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Rook endgames often end in draws, even when one of the sides has one (or even two) extra pawns. Thus, trading pieces to enter a pure rook ending is usually a difficult decision.
In round 3 of the London Chess Classic, Shreyas Royal correctly assessed that he could exchange queens with Amin Tabatabaei and convert his extra pawn into a win.
After 35.Qd6 Qxd6 36.cxd6 the resulting rook endgame is indeed winning. White went on to grab the opponent’s b-pawn while allowing Black to get a new queen of his own on the kingside. The resulting position with queen and rook against queen and rook was completely winning for White.
49...g1Q 50.Qd8+, and the white king’s activity is crucial to get the win. Royal found a couple more precise manoeuvres to prompt Tabataei’s resignation.
This is only one of the four instructive endgame positions which you can study and enjoy in our dynamic replayer below.