Chess endings are an essential part of chess, where you try to convert your advantage, either material or positional, on the board to a full point, or if you are in an inferior position, you try to save the draw. The present volume will help you with some of the basic skills you need to improve at both.
Originally published at the beginning of the 20th century as part of a series for beginners on all phases of the chess game, this little book contains samples of all types of endgames that beginners or inexperienced players will greatly benefit from studying.
With 124 well-chosen positions, the author illustrates the fundamental knowledge of chess endgames that all players should master.
The material has been reexamined and lightly edited by FIDE Master Carsten Hansen.
This book was originally published by Routledge in 1900 as part of a series of short books on chess written for club standard players. It went through many editions over almost six decades, and has now been brought back to life for today’s readers by the industrious Carsten Hansen.
The book has been converted into algebraic notation, with computer generated image diagrams, and with the layout changed. You now get groups of four positions, two to a page, followed by a page with the four solutions. Carsten has also added some additional text and variations where he considered it helpful. There’s also a brief biography of Blake at the start of the book.
Here’s Blake’s preface.
A century and a quarter on, how well does this book stand up?
On the whole, pretty well, at least as far as the first part of the book, with 68 pawn endings, is concerned. Many novices will find it very helpful as long as they’re not put off by one or two caption errors.
We start with some basic positions which everyone should know before moving on to more complex examples. I decided to look at No. 52, which, according to Blake, ‘involves nice calculation of distances on both sides’.
Click on any move for a pop-up window.
I found a few problems with this, though, which are probably notation rather than analytical errors. ‘White to move, Black to draw’, we are told, correctly, although a more challenging option on Black’s 3rd move isn’t included. More importantly, White’s 7th move, as given, is a losing blunder (it may be a typo for Kb3 or Kb2), and Black’s 7th move returns the compliment.
These are, unfortunately, not the only issues. There are a few positions with incorrect captions and perhaps also incorrect positions. I rather suspect, for example, that the white king in No. 70 should be on f6 rather than e6 to prevent an obvious alternative solution.
The second part of the book contains 56 miscellaneous positions covering a variety of endings. Again, although the selection might seem fairly random, intermediate level players will no doubt find it helpful. This is No. 113: White to move and win.
While it’s great that Carsten has made this and other vintage books available for modern readers, it’s a pity that it wasn’t possible for someone to have a quick look through to spot any errors before publication. Blake’s book was excellent for its day and was no doubt very helpful to many club players in the first half of the last century. There are now many other endgame books on the market which today’s club players will perhaps find more relevant. I’ve even written one myself: Chess Endings for Heroes, part of the Chess Heroes series here.
If you’re interested in chess history, the development of instructional materials in chess, or, like me, in Joseph Henry Blake, though, you’ll want a copy of this book. Book collectors would no doubt prefer an original, preferably a first edition.
You can buy it on Amazon here and read more about Blake here, with perhaps a series of Minor Pieces to follow at some point.
Richard James, Twickenham 28th January 2025
Richard James
ASIN : B0C1JB5JTG
Publisher : Alexander Game Books (9 April 2023)
“Magnus Carlsen’s brilliant endgame play is one of the key reasons for his success. The World Chess Champion can win positions which look drawn to anybody else. And more than any other player, he is able to save bad endings.
For this second volume of Magnus Carlsen Endgame Virtuoso, International Master Tibor Karolyi has selected Carlsen’s best endgames from 2018-2022, whereas the first volume covered 1999-2017. Reviewing these new games and explaining what Magnus was doing, the author was thoroughly impressed. Even Carlsen, who in 2017 was already the best endgame player of all time with Anatoly Karpov, had managed to improve his skills further.
Carlsen has it all. He can find deep ideas, play very technically, and is exceptionally well-versed in strategic and tactical endgames. The author is convinced that this new selection contains even better and more instructive games than Volume one.
Karolyi explains the general ideas in the games and gives concrete variations. Exploring these annotated endgames, you will soon get a good sense of what is happening. You will find out that Carlsen does not rush unless it is necessary. You will learn how Carlsen increases the pressure and uses all available resources. And you will see that sooner or later, his opponents will start playing second-best moves, feeling uncomfortable, following up with some dubious decisions, and, finally, cracking.
Endgame Virtuoso Magnus Carlsen – Volume 2 is a highly instructive, inspiring and entertaining book. It will help you appreciate Magnus’ endgame magic and improve your skills in this important game phase.”
About the Author:
“International Master Tibor Károlyi was Hungarian Champion in 1984 and is renowned as both an author and a trainer. He won the Guardian Chess Book of the Year prize in 2007.”
You will probably agree that endings are increasingly important – at all levels – in chess today, and that Magnus Carlsen is the strongest human endgame player in the history of chess. So everyone will benefit from studying his endings.
It’s not quite as simple as that, though. The problem is that today’s top GM games are played at a level way beyond the comprehension of average club players. If you’re looking for a book that will do more to improve your endings, I’d recommend this book which was the subject of my last review.
On the other hand, studying the games of the world’s leading players will give you a wider appreciation of chess culture, and, with the guidance of a skilled instructor to provide excellent annotations, you’ll undoubtedly learn something as well as being inspired, in a more general way, to improve your chess.
In this book you’re in the safe hands of IM Tibor Karolyi, one of the best and most experienced annotators in the business, and one who has a particular gift for making difficult positional concepts comprehensible to the average player.
The first volume of this series covered Carlsen’s earlier career. Here we have 104 endgames from 2018 up to 2022, taken from games played at all time controls. As in my last review, the author takes a pretty broad view of what constitutes an ending.
Here, for example, is a position where Magnus missed the best continuation.
This is taken from the first play-off game in the 2018 Carlsen – Caruana World Championship match.
Carlsen played the obvious 24. Bxe6+, winning a pawn and, eventually, the game, although Caruana missed drawing chances on a few occasions.
He missed the very difficult 24. Rxd4!! Kf7 25. Kh1!!, a great prophylactic move according to Karolyi, so that an eventual Nxf3 won’t be check, when Black would have had no defence to Red1 followed by Rd6. This fascinating ending is analysed extensively over 3½ pages.
Black against Vallejo Pons (Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden 2019), Carlsen reached a pawnless ending with RB against BN.
You might think this is drawn, but Carlsen knew that, with the opposing bishops on different colour squares, Black is winning. If you buy this book you can see for yourself how he brought home the full point – and how his opponent could have made it harder for him.
Karolyi tells us that Fischer could have reached a similar ending against Browne (Rovinj/Zagreb 1970), but his annotations suggested that he believed the ending to be drawn.
This game, from move 12 to its conclusion 60 moves later, is covered in 4½ pages here.
It’s striking how often Magnus plays for mate with very limited material on the board.
Here, our hero was black in an Armageddon game against Nepomniachtchi (Stavanger 2021).
Nepo erred by playing 52. Bg7? here (Ke2 would have held), which Magnus met with 52… Rh1, with Rh2+ to follow.
Along with the games you also get a running commentary on Carlsen’s tournament performances over the period, helpfully putting the games into context as well as providing some gripping reading.
At the end of the book there’s an informative interview with Carlsen’s long-term second Peter Heine Nielsen, along with a useful Endgame Classification index and the expected index of names.
What you don’t get here is the opportunity for interactive learning. Unlike in many books from this publisher, there are no quizzes at the start of each chapter, nor does the author stop every few moves to ask you questions. You might well consider this not to be a problem in a book of this nature.
As usual from New in Chess, the production values are excellent. The English, although not always totally idiomatic, reads fluently. If you’re looking for a book on Carlsen’s endgames, and there are many reasons why you should be, you won’t be disappointed with this volume. You might also want to buy Volume 1 as well, and, in a few years time, Volume 3.
I consider this a first class book written by one of the best annotators in the business. While players of, say, 2000+ strength will perhaps learn most from it, all club standard players will find Carlsen’s endgames, especially as explained here, both instructive and inspirational.
If you want to look further before making up your mind you can find some sample pages here.
Richard James, Twickenham 18th October 2024
. Richard James
Book Details:
Softcover: 256 pages
Publisher: New In Chess; 1st edition (23 March 2023)
“There are many books devoted to basic endgames, even from the Middle Ages. Principles of typical endgames (such as keeping the rook behind a passed pawn, not setting pawns on the same colored squares as your bishop’s, distant pawns being more dangerous than central ones etc.) are well known too. But what about “complex endgames”? I have in mind endgames with at least two pieces on each side; well I don’t find them often nor sufficiently well-explained in the past! It is exactly this fact (together with my passion and great endgame experience) that has motivated me to write this book (many friends simply call me “Endgame Wizard” ).
Over two decades of working as a coach has confirmed my opinion that endgames are the biggest problem for young players. Today, in the computer era with a lot of information easily provided, youngsters all over the world rather play blitz, or solve some tactical puzzles in a manner that is “the faster the better” (or even spend time on some other chess disciplines). All of this neglects the basis of chess – the importance of endgames! It is not uncommon that everyday you can be witness to some strange endgame misunderstanding, even at the top level.
This is why I consider some of my favorite endgame books based on logic as the best I’ve ever read – I learned the endgame from some of the best endgame players and authors. And this is why I want to fill that gap in chess literature and to share my devotion, ideas, principles, opinions with you! I hope you will enjoy this material and I am pretty sure you will broaden your endgame horizons.”
About the author:
Born in Cuprija, Serbia, 05 August 1977
Started chess at four years old watching father and his brother playing
Entered first chess club “Radnicki” Cuprija at seven
Fide Master in 1994
Serbian youth champion in 1995
Champion of the Belgrade University in 2001 and 2002
Won countless times the Serbian team championship (in youth competition as well)
IM since 2014
FIDE TRAINER since 2015
Winner of many open, blitz, rapid and internet events
Professional coach for more than 15 years
Author and contributor for American Chess Magazine since 2019
This is his 4th book for Thinkers Publishing.
From the back cover:
IM Zlatanovic will bring something new to your chess library. In our computer era, focus is usually on openings. Watching recent broadcasts, the new generation would rather choose games of a certain opening and look for an interesting idea or even a brilliant novelty. I offer, and recommend, a different concept altogether, based on the famous Soviet school of chess. The focus should be on understanding strategical concepts, principles and underlying logic. Fashionable opening lines will be forgotten (or re-evaluated) sooner or later, but understanding cannot be lost, and can only be upgraded. It is sad to see some players that are well equipped with opening lines, who are unable to realise a big positional advantage in an endgame. So, our advice is con concentrate on Strategy and Logic.
This new series of books are highly recommended for club players, advanced players and masters, although even higher rated players may also find it useful! There is no doubt that lower rated players will learn a lot about thinking processes and decision making, while some logical principles can be put to use by more advanced players too.
What is an endgame? Engines tend to tell you you’re in the endgame when neither player has more than two major/minor pieces on the board. You might, of course, consider BNN v BNN to be more like an ending than QR v QR. Me, I have no very strong views on the subject. Zlatanovic seems to take a very broad view of what constitutes an ending.
This, then, is a practical, rather than a theoretical book. If you want to know how to play KRB v KR, for example, you’ll need to look elsewhere. We have 188 positions, all of which start with at least two major/minor pieces, many with three, and some with almost the whole complement of pieces. Most of the positions come without queens. So what we have here is something much more than just an endgame manual. You could see it as a guide to positional play in the late middlegame, or even, in some cases, the opening.
The range of sources is impressively wide: from Steinitz in 1883 through to Zlatanovic himself in 2021. From grandmasters to amateurs. From world championship matches to online blitz games. While there are a few very familiar examples (although they’ll always be new to somebody) there will be a lot which you almost certainly won’t have seen before. Here, then, is an author, unlike many who only use a small number of sources for their books, who clearly has an exceptional knowledge of chess and its literature.
He explains in the preface that he has divided the material into 15 chapters, starting with the most important principles and gradually moving on to the most specific principles.
We have:
The Center
The Active King
Open Files
The Bishop Pair
Activity & Harmony
Space Advantage
Key Squares
Pawn Majority
Pawn Weaknesses
Two Weaknesses & Playing on Both Sides
Opposite-Colored Bishops
Exchange Problems
Do Not Rush
Schematic Thinking
Restriction & Prophylaxis
These chapters represent an increasingly important aspect of chess. Even relatively low rated amateurs these days can play the opening well and avoid tactical oversights in relatively simple positions. Incremental time limits mean that games are more likely to be decided by positional factors in the ending than in the days of mad time scrambles or, when I was learning the game, by the adjudicator.
I’d suggest, then, that this could be a very valuable book for anyone of average club standard or above wanting to improve their game. Let’s take a look inside.
Each chapter starts with a brief introduction. Here, as a fairly random example, is that for Chapter 8 (Pawn Majority).
Of course the natural goal of pawn play is the creation of a passed pawn and its promotion! However, this does not happen often!
The logical prerequisite to creating a passed pawn is to have a majority. Of course, with balanced material there would be majorities for both players, on different wings. Which majority is better? Well generally, it is clear that a 2:1 majority is “the best one”. Not only because it can easily create a passer, but even more importantly, it is because of the fact that the passer will be a distant one – it should deflect the opponent’s army (and king!) which would lead to progress and to gaining material on the opposite flank!
You may have already seen this approach a multitude of times. However what about other majorities? Is a 3:2 always better than a 4:3 majority? What about doubled pawns? What about exchanging pieces? Is it better to have more or fewer pieces kept on the board in a situation with mutual majorities? All these answers can be found in this chapter. And a lot of others besides!
I’ll quickly show you a few of Zlatanovic’s examples.
This is Botvinnik – Rabinovich (Leningrad 1934).
Let’s start this chapter with a relatively simple example. White has the better majority – 3:2, which is usually better than 4:3. However the point is that Black has separated a- and c-pawns and it looks like the majority will soon transform to an even better version for White: 2:1.
Later in the chapter: Smyslov – Szabo (Hastings 1955).
White is dominant although it may look as if Black is okay. White’s queenside majority is the key positional factor here, especially after fixing the b7-pawn. Black cannot easily advance it to b6 because of c6, and even exchanging it would create the a-passer. With his next move White opens up the key diagonal and attacks b7.
For my final example, we’re still in the opening, with most of the pieces still on the board. White has to decide on his 12th move in Erenburg – Murariu (Las Palmas 2003).
Here is a more complex example. White has many advantages: better development, more space and a better majority. However the advantage is not large. Black hasn’t made a single bad move – he is ready to place his king on e7 and finish development soon. In such situations active play is extremely important.
Is this position really an ending? Probably not. Does it matter? Again, probably not. If you want to see what happened next in these games, along with Zlatanovic’s explanations you’ll have to buy the book.
You might think the title is slightly misleading, and I might well agree with you, although I’m not sure I could come up with anything better. In some respects this is a modern book on a modern subject but in other respects it might be seem as slightly old-fashioned, and perhaps none the worse for that. The annotations throughout are based on practical considerations rather than computer analysis. Whereas other publishers promote active learning by offering puzzles at the start of each chapter or stopping to ask questions after every few moves, there’s nothing of that nature here.
You could just read the book, or, if you prefer, cover up the moves and try to guess the continuation. You could also set up the positions and play them out against a training partner, your chess coach or a computer.
The production standards are high, although, as you might have realised from the brief quotes above, the English is not always as idiomatic as one might like. There’s also some inconsistency in naming conventions – sometimes using just the player’s initial, sometimes the first name, sometimes also the middle initial and sometimes the full name. It probably won’t bother you but I find that sort of thing slightly annoying. The book also, inevitably, fails the Yates test (he was Fred Dewhirst, not Frederick Dewhurst). We have an index of games at the end, but an index of players might also have been useful.
In spite of these minor reservations I really enjoyed this book and think that, if you’re an above average club standard player, it will add an extra dimension to your play. Even stronger players will, I suspect, find much of value as well. I’d also consider it an invaluable resource for chess coaches working at this level: it’s evident from the book that the author must be an outstanding teacher.
Zlatanovic has clearly put an enormous amount of thought into how the book should be structured and done a lot of research into finding the most suitable examples to include, and should be congratulated on having produced an excellent book. If you agree with him (as I do) that, at least at club level, understanding is much more important than memory, I’d recommend you to take a look.
Rook Endgames from Morphy to Carlsen: Valentin Bogdanov
From the publisher:
“So, you want to improve your rook endings? Good choice, as they occur more often in your games than your favourite opening lines!
Allow vastly experienced trainer Valentin Bogdanov to assist. However, we are not headed for the classroom, but to the tournament hall! We shall witness tense moments as the greatest champions in chess history battle their way through all manner of rook endings: tactical, strategic and technical. Your coach will be whispering in your ear, explaining what is happening and giving the theoretical background. You will also be getting the benefit of modern computer analysis, which X-rays these classic games for errors and missed resources in a way that was not possible even a few years ago. A feast of astonishing analysis awaits!
We shall see that even the best players make a surprising number of errors in rook endings. This should give us heart to fight even in the most desperate of situations, and motivate us to study these endgames so we can pick up the many half-points and even full points that our opponents will surely offer up to us.
By emphasizing the most common themes and areas where players go astray, Bogdanov helps us determine which parts of those technical endgame manuals that are sitting on our shelves are most worth thumbing through. This book can also simply be enjoyed as a stroll through chess history – you will be amazed how many key turning-points occurred in rook endgames!
The players featured in this book include all 17 official world champions, the 3 ‘uncrowned kings’ who preceded them, and a selection of 8 other outstanding players. There are 384 examples in total. The book is completed with a selection of 68 exercise positions, and detailed indexes of themes and players.”
About the author, Valentin Bogdanov
“International Master Valentin Bogdanov has vast experience as a chess trainer, and is from Ukraine. His pupils include Moskalenko, Savchenko and Drozdovsky, and he has acted as a second for the well-known grandmaster and theoretician Viacheslav Eingorn since the late 1970s. For more than 50 years he has been a teacher at the chess school in Odesa (Ukraine), and in 2016 won the European Over-65 Championship. In the same year he also qualified as an International Arbiter and has since then officiated over a great many chess events in his country. This is his fifth book for Gambit.”
Here, on YouTube John Nunn gives the reader an introduction to the book:
This book is an excellent publication on rook endgames. It is packed full of an instructive examples from practical games which makes the material more accessible than a book of purely theoretical positions. There are a lot of fresh examples that are new to the reviewer which makes the book particularly novel. The book is probably aimed at 2000+ players although any aspiring player would glean lots of useful guidelines on playing rook endings from this tome. There is an excellent “Index Of Themes” at the back.
The reviewer will show six examples from the book.
Position 10
Steinitz-Blackburne Vienna 1898 Position after 80…Rc2
There are many positions with R+2P v R with a and c pawns that are drawn. This position is winning with care. Steinitz inexplicably played 81.a7+? believing that seizing c7 for the king would win. 81…Kxa7! 82.Kc7 Rh1! 83.c6 Rh7+ drawing with flank checks.
The natural 81.Kd7! wins easily, for example 81…Rh1 82.c6 Rh7+ 83.Kd6 Rh6+ 84.Kc5 Rh1 85.Kb6 Rb1+ 86.Rb5
Steinitz-Blackburne Vienna 1898 Variation after 86.Rb5
Larsen-Tal Candidates (9) Bled 1965 Position after 52.Kxe5
Black hurries to force a drawn R+P v R endgame, but is mistaken. 52…b3? 52…Rh2 or Re2 is much better 53.axb3! Rxb3 54.Kd6 Rd3+
Larsen-Tal Candidates (9) Bled 1965 Position after 54…Rd3+
White played 55.Ke6? throwing away the win, 55.Ke7! wins controlling d8, after 55…Rh3 intending flank checks 56.Ra4 Rh7+ 57.Kf6 Rh6+ (57..Kd8 58.Ra8+) 58.Kg5
Larsen-Tal Candidates (9) Bled 1965 Variation after 58.Kg5
58…Rd6 otherwise, white will cut black’s king off with Rd4 59.e5 Rd1 60.Kf6! winning because black’s rook can only work on the short side as his king is on the long side
Larsen-Tal Candidates (9) Bled 1965 Variation after 60.Kf6
Position 116
Unzicker-Petrosian Varna Olympiad 1962 Position after 47.Kg2
This position is deceptive 47…Rb6 (47…Rb5 allows 48.Rd6 and the rook gets behind the pawn and white probably draws) 48.Ra4 Ra6? for once placing the rook behind the pawn does not win as the a-pawn is only on the fourth rank! 48…Rb5! 49.Rc4 Kf6! and black’s active king wins the game as it can support the a-pawn quickly
Unzicker-Petrosian Varna Olympiad 1962 Position after 48…Ra6
49.Kf3? natural but 49.f3! and 50.g4! seeking counterplay draws 49…Kf6 50.Ke4 Ke6 natural, but 50…Re6+ and Re5 activating the rook wins 51.f3! white advances the kingside pawns to get counterplay which draws with accurate play.
Unzicker-Petrosian Varna Olympiad 1962 Position after 51.f3
Unzicker-Petrosian Varna Olympiad 1962 Position after 62…Kc4
White has defended well but now makes a fatal mistake 63.Rc1+ draws as the black king has to retreat, 63.Kf4? Kc3! The a-pawn is too strong 64.Kg5 Kb2 65.Re1 f4+! 66.Kxf4 a4! 67.Ke4 a3 68.f4 a2 winning
Position 131
Fischer-Bisguier UA Ch New York 1958-9 Position after 70.b4
Bisguier had an appalling record against Fischer, gaining a single win and a single draw against the young Bobby. He lost the other thirteen games including this one.
White has an edge as black’s king is a long way from the b-pawn, but he can draw with careful defence. 70…d4? (Sloppy, black can draw easily with 70…Rb3! 71.Kc5 Rb1 72.Rd2 Ke6!) 71.Kd5! a clever switchback probably missed by Black 71…Rd1 72.Rf2+! The point forcing the black king further away 72…Kg4
Fischer-Bisguier UA Ch New York 1958-9 Position after 72…Kg4
Now Fischer goes astray, 73.Kc4? White can win with 73.b5! Kg3 (73…Rb1 74.Kc4 d3 75.Rd2! Rc1+ 76.Kc5! Rc1+ 77.Kb6 Rc3 78.Ka5 and Black loses the d-pawn and the game) 74.Rb2! winning
Fischer-Bisguier UA Ch New York 1958-9 Variation 1 Position after 74.Rb2
After 73.Kc4? played in the game:
Fischer-Bisguier UA Ch New York 1958-9 Position after 73.Kc4
Bisguier came up with a faulty plan 73…d3?74.Kc3! winning the pawn after Rd2 and as the Black king is cut off by two files, the ensuing R+P v P is easily won
73…Kg3! draws 74.Rf5 (74.Rb2 Kf4 75.b5 Ke3 draws), 74…d3! 75.Kc3 d2! 76.b5 Kg4! 77. Rd5 Kf4! draws as capturing the d2-pawn allows a drawn K+P v K ending.
So much play with only 6 pieces!
Position 200
Aronian-Carlsen Moscow 2006 Position after 72…Ra8
Aronian played the cunning waiting move 73.Rd6 testing the young Magnus. This trap is also covered in Rook Endings by Levenfish & Smyslov. Black played the natural check 73…Ra7+? which loses. After 74.Ke8! Carlsen resigned. Only 73…Kg6! draws.
Position 293
Jansa-Geller Budapest (team event) 1970 Position after 66…Rxb4
White won here using a famous systematic manoeuvre called Lasker’s steps. 67.Rxc2? throws away the win as Black’s flank checks with the rook draw, so 67.f7! Rg4+ 68.Kh8 Rf4 69.Rc6+ Kh5 70.Kg7 Rg4+ 71.Kh7 Rf4 72.Rc5+ Kh4 73.Kg7 Rg4+ 74.Kf6 Rf4+ 75.Ke6 Re4+ 76.Kf5 Re2 77.Kg6 Rg2+ 78.Kh6 Rf2 79.Rc4+ Kh3 80.Kg6 Rg2+ 81.Kh5 Rf2 82.Rc3+ Kh2 83.Rxc2! queening the pawn. Now White just has to win Q v R.
This short review cannot really do justice to this book. I do highly recommend it. The graded exercises at the end are tricky , even the so called easy ones!
FM Richard Webb, Chineham, Hampshire, 6th July 2024
Rook Endgames from Morphy to Carlsen, Valentin Bogdanov, Gambit Publications (1 April 2024), ISBN-13: 978-1805040712Rook Endgames from Morphy to Carlsen, Valentin Bogdanov, Gambit Publications (1 April 2024), ISBN-13: 978-1805040712
Secrets of Queen Endgames: Ferenc Berkes and Tibor Karolyi
From the publisher:
“A revolutionary new work on a notoriously challenging type of chess endgame
Queen endgames can seem unfathomably complicated. Computers have provided complete information for some of the basic queen and pawn endings, but human understanding has proved elusive.
In this ground-breaking work, two Hungarian authors have gone to extraordinary lengths to explain strategies and methods in queen endgames. Rather than a random series of checks, we can now understand king and queen triangulations that gradually bring the pieces to the squares they need to be to engineer the killer tactic that completes the process. Berkes and Karolyi have devised guidelines that help us judge what we need to aim for, and provided a broad set of tools to help us achieve these goals.
Going beyond previous texts, the authors have used not just seven-man tablebases and modern engines, but the specialized program FinalGen to delve with the same certainty into endgames with many more pawns. But most of all, they have spent thousands of hours seeking to present the whole truth about queen endings in human terms. Their wide-ranging discussion of shelters is especially instructive.”
A definitive guide to a fundamental class of endgames
Explains all types of endings with queens and pawns
A wealth of guidelines for handling positions with many pawns
Spectacular and previously unpublished endgame studies
Thoroughly up to date, with more than 1000 chess diagrams
Ferenc Berkes is a grandmaster from Hungary. A former World Under-18 Champion, he was won the championship of his country on eight occasions. He plays team chess in several European leagues. IM Tibor Karolyi is also from Hungary. His many pupils have included super-GMs Peter Leko and Judit Polgar, and he is a highly experienced chess writer.
To get some idea of the book Gambit (via Amazon) provide a “Look Inside” at their Kindle edition. As you would expect with Gambit, the notation is English short form algebraic using figurines for pieces. A previous criticism (ibid) has been addressed in that each diagram has a W or B “whose move it is” indicator.
The book is divided into 9 chapters as follows :
Extreme Tactics in Queen Endings
Tools in Queen Endings Technical Queen Endgames
Queen and Pawn vs Queen
All the Pawns on the Same Side
Extra Outside Passed Pawn Practical and Strategic Queen Endgames
The Pawn
The Queen
The King
Complex Queen Endgames
Here on YouTube John Nunn gives the reader an introduction to the book :
This book is a superb tour de force covering a complex subject that has not been covered so extensively before. My short review cannot really do justice to this magnus opus.
The book is aimed at expert players, probably 2200 and above. The vast majority of GMs would learn a lot from this book. Despite these comments, it is the reviewer’s opinion that any aspiring, improving player would benefit from reading the more general chapters 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8. The pure technical chapters 3 and 4 are certainly more abstruse but very instructive: the authors don’t just give long variations but intersperse these with pithy, useful comments.
The short first chapter really introduces the power of the queen with a mixture of studies and over the board positions.
Chapter 1: Extreme Tactics in Queen Endings
Here is an amazing and stunning study by Rusz:
Rusz 2022 White to play and win
Black is threatening to mate with Qa1+, so white plays 1.Qf6!!
Rusz 2022 Position after 1.Qf6 mutual zugzwang Black to move
Amazingly, this is a position of mutual zugzwang as White to play only draws, whereas Black to play loses. It is hard to believe that in an open position with three queens each, having the move is a disadvantage!
Black can try 1…Qad8_ 2.Qaxd8 Qxd8+ 3.Qxd8 Qf1+ 4.Kc2 Qf2+
Rusz 2022 Position after 4…Qf2+ White to move
5.Qd2 (The careless 5.Kb3? allows a standard trick 5…Qg3+ 6.Qxg3 stalemate, always watch out for this type of idea in queen endings) 5…Qc5+ 6.Kd1 Qc2+
Rusz 2022 Position after 6…Qc2+ White to move
7.Ke2! Black has run out of useful checks, so white wins
Here is a practical example showing many important principles in queen and pawn endings:
Percivaldi – Thybo Danish League 2021-2 Position after 42.Qd5+ Black to move
White has three pawns for a bishop, but the most important feature of the position is black’s far advanced passed a-pawn. In queen endgames, it’s the degree of advancement of passed pawns that is all important, not the number of pawns. Black correctly shed the bishop with his next move:
42…Kc7! 43.Qf7+ Kb6 44. Qxf8 Kb5!
Percivaldi-Thybo Danish League 2021-2 Position after 44…Kb5 White to move
White is three pawns up but is totally lost. White’s only potentially useful pawn is the d-pawn as it’s closest to queening, but white is just too far behind in the race. Black’s king will shelter behind the white’s pawns, there is no chance of a perpetual check.
45.Qe8+ Kb4 46.Qb8+ Ka4 47.Qg8 Trying to bar the king’s progress, but to no avail. 47…Qc2! (47…Qb3 also wins) 48.Qe8+ Kb4 49.Qb8+ Kc3 50.Kg2 a2 51.d5 Using a little tactic to prevent queening and putting black under a little pressure
Percivaldi-Thybo Danish League 2021-2 Position after 51.d5 Black to move
51…Qb2? A poor move deactivating the queen allowing white an amazing draw which he misses, the obvious 51…Qe4+ 52.Kh3 Qxd5 eliminating white’s counterplay, followed by putting the king behind white’s pawns wins easily, 51…Qd1! also wins watching White’s d-pawn and preparing to promote, after 52.Qe5+ Kc2 53.Qe4+ Kb3 54.d6 a1=Q wins as does 54…Qxd6
White missed a clever draw and black won after a slugfest in a four queen ending. Buy the book to see this entertainment.
Chapter 2: Tools in Queen Endings
This is an excellent toolbox chapter that covers the follows topics:
The Queen Triangulates
Cutting Off the King
Batteries and Discovered Checks
Pinning Down a Piece
Exploiting the Opponent’s Harmful Pawn
Zugzwangs
These ideas are absolutely key themes in queen endings. This section is definitely worthy of examination.
The reviewer will show examples from many of the themes in turn:
The Queen Triangulates
The author explains the concept concisely:
“In queen endings, there are more zugzwangs than most players would assume. We shall see many examples where the attacker’s king manoeuvres to give up the right to move – a familiar theme from pawn endings, but more surprising with queens on the board. But the queen itself can also lose a tempo by a form of triangulation. It usually happens when the defender’s king is in danger.”
Here is another Rusz study showing this idea:
Rusz 2022 Queen Triangulation White to play and win
This positions look ok for black as he has White’s passed pawn under control. 1.Qg5+ Ke8 2.Qc5! 2…a3! 3.Qe3+! Kd8 4.Qg5+ Ke8 5.Qc5! completing the first triangulation
Rusz 2022 Queen Triangulation Position after 5.Qc5 Black to play
Rusz 2022 Queen Triangulation Position after 14.Qc5 Black to play
14…Qc8+ (14…Kd8 15.Qf8# ends the suffering) 15.Ka7 Qc7+ 16.Ka6 wins black’s pawns and the game
Cutting Off the King
This principle can be used by the stronger side or the weaker side to prevent the opposing king getting to a desirable area. For example, the stronger side can use this technique in Q+P v Q to cut off the defender’s king from a drawing zone. The example below shows the defending side successfully using this theme in an over the board game:
Lupulescu – Sarakauskas After move 46.Qxg5 Black to play
White has just taken the pawn on g5, black can now draw with an accurate sequence of checks: 46…Qb1+ 47.Kh2 Qb8+ 48.Kg1 Qb1+ 49.Kh2 Qb8+ 50.Kg1 Qb1+ 51.Kf2 Qc2+ 52.Kf3
Lupulescu – Sarakauskas After move 52.Kf3 Black to play
Black must choose the right check here to draw: 52…Qd1+! (the sloppy 52…Qd3+ 53.Kg4! allows white to approach the h-pawn and win the game) 53.Ke4 Qa4+! not allowing the king to cross the fifth rank 54.Ke3 Qb3+ 55.Kd2 Qb2+ 56.Ke1 Qb1+ 57.Ke2 Qe4+ 58.Qe3 Qxg2+ Black has regained his pawn and drew comfortably
In this famous ending, Black is winning with an extra pawn and centralised queen. He played 62..f5? mobilising the pawn majority
Pillsbury – Burn Vienna 1898 Position after 62.Qe2 Black to move
Better was 62…Kd6! activating the king trying to cross over to white’s queenside pawns: white cannot defend against the twin threats of the king invasion and the advance of the kingside pawn majority. After 62…f5? white took the opportunity to make Black’s life very difficult 63.Qb5! cutting the king off from white’s queenside. White missed a probable difficult draw and black eventually won.
Batteries and Discovered Checks
From the author: “Powerful ideas in queen endings include forcing an exchange of queens and launching an attack on the enemy king. Usually the queen harasses the enemy ling by giving checks, but sometimes setting up a battery is stronger than the immediate check. Players often miss such an opportunity, or the potential to play for it. The attacker typically uses a battery to attack the opponent’s king or to win a tempo and stop the opponent’s queen from continuously checking by stepping out the check with a cross check.”
This practical example is instructive:
Ni Hua – Berkes Taiyuan 2006 Position after 56…Kh6 White to move
White played 57.Qxd5 winning a pawn, 57… Qe3+ (black can also draw with the flashy 57…Qf6+ or 57…Qg4+ or 57…Qa4+) 58.Kf6 Qf2+ (58…Qf3!+ draws easily, 59.Qxf3 is stalemate, and 59.Kf6 Qc3+ draws) 59. Qf5 Qh4+ 60.Ke6 Qc4+ 61. Qd5 This position is getting difficult for black, but there are still six drawing moves, Black choose a terrible check 61…Qa6??+ 62.Qd6! setting up a deadly battery 62…Qe2+ 63.Kd5+1-0 as white exchanges queens
Ni Hua – Berkes Taiyuan 2006 Position after 61.Qd5 Black to move
Pinning Down a Piece
Portisch – Morovic Dubai Olympiad 1986 Position after 103…Qe6 White to move
White played 104.Kc2? and lost . Portisch missed a brilliant move here 104.Qd4!! which amazingly draws, after 104…b3 105.Qd3! attacks the pawn and paralyses the Black queen.
Exploiting the Opponent’s Harmful Pawn
There are many example in the ending Q+P v Q+P where the defending side (player with the pawn that’s least advanced) loses because the extra pawn is harmful blocking defender’s queen checks and/or providing shelter to the stronger side’s king. An example is given below:
Boleslavsky – Taimanov Zurich Candidates 1953 Position after 42…c1Q White to move
White played 43.Qb8+ which wins but Boleslavsky messed up later on. In some ways 43.h4 is simpler. A possible line is 43.h4 Qc2+ 44. Qg6 Qxa4 45.h5 Qxa2 reaching this position:
Boleslavsky – Taimanov Zurich Candidates 1953 Variation position after 45…Qxa2 White to move
Without Black’s b-pawn this is a tablebase draw but not easy in practice. With the b-pawn, Black is losing after 46.Kg7!! The pawn blocks the g1-a7 diagonal.
The next huge section of the book is all about Technical Endgames.
Chapter 3: Queen and Pawn vs Queen
This is in some ways the core of the book with 65 pages devoted to this basic ending. But it is anything but basic!
Each pawn is covered in turn starting with the rook’s pawn working towards the centre pawn. Within each pawn’s section, positions are covered from the second rank to the seventh rank. It is certainly a systematic approach.
It is clear that the least favourable pawn is the rook’s pawn, followed by the knight’s pawn. It may surprise some readers to know that the bishop’s pawn is the most favourable.
Rook’s Pawn
These are the authors’ conclusions:
“The closer the pawn get to promotion, the harder it becomes to hold.
In the case of a white a7-pawn:
Black’s safest option is to get really close to the pawn, at least to the d-file.
The h1-corner is a draw for black’s king, but in practice the defence will require a lot of concentration.
The a1-corner is the second least difficult location for the defender’s king.
In case the black king gets trapped in the h8-corner, there is only one mutual zugzwang position that might save the defender.”
The reviewer will show a few positions:
Honfi – Toth Budapest Ch 1966 Position after 89…Qd1+ White to play
This position is a tablebase draw particularly as black’s king is fairly close to the h1 corner.
White played 90.Kb4 The author adds a didactic comment: “Ever since the famous Minev -Botvinnik game in 1954, we know the player with the extra pawn should look to put his king on the same or neighbouring file or rank as the opponent’s king. This creates chances for a cross check or to set up a battery.”
The game continued for another 61 moves until this position was reached:
Honfi – Toth Budapest Ch 1966 Position after 151.Kc7 Black to play
Black’s king is not ideally placed, but he can draw with the correct check. Black played 151…Qe7+? (151…Qf7+ draws as 152.Kc8 is met by 152…Qf5+ drawing, Gelfand has made an observation, if in doubt check on the opposite colour square to your king, obviously this not a hard and fast rule) 152.Kc8! Black has run out of checks because of the king on h4. White now plays superbly to bring home the full point fully exploiting the badly placed black king 152…Qe4 153.Qc5!
Honfi – Toth Budapest Ch 1966 Position after 153.Qc5
153…Qe6+ 154.Kc7 Qf7+ 155.Kb6 Qb3+ 156.Ka5!
Honfi – Toth Budapest Ch 1966 Position after 156.Ka5
A standard winning technique in Q+P v Q The author comments thus: “White approaches the rank of Black’s king. Now 156…Qa2+ would be the last check, as it is met by 157.Kb5. from this point, the win is easy, as White can promote after some checks.”
156…Qf3 157.Qc4+ Kh5 158.Kb6 Qf6+ 159.Qc6 Qd8+ 160.Kb7 Qe7+ 161.Ka6 Qa3+ 162.Kb6 exploiting black’s king position again, there are no more checks, so 1-0
Honfi – Toth Budapest Ch 1966 Position after 162.Kb6
The reviewer adds an observation: when the black king is in or near the h1-corner, it is much harder for White to manoeuvre his king to an adjoining rank/file and keep his pieces coordinated as well as the pawn safe.
Gligoric – Timman Bugojno 1980 Position after 60…g1Q White to play
This is a tablebase draw as white’s king is close to the best corner (a8) but an experienced top GM still lost this position thirty moves later. This shows how hard it is in practice. The book has some excellent coverage of this endgame viz:
Gligoric – Timman Bugojno 1980 Position after 84…Kc3 White to move
This position is still a draw.
“White should also wait with 85.Ke5, or he could move closer to the corner with 85.Kf7 or 85.Kf6”
White played the obvious centralising check 85.Qe5+? which loses, black replied with the 85…Kc2? (85…Kd2! wins: the analysis is worth looking at just to see the process as Black uses triangulation and White’s poorly placed king to escape the checks, get the book to find out)
Gligoric – Timman Bugojno 1980 Position after 85…Kc2 White to play
In this position White can draw. Over to the authors: “86.Qf4!! is the right move. But why? If it Black’s turn to move in the diagram, Qf3 would cut off the white king and win. The queen on f4 stops that. If 86…Kd1 87.Kf7!= (87.Kf6 also draws) 87…Qe2 88.Qd4+ only move 88…Kc2 89.Qa4+ holds or 89.Qc5+ or 89.Qf4! h2 90.Qa4+ draws”
This subtle, underlying battle of the cut off is amazing. The game continued with 86.Qh2+? Kd1! Once again the king approaches the neighbouring file of the enemy king 87.Qh1+ Kd2 88.Kf6 (the authors note that if white’s king could move to the c-file he would draw, the win after 88.Ke7 is very instructive as black triangulates again, get the book to find out how)
Gligoric – Timman Bugojno 1980 Position after 88.Kf6 Black to move
Timman misses a fairly simple idea to win quickly here 88…Qg3! He played 88…Qe3? This throws away all the hard work. White can draw with 89.Qh2+ and then run with the king towards the h8 corner. White blundered with 89.Kf5? A fatigue blunder allowing 89…Qf2+ 90.Ke5 Qe1+ exchanging queens 0-1
Knight’s Pawn
This is the authors’ observations:
“This situation occurs more often in practice than Q+P v Q with other pawns. This type of pawn has some unique features. for example, the attacker’s king has more scope for hiding near the pawn then it does behind a rook’s pawn, but less room compared to a bishop’s pawn. There is a drawing zone that often exists for the defender’s king in the far corner from the promotion square.”
The reviewer adds the proviso: but even this depends on the exact position of the queens of course.
Lenart position after 19…Qxh3
This is position from an unknown composer/player. Surprisingly White wins here even with the black king so close. White plays 20.Qc6! which is a standard cut off move. The winning process here takes 75 moves with perfect defence. There are some mind boggling triangulations with white’s king to wrong foot the black queen. Buy the book to find out how.
Here is a position with a knight’s pawn on the fifth rank.
Zurakhov – Boleslavsky Riga 1955 Position after 73…e1Q White to play
White wins here with the brilliant 74.Qf8+ Kg4 75.Qa3!! cutting black’s king off from the drawing zone. Zurakhov played 74.Qc8? throwing away the win but he won anyway on move 119.
Once the knight’s pawn reaches the seventh rank, the defender’s king has to stay in the opposite corner. This is the type of position the attacking side should aim for:
Cheron 1968 Black to play loses
Apparently with a g-pawn on g7, the d4 is vitally important for the stronger side’s queen.
Bishop’s Pawn
There is no drawing zone for the defender’s king (unless of course the king can get in front of the pawn).
Velimirovic – Uhlmann Arandjelovac Zonal play-off 1976 Position after 55.Kxa6
This is a technical win for Black: 55…Qg4! is an excellent cut-off preparing to activate the king. Uhlmann played this ending well not letting the win slip at any point. This ending is worth close study.
Centre Pawn
Jevtic – Vujacic (analysis) Belgrade 2008
1.Qxf7+ Ke3! the only winning move.
If white’s king was on h1, he would draw as his king would be in the small drawing zone on the short side of the pawn. 2.Qg8 Qd5+ (a series of queen checks to force white’s king to the unfavourable long side of the pawn) 3. Kc1 Qh1+ 4.Kb2 Qe4!
Jevtic – Vujacic (analysis) Belgrade 2008 Position after 4…Qe4 White to move
5. Qg1+ Ke2 6.Qh2+ Kc3 7.Qg3+ Qe3! 8.Qg6+ Kd2 9.Qc2 Ke1 10.Qb1+ Kf2 stopping the checks, notice how white’s own king impedes his own queen 11.Qh7 e5
Jevtic – Vujacic (analysis) Belgrade 2008 Position after 11…e5 White to move
Nunn comments: “The general theory of queen and pawn against queen tells us that this position is probably winning, because with the centre pawn there is no drawing zone for the white king in a remote corner, and if the defender’s king cannot move in front of the pawn then his chances are grim.”
Chapter 4: All the Pawns on the Same Side
This is a systematic analysis of all the different pawn configurations and is a really technical. For mortals like me, this will take many months to take in, but is nonetheless really interesting.
One surprising conclusion is that a two pawn advantage Q and rook’s pawn + knight’s pawn [gh-0] v Q is drawn in many positions if the defender’s queen and king are actively placed.
Here is a practical example:
Atanasov – Spiridonov Ruse 1978 Position after 68…Kg8 White to move
How should White capture the Black pawn? On general principles, it looks better to capture with the queen retaining two connected passed pawns. Here both captures win, but generally Q+f+h pawns v Q is a win unless there is an immediate perpetual. Q+g+h pawns v Q is drawn in many cases. After 69.Qxf4?! Qc5+ 70.Kg4? White has thrown the win away:
Atanasov – Spiridonov Ruse 1978 Position after 70.Kg4
Black played 70…Qc8+ which draws as does 70…Qa7, 70…Qc3, 70…Qc6
The game was drawn after both sides made mistakes. Instead of 70.Kg4?, 70.Kg6! wins.
This ending is truly complex and worthy of study. Buy the book to find out more.
Chapter 5: Extra Outside Passed Pawn This is divided into four natural subsections:
Passed Rook’s Pawn
Passed Knight’s Pawn
Passed Bishop’s Pawn
Passed Centre Pawn
The author concentrates on the passed rook’s pawn:
“Firstly, they occur more often than other passed pawns, as is also the case in rook endings. Secondly, the defender has much better drawing chances compared to positions with a c-pawn for example, because the stronger side’s king can’t find shelter around the rook’s pawn. If the attacker’s queen is busy defending the king from checks, there is little capacity left to help the rook’s pawn advance. On the opposite wing from the passed rook’s pawn, exchange of pawns tend to favour the defending side for several reasons:
1) They increase the chance of perpetual check.
2) Less frequently, it may even be possible to simplify to a queen and pawn versus queen endgame by exchanging off all the kingside pawns.”
Here is an excellent demonstration by the strongest player in the world:
Carlsen – Vachier-Lagrave Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden 2019 Position after 32…Kg7 White to play
Carlsen played the neat 33.Bd5! (33.Qb2+ Kg8 34.a3 Qd3 black is very active and white cannot make progress) 33…Bxd5 34. Qe5+ f6? A serious mistake from a top player as it weakens the king’s shelter. Chapter 8 gives lots of advice and examples about shelters. Much better was 34…Kg8 35.Qxd5 Qa3 36.Qb3 Qc1+ 37.Kg2 h5 38.gxh5 Qg5+ 39.Kh2 Qxh5 and black can hold. 35.Qxd5 h5 (Trying to weaken White’s kingside) 36.gxh5 gxh5 37.Qd7+ Kg6 38.a4
Carlsen – Vachier-Lagrave Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden 2019 Position after 38.a4 Black to play
Although both Kings’ shelters have been partially wrecked, Black’s exposed king is more significant as the game continuation shows. 38…Qe2 39.Qd5! Centralisation 39…f5 Black is trying to block in the White king, but this move exposes his own king even more 40.a5 f4 41.Kg2! Kh6 42.Qf5
Carlsen – Vachier-Lagrave Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden 2019 Position after 42.Qf5 Black to play
42…Qc4 43.Kf3 winning another pawn, so 1-0
Notice how Black’s pawn advances brought down his downfall.
The last four chapters are in a section of the book on Practical and Strategic Queen Endgames
Chapter 6: The Pawn
The following ideas are discussed:
Breakthrough
Promoting With Check
Reducing the Number of Pawns in Order to Hold the Draw
Pushing a Pawn to Force an Exchange of Queens
Connected Passed Pawns
Gaining Space
Races
Races when Both Sides Have Only One Pawn
Quality vs Quantity
Doubled Pawns
An example from the Quality vs Quantity subsection is given below.
The author states “It’s a well-known and common saying that in queen endgames, ‘it’s not the number of pawns that counts, but their quantity!’ In other types of endgames, the principle of strength in numbers map apply more often, but less so in queen endings.”
This ending has been quoted often:
Stahlberg – Euwe Stockholm Olympiad 1937 Position after 41.Kh2 Black to play
Euwe played the natural centralising move 41…Qd4? which is multi functional, but surprisingly throws away the win. The h4-pawn is not important here. There is a win with a very subtle move 41…Qd6!!+ which looks like a superfluous check, but forces white to weaken his position.
Stahlberg – Euwe Stockholm Olympiad 1937 Position after 41…Qd6+ White to play
White now has an invidious choice on how to spoil his position, g3 weakens the king’s shelter and both king moves have their disadvantages. Let’s look at each alternative.
a) 42. g3? Qd4! Now this move gains in strength as white would like to take the f2 pawn exposing White’s king fatally 43.Qb5 Qxf2+ 44.Kh3
Stahlberg – Euwe Stockholm Olympiad 1937 Variation A Position after 44.Kh3 Black to play
Black has two different wins here 44…Qf3! (44…Qf5+ also wins) 45.Kh2 (45.Qxb4? Qh1+ 46.Kg4 Qf1! forcing mate or win of queen) 45…b3 46.a5 Qf2+ 47.Kh3 Qg1! winning
Stahlberg – Euwe Stockholm Olympiad 1937 Variation A Position after 47…Qg1 White to play
48.Qxb3 Qh1+ 49.Kg4 f5+ 50.Kf4 Qe4#
b) 42.Kh3 b3 43.Qb5 (43.Qc3 Qd7+ exploits White’s wins exposed king, winning the a-pawn) Qa3!! This is unconventional move, putting the queen on the side, but it exploits the exposed White king: the threat of a discovered check is fatal for white.
Stahlberg – Euwe Stockholm Olympiad 1937 Variation B Position after 43…Qa3 White to play
If 44.Qb7 a2+ 45.Kh2 Qa2 wins
If 44.a5 b2+ 45. g3 Qa2 wins as well as 45…Qf3
If 44.h5 b2+ 45.f3 g5 46.Qf5+ Kg7 47.Qe5+ Kg8 48.Qb8+ Kh7 49.Qb7 Qa2 wins
c) 42.Kg1 b3 43.Qb5 Qa3 44.Qc4! b2!!
Stahlberg – Euwe Stockholm Olympiad 1937 Variation C Position after 44…b2 White to play
Black gives up three pawns to get his king out of the checks. This is a brilliant example of quality over quantity. 45. Qxf7+ Kh8 46.Qf6+ Kg8 47.Qxg6+ Kf8 48.Qxh6+ Ke7 49.Qg7+ Ke6 50.Qg8+ Kd5 51.Qg7+ Kd5 52.Qf7+ Kg4 53.Qg7+ Kc4 54.Qf7+ Kc3 55.Qf3+! Kb4 56.Qb7+ Kxa4 57.Qa6+ Kb3 58.Qe6+ Kc2
Stahlberg – Euwe Stockholm Olympiad 1937 Variation C Position after 58…Kc2 White to play
Now after the obvious 59.Qe2+ black plays 59…Kb1!!
The author explains why this wins: “Although Black is two pawns down and apparently has no shelter, he can win. The white king has to give up the back rank due to threats of crosschecks, after which the black king can find shelter on f1! For this reason, sacrificing the f2-pawn is inevitable. Then, in marvellous variations, White, can be forced into zugzwang where he either loses his h-pawn or is force to play Kh3, which means that the black king can find a shelter on g1, which decides the battle.”
Back to the game continuation, after 41…Qd4? 42.Kg3? White defends a pawn with little value and exposes his king fatally. 42.Qb5! draws easily viz: 42…Qxh4+ 43.Kg1 Qe4 44.a5 Qb1+ 45.Kh2 b3 46.Qb7 Kg7 47.a6 Qa2 48.a7 b2= The best Black can achieve here is Q+3 v Q+2 all on one side which is a draw.
Stahlberg – Euwe Stockholm Olympiad 1937 Missed draw in game Position after 48…b2 White to play
After 42.Kg3? this is the position:
Stahlberg – Euwe Stockholm Olympiad 1937 After fatal mistake 42.Kg3 Black to play
Black exploited the exposed white king as follows: 42…b3 43.Qb5 b2 44.Qb3 Kg7! winning 45.f4 (Other moves lose as well, for example 45.a5 Qe5+ 46.Kf3 Qf5+) 45… Qd2 0-1
A really instructive game.
Chapter 7: The Queen
The following ideas are discussed:
Exchanging Queens
Zwischenzugs
Passive and Active Queens
Neutralizing Queens
The Queen has Multiple Tasks
Restraining an Enemy Passed Pawn from Behind
Superfluous Checks
The reviewer will show an example on the topic of superfluous checks. The author explains: “In many positions there is no clear plan to implement, and in this case having the move in an over-the-board game creates tension. Rather than finding something constructive to do, or at least find a move that doesn’t compromise their position, players often insert an exchange or a pointless check. Either can harm their position.”
Miron – Lupulescu Romanian Team Ch Sovata 2018 Position after 36…Qf6 White to play
This position is objectively equal, although Black’s position looks slightly superior as his pawn majority has been mobilised. White’s pieces are well placed. 37.b4 is equal, but simpler is probably 37.exf5 Qxf5+ 38.Ke2 Qc2+ 39.Qd2 Qe4+ 40.Qe3 is equal, Black has no realistic winning chances.
White played 37.Ke2?! So Black responded with the obvious 37..f4 gaining space and creating a passed pawn 38.Qa7+? The superfluous check that loses. The author quotes John Nunn here: “Nunn pinpoints the basic truth that many people think they must keep giving checks in queen endings. this is one of the most common conceptual mistakes.” 38.Qd3! holds 38…Kg6 39.b4! getting the queen side pawns going draws 38…Kh6
Miron – Lupulescu Romanian Team Ch Sovata 2018 Position after 38…Kh6 White to play
After two poor strategic moves, White is totally lost. After 39.Qd7? (39.Qf2 is more resilient but still loses after 39…Kg5) 39…fxg3! won easily as Black’s king can shelter near his passed pawn.
Chapter 8: The King
These topics are covered:
Attacking The King
Stalemate
Avoiding Stalemate
Perpetual Check
Shelters
The section on Shelters is really important and is broken down into 9 further sub-sections:
The Importance of a Good Shelter
Weakening Our Own Shelter
Failing To Reach a Shelter
Invading and Destroying Shelters
Unusual Shelters
Leaving The Shelter to Support Pawns on the Other Wing
Leaving the Shelter to Exchange Queens
Leaving The Shelter to Win a Pawn
Breaking Open The Shelter with Pawn Sacrifices
Here is an example from the Weakening Our Own Shelter section.
Tal – Tseshkovsky Riga 1981 Position after 39…Qg4 White to play
The great Tal made a serious mistake here in a winning queen endgame 40.f3? Voluntarily weakening his king’s shelter: a poor move from a great player. 40.Qd5 centralising the queen wins easily 40…Qc8 41.Qd2 b5 42.Qb4 wins or 40…b5 41.a4 wins 40…Qd7 41.Qd5 Qc7 42.Qd2 b5 43.a3 (43.a4 bxa4 44.bxa4 Qc4 45.a5 Kg6 holding) Qc5 44.Qa2 Qc1 draw agreed
Chapter 9 Complex Queen Endgames rounds off the book with the study of some intricate endings.
This is a great book and is thoroughly recommended. Be prepared to put in some hard work.
FM Richard Webb, Chineham, Hampshire, 17th June 2024
The Art of the Endgame
My Journeys in the Magical World of Endgame Studies
Revised Edition – with 14 New Studies
by Jan Timman
From the publisher, New in Chess:
“All through his career Jan Timman has been captivated by the mystery and splendour of endgame studies. Even during his most successful and busy years as a world-class player, Timman continued to compose studies and admire those of others. For him, there has never been any doubt that his journeys in this magical world helped him to grow as a player.
In this fascinating book, first published in 2011, Timman has collected studies by other composers and explains in his lucid style how they inspired him to create dozens of brand-new studies.
Timman has revised the book for this new edition. With the help of engines, Timman discovered that a few studies needed to be corrected or had alternative solutions. He removed six studies and replaced another six with better versions. And fourteen new studies have been added, two of which are published here for the first time.”
About the Author, Jan Timman:
“Jan Timman is a former world championship candidate who rose to number two on the FIDE world rankings. He is the author of several highly acclaimed bestsellers, such as Timman’s Titans and Max Euwe’s Best Games. He was awarded the title of FIDE Master of Composition in 2022.”
GM Jan Timman
This book is a gem and I do remember perusing the first edition at a bookstall a while back, now I have a copy of the second edition.
There is no doubt that familiarity with ideas from endgame studies improves a player’s overall chess ability and imagination.
The reviewer was introduced to endgame studies at a tournament in London when he was junior: I was having lunch in the analysis room, when an older gentlemen showed some Harold Lommer studies involving knight promotions which got me hooked. The acquisition of Test Tube Chess by John Roycroft soon followed.
Jan Timman’s book has a variety of positions some of which are really “game like” whilst others are artistic beauties involving for example multiple promotions.
The book is divided into fourteen themed chapters viz:
Chapter 1: Miniature studies
Chapter 2: Rook versus bishop
Chapter 3: Preventing pawn promotion
Chapter 4: Various promotion combinations
Chapter 5: Knight promotions
Chapter 6: Bishop promotions
Chapter 7: Mating patterns
Chapter 8: Stalemate patterns
Chapter 9: Mutual zugzwang
Chapter 10: Building a fortress
Chapter 11: Systematic manoeuvres
Chapter 12: The disappearing trick
Chapter 13: Three themes
Chapter 14: Various endgame studies
The reviewer will show a variety of positions from various subsections.
Chapter 1: Miniature studies
These are positions with no more than seven pieces. This one is particularly beautiful with a mutual zugzwang.
Position 1
Liburkin, ’64’ 1933 White to play and win
White is a pawn up with black’s king close to the passed pawn, so white needs something special here. 1.Kd1 pins the knight forcing 1…Kf5 2.Ke2 threatening to win the knight. Black bishop’s impedes his king, so he goes after the h-pawn with 2…Bf6 3.Kf3 Bxh4
Liburkin 1934 After 3…Bxh4
If white takes the bishop 4.Nxh4+ Kg5 attacking the knight saves black. So 4.Bxe4+ Kg5 5.Bd5!Kh5 6.Bf7+ Kg5 7.Be8
Liburkin 1934 After 7.Be8
Black is zugzwang and loses the bishop and the game. Note this is a position of mutual zugzwang as white has no good waiting move and cannot win with the move! Very pretty.
Chapter 2: Rook versus bishop
This is the most practical chapter with studies in the complex endgame of R+P v B+P.
Position 18
Reshevsky-Fischer, Los Angeles match (11) Position after 52…Ra2+
This is a celebrated position where Reshevsky played 53.Kf3? with Fischer missing a clear win by exchanging rooks and occupying g4 with his king. Instead Fischer kept the rooks on. White draws with 53.Kh3!
This study was created to show this:
Position 19
Study based on Reshevsky-Fischer game White to play and draw
1.Kg2! Kf5 2.Kh3 Rc4 3.Be7! the only move 3…Rc1 4.Bf8! (The bishop hides itself to prevent a rook check followed by attacking the bishop to allow black to get in Kg4) 4…Rb1 5. Bg7 or 5.Bh6 draws
Chapter 3: Preventing pawn promotion
This is a famous promotion combination from a game which resembles the elegance of a study:
Position 44
Ortueta-Sanz Madrid 1933 Position after 30.h3
Black played 30…Rd2 31.Na4 (31.a4 was better) 31…Rxb2! 32.Nxb2 c3 33.Rxb6 c4!! 34.Rb4 a5!! winning
Ortueta-Sanz Madrid 1933 Position after 34…a5
White cannot prevent the coronation of a new queen.
The great composer, Pogosyants composed a study with a very similar theme:
Position 46
Pogosyants, ‘Themes-64’ 1977 White to play and win
The solution is 1.Bg3 dxc4 2.Rxg7! Nxg7 3.f6 Rxg3 4.f5!! Rg5 5.f4! Nxf5 6.f7 wins
Chapter 4: Various promotion combinations
Position 69
Wotawa Schach Magazin 1951 White to play and win
A game like position. 1.d6 Be5 2.Bb8 threatening d7 winning the bishop, so 2…Bf6 3.d7 Bd8 apparently saving the bishop, but 4.Bg3! a4 5.Bh4! Bxh4 6.g4+ and wins
Chapter 5: Knight promotions
Here is a superb Harold Lommer study with multiple promotions:
Position 96
Lommer, ‘Feuille d’Avis de Lausanne’ 1933 White to play and win
White is threatened with a brutal discovered mate by the black monarch. So 1.d8N Bd5 2.g8B!! (2.g8Q allows black a brilliant defence 2…Ke3+ 3.Qxd5 stalemate!) 2… Be4 3.e8R!! (3.e8Q allows another fantastic defence 3…Kg3+ 4.Qxe4 stalemate!) and wins
A brilliant study has with stunning counterplay.
Position 97 shows a famous Lommer involving 5 knight promotions, but unfortunately after the fourth promotion, there is alternative prosaic win promoting to a queen.
Chapter 6: Bishop promotions
Position 112
Rusinek ‘New Statesman’ 1971 White to play and draw
White has an army of far advanced pawns against 3 minor pieces and a well placed black king.
If black plays 4…Ndxf6 5.Kb8 gets the king out of the mating trap, so 4…Nexf6 5.a8B!! (5.a8=Q? Nd5 followed by Ne7#)
Rusinek 1971 after 5.a8B
White is attempting a self stalemate, so black must release this and rearrange his pieces. 5…Ne5 (5…Bf1 6.b8N! draws) 6.Kb8 Nc6+ 7.Kc8 Bf1 threatening Bh3# 8.b8R!! (8.b8Q? Ba6+ 9.Qb7 Ne4 10.Qxa6 Nd6#, or 8.b8N? Ne7+ 9.Kb7 Bg2+ 10.Ka7 Nc8+ wins the bishop on a8 and the game)
Rusinek 1971 after 8.b8R
8…Ba6+ 9.Rb7! with a draw
Scintillating promotion play.
Position 124
This is a creation of genius and very amusing.
Troitzky, Korolkov 1938-1939 White to play and win
The great Troitzky is involved here. Black threatens a brutal Ng3 mate. 1.Qc3!! (Threatening the key g7 pawn, 1.Qa3? is met by f1N reinforcing the threat on g3 winning for black) 1…Nxc3 2.d8B!! (Not 2.d8Q? Nde4 3.Qxc7 f1N 4.Bf4 Ne2 followed by sacrificing all the knights ending with Qxg3 stalemate) 2…Ne2 3.Bxc7 f1N 4.b8B!! (4.b8Q allows black to sacrifice all the knights on g3 ending with Qg3 stalemate) 4…Ne4 5.B1f4 winning as the three white bishops control the three knights.
Troitzky, Korolkov 1938-1939 Position after 5.B1f4
Who says there is no humour in chess?
Chapter 7: Mating patterns
Here is an elegant study by the author, Jan Timman:
Position 163
Timman 2010 White to play and win
1.h5 preventing Bxa2 as Rd7+ would win easily 1…Kh6 2.Rd8! Bxa2 3.Rh8! Bg8! great counterplay
Timman 2010 Position after 3…Bg8
4.Kc3 a2 5.Kb2 a3+ 6.Ka1 Kg7 7.h6+
Timman 2010 Position after 7.h6+
7…Kxh8 8.g7 mate
Chapter 8: Stalemate patterns
Position 167
Rusinek 1973 White to play and draw
Stalemate looks unlikely here. 1.b6 must be played as white is two pieces down 1…Rf5 2.b7! Rf7+ 3.Kd6 Nc4+ 4.Ke6 Bxb7 5.Rh3+ Kg7 6.Rf3+ Kf8
Rusinek 1973 position after 6…Kf8
7.Rg8+! Kxg8 stalemate!
Chapter 9: Mutual Zugzwang
Position 189
Here is an entertaining position:
Kliatskin 1924 White to play and win
1.Rc8+ Kxc8 2.b7+ Kb8 3.d5 Kc7
Kliatskin 1924 Position after 3…Kc7
Now only 4.bxa8B! Kb8 5.Bb7 wins with a position of mutual zugzwang
Chapter 10: Building a fortress
Position 203
Smyslov 2005 White to play and draw
The elderly former World Champion, Smyslov, composed this amusing study in his eighties. 1.Nb8 Rd6 2.Nd7+! Rxd7 3.Rxg7! Kxg7 4.h4
Smyslov 2005 Position after 4.h4
After 4…Rd6 5.Kg2 Rg6+ 6.Kh3! black has to move the rook off the g-file to avoid stalemate, so white draws!
Chapter 11: Systematic manoeuvres
Kotov, Mitrofanov 1976 White to play and draw
The reviewer assumes this is the Mitrofanov of Qg5!! fame.
The disappearing trick is a kind of systematic manoeuvre whereby white plays to achieve a particular position without a certain white piece. This is demonstrated below with a neat study.
Position 260
Sochniev, Gurgenidze JT 2004 White to play and win
From the publisher, Gambit Publications “Understanding the endgame is fundamental to playing good chess, and at its heart lie positions where just kings and pawns remain on the board.
Even when a pawn ending is not actually reached, the players must often assess ones that could arise from an exchange of pieces. And an error calculating a pawn ending is normally fatal. Questions of pawn-structure, and thus decisions made early in the game, can be fully understood only when we appreciate how they impact the possible pawn endings.
This book takes a practical angle, so is the perfect complement to Secrets of Pawn Endings, which examines their theory in detail. Experienced trainer Bogdanov examines a wealth of pawn endings where strong players made significant errors, and draws lessons and rules of thumb from them.
While we are enjoying the entertaining material in this book, we are painlessly absorbing endgame principles and improving our intuitive decision-making skills. We learn how to calculate and identify key positional elements, and appreciate the beautiful tactics and paradoxical ideas that are unique to the world of pawns.
The Nunn Convention is used throughout the book, and all the material has been checked in detail with modern NNUE-based engines with access to seven-man tablebases.”
International Master Valentin Bogdanov has vast experience as a chess trainer, and is from Ukraine. His pupils include grandmasters Moskalenko, Savchenko and Drozdovsky, and he has acted as a second for the well-known grandmaster and theoretician Viacheslav Eingorn since the late 1970s.
For 50 years he has been a teacher at the chess school in Odesa (Ukraine), and in 2016 won the European Over-65 Championship. In the same year he also qualified as an International Arbiter and has since then officiated over a great many chess events in his country.
This is his fourth book for Gambit.
IM Valentin Bogdanov (UKR)
Before we start our review it is worth watching this video preview from John Nunn and Gambit Publications:
This is a excellent book that has an emphasis on practical king and pawn endgames. All the examples are taken from 1981 onwards which means that the reader will see novel positions rather than a rehash of old favourites. The other fresh approach is the structure of the ten chapters based on themes rather than the number of pawns. This book is not for beginners or very inexperienced club players as it assumes a basic knowledge of elementary pawn endgames. It is aimed at 1750+ chess enthusiasts but ambitious lower rated readers will benefit from some of the easier examples. The more difficult positions will tax GMs. This book would be ideal material for a coach for training purposes to give the students a toolkit of ideas.
The chapter structure is as follows:
Chapter 1: Obvious Errors Chapter 2: Breakthrough Chapter 3: Zugzwang Chapter 4: Opposition and Corresponding Squares Chapter 5:Spare Tempi Chapter 6: The Fight To Promote Chapter 7: Changing the Pawn-Structure Chapter 8: Calculation Chapter 9: Evaluating the Resulting Queen Endings Chapter 10: Positional Play
The reviewer will show examples distributed from all the chapters to give the reader a flavour of this instructional idyll.
Chapter 1: Obvious Errors
Position 21
Movsesian-Sadvakasov Calvia Olympiad 2004 White to play
White, Movsesian, a 2600+ GM played the dreadful blunder 59.Kc6? (throwing away a totally winning pawn endgame. 59.Kc5! wins as the threat is to play Kb4 which will preserve white’s remaining pawn as a b-pawn with the king in front and a reserve tempo move of b3, if 59…a3 60.bxa3! Ke7 61. Kc6 Kd8 62.Kb7! and the a-pawn promotes) 59…Ke6 60.Kb5 reaching this position:
Movsesian-Sadvakasov Calvia Olympiad 2004 Move 60 Black to play
Now, black drew with a common, but nevertheless neat idea: 60…a3! (transforming white’s pawn into a now useless a-pawn, as black’s king is just close enough to draw) 61.bxa3! Kd7! 62.Kb6 Kc8! reaching c8 with an elementary draw
Position 22
Forcen Esteban – Lagarde Internet rapid 2019 Move 83 Black to play
This position is simpler than the last one. Both players are rated well over 2500! Black is to play here and after the obvious 83..b3, it is crystal clear to a novice player that both sides are going to promote with a draw, even though white promotes first. If 83…Kb7 trying to impede the advance of the d-pawn, white can play 84.Kf6 making sure that the d-pawn does promote with a stone cold draw. Black played 83…Kb8? (Placing the king on the back rank presumably in the mistaken belief that he could stop the white pawn from promoting. 84.Kf6! b3 85.d7! followed by promoting with check, winning the game, thanks to black’s foolish Kb8 move!
Chapter 2: Breakthrough
This is a key topic in pawn endings and there are many beautiful examples. Sometimes, the threat of a breakthrough can limit the opponent’s king manoeuvres, thus winning the game indirectly. Once a player has seen some pretty examples of this theme, they are never forgotten.
Position 33
Nikolic-Lautier Reykjavik rapid 2004 White to play
White missed a chance for a standard breakthrough against black’s mangled pawns viz: 35.h5 Kd7 36.g5 reaching this key position:
Nikolic-Lautier Reykjavik rapid 2005 Move 36 Black to move
Now there are two main variations:
A) 36…Ke8 37.gxh6! Kf8 38.Kc2 Kg8 39.Kb3
Nikolic-Lautier Reykjavik rapid 2005 variation A
and white wins the race to get a new queen for example: 39… Kh7 (39…a5 40.a4 breaks through) 40.Kb4 Kxh6 41.Kc5 Kxh5 42.Kxd5 Kg4 43.Kc6 Kxf4 44.d5 wins easily
B) 36…fxg5 37.fxg5! Ke8 38.gxh6! Kf8 39.Ke3
Nikolic-Lautier Reykjavik rapid 2005 variation B
39…Kg8 40.Kf4 Kh7 41.Kg5 winning
Back to the original position: white played 35.Kc2? f5! 36.g5 h5! 37. Kb3 draw agreed
Position 36
Gashimov-Anastasian Dubai 2003 Move 53 White to play
White has an outside passed a-pawn and was probably dreaming of swapping his a-pawn for black’s c-pawn, leaving black to deal with an outside passed b-pawn, while white’s king mops up the king side pawns winning the game, hence his next move 53.Kc3?
A more alert white player would have spotted the danger of black’s advanced kingside pawns. It might look as though black can only create a passed e-pawn as his extra kingside pawn is on the e-file, but this an illusion: black can now breakthrough creating a pawn configuration that ties down the white king permanently, thus allowing black to win on the queenside. Once seen never forgotten! 53…e4! would have won threatening e3 or f3 winning, if 54.Kd2 f3! 55.gxf3 exf3 reaching a position similar to the game
53…Kd5? 54.a4? Pursing his faulty plan, 54.Kd2! would have drawn 54…e4! 55.Kd2 (55.gxf4 allows an immediate breakthrough 55…e3! 56.fxe3 h4! and the h-pawn queens) 55…f3! 56.gxf3 exf3! reaching this position:
Gashimov-Anastasian Dubai 2003 Move 56 White to play
White’s king is tied down and cannot cross to the c-file as this allows a decisive breakthrough of h4! Therefore black’s king can invade on the queenside with decisive gains viz: 57.Ke3 Kc5 58.Ke4 Kb4 59.Kd4 Kxa4 60.Kxc4 h4 61.b3+ Ka3 62.gxh4 g3! 63.Kd40-1
Position 38
Mamedyarov-Sokolov Hoogeveen 2006 White to play
White missed the elegant 59.f5! b3 60.Kc3! Kd5 61.e6 fxe6 62.f6 62…gxf6 63.h5! and the h-pawn queens.
White played 59.Kc4? and still won after black missed a draw.
Chapter 3: Zugzwang
Here is a subtle example, but nevertheless didactic:
Position 56
Grabarczyk – Rustemov Koszalin 1997 Black to play
This ending looks like an easy win for black with a extra passed pawn. But be careful! Black played the natural 52…Kg5? which throws away the win. This won’t become clear for a few moves. 52…Kg6! wins 53.f4+ exf3 54.Kxf3! h5 55.Kg3! reaching a position of mutual zugzwang:
Grabarczyk-Rustemov Mutual Zugzwang
If black had played 52…Kg6, white would be on move here and would be lost as 56.Kh3 or 56.Kf3 would be met by 56…h4 and any other king move would allow 56…Kg4 winning easily.
The game continued 55…h4+ 56.Kf3! Kh5 57.Kf4! Kh6 58.e4! h3 59.Kg3 drawn
Chapter 4: Opposition and Corresponding Squares
The introduction to this chapter is excellent explaining the concept of the opposition, the distant opposition, corresponding squares and triangulation.
Here is a simple example from a game between players rated in the 2400s:
Position 70
Heim – Helmers Reykjavik 1981 White to play
White played the “active” 55.Ke4? (55.Kf2! maintaining the distant opposition draws a textbook ending) 55…Ke6! winning the opposition 56. Kf3 Kd5 bypassing 57.Ke3 Ke5! 58.Kf3 Kd4 (another bypass) 59.Kf2 Kd3 60.Kf3 g4+ and white threw in the towel
Chapter 5: Spare Tempi
Position 105
Siugirov – Lupulescu Jerusalem 2015 Black to Play
The author’s explanation of black’s defensive plan here is pithy and pedagogical:
“Black’s defensive plan is to let White take the a7-pawn and then block the king in permanently in front of his own a-pawn. For this idea to work, Black needs a spare tempo on the kingside, as otherwise he will be forced to release the white king from its a-file prison. Immediately fixing the kingside pawns by 43…g5!? secures two such tempi and is the simplest path to a draw viz: 44.Kc6 Ke5 45.Kb7 Kd6! 46.Kxa7 Kc7! 47.h3 h6 48.a6 h5!”
Siugirov – Lupulescu Jerusalem 2016 Trapped king
White does not enough tempi to release his imprisoned king.
In practice Black played 43…Kd7 which retains the draw but mis-defended on the next move and lost.
Interestingly, I had a similar position in a game many decades ago with reversed flanks. I won the game and proudly showed the endgame to a friend, who promptly demonstrated a drawing plan for my opponent identical to this game.
Chapter 6: The Fight To Promote
Mchedlishvili – Jankovic Dubai 2009 White to move
White totally mis-assessed the resulting king and pawn endgame after the exchange of queens here. He probably thought that his connected passed pawns on the kingside were at least a match for black’s queenside majority.
What white missed was that black can create a passed a-pawn and a passed d-pawn (separated by two files) and these pawns can reach the fifth rank safely which means they are unstoppable.
White played the desperate 39.c4 dxc4+ (39…bxc4+ also wins) 40.Kc3 a3 41.h4 Kg6 42.g5 h5 43.Kd2 b4 44.Kc2 c3 white resigned
7: Changing the Pawn-Structure
This is one of the most complex chapters and the hardest to evaluate in practice.
The reviewer will show an excellent example to show a typical idea:
Position 153
Kasparov – Azmaiparashvili Geropotamos rapid 2003 Black to play
Black played the automatic 46…Kc6? White won with a well known technique exploiting the fact that his king is one move ahead in the race to the kingside 47.h4! f5 48.g3! Kc5 (48…Kc7 49.Ka7 Kc6 50.Kb8 wins) 49.Kb7! and black resigned because of this variation: 49…b5 50.axb5 Kxb5 51.Kc7 Kc4 52.Kd6 Kd3 53.Ke6 Ke3 54.Kf6 Kf3 55.Kxg6! Kxg3
Kasparov – Azmaiparashvili Geropotamos rapid 2004 possible continuation White to play
56.Kg5! winning
Going back to the original position:
Kasparov – Azmaiparashvili Geropotamos rapid 2003 Black to play
Instead of the passive 46…Kc6? black can actively rearrange the kingside pawn structure to draw as follows:
46…h4! 47.Ka7 f5 48.h3
Kasparov – Azmaiparashvili Geropotamos rapid 2004 variation in missed draw Black to play
Kasparov – Azmaiparashvili Geropotamos rapid 2004 variation in missed draw move 57 Black to play
Black draws here with 57…Ke4! 58.Kg5 Ke5! 59.Kxh4 Kf4! 60.g4 (60.g3 Ke3 draws) 60…Ke5! 61.g5 f4! 62.Kg4 Ke4! leads to a drawn Q + h-pawn v Q endgame
Kasparov – Azmaiparashvili Geropotamos rapid 2004 variation in missed draw move 62 White to play
Position 158
The reviewer loves this endgame.
Gelfand-Jobava (Move 50)
This king and pawn ending is clearly drawn but white is pressing with a more advanced king. White played 50.h4 setting a subtle trap. 50…h5? losing, incredible to believe but it is true. 50…Kd7 draws, for example 51.g4 f6+ 52.Kd5 e6+ 53.Kc5 h6 54. e5 fxe5 55.fxe5 Kc7 seizing the opposition and drawing 51.f5! f6+ 52.Ke6! gxf5
Gelfand-Jobava (Move 53)
Now white played 53. e5! which had been completed missed by black (automatic recapture syndrome) 53… fxe5 54.Kxe5! Kd7 55.Kxf5! Kd6 56.Kg5 Ke5 57.Kxh5! Kf4
Gelfand-Jobava (Move 57)
Now white can enter a winning queen endgame with 58.Kg6! e5 59.h5! e4 60.h6! e3 61.h7! e2! 62.h8Q e1Q
Gelfand – Jobava Dortmund 2006 Queen Ending White to play
This looks drawn as the white g-pawn is only on the second rank and the black king is close to it. However, white has a series of checks to exploit the poor position of the black pieces viz:
63. Qb8+ Kg4 64. Qc8+ Kf4 (64…Kg3 65.Qh3! is the same as the game) 65. Qf5+ Kg3 66.Qh3+ Ke5 67.g4!
Surprisingly this is a tablebase win even though the g-pawn is only on the fourth rank. Looking more closely at the position, black’s pieces are badly placed with the king interfering with the queen. If the black king was in the south west corner, he would draw.
Gelfand did win this game about 50 moves later after mistakes by both sides.
Chapter 8: Calculation
Clearly this is absolutely critical in king and pawn endings. Here is a relatively simple example:
Position 172
Ikonnikov – Liogky Paris 1998 Black to play
Black played the obvious exchange 47…hxg5? which loses trivially 48.hxg5! Kf1 49.Kf3! Kg1 50.Kg3 (50.g6 Kh2 51.Kg4! also wins) 50…Kg1 51.g6! Black resigned as white’s king travels to f7 and black’s cannot get to h6 in time.
Ikonnikov – Liogky Paris 1999 Final Position Black to play
Going back to the start:
Ikonnikov – Liogky Paris 1998
Black can draw with 47…h5! After 48.g6 viz:
Ikonnikov – Liogky Paris 1999 Drawing Line
As soon as white plays Kxh5, black will answer Kf4 stalemate! If white goes after the g-pawn, black draws by going after the h-pawn, for example 48…Kf1 49.Kf4 Kg2 50.Ke5 Kh3 51.Ke6 Kxh4 52.Kf7 Kg3 53.Kg7 h4 54.Kf6 h3 55.g7 h2 56.g8Q+ Kf2 drawing
Chapter 9: Evaluating the Resulting Queen Endings
The introduction to this chapter by the author is a superb summary of the intricacies of these transitions. The reviewer has already given an example from Chapter 7 (position 158), so I will leave the reader to buy the book to sample this chapter.
Chapter 10: Positional Play
Position 259
Radjabov – Ding Liren Internet rapid 2021 Black to play
This looks very difficult for black as not only does white have a potential outside passed pawn but also a better king. He played 52…Kc6? and lost. Buy the book to find out how black can draw or work it for yourself!
In summary, this is a really good book and close study will reap rewards. The book is very well laid out and is easy to read with lots of diagrams. Thoroughly recommended.
FM Richard Webb, Chineham, Hampshire, 30th May 2021
“It is amazing how much play you can create in a seemingly equal chess position – if you persevere. In this book, the greatest chess player of all time, Magnus Carlsen, and his friend, Grandmaster David Howell, explain how to win these kinds of chess games.
Carlsen and Howell show how you can keep a game alive, how you can keep posing problems to your opponent, how you can recognize the first small mistakes, and how you can grind your opponent down until he cracks.
New In Chess has converted this book from a popular Chessable video and MoveTrainer ® course with the help of Carlsen and Howell. The lively conversations of the two friends translate very well into a highly instructive chess manual. It is top-level chess, using grandmaster games as examples, but the insights are accessible to players of all levels.
Magnus Carlsen won the World Chess Championship in 2013 and gave up his title in 2023. He is regarded as the greatest player of all time and holds the #1 spot in the world ranking. He has read dozens of books published by New In Chess, but this is the first book with Carlsen as an author. Carlsen (1990) lives in Oslo, Norway.
David Howell is an elite chess Grandmaster with a 2700+ peak rating and an individual gold medal winner at the Olympiad. He is a well-known and popular commentator on live chess streams. Howell (1990) is two weeks older than Carlsen, was born in Eastbourne, United Kingdom, and lives in Oslo, Norway.”
David Howell, London Chess Classic, 2013, courtesy of John Upham Photography. For more about David Howell see here
This book is essentially a transcript of a Chessable course which you can find here. If you prefer book learning, or you just like the idea of having something written by Magnus Carlsen on your bookshelf you’ll be interested in this title.
David has written a two page preface:
A quick swashbuckling attack full of sacrifices may appeal to some, but a long endgame grind can lead to the same result. Arguably, while one approach is more spectacular and may ensure that games end quicker, the other approach comes with less risk attached.
Magnus provides a shorter preface:
Nothing quite compares to the thrill of pressing a minute advantage and converting it into victory. The excitement of outmanoeuvring and outlasting your opponent. The realisation that – although your first punch may not have landed – there is no need to despair. Try, try and try again. You will very often succeed.
Which are you? A hacker or a grinder? A sprinter or a marathon runner? To become a strong player, of course, you have to master both styles of play, but many will have a preference for either hacking or grinding.
Grinders require qualities such as patience and stamina as well as an outstanding knowledge of both technical and practical endings. If you’d like to become a better grinder, or even if you’d like to be better at defending against grinders, this course is for you.
It’s standard practice these days to have two commentators working together in live broadcasts, sharing ideas, asking each other questions. It’s something that usually works very well, making the broadcast more interactive, more friendly, more accessible, and, for me at least, it’s also effective in book form.
There could be no one better to demonstrate by example how to become a grinder than Magnus Carlsen, not only the highest rated human player of all time, but also a leading exponent of grinding. David Howell, also a strong grandmaster who enjoys grinding, as well as being an excellent commentator, is Magnus’s ideal partner. They are also good friends, and this is something that comes across well, adding to the enjoyment of the book.
Having said that, the contents themselves seem rather slight. Apart from the introductory material to each of the eight chapters you only get twelve games, seven played by Magnus and six played by David. If you’re good at maths you might have noticed that 7+6 is 13: one of the games is between the two authors, played in the final round of the 2002 World Under 12 Championship. It resulted, since you asked, in a draw.
This is one of Magnus’s lesser known games. He admits that it was an ‘awful game’ but still managed to grind down his lower rated opponent. Click on any move for a pop-up window.
The book is beautifully produced, although I guess the, er, colourful cover might not be to everyone’s taste. If this sort of thing bothers you, you might also think that, while a wide sans serif font is best for screens, a narrower serif font might be preferable for books.
The quality of the annotations, if you like the conversational style, is, of course, of the highest quality. At one level the games are more suited to players of, say, 2000+ strength, but some of the more general insights into the nature of grinding will be of interest and value to all players.
If you like the idea of grinding and you’d rather study the material from a book than from an interactive course or videos (or perhaps you’d like the book as well as the interactive course) it can be highly recommended.
Daniel King interviews David Howell about the book here, and if you can’t afford an hour to watch this, Daniel also provides a summary here.
You can read some sample pages from the book, which will enable you to decide whether or not it’s for you, here.
Richard James, Twickenham 14th May 2024
. Richard James
Book Details:
Hardcover: 208 pages
Publisher: New in Chess; 1st edition (31 Aug. 2023)
Grind Like a Grandmaster: How to Keep Pressing until Your Opponent Cracks, David Howell and Magnus Carlsen, New in Chess; 1st edition (31 Aug. 2023), 978-9083328461
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If you want to take the game further, these four books, designed to be read in parallel, are what you require.
Written for players of about 500-1000 strength, if you’ve understood everything here you’ll be able to go along to your local chess club and play some social games without being totally outclassed. You might even be able to play lower level competitive chess if you want.
By now you may be eager to learn more. If you’re around 1000-1500 level, these books will help you make further progress. The Puzzles book is exactly what it says on the cover, while the Games book uses the ‘How Good is Your Chess’ format where you play through the games guessing the next move. I’ll soon be starting work on the second books for publication towards the end of 2024.
You can order them from Amazon here. You’ll see that I also have free downloads available if you want to have a look before you buy, or if, for instance, you want to print off some of the puzzle pages for your own or your students’ use.
I’d recommend you also read this blog post explaining some of the theory behind my teaching and writing.
Please do take a look, and if you like what you see, support me by purchases and 5* reviews!
Battle of Endgames, Ray Cannon, Amazon, 9th June, 2021, ISBN-13 : 979-8518031715
From the back cover:
The author has written what he believes to be an original book on the endgame, using a play on words for the title based on the historic battle of Hastings in 1066 which involved William the Conqueror. *****
Ray Cannon, a familiar frequenter of chess tournaments in London and elsewhere, has condensed his copious knowledge into an enjoyably instructive compendium of endgame positions. In tune with the Victorian notion of learning via fun, the reader cannot help but absorb the endgame stratagems that recur in the examples given and emerge as a better player without any conscious effort.
The endgame is a prime arena for the emergence of error through lack of practice, and even elite grandmasters can miss the unsuspected anti-intuitive resource that would have secured the rescue draw or shock win. I would go so far as to say this book would benefit master-standard players. Studying it has all the value of learning one’s times tables but without the repetitive drudgery! The end result is the same: increased knowledge.
Julian Simpole
Jimmy Adams and Ray Cannon at a 2012 meeting in Norwich of the Ken Whyld Association
My good friend Ray Cannon, who was, for many years, an invaluable part of the coaching team at Richmond Junior Club, has written a book which will be useful for all club standard players.
With faster time limits and online play now the norm, endings play a vital part in 21st century chess. A good knowledge of endgame theory and tactics is a fundamental requirement for all serious players.
From the author’s introduction:
Positions in this book have been taken from various sources including my collection of newspaper cuttings that go back to the 1970’s, books, magazines, websites and even from games I had witnessed personally at tournaments. Many have been modified for reasons of clarity and a few I have composed myself. Most of the positions have annotated solutions unless the moves are self-explanatory.
The 1066 diagram positions can be played out against a computer or an opponent but they are best solved using a chess set. You are invited to write down your choice of move for each position on the pages provided before looking up the answers. On the other hand, you may simply prefer to enjoy the instructive content of this book by dipping in and out of its pages.
Endgames may give the appearance of being easy but even the world’s best players misplay them from time to time and some of these missed opportunities from practical play are included among the 1066 stratagems.
The majority of the puzzles are elementary but there are a few that are quite difficult. When solving them, you will detect familiar methods of play. Knowledge of these is often referred to as pattern recognition and this is an important component of learning and improving at chess.
So what you get is 1066 endgame puzzles, or stratagems as Ray prefers to call them. It’s White’s move in positions 1 to 728, and Black’s move in positions 729 to 1066. In each position you’re told whether you’re trying to win or draw, and you know that there’s only one move to achieve your aim.
A few fairly random examples chosen simply by turning to a random page will show you what to expect. I’ll give the answers at the end of the review.
Q482 is a neat draw: White to play.
Q497 is of practical value. Endings with R + f&h pawns against R are very often drawn. How can White win here?
Q533, halfway through the book, has more pieces on the board (too many for an endgame?) and demonstrates the need to know your mating patterns. White to play and win again.
If you enjoyed these puzzles, you’ll certainly enjoy the rest of the book. If you think your students will enjoy these puzzles, you’ll also want to buy this book.
It’s self-published via Amazon so the production qualities are not quite up to the standard you’d expect from leading chess book publishers. However, the diagrams and text are both clear.
Ray has chosen to print the ‘Black to play’ puzzles with the 8th rank at the bottom of the board: not what I or most authors would have chosen but I can see why he did it. There’s a slight problem, though, in that the diagrams are without coordinates, which can make things slightly confusing in positions with few pawns on the board. (The diagrams in the answers to the ‘Black to play’ do have coordinates, though.) I understand the next edition will use diagrams with coordinates throughout.
You might also prefer to write your answers under the diagrams rather than in the pages provided for this purpose at the beginning of the book. I’d also have welcomed an index by material so that I could quickly locate, for example, pawn endings or rook endings.
These are just personal preferences, though. The quality of material is excellent (all positions have been thoroughly engine checked) and Ray Cannon should be congratulated for his efforts in producing a highly instructive puzzle book.
A basic knowledge of endgame theory is assumed, so I would consider the book ideal for anyone rated between about 1500 and 2000, although some of the puzzles will be challenging for stronger players.
Richard James, Twickenham, 17th September 2021
Richard James
Answers:
Q482: 1. f7+ Qxf7 2. Bb3 Qxb3 is stalemate. Or 1… Kxf7 2. Bh5+. In just two moves we have a fork, a skewer, a pin and a stalemate.
Q497: 1. Rg5+ Kxg5 (or 1… Kxh6 2. Rg8) 2. h7 Re1+ 3. Kd6 Rd1+ 4. Ke7 Rh1 5. f8Q wins (as long as you know how to win with queen against rook!)
Q533: 1. Re8+ Rxe8 2. Nf6 Ra7 3. Rxa7 Re7 4. Rxe7 a1Q 5. Rh7# – an Arabian Mate!
Publisher : Independently published (9 Jun. 2021)
Language : English
Paperback : 248 pages
ISBN-13 : 979-8518031715
Dimensions : 15.6 x 1.42 x 23.39 cm
Battle of Endgames, Ray Cannon, Amazon, 9th June, 2021, ISBN-13 : 979-8518031715
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Understanding Pawn Endgames: Valentin Bogdanov
This is the starter book (0-500 range) explaining what a game of chess is really about. If you just want to learn the basics, this is for you.
