Tag: Fixed Pawns

  The most complex and difficult ending of this kind – when victory is achieved by cutting off the opponent’s king along the g-file – has long been explored by A. Cheron, and the smallest nuances and finesse were discovered by Y. Averbakh and especially J. Timman after the  position appeared in the famous ending […]

  In a similar position, Black loses when his bishop is on the diagonal f8-a3 (V. Kovačević 2004).  

  The same “laws” apply to positions with a black pawn blocked on the third rank. White wins if he can cut off the opponent’s king next to the pawn (along the c-file!) or from the pawn (at least along the g-file!). We will first look at an educational example with a king cut off […]

  Although the lessons from Baranov’s and Maizelis’s analysis have been “the property of all mankind” for almost half a century, and the additional conclusions from the previous two examples are very logical, there is sometimes a lot of wandering and confusion among the world’s greatest grandmasters. An incredible case occurred in the game Kasparov-Yusupov, […]

  To fully understand this position, it is important to know that in a similar situation, Black cannot save the game even when his bishop is on the diagonal e8-b5 (V. Kovačević 2004).  

  Black to move draws, moving away from the fatal straight opposition, defending himself “according to Baranov” with the diagonal opposition.  

  Baranov’s analysis are a roadmap for understanding other positions with fixed edge pawns. When his pawn is on the fourth rank, Black loses in two basic cases: if his king is closed next to his own pawn (cut off along the c-file!) and if his king is cut off far from the pawn (at […]

  If, in a similar position, the black king is not in the saving corner, the game is lost! This position was also explored by I. Enevoldsen in 1949.