Extreme precision needed
After two contenders have worked hard for hours — calculating, making tough decisions and looking to understand nuances — often a small detail in the ending is what decides the result of the game.
In round 7 of the U.S. Women’s Championship, for example, Atousa Pourkashiyan gained a pawn in her game with black against Tatev Abrahamyan. But on move 68, Abrahamyan found the one bishop manoeuvre that saved the draw despite the material deficit!
Abrahamyan vs. Pourkashiyan
Only 68.Bg2 draws for White, keeping the possibility of attacking the f5-pawn via h3 open. The game continued until move 79, but Black could not convert her pawn advantage into a win, as Abrahamyan found the correct defensive concept and executed it proficiently.
Similarly, and also in round 7, Ashritha Eswaran got an extra pawn with black in her encounter against Irina Krush. In this case, however, a rook endgame was reached. Despite the setup’s drawish tendency, Eswaran could have continued fighting for a win had she not faltered on move 61.
61...Ke5 was the winning move here, while Black’s 61...Rg3 allowed Krush to get counterplay and eventually create a fortress in a position with queen against rook and pawn. It was a remarkable defensive effort!
These are only two of the six instructive endgame positions which you can study and enjoy in our dynamic replayer below.
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.d4 Be7 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bf4 0-0 9.Qd2 d5 10.Bd3 Bb4 11.0-0 Ne4 12.Qc1 f5 13.Ne2 g5 14.Be5 Nc6 15.c4 Be6 16.cxd5 Bxd5 17.a3 Be7 18.Re1 Kh7 19.Qc2 Qd7 20.Ng3 Nxg3 21.hxg3 g4 22.Nh4 Bxh4 23.gxh4 Rae8 24.Rac1 Nxe5 25.dxe5 c6 26.e6 Bxe6 27.Re5 Qf7 28.Rce1 Bd7 29.Qc5 b6 30.Qd4 Rxe5 31.Rxe5 Re8 32.Rxe8 Qxe8 33.Qxg4 Qe1+ 34.Kh2 Qxf2 35.Qc4 Be8 36.Kh3 Qe3+ 37.g3 Qf3 38.Kh2 Qf2+ 39.Kh3 Bh5 40.Qb4 c5 41.Qf4 Qxf4 42.gxf4 Kg6 43.Kg3 Kf6 44.Kf2 Bf7 45.Ke3 Be6 46.Ba6 Ke7 47.Kd3 Kd6 48.Kc3 Kc6 49.a4 Kd6 50.Bb7 Bd7 51.b3 Bc6 52.Bc8 Be4 53.Ba6 Bc6 54.Bc8 Bd7 55.Bb7 Kc7 56.Ba6 Be6 57.Be2 Bc8 58.Bf3 Ba6 59.Bg2 Kd6 60.Bf3 Bf1 61.Bb7 Kd7 62.Bf3 a6 63.Bb7 b5 64.a5 b4+ 65.Kd2 c4 66.bxc4 Bxc4 67.Ke3 Kc7 68.Bg2! 68.Bf3? b3 68...Kd6-+ 69.Kd2 69.Bd1 b2 70.Bc2 Ba2-+ 69...Kd6 70.Kc3 Kc5 71.Bb7 Kb5 72.Bc8 Bf7 73.Bxf5 Kxa5-+ 68...b3 69.Kd2! Kd6 70.Kc3 Kc5 71.Bh3! Be6 72.Bf1! Bc8 73.Kxb3 Kd4 74.Kb4 Bb7 75.Bh3 Be4 76.Bf1 Bb7 77.Bh3 Bc8 78.Bf1 Bb7 79.Bh3 ½–½
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| Abrahamyan,T | 2262 | Pourkashiyan,A | 2288 | ½–½ | 2023 | C42 | USA-ch Women 2023 | 7.6 |
| Krush,I | 2437 | Eswaran,A | 2291 | ½–½ | 2023 | E92 | USA-ch Women 2023 | 7.4 |
| Abrahamyan,T | 2262 | Zatonskih,A | 2364 | 1–0 | 2023 | C42 | USA-ch Women 2023 | 9.2 |
| Pourkashiyan,A | 2288 | Paikidze,N | 2316 | 0–1 | 2023 | B12 | USA-ch Women 2023 | 11.5 |
| Paikidze,N | 2316 | Abrahamyan,T | 2262 | ½–½ | 2023 | E04 | USA-ch Women 2023 | 8.5 |
| Yip,C | 2372 | Yan,R | 2205 | 0–1 | 2023 | B45 | USA-ch Women 2023 | 11.1 |
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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.
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