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If the white distant passed pawn were shifted one rank back, a very different position would arise! White wins since after eliminating the black distant passed pawn Black’s king will not be able to control the key-square b7 in time. For all similar positions a universal rule holds: White always wins provided his […]
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When the enemy king is far and there is no possibility of directly attacking its pawns, sometimes the win may be achieved by a pawn sacrifice in order to enable a quicker penetration of the king. A nice example on the theme is shown in a study by G. Mattison, 1929.
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In more complex pawn endings sometimes it is important to know whether two isolated passed pawns can win without the support of the king. In this situation we are helped out by the rule of the “common square”, formulated by A. Studenecki in 1939. The “common square” is a square the length of the […]
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If we move the pawns one rank back, they will not be able to win without the support of the king. But if the white king is far, the pawns will perish since they will not be able to defend each other. The common square ends on the seventh rank. This means that the […]
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The following pawn ending teaches a similar “moral”, which is possibly the reason why the once popular variation of the Sicilian Dragon disappeared from tournament play. The diagrammed position arises after:The diagrammed position arises after: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cd4 4.Nd4: Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Bc4 Bg7 7.Bb3 0-0 8.f3 Nc6 9.Be3 Nd4:10.Bd4: Qa5...
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We shall conclude the examination of pawn endings with two instructive examples with far-reaching conclusions. The first example arises from the Exchange variation of the Ruy Lopez. The “moral” is that Black should seek his chances in piece-play since the pawn ending is lost by force! The subsequent analyses will confirm what may have...
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An even more complex case of a gradual occupation of space with the victorious finale could have arisen in the first game of the Candidates Semi-final Match for the World Title between Tal and Korchnoi in Moscow, 1968....
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The weakened pawn structure is very often the reason of defeat. An excellent example of exploiting the “gaps” in the enemy position was demonstrated by Black in the game Cohn – Rubinstein, Petersburg, 1909. The white kingside pawns have been considerably weakened; this provides Black a clear winning plan. The target is the weak...
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When each side has or may create passed pawns on the opposite wings, the side whose pawns are nearer the promotion square will win. In such situations of vital importance is the timely blockade of the enemy pawns. This is accomplished the most easily if the pawns are doubled. This position arose in the...
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A protected passed pawn is very powerful since it restrains the mobility of the enemy king. In the game Uhlmann – Akesson, Polanica Zdroj, 1981, Black converted the one-pawn advantage into a winning queen ending through the systematic occupation of space. ...
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