World Cup: A selection of outstanding endgames (2)

by Karsten Müller
9/13/2023 – The FIDE World Cup was a complete success, as top players fought for spots in the Candidates, both in the open and in the women’s section. Magnus Carlsen and Aleksandra Goryachkina were the winners. As ever, GM Karsten Müller compiled the most interesting positions from the tournaments. Find here five more instructive endgames from the open category! | Photo: Stev Bonhage
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Carlsen beats Gukesh

The king blockades the passed pawns, while the rook attacks. This is a typical distribution of roles in rook endings. Facing the technical wizard that is Magnus Carlsen, Dommaraju Gukesh failed to find the correct roles for his pieces. Not surprisingly, the Norwegian made the most of his young opponent’s mistake.

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1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 b6 3.Nc3 Bb7 4.f3 e6 5.e4 a6 6.Qd2 d5 7.0-0-0 Bb4 8.a3 Bxc3 9.Qxc3 dxe4 10.d5 Nxd5 11.Qxg7 Qf6 12.Qxf6 Nxf6 13.Be5 Ke7 14.Bxc7 Nbd7 15.Bg3 Rhg8 16.Be2 Ke8 17.fxe4 Nxe4 18.Bf3 Nxg3 19.hxg3 Bxf3 20.Nxf3 Rxg3 21.Rxh7 Ke7 22.Nd4 Ne5 23.Re1 Rg4 24.Rxe5 Rxd4 25.Re2 Rad8 26.c3 Rf4 27.Kc2 Rg8 28.b4 b5 29.Kb3 Rfg4 30.Rf2 R8g7 31.Rxg7 Rxg7 32.a4 f5 33.axb5 axb5 34.Ra2 Rg5 The king blockades the passed pawns, the rook attacks. This is a typical distribution of roles in rook endings: 35.Ra7+? This check just wastes time. 35.Ra5 defends due to f4 36.Kc2 White's king must deal with Black's resulting passed pawns. Then his activity draws, e.g. Rxg2+ 37.Kd3 Rg5 37...e5 38.Rxb5 Rg3+ 39.Kc4 Ke6 40.Rb8 Kf5 41.b5= 38.Ke4 Rf5 39.Ra7+ Only now the check can be given. Kf6 40.Kf3 e5 41.Ra6+ Kg5 42.Re6= 35...Kf6 36.Ra2 f4! 37.Rc2 37.c4?! Rg3+-+ 37...Rg3!? Paralysing White is good technique. The direct 37...e5 38.c4 Rg3+ wins as well. 38.Ka2 Ke5 39.Kb2 Kd5 40.Rd2+ Ke4 41.Kb3 e5 42.Re2+ Kf5!? Backwards is the way forward. 42...Kd3? 43.Rxe5 Rxg2 44.Rxb5= 43.Rd2 e4 44.Rd5+ Kf6 45.Rxb5 e3 46.Rb6+ 46.Kc2 is met by Rxg2+ 47.Kd3 Rd2+ 48.Ke4 e2-+ 46...Kf5 47.Rb5+ Ke4 48.Rb8 e2 48...e2 49.Re8+ 49.b5 Re3-+ 49...Kd3 50.b5 Re3 51.Rd8+ Ke4 52.Re8+ Kf5-+ 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Gukesh D2744Carlsen,M28350–12023A45FIDE World Cup 20236.1

Dommaraju Gukesh

Dommaraju Gukesh | Photo: chess.com / Maria Emelianova

Caruana errs in time trouble, Pragg wins

Passed pawns must be pushed! Fabiano Caruana tried to play a subtle move before advancing his outside passer and saw Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu escaping with a draw amid a remarkable semifinal encounter in Baku.

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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 h6 6.0-0 d6 7.Re1 0-0 8.h3 a6 9.a4 Ba7 10.Nbd2 Ne7 11.Bb3 Ng6 12.Nf1 c6 13.Ng3 d5 14.Be3 Bb8 15.Bc2 Re8 16.a5 Bc7 17.b4 Be6 18.Bd2 Qc8 19.Qe2 Bd6 20.c4 dxc4 21.dxc4 Nf4 22.Qf1 c5 23.b5 axb5 24.cxb5 c4 25.Bc3 Bd7 26.Red1 Qc5 27.Rab1 Bf8 28.b6 g6 29.Qe1 Bg7 30.Qd2 Rad8 31.Qd6 Qxd6 32.Rxd6 N6h5 33.Nxh5 Ne2+ 34.Kf1 Nxc3 35.Nxg7 Kxg7 36.Ra1 Bb5 37.Rxd8 Rxd8 38.Ke1 Ba6 39.Nxe5 Re8 40.Kd2 Nxe4+ 41.Bxe4 Rxe5 42.Bf3 Rb5 43.Kc3 Rb3+ 44.Kd4 Kf6 45.Kc5 c3 46.Kd6 c2 47.Rc1 Bd3 48.Bxb7 Rb1 49.Rxc2 Bxc2 50.Bf3 Bd3 51.b7 Ba6 52.Kc7 Rc1+ 53.Bc6 Bxb7 54.Kxb7 Rc2 Passed pawns must be pushed. Sometimes a bishop can beat a rook in a pure endgame: 55.f4? An error in time trouble. Jonas Lampert proves that 55.a6! wins as follows: Rxf2 55...Rb2+ 56.Kc7 Ra2 57.Kb6 Rxf2 58.a7 Ra2 59.a8Q Rxa8 60.Bxa8+- 56.a7 Ra2 57.Bb5 Not the only winning move. Rxa7+ 58.Kxa7 Kg5 59.Be8‼ f5 60.Kb6 f4 61.Kc5 f3 61...Kf5 62.Kd5 g5 63.Bh5+- 62.gxf3 Kf4 63.Bxg6 Kxf3 Sometimes the wrong bishop does win: 64.Kd5 Kg3 65.Bf5 Kh4 66.Ke6 Kg5 67.Ke5 h5 68.Ke6 h4 69.Ke5 Kh5 70.Kf6 Kh6 71.Bc2 Kh5 72.Kg7 Kg5 73.Bg6 Kf4 74.Kf6 Kg3 75.Bf5 Kf4 76.Be6 Ke4 77.Kg5 Ke5 78.Ba2! 78.Bc8?? Kd6= 78...Kd6 79.Kxh4 Ke7 80.Kg5 Kf8 81.Kg6 Ke7 82.Kg7+- 55...Kf5 56.a6 Rb2+ 57.Kc7 Ra2 58.Kb6 Kxf4 59.Bd5 Rxa6+ Of course not 59...Rb2+? 60.Kc7 Rb5 61.a7 Ra5 62.a8Q Rxa8 63.Bxa8 Kg3 64.Kd6+- 60.Kxa6 Kg3 61.Kb5 f5 62.Kc5 g5 63.Kd4 g4 64.hxg4 fxg4 65.Ke5 h5 66.Kf5 h4 67.Kg5 h3 68.gxh3 gxh3 69.Bc6 h2 70.Bd5 h1Q 71.Bxh1 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Caruana,F2782Praggnanandhaa R2690½–½2023C54FIDE World Cup58.2

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, Fabiano Caruana

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Fabiano Caruana | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

Finding the correct capture

When there are two ways to grab a pawn in an endgame, one might think that choosing the correct capture is a minor detail — but as seen in the game between Alexander Grischuk and Bardiya Daneshvar, grabbing the wrong pawn might turn out to be a decisive mistake.

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1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.Nf3 Nd7 7.h4 h6 8.Bd3 Bxd3 9.Qxd3 e6 10.Bf4 Qa5+ 11.c3 Ngf6 12.0-0 Be7 13.Rfe1 0-0 14.Nf5 exf5 15.Rxe7 Rfe8 16.Rae1 Rxe7 17.Rxe7 Qd8 18.Re2 Ne4 19.g3 Ndf6 20.Ne5 Nd5 21.Bc1 h5 22.Kg2 f6 23.f3 fxe5 24.fxe4 fxe4 25.Qxe4 exd4 26.Qe6+ Kh8 27.Re5 Nf6 28.Bg5 Qg8 29.Bxf6 Qxe6 30.Rxe6 gxf6 31.cxd4 Rd8 32.Re7 b6 33.Rxa7 Rxd4 34.Kf3 Kg8 35.Rb7 b5 36.b3 Rd2 37.Ra7 c5 38.Ra5 c4 39.Rxb5 The cut-off. This weapon is often used in rook endgames: Rxa2? The wrong way to exchange pawns. 39...cxb3 is called for, e.g. 40.axb3 Kf7 41.Rxh5 41.b4 Rd4= 41...Rd3+ 42.Kf4 Rxb3= 40.bxc4 Rc2 40...Ra4 41.Rc5 Kf7 42.Ke4 Ra3 43.Rxh5 Rxg3 44.c5+- 41.c5 Rc4 42.Ke3 Kf7 43.Kd3 Rg4 44.c6 Ke7 45.Rd5! A strong cut-off. 45.c7? Kd7 46.Rxh5 Rxg3+ 47.Ke4 Kxc7= 45...Rxg3+ 46.Kc4 Rg1 47.Kb5 Ke6 48.Rc5 Rg8 48...Rb1+ is met by 49.Ka6 Kd6 50.c7 Kxc5 51.c8Q++- 49.c7 Kd7 49...f5 50.c8Q+ Rxc8 51.Rxc8 f4 52.Rc5 Another strong cut-off. f3 53.Rc3 Kf5 54.Rxf3+ Kg4 55.Rf8 Kxh4 56.Rg8 Kh3 57.Kc4 h4 58.Kd3 Kh2 59.Ke2 h3 60.Kf3 Kh1 61.Re8 h2 62.Re1# 50.Kb6 Kc8 50...f5 51.Kb7 Kd6 52.Rxf5 Rg7 53.Rf6++- 51.Ra5! The only way to win. The f6-pawn is used as an umbrella for White's king. However, not 51.Rxh5? due to f5 52.Rxf5 Rg6+= 51...Kd7 52.Kb7 Ke6 53.Rxh5 53.c8Q+ Rxc8 54.Kxc8 f5 55.Kd8+- wins as well. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Grischuk,A2736Daneshvar,B25771–02023B19FIDE World Cup 20232.3

Alexander Grischuk

Alexander Grischuk | Photo: FIDE / Anna Shtourman

Rook, knight and pawn vs. rook and three pawns

If they are well-coordinated, a rook and a knight can outplay a rook and a group of pawns. Jergus Pechac, however, failed to find a way to harmonize his pieces in his game against Vladimir Fedoseev.

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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.h3 Bb4 5.Bd3 0-0 6.0-0 d6 7.a3 Ba5 8.b4 Bb6 9.Na4 Bd7 10.c3 Qc8 11.Bc2 Ne7 12.Nxb6 axb6 13.d4 Ng6 14.Bg5 h6 15.Bxf6 gxf6 16.Kh2 Kg7 17.Ng1 f5 18.exf5 Bxf5 19.Ne2 Bxc2 20.Qxc2 f5 21.f4 e4 22.d5 c5 23.c4 Kh7 24.Rfb1 Rf7 25.Qc3 Nh4 26.Rb3 b5 27.cxb5 Rg7 28.Ng3 cxb4 29.Qxc8 Rxc8 30.Ra2 bxa3 31.Rbxa3 Rc5 32.Nh5 Rf7 33.Rg3 Rxd5 34.Ra7 Rxb5 35.Ra8 Ng6 36.Re8 Rb2 37.h4 Rf2 38.Kg1 Rxf4 39.Rxg6 Rxh4 40.Rf6 Rc7 41.Rxf5 Kg6 42.Ng3 Rc1+ 43.Rf1 Rxf1+ 44.Kxf1 Rf4+ 45.Ke2 d5 46.Rd8 h5 47.Rxd5 h4 Rook and knight win the fight. With rook and knight, coordination is often crucial: 48.Ke3! The king must come first. Rg4 49.Ne2 Rg5 50.Nf4+? Now White loses coordination. 50.Rd4 is called for, e.g. Kf6 50...Rxg2 51.Nf4+ Kg5 52.Nxg2 h3 53.Rxe4 h2 54.Rh4+- 50...Kf5 51.Kf2 e3+ 52.Kf3+- 51.Kf2 Re5 52.Rb4 b5 53.Kg1 Kg5 54.Kh2 Kg4 55.Nc3 Kf4 56.Nxb5+- 50.Rxg5+? Kxg5 51.Kxe4 Kg4 52.Kd5 h3= 50...Kf6 51.Nh5+ Kg6 52.Nf4+ Kf6 53.Rd7 Ke5 54.Re7+ Kf5 55.Rf7+ 55.Rxe4 is met by Rg3+ 56.Kd4 Rg4 57.Ke3 Rg3+= 55...Ke5 56.Re7+ ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Pechac,J2608Fedoseev,V2676½–½2023C47FIDE World Cup 20232.2

Vladimir Fedoseev

Vladimir Fedoseev | Photo: FIDE / Anna Shtourman

Pragg’s passed pawns

The eventual runner-up in Baku played a remarkable match against his friend Arjun Erigaisi in the quarterfinals. Pragg’s passed pawns gave him a crucial victory in the second game of the memorable confrontation.

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1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.d4 cxd4 6.cxd4 d6 7.Bc4 Nb6 8.Bb5 Bd7 9.Nc3 dxe5 10.dxe5 g6 11.0-0 Bg7 12.Qe2 0-0 13.h3 Be6 14.Rd1 Qc7 15.Bf4 Rad8 16.Rac1 Nd5 17.Nxd5 Bxd5 18.Nd4 Qb6 19.Nxc6 bxc6 20.Bc4 Bxc4 21.Qxc4 Rxd1+ 22.Rxd1 Qxb2 23.e6 Qf6 24.Be3 Qxe6 25.Qxe6 fxe6 26.Bxa7 Ra8 27.Rd7 Kf7 28.a4 Be5 29.Kf1 Bd6 30.Ke2 e5 31.Kd3 Ke6 32.Rb7 Kd5 33.f3 c5 34.a5 Rf8 35.a6 Ra8 36.Kc3 g5 37.Kd3 h5 38.Kc3 e4 39.fxe4+ Kxe4 40.Kc4 Kf4 41.Kb5 h4 42.Rd7 Kg3 43.Bb6 Pragg's powerful pawns. Passed pawns are often very valuable in an endgame: c4!? Good prophylaxis. 43...Kxg2? rushes due to 44.Ra7 Rc8 44...Rf8 45.Rd7 Kxh3 46.Bd8 Bb8 47.Bxe7 Rg8 48.a7 Bxa7 49.Rxa7= 45.Rd7 c4 46.Rd8= 44.Bc7 Now 44.Ra7 can be met by Rc8-+ 44...Bxc7 45.Rxc7 Kxg2 46.Rc5 Rg8 46...g4 47.hxg4 h3 wins as well. However, not 46...Kxh3? 47.Rxg5= 47.a7 Kxh3 48.Ka6 48.Rxg5?! runs into the check Rxg5+-+ 48...g4 49.Kb7 49.Rb5 is met by Ra8-+ Of course not 49...g3? 50.Rb8= 49...g3 50.Rc8 50.a8Q Rxa8 51.Kxa8 g2-+ 50...Rxc8 51.Kxc8 g2 52.a8Q g1Q The queen endgame is relatively easily won. 53.Qf3+ Qg3 54.Qh1+ Kg4 55.Qe4+ Qf4 56.Qe2+ Kh3 57.Qxe7 c3 58.Qe1 Qf3 59.Qc1 Kh2 60.Qc2+ Kg3 61.Qc1 Qc6+ 62.Kb8 Qd6+ 63.Kc8 Qc5+ 64.Kb7 c2 65.Qe1+ Qf2 66.Qe5+ Kh3 67.Qe6+ Kh2 68.Qe5+ Qg3 69.Qc5 h3 70.Ka6 Qd3+ 71.Ka7 Qd2 72.Qe5+ Kh1 73.Qe4+ Qg2 74.Qf4 Qg1+ 75.Ka6 c1Q 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Erigaisi Arjun2710Praggnanandhaa R26900–12023B22FIDE World Cup 20236.2

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, Arjun Erigaisi

Pragg gets a second queen and Arjun resigns | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

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.

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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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