Endgames from Vrnjacka Banja (3)

by Karsten Müller
3/15/2023 – Close to 250 games were played daily for 11 rounds at the European Championship that came to an end on Monday. The players were fighting for an entrance to the World Championship cycle via the World Cup, which made for very competitive struggles. Karsten Müller kept an eye on the games, and sent us many notable endgames with instructive analyses. Replay here ten of his finds! | Pictured: Ellen Fredericia Nilssen | Photo: European Chess Union
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Tricky knights

Teaching an absolute beginner how the knight moves is more difficult than teaching any other piece’s movement. For grandmasters, dealing with the knight is also one of the most difficult tasks — at least in endgames requiring deep calculation. 

 
Yuffa vs. Kilic - Round 7
Black to play

As per Capablanca’s Theorem, queen and knight are stronger than queen and bishop. Eray Kilic (Black) here failed to realize that trading queens was the way to draw the game. After 39...Qd7, Daniil Yuffa showed the correct technique to create a mating attack with his killer duo. 

 
Anton vs. Wachinger - Round 6
Black to play

David Anton (White) here had an advantage thanks to his outside passer and his bishop’s ability to defend from afar. However, it turns out that Nikolas Wachinger had a way to draw this position. He could not find the right knight road, though. Can you find it?

 
Donchenko vs. Fataliyeva - Round 6
Black to play

In this double-edged position, the underdog, Ulviyya Fataliyeva (Black), had the upper hand against Alexander Donchenko. She, however, faltered by choosing the incorrect knight manoeuvre in this position. Black to play and win.

These are only three of the ten instructive endgame positions which you can study and enjoy in our dynamic replayer below!

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2 Nc6 9.Be3 0-0 10.0-0 b6 11.Qd2 Bb7 12.Rfd1 Rc8 13.Rac1 e6 14.Bg5 Qd7 15.h4 Na5 16.Bd3 cxd4 17.cxd4 Rxc1 18.Rxc1 Nc6 19.Bb5 a6 20.Bxc6 Bxc6 21.e5 Bb5 22.Ng3 Bc6 23.Bf6 h6 24.Bxg7 Kxg7 25.h5 Bd5 26.Nf1 Rc8 27.Rxc8 Qxc8 28.hxg6 fxg6 29.Ne3 Qd8 30.Qc1 h5 31.a3 Bb7 32.Qc4 Kf7 33.Qb4 a5 34.Qa4 Ke7 35.Qc2 Qxd4 36.Qc7+ Qd7 37.Qxb6 a4 38.Qb1 Kf7 39.Nc4 Kg7 40.Nd6 Bc6 41.Qc1 Bd5 42.Qg5 Kh7 43.Kh2 Qa7 44.Qf4 Qd7 45.Qf6 Qg7 46.f4 Capablanca's Theorem. Queen and knight are stronger then queen and bishop - when queen and knight create play on the weak squares, the bishop cannot control them: Qd7? Now White's powerplay on the dark squares decides. 46...Qxf6! draws, e.g. 47.exf6 h4 47...e5? 48.fxe5 g5 49.Nb5 Kg6 50.g4 hxg4 50...h4 51.Nc3 Be6 52.Nxa4 Bxg4 53.Nc5+- 51.Nd4 Be4 52.Kg3 Bd3 53.Kxg4 Bc4 54.Kf3 Bd5+ 55.Ke3 Bc4 56.Ke4 Bb3 57.Nb5 Bc2+ 58.Kd5 g4 59.Nc3 g3 60.Ne2 g2 61.Nf4++- 48.Nf7 Kg8 49.Ne5 Be4 50.Kh3 Kf8 50...Bd5? 51.Nxg6 Kf7 52.Nxh4 Kxf6 53.g4+- 51.Kxh4 Bxg2 52.Nxg6+ Kf7 53.Kg5 Bd5 54.Ne5+ Kf8= 47.Nf7 Qe8 48.g3 Ba2 49.Kh3 The king enters the attack with decisive effect. Bb1 50.Kh4 Kg8 51.Nh6+ Kh7 52.Nf7 White repeats. Later he plays 52.Kg5+- 52...Kg8 53.Nh6+ Kh7 54.Kg5 The king arrives just in time. Bc2 55.Nf7 Kg8 55...Qf8 is met by 56.Qxe6+- 56.Nd8 Bf5 57.Kh6 57.Nb7+- 57...Qd7 57...Qf8+ is met by 58.Kg5 Qe8 59.Nb7+- 58.Nc6 58.Nc6 Qh7+ 58...Qxc6?! 59.Qg7# 59.Kg5 Qg7 60.Ne7+ Kh7 61.Qxg7+ Kxg7 62.Nxf5+ exf5 63.e6+- 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Yuffa,D2605Kilic,E24151–02023D877.70
Anton Guijarro,D2685Wachinger,N24401–02023A14EICC 20236.53
Donchenko,A2653Fataliyeva,U2427½–½2023C116.55
Kochavi,O2417Warmerdam,M2614½–½2023B905.56
Kourkoulos-Arditis,S2520Svane,R26201–02023E045.11
Maurizzi,M2535Antic,D23881–02023E117.78
Shevchenko,K2668Stefansson,V24611–02023D50EICC 20236.22
Subelj,J2496Kovalev,V26231–02023A13EICC 20236.29
Tekeyev,Z2415Bjerre,J26080–12023B515.57
Warmerdam,M2614Baenziger,F24131–02023A30EICC 20236.59
 

Let endgame expert Dr Karsten Müller show and explain the finesses of the world champions. Although they had different styles each and every one of them played the endgame exceptionally well, so take the opportunity to enjoy and learn from some of the best endgames in the history of chess.

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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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