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.  ...