“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
In a similar position, sometimes a reduction of material cannot save the weaker side even if it is attacking the remaining pawn by both the king and bishop. This rare case occurred in the game of the former world champion Max Euwe and the first ladies’ world champion- the legendary Vera Menchik, Hastings, 1930. […]
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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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Event: “34th ECC Open 2018” White: “Tari, Aryan” WhiteElo: “2618” Black: “Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi” BlackElo: “2711” Result: “0-1” This rook ending should be won for Black and in the first, technique phase, Vidit played very well. Conclusion: 1. “Vancura” is one of the best defensive methods in rook endgames. The weaker […]
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Let us examine how to lead defence and attack in a critical position with the f- and h-pawn that has been seen many times on tournaments, and was first recorded in the game Bondarevski – Keres, (the Match Moscow-Leningrad, 1939). Even though White achieved an optimum-attacking position by placing the rook on e6, the […]
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The great rook’s power and its successful battle against pawns on both sides are further expressed in the position where the opponent’s pieces have not yet passed the fifth rank. White to move wins by “cutting off” the black king along the fifth rank. ← Basic EndingsBasic Endings →
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A more valuable rook than the knight or bishop can be exceptionally prominent in positions with pawns on both sides. Thanks to its long-distance action, the rook can very successfully control very distant pawns who could not – even with the king’s help – “push him over the endurance threshold”. ← Basic EndingsBasic […]
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When far advanced pawns are separated by at least two files, the stronger side will win provided its king can penetrate to the front of one pawn. Naturally, exceptions to this general rule are all positions with bishop and a wrong rook’s pawn. ← Basic EndingsBasic Endings →
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c ) Endings with Split Pawns In endings with split pawns prospects of winning are better and increase proportionally with the distance between the pawns. Generally, the weaker side draws only when pawns are separated by one file since then the king can simultaneously prevent the advance of both pawns. A typical position, analyzed […]
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