Endgame riddle solved: Bronstein could have won against Fischer at Portoroz 1958

by Karsten Müller
7/29/2022 – A few weeks ago, Karsten Müller invited readers to analyze an interesting endgame that occurred in a game Bobby Fischer and David Bronstein played at the Interzonal Tournament Portoroz 1958. Bronstein was better but could not convert his advantage, and this crucial draw later helped Fischer to qualify for the Candidates. However, according to the analyzes of Karsten Müller and the ChessBase readers, Bronstein missed a win in the endgame. | Photo: Bobby Fischer at the Candidates Tournament 1959 | Photo: Tournament Book
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.

As usual Zoran Petronijevic sent the best solution, and here are his conclucions:

  • The initial position of our analysis (after 36.Qe1) is even.
  • 36…Qf4 is imprecise and leads to a slight edge for White.
  • 37.Rd4 gives White a slight edge.
  • 38.Qe4 is dubious and leads to an even position.
  • 40.Rd1 is a cautious move that gives Black a slight edge.
  • 42.Rd7 shows that Fischer liked to play actively.
  • 43.g3 is a clear mistake after which White is lost. It is interesting that Bronstein in his comments liked this move! Either 43.f3 or 43.Bc2 was better. 
  • After the strong 43…hxg3 Black is winning.
  • 47…Rh8 is dubious. Stronger was the strategic move 47…Kf6, after which Black should win. Still, 47…Rh8 does not spoil the win.
  • 50.Rf2 is dubious. More resilient was 50.Bd1, although White should not survive if Black plays precisely.
  • 50..Kd6 is dubious. After 50…e4 Black has a winning position.
  • 53…g5 is a nice breakthrough, after which Black should win.
  • 56…Rh1 is dubious. Better is 56…Rh5, which gives Black a winning position. Still, the game move does not spoil a win.
  • Bronstein’s decisive mistake was 57…e4, after which the position is drawn.
 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 Nd7 10.d4 Nb6 11.Be3 Rb8 12.Nbd2 Bf6 13.d5 Na5 14.Bc2 Nac4 15.Nxc4 Nxc4 16.Bc1 c6 17.dxc6 Qc7 18.Nh2 Qxc6 19.Ng4 Be7 20.Ne3 Be6 21.Qe2 Rfd8 22.Rd1 Nxe3 23.Bxe3 a5 24.Bd3 a4 25.a3 Bf6 26.Bc2 d5 27.exd5 Bxd5 28.Qg4 Be6 29.Qg3 Bc4 30.Bg5 Re8 31.Bxf6 Qxf6 32.Rd2 Rbd8 33.Rad1 Rxd2 34.Rxd2 h5 35.Qe3 Qf4 36.Qe1 Sources: 1. Bobby Fischer 1955-1960 1, games annotated by Smyslov, Tahl, Yudasin, Tukmakov; Mardid 1992. 2. Bronstein 200 otkritih partij, Moscow 1970. 3. Mueller, Karsten, Bobby Fischer the career and the complete games of the American World Chess Champion, Milford 2009, Russell Enterprises 4. Voronkov, Plisetsky, Russke protiv Fisera, Moscow 2004, Ripol Klassik Among the many excellent games of the two great players, this game remained quite unknown. Even the biggest fans of Fischer and Bronstein can hardly remember it. Fischer had never annotated the game and Bronstein wrote a few sentences about it in his book 200 open games, where he praised Fischer for his performance, especially for his endgame play. Up until this tournament, Bronstein (born 1924) had achieved almost everything that can be achieved in chess. He won numerous tournaments and played against Botvinnik for the world title. In 1948 he won the Interzonal tournament. Since then he has been an indispensable participant for all major tournaments: the Candidate Tournaments 1950, 1953, 1956, and the Olympiads,... The only thing he lacked was the world champion title, which he was close to achieving in 1951. He also proved to be a chess writer. Bronstein was the author of the famous book Zurich 1953, a book that most chess players have heard of and studied. The focus on the book is on the middlegame. The young Bobby Fischer (born in 1943) had just begun his international career. He won the 1957 USA Championship (ahead of Reshevsky), but that was not enough to be considered a serious candidate for this tournament. For both players, this tournament was crucial. Brostein was defeated in the last round (against Cardoso) and lost his chance to compete in the canidate tournament. Bobby Fischer qualified for the candidate tournament with a draw in the last round against Gligoric, and also became the youngest grandmaster at the time. So, Bobby went among the stars, while the great David went into mediocrity - in his terms, of course. Bobby respected Bronstein so much that in an interview before the start of the tournament, he preferred Bronstein (a rare case that he preferred someone!). This game seems boring, it has several subtleties in the ending, which as far as I know, has not been analyzed.
 In the course of this game so far, nothing has happened that would be particularly interesting: the Ruy Lopez opening was played, both sides played correctly under all the rules that apply in this type of position, and at the moment when we start to analyze this game, the postion on the board is equal. White has an open d file while Black has a slightly more active the Queen and Bishop. 36...h4?! Mueller (3) evaluates the move "?!," while Source 1 considers it as a mistake. This move shows that Bronstein certainly wanted to beat his young opponent, and that's not possible without risk. Black fixes Whites pawns g2 and h3, but this is related to a certain risk since pawns cannot move backwards. Better was, 36...Qg5 with even play. Also possible was 36...g6 (this move is also suggested in source 1) with even play. After the game move, White has a slight edge. 37.Rd4! Fischer reacts correctly: he attacks the Queen, the most active piece Black has, and it shifts the Queen into a less active position. Source 1 also gives this move "!." Qf6 38.Qe4?! Mueller (3) ?!. Mueller (3) ?!. A seemingly active move, but it only leads to equal play. After better 38.Re4 White has a symbolic advantage. Source 1 gives the following line: 38.f4 with the following options: Kf8 38...Re6? Objectively, this move is dubious, it does not deserve to be evaluated as a mistake. 39.fxe5 Rxe5?? (This is a glaring error. After a better 39...g6 Black only has a slight edge. Petronijevic 40.Qxe5 Qxe5 41.Rd8+ Source 1. 38...g6 this move gives source 1, and after 39.Re4 Source 1 thinks that white is better. This evaluation is not accurate. After 39.fxe5?! is one more analysis from source 1 Rxe5 40.Qxh4 this move is a losing mistake. Afte better 40.Re4 Rxe4 41.Qxe4 Qf1+ 42.Kh2 Qf2 43.Kh1 black only has a slight edge. 40...Qxh4 41.Rxh4 Re1+ 42.Kh2 Re2 according to source 1 Black is better. In fact, Black wins: 43.Bd1 Rxb2-+ 39...Rd8 40.fxe5 Qg5 41.Rg4 Qd2= the position is even. 39.Re4 According to source 1, White is better, but this simply is not correct. After Bd5 40.fxe5 Qb6+ 41.Rd4 g5 42.Qe2 f6= the position is even. 38.Rg4 is a suggestion by Karsten Mueller (3), which also leads to an even play after Rd8 39.Re4 g6 40.Rxe5 Qf4 and Black has sufficient compensation for a pawn: 41.Re8+ Rxe8 42.Qxe8+ Kg7 43.Qe1 Qg5= 38...g6= And now the position is even. 39.Rd2 Karsten Mueller (3) thinks that move 39.Qxh4? is risky. Actualy, the move is bad: Qxh4 40.Rxh4 Rd8 41.Bxa4 and here correct is Rd2! not 41...f5 which suggests Mueller (3), because after 42.Rxc4 bxc4 43.Bb5 arises approximately even position. Kf8 44.Bxc4 Rd1+ 45.Kh2 Rd2 46.b4 Ke7 47.a4 Rxf2 48.a5 Kd6 49.a6 Kc7 50.Kg1 Rc2 51.Bf7 g5 52.Bg6 Rxc3 53.Bxf5 Kb6 54.Kf2 Ra3 55.Bc8 Rb3 56.Bb7 Rxb4 57.Ke3 Ra4 58.g3 Kc7 59.Kf3 Kd6 60.Ke3 Ke6 61.Bc8+ Kf7 62.Bb7 Kg7= 42.b3 Bd3 43.Bxb5 Bxb5 44.Re4 f6 45.c4 Bc6 46.Re1 Rc2-+ Petronijevic 39...Qf4 Bronstein is trying every way to create problems for White. 40.Rd1?! An imprecise move that leads to minimal advantage for Black. Better was: 40.Qxf4 exf4 41.f3= which leads to an even play. Also possible was 40.Qe1= with an even play. 40...Qxe4! Bronstein uses his chance and transposes the position into a slightly better ending. 41.Bxe4
41...Kf8 Black’s plan is to improve his King's position and to try to exploit his pawn majority on the King's side (White's pawns on the King’s side are blocked). 42.Rd7! This is where the game was adjourned and Fischer sealed this move. With an active game, Fischer played an active move, preventing the Black's king to be activated through e7. He could have also tried a passive 42.f3 Ke7 43.Bc2 which would have given him a good chance on defense, but Fischer in his nature didn't like passive play. 42...Rb8
Source 1: "!" 43.g3? Bad is 43.Bd5? Ke8 44.Bc6 44.Rb7 can not help much Rxb7 45.Bxb7 Kd7-+ Black has domination in the endgame. 44...Rb6-+ source 1. In his very interesting book, 200 open games (2) Bronstein wrote: "What struck me even then was Fischer's art in playing simple endgames. He conducted the defrence irreproachably: 43. g3! and 58. Bd1 - one cannot fault him there, but what also had to be seen was what finesses he demonstrated as we analyzed together when the game was over." As we can see from this quote, Bronstein considered this move excellent! Analyses show that in fact this move is bad and leads to a lost position. Better was either 43.f3 or 43.Bc2 In both cases, Black would have only a symbolic advantage and White would not have much trouble equalizing. 43...hxg3! After this move, Black's position is winning. Free e5 pawn should decide the game. 44.fxg3 Be6-+ Black's first task is to shift the active White Rook out of the seventh rank. 45.Rd2 Source 1 suggests 45.Rc7!? Bxh3?! this move is a mistake. After 45...Rd8 46.Rc5 Bc4 47.Rxe5 Rd2 48.Bc6 Rxb2 Black is clearly winning. 49.h4 Rb3 50.Kf2 f6 51.Rc5 Ke7 52.h5 Rb2+ 53.Kg1 gxh5 54.Rxh5 Kd6 55.Be8 Rb3 56.Kf2 Kc7 57.Rf5 Kb6 58.Rxf6+ Ka5 59.Rf5 Rxc3 60.Rf3 Rc2+ 61.Kg1 Rc1+ 62.Kf2 Rf1+ 63.Kg2 Re1 64.Bg6 Ra1 65.Be4 Ra2+ 66.Kg1 Bb3-+ 46.Bd5 the position is even. 45...Ke7 Karsten Mueller (3) correctly notes that the move 45...Bxh3 is dubious, and after 46.Rh2 Bc8 47.Rh8+ Ke7 48.g4= the position is even. Black plays according to the classic principles of engames and improves the position of his King. Very strong also was 45...f5 which is the main Black’s idea - the advancement of his Kingside pawns. Let's take a look at two possible removals of the Bishop: 46.Bc6 This move is more active, but on the other hand, the Bishop can be the target for the attack, and Black can earn the important tempo by attacking him. 46.Bf3 e4 47.Be2 Bc4 Great position for the Bishop. 48.Kf2 The Bishop trading suits Black. 48.Bxc4 bxc4 49.Rd4 Rxb2 50.Rxc4 e3 51.Kf1 Kf7-+ White is helpless. 48...Kf7 49.Rd4 Bxe2 50.Kxe2 Rh8 51.h4 g5! The winning move: the opening of the h file decides. 52.hxg5 Rh2+ 53.Ke1 Kg6 In Rook endgames, it's not the number that matters, it's the quality of the pawns: Black wants to make two free passers. The Pawn on b2 doesn't matter. 54.g4 White is trying his last chance: he wants to separate the Black pawns. fxg4 55.Rxe4 Kxg5 56.c4 Rxb2 57.cxb5 Kh4 57...Rxb5-+ also wins. 58.Rxa4 Rxb5 59.Ra8 Kh3 60.a4 Rh5 Black creates a shelter for his King. 61.Kf2 Kh2 62.Rg8 Rf5+ 63.Ke3 g3-+ After g2, Kg1, Black easily wins. 46...Ke7 The King's activity is very important. 47.h4 Kf6 Black has various ideas: one is e4 and Ke5 and another is g6-g5. 48.Kf2 g5 As in the previous analysis, the opening up of the h file is decisive. 49.h5 In case of 49.hxg5+ Kxg5 50.Kf3 Bc4 51.g4 Rb6 52.Bd7 e4+ 53.Ke3 fxg4 54.Kxe4 Be6 55.Bxe6 Rxe6+ 56.Kd5 Rf6-+ The pawn on g4 decides. 49...Rh8 50.g4 50.Bxb5 can not help as well Rxh5 51.Kg2 f4-+ Black easily creates two connected passed pawns, which decide. 50...fxg4 51.Bxb5 Rxh5 52.Bc6 Bf5 53.Bg2 e4 Black's plan is Ke5-f4. 54.Kg3 Ke5 55.Rd8 Black tries by checking from behind to create a counter-play. Rh3+! The exchange sacrifice decides: White is hopeless against three pawns on the King side which are supported by a strong Bishop. 56.Bxh3 gxh3 57.Rh8 g4 58.Re8+ Be6 59.Ra8 e3 60.Ra5+ Bd5-+ Black's passed pawns decide. 46.h4 Necessary, because the pawn is under attack. f5 Source 1 evaluates that Black has a small edge. In fact, the Black is a winning. 47.Bc2
Kipping the Bishop over the longest light squared diagonal can not help much. 47.Bg2 Kf6 48.Rd6 e4 49.Kf2 Ke5 50.Rd1 Bc4 51.Rd7 Ke6 52.Rd4 Rg8 53.Bh3 Bd3 54.Bg2 54.Bf1 Bxf1 55.Kxf1 Rc8 The Rook endgame is lost due to the high activity of Black, as well as better pawns (two Black pawns on the Queenside hold 3 Whites). 56.Ke1 56.Ke2 can not help either Rc6 57.Rb4 Rc5 58.Ke3 Ke5 59.Kf2 Rd5 60.Ke2 Kd6 With the idea of Kc5 protecting pawn b5, after which penetration on d file is decisive. 61.c4 bxc4 62.Rxa4 Rb5 63.Rxc4 Rxb2+ 64.Kf1 Rb3 65.Kf2 Rf3+ 66.Kg2 Rxa3 67.Kf2 Ra2+ 68.Ke3 Rg2 69.Kf4 Rf2+ 70.Kg5 e3-+ 56...Rc5 57.Rd8 Rd5 58.Rb8 Kf7 59.Rb7+ Kf6 60.Rb6+ Kg7 with the idea of Kh6-h5. 61.Rb8 Rd3 62.g4 f4 Two connected passed pawns decide the game. 63.Rb7+ Kh6 64.Rf7 g5 65.Rf6+ Kg7 66.hxg5 f3 67.Kf1 Rd1+ 68.Kf2 Rd2+ 69.Ke1 Rxb2 70.Re6 Re2+ 71.Kf1 Ra2 72.Rxe4 Rxa3 73.Re7+ Kg6 74.Kf2 Rxc3-+ Two connected pawns decide easily. 54...g5 55.hxg5 Rxg5 56.Rd8 Rg7 The White is in some kind of zugzwang. 57.Rf8 Rh7 Temporarily preventing Kd5-c4. 58.Rd8 Ke7 59.Ra8 Rh2 60.Ra7+ Kd6 61.Ra8 Bc4 62.Rd8+ Ke7 63.Rd2 Kf6 64.Kg1 Rh7 65.Rd6+ Kg5 66.Kf2 Rh2 67.Kg1 e3 68.Rd1 Rh8 69.Bf3 f4 70.Kg2 e2 71.Re1 Rd8 72.Rh1 Re8 73.Re1 Re3 74.Kf2 Rd3 75.g4 Rd2 76.Rb1 Rc2 77.Rh1 Rxb2-+ 47...Rh8?! Source 1 evaluates this move as interesting, and gives 47...Rd8 considering that black has a slight advantage. The position is actually even: 48.Rxd8 Kxd8 49.Bd3 Bc4 50.h5 Ke7 51.Bc2 e4 52.hxg6 Kf6 53.Kf2 Bb3 54.Bb1 Bd5 55.Ke3 Kxg6 56.Kf4= It's hard to tell what Bronstein had in mind when he played this move. Black has no concrete threat. One of his ideas, of course, was to play g5 opening up the h file. Still, this is slow. Better was to improve the King's position by playing 47...Kf6 with the ideas e4-Ke5 and g5, which leads to a win. Let's have a look some possible continuations: 48.Rd6 White's activity is only temporary, because soon the Rook will have to return to defense. 48.Bd1 g5 49.hxg5+ Also isn't enough 49.h5 g4 and now pawn-h5 is a good target for an attack. 50.Rd6 Rh8 51.Rb6 Rxh5 52.Be2 e4 53.Rxb5 e3 54.Bd3 Bd7 55.Rb6+ Ke5 56.Ra6 Rh3 57.Kg2 Kd5 58.Rf6 Rh8 Threatening Rb8. 59.Kf1 Rh2 60.Ke1 Ke5 61.Rf7 Kd6 62.Rf6+ Ke7 63.Rb6 f4! A nice pawn breakthrough. 64.gxf4 g3 65.Rg6 g2 66.Rg3 Rh1+-+ 49...Kxg5 50.Kf2 Bc4 51.Rd6 51.g4 f4 52.Bf3 Re8 53.Be4 Rh8 54.Kg2 Kxg4-+ 51...e4 52.Rd7 Rh8 53.Rg7+ Kf6 54.Rd7 Rh2+ 55.Ke3 Rh1 55...Rxb2 also wins. 56.Rd2 Kg5 57.Kd4 Rg1-+ 48...e4 49.Kf2 Ke5 50.Rd4 Bc4 Black has improved the position of all his pieces and it is hard for White to find a good move. 51.Kg1 Neither this move gives salvation to White. 51.Bd1 A waiting move. Rh8 with the idea of g5. 52.Bxa4 It is too late to create an active counter-play. 52.Be2 Bxe2 53.Kxe2 f4! The Rook endgame is lost: pawn e4 decides the game. 54.gxf4+ Kxf4 55.Rd6 55.Rd7 can not help as well: Rxh4 56.Rf7+ Kg4 57.Ke3 Rh2 58.Kxe4 Rxb2 59.Ra7 Rf2 60.Rb7 Rf3 61.Kd4 Rf5 62.Ke4 g5 63.Rb8 Rf3 64.Kd4 Kh4 65.Rxb5 g4 66.Rb6 g3 67.Rg6 Kh3-+ 55...Rxh4 56.Rf6+ Kg5 57.Re6 Kf5 58.Rc6 Rh2+ 59.Ke3 Rh3+ 60.Ke2 g5-+ 52...g5 53.hxg5 Rh2+ 54.Kg1 Rxb2 55.Bd1 e3 56.g6 Kf6 57.Bh5 Rb1+ 58.Kg2 e2-+ 51...g5 52.hxg5 Rg8 53.Kf2 Rxg5 54.Bxa4 Rh5 55.Kg2 e3 56.Bd1 e2-+ 48.Kf2 Bc4 An ideal place for the Bishop. 49.Ke3 If White plays 49.Bd1 Ke6 50.Ke3 we are transposing to the next analysis: 50.Bd1 instead of 50.Rf2 - the game move. 49...Ke6
50.Rf2?! More stubborn was 50.Bd1 although Black has enough resources to convert his advantage into a win: Rf8 51.Kf3 Bd5+ 52.Kf2 Rh8 53.Be2 53.Ke3 Rg8 threatening g5. 54.Kf2 Bc4 55.Kf3 g5 56.hxg5 Rxg5 And now pawn g3 is a target for an attack. 57.Rh2 Rg8 58.Rh6+ Ke7 59.Bc2 Bd5+ 60.Kf2 e4 61.Bd1 Bc4 62.Bh5 Rd8 63.Rh7+ Kf6 64.Ke3 Kg5 65.Be2 Kg6 66.Rb7 Bd3 67.Kf2 Kf6 68.Bxd3 Rxd3 69.Rxb5 Rd2+ 70.Kf1 Kg5 71.c4 Kg4 72.Ke1 Rg2-+ 53...Bc4! The best place for the Black Bishop. White can not trade the Bishops because the Rook endgame is lost. 54.Rd1 54.Bf3 can not help much e4 55.Be2 Bxe2 56.Kxe2 Rh7 Black wants to ocupy d file by playing Rd7. 57.Rd8 Rd7 58.Rb8 Rd3 59.Rb6+ Kf7 60.Rb7+ Kf6 61.Rb6+ Kg7 62.Rb7+ Kh6 63.g4 f4-+ Two connected pawns in the centre decide. 54...Bxe2 55.Kxe2 g5! The opening up of the file is decisive. 56.hxg5 Rh2+ 57.Ke3 Rg2 Small subtlety: Black forces White's King on f3, before taking his pawn on b2. 58.Kf3 Rxb2 59.g6 Rc2 60.g7 Rxc3+ 61.Kg2 Rc8 62.Rc1 Rg8 63.Rc6+ Ke7 64.Rg6 Kf7 65.Rb6 Rxg7 66.Kf2 Rg4 67.Rxb5 Ke6-+ White is helpless. 50...Kd6?! Mueller (3): "The start of a triangulation to create some sort of zugzwang". Although Black does not spoil his advantage, much stronger was 50...e4 51.Kf4 Rd8 52.g4 Kf6 53.Ke3 Ke5 54.h5 Rh8 55.Rf4 Be6 56.gxf5 gxf5 57.Rh4 Rg8 58.Bxe4 fxe4 59.Rxe4+ Kf5+- 51.Rd2+ Ke7 Slightly preferable was 51...Ke6 The King is still more active on e6 than on e7. 52.Bd1 Rc8 53.Kf3 Bd5+ 54.Kf2 Rh8 55.Ke3 Rg8 56.Bc2 Bc4 57.Rd1 g5 58.h5 g4 59.h6 Rh8 60.Rh1 Kf6 61.Rh5 e4 62.Kf4 Be6 63.Bd1 Kg6 64.Rh4 Rxh6 65.Rxh6+ Kxh6-+ The Bishop endgame with a pawn up is easily won. 52.Rf2 White should not leave d file. Preferable was 52.Bd1 although Black has a win after Ke6 53.Kf3 Bd5+ 54.Kf2 Rf8 55.Bc2 Rg8 56.Bd3 Bc4 57.Bc2 57.Bf1 Bxf1 The rook endgame is won: White does not have an opportunity for an active counterplay. 58.Kxf1 Rh8 59.Rd3 f4 60.Kf2 Rh7 61.Rf3 Kf5 62.Rd3 Rh5 63.Rd5 Kg4 64.gxf4 Kxf4 65.Rxb5 Rxh4 66.Kg2 e4 67.Rb6 Rg4+ 68.Kf2 e3+ 69.Ke2 Rg2+ 70.Kf1 Rf2+ 71.Ke1 g5 72.Rf6+ Kg3 73.Re6 Kf3 74.Rf6+ Kg2 75.Rg6 Rxb2 76.Rxg5+ Kf3 77.Rf5+ Ke4 78.Rf8 Rc2 79.Kd1 Rxc3-+ 57...e4 58.Rd4 Rh8 59.Bd1 Ke5 60.Be2 Bxe2 61.Kxe2 f4 62.gxf4+ Kxf4 There was a very similar ending to the previous analysis, which was easily won for black. 63.Rd7 Rxh4 64.Rf7+ Kg4 65.Ke3 Rh2 66.Rf4+ Kg5 67.Rxe4 Rxb2 68.Re6 Rb3 69.Kd4 Kf5 70.Ra6 g5 71.c4 g4 72.Ra8 bxc4 73.Rxa4 c3 74.Kd3 g3 75.Ra5+ Kf4 76.Kc2 Rb6 77.Ra7 Rg6-+ 52...Ke6 More active was 52...Kf6 preparing g5. 53.Rd2 g5 54.Rd6+ Ke7 55.Rd1 Ke6 56.hxg5 Rh2 57.Bd3 f4+ 58.Kf3 Bxd3 59.Rxd3 Kf5 60.Rd5 Rh3 61.Rxb5 Rxg3+ 62.Kf2 Rxg5-+ Two connected passers easily win. 53.Rd2
53...g5! Source 1 and Carsten Miller (3) evaluate the move "!?".  The move is actually excellent and creates a decisive breakthrough. 54.hxg5 Rh3 Source 1 gives 54...Rg8 55.g4 Source 1 also gives this move and does not evaluate it. Actually, it loses after 55.Kf2 Rxg5 56.Rd8 Rh5-+ 55.Rh2 This move is also suggested in source 1. The move is good and leads to an even play. 55...f4+ 56.Kf3 Rxg5 with the evaluation Black is slightly preferable. Actually, the position is even. The game move is the best. 55.Kf2 Rh2+ 56.Ke1 Source 4 gives that 56.Ke3? is not good, because of f4+ 56...Rh1+?! After better 56...Rh5 Black is winnning. 57.g6 Rg5 58.Rd8 e4 59.Kf2 Rxg6 60.Rc8 Kd5 61.Rh8 Ke5 White can not control both open files, and that's why he is in trouble. 62.Re8+ Kf6 63.Rc8 Rh6 64.Rc6+ Be6 65.Bd1 Rh2+ 66.Ke3 Ke7 67.Be2 Bd7 68.Rg6 Rg2 69.Rg7+ Kd6 70.Rg6+ Ke5 71.Rg7 Bc6 White is in Zugzwang. 72.Bf1 Rxb2 73.Re7+ Kd6 74.Rf7 Bd7 75.Rf6+ Kc5 76.Rf7 Be6 77.Rc7+ Kb6 78.Rh7 Bd5 79.Rh5 Kc5 80.Rxf5 Rc2 81.Rf2 Rxc3+ 82.Kf4 Rxa3-+ 57.Kf2
57...e4? Source 1 "!?". "Why is so little attention paid in our time to the endgame? Can it really be because of the brilliant attacks of Torre and Spielmann ? Perhaps it is because that whilst the great Capablanca was alive, few people culd boast about their endgame!" Bronstein (2). This move throws away all Black's advantage. Better was 57...Rh2+ 58.Ke1 Rh5-+ transposing to the line analyzed instead of the game move 56...Rh1. 58.Bd1! Saving move. The position is even. Bronstein was right that this is a great move (2). Rf1+ Karsten Mueller (3) gives: 58...Kf7 and he thinks, that the position is even after: 59.Ke3 Kg6 60.g4 Kxg5 61.gxf5 Kxf5 62.Rf2+ Ke5 63.Bg4 Re1+ 64.Kd2 Rg1 65.Rf5+ 65.Be2? Rg3 Mueller (3) thinks that Black is winning. Actualy, the position is even: 66.Bxc4 e3+ 67.Ke2 exf2 68.Bxb5 Rg2 69.Kf3 f1Q+ 70.Bxf1 Rxb2 71.Ke3!= 59.Ke3 Re1+ 60.Kf2 A very interesting line gives source 1: 60.Be2? Kf7! 61.Kf2 Rxe2+ 62.Rxe2 Bxe2 63.Kxe2 Kg6-+ 60...Rf1+ 61.Ke3 Re1+ 62.Kf2 Botvinnik had thought that in a match against Bronstein in 1951, he was dominant in the endgames. Perhaps this game is one more example where "cunning David" did not take advantage of a significant advantage in the endgame. He was extremely creative in the middlegame, while in the endgame, it was necessary to use a pure technique, which he simply did not like. ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Fischer,R-Bronstein,D-½–½1958C92Interzonal-046

 

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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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