Endgame Riddle solved: Kurajica could have drawn

by Karsten Müller
3/28/2022 – The last endgame riddle showed a position from a game between Bojan Kurajica and Anatoly Karpov, played in Skopje 1976. Karpov won the game but as endings with opposite-coloured bishops have huge drawish tendencies one wonders where Kurajica went wrong. The ChessBase readers, Charles Sullivan, Wolfram Schön, Zoran Petronijevic and Karsten Müller took a close look at the ending and came up with a number of improvements for both sides.
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.

Bojan Kurajica vs Anatoly Karpov, Skopje 1976

Conclusions

1. The initial position is clearly better for Black. But 29…Re8? gives Black's advantage away. After 29…h4 Black has great winning chances.

2. According to Karpov, 32.Qd3 is dubious. He proposes 32.h4 instead, with even play. In fact, both moves lead to a draw.

3. Karpov thought that 37.Ke3 loses and suggested 37.gxh4 instead. But analysis shows that the game move also leads to even play.

4. Both Kasparov and Karpov consider 44.d5 to be the losing move. But analysis shows that the position is still even.

5. 45.d4? is the first serious mistake by White and leads to a losing position. Better was 45.Ke3 and White is able to keep equality.

6. 45…f4? is a mistake and throws the win away. After 45…c6! Black is winning.

7. 47.Kg2? leads to a lost position. 47.c6 or 47.f5 or 47.fxg4+ would have led to equality.

8. 47…Bf5? is a mistake and throws the win away. Better is 47…c6 and Black is winning.

9. 48.Kf2? is a mistake. Better is either 48.c6 or 48.fxg4 with an even position.

10. 49…Be4+? is a mistake that throws the win away. Better is the subtle 49…c6 and Black is winning.

11. 51.Bb2? is the decisive mistake. White’s last chance was 51.c6!!, after which the position is even.

 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.Nc3 Bd6 7.d4 Bb4 8.Nxe5 Nxe4 9.0-0 Bxc3 10.bxc3 0-0 11.Ba3 Nd6 12.c4 f6 13.Ng4 Re8 14.Ne3 Nf5 15.Nxf5 Bxf5 16.Qd2 Be6 17.Qc3 Qd7 18.Rfe1 Qf7 19.Qb2 b6 20.c5 b5 21.Bb4 a5 22.Bd2 Bd5 23.f3 Rxe1+ 24.Rxe1 b4 25.a4 bxa3 26.Qxa3 a4 27.Bb4 Qg6 28.Qc3 h5 29.Ba3
Sources: 1. Kasparov, Garry. Moi sahmatine predsestveniki, tom V. Moscow 2006.2. Karpov, Anatoly. Sto pobednih partij. Moscow 1984. 29...Re8?! Karpov (2) does not evaluate this move. In his previous comment (move 27) his evaluation is that White has almost equalised the position. The obvious followup to Black's 28...h5 would have been 29...h4, but Karpov decides that removing rooks is the way to proceed. The computer gives Black a two-pawn evaluation advantage after 29...h4! and research confirms that Black has a high probability of winning (because of his passed a-pawn and pressure on the kingside). In most scenarios, Black must find a way to get his king to the queenside to support the passed pawn: 30.h3 Wolfram Schön suggests 30.Kf2 and indeed, the computer's favored continuation may leave room for possible improvements for White: h3 31.g3 Qf5 32.Bc1 Kf7 33.Re2 Rf8 34.Re1 Rb8 35.Bd2 Ra8 36.Bc1 Kg8 37.Rg1 Kf8 38.Re1 Rb8 39.Bf4 Rb7 40.Bd2 Rb2 41.Rc1 Ra2 42.g4 Qh7 43.Ke2 g5 44.Kd1 Qf7 45.Qd3 Bc4 46.Qe3 Qe7 47.Qxe7+ Kxe7 48.Bb4 Bd5 49.Ke2 Ke6 50.Re1 Kf7 51.Rc1 Kg6 52.Ke3 f5 53.gxf5+ Kxf5 54.Ke2 Ke6 55.Bd2 Bc4+ 56.Ke3 Kd7 57.Bb4 Bd5 58.Kf2 Bb3 59.Bc3 Be6 60.Ke2 Bd5 61.Bd2 a3 62.Bc3 Kc8 63.Kd3 Kb7 64.Rb1+ Ka6 65.Rc1 Bf7 66.d5 cxd5 67.Be5 Kb5 68.Bxc7 Bg6+ 69.Kd4 69.Kc3 Rb2 70.Be5 Rb4 71.Kd2 Rc4 72.Rb1+ Kxc5-+ 69...Rb2 70.Ra1 a2 71.Kxd5 Rxc2 72.Ke6 Rg2 73.Kf6 Bh5 74.Bd6 Bxf3-+ 30...Qg3 31.Kf1 Rb8 32.Bc1 Qh2 33.Kf2 Bf7 34.Qd3 34.Bd2 g5 35.d5 g4 36.Qxf6 Qg3+ 37.Kg1 gxh3 38.Qg5+ Qxg5 39.Bxg5 cxd5 40.Ra1 Be8 41.Bxh4 Rb2 42.Rc1 a3 43.Bf6 Rb4 44.Ra1 44.Be5 c6 45.gxh3 a2 46.Kf2 Bg6 47.Ke3 Rb1 48.Kd2 Kf7 49.Bd4 Bh5 50.f4 Kg6 51.Re1 Bf3 52.Bh8 Kf5 53.h4 Kxf4 54.Ba1 Kg4 55.Bf6 Kg3 56.Rc1 Bh5 57.Rf1 Kg4 58.Rc1 Kf5 59.Ba1 Ke6 60.Bd4 Kd7 61.c4 dxc4 62.Be5 Kc8 63.Kc2 Bg6+ 64.Kd2 Kb7 65.Rxc4 a1Q 66.Bxa1 Rxa1-+ 44...Ra4 45.c6 a2 46.Be5 Ra7 47.gxh3 Bg6 48.Kf2 48.Rc1 Ra6 49.Kf2 Rxc6 50.c4 dxc4 51.Ba1 Bd3 52.Rc3 Ra6 53.f4 Ra5 54.Kg3 Ra4 55.h4 Kh7 56.Kf2 Kg6 57.Rc1 Kf7 58.Rc3 Ra5 59.Ke3 Ke6 60.Kd2 Kd6 61.Rc1 Rb5 62.Rh1 Rb1 63.Re1 c5 64.h5 Kc6 65.h6 Bf5 66.Bc3 Kb5 67.Ba1 Ka4 68.Bc3 Rb6 69.Ba1 Rxh6 70.Re8 Rh3 71.Re3 Rh2+ 72.Re2 Rh4 73.Re8 Kb5 74.Rb8+ Kc6 75.Re8 Rxf4-+ 48...Bxc2 49.Rc1 Bb1 50.Ba1 Kf7 51.Kg3 Ra4 52.h4 d4 53.h5 Bh7 54.Rd1 d3 55.Rd2 Ke6 56.Kf2 Kd5 57.Ke3 Ra8 58.f4 Kc4 59.Rb2 Ra5 60.h6 Ra8 61.Kf3 Ra6 62.Ke3 Rxc6 63.Rxa2 Rxh6 64.Kf3 64.f5 Bxf5 65.Rf2 Bh7 66.Bg7 Rh5 67.Rf4+ Kb3 68.Rf2 c5 69.Rb2+ Kc4 70.Bf6 Rh3+ 71.Kd2 Bf5 72.Be5 Rf3 73.Bf6 Bd7 74.Bg7 Ba4 75.Kc1 Rf1+ 76.Kd2 Rf2+ 77.Kc1 Bc2 78.Bh8 Rf1+ 79.Kd2 Rd1+ 80.Ke3 Rh1 81.Bg7 Rh2 82.Bf8 Re2+ 83.Kf3 Bd1 84.Rxe2 dxe2-+ 64...Bf5 65.Bg7 Rh3+ 66.Kg2 Bg4 67.Be5 c5 68.Rd2 Rf3 69.Ra2 Kd5 70.Rb2 Ke4 71.Kg1 Bh3 72.Kh2 c4 73.Ra2 Re3 74.Rf2 Re1 75.Kxh3 Ke3 76.f5 d2 77.Bd4+ Kd3 78.Rxd2+ Kxd2 79.f6 Re4 80.f7 Rf4-+ 34...Qg3+ 35.Kf1 Rb4 36.Qe3 Qg6 37.Ba3 Rb8 38.Qd2 Qg3 39.Qd3 Be6 40.Bc1 Kf7 41.Bd2 Ra8 42.Qe4 Bd5 43.Qe2 Kf8 44.Bb4 Qg6 45.Ra1 Re8 46.Qd3 Qxd3+ 47.cxd3 Ra8 48.Ra3 g5 49.Ke2 Kf7 50.Bd2 Kg6 51.Be3 f5 52.Bf2 Bb3 53.Ke1 Kf7 54.Kd2 Kf6 55.Be3 f4 56.Bf2 Ke7 57.Kc3 Re8 58.Ra1 Kd7 59.Kd2 Re6 60.Rb1 Kc8 61.Ra1 Kd7 62.Bg1 Re7 63.Rb1 Re8 64.Ra1 Ra8 65.Ra3 Kc8 66.d5 cxd5 67.Ra1 Kd7 68.Bd4 Re8 69.Rc1 Kc6 70.Rc3 Ra8 71.Rc1 Kb5 72.Re1 a3 73.Kc3 Ra4 74.Bf6 Rb4 75.c6 Ba4 76.Ra1 d4+ 77.Bxd4 Rb3+ 78.Kd2 Kb4 79.Ke1 Rb2 80.Bf6 Kb3 81.Rc1 Rxg2 82.Rb1+ Rb2 83.Rc1 Bb5 84.Rc5 Ba6 85.Rxg5 a2 86.Ra5 Bxd3 87.Bxh4 Re2+ 88.Kd1 Re6 89.Kd2 Be2 90.Bf2 Bxf3 91.Bc5 Rxc6 92.Bf8 Be4 93.Ra3+ Kb2 94.Ra4 Rc2+ 95.Ke1 a1Q+ 96.Rxa1 Kxa1-+ 30.Rxe8+ Qxe8 31.Kf2 Qg6 32.Qd3 According to Karpov (2) the game move is a dubious and better was 32.h4 "which allows to White a quiet life in the Bishop endgame." - Karpov (2). According to Kasparov (1), it is not necessary to criticise White - the position is a draw in both cases. 32...Qxd3 33.cxd3 h4 Kasparov (1) "!". 34.g3 Schön: 34.g4 Kf7 35.h3 Here and in the next move Karpov was most worried about this fortress. Indeed this seems to me the best way to handle the white position. Schön: 34.h3? According to Mednis this set-up creates an unbreakable fortress as well. I think he doesn't want to claim this to be best, but simply tries to demonstrate the solidity of White's position. Yet, this fortress can be broken. Because contrary to Karpov's this gives Black too much space for the kingside pawns. Kf7 35.Bc1 Kg6 36.Ba3 Kh5 37.Bb2 g6 38.Bc1 38.g4+ hxg3+ 39.Kxg3 g5! 40.Bc1 Be6 Too many white weaknesses in d3, f3 and h3. E.g.: 41.Bb2 f5 42.f4 gxf4+ 43.Kxf4 Kh4-+ 38...g5 39.Bb2 f5 40.Bc1 g4! 41.f4 41.Ke3 gxh3 42.gxh3 f4+! 43.Kxf4 Be6-+ 41...g3+! This pawn will become the downfall of Mednis' fortress, even if it might not be apparent for a while. 42.Kf1 Kg6 43.Ba3 Kf7 44.Bc1 Ke8 45.Ba3 Kd7 46.Bc1 Kc8 47.Ba3 Kb7 48.Bc1 Ka6 49.Ba3 Kb5 zugzwang 50.Kg1 Bc4‼ A true nutcracker. 51.dxc4+ Kxc4 52.Bb2 Kd3 53.Kf1 Kc2 54.Ba1 Kd2 55.Bb2 Kd1! 56.Ba1 a3 57.Bc3 a2 58.Ba1 Kd2! 59.Kg1 Kc2 60.Kf1 Kb1 61.Bc3 a1Q 62.Bxa1 Kxa1 63.Ke2 Kb2 64.Kd3 Kc1! 65.Kc4 Kd2 66.d5 cxd5+ 67.Kxd5 Ke3 68.Kc6 Kf2 69.Kxc7 Kxg2 70.c6 Kxh3-+ with a winning queen ending 34...Kf7 35.Ke3 According to Karpov (2), move 35.gxh4 loses. The position is in fact relatively easy draw. Kg6 36.Kg3 Kf5 37.Kf2 Bf7 38.Ke3 Kg6 39.Kf4 Kh5 40.Kg3 and win isn't visible (Petronijevic). Schön: 35.gxh4 Kg6 36.Kg3 Kh5 37.Bc1 Bb3 Previously a bishop's manoeuvre to go for the d3 was considered to give Black a decisive advantage. Because without the d3 the black king can infiltrate into White's position via d5 and c4. But White has some resources. 38.Bb2 Bc2 39.d5! cxd5 40.d4! So White has sealed the hole in d5. Thus Black's king has to try the longer route to c4 via c6 and b5. Bd3 41.Bc1 Bb5 42.Bb2 Bd7 43.Bc1 Kg6 44.Kf4 Kf7 45.Bb2 Ke6 46.h5! Not looking too impressive, but a key to White's survival. Be8 47.Kg4 Kd7 48.h4 Kc6 49.h6! Demonstrating that even isolated doubled pawns have some dynamic power. gxh6 50.Kf5! Kb5 51.Kxf6= With enough counterplay to balance out Black's a-pawn. 35...f5 Schön: Karpov knew that by this move his f5-pawn could very well disappear from the board quickly. See for example the line 37.gxh4. But he considered preventing the fortress with g3-g4 and h2-h3 the highest priority. 36.Kf4 36.gxh4!?= Petronijevic 36...Kg6 37.Ke3 Schön: In my mind this is a big practical mistake. At this moment there is absolutely no reason for White to clealy worsen the position of his king. It is moves like these that lose games. This one is another scary example of the same story. An almost level position until inaccurate play causes a small problem (move 34). The next inaccuracy now causes a bigger problem. Yes, there will be one or even more chances for salvation, soon to be shown. But the player on the board, in this case a solid GM from the 70s and former JuniorWCh, wasn't able to find his way out and in the end lost the game. 37.gxh4 leads to the draw (Kasparov (1), Karpov (2). Kh5 38.Kxf5 38.Kg3 is also OK, but why to complicate?" - Kasparov (1). 38...Bxf3 39.Kf4 leads to the draw: Karpov gives a wrong move 39.Bb2? Bd5 40.Bc1 Kxh4 40...Bf7 41.Kg6 Kh3 42.Kxg7 Kxh2 43.Kf6 Kg3 44.Ke7 Kf3 45.Kd7 Ke2 46.Kxc7 Kxd3-+ Kasparov (1). Besides the Kasparov move Kf4, White also has one more way to make a draw 39.d5 Bxd5 40.Bb2 with an even play, Petronijevic. 39...Be2 40.Kg3= Kasparov (1). 37.g4 "is enough for a draw as well". Kasparov (1). "After Be6 38.Bb2 fxg4 39.fxg4 Bb3 40.g5 Bc2= Kasparov (1). Schön: 37.Bc1 Besides 37.gxh4 or 37.g4 it is also possible for White "to do nothing at all" for the moment. Ba2 With this Black wants to attack the d3, trying to force the king's retreat Kf4-e3. A reasonable idea, but to be fair it isn't Black's best. 37...Kf6 In some sense this a better attempt. It forces a white reaction like g3xh4 or Kf4-e3 after g7-g5+. However Karpov could have choosen this set-up one move before, but he didn't. 38.Ke5! Not mandatory, but this line is an illustration of an active white king and thus a reason why I dislike the game move 37.Ke3 so much. Bb1?! 39.d5 cxd5 40.d4 Objectively White has nothing. But now it is Black, who is on the side of defense. He has to deal with the simple idea of the white king eating up d5 and c7. 37...Kh5 38.Bb4 Schön: 38.Kf4! would be an immediate correction of the last move 38...g5 39.Kf2 "Black's threat is: 39.-- f4+ 40.gxf4 g4 41.fxg4+ Kxg4-+ Kasparov (1)". However, this position is still even: 42.Kf2 Be6 43.Ba3 Kh3 44.Kg1 Bf5 45.Bb2 Bxd3 46.f5 Bxf5 47.Bc1= Petronijevic Schön: 39.Ba3 Indeed Karpov's breakthrough isn't winning here. However White has to find a number of only moves and some of them are not so trivial in my opinion. f4+ 40.gxf4 g4 41.fxg4+ Kxg4 42.Kf2! Kxf4 43.Bc1+ Kg4 44.Ba3 Kh3 45.Kg1 Bb3 46.Bc1 Bc2 47.Ba3 Bxd3 48.Bc1 Bg6 49.Ba3 Bh5 Black tries the same set-up as at the end of the game. 50.Bc1! Bd1 51.Ba3 Kg4 51...Bg4 52.Bc1 Bh5 53.Kh1! Kg4 54.Kg2 Kf5 55.Kh3!= 52.Kf2 Kf4 53.Bc1+! Ke4 54.Ke1! Bg4 55.Kd2! Kxd4 56.Ba3 h3 57.Kc2 Kc4 58.Kb2 Bf5 59.Ka2 Bc2 60.Kb2 Bb3 61.Ka1= 39...Ba2 40.Ba3 Bb1 41.Ke2 Ba2 42.Bc1 Be6 43.Kf2 Bc8 44.d5 Kasparov and Karpov both identify this as the losing move, but that is not so. Karpov (2): "White still had a draw after a precise move order: 44.Ke2 Ba6 "The best chance for Black is 44...f4 45.gxf4 g4 46.Kf2 Bf5 47.Ba3 Bxd3 48.Bc1 Bc4 49.Bb2 Bd5 50.fxg4+ Kxg4 51.Bc1 Bb3 52.Kg2 Bc4 53.Kf2 Bd5 54.f5 Kxf5 55.Ke3 Kg4 56.Kf2 Kh3 57.Kg1= Kasparov (1). 45.Ke3 45.Bb2 hxg3 46.hxg3 f4 Kasparov (1) also agrees that Black is better. 47.gxf4 47.g4+ Kh4 48.Kf2 Kh3-+ 47...gxf4 48.Bc1 Kg5 49.Bb2 Kh4 50.Kf2 Bxd3 " Black has serious advantage" Karpov (2). In fact, this position is an easy draw 45...f4+ 46.gxf4 g4 47.f5 Karpov (2). Schön: 44.Ke2 f4 45.g4+ Giddins correctly points out this possible defense, as White holds after Bxg4 46.fxg4+ Kxg4 47.Kf2! Kh3 48.Kg1= etc Schön: 44.Ke3 Even "falling for the trap" is ok. f4+ 45.gxf4 g4 46.fxg4+ Kxg4 47.f5 In fact White has some ways to play here. Bxf5 48.d5 cxd5 See the line 44. d5 cxd5 45.Ke3 after move 48, as we have reached the same position via a different move order. 44...cxd5 45.d4? The best move here is 45.Ke3 and White can hold: Bd7 46.Kd4 c6 47.Kc3 Bc8 48.Kd4 f4 49.gxf4 g4 50.fxg4+ Kxg4 51.f5 Bxf5 52.Kc3 d4+ 52...Kh3 53.Bf4= 53.Kxd4 Be6 54.Kc3 a3 55.Bh6 Kh3 55...a2 56.Kb2= 56.Bf4= Schön: 45.Ke3! f4+ 46.gxf4 g4 47.fxg4+ Kxg4 48.f5! In this situation it is mandatory to open the diagonal c1-h6 for the white bishop. Bxf5 49.Kd4 White's king takes over the task to control the black passer on the a-file, so he can assign another job to his bishop. c6 50.Kc3 Kh3 51.Bg5= 45...f4? Both Kasparov (1) and Karpov (2) award this move with an "!". Not for the last time, Black ignores the elementary (and, in this game, the winning) principle of putting all his pawns on "safe" squares: 45...c6! 46.Ba3 f4 47.gxf4 g4 48.Bc1 gxf3 49.Kxf3 Bf5 50.Bb2 Be4+ and this variation transposes to the note at Black's 49th move (pointed out by Wolfram Schön). 46.gxf4 The best move, as both Kasparov and Karpov note. Schön: 46.g4+? Bxg4! This is infact the only winning move. 46...Kg6? Karpov, Kasparov and Mednis consider this to be a positional win by playing over the king to c4 via b5. 47.c6! However here is the illustrative refutation. As the c6-pawn on a white square will soon be cached in by Black, White sacrifies a second pawn to open the diagonal a3-f8 for his bishop. Ba6 48.Ke1 Kf7 49.Ba3 Ke8 50.Bb4 Bb5 51.Ba3 Bxc6 52.Bb4 Bb5 53.Ba3 So far so good. The white king has to cover e2 and f1 and the bishop stays on the diagonal a3-f8, controlling both black extra pawns at the same time. Kd7 54.Bb4 Bd3 55.Ba3 h3 Black has done all the preparation to move forward with his king next. 56.Bb4 Kc6 57.Kd2! The critical moment of White's entire defense. His king has to enter the square of Black's a4 to enable his bishop to go for the g5 via e7. A change of the role of the defenders. Be4 57...Kb5 58.Kc3! 58.Be7! Bxf3 59.Bxg5 a3 60.Kc3! Bxg4 61.Bxf4 Bd1 62.Bc1 a2 63.Kb2 Bb3 64.Bf4! Kb6 65.Be5 Bc4 66.Bf6 Kb5 67.Be5 c5 68.Bf6 Kc6 69.Be5 cxd4 70.Bxd4 Kd6 71.Kc1 For a second time White uses the principle of one diagonal for his bishop, meanwhile along a1-h8. Ke6 72.Kd2! Kf5 73.Ke3!= 47.fxg4+ Kxg4 48.c6 h3 49.Ba3 Kf5! 50.Bd6 Ke6! 51.Ba3 g4 52.Bb4 g3+ 53.hxg3 h2 54.Kg2 fxg3 55.Ba3 Kf5 56.Bd6 Ke4! 57.Bxg3 a3 58.Be1 Kd3-+ 46...g4 47.Kg2? Again both sources (Kasparov 1 and Karpov 2) didn't evaluate this move. White's best is the surprising 47.c6! gxf3 48.Kxf3 Kg6 49.Ba3 Kf5 50.Ke3 and Black does not have a win. Petronijevic: Although 47. c6 leads to the draw relatively easily, I should mention that also surprising 47.f5 leads to draw: Bxf5 48.c6 Bg6 49.Ba3 Be8 50.fxg4+ Kxg4 51.Ke3 Bxc6 52.Be7 Bb5 53.Kd2 Bc4 54.Kc3 h3 55.Bd8 c6 56.Be7 Kf3 57.Bd6= Petronijevic: One more draw is after 47.fxg4+ Kxg4 48.c6! Kh3 49.Kg1 Bf5 50.Kh1 Be4+ 51.Kg1 Bd3 52.Kh1 Kg4 53.Kg2 Bb5 54.f5! Bxc6 55.f6 Be8 56.Bb2 Bf7 57.Bc1 Be6 58.Kf2 Kh3 59.Kg1 Bf7 60.Ba3 Kg4 61.Kg2 Be6 62.Bc1 Kf5 63.Kf3 Bf7 64.Ba3 Bh5+ 65.Ke3 Kg4 66.Kf2 Kf4 67.Kg2 Kf5 68.Be7 Kg4 69.Ba3 h3+ 70.Kf2 Kf4 71.Bc1+ Ke4 72.Bb2 a3 73.Ba1 Kf4 74.Bc3 Bf7 75.Ke2 Ke4 76.Kd2 Kf3 77.Ba1 a2 78.Bc3 Kf4 79.Bb2 Bg6 80.Bc3 Kf5 81.Ke3 Kxf6 82.Kf4 Ke7 83.Ke3 Be4 84.Ba1 Ke6 85.Bb2 Kd7 86.Kd2 Bb1 87.Ke2 Ke6 88.Ke3 Be4 89.Kf4 and win isn't visible. 47...Bf5? A second chance to do the winning thing: 47...c6! -- for example: 48.Ba3 gxf3+ 49.Kxf3 Bf5 50.Bb2 Be4+ and this variation transposes to the note at Black's 49th move (pointed out by Wolfram Schön). 48.Kf2? White again misses drawing moves. Kasparov (1) and Karpov (2) again are quiet. 48.c6!? Bd3 49.Kf2 Bb5 50.f5 Bxc6 51.Ba3 Bd7 52.f6 Be6 53.Ke2 Kg5 54.Bc1+ Kxf6 55.fxg4 Bxg4+ 56.Ke3 Kf5 57.Ba3 and Black is stymied. 48.fxg4+! Kxg4 49.h3+ Kh5 50.c6 Bd3 51.Ba3 Kg6 52.Kf3 Bf5 53.Kg2 Kf7 54.Bc5 Be4+ 55.Kf2= 48...gxf3 49.Kxf3 Be4+? Black wins after 49...c6! 50.Bb2 Be4+ 51.Ke2 51.Kf2 Kg4 52.Bc1 Bf5 53.Kg2 Bg6 54.Kf2 Be4 55.Kg1 Kf3 56.Kf1 Bd3+ 57.Ke1 57.Kg1 Bf5 58.Kf1 Ke4-+ 57...Kg2-+ 51...Kg4 52.Kf2 52.Bc1 Bf5 52...Kxf4 53.Bc1+ Kg4 54.Ba3 Kh3 55.Kg1 Bf3 56.Bc1 Bd1-+ (same position as after the game's final move) 50.Kf2 Kg4 51.Bb2? White misses his last chance to play 51.c6‼ ; for example: Kh3 52.Kg1 Bg6 53.Kh1 Be8 54.f5 Bxc6 55.f6 Be8 56.Kg1 Kg4 57.Kf2 Kf5 58.Ke3 Kxf6 59.Kf4 is certainly very drawish. 51...Kxf4 52.Bc3 As Wolfram Schön points out, several reputable sources give 52.Bc1 as the move that was actually played. Kg4 53.Bb2 c6 Schön: Giddins gives an exclamation mark and comments: 'Mednis points out, this is a typical do-not-hurry move. Black just eliminates any slight danger of counterplay by c5-c6, followed by an attack on the c7-pawn.' So in principe the main white drawing idea has been known for a long time. However it hasn't been analysed properly before in the books. 54.Bc1 Kh3 55.Kg1 Bg6 56.Kh1 Bh5 Kasparov indicates a draw after 56...Kg4 57.Kg2 ; however, this is still a win for Black -- for example: Bc2 Kasparov (1) gave 57...Kf5 58.Kf3 Bh5+ 59.Ke3= 58.Ba3 Kf4 59.Kf2 Ke4 60.Bb2 Kd3 61.Kf3 Bd1+ 62.Kf4 Kc2 63.Ba1 a3 64.Ke5 a2 65.Kd6 Kb1 66.Bc3 Ba4-+ Schön: 56...Kg4 I think Kasparov, following Karpov, is giving this line to demonstrate the necessity to take f3 away from the white king. Which explains the game move 56...Bh5. But yes, in this side line it is the second move (57...Kf5), not the first move (56...Kg4), that spoils the win. 57.Kg2 Kf5? 58.Kf3 Bh5+ 59.Ke3= 57.Kg1 Bd1 One possible finish is 57...Bd1 58.Bb2 Kg4 59.Kg2 Bf3+ 60.Kf2 Kf4 (Karpov 2); then maybe 61.Ba3 Bg4 62.Bc1+ Ke4 63.Bb2 Kd3 64.Ba1 a3 65.Ke1 a2 66.Kf2 Kc2 67.Ke3 Kb1 etc. Schön: 57...Bd1! Ignoring repetitions this is the only set-up to create a zugzwang for White. Black wins a decisive tempo for the transition of his king to e4. 58.Kh1 Kg4 59.Kg2 Kf5 60.Kh3 60.Kf2 Ke4 61.Ke1 Bg4 62.Bb2 Kd3-+ 60...Ke4 61.Bb2 Kd3 62.Kxh4 Kc2 63.Ba1 Kb1-+ Black wins a race. He promotes his a-pawn to win the bishop and returns with his king in time to capture in d4. Line shown by Kasparov. 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Kurajica,B-Karpov,A-0–11976C77Skopje5

 

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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