Dutch Grandmaster. World Championship Challenger. Endgame Composer A leading player since the mid 70s. He has won many top class events including Wijk aan Zee, Linares, Amsterdam and Tilburg. In 1993, he lost a FIDE World Title match against Karpov (+2-6=13).

 

Black's passed pawns which will soon be connected are a formidable force. White's position looks lost as his Bishop stands badly and his counterattack against the opponent's c-pawn creating his own passed pawn seems too slow. At the heart of this study is a theoretical position (see note to 6.c3 below) which was "discovered" over a hundred years ago and which is well worth remembering because it often appears in practical Q&P endings. Normally the side with a pawn two squares away from queening would lose easily. But if the Queen and King are unfavourably placed obstructing each other, a pawn on the 6th rank guarded by its King can draw.

Gens Una Sumus

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8X8 Basic Endings for Success

Rueben Fine, 1941

White to move: 1.Nc6! Kf2 2.Kd6 Bg3+ 3.Kc5 Bc7 4.Kb5 Ke3 5.Ka6 Ke4 6.Kb7+-; White wins as the Bishop is forced of the diagonal.   Black to move: 1...Kf2 2.Nc6 Ke3 3.Kd6 Bg3+ 4.Kc5 Bc7 5.Kb5 Ke4 6.Ka6 Kd5 7.Kb7 Kd6=; The King arrives just in time to support the Bishop.

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I would like to briefly summarise the type of endings found on the site. These are; (a) Basic endings. (b) Practical chess endings. (c) The Endgame study.

(a) Basic Endings. These are theoretical positions in which we know the correct result with optimum play by both sides. They may consist of three pawns or less and also include all the non-pawn and five piece endings which have now been extensively analysed by computer and of which we have tablebases. In the days when we had adjournments some of these endings could be looked up in text books to give us some idea how to play the position. As we no longer can do this, knowledge and memory of these endings has become important in practical play. Fundamental Chess Endings (2001) by Muller and Lamprecht and Basic Endings (1992) by Balashov and Prandstetter and the earlier A Pocket Guide to Chess Endgames (1970) by David Hooper are good introductions to these endings.

(b) Practical Endings. These occur in over-the-board play where usually more pawns are present. The above ending is an example of this type. Some of these endings are in the process of being transformed to basic endings but often they finish before this stage is reached. Endgame strategy is very different from the middlegame and has its own set of rules and exceptions. Fine's book Basic Chess Endings (1941,2003) recently revised by Pal Benko and Batsford Chess Endings (1993) by Speelman, Tisdall and Wade are about basic and practical endings and both can be recommended.

(c) Endgame Studies. These are positions which have been composed and will contain elements of one or both of the above types of endings. But there are important differences between these types and the study, such as artistic form and economy of construction. An endgame study has to follow strict rules of composition, especially if it is entered into a composing competition. One of these rules states there should only be one solution. If there is an unintended second solution then the study is unsound and said to be "cooked".