“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
With the black king in the corner, the Nf5-Kf6 set up forces to win. Due to specific features of human memory, many perceive this as a new situation, but still it is nothing else than the Lg6 Rc8 set up, copied along the a1-h8 diagonal. In other words, instead of leading the mating attack […]
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Black to move cannot avoid losing the game, although because of pinning the knight, he can make lots of problems for White. ← Basic EndingsBasic Endings →
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White has real winning chances only if black king is on the edge of the board. With the black king in the corner, the forced win can be achieved also with the Ne6-Kf6 set up. This was also found by Centurini in 1850, but his analysis have later been considerably improved. While White to […]
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If Black’s rim pawn is blocked on the fourth rank, Black loses when his king is blocked next to his own pawn by cutting off along the c-file! The following position was created in the Bellon – Tatai game ( Rome 1977 ) . White to move wins by driving his opponent into zugzwang! […]
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Black is lost if his king is cut off along the c-file! The following position is the mirror image of the endgame which was played, although with opposite colours, in a famous Rubinstein – Salwe game ( Prag, 1909 ) . Rubinstein, one of the biggest experts in the theory of endgames at the […]
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When the black pawn is fixed on the fifth rank, the situation for White is much more unfavourable for two important reasons. The first is that after the exchange of the bishop and the pawn, one more tempo is needed to occupy the crucial b7 square and to prevent the lifesaving Kc8. This is […]
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In the similar positions with the rim pawns, Black has some better drawing chances. But, if the black pawn is fixed on the sixth rank, nothing changes either in the evaluation of the position or in the winning plan. ← Basic EndingsBasic Endings →
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When in Rook and pawn versus Bishop and pawn ending Black has a pawn blocked on the fifth rank, the win is complicated. In order to capture the pawn and convert into a pawn ending, White has to prepare by vertically cutting off the opponent’s king from the pawn so that it could not […]
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If the rim pawn had not gone too far, if it had not passed the fourth rank, the position is won! This was found by Guretzky and Cornitz in 1863. White to move wins because he can permanently cut the opponent’s king off his h-pawn. The starting moves are identical to the previous example. […]
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Correctly positioned bishop – along the b1-h7 diagonal – draws even when the h-pawn is on the fifth rank! This has been known ever since the duel Morphy – Loewenthal ( London, 1858 ) . White to move cannot win since his h-pawn had gone too far! ← Basic EndingsBasic Endings →
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