Norway Chess: a tricky endgame - Caruana vs Duda

by Karsten Müller
10/7/2020 – The players at the Altibox Norway Chess Tournament seem to enjoy playing "live" again, and the fighting spirit is high. The current tournament leader Fabiano Caruana started with two wins, and he won both games in the endgame. But was his endgame against Jan-Krzysztof Duda in round 2 really won? Karsten Müller is not sure and took a deeper look. | Photos: Lennart Ootes
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.

The duel bishop and knight vs rook

In the first two rounds the players at the Altibox Norway Chess Tournament have reached a number of interesting endgames.

In round 2 Fabiano Caruana played against Jan-Krzysztof Duda and was much better after the opening and later he won material and liquidated into an endgame. But was the endgame really won?

Fabiano Caruana is not the only one who wonders if White can win if Black defends precisely.

 
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1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.cxd5 cxd5 4.Bf4 Nc6 5.e3 Nf6 6.Bb5 Bd7 7.Nc3 a6 8.Bd3 Bg4 9.Nge2 e6 10.0-0 Bxe2 11.Qxe2 Be7 12.a3 0-0 13.Na4 h6 14.Bg3 Nd7 15.h3 Qa5 16.Qd1 Rfc8 17.b4 Qd8 18.Rb1 Ra7 19.Nc5 Ncb8 20.Qe2 a5 21.Rfc1 axb4 22.axb4 Nf6 23.b5 b6 24.Na6 Rxc1+ 25.Rxc1 Nbd7 26.Rc6 Qf8 27.Qc2 Ra8 28.Rc7 Bd6 29.Bxd6 Qxd6 30.Qc6 Qf8 31.Rxd7 Nxd7 32.Qxd7 Rc8 33.g3 Rc3 34.Bf1 Qc8 35.Qxc8+ Rxc8 36.h4 g5 37.Nb4 Kf8 38.Nc6 Ra8 39.Be2 Ra2 40.Kf1 Ra1+ 41.Kg2 Ra2 42.Bd3 Rd2 43.Bf1 f6 44.hxg5 hxg5 45.g4 Ke8 46.Kg3 Rd1 47.Be2 Rg1+ 48.Kh2 Re1 49.Bd3 Is Black able to stop the White from entering his position? Can the black pawns block him? The duel bishop and knight vs rook can be very difficult. In this position White has the problem that his king cannot enter Black's position. Rd1? This allows White to make progress. 49...Rc1 50.Kg2 50.f4 Re1= 50...Rc3= should be a draw. 50.Nb4 Kd7 51.Kg2 Ra1 52.f4 Ra3? Now Black is definitely lost. White continues to attack Black's weaknesses until he finds a way to enter Black's position. After 52...gxf4 53.exf4 Ra4 or 53...Ra3 I cannot say whether White can win or not - maybe the readers can help. 53.fxg5 fxg5 53...Rb3 54.gxf6 Rxb4 55.Bg6 Rb2+ 56.Kg3 Re2 57.g5 Rxe3+ 58.Kf2 Rh3 59.Bf7+- 54.Nc6 Kd6 54...Rxd3?! 55.Ne5++- 55.Ne5 Ke7 56.Kf3 Ra2 57.e4 Ra1 58.Ke3 Re1+ 59.Be2 Rg1 60.Kf2 Ra1 61.Nf3 Kf6 62.Ke3 Ra8 63.Bd3 Rg8 64.Bb1 Ke7 65.Ne5 Ra8 66.Bd3 Rc8 67.Nc6+ Kd6 68.Ne5 Rf8 69.exd5 exd5 70.Bf5 Re8 71.Kd3 Re7 72.Bg6 Ra7 73.Ke3 Ke6 74.Bf5+ Kd6 75.Kd2 Ra2+ 76.Kc3 Ra3+ 77.Kb4 Ra7 78.Bc2 Ke6 79.Nc6 Ra2 80.Kb3 Ra1 81.Kc3 Rc1?! 81...Kd6 was more tenacious, but Black is still lost because White can regroup and gain one of the black pawns, e.g. 82.Bf5 Ra8 83.Ne5 Ra3+ 84.Kc2 Ra7 85.Nf3 Rg7 86.Kd2 Rg8 87.Bc2 Rg7 88.Bd1 Ke7 89.Kd3 Kd6 90.Nd2 Ra7 91.Nb1 Rh7 92.Nc3 Rh3+ 93.Kd2 Rg3 94.Be2 Rh3 95.Nd1 Ke6 96.Ne3 Rh2 97.Kd3 Rh3 98.Bf1 Rf3 99.Bg2+- 82.Ne5 Rg1 After 82...Ke7 83.Nf3 Kf6 84.Kd2 Rf1 85.Ke2 Ra1 86.Bb3 the position opens, e.g. Rb1 87.Bxd5 Rxb5 88.Be4 Ra5 89.Kd3 Ra4 90.Bf5 Ra1 91.Kc4+- and the king finds a way to attack. 83.Bf5+ Ke7 83...Kd6 84.Nf7+ Ke7 85.Nxg5+- 84.Nd7 Rc1+ 85.Kb3 Rc4 After 85...Rb1+ 86.Bxb1 Kxd7 87.Bh7 Ke6 88.Bg8+ Kd6 89.Kc3+- Black is in "zugzwang" and loses. 86.Nxb6 Rxd4 87.Kc3 Rd1 88.Nc8+ Kd8 89.b6 d4+ 90.Kc2 Re1 91.Nd6 Re3 92.Nf7+ Ke7 93.b7 d3+ 94.Kd1 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Caruana,F2828Duda,J27571–02020D108th Altibox Norway Chess 20202

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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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