Endgames from Wijk aan Zee (4)

A mating counterattack

In endgames with rook and knight against rook and knight, even a slight initiative might turn out to be decisive, as proven in this game between Adhiban Baskaran and Max Warmerdam.

Another R + K vs R + K tactical ending

Luis Paulo Supi and Abhimanyu Mishra battled during 33 moves in another setup with rooks and knights. The Brazilian ended up prevailing, 

Maghsoodloo finds a good-looking final move

In an endgame with opposite-coloured bishops, Parham Maghsoodloo made the most of his initiative and ended the encounter with a flourish. The Iranian star was playing black against Praggnanandhaa.

The right rook’s pawn

Passed pawns are dangerous weapons in endgames, but if there is more than one passer, it is necessarily to choose carefully which one to push. The game between Mishra and Jergus Pechac greatly illustrates this point. 

Tricky defence

Rook endings are always drawn. But over the board they are often quite tricky to defend. Velimir Ivic could not hold Challengers’ champion Alexander Donchenko to a draw in the tournament’s final round.

The right king road

In endgames, the king should usually be activated, but sometimes it is not clear which road to take, as shown in this game between Adhiban and Mishra.

Endgames of the World Champions from Fischer to Carlsen

Let endgame expert Dr Karsten Müller show and explain the finesses of the world champions. Although they had different styles each and every one of them played the endgame exceptionally well, so take the opportunity to enjoy and learn from some of the best endgames in the history of chess.

Links

• Topical endgames: Meltwater | Saint Louis
• Endgames from Miami: 1 | 2 | 3
• Endgames from Chennai: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
• Endgames from Madrid: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
• Notable endgames: Biel, Dortmund, Zagreb