“In order to improve your game, you must study the endgame before everything else, for whereas the endings can be studied and mastered by themselves, the middle game and the opening must be studied in relation to the endgame.” – José Raúl Capablanca
The easiest win is, as a rule, with a rook’s pawn -the reason being that the shorter defensive diagonal is in most cases too short for the enemy bishop. However, we should avoid the premature advance of the pawn on the seventh rank since this gives rise to an exceptional drawn position. White to […]
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With the b-pawn on the seventh rank White always wins irrespective of his king being on the shorter or the longer side since in both cases the black bishop has only one available square on the shorter defensive diagonal. White might face some difficulties in conversion of advantage only in the position researched by […]
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On the basis of the foregoing conclusion about the necessary available squares on the shorter defensive diagonal, we can easily deduce that White cannot win in the following position analyzed by Centurini way back in 1856. In the analysis of the ending Kurajica – Markland we saw that White wins with a bishop’s pawn […]
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In order to defend correctly we should know that in positions with king behind the pawn, the weaker side can draw only with the aid of the vertical opposition; the reason being that for salvation is indispensable dual control of the critical square “above” the enemy king. The proof for this assertion can be […]
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