Turkey vs Iran with an instructive endgame

by ChessBase
9/21/2011 – This eight round double Scheveningen event with top GMs took place from September 8 to 16. Iran won it by ten points, the final score being 21:11. One of the lesser games contained an interesting ending which international trainer Efstratios Grivas, who is also the Turkish coach, has analysed for our readers – another opportunity for you to hone your endgame skills.
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This event saw many strong players at the start; GM Ehsan Ghaem Maghami, GM Elshan Moradiabadi , GM Emre Can, GM Kivanc Haznedaroglu, IM Mustafa Yilmaz, IM Pouria Darini, IM Ogulcan Kanmazalp and IM Javad Alavi Sayed. The match was played as a double Scheveningen with eight rounds.

The match ended with victory of the Iranian team, which beat the Turkish squad 21:11. GM Elshan Moradiabadi showed the highest performance in the friendship match. Full reports and pictures can be found on the tournament web site. You will also find the games in PGN there.

One of the games of the match has an instructive pawn ending which was analysed by the international chess trainer and Turkish team coach Efstratios Grivas. Here are his notes.

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MoveNResultEloPlayers
1.e41,184,21554%2421---
1.d4958,93255%2434---
1.Nf3286,32756%2441---
1.c4184,72256%2443---
1.g319,88456%2427---
1.b314,59854%2428---
1.f45,95348%2377---
1.Nc33,90650%2384---
1.b41,79048%2378---
1.a31,25054%2406---
1.e31,08149%2409---
1.d396950%2378---
1.g467046%2361---
1.h446654%2382---
1.c343951%2425---
1.h328956%2420---
1.a411860%2461---
1.f310047%2427---
1.Nh39267%2511---
1.Na34762%2476---
1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.Be2 e6 7.0-0 Nc6 8.h3 Bh5 9.Be3 cxd4 10.Nxd4 Bxe2 11.Qxe2 Be7 12.Rd1 0-0 13.c4 Nxd4 14.Bxd4 Qc6 15.Nd2 Rfd8 16.Nf3 Rac8 17.Ne5 Qa6 18.b3 Qa5 19.a3 Nd7 20.Nxd7 Rxd7 21.Bb2 Rcd8 22.Rxd7 Rxd7 23.Rd1 Rxd1+ 24.Qxd1 Bxa3 25.Bxa3 Qxa3 26.Qd8+ Qf8 27.Qc7 Qa8 28.b4 Kf8 29.c5 a6 30.Kf1 Qe8 31.Qxb7 Qb5+ 32.Qxb5 axb5 This endgame looks like a draw, as there is hardly any entrance for the white king on the kingside, so there is little hope to benefit from the protected passed c-pawn... As in such cases the protected passed pawn is operating as the decoy (it hardly can queen!) White is obliged to find the desired breakthrough on the kingside. 33.Ke2! It would be wrong to the early push of the f-pawn, as after 33.f4? Black always will have the chance to quickly create his own passed pawn as well with ...f6 and ...e5 in a later stage of the game. 33...Ke7 34.Ke3 Kd7 35.Kd4 Kc6 36.g4! With the use of the g-pawn White will create the desired breakthrough and potential entrance for his king. f6 Sooner or later Black will have to go for this. The alternative waiting strategy with 36...Kd7 loses to 37.g5 Kc6 38.Ke5 Kd7 39.h4 Ke7 40.h5 Kd7 41.f3! creating a zugzwang. Wrong would be 41.h6? gxh6 42.gxh6 Ke7 43.c6 f6+ 44.Kd4 Kd6 45.c7 e5+ 46.Ke4 Kxc7= 41...Ke7 42.c6 h6 42...f6+ 43.Kd4 Kd6 44.h6+- 43.gxh6 gxh6 44.c7 f6+ 45.Kd4 Kd7 46.Kc5 Kxc7 47.Kxb5 Kd6 48.Kb6! 48.Kc4? e5 49.b5 f5= 48...e5 49.b5 f5 50.Ka7+- . 37.g5! Only by this! 37.h4? Kd7 38.g5 h5 39.gxh6 gxh6 40.Ke4 h5 , would only lead to a draw, as White would have lost his entrance point on h4. 37...Kd7 37...fxg5 should have been tried, as it requires accuracy by White: 38.Ke5 Kd7 39.f3 39.c6+ wins as well: Kxc6 39...Kc7 40.Kxe6 Kxc6 41.f3! h6 42.Ke5! 42.Kf7? Kd6 42...Kd5 43.Kxg7 Kc4 44.Kxh6 Kxb4 45.Kxg5 Kc4 46.h4 b4 47.h5 b3 48.h6 b2 49.h7 b1Q 50.h8Q Qg1+= 43.Kxg7 Ke6 44.Kxh6 Kf6= 42...Kb6 43.Kd5 g6 44.Kd6 Kb7 45.Kc5 Ka6 46.Kc6 h5 47.Kc5+- 40.Kxe6 h6 41.f3 39...h6 39...Ke7 40.c6 h6 41.c7 Kd7 42.c8Q+ Kxc8 43.Kxe6 Kc7 44.Kd5! 44.Kf7? Kd7 45.Kxg7 Ke6 46.Kxh6 Kf6= 44...Kb6 45.Kd6 Kb7 46.Kc5 Ka6 47.Kc6+- 40.c6+ Kc7 41.Kxe6 Kxc6 42.Ke5!+- , as shown above. 38.gxf6 gxf6 39.Ke4 Now, as the white h-pawn is still behind ( 39.h4? h5!= ) the white king can attack the black h-pawn via the h-file. 39...Kc6 40.Kf4 Kd7 41.Kg4 Ke7 42.Kh5 e5 Black should do something active, as the passive 42...Kf7 43.Kh6 Kg8 44.c6 loses quickly. But any pawn movement weakens his position further... 43.Kh6? Inaccurate. White should retreat with 43.Kg4! Ke6 44.h4 e4 44...h6 45.Kh5 f5 46.Kxh6 e4 47.Kg5 Ke5 48.h5 f4 49.h6 e3 50.fxe3 fxe3 51.h7 e2 52.h8Q++- 45.Kf4 f5 46.h5 Kf6 47.c6 Ke6 48.h6+- . Now he will have to copy with a (won) queen ending. 43...e4! 44.h4 Ke6 Or 44...f5 45.Kg5 Ke6 46.Kf4+- . 45.h5 Kd7?! Black could create some (minor) problems for White with 45...Kd5 46.Kxh7 f5 47.h6 f4 , as now 48.Kg7! should be played: 48.Kg8? e3 49.fxe3 fxe3 50.h7 e2 51.h8Q e1Q 52.Qh5+ Kc6 52...Kc4? 53.Qg4+ Kc3 54.Qd7 Kxb4 55.c6+- 53.Qg6+ Kc7 54.Qb6+ Kc8 55.Qc6+ 55.Qxb5? Qe6+= 55...Kd8± 48...e3 49.fxe3 fxe3 50.h7 e2 51.h8Q e1Q 52.Qd8+ Kc6 52...Kc4 53.c6+- 53.Kf7! Qc1 53...Qxb4 54.Qd6+ Kb7 55.c6++- is the typical trick that always saves the white b-pawn 54.Ke8! and White triumphs. 46.Kxh7 f5 47.Kg6! 47.Kg7? limits White's checks from the 7th and 8th ranks (which White clears with his text move): f4 48.h6 e3 49.fxe3 fxe3 50.h7 e2 51.h8Q e1Q 52.Qh3+ Kc7± . 47...f4 48.h6 e3 49.fxe3 fxe3 50.h7 e2 51.h8Q e1Q 52.Qg7+ Kc8 53.Qg8+ Kc7 54.Qf7+ Kb8 55.Qf4+ Kb7 56.Kf5! It is time for the white king to assist - he will be either creating mating threats or simply capture the black b-pawn. Black must also watch out for a queen exchange - all these are too much for Black to handle with. Kc8 Or 56...Qd1 57.Qe4+ Kb8 58.Ke6+- . 57.Qe4 Qf2+ 58.Ke6 Qa2+ 59.Kd6 Qd2+ 60.Qd5 60.Kc6 Qd7+ 61.Kb6+- is easy as well. 60...Qxb4? Makes it easier, but there was no chance either after 60...Qf4+ 61.Kc6+- . 61.Qa8# A brilliant cooperation of the white forces! 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Kanmazalp,O2424Darini,P24701–02011B22Turkey-Iran CFM8.2

Click to download the PGN

Efstratios Grivas

Efstratios Grivas is a grandmaster and highly experienced chess trainer and chess author.

He lives in Athens, and he is also a FIDE Senior Trainer (Secretary of the FIDE Trainers' Commission), an International FIDE Chess Arbiter and an International FIDE Chess Organizer. He has represented his country on a great many occasions, winning the fourth position in the World Junior Championship 1985, an individual gold medal at the 1989 European Team Championship and an individual silver medal at the 1998 Olympiad.

In 2010 he was awarded the worldwide highly important FIDE TRG Awards – the Boleslavsky Medal (best author) for 2009.

Training DVDs by Efstratios Grivas


Chess Expertise Step by Step Vols. 1 and 2. Click for more informantion

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