Notable endgames: Biel, Dortmund, Zagreb

by Karsten Müller
7/24/2022 – Plenty of action was seen in the world of elite chess last week, with top tournaments in Biel, Dortmund and Zagreb. GM Karsten Müller has been paying close attention to the games, and has shared with us a number of instructive endgame positions. Unmissable! | Photo: Lennart Ootes

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Endgame highlights: summer edition

Biel

Le Quang Liem convincingly won the Grandmaster Triathlon in Biel. The Vietnamese was the top scorer both in the classical and rapid sections. Facing Vincent Keymer, he made the most of a mistake by the youngster in a rook and bishop endgame.

Can you find the most precise continuation for Black here?

 
Le vs. Keymer

Keymer’s 63...Ra7 turned out to be too passive, as White went on to weave a mating net by activating his king. Better would have been 63...Rb8, with counterchances for Black.

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Bb4+ 4.Nd2 d5 5.Bg2 0-0 6.Ngf3 b6 7.0-0 Bb7 8.Ne5 a5 9.a3 Be7 10.cxd5 exd5 11.Nb1 Nbd7 12.Nc3 Ne4 13.Nxe4 dxe4 14.Qc2 Nxe5 15.dxe5 Qd5 16.Rd1 Qxe5 17.Bf4 Qe6 18.Qxc7 Ba6 19.Qd7 Bxe2 20.Qxe6 fxe6 21.Rd7 Bf6 22.Bxe4 Rad8 23.Bc6 Bc4 24.Rxd8 Rxd8 25.Rc1 Bb3 26.a4 Bd4 27.Bb5 h6 28.Be3 Bxe3 29.fxe3 g5 30.Rf1 Kg7 31.h4 Rd5 32.Be8 Rd8 33.Bb5 Rc8 34.hxg5 hxg5 35.Rf2 Rc1+ 36.Rf1 Rc5 37.Be8 Rc8 38.Bb5 Bd5 39.Bd3 Rc5 40.Kf2 e5 41.e4 Bb3 42.Bb5 Rc2+ 43.Ke3 Rg2 44.Kf3 Rxb2 45.Kg4 Be6+ 46.Kxg5 Rb3 47.Rg1 Re3 48.Bc6 Rf3 49.Be8 Rd3 50.g4 Rd4 51.Re1 Rc4 52.Bb5 Rc2 53.Rg1 Rc3 54.Rb1 Rc8 55.Be2 Rc6 56.Rb5 Bd7 57.Rxe5 Rg6+ 58.Kf4 Rf6+ 59.Ke3 Bxa4 60.g5 Rf7 61.Re6 Rb7 62.Bc4 b5 63.Bd5 The mating net. Direct king attacks do happen in the endgame: Ra7? This is too passive. 63...Rb8 draws, e.g. 64.Kf4 Rf8+ 65.Ke5 b4 66.Rf6 Re8+= 64.Re8! White's rook weaves a mating net. Kh7 65.Kf4 The king comes to close all escape roads. Bd1 65...b4 is met by 66.Rg8 b3 67.e5 Ra6 68.Rb8 Bc6 69.Bxc6 Rxc6 70.Kf5 a4 71.e6+- 66.Rb8 a4 67.Kf5 Bh5 68.e5 Rd7 68...a3 is met by 69.Kf6 a2 70.Be4+ Bg6 71.Bxg6# 69.Rxb5 Kg7 70.Ra5! The only winning move. Be8 71.e6 Rc7 72.Ra8 Bb5 73.e7 Le starts the final mating attack. Rxe7 74.Rg8+ Kh7 75.g6+ Kh6 76.Rh8+ Kg7 77.Rh7+ Kf8 77...Kf8 78.Kf6 Rxh7 79.gxh7 a3 80.h8Q# 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Le,Q2722Keymer,V26861–02022E1655th Biel Festival GMT Classical 20224.4

Dortmund

At the Deutschland Grand Prix, one of many tournaments that were part of the Dortmund Chess Festival, Pavel Eljanov defended his title by scoring a remarkable 4½ out of 6 against strong opposition. 

Luke McShane finished in third place, and as usual, showed enterprising chess throughout. Facing Matthias Bluebaum, the Englishman converted a favourable knight versus bishop endgame after his opponent failed to create counterplay quickly enough.

 
McShane vs. Bluebaum

Instead of 36...Bc4, the German grandmaster needed to immediately open things up with 36...c5 in order to get drawing chances. In the game, McShane showed great technique to win the game, as he faced a fierce defender in the last stage of the game.

Besides this ending, Erwin l’Ami vs Pavel Eljanov is also analysed in the replayer below.

 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nd3 Nxe4 5.Qe2 Qe7 6.Nf4 Nf6 7.d4 Qxe2+ 8.Bxe2 Nc6 9.c3 d5 10.h4 h5 11.Nd2 Bd6 12.Nf1 Ne7 13.Ng3 g6 14.Bd3 Bd7 15.f3 0-0 16.Nfe2 Ne8 17.Kf2 Ng7 18.Bf4 Bxf4 19.Nxf4 Ne6 20.Nxe6 Bxe6 21.Rae1 Rfe8 22.Re5 Kf8 23.Rhe1 Bd7 24.Ne2 c6 25.Nf4 Rad8 26.g3 Bc8 27.a4 a5 28.b4 axb4 29.cxb4 Nf5 30.Bxf5 Bxf5 31.Nxh5 Rxe5 32.Rxe5 Bc2 33.Nf6 Bxa4 34.g4 Bb5 35.Ke3 b6 36.g5 Counterplay counts. In an endgame with rook and knight against rook and bishop it is often important for the bishop to get dynamics and to avoid powerplay on the opposite color complex: Bc4? Now White's powerplay on the dark squares decides. Black tries active counterplay at any cost with 36...c5‼ 37.f4 37.bxc5 bxc5 38.dxc5 d4+ 39.Kd2 Ra8 40.Kc2 d3+ 41.Kc3 Ra2 42.Rd5 Rc2+ 43.Kb4 Rb2+ 44.Ka5 Bc6 45.Rxd3 Rb5+ 46.Ka6 Rxc5= 37...Bc6 38.dxc5 bxc5 39.bxc5 d4+ 40.Kd2 Ra8 and Black should be able to defend, but matters are not totally clear. 37.f4 c5 Now it is too late. 37...Kg7 38.f5 gxf5 39.h5 Kf8 40.Kf4 Bd3 41.Re3 Bc4 42.h6 Bb5 43.Ra3 Bc4 44.Ra7 b5 45.g6+- 38.bxc5 bxc5 39.dxc5 d4+ 40.Kd2 Ra8 41.Re4 Ra2+ 41...Rd8 42.Re5 Bb5 43.Rd5+- 42.Kc1 Be6 43.Rxd4 Ke7 44.Ng8+ Ke8 45.Nf6+ Ke7 46.Ng8+ Ke8 47.c6 Ra8 48.Nf6+ Ke7 49.Nd7 Ra5 49...Rh8 does not save the draw, e.g. 50.Ne5 Rxh4 51.c7 Rh1+ 52.Kb2 Rh2+ 53.Kc3 Rh3+ 54.Kb4 Rb3+ 55.Kc5 Rc3+ 56.Nc4 Bc8 57.Kb6 Rb3+ 58.Ka5 Rc3 59.Re4+ Kd7 60.Nb6+ Kxc7 61.Nd5++- 50.Kd2 Bd5 50...Bxd7 is met by 51.cxd7 Kd8 52.Ke3 Rf5 52...Ra7 53.Ke4 Rxd7 54.Rxd7+ Kxd7 55.Ke5 Ke7 56.f5+- 53.Ke4 Ra5 54.Rd5 Ra1 55.Ke5 Ra6 56.Rd6 Ra5+ 57.Kf6 Rf5+ 58.Kg7 Rxf4 59.Rf6 Rxh4 60.Rxf7+- 51.Ne5 Rc5 52.Nd3 Ra5 53.c7 Be6 53...Kd7 54.Nb4+- 54.Rd8 Ra2+ 55.Kc3 Ra3+ 56.Kb2 Ra2+ 57.Kb1 Ra3 58.Nc5 Bf5+ 59.Kb2 Rf3 60.Nd3 Rh3 61.Kc3 Rxh4 61...Bxd3 is met by 62.Rxd3 for example Rxd3+ 63.Kxd3 Kd7 64.Kd4 Kxc7 65.Ke5 Kd7 66.Kf6 Ke8 67.f5 gxf5 68.Kxf5 Kf8 69.Kf6 Kg8 70.h5 Kf8 71.h6 Kg8 72.h7+ Kxh7 73.Kxf7 Kh8 74.Kg6 Kg8 75.Kh6+- 62.c8Q Bxc8 63.Rxc8 f6 64.Rc7+ Kd6 65.Rg7 65.Rg7 fxg5 66.Rxg6+ Kd5 67.Rxg5+ Ke4 68.Re5++- 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
McShane,L2649Bluebaum,M26731–02022C42Deutschland Grand Prix 20221.4
L'Ami,E2634Eljanov,P26810–12022E11Deutschland Grand Prix 20222.3

Zagreb

The third event from the Grand Chess Tour was played in Zagreb, with Magnus Carlsen emerging as the winner in the end.

Alireza Firouzja shared second place with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave after scoring 11 points both in the rapid and blitz sections. Facing Jorden van Foreest, the youngster managed to win an opposite-coloured bishops endgame. But the Dutchman could have saved a draw despite being two pawns down.

Can you find the way to do it?

 
Firouzja vs. Van Foreest

Keeping the bishop on d4 was crucial here, keeping the threat of capturing on b2 alive, thus 65...Kd7 was the way to keep the balance. Van Foreest’s 65...Be3, on the other hand, allowed White to coordinate his army and eventually get the victory.

Four endgames from the SuperUnited Croatia tournament are analysed in the replayer below.

 
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1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4 Be4 7.f3 Bg6 8.Qb3 Qb6 9.Bd2 Nbd7 10.0-0-0 Qxb3 11.axb3 Bb4 12.Nxg6 hxg6 13.Be2 0-0-0 14.Kc2 g5 15.h3 Bd6 16.Be1 Nh5 17.Bd3 Bg3 18.Bd2 Bc7 19.Ne2 Ng3 20.Nxg3 Bxg3 21.Rhf1 Nf6 22.Bc3 Nh5 23.Rd2 Bc7 24.Ra1 a6 25.Rf2 f5 26.e4 Nf4 27.Bf1 dxe4 28.fxe4 fxe4 29.g3 e3 30.Rh2 Nh5 31.Re2 Nxg3 32.Rxe3 Rdf8 33.Bd3 Rxh3 34.Rxe6 Rh2+ 35.Kb1 Rf1+ 36.Ka2 Rxa1+ 37.Kxa1 Rh1+ 38.Ka2 Rd1 39.Bc2 Rc1 40.Bb1 g4 41.Re8+ Kd7 42.Rg8 Ne2 43.Rxg7+ Kc8 44.Rg8+ Kd7 45.Bd2 Rf1 46.Rg7+ Kc8 47.Rg8+ Kd7 48.Rxg4 Bf4 49.Rg7+ Kc8 50.Bd3 Bxd2 51.Bxe2 Rf2 52.Re7 Kd8 53.Re4 Bb4 54.Kb1 Bd6 55.Kc2 Rf4 56.Kd3 Rxe4 57.Kxe4 c5 58.Kd5 Be7 59.dxc5 a5 60.c6 Kc7 61.cxb7 Kxb7 62.c5 Kc7 63.Kc4 Bf6 64.Kb5 Bd4 65.Bf3 The power of connected passed pawns. Pure opposite colored bishop endings have a large drawish tendency, but connected passed pawn sometimes win: Be3? Now the bishop cannot take on b2 anymore. 65...Bxb2? 66.Kxa5 Bc3+ 67.b4+- 65...Kd7! defends, e.g. 66.Kxa5 66.b4 axb4 67.Kxb4 Bxb2= 66.Kb6 Be3= 66...Bxc5= 66.b4 axb4 67.Kxb4 Kb8 68.Kb5 Ka7 69.b4 Bd2 70.Kc4 Be1 71.Kb5 Bd2 72.Ka4 Be3 73.Kb3 Bd2 74.Kc4 Be1 74...Ka6 is met by 75.b5+ Ka5 76.b6 Ka6 77.Kd5 Be3 78.Kc6 Bf2 79.b7 Bg3 80.Kd7 Ka7 81.Kc8+- 75.b5 Bf2 76.Kd5 Kb8 77.Kc6 Bg3 78.b6 Bh4 79.Be4 Be7 80.Kb5 Bf6 81.Bg2 Be7 82.c6 Bd8 83.Bh3 zugzwang Ka8 84.c7 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.
  • 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.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Firouzja,A2793Van Foreest,J26781–02022D12Super United Croatia GCT Blitz 202218
So,W2773Mamedyarov,S2759½–½2022C50Super United Croatia GCT Rapid 20229.2
Firouzja,A2793Mamedyarov,S27591–02022A01Super United Croatia GCT Rapid 20226.5

Magical Chess Endgames Vol. 1 & 2 + The magic of chess tactics

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.


Links


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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