Tower light figure endgame
As Tower minor pieces finals are chess endgames without women referred, in which one party at least one tower at least and the other party is a minor piece ( Springer or runner has). Such endgames often occur in game practice and have therefore been analyzed in detail .
White Tower 
Black runner 
Black knight
Finals without pawns
Tower versus runner
As a rule, the end game between rook and bishop ends in a draw . The defending king can afford to go to the edge of the board, only he then has to go to one of the two "safe corners". These are the two corners of the chessboard that are not the same color as the bishop's square. If the defending king is in such a corner, a check in the tower can be fended off by moving the bishop to the field next to his king. If the attacking king then tries to lock up the defending king, a stalemate arises .
However, there is a larger class of losing positions in which the defending king is cut off from the "safe corner" on the edge of the board. It does not come into such a corner, then the stalemate defense and the game is missing may be lost because the attacker can defend with a waiting move in a tight spot bring and win the runner.
Rook versus knight
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The final rook versus knight, which has already been researched by Arab chess masters , is usually a draw. The defending knight must always be near his king and occasionally deny the attacking king an important square.
Artur Mandler showed in his studies an extended profit method. There is a risk of loss if the knight is too far away from his own king. In this case the knight can be pushed further away from the two opposing pieces and captured .
In the game Movsesjan - Kindermann, knight and king support each other. White threatens starting with Ra8 + checkmate . 103 followed … Nc6 ?? 104.Ra8 + Sa5 + 105. Kc5 with pressure to move , Black loses his knight on the next move and resigned. The method of tying and winning figures is also known from the endgame tower versus bishop. It was correct to take the c5-square from the white king with 103.… Na6 (Ka5 is also possible first), after which White cannot make any progress, for example: 104. Ra8 Ka5 and Black can unleash his knight with Kb6 on the next move or 104. Rh1 Ka5! 105. Rb1 Nc7! 106. Kc5 Sa6 +! 107. Kc6 Nb4 +! draw
Tower against two minor pieces
The endgame rook against two minor pieces has no practical significance because it is usually a simple draw. As soon as the tower bends against one of the minor figures, a dead position is created .
Tower and runner against tower
Chess Olympiad Turin, 2006
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In most cases the endgame is a rook and bishop against rook drawn. However, a higher percentage of positions can be gained than with rook and knight against rook. André Danican Philidor showed a famous prize tour in his textbook, first published in 1749. Contrary to his assumption, however, it turned out that this is an exceptional position, which in most cases cannot be enforced by the attacking party.
If the defending king is on the edge of the board, very precise play is often required in order not to lose. This experience was also confirmed by the game Jessica Nill - Catherine Perena, Turin 2006. The position in the diagram is a draw. It followed:
59.… Kb6 60. Rc1 Kb5 61. Rb1 + Ka4 62. Kd5 Rh4 63. Kc5 Ka3? (63.… Rh5 +!) 64. Rb3 +! Ka4 65. Rb2? (65. Rg3 wins the fastest) 65.… Rh5 +! 66.Bd5 Rh3! 67. Re2 Rg3 68. Kc4 Ka5 69. Re6 Rg1 70. Kc5 Rf1? (only 70.… Rb1! holds the game, e.g. 71. Bc4 Rb5 +!) 71. Re3 Rf4 72. Be4 Black had probably overlooked this typical suspension and gave up.
For the reasons mentioned, this final is almost always fought out in a draw position. A colleague of the grandmasters involved Vlastimil Hort, who was playing under time pressure , in a defensive battle at the chess festival in Biel in the early 1990s, so that he exceeded the time and lost despite correct defense. Today's rules can prevent this case, provided that the present referee assesses the situation accordingly.
Grandmaster Włodzimierz Schmidt showed in his analysis of the game R. Pytel - Mazzoni in 1984 that the king of the defending party generally cannot be kept permanently on the edge of the board, and that a complicated defense with the king on the edge can therefore in many cases be avoided. This was again confirmed by the game Magnus Carlsen - Loek van Wely , Corus Chess 2007, in which the defending party certainly held the draw.
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However, if the defending king is pushed to the edge of the board, it is important to protect him through precise maneuvers. The following flap rescue is typical. Black threatens 1.… Rf1 mate and there is no direct defense against it.
1. Rd7-d2 + Kc2-c3
2. Rd2 – c2 +! Kc3 – d3 (Kxc2 stalemate)
3. Tc2-d2 + Kd3-e3
4. Rd2 – e2 +! Bc4xe2 patt
Rook and knight against rook
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As a rule, the rook and knight against rook endgame ends in a draw. About 19 percent of all theoretically possible positions are won for one side. However, this also includes a large number of positions in which a piece can be captured in one move, and consequently no game occurs in this figure constellation.
Until the mid-1990s, this final was hardly fought out among good players. Only after the then world number one Garri Kasparow had won a game against Grandmaster Judit Polgár in such a final in Dos Hermanas in 1996 , other grandmasters also tried to win this final in practical games.
The new regulation with incremental thinking time and very little time per move in the last phase of the game has increased the error rate in tournaments. In the diagram opposite, from the game Magnus Carlsen - Erwin l'Ami, Black made a careless move
92.… Kg4 – f3? and had to go
93. Nf5 – h4 + raise your arms because up
93.… Kf3 – e3
94. Rg1 – g3 + Ke3 – f2 the skewer
95. Rg3 – g2 + the rook and thus the game wins.
Tower against three minor pieces
If there is a pair of bishops on the board in the rook versus three minor pieces endgame , then the minor piece party usually wins. However, it may take more than 50 moves to win . If the minor figure party has no pair of bishops, the rook party can usually hold a draw. Because if the rook can play against a minor piece in such a way that the minor piece party only has two knights , the position is a draw.
Tower and bishop against two minor pieces
The outcome of the final rook and bishop against two jumpers was an open question for a long time. Computer studies by Lewis Stiller with a multiprocessor machine (connection machine) finally showed that the tower and runner can force victory. In the worst case, however, this can require 255 moves before mate. Most of the necessary moves cannot be found for a person because no strategy can be identified.
In the endgame of rook and bishop against bishop and jumper, it is of great importance whether the bishops have the same or different square color. If the bishops are of different colors, then the rook party has theoretically very good prospects of winning; However, to win - assuming the best game on both sides - often far more than 50 moves are necessary. However, if the bishops are of the same color, the defending party can usually hold a draw.
The rook and bishop endgame against two bishops is usually a draw.
Rook and knight against two minor pieces
As a rule, rook and knight cannot win against any two minor pieces. The computer investigations by Lewis Stiller and subsequent ones showed, however, that in the rook and knight endgame against two knights there are some winning positions apart from short-term tactical chances - a maximum of 262 moves can be required before mate. Again, there is no obvious strategy for humans to understand.
An exception is the meeting of rook and knight against two bishops of the same field color; this practically never occurring endgame is usually theoretically won for the tower party, but often more than 50 moves are necessary.
Two towers against a tower and a minor figure
As a rule, two rooks cannot win against rook and minor figure. If a pair of rooks is exchanged, the remaining endgame “rook against minor piece” is usually a draw.
Two towers against two minor pieces
Two rooks win against two minor pieces, as a rule, relatively easily.
Finals with pawns
Tower and pawn against bishop
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The final rook and pawn versus bishop is usually won, but there are exceptions.
If the pawn is already on the sixth row on the f or c-file and the bishop has the square color of the square in front of the pawn while his king occupies the conversion square, the position is drawn . Ercole del Rio showed this as early as the middle of the 18th century. The defending party holds the position by swinging the bishop on the long diagonal to which the square in front of the pawn belongs and gives check if the attacking king enters the square next to his pawn on the g or b-file.
The then world champion Michail Botwinnik demonstrated the defensive leadership in his game against Grandmaster László Szabó in 1952: 1. Rb4 Ba2 2. Kf5 Bd5! But not 2.… Kf7? 3. Rb7 + Kf8 4. Kg6 and White wins. 3. Kg6 Bf7 + 4. Kg5 Bd5 5. Rh4 Bb3 6. Rh8 + Kf7 7. Rh7 + Kf8 8. f7 Ke7! 9.Kg6 Bc4! Of course not 9.… Bc2 +? 10. Kg7 and White wins. 10. Rg7 Bb3 11. f8D + Kxf8 12. Kf6 Ke8 13. Re7 + Kd8 draw.
However, this type of fortress is an exception in the rook and pawn versus bishop endgame. It does not work with a pawn on the b-, d-, e- or g-file, and with a pawn on the c- or f-file only if the pawn has already moved up to the sixth row.
There are other exceptional cases in which this final is only a draw in the case of an edge pawn. If the player has already passed his fourth row and his conversion square is not occupied by the square color of the bishop and the defending king, the position is drawn. If the edge pawn has not yet exceeded his fourth row in this situation, the tower party has a hidden profit path. It is based on the fact that the attacking king can maneuver along the edge line if necessary without being hindered by his own pawn.
Rook and pawn against knight
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The end game rook and pawn versus knight is usually won. In exceptional cases, however, the knight's party can form a fortress and hold it in a draw. Ex-world champion Emanuel Lasker demonstrated this in his game against Edward Lasker in 1924:
The rook is tied to his pawn and his king cannot yet cross the third row. So waiting trains are sufficient for the Springer Party for the time being. 93. Nb2 Ke4 94. Sa4 Kd4 95. Nb2 Rf3 96. Sa4! Re3 97. Nb2! Ke4 98. Sa4 Kf3
By circumventing this, the king threatens to support his pawn. 99. Nb2 would be fatal now? Ke2! 100. Ka3 Kd2! 101. Nc4 + The fork does not save, because after the rook sacrifice 101.… Kc1! 102. Nxe3 b2! the pawn promotion decides .
The white king has to face this: 99. Ka3! Ke4 Black gives up his plan, because now follows 99.… Ke2 100. Kb2 Kd2 101. Nc5! and the farmer falls. 100. Kb4 Kd4 101. Nb2! Rh3 102. Sa4! 102. Nd1? Would be wrong, because after 102.… Kd3 103. Kxb3 the deduction check 103.… Kd2 + captures the knight. After the text move, Black didn't make any progress and pushed with 102.… Kd3 103. Kxb3! Kd4 the draw.
Rook against minor figure and pawn
The endgame rook against minor figure and pawn is usually a draw.
Tower against two minor pieces and a pawn
If in the endgame rook against two minor pieces and a pawn the pair of bishops is on the board, the minor piece party usually wins this endgame. Only in the case of a pawn on the edge does the rook party have the prospect of a draw when their king stands in front of the pawn; If the rook can then surrender to the correct bishop, the minor team with the wrong bishop remains and the game ends in a draw.
In the case of bishops and knights, too, the minor figure party often has a good chance of winning theoretically, but the way to victory sometimes takes more than 50 moves because very careful play is necessary. The rook party can often save itself if their king blocks the pawn directly. In the case of an edge pawn, the rook party can usually hold a draw if their king is in front of the pawn.
If the two minor pieces are two knights or two bishops of the same square color, the rook party usually holds a draw. Because in these cases it could achieve this goal by letting the tower lend itself to the farmer. If this is not possible, for example if the pawn has already advanced a long way and the defending king is not near the pawn, then the minor piece party can also win here.
Rook against minor piece and two pawns
In the final rook against minor piece and two pawns, the rook party fights for the draw. In some cases, she achieves it, for example when the rook can go against both pawns. In the other part of the cases, the minor figure party wins.
Rook, minor figure and pawn against rook
Magyar Sakkvilág, April 2006
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Position after move 6 of the study
Although rook, minor figure and pawn usually win against a rook, this is not always the case. On the one hand, in a purely tactical position like that of Alois Wotawa , the final can be a draw. On the other hand, there are also cases in which the pawn can be defended, but other factors, such as stalemate motifs or an unfavorable bond between the stones, prevent the benefit from being realized. One such example shows the following position from a study by Bill Jones:
After 7. Rg5 Black doesn't make any progress. 7.… Kh4 helps because 8. Rg4 + Kh3 9. Rg3 + (9th Rg5 is also possible) 9.… Kh2 10. Rg2 + Kh1 11. Rg5 (11. Rg1 + ?? Bxg1 with a win for Black). The position is a draw because Black cannot reasonably shake off the peg of Bc5. Taking the white rook, however, leads to stalemate.
Rook and pawn against two minor pieces
The rook and pawn endgame against two minor pieces has hardly any independent meaning. If the king of the minor piece party stands in front of the pawn, he can usually easily block it and hold it in a draw. In general, the rook party can at best achieve that a minor piece has to give up for the pawn. But the resulting rook versus minor piece endgame is usually a draw, as explained in the chapter "Endgames without pawns".
Rook and pawn against minor figure and pawn
If in the endgame rook and pawn against minor piece and pawn the rook party has a passed pawn, it usually wins. If neither party has a passed pawn, the minor piece party can reach a draw in a certain number of cases.
literature
- Karsten Müller , Frank Lamprecht : Fundamental Chess Endings . Gambit Publications Ltd, 2001, ISBN 1-901983-53-6
- John Nunn : Secrets of Pawnless Endings . BT Batsford Ltd, London 1994, ISBN 0-7134-7508-0
- Mark Dworezki : Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual, second edition . Russel Enterprises, 2006, ISBN 1-888690-28-3
Individual evidence
- ↑ Szachy No. 6, 1984, pp. 155–156 (Polish)
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Nalimov Endgame Tablebases
- ↑ a b "Stiller's Monster" by Tim Krabbé