Practical Endings

The "Breakthrough"

This position arose from game played by Yuri Averbakh and Evgeni Bebchuk in Moscow Championship in 1964. 

Averbakh-Bebchuk, 1964

This ending is a beautiful example of a breakthrough in pawn ending. 

Despite that material is even the 
situation doesn`t look very well for White. The basic question is what to do with rather dangerous looking Black distant passed pawn. Having king-side pawn majority White has to hurry up and to create its own passed pawn. 

50.e4!  
Excellent move! Anything else would lose in following fashion: 
1) 50.Kd4 Kc6 51.e4 Kd6! Now Black gets control over e5–square so this prevents any possible "breakthrough" and the passed pawn will decide the game. 52.e5+ fxe5+ 53.Kc4 
b5+ 54.Kc3 (54.Kxb5 e4 55.Kc4 Ke5 56.Kc3 Kf4 57.Kd2 Kxg4–+) 54...Kd7 55.g5 h5 56.Kd3 Kd6 57.Kc3 b4+ 58.Kxb4 e4 59.Kc3 Ke5 60.f6 gxf6 61.g6 Ke6 62.g7 Kf7 63.Kd2 Kxg7 64.Ke3 f5 65.Kf4–+; 
or
2) 50.Kc3 doesn't work either because of 50...Kc5 51.e4 Kd6 52.Kd4 b6 53.e5+ fxe5+ 54.Kd3 b5 55.Kc3 Kd7 56.Kd3 Ke7 57.g5 h5 58.Ke4 b4 59.Kd3 Kd7 60.Kc4 e4 61.Kxb4 Kd6 62.Kc3 Ke5 63.g6–+] 
50...Kc6 51.e5! Otherwise Black will play 51...Ke6 taking under control the e5–square and game is over. 
51...fxe5  [after 51...Kd5 52.e6! and Black is lost.] 52.g5 hxg5 53.f6! and Black gave up.

The game would probably continue: 53.f6 Passed pawn has been already created! 53...gxf6 54.h5 g4 55.h6 g3 56.Ke3 Now we have to employ the "rule of square"! 56...f5 57.h7 f4+ 58.Ke2 g2 59.Kf2+–  

The Rook Endings with a Distant Passed Pawn

In rook endings an extra pawn is not such a great advantage. And we have already see what difficulties I could have faced in my game against James Byrne if the defence had been correct.
The point is that the rook is a powerful, dynamic piece, and its degree of activity strongly influences the assessment of a position. As a rule, an extra pawn can be realized in a rook ending only if the pieces, and in particular the rook, are actively placed. If the rook is passively placed, this may lead to the material advantage being devalued.  

In his time Tarrasch put forward a rule, that a rook should always be deployed behind a passed pawn. If it is your own pawn, the rook as though urges it on, while if it is an enemy pawn, the rook restrains it and at the same time retains the possibility of mounting attacks from the side.  

As we see below, Tarrasch's rule is applicable in many cases, but is by no means universal. Usually this rule is correct only when it is the rooks that are involve in the battle with a pawn. But if a passed pawn is being opposed by the enemy king, the rook is better placed at the side, when it not only defends the pawn, but also takes part in the play on the opposite wing. 

Alekhine-Capablanca, 1927

As a typical example can serve a "chess classic", game Alekhine - Capablanca, 1927, which happened to be first game in their match in Buenos Aires.


50.Rxd4 Kg7!  
[50...Ra6 51.Kf3 …with the idea Ke4–d5] 51.a5 Ra6 52.Rd5 Rf6 53.Rd4 Ra6 54.Ra4! A very strong move. Alekhine deploys his rook in accordance with Tarrasch's rule. The black rook cannot move from a6 and is forced to remain passive, otherwise the pawn will immediately advance.   Now White's problem is to bring up his king and drive away the opponent's rook. Therefore Black must send his king to the aid of his rook.   
54...Kf6 55.Kf3 Ke5 56.Ke3 h5 57.Kd3 Kd5 58.Kc3 Kc5  
(for the moment Black succeeds in not allowing the opponent's king up to the pawn)  59.Ra2!  
White openly waits for his opponent to run out of moves and end up in "zugzwang". Black cannot win the a-pawn: this leads to a hopeless pawn ending.   
59...Kb5  
Capablanca finds the best defence: he blockades the pawn with his king, freeing his rook for active play. If 59...Ra8 then 60.a6± with the advantage for White. 

60.Kb3 Kc5 
Pawn ending after 60...Rxa5 61.Rxa5+ Kxa5 62.Kc4 would be lost for Black. 
61.Kc3 Kb5 62.Kd4! 
Exploiting the fact that the black king has been diverted by the passed pawn, the white king heads for the opponent's pawns on the opposite wing. This procedure is widely employed in the most diverse types of endings.  
 62...Rd6+  
[62...Kb4 63.Ra1! Kb3 64.Kc5+–] 
63.Ke5 Re6+ 64.Kf4 Ka6 
As Tartakower had already shown 64...f6 would have been met by 65.a6! Rxa6 66.Rxa6 Kxa6 67.Ke4+– and White is winning. 
65.Kg5! 
White has achieved a major success: his king has broken into the opponent's pawn position. For this reason, 3... h5 seems to me to a poor move: without real necessity Black has weakened the approaches to his pawns.  
65...Re5+ 66.Kh6 Rf5 67.f4?! 
This allows Black to drag out the resistance somewhat. [Playing for zugzwang would have immediately decided the game. Alekhine himself gave the line 67.Kg7 Rf3 68.Kg8 (68.Rd2 Kxa5 69.Rd5+ Kb4 70.Rd4+ and Rf4) 68...Rf6 69.Kf8 Rf3 (69...Rf5 70.f4) 70.Kg7 Rf5 71.f4+–] 67...Rc5! 68.Ra3 Rc7
68...Rf5 69.Kg7 … with the idea Re3–e5.
69.Kg7 
If 69.f5 the Rc6! 70.Kg7 gxf5 71.Kxf7 f4! 72.gxf4 Rc4 [Tartakower]  
69...Rd7 70.f5
Much stronger was 70.Kf6! Rc7 71.f5 gxf5 (71...Rc6+ 72.Kxf7 gxf5 73.Rf3) 72.Kxf5 Rc5+ 73.Kf6 Rc7 74.Rf3 Kxa5 75.Rf5++– suggested by Alekhine. 
70...gxf5 71.Kh6 f4 72.gxf4 Rd5 73.Kg7 Rf5 74.Ra4 Kb5 75.Re4!  
The decisive move. The a-pawn has played its diverting role, and it can now be given up with a clear conscience.   
75...Ka6 76.Kh6  
Possibly stronger was 76.Kg8! Rf6 (76...Kb7 77.Re7+ Ka6 78.Rxf7) 77.Kf8 Kxa5 (77...Rf5 78.Kg7 Zugzwang) 78.Ke7!+– as was shown by Tartakower. 
76...Rxa5 
76...Ka7 Kb7 77.Re5 (77.Kg7 Ka6 78.Kg8 Rf6 79.Kf8 Kxa5 (79...Rf5 80.Kg7 Zugzwang) 80.Ke7 Rb6 (80...Rf5 81.Re5++–) 81.Kxf7+– Becker) 77...Rxf4 78.Kg5 (78.Kxh5 Rf1!) 78...Rf1 79.Kxh5 f5 80.Kg5 f4 81.Rf5 f3 82.Kg4+– Alekhine 
77.Re5 Ra1 78.Kxh5 Rg1 79.Rg5 Rh1 80.Rf5 Kb6 81.Rxf7 Kc6 82.Re7 adjourned and Black resigned: his king cannot take part in the battle against the pawns.  

Thus we have seen the standard plan for realizing an extra pawn, which is applicable not only in the rook endings:  

1. The stronger side creates a passed pawn, and with the support of the rook tries to advance it. 
2. If the pawn is stopped by the opponent's rook the king heads towards the pawn, to drive the rook away. 
3. If the pawn is stopped by the opponent's king, the stronger side should defend the pawn with his rook from the side, and try to penetrate with his king or rook into the opponent's pawns on the opposite wing.  

In the above mentioned game the king was easily able to penetrate into the opponent's position.

Réti R., 1928 

White to move makes a draw.

Black's problem is that he cannot block the long diagonal a1-h8 and therefore he cannot progress in this position.

1.g6 Kd6 2.Kf8! Bb2 3.Kf7 Bh8 4.Kg8 Bf6 5.Kf7 Bd4 6.Kf8 Bb2 7.Kf7 

Draw

Kasparov,Garry (2812) - Vachier Lagrave,Maxime (2715)

Kasparov in Clichy, Blitz Game, 2011

[Müller,Karsten]

Correct continuation was 

48.g6! hxg6 49.hxg6 fxg6 50.e6 (Chess Today 3966) 50...Rd6  

(50...d2 51.e7 d1Q+ 52.Nxd1 Rxd1 53.exd8Q+ Rxd8 54.f7+ Ke7 55.Rxd8 Kxd8 56.f8Q++-)  

51.Nf5!! (

51.e7?? Rxf6+ 52.Ke4 Kxe7 53.Nd5+ Kd7-+) 

51...Rxe6 

(51...d2?! 52.Nxd6+ Kf8 53.Rxd8#; 51...gxf5 52.e7 d2 53.exd8Q+ Rxd8 54.f7+ Ke7 55.Rxd8 Kxd8 56.f8Q++-) 52.Ng7+ Kf7 53.Nxe6 Bxf6 54.Nc5 d2 55.Ke2+-

After 48.e6? 

 Black should have played 48...fxe6! 49.g6 hxg6 50.hxg6 e5 51.g7 

(51.f7+ Kf8 52.Kf2 Rd6 

(52...d2? 53.Ke2 Rd6 54.Kd1 e4 

(54...Rxg6 55.Rxd8+ Kxf7 56.Rd7+ Ke8 57.Rxb7+-) 

55.Ng4 Rxg6 56.Rxd8+ Kxf7 57.Ne5+ Ke7 58.Nxg6+ Kxd8 59.Kxd2 b5 60.Ke3 Kc7 61.Ne5 Kb6 62.Kxe4 Ka5 63.Kd3 Ka4 64.Kc2 b4 65.Nc4 a5 66.Nd2 Ka3 67.Kb1 Ka4 68.Kb2 Kb5 69.Kc2 Ka4 70.Nb1 Kb5 71.Kd3 Kc5 72.Nd2 Kb5 73.Kd4 Ka4 74.Nb1 Kb5 75.Kd5 b3 76.a3 Ka4 77.Kc4 b2 78.Kc3+-) 

53.Nc4 Rd5 54.Ke3 b5 55.Nd2 Rd6 56.Ne4 

(56.Ke4 Rxg6 57.Rxd8+ Kxf7 58.Kxe5 b4 59.Rd7+ Ke8 60.Rxd3 Rg5+ 61.Ke6 Rg6+ 62.Kf5 Rg2) 56...Rxg6 57.Rxd8+ Kxf7 58.Rd7+ Kf8 59.Rxd3 Rc6) 

51...Kf7 52.Rb8 Rf4+ 53.Kg3 Rxf6 54.Rxd8 Kxg7 55.Ng4 Rb6 ∞