Endgames from Miami (3)

by Karsten Müller
8/25/2022 – A field with well-established GMs and young stars fought it off in Miami at the FTX Crypto Cup. Our in-house expert Karsten Müller closely followed the games looking to find the most intriguing and instructive ending positions. Do not miss his on-point analyses! | Pictured: Levon Aronian | Photo: Amruta Mokal
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Dynamics

Duda’s wrong capture

The bishop wants dynamics, the knight prefers static positions. Jan-Krzysztof Duda chose the wrong capture in a knight versus bishop ending against the ever-ruthless Magnus Carlsen.

 
Carlsen, Magnus28641–0Duda, Jan-Krzysztof2750
FTX Crypto Cup MCCT 2022
Miami11.08.2022[Mueller,Karsten]
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.a3 a6 4.Bf4 Bf5 5.e3 e6 6.c4 Bd6 7.Bg5 Nbd7 8.Nc3 c6 9.Be2 h6 10.Bh4 0-0 11.0-0 Re8 12.b4 Qb8 13.Bg3 Ne4 14.Nxe4 Bxe4 15.Nd2 Bg6 16.Nb3 Bxg3 17.hxg3 Nf6 18.Rc1 Re7 19.a4 e5 20.dxe5 Qxe5 21.Qd4 Qxd4 22.Nxd4 dxc4 23.Rxc4 Be4 24.f3 Bd5 25.Rc3 Rae8 26.Kf2 h5 27.Rd1 g6 28.Nc2 Kg7 29.Rd4 Kf8 30.a5 Nd7 31.e4 Be6 32.Ne1 f5 33.Bd3 fxe4 34.Rxe4 Nf6 35.Re2 Nd5 36.Rc4 Bf7 37.Rxe7 Rxe7 38.Be4 Nc7 39.Rc2 Kg7 40.Nd3 Kf6 41.Rd2 Ne6 42.Ke3 Rc7 43.f4 Be8 44.Ne5 g5 45.Rd6 Ke7 46.Nc4 Rd7 47.Rxd7+ Bxd7 48.Ne5 Be8 49.Nd3 Kd6 50.f5 Nc7 51.Nc5 Ke5 52.Nd3+ Kd6 53.Bf3 Bf7 54.Nc5 Ke5 55.Nxb7 Nd5+ 56.Bxd5
The bishop wants dynamics, the knight prefers static positions. This guideline from the middlegame is also often valid in the endgame: 56...Bxd5? Now White gains full control. The dynamic 56...cxd5 defends, e.g. 57.Nc5 57.b5 axb5 58.a6 d4+ 59.Kf2 Bd5= 57...d4+ 58.Kf2 58.Kd3 Be8= 58...Bc4 59.Ne6 Kxf5 60.Nxd4+ Ke4 61.Nc6 g4= 57.Nc5! What a knightmare for Black! Bc4 57...Bxg2 is met by 58.Kf2 Bd5 59.Nxa6 Kxf5 60.Nc5 Bc4 61.a6 Bxa6 62.Nxa6 h4 62...Ke4 63.Nc5+ Kd5 64.Nb7 Kc4 65.Nd8 h4 66.g4+- 63.Nb8 Ke5 64.Nxc6+ Kd5 65.b5 Kc5 66.Nd4 h3 67.g4+- 58.Ne4 Bf1 58...Kxf5 59.Nd6+ Kg4 60.Nxc4 Kxg3 61.Ne5 Kxg2 62.Nxc6 h4 63.Ne5 h3 64.Ng4 h2 65.Nxh2 Kxh2 66.b5 axb5 67.a6 g4 68.a7 g3 69.a8Q+- 59.f6 Ke6 59...Bc4 60.g4 h4 61.Nxg5 Kxf6 62.Nf3 Bf1 63.Nxh4 Kg5 64.Nf3+ Kf6 65.g5+ Ke6 66.Nh4 Kd5 67.g6 Ke6 68.Kd4+- 60.Kf2 Bc4 60...Bb5 61.g4 h4 62.Nxg5+ Kxf6 63.Nf3 Bc4 64.Ke3 Bf1 65.Nxh4 Kg5 66.Nf3+ Kf6 67.g5+ Kf5 68.Kd4 Bxg2 69.Nh4++- 60...Bd3 61.Nc5++- 61.f7! This breaks the defense as Magnus' mighty knight rules the whole board. Ke7 61...Kxf7 62.Nd6++- 62.Nxg5 Bd5 63.g4 hxg4 64.Kg3 64.Kg3 Kf8 65.Kxg4 Bxg2 66.Kf5 Ke7 67.Kg6 Bd5 68.Kg7 Bxf7 69.Nxf7 Ke6 70.Nd8+ Kd5 71.Kf6 c5 72.bxc5 Kxc5 73.Ke6 Kb5 74.Nb7 Kc6 75.Nd6 Kc5 76.Kd7 Kb4 77.Nb7 Kb5 78.Kc7+- 1–0

King activity

Levon Aronian showed the correct technique to convert an advantageous position with a passer on the flank in a minor-piece endgame.

 
Aronian, Levon27751–0Niemann, Hans Moke2688
FTX Crypto Cup MCCT 2022
Miami11.08.2022[Mueller,Karsten]
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Bf4 g6 4.e3 Bg7 5.c3 0-0 6.Nbd2 b6 7.Be2 Bb7 8.h4 h6 9.Ne5 Nfd7 10.Ndf3 Nxe5 11.Bxe5 Nd7 12.Bxg7 Kxg7 13.Qa4 c5 14.h5 g5 15.Bb5 Nf6 16.Ne5 a6 17.Be2 b5 18.Qc2 cxd4 19.exd4 Ne4 20.f3 Nd6 21.f4 e6 22.0-0 f5 23.a4 Nc4 24.axb5 axb5 25.Rxa8 Bxa8 26.Ra1 gxf4 27.Ng6 Ne3 28.Nxf8 Nxc2 29.Nxe6+ Kf6 30.Nxd8 Nxa1 31.Bxb5 Nb3 32.Be8 Nd2 33.Bg6 Nc4 34.Nf7 Nxb2 35.Nxh6 Nd1 36.Ng8+ Kg7 37.Ne7 Nxc3 38.Kf2 Ne4+ 39.Kf3 Kf6
Aronian's activity. King activity is often important in an endgame: 40.h6! The a-pawn advance decides. Ng5+ 40...Kxe7 41.h7 Ng5+ 41...Kf6 42.h8Q+ Kxg6 43.Qxa8+- 42.Kxf4 Nxh7 43.Bxh7 Kf6 44.Bxf5+- 41.Kxf4 Ne6+ 42.Kg3!? The right retreat to the right. 42.Kf3? Nxd4+= 42.Ke3?! wins as well, but is very bad technique: f4+ 43.Kf2 Ng5 44.h7 Kg7 45.Bc2 f3 46.gxf3 Nxh7 47.Bxh7 Kxh7 48.Kg3 Kg7 49.Kf4+- 42...Nf8 42...f4+ 43.Kg4+- 43.Bxf5 43.h7 also works due to f4+ 44.Kg4 Nxh7 45.Bxh7 Kxe7 46.Kxf4+- 43...Kxe7 44.h7 Nxh7 45.Bxh7 Kf6 46.Kf4 Bc6 47.g4 Ba4 48.g5+ Kg7 49.Bf5 Bc6 50.Ke5 Bb7 51.Be6 Kg6 52.Bxd5 Ba6 53.Kf4 53.Bc6 wins as well, e.g. Kxg5 54.d5 Kg6 55.Be8+ Kg7 56.d6 Bc8 57.Kd5 Kf8 58.Bh5 Bd7 59.Kc5 Kg7 60.Kb6 Kf6 61.Kc7 Be6 62.Be8 Ke5 63.Bd7 Bb3 64.Bg4 Ba4 65.Bf3 Kd4 66.Bc6+- After 66.Bg2?? Kc5= Black has reached Centurini's draw, which holds, as both stopping diagonals are longer than three squares. 1–0

Deep queen endings

Making decisions in queen endings is extremely difficult, especially in rapid games. Duda could have beaten Praggnanandhaa had he found the precise manoeuvre in the following position.

 
Duda vs. Praggnanandhaa

After 92.Ke7, Pragg managed to escape with a half point, while 92.Qg3 cutting off the king in fact wins.

Find this game’s full analysis plus three more instructive endgames in the replayer below!

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 cxd4 8.cxd4 Bb4+ 9.Bd2 Bxd2+ 10.Qxd2 0-0 11.Bc4 Nd7 12.0-0 b6 13.Rfe1 Bb7 14.Rad1 Rc8 15.Bb3 Re8 16.h3 h6 17.d5 exd5 18.exd5 Nc5 19.d6 Bxf3 20.Rxe8+ Qxe8 21.gxf3 Qc6 22.Bd5 Qd7 23.Qf4 Rd8 24.Kg2 Kh8 25.Qxf7 Qxd6 26.Bb3 Qb8 27.Re1 Rf8 28.Qg6 Qb7 29.Bd1 Qf7 30.Qxf7 Rxf7 31.Re8+ Kh7 32.Bc2+ g6 33.f4 Kg7 34.Kg3 Rd7 35.Rc8 Rf7 36.h4 Rf8 37.Rxf8 Kxf8 38.f5 gxf5 39.Kf4 Ne6+ 40.Ke5 Ke7 41.Bxf5 Nc7 42.Bd3 b5 43.f4 a5 44.f5 b4 45.f6+ Kf8 46.Bc4 a4 47.Kf5 Ne8 48.Kg6 Nd6 49.Bd5 Nb5 50.Kxh6 Nc3 51.Be6 Nxa2 52.h5 b3 53.Kg6 Nb4 54.h6 b2 55.Bf5 Nc6 56.h7 Ne5+ 57.Kh5 Nf7 58.Bb1 Nh8 59.Kg5 Nf7+ 60.Kf5 Nh8 61.Ba2 Ke8 62.Kg5 Kf8 63.Kh6 a3 64.Kg5 Ke8 65.Kf4 Kf8 66.Kf5 Ke8 67.Kg5 Queen endings are deep. The ending with queen and pawn against queen is very complicated: Kf8? The wrong order of moves. 67...Nf7+ amazingly draws: 68.Bxf7+ 68.Kg6 Kf8= 68...Kxf7 69.h8Q b1Q 70.Qg7+ Ke6 71.Qe7+ 71.f7?! Qf5+ 72.Kh6 Qxf7 73.Qg4+ Qf5 74.Qc4+ Qd5 75.Qc8+ Ke7 76.Qc7+ Qd7 77.Qa5 Qd6+ 78.Kh7= White's king has reached the main drawing zone in the north east corner. The bishop's pawn does not have such a drawing zone in a far-away corner. 71...Kd5 72.Qxa3 Qg1+ 73.Kh6 Ke6 74.Qe7+ Kf5 75.Qf7 Qg5+ 76.Kh7 Qxf6= 68.Kh6! zugzwang Nf7+ 69.Bxf7 Kxf7 70.h8Q b1Q 71.Qg7+ Ke6 72.Qe7+ Kd5 72...Kf5?! 73.Qh7+ Kxf6 74.Qxb1+- 73.Qxa3 A bishop's pawn usually wins, if the defending king cannot come very close to it, and this is a rule case: Qh1+ 74.Kg7! 74.Kg6? allows a perpetual check: Qe4+ 75.Kg7 Qg4+ 76.Kf8 Qc8+= 74...Qg2+ 75.Kf7 Ke5 76.Qc5+ Kf4 77.Kf8 Qa8+ 78.Ke7 Qb7+ 79.Ke6 Qe4+ 80.Kd7 Qh7+ 81.Kd6 Qd3+ 82.Qd5 Qa3+ 83.Kd7 Qa7+ 84.Ke6 Qe3+ 85.Kf7 Qa7+ 86.Kg8 Qb8+ 87.Kg7 Qb2 88.Kf7 Qa1 89.Qc4+ Kg5 90.Qc5+ Kh6 91.Qe3+ Kh5 92.Ke7? Now Black's king can come too close. 92.Qg3 cuts it off and wins, e.g. Qa7+ 93.Kf8 Qa8+ 94.Kg7 Qa1 95.Qg6+ Kh4 96.Kh7 Qa7+ 97.f7 Qd7 98.Qg7 Qd3+ 99.Kh8+- 92...Kg6! 93.Qe4+ Kh6! 94.Qe3+ 94.Kf7 Qa2+ 95.Kf8 Qa3+ 96.Kg8 Qg3+ 97.Kf7 Qb3+ 98.Qe6 Qb7+ 99.Kf8 Qa8+ 100.Qe8 Qa3+ 101.Kg8 Qg3+ 102.Kh8 Qd6= 94...Kg6 95.Qe4+ Kh6 96.Qh4+ Kg6 97.Qg4+ Kh6 98.Qh3+ Kg6 99.Qg2+ Kh6 100.Qh2+ Kg6 101.Qg3+ Kh6 102.f7 Qa7+ 103.Ke6 Qa2+! 104.Kf6 Qa6+ 105.Ke5 Qa5+ 106.Ke4 Qa8+ 107.Kf5 Qc8+ 108.Kf6 Qa6+ 109.Ke7 Qa7+ 110.Ke8 Qa8+ 111.Kd7 Qa7+ 112.Ke6 Qa2+! 112...Qb6+?? 113.Qd6+- 113.Kf6 Qa6+ ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Duda,J2750Praggnanandhaa R2648½–½2022D416.2
Aronian,L2775Firouzja,A2793½–½2022A287.1
Duda,J2750Giri,A27601–02022C67FTX Crypto Cup MCCT 20227.1
Duda,J2750Carlsen,M28640–12022E715.3

In over 4 hours in front of the camera, Karsten Müller presents to you sensations from the world of endgames - partly reaching far beyond standard techniques and rules of thumb - and rounds off with some cases of with own examples.

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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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