The Bishop's Knightmare

With a knight the play is often tactical, and Van Wely found himself on
the receiving end of Ding Liren's knight pirouettes
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76.Nf6!? 76.Rxe3? Rxg4+ 77.Kd3 Rh4 78.Re8 Kxd5 79.Rh8 Rh3+ 80.Ke2 Ke6 81.h7 Kf7= 76.Nxe3? Rxe4+ 77.Kd3 Ke5 77...Rh4? 78.Nf5++- 78.h7 Rh4= 76...Rh3 76...Rxh6 77.Re6+ 77.Ne8+ Kd7 78.Rxe3+- 77...Kc7 78.d6+ Kc6 79.d7+ Kc7 80.Re8 Rh4+ 81.Kd3 Rd4+ 82.Kxe3+- Rd6 83.Rc8+ Kb7 84.d8Q 76...Rxe4+ 77.Nxe4+ Ke5 78.h7+- 77.Re6+ Kc7 78.d6+ Kb7 79.d7 1–0
- Start an analysis engine:
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- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
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Ding Liren | 2732 | Van Wely,L | 2667 | 1–0 | 2015 | A34 | 77th Tata Steel GpA | 7 |
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Radjabov's Rook

Pure endings with opposite colored bishops have a large drawish tendency,
but when a pair of rooks is still on the board then they usually favor the attacker.
Radjabov's technique here is both exemplary and instructive.
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52.Rf4! Kg6 52...Re3+? 53.Kf6 Be7+ 54.Kf5+- 52...Rxa6? 53.Bf7+ Rg6 54.Kf5 Be7 55.Bxg6# 53.Rg4+ Kh7 53...Kh5? 54.Kf5 Rxa6 55.Bf7+ Rg6 56.Bxg6# 54.Be4+ Kh8 55.Rg6 h5?! 55...Be3 56.h5 Ra5+ 57.Bd5 Kh7 58.Ke4 Ba7 59.Rd6 Bc5 59...Bg1 60.Rd7+ Kh8 61.Rd6 Kh7 62.Kf3 Ra3+ 63.Kg4 Be3 64.Kf5 Bc5 65.Rd7+ Kh8 66.Bc4+- 60.Rc6 Bg1 61.Rc7+ Kh8 62.Rc8+ Kh7 63.Rc6 Bc5 64.Kf3! Ra3+ 65.Kg4 Bg1 66.Rd6 Be3 67.Kf5 Bc5 68.Rd7+ Kh8 69.Bc4 Rc3 70.Kg6 Rg3+ 71.Kf6 Rf3+ 72.Ke5 Ra3 73.Bd3 Ra4 74.Rh7+ Kg8 75.Rxh6+- 56.Rc6 Bf8?! 56...Bf2 57.Kf6 Rg3 57...Bxh4+?! 58.Kf7+- 58.Bg6 Bd4+ 59.Kf5 Ra3 60.Bxh5+- 57.Kf6 Kg8 58.Bd5+ Kh7 59.Kf7 59.Kf7 Ra5 60.Be4+ Kh8 61.Rc8+- 1–0
- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
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Radjabov,T | 2734 | Wojtaszek,R | 2744 | 1–0 | 2015 | B90 | 77th Tata Steel GpA | 8 |
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The miracle breakthrough

Appearances are deceiving. Althought the rook is usually much stronger than the bishop in
a technical endgame, White's three connected passed pawns seem to be an insurmountable
hurdle. Ding Liren's alertness and creativity overcome that.
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
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61...a5‼ 61...a6? 62.Kf4 b5 63.axb5 axb5 64.Ke5 Rb6 65.cxb5 Rxb5 66.Kd6 Rb2 67.g4 Rh2 68.Kxc5 Rxh3= 62.Bb7?! 62.Be4! Rd4 62...b5? 63.cxb5 Rd4 64.b6 Rxa4 65.b7 Rb4 66.Bc6 a4 67.Bxa4 Rxb7 68.f4 c4 69.Kf3 Rb4 70.Bc2 Rb2 71.Be4 c3 72.Ke3 Rd2 73.h4= 63.Bd5 Kg6 64.h4 64.Kf2 b5-+ 64.Be4+ Kf6 65.Bd5 Ke5 66.h4 Kf6 67.h5 Kg5-+ 64...Kf6 65.h5 Kg5 66.Kf2 66.Kh3 b5 67.axb5 a4 68.b6 Rh4+ 69.Kg3 Rxh5 70.b7 Rh8 71.Be6 Rb8 72.Bc8 a3-+ 66.Bc6 Rxc4 67.Kf2 Kxh5 68.g3 Kg5 69.Ke3 Kf5 70.Kd3 Rb4 71.Bd7+ Ke5 72.Kc3 c4-+ 66...b5 67.axb5 a4 68.b6 a3 69.b7 Rd2+ 70.Ke3 Rb2-+ 62...b5! 63.cxb5 63.axb5 a4-+ 63...c4 64.Be4 c3 65.Kf4 Rd2 65...Rd2 66.Ke5 c2 67.Bxc2 Rxc2 68.Kd6 68.b6 Rb2-+ 68...Rc4 69.b6 Rxa4 70.b7 Rb4-+ 0–1
- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
- Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
- Create an account to access the games cloud.
Wojtaszek,R | 2744 | Ding Liren | 2732 | 0–1 | 2015 | E94 | 77th Tata Steel GpA | 11 |
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Karsten Müller in ChessBase Magazine
Do you like these lessons? There are plenty more by internationally renowned endgame expert Dr Karsten Müller in ChessBase Magazine, where you will also find openings articles and surveys, tactics, and of course annotations by the world's top grandmasters.
Click to go to the ChessBase Magazine page
Apart from his regular columns and video lectures in ChessBase Magazine there is a whole series of training DVDs by Karsten Müller, which are bestsellers in the ChessBase Shop.
