Ne1 128.Bh3 or 128.Bg4 Nxg2-+ 128...Nxf3-+ 84...Kc4 85.Be2+ Kb3 86.Bd1+ Kb2 87.Ke1 Kc3 88.Ba4 Kd3 (?) (A slight mistake; this is one move less optimal than 88...Kc4.) Faster is 88...Kc4 89.Bd1 Kd3 90.Kf1 Kc3 91.Ke1 Nb5 92.Ke2 Na3 93.Ba4 Nc4 94.Kf1 Ne3+ 95.Kg1 Kd2 96.Bb5 Ke1 97.Bd3 Nd1 98.Bf1 Nc3 99.Bd3 Na2 100.Bb5 Nb4 101.Ba4 Na6 102.Bc6 Nc7 103.Bd7 Ke2 104.Bc8 Ne8 105.Ba6+ Ke1 106.Bf1 Nd6 107.Ba6 Nf7 108.Bb7 Ng5 109.Bc8 Ke2 110.Bg4 Nf7 111.Bd7 111.Bc8 Nd8 112.Bd7 Ke1-+ 111...Nd6 112.Ba4 Ke1 113.Bd7 113.Bb3 Nb5-+ 113.Bc6 Nc4-+ 113...Nc4 114.Ba4 Nd2 115.Bb5 Nb3 116.Bf1 Nd4 117.Ba6 Kd2 118.Bc8 Ke2 118...Ke3 119.Bg4 Ke2 120.Bh5 Ke1 121.Be8 Ne2+ 122.Kh1 Kf2 123.Bb5 Ng1 124.Be2 Nh3 125.Ba6 Ng5 126.Bf1 Nxe4-+ 119.Bg4 Ke1 120.Bf5 Ne2+ 121.Kh1 Kf2 122.Bg4 Nd4 123.Bh5 Nc2 124.Bg4 124.Bg6 Ne1 125.Bh5 Nxg2-+ 124.Be8 Ne1 125.Bh5 Nxg2-+ 124...Ne1 125.Bh5 Nxg2-+ 89.Bd1 Ke3 90.Kf1 Kd2 (?) (A second slight mistake; this is one move less optimal than 90...Nb5) The most efficient win is 90...Nb5 91.Ke1 Na3 92.Kf1 Kd4 93.Ba4 Nc4 94.Bb5 Ne3+ 95.Kg1 Kc3 96.Bf1 Kd2 97.Ba6 Ke1 98.Bd3 Nd1 99.Bf1 Nc3 100.Bd3 Na2 101.Bb5 Nb4 102.Ba4 Na6 103.Bc6 Nc7 104.Bd7 Ke2 105.Bc8 Ne8 106.Ba6+ Ke1 107.Bf1 Nd6 108.Ba6 Nf7 109.Bb7 Ng5 110.Bc8 Ke2 111.Bg4 Nf7 112.Bd7 Nd6 113.Be6 Ke1 114.Bd7 Nc4 115.Bb5 Nd2 116.Bd3 Nb3 117.Bf1 Nd4 118.Ba6 Kd2 119.Bc8 Ke2 Or we can choose an interesting mate with 119...Ke3 120.Bg4 Ke2 121.Bh5 Ke1 122.Bg4 Ne2+ 123.Kh1 Kf2 124.Bh3 Ng1 125.Bg4 Kf1 126.Bh5 Nh3 127.Bg4 Nf2# 120.Bg4 Ke1 121.Bf5 Ne2+ 122.Kh1 Kf2 123.Bg4 Nd4 124.Bh5 Nc2 125.Bg4 Ne1 126.Bh3 Nxf3-+ 91.Ba4 Ne2 Now it is up to the knight to show what it can do! 92.Bd1 Nc3 93.Be2 Nb1 (?) (A third slight mistake -- this is one move less optimal than 93... Kc2. If Black makes another error, the 50-move rule will force a draw.) FinalGen points out the strongest move: 93...Kc2 94.Ke1 Kc1 95.Ba6 Nd1 96.Kf1 Ne3+ 97.Kg1 Kd2 98.Bb5 Ke1 99.Bd3 Nd1 100.Bf1 Nc3 101.Bd3 Na2 102.Bb5 Nb4 103.Ba4 Na6 104.Bc6 Nc7 105.Bd7 Ke2 106.Bc8 Ne8 107.Ba6+ Ke1 108.Bf1 Nd6 109.Ba6 Nf7 110.Bb7 Ng5 111.Bc8 Ke2 112.Bg4 Nf7 113.Bd7 Nd6 114.Be6 114.Ba4 Ke1 115.Bd7 Nc4 116.Ba4 Nd2 117.Bb5 Nb3 118.Bf1 Nd4 119.Ba6 Kd2 120.Bc8 Ke3 120...Ke2 121.Bg4 121.Ba6+ Ke3 122.Bc8 Nxf3+-+ 121...Ke1 122.Bf5 Ne2+ 123.Kh1 Kf2 124.Bg4 Nd4 125.Bh5 Nc2 126.Bg4 Ne1 127.Bh3 Nxf3-+ 121.Bg4 Ke2 122.Bh5 Ke1 123.Be8 Ne2+ 124.Kh1 Kf2 125.Bb5 Nd4 126.Bf1 Nxf3-+ 114...Ke1 115.Bd7 Nc4 116.Be8 Nd2 117.Bb5 Nb3 118.Bd3 Nd4 119.Ba6 Kd2 120.Bc8 Ke2 121.Bg4 121.Ba6+ Ke3 122.Bc8 Nxf3+-+ 121...Ke1 122.Bh5 122.Bf5 Ne2+ 123.Kh1 Kf2 124.Bg6 Nd4 125.Bh5 Nc2 126.Bg4 Ne1 127.Bh3 Nxf3-+ 122...Ne2+ 123.Kh1 Kf2 124.Bg4 Nd4 125.Bh5 Nc2 126.Bg4 Ne1 127.Bh3 Nxf3 128.gxf3 Kxf3-+ 94.Bc4 Na3 94...Kc3 95.Bb5 Na3 96.Be2 Kd2 97.Ba6 Nc2 98.Bb5 Ne3+ 99.Kg1 Ke1 100.Bd3 Nd1 transposes to the game position [100...Nd1]. 95.Bb3 Kc3 95...Nb5 96.Bc4 Nd4 97.Be2 Nc2 98.Bb5 Ne3+ 99.Kg1 Ke1 100.Bd3 Nd1 transposes to the game position [100...Nd1] 96.Ba4 Nc4 97.Bb5 Ne3+ 98.Kg1 Kd2 99.Ba6 Ke1 100.Bd3 Nd1 101.Ba6 Nc3 102.Bd3 Na4 The only other move that wins in this position is 102...Na2 103.Bb5 Nb4 104.Ba4 Na6 105.Bc6 Nc7 106.Bd7 Ke2 107.Bc8 Ne8 108.Ba6+ Ke1 109.Bb5 Nd6 110.Ba6 Nf7 111.Bb7 Ng5 112.Bc8 Ke2 113.Bg4 Nf7 114.Bd7 Nd6 115.Be6 Ke1 116.Bd7 Nc4 117.Bb5 Nd2 118.Ba6 Nb3 119.Bc4 Nd4 120.Ba6 Kd2 121.Bc8 Ke2 122.Bg4 Ke1 123.Bf5 Ne2+ 124.Kh1 Kf2 125.Bg4 Nd4 126.Bh5 Nc2 127.Bg4 Ne1 128.Bh5 128.Bh3 Nxf3-+ 128...Nxg2-+ 103.Bb5 (?) And now White's defense collapses. Jakobsen, according to Fundamental Chess Endings, pointed out that 103.Bc4 is the best try, but Black still wins after Nb6 Also winning is 103...Nc5 104.Bd5 Na6 105.Bc6 Nc7 106.Bd7 Ke2 107.Bc8 Ne8 108.Ba6+ Ke1 109.Bd3 Nd6 110.Ba6 Nf7 111.Bb5 Nd6 112.Ba6 Nf7 113.Bb5 Nd8 114.Bd7 Nb7 115.Bb5 Na5 116.Ba4 Nc4 117.Bc6 Nd2 118.Bb5 Nb3 119.Bc4 Nd4 120.Ba6 Kd2 121.Bc8 Ke2 122.Bg4 Ke1 123.Bh5 Ne2+ 124.Kh1 Kf2 125.Bg4 Nd4 126.Bh5 Nc2 127.Bg4 Ne1 128.Bh3 Nxf3-+ 104.Ba6 Na8 105.Bb5 Nc7 Jakobsen continued 106.Bc4 which makes it slightly easier for Black: FinalGen suggests that superior resistance is offered by 106.Bd7 Ke2 107.Bc8 Ne8 108.Ba6+ Ke1 109.Bf1 Nd6 110.Ba6 Nf7 111.Bb7 Ng5 112.Bc8 Ke2 113.Bg4 Nf7 114.Bd7 114.Be6 Nd6 115.Bd7 Ke1 116.Ba4 Nc4 117.Bd7 117.Be8 Ne3 118.Ba4 Nf1 119.Bd7 Nh2 120.Bb5 120.Bh3 Ke2 121.Bg4 Kd2 122.Bh3 Ke3 120...Kd2 121.Be8 Ke2 122.Bh5 Ke3 117...Ne3 118.Bb5 Nc2 119.Bc4 Nd4 ! 120.Ba6 Kd2 121.Bc8 Ke2! Both 121...Ke2 and 121...Ke3 are rated equally by FinalGen, but White has a draw against 121...Ke3: 122.Bg4 Ke2 123.Bh5 Ke1 124.Be8 Ne2+ 125.Kh1 Kf2 126.Bd7 Ng1 127.Bg4 Kf1 128.Bh5 and Black cannot avoid the 50-move draw) 122.Bg4 Ke1 123.Bh3 Ne2+ 124.Kh1 Kf2 125.Bg4 Nc1 126.Be6 Nd3 127.Bc8 Ne1 128.Bh3 128.Bg4 Nxg2-+ 128...Nxf3-+ 114...Nd6 115.Ba4 Ke1 116.Bd7 Nc4 117.Ba4 Nd2 118.Bb5 Nb3 119.Bf1 Nd4 120.Ba6 Kd2 121.Bc8 Ke2! 121...Ke3? 122.Bg4 Ke2 123.Bh5 123.Bc8 123...Ke1 124.Be8 Ne2+ 125.Kh1 Kf2 126.Bf7 Nc1 127.Bh5 Nd3 128.Bg6 Ne1 (Black's 50th move, so White can claim a draw.) 129.Bh5 Nxg2-+ 122.Bg4 122.Ba6+ Ke3 123.Bc8 Nxf3+ 122...Ke1 123.Bc8 Ne2+ 124.Kh1 Kf2 125.Bg4 Nd4 126.Bh5 Nc2 127.Bg4 Ne1 128.Bh3 128.Bh5 Nxg2-+ 128...Nxf3 129.gxf3 Kxf3 130.Kg1 130.Bg2+ Kf2 131.Bh3 f3-+ 130...Kxe4 131.Kg2 Ke3 132.Bc8 Kd4 133.Bg4 e4 134.Bh3 Kc3 135.Bd7 Kd2 136.Bb5 e3 137.Kf3 e2 138.Bxe2 g2 139.Kxg2 Kxe2-+ 106...Ne8 107.Bb5 Nd6 108.Ba6 Nf7 109.Bb7 Ng5 110.Bc8 Ke2 111.Bg4 Nf7 112.Bc8 Jakobsen's analysis continued Also losing is 112.Bd7 Nd6 113.Ba4 Ke1 114.Bd7 Nc4 115.Ba4 Nd2 116.Bb5 Nb3 117.Bf1 Nd4 118.Ba6 Kd2 119.Bc8 Ke2 120.Bg4 Ke1 121.Bf5 Ne2+ 122.Kh1 Kf2 123.Bg4 Nd4 124.Bh5 Nc2 125.Bg4 Ne1 126.Bh3 Nxf3-+ 112...Nd6 (?) This barely suffices for the win: The move chosen by Jakobsen wins; a quicker way to avoid the 50-moves rule is 112...Nd8 113.Bd7 113.Ba6+ Ke1 114.Bc4 Nc6 115.Bb5 Nd4 116.Ba6 Kd2 117.Bc8 Ke2 118.Bg4 Ke1 119.Bf5 Ne2+ 119...Ke2 120.Kh1 Kf2 121.Bg4 Nd4 122.Bh5 Nc2 123.Bg4 Ne1 124.Bh3 Nxf3-+ 113...Ke1 114.Bb5 Ne6 115.Bc4 Nd4 116.Ba6 Kd2 117.Bc8 Ke2 118.Bg4 Ke1 119.Bc8 Ne2+ 120.Kh1 Kf2 121.Bg4 Nd4 122.Bh5 Nc2 123.Bg4 Ne1 124.Bh3 Nxf3-+ 113.Ba6+ Ke1 114.Bd3 Nb7 Notwithstanding the puzzlement, there is nothing better than 115.Bb5 which does, in fact, reach a position found in the game (see 105.Bb5). Here, Black just manages to make a capture at the last moment to avoid a 50-move draw: Na5 116.Ba4 Nc4 117.Bd7 Nd2 118.Bb5 Nb3 119.Bf1 Nd4 120.Ba6 Kd2 121.Bc8 Ke2! 122.Bg4 Ke1! 123.Bc8 Ne2+ 124.Kh1 Kf2 125.Ba6 125.Bg4 Nd4 126.Bh5 Nc2 127.Bg4 Ne1 128.Bh3 Nxf3-+ 125...Nd4 126.Bf1 Ne6 126...Kxf1??= STALEMATE 127.Bb5 Ng5 128.Bf1 Nxe4 Black has managed to avoid the 50-move draw, and now, if 129.fxe4 then f3 130.gxf3 Kxf1 131.f4 exf4 132.e5 g2+ 133.Kh2 g1Q+ 134.Kh3 Qg3# 103...Nc5 104.Bc4 Nb7 105.Bb5 Na5 106.Ba4 Nc4 107.Bb5 Nd2 108.Ba4 White can only postpone the moment when Black resets the 50-move counter: 108.Ba6 Nb3 109.Bc4 Nd4 110.Ba6 Kd2 111.Bc8 Ke2 112.Bg4 Ke1 113.Bh3 Ne2+ 114.Kh1 Kf2 115.Bg4 Nd4 116.Bh5 Nc2 117.Bg4 Ne1 118.Bh3 Nxf3-+ 108...Ke2 109.Bb5+ Ke3 110.Ba4 Nxf3+ 111.gxf3 Kxf3 112.Bc6 g2 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Torre,E2506Jakobsen,O23320–11973B08Amsterdam IBM-B5

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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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